Reediana Briefs

Over the Hill Hikers

Connie Crooker ’69 served as editor for a very special book, Over the Hill Hikers (Jetty House, an imprint of Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2011), which chronicles the ups and downs of a group of White Mountain hikers led by Connie’s mother, Elizabeth MacGregor Bates. The group of retirees in Sandwich, New Hampshire, became a cohesive bunch of happy hikers under Elizabeth’s instinctive use of casual leadership. Connie says, “The author, Shirley Elder Lyons, is a professional journalist with a snappy writing style. Mom conducted many of the hiker interviews that form the basis of the book. We are thrilled to see Mom’s truly remarkable achievement honored, and in her lifetime too.”

You Are All Free

The newest book by Jeremy Popkin ’70, You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery (Cambridge University Press, 2010), tells the dramatic story of how events in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue (today’s Haiti) led to the first decrees abolishing slavery in 1793 and 1794. Jeremy is T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at the University of Kentucky.

Return to the Viewer: Selected Art Reviews

Return to the Viewer: Selected Art Reviews, by Matthew Kangas ’71, was published by Midmarch Arts Press in February. In addition, an article by Matthew, “How African Art Influenced Modern Art,” was in the January 2011 issue of Art Guide Northwest.


Meaning in Law: A Theory of Speech

Meaning in Law: A Theory of Speech (Oxford University Press, 2009) was published by Charles Collier ’72, professor of law at the University of Florida. The First Amendment’s protection of speech has never been adequately theorized. Existing theories proceed on the basis of legal doctrine and judicial decision making, social and political philosophy, or legal and intellectual history. In his book, Charles develops a legal theory of speech on the basis of linguistic theory and the philosophy of language.

The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Volume B

Dan Feller ’72 is the editor of The Papers of Andrew Jackson, Volume 8: 1830, published in 2010 by the University of Tennessee Press. This volume offers an incomparable window not only into Andrew Jackson and his presidency, but also into America. It presents more than 500 documents from 1830, a core year in Jackson’s tumultuous presidency, including Jackson’s handwritten drafts of his presidential messages; private notes and memoranda; and correspondence with government officials, army and navy officers, friends and family, Indian leaders, foreign diplomats, and ordinary citizens throughout the country. Dan is professor of history at the University of Tennessee, and editor and director of the Papers of Andrew Jackson.

Laura Leviton ’73 published “Evaluability Assessment to Improve Public Health Policies, Programs, and Practices,” a chapter in the Annual Review of Public Health (April 2010). (See Class Notes.)

Liz Gray ’77 published an essay, “The Librarian as Gardener,” in Independent School Libraries: Perspectives on Excellence (Libraries Unlimited, 2010), and spent a good amount of time defending the printed book in her role as president of the Association of Independent School Librarians—most notably in her response to the question, “Do School Libraries Need Books?,” posed in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog, on February 10, 2010.

Bill Nicholson ’78 recently published a law review article that illustrates the challenges faced by local governments during a time of limited resources. He focuses on the need for emergency managers and lawyers who understand both relevant law and one another’s needs. “Obtaining Competent Legal Advice: Challenges for Local Emergency Managers and Attorneys,” Natural Disaster Law issue, California Western Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 2, 343–368 (2010).

Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage, by Tara Meixsell ’83, was published in 2010 through Create Space. Tara writes that the book was a monumental and challenging task done on five years of weekends at the request of a coworker, who became severely ill after exposure to toxins from the gas wells and waste pits that surrounded her home in Colorado. (See Class Notes.)

Recent publications by David S. Bloch ’93 include, with James G. McEwen, “Enforcing IP Against the Government,” Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal (November 2010); “New Issues at the Intersection of Intellectual Property and Government Contracts,” in Inside the Minds: Litigation Strategies for Government Contracts (Aspatore Books, 2010); with Richard M. Gray and James G. McEwen, “Demystifying IP and Technology Licenses in Government Contracts,” The Licensing Journal,  (May 2010); with George Chan and Euan Taylor, “Chinese Intellectual Property Litigation—Theories and Remedies,” in Doing Business in China (Juris Publishing, 2010). “And Oxford has asked for a second edition of Intellectual Property in Government Contracts” (forthcoming this year).

Yes, Lets

Galen Longstreth ’98 has published her first picture book. Yes, Let’s (Tugboat Press, 2010) is a story, set in rhyme, of a fun-loving family that spends a day of exploration and adventure in the woods. Galen is currently working at the Prince-

ton Public Library in Princeton, New Jersey.

Rebecca Ragain ’02 wrote a chapter about Portland’s specialty coffee scene for the book Brew to Bikes: Portland’s Artisan Economy (Ooligan Press, 2010).

Dan Denvir ’05 mentions Reed’s current stance on U.S. News rankings in his March 7 op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on big business in education, “Numbers Game Doesn’t Add Up.”

Paul Marthers MALS ’06 has published Eighth Sister No More: The Origins and Evolution of Connecticut College (Peter Lang, 2011). Examining Connecticut College’s founding in the context of its evolution, Paul illustrates how founding mission and vision inform the way colleges describe what they are and do, and whether there are essential elements of founding mission and vision that must be remembered or preserved. Paul is vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.