Honoring Our Faculty Achievements 2009 - Collections

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Electron Dynamics by Inelastic X-Ray Scattering
Winfried Schulke

The author chose some of our data to put on the cover of his book. I also couldn’t think of anything I had read lately that touched me very deeply. Perhaps I am getting less deep in my old age.

Peter Abbamonte
Physics
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We Make The Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change
Myles Horton, Paulo Freire

This book gave me the opportunity to essentially eavesdrop on a conversation between two great minds dedicated to the pursuit of social justice. For me, it humanized the social change process. It reminded me that on the one hand our action is planned and thoughtful and anchored in our vision; on the other hand, much of it unfolds organically in the moment. This book felt like an invitation to do and be more and to allow myself to “make the road by walking”.

Nicole Allen
Psychology
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The Theory of Corporate Finance
Jean Tirole

Tirole’s book is the key reference on corporate finance theory, which is the field in which I have done the research that led to my promotion here at the University of Illinois. This book proposes an unified theoretical framework to encompass all the key principles of corporate finance in an elegant, precise and clear way. It has changed the way in which I approach corporate finance research, and I believe it will become a lasting scientific reference in Finance and Economics.

Heitor Almeida
Finance
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Death Has Many Faces
Frida Herszlikovitz

Frida Herszlikovitz was a 15 year old girl living in Poland when Nazi Germany started World-War II. In 1945 she lost her last family member after losing all her other siblings, parents, and friends during the war to many historically known events. She survived because she had good looking hair, was incredibly lucky, and adapted and resisted adaptation in the right moments. She became the lioness for her children and their families. She died on April 9, 2008. If she did not survive, I would not be here. She was my grandmother. This is her story.

Eyal Amir
Computer Science
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Railroad Engineering
William Hay

William W. Hay was the leading academician in railroad engineering for much of the latter half of the 20th Century. He was a beloved mentor to several generations of his students and has been an inspiration and role model for me since I joined the faculty of the University of Illinois. His book, Railroad Engineering, 2nd ed. remains a classic that is widely used throughout the world.

Christopher P. L. Barkan
Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Lampbrush Chromosomes
Harold Garnet Callan

Lampbrush Chromosomes is a landmark in cell biology for its impeccable assessment of our knowledge of genomes and chromosomes from the first half of the 20th century and for its prescient vision of where chromosome research would develop.

Michel Bellini
Cell and Developmental Biology
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Impulsive Control in Continuous and Discrete-continuous Systems
Boris M. Miller, Evgeny Y. Rubinovich

This books provides a rigorous mathematical foundation and a conceptual breadth to carry out advanced research in an areas of impact dynamics and hybrid control systems.

Joseph Bentsman
Mechanical Science and Engineering
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Animals in Translation
Temple Grandin

I chose this book because it presents genetics, behavior, selection and cognition in an engaging and thought-provoking manner, a feat that I aspire to. In addition, Temple Grandin is autistic, which has given her a unique empathy with animals. I admire that she has turned what most would term a liability into a gift that she shares wonderfully with scientists and the general public.

Stephanie Ceman
Cell and Developmental Biology
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What Is History
Edward Hallet Carr

This is the first book I read in College and it raised questions about the study of history and social sciences that are still with me today. I admire the fact that it is profound in its content and yet precise and simple in its language.

José Antonio Cheibub
Political Science
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Combinatorial Optimization: Polyhedra and Efficiency
Alexander Schrijver

This encyclopedic three volume book on classical combinatorial optimization is a marvelous resource as well as a continuing inspiration to me. I dream of writing such a comprehensive book in my own area of research.

Chandra Chekuri
Computer Science
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Homage to Catalonia
George Orwell

Homage to Catalonia is one of the most insightful explorations of war and politics.  In this account of the Spanish Civil War, George Orwell, the author, who as a journalist became involved in this war, experiencws fascinating and sometimes depressing events that caused him to seriously question many of his strong held assumptions.

John Charles Dencker
School of Labor and Employment Relations
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Lectures on Harmonic Analysis
Thomas H. Wolff

I picked this book in remembrance of my Ph.D. adviser Thomas Wolff who was a great person and a mathematician of incredible originality. This book consists of his lectures and it was published after he was killed in a tragic accident.

