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Internet Bookwatch

Volume 14, Number 4 April 2004 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Pets/Wildlife Shelf Fiction Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Metaphysical Shelf
Gardening Shelf Hunting/Fishing Shelf American History Shelf
Sports Shelf Genealogy Shelf Computer Shelf
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf Architecture Shelf Language Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Cookbook Shelf Graphic Novel Shelf
Poetry Shelf Musicbook Shelf Library Science Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Criminology Shelf Economics Shelf
Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Travel Shelf
Business Shelf World History Shelf Photography Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Literary Shelf Audiobook Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Biography Shelf Humor Shelf
Parenting Shelf Self-Help Shelf Woodworking Shelf
Jobs/Careers Shelf Political Science Shelf Philosophy Shelf
Judaic Studies Shelf Money/Finance Shelf Education Shelf
Native American Shelf Science Shelf Environmental Shelf
Gaming Shelf Library CD Music Shelf Military Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Yoga On The Ball
Carol Mitchell
Healing Arts Press/Inner Traditions
One Park St., Rochester, VT 05767
0892819995 $18.00 www.amazon.com

In Yoga On The Ball, medical exercise specialist Carol Mitchell offers an interesting new form of yoga workout combination which blends yoga with the exercise ball concept. Chapters survey how the exercise ball allows the yoga practitioner to build different muscle groups: over sixty postures from introductory to advanced are detailed with step-by-step instructions and photos.

Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide
Sandor Nagyszalanczy
Taunton Press
63 S. Main St., Newtown, CT 06470
1561585823 $19.95 www.amazon.com

Assemble a useful tool kit for a variety of home improvement jobs, from painting and plumbing to mechanical and tiling, with the help of Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide which explains how to use and select the right tools the first time. Tips include understanding tool applications, understanding the categories they belong in, and understanding the reasoning behind selecting one tool over a similar type. Color photos abound and enhance the result.

The Truth About Beauty
Kat James
Beyond Words
20827 NW Cornell Road #500, Hillsboro, OR 97124
1582701008 $17.95 www.amazon.com

Holistic health advocate Kat James isn't just presenting another 'how to' beauty book: The Truth About Beauty shows readers how to achieve the most results without drugs, deprivation, or surgery. These lifestyle upgrades include shedding destructive mind-sets as well as taking advantage of gentle products which can revitalize skin and return gloss to hair. The Truth About Beauty is a very positive approach to upgrading personal beauty routines.

Inner Source
Donald Connery
Helios Press
10 E. 23rd St. #510, New York NY 10010
1581153112 $16.95 www.amazon.com

This revised edition of Donald Connery's Inner Source: Exploring Hypnosis is a classic blend of alternative healing, psychology and basic hypnosis concepts to provide both a simple explanation and a survey of how hypnosis can help in a variety of issues ranging from post-traumatic stress disorders to recovered memories and abuse. A new introduction describes the growing importance of this field.

Chased By Sea Monsters
Nigel Marven & Jasper James
DK Publishing
375 Hudson St., New York Ny 10014
0756603757 $25.00 www.dk.com

This gorgeous presentation explores the prehistoric world in search of sea-based monsters and is published to coincide with the BBC program of the same name; but familiarity with the TV show is not required for a separate appreciation of this book. More than just another dinosaur guide, Chased By Sea Monsters focuses on life in ancient oceans during each prehistoric period, providing a fine focus on evolutionary proceedings.

Dover Publications
31 E. 2nd St., Mineola, NY 11501
1-800-223-3130 www.amazon.com

Dover's reprints of classics in myths, legends and spirituality should not be missed by any seeking definitive works tested by time, for a collection on spirituality and folklore. Elziabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible (048642491X, $9.95) reprints in one volume the two volumes on the topic which first appeared in 1895 and 1898. Stanton's was a powerful re-examination of the Bible, interpreting passages and comparing them with myths of other cultures in an effort to further feminist thinking: it remains as essential today as in her time. Edward Conze's Buddhism (0486430952, $12.95) is based on a series of lectures given by the Buddhist scholar and provided the first English-language analysis on the subject. A.C. Hollis' Masai Myths, Tales And Riddles (0486431-991, $7.95) provides a selection from a 1905 publication, documenting authentic source material covering this African tribe's myths and legends. W. Ramsay Smith's Myths And Legends Of The Australian Aborigines (0486437099, $19.95) republishes a 1932 classic which remains as important today as it was upon its appearance. All are strong general-interest picks.

Linoleum
Jane Powell
Gibbs Smith
PO Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1586853031 $29.95 1-800-748-5439

While linoleum has become a generic term for a particular kind of floor covering, it's not the same as vinyl and has a long history as a popular residential and commercial use. Jane Powell examines the history and evolution of linoleum coverings, blending some gorgeous photography with a focus on home interior design which will please a wide audience. Any who would collect, use, or design with linoleum will find Linoleum to be a unique, remarkable, informative, and unexpectedly colorful history.

Public Affairs
250 West 57th St., #1321, NY, NY 10107
1-877-782-1234 www.amazon.com

Three very different new titles cover social issues and concerns which should hold wide appeal to modern audiences. George Soros' Bubble Of American Supremacy (1586482173, $22.00) provides a new analysis of the U.S. role and foreign policy since 911. Soros challenges the Bush administration's foreign policy and War on Terror, and draws on his experience in the financial markets to back critical analysis of policies and ideas. General Wesley K. Clark's Winning Modern Wars (1586482181, $25.00) is a general's history view of how modern wars are won on the battlefield and on TV. The focus on the perils and pitfalls of the war in Iraq is covered in a title which also includes new ideas for winning wars. Alexander anger's Beyond Choice (1586481169, $26.00) provides a treatise on reproductive freedom in modern times, taking a new look at the pro-choice and pro-life position and examining their importance as well as their insufficient responses. This is the first major re-thinking of these reproductive rights sentiments in thirty years, and covers the history, social and ethical issues revolving around reproductive freedom.

Cadillac: 100 Years Of Innovation
Angelo Van Bogart
Krause Publications
700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990
0873496906 $29.99 1-800-258-0929

Fans of Cadillacs and old-style cars will find Angelo Van Bogart's Cadillac a lovely pictorial survey of 100 years of changing Cadillac style, surveying the car's style, changes, and century of success. While Cadillac lends to coffee-table coverage with its gorgeous color photos, it also rounds out the pictures with plenty of historical text, making it a highly recommended study for any Cadillac enthusiast.

Holiday Symbols And Customs
Sue Ellen Thompson, editor
Omnigraphics
615 Griswold Street, Detroit, MI 48226
0780805011 $68.00 omnigraphics.com

Now in an updated and expanded third edition, Holiday Symbols And Customs is an exhaustive, 895-page, information resource spanning centuries of religious and secular seasonal celebrations from all across the globe. Exhaustively compiled and expertly edited by Sue Ellen Thompson, Holiday Symbols And Customs is packed from cover to cover with an immense repository of detail specifically organized to be a quick and easy reference consult for basic information concerning holiday origins, their dates of observation, where they celebrated, their symbols and customs, any related celebrations, and so much more. A superbly categorized and presented reference, Holiday Symbols And Customs is an essential, fundamental, core addition to any school or community library reference book collection.

TeNeues Publishing
16 W. 22nd St., 11th Fl, NY, NY 10010

Libraries specializing in architecture and interior design will want to include San Francisco Houses (3823845268, $24.95) in their collection: there are over four hundred pages packed with color photos and discussions of the latest architectural trends of the city. Floor plans, histories, and influences are included in discussions presented in English, French, German and Spanish. The range of styles is impressive and will intrigue any student of contemporary architecture. Nick Yapp and Sarah Anderson's Bon Voyage (3823855778, $29.95) packs in black and white and color photos examining the world of tourism, adding a bilingual history of travel destinations which follows the evolution of travel and tourism. From ski slopes to beaches and beyond, Bon Voyage is a fascinating and colorful survey of not just places, but people.

Christmas In Dairyland
LeAnn R. Ralph
Booklocker.com
E6689 970th Avenue, Colfax, WI 54730
1591133661 $13.95 ruralroute2.com

Christmas In Dairyland: True Stories From A Wisconsin Farm by LeAnn R. Ralph is a heartwarming anthology of true anecdotes of rural life on a Wisconsin dairy farm. Even though Wisconsin is still known as America's Dairyland, life on a family homestead is fast being replaced by corporate agribusiness, and the memories treasured in Christmas In Dairyland are quickly becoming unique milestones of an era needing to be preserved in thought and print for the sake of future generations. Christmas In Dairyland is simply wonderful reading and is a "must" for all Wisconsin public library collections.

Spirit Of The North
Sigurd F. Olson
David Backes, editor
University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
0816639345 $22.95 upress.umn.edu

Deftly edited by David Backes, Spirit Of The North: The Quotable Sigurd F. Olson collects the words of wisdom and insights of conservation activist and writer Sigurd F. Olson (1899-1982) whose many honors include the highest possible from the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Izaak Walton League. A moving and poignant testimony, Spirit Of The North is an impressively memorable and inspiring compendium of reflections upon the power and beauty of nature, and of man's duty to help preserve the natural world, the higher philosophical issues concerning who we are, and what truly has meaning in our lives. "Final victory always goes to those who keep fighting for a worthwhile ideal in spite of reverses."

The Beast Of Bray Road
Linda S. Godfrey
Prairie Oak Press
c/o Trails Media Group
PO Box 317, Black Earth, WI 53515
www.trailsbooks.com
1879483912 $16.95 1-800-236-8088

The Beast Of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf by Linda S. Godfrey is about how the small town of Elkhorn, Wisconsin caused such a big stir in the 1990s with reports of a wolf-headed, upright creature locally dubbed "The Beast of Bray Road". Gathering information on sightings and stories about this alleged man-wolf, and presenting local stories and eye-witness testimonies in an entertaining and informal manner, The Beast Of Bray Road is an inherently fascinating exploration of the boundaries of myth, folklore, and contemporary legend as reflected in and by a small Wisconsin community.

Powder, People And Place
Michael J. Goc
New Past Press
PO Box 558, Friendship, WI 53934
0938627562 $25.00 newpastpress.com

Michael J. Goc's Powder, People And Place: Badger Ordnance Works And The Sauk Prairie is a 404-page compendium of stories that put together a cohesive picture of the powder plant Badger Ordnance Works, and how it changed the lives of those who lived near it and labored for it since its beginning in 1941 through its eventual closure in 1975 with the end of the Vietnam War. A thoughtful, well-researched, deftly written, and detailed reminiscence of a microcosm of Wisconsin history, Powder, People And Place is a "must" for all Wisconsin community library collections and a seminal contribution to Wisconsin History academic reference shelves and supplemental reading lists as well. Michael Goe has done such a fine and seminal work that it could well serve as a template for other specialized community and regional histories.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

The Horse Nutrition Bible
Ruth Bishop
David & Charles/F&W
4700 E Galbraith Rd Cincinnati OH 45236
0715313681 $29.99 www.amazon.com

The Horse Nutrition Bible is a comprehensive guide to horse nutrition and explores all the options involved in assessing a horse's nutritional needs and feeding it right, from chapters discussing introductory principles of feeding to the foundations of a horse's diet and the basic principles of feeding tactics and methods. Horse owners will want to keep The Horse Nutrition Bible on their reference shelf!

Train & Name Your Pup
Linda Rinehart
Big Creek Publishing
PO Box 884, Sunbury, Ohio 43074
0974202118 $7.95 www.bigcreekpublishing.com

Train & Name Your Pup by Linda Rinehart is an extremely brief and simple basic primer concerning the absolute basics for successfully training any dog ranging from how to housebreak a puppy, to stopping a puppy from chewing up prized positions, and keep a puppy from jumping on guests. A glossary of ideal names and various breed characteristics will help the reader choose a dog that is right for him or her, in this quick-start, easy-to-follow, enthusiastically recommended guide which is simply perfect for new and first-time dog owners.

All About Dalmatians
Kathy McCoubrey
Alpine Publications, Inc.
225 South Madison Avenue, Loveland, CO 80537
1577790545 $24.95 1-800-777-7257

Black-and-white photographs and a profusion of line drawings nicely illustrate All About Dalmatians, a thorough guide to all aspects of this beloved breed knowledgeably written by Dalmatian breeder, exhibitor, trainer, educator Kathy McCoubrey. From the history of this popular canine breed; to its needs for daily care, feeding, and training; to the dog show circuit; to raising puppies if one is properly prepared to breed dogs, All About Dalmatians is a superbly organized and fact-filled resource which is a simple "must read" for those who own a Dalmatian, are considering acquiring one, or simply has a soft spot for these wonderful and distinctive canine companions.

The Canine Hiker's Bible
Doug Gelbert & Andrew Chesworth
Cruden Bay Books
PO Box 467, Montchanin, DE 19710
0964442752 $19.95 hikewithyourdog.com

The Canine Hiker's Bible is an excellent and "canine companion friendly" guidebook to more than 225 dog-friendly parks and trails in the United States and Canada. Many trails presented in popular guidebooks are "no dogs allowed"; The Canine Hiker's Bible is packed from cover to cover with black-and-white photographs, descriptive information, rules and regulations for dogs in 102 of the most-visited national lands in the United States, practical tips for caring for a dog while hiking in high altitudes or desert conditions, and so much more. The Canine Hiker's Bible is very highly recommended for nature and wilderness enthusiasts who would welcome the accompaniment of their canine companion.

Firefly Books
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1-800-387-5085 www.amazon.com

Dr. Chris Andrews, et.al.'s Manual Of Fish Health (1552978249, $24.95) is a basic guide to providing a healthy aquarium environment and should be a part of any fish owner's home collection. It covers all aspects of health care for all types of fishes, both freshwater and marine, and cover pond as well as aquarium environments. Add plenty of charts and color photos and you have a truly comprehensive reference. Of a lighter tone is The Diagram Group's How To Hold A Crocodile (1552978052, $19.95), which provides a fun answer book to some practical questions on handling wildlife; from handling a hamster or crocodile to measuring a horse. In all fairness, wildlife isn't all that's covered here this all-encompassing 'how to Bible' includes tips on playing bagpipes, measuring humidity, surrendering, and more.

Pets At Risk
Alfred J. Plechner, DVM
NewSage Press
PO Box 607, Troutdale, OR 97060-0607
0939165481 $13.95 newsagepress.com

Veteranrian Alfred J. Plechner (a practicing graduate from the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with thirty-five years of clinical work experience), draws upon his years of experience and considerable expertise in Pets At Risk: From Allergies To Cancer, Remedies For An Unsuspected Epidemic spotlights just how endocrine-immune imbalances can cause or exacerbate multiple medical disorders in our beloved animal companions. Offering practical advice for helping imbalanced dogs and cats with supplements; natural remedies for a variety of possible ailments; diet replacement programs, and so much,more, Pets At Risk also stresses the responsibilities pet owners face, as well as exploring the implications these groundbreaking discoveries have for we humans. Pets At Risk is essential, accessible, "reader friendly", and very strongly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Pet Care reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, And Other Backyard Wildlife
David Mizejewski
Creative Homeowner
24 Park Way, PO Box 38, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458-0038
www.creativehomeowner.com
1580111505 $12.95 www.amazon.com

Illustrated throughout with enticing color photographs, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, And Other Backyard Wildlife by David Mizejewski (Manager, Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program) is an exceptional and highly recommended homeowner's guide featuring 17 great projects along with a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques to create gardens filled with wildlife sights, sounds, and natural wonders. Featuring advice for obtaining certification for a backyard habitat in the NWF's Backard Wildlife Habitat program, as well as more general suggestions from building amphibian and bee nesting houses, to finding native plants, avoiding West Nile Virus in the water provided for wildlife, butterfly feeders, and so much more, Attracting Birds, Butterflies, And Other Backyard Wildlife is a first-rate informational guide and a welcome addition to personal and community library Wildlife and Gardening reference collections.

The Beasts That Hide From Man
Karl P.N. Shuker
Paraview Press
PO Box 416, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10113-0416
1931044643 $17.95 paraview.com

Cyptozooly is the study of hidden animals-- those lifeforms that were so unseen as to often be thought of as mythical creatures. In The Beasts That Hide From Man: Seeking The World's Last Undiscovered Animals, Karl P.N. Shuker (Scientific Fellow, Zoological Society of London) draws upon his many years of experience and expertise in zoology, cryptozoology, animal mythology, and wildlife anomalies to provide his readers with amazingly accessible and "reader friendly" accounts of such diverse fauna as the "dobhar-chu" (Ireland's murders master otter); Mongolia's "death worm" (which is reported to electrocute its victims); Ethiopia's blood-drinking "death bird"; the "tzuchinoko (a bizarre Japanese snake); as well as sea serpents, hairy reptiles, furry fish, living unicorns, and a great deal more. Strongly recommended to the attention of zoology students as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in wildlife and animal-related mythos, The Beasts That Hide From Man is unique and inherently fascinating reading from cover to cover!


The Fiction Shelf

Waters Of Marah
Sylvia Bambola
Moody Press
820 North Lasalle Dr., Chicago, IL 60610
0802479057 $12.99 1-800-621-5111

Sylvia Bambola's Waters Of Marah is the novel of Gloria Bickford, a young woman who feels inadequate compared to the legend of her actress and beauty queen mother. In what Gloria feels is a response to the call of God, she leaves behind life her in tiny hometown and experiences the ways of the city - yet when Gloria is caught in a crucible that pits business and emotional interests against one another, her true purpose in striking out on her own may turn out to be dramatically different than what she expected. A superbly crafted novel of the first order, Waters Of Marah is very highly recommended reading.

The Last Chance Texaco
Brent Hartinger
HarperTempest/HarperCollins
1350 Ave. of the Americas, NY NY 10019
0060509120 $15.99 harpertempest.com

Written by an author who has had personal experience working as a counselor in a group home, Brent Hartinger's The Last Chance Texaco is a compelling novel about 15-year old Lucy Pitt. She comes to reside in a group home because she has no place else to go. A powerful story of teenage subculture, learning to cope with difficult situations, cliques, shut-outs, and the difficulties of coming of age, The Last Chance Texaco is a powerful, moving, believable portrayal and very highly recommended reading.

Ginger's Fire
Maureen Brady
The Haworth Press, Inc.
10 Alice St, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
www.HaworthPress.com
156023444X $14.95 1-800-429-6784

Ginger's Fire is an impressively written novel about Ginger and Nellie -- two lesbian partners who through hard personal toil have revitalized a beautiful old farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains. But as their house came together, their relationship faded. When the house is destroyed in a fire they move apart as one of them feels she must embark on a spiritual journey to better understand herself, her passions, and to ready herself for the choices that will determine her ultimate destiny. Also available in a hardcover edition (1560234-431, $39.95) Ginger's Fire is a highly recommended addition to community library collections.

The Road To Makokota
Stephen Barnett
MacAdam/Cage
155 Sansome Street, Suite 550, San Francisco, CA 94104
1931561605 $23.00 macadamcage.com

Set in a war-ridden former British colony in present-day West Africa, The Road To Makokota by Stephen Barnett is a novel of Craig Allan Hammond, a black American who embarks upon a journey to find the wife and son he left behind sixteen years earlier. Accompanied by a Polish nurse, Craig combs refugee camps and plunges ever deeper into a land wracked by bloodshed and strife, learning that it is impossible to find what his soul needs most unless he is willing to pay the ultimate price. Deftly written by a gifted novelist of the first order, The Road To Makokota is a gripping novel and very highly recommended reading.

Two Trains Running
Lucius Shepard
Golden Gryphon Press
3002 Perkins Road, Urbana, IL 61802
1930846231 $22.95 goldengryphon.com

Author Lucius Shepard personally experienced life riding the rails when he investigated the Freight Train Riders of America for "Spin" magazine. Two Trains Running is a collection of his fictionalized stories based on the experiences he gained from personally living among a vagabond culture. Gripping, with realistic dialogue and following flawed characters struggling to make sense out of life, Two Trains Running is an unforgettable, highly recommended read that fairly pulses with the raw power of reality.

Purple Hibiscus
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Algonquin Books
PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill NC 27515
1565123875 $23.95 1-800-722-7202

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is actually a young adult fiction title but it'd be a shame to limit its depth and complexity to teens, so is reviewed here as a recommended pick for adult readers as well. Set in Nigeria, it tells of a privileged teen and her older brother who find themselves increasingly at odds with their father's religious fanatic ways. When the kids visit their aunt, it's to enter a new world of freedom and laugher just as a military coup threatens the country. Inner and outer turmoil blend in this complex story of politics, religion, and change.

Perseverance Press
c/o John Daniel & Co.
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
1-800-662-8351 www.amazon.com

Two excellent mysteries excel in extraordinary settings and fast-paced plots. Hal Glatzer's Fugue In Hell's Kitchen (1880-284707, $13.95) provides a new Katy Green mystery. Katy is no ordinary P.I.: she's a swing violinist in 1939 who helps a friend search for a missing classical manuscript only to find an investigation into petty theft becomes a fight for life. Gripping, especially with the unusual plot and background setting. Lora Roberts' Affair Of The Incognito Tenant (1880284-677, $13.95) provides a mystery with Sherlock Holmes at its heart: set in 1903, it tells of a widow whose livelihood is threatened by sinister events at a manor. The plot provides many satisfyingly mysterious twists and turns throughout, in true Holmes style. Both are superior, highly recommended picks.

Truck Dogs
Graeme Base
Amulet Books
100 5th Ave., New York, NY 10011
0810950316 $16.95 www.amazon.com

This novel is a recommended pick for any who enjoy humor, fantasy, and animals. Set on a desert world, it tells of a dog-like create covered in fur with steel panels underneath who lives on brake fluid and oil. Track Dogs is Graeme Base's first novel and would more adequately be classified as a fantasy - one that is replete with lovely color plates and an earthy, refreshing humor which is truly delightful.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Schmucks With Underwoods
Max Wilk
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books
151 West 46th Street, NY, NY 10036
155783508X $22.95 applausepub.com

Schmucks With Underwoods: Conversations With Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters by Max Wilk is an enjoyable anthology offering rare glimpses into the lives, works, and perspectives of great screenwriters of Hollywood ranging over the last three decades, from legends like N. Behrman and John Cromwell, to Howard Koch and Dorothy Parker. A few black-and-white photographs are interspersed among the uniquely insightful text, in this recommended leisure reading which is especially recommended for aspiring script writers of today and dedicated fans of the great movie industry of Hollywood's yesteryears.

