Andover Bookshelf

It’s About a Dog

by Maggie Couch ’72
Who Chains You Publishing

In this handsomely illustrated picture book, Oliver the Owl narrates the story of the neglected dog that lives chained up under the tree Oliver calls home. Despite his natural aversion to canines, Oliver discovers he can’t fly away from the plight of his fellow being. As you turn the pages, wishing for a happy ending, you feel the author’s passion for our furry, four-pawed friends and her hope that no dog in the world ever goes unloved again.

Why Wall Street Matters

by William D. Cohan ’77
Random House

In this must-read for people on both sides of the political aisle, respected financial journalist and bestselling author of House of Cards Cohan traces the history of Wall Street, offers a solid explanation of what Wall Street does and why it still matters, and proposes a series of reforms to make sure Wall Street continues to do what it does best while holding it accountable when things go wrong. 

Be a Teacher: A Memoir in Ten Ideas

by David “Red” Smith ’61
Outskirts Press

Ten chapters, ten lessons gleaned from Smith’s six-plus decades of experience as student and teacher in independent schools. Beginning with “Knowledge” and ending with “Love,” Smith’s stories and descriptions keep you turning the page. You’ll not soon forget nurse Miss Jordan’s double-jointed elbows nor Smith’s description of “Scotty” Royce’s voice, “When he talks, gravel seems to be pouring out the back of a dump truck in long, rumbly slides.” 

She

by Lucretia Bingham ’64
Keith Publications

Life is sunny and warm for Ophelia and Stuart who fall in love in the High Atlas mountains in Morocco and set about blending their six daughters into one family—until one daughter is kidnapped. When the lovers set out on separate quests and members of this newly formed family form unexpected alliances, questions abound: Will alliances hold? Can the new family face the danger together and come out as a whole? And, most importantly, will love prevail?

Captured by Light: Black and White Photography ~ Fifty Years

by Eric Myrvaagnes ’57
Radiant ~ Arts

Photographer Myraagnes handpicked the black-and-white images in this striking collection from over 50 years of work and organized them into five compelling categories: Singular Images, Rocks and Trees, Road Tar, Sand, and Ice. While each photograph radiates its own emotional story, the buildup from one to the next brings into focus the photographer’s interest, eye, and heart. The brief bits of narrative throughout offer just enough context without eroding the powerful visual experience.

Wild Life: Adventures of an Evolutionary Biologist

by Robert Trivers ’61
Biosocial Research Publications

Trivers is a renowned scientist with a reputation as a living legend in biology and the social sciences, but unlike others in this elite set, he’s also spent time behind bars, driven a getaway car, and founded an armed group in Jamaica to protect gay men from mob violence. In this riveting memoir, Trivers turns his keen scientific eye to American racism, the history of psychiatry, who killed Peter Tosh, and much more. 

Poetry and Thinking of the Chagga: Contributions to East African Ethnology

translated from German by Shelby Tucker ’53 and Ilona Gruber Drivdal (written by Bruno Gutmann)
Signal Books Limited

Thanks to this translation by Tucker and Drivdal, ethnologist and missiologist Bruno Gutmann’s first book about the Chagga is no longer out of reach to English-speaking Africanists and students of mission history. The story of Gutmann’s three decades living with the Chagga on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro in what is now Tanzania begisn with this book, and, as Tucker writes in the Foreword, he and Drivdal hope this will encourage others to translate his other works into English. 

Crocodiles and Ice: A Journey into Deep Wild

by Jon Turk ’63
Oolichan Books

While you can’t help but wince and cheer at the ups and downs of scientist/adventurer Turk’s award-winning polar expedition circumnavigating Ellesmere Island, the tenth largest island in the world, it’s really the internal story that propels this memoir forward...Turk’s lifelong journey from suburban Connecticut to a passion for Deep Wild, an ancient passage, and his belief in finding the wild in our everyday lives. 

Editor’s note: If you would like your book to be considered for publication, please email a high-resolution image of the book cover along with a brief 75-word summary of your book to Associate Editor Rita Savard. Books will be included at the discretion of the editor.