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Volume 19, Number 2 February 2009 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Library Science Shelf Economics Shelf
Biography Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf
Education Shelf American History Shelf Railroading Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Self-Help Shelf Literary Shelf
Travel Shelf Psychology Shelf Art Shelf
Pets/Wildlife Shelf Computer Shelf Political Science Shelf
Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Social Issues Shelf Philosophy Shelf
International Studies Shelf Criminology Shelf Gardening Shelf
Military Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Fiction Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf
Women's Studies Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Poetry Shelf Money/Finance Studies Shelf Parenting Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf World History Shelf Humor Shelf
Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf Library CD Music Shelf Library DVD Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Photography Shelf Nautical Shelf
Music Shelf Veterinary Studies Shelf Business Shelf
Martial Arts Shelf Architecture Shelf Native American Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Interior Design Shelf Gaming Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf Genealogy Shelf
Sports Shelf Language Studies Shelf Gerontology Studies Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

Madison
Zane Williams
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
816 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9780978948702, $24.95, www.wisconsinhistory.org

Madison is the capital of the 'Badger State', the home city of the University of Wisconsin network, a place of culture, art, literature, architecture, athletics, and community that makes it a very special part of the Wisconsin landscape. Now all these and more are memorialized a collection of full color images by Zane Williams in "Madison", a newly published volume of outstanding photography published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Showcasing Madison's people and places, this is a superbly produced and highly recommended addition to personal and Wisconsin community library collections.

The Last Man To Live The Real American Dream
Randy Rossi
Nightengale Press
10936 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 206, Mequon, WI 53092
www.nightengalepress.com
1933449659, $15.95, www.amazon.com

'The American Dream' comes in as many variations as there are Americans who aspire to live their own definitions of 'the good life'. Randal C. Rossi is the son of an Italian immigrant father and a mother who was one of the 'Daughters of the American Revolution'. His memoir takes the reader along a true 'rags to riches' story that began on a farm and lead him to associate with members of the White House and the Pentagon. From a nigh shift laborer at a foundry to becoming the Group President of an international corporation with hundreds of employees and millions of dollars in annual sales, Randy Rossi experienced, embodies, and represents why America has become a beacon for men and women around the world seeking to improve their lives and the prospects for their children for personal fulfillment and success. Much of the economic landscape has changed and evolved with the passing of time and the introduction of new technologies, customs, and events both domestic and international, but the message of "The Last Man To Live The Real American Dream" remains constant -- American Dreams live on and it is possible for anyone to achieve their own aspirations with hard work, a little luck, and a whole lot of perseverance. Highly recommended reading that is as informed and informative as it is inspiring and inspirational.

The Book of Non-Electric Lighting
Tim Matson
The Countryman Press
PO Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091
9780881507942, $13.95, www.countrymanpress.com

A backup plan or for style, having non-electric lighting available is a good idea. "The Book of Non-Electric Lighting: The Classic Guide to Safe Use of Candles, Fuel Lamps, Lanterns, Gaslights, & Fire-View Stoves" is a guide to safely using non-electric lighting for light, style, or energy conservation. Firelight can add a certain romantic and historic air to one's life, and "The Book of Non-Electric Lighting" is a complete and comprehensive guide to using it effectively.

The Wisdom of Generosity
William J. Jackson
Baylor University
One Bear Place #97363, Baylor University Press, Waco, TX 76798-7363
9781602580596, $34.95, www.baylorpress.com

Americans so often are depicted as greedy, stingy, among other traits, which couldn't be further from the truth. "The Wisdom of Generosity: A Reader in American Philanthropy" takes a look at the kinder side of the American spirit, and the love for giving and generosity embedded in its very culture. Giving many examples of American generosity and collecting the wide samples of poems, proverbs, fables, and other stories about the American generosity, "The Wisdom of Generosity" is a vivid picture of the America that is rarely seen in today's media.

The Lady's Strategem
Frances Grimble, editor
Lavolta Press
20 Meadowbrook Drive, San Francisco, California 94132
9780963651778, $75.00 415-566-6259

The Lady's Strategem: A Repository of 1820s Directions for the Toilet, Mantua-Making, Stay-Making, Millinery & Etiquette is an omnibus anthology of early nineteenth century cultural instructions for women, edited for modern-day readers' ease of comprehension by Frances Grimble. In that era, women were expected to be absolutely agreeable, and to adhere meticulously to societal conventions concerning appearance, dress, hygiene, and proper behavior. (Readers are warned not to try the recipes for homemade cosmetics, such as one Oriental Rusma depilatory that included arsenic in its ingredients). Historical periods and locations given especial coverage include the fur trade era, colonial Canada, the American Federal Period, and more. A handful of black-and-white illustrations enhance this solid primary source, especially recommended to anyone seeking to study or depict the lives of women nearly two hundred years ago, such as film and theatre costumers or historical and romance novelists.

Michelle Obama: First Lady of Hope
Elizabeth Lightfoot
Globe Pequot Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
9781599215211, $14.95 www.lyonspress.com

This is the first biography to tell the story of Michelle Obama, examining her life from her early Chicago childhood to her Princeton and Harvard education, her meeting with Barack Obama, and her interest in both family and politics. Any collection strong in current events and major political figures will find this a lively, popular coverage examining her principals and values as much as her life and evolution: very highly recommended.

Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
Editors of The Huffington Post
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
1439105006, $15.00 www.simonandschuster.com

From getting started in blogging to getting noticed, building community, and understanding the culture and influence of blogging, Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging offers a fine A-Z guide to all things blog, telling what to do to get a blog started, from finding a voice to getting attention. A fine pairing of selections from HuffPost's mix of bloggers accompanies the tips and makes this a 'must' for any individual or business interested in breaking into the blogging world.

Advice From The Presidents
G. Scott Thomas
Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313356629, $65.00, www.greenwood.com

With the advent of the first African-American president in American history, the role and impact of the presidency in American political, social, and cultural society is being highlighted as never before. That's why journalist G. Scott Thomas' "Advice From The Presidents: The Student's Guide to Reaching The Top In Business And Politics" is particularly appropriate as it provides a compendium of sage advice, illustrative quotations, and colorful anecdotes, along with seven 'time tested' that anyone aspiring to positions of authority, be it political or economic, would benefit from. The subjects addressed include deciding upon long term goals, developing personal skills and interests, people skills and personal image, soliciting mentors and helpers, self discipline and control, how to improve personal positions, dealing with success. Using the career paths of a number of successful American politicians to illustrate a seven-step career plan for anyone aspiring for success in business or in government, "Advice From The Presidents" is practical, informative, insightful, and inspiring, making it a welcome addition to personal reading lists and library reference collections.

The Complete Guide to Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks
Matthew L. Cole
Atlantic Publishing Company
1210 S.W. 23rd Place, Ocala, FL 34474-7014
9781601382313, $24.95 www.atlantic-pub.com

Learn how to turn an invention into a money-making reality through a guide teaching everything about how to apply for a patent, copyright, or trademark - and how to protect it. From initial application to filing an infringement case, this book offers plenty of examples and easy step-by-step directions suitable for any newcomer to the process. General-interest libraries catering to consumers as well as business collections will find it a fine acquisition.

Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II
Norman H. Gershman
Syracuse University Press
1600 Jamesville Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13210
www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu
0815609345, $39.95, 1-800-365-8929

BESA is a code of honor rooted in Albanian culture and based on the faith of Albanian Muslims. It entails a rigid moral adherence demanding one take responsibility for the lives of others in times of need - and in Albania and Kosovo, Muslims sheltered thousands of Jews fleeing the Nazis. Photographer Norman Gershman spent five years gathering these stories and photos for BESA: this survey is a powerful, moving visual and oral history account and is a top pick for any collection strong in Judaic Studies and World War II History, as well as Muslim history and culture reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Titanic: Last Great Images
Dr. Robert Ballard
Running Press
2300 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19103-4371
9780762435043, $40.00 www.runningpress.com

For nearly a hundred years Titanic has rested in the Atlantic, to be discovered by the author, Dr. Robert Ballard, in 1985. Dr. Ballard gave the world some of the first images of the ship under water: nearly twenty years later he returns to the wreck with even more vivid photos, and TITANIC: THE LAST GREAT IMAGES packs in full-page color details perfect for any public lending library strong in Titanic or nautical history. A highly recommended, coffee-table style presentation, it's striking and compelling evidence of the heyday of luxury.

New Attitude
Tom Tierney
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764329852, $29.99 www.schifferbooks.com

New Attitude: An Adult Paper Doll Book is the new, deluxe edition of an underground classic book that walks the line between (tawdry?) popular culture and art. Featuring full-color, paper-doll representations of 37 glamorous singles and socialites at a hypothetical Manhattan cocktail party hosted by "Aunt Mary", New Attitude was first released by artist Tom Tierney in 1979 and now has been recreated with six new characters and associated wardrobes. Parodies of popular celebrities, millionaires, models, drag queens, gay and lesbian stereotypes, and more fill this collector's treasure. Though New Attitude is expressly meant for adults, the dolls themselves never show anything more revealing than a suggestive bikini or a bulging speedo in their unclothed form; each doll also features multiple, character-appropriate outfits, of course. Truly a one-of-a-kind treasury of kitsch, far too appealing to actually be cut up with scissors (though the solid hardcover binding would certainly lend itself to use in a photocopier).

Atlantic Publishing Inc.
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471-0640
www.atlantic-pub.com

Carolyn Gibson's SECRETS TO A SUCCESSFUL EVICTION FOR LANDLORDS AND RENTAL PROPERTY MANAGERS (9781601382726, $24.95) offers a complete guide to evicting tenants legally and quickly, covering topics ranging from initiating an eviction and understanding court and legal processes to putting into place successful solutions to common eviction issues. Jeanne Roberts' GREEN YOUR HOME (9781601381286, $24.95) tells how to use earth-friendly materials to build or upgrade a home. Both new and existing homes are covered in a guide filled with techniques ranging from choosing more effective green lighting to installing solar panels - and everything in between.

Knightly Dueling
Jeffrey Hull, Monika Maziarz, and Grzegorz Zabinski
Paladin Press
7077 Winchester Circle, Boulder, CO 80301
9781581606744, $30.00, www.paladin-press.com

One of the most iconic images of medieval western history is that of the mounted, metal-clad, warrior knight. In "Knightly Dueling: The Fighting Arts Of German Chivalry", Jeffrey Hull, with the able assistance of Monika Maziarz and Grzegorz Zabinski, provides both academia and non-specialized general readers with an informed and informative introduction and overview of German style chivalric dueling on horse and on foot as it was practiced from the 14th through the 16th centuries. "Knightly Dueling" covers combat with swords, lances, daggers, poleaxes, and other weapons of the era when these armored assailants engaged on the battlefield or in a tournament. Profusely illustrated with photographs and period artwork, "Knightly Dueling" is a work of impressive research, scholarship, and able translations from middle high German transcriptions. The result is a historically accurate and descriptive work that is enthusiastically recommended for personal, community, and academic library Medieval and Renaissance Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Emergency One Fire Apparatus 1974-2007
Kent Parrish
Iconografix
PO Box 446, Hudson, WI 54016
9781583882252, $29.95, www.iconografixinc.com

While most of us conjure up the universal image of a traditional red ladder fire engine, there is a wide variation of fire trucks and related emergency vehicles occupying the fire stations of urban, suburban, and rural communities. In "Emergency One Fire Apparatus 1974-2007", fire service veteran and fire apparatus historian Kent Parrish has compiled a full color photo album of fire fighting emergency vehicles produced by Emergency One, a company that became a leader in its field in less than a decade because of its unorthodox building methods such as utilizing pre-built interchangeable modules on a commercial truck chassis which allowed the vehicle to be constructed at a previously unheard of rate of 30 to 60 days (rather than the usual 6 to 12 months their competitors required using conventional construction methods). "Emergency One Fire Apparatus 1974-2007" is an especially recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Automotive History and Firefighting History reference collections. Also newly published and very highly recommended from Iconografix for such specialized collections is Walter M. P. McCall's "Ahrens-Fox: Fire Apparatus Photo Archive" (9781583882177, $32.95).

Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas
Fred Ladd with Harvey Deneroff
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786438662, $35.00, 1-800-253-2187

Today Japanese animation (or anime) is a staple of American comic books, movies, videos, and television programming. But it did not begin until its introduction in 1963 when a Japanese animated television series called 'Tetsuan Atom' was aired by NBC affiliates. Fred Ladd adapted for American television this Japanese series for children, and in the process changed the title to 'Astro Boy'. It became an overnight success being something distinctively different from conventional and ordinary American children's entertainment television fare. Ladd went on to adapt many other Japanese animated television programs and with the assistance of Harvey Deneroff (Professor in the animation department of the Savannah College of Art and Design, and founder of the Society for Animation Studies), in "Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas: An Insider's View Of The Birth Of A Pop Culture Phenomenon" provides an informed and informative history of the Japanese animated series for American television that included such successes as 'Gigantor', 'Kimba The White Lion', 'G-Force', 'Sailor Moon', among others. "Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas" is a welcome addition to academic library Art History and Animation Studies reference collections, and especially recommended reading for the non-specialist general public with an interest in Japanese anime in all its forms and formats.

Shoot an Iraqi
Wafaa Bilal & Kari Lydersen
City Lights Publishers
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
9780872864917, $16.95, www.citylights.com

Who in their right mind would allow random internet users to decide whether they would be shot? "Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life, and the Resistance Under the Gun" tells the story of Wafaa Bilal. When his brother was killed by an unmanned military device during the Iraq war, Bilal took it locked himself in a room, a camera showing him to the world with a remote controlled paintball gun connected to the internet, in the name of art and political statement. Bilal explains himself quite well, making "Shoot an Iraqi" fascinating reading.


The Library Science Shelf

Creating the Customer-Drive Academic Library
Jeannette Woodward
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
9780838909768, $58.00, www.alastore.ala.org

One doesn't need to spend hours in a library any more to do research, so where does this leave libraries, the former place to go? "Creating the Customer-Driven Academic Library" is a complete and comprehensive manual for librarians and their libraries in staying up to date in today's high technology world where all many view the library as an obsolete relic. Technology integration, service, good staff, and promotion are all things a library needs to still be valuable in today's society. "Creating the Customer-Driven Academic Library" is a must have resource for any current library administrator.

The Accidental Librarian
Pamela H. MacKellar
Information Today
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
9781573873383, $29.50, www.infotoday.com

When help is needed, sometimes libraries take it where they can. "The Accidental Librarian" is a librarian's guide for those who have fell into the job, free from a degree aimed at the career or previous professional experience. Hoping to fill in the blanks for these individuals lacking in the educational edge their peers have, it is written by a long time mentor for these types of librarians and is full of poignant wisdom and tips and tricks for when trying to fill shoes you never expected to have to fill. "The Accidental Librarian" is very much worth it for those who need the experience.

More Hands-On Information Literacy Activities
Fiona Hunt & Jane Birks
Neal-Schuman Publishers
100 William Street, Suite 2004, New York, NY 10038
9781555706487, $75.00, www.neal-schuman.com

If you tell someone something, they know that fact. If you teach someone to find out the fact themselves, they can get any fact they desire. "More Hands-On Information Literacy Activities" is a guide aimed at librarians in educating their patrons to use the resources of the library. Expanding on the subjects presented in the earlier volumes, Hunt & Birks offer more knowledge and wisdom of educators and how to inspire research in patrons. The library is still the modern ideal source for good, factual research, and knowing how to use it to its fullest extent is a solid skill. Enhanced with a CD-ROM full of activities, "More Hands-On Information Literacy Activities" is a must acquire for librarians.


The Economics Shelf

Japanese Investment in the World Economy
Roger Farrell
Edward Elgar Publishing
William Pratt House, 9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060
9781840642582, $215.00, www.e-elgar.com

The second largest economy in the world. "Japanese Investment in the World Economy: A Study of Strategic Themes in the Internalization of Japanese Industry" takes a look at Japan, the financial superpower in the modern world. Such a powerful economy in such small space has its own demands, and it answers those demands by going out on the world stage. Foreign Direct Investment is the main concept discussed within the book, discussing Japan pouring money into everything ranging from renewable energy to lumber. It also discusses Japan's personal way of doing things and retaining control, how it exploited past economic booms, and how they are changing world wide investment on the whole. Enhanced with indexes, appendixes, and editorial opinions on the subject, "Japanese Investment in the World Economy" is a complete and comprehensive scholarly reference, ideal for college and community library economics collections.

Do They Walk On Water
Leonard J. Santow
Praeger Publishers
c/o Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313360336, $44.95, www.praeger.com

Economics in general, and the role of the Federal Reserve, has never been so focused upon by the general public as it is in today's deepening economic crisis. That's why "Do They Walk On Water: Federal Reserve Chairmen and the Fed" by Leonard J. Santow (Managing Director of Griggs & Santow Inc. and economic and financial consulting firm in New York City) couldn't be a more timely addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Economic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists. "Do They Walk On Water" presents the Feds' five most recent chairmen beginning with Arthur Burns and G. William Miller, then continuing on with Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, and the current chairman, Ben Bernanke. This is a compellingly appropriate read in that the incoming Obama administration has Paul Volcker as one of its principle economic advisors. "Do They Walk On Water" is an analytical and instructional introduction that also provides thoughtful and thought-provoking information on the functions of the Fed, the important differences between monetary policy and fiscal policy, and how the Fed is able to alter the money supply, control inflation, and be utilized as a creative tool in sustaining national prosperity and foster economic opportunity. Also available in an eBook format (9780313360343, $49.95), "Do They Walk On Water" can be wholeheartedly recommended for both students of economics as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in how the Fed has and can continue to affect our national economic recovery.

State and Local Pension Fund Management
Jun Peng
CRC Press
c/o Taylor & Francis Group
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
9780849305481, $89.95, www.crcpress.com

The current economic recession due to the collapse of major financial institutions is having a devastating effect in both the public and private sectors on pension funds. Just one example is the potential havoc to hundreds of thousands of pensions for active and retired auto industry workers with respect to the near bankruptcy of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The newest addition to the outstanding CRC Press series of 147 volumes on 'Public Administration and Public Policy' and as a part of their 'Comprehensive Public Education' publishing program, "State and Local Pension Fund Management" by Jun Peng (Associate Professor, School of Public Administration and Policy, Eller college of Management, University of Arizona) is a detailed, comprehensive, academically impressive, yet thoroughly accessible introduction to every aspect of pension fund management beginning with an historical overview, then providing chapters on pension benefit design elements, actuarial valuation and financial reporting, pension plan governance standards and oversight policies, management issues for investing pension funds, and pension fund management planning and operational budgets. Of special note are the chapters on post-employment benefits with respect to pension plans (including healthcare for retirees), and the 'Defined Contribution Pension Plan'. Concluding with addressing such issues as managing the growth of liabilities and assets, as well as changing pension benefit designs, "State and Local Pension Fund Management" is a complete course of study in a single volume, and a critically important addition to corporate, governmental agency, and academic library Economics Studies reference collections in general and Pension Plan Management reading lists in particular.


The Biography Shelf

Six Tycoons
Wyn Derbyshire
Spiramus Press Ltd.
102 Blandford Street, London W1U 8AG, United Kingdom
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
9781904905844, $36.95 www.isbs.com 1-800-944-6190

Lawyer Wyn Derbyshire shares his fascination with major figures of financial history in Six Tycoons, a biography that traces the lives and influence of six profoundly wealthy Americans: John Jacob Astor, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Joseph P. Kennedy. Their successes (and their major mistakes!) offer valuable life lessons, and American history might have turned out quite differently if not for their impact. A handful of black-and-white plates illustrate this fascinating anthology of life stories of the rich and famous.

19 Stars of Indiana
Michael S. Maurer
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
9780253353290, $24.95 www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796

Columnist and former Indiana Secretary of Commerce Michael S. Maurer presents 19 Stars of Indiana: Exceptional Hoosier Women, an anthology of biographical portraits of some of Indiana's best and brightest female citizens. From entrepreneurial philanthropist Christel DeHaan to golf sensation Nancy Shepherd Fitzgerald to Sandy Sasso, the second woman in the United States to become a rabbi, each of the talented individuals profiled has given her all to pursue her chosen passion. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this inspirational collection, especially recommended for school and public library collections.

Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada
Michael Vernetti
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 0166, Reno, NV, 89557-0166
9780874177619, $34.95 www.unpress.nevada.edu 1-877-682-6657

Written by former journalist and U.S. Senate aide Michael Vernetti, Senator Howard Cannon of Nevada: A Biography chronicles the life and political career of Howard Cannon, who represented Nevada in the U.S. Senate from 1958 to 1982 and earned a reputation for productivity and influence. A man who believed in the virtue of hard work rather than excessive vanity or self-promotion, Cannon's work on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Armed Services Committee brought about sweeping changes in the air travel industry - such as deregulation and increased support for national military preparedness. A handful of black-and-white photographs and information garnered from dozens of interviews with Cannon's associates distinguish this solid biographical account of a respectable American leader.

John Beargrease
Daniel Lancaster
Holy Cow! Press
PO Box 3170, Mount Royal Station, Duluth, Minnesota 55803
9780977945887, $14.95 www.holycowpress.org

John Beargrease: Legend of Minnesota's North Shore is the first comprehensive biography of John Beargrease (1858-1910), the son of an Anishinabe chief, who brought mail by dog sled to pioneer communities on Minnesota's Lake Superior shore line. His dedication to the job was so great that the annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon was named in his honor. A handful of black-and-white photographs enhance this solid biography of a true outdoorsman, and presents a picturesque glimpse into the earliest settlements of Minnesota's North Shore. Highly recommended.

The Making of a Southerner
Christopher Phillips
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Boulevard, Columbia, MO 65201
9780826218254, $19.95 www.umsystem.edu/upress 1-800-828-1894

The Making of a Southerner: William Barclay Napton's Private Civil War is the biography of William Barclay Napton (1808-1883), an editor, lawyer, and state supreme court justice who lived in Missouri. A former resident of New Jersey who became the owner or trustee of nearly fifty slaves, and one of the most articulate pro-slavery idealogues of the nation, Napton's transition makes for an intriguing case study of the process of "southernization". During the Civil War, Napton lost family and property in defense of Southern ideals. Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this fascinating true story of complete cultural realignment.

Black Pearls
Sascha Feinstein
Eastern Washington University Press
534 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Suite 203, Spokane, WA 99202
9781597660471, $23.95, www.ewupress.ewu.edu

All arts are entangled and intertwined, and Sascha Feinstein has learned this well. "Black Pearls: Improvisations on a Lost Year" is jazz musician and poet Sascha Feinstein's take on jazz improvisations in the form of essays, invoking emotion and heart through his writing. Focusing on the loss of his mother to cancer so many years ago, "Black Pearls: Improvisations on a Lost Year" is a charming and motivating read, solidly recommended.

Brian Mulroney Memoirs
Brian Mulroney
Douglas Gibson Books
c/o McClelland & Stweart
75Sherbourne Street, Toronto, ON M5A 2P9
9780771065361, $50.00, www.mcclelland.com

Becoming Prime Minister of Canada is no small feat. "Brian Mulroney Memoirs" are the official memoirs of the eighteenth Canadian Prime Minister, serving from 1984 until 1993. Raised in Quebec, Mulroney lead a long and eventful life, one filled with activism throughout his career and going into his involvement in politics. Covered in detail are his years during his tenure in office as Prime Minister, having a strong partnership with the Reagan administration. The scope of his memoirs ends with his time in office, with a little aftermath of how Mulroney now spends his life, retired from politics. "Brian Mulroney Memoirs" is a riveting read, an absolute must addition to community library biography and memoirs collections, especially those focused on important public figures.

The Simple Life
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Barbour Publishing
PO Box 719, Uhrichvilles, OH 44683
9781602602205, $16.95, www.barbourbooks.com

Electricity, skyscrapers, and automobiles are all vastly overrated. "The Simple Life: Devotional Thoughts from Amish Country" is a collection of the simple wisdom used by the Amish people. Brunstetter is not Amish herself, but became fascinated with the culture when visiting her in laws within the community. With sixty meditations, Brunstetter draws a picture of a simpler life to be embraced by all. "The Simple Life" preaches a solid message that complexity is not always the best.

Unsanctioned Voice
Bruce Ramsey
Caxton Press
312 Main Street, Caldwell, ID 83605
9780870044656, $17.95, www.caxtonpress.com

They say dissent is the voice of America, and if so, Garet Garett was a true patriot. "Unsanctioned Voice: Garet Garrett, Journalist of the Old Right" tells the story of this persistent opponent to both the Franklin Roosevelt and Truman administrations, but never losing his cool to mudslinging, as so many of today's journalists degrade to. Telling the story of his life and how Garrett's life and practices should be a model for the modern pundit, "Unsanctioned Voice" is a strong choice for biography collections of any sort.

Siren's Feast
Nancy Mehagian
Cielo Press
12400 Ventura Blvd., #733, Studio City, CA 91604
9780979930508, $22.00, www.sirensfeast.com

Food isn't necessarily seen as rebellious, but it can be just as anyone else. "Siren's Feast: An Edible Odyssey" is the story of Nancy Mehagian, an Armenian woman narrowing escaping the notorious genocides against her people. Living a wild life, she's served as a restauranteur, cabaret dancer, and turned herself into a nutritionist. Although a vegetarian, there is plenty of meat in Mehagian's story, making "Siren's Feast" a strong choice for readers interested in a riveting biography.

Incognegro
Frank B. Wilderson
South End Press
7 Brookline Street, Suite 1, Cambridge, MA 02139
9780896087835, $18.00, www.southendpress.org

Racism doesn't die a sudden death. It's a concept that's tough, vengeful, and bitter. "Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid" is a story of race and the shifting attitudes of two countries. Frank B. Wilderson has in his life lived in two countries notorious for its cruel treatment of some of its own citizens solely for the color of their skin - The United States and South Africa. Drawing his ideas and views, Wilderson constructs a very highly readable piece of work, that will enlighten as well as entertain. Written as a response to Nelson Mandela "Incognegro" is a pivotal piece of writing for those studying race in today's world.

Packing Inferno
Tyler E. Boudreau
Feral House
1240 W Sims Way #124, Port Townsend WA 98368
9781932595321, $16.95, www.deeperthanwars.blogspot.com

The rigorous training, the endless stress, the life of a soldier is never an easy one. "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine" is an ordeal that is so often swept under the rug when talking about the conditions soldiers live in. Tyler Boudreau served a dozen years in the Marine Corps, and it seems most of his scars from that time are mental ones. When he was discharged, his life was left in disarray, and "Packing Inferno" is his story, a riveting and invaluable read for anyone who wants to understand the mind of a veteran.

