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California Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 8 August 2011 Home | CALBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Math Shelf Humor Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Sports Shelf
Hunting/Fishing Shelf World History Shelf American History Shelf
Political Science Shelf International Studies Shelf Economic Studies Shelf
Science Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Gardening Shelf Women's Studies Shelf Military Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Biography Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Education Shelf Music Shelf
Travel Shelf Nautical Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Business Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf Computer Shelf
Art Shelf Audiobook Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Human Sexuality Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Photography Shelf
Crafts Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Library DVD Shelf
Philosophy Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Gaming Shelf
California Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast
Maureen Heffernan
Down East
Box 679, Camden ME 04843
9780892727872, $14.95, www.downeast.com

Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast documents the phenomenon of 'fairy houses' crafted solely from available natural materials: tiny shelters made of leaves, moss, twigs, stones and shells in miniature that have appeared spontaneously on a few Maine islands. This is a fun survey of fairy houses and includes photos of popular little houses in rural Maine locations. Color photos accompany poetic observations and lore in a fun guide that will interest any fascinated by Maine's folklore and whimsical miniature housing fad.

Simply Imperfect
Robyn Griggs Lawrence
New Society Publishers
Box 189
Gabriola Island, BC Canada V0R 1X0
9780865716919, $22.95, www.newsociety.com

SIMPLY IMPERFECT: REVISITING THE WABI-SABI HOUSE provides a revised, updated edition of THE WABI-SABI HOUSE, an illustrated book that reveals ways of introducing the principles of serenity and peace into a home. From clearing clutter and blocking noise to becoming sustainable and building spaces and time for contemplation, this is a fine pick for new age, spirituality and homeowner collections alike.

The Improbable First Century of Cosmopolitan Magazine
James Landers
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Blvd, Columbia MO 65201
9780826219060, $34.95, www.press.umsystem.edu

The Improbable First Century of Cosmopolitan Magazine provides a fine cultural review of Cosmopolitan magazine and its many incarnations, considering how it's changed its image over the decades and how it has moved from its initial appearance as a family literary magazine that published quality fiction in 1886 to its move into expose journalism in 1905 and a 1960s businessman's vision for yet another dramatic facelift in the 1960s. This history of how Cosmopolitan survived three huge downturns to remain a dynamic magazine makes for a top pick for any journalism or literary history holding.

250 Indie Games You Must Play
Mike Rose
A K Peters, Ltd.
5 Commonwealth Road, Suite 2C
Natick, MA 01760-1526
CRC Press (distributor)
6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW Suite 300
Boca Raton FL 33487
9781439875742, $29.95, www.crcpress.com

250 Indie Games You Must Play provides a guide to indie gaming and highlights game concepts and ideas that challenge traditional concepts of what video games can be. Indie games can be emotional, experimental and even strange. Many are free to play or very inexpensive. This presents 250 recommendations, describing each game, including color screenshots, and providing direct web links for playing. Game enthusiasts will find it a 'must have'.

Wicked Bugs
Amy Stewart
Algonquin Books
Box 2225, Chapel Hill NC 27515-2225
9781565129603, $18.95, www.algonquin.com

WICKED BUGS: THE LOUSE THAT CONQUERED NAPOLEON'S ARMY & OTHER DIABOLICAL INSECTS receives fine drawings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, a scientific but comic format, and a survey of over a hundred entomological creatures that have a history of damaging human endeavors. From the world's most painful hornet to worms that eat paper and a giant centipede of nine inches, this is packed with fine and lively surveys suitable for science and general interest holdings alike.


The Math Shelf

One, Two, Three
David Berlinski
Pantheon
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor
New York, NY 10019
9780375423338, $24.95, www.pantheonbooks.com

ONE, TWO, THREE: ABSOLUTELY ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS offers a fine new look at math that reveals hidden worlds in basic math concepts. It considers the foundations of math, how it originated and evolved, and why it matters, considering the basics of what makes a number and how simple functions actually work in the real world. History, science, math and anecdotes blend in a fine survey recommended for science and general-interest collections alike.

Statistics for Dummies
Deborah J. Rumsey, PhD
Wiley Publishing
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470911082, $19.99, www.wiley.com

Any struggling with math and statistics must have STATISTICS FOR DUMMIES, a fine guide that shows how to collect, graph, and critique data and how to calculate and analyze it with correlation, intervals, two-way tables and much more. It provides step-by-step examples throughout and avoids the usual statistical jargon inherent in other titles, and is a key acquisition for any struggling with statistics concepts. Any general or high school to college-level collection needs this!


The Humor Shelf

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into New York
Bathroom Readers' Institute
Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520
1607102358, $16.95, www.bathroomreader.com

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into New York is a pick for any general lending library strong in trivia and U.S. regional history, especially New York. It provides facts about the people and places of New York City, surveying oddities, ironies, and fun local color. While visitors to the City will find it filled with fun trivia facts, it's the New York resident or reader interested in the city's culture and background that will find this an intriguing collection of lesser-known facts.


The Money/Finance Shelf

The Prudent Professor
Edwin M. Bridges with Brian D. Bridges
Stylus Publishing LLC
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling VA 20194
9781579224684, $24.95, www.styluspub.com

The Prudent Professor: Planning and Saving for a Worry-Free Retirement from Academe is a pick for any professor considering the pros and cons of varied plans offered by TIAA-CREF, one of the largest financial institutions serving education and non-profit employees. This offers professors easy ways to think about money and financial planning at different stages of life, offering worksheets, questionnaires, and specifics for those who work for higher education and nonprofits. Any collection catering to professors and nonprofit workers needs this excellent, specific reference.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Hematology Techniques & Concepts for Veterinary Technicians, second edition
Gregg L. Voigt & Shannon L. Swist
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9780813814568, $54.99, www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Hematology Techniques & Concepts for Veterinary Technicians appears in its second updated edition to provide vet techs with a thorough update to the basic ideas of collecting, handling and preparing hematology samples. It covers the basics of blood composition and sample collection and is designed for veterinary techs and students who need to understand why each test is performed. The latest advances in technology, equipment and testing are covered in a fine survey that also includes new key concepts to each chapter, and terms defined throughout the text. Any college-level vet student library must have this reference.

Unlikely Friendships
Jennifer S. Holland
Workman Publishing Company
225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014-4381
9780761159131, $13.95, www.workman.com

UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIPS; 47 REMARKABLE STORIES FROM THE ANIMAL KINGDOM comes from a National Geographic magazine writer who provides a fine visual and verbal collection of wonderful odd animals in the animal kingdom. Packed with touching color photos, this tells of animals that have crossed the boundaries of species to form rapport with other creatures. Heart-warming tales make this any animal lover's pick and a general lending library's winner.

Raptors of the West
Kate Davis, Rob Palmer, Nick Dunlop
Mountain Press Publishing
Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
9780878425754, $30.00, www.mountain-press.com

Raptors of the West Captured in Photographs pairs gorgeous raptor photos - some 400 - with chapters unusually arranged by habitat type over bird family to explore different kinds of raptors of the American West. Arts and natural history holdings alike will find these unique images capture all kinds of raptors at all levels of play and aggression, from young birds in flight to birds in battle. General libraries as well as photography and nature collections will find this a winner!

Wildlife on the Wind
Bruce L. Smith
Utah State University Press
7800 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322
9780874217919, $29.95, www.usupress.org

Wildlife on the Wind: A Field Biologist's Journey and an Indian Reservation's Renewal tells of two traditionally warring Indian tribes forced to share a reservation. Both tribes lost their lifestyles and economic dependence on the buffalo, subsisting on other wild animals. In 1978 they petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help recover their wildlife heritage - and author Bruce L. Smith was the first wildlife biologist to work on the reservation. This recounts how he helped them change conservation and revitalize the buffalo. It's a solid, moving account of wildlife preservation and belongs in Native American and wildlife libraries alike.

Training Your Dog the Humane Way
Alana Stevenson
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
9781608680184, $14.95, www.newworldlibrary.com

Training Your Dog the Humane Way: Simple Teaching Tips for Resolving Problem Behaviors & Raising a Happy Dog provides dog owners with fine approaches and comes from an animal behaviorist and dog trainer who presents her own tested techniques. From a review of basic principles of animal learning and what differentiates positive approaches from punishment to effective methods for common issues from house-soiling and play-biting to aggression, this is an outstanding pick for any general lending library.

Saving Sea Turtles
James R. Spotila
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9780801899072, $24.95, www.press.jhu.edu

SAVING SEA TURTLES: EXTRAORDINARY STORIES FROM THE BATTLE AGAINST EXTINCTION provides a fine survey of the Great Turtle Race of 2007 in which eleven leatherback turtles 'raced' from Costa Rica towards the Galapagos Islands. The publicity generated from this 'race' has drawn attention to the issues surrounding endangered sea turtles - and is one tool marine conservationists use to inform the general public about the lives and future of the seven sea turtle species. Any collection strong in sea turtles or natural history will find this a lively, involving read.

40 Fundamentals of English Riding
Hollie H. McNeil
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
9781603427890, $35.00, www.storey.com

40 Fundamentals of English Riding: Essential Lessons in Riding Right comes with a 90-minute DVD and packs in color photos throughout as it describes the basics of classical riding. It's a complete program offering core training designed to give more confidence and better control to riders who would communicate and work with their horses, and offers the author's extensive experience as a teacher. From correct riding positions to using aids to communicate with a horse, this focuses on technique and skills levels and is a pick for any library where horses and riding are of interest.


The Sports Shelf

Anatomy of Strength Training
Pat Manocchia
Thunder Bay Press
10350 Barnes Canyon Rd, San Diego, CA 92121
1607102048, $19.95, www.thunderbaybooks.com

Anatomy of Strength Training: The 5 Essential Exercises includes a poster and comes from a renowned fitness expert who discusses five essential exercises to work all of the body's muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons. Learn what the boy does when you perform these exercises with a title that includes detailed anatomical illustrations annotated with every involved muscle and tips on how to get the most from a workout.

It's All About the Bike
Robert Penn
Bloomsbury Press
175 - 5th Avenue, #300, New York NY 10010
9781608195381, $20.00, www.bloomsburyusa.com

It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels tells of a search for the ultimate bicycle: a bike that reflect his cycling passion and aspirations, that reflects his personality and craftsmanship. His choice to build a unique bike tells of his world travels to build the ultimate ride - actually a world shopping trip that also delves into the history of cycling around the world. Any bicycle enthusiast will find this a fine story of the bicycle's attractions, history, and possibilities.

Life Is Yours to Win
Augie Garrido
Touchstone
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781439186930, $23.00, www.simonandschuster.com

LIFE IS YOURS TO WIN: LESSONS FORGED FROM THE PURPOSE, PASSION, AND MAGIC OF BASEBALL comes from a coach who has led his baseball teams to more victories than any coach in NCAA history, placing five national championship teams into the College World Series and winning six National Coach of the Year awards. His teams have fostered major players into the baseball world, and LIFE IS YOURS TO WIN is a passionate documentation of his successes, highly recommended for any baseball library.

Hell on Two Wheels
Amy Snyder
Triumph Books
542 South Dearborn St. #750, Chicago IL 60605
9781600785252, $24.95, www.triumphbooks.com

HELL ON TWO WHEELS follows a group of athletes before, during and after the 2009 RAAM (Race Across America) bicycle race - a round-the-clock bike race of 3,000 miles in which contestants have died or gone mad racing on only a few hours of sleep a day. It shows how the 2009 racers survived their odyssey, becoming one of the select 200 or so to survive their ordeal, and is a riveting set of biographies of the racers who participated. Any library strong in bicycle racing will find this a 'must have' acquisition.

Those Guys Have All the Fun
James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
Little, Brown & Company
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780316043007, $27.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: INSIDE THE WORLD OF ESPN is a 'must' for any sports library, documenting the complete story of ESPN's founding and growth and its ongoing appeal to sports television viewers. Over five hundred interviews with every key player at ESPN captures its history and network growth and provides a vivid account packed with insider details, sports memories, and TV network ins and outs. Television and sports libraries alike will find this a 'must have' acquisition.

I'm Here to Win
Chris McCormack with Tim Vandehey
Center Street
c/o Hachette Publishing Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
9781455502677, $27.99, www.centerstreet.com

I'M HERE TO WIN: A WORLD CHAMPION'S ADVICE FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE comes from an athlete who at the age of 37 won the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, offering a dramatic finish to the race and becoming the world's most successful triathlete. The race involves swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles. His story of his lifelong dedication training for the Ironman Hawaii, one of the most grueling endurance tests in the world, makes for a powerful survey highly recommended for any sports collection.


The Hunting/Fishing Shelf

An American Elk Retrospective
Boone & Crockett Club
250 Station Drive
Missoula, MT 59801-2753
9780940864702, $34.95, www.booneandcrockettclub.com

An American Elk Retrospective celebrates the history of elk hunting in America and comes from a club that has kept hunting records from the late 1880s through the 1970s. Hundreds of vintage photos, historic score chart, and tales of legendary elk hunts and trophies make for a fine collection of hunting storytelling paired with over 100 years of records-keeping and memorabilia from the Boone and Crockett Club, providing elk hunters and game sportsmen with a solid reference recommended for any hunter's library.

Fishing for Dummies, second edition
Peter Kaminsky and Greg Schwipps
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470930687, $21.99, www.wiley.com

The second updated edition of Fishing for Dummies provides a fine review of sports fishing for beginners. It opens with a color section on fish and lures, discusses the latest fishing tools and techniques, and covers all the best options for fishing under all kinds of conditions. From using live bait to deciding what kind of line is right, this provides a focus on making fishing an easy success. Newly updated material adds information on boating, using circle hooks, and much more.