Shaking The Money Tree
Morrie Warshawski
Michael Wiese Productions
1209 West Howe St., Seattle, WA 98119
www.mwp.com
0941188795 $26.95 1-800-833-5738

Now in an expanded and updated second edition, Shaking The Money Tree: How To Get Grants And Donations For Film And Television by Morrie Warshawski is a ground breaking instructional manual in the art of fundraising for the financing of noncommercial film and video projects. Presenting the basics of how to apply for and earn grants and/or donations from individuals, foundations, government agencies, corporations, and more, Shaking The Money Tree combines direct decorum with an invaluable insight for how the financial side of the film business really works, as well as being peppered with useful grant forms and superb grant writing examples. If you have a film or television project that you need to finance -- begin with a close and careful reading of Morrie Warshawski's Shaking The Money Tree!

Encyclopedia Of Westerns
Herb Fagen
Checkmark/Facts on File
132 West 31st St., New York NY 10001
0816044570 $24.95 www.amazon.com

Fans of the Western movie who want a reference to the film medium will look no further than Herb Fagen's Encyclopedia Of Westerns, an extensive guide offering over 3,000 entries with details on production, cast, crew lists, release dates of films and critical analysis. Encyclopedia Of Westerns offers an exceptionally comprehensive coverage, and is not to be missed.


The Needlecraft Shelf

MinnowKnits, Too
Jil Eaton
Clarkson Potter
299 Park Avenue, New York NY 10171
1400052483 $16.95 1-800-726-0600

MinnowKnits, Too isn't just another collection of standard children's knits, but a gathering of unique designs and styles crated by designer Jil Eaton. Over twenty patterns provided by Eaton uses bold colors, styling and details to produce unique outfits for kids of all ages and knitters of all skill levels. The color photos are outstanding.

American Quilter's Society
PO Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
www.aqsquilt.com www.amazon.com

Three fine new titles from this publisher provide quilters and crafters with a satisfying variety of projects. Vicky Fleming's Hawaiian Applique (1574328379, $21.95) provides original patterns based on appliques and cutwork designs all Polynesian-inspired, all providing easy projects based on patterns. Fans of Hawaiian style will find this filled with applique ideas. Betty Alderman's Favorite Applique & Embroidery Quilts (1574328395, $19.95) provides quilt patterns featuring the best of both techniques, offering over two dozen patterns for hand embroidery and machine applique alike. From redwork to traditional quilting, this especially excels in quilt pointers and shortcuts. Dianne Hire's Quilters Playtime (1574328263, $24.95) provides ideas which go beyond traditional approaches, outlining quilt games which can be made from fabric. From tic-tac-toe to hopscotch, this uses the geometric idea of each game to produce a quilt style which is unique in patterning and presentation. All are highly recommended picks.

Fast Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls
Linda Johansen
C&T Publishing
1651 Challenge Drive, Concord, CA 94520-5206
1571202390 $14.95 1-800-284-1114

Linda Johansen's Fast Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls is an innovative guide to producing fabric bowls provides five bowl designs to create in the fabric and colors you choose. Tips included for creating flexible forms, interfacing materials, and special effects provide some intriguing insights into producing impressive fabric bowls which are both reversible and washable.

Purely Primitive
Pat Cross
The Patchwork Place
c/o Martingale & Company
20205 144th Avenue NE, Woodinville, WA 98072-8478
1564774864 $24.95 martingale-pub.com

Purely Primitive: Hooked Rugs From Wool, Yarn, And Homespun Scraps by weaving expert Pat Cross is a full-color instructional guide with sample patterns to creating "primitive" style hooked rugs - marked by their simple design, crafted via techniques that have existed for centuries, composed of wool, cotton, or linen textiles, and which share echoes of the past to enrich the present. Extensive technique descriptions make following the sample patterns or creating one's own as simple as possible, in this most enjoyable and enthusiastically recommended addition to do-it-yourself home craft reference and needlecraft resource collections.

Interweave Press
201 E. 4th St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655
1-800-645-3675 www.amazon.com

Four new titles are highly recommended picks. Crafts who enjoy bead work will delight in Jean Campbell's Beadwork Creates Beaded Bags (1931499349, $16.95), a collection of some thirty beaded bag designs ranging from pipe bags to flowered totes and small evening bags. The range of designs and styles is outstanding. Finish off beaded creations with Sharon Bateman's Findings & Finishings (1931499403, $21.95), a beadwork title which discusses beaded jewelry embellishments. The color photos and clear instructions will delight those who already have some beading background. Vicki Square's Folk Bags (193149925X, $21.95) presents thirty knitting patterns for folk bag/art from over twenty countries around the world. Accompanying these patterns are color photos and cultural insights which will delight knitters seeking projects other than sweaters. Beverly Galeskas' Felted Knits (1931499330, $21.95) shows how to choose and test yarns, size a knitted piece for felting, and use blocking more effectively. Knitters will find these instructions and projects cover a variety of bags, clothing, and home d‚cor, providing invaluable tips on different felted applications.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Black Magick Woman
Janet Tyson
EcceNova Editions
PO Box 50001, 15-1594 Fairfield Road, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8S 5L8
0973164859 $19.95 www.eccenova.com

In Black Magick Woman: The Sinister Side Of The Song Of Solomon, Janet Tyson takes an iconoclastic look at the "Song of Solomon". Tyson proposes that this unique collection of what seems to be erotic poetry arose in celebration of King Soloman's marriage to an Egyptian princess. Focusing on the occult aspects of the centuries-old literature, and arguing persuasively for the work's sustained inclusion in the canon, Black Magick Woman is an intriguing metaphysical study that also offers unique insight into the literature's central character of Bathya, the Egyptian princess who used netherworldly powers to control a king. Black Magick Woman is a compelling read and a welcome contribution to a debate and controversy that has its roots in the Jerusalem based Ezra-Nehemiah community of a pre-Christian antiquity.

Zulu Shaman
Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, author
Stephen Larsen, editor
Destiny Books/Inner Traditions
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
0892811293 $16.95 InnerTraditions.com

Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa is a "sangoma" (a Zulu Shaman who has chosen to go beyond the traditional boundaries of silence). Edited by Stephen Larsen, Zulu Shaman: Dreams, Prophecies, And Mysteries is the autobiographical story of Mutwa, an English-trained Christian schoolteacher who followed the calling to become a shaman and keeper of folklore even as his grandfather once was. Presenting powerful stories and myths of creation; how his ancestors came to the world; tales of gods and evil beings; and visions to promote peace and harmony, Zulu Shaman is a unique work of spiritual insight and Zulu mysticism which is an invaluable contribution to African Metaphysical Studies reference collections and reading lists.

Secrets Of The Vaulted Sky
David Berlinski
Harcourt, Brace and Company
15 East 26th St, New York, NY 10010
0151005273 $27.00 1-800-543-1918

David Berlinski's Secrets Of The Vaulted Sky is a unique survey of astrology and the art of prediction, providing interested readers with an informed and informative history of the discipline which also examines the doctrine and the science behind this metaphysical source of inquiry. Individual chapters trace the origins, evolution and modern fascination with astrology, considering their ongoing spiritual, social and political powers and the attractions of and logic behind astrological predictions. This is a simply fascinating history.

God/Goddess
A. J. Drew & Patricia Telesco
New Page Books
PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.newpagebooks.com
1564146928 $14.99 1-800-227-3371

The collaborative effort of Wiccan/Pagan experts A. J. Drew and Patricia Telesco, God/Goddess: Exploring And Celebrating The Two Sides Of Wiccan Deity is an informed and informative contemplation of what it means to perceive the Divine in Wiccan and Neo-Pagan spirituality. Deftly examining the roles of God and Goddess, as well as the deeper meaning behind enduring myths and legends, God/Goddess respectfully and philosophically meditates upon spiritual matters that transcend commonplace life and thought. God/Goddess is a welcome contribution to the growing library of New Age and Wiccan literature and a significant addition to Metaphysical Studies reading lists and reference collections.


The Gardening Shelf

Florida's Best Native Landscape Plants
Gil Nelson
University Press of Florida
15 NW 15th St., Gainesville, FL 32611
081302644X $34.95 1-800-226-3822

Florida residents and visitors to the state who want to embark on gardening projects for relatives will find Gil Nelson's Florida's Best Native Landscape Plants will provide them with a fine and knowledgeable overview of native plants available to the Florida gardener. Here is a horticultural treasure trove of choices, providing technical details on the design, maintenance, and use of a wide range of readily available native plants. The notes on companion plants are especially valuable.

Gardening Magic
Joey Green
Rodale Press
400 S. 10th St., Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
1579548555 $14.95 www.rodale.com

Feed your plants Aunt Jemima Syrup? Enhance a compost heap with Coca-Cola? Use Gatorade to protect small plants from hungry rabbits? Joey Green's Gardening Magic is filled from cover to cover with not just gardening solutions, but ideas for home enhancement using brand-name products. From hand cleaners to lawn care and some unusual facts, Gardening Magic provides a gardening guide which will entertain even as it educates.

So You Want To Start A Nursery
Tony Avent
Timber Press
133 SW Second Ave. #450, Portland, OR 97204-3527
0881925845 $24.95 1-800-327-5680

From backyard semi-professional gardeners to nursery workers who dream of extending a passion for plants into a professional avocation, aspiring gardeners and horticulturalists will consider So You Want To Start A Nursery to be an essential guide to planning business aspects of starting a successful nursery. From discussions of various elements of nursery industry concerns and foundations, to considering wholesale versus retail attributes and regional nursery organizations offering support, So You Want To Start A Nursery is an invaluable guide and very highly recommended for any who dream of starting their own nursery business.

Complete Landscaping
This Old House Ventures
c/o Sunset Publishing Corporation
80 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
0376003022 $19.95 1-800-643-8030

Superbly illustrated with full color photographs throughout, the Complete Landscaping from This Old House Ventures is a property owner's guide to everything from beautifying one's garden to building paths, walls, water features, fences, and decks, adding outdoor lighting, and much more to make the grounds about one's home appealing and lavish. Meticulous step-by-step, illustrated instructions provide an extensively detailed and clear narration, especially suitable to aspiring amateur landscapers of all experience levels. An extremely useful resource, Complete Landscaping is an impressive and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Gardening & Horticultural reference collections.

The Gardener's A-Z Guide To Growing Flowers From Seed To Bloom
Eileen Powell
Storey Books
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
1580175171 $24.95 storeybooks.com

Compiled and organized by gardening expert Eileen Powell, The Gardener's A-Z Guide To Growing Flowers From Seed To Bloom is a 528-page encyclopedia-style guide to gardening 600 genera of plants, and features a full-color picture gallery, quick reference information of requirements and characteristics unique to each species, specific information on climate tolerance and requirements, and a great deal much more. The Gardener's A-Z Guide To Growing Flowers From Seed To Bloom is a truly superb reference for gardeners of all skill and experience levels. Also very highly recommended from Storey Books is the companion instructional reference guide by Tanya L.K. Denckla, The Gardener's A-Z Guide To Growing Organic Food (1580173705, $22.95) which offers formulas and techniques to control 201 garden pests and plant diseases, as well as specifics on organically growing 765 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and nuts.


The Hunting/Fishing Shelf

Complete Book Of Shark Fishing
Milt Rosko
Burford Books
32 Morris Ave., Springfield, NJ 07081
1580801072 $16.95 www.amazon.com

Milt Rosko's Complete Book Of Shark Fishing is a guide that will appeal to shark fishers on all saltwater coasts, outlining habits of all major gamefish shark species and surveying tackle, lures, baits and methods for all sharks. Any avid fisherman will appreciate not only the tips, but the emphasis upon responsible angling.

Zane Grey On Fishing
Zane Grey (Terry Mort, editor)
The Lyons Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
1585748714 $27.95 www.amazon.com

Zane Grey made his name writing Western novels, but his very best writing revolves around fishing. Grey's first fishing article appeared in 1902, and he published continuously on the topic until his death in 1939. This holds some of his best literary pieces on fishing, and includes a foreword by Loren Grey, and is a lovely, smooth collection thanks to the superb editing of Terry Mort. Highly recommended.

River Journal: Salmon River
Rick Kustich
Frank Amato Publications
PO Box 82112, Portland, OR 97282
1571880046 $15.95 amatobooks.com

Dazzling full color photography hallmark River Journal - Salmon River by Rick Kustich as an impressive, informative, and captivating tour to a truly memorable fly fishing trip. The thoughtfully detailed narration brings to life the facts and the wonder of experiencing the great outdoors, as well as enjoying the rewards of one's prize catch. A delightful account River Journal: Salmon River is enthusiastically recommended reading for avid fisherman and armchair anglers alike.


The American History Shelf

American Inventions
Stephen van Dulken
New York University Press
Washington Square, NY, NY 10003
0814788130 $26.95 www.nyupress.org

Written by an expert curator of the Patents Information Service of The British Library, American Inventions: A History Of Curious, Extraordinary, & Just Plain Useful Patents is an amazing showcase featuring dozens of original patent drawings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, revealing unique and unforgettable American inventions from the Frisbee to bobby pins and in-line skates. An extremely well-researched and fascinating tour of American thrift and ingenuity throughout the twentieth century.

Cigar City Mafia
Scott M. Deitche
Barricade Books, Inc.
185 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 308-A, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
1569802661 $22.95 1-800-592-6657

Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History Of The Tampa Underworld by Scott M. Deitche is the lively history of Tampa Florida's bootleggers, gambling ringleaders, murderers, drug dealers, and other shady characters who proliferated during the Prohibition era and meshed together to create the seedy character of Tampa's criminal underworld in the multi-ethnic community of Ybor City -- that part of Tampa known locally as Little Havana. Astutely researched and engagingly written, Cigar City Mafia is matter-of-fact in its presentation of truly vicious individuals and their indelible stamp on the history of one American city. Cigar City Mafia is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the history of American organized crime.

One Of Ourselves
James Robert Carroll
Images from the Past
PO Box 137, Bennington, VT 05201
1884592406 $24.95 www.amazon.com

One Of Ourselves by James Robert Carroll isn't your usual historical/biographical focus on John F. Kennedy's assassination, but rather a finely crafted survey recalling JFK's happier times. Any fan of Presidently Kennedy will find year-round enjoyment in this superbly presented treatise which surveys his Irish roots, his meaning to Irish-Americans, and his visit to Ireland in 1963. A revealing celebration of his world, lovingly portrayed, One Of Ourselves is a welcome addition to personal and community library American History collections.

Weren't No Good Times
Horace Randall Williams
John F. Blair, Publisher
1406 Plaza Dr, Winston-Salem, NC 27103
0895872846 $10.95 1-800-222-9796

Compiled and edited by Horace Randall Williams, Weren't No Good Times is an anthology of 46 of the 125 interviews of former Alabama slaves, conducted from 1936 to 1938, presented with the express purpose of thoroughly documenting and creating a record of life during slavery in the southern state of Alabama. A powerful primary source, presenting individual voices with a loud and clear message of what slavery itself was truly like, Weren't No Good Times has the absolute highest recommendation and is a must for school and community libraries and American History and Black History reference collections and reading lists.

Democracy In America 1835-40
Alexis de Tocqueville, author
Arthur Goldhammer, translator
The Library of America
14 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022
1931082545 $35.00 www.loa.org

Deftly edited by Olivier Zunz (Commonwealth Professor of History, University of Virginia), Democracy In America 1835-40 presents the classic text written by Alexis de Tocqueville in a new English translation by Arthur Goldhammer that smoothly captures the sheen of Tocqueville's literary style while faithfully rendering the depth and scope of his ideas. Tocqueville was a Frenchman who visited the United States in 1831 for nine months, conducting interviews with more than 200 people on American politics, law, and social practices. His reflections on the "great democratic revolution" transforming the Western world are insightful, inspirational, and continue to offer a timeless depth from a seasoned perspective which has been appreciated by generations of historians, academics and scholars for almost 175 years now.

Little Known Tales In Nevada History
Alton Pryor
Stagecoach Publishing
5360 Campcreek, Loop Roseville, CA 95747
www.stagecoachpublishing.com
0974755109 $11.95 1-916-771-8166

Little Known Tales In Nevada History by Alton Pryor is an engaging "window in time", leading the reader through Nevada frontier towns that originally boomed during the gold and silver mining era, only to disintegrate into ghost towns as the mines dried up. Readers are treated to revelations in geology locked within earth and stone, as well as exciting tales of train robberies, lynchings, and battles with Indians, and so much more. Black-and-white illustrations pepper this highly enjoyable read, which is especially recommended for its insights into human nature, as well as showcasing the curiosities of Nevada history.

Texas Myths And Legends
John C. Ferguson
McWhiney Foundation Press
Texas A&M University Press, dist.
PO Box 637, Abilene, TX 79697-0637
1893114422 $16.95 1-800-826-8911

Texas Myths And Legends: Stories Of The Frontier by historian John C. Ferguson is a concise and simply presented sourcebook compilation of legendary life stories, as well as providing readers with descriptive histories of real-life hardships that commonly faced pioneer Texans, ranging from buffalo hunters and saloon gals, to Texas rangers, railroaders, frontier women, wildcatters, and others. Illustrated with an insert of color photographs of three-dimensional statues representing these archetypes of Texas history, Texas Myths And Legends is engaging, educational, and fun for readers of all ages!

The Black Giant
James M. Day
Eakin Press
PO Drawer 90159, Austin TX 78709-0159
1571686169 $21.95 eakinpress.com

James M. Day (Professor at the Washington College of Law at American University and an attorney who has specialized in oil and gas law for over 35 years), draws upon his extensive expertise in The Black Giant: A History Of The East Texas Oil Field And Oil Industry Skulduggery & Trivia to provide the reader with an eye-opening history and trivia guide to the Texas oil fields strikes since the discovery of the "Black Giant" in 1930. Filled with greed, treachery, amazing true incidents, colorful characters, surveys of how Texas oil affected America's performance in World War II and therefore world history, and much more, The Black Giant offers an amazing and informative "window through time" to a very specialized area of American history.


The Sports Shelf

Encyclopedia Of Surfing
Matt Warshaw
Harcourt
0151005796 $40.00 harcourtbooks.com

Matt Warshaw's Encyclopedia Of Surfing is a top pick for any interested in the fine art of surfing. From different surfboard developments and the history of different cultures involved in the surfside sport, to legendary surfers and their achievements, the Encyclopedia Of Surfing is packed from cover to cover with "user friendly" A-Z reference material.

Baseball For Rookies
Jeffrey Lichtman
TFG Press
244 Madison #254, New York NY 10016
0974352101 $14.95 www.amazon.com

Jeffrey Lichtman's Baseball For Rookies is a book of basics for newcomers to the sport will please both adults and young adults who want to understand the rudiments of baseball. From classic moments and funny stories of the sport, to baseball statistics and biographies of notable players, Baseball For Rookies provides an entertaining, lively discourse.

The Physical Educator's Big Book Of Sport Lead-Up Games
Guy Bailey
Educators Press
5333 NW Jackson St., Camas, WA 98607
0966972759 $29.95 educatorspress.com

Knowledgeably written for physical education teachers of students in grades K-8, The Physical Educator's Big Book Of Sport Lead-Up Games by Guy Bailey who draws upon his more than twenty years of experience teaching elementary physical education, coaching youth sports, and directing after-school intramurals for the Evergreen School District, Vancouver, Washington) is a solid, in-depth, authoritative reference of the rules to wide variety of team and sport activities ranging from "Roll & Run" bowling; to "Batting Derby"; "Newcomb Doubles" volleyball; to "Frisbee Tennis", and so many more children's games. All of the games are explicitly presented, with diagrams, sport-specific glossaries, small and large-group activities, and more. Highly recommended The Physical Educator's Big Book Of Sport Lead-Up Games isn't just for teachers, but also for parents and people involved in youth groups, and anyone else who is interested in teaching and sharing physical games to children for purposes of exercise, sportsmanship, physical development, and just plain fun.

Winning Single Wing Football
Ken Keuffel
Swift Press
2711 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648-1014
www.singlewingfootball.com
0974402249 $24.95 1-609-896-1813

Ken Keuffel is a skilled and experienced single wing football master coach. In Winning Single Wing Football: A Simplified Guide For The Football Coach, Keuffel provides his readers with a detailed guide primarily intended for football coaches and their teams seeking to take their game to higher levels of improvement. Extensive diagrams, explicit instructions, detailed recommendations, proven techniques, fill the pages of this impressive compilation which is confidently recommended as an addition to any school athletic department's reference collection.

Matt Kenseth: Above And Beyond
Kelley Maruszewski
Sports Publishing Inc.
804 North Neil, Suite 100, Champaign, IL 61820
www.SportsPublishingLLC.com
158261749X $24.95 1-877-807-6034

Officially licensed by Nascar, Matt Kenseth: Above And Beyond is an exciting and highly recommended profile biography of the 2003 Nascar Winston Cup champion and Cambridge, Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth. Full-color illustrations throughout enhance this enthralling presentation of Kenseth's competitive and racing-oriented life, with a text that is briskly narrated in and upbeat and "reader-engaging" manner. All dedicated Nascar fans will want to read Matt Kenseth: Above And Beyond!


The Genealogy Shelf

The Hidden Half Of The Family
Christina Kassabian Schaefer
Genealogical Publishing Company
1001 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21202
0806315822 $39.95 1-800-296-6687

In The Hidden Half Of The Family, genealogist Christina Schaefer directly addresses the very real problem of how to find genealogical records of women, whose names are often subsumed by that of their husbands and whose rights to sign a deed, devise a will, enter into contracts, and other legal acts requiring full citizenship were heavily restricted until very recently. Schaefer deftly presents a pioneering approach to the gender dilemma for genealogical researchers that focuses upon close study of where female ancestors interact with the government and the legal system in which law insists upon the absolute identification of all parties, male and female. Such a technique depends upon knowing the legal status of women in any specific point of time. Therefore The Hidden Half Of The Family features an extensive state-by-state listing of the dates of laws passed with regard to suffrage, property and inheritance, citizenship, census information, marriage and divorce, and much more. A "must-have" resource for anyone struggling with the different of tracking female genealogy, The Hidden Half Of The Family is a critically important, core addition to personal and professional Genealogical Research reference collections.

County Longford Residents Prior To The Famine
Guy A. Rymsza
Dome Shadow Press
51905 Courtland East, South Bend, IN 46637-6007
www.domeshadowpress.com
0974267309 $49.95

Guy A. Rymsza's County Longford Residents Prior To The Famine is a straightforward, 439-page transcription enhanced with complete index of the Tithe Applotment Books of County Longford, Ireland (1823-1835). An extremely practical resource for genealogists and researchers tracing Irish ancestors and family histories, County Longford Residents Prior To The Famine also includes a brief introduction and a supplement of Townland maps to round out this meticulously presented and specialized genealogical resource.