Diver
Tony Groom
Sheridan House
145 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
9781906266066, $19.95, www.sheridanhouse.com

While some people see scuba divers as some sort of crazies, at least they aren't handling explosives. "Diver" is the story of Tony Groom, a man who enlisted at the age of seventeen to become a diver for the Royal Navy. Serving countless years under extremely dangerous conditions, he speaks on his past career and his current career as a commercial diver. A tale of a man who truly loves what he does when no one else would think of doing it, "Diver" is an enthusiastically recommended tale.

Ellen DeGeneres
Lisa Iannucci
Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313353703, $35.00, www.greenwood.com

Inviting people to be a part of our lives through their images on our television screens has made us feel curious about and somehow involved in the lives of celebrities. "Ellen DeGeneres: A Biography" by independent scholar Lisa Iannucci is an informed and informative introduction to the life and accomplishments of Ellen DeGeneres who is one of America's best known (and liked) female comedians. In 1997 Ellen made dramatic (and comedic) history when she announced to the world that she was a lesbian. Although initially it cost her a very successful weekly sitcom, she went on to become successful as an entertainer in films, daily talk shows, advertising campaign spokesperson. Her personal life is the stuff of tabloids. All this adult success arising from a troubled childhood. "Ellen DeGeneres: A Biography" is enhanced with a list of her awards and a bibliography for further study, making it an ideal addition to community library Biography collections and a 'must read' for her legions of enthusiastic fans.

Music and Madness
Ivor Browne
Atrium
c/o DuFour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9780955226120, $42.95, www.dufoureditions.com

Ireland is split into two countries, but Ivor Browne is a man who doesn't want to recognize that separation. "Music and Madness" is his biography of growing up in both Irelands. A psychiatrist by trade, he has spent his life improving the life of the public, being a founder of the Irish Foundation for Human Development, a highly successful organization in the reason. Offshoots have risen up and they all can find their roots in Browne's work. Throughout the book, Browne speaks his opinions, and backs them up with his knowledge. "Music and Madness" is a look into the mind and life of a great intellectual, a great choice for community library biography collections.

Soul Searching
Morgan C. Atkinson, editor
Liturgical Press
PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
9780814618738, $19.95, www.litpress.org

An inspiration to thousands throughout the twentieth century, Thomas Merton was a beatnik turned monk. "Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton" is designed as a companion volume to the video documentary covering the man's life, ranging from his start through his deep soul searching that eventually made him find God, to his travels as a monk. Thomas Merton was a highly spiritual man who gave much comfort to many people, and "Soul Searching" is a read for those to who want to be inspired further.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The I Love to Write Book
Mary Lane Kamberg
Crickhollow Books
3147 S. Pennslyvania Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207
9781933987057, $16.95, www.lovetowritebook.org

A love for writing is something to be nurtured. "The I Love to Write Book: Ideas & Tips for Young Writes" is a collection of tips, tricks, and advice for young writers. Whether they want to make a career out of their craft or just better hone their hobby, Kamberg gives the knowledge and lessons needed to improve a young writer's craft for any purpose. Fiction, non-fiction, letters, poetry, or short stories are all covered, making "The I Love to Write Book" an ideal gift for the young potential author in one's life.

Children's Picture Books
Shari Faden Donahue
Arimax, Inc.
2865 South Eagle Road, Newton, PA 18940
9780963428752, $19.95, www.justselfpublish.com

Children's books are a substantial part of the publishing industry and children's picture books are a substantial part of children's books publishing. That's why the 'marketplace competition' for a children's picture book is so intense -- whether it's the joint collaboration of an author and an artist, or whether the author is also the artist. Often the only viable alternative for a picture book project is that of self-publishing. That's where Shari Faden Donahue's "Children's Picture Books: How to Self-Publish Your Way To Success" should be considered essential reading for anyone aspiring to become an author and/or illustrator of children's picture books. As a veteran picture book author, illustrator and publisher, Donahue draws upon her years of experience and expertise to provide a wealth of practical, 'user friendly' information, commentary and instruction on all aspects of self-publishing a picture book including the writing, illustration, design, printing, sales, distribution, promotion and publicity aspects of the process. In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that the Midwest Book Review and its editor-in-chief James Cox are cited four times in the text. Providing 344-pages of solid information that carefully and succinctly walks the reader through every phase of the publishing process, "Children's Picture Books" is complete course of instruction under one cover and is enhanced with up-to-date information that includes publishing industry vendors, thematically appropriate websites, organizations, conferences and workshops, a self-publisher's glossary, a reading list, and direct contact information for more than fifty children's picture book reviewers (including the Midwest Book Review!). Of special note are the chapters dealing with marketing. If you are contemplating publishing (or have already self-published) a children's picture book, then you absolutely need to have your very own copy of "Children's Picture Books: How To Self-Publishing Your Way To Success" -- it will be the best publishing investment you'll ever make!


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Climate Change
David L. Downie, et al.
ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781598841527, $55.00, www.abc-clio.com

It took a long time, and the mass extinction of a great many plants and animals, to persuade the general public that massive climate change was happening and how calamitous the consequences would be for the human race if appropriate steps were not taken to reverse the largely man-made conditions that had triggered it. The collaborative work of David L. Downie (Associate Professor of Political Science, Fairfield University, and Director of the Program on the Environment), Kate Brash (Assistant Director, Global Roundtable on Climate Change, Earth Institute, Columbia university), and Catherine Vaughan (Project Coordinator at the International Research Institute for Climate Change and Society), "Climate Change" is part of the outstanding ABC-CLIO series on 'Contemporary World Issues' and focuses upon all of the various aspects of the environmental causes and effects of our rapidly changing climate. Presenting readers with an informed and informative introductory essay; chronology of events, legislation and movements; biographies of activists, advocates and legislators; enhanced with numerous tables, figures, and documents, as well as a directory of thematically appropriate organizations and agencies. Also featuring a number of annotated lists of print and web site resources, a glossary, and a comprehensive subject index, "Climate Change" is an ideal academic textbook for environmental studies, as well as being easily accessible for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in this complex and critically important subject.

The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008
The Heinz Center
Island Press
1718 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009-1148
9781597264716, $29.50, www.islandpress.org

A massive information gathering project of The H. John Heinz III center for Science, Economics and the Environment and published by Island Press, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008: Measuring The Lands, Waters, And Living Resources Of The United States" is a comprehensive, meticulous, informative, seminal, and up-to-date compilation of facts and information on America's myriad and diverse ecosystems including the flora and fauna that abide in them. From the country's coasts and oceans, to its farmlands, forests, fresh water systems, grasslands and shrublands, as well as urban and suburban landscapes, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008" provides basic data enhanced with charts, maps, and full color photography. A major contribution to professional, governmental, and academic library Environmental Studies & Planning reference collection, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008" is a substantial and scholarly publication, and will prove to be of continuing interest and utility for anyone seeking reliable information on American ecosystems as they are functioning today.

Wildlands Philanthropy
Tom Butler & Antonio Vizcaino
Palace Press International
3160 Kerner Blvd., Unit 108, San Rafael, CA 94901
9781601090195, $65.00, www.palacepress.com

Public awareness of the value of wild lands and nature reserves in the western hemisphere continues to grow, along with an appreciation for the complexity and difficulty in protecting them for the sake of future generations. "Wildlands Philanthropy: The Great American Tradition" is a collection of anecdotal stories about the people over the last ten decades that have led the way to fostering public appreciation for wild landscapes and diverse ecosystems ranging from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. This is a superbly illustrated history of the founding of state and national parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, and private nature sanctuaries as parts of the growing conservation of these bio-diversity environments. The full color nature photographs of Antonio Vizcaino are a perfect complement to Tom Butler's superbly informed and informative text making "Wildlands Philanthropy" an enthusiastically recommended addition for personal, community, and academic library Environmental Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Atlas of Early Michigan Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands
Dennis A. Albert & Patrick J. Comer, authors
Helen Enander, cartographer
Michigan State University Press
Manly Miles Building, Suite 25, 1405 South Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
9780870138317, $29.95 www.msupress.msu.edu

Atlas of Early Michigan Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands is a softcover, king-sized reference of early Michigan's natural environment. Compiled from interpretations of the 1816-1856 General Land Office surveys, the full-color, full-page maps allow one to read the names of Michigan's criss-crossing roads. An introductory essay briefs the reader on Michigan's natural history, how the maps were made, and how they are meant to be used, but the bulk of Atlas of Early Michigan Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands is devoted to the maps themselves. An excellent resource for anyone interested in studying the geographical and environmental layout of Michigan in the past, or for possible comparisons to Michigan in the modern day.


The Education Shelf

Good Choice!
Tony Stead
Stenhouse Publishers
PO Box 11020, Portland, ME 04104-7020
9781571107329, $22.50, www.stenhouse.com

Books broaden the imagination and enhance the mind, but so few kids read of their own free will. "Good Choice!: Supporting Independent Reading and Response K-6" is a guide for inspiring literacy in elementary school children and encouraging reading on a child's free time by giving them choices that will entertain them and inspire them to find books appropriate for them to gain a life long love of reading. "Good Choice!" is a must for any librarian or language arts teacher caring for their students' literacy.

Group Rules!
Sherry Henig
Brenner Publishing
37 Lent Drive, Plainview, NY 11803
Concierge Marketing, Inc. (publicity)
13518 L Street, Omaha, NE 68137
9780977720354, $12.95

Getting along with others is an invaluable life skill. "Group Rules: The Social Skills and Ground Rules for Children's Groups" is a guide for encouraging good group manners in young children. Promoting thirteen rules on good social group etiquette. Targeted at elementary school children, it's an ideal acquisition for their teachers who want to inspire fundamental life skills. "Group Rules" executes its purpose excellently.

Finding the Right Texts
Elfrieda H. Hiebert & Misty Sailors
The Guilford Press
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
9781593858858, $30.00, www.guilford.com

What kind of reading materials does one suggest to someone who can't read? "Finding the Right Texts: What Works for Beginning and Struggling Readers" is a librarian's handbook for dealing with young and struggling readers who are just getting started in the massive and complex world of the English written language. Highlighting the value of certain books when educating someone learning how to read, it discusses the varying stages in the process and when it's appropriate to push a reader to a higher level. "Finding the Right Texts" is an educator and librarian's best friend on the subject of novice readers.

Interactive Learning Experiences, 2nd Edition
David Smokler
Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
9781412963350, $56.95 www.corwinpress.com

INTERACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES: INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING is for teachers of grades 6-12 and shows how to create and set up a classroom experience for students - even if little time is available for extra prep. Sample experiences from the author's own design and program enhance chapters covering standards-based assessment routines, making for a powerful presentation college-level education collections will appreciate.

How to Get Into the Top Graduate Schools
David Wilkening
Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34474-7014
9781601382153, $24.95 www.atlantic-pub.com

Any student aspiring to get into graduate school will find this packs in invaluable details for those still in college as well as those returning to school after a hiatus. From locating funding to choosing a school, assessing grad programs, and researching online, this offers all the steps for getting into a top graduate school environment. Any library catering to students heading for higher education needs this.

Teaching Unprepared Students
Kathleen F. Gabriel
Stylus Publishing
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2102
9781579222307, $24.95, www.styluspub.com

Teaching is a tough job, especially when your pupil is under prepared. "Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education" is a guide for this all too common situation where a student is dangerously in over his or her head in the class they are in. Aiming for students to get the resources they need to turn a subpar student into a superb one, "Teaching Unprepared Students" is an invaluable manual for when traditional methods just aren't good enough.

Behave Yourself!
Ambrose Panico
Solution Tree
304 West Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47404
9781934009413, $19.95, www.solution-tree.com

Every classroom teacher must not only instruct their students academically, but must also help them learn behaviors that will be advantages for their academic and social development within the school setting. That's the underlying reason for "Behave Yourself!: Helping Students Plan To Do Better" by Ambrose Panico, who draws upon his experiences and expertise as a teacher, coach, dean, principal, Due Process Hearing Officer, and central office administrator to develop a simple, effective, five-step process for fostering the development of a healthy relationship between students, parents, and school personnel. Teachers are provided with classroom tools for engaging students as active participants in the behavior change process; create problem-solving teams; identify alternatives to a classical reward/punishment conditioning; personal and environmental variables with respect to behavior modification; and so much more. Of special note is the chapter of reproducibles for teachers and administrators for gathering student information with respect to the behavioral change process. Informed and informative, "Behave Yourself!" is a welcome, 'user friendly', and confidently recommended addition to private and public school behavior modification programming resources.

Gifted to Learn
Gloria Mehlmann
The University of Alberta Press
Ring House 2, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E1
0888644981, $24.95, www.uap.ualberta.ca

Academia is the last place one expects to find prejudice, but it's there. "Gifted to Learn" is Gloria Mehlmann's reflections on her long and storied career in the field of public school education. A Cree/Saulteaux woman, she faced discrimination. She overcame the racism of the time, and had a phenomenal and successful career. An inspirational story direct from the source, "Gifted to Learn" is highly recommended reading.

A Librarian's Guide to Cultivating An Elementary School Garden
Bonnie Mackey & Jennifer Mackey Stewart
Linworth Books
3650 Olentangy River road, Suite 250, Columbus, OH 43214
1586833286, $39.95, www.linworth.com

Gardening has long been utilized to introduce children (especially city kids) to such educational issues as the environment, the value of fruits and vegetables in a health diet, and the growth cycles of plants. The collaborative work of Bonnie Mackey (an elementary school teacher for 13 years and a now college professor teaching courses in emergent literacy, reading instructional strategies, developmental assessments, and community programs) and Jennifer Mackey Stewart (a freelance writer and instructor with the Texas' Round Rock Independent School District Community Education Program), "A Librarian's Guide to Cultivating An Elementary School Garden" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' guidebook for justifying, designs, and implementing a school garden for the express purpose of improving children's academic performances overall. Of special note are Mackey and Stewart's highlighting of the five most common gardening habitats (wetlands, urban, vegetable, wildscape, butterfly) in substantial detail. An ideal reference and resource for classroom teachers and school librarians, "A Librarian's Guide to Cultivating An Elementary School Garden" is also of significant value for home schooling parents by providing useful information on funding sources, guidance on designing and maintaining a garden, as well as offering a bibliography of related books, specific instructional activities, and 'webliographies'.


The American History Shelf

Utopias in American History
Jyotsna Sreenivasan
ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781598840520, $95.00, www.abc-clio.com

Independent scholar Jyotsna Sreenivasan points out that the U.S. has the most sustained tradition of utopianism of any modern country, and charts this historical course from the founding of the American colonies to the co-housing movement of the 1990s. This encyclopedia history provides 40 entries on specific utopian communal movements, topics related to utopian lifestyles from politics to individual influences, and a blend of biography and history. It's an outstanding survey that any high school to college-level library in American history needs.

Nauvoo Polygamy
George D. Smith
Signature Books
564 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
9781560852018, $39.95, www.signaturebooks.com

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, had several other unique accomplishments in his shortened life. Among the most unusual was the institution of plural marriage or polygamy that he began in response to revelations from God. Beginning in the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith married thirty-eight women and in the process, introduced the theological concept and practice of 'celestial marriage' to his most important followers. By early 1846 some 200 men had adopted a polygamous life style with 717 wives in total. After being expelled from Nauvoo by their non-Mormon neighbors, these men of the church would go on to marry a recorded total of 417 more women giving them an average of six wives each. In their new Utah settlements, this example would be taken up by others and despite the eventual abandonment of the practice by the Mormon Church, the practice continues among Mormon splinter groups to this very day. "Nauvoo Polygamy" is a 705-page work of impressive, meticulous, insightful, detailed, and documented historical scholarship by a noted Mormon historian and publisher making with very highly recommended reading for students of Mormon history in general, and the evolution of the practice of polygamy within the Mormon Church in particular.

Social History of the United States
Brian Greenberg and Linda S. Watts
ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781598841275, $995.00 www.abc-clio.com

The impressive 10-volume set SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES divides history into eras (the 1900s, the 1930s) for each volume, allowing for a narrowed, more detailed examination than most offer. From an introductory review of major issues of the era to biographies, discussions of social change and economic influences, and the rise of movements and campaigns across the country, each volume provides bibliographical references for further research. The set is wide-ranging and makes for a top reference pick for both high school and college-level collections strong in sociology and American history. Very highly recommended, it promises to hold lasting research value and is a particularly strong starting point for papers and classroom discussions.

Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants
Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211
9780806315119, $45.00, www.genealogical.com

One of the rewards given out to the American citizen soldiers who fought in the War of Independence against the British forces was the allotment of 'bounty land' in appreciation and recognition of their services to the newly emerging country. Not only did these land grants come from the federal government, they were also provided by nine of the state governments as well. These land bounty states included Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia awarding land grants in their western areas which also served the additional purpose of helping to populate and settle the wilderness. These individual states did not centralize their records. "Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants" represents years of dedicated effort by Lloyd deWitt Bockstruck in gathering, compiling and organizing the state bounty land records, creating a master index for them, and making truly accessible more than 35,000 names (counting duplicates) in an alphabetical format. Enhanced with the addition of a separate index to heirs, representatives and other assignees, "Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants" is a seminal and very highly recommended work of original historical research and a welcome addition to personal and academic American History reference collections. Additionally, "Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants" will also prove to be a unique informational resource for genealogists as well.

Historic Photos Of Honolulu
Clifford Kapono
Turner Publishing Company
200 - 4th Avenue North, Suite 950
Nashville, TN 37219
9781596524996, $39.95, www.turnerpublishing.com

There is so much more to 19th and 20th century Hawaiian history than hula dances and surf boarding. With an informative text and captions by Clifford Kapono, "Historic Photos Of Honolulu" showcases a compendium of black-and-white historical photos of the people and places that comprise the Hawaiian city of Honolulu. Here laid out in chronological order are enduring visual images organized into four sections: The Life of the Land (1850-1899); Territorial Transition (1900-1919); Sugar, Sand, and Surf (1920-1940); Pearl Harbor and After (1941-1970). Enhanced with the inclusion of copious notes on the photography and a selected bibliography, "Historic Photos Of Honolulu" is a welcome addition to personal, community, and academic library Historical Photography and American History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Railroading Shelf

Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotives
John Kelly
Iconografix
PO Box 446, Hudson, WI 54016
www.iconografixinc.com
9781583882283, $29.95, 1-888-381-0308

American railroads were, and continue to be, an integral part of the establishing this country as a prosperous nation and an essential means of transportation and commerce. They are also an enduringly popular field of study for railroading enthusiasts. "Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotives: Photo Archive - Steam, Diesel & Electric" by railroading enthusiast John Kelly is a superbly compiled and presented collection of the locomotives that worked the Pennsylvania Railroad and includes experimental engines, the various classes and categories of steam locomotives, diesel powered engines, and electric locomotives. Enhanced with previous unpublished archival photos, a system map, timetables, advertising, and locomotive designs by Raymond Loewy, "Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotives: Photo Archive - Steam, Diesel & Electric" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library American Railroading History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

A Railroad Atlas Of The United States
Richard C. Carpenter
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9780801890024, $65.00, www.press.jhu.edu

In the 19th century, railroads were a key factor in the expansion of the United States from coast to coast and border to border. In the 20th century railroads continued to be a bedrock of American commerce. Expertly compiled by Richard C. Carpenter, and published by The John Hopkins University Press, "A Railroad Atlas Of The United States: Volume 3" is an impressive compilation of railroad maps for Indiana, Lower Michigan and Ohio. This compendium begins with an informative introduction, as well as advice on how to use this specialized railroading atlas. The atlas is then divided into three sections: Key Map, Map Symbols and Abbreviations; and the maps themselves. Enhanced with an Appendix listing all of the railroads in the atlas, with copious notes on the maps and a list of references, "A Railroad Atlas Of The United States" also features indices that include coaling stations, interlocking stations and former interlocking stations, passenger and non-passenger stations, track pans, tunnels, and viaducts. Comprehensive, authoritative, and thoroughly 'user friendly', "A Railroad Atlas Of The United States" is a highly recommended addition to personal and academic library American Railroading History reference collections.


The Cookbook Shelf

Best of the Best Fast & Fabulous Party Foods and Appetizers
Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley
Quail Ridge Press
PO Box 123, Brandon, MS 39043
9781934193204, $16.95 www.quailridge.com 1-800-343-1583

Spiral bound to lay flat for easy reference, Best of the Best Fast & Fabulous Party Foods and Appetizers is a cookbook jam-packed with recipes perfect for all types of parties and gatherings. Four hundred recipes comprising twenty-four full party menus form the core of this incredibly useful and easy-to-follow cookbook. Best of the Best Fast & Fabulous Party Foods and Appetizers is further enhanced with hundreds of hints and suggestions for enhancing its preparations, and special sections on Quick Fixes (food that can be prepared in minutes) and Fun Foods (taste treats with an amusing appearance especially sure to delight younger folk) allow for extra flexibility. Recipes range from Pecan Cheese Wafers to Porto Mushroom Fries, Gingered Shrimp Kabobs, Zucchini Stix Dippers, and much more. Highly recommended for anyone seeking to liven up their gatherings with unforgettably good snacks!

Healthy South Indian Cooking
Alamelu Vairavan and Patricia Marquardt
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9780781811897, $32.00 www.hippocrenebooks.com 1-212-685-4371

Now in a newly expanded edition enhanced with forty new recipes and offering over one hundred vegetarian delicacies, Healthy South Indian Cooking remains a flavorful staple of any international or vegetarian cuisine library. An introductory section walks the reader through the spices and basics of South Indian cooking, and the recipes range from soups and rasam to chutneys and salads to sambhar, kulambu, dias, and more. A brief section of nonvegetarian dishes such as Chettinad Chicken Chops rounds out this easy-to-use cooking compendium, enhanced with a scattering of color photographs.

Cookies To Die For!
Bev Shaffer
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781589806108, $26.95 www.pelicanpub.com 1-800-843-1724

Cookies To Die For! The Complete Guide For Cookie Lovers is a tasty recipe collection that (almost) lives up to its title. The tasty delights within include recipes for Luscious Linzer Cookies, Cocoa Walnut Brownie Cookies, Baby White Chocolate Strips, Orange Butter Cookies, and much more. Mouth-watering color photographs illustrate some of the delights; all have easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions that will turn cooks of all skill and experience levels into expert cookie creators. Highly recommended for anyone who loves to indulge.

Add Another Place Setting
Junior League of Northwestern Arkansas
Favorite Recipes Press
PO Box 305142, Nashville, Tennessee 37230
9780979076909, $26.95

The Junior League of Northwestern Arkansas presents Add Another Place Setting is a hardcover compendium of widely beloved Southern food recipes (with the occasional bit of regional influence for extra pizzaz)! Step-by-step instructions and the occasional color photograph show readers how to create such delectable delights as Shrimp Scampi, Tortellini Soup, Sweet and Savory Broccoli Salad, Plum Chicken with Couscous, and much more. A sumptuous compendium of popular favorite dishes worthy of serving to guests at holidays or celebrations.

Heirloom Beans
Steve Sando and Vanessa Darrington
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9780811860697, $22.95 www.chroniclebooks.com 1-800-722-6657

Beautifully illustrated with full color photographs, Heirloom Beans is a cookbook packed with nearly ninety recipes for the heirloom bean - though substitutes are offered so that enterprising cooks can try them out with whatever types of beans are available at the local store. From appetizers to soups, stews, chilies, salads, side dishes, main dishes, and casseroles, Heirloom Beans is filled cover to cover with delicious and nutritious creations - as well as an introductory section filled with tips about buying, storing, and using basic cooking techniques on beans. A "must-have" for anyone who loves bean dishes.

Recipes from Historic California
Linda & Steve Bauer
Taylor Trade Publishing
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
9781589793484, $24.95, www.rlpgtrade.com

Although part of America, California has a good deal of state-exclusive culture. "Recipes from Historic California: A Restaurant Guide and Cookbook" is an exploration of California's culinary culture. The recipes of historic restaurants serving food one won't be able to find anywhere else in the state are spotlighted. "Recipes from Historic California" is a delicious sample of California, and something that the adventurous eater and cook will relish.

Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book
Rachel Ray
Clarkson Potter Publishers
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1. New York, NY 10019-4305
9780307383198, $24.95 www.clarksonpotter.com

A television personality and popular cook, Rachel Ray's ultimate 'big book' includes 30-minute meals for all kinds of eaters, from Kosher meals and meals for one to vegetarian and holiday menus. From a zesty Gaucho Burger to a quick Italian chicken sausage Winter Lasagna, a peppering of color photos enhances a wide range of appealing, hearty fare. Especially recommended for her legions of enthusiastic fans, "Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book" is a welcome addition to any personal or community library cookbook collection!

Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics
Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter Publishers
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, New York, NY 10019-4305
www.randomhouse.com, 1-800-726-0600
9781400054350, $35.00 www.clarksonpotter.com

Ina Garten's cookbooks have long been best-sellers, providing access to French classics through easy home cooking recipe modifications: Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics is certain to join any collection strong in international cuisine in general and French cooking in particular, covering the basics of baking, cooking, and entertaining. From Lobster Corn Chowder and Tuscan Lemon Chicken to Pan-Roasted Root Vegetables, it's a top pick for any interested in modified French cuisine. Easy for home cooks to absorb, and includes color photos throughout.

Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread & Scuppernong Wine
Joseph E. Dabney
Cumberland House
431 Harding Industrial Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
9781581826678, $28.95 www.cumberlandhouse.com

This 10th anniversary edition of a fine gathering of Blue Ridge foodlore and folklore covers Appalachian cuisine from pioneer days to modern times, pairing vintage photos and sidebars of fact with recipes and cultural insights relating to food preparation. From sweet corn pudding and various types of corn bread to apple harvest dishes, SMOKEHOUSE HAM is a winning gathering of traditional dishes perfect for any collection strong in regional cooking.

Picture Yourself Cooking With Your Kids
Beth Sheresh
Thomson Course Technology
25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210
1598635581, $19.99 www.courseptr.com

Picture yourself in the kitchen cooking with children at hand: parents and kids learn how to develop cooperative methods to develop tasty food from scratch in a book designed to involve kids not just in the kitchen, but from start to finish: menu plans, grocery shopping, basic cooking skills, and food safety. Recipes focus on fresh ingredients and are embellished with color photos and easy step-by-step instructions, making this a perfect guide for parents and kids to follow.

Enlightened Soups
Camilla V. Saulsbury
Cumberland House Publishing
431 Harding Industrial Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
9781581826647, $22.95 www.cumberlandhouse.com

Enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library cookbook collections, Camilla V. Saulsbury's ENLIGHTENED SOUPS: MORE THAN 150 LIGHT, HEALTHY, DELICIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL SOUPS IN 60 MINUTES OR LESS offers a fine collection of soup options which include new takes on classics and many a different approach to soups. From Lemon Chicken Soup with Spinach and Pasta to Mongolian Hot Pot Soup and Gnocci Soup with Root Vegetables, a fine set of international flavors is presented.

