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Book
Shelf Harry R. Allcock, Evan Pugh professor of chemistry. Chemistry and Applications of Polyphosphazenes, published by Wiley-Interscience. The 725-page, 19-chapter volume reviews the development of a field of polymer chemistry that Allcock founded and that now involves research and technology in many different laboratories worldwide. The book deals with the fundamental chemical ideas from which the field developed, continues through descriptions of theory, synthetic methods and properties, and ends with chapters on the utilization of the polymers in biomedicine, fuel cells, energy-storage devices, membranes, electro-optics and aerospace materials. Henry A. Giroux, Waterbury chair professor. The Abandoned Generation: Democracy Beyond the Culture of Fear, published by Palgrave/Macmillan, 2003. This book argues that one of the great unspoken and unrecognized tragedies in the United States is the plight of its children. Neoliberal policies in which the market becomes a substitute for democratic values coupled with an emergent culture of fear has created a civic and political crisis for youth. Giroux addresses this "war against youth" and the challenges that need to be addressed if it is to be overcome. Public Spaces/Private Lives: Democracy Beyond 9/11, published by Rowman and Littlefield, 2003. This book argues that we need a new language for translating private problems into social considerations and that such a language must combine a pedagogy of critique with a politics of hope. This book counters the turn to the private sphere with a call to cultivate public visions and democratic politics whose aim is to affirm social justice and critical citizenship and not merely individual identity. |