CU Press helps list 'Books for Understanding'

In response to the events of Sept. 11, Cornell University Press has joined an effort to make thorough information more accessible to the community. The press is contributing to a bibliography of relevant books coordinated by the Association of American University Presses (AAUP).

Called "Books for Understanding," it currently contains 335 titles from 44 presses and continues to grow. It is available online at www.aaupnet.org/news/spotlight.html.

"Books for Understanding" lists resources with great depth of information and insight. John G. Ackerman, director of Cornell University Press, explained: "On the brink of involvement in a part of the world about which many of us know little, people are not seeking more sound bites. What they want is the knowledge that distinguished books, the products of long research and reflection, can best supply. That is why the AAUP bibliography is so important, and all of us who seek a deeper understanding of the challenges ahead should consult it."

One example of the Cornell University Press books listed is Planning the Unthinkable: How New Powers Will Use Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Weapons edited by Peter R. Lavoy, Scott D. Sagan and James J. Wirtz. Use of such weapons, the contributors explain, now constitutes the single most serious security concern for governments around the world. They compare how military threats, strategic cultures and organizations shape the way leaders intend to employ these armaments.

Another example is The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism in which Johannes J.G. Jansen explains how fundamentalism fuses religion and politics. He describes and analyzes from original Arabic sources the Islamic incarnation of such a fusion.

Full descriptions and information about ordering books are available through links from "Books for Understanding" to individual university press web sites, including that of Cornell University Press.