Posted on Aug 14, 2007

 

WAYNE FRANKLIN ’67

James Fenimore Cooper: The Early Years

Yale University Press

This is the first treatment of the life, until age 36, of James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) that is based on full access to Cooper’s family papers. Cooper’s life is the story of how, as Franklin relates, in literature and countless other endeavors, Americans in his period sought to solidify their political and cultural economic independence from Britain. Cooper invented the key forms of American fiction—the Western, the sea tale, the Revolutionary War romance. Furthermore, Cooper turned novel writing from a polite diversion into a paying career. He influenced Herman Melville, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Francis Parkman, and even Mark Twain—who felt the need to flagellate Cooper for his “literary offenses.” His novels mark the starting point for any history of our environmental conscience. Perhaps no other American writer stands in greater need of a major re-evaluation than Cooper. Wayne Franklin is author of The New World of James Fenimore Cooper and co-editor of the Norton Anthology of American Literature. He is professor of English and director of American studies at the University of Connecticut.

 

RICHARD H.K. VIETOR ’67

How Countries Compete: Strategy, Structure, and Government in the Global Economy

Harvard Business School Press

As the globalization continues, countries compete for the markets, technologies and skills needed to raise their standards of living. These strategies can make – or break – a government's efforts to drive and sustain growth. In How Countries Compete, Vietor sheds light on ways in which governments can best set direction and provide a healthy climate for a nation's economic development and profitable private enterprise. Drawing on history, economic analysis and interviews with executives and officials around the globe, Vietor provides concentrated examinations of different approaches to government facilitation of development. Chapters focus on the unique social, economic, cultural and historical forces that shape governments' approach to economic growth. Countries discussed include: China, India, Japan, Singapore, the United States, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Vietor challenges the widespread notion that, in market-driven economies such as the United States, a strong government can only hinder business success. A provocative resource, How Countries Compete offers potent insights into how the business environment has evolved in crucial nations and what its trajectory might look like in the future.

 

ARNOLD I. BURNS ’50

Preparing to be Lucky: A Public and Private Life Shaped by Humor

Xlibris

Burns was at first rejected by Union College when he applied in 1946. After receiving the rejection letter, he took a train from Lynnbrook, N.Y. to Schenectady and marched into what was then President Carter Davidson’s office. Burns said: “I am here because I want to go to Union College. I’ve applied for admission and been turned down.” Davidson did not budge. “No, no, I really want to go here,” Burns replied. Davidson agreed to review Burns’ application and granted him admittance. That story is one of hundreds found in Burns new book of humorous vignettes. He has written three other books about humor. A practicing lawyer for more than 45 years, Burns left his law firm in 1999 to become a managing director of Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder, Inc., an international investment banking firm. From 1986 to 1988, he served as deputy attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice. Burns has served as a College Trustee for more than 30 years and was Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1985. Burns also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children and chairman of the National Center for Victims of Crime.

 

ANTONIO F. VIANNA ’66

Hidden Dangers

Authorhouse

Hidden Dangers takes readers into a world of espionage that pits two veteran spies against each other in a cat-and-mouse game of deception. Throw in an unexpected love affair, a troubled paranoid personality, a greedy and manipulative boss, and a young agent who desperately wants to free himself from the spy game. Readers will be surprised when they read the final chapter.

Vianna is the author of several motivational books including Career Management and Employee Portfolio Toll Kit Workbook and Leader Champions: Secrets of Success. His fiction forays include Tale from a Ghost Dance, centering on the visionary powers of a high-powered female executive; Talking Rain, a plot-twisting murder mystery; and The Veil of Ignorance, a suspense novel about a struggling college professor. Vianna, who majored in biology at Union, lives in Carlsbad, Calif.