PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 21, No. 2, July 19, 2001

More Sizzlin' Summer Reading

Photo by Bill Wiegand Eve Harwood

Eve Harwood, interim associate dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, College of Fine and Applied Arts

One of the signs of summer I anticipate with pleasure is contemplating the tall stack of books on my coffee table. I even like the crinkly paper covers on the library books, because they mean that the season to read self-indulgently is here.

In the winter, I thoroughly enjoy novelists like Margaret Atwood ("The Blind Assassin," "Cat’s Eye" and "The Edible Woman" are favorites), who require that you pay attention. Summer standards are different – on the beach one can sport books and clothing one wouldn’t admit to owning the rest of the year. This summer’s reading so far has included an autobiography by ice skater Scott Hamilton, a Rosamunde Pilcher novel called "Winter Solstice" and Jane Smiley’s "Moo," which is a must read for anyone who works at a land-grant Midwestern university.

Being an Anglophile, I like to curl up with Maeve Binchy (all right she’s Irish, but close enough), P.D. James, Barbara Vine, Elizabeth George (all right she’s American but the books are set in England) or Pilcher. In Pilcher’s world, tired folks routinely have a hot bath and a cool gin prior to being served a broiled lamb chop, crusty bread and crisp salad from the garden, served by an unhurried hostess who lays the table with checked linen cloths and heavy silver. In her tasty world the word "toothsome" applies equally to bakery tarts and to a middle-aged male character. So I smack my lips as I consume a PBJ in the Illinois heat and take a mental vacation in the cool English countryside.

Mark J. Kushner, interim head, electrical and computer engineering, Founders Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Photo by Bill Wiegand Mark J. Kushner

It seems as though the only place I get serious reading done, even during the summer, is on an airplane going to-and-fro on my university travel. So my criteria for selecting summer reading material are that the book must be physically small enough to fit in a crowded briefcase next to the laptop and be of the appropriate length to be completed during a round-trip. Those restrictions may eliminate a hardbound New York Times best seller, but do leave open a great selection of interesting works. Some recommended airplane readings:

"Funding Science in America," by James D. Savage: This is the story of "earmarked" funding (i.e., pork barrel) by Congress for universities and colleges. Savage has skillfully picked his way through an emotional and political minefield in presenting that which we in universities secretly wish for but hesitate to admit to in public.

"Splinter Fleet," by Theodore R. Treadwell: Sub-chasers were a hastily built fleet of small wooden ships tasked by the U.S. Navy with performing a plethora of dangerous (and mundane) behind-the-scenes missions during World War II. "Splinter Fleet" is the story of the unjustly forgotten but gallant sub-chasers, largely crewed by young former landlubbers, like Mr. Treadwell, who had never before been on a ship but rose to the challenge of defending their country.

"Caribbean," by James A. Michener: I admit this violates the one-plane-trip criterion (unless you are the speediest of readers) but it is hard to resist an unread Michener novel. "Caribbean" is classic Michener, covering 800 years of the history of the islands, people and events of the Caribbean. There are enough facts, figures, maps and familiar names and scenarios that you are tempted to believe the stories are true.

"War as I Knew It," by George S. Patton: The wartime memoir of perhaps our most accomplished and controversial WWII officer, Gen. George S. Patton, is a fascinating window into his intricate thought processes and motivations. His battle orders for Third Army (Appendix D) are mandatory reading for department heads and deans.

"The Code Book" by Simon Singh: A blend of history and understandable theory, "The Code Book" is an introduction to cryptography for the interested layperson. You may not feel better about the security of the Internet after this read, but at least you will know why you don’t feel better.