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Library Bookwatch

Volume 2, Number 4 April 2007 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Native American Shelf American History Shelf
Anthropology Shelf World History Shelf Science Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Genealogy Shelf
Buddhist Studies Shelf Philosophy Studies Shelf Archaeology Shelf
Music Shelf Library Video/DVD Shelf Art Shelf
Photography Shelf Audiobook Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Gardening Shelf Gaming Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Martial Arts Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Architecture Shelf
Library Science Shelf Education Shelf Christian Studies Shelf
Computer Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Military Shelf
Business Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf International Studies Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf
Crafts Shelf Graphic Novel Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

The Perfect Wedding Dress
Philip Delamore
Firefly Books
P.O. Box 1338, Ellicott Station, Buffalo, NY 14205
1554071305 $24.95 www.fireflybooks.com

The Perfect Wedding Dress is more than a history or consumer's survey: it packs a sourcebook of design ideas with inspirations for a made-to-measure gown, discussing body shapes, fabrics which work best for wedding dresses, and other kinds of options such as suits. Over 300 photos of modern brides display both vintage and contemporary choices, offering plenty of idea resources perfect for public library lending collections.

Women's Tales: Four Leading Israeli Jewelers
Davira Taragin and Alex Ward
Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
1555952704 $50.00 www.hudsonhills.com

WOMEN'S TALES is a 'must' acquisition for any serious, definitive college-level collection on jewelry history in general or Israeli women's studies in particular: it represents the first documentation of Israeli women jewelers and is a collaboration between the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin. As such, it accompanies a touring exhibition presenting four leading women jewelers' works, and packs in full-page color photos of pieces as well as biographical and artistic background essential to any thorough coverage of modern Israeli art.

Leadership: Theory and Practice
Peter G. Northhouse
Sage Publications
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
141294161X $51. 95 www.sagepublications.com

Written by professor of Communication Peter G. Northhouse, Leadership: Theory and Practice a solid guide written especially for students in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Management, Leadership, Education, Public Administration, Social Work, Psychology, Communication, and any other field that requires strong leadership and management qualities. Chapters cover trait-based, skill-based, style-based, and situational approaches to leadership, as well as leadership according to different cultural norms and much more. Now in a revised and expanded fourth edition with a two-color layout, an Instructor's Resources CD with PowerPoint slides, test banks, writing assignments, and chapter reviews, Leadership: Theory and Practice works superbly as a course supplement or as a self-teaching tool.

Inconvenient Stories
Jeffrey Wolin
Umbrage Editions
515 Canal Street, New York, NY 10013
1884167616, $40.00 www.umbragebooks.com 1-212-965-0197

Featuring an informative essay by Rod Stemmons (Director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography) and an Afterword by Senator Richard G. Lugar (U.S. Senator for Indiana), Jeffrey Wolin's "Inconvenient Stories: Vietnam War Veterans" pairs brief biographical sketches with full color photos of a series of Vietnam War veterans who endured the horrors of that divisive war and came home to a troubled America that wanted to forget that national tragedy and the men who fought it out in our name. What the reader is so aptly presented are small, personalized snap-shots of a long-lost conflict – but one that has resonating lessons whose suppression or wilful disregard has led us into continued military quagmires that are today giving birth to a new generation of veterans. "Inconvenient Stories: Vietnam War Veterans" is important, informative, and timely reading – telling stories that should not be forgotten so that contemporary conflicts and future military engagements and their aftermath be taken with a great deal more candor, national discussion, and competency that was the Vietnam War.

Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.nolo.com

These important new titles are top reference picks any serious library should have. While some of their information is held in other books, the advantage here is a format easier to use than most, packed with authoritative detail from authors who are professionals, and in a reference designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. Tax attorney Frederick W. Daily provides the 10th updated edition of TAX SAVVY FOR SMALL BUSINESS (1413305296, $36.99), which packs in the latest tax updates and details on deductions, ownership structures, IRS bookkeeping requirements, and more. It combines a complete strategy approach with insights no business, whether big, medium or small, can afford to miss. For instruction on reference software choose Shae Irving, J.D.'s edited QUICKEN WILLMAKER PLUS 2007 (141330527X, $49.99), blending an interactive cd-rom with tips on how to create customized legal documents without having to learn the legal jargon associated with them. The cd-rom works well with a book covering everything from legal wills and powers of attorney to finance managing and powers of attorney. DEEDS FOR CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE by Mary Randolph, J.D. (1413306217, $27.99) is another excellent updated guide: this to choosing the right kind of deed, creating it, then filing it with a county recorder. Step-by-step instructions for so doing have been updated in this latest 7th edition to include the latest forms and reflect the most recent legal changes. Reference libraries will find these popular lends while many a consumer won't want to be without them.


The Native American Shelf

The Spokane Indians: Children of the Sun
Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
0806137614 $24.95 www.oupress.com 1-800-627-7377

Now in an expanded edition featuring a new foreword and introduction (the original foreword and introduction are also present), The Spokane Indians: Children of the Sun is a studious account of the tribal history of the Spokane Indians, from well before the arrival of white settlers and fur traders to twentieth-century developments such as the discovery of uranium on Spokane territory and belated efforts of the government and private citizens to amend the wrongs of the past. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this extensively researched chronicle, accessible to both scholars and lay readers. Highly recommended for both Native American history and reference shelves.

Indians in Minnesota
Kathy Davis Graves & Elizabeth Ebbott
University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
0816627339 $19.95 www.upress.umn.edu

Research report writer Kathy Davis Graves contributed to the creation of an up-to-date fifth edition of Elizabeth Ebott's solid reference, Indians in Minnesota, a fact-filled reference guide for researchers and professionals of all walks who need to twenty-first century demographics concerning Minnesota's Native American population of more than fifty-four thousand. Indians in Minnesota draws from hundreds of interviews from tribal members, data from the 2000 Minnesota Census, federal and state reports, and more. Covering both historical and contemporary understand of Minnesota's Native Americans, living on and off reservations, and addressing the significant changes and challenges of the twenty-first century, Indians of Minnesota is a highly accessible, informative, and insightful compendium. "With tribes rapidly increasing their powers and abilities to control their own environments, it is important that non-Indians understand and accept differing views of how to deal with natural resources. As one Indian leader said, 'We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we rent it from our children.'"

Let Them Eat Grass Volume One: Smoke
John Koblas
North Star Press of St. Could, Inc.
PO Box 451, St. Cloud, Minnesota 56302
0878392386 $16.95 www.northstarpress.com 1-888-820-1636

Let Them Eat Grass The 1862 Sioux Uprising in Minnesota Volume One: Smoke is the first of a three-volume history of Indian wars in the state of Minnesota. Smoke explores the treaties made between the United States government and Indian nations, and dissects at length why and how these treaties failed, as well as both sides' failure to understand fundamental differences in culture. Another social dynamic inspected at length is how politicians in Washington, D.C. were pressured to open lands to settlers, luring them to break treaties - sometimes almost as soon as the treaties were made. Smoke smoothly and effectively explains the impasse that would lead to war, drawing extensively upon primary sources. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this effective, informational, and at times utterly foreboding history of the preconditions for war.


The American History Shelf

Savage Frontier Volume III 1840-1841
Stephen L. Moore
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203
1574412280 $34.95 www.unt.edu/untpress

Texan and military historian Stephen L. Moore presents Savage Frontier: Rangers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas Volume III 1840-1841, the latest volume of in-depth scrutiny of Texas warfare. In 1840-1841, Commanche Indians were the Texan settlers' greatest rivals; the collapse of San Antonio peace negotiations led to what would become know as the "Great Commanche Raid" of 1840, and the Battle of Plum Creek. In addition to a close study of the battles waged and their results, Savage Frontier Volume III also explores changes in local military technology, such as the building of a military road roughly parallel to today's Interstate 35 and the adoption of the Colt Repeating Pistol by the Texas Rangers. A highly accessible and captivating volume, enthusiastically recommended for libraries and Texas history buffs alike, along with "Savage Frontier Volume I 1835-1837" and "Savage Frontier Volume II 1838-1839".


The Anthropology Shelf

Signs of the Casas Grandes Shamans
Christine S. Vanpool and Todd L. Vanpool
University of Utah Press
1795 East South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9402
087480874X $35.00 www.uofupress.com 1-800-773-6672

Anthropology professors Christine S. Vanpool and Todd L. Vanpool present Signs of the Casas Grandes Shamans, a scholarly evaluation of artifacts of a religious system that flourished in what is now northern Mexico and the southern United States between AD 1200 and 1450. Casas Grandes, or Paquime, in northern Chihuahua, Mexico was the home of this faith, expressed in stunning polychrome pots with black and red geometric and naturalistic designs, and a cream base. These exceptional pottery artifacts offer insight into Casas Grandes cosmology, revealing a shaman-centric religion. Shamans called to horned serpents to bring rain; dealt with snakes; and raised, sacrificed, and interred macaws as ritual offerings to perpetuate water and fertility. Black-and-white photographs of recovered artifacts and diagrams of ancient artworks illustrate this scholarly evaluation of protohistoric art, culture, symbolism, and faith. Highly recommended especially for anthropology and archaeology shelves.