The World History Shelf

Voices from Iraq
Mark Kukis
Columbia University Press
61 West 62d St., New York NY 10023
9780231156929, $24.95, www.cup.columbia.edu

VOICES FROM IRAQ: A PEOPLE'S HISTORY, 2003-2009 packs in a chronological history based on nearly seventy Iraqis from all walks of life, and builds a history of the war told entirely by those who lived through the U.S. invasion and occupation process. It begins in 2003 and provides a narrative packing in original accounts from civilians, politicians, insurgents and military personnel alike, and is divided into five parts documenting conflicts and survival.


The American History Shelf

Railroaded
Richard White
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393061260, $35.00, www.wwnorton.com

RAILROADED: THE TRANSCONTINENTALS AND THE MAKING OF MODERN AMERICA provides a fine, recast history of the transcontinental railroads and their impact on the West, documenting their many and massive failures over the usual myths of innovative capitalism and achievement popularized elsewhere. The railroads were actually corporate businesses whose financial snafus mirrored those of modern companies, with debt issues setting off nationwide panics and leaders born of merchants drawn to Congressional subsidies of the Civil War. Eye-opening chapters of alternative business history lend to a recommendation for any American history collection: not just transportation shelves.

Bomboozled
Susan Roy
Pointed Leaf Press
136 Baxter St., Suite 1C, New York NY 10013
9780982358573, $55.00, www.pointedleafpress.com

BOMBOOZLED: HOW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT MISLED ITSELF AND ITS PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING THEY COULD SURVIVE A NUCLEAR ATTACK offers analysis and realities of America's family fallout shelter obsession during the Cold War, charting the evolution of the shelter's concept and its change from a well-stocked basement to a home addition. Photos, nuclear-era memorabilia, and research captures both the culture and the ironies of fallout shelters, presenting a pictorial review of posters, propaganda, and more. Any collection strong in American history and culture needs this.


The Political Science Shelf

Rules and Red Tape
Barry Bozeman and Mary K. Fenney
M.E. Sharpe
80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, NY 10504
9780765623355, $34.95, www.mesharpe.com

Rules and Red Tape: A Prism for Public Administration Theory and Research builds on Barry Bozeman's previous book BUREAUCRACY AND RED TAPE, which appeared in 2000, and provides college-level public administration readers with a fine survey with new chapters on red tape research. The focus identifies what constitutes red tape, how it is managed and mismanaged, ways it's equated with bad management, and how it relates to rules. Any collection strong in public management issues and references must have this!

Demonic
Ann Coulter
Crown Forum
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780307353481, $28.99, www.crownpublishing.com

DEMONIC: HOW THE LIBERAL MOB IS ENDANGERING AMERICA comes from a conservative columnist and political commentator who portrays liberal American thinking here as a product of mob behavior and destructive fallacies in thinking. The words and movements of liberals are cited in a survey that illustrates how liberals have used mob tactics to create a different Left mentality and vision of the world. Links between totalitarian plans to Democractic goals makes for an intriguing political and social issues survey recommended for any college-level and political issues collection.

Seize Freedom!
Thaddeus G. McCotter
ISI Books
3901 Centerville Rd.
Wilmington, DE 19807-1938
9781935191667, $26.95, www.isibooks.org

SEIZE FREEDOM! AMERICAN TRUTHS AND RENEWAL IN A CHAOTIC AGE comes from a U.S. Representative who shows that many American issues have been complicated by ideology - and he here makes a call for identifying and ridding ourselves of ideology. From a free, humane method of handling globalization to refuting the common 'War Against Terror' idea, chapters are filled with different ways of examining political and social changes, discussing ways of preserving American ways of life without holding so firmly to ideology that we crush freedom. Any political studies collection - especially at the college level - will find this eye-opening and perfect for classroom discussion.


The International Studies Shelf

International Studies
Sheldon Anderson, et.al.
Westview Press
2465 Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301-2877
0813343720, $52.00, www.westviewpress.com

International Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Issues provides college-level readers with a core text that's the first to provide an interdisciplinary approach to international studies. The contributors include a geographer, historian, political scientist and an anthropologist who here emphasize their interconnectedness and detail the methods and nature of their different disciplines. Later chapters apply these approaches to issues affecting different regions, using case studies in the global community to provide students with the melded approaches and concerns. College-level political and international studies holdings must have this, a fine choice for classroom debate, as well.

Somalia: the New Barbary?
Martin N. Murphy
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015
9780231701549, $26.50, www.cup.columbia.edu

Somalia: the New Barbary? Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa provides a fine college-level social and political assessment of piracy off the Horn of Africa and offers insights into terrorism and how Western policy towards Somalia has fostered Islamic fundamentalism instead. It comes from the author of the definitive guide to modern maritime piracy and terrorism and considers whether state failure is enough to explain Somali piracy, and how Islam might exploit piracy for its own use. Any collection strong in politics in Africa will find this discussion of political and military issues to be detailed and thought-provoking.


The Economic Studies Shelf

Debt, Deficits, and the Demise of the American Economy
Peter Tanous and Jeff Cox
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9781118021514, $27.95, www.wiley.com

Debt, Deficits, and the Demise of the American Economy provides history of what is rapidly becoming the worst economic disaster in American history. It surveys the coming financial Armageddon still to come which will lead to a crisis of confidence in European banks, a world-wide trading frenzy that will crash world stock markets, and will involve the U.S. with its massive debt. Based on the current world financial condition, Debt, Deficits, and the Demise of the American Economy is more than idle speculation: it offers an assessment of the current facts and future prognosis that is chilling, tracing the decisions that have led to this point and which continue to lead the world down dangerous financial roads. A chilling survey!

How Latvia Came Through the Financial Crisis
Anders Aslund and Valdis Dombrovskis
Peterson Institute for International Economics
1750 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington DC 20036
9780881326024, $21.95, www.piie.com

How Latvia Came Through the Financial Crisis provides a fine detailed history of how Latvia survived a huge credit boom, a resulting bust and deep recession, and a series of financial reforms that brought its economy back on track. Seemingly headed for Depression and ruin this provides a fine review of the specific stabilization and reforms that hold huge lessons for the rest of the economically struggling world. Valdis Dombrovskis is credited for helping return his country to economic growth in only two years: this tells how, and provides a fine account the rest of the world can learn from!


The Science Shelf

Introduction to Antenna Analysis Using EM Simulators
Hiroaki Kogure, Yoshie Kogure, James C. Rautio
Artech House Publishers
685 Canton St., Norwood MA 02062
160807157X, $109.00, www.artechhouse.com

Introduction to Antenna Analysis Using EM Simulators is a college-level reference written for engineers and engineering students new to antennas, and provides an introduction to antenna analysis using EM simulators. It discusses how to use EM software to troubleshoot and tune wireless antennas, discusses specs and terminology, and provides a basic understanding of how antennas work. The review of different kinds of antennas and EM tools accompanied by a DVD of analysis software makes this a pick for any technical engineering collection.

Spatial Statistical Analysis for GIS Users
Konstantin Krivoruchko
ESRI Press
380 New York St.
Redlands CA 92373-8100
9781589481619, $39.99, www.esri.com

Published in DVD-ROM format is an outstanding reference book providing a guide to spatial statistics for researchers, statisticians and college students involved in GIS technology who want to understand more technical aspects of GIS analysis. Over 1,000 color illustrations accompany lessons and sample data devoted to applying the three basic tasks of geostatistical modeling, offering students and teachers an in-depth review of such analysis and how it applies to data. From solutions to common problems to exercises for practicing spatial data analysis, this packs in keys to learning and is especially recommended for college courses.

After We Die
Norman L. Cantor
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
9781589016958, $26.95, www.press.georgetown.edu

AFTER WE DIE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE HUMAN CADAVER provides a fine survey of what happens to bodies during and after various forms of cadaver disposal. From who controls human remains to legal and moral considerations, this college-level survey comes from a legal scholar who explores these questions and more. Legal and health collections alike will find this argues that a corpse retains certain protected rights, legal and moral, one of which is to have its disposal choices upheld. Unconventional methods of disposal accompany this survey of social issues and corpse rights.

Feathers
Thor Hanson
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780465020133, $25.99, www.basicbooks.com

FEATHERS: THE EVOLUTION OF A NATURAL MIRACLE considers different aspects of feathers and how they evolved, considering their diversity and display. From the ongoing debate on how feathers evolved to feather values and usage, the changing feather trade around the world, and how new studies are unlocking insights into feather qualities makes for an intriguing study especially recommended for science collections and any strong in birding observations.

The Handy Science Answer Book, fourth edition
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Rd #414, Canton, MI 48187-2075
9781578593217, $21.95, www.visibleinkpress.com

The Handy Science Answer Book explains the scientific concepts in plain English for a very general audience, and deserves ongoing recommendation as a top pick for any general lending library. This is the first update to appear in over eight years, answering nearly 2,000 science questions and providing original science facts in a lively format that lends as much to leisure browsing as to at-a-glance reference. Any general library should welcome this!


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Earth: The Operator's Manual
Richard B. Alley
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393081091, $27.95, www.wwnorton.com

Earth: The Operator's Manual comes from a climate scientist who explains how carbon dioxide causes global warming and how its effects can be mitigated. It uses case histories to provide a history of the science behind global warming, considering the role the U.S. Air Force made by investigating its physics after World War II, exploring the politics behind objections to the science involved, and offering arrange of practical alternative energy options that could be explored right now.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Farnham's Freehold
Robert A. Heinlein
Baen Books
Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
9781439134436, $13.00, www.baen.com

FARNHAM'S FREEHOLD reprints one of science fiction's most controversial novels and tells of Hugh Farnham, who builds a bomb shelter under his house hoping for peace but preparing for nuclear disaster. When a blast sends his shelter through time into a world with no other humans, he and his group must survive a new world intent on making his group slaves. A riveting story of nuclear survival evolves in a reprint attractive to any science fiction holding looking for affordable classic reprints.

Robopocalypse
Daniel H. Wilson
Doubleday
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
9780385533850, $25.00, www.doubleday.com

Robopocalypse provides a riveting story of a powerful artificial intelligence called Archos, who takes on the persona of a shy human boy, enters the Web, and begins to take over any computer or smart system around the world. Only a few glitches are noticed by humans; but Laura senses trouble when a new 'smart' children's tool becomes dangerous - and other humans begin to notice, too. When a robot war erupts, humankind will suffer in this thriller, perfect for any science fiction collection.

For Heaven's Eyes Only
Simon R. Green
Roc
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014-3658
9780451463951, $25.95, www.penguin.com

For Heaven's Eyes Only provides the fifth novel in the 'Secret Histories' series, and continues the story of Eddie Drood, member of an ancient family that has protected the world from supernatural threats. Any fan of James Bond or urban vampires and fantasy will find this an attractive series blending the swift action and espionage of Bond with elements of fantasy and the supernatural. FOR HEAVEN'S EYES ONLY offers the vision of a dark underworld brewing with evil forces and good gatekeepers - and continues the strong heritage Simon Green's Secret Histories created in prior novels.

Hex
Allen Steele
Ace
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014-3658
9780441020362, $26.95, www.penguin.com

HEX is set in the Coyote universe and continues the story of the Coyote Federation as they encounter a habitat the size of a solar system. Sixteen years have passed since Starbridge Coyote was destroyed by a religious fanatic, and the Federation has become a member of the Tallus, a club of interstellar races that use hyperspace technology to travel among the stars. Diplomatic encounters blend with hard science fiction in this engrossing recommendation for any prior fan of Steele's Coyote series.


The Gardening Shelf

Apartment Gardening
Amy Pennington
Sasquatch Books
119 South Main St. #400, Seattle, WA 98104
9781570616884, $18.95, www.sasquatchbooks.com

APARTMENT GARDENING: PLANTS, PROJECTS, AND RECIPES FOR GROWING FOOD IN YOUR URBAN HOME offers everything needed for an urban dweller to create a successful urban garden, from assessments of types of pots to use to handling a small harvest. The focus on sustainable activities and nearly thirty recipes to use the bounty offers chapters for successful urban gardening strategies.

Wildly Affordable Organic
Linda Watson
DaCapo Lifelong
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738214689, $17.00, www.dacapopress.com

WILDLY AFFORDABLE ORGANIC: EAT FABULOUS FOOD, GET HEALTHY, AND SAVE THE PLANET - ALL ON, $5.00 A DAY OR LESS provides a fine survey by an activist and organic cook who accepted the 'food stamp challenge' to lie on a budget of one dollar per meal for one week. Her focus was on building a healthy diet on a food stamp budget over just saving money: this book tells how to eat healthy on three dollars a day and packs in tips for healthy organic food preparation on a budget, from menus and recipes to shopping and food options. Health and culinary collections as well as general and homeowner libraries will relish this approach.

Grow Your Own Fruit
Carol Klein
Mitchell Beazley
Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
9781845336004, $19.95, www.octopusbooksusa.com

GROW YOUR OWN FRUIT provides a clear guide to growing over 40 crops, pairing expert advice on all stages of growing from seed or plant with keys to fruit varieties, common growing challenges, and how to plan for the best results. Color photos throughout accompany a fine, vivid discussion of the best kinds of fruits to grow, and make this a promising success for any gardener.


The Women's Studies Shelf

Face It
Vivian Diller, PhD & Jill Muir-Sukenick, PhD
Michele Willens, editor
Hay House
PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
9781401925413, $15.95, www.hayhouse.com

FACE IT: WHAT WOMEN REALLY FEEL AS THEIR LOOKS CHANGE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT comes from models turned psychologists who examine beauty from two vantage points of aging and culture, considering changing looks and the emotional impact of aging on women's image. A six-step program moves from recognition to new ways to approach beauty throughout life, and makes this a fine choice for health and women's issues collections alike!

Muslim Women in War and Crisis
Faegheh Shirazi, Editor
University of Texas Press
Box 7819, Austin TX 78713-7819
9780292721890, $60.00, www.utpress.utexas.edu

Muslim Women in War and Crisis gathers a range of college-level essays that comment on the experiences and perspectives of Muslim women. It considers how Muslim women's experiences differ from other women and from world representation, using primary sources from diaries to news reports to consider issues of exploitation, rebellion, and social issues and images. Any college-level collection strong in either women's issues or Middle East or Muslim issues in particular needs this.

