__________________________________
Bruce Degen
To symbolize that it is possible to balance an academic career with family and laugh along the
way!
Sarita V.
Adve
Computer Science
__________________________________
The Age of Uncertainty
John Kenneth Galbraith
This surprisingly enjoyable book opens your eyes to the economic ideas that shape our world and
our lives. As scientists and engineers, we take pride in understanding and changing the world
but our influence doesn’t compare to the impact of the ideas described here.
Vikram S.
Adve
Computer Science
__________________________________
A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King,
Jr.
James M. Washington
I chose this book because it clearly demonstrates the brilliance of King. Although
regarded as a great orator and social activist, he was also a philosopher, theologian, political
scientist, author, and essayist. If fate hadn’t intervened, I’m convinced that he would have
redirected his brilliance and become a respected artist in his retirement years. Lastly, I
look forward to my sons reading this text when they become older. Its relevance is timeless.
Reginald J. Alston
Kinesiology and Community Health
__________________________________
Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival
Bernd Heinrich
These tales of winter survival embody the core of economics – the study of the allocation of
scarce resources – and the setting evokes my childhood home in New England.
Amy W. Ando
Agricultural and Consumer Economics
__________________________________
Women in the Material World
Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel
The book presents portraits of individual women from 20 different countries, ranging from Mali
to the U.S. The women talk about their dreams and their difficulties. They point out
the importance of control over their fertility and their children’s education; both are topics I
research. And the pictures are gorgeous!
Mary
Arends-Kuenning
Agricultural and Consumer Economics
__________________________________
Plant Pathology, Fifth Edition
George N. Agrios
I believe this is the most widely used text book in Plant Pathology worldwide. This book has had
very significant impact on dissemination of science of Plant Pathology. The fifth edition of
the book is probably the last edition prepared by the author.
Mohammad
Babadoost
Crop Siences
__________________________________
DNA: The Secret of Life
James D. Watson with Andrew Berry
With his writings, Jim Watson has inspired generations of young scientists (myself included) and
drawn them to the exciting and wonderful world of molecular biology.In this most recent book, he
casts the grand ideas and talks about the future challenges that we will face in the next fifty
years.
Milan
Bagchi
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
__________________________________
Hungerfield and Other Poems
Robinson Jeffers
The peat fires of Connemara
Armand
Beaudoin
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
__________________________________
The best of C. M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Kornbluth’s short stories show extraordinary vision and deep insight into human nature.
Florin
Boca
Mathematics
__________________________________
Handbook of Optical Coherence Tomography
Brett E. Bouma, Guillermo J. Tearney, editors
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging biomedical imaging modality that I have been
involved with since its inception. I believe OCT will play a significant role in helping to
diagnose diseases such as cancer. This book reviews many of the fundamental advances and
applications for this technology.
Stephen
Boppart
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Bioengineering, Medicine
__________________________________
From the Ghetto to the Main: The story of the Jews of Montreal
Joe King
We all bring something of our background to the University of Illinois, and this book documents
an aspect of the world in which I grew up.
Alvan
Bregman
Rare Book and Special Collections Library
__________________________________
The Glorious Burden : The History of the Presidency and Presidential Elections from George
Washington to James Earle Carter
Stefan, Lorant
My father was a high school social studies teacher, and this book was always on our family room
bookshelf when I was growing up. I spent countless hours reading it over and again. To
this day, I still have a deep interest in the Presidency, politics and public policy, thanks to my
father and to this book.
Jeffrey R.
Brown
Finance
__________________________________
The Welfare Economics of Public Policy
Just, Richard, Darrel Hueth, and Andrew Schmitz
Much of my research and teaching is in the area of applied welfare economics. Just, Hueth
and Schmitz wrote the standard reference in this field in 1982. Over two decades, it became
impossible to find this book. People stole them from libraries. Finally, the authors
have revised the book. I want our library to have plenty of copies.
David S.
Bullock
Agricultural and Consumer Economics
__________________________________
Daena Goldsmith
I learned more about communication from this book than any others I have read in a long
time.
John P.
Caughlin
Speech Communication
__________________________________
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Carol S Dweck
‘I love achievement.’ That is what the author once said to me. In this book, the
author describes how achievement can be empowering, and how we can empower ourselves to become a
successful person.
