Reviews (Page 2)

The Financial Century: From Turmoils to Triumphs, Stoddart, 2001, $32.95, by Reuven Brenner.

Forbes magazine praises him and The Wall Street Journal calls Reuven Brenner "an economist who thinks for himself...[his] insights are original, provocative and edifying." In his latest book, the Repap Chair of Business at McGill looks at economic challenges and opportunities facing the world today. He examines the nature of prosperity and questions its relation to democracy or the abundance of a nation's natural resources -- access to capital is the real answer, according to Brenner. To devise political, business and financial strategies that work, Brenner argues one needs to study the local politics and monetary policies, the movement of people and capital across borders, and the larger geopolitical picture. In this regard, the country to which the last century belonged -- the United States -- will also own the 21st century. "Prosperity is the consequence of one thing and one only: matching talent with capital, and holding both sides accountable," writes Brenner. Written with historical insight, Brenner's book will spare those who suffer vertigo from economic jargon, though anti-capitalist forces may get a little queasy.

The Art of Running with the Alexander Technique, Ashgrove Publishing, 2001, $24.95, Malcolm Balk, BA'77, and Andrew Shields.

Former McGill track coach Malcolm Balk (now coaching at Concordia) and co-author Shields bring sound advice to those who feel compelled to run around tracks, through parks and up mountains. As runners well know, training and performance can often lead to injury. Balk and Shields show how to achieve better results and reduce injuries through the use of the Alexander Technique, a method of movement, posture and body awareness that releases unnecessary (and often unhealthy) muscular tension and which is gaining popularity among musicians, actors and now athletes. With personal accounts from runners, illustrative photographs, and lots of coaching from the authors, The Art of Running will prove invaluable to interested readers, even those who aren't planning on entering a marathon.

Le sexe et le droit : Sur le féminisme juridique de Catharine MacKinnon, Liber & Yvon Blais, 2001, par Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens.

Catharine MacKinnon est sans doute l'une des plus importantes théoriciennes du droit en Amérique du Nord. Autant comme intellectuelle que comme praticienne du droit, elle s'est engagée à fond dans les luttes féministes des deux dernières décennies. La plupart du temps stimulantes, parfois convaincantes, ses thèses sur le rôle que joue le droit dans l'oppression des femmes, sur la sexualité et la représentation sexuelle, ou sur les rapports entre la liberté d'expression et l'égalité, ne sont toutefois pas à l'abri des incohérences et des paradoxes. Dans Le sexe et le droit, Jean-François Gaudreault-DesBiens, professeur à la Faculté de droit de McGill, propose une analyse serrée des présupposés théoriques de MacKinnon, critiquant notamment sa conception instrumentale du droit et les problèmes que suscite son usage abusif du prisme constructiviste dans sa représentation des phénomènes liés à la sexualité. Surtout, Gaudreault-DesBiens reconstruit dans cet ouvrage l'ensemble de la question de la saisie juridique des problématiques identitaires et égalitaires qui traversent notre époque.