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Internet Bookwatch

Volume 19, Number 8 August 2009 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Business Shelf
Library Science Shelf Audiobook Shelf Library DVD Shelf
Biography Shelf Native American Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Judaic Studies Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf Library CD Music Shelf
Education Shelf Cookbook Shelf Automotive Shelf
Art Shelf Literary Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
Poetry Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Large Print Shelf
Fiction Shelf Political Science Shelf Science Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Interior Design Shelf Architecture Shelf
Photography Shelf Computer Shelf Self-Help Shelf
Parenting Shelf Genealogy Shelf Human Sexuality Shelf
Religion/Spirituality Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Gardening Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Sports Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Music Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
World History Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Archaeology Shelf
Gaming Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Aviation Shelf
Military Shelf American History Shelf Railroading Shelf
Martial Arts Shelf Judicial Studies Shelf Psychology Shelf
Journalism Shelf Philosophy Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

An Illustrated Guide To Mythical Creatures
Anita Ganeri & David West
Hammond
c/o Langenscheidt Publishing Group
PO Box 979, Spring House, PA 19477
www.langenscheidt.com
9780843716696, $15.99, www.amazon.com

Creatures of myth and legend are to be found in the cultural histories and popular beliefs of every human civilization ever recorded. In "An Illustrated Guide To Mythical Creatures", the spectacular artwork by David West perfectly illuminates the engagingly informative and descriptive commentary of Anita Ganeri. Within the pages of "An Illustrated Guide To Mythical Creatures" are to be found images of dragons, serpents, worms, chimera, water beasts, giants, all manner of flying creatures, shape-shifters, demons, ghouls and ghosts. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary and an index, "An Illustrated Guide To Mythical Creatures" is a thoroughly enjoyable browsing experience and a welcome, highly recommended addition to personal and community library Mythology reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

The Kitchen Linens Book
EllynAnne Geisel
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9780740777639, $19.99, www.amazon.com

Most people are not aware that kitchen linens had their beginnings in the years of the Great Depression when women who in better times would have had servants and cooks, were now of financial necessity having to do their own cooking and cleaning up. But being women of formerly privileged backgrounds, they found solace in having the linens associated with kitchen chores be infused with color and design, making them articles of elegance as a kind of consolation for the loss of kitchen staff to do these chores for them. Thus was born the colorful dish towel and all the other linens associated with the kitchen, along with such items as tablecloths and cloth napkins. All this history and so much more are to be found in the beautifully and profusely illustrated pages of EllynAnne Geisel's "The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives", a 152-page compendium of examples, photos, anecdotes, and informed commentary. As entertaining as it is informative, "The Kitchen Linens Book" is a highly recommended addition to personal and community library Americana collections.

Journeywell
Trish Herbert
Beaver's Pond Press
7104 Ohms Lane, Suite 101, Edina, MN 55439
www.BeaversPondPress.com
9781592982912, $24.95, www.amazon.com

We all of us are in the process of aging from the moment of our birth to the hour of our death. But there's nothing instinctive about aging well and getting the most out of our lives while we live. All that is a learned process picked up from examples of those that have gone before us such as our parents, and those that come after us such as our children -- and even our children's children. That's why Trish Herbert's "Journeywell: A Guide To Quality Aging" is so useful as both a source of basic information and as a workbook to help us think about, how to prepare for, engage in, and realize the best of living a long life whatever our personal circumstances might be. For a long life to be worth living it must also be meaningful, responsible, and flexible in order to deal with life's many challenges, anticipations, and opportunities. Of special note is the concluding chapter dedicated to 'Finishing Well' with attention to the inevitability of life's ending -- and how best to plan for and cope with it. Part instruction manual and part workbook, "Journeywell" is aptly named and strongly recommended reading for anyone seeking to make the most out of the days, years, and decades they have to enjoy their lives with dignity, alacrity, and enthusiasm.

The Senior Cohousing Handbook
Charles Durrett
New Society Publishers
PO Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, V0R 1X0
www.newsociety.com
9780865716117, $34.95, www.amazon.com

In the United States it was the creation of the Social Security and Medicare that help to diminish what had been a chronic problem of poverty among the elderly. But while economic assistance went a long way to improving the quality of their lives, the increasing fragmentation of the family structure continued to exacerbate problems of isolation and loneliness among the aged. That was a driving force behind the creation of community approach to independent living for the elderly. This newly emerging concept now has a documented track record of providing senior citizens with a living environment that contributes to a healthy, safe, stimulating, and socially active retirement. This is all laid out, replete with real-life examples, in the pages of Charles Durrett's "The Senior Cohousing Handbook" which defines, explains, and demonstrates the concepts, organization, structures, and benefits of a co-housing approach to senior living. A thoroughly 'reader friendly' and profusely illustrated instruction manual, "The Senior Cohousing Handbook" is especially recommended for anyone considering joining or establishing such a senior citizen housing arrangement in their own community.

So Long as Men Can Breathe
Clinton Heylin
Da Capo
2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103
9780306818059, $24.00, www.dacapopress.com

The sonnets of Shakespeare are renowned as the very best in the world. "So Long as Men Can Breathe: The Untold Story of Shakespeare's Sonnets" tells of the publishing industry in a time long past, when copyright laws were simply unheard of. Relating the saga of Shakespeare, his publishers and peers, and the chaos surrounding the process of getting books published during the era, "So Long As Men Can Breathe" is highly entertaining, educational, and recommended reading.

The Art of Making Money
Jason Kersten
Gotham Books
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.us.penguingroup.com
9781592404469, $26.00, www.amazon.com

THE ART OF MAKING MONEY: THE STORY OF A MASTER COUNTERFEITER tells the true story of a legendary counterfeiter who was only undone when he looked for family ties. Art Williams devised means to circumvent security measures and make millions by counterfeiting; his exploits are a fascinating tale, recommended for both business and general-interest libraries.

Havana Before Castro
Peter Moruzzi
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Lyton UT 84041
1423603672, $30.00 www.gibbs-smith.com

Color and vintage black and white photos abound in HAVANA BEFORE CASTRO: WHEN CUBA WAS A TROPICAL PLAYGROUND. It re-creates an era when the city was a popular destination for Americans between World War I and Castro's revolution, packing over 500 color and black and white images into a 'then and now' recreation contrasting past and present. Any library strong in Cuban history and culture must have this.

Josephine Powell
Jodith Vos, Editor, et.al.
KIT Publishers
P.O. Box 95001, 1090 HA Amsterdam, Nederland
www.kitpublishers.com publishers@kit.nl
9789068326987, $35.00, www.amazon.com

"Josephine Powell: Traveller, Photographer, Collector in Muslim World" documents an unusual American-born woman who spent most of her life among Muslims. She studied rural and urban lifestyles, and the vanishing life of the Anatolian nomads. Her photos capture rare aspects of a disappearing society. Unique black and white and color images illustrate this fine collection of anthropological revelations.

International Publisher's Marketing
Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
www.struik.co.za www.amazon.com

Ian Michler's INSIDER'S GUIDE TO BOTSWANA (9781770074613, $28.00) is for any who would travel to Botswana, and pairs a history of its peoples and culture with tops on where to stay, top festivals in the country, overland trips, nature and more. Routes are outlined and color and vintage photos abound. Mark Skinner and Sean Fraser's THE FAIREST CAPE: FROM THE WEST COAST TO THE GARDEN ROUTE (191993846X, $24.95) covers the scenic garden route of South Africa, offering a fine coffee-table display of full-page, oversized color photos of the route's highlights. A lovely recommendation for any who've been to the Cape area and want a keepsake. Adrian Bailey & Robyn Kenne-Young's WILD KRUGER (1919938540, $19.95) is arranged by habitat and covers Kruger Park's rivers, bushes, and savanna wildlife. Color photo displays enhance a celebration of the park's resident wildlife and big game. Gillian Warren-Brown and Yazeed Fakier and Eric Miller's CAPE TOWN UNCOVERED: A PEOPLE'S CITY (1919930752, $21.95) covers the racial mix, diverse identity and makeup of Cape Town, using text and photos to survey Cape Town's ethnic diversity. Any interested in South African culture will find this an outstanding presentation.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Break Into Fiction
Mary Buckham & Dianna Love Snell
Adams Media Corporation
57 Littlefield Street, 2nd floor, Avon, MA 02322
www.adamsmedia.com
9781605500157, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Writing the 'Great American Novel' is the easy part. Getting it published is a great deal more difficult. That's why two award-winning novelists, Mary Buckham and Dianna Love Snell, have collaborative in writing "Break Into Fiction: 11 Steps To Building A Story That Sells". This deftly written instruction manual is based upon the author's own workshops where they have created a novel-writing system that even the most inexperienced novice can follow and apply with relative ease to produce original stories of depth, complexity, emotion, and excitement. There are 'user friendly' templates taking the novel writing process from first draft to finished manuscript. Reference examples are drawn from popular genres ranging from suspense and classics, to children's fiction and romance films. Of special note are the worksheets designed to build strong stories plot point by plot point, and troubleshooting tips on finding and fixing problematic holes that weaken a plot. A complete course of do-it-yourself study in a single volume of practical, step-by-step, explanatory instruction, "Break Into Fiction" is especially recommended to the attention of neophyte authors yearning to break into print and become established novelists in their own right.

Ascend Beyond Publishing
1639 Bradley Park Drive, Columbus, GA 31904
http://ascendbeyond.com http://turnkeypublisher.com

There is now a brand new two-volume series by Matthew S. Chan designed specifically to help individuals and niche groups profitable publish books as a source of revenue for themselves and/or their projects. "TurnKey Publishing" (9781933723013, $21.95) is a complete course of step-by-step instruction on creating a commercially successful book. Chan debunks such common myths as it being too difficult to write a book, too expensive to publish a book, it being necessary to sell through bookstores to be successful, needing an agent to become reputably published. Readers will learn how to retain total creative control over their own work; use accelerated publishing to turn out three or more titles a year; produce and build a book -- instead of simply writing one; sell books outside a traditional bookstore, publish outside of a traditional publisher, create a business that provides a revenue stream, convert and package personal knowledge, experience and stories into an income-producing book, and market oneself successfully even when beginning as a totally unknown author. "The TurnKey Publisher's Audio Publishing Handbook" (9781933723150, $20.95) has as its specific focus the creation and self-publication of an audio book and/or audio program -- without going through a traditional audio book publisher or using a professional recording studio. Of special note is the cogent and practical information provided with respect to finding the right vendors to design and manufacture an audio CD package and adapting a print book to an audio book format. Every novice author aspiring to publish their manuscript and every group seeking to fund raise through publishing a book should give "TurnKey Publishing" a very careful (and profitable!) reading. Every published author and every niche publisher should carefully read "The TurnKey Publisher's Audio Publishing Handbook" with an eye towards considering turning their print publications into an audio book format to augment their revenue stream.

The Restructuring Of Scholarly Publishing In The United States 1980-2001
Barbara G. Haney Jones
The Edwin Mellen Press
415 Ridge Street, Lewiston, NY 14092
9780773447271, $129.95, www.mellenpress.com

One of the primary missions of university supported publishing is to provide academia with a venue to publish works that would not be able to find a commercial publishing outlet because the subject matter of the texts would not have a broad public appeal. Another purpose of university subsidized publishing is to provide academics with an opportunity to publish their works as part of the 'publish or perish' aspect of obtaining academic promotion and tenure. But for the past 30 years universities and their presses have experienced dramatic changes in their funding sources, substantial decreases in their monograph sales, increasing competition from specialty trade publishers, as well as the challenges and changes represented by a rapid evolution in computer, telecommunications, and publishing technologies. That is the subject of "The Restructuring Of Scholarly Publishing In The United States 1980-2001: A Resource-Based Analysis Of University Presses" by academician Barbara G. Haney Jones (University of Wales). Professor Jones provides an informed and informative exploration of how university presses met these various challenges over a two decade span from 1980 through 2001. Her impressively rigorous and rigorous research has produced a seminal study which incorporates a wide variety of factors and issues ranging form financial support, to physical facilities and equipment, to back title management, to academic reputations, to staff and director expertise. "The Restructuring Of Scholarly Publishing In The United States 1980-2001" is a highly recommended work of impeccable scholarship and of especial interest to the academic publishing community as well as authors and academicians seeking university press publication of their own works in these currently stressful economic times.

Yes! You Can
Nancy I. Sanders
E & E Publishing
1001 Bridgeway, #227, Sausalito, CA 94965
www.EandEgroup.com/Publishing
9780979160660, $19.95, www.amazon.com

It is every writer's dream to have their book sold to a publisher before it is even written. But that's no pipe dream! Not with "Yes! You Can: Learn How To Write Children's Books, Get Them Published, And Build A Successful Writing Career". This is a 366-page compendium of insider information, tips, tricks, techniques, tactics and strategies that can be readily adopted by anyone seeking to establish themselves as professional authors and earn their living by writing books for young readers. "Yes! You Can" is more than just a 'how to' instruction manual for beginning children's books authors, it is a combination workshop, seminar, tutorial, professional reference, career guide, and inspiring motivational. Replete with practical, real-world, insights into how publishing works and how writer's can best advantage themselves within the industry, "Yes! You Can" also delves into writing as a business, including such aspects as publicity and marketing. Of special note is the bibliography of recommended professional books for children's writers and a glossary of specialized terms. "Yes! You Can" is especially recommended for anyone aspiring to successfully write and have published books for young readers, and has a great deal of background value for writers in other fields seeking successful publication for their work.

The Writer's Essential Tackle Box
Lynn Price
Behler Publications
22365 El Toro Road, #135, Lake Forest, CA 92630
www.behlerpublications.com
9781933016344, $19.95, www.amazon.com

A 'truth in advertising' moment: the Midwest Book Review and an extensive interview with me form an entire chapter of "The Writer's Essential Tackle Box", a 368-page compendium of information and insight into the publishing industry in all of its elements and aspects by Lynn Price (Editorial Director of Behler Publications). But I can say with absolute sincerity that the Midwest Book Review is in excellent company and just one of the informative interviews along side those with publishing industry professionals such as Wilda Williams from 'Library Journal', professional literary agents such as Rita Rosenkranze, Andrea Brown, Laurie McLean, and Peter Cox, ABA President and Changing Hands bookstore owner Gayle Shanks, and so many others. "The Writer's Essential Tackle Box" addresses writers' boards, writer conferences, writer and publisher blogs, and a myriad of 'how to' books for writers. Of special note is 'The Writer's Survival Style Guide" delineating the most common mistakes made by aspiring authors seeking publication. Informed and informative, "The Writer's Essential Tackle Box" is very strongly recommended reading for anyone seeking to become a published and professional author in today's highly competitive, complex, and evolving publishing industry.


The Business Shelf

Discovery-Driven Growth
Rita Gunther McGrath
Harvard Business Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
9781591396857, $27.95, www.harvardbusiness.org/press

Research and Development can either be a highly profitable venture or a complete wasteful bust - but what determines the outcome? "Discovery-Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunity" is a business guide to new technologies and products in business. Encouraging companies to take wise risks - risks that can be profitable in lessons even if they technically turn out to be failures - and to avoid stagnation, authors Rita Gunther McGrath & Ian C. McMillan have put together a solid business book. For anyone who wants a more successful future for their company, "Discovery-Driven Growth" is a strong pick.

Online Marketing Inside Out
Brandon Eley & Shayne Tilley
SitePoint Pty., Ltd.
c/o O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein, Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472-2811
www.oreilly.com
9780980576825, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Selling on the internet is a core aspect of the modern business plan. It expands the marketplace for goods and services across the country and around the world. But online marketing has its own 'rules of the road' that must be mastered to be successful. That's why "Online Marketing Inside Out", an indispensable instruction manual and reference guide, is so timely and so welcome. The collaboration of SitePoint's marketing manager Shayne Tiley, and online shoe retailer Brandon Eley, "Online Marketing Inside Out" is a compendium of practical advise, insightful commentary, and basic information regarding the utilization of modern marketing techniques such as search engine optimization, email marketing, affiliate marketing, online advertising, the social media outlets, web site designs, and internet based public relations and media. Of special note is the chapter dedicated organizing together all the disparate elements of an online marketing plan. Thoroughly 'user friendly', "Online Marketing Inside Out" is very highly recommended and invaluable for aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and corporate executives charged with the responsibility for designing, developing, and implementing a competitive and successful online marketing program.

Fueling Economic Growth
Michael Graham and Jean Woo
Practical Action Publishing
c/o Stylus Publishing
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
9781853396755, $39.95, www.practicalactionpublishing.org

The rapid advancement of technology has changed the way the world's economies function. "Fueling Economic Growth: The Role of Public-Private Sector Research in Development" explores the economics of many rapidly growing countries, their approaches to research and development, and the impacts on their economies. Even when the government hasn't provided enough funding, private companies have often taken the torch in the name of profit. "Fueling Economic Growth" is a fascinating read of economics and the role of big business in technological advancement.

Perspectives on Increasing Sales
Marvin N. Miletsky and James A. Callander
Course Technology
20 Channel Center St., Boston MA 02210
1598638742, $29.99 www.courseptr.com

In the 'Perspectives' series two authors never collaborate on the results, and provide different viewpoints to help business students and general readers understand issues and important topics key to success. Here the two authors are a sales veteran and manager with over thirty years of experience in the electrical industry, and a purchasing manager for an electrical contractor. Their contrasting questions and answers on everything from how long a productive meeting should take to choosing people to not do business with makes for an invaluable, insightful guide.

Search Engine Advertising
Kevin Lee with Catherine Seda
New Riders Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.newriders.com
0321495993, $34.99, www.amazon.com

SEARCH ENGINE ADVERTISING: BUYING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP TO INCREASE SALES appears in its second updated edition to show how to obtain top positions in the major search engines, increase conversations that lead visitors to purchase, and use paid search advertising even if you're a novice. Learn the difference between profitable and unprofitable clicks and structure campaigns for concrete results with this powerful guide, recommended for any business library.

Adventures of an IT Leader
Robert D. Austin, et.al.
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
9781422146606, $29.95 www.harvardbusiness.org/press

The authors' firsthand experiences with diverse companies lend to ADVENTURES OF AN IT LEADER, A hero who is the new CO of a fictional corporation. His business experiences and lessons in learning the new world of information technology with no prior grounding makes for a fine survey which blends case studies with a fictional experience, making for the perfect book to learn from. Both business and general libraries will find it an eye-catching, appealing read packed with real-world business lessons.

Make Their Day!
Cindy Ventrice
Berrett-Koehler
235 Montgomery St, Suite 650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
9781576756010, $24.95 www.bkconnection.com

Why do most employees feel unrecognized despite companies spending money on them? What different recognition programs could help fuel morale and productivity? Any manager or business library needs MAKE THEIR DAY! EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION THAT WORKS, which appears here in a second revised, updated and expanded edition with tested ways to boost morale and profits. From building recognition programs that work to partnering with administrators and checking cultural expectation to be sure recognition is meaningful, this is a business guide any manager needs.

The New World Of Wireless
Scott Snyder
Wharton School Publishing
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96h Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
9780137003792, $34.99, www.amazon.com

We now live in a world where communication over telephone wires and telegraph cables is being replaced with a new digital and orbital satellite age of communication without wires or cables. This new wireless technology is having a rapidly expanding impact on business and how business is being conducted. That is why "The New World Of Wireless: How To Compete In The 4G Revolution" by Scott Snyder (President and CEO of Decision Strategies International, Inc.) is so timely and so important, especially for those relatively unfamiliar with the ramifications of wireless technology. Informed, informative, and thoroughly 'reader friendly', "The New World Of Wireless" will provide cogent explanation of wireless communication, how to utilize it for new opportunities and advantages, and mitigate risks associated with the transformations compelled by wireless technology. Of special note are the two appendices on 'Taking the WiQ Survey' and 'Wireless 101: Inside the Technology'. Enhanced with the inclusion of copious 'endnotes' and an index, "The New World Of Wireless" is highly recommended reading for entrepreneurs and business managers having to understand the implications and ramifications of wireless technology with respect to their own corporate developments in a highly competitive, often volatile market, and expanding global marketplace.

Financial Statements
Thomas R. Ittelson
Career Press Inc.
PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.careerpress.com
9781601630230, $17.99, www.amazon.com

Financial statements are basic documents specifically designed and intended to codify a company's fiscal status with respect to revenues, expenditures, assets, and liabilities. Now in a newly revised, expanded, and updated edition, "Financial Statements" by business developer and marketing consultant Thoms R. Ittelson explicitly instructs the non-fiscally trained business manager on how to create a financial statement, including cogent explanations of how balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements combine to provide accurate and accessible information delineating a company's fiscal status so fundamentally important for decision making. Of special note are the two new chapters on capital budgeting analysis techniques of net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) set out in clear, comprehensive, 'reader friendly' exampled explanations. "Financial Statements" is especially recommended for entrepreneurs and business managers who have no previous background in the creation or interpretation of corporate financial statements -- as well as non-specialist general readers considering investing in a company and needing to examine financial statements as a part of their deliberations.

The Introverted Leader
Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
www.bkconnection.com
9781576755778, $19.95, www.amazon.com

While there are a great many extroverts like Donald Trumps throughout the business world, there are also a large number of highly successful introverts like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett as well. Author and executive trainer/consultant Jennifer B. Kahnweiler highlights the common challenges introverts face in the workplace in "The Introverted Leader: Building On Your Quiet Strength". These challenges within the corporate world include stress, 'invisibility', perception gaps, and all the vicissitudes of office politics. Of special note is the Leader Quiz that will reveal to the reader what he or she needs to utilize their natural work style so as to best advance their career and add substantial and appreciated value to their company or organization. Deftly written, informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "The Introverted Leader" is very highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone who feels themselves at risk with respect to management skills, leadership responsibilities, public speaking, and progressing toward their career goals.