Dessert Express
Lauren Chattman
Taunton Press
Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470
9781600850189, $17.95 www.taunton.com

One hundred from-scratch desserts which can be put together in a half hour or less come from a busy mother and former pastry chef and offers a wide range of dishes, from cookies and puddings to ice cream. Shortcuts to extra-swift production range from using frozen pizza dough to make pie crusts to 'baking' cookies in a waffle iron. The tips and insights are wonderful for busy cooks who still wish to cook from scratch and make for an outstanding guide libraries will find a popular pick.

Made in Spain
Jose Andres with Richard Wolffe
Clarkson Potter Publishers
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, New York, NY 10019-4305
9780307382634, $35.00 www.clarksonpotter.com

MADE IN SPAIN accompanies a PBS TV show and tells of the food of Jose Andres' native Spain, offering a tour of regional specialties that reflect the soul of Spanish cuisine. From a Traditional Basque Stew of Tuna, Peppers and Onions to a Galacian-Style Chicken Turnover and Ribbons of Melon and Ham, MADE IN SPAIN: SPANISH DISHES FOR AMERICAN KITCHENS is loaded with color photos of finished dishes and delightful insights throughout.

Best Food Writing 2008
Holly Hughes, Editor
DaCapo
c/o Perseus Books
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738212517, $15.95 www.dacapopress.com

The annual editions of BEST FOOD WRITING are real winners featuring a feast of culinary prose from the past year's books, newspapers, newsletters and web sites. Chapters range from The Restaurant biz to home Cooking and Dining Around, making for a powerful collection of essays and vignettes perfect for both culinary and literary libraries.

Symply Too Good To Be True: American Version
Annette Sym
c/o Booth Media Group, Inc.
1386 Nightshade Road, Carlshad, CA 92011
9780957716179, $19.95 www.boothmedia.com

Illustrated with full-page, close-up color photographs of every mouth-watering dish, Symply Too Good To Be True: American Version is a compendium of over 150 delicious, low-fat, healthy recipes. A bonus 28-day weight loss plan is included to help readers get started on positive diet and lifestyle change. In addition to the easy-to-follow cooking directions, Symply Too Good To Be True features nutritional information for each dish, including calories, fat and saturated fat, sodium, carbs, sugar, fiber, and protein per serving. Delicacies range from the basic Ham and Cheese Omelette to Chicken Pizziola, Lite Pesto, Deluxe Potato Salad, Strawberries Romannette, and much more. A "must-have" for anyone who wants to prepare healthier meals without sacrificing taste!

Kneadlessly Simple
Nancy Baggett
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5773
9780470399866, $24.95 www.wiley.com 1-800-225-5945

Baking expert, food journalist, and award-winning cookbook author Nancy Baggett presents Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads, a straightforward guide to making delicious breads that do not require the tedious hassle of kneading dough. From yeast breads to old word classics to sweet breads and even gluten-free breads, Kneadlessly Simple offers meticulously thorough directions that bakers of all skill and experience levels will find easy to follow. A handful of color plates illustrate this welcome addition to any baker's library.

Great Chefs Cook Vegan
Linda Long
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
9781423601531, $35.00, www.gibbs-smith.com

A vegan diet is one that excludes meats or animal products of all kinds and categories, including egg and dairy products. The vegan diet is one of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans. The dishes prepared to vegan specifications are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in both fiber and nutrients for the human body. Herself an accomplished vegan chef, in "Great Chefs Cook Vegan", cookbook author showcases vegan recipes from twenty-five of highly accomplished and professional chefs ranging from Daniel Boulud, to Jean-George Vongerichten, to Cat Cora. Superbly illustrated throughout, each individual chef section includes a three or four-course vegan meal laid out with 'kitchen cook friendly', step-by-step recipe instructions. The dishes themselves range from Curried Cauliflower with Currants and Pine Nuts; to Apple Confit, Quince Ras el Hanout Puree, Poached Dates, and Apple Chips; to Homemade Garlic Tortillas with Tofu Scrambled Eggs, Roasted Seven-Tomato Salsa, and Fresh Guacamole. A simple gorgeous compendium of truly elegant dishes certain to please any palate and satisfy any appetite, "Great Chefs Cook Vegan" is an ideal addition to personal and community library cookbook collections for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!

New Southern Cooking
Nathalie Dupree
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Drive, Athens, GA, 30602-4901
0820326305, $19.95, www.ugapress.org

Combining regional recipes that reflect both traditional and original culinary dishes, Nathalie Dupree has compiled "New Southern Cooking", a compendium of truly extraordinary dishes that are as thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' as they are palate pleasing and appetite satisfying. Ranging from Asparagus Topped with Scallops; Sausage and Apple Overnight Casserole; Mushroom, Pumpkin Seed, and Lettuce Salad; and Fried Spicy Cheese Grits Pieces; to Barbecued Quail; Fast Unstuffed Turkey with Peanut Dressing; Sweetbreads and Turnip Greens with Tomato-Lime Sauces; and Moravian Cookies, "New Southern Cooking" offers 345-pages of superlative recipes suitable for any dining occasion from simply family meals to elegant celebratory feasts. Simply stated, "New Southern Cooking" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections!

The Genius Of James Barber
James Barber, et al.
Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550174496, $26.95, 1-800-667-2988

Born in the United Kingdom in 1923, James Barber eventually moved to British Columbia to pursue a career food, eventually becoming a food critic at the 'Vancouver Sun'. Barber went on to write eleven cookbooks and star in 'The Urban Peasant', a popular television cooking show on CBC that ran for ten years. Barber retired to his farm in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver island, continuing to experience the joys of cooking until his death in November 2007 at the age of 84. Now with informed and informative contributions by ten of his fellow food enthusiasts, chefs, and restauranteurs, "The Genius Of James Barber: His Best Recipes" has been published both as a tribute to his culinary accomplishments and to bring those contributions to the tables of a whole new generation of appreciative kitchen cooks. The recipes range from Hummus on the Cheap; Poorman's Hot and Sour Soup; Eight-Legged Chicken; and Shrimp Egg Foo Young; to Bachelor's Fried Rice; Spicy Potato Pancakes; Good Ol' Southern Corn Bread; and Chocolate Con Leche, making "The Genius Of James Barber" a welcome and highly prized addition to personal and community library cookbook collections.

The Amish Cook At Home
Lovina Eicher & Kevin Williams
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9780740773723, $29.99, 1-800-851-8923

The Amish are most popularly known for their dedication to the simple life. Arising from their own unique culture is culinary tradition that emphasis seasonal agricultural bounties. Co-authors of the syndicated newspaper column 'The Amish Cook', showcasing Amish culture, tradition, and cooking, Lovina Eicher and Kevin Williams have expertly collaborated to publish a cornucopia of classic Amish dishes in "The Amish Cook At Home: Simple Pleasures Of Food, Family, And Faith". Beautifully illustrated with color photography throughout, the recipes range from Dandelions with Gravy; Rhubarb Juice; Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries; and Zucchini Bars; to Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos; Concord Grape Streusel Pie; Easy Chicken Casserole; and Caramel Corn. "The Amish Cook At Home" is replete with anecdotal descriptions of Amish life and customs which when combined with the thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes, make this a superb addition to family and community library cookbook and Amish Studies collections.

Cooking From China's Fujian Province
Jacqueline M. Newman
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9780781811835, $29.95, www.hippocrenebooks.com

Fujian is a province in southeastern China and home to a distinctive culinary tradition that goes back a thousand years in the recorded history of the country. In "Cooking From China's Fujian Province", Jacqueline M. Newman (editor-in-chief of 'Flavor and Fortune', the only food magazine in the U.S. dedicated specifically to Chinese cuisine) has compiled two hundred authentic recipes from the Fujian province. Along with the recipes themselves, "Cooking From China's Fujian Province" also features cultural and historical notes, glossaries of equipment and ingredients, suggested menus, and eight pages of color photographs showcasing the culinary beauty of selected dishes. From Pork and Spinach Dumplings; Firecracker Shrimp with Litchi; Duck and Taro in Oyster Sauce; and Meatballs with Crab Meat; to Bean Curd Rice Rolls; Stuffed Sweet Potato Pancakes; Chicken Soup with Pear; and Razor Clams with Black Bean Sauce, "Cooking From China's Fujian Province" is an impressive culinary collection and enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, family, and community library cookbook shelves.

One Pot French
Jean-Pierre Challet
Sellers Publishing
81 West Commercial Street, Portland, ME 04101
9781416205258, $19.95, www.makefun.com

One-pot cooking is a time-saver for the harried kitchen cook. But one-pot meals can be as delicious and as culinarily elegant as any up-scale French restaurant dining thanks to "One Pot French", a profusely illustrated compendium of recipes by Jean-Pierre Challet with the assistance of Jennifer Decorte. The more than one hundred speciality recipes range from Galette de Crabe Et Sar Rouille (Crab Cakes with Rouille Sauce); to Salade D'Hiver Aux Legumes Rotis (Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad); to Cassoulet (Navy Bean Stew with Duck Confit and Sausages); to Tarte Tartin (Upside-Down Caramelized Apple Tart). With its thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly', step-by-step recipes, "One Pot French" will make a welcome and sophisticated addition to any personal, family, or community library cookbook collection.

150 Best Diabetes Desserts
Barbara Selley
Robert Rose, Inc.
c/o Firefly Books Ltd.
66 Leek Crescent, Richmond Hills, ON, Canada, L4B 1H1
9780778801931, $24.95, www.fireflybooks.com

Being diagnosed with diabetes does not mean having to go without dessert! Compiled and edited by Barbara Selley, "150 Best Diabetes Desserts" is a compendium of kitchen cook friendly dessert recipes that include muffins, loaves, scones, biscotti, shortbread, cookies, bars, squares, brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, coffee cakes, pies, tarts, crips, fruit desserts, and even frozen or chilled desserts. Along with an ingredients list and cooking instructions, each individual recipe is also provided with estimated serving amounts, a nutrient description, and both American and Canadian exchanges information. Of special value are the 'Tips', 'Variation', and 'Make Ahead' tips scattered throughout the recipes. Enhanced with a section of full colored photos of finished dishes, the recipes range from Sunrise Zucchini Muffins; Oatmeal Orange Coconut Cookies; and Mixed Fruit Bran Bars; to Chocolate Angel Food Cake; Sour Cream Apple Pie; and Frozen Jamoca Mousse. Simply stated, Barbara Selley's "150 Best Diabetes Desserts" is an essential addition to any and all diabetic cookbook shelf collections.

Slow & Easy
Natalie Haughton
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5773
9780470229408, $22.95, www.wiley.com

Slow cookers and crock posts are an invaluable addition to the kitchen of any time-stressed family chef who would like to have dinner ready for the table when their loved ones come home from work or school. Now such kitchen cooks can have access to more than 250 thoroughly 'user friendly' recipes specifically designed for the electric slow cooker or crock pot with "Slow & Easy". This simply outstanding compendium of superb recipes compiled by Natalie Haughton showcase recipes for everything from appetizers, dips and drinks; to soups and chowders; to pasta and pasta sauces; to chicken, turkey and seafood; to beef, pork, and lamb; to one-pot meals; to vegetables, grains, and side dishes; to breakfast and brunch repasts; to great slow cooker desserts; and even preserves, chutneys, and salsas. Ranging from Roasted Red Pepper Cheesecake; French Onion Soup; and Chunky Italian Beef Sauce with Zucchini; to a Hot Dog-Pineapple Bean Bake; Balsamic-Glazed Onions; and Wild Rice with Apricots and Almonds; each delicious and nutritious recipe is provided with service size estimates an a bit of preparation advice and commentary, along with the ingredient list and cooking instructions. "Slow & Easy" is a welcome, practical, and highly recommended addition to both family and community library cookbook collections.


The Self-Help Shelf

I Am Potential
Patrick Henry Hughes and Patrick John Hughes & Bryant Stamford
DaCapo/Lifelong Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738212982, $24.00 www.dacapopress.com

I AM POTENTIAL: EIGHT LESSONS ON LIVING, LOVING, AND REACHING YOUR DREAMS tells of how to achieve dreams against impossible odds - and tells of son Patrick Henry Hughes, born with a rare genetic disorder resulting in arms that would not straighten, legs that couldn't walk, and permanent blindness. His parents didn't give up on him - and at nine months he began to play the piano, demonstrating an extraordinary musical talent. Even more extraordinary - this book is written in the first-person from the genius son's experiences. An outstanding book on beating the odds - and emerging a winner - highly recommended for any general-interest lending library.

The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques
Margaret Wehrenberg
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393705560, $17.95 www.wwnorton.com

Any who suffer from chronic anxiety needs The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques, a survey of the symptoms, impact and management of anxiety. From addressing avoiding potential panic triggers and negative feelings to using insights of brain anatomy, Wehrenberg discusses the biology basis of panic attacks and also surveys exercises and strategies for re-training the brain to conquer stress and anxiety. Any health library and general-interest lending library strong on consumer health issues needs this.

Winning in the 5th Quarter
Bob Beck
Morgan James
1225 Franklin Ave Ste 32, Garden City, NY 11530-1693
9781600374555, $17.95, www.morganjamespublishing.com

The playbook doesn't have to become useless once the big game is over. "Winning in the 5th Quarter: Apply the Secrets of Football to Your Life-Strategy Playbook" is a guide to using the game of football to get one ahead in life. A strange trend in the recent business world is that Ex-Football players seem to earn nice jobs in corporations, and author Bob Beck seeks to explain why. Teamwork, determination are two qualities among several others that one learns from the game of football and can be applied quite well to improved business success. "Winning in the 5th Quarter" combines sports with life success, a combination some may relish.

Healing from Despair
Elie Kaplan Spitz
Jewish Lights Publishing
Sunset Farms Offices, Route 4, PO Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091
9781580233606, $21.99, www.jewishlights.com

Despair is an ailment that everyone will suffer from at one point in their lives. "Healing from Despair: Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World" is a guide to returning to wholeness after dealing with a bout of despair, be it from the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or just depression in general. Depression and despair can have lead to physical health problems, and Spitz offers much advice in dealing with it soundly and pro-actively "Healing from Despair" is an excellent read and a solid gift for those who are dealing with a serious case of the blues.

The Sports Lover's Guide to Recovery
Andrew L. Dieden
Hazelden Foundation
PO Box 11, Center City, MN 55012-0011
9781592854851, $14.95 www.hazelden.org

Sports fans seeking a tactical approach to sobriety will find a set of concrete tips from a recovering addict who offers keys to overcoming addiction based on sports ideas. From understanding the rules of a new game to training, applying athlete models of success to the recovery process, and understanding how to handle tough calls, "The Sports Lover's Guide to Recovery" by Andrew L. Dieden and published by the Hazelden Foundation makes for a fine blend of sports analogy and psychology, perfect for psychology and general-interest libraries strong in either sports models or recovery, as well as highly recommended for personal self-help, self-improvement reading lists.


The Literary Shelf

A Complete History Of American Comic Books
Shirrel Rhoades
Peter Lang Publishing USA
29 Broadway, Rm. 1800, NY, NY 10006-3221
9781433101076, $39.95, www.peterlangusa.com

American comic books had their origins as reprinted compilations of newspaper comic strips. It was with the introduction of super heroes beginning in the 1930s with Superman and Batman that illustrated books of original material began to appear on the market along side the popular 'pulp fiction' magazines of the day. In "A Complete History Of American Comic Books", former Marvel Comics publisher and executive vice present of Marvel Entertainment Shirrel Rhoades draws upon his considerable experience and expertise to provide an updated history of the American comic book industry from its beginnings in the 'Platinum Age' of the 1930s, through the 'Golden Age', and through the highs and lows of this literary genre down to the present day with the evolution of the comic book in the form of graphic novels. "A Complete History Of American Comic Books" is also a record of the personalities, hustlers and visionaries that created the colorful worlds of adventure, excitement, heroes and villains, secret identities and angst that won the allegiance of whole generations of readers. A work of seminal importance for both scholarship and non-specialist general readers alike, "A Complete History Of American Comic Books" is a highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic American Literature and Popular Culture reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

The One Marvelous Thing
Rikki Ducornet
Dalkey Archive Press
1805 S. Wright Street, MC-011, Champaign, IL 61820
9781564785190, $13.95, www.dalkeyarchieve.com

Good fiction uses the reader, invoking a wide range of emotions. "The One Marvelous Thing" is an anthology of short stories from Rikki Ducornet. Not typecasting herself into any one style, she ranges from humor to joy to love to suicidal depression. Accompanied by charming black and white art from T. Motley, "The One Marvelous Thing" is a short fiction collection that can't help but be enjoyed.


The Travel Shelf

Hidden Florida Keys & Everglades
Anne Boese
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703-3440
9781569756430, $15.95, www.ulyssespress.com

An ecosystem like no other. "Hidden Florida Keys & Everglades" is a guide to exploring Florida's endangered natural treasure in the Everglades. Crocodiles, manatees, all call themselves home here at the southernmost tip of continental America. Not stopping at just the natural attraction, Boese discusses the restaurants, lodgings, and culture one can experience from the people of the Keys as well. "Hidden Florida Keys & Everglades" is a must to anyone considering a vacation to the area.

Your Guide to the Grand Canyon
Tom Vail & Collaborators
Master Books
PO Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638
9780890515013, $14.99, www.masterbooks.net

"Your Guide to the Grand Canyon: A Different Perspective" relates the long and storied history of one of the biggest natural attractions in the world. Also examining the scientific and potentially religious matter of the Grand Canyon's origins, "Your Guide to the Grand Canyon" is filled with full color photographs, quick facts, and intellectual discussion. "Your Guide to the Grand Canyon" is a must for any with a strong interest in Arizona's treasure.

Panama
William Friar
Moon Handbooks
c/o Avalon Travel Publishing
245 W. 17th St., 11th fl., NY, NY 10011-5300
www.avalontravelbooks.com
9781598800852, $19.95, 1-800-788-3123

While it is quite well known that the Central American country of Panama is home to the Panama Canal, less recognized are its many other attractions for the vacationer or business traveler. Panama travel expert William Friar has compiled a compact, highly portable, 567-page compendium of descriptive information for hundreds of sights, activities, restaurants, and accommodations for the Panama-bound. Of special note are the practical trip itinerary suggestions including a 21-day 'Best of Panama' excursion; a 14-day 'Tarzan Tour'; 'Quetzal Spotting', 10 days of 'Family Fun', Embera-Wounaan Art; and 'Six Days for History Buffs'. Enhanced with twenty-five detailed maps and William Friar's own anecdotal experiences and insightful perspectives, "Panama" is the ideal and thoroughly 'user friendly' vacation planning guide and a welcome addition to community library Travel Guide reference collections as well.

Stern's Guide To The Cruise Vacation 2009
Steven B. Stern
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781589806146, $26.00, www.pelicanpub.com

Steven B. Stern has personally inspected and sailed aboard every major cruise ship and visited every major port of call around the globe. In this newly revised, expanded, and updated ninth edition of his travel information compendium, "Stern's Guide To The Cruise Vacation 2009" offers 736-pages of detailed information that will enable even the most novice cruise ship vacationer with all the information required to select the ship and cruise best for them, and to derive maximum comfort and enjoyment of their trip. "Stern's Guide To The Cruise Vacation 2009" provides the vital statistics such as the layout, physical details and history of almost three hundred cruise ships including their on-board attractions (restaurants, shopping, and recreational resources); their concierges, technology and medical facilities; and their ports of call. Of special note is the seasoned and expert advice on making the most of an eight-hour visit to those ports of call. Profusely illustrated with photographs, shipboard menus, daily activity programs, and more, "Stern's Guide To The Cruise Vacation 2009" is an essential resource for planning any and all cruise ship vacations.

Backcountry Roads: Idaho
Lynna Howard & Leland Howard
Caxton Press
312 Main Street, Caldwell, ID 83605-3299
9780870044595, $27.95, www.caxtonpress.com

Some travel guides are merely compiled collections of demographic information. Others are more coffee-table picture books meant more for recreational browsing than serious itinerary planning. Knowledgeably written by Lynna Howard and impressively illustrated with the photography of Leland Howard, "Backcountry Roads: Idaho" is a superbly crafted travel guide that combines detailed information with stunningly beautiful photos of what the travel can expect to encounter while traveling along the lesser road systems and off the 'beaten trails' of Idaho. Arranged along geographic lines, "Backcountry Roads: Idaho" covers Idaho's North Panhandle; North-Central Idaho; West-Central Idaho; Southwest Idaho; South-Central Idaho; East-Central Idaho; Eastern Idaho; and Southeast Idaho. Each individual destination is provided with a succinct description that includes maps, approach routes, land administration organizations and websites, total milage and road ratings, and expedition directions with GPS instructions. Anyone planning a trip for business or for pleasure would be well advanced to begin planning their travel itinerary by browsing through the information packed pages of Lynna and Leland Howard's "Backcountry Roads: Idaho"!

Antarctica
Jeff Rubin
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
9781741045499, $27.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

While visiting the Antarctic Circle isn't in most people's plans when they think of traveling the globe, there is a great deal to interest both the causal visitor, the scientist, and the commercial traveler. That's where Jeff Rubin's compact, 380-page travel guide compendium of facts, maps, advice, and descriptive commentary comes in. A wealth of essential background information that includes how to start planning for a trip to antarctica, itineraries, history, expeditions, culture, environment, wildlife, as well as antarctic science are all relevant issues, and provided with solid information for the curious reader. The remaining chapters of Jeff Rubin's "Antarctica" guide book is organized regionally beginning with the Southern Ocean; and continuing with South Georgia, Shag Rocks & South Orkney Islands; Falkland Islands/Isles Malvinas; South Shetland Islands; Other Peri-Antarctic Islands; Antarctic Peninsula & Weddell Sea; Ross Sea; East Antarctica; and the South Pole. Enhanced with the inclusion of a directory, the Antarctic Treaty, a section on Transportation and another on Health, a glossary, an Index, the World Time Zones, and more, Jeff Rubin's "Antarctica" should be considered an essential guide for anyone traveling to or through the region of the Antarctica.


The Psychology Shelf

Mind is a Myth
U. G. Krishnamurti
Sentient Publications
113 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302
9781591810650, $16.95, www.sentientpublications.com

Free will - its very existence is debated, but how does this apply to religion? "Mind is a Myth: Disquieting Conversations with the Man Called U.G." is a skeptical manual on the debate offering one learned man's ideas on the matter. A true scholar in the field of spirituality who has studded both eastern and western religions heavily, Krishnamurti's ideas are utterly fascinating and inspiring, making "Mind is a Myth" is a strong pick for nonspecialist general readers with an interest in spirituality.

The Angry Smile, second edition
Jody E. Long, Nicholas J. Long, and Signe Whitson
Pro-Ed, Inc.
8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard, Austin, TX 78757-6897
9781416404231, $23.85 www.proedinc.com

Now in an updated second edition, The Angry Smile: The Psychology of Passive-Aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools, and Workplaces is a straightforward, psychological assessment of passive-aggressive behavior and how best to deal with it. Passive-aggressive behavior comes from underlying anger that the passive-aggressive individual cannot or will not express in a healthy way, and so it is expressed as a subtle assault of a thousand cuts - from ignoring or "forgetting" requests to intentionally doing unacceptable work to self-destructive behavior. Outraged reactions to passive-aggressive behavior (throwing a tantrum) emotionally rewards the passive-aggressive individual; The Angry Smile instead teaches ways to calmly defuse potential problems before they start by setting pinpoint clear guidelines, as well as the skill of benign confrontation. A useful reference tool for psychologists and counselors, and an absolute "must-have" for teachers, parents, or anyone with a managerial or supervisory position job. "Counter-aggressive behaviors are the common cold of the anger world. They occur when a nonaggressive person interacts with other people who are aggressive or hostile and, in a sense, 'catches' their anger, as they would an airborne disease. By acting on counter-aggressive feelings, the normally 'healthy' person mirrors the behaviors of the person who had the original anger bug. Both end up behaving badly."

Handbook Of Depression
Ian H. Gotlib & Constance L. Hammen, editors
Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
9781593854508, $75.00, www.guilford.com

Depression is a psychological state of mind that ranges from mild and episodic to severe and continuous. Its causes can be organic or environmental -- or a combination of both. It is a condition experienced by everyone and in some cases, can become life-threatening and require comprehensive intervention. Now in a significantly updated and expanded second edition, "Handbook Of Depression", meticulously co-edited by Ian H. Gotlib (Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Mood and Anxiety Disorders Laboratory) and Constance L. Hammen (Distinguished professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles) is a 708-page compendium of information drawn from leading experts in their field and presents a reference archive of data and commentary on depression, mood disorders, and their treatments. Beginning with a review of the epidemiology, course, assessment, and diagnosis, the "Handbook Of Depression" provides models of depression with respect to the interplay of factors ranging genetics, neurobiological, developmental, and psychosocial processes. The "Handbook Of Depression" goes on to address prevention and treatment, current theories, and on-going developments in the study of depression and mood disorders. Simply stated, the "Handbook Of Depression" is a core reference work on the subject and an essential addition for professional and academic library Psychology & Psychiatry reference collections.