M. Burak Erdogan
Mathematics
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Thinking About Science: Max Delbruck and the Origins of Molecular Biology
Ernst Peter Fischer

I selected “Thinking About Science: Max Delbruck and the Origins of Molecular Biology” to be plated since this book is an endearing reminder to always learn from history whether for philosophical or scientific wisdom.  I am grateful to the ideologies represented in the book and to my graduate thesis advisor, Dr. Richard Morimoto, who originally gave me a copy of the book and cultivated my regard for learned knowledge.

Brian Freeman
Cell and Developmental Biology
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The Claim of Reason: Wittgenstein, Skepticism, Morality, and Tragedy
Stanley Cavell

I love this book; it is one of my favorites.  It is an erudite and provocative set of philosophical reflections on what it is to be human.  When I read it, I feel like I am sitting down for tea and a fireside chat with a brilliant and wise old friend.

Samantha Frost
Department of Political Science and Gender and Women’s Studies Program
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Orientalism
Edward Said

Reading Said’s Orientalism earlier on in my career helped me to allow myself to think outside the conventional schemes of history.  It offered me the first glimpse to the possibility of a progressive politics, without emulating the West.

Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi
History and Sociology
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Who Moved My Cheese? An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
Spencer Johnson (Author), Kenneth Blanchard (Foreword)

I chose this book in memory of my father, who passed away in early 2009. He suggested this parable book around the time I joined Illinois, hoping I would find it as useful as he had during his life. It has been invaluable. I hope others will find it useful too.

Indranil Gupta
Computer Science
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Undaunted Courage
Stephen Ambrose

I selected this book because it illustrates the courage and determination of a group of individuals who explored unknown areas.  The benefits brought to society through their efforts were innumerable. Modern scientific discovery remains a cornerstone on which new benefits are brought to our society.

Aaron Hager
Crop Sciences
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The Sense of an Ending
Frank Kermode

Kermode’s was the first book I encountered to suggest that literary criticism could help us reconsider the basic political and social structures of our world. The book’s fundamental insight, that we all deploy explanatory fictions to make sense of our experiences, animates everything I’ve ever written. Years after I first encountered it, Kermode’s book still strikes me as an astonishing, erudite, and cogent piece of criticism.

James Hansen
English
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When the Crocodile Eats the Sun: a Memoir of Africa
Peter Godwin

As a native of Zimbabwe raised on a farm, which was taken away by the government without compensation, this memoir provides an account of the conditions and situation in that country that closely resemble the outcome for my family members.  I also met the author when he was a young boy living in a copper mining village close to the family farm.

Alan Christopher Hansen
Agricultural and Biological Engineering
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Tunnelling and Tunnel Mechanics: A Rational Approach to Tunnelling
Dimitrios Kolymbas

Tunneling is a key ingredient to improving the quality of life in our increasingly urbanized world. Nevertheless it is a challenging enterprise that requires the implementation of state of the art technologies and engineering.

Youssf Hashash
Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the United States for the Calendar Year 1920
Department of Commerce

The reports of foreign trade between 1865 and 1920 have played a key role in my research on the United States in global context. It would be great if UIUC owned a full set of these volumes, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to obtain one more.

Kristin Lee Hoganson
History
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What Do Pictures Want?  The Lives and Loves of Images 
W.J.T. Mitchell

A scholar and theorist of media, visual art, and literature, Mitchell is associated with the emergent fields of visual culture and iconology. He is known especially for his work on visual representations in the context of social and political issues. The power of images to help us negotiate our social relationships, political behavior and sense of identity is the reason I chose my field, and this book will give students a passionate and fun treatise on this essential topic.

Laurie Hogin
Art & Design
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The English Patient 
Michael Ondaatje

The English Patient is poetry, that poses in the guise of as a novel. I re-read this novel every year, and always find something new from it. I recommend it to fiction writers and fiction readers.  It is absolutely one of my favorite books to get lost in.

LeAnne Howe
American Indian Studies, English
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The Year of the Dog
Grace Lin

I knew the author while growing up around Utica, NY. Ours were part of a handful of Chinese families in the area. This humorous semi-autobiographical story resonates with the experiences of my youth-being practically the only Asian (or even non-white) kid in the school and community-and shows how we have all excelled in the melting pot of America.

Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler
Mechanical Science and Engineering
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Fast vanishing Shanghai lanes (Zheng Zai Xiao Shi De Shanghai Nong Tang) 
Guo Bo

Like many things, the dwellings in Shanghai are unique Shanghai-style-traditional and western influenced. Fast Vanishing Shanghai Lanes presents a pictorial collection of those representative dwellings and one of them is Simingcun Lane where I grew up. Among the editors and authors are my fellow schoolmates making it more personally connected.

Shuyoung Jiang
University Library
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HIV and AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology 
Ezekiel Kalipeni, Susan Craddock, Joseph Oppong and Jayati Ghosh

Has made the greatest impact in highlighting the plight of those living with HIV and AIDS in Africa with many great reviews of the book. Many libraries worldwide carry this book.

Ezekiel Kalipeni
Geography
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Nocturnal America 
John Keeble

A book of short stories by my father, John Keeble, Nocturnal America tells of many peoples’ lives, but in particular it lends voice to the ghosts of four generations of the Keeble family. Through it, the tales of the my parents John and Claire live on, strong, stalwart, beloved.

Jonathan Keeble
School of Music
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The Power and the Glory 
Graham Greene

In The Power and the Glory an unnamed whiskey priest travels across Chiapas, hiding from an anti-clerical purge, ministering to imperfect people even as he struggles with his own flaws.  I re-read it every year to remind myself that perseverance and muddling through are what matters.

Patrick Keenan
College of Law
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The Science of Meat and Meat Products 
James F. Price and Bernard S. Schweigert (eds)

We often take for granted the availability, quality, safety, and low costs associated with food today. There is a tremendous amount of science behind the foods that we eat and this text describes some of the science that is associated with the meat that we eat. Bon Appétit!

John Killefer
Animal Sciences
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The Book of Sand (translation of ‘El Libro de Arena’ 
Jorge Luis Borges

Borges concludes this collection of intriguing, witty and timeless short stories with a narrative that evokes and invites us to sharethe infinite pleasure of going through the pages of a book in the search of knowledge, thoughts, desires and stories or just for the simple joy of reading.

Alex Lapunzina
Architecture
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Compositionality in Formal Semantics 
Barbara H. Partee

I chose this book because it contains classic papers by one of the most influential linguists working in formal semantics today.

Peter Nathan Lasersohn
Linguistics
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Kon-Tiki 
Thor Heyerdahl

From the first time I opened Kon-Tiki, at age three, it took me out into the world. I began reading the book by studying the photographs. Then, as I acquired the most basic reading skills, I could read the captions. Then, a few years later, I read the entire text. It was a truly transformative experience.

Vidar Lerum
Architecture
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The I-Ching Landscapes of the Soul 
Frits Block

As an assistant professor facing a great deal of challenges in work and life, I consulted this book often. It guided me through difficult times. Not only does the I-Ching illustrate the landscapes of the soul it also reveals the intricate working of nature and our society.

Jie Li
Geology
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 
Douglas Adams

This book was one of the first to open my eyes to the skies.  Although funny and not really scientific, it made science and space exciting and interesting.  I still remember the first time I read it and wondered about aliens and life in the Universe.  My generation is really the first that grew up with ubiquitous science fiction, and in this case humorous science fiction, and it pushed our horizons, and I believe it makes better scientists.

Leslie Looney
Astronomy
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The Language of God 
Francis S. Collins

A very prominent and respected scientist presents a compelling perspective to bridge polarized and extremist viewpoints about evolution.

Susan Martinis
Biochemistry
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Cloud and Precipitation Microphysics: Principles and Parameterizations 
Straka

I selected this book because it describes the physical basis of cloud parameterizations used in models, the very principles that my current research is addressing

Greg McFarquhar
Atmospheric Sciences
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Conversations With God 
Neil Donald Walsh

This book changed my life. It gave me answers to many questions I had. Perhaps most importantly, it made me realize that those answers are within each one of us.

Stefan Milenkovich
School of Music
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Mental Models 
Philip Johnson-Laird

This book was a constant guidepost for my dissertation work on story comprehension. It proved equally valuable when my interests turned to more practical matters, such as how pilots and controllers, or doctors and patients, use language to coordinate their activities.