The Library Science Shelf

Booktalking Authentic Multicultural Literature
Sherry York
Linworth Books
3650 Olentangy River Road, Suite 250, Columbus, OH 43214
1586833006, $39.95, www.linworth.com

Young readers often like to read about their ancestors. It just so happens that often these ancestors aren't white. "Booktalking Authentic Multicultural Literature: Fiction and History for Young Readers" is a guide for librarians trying to encourage multiculturism and reading in younger readers when dealing with the topic of history, drawing authors from many different ethnicities and helping librarians and educators to fully comply with the guidelines of No Child Left Behind. "Booktalking Authentic Multicultural Literature" is a read that educators and librarians should strongly consider if trying to build a more multi-cultural selection and curriculum.

The Librarian's Book Of Quotes
Tatyana Eckstrand
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838909881, $22.00, www.amazon.com

The school and community libraries of my earliest years down to the present day are far more than mere repositories of books. They are sanctuaries where I spent endless hours browsing, reading, thinking and writing. Librarians had as much influence on my intellectual life as did my teachers. It was within libraries that I found education, recreation, and inspiration. That's one of the reasons why I was immediately drawn to Tatyana Eckstrand's "The Librarian's Books Of Quotes", a fabulous and entertaining compilation of quotations on and about libraries. Sayings that are drawn from an enormous roster of insightful individuals ranging from Ray Bradbury and William Shakespeare, to Carl Sagan and Victor Hugo, to Mark Twain and Bill Moyers. There are almost 300 pithy and memorable remarks that will provide very pleasant browsing for all library enthusiasts and supporters. "At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better." Barack Obama (Keynote Address, ALA Conference, 2005).

Liven Up Your Library
Jennifer A. Wetzel
Upstart Books
c/o Highsmith Inc.
PO Box 800, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538
9781602130470, $17.95, www.upstartbooks.com

Libraries are an incredibly valuable resource, one that children must be taught how to make the best use of. Instilling this attitude toward, and appreciation of, what a library can offer them will prove to be a life long benefit regardless of their eventual socioeconomic status as adults. That's why "Liven Up Your Library: Creative & Inexpensive Programming Ideas" by Jennifer A. Wetzel (Library media Specialist, Hendron-Lone Oak Elementary School, Paducah, Kentucky) is such a tremendous resource for librarians with restrictive budgets and a desire to assist their young patrons into getting maximum benefits from what the library has to offer them -- now and throughout their lives. This compilation of program ideas will enthuse young patrons and includes detailed lessons plans, material and preparation lists, rubrics, extension ideas, and reproducible activities to liven up the library in atmosphere and approach. An enduringly valuable asset for working library staffs, "Liven Up Your Library" is also highly recommended as a curriculum supplement for School of Library Science departments at the university level as well.


The Audiobook Shelf

Daniel X Watch the Skies
James Patterson & Ned Rust, authors
Milo Ventimiglia, narrator
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9781600246197 $22.98 www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

Bestselling mystery author James Patterson and "Rolling Stone" magazine writer Ned Rust team up to present Daniel X Watch the Skies, an unabridged audiobook adventure pitting Daniel X against a virtually demonic television personality whose drive for fame endangers the population of a town - and potentially much more. The whole world is at risk from the villain's desire for an extreme grand finale, and Daniel himself braves danger at every turn in a desperate attempt to stop the devastation! A thrill ride from start to finish, highly recommended. 4 CDs, 4.5 hours.

Acoustic Learning Inc.
215 Prospect Ave., Highland Park, IL 60035
www.poeaudio.com

Two unabridged audiobooks from Acoustic Learning bring classic tales by immortal author Edgar Allan Poe to life. " The Edgar Allan Poe Audiobook Collection #6-8: The Cask of Amontillado and Other Stories" (9780980058147, $19.99, 3 CDs, 3 hours 30 min.) presents Poe's dark stories "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Premature Burial", "Message Found in a Bottle", "The Oblong Box", "Liceia", "Eleonora", and "The Light-House". Recurring themes of death, grief, even murder and revenge haunt Poe's tales, which remain as suspenseful and chilling today as they were over a century ago. "The Edgar Allan Poe Audiobook Collection #9: The Pioneers" (9780980058154, $29.99, 6 CDs, 7 hours 32 min.) collects Poe's stories with common themes of intrepid exploration (and sometimes even science fiction): "Hans Pfaal", "The Journal of Julius Rodman", "The Balloon-Hoax", "Stonehenge", "The Isle of the Fay", "Harper's Ferry", "The Capitol at Washington", and "Morning on the Wissahickon". Both collections are superbly narrated by stage actor and radio artist Christopher Aruffo, and are enthusiastically commended especially to Poe fans and public library audiobook collections.

The Bride's Farewell
Meg Rosoff, author
Susan Duerden, narrator
Penguin Audio
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780143144632 $29.95 http://us.penguingroup.com 1-800-847-5515

The Bride's Farewell is an unabridged audiobook presentation of award-winning author Meg Rosoff's stirring novel, chronicling the story of a young woman who runs away from home on the day she is slated to marry her childhood sweetheart. Having grown up watching her mother struggle to provide for too many children with too little money and even less help from her preacher father, Pell Ridley has determined to escape the same fate. She takes her only possession, a majestic white horse, as she heads for Salisbury Fair in search of work and a new destiny. Yet her emotional ties to her family, her childhood, and her abandoned lover remain, forcing her to rethink her options during the course of her journey, in which she encounters gypsies, lost things, and romance in the unlikeliest of places. An emotionally moving saga, skillfully told by award-winning theater actress Susan Duerden. 5 CDs, 6 hours.

Vanished
Joseph Finder, author
Holter Graham, narrator
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
9781427206725 $39.99 www.macmillanaudio.com 1-800-221-7945

Vanished is the unabridged audiobook adaptation of a thrilling novel by espionage and international affairs expert Joseph Finder (whose writing on both has appeared in the "New York Times", "Washington Post", "Wall Street Journal", and "The New Republic"). When Lauren Heller and her husband are severely attacked, Lauren recovers consciousness in a hospital only to find that her husband is missing. Her one hope of finding him lies in his brother Nick, a private investigator who specializes in uncovering secrets. Determined to protect Lauren and her son, Nick begins to unearth the threads of a murderous conspiracy surrounding his missing brother! A heart-stopping saga of suspense, smoothly read aloud by Holter Graham. 9 CDs, 10.5 hours.

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
1580815634 $25.95 www.latw.org 1-800-708-8863

Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray is a full-cast, audio theater dramatization of a timeless classic of modern Western literature. When the young gentleman Dorian Gray becomes the subject of a stunning portrait by artist Basil Hallward, his innate narcissism grows to overtake his life. His growing vanity leads him to practice unconscionable hedonism and thoughtless cruelty, until he is forced to confront his inner self - a harrowing experience to the brink of shattering his soul. An absorbing audio drama from beginning to end, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is particularly recommended for public library audiobook collections. 2 CDs, 97 min.

Theseus
Geraldine McCaughrean
Full Cast Audio
PO Box 6110, Syracuse, NY 13217
www.fullcastaudio.com
9781934180235, $34.00, www.amazon.com

The legend of Theseus is a story of Greek antiquity about a young man who saves his people from the predacious practice of human sacrifice by the Minoan king by slaying the dreaded human hybrid monster known as the Minotaur. But there is so much more to both the legend and the man. That is the basis for Geraldine McCaughrean's beautifully crafted novel of Theseus as the teenage son of a Greek King who sets out upon a quest to fabled Athens to find his father. In his travels he encounters and must deal with a variety of monsters and enemies, all of which are a kind of prelude to what will be his immortal battle with the Minotaur. This complete and unabridged audio book edition is superbly narrated by Cynthia Bishop and enriched as a true 'theatre of the mind' experience with the Full Cast Audio actors who provide distinctive (and age-appropriate) voices for all the principle characters. Enhanced with music, "Theseus" is a technically flawless 3 disc CD recording with a total running time of 3 hours, 30 minutes. Highly recommended for listeners from 9 to 90, "Theseus" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to school and community library audio book collections. Also very highly recommended from Full Cast Audio is Kristin Cashore's imaginative and original fantasy novel "Graceling" (9781934180891; $39.95; 12 hours 30 minutes) narrated by David Baker and the "Full Cast" actors. School and community librarians seeking to build up their audio book collections would be well advised to visit the Full Cast Audio web site at www.fullcastaudio.com for a complete listing of their impressive and diverse titles.

The Doomsday Key
James Rollins
Harper Audio
10 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022-5299
www.harpercollins.com
9780061774522, $39.99, www.amazon.com

Three murders on three continents all have one thing in common. Each of the victims has a Druidic pagan cross branded into their bodies. What does a Vatican archaeologist in Roman found dead in St. peter's Basilica; the son of a U.S. Senator killed outside a Red Cross camp in Africa; and a geneticist discovered lifeless in a biohazard lab at Princeton University have in common besides that mysterious marking? Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are assigned to investigate and discover a riddle centuries old within a cryptic medieval codex revealing an horrific crime against humanity. Helped by two women from his past, one of which will have to be sacrificed, Commander Pierce must find an ancient artifact called the 'Doomsday Key' if he is to prevent what is to come according to dark prophecy and solve the deaths of those three original victims. Superbly written by author James Rollins, this complete and unabridged, 11 compact disc, 13.5 hour, 'theatre of the mind' Harper Audio edition is skillfully narrated throughout by Peter Jay Fernandez and a prized addition to personal and community library audio book collections.

The Devil's Queen
Jeanne Kalogridis
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781427207135, $34.95, www.amazon.com

A member of the famous Medici family, and before she became known to history as one of the cruel monarchs of France, Catherine de Medici was simple Caterina, a young girl who, upon the unexpected deaths of her parents, because a person of wealth who was married off to the handsome heir of the French throne in order to avoid imprisonment and other threats from her family's enemies. When she must compete with her husband's mistress, the lady Diane de Poiters, Catherine dabbles in black magic for the purpose of enhancing her fertility and to destroy her enemies at court. Her new found sorcerous abilities afflict her with bloody visions of the future predicting the deaths of her husband and her son. Viewed by historians as one of the principle architects of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and a cruel queen to aristocracy and commoners alike, Catherine was also the monarch who kept France intact as the Protestant/Catholic wars tore bloody swaths into the political and cultural fabric of Europe. Jeanne Kalogridis's deftly written historical novel is superbly narrated by Kate Reading in this complete and unabridged audio book edition from Macmillan Audio. A technically flawless, 5 CD, digitally recording with a total running time of 16.5 hours, "The Devil's Queen" is enthusiastically recommended as a personal 'theater of the mind' experience and a popular addition to community library audio book collections. Also very highly recommended for more time constrained listeners is the abridged audio book edition of "The Devil's Queen" (9781427207128, $29.95).

The Cheater
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Blackstone Audiobooks
PO Box 969, Ashland, OR 97520
www.BlackstoneAudio.com
978143327795, $100.00, 1-800-729-2665

Assigned to the FBI's 'Support Unit' in charge of serial murderers, Special Agent Mary Stevens is called upon to investigate a killing spree where the perpetrator is using 'alibi services' (companies that provide philandering husbands and unfaithful wives with cover stories) to pick out his victims. Men who are committing adultery are being slain and their bodies dismembered as a form of vigilante justice. A superbly crafted mystery/suspense novel, "The Cheater" by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, this complete and unabridged Blackstone Audiobook edition is masterfully narrated by Hillary Huber. A technically flawless, 9 disc, 11 hour audio book, "The Cheater" is thoroughly engaging from beginning to end and a welcome, popular and recommended addition to community library collections.

Borderline
Nevada Barr
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
C5904, $123.75, www.amazon.com

Nevada Barr's mysteries featuring the adventures of Anna Piegeon, a female roving park ranger, is a successful and popular series with "Borderline" as the fifteenth and newest title. This time Anna is in the Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas, a country of rugged mountains, dangerous deserts, and untamed waters. Anna is basking in the glow of her marriage to Paul and on a honeymoon vacation. But rafting down the Rio Grande, Anna and Paul find themselves embroiled in yet another mystery of murder and intrigue that ranges from the Mexican desert to the mansion of a Texas governor. Professional and award-winning narration by Barbara Rosenblat is perfectly suited to provide a true 'theater of the mind' experience. A technically flawless, 12 disc, 12 hour, Recorded Books production "Borderline" is complete, unabridged, and an ideal addition to community library audio book collections.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.hachetteaudio.com www.amazon.com

In 12 months between 2007 and 2008 author Christopher Buckley lost both of his parents. He was an only child and their relationship was close: his tribute to them in Losing Mum and Pup (9781600246838, $34.98) takes the form of a survey of their final year together and makes for a wonderful listen, powered by the author's own voice. David Sedarius' WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES (1600242316, $34.98) is performed by the author and presented in an unabridged collection of four live recordings. His hilarious commentary on everyday life's oddities makes for an outstanding and fun presentation on cassette. Lisa Nichols' NO MATTER WHAT! (97812600242922, $34.98) tells of how Lisa identifies life's bumps and 9 steps used to achieve success, from handling change to assessing emotions and solutions to challenges. A unique, powerful guide to finding personal courage. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's CEMETERY DANCE (9781600242656, $44.98) receives Rene Auberjonois' television talents and fine reading style as it tells of a journalist's murder - by a man who was supposedly dead and buried. A vivid novel with many twists and turns of plot evolves in a satisfying mystery perfect for any general lending library. Michael Connelly's THE BRASS VERDICT (1600243975, $29.98) receives Peter Giles' fine acting skills and tells of two detectives who team up to solve a puzzling murder. A defense attorney works against time to solve puzzles in a novel which joins two prior and popular characters from Michael Connelly's novels. Rupert Isaacson's THE HORSE BOY (9781600245428, $29.98) is narrated by the author and tells of the author's son, diagnosed with autism, and how the author, a lifelong horseman, used his passion to communicate with his son. Animals and the healing process come together in an outstanding, true story of a family's journey to Outer Mongolia to ride horseback across the land and encounter traditional healers who make a real difference. Any audio collection will find this a charged, inspiring acquisition.

Penguin Audio
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Jamie Heinlein has been acting in New York for nearly 20 years, and her fine voice and producing experience lends power to Jen Lancaster's PRETTY IN PLAID (9780143144779, $32.95), a fine and touching memoir of a sorority girl mentality befuddled by the business world. A hilarious series of insights offers tongue-in-cheek humor in this outstanding presentation for twenty-something listeners and any who would understand them. Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos's MEDUSA (9780143144540, $39.95) receives a vivid reading by Scott Brick as it provides a Kurt Austin adventure centered around a secret U.S. government-sponsored lab conducting biomedical research on a rare jellyfish when it vanishes. Underwater attacks and danger involve Kurt in a dangerous new world riddled with espionage. J.R. Ward's LOVER AVENGED (97801423144625, $49.95) receives Jim Frangione's fine performance and background with plays which spices a novel of the 'Black Dagger brotherhood'. Battles between vampires and their enemies involves on Revenge, a drug lord and nightclub owner catering to the rich, who receives a dangerous offer he can't refuse. High intrigue and underground struggles make for a gripping story.

Brilliance Audio
Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com

Robert Kiyosaki's THE REAL BOOK OF REAL ESTATE (1423373014, $49.99) enjoys a triple narration from Bruce Reizen, Sandra Burr and Jim Bond as it provides an assessment of the ups, downs and pros and cons of real estate investing. From How to assess a good deal to finding hidden investments and locating foreclosures, the focus from a team of real estate experts provides a fine definitive analysis of wins and losses in the market. F. Paul Wilson's BY THE SWORD (1423374266, $29.99) is a Repairman Jack novel and the next thriller in the series. Here Jack is involved in a battle to retrieve a stolen Japanese katana sword - from the thief who originally stole it from its museum home. Jack soon finds a range of enemies covet the weapon for not only financial gain, but for more power. Dick Hill's veteran voice powers the saga. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's SCIENCE FAIR (1423347722, $29.99) enjoys Paul Gigante's seasoned acting voice as it tells of an 8th grader in trouble. Toby's only hope is to win first prize at the school science fair with its $5,000 win - but others wish to win, including parents who will stop at nothing to assure their child is on top. A fun, powerful saga evolves. Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston's GREEN TO GOLD: HOW SMART COMPANIES USE ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY TO INNOVATE, CREATE VALUE, AND BUILD COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (1423370856, $29.99) receives Fred Stella's fine voice talent and multimedia experience to fire up guide to using green strategy to increase profits. Executives and business leaders will find this packs in a primer on cutting costs while promoting 'green' brands and approaches, covering everything from regulatory restrictions to consumer pressures and the move towards sustainability. A fine pick for any business collection. Anne Perry's EXECUTION DOCK (1596002867, $39.99) receives a fine narration by veteran David Colacci as it provides another novel in the Victorian crime series featuring police superintendent William Monk. Here Monk encounters one Jericho Phillips, owner of a floating brothel where a teen is found murdered. Is Jericho above the law, with all his connections? Suspense heightens in this dramatic mystery that comes alive in audio. Larry Bond's COLD CHOICES (1423346564, $32.99) receives a vivid narration by veteran Dick Hill as it tells of a U.S. submarine crew faced with a dangerous mission in international waters. A Russian attack sub poses an impossible situation in this gripping thriller. Harlan Coben's LONG LOST (1423327578, $36.99) enjoys a fine narration by Steven Weber and tells of Myron's involvement with ex-lover Terese Collins, whose desperate phone call to him entangles him in a tragic story behind her disappearance and a fatal accident that robbed her of happiness. Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband, they both wind up fleeing unknown people in this fine cat-and-mouse story of intrigue. Michael Palmer's THE SECOND OPINION (1597370746, $38.99) receives a gripping narration by Franette Liebow, a reader of audio books since the mid-90s, who adds excitement to the medical thriller revolving around one Thea, an outsider to the politics and interpersonal dynamics of her hospital world. When her father is severely injured by a hit and run driver, Thea finds herself at odds with family and doctors alike in this gripping medical drama.


The Library DVD Shelf

Art Talk
Crystal Productions
PO Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025-6159
9781562906351 $39.95 www.crystalproductions.com 1-800-255-8629

Art Talk: Conversations with Working Artists is a DVD of professional musings while in the process of creating art, as given by sculptors, painters, glass artists, and even a totem carver and a ceramist. A candid, inspirational account that allows the viewer to glimpse the incredible diversity in the world of art as well as different approaches to the process of creation, Art Talk is especially recommended viewing for public school art education classes, and a gem for public library collections. Individual artists are also sure to enjoy and perhaps even draw insights from the wisdom of their contemporaries!

Local Color: A George Gallo Film
Monterey Media Inc.
566 St. Charles Drive, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-3901
9781569943465 $26.95 www.montereymedia.com 1-800-424-2593

Inspired by a true story, Local Color is the award-winning movie of a young student who, in 1974, befriended an alcoholic yet brilliant master painter. The student longs to learn the master's wisdom, while the master struggles to find any meaning in his life or his work. Together, they learn from each other - the student comes to see the world as an artist sees it, while the master takes inspiration from the innocence and yen for life in his student. An enthralling saga about learning to recognize and remember the beauty in life, Local Color is highly recommended. 107 minutes, rated R.

Black Money
PBS Home Video
c/o SSA Public Relations
15260 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1730, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
FRL62711, $24.99, www.shopPBS.org

Originally aired as a 'Frontline' television show special, "Black Money" reveals the results of investigative correspondent Lowell Bergman's examination of international bribery on the part of American corporations as a means of doing business in foreign lands. This practice amounts to illicit expenditures amounting to billions of dollars and is illegal under United States law. That's why there is a crackdown being mounted by prosecutors at the U.S. Department of Justice and its allies in foreign governments where such corporate behavior is being perpetrated. This 60-minute, full color, informed and informative DVD is highly recommended viewing and an important addition to school and community library collections. Also highly recommended is the PBS Home Video DVD 'Frontline' one-hour episode "The Madoff Affair" (FRL62714, $24.99) which lays out the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme that is the largest such white-collar criminal enterprise in Wall Street corporate history.

Pure Pump
Tonya Larson
Bridgestone Multimedia Group
804 N. 2nd Avenue, East Rock Rapids, IA 51246
411 Video Information (publicity)
PO Box 1223, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
#318979, $14.95, www.TonyaLarson.net

In "Pure Pump", AFAA Certified group Exercise and Step Instructor Tonya Larson draws upon her extensive expertise and experience to provide a fun and effective weight-training workout specifically designed to meet the needs of viewers whose fitness levels can range from beginner to advanced. Beginning with two entertaining and vigorous 22-minute body sculpture workouts to tone all of the major muscle groups, "Pure Pump" also provides a five-minute and effective core routine targeting lower and oblique abdominal muscles. Also featured is a calm and meditative stretching segment, essential for safe and healthy physical exercise regimes. This superbly produced exercise DVD is enhanced with the addition of three Bible-based four-minute 'spiritual warm-ups' to help with the mental motivation required for successful attitudes towards self, food, and exercise. Also very highly recommended is Tonya Larson's companion exercise DVD "Step Pump" (#314827, $14.95) showcasing three thoroughly 'user friendly workouts to tone the body, enhanced with four Bible-based spiritual warm-ups to tone the soul.

Last Extinction
Nova
PBS Home Video
c/o SSA Public Relations
15260 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1730, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
WG43129, $29.99, www.amazon.com

Some 13,000 years ago a great many mammals suddenly died out in a brief period of time. "Last Extinction: What Killed The Mammoths?" is a superbly produced, informed and informative NOVA television episode that explores an iconoclastic theory behind the sudden demise of mammoths, giant ground sloths, saber-tooth cats, and American lions. The trigger for this catastrophic event is speculated to be a comet breaking up over North America and resulting in widespread forest fires that wiped out plants, animals, and even pre-historic humans. Archaeological evidence is identified and discussed in depth, along with the contributing theories of climate change and the end of the Ice Age as causes of the disappearance of so many species of large mammal. Informed and informative, and with this 56 minute DVD format including such special features as printable materials for educators, scene selection, and access to the NOVA web site, "Last Extinction" is a highly recommended addition to school and community library collections.

