MATTHEW FUTTERMAN ’91
NATE FITCH ’93
THOMAS BURKE ’00
GIANLUCA AVANZATO ’18
Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secret of Speed
Climbing: From First-Timer to Gym Climber
Eastbound into the Cosmos
City of the Hills
MadHat Press
Independently published
American culture is strange, and it appears even stranger after a hiatus. Cue Everett, back in Chicagoland after living in China. His head is spinning. His father has just died, plus, basic reentry to the life he once knew is increasingly taxing and complicated. On top of that, it seems that while he was abroad, everyone Everett cared about dove off the deep end into some particular madness. Exhibit A: Everett’s mom, recently widowed and with a newfound faith in healing crystals and a pony-tailed guru. Exhibit B: former roommate Dino and his new ascetic lifestyle—no more tasty food, ditto with sexy thoughts and the rest of life’s pleasures. Increasingly driftless and desperate, Everett signs onto an unconventional business venture that lands him at the center of the high-stakes world of mushroom smuggling.
How do we remember a place we once called home? And how do we forget it? In City of the Hills, Oneonta native Gianluca Avanzato locates places from his hometown in upstate New York and explores a variety of tensions associated with home: obedience and independence; adventure and boredom; loneliness and community. Steeped in Avanzato’s personal experiences, this concise but dynamic collection invites the reader to reflect on his or her own understandings of home and relive personal experiences— from ding-dong ditching to first love. Most importantly, these poems offer space for some kind of reconciliation between past and future, hope and hopelessness, remembering and forgetting.
DoubleDay
Futterman chronicles running coach Bob Larsen and his ragtag team of unknown San Diego underdogs—the Jamul Toads—who in 1976 shocked the established running clubs by winning the national AAU title in cross country. Larsen, who would later coach a powerhouse team at UCLA and mentor Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor to Olympic medals, was ahead of his time when America’s running craze began in the late 60s. He developed a regimen that emphasized group running, isolation, altitude, high mileage and intensity, a formula East African runners used to dominate the sport in the 80s. The book includes sections on the science and passion of running and essays on Futterman’s own running adventures (some at Union) that explore the one thing all runners share, a quest to run faster.
Falcon Guides
The first in a progression series aimed at beginner climbers, Climbing: From First-Timer to Gym Climber, walks you through your first time trying to rock climb and offers basic instruction on the fundamental skills needed to get off the ground and onto the wall. Nate Fitch is a faculty member of the outdoor education department at the University of New Hampshire where he teaches climbing classes. He is active with the American Mountain Guides Association, where he is a climbing wall instructor provider and a single pitch instructor assistant provider.
CONSIDERATION
Media, formerly Bookshelf, features new titles by or about alumni and other members of the Union community. To be included, send a copy of the work (book, DVD, CD) and synopsis to: Office of Communications Union College Schenectady, NY 12308 or synopsis and high-resolution image to: magazine@union.edu
FALL 2019 | UNION COLLEGE
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