Betterway Publications/F&W, dist.
4700 E Galbraith Rd Cincinnati OH 45236

Two new guides to locating ancestors and basic roots online provide excellent tips for beginners. Nancy Hendrickson's Finding Your Roots Online (1558706356, $19.99) covers everything about internet research on family roots/ from locating genealogical information to reading pedigree charts and gathering family details. An added bonus: chapters also explain when a research problem can't be solved online. Understand how military, marriage and land records work using this fine set of tips and techniques. Rhonda McClure's Finding Your Famous & Infamous Ancestors (1558706542, $21.99) will appeal to any who want to validate or verify their family stories. From unearthing outlaws and troublemakers to tracking American connections to royalty and drawing connections to celebrities, this is packed with lively coverage on researching and revealing both noble and ignoble roots.


The Computer Shelf

Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook
Randolph Hock
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
0910965684 $24.95 www.amazon.com

Serious online searchers who would do more than use Yahoo or Google in their pursuits will welcome Randolph Hock's Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook, a survey of tools and techniques for Web information users. From locating images and audio and video clips to understanding specialized directories and using search engine tools more effectively, Extreme Searcher's Internet Handbook is filled from cover to cover with practical details the browser will find applicably useful.

The Mysteries Of Internet Research
Sharron Cohen
Upstart Books
PO Box 800, Ft. Atkinson WI 53538-0800
157950096X $16.95 www.amazon.com

Sharon Cohen's The Mysteries Of Internet Research is an ideal and highly recommended instructional reference which is confidental recommended to a wide audience of parents, teachers and students as a practical guide to working with young people in an elementary school library setting. The core here are 24 crimes which the young research detective can 'solve' online: students check facts against the Internet for a fun and educational session.

A First Look At ASP.NET v. 2.0
Alex Homer, et al.
Addison-Wesley Professional
75 Arlington St, #300, Boston, MA 02116
0321228960 $39.99 awprofessional.com

The collaborative effort of software development experts Alex Homer, Dave Sussman, and Rob Howard, A First Look At ASP.NET v. 2.0 is a methodical handbook, reference, and self-teaching aid for the Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Web development platform. Demonstrating how to effectively use ASP.NET to reduce development time and associated costs; improve the performance of Web applications and services; extend applications to mobile clients, and so much more, A First Look At ASP.NET v. 2.0 is a superbly organized and presented introductory guide filled from cover to cover with examples, sample code, and broad overviews -- as well as specific troubleshooting problems to watch out for.

Que Publishing
201 W. 103rd St, Indianapolis, IN 46290
www.mcp.com www.amazon.com

Novell NetWare 6.5 Administrators Handbook (0789729849, $49.99, 600 pp.) by Jeffrey Harris is the Novell-authorized quick reference for NetWare administration covering all of the new features of NetWare 6.5. This outstanding instructional reference helps the IT Professional integrate the benefits of NetWare 6.5 into an existing environment. Deftly compiled and written by Photoshop expert Peter Bauer, Special Edition Using Adobe Photoshop CS (0789730413, $49.99, 1184 pp) comprehensively covers everything even the most demanding designer will need to create visually stunning graphics with the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. User Level:_ Beginning - Intermediate. Both of these superb titles from Que Publishing are welcome additions to dedicated computer reference book collections.


The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf

Powers Of Two
Tim Powers
NEFSA
PO Box 809, Framingham, MA 01701
1886778515 $24.00

This reprint embraces two of Powers' early novels under one cover: Skies Discrowned, his first novel set on a planet where space travel is ordinary and a man seeks to avenge his father; and An Epitaph In Rust, portraying an escapee from a monastery who is set loose in a changed Los Angeles. Both are excellent stories of changed worlds and different viewpoints.

Baen Books
PO Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471

Three powerful new collections are specially recommended picks for genre fans who enjoy solid political intrigue. Steve White's Demon's Gate (0743471-768, $24.00) is pure fantasy at its best: the heir to a throne decides to pay his respects to a puzzling new emperor, but a revived sorcerer interferes and informs him of his investigation into tales of demons who are returning to the world. Thus is Valdar's life changed as he becomes involved in the effort to re-drive the demons from a kingdom he loves. David Drake's The Reaches (0743471776, $24.00) takes place when the government of earth collapses, after Mankind has extended colonies among the stars. A thousand years later humans are again reaching beyond the solar system and a single government is claiming the Reaches its sole property. Eric Flint's Ring Of Fire (074347175X, $23.00) provides sequels to 1632 in a collection Flint edits with gusto. Notable genre authors such as David Weber and Mercedes Lackey contribute their stories of a town transported back through time to 20th century in Germany in the middle of a war. Flint created the original 1632 scenario, so is in the perfect position to edit contributions to this collection: the result is a matching vigor and smoothness of topic which will delight prior Flint fans. A terrible war tinged by religious fanatics turns into interstellar struggle in this politically charged story. All are outstanding reads.

Collected Short Fiction Of C.J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
DAW Books
375 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014
0756402174 $23.95 www.amazon.com

C. J. Cherryh is mostly known for her fantasy novels; the Collected Short Fiction Of C.J. Cherryh features the first comprehensive collection of her short fiction, and provides a range of satisfyingly complex stories marked with the Cherryh fondness for alien/human relationships. From Cassandra, about a woman cursed with prophecy and madness, to a story set in the far future where a dying sun dictates a world's moves, Collected Short Fiction Of C.J. Cherryh is filled with strong plots and varied settings. Highly recommended.

ROC Books
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014
1-800-847-5515 www.amazon.com

These fine new titles offer exciting reading for avid science fiction fans. Scott Mackay's Omnifix (0451459601, $6.99) is one of the most intriguing stories in the genre: set in the future when an unknown alien species has altered mankind with deadly nanogens, this focuses on a doctor who finds himself at odds with his own relatives in his qwest to explore an alien ship. When he himself is contaminated and altered, his life radically changes. An exciting plot which is impossible to put down, once begun. Guy Gabriel Kay's Last Light Of The Sun (0451459652, $24.95) is fantasy at its best: one Bern flees his homeland and finds himself confronting a past he'd hoped had ended, with raiders, battles, and confrontations with the supernatural marking a harrowing existence. Fast-paced adventure evolves. Vonda McIntyre edits the Nebula Awards Showcase 2004 (0451459571, $14.95), a satisfyingly diverse collection of award-winning authors pairing exciting fiction by LeGuin, McDevitt, and Gaiman, among others, with commentary by Frederik Pohl and other notables in the field. This yearly publication is an index of the best, and this collection should not be missed. Marion Bradley, et.al. provide stories of grails in Richard Gilliam, et.al.'s Grails: Quests Of The Dawn (0451459644, $6.99) These tales of missed opportunity, holy and unholy quests, and faith provide excellent accounts fantasy readers will find unexpectedly diverse.

Alphabet Of Thorn
Patricia McKillip
Ace Books
375 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014
0441011306 $22.95 www.amazon.com

Orphan Nepenthe studies books in the royal library but knows little of the world outside its walls, so when a young mage gives her a book which defies her translation skills, it becomes not only her obsession but her key to venturing beyond the library walls. Alphabet Of Thorn is a strong story which once again uses Patricia McKillip's base of fairy tales as its foundation.

Kindred
Octavia Butler
Beacon Press
25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108
0807083690 $14.00 www.beacon.org

Octavia Butler's 25th anniversary paperback edition of her classic Kindred should be used to replace any library's aging or worn copies: modern audiences will find newfound meaning in the story of a modern black woman snatched from her California home and transported through time to an antebellum plantation. Her connections to a young white plantation owner's son will change history and assure her heritage in this intriguing story.


The Architecture Shelf

Slate Roof Bible
Joseph Jenkins
Jenkins Publishing
PO Box 607, Grove City, PA 16127
0964425815 $40.00 www.amazon.com

The somewhat hefty price tag of this newly updated and expanded second edition of this "how-to" guide may limit The Slate Roof Bible: Understanding, Installing And Restoring The World's Finest Roof to professional architects, constractors, and roofers, but it definitely a not-to-be-missed specialized reference. Packed with over three hundred color photos, The Slate Roof Bible is the core reference of the slate roof industry, covering everything to know about installing, restoring and maintaining a slate roof. Highly recommended.

Contractor's Guide To QuickBooks Pro 2004
Karen Mitchell, et al.
Craftsman Book Company
PO Box 6500, Carlsbad, CA 92018
www.craftsman-book.com
1572181400 $48.50 1-800-829-8123

Karen Mitchell, Craig Savage, and Jim Erwin are expert contractors and an accountants who are experienced users of QuickBooks Pro. They combine their experience and expertise in Contractor's Guide To QuickBooks Pro 2004 to provide the contractor and architectural community with a step-by-step walk-through for QuickBooks Pro -- the computer software program designed to simplify and expedite routine paperwork in a construction office, ranging from keeping track of bank balances, to sending out invoices and payroll checks, to paying suppliers and subcontractors, to tracking job costs, to comparing estimated and actual costs, and a great deal more. Highly recommended for professionals in the trade, black-and-white screen shots nicely illustrate this succinct and easy-to-follow user's manual which is enhanced with an accompanying CD.


The Language Studies Shelf

Words Every College Student Should Know
Kenneth A. Oliver
Dorrance Publishing
643 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222
0805960104 $18.00 www.amazon.com

This highly recommended analytical dictionary provides an analysis of English is based upon an understanding of the roots of a word. Where other books provide definitions and memorization strategies, Kenneth Oliver's Words Every College Student Should Know provides diagnostic studies of word origins, encouraging students to go beyond rote memorization to absorb the underlying meanings of words.

The Language Of The Mormon Pioneers
George W. Givens
Cedar Fort
925 North Main St, Springville, UT 84663
www.cedarfort.com
1555176763 $16.95 1-800-388-3727

Compiled and organized by Mormon historian George W. Givens, The Language Of The Mormon Pioneers is a straightforward dictionary of English words that were commonly used in the mid-1800s -- especially those by Mormon Pioneers -- and yet which have mostly fallen into disuse today. Terms such as "catechise" (verb - to question or interrogate); "priest bound" (adverb - overly controled by religious rules); "tippling house" (noun - a public house where liquor is sold by the drink), and more, these colorful archaic terms are succinctly presented with cited examples of usage drawn from historical real documents. A superb reference for anyone studying primary sources of American and Mormon history, The Language Of The Mormon Pioneers is a welcome and unique contribution to personal and academic Language Studies reference collections.

Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers
Amy Gillett
Language Success Press
2232 S. Main Street #345, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
www.languagesuccesspress.com
0972530010 $24.95 1-734-994-8578

Amy Gillett's Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is a combination book and audio CD especially appropriate for native Spanish speakers who are familiar with the English language, yet who seek to take their fluency to new heights by mastering common English idioms. Over 300 of the most-used American English idioms and phrases are presented, complete with examples, definitions, and engaging dialogues that serve to tell an entertaining family story punctuated with amusing cartoons. A highly recommended self-teaching tool for advance native Spanish students of English as a second language, Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is an especially appropriate and effective supplemental resource for personal, school, and community library Language Studies resource collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Poisoned Pen Press
6962 East First Avenue, Suite 103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1-800-421-3976 www.amazon.com

This press provides a fine diversity of mysteries and these new arrivals are deserving of ongoing and strong recommendation. Libby Fischer Hellman's An Image Of Death (1590581016, $24.95) provides the dark story of Ellie, who finds her video documentaries leads to a murder investigation. A powerful investigation draws her deeper into the world of crime. Twist Phelan's Family Claims (1590581-105, $24.95) presents a 'Pinnacle Peak mystery' revolving around business lawyer Hannah, on the verge of leaving a family law venture for a better job until a real estate deal goes bad. Her investigation into why endangers her family in this tight suspense story. Susan Slater's Five O'clock Shadow (1590581040, $24.95) tells of a six-day old marriage ended by death. As a grieving young wife searches for answers to a seemingly freak hot air balloon accident, she uncovers evidence of a thick plot in this moving account. Charles Benoit's Relative Danger (1590580915, $24.95) tells of a 1948 dispute between a black marketer and thief and an associate who murders one Russell Pierce. Decades later, a young relative decides to investigate the murder of the family black sheep, only to find that danger is not dead even if Russell is. All are satisfying, fast-paced mysteries.

Berkeley Prime Crime/Signet/Onyx
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014

Monica Ferris' Cutwork (0425193896, $6.99) presents amateur sleuth Betsy Devonshire, owner of a needlework shop who finds the death of an artisan brings on a seemingly endless list of suspects. Her investigations lead to some eye-opening adventures. Emily Brightwell's Mrs. Jeffries Sweeps The Chimney (0425193918, $6.50) presents the story of a dead man who is found dressed like a vicar. Inspector Witherspoon can't understand how to strange incidents are linked to murder and it's up to Mrs. Jeffries, housekeeper, to help with some answers. Nancy Fairbanks' Perils Of Paella (042519390X, $5.99) provides another satisfying culinary mystery with recipes as it tells of a homemaker who decides to take on a dream job as a food writer only to find a performance piece about death strikes a little too close to home. Joanna Carl's Chocolate Frog Frame-Up (0451209850, $5.99) adds to the chocolate mysteries in Carl's series; this one set in a resort town preparing for July 4th. The confections which will debut at this festival specialty made chocolate frogs also will lend sweet clues to murder in this absorbing account. Tamar Myers' Custard's Last Stand (042520848X, $5.99) pairs Pennsylvania Dutch history and recipes with the mystery involving a small town in Pennsylvania. Magdalena must find out who caused the murder of a colonel who has proposed a new five-star hotel in town: food clues lie at the heart of her investigations. Dale Bailey's House Of Bones (042521794, $6.99) tells of an institution which has been slated for demolition, and which is rumored to be haunted by its terrible past. In true haunted house fashion an investigator and four strangers decide to see if the tales are real in this gripping supernatural mystery. Michael Slade's Bed Of Nails (0451411153, $7.50 tells of a dangerous murderer isolated in an asylum who talks of the occult and time travel, and reenacts his crimes in his imagination. His ability to manipulate murders even from his cell will involve investigators in the chase of a lifetime n this tense thriller.

The Clovis Incident
Pari Noskin Taichert
University of New Mexico Press
1720 Lomas Boulevard, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591
0826331858 $24.95 1-800-249-7737

Pari Noskin Taichert is a journalist and public relations consultant. She draws upon her experience and expertise in The Clovis Incident, an intriguing and superbly crafted murder mystery which following the unexpected adventure of Sasha Solomon, an ordinary PR director fired from her job as PR director of Albuquerque's only holistic HMO, and then travels to the small New Mexico town of Clovis to bid on a PR project for the local Chamber of Commerce only to become entangled in a dark and ruthless plot of murder and intrigue. An exciting journey through hidden motives in a desperate search to protect oneself with the power of truth and insight before it is too late, The Clovis Incident is unique and compelling in its masterful interplay of layers of plot. The Clovis Incident is Taichert's rather impressive debut effort and will quickly earn her legions of appreciative fans who will look eagerly toward her next title.

Library Man
Cary Bybee
Bybee Books
PO Box 428, Lebanon, OR 97355
cary.bybee@lastgentilebooks.com
0974439894 $16.95 1-541-451-2554

Library Man is a gripping thriller by Cary Bybee about an alleged purposely mutated virus that ravages the American continent. The terror is so great that the United Nations and the rest of the world prepare in secret to annihilate the United States, lest the disease spread. Victor Garcia is a homeless Vietnam veteran living mostly in Washington D.C. libraries. Within in his photographic mind Victor holds the key to discovering a vaccine and revealing the true workings of an horrific terrorist plot. And the terrorists know it! Library Man is a tense, original novel of life-or-death, one of those compelling reads that are so easy to pick up and so hard to put down!

Death By Death
Claire McNab
Bella Books
PO Box 10543, Tallahassee, FL 32302
1931513341 $12.95 bellabooks.com

The latest Denise Cleever mystery by Claire McNab, Death By Death is a thrilling tale of deceit, suspense, and the physical and psychological ritual of destroying human minds and free will. Australian Security Intelligence Organization agent Denise Cleever must unravel the hidden dark purpose of an exclusive clinic whose charismatic psychiatrist appears to be turning its troubled patients into directed suicide assassins. A gripping tale from beginning to end, Death By Death will keep the reader riveted until the very end.

The Gowrie Conspiracy
Alanna Knight
Crime Collection/Allison & Busby
c/o International Publishers Marketing Inc.
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
0749006277 $25.95 1-800-758-3756

The Gowrie Conspiracy is an enthralling, historical murder mystery by Alanna Knight. Set in the court of King James the Sixth during the early 1600s, The Gowrie Conspiracy presents a tangled intrigue of bloodlines, power struggles, petty court clashes, and a terrible hidden secret in King James' past that could jeopardize the entire royal court. A suspenseful tale that keeps the reader guessing within its unbroken ambience, The Gowrie Conspiracy clearly documents Alanna Knight as an extraordinary novelist with an impressive gift for writing historical mystery fiction.

John's Diary
James Hogan
Rober D. Reed Publishers
360 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10010
www.rdrpublishers.com
1931741409 $22.95 1-800-432-7444

Set on a seemingly ordinary university campus, John's Diary is a whirlwind fast-paced novel by James Hogan about Jason Hammerlick, an ordinary and somewhat naive high school student who is thrown into a mix of murder and intrigue during his first year of college. One by one, Jason's fellow students disappear and die. These unsettling events are followed by the one person who may have written down the key to the mystery in his diary. A grimly enjoyable tour through the dark side of campus life and death, John's Diary is especially recommended to fans of the Mystery/Suspense genre.


The Cookbook Shelf

The Pharaoh's Feast
Oswald Rivera
Four Walls Eight Windows
39 West 14th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10011-7489
156858282X $17.95 www.4w8w.com

Impressively compiled and presented by Oswald Rivera, The Pharaoh's Feast is a unique and impressive collection of 110 simple recipes that have been passed down from antiquity to the present day. The recipes comprising this enthusiastically recommended addition to any adventurous cookbook collection range from Pears Cooked without Coals or Water; Pigeon Stew; and Poached Sturgeon; to Indian Pudding; Baked Frankfurters with Stuffing; and Tropical Salad. Highlighting the history of food preparation from a biblical Mess of Pottage to colonial American Cornpone and Johnnycakes, The Pharaoh's Feast is a unique source of culinary inspiration and a heritage recipe collection for cooks of all passions to sample and better understand longstanding culinary traditions and sources from around the world and down through time.

Mes Tartes
Christine Ferber
Michigan State University
Suite 25, Manly Miles Building, 1405 South Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823-5202
0870136887 $34.95 1-517-355-9543

The focus of Christine Ferber's Mes Tartes: The Sweet And Savory Tarts Of Christine Ferber is on sweet and savory tart creations and is translated from the French by Virginia Phillips and offers a delightful selection of tart recipes by a renowed French pastry chef. From a Red Currant Meringue and an Apricot Tart to savory creations (though, admittedly, the tart recipes are skewed toward sweets), Mes Tartes is packed with beautiful photos and accomplished finished dishes.

The Middle Eastern Kitchen
Ghillie Basan
Hippocrene Books
171 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016
078181023X $29.50 1-718-454-2366

The Middle Eastern Kitchen isn't your usual Middle Eastern cookbook: it offers a narrowed focus on more than 75 ingredients used in the cuisines of Iran, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia and others, discusses shared culinary traditions, and packs in over a hundred recipes based on knowledge and use of these key unique ingredients. Add special photos by Jonathan Basan and you have a presentation piece which goes way beyond most generic Middle Eastern cookbooks.

How To Pronounce French, German And Italian Wine Names
Diana Belucci
How to Pronounce
KSB Promotions (publicity)
55 Honey Creek NE, Ada, MI 49301-9768
1932253335 $30.00 www.amazon.com

Diana Belucci's newest reference title isn't just a another dictionary of pronunciation as might be anticipated: rather, How To Pronounce French, German And Italian Wine Names creates and presents a complete method of learning pronunciation to provide keys to the phonetic pronunciation of over 15,000 wine terms, regions, and grape varieties in five different languages. How To Pronounce French, German And Italian Wine Names could've appeared in our 'Literary' or 'Languages' section but deserves mention here for its in-depth interest to wine buffs.

The Wine Pocket List
Michael Hinshaw
The Wine Pocket List
PO Box 2867, San Rafael, CA 94912
1591099897 $13.99 winepocketlist.com

The Wine Pocket List: 2004 Wine Buying Guide compiled by wine expert Michael Hinshaw is straightforward price listing especially focusing upon top-quality wines that cost $30 a bottle and under. Pages of price listings were selected via a system designed to take the crapshoot guesswork out of choosing a good wine make The Wine Pocket List a truly superb guide for wine stocking and selection on a reasonable budget. An extensive glossary helps those new to the world of wine adjust to the terminology. The handy pocket-size makes this superb price guide perfectly portable and ideally accessible for any restaurant dining occasion.

Russian Heritage Cookbook
Lynn Visson
The Overlook Press
141 Wooster St., New York NY 10012
1585674753 $28.95 1-800-743-1312

Almost four hundred recipes are packed in a culinary discussion of Russian traditions gathered from the Russian ‚migr‚ community of New York City. Russian Heritage Cookbook goes far beyond the familiar dishes of Borscht and Stroganoff to explore other classic dishes such as Mushroom Solianka and a wealth of veal dishes, introducing each chapter with cultural insights and including variations on dish themes. An outstanding guide for any fan of Russian culture and cuisine.

Harvard Common Press
535 Albany St., Boston, MA 02118
1-888-657-3755 www.amazon.com

Three fine new guides are highly recommended picks, packed with recipes and inspiration. Cooks who love Mediterranean cuisine will relish Clifford Wright's Little Foods Of The Mediterranean (1558322-272, $21.95), a collection of 500 recipes for appetizers, snacks, finger and street foods derived from Spanish, Italian, French and Greek marketplaces. This focus on hearty yet small-sized snacks and tapas will delight readers seeking a book of appetizers for a party, or who want a focus on international flavors. Robin Robertson's Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker (1558322566, $14.95) provides a truly fresh approach to slow cooker use. Most slow cooker recipes focus on meat main dishes with a smattering of desserts to offset: this has no meat at all, but provides a welcome emphasis on vegetarian main dishes. It's easy to make a vegetarian cookbook where desserts, breads and salads comprise a large part of the content: this emphasis on hearty one-pot vegetarian meals will please vegetarians seeking more. James Villas' Biscuit Bliss (15583-2223X, $14.95) provides over a hundred foolproof recipes for fluffy biscuits which can be made in minutes. The recipes all come from scratch, not mixes yet are quickly assembled and practically foolproof in results.