The Helen West Casebook
Acorn Media Group
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 620, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3403
www.acornmedia.com
AMP-8246, $49.90, www.amazon.com

Helen West is a middle-aged workaholic British crown prosecutor whose personal and professional lives are complicated by a strained romance with a handsome police chief, a by-the-book supervisor, and a keen sense of justice that inevitably gets her into trouble with her colleagues. Produced with the usual high quality technical and performance standards of a BBC production, "The Helen West Casebook" is now available on DVD in a three-volume boxed set that has a total running time of 289 minutes, and includes as bonus features biographies of actress Amanda Burton and author Frances Fyfield. Certain to please British mystery and courtroom drama fans, "The Helen West Casebook" is an excellent and highly recommended acquisition for personal and community library DVD collections.

Pax Service
Vision Video
PO Box 540, Worcester, PA 19490-0540
www.visionvideo.com
#501313D, $24.99, 1-800-523-0226

Vision Video is a premier producer of Christian videos for personal, family, seminary, and church school collections. "Pax Service: An Alternative To War" is a 43 minute DVD about how approximately 1200 young men, between 1951 and 1976, refused to join the American military because of their religious beliefs. Instead, these conscientious objectors volunteered to serve humanity in other ways including the building of homes for World War II refugees, teaching African farmers modern farming methods, helping Greek villagers to preserve food for the winter months, even building a road through the exceedingly difficult terrain of the Paraguayan Chaco. The program under which they labored was called PAX, a movement serving forty countries. This informative DVD is enhanced with several 'Bonus Features' including an extended version of the originally broadcast program; a Pax Reunion Tour to Europe; a Day in Pax slide show; a discussion guide, and the option of a sound track in English or Spanish. Also very highly recommended and newly released by Vision Video are two DVD programs for adult viewers: "Cancer Stories" (#501311D, $19.99, 2 hours); "Perpetua: Early Church Martyr" (#501317D, $19.99, 61 minutes); and three DVD programs for children: "Torchlighters: The Perpetua Story" (501301D, $14.99, 35 minutes); "Carlos Caterpillar #8: Batter Chatter" (#501314D, $9.99, 25 minutes); and "Carlos Caterpillar #9: Buggy Breakup" (#501315D, $9.99, 25 minutes). Parents and librarians seeking to build up a 'family values friendly' DVD collection would be well advised to visit the Vision Video website at www.visionvideo.com for a complete listing of their large numbers of superbly produced and inexpensive DVD titles.


The Biography Shelf

Love in Condition Yellow
Sophia Raday
Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108-2892
9780807072837, $23.95, www.beacon.org

'Opposites attract' - this proverb proves itself true in so many strange ways. "Love in Condition Yellow: A Memoir of an Unlikely Marriage" tells the tale of two opposites, a free-spirited political activist familiar with cops in riot gear, and a poster boy for what a good cop should be. Their relationship is unique; as their love grows closer, America drives itself further apart. "Love in Condition Yellow" is sure to please many a reader looking for a work of true romance.

The Real McKay
Graham Bishop
Otago University Press
c/o International Specialized Book Services (ISBS)
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
9781877372223, $40.00, www.amazon.com www.isbs.com

An early pioneer of the telephoto lens and photomicrography, Scottish immigrant Alexander McKay was a 19th century self-educated explorer who rose to the position of the New Zealand Government geologist where he laid a solid foundation for an internationally recognized reputation for New Zealand's geological science. "The Real McKay: The Remarkable Life Of Alexander McKay, Geologist" by Graham Bishop (himself an experienced regional geologist with the New Zealand Geological Survey) is the first definitive biography, a man who made over 100,000 fossil collections during his career. This was also the man whose innovative and imaginative theories about mountain-building were to form the basis for the sciences of neo-tectonics. Informed and informative, "The Real McKay" is a superbly written and highly recommended addition to academic library biography collections.

The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot
Gertrude Himmelfarb
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, NY 10003
9781594032516, $25.95, www.encounterbooks.com

Sometimes support comes from the strangest of sources. "The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot" tells the story of Victorian era novelist George Eliot, an agnostic writer, and her heavy involvement in early Zionism before the movement had a name. The origins of her opinions boggled her readers, and Gertrude Himmelfarb does her best to explain the enigma of Eliot. An intriguing read about an interesting figure, "The Jewish Odyssey of George Eliot" is of high recommendation for any collection on early Zionism.

Peg Leg
David C. Humphrey
Texas State Historical Association
ryanshumacher@TSHAonline.org
9780876112373, $39.95, www.tshaonline.org

Some men become recluses when they lose two limbs, yet Thomas William Ward rose on to prominence. "Peg Leg: The Improbable Life of a Texas Hero: Thomas William Ward 1807-1872" tells of a man who was tough even for his time. In spite of losing his right leg to cannon fire, he remained in the military until he lost his right arm to cannon fire as well. He established himself as a remarkable political figure. Author David C. Humphrey does well in his biography of this exceptional individual; "Peg Leg" is well worth the read for those with an interest in Texas history.

Prairie Tale
Melissa Gilbert
Simon Spotlight
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781416599142, $26.00 www.simonandschuster.com

PRAIRIE TALE: A MEMOIR provides an uplifting story of self-discovery and comes from an actress who was a child star and led an idyllic life. She was a natural on camera and was adopted as a baby into a show business family, but struggled with substance abuse and self image until she began to understand her personality and life. PRAIRIE TALE is an outstanding survey and a top pick for any general lending library.

Setting the Desert on Fire
James Barr
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393335279, $17.95 www.wwnorton.com

SETTING THE DESERT ON FIRE: T.E. LAWRENCE AND BRITAIN'S SECRET WAR IN ARABIA, 1916-1918 is for any general lending library or history collection strong in Middle East history. It tells of T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. "Lawrence of Arabia") and how he played a key role in British efforts to set off an Arab revolt.

Booker T. Washington
Raymond W. Smock
Ivan R. Dee, Inc. Publisher
1332 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2632
9781566637251 $26.00 www.ivanrdee.com 1-800-462-6420

Written by Raymond W. Smock, the first official historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, Booker T. Washington: Black Leadership in the Age of Jim Crow is an interpretive biography of Booker T. Washington, an African-American scientist, educator, and leader. For all his accomplishments, Booker T. Washington has been severely criticized for the compromises he was willing to make with the white South - namely, the sacrifice of civil rights of black Americans in exchange for their economic and educational improvement. Yet in the post-Civil War South, when opportunities for advancement were scarce, Booker T. Washington ascended from slavery and achieved his personal quest for freedom amidst a severe racial climate. Smock presents evidence for the case that Washington was not a sellout, but rather a practical man and a realist, who considered education and economic advancement the most effective means to a lofty end. His amazing ability to survive and thrive in a world where black people were considered second-class citizens at best is impressive, and his talent for leadership as well as his legacy hold much for current and future generations to learn from. Booker T. Washington: Black Leadership in the Age of Jim Crow is a highly recommended addition to public and college library biography shelves.


The Native American Shelf

Court-Martial of Apache Kid
Clare V. McKanna, Jr.
Texas Tech University Press
PO Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037
9780896726529 $29.95 www.ttup.ttu.edu

San Diego State University teacher and Native American history specialist Clare V. McKanna, Jr. presents "Court-Martial of Apache Kid: Renegade of Renegades", the true story of how "Apache Kid", a first sergeant in 1887, left his post to avenge his grandfather's murder in the tribal manner - and the court-martial trial that followed. The Apache, military, and civil legal systems all had a claim to him, in the wake of his deeds; though Kid was originally sentenced to death by firing squad, he was spared this sentence on appeal. Civil authorities convicted Kid of assault to murder and sentenced him to seven years at the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma. A meticulously researched, in-depth examination of the execution of law and justice over a century ago, Court-Martial of Apache Kid is accessible to lay readers and scholars alike, and is highly recommended especially for Native American history shelves.

Custer's Arikara Indian Interpreter
Marvin Woods
Vantage Press Inc.
419 Park Avenue South, 18th floor, New York, NY 10016
9780533160525 $14.95 www.vantagepress.com 1-212-736-1767

Custer's Arikara Indian Interpreter is an intriguing examination of one of the lesser-known participants at the famous Battle of Little Bighorn - Frederick Francis Gerard, who served as Custer's Indian interpreter. Though Gerard had a formidable reputation from his battles against the Indians, he was also an ardent advocate for Indians who were peaceful or friendly to the United States. An excellently researched account of a remarkably multifaceted military man, Custer's Arikara Indian Interpreter is an enthusiastically welcome addition to biography and American History shelves, particularly for the unique perspective it brings to a singularly famous battle.


The Social Issues Shelf

Reversing the Odds
Sheryl Dicker
Paul H. Brookes
PO Box 10627, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781557669612, $29.95, www.brookespublishing.com

The young years are the most vital of development, and they don't wait for bureaucracy to shuffle itself into motion. "Reversing the Odds: Improving Outcomes for Babies in the Child Welfare System" is a guide for social workers who are dealing with children during this highly vital stage of development from birth to the age of three. With tips on getting through the welfare system, getting health care, preparing for school, and more, "Reversing the Odds" is a must read for anyone who wants to be prepared to face off against the bureaucratic and legal gauntlet of child welfare services.

Food, Inc.
Karl Weber, editor
Public Affairs
250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107
9781586486945, $14.95, www.publicaffairsbooks.com

Industrialization has made everything much more abundant - even food. "Food, Inc.: How Industrial Food is Making us Sicker, Fatter, and Poorer - And What You Can Do About It" is an accompanying volume to the recent documentary film of the same name. Discussing the problems and flaws of industrialized food, and what this is doing to America, many minds converge and form one convincing argument. "Food, Inc" is a solid and highly recommended read for any concerned about what goes in our stomachs.

Life Inc.
Douglas Rushkoff
Random House
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9781400066896, $26.00, www.amazon.com

LIFE INC: HOW THE WORLD BECAME A CORPORATION AND HOW TO TAKE IT BACK comes form an award-winning writer, documentary filmmaker and scholar who shows how corporations have become the dominant fact of modern life - including their values systems. A world history traces the evolution of the idea of corporations and their effects on individual and national financial and values developments. The idea of corporations has been artificially created and promoted and is largely a myth, Douglas Rushkoff maintains. The result is a dangerous disconnection from reality. Any business collection needs this.

The Complete Eldercare Planner, revised and updated edition
Joy Loverde
Three Rivers Press/Random House
9780307409621, $19.95 www.crownpublishing.com

This could have been featured in our 'Health' section, but is reviewed here for its wider applicability to any library concerned with social services, social issues, and eldercare. "The Complete Eldercare Planner" has been revised and completely updated for 2009 and offers the latest information on work, family, and creating a long-term, affordable care plan for an elderly loved one. From how to talk over issues to assessing senior housing options and managing medication, "The Complete Eldercare Planner" should be in every public library's collection.

The Will to Resist
Dahr Jamail
Haymarket Books
PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618
9781931859882 $20.00 www.haymarketbooks.org 1-773-583-7884

Award-winning independent journalist Dahr Jamail The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan is the true story of those within the U.S. military service whose consciences prompt them to resist the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. From battalions that refuse orders, to active-duty soldiers who sign antiwar petitions, individual soldiers who refuse redeployment, those who dare to take a public stand against the occupation, and more, The Will to Resist is a fascinating examination of what motivates such opposition amid the United States' loyal defending force. The Will to Resist is not a politically neutral book; chapters reflect a decidedly negative and critical view of the American occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet the heart of The Will to Resist is not its politics, but rather the true stories of the men and women who serve - and who choose to resist what they perceive as unjust, whether it be sexism, discrimination, or apparent crimes of war. An eminently readable account that, once started, cannot be put down.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Orestes in Progress
Roberta Kalechofsky
Micah Publications
255 Humphrey St, Marblehead, MA 01945
9780916288549, $17.00, www.micahbooks.com

Some messages are timeless. "Orestes in Progress: For the Post-Holocaust Generation" is an update of a classical Greek tragedy, using the story of a modern story of a man leaving home. "Orestes in Progress" makes reference to many elements that Jews face in today's world after the atrocities of World War II. With a solid message true to many classical Greek tales, "Orestes in Progress" is a fine read.

A Heart Afire
Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Netanel Miles-Yepez
Jewish Publication Society
2100 Arch Street, 2nd floor, Philadelphia PA 19103-1399
www.jewishpub.org
9780827608849, $45.00, www.amazon.com

The Hasidic tradition within Judaism is a rich and complex one. In "A Heart Afire: Stories And Teachings Of The Early Hasidic Masters", Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Reb Zalman, the father of the neo-Hasidic Jewish Renewal movement) and Netanel Miles-Yepez (co-founder of the Sufi-Hasidic Inayati-Maimuni Tariqat, which is the only Jewish order of Sufis in the world) present a 406-page compendium of teachings, stories, and commentaries by early Hasidic masters which they have translated and enhanced with additional commentary. Accessibly organized into three major sections (The Hidden Tradition and the Ba'al Shem Tov; The Circle of the Ba'al Shem and the Maggid of Mezritch; and The Circle of the Maggid and The Rebbe King). Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "A Heart Afire" is enriched w3ith an appendix, extensive notes, a glossary, a bibliography, an index, background information on the authors, and an explanation of how this book was written. "A Heart Afire" is a welcome and very highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Judaic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

The Modern Men's Torah Commentary
Jeffrey K. Salkin
Jewish Lights Publishing
PO Box 237, Sunset Farm Offices, Rt. 4, Woodstock, VT 05091
9781580233958, $24.99, www.jewishlights.com

The Torah is a book that is thousands of years old. How is it still relevant to the modern Jewish man? "The Modern Men's Torah Commentary: New Insights From Jewish Men on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions" is a braintrust of many Jewish thinkers about how the modern man can better integrate the Torah into their modern lives. These men offer many modern perspectives, all of which will give readers much to think about on the ancient holy text. "The Modern Men's Torah Commentary" is of strong consideration to any Jewish man seeking relevance for his faith.

The Jews of West Point
Lewis L. Zickel
KTAV Publishing House
930 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306-6316
9781602801172 $35.00 www.ktav.com

Written by 1949 West Point graduate Lewis L. Zickel The Jews of West Point: In the Long Gray Line consists of three portions: a studious look at the role of Jews in military history, specifically as connectd to the prestigious United States Military Academy at West Point; an autobiographical portrayal of Zickel's adolescence in New Jersey and his years of service as a cadet, and then as a member of the Army during and after the Korean War; and a selection of excerpts from a questionnaire that Zickel sent to each of the 630 living Jewish graduates of West Point. Few of the graduates recounted any personal experiences of anti-Semitism at West Point; many even reported that West Point helped bring them closer to their Jewish roots because of activities connected to the Jewish Chapel. A down-to-earth human examination of the two-way influence that West Point has had upon Jews, and that Jews have had upon West Point, especially recommended for college library Judaic studies or military history shelves.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

The Surangama Sutra
Buddhist Text Translation Society
4951 Bodhi Way, Ukiah, CA 95482
9780881399622 $30.00 www.drba.org

The Surangama Sutra: With Excerpts from the Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua is a new translation of one of the major scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism. The text recounts a question-and-answer discussion between Ananda, the Buddha, and Purna, concerning instruction in the art of Samadhi (concentration). This particular translation was assembled over the course of six years by a committee of expert Buddhist academics and ordained monks led by Dr. Ronald Epstein (retired professor of religion and philosophy, California State University, San Francisco). The result is an extensive compendium that succinctly captures the essence of the original yet has been rendered into straightforward modern English. An absolute "must-have" for anyone interested in the serious study or practice of Mahayana Buddhism.

The Leader's Way
Dalai Lama, author
Feodor Chin and Marc Cashman, narrators
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 8th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780739383834 $34.00 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600

The Leader's Way: The Art of Making the Right Decisions in Our Careers, Our Companies, and the World at Large is the unabridged audiobook presentation of wisdom gleaned from a decade of exchange between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and international management consultant Laurens van den Muyzenberg. Revealing that ethical, financially sound business practices and Buddhist principles have much more in common than one might guess, The Leader's Way addresses issues crucial to the modern international business world - widespread poverty, the risk of destructive environmental practices leading to climate change or overpollution, the interconnectedness of the global economic system, and what the principle of impermanence means to business. A surprisingly practical guide, enthusiastically recommended for business owners and proprietors of all faiths. 5 CDs, 6 hours.


The Library CD Music Shelf

Eternal
Huun Huur Tu and Carmen Rizzo
Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
CD, $10.98 www.rockpaperscissors.biz

A new album born from the collaborative work of Huun Huur Tu, a band best known for their re-interpretation of Tuva's musical classics, and electronic musician/producer Carmen Rizzo, as well as expert composer and arranger Mark Governor, Eternal blends the rhythms of a traditional Mongolian culture with the latest sound studio electric re-imagining. The result is a captivating meld of old and new, creative in its application of melody and sure to excite listeners interested in experiencing a unique audio sensation. Highly recommended especially for public library collections international music album shelves. The tracks are Ancestors Call (5:47), Mother Taiga (6:49), Saryglarlar Maidens (5:46), Saryglarlar Reprise (1:12), Dogee Mountain (Interlude) (8:21), In Search of a Lost Past (4:59), Orphaned Child (5:10), and Tuvan Prayer (2:21).

Global Lingo
Project Ahimsa
c/o Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
$TBA www.rockpaperscissors.biz

Project Ahimsa, founded as a positive, nonviolent rebuttal to hate crimes in America after September 11th, and has since created seventy grants for youth empowerment programs in fourteen countries, serving 10,000 children in need. Global Lingo is a benefit album, intended to not only to raise funds but also help young people of the world connect through the universal power of music. An eclectic medley of life-affirming songs by a diversity of artists, Global Lingo boldly speaks to the common human thread in all of us and deserves the highest possible recommendation. The tracks are Speak It, Any Day Now, Hello Bonjour, Liberation 3000, Africa for Learn, Sunshine, Fire-Cottonbelly Remix, He Mana Visvaas, Why?, Much To Do - Back to Guahan, Hear It Loud, He Manav - GOONDA Dubwise Edit, BodaNathu, El tiburon del Lago Cocibolca, Dolare, Ahimsa Street Dub, and Bobby Friction Shoutout / BBC Radio 1.

Salaam
Salaam
c/o Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
$15.00 www.rockpaperscissors.biz www.SalaamBand.com

Salaam is the self-titled album of the band Salaam, which is composed of a Chicago-born Iraqi-American woman in search of her roots, her loyal spouse, and a cast of thoughtful and dedicated musicians. The band has dedicated years to researching and practicing strictly traditional forms of music such as Iraq's maqam; now they transform their knowledge into new, experimental creations. The result is a unique Middle Eastern ensemble performance that does far more than recite and repeat the old forms of music. Salaam is an unforgettably exotic experience to listeners of all backgrounds, and highly recommended. The tracks are Layla (5:41), Sellefeena (4:39), 21st Century Gypsy (2:56), Chobi Party (4:33), Hadha Mu Insaaf Minnek (4:29), Mandira (2:12), Arazbar Pesrevi (7:25), Yugrug (6:58), Retik (4:16), Taqsim Lami (1:58), Gulli Ya Hilw (3:42), and Nihavent Saz Semaisi (6:39).

The Burt Bacharach Songbook
Gold Note Music
7300 W. 110th St, 7th Fl, Overland Park, KS 66208
Miller Wright & Associates (publicity)
1650 Broadway, Suite 1210, NY, NY 10019
GNM2403, $19.99, www.goldnotemusic.com

Burt Bacharach is legendary for his smooth musical compositions and performances. In a new album showcasing Bacharach's musical genius, vocal artist Carol Duboc is very ably backed up by flautist Hubert laws, as well as guitarist Danny Embrey, pianist Joe Cartwright, with Bob Bowman on bass, Tim Cambron on drums, and Luis Conte on percussion. The individual pieces comprising this outstanding anthology of Burt Bacharach classics include What The World Needs Now Is Love; Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head; Wives And Lovers; My Melody; Anyone Who Had A Heart; Walk On By; I'll Never Fall In Love Again; The Look Of Love; A House Is Not A Home; Close To Your; Always Something There To Remind Me; and Say A Little Prayer. The technical qualities of the recording are as flawless as the performances. The "The Burt Bacharach Songbook" is enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library music CD collections.


The Education Shelf

Delivering E-Learning
Kenneth Fee
Kogan Page
525 South 4th Street, #241, Philedelphia, PA 19147
9780749453978, $49.95, www.koganpage.com

E-Learning can be a very powerful tool in the modern age, but done wrong, it can be utterly useless. "Delivering E-Learning: A Complete Strategy for Design, Application, and Assessment" is a guide to the world of E-learning and how to execute it well, so that what is taught is up to the standards of education that one would get attending a class in person. Discussing how to create a viable e-learning system, good strategies, addressing problems one has with students, and how to assess of progress, "Delivering E-Learning" is a must for anyone who is charged with making an E-learning system as successful as possible.

Learning to Write with Purpose
Karen Kuelthau Allan & Collaborators
The Guilford Press
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
9781606231258, $28.00, www.guilford.com

The written word has to have a reason behind it or it is worthless. "Learning to Write With Purpose: Effective Instruction in Grades 4-8" is a guide for educators teaching elementary and middle school age students how to give their writing purpose and meaning. Writing is communication, and learning to use that communication to display thoughts and ideas is an absolutely invaluable skill. Packed cover to cover with advice for educators, "Learning to Write with Purpose" is a solid addition to community library education collections with a focus on language arts.

Play & Imagination in Children with Autism, second edition
Pamela J. Wolfberg
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
9780807749418, $24.95, www.tcpress.com

Children with autism need recess just like any other child. Now in a newly expanded and updated second edition, "Play & Imagination in Children with Autism" outlines the information educators need to know when dealing with children with autism in the developmentally important avenues of recess and creative expression. The information on development includes what to watch out for in an autistic child's social interaction, how to talk to autistic children, and much more. "Play & Imagination in Children with Autism" is an absolute must for many educators and educational administrators.

