Return to home
page Book Reviews, Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers
Home / Internet Bookwatch

Internet Bookwatch

Volume 13, Number 2 February 2003 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Language Studies Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Architecture Shelf American History Shelf Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Metaphysical Studies Shelf Military Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf
Computer Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Islamic Studies Shelf
Pets/Wildlife Shelf Art Shelf International Studies Shelf
Parenting Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf Literary Shelf
Antiques/Collectibles Shelf World History Shelf Library Video/DVD Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Fiction Shelf Gardening Shelf
Buddhist Studies Shelf Education Shelf Library CD Music Shelf
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf Biography Shelf Audiobook Shelf
Native American Shelf Martial Arts Shelf Poetry Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Travel Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf
Women's Studies Shelf Hunting/Fishing Shelf Philosophy Shelf
Political Science Shelf Archaeology Shelf Musicbook Shelf
Genealogy Shelf Railroading Shelf Law/Justice Shelf
Science/Technology Shelf Social Issues Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf
Psychology Shelf Sports Shelf Business Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

Lives Of The Mind
Roger Kimball
Ivan R. Dee, Publisher
1332 North Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60622
1566634792 $28.95 1-800-462-6420

The use and abuse of intelligence is covered in Lives Of The Mind, a lively and highly recommended discourse blending philosophy, psychology, science and social criticism. Intelligence can be abused and used, and the love of ideas and language can be detrimental at times: individual chapters probe the work of intellectual psychologists and philosophers examining the nature of intelligence.

New Dictionary Of Cultural Literacy
E.D. Hirsch, Jr., et.al.
Houghton Mifflin
215 park Ave. South, NY, NY 10003
0618226478 $29.95 1-800-225-3362

New Dictionary Of Cultural Literacy provides a basic, working knowledge of cultural changes and literary topics which range from concepts of the digital divide and Kwanzaa to pheromones, spam, and different cultural icons which have changed over the centuries. Chapters are organized by general topic (world history, American history, politics, psychology and sociology) and provide an A-Z reference for each chapter. Browsers and students alike will find it handy.

Bad Press
Laura Ward
Barron's
250 Wireless Rd., Hauppauge, NY 11788
0764155393 $14.95 1-800-645-3476

Quotes from the most devastating critical reviews ever, probes historical magazines to provide the nastiest and funniest reviews ever comprise the pagers of Bad Press. From Henry Van Dyke's quick assessment of jazz music ("Jazz: music invented for the torture of imbeciles") to Samuel Johnson's candid assessment of cucumbers ("A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.")

Why Terrorism Works
Alan Dershowitz
Yale University Press
Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040
0300097662 $24.95 1-800-987-7323

Why Terrorism Works joins the flood of new books addressing problems of terrorism in America, here outlining steps which must be taken to protect the country while maintaining freedom. Chapters argue that global terrorism is largely of our own making, and he provides a series of specific, controversial steps which disagree with many conventional perceptions of how to manage terrorism.

The Man Who Changed How Boys And Toys Were Made
Bruce Watson
Viking Press
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
0670031348 $24.95 1-800-847-5515

A.C. Gilbert wore many hats: athlete, magician, and self-made millionaire but he made his money by creating the Erector set toy back in 1913, making an invention which changed how boys played. The Man Who Changed How Boys And Toys Were Made isn't just a biography of an inventor; it examines how toys help avert or discharge childhood violence, how high-tech toys may serve a different purpose, and differences between how both sexes play.

Concealed Carry
Wiley Clapp
Paladin Press
7077 Winchester Circle-IPB2, Boulder, CO 80301
1581603673 $25.00 1-800-392-2400

Concealed Carry: The Shooter's Guide To Selecting Handguns by firearms authority Wiley Clapp is a straightforward, accurate, no-nonsense guide to the practical matter of choosing and legally carrying a concealed handgun. Discussing the various attributes of handguns ranging from small automatics to large revolvers, and enhanced throughout with black-and-white photographs, Concealed Carry is a highly practical and methodical guide which is especially recommended to the non-specialist general reader with an interest in lawfully acquiring a handgun for personal protection and/or recreation.

Coincidence Or Destiny?
Phil Cousineau
Conari Press
300 Monte Vista #192 Oakland CA 94611
157324824X $16.95 1-800-685-9595

Coincidence Or Destiny? gathers over eighty stories of coincidence or synchronicity, gathered from the lives of both ordinary people and well-known scholars to illustrate how chance and meaningful coincidences can change lives. Syncronicities can offer sense from random events and can provide a sense of destiny and explanation: this collection of first-person insights is revealing.

Genius
Harold Bloom
Warner Books
1271 Avenue of Americas, NY, NY 10020
0446527173 $35.95 1-800-759-0190

Genius provides an enlightening blend of examples from over a hundred creative minds, illustrating the concept of creativity and genius and considering the elements which comprise the trait. From the Bible through modern times, the author provides many links between his geniuses and the ways they have influenced each other. A fascinating history which crosses genres to expose underlying influences.

Sake & Santori
Joseph Campbell
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1577312368 $22.95 1-800-972-6657

Sake & Santori is the fifth volume in a series of collected works of philosopher/spiritualist Joseph Campbell and focuses upon his cultural and spiritual interactions with Japan during his 1950s Asian journey. The changing social and political world of Japan come to life in a a set of entries relating Campbell's discourses with Japanese from all walks of life.

Spying With Maps
Mark Monmonier
University of Chicago Press
1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637-2954
0226534278 $25.00 1-800-621-2736

Spying With Maps: Surveillance Technologies And The Future Of Privacy blends an examination of surveillance technologies with a discussion of the nature and future of privacy in a world which is becoming increasingly open to spy apparatus. Spying With Maps could have been featured in our chapter on social issues, but is reviewed here for its intriguing examination of the science of spying, from using geographic data and satellite imagery to location tracking devices.

Wisconsin Quilts
Ellen Kort & Stewart Wolfe
Howell Press
1713-2D Allied Lane, Charlottesville, VA 22903
1574271180 $34.95 howellpress.com

The collaborative effort of author Ellen Kort and photographer Stewart Wolfe, Wisconsin Quilts: Stories In The Stitches is a full-color photographic showcase of nearly one hundred exceptional quilts by Wisconsin needlecrafters, each with its own unique story concerning its creation and the woman who made it. Tying into the years of the Civil War, coping with disease, reflecting political upheavals and the New Deal programs, the stories of these quilts are as fascinating to read as the quilts themselves are beautiful to see. Wisconsin Quilts is very highly recommended for needelcraft and quilting enthusiasts, as well as students of Wisconsin history and culture.

In Quest Of Lost Worlds
Count Byron de Prorok
Adventures Unlimited Press
One Adventure Place, Kempton, IL 60946
www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com
0932813569 $16.95 1-800-718-4514

In Quest Of Lost Worlds: Journey To Algeria, Ethiopia, Yucatan And Beyond is the rousing memoir and self-described journey of Count Byron de Prorok, an Anglo-Hungarian archaeologist and explorer who researched occult subjects and visited a wide variety of fascinating sites with metaphysical implications during the 1920s and 1930s. From his uncovering of the tomb of the Queen of the Tuaregs Tin Hinan, to his dedicated search for King Solomon's mines, In Quest Of Lost Worlds showcases amazing adventures, reveals ancient legends, and relate what were occasionally quite perilous discoveries. Enhanced with twenty-four pages of special illustrations, In Quest Of Lost Worlds is very highly recommended reading for students of archaeology, metaphysics, and anyone who enjoys great true life adventures!


The Language Studies Shelf

Bryson's Dictionary Of Troublesome Words
Bill Bryson
Broadway Books
1540 Broadway, New York NY 10036
0767910427 $19.95 1-800-726-0600

The English language is filled with quirks and puzzles: copy editor Bryson here provides a guide to avoiding the traps and snares of the language. His A-Z dictionary outlines some of the more common problems involved in using ordinary words such as 'either', future', or 'may well be'. Bryson's Dictionary Of Troublesome Words is another browser's joyride for the proper pursuit of English.

Translator Self-Training Arabic
Morry Sofer
Schreiber Publishing
PO Box 4193, Rockville, Maryland 20849
www.schreiberpublishing.com
1887563741 $69.00 1-800-822-3213

Translator Self-Training Arabic: A Practical Course In Technical Translation by Morry Sofer is an ideal, "user friendly" do-it-yourself guide to improving translation skills in eight easy lessons where the focus is on news, law, medicine, business, finances, and daily life. The first part concentrates on "Arabic Into English"; the second part is "English Into Arabic". Translator Self-Training Arabic is enhanced with information on Internet sites for translators, sources of translation work, Arabic technical dictionaries, and translator self-evaluation. Additionally there are invaluable appendices devoted to "Requisites for Professional Translators"; "Translation Techniques"; "Translator's Self-Evaluation"; "Arabic Technical Dictionaries"; "Sources for Translation Work"; and "Computers, Translation, and the Internet". Also very highly recommended are the other volumes in the outstanding "Translator Self-Training" series which include Chinese (1887563709, $69.00); Italian (1887563733, $69.00); Japanese (1887563695, $69.00); Portuguese (1887563717, $69.00); and Russian (1887563725, $69.00)

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10016-4314
0198604572 $150.00 1-800-451-7556

Now in a new fifth edition, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is an in-depth, two-volume set handsomely packaged within a cardboard box and provides the latest in dictionary terms, including new cultural and political terms including jargon and some slang. The English language is always expanding and changing, and this adds 3,500 new words in its updated edition. Nothing has been left out, but a cleaner text design allows more information to fit in nearly the same package as the 4th edition. A "must" for serious reference collections at the high school level through public libraries.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Helen M. Stevens' World Of Embroidery
Helen M. Stevens
David & Charles Publishers
North Pomfret, VT 05053
0715309773 $29.99 www.amazon.com

Helen M. Stevens' World Of Embroidery is the fifth collection of famed needlecrafter Helen M. Stevens' masterful and enchanting works of embroidery. Gorgeous, full-color photographs showcase her superb stitching craft, along with detailed descriptions of the natural flora and fauna that inspire her works. Helen M. Stevens' World Of Embroidery is a joy to page through, and especially recommended reading for embroidery practitioners in search of inspiration for their own needlecrafting efforts.

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

Two titles provide inspiration variations on traditional quilting patterns and techniques. Bobbie Aug and Sharon Newman's Quilt Blocks X 9 (1574327992, $19.95) presents twelve quilts which use the nine-block arrangement to create various block patterns. From fabric combinations to embracing different backgrounds, this packs in templates, easy directions, and an approach which lends to experimentation. Anita Shackelford's Infinite Feathers Quilting Designs (1574327984, $25.95) provides the basics of creating quilt designs which fit in the blocks and borders of a quilt. From different types of patterns and designs and their transfer to over a hundred feather designs in different sizes, this provides easy step-by-step instructions quilters will appreciate.

Basic Applique
Cindy Walter & Gail Baker Rowe
Krause Publications
700 East State St, Iola, WI 54990-0001
0873493478 $21.95 1-800-258-0929

Collaboratively compiled and presented by needlecraft and quilting experts Cindy Walter & Gail Baker Rowe, Basic Applique: 1930s Quilt Patterns Created With Traditional And Contemporary Techniques showcases the fine art of applique from cutting to quilting. Featuring lovely patterns and easy-to-follow directions (illustrated with hundreds of photographs) for making sixteen beautiful quilts, even the most novice quilter will be able to create memorable quilts to grace any home. Basic Applique is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to the growing library of needlecraft references in general, and quilting manuals in particular.

C&T Publishing
PO Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
1-800-284-1114 www.amazon.com

Two quilter's guides provide very different approaches to the art. Lerlene Nevaril's Hidden Block Quilts (1571201793, $24.95) tells how to locate new designs in the block quilt style, making repeat-block quilts more interesting. Change patches in traditional blocks and you have new variations which are appealing and exciting. Jean Wells and Lawry Thorn's Four Seasons In Flannel (1571201785, $27.95) combine outdoor designs and embroidery with flannel and wool to make for useful projects quick to finish and brightly different. Chapters are grouped by season and provide step-by-step construction tips. Both are intriguing new titles.

Martingale Company
20205 144th Avenue NW, Woodinville, WA 98072-8478
1-800-426-3126 www.amazon.com

Four fine, new quilter's guides provide a range of projects and approaches tailored for both beginning and intermediate quilters. Beth Merrill Kovich and Retta Warehime's Snuggle Up (1564774643, $19.95) surveys eight lap quilt projects using traditional patterns and quick-stitch techniques for fast, easy results. Pamela Lindquist's Sweet Dreams (1564774287, $18.95) tells how to create reversible quilts and coordinates for maximum effect. Tips on accessories for finished quilts are added. Judy Hopkins' Triangle-Free Quilts (156477 3930, $26.95) uses only squares, rectangles and strips to produce its eighteen featured quilt projects, which range from wall and crib quilts to full-sized bed quilts. Terri Nussbaum's Quick-Change Quilts (1564774317, $19.95) surveys twelve quilts created from six patterns. Why make a copy when you can create your own from existing patterns? This shows how to alter colors and rotate blocks for maximum effect. A fine guide to versatility in pattern choice. All are fine quilter's project choices.