Coconut Lover's Cookbook
Bruce Fife, N.D.
Piccadilly Books
Box 25203, Colorado Springs, CO 80936
0941599590 $16.00 www.amazon.com

Fans of coconut will find Coconut Lover's Cookbook by Bruce Fife to be a compelling little guide which packs in both sweet and savory recipes for use of the coconut, from healthy blender drinks to main courses, biscuits and breads, and desserts. No photos, but the easy dishes don't require them, while the range and variety of coconut dishes will delight coconut enthusiasts.

Dancing On The Table
The Junior League of Wilmington
The Wimmer Companies
1801 N. Market St, Wilmington DE 19802
0971483302 $19.95 1-800-794-9806

Compiled from recipes donated by The Junior League of Wilmington, Dancing On The Table: Easily Elegant Recipes To Keep The Joy In Entertaining is more than a carefully selected recipe compilation suitable for parties and memorable gatherings; it is also the first official cookbook of the state of Delaware. A medley of color photographs intersperse this spiral-bound compilation and its classy suggestions such as Ginger and Honey Pork Tenderloin; Szechuan Noodle Salad; Punkin Chunkin' Cinnamon Meringues, and more. A superb addition to any kitchen cookbook collection Dancing On The Table is enhanced for the dedicated family chef with a page suitable for do-it-yourself notations added to the end various sections.

Scots Cooking
Sue Lawrence
Headline/Trafalgar Square, dist.
PO Box 257, North Pomfret, VT 05053
0747271267 $19.95 1-800-423-4525

Over a hundred of the best traditional Scottish recipes have been collected for Scots Cooking by Scottish author Sue Lawrence from her home country, and uses the fresh and diverse local ingredients for which Scotland is so famous. Anticipate many dishes holding seafood and meats, and presenting flavor combinations not to be found in other cookbooks; such as the Orkney dish Clapshot.

Bay Fetes
Junior Service League of Panama City
FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0961501421 $34.95 www.frpbooks.com

The collaborative effort of members and supporters of The Junior Service League of Panama City, Bay Fetes: A Tour Of Celebrations Along The Gulf Coast is a cookbook collection of celebratory and entertainment-themed meals originating from communities, eateries, and families located along the coastline of Panama City, Florida. Helpful hints, decorating ideas, color photographs, and vibrant dishes combine to please the mind and palate with such delicious entries as Crowder Peas With Spinach; Texas-Style Steak On Toast; Pineapple Tequila, and more. Bay Fetes offers delicious themes and creations that can be uniquely adapted to any festive dining occasion or celebration.

What's Cookin' In The Grange
The National Grange
FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0967484103 $15.00 www.frpbooks.com

What's Cookin' In The Grange: Family Recipes From The Grange Homes Over The Years is a spiral bound compilation of nearly 400 recipes contributed by members and supporters of The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a nonprofit organization and agricultural family fraternity that promotes the social and educational development of rural life. What's Cookin' In The Grange includes recipes of history and heritage for dishes that have been passed down through generations ranging from kids' recipes that are as fun to make as they are to eat; to specialties for men; and popular favorites drawn from thirty-seven states. Delectable dishes such as Cool Cucumber Pasta; Hot Fudge Pudding Cake; Ranch-Style Potatoes; South Texas Tuna Casserole; and more are interspersed with fascinating trivia about the Grange that combines to make for an all-around enjoyable cookbook.

A Season Of Celebrating
Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago
FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0963865765 $18.95 www.frpbooks.com

A Season Of Celebrating is a cookbook drawn from members and supporters of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry's "Christmas Around the World" and "Holidays of Light" festivals. The celebratory dishes comprising this wonderful collection are drawn from around the world and blend holiday traditions and delights with a broad-based enthusiasm and trivia tidbits concerning various cultures which admirably combine to add a special enjoyment to this upbeat anthology of savory recipes. Dishes such as Nouvelle Hanukkah Latkes; Mushroom Crepes; Oven Kalua Pig; Native American Indian Fry Bread; and so much more, make for a wide variety of delicious options for joyous dining at any time of year.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Attitude 2
Ted Rall, Editor
NBM
555 8th Ave., #1202, NY, NY 10018
156163381X $13.95 nbmpublishing.com

There are a host of new subservice alternative cartoonists on the market: artists who put together political and editorial cartoons from a revolutionary, satirical standpoint and Rall's Attitude 2 gathers some of the best of these presentations, scouring the alternative press for new voices who do not typically reach mainstream readers. From social commentary and gay life to cartoonist intentions, this pairs interviews with major new figures with black and white samples of their works.

Fantagraphics Books
7563 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115
1-800-657-1100 www.fantagraphics.com

Two excellent new art presentations are highly recommended picks providing unique portraits of popular artists. Gary Groth and Greg Sadowski's Will Elder: Mad Playboy Of Art (1560975601, $9.95) provides an in-depth retrospective of the American satirist known for his MAD comics. Will Elder packs in over a hundred pages of black and white and color illustrations from both popular and obscure magazines. The Goodman Beaver stories are reprinted for the first time in their original format, while paintings and sketches from Elder's other works document the personality and achievements of a zany artist. A.B. Frost's Stuff And Nonsense (1560975628, $24.95) provide an intriguing anthology of one of the first to produce 'comics'. Born in 1851, he became a regular short story contributor to Harper's Weekly and other publications, spicing his works with cartoons and illlustrations. Stuff And Nonsense's French/English survey of his life and productions includes paintings as well as caricatures and cartoons, and is 'the' bible of information and art from Frost.


The Poetry Shelf

The New Oxford Book Of Christian Verse
Donald Davie
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10016-4314
www.oup.com
0192804863 $16.95 1-800-451-7556

Knowledgeably compiled by academician, poet, and literary critic Donald Davie, The New Oxford Book Of Christian Verse is compact, 352-page anthology of verse, congregational hymns, and anonymous pieces that offer testament to Christian faith from writers across the whole of the English speaking world, with especial emphasis on the timeless works of George Herbert, Henry Vaughn, Christopher Smart, and William Cowper. A moving collection of faith that transcendes era, superb for quiet contemplation, group study, or family sharing. The Holy Ghost: O Holy ghost, whose temple I / Am, but of mud walls, and condensed dust, / And being sacrilegiously / Half wasted with youth's fires, of pride and lust, / Must with new storms be weather-beat; / Double in my heart Thy flame, / Which let devout sad tears intend; and let / (Though this glass lanthorn, flesh, do suffer maim) / Fire, Sacrifice, Priest, Altar be the same.

Mind The Gap
Robert Hamblin
Southeast Missouri State Univ. Press
One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
www6.semo.edu/universitypress/
0972430466 $12.00 www.amazon.com

Mind The Gap: Poems By An American In London by Robert Hamblin (Professor of English and Director of the Center for FaulknerStudies at Southeast Missouri State University) is a compendium of free-verse poetry that evokes imagination and wonder from observing the longstanding granduer of London and the activities of both the ordinary and the eccentric people who live there. Mind The Gap is a verbal feast of impressions for the imagination. To Some Stranger, Far Hence: Some day, far hence, / long after I am gone, / you too will come to London. // You will know the thrill / of peering down from the sky / for the first glimpse / of bright green fields / framed by orderly hedges / and stone fences.

The Poetry Anthology 1912-2002
Joseph Parisi & Stephen Young
Ivan R. Dee
1332 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60622
1566634687 $29.95 1-800-462-6420

The Poetry Anthology 1912-2002 gathers ninety years of Poetry Magazine, a publication founded in 1912 which published some of the most well-known poets of American history. This impressive anthology utilizes a decade-by-decade approach, juxtaposing such major talents as Yeats, Teasdale and Millay with Hughes, Crane and Cummings. An exceptionally well-rounded treatise emerges as a result.

Crossing The Ladder Of Sun
Laura Apol
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
0870136852 $22.95 1-517-355-9543

Crossing The Ladder Of Sun is a compendium of Laura Apol's refreshing, sensually vivid free-verse poetry, descriptive of the joy of life and cherished impressions. At times both celebratory and wistful, the poetry's dramatic elegance makes for a lush and enjoyable tour-de-force. Blueberries: All right, I will say it then: / I would not have fallen in love again / if it had not been for the blueberried - / acres of them, ripe for the picking. / And the gulls. And the miles of sand. / I could have grown old alone.

If More Winters, Or This The Last
Alastair MacDonald
Breakwater Books Ltd.
PO Box 2188, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, A1C 6E6
155081205X $16.95 breakwater.nf.net

Alastair MacDonald's If More Winters, Or This The Last is an impressionistic collection of free-verse poetry, with long verses that paint an evolving, rambling tail sentence by wrap-around sentence. Sensory descriptions that linger in one's mind make for a flowing, engaging, and rewarding literary experience. Visiting Orchestra: The concert / has been postponed / because of weather: / whether / it is tonight / will all depend. // The precise / and rehearsed sound / whole in our heads, / stands / poised for release; / but may go unheard.

Century Of The Death Of The Rose
Jorge Carrera Andrade
NewSouth, Inc.
PO Box 1588, Montgomery, AL 36102
1588381021 $15.95 newsouthbooks.com

Century Of The Death Of The Rose by Jorge Carrera Andrade (a nominee of the 1975 Nobel Prize for Literature), is a work of remarkably impressive poetry, offered in its original Spanish side by side with flawless English translations by Steven Ford Brown. Moving parables of the beauty and frailty of life itself are deftly combined with a heartfelt expression of wonder in the hidden treasures of natural and spiritual existence to make for an emotionally moving collection. Movements of Nature: Tree-bark listens to the rustle of plants and insects / as wind softly ruminates through the field. / The pond takes down a note in its memory / of kinship between the smallest clouds and geese.


The Musicbook Shelf

Ray Charles: Man and Music
Michael Lydon
Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York NY 10001
0415970431 $22.95 1-800-634-7064

This newly expanded paperback version of a classic biography follows the life of musician Ray Charles from a poverty-stricken childhood in Florida to his world success. It's a story of not only overcoming adversity in its extreme forms, but an account of a musical innovator who mixes styles in his works and who has become a major influence on the music scene. This outstanding edition brings his life up to date, covering his last decade.

The Oboe
Geoffrey Burgess & Bruce Haynes
Yale University Press
Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040
0300093179 $35.00 1-800-987-7323

The collaborative work of Geoffrey Burgess and Bruce Haynes, The Oboe adds yet another fine title to Yale's outstanding 'Musical Instrument' series. Following the history of the oboe and providing an in-depth discussion of how and why the oboe evolved, the music written for it, and prominent players, The Oboe is admittedly is a specialty title, but any academic or classical music collection or library reference collection strong in classical history will find this an essential buy, packed from cover to cover with rare insights and information. The Oboe is most especially recommended to students of woodwind instruments in general, and this particular, core component of both orchestral and jazz music in particular.

The Beatles Are Coming!
Bruce Spizer
498 Productions
925 Common St. #1250
New Orleans, LA 70112
0966264991 $50.00 www.amazon.com

The Beatles Are Coming: The Birth Of Beatlemania In America is the fifth book by Beatles historian Spizer, and covers their first visit to the U.S. and the events leading up to their arrival in 1964. The narrowed focus offers for more depth and detail than most general coverages of Beatles history, offers over four hundred images 50 previously unpublished and is visually outstanding. Beatles fans should consider this a 'must' acquisition.

Cuban Music
Maya Roy
Markus Wiener Publishers
231 Nassau St., Princeton, NJ 08542
1558762817 $49.95 markuswiener.com

There are very few Cuban music guides on the market today, which makes Maya Roy's Cuban Music all the more valuable as an introduction and discussion. This goes beyond music alone, exploring Cuban cultural developments and evolution against a backdrop of styles and traditions, and drawing connections between other cultural influences and the evolution of a unique Cuban style. Cuban Music's in-depth survey discusses changing styles in Cuban musical tradition and will be a sought-after addition to any multicultural library.

To The New Music Industry
Justin Goldberg
Lone Eagle Publishing Company
1024 N. Orange Dr, Hollywood CA 90038
1580650481 $24.95 1-800-815-0503

Knowledgeably written by Justin Goldberg (a 15-year veteran of the highs and lows of the music industry) The Ultimate Survival Guide To The New Music Industry: Handbook For Hell is an informal yet information-packed guide to achieving successful a career in music. The topics covered range from how to successfully release independent albums; to gaining air-play on commercial and college radio; to creating revenue through licensing, self-distribution rights, soundtrack opportunities, merchandising, and more. A solid, gritty, highly accessible guide to working in the music biz for a living wage, The Ultimate Survival Guide To The New Music Industry Handbook is essential reading for anyone who aspires to earn a living and pursue their career goals within the competitive and rapidly evolving world of the music industry.

Acoustic Stories
Bill Amatneek
Vineyards Press, LLC
PO Box 716, Sebastopol, CA 95473
192857811X $15.95 VineyardsPress.com

Acoustic Stories is a unique and impressive anthology of true personal stories about musical legends such as Jerry Garcia, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and many more as witnessed, experienced, and regaled by string bassist Bill Amatneek. An engaging recollection of personal memories, of tunes that transcend time, and offering contemporary readers with a tiny peek behind the surface of great entertainers, Acoustic Stories is most especially recommended for those legions of fans whose musical icons made and played decades of popular and unamplified music.

Rumba On The River
Gary Stewart
Verso
180 Varick Street, NY, NY 10014-4606
1859843689 $19.00 versobooks.com

Ably written by a published author of articles on African and Caribbean music whose work has appeared in "The Beat", "Option", "West Africa" and more, Rumba On The River: A History Of The Popular Music Of The Two Congos is an enthralling dissemination of how changing times and ancient traditions blended to create a distinctive type of music along the Congo River. From the currents of political struggle to the tides of self-expression, the history, vibrancy, and popularity of this music flowed, and its indelible impressions upon the human psyche are succinctly framed in an unforgettable prose.

With Fife & Drum
Gary Hastings
The Black Staff Press/Dufour Editions
Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
0856407097 $25.95 1-800-869-5677

Compiled and presented by Gary Hastings, With Fife & Drum: Music, Memories And Customs Of An Irish Tradition collects stories, facts, myth, and traditions concerning the distinctive Lamberg drum (and its usage especially by the Orange Order and the Ancient Order of Hibernians). Following a 200-year-old fife and drum tradition, With Fife & Drum draws upon Hastings' personal interviews with instrument makers, drummers, and fifers, and embellishes this unique survey with an inherently fascinating look into a unique corner of musical history enhanced with an audio CD of musician's reminiscences and traditional music, as well as musical notation of over seventy airs and tunes. With Fife & Drum is a wonderful contribution to Irish Cultural & Music History Studies.


The Library Science Shelf

Library Web Sites
A. Paula Wilson
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
0838908721 $35.00 1-800-545-2433

Library Web Sites: Creating Online Collections And Services by A. Paula Wilson (Adult Services Coordinator, Maricopa County Library District - Arizona) is a direct-to-the-point instructional guideline to creating a patron-centered library website, whether featuring basic or advanced online library services. Offering an invaluable checklist of essential qualities, and detailed "how-to" explanations for managing content using database-backed web pages; integrating external content into the site; conducting reader's advisory services online, and so much more, Library Web Sites is a nicely organized and presented, easy-to-understand instructional, and an absolute "must-have" for anyone charged with designing or maintaining such a online library website.

The Kovacs Guide To Electronic Library Collection Development
Diane K. Kovacs & Kara L. Robinson
Neal-Schuman Publishers
100 William St., #2004, NY, NY 10038
1555704832 $125.00 neal-schuman.com

The collaborative work of Diane K. Kovacs (President of Kovacs Consulting Internet & Web Training) and Kara L. Robinson (Assistant Professor, Kent State University Library and Information Services), The Kovacs Guide To Electronic Library Collection Development: Essential Core Subject Collections, Selection Criteria, And Guidelines is an authoritative, no-nonsense, instructional guide covering how academic, public, governmental, and corporate libraries can make the most of electronic and web-based information to improve their electronic library services. From developing a planning guide for collecting, evaluating, and selecting Web-accessible information resources; to database management choices and licensing issues; to e-resources' integration with the library catalogue and services, and more, The Kovacs Guide To Electronic Library Collection Development will be seen as an excellent and thoroughly "user friendly" instructional which is an ideal addition to any contemporary Library Science reference collection.


The Social Issues Shelf

The Key To Sustainable Cities
Gwendolyn Hallsmith
New Society Publishers
37 Cherry Street, Easthampton, MA 01027
www.newsociety.com
0865714991 $19.95 1-800-283-3572

The Key To Sustainable Cities: Meeting Human Needs, Transforming Community Systems by Gwendolyn Hallsmith (Campaign Coordinator for the Vermont Earth Center) informatively studies what system dynamics can tell us about problems besetting cities today -- problems often caused or exacerbated by the solutions of a previous era. Scrutinizing illustrative case studies and offering new ways to evaluate environmental, economic, and social logistics in order to create cities that are best suited for not only present challenges but those that lie ahead in the foreseeable future, The Key To Sustainable Cities is a solidly written and accessibly presented resource which is very highly recommended reading -- especially for urban planners, community leaders, policy makers, environmental activists, and anyone else who is working for their city's future.

An Assessment Of The Privatization Of Child Welfare Services
CWLA Press
440 First Street NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001-2085
0878688765 $29.95 1-800-407-6273

Co-written by Madelyn Freundlich (Policy Director for Children's Rights, Inc. - New York) and Sarah Gerstenzang (Policy Associate for Children's Rights, Inc. - New York), An Assessment Of The Privatization Of Child Welfare Services: Challenges And Successes is a status report on the last six years' worth of privatized child welfare systems among American state governments; the varying levels of success with these policies; and based on the data, offers keen observations on what privatization can and cannot do to help children in need. Six illustrative case studies set in six different states, help document the points made in an overall treatise that strives to solidly answer the question: What does privatization truly mean for child welfare? An Assessment Of The Privatization Of Child Welfare Services is a seminal contribution, and should be mandatory reading for all child welfare advocates and policy makers.


The Criminology Shelf

Militarizing The American Criminal Justice System
Peter B. Kraska, editor
Northeastern University Press
360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115
1555534759 $20.00 nupress.neu.edu

Compiled and edited by Peter B. Kraska (Professor of Criminal Justice, Eastern Kentucky University), Militarizing The American Criminal Justice System: The Changing Roles Of The Armed Forces And The Police is a scholarly yet critical look at the history and current interconnection between the American military, traditionally meant to safeguard against threats to national security, and domestic law enforcement, which is traditionally meant to deal with internal problems such as crime, illegal drugs, and mob disorder. Exploring the potentially overwhelming repercussions of the increasing militarization of the criminal justice system, from the so called "war on drugs" to infiltration of advanced military technology into civilian society, the adaptation of military models such as boot camps and SWAT teams into policing, and much more, Militarizing The American Criminal Justice System is a serious and sober discussion of a far-reaching trend.

The Trial Lawyer
David Berg
American Bar Association
750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611
1590312325 $110.00 1-800-285-2221

David Berg is a member of the Texas and New York State Bar Associations and the founding partner of Berg & Androphy, who has published dozens of articles about legal issues in such venues as "Litigation Magazine", "The New York Times", and "Newsweek". In The Trial Lawyer: What It Takes To Win, Berg draws upon his years of experience and expertise to create a straightforward instructional and reference guide which ranges from perfecting techniques for arguing a case in court; to getting the research right; to the art of persuasion; to recognizing how to best address a particular jury, Voir Dire; specific tips, tricks, and techniques for all aspects of presenting the actual trial; and more. The Trial Lawyer is a very highly recommended advice guide and strongly recommended reading for aspiring and newly practicing trial lawyers alike.


The Economics Shelf

Economics In Real Time
John McDermott
University of Michigan Press
PO Box 1104, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1104
0472113577 $57.50 press.umich.edu

Economics In Real Time: A Theoretical Reconstruction by John McDermott (Professor Emeritus, State University of New York) offers a new and intellectually impressive paradigm to describe and encapsulize contemporary economic fluctuations that takes into account changes that have been observed since the neoclassical and Marxian microeconomic theories created over a century ago. Involving the progression of real time in its scrutiny of sales and purchases, product innovation, changing efficiency of advertising and distribution, the proliferation of consumer credit, and more, Economics In Real Time drives home a new and recommended way to examine and understand rapidly changing economic interactions.

Global Shift
Peter Dicken
Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com
1572308990 $45.00 1-800-365-7006

Now in a revised and expanded fourth edition, Global Shift: Reshaping The Global Economic Map In The 21st Century by Peter Dicken (Professor of Economic Geography, University of Manchester, United Kingdom) is a solid 640-page text on the phenomena of globalization in the modern age. Covering economic, political, and technological forces that affect local communities in uneven ways, Global Shift provides detailed case studies of crucial global industries, more than 200 updated figures and tables, and well serves to broaden and illustrate the critical points toward understanding the world's economic future. This is an ideal text for classroom instruction and recommended to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in understanding the complexities of global economics.

Just Get Out Of The Way
Robert E. Anderson
Cato Institute/NBN, dist.
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-5403
1930865546 $24.95 www.cato.org

Accessibly written by Robert E. Anderson (an economic development expert who has 10 years of experience with the World Bank working on development issues in more than 15 countries), Just Get Out Of The Way: How Government Can Help Business In Poor Countries is a "tell it like it is" account that warns against helping developing countries by pursuing policies that are used in rich countries. Instead, Just Get Out Of The Way stresses that policymakers should pay attention to the specific institutional weaknesses of developing countries, with an especial watch and guard against corruption and cronyism, as well as much simpler market-oriented policies. A timely, expert, seminal, and intrinscially interesting work, Just Get Out Of The Way is a very highly recommended contribution to International Economics Studies collections and a "must read" book for private, corporate, and governmental policy makers in the field of international economic development.

Journey To A Closed City
Russell R. Miller
Science & Humanities Press
Box 7151, Chesterfield, MO 63006-7151
www.sciencehumanitiespress.com
188872594X $16.95 1-636-394-4950

Journey To A Closed City With The International Executive Service Corps details the travel experiences of Russell R. Miller who is a retired executive who has volunteered his time in the International Executive Service Corps, as well as serving as an advisor with the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, and the Vienna-based United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Detailing the dawn of a new internationally co-dependent economy and the spread of globalization through experienced eyes, Journey To A Closed City is an engaging and informative tale of growth and new experiences, as well as a broad-scale, on-going economic evolution.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Jadite
Joe Keller & David Ross
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Rd, Atglen, PA 19310
0764318217 $24.95 schifferbooks.com

Co-written by expert antiques dealers Joe Keller and David Ross, Jadite: An Identification And Price Guide informatively examines and showcases Jadeite dinnerware from the 1930s to the mid 1970s. Gorgeous full color photographs are combined with a comprehensively researched price guide to make for a marvelous compendium of Jadite works. Highly enjoyable for armchair connoisseurs of practical art and devoted collectors alike, Jadite is exhaustive, authoritative, "user friendly", and enthusiastically recommended.

