Tigers in Print

Ana Reyes (2015 MFA) House in the Pines Penguin Random House

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

David Alfery (1976 MD-NO)

Saving Grace: What Patients Teach Their Doctors About Life, Death, and the Balance in Between Wipf and Stock

From the OR to the ICU, cardiac anesthesiologist Dr. David Alfery brings you into a hidden world of medicine. You will witness the exhilaration a physician feels when a life is miraculously saved, the terror when a life is on the line, the shock of an unexpected demise, the grace patients evidence when facing the end of life, the anguish one su ers when a family member is perilously close to dying, and much more. A book that shows what really goes on in acute care medical settings, Saving Grace will help you view your doctor – and your life – in a new light.

William H. Bankhead (1959 BACH

AGR, 1975 PHD HS&E)

The Greatest Shows on Earth

Self-Published

On the fiftieth anniversary of the LSU Assembly Center, its first director has published an informative and entertaining backstage pass to the first decade of the iconic facility. The 114-page co ee table-style book has posters, tickets, photos, and celebrity autographs to illustrate William Bankhead’s behind-the-scenes view of the history and people who brought the building to life. The book describes its primary purpose – to provide a home for campus events like commencement and for LSU sports like basketball and gymnastics –and extensively explores the concerts and entertainment events that flocked there from 1972-1982 and earned the Assembly Center (now the Pete Maravich Assembly Center) a “Top Ten Multipurpose Arena” ranking by the International Association of Auditorium Managers.

Brian

Holers (1989 BACH H&SS)

Mustard Seed

Girl Friday Books

After a lifetime of abuse and loss, sixty-one-year-old Vernon Davidson is ready to get back at God, his coworkers, and everyone else in his northern Louisiana hometown. To numb his pain, he drinks too much, and he shuns his friends and embarrasses himself in the community. The once-cautious Vernon has spiraled into a reckless mess.

When his brother becomes terminally ill, Vernon must track down his estranged nephew, Jody, in an e ort to bring the younger man home to his dying father. Jody himself is struggling after a selfimposed exile, having fled his family for a new life thousands of miles away. As Vernon and Jody set o on their journey home, they find themselves on a path that takes them from loss to healing and will ultimately change their lives.

Mustard Seed is a stirring portrait of small-town Louisiana men – grandfathers, fathers, sons, and brothers – that exposes their flaws while showcasing their inner strengths. It forms a doxology, a song of praise, for the male family bond and the emotional ties men hide from the world and each other. Ultimately, it examines an impossibly di cult question: After a man has faced countless tragedies and endless disappointments, how does he go about forgiving a God he has grown to despise—and find his way back to the bonds that sustain him?

Theodore Schirmer (1978 BACH H&SS)

Defiance

Self-Published

This book is about the impact a long haired hippy student activist had on the Old South, elitist, racist culture that prevailed at LSU in the ‘70s. I frequently spoke out at Free Speech Alley, organized protests, fought for student rights, and was elected president of the Student Government Association, to the dismay of the Greek fraternity and sorority members who usually dominated student politics. In the fall of 1976, Cynthia Payton was running to be the first Black Homecoming Queen at LSU. On election day, a group of Black students rushed up to my lunch table yelling that they had just tried to vote for Cynthia but were told students had to vote for three candidates or their votes would be thrown out. Someone was trying to manipulate the election to prevent Cynthia from winning. As the recently elected SGA President, I felt it was my duty to ensure this SGAsponsored election was conducted fairly and not corrupted by elitism or racism. I wrote this book to honor the many students, mostly from lower and middle-class families, who did not turn their backs on injustice and fought at my side against the LSU administrators and Greek organizations.

Samuel C. Spitale (1996 BACH MCOM, 1998 MAST MCOM)

How to Win the War on Truth

Quirk Books

In How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality Samuel C. Spitale examines how propaganda impacts our lives, shapes our world views, and damages our democracy – and argues that understanding this is the key to protecting ourselves and making informed decisions. This informative, entertaining, and cleverly illustrated book uses elements of the graphic novel format to break down complex ideas through easy-to-understand realworld examples of propaganda in all its forms. An eye-opening guide to living in a post-truth society, How to Win the War on Truth explores the history of propaganda, including the roots of modern-day public relations and marketing, and outlines common propaganda techniques, how messages are manufactured, why propaganda e orts are so e ective, and who profits from them. A highly digestible and engaging illustrated guide to navigating today’s messy media and political landscapes, How to Win the War on Truth will help readers cut through the endless noise to make informed decisions, whether they’re in the check-out line or the voting booth.

By Brian Hudgins