Chi-yue
Chiu
Psychology
__________________________________
Steps to an Ecology of Mind
Gregory Bateson
Steps to an Ecology of Mind has been an extremely influential book in my life. I
discovered it during my undergraduate years spent at UIUC and based my Bachelor’s Thesis on
it and Bateson’s other work. The ideas and problems Bateson raises have yet to be confronted in any
adequate way today even though he astutely anticipated many of the predicaments we now face.
Daniel Thomas
Cook
Advertising
__________________________________
Michael Malone
I selected
Handling Sin because it has given me great joy for nearly twenty years. It is a
life-affirming grand comic adventure novel, that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of
age/race/gender,class, etc. I find I read it of necessity when the egregious behavior of
humankind gets me down. The authors love of humanity–warts and all–shows through clearly,
and is a refreshing reaffirmation of ‘possibility’ and hope in the best and worst of
circumstances. Plus, it’s just plain fun.
Lisa Gaye
Dixon
Theatre
__________________________________
Mind, Language and Reality: Philosophical Papers, Volume 2
Hilary Putnam
These brilliant early papers by Hilary Putnam, especially
The Analytic and the Synthetic,
Dreaming and ‘Depth’ Grammar, and
The Meaning of ‘Meaning’, have inspired and deeply influenced me.
Gary
Ebbs
Philosophy
__________________________________
Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology
Hermann Ebbinghaus
This is the first book I checked out from the library stacks as a first-year graduate
student. This book (originally published in 1885) is historically important because it showed
that memory (and by extension other mental processes) could be studied scientifically and
quantitatively. In this day and age in which I am studying memory and aging processes as they
unfold in the brain, I still find this book, and the pioneering work of Ebbinghaus, inspiring.
Monica
Fabiani
Psychology
__________________________________
The
St. Paul
Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald (eds. Patricia Hampl and Dave Page)
F. Scott Fitzgerald and I share the same hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. When I was a child,
my mother shared with me her love of Fitzgerald’s short stories about St. Paul and its
people. This volume is the first to collect them all together in one place. No one captures the
sparkling, icy, breathtaking cold of a Minnesota winter night quite like Fitzgerald.
Cara A.
Finnegan
Speech Communication
__________________________________
Theoretical Astrophysics, Volume I: Astrophysical Processes
Thanu Padmanabhan
This book reviews the foundations of modern astrophysics, from cosmology to the structure of
stars. It is as complete an introduction to the field as one could hope to find in one volume,
and a real treasure for both graduate students and professors!
Charles F.
Gammie
Astronomy and Department of Physics
__________________________________
The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz
A colleague told me of this little self-help book and he recommended that I read it. I did,
and I enjoyed it very much. It was a refreshing break from the grind of work.
Timothy A.
Garrow
Food Science and Human Nutrition
__________________________________
Courts
Martin Shapiro
A classic in comparative law, and the masterpiece of my PhD advisor.
Tom
Ginsburg
Law
__________________________________
Lectures on conversation edited by Gail Jefferson
Sacks,
Harvey
This book is a seminal work in the field. With his lectures, Sacks became the founder of an
entire field ‘Conversation Analysis.’
Andrea
Golato
Germanic Languages and Literatures
__________________________________
Words and rules: The ingredients of language
Steven Pinker
I found the research questions addressed in this book to be so fascinating as to convince me to
accept the ideas it advanced, and embark upon an entirely new research program.
Peter
Golato
French
__________________________________
Main Street
Sinclair Lewis
The book tells an important story about modernity and enlightenment. As a former Peace
Corps volunteer and now professor, having social impact is important. Sinclair Lewis deftly
teaches us about humility and respect for our fellow human beings as we set about trying to change
the world around us.
Peter
Goldsmith
Agricultural and Consumer Economics
__________________________________
John von Neumann
Collected Works
John von Neumann was an astoundingly creative mathematician and innovator with significant
contributions to mathematics, economics and computer science. His work is inspiration to many of
us; his utter brilliance is quite humbling.
Christoforos Nikos Hadjicostis
Electrical and Computer Engineering
__________________________________
Acoustic Phonetics
Kenneth Noble Stevens
When I joined Ken Stevens as a doctoral student in 1991, his book
Acoustic Phonetics already existed in the form of a series of lecture notes that were
being continuously revised and re-ordered. He intended this book as, in effect, an updated and
expanded version of Gunnar Fant’s definitive 1960 text,
The Acoustic Theory of Speech Production. Ken continued working on the book during
the entire period of my doctoral and post-doctoral studies. During this time, light banter
about the progress of his book was a continuous source of amusement and inspiration for his
students and colleagues. We could all see, clearly, that he refused to publish the book until
everything in it was correct; we could also see that, in so doing, he was postponing its
publication to the point of absurdity. The book was finally published in 1999, the year that I
came to Urbana as an Assistant Professor. The most highly reputed phoneticians in the world
have called this ‘the key sourcebook for many years to come.’ Indeed, it gives me pleasure to
share the birth of my career with a textbook that is designed to be definitive for the next 40
years.
