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"House of Holy Fools: A Family Portrait in Six Cracked Parts" concerns the grace and genius of author Amy Biancolli's '85 grandparents--music critic Louis Biancolli and violinist Jeanne Mithcell Biancolli- and her sister Lucy, an aspiring painter. All three of Biancolli's family members died within 26 months of each other between 1992 and 1994; Biancolli captivates the lives of her family members and her coveted relationships with them. "Written with humor and hope, it is a memoir of music, madness, miracles, faith and the insistent tug of life in the face of grief and death," writes Biancolli.

In the two decades before the First World War, Great Britain witnessed the largest revival of anti-slavery protest since the legendary age of emancipation in the mid-nineteenth century. The latter-day abolitionists focused on the so-called “new slaveries” of European imperialism in the Congo Free State, South Africa and Portuguese West Africa. A Civilised Savagery recounts the history of human rights protests in the context of European imperialism, illustrating the historical bridge between the Victorian era of empire and abolition and the twentieth–century era of humanitarian politics and human rights.

The Secret Sayings of Ye Su: A Silk Road Gospel, by Jay Williams, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College, provides a translation of, introduction to and commentary upon an extraordinary, previously unknown manuscript. This Christian gospel, though written in koine Greek, was obviously influenced by both Buddhist and Daoist ideas and probably derives from Tang dynasty China (8th or 9th century).

A guide for educators teaching in the ever-evolving online environment. “Drawing on current thinking in rhetoric and composition, adult education, and e-learning, and incorporating their own experiences with a variety of online instructional contexts, including the online learning provider Smarthinking, Inc., the authors demonstrate how five important pedagogical principles can inform effective online instructor training.”

Compiled with Gordy Sabine, this is a monumental bibliographical achievement that must have taken many years and much labor to complete. A catalogue of English-language literature of tennis (formerly known as lawn tennis) through 125 years, it contains more than 3,200 citations accessed by author, subject, title and year. It will no doubt long remain an invaluable resource for any research library as well as all serious students of the game. Frank Phelps, whose erudition regarding the history of tennis is wide-ranging and profound, has given enduring expression to his own love of the game through this impressive work.

Described as “a comprehensive history of the glory years of the Clinton Comets,” it is the story of Clinton, New York’s own professional hockey team during the era (1954-73) when “old-time hockey” was at its best. Thanks to the team, a member of the Eastern Hockey League, Clinton became known as “the biggest little hockey town in the U.S.A.” This volume is replete with a detailed statistical compendium but unfortunately no index. The co-author, a Utica native, biologist and rabid hockey fan, resides with his wife and two sons in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Valedictorian of the Class of 1934 and a veteran teacher and counselor, the author recalls in a wide-ranging fashion his Lebanese roots, coming of age in the Utica area, education at Hamilton and beyond, and his subsequent career in Utica high schools. In addition to the autobiographical information it contains, the book is a small but valuable contribution to local history.

Ted Williams was the last player to hit .400 in the Major Leagues and Ted Williams: A Biography is the story of a man “whose mission was to become the greatest hitter of all time.” Markusen tells this story, from Williams’ beginning with the Boston Red Sox to his end as a Major League manager. Talented yet unpleasant to his fans and the media, Williams “forged an indelible image in the minds of baseball fans.”

In 2003, Americans began celebrating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition (1803-1806), a journey of discovery that proved a seminal moment in the history of the exploration of the North American continent. With full coverage of the events leading to the Corps of Discovery's formation and its gripping adventures to the Pacific and back, Across America: The Lewis and Clark Expedition details the explorers' travels and trials. Tracing the various stages of their journey, it chronicles important factors and discusses everything from the founding of the exploration to the fates of the explorers.

Concentrating on the 18th through the 20th centuries, this comprehensive reference provides full coverage of European exploration and imperial expansion in Africa and Asia. Three major themes—motive, the influence of changing ideas on the conduct and understanding of exploration, and the impact of exploration on the politics of the European empires—are integrated into seven chapters and an epilogue. Exploration in the Age of Empire examines the way in which all the great explorers who served the European empires of the modern era became popular celebrities, unlike their predecessors, and illustrates the roles of explorers as propagandists.