The Architecture Shelf

The Wood Design Awards 2002
Don Griffith, editor
Tuns Press
Dalhousie University, PO Box 1000, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3J 2X4
0929112490 $22.95 tunspress.dal.ca

Compiled and edited by architectural expert Don Griffith, The Wood Design Awards 2002 features fifteen buildings from across the United States and Canada which incorporate a commendable diversity of wood design elements. Ranging from the cottonwood branches of the Kansas Plains Wedding Chapel, to the multiple curved panel roof of the Gilmore Skytrain Station, The Wood Design Awards 2002 highlights and showcases architectural styles and structures that employ wood as a key design component, and illustrates a multiplicity of applications which will admirably serve as a source of inspiration to architectural designers, educators, and students. The Wood Design Awards 2002 is a very welcome and highly recommended addition to professional and academic Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Frank Gehry
Jason Miller
MetroBooks
c/o Friedman/Fairfax Publishers
230 Fifth Ave., Suite 700, NY, NY 10001
158663674X $12.98 1-800-367-9692

Compiled and written by architectural expert and writer Jason Miller, Frank Gehry is a truly gorgeous, full-color photographic showcase of Gehry's avant-garde architecture, ranging from the Schnabel Residence in Brentwood, California; to the Nationale-Nederlanden Building in Prague, Czech Republic; to the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington. An impressive coffee-table book offering beautiful, panoramic captures of architectural genius in both form and function, Frank Gehry epitomizes the life and work of its title architect largely through image accompanied by brief captions, backgrounded with a few short essays enhancing the majesty of the structures themselves. Frank Gehry is a welcome and highly recommended addition to professional, academic, and community library Architectural Studies reference collections.

The Solar House
Daniel D. Chiras
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
1931498121 $29.95 1-800-639-4099

The Solar House: Passive Heating And Cooling by global environmental issues expert Daniel D. Chiras is an "user friendly" architectural guide to choosing and implementing an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly backup heating system, and thereby making any dwelling both cost-effective and naturally heated and/or air conditioned. Black-and-white sketches clearly illustrate the detailed walk-throughs about the basics of passive solar heating, passive cooling, assessing the performance of one's energy system and much more. An excellent guide for embracing ecology-friendly living, The Solar House is especially recommended as a do-it-yourself home reference for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in making their personal home as comfortable and environmentally friendly as possible.

Design Culture In Liverpool 1880-1914
Christopher Crouch
Liverpool University Press/ISBS, dist.
5824 N.E. Hassalo Street, Portland, OR 97213-3644
0853238847 $59.95 1-800-944-6190

Design Culture In Liverpool 1880-1914: The Origins Of The Liverpool School Of Architecture by Christopher Crouch (Lecturer, School of Visual Arts, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia) surveys the development of an architectural design ideology unique to the British city of Liverpool that took its own distinctive directions quite apart from those commonly ensconced in both British and American architectural trends and developments. After an informative and extensive introduction, the text is nicely organized into seven chapters covering the styling and ideology of the arts and crafts in Liverpool; the university and cultural origins of the Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Art; the inauguration and evolution of an Integrated Course within the university architectural curriculum; "Liverpool, the United States and the Beaux Arts Vision"; the influence of Charles Reilly; and the role and impact of the "Town Planning Review". Enhanced with a select bibliography and a quite useful index, Design Culture In Liverpool 1880-1914 is a welcome, scholarly, and much appreciated contribution to academic History of Architecture reference collections and architectural design study lists.


The American History Shelf

California Firsts
Teri David Greenberg
Camino Books
PO Box 59026, Philadelphia, PA 19102
0940159619 $9.95 www.amazon.com

What would Americans do without California? The state was the birthplace of the Frisbee, Barbie Dolls, and canned tuna, among others. California Firsts: The Famous, Infamous, and Quirky of the Golden State charts the odd and fun innovations and innovators of the state, blending black and white vintage photos with a lively coverage of the state's achievements. A fine leisure choice.

Cultivating California
David Vaught
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4319
0801871123 $45.00 1-800-537-5487

Students of California history and agricultural development will find Cultivating California an intriguing story of growers, specialty crops, and labor developments in the state from 1875-1920, revealing how politicians, growers, and organizations interacted in the process of cultivating California's crops. Labor relations and agricultural development planning are all accessibly revealed in the course of this involving account.

Larding The Lean Earth
Steven Stoll
Hill & Wang
19 Union Square West, NY, NY 10003
0809064316 $30.00 1-888-330-8477

Farming occupied the majority of American pursuits in the 19th century, tied up most of the nation's capital, and occupied the thoughts of farmers and politicians alike. Before expansion into the West could succeed, conservation of land and resources would have to be taken into account: Larding The Lean Earth points out that the debate over natural resource management began in the 1820s and pitted farmers against plantation owners in a conflict which would affect westward expansion processes as a whole.

Voices Unbound
Lucindy Willis
Scholarly Resources
104 Greenhill Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19805-1987
0842028153 $19.95 1-800-772-8937

Plenty of titles have followed the lives and achievements of male intellectuals: Voices Unbound gathers biographies and writings of twelve selected American women intellectuals, examining how these women rose above their peers to contribute to scholarly thought, and discussing the blatant omission of women from intellectual studies and circles. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Margaret Mead, Susan Sontag and others are heralded in these pages.

Historic Buildings Of The French Quarter
Lloyd Vogt
Pelican Publishing
Box 3110, Gretna, LA 70054-3110
156554997X $23.95 1-800-843-1724

The New Orleans' historic French Quarter was founded in 1718 by the French, moved to Spanish control, and was home to generations of occupants who built grand ballrooms, courtyards, and Spanish structures. Historic Buildings Of The French Quarter uses black and white line drawings to blend history with architectural insights, illustrating building types and styles of different eras and profiling some sixty representative buildings. Students of either regional history or architectural history will find it revealing.

Gateway To Alta California
Harry W. Crosby
Sunbelt Publications, Inc.
1250 Fayette Street, El Cajon, CA 92020-1511
093265357X $39.95 sunbeltpub.com

Gateway To Alta California: The Expedition To San Diego, 1769 by writer, photographer, and historian Harry W. Crosby is the story of the first land journey to San Diego undertaken by Europeans in 1769. Crosby draws upon original sources such as the journals of Padre Juan Crespi, Joseph deCanizares (Captain Rivera's official scribe), Padre Junipero Serra, and Gaspar de Portola, as well as recreating the overland trek himself (literally on foot and muleback) to map out the original and historic route that went through the then unexplored, unknown, desolate wilderness of northern Baja California to found the community of San Diego. A strongly recommended addition to California Historical Studies reference collections, Gateway To Alta California also lists the names of the Hispanic members of this historic expedition party.

Last Train To Paradise
Les Standiford
Crown
299 Park Avenue, New York NY 10171
0609607480 $24.00 1-800-726-0600

One man held an incredible vision: to build a railroad which crossed over a hundred miles of water. That man was Henry Flagler, and the railroad connected Key West to the Florida mainland. Last Train To Paradise provides an engrossing account of an impossible vision and how it was brought to life by one man's determination. A dramatic tone makes this most acceptable to leisure readers as well as fans of rail history.

See The Ozarks
Leland & Crystal Payton
Lens & Pen Press
4067 S. Franklin, Springfield, MO 65807
0967392519 $24.95 beautifulozarks.com

Collaboratively compiled, written and presented by photographer Leland Payton and travel writer Crystal Payton, See The Ozarks: The Touristic Image is an engaging and impressive showcase of tourism-related advertisements and memorabilia that have lured travelers to the Ozarks since before the era of the horseless carriage. Full-color photographs and insightful narrative concerning the appeal of the Ozarks as a vacation spot then and now fill the pages of this highly recommended treasure trove of American regional and advertising history.

The Century In Food
Beverly Bundy
Collectors Press, Inc.
PO Box 230986, Portland, OR 97281
1888054670 $35.00 1-800-423-1848

The Century In Food: America's Fads And Favorites begins a culinary history of America in 1900, a time when most of the cooking was done in fireplaces and a slim figure was considered a mark of ill health. Author Beverly Bundy (Food Editor at The Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper) proceeds to provide a fascinating and informative survey of the inventions, innovations, and evolutions in American food preparation, culinary tastes, and a steadily expanding roster of recipe ingredients available to Americans whether eating at home or dining out. Although there are a wealth of featured and illustrative recipes, The Century In Food is more than just one more cookbook, it is also an informed and highly entertaining history of American culinary culture spread out over ten decades and enhanced with 400 full-color images. The Century In Food is highly recommended reading for both students of American Popular Culture and cookbook enthusiasts.

Measuring America
Andro Linklater
Walker & Company
435 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
0802713963 $26.00 1-800-289-2553

In Measuring America, Andro Linklater exposes one of the untold stories in American history: how the land survey which spread across the country created a structure of land ownership unique in history, linking the wild frontier to the settlers who would tame it. Linklater's story of how the American Customary System of measurement came to be founded during this effort makes for fascinating reading.

Raising La Belle
Mark G. Mitchell
Eakin Press
Drawer 90159, Austin, TX 78709-0159
1571687033 $10.95 www.eakinpress.com

The sailing ship La Belle was used in the 1600's in the beleaguered Fort St. Louis settlement's attempt to escape. But when the La Belle sank, the ship's occupants found themselves stranded, and then threatened by hostile Indians. Chapters detailing the history of the colony and the ship alternate with the modern account of the finding and recovering of the long-sunken ship and its artifacts. In 1995, the Texas Historical Commission discovered the sunken La Belle, and set to work extracting it and its cargo. The result of their labors and the amazing preserved relics of history fill the pages of this fascinating, informative, and highly recommended account, enhanced with black-and-white artwork.

Rosie's Mom
Carrie Brown
Northeastern University Press
360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
1555535356 $35.00 1-800-666-2211

In Rosie's Mom: Forgotten Women Workers Of The First World War by cultural historian and freelance curator Carrie Brown recovers the nearly forgotten contribution made by women in the American workforce during the years of World War I. They helped assemble the biplanes, shaped and filled the cartridges, made the gas masks, and worked in the factories to supply America's war production needs. The women were crucial elements in the American wartime economy and efforts, trained in technical fields and working in hazardous industries (where their presence helped significantly in the adoption of new worker health and safety measures), their presence and experience were also critically important to buttress the Women's Suffrage movement and the eventual passage of an amendment to the American constitution providing women the right to vote. An informed and informative text is very nicely illustrated with historical photographs, making Rosie's Mom a welcome and seminal contribution to 20th Century American History and Women's Studies reference collections and reading lists.

Origin Of The American Revolution: 1759-1766
Bernhard Knollenberg
Liberty Fund, Inc.
8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300, Indianapolis, Indiana 46250-1684
0865973822 $28.00 www.amazon.com

The first of a two-part history, Origin Of The American Revolution: 1759-1766 is a cohesive and solid tracing of the events in history leading up to America's revolt and independence. First published a generation ago, and out of print for more than thirty years, Origin Of The American Revolution: 1759-1766 remains as focused, exacting, and to the point today as it was then, with author Bernhard Knollenberg being impressively skilled at tracing political and economic events that made a struggle for independence inevitable. Edited by Bernard W. Sheehan, Origin Of The American Revolution: 1759-1766 is a scholarly, well-constructed and strongly recommended account.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Hollywood Creative Directory
Hollywood Creative Directory
1024 North Orange Drive, Hollywood, CA 90038
1928936229 $59.95 1-800-815-0503

Now in a new, fully updated and expanded 47th edition, the Hollywood Creative Directory: Winter/Spring 2003 continues to be justifably acclaimed as the preeminent resource for contact information regarding studios and networks, film and television executives, production companies, independent producers, television shows and staffs, as well as projects in development. Cross referenced by name functions as kind of a phone book to Hollywood with over 10,000 entertainment industry professionals, and their companies, the Hollywood Creative Directory is an invaluable, indispensable resource and a very highly recommended addition to all personal, professional, academic, and community library Theatre/Cinema Studies & Resources reference shelves.

