Editors’ Picks: September 2024 Edition

9 reviews handpicked from the latest issue of Choice.

Posted on September 12, 2024 in Editors' Picks

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In a rigorous and existentially viable account, Barrett’s analysis is both convincing and inspiring. 

—J. A. Simmons, Furman University

Barrett, Lee C. Kierkegaard on God’s will and human freedom: an upbuilding antinomy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2023 (c2024). 224p bibl index ISBN 9781666914924, $100.00; ISBN 9781666914931 ebook, $45.00.

Kierkegaard notoriously resists easy categorization when it comes to philosophical and theological doctrines. This is especially the case for understanding the relationship of divine will and human freedom. As Barrett (Lancaster Theological Seminary) explains so well in his new book, Kierkegaard stresses the singular importance of God’s grace and also the radical value of individual responsibility. Making sense of this striking tension is the task that Barrett undertakes. Impressively, though, he does not attempt to offer an interpretation whereby Kierkegaard could be located on some systematic chart mapping the libertarians, compatibilists, and determinists. Instead, Barrett leans hard into Kant’s influence on Kierkegaard and suggests that a better way of interpreting the complicated authorship is by appreciating the “upbuilding” dynamic in play. Hence, Barrett’s goal is not to present an argument for a specific Kierkegaardian theological position, but to invite readers to develop the virtues of “responsible gratitude” and “grateful responsibility” by reading Kierkegaard. In a rigorous and existentially viable account, Barrett’s analysis is both convincing and inspiring. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. —J. A. Simmons, Furman University

The essays embrace the nuances of class, geography, and methods. This book is essential for keeping libraries current.

—L. L. Johnson, emeritus, Lewis & Clark College

The Cambridge companion to contemporary African American literature, ed. by Yogita Goyal. Cambridge, 2023. 320p bibl index ISBN 9781009159715, $90.00; ISBN 9781009159722 pbk, $29.99; ISBN 9781009184137 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Editor Goyal (Univ. of California) has assembled an expert cast of contributors to this Cambridge Companion volume on contemporary African American literature. The “Contemporary” in its title makes this collection special and necessary. Having already edited a Cambridge Companion to Transnational American Literature (CH, Apr’15, 52-4008), Goyal understands the complexity and importance of selecting the right contributors in a field that is rapidly evolving. All of the contributors have been involved in studies of where African American literature is headed and from where it is derived. Part 1, “Histories of the Present,” focuses on the fluid definitions of history, class, and race; part 2, “African American Genres,” analyzes such subjects as the Black lyric, identity, neo-slave “imaginaries,” and enslavement; and parts 3 and 4 contribute to studies of where Black literature merges with other curricula and appears in diverse genres. The essays embrace the nuances of class, geography, and methods. This book is essential for keeping libraries current. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty. —L. L. Johnson, emeritus, Lewis & Clark College

Hasumi watches Ozu’s films as they come to life.

—J. Belton, emeritus, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

Hasumi, Shigehiko. Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, tr. by Ryan Cook. California, 2024. 392p bibl index ISBN 9780520396715, $85.00; ISBN 9780520396715 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780520396739 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Published in Japanese over 40 years ago, Hasumi’s seminal study of Ozu’s films has finally been translated into English, providing a long-awaited response to the Orientalist takes on Ozu by Paul Schrader, Noël Burch, Donald Richie, and David Bordwell that have dominated the study of Ozu in the West. Hasumi (formerly, Univ. of Tokyo, Japan) provides a veritable catalog of themes drawn from the texture of lived experience. Ozu presents mundane activities in such a way as to create a re-perception of the everyday in terms of the extraordinary. Hasumi’s discussion of “the shot of the vase” near the end of Late Spring, for example, recalls Viktor Shklovsky’s notion that art’s purpose is to defamiliarize, “to make the stone stoney.” The meaning of the shot of the vase constantly shifts in response to its cultural and narrative context. Hasumi also attempts to capture what he terms the Ozu-esque film, i.e., the thematic landscape of his oeuvre as a whole. For Hasumi, “the thematic system … comes to life as the movement of play of groupings of fragments” that “join together in complicity” to “play alongside one another on the surface of the visual field.” Hasumi watches Ozu’s films as they come to life. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty, but especially general readers. —J. Belton, emeritus, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

Impressive in scope and moving in affect, Jacobs’s On Comics and Grief is a unique and significant contribution to several scholarly disciplines as well as to non-fiction writing.

