What good books are worth paying attention to?

In the recommended bibliography of this issue, there is an anthology "University Transformation" by Mr. Fei Xiaotong. He inspected the problems existing in university education and thought about how to reform and build higher education in new China. The problems involved in the book are both macro and detailed, such as how to set up the subject courses, why it is so difficult to enter the university, how to modify the winter and summer vacations, and what aspects can be used to save money. Today, it is still a wisdom work worth learning from in university construction.

In addition, this week's book list has selected eight good books from the categories of history, thought, new knowledge, art and children for your recommendation. Let's take a look at the new books selected by book reviewers, which may be worthy of your attention and reference.

Moderator of this issue | Beijing News reporter Li Wei

social science

Details of justice

Author: Liu Renwen

Version: Guangxi Normal University Press 2065438+August 2007

In 2005, Liu Renwen, a researcher at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, published an article advocating that all defendants should be free to dress in court, and opposed requiring them to wear uniform prison uniforms, because it was identity discrimination. 10 years later, the Supreme Law explicitly prohibited defendants from wearing "prison clothes" for trial. In Liu Renwen's view, this is a necessary detail for building a real society ruled by law, and there are still many details that need to be paid attention to and changed, such as how to curb extorting confessions by torture? Why do China people complain and don't believe in the law? Can the death penalty be reduced? Over the years, Liu Renwen has observed and studied the current judicial situation and legal system in China, and has always insisted on expressing and appealing.

The articles included in Judicial Details are not long, but they have excavated many phenomena and details that are usually taken for granted, ranging from the power of the "number one" to the layout of the court. As a scholar, the author does not discuss it from the academic level, but puts forward his own opinions on hot topics that are widely concerned, examines the practical disadvantages in detail evaluation, and thinks about the rule of law. Some viewpoints and opinions in the book have been improved in reality, and some may need to be discussed, but they all reflect the conscience and feelings of a legal scholar.

history

American history of Yale University

Author: [America] James West Davidson

Translator: Ceng Yi

Version: CITIC Publishing Group 2065438+July 2007

A good and reliable history book is always necessary, because most people often don't know enough about what is considered "common sense". The short history series published by Yale University Press is such a set of universal books. Starting with Gombrich's A Brief History of the World, it has published a short history of literature, a short history of economy and a short history of philosophy. The recent translation and publication of Yale's Short History of America is one of them. The writing method of this short history is to connect the historical process of the United States for more than five centuries since Columbus discovered the New World with individual characters and specific stories to tell how America became the United States. The details of the story are rich, but the overall rhythm is fast and the readability is completely beyond doubt.

Of course, a historical "overview" will inevitably lose its complexity and versatility, and when it is emphasized that "we are free, we are equal, and we are one", even if it is mentioned, the tragic fate of Indian aborigines is still described too calmly. But if we read this spiritual belief as a part of American history, it will not only be a problem, but also make this little book a more three-dimensional and real history.

literature

When those red berries come in spring.

Author: Wang Anyi

Version: People's Literature Publishing House 2065438+June 2007

Wang Anyi is still writing, and has been writing. Just "Wang Anyi's New Work" makes many old readers look forward to it. This latest book contains three novellas: Everywhere in the country, when those red berries come in spring, and West, West and South. It seems to be a collection of novels, because the three stories are independent of each other and take place in Shanghai, Hongkong and new york respectively. But after reading three stories, I feel that there seems to be a connection between them. Although the protagonists have different identities, they are all lonely travelers wandering in a foreign land. If they are named in a popular way, they are all "new urban immigrants", and Wang Anyi writes about their different but interlinked survival experiences.

Good enough? For the famous writer Rainbow Anyi, every new work has to go through such a problem. Last year's Anonymous received many comments, all of which were "failure". This time, some people say that she is still the most familiar writing method, trivial and dense, depicting the living situation of small people in the big background; Some people say that she has no new breakthrough in the mode and is not as amazing as Zhuang He's documentary novels. It is also said that Wang Anyi is Wang Anyi after all, and her brushwork, vision and tenderness are beyond the average level. But it doesn't matter. Wang Anyi has been writing for 30 years and is still trying new possibilities. Every reader can have his own feelings and comments.

think

Employee: From the latest Germany.

Author: Siegfried Krakow

Version: Peking University Publishing House 2065438+July 2007.

The "latest Germany" in the subtitle of the book title is Germany in the late 1920s. At that time, Krakow, who later became a famous cultural critic and film theorist, was 40 years old. He worked in frankfurter allgemeine zeitung and published a series of articles about the living conditions of white-collar workers in Germany at that time. He walked into their lives, interviewed relevant people and did research and analysis, much like "field investigation". As The Latest Germany shows, the words we are familiar with now, such as "white collar" and "middle class", were still an "unknown field" at that time. What kracauer has completed is a survey that has not been measured and described in this area. This is a journey of discovery.