Meriwether Publishing
Box 7110, Colorado Springs, CO 80933
1-800-937-5297 meriwether.com

Two new and highly recommended guides to acting will provide both teen and adult drama students with many inspirational fundamentals. Tim McDonough's Acting Narrative Speeches: The Actor As Storyteller (1566080762, $19.95) defines four critical essentials of how actors learn to add drama to speech, from understanding the story and conflict to layering opposite energies. Chapters and examples bring these concepts to life. Roger Ellis capably edits New International Plays For Young Audiences: Plays Of Cultural Conflict (1566080819, $19.95), providing a new anthology of complete and current plays reflecting globalization and cultural conflict. Both are inviting choices for serious drama students.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

A Witch's Grimoire
Gavin & Yvonne Frost
Prentice Hall Press
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
0735203261 $14.00 1-800-631-8571

Two leading authorities in the occult provide in A Witch's Grimoire, a revised, updated collection which examines the secret codes, symbols and charms which are the foundation of white magic. Individual chapters describe how these amulets and spells can relate to a positive daily life, and provide new charts and artwork in this new and highly recommended edition.

New Page Books
3 Tice Rd., Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
1-800-227-3371 www.amazon.com

These guides to magic and mysticism are recommended picks for audiences interested in metaphysical techniques and insights. Marion Weinstein's revised Positive Magic (1564146375, $14.99) provides a completely new version of a classic, updating Wiccan history, tools and techniques. Chapters explore new territory, from channeling to spirit contact, and will serve as a strong introduction to new age concepts. Gerina Dunwich's A Witch's Guide To Ghosts And The Supernatural (1564146162, $14.99) blends the supernatural with Wiccan insights. Dunwich has seen and communicated with her share of ghosts, and has lived in a number of haunted houses: chapters tell how to communicate with spirits, interpret their messages, and how to investigate a haunting. Ashleen O'Gaea's Raising Witches (156414 6316, $13.99) is an unusual guide to raising children in the Wiccan faith; the first book to provide Wiccan parents with the means of teaching their beliefs. A Wiccan curriculum for each of the five age groups from infancy to teens shows parents how to weave Wiccan concepts into daily experiences. Lady Sabrina's Celebrating Wiccan Spirituality (156414593X, $14.99) covers spells, sacred rites, and folklore for each day of the year, providing both Wiccan newcomers and practitioners with the spells and folklore useful to celebrating days and seasons. Pagan holidays are charted and history revealed, here.

The Triple Goddess Tarot
Isha Lerner
Bear & Company
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
1879181940 $35.00 1-800-246-8648

Blend a package of a 248-page color book with over thirty color divination cards focusing on the Sacred Feminine through the Holy Trinity and you have The Triple Goddess Tarota, a powerful set which includes twenty-two Major Arcana cards plus four original Alchemy Cards in beautiful designs. An excellent, unusual gift selection.

Magic Mushrooms In Religion And Alchemy
Clark Heinrich
Park Street Press
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
0892819979 $19.95 1-800-246-8648

Heinrich's illustrated exploration of the use of psychoactive mushrooms in Magic Mushrooms In Religion And Alchemy, reveals their role in connecting with the spirit and god making for an involving survey of both the history of mushroom use and its purposes in Vedic and Puranic religions through modern Judaism and Christianity. The conclusion: in many religions these mushrooms have served as gateways to teach spiritual concepts.

Death Is An Illusion
Else Byskov
Paragon House
2700 University Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55114
1557788138 $16.95 paragonhouse.com

Death Is An Illusion: A Logical Explanation Based On Martinus' Worldview by educator, translator, and interpreter ElseByskov is an extensive study of the metaphysical philosophy and spiritual teachings of 20th century Danish mystic Martinus, including the principles of karma and reincarnation, the consciousness of God, cyclic principles, transformation of the sexual poles, the power of prayer, and much more. A straightforward, well-written rendering of complex ideas in uncomplicated prose, Death Is An Illusion is especially commended to the attention of non-specialist general readers and students with an interest in contemporary mysticism, spirituality, philosophy, religion, and metaphysics.


The Military Shelf

Ichi Ban Outfit
E. Gerald Pires
Elderberry Press
1393 Old Homestead Drive, Second floor, Oakland, Oregon 97462-9506
1930859392 $29.95 elderberrypress.com

Ichi Ban Outfit is the story of SCARWAF (Special Category Army with Air Force), a unit which existed in the United States military from 1949 to 1956. Focusing in particular on the 474th Signal Aviation Construction Company, a SCARWAF unit assigned to the Far East Command with its home base in Japan, Ichi Ban Outfit follows construction crews who worked, often under extreme and dangerous conditions, with a tremendous pride and determination. The men who served in this unit, and their views of Japan as it emerged from the post-World War II American military occupation, as well as the course of the Korean War, are all presented in this fascinating, highly recommended, informatively insightful contribution to twentieth century American military history.

The Gatling Gun Notebook
James B. Hughes
Andrew Mowbray, Inc.
Box 571716, Houston, TX 77257-1716
0917218949 $23.00 1-800-999-4697

Compiled by James B. Hughes from contemporary sources, The Gatling Gun Notebook: A Collection Of Data And Illustrations is an impressive compendium of black-and-white illustrations and basic factual data about the incredible variety of gatling guns, from their first appearance in 1862, down to 1917 when the last U.S. government manual for the Gatling was printed. Ten gatling gun makers in five countries are extensively covered, and virtually every page features a drawing, diagram, or photograph, with most of them being about century old. The succinct and informative text entries provide invaluable background to each illustration, as well as technical specifications about the gatling gun in question. Simply put, The Gatling Gun Notebook is enthusiastically recommended as being a unique and fascinating resource for firearm and American military history buffs.

Foxtrot Ridge
Mark W. Woodruff
Vandamere Press
PO Box 17446, Clearwater, FL 33762
0918339588 $24.95 1-727-556-0950

Foxtrot Ridge: A Battle Remembered by Mark W. Woodruff (Senior Navy Psychologist at Fleet Base West in Western Australia) is the true and accurate story of a battalion of men who fought in the Vietnam War, and recalls in vivid detail a May, 1968 battle that was neither special nor unique; only one of many in a long and terrible conflict. Graphic in its detail, offering testimony from individuals who were there and faced death itself, not just on that day but on many days, one after the other, Foxtrot Ridge is a moving account and a candid look at the face of war itself and a highly prized addition to the growing library of Vietnam War histories, and combatant memoirs.

American Ex-Prisoners Of War Of World War II: Volume 1
Jeffrey W. Peristere
Medallion Publishing Co.
1220 Broadway, New York, NY 10001
0972282807 $TBA 1-212-629-0858

Illustrated with over 150 photographs of more than sixty ex-POW's, American Ex-Prisoners Of War Of World War II is the first volume of a planned series of recollections and matter-of-fact biographical narratives showcasing the experiences of Americans taken captive by German and Japanese armed forces during the course of World War II in the European and Pacific Theaters. Personal testimony, sometimes detailing unspeakable horror, courage, death, survival, and endurance are all featured in this compelling and vivid account. American Ex-Prisoners Of War Of World War II is a unique and welcome contribution to the growing library of World War II military biographies.

Not Mentioned In Despatches...
Spencer Fitz-Gibbon
The Lutterworth Press/Parkwest Pub.
451 Communipaw Av, Jersey City NJ 07304
0718830164 $30.00 parkwestpubs.com

Meticulously researched and deftly written by military expert and historian Spencer Fitz-Gibbon, Not Mentioned In Despatches...: The History And Mythology Of The Battle Of Goose Green is an informed and informative analysis of the decisive British victory at Goose Green over the Argentinean forces in the 1982 "Falklands War". Examining incorrect beliefs that have been distorted to the proportion of myth, as well as presenting the specific dynamics of the battle itself in minute detail as it actually unfolded, Not Mentioned In Despatches... is an exhaustive, critical, and carefully presented survey and analysis taking the reader beneath the surface of what has been said in previous military histories and commentaries, in order to better understand what really happened.

Titan II
David K. Stumpf
The University of Arkansas Press
201 Ozark, Fayetteville, AR 72701
1557286019 $49.00 1-800-626-0090

Compiled and written by David K. Stumpf (Associate Research Scientist, University of Arizona), Titan II: A History of a Cold War Missile Program is the informed and informative story of the intercontinental ballistic missile program developed by the United States military in the 1950s and 1960s. Each missile was designed to carry a single nuclear warhead, used liquid fuel propellants, and was stored (and launched from) hardened underground silos. The missile sites were based in Arkansas, Arizona, and Kansas facilities, and then were finally deactivated in the early 1980s. Based on a wide range of sources including engineer and airmen interviews and memoirs, declassified government documents, and other public materials, and enhanced with more than 170 drawings and photographs (most of which have never been previously published), Titan II is a definitive, strongly recommended, technological history of a deterrent weapons system that for more than 20 years successfully defended America from nuclear attack.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Rocky Mountain Futures
Jill S. Baron, editor
Island Press
1718 Connecticut Ave., NW, #300, Washington, DC 20009
1559639547 $32.50 www.islandpress.org

Capably edited by Jill S. Baron (Ecosystem Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University, Fort Collins), and enhanced with an informative four-page Foreword by Paul R. Ehrlich (Bing Professor of Population Studies and President of the Center for Conservation Biology, Department of Biological Science, Stanford University), Rocky Mountain Futures: An Ecological Perspective is a sober and comprehensive survey of the tremendous impact human influence has had on the Rocky Mountain ecosystems. Featuring case studies, cascading effects, human-driven changes and more, this seminal and authoritative compilation of researched essays by educated authors paints an accurate and documented picture of an ecology being pushed beyond its limits, and then offers succinct, practical, and occasionally inspired ideas on what to do about it before it's too late. Rocky Mountain Futures is an essential, fundamentally critical addition to any personal, professional, governmental, organizational, academic, or community library Environmental Studies reference collection and supplemental reading list.

Killing Me Softly
Eddie J. Girdner and Jack Smith
Monthly Review Press
122 West 27th Street, NY, NY 10001
1583670831 $16.95 monthlyreview.org

Collaboratively researched and written by Eddie J. Girdner (Professor of International Relations, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey) and Jack Smith (Professor of English and Philosophy, North Central Missouri College), Killing Me Softly: Toxic Waste, Corporate Profit, And The Struggle For Environmental Justice is a gritty, realistic, pull-no-punches survey and expose of the toxic waste industry and its relentless expansion. Stressing the need for environmental justice in a society that tends to consider the homes of poor people to be "not sufficiently polluted", Killing Me Softly is a much-needed and clarion call for the importance of conservation, ecological responsibility, environmental protections, and corporate/governmental reforms in the modern age.


The Computer Shelf

PC Help Desk In A Book
Mark Edward Soper
Que Publishing
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290-1097
0789727560 $29.99 www.mcp.com

When your personal computer suffer from buggy Windows installations, has bad cable connections, is plagued with mismanaged system resources, viruses, and/or slow Internet connections, don't be quick to toss it out! With a little knowledgeable care, your dysfunctional computer could with the help of Mark Soper's PC Help Desk In A Book: The Do-it-Yourself Guide To PC Troubleshooting and Repair, become useful again. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, PC Help Desk In A Book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer. 576 pp., User Level Beginner-to-Intermediate

Java P2P Unleashed
Robert Flenner, et al.
Sams Publishing
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290-1097
0672323990 $49.99 www.mcp.com

Peer-to-peer (P2P) has progressed from a curiosity to a serious opportunity for businesses to move beyond the costs and limitations of traditional client-server based computing. With a choice of several new, maturing technologies, Java developers need a single source to explain the benefits of each technology and help them see how to fit the P2P "pieces" together - both in building new systems and integrating with existing ones. Java P2P Unleashed: With JXTA, Web Services, XML, Jini, JavaSpaces, and J2EE starts with a discussion of the P2P architecture, referencing similarities with existing, familiar systems while previewing several types of P2P applications. Java P2P Unleashed explains how to plan ahead for security, routing, performance and other issues when developing a P2P application. Each Java P2P technology is approached from a P2P perspective, focusing on implementation concerns Java developers will face while using them. The last section includes several large-scale examples of different P2P applications - managing content, building communities, integrating services, routing messages, and using intelligent agents to gather information. The final chapter looks ahead to future developments in Java P2P technologies, including the use of J2ME. Java P2P Unleashed is confidently recommended for Intermediate to Advanced level users. 752 pages.

Learn To Program With C++
John Smiley
Osborne/McGraw-Hill
2600 Tenth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
0072225351 $29.99 www.osborne.com

Learn To Program With C++ by John Smiley (Computer Science Professor at Penn State University), is a straightforward "reader friendly" introduction especially written for beginners to the art and skill of programming in the C++ language. No prior programming experience is required to quickly grasp these basic, easy-to-understand lessons which are enhanced with questions and exercises. Functions, inheritance, errors and error handling, classes and creating objects, and more are covered in this superbly presented and highly recommended introductory primer.

