Editors’ Picks for March 2023

10 reviews handpicked from the latest issue of Choice.

Posted on March 9, 2023 in Editors' Picks

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This framework is the core of trauma treatment and provides a safe space for the client if the therapist learns to skillfully manage the moments of crises and to use them as teaching opportunities.

—D. L. Loers, Akoan Consulting

Ford, Julian. Crises in the psychotherapy session: transforming critical moments into turning points. American Psychological Association, 2021. 397p bibl index ISBN 9781433832871 pbk, $49.99; ISBN 9781433834141 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Ford (Univ. of Connecticut) is truly a pioneer in the treatment of trauma. In this book he details how the crises inherent in trauma counseling can become turning points for genuine healing and change if the therapist becomes skilled in managing the emotional disregulation of the client and of him/herself. Ford presents the history of trauma care and the research that supports his approach, the FREEDOM framework, described in stages. Ford focuses in turn on the therapist; mindful awareness; core personal values; personal control; recognition of therapist triggers; emotional awareness; evaluation of core beliefs; defining core thoughts and beliefs; options for action (reactive and proactive); and making a contribution based on the therapist’s core values and self-regulation. This framework is the core of trauma treatment and provides a safe space for the client if the therapist learns to skillfully manage the moments of crises and to use them as teaching opportunities. This volume is particularly valuable, as part 2 includes six transcripts of therapy sessions based on recorded sessions, as reenacted by graduate students. Each session is thoughtfully analyzed by Ford, and all are available to view as webinars at no cost through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Learning Center, which Ford has directed and developed over many years. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. —D. L. Loers, Akoan Consulting

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This stimulating discussion of compellingly beautiful imagery is both lively and highly informative, leading readers on an adventure through spaces they can enter only in their imaginations.

—A. Golahny, emerita, Lycoming College

Georgievska-Shine, Aneta. Vermeer and the art of love. Lund Humphries, 2022. 160p bibl index ISBN 9781848224896, $59.99.

In elucidating Johannes Vermeer’s paintings of women in domestic interiors, Georgievska-Shine (Univ. of Maryland) explores literature, religion, and pictorial tradition, referencing Petrarchan and metaphysical poetry, music, and emblems. The thread is love—the unseen viewer may be regarding his beloved from afar, indicated by an empty chair, a map, or a letter. Paintings within the paintings further amplify this theme and offer allusions to love as nourishment, both spiritual and physical. Vermeer’s juxtapositions pose questions not easily resolved: is the love reciprocal or unrequited? The author’s well-chosen comparisons to paintings by Vermeer’s contemporaries heighten the ambiguity and complexity of this extraordinary artist’s work. The momentariness of one woman, for example, the girl with the pearl earring, is contrasted with the stillness of another, the woman dressed in blue who reads a letter. The first seeks contact with the viewer; the other retreats into her private fantasy. This stimulating discussion of compellingly beautiful imagery is both lively and highly informative, leading readers on an adventure through spaces they can enter only in their imaginations. For nonspecialists, this book is an excellent window into this endlessly fascinating 17th-century Dutch artist; for specialists, it is an original, welcome, current cultural and intellectual interpretation. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. —A. Golahny, emerita, Lycoming College

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The book’s insightful, detailed peeks under the implementation hood of the executive office of the president show where lasting, real-world consequences flow from the edict pen.

—J. Farrier, University of Louisville

Ginsberg, Benjamin. The imperial presidency and American politics: governance by edicts and coups. Routledge, 2021. 156p bibl index ISBN 9780367625283, $155.00; ISBN 9780367619961 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9781003109556 ebook, $26.95.