Pink Pirates
Caren Irr
University of Iowa Press
119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
1587299127, $34.95, www.uiowapress.org

Pink Pirates: Contemporary American Women Writers and Copyright is a pick for any college-level literary criticism collection and provides a fine analysis of modern American women writers and copyright issues. This survey asks how modern novelists consider the trademarks of private property and copyright, arguing that feminist writers often feel copyright excludes women from ownership. From legal issues to writing, this considers how modern feminist novelists handle copyright issues.

Power Dressing
Robb Young
Merrell Publishers
38 High Avenue, 4th floor, Nyack, New York 10960
9781858945156, $29.95, www.merrellpublishers.com

POWER DRESSING: FIRST LADIES, WOMEN POLITICIANS & FASHION provides a fine survey of the role of fashion and style in the careers of first ladies and women politicians around the world. It presents some fifty serving and former women presidents, politicians, wives and royals form over 30 countries, presents hundreds of color photos of their attire, and considers their style and political and fashion impact alike. The result is a fine survey for fashion arts and political shelves alike.


The Military Shelf

Fly Navy
Alvin Townley
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010-7848
9780312650841, $25.99, www.stmartins.com

FLY NAVY: DISCOVERING THE EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE AND ENDURING SPIRIT OF NAVAL AVIATION presents stories of our country's naval aviators in his new book, which provides a history of the naval aviator in battle. From heroic rescues at sea and the team spirit of flyers to stories of service members who survived life-challenging events, this packs action and biography into a fine survey highly recommended for naval history holdings.

F-105 Wild Weasel vs. SA-2 "Guideline" Sam
Peter Davies
Osprey Publishing
4402 - 23rd Street, Suite 219
Long Island City, NY 11101-5058
9781849084710, $17.95, www.ospreypublishing.com

F-105 Wild Weasel vs. SA-2 "Guideline" Sam: Vietnam 1965-73 provides a fine survey of combat aircraft used in Vietnam and the development of new missile strategies in aerial fighting tactics that would enable the USA to win the air war over Iraq decades later. The Wild Weasel mission, among the most dangerous assignment for any USAF pilot, is charted with new interviews with American pilots and North Vietnamese missile techs describing different aspects of conflict and strategy development. Unpublished documentation and photos from North Vietnamese sources provide additional, rare references suitable for any military collection strong in Vietnam military history.

Mission to Berlin
Robert F. Dorr
Zenith Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55401
9780760338988, $28.00, www.zenithpress.com

Mission to Berlin: The American Airmen Who Struck the Heart of Hitler's Reich tells the history of bombing missions to Berlin between 1940 and 1945, showing how crews ran a gauntlet of antiaircraft defenses during the night, carrying out the most sustained effort against a German city during the war. This account of the World War II strategic bombing mission is told largely in the veterans' own words and covers all who participated in the long-range bombing run, from pilots and crew to escort fighters. Any World War II military collection will find this an invaluable contribution to the literature!

They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children
Romeo Dallaire
Walker & Company
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780802779564, $26.00, www.walkerbooks.com

They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers provides a vivid survey of how child soldiers have entered the world arena of battle. It provides vivid insights on what happens when adult soldiers face these child warriors - and the dilemma when they are injured or killed. Romeo Dallaire has made it his mission to end the use of child soldiers, and this provides a survey of their use, abuse, and strategies to eliminate them from the battlefield in a pick for any military or social issues library.

The Storm of War
Andrew Roberts
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061228599, $29.99, www.harpercollins.com

THE STORM OF WAR: A NEW HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR comes from a bestselling historian who considers why Hitler and the Axis powers lost the war. Key moments in the conflict when strategic or political decisions shaped the war's events make for a fine survey using previously unpublished documents to reassess the war and its global impact. The focus on Hitler's relationship with his generals and how it affected the war makes for a fine argument that had Hitler chosen a different route, his quest for world power may have succeeded. Any military history library will find this a powerful consideration of options and alternatives.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Understanding Jesus
Joe Amaral
FaithWords
c/o Hachette Publishing Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017-0010
9780446584760, $13.99, www.faithwords.com

UNDERSTANDING JESUS: CULTURAL INSIGHTS INTO THE WORDS AND DEEDS OF CHRIST provides keys to understanding Jesus' teachings, using the author's knowledge of First Century Jewish life to present Jesus in his original cultural context. Jewish history, society and culture lends to a chronological survey of Jesus' significant events and draws important connections between Jesus and modern Christianity. Jewish and Christian collections alike will appreciate this perspective.

The Scent of Water
Naomi Zacharias
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49530
9780310327370, $16.99, www.zondervan.com

THE SCENT OF WATER: GRACE FOR EVERY KIND OF BROKEN tells of the author's work speaking to women working in brothels in Mumbai, survivors of an Indonesian tsunami, and others facing injustice and pain around the world. It provides a spiritual survey of these disparate experiences, considering the healing power in God's grace and showing how pain can be overcome and can lead to change. Collections strong in spiritual reflection need this!

The Fathers Know Best
Jimmy Akin
Catholic Answers
2020 Gillespie Way, El Cajon, CA 92020
9781933919348, $24.95, www.catholic.com

The Fathers Know Best: Your Essential Guide to the Teachings of the Early Church is a recommendation for any Catholic collection and introduces readers to the teachings of the Church. Over 900 quotes from the writings of early Church Fathers as well as rare documents dating back to early Christian history provide a fine survey and history of the concepts and spread of Christianity. From maps showing where the fathers lived to a guide to nearly 30 ancient heresies, this offers teachings on nearly 50 topics with continued relevance to today's audiences.

The Whole Bible Story
Dr. William H. Marty
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55438
9780764208294, $12.99, www.bethanyhouse.com

The Whole Bible Story: Everything That Happens in the Bible in Plain English retells the entire story in the Bible in an easily-read, chronological account that captures all the main stores under one cover. Introductions include lists of main characters, the modern story, and chapter summaries that make it easy for any general reader to understand the classic Bible stories. A fine addition to any Bible collection for general audiences.

Church in the Present Tense
Scot McKnight, et.al., Editors
Brazos Press
c/o Baker Book House
Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
9781587432996, $21.99, www.brazospress.com

Church in the Present Tense looks at the evolving, emerging church movement from new angles and offers new insights on how the church has inspired and changed its followers. In one volume are major thinkers reflecting on the theological and practical changes this movement has brought to religion, considering the impact of 'emerging' on our views of God, Scripture and more. Any collection considering the evolving status of the church in communities needs this reference!

The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth
Thomas Berry
Mary Evelyn Tucker & John Grim, editors
Orbis Books
Box 308, Maryknoll NY 10545-0308
9781570759178, $20.00, www.orbisbooks.com

The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth is a fine reflection on Christian life and social issues and comes from a religious thinker who has numerous views on correlations between the Earth's future and Christian thinking. These views are gathered and edited under one cover to provide a poetic survey of the universe and its connections, and is a solid pick for any intellectual Christian collection.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
Brant Pitre
Ignatius Press
Box 1339, Fort Collins, CO 80522
9780385531849, $21.99, www.ignatiuspress.com

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper uses Jewish scriptures and traditions to explore the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper, considering the traditional Christian practice of the Eucharist and exploring how it relates to Jewish culture and spirituality. Early Jewish life blends neatly with Christian thinking and perception in this scholarly analysis, offering a different approach to thinking about the Last Supper and its meanings. Christian collections need this!

Rock-A My Soul
David Nantais
Liturgical Press
Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
9780814633540, $15.95, www.litpress.org

ROCK-A MY SOUL: An Invitation to Rock Your Religion provides a captivating survey of rock music and organized religion and considers the often-tense relationship between rock music and religious people. It shows how rock music can aid one's religious faith and spirituality, considering social causes that include both rockers and religious advocates and showing how both groups have attracted millions - and have even more power working together. Christian rock music has become a phenomenon - and this book documents the positive wedding between two seemingly disparate cultures. Music and spirituality collections alike will find this a fine addition!

Forged
Bart D. Ehrman
HarperOne
c/o HarperCollins
353 Sacramento St., #500, San Francisco CA 94111-3653
9780062012616, $26.99, www.harperone.com

FORGED: WRITING IN THE NAME OF GOD - WHY THE BIBLE'S AUTHORS ARE NOT WHO WE THINK THEY ARE was five years in the making and comes from a controversial Bible scholar who proves the New Testament is riddled with forgeries. This dispels popular myths about the Bible's forged books and letters and provides arguments that show how and why parts of the Bible contain intentional deceptions to further the agendas of Christians living after the apostles. A fine scholarly 'must' for any Bible studies collection.

Between Pulpit and Pew
W. Paul Reeve & Michael scott Van Wagenen, Editors
Utah State University
7800 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322
9780874218381, $24.95, www.usupress.org

BETWEEN PULPIT AND PEW: THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD IN MORMON HISTORY AND FOLKLORE provides college-level spirituality collections with essays that look at the roles played by supernatural folklore in Mormon history and culture. It blends social science and regional folk history with mythology and perspectives on Christianity and supernaturalism, and provides an intriguing survey perfect for any collection strong in either regional supernatural folklore or Mormon history.


The Biography Shelf

Ronald Reagan: The Notes
Douglas Brinkley, Editor
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780062065131, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

Ronald Reagan: The Notes: Ronald Reagan's Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom presents writings gathered by the Ronald Reagan Foundation and gathers his original writings as well as his favorite quotes, proverbs, and excerpts from speeches, poetry and more. Reagan enjoyed wisdom for a range of literary, political and social figures: this gathers a lifetime of reflections and is a 'must' for any interested in Ronald Reagan's life and times.

American Outlaw
Jesse James with Sam Benjamin
Gallery Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781451627855, $26.00, www.simonandschuster.com

AMERICAN OUTLAW provides an engrossing autobiography by a man who reveals his volatile upbringing and troubled relationship with his father, leading to juvenile detention and destructive drinking and brawling in his teens. From his rebel outlaw roots to becoming an artist and entrepreneur, this provides depth and insights into an astounding life and provides a riveting story perfect for any general library strong in autobiographies on recovery.

Afterimage
Carla Malden
Skirt! Morris Publishing Group
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
246 Goose Lane, Suite 200, Guilford, CT 06437
9780762763825, $24.95, www.globepequot.com

AFTERIMAGE: A BROKENHEARTED MEMOIR OF A CHARMED LIFE is recommended for any general-interest lending library and follows the author's agonizing 11-month journey through her husband's struggle with cancer, death at age 55, and her own early widowhood. It's a bleak yet inspiring account of survival, showing how the author survived all these obstacles, and it pairs a love story with a story of survival. General lending collections will relish this involving survey!

Working It Out
Abby Rike
FaithWords
c/o Hachette Publishing Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
9780446575034, $21.99, www.faithwords.com

WORKING IT OUT: A JOURNEY OF LOVE, LOSS AND HOPE offers the inspirational autobiography of Abby Rike, who was blessed with a fine job and family until her husband and two young children were killed in a car crash. For three years after her health physical and mental headed downhill - until she joined the cast of The Biggest Loser, which prompted a newfound path to better health and inner strength and wisdom. Faith and courage permeate her autobiography, especially recommended for any spiritual collection strong in motivational reads.

Jessica Lost
Bunny Crumpacker & J.S. Picariello
Union Square Press
c/o Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue South
New York NY 10016-8810
9781402775703, $24.95, www.sterlingpublishing.com

JESSICA LOST: A STORY OF BIRTH, ADOPTION & THE MEANING OF MOTHERHOOD provides a touching story of love and loss, of a mother forced to give up her baby and a daughter's journey to reconnect with her. It's a moving memoir told in alternating voices between the two women involved and follows their history and journey to regain connection, and is a moving story of adoption highly recommended for any general lending library.

The Ragged Edge of Silence
John Francis
National Geographic
1145 - 17th St. NW, Washington DC 20036-4688
9781426207235, $26.00, www.nationalgeographic.com/books

The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World describes the author's decision to give up talking on his 27th birthday as a gift to friends who had to put up with his chatter - a decision that led to 17 years of silence which would take him on a walking pilgrimage lasting two decades to raise environmental consciousness. Insights and lessons learned during his silent quest and his observations of human activities lends to a powerful presentation any general lending library will relish.

Half in Love
Linda Gray Sexton
Counterpoint Press
2117 Fourth Street, Suite D
Berkeley, CA 94710
9781582437187, $25.00, www.counterpointpress.com

HALF IN LOVE: SURVIVING THE LEGACY OF SUICIDE is a memoir that considers the aftermath of the author's mother's suicide - and the agony of witnessing her mother Anne Sexton's multiple, ultimately successful suicide attempts. Linda Gray Sexton sought to escape the legacy of suicide and depression that had ripped apart her family, even as she tried multiple times to kill herself despite knowing the pain she'd leave behind. From family interactions through therapy and medication, her struggles with changing her legacy make for important reading for general and health collection patrons alike.

Ronald Reagan: An American Legend
Q. David Bowers
Whitman Publishing
3101 Clairmont Rd Suite C
Atlanta, GA 30329
0794832806, $49.95, www.whitmanbooks.com

Whitman Publishing is best known for its authoritative coin collector's references, so the appearance of an handsome, oversized slipcased biography keepsake in Ronald Reagan: An American Legend: Golden Anniversary Collector's Vault was eye-catching in and of itself. Open the book to find a scrapbook of images and recollections celebrating the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth, going far beyond the usual photo/text combs to create pockets of replicas of Reagan memorabilia, from campaign buttons and old postcards to ads and bumper stickers, collector cards on his life and times, and more. Families, Reagan fans and collectors of ephemera will find this simply packed with memorabilia. Not suitable for library lending - its pockets of ephemera don't lend to circulation - this most definitively lends to any Reagan fan who wants a keepsake edition of Reagan's presidency and life.

