Stewart Books

"The Callendar Effect" is a fascinating work. Written by friend and colleague James Rodger Fleming, a professor at Colby College and a leading historian of atmospheric sciences and weather prediction, it tells the story of Guy Stewart Callendar. Callendar was the most unassuming of scientific heroes. A noted British steam engineer, in 1938 he published the critical study, "The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and Its Influence on Temperature," which laid out his earliest thoughts on the role of carbon dioxide in climate change.

Using his own weather measurements, as well as compilations from others, Callendar assembled considerable evidence to show an upward trend in temperatures for the first four decades of the twentieth century. When he compared that data with changes in glaciers, increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide coming with the Industrial Revolution, and other readings, he reached the now scientific conventional wisdom that the use of fossil fuels caused a rise of the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and that in turn was linked to increased radiation and a resultant rise in global temperatures. While an amateur, his work was pathbreaking, so much so that he has been credited with "The Callendar Effect" on how global warming results from CO2.

While most have never heard of Guy Callendar his importance in the history of climate research is secure. It is also represented variously depended on perspectives. Most scientists and historians of science, and certainly the author of this work is in this category, revere Callendar's work and his efforts to understand the workings of the physical environment. This book is a testament to his work and an attempt to rescue him from obscurity within the larger society. At the same time, skeptics of global warming point to Guy Callendar as one of the chief perpetrators of the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people," as Oklahoma arch-conservative senator John Inhofe called global warming in a July 2003 congressional speech. Several sites on the Internet condemn Callendar as an amateur who advocated the existence of the greenhouse effect but whose studies "have been discredited." Nevermind that his studies have been verified repeatedly.

This book is comprised of 12 brief, well-written essays by distinguished researchers, put together by the SUNY Stony Brook professor Nicolas Rzhevsky. The volume is divided into two parts: Cultural Identity and Literature and the Arts. If the first part of the book deals with Russian roots, the second is devoted to the flowers of this civilization.

On the crossroads of these narratives we see a vast land, stretching from East to West emerging from the union of Slavs and Vikings somewhere around the middle of the eighth century as a number of relatively small cities and tribes. Locked in the never-ending war with nomads prince Vladimir tries to unite them around Kiev. In his first attempt he tried to use paganism. He builds up a gallery of local pagan gods, trying to achieve some kind of union and establish certain hierarchy on the symbolic level. Seeing the futility of these attempts, however, he drops pagan faith altogether and adopts Byzantine (`Orthodox') Christianity, which is not dependent on local gods.

As we learn from the essay on Religion by the leading Russian Academician Dmitry Lihachev, having a choice among Islam and other versions of Christianity Vladimir chooses Christianity for the beauty of Byzantine rites and rituals. It is by the beauty of religious acts that God was introduced to the Russian land and the remaining ancient churches testify that because of the beauty God stayed. Church became the place where artists could realize themselves as architects and painters. Christianity also brings a new alphabet. It to this epoch that the first known texts date back.

The ensuing unity enables Kiev to achieve a number of important victories in the wars with nomads. However, Kievan Russia was not strong enough to withstand the Mongol invasion from 1237 to 1240, when Kiev was burned. It became a part of the Golden Horde on a par with Greeks, Poles, Georgians, Armenians, Mordvinians and other peoples. In fact, churches were among the few institutions that withstood the invasion and secured the identity of the Russian land, because pagan Mongols respected all kinds of gods `just in case'.

It is by the boundaries with the West and the East (which included all the Southern people, pagans and Christians alike). While West equated civilization, East was considered a territory for conquest and expansion. It is tempting to see eastward Russian expansion as a mirror of the westward colonization of the North American continent. Indeed in California and Alaska American and Russian settlers meet. It is also important to note that some of the colonizers were fuelled by religious passions over the conflict of starovery (old-believers) with the official reform of the Church by Peter the Emperor. Starovery did not accept the reform of religious rites and were prosecuted heavily by the state and church alike. They found their freedom on the frontier of Russian colonization. By the conquest of `East' Russia eventually established itself as a Western power, and in the East it was the cultural baggage of the West. The unavoidable mix of East and West inside Russia explains well enough the repercussions of identity crisis that Russia slips into from time to time. These boundaries thus limit both the territories of the Russian state and, to a large extent mark the field of intellectual debate.

It is not these grand narratives, however, that make this book so exciting, but the amount of details and `small stories' packed into the 372 pages of this volume. It is impossible to do them justice in the newspaper article. We still need books for that.