Mark Allan Hasegawa-Johnson
Electrical and Computer Engineering
__________________________________
Harry Bolton Seed Volume
National Academy of Engineering
Prof. Seed is a pioneer in the geotechnical eathquake engineering field. This book acquaints the
reader with the professional legacy of Prof. Seed and his numerous contributions.
Youssef Hashash
Civil & Environmental Engineering
__________________________________
Self-theories
Carol S. Dweck
This book can change a person’s life. It presents two frameworks, based on my mentor Carol
S. Dweck’s lifetime of research, within which people understand themselves and other
people. One framework predicts emotional misery and maladaptive reactions in the face of
setback, whereas the other framework predicts resilience. This book enables readers to reflect
on the framework they would like to use in their life.
Ying-yi
Hong
Psychology
__________________________________
Evolution in Age Structured Populations, Second Edition
Brian Charlesworth
It was written by my Ph.D. supervisor, and it has been the most influential book in my
professional career. In it, Brian Charlesworth develops the mathematical theory of
evolution in organisms with overlapping generations (where different ages coexist at the same time,
like in humans). The evolutionary process in these kinds of organisms is complicated because
it involves the interaction of genetics, natural selection, and population demography. This
theory has profound implications for many of the most fundamental problems in evolutionary
biology: life-history evolution, the evolution of senescence (aging), kin selection, sexual
selection, and the evolution of mating systems.
Kimberly A.
Hughes
Animal Biology
__________________________________
You tai xian guan bi ji
Yu, Yue
While I was being treated for cancer, I tried to read this book and could not, no longer able to
end the sentences. Once I recovered, I could read it again, and came to see the book and its
author as my companion in a dark hour. I couldn’t bear to return it to the library for a long
time.
Rania
Huntington
East Asian Language & Cultures
_____________________________________
Posttranslational Modification of Proteins: Expanding Nature’s Inventory
Christopher T. Walsh
Neil L. Kelleher
Chemistry
_______________________________
Designing and Managing the Supply Chain: Concepts, Strategies, and Case Studies
David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kamisky, Edith Simchi-Levi
A nice mixture of theory and practice written by experts in the field
Diego Klabjan
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
__________________________________
Citizen Soldiers
Stephen E. Ambrose
A great book about how the independent actions of ordinary soldiers in WWII, collectively lead
to an extraordinary outcome. It follows their responses to day to day difficulties, and how they
overcame these most challenging times order to do their job.
Robert V.
Knox
Animal Sciences
__________________________________
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
It was the first book I remember that dealt with issues of social justice.
Sandra Kopels
Social Work
__________________________________
Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis
This book has had a strong impact on my intellectual as well as my spiritual
development. Lewis not only taught me to think critically about my earlier bias against
Christianity; he also trained me to think more critically about philosophical assumptions in
general, including those underlying my discipline.
Irene
Koshik
English as an International Language
__________________________________
Norton Juster
The Phantom Tollbooth
“But it’s not just learning things that’s important. It’s learning what to do with what you
learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters.”
The
Phantom Tollbooth taught me about learning and exploration and the wonders of imagination.
I was even more fortunate to have my own Milo to guide me through life, foster my desire to learn
and set me on my journey to becoming a teacher.
Robin Kravets
Computer Science
__________________________________
Principles of Psychology
William James
It exemplifies qualities I admire: keen observation, courage, originality, and great
writing.
Frances E.
Kuo
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
__________________________________
Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiologcal Evolution
Peter W. Hochachka and George N. Somero
Written by my academic Great Grandfather and Grandfather, this book is the last in a series of
essays that has profoundly influenced my thinking, research, and career.
Kurt E.
Kwast
Molecular & Integrative Physiology
__________________________________
The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N
Leonard Q. Ross (Leo C. Rosten)
This book humorously portrays both a joy and a frustration similar to those I have experienced
over the last six years in working with students on research and in teaching!