The Child In The World
Eva M. Simms
Wayne State University Press
The Leonard N. Simons Building
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
9780814333754, $29.95, http://wsupress.wayne.edu

The phenomena of a child's psychological development has been a fascinating and ever evolving field of study from the earliest days of modern psychology and psychiatry. Knowledgeably written and addressing psychological development issues of early childhood, "The Child In The World: Embodiment, Tim, And Language In Early Childhood" by Eva M. Simms (Associate Professor of Psychology, Duquesne University) challenges commonly held assumptions as part of her analytical approach that includes the educational and psychological institutions relevant to childhood and that directly and indirectly impact upon the psychological development of children, including such issue as therapeutic play, body language, the emergence of self-awareness, and early language acquisition. Enhanced with extensive notes, a bibliography of cited works, and a comprehensive subject index, "The Child In The World" is a seminal body of meticulous and articulate scholarship, making it a highly recommended and welcome addition to the growing body of childhood development studies for professional and academic library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Art Shelf

Charles M. Russell
Larry Len Peterson
Mountain Press Publishing Company
PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
www.mountain-press.com
9780878425518, $45.00, 1-800-234-5308

One of the most popular artists of his day, Charles M. Russell is noted for the western themes of his art as a painter and sculptor. As a writer he was renowned for his advocacy of western ideals, and has an illustrator for his pictorial portrayals of western landscapes, animals, Native Americans, and cowboys. All of this is showcased in "Charles M. Russell: Printed Rarities From Private Collections", painstakingly compiled and annotated with an informed and informative text by Larry Len Peterson. Enhanced with the inclusion of 153 color images, 74 black-and-white images, and 35 historical photographs, "Charles M. Russell" is a beautifully produced volume which is very strongly recommended for personal, community, and academic library American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing The Sun
Gail R. Scott
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205
74-2 Union Street, Manchester, VT 05254
9781555953034, $50.00, www.hudsonhills.com

Inspired by their European counterparts, the American modernist art movement was to feature gifted artists whose work would have an enduring impact on generations of their successors. Such an artist was E. Ambrose Webster (1869-1935) who specialized in painting rhapsodic landscape compositions noted for their use of vivid sunlight and dramatic color. His landscapes reflected tropic locales ranging from Bermuda and the Caribbean to Portugal, Spain, France, North Africa, and America during the years spanning 1905 to his death in 1935. Now art history scholar, curator, writer, and consultant Gail R. Scott has compiled the best and most representative of Webster's paintings along with an informed and informative commentary allowing the reader to appreciate these artworks within the context of their creation and the life of their creator. Beautiful full color plates superbly illustrate the artist's work. Of special note is Scott's epilogue on Webster's artistic legacy. Enhanced with the inclusion of extensive Notes, a Chronology, a List of Exhibitions, a Bibliography, and an Index, "E. Ambrose Webster: Chasing The Sun" is a welcome and highly prized addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Shadowline
Iain McCaig
Palace Press International
3160 Kerner Blvd., Unit 108, San Rafael, CA 94901
9781933784243, $65.00, www.palacepress.com

The fantasy art of Iain McCaig is as spectacular and memorable as it is flawlessly exercised in detail and concept. Often incorporated as a part of McCaig's storytelling process, "Shadowline: The Art Of Iain McCaig" is a compilation of his storyboard drawings, sketches, illustrations, cover art, and paintings for over two decades. A beautifully produced, 240-page, hardcover, coffee-table art book, "Shadowline" showcases more than 500 full-color annotated images is a 'must' for McCaig's legions of fans and admirers, as well as a welcome and highly recommended addition to both academic and community library American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Contemporary Glass Sculptures And Panels
Tina Oldknow
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, 74-2 Union Street, Manchester, VT 05254
9780872901681, $40.00, www.hudsonhills.com

From antiquity down to the modern era, glass has been an enduringly popular medium for artist expression. In "Contemporary Glass Sculptures And Panels", Tina Oldknow begins with an extended and informative essay titled 'Contemporary Sculptures and Stained and Painted Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass: An Overview' in which she provides an informed introduction of especial benefit for the non-specialist general reader. Then "Contemporary Glass Sculptures And Panels" showcases an extensive series of full color photographic plates providing a visually impressive and detailed images of captioned examples of glass sculptures and works of art taken from The Corning Museum of Glass collection. Of special note is the section devoted to succinct biographies of the artists who works are represented, along with an index of those artists. A work of impeccable research and scholarship, "Contemporary Glass Sculptures And Panels" is a welcome and highly prized addition to personal, community, and academic library Art Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Art Through The Pages
Jack Perry Brown
The Art Institute Of Chicago
111 So. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603-6110
9780865592278, $16.95, www.artic.edu

The Art Institute of Chicago is home to some of the finest collections to be found in North America and a respected publisher of seminal works based upon those collections. In "Art Through The Pages: Library Collections At The Art Institute Of Chicago", Jack Perry Brown (Executive Director of Libraries for the Art Institute of Chicago) provides the reader with an informed essay, 'The Book in the City Beautiful: Scholarly collections at the Art Institute of Chicago', followed by a serious of informative contributions by scholars in 'Printed Books' and 'Archival Collections'. With its profusely illustrated text, "Art Through The Pages" is enhanced further with an extensive section of notes, making it an especially valued reference and highly recommended reading for scholars and non-specialist readers alike with an interest in the holdings and collections of art museums in general, and The Art Institute Of Chicago in particular.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

The Complete Book of Hummingbirds
Tony Tilford
Thunder Bay Press
c/o Advanced Marketing Group
13475 Danielson Street, Suite 140, Poway, CA 92064-8850
9781592239672, $18.95 www.thunderbaybooks.com 1-800-788-3123

Illustrated with stunningly beautiful photography throughout, The Complete Book of Hummingbirds is a detailed guide to well-known species of hummingbirds found throughout the Americas, from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska. An introductory section teaches readers about the life cycle of these tiny yet brilliantly plumaged birds, which are heavily dependent on sugary nectar for their survival; of especial interest are the careful instructions for feeding hummingbirds in one's backyard (for example, the sugary feed mixture needs to be changed near-daily to prevent spoilage). The bulk of the text consists of one-page summaries of individual species, each accompanied by a crystal-clear photographic image. One doesn't have to be an avid birdwatcher to enjoy The Complete Book of Hummingbirds, which is highly recommended to individual readers and public library collections alike.

Saved
Karin Winegar
Da Capo
c/o Perseus Books
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738212760, $25.95, www.dacoppress.com

The bond between pet and owner is a unique one not found elsewhere. "Saved: Rescued Animals and the Lives They Transform" is a compilation of stories about animals who have been rescued from the brink of death and adopted into loving homes. Focusing on the human, feline, canine, and such emotional impact on all of the parties involved in this story, it's a heart-warming tale that pet owners will absolutely adore, and will make pet owners out of previously unconverted readers. "Saved" is inspirational, highly recommended.

Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries
Blood-Horse Publications Staff
Eclipse Press
3102 Beaumont Centre Circle, Lexington, KY 40591-9003
9781581501933, $24.95, www.eclipsepress.com

Acclaimed to be the sport of kings, thoroughbred horse racing is epitomized by racing's 'Triple Crown' and the legendary rivalries associated with these contests. In "Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries" the staff of Blood-Horse Publications has compiled twenty of the greatest match-ups as selected by a panel of turf writers and racing historians. Readers will be treated to informed and informative descriptions of such well known examples as Seabiscuit and War Admiral, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, as well as such lesser known but equally important pairings such as the filly Galloreet and the nineteen races she ran against her older male rival named Stymie. Profusely illustrated with period photographs, "Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries" is a riveting history, especially recommended reading for all thoroughbred horse racing enthusiasts, and a unique and welcome addition to personal reading lists and community library collections.


The Computer Shelf

Web Service Contract Design & Visioning for SOA
Thomas Erl, et.al.
Prentice Hall
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
013613517X, $49.99 www.informit.com/soa

Advanced computer libraries will find Web Service Contract Design & Visioning for SOA a fine compendium for WS design and SOA, allowing both beginners and experts insights into the SOA Strategy and process. College-level collections strong in software engineering will find it a fine survey of web service contracts that enable services to be reused and tweaked for years to come. From versioning techniques to basic XML design and message design with SOAP, this is a detailed, in-depth reference highly recommended for any college-level collection catering to software engineers.

Creating Visual Experiences with Flex 3.0
Juan Sanchez and Andy McIntosh
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321545370, $54.99 www.informit.com/aw

Any programmer working with Flex will find Creating Visual Experiences with Flex 3.0 an outstanding survey of how to create superior visuals. From initial designs to user-interface principles, chapters reveal different approaches and their pros and cons, survey design experiences and techniques, and demonstrate how to use Flex to create applications that are above competitors. Any advanced programmer's library needs this.

Wicked Cool Ruby Scripts
Steve Pugh
No Starch Press
555 DeHaro Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA 94107
9781593271824, $29.95, www.nostarch.com

Nothing will put a coder to sleep faster than mindless tedium that their job brings. "Wicked Cool Ruby Scripts: Useful Scripts That Solve Difficult Problems" is a tech manual on the Ruby programming language and how coders can use the language to create useful programs, to help them get through the hated busywork and get to the proverbial fun part of program design and code. "Wicked Cool Ruby Scripts" is a must have for any dedicated Ruby coder who wants the most complete toolbox possible available to them.

Murach's SQL Server 2008 For Developers
Bryan Syverson & Joel Murach
Mike Murach & Associates
4340 North Knoll Avenue, Fresno, CA 93722
9781890774516, $52.50, www.murach.com

The rapidity of advancements in computer technologies necessitates computer program developers to embark on a continuous study in order to stay current in the their field. In a newly updated and expanded edition, "Murach's SQL Server 2008 For Developers" is the collaborative work of Bryan Syverson and Joel Murach and includes coverage of 2008 SQL features including FILESTREAM storage, the MERGE statement, new date/time data types, 'user-defiended' table type, the SPARSE attribute, filtered indexes, and a great deal more. Specifically designed for application developers, "Murach's SQL Server 2008 For Developers" addresses how to query a database, then goes one to show developers how to design and create a database, advanced features developers will need including views, scripts, stored procedures, functions, triggers, cursors, transactions, locking and security, handling XML and BLOB values, employing CLR integration. Of special note are the coding examples in "Murach's SQL Server 2008 For Developers", providing models for a wide range of SQL jobs. Thoroughly user friendly, "Murach's SQL Server 2008 For Developers" is a 748-page compendium packed with useable and critically important instruction and insight, making it a very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Computer Science reference collections and SQL-based program developer supplemental reading lists.

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

David Tucker, et.al. ADOBE AIR 1.5 COOKBOOK (9780596522506 , $44.99) has been bettered by Adobe's AIR development team and offers a fine survey of best practices, basics, and topics for web developers and application designers alike. From building AIR applications with Flex or HTML to working with the Service Monitor Framework and creating branded desktop experiences with customization, ADOBE AIR 1.5 COOKBOOK is a winner. Jay Goldman's FACEBOOK COOKBOOK: BUILDING APPLICATIONS TO GROW YOUR FACEBOOK EMPIRE (9780596518172, $39.99) provides a fine cookbook of applications designed to allow internet programmers methods of finding useful ways to design and build scalable applications. From tips on designing with hosting and using Facebook's integration point to understanding differences between JavaScript and SQL and how they are used on Facebook, libraries catering to web applications developers will find this a fine survey.


The Political Science Shelf

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance
Bill Kelter & Wayne Shellabarger
Top Shelf Productions
PO Box 15125, Portland, OR 97293-5125
9781603090032, $19.95 www.topshelfcomix.com

Veeps: Profiles in Insignificance is a wild collection of completely true anecdotes about American Vice Presidents throughout history. Some of the tales are shockingly bizarre or extraordinary; others lead one to wonder how such an individual ever came to be a front-runner for public office. From the veep who such a drunkard he could not serve out his whole term, to stories of egomaniacs, rogues, cowards, bigots, and ambition-driven power brokers, Veeps: Profiles of Insignificance is sure to raise eyebrows. Black-and-white pictures, a list of online resources, and an index round out this at times uproarious collection of glimpses into the lives of Americans who were ever one step behind the duty of commander-in-chief.

Political Tourism and Its Texts
Maureen Moynagh
University of Toronto Press
2250 Military Rd, Tonawanda, NY 14150
0802098452, $55.00, www.utpublsihing.com

Political struggles rage on throughout the world, and there are those who seek to be closer to better understand them. "Political Tourism and Its Texts" is a look at political tourism and those who go around the world and experience upheavals and revolutions for themselves. Drawing from the travel writing of travelers, writers, and revolutionaries such as Christopher Isherwood, Ernesto Che Guevara, and Maureen Moynagh, it brings a vivid variety of perspectives of those who were driven to the front lines of social change. Invaluable information for any who want to see a more personal account of these figures of change, "Political Tourism and Its Texts" is a worthwhile read, recommended for community library and college level history and political science collections alike.

America's Second Crusade
William Henry Chamberlin
Amagi
c/o Liberty Fund
8555 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 500, Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684
9780865977075, $10.00, www.libertyfund.org

Almost as tumultuous as the war itself, the postwar was no time for peace. "America's Second Crusade" is a reprint of William Henry Chamberlin's critically applauded book from after the end of World War II about the United States, Soviet Russia, and the United Kingdom's plans for peace following the massive world wide conflict. Critical of the concessions made to the soviets, "America's Second Crusade" is a window to the politics of the time, and a thought provoking read, recommended.

Emerging Powers in Global Governance
Andrew F. Cooper & Agata Antkiewicz, editors
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Co-published with the Centre for International Global Governance (CIGI)
75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3C5
9781554580576, $39.95, www.wlupress.wlu.ca

The days of the cold war are over, and there has been a considerable shift in the balance of power. "Emerging Powers in Global Governance: Lessons from the Heiligendamm Process" is a scholarly look at international politics today. Countries like Mexico, India, Brazil, and especially China yield great influence in international governance challenges traditionally handled by the G8. Editors Cooper and Antkiewicz and contributors elaborate on the co-operation agreement from the 2007 summit. Complete and comprehensive, "Emerging Powers in Global Governance" is an educational read on today's world.

Welcome To Obamaland
James Delingpole
Regnery Publishing, Inc.
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
9781596985889, $27.95, www.regnery.com

The election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States is an event of seismic proportions on the American cultural and political landscape. But amidst the almost universal euphoria there are a few dissenting voices. One of those voices is British journalist, commentator and author James Delingpole whose "Welcome To Obamaland: I have Seen Your Future And It Doesn't Work" is a cautionary volume of critique of President Obama's announced intentions with respect to health care, the environment, immigration policy, 'social justice', and foreign policy issues. Emphasizing the necessity for a free people to resist the temptations of what conservatives refer to as President Obama's intended 'nanny state', "Welcome To Obamaland" offers a perspective that needs to be part of our new and continuing national dialogue.

How People View Democracy
Larry Diamond & Marc F. Plattner, editors
The John Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9780801890611, $19.95, www.press.jhu.edu

Democracy in American popular culture is viewed as the ultimate good. But how is it viewed world wide? "How People View Democracy" is a look at public opinion as a whole throughout the world and it's the somewhat shocking fact that not everyone wants democracy. Some Communist regimes gained popular support and how some failed democracies hurt the system's reputation world wide. Enlightening and intriguing reading, "How People View Democracy" is a scholarly and unbiased look at the power of the vote in today's world.

The Opinion Makers
David W. Moore
Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108-2892
9780807042328, $23.95, www.beacon.org

The polls, the polls, the polls. It was the talk of the nation during the 2008 presidential race. "The Opinion Makers: An Insider Exposes the Truth Behind the Polls" is a look behind the numbers at what's really going on with these opinion polls that cover all forms of news media. Saying that there's really no such thing as a completely unbiased poll, Moore breaks down how polls are created, how they are administered and what they truly mean in today's information age. "The Opinion Makers" is a read that must be read for those who want to know the truth behind the statistics.

An Anarchist FAQ
Iain McKay
AK Press
674-A 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612-1163
9781902593906, $25.00, www.akpress.org

FAQ stands for 'Frequently Asked Questions'. Iain McKay's "An Anarchist FAQ" is a 555-page compendium packed with descriptive information on every aspect of the political concept of anarchy. Beginning with an extensive explanation of the term, McKay goes on to explain why anarchist oppose the current political system with its authority, hierarch, capitalism based private property constructs, and the continued existence of class systems within modern society. "An Anarchist FAQ" then addresses the commonly held myths of capitalist economics, the effects of statism and capitalism upon the society, anarchist perspectives on environmental and ecological issues, as wells as 'anarcho' (capitalism as a form of anarchism). Of special note is an appendix addressing the symbols of anarchy. "An Anarchist FAQ" is an impressively thorough and 'reader friendly' body of work which is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Political Science reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

The Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide 2009
Alan Greenwood & Gil Hembree
Hal Leonard Corporation
7777 West Bluemound Road, Milwaukee WI 53213
1884883206, $27.95 www.halleonard.com

The guitar market is in the midst of much change, making the 2009 edition of The Official Vintage Guitar Price Guide especially key to values in a changing market. It's the only title to list values based on comprehensive market research and analysis, and offers over 1,000 black and white photos and details on over 1,500 brands. Any library strong in either music collectibles or guitar history and values needs this.

The Glascow Style
Laura Euler
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764330445, $69.99, www.schifferbooks.com

Arts and crafts movements are categorized and named to distinguish their history and evolution. "The Glascow Style" by Laura Euler focuses upon a decorative arts movement that is applied to a distinctive style associated with such diversity of materials and objects as textiles, dress, pottery, furniture, metalwork, jewelry, embroidery, book illustration, stained glass, and more. The values of these objects (always subject to their condition) can range from a few dollars for a book to millions of dollars for a desk. Profusely and handsomely illustrated with 530 color and black-white photographs, "The Glascow Style" also provides item values, as well as biographical information on many of the men and women whose artistic endeavors are collectively associated with the Glascow arts and crafts movement. With its informed and informative text so beautifully augmented with stunning, diverse, representative examples of the spectrum of objects decorated in this distinctive mode, "The Glascow Style" is a welcome and highly prized addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Antiques and Collectibles reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Collecting Sports Legends
Joe Orlando
Zyrus Press
PO Box 17810, Irvine, CA 92623
9781933990217, $34.95 www.zyruspress.com

Illustrated with full color photography of hundreds of sports memorabilia images on virtually every page, Collecting Sports Legends: The Ultimate Hobby Guide is an amazing tour through sports history via the collectible icons of great athletes. A treasury for anyone interested in sports memorabilia, Collecting Sports Legends is sure to fascinate hardcore collectors and casual sports fans alike. The text of this coffee table book treats its subject matter in great detail; any sports fan will learn more about collectible cards for baseball, basketball, boxing etc. than he or she ever imagined. Highly recommended.


The Social Issues Shelf

Realizing Social Justice
Maureen E. Kenny, et al.
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
9781433804113, $69.95 www.apa.org/books 1-800-368-5777

Collaboratively edited by the team of Maureen E. Kenny, Arthur M. Horne, Pamela Orpinas, and Le'Roy E. Reese, Realizing Social Justice: The Challenge of Preventive Interventions is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors addressing a practical social need - how to prevent societal harm in everything from bullying to bad eating habits to dysfunctional family relationships or even violence. Writings include "Prevention: Ethics, Responsibility, and Commitment to Public Well-Being", "Fostering a Healthy Climate of Diversity", "Development of a Positive School Climate", and much more. A wealth of extensive and oft-cited research backs these thoughtful and serious contributions, in this volume meant to serve as a practical foundation for improving the quality of people's lives. Highly recommended, especially for academic and public library collections, but also for anyone in the teaching, counseling, social service, law enforcement, or psychology professions.

Race and Human Rights
Curtis Stokes, editor
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25 Manly Miles Building, East Lansing, MI 48823-5202
9780870137501, $29.95, www.msupress.msu.edu

Although there have been great strides, there is still much to improve upon. "Race and Human Rights" is a collection of essays discussing race and its relation to human rights. Africa and Iraq are major focus points, but the standards of domestic rights in the United States are not left undiscussed. With genocides, bombings, and other horrific atrocities still happening throughout the world, human rights are more than ever a serious issue. "Race and Human Rights" is scholarly and educational reading, a strong choice for discussion groups.

Stealth Jihad
Robert Spencer
Regnery
1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
9781596985568, $27.95

Violence is not the only way to get things done, and even the bad guys know this. "Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs" is about the enemy that America rarely hears about, the Islamic extremists who use more enlightened means to get their radical messages across in American society, wrongfully flying their colors as civil rights activists, subverting the War on Terror, and more. "Stealth Jihad" is intriguing and utterly interesting reading, a solid recommendation.

50 Facts That Should Change the USA
Stephen Fender
Disinformation
163 3rd Avenue, Suite 108, New York, NY 10003
9781932857863, $15.95, www.disinfo.com

Some facts aren't obvious and are downright shocking when one learns of them. "50 Facts That Should Change the USA" is a collection of these facts. Each fact has an explanation backing it up. The facts range from bizarre, such as nearly three million Americans claiming alien abductions, to the sad state of America's public education when compared to private education. "50 Facts That Should Change the USA" is educational and eye opening, and is a solid pick for the reader who wants to know the true state of America.

Roll Away the Stone
Fred Taylor
Information International
PO Box 79, Great Falls, VA 22066
9781882480159, $15.95, www.isquare.com

Children have no control of how they grow up, which is why care for children is at the forefront of many's minds. Now in a newly expanded and updated second edition, "Roll Away the Stone: Saving America's Children" is a book describing the organization known as 'For Love of Children', a company founded by Fred Taylor and that he served as head of until earlier this decade. Discussing poverty and calling for community action cross the country, "For Love of Children" is a solid choice for those who want to make a difference in their communities.

Smack
Eric C. Schneider
University of Pennsylvania Press
3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4011
9780812241167, $39.95, www.upenn.edu/pennpress

"Smack: Heroin and the American City" tells the story of heroin in America and its influence in the world of underworld narcotics. Filled with personal research and interviews with experts as well as former users, "Smack" traces the drug's long history and tells the intriguing story of the city drug. To anyone intrigued by the history of heroin in America, "Smack" is worth the read.

Human Intelligence, Countererrorism, & Nationalistic Leadership
Gary Berntsen
Potomac Books
PO Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0960
9781597972543, $19.95, www.potomacbooksinc.com

Knowledge is power, but knowledge is a power that's hard to use well. "Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism, & National Leadership: A Practical Guide" serves as an open letter of sorts to the next leader of the free world on dealing with the many problems America faces in coming years. Pulling no punches, Berntsen discusses the war on terror with great deal, its policies, its leaders, and the political parties, and criticizes both a great deal. Educated and scholarly reading on America's problems when it comes to dealing with terror, "Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism, & National Leadership" is very much recommended reading.

Child, Victim, Soldier
Donald H. Dunson
Orbis Books
Walsh Building, PO Box 308, Maryknoll, New York, NY 10545-0308
9781570757990, $16.00, www.hdptcar.net

A person must be eighteen years of age to join the United States Military. Not all countries have such enlightened policies. "Child, Victim, Soldier: The Loss of Innocence in Uganda" is the story of children such as Sunday Obote. Donald Dunson has done much research to bring American eyes onto the dark truth that they so often ignore, a civil war that engulfs Uganda that makes America's own look like a sunny picnic in a grassy meadow. A seven-year-old child is kidnaped and trained to kill, serving as a soldier. This horrible story happens far more often than one would imagine, and "Child, Victim, Soldier" speaks for the voices that America ignores.

Waste Management
Jacqueline Vaughn
ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781598841503, $55.00, www.abc-clio.com

No environmental activist can neglect the issue of waste management and disposal as a critical aspect of developing, protecting, and rehabilitating the environment. The problem of such waste management issues as landfill utilization is tied tightly to such concepts as recycling, biodegradable products, governmental policy, and community health. A part of the ABC-CLIO 'Contemporary World Issues' series, "Waste Management" by academician and environmentalist Jacqueline Vaughn (Professor of Political Science at Northern Arizona University) is a complete and comprehensive introduction to contemporary waste management issues and features a chronology of thematically relevant events, legislation, and movements; biographical summaries of activists, advocates and legislators with reference to waste management; tables, figures and documents; a directory of waste management relevant organizations and agencies; annotated lists of print, website, and other resources for waste management issues; a glossary and an extended subject index. An ideal textbook for Environmental Studies curriculums, "Waste Management" is also very highly recommended reading for environmental activists and non-specialist general readers with an interest in waste management issues.

The Reality Overload
Annie Le Brun
Inner Traditions
1 Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
9781594772443, $16.95, www.innertraditions.com

Too much information is something that could be consuming the modern world's soul. "The Reality Overload: The Modern World's Assault on the Imaginal Realm" discusses the recent events of the world and the seeming plummet of creativity. Reality TV over saturates the market, and the world grows more and more conformed to each other. Brun says that information excess is fueling it and explains that on the current path, imagination could become a thing of the past and the world will become a much more boring place to live in. "The Reality Overload" is an intriguing treatise on modern society, highly recommended.


The Philosophy Shelf

Cynics
William Desmond
University of California Press
2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
9780520258617, $18.95 www.ucpress.edu

Written by William Desmond (Lecturer in Philosophy, National University of Ireland, Maynooth), Cynics is a straightforward introductory text about the philosophical movement that was the ancient Cynics. Despite what their name has come to mean in the modern day, the Cynic philosophers had a surprisingly generous outlook on human nature. They believed that by simplifying one's life by giving up unneeded desires, possessions, and ideals, and by living in the moment, human beings could restore their innate goodness and happiness. An excellent textbook for any student of the Cynic movement, from lay readers to philosophy majors, Cynics not only draws upon historical evidence but also offers a variety of interpretations and perspectives for a balanced, well-rounded review of this ancient movement.

On Pain
Ernst Junger, author
David C. Durst, translation and introduction
Telos Publishing
c/o Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD
311 Washington Street, Brighton, MA 02135-3303
9780914386407, $19.95 www.telos.co.uk 1-800-387-9776

First written and published in 1934, On Pain is controversial and literary prize-winning German veteran Ernst Junger's philosophical treatise that gives astonishing insight into not only German society a year after Hitler's rise to power, but also into similarly destructive societal ideologies, such as those espoused by terrorists. In "On Pain", Junger devalues the liberal emphasis on such things as liberty, security, ease, and comfort, suggesting that the measure of manhood lies in one's ability to endure pain, suffering, and sacrifice. Junger forecasts a new type of man, fearless of pain, with a virtually sociopathic ability to treat themselves and others harshly, combined with the evolution of ever stronger war weapons, who would be destined to bring about the atrocities of World War II. A chilling glimpse into the heart of the cult of courage, death, and murder that was overtaking Nazi Germany, "On Pain" deserves to be studied under the principle of knowing one's enemy. It should be noted that the author himself would later (in 1939) write an allegorical novel criticizing Hitler's regime.

Visions of Utopia
Fred E. Baumann
The Modern Scholar
c/o Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
UC124, $98.75, www.recordedbooks.com

Cognitive imagination, the ability to conceive of a society and a culture that would embody ideals of human conduct, is the foundation upon which all utopian philosophies of communal and governmental arrangements are based. Superbly recorded, "Visions Of Utopia: Philosophy And The Perfect Society" is a series of fourteen informed and informative lectures given by philosopher, political scientist and academician Fred E. Baumann (Harry M. Clor Professor of Political Science, Kenyon College) that begins with an insightful introduction to the concepts of utopia or idealized societies, and then specifically addresses 'The Republic' in three lectures, 'Utopia' in two lectures, 'New Atlantis' in one lecture, 'The Social Contract' in two lectures, 'Rousseau in Practice: Jacobins and Communal Utopians' in one lecture, 'Marx' in two lectures, 'Walden Two' in one lecture, and a concluding summary lecture. Professor Baumann not only provides descriptions of these utopian works and the men responsible for them, he also provides an historical context where utopian schemes were attempted. Articulate, insightful, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Visions Of Utopia" is a very highly recommended addition to community and academic library Philosophy and History collections, and is especially appropriate for non-specialized general listeners with an interest in the history of utopias ranging from antiquity through the twentieth century.


