George Bornstein, The Colors of Zion: Blacks, Jews, and Irish from 1845 to 1945. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. $27.95. 272 pp.

George Bornstein, C. A. Patrides Professor of Literature, Emeritus, at the University of Michigan, describes these three disparate and differently persecuted groups in ways that may strike many readers as sentimental, but, in reality, he tells a story less acknowledged, and for that reason, more needed in the age of caustic identity politics.

John Paul Stevens, Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir. New York: Little, Brown, 2011. $24.99. 292 pp.

Retired associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens, offers a fascinating and detailed account of life on the Court before and during his own service. But even more compelling is his conviction that he must explain beyond the process of formal rulings his own view of things, thus acknowledging and honoring disagreement as among the greatest gifts of democracy.

Monica M. Emerich, The Gospel of Sustainability: Media, Market, and LOHAS. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2011. $50.00. 280 pp.

Emerich, a research affiliate at the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder, examines the lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS) as an emerging social movement intended “to contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle for people and the planet.” This “green cultural shift” toward “mindful consumption” deserves scrutiny and criticism.

Catherine Hakim, Erotic Capital: The Power of Attraction in the Boardroom and the Bedroom. New York: Basic Books, 2011. $26.00. 304 pp.

In this intentionally controversial book, Hakim of the London School of Economics contends that sex appeal is a form of capital and as a mode of personal empowerment should be considered appropriate to use to get ahead. She argues that social scientists in particular must pay closer attention to its force in social life.

Deborah L. Rhode, The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. $17.95. 272 pp.

Rhode makes the case against the benefits and use of erotic capital. Nearly 200 billion dollars is invested annually around the world in personal appearance, the impact of which she claims infringes on fundamental rights, including the compromising of principles of advancement based on merit.