Michigan Today . . . December 1995

U-M BOOKS Suggested reading: Books associated with the U.






Curly Smoke : An Anneke Haagen Mystery
By Susan Holtzer, St. Martins Press, New York, 1995, $20.95 hardcover.
Holtzer's follow-up to her first novel, Something to Kill For, finds us once again in the presence of 40-something and divorced Anneke Haagen. The Ann Arbor native, after losing her home and belongings in a fire, seeks temporary respite in Mackinac Court, an eclectic group of homes whose residents are embroiled in conflict with an office-park developer. Conflict soon turns to conspiracy and murder, and Anneke and her police lieutenant lover try to sort out the details. A diverse mix of computer lore, romance and whodunnit, Curly Smoke is an appealing read for any mystery buff.---Paula Saha '96.

Michigan Authors
By the Michigan Association for Media in Education, Hillsdale Educational Publishers, Hillsdale, Michigan, 1993, $39.95
Michigan Authors brings together an extensive listing of writers who were born in, live in or write about the state of Michigan. Many are U-M faculty members and graduates, from fiction writer Charles M. Baxter of the English department to freelancer Josephine Wunsch '36. Among the 745 authors listed are wives of Michigan governors, construction workers, farmers, judges, housewives, a bee keeper, a nun and a circus performer.---M.Q. Thorburn '97.

Beacon Hill: A Living Portrait
By Barbara W. Moore '53 and Gail Weesner, with photographs by Southie Burgin,
Century Hill Press, Boston, 1992, $22 softcover, $33 hardcover.
Moore and Gail Weesner take the reader on a street-by-street guided tour through this historic Boston neighborhood in Beacon Hill: A Living Portrait. Stops along the way include a number of private homes of historical significance.

Moore and Weesner trace the history of Beacon Hill from its beginning as "a range of rocky hills through its development in the 1800s and its vital struggle for preservation in this century." ---MQT.

Fear of Math: How to Get Over It and Get On With Your Life
By Claudia (Cogan) Zaslavsky '38 MA, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ,
1994, $14.95 paper, $37 hardcover.
Drawing on 500 autobiographies of students and professionals who feared math or thought mathematical reasoning was beyond their capabilities, Zaslavsky guides parents, teachers and students through a clear and effective regimen to overcome math anxiety and develop competence, appreciation and even delight in mathematical reasoning and problem-solving. She takes particular aim "at the myth that women and minorities are not good at math" and connects math competence with "a boost in self-esteem---and income." Zaslavsky is also the author of Africa Counts: Number and Pattern in African Culture, revised edition 1995, available from Independent Publishers Group 1-800-888-8741, $14.95.---JW.

Super Student/Happy Kid
By Sally D. Ketchum '59, Summer Island Press, Williamsburg, Michigan. $9.95.
A compendium of 40 chapters of concrete suggestions for parents, high schoolers, middle schoolers and younger students, this practical guide offers "good basic advice for a lifetime of learning," notes Dean Cecil G. Miskel of U-M's School of Education. Elk Rapids (Michigan) 7th grader Lauren Wilkinson found that "the test tips will help kids who don't have much experience most of all." Cheryl Wall, a young mother, said, "My favorite section was 'Quiet.'"---JW.

The Catholic Ethic in American Society
By John E. Tropman, Jossey-Bass Inc.
While work, wealth and self-reliance are the basic tenets of sociologist Max Weber's famous Protestant ethic, an emphasis on sharing provides the basis of the newly identified Catholic ethic, says Tropman, U-M professor of social work. Analyzing perspectives of both Christian groups on the value of money and work, and the importance of family, community and the individual, he concludes that while Protestant ethic values do support concern for others, "that concern is subdominant to the core value of work, wealth and achievement." His primary conclusion is that "people find it easier to provide help to othersand especially to the poor and disadvantagedfrom within the Catholic ethic, where providing help to the poor is part of the larger ethos of sharing."---Bernie DeGroat (U-M NIS).

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