Books suggestions for graduating college seniors.
April 17, 2015 9:08 AM   Subscribe

I direct an honors program at a SLAC. Next Tuesday, the students who are completing honors theses will be recognized at an awards ceremony. Each is to be presented with a book "chosen by their primary adviser." Unfortunately, two thesis directors haven't sent me suggested titles and I need to make an order this afternoon. What books can you suggest for these two students? (Details relevant to each student inside.)

I need suggestions for:

1) A biology/ kinesiology major who is headed to Physical Therapy School. This student wrote a thesis evaluating/comparing two popular exercise regiments in relation to muscle endurance and strength.

A history major who analyzed accounts of POW experiences in the Pacific Theater during WWII.

I can spend 25.00 on each book. To give a sense of what's appropriate, an adviser who directed a thesis about the role of a particular gene in a particular type of cancer chose "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" for her student.
posted by GeorgieYeats to Education (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
For the history major, Unbroken could work
posted by damayanti at 9:10 AM on April 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


For the biology major, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall would be nice. The Tarahumara runners have amazing muscle endurance.
posted by TrarNoir at 9:27 AM on April 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Why We Run is an autobiographical, biological, and anthropological account of running that many biologists who are runners really like.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:47 AM on April 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


So many people have read Born to Run, the graduate might already have it. But McDougall has a new book out called Natural Born Heroes, also about athleticism. Sounds like an interesting read.
posted by suelac at 10:46 AM on April 17, 2015


For the POW student, here's a good list of best histories of the Pacific Theater, if they're interested in the wider history aspects, or specific battles/campaigns/people.

Oral history: Japan at War might be an interesting pick covering an angle they haven't seen as much of; it's the definitive oral history from the Japanese side.

WWII POW stories: There are a lot of very good popular history books about these. Ghost Soldiers is about a major POW rescue mission, and Unbroken is a Pacific POW story that was just made into a movie this year (though they may have read these?).

WWII philosophical reflections: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Or, if they are interested in POWs mainly, something of Admiral Stockdale's, plus a copy of Epictetus? Or could look for an account from a more recent POW or current work on the psychology of POW rehabilitation/return?
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:15 AM on April 17, 2015


I would maybe call the thesis directors too, just to double-check that the student hasn't read the book as part of their research.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:17 AM on April 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


For the history major: I thoroughly enjoyed John Dower's Embracing Defeat, on the Japanese experience immediately after WWII. Incisive, informative, and readable. I've also heard very good things about Dower's War Without Mercy.

Both of those seem a pretty close to his specialty. For something a little more creative, how about Tony Judt's Postwar, on the history of Europe since WWII?
posted by golwengaud at 11:44 AM on April 17, 2015


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