One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century by Nancy Foner, AM’68, PhD’71
Releases
The Magazine lists a selection of general-interest books, films, and albums by alumni. For additional alumni releases, browse the Magazine’s Goodreads bookshelf.

Pilgrimage and Pogrom: Violence, Memory, and Visual Culture at the Host-Miracle Shrines of Germany and Austria

Mitchell B. Merback, AM’89, PhD’95 Author The late Middle Ages saw the rise of a pernicious idea: that Jews had committed sacrileges against the body of Christ in the Eucharist, causing the host to bleed miraculously. Art historian Mitchell Merback’s richly illustrated book explores the pilgrimage shrines built on the sites of these alleged desecrations. Focusing on three such churches—Iphofen in Lower Franconia, Passau in Lower Bavaria, and Pulkau in Lower Austria—Merback examines architecture, relics, cult statues, and altarpieces, arguing that the shrines and their contents reflected and actively shaped Christian anti-Judaism in the two centuries before the Reformation.  

Bas Jan Ader: Death Is Elsewhere

Alexander Dumbadze, AB’96 Author Dutch-born conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader achieved mythic status in the art world at 33, when he vanished while attempting to travel solo across the Atlantic for a project called In Search of the Miraculous. The wreckage of his 13-foot sailboat was found more than a year later, in 1976. In a reconsideration of Ader’s work that is part biography, part theoretical reflection, Alexander Dumbadze writes that the artist “searched for ways for art and life to communicate without recourse to mediation.”  

First Son: The Biography of Richard M. Daley

Keith Koeneman, MBA’94 Author In September 2010 Richard M. Daley announced that he would not run for reelection to a sixth term as Chicago mayor. “Simply put,” he said, “it’s time.” Keith Koeneman’s biography chronicles the era that thus ended, drawing on more than 100 interviews with Daley’s political, business, and cultural associates. Beginning with the politician’s days as the son of a rising political star and ending with the November 2011 death of his wife, Maggie, First Son paints Daley as a complex man whose legacy is still being debated.  

Media Smackdown: Deconstructing the News and the Future of Journalism

Abe Aamidor, AB’69; Jim A. Kuypers; and Susan Wiesinger Authors Once upon a time, writes Abe Aamidor, the Des Moines Register regularly sold far more copies than the number of people who lived in Des Moines. But such robust circulation figures are a thing of the past, as newspapers across the country face steep declines in readership, finances, and stock value. The rise of the Internet and the 2008 financial crisis dealt a severe blow to the traditional journalism model, but, Aamidor and his coauthors argue, the industry’s strongest values and practices—objectivity, fairness, investigative and original reporting—still matter. Analyzing the state of US media, the book also provides a business model for the industry going forward.  

One Out of Three: Immigrant New York in the Twenty-First Century

Nancy Foner, AM’68, PhD’71 Editor This collection of essays edited by Nancy Foner offers a glimpse of 21st-century immigrant life in New York City. Describing the experiences of seven national origin groups—Chinese, Dominicans, Jamaicans, Koreans, Liberians, Mexicans, and Jews from the former Soviet Union—the contributors examine how immigrants have transformed and been transformed by their adopted city.  

The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong

Chris Anderson and David Sally, PhD’95 Authors Soccer is a game steeped in tradition, often eschewing modern-day statistical sports analysis. Although many insiders believe the sport is too fluid and complicated for numbers to be of any use, behavioral economist David Sally and his coauthor, Chris Anderson, argue that soccer is in fact ripe for dissection—and that numbers are the key. To that end, the book travels into Moneyball territory, offering coaches and players on-field strategies based on mathematical data.  

Education in the School of Dreams: Travelogues and Early Nonfiction Films

Jennifer Lynn Peterson, AM’93, PhD’99 Author From the lush landscapes of Ceylon to the spectacular springs of Colorado, tourist destinations and exotic locales were the focal point of early 20th-century travelogues. These short films, also known as “scenics,” were so popular that they were briefly touted as the future of film. Jennifer Lynn Peterson recovers and analyzes this now largely forgotten archive, examining how travelogues expressed and affected American culture, imperialism, and modernity.