The International Studies Shelf

World Geography
Majid Husain
Rawat Publications
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Ave., #300, Portland, OR 97213
8131601587, $40.00, www.isbs.com, 1-800-944-6190

Every academic library should have at least one good world geography textbook for the benefit of their students, and every community library needs one for the benefit of non-specialist general readers seeking to become informed about demographic details of any country anywhere around the globe. Now in a newly updated and significantly expanded third edition, "World Geography" authored by Majid Husain (a former professor of geography for Jamia Millia Islamia or Central University, New Delhi, India) meets that need perfectly. Enhanced with numerous maps, appendices, an extensive bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "World Geography" is organized regional beginning with Africa, then Asia, then Europe, followed by North America, Middle America, South America, Oceania, and Antarctica. Providing comprehensive, compact, and 'reader friendly' coverage, readers will be informed on how people around the world live, work, organize and transform those places. An outstanding single-volume text, "World Geography" is highly recommended for high school, college, university, and public library reference collections.

The Institutions Of the Enlarged European Union
Edward Best, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
9781847203458, $140.00, www.e-elgar.com

The European Union grew out of centuries of turmoil and national conflicts. The economic alliance upon which it is founded as survived many challenges, no the least of which is represented by its continuing expansion to include more and more nations. Collaboratively compiled and edited by the team of European Institute of Public Administration faculty members Edward Best and Thomas Christiansen, and Pierpaolo Settembri (an official with the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union), "The Institutions Of the Enlarged European Union: Continuity and Change" is comprised of informed and informative commentaries by fifteen contributors. The result is an impressively detailed introduction to the institutions and committees that form the core framework of EU activities including the EU Parliament, the European Central Bank, and the effects of EU membership expansion."The Institutions Of the Enlarged European Union" is very strongly recommended as an addition to governmental and university library International Studies reference collections in general, and European Union Studies supplemental reading lists in particular.

Fidel Castro Reader
David Deutschmann, editor
Ocean Press
PO Box 1186, Old Chelsea Stn., New York, NY 10113-1186
Perseus Distribution (distributor)
193 Edwards Drive, Jackson, TN 38301-7716
9781920888886, $19.95, www.oceanbooks.com.au

One doesn't have to agree with him, but to deny the impact of Fidel Castro on the world is insane. "Fidel Castro Reader" is a collection of writings and speeches from the Cuban revolutionary leader-turned-dictator Fidel Castro. Analyzing Castro's worlds in regards to Cuba's purpose and how the recent Democratization of Latin America will affect the future of Castro's life as well as Cuba after his death, "Fidel Castro Reader" is a must read for any political or historical reader.

The Wizard of the Nile
Matthew Green
Olive Branch Press
46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1804
9781566567367, $20.00, www.interlinkbooks.com

"The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted" is a look at the fighting force of the LRS, the Lord's Resistance Army, a force that is notorious for battling the Ugandan government for decades on end in order to bring the country under their control, in the name of Christianity. Most American Christians would condemn their tactics as un-Christian - such as employing child soldiers. With a special focus on the LRS's leader, Jospeh Kony, "The Wizard of the Nile" is a heartily recommended read for any who want to understand Uganda's conflict.


The Criminology Shelf

Crime In The United States: 2008
Bernan Press
4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391
9781598882667, $76.00, www.bernanpress.com

Now in a newly expanded and updated second edition, "Crime In The United States: 2008" from the Bernan Press (formerly published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation) is a 581-page compendium of national crime statistics based on submissions of city, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies. All crimes, wether against property or persons, is enumerated, including arrest figures, clearance data (crimes solved by police or other means), and law enforcement manpower numbers. "Crime In The United States: 2008" is an essential reference for academic library Criminology Studies reference collections and an invaluable resource for governmental public safety policy makers.

Wicked Intentions
Kevin Flynn
New Horizon Press
PO Box 669, Far Hills, NJ 07931
9780882823416, $24.95, www.newhorizonpressbooks.com

Murder can have such a pretty face. "Wicked Intentions: The Sheila LaBarre Murders" tells the true story of a truly twisted individual. Sheila LaBarre was a charming lady, who few thought poorly of. When a charred corpse was found on her farm, it led to the discovery that she was a murderous seductress. A real-life tale looking like it was ripped out of a horror movie, "Wicked Intentions" is an ideal read for true crime and horror readers alike for its chronicle of a truly sadistic woman.


The Gardening Shelf

The Apple Grower
Michael Phillips
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001-0428
9781931498913, $40.00, www.chelseagreen.com

Apple trees can be grown in almost any climate zone and are to be found in dozens of different variations around the world. Now with this newly revised and significantly expanded edition of Michael Phillips "The Apple Grower: A Guide For The Organic Orchardist", anyone can plant, nurture, and harvest organically grown apples of any variety whether it is for their own private consumption or for commercial distribution and sale. All relevant aspects are covered from considerations of climate and soil, to cultivar selection and planting, to orchard maintenance and care, to apple pests, diseases and spraying, to harvesting, storage, and transportation, to marketing locally (including pricing, niche marketing, advertising, and more). Informed, informative, and thoroughly 'user friendly', Michael Phillips' "The Apple Grower" is necessary reading and an essential reference for anyone seeking to grow, harvest, consume, and/or sell organic apples.

Texas Public Gardens
Elvin McDonald, author
Photography by Kevin Vandivier and Earl Nottingham
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781589805675, $35.00 www.pelicanpub.com 1-800-843-1724

Texas Public Gardens is a captivatingly beautiful coffee table book, filled with lavish color photography of public gardens in Texas. A handful of brief essays educate readers about the histories of each garden, but the real draw here is the exceptional imagery - from close-ups of flowers to panoramic scenes of trees and natural byways, to a perfect shot of a frog in mid-jump. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who loves the beauty of nature.


The Military Shelf

The Canadian Battlefields in Italy
Eric McGeer and Terry Copp with Matt Symes
The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS)
Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave. W., Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 Canada
9780978344153, $28.00 www.canadianmilitaryhistory.com

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs throughout, The Canadian Battlefields in Italy: Sicily & Southern Italy is the latest in a Canadian military history series published by The Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies. The Canadian Battlefields in Italy closely examines the locations where Canadians fought and died to help liberate Italy from fascism in World War II, with particular focus on the island of Sicily. Written to appeal to lay readers and military historians alike, The Canadian Battlefields in Italy is a well-researched and captivating addition to Canadian military history shelves.

The Intelligence Wars
Steven K. O'Hern
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781591026709, $25.98 www.prometheusbooks.com

THE INTELLIGENCE WARS: LESSONS FROM BAGHDAD criticizes America's military leaders for being obsessed with high-tech solutions for all situations, and says modern intelligence wars are still relying on outdated concepts that actually reduce the US military's technological advantage. Examples from key source operations explain how intelligence works and why the US is so poor at using the latest non-technological options. Any library strong in military intelligence will find this an intriguing option.

Valkyrie
Dennis R. Jenkins & Tony R. Landis
Specialty Press
99 Spring Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10012
9781580071307, $26.95, www.spibooks.com

With any theatre of war in the past century, control of the air has been paramount to ultimate success on the battlefield. The resulting aviation arms race has been one of continuous, non-stop technological innovation. One such sterling example is the high-altitude rapid response bomber aircraft such as North American Aviation's XB-70A Valkyrie. Co-authored by military aviation experts Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony R. Landis, "Valkyrie: North American's Mach 3 Superbomber" showcases an aircraft that flew just 164 times, but was so spectacular in its concept and execution that it became an iconic example of what was technologically possible, only to be scuttled by the political and fiscal conditions that dominated the 1960s. Profusely illustrated with 100 color and 500 black-and-white photographs, "Valkyrie" provides a superbly detailed history of this remarkable and impressive aircraft, making it a highly prized and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Military Aviation History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

The Mantram Handbook
Eknath Easwaran
Nilgiri
PO Box 256, 3600 Tomales Road, Tomales, CA 94971
9781586380281, $14.95, www.nilgiripress.org

A mantra is something that can prove invaluable. "The Mantram Handbook: A Practical Guide to Choosing Your Mantram & Calming you Mind" is a guide to Mantrams, more commonly referred to as mantras. With much sage advice and wisdom, Easwaran hopes to give readers the spirituality they need to craft their own mantra, one that will refresh them and prepare them for the challenges of everyday life. "The Mantram Handbook" is a must for anyone who wants to learn the power of the mantram.

Yoga and the Luminous
Christopher Key Chapple
State University of New York Press
c/o CUP Services
750 Cascadilla Street, PO B ox 6525, Ithaca, NY 14851
9780791474761, $21.95, www.sunypress.edu

The principles of Yoga can be taken and well applied to many aspects of life. "Yoga and the Luminous" is an exploration of yoga from Christopher Key Chapple explaining how Yoga can be woven into the fabric of people's everyday lives. Included alongside Chapple's own musings is a complete translated of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the most fundamental of texts on Yoga philosophy. Anyone with an interest in Yoga must consider "Yoga and the Luminous" as a starter guide.

The Light of Ten Thousand Suns
Swami Veda Bharati
Yes International Publishers
1317 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105-2602
9780936663203, $15.00

Certain wisdom can bring undeniable light to one's life. "The Light of Ten Thousand Suns" is a book of wisdom and spirituality from Swami Veda Bharati, a renowned philosopher and Sanskrit scholar. A master of his craft, he shows it well, and seeks to inspire much in his readers to find their true selves and what they need to make the most of their life. "The Light of Ten Thousands Suns" is a solid recommendation to spirituality readers everywhere.

Critique of Intelligent Design
John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, & Richard York
Monthly Review Press
146 West 29th Street, Suite 6W, New York, NY 10001
9781583671733, $15.95, www.monthlyreview.org

Intelligent Design is one of the most heatedly debated things in today's world of education. "Critique of Intelligent Design: Materialism versus Creationism From Antiquity to the Present" discusses the recent push by some Republican politicians at many levels of the American government encouraging teaching of Genesis and Creationism in American schools alongside or instead of the scientific ideals of Charles Darwin. Suggesting that the idea of bringing them into schools damages true science, "Critique of Intelligent Design" discusses the matter with well, and is a heartily recommended read for educational professionals.

I Will Make Of Thee A Great Nation: Old Testament Stories
Val D. Greenwood
American Book Publishing
5442 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84117-7204
http://www.american-book.com
9781589824393, $29.95, 1-888-288-7413

The Old Testament is a compilation of some of the most famous and enduring stories cited in the three Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Now Val D. Greenwood has created a compendium succinctly re-telling two hundred of these Old Testament tales in "I Will Make Of Thee A Great Nation" in a more accessible and 'reader friendly' language style than the traditional Biblical translations that most people are familiar with. Placing each story within an historical context and through the profuse use of source citations and footnotes, this 367-page anthology is thoroughly appropriate for the non-specialist general readers, as well as Bible students, making it a very highly recommended addition to personal, family, church, and community library Religion/Spirituality reference and reading list collections.

The Visigoths in the Time of Ulfila, second edition
E.A. Thompson
Duckworth
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
9780715637005, $24.00 www.ducknet.co.uk 1-800-758-3756

Now in a second edition featuring a new foreword with additional bibliography information by Michael Kulikowski and an additional appendix, "The Life of St. Saba", translated and annotated by John Matthews, The Visigoths in the Time of Ulfila is a classic study of the earliest history of Christianity among Germanic people. Examining the era of Ulfila, who was a fourth-century Christian bishop and missionary credited with being the first to deliver Christianity to the Goths, creating the Gothic alphabet, and writing the earliest translation of the Bible in a Germanic language. A scholarly text scrutinizing the evolution of religious history, The Visigoths in the Time of Ulfila is a welcome addition to religious studies shelves and a "must-have" for college library collections.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Refuse to Regain
Barbara Berkeley, M.D.
Quill Driver Books
2006 S. Mary St. Fresno, CA 93721
1884956939, $24.95, www.quilldriverbooks.com

Losing weight is easy. Keeping it off is hard. "Refuse to Regain!: 12 Tough Rules to Maintain the Body You've Earned!" is a guide to keeping lost weight off, the bane of many diets and lifestyle changes. A staggeringly high amount of people who lose weight just put it back on, a number that may be nearly as high as 90%. Berkeley gives age advice for readers to be apart of the successful 10 percent and keep on losing and keep the body they've grown to love. "Refuse to Regain!" is well worth the purchase, highly recommended to any dieter or those who are aiming to lose weight.

Clinical Manual of Drug Interaction Principles for Medical Practice
Gary H. Wynn & collaborators
American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209-3901
9781585622962, $55.00, www.appi.org

The wrong mixture of over the counter drugs can be fatal, and doctors and pharmacists must be aware of these lethal combos. "Clinical Manual of Drug Interaction Principles for Medical Practice" is a scholarly work discussing this very real possibility that can be prevented with the right research and foresight. With the hundreds upon hundreds of new drugs entering the market every year, the research into this subject is now invaluable, as it could save thousands of lives. Filled with complete and comprehensive and up to date research on drug interaction, "Clinical Manual of Drug Interaction Principles" is strongly recommended for community and college library medicine collections.

Epilepsy 199 Answers
Andrew N. Wilner
Demos Health
386 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9781932603354, $19.95, www.demosmedpub.com

Epilepsy is a condition that must be managed lest it be a true problem. Now in a newly expanded and updated third edition, "Epilepsy 199 Answers: A Doctor's Responds to his Patient's Questions" is a reference on epilepsy comprised in the question and answer form on 199 questions. With much advice discussing how diet, surgery, therapy, and more can affect one's epilepsy, "Epilepsy 199 Answers" is a must for anyone with epilepsy or has a family member with it, and wants to be armed with knowledge.

Youth Physical and Sedentary Behavior
Alan L. Smith & Stuart J.H. Biddle
Human Kinetics
1607 N. Market Street, PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
9780736065092, $69.00, www.humankinetics.com

The rising rates of obesity in today's world has many experts looking to the lifestyles of America's children. "Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Challenges and Solutions" is a scholarly examination of a health dilemma facing today's children. Identifying the problem, discussing its causes in great depth, Smith and Biddle also present many solutions to help the physical fitness of modern children. With advice aimed at professionals, covering related issues such as childhood diabetes, "Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior" is an absolute must for any charged in finding a solution, and a top pick for community library health collections.

Yoga Exercises for Teens
Helen Purperhart
Hunter House
PO Box 2914, 1515 1/2 Park Street, Alameda, CA 94501
9780897935036, $14.95, www.hunterhouse.com

Yoga shouldn't be dismissed as nonsense, as it has real physical benefits. "Yoga Exercises for Teens: Developing a Calmer Mind and a Stronger Body" pitches the exercise of yoga at teens to help them deal with the rocky and rough life they face. Stress reduction, weight loss, and overall fitness are all proven benefits one can gain through yoga, and "Yoga Exercises for Teens" is an ideal gift for the health conscious teenager.

Managing Health Services and Organizations and Systems
Beaufort B. Longest & Kurt Darr
Health Professions Press
PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781932529357, $119.95, www.healthpropress.com

When the management of a health facility is botched, people can die. "Managing Health Services Organizations and Systems" is the newly expanded and updated fifth edition, continuing its well-earned reputation for being a complete and comprehensive manual for health care facility management. Discussing healthcare in the modern United States, its long and storied history, and the vast variety of different organizations throughout. Business models are required to efficiently run a medical facility, and the book outlines many solid models depending on a particular facility's speciality or goal. It also discusses personnel, ranging from the janitorial staff to corporate executive officers. Other chapters include the development of hospital technology, the law and the many challenges the field faces in it, basic finance, and many more. Enhanced with indexes, glossaries, acronym guides, and much more, "Managing Health Services Organizations and Systems" is an absolute essential to any health organization and for community library collections catering to hospital administration.

Refuse to Regain!
Barbara Berkeley, MD
Quill Driver Books
2006 S. Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
1884956939, $24.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com

Absorb 12 rules to maintain body weight without creeping up using REFUSE TO REGAIN!, a survey of tools designed to 'lock in' a desired body weight. From thinking strategically about eating and food choices to enjoying one acceptable treat daily, REFUSE TO REGAIN is a 'must' for any diet-conscious reader who loves food.

The Healthy Aging Brain
Louis Cozolino
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10011
0393705137, $29.95 www.wwnorton.com

Any who would desire to live to a ripe old age will find this survey of aging issues a key to understanding the groundbreaking brain research taking place. Longevity brings with it challenges in health and brain health: especially as our brains continue to grow and change throughout our lives. Discussions of how to get the brain to age optimally are explored in an account of how individual health and longevity are linked to choices in daily lives. Physiology and psychology blend in a powerful survey.

Using the Power of Hope to Cope With Dying
Cathleen Fanslow-Brunjes, M.A., R.N.
Quill Driver Books
1254 Commerce Way, Sanger, CA 93657
1884956807, $25.00 www.quilldriverbooks.com

Using the Power of Hope to Cope With Dying: The Four Stages of Hope offers the dying and their caregivers a powerful tool proven in helping over 40,000 dying individuals at all stages of the dying process. The author's an internationally acclaimed expert in death, dying and hospice care who has presented over 600 workshops on the topic: her book is a powerful assessment of the different hopes of the dying, and is a pick any public library will relish.

Strategies
Tami Brady
Loving Healing Press
5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
9781932690484, $17.95, www.tami-brady.com

To be faced with a rare disorder is a lonely thing. "Strategies: A Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Journey" is an inspirational guide to those who have either of these debilitating diseases that zap the energy out of its sufferer. Tami Brady has dealt with it for much of her life, and relays her story hoping to motivate others not to let the disorder control their life. "Strategies" is an excellent choice for those who want to overcome what ails them.

Practical Carbohydrate Counting
Hope S. Warshaw & Karen M. Bolderman
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311
9781580402828, $22.95, www.store.diabetes.org

For most people, eating is a mindless action. For those trying to improve their health, it's another story. "Practical Carbohydrate Counting: A How-To-Teach Guide for Health Professionals" is a solid reference from the American Diabetes Association for nutritionists who are trying to teach their patients the skills they need to deal with carbohydrate management in their everyday life. With plenty of advice on carbohydrate's relationship with insulin and blood sugar, "Practical Carbohydrate Counting" is a must for any nutritionist dealing with diabetics.

Understanding Death And Illness And What They Teach About Life
Catherine Faherty
Future Horizons
721 West Abram Street, Arlington, TX 76013
www.FutureHorizons-autism.com
9781932565560, $24.95, 1-800-489-0727

How to deal with death and dying is always a sensitive and complex issue that is even more complicated in helping someone with autism or Asperger's when someone they love becomes terminal ill or passes away suddenly. An autism expert, parent consultant, child therapist, and teacher trainer, Catherine Faherty has created "Understanding Death And Illness And What They Teach About Life: An Interactive Guide for Individuals With Autism Or Asperger's And Their Loved Ones", a consumable 341-page workbook that addresses what steps can be taken and activities engaged in to help those with autism or Asperger's to deal end-of-life issues and experiences. Replete with useful checklists, "Understanding Death And Illness And What They Teach About Life" address such diverse but germane issues as illness and injury, recuperation and healing, what happens to a person in the process of dying, what happens when they die, rituals and traditions associated with death, and so much more. Of special note is the topic of putting pets to sleep. "Understanding Death And Illness And What They Teach About Life" is especially recommended to teachers, counselors, parents, and care givers dealing with children and young adults who are autistic or who have Asperger's Syndrome.


The Fiction Shelf

No Price Too Great
Lee Solomon
Dog Ear Publishing
4010 W. 86th Street, Ste H, Indianapolis, IN 46268
9781598588408, $19.95 www.dogearpublishing.net

No Price Too Great is a novel based on a true story, about a love that transcended culture and ethnicity. A Chinese businesswoman and an American lawyer, each from dramatically different backgrounds, meet and fall in love - together they must face titanic obstacles while trying to integrate their respective dreams into the dream of a unified family. A compelling story about confronting challenges, cultural values dissonance, and what it truly means to fall in love, No Price Too Great is enthralling from first page to last.

The Butcher of Penetang
Betsy Trumpener
Caitlin Press
8100 Alderwood Road, Halfmoon Bay, V0N 1Y1, Canada
9781894759304, $17.95, www.caitlin-press.com

The real world doesn't wear kid gloves. "The Butcher of Penetang" is no-holds barred short fiction from Betsy Trumpener. Her stories draw realistic, if brutal pictures of society, ranging from the tragic of a child lost in a bad part of town, to a robber whose weapon of choice is something found in most women's purses. Edgy, yet human and moving, "The Butcher of Penetang" is an enthralling collection of short fiction, highly recommended.

Tengu
John Donohue
YMAA Fiction
PO Box 480, Wolfeboro, NH 03894
9781594391255, $22.95, www.ymaa.com

Western society has changed much of the world, and not all thinks it's for the better. "Tengu" is the story of Connor Burke, a martial arts expert working with US Army Special forces. When murders start go down with no leads in their battle with Al-Qaeda terrorists, they soon realize that traditional terrorist methods aren't being used. Burke is lead to believe they are faced with an Asian splinter group, lead by an enigmatic master martial artist who only goes by one name - Tengu. "Tengu" reads like an action thriller spliced with a kung fu movie, riveting reading for thriller novel fans.

Waltzing Cowboys
Sarah Collins Honenberger
Cedar Creek Publishing
448 Middle Farms Trace, Bremo Bluff, VA 23022
9780979020568, $15.95, www.readhonenberger.com

It's never too late to form something special. "Waltzing Cowboys" tells the story of an old cowboy who begins to understand his own mortality and fix his life's wrongs, starting with the son he never met who lives across the country. A tale filled with interesting characters, "Waltzing Cowboys" is an intriguing read and a drama of humanity.

Alone
Alan K. Garinger
Indiana Historical Society Press
450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
9780871952677, $7.95, www.indianahistory.org

Traveling isn't as interesting as it used to be. "Alone: The Journey of the Boy Sims" tells the story Joshua Sim, a boy serving a survey crew constructing a road in Michigan. When he loses the ink supply, he must travel for more supplies and the novel details his journey, one filled with the strange characters of the nineteenth century from native Americans to runaway slaves. A intriguing novel of adventure, "Alone" is well worth the time.

Words & Flesh
Carmen Firan
Talisman House
PO Box 3157, Jersey City, NJ 07303-3157
9781584980605, $17.95, www.amazon.com

A woman of the world and prolific author of fiction and poetry, "Words & Flesh" is a collection of short fiction from Carmen Firan, a native of Romania who immigrated to New York less than a decade ago. Her stories reflect on her challenges growing up in an oppressive soviet country to shifting towards the freedom of America. A poignant picture, "Words & Flesh" is a fine collection of short fiction that gives a view of America from another angle.

Just Another Mzungu Passing Through
Jim Bowen
Parthian
c/o DuFour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781905762330, $21.95, www.dufoureditons.com

Modern Africa is something very hard to understand. "Just Another Mzungu Passing Through" is the debut novel of Jim Bowen, and takes place in a place so often forgotten by American society, modern Africa. Griff just wants a normal life as a teacher, but the chaos of Nairobi, Africa, won't let him. A vivid picture of modern Africa, "Just Another Mzungu Passing Through" is an enthusiastically recommended read as a grand work of fiction.

Cell Block Five
Fadhil al-Azzawi
The American University in Cairo Press
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
International Publishers Marketing, Inc.
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
9789774161421, $17.95, www.aucpress.com

The Koran has little description of hell, but some of its believers are spared from experiencing it. "Cell Block Five" is an English translation of the novel. First written in 1971, it's heralded as the first novel exploring the Iraqi prisons, following Aziz, a man ripped from life and is held for being a political prisoner. Touching on human nature's tendency towards cruelty and slightly upbeat all the same, "Cell Block Five" is international fiction that rings true nearly forty years later.

The Curse of Eve
Liliana Blum
Host Publications
277 Broadway, Suite 210, New York, NY 10007
9780924047534, $25.00, www.hostpublications.com

There's no such thing as an absolute. "The Curse of Eve: And Other Stories" is a collection of stories from Mexican writer Liliana Blum as she tells the story of many women and their stories which change them greatly in ways they would have never thought. The loss of innocence, creative creation of art, Ron Jeremy, and streaking virgins are all topics leading to an unusual and appealing blend of topics. Expertly translated by Toshiya Kamei, "The Curse of Eve" is utterly fascinating reading.

The Jumping Off Place
Marian Hurd McNeely
South Dakota State
c/o Historical Society Press
900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501
9780979894046, $15.95, www.sdshpress.com

Winter used to be a yearly challenge before heating systems made it easy. "The Jumping Off Place" is a story of the harsh times of South Dakota at the turn of the twentieth century. Dick, Phil, Becky, and Joan are trying to settle to make their lives, and only have months before winter is upon them to make things really rough on them. If the wrath of nature wasn't enough, there are those who want their land for themselves and will go to great measures to make it so. "The Jumping Off Place" is an intriguing read, entertaining while offering a glimpse of a time long past.

Something Happened
Greg Logsted
Simon Pulse
c/o Simon & Schuster
100 Front Street, Riverside, NJ 08075
9781416950783, $8.99, www.simonsaysteen.com

When the hormones of puberty hit, every teenage boy fantasizes it, but what if it happens? "Something Happened" tells the story of Billy Romero and his teacher, Miss Gate. Billy, spurned by peers and family alike, soon finds comfort in his new teacher. Miss Gate shows much interest in Billy, to the point where it becomes questionable of Miss Gate's true motives. "Something Happened" is a riveting story of scandalous behavior, something that happens all too often in today's headlines.

Seasons of the Heart
Janette Oke
Bethany House
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, MN 55438
9780764206535, $19.99, www.bethanyhouse.com

With nearly three million copies sold, Janette Oke's famed series have their numbers speak for them. "Seasons of the Heart" is an omnibus edition of four best-selling novels under one cover for a budget price. 'Once Upon a Summer', 'The Winds of Autumn', 'Winter is not Forever', and 'Springs Gentle Promise', are all included in this comprehensive volume following Josh Jones as he begins to face the rough road of life. "Seasons of the Heart" is an ideal pick for one interested in the series who wants to dive right in.

The Richest Season
Maryann McFadden
Hyperion
77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6298
Gulotta Communications (publicity)
341 Lexington Street, Newton, MA 02466
9781401322700, $22.95, www.hyperionbooks.com

Sometimes the harshness of life builds up and drastic action is the result. "The Richest Season" tells of housewife Joanna Harrison. Mother of adult children and wife to a neglectful husband, she flees her past life to start over. Finding work and companionship with a widow named Grace, the two forge a friendship. The story is not just about Joanna, as the family she left behind suddenly realize life is a lot less sweet without her. "The Richest Season" is a story of love and friendship, and how sometimes a drastic action isn't the best.