The World History Shelf

Poverty in World History
Steven M. Beaudoin
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
0415254590 $19.95 www.routledge.com 1-800-634-7064

Written by Steven M. Beaudoin (Associate Professor of History, Centre College, Kentucky), Poverty in World History is a scholarly, serious-minded examination of one of human civilization's most enduring social problems. Applying particular focus upon the era from 1500 A.D. to the modern day, Poverty in World History scrutinizes the global economic issues affecting poverty, with particular emphasis upon globalization as the key to understanding poverty throughout world history. Chapters discuss innovations in early modern poverty relief, the interplay between poverty, morality, and the state, the recent Green Revolution (the creation of new hybrid strains of rice and wheat that have effectively tripled food production worldwide) and the resulting shift in relative poverty levels from starvation-poverty to severe-yet-less-mortal circumstances most of today's poor live in, and much more. Highly recommended, and an absolute "must-read" for social scientists and anyone curious about the dynamic underpinning mechanisms of global inequality.

World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia
Cyprian P. Blamires
ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
1576079406 $185.00/set www.abc-clio.com

It's easy to look at fascist Italy or Nazi Germany and identify these nations as the sole source of fascist thinking – but fascism has influenced Western Europe beyond and between the major wars and appeals to various groups to this day. WORLD FASCISM: A HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA probes the ideology's contentions, nationalist forces, leaders, doctrines, and key events with 500 A-Z reference entries of contributions from an international staff of over 100 experts on history and fascism. It will find a place in any serious high school to college-level reference collection.


The Science Shelf

The Making of the Fittest
Sean B. Carroll
W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
500 – 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
0393061639 $25.95 www.wwnorton.com

THE MAKING OF THE FITTEST: DNA AND THE ULTIMATE FORENSIC RECORD OF EVOLUTION explores a different dimension of DNA: as a record of how species adapt and change. Both public libraries strong in scientific investigation and adventure and high school to college-level holdings on genetics will find here a lively survey of the discovery of fossil genes and DNA 'prints' which carry on from bacteria to whales. Sean B. Carroll is a professor of genetics and his DNA survey will enlighten and excite a wide audience.

Kennedy Space Center: Gateway to Space
David West Reynolds
Firefly Books Limited
155 East 34th Street Suite 5B, New York NY 10016
1554070392 $40.00 www.fireflybooks.com

NASA's Kennedy Space Center is the gateway to the stars for U.S. space efforts, and there's no better person to explore its history than an author who is an expert on space and space exploration. It's the only complete history of the Center and provides armchair readers with a complete tour of Center history, operations, and launch efforts. The mission-by-mission coverage leaves out nothing.

Epigenetics
C. David Allis, Thomas Jenuwein, & Danny Reinberg, editors
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
500 Sunnyside Boulevard, Woodbury, NY 11797-2924
0879697245 $150.00 www.cshlpress.com

Epigenetics is a scientific textbook written to teach advanced undergraduate and graduate college students about epigenetic mechanisms, which regulate gene expression in many biological processes. Chapters cover histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, DNA methylation, siRNAs and gene silencing, X-chromosome inactivation, epigenetics in microbes, plants, insects and mammals, and much more. An in-depth, scholarly, and informative instructional reference, interspersed with occasional color photographs and diagrams, featuring an extensive list of references and a general summary at the end of each chapter to aid comprehension. An invaluable educational tool for specialized college science courses, as well as for professionals in the field of biology seeking to sharpen their understanding of modern epigenetics.

Roadside Geology of Colorado
Halka Chronic and Felicie Williams
Mountain Press Publishing Company
PO Box 2399, Missoula, Montana 59806
0878424474 $20.00 www.mountain-press.com 1-800-234-5308

Intended especially for travelers and vacationers interested in taking in Colorado's geological sites, yet accessible to budding geologists everywhere, Roadside Geology of Colorado is now in an updated second edition with new tours of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and much more. Written in nontechnical terminology for lay readers, and featuring numerous two-color maps and black-and-white photographs, Roadside Geology of Colorado is filled cover to cover with eye-opening driving tours. A glossary and index round out this excellent traveling companion for anyone interested in observing the natural rocky beauty of Colorado firsthand.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Estonian Animation
Chris Robinson
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
0861966678 $24.95 www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796

Estonian Animation: Between Genius & Utter Illiteracy is a one-of-a-kind, extensively researched examination of Estonia's acclaimed animation scene from the first 1930's experiments to the creation of puppet and cel animation studios during the Soviet era to Estonian animation's amazing international success during the post-Soviet era. Estonian Animation is especially noteworthy for its inclusion of the recent discovery of films by four 1960's animation pioneers previously unknown to both Estonian and international animation historians. Black-and-white as well as full color photographs and screenshots illustrate this conversational, smoothly narrated history, accessible to animation fans of all backgrounds. Enthusiastically recommended for international animation cinema buffs.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

The Secret Bible
Joseph R. Rosenbloom
Atlas Books
30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805
0976659956, $19.90 www.atlasbooks.com 1-800-BOOKLOG

Joseph Rosenbloom was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 1954 and served congregations in St. Louis and Lexington. He retired from Temple Emanuel in St. Louis in 2003 and is now their rabbi emeritus and senior scholar. Rabbi Rosenbloom brings a very special expertise to "The Secret Bible: A Secular Approach To The Bible" in his 192-page examination of the traditions comprising the Hebrew Bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament). His principle thesis is that these traditions were, in their original form, basically secular. It was much later, when the existence of the Jewish people was threatened, the texts that made up the Hebrew Bible were 'religionized', that is, when they were seen as stories and histories that had a single, all-powerful deity with a unique and special relationship with the Jewish people. Many of the legal codes of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible are secular. The stories of the first Hebrews and comprising the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) are basically secular accounts of families and their problems. The religious elements were added later in the history of the Israelites. "The Secret Bible" reveals that the secular nature of the Hebrew Bible will make it more accessible and of value to readers who do not accept God as the author of history and in control of nature. Articulate, well-reasoned, informed and informative, "The Secret Bible" is highly recommended and provocative reading for students of Judaism, Christianity, Humanism, Religion, and History.


The Genealogy Shelf

Map Guide To The U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920
William Thorndale & William Dollarhide
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211
#5786, $49.95 www.genealogical.com 1-800-296-6687

The collaborative work of William Thorndale and William Dollarhide, "Map Guide To The U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920" shows all of the United States county boundaries from 1790 to 1920 by superimposing old county lines over modern ones to highlight boundary changes at ten-year intervals. Enhanced with the inclusion of more than 400 maps and originally published in 1992, this new 2005, 445-page, reprinted edition of "Map Guide To The U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920" by the Genealogical Publishing Company is a strongly recommended addition to the reference collections of professional and family genealogists, as well as a core and essential reference for academic libraries, as well as regional, and national genealogy societies.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

The Essential Shinran
Alfred Bloom, editor
World Wisdom
1501 East Hillside Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401
1933316217 $22.95 www.worldwisdom.com

Edited by Alfred Bloom, one of only a few Shin Buddhist scholars based in the United States, The Essential Shinran: A Buddhist Path of True Entrusting is a selection of core writings by Shinran (1173-1262 C.E.), the founder of the of the Jodo Shinshu Pure Land tradition of Buddhism in Japan, which eventually became the largest Buddhist sect in the nation. The Essential Shinran also includes background information about Shinran's life and spiritual legacy, the better to facilitate understanding of his texts. Extensive notes reflect the copious effort to make the fundamentals of Shin Buddhism as taught by the originator accessible to readers of all backgrounds. A glossary, select bibliography, and index of selections round out this excellent "must-read" primer recommended for anyone interested understanding in the fundamentals of Shin Buddhism.


The Philosophy Shelf

South Park and Philosophy
Robert Arp, editor
Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014-8300
1405161604 $17.95 www.blackwellpublishing.com 1-800-216-2522

Edited by philosophy instructor Robert Arp, South Park and Philosophy is a collection of surprisingly scholarly essays by diverse authors applying intermediate to advanced philosophical scrutiny to the crudely humorous, irreverently satirical, often vulgar yet wildly popular animated series "South Park". From the sexuality issues involved in portraying Satan and Saddam Hussein as a gay couple, to the existential connotations of Kenny's horrific death in virtually every episode, to the debate as to whether feminist thinkers should be able to enjoy the show despite some of its admittedly misogynistic characters, South Park and Philosophy reveals insights not readily apparent into the surprisingly deep social commentary hidden beneath the uncountable jokes about excrement. Recommended for South Park interested in contemplating the more serious and complex side of the seemingly plebeian and sidesplittingly funny show.


The Archaeology Shelf

Dragon Sea
Frank Pope
Harcourt
15 East 26th Street, New York NY 10010
0151012075 $25.00 www.harcourtbooks.com

DRAGON SEA: A TRUE TALE OF TREASURE, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND GREED OFF THE COAST OF VIETNAM comes from an archaeologist dubbed the 'Indiana Jones of the Deep' by popular TV, who teamed up with a financier to salvage sunken treasure in Vietnam's Dragon Sea. No small venture, this required a fleet of ships and a crew of 160: their efforts would not only result in success but would change thinking about Vietnamese arts. Readers needn't be archaeology students to appreciate this: epic action and adventure reads with the drama of fiction but includes all facts – including insights on Vietnamese culture and arts – making it a top pick for a wide range of collections.