Collector Books
PO Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009

These new arrivals come packed with price guides, historical backgrounds, and photos which will delight specialty collectors with more than a casual interest in particular fields. N. 24 in the Complete Price Gudie To Watches (1574324020, $29.95) packs in years of experience in watch selling, offering a weighty but information-packed, reliable guide to watches holding over a thousand pages of detail. All kinds of watches are covered, from pocket watches from America and Europe to specialty comic watches and more. Small black and white photos and background maker histories accompany many of the details, but it's the completely revamped price changes which will delight the business collector. David Barron's Collecting Head Vases (1574323571, $24.95) packs in the color photos as it surveys the makers and products of head vases. Organized by type, from teens and wall pockets to celebrities and more, this is packed with important details. Mary Frank Gaston's Blue Willow, Third Edition (1574323466, $19.95) provides a completely updated edition for these collectible chinaware pieces, with good-quality color photos throughout. The price guides to individual pieces and tips to dating and authenticating them makes this an invaluable guide which should reach a wide audience of Blue Willow pattern collectors. All are recommended specialty collector picks.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Pandora's Baby
Robin Marantz Henig
Houghton Mifflin
215 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10003
0618224157 $25.00 www.amazon.com

In Pandora's Baby, Robin Henig tells of a confrontation which came to a head in 1973, where a hospital administrator in New York learned of a rogue experiment in progress which might have created the first human fetus through in vitro fertilization. His decision fostered a new era in reproduction technology and issues which continues to this day, and Henig's survey of IVF procedures and history provides the story of a technology under fire.

Diabetes Nutrition Q&A For Health Professionals
Joyce Green Pastors, RD, et.al.
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria VA 22311
1580401996 $24.95 www.diabetes.or

The number one topic on the minds of most diabetics is food and the most puzzling questions on what and how to eat come from the diabetic experience. Diabetes Nutrition Q&A For Health Professionals surveys a range of issues for health professionals, from snacking and sugars to protein restrictions and the effectiveness of dieting versus exercise. An excellent manual of common areas of confusion for diabetics.

Living Among Meat Eaters
Carol J. Adams
The Continuum Publishing Group
370 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10017-6550
0826415539 $18.95 1-800-561-7704

Written for people everywhere who have adopted a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian's Survival Handbook by dedicated vegetarian Carol J. Adams is a very practical guide filled from cover to cover with thematically appropriate discussions of common issues facing vegetarians living in a meat-eating world. Ranging from fitting in during summer barbecues or Thanksgiving dinner; to living with non-vegetarian roommates, family, or significant others; to fifty delicious vegetarian recipes that broaden the vegetarian's palate selection, Living Among Meat Eaters is a superbly presented, down-to-earth, "user friendly", and thoroughly enjoyable compendium of tips, techniques and social advice for the committed vegetarian.


The Travel Shelf

Romantic Weekends: Texas
Mary Lu Abbott
Hunter Publications
130 Campus Dr., Edison, NJ 08818
1588433587 $16.99 www.amazon.com

The updated second edition of Romantic Weekends: Texas covers places to get away for a romantic weekend in Texas, outlining both popular areas and hidden places which can be easily accessed in a long weekend. From central Texas and the Southeast to the Panhandle, the regional breakdowns make it easy to look up particular areas, while specifics on restaurants and accommodations make this a winning set of recommendations.

Treasures And Pleasures Of Mexico
Ron Krannich & Caryl Krannich
Impact Guides
9104-N Manassas Dr., Manassas Park, VA 20111
1570231818 $19.95 www.amazon.com

Treasures And Pleasures Of Mexico combines a travel guide with a shopper's guide to Mexico, combining historical insights with reviews of the 'best of the best' of the country's opportunities. Treasures And Pleasures Of Mexico also includes insights on sports, entertainment, and cultural and outdoors activities throughout Mexico and is recommended as an invaluable destination-oriented tote.

Fog City
Galen Rowell
Sasquatch Books
119 S. Main St. #400, Seattle, WA 98104
157061346X $19.95 1-800-775-0817

Fans of either Rowell's gorgeous photos or the San Francisco Bay Area will welcome Galene Rowell's Fog City: a set of impressions of the San Francisco region in fog. Poetic sayings accompany beautiful full-page color photos displaying the many nuances of San Francisco weather in full glory. A gorgeous visual guide and a keeper for any with a special affection for San Francisco, Fog City is enthusiastically recommended.

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Francisco
Jane Huber
Menasha Ridge Press
PO Box 43673, Birmingham, AL 35243
0897325532 $15.95 menasharidge.com

Compiled by Jane Huber, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Francisco (Including Santa Rosa, Oakland, And San Jose) is a handy outdoors travel guide for San Francisco visitors and residents alike. Trail-descriptions, GPS-based trail maps, trail profiles, extensive directions, and hikes for everyone from kids to dog owners to wildflower spotters, hikes of varying lengths and difficulties and more pack this excellent, fact-filled, detailed, highly recommended, specialized, California-based hiking guide.

Sequoia National Park
Mike White
Wilderness Press
1200 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
0899973272 $19.95 1-800-443-7227

Compiled and organized by Mike White, Sequoia National Park: A Complete Hiker's Guide is a handy resource offering customized topographical maps for each of the 62 Sequoia National Park hikes it features, as well as extensive information concerning wilderness permits, camping options, climate information, and much more. Sequoia National Park is confidently recommended as an excellent companion guide presenting a wealth of useful facts for getting the most out of a hiking vacation or expedition.

Nomad
Jason Jones
Palm Island Press
411 Truman Avenue, Key West, FL 33040
0964343428 $12.00 www.ipgbook.com

Nomad: Letters From A Westward Lap Of The World by Jason Jones is an inherently fascinating travelogue of backpacking around the world on a mere $40 a day. Detailing unforgettable experiences in 25 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, Nomad is thrilling true life story of adventure, meeting new friends worldwide and viewing truly magnificent sights, as well as the terrible pain of learning about the 9/11 attacks when far from home. So vivid it makes the reader feel as if he or she were personally on the road, Nomad is a recommended pick -- especially for armchair travelers who dream of tramping around the world themselves.

The Plane Truth
A Frank Steward
Impact Publications
1904-N Manassas Drive, Manassas Park VA 20111-5211
1570232113 $14.95 www.amazon.com

The Plane Truth is the sequel to the popular Air Traveler's Survival Guide and provides a blend of entertainment and insight into air travel. Blend stories of outrageous things happening in the cockpit and stewardess side jobs to airline bankruptcies and you have an unusually hilarious guide offering no end of laughter.

Yucatan Cancun, Cozumel
Bruce Conord & June Conord
Hunter Publications
130 Campus Dr., Edison, NJ 08818
1588433706 $18.99 www.amazon.com

Yucatan Cancun, Cozumel is an adventure traveler's guide to Mexico's Yucatan region and now appears in its third updated edition to offer the latest suggestions and insights on get-aways. Whether it's touring Maya ruins and snorkeling or sightseeing and choosing authentic places to stay or eat, Yucatan Cancun, Cozumel is packed with candid assessments and suggestions made all the more timely by regular updates.

New York City: An Explorer's Guide
Paul Karr
The Countryman Press
PO Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091
0881505897 $18.95 1-800-245-4151

Compiled and organized by Paul Karr, New York City: An Explorer's Guide is an in-depth survey and an impressive presentation of what makes New York City great. An ideal informational resource for tourist and resident alike, New York City: An Explorer's Guide provides "user friendly" recommendations among great museums of art and science; locales that feature music, dance, opera, on and off-Broadway theater; historic sites; religious places of worship; up-to-date maps (including the MTA subway system map); extensive restaurant recommendations; and so much more. From cover to cover, New York City: An Explorer's Guide is filled with top-notch suggestions, resulting in a truly first-rate guidebook for anyone visiting (or in permanent residence) wanting to know just what this great American city has to offer them.

Liquid Land
Ted Levin
University of Georgia Press
Athens, GA 30602
0820325120 $29.95 www.amazon.com

From panthers to tree snails, author Levin has experienced Florida's Everglades as no other, and here is provided an artful survey of author Ted Levin's travels through the region. From issues surrounding its restoration efforts to history of wildlife and wildlife management efforts, Liquid Land is packed from cover to cover with eye-opening insights.

Key West
Maureen Ogle
University Press of Florida
15 NW 15th Street, Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
0813026156 $24.95 www.amazon.com

Key West has long been relished as a tropical paradise: this provides not just a travelogue of the region, but a history of Key West's many changes; from its Union seizure where citizens lived under martial law for four years, to its technical marvel of a vast overseas railroad which ran from mainland Florida to Key West. Any who relishes the region will want this lively history.

Rome Alive
Peter J. Aicher
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.
1000 Brown Street, Wauconda, IL 60084
0865164738 $29.00 www.bolchazy.com

Compiled, organized, and enhanced with occasional black and white maps and illustrations, Rome Alive: A Source-guide To The Ancient City, Volume 1 by Peter J. Aicher (Associate Professor of Classics, University of Southern Maine) is a superbly presented tourist and "user friendly" travel guide for anyone aspiring to experience Rome's rich historical past, as well as the enshrined legacy of its contributions to art, culture, science, politics, and so much more. Expert commentary and informative insights on the diverse landmark locations (complete with their historical backgrounds), combine in a travel guide that is as enjoyable for the armchair traveler as it is usefully practical for those who seek to experience Rome's majesty on-site and at firsthand. Also very highly recommended is Professor Aicher's previous work: Guide To The Aqueducts Of Ancient Rome which is availably in both paperback (0865162824) and hardcover (08651-62719) editions.

100 Best Ranch Vacations In North America
Gavin Ehringer
The Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
www.GlobePequot.com
0762725974 $17.95 1-800-243-0495

Expertly written by Gavin Ehringer (an award-winning columnist and features writer for "Western Horseman", among several other equine magazines), 100 Best Ranch Vacations In North America is an impressive guide to one hundred different guest ranches and packed with all the information one needs to know about selecting just the right ranch for particular budgets and tastes. Descriptions of the types of riding offered, details on ranch atmosphere and activities, profiles of typical guests, and a great deal more make 100 Best Ranch Vacations In North America a truly first-rate and highly recommended guide for anyone interested in experiencing an authentic taste of the Old West.

Eat Smart In India
Joan Peterson & Indu Menon
Ginkgo Press, Inc.
PO Box 5346, Madison, WI 53705
0964116871 $13.95 ginkgopress.com

The impressive collaboration of Joan Peterson and Indu Menon (and enhanced with b/w illustrations by Susan Chwae), Eat Smart In India: How To Decipher The Menu, Know The Market Foods & Embark On A Tasting Adventure is a very special culinary travel guide for anyone wanting to go abroad and experiencing the greatest tastes that East India cuisines and restaurants have to offer. From knowing the menu; to selecting market foods; to gathering sample recipes; to the culture behind the regional and ethnic cuisine, and so much more, Eat Smart In India is a superbly organized and presented supplementary resource for vacationers, business travelers, and dedicated gourmets seeking truly memorable dining experiences while visiting India -- and who wish to recreate ethnic and regional dishes when they are back home again! Eat Smart In India is but the latest addition to a unique series of culinary travel books from Ginkgo Press. The other outstanding and highly recommended titles include Eat Smart In India ($13.95); Eat Smart In Turkey: 2nd Edition ($13.95); Eat Smart In Brazil ($12.95); Eat Smart In Mexico ($12.95); Eat Smart In Indonesia ($12.95); Eat Smart In Morocco ($12.95); and Eat Smart In Poland ($12.95).

Royal London In Context
Robert Wayne
Independent International Travel
c/o Independent Publishers Group (dist.)
814 North Franklin St., Chicago, IL 60610
0972022880 $29.95 1-800-888-4741

Full color photographs on almost every page add an enhancing touch of visual splendor to Royal London In Context: The Independent Traveler's Guide To Royal London, a detailed introduction to the pageantry, pomp, and circumstance of British royalty. Featuring an audio CD with 12 audio tours delightful for vacationers and armchair travelers alike, interesting anecdotes of the British royal family, and all one needs to freely explore London at the freedom of one's heart's desire, Royal London In Context is a very highly recommended travel guide. If you are planning a visit to London, then begin planning your itinerary with a careful browse through the pages of Robert Wayne's Royal London In Context.

Sacred Sites Of Minnesota
John-Brian Paprock
Teresa Peneguy Paprock
Trails Media Group
PO Box 317, Black Earth, WI 53515
1931599262 $18.95 trailsbooks.com

The collaboration of John-Brian Paprock & Teresa Peneguy Paprock, Sacred Sites Of Minnesota impressively presents approximately 350 sites throughout Minnesota that have a spiritual or sacred connotation, including retreat centers, churches, temples, cemeteries, effigy mounds, and more. Black-and-white photographs, capsule histories, descriptions, directions, contact information and more fill the pages of this unique travel guide which is very highly recommended -- especially for vacationers or native residents looking for a truly memorable excursion into the metaphysical resources of this Midwestern state. Also very highly recommended is the Paprock's pervious collaboration: Sacred Sites Of Wisconsin (1931599017, $18.95).

Through The French Canals
Philip Bristow
Sheridan House
145 Palisade St., Sobbs Ferry, NY 10522
1574091670 $24.95 www.amazon.com

This popular guide to cruising the French waterways appears in its 10th revised edition to tempt new audiences with its photo-packed, updated information on everything from boats to weather advice and cost of living. Yachtsmen who want to use the French inland system will find Through The French Canals to be a 'must' take-along guide to the 39 canal routes crisscrossing in the region.

One Wheel Many Spokes
Lars Clausen
Soulscapers
PO Box 152, Greenbank, WA 98253
0971941599 $14.95 www.onewheel.org

One Wheel Many Spokes: USA By Unicycle is the unique story of Lars Clausen's one man, 50-state, unicycle trip. From the West Coast to the Statue of Liberty and back again, One Wheel Many Spokes is a inspired and inspiring account of the joy an adventure, and along the way, observing different flavors of regional way of life, as well as simple ponderings while putting effort into the pedals. One Wheel Many Spokes is a travelogue like no other and very highly recommended reading.

Happy Sails
Pam Kane
Beagle Bay Books
3040 June Meadows Rd, Reno, NV 89509
0967959187 $14.95 www.beaglebay.com

Happy Sails: The Carefree Cruiser's Handbook by cruise maven Pam Kane is a thoroughly "user friendly" compilation of useful and practical advice for anyone seeking to enjoy a cruise. Ranging from good manners while aboard; to enjoying great food without gaining weight; to tips for differently-abled travelers; to strategies for touring and shopping foreign ports, and so much more, Happy Sails is filled from cover to cover with illustrative anecdotes, fun suggestions, and a very friendly tone pervade. This superbly written and presented travel guide for anyone looking forward to a cruise, whether it's their first voyage or simply the latest of many ocean adventures.


The Business Shelf

Never Be Boring Again
Doug Stevenson
Cornelia Press
Box 9222, Colorado Springs, CO 80932
0971344094 $19.95 1-800-773-0265

Never Be Boring Again is a solid, 352-page guide to spicing up business presentations in such a manner so as to fully captivate attention, inspire and motivate action, and bring about tangible, practical results. Expertly written by the creator of the "Story Theater Method", speech writer, and presentation consultant Doug Stevenson, Never Be Boring Again focuses on stories as power for getting and keeping the audience's full attention, peppered with tips, tricks, and techniques to keep 'em coming back for more. If you are charged with speaking in public, then Doug Stevenson's Never Be Boring Again is enthusiastically recommended reading for you!

The Future Of Competition
C. K. Prahalad & Venkat Ramaswamy
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
1578519535 $29.95 www.HBSPress.org

Co-written by C. K. Prahalad (Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration, University of Michigan Business School) and Venkat Ramaswamy (Michael R. and Mary Kay Hallman Fellow of Electronic Business and Professor of Marketing, University of Michigan Business School), The Future Of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value With Customers offers readers a stimulating look at a fascinating shift away from the firm-centric view of value creation, toward the possibilities opened by new technologies that allow consumers themselves to interact with and directly add value to their chosen product. Drawing upon real-life examples, and focusing on the key foundations of co-creation - dialogue, access, risk assessment, and transparency, The Future Of Competition offers a transforming and revolutionary wealth of insights into commercial and marketplace trends of the present and the near future.

Persuasive Business Proposals
Tom Sant
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0814471536 $17.95 1-800-250-5308

Now in an updated second edition, Persuasive Business Proposals: Writing To Win More Customers, Clients, And Contracts passes on the practical insights and experience-based wisdom of proposal consultant Tom Saint, a business communications expert whose clients include everything from small entrepreneurial businesses to Global 500 companies (including General Electric, Microsoft, Accenture and other Fortune 500 companies). A "must-have" business writer's guide that scrutinizes the proposal development process; offers a wealth of tips, tricks, techniques; alerts the reader to what common pitfalls to avoid; and then ties it all in with solid advice for instantly hooking the reader's attention with ideas, Persuasive Business Proposals is very highly recommended, bottom-line enhancing reader for any corporate manager seeking to expand a client list and who is faced with increasing competition, shrinking budgets, stiffer governmental regulations.

Global Brand Strategy
Sicco van Gelder
Kogan Page USA
PO Box 509, Arroyo Hondo, NM 87513
0749440236 $39.95 1-800-232-0223

Sicco van Gelder is the expert who runs Brand Meta, a Netherlands-based global branding consultancy. In Global Brand Strategy: Unlocking Brand Potential Across Countries, Cultures & Markets, Gelder draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to write an authoritative and "user friendly" business guide to creating brand expression, develop marketing strategies and implementations in a global market. Especially recommended reading for business managers seeking to master an international legacy of name recognition, individual chapters deftly cover the importance of brand reputation, affinity, name recognition, the unique roadblocks to making a local brand global, and so much more in this hands-on advisory guide written directly from experience and a proven record of corporate success.


The World History Shelf

Coming Of The Third Reich
Richard J. Evans
Penguin Group
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
1594200041 $34.95 www.amazon.com

Richard J. Evans' Coming Of The Third Reich isn't just another chronological coverage of events during World War II, but a specialized focus on just how the Third Reich came to power, blending German history with comments on the social, political and cultural trends which made Nazism possible in the first place. While the Nazi rise to power was not inevitable, Evans persuasively argues that there were cultural backgrounds and traditions specifically German in nature which fostered the sentiments expressed by Nazis. An informed and informative comprehensive analysis, Coming Of The Third Reich is an impressive and highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections.

Climax At Buena Vista
David Lavender
University of Pennsylvania Press
4200 Pine Street, 3rd floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4011
0812218604 $15.95 1-800-445-9880

Climax At Buena Vista: The Decisive Battle Of The Mexican-American War by western historian and author David Lavender is a solidly researched military history and descriptive accounting of the decisive territory battle that took place between the United States and Mexico in 1847. General Zachary Taylor and roughly 4,500 American army regulars battled General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna with a force of 20,000 Mexican soldiers. Superb maneuvering and regrouping tactics caused what should have been a rout of the American troops by the Mexican forces, into military battlefield draw, and which would ultimately compelled Mexico to sue for peace. An absorbing and informative survey of military tactics, combined with a compelling narrative of the dynamics and relative morality of a war that was ultimately an American grab for more land, Climax At Buena Vista reveals the enduring impact the conflict had on subsequent Mexican and American histories.

Yugoslavia: A Concise History
Leslie Benson
Palgrave
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
1403915660 $19.95 palgrave-usa.com

Leslie Benson is the Senior Lecturer of Politics and Sociology at University College Northampton, United Kingdom. In Yugoslavia: A Concise History, Professor Benson provides his readers with a straightforward, meticulously researched, and informatively narrated historical study of the fierce ethnic rivalries that have hallmarked the Balkans and frequently erupted into horrific episodes of militant barbarism and the kinds of "ethnic cleansing" atrocities that shocked late twentieth century Europe and America. A thorough examination seeking to the reveal roots of bitter clashes and struggles, Yugoslavia: A Concise History is especially recommended introductory reading for non-specialist general readers with an interest in Yugoslavian history and acquiring a basic understanding of the historical background to the contemporary antagonisms that have so scarred the peoples and territories that once comprised the multi-ethnic nation of Yugoslavia.

The Crusaders
Regine Pernoud
Ignatius Press
PO Box 1339, Fort Collins, CO 80522
0898709490 $15.95 1-800-651-1531

In The Crusaders: The Struggle For The Holy Land, renowned French archivist and historian Regine Pernoud focuses upon the human aspect by presenting profiles of those who undertook the Crusades ranging from the kings, to the barons, clerks, women, merchants, and paupers. Whether driven by faith, conquest, or greed, their individual and collective perspectives are vividly described, and providing contemporary readers with a detailed and lasting impression of the shock of Christian perspectives created when introduced to the Muslim world. A thoughtful and unforgettable trip through history that virtually puts the reader in this long-ago era, The Crusaders is an ideal introduction for non-specialist general readers.

Memories Of Revolt
Ted Swedenburg
The University of Arkansas Press
McIlroy House, 201 Ozark Avenue, Fayetteville, AR 72701
1557287635 $19.95 1-800-626-0090

Now with a new afterword, Memories Of Revolt: The 1936-1939 Rebellion And The Palestinian National Past by Ted Swedenburg (Professor of Anthropology, University of Arkansas), draws from oral history, interviews, archival material, national monuments, and other historical resources to reveal multiple perspectives on the complex historical events surrounding the 1936-38 Palestinian revolt against the British. Drawing compelling connections between the historical revolt and the Palestinian Intifada of 1987, Memories Of Revolt is a seminal academic study which will prove invaluable for the links it forges between the past and the present enabling a clearer and more concise understanding of the heated issues that form the basis of contemporary Israeli and Palestinian confrontations today.

Nomadic Empires
Gerard Chaliand
Transaction Publishers
Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, NJ 08854
076580204X $39.95 1-888-999-6778

Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia To The Danube by French academician Gerard Chaliand (Director, The European Center for the Study of Conflicts - Paris) skillfully surveys the two thousand year military history and geopolitical phenomena that was the reality and legacy of the Mongol Empire of Genghis-Khan and his heirs (5th Century BCE to 15th Century CE) which spread out over Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. A wealth of carefully researched dates, descriptive interplay of sweeping forces, and close dissection of the organizational, strategic, and psychological military techniques employed in conquest that changed history are combined in an informed and informative text. Nomadic Empires is a strongly commended addition to academic library reference collections and inherently fascinating reading for any non-specialist general reader with an interest in world history.


