In Opinions of Administrators, Faculty, and Students Regarding Academic Freedom and Student Artistic Expression, C. David Warner III (Ed.D. community college education '99), professor of music at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland, asserts that "all art work is social and political" and therefore capable of generating controversy. In his contribution to the growing scholarship that addresses academic freedom and the changing responsibilities of teaching faculty, Warner focuses on the community college's role in the exhibition or censorship of student art. Should faculty artists have the right to select student work for exhibition solely because of academic freedom, or should aesthetic value judgments drawn from the dominant culture's standards be imposed as part of the selection process?

The publisher is The Edward Mellen Press (P.O. Box 450, Lewiston, NY 14092-0450); http://www.mellenbooks.com.

Popular Culture in a New Age by Marshall W. Fishwick, professor of interdisciplinary studies and director of the American studies and popular culture programs at Virginia Tech, takes on an array of subjects, among them "Millennium Merrymaking," "Sacred Symbols," and "The Celebrity Cult," to illustrate that "popular culture studies have become a way to understand how ordinary people find meaning and joy in their lives." By "attach[ing] branches of our New Age to a tree with old roots," Fishwick's text examines "old themes set in new circumstances" and the author's belief that popular culture, the "culture of the people," is as "old as humanity itself" and its parameters "should be expanded and explored."

The publisher is The Haworth Press, Inc. (10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580); http://www.haworthpress.com.

Those interested in enticing more wildlife to their property can find help in Neil F. Payne's (M.S. wildlife '64) More Wildlife on your Land: A Guide for Private Landowners, which includes more than 100 illustrations and color photos. Professor emeritus of wildlife at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a certified wildlife biologist, Payne covers a range of topics, from landscaping and restoring natural areas to controlling nuisance wildlife and securing income from your wildlife.

The publisher is Barberie Publications (P.O. Box 212, Plover, WI 54467); http://www.uwsp.edu/wildlife/npayne.

Director of programs at the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech and one of the nation's most respected Civil War historians, William C. Davis creates a comprehensive portrait of the Confederacy in Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of America. Departing from the traditional factual recitations of military strategies and battles, Davis examines the Confederacy from a relatively non-military perspective, narrating the political, economic, and social events as a "national experience" of the South's attempt to build a nation. At the core of Davis' narrative, which incorporates quotes from primary sources as diverse as period newspapers and personal correspondence, lies a thorough analysis of the differing values and beliefs among the many factions of the Confederacy. The text also includes 16 pages of rarely published photographs.

The publisher is The Free Press Publications (1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020).

In his new book, Stonewall Jackson's Book of Maxims, world-renowned Civil War historian Dr. James I. Robertson Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at Virginia Tech, depicts the personal evolution of one of history's most celebrated generals from a young man of humble beginnings to a consummate gentleman concerned with politeness, proper conduct, and good behavior. During his research in the late 1980s for a biography of Jackson, Robertson uncovered a collection of maxims--long thought to have been lost--that Jackson had begun compiling in a personal notebook while still a cadet at West Point. Heavily influenced by the popular writing of Lord Chesterfield, whose published letters to his son on self-improvement were respected in polite society, Jackson inscribed particular maxims into his journal as part of his quest for status as a gentleman.

The publisher is Cumberland House Publishing (431 Harding Industrial Dr., Nashville, TN 37211); http://www.cumberlandhouse.com.

In Landscape Planning for the Arid Middle East: An Approach to Setting Environmental Objectives, Safei-Eldin A. Hamed (Ph.D. environmental planning '88) looks at the objectives of landscape planning relative to one of the most challenging environments in the world: the arid Middle East. By way of an analysis of the land-use issues and problems facing the area, Hamed presents an approach to formulating a comprehensive and operational set of objectives, called the Landscape Planning Objectives System, to assist decision-makers and landscape planners with planning and managing natural resources in any arid region of a developing country.

The publisher is The Edward Mellen Press (P.O. Box 450, Lewiston, NY 14092-0450); http://www.mellenbooks.com.

