Asada, Sadao. Culture shock and Japanese-American relations: historical essays. University of Missouri Press 2007. 290p $44.95
In these essays, the author examines the historical interaction between Japan and the United States from 1890 to 2006, with particular attention to World War II and the issues of naval strategy, racist perceptions, and the American decision to use the atomic bomb. Both Japanese and American points of view are considered.
ISBN 978-0-8262-1745-5; LC 2007-4496

City, countryside, and the spatial organization of value in classical antiquity; edited by Ralph M. Rosen and Ineke Sluiter. Brill 2006. 384p $174.00 (Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum, 279)
These essays examine rural-urban relations in ancient Greece and Rome, as evidenced by literature, philosophy, and archaeology. The sophisticated city-dweller versus the rustic country bumpkin is only one contrasting image in the complex understanding of city and country relationships in antiquity, in which city life and country life each had its proponents and detractors.
ISBN 978-9-0041-5043-0; 9-0041-5043-9; LC2006-287255

Conflicted boundaries in wisdom and apocalypticism; edited by Benjamin G. Wright III and Lawrence M. Wills. Brill 2006. 240p $125.00 (Society of Biblical Literature symposium series, no35)
The relationship between wisdom literature and apocalyptic literature (two categories of genre and worldview in early Jewish and Christian literature) is the focus of these essays. The authors explore the common themes and interrelationships of these two genres, once thought to be mutually exclusive. Among the works discussed are 1 Enoch, 4QInstruction (from the Dead Sea Scrolls), and canonical scriptures such as James and Revelation.
ISBN 9-0041-4667-9; 978-9-0041-4667-9; LC 2005-17042

Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture (27th: 2003). Performance and appropriation: profane rituals in gardens and landscapes; edited by Michel Conan. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection 2007. 227p $40.00
Because gardens are a controlled environment in which the gardener can shape the natural world to reflect cultural ideals, gardens and public parks have long had a ritualized cultural significance in many societies. These essays explore such topics as Freemason gardens in Tuscany, nineteenth-century British kitchen gardens, and the public parks of modern Tokyo.
ISBN 0-8840-2313-3; LC 2005-36023

The end of the Pacific war: reappraisals; edited by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa. Stanford University Press 2007. 331p $60.00
The authors of these essays explore historical documents from the archives of Japan, the United States, and the former Soviet Union in an attempt to determine the critical factor that led to Japan’s decision to surrender in the Second World War. The American atomic bombardment of Japan, and the Soviet Union’s imminent entry into the war against Japan, are the two principal factors that are reevaluated and reassessed in the light of the archival records.
ISBN 978-0-8047-5427-9; LC 2006-28407

Flower, Harriet I. The art of forgetting: disgrace & oblivion in Roman political culture. University of North Carolina Press 2006. xxiv, 400p $59.95 (Studies in the history of Greece and Rome)
These essays explore the variety of memory sanctions used by the ancient Roman government against leading members of the community who had fallen into disfavor or disgrace. These sanctions frequently involved the removal or mutilation of portraits and public inscriptions. In the first chapter, the author sets forth the theme by stating: “Any recalling or recording of the past involves selection, both deliberate and unintended. Choosing what to remember must also entail the choice of what to forget, what to pass over in silence, and what to obscure.”
ISBN 978-0-8078-3063-5; 0-8078-3063-1; LC 2006-17447

Gersh, Stephen. Neoplatonism after Derrida: parallelograms. Brill 2006. 223p $147.00 (Studies in Platonism, Neoplatonism, and the Platonic tradition, v3)
These essays describe the relation between 20th century French philosopher Jacques Derrida, founder of the Deconstruction movement, and the Neoplatonic philosophical tradition (ancient, patristic, and medieval). The contrast between Deconstruction and Neoplatonism and the affinities of these two systems of thought are explored.
ISBN 9-0041-5155-9; 978-9-0041-5155-0; LC 2006-49064

Globalization and change in Asia; edited by Dennis A. Rondinelli, John L. Heffron. L. Rienner 2007. 279p $59.95; $24.50 (pa)
The essays in this book explore the social changes in Asia resulting from economic and cultural globalization, and attempt to identify the factors that can lead to greater prosperity and social progress in the future.
ISBN 978-1-5882-6473-2; 1-5882-6473-4; 978-1-5882-6497-8 (pa); 1-5882-6497-1 (pa); LC 2006-22407

