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Internet Bookwatch

Volume 19, Number 7 July 2009 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Fiction Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Religion/Spirituality Shelf Women's Studies Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf
Poetry Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Science Shelf
Environmental Studies Shelf Political Science Shelf Parenting Shelf
Biography Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf Education Shelf
Judicial Studies Shelf Business Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Psychology Shelf Travel Shelf
Anthropology Shelf American History Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Native American Shelf Hunting/Fishing Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Art Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Humor Shelf Architecture Shelf International Studies Shelf
World History Shelf Language Studies Shelf Gardening Shelf
Nautical Shelf Civil War Shelf Library Science Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Social Issues Shelf Economics Shelf
Agriculture Shelf Literary Shelf Gaming Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Library CD Music Shelf
Audiobook Shelf DVD Shelf Christian Studies Shelf
Photography Shelf Human Sexuality Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Jobs/Careers Shelf Sports Shelf Computer Shelf
Military Shelf Archaeology Shelf Dance Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

South Park Guide to Life
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Running Press
2300 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103-4371
9780762435708, $12.95 www.runningpress.com

Any fan of the TV comedy 'South Park' will find much to relish in this hilarious 'guide to life', packed with admonitions and observations from dysfunctional life. The twisted life insights of Cartman and gang are ribald, racist, tasteless, and will prove fun for any South Park fan and many a newcomer with such humor sense.

Coop
Michael Perry
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061240430, $25.99 www.harpercollins.com

COOP: A YEAR OF POULTRY, PIGS AND PARENTING is a lively read for any general lending library and tells of the author's experiences on 37 acres of overgrown farmland with a handful of chickens and a pig pen. His experiences on the farm re-creating his childhood experiences makes for an outstanding story packed with drama, poultry-raising insights, and more and is a pick not just for rural libraries, but for general interest collections located in urban areas, as well.

Bunkhouse Built
Leif Videen
Mountain Press Publishing Company
1301 South Third Street West, PO Box 2399, Missoula, MO 59806
www.mountain-press.com
9780878425549, $15.00, www.amazon.com

Wyatt Earp didn't go into a department store and buy his supplies. "Bunkhouse Built: A Guide to Making Your Own Cowboy Gear" is a crafting guide to making one's own Old West-influenced gear for rodeos and other events associated with the cowboy lifestyle. Emphasizing how to make stuff on the cheap and the accomplishment of the do-it-yourself enthusiast, "Bunkhouse Built" is a top pick for those who want to be geared like Jesse James but don't want to rob a bank to do so.

Out of the Canyon: A True Story of Loss and Love
Art & Allison Daily
Harmony Books
c/o Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780307409409, $24.00 www.crownpublishing.com

One day in Colorado Art Daily suffered a horrible tragedy when a boulder fell from the canyon wall and killed his wife and two sons, leaving him untouched. He faced a bleak future until stranger Allison, a woman struggling with her own grief following her older brother's suicide, met him and reached out. OUT OF THE CANYON tells their story and provides an inspirational story of personal survival for any general-interest lending library.

Thinking in Systems
Donella H. Meadows
Diana Wright, editor
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580557, $19.95 www.chelseagreen.com

THINKING IN SYSTEMS isn't just for environmental analysis: it offers social analysis and tells how to think outside the realm of computers, applying systems logic to the real world. It's a landmark publication and applies across the board to businesses, community structures, ecological analysis, and more: any library interested in problem-solving abilities needs this.

The Nature of Being Human
Harold Fromm
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
0801891299, $35.00 www.press.jhu.edu

THE NATURE OF BEING HUMAN: FROM ENVIRONMENTALISM TO CONSCIOUSNESS provides a strong psychosocial analysis of the relationship between the natural world and individuals. How human consciousness is determined by the environment and questions of nature and ecology are all issues considered in chapters arguing for a naturalistic vision of free will and the arts. College-level holdings strong in social science and the humanities will find it perfect for classroom discussion and debate.

Power from the Wind
Dan Chiras with Mick Sagrillo and Ian Woofenden
New Society Publishers
PO Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada
9780865716209, $24.95, www.newsociety.com

What can the wind do for the world's power problems? "Power from the Wind: Achieving Energy Independence" discusses how people can use wind power to power their own homes on a small scale, reducing power consumption bills. Wind is cheap and renewable; to not harvest it for use is wasteful. Outlining how to get started harvesting wind power, author Dan Chiras answers many of the most commonly asked questions. "Power from the Wind" belongs in any collection for the environmentally thoughtful.

International Poisonous Plants Checklist
D. Jesse Wagstaff
CRC Press
c/o Taylor & Francis Group
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781420062526, $149.95, www.crcpress.com

While plants are essential for a properly working eco-system, some of them are hazardous to human health because of the biological toxins they contain. That's why every academic and community library should have on in its botanical reference collection a copy of "International Poisonous Plants Checklist: An Evidence-Based Reference" compiled and organized by plant toxicology expert D. Jesse Wagstaff. His collection of poisonous plant documents is the largest and most comprehensive anywhere in the world today. This A to Z encyclopedic reference defines the known set of toxic vascular plants of the world and includes their accepted botanic names; supports toxicity information for each plant through references drawn from primary literature; and features cross-references featuring selected synonyms and common names. A seminal, detailed, and highly recommended reference work, "International Poisonous Plants Checklist" includes all common animal feed plants, human food plants, as well as plants utilized in herbal products, dietary supplements, tonics, and therapeutic agents that also have toxic properties.

The Art of Aging
Alice & Richard Matzkin
Sentient Publications
1113 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302
9781591810810, $24.95, www.sentientpublications.com

Aging is something many regret, but it is undeniably part of life. "The Art of Aging: Celebrating the Authentic Aging Self" is an exploration through art for appreciating aging and coming to terms with one's own mortality. Covering mediums such as pencil, ink, paints, and sculpting, "The Art of Aging" delivers fine art and does much to give readers an appreciation for aging and the end of life. "The Art of Aging" is very much recommended for art collections and those intrigued with the senior mind.

I Should Have Stayed Home: Food
Roger Rapoport, Bob Drews, & Kim Klescewski
RDR Books
1487 Glen Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49441
9781571431219, $14.95, www.rdrbooks.com

Sometimes ignorance is bliss, especially when the main ingredient of one's delicious meal is termites. "I Should Have Stayed Home: Food" is a look at world cuisine and some of its less attractive attributes. The fine dishes discussed (such as ram testicles), while tasty, offer much to think twice about. Endlessly fascinating and oddly intriguing, "I Should Have Stayed Home: Food" is a highly recommended read for the interested connoisseur

A Handbook Of Bioethics Terms
James B. Tubbs Jr.
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
www.press.georgetown.edu
9781589012592, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Laid out in alphabetical order, "A Handbook Of Bioethics Terms" by James B. Tubbs Jr. (Professor of Ethics and Religion, Department of Religious Studies, University of Detroit Mercy) is a compendium of terminology definitions in a glossary-style format with more than 400 entries on significant terms expressions, titles, and court cases that have shaped bioethical standards to what we have today. Entries are cross-referenced and thoroughly authoritative. A highly recommended and 'user friendly' basic reference for personal, professional, academic, and community library collections, "A Handbook of Bioethics Terms" is especially recommended to the attention of students in health care ethics, practicing physicians and nurses, involved and conscientious members of institutional ethics committees and review boards, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in bioethics relevant issues.

The Obama Menu
TasteTV
TCB Cafe Publishing
PO Box 471706, San Francisco, CA 94147
www.cafeandre.com www.tastetv.com
9780979864070, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Perhaps the most unusual and unique books written about President Barack Obama, "The Obama Menu: Dining With Barack Obama" is a chronological compilation of dinner engagements he has had from 2001 through 2007. Laced throughout with culinary quotes from President Obama, "The Obama Menu" also includes occasional menus and recipes for dishes that were served him in people's homes, in restaurants, and in hotels. These dining occasions ranged from the simple to the elaborate. Here are anecdotal stories, black-and-white photos, and a unique perspective of what his life is like from a culinary point of view. An original and inherently fascinating read, "The Obama Menu" is highly recommended reading for anyone curious about the life of an American president in the making over these past few years.

The Words of Abraham Lincoln
Larry Shapiro
Newmarket Press
18 E. 48th Street, New York, NY 10017
9781557048301, $11.95, www.newmarketpress.com

Abraham Lincoln was known for his cool demeanor, dry wit, and wisdom. "The Words of Abraham Lincoln" presents the sixteenth president and his most noted writings ranging from his personal letters and notes to his family and friends, his political writings, and important civil war texts. Lincoln's writings ring true even today and "The Words of Abraham Lincoln" is a fine compilation of his work.

The Unexpected Caregiver
Kari Berit
Attainment Company Inc.
PO Box 930160, Verona, WI 53593-0160
1578616069, $19.00 www.AttainmentCompany.com 1-800-327-4269

Written by Kari Berit, author of the Active Seniors column for "Creative Forecasting" The Unexpected Caregiver: How Boomers Can Keep Mom & Dad Active, Safe and Independent lives up to its title, as it is packed cover to cover with invaluable information for any adult finding themselves in the role of caregiver to aging loved ones. Chapters address how to better communicate across the generational divide, the quest for spiritual direction, self-sustaining activities, the value of exercise, how pets factor into the equation, and much more. "Check their insurance coverage. Some carriers (including some Medicare supplementals, though not Medicare itself, at this writing) recognize the impact on insurance claims of staying active and healthy and will reimburse, in full or in part, for health-club memberships - provided they're used on a regular basis." With a firm emphasis on practical matters, The Unexpected Caregiver is a solid and compassionate resource, and a "must-have" for any baby boomer responsible for aging relatives.

Apollo: Through The Eyes Of The Astronauts
Robert Jacobs, et al.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
115 W. 18th St., 6th fl, New York, NY 10011
www.abramsbooks.com
9780810921467, $24.95, www.amazon.com

July 20, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11's landing on the moon. In celebration of that historic event that represented 'one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind', the NASA team of Robert Jacobs (Deputy Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs), Michael Cabbage (Director of the News Services Division), Constance Moore (Head Photo Researcher), and Bertram Ulrich (Curator and Multimedia Manager) have collaborated to produce "Apollo: Through The Eyes Of The Astronauts". Each of the twenty-one astronauts from the Apollo program have selected a favorite photograph from his space flight to be included in this memorial book. Enhanced with an informative foreword by Stephen and Lucy Hawking, "Apollo: Through The Eyes Of The Astronauts" tells the individual stories of the astronauts on the Apollo missions. Profusely illustrated throughout in perfect complement to an informed and informative text, "Apollo: Through The Eyes Of The Astronauts" is an especially recommended addition to personal, school, and community library American Space & Aeronautics history and reference collections.

The Book Shopper
Murray Browne
Paul Dry Books
1616 Walnut Street, Suite 808, Philadelphia, PA 19103
www.pauldrybooks.com
9781589880566, $14.95, www.amazon.com

The two icon places around which my life has revolved have been community libraries and local bookstores. They've served me as sanctuaries from the cares and concerns of the world at large as private oasis of browsing comfort and intellectual delight. Of special memory are all those used bookstores with their distinctive clutter, aromas, and colorful characters between the checkout counters. Within the pages of "The Book Shopper" I see that I've found a kindred spirit in Murray Browne, a fellow bibliophile and connoisseur of bookstores with their crowded shelves and eclectic collections. This compilation of book and bookstore related observations, anecdotal stories, fond memories, and sage commentaries is a true delight and recognizable for any and all dedicated fans of the written word who have spend hours at a time doing nothing but browsing the bookshelves in search of diverse literary treasures, forgotten tomes, timeless classics, time-lost discoveries, and fitting gifts for friends, families, and themselves. "The Book Shopper" is a terrific read and enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library collections.

Understanding Online Piracy
Nathan W. Fisk
Praeger Publishers
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116
www.abc-clio.com
9780313354731, $39.95, www.amazon.com

Today the computer is a ubiquitous part of every child's life in America. Just with most other commonly accessible technologies from the automobile to the telephone, there are ample opportunities for technologies to be used, abused, and misused. That's why laws, ethics, and mores must keep up with technological innovations within the lives of our children. Case in point - computer file sharing. The sharing of information from one child to another through the means of the computer and the internet to which they are linked. In an earlier technology of audio tape cassettes, the unauthorized reproduction of music was made illegal to protect the lawful copyrights of those who originally produced the music. In a subsequent decade, the unauthorized reproduction of videos was similarly banned to protect the copyrights of those who produced movies, concerts, documentaries, etc. In today's world, that same kind of prohibition has been codified into law to protect the intellectual property rights of those who create the content that is recorded on computer files from being unethically and unlawfully distributed without the express consent of those who own that file content. Of necessity, every new generation must be educated as to what copyright protections of intellectual property is such a critical necessity. That is the underlying purpose of "Understanding Online Piracy: The Truth About Illegal File Sharing" by computer crime and cyber safety expert Nathan W. Fisk. This comprehensive and up-to-date text covers all aspects of computer file sharing ranging from the technology involved to the legal consequences of unauthorized use and abuse of those files. Not only file users themselves would benefit from a careful reading of "Understanding Online Piracy", but also parents, teachers, librarians, and computer file content providers as well. Of special note is the perspective Nathan Fish provides concerning the social, economic, and technological consequences of illegal file sharing. Simply stated, "Understanding Online Piracy" is critically important reading for anyone who is sending or receiving computer files, and should be readily available in the collections of every highschool, college, university, and community library in the country.

The Beginner's Guide To Preserving Food At Home, third edition
Janet Chadwick
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
9781603421454, $14.95, www.storey.com

In today's economy, one of family budget items that is getting more and more expensive are the expenditures for food. Therefore, one of the best ways to economize for a family's food budget is something our grandparents and great-grandparents knew well -- the home canning of fruits and vegetables in season for later consumption. For all too many modern homemakers, home canning is a lost art. That's what makes this newly updated, revised, and expanded third edition of Janet Chadwick's classic instructional manual, "The Beginner's Guide To Preserving Food At Home" is such a critically important and highly recommended addition to both family and community library collections. Here are 231-pages packed with solid and 'user friendly' instructions for canning, freezing, drying, brining, root cellaring vegetables, fruits and herbs for home consumption. Comprehensive, up-to-date, informed and informative, "The Beginner's Guide To Preserving Food At Home" will prove to be one of the most valuable additions any homemaker can acquire and one of the most popular acquisitions any librarian can add as a community resource.


The Fiction Shelf

Little Lamb Lost
Margaret Fenton
Oceanview Publishing
61 Paradise Road, Ipswich, MA 01938
www.oceanviewpub.com
marygelenn@marygelnn.com (publicity)
9781933515519, $25.95, www.oceanviewpub.com

Guilt is a powerful thing, even if the one feeling guilty is not entirely at fault. "Little Lamb Lost" tells the story of Claire Conover, a social worker who was working with a family of two, Michael and Ashley. Ashley struggled hard to get Claire to return Michael to her custody, and Claire finally allowed it. But when Michael is allegedly murdered by his mother, Claire's career goes to hell, and she's left to find the real story as fingers begin to point at her as the one responsible for Michael's death. A riveting story of the trials and tribulations some social workers face with a good bit of thriller thrown in, "Little Lamb Lost" is highly recommended reading.

The Zafarani Files
Gamal Al-Ghitani
The American University in Cairo Press
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
9789774161902, $24.95, www.aucpress.com

What goes on in the lives of Cairoans? "The Zafarani Files" is an exploration of the modern Cairo lifestyle, through the format of an observer looking over the people of the Zafarani alley. Drawing a picture with many vivid and unique characters, Egyptian author Gamal al-Ghitani gives a fine glimpse of what life in this city is like, and many Americans will learn that it is not that different than one would gather observing an alley in an American street. "The Zafarani Files" is a riveting piece of world fiction.

The Hospital for Bad Poets
J.C. Hallman
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55415
9781571310743, $16.00, www.milkweed.org

Everyone's a poet. Or at least they think they are. "The Hospital for Bad Poets" is a collection of short stories from J.C. Hallman, bringing readers a series of characters to charm and captivate - many of the individuals are day to day 'everymen', yet each is unique in his or her own way. Intriguing and genuinely human, Hallman's stories will keep many a reader glued to the book, making "The Hospital for Bad Poets" a top pick for any lover of short fiction.

Hit List
Sarah Cortez, editor
Arte Publico Press
452 Cullen Performance Hall, Houston, TX 77204
9781558855434, $19.95, www.artepublicopress.com

Mystery is a genre that captivates readers of every culture. "Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery" is a collection of short stories from acclaimed Latino short fiction authors. The anthologies use elements which are uniquely Latino in their writing, yet the stories will still ring out and hold keen interest for readers of any color or heritage. "Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery" is a highly recommended read for mystery fans everywhere.

Castle
J. Robert Lennon
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, St. Paul, MN 55114
9781555975227, $22.00, www.graywolfpress.org

Paranoia is a powerful mental malfunction that makes one see things that aren't there. "Castle" is a novel following Eric Loesch and his renovation of his home in a New York forest. But his project isn't simple; Loesch must cut through a deceptive mystery in order to get the job done. "Castle" also contains much to make the reader think about, with allusion to social issues, making it a strong choice for literary fiction readers.

Empties
George Zebrowski
Golden Gryphon
3002 Perkins Road, Urbana, IL 61802
1930846592, $24.95, www.goldengryphon.com

Solving a difficult crime is always a challenge, but when one is losing one's mind, it is exponentially harder. "Empties" follows Detective Banek as he tries to come to terms with the insanity that surrounds his life and the case that is laid out in front of him. Love begins to stir as well, but it just seems to make an even more deadly cocktail with everything else. With plenty of noir elements, "Empties" is a riveting read first page to last.

East Garrison
G. M. Weger
Synergy Books
PO Box 80107, Austin, TX 78758
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
2100 Kramer Lane Suite 300, Austin, TX 78758
9780981546230, $13.95, www.synergybooks.net

The pursuit of normalcy drives people far. "East Garrison" follows one woman as she strives for an ordinary life during her pregnancy. Estranged from her father, she tries to make things right, but that's not as easy as one would think, as she faces many challenges on this road, both from external sources as well as her own stubborn nature. "East Garrison" is an entertaining and moving read.

Master of the Eclipse
Etel Adnan
Interlink Publishing Group
46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1804
9781566567794, $15.00 www.interlinkbooks.com

Lebanese-American author and poet Etel Adnan presents Master of the Eclipse, an anthology of short stories reflecting the shadow that war and death cast upon individual lives. At times dark, giving an all-too-human glimpse of the difficulties of coping with loss, Master of Eclipse is nonetheless also gives voice to the human desire to persevere. Elements of autobiography and the author's all-too-thorough familiarity with the Lebanese Civil War are reflected in this brief yet overwhelmingly compelling tales. Highly recommended, especially to modern world literature shelves.

Transit
Bernard Share
Dalkey Archive
1805 S. Wright Street, MC-011, Champaign, IL 61820
9781564785428, $12.95, www.dalkeyarchieve.com

The confused adventure of two drunken fools can be as entertaining as any battle between good and evil. "Transit" follows two lost drunken Irishmen as they stumble lost through time, attempting to find their way home. As they look for their path, they find themselves reminiscing about their past despite only meeting hours ago. Definitively Irish, "Transit" is endlessly entertaining and highly recommended.

More Tales of Seamus the Sheltie
James Beverly
Nightengale Press
10936 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 206, Mequon, WI 53092
www.nightengalepress.com
9781933449760, $14.95, www.amazon.com

There's little that dog lovers enjoy more than a good dog story. "More Tales of Seamus the Sheltie" is an anthology of short stories from James Beverly using their beloved dog Seamus as their protagonist. Filled with fun stories that young readers will simply adore, "More Tales of Seamus the Sheltie" also teaches valuable lessons. "More Tales of Seamus the Sheltie" is a fine and highly recommended read for those who can't get enough of the canine species.

Take My Place
Beate Boeker
Avalon Books
160 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
http://avalonbooks.com
9780803499423, $23.95, www.amazon.com

A divorced, single mother and entrepreneur, Maren's chief goal in life is to keep, maintain, and protect her independence. Something she believes is simply incompatible with getting involved with a man. Then a business acquaintance foists his twin brother on her one night and she falls for the substitute only to become enraged when she discovers this 'bait and switch' at her expense. Revenge is the order of the day -- but her daughter has something else in mind. Author Beate Boeker's "Take My Place" is an original romance that is beautifully crafted from first page to last and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library collections.

The Death Of A Pope
Piers Paul Read
Ignatius Press
PO Box 1339, Fort Collins, CO 80522
www.ignatius.com
9781586172954, $21.95, www.amazon.com

Because handsome and outspoken peace activist Juan Uriarte is a former priest, it seems odd that he should be standing trial under an accusation of participating in acts of terrorism. His global Catholic charity outreach program is alleged to be a front for radicals engaged in violence as a political tool. Kate Ramsay is a young British reporter assigned to cover Juan's trial. What she hears leads her to seek the true story of Juan and his work. Traveling with him to Africa to investigate his work in person, Kate finds her self attracted to Juan while a conspiracy of international proportions takes root in the Vatican itself. Deftly craft by author Piers Paul Read, "The Death Of A Pope" is a riveting read from beginning to end, replete with memorable characters, detailed backgrounds, unexpected plot twists, and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. Very highly recommended and entertaining, "The Death Of A Pope" will make a popular addition to personal reading lists and community library contemporary fiction collections.

Bright Dark Madonna
Elizabeth Cunningham
Monkfish Book Publishing Company
27 Lamoree Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
www.monkfishpublishing.com
9780979882876, $26.00, www.amazon.com

A superbly written historical novel by a master storyteller, Elizabeth Cunningham's 474-page novel "Bright Dark Madonna" is the tale of Maeve, a young pregnant woman who played an intimate role in the mystery of the Resurrection as the Celtic Mary Magdalen. A great controversy breaks out when Maeve seeks to preach the gospel in her own manner, giving voice to her own ideas about how to raise the daughter that Jesus of Nazareth sired with her prior to his execution on a cross by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish religious authorities. When she returns to Temple Magdalen (a holy whorehouse she founded), a custody battle breaks out over her infant daughter Sarah and Jesus' mother must flee to the remote Taurus Mountains to living in hiding among the Galatians. There is where a mysterious stranger shows up on her door step badly in need of her healing. As Maeve determines to keep her family's secret she must also deal with her now adolescent daughter's anger, strength of will, and determination to learn the truth about her father. The legions of readers who so fully enjoyed and appreciated Elizabeth Cunningham's previous two titles in the Mary Magdalene trilogy, "The Maeve Chronicles" will be equally enthralled with the further adventures of Mary Magdalene in "Bright Dark Madonna" as the journey of Maeve and her daughter Sarah continue and conclude with the third and last volume in this outstanding and superbly written series.

Sweet Money Girl / Life and Death of a Tough Guy
Benjamin Appel
Stark House Press
2200 O Street, Eureka, CA 95501
9781933586267 $19.95 www.starkhousepress.com

Sweet Money Girl / Life and Death of a Tough Guy collects a pair of two-fisted action novels by New York City Hell's Kitchen native Benjamin Appel (1907-1977). "Sweet Money Girl", originally published in 1954, is the saga of two men who are both passionately in love with the same woman - Hortense, a dance instructor who has long since lost all pretensions of idealism and always looks after herself first. "Life and Death of a Tough Guy", originally published in 1955, tells the story of Joey Kasow, a Jewish kid growing up in 1920's Hell's Kitchen who becomes increasingly entangled with an Irish gang, eventually serving as their enforcer. New York City itself comes alive in both novels, which pulse with a synergetic resonance that reflects the author's personal life experience. The result is a pair of adventures more immersive than a movie! Highly recommended.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

The Dangerous World of Butterflies
Peter Laufer, Ph.D.
The Lyons Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
9781599215556, $24.95 www.lyonspress.com

THE DANGEROUS WORLD OF BUTTERFLIES: THE STARTLING SUBCULTURE OF CRIMINALS, COLLECTORS, AND CONSERVATIONISTS comes from the author's visit to a butterfly preserve in Nicaragua, where he discovered an underground world of collectors and cops obsessed with butterflies. From the natural history and ecology of the butterfly to the very real threat of butterfly extinction, the world of museum collections, and more, this social, political and natural history is a key acquisition for both general lending libraries and those interested in science issues.

Spell of the Tiger
Sy Montgomery
Chelsea Green
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580595, $16.95 www.chelseagreen.com

SPELL OF THE TIGER: THE MAN-EATERS OF SUNDARBANS introduces readers to a mangrove swamp and tidal delta that lies between India and Bangladesh: the only place on earth where tigers routinely eat people. But the tigers here are revered by the people and not killed, as in other places. Sy Montgomery's fine analysis blends adventure, natural history and cultural insights to explore Sundarbans life and tiger protection issues in a fine survey for any general lending library.

Journey of the Pink Dolphins
Sy Montgomery
Chelsea Green
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580601, $19.95 www.chelseagreen.com

When author Sy Montgomery ventured into the Amazon jungle in search of the pink dolphins, she found ancient whales and people who lived among them. Thus her journey opened up new areas of discovery as she visited local villages and heard tales of villagers who believed the dolphins are enchanted shape-shifters. A poetic adventure results, perfect for any general lending library.

Whatever You Do, Don't Run
Peter Allison
The Lyons Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
9780762745654, $16.95 www.thelyonspress.com

Hilarious true stories from the bush come from safari guide and author Peter Allison who has survived many encounters with large, angry animals in his lifetimes - from charging lions to driving tourists into a lagoon full of hippos. Any fan of wildlife or travel who wants a fun set of stories must have this, and any general library will find it a fine leisure choice.

Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main St., Malden, MA 02148
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Scott R.R. Haskell's Five-Minute Veterinary Consult: Ruminant (9780781753258, $150.00) is a ruminant resource designed for quick information has been divided by topic for easy search referencing, is listed by discipline, and covers over 400 topics from hundreds of veterinary experts. A CD of additional topics on husbandry, reproduction and more accompanies chapters packed with details on supportive care, follow-up monitoring, treatment, medications and diagnosis. Every vet library must have this. Wayne E. Wingfield and Sally B. Palmer's VETERINARY DISASTER RESPONSE (0813810140, $85.00) is also a pick for any practicing ER vet or veterinary library. It uses a question-and-answer format to outline steps for veterinary response to either natural or man-made disasters, covering training, procedures, and applied science in the field. Any practicing vet needs this, which comes packed with color photos, charts, and sidebars of at-a-glance information. Also key to serious collections is Wayne E. Wingfield, et.al.'s VETERINARY DISASTER MEDICINE: WORKING ANIMALS (9780813810171, $70.00), a comprehensive guide to providing first aid to service dogs and horses. Common injuries and uncommon scenarios - including bomb blasts, chemical injury and biological contamination - are covered in a guide offering quick reference for emergency animal techs. Michael Schaer's CLINICAL SIGNS IN SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINE (9781840760934, $149.99) comes from one of the world's leading veterinary clinicians and teachers and offers over 400 clinical cases representing his experiences in practice. These are arranged by subject and presented in over 800 color photos plus discussions of diagnosis and treatment. Mary Bromiley's NATURAL METHODS FOR EQUINE HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE (1405179295, $44.00) appears in its second edition covering natural and domestic habitats and holistic methods of treatment for common horse ailments. From acupuncture and massage to homeopathy, it's packed with applied alternative medicine that's been tested in the field. The third edition of D. Phillip Sponenberg's EQUINE COLOR GENETICS (0813813646, $80.00) offers discussions of horse and donkey colors, details of their identification, and their genetic control. The latest advances in color genetics for breeders of horses, donkeys and mules provides a blend of science and owner's guide and provides vets and equine breeders with many specifics including discussions of five new colors. Practicing vets will find these key references.

Cockatoos
Matt Cameron
Csiro Publishing
c/o Stylus Publishing
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
9780643092327, $35.00, www.publish.csiro.au

Filling the skies of Australia, cockatoos have long captured human imagination. "Cockatoos" is another entry into the Australian Natural History series, discussing this indigenous bird that battles extinction in the modern day. Tracing the story of the cockatoo from its earliest history to modern conservation efforts, "Cockatoos" is packed cover to cover with full color photographs and plenty of scientific information, making it an absolute must for bird lovers.

Blackwell's Five Minute Veterinary Consult: Laboratory Tests And Diagnostic Procedures: Canine & Feline
Shelly L. Vaden, et al.
Wiley-Blackwell
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46256
9780813817484, $99.99, www.wiley.com

America's two favorite domesticated pets are dogs and cats. These animal companions often become integral members of the family and whose health needs are of paramount importance to their owners. That is why most veterinary practices treat dogs and cats more than any other class of animals. It is also why "Blackwell's Five Minute Veterinary Consult: Laboratory Tests And Diagnostic Procedures: Canine & Feline" is a critically essential addition to all professional veterinary clinics. An ideal textbook for veterinary students, this superbly organized, 'user friendly', alphabetically arranged, 763-page encyclopedia reference with its focus on medical issues associated with dogs and cats includes all of the basic tools utilized in veterinary practice; diagnostic procedures; tests and treatments; medications; medical follow-up; appendices providing tables of laboratory normal values, therapeutic drug monitoring, and referral laboratories; and a comprehensive index. Also very highly recommended for veterinary student and veterinary clinic reference collections from Wiley-Blackwell is the newly updated and expanded "Manual of Clinical Procedures in Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, & Rodents" (9780813813042, $59.99) by veterinary practitioners Steven E. Crow, Sally O. Walshaw, and Jennifer E. Boyle.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

God is Back
John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge
Penguin Press
375 Hudson St, New York NY 10014
9781594202131, $27.95 www.penguin.com

Religion and belief is surging around the world, in all cultures from Russia to India and in nations that swore off faith decades ago. Intellectuals have long assumed modernization would kill religion - GOD IS BACK argues that religion and modern society can actually thrive together, and statistics back this up. An intriguing survey of the increased importance of God in modern life, this deserves a place on both spirituality and general library shelves.

Baha'u'llah and the New Era
J.E. Esslemont
Baha'i Publishing
415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091-2844
1931847274, $14.00, www.amazon.com

Who are the Baha'i? "Baha'u'llah and the New Era: An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith" serves to explain this religion to readers, as the Baha'i faith begins to gain much steam in today's world. Elaborating on this faith, its history, its principles, and more, "Baha'u'llah and the New Era" is particularly recommended to those who are trying to figure out whether the Baha'i faith is the right one for them.

Eat Sleep Sit
Kaoru Nonomura
Kodansha America, Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10022
9784770030757, $24.95 www.kodansha-intl.com

EAT SLEEP SIT: MY YEAR AT JAPAN'S MOST RIGOROUS ZEN TEMPLE tells of Kaoru Nonomura, who left his family, girlfriend and job as a Tokyo designer to undertake a year of ascetic training at one of the most rigorous Zen monasteries in Japan. His story of that year's experiences became a bestseller in his native Japan and here offers U.S. audiences fine insights into the Zen monastery experience.

The Conversations With God Companion
Neale Donald Walsch
Hampton Roads
1125 Stoney Ridge Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22902-8719
9781571746047, $18.95, www.hrpub.com

Some books need a bit more to be fully understood. "The Conversations with God Companion: The Essential Tool for Individual and Group Study" is the companion volume for Neale Donald Walsch's acclaimed Conversations with God series. The Conversations with God series is based upon increasing one's own bond with their creator, and this companion volume further elaborates the topics touched upon the initial volume. "The Conversations with God Companion" is well worth it for those who cherish the original volumes.

A World Of Faith
Peggy Fletcher Stack & Kathleen Peterson
Signature Books
564 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
1560851627, $24.95, www.signaturebooks.com

Enhanced with beautiful, 'museum quality' artwork throughout, "A World Of Faith: World Celebration Special Edition" by Peggy Fletcher Stack and Kathleen Petersen provides the reader with a succinct and informative description religions. Alphabetically presented these faiths range from the Amish to the Zoroastrians. Here included are Baha'is, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims. Hindus, Shintoists, and Sikhs. The diverse sects of Christian Scientists, Episcopalians, Mormons, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, Quakers, and Catholics. All of these and so many more are introduced with single page entries providing a succinct description accompanied on the facing page with a beautiful image representing that highlighted faith. Created in partnership with the Interfaith Roundtable of the Sal Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, "A World Of Faith" is a unique and highly recommended addition to personal, family, and community library Religion/Spirituality collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Women's Studies Shelf

What is Your Self-Worth?
Cheryl Saban
Hay House
PO Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100
Goldberg McDuffie Communications
444 Madison Avenue, Suite 3300, New York, NY 10022
9781401923952, $24.95, www.hayhouse.com

Self-esteem is an invaluable asset. "What is Your Self-Worth? A Woman's Guide to Validation" is a guide for women to evaluate their own self-worth and how the mind is the most powerful aspect to a good self-esteem. Filled with inspirational material as well as quizzes and activities to help women find their niche in their life, Cheryl Saban wants women to find their true selves. Moving and poignant for many women readers, "What is Your Self-Worth" is a strong choice.

Women in Science
Vivian Gornick
The Feminist Press
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5406, New York, NY 10016
9781558615878, $15.95, www.feministpress.org

Science is no longer strictly a boy's club. "Women in Science: Then and Now" takes a look at the history of women in science, from when male scientists stated that a woman's inferior mind couldn't handle science, to today's fields where women are curing diseases and doing astrophysics work - in some cases better than any man can. Interviewing scientists of all shapes and sizes, author Vivian Gornick provides a motivating picture of how science can be and is a woman's game as well. "Women in Science" is an excellent read for any woman thinking of science as a career.

Unbuttoned
Dana Sullivan, editor
The Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
9781558323971, $14.00, www.harvardcommonpress.com

It's a natural part of life, but it has drawn controversy in America's prudish society. "Unbuttoned: Women Open Up About the Pleasures, Pains, and Politics of Breastfeeding" discusses breastfeeding and the swirl of controversy and life lessons surrounding with it. Women persecuted for breastfeeding in public, women struggling to give their child the care they need, and other topics are presented. "Unbuttoned" is a top pick, especially recommended for new mothers.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Religious Zionism Post Disengagement: Future Directions
Chaim I. Waxman, Editor
KTAV Publishing
930 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07306
9781602800229, $30.00 www.ktav.com

Religious Zionism is viewed as facing major challenges in Israel and the Diaspora, and this scholarly collection by some of the most dynamic writers in the Modern Orthodox community provides analytical essays which focus on the challenge of being a Religious Zionist in the Diaspora. An outstanding collection of scholarly discussions, this is a pick for any college-level Zionist collection.

Jewish Travel Guide 2009
Jewish Chronicle
Vallentine Mitchell
920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213-3786
9780853038801, $19.95, www.vmbooks.com

Some places are more accommodating of one's faith than others. "Jewish Travel Guide 2009" is the must get guide for Jews who want to travel the world and be prepared for the challenges they will face in their faith along the way. Everything from the serious such as anti-semitism, to the convenient locations of local synagogues and kosher eateries, to interesting historic sites for the Jewish people around the world is covered. "Jewish Travel Guide 2009" is a must pick for the sight-seeing Jew.

At the Edge of Dreamland
Tsvi Eisenman, author
Barnett Zumoff, translator
KTAV Publishing House
930 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306
9781602800458, $24.95, www.ktav.com

Fables teach valuable lessons about human nature and wisdom. "At the Edge of Dreamland: The Modern Fables Tsvi Eisenman" is a collection of Jewish fables from Tsvi Eisenman, a man who grew up in Eastern Europe before World War II and the atrocities that occurred there. Offering a very different yet still relevant world view that holds many lessons, Eisenman's work is an intriguing read expertly translated by Barnett Zumoff. "At the Edge of Dreamland" deserves an entry into any literature collection with a world and religious focus.


The Poetry Shelf

I Wish I Had A Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman
Jude Nutter
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
9780268036638, $20.00 www.undpress.nd.edu 1-800-621-2736

National and international award-winning poet Jude Nutter presents I Wish I Had A Heart Like Yours, Walt Whitman, an anthology of free-verse poetry that examines the tragedies of war and conflict. Nutter takes a different view of such things than legendary poet Walt Whitman; her verse sings with a heavy heart as she disagrees with him, drawing upon the suffering that has taken place in Rwando, Sarajevo, Nagasaki, and both world wars. Nutter also rebuts Whitman's belief that animals are placid, self-contained, and guiltless; through a series of animal poems, Nutter points to the terrible violence and tragedy that affects the natural lives of animals. A compelling and thought-provoking collection, highly recommended. "Look No Further": "It doesn't matter how little we are given - / watches, belt buckles, splinters of bone. Imagine / the discipline it must take to recognize, / when they have spent years in the ground, the teeth // of someone you love. It should / make us grateful to know it is possible / to love with such attention. Imagine the safe, / banked taste of the soil; even the ghost of the body long / gone now inside the earth's dark bag."

The Spoils
Ted Mathys
Coffee House Press
79 Thirteenth Avenue NE, Suite 110, Minneapolis, MN 55413
www.coffeehousepress.org
9781566892308, $16.00, www.amazon.com

Some people express their ideas through blogs; some express them through long-winded articles. Ted Mathys expresses his thoughts through poetry. "The Spoils" is a collection of political poetry bringing readers Mathys' unique style, and much to enjoy. "The Spoils" is a fresh approach to political writing, a top pick. "First Light": Believing/as she has evolved/over many millennia/to believe//that the brightest light/at midnight belongs/to the clang of the moon/on the black ocean glass//the loggerhead/turtle hatchling/followers her instinct/for a luminous source//a carapace writing/a line in the sand//flipper over/flipper toward//the Wal-Mart/parking lot.

The Lover's Guide to Trapping
Wyatt Prunty
The John Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
9780801892790, $23.95, www.press.jhu.edu

Characters populate every aspect of literature, including poetry. "The Lover's Guide to Trapping" is yet another fine collection of poetry from Wyatt Prunty, focusing on the characters who inhabit the human and animal worlds, as well as the world of the dead. Endlessly entertaining, Prunty brings readers an excellent work with "The Lover's Guide to Trapping". "Stray": Only the very wise know how to sleep/in the Sun, hunt in the dark, assume what's good/So with their claws they only knead, only purr/For those who, driven by that sun each day/and fearful of the following dark, barely/Consider dumb love's generous adoptions.

A Father's Day
Pete Mullineaux
Salmon Poetry
c/o Dufour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781903392874, $21.95, www.salmonpoetry.com

Life is a constant array of emotions, and author Pete Mullineaux hopes to capture that with "A Father's Day", an anthology of poetry. Drawing from many sources and many aspects of life, he presents vivid verse that will take the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. "A Father's Day" is a very much recommended pick for poetry fans. "Gallery": Even the red roped barriers impress.//Safe in the Louvre cafe/I comfort myself with a french pastry.//Next time: half a chance,/just one awesome frame ...//beneath which it all comes back: Wednesdays; art class, double period,//teacher leaning over one shoulder;/saying nothing,/(a cough perhaps)//moving on.

A Million in Prizes
Justin Marks
Western Michigan University
1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008
9781930974814, $15.00, www.wmich.edu

There is much to chuckle at within one's own consciousness. "A Million in Prizes" is a collection from award winning poet Justin Marks, offering his own brand of philosophy through entertaining verse and writing. A solid compilation, "A Million in Prizes" is a treasure for any poetry fan. "Mantra": Terrycloth sun setting over/the old steel-wool river//The air a translucent sphere of frayed twine/the truth can be so lame//shifting forms/unchanging my hands//know what they're doing.

Rain Inside
Ibrahim Nasrallah
Curbstone Press
321 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT 06226
9781931896528, $14.95, www.curbstone.org

A people in constant conflict, "Rain Inside" brings a Palestinian poet's work to the world for English speakers to embrace for the first time. Simple and straightforward with the emotions set forth, poet Ibrahim Nasrallah inspires the reader with the resilience of the Palestinian spirit and the universal essence in all of us. "Rain Inside" is a top pick for world poetry collections. "Strangers": How dark how dull/Those who came and went away like strangers/Even their women and small girls were sullen/this is how the chairs sit quietly thinking/in the evening.

From the Fishouse
Camille T. Dungy, Matt O'Donnell, & Jeffrey Thomson
Persea Books
853 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
9780892553488, $25.95, www.perseabooks.com

Tomorrow's poets create classics today with the group anthology "From the Fishouse: An Anthology of Poems That Sing, Rhyme, Resound, Syncopate, Alliterate, and Just Plain Sound Great". Nearly two hundred poems by one hundred poets, it's a fine catalogue of what the world of poetry can expect in the future from this excellent, aspiring stars. The poems are set in Pittson, Maine, but they ring out well through the shared story. "From the Fishouse" is a top pick for fans of poetry anthologies. "Correspondence" by Diana Marie Delgado: Brother, deep in the moth hour and still no altar to speak of./Everyone's got a life they cannot stop. Time passes, nothing survives.//The real me slipped out like a hiccup and Z marooned/himself in the arms of another girl's couch. I have a book for you.//It's about life and a real time G doing it. Mom's fine, breaking/crooked as an eggshell. Dad the same teething crocodile.//I've never seen so much sad architecture. Remember when the field/froze white and Mom tied plastic over our shoes?//This the only place that's ever felt like home. I hope you get this/ letter before lockdown. Or have you learned how to read in the dark?

Long Division
Andrea Cohen
Salmon Poetry
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9780956128713, $21.95, www.amazon.com

Andrea Cohen is an award winning poet and short story writer whose work has been published in the pages of 'The Atlantic Monthly', 'The Threepenny Review', 'Glimmertrain', 'The Iowa Review', 'Memorious', and elsewhere. An accomplished professional and an experienced academic, Andrea Cohen directs the Blacksmith House Reading Series and writes on the subject of marine research at MIT. "Long Division" is her latest collection of free verse and is an ideal and recommended introduction for those new to her poetic style, and a welcome update for those previously familiar with her work in her Owl Creek Poetry Prize winning anthology "The Cartographer's Vacation" (Owl Creek Press, 9780937669631, $12.00). 'Detective X: Temptation to Believe': Dumbstruck in the awesome/forest, spring leaping up through loam,//fiddleheads unfurling like giddy seahorse/under the green awnings of scotch pines//that don't close shop, one wants/to applaud, to throw or to be//roses, to address a thank-you moat/to those responsible, to imagine//such splendor is never random,/and then, dizzy beneath the cornflower sky,//I apprehend how lost I am.

Her Place in These Designs
Rhina P. Espaillat
Truman State University Press
100 East Normal Street, Kirksville, MO 63501-4221
9781931112895, $15.95 http://tsup.truman.edu 1-800-916-6802

Rhina P. Espaillat draws on her life experience as a young child in the Dominican Republic as well as her talent as a poet in Her Place in These Designs, an anthology of rhyming, rhythmical poems that blend fluid pitch and evocative lyrics to illuminate the universal issues of women's lives. Applying traditional verse forms with a natural knack for expression, Her Place in These Designs is a collection to be savored and contemplated at length, whether one reads a few poems at a time or all of them at once. "Item": Escaped: one poem, / winged, half worded, / too soon flowered, / starred and birded, // simile'd / and metaphored. / Warning: author / badly gored. // Cornered, poem / will spring to bite. / No threatening moves, / no sudden light; // keep your distance; / stay behind it. / Call this number / if you find it.

Sailing on Dry Land
Burton D. Wasserman
Fithian Press
c/o Daniel & Daniel Publishers
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
9781564744838, $12.00 www.danielpublishing.com

Retired businessman, social worker, and comedy writer Burton D. Wasserman presents Sailing on Dry Land, his third collection of poetry, which focuses on the question of how humans work together and individually to put together and run their lives within the boundaries set by "the incomprehensible other". The brief, free-verse poems pulse with raw insight and unbridled fervor. A highly recommended collection to browse and savor. "Recovery": I want to be / whole as / the evergreen tree // my voice to rise and fall / like the snow-topped wings / which lift the sea // my blood to spin / to the sweeping music / of the sea // my spirit to wheel / with the sun and the moon / in immutable trinity.

The Poetry Tool Kit
Rhian Williams
Continuum
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038
9781847060495, $39.95, www.continuumbooks.com

How does one get started in the world of poetry, either as the consumer or the producer? "The Poetry Tool Kit: The Essential Guide to Studying Poetry" hopes to educate and inspire readers to better understand the world of poetry. Chapters cover the eccentricities of truly understanding poetry from a reader's perspective, or writing good verse from a poet's perspective. Packed with advice and tips for poetry appreciation, "The Poetry Tool Kit" is an intriguing introductory dive into the world of the poet. "The Poetry Tool Kit" is just what some people need to break that daunting poetry wall.

Where We Live
Don Thompson
Parallel Press
372 Memorial Library, 728 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9781934795064, $10.00 http://parallelpress.library.wisc.edu 1-800-636-0071

Were We Live is a chapbook of brief, free-verse poems by teacher Don Thompson, who has plied his trade at a local backroads prison for many years. The creative verse reflects the country spirit of his home, and his personal investment in the simple beauty of the eternal natural cycle that surrounds him, while acknowledging the transitory limitations of mortality. A contemplative collection, highly recommended especially for reading while taking a rest during an outdoors hike. "And Love?": If rainfall, freeze, and thaw really do / turn granite slabs into handfuls of gravel, / what chance does flesh have? / And love? What chance does love have / against the slow dripping of time / that leaches everything down to bedrock?

The Golden Underground
Anthony Butts
Wayne State University Press
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
9780814333891, $19.95, www.wsupress.wayne.edu

Written by an award winning poet with many volumes to his name, "The Golden Underground" is another excellent collection from Anthony Butts. Taking the world around us and bringing it into a new light with strong classical influence, Butts will make readers think as they enjoy the verse within. "The Golden Underground" is well worth the read, highly recommended. "All Saints' Day": Black light filters over white sheets the/morning after a Halloween party, students/still somnolent after nightlong cheers for/more beer, that violet like visible silence/hanging in November winds, even the once/white curtains miming their filmy chorus//to the world.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

The Alzheimer's Project: Momentum in Science
John Hoffman and Susan Froemke with Susan K. Golant
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St, Suite 1321, New York NY 10107
9781586487560, $25.95 www.publicaffairsbooks.com

This companion book to the HBO documentary films series explores the latest research on Alzheimer's which has resulted in new technology and methods of analysis, surveying breakthroughs in the field and examining the nation's labs and clinics and their results. Any health library concerned with Alzheimer's research will find this an eye-opening glimpse into the world of future trends and treatments.

The Girlfriends' Infertility Treatment Companion
Elizabeth Gordon Dellenbaugh
Lost Coast
135 Cypress St. Fort Bragg, CA 95437
www.grilfriendsinfertility.com
9781882897926, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Infertility is a cruel diagnosis for a hopeful mother to be. "The Girlfriends' Infertility Treatment Companion" is a guide to dealing with this problem. Discussing the many treatments available such as taking hormones, how to deal with doctors and husbands, and how to keep one's eye on the prize, "The Girlfriends' Infertility Treatment Companion" is a must-read for women confronted with this difficult situation.

Dread
Philip Alcabes
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St Suite 1321, New York NY 10107
9781586486181, $26.95 www.publicaffairsbooks.com

History, science, and health issues blend in DREAD: HOW FEAR AND FANTASY HAVE FUELED EPIDEMICS FROM THE BLACK DEATH TO AVIAN FLU. Humans have lived in dread of epidemics for all of history - yet today deaths from epidemics are rare in the developed world. The evidences of epidemics in Western society and their lasting effects makes for a key survey any health or social sciences collection, in particular, will relish.

How We Survived Prostate Cancer
Victoria Hallerman
Newmarket Press
18 E 48th St., New York NY 10017
9781557048196, $16.95 www.newmarketpress.com

One couple's story of prostate cancer is told from the wife's viewpoint and spans a six-year journey from diagnosis to treatment. The couple made some mistakes in judgement along the way - and here import not only their survival, but how ill-informed choices can affect their lives. Chapters recount the entire process from diagnosis to assessing options to unexpected side effects of chosen treatments and make for a 'must' for any health library or general lending library strong in cancer survival guides.

Master Your Metabolism
Jillian Michaels
Crown
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, NY, NY 10019-4305
9780307450739, $26.00 www.crownpublishing.com

If you're tired of diets that don't work or are difficult to follow because they're basically unsatisfying, you need MASTER YOUR METABOLISM, a three-phrase plan that advocates revving up weight-loss hormones. By removing toxins and restoring whole foods to a diet, hormones can be rebalanced. This easy diet includes food lists, meal plans, and lists of hormone-trigger foods along with easy recipes.

Healing Into Possibility
Alison Bonds Shapiro
H.J. Kramer
c/o New World Library
Box 1082, Tiburon, CA 94920
9781932073249, $14.95 www.newworldlibrary.com

Any library strong in personal growth - which should be many a general interest collection or new age library - will welcome HEALING INTO POSSIBILITY: THE TRANSFORMATIONAL LESSONS OF A STROKE. Anyone who has had a brain injury or handled patients with such will recognize the experiences of the author, who suffered two debilitating, nearly fatal strokes in her fifties and realized her attitude would be the key to how well she recovered.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Hiroshi Mitsumoto
Demos Health
386 Park Avenue South, Suite 301, New York, NY 10016
9781932603729, $39.95, www.demoshealth.com

Lou Gehrig's disease cut short the career of a baseball icon and has cut short the lives of thousands since. "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Guide for Patients and Families" is a guide for victims and families of Lou Gehrig's disease and how to deal with this incurable, but treatable disease. From symptoms to medicine, to more, "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis" is a top pick for those who want to be armed with the knowledge they need to deal with the disease.

Disabilities
Catherine A. Marshall, et al.
Praeger Publishers
c/o Greenwood Publishing Group
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
9780313346040 $300.00 www.praeger.com

Collaboratively edited by the team of Catherine A. Marshall, Elizabeth Kendall, Martha E. Banks, and Reva Mariah S. Gover, Disabilities: Insights From Across Fields and Around the World is an impressively comprehensive three-volume compendium of information about human physical and mental disabilities, grounded in exhaustive academic, field, and cutting-edge research. Topics cover everything from straightforward definitions and causes of disabilities, to social actions taken to advance the rights of the disabled around the world, to innovative new approaches to interacting and working with the disabled, and much more. The result is an exhaustive, in-depth reference enthusiastically recommended for college library and professional practice reference shelves.

Fit Soul & Fit Body
Stephen R. Covey
Benbella
6440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 503, Dallas, TX 75206
9781933771564, $24.95, www.benbellabooks.com

Health is a combination of many aspects, physical, mental, and spiritual. "Fit Soul & Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You" is a self-help and health guide with the honest philosophy that one can be the most physically fit person in the world and still be unhealthy if one is miserable. The mind and spirit are powerful things, and author Stephen Covey wants to inspire readers to train both alongside their bodies. "Fit Soul & Fit Body" is a combination approach and highly recommended.

Natural Treatments for Tics & Tourette's
Sheila J. Rogers
North Atlantic Books
2526 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
9781556437472, $19.95, www.northatlanticbooks.com

Tourette's can be a difficult disorder to deal with, but it's treatable. "Natural Treatments for Tics & Tourette's: A Patient and Family Guide" is an alternative treatment guide for sufferers of Tourette's who don't want to turn to traditional drugs and their high saturation of side effects. With insights from various medical experts, author Sheila Rogers offers many routes to minimizing the effects of Tourette's. "Natural Treatments for Tics & Tourette's" is a recommended read for those seeking other solutions to their Tourette's problems.

100 Questions & Answers About Influenza
Delthia Ricks
Jones and Bartlett Publishers
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
9780763745011, $19.95, www.jbpub.com

The flu is still deadly and has not yet gone away. "100 Questions & Answers About Influenza" discusses this serious ailment that kills tens of thousands of Americans yearly. Covering topics such as the history of the flu, the development of seasonal and yearly vaccines, and more, author Delthia Ricks presents much information for those who want to better understand this common yet potentially deadly ailment. "100 Questions & Answers About Influenza" is a fine read explaining the nature of this underestimated beast.