Having trouble keeping up with game-day banter? Suzy Beamer Bohnert's (communication '83) lighthearted Game-Day Goddess: Learning Football's Lingo may be just the resource you need. With humor and accuracy, Bohnert has put together a glossary of handy phrases and terms that's easy to use and sure to place you among the informed.

The publisher is eNovel.com (4480 Springfield Rd., Glen Allen, VA 23060); http://www.geocities.com/suzybohnert/presskit.html.

An award-winning metro columnist for Evansville, Ind.'s Courier & Press and the author of five books, Garret Mathews (economics '71) has a passion for the national pastime. Admitting that he "always wanted to follow a baseball team for a season. The intimacy of it. Dugout. Bullpen. Locker room," he did just that, spending a summer with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League, a team of "real ballplayers, not the coddled kind you see on TV." Can't Find a Dry Ball: The Evansville Otters...On the Lowest Rung of Baseball captures the sometimes painful, often hysterical goings-on surrounding a cast of characters arguably more suited to a TV sitcom than a baseball diamond.

The publisher is Albion Press (4532 West Kennedy Blvd., Ste. 233, Tampa, FL 33609).

John Cairns Jr., professor emeritus in the Department of Biology, has compiled a collection of his previously published essays in Goals and Conditions for a Sustainable World, reproduced by Inter-Research in its electronic journal, Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics (ESEP). With this first e-book to highlight its aims and scope, ESEP assures that "essential parts of [Cairns'] professional insights and expertise [are] available for free, world-wide and at your fingertips." Cairns' offerings include scientific articles on such topics as eco-societal restoration, which re-examines human society's relationship with natural systems, and the restoration of urban waterways and vacant areas, as well as more philosophical discussions of world peace, global sustainability, and ethics in environmental politics.

The text is available online at http://www.esep.de/journals/esep/esepbooks.html.

Settled by immigrants of many different backgrounds who brought with them construction techniques and styles modified to fit a land of widely varying topography and climates, Texas, perhaps more than any other state or region in the U.S., developed a distinctive regional architecture. Although much of this architectural character has been lost to sprawling urban development, in Early Texas Architecture, Gordon Echols (architecture '52), architect, city planner, and professor emeritus of urban and regional planning and architecture at Texas A&M University, brings to life the Lone Star State's array of architectural styles. From the primitive dugouts and log cabins of the low coastal plains along the Gulf of Mexico to the regal Greek Revival and Victorian structures of the north, the text includes enough photographs and illustrations to make it a handsome coffee-table book and a grand tribute to grand old Texas.

The publisher is Texas Christian University Press (TCU Box 298300, Fort Worth, TX 76129); http://www.prs.tcu.edu/prs/index.html.

In The Road Rises Up, a story about personal--and criminal--discovery, Helaine McCusker Krob (biology '86) creates the voice of Abby McNair, a high school freshman who runs cross-country track and practices with the boys' team, training daily with her two closest friends, Brian and Steve. When Steve's younger brother disappears one rainy afternoon, Abby examines the clues, and ultimately her soul, to find answers to questions she had never thought to ask. More importantly, the truths she uncovers will shape the rest of her life.

The publisher is Xlibris Corporation (http://www.Xlibris.com).

In Marine Rifleman: Forty-three Years in the Corps, Col. Wesley L. Fox, USMC (Ret.), former deputy commandant of cadets at Virginia Tech, tells his "life story as a Marine the way [he] remembers it." Retired from the Marine Corps in 1993, Fox is the quintessential soldier's soldier, having received the Medal of Honor, two awards of the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star with Combat V, four Purple Hearts, and numerous commendations. Fox's memoir begins with his youth in rural Virginia as a ninth-grade dropout and teenage farmer who fulfilled his dream of serving his country by enlisting in the Marines in the early years of the Korean conflict. Subsequent chapters narrate Fox's steady rise through the ranks, and each concludes with a list of "lessons learned."

The publisher is Brassey's Inc. (2284 Quicksilver Dr., Dulles, VA 20166); http://www.brasseysinc.com.