The Lamont News-List lamontnews-list(a)fas.harvard.edu
January 23, 2006
http://hcl.harvard.edu/lamont
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Be well, stay safe, have fun and rest up! See you back in Lamont on
February 1st!
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THE INTERSESSION *R & R* SPECIAL ISSUE:
-- Books That Harvard Students Recommend
16 titles for Intersession reading
-- New Films in Morse Music & Media
Recent and classic film titles we've acquired
-- Lamont Library Hours During Intersession
Just in case you plan to stay in town
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BOOKS FOR INTERSESSION READING
16 titles that Harvard Students recommend
** WARPED PASSAGES: UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE'S HIDDEN
DIMENSIONS, by Lisa Randall. Ecco, 2005.
In her effort to translate theoretical physics into terms that ordinary
readers can understand, Harvard professor Lisa Randall follows in the
tradition of popular science writers like Stephen Hawking (_A Brief
History of Time_) and Brian Greene (_The Elegant Universe_). In _Warped
Passages_, she considers the possibility that the world we perceive in the
three spatial dimensions and in time may actually be composed of many,
many more. One consequence of extradimensionality is the perspective it
offers on a host of cosmic quandaries, such as why gravity is so much
weaker than magnetism. Lin Cong '09 attended a public lecture by
Professor Randall and was "really intrigued" by what he heard. _Warped
Passages_, which was a _New York Times_ "Notable Book" in 2005, is
something Lin wants to read as soon as he has free time.
** DECLINE AND FALL, by Evelyn Waugh. Grosset and Dunlap, 1929.
Alex Lemann, an Adams House senior, describes _Decline and Fall_ as
"something lighthearted to chase away those mid-winter exam period
doldrums." Waugh's first novel, it is also considered his finest comic
production. Alex writes that _Decline and Fall_ is a "hilarious,
meandering tale about a young man [Paul Pennyfeather] who is unfairly
kicked out of Oxford for bad behavior and decides to become a prep-school
teacher." By the end of the novel, Paul is back at Oxford, having met a
series of strange characters and having had a series of odd experiences
along the way.
** A SWIFTLY TILTING PLANET, by Madeleine L'Engle. Farrar, Straus &
Giroux, 1978.
This is the third book in Madeleine L'Engle's classic children's
collection, the Time Quintet. Fifteen-year-old Charles Wallace Murry,
whom readers first met in _A Wrinkle in Time_, has a little task to
accomplish as the novel opens. In 24 hours, a mad dictator will destroy
the universe by declaring nuclear war -- unless Charles Wallace can go
back in time to change the lives of one of four Might-Have-Beens in
history. The freshman who recommends _A Swiftly Tilting Planet_ points
out that while it is a "kid's book, that doesn't stop it from being an
incredibly deep story. The book is a combination of science fiction and
fantasy, and L'Engle really involves the reader in the quest."
** WORD CIRCUS, by Richard Lederer. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1998.
"Words teetertottering, words spinning their unicycles, words breathing
fire. . ." This is how Marc Janke '08 characterizes _Word Circus_, by
Richard Lederer. It is, he writes,"a book about anything and everything
about the English language--homophones, anagrams, acrostics, spoonerisms,
anachronisms . . . it's all there." _Word Circus_ presents "more English
contortions than any one person can possibly handle in one sitting." But
it sure sounds like a fun book!
** PANTHER IN THE BASEMENT, by Amos Oz. Trans. Nicholas de Lange.
Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Hezzy Smith '08 describes the plot of Oz's novel, set in 1947 Jerusalem,
this way: "At the nexus of language, politics and social rapport, a young,
word-hungry Israeli boy encounters and befriends a British soldier in the
company occupying his homeland. He fancies himself an intelligence
operative in order to justify his growing attachment, but ultimately has
to face the question of whether one can forge personal alliances across
political lines without eroding one's identity." When _Panther in the
Basement_ appeared in an English translation in 1997, one reviewer even
hailed it as "further evidence of Oz's increasing claim to serious Nobel
Prize consideration."
** PASTWATCH: THE REDEMPTION OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, by Orson Scott
Card. TOR, 1996.