McGraw-Hill Book Company
Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121
1-800-722-4726 www.amazon.com

Two new outstanding instructional reference and resource titles are essential, core additions to any dedicated Windows XP collection. Windows XP Home Edition: The Complete Reference, collaborative written by Margaret Levine-Young & John R. Levine (0072226641; 960 pages; $39.99), provides comprehensive coverage of Windows XP Home Edition. Readers will learn how to competently set up and configure XP on a PC or laptop, work with multimedia applications, connect to the Internet, optimize the system for maximum performance, and much more. In Windows XP Professional Security by computer experts Chris Weber and Gary Bahadur(0072226021; 448 pages; $49.99), offers insider tips on how to deploy XP securely, manage it for ongoing security, and configure security policies effectively. Windows XP Professional Security also provides effective and practical policies as well as accessible problem-solving techniques and methodologies for penetration testing and incident response.

NET Multithreading
Alan L. Dennis
Manning Publications Co.
209 Bruce Park Ave Greenwich CT 06830
1930110545 $34.95 www.manning.com

.NET Multithreading by Alan L. Dennis (a computer consultant and instructor of programming at the University of Phoenix Online) is an authoritative and "learner friendly" guide to performing multithreading applications with C# .NET or VB.NET. Presuming familiarity with core computer programming basics, the informed and informative text does not require any prior knowledge or experience in multithreading. Individual chapters address the life cycles of threads, how to concurrently control them, the ThreadPool class, delegates and exceptions, multithreading in J#, and a great deal more. To put it simply, .NET Multithreading is a first-rate resource for anyone looking to improve their software's performance through multithreading, and without having to invest too much time and energy in learning the mechanics of doing so.

Osborne/McGraw-Hill
2600 Tenth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1-800-722-4726 www.amazon.com

Two superbly presented instructional and reference manuals devoted to protecting online websites and databases from hackers are both highly recommended additions to any dedicated computer security reference collection. Hacking Exposed Web Applications: Web Application Security Secrets & Solutions by Joel Scambray and Mike Shema (007222438X; 416 pages; $49.99) explains how to defend against the latest Web-based attacks by understanding the hacker's methods and thought processes. Computer security experts Scambray and Shema show how intruders gather information, acquire targets, identify weak spots, gain control, and cover their tracks. After cataloging the greatest threats Web applications face and explaining in detail how they work, Hacking Exposed Web Applications then teaches how to prevent these attacks. The Anti-Hacker Tool Kit collaboratively written by Keith J. Jones, Mike Shema and Bradley C. Johnson (0072222824; 744 pages; $59.99) shows users how, through proper use and configuration of key security tools, they will be able to investigate and resolve existing problems within a network infrastructure with precision and a minimum of fuss. Written by experienced security professionals, Hacking Exposed Web Applications provides comprehensive and completely accessible coverage of the most important and up-to-date security tools in use today, explaining their function, and showing how to use each tool effectively through in-depth implementation examples and case studies.

Personal Web Sites
Joe Shepter
Rockport Publishers Inc.
33 Commercial Street, Gloucester, MA 01930-5089
1564968634 $40.00 www.rockpub.com

In Personal Web Sites, author Joe Shepter has compiled the first dedicated study of the role personal websites are playing in the phenomenal growth of the world wide web. Providing a critical examination of web designs showcasing the personal work of more than twenty-five of the top web designers at work today, the reader is provided with superb visuals, an insightful text, informed and informative interviews, and invaluable insights into how web designers get their inspirations. A highly recommended addition to personal and professional Computer Studies and Graphic Design reference collections and reading lists, Personal Web Sites also wonderfully illustrates how private webspace is utilized as a proving ground for future commercial projects.

New Riders
201 West 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46290-1097
www.newriders.com

To new and thoroughly "user friendly" computer instruction and manuals are essential additions to Cold Fushion reference collections. Inside ColdFusion MX by Cold Fushion experts John Cummings and Neil Ross (0735713049, $49.99) covers the main issues in moving to the new version of ColdFusion and explains the creation of real-world ColdFusion applications
from the ground up. Concepts are taught by authors who are still "in the trenches," developing and managing ColdFusion applications daily. The authors discuss the new CF Administration, integration with existing IDE's, recent language extensions, and the planning and development of ColdFusion applications under the new CF architecture. ColdFusion MX: From Static To Dynamic In 10 Steps by Barry Moore(0735712964, $35.00) is recommended for the professional web developer who is new to ColdFusion, this book opens with a case study of a web site and how it can be improved using ColdFusion. It then progresses through 10 stages of upgrade by giving theory, examples, and hands-on instruction for creating a dynamic site using such features as a data-driven catalog, search page, and shopping cart.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Every Heart Attack Is Preventable
Michael Mogadam, MD
New American Library
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
0451207769 $13.95 1-800-847-5515

Here's a plan for a diet which is tailored for those with heart attack risk factors, from hypertension and high cholesterol to diabetes. The bulk of Every Heart Attack Is Preventable consists of ratings of foods which are proven to help heart strength: tables chart food scores and draw important links between these scores and heart health.

How Linda Died
Frank Davey
ECW Press
2120 Queen St. E. #200, Toronto, Ontario M4E 1E2, Canada
1550224972 $15.95 www.amazon.com

How Linda Died recounts the author's wife's decline and death from a brain tumor, through the recording of moment-by-moment observations of a struggle for life in the face of insurmountable odds. From the daily challenges of remembering phone numbers to dealing with other life stresses and grief, How Linda Died is a moving account.

American Diabetes Association Complete Guide To Diabetes
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311
1580401619 $29.95 www.diabetes.org

Now in a completely revised, updated and expanded third edition, American Diabetes Association Complete Guide To Diabetes offers comprehensive and reliable information on preventing diabetes-based complications, achieving blood sugar control, handling diabetes-related emergencies, using a meter, using insulin pumps, the role of nutrition and exercise in diabetes management, sexuality and diabetes, coping with diabetes-imposed limitations, even family life, travel, insurance, and pregnancy as they are affected by diabetes. An essential, seminal, and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library reference collections, the American Diabetes Association Complete Guide To Diabetes is both "reader friendly" and invaluable in its provision of the best of self-care techniques and the latest medical breakthrough information. No matter what type of diabetes, American Diabetes Association Complete Guide To Diabetes will prove to be of extraordinary value in answering any and all diabetes-related questions, situations, and conditions.

Surviving With Heart
Darrell Trout & Ellen Welch
Fulcrum Publishing
16100 Table Mountain Parkway #300, Golden, CO 80403
155591201X $18.95 1-800-992-2908

Surviving With Heart provides detailed information on heart disease, which kills men and women daily. From determining risk factors and identifying initial symptoms to working with a medical team and managing treatment options, Surviving With Heart provides quite a bit of depth and information and includes caregiver concerns and advice along with tips for patients. An invaluable guide.

Pursuit Of Oblivion
Richard Davenport-Hines
W.W. Norton & Company
500 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
0393051897 $29.95 1-800-233-4830

Pursuit Of Oblivion takes an historical approach to considering the traditional and changing use of illicit drugs around the world, pursuing a survey of five centuries of drug trade and showing how narcotics changed from untested medicine to pleasure tools. Social, political and cultural history blend in a treatment suitable for high school on up.

Omnigraphics
615 Griswold St., Detroit, MI 48226
1-800-234-1340 www.amazon.com

Two new additions to the expanding Omnigraphics "Health Reference" series provide the latest, updated health information for libraries seeking comprehensive coverages. Joyce Brennfleck Shannon edits the second edition of Sports Injuries Sourcebook (0780806042, $78.00), offering the latest treatment options for common injuries related to sports. From a survey of injuries related to specific sports to facts about rehabilitation and recovery, chapters are packed with important details. Jenni Lynn Colson's Emergency Medical Services Sourcebook (0780804201, $78.00) appears in its first new edition to profile emergency situations, from medical and household emergencies to emergencies away from home and overall disaster preparedness. Chapters tell how the EMT team works, who to call for help, and patient's rights and issues in emergency medicine. Both are recommended picks for growing health library collections.


The Islamic Studies Shelf

Taking Back Islam
Michael Wolfe, Editor
Rodale Press
400 S. 10th St., Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
1579546552 $21.95 www.rodale.com

American Muslims reclaim their faith and pride in Islamic roots in Taking Back Islam, a unique compilation which gathers American voices from the vanguard of Muslim faith. Here devout believers talk of their religion, Islam's basic beliefs, and messages of tolerance and peace in the Qur'an which are central to their beliefs.

The Heart Of Islam
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Harper San Francisco
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022
0060099240 $22.95 1-800-272-7737

For a more in-depth look at the underlying values of Islam and its lessons for humanity as a whole, Seyyed Nasr's intellectual analysis presented in The Heart Of Islam, offers a focus on the spiritual and social values of Islam: peace, compassion, and social justice. Islamic scripture and traditional sources are probed, counterparts in other faiths are contrasted, and Nasr challenges others to understand Muslim society and beliefs including his own people.

Brasseys Inc.
Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0960
1-800-775-2518 www.amazon.com

On September 11th forces incited and dictated by bin Laden attacked the U.S.: while much has been written about the event and the attacker, little has revealed the motives of bin Laden and his supporters. Anonymous' Through Our Enemies' Eyes (1574885529 $29.95) provides a focus on what extremists have said and done, and examines their impact on the Muslim world. From his personality and philosophy to his leadership strategies, bin Laden's method of social control is examined and thoughtfully considered. Robert Van de Weyer's The Shared Well (1574885642, $21.95) is also an important guide to understanding underlying motivations: it offers a concise guide to the history of relations between Islam and the West, offering some contrasting, positive views of how Islam and Western cultures have enriched each other. Both offer many different insights.

Islam Unveiled
Robert Spencer
Encounter Books
655 Third Street, #330, San Francisco CA 94107
1893554589 $24.95 1-800-786-3839

Islam Unveiled examines the relationship between Islamic fundamentalism and mainstream Islam, the focus on jihad and violence, and why Muslims persist in their treatment of women and polygamy. From the grim human rights record of Islamic nations to why science and high culture died out in Islamic countries, Islam Unveiled provides a critical probe of Islamic societies.

Slavery In The Islamic Middle East
Shaun E. Marmon, editor
Markus Wiener Publishers
231 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542
1558761691 $16.95 markuswiener.com

Compiled and edited by Shaun E. Marmon, Slavery In The Islamic Middle East is an impressive and informative selection of scholarly essays examining the institution of slavery as recognized and regulated by Islamic law, and as incorporated into Muslim societies well into the modern day. Looking at military slavery in Islam in the pre-modern period, the connection between skin color and slavery, a memoir portraying a raw and real look at victims of the African slave trade, and more, Slavery In The Islamic Middle East is a welcome and invaluable addition to Middle Eastern History and Islamic Studies reference shelves and reading lists.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

The Everything Dog Training And Tricks Books
Gerilyn J. Bielakiewicz
Adams Media Corporation
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322
1580626661 $14.95 1-800-872-5627

The Everything Dog Training And Tricks Books by experienced dog trainer Gerilyn Bielakiewicz (cofounder of Canine University) is a thoroughly "user friendly" and enthusiastically recommended instructional guide to turning even the most mischievous and high spirited dog into a well-behaved canine companion. Clear and invaluable information will enable the reader to control their dog's unwanted behaviors, including successfully dealing with housebreaking, introductions, the use of a clicker, and walking on a leash. The Everything Dog Training And Tricks Books also provides clear information on teaching a dog such tricks as getting the phone, "kissing", pushing a baby carriage, waving and "high five". Enhanced with dozens of photographs, The Everything Dog Training And Tricks Books offers a wealth of training tips, tricks, and techniques that will solve virtually any behavior issue and have any dog and owner team playing games and having fun together.

Animal Chronicles: An Odyssey
John Behrman, M.D.
Rainbow Books, Inc.
Box 430, Highland City, FL 33846-0430
1568250746 $9.95 1-863-648-4420

Deftly written by John Behrman (who, as a child, was not allowed any pets), Animal Chronicles: An Odyssey is the thoughtful story of himself and his wife - a pet-loving married couple who care for Dalmatians, lizards, birds, turtles, cats, and even a rare and amazing Zebronkey. Personal anecdotes, stories of animal behavior, solid advice about medical conditions and treatments for sick pets, and above all an enduring joy for sharing time with beloved creature companions permeate this gentle and memorable account. Animal Chronicles is recommended reading for anyone who has every enjoyed the companionship of another species.

Birding Across North America
Philip Keenan
Timber Press
133 SW 2nd Ave. #450, Portland, OR 97204-3527
0881925284 $29.95 1-800-327-5680

Birding Across North America: A Naturalist's Observations could be called a memoir of birding years, but it also holds plenty of practical details unique to the field guide, and description common to the travelogue. It may be hard to properly categorize this title, but any who love birds will find it most accessible. Individual chapters cover migration, reflections on domestic cats and wild birds, and basic elements of birdwatching in the East. A fascinating, revealing guide.

