Unfair to Genius: The Strange and Litigious Career of Ira B. Arnstein
By Gary A. Rosen
Hardcover, 336 pages
Oxford University Press USA, $27.95
Description (from Oxford University Press):
The long and tortured career of Ira B. Arnstein, “the unrivaled king of copyright infringement plaintiffs,” opens a curious window into the evolution of copyright law in the United States. As Gary A. Rosen shows in this frequently funny and always entertaining history, the litigious Arnstein was a trenchant observer and most improbable participant in the transformation of not just copyright, but of American popular music itself.
A Naked Singularity
By Sergio de la Pava
Softcover, 688 pages
The University of Chicago Press, $18.00
Description (from the book’s website):
A novel wherein Casi, a young NYC public defender and son of Colombian immigrants, will suffer his first loss at trial then seek to reduce the sting of that defeat by using inside information to meticulously plan and execute a heist of illicit millions. Where said actions will not only come to the attention of a persistent police detective but also unleash a menacing giant bent on violent revenge; two pursuers Casi must then outrace while navigating a world expanded by theoretical physics to encompass the rise and fall of boxer Wilfred Benitez, Alabama’s death row, psych experiments involving Ralph Kramden, and enough comedic energy to power the stars.
One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World
Written and illustrated by Joe McKendry
Hardcover, 64 pages, Ages 6-10
David R. Godine, $19.95
Description (from Publisher’s Weekly review):
In this spectacular album of crisp sketches and meticulous paintings styled after archival and current photographs, McKendry (Beneath the Streets of Boston) serves up a fascinating biography of One Times Square, the longstanding building at the heart of Manhattan. McKendry chronicles the development of the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue from its earliest incarnation as Long Acre Square, home to “[c]arriage builders, livery stables, and a few coal yards,” to a lively hub for theater, crime-ridden neighborhood, and contemporary rebirth as an entertainment attraction and advertising mecca.
