Cambria Press

The crimsoned hills of Onondaga; romantic antiquarians and the Euro-American invention of Native American prehistory.

A scholar of literature Sloan (U. of Rochester) is also involved in archaeological studies near his home in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. He describes how a core group of writers were vitally interested in describing the prehistoric remains encountered by Euro-American settles as they moved west during the period 1800-70. He also investigates why the public so readily and widely accepted the antiquarian views. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Cross-border cultural production; economic runaway or globalization?

As increasing numbers of Hollywood-produced movies are being filmed in Canada and elsewhere, a rising number of complaints have been voiced about "runaway production," while others counter that it is merely "global business." Wasko (communication research, U. of Oregon) and Erickson (a doctoral candidate in journalism and communication at the U. of Oregon) present 11 chapters from an April 2006 conference examining issues of cross-border production. Topics addressed include the new international division of labor in media work; the problems of outsourcing knowledge and media labor; Hollywood unions and the fight for work; defining location interests of movie production; film strategies and policies of Louisiana, New Zealand, and Canada; cross-border adaptation of interactive media productions; and cultural power in international television markets. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

David Foster; the satirist of Australia.

David Foster is a well-known Australian writer whose work has reflected Australian culture, idiosyncrasies and anxieties for over thirty-five years. Lever (humanities and social sciences, University of New South Wales), a fan as well as a scholar, laments that his work is not well enough known outside of Australia and hopes that her study will increase interest. She dissects Foster's novels to reveal the man and, more importantly, the times through which he has passed. His satire is of a Rabelaisian nature, with characters that are wild exaggerations of real life, and yet too close for comfort. Lever argues that Foster's work reflects the changing concerns of his generation, from a need to break free of the shadow of England and America to a realization of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the continent and ultimately to a need to find peace as his recent books on New South Wales indicate. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Farmers' markets; success, failure, and management ecology.

"It's harder than it looks" Stephenson states in his study of farmers' markets in Oregon. As a professor at Oregon State University and coordinator of the Small Farms Project, he has had ample opportunity to discover this. In this study, Stephenson charts the history of the markets, how and why they were established. He also discusses why many of them fail. A large part of the book covers the management of the markets, regulations and pitfalls. With an increasing awareness of the importance of buying locally-grown produce, more markets will no doubt be appearing. Stephenson provides a solid guide for those wishing to start one and a fascinating sociological examination of this decidedly grass roots event. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Identity and society in American poetry; the Romantic tradition.

In spite of its leanings toward the mystical and metaphysical, asserts Mookerjee (literature and writing, Eugene Lang College, The New School), poetry has increasingly connected to worldly issues, and has done so without sacrificing its spiritual content. He acknowledges that most readers would find this nonsense, pointing out that modern Anglophone poetry has in fact become so obscure that its irrelevance is beyond measure. Yet it is the very attempt to reconcile concrete aspects of experience with its transcendental bases that has led poetry to adopt such outré styles. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Internet popular culture and Jewish values; the influence of technology on religion in Israeli schools.

"People of the Book," like many others, are grappling with the convergence of the Internet, pop culture, and religious values. Sherlick and Hong (who both teach in the department of communication, State U. of New York at Buffalo) examine the views of Israeli computer coordinators surveyed in 2001 and 2004 on the impact of the Internet on Jewish elementary school children, and consider the general applicability of their surveys. Appendices include a diagram of Israeli education streams, the English and Hebrew versions of the survey instruments, Rokeach's survey of values (1973), a graph of the number of students per computer terminal, and responses to questions evaluating conflicting messages about Jewish values. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Invisible Indians; Native Americans in Pennsylvania.

According to its public institutions, there are no Indians in Pennsylvania. This seems odd, considering the fact that many European settlers met Native Americans for the first time there, but in fact the state is amongst the few not to recognize and Native American nations and to have no reservations. Minderhout (anthropology, Bloomsburg U.) and Frantz, now a graduate student at Arizona State U. but an undergraduate at Bloomsburg during this study, sought out those who considered themselves Native Americans in Pennsylvania, despite their being "invisible" as a people to state government. Minderhout and Frantz examine the history of Native Americans in Pennsylvania and their status under the law, stereotypes and myths Indians face, their personal identity and spirituality, conflicts, organizations and events. The results clearly show what happens when people are marginalized out of official existence. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Isma'ili-Sufi sage of Pamir; Mubarak-i Wakhani and the esoteric tradition of the Pamiri Muslims.

While a Ph.D. student at Cambridge University, Iloliev (Institute of Ismaili Studies, London) traveled several times to Tajikistan, where he consulted original manuscripts that belonged to Wakhani (1839-1903) that are known only to his close family and a few local scholars. On this foundation, he presents an introduction to the man and his contribution to Isma'ili thought and the Persian poetic tradition. He sets this focused study within a larger one about the impact of cultural and religious diversity on the composition of Isma'ili tradition, which he says has been largely overlooked by historians and Islamic specialist. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Japan's economy by proxy in the seventeenth century; China, the Netherlands, and the Bakufu.

Laver (history, U. of Wisconsin) examines the economy of Japan in the seventeenth century, at a time when the country was in the sakoku or "closed country" period. Despite the limitations of contact between Japanese merchants and foreign counterparts, Japan continued to have economic impact on the Asian mainland through the agency of Dutch, Chinese, Korean, and Ryukyu Islanders trading European and Asian luxury goods for Japanese products. Chapters discuss Japan and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Japanese Shuinsen merchants, silver in Japan's foreign trade from 1600-1668, Dutch Taiwan as a strategic link between Japan and Asia, and imports and exports in seventeenth-century Japan. Three appendices are included, listing a character index, Japanese era names 1555-1704, and presidents of the VOC factory in Japan 1609- 1700; a brief glossary at the start of the book includes foreign terms and definitions. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Music makes the nation; nationalist composers and nation-building in nineteenth-century Europe.

Curtis (Seattle U.) shows how nationalist music was instrumental in building European nations throughout the 19th century, and how the most popular composers were able to develop society, culture and national pride. Starting with Wagner's participation in political demonstrations in Dresden shortly after completing Der Ring Des Nibelungen, the author examines how much of the music of the period was written to foment the political process, and to initiate change. Students of 19th century history and music will find many of Curtis's observations compelling. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Narrating the American West; new forms of historical memory.

The myth of the American West will probably never die, but Finnegan (literature, Foothill College, CA) introduces the reader to authors who have a different image of the West. She examines several works by Native American authors, such as Janet Campbell hale, Simon Ortiz and Leslie Marmon Silko and Chicana Sandra Cisneros for the point of view of the ones colonized in the West. She also explores the work of "Euroamerican" writers on the New West. Finnegan argues for a less exclusionary history of the West, one that includes women and people of color as well as the first residents. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Reflections on Dream of the red chamber.

Prolific literary critic Liu (U. of Colorado-Boulder) uses the intuitive approach of Zen to seek the heart of Cao Xuequin's novel, the most profound, he says of the four masterpieces of the classic Chinese novel. After introductory notes, he looks in turn at overall themes: the eternal value of Dream of the Red Chamber, repentance, and the transcendental viewpoint. Then he focuses on a number of more specific topics, among them Jia Huan's groundless hatred for Adamantina, and after the naiad's house is haunted. There is no index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)