The Whole-Food Guide To Strong Bones
Annemarie Colbin
New Harbinger Press
5674 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
9781572245808, $21.95, www.amazon.com

Enhanced with the inclusion of 85 recipes, Annemarie Colbin's "The Whole-Food Guide To Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach" is an invaluable and informative guide to the role good nutrition plays in strengthen the human skeletal system and can be the key to naturally rebuilding bone mass. Among the vitally important issues comprehensively addressed are which foods can actually weaken bones, diminish bone mass, and why such approaches as estrogen therapy, calcium supplements, and even prescription medications may not be efficacious. Of special note is the information concerning what can place us at risk for bone fracture -- which is a hazard that can be increasingly dangerous as we grow older. Thoroughly 'reader friendly', "The Whole-Food Guide To Strong Bones" is a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, family, and community library Holistic Medicine reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Living with HIV
Mark Cichocki, RN
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
9780786439218, $35.00 www.mcfarlandpub.com 1-800-253-2187

Written by HIV/AIDS registered nurse Mark Cichocki, Living with HIV: A Patient's Guide is a reader-friendly guide for those diagnosed with HIV as well as those caring for HIV positive friends and loved ones. Chapters cover HIV prevention and testing, how to communicate with one's doctor, how to monitor one's health, the basics of what one needs to know about HIV medications, dental care issues, proper exercise and nutrition, and much more. A no-nonsense practical guide for readers of all backgrounds, Living with HIV deserves the highest possible recommendation. "Nutrition and proper diet are so important to the HIV-positive person that experts recommend that HIV care programs employ a registered dietician or have a dietician available for referral - one with an expertise in HIV and AIDS. The roles of the dietician would include such things as nutrition screenings, counseling, education, and medical referral, to name just a few."


The Science Shelf

An Introduction to The Philosophy of Science
Lisa Bortolotti
Polity
c/o Blackwell Publishing
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
www.blackwellpublishing.com
9780745635392, $18.19, www.amazon.com

What are scientists really trying to prove anyway? "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science" seeks to examine the very fundamental nature of science. In a way, it is the science of science. Filled with classical philosophical questions about science and how human ideas and thoughts concerning science have changed through the years, to the constant raging debates of today, "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science" provides as much insight into science as philosophy can bring. "An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science" is a riveting and educational read, highly recommended.

Fixing My Gaze
Susan R. Barry
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Publishing Group
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
9780465009138, $26.00 www.basicbooks.com

FIXING MY GAZE: A SCIENTIST'S JOURNEY INTO SEEING IN THREE DIMENSIONS tells of the neuroscientist author's trip to Manhattan and her unusual observation of a 3-D world there when her vision changed. She had been cross-eyed and stereoblind since early infancy - so when at age 50 her vision changed to include stereo depth for the first time in her life, it proved a vision therapy program and its revolutionary insights on brain function to be a viable program. Her story is eye-opening and perfect for both health and science libraries as well as general lending collections.

The Quantum Frontier
Don Lincoln
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
0801891442, $25.00 www.press.jhu.edu

THE QUANTUM FRONTIER: THE LARGE HALDRON COLLIDER should be in every physics library: it offers an exciting assessment of the Large Haldron Collider, which runs between France and Switzerland, and surveys just why its opening is so significant. You needn't be a physicist to appreciate its importance, and the clear explorations in layman's terms imparts excitement. Perfect for any general lending library strong in science.

One Hundred Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know
John D. Barrow
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393070071, $25.95 www.wwnorton.com

One Hundred Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know: Math Explains Your World offers a key discourse from a cosmologist who surveys applied equations and advanced math - by blending elementary math and simple drawings. Lay readers thus gain insight into common issues ranging from crowds to 'Sod's law' and everyday phenomena from sobriety tests to tricks. Any general lending library will find this a fun, popular read.

The Earthscan Reader on Risk
Ragnar E. Lofstedt and Asa Boholm, editors
Earthscan
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
9781844076871 $58.50 www.styluspub.com

The Earthscan Reader on Risk is an anthology of scholarly essays by experts in the rising field of risk theory. Though not expressly a pedagogical textbook, The Earthscan Reader on Risk is an excellent introduction for students, professionals, and even lay readers to ideas ranging from the "concept of risk", risk perception, risk communication, the idea of trust and post-trust, and more. Why do women and nonwhite males have more similar perceptions of risk than white males, which tend to have a lower estimate risk from the same situations? How can risk communicators determine precisely what information is most pertinent to laypeople? How does risk affect human decision-making? These topics and much more are explored in-depth. A background in mathematics and psychology is helpful but not absolutely required to benefit from The Earthscan Reader on Risk, which is especially recommended as a refresher text for researchers or practitioners in the field of risk management, as well as for college and university library collections.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

The Mojave Desert
Robert H. Webb, et. al., editors
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 0166, Reno, NV, 89557-0166
9780874177763 $65.00 www.unpress.nevada.edu

Though the Mojave Desert is a land of temperature extremes and vast spaces without water, it is also home to Native American peoples and numerous rare wildlife and plant species, including some that can be found nowhere else. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability is an anthology of essays by thirty-eight scientists, all specialists in desert ecology, reporting on the latest specific threats to Mojave Desert as well as options for its natural recovery and active restoration. The importance of gathering long-term data and balancing human impact on the desert are also discussed a length. Individual writings include "Human Population in the Mojave Desert: Resources and Sustainability", "Ecological Effects of Vehicular Routes in a Desert Ecosystem", "Mojave Desert Root Systems", "A Review of Selected Long-Term Ecological Studies of the Mojave Desert Ecosystem", and much more. A scholarly collection of cutting-edge research and insight, The Mojave Desert is an excellent, enthusiastically recommended addition to regional ecological studies shelves and college library collections.

The Encyclopedia Of Global Warming Science And Technology
Bruce E. Johansen
ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9780313377020, $175.00, www.amazon.com

With respect to such entities as the coal and gas producers and the politically conservative movement of the United States for all too many years there was a state of denial with respect to the presence of global warming. Now with the steady advances of scientific inquiry, those denials can no longer be supported and global warming is a high priority issue in our national political dialogue. That's why "The Encyclopedia Of Global Warming Science And Technology", a new two-volume work compiled and written by Bruce E. Johansen (Frederick W. Kayser Research professor of Communication and Native American Studies, University of Nebraska - Omaha) is such a timely and essential addition to both academic and community library Environmental Studies reference book collections. A fully updated body of work, Professor Johansen's exhaustive compendium organizes the informed and informative text under 300 headings and covers an impressive range of global warming related topics, concepts, issues, processes and scientists. Drawing from a diversity of relevant scientific and technological fields, "The Encyclopedia Of Global Warming Science And Technology" addresses atomospheric chemistry, paleoclimatology, biogeography, oceanography, geophysics, glaciology, and soil science. Covering everything from Antarctic oscillation and hydrogen fuel cells, to shoreline retreat and the methane 'burp' hypothesis, the text is as 'reader friendly' as it is up-to-date. Of special note is the section on Christianity and global warming. "The Encyclopedia Of Global Warming Science And Technology" is highly recommended as a contemporary informational resource for both academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Global Warming issues.


The Political Science Shelf

Advice to War Presidents
Angelo M. Codevilla
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9780465004836, $27.50, www.basicbooks.com

It is sad to say that in the past century, the majority of the time America has been at war with something. "Advice to War Presidents: A Remedial Course in Statecraft" is a discussion of the presidency and war, and how the majority of the modern presidents have presided over a war of some sort. Using Woodrow Wilson and World War I as starting points, author Angelo M. Codevilla goes through history drawing the lines and discussing the success and follies of the country. "Advice to War Presidents" is educational, interesting, and highly recommended.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Great Depression and the New Deal
Robert P. Murphy
Regnery Publishing
1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
9781596980969, $19.95, www.regnery.com

There is more than one side to every story. "The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Great Depression and the New Deal" is an explanation of the newly emerging conservative view that the policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt were not the Great Depression-busters that many believe them to be. Warning the reader that the current Obama administration is mirroring Roosevelt's mistakes, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal" is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the conservative perspective of this issue.

The Constitution of the United States of America
Mark Tushnet
Hart Publishing
c/o International Specialized Book Services (ISBS)
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
9781841137384 $28.00 www.isbs.com 1-800-944-6190

Written by Mark Tushnet (William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School), The Constitution of the United States of America: A Contextual Analysis is an instructive reference that studies in depth the history and current status of the United States' Constitution. Two core principles about the constitution are noted: first that it is an old document, quite brief, and very difficult to amend. These traits have made constitutional "interpretation", particularly as practiced by the U.S. Supreme Court, the primary means by which the Constitution is adapted to the continually changing needs of the modern day. Second, it is readily apparent that the Constitution builds a structure of political opportunities that allows politicians and/or political parties the opportunity to pursue their policy goals to the point of changing the structure of politics. Therefore, it is politics itself that gives meaning to the Constitution. With these principles in mind, The Constitution of the United States of America examines national government structure, federalism, judicial review, individual rights, the process of constitutional change, and much more. A thoughtful and highly scholarly text, especially recommended for college and university library collections.

Realizing Freedom
Tom G. Palmer
Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-5403
www.cato.org
9781935308119, $29.95, www.amazon.com

There is a very genuine distinction to be made between Libertarians and Conservatives, even when those whose formal political party affiliation is Republican. Conservatives are quite willing for there to be limited governmental involvement in American life -- except when it comes to issues of personal morality. It is the Libertarians whose mantra in wanting limited (or none) governmental influence or control in all aspects of American life -- even when it comes to issues of personal morality. In "Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, And Practice", author and libertarian Tom G. Palmer provides a comprehensive, 496-page treatise defining and illustrating the principles and history of the libertarian philosophy and movement. Addressing from a libertarian perspective a diverse spectrum of examples and issues ranging from multiculturalism, to the concept of justice, to globalization, to religious extremism, and a great deal more "Realizing Freedom" is thoughtful, thought-provoking, articulate, insightful, occasionally iconoclastic, and a simply fascinating read from beginning to end.


The Parenting Shelf

Your Pregnancy for the Father-to-Be, second edition
Glade B. Curtis, MD, MPH and Judith Schuler, MS
DaCapo Lifelong
c/o Perseus Publishing Group
2300 Chestnut #200, Philadelphia, PA 19103
9780738212753, $14.95 www.dacapopress.com

Fully updated and expanded is this second edition about pregnancy, childbirth and getting ready for the new baby, directed to fathers. From what tests and procedures a partner may undergo to how pregnancy will affect the relationship and assessing the financial impact of a baby, Your Pregnancy for the Father-to-Be is an excellent guide addressed to fathers and is perfect for high school to general lending libraries.

Easy Does It, Mom
Barbara Joy
Conari Press
65 Parker Street Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
9781573244121, $14.95, www.redwheelweiser.com

Mothers are not unstoppable care machines; they are human like everyone else. "Easy Does It, Mom: Parenting in Recovery" is a guide for mothers coping with their recovery from addictions, whether from drugs, alcohol or even tobacco. Being a mother is a stressful job, and high stress has a high tendency to make those in recovery relapse into their addictions for a bit of comfort in chaotic situations. "Easy Does It, Mom" is of valuable consideration to mothers who want to mother and stay clean at the same time.

Mommy! I Have To Go Potty!, second edition
Jan Faull
Parenting Press
PO Box 75267, Seattle, WA 98175-0267
9780965047715, $14.95, www.parentingpress.com

Now in an updated second edition, "Mommy! I Have to Go Potty! A Parent's Guide to Toilet Training" is a guide for parents who are facing this arduous task where they are trying to help their young children make that big leap to using the grown up toilet. With advice on dealing with the wide array of challenges that inevitably appear during this tough process for the child, "Mommy! I Have to Go Potty!" is a strong choice for any parent who dreads these challenges.

Helping You Anxious Child, second edition
Ronald M. Rapee & Collaborators
New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
9781572245754, $17.95, www.newharbinger.com

Nervousness, anxiousness are natural emotions, but they need not be a lifestyle. "Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents" is a guide for parents of children who are facing common childhood fears. These fears, while normal, can be dealt with; it is better to do so, since some fears can morph into lifelong phobias that could impede the child in grown life. Now in an updated second edition, "Helping Your Anxious Child" is well worth the read for the parents of any child who needs help dealing with their fears.

Stop Second-Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years
Jen Singer
Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190
www.MommaSaid.net 1-800-441-5569
9780757306532, $14.95 www.hcibooks.com

Award-winning website creator, blogger, Stop Second-Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years, a no-nonsense guide to dealing with rambunctious toddlers. Though written especially for stay-at-home moms (and dads!), "Stop Second-Guessing Yourself" is an absolute must-read for all parents with toddlers (or soon-to-be toddling infants). Chapters discuss how to prepare for taking one's toddler on the go, dealing with sleep issues, potty training, how to keep one's toddler safe inside and outside the home, playdates and playgroups, how to cope when toddler is sick (and inevitably contagious), and much more. "You can't let your toddler play with your phone just so you can get through the supermarket in peace and then expect him to understand why he can't play with it elsewhere. Your phone is off-limits to your toddler all of the time, no matter how desperate you are at Stop & Shop. Rather, give him a toy cell phone." Stop Second-Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years is especially recommended as a baby shower gifts for parents of a toddler who are expecting a second child!

The Little Book Of Values
Julie Duckworth
Crown House Publishing
6 Trowbridge Drive Suite 5, Bethel, CT 06801
www.CHPUS.com
9781845901356, $13.95, www.amazon.com

Too many parents today have left the moral and ethical education of their children to other venues of instruction such as their peer groups, television, music makers, and the internet. What is needed to insure a family's values are instilled in their children and will be passed down to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren is that the parents take the time and make the consistent effort to teach their children values through both precept and example. That's why "The Little Book Of Values: Educating Children To Become Thinking, Confident, Responsible And Caring Citizens" by Julie Duckworth is such an important book. Deftly edited by Ian Gilbert for this Crown House Publishing edition, "The Little Book Of Values" examines twenty-two values that can be taught by parents and, with the support of schools and the broader community, reinforced in the minds and behavior of children. Covered in a thoroughly 'user friendly' approach, "The Little Book Of Values" addresses sterling personal values and related issues including appreciation, caring, cooperation, courage, freedom, freedom, friendship, happiness, honesty, hope, humility, patience, peace, quality, respect, responsibility, simplicity, thoughtfulness, tolerance, trust, understanding, and unity. Of special note is the chapter dedicated to 'The Values Toolbox' that addresses such issues as being a good role model, having a positive discipline policy, creating an optimum learning environment, and more. Very highly recommended reading for all parents and anyone else charged with the responsibility of assisting children in their emotional growth and ethical behavior, "The Little Book Of Values" is packed full of wit, wisdom, and common sense.


The Biography Shelf

The Match King
Frank Partnoy
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St Suite 1321, New York NY 10107
9781586487430, $26.95 www.publicaffairsbooks.com

THE MATCH KING: IVAR KREUGER, THE FINANCIAL GENIUS BEHIND A CENTURY OF WALL STREET SCANDALS surveys an overlooked figure in history, showing how the world's must famous business mind built an empire on matches, raising money from American investors and loaning it to European governments in exchange for monopolies on their sales during the height of the 1930s depression. When the truth about his illegal approaches came to light, his business collapsed overnight and left millions bankrupt. Both business and general lending libraries will find this revealing and intriguing.

Wildflower
Mark Seal
Random House
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
9781400067367, $26.00 www.atrandom.com

A dedicated African environmentalist is murdered in her home: is it a robbery gone wrong, as police think, or a contract killing by her enemies? Kenyan wildlife management issues and murder are investigated by a journalist whose probe into Joan Root's death lead to a remarkable story about her life and achievements - and her link with Kenya. Any interested in African natural history will relish this vivid story.

Clara's War
Clara Kramer
Ecco
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061728600, $25.99 www.eccobooks.com

CLARA'S WAR: ONE GIRL'S STORY OF SURVIVAL recreates how the author and her family survived the Holocaust in a bunker under the home of a known Anti-Semite. Clara was 15 when she went into hiding for months - her hair-raising story of close encounters with discovery and death makes for a gripping saga on par with the Anne Frank diaries and is a pick for any library.

The First Tycoon
T.J. Stiles
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
9780375415425, $37.50 www.aaknopf.com

THE FIRST TYCOON: THE EPIC LIFE OF CORNELIUS VANDERBILT tells of the founder of a dynasty who amassed a great fortune and became an American legend - but it goes beyond the usual casual review and offers the first complete biography of the man. From his childhood to the evolution of his pioneering vision and his revolutionary changes to standard business models, THE FIRST TYCOON is a pick any business library will want.

Lewis Coolidge and the Voyage of the Amethyst 1806-1811
Evabeth Miller Kienast and John Phillip Felt, editors
University of South Carolina Press
718 Devine Street, Columbia, SC 29208
9781570038167, $29.95 www.sc.edu/uscpress

Lewis Coolidge was a nephew of Billy Dawes, the man who accompanied Paul Revere on his ride: Coolidge made a five-year voyage around the globe aboard the Amethyst, and his private diary of his journey offers insights into 19th century sealing trade practices and the social sentiments and culture of his times. A fine addition for any college-level library strong in world history and culture.

Cartwheels in a Sari
Jayanti Tamm
Harmony Books
c/o The Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, #B1, NY, NY 10019-4305
9780307393920, $22.99 www.crownpublishing.com

The hidden world of growing up in a cult in mainstream America is revealed with sensitivity and engrossing detail in CARTWHEELS IN A SARI, a memoir suitable for any spirituality or general lending library. This also represents the first insider's account of Sri Chinmoy, a leader who has convinced thousands to follow him and nations to dedicate monuments to him. Chapters chronicle his life and times in engrossing detail.

Judge Richard S. Arnold
Polly J. Price
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781591027119, $25.98 www.prometheusbooks.com

JUDGE RICHARD S. ARNOLD: A LEGACY OF JUSTICE ON THE FEDERAL BENCH provides a fine biography of the legacy and achievements of a justice who had the respect of a wide circuit of Supreme Court Justices who attested to his fairness, judicial restraint, and influential opinions. JUDGE RICHARD S. ARNOLD comes from a law professor who had served as his law clerk, so it offers both a personal and researched survey of his life and times in a fine coverage especially recommended for college-level legal and political science libraries.

Either You're In Or You're In the Way
Logan and Noah Miller
Harper
c/o Harper Collins
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022
9780061763144, $26.99 www.harpercollins.com

EITHER YOU'RE IN OR YOU'RE IN THE WAY: TWO BROTHERS, TWELVE MONTHS, AND ONE FILMMAKING HELL-RIDE TO KEEP A PROMISE TO THEIR FATHER tells of twin brothers determined to make a tribute film to a homeless father who died alone in jail. Despite having no money and no Hollywood contacts or experience, the twins wrote, produced, acted in and made their feature films and created both a masterpiece and a better life for themselves in the process. Both film and general-interest libraries need this inspiring story.

Built of Books
Thomas Wright
Henry Holt
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
0805089934, $27.00 www.henryholt.com

BUILT OF BOOKS: HOW READING DEFINED THE LIFE OF OSCAR WILDE provides an excellent account of the writer's life, times and inspirations, providing a focus on the library which was the source of many of his works. He was a reader, and his literary encounters built a collection twenty years in the making. This survey of his collection offers vivid insights into Wilde and book collectors in general and is a pick for both general-interest and literary libraries.

Seda's Story
Bonnie Maclachlan
Sumach Press
1415 Bathurst Street, #202, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5R 3H8
9781894549820, $18.95, www.amazon.com

Abuse can leave scars for life, and time is not the ultimate healer for this. "Seda's Story" tells the story of a poor girl whose father, the man who is suppose to protect her until adulthood, abuses his power to wreak havoc on her life. Seda did not live long enough to publish her story on her own; her writings are now presented in their tragic form. A saddening tale of reality, "Seda's Story" is recommended for any who want a look at evil.

Check-Raising The Devil
Mike Matusow
Cardoza Publishing
5473 South Eastern Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89119
www.cardozapub.com
9781580422611, $24.95, www.amazon.com

Nicknamed 'The Mouth' because of his seemingly constant chatter at the table, Mike Matusow is one of professional poker's most flamboyant characters. An accomplished and skilled player, Matusow is also famous (or perhaps infamous) for 'The Matusow Blow-Up'. This is the phenomena of Matusow's becoming emotionally out of control when doing badly in a Texas No-Limit Hold'em poker tournament. A very popular player among his professional colleagues, Mike has also had problems in his personal life that he has worked hard to overcome. That's why his autobiography, "Check-Raising The Devil" (written with the assistance of Amy Calistri and Tim Lavalli) is such a fascinating and informative read. Highly recommended for the legions of poker enthusiasts in general, and Matusow fans in particular, "Check-Raising The Devil" is a superbly written memoir.

The Imperfect Garden
Adina Sara
Regent Press
2747 Regent Street, Berkeley, CA 94705
9781587901607, $22.00, www.regentpress.net

Gardening is more than a hobby for some. "The Imperfect Garden" explores the spiritual side of gardening from author Adina Sara's perspective; she finds much comfort in restoring her backyard garden and turning it into something beautiful. With moving anecdotes, and full color gardening photos, Sara may inspire others to create their own garden and embrace it, making "The Imperfect Garden" a strong choice.

One Man's Music
Vince Bell
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
9781574412673, $14.95, www.unt.edu/untpress

There are some people who devote their existence to music. "One Man's Music: The Life and Times of Texas Songwriter Vince Bell" tells the story of a man who loves music and has dedicated himself to its pursuit with much success. He's created five folk and country albums appreciated by critics, and he's also stepped into other venues such as ballet and Broadway. In the process he has overcome much tragedy in his life to do what he loves. "One Man's Music" is well worth the read for those who want to know more about the men behind today's music.

Bader Field
Carl David
Nightengale Press
10936 N. Port Washington Road, Suite 206, Mequon, WI 53092
9781933449661, $15.95 www.nightengalepress.com

An expert in the business of buying, selling, and caring for fine art, author Carl David presents Bader Field: A Journey of Love, Forgiveness and Acceptance, a personal memoir about his relationship with his loving father, whose sudden passing from a coronary at the age of fifty-eight left forced twenty-four-year-old Carl to quickly take the reins of the family art business. Beset by his own grief over the loss of his father (and the previous loss of his brother to suicide), the responsibility of helping his frail mother, and the monumental task of running a business, Carl had to draw upon everything his father taught him to stay afloat. A story of adaptation, determination, and (sometimes) learning tough lessons the hard way, Bader Field is nonetheless inspirational and highly recommended.

"Prohibition Is Here to Stay"
Jason S. Lantzer
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
9780268033835, $35.00 www.undpress.nd.edu

Jason S. Lantzer (adjunct history faculty member, Indiana University-Purdue University) presents "Prohibition Is Here to Stay": The Reverend Edward S. Shumaker and the Dry Crusade in America, a sympathetic yet studiously researched biography of Reverend Edward Shumaker, with a focus on the Indiana prohibition movement and the role he played in it. For nearly twenty-five years, Shumaker led Indiana's highly effective chapter of the Anti Saloon League; he was one of the most powerful leaders of the Indiana movement against alcohol, and his influence extended well past Indiana's borders during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Presenting evidence that the prohibition movement in Indiana was not happenstance or abnormal, but rather an effect of the mainstream cultural currents of the era, "Prohibition Is Here to Stay" uses Indiana as a lens to further examine larger issues of America's transformation from a rural to an urban majority, as well as the consequent shift in cultural values and the repercussions of industrialization and foreign immigration. A thoughtful, well-researched and persuasively presented study, highly recommended especially for college library collections.

Yours to Command
Harold J. Weiss, Jr.
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336
9781574412604, $27.95 www.unt.edu/untpress

Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald is the biography of Captain Bill McDonald (1852-1918), the most well-known of the "Four Great Captains" of Texas Ranger history. Rangers under his command were involved in incidents ranging from the Fitzsimmons-Maher prizefight in El Paso, to the Wichita Falls bank robbery, the murders by the San Saba Mob, the Reese-Townsend feud at Columbus, the shootout with Mexican Americans near Rio Grande City, and much more. Only one Ranger ever lost his life while under McDonald's command. McDonald's marksmanship, skill at using weapons to intimidate opponents, and ability to handle unruly mobs are the stuff of legends. Yours to Command reveals the truth behind the legends. Though Yours to Command is a scholarly accounting, McDonald's amazing life story is a pleasure for anyone fascinated by true tales of the Old West to read. Highly recommended for public and college library biography shelves.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Buddhist Fasting Practice
Wangchen Rinpoche
Snow Lion Publications
PO Box 6483, Ithaca, NY 14851
9781559393171, $18.95 www.SnowLionPub.com

Wangchen Rinpoche presents Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig, the first comprehensive English-language text addressing the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Nyungne, a two-and-a-half day process of meditation and strict vows (the second day is dedicated to utter silence and fasting). Literally translated as "abiding the fast", Nyungne is a process accessible to those who cannot spare extended time for a long-term retreat, and is reputed to help with recovery from illness, cultivating compassion, and undoing negative karma. Chapters analyze the process, requirements, and benefits of Nyungne at length, in this solid resource that is nonetheless accessible to Buddhist practitioners and scholars alike. A highly recommended and worthy addition to any Tibetan Buddhist Studies collection.

Study and Practice of Meditation
Leah Zahler
Snow Lion Publications
PO Box 6483, Ithaca, NY 14851
9781559393256, $39.95 www.SnowLionPub.com

Poet and scholar (with a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia) Leah Zahler presents Study and Practice of Meditation: Tibetan Interpretations of the Concentrations & Formless Absorptions, an in-depth examination of the meditative practices applied to cultivate a calm mind capable of transcending the dimensions of reality. The Buddhist meditative states known as concentrations and formless absorptions, as spoken of in theravada scriptures and Vasubandhu's "Treasury of Manifest Knowledge", are discussed in great detail, with a specific focus on the ways in which meditative states form the base of one's spiritual path, the essence of meditative calm itself, and the necessary traits one must cultivate in oneself to successfully perform advanced meditation techniques. An excellent resource ideal for anyone devoted to the study or practice of Buddhist meditation, highly recommended.


The Education Shelf

Eyewitness to the Past
Joan Brodsky Schur
Stenhouse Publishers
PO Box 11020, Portland, ME 04104-7020
9781571104977, $20.00, www.stenhouse.com

History is a subject that can bore or fascinate, and much of it lies on how it's presented. "Eyewitness to the Past: Strategies for Teaching American History in Grades 5-12" is a guide for teachers to better presenting the ideas of history to students in middle and high schools, who commonly become disinterested in history around those ages. It is still possible to engage these students, and author Joan Brodsky Schur seeks to show educators how. "Eyewitness to the Past" is a top choice for history teachers.

Making Sense of Every Child Matters
Richard Barker, editor
Policy Press
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 NE 58th Ave. Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213-3786
9781847420114, $35.95, www.isbs.com

Every child can make all the difference in the world. "Making Sense of Every Child Matters: Multi-Professional Practice Guidance" is a guide to the recent United Kingdom act passed called "Every Child Matters", a program similar to the American "No Child Left Behind" act. For teachers and educators, author Richard Barker gives much advice to those who want to do their job as best as they can under this new educational movement. Tracking the policy in an up to date matter, "Making Sense of Every Child Matters" is a must for any teacher who practices their trade under the act.

Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia
Virginia W. Berninger & Beverly J. Wolf
Brookes Publishing Co.
PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781557669346, $34.95, www.brookespublishing.com

With some disorders, a slightly different approach to teaching is necessary. "Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia: Lessons from Teaching and Science" is a guide for educators of these students with impaired speaking and writing skills. Dyslexia and dysgraphia are challenges, but not insurmountable ones. Literacy is the primary focus, and authors Virginia Berninger & Beverly Wolf use their experience to create a very useful manual for educators, making "Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia" a top pick.

Seeing is Believing
Tom Buggey
Woodbine House
6510 Bells Mill Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817
9781890627881, $19.95, www.woodbinehouse.com

Video is a powerful tool that can teach and educate, and this is especially so for people with autism. "Seeing is Believing: Video Self-Modeling for People With Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities" is a guide to using videotape to teach children with autism. Autistic people can gain much from watching themselves doing many activities, and the amateur video production process is educational in and of itself. "Seeing is Believing" is a strong choice for any autism education collection.

A Handbook For The Art And Science Of Teaching
Robert J. Marzano & John L. Brown
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416608189, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Every working day, a teacher's ultimate goal, regardless of the curriculum content or classroom subject matter, is to teach their students how to think, how to solve problems, how to analyze and respond to information. That's why the collaboratively developed textbook "A Handbook For The Art And Science Of Teaching" by Robert J. Marzano (Senior Scholar, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, Denver, Colorado) and John L. Brown (ASCD educational consultant) is so critically important for any educator tasked with the responsibility of teaching whether in the role of a simple tutorial or addressing students within the context of a classroom. As comprehensive as it is practical, "A Handbook For The Art And Science Of Teaching" addresses such issues as establishing and communicating learning goals, aiding students in effectively interacting, helping students develop practice skills, inculcating abilities to create and test hypothesis and higher-order thinking, establishing classroom rules and decorum, develop effective lesson plans, and so much more. Wether as a classroom textbook for student teacher courses, or as an instructional reference for in-service teacher training for established classroom instructors, "A Handbook For The Art And Science Of Teaching" is a very highly recommended addition to any teacher training curriculum.

Motivating & Inspiring Teachers, second edition
Todd Whitaker, Beth Whitaker, and Dale Lumpa
Eye On Education
6 Depot Way West, Larchmont, NY 10538
9781596671034, $39.95 www.eyeoneducation.com 1-888-299-5350

Now in an updated second edition with four new chapters ("Teaching Leaders", "Sharpening Your Focus", "Showing Off Your School" and "Feeling Better Through Fitness and Wellness"), Motivating & Inspiring Teachers: The Education Leader's Guide for Building Staff Morale is a guide written by experts, for professionals, to share tools and resources ideal for boosting and maintaining staff morale. From how to find above-average teachers for one's staff, to getting teachers involved, to building a shared vision, being judicious about one's use of criticism, and nonverbal factors that can affect one's communication, Motivating & Inspiring Teachers is a solid, down-to-earth guide offering invaluable advice in plain terms. "Schools can access technology, billboards, newspapers, welcome packets, and many other avenues to communicate to parents and the community. Asking parents, visiting with local businesses, and reading advertisements in newspapers are a few ways to get ideas for showing off your school. Seeing how businesses in the private sector advertise can be very informative because their financial success depends on 'showing off their businesses.'" A must-have for educational leaders everywhere.

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

Mavis G. Sanders and Steven B. Sheldon's PRINCIPALS MATTER: A GUIDE TO SCHOOL, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS (9781412960427, $28.95) is a research-based resource showcasing the work of principals who have fostered partnerships in schools. From leadership abilities to how principals can work with families in special situations, it's a 'must' for any principal who wishes to do more than assess performances. John L. Badgett and Edwin P. Christmann's DESIGNING ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT USING THE COGNITIVE DOMAIN (9781412971201, $58.95) covers the progression of instruction for elementary schools, from professional developmental activities to designing logical exercises and routines for kids. An excellent guide to formulating a series of assessment 'steps', this is a pick for any education library. Ellen Meyers, et.al.'s THE POWER OF TEACHER NETWORKS (9781412967174, $26.95) provides a call to action for national public schools, explaining how supporting and investing in teachers can be achieved. Teacher collaboration is promoted in a blend of a how-to manual for building teacher networks and chronicle of successful efforts. The second updated edition of Hank Rubin's COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP (9781512965446, $28.95) tells how communities and schools can achieve effective partnerships, and is written to inspire and support educators in becoming collaborative leaders. From a review of education collaborative processes at work to tips on how to establish peer and student partnerships, this is an inspirational guide packed with examples of collaboration at its best. Cara Shores' A COMPREHENSIVE RTI MODEL: INTEGRATING BEHAVIORAL AND ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS (9781412962957, $31.95) comes from a nationally-known expert who shows how schools have successfully used RTI to improve behavior in general education. From basic issues with RTI's tier system to tips on building teams and using RTI effectively, this is a fine pick for any education collection.


The Judicial Studies Shelf

The Sun Climbs Slow
Erna Paris
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013
9781583228791, $21.95, www.sevenstories.com

There are laws that have been agreed upon by many nations, yet the United States continues to ignore them. "The Sun Climbs Slow: The International Criminal Court and the Struggle for Justice" is a criticism of America's staunch refusal to join an international criminal court that would oppose tyrants and world leaders for the cruelties they enact on their people. Weighing America's reasons versus America's stubbornness, "The Sun Climbs Slow" is an intriguing non-fiction read about how justice tries grow past international borders.


The Business Shelf

Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence
Marcia Hughes, et al.
Pfeiffer
c/o Wiley-Blackwell
1 Wiley Drive, Somerset, NJ 08875
9780470190883, $75.00, www.pfeiffer.com

One thing a human resources manager must understand above all else is humans. Compiled and presented by the editorial team of Marcia Hughes, Henry L. Thompson, and James Bradford Terrell, "Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies" is a complete and comprehensive guide for human resources managers on best approaching their work when it comes to managing the people on their workforce. Every individual is different and needs a different approach to good management to increase productivity and skill. With chapters focusing on coaching, IQ and EQ, focusing on the exceptional employees, and more, Marcia Hughes and her team give managers what they need to make their company the best it can be. "Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence" is enhanced with indexes, appendixes, and references, making it a must for any business collection.

Leaders Make the Future
Bob Johansen
Berrett-Koehler
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 5550, San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
9781605090023, $26.95, www.amazon.com

Times change, as do the skills need to lead people. "Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World" is a guide to a world author Bob Johansen refers to as a VUCA world. VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and Johansen writes that the traditional tactics so often employed will not likely get the job done in a world that so staunchly defies tradition. Outlining ten skills that will help even experienced corporate business leaders learn new tricks, "Leaders Make the Future" is a very much recommended read, and a must for anyone charged with supervisory responsibilities.

The Mobile Marketing Handbook
Kim Dushinski
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
9780910965828, $29.95 www.infotoday.com

THE MOBILE MARKETING HANDBOOK: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATING DYNAMIC MOBILE MARKETING CAMPAIGNS is simply a 'must' for any serious business library. It shows how organizations can create successful mobile campaigns with a minimum of funding, teaching how to reach new prospects and build a new kind of campaign based on new technology. An outstanding presentation.

Online Communities Handbook
Anna Buss & Nancy Strauss
New Riders
1249 - 8th St, Berkeley CA 94710
0321605888, $34.99 www.newriders.com

ONLINE COMMUNITIES HANDBOOK: BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS & BRAND ON THE WEB provides any business owner with the keys to building online community support, from creating brand loyalty and bringing in new business to using free advertising opportunities and using communities to uncover market trends and new ideas. From social networks for brand-building to online etiquette in business promotions, ONLINE COMMUNITIES HANDBOOK: BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS & BRAND ON THE WEB is a winner.

Beautiful Teams
Andrew Stellman & Jennifer Greene
O'Reilly
1005Gravenstein Hwy N, Sebastopol, CA 95472
9780596518028, $39.99 www.oreilly.com

Libraries strong in software engineering guides will welcome BEAUTIFUL TEAMS: INSPIRING AND CAUTIONARY TALES FROM VETERAN TEAM LEADERS. It tells how to build and work with an effective team, showing how good software can be built even by people who don't get along, and it shows team leaders how to keep everyone on track. This key acquisition is a 'must' with contributions from a range of successful team leaders.

The New Influencers
Paul Gillin
Quill Driver Books
2006 S. Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
9781884956942, $16.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com

Libraries strong in marketing and business books will relish THE NEW INFLUENCERS: A MARKETER'S GUIDE TO THE NEW SOCIAL MEDIA. It covers the marketing and PR possibilities of this new media, using real examples of how organizations are communicating more effectively and discussing how the Web has changed public reception and media efforts alike. Case studies tie ideas to real-world scenarios in this outstanding presentation.

The Google Way
Bernard Girard
No Starch Press
555 Deharo #250, San Francisco CA 94107
9781593271848, $24.95 www.nostarch.com

THE GOOGLE WAY: HOW ONE COMPANY IS REVOLUTIONIZING MANAGEMENT AS WE KNOW IT comes from a management consultant who has been analyzing Google since its foundation in 1998, and who here explores its innovations and their applications to other business models. Many of Google's successful innovations are far removed from the 'best practices' of usual business approaches, making this a powerful guide for all kinds of business users and libraries catering to them.

90 Days to Success as a Project Manager
Paul Sanghera, PhD, Pmp
Course Technology
20 Channel Center St, Boston MA 02210
1598638696, $19.99 www.courseptr.com

First-time project managers can hit the ground running and avoid the usual mistakes from inexperience with 90 Days to Success as a Project Manager, an introduction to five keys to successful project management. From planning and executing the project to monitoring, controlling workflow and fluxes, and closing out the project, this covers everything from time and cost management to scope and quality, packing in explanations of both daily routines and bigger pictures. An outstanding title any business library must have.

Culture & Management In The Americas
Alfredo Behrens
Stanford University Press
1450 Page Mill Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94304-1124
9780804760140, $35.00, www.sup.org

Doing business successful in other countries and in other cultures from our own requires a knowledge of and a sensitivity toward customs, traditions, and attitudes that can vary significantly from those we are used to in North America. This is particularly true with respect to the business climates and cultures throughout Latin America. In "Culture & Management In The Americas", Alfredo Behrens (lecturer on Cross-Cultural Management in the international Executive MBA programme of the Fundacao Instituto de Administacao, Sao Paulo, Brazil) explains why and how traditional American corporate management has labored under false impressions of the cultural attributes and capabilities of Latin American managers and staff resulting in flawed leadership strategies impairing corporate success in those countries. Behrens then goes on to provide examples and explanations of how through the use of different tools available to corporate managers and policy makers, North American and Latin American can discover and communicate more effectively and more accurately with respect to management issues and tasks. Enhanced with extensive notes and a thoroughly index, "Culture & Management In The Americas" is a superbly presented and seminal work of meticulous research that is very strongly recommended for academic and corporate International Business collections and corporate management reading lists.

Built to Win
Hallam Movius & Lawrence Susskind
Harvard Business
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
9781422110478, $29.95, www.harvardbusiness.org

There's more to the process than simple buying and selling. "Built to Win: Creating a World-Class Negotiating Organization" is a guide to the power of negotiation in business. With many tips and tricks to increase one's negotiating skills in the business world, which will lead to more beneficial deals and profit for one's company, authors Hallam Movius & Lawrence Susskind draw freely from their own expertise. A business book that realizes knowledge is power, "Built to Win" is a fine and highly recommended read for any manager.

The Truth About Pay Per Click Search Advertising
Kevin Lee
FT Press
801 East 96h Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780789738325, $18.99, www.ftpress.com

New media offers new avenues of advertising. "The Truth About Pay Per Click Search Advertising", another entry into the 'The Truth About' series, is an advice manual for those who want to maximize their use of pay per click search advertising, where one can advertise their business through search engines such as Google. Wise and cautious, "The Truth About Pay Per Click Search Advertising" also warns of fraud that occurs in this field, and where it will go in the future, and how effective the process really is. "The Truth About Pay Per Click Search Advertising" is a must for anyone looking to expand their internet advertising domain.

Mastering Web 2.0
Susan Rice Lincoln
Kogan Page USA
525 South 4th Street, #241, Philadelphia, PA 19147
www.koganpage.com
9780749454661, $24.95, www.amazon.com

The coming of the internet has altered normal business practices for ever. That's why any entrepreneur or corporate executive must become computer literate and know how to use web sites and other social media tools -- many of which did not even exist as recently as a decade ago. That's why "Mastering Web 2.0: Transform Your Business Using Key Website And Social Media Tools" by Susan Rice Lincoln is such an invaluable instruction manual. A professional online marketing consultant, Lincoln draws upon her years of experience and expertise to explain how such online social media as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and others, have altered and affected communications. Readers will learn how to insure that their web strategy is effective, search engines are optimized in their behalf, the use of articles to establish themselves as leaders in their particular niche, the use of blogs and podcasts to enhance business performance and reinforce customer loyalties, and so much more. Anyone charged with the responsibility of insuring their business can compete successfully in today's volatile and competitive marketplace in this age of the internet would be exceptionally well advised to give a close and careful reading to Susan Lincoln's "Mastering Web 2.0".

Think Like A Champion
Donald J. Trump with Meredith McIver
Vanguard Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.vanguardpressbooks.com
9781593155308, $24.95, www.amazon.com

Written with the assistance of Meredith McIver, "Think Like A Champion" is a compilation of advice and commentary from one of the country's best known entrepreneurs -- Donald J. Trump. This outspoken and often flamboyant real estate tycoon and television impresario covers a wide spectrum of topics and issues ranging from Barack Obama as a political phenomena, to our currently troubled economy, to the necessity for entrepreneurs to take chances in the marketplace, to establishing a reputation, to the necessity for financial literacy, to the use of imagination as a tool for commercial and personal success. "Think Like A Champion" is 'must' reading for the legions of Donald Trump fans -- and a popular and very highly recommended addition to any community library collection.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Reincarnation: Stepping Stones of Life
M. Don Schorn
Ozark Mountain Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 754, Huntsville, AR 72740
9781886940628 $14.50 www.ozarkmt.com 1-800-935-0045

Reincarnation: Stepping Stones of Life is a straightforward description and explanation of the reincarnations process. Author M. Don Schorn does not strive to argue for or provide proof of reincarnation, but rather requires that readers keep an open mind as he walks them through a higher perspective of life's trials. An inspirational metaphysical guide to the matters so critically important that they transcend individual lifespans. "We tend to complicate life, but the basics are simply the universal truths of Good and Evil. One's nurtured and inherent individual core values, sometimes known as our 'conscience,' guide us in our responses to those perceived 'gray areas' of right-and-wrong that are encountered during life. In real terms, there are no 'gray areas,' only the Natural Law of absolute Good or Evil. Natural Law is theoretically a 'higher law,' a universal code or moral truth that is ever constant."


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Andean Express
Juan de Recacoechea, author
Adrian Althoff, translator
Akashic Books
PO Box 1456, New York, NY 10009
9781933354729 $15.95 www.akashicbooks.com

Set on an overnight train journey to the Chilean coast in 1952, Andean Express is a saga of murder, intrigue, and tragedy. A dozen passengers, each with their own hopes, fears, and personal demons are forced into increasingly desperate circumstances, as at least one of them appears to be a cold-blooded killer. The story reflects mid-century Bolivian life, with characters hailing from all the rungs of society. From the beautiful woman being forces into an arranged marriage she loathes, to a well-to-do high school graduate dragged into the problems of a peer, no one aboard the Andean Express is precisely what he or she seems to be. A captivating read cover to cover, highly recommended.


The Psychology Shelf

Cosmic Calendar
Dale Carlson
Bick Publishing House
307 Neck Road, Madison, CT 06443
9781884158346, $14.95, www.bickpubhouse.com

Science is confusing if just explained in words, but with a little illustration, it becomes much more clear. "Cosmic Calendar: The Big Bang to Your Consciousness" is a guide to many aspects of science, seeking to explain the basics in a graphical form that any teenager can understand. Educational, witty, and entertaining, "Cosmic Calendar" is a top pick for any teenager who wants a wider understanding of the universe.

Deception
Brooke Harrington, editor
Stanford University Press
1450 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1124
9780804756495, $34.95 www.sup.org

Deception: From Ancient Empires to Internet Dating is an anthology of essays by learned scholars in branches of expertise ranging from biology and physics to archaeologists to military strategists, concerning a psychological phenomenon that affects nearly every aspect of human life up to the modern day: deception. The latest psychological research suggests that normal human beings tell at least two or three lies daily; deception also plays a critical role in the animal kingdom, both in matters of survival and reproduction. Yet despite deception's pervasive, intrinsic effect on human culture, human knowledge of it is limited - even as new tools such as the Internet have made deception more commonplace and easier to spread than ever before. Individual essays of "Deception" include "Why Most People Parse Palters, Fibs, Lies, Whoppers, and Other Deceptions Poorly", "Digital Doctoring: Can We Trust Photographs?", "Does Rumor Lie? Narrators, Trust, and the Framing of Information", "Crocodile Tears, or, Method Acting in Everyday Life", "The Pleasures of Lying", and many more. An enthusiastically recommended and much-needed addition to psychology collections. "On the positive side, the ability suspend disbelief is part of the enjoyment of art and many leisure activities... In our personal lives, we may also collude with liars who tell us what we want to believe or need to believe. In addition, we are often lazy and do not care whether something is really true or just true enough. All of these habits of perception and reaction contribute to the poor parsing of deception."


The Travel Shelf

Enjoying Big Bend National Park
Gary Clark
Texas A&M Univeristy Press
4354 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4354
9781603441018, $17.95, www.tamu.edu/upress

Big Bend National Park is one of America's places of great natural beauty. "Enjoying Big Bend National Park: A Friendly Guide to Adventures for Everyone" is a guide for planning a trip to this national park for readers of all backgrounds, regardless of their age or health. Big Bend has many things to attract tourists, and author Gary Clark thoroughly describes the park's many features. "Enjoying Big Bend National Park" is a top pick for nature tourists.

Deep Travel
David K. Leff
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House, 119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
9781587297892, $32.00 www.uiowapress.org 1-800-621-2736

Deep Travel: In Thoreau's Wake on the Concord and Merrimack is a first-person travelogue and narrative memoir about author David Leff's personal journey in 2004, undertaken in the same, open-minded spirit toward natural ecology that characterizes the classical works of American legend Henry David Thoreau. The concept of "deep travel" - seeking to better understand oneself and the world through one's journey, and therefore traveling "deep" rather than "far" - resonates through this story of the value of seeking, contemplating, and personal enrichment through being open to new experiences and perspectives. Told in first-person from the author's perspective - later with input from those who shared his journeys (his neighbor, friend, and expert city planner Alan, his eleven-year-old son Josh, and his sweetheart Pamela) - Deep Travel is an unforgettable source of inspiration and is especially recommended to armchair travelers as well as nature lovers of all backgrounds.


The Anthropology Shelf

Ancient Human Migrations
Peter N. Peregrine, et al.
University of Utah Press
1795 East South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9402
www.uofupress.com
9780874809428, $30.00, www.amazon.com

From the very beginnings of our species somewhere in Africa, the history of the human race has been a history of migration. The distribution of the races and diverse ethnicity has its origins in the migration patters of antiquity materially affecting and influencing the ideologies, economies and politics of the modern world. Collaboratively compiled and edited by the team of Peter N. Peregrine (Professor and Chair of Anthropology, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin), Ilia Peiros (Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistices, University of Melbourne, Australia), and Marcus Feldman Professor of Biology, Stanford University), "Ancient Human Migrations: A Multidisciplinary Approach" is a compendium scholarly articles by a variety of contributors from various academic disciplines. A body of original and seminal work, "Ancient Human Migrations" is a seminal contribution to the study of humanities origins and displays the fallacious notion that there are 'pure' races, cultures or languages when it comes to our species. A model of academic scholarship, "Ancient Human Migrations" is highly recommended for academic library Anthropology reference collections.

Celtic Curses
Dr. Bernard Mees
Boydell & Brewer Inc
668 Mount Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620-2731
9781843834571, $105.00 www.boydellandbrewer.com

Dr. Bernard Mees (Fellow of the University of Melbourne) presents Celtic Curses, the first in-depth, scholarly assessment of early Celtic cursing, including but far from limited to the binding tablets of ancient Britain and Gaul, as well as records of early medieval Celtic stipulation and binding. Archaeological evidence such as Gaulish curse texts, Celtic Latin Curse tablets from the Alpine regions of Britain, and fragments of Old Brittonic tablets uncovered from Roman Bath is contemplated at length. The chapters address the nature and application of curses ranging from vengeful prayers to geases, incantations, and curses meant to channel infernal powers. A serious-minded and studious work that emphasizes archaeological and anthropological research rather than the metaphysical or occult aspects of its subject matter, Celtic Curses is enthusiastically recommended for any research library with a focus on Celtic history. "The Celtic use of curses and other sorts of magical charms clearly still lived on to become a central part of European life in late antiquity, the Christian Middle Ages and even, in some aspects, down until early modern times."

Bedouin Bisha'h Justice: Ordeal by Fire
Joseph Ginat
Sussex Academic Press
c/o International Specialized Book Services (ISBS)
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
9781845192693, $99.95 www.isbs.com 1-800-944-6190

Cultural-political anthropologist Joseph Ginat presents Bedouin Bisha'h Justice: Ordeal by Fire, a scholarly look at the judicial practice of trials by ordeal - where guilt or innocence is determined by forcing the accused to undergo a painful task - which originated in Bedouin societies and is still practiced in parts of rural Egypt today. When a suspect is accused of having committed a crime ranging from theft or property damage to murder, manslaughter, illicit sexual relations, rape, or witchcraft, and there are no witnesses to the alleged misdeed, one may be required to lick a ladle that has been heated to 600-900 degrees Celsius - if the suspect's tongue blisters, he or she is found guilty; if the suspect's tongue is clear, he or she is innocent. The majority of the cases applying these trials of ordeal involve peasants (not Bedouin), and sometimes even city dwellers undergo the ceremony. An extremely scholarly analysis of the phenomenon, featuring a wealth of case studies and examples, Bedouin Bisha'h Justice: Ordeal by Fire is a thoughtful and utterly invaluable contribution to anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies shelves.


The American History Shelf

American Heroes
Edmund S. Morgan
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393070101, $27.95 www.wwnorton.com

AMERICAN HEROES: PROFILES OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO SHAPED EARLY AMERICA provides a powerful survey including several new heroes of American history, considering both Colonial leaders and lesser-knowns alike. These are all men and women who went against the grain and made names for themselves. Any high school to college-level collection strong in American history will relish this lively exploration.

Greenscapes
Joan Hockaday
West State University Press
PO Box 645910, Pullman, WA 99164-5910
9780874222982, $29.95, www.wsupress.wsu.edu

The natural beauty of the American Northwest simply cannot be touched. "Greenscapes: Olmsted's Pacific Northwest" takes a look at the life and times of Washington State at the turn of the twentieth century. Tracing the history of this time period, with liberally applied black and white and full color photography, "Greenscapes" is a vivid look at a time gone past. With its special focus on Washington State's natural beauty, "Greenscapes" is a solid recommendation for a coffee table book.

Montreat
Mary McPhail Standaert & Joseph Standaert
Arcadia Publishing
420 Wando Park Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
9780738568140, $21.99, www.arcadiapublishing.com

Every city has a story, and the story of Montreat, North Carolina, is as interesting as any other. "Montreat" relates the history of this small Carolina town that was founded more than a hundred years ago by a community of religious folks who lived in harmony, forming Christian colleges that still stand to this day. A piece of Americana and a fine entry into the postcard history series, "Montreat" is a highly recommended read.

Hornet Plus Three
Bob Fish
Creative Minds Press
c/o Beagle Bay Books
14120 Saddlebow Drive, Reno, NV 89511
9780974961071, $29.95, www.beaglebay.com

It's hard to aim an object as it hurtles back down through the Earth's atmosphere. "Hornet Plus Three: The Story of the Apollo 11 Recovery" tells about the part of the Moon landing that is not often discussed - the recovery of the ship after it came back to Earth. An adventure in its own right, "Hornet Plus Three" mentions the unsung heroes of American space exploration - the men who helped get the astronauts back home. "Hornet Plus Three" is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about NASA.

Fort Laramie: Military Bastion of the High Plains
Douglas C. McChristian
The Arthur H. Clark Company
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780870623608, $45.00 www.ahclark.com 1-800-842-9286

Written by former National Park service field historian at the Fort Davis and Fort Laramie national historic sites Douglas C. McChristian, Fort Laramie: Military Bastion of the High Plains is an exhaustive history of Fort Laramie throughout its long and colorful existence, with particular emphasis upon the fort's military history. From the story of the fort's vital role in combating American Indian opposition to U.S. settlement and occupation, to the (formerly) untold story of the 1874 killing of Lieutenant Levi Robinson, to the Grattan fight of 1854 that ushered in a generation of conflict between Indians and U.S. soldiers, to how the fort was abandoned by the army in 1890, Fort Laramie: Military Bastion of the High Plains is an extraordinarily in-depth account, drawing upon a wealth of archival evidence to support its chronicle. An excellent addition to American military history shelves, highly recommended to college library collections yet accessible to history enthusiasts of all backgrounds.

Alameda
Greta Dutcher & Stephen Rowland
Arcadia Publishing
420 Wando Park Blvd., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
www.arcadiapublishing.com
9780738530390, $19.99, www.amazon.com

Unique among publishers of American history materials is Arcadia Publishing's 'Postcard History' series which photomechanically reproduces postcards of local American communities and through them provides a kind of visual history of that village, town or city. Such is the case with "Alameda" in which co-authors Greta Dutcher (a vintage post card collector) and Stephen Rowland celebrate the history of Alameda, California. This is a community that was a major waterfront shipping port, evolved into a resort destination, was home to major military stations, and experienced the kind of growth and evolution common to many other California communities throughout the 20th century. Each black-and-white postcard image is captioned, providing the reading with background information identifying and placing into context the image displayed. "Alameda" is very highly recommended for vintage post card enthusiasts in general, and anyone with an interest in the history of Alameda in particular. Vintage post card collectors and students of regional American history would be well advised to visit the Arcadia Publishing website at www.arcadiapublishing.com for a complete title listing of their extensive 'Postcard History' series.