There is a wonderful essay on Russian popular culture by Catriona Kelly of Oxford University. In the Soviet-era textbooks, the lower classes were roughly defined by their dvoeverie ("double-faith"), the prominent retention of pagan beliefs alongside their commitment to Christian faith. Instead of dvoeverie, argues Kelly, we should use the term mnogoverie because pagan beliefs do not form a coherent system and thus, combined with Christianity, they produce plural belief systems. Going to the roots of the local obychai (customs), she uncovers an underworld of traditions, habits and superstitions that somehow influence the attitudes of Russian people up to this day. They may be charming and unique like domovoj (house spirit) or leshij (forest spirit), or frightening and commonplace like the fear of the `Other' and criminal counter-culture. Some of the genres and themes of the oral culture prospered during the Soviet era like chastushka - a four-line ditty of humorous or scabrous nature, but its triumph was short-lived compared to anecdote that conquered the Internet. Actually anecdote is the strongest genre of the Russian oral culture that helped to communicate the most important means of resistance against the enormous power of the Soviet state: laugh. The anecdotes are not limited to political topics, though - they actually deal with every field of human existence.

The part of the book devoted to art is as thorough, interesting and profound as the part dealing with the roots of Russian cultural identity. For example, in Russian society the written word was carefully scrutinized by the church and state, Bethea asserts that the writer in general and the poet in particular became secular saints and, very often, a martyr or suffering "holy fool". Other essays of the second part of "Modern Russian Culture" deal with Russian art, music, theater, and film.

If culture and arts provide the antidote to the shallow political language, then "Modern Russian Culture" is certainly one of the best means to overcome stereotypes and misconceptions constructed by the modern political spectacle.

by Thomas A. Cameron Director, Clan Cameron Online clancam1@aol.com

Published by the Clan Cameron Association, this 344 page "masterpiece," by John Stewart of Ardvorlich, is dedicated "To all of the name of Cameron wherever they may dwell."

The history of Clan Cameron follows along side the history of the Camerons of Lochiel, the hereditary Chiefs of Clan Cameron. For this reason among others, this work details the Chiefs and their family from the fifteenth century through the present day. In addition, Stewart focuses on the many "tribes" and "septs" of the Camerons, those who either adopted the surname of Cameron or who followed the various Lochiels throughout the years. Coat of arms, tartans, poetry, music, Cameron "place names," and a listing of historically "famous" Camerons are also included, with twenty-five photographic plates of historical relevance.

Within the pages of this work, which is endorsed by both Colonel Sir Donald Hamish Cameron of Lochiel

In this story, Matthew imagines he might go to a lot of places- in a submarine or in a space ship- and he wonders if God can watch over him in such remote locations. Of course the answer is "The Lord watches over all who love him."-a verse from Psalm that is repeated throughout the book. As children become familiar with the story, they learn to say this comforting Bible verse with you as you read.

I planned ahead and got the book just about on time. You need to make sure you oder your books altleast a week or week and ahalf before the class starts if you want it for the first day.

This book is as it says a "salute to Canada and Canadian achievement." It includes some well known, several lesser known and some unexpected Canadian firsts. A must for anyone who wants to understand more about Canada and does not want a textbook like book. It is well organized with short free standing sections and entries. In short, it is a very interesting book that gives a breif overview of Canadian achievement.

This book is apparently a revised edition of Canada North which was published nine years earlier in 1967. I have yet to read Canada North, but from what I can gather is that Mowat set out to inform southern Canadians about a vast region of Canada which they had heretofore been ignoring: the vast, supposedly barren tiaga, tundra and arctic lands of the North. Up until this time, Canada was only asserting nominal control, and has essentially allowed missionaries, trappers and the HBC to impose themselves on the native peple of this region. Nine years later, things had changed significantly, and recognizing the new threat to the North, Mowat evidently reworked his original text in order to address these main concerns. Essentially what had happened was that the government of Canada found new reason to take an interest in the North because it was proving to be abundant in natural resources. This new-found interest in the North was clealry going to have detrimental consequences on both the people and environment of this region. In typical fashion, Mowat goes on the attack, lambasting the government and the multinational corporations fixing to exploit the North. Drawing on historical events both far in the distant past and only a few years old, Mowat shows how white interference and exploitation of the North and its people has had and will clealry have lasting consequences, consequences that will bring about the end of already serious disrupted traditional lifestyles of the various native peoples inhabiting this region. Mowat, an avid naturalist, also takes time to debunk the commonly held notion that the North is virtually devoid of flora and fauna. All in all, a very fascinating book by a man who has done much to expose the disgusting manner in which Canada has governed the North.

