Paperback Roundup

An array of notable paperbacks have crossed our desk lately at History Wire. Here are thumbnail sketches of a few:

Rome -- From the Ground Up by James H.S. McGregor, Belknap/Harvard '06, 343 pages, ISBN #0-674-02263-7. Index, further reading, no source notes, full-color maps, color and b&w glossy images sprinkled through text.

The author chronicles Rome's evolution over 3,000 years from a group of small cities along the Tiber River, showcasing the architecture, history and culture that made it what it is today. The lush images and maps are unusually rich for a paperback edition. Planning a trip to Rome this year? Be sure to slip this book into your valise.

Untimely Beggar -- Poverty and Power from Baudelaire to Benjamin by Patrick Greaney, Minnesota UP '08, 227 pages, ISBN #0-8166-4951-0. Index, source notes, no bibliography, unillustrated.

From the book jacket: "To take account of literature's relation to the poor, Patrick Greaney proposes the concept of impoverished writing, which withdraws from representing objects and registers the existence of power. By reducing itself to the indication of its own potential, by impoverishing itself, literary language attempts to engage and participate in the power of the poor. This focus on impoverished language offers new perspectives on major French and German authors, including Marx, Nietzsche, Mallarme', Rilke and Brecht; and makes significant contributions to recent debates about power and potential in thinkers such as Agamben, Deleuze, Foucault, and Hardt and Negri."

Religious Literacy -- What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero, HarperOne '08 paperback, $14.95, 372 pages, ISBN #0060859520. Index, source notes, no bibliography or illustrations.

Do Americans really need a book on religious literary? Consider:1) Most Americans can't name the first book of the Bible, 2) A mere 10 per cent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions, 3) Fifteen per cent of American teenagers cannot name any of the major world religions, 4) Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Bible holds the answer to all or most of life's basic questions, but only half of American adults can name even one of the four gospels. To bring us all up to speed, Prothero offers "a dictionary of key beliefs, characters, and stories about Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the other major world religions."