Graf, E.C. Cervantes and modernity: four essays on Don Quijote. Bucknell University Press 2007. 222p $48.50
The four essays in this book examine the fictional Don Quijote’s anticipation and articulation of the same values and ideas driving today’s multiculturalism, feminism, secularism, and materialism. Cervantes’ influence on thinkers such as Voltaire and Hobbes is explored.
ISBN 978-0-8387-5655-3; 0-8387-5655-7; LC 2006-14722

Hallman, J.C. The devil is a gentleman; exploring America’s religious fringe. Random House 2006. 332p $25.95
In these essays, the author explores the religious fringe of American society. With frequent reference to the writings of American religious thinker William James (who believed in the value of all forms of religious striving), Hallman recounts traveling through America to visit the communities of UFO cults, Druid cults, Satanic cults, atheists, Scientologists, and Christian wrestlers, among others.
ISBN 1-4000-6172-5; 978-1-4000-6172-3; LC 2005-50753

Igra, Anna R. Wives without husbands: marriage, desertion, & welfare in New York, 1900-1935. University of North Carolina Press 2007. 175p $49.95; $19.95 (pa) (Gender & American culture)
The author examines the relationship between marriage and welfare policy in the early 1900s, as she details the development of the National Desertion Bureau, a private Jewish husband-location agency. The Jewish community as a source of innovation for national social policy, and the connections between community activism and the legislation of social reform, are the focus of these essays.
ISBN 978-0-8078-3070-3; 0-8078-3070-4; 978-0-8078-5779-3 (pa); 0-8078-5779-3 (pa); LC 2006-26996

Johnson, Jeannine. Why write poetry?: modern poets defending their art. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 2007. 316p $59.50
The verse defense of poetry (as opposed to the more familiar prose defense of poetry) is the topic of this book. These essays examine the poetic works of such authors as H.D., Wallace Stevens, W.H. Auden, Adrienne Rich, and Geoffrey Hill, in which the poets defend and justify the writing of poetry and the value of their own work.
ISBN 978-0-8386-4105-7; 0-8386-4105-9; LC 2006-17901

Kelley, Mary. Learning to stand & speak: women, education, and public life in America’s republic. University of North Carolina Press 2006. 294p $39.95
The education of women in America from the post-revolutionary period to the outbreak of the War Between the States is the focus of these essays. The education offered at women’s academies and seminaries in this period enabled women to develop critical reasoning skills, and eloquence in composition and oratory, so that by the 1850’s the majority of women engaged in public life as educators, writers, and reformers, had received training in these academies.
ISBN 978-0-8078-3064-2; 0-8078-3064-X; LC 2006-5198

Klein, Marty. America’s war on sex: the attack on law, lust and liberty; foreword by Nadine Strossen. Praeger 2006. 212p $29.95 (Sex, love, and psychology)
In these essays, family therapist Marty Klein explores the legislation of sexual ethics in modern American society. The author comments on what he characterizes as the intrusive policies of the American government in the areas of sex education, birth control, and censorship, and he describes the influence of what he terms “the religious right” in the private affairs of American adults.
ISBN 0-2759-8785-X; 978-0-2759-8785-5; LC 2006-15708

Kutulas, Judy. The American Civil Liberties Union & the making of modern liberalism, 1930-1960. University of North Carolina Press 2006. 305p $35.00
These essays trace the development of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1930 to 1960, as the national perception of the ACLU changed from that of a radical fringe organization to that of a reliable upholder of mainstream liberal ideals. The shift in policy at the ACLU from direct action on the streets to legal action in the courts, and ACLU’s expansion from a focus on dissent and individual rights into areas involving national security, are among the topics.
ISBN 0-8078-3036-4; 978-0-8078-3036-9; LC 2005-36097

Marr, Timothy. The cultural roots of American Islamicism. Cambridge University Press 2006. 309p $75.00
In these essays, the author focuses on America’s fear and fascination with the non-Christian “otherness” of the Islamic world reflected in the politics and culture of the colonial and antebellum period. The participation of the United States in the war in Tripoli in 1801-1805 and the views of Islamic culture expressed in the works of Herman Melville are among the topics explored.
ISBN 0-5218-5293-5; 978-0-5218-5293-7; 0-5216-1807-X (pa); 978-0-5216-1807-6 (pa); LC 2005-22675