Great Basin Rock Art
Angus R. Quinlan, Ph.D., editor
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 166, Reno, NV, 89557-0076
0874176964 $39.95 1-877-682-6657

Edited by Angus R. Quinlan, Ph.D. (deputy director of the Nevada Rock Art Foundation), Great Basin Rock Art: Archaeological Perspectives is an anthology of essays by learned authors concerning some of the most ancient cultural and artistic relics known to humankind. Topics include petroglyph dating, native and anthropological interpretations of cultural identity, a gender-inclusive view of the social context of rock art, and much more. A handful of black-and-white photographs and diagrams illustrate this scholarly, in-depth scrutiny and hypothesis of what rock art has to tell us of prehistoric culture.


The Music Shelf

The Great Drummers of R&B, Funk & Soul
Jim Payne
Mel Bay Publications
PO Box 66, Pacific, MO 63069
0786673036, $19.95 www.melbay.com 1-800-863-5229

As told by the drummers themselves, "The Great Drummers of R&B, Funk & Soul" is an illustrated history of their lives and their bands as compiled, organized and edited by author and music authority Jim Payne. Their stories are told through the means of interviews, biographical sketches, discographies, and historic photos. Among the featured drummers are Earl Palmer, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, Roger Hawkins, Al Jackson Jr., Greg Errico, Maurice White, and Ray Torres. Enhanced with an impressive bibliography and a comprehensive index, "The Great Drummers of R&B, Funk & Soul" is a 247-page compendium of invaluable, inherently fascinating, informed and informative information that will appeal as 'must reading' for anyone who has every thrilled to the music and performances of Little Richard; Fats Domino; James Brown; Wilson Pickett; Aretha Franklin; Otis Redding; Booker T & the Mgs; Tower of Power; Sly & the Family Stone; Earth, Wind & Fire. "The Great Drummers of R&B, Funk & Soul" is a core addition to personal, academic, and community library 20th Century American Music History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

A New History of Jazz
Alyn Shipton
Continuum
c/o T&T Clark and Reference
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038
0826417892 $35.00 www.continuumbooks.com 1-800-561-7704

Now in a newly revised and updated edition, A New History of Jazz is the award-winning chronicle of the evolution of this widely beloved form of music, as told by music author, publisher, editor, and critic Alyn Shipton. From the precursors to the first jazz tunes, to variations regional styles, to the "big picture" of the jazz scene that is so easily lost amid tracing its popularity in underground clubs, to the unique and colorful individuals who espoused jazz, to the migration of jazz worldwide, A New History of Jazz strives above all to be comprehensive in its chronicling. Written in a highly detailed yet accessible tone, A New History of Jazz will prove as invaluable to curious lay readers and music scholars alike. Especially recommended for college library and music history shelves.


The Library Video/DVD Shelf

Obesity in a Bottle
Learning Zone Xpress
PO Box 1022, Owatonna, MN 55060
1571753249 $79.95 www.learningzonexpress.com

Obesity in a Bottle: Understanding Liquid Calories & Nutrition is an educational DVD with teaching materials, instructing young people about the deceptive nature of calorie-laden beverages. Hosted by a registered dietician, Obesity in a Bottle covers the effects of beverages on weight gain, increasing beverage sizes, the harm that can be caused by diet sodas as well as sugar-laden regular sodas, an analytical comparison of sports and energy drinks, nutritional breakdowns of popular beverages, the benefits of drinking water, and much more. Featuring a theme-park setting and a fast-paced, teen-friendly delivery, Obesity in a Bottle is enthusiastically recommended for public and private educational programs, especially given modern-day America's rising obesity rates. Highly recommended for viewers from grade 5 to adult. 21 minutes, color, closed captioned.

Soul Sweat
Chantal Pierrat
Sounds True Audio
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
159179532X $19.98 www.soundstrue.com 1-800-333-9185

Soul Sweat is an interactive dance workout DVD featuring choreographed exercise to a "world groove" soundtrack from Vargo, Shaman's Dream, One at Last, Bob Holroyd, and more. The dance steps build coordination, body toning, and stamina; Soul Sweat is a total experience that promotes not only fitness, but also self-expression and sensuality. Soul Sweat includes a 45-minute "Deep Sweat" workout with warmup, high-intensity cardio, and cool-down exercise; a 30-minute "Quick Sweat" workout with emphasis on high-voltage cardio; and a tutorial section that breaks down the 26 foundational moves into easy-to-learn steps. A wonderfully exciting, fun, and graceful supplement to personal workout and fitness DVD libraries.

Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius
WGBH
c/o SSA Public Relations
148 Madison Avenue, 16th floor PH-1, New York, NY 10016
1593756828 $19.95 1-877-807-2622

Featuring Tony Award-winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius is a DVD biography of a truly exceptional American scientist, humanitarian, and self-made millionaire. The grandson of Alabama slaves, Percy Julian shattered the color barrier in science over a decade before Jackie Robinson did in baseball. Julian discovered how to transform soybeans into synthetic steroids on an industrial scale, and helped to make modern medical drugs like cortisone available to patients. Originally shown as part of the public television series NOVA, Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius is a vivid and enlightening documentary featuring period reenactments and drawing heavily from family archives and dozens of interviews with Julian's colleagues and relatives. Highly recommended for school, library, and private DVD collections alike. 112 minutes, color.

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
Peter Novak, director
Gallaudet University Press
800 Florida Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002-3695
1563683547 $24.95 http://gupress.gallaudet.edu 1-800-621-2736

William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a DVD theater production of Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy especially for deaf and hearing-impaired viewers. Featuring an American Sign Language performance with a stellar cast including deaf actors Adrian Blue, Peter Cook, Robert DeMayo, Monique Holt, and Jackie Roth, optional captions, and a lively English voice-over track for accessability to hearing audiences, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is a singularly expressive and vivacious presentation. A "must-see" Shakespeare experience for ASL users everywhere. 131 minutes, color.

What We Want, What We Believe
Roz Payne Archives & Newsreel Films
AK Press
674-A 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612-1163
DVD $37.95 www.akpress.org

What We Want, What We Believe: The Black Panther Party Library is a 4-DVD collection of over twelve hours of rare footage documenting the Black Panther movement. Contents include films taken by Newsreel film collective, interviews with Field Marshall Donald Cox, footage from the 35th Anniversary Reunion, interviews with former FBI agents, footage from the Wheelock Academic Conference on the Black Panther Party, interviews with various movement lawyers discussing Panther cases, interviews with Newsreel members, DVD-ROM documents from the Roz Payne "Archives chronicling the movement and repression against it, and more. Though unquestionably sympathetic to the Panthers' perspective, What We Want, What We Believe contains a great wealth of invaluable historic footage and is therefore especially recommended for college library DVD collections. 720 minutes, black & white and color.

Home of the Brave
Bullfrog Films, Inc.
PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547
1594582432 $295.00 www.bullfrogfilms.com 1-800-543-3764

Home of the Brave is a VHS documentary scrutinizing the case of Viola Liuzzo, the only white woman murdered in the Civil Rights Movement. A 39-year-old mother of five from Detriot who joined the historic Voting Rights March in 1965, she was shot in the head shortly after the march ended by a car of Klansmen, while driving on a deserted highway. J. Edgar Hoover immediately responded with a vicious smear campaign to distract attention from the fact that a key FBI informant was in the car with Liuzzo's killers. Home of the Brave tells Liuzzo's tale through the eyes of her children, and strives to restore the credit due to her for her role in history and her personal sacrifice. Highly recommended especially for public, college, and high school library collections. 75 minutes.

DanceX Everybody's Workout: Total Body Cardio
DanceXFitness
c/o Brickman Marketing
395 Del Monte Center, Suite 250, Monterey, CA 93940
$19.95 www.danceXfitness.com

DanceX Everybody's Workout: Total Body Cardio is an energetic DVD workout that blends fitness and fun. Low-impact dance moves such as the Hitch Hike, Twist, Disco Roll, John Travolta Point, Hug Me/Hold Me, and Irish Kicks. The easy-to-follow routine is perfect for fitness buffs of all ages and experience levels. DanceX Everybody's Workout includes the core workout program, nutrition tips for improving health, an 8-minute abs workout, and much more. An invigorating supplement to DVD exercise collections. 58 minutes, color.

The Art of Baroque Dance: Folies d'Espagne from Page to Stage
Les Cavatines & Natalie van Parys
Dancetime! Publications
PO Box 845, Kentfield, CA 94914
Brickman Marketing (publicity)
395 Del Monte Center, Suite 250, Monterey, CA 93940
$39.95 www.dancetimepublications.com

Produced in France and featuring both English and French audio tracks, The Art of Baroque Dance: Folies d'Espagne from Page to Stage is a stellar survey of the nuances of traditional 17th century dance, as it has been preserved and practiced up to the modern day. Historical and architectural images intersperse this wondrously informative examination of Baroque dance notation, treatment of space, arm embellishments, relation to music, and interpretation of the dancer. Director and choreographer Natalie Van Parys applies her years of experience in Baroque dance companies in this one-of-a-kind DVD presentation enthusiastically recommended for anyone interested in the rich cultural history of Baroque dance. 45 minutes, color.

