2008 Book Descriptions

David Cutler, Ted Botha, and Dennis Stevenson
Plant Anatomy: An Applied Approach
(Blackwell, 2008)

This indispensable textbook provides a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of all aspects of plant anatomy. It emphasizes the application of plant anatomy and its relevance to modern botanical research; features expanded treatment on vegetative anatomy and additional material on functional anatomy; and includes a CD ROM of high quality photographs and scanned electron microscope images, giving students access to the microscopic detail of plant structures essential to gaining a real understanding of the subject. Also on the CD ROM are exercises for the laboratory, making this work an indispensable resource for lectures and laboratory classes. A network version of the Virtual Plant CD-ROM that accompanies the book is available for separate purchase. Dennis Stevenson is Vice President for Botanical Science and Director, Institute of Systematic Botany/Plant Research Laboratory, at New York Botanical Garden, and an adjunct professor of biology at the Graduate Center.

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Janette Tilley, ed.
Andreas Hammerschmidt: Geistlicher Dialogen Ander Theil Including a Setting of Martin Opitz's Salomons des Hebreischen Königes Hohes Liedt
(Recent Researches in Music of the Baroque Era, vol. 150. A-R Editions, 2008)

Andreas Hammerschmidt's Geistlicher Dialogen Ander Theil (1645) is a collection of fifteen sacred lieder, twelve of which use texts from Martin Opitz's paraphrase of the Song of Songs, which had long been a popular choice of text for musical treatment. Hammerschmidt is one of the few composers to approach Opitz's poetry in a systematic way with the intention of setting the entire collection. Arguably one of the most popular and widely heard German composers of his generation, Hammerschmidt writes in a simple yet subtle style appropriate for private and amateur performance. The vocal and instrumental parts are naturally undemanding and could easily be attempted by students. This apparent simplicity should not belie the music its charms and the possibility of tasteful variation in performance. The present contribution makes Hammerschmidt's volume available to modern performers and scholars for the first time. Janette Tilley is an assistant professor of music at Lehman College and the Graduate Center.

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Paul L. Wachtel
Relational Theory and the Practice of Psychotherapy
(New York: Guilford Press, 2008)

This important book explores a new direction that can enable therapists of any orientation to better understand and help their patients. While psychoanalysis has traditionally been seen as a world apart from cognitive-behavioral therapy and many other psychotherapeutic approaches, recent developments in the field are changing that. Relational theory, in emphasizing how relationships shape personality, diverges in key ways from traditional psychoanalytic assumptions and therapeutic practices. At the same time, it preserves, and even extends, the depth of understanding of human experience and psychological conflict that has always been the strength of psychoanalysis. Through probing theoretical analysis and illuminating examples, the book offers innovative and powerful ways to revitalize clinical practice. Paul L. Wachtel, is a distinguished professor of Psychology (Clinical) at City College and the Graduate Center.

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Sally Webster
Eve's Daughter/Modern Woman: A Mural by Mary Cassatt, paperback edition
(University of Illinois Press, 2008)

Sally Webster reevaluates the typical dismissals of Mary Cassatt as an artist lacking radical convictions with an historical, aesthetic, and symbolist analysis of Cassatt's Modern Woman, a unique venture into the male-dominated realm of large-scale mural painting commissioned for the Woman's Building at Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. The author undertakes a complete overview of the mural, synthesizing a wide variety of interpretations and original observations to present the first complete treatment of the work. She connects the symbolism of the painting to Cassatt's life as a woman artist and a member of the Parisian avant-garde, and to the history of woman's emancipation. Dr. Webster ends with a detective story as she joins the hunt to unravel the mystery of the now-missing mural, last known to be in the possession of Mrs. Potter Palmer (of Chicago's Palmer House family). Sally Webster is a professor of art history at Lehman College and the Graduate Center.

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Michael Barnett and Thomas G. Weiss, eds.
Humanitarianism in Question: Politics, Power, Ethics
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008)

Years of tremendous growth in response to complex emergencies have left a mark on the humanitarian sector. Matters that once seemed settled are now subjects of intense debate. What is humanitarianism? Is it limited to the provision of relief to victims of conflict, or does it include broader objectives such as human rights, democracy promotion, development, and peacebuilding? For much of the last century, humanitarianism was guided by the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence. More recently, some humanitarian organizations have begun to relax these tenets. The recognition that humanitarian action can lead to negative consequences has forced humanitarian organizations to measure their effectiveness, to reflect on their ethical positions, and to consider the consequences of their actions. This book brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines to address the humanitarian identity crisis, including humanitarianism's relationship to accountability, great powers, privatization and corporate philanthropy, warlords, and the ethical evaluations that inform life-and-death decision making during and after emergencies. Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at the Graduate Center.

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