Recent Books By Alumni

ALUMNI
WAYNE DEMENTI (M.B.A. ’72), The Byrd – Celebrating the Byrd Theatre and Facts and Legends of the Hills of Richmond, Dementi Milestone Publishing. Joining lead author George Bruner, Jayne Hushen and Dementi provided photos for the book about Richmond’s Byrd Theatre, one of the nation’s few remaining movie palaces. Publication of The Byrd coincides with the Byrd Theatre Foundation’s efforts to restore it “to its original splendor.” Facts and Legends celebrates Richmond, its story lines, landmarks and people. It features colorful and irregular essays by lead author Brooks Smith, together with new, vintage and never-before-published photos collected or captured by the Dementi family of photographers. All of the essays first aired on WCVE Public Radio as part of Brooks’ long-running series, “Rediscovering Richmond.” dementi@aol.com

ROD EVANS ’78, The Artful Nuance: A Refined Guide to Imperfectly Understood Words in the English Language, Penguin Group. Focusing on the subtle distinctions and often overlooked differences between or among imperfectly understood words, Evans’ book answers vocabulary questions you never knew you had. From technical definitions (herb and spice) to cultural literacy (inductive and deductive reasoning) to subtleties in connotation (nerd and geek), each entry in this comprehensive guide distinguishes between two or more words that are commonly confused. Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive Worlds of Trivia Buffs and holder of the longest winning streak on “Jeopardy!” writes, “I paged through it with zest and zeal – which, if I may spoil the ending, turn out to be not quite the same thing.” www.penguin.com

DEBORAH PAINTER ’78 (M.S.Ed. ’80), Hollywood’s Top Dogs: The Dog Hero in Film, Midnight Marquee Press. The dog hero has existed in motion pictures for more than 100 years. Painter covers numerous canine greats over the past century, from Rin-Tin-Tin, to Old Yeller to Benji. Her narrative is a history of man’s best friend on the silver screen that includes tales of rescue, saving lives and property. Her book also recounts the story surrounding the death of Rin-Tin-Tin which, according to at least one account, has actress Jean Harlow playing a leading role in real life. A student of film history, Painter is an environmental services director. www.midmar.com

GARY SCHANBACHER (M.A. ’72), Migration Patterns, Fulcrum Publishing. This collection of short stories features characters living in or touched by the American West. Young and old, with heartbreaking pasts and uncertain futures, these characters lead lives filled with tender compassions and incidental cruelties. The stories deal with migration in all of its nuances: the self-imposed exile of a young crab fisherman from the life he desires; an aging flower child who experiences enlightenment while waiting in a checkout line; an old man who sees his life come full circle in his garden harvest. Migration Patterns won the High Plains Book Award for first book and the Colorado Book Award for general fiction. www.fulcrum-books.com

BOOK NOTES
TERRY HURLEY ’88 is one of the contributing authors to Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks, from Vietnam to Iraq (Kore Press). Her essay, “The Dead Iraqi Album,” she says, “is about the horrors of war and how, no matter what you do, no matter where you go in life, you take them with you.” A graduate of ODU’s Army ROTC program, Hurley retired from the Army in 2003 with the rank of major. korepress.org

OUR FACULTY
JAMES V. KOCH, Board of Visitors Professor of Economics and President Emeritus, and James L. Fisher, Born Not Made: The Entrepreneurial Personality, Praeger Publishers. The authors refute the idea that anyone can be an entrepreneur, offering a surprising conclusion: Some individuals are simply more naturally fitted to become entrepreneurs than others. The findings are based on the only empirical comparison study yet conducted on entrepreneurship. Koch and Fisher arrived at their conclusion after a comprehensive study of 234 CEOs.

MIKE PEARSON, professor of creative writing, Innocents Abroad Too, Syracuse University Press. Pearson chronicles his experiences of traveling as a faculty member in the Semester at Sea program. He uses rich imagery, humorous anecdotes and literary references to detail his visits to new places in the company of students. Included are accounts of visits to more than 15 countries, such as Brazil, China, Kenya, Turkey and Vietnam. The title, an appropriation of Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, reflects the idea that a traveler can never fully comprehend the culture or people of places visited.

Calling All Authors
If you have published a book recently, let us know.
Please send a copy, along with any promotional material or reviews, to:

Steve Daniel, Old Dominion University magazine, 100 Koch Hall, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va. 23529. All submissions will be considered for review.