Razor Fitness
Razor Digital Entertainment
12031 Ventura Blvd., Suite #3, Studio City, CA 91406
411 Video Information (publicity)
PO Box 1223, Pebble Beach, CA 93953

Hosted by pilates expert Jennifer Kries, The "Hot Body Cool Mind" DVD series emphasizes mental and physical fitness in workout routines that combine elements of yoga, pilates, and dance into an energy building whole. Both are suitable workouts for viewers of all ages and athletic abilities. Hot Body Cool Mind: Waking Energy (1595523588, $19.99, 130 minutes) allows the viewer to tailor the workout to the amount of time he or she has to spare; from a variety of different 10-minute total body-toning workouts to the entire rhythmic waking energy flow routine. Additional exercises include muscle-soothing Chi-Gong, Yin Yoga and Meditation, and simple techniques with inexpensive exercise equipment such as the PhysioBall and Magic Circle. Hot Body Cool Mind: Level 1 (1595523510, $19.99, 150 minutes) includes moves from cardio-jazz, ballet, and vinyasa yoga in its enthusiastic routines to promote flexibility, core strength, stamina, and grace. Yet the adaptability of the exercise routines remains, in five "on the go" workouts that are 10 or 20 minutes each supplementing the full Life Force Power Workout. Both are welcome additions to personal exercise collections and sure to promote improved fitness, health, and zest for life.

First Run Features
The Film Center Building
630 Ninth Ave., Suite 1213, NY, NY 10036
www.firstrunfeatures.com 1-800-229-8575

First Run Features presents DVDs of two of director Claude Chabrol's most suspenseful thrillers, both in French with English subtitles. The Bridesmaid ($29.95, 110 minutes) is a love story turned hideously dark, when a young man discovers that the woman he adores is shrouded in mystery, and she asks him to perform a horrific deed as proof of his love for her. Extras include a documentary of Chabrol's work directing the film, a director interview, and a photo gallery. Merci Pour Le Chocolat ($24.95, 99 min. letterbox) spins a number of intricate plots; set in Switzerland amid well-to-do French-Swiss elite, it follows a married couple who profit from a chocolate business, and the lies and hidden secrets that come revealed between them when a beautiful young woman unexpectedly appears and transforms everything. A sly, delectable adventure of murder, deceit, and the human appetite for corruption. Both are intriguing and welcome additions to foreign film libraries.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
Fair Winds Press
c/o 411 Video Information (publicity)
PO Box 1223, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
1592332285 $24.99 www.411videoinfo.com

Nutritionist Jonny Bowden presents The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, a guide for readers of all backgrounds that does not shy away from controversy. From why milk-off-the-supermarket-shelf is questionable (pasteurization destroys many nutrients, plus factory farmed cattle tend to be fed unhealthy diets with massive doses of antibiotics) to the value of blueberries as a memory-promoting food to the antioxidant properties of peanuts, and healthy foods such as Goji berries that readers may be unfamiliar with, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth is sure to dispel common misconceptions and encourage better food choices and eating habits. The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth is not a vegan or vegetarian book, as it promotes the value of eggs, grass-fed beef, and certain types of seafood, but the majority of ingredients listed are fruits or vegetables. Full-color photographs and a frank discussion of food controversies - including those for which there is not enough evidence to support proof one way or the other - round out this practical and solidly honest guide. Highly recommended.


The Art Shelf

The Jesuits And The Arts: 1540-1773
John W. O'Malley, SJ, et al.
Saint Joseph's University Press
3600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
0916101525, $70.00 www.sju.edu/sjupress

Meticulously compiled and deftly edited by the team of John W. O'Malley, SJ (Distinguished Professor of Church History at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts), Gauvin Alexander Bailey (Associate Professor of Renaissance and Baroque Art at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts), and Giovanni Sale, SJ (Direct of the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome, Italy), "The Jesuits And The Arts: 1540-1773" is a beautifully illustrated historical survey of the Jesuit's artistic enterprise in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia from the foundation os the Society of Jesus in 1540 to its suppression in 1773. Of special note is John O'Malley's introductory essay "The Cultural Mission of the Society of Jesus" which lays the Jesuit involvement with the arts in historical perspective. A second essay describes the tension between the Jesuits and Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (the imperious patron of Gesu – the Jesuit's most important church in Rome). Richard Bossel provides an informed and informative architectural tour of Jesuit churches, chapels, schools, residences, and meeting halls throughout Europe. Gauvin Baily provides a wealth of information on the influence of Italian painting upon Jesuit art. Heinrich Peiffer discusses Jesuit iconography. An important and core addition to academic library Art History and Jesuit Studies reference collections, "The Jesuits And The Arts: 1540-1773" is an impressive compendium of erudite scholarship that is as accessible to the non-specialist general reader with an interest in art history, as it is of seminal value to students of Jesuit history and their influence on Catholic church art and architecture.

An Introduction to Painting Landscapes
Ted Gould
Chartwell Books, Inc.
c/o Book Sales, Inc.
114 Northfield Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837
0785803939 $12.90 www.amazon.com

Practicing artist and tutor Ted Gould presents An Introduction to Painting Landscapes is an instructional and practical guide for artists of all experience levels, though familiarity with the most basic fundamentals of art is presumed. Chapters cover the materials and equipment needed, basic painting techniques for different media, sketching, handling the complexities of color and light, issues of composition, and more. Full color illustrations on every page walk the reader through the creation process, and give examples of techniques discussed. An excellent, hands-on guide.


The Photography Shelf

To the Ends of the Earth
Gordon Wiltsie
W.W. Norton
500 – 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110-0017
0393060284 $35.00 www.wwnorton.com

TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH: ADVENTURES OF AN EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHER tells of the author's passion for adventure and his life photographing some hundred expeditions to the wildest places on the planet. Here are ten of his greatest adventures, paired with stunning color photos, in a collection highly recommended not only for the general interest public library, but for college-level art photography holdings. The pairing of vivid text adventure and color drama is not to be missed.

Big Sky: Wild West Panorama
Tim Fitzharris
Firefly Books Limited
155 East 34th Street #5B, New York NY 10016
1554071763 $45.00 www.fireflybooks.com

BIG SKY captures some gorgeous panoramas, capturing natural landscapes and tinting to explore some of the lesser-known state parks and wilderness areas across the country. It's a personal celebration of the American West by a photographer who spent over twenty years searching for just the right sites and experiences: when one was found he'd take a series of panoramic shots and stitch them together on a computer, here produced in panoramic 27x9 inch spreads to properly capture the results. Art photography libraries as well as public libraries strong in visual travel representations will want this.

Schoolhouses Of Minnesota
Doug Ohman & Jim Heynen
Minnesota Historical Society Press
345 Kellogg Boulevard, West, St. Paul, MN 55102-1906
087351548X, $19.95 www.mnhs.org/mhspress 1-800-647-7827

With an informative introduction and minimal image captioning by Jim Heynen, "Schoolhouses Of Minnesota" is a compendium of beautifully illustrated, full-color photography by Dough Ohman showcasing and highlighting 19th century and early 20th century school buildings in Minnesota. A fitting memorial to those vintage Minnesota schoolhouses that served to educate a rural population, these photographs take on an almost poetic and most certainly iconic quality as the reader browses from page to page. A work of considerable nostalgia and highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections, "Schoolhouses Of Minnesota" is also an important visual documentation of a very special facet of American history and would well serve as a template for similar photographic compendiums of schoolhouses in other American states.

Dude Ranches of the American West
David R. Stoecklein, photographer
Stoecklein Publishing
PO Box 856, 10th Street Center, Suite A1, Ketchum, Idaho 83340
1931153612 $60.00 www.drsphoto.net 1-800-727-5191

Dude Ranches of the American West is a panoramic, full-color photography exhibit of more than 25 dude ranches across the American West. Each ranch has its own history; most are fairly remote. Photographs capture sweeping natural expanses, wildlife, the tools of the dude ranch trade, the men and women who work hard looking after livestock, and much more. Though a brief amount of text introduces the reader to each ranch and its impressive history, Dude Ranches of the American West is primarily a photographic extravaganza. A coffee-table book sure to please aficionados of the American West, brimming cover to cover with vibrant energy and respect for the land.


The Audiobook Shelf

Beyond Spirit Tailings
Ellen Baumler, author
Philip Aaberg, music
Montana Historical Society
PO Box 201201, Helena, MT 59620-1201
0972152296 $25.95 www.montanahistoricalsociety.org

Read aloud by the author and interpretive historian Ellen Baumler, and featuring a bonus music CD by composer and pianist Philip Aaberg, Beyond Spirit Tailings is an abridged audiobook on CD about historical Montana ghost stories handed down through generations. Combining evocative music with tales ranging from the story of the hitchhiking specter of a priest to a departed Hamilton socialite who spreads the scent of roses, Beyond Spirit Tailings is a spooky treasure for ghost story lovers everywhere. Highly recommended.

Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com 1-800-854-7859

Nora Roberts' RIVER'S END (1423314026, $40.95) receives veteran freelance voiceover talent Sandra Burr's moving and passionate voice: perfect for the high drama contained in this story of a young woman who struggles to recall events on the night her mother was murdered. The son of the police officer who found the then-four-year-old hiding in a bedroom closet strives to help her – and indeed may end her loneliness as romance evolves. Julie Garwood's SHADOW DANCE (1590682600, $36.95) receives veteran narrator Joyce Bean's moving style as it also tells of passion and danger. Here Jordan finds her brother and best friend are marrying, joining two family dynasties. The revelation of an ancient feud in the midst of the wedding ceremony will change her life in this gripping epic story. Audio listeners will find both perfect blends of romance and high drama.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Cats of Africa
Luke Hunter & Gerald Hinde
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
0801884829 $39.95 www.press.jhu.edu

Africa holds some of the most amazing cats on Earth but rarely are these given full-page embellishment and in-depth discussion as they are in Cats of Africa: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. The oversize stature makes CATS OF AFRICA look like a coffee table guide but the abundance of text and natural history promises both general-interest and college-level libraries a satisfying blend of color and fact. From feline anatomy and evolution to populations, social systems, threats and cooperative hunting patterns, CATS OF AFRICA is a 'must' for any collection serious about representing African natural history – and will find its home on many general-interest library shelves as a fascinating addition for the general public as well.

Predation in Family Dogs
Jean Donaldson
Dogwise Publishing
PO Box 2778, Wenatchee, WA 98807-2778
1929242425 $29.95 www.dogwisepublishing.com 1-800-776-2665

Produced from the Dogtec seminar held in the San Francisco Bay area in the fall of 2004, Predation in Family Dogs is a no-nonsense scrutiny of "predatory drift" and canine aggression by dog-training expert Jean Donaldson. Topics discussed include hard-wired "fixed action pattern" behavior, why behaviors or fixed action patterns can fire at inappropriate times, how such phenomena can interfere even with expert training attempts to control aggression using operant and classical conditioning, which breeds and groups of dogs are more likely to have strong predatory instincts, and much more. Though more of an in-depth scholarly lecture than a how-to manual, Predation in Family Dogs is sure to be a valuable supplementary reference and resource especially for advanced and professional canine trainers, and is sure to bring new insight into the mind of the family pet for all other viewers. 1 hour 45 minutes, color.

An Introduction to Veterinary Medical Ethics
Bernard Rollin
Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014
0813803993 $59.99 www.blackwellprofessional.com

College-level courses in veterinary medicine will find AN INTRODUCTION TO VETERINARY MEDICAL ETHICS: THEORY AND CASES, 2ND EDITION an excellent point of discussion for surveying the vet's ethical and medical issues in animal welfare issues. The author has pioneered veterinary ethics and surveys ethical theory, decision-making practices, and real-life situations, pairing some 100 veterinary case histories with solutions that lend to debate and discussion in the veterinary community. Practitioners and college-level students will find an enlightening set of considerations, here.


The Gardening Shelf

The Winter Garden
Val Bourne
Sterling Publishing Co
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016-8810
184403481X $19.95 www.sterlingpub.com

THE WINTER GARDEN: CREATE A GARDEN THAT SHINES THROUGH THE FORGOTTEN SEASON tells how to plan a garden with winter interest in mind. There are many, many gardening guides for summer and spring planting and some which advocate 'year round' gardening – but relatively few which narrow the focus to just winter. Val Bourne suggests trees, shrubs, berries and evergreens which include different textures, shapes, colors and early flowers for eye-catching displays, with color photos packing in examples. Gardeners will find this an inspirational guide which goes beyond the usual colorful flower focus to address other garden elements which can make a winter garden an appealing success.

An Introduction to Plant Propagation
Don Marquardt
A.C. Burke & Co.
2554 Lincoln Blvd., #1058, Marina Del Rey, CA 90291-5082
$49.95 www.acburke.com

Hosted by Landscape Architecture Professional Certificate instructor Don Marquardt and featuring four talented horticultural experts, An Introduction to Plant Propagation is a step-by-step instructional DVD to basic gardening, whether growing plants from seed, by division, cuttings, layering, or grafting. Topics discussed include the fundamentals of plant propagation history, how to select and use the proper propagation tools and materials, standard techniques for cutting, layering, grafting, and division, how to propagate cacti and succulents, a tour of a commercial wholesale nursery, and more. A user-friendly, "hands-on" guide enthusiastically recommended for novice to intermediate gardeners. 91 minutes, color.


The Gaming Shelf

Rifts Sourcebook One
Kevin Siembieda
Palladium Books
12455 Universal Drive, Taylor, MI 48180
1574571516, $18.95 www.palladiumbooks.com

Now in a new edition that has been completely revised and expanded, Kevin Siembieda's "Rifts Sourcebook One" is a 160-page compendium of robot creation rules and player characters featuring twenty robots from Northern gun, Triax, and Titan Robotics. There are sections devoted to power armor, vehicles, weapons, and other diverse equipment elements. The villain Archie Three and his evil henchmen, the mysterious Republicans and their secret history are laid out, as are notable monsters (with updates on their doings), adventure ideas (including a complete adventure introducing Archie Three), and other gaming concepts and initiatives are a part of this basic and strongly recommended addition to the role-gamer's reference shelf. Nicely illustrated with black-and-white images, "Rifts Sourcebook One" is a seminal resource for literally hours and hours of exciting and imaginative game play. Also very highly recommended from Palladium Books as part of their 'Rifts' series of gaming manuals are: "Rifts: Chaos Earth" and "Rifts: Hell Is Coming".


The Cookbook Shelf

Brothers In The Kitchen
Michel Deville & Brendan O'Farrell
Dream Cooks
c/o FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0977980707, $39.50 www.frpbooks.com

Some 35 years ago Brendan O'Farrell, an international business man, and Michel Deville, a French Master Chef, became the best of friends who shared an appreciation for good service and great food. They opened a restaurant (La Table de Michael) in Sain-Remy de Provence near Avignon in the South of France in the spring of 2005. Now having successfully collaborated as restauranteurs, they have combined their love of the culinary arts to publish a compendium of savory recipes laid out with careful step-by-step instructions so clear and concise as to be able to transform ordinary kitchen cooks into accomplished chefs of French cuisine. Wonderfully illustrated throughout with finished dishes, the recipes comprising "Brothers In The Kitchen" range from Tri-Color Salad; to New Orleans Style Gumbo; to Roast Sirloin Encrusted in English Mustard; to Jumbo Prawns Flambe with Pernod; to Spinach with Swiss Cheese Sauce; to Mint Chocolate Delight. Enhanced with the inclusion of wonderful anecdotes and stories, "Brothers In The Kitchen" begins with thematically appropriate advice about how to get started in the kitchen, matching wines with foods, stocks and savors, and goes on to include sage counsel respecting menus, special restaurants and restaurateurs, conversion tables for cooking, and more. "Brothers In The Kitchen" is enthusiastically recommended as a core addition to any gourmet quality kitchen cookbook collection!

Meredith Books
1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023
www.bhgbooks.com

Two new dieter's guides from Better Homes & Gardens offer a wealth of ideas and recipes for any who would seek to lose pounds. The expanded new edition of their best-selling NEW DIETER'S COOKBOOK (0696231824, $19.95) incorporates the latest weight-reducing suggestions and success stories along with recipe themes ranging from Kids favorites to Low-Calorie Holidays. Calorie amounts for everyday foods accompany nutrition facts and recipes that hold small color photos with each dish. NEW DIABETIC COOKBOOK (0696215632, $19.95) blends familiar re-done favorites with new innovative dishes to provide a well-rounded set of diabetic-appropriate dishes the entire family can enjoy. All have been tested by the BH&G test kitchens and all are guaranteed to work well, including the exchanges and nutritional analysis with each recipe which is key to success. Any public lending library must have these basic cookbooks.

Recipes From Historic Louisiana
Linda Bauer & Steve Bauer
Bright Sky Press
340 South Second Street, Albany, TX 76430
1931721726, $24.95 www.brightskypress.com

The collaborative effort of Linda and Steve Bauer, "Recipes From Historic Louisiana" is a compilation of recipes drawn from the head chefs of forty-eight popular restaurants and dining establishments from Louisiana and ranging from Alexandria, through Evangeline Country, to venerable New Orleans. Embellished with fascinating stories combined with savory 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes that can transform ordinary meals into culinary delights, "Recipes From Historic Louisiana" showcases dishes that range from Bronzed Stake with a Gingersnap Gravy (K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen); to Barbecue Rib-Eye (Dickie Brennan's Stakehouse); to Trout Meuniere Amandine (Galatoire's); to Gumbo Ya-Ya (Commander's Palace); to Spiced Butternut Squash Soup (Mabry House). For a 'kitchen cook friendly' collection of authentic Louisiana cuisine, add Linda and Steve Bauer's "Recipes From Historic Louisiana" to your cookbook shelf! Also very highly recommended is the Bauer's companion collection, "Recipes From Historic America: Cooking & Traveling With America's Finest Hotels" (1931721688, $29.95).