Mindful Horsemanship
Cheryl Kimball
Carriage House Publishing
223 Silver Street, Middleton, NH 03887
0967004713 $22.95 1-866-290-0670

Mindful Horsemanship: Increasing Your Awareness One Day At A Time by freelance writer and horse expert Cheryl Kimball is a superbly presented compendium of 366 contemplative quotations concerning the search for better horsemanship, self-improvement in general, and a love for mankind's dedicated and hardworking equine companions. There is an appropriate quote for every day of the year, with a brief interpretation particularly geared toward horsemanship. Highly recommended for non-specialist general readers who have a love and admiration for the horse, Mindful Horsemanship should be a core addition to any personal, riding stable, or community library Horsemanship Studies collection.

Horse Tales For The Soul: 3 Volumes
Bonnie Marlewski-Probert
K&B Products
PO Box 1502, PMB 214, Red Bluff CA 96080
1-800-700-5096 TheCompletePet.com

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert is a nationally recognized equestrian authority and horsewoman who was professionally trained in Hunt Seat and Western riding disciplines. Hooked on horses at the age of eight, horses and riding have been her life-long passion. Capably edited by Susan Strafford, each of three volumes comprising Bonnie Marlewski-Probert's outstanding series, Horse Tales For The Soul, contain 40 original stories submitted by horse lovers from around the world and is divided into chapters highlighting life lessons such as gratitude, overcoming adversity, appreciation, etc. Entertaining, thoughtful and thought-provoking, this outstanding and enthusiastically recommended horse-lover's trilogy includes: Horse Tales For The Soul: Volume 1 (0964641815X, $19.95); Horse Tales For The Soul: Volume 2 (0964618168, $19.95); Horse Tales For The Soul: Volume 3 (0964618184, $19.95).

Horned Lizards
Jane Manaster
Texas Tech University Press
PO Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037
0896724956 $15.95 1-800-832-4042

Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, Horned Lizards by freelance writer and Austin, Texas-based historian Jane Manaster is an informed and informative guide to a fascinating group of Southwestern lizards, who are colloquially referred to as "horny toads", and who posses a very special and distinctive place in both Old West folklore and Native American mythology. The history, biology, habitat, and life cycles of these amazing creatures is accessibly surveyed, as well as contemporary conservation efforts seeking to preserve this threatened species. Black-and-white photographs and a brief inset section of color plates enhance this enjoyable and highly recommended contribution to wildlife and natural history studies.

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

Two natural history encyclopedias are recommended picks for a wide audience, from high school to public school libraries seeking colorful references with fine detail. Tim Halliday and Kraig Adler edit Reptiles And Amphibians (1552976130, $40.00) providing unique insights into two different groups of animals and providing the latest reference information on them. A series of core entries forms the foundation for defining these animals, with special features and photo stories presenting topics of interest. Color photos and art packs this and Christopher O'Toole's Insects And Spiders (1552976122, $40.00), a companion volume which accomplishes the same for the insect world. Both are exceptional works, highly recommended and brilliant in both color and layout.


The Art Shelf

Projection Art For Kids
Linda Buckingham
Hartley & Marks Publishers
PO Box 147, Point Roberts, WA 98281
0881791970 $14.95 1-800-277-5887

A unique and very highly recommended addition to any family, art department, or community library Art Instruction reference collection, Projection Art For Kids: Murals & Painting Projects For Kids Of All Ages by self-described "talent-free" artist Linda Buckingham is a compendium of twenty-one projects ranging from small-scale designs to full-scale wall murals that kids aged 10 and older can make on the wall of a nursery, daycare, classroom, or bedroom. Buckingham's projection technique will enable children to utilize a favorite photograph, slide, drawing, painting, clip art, cartoon, or logo in the creation of a memorable and eye-pleasing, imagination-engaging work of art.

Doug Lindstrand's Alaska Sketchbook
Doug Lindstrand
Fox Chapel Publishing Co. Inc.
1970 Broad St, East Petersburg, PA 17520
1565231422 $25.00 carvingworld.com

Doug Lindstrand's Alaska Sketchbook: An Artist's Guide To The People And Wildlife Of America's Last Frontier is a compendium of hundreds of field sketches, studio drawings and photographs celebrating Alaskan frontiersmen, birds, and animals. The text includes a kind of diary kept by Lindstrand as a journal of his wanderings and contacts with the people and wildlife of this northern clime in which he has been photographing and sketching for the last 30 years. Doug Lindstrand's Alaska Sketchbook is a very welcome and much appreciated contribution to both Art Studies and Natural History collections.

Painting In The Middle East
Ann Zwicker Kerr
Syracuse University Press
1600 Jamesville Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244-5160
0815607520 $49.95 1-800-365-8929

Painting In The Middle East by Ann Zwicker Kerr (Coordinator of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Program, University of California - Los Angeles) is a full-color compilation of watercolors and photographs combined with an engaging and informative text that bring life to the author's love of the Middle East, and reflect upon her travels and experiences in the varied middle eastern landscape from the 1950's down to the present day. Extensive commentaries and personal memoir-based observations add a very special depth to the hidden history behind the soothing, gentle, and vibrant pictures showcased in this memorable body of art.

My Dear Stieglitz
James Timothy Voorhies
University of South Carolina Press
937 Assembly Street, 8th Floor, Columbia, SC 29208
1570034788 $39.95 1-800-768-2500

Compiled and edited by art historian and expert James Timothy Voorhies, My Dear Stieglitz: Letters Of Marsden Hartley And Alfred Stieglitz 1912-1915 is an informative and intrinsically interesting collection of previously unpublished correspondence between America artist Marsden Hartley and avant-garde impresario, editor, and photographer Alfred Stieglitz chronicling Hartley's three year European sojourn before and just at the inception of World War I. The letters begin with Hartley's 1912 arrival in Paris and provides invaluable commentary on Gertrude Stein's salons, the paintings of Picasso, Cezanne, and Matisse, and his encounters with many of the leading lights of the European world of artists, art dealers, and gallery owners. Hartley continues in 1913 to write an informative correspondence about the Expressionist artists and art trends that he encountered in Germany. This amazing body of correspondence concludes with Hartley's late 1915 return to an America seasoned by the influx of pre-war modern art. My Dear Stieglitz is a welcome and invaluable contribution to 20th Century Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The International Studies Shelf

The High Cost Of Peace
Yossef Bodansky
Prima Publishing
3000 Lava Ridge Court, #100, Roseville, CA 95661
0761535799 $27.95 1-800-632-8676

Three US administrations have tired to negotiate peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, with no real luck. The High Cost Of Peace charts policy mishaps, dangerous accords, and the lasting legacy of a peace process which has only succeeded in heightening the troubles. Diverse chapters show how this process has left the U.S. vulnerable to terrorist threat, and consider how changes might be made.

Caucasus Chronicles
Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos
Gomidas Institute
PO Box 208, Princeton, NJ 08542-0208
1884630057 $29.95 www.amazon.com

Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, the author of Caucasus Chronicles: Nation-Building And Diplomacy In Armenia, 1993-1994, was appointed Greek ambassador to the newly independent Armenia in 1993, entering the country as an ambassador at a pivotal moment when world powers were just starting to struggle for a new world created by the collapse of the Cold War. Caucasus Chronicles provides a survey of nation-building and diplomatic processes in the newly independent Armenia from 1993-94, providing excellent first-person insights.

Pakistan Eye Of The Storm
Owen Bennett Jones
Yale University Press
Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040
0300097603 $29.95 1-800-987-7323

Pakistan's turbulent history and military rule is treated to a scholarly and in-depth analysis which describes many of the problems of modern Pakistan with an eye to probing their historical roots. Jones assesses regional conflict and influence within the country and provides an important, scholarly assessment of Pakistan's underlying foundations. College-level readers will find it involving.

Pakistan In The Shadow Of Jihad And Afghanistan
Mary Anne Weaver
Farrar Straus Giroux
19 Union Square West, NY, NY 10003
0374228949 $24.00 1-888-330-8477

Pakistan is both a terrorist haven, a den of corruption, and the probable battlefront of Islamic terrorists. This report considers its pivotal role in world politics, blending a history of the country through two decades of eyewitness reporting with portraits of its leaders. An excellent source for seeking an understanding of modern Pakistan.

Culture And Customs Of Egypt
Molefi Kete Asante
Greenwood Press
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0313317402 $44.95 greenwood.com

Part of the "Culture And Customs Of Africa" series, Culture And Customs Of Egypt by Molefi KeteAsante (Professor, Department of African American Studies, Temple University) is a straightforward and reader accessible look at daily life in modern Egypt, including its people, history, religion, art, food, social customs and much, much more. Written in a plain, easy-to-understand prose that is ideal for students and non-specialist general readers alike, Culture And Customs Of Egypt is an enriching presentation and survey of a great nation Middle East nation which is very highly recommended reading for tourists, vacationers, armchair travelers, and anyone else who wants or needs to know the basics of life, culture, society, and religion in Egypt today.


The Parenting Shelf

Educating Your Gifted Child
Vicki Caruana
Crossway Books
1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
1581343566 $12.99 1-800-323-3890

Educating Your Gifted Child by Vicki Caruana is a thoroughly user-friendly resource for parents of gifted children, dispelling common myths about parenting and about especially gifted/talented children, offering stories drawn from true-life experience, sharing encouragement for those having a responsibility to raise a talented or gifted child, and presenting very practical advice on gifted children's academic, emotional, and social needs. Covering preschool through college and challenges on the job, and specifically written for parents who work closely with the public school system, as well as homeschooling parents, Educating Your Gifted Child provides an excellent and informative starting point.

The Breastfeeding Answer Book
La Leche League International, Inc.
Box 4079, Schaumburg, IL 60168-4079
0912500921 $68.00 lalecheleague.org

Now in a newly revised, updated, and expanded third edition, The Breastfeeding Answer Book from the La Leche League International is a thorough and "mother friendly" guide to everything a woman needs to know about breastfeeding, from positioning the baby, to how to wean their infant at the right time, to dealing with possible difficulties such as newborn jaundice. Published with a spiral binding so that it can lay open flat when the reader is busy with both hands, The Breastfeeding Answer Book is an exhaustive, thorough, accessible, reliable, highly recommended resource for all new mothers seeking to successfully breastfeed their babies.

DaddyBank
Gregory K. Brough, CPA
Candlelight Media Group, Inc.
PO Box 970072, Orem, UT 84097-0072
www.candlelightmedia.com
0970915136 $12.95 www.amazon.com

DaddyBank: How to Teach Your Child to Handle Money & Avoid Its Pitfalls by Gregory K. Brough (father of three and experienced financial consultant) is an impressively "parental friendly" and highly recommended guide written especially to help fathers and mothers to educate their children about fiscal responsibility. In a world where credit card companies encourage excessive spending and hefty interest payments, where inflation goes ever up, and the stock market is as trustworthy as quicksand, young people need now more than ever to learn smart money tactics ranging from the simple process of spending less than one earns, to comprehending how compound interest and financial investment returns work.

Character Links
Margaret Prien, et al.
Paw Impressions Press
405 El Camino Real, Suite 120, Menlo Park, CA 94025
www.pawimpressions.com
0967309506 $49.95 www.amazon.com

Character Links is a compilation by Margaret Prien of educational stories and activities specifically designed to teach children ages 3 to 8 about character qualities and values. Simple lesson plans collaboratively illustrated by Kaja Rebane and Kevin English, feature charming animal characters enhancing imaginative and effective ideas for instruction about the virtues of honesty, imagination, empathy, self-discipline, perseverance, integrity, and more. Character Links is to be confidently commended as being a truly first-rate, "user friendly" resource for parents, educators, and home schoolers.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Antisemitism
Marvin Perry & Frederick M. Schweitzer
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10010
0312165617 $35.00 1-888-330-8477

Collaboratively researched and written by historian Marvin Perry and Frederick M. Schweitzer (Director of the Manhattan College Holocaust Resource Center), Antisemitism: Myth And Hate From Antiquity To The Present is an extensive and informative survey and analysis of anti-Semitic myths that have been perpetrated for generations, and which range from Biblical times down to the twentieth century and into the present day. Antisemitism reveals how these lies, exaggerations, untruths, and cultural myths about Jewish people have been used for centuries to justify and fuel unspeakable brutality and genocidal murder against an entire race and faith. A scholarly study of hate-based, mind-twisting perversions and lies from the fabricated stories of Jews ritually sacrificing Christian children to modern-day Holocaust denials, Antisemitism should be found upon the Judaic Studies shelves of every college and community library in the country.

A Prophet For Our Time
Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum, author
Judith H. Banki and Eugene J. Fisher, eds
Fordham University Press
University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458
0823222306 $45.00 www.amazon.com

Collaboratively assembled and edited by Judith H. Banki (Director of Special Programs at the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in New York City) and Eugene J. Fisher (Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops), A Prophet For Our Time is an impressive anthology of writings by Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum, an activist and organizer who is well-known for his work in striving for religious understanding of human rights and the inter-faith promotion of tolerance over bigotry. Rabbi Tanenbaum's examinations of Christian-Jewish relations, Black-Jewish relations, the moral legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., how the traditional Catholic Passion Play has fostered anti-Semitism down through history, and much, much more are knowledgeably presented in this thought-provoking and highly accessible collection, filled from cover to cover with a wealth of wisdom recommended for readers of all faiths and denominational backgrounds.