The American Nation
Bruce P. Frohnen, editor
Liberty Fund, Inc.
8335 Allison Pointe Trail, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684
www.libertyfund.org
9780865977303, $14.50, www.amazon.com

When compared with other nation-states, America today may seem at first glance to be an icon of stability. But it is not an accurate reflection of America today -- or at any given point in its political history. Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited by Bruce P. Frohnen (Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Ohio Northern University College of Law), "The American Nation: Primary Sources" is a compilation of seminal documents providing insight and context for the diversity of policies and perspectives that shaped and engaged American public life and conflicts from the American Civil War to America's entrance into World War II. This was a period of time that saw the rise of mass-market corporatism, American engagement as a world power, and the establishment of those political and economic conditions that would give rise to the most successful middle-class the world had ever seen. Of special note is Professor Frohnen's in-depth study of these public documents and their effects on the public acts and governmental pronouncements that influenced the daily lives of the American public and the course of the country itself. Also available in a hardcover edition (9780865977297, $30.00), "The American Nation" is a very highly recommended addition to personal, school, and community library American History and Political Science reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Food In The United States 1890-1945
Megan J. Elias
Greenwood Press
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9780313354106, $49.95, www.amazon.com

It was in 1893 that the United States Supreme Court designated the tomato as a vegetable for the purposes of trade. In 1903 James Dole began canning pineapple in order to make it easier and more reliable to sell them elsewhere in this country and around the world. In 1923 the ice cream industry was revolutionized with the introduction of Good Humor bars. The commercial soda pop industry began with the introduction of 7-Up in 1929. Innovations where also happening in the kitchen as well with the 1930 introduction of the Sunbeam Mixmaster. The American military saw innovations as well, such as Spam from the Hormel Company in 1937 and K Rations in 1944. The federal government contributed to the regulating of the food industry with The National Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. All of these fascinating bits of food, food industry, and domestic food preparations (and so much more!) are laid out by Megan J. Elias (Assistant Professor of History, Queensborough Community College, Bayside, New York) in the pages of "Food In The United States 1890-1945", the newest title in the outstanding Greenwood Press 'Food in American History' series. After an informed and informative introduction, "Food In The United States 1890-1945" is very nicely organized into four major sections (Food Stuffs; Food Preparation; Eating habits; Concepts of Diet and Nutrition and Food Crises). With the addition of an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive index, and a work of exceptionally impressive scholarship, "Food In The United States 1890-1945" is enthusiastically recommended as a unique and seminal addition to academic and community library American History reference collections.

Discover Colorado
Matthew Downey & Ty Bliss
Pruett Publishing Company
PO Box 2140, Boulder, CO 80306-2140
www.pruettpublishing.com
9780871082926, $35.00, 1-800-247-8224

The history and development of Colorado are aptly presented in "Discover Colorado: Its People, Places, & Times", an instructive textbook that is the collaborative work of Matthew Downey (Professor of History, University of Northern Colorado) and Ty Bliss (an experienced classroom educator and teacher consultant for the Doing History/Keeping the Past Project which promotes Colorado history education). Accessibly organized into six units of two chapters each, "Discover Colorado" provides an informative overview of Colorado geography, its prehistory, Native Americans, early settlers, miners, farmers, and ranchers. Of special note is the Unit 'Colorado in Modern Times' spanning 1890 to 2000. Enhanced with an appendices (Our State Emblems), a glossary, and an index, "Discover Colorado" is an ideal Colorado history curriculum textbook, as well as a very highly recommended addition to community library American History collections in general, and Colorado History reading lists in particular.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Angels & Demons
Dan Brown, et.al.
Newmarket Press
18 E. 48th St., New York NY 10017
9781557048332, $19.95 www.newmarketpress.com

Any fan of the movie "Angels & Demons" will find "Angels & Demons: The Illustrated Movie Companion" a treasury, packed with quotes from all the principal filmmakers, concept sketches, drawings, period paintings, color photos and more. With its many vivid images and insights, "Angels & Demons: The Illustrated Movie Companion" will prove a 'must' for both film libraries and library patrons with special interest in the movie.

Blade Runners, Deer Hunters, and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off
Michael Deeley
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10004
9781605980386, $25.00, www.pegasusbooks.us

Some movies are simply popular, others gain a fandom years after popular culture has moved on. "Blade Runners, Deer Hunters, and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off" is a memoir by producer Michael Deeley, one of the minds behind such cult favorites like "The Italian Job" and "The Wicker Man". An insider's look at the life of a producer who may have not made blockbusters but who deserves his place in movie history, "Blade Runners, Deer Hunters, and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off" is an amazing glimpse into the film industry and how cult fandoms begin.

Music in German Immigrant Theater
John Koegel
University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14472
9781580462150, $80.00 www.urpress.com 1-800-679-2058

Music in German Immigrant Theater: New York City 1840-1940 is a scholarly, meticulously researched historical accounting of the music in German-language musical plays and light operas, which played an important role in the culture of German immigrants and their families during the era. From documented performances of plays by Shakespeare and Goethe in German, to German musical comedies that arose as early as the 1890s, to ethnic parodies, the challenges and stage flair of German American performers, stage works of notable authors such as Adolf Neuendorff and Adolf Philipp, and much more, Music in German Immigrant Theater strives to give its subject as thorough and comprehensive a treatment as possible. A solid, in-depth treatise on the subject, particularly recommended as a supplement to music and theatrical history collections.


The Self-Help Shelf

Shift Your Mood!
Rik Isensee
Morgan-James Publishing
1225 Franklin Avenue, Suite 325, Garden City, NY 11530-1693
www.morganjamespublishing.com
9781600375880, $16.95, www.amazon.com

Mood is an enigma that affects much of a person's day. "Shift Your Mood! Unleash Your Life! Your Pathway to Inner Happiness" is a book discussing mood and how to improve it in one's life. With many tips and advice on brightening one's mood, as well as an explanation of the benefits that one will enjoy from an improved demeanor, author Rik Isensee's gives sound advice. "Shift Your Mood!" is a highly recommended read for those who want to break out of the doldrums.

Invisible Scars
Catharine Dowda
New Horizon Press
PO Box 669, Far Hills, NJ 07931
www.newhorizonpressbooks.com
9780882823089, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Damage to the mind can cause far more harm than physical pain. "Invisible Scars: How to Stop, Change, or End Psychological Abuse" is an exploration of psychological abuse in relationships and how it can leave the relationship an overall negative. Such outcomes are preventable through good communication. Tips are provided for building healthy relationships in "Invisible Scars", a top pick for any reader with concerns about psychological abuse.

Earning Serendipity
Glenn Llopis
Greenleaf Book Group Press
PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709
Melissa Brown Publicity (publicity)
8605 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 20540, Los Angeles, CA 90069
9781929774913, $21.95, www.gbgpress.com

Goodwill means a lot these days where everyone is suspicious of unethical conduct. "Earning Serendipity: 4 Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work" is the good-hearted business man's guide to the power of goodwill and kindness in the world of business. Being a nice guy can do much in a field where everyone is viewed as cutthroat, and author Glenn Llopis hopes to inspire readers to be friendly and kind, while keeping a firm stance against any who would take unfair advantage of one's kindness. "Earning Serendipity" is a must read for business people of all backgrounds.

Communication Miracles for Couples
Jonathan Robinson
Conari Press
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
9781573244176, $12.95, www.redwheelweiser.com

You may not know it, but you may be making life hell for your significant other. "Communication Miracles for Couples: Easy and Effective Tools to Create More Love and Less Conflict" is a relationship book focusing on the importance of communication in relationships. Severe arguments tear marriages apart, but most of them are avoidable by talking before the problem begins to truly take form. "Communication Miracles for Couples" is a must for any want to put a stop to their worst troubles before they start.

Learning from the Heart
Daniel Gottlieb
Sterling
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9781402749995, $17.95, www.sterlingpublishing.com

Life's lessons are more invaluable than anything one is going to learn in school. "Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving, and Listening" discusses and what it means to be human. Written by a man who has experienced both the best and worst of life, "Learning from the Heart" offers poignant insights into life and love, and how to push oneself forward to the future. "Learning from the Heart" is a moving read, highly recommended.

Good Choices Good Life
Michael L. Nelson
Atlas Books
30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805
9780981687605, $24.95 www.AtlasBooks.com 1-800-537-6727

Good Choices Good Life: Becoming the Person You Were Intended To Be is a self-help book about the crucial importance of the choices one makes, which in turn define one's life and one's nature. Written around the tenet that our lives have an intended purpose which is revealed by the people and events that happen, Good Choices Good Life notes that developing the "signals" of these events into important guidance posts to one's destiny is completely dependent on one's ability to make good judgments in one's actions. Chapters discuss the value of honesty, how self-control improves one's available choices, the difference between experience and understanding, distractions to watch out for on the journey to become "who you are", and much more. An insightful self-help book, highly recommended.


The Native American Shelf

Taking Back Our Spirits
Jo-Ann Episkenew
University of Manitoba Press
301 St. John's College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3T, 2N2
www.umanitoba.ca/uofmpress
9780887557101, $27.95, www.amazon.com

The plight of the red man is one that so often goes unheard. "Taking Back Our Spirits: Indigenous Literature, Public Policy, and Healing" is a collection of writings about the current issues that modern Native Americans face in today's society. Speaking on the behalf of the Manitoba natives, author Jo-Ann Episkenew notes that the problems these individuals face are not unique to their tribe, but in fact speak connect with many issues that Native Americans in Canada face, and well as the indigenous peoples of other countries. "Taking Back Our Spirits" is a fine and recommended read for those who want to best understand the Canadian politics of today's Native Americans.

Canyon Records Productions
3131 West Clarendon Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85017
www.canyonrecords.com www.amazon.com

Canyon Records is the premier producer of authentic Native American music (both traditional and contemporary) for academia and the non-specialist general audiences who enjoy and appreciate that music. Four new Canyon Records CD productions have been released: Louie Gonnie's "Rhythms Within a Turquoise Dream: Peyote Songs of the Native American Church" (CR-6454, 75:33, $15.98); "Through Thick and Thin: Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Mt. Pleasant" (CR-6448, 44:52, $15.98) performed by Bear Creek; Northern Cree's "True Blue: Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Red Mountain" (CR-6456, 58:00, $15.98); and Many Tribes One Nation: Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at San Manuel" (CR-6457, 45:05, $15.98) performed by Warscout. All four of these excellent albums are flawlessly recorded and provide enduringly impressive performances that are the next best thing to having a front row seat at their respective live performances. Librarians, Native American music enthusiasts and collectors would be well advised to visit the Canyon Records website at www.canyonrecords.com for a complete listing and archive of their Native American recordings.


The Hunting/Fishing Shelf

Steelhead Fishing Essentials
Marc Davis
Frank Amato Publications
PO Box 82112, Portland, OR 97282
www.amatobooks.com
9781571884503, $29.95, www.amazon.com

There's no fishing experience quite like trying to land a steelhead salmon. That's why "Steelhead Fishing Essentials: A Complete Guide to Techniques & Equipment" by steelhead fishing expert Marc Davis will be so well appreciated by the novice angler. Included in this superbly organized and presented instruction manual is a 100-minute DVD featuring dramatic underwater footage and steelhead fishing action documenting the value of what Davis offers in the pages of this superbly written and comprehensive textbook that covers everything from where and how to find steelhead, tackle and bait, lines and leaders, hooks and leads, rods and reels, baits and lures, basic equipment, casting and catching, boats, logs and records, and even what to do with steelheads when you've caught them. Thoroughly 'user friendly', "Steelhead Fishing Essentials" is enthusiastically and confidently recommended for anyone wanting to experience one of the greatest thrills a fisherman can experience -- successfully landing a steelhead salmon.


The Cookbook Shelf

What We Eat When We Eat Alone
Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlin
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1423604962, $24.99 www.gibbs-smith.com

Cookbook author Deborah Madison set out to learn what people eat when nobody's around, and here provides a satisfying blend of memoir and recipes covering food choices, influences on these choices, and relationships with food. From Sardines on Toast to Three-Minute Tuna with Salsa Verde, it's a lively, fun coverage any general lending library will find popular.

Great Chefs Cook Vegan
Linda Long
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
142360153X, $35.00 www.gibbs-smith.com

Recipes from over twenty great Vegan chefs - many award-winners - accompany color photos peppering GREAT CHEFS COOK VEGAN. Each chef provides a three- or four-course meal packed with flavor and many unusual combinations - all true to vegan lifestyle - in a book highly recommended for any general lending library catering to vegans.

Slow Cookers for Dummies
Tom Lacalamita
Wiley Publishing
909 Third Ave, New York NY 10022
9780764552403, $16.99 www.wiley.com

Learn how to adjust cooker times to schedules, intensity food flavor before slow cooking, and enjoy easy dishes for holidays and entertainment using the slow cooker (crock pot) and this guide. From a braised Lemon and Thyme Pork Stew to Baked Apples and Curried Chicken with Rice, this is packed with easy dishes. No color photos, but the easy fare doesn't need 'em.

The Asian Barbecue Book
Alex Skaria
Charles Tuttle
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
9780804840446, $29.95 www.tuttlepublishing.com

This book on Asian barbecue will provide grillers with lots of Asian-inspired meals and comes from an author who traveled and ate barbecue throughout Asia. All the recipes can be made with the usual backyard grill, and include side bars and tips on cooking with both regular and exotic meat choices. Any collection strong in Asian or barbecue cookery needs this!

Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design
Stanley, Adam, and Robert Marianski
Bookmagic LLC
11771 Park Blvd., Seminole, FL 33772
9780982426708, $19.95, www.book-magic.com

Quality takes time. "Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design" is a comprehensive instructional guide to the world of smoking meats, ranging from construction of one's own smokehouse to the methodology for smoking various meats. With many illustrations and practical advice, "Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design" effectively educates readers about the processes of smoking meat, along with offering highly detailed recipes and valuable tips. "Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design" is a must for the smokehouse 'do-it-yourself' enthusiast.

Rival Crock Pot
Publications International
7373 North Cicero Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL 60712
9781412725842, $15.98, www.pubint.com

Publications International is a premier publisher of 'slow cooker' cookbooks, each of which is superbly designed to be thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in using a crock-pot or slow cooker approach to meal preparation. A true classic in this specialized culinary field is "Rival Crock-Pot" which showcases recipes in three categories: 'Slow Cooker Favorites'; 'Winning Slow Cooker Recipes'; and 'Slow Cooker Recipes for All Occasions'. Spiral bound so as to lay out flat on a kitchen counter or table, "Rival Crock-Pot" is a trilogy of crock-pot recipes that will cover any and all dining occasions from simply family meals to elaborate celebratory dining. Profusely illustrated throughout, the chapters feature crock-pot recipes for Mexican, Italian, Asian, and American dishes, hearty meals for cold climes, casual dishes for barbecues and parties, and even desserts! The recipes range from Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches; Fire and Ice Chili; Creamy Tomato Potato Soup; and Herbed Fall Vegetables; to Stuffed Chicken Breasts; Caribbean Sweet Potato & Bean Stew; Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole; and Orange Date-Nut Bread. If you only have room for one crock-pot/slow-cooker cookbook, make it Publications International's "Rival Crock Pot". If there is more room on your cookbook shelf, then also very highly recommended from Publication International are: "One-Dish/Slow Cooker/Casseroles (9781412724869); "Rival Crock-Pot Incredibly Easy Recipes" (9781412725859); and "Rival Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Recipes" (9781412721837).

Easy Japanese Cooking: Noodle Comfort
Kentaro Kobayashi
Vertical, Inc.
1185 Avenue of the Americas, 32nd floor, New York, NY 10036
9781934287576, $14.95, www.vertical-inc.com

Every culture's culinary traditions include the concept of 'comfort foods', dishes that are as psychologically beneficial as they are easy to prepare and tasty. Beautifully illustrated, "Easy Japanese Cooking: Noodle Comfort" features more than fifty 'user friendly' recipes compiled by Kentaro Kobayashi that showcase Japanese 'comfort cuisine'. With their ingredient lists and step-by-step preparation instructions, the recipes range from Pan Fried Chicken Soba; Spicy Meat Tan Tan Noodles; and Fedelini with Crab and Cabbage; to Kiyamugi with Pork and Sesame Sauce; Dumpling Soup; and Yakisoba with Ham. Ideal for homemakers wanting to culturally enrich their family meals, "Easy Japanese Cooking: Noodle Comfort" is an ideal addition to their multi-cultural and ethnic cuisine cookbook collections.

Noodle Comfort
Kentaro Kobayashi
Vertical, Inc.
1185 Avenue of the Americas, 32nd floor, New York, NY 10036
www.vertical-inc.com
9781934287576, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Japanese cuisine is one of the most popular Asian strains of ethnic culinary dining in America today. "Noodle Comfort: Easy Japanese Cooking" is a beautifully illustrated compilation of thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes showcasing some of very best Japanese dishes that would be a suited for ordinary family meals as they would be appropriate for special celebratory dining occasions. With recipes ranging from Ramen with Tofu; Pan-Fried Chicken Soba; Duck Noodle Soup with Parsley; Yakisoba with Ham; and Fried Mochi; to Shrimp Tempura Soba; Spaghetti with Egg and Ricotta Tomato Sauce; Somen with Mixed Tempura; Hot Soymilk Somen Noodles with Clams; and Hiyamugi with Pork and Sesame Sauce; "Noodle Comfort" is a welcome and certain to be enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library ethnic cookbook collections!

Traditional Cape Malay Cooking
Zainab Lagardien
Struik Publishers
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
www.internationalpubmarket.com
9781770076716, $22.00, www.amazon.com

South Africa is home to a number of tribes, peoples, customs, cultures, and cuisines. In "Traditional Cape Malay Cooking", Zainab Lagardien draws upon her many years of experience and expertise as a doyenne of Malay cuisine to compile truly superb and 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes for ethnic dishes celebrating Malay cuisine. Profusely illustrated in full color, the recipes are grouped together in thematic chapters that include Soups and Light Meals; Fish and Seafood; Poultry; Meat; Curries and Breyanis; Bredies and Stews; Rice, Vegetables and Salads; Sambals, Atjars and Sauces; Puddings; Cakes, Tarts and Biscuits; Breads and Fritters. Of special note is the chapter dedicated to 'Cooking for Large Numbers'. The recipes range from Malayan Crumbed Chicken; Hout Bay Crayfish Tail Curry; Lazy Housewife's Green Bean Bredie; and Grandma's Sago Stew; to Malayan Cauliflower; Carrot and Quince Sambal; Apricot Jam Baked Pudding; and Zainab's Apple Tart. "Traditional Cape Malay Cooking" is a welcome addition to personal, family, and community library international cuisine cookbook collections. Also very highly recommended from Struik Publishers is Ramola Parbhoo's "Traditional Indian Cooking In South Africa" (9781770076563, $23.50) which reflects and showcases another of South Africa's culinary traditions.

Memorable Recipes
Renee Behnke & Cynthia Nims
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9780740773938, $35.00, www.amazon.com

It is the contention of professional trained chef Renee Behnke that good dining is made even better when conducted in the company of friends and family. That is the underlying premise of "Memorable Recipes To Share With Family And Friends" in which she, with the assistance of Cynthia Nims, has compiled beautiful illustrated recipes for turning any meal into a grand dining occasion with company from appetizers, to soups and salads, to main dishes, side dishes and desserts. Of special note is her insights, instructions, advices, and commentary on how to create a truly memorable dinner party (including tips on planning the evening and even 'Wine Notes'). Another distinctive feature is an extensive section dedicated to menu ideas. With each one beginning with little anecdotes, the recipes range from Fettuccine with Lemon Cream and Spicy Tomato Topping; Endive and Radicchio Salad; Rack of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic; and Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes; to Moroccan-Style Biscotti; Party Sangria; Classic Cornbread; and Paella with Chicken and Shellfish. Enhanced with chapters on cooking techniques and kitchen tools, "Memorable Recipes" is a beautifully produced and highly recommended addition to personal and community library cookbook collections for truly fine dining!

The Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook
Barbara Bryant & Betsy Fentress
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9780740769771, $50.00, www.amazon.com

Founded in 1992, the Bryant Family Vineyard has become exceptional well known and highly appreciated amongst connoisseurs of great American vintages. Now Barbar Bryant (co-founder of the vineyard) with the assistance of Betsy Fentress has compiled an impressive coffee-table style compendium of eighty superb recipes drawn from truly great chefs and culinary masters from around the country who share a delight for the Bryan Family Cabernet Sauvignon. Illustrated in full color, the recipes range from Lobster Salad with Haricots Verts; Sauteed Diver Scallops with Cauliflower, Capers, and Almonds; and Pasta with Heirloom tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, and Balsamic Vinaigrette; to Cavatelli with Braised Duck; Roasted Garlic and Almond Flan with Asparagus and Wild Mushrooms; and Chocolate Short Bread, "The Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook" is a compendium of elegant, highly recommended, yet thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' dining ideas and dishes.

Nile Style
Amy Riolo
Hippocrene Books, Inc.
171 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016
www.hippocrenebooks.com
9780781812214, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Egypt is an ancient land of monuments and artifacts. It's also a country rich in distinctive culinary traditions that encompass food and dining as a fundamental element of both ancient and modern festivals, ceremonies, and celebrations. An internationally recognized culinary authority, food historian, and cooking instructor, Amy Riolo brings her many years of experience and expertise to bear when she compiled the recipes comprising "Nile Style: Egyptian Cuisine And Culture", a illustrated, 220-page compendium of superbly presented recipes that range from such exotic fare as Nubian Bread ad Hibiscus Punch; to traditional dishes like Lentils, Rice, and Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce; to classics like Egyptian Rice, Apricot, and Pistachio Pudding. The Egyptian names for each of the presented recipes is given along with the English translations of their names. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary of ingredients commonly used in Egyptian cooking, a 'Where to Buy' guide (including specific contact information for vendors of specialty ingredients not otherwise readily available), a tour-guide listing of superb Egyptian restaurants, an extensive bibliography, and a handy index, "Nile Style" is an enthusiastically recommended addition for personal and community library ethnic cookbook collections.

Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender
William T. Boothby
Anchor Brewing Co.
1705 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
www.anchorbrewing.com
9780982247334, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Originally published in 1891, and now deftly edited by David Burkhart for this new 2009 New Anchor Distilling edition for the Anchor Brewing Company, "Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender" is basically a faithful photomechanical reproduction of a true classic that has long been out of print and only available as a rare (and expensive) antiquarian book acquisition. There are 361 drink recipes listed in its pages, some of which are long forgotten preparations for esoteric beverages, while others are instantly recognizable by drink connoisseurs today. These drink recipes include instructions for mixing abinsthes, cocktails, coolers, cobblers, crustas, fixes, flips, fizzes, hot drinks, lemonades, punches, sangarees, shakes, toddies, and more. Of quaint and fascinating interest is the circa 1890s information provided regarding the retail liquor business, printed advertisements, and a sixteen page 'Addenda' that reproduces hand written notes that were found lodged in the original 1891 edition of "Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender". Enhanced with such newly discovered photographs and biographical material, "Cocktail Boothby's American Bar-Tender" is a true treasure to be added to the browsing and reference shelf of any and all amateur and professional bar tenders playing the trade for friends, family, customers, and clientele.

The Barcelona Cookbook
Sasa Mahr-Batuz, et al.
Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9780740773945, $29.99, www.amazon.com

The Connecticut restaurant Barcelona chain has a well deserved regional reputation for food that is especially elegant with flavor and cultural culinary subtext. Now the team of Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforzheimer (with the assistance of Mary Goodbody) has compiled an equally elegant compilation of recipes for dishes served in the Barcelona restaurants. Superbly illustrated throughout, there are chapters dedicated to cocktails and wine, cold and hot tapas, main courses, party dishes, and desserts. The recipes range from a Clementine Crush; Goat Cheese with Mojo Verde; and Lobster Risotto; to Morcilla Sausage with Caramelized Onions; Grilled Sea Bass with Warm Salad of Fingerling Potatoes and Wax Beans with Broken Shallot Vinaigrette; and Crepas Salguero. Enhanced a listing of sources for Spanish ingredients and foods, an extensive metric conversions and equivalents table, and a handy index, "The Barcelona Cookbook" is a welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library ethnic cookbook collections!


The Art Shelf

Painting the Body Beautiful
Art Ketchum
Atlantic Publishing Group
1405 SW 6th Ave, Ocala, FL 34471-0640
9781601382696, $34.95 www.atlantic-pub.com

Body art at its best is profiled in PAINTING THE BODY BEAUTIFUL, a stunning collection of body painting images organized by theme and captured in photos by Art Ketchum, documenting the painting work of Jim Brando. The first section holds a step-by-step description of the painting process including materials; the rest shows finished works including the models in process of being painted.

Between Brushstrokes
Joan Brady
Hudson Hills Press
3556 Main, Manchester, VT 05254
1555953018, $50.00 www.hudsonhills.com

Joan Brady has made a name for herself with her watercolor paintings and her work blends light and dark with everyday scenes and images, paired with her poem and prose pieces that follow her seasonal observations. Her autobiographical blend of writings and paintings, her second 'artbiography' offers celebrations of daily life and the artist's attempts to capture these in watercolor, and is a top pick for any art library.

Designing & Living With Glass Tiles
Patricia Hart McMillan, et al.
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Rd, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764332661, $24.99, www.amazon.com

A favorite medium for professional interior decorators, glass tiles are one of the most versatile materials for providing light, sheen, depth, and color to any room design project. Featuring more than 290 images of glass tiles and how they've been utilized with respect to interior and exterior room designs, the team of Patricia Hart McMillan, Liz Hart McMillan, and Katharine Kaye McMillan have collaborated in producing "Designing & Living With Glass Tiles: Inspiration For Home And Garden", a compendium of information, ideas, and inspirational examples that is a perfect browse for anyone considering the use of glass tiles in their own construction or remodeling projects for any room of their home, or a patio, or an ornamental garden feature. Of special note is the exceptionally useful information and tips on selecting and installing glass tiles. "Designing & Living With Glass Tiles" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, academic, and community library Interior Design reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Kenneth Snelson: Forces Made Visible
Eleanor Heartney, essayist
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
www.hudsonhills.com
9781555952433, $75.00, www.amazon.com

Simply stated, Kenneth Snelson is to sculpture what Frank Lloyd Wright is to architecture -- a pioneering genius of originality, innovation, and controversy. Nicely illustrated with personal photographs, the foreword by Kenneth Snelson for this compendium of his works provides an autobiographical overview of his life. Then art historian and author Eleanor Heartney provides the reader with an informed and informative extended essay on modern sculpture in general, and the contributions of Snelson in particular. Of particular note is the illustrated commentary by Snelson of installing one of his sculptures in Berlin. The majority of "Kenneth Snelson: Forces Made Visible" beautifully showcases in full color captioned images of his diverse creations. A very highly recommended addition to professional and academic library collections, this coffee-table art book edition of "Kenneth Snelson: Forces Made Visible" will be of particular interest to students modern sculpture.

