Home / Issues / Books by UU authors, Summer 2007
Books by UU authors, Summer 2007
A selection of books written by Unitarian Universalists.
For children and families
Trailblazers: Poems of Exploration. Bobbi Katz. Greenwillow Books, 2007; $18.99. Poems for children describe the journeys of famous and not-so-famous explorers. Bobbi Katz is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills in Kingston, New York.
What Kids Really Want To Ask: Using Movies To Start Meaningful Conversations: A Guidebook for Parents and Children 10–14. Rhonda A. Richardson and A. Margaret Pevec. VerderWyk & Burnham, 2007; $12.95. Twelve chapters use popular films as prompts for talking about important subjects with middle schoolers. An appendix lists 450 questions young adolescents want to ask their parents. Richardson is a scholar of early adolescence at Kent State University and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent, Ohio. Pevec is an educator and life coach who teaches Our Whole Lives at her congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boulder, Colorado.
Evensong for Families: An Eight-Week Series of Gatherings. Barbara Hamilton-Holway. Skinner House, 2006; $16. Instructions for leading worship services at home. The Rev. Barbara Hamilton-Holway is co-minister with her husband of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, in Kensington, California.
A Child’s Introduction to Ballet: The Stories, Music, and Magic of Classical Dance. Laura Lee. Illus. by Meredith Hamilton. Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007; $19.95. Richly illustrated volume includes information on ballet and stories of the world’s best-loved ballets, along with a CD. Laura Lee, the author of many other books, is a member of the Birmingham Unitarian Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion. Loree Griffin Burns. Houghton Mifflin, 2007; $18. Fascinating look at the way ocean currents disperse garbage and the scientists who document this phenomenon. Part of the Scientists in the Field series for youth. Loree Griffin Burns is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Nonfiction
Crisis and Change: My Years as President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 1969–1977. Robert Nelson West. Skinner House, 2007; $18. Elected to lead the UUA in 1969 in the midst of growing conflict over the black empowerment movement, the Rev. Robert Nelson West also inherited a financial crisis. During his presidency, the UUA introduced About Your Sexuality, its pioneering sex-education curriculum, and regained its fiscal health. West led the UUA through the end of the Vietnam War and defended its role in Beacon Press’s publication of the Pentagon Papers. His memoir discusses the UUA’s most tumultuous period. After his tenure at the UUA, West, who had served congregations in Tennessee and New York, worked in secular fields until his retirement in 1993.
Steller’s Island: Adventures of a Pioneer Naturalist in Alaska. Dean Littlepage. The Mountaineers Books, 2006; $17.95. Follows the eighteenth-century voyage of explorer and naturalist George Steller as he travels to the western coast of Alaska aboard a Russian ship under the command of Vitus Bering. Dean Littlepage is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bozeman, Montana.
Promising Futures: The Unexpected Rewards of Engaged Philanthropy. Margot Welch. Font & Center Press, 2006; $15. Examines the lives of philanthropists involved in the I Have A Dream Foundation helping low-income children achieve their educational goals. Margot Welch, a psychologist and educator, is a member of First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist, of Stow-Acton in Stow, Massachusetts.
Inventing Pollution: Coal, Smoke, and Culture in Britain Since 1800. Peter Thorsheim. Ohio University Press, 2006; $26.95. Charts the course of coal-generated pollution in England from the time when it was thought to have positive benefits to the twentieth century with the smoke abatement movement. Peter Thorsheim is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Toward Ethical Practice. Ralph G. Brockett and Roger Hiemstra. Krieger, 2004; $26.50. Examines ethics in situations involving adult learners. Roger Hiemstra is a professor emeritus of education at Elmira College and Syracuse University and a member of May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse, New York.
Submissions for Books by UU Authors may be sent to UU World, 25 Beacon Street, Boston MA 02108. Indicate publisher, date, price, and the author's UU affiliation. We cannot include every title and cannot return books. Preference will be given to books of general interest; self-published books will be included selectively.