Will Rogers: A Political Life
Richard D. White Jr.
Texas Tech University Press
Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037
9780896726765, $29.95, www.ttupress.org

Will Rogers: A Political Life provides a fine biography that argues that the nation's popular entertainer was not just a political commentator, but a major influence on national leaders and their decisions. It provides a review of Will Rogers' life based on extensive, in-depth research and analyzes his approaches to appraising current events and critiquing public policy choices. He attended congressional hearings, official receptions, testified at hearings, and had the President's ear. This analysis of his political impact should appeal not just to collections strong in biography, but to any college-level American political history library.

The Last of His Mind
John Thorndike
Swallow Press
c/o Ohio University Press
The Ridges, Building 19, Athens, OH 45701
9780804011365, $14.95, www.ohioswallow.com

The Last of His Mind: A Year in the Shadow of Alzheimer's is a gripping memoir telling of a son's devoting to his fading father. Joe Thorndike was managing editor of Life, founder of two other popular magazines, and the author of three books - but at age 92 in the space of only six months he stopped reading, writing or holding conversations. His quick descent into Alzheimer's is told by his son in a gripping account of a devastating, progressive deterioration recommended for health and general collections alike.

Until Tuesday
Luis Carlos Montalvan with Bret Witter
Hyperion Books
77 West 66th Street
New York, NY 10023-6298
9781401324292, $22.99, www.hyperionbooks.com

UNTIL TUESDAY: A WOUNDED WARRIOR AND THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER WHO SAVED HIM provides the story of former Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan, who survived a traumatic brain injury and other wounds during war and found himself unable to reenter civilian life. His physical and emotional wounds left him crippled and secluded from the world - until a golden retriever trained as a service dog for veterans changed his life. A powerful story of mutual recovery evolves in a fine recommendation for any general lending library.

The Color of Night
L.C. Timmerman and John H. Timmerman
New Horizon Press
PO Box 669, Far Hills, NJ 07931
0882823221, $24.95, www.newhorizonpressbooks.com

The Color of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child and a Cold-Blooded Killer is a recommendation for any general library seeing popular interest in true crime titles, and tells of teen Rachel, who had been assaulted and raped by a man she'd met just hours earlier, and who reported him despite his threats. She and her infant daughter vanished just before they were called to testify and her body was discovered a month later. Written by Rachel's father and uncle, The Color of Night documents the crime and their search for justice in a riveting account of one family's struggles.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Comes a Time for Burning
Steven F. Havill
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
9781590588277, $24.95, www.poisonedpenpress.com

COMES A TIME FOR BURNING is set in 1892 and tells of a young doctor working in a frontier village when he faces a cholera epidemic. Swamped with a sudden crisis, Thomas is still curious about the disease's origins, especially when he discovers one of his own nurses may be responsible. As controversy and death spreads, he finds deadly disease leads to a possible deadlier plot in this riveting mystery.

Murder on Sisters' Row
Victoria Thompson
Berkeley Prime Crime
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780425241158, $24.95, www.penguin.com

MURDER ON SISTERS' ROW provides a fine Gaslight Mystery set in 19th century New York and telling of midwife Sarah, who braves dangers to deliver a baby in a brothel. The mother reveals she's being held against her will and forced to prostitute herself - and Sarah must seek assistance to rescue the new mother - and face trouble when her helper is found murdered. A satisfying historic mystery, this is a pick for any mystery library.


The Cookbook Shelf

Brewing Better Beer
Gordon Strong
Brewers Publications
P.O. Box 1679, Boulder, CO 80306
9780937381984, $17.95, www.brewersassociaiton.org

Any collection strong in beer-making processes will find a popular pick in BREWING BETTER BEER: MASTER LESSONS FOR ADVANCED HOMEBREWERS. It provides detailed directions on selecting and preparing malt, evaluating a beer, creating a vision for a better, more creative brew result, and more. Any who have home brewing basics 'down' and who want to move on to the next level of expertise will find this packed with important keys to success.

The Book of Yields, eighth edition
Francis T. Lynch
John Wiley & Sons
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470197493, $33.48, www.wiley.com

The eighth updated edition of THE BOOK OF YIELDS: ACCURACY IN FOOD COSTING AND PURCHASING provides a comb-bound workbook perfect for chefs and professional food service managers who need to know how much of an ingredient to purchase for a professional kitchen. It gathers accurate food measurements to help cost recipes and figure out food purchasing, listing trim yields, cooking yields, and how to cost a volume of food in a given recipe. This edition has been updated with over 200 new foods in a collection of over 1,350 foods and includes new condiments, a new chapter on standard portion sizes, and more worksheets covering different formulas for each type of food. Food professionals will find this a 'must' reference, as will college-level hospitality and culinary arts libraries.

The Country Cooking of Ireland
Colman Andrews
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9780811866705, $50.00, www.chroniclebooks.com

Food and travel writer Colman Andrews offers a fine, detailed survey of the culture and foods of the Irish countryside in a culinary exploration suitable for any general or Irish history holding. Over 225 recipes range from breads and roasts to vegetables and provide chapters on all Irish fare with a focus on country cooking. Over 100 photos taken by award-winning photographer Christopher Hirsheimer of the dishes and scenery of the countryside and its people contribute to an exciting, vivid survey.

Vegan Desserts
Hannah Kaminsky
Skyhorse Publishing
307 West 36th St., 11th Floor
New York NY 10018
9781616082208, $17.95, www.skyhorsepublishing.com

VEGAN DESSERTS: SUMPTUOUS SWEETS FOR EVERY SEASON provides a fine collection of vegan desserts, supplements recipes with the author's own color photos, and advocates seasonal delights with summer popsicles, fall pumpkin butter cookies, and more. The focus on vegan is include in recipes and anecdotes that add a glossary for vegan ingredients, while advice on troubleshooting common dessert challenges assures foolproof results from cooking efforts.

Tomatoland
Barry Estabrook
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City MO 64106-2109
9781449401092, $19.99, www.amuniversal.com

TOMATOLAND: HOW MODERN INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE DESTROYED OUR MOST ALLURING FRUIT is based on the author's award-winning article and comes from an investigative food journalist who documents the rise - and detrimental costs - of the fresh tomato industry. It probes modern agricultural business which produces industrial tomatoes lacking in flavor and nutrition alike, showing how consumers pay a heavy price for such business and why modern agribusiness can't deliver a good tomato (because it's basically against the law!). No culinary history library should be without this.

Start Fresh
Tyler Florence
Rodale Press, Inc.
400 South Tenth Street
Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
9781609611941, $19.99, www.rodale.com

START FRESH: YOUR CHILD'S JUMP START TO LIFELONG HEALTHY EATING packs in color photos to accompany eating habit insights, and comes from a Food Network star who developed Sprout - a successful line of organic baby food. START FRESH tells parents how to produce some sixty dishes for babies, toddlers and even the entire family, providing easy chapters of recommendations for fruit and vegetable purees and easily-digested meats and grains. Any library catering to parents will find this a popular lend.

Summer in a Glass
Evan Dawson
Sterling Epicure
c/o Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016-8810
9781402778254, $19.95, www.sterlingpublishing.com

Summer in a Glass: The Coming of Age of Winemaking in the Finger Lakes comes from a journalist and wine writer who takes readers behind the scenes to meet winemakers, winery owners, grape growers and more. It focuses on the people who have fostered New York's Finger Lakes winemaking, considering the personalities and approaches that changed the Finger Lakes from an ordinary rural district to a celebrated wine region. Highly recommended for any collection strong in American regional wine history and development.

Paella
Alberto Herraiz
Phaidon
180 Varick Street, 14th Floor
New York NY 10014
9780714860824, $39.95, www.phaidon.com

PAELLA: 108 PAELLA RECIPES provides a definitive survey of Spain's best-loved national dish, and features recipes and techniques from a noted paella chef. His world-famous dishes earned him a Michelin star in 2009: here he tells cooks how to make the perfect basic paella and provides a range of recipes and variations. Color photos accompany such dishes as Paella Rice With Eggs and Black Truffle and Paella Rice with Chicken, King Prawns, and Squid. No chef should be without this definitive paella reference.

Goat: Meat Milk Cheese
Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarborough
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
115 W. 18th St., New York NY 10011
9781584799054, $29.95, www.stcbooks.com

Goat: Meat Milk Cheese offers a fine comprehensive cookbook on the topic of cooking with goat and goat products, providing an illustrated recipe guide and anecdotes centered around goat products. Innovative recipes such as Braised Meatballs with Artichokes and Fennel accompany a range of goat dishes and lore perfect for culinary and animal collections alike.

In the Small Kitchen
Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061998249, $21.99, www.harpercollins.com

In the Small Kitchen: 100 Recipes from Our Year of Cooking in the Real World provides a fine survey packed with over 100 recipes for cooking and entertaining in a small space. From a cubicle picnic to a cocktail party in an apartment, this shows how to get the most from a small kitchen space, offering recipes that are simple, easy productions in any small space. Color photos throughout enhance the dishes and make this a pick for any who would entertain small.

Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh
Emeril Lagasse
HarperStudio
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061742958, $24.99, www.harperstudio.com

Deserving of ongoing recognition and recommendation is Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh, a fine new book by chef Emeril who continues his lifelong commitment to using fresh local ingredients in his restaurants and home kitchen. Here he explores local bounty in fifteen chapters covering naturally raised meats, local produce, and home canning, and tells how to choose the ripest ingredients at the markets and how to convert them into dishes such as Cheesy Creole Tomato Pie and Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp.

The Sorcerer's Apprentices
Lisa Abend
Free Press
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
9781439175552, $26.00, www.simonandschuster.com

The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adria's Elbulli focuses on a contingent of apprentice chefs that follow a system created by chef Ferran Adria in his efforts to produce remarkable, different cuisine. From dragon cocktails that make the drinker breathe smoke to caviar made from olive oil, this follows the lives, experiences and techniques of over thirty men and women as they work at the chef's renowned kitchen. Any interested in restaurant work will find this a top pick, especially recommended for hospitality as well as general-interest holdings.

1,001 Best Grilling Recipes
Rick Browne
Surrey Books
1501 Madison Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.surreybooks.com
9781572841161, $20.95, www.agatepublishing.com

1,001 Best Grilling Recipes offers an in-depth coverage to grilling everything from appetizers and side dishes to the usual meat dish, offering dozens of recipes for sauces, marinades and rubs that can be used when cooking on the grill. Dishes come from around the world in an encyclopedia of grilling and provides a top recipe resource. From Maui-Style Quail to Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Salsa, it offers a host of dishes not seen elsewhere, and is a pick for any collection strong in grilling guides.

Just Married & Cooking
Brooke Parkhurst & James Briscione
Scribner
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10020
9781439169988, $30.00, www.simonandschuster.com

Just Married & Cooking packs in over 200 recipes for cooking and entertaining for couples newly married and wishing to explore their culinary skills together. The authors teach couples cooking classes at New York City's Institute of Culinary Education, and pairs seasonal recipes and local food discussions with insights on how to overcome the difficulties inherent in a small or poorly laid-out kitchen structure. Budgets, limited time, and more are also surveyed in a fine recommendation for any newlywed couple and general-interest library.

Alice's Cook Book
Alice Hart
Lyons Press
246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437
9780762770182, $19.95, www.lyonspress.com

Alice Hart is a young cook who tailors her recipes for 20- and 30-somethings who want recipes tailored to their lifestyles -which include lazy brunches with friends, picnics, and summer parties. Each recipe is designed to fit into a busy social life and offer menus that can be adapted by ingredients and season, methods that include changing a dish to feed a few or many people, and unusual dishes such as Lemongrass Pork Bun Bowls. A peppering of color photos accompanies numerous fun cooking ideas perfect for any young entertainer.

365 Vegetarian Meals
Better Homes and Gardens
Meredith Corporation
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470886601, $19.95, www.wiley.com

365 Vegetarian Meals comes with the Better Homes stamp that assures recipes have been tested for foolproof results, and provides a new collection of hearty dishes ranging from breakfasts to soups, stews and more. The basics of a healthy vegetarian diet are accompanied by vegan variation options, color photos of finished dishes, and dishes that can be quickly completed in 3 or 4 steps. From Black Bean and Mango Wraps to Chile Rellenos, this is a treasure trove of family dishes perfect for any occasion!


The Education Shelf

Physical Best Activity Guide Elementary Level, third edition
Laura L. Borsdorf and Lois A. Boeyink, Editors
Human Kinetics
Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736081178, $29.00, www.humankinetics.com

The third updated edition of Physical Best Activity Guide Elementary Level includes a CD-ROM with 143 reproducibles and presents a new chapter on combined-component training plus a section of Internet resources, and is a top pick for any physical education instructor. It can be used alone or in conjunction with other fitness guides and systems, and presents a program developed by top-level physical educators who pack in nearly eighty activities that help students gain skills to lead active, healthy lives. A top recommendation for any elementary-level PE instructor.

New GRE Primer 2011-2012
Kaplan Publishing
395 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9781607148494, $34.99, www.kaplanpublishing.com

The New GRE Primer 2011-2012 has been fully updated for the 2011 GRE test changes and is a top recommendation for any collection appealing to students taking the GRE. Six practice tests with answer explanations, proven test-taking strategies, and more online practice with an accompanying CD-ROM offers students a detailed overview of the latest test changes and strategies for all new GRE question types. It's one of the most comprehensive GRE guides on the market today.

The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers
Allan G. Osborne, Jr. & Charles J. Russo
Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
9781412975469, $43.95, www.corwin.com

The Legal Rights and Responsibilities of Teachers provides educators with a review of frequently asked legal questions covering key topics, from tenure and dismissal to teacher contracts, academic freedom, teacher rights, copyright and more. This uses real-world applications and issues to apply legal concepts and tested decisions to the entire educator environment. Chapters are packed with legal references and annotations for further research and clarification.

