Anatomy of Innocence and Racial Profiling

Every year, we have students who study The Innocence Project and wrongful convictions.  They and others will certainly be interested in the soon-to-be-released ANATOMY OF INNOCENCE edited by Laura Caldwell, founder/director of Life After Innocence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and by and Leslie S. Klinger, best-selling author.  This text features the stories, fascinating in themselves, of 15 exonerated individuals, all written with the help of prominent mystery and thriller writers like Sara Paretsky. For example, Phil Margolin relates the story of Bill Dillon, a Floridian wrongfully convicted of murder who spent more than two and a half decades in prison, only to be released after acting as his own lawyer.

Each chapter seems to focus on an aspect of criminal justice (e.g., arrest, trial, appeal, eventual freedom).  One is written by John Mankiewicz and deals with Jerry Miller, imprisoned in Illinois for a quarter of a century. This chapter points out how corrupt the Chicago police force was, working to convict a man whose palm print and blood type did not match evidence found at the scene. Connections to Chicago are plentiful since other Illinois exonerees like Juan Rivera and David Bates are profiled.  New Trier grad Scott Turow wrote the introduction and ANATOMY OF INNOCENCE also contains a previously unpublished essay by Arthur Miller discussing guilt and innocence.  Starred review from Kirkus.

Just today, a teacher and I also talked with a student about how incarceration rates vary by race. A new book, RACIAL PROFILING by Alison Behnke, deals with that topic and much more. Chapter headings are (1) Prejudice and Privilege; (2) Historic Inequality; (3) Contemporary Inequality; (4) Criminal Justice and Injustice; (5) Counterterrorism and Islamophobia and (6) Calls for Change.  Although only 160 pages, this text contains a glossary, notes, bibliography and sources for further information, including books, documentaries and websites. It will provide a comprehensive entry point for many research projects. RACIAL PROFILING received starred reviews from Kirkus and from School Library Journal who called this book a “mandatory addition to teen collections.”

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

It is always so exciting when a debut novel receives multiple starred reviews as was the case for RABBIT CAKE by Annie Hartnett (Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly).  And, almost exactly a year ago, I read and enthusiastically blogged about Relief Map by Rosalie Knecht which is also published by Tin House. 

Hence, I had high expectations for RABBIT CAKE, a story of coping with loss for the Babbitt family; 11 year-old Elvis, her older sister Lucy and their Dad all deal differently with the drowning of their mother/wife while sleep walking/swimming. I very much liked the precociousness and naïveté of Elvis as she tries to process the changes in her life and reactions by Lizzie (binge eating) and her Dad (wearing lipstick; adopting a pet).  It was clear that the Mom was a cohesive, if slightly eccentric, force for this family. The story, described as “darkly comic,” does get strange, though.   And overall it was a little too much for me.  Read RABBIT CAKE by Annie Hartnett if you like a somewhat absurd and unrealistic streak to novels you choose.  Let me know what you think of this well-written story - your favorite part and what was most original and moving for you.

A few non-fiction options for March 2017

DUELING WITH KINGS is the first book written by this longtime sports and news journalist, Daniel Barbarisi. Subtitled “High Stakes, Killer Sharks, and the Get-Rich Promise of Daily Fantasy Sports,” this text relays his investigative work and attempts to master Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS). As one colleague commented, “it’s all about the money; so appropriate to have Ben Franklin on the cover.” Barbarisi concentrates on events of 2015 and 2016, relaying the controversies and massive ad campaigns associated with DraftKings and FanDuel. Increased visibility led to concerns about rigged games and legal challenges, especially in New York and Barbarisi interviews key players. He also chronicles his own efforts and adventures with the “sport,” introducing readers to other players with names like Oreo, Underjones, and Beep. DUELING WITH KINGS was recently reviewed in The Wall Street Journal (“How to Swim with the Daily Fantasy Sharks”) and is well-written, sharing statistics like this: 1.3% of DFS players took in 91% of the winnings in the first half of the 2015 baseball season.  

THE CRAVING MIND by Judson Brewer deals with a high interest topic for our students and faculty.  Just recently, we were circulating a New York Times article which dealt with addiction (“Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs with Smartphones?”). Brewer is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who has studied addictions (Trigger. Behavior. Reward.) for two decades in addition to pioneering work on mindfulness. He subtitles the text “From Cigarettes to Smartphones to Love – Why We Get Hooked and How We Can Break Bad Habits.” Chapters cover the dopamine hit and discuss various addictions (to technology, ourselves, distraction, etc.), concentration, flow, and resilience.  Published by Yale University Press, this scholarly work is completely indexed and filled with references.  It includes a Mindfulness Personality Type survey also available online through the University of Massachusetts. Much to ponder here. And it fits well with the recent FAN speaker (Family Action Network) Adam Alter, who wrote Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. 

NEVER OUT OF SEASON by Rob Dunn was actually a bit scary to read since it talks about sustainable agriculture and various issues impacting crops and successful future harvests. There is a terrific excerpt about bananas available online through Wired magazine; other sections of the book examine the potato blight and cacao and chocolate, for example.  Dunn, a professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University, also extols the value of diversity and seed banks which have been established.  Library Journal calls NEVER OUT OF SEASON “accessible,” “comprehensible,” and “recommended for anyone interested in agriculture, agricultural history, food science, or general biology.”  I concur – look for it on our shelves soon.