Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
Reviewed by Harold Henkel, Associate Librarian

Things Fall Apart (1958) is a magnificent novel. Like all great writers, Chinua Achebe is at once compassionate and detached, and his story is both intensely local and universal. One of the great strengths of the novel is its refusal to do the… ...continue reading...

How Proust Can Change Your Life, by Alain de Botton
Reviewed by Harold Henkel, Associate Librarian

“There are few things humans are more dedicated to than unhappiness. Had we been placed on earth by a malign creator for the exclusive purpose of suffering, we should have good reason to congratulate ourselves on our enthusiastic response… ...continue reading...

Stalin’s Children: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival, by Owen Matthews
Reviewed by Harold Henkel, Undergraduate Services Librarian

Stalin’s Children, published in June 2008, has emerged as one of most critically praised recent books about Russia, gathering favorable reviews in The Economist and Times Literary Supplement among other publications. The book is actually two… ...continue reading...

Handbook on the Knowledge Economy, edited by David Rooney, Greg Hearn, Abraham Ninan

Reviewed by Almarie E. Munley, Ph.D.

Handbook on the Knowledge Economy is an essential work that explains the use of knowledge today in organizations and governments worldwide. The book explicitly states its purpose by outlining a central theme which is to inform… ...continue reading...

Reviewed by Sara Baron, Dean of University Library
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

-lines from “Kabul,” by Saib-e-Tabrizi, 17th century Persian poet
My grandmother told me I should read this book. Since she reads about 10 library books a week and is on… ...continue reading...