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Alumni Bookshelf

Jerome T. Barrett, EdD ’84, published A History of Alternative Dispute Resolution (Jossey-Bass, 2005), with his co-author and son, Joseph P. Barrett, a writer for the Wall Street Journal. The book explores various forms of conflict resolution from the ancient Greeks to today. The authors also discuss the impact of ADR in American history, from the Civil War to disputes between railroad workers and coal miners that led to the passage of the Railroad Labor Act and the National Labor Relations Act. Barrett—an historian, writer, and arbitrator—has more than 40 years of experience in mediation and currently writes a history column for ACResolution, a quarterly magazine. He and his wife, Rose, reside in Falls Church, Va. They have five sons and five grandchildren.

A pediatrician with 25 years of clinical experience, Howard J. Bennett, MD ’77, is the author of Waking Up Dry: A Guide to Help Children Overcome Bedwetting (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2005). The book offers advice and strategies for parents as well as a superhero named Bladderman that appeals to children to help them overcome bedwetting. Bennett says between five to seven million children in the United States suffer from the problem, which affects self-esteem.

The author of several other books about WWII themes, Melvin R. Bielawski, MS ’70, wrote A WWII Era, German/American Love Story (AuthorHouse, 2005). The book follows the complications and misfortunes of American military personnel and their desires to marry women from other nations including Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria following the end of WWII before nonfraternization and wedding bans were lifted in January 1947. Bielawski resides in Alexandria, Va.

Ira Brenner, BA ’72, published his third book, Psychic Trauma: Dynamics, Symptoms, and Treatment (Jason Aronson Publishers, 2004), a clinical study of psychic trauma. The book outlines Brenner’s research on two populations, those affected by early physical and sexual abuse, as well as those affected by genocidal persecution during the Holocaust. Brenner is clinical professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College and training and supervising analyst at the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.

Set in Peru during recent years of crisis, Gender and the Boundaries of Dress in Contemporary Peru, (University of Texas Press, 2004) by Blenda Femenías, BA ’75, is an ethnography revealing how dress creates gendered bodies. The author discusses the role of women’s clothing as a symbol of gender identity and resistance to racism by mapping contemporary politics, rituals, and traditions, in addition to the historical importance of cloth since Inca times. She is a research associate at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University.

Now retired from a medical career, William R. Halliday, MD ’48, has a renewed interest in speleology, which he says began in 1946 while at GW. Conducting research in Hawaii paid off, he says, “when UH Press accepted my proposal for reprinting a book by Clarence Dutton of the US Geological Survey, with my doing a new forward and a biological sketch.” The book is Hawaiian Volcanoes (UH Press 2005). He plans to retire from active speleology this year.

Shiela Bishop Irwin, BA ’67, is the coauthor of Escape from Hell: An AVG Flying Tiger’s Journey (Tiger Eye Press, 2004). The daughter of an American Volunteer Group member and World War II POW, Irwin recounts her father’s experience of combat missions and suffering as a political prisoner. It also discusses his lifelong struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder. She resides in Bloomington, Ill.

A collection of bizarre medical treatments, malapropos, and malfunctions, The Humor of Healing: An Amusing History of American Medicine (Badger Books, 2005) by Donald Johnson, MD ’45, includes stories involving the use of a toilet plunger for CPR and medical treatments such as pulverized toads. A native of Spooner, Wisc., Johnson practiced neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic and for 30 years in Washington.

Power is Not a 4-Letter Word: How Women Can Claim Personal Power to Get More of What They Want in Their Lives (Power Edge Media, 2005) by Isabel Kersen, EdD ’01, is a guide to how to find and use personal power. It includes exercises, techniques, and examples on how to manage personal power to achieve goals and life changes. Kersen is president of The Power Edge and is a public speaker and trainer. More information is available at www.isabelkersen.com.

Flag: An American Biography (Thomas Dunne Books, 2005) by Marc Leepson BA ’67, MA ’71, recounts the fascinating history of the American flag. “Americans have a unique and special feeling for our flag,” Leepson says. “Nowhere on earth do citizens fly their national flags everywhere they live, everywhere they go, from our front porches to our pickup trucks.” The book brings depth to the origins and meaning of the flag and the patriotism and liberty that it represents. Leepson resides in Middleburg, Va.

Carl LeVan, BA ’92, co-author of In Democracy’s Shadow: The Secret World of National Security (Nation Books, 2005), formerly was technical adviser to the National Assembly of Nigeria and is currently completing a PhD in political science at the University of California, San Diego. Co-author Marcus G. Raskin is a professor of public policy at GW. The book traces the evolution and expansion of the “National Security State” step-by-step from the Cold War to the present. It discuss how, since 1947, decision making has become increasingly centralized and government less transparent. The book raises questions about how national security measures affect daily life.

Rome Made Easy (Open Road Publishing, 2005) by Douglas E. Morris, BBA ’83, MBA ’85, provides an insider’s perspective to the best sights, hotels, and rooftop cafes in the city. Whether a budget or luxury traveler, Morris offers a compilation of exceptional, and also unfamiliar, tours, hotels, and restaurants to help create a memorable vacation. Morris lived in the Rome for eight years; he now resides in Washington.

Current Director and CEO of The Dayton Art Institute in Ohio, Alexander Nyerges, BA ’79, MA ’82, published Edward Weston: A Photographer’s Love of Life (Dayton Art Institute, 2004) and is curator of an exhibition of the same name. The book outlines Weston's work and his relationship with his family. “My research confirmed my belief that Edward Weston, this lover of life, found the greatest inspiration in the people in the world that surrounded him, for which he had tremendous appreciation,” Nyerges says.

Games That Boost Performance (Pfeiffer, 2005), co-written by Steve Sugar, MBA ’72, offers 30 group activities and exercises to overcome corporate training obstacles. The book provides exercises designed to enhance the abilities to communicate, collaborate, problem solve, and make efficient solutions as a group. Sugar, who has written four other books on the subject, resides in Baltimore.

“Hilarious” and “Laughing Out Loud” is how readers posting on Amazon.com have described The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific (Broadway Books, 2004) by J. Maarten Troost, MA ’95. The travelogue recounts Troost’s experiences in Tarawa, an island in the South Pacific in the Republic of Kiribati. Far from being the escapist paradise he had hoped to find, Troost discovers that Tarawa is overwhelmingly hot, dangerous, toxic, and uncomfortable. Even worse—the only music to be heard for miles around is the “Macarena.” And don’t get him started about the “Great Beer Crisis.” Armed with his sense of humor and his girlfriend, Sylvia, Troost spends two years coming to terms with the hardships of his new life and homesickness—particularly his longings for coffee, hot showers, and tabloid news. The author’s essays have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and the Prague Post. Troost resides in California.