Gothic
Clemens Schmidlin & Caroline Eva Gerner
H. F. Ullmann
c/o Langenscheidt Publishing Group
PO Box 979, Spring House, PA 19477
www.langenscheidt.com
9780841603493, $16.99, www.amazon.com

One of the newest additions to H.F. Ullman's 'Art Pocket' series, "Gothic" showcases beautiful full color reproductions of the art, sculpture, and architecture of Europe's gothic era. This 287-page compendium of superbly illustrated information is a sturdily bound pocket size that is highly portable and the perfect companion to take along to either museum visits or traveling to on-site locations. With entries ranging from the Notre Dame cathedral, to obscure yet beautifully produced illuminated manuscripts, from iconic sculptures to masterpiece wall paintings, "Gothic" is as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Also very highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library Art History reference collections and Art Appreciation supplemental reading lists are two other newly released additions to the 'Art Pocket' series: "Impressionism" (9780841603516, $16.99) and "Art Nouveau" (9780841603486, $16.99).

Stephen Hannock
Jason Rosenfeld, et al.
Hudson Hills Press
74-2 Union St., Manchester, VT 05254
www.hudsonhills.com
9781555952914, $85.00, www.amazon.com

Stephen Hannock is an American artist whose artistic endeavors include painting, woodcuts, drawings, and 'photo assemblages'. His magnificent paintings are flawlessly reproduced and include scenes of flooded rivers, rockets, vistas and nocturnes in "Stephen Hannock", and impressively published coffee-table art book. Of special note are the sections dedicated to his palimpsests and self-portraits. His woodcuts are grouped thematically (Mountain Water; Travels; Figures and Friends). Enhanced with the inclusion of informed and informative articles on his work and subject matter by Mark C. Taylor ('Landscape of Self-Portraiture'); Martha Hoppin ('The Oxbow'); Jason Rosenfeld ('Stephen Hannock: New England/New York); and Garrett White ('Beneath the Light: Digital Imaging in the Art of Stephen Hannock'), "Stephen Hannock" provides a comprehensive introduction to the artist and his art. With the addition of a chronology; a list of selected exhibitions, installations, awards and collections; a selected bibliography, photography credits and an index, "Stephen Hannock" is especially recommended as an addition to personal, community, and academic library American Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Alan Gussow: A Painter's Nature
Martica Sawin
Hudson Hills Press
74-2 Union Street, Manchester, VT 05254
www.hudsonhills.com
9781555953089, $70.00, www.amazon.com

To say that the late Alan Gussow (1931-1997) was a good painter is the equivalent of identifying Frank Lloyd Wright as an 'okay' architect. Now under the capable editorship of, and with informative commentary and background by Martica Sawin, and prefaced with informative contributions by John Driscoll and James Kiberd, "Alan Gussow: A Painter's Nature" is a long needed, 378-page, coffee table book style compilation of Gussow's art, flawless reproduced in full color with identifying captions on the opposing page of each image. A fitting memorial to a great American artist, "Alan Gussow: A Painter's Nature" is a significant, seminal, and strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library 20th Century American Art History reference collections.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Gestalt Volume 1
Yun Kouga
Viz Communications Inc.
295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133
9781421526904 $8.99 www.viz.com 1-800-394-3042

Presented in unflipped format (read right-to-left, just as the author originally drew it), Gestalt Volume 1 is a black-and-white manga (Japanese graphic novel) that takes a sharp twist on the usual fantasy-adventure saga! Father Olivier is a peaceful cleric undergoing a crisis of faith - all his life he has been taught that a terrible banished demon god whose name cannot be spoken (he is known only as "G") is the embodiment of evil - but is this really true? Could the legends about G be a distorted story as told by the victors of the conflict? Olivier befriends Ouri, a young girl from the south who cannot speak. But she is anything other than demure - her violent side is a superhuman entity that considers clashing with others of her kind a fantastic game, regardless of the fallout to surrounding humans or their cities! The dark elf Suzu has been sent to stop Olivier; when she catches up to him, does she (or Olivier) have a prayer of weathering Ouri's wild side? An exciting wild journey begins, in this action-packed story where for once, it is the male member of the adventuring party who is a soft-spoken priest! Recommended for older teen readers due to some violence (and very skimpy clothing).

The Saturday Evening Pearls
Stephan Pastis
Andrews McMeel
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
0740773917, $10.99 www.andrewsmcmeel.com

This eighth collection of Pearls Before Swine comic strips deserves ongoing recommendation as an outstanding survey for both new and old fans of the Pearls syndicated comic strip. Black and white strips offer a ribald collection of outrageously funny encounters between hungry crocodiles, edible zebra neighbors, and more in a zany suburban setting. Any library with humor cartoon strips needs this.

Science Fiction Classics: Graphic Classics #17
Jules Verne, et al.
Eureka Productions
8778 Oak Grove Rd, Mount Horeb, WI 59572
www.graphicclassics.com
9780978791971, $17.95, 1-608-832-6449

Science fiction has long been a staple of American popular culture from the days of pulp magazine, through motion pictures and television, and most pervasively, through books and comics. The newest addition to the impressive Eureka Production series of graphic novel adaptations of the world's great literature, Volume 17 showcases science fiction stories by Jules Verne, Stanley G. Weinbaum, E. M. Forster, and H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Dunsany, and Hans Christian Anderson. Each featured story is uniquely illustrated by a different artist. The result is a compendium of great graphic novel style adaptions that do full justice to the original authors and their seminal works. Graphic novel enthusiasts, as well as school and community librarians, would be well advised to visit the Eureka Productions website at www.graphicclassics.com for a complete listing of their Graphic Classics series.

Underground Classics
James Danky & Denis Kitchen
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
115 W. 18th St., 6th fl, NY, NY 10011
www.abramsbooks.com
9780810905986, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Modern comics have their origin in the newspaper illustrated cartoon strips of the late 19th century and evolved into 'comic books' in the late 1920s, becoming an indispensable part of American popular culture in the 1930s with the introduction of 'Super Hero' characters beginning with Superman and Batman. Comics then began to proliferate at a rapid pace in all the literary genres from Romance, to Westerns, to Crime and Horror. Viewed on as an inferior form of literature that was capable of 'corrupting young minds', attempts to suppress and regulate comic books through the imposition of a comic book code drove a number of innovative and iconoclastic comic book artists 'under ground'. That's when comics became 'comix' and had its own 'Golden Age' in the counter-culture communities of the 1960s and 1970s with such icons as Robert Crumb who work is still considered influential today. In "Underground Classics: The Transformation Of Comics Into Comix" is the collaborative effort of academician James Danky (School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin - Madison) and cartoonist, and publisher Denis Kitchen who has personally worked with every important comix artist the heyday of the underground comics movement. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Underground Classics" is an informed and informative historical overview that is very highly recommended reading for all comic book enthusiasts with an interest in the history of this truly distinctive yet immensely diverse American art form.


The Humor Shelf

The Awesome Book Of Dog Humor
Bob Phillips & Jonny Hawkins
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon 97402-9173
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
9780736925174, $5.99, www.amazon.com

Combining his life of dogs with his sense of humor, Bob Phillips as team up with professional cartoonist Jonny Hawkins to produce a compact 127-page compendium of jokes, puns, riddles, and quotes that will provide a wealth of wonderful entertainment for readers ages 7 to 70. Suitable for memorizing and citing at social gatherings with friends and family, and in celebration of our canine companions, the reader is treated to such witty observations as 'A sheep-herding dog that loved watermelon had a pup. It was a melon-collie baby.' As well as such pithy observations as 'Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes' (Lewis Grizzard). Thoroughly 'family friendly', "The Awesome Book Of Dog Humor" is highly recommended reading for all canine enthusiasts -- and certain to be a popular addition to personal and community library American Humor collections.


The Architecture Shelf

Wood
Barbara Linz
H. F. Ullman
c/o Langenscheidt Publishing Group
PO Box 979, Spring House, PA 19477
www.langenscheidt.com
9783833148903, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Architecture is an art. Interior design is an art. The use of wood in architecture and in interior design is as integral as is paint to a painting or stone to a sculpture. Wood is one of the most versatile elements available to architects and in "Wood", author Barbara Linz draws upon superbly illustrated examples from more than forty architectural projects inspired by and beautifully showcasing the creative and innovative uses of wood as a construction material that transcends the mundane into the exotic, the merely functional into the truly magnificent. "Wood" is a superb addition to any academic, professional, or community library Architectural Studies reference collection. Also very highly recommended in the H. F. Ullman architectural design book series is "Glass" (9783833151699, $29.99).

Home Work
Lloyd Kahn
Shelter Publications
PO Box 279, Bolinas, CA 94924
www.shelterpub.com
9780936070339, $26.95, www.amazon.com

Architecture at its most innovative best combines form and function with esthetics and practicality. Withing those parameters is an immense diversity of architectural styles for personal homes. Nowhere is this more evident than in homes that people build for themselves by hand as personalized inspiration and eccentricity and necessity took them. In "Home Work: Handbuilt Shelters", author Lloyd Kahn has compiled an impressive array of illustrated examples of such structures. Each superbly reproduced image in the form of full color photographs showcasing hand-made homes is enhanced for the reader with a succinct but informative caption. This 245-page compendium of beautifully presented examples makes "Home Work" a superb browse and a very highly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Wonders Of World Architecture
Neil Parkyn, editor
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500284001, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by professional architect and experienced city planner Neil Parkyn, "Wonders Of World Architecture" is more than just beautifully illustrated global survey of architectural constructions, it is also an informed and informative text book that addresses a host of fascinating architecturally themes questions and issues such as how the Empire State Building was able to be constructed in the middle of a very crowded and bustling New York City; Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean -- and not fall over; What supports the soaring, lofty vaults of Chartres Cathedral; and so much more. "Wonders Of World Architecture" draws upon contributions and commentaries of architects, engineers, and architectural historians as it presents an historical overview of architectural history, creativity, and innovation from AD 500 down to the present day. A superbly organized, 304-page compendium of 'reader friendly' facts, information, and images, "Wonders Of World Architecture" truly lives up to its title and is an enthusiastically recommended acquisition for professional, academic, and community library Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.


The International Studies Shelf

The Uncertain Business of Doing Good
Larry Krotz
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
9780870138522, $24.95, www.msupress.msu.edu

Africa is a problem that boggles those who want only to help. "The Uncertain Business of Doing Good: Outsiders in Africa" discusses the influence of westerners in Africa and their attempts at benevolence to the African people, who have been ravaged throughout the continent by civil war, famine, and disease. How much aid is too much (such as an overabundance of cheap donated food driving local farmers out of business)? What fallout does competition between different humanitarian groups have? Author Larry Kotz presents a scholarly discussion of the overall impact of outsiders in Africa. "The Uncertain Business of Doing Good" is educational and highly recommended.

The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday
Neil MacFarquhar
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St Suite 1321, New York NY 10107
9781586486358, $26.95 www.publicaffairsbooks.com

"The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East" provides a New York Times journalist's experiences in the changing region. Neil MacFarquhar worked in the region since the 1970s and is the perfect choice to document its transitions based on personal experience. His focus is on lesser-known men and women pioneering political and social change, making this a vivid survey and a 'must' for any collection strong in contemporary Middle East events.

Backstabbing for Beginners
Michael Soussan
Nation Books
116 E. 16th St., 8th Floor, New York NY 10003
9781568583976, $25.95 www.nationbooks.org

In 1997 author Michael Soussan, an idealistic new college graduate, accepted his dream job at the U.N.'s 'Oil for Food' program. His mission was to help Iraqis survive the economic sanctions imposed following the invasion of Kuwait. His new view into the flow of money in the region and the pros and cons of international diplomacy - including his discovery that Hussein was extracting illegal bribes while U.N. officials ignore his actions - makes for a powerful story of diplomacy behind the scenes and deserves a spot on the shelf of any college library.

Descent into Chaos
Ahmed Rashid
Penguin
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014
9780143115571, $18.00 www.penguin.com

DESCENT INTO CHAOS: THE U.S. AND THE DISASTER IN PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN, AND CENTRAL ASIA comes from a regional reporter who offers an eye-opening account of the damage U.S. actions has done to the region. His latest considers the promised nation building, which has not only not resulted in stability but has led to an unstable nuclear-armed Pakistan, a renewed Al Qaeda, and more. Changing global policies in the region should be key on any upcoming agenda, lest disasters continue: that's the message of a hard-hitting analysis recommended for any library strong in current global issues.

Bolivia In Focus
Dr. Robert J. Werner
Interlink Books
46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1804
9781566562997, $17.00, www.interlinkbooks.com

Bolivia has a long and storied history, and a unique people have emerged from it. "Bolivia in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture" is an introduction to Bolivia and the country as a whole. Discussing everything from Bolivia's political instability to its culture, Dr. Robert Werner gives readers a large scope look at the country and its current status in a very complete form. "Bolivia in Focus" is a must for any who want to learn more about Bolivia.

Iraq In Transition
Peter J. Munson
Potomac Books, Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Dr., Dulles, VA 20166
www.potomacbooksinc.com
9781597973007, $37.50, www.amazon.com

The beginning of Iraq's transformation from a single-party dictatorship to a multi-party democracy began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the subsequent overthrow of Saddam Hussein. As events unfolded it became clear that this was a pre-emptive 'war of choice' on the part of the Bush administration who over the next seven years were to consistently bungle the American occupation of Iraq, the ensuing civil war between warring political and religious factions within the Iraqi population, and the current continuing violence that results in the deaths of hundreds of Iraqi citizens (and the occasion American soldier) every month. That's why "Iraq In Transition: The Legacy Of Dictatorship And The Prospects For Democracy" by combat Marine officer Peter J. Munson is such a timely and useful contribution to our understanding of the political and military forces behind the nightly news headlines from that embroiled nation. "Iraq In Transitions" provides a complete history beginning with how Iraq was formed, the impact of Islam, and the 'rise of the tribes' within Iraq's power structures. Noted is the rise of the Shi'a as a political entity, the Sunni suppression under the Bath party, the post-American invasion insurgencies from 2003 to 2007, Iraq's constitution and elections, and the advances by the American and Iraqi military against the insurgents. Of special note is the concluding chapter regarding what we ourselves have learned from our experiences in Iraq over the past several years and what those 'lessons learned' mean in terms of our future relations in the Middle East and around the world. Enhanced with the inclusion of a selected bibliography, extensive footnotes, and a comprehensive index, "Iraq In Transition" is highly recommended for academic and community library Iraqi Studies and International Studies reference collections, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in understanding the events of the past several years in Iraq and what America can expect in the years to come.


The World History Shelf

A History of the French Anarchist Movement
David Berry
AK Press
674-A 23rd Street, Oakland, CA 94612-1163
9781904859826, $21.95, www.akpress.org

What is an anarchist really? "A History of the French Anarchist Movement: 1917-1945" takes a look at this movement in France. The people once called for an overthrow of the French Government during a time when political upheaval, such as the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, had often proved successful. Offering another perspective on the political chaos that heavily dominated Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, "A History of the French Anarchist Movement" is a top pick for historians, both professional and amateur.

Inventing Latin Heretics
Tia M. Kolbaba
Medieval Institute Publications
College of Arts and Sciences
Western Michigan University
1903 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5432
www.w.mich.edu/medieval/mip
9781580441339, $40.00, www.amazon.com

In many ways, the Byzantine Empire had as important an impact on the development of first millennia Christianity as did the Roman papacy. The writings of Roman and Byzantine scholars of the 9th Century are the subject of seminal academic research to this very day. Case in point: "Inventing Latin heretics: Byzantines And The Filioque In The Ninth Century" by Tia M. Kolbaba (Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Rutgers University) which has as its focus the introduction of 'heresiology', defining terms, summarizing an extensive secondary scholarship, and descriptively analyzing the history of Byzantine anti-heretical texts down to the ninth century. Of special note are the three chapters dedicated to examining in detail the transmission, form, and contents of the three anti-Filoque texts attributed to Photos, as well as selected texts exemplifying what nine-century Byzantines wrote about Latin 'errors'. "Inventing Latin Heretics" is a fascinating body of seminal scholarship and a welcome, highly recommended addition to academic library Byzantine Studies and First Millennium Christian History reference collections, as well as supplemental studies reading lists.

Pocket Timeline of Islamic Civilization
Nicholas Badcott
Interlink Publishing Group
46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060
www.interlinkbooks.com
9781566567589, $13.95, www.amazon.com

Prior to 9/11, what most Americans new about Islamic history and culture was derived from old movies and a bit of the crusader era from out-of-date highschool history books. But all that has changed now with the attacks of militant Islamic political factions against American targets and our military involvement in such nations as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. "Pocket Timeline of Islamic Civilization" is a 32-page, color illustrated, hard cover compendium of information compiled by Nicholas Badcott (Arab World Education Officer, the British Museum, London, England) that provides an informed and informative overview of the history and accomplishments of Islam including the Umayyads, Bbbasids, Fatimids, Seljugs, Zengids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ilkhands, Ottomans, Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals. Enhanced with a twelve-page pull-out timeline format, and featuring a bibliography and website list, the "Pocket Timeline of Islamic Civilization" is very handy and highly recommended resource for anyone seeking an concise overview of Islamic history from its earliest days down to the modern era.


The Language Studies Shelf

Strive For a 5
Hiromi Peterson et al.
Cheng & Tsui Company
25 West St., Boston, MA 02111-1213
www.cheng-tsui.com
9780887277092, $26.99, www.amazon.com

Being conversant in the Japanese language is an essential linguistic skill for anyone seeking to do business or vacation in that country. Unfortunately, American public schools simply do not teach Japanese in their language courses. Fortunately for those seeking to learn Japanese there are the do-it-yourself language instruction manuals published by the Cheng & Tsui Company. Specifically designed to assist the study in passing the Advanced Placement Japanese Language and Culture Exam, "Strive For a 5" is the collaborative work of Hiromi Peterson, Naomi-Hirano-Omizo, and Junko Ady. This compendium of twenty practice exams addresses the grammar, vocabulary, kanji, and topics drawn directly from the AP exam; features listening, reading, writing, and speaking sections in the format of the AP exam; includes detailed Japanese cultural notes useful for the spoken cultural perspective presentation part of the AP exam; is enhanced with practical and insightful advice on succeeding in every part of the AP exam; features an answer key for self-evaluation and study planning; and even includes free downloadable audio recordings and AP kanji list from the internet. For a complete listing of their invaluable language study manuals, anyone with an interest in Asian languages would be well advised to visit the Cheng & Tsui Company website.

The Roots of Phonics, revised edition
Miriam Balmuth
Paul H. Brookes
PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781598570366, $29.95, www.brookespuublishing.com

Language is an intriguing history all its own. Now in a newly revised edition, "The Roots of Phonics: A Historical Introduction" takes a look at the development of language throughout human history. English is a fascinating language, drawing heavily from neighboring languages such as Spanish, French, and the Native American tongues. Discussing the roots of our alphabet, the revolution of moving type and grammar, "The Roots of Phonics" is simply a must read to anyone who has wondered why they're saying the words they're saying.

Memoria Press
4605 Poplar Level Rd, Louisville, KY 40213
www.MemoriaPress.com 1-877-862-1097

Memoria Press is a premier publisher of instructional materials for Latin and Greek language courses. These materials come in formats that include textbooks, workbooks, teacher keys, and instructional DVDs. Prepared by academics who are experts in their fields, all of Memoria Press titles meet the highest standards of academia and can be confidently recommended as core curriculum supplements. Among the newest offers are "Roots Of English: Latin And Greek Roots For Beginners" (9781930953253, $19.95) by Paul O'Brien; "Classical Rhetoric With Aristotle: Traditional Principles Of Speaking And Writing" (1930953445, $39.95); "Classical Rhetoric With Aristotle: Teacher Key (1930953453, $4.95); "Classical Rhetoric With Aristotle: Instructional DVD (9781930953550, $55.00); and "The Latin-Centered Curriculum: A Home Educator's Guide To A Traditional Classical Education" (9781930953734, $17.95) by Andrew A. Campbell. These are all academically sound, superbly produced, highly recommended materials that are exceptionally 'user friendly' and ideal for both traditional school classroom instruction as well as self-directed personal study curriculums.


The Gardening Shelf

Diseases Of Herbaceous Perennials
Mark L. Gleason, et al.
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
www.shopapspress.org
9780890543740, $79.00, www.amazon.com

Now matter where they are in the country or in what climate zone they labor, every gardener must cope with the occasional problems of disease and infestation with respect to perennials. This necessity is often compounded in critical importance by those who are professional horticulturalists or who operate plant nurseries. Expertly compiled by the editorial team of Mark L. Gleason Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University), Margery L. Daughtrey (Senior Extension Associate, Cornell University Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology), Ann R. Chase (Chase Horticultural Research), Gary W. Moorman (Pennsylvania State University Department of Plant Pathology), and Daren S. Mueller (Department of Plant Pathology, Iowa State University), "Diseases Of Herbaceous Perennials" is a profusely illustrated, encyclopedically organized compendium of detailed information on those plant diseases commonly (and in some cases, uncommonly) encountered when growing perennials. A seminal and definitive work, "Diseases Of Herbaceous Perennials" is an essential addition to academic horticultural reference collections, as well as an invaluable informational resource for plant nurseries and home gardeners.


The Nautical Shelf

Island Salmon Fisherman
Robert H. Jones & Larry E. Stefanyk
Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
9781550174250, $ 24.95, www.harbourpublishing.com

A true fisherman will travel thousands of miles for a chance at a good catch. "Island Salmon Fisherman: Vancouver Island Hotspots" is a guide for the fishing tourist who is planning a trip to the Vancouver area and wants to enjoy its excellent fishing. With over eight hundred hot spots throughout the area for good fishing to be had, a fisherman will not run out of things to do in Vancouver. "Island Salmon Fisherman" is a must for the traveling fisherman.

Twilight Of The Great Lakes Steamer
Raymond A. Bawal, Jr.
Inland Expressions
42211 Garfield Road, #297, Clinton Township, MI 48038
www.inlandexpressions.com
9780981815725, $19.95, www.amazon.com

America's inland seas called the Great Lakes have been plied by all manner of vessels, but none more iconic that the huge steam powered freighters. Once numbered in the hundreds and the subject of both folklore and song, they have dwindled down to a last remaining twenty by the end of the 2008 shipping season. Ranging from the St. Mary's Challenger build in 1906 and representing more than one hundred years of service, to the Canadian Leader, built in 1967, these great nautical vessels are beginning to pass from the scene. That's why "Twilight Of The Great Lakes Steamer", a compendium of black-and-white photos and descriptive histories in terms of their previous and current operations of this class of ship is so impressive and appreciated. Highly recommended and appropriate for academic and community library collections, "Twilight Of The Great Lakes Steamer" is an especially welcome addition to the personal collections of nautical enthusiasts in general, and Great Lakes history buffs in particular.


The Civil War Shelf

Photographic History Of The Civil War
John Rupnow
The Edwin Mellen Press
415 Ridge Street, Lewiston, NY 14092
www.mellenpress.com
9780773455993, $299.95, www.amazon.com

The nation never suffered a worse trauma than the American civil war. This conflict lays claim to a number of 'firsts'. It was the first industrial war of the modern age. It was the first war to invent the submarine, the machine gun, aerial observation balloons, and steel clad warships. It was also the first American war to be photographed and thereby leave to posterity an incomparable visual record of the carnage and destruction of war. Visually recorded for the first time in human history was the destructive aftermath done to cities, homes, roads, and rail lines. Then there are the chillingly horrific photographs of the battlefield dead. In "Photographic History Of The Civil War", John Rupnow (director of The Edwin Mellen Press) has reproduced a ten volume collection of American Civil War photographs taken by the legendary battlefield photographer Matthew Brady, originally published in 1912, which has been out-of-print for most of the past century. This set of hard bound and hand-sewn volumes is in full compliance with library standards and a strongly recommended, unique, and core addition to personal, academic, and community library American Civil War reference collections.


The Library Science Shelf

Making the Most of RFID in Libraries
Martin Palmer
Facet Publishing
c/o Neal Schuman
100 William Street, Suite 2004, New York, NY 10038
9781856046343, $110.00, www.facetpublishing.co.uk

New technologies emerge everyday and many of them have applicable use to libraries. "Making the Most of RFID in Libraries" is a librarian's complete and comprehensive guide to Radio Frequency Identification. With the primary purpose of helping librarians decide if RFID is worth the effort for their libraries, it covers the technologies applications as a management system, the privacy issues that could emerge, possible health problems, installing the system, and training one's employees, as well as its viability in the future. Weighing each issue it discusses heavily for the unique needs of many libraries, "Making the Most of RFID in Libraries" is an absolute must read for any librarian considering Radio Frequency Identification for their library.

Hosting a Library Mystery
Elizabeth M. Karle
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
9780838909867, $36.00, www.alastore.ala.org

There are many things to inspire enthusiasm for the library, such as a good mystery. "Hosting a Library Mystery: A Programming Guide" is a guide to arranging a library mystery - a puzzle to inspire patrons to use the libraries resources to their fullest. Such events can generate much publicity and yield many other benefits for libraries as well as do much to educate patrons and teach them how to use a library properly. "Hosting a Library Mystery" is a fine read for libraries who are looking for good ways to bring attention to the library and promote knowledge.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The Playwright's Workout
Michael Bigelow Dixon & Liz Engelman
Smith and Kraus
PO Box 127, Lyme, NH 03768
9781575256177, $19.95, www.smithandkraus.com

Writing is a skill, and like any skill, it needs to be practiced. "The Playwright's Workout: Exercises for the Dramatic Imagination from Professional Playwrights" is a collection of writing and thought exercises for aspiring playwrights who want to hone their craft further. Drawing advice from over thirty acclaimed playwrights, "The Playwright's Workout" offers much wisdom to feast upon. "The Playwright's Workout" is well worth the investment for the playwrights and prose writers alike.

Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, Saint Paul, MN 55114
www.graywolfpress.org www.amazon.com

Graywolf Press is a premier and consistent publisher of poetry and prose with distinctive and enduring literary qualities and values. Now they have newly published two titles that will prove to be of immense and practical value to all aspiring writers regardless of the genre they are working in. "The Art Of Syntax: Rhythm Of Thought, Rhythm Of Song" (9781555975319, $12.00) by accomplished poet and essayist Ellen Bryant Voigt focuses upon the poetic language and examines signature musical scoring to reveal the basics and embellishments of the writer's craft as applied to fiction and non-fiction alike, but especially to the creation of verse. "The Art Of Time In Fiction: As Long As It Takes" (9781555975302, $12.00) by academician and author Joan Silber addresses five key ways in which time unfolds in fiction and the major task confronting all novelists -- determining the duration of their plots. Illustrated with examples drawn from such signatory authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chinua Achebe, and Arundhati Roy, Silber's commentary is as insightful as it is informative. Both "The Art Of Syntax" and "The Art Of Time In Fiction" should be considered mandatory reading for any writer who wants to not only produce award-winning quality work, but to be able to interest whole new generations of readers in that work.

Write Like Hemingway
R. Andrew Wilson
Adams Media Corporation
57 Littlefield St, 2nd fl, Avon, MA 02322
www.adamsmedia.com
9781598698961, $16.95, www.amazon.com

Ernest Hemingway was one of those rare authors whose literary contributions where to shape and influence American literature well beyond his own life time. His writing style was direct, laconic, and as a pioneer of modern romanticism, his novels were a significant departure from the literary styles of storytelling that preceded him and became a model for a great many novelists that came after him. In "Write Like Hemingway: Writing Lessons You Can Learn From The Master", by academician R. Andrew Wilson (an expert in composition, creative writing, and American literature) provides aspiring writers with cogent insights into just what made Hemingway's writing style so effective, how he was able to make his characters distinctively memorable, his storylines so complex even when his storytelling techniques were so succinct. But "Write Like Hemingway" is much more than just another 'how-to' writing guide based on the work of an accomplished author, Professor Wilson's informed and informative text will also be of immense interest and value to scholars and students of Hemingway's work, as well as the non-specialist general reader to whom Hemingway's novels and stories have had an enduring impact.

Fearless Confessions
Sue William Silverman
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Dr., Athens, GA, 30602-4901
www.ugapress.org
9780820331669, $19.95, www.amazon.com

A memoir or autobiography is the story of your life as told by you (although many a celebrity and politician have been known to employ 'ghost writers' to polish up their life story manuscript). In "Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide To Memoir", Sue William Silverman (faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and the associate editor of the literary journal 'Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction') provides an extraordinary 'how to' instructional compendium providing practical advice and illustrative examples that will enable the reader to effectively write down their own life stories either in the form of a manuscript to be published or a website to be visited. Of special note is Sue Silverman's commentary on the ethics involved with creating a memoir, a writer's 'voice' in presenting a life story, and the realities of marketing an autobiography. Informed and informative, "Fearless Confessions" is replete with appendices laying out an impressive and extensive roster of relevant books of particular interest to aspiring writers seeking to tell their life story in a variety of forms and formats. Anyone considering writing their memoirs for publication or just for the benefit of their posterity would be well advised to secure a copy of "Fearless Confessions" before starting their autobiographical project.

Journal Keeping
Dannelle D. Stevens & Joanne E. Cooper
Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Dr., Sterling, VA 20166-2012
9781579222161, $24.95, www.styluspub.com

There are many purposes for keeping a daily diary or personal journal. Making a written record of our lives, experiences, and thoughts often helps us to understand them better, provide an emotional relief, memorialize accomplishments, benefit our posterity, and establish the only kind of immortality that most of us can hope for. That's why "Journal Keeping: How To Use Reflective Writing For Learning, Teaching, Professional Insight, And Positive Change" by Dannelle D. Stevens and Joanne E. Cooper is such an invaluable and highly recommended instructional manual for aspiring diarists and journalists. "Journal Keeping" identifies and explains the uses of keep a journal for personal and/or professional development, how journal writing helps to organize, prioritize, and clarify creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Of special note is what the co-authors have to say about journal keeping in this era of the personal computer as a means to enhance and educator or administrator's management abilities, as well as decreasing the stress of their responsibilities. With its illustrative case studies, "Journal Keeping" is also of immense value as an instructional resource for aspiring writers seeking to hone their own creative abilities with respect to the written word. "Journal Keeping" is a highly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published
Sheree Bykofsky & Jennifer Basye Sander
AlphaBooks
c/o Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson St., NY, NY 10014-3658
1592575188, $19.95, www.penguin.com

Although it has never been easier to publish a book (or harder to sell one) than now, it always helps the uninitiated to have a competent 'how to' manual to walk them through each consecutive step of the process. Now in a newly updated and expanded fourth edition, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published" by the team of Sheree Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander provide just such step-by-step assistance for the aspiring author wanting to become published, and the novice publisher wanting to successfully market their titles. Enhanced with the inclusion of a CD-ROM providing dozens of document templates, lists of agents, writer's conferences, and more, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published" covers every aspect of the publishing process from beginning to end. Of special note is the advice and commentary on preparing a manuscript for publication, keeping track of publishing industry trends, and specific marketing strategies to successfully compete with other authors, publishers, and titles. Very highly recommended for personal and professional reference shelves and reading lists, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published" will enable the reader to avoid common mistakes, utilize traditional bookstores as well as the online booksellers, understand the finer points of publishing contracts, and conduct a commercially successful publishing enterprise.

Poetry
Jessie Lendennie
Salmon Poetry
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
www.dufoureditions.com
9780956128751, $25.95, www.amazon.com

Just as there is an art to writing poetry, so there is an art to the publishing of it. That's why "Poetry: Reading It, Writing It, Publishing It" by Jessie Lendennie (co-founder and managing director of Salmon Poetry) is such a useful compendium of practical information and useable insight drawn from poets and publishers in such diverse literary cultures as Ireland, Britain, America, Canada, Australia, and even Zimbabwe. The twenty-nine contributed essays are grouped thematically into three major sections: Reading It; Writing It; Publishing It. For anyone who aspires to write verse and have their poems published, Jessie Lendennie's "Poetry: Reading It, Writing It, Publishing It" is very strongly recommended and very useful reading.

Writer Watchdog Self-Publishing Directory, 2009 edition
New Vision Media
823-8 Burch Avenue, Durham, NC 27701
9780982267493, $19.99, www.amazon.com

Now in a newly released 2009 edition, New Vision Media's "Writer Watchdog Self-Publishing Directory" is one of the most valuable references any aspiring (or well experienced) self-published author could hope to include on the professional reference shelf. The word 'useful' is a profound understatement when it comes to describing the value of its more than two hundred resource listings, expert advice and commentary drawn from a variety of notable contacts from the publishing industry, and its listings of discounts for many services from many service providers with respect to the self-publishing process. In fairness, it should be clearly noted that the Midwest Book Review is well identified as one of those 'useful' entries in the chapter dedicated to 'Book Review Resources'. Of special note is the inclusion of a series of informed and informative articles from 'Using a Book Printer or a Self-Publishing Service', to 'The Cost of Editing and Not Editing', to 'Selling Books without Bookstores', to (my personal favorite) 'Why You Need Book Reviews', and so many more practical and applicable self-publishing specific contributions. Simply stated, anyone contemplating the prospect and possibility of self-publishing should begin with a careful perusal of the "Writer Watchdog Self-Publishing Directory".

Publish Your First Magazine
Lorraine Phillips
360 Books
PO Box 105603, Atlanta, GA 30348-5603
www.publishyourfirstmagazine.com
9780982276501, $19.95, www.amazon.com

In "Publish Your First Magazine: A Practical Guide For Wannabe Publishers", author Lorraine Phillips draws upon her many years of experience and expertise as the former publisher of the magazine 'SisterPower' to provide other aspiring magazine publishers with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to magazine publication. "Publish Your First Magazine" intelligibly lays out all of the fundamental basics of publishing a magazine from setting it up, to design and branding, to advertisement rates and selling ads, to layout and content, to setting up a web site for the magazine, to recruiting and working with a printer, to magazine distribution, and more. As a kind of comprehensive workshop in a single 'user friendly' volume, "Publish Your First Magazine" is an absolutely essential instructional reference and guide for everyone and anyone contemplating producing a magazine in today's highly volatile and competitive marketplace.

101 Best Beginnings Ever Written
Barnaby Conrad
Quill Driver
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
9781884956867, $15.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com

The first line of any story is often the difference between making or breaking a tale, and author Barnaby Conrad here explores twelve types of beginnings, providing examples of eye-catching openings and discussing options. Any library catering to writers will find the approach offers a blend of strong literary openings and analysis of what makes them strong.

Best Little Books Of Short Story Ideas
Edward C. Jones III
Author House
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403-5161
www.authorhouse.com
9781438953243, $12.99, www.amazon.com

Originally designed to help students in highschool and college needing ideas for their English literature and creative writing classes, Edward Jones' "Best Little Books Of Short Story Ideas" will also provide valuable assistance for writers afflicted with 'writer's block' and needing help getting their creative intellects and imaginations active again. A compilation of basic, unedited plot ideas derived from older short stories (published prior to 1989), these fifty-five entries will help aspiring writers to begin hammering out their own unique tales whether for an English class writing assignment or a professional quality story intended for commercial publication. "Best Little Books Of Short Story Ideas" is a very handy, 'user friendly', and recommended addition to a writer's reference shelf.

The Legal Forms Toolkit
Daniel Sitarz
Nova Publishing Company
1103 W. College St., Carbondale, IL 62901
www.novapublishing.com
9781892949486, $39.95, www.amazon.com

Every incorporated American business must have a legal framework of permits and bylaws to operate. Every parent should have a will and/or trust to insure their assets will be entrusted properly allocated upon their passing. Every citizen at some point in their life will need to know about such legal issues and concepts as a power of attorney, deeds and leases, prenuptial agreements, and other commonly encountered legal situation. Frequently legal issues will be unique and not amenable to 'boiler plate' paperwork. All too often the high cost of an attorney precludes ordinary people from doing what they can do for themselves under U.S. laws, both state and federal. That's why "The Legal Forms Toolkit: The Ultimate Guide To Creating Custom Legal Forms" by attorney-at-law Daniel Sitarz is so timely and useful a resource. Enhanced with an accompany CD-Rom featuring hundreds of legal forms that can be readily printed out, "The Legal Forms Toolkit" is an ideal instruction and information manual that is superbly organized and thoroughly 'user friendly' by the non-specialist citizen needing to craft and create any kind of legal contract that would be in accordance with state and federal laws and guidelines. "The Legal Forms Toolkit" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library reference collections.


The Social Issues Shelf

Flat Broke in the Free Market
Jon Jeter
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th St., New York NY 10110
9780393065077, $25.95 www.wwnorton.com

Growing up in an African American family, Jon Jeter watched the jobs in his Midwestern town vanish - and as a Washington Post journalist, he reported on free-market reforms of the IMF which created a new underclass. He's traveled the world to document how similar underclasses were created by large entities like World Bank, and FLAT BROKE IN THE FREE MARKET: HOW GLOBALIZATION FLEECED WORKING PEOPLE offers damning evidence of the rituals and results of a free global economy. High school to college-level libraries will find this essential.

Images of America
R. L. Bruckberger
Transaction Publishers
The State University of New Jersey,
35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8042
1412806542, $24.95, www.transactionpub.com

An outsider's view is sometimes necessary for a clear and objective outlook. "Images of America: A Political, Industrial and Social Portrait" was originally composed by Frenchman R. L. Bruckberger, who had seen much of America during his life and on the whole, admired the country. But Bruckberger was not without his criticisms; he offers an honest and frank view of the country, noting how often America can be blind to its flaws. "Images of America" is a fine pick, highly recommended.

Ways You Can Help, Pick One
Colin Ingram & Robert D. Reed
Robert D. Reed Publishers
PO Box 1992, Bandon, OR 97411
9781934759301, $14.95, www.rdrpublishers.com

Making a difference is not a difficult thing to do. One just needs to approach it right. "Ways You Can Help, Pick One: The World, the Nation, Your Region, Your Community" is a guide to making a difference by focusing on what one really wants to do and finding out how to help that cause. Attempting to inspire readers to believe in the innate goodness and power of people, authors Ingram and Reed offer a positive, educational message about literally changing the world. "Ways You Can Help, Pick One" is a practical world saver's guide, highly recommended.

In Bed with the Word
Daniel Coleman
The University of Alberta Press
Ring House 2, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T6G 2EI
9780888645074, $19.95, www.uap.ualberta.ca

The world is so fast and loud, but how much good would some extra time of peace and mediation do? "In Bed with the Word" is author Daniel Coleman's claim that the world would be a much better place if people slowed down and stopped to enjoy life, as well as embrace the written word more thoroughly. Calling the modern world a culture of distraction, Coleman makes many interesting points through his work. "In Bed with the Word" is a fine and highly recommended piece of social issues writing.

Power and Poverty
Dewi Hughes
IVP Academic
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
9780830828098, $25.00, www.ivpress.com

There are people staving in Africa, and America knows it. America has sent aid to these people, yet they still starve. Why? "Power and Poverty: Divine and Human Rule in a World of Need" is a look at the causes of poverty through a religious perspective, examining those who abuse their power over people and drive them into destitution. Preaching a more faith-based approach, "Power and Poverty" is an intriguing read about the roots of power and faith.

41 Shots...and Counting
Beth Roy
Syracuse University Press
621 Skytop Road, Suite 110, Syracuse, NY 13244-5290
www.SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu
081560940X, $28.00, www.amazon.com

One of the critically important issues of contemporary American culture is the intersection of race relations and law enforcement. As an experienced mediator in the San Francisco Bay Area and founder of the Practitioners Research and Scholarship Institute, author Beth Roy brings a special expertise to the subject in "41 Shots...and Counting: What Amadou Diallo's Story Teaches Us about Policing, Race, and Justice". The title refers to an incident in which New York police officers shot 41 times killing a young West African immigrant in 1999 as he was returning to his home from his place of work. His dramatic death incited intense interest in the African-American community. When the police officers were acquitted of any criminal conduct in the affair, the judicial system was looked upon by many minority groups as a seriously flawed instrument of enforcing social justice, proper police procedure, and inflaming racial tension. Strongly recommended for community and academic library contemporary social issues collections and reading lists, "41 Shots...and Counting" is an impressive recounting and analysis of the incident and its aftermath for the courts, the community, and the police.

Handbook Of Social Capital
Gert Tinggaard Svendsen
Gunnar Lind Haase Svendsen
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Ct., Northampton, MA 01060
9781845423230, $235.00, www.e-elgar.com

The Russian word 'troika' means 'threesome' and is derived from a sleigh or wagon pulled by three horses harnessed abreast. Compiling informed and informative contributions from a series of experts in their respective fields under the co-editorship of Danish academicians, Gert Tinggaard Svendsen and Gunnar Lind Haase Svendsen, the "Handbook Of Social Capital: The Troika of Sociology, Political Science and Economics" examines how these three disciplines work together in developing, shaping, influencing, and transforming social, political, economic and cultural networks. Given the current global economic crisis that has its root causes in the psychology of the marketplace every bit as much as any other factor, the "Handbook Of Social Capital" is timely, insightful, informed, informative, thoughtful, and thought-provoking reading which is especially recommended for students of sociology, economics, politics. With the underlying message that it takes a truly inter-disciplinary approach within these three social sciences to have a comprehensively accurate understanding of global affairs. A compilation of impressive and extensive scholarship, the "Handbook Of Social Capital" is strongly recommended for academic and professional library reference collections.


The Economics Shelf

Bankruptcy of Our Nation
Jerry Robinson
New Leaf Press
PO Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638
9780892216932, $13.99, www.newleafpress.net

Could today's current economic turmoil be the end of America's prosperity? "Bankruptcy of Our Nation: 12 Key Strategies For Protecting Your Finances In These Uncertain Times" is a scholarly and economic view of today's crisis and how it will affect one's money at many levels, from national to personal, with an extra focus on the personal. Well worth the read for those who fear for their finances, "Bankruptcy of Our Nation" is a must.


The Agriculture Shelf

Small-Scale Grain Raising, second edition
Gene Logsdon
Chelsea Green Publishing
PO Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603580779, $29.95, www.chelseagreen.com

Having one's own grain garden can be a satisfying experience. "Small-Scale Grain Raising: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing, and Using Nutritious Whole Grains for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers" is a guide for the small gardener to expand their range of crops to include their own grain and wheat. Outlining a step by step process on how to cultivate grain on a small scale, author Gene Logsdon draws upon his expertise and teachers readers well. "Small-Scale Grain Raising" is educational and vital to anyone considering this venture.

Northern Treasure
Susan Davis Price
Afton Historical Society Press
PO Box 100, Afton, MN 55001
9781890434779, $40.00, www.aftonpress.com

Minnesota may best be known to the general public as the 'land of a thousand lakes', but it is also home to a thriving agricultural and horticultural industry that has its roots in the pioneer efforts to grow fruit trees in the 1850s. In 1908 the Minnesota Fruit Farm was established, an enterprise that would evolve into the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Horticultural Research Center. Informatively written by Susan Davis Price and enhanced with the photography of John Gregor, "Northern Treasure" is the story of this premier research center, its history, its mission, and its accomplishment. The range of the center is truly impressive, from the Japanese garden to a reconstruction of the original Minnesota prairie. An appreciated and popular destination for thousands of annual visitors, the center also offers workshops, classes, and educational events. Informed and informative, browsing through the pages of "Northern Treasure" is the next best thing to touring the center in person.


The Literary Shelf

How Contemporary Novelists Rewrite Stories From The Bible
Anthony C. Swindell
The Edwin Mellen Press
415 Ridge Street, Lewiston, NY 14092
9780773447646, $119.95, www.mellenpress.com

Before the Bible as we know it today was compiled and canonized, it was a collection of orally transmitted stories that were written down decades and even centuries after the events recounted. From its inception as a sacred volume of authorized scriptures, the Bible has continued down through the years a rich source of literary inspiration for everything from Dante's "Inferno", to John Bunyon's "Pilgrim's Progress", to the contemporary novelists writing today. In "How Contemporary Novelists Rewrite Stories From The Bible", academician and pastor Anthony C. Swindell (Rector of St. Saviour, Jersey, Channel Islands, presents a seminal study of diverse contemporary novelists and their use of biblical stories and references as subject matter for their fiction. Informed and informative, Dr. Swindell begins with a knowledgeable introduction and then proceeds with chapters dedicated to a survey of principal texts; identifying eight theorists from Northrop Frye to Harold Finch; addressing theology as represented in fourteen reception-histories; and so much more. Of special note is Dr. Swindell's chapter on "The Hermenteutical Value of Literary Reception-Histories'. Enhanced with the includes of three appendices, an extensive bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "How Contemporary Novelists Rewrite Stories From The Bible" is a work of impressively detailed scholarship and a highly recommended addition to academic and seminary reference collections and reading lists.


The Gaming Shelf

Dyval: Hell Unleashed
Carl Gleba
Palladium Books
38964 Webb Court, Westland, MI 48185-7606
9781574571653, $24.95, www.amazon.com

The eleventh volume in Palladium Books outstanding 'Rifts Dimension' series of role-play gaming books, "Dyval: Hell Unleashed" by Carl Gleba is a compendium of illustrated information about Dyval, a realm with multiple dimensions known as the planes of Hell. Each of the Seven Layers of Dyvalian hell are mapped and described in detail. Included are descriptions of their inhabitants including Deevils of all descriptions, Deevil hosts, war steeds, chrysteel weapons, soul gems, skin armor, and so much more. Enhanced with encounter tables and adventure ideas, as well as statistics and conversion notes, "Dyval: Hell Unleashed" is a 'stand alone' source book that will enable gamers to immerse themselves in a Minion War as Hades invades Dyval Prime with the goal of dimensional conquest and the subjugation of the Deevils of Dyval. "Dyval: Hell Unleashed" is a welcome and highly recommended addition to role-gaming enthusiasts reference and source book collections.


The Money/Finance Shelf

The Skinny on Credit Cards
Jim Randel
Rand Publishing
265 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880
9780981893549, $14.95, www.theskinnyon.com

Credit cards can be either a great tool or something to doom one to a life of debt. "The Skinny on Credit Cards: How to Master the Credit Card Game" is an introductory guide to the wise usage of credit cards. With tips on everything from avoiding debt, to crafting a good credit score, to preventing fraud to teaching one's children about responsible credit card use, "The Skinny on Credit Cards" is a top pick for any who are about to pick up this double-edged sword.

Before, After, and Beyond Bankruptcy
Betty Odak
Pleasant Word
c/o WinePress Publishing
PO Box 428, Enumclaw, WA 98022
9781414112299, $11.99

Bankruptcy is not the end of the world. "Before, After, and Beyond Bankruptcy: Tips on Savings and Using Financial Resources Carefully and Wisely" is a guide to dealing with the threat of bankruptcy, how to potentially avoid it, and how best to manage one's finances if one is driven into filing for it. Using the story of the author's own adventure in bankruptcy for extra illustration, "Before, After, and Beyond Bankruptcy" is a must-get for anyone faced with the challenge of bankruptcy.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Flood
Stephen Baxter
ROC
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014
9780451462718, $24.95 www.penguin.com

Imagine a future world where rising waters are outpacing expectations and immersing civilization, and where a few fore-sighted individuals have devised temporary stop gates to extinction. Now imagine even these resources become overwhelmed. FLOOD offers a realistic, frightening survey of a future world consumed and provides a bold saga reinforced with strong characterizations throughout. Any science fiction reader and library will find it a riveting acquisition.

Longeye
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Baen Books
Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
1416591532, $24.00 www.baen.com

The Vaitura has long been hidden from the human world, but is the battleground for competing fairy races - including a half-human, half-Fey woman injected into the picture and a convalescing Ranger known as Longeye. Here Rebecca is held against her will in service to the Queen - and must escape her captors to form new, dangerous alliances in this riveting fantasy saga, perfect for libraries strong in action fantasy presentations.

Fall of Light
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Ace
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014
9780441014682, $24.95 www.penguin.com

Opal is a makeup artist working on location in Oregon, who uses her talent to turn Corvus into the Dark God, enabling him to vanish into the role. But when Corvus' acting turns too real, Opal suspects possession and a power from beyond the norm in this riveting blend of romance and fantasy, perfect for any science fiction or fantasy library.

Warden of Greyrock
K.V. Johansen
Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 5626, STN B, Victoria, BC V8R 6S4, Canada
9781554690053, $9.95, www.orcabook.com

Hatred for one's heritage is strongest and most unreasonable hatred. "Warden of Greyrock: The Warlocks of Talverdin" tells the story of halfbreed of Human and Nightwalker Maurey and the challenges he must face in his castle of Greyrock. Faced with a hostile cult, Maurey and his allies must solve the secret of the Yehillon if Maurey is to ever have a chance of living in peace. "Warden of Greyrock" is an entertaining fantasy adventure, highly recommended.


The Library CD Music Shelf

Strange Cousin
TriBeCaStan
Evergreene Music
450 West 31st Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001
c/o Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
$19.49 www.evergreene.com www.rockpaperscissors.biz

Performance band TriBeCaStan evolved out of a meeting of enthusiastic musicians during World Jug Band Day, when the cacophony of washboards and tubs transformed into "radical trad music", according to band member John Kruth. Flautist and master of Arabic scales Jeff Greene, Ween bassist David Dreiwitz, conch shell virtuouso (and Saturday Night Live band trombonist) Steve Turre, voice and box-fiddle player Jolie Holland, and ethno-jazz reed master Matt Darriau all combine to create one of the most unique urban folk bands in existence, whose pieces ultimately reflect the culture of a hypothetical hybrid nation. A soulful blend of musical cultural influences from Croatia to the Sahara, Strange Cousin is a joy to listen to and especially recommended to anyone interested in experiencing something truly unique. The tracks are "Mopti" (2:51), "Tonko the Zookeeper" (2:48), "Yusef's Motif" (3:05), "Raphaella" (2:34), "The Flowers" (2:06), "Dancing Girls" (3:29), "Tribecastani Traffic Jam" (2:59), "Sunda Sunday" (2:48), "Lady Dez" (3:15), "Black Ice" (4:02), "The Bottle Man" (2:45), "Otha's Blues" (3:48), "Princess Rahsaanica" (3:04), "Strange Cousin" (2:03), and "Many Mansions" (6:15). Highly recommended.

Granada Doaba
Gnawledge
Rock Paper Scissors
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
CD, $TBA www.gnawledge.com

Though available in CD form, Granada Doaba is also offered for free download by its creators Gnawledge on their website - such is their desire to share their passionate love for music! Every track reflects the blending of cultures. From a unique style of flamenco with strong Arab influences that is native to Granada, to strains of the traditional Spanish guitar, Granada Doaba draws influence from centuries of musical history. The result is a lively fusion album, promoting peace and well-being as well as the unbridled joy of music. Highly recommended. The tracks are "Flamencologia", "Bohemia Al-Andalus","La Senda del Abuelo", "Nunca Fui a Granada", "No Te Rebeles (Seguiriya)", "Qanun Al-Tarab","Menudo Jaleo", "El Manisero de Potem Kin", "Calabazar de Sagua" "Yerbaguena", " La Lengaua del Rio", "Perro Cruzado", "Juxtapotente" and "El Arte de Escuchar".

As Time Goes By
Andrea Marcovicci
Andrea Song
c/o Miller Wright & Associates
1650 Broadway, Suite 1210, NY, NY 10019
www.marcovicci.com
AND09, $27.99, www.amazon.com

Andrea Marcovicci is a cabaret singer whose justifiable enjoys an international reputation for the quality and artistry of her performances which now span more than three decades. "As Time Goes By: The Best Of Andrea Marcovicci" truly lives up to its title as seventeen of her greatest performances are flawlessly reproduced in this memorable CD recording. Two of the performances ('Lies of Handsome Men' and 'Young at Heart') have been newly recorded, while the other fifteen (including the title piece 'As Time Goes By') are drawn from her earlier album collections. With a total running time of 64:44, "As Time Goes By" is a 'must' for her legions of fans, and will well serve to one of 'the best in the business' to a whole new generation of appreciative listeners.