The Photography Shelf

Elephant House
Kevin McDermott
Pomegranate Communications
Box 808022, Petaluma, CA 94975-8022
0764924958 $35.00 pomegranate.com

Even dedicated fans of Edward Gorey will probably know very little about his personal life: he was an enigmatic recluse and few were permitted past his front door. Photographer Kevin McDermott's Elephant House will delight students of architecture and photography, providing rich duotone works of Gorey's intriguing home and its contents. A specialty item for the true Gorey collector, Elephant House is an impressive photographic showcase and a welcome addition to both architectural studies and photographic studies reference collections.

Mastering Black And White Photography
Bernhard J. Seuss
Allworth Press
10 East 23rd Street, Suite 210, New York, NY 10010
1581153066 $19.95 1-800-491-2808

This revised edition of Bernhard J. Seuss darkroom classic Mastering Black And White Photography provides contemporary photographers with the basic skills needed to achieve expert status. Digital imaging and Internet technology are included in this updated and expanded edition, which deftly covers the entire photographic process from locating subjects to creating beautiful results in black and white.

Shoot Like A Pro! Digital Photography Techniques
Julie King
Osborne/McGraw-Hill
2100 Powell St., Emeryville, CA 94608
0072229497 $24.99 1-800-722-4726

Through a series of tutorial projects, Julie King's Shoot Like A Pro! Digital Photography Techniques expertly shows just how to light shots, choose the right camera settings, use camera accessories and photographic software, and so much more. Shoot Like A Pro! Digital Photography Techniques deftly explains how to set up a home studio, create a 360-degree panoramic image, work in low light, action photography, black and white, and a great many other professional techniques. This 256-page compendium is very highly recommended for amateur and professional photography instructional reference collections.

New Riders
800 East 96th St., Indianapolis, IN 46240
www.amazon.com www.peachpit.com

Two powerful new titles on digital design and manipulation are highly recommended picks. Bert Monroy's Commercial Photoshop (073571388X, $45.00) focuses on using Photoshop to produce commercial work, from understanding the intricacies of channels, layers and masks to designing images with highlights and using photos as a foundation for illustrations. While Commercial Photoshop is packed with step-by-step technical direction, it also includes a healthy dose of commercial savvy which explores initial project challenges and problem resolution. Cynthia Baron's Designing A Digital Portfolio (0735713-944, $35.00) narrows the usual art portfolio focus to a digital portfolio, providing examples from quality portfolios to enhance discussions of what makes a strong digital presentation. Individual chapters outline everything from spec sheets and brochures to humor and file attachments as it surveys professional standards and needs. Both these outstanding titles are highly recommended picks: especially for photographers seeking to understand digital applications and marketing processes.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Introduction To Theatre Arts
Suzi Zimmerman
Meriwether Publishing
Box 7710, Colorado Springs, CO 80933
www.amazon.com www.meriwether.com

Introduction To Theatre Arts appears in two sets: as an action handbook for students of drama (1566080908, $19.95) and as a teacher's accompanying handbook to a 36-week course (1566080916, $24.95). The teacher's guide includes lesson plans, a weekly calendar, evaluation techniques and tips, and tests; while the student's guide covers basics plus play production, publicity, theatre history, and games and routines for improving acting skills. Together this is a powerful course of study recommended for any high school to adult drama group.

Michael Wiese Productions
11288 Ventura Blvd. #621, Studio City, CA 91604
1-800-833-5738 www.amazon.com

Wiese Productions provides aspiring filmmakers with all the nuts and bolts necessary to achieve a successful production, and their expanding line of titles keeps on delivering. Kim Adelman's Ultimate Filmmaker's Guide To Short Films (094-1188892, $14.95, for example, discusses how to make it big in producing short films: a more affordable and accessible format than the feature-length production. Chapters focus on what makes the short filmmaker successful, from how to produce a great film within a budget to creating a press kit that works, and the cons of hiring name actors. Gil Bettman's First Time Director (0941188779, $27.95) tells how to make a breakthrough movie, providing plenty of set keys and help which will prepare a director for a first-time production. From improving camera moves and work to lens selection and perspective choices and how to properly direct actors, this is filled with important guidelines. Richard Pepperman's The Eye Is Quicker (0941188841, $27.95) narrows the focus to film editing, providing screenwriters and directors with invaluable, practical assessments of what makes a good film, and what elevates a film from 'good' to 'great'. Chapters cover the foundations of film editing theory, including guides to lcoating key scenes and sequences and enhancing them.


The Literary Shelf

Children's Literature And The Fin De Siccle
Roderick McGillis, editor
Praeger
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0313321205 $59.95 greenwood.com

From children's poetry to series books, pacifist fiction, and beyond, Children's Literature And The Fin De Siccle, compiled and edited by Roderick McGilis, presents a satisfying survey of children's literature in its many incarnations throughout the world, offering scholarly essays which examine links between children's writings and social issues/world events. A fine set of considerations on evolving trends and characters in kids' literature.

The Emptiness Of Asia
Thomas Harrison
Duckworth
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Dr, Sterling, VA 20166
www.ducknet.co.uk
0715629689 $72.00 1-800-758-3756

The Emptiness Of Asia by Thomas Harrison (Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St. Andrews) is a literary study of Aeschylus' "Persai" alongside Herodotus' "Histories", which will provide the reader with comprehensive understanding what actually happened at the battle of Salamis and afterwards. A scholarly dissection of political and ideological motivating factors underpinning "Persai" in the context of the times, The Emptiness Of Asia is a fascinating and thoughtfully insightful analysis -- and a welcome addition to Hellenic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

A Nomad Poetics
Pierre Joris
Wesleyan University Press
110 Mt. Vernon St, Middletown CT 06459
0819566462 $17.95 www.amazon.com

Academician, poet, and translator Pierre Joris (Professor of English at SUNY-Albany), provides the reader with an impressively thoughtful and unusually thought-provoking series of essays on the many faceted approaches to poetry that have manifested in a diversity of cultures and historical periods. From the experimental poetics of Spicer and Mackey; to the innovations of a 10th century Sufi poet; to the contemporary speech patterns found in popular movies and baseball commentaries of the 20th Century, A Nomad Poetics ultimately showcases a "rhizomatic poetics" that translates across linguistic and cultural boundaries. A Nomad Poetics (also available in a hardcover edition: 0819566454, $45.00) is a highly recommended compilation of original and seminal essays that would enhance any personal or academic studies reading list in the discipline of contemporary and experimental poetry.

Mythic Worlds, Modern Worlds
Joseph Campbell
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1577314069 $22.95 www.amazon.com

This informed and informative survey of the late Joseph Campbell's published writings and lectures on James Joyce will serve as both an introduction to Joyce's major works and as a critical survey of his literary, spiritual and psychological leanings. Mythic Worlds, Modern Worlds has been long out of print: its return to print will delight Joyce fans and Campbell readers alike.

Exorcism And Its Texts
Hilaire Kallendorf
University of Toronto Press
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4Y 2W8
0802088171 $65.00 1-800-565-9523

A work of impeccable research by Hilaire Kallendorf (Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies at Texas A&M University), Exorcism And Its Texts: Subjectivity In Early Modern Literature Of England And Spain is a scholarly analysis of the recurring presence of cases of exorcism and demonic possession early modern Spanish and English literatures. A broad-ranging dissection of how demonic possession and exorcism was viewed in everything from Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Lope de Vega to little-known works by anonymous writers, extensively researched and detailed and presented with an impartial search for common ground.

Orpheus In Brooklyn
Bertrand Mathieu
Florida Academic Press, Inc.
PO Box 540, Gainesville, FL 32602-0540
fapress@worldnet.att.net
1890357111 $34.95 www.amazon.com

Orpheus In Brooklyn: Orphism, Rimbaud, And Henry Miller by Bertrand Mathieu is a scholarly and critical literary evaluation of the influence of Orphic thinking as reflected in the work of French poet Arthur Rimbaud and American playwright Arthur Miller. Attention is paid to Arthur Rimbaud's attitudes towards, and plans for dealing, with life's difficulties, as well as the literary style of Henry Miller especially focusing upon Miller's "The Colossus of Maroussi" (1941). This seminal exploration of enduring antiquarian philosophical ideas and ideals, transcending centuries, cultures, and modes of thought, then applied to derive common themes and life lessons is a skillfully written and very welcome addition to literary criticism shelves. Orpheus In Brooklyn is exceptional and highly recommended reading -- especially for students of the works and lives of such two disparate and influential writers as Arthur Rimbaud and Henry Miller.


The Audiobook Shelf

To The Far Blue Mountains
Louis L'Amour
Books On Tape, Inc.
Box 25122, Santa Ana, CA 92799-5122
library.booksontape.com
0736695605 $54.00 1-800-541-5525

Dramatically narrated by John Curless, To The Far Blue Mountains is an flawlessly recorded audiobook presentation of yet another of Louis L'Amour's classic western novels featuring the hardy endurance of the Sackett clan as they addressed the challenges of life in the Old West. To The Far Blue Mountains follows Barnabas Sackett, who is on the run with his steadfast wife Abigail and his only escape is to the west. This is a superbly written adventure story of earning a life for oneself on the frontier, surviving all manner of hazards both human and environmental, and eventually prospering despite the hostilities of nature and man alike. To The Far Blue Mountains is an enthusiastically recommended audiobook for personal and community library collections!

Random House Audio
www.randomhouse.com/audio

This audio publisher's rapidly expanding selections on cd will delight the increasing numbers of commuters who have cd players in their cars, offering a wide choice of popular authors and readers. Among the latest specially recommended selections: Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas (0739301764, $44.95) comes to life under the steady voice and quiet drama of David Aaron Baker. In true Koontz style the story of a day of catastrophe with its underlying supernatural intonations comes alive with Baker's dramatic rendition. Walter Yetnikoff and David Ritz's Howling At The Moon (073931162X, $29.95) provides an exceptionally lively account of a music mogul, with Walter Yetnikoff's voice enhancing the presentation and providing an interview to round out his book. Yetnikoff was in the unique role of being the ruling mogul of CBS Records, which signed some of the biggest musicians of the 1970s and 80s: any music fan will want to consider this a 'must'. Fans of the TV show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy (0739313150) will appreciate interviews with the five actors who make this series a winner. This guide to looking, cooking and dressing and living better is witty and includes a full-cast production complete with sound effects and music. Arriving too late for St. Patrick's mention but suitable for year-round enjoyment is Edward Rutherford's Princes Of Ireland (0739309544, $37.95), with John Keating spicing the Dublin saga telling of pre-Christian Ireland and the major events which take place in Irish history from early times on. H.W. Brands' Lone Star Nation (0739310135, $37.95) receives Chuck Montgomery's practiced TV voice and personality as it follows the state's journey to statehood and some of its key leaders. Fans of P.D. James will relish her Murder Room (0739307568, $44.95), presented in unabridged glory narrated by Charles Keating. Murder Room is a new Adam Dalgliesh mystery and revolves around a small museum's bitter dispute. John Grisham's Last Juror (0739309013, $59.95) receives Michael Beck's warm presentation and appear unabridged on 10 cds for maximum effect. High courtroom drama is captured by Beck, whose film background lends to his ability to bring the story of revenge to life. Jerome Groopman's Anatomy Of Hope (0739310267, $25.00) tells of how people prevail in the face of illness. The search for hope can lead to miracles and the failure of hope can lead to death in this doctor's reflections on the recovery process. Bill O'Reilly's Those Who Trespass (0739308963, $29.95) receives the author's own strong narrative style as it tells of the systematic murder of high-level executives who deal with TV journalism. Danielle Steel's Safe Harbour (07393757032, $29.95) is set in San Francisco and comes to life under the smooth voice of Kyf Brewer, whose voice sweetens a lyrical romance of tragedy and love. Sarah Dunant's Birth Of Venus (0739310534, $29.95) enjoys Jenny Sterlin's fine style and flair for drama as it tells of a teen who falls in love with a Renaissance painter. Alessandra's romance is interrupted by her parents' plans to marry her, and drama comes to life against the backdrop of Renaissance Florence. All of these Random House audiobooks are flawlessly recorded, inherently compelling, listener involving audios.

Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
1-800-222-3225 brillianceaudio.com

Brilliance Corporaton's audio productions are carefully geared to reach a wide leisure listening audience, pairing popular authors with strong narrators for maximum result. A growing number of listeners are enjoying audio cd formats in their vehicles: to this end, Brilliance has provided a host of new arrivals in cd format. P. T. Deutermann's Firefly (1590868676, $26.95) pairs veteran narrator Dick Hill with the lively, evolving story of a secret medical clinic's arson and an agent's survey of what's behind it; fans of military fiction will enjoy Hill's narration of W.E.B. Griffin's Retreat, Hell! (1590863005, $44.95), presenting unabridged the gripping thriller of Marine action in 1950 and the battle between MacArthur and Truman; Stephen White's Blinded (1590863935, $26.95) benefits from Hill's story of a woman no man can resist and a nightmare which evolves from a confession; and Nevada Barr's High Country (1590866605, $26.95) benefits from Joyce Bean's smooth style as it tells of fear in Yosemite and an undercover ranger's investigation of missing employees. Bean also lends her smooth, melodic voice to John Saul's The Unwanted (1590868919, $26.95), a gripping story of a lonely teen who comes to live with a barely-known father in Cape Cod, only to face her evolving new powers. Saul's The Unloved (159086896X, $26.95) receives Sandra Burr's powerful voice as it reveals terrible secrets which emerge from a dark, tainted house. Nora Roberts has a growing circle of strong fans after the popularity of her many books, so don't miss recent enlargements of her 'Key' trilogy in Key Of Knowledge (1590869-036, $36.95), which tells of a woman's search for a second key which will release souls held captive by evil, and Key Of Valor (1590869052, $26.95), telling of Zoe's final test of valor. Susan Ericksen's smooth and clear style lends a polished finish to these audios as well as a continuity of style listeners will appreciate. It's often difficult finding affordable unabridged productions on cassette: Nora Roberts' Key Of ight (1590863194, $32.95) also appears unabridged on cassette and is the opening punch to this gripping trilogy. Stephen Hunter's Havana (1590861681, $32.95) receives William Dufris' warm and brisk rendition as it tells of 1950s Cuba and a summer where Havana offers paradise and trouble alike. John Nance's Fire Flight (1590867572, $34.95) receives the author's own strong voice and smooth style as it tells of pilots who risk their lives flying rickety planes in wars against wildfires. Those satisfied with unabridged productions on cassette also have a wide array to choose from with this publisher. Fans of Nora Roberts' romances will relish the mysteries she writes under the pen name J.D. Robb, and her Remember When (159086186X, $24.95) receives a hearty rendition by Susan Ericksen as it tells of an ordinary small town female proprietor who is hiding from her infamous background; and Divided In Death (159-0861916, $24.95), also receiving Ericksen's excellent style as it tells of 2059 terrorism in the form of a new type of computer virus. Don't miss Laurell Hamilton's Seduced By Moonlight (1590864222, $24.95), which enjoys actress Laural Merlington's many years of experience both acting and narrating as it tells of a woman who is a faerie princess changed by immortality; Jodi Compton's 37th Hour (1590861185, $19.95), receiving Bernadette Quigley's professional Broadway background as it tells of a seasoned missing-persons investigator who finds her own husband vanished; Russell Andrews' Aphrodite (1590869524, $24.95), with Buck Schirner providing a strong set of character reads in this story of a tragic accident which may be murder; and Clive Cussler's Golden Buddha (1590862025, $24.95), with J. Charles powerhousing the tense thriller, first in a series of adventures, telling of a ship's captain who commands a spy vessel. Other new arrivals not to be missed: Jayne Ann Krentz's Truth Or Dare (1590861460, $24.95), which veteran Joyce Bean brings to life as it tells of deception and a stalker in Arizona; John Lescrart's Second Chair (159-0863771, $24.95), a novel powered by David Colacci's smooth reading as it tells of a law firm partner's prominent murder case, Terry Kay's Valley Of Light (1590860812, $19.95), enjoying a lively reading by the author as it tells of a stranger who comes to town for fishing and winds up involved in residents' secret lives; Rochelle Krich's Dream House (1590864557, $24.95), receiving Deanna Hurst's beautiful voice and style which sets off perfectly the story of a nightmare police report and increasingly violent attacks in Los Angeles; and Anne and Todd McCaffrey's Dragon's Kin (1590861827, $19.95), receiving Dick Hill's polished narrative style with another story of Pern and its dragonriders. Here young Kindan faces no opportunities on the mining world where he joins his father until disaster strikes and forces him to realize hidden talents. All are outstanding listens; highly recommended for this profiled publisher.

Listen & Live Audio
PO Box 817, Roseland, NJ 07068
1-800-653-9400 www.listenandlive.com

John Cornwell's Hitler's Scientists (1593-160186, $29.95) is narrated with dramatic flair by veteran reader Simon Prebble and tells of the scientists who worked in Germany during Hitler's reign. Cornwell argues that German scientists should be held accountable for the uses resulting from their knowledge, and here makes a compelling argument for justice and responsibility. Amy Hassinger's Nina: Adolescence (1593160127, $32.95) receives Mia Barron's calmly dramatic voice: the perfect accompaniment to the story of a teen and her family still struggling with the accidental death of her brother several years earlier. Her mother's unusual passion for nude painting will change their lives in this moving story. Gary Delsohn's The Prosecutors (1593160097, $22.95) receives the author's own warm voice and presents a personal drama in recounting a year in the life of a D.A.'s office and cases. Col. John Carney Jr. and Benjamin Schemmer's No Room For Error (1593-16927, $22.95) receives Barrett Whitener's 'golden voice', an award-winning suave narration style which is the perfect choice for this account of an Air Force elite group working clandestine missions. Fans of military history and special forces operations will find this involving.

Audio Editions
Auburn, CA 95604

These three fine collections are highly recommended picks for discriminating audio listeners. Jonathan Cecil's smooth style and reading brings to life the unabridged short stories of Agatha Christie, mistress of mystery, in Problem At Pollensa Bay And 7 Other Mysteries (1572703342, $25.95). This unique collection features three of her finer detectives, Hercule Poirot, Parker Pyne, and Harley Quinn, in a set of short mysteries listeners will relish. For unabridged classics on audio cassette, look no further than two powerful renditions from this publisher. Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders (1572703407, $39.95) comes to life under the voice of polished film actress Janet Suzman, who brings to life the story of one Moll, born in prison, experienced of five marriages, who travels the world as a pickpocket and prostitute. The audio comes to life under Suzman's polished voice, bringing new nuances to Defoe's written word. George Eliot's Silas Marner (1572703385, $29.95) receives Andrew Sachs' distinguished acting voice and theatre background as it tells of a lonely miserly man who receives a golden-haired child in place of wealth. Her background and mystery will change his life in this fine story.


The Biography Shelf

The Split Sky
Tom McCourt
Southpaw Publications
400 East 3000 South Price, Utah, 84501
0974156817 $17.95 1-435-637-4544 southpaw@emerytelcom.net

The Split Sky: A Journey Of Discovery In Utah's Nine Mile Canyon is the autobiographical story of Tom McCourt's personal experience in a summer job as a cowboy on a large cattle ranch in Eastern Utah. The year was 1963 and Tom was only sixteen. This fascinating and memorable coming of age journey, is recounted among memories of horses, dogs, ghosts, grouchy elders and pretty gals. Written with a fine taste of sharp-lined humor, The Split Sky is one memoir that reads from cover to cover like a Hollywood adventure film come true to life.

To Prove My Blood
Philip Brady
The Ashland Poetry Press
Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio 44805
0912592508 $14.95 ashland.edu/aupoetry

To Prove My Blood: A Tale Of Emigrations & The Afterlife is a personal memoir of growing up Irish-American, in a crowded household that often had tight money, yet the bonds of blood were forged strong. Philip Brady had his own crucibles to endure, yet in this enthralling autobiographical tale of rising to meet life's challenges, Brady came of age facing the hardships of life while coming into contact with mafiosos, Jesuits, detectives, coal miners, New Age artists and others. A multifaceted and engagingly told life journey, To Prove My Blood is a literate, articulate, attention engaging, inherently interesting, and enthusiastically recommended read.

Joan Of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman
Anne Llewellyn Barstow
The Edwin Mellen Press
PO Box 450, Lewiston, NY 14092-0450
edwinmellenpress.com
0889465320 $99.95 1-716-754-2788

Winner of the Adele Mellen Prize for its distinguished contribution to scholarship, Joan Of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman by Anne Llewellyn Barstow is not just another biography of Joan of Arc's life per se, but rather a methodical and seminal exploration of the topics that best shed light on how she lived as an autonomous woman in fifteenth-century France. Placing Joan's visions in the context of medieval mysticism, her dissent condemned by the church as heresy in the context of medieval dissent, and so much more, Joan Of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman is an impressively thoughtful, exhaustively researched, and inspirationally insightful study of the details that surrounded this great woman's brief life and lasting legacy. A work of outstanding scholarship, Joan Of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library collections.

The Lady Named Thunder
Clifford H. Phillips
University of Alberta Press
Ring House 2, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E1
0888644175 $34.95 www.uap.ualberta.ca

Dr. Margaret Phillips (1876-1951) was educated as a medical doctor and went on to spend forty-three years in China as a Christian missionary dedicated to improving the health and circumstances of women, eradicate the scourge of tuberculosis, and provide medical services to legions of children with a distressing spectrum of all manner of illnesses and injuries. The Lady Named Thunder is a compelling and detailed biography of a unique and dedicated woman who, in a era when women were discouraged from engaging in "unladylike" activities and careers, was uncompromising and unflinching in her lifetime of service to the Chinese people -- including learning Mandarin so that she could translate medical texts and teach medicine to student doctors and nurses, as well as communicate effectively with her patients, their families, and their fellow villagers. Clifford H. Phillips (adopted at the age of two by Dr. Margaret Phillips) has done his mother full justice in this detailed and inherently fascinating telling of his mother's life and work.

Don't Spit The Good Stuff
Peter Ward
General Store Publishing House
PO Box 28, 1694B Burnstown, Ontario, Canada K0J 1G0
1894263863 $19.95 1-800-465-6072

Peter Ward is a professional wine writer for Canadian newspapers. In Don't Spit The Good Stuff, Ward has created a combination travelogue and personal memoir of his sightseeing and wine tasting experienced around the world. Ward has tasted the greatest culinary traditions and sampled the finest wines to be found in Rome, Istanbul, Tehran, Jerusalem, Nicosia, Cairo, and other exotic places. Don't Spit The Good Stuff is a truly memorable autobiographical tour of palette and soul, and most enjoyable, highly recommended leisure reading -- especially for armchair travelers and aspiring epicureans.