Emergent Literacy And Language Development
Paula M. Rhyner, editor
Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com
9781606233009, $35.00, www.amazon.com

Acquiring language and the introduction of symbol interpretations such as the alphabet and simple sentence structures must be mastered as early as a child's emerging intellectual development will permit to insure social and academic success throughout a child's school years and beyond. "Emergent Literacy And Language Development: Promoting Learning In Early Childhood" is a compilation of six major essays by distinguished researchers and practitioners in Early Childhood Education under the deft editorship of child language specialist and academician Paul M. Rhyner (Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee). "Emergent Literacy And Language Development" addresses, will illustrative case examples, effective instructional approaches for promoting language learning in children with typical development and those who are experiencing developmental language delays. Representing a body of seminal scholarship and a core addition to academic and professional library Early Child Hood Development reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "Emergent Literacy And Language Development" is especially recommended reading for reading specialists, speech-language pathologists, classroom instructors, early childhood development specialists, and concerned parents.

Fun With Finance
Carol Peterson
Teacher Ideas Press
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.teacherideaspress.com
9781591587590, $30.00, www.amazon.com

One of the most important 'life skills' to be taught to children in order for them to become successful adults is that of financial literacy founded upon the principles of sound basic math as applied to 'real life' circumstances. That's the underlying foundation for "Fun With Finance" which is deftly written and nicely illustrated by Carol Peterson specifically for students in grades 4 through 6. There are informed and informative chapters covering money as currency, employment, business, savings, credit, budgeting (including balancing checkbooks), real estate, stocks, bonds, commodities, and more. There are 'theater scripts' as part of each chapter that aptly introduce students to these various aspects of finance ranging from investments to planning a financial future. Enhanced with numerous instructional games and activities, as well as resource lists, "Fun With Finance" is an especially appropriate and highly recommended supplement for traditional classroom and home schooling curriculums.

Exemplary Literacy Teachers, second edition
Cathy Collins Block & John N. Mangieri
The Guilford Press
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
9781606232354, $28.00, www.guilford.com

Universal literacy isn't just some pipe dream; it's highly possible. Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Exemplary Literacy Teachers: What Schools Can Do to Promote Success for All Students" is a guide for educators to better understand the latest techniques in teaching literacy to students at any level, including middle and high school (which were previously undiscussed in the earlier edition). Drawing from the wisdom of expert literacy teachers, and presenting enhanced references, indexes, and more appendices, "Exemplary Literacy Teachers" is an enthusiastically recommended read for educators and educational administrators everywhere.

Enriching the Young Naturalist
Jeff Danielian
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
9781593633776, $19.95, www.prufrock.com

A young interest in nature is something to be nurtured. "Enriching the Young Naturalist: The Nature of a Science Classroom" is a guide for science teachers and other educators who want to help young would-be scientists with their interest in the natural world. With simple tips and advice, and plenty of activities, author Jeff Danielian doesn't fall short in giving everything one needs to know to teach youngsters about nature. "Enriching the Young Naturalist" is a top pick for educational collections.

Intermediate Literacy Stations
Susan Nations & Sandy Waite
Maupin House
2416 NW 71st Place, Gainesville, FL 32653
9781934338421, $24.95, www.maupinhouse.com

Literacy is one of the most important skills a young reader will gain in their education. "Intermediate Literacy Stations" is a guide for educators to establish workshops and stations to better teach language arts and English skills to students. With chapters on comprehension, fluency, writing, and more, "Intermediate Literacy Stations" is of strong interest to any educator seeking to do the best they can for their students.

Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
www.corwinpress.com

Michael B. Ayers and William A. Sommers' PRINCIPAL'S FIELD MANUAL: SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AS THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEADER (9781412971164, $30.95) provides a resource for practicing school leaders at all levels, and is based on the Organizational Effectiveness Model, the authors' own unique framework for organization. Statistics and real-world experience blend with social and political insights - including conflict management - to make for an invaluable principal's handbook. Judy F. Carr and Doug Harris' IMPROVING STANDARDS-BASED LEARNING: A PROCESS GUIDE FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERS (9781412765705, $33.95) provides a kit for developing a high-quality curriculum to improve student learning. From a basic understanding of how curriculum is put together to key issues during implementation, this is a pick for any standards-based collection. Leslie Cooley's THE POWER OF GROUPS: SOLUTION-FOCUSED GROUP COUNSELING IN SCHOOLS (9781412970976, $28.95) offers a guide to goals-based counseling approaches for school professionals, blending case study examples with forms, slips and sample letters for starting a group. Jeffrey Miller and Peter Desberg's UNDERSTANDING AND ENGAGING ADOLESCENTS (9781412970013, $31.95) provides a fine tool kit for motivating adolescents, offering specific classroom strategies and keys to brain-compatible exercises and activities for classrooms and individuals alike. From study skills to group participation, specifics are offered. Jan Olsson's KEEP IT SIMPLE, MAKE IT REAL: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN GRADES 6-12 (9781412966030, $28.50) tells how educators can affect attitudes and behavior patterns, and uses the latest research blended with real-world experiences to help teachers evaluate student behavior, staff morale, and better interactions for all. Any influences on student development of positive pathways receives in-depth analysis and strong suggestions. Susan Sullivan and Jeffrey Glanz's SUPERVISION THAT IMPROVES TEACHING AND LEARNING: STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES (9781412967136, $35.95) appears in its third updated edition to assess more effective supervision techniques. From summary sheets and observation charts for classrooms to reflective exercises, this covers hands-on skills for teachers. Randall B. Lindsey, et.al.'s CULTURAL PROFICIENCY: A MANUAL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS (9781412963633, $40.95) appears in its third updated edition to offer a revised set of new activities to enable leaders to successfully interact with students, parents and teachers alike. From an understanding of what cultural proficiency means in collaborative settings to agencies across the country involved in cultural concerns, this offers plans for assessing and working with diversity. Education libraries will find these a key acquisition.


The Cookbook Shelf

The Bear And Fish Family Cookbook
Yabin Yu & Jialin Tian
Jayca Inc.
PO Box 2451, Poquoson, VA 23662
www.bearandfishcookbook.com
9780615276274, $33.95, www.amazon.com

Yabin Yu was born in Beijing, China. Jialin Tian was born in Tianjin, Chinga. In "The Bear And Fish Family Cookbook" these two culinary enthusiasts collaborate to compile an impressive series of more than 130 recipes offering a new and fascinating approach to conventional Asian cuisine. There are dishes for every dining occasion and every course of a meal. Ranging from Deep-Fried Spring Rolls; Napa Cabbage, Bean Threads, and Meatball Soup; Baked Egg Custard with Ground Pork; and Braised Beef with Fermented Bean Paste; to Meat Stuffed Cabbage; Sweet and Sour Spareribs; Coconut Curry Shrimp; and Noodles with Peanut Butter Sauce, The step-by-step, 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes comprising "The Bear And Fish Family Cookbook" are beautifully illustrated, and as nutritious as they are delicious! Combining an eclectic approach to Asian cuisine with contemporary innovations on traditional themes, "The Bear And Fish Family Cookbook" is a unique and highly recommended addition to personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

The Wedding Cake Decorator's Bible
Alan Dunn
David & Charles
4700 E. Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45236
0715329855, $24.99 www.mycraftivity.com

Design and decorate amazing wedding cakes with The Wedding Cake Decorator's Bible, a decorator's companion covering everything from traditional tiered cakes to luxury designs and specialty piping. Color photos illustrate not just finished products but also step-by-step instructions, making it easy for bakers to duplicate professional-quality results.

Raw For Dessert
Jennifer Cornbleet
The Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99, Summertown, TN 38483
www.thefarm.org/businesses/bpc.html
9781570672361, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Those who must, for personal or medical reasons, confine themselves to a vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or other health-conscience diet can still enjoy really terrific deserts as meal time or snack time treats with Jennifer Cornbleet's "Raw For Dessert: Easy Delights For Everyone" culinary compilation of tasty recipes for cakes, pies, compotes, crumbles, custards, sorbets, ice creams, cookies, and even candies! Enhanced for browsing with occasional full color photographs of mouth-watering desserts, the recipes range from Almond Milk; Mango Carpaccio; Brazil Nut-Vanilla Ice Cream; and Chocolate Lava Cake; to Banana Cream Pie; Key Lime Pots de Creme; Pine Nut Caramels; and Blackberry Sorbet. A thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' collections of easy do-it-yourself step-by-step recipes, "Raw For Dessert" will make a welcome and exceptionally popular addition to family and community library cookbook collections!

Cooking With Lavender
Suzanne Smith
Rio Grande Books
925 Salamanca NW, Los Ranchos de ABQ, NM 87107-5647
www.nmsantos.com
9781890689773, $12.95, www.amazon.com

Lavender is a lovely flower, as well as key ingredient for perfumes and scented soaps. What most people are not aware of is that lavender is also a plant that Spanish settlers first brought to the Americas and has a great many culinary uses as well! That's what makes Suzanne Smith's "Cooking With Lavender" such a unique compendium of recipes that incorporate lavender among the ingredients for a wide range of main and side dishes, beverages, butters, sweets, rubs, and herbal mixtures. From Lavender-Fried Apples; Red Raspberry-Lavender Soup; and Lavender Lemonade; to Grilled Marinated Filets Mignons on Lavender Foil Bread; Broiled Salmon with Lavender Champagne Sauce; and Lavender Shortbread Cookies, "Cook With Lavender" is a unique addition to personal and community library cookbook collections -- and a lot of fun to browse while seeking novel dishes to embellish any mealtime occasion!

Easy Japanese Cooking: Bento Love
Kentaro Kobayashi
Vertical, Inc.
1185 Avenue of the Americas, 32nd floor, New York, NY 10036
www.vertical-inc.com
9781934287583, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Japanese cuisine, while not as ubiquitous as Chinese restaurant fare, is nonetheless highly prized by those with a gourmet taste for Asian dishes. What is especially appreciated with Kentaro Kobayashi's "Easy Japanese Cooking: Bento Love" is that this collection of elegant entrees take as its inspiration traditional Japanese box lunches called 'bento', and includes the author's childhood favorites such as Salt-Grilled Chicken Steak Bento; Spicy Sweet Beef and Shiitake Stir-fry Bento; and Crispy Dumpling Bento. But this gourmet quality Japanese alternative to ordinary American hamburgers and hot dogs does not stop there, but includes such selections as Fish and Chips Bento; Cheeseburger Bento; and Veggie-Filled Meatballs Bento. Profusely and beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, "Easy Japanese Cooking: Bento Love" is a unique and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, family, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections.

A Garden Supper Tonight
Barbara Swell
Native Ground Books & Music
109 Bell Rd, Asheville, NC 28805-1521
www.nativeground.com
9781883206598, $12.95, www.amazon.com

More than just a nostalgic collection of yesteryear recipes, "A Garden Supper Tonight" by food historian and author Barbara Swell is a compilation of anecdotal commentaries, quotations, illustrations, and advice on home and garden that perfectly showcase the original recipes for dishes prepared and served by our great-grandmothers in the decades of the late 19th and early 20th century. A superb browse, "A Garden Supper Tonight" is organized into the four seasons of three months each and features a wide diversity of dishes whose ingredients are seasonal. The dishes range from Fried Squash Blossoms; Buttermilk Biscuits; and Blackberry Grilling Glaze; to Lemon Cornmeal Plum Cake; Strawberry Mint Jam, and Rhubarb Claret Sorbet. Enhanced with the inclusion of a resources list, a bibliography, and a recipe index, "A Garden Supper Tonight" is enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library collections.

Cupcakes, Cupcakes & More Cupcakes!
Lilach German
Imagine Publishing
300 East 34th Street, Suite 21K, NY, NY 10016
www.imaginebks.com
9780982293980, $18.95, www.amazon.com

The sign of a truly great cookbook is that merely browsing through its pages will evoke a compulsive and irresistible desire to repair immediately to the kitchen and get to work! "Cupcakes, Cupcakes & More Cupcakes!" with its superbly produced full color photographic illustrations showcasing some seventy mouth-watering recipes for the confection of the cupcake is just such a culinary collection. Lilach German is a master baker (and founder of Lilach: Food and Design, a gourmet catering company located in Tel Aviv, Israel) who provides a diverse range of cupcake recipes from colorful treats for kids to elegant deserts for their elders. From Pear Crumble Cupcakes; Banana Chocolate Cupcakes; Oreo Cupcakes; and Mini-Me Marshmallow Cupcakes; to Baby Shower Cupcakes; Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes; Pomegranate Cupcakes; and Marzipan Cupcakes, there's a gourmet quality treat available for every occasion and each of these easy-to-follow recipes is guaranteed to be 'kitchen cook friendly' in their preparation. "Cupcakes, Cupcakes & More Cupcakes!" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

The Kerala Kitchen
Lathika George
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, NY, NY 10016
www.hippocrenebooks.com
9780781811842, $32.00, www.amazon.com

Along the Malabar Coast of Southern India there are communities of Syrian Christians, originally founded in the first century by St. Thomas who converted several Brahmin families to Christianity. It was these early Christians who then intermarried with Syrians settling there. The result was the creation of the vibrant Syrian Christian community of Kerala and its rich culinary heritage that is so superbly showcased in Lathika George's elegant ethnic cookbook "The Kerala Kitchen: Recipes And Recollections From The Syrian Christians Of South India". Interlaced with the recipes for exotic dishes are anecdotal stories associated with them and the community from which they spring. The recipes range from Rice Flatbread; Yams with Ground Coconut; Fish Roasted in Banana Leaves; and Kerala Chicken Roast; to Spiced Cooked Buttermilk; Sweet Plantain Chips; Smoked Gooseberry Preserve; and Mango Mousse. Enhanced with a section of full-color photographs of finished dishes, a glossary of specialized terms in both English and Malayalam, a five-title bibliography, and an index, "The Kerala Kitchen" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, family, and community library ethnic specialty cookbook collections.

Tea With A Twist
Lisa Boalt Richardson
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon 97402-9173
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
9780736925792, $24.99, www.amazon.com

A graduate of the Specialty Tea Institute, Lisa Boalt Richardson is a certified tea specialist who draws upon her experience and expertise to create "Tea With A Twist: Entertaining And Cooking With Tea". This is a truly elegant instruction manual for anyone wanting to treat friends and family to the memorable experience of a well-planned, well-executed, theme-oriented tea party. After an extensively informed and informative introduction, the reader is provided with complete and instructive chapters for putting on a 'Flower Power Tea Party'; a 'Bubble Tea Party'; a 'Tropical Tea by the Sea Party'; a 'Mexican Fiesta Tea Party'; a 'Southern Tailgate Tea Party'; an 'All About Chocolate Tea Party', an 'Indian Chai High Tea', and an 'Under-the-Table Tea Party'. Replete throughout with 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes ranging from a Broccoli and Cauliflower Floret Salad; Jack Cheese and Green Chili Scones, and Key Lime Coconut Bars; to Smokey Tea First Down Barbeque; Easy Microwave Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles; and Rolled Ham Horns, "Teas With A Twist" is superbly enhanced for browsing with Lauren Rubinstein's full-color photography throughout. A perfect gift book for a friend, "Tea With A Twist" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

The Spanish Table
Steve Winston
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com
9781423603733, $30.00, www.amazon.com

Native Spanish cuisine from the Iberian peninsula is one of long tradition and distinction. In "The Spanish Table: Traditional Recipes And Wine Pairings From Spain And Portugal", author Steve Winston draws upon his many years of travel throughout the Iberian countryside and seashore communities to compile a 222-page compendium of truly outstanding recipes that perfectly showcase the versatility, breath, and variety of Spanish and Portuguese fare for any and all dining occasions. Of special note are the wine-pairing suggestions, recommendations, and commentaries. With recipes ranging from The Spanish Table's Classic Paella; Azorean Beef Stew; Amy's Chorizo Bread Pudding; and Tortilla Espanola; to Blackberry-Saffron Sorbet; Artichoke Heart and Manchego Cheese Spread; and Chocolate Port Wine Cake, "The Spanish Table" is a highly recommended, 'kitchen cook friendly', and seminal addition to any personal, professional, family, or community library ethnic cookbook collection!

Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook: Volume 2
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Publishing
P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, OH 44683
www.barbourbooks.com
9781602603455, $14.97, www.amazon.com

Wanda Brunstetter has a great many friends in various Amish settlements throughout the United States. Her first compilation of Amish recipes (Amish Friends Cookbook, 9781597896443, $14.97) from Barbour Publishing was so successful and appreciated that she has now published a second collection of Amish recipes further showcasing their culinary legacy adapted for modern American kitchens. Along with the recipes themselves, "Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook: Volume 2" is enhanced with the addition of interesting facts from Amish country providing a chapter by chapter introduction to those memorable and mouth-watering recipes. With a spiral binding allowing it to be laid flat upon a kitchen counter or table, "Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook: Volume 2" even includes a special chapter on snacks. With some 200 wide-ranging recipes from Apple Pancakes; Old-Fashioned Ginger Cookies; Streusel-Top Fruit Pie; and Strawberry Pizza; to Poor Man's Steak; Savory Meat Loaf; Wiener Stew; and Cauliflower Salad, "Wanda E. Brunstetter's Amish Friends Cookbook: Volume 2" will prove to be a popular addition to personal, family, and community library collections.

Lobel's Meat Bible
Stanley Lobel, et al.
Chronicle Books
680 Second St, San Francisco, CA 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
9780811858267, $40.00, www.amazon.com

Showcasing 135 recipes that will delight any non-vegetarian, "Lobel's Meat Bible: All You Need To Know About Meat And Poultry From America's Master Butchers" is the collaborative effort of Stanley, Evan, Mark, and David Lobel who, with the able assistance of Mary Goodbody and David Whiteman, have organized this compendium of meat lore into eight specific chapters: Beef; Veal; Pork; Lamb; Poultry & Rabbit; Game Birds & Game; Variety Meats; Sauces, Chutneys, Condiments & Stocks. Each chapter begins with a glossary defining and describing the various cuts associated with that particular meat grouping, then follow thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes featuring those various cuts. From Steak Tartare and Korean-Style Barbecued Short Ribs; to Veal Scaloppine with Prosciuto and Sage; to Pork Chops with Chorizo Vinaigrette and Braised Pork Tacos with Ancho Chilies; to Stuffed Lamb Breast and Indian-Style Fritters with Lamb; to Jerked Chicken and Rabbit with Sherry and Garlic Sauce; to Squab with Umbrian-Style Game Sauce and Rack of Venison with Warm Shallot-Apple Relish and Wild Mushrooms; to Deep-Fried Sweetbreads and Vegetables; to Salsa Mexicana and Corned Beef Pickling Spice, "Lobel's Meat Bible" is a complete course of study in a single volume and a very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

Country Living: The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen
Teri Edwards & Serena Thompson
Hearst Books
c/o Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10016-8810
www.sterlingpublishing.com
9781588167293, $27.95, www.amazon.com

'Country Living' magazine has been a staple of American popular culture for decades. One of the best prized and regular features is its dedication to bringing outstanding recipes to the attention of its readers. "Country Living: The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen" is the collaborative effort of two women, Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson, who founded 'Farm Chicks', a successful business that hosts an annual antique show. They are also well noted and known for their recipes and craft ideas published in the pages of 'Country Living'. They compiled the best of their published recipes in "Country Living: The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen" with their personal stories, an overview of the entrepreneurial business Farm Chicks, and a culinary wealth of wonderfully illustrated recipes for appetizers, lunches, breakfasts, and desserts. Each recipe is also enhanced for the browser with succinct anecdotal comments. The recipes themselves range from Sour Cream & Onion Zucchini Cakes; Apple Puff Pancakes; Savory Sweet Potato Soup; and Margaret's Special Oatmeal Cookies; to Cherry Breakfast Swirl; Maple Oat Scones; Elaine's Farm Style Chicken Salad Sandwiches; and Brushchetta Salad. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' and highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections, "Country Living: The Farm Chicks In The Kitchen" is a delight to browse and a menu planning bonanza!

Harvest Kitchen
Gooseberry Patch
PO Box 190, Delaware, OH 43015
www.gooseberrypatch.com
9781933494531, $19.95, www.amazon.com

Even the chapters comprising "Harvest Kitchen" make a dedicated kitchen chef want to browse. 'Classic Casseroles & Mains' showcases American staples for the family table. 'Slowly-Simmered Suppers' is an ideal collection of 'user friendly' crock-pot cuisines. 'Fireside Favorites' offers menu ideas for all manner of cookouts. 'Touchdown!' is a compilation of dishes suitable for any 'tailgate' party or picnic. 'Halloween Tricks & Treats' offers fun foods for any and all holiday celebrations and events. 'The Thanksgiving Table' includes practical tips for 'Turkey Day' dining year round. 'Thanksgiving on a Bun' is a continuation of meal entrees suitable for formal and informal dining. 'Gifts that say Thanks!' offers ideas for kitchen treats suitable for any and all gift giving occasions. Succinct anecdotal comments precede each recipe and are a treat in themselves! Spiral bound so that it will lay out flat upon a kitchen table or counter, and with recipes ranging from Frosted Cashew Cookies; New England Wild Rice & Apples; Wild West Quesadillas; and Swiss-Ham Noodle Casserole; to Black Walnut Caramels; Peanut Butter Popcorn; Savory BBQ Muffins; and Aunt Barb's Veggie Casserole, "Harvest Kitchen" will prove to be a popular, practical, and appreciated addition to family and community library cookbook collections!


The Automotive Shelf

Semi-Trucks Of The 1950s
Ron Adams
Iconografix
PO Box 446, Hudson, WI 54016
www.iconografixinc.com
9781583881873, $29.95, www.amazon.com

It was Germany's autoban road system that inspired President Dwight David Eishower to lead the American Congress into authorizing the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Originally created for reasons of enhancing national security, this new system of interstate 'freeways' significantly contributed to the post-war prosperity of the country as a whole and lead to the creation and expansion of private trucking companies in the 1950s to move goods quickly and efficiently anywhere within our national borders. The cargo transporting vehicle of choice was the 18-wheel semi-truck and was manufactured in great diversity and quantity by America's automotive industry. An informatively captioned gallery of 300 color and black/white photos of those diverse and manifold trucks are compiled in Ron Adam's "Semi-Trucks Of The 1950s" making this a prized and very highly recommended addition for personal, academic, and community library American Automotive History collections.


