Month: August 2015

Author: Yair Hirschfeld Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press – 452 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram Among the several thorny issues that need to be discussed and resolved in order to achieve permanent peace between Israelis and Palestinians, without referring to any content in this book, are the following: Final borders Israeli settlements A Jewish state Palestinian violence Palestinian refugees Israeli bombings Security concerns Status of Jerusalem The author of this book Yair Hirschfeld looks at the history of negotiations toward an elusive peace between Israel and the Palestinians spanning 36 years, from 1978 to 2014, although the conflict...

Author: Eric Allen Hall; Jacket Design: J. Spence Holman; Author Photo: Christina Abreau Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press – 331 pages Book Review by: Paiso Jamakar Arthur Robert Ashe Jr., born on July 10, 1943, was an African-American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles, ranking him among the best tennis players from the United States. He was also the first black player selected for the United States Davis Cup team, and the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, U.S. Open, or Australian Open. He was ranked the top tennis player in the...

Author: Edward P. St. John, in collaboration with Erik H. Asker Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press – 263 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram To get some current information and take a glimpse of college-tuition cost trends for this review, we searched Wikipedia articles and other sources. We found out, not surprisingly, that the United States has one of the most expensive higher education systems in the world. In 2012-13, the annual tuition ranged from $3,131 for public two-year institutions (mainly community colleges) to $29,056 for private four-year universities and colleges. Private colleges increased their tuition by an average...

Author: Brian C. Rathbun Publisher: Cornell University Press – 267 pages Book Review by: Paiso Jamakar Diplomacy is one of the least studied fields among scholars, writes the author Brian C. Rathbun, and the few books he found on the subject all lament that there is not enough information about how it works. With this book Rathbun makes an important contribution to fill the gaps of knowledge about diplomacy, particularly providing an understanding of how social psychology, (e.g. the traits and characteristics) influences the variations in the negotiating styles of diplomats. Rathbun points out also that currently, there really...

Author:  Carolyn T. Adams Publisher: Cornell University Press – 217 pages Book Review by: Deekay Daulat Many of you have probably read about the city-suburbs poverty-wealth divide wherein members of one segment of a given region (often termed “inner city” residents) cannot seem to be able to move up the economic ladder while the others (upwardly-mobile suburbanites) have moved well ahead and enjoy higher standards of living. This book discusses that issue but it also presents solutions, such as the efforts and actions over the last 15 years or so, of people in the suburbs of Philadelphia to help...