Crossing the Vocabulary Bridge
Socorro G. Herrera, Shambina K. Kavimandan, Melissa A. Holmes
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York NY 10027
9780807752173, $27.95, www.tcpress.com

Crossing the Vocabulary Bridge offers a fine survey of strategies and tools for all content areas that show how to support academic success. These come from a decade of research and classroom observation, and offers strategies for building content-area language skills. From successful applications in secondary classrooms to vocabulary-building student artifacts, this packs in keys to success and bridges gaps between theory and practice.

Cracking the MCAT, 2011-12 Edition
James L. Flowers, MD, MPH, and Theodore Silver, MD
Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780375427183, $99.99, www.princetonrview.com

The MCAT tests basic physical and biological sciences and its wide-reaching subjects require a detailed knowledge of all kinds of science, from chemistry and biology to physics and verbal reasoning. CRACKING THE MCAT's latest edition includes everything needed to ace the test, from practice questions and detailed explanations to solutions and problems. Online practice supplements the book's in-depth blend of explanation and step-by-step solutions, making for a comprehensive, key study guide no MCAT taker should be without.

Music for Special Kids
Pamela Ott
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market St. #400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
9781849058582, $24.95, www.jkp.com

Music is a powerful tool, with great potential for reaching kids with developmental disorders from Autism to Down - and this music activity book shows teachers and parents how music can be used to enhance the lives of kids with special needs. Activities, song ideas, and tips offer games and exercises for all levels of ability and includes rhythm worksheets and more. Any working with such kids will find this a treasure trove of ideas from learning the musical alphabet on the autoharp to increasing listening and coordination skills.

From Brain to Mind
James E. Zull
Stylus Publishing
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20194
9781579224622, $24.95, www.styluspub.com

From Brain to Mind: Using Neuroscience to Guide Change in Education provides a powerful survey of how we learn, offering lay educators an introduction to what neuroscience can tell us about cognitive development and its links to teaching strategies. From how a brain becomes a mind through experience and how the education process can support that connection, chapters discuss leapfrogging patterns, the biology of motivation, education and memory formation, and much more. Any educator's library should include this.

The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook
Dathan D. Rush, et.al.
Paul H. Brookes Publishing
Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781598570670, $34.95, www.brookespublishing.com

The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook follows up on a 2004 publication to teach and reinforce a new model for early childhood coaching techniques and standards. Any college-level education collection strong in early childhood approaches will find this a winning survey introducing the coaching model approach, offering chapters packed with techniques and examples of applications.


The Music Shelf

Rockin': The Rockabilly Scene
Andrew Shaylor
Merrell Publishers
38 High Avenue, 4th floor, Nyack, New York 10960
9781858945286, $50.00, www.merrellpublishers.com

Rockin': The Rockabilly Scene comes from a photographer who looks at modern rockabilly music on both sides of the Atlantic, capturing its culture, detail, and music in a series of color photos of individuals and music events. Accompanying his photos is a travelogue of his road trip to the southern states of America, home of several rockabilly icons, plus a history of the subculture of rockabilly. Any involved in the music and culture of rockabilly must have this tribute!

Woody Guthrie: American Radical
Will Kaufman
University of Illinois Press
1325 South Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820-6903
9780252036026, $29.95, www.press.uillinois.edu

Woody Guthrie: American Radical offers analysis and insights into the politically radical perspective of the American songwriter, documenting his lifelong commitment to radical struggles and examining his political awakening and activism. Guthrie's roll in the development of a workers' culture spearheaded by the Communist Party and other radical organizations is examined in light of his music and his politics in a title that uses previously unseen archival materials from letters and essays to personal reflections. Any who would understand Woody's nature and music must have this detailed analysis, perfect for college-level holdings strong in American folk music history.

Family Tradition
Susan Masino
Backbeat Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
7777 West Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213
www.halleonard.com
9781617130069, $24.99, www.backbeatbooks.com

FAMILY TRADITION: THREE GENERATIONS OF HANK WILLIAMS is the first book to examine the Hank Williams family legacy, and offers a different survey of the musician's life based on the author's unprecedented access to Hank II, youngest of the Williams clan. From his struggles with two generations of family tradition to his war with the conservative country music world of Nashville, this offers a fine survey of country music perfect for any country music collection.

Playing (Less) Hurt
Janet Horvath
Hal Leonard Books
7777 West Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213
9781423488460, $29.99, www.halleonard.com

Any music library - especially those catering to professional musicians- must have Playing (Less) Hurt. It's an invaluable guide to special tools and techniques to avoid and alleviate injury and is key to musicians, coaches and medical professionals alike. Chapters discuss the physiology and psyche of playing music, discussing common injuries, handling hectic rehearsal schedules and challenging pieces, and physical strains that limit and injury players. Case histories accompany specific tips on adjustments than can prevent damage. From adjusting positions to modifying instruments themselves, this is packed with rare specifics key to promoting player health and longevity.


The Travel Shelf

Only Pack What You Can Carry
Janice Holly Booth
National Geographic
1145 - 17th St. N.W., Washington DC 20036-4688
9781426207334, $24.00, www.nationalgeographic.com/books

Only Pack What You Can Carry: My Path to Inner Strength, Confidence, and True Self-Knowledge is from an author who learned to travel alone - and who tells why leaving everyone and everything behind for a few days or more is the best option to self-discovery and values. It provides a travel journey describing four keys to unlocking spiritual fulfillment and courage, using travel essays and memoirs to provide a 'you are here' adventure experience for all kinds of readers. Armchair travelers and those who long to hit the road will find this a winning read, making it a perfect choice for general lending libraries.

China, 12th edition
Damian Harper, et.al.
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
9781741795899, $31.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

The 12th updated edition of CHINA provides the latest details for any independent traveler seeking a take-along tote guidebook packed with comprehensive listings. Small maps, color photos, and cultural notes accompany specifics on where to eat, stay, how to travel through China and what to see. A pull-out map of Beijing and Hong Kong accompanies many highlights and candid assessments of what the budget and independent traveler can expect in each city and region of China. It's a 'must' for any collection catering to independent young travelers.

The Rough Guide to Scotland, ninth edition
Rob Humphreys & Donald Reid
Rough Guides
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
9781848367197, $22.99, www.roughguides.com

The Rough Guide to Scotland provides a completely revised ninth updated edition to help an independent traveler make the most of a trip to Scotland, offering a fine insider's guide to local festivals, culinary and cultural specialties, and ore. Any traveler seeking to uncover Scotland's unique destinations and opportunities will find this packed with maps, lists of things not to miss, and more.


The Nautical Shelf

Plastiki
David de Rothschild
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9781452100029, $27.50, www.chroniclebooks.com

PLASTIKI: ACROSS THE PACIFIC OCEAN ON PLASTIC: AN ADVENTURE TO SAVE OUR OCEANS tells of explorer David de Rothschild and a crew of adventurers who left the San Francisco Bay in a boat made out of 12,500 plastic bottles. Their journey to Australia in a handmade boat was also meant to investigate and publicize the effects of civilization on the ocean: this is his first-person account of his travels and of the creation of Plastiki, and packs in full-page color photos with a vivid account perfect for any nautical collection.

Unsinkable
Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent
Thomas Nelson
Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
9781400203086, $22.99, www.thomasnelson.com

UNSINKABLE: A YOUNG WOMAN'S COURAGEOUS BATTLE ON THE HIGH SEAS comes nearly a year after disaster and tells how a 16-year-old sailor set out to become the youngest person in history to circumnavigate the globe alone in her new boat. She spent two days stranded far from help: this provides a vivid survey of her sailing adventures and is a pick for both nautical and general-interest collections alike.


The Social Issues Shelf

The Seamless City
Rick Baker
Regnery Publishing
One Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington DC 20001
9781596981973, $27.95, www.regnery.com

The Seamless City: A Conservative Mayor's Approach to Urban Revitalization That Can Work Anywhere comes from the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, who tells how to make American cities great and who led a downtown renaissance during his two terms in office which made St. Petersburg a case in point. He rebuilt the most economically depressed area of the city and produced results: this offers advice based on his nine years of success and shows other officials how they can make their cities better, and is a pick for any college-level urban studies collection.

Climate Capitalism
L. Hunter Lovins and Boyd Cohen
Hill & Wang
c/o Farrar, Straus & Giroux
18 West 18th St., New York NY 10011
9780809034734, $27.95, www.fsgbooks.com

A new kind of capitalism can save the planet while creating jobs - and this solution is outlined in CLIMATE CAPITALISM: CAPITALISM IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. It uses case studies of international businesses and small business structures to show how efficiency and renewable energy can generate greater profits, offering business opportunities across sectors and showing how a climate-change policy will enhance the global economy as well as helping the environment. This book's business-oriented approach makes it a 'must' recommendation for business and general holdings alike.

Unhitched
Judith Stacey
New York University Press
838 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York NY 10003
9780814783825, $27.95, www.nyupress.org

UNHITCHED: LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND FAMILY VALUES FROM WEST HOLLYWOOD TO WESTERN CHINA comes from an expert on the family who is known for her research on social issues. Impatient with the same positions being taken in the wars over divorce, marital fidelity, and same-sex marriage, she set out to document unfamiliar cultures of love, marriage and family around the world - and UNHITCHED is the result of her global survey. Stories of real families handing domesticity and issues of gender and sexuality reveal all sides of issues and different types of people, and emphasizes the appearance of a new family diversity that defies traditional boundaries and perceptions. Any social issues collection will find this revealing.

The Destiny of Modern Societies
Milan Zafirovski
Haymarket Books
Box 180165, Chicago IL 60618
9781608461257, $36.00, www.haymarketbooks.org

The Destiny of Modern Societies: The Calvinist Predestination of a New Society is a recommendation for any college-level collection strong in critical social sciences, and provides a scholarly, in-depth analysis of relationships between modern society and Calvinism. It expands upon prior sociological analysis and considers the impact of Calvinism on modern society, but is for more than a religious inspection. Its survey of political, economic and civil development in American society argues and illustrates the Calvinist 'predestination' of American society and makes for a fine college-level reader.

Deep Green Resistance
Aric McBay, Lierre Keith, Derrick Jensen
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York NY 10013
9781583229293, $22.95, www.sevenstories.com

Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet is all about fighting back - and offers the premise that industrial civilization is incompatible with life. To save this planet a large-scale resistance movement is needed that can bring down the industrial economy - and this evaluates options for such a movement, from nonviolence to guerrilla warfare. A startling, specific exploration of targets for aboveground and underground intervention are identified in this radical plan to fight for planetary health. Environmental and philosophical collections will find this packed with food for thought.

Create a World That Works
Alan Seale
Weiser
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
9781578634972, $17.95, www.redwheelweiser.com

Create a World That Works: Tools for Personal and Global Transformation should be in any new age or social issues collection. It's a tool kit for any who dream of making a difference in the world, and comes from an inspirational speaker and leadership coach who offers tools to herald these differences. From engaging intuition and identifying gifts to practicing collaboration and understanding the Four Levels of Engagement, this offers many keys to success based on personal analysis and motivation.

The Red Market
Scott Carney
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
www.williammorrow.com
9780061936463, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

THE RED MARKET: ON THE TRAIL OF THE WORLD'S ORGAN BROKERS, BONE THIEVES, BLOOD FARMERS AND CHILD TRAFFICKERS comes from a journalist who investigates the underground economy in human organs around the world. Frightening accounts of rented wombs and poor people selling body parts offers an in-depth survey of the 'body bazaar', from Chinese prisons that use prisoners as sources for body parts to Americans who are adopting kidnapped children under the belief they are orphans. A hard-hitting, amazing account, this eye-opener is a 'must' for any social issues collection and many a general lending library.

Saved By Beauty
Roger Housden
Broadway Books
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780307587732, $24.00, www.randomhouse.com

SAVED BY BEAUTY: ADVENTURES OF AN AMERICAN ROMANTIC IN IRAN comes from a reporter who traveled extensively throughout Iran in search of the personal truths about Iranian daily lives. His discoveries about the country and its peoples resulted from meetings with sheikhs, artists, politicians, and everyday people and results in a revealing analysis of a culture often misunderstood. Its dynamics, social issues, and concerns come to life in a strong recommendation for both general lending libraries and any collection strong in Middle East culture.

Unnatural Selection
Mara Hvistendahl
Public Affairs Books
250 West 57th Street, #1321
NY, NY 10107
9781586488505, $26.99, www.publicaffairsbooks.com

Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men provided a vivid examination of the natural sex ratio at birth and how that is changing. In China the 2010 census found a ratio of 118 boys for ever 100 girls - and in twenty years such a ratio will pose a huge social challenges. By 2030 one in five Chinese men will lack a mate, for example. These and other social concerns are documented in a hard-hitting survey of gender imbalance and its social, religious, political and economic impact, and is a 'must' for any general lending library or college-level social issues shelf!

How Information Matters
Kathleen Hale
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect St. NW, Washington DC 20007
9781589017009, $29.50, www.press.georgetown.edu

HOW INFORMATION MATTERS: NETWORKS AND PUBLIC POLICY INNOVATION illustrates how nonprofit organizations and others can serve as sources for information and how information networks can influence policy creation and outcomes. Any college-level collection strong in public administration and nonprofits will find this packs in chapters analyzing the idea of the network, its connections, and its underlying influences. From network relationships to innovations to be gained from networks, HOW INFORMATION MATTERS draws important connections between networks and social change.


The Business Shelf

How Cool Brands Stay Hot
Joeri Van den Bergh and Mattias Behrer
Kogan Page USA
1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100
Philadelphia, PA 19102
9780749462505, $29.95, www.koganpage.com

HOW COOL BRANDS STAY HOT: BRANDING TO GENERATION Y identifies the interests, concerns, and marketing differences between Generation Y (13-29 year olds) and other age groups, revealing what drives them and how to reach them. It's based on five years of new research into consumer psychology and behavior of this age group, and provides solid details on how to understand their perspective - and how to tailor advertising and branding relevant to them. Case studies and interviews with global marketing executives of successful brands make this a winner for any college-level business library.