Ginsberg’s newest book is bracing and evergreen. Ginsberg (Johns Hopkins Univ.) begins by placing Donald Trump’s administrative legacy (not his personal behavior) squarely within modern norms. Since FDR in particular, presidents maximize unilateralism at home and abroad through executive orders, memoranda, and national security directives. Ginsberg focuses on the origins and consequences of these permanent distortions in the US separation of powers system, which transcend the party in the White House. In fleeting times of unified government, presidents expect their party’s majority to shepherd its agenda through the legislature quickly before the midterm flip. Then, in times of divided government, the little that is left of congressional ambition debases into histrionic investigations, sometimes resembling “coups.” Opposition cries of presidential abuse of power and rule of law often ring hollow in federal courts as well. Judges rarely show sustained interest in pushing back on the imperial presidency when Congress is silent, divided, or hypocritical. Ginsberg demonstrates these points through a brisk walk through a variety of topics and the history of all three branches. The book’s insightful, detailed peeks under the implementation hood of the executive office of the president show where lasting, real-world consequences flow from the edict pen. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; general readers; professionals. —J. Farrier, University of Louisville

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All in all, Patterson has produced a deeply insightful exposé of anti-Semitism alongside a powerful affirmation of Jewish life amid the desolation of the post-Holocaust world.

—P. K. Steinfeld, emeritus, Buena Vista University

Patterson, David. Judaism, antisemitism, and Holocaust: making the connections. Cambridge, 2022. 312p bibl index ISBN 9781009100038, $99.00; ISBN 9781009117517 ebook, $80.00.

Sounding the depths of Judaism, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust, Patterson (Holocaust studies, Univ. of Texas, Dallas) focuses on the object of anti-Semitic hatred—the Jew—to examine the metaphysical origins of exterminationist anti-Semitism and the singularity of the Holocaust. Jews are perceived as an unsettling, unnecessary, and unwanted divine presence in the world. Every “thou shalt” to take “responsibility for the infinite dearness of the other” (p. 7) is eschewed. The anti-Semite seeks a final solution to the Jewish question by eliminating altogether the voice of the divine commandment. Patterson’s poignant lyricism is paired with incisive research that aims to confront the persistent scourge of anti-Semitism in the post-Holocaust world. In a debatable chapter on anti-Zionism, Patterson sharply rebukes left-wing intellectuals as harshly as right-wing, anti-Israeli extremists and Islamic jihadists. Left-wing intellectuals might well criticize toxic Israeli policies regarding, for example, the treatment of Palestinians and Israeli settlements on the West Bank but still uphold the sacred right of the state of Israel to exist. All in all, Patterson has produced a deeply insightful exposé of anti-Semitism alongside a powerful affirmation of Jewish life amid the desolation of the post-Holocaust world. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. —P. K. Steinfeld, emeritus, Buena Vista University

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Specialist readers will appreciate the author’s statistical support and details regarding the legal status of racing (as compared to boxing).

—F. J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress

Riess, Steven A. Horse racing the Chicago way: gambling, politics, and organized crime, 1837–1911. Syracuse, 2022. 448p bibl index ISBN 9780815637417, $85.00; ISBN 9780815637271 pbk, $45.00; ISBN 9780815655282 ebook, $45.00..

Riess (emer., Northeastern Illinois Univ.), who previously authored The Sport of Kings and the Kings of Crime (CH, Jan’12, 49-2887), considers the story of both harness and thoroughbred racing within the context of political influence and misdeeds during the Windy City’s growth. Given that turf sport is the oldest organized recreation in the US and gambling arguably a characteristic of the national spirit, Riess assesses how both functioned in Chicago, despite religious and Progressive campaigns against them, from the city’s incorporation until the fifth election of Mayor Carter Harrison II. Riess underscores social differences between middle-class trotting and elitist pacing, explaining how wagering spurred spectators’ interest—and owners’ profits. For general readers, Riess helpfully defines the jargon: heats, sulkies, parimutuels, and bookmaking. Specialist readers will appreciate the author’s statistical support and details regarding the legal status of racing (as compared to boxing). Racing and gambling venues were usually places for showcasing male chance-taking, but women too were racetrack spectators and gamblers, albeit in gendered betting facilities. All readers might enjoy descriptions of quintessential personalities such as Alderman “Bathhouse” Coughlin, “Blind John” Condon, “Big Ed” Corrigan, and one of the highest paid athletes in the 1880s, African American jockey Isaac Murphy. This is a sourcebook for Chicago as well as sport history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. —F. J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress

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Overall, this book offers time-tested and novel solutions to repair business reporting in an era in which access to meaningful, trustworthy news is crucial.

