Recent books by NMSU faculty, staff and supporters

Ancient Rome and Modern America

By Margaret Malamud

Wiley-Blackwell Publishers

The book explores the vital role the narratives and images of Rome have played in America’s understanding of itself and its history. It places America’s response to Rome in a historical context, from the Revolutionary era to the present, and looks at portrayals of Rome in different media: writing, architecture, theatre, painting, World’s Fairs and Expositions, and film. The book is beautifully illustrated with more than 40 high quality photographs and figures.

Malamud is an associate professor of ancient history and Islamic studies at New Mexico State University. She is also the co-editor of Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture (2001).

The GeoPolitics of Energy

By Judith Wright and James Conca

BookSurge Publishing

This book by Judith Wright, Ph.D., and James Conca, Ph.D., picks up where Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” leaves off. The book is written in laymen’s terms and explains the complex concepts surrounding energy as it offers realistic solutions to the planet’s energy crisis.

Nine chapters, with full-color images and graphs, provide basic information on energy technologies and sources, the technical and peripheral issues that control availability and cost, and the global politics and demographics that drive energy production and consumption. Taking a close, retrospective look at nuclear and solar power, as well as the more recently developed renewables, this book proposes a rational energy mix that can be achieved by 2040 with sufficient political and economic will.

Conca is director of NMSU’s Carlsbad (N.M.) Environmental Monitoring and Research Center. Wright is president of PIMS NW, Inc., a small women-owned business headquartered in Carlsbad.

Practical Research Methods for Librarians and Information Professionals

By Susan E. Beck and Kate Manuel

Neal Schuman Publishers

This is the perfect book to help librarians find both the time and the expertise needed to conduct thorough and rigorous research ... useful for both novices and experts alike. The entire book could be useful as a textbook. For the expert, this book offers the opportunity to explore other methodologies. Beck and Manuel have also crafted a superb resource for beginning and veteran researchers alike. –The Journal of Academic Librarianship, May 2008.

Beck is the collection development coordinator at New Mexico State University Library. She is responsible for coordination of all collection development activities and for the training and development of library subject specialists.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Literature

By Ellen Bosman

Libraries Unlimited

This is a long-overdue genre guide to a previously ignored body of literature. The book aims to provide the reader and readers’ adviser with an introduction to 20th-century gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered literature. All popular genres of literature are examined, including fiction, drama, and life stories (biography, autobiography, and memoirs), with the main emphasis on current fiction. A brief history of the literature, comments on the genres, and tips for working with readers make this an essential guide and reference resource.

Bosman is an associate professor and head of Technical Services at New Mexico State University Library.

Entrepreneur to Investor the Hard Way

By Dave Durgin

Sunstone Press

Step into the bare-knuckle world of a high-tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist and meet Dave Durgin. Durgin evolved from engineer to bootstrap businessman to high-tech entrepreneur in a challenging business environment. The knowledge he shares in this book will be an inspiration to fellow entrepreneurs. This book allows you to get inside the head of a successful entrepreneur and investor and understand how he thinks, how he weighs opportunities, how he copes with adversity.

Durgin grew up in New England and moved to New Mexico in 1961 to join Sandia Laboratory. Durgin earned his master’s from the NMSU College of Engineering in 1966. He has maintained his ties to NMSU, serving on the advisory board of the engineering school under two deans; he was chairman under Dean Steve Castillo. NMSU named him a Centennial Outstanding Alumnus in 1989.