It's the 23rd century. Three travelers, who belong to an organization
called "Pastwatch," journey back from the ruined and doomed earth they
inhabit to the time of Columbus's landing in North America. They hope to
alter events so that the contact between Europeans and indigenous peoples
will prove less disastrous. Orson Scott Card is probably best known for
his award-winning novel, _Ender's Game_, and its sequel, _Ender's Shadow_.
But one News-List reader is just as impressed by _Pastwatch_, which is
equal parts sci-fi and alternative history. "It explores the always
interesting topic of what 'might have been,'" writes Kimberly Soo
'09.
"Plus, it was very neat to see how big a turning point 1492 was."
If you like _Pastwatch_, Kimberly suggests you also dip into _MAPS IN THE
MIRROR: THE SHORT FICTION OF ORSON SCOTT CARD_ (TOR, 1990). It's a
collection of 46 stories which range from fantasy and sci-fi to horror and
theological speculation. "Card has a perspective on life that's pretty
different from a lot of other authors I've read and it's pretty cool to
see how he explores life using these stories."
** HARVARD YARD, by William Martin. Warner Books, 2003.
Legend has it (in William Martin's novel, at least) that William
Shakespeare brought John Harvard's parents together and wrote a play for
them called "Love's Labours Won." That play was widely assumed to have
been lost in the fire that destroyed the Harvard Library in the late
1600s. However, Harvard had wisely bequeathed the prized manuscript to his
best student, young Isaac Wedge, cautioning him to safeguard the play
until its artistic value could be appreciated. After 12 generations of
Wedge heirs, the play's whereabouts have been lost -- until, that is, an
enterprising Harvard graduate student unearths clues that suggest the play
may still exist, secreted somewhere in Harvard Yard. "It's very
enjoyable," according to Philip Kenner '09, and "even more so for students
who attend Harvard. It features all of our favorite buildings on campus
and is a fast read."
** GENIUS: THE LIFE AND SCIENCE OF RICHARD FEYNMAN, by James Gleick.
Pantheon Books, 1992.
James Gleick is considered one of best popular science writers around and
when his biography of Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Fenyman was
published in 1992, the _Washington Post_ called it a "jewel." Richard
Feynman's career touched on every area of modern science, from the
Manhattan Project to quantum electromechanics; and it was his now famous
experiment, conducted on live TV, that solved the mystery of the
Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1985. Like any good biographer,
Gleick helps us to know something about the man who was once described as
a "cross between Groucho Marx and Albert Einstein." More importanly,
however, Gleick affords us a fascinating glimpse into how science is done
by a brilliant mind. _Genius_ was recommended by freshman Lin Cong.
** IN COLD BLOOD: A TRUE ACCOUNT OF A MULTIPLE MURDER AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES, by Truman Capote. New American Library, 1965.
The release of the movie _Capote_ last fall has renewed interest in the
1965 book that many consider this writer's masterwork. _In Cold Blood_
created a new genre -- a literary hybrid that Capote himself dubbed "the
nonfiction novel." It details the brutal 1959 murder of four members of a
Kansas farming family, the arrest of the two men responsible for the
crime, and their eventual executions. Recommended by a Lowell House
junior, who calls it "chilling and absolutely engrossing at the same
time."
** THE EVOLUTION-CREATION STRUGGLE, by Marc Ruse. Harvard U P, 2005.
Michael Ruse, a philosopher of science at Florida State University, traces
creationism and evolutionism back to a common origin: the crisis of faith
during the Enlightenment. Ruse follows the history of this great debate
through the Victorian era and up to its recent expressions in the work of
evolutionist Richard Dawkins on the one hand and the proponents of
"intelligent design" on the other. Harvard student Sally Elliot found it
a "bracing, rigorous, and opinionated piece of intellectual history" and
"highly recommends" it to News-List readers.
** THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY, by Michael Chabon.
Random House, 2000.
During World War II, two boys (one a Czech refugee, the other his American
cousin) invent a comic strip hero called the Escapist. _The Amazing
Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_ won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, and
rightly so. As freshman Rachel Pollack observes, "the novel is funny,
informative, and richly touching. Chabon depicts the characters so
colorfully that one feels sad to leave them when the book ends."
