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Certain literary debuts deserve immediate recognition from critics and from the public. Just when it seems that the Chilean narrative is suffering from hyperinflation, producing many works of poor quality, suddenly arise voices like that of Roberto Castillo -- born in 1957, literature professor in the United States, author of various poems and short stories -- to redeem the clutter with powerful, well-written works. Dying for My Sweet Fatherland -- a long, misleading title whose devastating irony, which becomes evident as the reader progresses through the book, is not sufficient to justify it -- is essentially the novelized re-creation of the history of Arturo Godoy, the Iquiquian boxer who twice challenged Joe Louis, "the Brown Bomber," one of the outstanding boxers of all time. Despite the author's genuine affection for his character and the commendable historical investigation that informs the work, the book is obviously more than just a novelized biography.
A look at one of the narrative threads, the motif of the "moral triumph" of national sports, demonstrates this quality. Moral triumph seems to have been inaugurated -- or elevated to its maximum level -- by Godoy, a native of "The Land of Champions," in his memorable fights in New York's Madison Square Garden; he came away unrecognizable after so much pounding, but with the internal and moral conviction that he triumphed. Castillo successfully reconstructs the story from the inside, using constrained emotion, a passion for sport and the chronic thirst for triumph that characterizes fans of all kinds.
With an enormous dose of humor and affection, a narrator who recounts his own adventures along the way and solid narrative tools that spin a tale which effortlessly leaps in time and uses multiple voices, Castillo provides a fertile look at Chilean society throughout the century. His gaze is revealing, biting and intimate, defined as much by familiarity as by remoteness, and transformed into a novel that clearly stands out in the narrative panorama of this literary season. Nothing is more poignant than the throng in the Plaza de Armas listening to the loudspeakers' electronic gibberish, supposedly the direct report of the first confrontation between Godoy and Louis. Nothing is more revealing, either, than the vast expanse of national soul which Castillo explores and exposes with patience, affection, and humanity.
-- Rodrigo Pinto
Caras, July 24, 1998
Translated by Catrin Einhorn '99
Robert S. Tannenbaum '62, Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia. (New York: Computer Science Press), 1998.
It is refreshing in this day of the Dummies books to find a book like Robert S. Tannenbaum's Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia. Tannenbaum, director of Academic Computing Service at the University of Kentucky, tackles difficult subject matter with a high level of intelligence. The book provides multimedia developers with the underlying human-communication and computer science principles needed to produce effective multimedia. These theoretical foundations are explored in great depth. For example, the second chapter is devoted to how we see and hear, an underlying principle of communication science, while later chapters could serve as introductory texts for several disciplines, including computer science, communication science and software engineering.
While some familiarity is assumed for each subject, readers should not find themselves at a loss to understand the material. Tannenbaum frequently references supplemental research to introduce and support the discussion of a particular topic; the major terms appearing in the discussion are fully explained and brought back together to make the discussion cohesive. As an example, in a section in chapter 5 ("Communication Theory and Developments Underlying the Use of Multimedia") dealing with telepresence, Tannenbaum draws on Jonathan Steuer's "Defining Virtual Reality: Dimensions Determining Telepresence." Through paraphrasing and direct quotation, the reader learns that "interactivity" and "vividness" are key elements in telepresence. Not only is each of these terms carefully explained, but their components ("range," "speed" and "mapping" in the case of interactivity) are defined as well and supported with examples.
Chapter 6 ("Computer Science Fundamentals and Developments Underlying Multimedia") offers an excellent introduction to computer science and such innovations as data transmission and artificial intelligence. After reading this section I (a computer professional with a degree in computer science) finally understood data transmission and error correction. The text is also accompanied by a CD-ROM with a wealth of supplemental material. In addition to a 102-page glossary of terms, it includes extended chapter summaries, articles dealing with the brain, the eyes, and the ears, and several articles relating to fair use guidelines and codes of ethics. There are also several sample multimedia productions.
Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia is not a book for readers who want to dabble in multimedia, but rather for those who wish to delve into the underlying ideas that shape it. Those who do read this book will learn not only about disciplines outside of their area of expertise, but likely even more about their own fields of study.
-- Walter Addison March
Administrative Computing
Ronald M. Shapiro '64 and Mark A. Jankowski, The Power of Nice. (New York: John Wiley & Sons), 1998.
Ron Shapiro is a walking testimonial to "the power of nice," the uses of which he eloquently explains in his new book written with Mark Jankowski. Ron's ability to get along with others and to conduct "win-win" negotiations has been apparent from his days as Students' Council president at Haverford, through his work as a corporate lawyer and, most notably, as the hallmark of his career as one of the best-known baseball agents. Clients such as Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Kirby Puckett and Cal Ripken, Jr. (who wrote the book's Foreward), have all profited from Ron's approach &endash; and now the rest of us can too.
The Power of Nice uses catchy graphics, cartoons and plenty of anecdotes to make its points. Ron's win-win theory, which forms the basis for his Shapiro Negotiations Institute, a consulting firm, is organized around the "three P's" -- prepare, probe and propose -- with a chapter devoted to each. Stories about skydiving (Mark, not Ron), Brooks Robinson's 1976 contract negotiations with the Orioles, real estate deals, Cal Ripken's book, the Middle East peace process and the 1982 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra strike amply illustrate the authors' negotiating philosophy. Ron also provides lots of counter-examples, times when a win-lose strategy spoiled the process for everyone. He's not afraid to tell one on himself, about his now-regretted handling of a dispute with a former client, Oprah Winfrey.
Shapiro, like his ballplayers, obviously likes to win, but abhors the attitude of negotiators who adopt an "I'll burn that bridge when I come to it" ethos. If you really prepare and listen, you'll find out what the other side really wants, and often find out that it is not incompatible with what you want. Shapiro and Jankowski give lots of practical suggestions useful for any kind of negotiation and provide a primer on how to conduct oneself in difficult situations. You'll find out why the 83-year-old farmer didn't pick up the shotgun on his front porch and fire it at the lawyer who wanted him to sell the family farm. After that it will all be easy.
Ron Shapiro rapped a lot of line drives when he played baseball for Haverford, and in this book he and his co-author have another hit. Nice!
-- Greg Kannerstein '63
Associate Dean of the College and Director of Athletics
W. Courtland Robinson '62, Terms of Refuge: The Indochinese Exodus and the International Response. (London and New York: Zed Books), 1998.
Since the Japanese invasion of 1942, much of Southeast Asia has been racked by war. In the last 20 years, three million war-affected people have fled their homes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Terms of Refuge tells the story of this modern exodus and the international community's response. Spearheaded by the United Nations High Committee for Refugees, the international promotional campaign pioneered innovations like the Orderly Departure Program, anti-piracy and rescue-at-sea efforts, reintegration projects for returnees and the development of refugee relief networks.
With rare insight, W. Courtland Robinson highlights new approaches to refugee issues arising from the Southeast experience and poses important questions: how did the flight of refugees evolve? How do we evaluate the international response? What has been the legacy in Asia itself? And what lessons can be drawn for use in other refugee situations around the world? Compelling and cohesive, Terms of Refuge is a moving contribution to the modern history of Southeast Asia and an insightful analysis of a complex humanitarian and political crisis.
W. Courtland Robinson is a consultant for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, based at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He was previously a Senior Fellow at Chulalongkorn University's Asian Research Center for Migration in Bangkok, Thailand.