Dan Morrow
Institute of Aviation/Human Factors
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Representation Theory and Complex Geometry 
Neil Chriss and Victor Ginzburg

Throughout my grad school days and into my first years as a faculty member, I was inspired by the beautiful mix of algebra and geometry to be found in this book.  It remains an excellent text in which to discover the amazing interplay between these subjects.

Thomas Nevins
Mathematics
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Why People Believe Wierd Things 
Michael Shermer

This book was a motivating factor for the development of the Physics 192 course, ‘Science and Pseudoscience’.  It is my hope that this course is a first step in changing the way we teach physics to non-scientists.

Kevin Pitts
Physics
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Principles of Animal Locomotion 
R. McNeil Alexander

This book is a clear and comprehensive survey of the biomechanical basis for animal locomotion.  My early work built on several principles identified by Alexander.

John D. Polk
Anthropology
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Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, 1962-1975 
Roche, Kevin; Futagawa, Yukio; Dinkeloo, John G

I first opened this book in 1978 and was thrilled by the image of Roche and Dinkeloo standing among their huge models.  In 1985 I had the opportunity to work in the Roche Dinkeloo office and help to create the next generation of large-scale architectural studies.

Jeffery Poss
Architecture

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Girls, feminism, and grassroots literacies: Activism in the GirlZone 
Mary Sheridan-Rabideau

Mary Sheridan-Rabideau’s dissertation in 2000, on which this book is based, was the first I directed. The book represents the kind of innovative scholarship in Writing Studies that I find important, and I am proud to be associated with it. Finally, I have chosen this book to underscore how valuable I have found working with many fine graduate students during my time at Illinois.

Paul Prior
English and the Center for Writing Studies
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Computer Simulation Using Particles 
R. W. Hockney and J. W. Eastwood

This is a classic, rigorous text on particle simulations by two of the major early contributors to the subject.  Although advances in computing have made the example problems a bit dated, the algorithms discussed are still in widespread use.  It was an indispensable resource for me in learning to create simulations of cosmological structure formation.

Paul Milton Ricker
Astronomy
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Let Us Now Praise Famous Men 
James Agee, Walker Evans

The text is one of the most beautiful pieces of prose in American letters and the photographs some of the most haunting images ever created of human dignity. Together, text and photographs witness to the incarnation, passion, and resurrection of the divine in the flesh of several sharecropping famileis during the Depression.

Bruce Rosenstock
Religion
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Les belles lettres 
Charlotte Delbo

Les belles lettres was the first book published by the Auschwitz survivor and memoirist Charlotte Delbo. However, this book concerns the Algerian War of Independence, not the Nazi camp system. Absent from scholarship on Delbo for more than forty years, Les belles lettres is central to my argument that Holocaust memory emerged in dialogue with ongoing processes of decolonization-a dialogue that I call ‘multidirectional memory.’

Michael Rothberg
English
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There are No Children Here
Alex Kotlowitz

I read this book the first year after graduating college. A compelling account of two boys living in the Henry Horner Homes of Chicago.  The Horner homes are gone but the stories and struggles of similar children remain.

Joseph Ryan
Social Work
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I Knew You Could! 
Craig Dorfman

Every time I read it I am reminded of how important it truly is to celebrate all the stops in our life.

Carla Santos
Recreation, Sport and Tourism
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Comet in Moominland 
Tove Jansson

The Moomintroll series (this is just the first of several) have always had a special place in my heart. It is hard to understate Jansson’s humor, evocative imagery, and innate understanding of children’s (and adults’) fears, delights, and joy of exploration. These books inspire me by reminding me of what’s important and true in life.

Sarah Shreeves
University Library
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Legendy i mify Drevnei Gretsii
N. Kun

This Russian rendition of Greek mythology completely seized my imagination when I was a 6-year-old girl. It is largely responsible for my passion for reading and fascination with other cultures which eventually resulted in my career choice.

Valeria Sobol
Slavic Languages and Literatures
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Continuous Martingales and Brownian Motion 
Daniel Revuz and Marc Yor

It contains tons of nicely organized material. It is must have for people researchers and graduate students in stochastic analysis.