Talks And Tales, Volume 12
Merkos Publications
291 Kingston Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11213
0826600034 $180.00 (entire series) 1-877-463-7567

Talks And Tales Volume 12: 1974-1977 is part of an impressive and highly recommended 16-volume set of books that reprints (with deference to layout) the 48-year run of a classic and much beloved magazine geared toward Jewish children. Inspirational stories, black and white illustrations, ancient history and the current events of the times are all captured in these pages filled with the history, memory, and visions of an earlier generation.

The Tragedy Of Zionism
Bernard Avishai
Allworth Press
10 E. 23rd St. #510, NY, NY 10010
1581152582 $16.95 1-800-491-2808

Political Zionism's revolutionary past continues to haunt and effect Israeli democracy and struggles with its neighbors today. Chapters provide a history of Zionism, conflicts, and the underlying concepts which fostered its growth in the 1930s and threaten its continued existence today. The Tragedy Of Zionism, offers a thoughtful and thought-provoking coverage of a sensitive but timely issue bermane to Judaic and American support for the beleaguered Israeli people.

Jewish Identity In Modern Israel
Naftali Rothenberg & Eliezer Schweid
Urim Publications
c/o Lambda Publications, Inc.
3709 13th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11218
9657108365 $22.00 urimpublications.com

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Rabbi Naftali Rothenberg (Senior Fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute) and Eliezer Schweid (Professor of Jewish Philosophy, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Jewish Identity In Modern Israel: Proceedings On Secular Judaism And Democracy is an impressive and informative collection of articles by a variety of different writers, each offering distinct viewpoints and delivered in the conferences of the Framework for Contemporary Jewish Thought and Identity at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Some contributors are Jewish; some are Arab, and many are authors, educators, MKs or Rabbis. Fluidly translated into English, these articles address the goals of teaching Judaism to secular Jews, how education should be presented in a Jewish and Democratic state, being an Arab Citizen in a Jewish and Democratic state (including doubts and misgivings), and much, much more. A strongly recommended addition to Judaic Studies reference collections and academic reading lists, Jewish Identity In Modern Israel offers the reader a compendium of well-written and thought-provoking selections.

Danger! Three Jewish Peoples
Avraham Avi-Hai
Shengold Publishers Inc.
18 West 45th St., New York, NY 10036
0884001644 $20.00 www.amazon.com

Danger! Three Jewish Peoples by Jerusalem-based economic consultant Avraham Avi-hai is a warning cry. It looks square-on at the modern-day phenomenon of three distinct types of emerging Judaism: the new and comparatively secular life-style of Israeli Jews, whose daily existence is shaped profoundly by the realities of conflict and war; American Jews, who are losing the old ties of common language and communal religious life; and the ultra-orthodox Jews who tend to exist isolated and in fear of change. These trends, if they continue, could lead to permanent and absolute schisms among the Jews of the world. Danger! Three Jewish Peoples calls for an immediate debate, mediation, and rethinking about Judaism and the Jewish way of life -- nothing less than the culture, future, and faith of Jews all over the world is at stake. A powerful and thought-provoking read, Danger! Three Jewish Peoples is a highly recommended addition to contemporary Judaic Studies reference collections and reading lists.

Making A Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage
Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky
Jewish Lights Publishing
PO Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091
1580231705 $16.95 jewishlights.com

In Making A Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage: The Jewish Outreach Institute Guide To Opportunities, Challenges And Resources, Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky (with the assistance of Joan Peterson Littman) has written is a thoroughly "user friendly" guide filled from cover to cover with solid, practical advice for couples, husbands and wives, family members, and others involved in an interfaith relationship where one of the partners is Jewish. From balancing spiritual conflicts, to deciding how the children are to be raised, to the option of conversion, Making A Successful Jewish Interfaith Marriage is a superbly written, highly accessible, strongly recommended, and invaluable contribution to Judaic Studies and Interfaith Family Studies.

Jewish U
Scott Aaron
UAHC Press
633 Third Avenue, NY, NY 10017-6778
0807407909 $9.95 www.uahcpress.com

Jewish U: A Contemporary Guide For The Jewish College Student by Rabbi Scott Aaron (Director of Education at The Bandesi-Bardin Institute) is an indispensable and reliable reference for families and students wanting to enroll in a college or university where they can explore and practice their Judaic faith and heritage. Jewish U covers a variety of pertinent issues including: preparing to leave the parental home; living in a dorm; celebrating High Holy Days away from the family; honoring Shabbat; making friends and preparing for exams (from a Jewish perspective); reconnecting with family and friends during school breaks; the value of a college education and the selection of a major; the ethics of sexual intimacy; the obligation of responsibility; campus-based Passover celebrations; dealing with death while away from home; Shavuot and theological inquiries; even summer jobs and social action. Jewish U is an invaluable, strongly recommended, thoroughly "reader friendly" guide for any college bound student from a Jewish home.

The Jewish Tradition, Sexuality And Procreation
Lewis D. Soloman
University Press of America
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706
0761822283 $34.00 1-800-462-6420

The Jewish Tradition, Sexuality And Procreation by Judaic Studies scholar Lewis D. Solomon is an extensive, erudite, and meticulous survey and analysis of Jewish traditions throughout the centuries and how they apply to such issues as human sexuality, marriage, love, homosexuality, procreation, as well as the latest advances in human cloning and genetic selection in offspring. A work of impressive scholarship combining and contrasting secular sciences with Jewish history and cannon, The Jewish Tradition, Sexuality And Procreation offers solid, well-researched, highly recommended grounds for thought-provoking discussions and enlightening contemplations.


The Literary Shelf

The Sunday Of Fiction
Peter Schulman
Purdue University Press
1207 South Campus Courts - E, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-1207
1557532516 $49.95 thepress.purdue.edu

The Sunday Of Fiction: The Modern French Eccentric by Peter Schulman (Assistant Professor of French, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia) focuses upon the contemporary "eccentric" hero and his rebellion against a conformist world as portrayed in twentieth-century French literature. The evolution of what constitutes "eccentric" since the 19th century, eccentricities in the Universe itself, decadence in eccentricity, and more, are scrutinized in this scholarly and insightful analysis, which looks at authors such as Raymond Queneau, Jean Echenoz, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, and filmmakers such as Jacques Tati and Pierre Etaix. The Sunday Of Fiction is an impressive and seminal contribution to French Literature Studies and French Cinematic Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Miscellaneous Writings
H. P. Lovecraft
Arkham House Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 546, Sauk City, WI 53583
0870541684 $29.95 arkhamhouse.com

Miscellaneous Writings is an extensive and impressive collection of works by the famous and ground-breaking horror author H. P. Lovecraft, who is perhaps best known for creating Great Cthullu and other primordial cosmic entities. This volume compiles Lovecraft's little-known letters, essays, short stories, and much more spreading the gamut from nonfiction to personal to instructional to commentaries on social issues. To put it plainly, this Arkham House edition of H.P. Lovecrafts' Miscellaneous Writings is a mandatory addition to the reading list of dedicated Lovecraft fans and scholars who would learn more about this enigmatic and influential author through his erudite and deftly penned correspondences and writings.

The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter
Lana A. Whited, editor
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Blvd, Columbia, MO 65201
0826214436 $34.95 1-800-828-1894

Compiled and edited by Lana A. Whited (Professor of English, Ferrum College, Virginia), The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter: Perspectives On A Literary Phenomenon is an extensive analysis of J.K. Rowling's immensely popular and widely acclaimed Harry Potter series of fantasy novels. Originally intended for young adults, this fantasy series proved fascinating, exciting, and complex enough to attract readers of all ages and backgrounds. The scholarly essays here assembled are from a wide variety of authors and discuss Harry Potter's roots in folklore, its connection to gender issues, literary comparisons and archetypes, and much, much more. A highly scholarly and insightful text, offering new perceptions on beloved favorites, The Ivory Tower And Harry Potter is a welcome addition to Literary Criticism reference collections and highly recommended for scholars and non-specialist general readers who enjoy J.K. Rowling's original, intricate, (and continuing to expand) cannon of deftly written and increasingly influential fantasy.

Farce
Jessica Milner Davis
Transaction Publishers
Rutgers - The State University
35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, NJ 08854
0765808870 $19.95 1-888-999-6778

Farce by Jessica Milner Davies (Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Co-coordinator of the Australasian Humour Scholars Network, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia) is a college-level work of scholarship and criticism specifically examining the literary genre of the farce. Jessica Davis classifies traditional farce-plots, studies the role of characterization and timing, as well as presenting the history and accepted rules of the farce. General themes incorporated into many a farce include such issues as revenge, coincidence, and rebellion. All these and more are studied from all sides in this intriguing analysis. Farce is a welcome and uniquely recommended contribution to both Literary Criticism and Cultural Studies reference collections and supplementary reading lists.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

The Wonder of American Toys 1920-1950
Charles Dee Sharp
Collectors Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 230986, Portland, Oregon 97281
1888054700 $49.95 1-800-423-1848

The Wonder Of American Toys 1920-1950 by dedicated toy collector and expert Charles Dee Sharp is a beautifully illustrated, full-color photographic showcase of vintage American toys. From toy cars and airplanes; to Popeye figures and Buck Rogers paraphernalia; to science sets and baseball games; each individual toy is featured with an illustration and a very brief caption. An extraordinary range of objects of childhood memories, The Wonder Of American Toys 1920-1950 is a nostalgic and enthusiastically recommendation for toy collectors and 20th Century American Popular Culture reference collections.

Cameos Old & New
Anna M. Miller, G.G.
GemStone Press
PO Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091
0943763363 $19.95 gemstonepress.com

Now in an updated and expanded third edition, Cameos Old & New by Anna M. Miller is an extensive, reliable, 312-page guide to cameo jewelry which includes its history, where to find the cameos, how to separate cameos of synthetic materials from ones of genuine precious stone, as well as a quality ranking system for appraising the worth of cameos. Expansively illustrated with both black-and-white color photography, Cameos Old And New is a superbly organized and presented introductory guide ideal for both dedicated collectors and interested art connoisseurs seeking to learn more about these fascinating family treasures.

Collector Books
Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009
1-800-626-5420 www.amazon.com

This publisher's expanding collection of references to specific collections provides excellent color photos and updated price guides collectors will find invaluable. Gene & Cathy Forence's Glassware Pattern Identification Guide V. III (1574323156, $19.95) provides essential color photos tailored and grouped for easy identification for glassware from 1900 through the 1960s. Pattern names and makers are easy to identify with these clear shots. Volume 1 of The Glass Candlestick Book by Tom Felt and Elaine & Rich Stoer (1574323008, $24.95) covers a range of makers and items, with smaller photos accompany precise details on manufacturers and current selling prices. Margaret and Ken Whitmyer's Fenton Art Glass (1574322990, $29.95) appears in its second updated edition to provide a complete catalog of the various styles and shapes of Fenton productions. Daniel J. Fox's Arrowheads Of The Central Great Plains (1574322702, $19.95) is quite a specific guide which may find primary interest in regional libraries of the area, but any arrowhead hunter who appreciates this regional focus will find the clear color photos and detailed descriptions essential. Betty Sisk's Mt. Washington Art Glass (1574323067, $49.95) includes Webb Burmese glass in its identification and value guide, packing in clear and inviting color photos of the expensive pieces. All will provide collectors with specific, important references to prices and history.


The World History Shelf

The Freemasons
Jasper Ridley
Arcade Publishing
141 Fifth Avenue, 8th Fl., NY, NY 10010
1559706015 $27.95 1-800-759-0190

The Freemasons: A History Of The World's Most Powerful Secret Society by historian and biographer Jasper Ridley is an meticulously researched and intensely fascinating history of The Freemasons. Perhaps the most powerful and pervasive of the known secret societies, the Freemasons had a profound impact on the establishment and rise of the United states throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Tracing the origins of the Freemasons as well as surveying their movement in Britain, the United States, Jasper Ridley adroitly blends his exhaustive research with shrewd insight. The result is an outstanding and highly recommended contribution to our understanding of the Freemasons, their history, purposes, and role in western society.