Dancing with Digital Natives
Michelle Manafy and Heidi Gautschi, Editors
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
9780910965873, $27.95, www.infotoday.com

Dancing with Digital Natives: Staying in Step with the Generation That's Transforming the Way Business is Done discusses how the generation immersed in digital technology from birth is changing the nature of business in society. Always-connected networking is the norm for this generation - and this book gathers insights from the authors and some 20 experts to consider how the new generation is changing the face of business and social interactions. Any who would market to the latest generation needs this survey.

Small Message, Big Impact
Terri L. Sjodin
Greenleaf Book Group Press
PO box 91869, Austin, TX 78709
9781608321308, $22.95, www.gbgpress.com

SMALL MESSAGE, BIG IMPACT: HOW TO PUT THE POWER OF THE ELEVATOR SPEECH EFFECT TO WORK FOR YOU provides an entertaining how-to guide on how to communicate a message in a short period of time. The concept of the Elevator Speech Effect provides business people with a tool for creating influence and interest in today's short attention span market, showing how an idea, project or service can be placed in a more effective message From building a case using six effective arguments to using your best material in new ways, this is an outstanding presentation any business collection needs!

Creative Genius
Peter Fisk
Capstone
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9781841127897, $24.95, www.wiley.com

CREATIVE GENIUS: AN INNOVATION GUIDE FOR BUSINESS LEADERS, BORDER CROSSERS AND GAME CHANGERS provides a key to new ideas, technologies and directions and offers business leaders ideas for exploring creative places to further business. It introduces the Genius Lab, offering practice tools to locate these potentials and ensure best solutions from strategies of innovative companies from Apple to Samsung and IDEO. The concept of 'innovation drivers' is often talked about in business books, but this uses specifics and exercises on how to actually recognize - and act upon - the 'bigger picture', and is a pick for any innovation-oriented business collection!

Changemaking
Richard Bevan
ChangeStart Press
1420 East Pine Street, Unit 703
Seattle, WA 98122
9781449969981, $24.95, www.changestart.com

Changemaking is a recommendation for business and economics collections strong in management, offering practical guidance on managing change within organizations and presenting proven methods that can apply to all kinds of changes. From creating direction and keeping it on track to conducting stakeholder research, this uses short case histories to illustrate key components of successful change initiatives, providing managers with step-by-step analysis of the entire process.

Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking
Stephen Woessner
Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471-0640
9781601383167, $24.95, www.atlantic-pub.com

Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking: How to Build Your Website Traffic and Online Sales Using Facebook, Twitter, and Linked in - in Just 15 Steps provides a fine survey highly recommended for any business library strong in internet marketing approaches. These three venues represent a business's best potential customers and can be a valuable networking tool if used correctly. Facebook alone holds over forty percent of all social networking traffic. This book provides keys to getting started in pursing these opportunities, from tailoring a marketing program to direct proper content to measuring results using Google Analytics and managing social networking opportunities. A specific, top pick for any who would look at all three social networking groups for business potentials.

The Improvisation Edge
Karen Hough
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
235 Montgomery St., Suite 650
San Francisco CA 94104-2916
9781605095851, $19.95, www.bkconnection.com

The Improvisation Edge: Secrets to Building Trust and Radical Collaboration at Work offers a fine survey of resources about building trust and draws on experts in trust dynamics to apply lessons of improvisation to the workplace to foster such trust. Four principles are presented to help managers and trainers adopt the improvisation experience to the workplace, offering techniques to encouraging participation and collaboration. Businesses thwarted by manager and employee strife who seek more interactive collaboration success will find this technique a fine starting point, and business collections catering to managers will find it a top pick.

The Third Screen
Chuck Martin
Nicholas Brealey
20 Park Plaza #1115A, Boston MA 02116
9781857885644, $28.95, www.nicholasbrealey.com

The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile offers a review of business strategies marketers need to know to understand and tailor presentations to the consumer on the move. Behavioral changes that accompany such movement are linked to business revisions and reveal how mobile innovators are becoming the new successful business model of the future. Chapters offer guides to the uses of messaging, apps, and social media, considering new laws, branding, and marketing strategies big business has adopted. Business collections will find it a specific, useful presentation.

The Critical Thinking Tool Kit
Marlene Caroselli
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York NY 10019-7420
081441740X, $34.95, www.amacombooks.org

The Critical Thinking Tool Kit provides over thirty problem solving activities designed to encourage critical thinking processes in teams, and is a fine set of tools for any manager seeking to make the most of workforce intelligence. It comes from a workforce trainer who has taught employees how to think critically, solve problems, innovate and communicate more effectively and provides managers with tools and activities for encouraging quick, creative and analytical thinking. Any business collection should have this workbook, which encourages innovation.

Likeable Social Media
Dave Kerpen
McGraw-Hill Professional
c/o The McGraw Hill Companies
Two Penn Plaza, 11th Floor
NY, NY 10121-2298
0071762345, $20.00, www.mhprofessional.com

Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and be Generally Amazing on Facebook (and other social networks) comes from a social media expert who tells how to brand being 'likeable', and how to translate 'likeable' into a business interest. Being 'likeable' moves beyond Facebook thumbs-up marks and into the realm of effective communication and engagement, all covered in a book that tells how to create a sense of community by linking a business need to social networks. 18 actionable strategies for such a creation tells how to create customer value by changing one's social media image. Any business collection needs this!

The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices
Frank Moss
Crown Business
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.crownpublishing.com
9780307589101, $27.50, www.randomhouse.com

The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices: How the Digital Magicians of the MIT Media Lab Are Creating the Innovative Technologies That Will Transform Our Lives reveals how the MIT Media Lab's researchers have produced ideas and inventions that have changed our daily lives, and how some of their marketing concepts can transfer successfully to business endeavors. It explains the Lab's mission, achievements, and shares stories on how creative individuals and inventions are pouring out of their busy workshops. Any interested in fostering business innovation - which will include many a business library - should have this!

Smart Giving Is Good Business
Curt Weeden
Jossey-Bass
989 Market Street, 5th floor
San Francisco, CA 94103-1741
9780470873632, $39.95, www.josseybass.com

Smart Giving Is Good Business comes from an expert on corporate giving and shows how to plan, manage and evaluate corporate contributions so that giving delivers a return to companies as well as to recipients. It advocates corporate responsibility and addresses questions commonly asked by decision makers, analyzing why a business should assist nonprofits and causes and the process involved in making sure benefit comes back to a business. From conditions surrounding gifting to justifying using corporate resources to support selected nonprofit endeavors, this is a recommendation for any business library.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide
James Fadiman, PhD
Park Street Press
c/o Inner Traditions
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
9781594774027, $18.95, www.parkstpress.com

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide comes from a noted authority on psychedelics and their use who has been involved with psychedelic research since the 60s. This outlines best practices for safe psychedelic use for spiritual and therapeutic purposes, reviewing the newest research into visionary drug use for increased personal awareness. Any interested in using psychedelics receives cautionary exploration of pros, cons, and discussions of myths and realities about them.

Growing Up in Heaven
James Van Praagh
HarperOne
c/o HarperCollins
353 Sacramento St. #500, San Francisco CA 94111-3653
9780062024633, $25.99, www.harperone.com

Growing Up in Heaven: The Eternal Connection Between Parent and Child comes from a famous medium who follows the journey of children who have passed from earth to heaven. The connections between these children and the worlds of heaven and living are analyzed in a text based on nearly thirty years of spirit communication, and offers true stories and a child's-eye glimpse of a different world. A fine survey, this is a pick for any new age spirituality collection.

Transcendence
Norman E. Rosenthal, MD
Jeremy P. Tarcher
c/o The Penguin Group, USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3657
9781585428731, $25.95, www.tarcherbooks.com

TRANSCENDENCE: HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION THROUGH TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION comes from a psychiatrist who pioneered the study of seasonal affective disorder and who provides a fine survey of the healing qualities of transcendental meditation. From its effect on the brain and how it can combat stress to the latest clinical research along with personal accounts from various TM practitioners, this shows how TM can be useful for a range of psychological conditions, and makes for a fine survey of the body of research and experiences with TM's healing qualities. Any psychological or new age library needs this.

Cosmic Detox
Mantak Chia and William U. Wei
Destiny Books
c/o Inner Traditions
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
9781594773778, $16.95, www.destinybooks.com

Cosmic Detox: A Taoist Approach to Internal Cleansing is a recommendation for alternative health and new age collections alike, and provides keys to understanding the detoxification practices of the Taoist sages. It shows how to reactivate a body's self-healing abilities by expelling toxins through diet and fasting, and adds chi self-massage and healing sounds to its recipes for herbal tonics and flushes for different body openings. A fine, specific guide for any interested in cleansing processes.


The Computer Shelf

Processing for Visual Artists
Andrew Glassner
A.K. Peters Ltd.
5 Commonwealth Rd. #2C, Natick, MA 01760
9781568817163, $69.95, www.akpeters.com

Processing for Visual Artists: How to Create Expressive Images and Interactive Art teaches how to create imagery with the Processing graphics language, created for artists, designers or any using to create images and animation for arts or business purposes. It provides a project-based organization designed for artists and other types of visual thinkers, showing how to use Processing to create successful results. The step-by-step focus for each piece builds on knowledge and skills and makes for a fine pick for engaging artists who have Processing and want to make the most of it!

The Book of CSS3
Peter Gasston
No Starch Press
38 Ringold St., San Francisco CA 94103
9781593272869, $34.95, www.nostarch.com

The Book of CSS3 provides a fine survey that moves beyond official documentation and shows what CSS3 can do, in all major browsers. Real-world examples and a focus on good design are the basics of good CSS skills: this book discusses its latest features and integrates these features with keys to enhancing web pages and using gradients to create smooth color transitions, among other skills. A companion website includes live CSS3 examples to compliment this web designer's strategy guide, recommended for any web programmer's library.

The Clean Coder
Robert C. Martin
Prentice Hall
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0137081073, $39.99, www.informit.com/ph

THE CLEAN CODER: A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMMERS is a pick for any software engineering collection and comes from a software expert who introduces the basic practices of coding. From estimating to testing, it shows how to approach software coding with honor and price, teaching the basics of what it means to behave as a software craftsperson rather than just a programmer. From handling conflict and scheduling to managing time and fostering team spirit, this is much more than just another programmer's guide: it a paradigm for an entirely new attitude, and is a 'must' for any software engineer.

Individuals and Interactions: An Agile Guide
Ken Howard and Barry Rogers
Addison Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321714091, $34.99, www.informit.com/aw

Individuals and Interactions: An Agile Guide provides a practical user's guide to solving the common problems agile teams encounter and pairs stories with best practices and exercises designed to apply to real-world scenarios. From getting teams to work as teams to collaboration, change and group dynamics, this offers a fine survey on how to make an agile environment more productive and is a 'must' for any computer collection strong in agile business practices.

Step by Step Microsoft Visio 2010
Scott A. Helmers
Microsoft Press
c/o O'Reilly Media
1005 Gravenstein Highway North
Sebastopol CA 95472
9780735648876, $29.99, www.oreilly.com

Step by Step Microsoft Visio 2010 is a fine handbook for learning Microsoft Visio 2010, offering charts, templates, diagrams, and insights into the Visio environment. The step-by-step tutorial is accompanied by digital content in an online edition of the book and provides a fine learning experience highly recommended for any advanced computer collection where Visio 2010 is needed. Screen shots and 'how tos' abound in black and white, throughout!

Using iPhone
Paul McFedries
Que
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0789745259, $19.99, www.quepublishing.com

USING IPHONE covers iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4 running iOS4, and teaches iPhone users how to use their new smart phone. Step-by-step video tutorials and audio sidebars delivered through an accompanying Free Web Edition support a book that offers fast keys to understanding and successfully using the iPhone. The book holds black and white screen shots as well, creating a clear step-by-step tutorial 'must' for any iPhone user.

From Idea to App
Shawn Welch
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321765559, $34.99, www.newriders.com

From Idea to App: Creating iOS UI, Animations, and Gestures provides a fine survey of ideas and how they move from conception to an app using iOS. Designers and developers alike will appreciate this fine survey which covers the entire process, from designing for multiple devices and customizing system UI elements to considering content display choices and effective presentations. Any computer collection appealing to designers must have this!

Game Development Tools
Marwan Y. Ansari, Editor
A K Peters, Ltd.
5 Commonwealth Road, Suite 2C
Natick, MA 01760-1526
CRC Press (distributor)
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487
711 Third Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.akpeters.com, www.crcpress.com
9781568814322, $49.95, www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com

Game Development Tools offers the insights of game professionals, researchers, and more and provides guidelines, assessments of tools, and third-party applications for game developers. From building pipelines that work to GPU debugging and using in-game audio tools, this offers discussions, color images, charts and more and surveys commands, improvements, workflow and more. No game developer's reference library should be without this in-depth coverage for advanced developers.


The Art Shelf

Creating Textures in Colored Pencil
Gary Greene
North Light Books
c/o F&W Media
4700 E. Galbreath Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45236
1440308500, $22.99, www.artistsnetwork.com

Creating Textures in Colored Pencil appears in a 15th anniversary edition and packs in some fifty step-by-step demonstrations of colored pencil projects perfect for aspiring pencil artists. From palette color recommendations to keys to removing color and fixing errors, this packs in color samples and clear insights on textures and is a top pick for beginners and any arts and crafts library catering to them!

Chicano Art for Our Millennium
Gary D. Keller, Editor
Bilingual Press
Hispanic Research Center
Arizona State University
Box 872702, Tempe AZ 85287-2702
1931010250, $35.00, www.asu.edu/brp

Deserving of ongoing recommendation is CHICANO ART FOR OUR MILLENNIUM, a compilation of collected works from the Arizona State University community that profiles over a hundred works of Chicana and Chicano art and highlights these works for general students interested in either art or Chicano culture. It was created as a catalog for the 2004 exhibition of the same name, but stands well alone as a tool for teaching Chicana/o art from elementary through college levels, offering color images and an oversized presentation along with works arranged by theme. No Latin or arts collection should be without this unique presentation!

