Book Notes

“Tolkien’s Modern Middle Ages”
Co-edited by Jane Chance, professor of English
Published by Palgrave Macmillan
Available November 2005

Author J.R.R. Tolkien delved into the Middle Ages to create a critique of the modern world in his fantasy, yet he did so in a form of modernist literature with

postmodern implications and huge commercial success. In this — her 21st — book, Jane Chance, with Alfred K. Siewers of Bucknell University, presents 13 essays examining that paradox and its significance in understanding the intersection between traditionalist and counterculture criticisms of the modern. The approach helps to explain the popularity of Tolkien’s works, the way in which they continue to be brought into dialogue with 21st-century issues, and their contested literary significance in the academy.

Included are essays by such pre-eminent scholars as Verlyn Flieger, Gergely Nagy, John R. Holmes, John Hunter, Andrew Lynch, Chester N. Scoville, Deidre Dawson, Rebekah Long, Brian McFadden, Ted Nasmith, Michael N. Stanton, as well as Siewers and Chance, who also co-authored the book’s introduction.

“Nietzsche on Language, Consciousness and the Body”
Christian J. Emden, assistant professor of German and Slavic studies
Published by University of Illinois Press

Christian Emden discusses Nietzsche’s reflections on language, consciousness and the body — three themes that are central to Nietzsche’s writings throughout his

intellectual career and that influenced many of the approaches regarded as cornerstones of his philosophical enterprise. Tracing the historical development of Nietzsche’s ideas, Emden reconstructs how these ideas culminated in what he calls Nietzsche’s “anthropology of knowledge.”

This book offers an encyclopedic coverage of the historical sources of Nietzsche’s views on language, thought and history. Displaying a comprehensive knowledge of many little-known sources, particularly in rhetoric, Emden details Nietzsche’s reading on these topics and shows how the views in these sources are related to Nietzsche’s own thinking.

“[Emden] paints a Nietzsche who was immersed in the intellectual world of the late 19th century, a world where typewriters transformed writing and scientific research on human physiology and the nervous system undermined philosophical notions of the self,” said Peter Caldwell, professor of history and German and Slavic studies at Rice. “This is a major contribution to Nietzsche studies.”

“Nanotechnology for Dummies”
Co-authored by Richard D. Booker, graduate student in applied physics
Published by John Wiley & Son, Inc.

Written in the accessible, humorous “For Dummies” style, this book demystifies nanotechnology for investors, business people and anyone else interested in how molecule-sized machines and processes will soon transform people’s lives.

Along with dispelling common myths, the book covers nanotechnology’s origins, how it will affect various industries and the limitations it can overcome. Booker and his co-author, Earl Boysen, reveal numerous applications, including scratch-proof glass, corrosion-resistant paints, stain-free clothing, glare-reducing eyeglass coatings, drug delivery systems, medical diagnostic tools, burn and wound dressings, sugar cube-sized computers, miniature portable power generators and longer-lasting tennis balls.

The book explains that nanotechnology is the science of matter at the scale of one-billionth of a meter or one-75,000th the size of a human hair. It goes on to explain that investment in nanotechnology is exploding, with $3.7 billion in nanotechnology research and development spending authorized by the U.S. government in 2003 and international investment reported at more than $2 billion.

“Book Notes” is a column featuring academic books written or edited by Rice University faculty. To submit information on recently or soon-to-be-published books for inclusion in “Book Notes,” send the name of the author and publisher, the publication date and a brief description of the book to Margot Dimond, Office of News and Media Relations, MS 300 or <mdimond@rice.edu>.