Now in an up-to-date and expanded fifteenth edition, The Canadian Writer's Market: The Essential Guide For Freelance Writers is a solid, practical, invaluable "how to" guide to getting the art and science of getting one's work published. Individual chapters cogently offer basic advice, including contact information for a vast wealth of consumer magazines, literary publications, trade and business publications, newspapers, book publishers, literary agents and a great many more places to which one can send a manuscript to be published. Phone number, email addresses, mailing addresses, web sites, and more, fill the bulk of this solid, 433-page submission reference for aspiring Canadian authors. If you are seeking to be published in the Canadian market, then you will need access to The Canadian Writer's Market: 15th Edition!

As a Canadian writer, it is sometimes difficult to find information about Canadian writing resources. If you go on the Internet, there are plenty of sites and listings for American writers. There are also some really good writers' market directories available, containing primarily American content. These ample resources make it seem like the United States is the only market for writers. So much so that I think we often forget that we have some really great opportunities right here in Canada.

Thankfully, I picked up a copy of The Canadian Writer's Market. For easy use, this book is set up similar to Writer's Markets and Christian Writers' Market Guide with subdivisions for genres, trade publications, book publishers as well as extra resources about writing groups, agents, and competitions. In addition to these expected aspects, The Canadian Writer's Market also includes sections about scholarly and literary markets, daily newspapers, and support programs for writers. The Canadian Writer's Market is a must have for every Canadian writer.

Omer Call Stewart was a man with many missions. He was among the first to study the use of the hallucinogen peyote in the Native American Church, and he was a stalwart defender of Native American religious freedom in many influential court cases. Omer Stewart was a student of Alfred Kroeber and produced important ethnographies of various Ute, Paiute, and other American Indians in the western U.S. He began his religious life as a Mormon and ended his life as an atheist who sincerely supported and respected people's religious commitments. He was a longtime teacher and practitioner of anthropology who embodied what it means to be a social scientist. Cannibalism is an Acquired Taste is his life's story.

Carol Howell's book on Stewart is a wonderful blend of family stories, good science, and the early history of American anthropology. Howell has compiled a series of interviews with Stewart and his family, pertinent letters from Margaret Mead, Ruth Bunzel, and other contemporaries of Stewart, and manuscripts that illustrate key points in an anthropologist's life. The book could have been a wild melange, but instead it wonderfully illustrates Stewart's many interests and wide range of involvement. This mix of views makes the book appropriate for a variety of audiences, ranging from people interested in anthropology to those simply interested in the life of one of the more interesting personalities of the twentieth century. Throughout, the blunt honesty and yet true humility of Stewart shines through.

For an anthropologist, Stewart's life is an alluring case study of how a professional comes into being. The passion and mistakes of a young anthropologist are clear in Stewart's early work with Julian Stewart and Alfred Kroeber. His journey from being a committed Mormon disciple to being a practicing scientist devoted to understanding the wide-ranging aspects of human culture is fascinating for anyone who has seen their own life change. From the 1930s to the 1970s Stewart constantly found himself in the midst of the key controversies and central areas of anthropological research. His life traces the change from Indians being non-citizens to their being active participants in national politics and issues. As an anthropologist, I can't think of a better or more fully described life of a student of culture.

For the curious lay-person, the honesty of this account of Omer Stewart's life is striking. He serves as a wonderful cursor tracing many of the changes of the twentieth century. From his travels as a Mormon missionary in the twenties to his discovery of anthropology in the thirties to his service to the Chief of Staff in the Pentagon in the forties, the first half of his life illustrates the radical shift in U.S. policy from isolation to world leader. The second half of his life cuts a course of social activism in racial integration, Indian religious freedom, and scientific debate. For Stewart, the practical consequences and rightness of an endeavor often weighed more heavily in his decisions than did anthropological theory or the opinions of his mentors. At times, we--the curious voyeurs--want to know more about issues such as Stewart's friendship with famous people such as Robert Redford--the Sundance resort is on the old Stewart ranch above Provo Canyon--but the focus on this biography is squarely on Stewart and the issues at hand, not on gossip.

I recommend the book highly to anyone who is interested in the practice of anthropology or in the active pursuit of Native American rights. Stewart was an anthropologist who did not shy away from a fight for people's rights. In this time when we often do not know what many individuals think or believe, Omer Call Stewart is a bright light illustrating how to live a life that is true to one's convictions. Carol Howell's book is a fascinating synthesis of sources that paints a picture of Stewart that is strikingly on target for those who knew him. Omer Stewart's wit was an acquired taste, but unlike cannibalism, it ultimately worked for the good of humankind.