bookshelf
Books by UU authors
by Kenneth Sutton
To submit your book for this column, send a copy along with information about how to order it and your UU affiliation to UU World, 25 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108. Due to volume, we cannot include every title and cannot return books. Preference will be given to books of general interest; self-published titles will be included selectively.
Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times. By Zoe Weil. New Society Publishers, 2003; $17.95. “Humane education” involves four elements: providing information; teaching critical thinking; instilling the three Rs (reverence, respect, responsibility); and offering positive choices. The author, president of the International Institute for Humane Education, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ellsworth, Maine.
Phobias. By Ada P. Kahn and Ronald M. Doctor. Scholastic, 2003; $19.50. For children ages 10 to 13, Kahn and Doctor describe what phobias are and how they differ from ordinary fears, how to cope with normal anxieties, and how to identify when and from whom to seek help. Kahn is a member of Lake Shore Unitarian Society in Winnetka, Illinois.
Lesson One: The ABCs of Life: The Skills We All Need but Were Never Taught. By Jon Oliver and Michael Ryan. Fireside, 2004 ; $14 . The “Lesson One” program promotes such skills as listening, respect, self-control, responsibility, and cooperation with activities and games for adults and children. Oliver, founder of Lesson One, attends the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead, Massachusetts.
The Atlantic Slave Trade. By Johannes Postma. Greenwood Press, 2003; $44.95. While written as a textbook for high school seniors and junior college students, this concise overview of the Atlantic slave trade will appeal to the general reader as well. The book examines the slaves' origins and destinations, the so-called “Middle Passage,” the abolition of the traffic, and its legacy for our times. Biographical sketches of prominent figures in the traffic, including slaves and slave traders, and excerpts from primary sources provide a personal glimpse of this dreadful chapter in history. The author was professor of history at Minnesota State University, Mankato, from 1969 until his retirement in 2001, and was affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Mankato.
American Nightmare: The History of Jim Crow. By Jerrold M. Packard. St. Martin's, 2002; $14.95. A survey of the American system of segregation and second-class citizenship for African Americans, from its origins to its legal death in the 1960s. Packard, author of eight history books, is a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont.
Spiritually Incorrect: Finding God in All the Wrong Places. By Dan Wakefield. SkyLight Paths, 2004; $21.95. Blending memoir and essay, Wakefield challenges notions of the “right” way to be religious. Author of The Story of Your Life: Writing a Spiritual Autobiography, Wakefield is a member of King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts.
Vanishing Species: Saving the Fish, Sacrificing the Fisherman. By Susan R. Playfair. University Press of New England, 2003; $29.95. A look at the fishing industry of New England by a native daughter. Playfair is a member of King's Chapel in Boston.
Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream. By Wayne Dawkins. August Press, 2003; $15.95. An insider's reflections on the National Association of Black Journalists. The author is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula in Newport News, Virginia.
Gender Nonconformity, Race, and Sexuality: Charting the Connections. Edited by Toni Lester. University of Wisconsin Press, 2002; $24.95. Essays by academics and activists. Lester, an associate professor of law at Babson College, is a member of the First Church of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
: 59