Web Exclusives: PawPlus

April 5, 2006:

Do-it-yourself authors

Editor’s note: Following is a list of self-published books submitted by alumni to PAW between fall 2004 and March 2006 and selected for posting on the PAW Web site.

Things Might Go Right: Prospects for Peace and a Better Life in an Age of Globalization and Specialization — W. Phillips Davison ’39 (iUniverse). The author argues that the world will grow more peaceful and prosperous as the future unfolds. Part one of the book focuses on the roles of social organizations and part two suggests actions to be taken by individuals, governments, and educators. Davison is a professor of journalism and sociology, emeritus, at Columbia University.

The Cambridge Caper — Thomas W. Underhill ’45 (iUniverse). This mystery novel follows a lawyer who attends his Harvard Law School reunion and discovers that his nephew is a suspect for murder involving music, bookstores, and heroin. A graduate of Harvard Law School in 1949, Underhill practiced patent law before retiring to Cape Cod in the 1970s. He died in 2003.  

The Circle’s Edge — Donold K. Lourie ’47 ( www.xlibris.com ). This novel focuses on the turbulent love affair between Sarah Stein, a young actress, and Thomas Cutler, a successful, retired businessman. The author, who has published two other books with Xlibris, has worked in the legal, mining, banking, and computer businesses in New York City. He lives on Nantucket.

Dreamtime: A Collection Of Short Stories — Robert Steiner ’47 (iUniverse). The author focuses on a range of social problems in this collection of 11 short stories. Steiner is a retired scientist and professor. He conducted research at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Md., and at the University of Maryland.

Beyond Beowulf — Christopher L. Webber ’53 (iUniverse). In this sequel to Beowulf, the author picks up where the great epic leaves off: in the wake of the warrior’s victories over Grendel and the dragon. An Episcopal priest, poet, and farmer, Webber lives in Sharon, Conn.

Eye of the Condor — Sidney Harris ’55 (AuthorHouse). Set in Bolivia in the 1930s and based on historical events, Harris’ novel tells the story of young Carlos Obregon, who suddenly finds himself at the heart of the Chaco War and the political chaos that followed. Harris is the winner of the Best Novel Award of the Greater Dallas Writers’ Association and lives in Dallas, Texas.

Mumpsimus Revisited: Essays on Risk Management — H. Felix Kloman ’55 (Xlibris). This collection of essays focuses on risk management and how to deal with uncertainty in both business and personal life. The essays originally appeared in Risk Management Reports ­ a periodical Kloman has published, edited, and written since 1974. Kloman is a retired consultant.

Nonkilling Global Political Science — Glenn D. Paige ’55 (www.xlibris.com ). Paige argues for the creation of a “nonkilling” society and explores the implications of such a society for political science and global problem-solving. Paige is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii and the founder and president of the Center for Global Nonviolence in Honolulu.

Across the Barbed Wire: A Novel About the Cold War — James Pocock ’56 (AuthorHouse). This novel looks at the hardship of war as it follows a mother’s decades-long search for her son from the Cold War through Desert Storm. Pocock is a retired major general.

Jump the Kennebec — Paul Kalkstein ’65 (iUniverse). Inspired by his brother’s bipolar disorder, Kalkstein explores the depressive and manic sides of manic depression in this novel, as he follows a character at each step of the malady’s progression. Kalkstein is an English teacher at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.

Skylord — Thomas Farrell ’70 (PublishAmerica). This romantic thriller is a sequel to Farrell’s first novel, The Jessica Project. When a federal prosecutor recruits a reformed assassin to hunt down a missing witness, the prosecutor and assassin are drawn into a world of conspiracy and danger. The author, a former federal prosecutor, is now an international hotel and aerospace executive.

Your Perfect Lips: A Spiritual-Erotic Memoir — Stuart Sovatsky ’71 (iUniverse). Written as a poetic narrative, this story of two lovers explores the Tantric spirituality of gender worship. Sovatsky is the co-president of the Association of Transpersonal Psychology and has been a psychotherapist for 30 years.

Who is Killing Doah’s Deer? — Jeff Markowitz ’74 (iUniverse). Markowitz’s first novel is a mystery set in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The protagonist, Cassie O’Malley, is a magazine writer who discovers a dead body among deer and suddenly finds herself involved in a murder investigation. Markowitz lives in New Jersey. Markowitz is executive director of The Life Skills Resource Center, a nonprofit agency that provides services to adults with autism.

Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander: A Bisexual Regency Romance — Ann Herendeen ’77 (AuthorHouse). In this romantic comedy set in early 19th-century London, a wealthy, handsome, and bisexual heir to earldom, Andrew Carrington, marries the penniless, spirited, and curvaceous Phyllida Lewis. When he meets shrewd and hunky Mathew Thornby, Carrington seems to have everything he wants, until a spy and blackmailer tries to ruin him. Herendeen is a cataloguer at the library at the American Museum of Natural History.  

Improbable Events: Murder at Ellenton Hall — Michael Seigel   ’81 (iUniverse). This murder mystery focuses on Mark Bolton, former prosecutor turned associate dean of a law school in Florida, who risks old friendships and his reputation to bring the killer of a law student to justice. Seigel is a professor of law at the University of Florida.