Dartmouth Authors
H. Schuyler Foster '25 is the author of Activism Replaces Isolationism: U.S. Public Attitudes 1940-1975 (Foxhall Press, Washington, D.C., 1984, 420 pp., $14.95). Foster, for many years a member of the Public Opinion Studies Staff of the State Department, which analyzed American opinion on international issues, has used reports prepared for the Department and broadly summarized the public's shift from pre-war isolationism to the internationalism of the postwar years. The study covers press opinion as well and relates it to changes in the views of the public at large.
The book deals with government efforts to bring about public and media acceptance of the nation's new postwar role, and in the opposite direction it shows how public opinion often influenced actual governm ent decisions. Foster divides his study into three periods. The years 1940 to 1950 are described as a period of establishing postwar policies; 1950 to 1965 as a period of implementing basic policies; and 1965 to 1975 as a period of modifying foreign policies. Through six presidential administrations the survey covers all the major foreign policy issues that engendered public and press discussion, including the United Nations, Marshall Plan, NATO, the Korean and Vietnam wars, nuclear weapons, arms control, foreign aid, foreign trade, and this country's relations with Russia, China, the Western allies, and Latin America. The book has been praised for its comprehensiveness and "official" character and is widely used in colleges and universities. Of special Dartmouth interest is the fact that Richard W. Morin '24 was the first head of the State Department's Office of Public Liaison and John Sloan Dickey '29 was director of the Office of Public Affairs before becoming Dartmouth's president.
Leon C. Martell '55 is the author of Mastering Change: The Key to Business Success (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1986, 345 pp., $17.45). The author, formerly executive vice president of the Hudson Institute and now a futurist specializing in the forecasting of economic, political, social, and resource issues, declares that understanding change, not current trends, is the way to prepare for the future. Reliance on continuity, the basis on which action is commonly taken, is wrong, because it is change that is natural and the only certainty.
Martell states that there are two distinct kinds of change structural and cyclical and these are not random but have patterns. Structural changes, which are permanent and irreversible, pertain to information, education, communications, industry, population, work, income, and attitudes. Cyclical changes, which are temporary and recurring, pertain to business cycles, demand-supply cycles, and organizational and social behavior. Identifying and accepting these changes is the way to put them to advantageous use.
Among the structural changes Martell foresees, the population problem of the future will be de-population, not over-population; in the post-industrial future jobs will be mobile and the people fixed; national economies will become part of an evolving world economy; service activities will create the jobs of the future; health care will be revolutionized by information technology. Among the cyclical changes, the current conservative phase in national politics will give way to a liberal one; business cycles will continue, but they will be longer and their fluctuations less wide; the price cycle for oil will be upward; the present glut of lawyers and physicians will be followed by a shortage, the present shortage of teachers will be followed by a glut.
Richard B. Roberts '55 is editor and chief author of Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Therapy (Year Book Medical Publishers, Chicago, 1986, 402 pp., $29.95). Structured on an organ-system basis, the textbook is largely a Cornell faculty book and "originates from the repeated questions of how and why that have come from Cornell medical students over the past 15 years." Of the 27 contributors, 21 are teachers at Cornell University Medical College, New York, where Dr. Roberts is professor in the department of infectious diseases.
In addition to ten chapters devoted to the pathology and treatment of infections in the various organ systems, there are chapters on infectious diseases common to the tropics and subtropics, infections in immunologically abnormal patients, neonatal infections, fever of undetermined origin, and human viral infections. A concluding chapter deals with antimicrobial therapy.
Medical students, residents, and clinicians have in Dr. Roberts' book an updated and well-organized review of the pathogenesis and treatment of infectious diseases. Enhancing its usefulness are illustrated case histories, as well as references for more detailed study at the end of each chapter.
Tom Holzel '63 and Audrey Salkeld are authors of First on Everest: The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine (Henry Holt, New York, 1986, 322 pp., $19.95). Did George Mallory, the famed British climber, reach the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924, almost thirty years before the historic ascent of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? He and his partner, Andrew Irvine, were last seen 800 vertical feet from the summit, and then disappeared as clouds closed over them. The authors maintain that there is a strong likelihood that Irvine turned back, and plunged to his death, while Mallory, the better climber, used their dwindling supply of oxygen to keep going to the top, only to lose his life also in some sort of mishap. This theory has led to strenuous controversy in the climbing world, particularly in Britain; and to a search for some tangible evidence cameras, for instance. Holzel led an expedition to Everest this past fall, but found nothing. Climbers in 1933 found an ice-axe and others in 1974 found the body of an Englishman in old-fashioned clothes (Irvine?), but both well below the summit.
Before telling the engrossing story of the tragic 1924 expedition, First on Everest recounts the early history of mountain climbing, dominated by the English, and in some detail describes the 1921 reconnaissance expedition which reached 23,000 feet, mapped the area for the first time, and discovered a feasible route to the top; and the 1922 climbing expedition, which conquered 27,300 of Everest's 29,028 feet, but lost seven porters in an avalanche on a third attack on the summit. Mallory took part in both expeditions and was at first against using oxygen. At home, Alpine Club leaders thought the use of oxygen not sporting.
The famous 1924 expedition, of course, receives the fullest treatment. Mallory by then had definitely emerged as the party's leader and as his climbing partner had chosen 22-year-old Andrew (Sandy) Irvine, newly out of Oxford, inexperienced at tough climbing, but daring and physically strong. They were the pair that Noel Odell on June 8, 1924, saw "going strong for the top." It was only a quick glimpse before the clouds engulfed them and made what happened to them one of the absorbing mysteries of climbing. To Mallory is attributed the famous answer, "Because it is there," when asked why climb a mountain that holds the promise of death.
Theodore Baehr '69 is the author of Gettingthe Word Out (Harper & Row, 1986, $20.95). A book on effective communicating, it was written primarily as an aid to the clergy in getting out the word of the gospel, but the ground covered can be equally helpful to laymen who want to understand communication and the media. Baehr deals with the basic mechanics and requirements of radio, TV, films, public-speaking, and the printed media; and also delves into such communication channels as storytelling, talent shows, newsletters, drama, and advertising. The positive and negative points to be taken into consideration in choosing a medium for a given purpose are explained, and other chapters offer examples of how to communicate effectively.
Baehr is chairman and chief executive officer of Good News Communications in Atlanta, Ga., through which his book in hard cover is available. Address: 2876 Mabry Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319.
