PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ AUGUST 28, 2017 120
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Special Relativity and Classical
Field Theory: The Theoretical
Minimum
Leonard Susskind and Art Friedman. Basic,
$30 (448p) ISBN 978-0-465-09334-2
Susskind and Friedman follow their
collaboration on Quantum Mechanics by
probing the mathematical nitty-gritty
of field theory and Einstein’s theory of
special relativity in the third installment
of the Theoretical Minimum series.
The series is designed to complement
Susskind’s videos on the Stanford
University website, introducing students to “the theoretical minimum”
needed to understand modern physics.
Here, the authors begin with discussions
of inertial reference frames and the concept of simultaneity. That leads to
Lorentz transformations, which describe
how time and length change at velocities
approaching the speed of light, and the
infamous “twin paradox”: the strange
theoretical phenomenon in which an
identical twin at rest ages faster than a
sibling on a high-speed journey in space.
The authors examine relativistic fields
and how particles move in them before
introducing tensors and diving headlong
into magnetic and electric fields, field
theory, and Maxwell’s equations. As with
the authors’ previous books, enthusiastic
discussion is seasoned with wry humor.
The book requires knowledge of calculus,
but the text is well paced. The latest
book in the Theoretical Minimum series
delivers exactly that, in clear and concise
chapters. Illus. (Oct.)
This Is How We Rise: Reach
Your Highest Potential, Empower
Women, Lead Change in the World
Claudia Chan. DaCapo/Lifelong, $26 (272p)
ISBN 978-0-7382-2002-4
In her insightful, empathetic debut,
Chan, the founder of a media company
and former president of an event-plan-
ning firm, seeks to empower other busi-
nesswomen with a road map to lifting up
not just oneself but also others. After
explaining her vision of a “new breed of
leaders” suited to a gender-equal society,
Chan ably takes readers through her 13
foundational pillars of personal leader-
ship—purpose, vision, faith, resilience,
energy, productivity, humility, gratitude,
grace, community, self-love, courage, and
failure to recognize the importance of
aircraft carriers to global war). Little in
Hanson’s work is new and he largely
relies on authoritative secondary sources,
but his organizational approach allows
him to isolate and highlight observations
that may surprise even some well-read
WWII enthusiasts. Maps & illus. (Oct.)
★ The Shattered Lens: A War
Photographer’s 81 Days of
Captivity in Syria—A Story of
Survival
Jonathan Alpeyrie with Stash Luczkiw. Atria,
$27 (272p) ISBN 978-1-5011-4650-3
A keen photojournalist’s eye serves
Alpeyrie well as he painstakingly recounts
his capture in 2013 by rebels during
Syria’s civil war. The Paris-born American
is an extraordinary observer of the sus-
penseful (as when plotting an elaborate
escape attempt) and the routine (as when
describing the defiance of unscrewing a
light tube so he could sleep at night)
activities that a hostage must reconcile in
order to keep his sanity. Beyond the fasci-
nating details he provides, Alpeyrie is a
sympathetic narrator, sober about the
causes of war
and his relative
suffering in it
(he is beaten,
often chained to
his bed, and is
forced to urinate
into and drink
from the same
glass). The
second half of
the book serves
as a forum for his open-minded, authori-
tative views on geopolitics, the clash of
cultures, his own profession, and the ethics
and intrigue of hostage taking that are as
engaging and honest as the account of his
ordeal. Throughout, he offers frank dis-
cussions about the illusion of freedom and
the lure of violence, and offers a touching
appreciation for the parental love and
support he receives. The author both
humanizes and scrutinizes his captors,
whom he provides with tips on working
out, having sex (which he demonstrates
on a pillow), and swimming at a nearby
pool. In this harrowing story, Alpeyrie
offers insights that deserve attention. (Oct.)
of the KKK during the 1920s. The work
is explicitly informed by the 21st-century
rise of conservative populism in America,
but Gordon largely leaves direct comparisons with contemporary politics to her
readers. She argues that the Klan in the
1920s was a mainstream manifestation
of persistent currents in American history
that are often dormant but surface periodically. While rejecting the KKK’s
philosophy, Gordon acknowledges the
effectiveness of the Klan’s leaders at
recruitment and translating their corresponding political power into legislation
consistent with their philosophy, specifically antimiscegenation laws and immigration restrictions. Among the strategies
she describes is the appeal to a number of
American ideological strains: racism,
nativism, temperance, fraternalism, and
Christian evangelicalism. Recruiters were
given pyramidlike economic incentives,
and there was widespread use of propaganda and demagoguery to create the
perception of threats to white supremacy.
Gordon also provides insights into the
surprising effectiveness and independence
of the women’s auxiliaries to the exclusively male KKK. This clear-eyed analysis
illuminates the character and historic
power of America’s own “politics of
resentment.” (Oct.)
The Second World Wars: How the
First Global Conflict Was Fought
and Won
Victor Davis Hanson. Basic, $35 (720p) ISBN
978-0-465-06698-8
Ancient history specialist Hanson
(Hoplites), a senior fellow at the Hoover
Institution, makes his first foray into
WWII history with an examination into
why the Allies won and the Axis lost. The
book is not a chronological history of the
war; rather it consists of six parts that
examine 20 diverse themes, including
alliances, airpower, infantry, soldiers and
armies, and supreme command. Hanson
considers the six major belligerents (Italy,
Germany, and Japan on the Axis side, and
Great Britain, the U.S., and the Soviet
Union on the Allied side), analyzes their
characteristics (for example, why the
Germans had the best infantry), and
assesses the impact of those characteristics on the outcome of the war (e.g., the
consequences of Italy and Germany’s