Scratch That
Connie Fairbanks
C&K Publishing
1647 'A', The Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
0979023408, $35.00 www.conniefairbanks.com

Connie Fairbanks is an experienced and accomplished home chef and in "Scratch That: Seasonal Menus And Perfect Pairings" she shares her time tested, family favorite, kitchen cook friendly recipes. Each recipe is accompanied by 'Connie's Notes' which offer tips on shopping for seasonal ingredients, explanations of cooking terms, suggestions for table decor, as well as appropriate wine and beer pairings with the finished dishes. Nicely illustrated with full-color photograph of savory dishes, the recipes range from Fava Bean Spread on Mini Toasts; Rustic Nectarine and Blackberry Crostata; Grilled Cuban Pork Tenderloin; and Warm Dates with Goat Cheese; to Roasted Beets with Olives; Rack of Lamb with Rosemary and Wine Sauce; Carrot-Pineapple Gelatin Salad; and Triple-Chocolate Chip Cookies. Enhanced with information about 'Kitchen Essentials', basic recipe and kitchen 'know-how', recipes arranged into seasonal menus, and even advice when going out to dine, "Scratch That" will prove to be a welcome and much appreciated addition to any kitchen cookbook collection!


The Martial Arts Shelf

Jiu-Jitsu
Hans-Erik Petermann
Blue Snake Books
c/o North Atlantic Books
1435 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
158394169X, $19.95 www.northatlanticbooks.com 1-800-337-2665

A very nicely illustrated martial arts instruction manual, "Jiu-Jitsu: The Essential Guide To Mastering The Art" by professional martial arts instructor Hans-Erik Petermann begins with a brief historical overview of how Jiu Jitsu developed as a martial art, then goes on to take the reader through the basic elements of Jiu Jitsu training, providing a 'student friendly', step-by-step instruction into essential Jiu Jitsu techniques, self-defense skills, and even world wide contacts for students, competitors, and practitioners of Jiu Jitsu. A part of the Blue Snake Books' 'The Martial Arts Series', "Jiu-Jitsu" is a superbly presented and highly recommended instruction manual that is the next best thing to being able to study Jiu Jitsu in a dojo.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Kake-Jiku
Kumiko Sudo
Breckling Press
283 Michigan Street, Elmhurst, IL 60126
1933308117, $29.95 www.brecklingpress.com 1-800-951-7836

In "Kake-Jiju: Images Of Japan In Applique Fabric Origami And Sashiko", Japanese fiber artist and acclaimed needlecrafter Kumiko Sudo offers a superbly illustrated and thoroughly impressive collection of 15 decorative quilt wall-hangings inspired by the elegant hand-painted scrolls that have adorned entryways and alcoves in Japanese homes. Their purpose (in addition to being stunning works of art) is to greet each new season and bestow good luck upon the members of the household. Kumiko Sudo's selections reflect her intuitive sense of both color and design with each of the decorative wall-hangings being constructed using her unique brand of Japanese applique. The 'needlecrafter friendly' projects range from being embellished with fabric-origami flowers to those which are enhanced with lovely sashiko stitching. Sudo's own watercolor paintings divide the chapters, while the step-by-step directions are illustrated with photography, color drawings, and full-size reusable templates. "Kake-Jiku" is a unique and enthusiastically recommended addition to a dedicated needlecrafter's reference shelf.

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

Loraine Manwaring and Susan Nelsen's ALL BUTTONED UP: 12 QUILTS FROM THE BUTTON BOX (1564777065, $24.95) tells how to use buttons to add interest and dimensions to quilts. Two sisters used their grandmother's button collection for ideas and here provide plenty of tips to adding buttons to everything from wall hangings to lap quilts. Buttons may even be decorated for added attraction. Kathleen Tracy's PRAIRIE CHILDREN AND THEIR QUILTS (1564776867, $24.95) offers some fourteen small 'prairie quilt' projects which feature antique styles and designs of the 19th century. Vintage photos and diary entries from pioneer children accompany this unusual crafts guide to producing vintage-looking items from modern resources. Lynn Roddy Brown's SIMPLE STRATEGIES FOR SCRAP QUILTS (1564776859, $24.95) tells how to cut, swap, and mix and match fabrics to produce unique scrap quilts. Fat quarters and strips can make lovely finished results: here are the tips on color matching, values, design pairing and construction which tell how to effectively blend scraps for pleasing results. Elaine Eskesen's SILK KNITS: 20 DESIGNS IN FABULOUS FIBERS (1564776905, $27.95) tells how to use the textures and colors of silk and silk-blend yarns to maximum advantage. These yarns hold great potential and can create polished results not available with other types of knits – and even beginners can work with them. The color photos, easy projects and author introductions to each project make for an appealing collection indeed. Cathy Wierzbicki's TWOSEY-FOURSEY QUILTS: GREAT DESIGNS FROM 2-INCH AND 4-INCH CUTS (1564776883, $26.95) tells how to use quick cutting techniques and fast sewing to simplify common patchwork shapes. Begin with strips and put together the classic quilter's blocks using new methods with over twenty projects here reinforcing the idea. Color examples throughout reinforce each step of the process. Janet Kime's THE BORDER WORKBOOK: EASY-SPEED PIECED AND FOUNDATION-PIECED BORDERS (156477693X, $24.95) appears in its 10th anniversary edition to pack in nearly thirty border designs in different sizes, along with instructions for calculating sizes. From different designs to rotary cutting, this book's been substantially updated and is a 'must' for quilters who would put together eye-catching borders with a minimum of effort. DeElda Wittmack's APPLIQUE AT PLAY; 19 SPORTS BLOCKS TO MIX AND MATCH (1564776980, $19.95) is all about sports fans: make a quilt for all kinds of sports using the sports-themed block ideas here. Nineteen blocks in six quick projects lend to themes and playful mixing and are accompanied by ideas for putting the themes together, adding and subtracting designs, finishing projects, and varying ideas. All are top picks for any quilter's library of project ideas and techniques.


The Architecture Shelf

Artisan Crafted Timber Frame Homes
Tina Skinner
Schiffer Books
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764324861 $39.95 www.schifferbooks.com

Over twenty timber frame homes are displayed, inside and out, in a photography guide which considers various options in timber frame construction and design. Examples aren't just your usual home rooms either: they include such but also pack in examples of pool houses, offices, barns, and how to incorporate the post/beam look of timber frame construction into an existing home. An outstanding idea guide results, perfect for architectural libraries and general-interest holdings alike.

The New Ultimate Book Of Home Plans
Creative Homeowner Press
24 Park Way
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1580113362, $12.95 www.creativehomeowner.com 1-800-631-7795

Creative Homeowner Press is the premier publisher of inexpensive and illustrated compendiums of architectural plans for all manner of homes and residences. One of their newest and most impressive volumes is "The New Ultimate Book Of Home Plans" which showcases more than 730 architectural home plans drawn from professional architects and designers from every part of the country, and which are made visual with more than 550 photographs and more than 250 full-color renderings to illustrate the diverse styles, rooms, and features. Enhanced with informative sections about home design and redecorating, as well as a wealth of 'insider tips', "The New Ultimate Book Of Home Plans" is perfect for the non-specialist general reader wanting ideas for designing and building their own dream house, and has a great deal to offer architectural students and architecture professionals with ideas, concepts, and examples for designing residencies for their clients. CAD files for the plans comprising the 607-page "The New Ultimate Book Of Home Plans" make this a prefect acquisition for personal, professional, academic, and community library Architectural Studies reference shelves and collections.


The Library Science Shelf

Measuring Library Performance
Peter Brophy
Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
100 William Street, Suite 2004, New York, NY 10038
1856045935 $99.95 www.neal-schuman.com

Written by Peter Brophy (Professor of Information Management and Director of the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management, Manchester Metropolitan University), Measuring Library Performance: Principles and Techniques is a straightforward guide to estimating and evaluating the performance of a library's services. Gone are the days when the key measurement was the size and quality of books stocking the library; today, the combined value of staff effort and resources for the population that the library is intended to serve are more important. Chapters address how to gather information about and analyze user satisfaction, solid standards for benchmarking and creating a balanced scorecard, background and theoretical considerations that need to be taken into account, and much more. Written in no-nonsense terms readily accessible by librarians and information services personnel of all skill and experience levels, Measuring Library Performance does an excellent job of rating and suggesting tools, from surveys to resource usage measurements, to accurately quantify seemingly nebulous values.

Measuring Your Library's Value
Donald S. Elliot, Glen E. Holt, Sterling W. Hayden & Leslie Edmonds Holt
ALA Editions
50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611
083890923X $55.00 www.alastore.ala.org

Written by the research team of Donald S. Elliot, Glen E. Holt, Sterling W. Hayden and Leslie Edmonds Holt, who spent more than a decade developing, testing, and refining their methodologies, Measuring Your Library's Value: How To Do a Cost-Benefit Analysis for Your Public Library is a straightforward guide for any librarian under pressure to quantify the value of benefits provided to the public. Written in librarian-friendly terminology, chapters cover "Important Considerations Before Commissioning a Cost-Benefit Analysis Study", "Measuring Library Benefits: Identifying and Sampling Library Users", "Preparing the Survey Instruments", "Measuring Return to Taxpayer and Donor Investment in the Library", and much more. Step-by-step instructions, examples, charts, walkthroughs of mathematical calculations and their principles, numerous appendices including sample survey forms, and much more round out this first-rate guide for any library professional especially in today's era of tightening budgets and higher demands of accountability from public services.


