May|June Good Reads

By Jordan Schraeder in 40 Acres, Good Reads, May | June 2013 on April 30, 2013 at 5:07 pm | No Comments

New books of interest to the Longhorn Universe

Blanton Museum of Art:
110 Favorites from the Collection

Published by the Blanton Museum of Art

After combing through the museum’s permanent collection of more than 17,000 works, curators at the Blanton Museum of Art selected their favorites to show off in Blanton Museum of Art: 110 Favorites from the Collection. With holdings that include works by artists such as Diego Rivera, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol, the Blanton is home to the largest public collection in Central Texas. Short essays by Blanton staff members and other scholars run alongside each piece of art featured in the book.

 

 

 

The Texas Way:
Money, Power, Politics and Ambition
at The University

By William H. Cunningham

After seven years as president of UT-Austin and eight years as chancellor of the UT System, William Cunningham knows a lot about the pressures affecting Texas’ largest public university. In this insightful memoir, Cunningham looks back at the issues he dealt with on the Forty Acres in the late ’80s and early ’90s, from fraternity hazing to affirmative action and the future of higher education—issues that continue to resonate.

 

 

 

 

 

Unsettled/Desasosiego:
Children in the World of Gangs

By Donna De Cesare

Associate professor of journalism De Cesare spent 30 years photographing gang members and their families in both Central America and in refugee communities in the United States. A culmination of those decades of work, Unsettled is a poignant photo essay that focuses on children whose lives are entrenched in civil wars and gang violence. De Cesare portrays her subjects with a profound sense of empathy, shedding light on the humanity of those she says are “trapped by social neglect.”

 

The Eye of the Mammoth:
Selected Essays

By Stephen Harrigan

A magazine contributor for 40 years and the author of nine books, Michener Center adjunct professor Stephen Harrigan is at it again with The Eye of the Mammoth. This career-spanning nonfiction anthology turns a curious eye on the intersection of place and natural, human, and personal history—delving into topics that range from the enormity of Big Bend to his own experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Harrigan’s thoughtful essays bring readers closer to their surroundings and helps them to, as one critic says, “see the world anew.”