Hot off the presses: Recent works by McGill authors

Big-time Shakespeare by Michael Bristol

The most celebrated playwright in the world, William Shakespeare’s works have been the grist of classroom discussions for generations. However, the Bard’s reach extends far beyond the ivory towers of academia. McGill English professor Michael Bristol says Shakespeare’s ability to turn a phrase has aided scores of publishers, theatrical producers and filmmakers in turning a buck. In popular culture, Shakespeare has made the big-time -- as popular and influential in his own way as the Beatles or Elvis Presley. With the recent release of such films as Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, and Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, Bristol’s analysis of Shakespeare’s enduring popularity -- and continuing commercial appeal -- is particularly timely.

Published by Routledge. Professor Bristol can be contacted at 514-398-6589.

Kasparov Versus Deep Blue: Computer Chess Comes of Age by Monty Newborn

Last year, Garry Kasparov, the world’s reigning chess champion, took on IBM’s chess supercomputer Deep Blue in a battle that captured imaginations around the world. After being rocked by an early defeat, Kasparov rallied to win the match, but the battle clearly demonstrated that chess computing had come of age. McGill computer science professor Monty Newborn was the chief organizer for that event and his Kasparov Versus Deep Blue chronicles the classic match and the history of chess playing computers that led up to it. Newborn organized the rematch between Kasparov and Deep Blue which took place this month.

Published by Springer. Professor Newborn can be contacted at 514-398-7079.

Gabrielle Roy: Une Vie by François Ricard

Despite reservations about literary biographies, McGill professor of French literature François Ricard couldn’t refuse Gabrielle Roy’s request that he write hers. One year before her death in 1983, she presented Ricard, her friend and agent, with a manuscript and asked him to base her biography on the material contained within. He did. The result was seven years of research, three years of writing and over 600 pages about a very special figure in Canadian letters. Ricard’s balanced look at Ms Roy’s remarkable life has been well received by critics and readers alike.

Published by Boréal. fricard [at] peterson.lan.mcgill.ca"">Professor Ricard can be contacted at 514-398-6883.

Shame and Humiliation: Presidential Decision Making on Vietnam by Blema Steinberg

The decisions made by American presidents have far-reaching consequences -- affecting millions of people in the U.S. and abroad. According to Blema Steinberg, a McGill professor of political science and a practising psychoanalyst, these choices are invariably influenced by the presidents’ personal life experiences -- for better or worse. In her book, Shame and Humiliation, Steinberg argues that the decisions by Presidents Johnson and Nixon to escalate America’s involvement in the Vietnam War had much to do with their personal insecurities. Steinberg is currently studying how President Bill Clinton’s own life history has helped shaped his foreign policy decisions.

Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press and University of Pittsburgh Press. blema [at] leacock.lan.mcgill.ca (Professor Steinberg) can be contacted at 514-398-4811.

Inside the Statues of Saints by George Szanto

The latest book by novelist and McGill professor George Szanto evolved from a three-part radio series on Mexican culture that he put together for the CBC’s "Arts Tonight" in 1995. Inside the Statues of Saints: Mexican Writers on Culture and Corruption, Politics and Daily Life is a series of conversations with some of Mexico’s leading contemporary writers. "It’s a glimpse of how Mexico works on a day-to-day basis," says Szanto, "through the eyes of the people who know the country best -- its writers." Winner of the 1995 QSPELL Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, for his novel Friends & Marriages, Szanto has written a number of other books including the much-praised novel The Underside of Stones, published last month by XYZ as La face cachée des pierres, and translated by Québécois novelist François Barcelo.

Published by Véhicule Press. cxgs [at] musica.mcgill.ca (Professor Szanto) can be contacted at 514-398-4936.

Affairs of State by Gil Troy

McGill historian Gil Troy writes in his recently published Affairs of State that the emergence of the presidential couple is one of the most important and contentious developments in America’s postwar political history. The change began with the Roosevelts and continued into the 1970s, when Jerry and Betty Ford increased East Wing staffing and press coverage. The idea of the presidential couple became institutionalized. However, Betty proved to be so controversial that she may even have cost Jerry his chances for election. With Bill and Hillary Clinton, the backlash can no longer be denied. The American public want joint image-making in the White House, not power-sharing.

Published by Free Press. troy [at] leacock.lan.mcgill.ca (Professor Troy) can be contacted at 514-398-3898.