—R. Pagano, Alaska Pacific University

Roush, Chris. The future of business journalism: why it matters for Wall Street and Main Street. Georgetown University, 2022. 272p bibl index ISBN 9781647122560, $29.95; ISBN 9781647122577 ebook, $29.95.

Roush (Quinnipiac Univ.), a distinguished scholar and veteran journalist, combines cause-and-effect analyses with interviews, case studies, and real-world solutions to make a plea for revolutionary reforms that would return professional business journalism to its democracy-serving role. Both societal change and the flawed business model of print journalism explain the shift from local reporting toward national journalism centered on dominant corporations. Greater inequity results because this shift deprives Main Street investors and small business owners of the facts they need for everyday decision-making. News media fragmented along political lines focus more on perceived political polarization than income inequality; business journalism compounds the problem by neglecting neutral, local coverage in favor of politically tinged overreporting on the stock market. Roush suggests fixing business journalism by “hiring reporters and editors who represent the quality and diversity of the community; changing coverage to emphasize topics of interest to smaller business owners and consumers; [and] working on a better relationship between business journalists and corporate executives” (p. 167). Overall, this book offers time-tested and novel solutions to repair business reporting in an era in which access to meaningful, trustworthy news is crucial. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; general readers; practitioners. —R. Pagano, Alaska Pacific University

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Through contextual integration of the science of brain functioning, facilitated by the NIH BRAIN Initiative, Selberg alerts readers to the disconnect among research, treatment, and presentation of Alzheimer’s in the media and to their interaction.

—L. R. Barley, York College, CUNY

Selberg, Scott. Mediating Alzheimer’s: cognition and personhood. Minnesota, 2022. 352p bibl index ISBN 9781517902285, $120.00; ISBN 9781517902292 pbk, $30.00; ISBN 9781452967585 pbk, contact publisher for price.

Selberg (Portland State Univ.) establishes Alzheimer’s disease at the forefront of health concerns in the US, chronicling issues, policies, funding, and research initiatives that have emerged over four decades, noting that symptoms and treatment still lack clarity, and focusing on the influence of media messaging. Alzheimer’s is cast as a memory disease, more specifically as the loss of cognition—and in today’s world, cognitive capacity defines value. In the face of ongoing, significant disagreement over its representation, Alzheimer’s is accepted into the universal narrative of aging, decline, and—notably—cognitive decline. This construct strongly suggests loss of personhood. Concurrently, the dominant medical model provides no answers: the cause remains unknown, and treatments vary, but the prognosis is definitive. Early and continued media descriptions of Alzheimer’s have led to a popular crisis of personhood. The intersection of Alzheimer’s effects and the American myth of individualism and self-determination now defines loss of personhood. Through this historiography of Alzheimer’s, Selberg reflects on related medical inquiry as linked to neuroimaging tools. Through contextual integration of the science of brain functioning, facilitated by the NIH BRAIN Initiative, Selberg alerts readers to the disconnect among research, treatment, and presentation of Alzheimer’s in the media and to their interaction. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. —L. R. Barley, York College, CUNY

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This important, theologically rich book will be of interest to scholars of theological bioethics, especially those working in the Protestant tradition. Interested lay readers, too, may find the text helpful.

—A. W. Klink, Duke University

Stahl, Devan. Disability’s challenge to theology: genes, eugenics, and the metaphysics of modern medicine. Notre Dame, 2022. 328p bibl index ISBN 9780268202972, $75.00; ISBN 9780268202996 ebook, $59.99.

