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Play-by-Play is an eye-opening look at the political infighting invariably produced by the deadly combination of university administrators, athletic czars, and huge revenue.

Distinguished poet and translator David R. Slavitt here provides a translation of and meditation upon the Book of Lamentations, the biblical account of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 587 B.C., on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av--Tish'a b'Av. (Six centuries later the Romans destroyed the second Temple on the same day.) Most of the Jewish population was deported to Babylon, and the ensuing period came to be known as the Babylonian Captivity. According to tradition, the Book of Lamentations was written in response to this political, social, and religious crisis. The five poems composing the book express Israel's sorrow, brokenness, and bewilderment before God.Tish'a b'Av is the day on which observant Jews fast and pray. And mourn. As Slavitt observes in his meditation: " It is forbidden on Tish'a b'Av even to study the Torah, except for the Book of Job and the Book of Lamentations. This is the day on which we grieve for every terrible thing that happens in this world. It is the worst day of the year."Slavitt's meditation provides a context for reading the scriptural text. Cast in the same style as the Hebrew poetry, his meditation recounts how sorrow and catastrophe have characterized so much of the history of the Jewish people, from their enslavement in Egypt to the Holocaust of Nazi Germany.Few translations of this remarkable book of the Bible attempt to reproduce in English, as Slavitt does here, the Hebrew acrostics. In the original, each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequential order; Slavitt elegantly reproduces this effect using the first 22 letters of the English alphabet. More than a structural or mnemonic device, Slavitt argues, the acrostics are "a serious assertion that the language itself is speaking, that the speech is inspired, and that there is, beyond all the disaster and pain the book recounts, an intricacy and an orderly coherence."

Winner, Professional/Scholarly Publishing Award in Architecture, Association of American PublishersGrand Central Terminal, one of New York City's preeminent buildings, stands as a magnificent Beaux-Arts monument to America's Railway Age, and it remains a vital part of city life today. Completed in 1913 after ten years of construction, the terminal became the city's most important transportation hub, linking long-distance and commuter trains to New York's network of subways, elevated trains, and streetcars.In Grand Central Terminal, Kurt C. Schlichting traces the history of this spectacular building, detailing the colorful personalities, bitter conflicts, and Herculean feats of engineering behind its construction. Completed in 1871, the first Grand Central was the largest rail facility in the world and yet--cramped and overburdened--soon proved thoroughly inadequate for the needs of this rapidly expanding city. William Wilgus, chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad, conceived a new Grand Central Terminal, one that would fully meet the needs of the New York Central line. Schlichting concludes with an account of the public outcry that prevented the proposed demolition of the terminal in 1969 and the meticulous 1990s restoration project that returned Grand Central Terminal to its original splendor. More than a history of a train station, this book is the story of a city and an age as reflected in a building aptly described as a secular cathedral."Grand Central Terminal is celebrated for its Beaux-Arts style, but Kurt C. Schlichting looks behind the facade to see the hidden engineering marvels . . . [His] book will deepen anyone's appreciation for New York's most magnificent interior space."--New York Times Book Review"Schlichting writes with deep understanding of Grand Central's engineering feats and artistic qualities."--Wilson Quarterly"Schlichting's history of New York's Grand Central Terminal gathers many actors and events into a clearly written and amply illustrated narrative of American commercial initiative."--Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

From the awe and wonder of the first explorers to cries for conservation from contemporary writers, From Blue Ridge to Barrier Islands gathers examples of our changing views of the natural world and the values we place upon it.

In an epilogue he discusses his findings in terms of contemporary debates over high-resolution TV.