 . . . Spring 2000
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Suggested Reading: Books by U-M faculty and graduates, and works published by the University of Michigan Press. Michigan Today cannot review or acknowledge all books received. |
 THE TEN MILLION MILE MAN
By Bob LaPlante '48, Rutledge Books, Danbury, Connecticut, 1999, $19.95.
Perhaps the most well-traveled man in world history, LaPlante '48, of Manistique, Michigan, a recently retired US diplomatic courier, visited 197 countries in his 40-year career. He became more than a nodding acquaintance of several luminaries along the way, including Ernest Hemingway in Venice, Albert Schweitzer in Africa Harry Truman in Washington and Duke Ellington in Germany.  A terrorist bomb just missed him in Germany; he stumbles on a kidnapping case in Madrid; cutthroats stalk him in Manila; a black beetle omelet lays him low for 10 days in Ceylon. The episodes pile up–some amusing, some carrying the force of parable–with the inevitability of chance, and LaPlante relays them with the skill of a practiced global raconteur. At the end of the line, however, when it was time to retire, he found that "although I could live comfortably in any one of seven different cultures, the Upper Peninsula suits me just fine."–JW.
 UNTOUCHED
By Mariana Caplan '91, Hohm Press, Prescott, Arizona, 1998, $19.95.
Mariana Caplan, both counselor and anthropologist, has written a book that argues the need for human affection in a country that is growing computer-automated and Internet-impersonal. Her clear and carefully stacked arguments sparkle with anecdotes set in cultures around the world. Focusing on the feelings of emptiness and loneliness that most people regard as a normal part of life, Caplan points to a path of healing through consistent and healthily expressed affection towards people.–Katie Williams.
 THE SHADE OF BLOSSOMS
By Ooka Shohei, translated by Dennis Washburn, U-M Press, 1998, $12.95.
This novel follows the downfall of Yoko, an aging bar hostess (what Americans would call an "escort"), as she is slowly ground down by a world that holds no place for fading beauty or a soft heart. After breaking-up with her married lover, Yoko is propelled back into the competitive and malicious bar scene where securing the affections of a man is only a means of survival. Shohei's characters are hungry and sad and tired; financial security is the impossible dream, and love is a frivolous luxury. Yoko's gentle nature clashes harshly with her surroundings, so that her journey unfolds with inevitable grace, ending in a disquieting mixture of both despair and peace.–KW.
 WOMEN AT MICHIGAN: THE "DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT," 1870S TO THE PRESENT
By Ruth Bordin, U-M Press, 1999, $29.95.
The road has been long and arduous for women at Michigan. Bordin relentlessly documents the battle against gender oppression from its start in 1870 up to the present day. The journey begins with Madelon Stockwell and the "dangerous experiment" of coeducation and follows through to today's encouraging numbers of women on staff and disheartening numbers on their paychecks. The women's movement, glossed over so lightly in many high school history classes (something about Susan B. Anthony on a soapbox, flappers and a "second wave"), is given a detailed and well-researched account in this history. The effect is a real understanding of the frustrating setbacks and slow progress, as well as the exhilarating gains and fearless perseverance shown by women throughout the history of this university.–KW.
 BLEEDING MAIZE AND BLUE
By Susan Holtzer '61, '72 MA, Thomas Dunne Books, NY, 1996, $22.95.
The morning after Michigan Daily reporter Zoe Kaplan breaks a story about an investigation into the recruiting practices of the U-M football team, an NCAA investigator staggers onto the football field and falls dead, pierced by a U-M flag. Could the murderer be fiercely loyal athletic director Frank Novak; all-star athlete Kyle Farmer; Wendy Coleman, the quarterback's girlfriend, or one of the others out of a slew of suspects? Chock-full of Ann Arbor hotspots, Bleedin' is a light, fun read for friends of the Maize and Blue.–KW.
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