Something Very Wild
Mary Zelinsky
Gale Cengage Learning
P.O. Box 6904, Florence, KY 41022-6904
9781594147197, $25.95, www.cengage.com

Everyone has something hidden in their past. "Something Very Wild" is a fast paced thriller set in New Orleans's French quarter. Chloe Golden, three time college drop out starts to find her new life, as well as love. Things don't stay good for her as secrets of her own past as well as her new friends and potentials lovers start to leak out and stir up a vortex of trouble. The FBI, art thieves, con-artists, and more are all the subjects in Zelinsky's exciting thriller, "Something Very Wild."

Two Kinds of Time
Graham Peck
University of Washington Press
PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145-5096
9780295988528, $28.95, www.washington.edu/uwpress

China has been a vault of culture for millennia, yet some of its history is tremendously disheartening. "Two Kinds of Time" is a large memoir from Graham Peck about his time spent in China during one of its darkest times, with a focus on the era of World War II, where a Civil War was halted to resist the invasion of the Imperialistic Japanese. Serving the US army at the time, "Two Kinds of Time" is an extensive chronicle, a highly recommended snapshot of this period.

Lunch with Lenin
Deborah Ellis
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
311 Washington Street, Brighton, MA 02135
9781554551057, $14.95, www.fitzhenry.ca

The world has a large and vast sample of people, and they in turn have a large and vast sample of stories. "Lunch with Lenin: And Other Stories" is a short story anthology from Deborah Ellis. Her stories take the fact of life and are set in a wide variety of locales with people with very different motives. From scraping by a living by any means necessary to recreational drug use to the production of said drugs far away, "Lunch with Lenin" is a series of stories, only loosely related, but riveting reading nonetheless.

Subprime Factor
Jeffrey D. Schlaman
Synergy Books
PO Box 80107, Austin, TX 78758
Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists (publicity)
2100 Kramer Lane, Suite 300, Austin, TX 78758
9780981546254, $12.95, www.synergybooks.net

The pursuit of the almighty dollar is a driving action that makes some people willing to kill. "Subprime Factor" is a novel that sings well in this time of economic crisis. Doug Boyd is an honest man, and when his employer threatens his integrity when it comes to the company's accounting, he refuses. When Doug takes a vacation, he soon finds himself on the bad side of a hit man. With only his friends on his side, Doug must take down an economic conspiracy and find someway to set the world's finances right. "Subprime Factor" is a timely and riveting novel, recommended.

Branded Outlaw
L. Ron Hubbard
Galaxy Press
7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 200, Hollywood, CA 90028
9781592122585, $9.95 www.galaxypress.com www.goldenagestories.com 1-877-842-5299

Branded Outlaw reprints a classic Western pulp story by famous science fiction author and founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard. Originally published in the October 1938 issue of "Five-Novels Monthly", Branded Outlaw is a gripping saga of Lee Weston, a young man seeking survival and revenge when all legal avenues of justice have been cut off. Nursed back to health from the brink of death by the beautiful daughter of his family's blood enemy, Weston strives to avenge his slain kin even though it may cost him the love of the only girl he's ever looked at twice. A rip-roaring adventure from cover to cover, as exciting today as it was when it was published.

Bahama Burnout
Don Bruns
Oceanview Publishing
61 Paradise Rd., Ipswich, MA 01938, 800-829-7062
9781933515205, $24.95 www.Oceanviewpub.com

Don Bruns is a master storyteller and "Bahama Burnout" is the latest evidence of his gift for originality with this, his latest mystery novel. Mick Sever is back again, this time becoming involved in a recording studio fire that reveals a charred body and another mystery to solve. When his friends Jonah and Rita Britt rebuild the studio, there's a distinct possible that more murders are to come -- if Mick can't get to the 'who, what, and why' of that first lethal fire. A riveting read from first page to last, "Bahama Burnout" is a complete 'stand alone' mystery novel that will be sought after by Bruns' growing number of fans, and will serve those new to his work to seek out his previous (and highly recommended) titles including "St. Barts Breakdown"; "Stuff Dreams Are Made Of"; "Stuff To Die For"; "South Beach Shakedown"; "Barbados Heat"; and "Jamaica Blue".

Oranges in No Man's Land
Elizabeth Laird
Haymarket Books
PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618
9781931859561, $9.95, www.cbsd.com

A war zone is a terrifying place. "Oranges in No Man's Land" follows young Ayesha during the blackest time in Lebanon's history, its civil war. Elizabeth Laird has many terrifying experiences of her own and applies them liberally throughout the story. Ayesha has to cross a war zone in order to get medicine that her Grandmother needs to survive. At age ten, Ayesha must show bravery that some fully grown men never do. "Oranges in No Man's Land" is an entrancing story, well worth the read.

Out of Eden
Lillian Faulkner Baggett
Florida Academic Press
PO Box 540, Gainesville, FL 32602-0540
9781890357221, $29.95

Just as Adam and Eve were cast out of their paradise, many others throughout history were as well. "Out of Eden" takes a look at the before and after of the quiet Deep South and what World War II did to it. Before, it was a quiet romantic place that author Baggett remembers fondly. After, the shadow of modernization began to change things forever. "Out of Eden" is a must for those who want to get more in tune with the South in the early twentieth century and the post war boom periods, and those who enjoy a good story.

Driftless
David Rhodes
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55415
9781571310590, $24.00, www.milkweed.org

With decades of thought, David Rhodes returns to the novel game with "Driftless". A story set in Wisconsin, Rhodes makes the star and main concept of the story his characters as they go through life. The different characters range from Amish to farmers and invalids, all bringing a certain charm and purpose to the story. "Driftless" is a triumphant return to fiction from David Rhodes, and a solidly recommended read.

Mantids
Ron Dakron
Black Heron Press
PO Box 13396, Mill Creek, WA 98082
9780930773861, $20.95, www.blackheronpress.com

Insects were never thought of by anyone as 'sexy'. "Mantids" takes a look into the love life of the mantis, and a certain male of the species who can't seem to get enough due to a certain pill a human misplaced. Making no acclaims to being highbrow, Dakron draws from many sources in order to provide his readers with a side-splitting adventure that'll give anyone the much needed laugh they deserve in life. "Mantids" is a must for humor readers seeking something with a twist.

Godblog
Laurie Channer
Darkstar Fiction
c/o Napoleon & Company
178 Willowdale Avenue, Suite 201, Toronto, ON Canada, M2N 4Y8
9781894917667, $22.95, www.napoleonandcompany.com

The internet is anonymous, and when that cover is removed, trouble can brew. "Godblog" follows Dag as he wage slaves his life away in a coffee shop. By night, he gains notoriety as a highly opinionated blogger, who has a problem with the corporations that Dag happens to work for in his day job. Dag's secrecy and job are in danger, making "Godblog" an entertaining and humorous romp through the relationship of cyberspace and the real world.

Moon's Blood
Bill Brooks
Sagebrush
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
9780753180105, $27.99, www.ulverscroftusa.com

Ben Moon was in his day one of the most feared gunfighters to ever slap leather. But the west had been changing as the years rolled by -- and so had Ben. The decades of drinking, shooting, and killing had damaged something in his soul. Then in 1882 he met Jane, a once fast living woman he'd once thought about marrying. But now she's dying and all she wants to see is the child she'd given up at birth. So Ben rides out to look for the little girl only to find himself going up against hard men with guns in their hands aiming to establish their reputations by killing him for his. One of Bill Brook's best western yarns, this large print edition of "Moon's Blood" is ideal for older men needing the visual assistance of a large print format and especially recommended for community library large print fiction collections.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Healer's Touch
Anne Gray
Sumach Press
1415 Bathurst Street #202, Toronto, ON Canada M5R 3H8
9781894549776, $12.95, www.sumachpress.com

A good healer cures the ailment, not the symptoms. "Healer's Touch" follows young woman named Dovella, gifted with the power of healing. A sorcerer bent on domination threatens her home, and Dovella seems to be the only one able to resist him. Dovella must master her natural gift, or Fvlad the Sorcerer isn't going have much opposition for his plans. "Healer's Touch" is a solid fantasy that will grip the genre's fans all the way through.

The Stowaway
R.A. & Geno Salvatore
Mirrorstone Books
c/o Wizards of the Coast
PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707
9780786950942, $17.95, www.mirrorstonebooks.com

When someone is marked for death, you don't expect the target to be a preteen. "The Stowaway: Stone of Tymora Volume 1" is another entry in the popular Drizzt Do'Urden series following a young boy named Maimun, who has found himself hunted for a secret he never wished to know. He finds the legendary dark elf and his adventure drags him across a hostile sea. A riveting tale of action, adventure, and strangely family, "The Stowaway" is a must have Drizzt Do'Urden.

Baen Books
Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
www.baen.com

An alternate universe in which Ponce de Leon has discovered a dangerous mythical secret that could change the world is presented in Steve White's ST. ANTHONY'S FIRE (1416555986, $24.00), an alternate universe story set in 1588 Spain and telling of weapons so powerful they seem sorcery to the world they are changing. Fast-paced action, intrigue, and dangerous interactions both political and scientific in nature make for a fine alternate world/high-tech novel science fiction libraries will find compelling. Such collections will also relish John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor's CLAWS THAT CATCH (1416555870, $25.00), telling of alien menace and a motley crew destined for space battles. It's up to the humans to fight the dreaded Dreen, aliens which have thus far proved unstoppable invaders - and it's also up to them to master a bag of looted technologies to make change happen. This deserves ongoing recommendation as an exceptional military science fiction work.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

What Book!?
Gary Gach, editor
Parallax Press
PO Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707
0938077929, $15.00

Poetry and Buddhism have more in common than one would believe. "What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop" is a collection of poems and essays on both poetry and Buddhism, sometimes both, outlining the many things in common with both the religion and the art form. A wide range of writers come from a wide range of backgrounds to discuss and practice the two things that unite them - poetry and Buddhism. "What Book1?" is a must read for other like minded individuals.


The Women's Studies Shelf

Women Only Over 50
Diana Black, Mary Cunningham, & Melinda Richarz Bailey
Echelon Press
9735 Country Meadows Lane, 1-D, Laurel, MD 20723
9781590806067, $12.99, www.echelonpress.com

Mid-life still means you have about half of it to go. "Women Only Over 50: Who Are Still Puppies at Heart" is targeted at the middle-aged woman who is faced with several new challenges but still wants to live their lives to the fullest. Wrinkles, the departure of children, weight gain, and so much more is discussed with wit and wisdom, making "Women Only Over 50" an ideal gift to oneself or a beloved WOOFer.

Women Create!
Hilda Ruch
Brown Books Publishing Group
16200 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 170, Dallas, TX 75248
9781934812150, $24.95, www.brownbooks.com

Anyone can be creative with the right motivation. "Women Create!: A Seriously Whimsical Celebration for the Creative Feminine" is a book aimed at encouraging and inspiring women in their many creative endeavors, not limiting itself to a single art form. Humorous, witty, it doesn't take itself too seriously in its recommendation, stating that creativity is something that is rarely serious in itself. "Women Create!" is an ideal gift to any young woman one wants to inspire creativity in.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

New Age Judaism
Celia E. Rothenberg & Anne Vallely
Vallentine Mitchell
920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213-3786
9780853038603, $27.95, www.vmbooks.com

Religion changes right alongside of life. "New Age Judaism" takes a wide reaching look at the recent revolutions in Judaism. Yoga, modern music, Buddhism, meditations are all things that have begun to influence modern Jews and have changed their way of worship, while staying true to their base faith. Filled with new and intriguing ways to express one's faith, "New Age Judaism" is a must for the modern, yet still highly religious, Jew.

Common Judaism
Wayne O. McCready & Adele Reinhartz
Augsburg Fortress
PO Box 59304, Minneapolis, MN 55459-0304
9780800662998, $37.00, www.fortresspress.com

Judaism, just like Christianity, has many branches. "Common Judaism: Explorations in Second-Temple Judaism" is an examination of these branches and their relationships with one another, focusing on second-temple Judaism. Designed to be a stepping stone for educational discussion, it outlines the origins and concepts that divide one branch of Judaism from another and is utterly intriguing reading for anyone, Jew or gentile. "Common Judaism" is a strongly recommended pick for Judaic studies collections or general religious collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Show No Fear
Peri O'Shaughnessy
Pocket Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
1416544399, $25.00 www.simonsays.com

Nina is working as a paralegal and attending law school at night, fighting for custody of her young son and overseeing a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of her mother. So the last things she needs is a woman's mysterious death and a lone search for the truth. SHOW NO FEAR offers a fast-paced, riveting mystery packed with suspense and hard to put down. Any lending library specializing in mysteries will find it a top pick.

Berkeley Prime Crime
375 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Wendy Roberts' DEVIL MAY RIDE (9780451225658, $6.99) tells of Sadie and her sexy partner Zack, who find themselves in trouble on their latest job when they come upon evidence of a cult ritual in an abandoned meth lab. Add an evil spirit and stolen cash and you have an involving winning story. Hazel Holt's MRS. MALORY AND A TIME TO DIE (9780451225696, $6.99) tells of one Sheila Malory and an old friend found dead in his stables from a blow to the head. And that's just the beginning of a murder spree Sheila needs to put the cap on in this fine mystery. Lynn Harris' DEATH BY CHICK LIT (9780425215241, $14.00) tells of Lola, who attends a swanky book party to find her author friend Mimi murdered in the basement. When the bodies of other 'It-Girl' writers begin to pile, Lola wonders if the murders are connected and if she's next. Kate Kingsbury's RINGING IN MURDER (9780425223994, $14.00) provides a satisfying, brand-new seasonal murder set at Christmas time but good for year-round pursuit. Here Christmas at the Pennyfoot is affected by a spate of murders, and Cecily finds a holiday surprise turns into a dangerous murder mystery surrounding missing Christmas crackers in this fine novel of suspense. All are top picks for mystery readers.

Black Land, White Land
H. C. Bailey
Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery
87 Lone Tree Lane, Lyons, CO 80540
9781601870292, $14.95, www.ruemorguepress.com

A cold trail is tough to get hot again. "Black Land, White Land" is another mystery novel following the adventures of one Reginald Fortune. When the bones of a young boy are found. In order to find the child's assailant, a decade after the crime was committed, Fortune has to deal with the feuding families of Durshire, far more concerned with their pettiness than justice. Another old school detective novel from Rue Morgue, "Black Land, White Land" is a strong choice for any classic mystery lover.

Blood Island
H. Terrell Griffin
Oceanview Publishing
2817 West End Ave., Suite 126-274, Nashville, TN 37203
9781933515212, $24.95, www.oceanviewpub.com

Cults are not the most reasonable things to deal with. "Blood Island" follows Matt Royal, an ex-lawyer as he searches for his ex-wife's step daughter on Blood Island. Matt finds that Peggy may have been forced to become a prostitute by a crazed cult, but it seems that's not the worst of it, as even finding the cult's prostitution ring, Peggy is nowhere to be found. Matt soon finds that more than sexual exploitation could be out there when he looks deeper into the cult. "Blood Island" is a riveting thriller that'll keep a reader going all the way to the end.


The Poetry Shelf

Photographing Eden
Jason Gray
Ohio University Press
19 Circle Drive, Athens, OH 45701
9780821418369, $12.95 www.ohiou.edu/oupress 1-800-621-2736

Award-winning poet Jason Gray presents Photographing Eden, his latest collection of brief, free-verse poems featuring creative metaphors that offer an unparalleled insight into the current state of the world. Moments of passion and contemplation intertwine in this uniquely keen collection of whetted insight. "The Snow Leopard In the Metro Toronto Zoo": He pads on grassy banks behind a fence, / with measured paces slow and tense. // Beyond his cage his thoughts are sharp and white; / he lives a compelled anchorite. // A solid ghost gone blind with all the green, / he waits and waits to be unseen.

To Sit Beside A Bird Is Infinite Enough
David Hayman
Parallel Press
372 Memorial Library, 728 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9781893311978, $10.00 http://parallelpress.library.wisc.edu 1-800-636-0071

Poet, scholar, and teacher David Hayman presents To Sit Beside a Bird Is Infinite Enough, a chapbook of brief, free-verse poems that reflect the author's years of devotion to his craft of words. Vignettes of daily life and moments of inspiration pepper the thoughtful insights of this contemplative collection, which can be savored a little bit at a time or all at once. "Ecology": Sunny morning on the trail / Abruptly, ahead as usual, / She stopped, stooped, pointed, / Shouted, "Look, Daddy! / It's a fly's nest!" / Indeed, and a fresh one too. / No need to disabuse her. / Bright eyes, a nature lover, / She turned and held my hand. / Then, softly, I told her.

The Rising and the Rain
John Straley
University of Alaska Press
PO Box 756240, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240
9781602230330, $19.95, www.uaf.edu/uapress

Writing for well over two decades, John Straley is not lacking in experience. "The Rising and the Rain" is his entry into the world of poetry. He focuses on his home, southeastern Alaska and brings his sharp wit and sharp mind to the table offering glimpses of his life and surroundings through verse. "The Rising and the Rain" is a fine work, recommended. "After Simone Weil": Like a confused lover/I waited for you/on the wrong corner,/looking at my watch, each moment/confirming our missed appointment.//The unsubstantial business of the world,/the empty buses and garbage trucks, whirled like mists/around my immovable heart.//I imagined you waiting for me/somewhere/holding steadfast in your faith./Not Calling the police,/not wanting me/to appear foolish.//"How you must love me, " I thought,/"to make us both wait so long."

Grace
Dana Yost
Spoon River Poetry Press
PO Box 6, Granite Falls, MN 56241
0944024580, $10.00

Dana Yost has spent thirty years trying to find peace as journalist. "Grace" is his first book of poetry, aimed at this never-ending desire to find peace in a world that almost seems to shun the very concept. "Grace" is full of poignant views, and may help readers find their own peace. "After-Attack": Fire-pit ash,/scraped, rinsed,/but ever more filthy.

Perspective Would Have Us
Erica Carpenter
Burning Deck
71 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
Small Press Distribution (distribution)
1341 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710
1886224765, $14.00, www.burningdeck.com

With chapbooks and other publications to her name, Erica Carpenter makes her full fledged poetry book debut with "Perspective Would Have Us". A worldwide traveler, Carpenter has seen much, and shows it with her free-verse poetry. "Perspective Would Have Us" is a delightful read, recommended. "Phoenix Replies": till joys cease/and woe/puts out fires/and frost comforts.

An Aquarium
Jeffrey Yang
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, St. Paul, MN 55114
9781555975135, $15.00, www.graywolfpress.com

A man who has made a career out of working with poetry, "An Aquarium" is a chapbook of poetry from translator and poet Jeffrey Yang. Using the vehicle of fish, Yang's poetry translates its goal well, providing excellent verse. "An Aquarium" is worth the investment for poetry fans. "Remora": R is for Remora, for: 'The mightiest power/does not always prevail. A ship/may be detained by a small remora',/quotes Borges of Diego de Saavedra Fajardo's/Political Emblems (1640).

Beyond Time
Larry Christianson
North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.
PO Box 451, St. Cloud, MN 56302
9780878392926, $9.95, www.northstarpress.com

Things don't have to be complicated to just be bliss. "Beyond Time: Poems from North of the Tension Line" is Larry Christianson's third anthology of poetry, focusing on the simplicities of life, giving a charming folk wisdom on many aspects of life. Charming, entertaining, and thoughtful, "Beyond Time" is a fine chapbook of poems. "Tomorrow River": Tomorrow River. /Running swiftly/through sorrow soothing,/pin healing/as water gently/flows-//Winding slowly/along memory banks,/landmark moments/of yesterday-/Merging streams/of meaning/all along/the boundary/of today.

The Hat
Selima Hill
Bloodaxe Books
c/o Dufour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781852248062, $7.95, www.dufoureditions.com

Knowing who one is something without price. "The Hat" is a poetry collection from Selima Hill, her verse focusing on personal identity and how one identifies himself. The influences of society are strong, with everyone else not being honest with who they are. "The Hat" is poignant and amusing, strong reading for poetry lovers. "Peonies": She never sees the darkness of dark peonies/without the sense of being small and vigilant/coming quietly back to her again.

She Had Some Horses
Joy Harjo
WW Norton
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393334210, $13.95, www.wwnorton.com

A reissue of a classic anthology of poetry, "She Had Some Horses" is a fine work from experienced poet and woman of the world Joy Harjo. Focusing on the subject of womanhood and the woman's place in society, "She Had Some Horses" is an enjoyable work of poetry, perfect for feminist reads. "Connection": A hawk touches down/the humming earth before Miami,/Oklahoma./You Old Shawnee, I think/of your rugged ways/the slick-floored bars and whiskey/sour nights when the softer heart/comes part./The Spokane you roam isn't City of the Angels/but another kind of wilderness./You speed in a Ford truck and it's five/in the morning, the suns and dogs/only ones up/and you go home to red earth/when you see a hawk/crossing wires/touching down.

Time & Memory
William S. Trout
American Literary Press
8019 Belair Rd., Suite 10, Baltimore, MD 21236
1934696196, $12.95, www.americanliterarypress.com

Memory is a long, vast, and complicated thing. "Time & Memory" is an anthology of poems from William S. Trout. Focusing on the concept of memory and drawing on Trout's own, be it from his own raw thoughts or inspired by older writings, photographs, or other reminders of the past, "Time & Memory" is an intriguing look at how memory affects us all. "Diary - 1879": The summer fields of ninety years gone by/Murmur with clover bees, and billow with amber/Wheat, white oats, and pale green, silvery/Timothy. Meadowlarks from the furrow/Of the late fallow will flutter to the gun-shot/Soon, and the fat groundhog, lumbering/To reach his hillside burrow, will not shut/The dark eye, which must glaze. Blackberries, vining/At the wood's edge, smell of wine . . . And over the rise/Of the walnut hill, a child's eyes grow wise.

Tethered To The Earth
Tyler Farrell
Salmon Publishing Ltd.
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
9781903392812, $23.95, www.dufoureditions.com

Tyler Farrell (who is now an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Dubuque, Iowa and currently the book review editor for the literary magazine 'An Sionnach') was educated by the Irish poet Eamonn Wall in Omaha, Nebraska and the Irish poet James Liddy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The author of numerous published articles and poetry pieces, Farrell has a unique poetic voice with which he describes a especially insightful perspective and view of the world, expressing themes of isolation and awakening, and life experiences with the stark and desolate beauty of Ashland, Wisconsin, as well as a wandering style of European life. Distinctive, memorable, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Tethered To The Earth" is a remarkable and recommended volume of original poetry. 'Poem Written On A Cigarette Box': Have we gone away/so soon/with smoke leaking/from our lips.//Overturned glass of scotch/slipping into/our bloodstream.//Read as a diary found/in the drawer/of a desk of/an abandoned/house.

Millikin University Haiku Anthology
Dr. Randy Brooks and collaborators, editors
Bronze Man Books
Millikin University
1184 W. Main, Decatur, IL 62522
9780978744168, $25.00, www.bronzemanbooks.com

The simple 5-7-5 format of the haiku have made the Japanese oriented form of poetry gain world wide fame. "Millikin University Haiku Anthology" is a collection of hundreds of haiku from the fine people at Millikin University. A wide variety of people lead to a wide variety of poetry, and "Millikin University Haiku Anthology" is a solid recommendation due to that. A sample from Kristen Robinson: sharing the last slice/after everyone is gone/one more dirty fork.

The Old Man's Verses
Ivan Divis, author
Deborah Garfinkle, translator
Host Publications
277 Broadway, Suite 210, New York, NY 10007
9780924047558, $25.00, www.hostpublications.com

One of Czechoslovakia's best, "The Old Man's Verses" is a collection of the best poetry from the late Ivan Divis. A wide-ranging account of Czechoslovakia in the twentieth century, Ivan lived through World War II and the Cold War, and as such gives a vast and varied account through poetry. A new perspective on Europe during a tumultuous time, "The Old Man's Verses" is well worth the effort to enjoy.

Please
Jericho Brown
Western Michigan University
1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008
9781930974791, $14.00, www.wmich.com/issues

A doctor of Creative Writing, Jericho Brown steps into the world of poetry with "Please". Seeking to speak the unspoken thoughts of the African American and the male, his verse seeks to explain the actions and ideas that men of one or the other belong to. "Please" is poignant and realistic writing, and an excellently entertaining read. "Open": I often lie open as a field. Sharecroppers have no fixed names.

Another Country
Jane Griffiths
Bloodaxe Books
c/o DuFour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781852247942, $28.95

The senses take in so much that it's a true skill to interpret it lyrically. "Another Country: New & Selected Poems" is an anthology of poems from Jane Griffiths, consisting of poems from her earlier collections and a good pick of newer work. Exploring the meaning of the world and settling down, "Another Country" is profound reading. "Origami Cat": Demanding never less than perfection -/first he steep pitch of the ears, then/six sharp creases for the shoulder-bones - all to poise it to turn its back./And whiskers? This is the difficult one.


The Money/Finance Shelf

Pooling Money
Yasuyuki Fuchita & Robert E. Litan
Brookings Institution Press
PO Box 50370, Baltimore, MD 21211-4370
9780815729853, $24.95, www.brookings.edu

Solid investment is always the key to becoming comfortably wealthy. "Pooling Money: The Future of Mutual Funds" is the wise investor's guide to the modern mutual fund and using them wisely. Discussing the present nature and the future of the system for investors, it touches upon American issues as well as international banking such as Europe and Japan. Scholarly reading from the Brookings Institution, "Pooling Money" is a must for any mutual fund user.

Mortgage Free!, 2nd Edition
Rob Roy
Chelsea Green
PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580656, $24.95, www.chelseagreen.com

When five or six or even more figures in debt, getting out of it seems impossible. "Mortgage Free!: Innovative Strategies for Debt-Free Home Ownership" is a guide to breaking free of the bank's grasp on one's finances, and conquering a plaguing mortgage that all too often dominates an American's life. Rob Roy has a huge selection of tips and advice for digging one's way out of debt, outlining what's truly necessary in one's life, smart shopping in the homeowner's market, planning for the long term, and so much more. Anyone plotting buying a home needs "Mortgage Free!".


The Parenting Shelf

Pea in a Pod
Linda Goldberg
SquareOne Publishers
115 Herricks Road, Garden City Park, NY 11040
9780757001819, $17.95, www.squareonepublishers.com

Motherhood is something the majority of women will experience at some point. "Peas in a Pod: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Beyond" is a complete and comprehensive reference for mothers who want to best take care of their children and have all the knowledge they need at their disposal. Frequently asked questions, advice on breast-feeding, immunizations, and more, "Peas in a Pod" is packed with color photos and a solid choice for any would-be informed mother to be.