The Art Shelf

Sculptor In Buckskin
Katharine C. Ebner, editor
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806140070, $45.00, www.amazon.com

Alexander Phimister Proctor was a big-game hunter and explorer who was as comfortable in the salons of Paris and the cafes of New York, as he was in the wilds of the Colorado wilderness or the vast unsettled regions of Alaska. An academically trained artist who painted and sculpted the characters and wild creatures of the West, Ebner's work as a painter and as a sculptor is to be found in private homes and business, as well as public buildings and parks. Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Sculptor In Buckskin: The Autobiography Of Alexander Phimister Proctor" relates the personal life story of a young man with undeniable artistic talent, enhanced with more than 125 illustrations, historical photographs, and reproductions of his sketches, paintings, and sculptures, along with annotations by Art historian Katharine C. Ebner. The result is a remarkable and beautifully illustrated memoir that is informed and informative, making it especially recommended and appropriate for academic and community library 20th Century American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading list.

The Mosaics Of Louis Comfort Tiffany
Edith Crouch
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764331411, $99.99, www.schifferbooks.com

The Tiffany name is synonymous with elegance and beauty with respect to the creation of functional as well as decorative glass artifacts ranging from jewelry to lamps created from 1880 to 1931, and is closely associated with the homes of the wealthy and culturally elite. One of those areas of particular elegance was in the creation of Tiffany glass mosaics designed for palatial homes of the affluent, public buildings, and churches. In "The Mosaics of Louis Comfort Tiffany, mosaic and stained glass artist and teacher Edith Crouch has compiled more than seventy superbly illustrated examples of Tiffany's best work. Informed and informative, "The Mosaics Of Louis Comfort Tiffany" also provides a wealth of background information on the mosaic artists who worked with Louis Tiffany, provides readers with a glossary of terms, a chronology of Tiffany's life with respect to his mosaic creations, and a complete listing of the locations of his mosaic masterpieces. A seminal work that will prove indispensable to students of Louis Tiffany's mosaic artistry, "The Mosaics Of Louis Comfort Tiffany" is an impressive and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

The Highwaymen Murals
Gary Monroe
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street, Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
9780813033594, $39.95, www.upf.com

Art is a business to some, and a love for others, but can't it be both? "The Highwaymen Murals: Al Black's Concrete Dreams" tells the story of Al Black, an artist and salesman who spent much of his life repairing and selling paintings on the roads of America. He fell afoul of drugs, but while serving his prison sentence, he was given the opportunity to paint more than one hundred murals for the Department of Corrections. "The Highwaymen Murals" tells this unique story of an artist and the striking works he created, presented in full color for readers and viewers to enjoy.

Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
www.hudsonhills.com

HENRY SHAWAH: GOLDSMITH & SCULPTOR (1555953212, $65.00) by Henry Shawah provides a set of vintage and modern black and white and (mostly) color photos in this survey of Shawah's childhood and development as a jewelry maker. Full-page presentations of his pieces accompany theme chapters and reflections on inspirations and family ties alike, making for a 'must' for any jewelry arts library. Irving Sandler's ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: A REEVALUATION (9781555953119, $45.00) provides a fine new book offering the author's conclusions about the nature and experience of abstract expressionism in America. College-level collections familiar with the movement will find this provides a fine historical survey of post-World War II art impact and how paintings responded to global events of their times. Kenneth Snelson's FORCES MADE VISIBLE (9781555952433, $75.00) provides a fine oversized volume offering a taste of his sculpture: pieces often appearing in public places and composed of tubes and wires. His autobiography tracing his early influences and the progress of his sculptures makes for a photo essay tracking both his personal and artistic development: a fine survey that includes a DVD of his animations and a documentary following his life and art. Any art library will welcome this.


The Literary Shelf

Harry Potter Should Have Died
Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703
9781569757116, $14.95, www.ulyssespress.com

Some stories attract more than just the common reader. "Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site" is a collection of discussions about the critically and fan acclaimed Harry Potter series. Chapters cover events of the series, both in the book world and the real world, and contemplate the author's true intentions behind each character. A treat made by fans and for fans, "Harry Potter Should Have Died" should be in any Pottermaniac's collection.

Beckett's Books
Matthew Feldman
The Continuum International Publishing Group
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, NY, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
9780826443434, $49.95, www.amazon.com

One of the outstanding literary figures of the 20th Century, Samuel Beckett and his work is an aspect of every college and university English Literature curriculum. Of special note is the body of scholarly analysis of his work between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II and his views propagating what is termed by scholarship as an 'art of failure' in his works. "Beckett's Books: A Cultural History of the Interwar Notes" is an informed and informative monograph by Matthew Feldman (Promising Research Fellow at University College, Northampton) who bases his keenly insightful literary analysis of recently available notebooks and transcriptions compiled by Beckett from 1929-1940. These are hitherto unavailable primary resource documents providing insights and information on Beckett's working methods, original sources and literary development. "Beckett's Books" is the a seminal study and a classic example of how archival discoveries contribute to the fundamental transformation of our understanding of equally seminal figures in English literature. "Beckett's Books" is a work of superlative scholarship and a welcome addition to academic library collections in general, and Samuel Beckett studies in particular.

100 Most Popular Thriller And Suspense Authors
Bernard A. Drew
Libraries Unlimited
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9781591586999, $65.00, www.amazon.com

Most readers of popular genre fiction, upon discovering an author they like will seek to read all the novels the author has ever written. Many a dedicated bibliophile will seek to collect all the works of their favorite authors. Librarians seeking to build up their genre collections will try to provide as wide a selection of authors within that genre as possible for the benefit of their library patrons. When a given author proves popular, even small and mid-sized libraries can accommodate requests for a given author's titles not in their collections through the use of the InterLibrary Loan Service. That's why bibliographic reference titles such as "100 Most Popular Thriller And Suspense Authors: Biographical Sketches And Bibliographies" compiled by freelance writer and literary researcher Bernard A. Drew are so invaluable. Organized alphabetically, the one hundred authors include such famous authors as Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy, and will aptly serve to introduce lesser known but equally talented authors such as David Baldacci and Minette Walters. "100 Most Popular Thriller And Suspense Authors" is confidently recommended as a seminal addition to library staff reference collections.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Reel Rangers
Bill O'Neal
Eakin Press
PO Box 21235, Waco, TX 76702
1571688404, $22.95, www.eakinpress.com

The Texas Ranger is an iconic figure of the old west. "Reel Rangers: Texas Rangers in Movies, TV, Radio, & Other Forms of Popular Culture" is an in-depth, complete and comprehensive guide to depictions of the Texas Ranger in fictional mediums. Covering everything from Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger, to more successful ones which made the careers of people such as Clint Eastwood, Bill O'Neal presents something for anyone who has fallen in love with the Texas Ranger. "Reel Ranger" is a must for any such enthusiast.

Tracking King Kong
Cynthia Erb
Wayne State University Press
The Leonard N. Simons Building
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
http://wsupress.wayne.edu
9780814334300, $29.95, www.amazon.com

When the film 'King Kong' was first released to the viewing public in 1933 it was the cutting edge of film making technology, with original, riveting, superbly presented subject matter that shocked and thrilled its audiences as few other films in that fledgling industry had yet to do. 'King Kong' became an iconic film against which all of its successors were measured. In "Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture", Cynthia Erb (Associate Professor of Film and English, Wayne State University) has written and compiled a seminal work of history and analysis of the original film and its subsequent remake in 1970, as well as films like 'Might Joe Young', and even the Japanese 'Godzilla', as well as a number of other sequels, remakes, and theatrical spin-offs. A work of insight, scholarship, and substance, "Tracking King Kong" is informed, informative, and a highly recommended, core addition to academic library Film Studies history and reference collections.


The Poetry Shelf

Where Shadows Will
Norma Cole
City Lights Books
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
9780872864740, $14.95, www.citylights.com

Some poets have a wide library of works, and you'll miss the brightest gems unless you look really closely. "Where Shadows Will: Selected Poems 1988-2008" takes the best of Norma Cole's work from over twenty years, and places it all in one collection as part of City Lights' Spotlight series. An excellent collection to start the series with, "Where Shadows Will" is a poetry reader's delight. "Her and There": "Consciousness", explained More Pataphysics, rigid with emotion./The weather turned. We had not heard you come in. "Have you ever/forced a lover out of your own dream? Why can't I write a book/called Fraud? They talked about music as it forms, far away in/time, in a state of place, in all its versions. She shook until she split/the mirrored room. She shook the map-case open, terribly and ruth-/lessly. An ocean or continent of blood poured out in sheets on the/body.

One
Serge Patrice Thibodeau
Goose Lane
330-550 Beaverbrook Court, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5X4
9780864925336, $16.95, www.gooselane.com

Nearly two years worth of effort, "One" is a collection from Serge Patrice Thibodeau, a French Canadian poet with much international renown. With a focus on the beauty of the natural world, Thibodeau's work is deftly translated by Jo-Anne Elder, making "One" a fine pick indeed for poetry fans. A sample: "It is said: man is born to betray his own,/to sign the confession of his acts, to contemplate nothingness, his unique creation, another way to stick out his tongue, kneeling,/black stripes knotted around his neck, a serpent in his fist,//eyes thick with yellow,/mouth ready to utter the last judgment,/ - soul stranded on the sandy floor of the arena - /weapon aimed and ready when the time comes to fire on his neighbor.

Mobility of Light
Nicole Brossard
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5
9781554580477, $14.95, www.wlupress.wlu.ca

Some poets deserve to be read in all languages. "Mobility of Light" is a collection of poems from revered French poet Nicole Brossard, who has been composing poetry and other writing for well over forty years. Her work is presented with the original French and the English translation side by side. "Mobility of Light" is a top pick for world poetry collections. "MY Continent": MY continent she now has/all my saliva, since, at your place, I've/forgotten the text I wanted before your reading eyes/which have watched centuries/of hallucinations, of skin, pass, the noise//detonation. (ma) * it's a space/ an hypothesis.

Eilean Ni Chuilleanain
Eilean Ni Chuilleanain
Wake Forest University
PO Box 7333, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
9781930630444, $12.95, www.wfu.edu/wfupress

Eilean Ni Chuilleanain is one of Ireland's finest poets. Poetry lovers everywhere can now read the best of one of the best in "Eilean Ni Chuilleanain: Selected Poems". Drawing poems from over three decades of prominence, "Eilean Ni Chuilleanain" gives much to enjoy and reflect on. "Eilean Ni Chuilleanain" is a fine compilation that should not be missed. "The Secret": Instead of burning the book or getting its value/They hid it and were silent, even at home,/So that the history of that lost year/Remained for each one her own delusion./As the memory faded they had to love./No one would buy their blood, but they sold/their hair, the milk from their breasts,/their signatures on slips of raveled paper,/The grazing as far as the drawing-room windows/And at last the fresh fine grass/That had started to grow under the first arch/Of the bridge beside the burnt out-paper mill.

The Kiss
Ulick O'Connor
Salmon Poetry
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781903392973, $21.95, www.dufoureditions.com

"The Kiss" is a collection of poetry from acclaimed author Ulick O'Connor, who has been around the block on the literary battlefield. Gathered over the course of decades, his work tells much of his life and the changing times. A surefire treat for poetry lovers, "The Kiss" is not one to be missed. "Carrion Comfort": I often sensed in the crow's caw/Something akin to the death rattle,/But now, as surgeons hurried to and fro/Arming their team for battle,/I watched a black blanket of crows/shaken out from the trees' sheet, As in a great clatter of noise they rose,/I thought I never heard anything so sweet.

Season Of Mangos
Clarence Wolfshohl
Adastra Press
16 Reservation Road, Easthampton, MA 01027
9780982249512, $16.00, www.amazon.com

An established poet in his own right, Clarence Wolfhohl edited and was letter press printer of Timberline Press for thirty years. "Season Of Mangos" is a collection of a dozen of his poems showcasing the people and culture of Belem, Brazil which is a vibrant and complex community situated at the mouth of the Amazon River where mango trees line the boulevard and life is lived at a very special temp. In twelve beautifully crafted and elegantly published poems, "Season Of Mangos" is highly commended to the attention of anyone who appreciates the use of language to conjure up memorable, descriptive, narrative, free verse images. "Photos With Ruy Barata": The poet of Belem / sits on a tiled bench-- / his sleeves rolled up, / a book in hand. // His left leg crosses / the right, pants leg / hitched above / his sock line. // His left hand strokes / his chin in thought / of art-formed eternity. / We take pictures of him, // with him. At first / with both feet flat / on the ground, our hands / brached on our knees. // Then our chins / like Rodin's Thinker, / still too solid // as if we too are bronze / or mere flesh afraid / of some unsaid curse. / Diogenes slumps first, / noting Ruy's slightly drooped / left should. And then / we cross our legs, left over right, // drop our shoulders / pretend we hold a volume / of his verse, and fondle / our chins like the breast / of a lover.

Don't Leave Hungry
James Smith, editor
The University of Arkansas Press
McIlroy House, 201 Ozark Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.uapress.com
1557288933, $24.95, www.amazon.com

The 'Southern Poetry Review' is an iconic poetry journal with a long history of introducing distinguished poets to its readers, many of whom went on to literary honors and success. Now the very best of these poets published in its pages over the past half-century are represented in "Don't Leave Hungry: Fifty Years of Southern Poetry Review" has been selected, compiled, and edited by James Smith (Associate Professor of English, Armstrong Atlantic State University). Enhanced with an informed and informative foreword by Billy Collins (U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003), the "Don't Leave Hungry" anthology is organized chronologically by decade, and includes a contributors list, and author index, a title index, and appendices listing the winner's of the Gary Owen Prize. "Don't Leave Hungry" is a seminal and strongly recommended contribution to personal, community, and academic library American Poetry collections.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Weekend Knitting
Melanie Falick
STC Books
115 W. 18th St., New York NY 10011
9781584797692, $18.95 www.stcbooks.com

Fifty unique projects that can be done in a quick weekend of knitting effort are presented along with lovely color photos by Ericka McConnell in WEEKEND KNITTING, a recommendation for any library catering to busy knitters. An international team of top designers contribute their plans and appealing projects, which come with notes for review and quotes from knitters, as well as a wealth of color photos of finished projects on models.

Sewing Green
Betz White
STC Books
115 W. 18th St., New York NY 10011
9781584797586, $27.50 www.stcbooks.com

SEWING GREEN: 25 PROJECTS MADE WITH REPURPOSED AND ORGANIC MATERIALS tells how to design and sew fine modern projects from sustainable and 'repurposed' materials - the latter such as pillowcases, old dress shirts, and more. Profiles of leaders of the eco-sewing movement pair with resources for crafters and lovely color photos by John Gruen of completed projects, making SEWING GREEN an outstanding choice for any eco-conscious library.

C&T Publishing
Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
www.ctpub.com

Make 12 modern quilts from the traditional Dragonfly block and expand variations on the theme with Sue Beevers's Dancing Dragonfly Quilts (9781571205612, $27.95), a survey of creating dramatic new quilt looks by playing with fabric colors and textures. Color photos of all sizes accompany a fine survey of the potential of dragonfly block applications. Gladys Love's EMBELLISHING WITH ANYTHING: FIBER ART TECHNIQUES FOR QUILTS-ATCS, POSTCARDS, WALLHANGINGS & MORE (9781571205889, $27.95) offers some 17 projects to give a quick, inexpensive way to play with new fiber-art techniques and materials. Make luggage tags, dolls, journal pages and much more and embellish with 'found' objects from driftwood to feathers in a lovely guide packed with beading, fabric, and recycled materials options along with details on tools and supplies. Quilters and needleworkers as well as crafters will love this.

Feltique
Nikola Davidson and Brookelynn Morris
Potter Craft
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, NY, NY 10019-4305
www.crownpublishing.com
9780307406996, $27.50 www.pottercraft.com

FELTIQUE: TECHNIQUES AND PROJECTS FOR WET FELTING, NEEDLE FELTING, FULLING, AND WORKING WITH COMMERCIAL FELT provides detailed how-to information on creating and using felt from leftover yarn, unwanted knitting projects and commercial squares alike, offering nearly fifty projects ranging from hats and necklaces to blankets and baby clothes. An organization by technique allows beginners access to different felting methods and allows advanced felters to move quickly to intermediate processes. Any crafts or needlework library needs this.

Martingale & Company
20205 - 144th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072-8478
www.martingale-pub.com

Judi Dains's BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: ARTFUL QUILTS FROM JUST ONE FABRIC (9781564778925, $26.99) tells how to create a unique quilt that's one piece of fabric - quilted, painted then embellished. From machine quilting motifs to adding artistry to a piece of fabric, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL offers something different to quilters and is a recommendation for any quilter's library. Nancy J. Martin's BABY'S FIRST QUILTS (9781564777447, $22.95) offers thirteen quilt designs, some with novelty prints, sized for infants and newborns. Beginning to intermediate quilters will find the clear color-coded step-by-step illustrations and sidebars of tips make for an excellent and encouraging 'can do' quilter's gift guide. That Patchwork Place's QUILT COLLECTION (9781564779168, $27.99) provides 19 special quilts from favorite designers: major quilt artists from Jo Parrott to Cyndi Hershey and Nancy J. Martin. Each comes with step-by-step instructions for a range of quilting projects appealing to beginners and advanced quilters alike. Ana Paula Rimoli's AMIGURUMI TWO! (9781564779229, $18.99) provides a fine gathering of crocheted toys - over 25 fun designs from mobiles for the crib to stroller toys for a baby. Most projects require only single crochet and a few basic techniques, making for a top pick for newcomers to crochet.

Sock Innovation
Cookie A
Interweave Press
201 E. 4th St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655
9781596681095, $22.95 www.interweavestore.com

SOCK INNOVATION: KNITTING TECHNIQUES & PATTERNS FOR ONE-OF-A-KIND SOCKS explores dramatic asymmetry, unusual cables, and stitch patterns that are unique to Cookie's design strategies. From modifying patterns by understanding charts and stitch motifs to combining stitches for unique design options, color photos and descriptions lend to an extraordinary title perfect for any knitter's library.

Booties, Blankets & Bears
Debbie Bliss
Trafalgar Square Publishing
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05033
www.trafalgarbooks.com
9781570764387, 23.95, www.amazon.com

Needlecraft expert Debbie Bliss is justifiably considered to be one of the country's foremost designers of hand knits and is the author of several highly acclaimed needlecraft project books. "Booties, Blankets & Bears: 20 Irresistible Hand Knits For Your Baby" is her latest collection of superbly crafted projects suitable for even the most novice knitter and elegant enough for the most sophisticated needlecrafter. Each of the twenty showcased projects feature Debbie's own special machine washable yarns that are ideal for newborn skins. The six blanket patterns (including reversible and hooded varieties) are ideal for both indoor and outdoor use. The seven types of booties, socks, and sandals are utterly charming. Superbly illustrated in full color throughout, the step-by-step instructions for each project are thoroughly 'user friendly', ideal for the novice and experienced knitter alike. "Booties, Blankets & Bears" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

WillowBerry Lane Gorgeous Quilts For Gracious Living
Sonja Moen & Vicki Lynn Ochlke
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
www.landauercorp.com
9780980068863, $27.95, www.amazon.com

Beautifully illustrated throughout, "WillowBerry Lane Gorgeous Quilts For Gracious Living" is the collaborative project of master quilters Sonja Moen and Vicki Lynn Ochlke. This compilation of twenty-four gorgeous quilts and accessory projects showcase style and a master of color for the benefit of aspiring novices and seasoned needlecrafters alike. There are do-it-yourself projects for romantic bedroom collections, indoor and outdoor decor, dressed-up chairs, traditional pillows, shams, and even a shower curtain. Each project comes with clear, concise, 'user friendly', step-by-step instructions, along with color and size options.


The Large Print Shelf

Fighting Rawhide
Lewis B. Patten
Sagebrush
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9780753182543, $27.99, www.amazon.com

"Fighting Rawhide" is a classic western novel pitting ranchers against farmers. The year is 1872 and Old John Sunblade means to defend his New Mexico cattle empire against the incursions of 'nesters'. A ruthless man with the law on his side, only his son Dane can stand up to his father and put an end to the feud, save the ranch, and marry the girl of his dreams. Lewis B. Patten is a gifted storyteller and a master of the western genre. Originally published in 1958 under the title "Sunblade", and then a year later in 1959 published again as "Fighting Rawhide", this large print edition is part of the outstanding 'Sagebrush' western series published by Ulverscroft Large Print and is enthusiastically recommended for all western fans and community library large print collections for those patrons who could benefit from the format.


The Fiction Shelf

Second Thoughts
Bobbie O'Keefe
Gale Cengage Learning
27500 Drake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48331
9781594147722, $25.95, www.cengage.com

Divorce may be the end of something, but that doesn't mean there can't be a new beginning. "Second Thoughts" is the story of Derek and Connie, two divorcees, as Derek tries to recapture the flame and make his divorce a thing of the past. A romance set in a busy, realistic, and entertaining world, "Second Thoughts" will entertain readers for hours.

Wave of Terror
Theodore Odrach, author
Erma Odrach, translator
Academy Chicago Publishers
363 W. Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60610
9780897335621, $19.95, www.academychicago.com

There are hidden gems behind cultural walls that are only seeping out now. "Wave of Terror" is one of those books, written by Theodore Odrach, a Russian author more than sixty years ago. Set at the very beginning of World War II, "Wave of Terror" tells the personal story of a boy in a rural village, and the prison camps under the reign of Stalin. Expertly translated by Erma Odrach, "Wave of Terror" is quite the work of literature.

Worst Nightmares
Shane Briant
Vanguard Press
387 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, New York City, NY 10016
Hilsinger - Mendelson East (publicity)
245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1401, New York, NY 10016
9781593155148, $23.95, www.vanguardpress.com

One crime could lead to the solving of another. "Worst Nightmares" is the story of writer's block battling successful author Dermot Nolan. Crippled by his famine of creativity and unable to think, he starts to consider stealing an unknown author's manuscript, only to find this unknown author may have not been writing strictly fiction. "Worst Nightmares" is a fascinating mystery thriller, sure to grip readers until the very end.