Frontenac: The Courtier Governor
W. J. Eccles
University of Nebraska Press
233 North 8th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588
0803267509 $24.95 1-800-755-1105

Frontenac: The Courtier Governor is the absorbing and deftly researched biography of Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac (1622-1698), who was appointed governor general of New France in 1672. Though Louis de Buade was popularly credited with making a daunting and ruthless impression on the Iroquois, defying the military power of colonial Britain, and promoting the imperial expansion of France, his biographer W. J. Eccles (Professor of History, University of Toronto) deftly dissects these myths and steadfastly delves into a more sordid picture of the true Frontenac: a man out of his time who strived to hold on to power and status through corruption, favors at court, and the illicit drive for commerce in the West. A closely researched reexamination and interpretation of primary sources, Frontenac is seminal contribution to a colonial era portrait, and a welcome addition to Canadian and North American history and biography collections.

Back Under Sail
Migael Scherer
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, #300, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1246
www.milkweed.org
1571312749 $22.00 1-800-520-6455

Written by a survivor of a traumatic and life-threatening sexual assault, Migael Scherer's Back Under Sail: Recovering The Spirit Of Adventure is about restoring a passion for experiencing life after having to endure unspeakable atrocity. Blending the challenges of learning to work with a skilled racing crew with the sometimes painful recovery from physical and emotional trauma, Back Under Sail is a powerful and life-affirming personal testimony. Also very highly recommended is Migael Scherer's previous memoir, Still Loved By The Sun: A Rape Survivor's Journal.

Monsieur De Saint-George
Alain Guede
Picador USA
175 Fifth Avenue, #1800, NY, NY 10010
0312309279 $26.00 1-888-330-8477

Monsieur De Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman, Revolutionary is the amazing biography of Joseph Boulogne de Saint-George, the son of a slave mother and a gentleman father and the trail he blazed through eighteenth-century aristocratic circles to become one of the greatest of the French composers. Also known for his talented violin playing, his superb swordsmanship, and his passionate hope for a future that would promote equal rights for human beings regardless of color. An enthralling life story which was definitely researched and superbly written by biographer Alain Guede, Monsieur De Saint-George is a quite significant contribution to Black Studies and Music History collections.

Nonviolent Soldier Of Islam
Eknath Easwaran
Nilgiri Press
PO Box 256, Tomales, CA 94971
1888314001 $16.95 www.nilgiri.org

Nonviolent Soldier Of Islam: Badshah Khan, A Man To Match His Mountains is the powerful written biography of Abdul Ghaffar Khan -- a great 20th Century Islamic figure who worked with the legendary peacemaker Gandhi to amass history's first nonviolent army of 100,000 men. Khan's leadership in revealing how great numbers of unarmed men and women can successfully stand against injustice, stop the self-perpetuating cycles of revenge fueled violence, and help to change history, bringing inspiration to future generations, is a profound example for what is so badly needed today both with in Islamic communities and with respect to the interactions of Islamic and non-Islamic peoples today. A impressively descriptive saga of Khan's life and work, Nonviolent Solider Of Islam is very strongly recommended and timely reading.

It Had To Be You
R. J. Howard
Elderberry Press
1393 Old Homestead Drive, 2nd floor, Oakland, OR 97462-9506
1930859937 $13.95 elderberrypress.com

A highly recommended addition to anyone's American biographies reading list, It Had To Be You: Memoir Of A Navy Wife by R. J. Howard is a quite personal, autobiographical story which is told with self-respect and honor. R. J. Howard was a navy wife and in It Had To Be You, she presents her readers with an engaging and graceful record of her life related as something of an exciting adventure. Enjoyably told with a dash of humor, It Had To Be You reflects daily life and ordinary human experience in a most unforgettable style.

With A Camera In My Hands
William O. Field & C. Suzanne Brown
University of Alaska Press
PO Box 756240, Fairbanks, AK 99775
188996347X $29.95 www.amazon.com

The late William O. Field was the pioneer of modern glaciology in North America. With the assistance of C. Suzanne Brown, With A Camera In My Hands reveals the fascinating story of his life and work in the form of a beautifully illustrated oral biography demonstrating his major scientific contributions and an exceptional ability to visually capture the "living history" of the subject of his studies. Before his death he discussed with Suzanne Brown his life adventures, laced with colorful tales of the people he met and they places he went, as well as his impressive accomplishments and contributions to the disciplines of glaciology and geology. Also available in a hardcover edition (1889963461, $59.95) With A Camera In My Hands is a superb biography and will hold immense interest for students of the history of science in general and the glacial history of the North American continent in particular.

Gauguin Tahiti
George T. M. Shackelford, et al.
MFA Publications
465 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
0878466665 $65.00 mfa-publications.org

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) is one of 19th Century Europe's most mythic artists. He was a man of amazing talent, eccentric behavior, and controversial conduct. Leaving a career as a banker, Gauguin became obsessed with painting, eventually abandoning his family and sailing to the South Sea islands of Polynesia where he spent out the remainder of his life painting, sculpturing, producing innovative graphic works and unusual ceramics. Enhanced with 260 color and 80 b/w illustrations, Gauguin Tahiti is wonderfully presented, highly recommended, in-depth, 380-page biography of this gifted man's life and work as a European master artist who "went native" in the tropical paradise of Tahiti.


The Humor Shelf

The Bad Ass Bible
S. K. Smith
Red Brick Press
c/o Hatherleigh Press
5-22 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101
1578261570 $10.95 1-800-528-2550

The Bad Ass Bible: An Essential Guide For Men by S. K. Smith is a reader attention engaging, humorous, tongue-in-cheek field guide to what truly constitutes "Bad Ass" masculinity in contemporary American culture. Ranging from types of pets (cats are not the pet of a Bad Ass unless he is a James Bond movie villain); to the "gigs" of a Bad Ass (bounty hunter, repo man, etc.); to Bad Ass meat recipes (Spam a la Hindenburg), and so much more, The Bad Ass Bible should not be taken too seriously at the risk of one's health and welfare, but it does offer receptive readings an intriguing perspective on just what constitutes a popularly perceived macho way of life.


The Parenting Shelf

Successful Parents Successful Kids
Brenda L. Tarsa & Laura R. Lyons
Tar Lion Press, LLC
PO Box 163, Custer, MI 49405
097258689X $14.95 www.successful-parents.com

Brenda L. Tarsa is a practicing school psychologist and Laura R. Lyons is a psychotherapist who specializes in family therapy. Together they have written Successful Parents Successful Kids: For Parents Who Have Tried Everything, a dynamite working guide to helping parents help their children prepare for a hostile outside world. From working through communication breakdowns; to creating back-up plans; to setting realistic goals; to redefining discipline, and so much more, Successful Parents Successful Kids is a superbly organized and presented guide which is enthusiastically recommended reading for parents -- and most especially for those with "problem children" that have exhausted the usual roster of parental child rearing skills.

Earthbabies
Wendy L. McCord, Ph.D.
Epona Publishing
835 W. Warner Rd., Suite 101-472, Gilbert, AZ 85233
0974178519 $19.95 wendymccord.com

Painstakingly compiled by Wendy L. McCord, Earthbabies: Ancient Wisdom For Modern Times is an impressive anthology of serious, philosophical, and enchanting parables for adults about children. From conception, pregnancy, and birth, through the first year of life, Earthbabies is a gentle and highly recommended treasury of wisdom reflecting compassionate insights and is emotionally moving in its presentation of thoughts and ideas. Earthbabies would make an especially appropriate baby shower gift whether its the first child or the sixth that is expected.

Choking On The Silver Spoon
Gary W. Buffone, Ph.D.
Simplon Press
KSB Promotions (publicity)
14653 Marsh View Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32250
www.psychologythatworks.com
0974653500 $19.95 1-800-247-6553

Choking On The Silver Spoon: Keeping Your Kids Healthy, Wealthy And Wise In A Land Of Plenty by Gary Buffone (a practicing licensed psychologist and Director, The Family Business Century, Byron Harless Consulting, Jacksonville, Florida) is a very practical and accessibly written parenting guide meant for parents everywhere, whether raising toddlers, dealing with difficult teenagers, or keeping in touch with their adult children. Choking On The Silver Spoon deals with the very serious problem of handling children and money matters in a fair and balanced manner that will not "spoil" children, but rather teach them the true value of hard-earned wages, give them initiative to achieve, and help them better succeed financially when on their own. Of special note are the "five laws": The Law Of Necessity; The Law Of Loving Limits; The Law Of Reciprocity; The Law Of Fiscal Responsibility; and The Law of Example. This is superbly presented and highly recommended primer for passing down financial survival skills and endearing a healthy respect for work and the fruits of honest labor.

Your Pregnancy Week By Week
Dr. Glade B. Curtis, OB/GYN
Judith Schuler, M.S.
Lifelong Books/Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Ctr, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.dacapopress.com
1555613462 $15.95 1-800-242-7737

Now in its significantly revised, expanded, and updated fifth edition, Your Pregnancy Week By Week is the expert collaboration of OB/GYN certified physician Galde B. Curtis and professional writer Judith Schuler. This impressively organized and presented, 469-page, pregnancy and childbirth reference provides the reader with the most current information concerning nutrition during pregnancy; medical tests expectant mothers may need; detailed descriptions of a baby's growth and average experiences to be expected week by week; what to do if you are overdue, and so much more. A superb and highly recommended resource for all mothers-to-be, Your Pregnancy Week By Week is comprehensive and"reader friendly".

The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding
La Leche League International
Box 4079, Schaumburg, IL 60168-4079
0912500980 $16.95 lalecheleague.org

Now in its seventh revised and updated edition, The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding is a straightforward and thoroughly dependable 480-page reference filled from cover to cover with everything new mothers need to know about breastfeeding. From coping with obstacles to breast feeding; to the advantages human milk has for babies; to suggested positioning techniques, and so much more, The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding is an excellent, "user friendly" instructional and reference resource which has been skillfully and knowledgeably compiled by the La Leche League, an organization which has served to educate mothers for more than 50 years.

The Nursing Mother's Herbal
Sheila Humphrey, BSC, RN, IBCLC
Fairview Press
2450 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1400
www.fairviewpress.org
1577491181 $16.95 1-800-544-8207

Sheila Humphry is a registered ob-gyn nurse and La Leche League Leader. In writing The Nursing Mother's Herbal, she draws upon her many years of experience and expertise to provide a health-conscious guide concerning the effects of herbs, dietary supplements, and other natural products upon nursing women and their babies. A fact filled, superbly organized instructional and reference guide which presents reliable and comprehensive information in down-to-earth terms, The Nursing Mother's Herbal is very highly recommended reading for all breast-feeding mothers.


The Self-Help Shelf

The Total Package
Anthony Palmer
Castiglione Publishing, Inc.
8374 Market Street, Suite 153, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
0974445304 $24.95 AnthonyPalmer.net

The Total Package: How To Create Your Ultimate Lifestyle And Live The Life Of Your Dreams by Anthony Palmer (Founder and CEO of Anthony Palmer Multimedia, Inc. which specializes in helping men and women develop their personal possibilities, achieve emotional growth, and live out their lives on their own terms) is a step-by-step self-help guide that directly addresses self-improvement and life-long goal pursuit in a realistic and practical manner. From maximizing the financial and tax advantages of a home-based business; to making the most of the Internet's resources in pursuit of material and other goals; to adopting a properly nutritions diet with the benefit of supplements; to exercises for sculpting the human body; to seven specific key principles for success and personal growth, and so much more, The Total Package is an all-encompassing do-it-yourself guide which is especially commended for its depth and scope.

Finding Your Destiny
John Brinsmead
Mirrormont Press
PO Box 3466, Renton, WA 98056
mail@JohnBrinsmead.com
0974009954 $15.95 1-425-837-0113

A recommended addition to self-help, self-improvement personal reading lists and community library reference collections, Finding Your Destiny: Achieve Your Dreams...Dream Big! by John Brinsmead is an impressively presented self-help guide and consumable workbook which will help anyone in adopting principles to aid in focusing and achieving their personal life goals. Encompassing both spiritual power and the importance of personal responsibility and effort, Finding Your Destiny is a go-getter of an motivational resource offering the reader a wealth of wisdom, research, and solid advice.

If These Walls Could Talk
Thomas A. Habib, Ph.D.
Conifer Publishing
PO Box 131141, La Costa, CA 92013
0972767266 $29.95 ConiferPub.com

If These Walls Could Talk by clinical psychologist Thomas A. Habib presents 25 stories of human change in individuals and couples seeking help to sort out the thorny issues of human relationships. From the question of what drives people to turn their back on a solid marriage for "a better love"; to parent-child issues long after the children have grown into adults, and more, If These Walls Could Talk is an absorbing, highly recommended, case-based study guide offering inspiration and examples for personal growth and self-improvement.

Learning Maps And Memory Skills
Ingemar Svantesson
Kogan Page
525 South 4th Street, #241, Philadelphia, PA 19147
0749441283 $17.95 1-800-232-0223

Now in its revised and expanded second edition, Learning Maps And Memory Skills by Ingemar Svantesson (an expert and veteran conductor of more than one thousand seminars throughout Scandinavia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand on the theory and practice of learning maps and memory skills) is the distillation of an impressive body of the wisdom, insight and advice. Offering an invaluable series of sound "tips, tricks, and techniques" for enhancing memory, problem solving ability, brainstorming techniques, remembering key points from meetings, and so much more, Learning Maps And Memory Skills is an excellent mental enhancement guide which is readily applicable and easily accessible to non-specialist general readers regardless of their education or socioeconomic backgrounds.


The Woodworking Shelf

Wood Finishing Fixes
Michael Dresdner
The Taunton Press
63 South Main St., Newtown, CT 06470
1561585912 $19.95 1-800-477-8727

Michael Dresdner is a nationally known wood finishing expert of over 20 years' experience and expertise. In Wood Finishing Fixes: Quick Answers To Over 175 Most Frequently Asked Questions, Dresdner utilizes a question-and-answer format to provide aspiring and practicing woodworkers of all experience and expertise levels with a superbly organized and presented "troubleshooting" guide to wood finishing conundrums ranging from "Do I need to sand between each coat when I'm finishing?"; to "How can I avoid drips and runs when I spray finish?", and so much more. Full color photographs on every page illustrate and enhance the expert tips, tricks, and techniques to making any woodworker's project finishing meet even the highest professional standards of excellence.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Career Magic
Marjorie Brody, MA, CSP, CMC
Career Skills Press
c/o Brody Communications Ltd.
815 Greenwood, Avenue, Suite 8, Jenkintown, PA 19046
1931148090 $24.95 1-800-726-7936

Marjorie Brody is a professional speaker, consultant and coach to Fortune 1,000 executives. In Career Magic: A Woman's Guide To Reward & Recognition, Marjorie draws from her many years of experience and considerable expertise to provide the reader with a straightforward guide filled from cover to cover with practical career advice quite appropriate for both genders. Individual chapters concisely address the importance of adopting an effective professional manner; increasing personal involvement; creating articulate commentary, and so much more. Career Magic is an upbeat and practical collection of tips, tricks, and techniques ranging from the importance of everyday manners; to dedicating oneself to an attitude of life-long learning; to capsuling profiles of successful people. If you want to advance your career, then give a careful reading to what Marjorie Brody has to offer you in Career Magic.

The Original New Agent's Guide To Starting & Succeeding In Real Estate
Mark Nash
Thomson South-Western
5191 Natorp Blvd., Mason, OH 45040
0324224044 $21.95 www.swcollege.com

Now fully updated edition for 2004, The Original New Agent's Guide To Starting & Succeeding In Real Estate is a practical, career-oriented guidebook for those who aspire to a real estate sales profession. Expertly and accessibly written by expert and successful real estate salesman Mark Nash, The Original New Agent's Guide To Starting & Succeeding In Real Estate will teach aspiring realtors everything from how to get started, to marketing their services, to surviving relocation, to getting to know their community, and so much more. A very strongly recommended introduction and reference, The Original New Agent's Guide To Starting & Succeeding In Real Estate combines methodical instructions with a positive tone and highly accessible prose style for a career primer that anyone can learn from.

Far From Home
Jeffery Williams
University of Calgary Press
2500 University Drive, N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
1552381196 $24.95 www.ucalgary.ca

Far From Home: A Memoir Of A 20th Century Solider by Jeffrey Williams (winner of the 1983 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction), is his personal story as a man who served his country as an officer in the Canadian army from the 1920s to the 1970s both in times of war and periods of peace. A thoroughly hands-on, down-to-earth memoir recounting personal experiences, reflections on the history of a great nation, and a close-up look at war itself, Far From Home is a vivid and unforgettable reading experience. Far From Home is a welcome contribution to the growing library of Military History & Biography collections.


The Political Science Shelf

The United States Government Internet Manual 2003-2004
Peggy Garvin, editor
Bernan Press
4611-F Assembly Dr, Lanham, MD 20706
www.bernanpress.com
0890599122 $59.00 1-800-274-4447

Completely up to date, The United States Government Internet Manual 2003-2004 is a superbly organized compendium listing over 1400 Internet sites connected to the government and is characterized by offering succinct descriptions for each entry. A splendid tool for quickly looking up institutions and organizations online, The United States Government Internet Manual 2003-2004 is very helpfully organized and recently revised to take into account changes brought by the Department of Homeland Security. The United States Government Internet Manual 2003-2004 is an essential, core addition to academic, corporate, advocacy, community, and governmental library reference collection.


The Philosophy Shelf

Icarus Fallen
Chantal Delsol
ISI Books
Box 4431, Wilmington, DE 19807-0431
193223604X $25.00 www.isibooks.org

Skillfully translated into English by Robin Dick, Icarus Fallen: The Search For Meaning In An Uncertain World by Chantal Delsol (Professor of Philosophy, University of Marne-La-Vallee, Paris) is a thoughtful and scholarly evaluation of Western man and the shattering of his twentieth century ideals. Professor Delsol ably argues that man was burned by the failure of utopian ideology (especially when confronted with the devastation of World War I and the 20th Century armed conflicts which were to follow throughout the 20th Century), and seemingly insufficient religious traditions just as Icarus was burned when he flew too close to the sun and his wings failed him. An extensive evaluation of the pitfalls of modern times and the strict limits on human virtues, Icarus Fallen is strongly recommended reading for students of 20th Century Philosophy, Politics, and History.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Edge Of The Diaspora
Suzanne D. Rutland
Holmes & Meier
160 Broadway, New York, NY 10038
www.holmesandmeier.com
0841914249 $24.95 1-800-698-7781

Edge Of The Diaspora: Two Centuries Of Jewish Settlement In Australia by Suzanne D. Rutland (Senior Lecturer in Jewish Civilization, Department of Semitic Studies, University of Sydney, Australia) is a comprehensive and informative historical survey of Australia's Jewish community, beginning from when Australia was first used as a prison for convicts; through the Holocaust era; and down the modern day -- which has seen an increase in immigration by Jews from the former Soviet Union and South Africa. An extensively researched and thoughtfully detailed examination of a vivacious Jewish community and their enduring legacy in Australia, Suzanne Rutland's Edge Of The Diaspora is a seminal and welcome contribution to Judaic Studies reference collections and history reading lists.

Mystical Concepts In Chassidism
Jacob Immanuel Schochet
Merkos Publications
291 Kingston Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11213
0826604129 $17.00 kehotonline.com

Jacob Immanuel Schochet is a rabbi of Kielcer Congregation and a well-known authority on Jewish Philosophy and Mysticism. Mystical Concepts In Chassidism is a work especially written by Rabbi Schochet to clarify the teachings of Chassidism. Exploring the revelations of the Tanya (a classic work of Jewish theology and mysticism that remains a core text of Chabad-Chassidism), and striving to integrate complex metaphorical and spiritual concepts in a manner accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Mystical Concepts In Chassidism is an immersion into a deeply held Judaic spiritual belief system.

The Holistic Haggadah
Michael L. Kagan
Urim Publications/Lambda Publishers
3709 13th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218
9657108497 $24.95 1-718-972-5449

An essentially traditional presentation of the Haggadah enhanced with original, insightful commentary by Michael L. Kagan (a self-described "ortho-practicing but unorthodox Jew"), The Holistic Haggadah: How Will You Be Different This Passover Night? informatively presents contemporary readers with the Haggadah of the Passover Seder. A uniquely insightful and moving exploration of a Judaic religious tradition that explores the depths of meaning and revelation beyond the surface of Biblical parables, The Holistic Haggadah is written and presented with profound reverence and confidently recommended for personal, theological, and academic Judaic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Holocaust Hero
David Kranzler
KTAV Publishing House
900 Jefferson Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030
0881257303 $24.95 1-201-963-9524

Holocaust Hero by historian and Holocaust authority David Kranzler is the true story of Solomon Schonfeld, a young British Rabbi of a small Orthodox congregation, and a pioneer of the day school movement in London, who rescued thousands of Jews from 1938 to 1948. An amazing and inherently fascinating biographical study of a dedicate man, Holocaust Hero focusing heavily on Schonfeld's rescue efforts, and also spotlights the community service he did to provide his "charges" with kosher homes, a Jewish education, and jobs. Forty vignettes drawn from individuals rescued by this truly great man add a special highlight to Holocaust Hero. No Holocaust, Judaic Studies, or 20th Century Biography collections can be considered comprehensive or complete without the inclusion of David Kranzler's Holocaust Hero.


The Money/Finance Shelf

The Survivor's Guide
V. K. Thornton
Silver Lake Publishing
3501 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90026
www.silverlakepub.com
1563437767 $17.95 1-888-663-3091

The Survivor's Guide: What You Need To Know & What You Need To Do When Someone Close To You Dies by journalist and consumer advocate V. K. Thornton is a practical manual to coping with the difficult decisions that face people dealing with the end of a loved one's life. Emphasizing the point of "don't rush - you have more time to act than you think," The Survivor's Guide teaches the reader how not to be taken advantage of at a time when strong emotion can blind one to funeral business overcharging. From the hours after learning of a death in the family, to disposing of the body, planning a memorial service, dealing with the estate left behind and more, The Survivor's Guide is a very highly recommended guide especially focusing upon monetary realities arising from a death in the family.

A Woman's Guide To Family Finances
Ellie Kay
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, MN 55438
0764226959 $12.99 bethanyhouse.com

Ably written by magazine columnist and international speaker Ellie Kay (best known for her regular guest appearances on CNBC's "Power Lunch"), A Woman's Guide To Family Finances is a no-nonsense guide to keeping the family out of debt, ready to weather financial setbacks, and with an eye always vigilant toward future financially relevant plans. Do's and Don'ts of spending; various investments; saving; and planning simplify the complex task of managing money while minimizing risk (especially in today's unpredictable and volatile era), A Woman's Guide To Family Finances is strongly commended and highly recommended reading.


