The virtues of bicycling and sobriety as well as Latina feminist poetry and life’s lessons learned in Spain are topics of a diverse lineup of new books by DePaul University faculty.

The tomes offer fresh insight on familiar topics, and the experts behind the scholarship are available for talk show appearances and news interviews. The following is a list of book synopses, contact information and statements of expertise for each of the authors:

“Pedal Power: The Quiet Rise of the Bicycle in American Public Life,” (Paradigm Publishers (January 2008) J. Harry Wray, professor of political science Phone: 773/325-1975; e-mail: hwray@depaul.edu

With gas prices soaring and traffic congestion extending commute times, bicycling is making a major comeback in cities across the country. In his book, Wray extols a transformed world in which the bicycle is essential in this age of global warming.

Wray speaks of a movement fueled by the quest for a higher quality of life and an increasing interest in bike-friendly public policies. In Chicago, a city with 36 miles of lakefront and park trails and a national reputation as a bicyclist’s dream, Wray uncovers the eccentric side of biking by zeroing in on the night rides of Critical Mass and the dumpster-diving Rat Patrol, while illustrating mainstream efforts of policy-makers like U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.)and regular American’s like “Biker Mama” Jane Healy. “Pedal Power” shows why the dominance of the automobile is yesterday’s idea and why society is edging closer to a democratic, multimodal transportation system.

Wray will sign copies of “Pedal Power” and share amusing anecdotes from the book from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the DePaul Barnes & Noble Bookstore, 1 E. Jackson Blvd. April 17.

Wray, who teaches a Discover Chicago class at DePaul on the intersection of bicycling and politics, also is an expert on United States politics and the media.

“This is What Happened in Our Other Life” A Midsummer Night’s Press (2007) Achy Obejas, Sor Juana de Ines de la Cruz Writer-in-Residence Phone: 773/325-4053; e-mail: aobejas@depaul.edu

Obejas’ first book of poetry is a petit handbook “navigating a course through the landscapes of loving and living while charting the complexities of identity,” according to its publisher. The lesbian Latina feminist author explores her relationships, roots and history through her poems.

A Pulitzer Prize-winner for her work on a Chicago Tribune investigative series, Obejas also has authored two novels, “Days of Awe” and “Memory Mambo,” as well as a collection of short stories, “We Came All the Way From Cuba So You Could Dress Like This?”

Obejas’ areas of expertise include Judaism in Hispanic culture, lesbian and Latina fiction, and Cuban culture and literature.

“Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse,” The Haworth Press (May 2008) Leonard A. Jason, director of the Center for Community Research, with co-authors Bradley D. Olson and Karen Foli Phone: 773/325-2018; e-mail: ljason@depaul.edu

The author of 18 academic books on a wide range of psychology-related topics, Jason turns his focus in “Rescued Lives” to telling the stories of recovering substance abusers who are succeeding with the help of Oxford House. The book provides a thought-provoking look at how the innovative group-home model has inspired positive results for one of the country’s most serious societal problems. The stories of Oxford House residents shed light on the treatment process on the road to recovery and the importance of relationships and reframing of self during the recovery process. “Rescued Lives” includes a chapter on the nine Oxford House traditions and an overview of the substantial evidence of Oxford House’s effectiveness.

Jason, a national leader in community psychology research, is an expert on chronic fatigue syndrome, children and television, smoking and prevention, and substance abuse recovery. The university’s Center for Community Research received $4.5 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for the Oxford House studies. Most recently, the center was awarded a $3.3 million National Institutes of Health grant to conduct a comparative study of aftercare programs for ex-offenders with a history of substance abuse.

“Grammar Lessons: Translating a Life in Spain,” University of Iowa Press (2007) Michele Morano, assistant professor of English Phone: 773/325-4087; e-mail: mmorano@depaul.edu

Morano’s “Grammar Lessons: Translating a Life in Spain,” a collection of 13 personal essays, was included in the New York Public Library’s list of 25 books to remember from 2007. The inspiration for the book was culled from a year Morano spent traveling and living in Spain while teaching English to university students. She said she was able to connect the rules of grammar to the stories told to help understand one’s worlds: “I learned to translate and interpret my past and present worlds—to study the surprising moments of communication—as a way to make sense of language and meaning, longing and memory.”

The essayist focuses first on her year of living in Oviedo, a time spent immersing herself in Spanish culture and language while working through the relationship she’d left behind with a dependent suicidal man. After subsequent trips to Spain, she explores the ways that travel forces us to reconsider personal histories in the context of larger historical legacies. Throughout the book, she details with humor and precision one woman’s journey through vocabulary and verb tense toward a greater sense of her place in the world.

Morano’s expertise lies in the areas of women's writing, personal essays, travel writing, creative nonfiction and ethics in creative nonfiction.