Khakhanate
Thomas Lankenau
Elderberry Press
1393 Old Homestead, Second Floor, Oakland, OR 97462
9781934956113, $27.95, www.elderberrypress.com

What if Ghengis Khan's hordes had turned their eyes eastward to Alaska and beyond? "Khakhanate: The Crow" is the second book in Thomas Lankenau's unique historical fiction series, telling the story of what would happen to the America, Europe, Asia, and the world as we know it if things played out differently in the fourteenth century. As Native Americans and Mongols meet, an intriguing saga unfolds.

When the Cherry Blossoms Fell
Jennifer Maruno
Napoleon
178 Willowdale Avenue, Ste. 201, Toronto, ON Canada M2N 4Y8
www.napoleonandcompany.com
9781894917834, $9.95, www.amazon.com

The American internment of the Japanese during World War II set a sad precedent for its neighbors. "When the Cherry Blossoms Fell" is a fictionalized memoir of one Michiko Minagawa, telling the story of a dark period of Canadian history where they alienated their own citizens out of paranoia. "When the Cherry Blossoms Fell" is a top pick for the insight it brings on this dark part of Canadian history.

Plants Don't Drink Coffee
Unai Elorriaga, author
Amaia Gabantxo, translator
Archipelago Books
232 Third St. #A111, Brooklyn, NY 11215
9780977857685, $16.00, www.archipelagobooks.org

The simplest of endeavors can spiral into an epic tale. "Plants Don't Drink Coffee" follows young Tomas and his family as their lives unfold, and tells the story of Bilbao, a region of Spain. Told in an assortment of short stories, Unia Elorriaga's narrative is expertly translated from the original Basque by Amaia Gabantxo, bringing this beautiful piece of fiction to the world stage. Any who appreciate foreign literature will very much enjoy "Plants Don't Drink Coffee".

The Middle Fork
Rick Glaze
Synergy Books
PO Box 80107, Austin, TX 78758
Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists (publicity)
2100 Kramer Lane Suite 300, Austin, TX 78758
9780982160107, $14.95, www.phenixpublicity.com

It sometimes takes serious crisis to put aside pettiness. "The Middle Fork" tells the story of a group of outdoorsmen who go on a camping and kayaking trip. The discussion between them turns political, and raises tensions very high between all of those involved. But when catastrophe strikes, their opinions begin to grow more and more meaningless. "The Middle Fork" is a combination political discussion and novel, highly recommended.

Ruby's Slippers
Leanna Ellis
B&H Fiction
127 Ninth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37234-0143
9780805446982, $14.99, www.BHpublishinggroup.com

Ruby slippers were the solution to all of Dorothy's problems, but they only add to Dottie's problems. "Ruby's Slippers" tells the story of Dottie and the ruby slippers left behind by her estranged father. But there are those who want her slippers, and her life wasn't perfect to begin with. She soon finds that faith may hold the answers she's looking for. "Ruby's Slippers" is a novel Christian readers will very much enjoy.

God's Elect
Frank Shapiro
Vanguard Press
Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9781843864288, $15.00, www.pegasuspublishers.com

There are secrets thousands of years old that the organizations behind the world's major religions keep from the world. "God's Elect" tells the story of the rise of a new pope and his relationship with Israel's chief rabbi, as war inches closer to erupting between the countries they represent. A story of religious intrigue and secrecy, "God's Elect" is something thriller fans will want to sink their teeth into.

Voyage To Oblivion
Theodore Gardner
Allen A. Knoll, Publisher
200 West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-3627
www.knollpublishers.com
1888310103, $27.50, www.amazon.com

Every now and then there comes a novel that deserves the accolade of 'epic'. Theodore Gardner's "Voyage To Oblivion" is just such a massive and impressive work of imaginative fiction. Set aboard a luxury liner, the cast of memorable characters includes Izzy, a wealthy and curmudgeon widower; Tessie, a down-to-earth woman who is the object of Izzy's desire; Burt & Ellen, a CEO and his wife who are on the brink of disaster; Neil, the cruise pianist with a past and the center of attention from the women on board; Gene, a man trying to recapture a lost love, and Hector, an academic professor drawn to the charms of a shipboard Lolita. All of them dine at table 13, half of whom are convinced that this voyage is their last adventure, the other half persuaded that they've yet to achieve their ultimate destiny. Theodore Gardner's narrative talents, his ability to create fully realized and memorable characters, his gift for basic storytelling, all combine to make "Voyage To Oblivion" a truly remarkable and highly recommended read -- and a popular addition to community library contemporary fiction collections.


The Political Science Shelf

Better Parties, Better Government
Peter J. Wallison & Joel M. Gora
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
9780844742717, $20.00, www.aei.org

Could restrictions on political spending actually be undermining America's democracy? "Better Parties, Better Government: A Realistic Program for Campaign Finance Reform" offers Peter Wallison and Joel Gora's opinion that major problems in American democracy stem from limits on campaign spending; the restrictions in place which all too often seem to protect incumbents, often giving them the election despite low approval ratings. "Better Parties, Better Government" is a must read for those looking to better understand modern American democracy.

Epic Journey
James W. Ceaser, Andrew E. Busch, & John J. Pitney
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
9780742561366, $24.95, www.rowmanlittlefield.com

No one would have guessed a black man could take the White House two years ago. "Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politic" tells the story of the 2008 presidential election and how it's a historical snapshot of American politics. Discussing the effects of George W. Bush's term, "Epic Journey" is a fine historical read that will give readers a more complete and comprehensive understanding of the recent past. "Epic Journey" is a fine addition to any political collection.

Political Campaigns And Political Advertising
Frank W. Baker
Greenwood Press
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9780313347559, $45.00, www.amazon.com

Politics and the media have been inseparable from the founding of our country down to the present day. In the colonial era media came in the form of local newspapers and printed broadsheet tacked up on bulletin boards and distributed by hand. Today media has evolved into the cybernetic world of the internet. In order to understand how the American political system works it is necessary to understand the fundamentally central role that media plays in all its various forms. That's where "Political Campaigns And Political Advertising: A Media Literacy Guide" by Frank W. Baker (a professional media consultant and the webmaster of Media Literacy Clearinghouse) proves to be such a highly recommended addition to academic and community library Political Science reference collections. "Political Campaigns And Political Advertising" begins by defining the term 'media literacy', the concepts of propaganda and 'spin', the role of media consultants, the media categories of photography, radio, television, political advertising, campaign event analysis, and the new internet media applications and technologies. Of special note is the chapter focused on 'Trying to Fix the Money Problem in Elections'. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary, a resources list, and an index, "Political Campaigns And Political Advertising" is especially commended to the attention of the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the role media plays in American politics today.


The Science Shelf

The Manga Guide To Physics
Hideo Nitta
No Starch Press
555 DeHaro Street, #250, San Francisco, CO 94107
www.nostarch.com
9781593271961, $19.95, www.amazon.com

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand the basics of physics. Not when you can read "The Manga Guide To Physics" by Hideo Nitta (Professor of Physics, Tokyo Gakugei University) who takes the novel approach of utilizing the Japanese animation image (called manga) to explaining the concepts that comprise the science of physics including momentum and impulse, the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration, Newton's three laws of motion, the movement of objects after collision, vector diagrams, kinetic energy calculations, and more! The readers are educated in the 'real world' applications of physics by Megumi, an all-star athlete who is failing in her physics class. She is distracted in her tennis matches as she worries about the questions she's missed on her physics test. That's when her friend Ryota teaches her about physics using everyday objects ranging from roller skates and slingshots, to braking cars and tennis balls. As entertaining as it is informative, "The Manga Guide To Physics" enables ordinary readers to readily grasp the basics of physics and would make an ideal curriculum supplement for a school physics class, and is ideal for anyone seeking to inform themselves about how physics works and is applied to understanding the world in which they live.

Tornado Hunter
Stefan Bechtel with Tim Samaras
National Geographic
1145 - 17th St. NW, Washington DC 20036-4688
9781426203022, $24.00 www.nationalgeographic.com/books

TORNADO HUNTER: GETTING INSIDE THE MOST VIOLENT STORMS ON EARTH is from a tornado chaser who works with a master storyteller to create a gripping story of the first person to photograph the inside of a tornado and survive. A moment-by-moment description of a 2003 tornado catastrophe accompanies details on the science of tornadoes and lends to a gripping saga highly recommended for any general lending library.

The Universe: Order Without Design
Carlos I. Calle
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781591027140, $27.98 www.prometheusbooks.com

Is the universe designed for life? Many scientific circumstances juxtaposed to foster life on Earth, but is this the same for the rest of the universe? "The Universe: Order Without Design" comes from a NASA senior research scientist who explores theories of origins and evolutions in the universe, considering theoretical physics and reviewing the latest findings of modern astrophysics in a powerful title suitable for college-level science libraries.

Archaeoclimatology Atlas Of Oregon
Reid A. Bryson, et al.
University of Utah Press
1795 East South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9402
www.uofupress.com
9780874809268, $55.00, www.amazon.com

When it comes to the Earth's natural climate, we can more accurately understand the present, and even predict the future, when we have an accurate record of the past to draw information from. Information basic to being able to develop computer models of how and under what circumstances change occurs in the Earth's climate. The late Redi A. Bryson (1920-2008) was an emeritus professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, geography, and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. With the collaborative work of Alison Stenger (Director of Research at the Institute for Archaeological Studies, Portland, Oregon) and Katherine McEnaney DeWall (academician and macrophysical climate model expert), "Archaeoclimatology Atlas Of Oregon: The Modeled distribution In Space And Time of Past Climates" is an impressive compendium of academic scholarship presenting a new and innovative means of modeling climatic and environmental history of the Oregonian region for the past 14,000 years, analyzing the relationship between climatic variables and the people of the region. Broad-scale reconstructions and defined times are provided with more than seventy-five detailed site-specific graphs of precipitation, temperature, evaporation, snowfall. A seminal work of impeccable and detailed scholarship representing an invaluable contribution to the science of climatology and climate-human interactions, "Archaeoclimatology Atlas Of Oregon" is a core addition to professional, governmental, and academic library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Writing For Wellness
Julie Davey
Idyll Arbor
39129 - 264th Avenue SE, Enumclaw, WA 98022
www.idyllarbor.com
9781882883677, $18.00, www.amazon.com

Talking and writing about a problem can be genuinely cathartic and of positive benefit for anyone dealing with the stress of illness or injury. That's why "Writing For Wellness: A Prescription for Healing" by journalist, author, and cancer survivor Julie Davey is so much to be appreciated. Covering every aspect of the writing process from getting started, to the various categories of writing, to sharing with others, and more, "Writing For Wellness" is so much more than just another 'how to' instruction manual, it is a complete, comprehensive, deftly written, nicely organized, engagingly presented, and thoroughly 'user friendly' workshop under one cover that will enable anyone to utilize the personal processes of writing to work through their own traumas, whether they are physical or emotional, and to regain their ability to enjoy what life has to offer. "Writing For Wellness" is highly recommended for personal reference shelves and community library collections.

Liberation From Allergies
Chris D. Meletis, N.D.
Praeger Publishers
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9780313358708, $34.95, www.amazon.com

Chris Meletis is a professional naturopath and the series editor for Praeger Publisher series 'Complementary and Alternative Medicine'. The latest addition to this outstanding collection is "Liberation From Allergies: Natural Approaches To Freedom And Better Health" in which Meleits deftly examines a wide range of diverse allergies such as those to various foods, household dust, airborne irritants and pollens, synthetic materials like latex, and common chemicals. "Liberation From Allergies" explains why allergies occur and documents the statistical rise in the percentage of the general population that suffers from allergic reactions. Of special note is the discussion with respect to the 'hygiene hypothesis' which argues that over-bathing and overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial agents prevents the human immune system from building necessary resistance to various substances in youth that leave people vulnerable to the onset of allergies as they age. Very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Health/Medicine reference collections, "Liberation From Allergies" provides and informed and informative discussion on both naturopathic and traditional pharmaceutical approaches to the treatment of allergies and the current testing of vaccines for some food allergies.

Functional Testing In Human Performance
Michael P. Reiman & Robert C. Manske
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.HumanKinetics.com
9780736068796, $75.00, www.amazon.com

In the realm of sports and athletics, as well as physiological medicine, it is necessary to test physical functioning both to establish baseline performance and to ascertain progress and/or retrogress with respect to their training. That's why "Functional Testing In Human Performance: 139 Tests for Sports, Fitness, and Occupational Settings" by Michael P. Reiman (Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Wichita State University) and Robert C. Manske (Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, Wichita State University) is such an invaluable addition to professional and academic library Sports & Athletics medical reference collections. Organized into three major sections, "Functional Testing In Human Performance" begins by defining explaining basic concepts and defining basic terms, administering the tests, and integrating the tests into daily practice. "Functional Testing In Human Performance" then goes on to over a variety of tests designed to address muscle, movement, balance, strength, agility, and a number of other qualities and conditions. Of special note are the chapters dedicated to Trunk Testing; Upper Extremity Testing; and Lower Extremity Anaerobic Power Testing. Enhanced with the inclusion of an accompanying DVD, an appendices of reproducible test forms, references, and an index, "Functional Testing In Human Performance" is exceptionally 'user friendly' and a highly recommended compendium of diverse human performance tests.

The Core Balance Diet
Marcelle Pick
Hay House, Inc.
PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
www.hayhouse.com
9781401922016, $25.95, www.amazon.com

Marcelle Pick is the co-founder of 'Women to Women' and a licensed OB/GYN nurse practitioner. With the able assistance of Genevieve Morgan, Marcelle presents "The Core Balance Diet: 4 Weeks To Boost Your Metabolism And Lose Weight For Good", a complete 28-day course of step-by-step, informed and informative, practical and 'user friendly' instruction on safely, sensibly, and effectively losing weight -- and at the end of this four week course, keeping under control for the rest of your life. "The Core Balance Diet" covers the psychology of dieting, the necessity of a balance with respect to creating an eating plan and an action plan. "The Core Balance Diet" also covers such pertinent issues as digestive and hormonal imbalances, adrenal and neurotransmitter imbalances, as well as inflammatory and detoxification imbalances. Enhanced with the inclusion of a great many recipes, referrals and resource information, appendices, references and suggestions for further reading, and a comprehensive index, "The Core Balance Diet" is a complete course of life-changing study that is highly recommended for anyone struggling to lose weight -- and keep it under control forever after.

The Depression Cure
Stephen S. Ilardi, Ph.D.
Da Capo Lifelong
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780738213132, $25.00 www.dacapopress.com

THE DEPRESSION CURE: THE 6-STEP PROGRAM TO BEAT DEPRESSION WITHOUT DRUGS is based on the idea that humans weren't designed to cope well with our post-industrial world. Six ancient lifestyle elements are resurrected here to combine the healing elements of all six into a structured program balancing diet with enjoyable activities, exercise, and social support groups. A realistic, fine guide, this is a recommendation for any general lending or health library.

Women's Health Concerns Sourcebook
Sandra J. Judd, Editor
Omnigraphics
Box 31-1640, Detroit, MI 48231-1640
9780780810365, $84.00 www.omnigraphics.com

Basic consumer health details about women's issues and trends are revealed in a book juxtaposing statistical and research data with basic information on women's physiology and common disorders. From thyroid disease to cancer and fibroids, this focus on the latest treatments and maintaining health will be a popular pick for any general lending library's collection, offering a broad and wide-ranging assessment of a range of health concerns.

Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury
Mayo Clinic
Demos Health
386 Park Avenue South, Suite 301, New York, NY 10016
9781932603774, $17.95, www.demoshealth.com

The spine is one fo the most important things in the human body. "Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury" is a health guide for those who have suffered one of these traumatic injuries. Covering how to best deal with the injury to avoid causing greater injury or pain to oneself, and offering a huge lists of tips and advice on improving one's life through minor modifications to one's home and vehicle, daily care, and more, "May Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury" brings down the full force of the Mayo Clinic's medical expertise. "Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury" is a must for any coping with this difficult situation.

Introduction to Pharmacology, third edition
Mannfred A. Hollinger
CRC Press
c/o Taylor & Francis Group
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
1420047418, $69.95, www.amazon.com

Pharmacology and toxicology are fundamental aspects of modern medicine. Research in pharmacogenomics and proteomics (including DNA technology) continue to advance every year necessitating physicians and pharmacists to keep abreast of these increasing new developments. That's why this newly updated third edition of "Introduction to Pharmacology by Professor Mannfred A. Hollinger (Department of Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Medicine, University of California - Davis) is such a critically important addition to professional, medical school, and academic library reference collections. This new edition has been expanded to include chapters on smooth muscle harmacology covering gastrointestinal and pulmonary pharmacology; advances in pharmacology at the molecular level; RNA interference and dopamine signaling; and two new appendices featuring the determination of molecular structure in nucleic acids and the breakthrough drugs that made modern medicine. Comprehensive and superbly organized, "Introduction to Pharmacology" is a seminal body of work and an ideal textbook for medical school curriculums.


The Interior Design Shelf

Field Guide to Commercial Interiors
Corky Binggeli, ASID
Wiley
111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030
9780470412954, $75.00 www.wiley.com

Over 300 photos and details on over 160 on-site conditions make FIELD GUIDE TO COMMERCIAL INTERIORS a 'must' reference for any graphic design library catering to professionals. The at-a-glance reference information tells how to identify reference standards, avoid common problems, and locate a range of professional resources. Packed with tips and arranged with easy sidebars and information, it's an invaluable quick reference.


The Architecture Shelf

Zen Architecture
Paul Discoe
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1423600096, $40.00 www.gibbs-smith.com

ZEN ARCHITECTURE: THE BUILDING PROCESS AS PRACTICE comes from a Zen Buddhist priest and pioneer of wood-based architecture structures and renovations, and provides both homeowners and architects with a different perspective on the building process. Over 200 color photos pepper the results of more than forty years of study and design in a fine blend of sketches and prose identifying Buddhist elements in buildings. Any architectural or homeowner's library will relish this presentation.

The Sustainable Home
Cathy Strongman
Merrell Publishers
9781858944302, $34.95 www.merrellpublishers.com

THE SUSTAINABLE HOME: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ECO BUILDING, RENOVATION AND DECORATION comes from an eco journalist who offers an illustrated guide covering all aspects of sustainable building and decorating, from basic construction to add-on solar panels and kitchen counters. Thirty case studies of such homes come from around the world and offer visual and written reinforcement. Perfect for any homeowner's or architect's collection.

New Green Home Solutions
Dave Bonta and Stephen Snyder
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1423603893, $24.99 www.gibbs-smith.com

NEW GREEN HOME SOLUTIONS: RENEWABLE HOUSEHOLD ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE LIVING offers homeowners an opportunity to become a part of the new green movement, surveying typical single-family home offerings and how they can be converted to include solar heating and power and passive heating and cooling systems. Color photos supplement tips on how to assess and change traditional homes for maximum energy savings.


The Photography Shelf

Historic Photos Of The Manhattan Project
Timothy Joseph
Turner Publishing Company
200 - 4th Avenue North, Suite 950, Nashville, TN 37219
www.turnerpublishing.com
9781596525214, $39.95, www.amazon.com

During the darkest days of World War II, it was none other than Albert Einstein who brought to President Roosevelt's attention that the Nazis were trying to create atomic weapons. That was when America's Manhattan Project was established. This research project resulted in the dawning of the Atomic Age and the destruction of two Japanese cities, ending the Second World War and ushering in the Cold War era threat of mutually assured destruction by nuclear war. Now for the first time the Manhattan Project has been compiled photographically through almost two hundred historic images of the men and women, places and events involved in one of the most expensive and urgent scientific research efforts in military history. Compiled with captions by Timothy Joseph, "Historic Photos Of The Manhattan Project" is a very welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library American History and Photography collections.

Reflections At Sandhill Creek
Adrian Dorst
Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550174748, $28.95, www.amazon.com

"Reflections At Sandhill Creek: Meditations On The Wild West Coast" is a compilation of memorable nature photos combined with thematically appropriate philosophical quotations drawn from some of the greatest minds and the most influential books. The man who hast raised nature photography to a fine art, and who selected caption quotations that are as thoughtful and thought-provoking as the images they support are inspired and inspiring, is Adrian Dorst whose professional work has appeared in numerous calendars, posters, and magazines over the past twenty years. "Reflections At Sandhill Creek" is one of those rare photography books that will induce repeated browsing and is strongly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections.

Oil Wrestlers
Nicolaas Biegman
KIT Publishers
Box 95001, 1090 HA Amsterdam
9789068327410 $50.00 www.kitpublishers.com

Oil wrestling originated in Iran, spread to Asia and the Balkans, and is a national regional sport today, with tournaments happening even in remote villages. Nicolaas Biegman has produced a number of photo books; here he captures oil wrestling in black and white, with full-page photos depicting all aspects of the event. Any arts or photography collection will find it intriguing.

The Image Taker
Gerald Hausman and Bob Kapoun
World Wisdom
1501 E. Hillside Dr., Bloomington, IN 47401
9781933316703, $26.95 www.worldwisdom.com

THE IMAGE TAKER: THE SELECTED STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF EDWARD S. CURTIS is a pick for any Native American library: it covers the stories and photos of Edward Curtis gathered from his 20-volume THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN, THE IMAGE TAKER opus, packing nearly two hundred photos --many rarely seen in print - along with the images and myths of the 26 tribal nations. Any arts library strong in Native American history, culture and representation needs this.