** MERE CHRISTIANITY, by C.S. Lewis. Macmillan, 1952.
"I read this book last year and really loved it," writes freshman Kim
Soo. "Lewis's style is a lot of fun; he gives a lot of concrete examples
that make even highly abstract things understandable. Plus, I love the
way he reasons things from the ground up. And it's a good introduction to
Christianity whether you're looking at it from a non-Christian perspective
(to understand what that religion is about) or from a Christian
perspective."
Two other C. S. Lewis titles also come highly recommended by Kim.
_TILL WE HAVE FACES_ (1956) is a reworking of the Greek myth of Cupid and
Psyche and a study of the struggle between sacred and profane love. "But
it tells the story from an interesting perspective" (that of Psyche's
older, less attractive sister) and "Lewis uses the device of an
'unreliable narrator' to reveal something significant about the way a lot
of people think."
_ THE GREAT DIVORCE_ (1946) has a title that's a bit misleading, Kim
tells us, since it isn't at all about divorce "in the marital sense."
Instead, Lewis reflects upon "the separateness of Heaven and Hell (the
'divorce' between them)." Cast as a dream vision, the story is told in
the first person, a device that "allows the reader to see Lewis (the giant
that he is) as a human with his own shortcomings and dependencies."
** THE GRIZZLY MAZE: TIMOTHY TREADWELL'S FATAL OBSESSION WITH ALASKAN
BEARS, by Nick Jans. Dutton, 2005.
In October 2003, 46 year-old Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend, 32
year-old Amie Huguenard, were killed and eaten by a grizzly in Alaska's
Katmai National Park and Preserve. Treadwell, a self-proclaimed bear
expert had spent thirteen summers living mostly alone in the Katmai
"grizzly maze," filming and interacting with these wild animals. To some,
like those who joined his bear appreciation group, "Grizzly People,"
Treadwell was a pioneer and an environmental hero; to others, including
the park rangers who worried about his safety, he was a reckless crackpot.
Jans's book presents Treadwell in his complexity but is most interesting,
according to the student who recently finished it, for the "questions that
are raised -- but not fully answered -- about interspecies contact."
Treadwell, by the way, was also the subject of a Werner Herzog
documentary, "Grizzly Man," released in 2005.
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NEW FILMS IN MORSE MUSIC & MEDIA
Recent and classic titles added to our collection
** RAY. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.B55 R39 2005x
Oscar winning performance by Jamie Foxx in the title role. Originally
released in 2004.
** ONCE WERE WARRIORS. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.A835 O53 2005x
New Zealand film about the hard lives of a Maori family in a poor suburb
in contemporary Auckland. Based on the novel by Alan Duff; released in
1994.
** LAST DAYS. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.M463 G87 2005x
Gus van Sant's film about the final hours in the life of Nirvana
front-man, Kurt Cobain.
** KING KONG . Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.M6 K56 2005x
The 1933 original--still the best!
** BETTY. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.S87 B48 2005x
A lethal game of cat and mouse, based on the novel by George Simenon; in
French, with English subtitle. Originally released in 1992.
** HOTEL RWANDA. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.A43 H68 2005x
The story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel worker who sheltered and save the
lives of 1200 people during the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Originally released in 2004.
** ISLE OF THE DEAD and BEDLAM. Morse Music & Media DVD PN1995.9.H6 I85
2005x
From the Val Lewton horror classics collection; Boris
Karloff has the
starring role in both films. Originally released in 1945 and 1946.
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LAMONT LIBRARY HOURS DURING INTERSESSION
Just in case you'll be in town
Tuesday, January 24 8:00am - 4:45pm
Wednesday, January 25 - Sunday, January 29 CLOSED
Monday, January 30 - Tuesday, January 31 8:00am - 4:45pm
Regular hours resume on February 1.
The Quad Library closes for Intersession on Tuesday, January 24 at 5 p.m.
It reopens at 3 p.m. on February 1.
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HAVE A TOPIC you'd like to see us cover in a future issue of the Lamont
News-List? A research question you need answered? A tip you want
to pass along to other Lamont News-List readers? All suggestions welcome!
Send your thoughts and comments to sgilroy at
fas.harvard.edu.
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Copyright 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard University