Big Green Bookshelf

Political Women and American Democracy

By Lisa Baldez, associate professor of government, with Karen Beckwith and Christina Wolbrecht

Cambridge University Press, 2008

Why: "Political Women and American Democracy synthesizes nearly four decades of research on women as voters, activists, candidates, and officeholders in the United States."

Big picture: "Since the 1970s, women have struggled to establish a permanent place in American political life. Our book assesses what we know about women's efforts to obtain political power, and identifies challenges for the future." The book includes Baldez's essay, "Political Women in Comparative Democracies: A Primer for Americanists"

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Rejecting Refugees: Political Asylum in the 21st Century

By Carol Bohmer,visiting associate professor of women’s and gender studies, and Amy Shuman

Routledge, 2008

Olympic Victor Lists and Ancient Greek History

By Paul Christesen ’88, associate professor of classics

Cambridge University Press, 2007

Why: “Olympiads were the basis of a widely used system for reckoning time in the ancient world. Historians added notes to the convenient, chronologically ordered framework of Olympic victor lists, thus producing brief historical chronicles. My book is the first comprehensive examination of this fascinating body of material.”

Happy accident: “I ended up writing this book almost entirely accidentally; what started as a footnote in another project gradually morphed into a book. Perhaps the single most interesting thing I learned in writing the book was that the date of 776 BCE for the first Olympics is based on a guess-estimate made by Hippias of Elis around 400 BCE.  It’s unlikely to be terribly accurate.”

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The Human Genome  Project in College Curriculum: Ethical Issues and Practical Strategies

Edited by Aine Donovan, director of the Ethics Institute, and Ronald M. Green, the Eunice and Julian Cohen Professor for the Study of Ethics and Human Values

University Press of New England, 2008

A Foreign Affair: Billy Wilder's American Films

By Gerd Gemünden, the Ted and Helen Geisel Third Century Professor in the Humanities

Berghahn Books, 2008

Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence

By Richard Granger, professor of psychological and brain sciences, and Gary Lynch

Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

Dynamic Capabilities: Understanding Strategic Dynamic Capabilities: Understanding Strategic Change in Organizations
By Constance E. Helfat, the J. Brian Quinn Professor in Technology and Strategy. Co-authors include Sydney Finkelstein, the Steven Roth Professor of Management, and Margaret A. Peteraf, professor of strategic management and organization Blackwell, 2007

Why: “This book examines the nature of ‘dynamic capabilities’ that firms can use to create, extend, and modify their strategies in the face of change.”

Foundations: “All three Tuck co-authors have research interests that deal with the strategic, organizational, and managerial issues that firms face when adapting to change. The book aims to provide a foundational treatment of the concept of dynamic capabilities along with empirical examples.”

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The Parent's Guide to Eating Disorders: Supporting Self-Esteem, Healthy Eating, and Positive Body Image at Home

By Marcia Herrin, adjunct assistant professor of community and family medicine

Gürze Books, 2007

Black Womanhood: Images, Icons, and Ideologies of the African Body

Edited by Barbara Thompson, Curator of African, Oceanic, and Native American Art, the Hood Museum of Art

University of Washington Press, 2008

The Genesis of the GATT

By Douglas A. Irwin, professor of economics; Petros C. Mavroidis; and Alan O. Sykes

Cambridge University Press, 2008

Why: "This book investigates why we got the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in the first place as a result of U.S. and UK discussions during World War II."

Impetus: "My work is on international trade policy and if you are interested in that subject then the GATT (a precursor to the World Trade Organization) is of interest."

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