Strong praise for Franz Schurmann’s American Soul (San Francisco: Mercury House, 1993) from sociologist Todd Gitlin (The Sixties). Just released, Gitlin’s own The Twilight of Common Dreams (New York: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt) takes a self-critical aim at the left and its emphasis on multiculturalism. “While the right has been busy taking the White House,” he writes, “the left has been marching on the English department.”
The digitally manipulated pictures in Truths and Fictions (New York: Aperture, November 1995) might not be traditionally recorded moments in time. But Pedro Meyer’s photographs (many of which appeared in the Nov./Dec. 1992 issue of Mother Jones) achieve their own mesmerizing reality.
So you think you can put your conscience to rest just because you wrap your holiday gifts in recycled paper? Forget it: After all, it’s what’s inside that counts. This season, shop with Ellen Berry’s Gifts That Save the Animals (Dayton, Ohio: Foxglove, 1995), or call (800) 58-GREEN to order the National Green Pages (Washington, D.C.: Co-Op America, 1995), a pro-enviro directory that’ll help you find that futon-filled recycled fiber you’ve been looking for.
