Boston College alumnus Dave Wedge has co-authored a new book about fellow BC grad Pete Frates, the inspiration behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised millions of dollars for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) research. Frates, a former BC Baseball captain, was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 at age 27. In The Ice Bucket Challenge: Pete Frates and the Fight against ALS (ForeEdge/University Press of New England, 2017) Wedge and co-author Casey Sherman tell the story of the man behind the viral fundraising and awareness campaign. According to the publisher, The Ice Bucket Challenge is a “testament to the power of love, the steadfastness of family, the generosity of strangers, and the compassion of crowds.” Wedge and Sherman are also the authors of Boston Strong: A City’s Triumph over Tragedy, a book about the bombings at the Boston Marathon. | Read an excerpt in the New York Daily News.
The man behind the Ice Bucket Challenge
The Ends of the World
The world has ended five times: it has been broiled, frozen, poison-gassed, smothered, and pelted by asteroids. In The Ends of the World (Harper Collins, 2017), science journalist Peter Brannen dives deep, exploring Earth’s past dead ends, and in the process, offers a glimpse of a possible future. Part road trip, part history, and part cautionary tale, The Ends of the World tells the story of each extinction through examination of the fossil record and introduces the researchers who, using the forensic tools of modern science, are piecing together what really happened. Brannen is a Boston College alumnus who has written for the New York Times, The Atlantic, Wired, Washington Post, Slate, Boston Globe, Aeon, and others. Read a Boston College Magazine essay adapted from his book.
New constitutional law resource
BC Law School Professor Richard Albert, an editor at I-CONnect, the blog of the International Journal of Constitutional Law, and Law School Professor Vlad Perju, director of BC’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy, have established a partnership between their two organizations that has resulted in the publication of a new resource for learning about constitutions from around the world. The Global Review of Constitutional Law will assemble reports that provide an overview of constitutional developments and cases in individual jurisdictions during the previous calendar year. The first edition of the e-book includes 44 jurisdictions, ranging from Finland to Romania to Zambia. According to co-editor Albert, “The reports in this first-of-its-kind volume offer readers systematic knowledge that, previously, has been limited mainly to local networks rather than a broader readership. By making this information available to the larger field of public law in an easily digestible format, we aim to increase the base of knowledge upon which scholars and judges can draw.”
Jesuit-Catholic leadership
Boston College alumnus Maduabuchi Leo Muoneme, S.J. is the author of a new book, The Hermeneutics of Jesuit Leadership in Higher Education (Routledge, 2017). Fr. Muoneme interviewed seven Jesuits who served as university leaders, as well as University of Notre Dame President Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., for this critical analysis of the common values, philosophies, and leadership practices of Jesuit-Catholic university presidents. He looks at the impact the men’s spirituality had on their leadership styles, and the effect their leadership styles had on university policy and culture. Fr. Muoneme, who earned his master’s degree from the Lynch School of Education, is a lecturer and special adviser to the vice chancellor at Veritas University—the Catholic University of Nigeria, Abuja.
Out of this world
Boston College graduate Gina Damico has published Waste of Space (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), a novel geared for teens and young adults. What comes next in the world of television when it feels like everything has already been done? A TV executive decides to launch 10 teens into space and broadcast their journey for an out-of-this-world reality show called “Waste of Space.” The show is a tremendous success, with millions of people tuning in. But the cast members and the audience are unaware that the production is a fake. According to Kirkus Review, “Like the TV show it’s about, nothing in this novel is as it seems, but the journey to discover the truth is out of this world.” Damico’s previous works include, Wax, Hellhole, and the Croak trilogy.
Calamity in D.C.
BC alumna Colleen J. Shogan has published book three in her Washington Whodunit mystery series: Calamity at the Continental Club (Camel Press, 2017). The series follows the adventures of Kit Marshall, a congressional staffer whose life often intersects with mystery and murder. In Calamity at the Continental Club, Kit investigates the murder of Grayson Bancroft, head of the Mayflower Society. The case become personal for Kit when her future father-in-law is named a prime suspect. Shogan’s previous books include Stabbing in the Senate, a 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Award for “Best Mystery,” and Homicide in the House. Shogan is the Library of Congress’ Deputy Director of National and International Outreach. | Publishers Weekly review
The riches in Romans
Penned nearly 2,000 years ago to a specific group of believers, Paul’s Letter to the Romans has as much relevance today as when it was first written, according to Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., dean of Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. In his new book, Written for Our Instruction: Theological and Spiritual Riches in Romans (Paulist Press, 2017), Fr. Stegman explores the messages in Paul’s writing. Fr. Stegman, whose expertise is in the New Testament, is also the author of Opening the Door of Faith: Encountering Jesus and His Call to Discipleship, Second Corinthians, and The Character of Jesus: The Linchpin to Paul’s Argument in 2 Corinthians.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Bible, Catholic, Jesuit author, New Testament, School of Theology and Ministry
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Recognition for The Other Air Force
The Other Air Force: U.S. Efforts to Reshape Middle Eastern Media Since 9/11, written by Associate Professor of Communication and International Studies Matt Sienkiewicz, has been named an outstanding title by the Association of American University Presses. Books designated as outstanding titles are defined as having exceptional editorial content and subject matter and are considered essential additions to most library collections. The association calls The Other Air Force “nuanced” and “worthwhile.” | Read a Q&A with Sienkiewicz from BC News.
After Everest
After Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to summit Mount Everest, his expedition leader said to him: “Don’t make Everest the greatest thing you ever do.” Weihenmayer, a member of the BC Class of 1991, has gone on to lead expeditions around the world with blind Tibetan teenagers, help injured soldiers climb their way home from war, and kayak 277 miles of the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. His journey is captured in his new book, No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon (Thomas Dunne Books/MacMillan, 2017), written with Buddy Levy. Weihenmayer shares his story and those of other trailblazers―adventurers, scientists, artists, and activists―who, despite trauma, hardship, and loss, have broken through barriers of their own. Weihenmayer is also the author of Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man’s Journey to Climb Farther than the Eye Can See. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from BC in 2003. He was recently interviewed by NBC’s “Today.”
It began in Boston
In her new book, Boston College alumna Brooke Barbier tells the story of how Boston radicalized itself against the world’s most powerful empire and helped found the United States of America. Covering the period from 1763 to 1776, Boston in the American Revolution: A Town versus an Empire (Arcadia Publishing/The History Press, 2017) is about ordinary people who lived in an extraordinary time. Barbier tackles familiar subjects like the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere and Samuel Adams, but also reveals the truth about lesser known people and places. She also is the founder of Ye Olde Tavern Tours in Boston. | Book trailer
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