Review NONFICTION
A Woman in the Crossfire:
Diaries of the Syrian Revoiution
Samar Yazbek, trans, from the Arabic by Max
Weiss. Haus (Consortium, dist.), $18.95 trade
paper (269p) ISBN 978-1-908323-12-5
Amid the horrific news about Syrian
dissidents, mass killings, and government
claims of terrorists, this unique docu-
ment, written in the first months of the
uprising, is a chronicle both of objective
events and the visceral and psychic re-
sponses of an impassioned activist and
artist. Yazbek, a writer, documentarian,
and member of the ruling Alawite clan,
had already sacrificed her privileged posi-
tion through provocative acts even before
the revolution began on March 15, 2011.
The diaries, which begin on March 25,
document her experience through the ear-
ly months of the uprising as she partici-
pates in and observes the first demonstra-
tions, goes into hiding in an apartment in
downtown Damascus, defies her interro-
gators and witnesses torture in a secret
prison, interviews activists, soldiers, and
eyewitnesses to slaughter, and prepares to
leave Syria to protect her daughter and
"communicate to the world what's hap-
pening here." The book weaves journalis-
tic reporting with intimate, poetic mus-
ings on an appalling reality. As she writes:
"Death is a mobile creature that now
walks on two legs.... I arti the crime of
treason against my society and my sect,
but I am no longer afraid." Agent: Jasmina
Jraissati, Raya Agency, France. (Sept.)
' ^ The Spine of the Continent:
The iVIost Ambitious Wildiife
Conservation Project Ever
Undertaken
iViary Eiien Hannibal. Globe Pequot, $24.95
(288p) ISBN 978-0-7627-7214-8
Hannibal {Leaves and Pods) offers a grip-
ping and informative look at the found-
ing of bioconservation, the scientists and
controversies behind environmental sci-
ence, and the ambitious, necessary exten-
sion of theoretical knowledge into practi-
cal application with the formation of con-
nected wildlife corridors from Canada to
Mexico. Giving equal time to anecdotes
and interviews, Hannibal supports her en-
gaging and swift narrative with hard
facts. This book is far more engrossing
and dramatic than the title suggests; it
goes beyond the politics of wildlife pro-
tection to present a real history of
America's habitat, the animals within it,
the people who' study them, and the dis-
parate motivations behind responsible
conservation. Deep dives into the ecology
of species both nativebeavers, wolves,
jaguar, and pikaand not native
cowsreveal the interdependence of hu-
mans and their wilder counterparts in the
woods and plains. A thoroughly satisfying
gem, readers will find themselves in the
company of America's best minds (Jared
Diamond, Michael Soule) and heroes
(Sherri Tippie), as Hannibal travels
through landscapes chronicling the efforts
underway to keep North America habit-
able for the plants and animals that first
lived here and the people who now call it
home. This is what scientific writing
should be: fascinating and true. Agent:
Eleanor Jackson, Markson Thoma Literary
Agency. (Sept.)
Sex and God at Yaie:
Porn, Poiiticai Correctness, and a
Good Education Gone Bad
Nathan Harden. St. Martin's/Dunne, $25.99
(304p) ISBN 978-0-31261-790-5
Sex features more prominently than
God in this critique of Ivy League culture
from 2009 Yale graduate and conservative
commentator Harden, author o National
Review Online's, "Phi Beta Cons" column.
Taking his inspiration from William F. '
Buckley's seminal 1954 polernic, Man arid
God at Yale, Harden looks back to his col-
lege years to conclude that the campus's
permissive sexual culture, abetted by its
liberal politics, has sapped the university
of a once-firm dedication to "public-spir-
itedness." Chief among his complaints is
Yale's raucous, semiannual Sex Week, par-
ticularly its involvement with sex toy and
porn producers. Drawing on the work of
antiporn activist Gail Dines, Harden ar-
gues that an inherently misogynistic in-
dustry deserves no place on a campus
committed to feminist values. Other is-
sues raised range from a student's lurid
plans for a perforrnance art exhibit sup-
posedly made from her own aborted fetus-
es to screenings of sexually explicit mov-
ies in language and film classes. While
readers can admire Harden's account of
gaining admission to Yale after a rocky
educational path and without the privi-
leges enjoyed by many of his classmates.
even those sympathetic to his case will
find him lacking wit and persuasiveness.
A foreword by his primary influence's son,
novelist Christopher Buckley, contains all
of the rhetorical and verbal gusto missing
from the book itself Agent: Jon Sternfeld,
Irene Goodman Agency. (Sept.)
Kissed by a Fox and Other Stories
of Friendship in Nature
Prisciiia Stuci<ey. Counterpoint (PGW, dist.),
$16.95 trade paper (384p) iSBN 978-1-58243-
812-2
Through a tenderly woven collection of
essays that blend personal reflections with
spirituality, philosophy, animal behavior-
ism, evolution, geology ^nd ecology, first-
time author Stuckey explores the great
rift between the living, breathing world
and the modern'culture bent on develop-
ing and destroying it. Stuckey, who has a
Midwestern Mennonite background, and
holds a Ph.D. in religious studies and
feminist theory, uses her experiences with
loss and illness to demonstrate the heal-
ing power of nature. On her path to sol-
ace, using her keen grasp on history, reli-
gion, and earth sciences, Stuckey pursues
big-picture enlightenment through
friendship and communication with
creeks, trees, trails, and, most often, with
animals. The narratives are well paced,
using flashbacks wisely, and the language
lyrical, possessing a poet's cleverness of
rhythm. If the reader is not moved to re-
locate to the wilderness or at least to plant
a tree, it might have something to do
with Stuckey's consultation of a variety of
New Age healers, one of whom teaches
her how to communicate with animals via
a telepathic exchange of picturessuch
moments undermine the effectiveness of
an otherwise entertaining and emotional-
ly resonant book. Agent: Kristina Holmes,
the Holmes Agency. (Sept.)
Broadway Tails:
Heartfeit Stories of Rescued Dogs
Who Became Showbiz Superstars
Biii Berioni and Jim Hanrahan. Lyons, $19.95
(256p) ISBN 978-0-7627-8308-3
Both animal and theater lovers are like-
lyto be amused and moved by Berloni's
memoir of his work over three decades as
the pre-eminent animal trainer for
Broadway shows. Beginning in the mid-
1970s, Berioni put his love of animals to
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