Books: Summer 2025

Keon West ’06. The Science of Racism: Everything You Need to Know but Probably Don’t—Yet (Abrams Press, 2025)

How do you measure something as complex as racism? At Reunion in June, alumni explored that question with social psychologist Dr. Keon West ’06 and Minnesota Public Radio host Nina Moini. Drawing on insights from West’s new book, they discussed what research tells us about racism today, why facts matter, how the UK and US compare, and how we can engage in meaningful discourse across political and social divides.

Catch the conversation, recorded live for Moini’s show Minnesota Now.

Jillian Scudder ’09. 40 Ways to Know A Star (Princeton Architectural Press, 2025) “All along humanity’s journey to understand the Universe, it is the stars that have led and lit the way. In this book, I introduce forty different ways to understand the stars, the galaxies they inhabit, and the cosmos they illuminate. I hope you enjoy the journey, and come away with a deeper connection to those faint pinpricks of light.” —Dr. Jillian Scudder, astrophysicist and associate professor of physics at Oberlin College

Kent Dunlap ’85. The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History (University of California Press, 2025) “Retired Mac biology professor Mark Davis was a huge help in commenting on the book manuscript. Forty years ago, he gave me excellent writing instruction while I was a Mac student. So, decades later, I sought his advice once again—and once again, he offered extremely valuable feedback. Once a professor, always a professor; once a student, always a student.” —Kent Dunlap ’85

Jeffrey Hassan ’73. The Black Lawyer in Minnesota: 1973 to 2023 (self-published at hassanesq.com, 2025) Jeff Hassan’s new book is a fifty-year retrospective anthology on the achievements of Black lawyers in Minnesota. “It features three Macalester alums who have gone on to do outstanding work in the community locally, statewide, and nationally—Judge Michael Davis ’69, B. Todd Jones ’79, and Bobby Joe Champion ’87,” Hassan says. The book also includes Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, whose father, Don Hudson, coached football at Macalester, and Judge Tanya Bransford, whose father, Jim Bransford ’57, was a Macalester graduate.

Nick Greenberg ’80. The Culinary Caper (Speaking Volumes, 2025)

R.J. Millhouse ’13. Get Yo’ Life: Black Queer Placemaking (The Ohio State University Press, 2025)

Professor Dan Trudeau, Professor Bill Moseley, and former staff member Paul Schadewald, editors. Gleanings from the Field: Food Security, Resilience, and Experiential Learning (Lever Press, 2025)

David Maeda ’87. This is Not Who We Are: Confessions of an Election Official (Da Boyz Inc., 2024)

Kathleen West ‘99. Making Friends Can Be Murder (Berkley, 2025)

Lawrence Perelman ’98. American Impresario: William F. Buckley, Jr., and the Elements of American Character (Simon & Schuster, 2025)

Sue Ring-Jarvi ’73. Can You Keep Up? Fifty Years of Organizing, Playing, and Coaching Women’s Hockey in Minnesota (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2025)

Kate Bredeson ’98 with Thalia Wolff. The Inheritor: A Play, English-language translation (Northwestern University Press, 2025)

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