Focal Press
30 Corporate #400, Burlington MA 01803
www.focalpress.com

A DVD with over 10 hours of movie support and royalty-free images packs Mark Galer & Philip Andrews's Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills (9780240521244, $39.95), a book on creative image editing written by two renowned authors expert in Photoshop at a top level. Photoshop CS4 Essential Skills is designed as a self-study guide and offers a structured program covering foundation skills and advanced techniques as well. Learn how to enhance photos using the latest CS4 features with chapters packed with color photo examples throughout. Highly recommended as a basic instructional for any Photoshop CS4 user at any level. Steve Caplin's ART & DESIGN IN PHOTOSHOP (9780240811093, $39.95) provides chapters on typography and basic design principles and shows how to design everything from book covers and posters to packaging and more. Photoshop basics offers photographers and designers alike keys to successful creative design, and shows how to simulate just about anything in Photoshop, from famous works of art to book and magazine covers. A top pick. Also tops is Richard Lynch's discussion of one of the most complex aspects of Photoshop in THE ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS4 LAYERS BOOK (9780240521558, $39.95), offering a visual, hands-on guide to using layers. From isolating image areas for adjustments to using different blending forms, masks, layer modes and channels, this comes with a CD library of practical actions based on the book. Very highly recommended!

Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers
Colin Smith and Tim Cooper
Charles River
c/o Course Technology
20 Channel Center St., Boston MA 02210
1584506857, $44.99 www.courseptr.com

Learn how to get the most out of the latest Photoshop features with Complete Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers, a guide offering up-to-date tips, tricks, and techniques for using all of the Photoshop tools in the program. An author/trainer and a professional photographer team up to teach all the basics using a video training program and 90 images meant for use with the book's material. Any who wish to apply or refine their Photoshop skills will find this a fine guide.


The Computer Shelf

Perl Fundamentals
Peter Scott
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.awprofessional.com
0137001274, $69.99 www.informit.com/aw

The home video/book lesson plan that is PERL FUNDAMENTALS is a top pick for any perl programmer and comes from a Perl author who tackles the basics of Perl 5. Newcomers to the program receive a clear, graded progressive series of lessons moving from basic introduction to intermediate concepts, with the DVD reinforcing written explanation. Many a student will find this the perfect refresher or lab course.

Graphics Shaders: Theory and Practice
Mike Bailey & Steve Cunningham
A.K. Peters Ltd.
888 Worcester St, Suite 230, Wellesley, MA 02482
9781568813349, $79.00 www.akpeters.com

Using shaders, interactive effects are now at our fingertips. Graphics Shaders: Theory and Practice reviews the basics of how to write and work with shaders, and is a pick for any college-level, advanced computer library catering to programming professionals. Graphics Shaders discusses different types of shaders, how to use the glman program for free, and how to blend shaders into an interactive game environment. Libraries will find it a powerful, appealing lend for intermediate programmers seeking extra spice for their projects.

The Nomadic Developer
Aaron Erickson
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.awprofessional.com
0321606396, $39.99 www.informit.com/aw

New technology can be used to make a company more competitive or even open up new markets, and this idea is appealing to all businesses - but it's the programming consultant who often makes the leap between an idea and its successful application. One can succeed as a software or IT consultant using The Nomadic Developer: Surviving and Thriving in the World of Technology Consulting. It comes packed with details on how to break into the business and build a successful career by adding value over the competition, and is a top pick for both computer and business libraries.

Visual Quickstart Guide Illustrator CS4 for Windows and Macintosh
Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
Peachpit Press
1249 - 4th St., Berkeley, CA 94710
032156345X, $34.99 www.peachpit.com

Visual Quickstart Guide Illustrator CS4 for Windows and Macintosh offers a powerful picture-guided format to walk users through Adobe Illustrator. Step-by-step directions enable users to move quickly from novice to advanced stages; each page is packed with visuals and screenshots in full color. Covering everything from choosing between options to expanding skills and using advanced features, Visual Quickstart Guide Illustrator CS4 for Windows and Macintosh is ideal for all computer libraries catering to beginner or intermediate users.


The Self-Help Shelf

Free Yourself to Love
Jackie Kendall
Faith Words
Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780446580892, $13.99, www.faithworks.com

One can't love if one is too busy hating. "Free Yourself to Love: The Liberating Power of Forgiveness" is a self-help guide for those who are having a hard time letting go of grudges. Author Jackie Kendall brings readers tips and advice on improving their ability to forgive and forget those who have wronged them, so that they may better learn to love the world and themselves. With a Christian outlook, "Free Yourself to Love" is a recommended read for those who don't want hate in their hearts.

Emotional Black Holes
Grant Hallstrom
Clearstone Publishing
15615 Alton Parkway, Suite 175, Irvine, CA 92618
www.emotinalblackholes.com www.clearstonepublishing.com
9780982150306, $11.95, www.amazon.com

An ancient Chinese curse declaims 'May you live in interesting times.' With the world-wide recession, seemingly endless wars, global pandemics, widening gaps between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', political scandals, talk radio demagogues, environmental degradations, a shrinking middle-class, and an increasing social alienation, it seems like today we all live under some version of that declaration. Money problems damage more marriages than infidelity. In "Emotional Black Holes", successful businessman and dedicated Christian Grant Hallstrom has compiled a series of commentaries offering insight into how we can learn to cope with the vicissitudes of life through divine assistance, common sense, timely introspection, and periodic reflection. Each illuminating chapter is prefaced with a thematically appropriate scriptural quotation. Also available in a hardcover edition (97809821503613, $19.95), "Emotional Black Holes" is replete with personal anecdotes that speak with individual examples to universal truths. As informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring, "Emotional Black Holes" is especially recommended reading for anyone who feels they are being overwhelmed with the traumas, large and small, that affect and afflict their personal and professional lives.

Addicted to Hurry
Kirk Byron Jones, author and narrator
Judson Press
PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
9780817015473, $17.00 www.judsonpress.com 1-800-458-3766

Part self-help manual, part spiritual guide, "Addicted to Hurry" is an audiobook read by author and more than twenty-year pastor Kirk Byron Jones about the "need for speed" mentality and why an excess of it is harmful to one's personal, physical, and spiritual life. Offering means by which one can break free from the pressure to rush excessively, and reclaim the spiritual side of one's life, Addicted to Hurry is an extraordinarily timely guide for assistance in coping with one aspect of the modern era of globalization. An excellent personal resource or giftbook, highly recommend. 4 CDs.

Never Get Lost Again!
Linda Grekin
RDR Books
1487 Glen Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49441
9781571431035, $14.95, www.rdrbooks.com

Getting lost is never fun. "Never Get Lost Again!: The Complete Guide to Improving Your Sense of Direction" is a guide to improving what some choose to believe is simply innate: one's sense of direction. With many tips and tricks about little things one can do to realize where one is and avoid wasting so much time getting lost, author Linda Grekin provides a service to those who more often than not are not on the right road. "Never Get Lost Again!" a strongly recommended read, whether for oneself or the perennially lost loved one.

Start Where You Are
Chris Gardner
Amistad Books
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10020
9780061537110, $26.99 www.amistadbooks.com

START WHERE YOU ARE: LIFE LESSONS IN GETTING FROM WHERE YOU ARE TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE ties keyword goals such as Independence and Confidence to lessons from life: case histories such as 'Sometimes You Gotta Give Up Christmas' and 'Core Strengths Forged on Your Anvil'. Basic common sense, practice, and listening to and learning from concepts form the foundation of an inspirational guide perfect for any general lending library - and very highly recommended.

Making the Good Life Last
Michael A. Schuler
Berrett-Koehler
235 Montgomery St., Suite 650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
9781576755709, $16.95 www.bk-life.com

MAKING THE GOOD LIFE LAST: FOUR KEYS TO SUSTAINABLE LIVING comes from the leader of the nation's largest Unitarian Universalist congregation and discusses short-term gratification, long-term denial, and the paths that lead to strong communities and restorative activities. Sustainability is promoted as a path to building core values, with chapters discussing four basic behavioral principles for living a sustainable lifestyle. Perfect for any library considering modern social issues and values.

Excuses, Begone!
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Hay House
Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
9781401921736, $24.95 www.hayhouse.com

EXCUSES, BEGONE! HOW TO CHANGE LIFELONG, SELF-DEFEATING THINKING HABITS shows how to promote change, offering a fine book compiling conscious and subconscious crutches used by nearly everyone. Learn how to apply specific questions to any excuse using a new way of thinking, promoted in an inspirational set of action-oriented routes to success. Both new age and general-interest libraries need this.


The Parenting Shelf

Raising Intuitive Children
Caron B. Goode & Tara Paterson
New Page Books
3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
Warwick Associates (publicity)
18340 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, CA 95476
9781601630513, $15.99, www.newpagebooks.com

Intuition is a powerful thing. "Raising Intuitive Children: Guide Your Children to Know and Trust Their Gifts" is a guide to nurturing intuition in a child so that they may better react to the world around them. Filled with tips and advice for parents who may not be so intuitive, "Raising Intuitive Children" is a fine and very much recommended read for parents.

Best Baby Products
Sandra Gordon
Consumer Reports
101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703
9781933524245, $16.95, www.consumerreports.org

Parents only want the best for their children. "Best Baby Products: The A to Z Guide to Everything You Need for Your Baby" is a guide from the well-known Consumer Reports magazine. Parents are commonly faced with huge amounts of products targeted toward their children, and it is tough to figure out what's good, what's bad, and what's dangerous. Any parent who wants to be a wise shopper needs "Best Baby Products".


The Genealogy Shelf

Census
Peter Christian & David Annal
The National Archives
c/o International Publishers Marketing Inc.
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
9781905615346, $29.95, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

The Census' records are an invaluable tool for those researching their past. "Census: The Expert Guide" presents a guide to using the census to its maximum extent in tracing one's own family history. Although "Census" hails from the United Kingdom and contains little actual census information itself, "Census" gives all the information one needs to maximize their time spent researching, making it ideal for readers of any country. For anyone who is going to research their history, "Census" is a must.

Social Networking for Genealogists
Drew Smith
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953
9780806317953, $18.95, www.genealogical.com

The Internet is a powerful tool for social networking. "Social Networking for Genealogists" is a guide for genealogists, be they professional or amateur, in using the internet to create a better social network to help them achieve their goals. Websites such as Wikipedia, Youtube, and others have done much for the family historian, but getting in contact with like minded folks can reap unexpected awards. "Social Networking for Genealogists" is a solid and very much recommended read for anyone who takes family history seriously.


The Human Sexuality Shelf

The East, The West, and Sex
Richard Bernstein
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9780375414091, $27.95 www.aaknopf.com

The East has always had allure for the West, and has offered a place where sexual pleasure is not necessarily associated with sin. Its different culture and perspectives have long offered Westerners morally ambiguous opportunities mostly unavailable at home. The region's erotic history is mapped in a survey of both individuals and nations, with a focus upon their interactions with Westerners. The result is a fine account for both college-level and general-interest collections.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

Essence of the Upanishads
Eknath Easwaran
Nilgiri
PO Box 256, 3600 Tomales Road, Tomales, CA 94971
9781586380366, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Every culture has its fables, and the Upanishads is one of India's most treasured. "Essence of the Upanishads: A Key to Spirituality" is a westerner's guide to this vitally important Indian text and its modern relevance to the Indian mindset and spirituality. "Essence of the Upanishads" is strongly suggested reading for anyone curious about Indian philosophy.

World Wisdom
1501 E. Hillside Dr., Bloomington, IN 47401
www.worldwisdom.com

Titus Burckhardt's FOUNDATIONS OF ORIENTAL ART & SYMBOLISM (9781933316727, $22.95) blends Oriental art history with cultural and spiritual insights, using Oriental art pieces to accompany important sacred writings selected from the Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist traditions. A lovely set of sacred art writings accompanied by these images makes this a fine pick for any spiritual collection. Brian Keeble's GOD & WORK: ASPECTS OF ART AND TRADITION (9781933316680, $19.95) surveys religion, prayer, and provides essays connecting work to spirituality. From connections between art and labor to the fruits resulting from dream states, GOD & WORK is a fine spiritual and literary consideration.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Big Five Of Africa
Gerald Hinde
Struik
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Dr, Dulles, VA 20166
www.internationalpubmarket.com
9781770071575, $20.00, www.amazon.com

Tourists viewing African wildlife thrill to see lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and water buffalos. Now, in professional wildlife photographer Gerald Hinde's "Big Five Of Africa", the armchair traveler is treated to 144 pages of full color photography showcasing these magnificent animals in their native habitats. The images are simply spectacular. An ideal gift for anyone who appreciates wildlife photography at its finest, "Big Five Of Africa" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community collections.

Chill Out Fido!
Nan Kene Arthur
Dogwise Publishing
403 S Mission St. Wenatchee, WA 98801
9781929242634, $15.95, www.dogwise.com

Dogs are not typically sedentary creatures, but they don't have to be hyperactive either. "Chill Out Fido! How to Calm Your Dog" is a guide for the dog owner who grows tired of their dog freaking out over daily things such as guests or the smell of meat. Advocating that these behaviors can be trained out of the dog, and offering tips to counteract or troubleshoot bad training, "Chill Out Fido!" is a practical dog training guide for any owner who wants to make their dog a more calm and lovable canine friend.

Moose of Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Henry H. Holdsworth
Far Country Press
PO Box 5630, Helena, MT 59604
9781560374923, $29.96, www.farcountrypresss.com

Majestic and enigmatic, moose are of wonder to many American animal lovers. "Moose of Yellowstone and Grand Teton" is a collection of photography and nature writing from Henry H. Holdsworth. The writing is descriptive and educational, and complemented by the gorgeous full color photographs on each page, nearly two hundred in number. "Moose of Yellowstone and Grand Teton" is of highly recommended status to animal and nature lovers.


The Gardening Shelf

Gaia's Garden
Toby Hemenway
Chelsea Green
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580298, $29.95 www.chelseagreen.com

GAIA'S GARDEN: A GUIDE TO HOME-SCALE PERMACULTURE appears in its second updated edition to include a new chapter on urban permaculture, designed for people with limited growing space. It shows how to work with nature for better results and more forgiving gardens, and tells how to build a habitat to conserve water, give benefit to insects and birds, and grow edible 'forests' of seasonal delights. Any library catering to homeowners and gardeners will find this a delightful approach.

Lone Star Wildflowers
Lashara J. Nieland & Willa F. Finley
Texas Tech University Press
PO Box 4103, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037
9780896726444, $29.95, www.ttup.ttu.edu

"Lone Star Wildflowers: A Guide to Texas Flowering Plants" is a look at the hidden world of Texas flowers and Texas' generally unknown natural beauties. With well over four hundred full color photographs displaying these marvels, "Lone Star Wildflowers" outlines the state's countless species of flora and is sure to give any gardener or flower enthusiast something to enjoy. "Lone Star Wildflowers" is something not to be missed.


The Money/Finance Shelf

The Little Book of Main Street Money
Jonathan Clements
John Wiley
c/o Wiley-Blackwell
10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
9780470473238, $19.95, www.amazon.com

Any consumer concerned about money issues, from managing college to retirement, will find The Little Book of Main Street Money an excellent reference. Wall Street is demystified, with common strategies for money management geared to general readers and based on the wisdom of Wall Street successes. Taxes, inflation concerns, and investing are all covered within a series of 21 'truths' about success, perfect for general lending libraries.

Financial Shock, second edition
Mark Zandi
FT Press
801 East 96h Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780137016631, $19.99, www.ftpress.com

America could be on its way to becoming a third world country. Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Financial Shock and Government Bailouts - How We Got Here and What Must Be Done to Fix It" is an economic guide explaining the current crisis from many angles to best inform readers about what's really going on in today's economy and what's being done to stop it. In some cases, what's being done might be enough, but in too many, it will not be. "Financial Shock" is of recommended reading to any who want a fuller understanding of one of today's biggest issues.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

House of Suns
Alastair Reynolds
Ace Books
c/o The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
9780441017171, $26.95, www.amazon.com

Six million years ago one Abigail fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones, sending them into the galaxy to document human empires. But her plan to have them regroup and exchange news changes when two of the clones fall in love and change their direction. Add a growing extinction threat and you have a riveting story, hard to put down and perfect for any general sci-fi library.

Postsingular
Rudy Rucker
TOR Books
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
0765318725, $15.95 www.tor-forge.com

A billionaire decides to unleash a human-changing nanotechnology upon the world - and life will never be the same again. In a world where people read minds and live concurrent virtual lives with intersecting worlds intervening, what will define humanity? POSTSINGULAR is a gripping story of what it means - or doesn't mean - to be human, and is fine for any science fiction collection strong in 'hard science' stories.

Overthrowing Heaven
Mark L. Van Name
Baen Books
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
1439132674, $25.00 www.baen.com

A kind favor to a woman trying to escape abuse turns into a nightmare when Jon and his intelligent assault vehicle are drawn into a conflict between private armies, government teams, and international rival superpowers. Science and high drama blend in an outstanding story of confrontation and survival, perfect for any science fiction lending library.


The Sports Shelf

Theology
John Frascella
Cambridge House Press
115 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001
9780981453699, $14.95, www.amazon.com

In a decision that was to stun the faithful fans of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, Theo Epstein, their young and dynamic general manager at the age of 32 resigned from the team just a year after leading them to their first World Series title in 86 years. In "Theology", sports writer and baseball fan John Frascella provides a fascinating account of a remarkable man and his equally remarkable decision. Of special note is the chapter focused upon Epstein's best and worst management decisions that allows the reader to evaluate and make their own judgments. Replete with entertaining anecdotes, insights, and more than a few 'behind the scenes' secrets, "Theology" is a riveting read and recommended for all baseball enthusiasts in general, and Boston Red Sox fans in particular!

Headlocks And Dropkicks
Ted A. Kluck
Praeger Publishers
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9780313354816, $39.95, www.amazon.com

From the legendary days of Gorgeous George down to today's World Wrestling Federation, professional wrestling is more entertainment that sports, more choreographed physical ballet that athletic contest, more morality play than sporting event. But the one true constant amidst the colorful costumes and the equally colorful characters has been the entertainment value for the audience which has remained loyal in booing the villains and cheering on the heroes. "Headlocks And Dropkicks: A Butt-Kicking Ride Through The World Of Professional Wrestling" by author and sports enthusiast Ted A. Kluck is a fascinating history and engaging personal account of pro-wrestling's background figures, center ring personalities, and day-to-day realities. Informed and informative, "Headlocks And Dropkicks" will prove to be a popular addition to academic and community library Sports & Athletics reference collections, and is especially commended to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in the colorful and raucous world of professional wrestling!

Satchel: Life and Times of an American Legend
Larry Tye
Random House
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9781400066513, $26.00, www.amazon.com

Any collection strong in American baseball history or black history will find SATCHEL a winning survey about an early player in the Negro League: Leroy 'Satchel' Paige. From his growth to become a star of the Negro Leagues to the overall integration of the sport of baseball, SATCHEL is a recommended winner for either specialty sports, black history or general lending libraries.

The Practical Cyclist
Chip Haynes
New Society Publishers
PO Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada
9780865716339, $14.95, www.newsociety.com

Bicycling can be a cheap way to get from place to place, and it can make one much healthier as well. "The Practical Cyclist: Bicycling for Real People" is a guide for the everyday person who wants to use their bike for exercise and transportation (and is not necessarily geared towards those who strive to be the next coming of Lance Armstrong). With plenty of tips and advice for those who want get back into biking even after decades have passed, "The Practical Cyclist" is a read many readers will embrace for fitness and the environment.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Murder on Waverly Place
Victoria Thompson
Berkeley Prime Crime
375 Hudson St, New York NY 10014
9780425227756, $24.95 www.penguin.com

This Victorian Gaslight mystery is perfect for any library strong in historic mystery settings. Here Sarah Brandt discovers a seance that leads to murder, involving Sarah in another Waverly Place mystery and scandal that threatens to take over the venue and involves her own mother. Outstanding protagonists lead to an incredible story of a daring sleuth's convoluted twists and turns.

The Weight of Stones
C. B. Forrest
RendezVous Crime
c/o Napoleon & Company
178 Willowdale Ave., Ste 201, Toronto, ON Canada M2N 4Y8
9781894917780, $15.95, www.napoleonandcompany.com

When you lose everything, you focus on what really matters to you, no matter what that is. "The Weight of Stones" tells the story of Detective Charlie McKelvey and the murder of his runaway son. Feeling responsible for exiling his son after harsh family discord, Charlie's life slowly goes out of control as he finds himself out of a job and supplied with a lot of free time to focus on what really matters - vengeance. A psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edges of their seats, "The Weight of Stones" is a solid and highly recommended read.


The Music Shelf

The Music Tech Dictionary
Mitch Gallagher
Course Technology
25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210
9781598635829, $24.99 www.courseptr.com

THE MUSIC TECH DIRECTORY should be in any serious music library: it offers a glossary of audio-related terms and technologies for audio pros, focusing on techniques, formats and terms common in the audio and music technology field. Look up music software or related terms and you'll find definitions often linked to diagrams, screen shots, and more. A top pick for any serious music library - and many a software reference collection.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Modern Masters Volume 19: Mike Ploog
Roger Ash & Eric Nolen-Weathington
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Dr, Raleigh, NC 27614
1605490075, $14.95 www.twomorrows.com

In the 1970s horror comics were big and Mike Ploog drew them better than anyone else. His artwork continues to adorn comics and this collection pairs a coverage of his life and achievements with a running interview and black and white cartoon examples and strips throughout. Any fan of fantasy art will readily recognize Ploog's name and will welcome this insightful coverage.

Collected Jack Kirby Collector, volume seven
Jack Kirby
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
9781605490120, $29.95 www.twomorrows.com

Any fan of comic book art knows about Jack Kirby - and this amazing seventh volume in the series offers a powerful set of black and white cartoon images from Kirby's vast works to supplement even more interviews and insights. Serious, all-encompassing comic libraries need this addition to an astoundingly complex series of achievements that are Jack Kirby's legacy.

Andrews McMeel
300 W. 57th St., New York NY 10019
www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Scott Adam's FREEDOM'S JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR PEOPLE FINDING OUT YOU'RE USELESS (0740778153, $12.99) provides another fine collection of Dilbert strips that cover business angst from red tape to new technologies. Dilbert appears in over 2,000 newspapers around the world: this collection is in color throughout and is a fine gathering of Dilbert's best new columns. Sandy Gingras' LESSONS OF A TURTLE (THE LITTLE BOOK OF LIFE) (0740778757, $9.99) provides a small book of cute little turtle drawings paired with 'life lessons', making for a fun gift. Where other affirmation books are serious, the whimsical little cartoon turtles invite rather than dictate, making this an excellent gift.