The Education Shelf

More Primary Literacy Centers
Susan Nations & Mellissa Alonso
Maupin House Publishing Inc.
2416 NW 71st Place, Gainesville, FL 32653
0929895762 $23.95 www.maupinhouse.com

Written by literary coach Susan Nations and assistant principal Mellissa Alonso, both of whom earned Teacher of the Year for their respective counties in 2005, More Primary Literacy Centers: Making Reading and Writing Stick! is a no-nonsense guide to building literacy centers in one's classroom, or building upon an established literary program in order to bring more meaningful reading and writing experiences to youths in grades K-3. Written for novice to veteran literary center organizers, administrators, and workers, More Primary Literary Centers covers the five points of the STICK principle - Strategy Teaching Cycle, Transitioning Readers from Emergent to Fluent, Interacting as a Learning Community, Conversations about Content, and Keeping the Focus. A wealth of handy teacher resources from sample student interview and center evaluation forms to daily learning logs, "kid-friendly" exercise and response forms, literacy connection planner templates and more round out this invaluable resource and teaching aid.

Learning Disabilities
Jack M. Fletcher, G. Reid Lyon, Lynn S. Fuchs & Marcia A. Barnes
Guilford Publications
72 Spring St. New York, NY 10012
159385370X $38.00 www.guilford.com

Written by the expert team of Jack M. Fletcher, G. Reid Lyon, Lynn S. Fuchs & Marcia A. Barnes, Learning Disabilities: From Identification to Intervention is an evidence-based presentation of cutting-edge information about assessing and dealing with learning disabilities, with especial focus upon reading disabilities (word recognition, fluency, or comprehension-related), mathematics disabilities, and written expression disabilites. Though more of a scholarly assessment and description of the latest findings than a "how-to" manual per se, Learning Disabilities is sure to prove an invaluable, up-to-date resource especially for educators with responsibility for learning disabled-children, as well as anyone recognizing the "unexpected underachievement" that often signifies LDs and staging an appropriate intervention. A logical-minded, information-packed compendium.

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

Edie L. Holcomb's STUDENTS ARE STAKEHOLDERS, TOO! (0761929703, $32.95) discusses high school reform and student empowerment, and is based on real events which have improved one high school. A responsive principal involved all students in decision-making processes and helped them collaborate with staff using existing resources: here eight levels of student participation are detailed, drawn from research on high school reform. Andrew Rothstein, Evelyn Rothstein and Gerald Lauber's WRITING AS LEARNING: A CONTENT-BASED APPROACH (1412949610, $40.00) appears in its second updated edition to cover subject area learning, offering teachers strategies for engaging students in writing. Writing here is viewed as a learning tool, with chapters offering 12 strategies that can be used across subject areas and grade levels. Over 200 examples help teachers develop approaches geared to any subject area. Cheryl M. Rose, Leslie Minton and Carolyn Arline's UNCOVERING STUDENT THINKING IN MATHEMATICS (1412940370, $32.95) offers teaches over twenty assessment strategies for identifying fallacies in students' preconceived ideas. These are mathematical probes which help teachers at all levels probe for conceptual understanding and common problems: chapters offer activities designed to identify and correct such discrepancies. Kerry C. Williams and George E. Veomett's LAUNCHING LEARNERS IN SCIENCE, PREK-5 (1412937035, $33.00) tells how to design standards-based projects in the classroom, and is linked to research on cognitive understanding. Chapters discuss six key elements to build into a science curriculum, tell how to blend in workshops and collaborative projects at the primary and elementary classrooms, and provides a 4-step system for planning and reviewing science projects. Adina Bloom Lewkowicz's TEACHING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (1412940583, $34.95) offers up strategies and activities for helping students make effective choices and appears in its second updated edition for elementary to middle school teachers. This revised edition expands research coverage, offers up new lessons on bullying and violence prevention, and modifies lessons for middle school students, pairing lesson plans with reproducibles and activities at all levels. It's a teacher's guide that shouldn't be left out of any teaching college's library. Donna Walker Tileston's TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ACTIVE LEARNING (0761938559, $24.95) supplements teachers' planning strategies offering up five foundation strategies for learning. Brain research is used to form the foundation for instructional strategies geared to powerful lessons, while sample lesson forms and strategies cement principles. All are powerful picks for both practicing teachers and for college-level teacher's collections.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Earliest Christian Artifacts
Larry W. Hurtado
Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49505
0802828957 $20.00 www.eerdmans.com

Written by Larry W. Hurtado (Professor of New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland), The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins covers an oft-overlooked aspect of the study of ancient canonical and extracanonical Christian texts. Rather that discuss interpretations of what the words of the texts say, The Earliest Christian Artifacts focuses upon the stories of the physical texts themselves. Chapters discuss the staturogram, which was possibly the first ever representation of the cross; the textual abbreviation system of the "nomina sacra"; and the historical curiosity of Christian preference for book-like texts rather than scrolls. A bibliography and extensive appendix round out this scholarly examination of the origins, history, and modern-day physical remnants of ancient writings that utterly transformed the known world.

A Warning From An Angry God
Leo Derose
Airleaf Publishing
35 Industrial Dr., Suite 104, Martinsville, IN 46151
1594539898 $12.95 www.airleaf.com

Written by Leo Derose, A Warning from an Angry God is a strong-minded treatise written to readers of all faiths about the sorry state of the modern world - a world riven by war, terrorism, disease, greed, and suffering - an exhortation to remember God's will and work for a better, more just world. Derose is keenly aware of apocalyptic predictions in the Bible, yet in A Warning from an Angry God, he stresses that the important thing is not to obsess over when, how, or whether the world will end, but rather to focus on pleasing God and spreading good no matter what religious doctrine one follows. "Evil has sure done a number on the religions of the world... Jerusalem has reaped and is reaping the rewards Jesus promised. Catholics have been infected throughout history... Pope John Paul could have done many great deeds but, it's too late and it seems the beast has won this battle. Protestants seem to be great businessmen, politicians and exorcists for hire. Mormons have a sweet and simple segregated message... The Muslims kill far too many people." Ranging in a tone from a lament against murderous outrages committed in God's name even in the modern day to a stern chastisement of allowing modern vices to overtake oneself and one's children, to an uplifting exhortation to place faith in Jesus Christ's love and simply live the best life one can, A Warning from an Angry God is highly recommended for its focus on spirituality with truly humanitarian, life-affirming values.


The Computer Shelf

Book of Javascript, 2nd Edition
Thau
No Starch Press
555 DeHaro Suite 250, San Francisco CA 94107
1593271069 $39.95 www.nostarch.com

There are many books on the market which focus on JavaScript shortcuts and web applications – but this is different. It focuses on real-world examples and uses these as the starting point for explaining just how these scripts work, how to make them more efficient, and how to tweak scripts to produce the desired results. From working with cookies and alarms to learning from events and using them to tailor user actions, BOOK OF JAVASCRIPT presents the next level in Java efficiency and is a recommendation for any Java programmer or computer library reference section.

2007 'Missing Manual' titles
Pogue Press
c/o O'Reilly & Associations
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
www.oreilly.com

Four new 'Missing Manual' books honed for 2007 are picks any program owner should have. Matthew MacDonald's EXCEL 2007 (0596527594, $39.99) and ACCESS 2007 (0596527608, $34.99) offers updated coverages of the latest 2007 MS Office programs, using a chatty style packed with information easy to absorb. Chapters use scenarios from common problems and tasks to create a foundation of program knowledge and move smoothly from introductory features for novices to discussions of more complex ideas for advanced users or those who just want to get up and running quickly with the latest version. E.A. Vander Veer's POWERPOINT 2007 (0596527381, $29.99) achieves the same for Powerpoint – exploring the program's tools and special new features; while Chris Grover's WORD 2007 (059652739X, $29.99) covers the latest in Word features. These books should not only have been 'in the box' with the software – they shouldn't be omitted from any library strong in computer references.

O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
www.oreilly.com

Over a hundred free and open source programming tools and frameworks are packed into James Avery & Jim Holmes's Windows Developer Power Tools (0596527543 $59.99), a reference perfect for programmers and documentors, including tools for over twenty common Windows and .NET software tasks and lists which pair the right tool with the right job. This is not a pick for amateurs, but for seasoned developers who have some background already but need a more definitive reference to selecting and using tools. Danny Goodman's DYNAMIC HTML: THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE (0596527403, $59.99) is likely to be the only in-depth reference you'll need for years down the line on the subject: web programmers working in Javascript and libraries strong in basic advanced computer references will find over 1,000 pages packed with details on the latest web specs and browser featured, covering HTML, XHTML, CSS and more. Handy cross-references allow for instant lookup of attributes and interrelated items, while appendixes offer plenty of supplementary reference material suitable for the most sophisticated web page builds. W. Curtis Preston's BACKUP & RECOVERY (0596102461, $49.99) offers solid hands-on keys to backing up data and recovering from a systems crash – all without using commercial software. From Linux and Windows and Mac OS systems, it surveys backup tools, open-source resources, criteria for evaluating systems and operations, and lessons and tricks to overcome common obstacles, making it a system administrator's top desk reference as well as a pick for libraries catering to this audience. These are basic references any serious computer collection needs.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Pharsalia: An Environmental Biography of a Southern Plantation
Lynn A. Nelson
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Drive, Athens, GA 30602-4901
0820326275 $39.95 www.ugapress.org

Pharsalia is a plantation located in piedmont Virginia – one of the best-documented sites of its kind thanks to papers and records left by the Massie family owners. These enable PHARSALIA to be presented here as a case study of how white southern plantation owners employed capitalistic methods to cement their ideas of independence. Any college-level holding strong in Southern history or regional environmental history will find PHARSALIA key to understanding the southern conservation movement as it follows its owners' agricultural pursuits and environmental assessments.