The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Michael Singer
Disney Editions
c/o Disney Book Group
114 Fifth Avenue, 14th floor
New York, NY 10011
9781423139461, $40.00, www.disney.com

The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides accompanies the release of the film, complete with a new director, and tells of Captain Jack Sparrow's involvement in the search for immortality. All the visual work that went into the eye-popping film, from concept art and costume sketches to storyboards and digital renderings, are captured here along with discussions of illustrations, origins of ideas, and more. An outstanding survey, this is a top pick for any fan of the Pirates movies and provides an oversized coffee-table type display perfect for any arts, animation or general lending library.

Portrait Jewels
Diana Scarisbrick
Thames & Hudson
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780500515570, $45.00, www.thamesandhudsonusa.com

PORTRAIT JEWELS: OPULENCE & INTIMACY FROM THE MEDICI TO THE ROMANOVS provides a fine art history of portrait jewelry from Renaissance times on up, starting in the 16th century with the Medicis and others and ending before the fall of the Romanovs. The art historian's specialization in the history of engraved gems and jewelry lends to a fine survey of the jewelry, history, and how portrait jewels were worn and displayed in their times, complimenting chapters packed with color photos and close-ups. Any collection strong in art history and jewelry in particular will find this a key to understanding the special history of portrait jewelry.

The Elements of Graphic Design, second edition
Alex W. White
Allworth Press
307 West 36th St., 11th Floor
New York NY 10018
9781581157628, $29.95, www.allworth.com

The second updated edition of The Elements of Graphic Design deserves ongoing recommendation as a fine update of a classic text on graphic design, and is a top pick for any college-level arts collection. This latest edition is fifty percent larger and in full color for the first time, packing in some 200 new images, a new section on Web design, and further discussions of graphic design issues. Illustrations come from design, painting, architecture and other art worlds and supplements keys for designers and students who want different approaches to handling graphic design's whit space.

Celebrating Artistic Vision: Splash 12
Rachel Rubin Wolf
North Light Books
c/o F+W Media
4700 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpublications.com
1440305358, $35.00, www.artistsnetwork.com

The Splash series has earned its reputation as a showcase of modern watercolor, where artists can enjoy an oversized presentation of large-size images covering innovative approaches and new artistry, and Splash 12 does not disappoint. It packs in a celebration of artistic vision offering ideas and inspirations in over 120 paintings with captains by the artists revealing inspiration sources. 100 top artists are profiled in a remarkable pick for any art library.

Charles Biederman
Susan C. Larsen & Neil Juhl Larsen
Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
9781555953355, $60.00, www.hudsonhills.com

CHARLES BIEDERMAN is a 'must' for any serious, college-level arts library and provides a definitive monograph on the American artist who exhibited his work to a wide audience. His early Paris experiences convinced him that the future of modern art lie in America -and he produced works of art and books that had wide-ranging impact on the art world. This blends biography and monograph in a fine survey by a friend and colleague of Charles Biederman, and was completed by art historian Susan C. Larsen, a former museum curator. A powerful, highly recommended pick!


The Audiobook Shelf

Rhialto the Marvellous
Jack Vance
Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
1441814736, $29.99, www.brillianceaudio.com

Rhialto the Marvellous: Tales of the Dying Earth 4 is a recommendation for collections seeing popularity with the other Dying Earth stories, and provides a fine continuation that covers the dilemmas surrounding two dozen magicians and the appearance of a powerful female force that threatens their balance. Rhialto travels to other aeons to restore a missing relic - and must ultimately travel to the ends of time and space to confront an old adversary and save his world. Fans of Rhialto will relish this riveting conclusion to his saga, performed with vivid assertion by Arthur Morey, who has narrated over 80 audiobooks.

On China
Henry Kissinger
Penguin Audio
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780142428368, $49.95, www.penguin.com

ON CHINA receives an excellent narration by actor Nicholas Hormann, whose professional voice lends drama and easy listening to this sweeping epic who comments for the first time at book length on his extensive experiences with China. From key episodes in Chinese foreign policy to the inner workings of Chinese diplomacy and his experiences with four generations of Chinese leaders, this is simply a 'must have' for any collection strong in Chinese history and culture.

Reading My Father
Alexandra Styron
Highbridge Audio Books
201 Sixth Street SE, Suite 220
Minneapolis, MN 55414
9781611744996, $34.95, www.highbridgeaudio.com

READING MY FATHER provides a fine memoir narrated by the author and tells of her experiences with her difficult and complex literary heritage. William Styron's youngest child explores his life, her family life, and the dual conflicts of his literary genius paired with his troubled mind in a memoir perfect not just for general audio collections, but for any interested in literature and literary biographies.

The Story of Beautiful Girl
Rachel Simon
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
9781609411084, $29.98, www.hachetteaudio.com

The Story of Beautiful Girl receives a fine narration by Kate reading, a well-known audiobook reader who has been featured in several audio presentations and who has received awards for her readings. Her voice spices this fine love story of a couple with disabilities and a lost child who face an impossible situation. A forty-year odyssey is recounted in this fine, moving novel perfect for any general lending library.

Chinaberry Sidewalks
Rodney Crowell
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 8th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780307912046, $35.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

Chinaberry Sidewalks is narrated by the author and provides a fine memoir of the top musician's early childhood, his rise to fame despite violent beginnings, and his ongoing love for his family despite all obstacles. Life in Houston in the 1950s is the backdrop for Crowell's evolution, enhancing a vivid memoir that serves as a powerful tribute for overcoming adversity. No audio library should be without this moving account, which comes to life with Crowell's gritty voice.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Understanding Hospital Coding and Billing, second edition
Marsha S. Diamond, CPC, CPC-H, CCS
Delmar Course Technology
c/o Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place
Stamford, CT 06902
www.cengage.com/delmar
111113815X, $75.95, www.amazon.com

The second updated edition of Understanding Hospital Coding and Billing: A Worktext provides a complete guide to hospital billing processes from patient intake through the whole coding process, and offers an outline format with margins to take notes. Exercises, case studies, and facts accompany new coverage of professional organizations and certifications, improved case scenarios, SimClaim UB-04 practice software with improvements, and more. Any working in the field of hospital billing MUST have this key reference, a top pick for any health reference collection.

2011 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
Stephen J. McPhee and Maxine A. Papadakis
McGraw-Hill Lange
c/o The McGraw Hill Companies
Two Penn Plaza, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10121-2298
9780071700559, $75.00, www.mcgraw-hillmedical.com

2011 Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment offers a 50th anniversary edition of a classic reference, offering a new full-color design, five online-only chapters at no cost, and a fine collection of current insights by clinicians renowned in their fields. Discussions of over 1,000 diseases and disorders offers an emphasis on the clinical diagnosis and patient management tools clinicians need, along with annual reviews of advances in HIV treatment, hundreds of drug treatment tables cross-indexed for quick reference, ICD-9 codes, and more. A 'must' for any serious medical collection.

Stop Calling Him Honey and Start Having Sex!
Maggie Arana and Julienne Davis
Health Communications Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
0757315313, $14.95, www.hcibooks.com

Stop Calling Him Honey and Start Having Sex offers keys to a better sexual life, showing how changing everyday habits can lead to a sexier relationship. Surprisingly, terms of affection often are the first step towards decreased sex - as are hiding personal grooming activities. This book pinpoints common barriers to sex and offers women an honest examination of sexual boredom in a relationship and how to avoid it. A fine, eye-opening guide, this is a pick for any general or health collection concerned with sexual intimacy.

Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga
David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper, Ph.D.
North Atlantic Books
2526 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94704-2607
9781556439698, $19.95, www.northatlanticbooks.com

Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga tells how trauma survivors can use yoga to reconnect to one's body and introduces the concept of trauma-sensitive yoga, a modified yoga program developed at the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute. It focuses on reinforcing positive relationships between body and mind through breathing and gentle yoga exercises, and provides an in-depth description of post-traumatic stress disorder. Yoga teachers and therapists alike will find this a fine, specific guide to integrating yoga-based interventions into therapy.

Foundations in Craniosacral Biodynamics V. One
Franklyn Sills
North Atlantic Books
2526 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94704-2607
9781556439254, $35.00, www.northatlanticbooks.com

Foundations in Craniosacral Biodynamics: The Breath of Life and Fundamental Skills V. One provides a fine somatic approach to well-being and biodynamic craniosacral therapy, known for its gentleness and effectiveness in treating traumas and imbalances. It depends on the practitioner's ability to enter a state of presence oriented to the client's capacity to heal, so training involves learning not just anatomy and physiology, but psychology skills. This comes from a therapist who offers students and practitioners a step-by-step guide to mastering the skills key to a biodynamic approach, and presents further developments in the field since the publication of his first textbook CRANIOSACRAL BIODYNAMICS. Any interested in exercises and training in this area will find this a fine, specific guide to its therapeutic process.

No-Risk Abs
Blandine Calais-Germain
Healing Arts Press
c/o Inner Tradition
One Park Street, Rochester VT 057567
9781594773891, $19.95, www.healingartspress.com

NO-RISK ABS; A SAFE WORKOUT PROGRAM FOR CORE STRENGTH is a pick for any fitness library and provides a new type of abdominal exercise program. Six principles for working the abs effectively are paired with seven basic exercises to get ready, and 16 safe abdominal workouts. The focus on how to avoid injury while exercising is specific and black and white illustrations throughout provide specific instruction assuring clarity. Any library strong in exercise programs will appreciate this very specific, clear title.

The Future of Nursing
Institute of Medicine
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
0309158230, $49.95, www.national-academies.org

THE FUTURE OF NURSING: LEADING CHANGE, ADVANCING HEALTH provides college-level nursing professionals and practicing nurses with a solid examination of how nurses' roles and education should be changed to consider the new health needs of an aging, diverse population. Nurses need to interact with other professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning health care in the country: chapters offer recommendations for such actions and consider changes to the traditional structure and perception of a nurse's duties. Any college-level nursing course or collection must have this far-reaching consideration, packed with examples and solid applications to compliment its ideas on change.

Just Tell Me What to Eat!
Timothy S. Harlan, MD
DaCapo Lifelong
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738214528, $25.00, www.dacapopress.com

JUST TELL ME WHAT TO EAT! provides a realistic 6-week weight loss plan that tells how to create - and keep - easy weight loss goals and that pairs menu plans with recipes to offer keys to weight loss success. Breakfast, lunch and dinner plans offer plenty of variety, the usual nutritional counts, and outlines of what can and should be eaten versus what should not. The result is an encouraging, supportive guide dieters will relish!

A-Z of Genetic Factors in Autism
Kenneth J. Aitken
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market St. #400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
9781843106791, $29.95, www.jkp.com

A-Z of Genetic Factors in Autism provides patients and caregivers with a complete overview of the main genetic conditions associated with autism, including those linked to different diseases and system dysfunctions. It alphabetically lists these conditions here, along with details on causes, signs, and different methods of management, and provides information on support groups for parents who need additional support. Any parent confused by their child's diagnosis will find this a thorough coverage of the many genetic conditions associated with autism.

Nurse as Educator, third edition
Susan B. Bastable
Jones & Bartlett
40 Tall Pine Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776
9780763789640, $89.95, www.jbpub.com

The third updated edition of Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice provides a fine in-depth survey preparing educators and nurse practitioners for their roles in patient teaching and health education, and offers reviews of the developmental, motivational and cultural differences that affect teaching and learning. Theory and applications blend in a text updated to include the latest research and new information on everything from health literacy to ethnic groups, with new tables, figures, and discussions of the latest trends. Nurses and any college-level health resource collection need this reference.


The Human Sexuality Shelf

Slow Sex
Nicole Daedone
Grand Central Publishing
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780446567190, $24.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

SLOW SEX: THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE FEMALE ORGASM offers keys to understanding the female orgasm - and how to improve women's sex lives. Some 40 million American couples have sexless marriages and 'lack of interest' by women is nearly an epidemic. Nicole Daedone has been advocating the 'slow sex revolution' since 1999, leading workshops and advocating deeper spiritual and physical connections during sex. Her guide offers a step-by-step, 10-day program among other things, and is a pick for health and general lending libraries alike.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The True Adventures of the World's Greatest Stuntman
Vic Armstrong with Robert Sellers
Titan Books
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 OUP, UK
9781848568747, $25.99, www.titanbooks.com

The True Adventures of the World's Greatest Stuntman: MY LIFE AS INDIANA JONES, JAMES BOND, SUPERMAN AND OTHER MOVIE HEROES tells of a movie industry legend who has been the stunt double for a host of heroes. He provides fascinating behind-the-scenes insights into his stunt work on major movies ranging from I Am Legend to Terminator 2, documenting a range of film challenges and how the stunts were performed. It features an introduction by Steven Spielberg and over 100 previously unpublished set photos from Vic's own collection, and is a 'must' for any film and movie collection as well as many a general-interest library.

Letterboxed
Harper Cossar
University of Kentucky Press
663 S. Limestone St., Lexington KY 40508-4008
9780813126517, $60.00, www.ukentuckypress.com

LETTERBOXED: THE EVOLUTION OF WIDESCREEN CINEMA provides a fine survey of the history of widescreen technology and applications, considering how widescreen cinema evolved from the early 20th century to modern times. From its applications in video games and IMAX to early filmmakers and how directors began using wider aspect ratios in the film production process, this offers a new survey of widescreen technology and its applications and is a 'must' for any serious film collection.

Primetime Propaganda
Ben Shapiro
Broadside Books
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061934773, $26.99, www.broadsidebooks.net

Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV comes from a conservative columnist and radio host who is well known for his right wing politics. This provides an expose of the television industry and offers an insider's viewpoint from behind the scenes, telling of liberal television's rise and content. The insights of studio executives, producers, directors and more are included in a survey of how liberals use Hollywood to indoctrinate Americans. An intriguing perspective, this is a pick for social issues and film collections alike.

