University of Minnesota Alumni Association

	Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2008 > November-December 2008   Off the Shelf 11/5/2008 8:05 AM Bonny’s America: Cut the Woman Some Slacks! By Bonny Belgum (B.A. ’84) Ken Arnold Books, 2008 Belgum’s talent as a humor writer shines in this collection of essays about the absurdities of everyday life. She addresses a range of seemingly obscure but ultimately universal topics, such as the hazards of picking one’s teeth with the blade of a Swiss Army knife, the real meaning of those little piles of stuff around the house, and dealing with self-recrimination after failing to offer a snappy comeback to an offensive question. A welcome antidote to the heaviness of recent economic and political affairs. Funding Fathers: The Unsung Heroes of the Conservative Movement By Nicole Hoplin (M.A. ’07) and Ron Robinson Regnery Publishing, 2008 The co-authors set out to set the record straight about political gifts and to dispel the myths about liberal and conservative donors. The authors argue that liberals earn more money than conservatives, that conservatives give more than liberals, and that the media portrays liberals as selfless givers and conservatives as selfish hoarders. The book profiles donors who have fueled the conservative movement in America and explains that these unheralded figures have had as much influence as Ronald Reagan and William F. Buckley Jr. in communicating the conservative point of view. Northern Treasure: The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Horticultural Research Center Text by Susan Davis Price Photographs by John Gregor Afton Press, 2008 In 1908, the Minnesota Legislature established the Fruit Breeding Farm as part of the U’s Horticulture Department. From this 78-acre tract evolved the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, which today offers the public more than 1,000 acres of gardens, model landscapes, and natural areas. This pictorial ode to Minnesota’s beloved botanic refuge takes the reader on a season-by-season tour of each garden, from the formal English knot garden to the wild Bennett/Johnson Prairie. Price draws on a wealth of original sources and interviews, as well as historic photographs, to document the story of how the Arboretum became one of the nation’s most respected horticultural institutions. Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform Text by Karin Winegar Photographs by Judy Olausen (B.S. ’67) De Capo Press, 2008 Through words and photographs, Winegar, an award-winning journalist who studied for her master’s in literature at the University, and Olausen, a world-renowned photographer, tell the stories of people whose lives were changed by the animals they rescued. These remarkable accounts of dogs, cats, horses, and other animals that have been betrayed are testaments to the power of healing, love, and loyalty. The book includes a foreword by primate researcher Jane Goodall and a preface by animal welfare advocate Temple Grandin. Wellstone: Conscience of the Senate Edited by Mark Richard Ireland (J.D. ’00) North Star Press of St. Cloud, 2008 The late Senator Paul Wellstone was known for his fiery oratory on behalf of social and economic justice. His passion resonates in this collection of his speeches delivered on the floor of the Senate during his 12-year career, from 1991 to 2002. The book includes heartfelt remembrances that Congressional colleagues offered from the floor after Wellstone’s death in a plane crash.