—J. G. Matthews, Washington State University

Jacobs, Dale. On comics and grief. Wilfrid Laurier, 2024. 324p bibl index ISBN 9781771126052 pbk, $39.99.

On Comics and Grief covers the year after the author’s mother passed away, during which he experienced profound loss and grief while working on a project predicated on Jacobs’s reading of every commercially produced comic book published in the US in 1976. The book is organized in 12 chapters prefaced by an introduction. Each chapter represents a month when Jacobs reads and analyzes two titles for his study, synthesizing personal experience with the traditionally non-personalized project of scholarship. Jacobs’s approach reveals deep and sometimes startling connections between coming to grips with emotional experiences and practicing literary criticism. The comics selected for each month often represent extremes of comics content and thus readership. April’s selections, for example, are issues of Daredevil and Little Dot. The juxtaposition of seemingly different comics suggests critical tensions that complement Jacobs’s personal account. The author enhances and complicates this effect by interrupting his narrative with quotes from writers who work in different authorial contexts, from comic studies to commercial advertisements. Impressive in scope and moving in affect, Jacobs’s On Comics and Grief is a unique and significant contribution to several scholarly disciplines as well as to non-fiction writing. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty. —J. G. Matthews, Washington State University

What makes this book particularly valuable is its deliberate use of social history to enhance its utility.

—J. L. Granatstein, emeritus, York University

Kennedy, Gregory M. W. Lost in the crowd: Acadian soldiers of Canada’s First World War. McGill-Queen’s, 2024. 308p bibl index (The Louis J. Robichaud series, 3) ISBN 9780228020127, $110.00; ISBN 9780228020134 pbk, $39.95.

This study is the very model of a modern regimental history. In 1916, the Canadian government authorized raising a battalion of Acadians, French-speaking residents of New Brunswick and eastern Canada. More than a thousand men signed up, but it took a long time before the unit, reduced almost in half, went overseas, only to then be broken up as many units were. The men of the 165th Battalion did not see front line action and were instead transferred to the Canadian Forestry Corps to produce lumber for the front’s insatiable needs. Few of the Acadians were lumberjacks but many were laborers, and they did the job. However, there was little action and less glory, something that led to the Acadians’ role being largely forgotten. What makes this book particularly valuable is its deliberate use of social history to enhance its utility. Kennedy (Brandon Univ., Canada) has done extraordinary research into military and census records that reveal who enlisted, while soldiers’ letters reveal what they thought of the war, their service, their officers, and home. Extensive charts provide data in a way few, if any, regimental histories do. The only minor flaw in this fine study is that the blizzard of names hinders many individual stories from being fleshed out. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. —J. L. Granatstein, emeritus, York University

Superbly written and cited, Ballyhoo! is a wonderful addition to the growing historiography of professional wrestling.

—C. L. Stacey, Louisiana State University at Alexandria

Langmead, Jon. Ballyhoo!: the roughhousers, con artists, and wildmen who invented professional wrestling. Missouri, 2024. 316p bibl index ISBN 9780826222992, $36.95; ISBN 9780826274953 ebook, contact publisher for price.

Jon Langmead’s Ballyhoo! examines professional wrestling’s origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within a cultural milieu of carnivals, con artists, criminality, hucksters, and anyone who fooled, swindled, or cheated people to make money. Langmead argues that when wrestling became “worked” (choreographed), it became more popular and mainstream. However, professional wrestling never shed its huckster and carnival past because it was compelled to preserve the most important trade secrets of the industry’s worked performances. Promoter Jack Curley is featured as the influential figure who created the first forms of worked wrestling. The business created several economic cartels run by strongman promoters who increasingly competed for markets, talent, and the benefit of promoting the world heavyweight champion. The author points out that wrestling became “real” when worked contests became shoot (legitimate) fights over which promoters would get the booking rights to the world heavyweight champion. The infamous “double-cross” came into wrestling parlance when worked matches became legitimate fights. Ballyhoo! outlines the beginnings of staples in modern wrestling, including the advent of baby faces (good wrestlers) and heels (bad wrestlers), personal story lines, and the role of women wrestlers in a hyper-masculine business. Superbly written and cited, Ballyhoo! is a wonderful addition to the growing historiography of professional wrestling. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. —C. L. Stacey, Louisiana State University at Alexandria

Overall, the book is a unique contribution to education reform literature, authored by management and labor relations experts.