In this book, he realizes that urban employees are becoming an influential force in public life, and analyzes that the process of "identity formation" benefits from the mass media and fashion. 1933 went into exile because of Nazi persecution, and 194 1 settled in the United States. Later, his concern for modern urban space and mass entertainment in film research can also be said to be in the same strain as employees.

education

Transformation of universities

Author: Fei Xiaotong

Version: Commercial Press 2065438+June 2007

Around the 1940s, Mr Fei Xiaotong not only served as a professor in universities for a long time, but also became the founder of sociology and anthropology in China. And served as deputy provost of Tsinghua University from 1945 to 1952. In this administrative post, he inspected the problems existing in university education and thought about how to reform and build higher education in new China. 1950, he published a collection of essays on this issue, The Transformation of Universities, which was reprinted twice that year. The problems involved in the book are both macro and detailed, such as how to set up the subject courses, why it is so difficult to enter the university, how to modify the winter and summer vacations, and what aspects can be used to save money.

Today, this book, reprinted more than 60 years ago, can be regarded as an important historical material in the history of higher education in New China. Among them, there are many prescient views, which reflect Mr. Fei Xiaotong's pragmatic and positive character as a sociologist; At the same time, it also bears a strong brand of the times, reflecting the new atmosphere that all aspects needed reform at the beginning of the founding of New China, and intellectuals actively participated and made suggestions.

art

Song of the wilderness

Author: rosamond Kidman Cox

Version: Houlang Beijing United Publishing Company 2065438+July 2007

Nature and wildlife photography has always been a hot topic on the Internet-because of its magnificence and strangeness. In fact, for most people living in modern society, the images taken by nature photographers are the only way for us to get in touch with real wilderness and large wild animals. This song "Song of the Wilderness" can satisfy the "gluttony" desire of lovers for nature photography. The selected works in the book are representative works of ten international wildlife photography champions, which are the top works in nature photography. Beautiful nature, shocking moments, of course, will not be lacking.

But beauty itself is not the soul of nature photography. Their ultimate goal is to guide people to care about nature protection and give back to the gifts of nature. In addition to photos, photographers also use words to tell their own shooting techniques, sources of inspiration and stories behind their works.

In recent years, "animal photography" has become popular among the public, but some people aim their cameras at captive wild birds for the convenience of taking beautiful photos, and some people pose and even abuse animals for the so-called "cute" state? Therefore, the photographer's narrative is as important as the photo, so that readers can understand that only with awe can natural photography be true.

scientific popularization

The strings of the starry sky: a ramble on the history of astronomy

Author: Wang Jie

Edition: Jinghua Times Chinese Bookstore 2065438+July 2007

In this era of information surplus, it is difficult to attract people's attention with words; It is even more difficult to attract people's attention with scientific words. Therefore, when a book about relativity, The Shape of Time, was reprinted five years ago, it was enough to prove that the author Wang Jie did have considerable ability to talk about science in an interesting way.

Strings in the Starry Sky: A Random Talk on the History of Astronomical Literature is a new book by Wang Jie. The content of the book has changed from the theory of relativity to the history of astronomy, but what remains unchanged is the narrative style of the story and the scientific spirit contained in it. Wang Jie is quite bold in telling stories. He invented many details and used fictional methods to ensure the attractiveness of the text-not only making people "understand" but also making people "unable to put it down". He said that what he tried to do was "the knowledge expressed through these fictional plots is accurate" and "slowly inject the scientific spirit into your mind" by telling these stories.

children

Vincent van Gogh

Author: Patricia Gass

Version: Mung Bean Bookstore Zhengzhou University Press 2065438+June 2007

Vincent Van Gogh? You can't see the uniqueness of this book just by its title, but if you pick up a physical book and unfold it, you will find that there are too many "mysteries" in it. This is a three-dimensional design book, such as the yellow house where Van Gogh lived, which stood up in the book; The seemingly rotating starry sky can really rotate; The rooms painted by Van Gogh can be built bit by bit by the readers themselves. Almost every page is amazing at the exquisiteness of design and the complexity of technology.

Of course, it is not only the craft that determines whether a book is good enough. As an art enlightenment book mainly for children, can such an interactive way really attract children to Van Gogh's art? Yes, perhaps no one can "teach" children how to get the shock of their hearts in paintings, but like Gus's books, they can display rich and accurate information in a childlike and designed way, so that children, including adults who have little knowledge of artists, feel as if they have returned to the historical scene and are close to painters. This is quite a good enlightenment.

New friend

British naturalist: social history

Author: [English] David? 6? Elliston. 6? Allen

Translator: Cheng

Version: Shanghai Jiaotong University Press 2065438+June 2007

Historically, Britain is the most developed country in natural history. From Gilbert White's Serpen Natural History to Darwin's Origin of Species, the most important naturalists and natural history works in modern times were born there. Why can natural history develop in Britain? How did this trend rise? British Naturalist: A Social History examines the natural history of Britain from17th century to the beginning of 20th century.

In recent years, many natural history books have been published in China, but most of them are from the perspective of ecology or aesthetics, so follow David? 6? Elliston. 6? In Allen's narration, natural history is regarded as a social phenomenon. From the "plant collection activities" of apprentices and pharmacists, we will feel a fresh and heavy sense of history. This book covers scientific concepts, fashion, religious motives, literary influence, increasing leisure time and disposable income, as well as the gathering of like-minded people and the emergence of social groups. This is an all-encompassing, rigorous and interesting historical work.

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