James M.
LaFave
Civil & Environmental Engineering
__________________________________
Concrete (2nd Edition)
S. Mindess and J.F. Young, and D. Darwin
This book is the leading textbook in the field of concrete materials, the area of my
work. One of the authors, UIUC Professor Emeritus Francis Young, was instrumental in
recruiting me to come to the University, and served as an influential mentor through the years.
David A.
Lange
Civil & Environmental Engineering
__________________________________
Areopagitica and Other Political Writings of John Milton
John Milton
Milton’s classic defense of freedom of expression against censorship remains a viable argument
almost four hundred years later. First introduced to this work as an English major on this campus,
it has come to personally represent for me a central tenet of my professional code of ethics as a
librarian.
Mary S.
Laskowski
University Library
__________________________________
Home Advantage
Annette Lareau
Lareau’s work is interesting to me as a scholar of social class differences in students’
learning, but it is perhaps even more enlightening to me as a former working-class kid who is now a
middle-class parent.
Sarah Theule
Lubienski
Curriculum and Instruction
__________________________________
Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in
America
, 2nd Edition
John D’Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman
Intimate Matters is a model for doing work that centralizes the intersectionalities of
race, class, gender and sexuality. In addition to being a great read on the history of
sexuality in the U.S., it’s an easy book to teach.
Cris
Mayo
EPS
__________________________________
Voices of the Mind: A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action
James V. Wertsch
Voices of the Mind has served as an inspiration for my research, teaching, and personal life.
The author has provided a scholarly, innovative, yet accessible explication of the work of Mikhail
Bakhtin. The book demonstrates how the mind develops through engagement in dialogue with the social
world.
Sarah Jane
McCarthey
Curriculum and Instruction
__________________________________
Cyclic Homology
Jean-Louis Loday
Randy McCarthy
Mathematics
__________________________________
3D Radiative Transfer in Cloudy Atmospheres
A. Marshak
One of the most pressing problems in better predicting future scenarios of global climate change
is obtaining a better understanding of three-dimensional cloud radiation effects. I selected this
book because it gives an overview of issues in this field that are not represented in any other
book in the university library.
Greg
McFarquhar
Atmospheric Sciences
__________________________________
Chasin The Trane
Thomas, J. C.
I selected this book because it documents the life of the artist who has had the most musical
impact on my life as a performing artist and my passion, jazz improvising. Tenor saxophonist John
Coltrane has influened millions of jazz musicians throughout the world and is one of my earliest
and deepest influences. His sound and expressiveness were the main two elements that brought
me to jazz and continue to inspire me!
Charles L.
McNeill
Music
__________________________________
How to Set Parameter. Arguments from Language Change
David Lightfoot
This book opened my eyes and my heart to the study of my current disccipline when I was a
graduate student.
Silvina
Montrul
Spanish Italian and Portuguese
__________________________________
Mutants of Maize
M. Gerald Neuffer, Edward H. Coe, Susan R. Wessler
The visually dramatic variations in the morphology of the maize plant are fascinating to all who
observe them and have contributed greatly to our understanding of plant biology. This book
documents the interesting history and science of maize genetics and presents exciting opportunities
for future discovery.
Stephen
Moose
Crop Sciences
__________________________________
The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
Most important, this is a fabulous adventure story, but it is also a sly meditation on good and
evil, consciousness, and many other grand issues. It is also wonderful to see a science fiction
update of
Paradise Lost!
Daniel
Morrow
Institute
of
Aviation
__________________________________
The Good Soldier Svejk: His Fortunes in the World War
Jaroslav Hasek
This book describes the 1914-1918 World War I in Europe through eyes of the good soldier Svejk.
However, looking at the world situation today, many of Svejk’s observations are very timely. I
often think about this book when reading about the current world affairs.
Klara
Nahrstedt
Computer Science
__________________________________
Blessings
Anna Quindlen
This author so beautifully describes how an act of kindness can transform people’s lives.
Ann M.
Nardulli
Molecular and Integrative Physiology
__________________________________
Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology
Valentino Braitenberg
The clever thought experiments in this entertaining little book got me hooked on trying to
understand brains, behavior, and the evolution of intelligence.
Mark E.
Nelson
Molecular & Integrative Physiology
__________________________________
Gilbert F. White
This 1945 book was a reprint of White’s 1942 dissertation at the University of Chicago. By
taking a broad view, he redefined flooding as a problem of both natural and human systems. His view
is now the basis of U.S. floodplain management policy. His dissertation was an inspiration to me as
I wrote my dissertation.