"Society Must Be Defended"
Michel Foucault
Picador
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0312203187 $26.00 picadorusa.com

Capably and collaboratively edited by Mauro Bertani and Allesandro Fontana, "Society Must Be Defended" is a collection of French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault's eleven lectures given at the College de France from 1975 to 1976, and which are ably translated into English for an American readership by David Macey. Offering an unusually insightful perspective and wisdom on a wide variety of educational topics ranging from the origin of feudalism, to the functions and domains of racism, to Hobbes' ideas on war and sovereignty, and a great deal more, "Society Must Be Defended" is a very thought-provoking and instructive collection from a uniquely informed and informative point of view. As Michel Foucault writes about this compilation of his views: "The role of history will, then, be to show that laws deceive, that kings wear masks, that power creates illusions, and that historians tell lies. This will not, then, be a history of continuity, but a history of deciphering, the detection of the secret, the outwitting of the ruse, and the reappropriation of a knowledge that has been distorted or buried. It will decipher a truth that has been sealed".

Jerusalem
Lee I. Levine
The Jewish Publication Society
2100 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
0827607210 $39.95 www.jewishpub.org

Jerusalem: Portrait Of The City In The Second Temple Period (538 B.C.E. - 70 C.E.) by Professor Lee I Levine (Department of History and the Institute of Archeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) is a superbly written, organized and presented historical and archaeological survey of just about all that modern study and science have gathered about Jerusalem, its temples, and the historiography and archaeologically based evidence that points to how people once lived and worshiped there. A welcome and very strongly recommended addition to World History, Biblical Archaeology, and Judaic Studies reference shelves, Jerusalem: Portrait Of The City In The Second Temple Period (538B.C.E. - 70 C.E.) is a straightforward, accessible text which is enhanced throughout with black-and-white photographs.

Empire Of Dust
David C. Jones
University of Calgary Press
2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
1552380858 $29.95 uofcpress.com

Empire Of Dust: Settling And Abandoning The Prairie Dry Belt by David C. Jones (Professor of History, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada) is an impressive compendium of Canadian agricultural history. Tracing the inevitable result of over-expansion in towns such as Alderson, Alberta, Empire Of Dust is a real-life cautionary tale of the dangers of depleting the land to the point where it can no longer nourish the livestock and the people. Carefully researched, engagingly presented, and, enhanced with black-and-white photography, Empire Of Dust is very highly recommended reading and a welcome addition to Agricultural Studies and Canadian History reference collections.

Captain Cook
Vanessa Collingridge
The Lyons Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
1585747254 $24.95 1-800-836-0510

This superbly presented history charts all of Cook's voyages of exploration; from his mapping of the Pacific Islands and travels through Antarctica to discoveries of New Hebrides and Australia. His many adventures receive lively coverage in a title which explains how Cook changed the Western map of the world and reveals that he was not the first to do so. An involving re-examination of Cook's achievements.


The Library Video/DVD Shelf

The Greatest Journeys On Earth
Home Video Publishing
c/o Janson Associates
88 Semmens Road, Harrington Park, NJ 07640
$24.95 each www.janson.com

The Greatest Journeys On Earth is an impressive series of thirteen 48-minute, full-color, video documentaries which take the viewer to some of the most beautiful places on earth. Each journey takes the viewer well beyond the unusual cliches of ordinary travelogs. Instead, we are treated to a visual tour through the geography, history, architecture, culture, celebrations, leisure activities, and gastronomy of the people and places visited. Enhanced with informative interviews, each program investigates the history and progress of some particular aspect of the economic life of the particular country visited. This outstanding produced and very highly recommended travel series includes: Venice: Journeys Through the Glass (20124); Greece: Journeys to the Gods (20126); Austria: Journeys Through the Salt Mines (20128); Canada: Journeys Through the Rockies (20130); California: Journeys of the Adventurers (20132); Ireland, Great Britain & Brittany: Journeys of the Celtic Legends (20134); Japan: Journeys on the Tokaido (20136); France: Journeys of the Sun King (20138); Peru: Journeys to the Golden Cities (20140); Quebec: The Journeys of the Trappers; England: The Journeys of Charles Dickens (20144); Spain: Journeys Through the Land of the Builders (20146); and South Africa: Journeys of the Freedom Songs (20148).

Sgt. Bilko
Universal Studios Home Video
10 Universal City Plaza, Suite 700, Universal City, CA 91608
#20279 $14.98 www.amazon.com

Comedian Steve Martin plays the infamous Sgt. Ernie Bilko who heads up a lively entrepreneurial crew of the sorriest solders ever to work in an army base motor pool. Based on the classic television comedy series, Sgt. Bilko is a superbly written, hilarious and lively entertainment of perfectly (and not-quite-so-perfectly) planned and executed scams, the best and greatest of which will either save or doom the continued existence of Fort Baxter. Ideal for personal and community library collections, Sgt. Bilko is a thoroughly family friendly, full-color, live-action, 1 hour 35 minute, highly recommended comedy in a DVD format allowing for English, Spanish, or French languages, as well as the option caption subtitles.

Lost Empires
Goldhil Home Media International
137 East Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 207, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
VHS $119.95 1-800-250-8760

Lost Empires is a superbly performed and presented, six volume, boxed set, Masterpiece Theatre production of J.B. Priestley's profoundly entertaining novel set against a background of pre-World War I British musical halls. Enhanced with extravagant musical numbers (filmed in authentic music halls located throughout Britain), the story follows the adventures of Richard Herncastle, a young man who upon the death of his parents, is hired by his uncle Nick Ollanton to join the uncle's successful stage magician act on the musical hall circuit. With World War I looming in the very near future, Richard encounters a whole new world of actors, comedians, musicians, dancers, jugglers, backstage hands, impresarios, agents, and rooming house folk who specifically cater to the theatrical crowd. Lost Empires is a coming of age story with Richard meeting both femme fatales and the girl of his dreams. It is a story of romance, passion, the suffragette movement, a murder mystery, and more -- all set perfectly against a wonderfully accurate backdrop of costuming, scenery, railroad trains, and those wonderful old music halls. Lost Empires is an enthusiastically recommended addition to community library video collections and certain to become an instant favorite with library patrons.

A Tribe Of His Own
Bullfrog Films, Inc.
Box 149, Oley, PA 19547
VHS $TBA 1-800-543-3764

A Tribe Of His Own: The Journalism Of P. Sainath is a detailed look inside the work and philosophies of one of India's most dedicated journalists. Sainath has spent the better part of his professional career carefully and accurately documenting the daily lives and struggles of India's poorest people, the Dalits. A Tribe Of His Own is an informed and informative documentary recounting his work, and features several of his published stories. The film also shows Sainath teaching novice journalists and explaining his ideas of what journalism could and should be. A Tribe Of His Own is an intriguing educational tool, useful for both journalism students and veterans of the business. This outstanding film documentary is also an invaluable and recommended addition to Journalism School reference collections and International Journalism curriculum supplementation.

The History Of Ancient Egypt
Bob Brier
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100
Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
#350 $399.95 www.teach12.com

The History Of Ancient Egypt is an impressive, 48 lecture series by Egyptologist Bob Brier given in the form of video-taped lectures which are occasionally illustrated with on-screen graphics and illustrations. Professor Brier covers 3,200 years of Egyptian history, beginning with the first emergence of humans in the Nile valley where they existed for thousands of years with only the simple hand axe as a tool. With the emergence of agriculture, Egypt began to take form along the banks of the river Nile and became the longest lasting identifiable civilization the world has ever known. Professor Brier articulately and engagingly covers a chronological history of the Egyptian pharaohs, with occasional "side trips" to discuss a variety of related subjects such as the Napoleon expedition to Egypt, the Egyptian language (viewers will actually learn how to write their names in Egyptian!), the evolution of pyramid building, the Valley of the Kings, how mummies were made, ancient Egyptian magic, and more. The course is organized into four volumes of three videos for a total of twelve video tapes in all. Each individual video holds four 30-minute lectures. Professor Brier's style of presentation is an impressive as it is engaging, and combines the skills of a master teacher with an encyclopedia knowledge of his subject. The History Of Ancient Egypt is an enthusiastically recommended addition to any academic or community library collection. With the provision of an accompanying course guide, this series is ideal for a high-school honors curriculum. The History Of Ancient Egypt is also available in and Audio CD format ($359.95).


The Cookbook Shelf

The Picayune's Creole Cook Book
Dover Publications, Inc.
31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501
0486423247 $16.95 1-800-223-3130

The reprint of this classic cookbook shouldn't be missed: The Picayune's Creole Cook Book reproduces the second, 1901 edition in its entirety, returning to print a classic which preserved traditional creole cooking upon the brink of its extinction. Introductions explain history and recipes alike. No photos, but those interested in Creole history and culture won't miss them.

DK
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
www.dk.com www.amazon.com

Two fine new titles are worthy of mention both as personal acquisitions and as gift choices. Plenty of books have been written on sushi: try Kimiko Barber and Hiroki Takemura's Sushi Taste And Techniques (0789489163, $20.00) for a more comprehensive guide than most. Chapters pack pages with photos of both whole fish and completed sushi morsels, while the blends of fusion flavors in special dishes such as Crabmeat, chili and lime sushi should not be missed. The fusion techniques are appealing. Jill Norman's Herbs And Spices (0789489392, $30.00) provides a comprehensive, illustrated guide to over a hundred herbs and spices, categorizing them by aroma and taste, adding lavish photos of plants and appearances of cooking ingredients, and providing cooks with not just definitions, but hints of world usage patterns. Add a selection of representative recipes and you have a winning presentation, packed with color and insights.

Grandma's Farm Country Cookbook
Martha Engstrom
Voyageur Press, Inc.
PO Box 338, Stillwater, MN 55082
0896583171 $16.95 1-800-888-9653

Grandma's Farm Country Cookbook is a compilation by Martha Engstrom of more than 400 "blue-ribbon" recipes for the country-style kitchen and covers everything from relishes, to salads, to the secrets of successful deep-fat frying. In addition, useful advice for preparing various types of food items and a culinary wealth of practical tips, tricks, and techniques for cooks of all skill and experience levels make Grandma's Farm Country Cookbook a first-rate resource for preparing delicious meals. From Swedish Limpa Rye Bread; Ham and Sour Cream Casserole; and Corn Fritters with Bacon; to Cream Fig Pudding; Nectar Raisin Cake; and Rhubarb Meringue Pie, Grandma's Farm Country Cookbook is a true culinary classic and a highly recommended addition to any kitchen cookbook shelf.

The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook
Jane Stern & Michael Stern
Rutledge Hill Press
Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
1558539913 $19.99 1-800-251-4000

The Blue Willow Inn (owned and operated by Louis and Billie Van Dyke) is located in Social Circle, Georgia, and is about as southern as you can get, having been voted the best small-town restaurant in the South by the readers of "Southern Living" magazine. In The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook, regional food experts Jane and Michael Stern have collaboratively compiled a culinary wealth of recipes for drinks, breads, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts -- plus occasional anecdotes drawn from the history and patronage of the Blue Willow Inn. From Angel Biscuits; Spinach Cornbread; Sugared Pecans; and Fried Green Tomatoes; to Baked Pineapple Casserole; Orange Pecan Glazed Chicken and Wild Rice; Banana Pudding; and Coca-Cola Cake with Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting, The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook is a perfect celebration of Southern dining and a wonderful addition to any kitchen cookbook collection.

The New England Cookbook
Brooke Dojny
The Harvard Common Press/NBN, dist.
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
155832139X $21.95 1-888-657-3755

The New England Cookbook Is Brooke Dojny's compilation of 350 outstanding recipes characterizing and showcasing the flavor, culture, and hearth of New England cuisine. From Nor'easter Baked Fish Chowder Soup; Grilled Squid Salad a la Al Forno; Vermont-Style Country Ham Bake with Cider Jelly Glaze; and Lamb Souvlaki with Yogurt-Cucumber Sauce; to Rustic Rhubarb Raspberry Tart; Roasted Cod Fillets with a Garlic-Prosciutto Topping; and Best Maine Blueberry Pie, each individual dish featured offers its own unique, easy-to-prepare, mouth-watering, taste-tested, appetite-pleasing delight!

The Complete Venison Cookbook
Harold W. Webster, Jr.
Quail Ridge Press
PO Box 123, Brandon, MS 39043
0937552704 $19.95 1-800-864-1082

To put it simply, The Complete Venison Cookbook compiled and written by venison expert Harold Webster is the most accessible, "kitchen friendly", definitive, and reliable resource for the preparation of deer and elk meat available today. Webster begins with basic recipes suitable for home and camp, and goes on to present venison based dishes that would be appropriate for even the most elegant dining and celebratory occasions. From Classic French Venison Pate; Venison Braised with Fried Almonds and Black Pepper; New England Venison Heart in Wine and Mustard Sauce; and Grilled Venison Flank Steak, Onion and Bell Pepper Sandwiches; to Venison with Curry & Applesauce; Southwestern Venison Sausage; Venison and Vegetable Pie; and Blender Venison Salad, The Complete Venison Cookbook offers more than 700 venison recipes. Enhanced with chapters on breads, desserts, drinks, punches, and lagniappe, The Complete Venison Cookbook is an indispensable addition to any dedicated deer hunter's cookbook collection.