Renming Song
Mathematics
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The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts 
William Still

The book has always had special significance for me. It was one of the first books I read on the enslavement of African Americans and it has guided my research and writing through the years.  It illustrates the power of perseverance, honor, dignity, and the determination of people to do what is right in the face of adversity.

Christopher Span
Educational Policy Studies
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Environmental Organic Chemistry 
Schwarzenbach, Gschwend, Imboden

The first edition of this book was used for the class that had the greatest influence on my early academic career, and I use the current edition of the textbook in a course that I developed as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois.

Timothy Strathmann
Civil and Environmental Engineering
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The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants
Charles S. Elton

I read this book as a young graduate student and it was instrumental in shaping my research program in the study of biological invasions.

Andrew Suarez
Animal Biology and Entomology
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The Genome War
James Shreeve

This book provides a unique view of one of science’s greatest accomplishments-sequencing the human genome.  The author’s account of the politics, businesses, and personalities behind the great race between government and private industry make it a great read.

Kelly Swanson
Animal Sciences
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A Commotion in the Blood: Life, Death, and the Immune System 
Stephen S. Hall

Immunotherapy seeks to harness the immune system and its associated ‘commotion in the blood’ to battle disease. In addition to making immunobiology understandable to the lay reader, this book reveals the scientific triumphs, failures, personalities and politics that accompanied the early pursuit for effective immunotherapeutics. This is engaging material for all budding immunologists.

Richard Tapping
Microbiology
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Pursuing Justice for the Child 
Margaret K. Rosenheim

Modern institutions do not dislodge traditional ones but necessitate the development of coordinating mechanisms that mediate the reciprocal flow of influence between the two. One of the finest examples of this perspective focuses on the tension between childrens need for custody and their rights to liberty, edited by my long-time colleague who passed away this year.

Mark Testa
School of Social Work
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Empathy and Moral Development: Implications for Caring and justice 
Martin L. Hoffman

Empathy is the most important emotion to have for social human beings.  I feel we have lost empathy in everyday life. As we use more social networking applications to interact, we should consider the implications of the loss of empathy while we develop our social networks online. We must strive to regain this lost emotion so that we do not lose what it means to have feelings for one another in physical and virtual social worlds.

Sharon Tettegah
Curriculum and Instruction
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Weedy and Invasive Plant Genomics 
C. Neal Stewart, Jr.

I selected Holm et. al.’s World Weeds for plating when I was promoted to Associate Professor, because I felt that book was an excellent starting point for anyone interested in weed biology research. An exciting part of my professional career has been involvement in the forays of modern genomics into weed science research. The beginnings of this new weed biology is described within the present book.

Patrick Tranel
Crop Sciences
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Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas 
Seymour A. Papert

I first read this book as a graduate student. It was hugely influential on my own thinking. I remain impressed by the clarity of the writing, and recommend it to others. It shows that powerful ideas can be explained in simple language.

Michael Bernard Twidale
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
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The Blue Sweater 
Jacqueline Novogratz

If there is one book I would recommend on poverty, it is this book. The title refers to a a blue sweater she donates in the US and then finds a boy wearing in Africa years later. This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary human being describing her experiences in fighting poverty around the world. The values and insights of the author are both completely honest and practical. It is a book about the power of believing and persevering. The author is one of the most down to earth human beings I have met.

Madhubalan Viswanathan
Business Administration
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The Tao of Pooh 
Benjamin Hoff

This book took something familiar to me, the Winnie the Pooh character, and beautifully exemplified a deeply profound way of being. This book is what it is.

Sharra Vostral
Gender & Women’s Studies and History
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A General History of Music
Charles Burney

Charles Burney’s General History of Music is a landmark in musical historiography, elevating music to the rank of liberal art and scholarly pursuit. My own history of music and literature in Georgian London, to be published in spring 2010 by Cambridge UP, takes Burney’s masterpiece as both subject and model. I hope it, like his General History, will be innovative, full of information, and never dull.

Gillen D’Arcy Wood
English
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The Education of Little Tree 
Forrest Carter

The Education of Little Tree is the first book that I translated it into Chinese. Although written in English, the language and story are so genuine and I feel that they are coming straight from my heart. It is a great book that crosses the barrier of language in spite of the controversy on the author.

Humphrey Yao
Veterinary Biosciences
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