On what cannot be said, v.1: classic formulations: apophatic discourses in philosophy, religion, literature, and the arts; edited with theoretical and critical essays by William Franke. University of Notre Dame 2007. 401p $70.00; $35.00 (pa)
Apophasis is a method of logical reasoning by denial: i.e., a way of describing what something is by telling what it is not. Having its origin in Neoplatonic philosophy, apophatic or negative theology sees God as ineffable (incapable being expressed in words). The editor has selected key passages of apophatic philosophy and theology written by ancient and medieval authors, and has introduced and commented on each passage, including works by Plotinus, John of Damascus, Pseudo-Dionysius, and Thomas Aquinas.
ISBN 978-0-2680-2884-8; 0-2680-2884-2; 978-0-2680-2882-4 (pa); 0-2680-2882-6 (pa); LC 2006-36923

The other half of gender: men’s issues in development; edited by Ian Bannon and Marica C. Correia. World Bank 2006. xxvi, 311p $35.00
These essays describe gender relations and the changing understanding of masculine identity in developing countries. The male gender norms in Latin America, the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa are explored.
ISBN 978-0-8213-6505-2; 0-8213-6505-3; LCCN 2006-45195

The paradox of a global USA; edited by Bruce Mazlish, Nayan Chanda, and Kenneth Weisbrode. Stanford University Press 2007. 218p $50.00; $19.95 (pa)
The conflict in American foreign policy between the promotion of modernization and open markets on one hand, and the refusal to heed any form of globalized authority on the other, is the subject of these essays. The authors explore the ways in which the United States has played a role in, and reacted against, emerging globalization while in the pursuit of its own national interests.
ISBN 978-0-8047-5155-1; 978-0-8047-5156-8 (pa); LC 2006-28413

Politicotainment: television’s take on the real; edited by Kristina Riegert. P. Lang 2007. 296p. $32.95 (Popular culture in everyday life, v13)
These essays focus on the ways in which modern political life is defined and distorted by the images of reality presented as “reality television,” as well as by game shows, docudramas, and late-night talk shows. The entertainment component of modern political culture, and the connection between the popular vote on television shows such as American Idol and the popular vote in the electoral process, are among the topics explored.
ISBN 0-8204-8114-9; 978-0-8204-8114-2; LC 2006-22467

Politics of orality; edited by Craig Cooper. Brill 2007. 377p $174.00 (Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum, 280)
The transition from an oral society to a literate culture in ancient Greece is the subject of these essays. Among the topics are: the forms of Homeric epic and other epic; the use and manipulation of the written word to achieve political ends; the debate over the adoption of writing as the accepted mode of communication; and the oral elements of Athenian law.
ISBN 9-0041-4540-0; 978-9-0041-4540-5; LC 2006-51690

Richard Brautigan: essays on the writings and life; edited by John F. Barber. McFarland & Co. 2006. 306p $39.95
This collection of essays includes both personal memoirs and critical assessments of the work of American novelist Richard Brautigan, author of Trout fishing in America, and a major counterculture figure of the 1960s.
ISBN 978-0-7864-2525-9; 0-7864-2525-3; LC 2006-24614

Rosenbaum, Jonathan. Discovering Orson Welles. University of California Press 2007. 336p $60.00; $24.95 (pa)
This collection of essays, interviews, and reviews focuses on the incomplete film projects of American filmmaker Orson Welles. Among the topics are The big brass ring and The cradle will rock, two films planned but never realized, as well as films partially finished or finished but never released, such as Don Quixote and The other side of the wind. Welles’ lifelong struggles to acquire financial backing and to operate outside the Hollywood system are explored.
ISBN 978-0-5202-4738-3; 0-5202-4738-8; 978-0-5202-5123-6 (pa); 0-5202-5123-7 (pa); LC 2006-21749

Solon of Athens: new historical and philological approaches; edited by Josine H. Blok, Andre P.M.H. Lardinois. Brill 2006. 476p $199.00 (Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum, 272)
These essays explore the life and work of Solon, Athenian poet and statesman in the early 6th century B.C. The relation between Solon’s poetry and his role as a lawgiver are examined, and his political activities are evaluated on the basis of recent archaeological and documentary research.
ISBN 9-0041-4954-6; LC 2006-296411

Whisnant, Anne Mitchell. Super-scenic motorway: a Blue Ridge Parkway history. University of North Carolina Press 2006. 434p $34.95
The author explores the technical and sociological challenges facing the builders of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway through North Carolina and Virginia in the 1930s. In contrast to the popular belief that the construction of the road was conflict-free, the author shows how the Parkway builders faced many obstacles from local residents and landowners, in particular with regard to eminent domain issues. The design and routing of the road; the relations among landowners, business interests, and government agencies; and the environmental impact of the road are among the topics discussed.
ISBN 0-8078-3037-2; 978-0-8078-3037-6; LC 2006-11351