—M. J. Garrison, West Texas A&M University

Rubinstein, Saul A. Democracy and reform in public schools: the case for collaborative partnerships, by Saul Rubinstein, Charles Heckscher, and John McCarthy. Harvard Education Press, 2023. 240p index ISBN 9781682538500 pbk, $37.00; ISBN 9781682538531 ebook, $29.60.

The authors present an evidence-rich call for an alternative to the market-based, test-heavy school reforms that dominated the last four decades. Their book examines the failures of top-down, neoliberal reforms (charter schools, vouchers, and high-stakes testing); evidence that collaborative partnerships improve student achievement, teacher morale and retention, and innovation; lessons from the past, including lessons from outside of education; and the benefits of unions, particularly the ability of union leaders to facilitate school improvement efforts as a means of serving their members’ interests (e.g., shared management and improvement responsibilities). The authors offer a case study of a New Jersey collaborative, a statewide effort supported and facilitated by the authors, that involved districts, school board associations, unions, and other professional associations. This case study illustrates the collaborative partnership model in action at the state level, where it is most sustainable and robust. Overall, the book is a unique contribution to education reform literature, authored by management and labor relations experts. It is easy to read, well researched, concise, and engaging, offering valuable insights to policy makers, administrators, school boards, and community partners. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals. —M. J. Garrison, West Texas A&M University

This resource is indispensable for communicators from all disciplinary backgrounds.

—A. Megwalu, San Jose State University

Seethaler, Sherry. Beyond the sage on the stage: communicating science and contemporary issues effectively. Toronto, 2024. 346p bibl index ISBN 9781487547486, $85.00; ISBN 9781487547493 pbk, $32.95; ISBN 9781487547523 ebook, $26.95.

This book is a guide for crafting audience-centered communication. Scholarly communication is impactful when it is comprehensible to a wider audience. Seethaler (Univ. of California, San Diego) emphasizes that the purpose of scholarly communication is not just to convey facts but to help readers in their decision-making process, to foster critical thinking, and to influence changing minds. Throughout the book, the author gives valuable information about how readers are influenced by the structure and positioning of texts and visuals. Seethaler highlights that a writer must consider the three-dimensional communication landscape for effective storytelling. These dimensions, namely audience, context, and goals, allow writers to determine strategies for creating tailored communication. This is an excellent book for learning how to optimize communication. All communication strategies are documented with practical examples. Seethaler provides checklists for information on planning for the three dimensions, combining words and visuals for crafting logical stories, informing complex decisions and numerical data, avoiding ideological clashes, and establishing trust with the audience. This resource is indispensable for communicators from all disciplinary backgrounds. It is recommended as a reference book, not a textbook. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals. —A. Megwalu, San Jose State University

An excellent addition to modern Korean history, modern Asian history, and the history of communism.

—M. J. Wert, Marquette University

Tikhonov, ​Vladimir. The red decades: Communism as movement and culture in Korea, 1919–1945. Hawai’i, 2023. 420p bibl index ISBN 9780824893576, $68.00; ISBN 9780824896119 pbk, $28.00; ISBN 9780824896089 ebook, contact publisher for price.

There are two things that will immediately strike readers of The Red Decades. First, although it is formally about Korean history, the book covers the global nature of communist movements generally, meaning that one learns much about communism even outside Korea and East Asia. Second is the author’s erudition—Tikhonov (Univ. of Oslo, Norway) has clearly researched this topic for most of his career, and this shows in the copious details. Topics include the organization and factionalism within the Korean communist movement and its tensions with the Comintern, biographies of prominent Korean activists, the main programs of the Korean Communist Party, and intellectual contributions of the communist movement. The book excels at demonstrating the importance of communism in Korea far beyond the communist movement itself, such as the intellectual influence over a Korean nationalism that eschewed many of the mythological and essentialist claims found in other contemporary nationalisms, including Japanese nationalism, and the degree to which the Korean communists advocated for the bulk of the Korean agrarian population more than other political movements. A helpful postscript analyzes the influence of communism and leftist movements in South Korea after WW II. An excellent addition to modern Korean history, modern Asian history, and the history of communism. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty. —M. J. Wert, Marquette University

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