Eating Light Eating Right
Shauna Ratner & Frances Johnson
Whitecap Books/Graphic Arts Center
351 Lynn Avenue, North Vancouver, BC V7J 2C4
1552852776 $12.95 1-888-980-9852

Collaboratively compiled and presented by dietitians Shauna Ratner & Frances Johnson, Eating Light Eating Right: Simple Recipes For A Healthy Life is a highly recommended compendium of simple-to-prepare recipes that are as delicious as they are nutritious. From Herbed Pita Crisps; Salmon and Vegetable Soup; Chicken & Nectarine Stir-Fry; and Penne with Vegetables and Sun-Dried Tomatoes; to Bulgur Bean Chili; Apple Cinnamon Loaf; Couscous with Mushrooms; and Phyllo Tarts with Blueberries, these"heart friendly" and palate-pleasing dishes will grace any table and enhance any meal.

Sake Pure + Simple
Griffith Frost & John Gauntner
Stone Bridge Press
PO Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707
1880656744 $9.95 stonebridge.com

Collaboratively researched and written by Griffith Frost and John Gautner, and now in a thoroughly updated and newly revised edition, Sake: Pure + Simple is a true connoisseur's guide to the Japanese alcoholic beverage of sake. Sharing how to taste the difference between varieties of this traditional beverage, locations of the best sake bars and shops in North America, how sake is made, how to properly store sake at home, and poetic "sake conversation" and "sake moments" and other elements of sake lore, Sake Pure + Simple is a unique and superbly presented reference for anyone seeking to expand their palate and their dining experience.

Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons
Nancy Cappelloni
Spinner Publications
164 William St., New Bedford, MA 02740
0932027717 $19.00 spinnerpub.com

The cranberry is a distinctive part of American culinary history. Not only colorful, beautiful and tasty, the cranberry is an excellent source of Vitamin C, devoid of fat or cholesterol, low in calories and sodium, and relatively high in fiber. In Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons, Nancy Cappelloni has assembled a superbly illustrated cornucopia of 125 outstanding recipes showcasing cranberries. From Cranberry Maple Syrup; Nantucket Roast Loin of Pork with Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing; Sauteed Chicken with Cranberries and Apple Cider Reduction, and Cranberry Orange Raisin Walnut Conserve; to Pork Chops with Simmered Cranberries; Roast Saddle of Venison with Cranberry Essence and Celery Root Puree; Cranberry Tangerine Loaf Cakes; and Shaker Cranberry Pie, Cranberry Cooking For All Seasons will prove to be a truly "family favorite" addition to any kitchen cookbook collection!

Traditions
The Junior League of Little Rock
c/o FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0960672419 $18.95 www.frpbooks.com

Traditions: A Taste Of The Good Life is a collection of outstanding family recipes from offered up by the members of The Junior League of Little Rock. A great many of these family favorites trace back many generations. From Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms; Sangria Southern; Greek Rice Soup; Ice Box Ginger Muffins; and Marinated Artichoke Salad; to Green Beans with Egg Sauce; Batter Fried Oysters; Red Wine Quail; Stuffed Mexican Meat Loaf; and Fresh Fig Cake with Butter Pecan Frosting, Traditions offers a cornucopia of memorable dishes and dining that will delight any palate and satisfy any appetite.

Notably Nashville
The Junior League of Nashville
c/o FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0971838100 $28.95 www.frpbooks.com

The collaborative effort of the Junior League of Nashville, Notably Nashville: A Medley Of Tastes And Traditions is a compendium of superbly presented recipes, cooking tips, recipe histories, and a collage of the people, places and events that have justifiably proclaimed this Tennessee city as the "Athens of the South". From Black-Eyed Pea Dip; Beer Batter Bread; Marinated Strawberry Chicken Salad; and Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Basil; to Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Peppers; Wild Duck Gumbo; Grilled Brown Sugar Salmon; Creamy Chicken Enchiladas; and Chocolate Fondue, Notably Nashville is wonderfully illustrated, "kitchen cook friendly", and enthusiastically recommended!

Because Flavor Is Everything
Victoria Gourmet
c/o FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0972321500 $17.95 www.frpbooks.com

Simply put, Because Flavor Is Everything: Recipes With Victoria Taylor's Seasonings is an outstanding collection of culinary delights that would grace any table and be appropriate for any meal from ordinary family dining to holiday and special occasion celebrations. There is a wealth of "kitchen cook friendly" recipes for dips, breads, spreads, butters; appetizers, hors d'oeuvres; soups, salads, sandwiches; side dishes; chicken, vegetarian, and pasta dishes; seafood entrees; and main dishes. Of special note is the section devoted to "Fall Holiday Favorites". From Spicy Cheddar-Chive Rounds with Victoria Taylor's New Orleans Seasoning; Layered Nacho Salad with Victoria Taylor's Texas Red Seasoning; and Chunky Chicken Chili with Victoria Taylor's Kansas City Seasoning; to Lemon Flounder with Victoria Taylor's Seafood Seasoning; Shallot and Cognac Glazed Tenderloin with Victoria Taylor's Peppermill Mix; and Quick Apple Parmesan Stuffing with Victoria Taylor's Holiday Seasoning, Because Flavor Is Everything demonstrates and documents a very special and highly recommended addition to any discerning kitchen cookbook reference shelf.

A Taste Of Turkey
Nur Ilkin & Sheilah Kaufman
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, NY, NY 10016
0781809487 $24.95 www.amazon.com

Nur Ilkin (native born Turkey who learned the secrets of Turkish cooking from her grandmother) and Sheilah Kauman (traveling cooking instructor, food writer, lecturer, and author of 24 cookbooks) effectively collaborate to create a memorable cornucopia of traditional ethnic recipes in A Taste Of Turkish Cuisine. From Zeytinyagli Yer Elmasi (Jerusalem Artichokes with Vegetables); Sarmisakli Cevizli Yogurt (Yogurt Spread/Dip with Garlic, Dill, and Walnuts); and Zebzeli Tavuklu Pilav (Chicken, Green Beans, and Rice with Saffron); to Etli Yaprak Dolma (Grape Leaves Stuffed with Meat and Rice); Patlicanli Pilav (Eggplant with Rice); Zeytinyagli Bakla (Fresh Fava Beans in Olive Oil); and Su Muhallebisi (Mastic Pudding in Rose Syrup), A Taste Of Turkey is an impressive and very strongly recommended addition to any personal or professional ethnic cookbook collection!


The Fiction Shelf

The Killing Kind
John Connolly
Atria Books
1230 Avenue of Americas, NY, NY 10020
0743453344 $25.00 www.amazon.com

The body of Grace, a Ph.D. candidate, is discovered on a Maine back road and nobody believes it was suicide but when a mass grave is found nearby, the single murderer idea becomes an investigation into a wider mystery in this thriller of a religious group's connections to vengeance and death.

The System
Terry Waghorn & Ken Blanchard
Perseus Publishing
11 Cambridge Ctr, Cambridge, MA 02142
0738207918 $19.95 1-800-242-7737

The System: A Story Of Intrigue And Market Domination by Terry Waghorn and Ken Blanchard joins the genre of business novels with a new twist, adding intrigue and plotting to the cauldron. Tim Hunt and David Atkins must come up with a plan to save an old-economy business due for a hostile takeover. It soon becomes apparent someone will literally kill for this opportunity; for the business could unleash a powerful Web service which will revolutionize the Internet, and many out there would murder to stop it. Intriguing, gripping, and packed with business reality.

Horizons West
Harold G. Ross
Sunflower University Press
PO Box 1009, Manhattan, KS 66505
0897452607 $14.95 1-800-258-1232

Set in America during the Civil War (and with a side look at Scotland), Horizons West by Harold G. Ross is the story of the Ross clan being caught in the national rift that precipitated years of blood and misery, turning brother against brother over questions of ideas, idealism, loyalties and politics. Written with a distinctively Old West flavor, and deftly presenting a harsh and tragic view of America's internal conflict, Horizons West is a powerful, emotional, compelling, original, and highly recommended narrative to anyone who enjoys the kind of historical novel that simply grips the reader's total attention from first page to last.

Baudolino
Umberto Eco
Harcourt
15 E. 26th St., New York NY 10010
0151006903 $27.00 1-800-543-1918

Set in 1204 in the kingdom of Byzantine, this tells of Baudolino, who saves several from death at the hands of crusading warriors through Constantinople, and whose gifts for learning languages and telling tall tales earns him a journey in search of a legendary priest-king in a mysterious land. A fine story of change and discovery set against a believable historical backdrop.

The Boys From Kalamazoo
T. J. Johnston
Burd Street Press/White Mane Pub.
Box 152, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0152
1572492694 $29.95 1-888-948-6263

Set in 1862 during the American Civil War, The Boys from Kalamazoo by t. J. Johnston is a fictional account of the famous Kalamazoo Sharpshooters. Lending a vibrant freshness to a yesteryear world of American history peopled with the heroes, villains, ordinary soldiers, and citizenry who fought and died in the toils and turmoils of a bloody civil war, The Boys From Kalamazoo is entertaining, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and quite vivid in its portrayal of a war-torn America.

Harlot Red
Carole Buchan & Kate Pullinger, editors
Serpent's Tail
255 W. 108th St., #9D1, NY, NY 10025
1852428155 $14.00 1-800-283-3572

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Carole Buchan and Kate Pullinger, Harlot Red is an impressive collection showcasing twelve winning short stories (drawn from more than 900 submissions) from the 2001 Asham Literary Trust's third bi-annual competition of short stories by female authors. As a result, twelve eclectic and unique woman writers present their literarily adroit, intrinsically fascinating and engagingly varied takes on life in this compelling and diverse anthology of contemporary literature.

True Grit
Charles Portis
The Overlook Press
One Overlook Dr., Woodstock, NY 12498
1585673692 $13.95 overlookpress.com

First published in 1968, set in the American frontier during the 1870's, and the basis for one of the most popular western films John Wayne ever made, True Grit is an adventurous novel about Mattie, a young woman determined to avenge her father's death. She convinces one-eyed, fat-bellied, seemingly disreputable U. S. Marshall "Rooster" Cogburn, to accompany her on a journey where they will confront outlaws and worse tracking the murderous gang into dangerous Indian Territory in pursuit of her mission of retribution. A raw saga of character and determination embodying the spirit of the traditional Western, True Grit is an archetypal and highly recommended western.


The Gardening Shelf

Triggerplants
Douglas Darnowski
Rosenberg/Parkwest Publications
451 Communipaw Ave., Jersey City, NJ 07304
1877058033 $16.00 parkwestpubs.com

Triggerplants is the first title to provide a comprehensive examination of carnivorous plants which are based in Australia, but enjoying a widening audience of fans around the world. Chapters focus on triggerplants in different parts of Australia, blending color photos with explanations of how these carnivorous plants work.

Amaryllis
Starr Ockenga
Clarkson Potter
299 Park Avenue, New York NY 10171
0609608819 $20.00 1-800-726-0600

This specialized gardening guide provides a set of full-color photos of different varieties of amaryllis, and represents the author's world journey in an effort to acquire as many varieties as amaryllis as she could. She grew each plant herself, documenting its growth pattern, blooms, and demise: Amaryllis is thus far more than a picturebook, providing gardeners with invaluable, practical growing tips.

Botanica's Organic Gardening
Dr. Judyth McLeod
Laurel Glen Publishing
5880 Oberlin Dr,, San Diego, CA 92121
1571458182 $24.95 laurelglenbooks.com

Botanica's Organic Gardening: The Healthy Way To Live And Grow is an exhaustive, 608-page compendium of information, instruction, and advice specifically written to be completely accessible to organic gardeners of all skill and experience levels. Each page is densely packed with richly detailed information. A superbly organized and handy resource which is enhanced with a wealth of beautiful, full-color photographs, Botanica's Organic Gardening is very highly recommended for its coverage which includes everything from the basics of organic gardening to an extensive encyclopedia of edible plants.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Guide To The Bodhisattva's Way Of Life
Shantideva
Tharpa Publications
PO Box 430, Glen Spey, NY, NY 12737
0948006889 $14.95 www.tharpa.com

Guide To The Bodhisattva's Way Of Life: A Buddhist Poem For Today presents the classic 8th century poem by Shantideva in a thoroughly reader accessible and elegantly translated English text which was transcribed under the guidance of Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. The poem itself offers wisdom in the art of balancing altruism with personal happiness and self-satisfaction. Shantideva's Guide To The Bodhisattva's Way Of Life is a core recommendation for dedicated Buddhist Studies collections and reading lists.

Essential Practice
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Snow Lion Publications
PO Box 6483, Ithaca, NY 14851
1559391812 $15.95 SnowLionPub.com

Essential Practice is a compilation of lectures and teachings about Kamalashila's "Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School," a