The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement

Haroro J. Ingram, Charlie Winter, and Craig Whiteside ’14 PhD Poli. Sci. 

Oxford University Press: 2020

This scholarly compendium examines key milestones and messages of the Islamic State without sensationalizing or merely recounting them. It’s a timely and thorough guide for those seeking to better understand the development and dynamics of ISIS. Coauthor Craig Whiteside, associate professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College in Monterey, California, and his colleagues contextualize the movement’s evolution, analyzing its views and strategies on propaganda, governance, and warfare. Whiteside wrote his doctoral thesis on the political worldview and strategy of Iraq’s Islamic State, focusing on the decade from 2003 to 2013. He’s a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Army and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His areas of expertise include counterterrorism, information operations, and irregular warfare.

 

Triptych 

Marcia Whitney-Schenck ’73 Comm.

2020

Set over six centuries, this three-part historical narrative traces the journey of a mysterious Black Madonna, carved in France in 1365. The statue plays a pivotal role in the lives of a Spanish nun and apothecary during the Spanish Inquisition in 1491 and a Belgian lacemaker, who loses her ability to speak as the result of a vicious attack in 1914. Whitney-Schenck, a Chicago-based artist, writer, and performer, is the former editor and publisher of Christianity and the Arts magazine and a former reporter for the Tacoma News Tribune. This is her first novel. She is also the author of Carrying Stones: A Spiritual Journey on El Camino, featuring 33 meditations she wrote while walking the famed path to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

 

Oklahoma Rodeo Women 

Tracey Hanshew

Arcadia Publishing and The History Press: 2020

Tracey Hanshew, a clinical assistant professor at Washington State University Tri-Cities, follows the trail that Oklahoma women have blazed across the rugged world of rodeo, including riding the same broncs as men, breaking records, training riders for Hollywood, and fighting to regain a foothold in the sport after being shut out following World War II.

 

Butch T. Cougar: Mascot or Superhero? 

Caryn Lawton

WSU Press: 2019

Secret identity? Check. Cool costume? Check. Never grows old? Check. What more evidence do you need? This whimsical, slim paperback offers these considerations and more to help young and old Coug fans decide for themselves. Originally created for a fundraiser, the hand-illustrated picture book was so popular that WSU Press decided to release it as a regular title. Lawton, who wrote and illustrated the book, is the marketing manager for WSU Press.

 

Belayed Gratification: Waiting Until the Fur Flies Your Way, a Mascot Memoir

David Stogdill ‘98 Elem. and Sec. Ed.

Warren Publishing: 2018

After portraying Butch T. Cougar at WSU, David Stogdill went on to become a professional mascot for teams in the NFL, NBA, and more. In this fast and fun read, he gives a behind-the-scenes look into one of the most visible, and yet anonymous, roles on the field or court.

 

ROORD: To War in a Rubber Duck

Rodger Pettichord ’65, ’67 MA English

Gray Dog Press: 2019

This trilogy about American B-52 pilots during and after World War II follows them from their beginnings with the British before the United States officially entered the war, to flying covert missions in the Cold War. ROORD stands for Reconnoitering, Observation, Opposition Resources, Destruction. American pilots dubbed it The Royal Order of Rubber Ducks. Retired Presbyterian minister Rodger Pettichord wrote the novels with retired U.S. Army warrant officer Jim Rubin and retired military and airline pilot David Ward.

 

Fractals for Kids

Mike Sukop ’89 MS Soil Sci.

2020

Florida International University Professor Michael Sukop aims to make the concepts and mathematics of fractals easily understood by children, using the simplest terms and examples. This is a significant departure from his earlier works on computational fluid dynamics, including Lattice Boltzmann Modeling: An Introduction for Geoscientists and Engineers (Springer, 2006) and Multiphase Lattice Boltzmann Methods: Theory and Application (Wiley, 2015).

 

Poaching Spree

Todd A. Vandivert ’79 Forest and Range Mgmt.

2019

Baffled by a yearlong poaching spree that leaves dozens of big game animals dead, two game wardens work to apprehend the perpetrators. Vandivert, a retired detective with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, writes about the dark world of wildlife trafficking in this novel using his own experience.