The World History Shelf

Abydos: Egypt's First Pharaohs And The Cult Of Osiris
David O'Connor
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500390306, $45.00, www.amazon.com

Every year that passes sees more and more contributions to our understanding of ancient Egypt through continuing archaeological discoveries. Drawing upon his more than forty years of experience and expertise in excavation and research at Abydos, David O'Connor (Professor of Ancient Egyptian Art, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University) presents a superbly organized and impressively illustrated history of this seminally important site positioned between the towering cliffs of the Egyptian high desert and the green agricultural floodplain of the Nile river where Egypt's ancient royalty were entombed and which became a major cult center for Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead. The culture, history, and archaeological discoveries superbly presented in "Abydos: Egypt's First Pharaohs And The Cult Of Osiris" are informed, informative, and thoroughly 'reader friendly'. A seminal contribution to academic library Egyptology reference collections, and especially recommended to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in the culture and history of ancient Egypt.

Bethsaida: Volume Four
Rami Arav
Truman State University Press
100 E. Normal Ave., Kirksville, MO 63501-4221
9781931112840, $35.00, www.tsup.truman.edu

Sites of ancient cities hold so many answers to the questions of the history of humanity. Volume four of the Bethsaida Excavations Project/Reports & Contextual Studies series, "Bethsaida: A City By the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee" outlines recent archeological finds surrounding this hotbed of ancient history. A new and updated volume, "Bethsaida" includes very recent finds from archeologists who visit this site yearly in order to uncover more knowledge about our ancestors. "Bethsaida" is a fascinating read for any who want to know more of humanity's roots.

Flight from Famine
Donald MacKay
Dundurn
2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150
9781554884186, $29.99, www.dundurn.com

America was not the only place Europeans looked to for salvation from the problems of the Old World. "Flight from Famine: The Coming of the Irish to Canada" tells the story of the Irish who came to the America's northern neighbor when the infamous potato famine wreaked havoc and starvation upon Ireland's population. An intriguing and comprehensive history, "Flight From Famine" is highly recommended for scholarly collections.

Fatal Journey
Peter C. Mancall
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780465005116, $26.95 www.basicbooks.com

FATAL JOURNEY: THE FINAL EXPEDITION OF HENRY HUDSON is a pick for both general lending libraries strong in popular history surveys and for college-level history collections. It tells of Arctic mutiny and murder and narrows the focus to the final voyage he made on his small ship. From his quest for a water route across North America to the truth of what happened between Hudson and his men as they became icebound in the far North, this is a riveting story.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

The Ecological Revolution
John Bellamy Foster
Monthly Review Press
146 West 29th Street, Suite 6W, New York, NY 10001
9781583671795, $17.95, www.monthlyreview.org

Humanity's wants and needs are often antagonistic to the environment's health. "The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet" discusses environmental and political concerns in the world today. Focusing on the politics of oil, and how the economic theories of major thinkers such as Karl Marx relate to the environment, author John Bellamy Foster offers readers much food for thought. "The Ecological Revolution" is a solid and intriguing read all the way through.

The Great Lakes Water Wars
Peter Annin
Island Press
1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009
9781559630870, $29.95, www.islandpress.com

Could the Great Lakes become something not so great? "The Great Lakes Water Wars" discusses the trouble that could be coming to the people of the Great Lakes soon, as unregulated water usage of its resources could drain the Great Lakes to virtual puddles. Telling the story of the environmental and legal battles spilling out over this subject, "The Great Lakes Water Wars" is a choice read, ideal for understanding the biggest threats to the Great Lakes today.


The Archaeology Shelf

The Archaeology Of Meaningful Places
Brenda J. Bowser & Maria Nieves Zedeno, editors
University of Utah Press
1795 East South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9402
www.uofupress.com
9780874808827, $30.00, www.amazon.com

Archaeology is primarily concerned with helping us to understand how people lived in former eras and diverse places around the world by excavating and interpreting the artifacts and other remnants of what they created as part of that life. That's why "The Archaeology Of Meaningful Places" compiled and co-edited by Brenda J. Bowser (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, California State University - Fullerton) and Maria Nieves Zedeno (Associate Research Anthropologist, Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology and Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Arizona), is the latest addition to the University of Utah Press series 'Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry' and features ten informed and informative articles focused on biographical, topographic, geopolitical, ideological, cosmological, and mnemonic aspects that are necessary to understanding the development of cultural networks in Mesoamerican and Greater Southwestern peoples. A seminal contribution to the growing field of scientific literature, "The Archaeology Of Meaningful Places" is especially recommended for professional and academic library Native American Archaeology and Anthropology reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Stones and Stories
Don C. Benjamin
Fortress Press
PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440
9780800623579, $39.00, www.fortresspress.com/benjamin

The Bible is not to be disregarded as a source for history, even for non-believers. "Stones and Stories: An Introduction to Archaeology and the Bible" discusses how archeologists have used the stories within the Bible to gain a greater and more complete understanding of human history. With plenty of photos and discussions of artifacts as well as a history of archeology in the Middle and Near Easts, "Stones and Stories" is of strong suggestion for any with a professional or amateur interest in archeology.


The Gaming Shelf

The Rifter #47
Alex Marciniszyn, editor
Palladium Books, Inc.
39074 Webb Court, Westland, MI 48185
www.palladiumbooks.com
9781574571448, $11.95, www.amazon.com

The Palladium role-gaming universe continues to be popular and to hold the loyalties of thousands of gaming fans and this forty-seventh issue of "The Rifter" continues to provide them with diverse source materials for a wide number of Palladium game settings with new module descriptions of heroes, powers, weapons, magic, and gaming adventure ideas. Ten experienced and expert gamers have contributed to this issue under the deft editor ship of Alex Marciniszyn. Also enhanced for dedicated Palladium players is the latest 'news and happenings' at Palladium including preview info on new gaming source books that are soon to be forthcoming. This 96-page edition of "The Rifter" is a highly recommended 'must' for active gamers and will aptly serve to enhance and expand their gaming experience.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Next Evangelicalism
Soong-Chan Rah
IVP Books
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
9780830833603, $ 15.00, www.books.ivpress.com

Christianity is a religion that spans many races and peoples, but why is it so divided against itself? "The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church From Western Cultural Captivity" is one man's call for a revolution in church going peoples to embrace the faith as a whole rather than a heavily divided assortment of faiths, with terms like 'black churches' and 'white churches'. Today's culture questions these self-segregated churches, and author Soong-Chan Rah encourages readers to embrace cultural change with their church. "The Next Evangelicalism" is a strong read for those who want to prepare their church for cultural transformation.

For God Alone
Bonnie Thurston
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
9780268042332, $18.00, www.undpress.nd.edu

Prayer is a powerful thing, even if it doesn't seem like it. "For God Alone: A Primer on Prayer" is a guide to prayer and its impact on Christians. Covering many methods and practices of prayer throughout Christianity, author Bonnie Thurston presents an intriguing and educational manual that is an excellent pick even for non-Christians trying to better understand prayer's significance. "For God Alone" is a very much recommended read.

Evolution And Mormonism
Trent D. Stephens & D. Jeffrey Meldrum
Signature Books
564 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
www.signaturebooks.com
9781560851424, $21.95, www.amazon.com

Explanations of how the world and the human race came into existence are to be found in every religion to have left a written record of its beliefs. Some stories trace from oral traditions which were ultimately recorded into sacred scriptures such as the creation story found in the Old Testament's Book of Genesis. In "Evolution And Mormonism: A Quest For Understanding", Trent D. Stephens (Professor of Anatomy and Embryology, Idaho State University) teams up with D. Jeffrey Meldrum (Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, Idaho State University), and with the assistance of Forrest B. Peterson (a professional author and film producer) review the scientific data with respect to the issue of evolution and the origin of man. Their perspective is that of the Mormon faith, and draw from LDS sacred scriptures such as the revelatory writings in the 'Pear of Great Price' which the authors feel are compatible with information drawn from such diverse sources as molecular biology and paleontology. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Evolution And Mormonism" is highly recommended reading, especially for those who seek to understanding evolution within the contextual framework of Mormon theology and doctrine.

The Apostolic Fathers
Mark Galli, foreword
Moody Press
820 North Lasalle Dr, Chicago, IL 60610
www.moody.edu
9780802456595, $8.99, www.amazon.com

Between the deaths of the apostles and the emerging dominance of the Roman popes, the Christian movement depended upon the sermons, writings, and correspondences of an intermediate group of church leaders. This group of pious men became known as the Apostolic Fathers and their writings, while not on the same status as the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, were still regarded with great respect by their contemporaries and their successors within the Christian movement. Now modern era Christians have an excellent English translation of seven key and primary documents with the new Moody Press edition of "The Apostolic Fathers". These writings include 1 Clement (a letter to the Church); 2 Clement (an early Christian sermon); Letters of Ignatius (correspondences written by a pastor on his way to Rome to be executed for his beliefs); Letter of Polycarp to the Phillipians (a letter to the Church at Philippi); The Martyrdom of Polycarp (the oldest surviving account of a martyrdom outside of the New Testament); and The Pastor of Herman (an early form of allegorical fiction along the lines of 'Pilgrim's Progress'). Of special note is the informed and informative introduction, historical background, and succinct descriptions of these writings in Mark Galli's deftly written foreword. "The Apostolic Fathers" is very highly recommended reading for theology students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in early Church history.

All Right Now
Timothy J. Geddert
Herald Press
616 Walnut Avenue, Scottsdale, PA 15683-1999
9780836194180, $16.99, www.amazon.com

People more than ever are growing apart in religion and worldview, and unless a leader brings them together, religion won't keep them united any longer. "All Right Now: Finding Consensus on Ethical Questions" is a guide for church leaders who seek to embrace a more united church despite their congregation's tendency to pull in all directions. Encouraging a middle way, and a church which doesn't control its members through rules but does not give them total freedom, "All Right Now" is an enlightened approach to church philosophy, and highly recommended.

Correspondences of the Bible: The Animals
John Worcester
Swedenborg Foundation Publishers
320 North Church Street, West Chester, PA 19380
9780877851127, $14.95, www.swedenborg.com

If there is one thing the Christian Holy Bible has in abundance, it is metaphor. "Correspondences of the Bible: The Animals" explores the animal kingdom, its strong significance throughout the Bible, and how the Bible used these animals to further the lesson it was trying to teach. Enhancing the deeper spiritual meaning of the holy book, "Correspondences of the Bible" is a collection to be enjoyed by theologians, be they professional of amateur.

Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest
Eric Shuster
Cedar Fort
2373 W. 700 S., Springville, UT 84663
9781599552576, $17.99, www.cedarfort.com

What makes someone leave Catholicism for Mormonism? "Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest: A Story of Conversion and 40 Comparative Doctrines" tells the story of how one family left their roots of Catholicism to embrace the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Telling their tale and comparing the major differences between the two religions, "Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest" is a must read for any who seek clarification between Catholicism and Mormonism.

Light for My Path
Bernardo Olivera
Cistercian Publications
Abbey of Gethsemani, 3642 Monks Road, Trappist, KY 40051
9780879070182, $19.95, www.litpress.org

God is everywhere and anywhere, ever with you. "Light for My Path: Spiritual Accompaniment" discusses God and spirituality in everyday life when dealing with a not-so spiritual world. Written by respected religious figure Dom Bernardo Olivera and expertly translated by Augustine Roberts, "Light for My Path" is a read that should be strongly considered by all Christians.

Hidden Holiness
Michael Plekon
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
9780268038939, $25.00, www.undpress.nd.edu

What is 'holiness', really? "Hidden Holiness" is a scholarly examination of what is holy in modern society, and calls for people to make their own judgments on what really matters in today's world. Could what is truly holy be hidden from the public eye, unbeknownst to many? Seeking to promote discussion of this topic, author Michael Plekon presents an intriguing examination of modern day holiness, making "Hidden Holiness" a highly valued read.


The Aviation Shelf

Orville's Aviators
John Carver Edwards
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786442270, $45.00, www.amazon.com

While the brothers Wilber and Orville Wright are famous for being responsible for the first manned airflight at Kittyhawk, what is not so well known is that afterwards they established the first aviator flight training school in the country. The Wright Brothers' School of Aviation was very active in Ohio from 1910 to 1916, training 113 men who shared their love of flying. The history of that flight school and the profiling of six of its graduates is the subject of "Orville's Aviators: Outstanding Alumni of the Wright Flying School, 1910-1916" by John Carver Edwards (University Archivist, University of Georgia). Here are the fascinating personal stories of Arthur L. Welsh (a Russian immigrant who rose to become Orville Wright's chief instructor); Howard Warfield Gill (heir to an international tea dynasty); Archibald Freeman (who flour-bag bombing of Boston Harbor resulted in his becoming an early exponent of the supremacy of air power in war); Grover Cleveland Bergdoll (whose promise as a pilot ultimately went unfulfilled); George A. Gray (whose wife joined him to become an aerial exhibition team); and Howard Max Rinehart (aerial mercenary, international racing competitor, Wright Brothers test pilot, South American explorer, and co-owner of one of America's premier air charter services). Informed and informative, deftly written and superbly documented, "Orville's Aviators" is a seminal work of superb scholarship and highly recommended for personal reading lists as well as academic and community library Aviation History reference collections.


The Military Shelf

MiG Killers
Donald J. McCarthy
Specialty Press
99 Spring Street, 3rd fl, NY, NY 10012
www.spibooks.com
9781580071369, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Military aviation expert and U.S. Air Force veteran Donald J. McCarthy has deftly written the first book to list all 202 MiG kills of the Vietnam War in chronological order. This roster includes MiGs downed by either U.S. Air Force or U.S. Navy combat aircraft. Informed and informative, this Vietnam military air combat history is replete with a profusion of both black-and-white as well as full color aircraft photography. Each aircraft citation includes serial number, tial code, perational unit, crew member names, call sign, and specific weaponry and tactics used for every MigK made from April 1965 though January 1973. A superbly documented military aviation history, "MiG Killers" is a seminal and very highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library reference collections and reading lists.


The American History Shelf

Ranch Gates Of The Southwest
Daniel M. Olsen & Hank Van Assen
Trinity University Press
One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212-7200
www.trinity.edu/tupress
9781595340382, $45.00, www.amazon.com

We've all seen them in Hollywood westerns. Established ranches had an entrance to the ranch house that typically carried the name of the ranch and usually included that particular ranch's branding icon. Now Daniel M. Olsen and Hank Van Assen have collaborated to published "Ranch Gates Of The Southwest", a compilation of beautifully photographed in full color images of a series of these ranch gates that adorn the entrance ways to ranches throughout the American southwest. These are ranches so large that this unique and colorful gateways give access to long and lonely roads with the ranch house not visible in the distance. Sometimes the gateway is a 'swing bar' barrier, sometimes it is a sign hanging from a pole, sometimes it's a simple ungated arch. Always it is a hauntingly beautiful image evoking a signature icon of the Old West that continues to this very day. "Ranch Gates Of The Southwest" is a wonderful and unique browse, making it an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library American Western History reference collections.

African Americans In The West
Douglas Flamming
ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9781598840025, $65.00, www.amazon.com

Not often taught in public school classes on American history is the fact that African Americans played a substantial role in the exploration and settling of the West. Beginning with runaway slaves who found refuge with Native American tribes, to post-Civil War immigration resulting in the founding of African American communities, to the rise of the cattle empires where fully one-third of all cowboys were black men. This last is particularly ironic when considering that the first few decades of Hollywood cowboy movies rarely, if ever, depicted a black man as a cowboy or ranch hand. Now the historical story of African American migration, settlement, and overall presence in the American West is presented in admirable detail in "African Americans In The West" by Douglas Flamming (Professor of History, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia). Part of the outstanding ABC-CLIO 'Cultures in the American West' series, "African Americans In The West" has as its primary focus an impressive history of African American involvement with western development from 1815 down to the present day. Of special note is the chapter on 'Historiography and Current Issues' which concludes this comprehensive and superbly written history. Enhanced with the inclusion of a chronology, a glossary, a selected bibliography, and an index, "African Americans In The West" is a seminal contribution to academic and community library African American Studies and American History reference collections, and commented to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in the role of African Americans in the settling of the west.

Slavery and Public History
James Oliver Horton & Lois E. Horton
The University of North Carolina Press
116 S. Boundary St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3808
9780807859162, $19.95, www.uncpress.unc.edu

Slavery was a great blemish on the history of the land of the free. "Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory" discusses slavery, how the topic is handled by American educators and historians to this day, and how the slavery's legacy should be managed. Many expert historians lend their own opinions to the matter, leading to a highly intriguing and entertaining read for American history enthusiasts. "Slavery and Public History" is a highly recommended pick for history readers everywhere.

Hatteras Island
Ray McAllister
John F. Blair Publisher
1406 Plaza Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27103
9780895873637, $13.95, www.blairpub.com

When you think of the iconic light house, you're thinking of Hatteras Island, whether you know it or not. "Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks" is an introduction to the story of Hatteras Island, the island with a famous history that stretches back to the earliest days of American colonization by the Europeans. Covering everything from lost colonies to famous catastrophes, "Hatteras Island" is of strong interest to any curious about northeastern nautical history.


The Railroading Shelf

American Passenger Trains And Locomotives Illustrated
Mark Wegman
Voyageur Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401
www.voyageurpress.com
9780760334751, $34.00, www.amazon.com

There was in this country a true 'Golden Age' of passenger rail service that stretched from coast to coast, border to border. It was a time of elegance, sophistication, and cutting edge technology. Now all this has been wonderfully captured for railroad buffs in "American Passenger Trains And Locomotives Illustrated" by lifelong railroading fan Mark Wegman. Organized into three major sections (1890s-1920s; 1930s; and 1940s-1950s), a visually descriptive history is provided for the major rail lines showcasing their famous (and in some cases, legendary) trains. Combining superbly produced paintings, with historical photos, period advertisements, and other railroading ephemera, "American Passenger Trains And Locomotives Illustrated" is informed, informative, a treat to simply browse through, and a very highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library American Railroading History reference collections and reading lists.


The Martial Arts Shelf

The Last Lama Warrior
Yogi Tchouzar Pa
Destiny books
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781594772856, $19.95, www.amazon.com

In the early 15th century, monks in the Kham region of Tibet created a martial art form they called Senguei Ngaro (the lion's roar), a body of martial arts techniques that have been passed down generation after generation until 1956 when the monastery was destroyed and the monks massacred by Chinese solders. The superior of the monastery, Lama Bui, was able to survive the holocaust and fled to the West where he taught Senguei Ngaro to Lama Tra, who in turn taught it to Yogi Tchouzar Pa, the author of "The Last Lama Warrior: The Secret Martial Art Of Tibet" and the last in a five hundred year lineage of Senguei Ngaro warrior monks. Part history, part instruction manual, part philosophical tome, "The Last Lama Warrior" is a fascinating, informed, and informative read which is strongly recommended for all dedicated studies of the martial arts in general, and Tibetan martial arts traditions and legacy in particular.


The Judicial Studies Shelf

Time Does Not Heal All Wounds
Kathleen Connelly Takats
Biographical Publishing Company
95 Sycamore Drive, Prospect, CT 06712-1493
9781929882472, $14.00, www.amazon.com

The state of California is in desperate financial straits. So desperate that there are releases of thousands of convicted felons before their sentences are served and completed in order to avoid the cost of their further incarceration. This is a phenomena of our times that is becoming more and more common all across the country. That's just one reason why "Time Does Not Heal All Wounds: How To Fight A Parole" by Kathleen Connelly Takats is so timely, so important, and so urgently recommended to the attention of anyone who has ever lost a loved one to a criminal, only to be confronted by that person's early release through the process of the parole. Kathleen writes with personal experience. John Duffy murdered her fifteen-year-old brother James in 1979. He was convicted of this homicide and sentenced to '20 years to life' in prison. She has worked tirelessly and effectively to insure that her brother's killer would not walk free but remain in prison for the rest of his life in payment for the life he had ended. "Time Does Not Heal All Wounds" is the story of her research, letter writing, and media involvement to deny Duffy a parole. Her story is also a practical and strongly recommended guide for others to achieve what she has been able to do -- insure that justice is not subverted, but is carried out to the letter of the law.


The Psychology Shelf

Culture and Panic Disorder
Devon E. Hinton & Byron J. Good
Stanford Unviersity Press
1450 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1124
9780804761093, $29.95, www.sup.org

Humanity is generally the same, but some cultures handle psychological problems differently. "Culture and Panic Disorder" explores how culture plays a major role in classifying many panic disorders that disparate societies deals with differently. Comparing many cultures and what some cultures view as panic disorder worthy where other cultures do not, "Culture and Panic Disorder" is an intriguing look at how much culture and society matter in the realm of mental health. "Culture and Panic Disorder" is a must read for any who want to better understand the human psyche on a global scale.


The Journalism Shelf

God and the Editor
Robert H. Phelps
Syracuse University Press
1600 Jamesville Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244-5160
0815609140, $29.95, www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu

No one would ever call the New York Times a religious newspaper. "God and the Editor: My Search for Meaning at the New York Times" is the memoir of Robert Phelps, focusing on his time as an editor for the New York Times where he served for nine years. As a man of faith, he tried to do his best to stay true to his religion while maintaining journalistic integrity. He encountered people of all sorts, and gives readers an inside look at the newspaper industry. "God and the Editor" is a highly entertaining and insightful read, recommended.


The Philosophy Shelf

Provoking Thought
Hugh Mercer Curtler
Florida Academic Press
PO Box 540, Gainesville, FL 36202-0540
9781890357238, $24.95, www.amazon.com

Name a topic, and there's a lot of thinking to do on it. "Provoking Thought" are the thoughts of author Hugh Mercer Curtler, a retired professor of philosophy as he practices his specialty on the world around him, giving his opinions and asking questions to the reader as well. "Provoking Thought" lives up to its title, and is a read to be highly considered.


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com


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