Video Games & Your Kids
Hilarie Cash & Kim McDaniel
Issues Press
c/o Idyll Arbor
39129 264th Ave SE, Enumclaw, WA 98022
9781930461055, $18.00, www.idyllarbor.com

Moderation is key to all things, including video games. "Video Games & Your Kids: How Parents Stay in Control" is a parent's guide to the world of video games for children for their parents. Discussing age appropriateness, how much a parent should allow their children to play video games in general, it also discusses problems children may have already, like existing addictions to online games. "Video Games & Your Kids" is a solid choice for parents of young gamers.

Multiple Bles8ings
Jon & Kate Gosselin & Beth Carson
Zondervan
5300 Patterson Avenue, SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530
9780310289029, $19.99, www.zondervan.com

The wonders of modern science. "Multiple Bles8ings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets" is the story of Jon & Kate Gosselin, stars of TLC's "Jon and Kate plus 8". Chronicling their story through their rough time conceiving, to what they call a miracle and work of God when they gave birth to eight children in the span of three years, a set of twins then sextuplets. Covering the first two and most hectic years of their lives of parents of eight, "Multiple Bles8ings" is an interesting look into a modern day large family.

Late, Lost, and Unprepared
Joyce Cooper-Kahn & Laurie Dietzel
Woodbine House
6510 Bells Mill Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817
9781890627843, $19.95

Attention Deficit Disorders are abundant in many children, but how to deal with them? "Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning" is a guide for parents when dealing with a child who suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder or related disorders, with some advice even dealing with severities such as autism. Focusing both on the short and long term, "Late, Lost, and Unprepared" is a manual that parents need for their special needs child.

Raising a Gifted Child
Carol Fertig
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
9781593633448, $16.95, www.prufrock.com

One could have all the talent in the world, but if it isn't nurtured, it'll go to waste. "Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook" is a guide to parents who want to give their talented children all the tools they need to maximize their potential for the future. Just like those with learning disabilities, the other extreme need special care to assist them, and "Raising a Gifted Child" should be in the bookshelf of every parent of a gifted child.

The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home
Kathy Peel
Picket Fence Press
c/o Tyndale House
Maggierowe@tyndale.com
9781414316192, $16.99, www.tyndale.com

To have a career and a mother is to have two full time jobs - how do you pull off such a balancing act? "The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home: Fast Solutions to Hundreds of Everyday Dilemmas" is designed to be the working mother's bible for dealing with the endless complexities of their life. Divided into categories such as food, finances, chores, and event not-so daily events such as holidays and birthdays, "The Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy, Organized Home" is a strong consideration to any dual breadwinner/single parent who faces these challenges.

Forever Lily
Beth Nonte Russell
Touchstone
Rockefeller Center, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Andrew E. Freedman
9127 Thrasher Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069
9780743292979, $14.00, www.simonsays.com

Adoption is a tough journey in itself, but when from China, it adds another element. "Forever Lily: An Unexpected Mother's Journey to Adoption in China" tells her story of traveling to China initially to give a friend of hers support in her own decision for adoption. As her friend begins to have second thoughts, Beth looks towards to the forgotten child and takes her as her own. Detailing this emotional journey, "Forever Lily" is a solid read for anyone considering international adoption.

Boosting Your Baby's Brain Power
Holly Engel-Smothers & Susan M. Heim
Great Potential Press
PO Box 5057, Scottsdale, AZ 85261
9780910707909, $15.95, www.giftedbooks.com

From birth, a baby's entire body is rapidly developing, including their brain. "Developing Your Baby's Brain Power" is a guide to enabling one's child to have all the benefits possible to encourage a healthy, prosperous brain. Explaining the many elements of what's understood of an infant's neural development, it discusses everything from crying to language development, vision, personality, motor control, and so much more. "Developing Your Baby's Brain Power" is a must for the intellectual parent who wants the brightest future possible for their child.

Reconcilable Differences
Cate Cochran
Second Story Press
20 Maud Street, Suite 401, Toronto, ON Canada, M5V 2M5
9781897187296, $19.95, www.secondstorypress.ca

Divorce is not the end of a family. "Reconcilable Differences: Marriages end. Families don't." is a guide for parents who have divorced but don't want to spoil their family because of it. Successful failing, although sounding like an oxymoron, is very possible and recommended. Cate Cochran offers a whole smorgasbord of tips and advice for readers and divorces, making "Reconcilable Differences" a must for the recent or potentially divorced.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Jesus
Michael Keene
Lion Access Guides
c/o Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
9780825478222, $12.95 www.kregelpublications.com 1-800-733-2607

The Lion Access Guide series now features a new volume titled Jesus, and detailing what history and the Bible have to say about the founding figure of Christianity. Written by theology expert and veteran teacher Michael Keene, this compact guide to Jesus Christ includes captivating color photography on almost every page, and user-friendly text accessible to readers of all backgrounds. The result is a "must-read" for any lay reader curious to learn more about the Messiah. "John's Gospel assumes that Jesus was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem, since this was in accordance with both Roman and Jewish law. The traditional site of the crucifixion, Golgotha or Calvary, was first identified in the fourth century and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built on the spot. No one, however, is completely sure about the true location of Golgotha."

From Age to Age
Edward Foley
The Liturgical Press
St. John's Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
9780814630785, $29.95 www.litpress.org 1-800-858-5450

Professor of Liturgy and Music Edward Foley presents From Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist, an in-depth historical study of the Christian Eucharist from its Jewish roots to its practice in the modern day. Scattered black-and-white images illustrate the thoughtful and scholarly text, which discusses the theology of each age of history as well as the cultural contexts that affected the Eucharist. Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, From Age to Age is the definitive reference and resource for anyone studying this venerable tradition of Christian worship.

Springs of Living Water
David S. Young
Herald Press
616 Walnut Avenue, Scottsdale, PA 15683-1999
9780836194111, $16.99, www.heraldpress.com

Congregations will fall apart without the right care. "Springs of Living Water: Christ-Centered Church Renewal" is a nondenominational Christian guide to improving the church experience at one's local church. Offering tips to improve the congregation's spirit and faith in Jesus and therefore inspire faith in others, "Springs of Living Water" is a must read for anyone who cares deeply for their church and congregation.

Transforming Disciples
Linda L. Grenz
Church Publishing
445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9780898695984, $16.00, www.churchpublishing.org

Church is a place where people can grow as people. "Transforming Disciples" is another entry the transformations series, a series aimed at Episcopal ministers who want to make their congregations be as fulfilling as possible, both spiritually and as members of the community. Discipleship is discussed in this volume, offering pastors advice on turning their normal congregation members into religiously educated disciples of the church. "Transforming Disciples" is a solid read for any Episcopal Pastor trying to make their church better.

Survival or Prophecy?
Patrick Hart, editor
Cistercian Publications
c/o The Liturgical Press
St. John's Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
9780879070175, $21.95, www.cistercianpublications.org www.litpress.org

When two people with expert knowledge speak, it is truly a sight. "Survival or Prophecy?: The Correspondence of Jean Leclercq and Thomas Merton" is the correspondence between two religious experts, a Benedictine monk and a Cistercian Monk, one French the other American. For over two decades, they deeply discussed the world of religion, from defining monkhood to countless religious discussion involving the nature of Christianity as a whole. Enlightening and fascinating, "Survival or Prophecy?" is a must for any professional or non specialist general reader with an interest in Christian debates.

Salvation on the Small Screen?
Nadia Bolz-Weber
Seabury Books
445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9781596270862, $17.00, www.seaburybooks.org

What's Christian about Christian TV? "Salvation on the Small Screen?: 24 Hours of Christian Television" is the results of a social experiment from Nadia Bolz-Weber about her one straight day of being a couch potato, exposing herself to an unhealthy dose of Christian programming. Witty and insightful, Weber draws insights from herself and those who just happen to stop by to endure her torture alongside her. Not to be confused as an indictment of Christianity, but instead Christian Television, "Salvation on the Small Screen?" is a unique and humorous work that may surprise you.

Pocket Dictionary of Church History
Nathan P. Feldmeth
InterVarsity Press
PO box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
9780830827039, $8.00, www.ivpress.com

With two thousand years under its belt, Christianity has created quite the history for itself. "Pocket Dictionary of Church History" is a comprehensive solid reference to well over three hundred terms that the Church frequently uses, with their definitions and their history. Leaders, sects, places, and more are covered, making "Pocket Dictionary of Church History" an ideal quick reference.


The World History Shelf

War, Judgment, and Memory in the Basque Borderlands, 1914-1945
Sandra Ott
University of Nevada Press
MS 0166, Reno, NV 89557-0166
9780874177381, $39.95, www.unpress.nevada.edu

War is the ultimate challenge for a culture. "War, Judgment, and the Memory of the Basque Borderlands: 1914-1945" tells of the Basque region in southwestern France as they dealt with the fallout from the conflicts of World War I and World War II, and the Spanish Civil War. From the first conflicts, the Basque region faced challenges, only getting worse as Spanish refugees, the fall of France to the Nazi Regime, the first half of the twentieth century was the farthest thing from peace that the region ever knew. Drawn from first and second hand sources such as classified and declassified documents alike, "War, Judgment, and the Memory of the Basque Borderlands" is a solid and intriguing read about the effects of constant war.

Heraldic Design
Heather Child
Clearfield Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 260, Baltimore, MD 21211
#975, $25.00, www.genealogical.com

The colorful, unique, and sometimes fanciful designs associated with European nobility had their practical origins in the necessity to tell friend from foe on a medieval battlefield. These images were reinforced by the development of a complex of rules and grammar codified and refined into what became known as heraldry. "Heraldic Design: A Handbook For Students" by Heather Child provides the non-specialist general reader with an excellent introduction into the interpretation of the images to be found in coats of arms and a coherent explanation and presentation of the rules of heraldic grammar. The informed and informative text is enhanced with the inclusion of 118 text figures and 32 full-page plates, as well as an detailed index, making "Heraldic Design" an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library History reference collections, as well as a unique and invaluable guide for genealogical researchers.

Encyclopedia Of The Ottoman Empire
Gabor Agoston & Bruce Masters
Facts On File, Inc.
c/o Infobase Publishing
132 West 31st Street, 17th fl., NY, NY 10001
www.factsonfile.infobasepublishing.com
9780816062591, $85.00, 1-800-322-8755

Founded in the 13th century by a migrating people who had been expelled from their homeland by the Mongols to found a new beginning for themselves in northwestern Asia Minor, the Ottomans established one of the largest empires ever recorded in the annals of human history. It was an empire that would last until its ultimate dissolution and official abolition in 1923. Even then, its legacy would continue to exercise influence in 20th century Middle Eastern politics and culture. The first comprehensive compendium to provide modern readers with an complete history in English, the "Encyclopedia Of The Ottoman Empire" draws upon the expertise of ninety contributors under the collaborative editorship of Gabor Agoston (Associate Professor, Department of History, Georgetown university) and Bruce Masters (John Andrus Professor of History, Wesleyan University). Enhancing an informed and informative text with 85 black-and-white photographs, various maps, and replete with cross-references, "Encyclopedia Of The Ottoman Empire" also features a chronology, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index, making it an invaluable and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library World History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Humor Shelf

Without Stress My Life Would Be Empty
Born to Shop
Peter Pauper Press, Inc.
202 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601
9781593598181, $9.95 www.peterpauper.com

Without Stress My Life Would Be Empty is a delightful book of wry insights into women's daily lives, featuring playful color illustrations and witty doses of levity. From "My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance" to "When you don't know what you're doing walk fast and look worried" to "Chocolate is nature's way of making up for Mondays", Without Stress My Life Would Be Empty is sure to spark smiles. An excellent giftbook especially recommended for housewives, mothers, career women, or any woman needing an extra dose of mirth.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Che: A Graphic Biography
Spain Rodriguez
Verso
180 Varick Street, 10th floor, New York, NY 10014-4606
9781844671687, $16.95 www.versobooks.com 1-800-233-4830

Did you know that Che was asthmatic? Che: A Graphic Biography is a black-and-white graphic novel presentation of the life, death, and ideals of revolutionary icon Ernesto "Che" Guevara. From his motorcycle journey through Latin America to his rise to fame as a leader of Fidel Castro's movement to his travels through Africa to his involvement in the Bolivian insurgency that ultimately led to his death, Che: A Graphic Biography is a surprisingly in-depth and sympathetic portrayal of this complex figure. Highly recommended.

Nemi V. 2
Lise Myhre
Titan Books
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 OUP, UK
9781845766146 , $14.95 www.titanbooks.com www.amazon.com

Nemi Montoya is a romantic, cynical and sexy 20-something goth who is here presented in full color comic-style strips exploring Nemi's struggles with love, friendship, and other important things in life. Created when Myhre sought an 'imaginary friend' and named after Italy's ancient enchanted Lake Nemi, Lise Myhre's Nemi Montoya is a winning collection - and includes a foreword by Tori Amos.

Alterna Comics
23 Trumpet Lane, Levitttown, NY 11756
www.alternatcomics.com

Zombies, werewolves, vampires, mad scientists, space aliens, and the darker dregs of humanity have all been highly entertaining elements of comics and graphic novels intended for older and more mature readers. Alterna Comics is a publisher that specializes in producing graphic novels that combine imaginative storytelling with reader engaging images which, deftly combined in a black-and-white format, offer mature readers new and memorable additions to their graphic novel collections. Currently available and highly recommended are five of their new titles. "Jesus Hates Zombies" (9780979787485, $7.95) is the first of a four volume mini-series where a zombie plague has swept across planet Earth and Jesus (accompanied by his faithful zombie sidekick Laz) has been sent down to take care of the problem. "Morbid Myths" (9780979787430, $11.95) is an anthology of horror stories reminiscent of 'Tales from the Crypt' and 'The Twilight Zone. "The Chair" (9780979787423, $13.95) is the riveting story of death row inmate Richard Sullivan, a sadistic warden, and an increasing body count of tortured inmates. "Novo: Volume 2" (9781934985052, $9.95) is the continuing story of Novo, the wasted messiah of the Aquans and the Terans who finds himself stranded on a new and foreign world which is populated by a powerful feline tribe known only as the Xennons. They need help and Novo, who was unable to help his own people, just might be able to succeed this time. Of special note and recommendation is the newest Alterna Comics fantasy adventure series by author and artist Andrew Dobson which is especially suitable and recommended for readers from 8 to 20 years of age. "Formera: Volume 1" (9780979787461, $9.99) features Darian, a young boy lost in the strange world of Formera and whose only companion is a young girl named Keisha who speaks a language not know on Earth. An imaginative, original, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' graphic novel, "Novo" will leave its readers looking eagerly toward the next installment in this carefully crafted and superlatively written graphic novel.


The Library CD Music Shelf

EclecticIsM
M. Nahadr
Rock Paper Scissors (publicity)
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
CD, $TBA www.rockpaperscissors.biz

African-American albino music artist M. Nahadr disregards the politics of identity in his latest music CD album EclecticIsM, a set of songs ranging from improvisation to jazz ballads to toe-tapping pop anthems. M. Nahadr's amazing multi-octave vocal range distinguishes these enthralling "free jazz" songs, which have a natural flow that keeps the listener captivated to the very end. Highly recommended.


The Library DVD Shelf

Printmaking: Basic Techniques
Peggy Flores
Crystal Productions
PO Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025-6159
www.crystalproductions.com
9781562906061, $29.95, 1-800-255-8629

At its best, creating printed fabrics combines good craftsmanship with an artist's imaginative skills. While artistic originality and expression might be considered an individualized and inherent talent, the skills of craftsmanship can be learned by anyone. This is especially true as evidenced by printmaking expert Peggy Flores' new DVD instructional guide "Printmaking: Basic Techniques" in which she explains and demonstrates relief printing by using such commonplace materials as flat cardboard, styrofoam, and string, which are glued onto cardboard, painted, and inked. "Printmaking: Basic Techniques" shows the step-by-step process of caving on vinyl blocks to create images which can then be used to make prints. Also covered are simple but useful tools in the printmaking process such as brayers, carving instruments, and bench hooks. Nicely illustrated with student prints, "Printmaking: Basic Techniques" is comprehensive, 'user friendly', and a highly recommended addition to personal, school, and community library Art Studies reference collections and curriculum supplementation.

Reality Press
PO Box 91, Forest Hill, CA 95631
info@reality-entertainment.com
www.reality-entertainment.com

Along with an excellent publication list, Reality Press is also the distributor of equally interesting DVDs in a variety of subjects. Three of their newest DVD titles are particularly recommended for students of the paranormal, the metaphysical, and the occult. "Archetype of the UFO" (RYE 1044, $19.95) produced by O. H. Krill offers a one hour exploration focused upon the subject of unidentified flying objects and speculations regarding possible alien contact. Of special note is the attention given to historical archetypes and theories about the possible origins of the UFO and Alien phenomena. "Tarot Stripped Bare" (RYE 1046, $19.95) is a ninety minute visual introduction and guide to the reading of Tarot cards as a method of divination and as a means of uncovering personal knowledge. Of special note is the commentary respecting the choosing of a Tarot deck and performing a Tarot reading. "Gardiner's World" (RYE 1046, $29.95) is a one hour, forty minute compilation drawn from an alternative TV show and covering such complex subjects as history, religion, ancient mysteries, the esoteric and the occult. All three of these outstanding DVDs are as informed and informative as they are flawlessly recorded, making each of them an outstanding acquisition selection for personal, academic, and community library DVD collections.

Bleach The Movie: Memories of Nobody
Viz Communications Inc.
295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
1421522942, $29.98 www.viz.com 1-800-394-3042

The first full-length movie on DVD starring characters from the popular shonen manga (high-action Japanese comics) and anime series Bleach, Bleach The Movie: Memories of Nobody is filled to the brim with supernatural sword-wielding action and intrigue, with the survival of two worlds at stake! In a world where Soul Reapers are responsible for maintaining the delicate balance between the realms of life and death, mysterious unidentified beings called "blanks" suddenly appear to cause trouble, and are just as swiftly dispatched by a young female Soul Reaper named Senna. Ichigo and Rukia decide to learn more about Senna, and become inextricably involved in a dire plot when a shadowy clan attempts to kidnap her. The clan's leader, a formerly banished member of the Soul Society, is intent on taking his revenge by engineering the deadly collision of the World of the Living and the Soul Society. Ichigo and the Soul Reapers must act fast or see all they know annihilated! The action comes fast and furious in this exciting thrill ride; special features include original trailers, Japanese production interviews, storyboards and line art, a behind the scenes featurette, and an English actor audio commentary. Bleach The Movie: Memories of Nobody is not only a "must-have" for Bleach fans, but also a great introduction to the world and characters of Bleach for those who have never enjoyed the manga or anime before. 2 DVDs, 90 minutes, Japanese and English audio, widescreen, recommended for teen or older viewers due to violence.

She Stoops To Conquer
Acorn Media Group
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 620, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3403
AMP-8166, $39.99, www.acornmedia.com

A five-episode television mini-series, "She Stoops To Conquer" is a 2008 production of an Oliver Goldsmith play. Superbly costumed with scrupulous attention to set design (it was shot in an impressive 17th century Jacobean manor house), this whimsical, farcical, delightfully humorous and highly entertaining production is the story of Kate, a well-bred, intelligent young lady who poses as a barmaid in order to win the affections of Charles Marlow. A play rife with mistaken identities, multiple deceptions, and the convolutions of English societal expectations, "She Stoops To Conquer" is a brilliantly acted play that originally debuted in 1773 and a welcome, enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library DVD collections.

Gunheavy
BrinkDVD
c/o MVD Entertainment Group
PO Box 280, Oaks, PA 19456
www.MVDb2b.com
BDVD0803, $19.95, www.brink.com

Post-apocalyptic themes have been a popular staple of science fiction in both literature and films. BriknDVD's "Gunheavy" is a riveting movie of this genre where after the collapse of civilization a totalitarian new world order is emerging calling itself 'The Founders'. In opposition is the 'Republican Commonwealth' a desperate group who has developed a secret weapon in the form of a robotic gun. The problem is that this weapon has a mind of its own. A small group of Special Force soldiers rebel and seek to gain control of this weapon. To complicate matters there are groups of unaligned and heavily armed gangs with their own private agendas. The action is non-stop and the body counts constantly rising. Hugely entertaining and highly recommended for fans of the post-holocaust general of military science fiction, the 65 minute full color digitally mastered "Gunheavy" DVD (feature both English and Spanish subtitling) includes such special features as a 13 minute 'Behind the Gun Featurette'; 'Jack of Bullets' (a 13 minute short film); an official trailer, and a director's commentary.


The Audiobook Shelf

Behold The Mighty Dinosaur
John Kricher
The Modern Scholar
c/o Recorded Books
270 Skipjack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
UC108, $64.95, www.modernscholar.com

Dinosaurs are an endlessly fascinating topic for young and old alike. The word 'dinosaur' means 'fearfully great reptile' and references to animals that have been extinct for some 65 million years. New findings and new fossil discoveries are occurring every year and as a result our body of knowledge about these animals is steadily expanding, reassessed and re-interpreted. John Kricher is a professor biology at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and in "Behold The Mighty Dinosaur" he presents an informed and informative series of fourteen lectures superbly recorded on seven compact discs as part of Recorded Books' outstanding series 'The Modern Scholar'. Professor Kricher addresses what is meant by 'dinosaur', the paleontology involved, the role of museums and academia, dinosaurs and popular culture, as well as dinosaur origins, diversity, and extinction. Of special note is Professor Kricher's lectures on 'Dinosaurs as Living Animals' and 'T. Rex Deconstructed and Reconstructed'. A simply superb series of articulate, knowledgeable, and flawlessly recorded lectures, "Behold The Mighty Dinosaur" is perfect for the non-specialist general listener with an interest in dinosaurs, as well as a popular addition to both academic and community library collections.

Ritual in Death
R.D. Robb
Brilliance Audio
c/o Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
1423361938, $19.99 www.brillianceaudio.com

Lieutenant Eve Dallas faces yet more challenges when she investigates a crime involving a Satanic ritual and a witness who can't remember anything. High tension and excitement involve many twists and turns of plot in a story pitting Eve against possible forces of an evil she can't believe in. Recommended for any mystery or suspense audio listener and libraries catering to them.

Osprey Publishing
400 Hahn Road, Westminster, MD 21157
www.ospreypublishing.com

David Bullock's THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR 1918-22 (9781846032714, $18.95) covers one of the most important wars of the 20th century, showing how it changed the lives of over half a billion people and discussing the Russian Civil War in context of the larger shaping of Europe as a whole. Any library strong in Russian history needs this. Leigh Neville's SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES IN IRAQ (9781846033575, $18.95) drawings on the author's SOF contacts in several countries and packs in recently declassified materials to offer first-hand accounts and photos of Iraq. Military collections strong in SOF history and modern warfare will find this a fine addition. Collections strong in modeling will welcome G. Edmundson, et.al.'s MODELLING ARMOURED VEHICLES (9781846032875, $19.95), a fun survey of the steps involved in creating a realistic model armored vehicle. From the basics of putting a kit together to realistic paint schemes and different display options, military modelers will welcome this. Jonathan Cooper's SCOTTISH RENAISSANCE ARMIES, 1513-1550 (9781846033254, $18.95) describes and illustrates the Scottish armies of the 16th century, and is a pick for any specialty collection focusing on this region and era. It details the organization, dress, and tactics of these armies and comes with period images and color plates throughout. Konstantin Nossov's WAR ELEPHANTS (9781846032684, $17.95) surveys the history of elephants used as weapons, tracing the history of war elephants from their deployment in ancient armies through their use in 19th century Asian conflicts. Military libraries will find it an interesting and wide-ranging survey.

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

After John Sutter's wife killed her Mafia don lover, John left America and began a 3-year sailing journey around the world, winding up in London. Now he's back to Long Island to attend a funeral, returning to the family home of his ex-wife only to find himself living too close to the past. Intrigue and murder permeates an involving audio in Nelson DeMille's THE GATE HOUSE (1600244106, $49.98), perfect for audio libraries and powerful in its unabridged version powered by Christian Rummel's recording expertise. Nicholas Sparks' THE LUCKY ONE (1600243673, $22.98) tells of a Marine who finds a photo of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt, and experiences a run of luck after he begins carrying it. His preoccupation with the mysterious photo will change his life in this moving story of romance. Kate Atkinson's WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS? (1600244521, $34.98) receives a fine reading by actress and classically trained singer Ellen Archer as it tells of a child who witn4esses a terrible crime - and thirty years later finds her past intruding on her life as a Detective and an old friend join on a dangerous journey. An outstanding story evolves. Michael Connelly's THE BRASS VERDICT (1600244017, $39.98) receives L.A.-based actor Peter Giles' fine voice as it tells of a defense attorney's return to the courtroom and one Harry Bosch, determined to find a murderer. Mickey Haller finds himself acting as bait in a dangerous investigation where two men are on opposite sides of a legal investigation in this fast-paced audio thriller. Ted Turner's CALL ME TED (160024422X, $44.98) presents Ted Turner and Bill Burke's story of Turner's life, from his difficult childhood to his rise as the mongol of a media empire and beyond. From his ideals of how to be successful to morals and values, CALL ME TED is an outstanding audio listen perfect for general-interest collections. Nelson DeMille's THE GATE HOUSE (1600244068, $29.98) receives Christian Rummel's fine recording as it tells of John's homecoming to Long Island to attend the funeral of an old family servant, which brings up Mafia issues and a newfound thirst for revenge. A bonus interview with the author makes for a fine presentation.


The Photography Shelf

Sirens of Chrome
Margery Krevsky
Momentum Books
2145 Crooks Rd., Ste. 208, Troy, MI 48084
9781879094840, $24.95 www.momentumbooks.com

Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models is an exceptional photography collection of vintage black-and-white and color photographs and posters used to advertise and sell cars - especially images involving attractive women! Each two-page spread features a photograph on the right, and a brief description of the history behind the image on the left; one of the more extraordinary shows an auto model posing with a lion, mere moments before the animal attacked her and had to be pried off by its handlers. A revealing visual glimpse into the history of auto advertising, Sirens of Chrome is sure to prove mesmerizing to automotive buffs of all types and backgrounds.