Robert
Olshansky
Urban and Regional Planning
__________________________________
Time Series Analysis and Its Applications
Robert Shumway and David Stoffer
This book is about a very fascinating topic, written by even more fascinating statisticians who
love their work but love life even more.
Hernando
Ombao
Statistics
__________________________________
Lonesome Dove
Larry McMurtry
This book is one of my husband’s favorites. I hope it brings the reader as much joy as it has
brought him.
Cornelia C.
Otnes
Business Administration
__________________________________
Selections From the Prison Notebooks
Antonio Gramsci
Gramsci’s prison notebooks–his merging of humanism and science–have profoundly affected social
theories in fields as unlike as archaeology (my own) is, from sociology and political science. It
is essential for any understanding of the ancient or present-day world.
Timothy R. Pauketat
Anthropology
__________________________________
Fracture of Functionally Graded Materials, Special Issue of the International Journal of
Engineering and Fracture Mechanics (Vol. 69, Nos. 14-16) Elsevier 2002
G. H. Paulino, Editor
Research on functionally graded materials (FGMs) considers, in a large sense, functions of
gradients in materials comprising thermodynamic, mechanical, chemical, optical, electromagentic,
and/or biological aspects. I hope that whoever reads this statement will be motivated to learn more
aobut the fascinating field of FGMs.
Glaucio Paulino
Civil & Environmental Engineering
__________________________________
Michael Riordan
This book is a fascinating description of the early years of modern elementary particle
physics. It describes the first experiments to definitively prove that protons and neutrons
are not fundamental particles, instead they are made of smaller objects known as quarks.
Kevin T. Pitts
Physics
__________________________________
Friction: An Introduction to Tribology
Bowden and Tabor
Tribology, ‘the science and technology of interacting surfaces in relative motion and all
practices related thereto,’ became an important scientific discipline due to Bowden and Tabor’s
work. The book is very well conceptualized, written in a simple way, yet addresses many of the
complexities involved in this field, and has been a great inspiration for me.
Andreas A.
Polycarpou
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
__________________________________
Asian American Psychology : the Science of Lives in Contex
Sumie Okazaki
My wife is co-editor of this book.
Allen M.
Poteshman
Finance
__________________________________
The Gormenghast Trilogy
Peake, Mervyn
The University of Illinois Library has been a great place for me. My life and research have
been enriched immeasurably by the books I found in the collection, and the
Gormenghast Trilogy symbolizes perfectly what a great library is about. I discovered
the Library’s worn paperback copies of it when I needed some pleasure reading while completing a
reserach project. The characters and especially the sense of place evoked by the books will
never leave me. They are great works of imaginative fiction and I hope this copy of Peake’s
masterpiece enjoys a long and widely read life in the library
Chris
Prom
University Archives
__________________________________
Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior
Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty
Effective teaching and student advising require an ability to recognize the student’s natural
abilities, as well as their shortcomings. Phil Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA
championships, and managed to unify a diverse group of role players and stars with a superstar
named Michael Jordan. I believe that excellence in teaching and in coaching athletics (as
pointed out by Phil Jackson) require similar types of skills.
Dean E.
Riechers
Crop Sciences
__________________________________
The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of
Stanley
Milgram
Thomas Blass
This book captures something unusual for my field of social psychology (or any scientific field
for that matter): a charismatic ‘character’ who in addition to pushing the boundaries of the
field was also the sort of colorful personality who would be at home in a comedic novel.
Neal
Roese
Psychology
__________________________________
Cat’s Eye
Margaret Atwood
Deliberate abstruseness is not a virtue. Thus, I recommend the works of Margaret Atwood to young
researchers; when we write a research paper, we should choose our words as carefully as does
Atwood. Her novels are works of art, and also terrific stories.
Cat’s Eye is one of my favorites.
Elyse
Rosenbaum
Electrical and Computer Engineering
__________________________________
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
Mark A. Noll
This book implores Evangelicals not to abandon intellectual rigor and the life of the mind for
the sake of mere comfort or simplicity. Its indictment of modern evangelicalism inspired me to
pursue a career in the academy.
Thomas J.
Rudolph
Political Science
__________________________________
Financial Statement Analysis and Security Valuation
Stephen H. Penman
It is the first book connecting in a comprehensive way the principles of modern finance and
financial statements produced by the accrual accounting system. It is also the first book that
fully exploits the articulation of financial accounting in carrying out financial statement
analysis for equity security valuation.
