Alumni Authors
Cancer on the Brain: One Man’s Journey of Baseball, Business, and Beating the Odds
By William J. Cobb, MA ’84
Lefevers is a Phoenix real-estate entrepreneur, Little League coach, and two-time cancer survivor whose memoir will tug at heartstrings. He shares lessons learned from a turbulent year in which his business grew exponentially, his health took a turn for the worse, and his baseball team exceeded expectations.
Militarizing the Border: When Mexicans Became the Enemy
By Miguel Antonio Levario, PhD ’07
The Texas-Mexico border is fraught with violence, illicit trade, and political controversy. That’s nothing new, argues Texas Tech history professor Levario. Militarizing the Border traces the border conflict back to 1895, when racial tensions led to intense militarization in West Texas. History buffs and West Texans alike will be fascinated by this accessible volume, which argues that we can’t understand today’s border without knowing its history.
Piercing the Fold
By Venessa Kimball, BS ’99
Targeted at teens who swoon over Twilight, this young-adult novel describes a dark time in the life of Georgia college student Jesca Gershon. Recurring nightmares seep into reality, and a mysterious professor opens Gershon’s eyes to an alternate reality hiding in plain sight. Warning: may cause nightmares.
On Politics and Parks
By George Bristol, ’59, Life Member
Veteran nature advocate and political campaigner Bristol has penned a contemplative memoir of a lifetime spent at the intersection of Washington politics and U.S. national parks. After working on the campaigns of Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, Bristol found his real passion at the National Park Foundation and the Texas Conservation Coalition. A good read for nature lovers and policy wonks.
Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria
By Diane Kelly, BBA ’88, JD ’90
The latest installment in accountant-turned-author Kelly’s hilarious Death and Taxes series has heroine and IRS special agent Tara Holloway laying down the law on corrupt businessmen funneling cash to terrorists (all while searching for true love, of course). The easy peach sangria recipe at the front is a nice touch.
You According to Them:
Uncovering the Blind Spots that Impact Your Reputation and Your Career
By Sara Canaday, BS ’86
Workplace success isn’t really about talent, career expert Canaday says. It’s about how you get along with others and how they perceive you. To illustrate this, she gives case studies for each of nine personality types, and how they can be read as either positive or negative. Whether you’re a “passion pistol” or suffer from “no crying in baseball syndrome,” Canaday has succinct, applicable advice.
Faded Glory: A Century of Forgotten Texas Military Sites, Then and Now
By Thomas E. Alexander and Dan K. Utley, BA ’71, Life Member
If you’re a military history fan planning a road trip across Texas, this is the one book you should take with you. It’s a readable encyclopedia of 29 Texas military history sites spanning seven wars. From the Marfa Army Airfield to the Menger Hotel, Alexander and Utley have illuminated meaningful places that most have forgotten.
Warrior Ways: Explorations in Modern Military Folklore
Edited by Eric A. Eliason, MA ’94, PhD ’98, and Tad Tuleja, PhD ’97
The U.S. military has its own rich culture, complete with jargon, traditions, and mythology. It’s high time, then, that folklore scholars recognize it as such. Readers will be fascinated by this collection of essays, which range from an exploration of the good-luck talismans soldiers carry (rosaries and stuffed animals are common) to Navy slang (“Smurf suit,” “Ricky ninjas,” and “cracker jack” are all defined).
Ophthalmology Oral Board Review Study Manual
By Damien Luviano, BA ’97, Life Member, and Kenneth T. Morvant Jr.
If you’re an ophthalmology student frustrated by a lack of study materials for your board exams, you’ve come to the right place. A step-by-step approach to presenting cases, the study manual
is available for the iPad or in print. The duo has also authored a second book, Clinical Optics
in Ophthalmology.
American Health Scare
By Richard Young, BS ’84
Young is a family physician, educator, and researcher at the nation’s largest family medicine residency in Fort Worth. He writes passionately and clearly about systemic problems he sees in health care—from doctors who order too many unnecessary tests to insurance companies more concerned with profit margins than wellness. Refreshingly free of jargon, the book also educates patients about the often-underappreciated role of family physicians.
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