20th-Century Retailing in Downtown Detroit
Michael Hauser and Marianne Weldon
Arcadia Publishing
420 Wando Park Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
9780738561905, $21.99 www.arcadiapublishing.com 1-888-313-2665

Part of the enthralling "Images of America" photography series, 20th-Century Retailing in Downtown Detroit is a collection of historic black-and-white photographs capturing the development of Detroit's commerce sector, including the rise and fall of Woodward Avenue as a hot spot for retail storefronts, restaurants, and service businesses. Brief, expository captions enhance the images garnered from the Central Business District Foundation bring to life the hustle and bustle of decades past. A wonderful image collection equally suitable for library collections or casual readers curious about the human face of commerce in twentieth century Detroit.

American Farmer: The Heart of Our Country
Paul Mobley, Photographers
Welcome Books
6 West 18th Street, New York NY 10011
9781599620473, $50.00 www.welcomebooks.com

Katrina Fried provides the text to AMERICAN FARMER, a collection of photos and literature capturing the spirit and events of America's heartland and pairing over two hundred color and black and white photos with over forty interviews with farmers of all kinds across the U.S. It's actually the first portrait collection of modern American farmers and ranches to be published, and pairs anecdotes and memoirs in an excellent visual and artistic survey especially recommended for libraries catering to rural audiences.


The Nautical Shelf

Float Your Boat
Mary Denny
Johns Hopkins University Press
Box 50370, Baltimore, MD 21211-4370
0801890098, $26.95 www.press.jhu.edu

Most nautical books consist of either technical guides for America's Cup boat-builders or easy reads for weekend sailors who don't care about boat science, so it's refreshing to see a science-oriented approach in FLOAT YOUR BOAT! From how sailboats travel into the wind to influencers on boat motion, FLOAT YOUR BOAT! THE EVOLUTION AND SCIENCE OF SAILING covers the historical evolution of the sailing craft, identifying different wind phenomena and how it works. An excellent approach for any nautical library.

Adlard Coles Nautical
38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB, UK
www.adlardcoles.com www.amazon.com

Reeds 2009: The Yachtsman's Bible Nautical Almanac (9781408105047 L34.99) offers a nautical almanac packed with detail for ports of Europe, from 700 harbor chartlets and tide tables to passage notes, distance tables, radio and safety details and more. Divided into area then country and region, it's packed with nautical specifics essential for any sailor planning a spin to various destinations. Reed's MARINA GUIDE 2009 (9781408107010, L34.99) offers a fine directory of marinas, marine supplies and services, covering berths, customs, life rafts, insurance, equipment and more for Europe. Maps and descriptions make for an outstanding marina survey, and both are top picks for any sailor Europe-bound, or any nautical library.

Design and Build Your Own Junk Rig, 3rd Edition
Derek Van Loan
Paradise Cay Publications
Box 29, Arcata, CA 95518
0939837706, $18.95 www.paracay.com

The third, updated edition of the classic guide for Chinese sailing rigs offers a fine survey for Western sailors who wish to 'junk rig' any hull. Words and drawings outline basic details used in the Orient, but provide adaptation to Western materials and techniques. Boat builder/designers receive a fine and concise survey of how to adapt the Chinese rig concept to Western hulls in this update of an original 1981 best-selling survey.

Down the Nile
Rosemary Mahoney
Back Bay Books
c/o Little Brown
237 Park Avenue North, New York NY 10017
www.hachettebookgroupUSA.com
0316019011, $14.99, www.amazon.com

When author Rosemary Mahoney took her solo trip down the Nile in a 7-foot rowboat, she discovered modern Egypt's natural challenges alongside cultural beliefs about foreign women travelers. DOWN THE NILE: ALONE IN A FISHERMAN'S SKIFF recounts her adventures and challenges as she undertook her journey, meeting Egyptians, testing her abilities, and having many unique experiences. Any adventure-oriented cruiser reader and any library catering to them will find this a fine pick.

Innocents Abroad Too
Michael Pearson
Syracuse University Press
1600 Jamesville Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244-5160
0815609094, $24.95 www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu

INNOCENTS ABROAD TOO: JOURNEYS AROUND THE WORLD ON SEMESTER AT SEA comes from an author who has circumnavigated the globe twice, sharing his experiences and memories of various countries and peoples and including a literary description of the books and writers of these countries. As a literary and nautical travelogue, it's a winner.

Fixing Positions
Matts G. Djos
Sheridan House
145 Palisade Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
9781574092684, $23.95 www.sheridanhouse.com

FIXING POSITIONS: TRAILER SAILING THE WEST is an important guide to sailing in the American West, from the Pacific Northwest and Canada into Southern California and Mexico. It comes from a lifelong sailor who describes each area's geography, history, and meteorological and sailing information, with maps and charts pairing well with the author's vignettes of his own travels. Any collection strong in sailing, particular West Coast nautical libraries, will find this an important acquisition.

Weather Wise: Reading Weather Signs
Alan Watts
Sheridan House Inc.
145 Palisades Street, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
9781574092660, $22.95 www.sheridanhouse.com

WEATHER WISE is a lively, practical guide to weather phenomena for any who enjoy the outdoors; but particularly for sailors. It explores how to assess clouds, heat and cold, rain, changing weather, and more, packing in color photos and diagrams. Author Alan Watts is a professional meteorologist and sailor: his assessments are key to understanding weather changes and their effects upon outdoor enthusiasts.


The Music Shelf

The Grove Book of Opera Singers
Laura Macy, editor
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9780195337655, $39.95, www.oup.com

Although not as popular as it once was, opera still has its diehard followers. "The Grove Book of Opera Singers" is a must have reference for them, chronicling countless major opera stars from throughout history, both living and dead. Each entry has lifespans, nationality, the singer's octave, notable roles, and much more. Enhanced with illustrations and portraits, "The Grove Book of Opera Singers" is a must have selection for any interested in opera, essentially recommended.

Million Dollar Les Paul
Tony Bacon
Jawbone Press
1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94708
9781906002145, $19.95, www.jawbonepress.com

In the second half of the twentieth century, no musical phenomena could compare to Rock and Roll, and for many of its creators, the Les Paul was the electric guitar of choice. "Million Dollar Les Paul: In Search of the Most Valuable Guitar in the World" is the story of this legendary instrument and its long history, to today when famous guitars used by legends such as Jimmy Paige go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. An intriguing and utterly fascinating discussion of one of the biggest pieces of Rock History, "Million Dollar Les Paul" is a strong choice for any Rock and Roll historian.

Dark Mirror: The Pathology of the Singer-Songwriter
Donald Brackett
Praeger
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780275998981, $39.95 www.praeger.com

Almost all the songwriter/singers analyzed here sing in an exotic and raw vocal style and chapters in the book examine connections between singer-songwriters who function as solo artists versus those who function as teams or part of the larger community. From Tom Waits to Simon and Garfunkel, this is an outstanding survey perfect for college-level music collections strong in contemporary music styles and songwriters.

Dictionary Of Musical Terms
Jessy Sauchuck & Cari Levreault
Santorella Publications, Ltd.
13 Pleasant Avenue, Danvers, MA 01923
www.santorellapublication.com
TS220, $7.95, 1-877-600-0049

Mastering any craft requires a mastery of the language associated with it. This is especially true with the art and craft of music. The Santorella Publications' edition of their "Dictionary Of Musical Terms" provides students with 126 pages of succinct, alphabetically organized definitions, as well as informative reference charts and aids to musical theory. Thoroughly 'user friendly', "Dictionary Of Musical Terms" is a core addition for personal, professional, academic, and community library Music Instruction reference collections. Also very highly recommended for music instruction reference shelves and reading lists is the Santorella Publications edition of the "Encyclopedia Of Music Knowledge" (TS221, $10.95, 150 pages), edited by Dr. William F. Lee, offering in addition to a music terms dictionary, a music theory guide, and a history of music timeline, twenty music related reference charts.

Classic Country Singers
Douglas B. Green, Compiler
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1423601831, $24.99 www.gibbs-smith.com

CLASSIC COUNTRY SINGERS is a 'must have' for any library strong in country music history, tracing the evolution of ballads, blues and regional music to classic country style. Libraries strong in American music history will appreciate the blend of vintage album covers, photos, and artist history which is used to make up this history, and the focus on classic country singers is presented in a lively, fun writing style perfect for even general-interest music fans.

Hot Burritos
John Einarson with Chris Hillman
Jawbone Press
1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
9781906002169, $19.95 www.jawbonepress.com www.amazon.com

Any who remember the Flying Burrito Brothers Band with affection will find HOT BURRITOS: THE TRUE STORY OF THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS comes from a respected rock music historian and a musician who together provide an insider's story of the music scene of the times. This biography is permeated with interviews, personal reflections and insights from the times and is a powerful acquisition 'must' for any in-depth rock music library.


The Veterinary Studies Shelf

Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue
Rebecca Gimenez, et.al.
Wiley-Blackwell
c/o John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5773
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9780813819983, $124.99, www.amazon.com

Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue is a key title to an emerging field that blends emergency vet medicine with specialty rescue techniques, and is a pick for any college-level library strong in vet applications and animal management. Chapters cover a range of unique circumstances and provides details on rescue tools, animal manipulation, understanding animal victim behaviors, and more. It's the first to broadly cover this specialized topic - and is a real winner.


The Business Shelf

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's
Paul Facella
McGrawHill
Two Penn Plaza, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10121-2298
C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists
196 Van Dale Road, Woodstock, NY 12498
9780071601412, $24.95, www.mhprofessional.com

McDonald's is a brand name synonymous with fast food, a corporation that is expanded globally. Is there a better corporate role model? "Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success" is an examination of the McDonald's corporation, its success, and the invaluable lessons that business should draw from the company and how it has handled itself in the past fifty years and then some of its existence. From how it expanded and changed itself in the international market, to how it treats its franchises, and more, "Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's" uses something familiar to all Americans to teach a solid lesson of business.

The New Boardroom Leaders
Ralph D. Ward
Praeger Publishers
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313353000, $44.95, www.praeger.com

The traditional business measure of today's business is no longer the way it's done. "The New Boardroom Leaders: How Today's Corporate Boards are Taking Charge" talks about the shift from totalitarian businesses where it used to be that one man held all of the power, to today's companies where the power is scattered through various parts of the business. Independent power is a thing of the past, as Ward explains how this new, more complex system has drastically changed the corporate world, in some ways for the worse, and in some ways for the better. An absolute must for anyone who wants to stay on top of the living being that is the modern corporation, "The New Boardroom Leaders" is a strongly recommended pick for executives and community library business collections.

The Charismatic Organization
Shirley Sagawa & Deborah Jospin
Jossey-Bass
c/o John Wiley & Sons
989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741
9780470195468, $34.95, www.josseybass.com

Nonprofit organizations will struggle and fail if no one cares. "The Charismatic Organization: 8 Ways to Grow a Nonprofit That Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees" is a guide for nonprofit businesses to get notice and accomplish their mission more efficiently in today's star-powered world. Sagawa and Jospin are successful consultants to countless businesses which have done well, and "The Charismatic Organization" is a collection of their wisdom condensed in an easily accessed and usable reference that is essential for nonprofit businesses.

Rock to Riches
Andrew Chapman and Lee Silber
Capital Books
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166
9781933102658, $16.95, www.capital-books.com

Just because you wear leather pants three sizes too small, have more groupies than actual friends, and view four o'clock in the morning as an early bed time does not mean you don't have good business sense. "Rock to Riches: Build Your Business the Rock & Roll Way" takes a look at some of America's wildest businessmen, the icons of rock and roll. Hoping to teach business in an innovative way that many readers will find easy to relate to, it draws on real examples of how the biggest names in music are more than talented - they also do good business. "Rock to Riches" is well worth the read for anyone who needs to know business but finds most business books as simply too lame to hold their interest.

Hiring An Employee
Linda Hill
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
9781422125823, $9.95, www.HBSPress.org

Because training and retaining an employee is one of the most expensive investments a business can make, special care must be engaged in selecting the most appropriate and promising candidate for any position from custodian to CEO. Pare of the outstanding Harvard Business Press 'Pocket Mentor' series of instructional business handbooks, "Hiring An Employee: Expert Solutions To Everyday Challenges" by Linda A. Hill (Professor of Organizational Behavior and Chair of the Leadership Initiative at the Harvard Business School) is a 79-page pocket book that will provide invaluable advice on laying out all the particular elements of a job ranging from the skills sets required to the personality traits desired. "Hiring An Employee" directly addresses how to prepare for and how to conduct a successful hiring interview and make an appropriate, persuasive offer to a desired candidate for the available position. Packed from cover to cover with 'user friendly' interview tools, self-tests and real life examples, "Hiring An Employee" is strongly recommended reading for anyone tasked with the responsibility of screening and selecting the best possible candidate for any given employment position.

Protecting Your Business In A Pandemic
Geary W. Sikich
Praeger Publishers
c/o Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313346026, $44.95, www.praeger.com

The countries of the world are currently experiencing economic downturns that rival those of the Great Depression. The global economy is undergoing a truly global crisis that affects every business whether or not they are engaged in foreign trade. The current world-wide economic crisis is only the latest 'global pandemic' and has been preceded by such phenomena as the Avian flu pandemic which ended up costing the American economy about $675 Billion before it ran its course. "Protecting Your Business In A Pandemic: Plans, Tools, And Advice For Maintaining Business Continuity" by Geary W. Sikich (symposium leader, public speaker, and founder of Logical Management Systems) was written to help ordinary business men and women and equip them with the tools necessary to surviving unpredicted world-wide upheavals in our increasingly interlocking economic systems. Of special note is the emphasis on socioeconomic and market ramifications, as well as the geopolitical impacts of a global pandemic. A valued addition to community and academic library Business Studies reference collections, "Protecting Your Business In A Pandemic" is a critically important book which is especially recommended for non-specialist general readers concerned with protecting the viability of their jobs and their companies from becoming casualties of international disasters in any of the forms such disasters can take.

The New Language of Marketing 2.0
Sandy Carter
IBM Press
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0137142498, $24.99 www.ibmpressbooks.com

THE NEW LANGUAGE OF MARKETING 2.0: HOW TO USE ANGELS TO ENERGIZE YOUR MARKET demonstrates winning Web 2.0 marketing at work through more than fifty new case studies of companies ranging from Coca-Cola to Nortel to IBM itself. These case studies offer new keys to marketing brands and products within B2B and B2C online markets, showing how to blend Web 2.0 and offering working examples for marketing strategies. Both business and computer collections will find this an essential, specific acquisition.


The Martial Arts Shelf

Meditations on Violence
Sgt. Rory Miller
YMAA Publication Center
23 North Main Street, Wolfeboro, NH 03894
1594391181, $18.95 www.ymaa.com

Experienced martial artist and veteran correction officer Rory Miller blends jail house lessons with explorations on martial arts in Meditations on Violence, an important survey of martial arts training and its applications. From thinking critically about violence to adapting training methods to reality, this is a 'must' for any library strong in martial arts books.


The Architecture Shelf

To Each His Home
Bilyana Dimitrova
Princeton Architectural Press
57 East 7th Street, New York NY 10003
9781568987965, $45.00 www.papress.com

Both college-level collections strong in architecture and general-interest lending libraries strong in homeowner's and home guides will find useful and revealing To Each His Home: Inspired Interiors as Unique as Their Owners. It tours eight lovely homes that express their owners' personalities, blending color photos with interviews with each homeowner and surveying American spaces and different choices in color, setup, and style. The homes were created by visual artists, a musician, an inventor, and even a former boxer, and provide a lovely diversity of approaches and ideas.

Little House on a Small Planet
Shay Salomon
Lyons Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
1592288685, $19.95 www.lyonspress.com

Enjoy a higher quality of life in a smaller living space with the aid of Little House on a Small Planet, which teaches how to make the most of living small. From remodeling and rethinking needs to living more simply and scaling down in an existing structure, case history examples of those who succeeded in increasing energy efficiency without sacrificing lifestyle make for an inspirational set of 'small living' ideas perfect for any general-interest library catering to homeowners.

Global Housing Projects
Josep Lluis Mateo, editor
Actar
158 Lafayette Street, 5th Floor, New York NY 10013
9788496954472, $35.00 www.actar-d.com

GLOBAL HOUSING PROJECTS: 25 BUILDINGS SINCE 1980 is a top pick for any college-level library specializing in architecture. It packs in pages of black and white photos of building exteriors, sample floor plan patterns, making it a perfect pick for any student of global architecture.


The Native American Shelf

The Cheyenne Indians: Their History and Lifeways
George Bird Grinnell
World Wisdom
1501 E. Hillside Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401
9781933316604, $29.95 www.worldwisdom.com

The lovely illustrated THE CHEYENNE INDIANS provides much color to accompany a classic work, here edited and packed with over a hundred color and sepia photos. George Grinnell's coverage has long been considered one of the most authoritative on the topic, so it's pleasing to see a detailed history re-done with excellent color illustrations to appeal to new audiences and any lending library strong in Native American history and culture.

"I Choose Life"
Maureen Trudelle Schwarz
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806139616, $24.95 www.oupress.com

"I CHOOSE LIFE": CONTEMPORARY MEDICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN THE NAVAJO WORLD tells how the tribe views modern medicine, radical medical treatments, and conflicts with traditional understandings of health. Both health libraries and those strong in Native issues will find this a powerful collection of interviews with patients, herbalists, and members of the Native American Church and Christian denominations alike. A powerful dialogue on Native cultural beliefs and modern health issues emerges.

Red Hat: Cheyenne Keeper of the Arrows
William Wayne Red Hat, Jr., author
Sibylle M. Schlesier
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806139593, $21.95 www.oupress.com

As Keeper of the Arrows, William Wayne Red Hat Jr. protect one of the sacred relics of the Cheyenne people and is also a cultural authority to his tribe, overseeing its spiritual connections to the land. Editor Sibylle M. Schlesier, whose father was a close associate of Red Hat's family, recorded and transcribed this memoir of William Wayne Red Hat Jr's life. Collections strong in Native American history and biography will find this key to understanding Southern Cheyenne culture and tribal life.

Full-Court Quest
Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806139739, $29.95 www.oupress.com

FULL-COURT QUEST: THE GIRLS FROM FORT SHAW INDIAN SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD tells how ten girls shattered prevailing perceptions towards Indian peoples and women athletes one game at a time, but it's more than a recommendation for sports libraries alone. Included in the assessment of the Fort Shaw Indian School winners is an overview of native politics, life, and women's issues alike, making FULL-COURT QUEST a wide-ranging assessment for any college-level collection strong in women's issues or Native American rights.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Borders: The Basics & Beyond
Jill Reber
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
9780980068894, $27.95 www.landauercorp.com 1-800-557-2144

A hardcover book with a spiral binding enabling it to lay flat for easy reference, Borders: The Basics & Beyond is the latest in the award-winning "basics & beyond" series. Borders: The Basics & Beyond focuses on border designs, and how to create borders with eye-catching color and contrast. Featuring twelve projects and dozens of suggested border designs, Borders: The Basics & Beyond is a superb mix-and-match resource for quilters of all skill and experience levels. Full-color photography of each of the step-by-step instructions makes Borders: The Basics & Beyond extremely easy and helpful to use. Highly recommended.

Knitting for Good
Betsy Greer
Trumpeter
c/o Shambhala
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
9781590305898, $14.00, www.shambhala.com

A knitting needle can be a tool for change as much as an AK-47 can be. "Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change, Stitch by Stitch" is a guide for people who like knitting and activism to combine their interest and use their talents to send their message throughout the world. Slowing down a culture, protesting, showing support can all be done in its special way with a little ingenuity. "Knitting for Good!" is a socially-active knitter's best friend.

Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top Of The World
Nicky Epstein
Nicky Epstein Books
c/o Soho Publishing Company
233 Spring Street, 3rd fl., NY, NY 10013
9781933027678, $34.95, www.amazon.com

Popular worldwide, knitting is a utilitarian craft that can be raised to the exacting and esthetic standards of an art form. The fifty new knitting design examples drawn from all over the world and beautifully anthologized in "Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top Of The World" are ample demonstrations of this fact. "Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top Of The World" features detailed designs showcasing classic knitting techniques and folk-knitting traditions from Europe, the Americas, the Mediterranean, Asia, and even the Far North. Each superbly illustrated garment instruction provides a complete list of everything needed for the project, including patterns, finished measurements, and step-by-step instructions for all other aspects. Thoroughly 'user friendly' and wonderfully imaginative, "Nicky Epstein's Knitting On Top Of The World" is an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library needlecraft reference collections.


The Interior Design Shelf

Empire Splendor
Bernard Chevallier
The Vendome Press
1334 York Avenue. New York, NY 10021
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (dist.)
115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
9780865651968, $65.00, www.abramsbooks.com

While the 'Age of Napoleon' is best known as a period of French expansion and ultimate defeat, it was also an era of elegance and the flourishing of the decorative arts. Drawing upon his experience and expertise as the Chief Curator of Josephine's residences of the Chateaux of Malmoasion and Bois-Preau (both of which are national museums), Bernard Chevallier has compiled and written "Empire Splendor: French Taste In The Age Of Napoleon", a profusely illustrated history showcasing the period's French culture as reflected in the interior designs, elegant lifestyles, and employment of the decorative arts by the well to do. Nicely organized according to room types that range from salons and bedrooms to dining rooms and porticos, "Empire Splendor" also features chapters on wallpapers, tableware, textiles, painted decoration, lighting and gardens. Enhanced with 305 full-color photographs by Marc Walter showcasing furniture, architectural details, and works of art, which perfectly supports and illustrates to accompany Bernard Chevallier's informed and informative text, "Empire Splendor" is a highly recommended addition to personal and academic library reference collections and a particularly choice as a community library Memorial Fund" acquisition.


The Gaming Shelf

Master Point Press
331 Douglas Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5M 1H2
www.masterpointpress.com

Advanced and serious modern bridge players will find Eddie Kantar's 5th edition of Roman Keycard Blackwood: The Final Word (9781897106358, $22.95) covering slam bidding to be a key title on a convention used by serious players. This edition has been completely revised and includes more ideas, examples, quizzes and strategy hints on how to handle voids, RKB and more. Practice hands makes for a fine survey for any library offering advanced bridge strategy gaming guides. Gary Brown's LEARN TO PLAY BRIDGE (9781897106396, $17.95) takes a new approach to the game, and is designed as a short first course for newcomers who have no prior experience with bridge or any card game. The focus on bare-bones beginning facts makes for a particularly appealing guide.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Directing Theater 101
Wilma Marcus Chandler
Smith and Kraus
177 Lyme Road, Hanover, NH 03755
9781575255835, $16.95, www.smithandkraus.com

A good director can enhance performers, and a bad one can bring them down. "Directing Theater 101: 10 Steps to Successful Productions" is a guide for new directors who are just starting out in the world of leading an acting troupe during stage performances. A definitive how to guide, it covers the many things a director must realize when leading their troupe, and that a clueless and visionless director is just asking for disaster. "Directing Theater 101" is the new director's best friend.

Defying Gravity
Carol De Giere
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
9781557837455, $24.95, www.applausepub.com

A legend in musical theatre, few careers can compare to Stephen Schwartz. "Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked" tells of the man's career who has spanned dozens of successful plays and movies, some of which are huge blockbuster Disney hits like "Pocahontas". Supported by the man himself, De Giere covers the man's entire career with words from those who know him and have worked on him throughout. Enhanced with notes from Schwartz on his own work, "Defying Gravity" is a must read for musical theatre historians, be they professional or amateur.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Esoteric Healing
Alan Hopking
Blue Dolphin Publishing
PO Box 8, Nevada City, CA 95959
1577331109, $25.00, www.bluedolphinpublishing.com

What is Esoteric Healing? "Esoteric Healing: A Practical Guide Based on the Teachings of the Tibetan in the Works of Alice A. Bailey" is a guide to the many complexities and spiritual advice of Esoteric healing. Focusing on the human spirit, arguing that a healthy spirit is the first step to a healthy body, "Esoteric Healing" elaborates greatly on the processes of the practice, covering everything one would need to know about the subject. "Esoteric Healing" is a must for anyone who is mildly curious about the subject.


The Genealogy Shelf

Basics of Genealogy Reference
Jack Simpson
Libraries Unlimited
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9781591585145, $40.00, www.lu.com

Tracing one's roots can be one of the more fulfilling things to do with one's time. "Basics of Genealogy Reference: A Librarian's Guide" is aimed at those who control the most effective of a genealogist's resources: the library. Managing these resources and helping one's patrons is the job of many a librarian, and it's a task that can seem quite overwhelming at times. Everything a librarian needs to give their patrons everything, "Basics of Genealogy Reference" is a must for the modern librarian.


The Sports Shelf

The Bill James Handbook 2009
Brandon Webb
ACTA Sports
5559 W. Howard Street, Skokie, IL 60077
9780879463670, $23.95, www.actasports.com

It's all about the numbers. "The Bill James Handbook 2009" is a complete and comprehensive reference covering all the players involved in the 2008 Season of Major League Baseball. Every position and every player is covered, with more statistics than one could ever need or want to know, ranging from the preseason all the way to the postseason. Anyone who takes their baseball number crunching seriously, be it for hobby or fantasy sports leagues, needs "The Bill James Handbook 2009".


The Language Studies Shelf

Japanese Alphabet
Gabriele Mandel
Abbeville Press
137 Varick Street, Suite 504, New York, NY 10019-1105
9780789209597, $29.95 www.abbeville.com 1-800-343-4499

Japanese Alphabet: The 48 Essential Characters is an in-depth guide to all the characters (kana) of the Japanese alphabet, presented in both their hiragana and katakana versions. Visual, step-by-step diagrams clearly indicate the proper stroke order when writing; also present are glimpses of each character in a variety of different typeface fonts. A thoughtful historical introduction to these beautiful and functional written letters rounds out this welcome addition to Japanese language studies shelves.


The Gerontology Studies Shelf

Leisure and Aging
Francis A. McGuire, Rosangela K. Boyd, & Raymond E. Tedrick
Sagamore Publishing Company
804 North Neil Street, #100, Champaign, IL 61824
9781571675484, $59.95 www.sagamorepub.com 1-800-327-5557

Now in an updated fourth edition, Leisure and Aging : Ulyssean Living in Later Life is a surprisingly scholarly examination of how leisure can contribute positively to the later years of one's lifespan. Chapters discuss theoretical perspectives on aging, psychological aging, ways to enhance the leisure experience, leisure and recreation in long-term care, and much more. A thoughtful, in-depth study supported by careful research, especially recommended for health care reference libraries. "Facilities may need to be designed to compensate for limited mobility of the resident. The use of one level in facilities, if at all possible, is recommended. If that is not possible, an elevator may be needed for residents to use programs and facilities on the second floor. Thresholds into rooms should be eliminated to facilitate movement by wheelchairs. Good lighting in corridors and over any existing steps is important in reducing accidental falls. Handrails in traveled areas and in bathtubs are useful prosthetic devices. Slippery surfaces and loose rugs should be avoided."


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Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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