The Education Shelf

Bullying In Secondary Schools
Keith Sullivan, et al.
Corwin Press, Inc.
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 1320-2218
0761941932 $29.95 1-800-818-7243

The professional collaboration of education specialists and academicians Keith Sullivan, Mark Cleary, and Ginny Sullivan, Bullying In Secondary Schools: What It Looks Like And How To Manage It is an extremely practical guide for parents, teachers, principles, and students on what has become a nationally recognized problem endemic in public school systems across the country. Demonstrating how empowering bystanders, and enlisting effective teacher support, combined with suggestions based on student-centered responses, and a profile of negative as well as positive responses parents may encounter when they confront school personnel about bullying, Bullying In Secondary Schools is strongly recommended and timely reading.

School Money Matters
Davida W. Mutter & Pam J. Parker
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
087120813X $34.95 1-800-933-2723

The collaboration of public education administrators Davida W. Mutter and Pam J. Parker, School Money Matters: A Handbook For Principals is a specialized instructional guide and reference written especially for educational administrators and building principals facing difficult choices concerning financial matters for the schools they run. A concise, easy to follow, no-nonsense work, School Money Matters expertly addresses issues from dealing with bookkeeping basics, electronic bank transfers, and vending services, to the more difficult problems of guarding against employee embezzlement, surviving and audit, safeguards on activity funds, and more. Very highly recommended reading for all supervisors in the field of education, School Money Matters: A Handbook For Principals is enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM offering downloadable financial forms that principals and administrators can utilize and distribute within their own schools and school districts.

Music Therapy And Leisure For Persons With Disabilities
Alicia L. Barksdale
Sagamore Publishing Company
804 North Neil Street, #100, Champaign, IL 61824
1571675116 $19.95 1-800-327-5557

A very highly recommended contribution to professional and school district special education resource reference collections, Music Therapy And Leisure For Persons With Disabilities by board certified music therapist and music teacher Alicia L. Barksdale is an informative instructional guide for educators, parents, and therapists seeking to utilize music therapy to help children of all ages cope with their learning disabilities. From developing an appropriate music therapy treatment plan; to organizing a music therapy program, goals and objectives to be achieved in community-based settings; and so much more, Music Therapy And Leisure For Persons With Disabilities is a candid and welcome assessment of the means to make the most of music as an aid to not only learning, but fully partaking of life itself.

The Call To Teacher Leadership
Sally J. Zepeda, et al.
Eye On Education
6 Depot Way West, Suite 106, Larchmont, NY 10538
1930556500 $29.95 eyeoneducation.com

The collaborative effort of Sally J. Zepeda, R. Stewart Mayers, and Brad N. Benson, The Call To Teacher Leadership is a resource written especially for those classroom teachers who also serve on school improvement teams, mentor other teachers, participate in making decisions on a curriculum committee, and other kinds of "beyond the classroom" assignments. Individual chapters cover teacher leadership; unique obstacles and problem solving with regard to elementary school, middle grades, high school, and more. The Call To Teacher Leadership also gives warning against potential pitfalls while suggesting useful methodologies and practical techniques. Enhanced with charts and lists, The Call To Teacher Leadership is very highly recommended reading for anyone who is called to provide extracurricular services within the context and framework of their school system.


The Native American Shelf

Indian Spirit
Michael Oren Fitzgerald, editor
World Wisdom, Inc.
Box 2682, Bloomington, IN 47402-2682
0941532283 $12.95 worldwisdom.com

Expertly edited by Michael Oren Fitzgerald and enhanced with a Foreword by Thomas Yellowtail, Indian Spirit is a compendium that deftly combines powerful quotes with black-and-white photographs on every page to share with the reader the wisdom and faith of Native American leaders. The wisdom herein derives from leading figures drawn from many tribes, and the photographs offer unforgettable portraits of the people who spoke enduring words of reverence by which to live our lives. A moving tribute and vignette testimony, featuring an index by authors and an index of photographs for swift reference, Indian Spirit is a welcome and appreciated contribution to Native American Studies.


The Science Shelf

The Last Giant Of Beringia
Dan O'Neill
Westview Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Ctr, Cambridge, MA 02142
0813341973 $26.00 1-800-242-7737

The Last Giant Of Beringia: The Mystery Of The Bering Land Bridge by Dan O'Neill (winner of the Distinguished Alaskana Award bestowed by the Alaska Library Association and who was named Alaska Historian of the Year by the Alaska Historical Society) is the amazing story of how one intrepid geologist conclusively proved the existence of a now-vanished land bridge that once connected Siberia to the New World during the Ice Ages. An engaging kind of "detective story" following the steps of unraveling a scientific mystery, which at the same time also describes just how new scientific discoveries contradicted long-held beliefs and theories. The Last Giant Of Beringia is a highly accessible and welcome contribution to natural history and geology shelves which will be read with interest by students of North American geology and paleo-anthropology, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in this inherently fascinating subject.

Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge
Sue Ann Prince, editor
American Philosophical Society
104 So. Fifth St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
0871699346 $20.00 amphilsoc.org

Compiled and edited by Sue Ann Prince, Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge: Natural History In North America 1730-1860 is a meticulously researched empirical study of the history of natural scientific discovery on the North American continent. Featuring black-and-white illustrations and beautiful color prints, along with numerous excerpts from primary sources, and a detached yet insightful overview, Stuffing Birds, Pressing Plants, Shaping Knowledge is an expertly written and superbly presented tour of humankind's slow and often wandering journey to accumulate a better understanding of the natural world.

How The Human Genome Works
Edwin H. McConkey
Jones & Bartlett Publishers
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
0763723843 $24.95 www.jbpub.com

How The Human Genome Works by Edwin H. McConkey (Professor Emeritus, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado) is a basic and introductory genetics primer especially written for students of the health sciences. It is a meticulously accurate survey of the natural history of the human genome, including mechanisms of mutation, genetic diseases, the role of the genome in medical practice, and so much more, which will prove fascinating and accessible to non-specialist general readers with an interest in human genetics as well. An excellent scientific instructional, explicit in its point-by-point detail, How The Human Genome Works is a superb introduction to one of the most inherently fascinating and quickly evolving of the biological sciences today.

Profits Pending
Matthew Albright
Common Courage Press
121 Red Barn Road, Monroe, ME 04951
1567512305 $17.95 1-800-497-3207

Profits Pending: How Life Patents Represent The Biggest Swindle Of The 21st Century by ethicist Matthew Albright is a critical examination of the practice applying the U.S. patent system to human genes. Exploring current and potential devastating repercussions of such patents, ranging from slowing the research upon deadly diseases; to creating monopolies on world food sources; to eroding critical elements of the scientific method such as free exchange of ideas between researchers, and so much more, Profits Pending is a gripping and insightful analysis of just how financial greed and the abuse of a system can ultimately work to the considerably and enduring detrimental to humanity as a whole. Profits Pending should be required reading for policy makers and pundits involved in the current national debate over genetic research in general -- and the fruits of the genome project in particular.


The Environmental Issues Shelf

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology
Thomas R. Degregori
Iowa State Press/Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014-8300
www.iowastatepress.com
0813809231 $19.99 1-800-862-6657

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology by Thomas R. Degregori (Professor of Economics, University of Houston, Texas), is a 256-page, scholarly volume whose reasoning and language is accessible enough to make it appropriate for any non-specialist general reader concerned about the environmental degradation and human overpopulation problems that are significantly effecting planet Earth. The intent of The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is not to flatly denounce conservation efforts, but rather to closely scrutinize them (including the myths surrounding them), and to take a cold, hard look at whether such things as "ecotourism" are truly beneficial to the ecologies or the people who live in them. From revealing how some African game wardens are empowered to legally shoot to kill anyone suspected of poaching; to debunking the myth of the "untamed West" which ignored the profound impact Native American cultures and settlements had on the land, The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is a thoughtful and thought-provoking extended essay that strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda on all sides of thorny environmental and technology issues. No academic library's Environmental Studies collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of Professor Degregori's The Environment, Our Natural Resources And Modern Technology.

Deep Immersion
Robert Lawrence France
Green Frigate Books
PO Box 461, Sheffield, VT 05866-0461
www.greenfrigatebooks.com
0971746818 $19.95

Deep Immersion: The Experience Of Water by environmental studies respected academician and water management expert Robert Lawrence France (Harvard Design School) is a meditation on the power and profundity of water, and what it means for those individuals who embrace a close relationship with it. A spiritual reflection that is both informed and informative, Deep Immersion is an immensely moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking postulation on the human condition and connection to the essential substance that brings life to our planet. Deep Immersion is enthusiastically recommended reading for academia as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in nature, the environment, and the contribution of water to diverse forms of outdoor recreations.

Managing Environmental Policy
Robert P. Watson, et al.
Krieger Publishing Company
PO Box 9542, Melbourne, FL 32902-9542
1575242338 $27.50 1-800-724-0025

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Robert P. Watson (Visiting Associate Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic University), Dwight C. Kiel (Professor of Political Science, University of Central Florida), and Stephen F. Robar (Assistant Professor and Head of the Environmental Studies Program, University of Pittsburgh-Bradford), Managing Environmental Policy: A Casebook is an amalgamation of twenty essays by learned authors (each of whom has taught environmental studies courses) considering twenty cases of critical and controversial environmental issues, ranging from air quality, to water pollution, to natural resource conservation, to solid and hazardous waste, to urban environmental problems. Using case analyses to bring to light the problem investigation process and the search for acceptable solutions (with offered educational role-playing exercises and a list of useful reading and research resources for each chapter), Managing Environmental Policy: A Casebook is an excellent education and informational environmental studies tool and a core contribution to Environmental Studies reference collections.


The Gaming Shelf

Go!
Peter Shotwell
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759
080483475X $14.95 www.amazon.com

"Go" is game which was invented in China over 2500 years ago, making it one of the oldest known games in the world, and one which is still being played today. Enjoy reading Peter Shotwell's Go!, a spiffy blend of instruction guide and instruction on theory and play which includes hundreds of diagrams as it surveys the history, rules and strategies of an ancient game.

The Nimzo-Indian Rubinstein
Angus Dunnington
Everyman Chess/Globe Pequot
www.everymanchess.com
1857442792 $19.95 www.amazon.com

The Nimzo-Indian Defence is one of the most popular and widespread defence strategies in response to a queen's pawn opening and finding an effective response is one of the most difficult necessities of even the most experienced players. In The Nimzo-indian Rubinstein, chess expert Angus Dunnington provides comprehensive survey of all of the major variations involved and then showcases one of the most desirable lines of the Nimzo. All of the ideas and strategies for both white and black players are covered, as are all of the major variations. The Nimzo-indian Rubinstein is a superb presented and strongly recommended addition to any dedicated chess player's personal reference collection and will bring the aspiring chess player fully up-to-date with this dynamic stratagem.

Poker On The Internet
Andrew Kinsman
D & B Publishing
PO Box 18, Hassocks, West Sussex BN6 9WR, UK
www.dandbpublishing.com
1904468063 $17.95

Poker On The Internet by poker authority Andrew Kinsman is a thoroughly "user friendly" guidebook to the recent and rapidly expanding pastime of playing poker on the internet. From choosing the right online cardroom in which to play; to evaluating the risks of being colluded against or cheated; to available newsgroups and poker resources on the net; and so much more, Poker On The Internet is a superbly organized and presented up-to-date reference and resource for players of all skill and experience levels -- whether they seek to relax and kill a little time, or want take maximum advantage of the internet to improve their gaming ability and eventually turn professional.

Rifts China I: The Yama Kings
Kevin Siembieda & Erick Wujcik
Palladium Books
12455 Universal Dr., Taylor, MI 48180
1574570943 $17.95 Cat. No. 857

The Yama Kings war among themselves in an eight-way battle to conquer all of China in Rifts China One: The Yama Kings. Eight of the ten Chinese planes of Hall have manifested along with the return of elder gods, demon spirits, and tormenting ghosts. Only the dragon strongholds, the sacred lands, and places of sanctuary hidden by the Celestial Court provide safe havens. A superb addition to the Rift's rolegaming shelf, Rifts China I: The Yama Kings provides players with an overview of Rifts China, the Yama Kings, more than 30 Chinese supernatural horrors, 20 Chinese curses, the First Emperor and his Terra Cotta Warriors, dragon lands, sacred mountains, magical enclaves, the eight Hells on Earth, and more. This 160 pages of rolegaming ideas, monsters and magic is will provide hours and hours of wonderfully entertaining and challenging gaming.


The Library CD Music Shelf

Zion Roots
Abyssinia Infinite
Nework Medien GMBH
c/o Rock Paper Scissors
5340 Old State Road, 37 South, Suite B, Bloomington, IN 47401
24971 $18.98 rockpaperscissors.biz

Featuring Ethiopian singer Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw, Zion Roots is an explosion of creativity sprung amidst the opportunities present since the relenting of a harsh military regime whose strict curfews shut down live bands and all but destroyed Ethiopian rock. A veritable explosion of sound, celebration, and passion by Abyssinia Infinite, Zion Roots features: Bati Bati (3:45), Gela (6:08), Alesema (7:26), Monew Natana (5:12), Embe Ashafergne (4:27), Gole (6:03), Aba Alem Lemenea (4:15), Gedawo (4:42), Lebaye (4:47), and Ethiopia (6:15) Total Playing Time 53:13.

People's Spring
Warsaw Village Band
World Village
c/o Rock Paper Scissors
5340 Old State Road, 37 South, Suite B, Bloomington, IN 47401
www.worldvillagemusic.com
468028 $15.98 rockpaperscissors.biz

People's Spring is the latest offering from Warsaw Village Band, featuring a "hardcore folk" evolution of traditional Polish music, made possible by blending punk-like or "bio-techno" influences with electronic remixing into the themes of Polish folk music that have endured centuries of pressures from war, politics, and especially twentieth-century strife. Warsaw Village Band's exciting new influence has earned them a recent nomination in the newcomer category of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards. Lyrics reflect social and political concerns, including a woman's own contrary stance regarding her presumed marriage, and exhortations to youth to "be nobody's servant." A driving, emotional, and up-front listening experience. Tracks include To You Kasiunia (5:12), Chassidic Dance (4:12), At My Mother's (4:16), I Had A Lover (4:00), A Red Apple (6:10), Traditional Rural Polka (2:37), Who Is Getting Married (2:53), Clear Water (2:44), What Have You Been Doing Kasia (1:41), Polka Folk Is Dead (1:46), The Rain Is Falling (8:56), Cranes (3:50), Maydow (4:42), Matecka (5:23), and Joint Venture In The Village (6:11).


The Military Shelf

Okinawa 1945
Dr. T. M. Huber
Casemate
2114 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083
193203322X $34.95 1-610-853-9131

Okinawa 1945 by T. M. Huber is an authoritative and detailed recounting of the last campaign of World War II to take place in the Pacific Theatre. This was a battle so brutal that it convinced President Harry Truman to deploy atomic weapons in Japan as a preferable alternative to the utter bloodbath and the estimated hundreds of thousands of American deaths that a "D-Day" style invasion and conquest would bring. Black-and-white photographs embellish a wealth of details, all of which presented in a smooth narrative style. A superb study that makes history, in all its gritty reality, truly come alive, Okinawa 1945 is a welcome and highly recommended addition to World War II Military History reference collections and reading lists.

The Protected Will Never Know
Don Meyer
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595304060 $15.95 iuniverse.com

Engagingly written by Don Meyer (a combat veteran of the Vietnam War), The Protected Will Never Know is a revealing memoir of the horrors of a grueling war that oppressed not only one's physical life, but also one's spirit. The grim realities of life and death on the battlefield are not abridged in this compelling firsthand testimony showcases in a collection of personal stories based on Meyer's "in country" time from 1969 to 1970. The Protected Will Never Know is a welcome contribution to the increasing library of Vietnam War combat biographies, military autobiographies, and battlefield memoirs.

WW II: Letters To My Girl Back Home
Allan Robert Humbert
1st Books Library
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
www.1stbooks.com
1403336482 $15.95 1-800-839-8640

Compiled and arranged by Allan Robert Humbert, WW II: Letters To My Girl Back Home collects and publishes under one cover the correspondence of Sergeant Robert Humbert -- a member of the 19th Weather Squadron whose tour of duty during World War II took him to Nigeria, Arabia, Turkey, and elsewhere. Each night he wrote of the day's sights, events, experiences to his beloved fiancee back home in America. A touching and eye-opening read that shares a soldiers life in the midst of war from a closely personal point of view, WWII: Letters To My Girl Back Home tugs at the heartstrings as it reveals the lasting bond of cherished love in a time of global war, hardship and sacrifice.

MiG Killers Of Yankee Station
Michael O'Connor
New Past Press
PO Box 558, Friendship, WI 53934
www.newpastpress.com
0938627589 $45.00 1-608-339-7191

MiG Killers Of Yankee Station by military aviation expert Michael O'Connor is a riveting, comprehensively researched account of the Navy's MiG airwar in Southeast Asia. Filled with interviews and conversations with carrier pilots who fought in the Vietnam War, featuring black-and-white photographs on every page, and enhanced with few original color works of art, as well as an in-depth narration revealing just what it was like to fight and risk one's life in the skies, MiG Killers Of Yankee Station is very highly recommended for Military Aviation enthusiasts and American Military History reference collections.

Escape From Korea
John J. Fischer with James V. Lee
Salado Press
PO Box 719, Salado, TX 76571
0966387058 $19.95 saladopress.com

Escape From Korea is the personal story of John J. Fischer, a veteran marine aviator who served in the Korean War. John's military career began in 1942 and he flew combat missions in World War II, the Bay of Pigs, and on the beginning onset of what was to become the Vietnam War. Part of John's service involved debriefing those fellow aviators who were captured yet succeeded in escaping and braved terrible odds with the goal of rescue. From these true stories, Fischer presents a compelling military anthology of fascinating life-or-death tales. In this highly recommended selection of case stories and deadly challenges to human survival, the reader is provided a kind of "window" into what life as a combatant in the Korean "police action" was truly like.

Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Campaign
Christopher Hibbert
Cooper Square Press
200 Park Avenue South, Suite 1109, New York, NY 10003-1503
www.coopersquarepress.com
0815412924 $15.95 1-800-462-6420

Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Campaign is a straightforward military history of the landmark campaign that marked the end of Napoleon's career of conquest. Historian and biographer Christopher Hibber skillfully re-creates the dramatic true story of this historic European conflict by drawing upon a broad base of resources including Napoleon's own diaries and other primary source material. A welcome addition to European History and Military History shelves, Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Campaign is a true classic and highly recommended reading.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Writing With Cats
Gerald J. Schiffhorst, Ph.D.
Privately Published
2444 Forfarshire, Winter Park, FL 32792
0974553107 $18.00 writingcats.com

Gerald J. Schiffhorst is a university professor of English who has taught writing and literature for 40 years. In Writing With Cats: An Inspirational And Practical Guide For Writers, Professor Schiffhorst has written a light-hearted guide to the benefits that caring for a feline companion can bring to a writer's body, soul, and literary creativity. From the relaxation and stress relief that a cat's affection brings, to direct feline inspiration, Writing With Cats offers a unique motivational bond that can aid any aspiring or practicing author in getting past writer's block.

Self Publishing In Canada
Suzanne Anderson
Half Acre Publishing
7311 Bell McKinnon Road, Duncan, British Columbia V9L 6A8
1894208005 $24.95 selfpublishing.ca

Self Publishing In Canada: A Complete Guide To Designing, Printing, And Selling Your Book is a hands-on practical instructional especially for Canadian authors, but packed from cover to cover with solid advice and information for those who self-publish anywhere around the world. An extensive list of resources, and a glossary, thoroughly clear narration with step-by-step walk-throughs for any first time author, make Self Publishing In Canada a truly first-rate instructional and reference. Any Canadian writer ready to take the self-publishing plunge should save themselves time, money, and frustration by a careful reading of Suzanne Anderson's Self Publishing In Canada.

Quit Your Day Job!
Jim Denney
Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press
1831 Industrial Way, #101, Sanger, CA 93657
www.QuillDriverBooks.com
1884956041 $14.95 1-800-497-4909

Quit Your Day Job! by Jim Denney is a no-nonsense instructional guide which is strongly recommended reading for anyone seeking to pursue writing as a full-fledged, moneymaking, professional career. From the seven essential habits of a working writer (such as "write daily" and "set ambitious but achievable goals"); to the do's and don'ts of submitting one's work; professional relationships in the writing biz; learning how to write as quickly as possible without undercutting quality; and more, Quit Your Day Job! is a superbly presented, quite accessible and thoroughly "user friendly", reference resource for anyone considering any full time writing career.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Buddhism At Work
George D. Bond
Kumarian Press, Inc.
1294 Blue Hills Av, Bloomfield CT 06002
1565491769 $21.95 www.kpbooks.com

Buddhism At Work: Community Development, Social Empowerment, And The Sarvodaya Movement by George D. Bond examines how the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement in Sri Lanka has sought to enlighten society through Buddhist and Gandhian ideals. Exploring the power of non-violent social transformation and the enduring strength of grassroots efforts, Buddhism At Work offers contemporary readers with a moving testimony to the positive power of collective will and labor. Buddhism At Work is a core addition to any dedicated Buddhist Studies personal reading list or academic library collection.

Wild Awakening
Dzogchen Ponlop
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-4544
1590300963 $18.95 shambhala.com

Dzogchen Ponlop, author of Wild Awakening: The Heart Of The Mahamudra And Dzogchen, is a scholar and educator of the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the publisher of the internationally distributed Buddhist periodical "Bodhi" magazine. Featuring forewords by the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa, Wild Awakening is a simply excellent introduction to applying oneself to the practices of mahamudra ("great symbol") and dzogchen ("great perfection"). Presenting how to dedicate oneself for greater clarity and contemplation, and using a straightforward, informal style of narration that shines an illuminating light upon complex principles, Wild Awakening is a welcome and much appreciated and inspiring contribution to personal Buddhist Studies reading lists and academic library reference collections.

Noble Heart
Pema Chodron
Sounds True Audio
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
1564555763 $59.95 1-800-333-9185

Pema Chodron is a Buddhist nun in the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. Noble Heart: A Self-guided Retreat On Befriending Your Obstacles is a profound audiobook narration in which Pema Chodron guides her listeners into an awakening their compassion, an appreciation for the beauty of vulnerability as a spiritual resource, the realization of strength that comes only through embracing the pain of experience, the treasured teachings of the six paramitas that offer the Buddha's own guide to the journey of enlightenment, and so much more. Noble Heart is an dedicated and recommended contribution to contemporary Buddhist Studies collections and offers students of Buddhism and practitioners of Buddhist philosophies and lifestyles a transforming and profound exploration of an enduring Buddhist spirituality for a new generation.

Bread for the body, books for the mind. Without the one there is malnutrition, starvation, and eventual death. Without the other there is tyranny, ignorance, and inevitably, the death of the spirit.


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


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