Stahl (Baylor Univ.) points out that liberal Protestants have often uncritically embraced medical advances in genetic science and testing, impoverishing Protestant thinking about how a relationship to God, rather than a set of functional abilities, defines personhood, which then has led to an impoverished imagination about the ways individuals with disabilities could flourish in Christian community. She argues that Roman Catholicism’s comparatively rich thinking about both the metaphysics of personhood and natural law have led Roman Catholics to resist some uses of genetic testing, while maintaining a theological rather than medical understanding of human flourishing. Stahl notes that Protestants generally do not accept the natural law reasoning in Catholic accounts of ethics, and in this text works to build a metaphysically rich account of personhood based on Scripture, in a way intended to help followers of the Protestant church see how individuals with disabilities can flourish, despite the frustrations of living with disability that some may experience. In sum, Stahl argues that churches must include the voices of disabled individuals in Christian ethical discernment. This important, theologically rich book will be of interest to scholars of theological bioethics, especially those working in the Protestant tradition. Interested lay readers, too, may find the text helpful. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. —A. W. Klink, Duke University

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Genre Worlds is a fast-paced, engaging, and insightful examination of genre fiction and its wide-ranging influences.

—C. A. Nadon, Fort Lewis College

Wilkins, Kim. Genre worlds: popular fiction and twenty-first-century book culture, by Kim Wilkins, Beth Driscoll, and Lisa Fletcher. Massachusetts, 2022. 272p bibl index ISBN 9781625346629, $90.00; ISBN 9781625346612 pbk, $28.95; ISBN 9781613769393 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Contemporary genre fiction—particularly crime, romance, and fantasy—is popular and pervasive, “a source of enjoyment” (to quote the publisher’s website) all the more compelling because of its relationships to transmedia and culture and its influence on the production and distribution of texts. In this book, the authors (all based in Australia) explore the production and circulation of genre fiction. They introduce the concept of “genre worlds” to describe genre fiction’s interdependence on “industrial, social, and textual practices,” such as its relationship to self-publishing, its connection to fan culture, and its particular craft techniques, including the use of high-concept genre tropes and the technique of world building. Genre Worlds investigates many facets of genre worlds, including the impact of transnational and transmedia cultural properties, which allow readers to engage with a story world without interacting with a published text; the impact of fan culture, conventions, and genre conferences on the production and promotion of texts; and hierarchies within genre worlds. In the process, the authors highlight ways of reading, writing, and critiquing genre texts. Genre Worlds is a fast-paced, engaging, and insightful examination of genre fiction and its wide-ranging influences. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and practitioner. —C. A. Nadon, Fort Lewis College

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Despite its short length, the book is densely packed with facts and essential reading for those invested in these issues.

—R. S. Rycroft, University of Mary Washington

Ziegert, Andrea L. Work and the well-being of poor families with children: when work is not enough, by Andrea L. Ziegert and Dennis H. Sullivan. Lexington Books, 2022. 210p bibl index ISBN 9781498556774, $95.00; ISBN 9781498556781 ebook, $45.00.

What will it take to increase the well-being of children from poor families in the United States? Ziegert (Denison Univ.) and Sullivan (emer., Miami Univ., Ohio) analyze data from the 1995–2020 March Supplement to the Current Population Survey and Columbia University’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) project, the latter reflecting an alternative measure of poverty developed by the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The first three chapters focus on demographic, labor market, and social program trends affecting poor families with children. The authors then report on the simulated impact of various contemporary policy ideas on poverty, including job guarantees, improved social support through the earned income tax credit, and subsidized childcare and medical expenses. The authors also consider the costs of these policies. In the conclusion, they emphasize that the key takeaway from their study is that there is no silver bullet for poverty reduction; there needs to be a multifaceted approach. The writing is clear and the tables are informative. Despite its short length, the book is densely packed with facts and essential reading for those invested in these issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —R. S. Rycroft, University of Mary Washington

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