Theodore
Sougiannis
Accountancy
__________________________________
Restoring Nature: Perspectives From the Social Sciences and Humanities
Paul Gobster and Bruce Hull
Restoring Nature has enlarged the scope of restoration ecology from the province of
environmental biologists to a broad range of experts and citizens concerned with healthy
communities, social justice, and quality of life in developed areas. It aligns with my
research directed at building healthy communities in which human connections to nature are
transparent and community culture appreciates environmental ‘services.’ This edited volume has
helped me recognize new roles for parks and their planning processes. Both Paul Gobster and
Bruce Hull are friends who have been part of my growth and development.
William
Stewart
Recreation, Sport and Tourism
__________________________________
ESV Reformation Study Bible
Edited by R.C. Sproul
The ESV (English Standard Version) Reformation Study Bible is a scholarly work that combines the
latest translation research with insight on reformed Christian theology as the 500th anniversary of
the Reformation nears. It is an invaluable resource for anyone who wishes to better understand
the most important book in history.
Rick
Strand
School
of
Architecture
__________________________________
Transformation of American Quakerism: Orthodox Friends, 1800-1907
Hamm, Thomas D.
I chose this book to honor Tom Hamm, my favorite undergraduate history professor. As part
of a grant funded seminar in which faculty and students conducted primary research for publication,
Tom loaded up the class in the Earlham van and toured the area where our research subjects, whose
lives we were uncovering through minutes and land records, lived and worked. The power of
place and local history was never more vivid.
Ellen
Swain
University Library/Archives
__________________________________
John Kennedy Toole
This book has no special academic significance to me, it’s just a pleasure to read.
Patrick
Vargas
Advertising
__________________________________
Candide
Voltaire
Candide’s incisive social satire is as hilarious and relevant now as when it was
written. It also has a lot to say about academic careers: ‘I would be glad to know which is
worst, to be ravished a hundred times by Negro pirates, to have one buttock cut off, to run the
gauntlet among the Bulgarians, to be whipped and hanged at an auto-da-fe, to be dissected, to be
chained to an oar in a galley; and, in short, to experience all the miseries through which every
one of us [who are Professors] hath passed, or to remain here doing nothing?’
‘This,’ said Candide, ‘is a grand question.’
Venugopal V.
Veeravalli
Electrical & Computer Engineering
__________________________________
Ethica symbolica e fabularum umbris in veritatis lucem varia eruditione
M. Pexenfelder
This book is a late example of the “mens emblematicus, ”
consisting of so-called “nude emblems” and demonstrating how classical texts can be read as
religious ones. His examples are the stuff emblems are made of. I very much wanted an
emblem book to be purchased as it reflects both a prominent collection strength and an area of my
research.
Mara Wade
German Deparment
__________________________________
History of Structuralism (vols. I & II)
Francois Dosse
Theory always has a history, even as it tries to abstract patterns from the intellectual,
cultural, social and political formations of any historical moment. In this wonderful
two-volume study, Dosse illuminates some of the most influential theories of our own moment by
situating them within their formative contexts.
Julia A.
Walker
English
__________________________________
Xi shi xiu xiang zhen cang ben hong lou meng / Cao Xueqin, Gao E zhu ; Zhou Shuwen dian jiao ;
Gai Qi hui xiang.
Cao, Xueqin, ca 1717-1763.
It is one of the greatest novels in Chinese literature and one of my favorite since I was
12. This volume has some nice pictures illustrating the story and characters, which may be
enjoyed even if you don’t read Chinese!
Ranxiao Frances Wang
Psychology
__________________________________
Dreams of a Final Theory
Steven Weinberg
This book captures the intellectual excitement of elementary particle physics better than any
that I know of. I recall reading it right around the time that I was offered a position at
the University of Illinois, so it has special meaning to me.
Scott
Willenbrock
Physics
__________________________________
Poor People’s Movements
Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward
Cynthia Williams
College of Law
__________________________________
Donald Kennedy
This book came out when I started my academic career, and has since been a beacon.
Xudong
Zhang
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
__________________________________
Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
I chose this book because it inspired me during my teen years to follow my own path and gain
knowledge through personal experience. As thought by Siddhartha, one must find the source
within one’s own self.
Federico A.
Zuckerman
Pathobiology