The Military Shelf

The Road to Unafraid
Captain Jeff Struecker with Dean Merrill
Westbow Publishing
c/o Thomas Nelson
Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
0849900603 $19.99 www.thomasnelson.com

In 1993 author Jeff Struecker went to Somalia as part of an elite military force and found himself on a suicide mission to rescue a band of downed soldiers. At once a story of courage, military experience and survival, THE ROAD TO UNAFRAID also serves as a model for spiritual strength and thus is especially recommended for any spiritual collection.

Letters from the Front Lines: Iraq and Afghanistan
Rear Admiral Stuart Franklin Platt, USN Ret. With Duffrey Sigurdson
Granville Island Publishing
c/o Greenleaf Book Group LP
4425 Mopac South, Suite 600, Austin TX 78735
1894694481 $24.95 www.GranvilleIslandPublishing.com

Any who would wonder at the lives and experiences of Americans overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan will want Letters from the Front Lines, a collection of letters from men and women in uniform serving in these countries. The letters capture experiences of the front lines and were handwritten communications that used to be the only source of communication before email. Any who would wish for a 'you are there' experience of the war will find plenty of insight in these poignant writings, a 'must' for both military and public library holdings.

Osprey Publishing
443 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
www.ospreypublishing.com

These excellent military history guides are top picks for any comprehensive military history library, offering specifics on strategy and military issues you won't find in your usual general-interest title. Mark Lardas' AFRICAN AMERICAN SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR (1846030927, $17.95) surveys the history of the U.S. Colored Troops who fought bravely during the war. Chapters consider their transition from slave to warrior to free man and provide insights on how they fought the war, and their lives thereafter. Black and white drawings and photos throughout supplement details. Nic Fields' ROME'S SAXON SHORE: COASTAL DEFENCES OF ROMAN BRITAIN AD 250-500 (1846030943, $16.95) provides a technical survey of the design, history and technology of key fortresses and defensive systems of early Roman Britain, making it a pick for military collections and libraries strong in early history. The 'Saxon Shore' forts of Britain are among the most impressive monuments of the Roman occupation of the British Isles: their ruins are part of today's British landscape and their history is surveyed here with maps, photos and black and white and color illustration throughout. Shlomo Aloni's ISRAELI F-15 EAGLE UNITS IN COMBAT (1846030471, $20.95) joins others in the 'Osprey Combat Aircraft' series to narrow the focus on the Israeli F-15 Eagle Unit, bought in the mid-1970s to secure Israeli air superiority in the region for decades. The history of these aircraft, their engagements, and their crews is supplemented with black and white and color photos throughout.


The Business Shelf

Patent Pending in 24 Hours, 4th Edition
Attorneys Richard Stim & David Pressman
Nolo Press
940 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1413305113 $34.99 www.nolo.com

Protect your invention with the latest legal information on the PPA – provisional patent application – covered in this updated and expanded fourth edition of a comprehensive reference which includes all the forms and advice needed to conduct a patent search online, understand basic patent law, and file an application. From applications to common problems, PATENT PENDING IN 24 HOURS reveals all the pros and cons of patents and their management and is a 'must' for any general public library lending reference section.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Career, Aptitude & Selection Tests
Jim Barrett
Kogan Page
525 S. 4th Street #241, Philadelphia, PA 19147
0749448199 $17.95 www.kogan-page.co.uk

There are many tests geared to determining aptitude and offering career choices: so which one is appropriate for a particular direction? Career, Aptitude & Selection Tests: Match Your IQ, Personality & Abilities to Your Ideal Career is in its 2nd updated edition to reach intermediate users with the latest aptitude tests and their links to career direction. Chapters do more than discuss tests: they provide such tests, with the newly revised edition including several new tests, and offer tips for analysis. An excellent choice for libraries catering to businesspeople looking at career change, as well as for students seeking direction.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence
Dr. Robert Buckman
Firefly Books
155 East 34th Street #5B, New York NY 10016
1554072344 $19.95 www.fireflybooks.com

Finally: a cancer guide for those newly diagnosed which offers up tips and advice for surviving the acceptance of the diagnosis in Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence: A Practical Guide to Help You Through The First Few Weeks. The diagnosis begins a process which involves many choices and a steep learning curve; but it isn't usually one so time-driven as to prevent making informed decisions and getting more information on options. This book offers a clear survey of what cancer is, what a diagnosis means, and how to gain control of the medical system as a whole. It's a book which needs to be in any general-interest library as well as many a specialty health collection.

Human Body: A Visual Guide
Beverly McMillan
Firefly Books
155 East 34th Street #5B, New York NY 10016
1554071887 $29.95 www.fireflybooks.com

Plenty of books have been written about the human body; but this offers far more visual detail than most – including x-rays, diagrams and charts of the body in motion, close-ups from electron microscopes, scientific illustration and more. It's the blend of visuals with the information which makes complex scientific concepts, such as the interaction between skeleton and muscles, so clear, making this a solid pick for high school to general-interest libraries who may have either less comprehensive or less exciting competitors already on hand.

Pilates Pregnancy Guide
Lynne Robinson
Firefly Books
155 East 34th Street #5B, New York NY 10016
1554071690 $24.95 www.fireflybooks.com

Pilates author Lynne Robinson works with Registered Physiotherapist Jacqueline Knox on Pilates Pregnancy Guide, a unique program packed with exercises for mothers-to-be. Each chapter focuses on pregnancy's changes, relating it to specific workouts and exploring how readers should feel after a workout at each stage of a pregnancy. Step-by-step color photos on every page demonstrate Pilates workout moves while text explains these moves and their attributes, making this a perfect guide for mothers-to-be and any library catering to women's health.

Peripheral Neuropathy
Norman Latov, MD, Ph.D.
Demos Publishing
386 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
193260359X $19.95 www.demosmedpub.com

Patients who suffer from peripheral neuropathy – numbness, weakness and pain – as well as loved ones who want to help receive an easy handbook on the causes and treatment options for neuropathy. From drug therapies and foot care to management of chronic pain and nerve damage at all stages, PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY is an excellent, easy guide to understanding all the options – and a recommended pick for any general lending library, as diabetes and its concurrent health issues – like neuropathy – is on the rise.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

McMansion
Justin Scott
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
159058063X $24.95 www.poisonedpenpress.com

Domestic mystery, murder, and terrorism meld in a new Ben Abbott mystery revolving around one Billy Tiller, who is crushed by a massive bulldozer in a seemingly straightforward murder in which an eco-terrorist is found at the scene of the crime. But what seems cut-and-dried turns into a bigger puzzle as Ben Abbott finds too many suspects and plenty of mystery. Libraries strong in mystery collections will want to add this thriller.


The International Studies Shelf

Historical Dictionary of Iran
John H. Lorentz
Scarecrow Press
4501 Forbes Boulevard #200, Lanham, MD 20706
0810853302 $99.00 www.scarecrowpress.com 1-800-462-6420

Any college-level holding strong in Middle Eastern courses needs the newly updated and expanded second edition of Historical Dictionary of Iran: it provides reviews of specific events, movements, political and social groups and peoples in Iran, covering 1800 to present with a special emphasis and providing twice as many cross-referenced dictionary entries as in the first volume, revising many historical sources and topics. A top reference for any in-depth collection where students study Middle Eastern countries and issues.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Encyclopedia of Children's Sewing Collectibles
Darlene J. Gengelbach
Collector Books
Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009
1574325264 $24.95 www.collectorbooks.com

From dolls and books to patterns and sewing sets, Encyclopedia of Children's Sewing Collectibles is an excellent collector's reference and packs in an amazing variety of color photos of antique kids' sewing items. The latest values accompany these color photos, along with reviews of the contents of kids' sewing kits and manufacturer details.


The Crafts Shelf

Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry
Scott David Plumlee
Watson-Guptill Publications
770 Broadway, New York NY 10003
0823022994 $19.95 www.watson-guptill.com

Any interested in jewelry making possibilities will love Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry, a guide to creating chain and bead jewelry using both old designs and new ideas. Scott David Plumlee is an authority on ancient chain designs: his focus allows for an ideal blend of styles and offers step-by-step directions backed by color photos. From how to use specialty tools and selecting wire and beads to assembling over twenty unique necklaces, bracelets and earrings, Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry will reach novices, neo-pro jewelers and public libraries strong in crafts.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Mister I
Lewis Trondheim
NBM Publishing Inc.
40 Exchange Place Suite 1308, New York NY 10005
1561634867 $13.95 www.nbmpublishing.com

Visual gags with creative graphic novel twists are the hallmark of MISTER I, a simple, fun little man who appears in full-color, tiny panels of wordless mishaps. Anticipate a series of strange, fun adventures in this wordless graphic art piece which may require an attention to smaller details than most, but which offers up a satisfying, fun set of images and encounters.


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Midwest Book Review
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phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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