Shot in Oklahoma
John Wooley
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806141749, $16.95, www.oupress.com

SHOT IN OKLAHOMA: A CENTURY OF SOONER STATE CINEMA is a pick for cinema and Oklahoma history holdings alike, and documents the reasons why the state has served as a backdrop and home base for cinematic productions over the decades. Interviews with filmmakers and historians, discussions of films where Oklahoma has held a prominent interest, and more documents past and present Oklahoma importance in films ranging from feature films to homegrown movies. Drawing together many facts for the first time under one cover, this discussion is a key pick for any college-level film library.


The Photography Shelf

Remote Exposure
Alexandre Buisse
Rocky Nook
26 West Mission Street, Suite 3
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
9781933952659, $29.95, www.rockynook.com

REMOTE EXPOSURE: A GUIDE TO HIKING AND CLIMBING PHOTOGRAPHY provides a fine survey of various options for equipment and shots for rock climbing, hiking, mountaineering and outdoors scenes. From panoramic stitching techniques and high dynamic range to foregoing the tripod yet getting solid results, this pairs technique with a hundred images captured by the author as he hiked and climbed mountains on four continents. Any neo-professional photography collection needs this!

Photographer's Guide to the Digital Lifestyle
Ben Greisler
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321771605, $39.99, www.newriders.com

Photographer's Guide to the Digital Lifestyle: Real-Life Workflow Scenarios for managing Still and Motion Photography Assets provides a powerful pick for any would-be professional photographer or video artist. It provides a key guide to achieving the most from data lifecycles, offering examples for keeping photo and motion data safe, managing the images, and utilizing storage practices that lend to preservation. From organizing the ingest process to developing a backup system, this is packed with color photo examples throughout.

Digital Photographer's Guide to Natural-Light Family Portraits
Jennifer George
Amherst Media
Box 586, Buffalo, NY 14226
9781608952861, $34.95, www.AmherstMedia.com

Digital Photographer's Guide to Natural-Light Family Portraits provides a powerful survey of family portraiture, and provides keys to using natural light to make the most of family features. From choosing fun locations and considering season, time of day, and adjusting subjects to the light to determining what style the client likes, this packs in color photos and keys to working with all ages and perspectives. Tips for evoking appealing expressions and marketing a natural-light family portrait business make this an excellent pick for any professional photographer.

The HDR Book
Rafael RC Concepcion
Peachpit Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321776895, $44.99, www.peachpit.com

THE HDR BOOK: UNLOCKING THE PROS' HOTTEST POST-PROCESSING TECHNIQUES features interviews with working HDR photographers and goes beyond the usual 'how to' manual to explore projects that show how subtle differences in different scenarios affect post-processing approaches. Photographers already versed in HDR will find this offers insights into the steps taken in Photoshop to complete images, keys to reconstructing images using the same RAW files that RC used, and more. It also is written using the three top HDR processing programs in the industry: Photoshop HDR Pro, Photomatix Pro, and HDR Eflex Pro. Packed with color examples, exercises and clear approaches, this is a 'must' for any photographer who would better understand the flexible options of HDR.


The Crafts Shelf

Vintage Jewelry Design
Caroline Cox
Lark Crafts
c/o Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016-8810
www.sterlingpublishing.com
9781600597145, $35.00, www.larkcrafts.com

Vintage Jewelry Design focuses on different jewelry styles that have emerged over the decades from 1890 to modern times, exploring the works of prestigious firm and artist-designers and using lovely color photos to showcase works of art from all eras. Discussions of trends, styles, and evolving art movements that affected designer jewelry accompany keys to understanding design processes. Any crafts and art history holding - particularly those strong in jewelry-making - needs this!

Mixed Metal Mania
Kim St.Jean
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53186
9780871164162, $21.95, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Mixed Metal Mania: Solder, Rivet, Hammer, and Wire Exceptional Jewelry is a recommended pick for any crafts collection where metalworking is of interest. The author is a metalworker who offers the basics about tools, materials, and easy projects and she uses hundreds of step-by-step photos to build techniques in metalworking, from forging to wiring and soldering. Any jewelry-making collection will find this specific and inspirational.

Acrylics
Creative Techniques
Barron's
250 Wireless Road, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9780764163906, $26.99, www.barronseduc.com

ACRYLICS provides fourteen approaches to acrylic painting, packing over 100 ideas into a title recommended for any arts and crafts collection. It offers students a platform for increasing their techniques and offers very different approaches to acrylic painting pioneered by world famous artist. The step-by-step approach builds skills, while the color illustrations leave no room for confusion.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Knit Noro
Wendy Williams, Managing Editor
SixthandSpring Books
161 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10013
9781936096152, $24.95, www.sixthandspringbooks.com

KNIT NORO: 30 DESIGNS IN LIVING COLOR provides a color book of patterns for knitters at all skill levels and pairs bright color photos with innovative knit designs for something different. The usual hats, gloves, scarves and shawls are especially striking in multicolor blends and presentations - one of the signatures of the Noro style. From a sideways striped vest to a multicolored shawl, this is filled with lovely detail perfect for knitters seeking something different!

Everything Crochet
Carol Alexander and Connie Ellison
Annie's Attic
P.O. Box 8000, Big Sandy, TX 75755
9781596353619, $19.95, www.AnniesAttic.com

Everything Crochet provides serious crochet hobbyists with a detailed crochet reference and pattern book and answers all kinds of questions on crochet, from reading patterns and substituting yarns to mastering seaming, evaluating gauge, enlarging patterns, and handling common crochet issues. Instructions cover a range of stitches - more than basic - and move into different kinds of crochet, from Swedish embroidery to felting and flatwork. Any seeking to move into more experienced crochet realms needs this guide, which comes packed with close-up, step-by-step 'how to' photos throughout.

The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
9781603427111, $35.00, www.storey.com

The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook considers over 200 animals and their fiber and covers 14 breeds with surveys of their specific fiber attributes. From the Dorset Down that produced a medium-handling wool to the feral Hog Island sheep wool, this covers specific breeds, dying each type, utilizing it to best advantage in projects, and understanding breed history. More than just another general fiber arts guide, this extensive, photo-enhanced coverage is a top pick for any needlework or agricultural reference library.

Ladybug & Friends Quilts
Carla Scott & Leanne Smith
American Quilters Society Publishing
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
9781574326840, $26.95, www.americanquilter.com

Ladybug & Friends Quilts offers fine patterns and ideas for quilts that involve fusing applique shapes on a black base to create outlines of fun patterns. From pillowcases and quilts to totes and more, this offers bright designs especially lending to projects for kids and teaches easy techniques by Quilted Frog. A pattern CD included within makes it easy to duplicate techniques, making this a top recommendation for any quilting collection, especially those offering kid-oriented projects.


The Library DVD Shelf

Search for the Great Sharks
Inception Media Group
3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90403
Blu-ray, $19.98, www.inceptionmediagroup.com

Search for the Great Sharks is newly remastered in high definition format for home screens and provides a fine visual journey around the world encountering the greatest sharks above and below waters. From Australia to California, this IMAX classic comes to life in a format perfect for home TVs, and includes a special IMAX trailer reel. Any Blu-ray library strong in natural history will find this a winner!

The Greatest Places
Inception Media Group
3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90403
DVD, $TBA, www.inceptionmediagroup.com

Remastered for home viewing is a survey of some of the world's most geographically dazzling places, bringing the high-definition experience of IMAX into the home. From Greeland's huge icebergs to Madagascar's unique natural history, this offers wildlife, land formations and lovely, rich detail that brings the home screen alive and is a top recommendation for any armchair traveler.

Wake Wood
Dark Sky Films
16101 South 108th Avenue, Orland Park, IL 60467
0788610643, $27.98, www.mpimediagroup.com

WAKE WOOD is a chilling supernatural thriller from Hammer Films and provides a striking approach to the genre that made Hammer productions the standard of the horror film-making industry. It tells of Patrick and Louse Daley, whose nine-year-old daughter is killed in a terrible dog attack. The young parents move to an isolated community to escape their memories - the community of Wake Wood, where its strange inhabitants involve them in a pagan ritual that could bring their daughter back to life - for three days only. A gripping supernatural thriller evolves in a classic recommended for any collection of the genre.


The Philosophy Shelf

More Than Matter?
Keith Ward
W.B. Eerdmans
2140 Oak Industrial Drive NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
9780802866608, $20.00, www.eerdmans.com

MORE THAN MATTER?: IS THERE MORE TO LIFE THAN MOLECULES? Provides a fine survey of human consciousness and comes from a philosopher who takes issue with materialism and argues instead that human consciousness transcends physiology. His contention has implications for understanding the nature of the universe itself, and blends science, spirituality and philosophy in a mix perfect for lending libraries featuring these different areas.

Dune and Philosophy
Jeffrey Nicholas, Editor
Open Court Books
70 East Lake St. #300, Chicago IL 60601
9780812697155, $19.95, www.opencourtbooks.com

Dune and Philosophy: Weirding Way of the Mentat provides a fine addition to the 'Popular Culture and Philosophy' series and is a pick for college-level collections in philosophy and science fiction libraries alike! Readers of Dune will find a fine survey of the issues in the novel ranging from the exploitation of religion for political ends to particular characters and their quirks. Fifteen contemporary philosophers provide a vivid examination of the characters and setting of Dune.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Popular Jewelry of the '60s, '70s and '80s, second edition
Roseann Ettinger
Schiffer Books
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764324705, $29.95, www.schifferbooks.com

Popular Jewelry of the '60s, '70s and '80s appears in a revised, updated second edition to pair a price guide of the latest prices with discussions of popular modern jewelry pieces from broaches and necklaces to earrings. From holiday jewelry to Lucite pieces, changing jewelry trends and more, this collector's guide comes packed with full color, good-sized photos, discussions of jewelry history, and plenty of solid guidelines for collectors and any library appealing to them.


The Gaming Shelf

The Million Word Crossword Dictionary
Stanley Newman and Daniel Stark
Collins Reference
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061689017, $21.99, www.harpercollins.com

If only one crossword dictionary were to be part of a general lending library's holding, it should be this extensive reference, which has won acclaim from many crossword experts. It packs in over 1,300,000 answers and contains twice as many words as any competing crossword dictionary. It's also been compiled by two crossword pros and is based on a massive analysis of current crosswords. A 'must' for any serious reference collection!


The California Shelf

Mira Mesa
Pam Stevens
Arcadia Publishing
420 Wando Park Blvd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
0738582034, $21.99, www.arcadiapublishing.com

MIRA MESA joins other 'Images of America' titles to follow the history and development of a suburban community in the northern part of the city of San Diego. Mira Mesa is San Diego's largest suburb, and librarian and Mira Mesa Town Council volunteer Pam Stevens has gathered a host of vintage images of the town's origins and evolution to provide a fine visual historical pick perfect for any Southern California regional history holding.

A Californian's Guide to the Trees Among Us
Matt Ritter
Heyday Books
Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709
9781597141475, $18.95, www.heydaybooks.com

A Californian's Guide to the Trees Among Us features over 150 of California's most commonly grown trees and can be used as either a history guide or a guide to the stories behind California's trees and their uses. Anecdotes, photos, illustrations and information contribute to a field guide that packs in over 150 entries on California's most common urban and suburban trees. Identification keys and a glossary make for a top reference.

California Women and Politics
Robert W. Cherny, Mary Ann Irwin, Ann Marie Wilson, Editors
University of Nebraska Press
233 North 8th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588-0255
9780803235038, $40.00 www.nebraskapress.unl.edu

California Women and Politics comes from a history professor at San Francisco State University and provides a fine, detailed survey of the progressive involvement of women in politics in California. Any California collection, whether general or politically inclined, must have this: it documents women's involvements in politics long before suffrage, their changing tactics and concerns, and includes activism from the 1850s to 1929. Middle-class and working-class women's groups alike are considered in this outstanding survey, also a special recommendation for women's issues collections.

Napa
David Vokac & Joan Vokac
West Press
PO Box 99717, San Diego, CA 92169
9780930743222, $5.95, www.greattowns.com

Considered the wine capital of North America, Napa has brought its fair share of tourism. "Napa" is a tourist guide for those wanting to visit the Californian city with plenty of simple and to the point information throughout. Lodgings, restaurants and much more are included, along with addresses and phone numbers. For anyone considering a trip into Napa, "Napa" is a very useful handbook.

Rancho Los Alamitos
Claudia Jurmain, David Lavender, & Larry L. Meyer
Heyday
PO Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709
9781597141482, $35.00, www.heydaybooks.com

Good land brings much people to it, and with those people, much history. "Rancho Los Alamitos: Ever Changing, Always the Same" discusses this area in Southern California that has been a strong attraction for thousands of years, even as the American Indians called the land sacred. As the Europeans entered the picture, it retained much of its importance, and now its story is told in full. With plenty of historical photographs throughout, "Rancho Los Alamitos" provides an excellent chapter in Southern California's history, a core addition to any community library collection looking to make their offerings more comprehensive.

Creating an Orange Utopia
Patricia Ortlieb and Peter Economy
Swedenborg Publishers
320 North Church Street
West Chester, PA 19380
9780877853374 $12.95 www.swedenborg.com

Co-written by the great-great-granddaughter of Eliza Lovell Tibbets, Creating an Orange Utopia: Eliza Lovell Tibbets and the Birth of California's Citrus Industry is the amazing true story of how one pioneer woman's determination brought navel oranges as an agricultural crop to California. With two "parent" navel oranges, Eliza transformed the economy, livelihood, and lives of the town of Riverside, California. Creating an Orange Utopia tells of the challenges she faced in her journey west, her efforts to support the women's movements and the abolition of slavery, and much more. Highly recommended, especially for California history shelves.


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

Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net


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