NEW FACULTY BOOKS

NEW FACULTY BOOKS

SUSAN ACKERMAN ’80

RELIGION

Women and the Religion of Ancient Israel

Yale University Press (April 2022), 576 PP., $50

This comprehensive exploration of the role of religion in the lives of ancient Israelite women finds them guarding temple entrances, creating household shrines, making pilgrimages, and observing rituals. Drawing on texts and archeological finds, Ackerman offers a picture of the women’s religious experiences as distinct from those of their male counterparts. “Landmark work,” writes one reviewer.

CAROLYN DEVER

ENGLISH

Chains of Love and Beauty: The Diary of Michael Field

Princeton University Press (April 2022), 280 PP, $35

Dever makes the case that the monumental, 29-volume diary jointly written by Katharine Bradley and her niece, Edith Cooper—who were partners and lovers for decades—is a great unknown novel of the 19th century. While the pair published poetry under the pseudonym “Michael Field,” their double diary brims with their negotiations about their desires, frustrations, and art.

SHAUL MAGID

JEWISH STUDIES

MeirKahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical

Princeton University Press (October 2021), 296 PP., $35

Magid takes an in-depth look at the extremist New York rabbi and founder of the Jewish Defense League who militantly opposed Jewish assimilation. Kahane later went on to start an ultranationalist and racist political party in Israel that was rooted in the idea of Jewish racial supremacy. Magid’s serious analysis of Kahane’s thinking and what shaped his life does not flinch from the hypocritical contradiction of his decrying anti-Semitism while preaching hatred of Blacks and Arabs.

MARK A. MCPEEK

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Coexistence in Ecology: A Mechanistic Perspective

Princeton University Press (February 2022), 468 PP, $45

McPeek explores how species come to coexist. He writes about a model food web, starting with an ecosystem devoid of life, and then systematically introduces one new species at a time. With each newcomer, he examines what it requires to survive and how it affects and interacts with other species, offering fresh insights on how to study the natural histories of species.

CHARLES WHEELAN ’88

ECONOMICS AND EDUCATION

Write For Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing (and Presen ta tions)

W.W. Norton (May 2022), 208 PP., $28.95

Wheelan uses his wit, personal anecdotes, and examples of both excellent and awful prose to help anyone put thoughts into written words.