Two Ones
Soliloquy Records
c/o Mixed Media
20 Lockmere Road, Cranston, RI 02910
www.mixedmediapromo.com
SOCD 2091, $15.98, www.amazon.com

In "Two Ones", jazz clarinetist Harry Skoler teams up with vibist Ed Saindon to compose and perform original jazz creations, some of which are clarient and piano duets while others are quintet productions with Matt Marvuglio on flute, Barry Smith on bass, and Bob Tamagni on drums. The music is sweet, original, superbly performed and fluidly executed. The fifteen pieces comprising this memorable CD include among the Duos: Dad's Clarinet (4:17); Song for Jessy (5:21); Life's Dreams (2:30); Two Onederful (4:41); Jenna's Voice (4:42); Joyful Sorrow (2:40); Don't Say Words (3:39); and Hope (2:52). The Quintets include: Leaves of Autumn (7:30); Alpine Sunset (4:43); Joyful Sorrow (6:41); Giorgio's Theme (7:46); Piazzolla (4:49); Silent Serenity (5:44); and the title piece, Two As One (5:25). With its flawless technical production values, this "Two Ones" is enthusiastically recommended to the attention of all jazz enthusiasts and would make an enduringly popular addition to community library CD music collections.

Tango
Vayo Raimondo
Pantaleon Records
PO Box 33792, Portland, OR 97292
The Creative Service Company (publicity)
4360 Emerald Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80918
PAN-1009, $16.99, www.amazon.com

Vayo Raimondo is one of those rarities in the world of the tango, he is an award winning artist who both writes and sings not just traditional themes, but the new tango music too. A true master of the tango musical genre, he always performs his music with acoustic instruments, even when offering his own contemporary compositions and lyrics, as well as variations from the musical structure of the tango. Now nine of his best pieces comprise "Tango", a technically flawless recording that includes La Cumparsita; Celos (Jealousy); Soledad (Loneness); Daniela; Three for Tango; Amame (Love Me); Nunca me Amo (She Never Loved Me); Dulce Engano (Sweet Deceit); and Milonga Sentimental. The vocal performance of Vayo Raimondo is supported by Miguel Pose (double bass), Julio Cobelli and Mario Nunez (guitars), Roman Raimondo (drums), Edison Bordon, Toto Damario, and Nestor Vaz (bandoneons). From one of the best and most popular musicians in the business, "Tango" is highly recommended for anyone who appreciates its emotional complexities and rhythms.

Vasen Street
Vasen
NorthSide
PO Box 7367, Minneapolis, MN 55407
c/o Rock Paper Scissors (publicity)
511 West 4th Street, Suite 2, Bloomington, IN 47404
14.95 Euro, www.noside.com www.vasen.se

Vasen Street is the hot new music album from the worldwide-popular Swedish trio Vasen, known for their catchy Swedish folk and dance themes. Reinventing centuries-old Swedish musical tradition with creative pizzaz, Vasen unique Swedish fiddle blend excites and delights. The result is especially recommended listening for anytime one needs a little extra syncretic energy - whether to perk up in the morning, stay alert while driving down the road, or work harder on the job. A vibrant, enlivening addition to public library CD collections and international music shelves. The tracks are "Rob's Polska" (3:25), "Srkaplandschottis" (2:40), "The Botanist" (3:42), "Gubben Wester (3:33), "Polska till Wik" (3:22), "Garageschottis" (3:16), "The Late Waltz" (3:33), "Asko Pasko Polska" (2:58), "Vasen Street" (3:19), "Absolute Swedish" (6:00), "Mordar Cajsas Polska" (2:43), "Hagsatra Brudmarsch" (2:56), "Lille Skutt" (2:39), "Tunggus och Lintas" (3:30), "Eklunda Polska nr 3" (2:41), and "Yoko" (5:01).


The Audiobook Shelf

Lord Valentine's Castle
Robert Silverberg, author
Stefan Rudnicki, narrator
Blackstone Audiobooks
PO Box 969, Ashland, OR 97520
9781433250620, $123.00 www.BlackstoneAudio.com 1-800-729-2665

Read by Grammy-winning audiobook producer Stefan Rudnicki, Lord Valentine's Castle is the unabridged audiobook rendition of Neubla Award-winning author Robert Silverberg's science fiction classic about a young, amnesiac apprentice juggler hired by a traveling troupe, amid a planet shared by a diversity of alien races as well as humans. With the aid of his friends, Valentine searches to regain his lost memory, his legacy, and indeed, his castle - but even when the secrets are rediscovered, one last, crucial test awaits him. With tracks every three minutes for easy bookmarking, Lord Valentine's Castle is an enthralling adventure especially recommended to listen to on long car or plane trips. 16 CDs, 19 1/2 hours.

All The Colors Of Darkness
Peter Robinson
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
C4874, $123.75, www.recordedbooks.com

Dramatically narrated by Simon Prebble, "All The Colors Of Darkness" is an Inspector Banks mystery/suspense novel by author Peter Robinson. Police Inspector Alan Banks is called upon to solve a grisly murder on the outskirts of Eastvale when the set designer for a local theater company is discovered hanging from a tree in the local forest. At first it's thought to be suicide, but when the victim's wealthy, lover is found beaten to death in his own home, it becomes quite clear that a cold blooded killer is at work. As with all of Peter Robinson's detective novels, the action comes fast, complicated, and replete with memorable characters and unexpected plot twists from beginning to end. A technically flawless recording, this complete and unabridged audio book production has 10 compact disks with a total running time of twelve hours. "All The Colors Of Darkness" is enthusiastically recommended for mystery buffs and, because of its production values and sturdy construction, all community library audio book collections.

Under The Volcano
Malcolm Lowry
Blackstone Audiobooks
PO Box 969, Ashland, OR 97520
www.BlackstoneAudio.com
9781433275029, $110.00, www.amazon.com

Superbly narrated by accomplished stage actor John Lee, "Under The Volcano" by the late Malcolm Lowry is a riveting novel of the human condition which is set in 1938 against a Mexican backdrop. A former member of the British Embassy, Geoffrey Firmin and his wife Yvonne find themselves in Quauhnahuac and trying to deal with their failing marriage which is compounded by Geoffrey's emotional malaise and Yvonne's alcoholism. Then there is Geoffrey's half-brother Hugh and childhood friend Jacques adding further complications that must be dealt with. A technically flawless, complete and unabridged, 12 CD disk, audio book edition, "Under The Volcano" has a total running time of fifteen hours. Providing a true 'theatre of the mind' listening experience, "Under The Volcano" is very highly recommended for personal and community library audio book collections.

Planet Salt Spring
Arthur Black
Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550174700, $18.95, www.amazon.com

Arthur Black is the voice of 'Basic Black', one of Canada's most popular radio shows in which he spins out stories stamped with his unmistakable wit and style. In "Planet Salt Spring" we are treated to more of his light-hearted look at his island home of Salt Spring where the grist for his home-spun tales range from watching gees and swallows on the hunt to drinking coffee in one of Salt Spring's many cafes. Sometimes thought to be Canada's equivalent of Garrison Keillor, Arthur Black is a consummate entertainer whose wit and wisdom are on full display in "Planet Salt Spring". This flawlessly produced audio CD has a total running time of 66 minutes, will serve as an excellent introduction for those new to his work, and is a 'must' for Arthur Black's legions of established fans.

On Basilisk Station
David Weber
Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781423393382, $29.99, www.amazon.com

David Weber is the gifted science fiction action/adventure writer who created the her Majesty's space navy officer Honor Harrington, a young woman assigned to command the destroyer class military ship 'Fearless'. When Honor runs afoul of certain members of the aristocracy, she and her ship are sent to Basilisk Station, a dumping ground for undesirable members of the naval military. That's where she encounters an old nemesis from cadet school -- a bully and incompetent whose own aristocratic status saved him from an even larger disgrace. Honor finds herself being set up to fail when she is put in charge of security for the station and the planet it monitors. Complicating things further is the initial hostility of her own crew, the inheritance of bad relations between former naval officers and the Basilisk Station personnel, and the gradually emerging presence of a plot by a rival space faring nation. Superbly narrated by Allyson Johnson, this flawlessly recorded, complete and unabridged, 13 disk CD set has a total running time of 15 hours, 15 minutes. "On Basilisk Station is the first volume of David Weber's Honor Harrington trilogy and will leave the listener looking eagerly toward the next two titles in their Brilliance audio book editions.

Torchwood: Lost Souls
Joseph Lidster
BBC Audiobooks America
42 Whitecap Drive, North Kingstown, RI 02852-7445
www.BBCAudiobooksAmerica.com
9781602836570, $14.95, www.amazon.com

A very successful spin off from the perennially popular British science fiction television series 'Dr. Who', the 'Torchwood' series has expanded to include full-cast, special effects enhanced audio book productions from BBC Audiobooks America that provide the listener with a true 'theatre of the mind' experience. "Torchwood: Lost Souls" features four actors (John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd, and Freema Agyeman) who reprise their television roles in a harrowing tale of invasion from another dimension thanks to experiments at CERN (the world's largest particle accelerator) in Switzerland. Fans will appreciate "Torchwood: Lost Souls" being enhanced with the inclusion of a bonus program in the form of 'behind the scenes' interviews with series creator Russell T. Davies and members of the cast and crews. A technically flawless recording with state of the art production values, "Torchwood: Lost Souls" (with a total running time of 1 hour, 15 minutes) is a very highly recommended addition to community library audio book collections -- and a 'must' for Torchwood's legions of fans.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Katherine Howe
Hyperion Books
77 West 66th St., NY, NY 10023-6298
www.hyperionbooks.com
9781401393052, $39.99, www.amazon.com

Connie Goodwin is a Harvard graduate student who needs spend her summer doing research as part of her doctoral dissertation. So it's a bit inconvenient when her mother asks her to got to Salem and handle the sale of her grandmother's abandoned home. But it's there that Connie unexpectedly finds ancient key hidden within a seventeenth-century family bible. The key contains an old, crumbling fragment of a parchment with the name Deliverance Dane written on it. This discovery compels Connie on a quest to find out who this woman was and to find a rare colonial artifact called a 'physic book' upon whose pages are recorded a lost knowledge of herbs -- and other stranger things. But things get even more complicated when Connie begins to experience visions of the old Salem witch trials and old dark secrets of the past begin to emerge. Superbly written by Katherine Howe and strongly recommended for community library audio book collections, this complete, unabridged, 11 disk, 13 hour DVD is flawlessly narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

Blue Moon: The Immortals
Alyson Noel, author
www.alysonnoel.com
Katie Schorr, narrator
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
9781427208422 $17.99 www.macmillanaudio.com 1-800-221-7945

Blue Moon: The Immortals is the unabridged audiobook presentation of the second book in Noel's widespread and popular Immortals series, a saga about love, power, and the inevitable repercussions of a (possibly) endless lifespan. As Ever gradually becomes accustomed to her powers as an immortal, her beloved Damen becomes afflicted with an inexplicable illness that threatens his memory and identity as well as his life. In search of a cure, she journeys to the mystic dimension of Summerland. There, she learns not only of the terrible history Damen has kept hidden from her, but also an ancient text that teaches her about the workings of time itself. She must make a choice - bend time itself to save her family from the accident that took their lives, or stay in the present and save Damen from certain doom! An enthralling, introspective fantasy adventure, highly recommended, even (or especially!) to those new to the Immortals series. 7 CDs, 8 hours.

Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com

Veteran narrator Joyce Bean provides a vivid story in Kay Hooper's BLOOD SINS (1423333047, $32.99), lending experience and drama to the story of young Tessa, who is the 'perfect victim' figure and recruited to play the role of a grieving widow in an FBI sting. Her entry into the guarded compound of a cult world makes for vivid drama in an audio recommended for both prior and new fans of Kay Hooper. James Hollis, Ph.D.'s WHAT MATTERS MOST: LIVING A MORE CONSIDERED LIFE (1423378385, $29.95) receives Jim Bond's reading, bringing alive an account of beliefs, values, and how to embrace growth over security. An excellent survey of leading a more meaningful life. Andrew Klavan's EMPIRE OF LIES (1423312899, $34.95) receives the author's own dramatic reading and tells of one James harrow, who must risk his sanity and his life to solve a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the country. He has only hours to decipher an ex-lover's lies in this dramatic, vivid adventure perfect for audio lending libraries. Any library strong in Biblical meaning needs the very basic James L. Kugel collection HOW TO READ THE BIBLE: A GUIDE TO SCRIPTURE, THEN AND NOW (1423365771, $44.99). Mel Foster adds a fine voice seasoned by a long acting career to this survey of recent biblical scholarship and differences of biblical interpretations between researchers. A fine survey of traditional, Bible-based faith and differences in interpretations that lead to Biblical dilemmas today. Stephen Coonts and William H. Keith's DEEP BLACK: ARCTIC GOLD (1423344057, $34.99) blends a fine narration by Phil Gigante with the story of two American intelligence operatives kidnapped while investigating Russian submarines. Dean is sent to the Arctic to rescue them - where she learns a dangerous truth about Russia and its Arctic oil. Excels in high audio drama. Daniel Silva's THE UNLIKELY SPY (1423368320, $38.99) receives Michael Page's seasoned voice as it provides a wartime novel of intrigue, lies, and an unknown spy who works against Allied battle plans for D-Day. World War II espionage at its best. Stephen J. Cannell's ON THE GRIND (1423326709, $36.99) provides a fine Shane Scully novel backed by Scott Brick's powerful, seasoned audio voice as it tells of Scully, charged with felony misconduct in a murder case, and newly resigned from his job, facing divorce. He seeks employment from a police department used to acquiring rejects and finds himself harassed and under security from his own new department. A fine, tense thriller evolves.

Penguin Audio
375 Hudson St, New York NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Veteran narrator Frank Muller provides a vivid recording - one of his last - in Stephen King's THE BREATHING METHOD (9780143143932, $19.95), telling of an exclusive membership club based on a telling of tales. When one story turns into a nightmare for all listeners, chaos emerges in this fine chilling listen for any fan of King or stories with satisfying twists and turns of plot. Also vivid is King's DESPERATION (9780143143895, $39.95), with Kathy Bates providing a fine narrative to accompany the story of a Nevada mining town patrolled by a lunatic policeman. Stephen King's THINNER (9780143143901, $39.95) receives Joe Mantegna's fine TV and stage credits which lend drama and excitement to the story of one Billy, a successful father and lawyer who is overweight, until he visits a gypsy and invokes her unusual wrath. John Sandford's WICKED PREY (9780143144526, $39.95) pairs actor Richard Ferrone's award-winning narrative voice with the story of one Lucas Davenport, whose teen daughter becomes the target for a psychotic sniper who blames Davenport for his shooting. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game evolves in this fine unabridged presentation (those who wish abridged may also enjoy Ferrone's smooth voice in an abridged version (9780143144533, $29.95). These are all outstanding audios.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, NY, NY 10017-0010
www.hachetteaudio.com

THE 4TH OF JULY, THE 5TH HORSEMAN, THE 6TH TARGET are all included in this second box set of James Patterson's 'Women's Murder Club' series, Women's Murder Club Box Set V. 2 (9781600246814, $39.98), making for a winning audio listen powered by Carolyn McCormick's film background and fine voice. From a San Francisco female police lieutenant's showdown and the disgrace of the department as a result to her association with an attorney investigating mysterious patient deaths and a crime spree involving the kidnapping of children from rich families, these are fine connected crime-solving thrillers. James Patterson's MAX (9781600244469, $22.98) receives Jill Apple's voice-over talents and background as it tells of Max and her clan, moved to Los Angeles where an assassin engages them in a battle for survival. Fans of the prior Maximum Ride will find high adventures continue in this audio. James Patterson's THE 8TH CONFESSION (9781600245404, $39.98) receives a spirited reading by Carolyn McCormick and tells of how the Women's Murder Club is tracking a killer attracted to the very rich. McCormick's reading brings to life a fine Women's Murder Club new episode - and the only this year this far. Ted Dekker's BONEMAN'S DAUGHTERS (9781600246043, $34.98) receives a fine reading by actor Robert Petkoff, who has appeared on various TV and Broadway shows, and who lends a seasoned, professional voice to the story of BoneMan, a serial killer who abducts and injures young women, and an intelligence officer who has problems with women in his own life. A riveting thriller evolves.


The DVD Shelf

Olomana Gardens Permaculture and Aquaponies
Glenn Martinez
World Class Productions
423 Kanekapolei Street, Suite 9, Honolulu, HI 96815
$24.95 www.WorldClassProductionz.com www.OlomanaGardens.com

Olomana Gardens Permaculture and Aquaponies is a DVD revealing the beauty and inner workings of Olomana Gardens, a permaculture farm meant to serve as a model of a modern, sustainable food growing system that can be applied to small-scale farms, as well as food production for residential lots. Showcasing integrated systems of animals, composting and vermicomposting, and aquaponics (a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics), Olomana Gardens is as much a beautiful tour of verdant green as it is a demonstration of practical means for future food production. A wonderful and educational viewing experience, extraordinarily timely in today's era of rising food and fuel prices, particularly recommended for public and school library DVD collections.

Half Pint: Live in Hollywood
MVD Entertainment Group
PO Box 280, Oaks, PA 19456
www.MVDb2b.com
MVDV, $16.95, www.amazon.com

Performing under the stage name Half Pint, this Jamaican singer is a master of the Reggae genre. "Half Pint: Live in Hollywood" showcases his performance as he 'rocked the crowd' at the Key Club which is located on Los Angeles' world famous Sunset Strip. His performance is backed up by the World Citizen Band as he offers an enthusiastic audience seventeen energetic pieces that include: Greetings; Mr. Land Lord; Hypocrites; Victory; cost of Living; Just Be Good; Sally; Hold On; Substitute Lover; gonna Take a Miracle; Children of His Majesty; One Big Family; Our Own Song; Level the Vibes; have Little Faith; and Crazy Girl. Of special note are the inclusion of Interviews 1 and 2. A truly impressive performance, watching "Half Pint: Live in Hollywood" at home is the next best thing to being front-row center at his live performance!

Acacia
c/o Acorn Media Group
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 620
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3403
www.acacialifestyle.com www.amazon.com

Acacia is a premier producer of healthy and 'user friendly' exercise DVDs. Three of their newest releases are particularly recommended for personal and community library DVD collections. "Weight Loss Cardio Kick" (AMP-8211, $14.99) features Violet Zaki and consists of two 20-minute segments of high-energy moves designed to trim excess fat from the human frame. Of special note is the accompanying 16-page booklet featuring creative salad recipes. The DVD format also allows for the addition of a bonus kick-boxing tutorial. "Exhale: Core Fusion Thighs & Glutes" (AMP-8189, $14.99) provides five 10-minute workouts each specifically designed to life and tone the body quickly, efficiently, and appropriately. "Yoga To The Rescue For Neck & Shoulders" (AMP-8258, $14.99) features Desiree Rumbaugh providing a 30-minute, step-by-step, visual tutorial in a gentle, 'user friendly' program to address the aches, stiffness and tension of the neck and shoulder region. Each of these highly recommended exercise videos are technically flawless recordings and welcome additions to any dedicated exercise regime be it daily or weekly in nature. Anyone seeking to build up a library of health and exercise DVDs would be well advised to visit the Acacia web site at www.AcaciaCatalog.com for a complete listing of all their available titles.

The Spy Factory
PBS Home Video
c/o SSA Public Relations
15260 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 1730, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
WG43059, $24.99, www.shopPBS.org

Produced for the Nova television series, "The Spy Factory" is a one hour documentary showcasing riveting true stories drawn from the American government's National Security Agency. Providing an exploration and explanation of this top secret agency's inner workings in terms of its technological capabilities, limitations and procedures, "The Spy Factory" addresses the pivotal question of our time: Are Americans safer today after the horrific attacks of 9/11? Revealed is the shocking disclosure that the NSA knew the identities of key 9/11 conspirators and have even tracked them on American soil for at last five years prior to the incident. All this an more presents sobering, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking revelations of what the NSA is capable of accomplishing in terms of the effectiveness of high-tech surveillance in an age of terrorism -- and how the top echelons of the Bush administration failed us all. "The Spy Factory" is a highly recommended addition to community library DVD collections, and will prove to be of intense interest for non-specialist general viewers with an interest in national security issues.

Kirov Stars: Shakespeare Dance Trilogy
V.I.E.W. Video
34 East 23rd Street, NY, NY 10010
#2221, $19.99, www.view.com

The plays of Shakespeare have always been a rich source of inspiration in the world of ballet. Now three strikingly costumed and choreographed productions have been compiled in a single outstanding DVD from V.I.E.W. Video. "Kirov Stars: Shakespeare Dance Trilogy" showcases the impressive talent of Kirov Ballet troupe in three of Shakespeare's best know dramas. the productions of 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Hamlet' are performed to the music of Tchaikovsky. 'The Moor's Pavane' is drawn from Othello and is performed to the music of Henry Purcell. In all three productions, the music is expertly performed by the State Academic Orchestra of the USSR. The set designs are superb, the talent is memorable, and the production values of flawless. Enhanced for viewers with bonus features that include Tchaikovsky's biography, and a total running time of seventy minutes, "Kirov Stars: Shakespeare Dance Trilogy" is very highly recommended viewing for ballet enthusiasts and an enduring popular addition to community library DVD collections.

Gooby
Monterey Media Inc.
566 St. Charles Drive
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-3901
www.montereymedia.com www.thegoodbymovie.com
#319442, $26.95, www.amazon.com

When Willie and his parents move into a new house the youngster is convinced that the place fairly lurks with evil aliens from outer space who are going to do him harm. Willie wants desperately for someone to save him. That's when Gooby shows up. A big, loveable, scruffy creature (who may just be as frightened of the world as Willie is of space aliens) to provide comfort and companionship to a beleaguered young boy. "Gooby" is a fully featured theatrical production starring Matthew Knight as Willie and Robbie Coltrane as the voice of Gooby. This flawless DVD edition of a thoroughly entertaining family movie has a total running time of 99 minutes and is very highly recommended as an enduringly popular addition to community library DVD collections.

Soapmaking
Sharyn Pak
On Air Video
onairvideo@mac.com
DVD, $16.95, www.onairvideo.com

Now anyone can make wonderfully smelling, beautifully configured, superbly textured decorated soaps in the comfort of their own home just by following the 'user friendly' instructions and examples that comprise Sharyn Pak's new 'how to' video "Soapmaking: Easy Melt And Pour Creations". This 112 minute, full color, full frame DVD provides step-by-step demonstrations of the 'melt and pour' method of making soaps that can be created from beginning to end in less than an hour. the processes taught are the easiest and safest soap making techniques ever -- and the only limits to creativity are the mind's imagination. The tools required are common to every household beginning with a microwave oven, a measuring cup, a knife, and a small kitchen scale. Host Sharyn Pak provides a running commentary replete with tips, tricks and techniques that will result in truly impressive made-it-yourself soaps to grace any bathroom and make unique gift giving for any and all occasions. "Soapmaking" is recommended for do-it-yourself craft and hobby enthusiasts, and would make an enduringly popular addition to community library DVD collections.

Armchair Thriller
Acorn Media Group
8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 620, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3403
www.acornmedia.com
AMP-8278, $59.99, www.amazon.com

It's no secret that British television produces some of the finest mystery/suspense entertainment in the world. Case in point -- "Armchair Thriller", originally aired in the United States as part of the PBS 'Mystery!' television series. Showcasing four mystery stories ('Dying Day'; 'The Limbo Connection'; 'Rachel in Danger'; and 'The Victim'), "Armchair Thriller" offers truly flawless productions and has a total running time of 487 minutes. Replete with memorable characters, set designs, and BBC's usual high standards of performances, "Armchair Thriller" truly lives up to its title and is enthusiastically recommended to the attention of mystery buffs, and will make very welcome and popular addition to community library DVD collections.

Inside The Koran
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
FRF 913799D, $24.95, www.firstrunfeatures.com

Prior to the tragic events of 9/11, most Americans had only the vaguest impression of Islam, principally gleaned from Hollywood films and literary novels involving the Crusades. For most Americans, all they knew was that Islam was started by a man named Mohammad and that its sacred book was called the Koran. With the attacks on American soil by Muslims who took as their ethical mandate the Islamic religion to do so, Americans viewed Islam to be intrinsically hostile to American cultural values. Even the American president George W. Bush was ignorant of the various divisions within the Islamic religion and view the diverse Muslim world as monolithic. The result was the continuing international tragedy we are still dealing with some eight years later. That's why "Inside The Koran: A Journey Into The Heart Of Islam", a film by Anthony Thomas and now available in a DVD format from First Run Features is such a vitally important addition to every community and school library collection, it is critically important viewing for every American citizen wanting accurate, descriptive, insightful information on one of the most important religious texts in the world today. "Inside The Koran" will also provide information and insight into the diversity of the Muslim world of ayatollahs, grand imams, mosques, and the lives of ordinary Muslims.

Crystal Productions
PO Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025-6159
www.crystalproductions.com

Crystal Productions is a premier producer of instructional and educational DVDs in the field of the do-it-yourself instructionals and crafts including art, photography, and more. Five of their latest DVDs are especially recommended for personal, family, school and library collections. The first two are by artist Peggy Flores and include "Junk Sculpture" (9781562906177, $29.95, 24 minutes), on making art out of cast-off materials such as discarded boxes, paper tubes, plastic bottles, egg cartons, and more, to make animals and other figures. In "Making Books" (9781562906191, $29.95, 25 minutes) Peggy shows how to custom make books that include a simple stitch binding, as well as pop-up books, accordion books, scrap books, notebooks, and diaries. Two new informed and informative art appreciation titles from Crystal Productions include "In Plain Sight: Public Art in the City" (9781562906238, $29.95) which explores the history from cave paintings to Santa Barbara, California's Herbert Bayer Chromatic Gate, and "Outsider Art: Mosaic Murals" (9781562906221, $29.95), showcasing the work of Isaiah Zager and his unique murals in Philadelphia. "Digital Digest Photography" (9781562906214, $29.95) covers every aspect of the digital photography process including cameras, f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO selection, exposure, batteries, white balance and more. Individuals, classroom teachers, and librarians seeking to build up their art history and instruction collections would be well advised to visit the Crystal Productions web site for a complete listing of their superbly produced instructional and educational DVDs for art students and crafts enthusiasts.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Social Thoughts of Thomas Merton
David W. Givey
Saint Mary's Press
702 Terrace Heights, Winona, MN 55987-1318
9781599820170, $15.95, www.college.smp.org

There are certain individuals whose work is studied for decades to come, and Thomas Merton is one of those people. "The Social Thoughts of Thomas Merton: The Way of Nonviolence and Peace for the Future" presents the thoughts of a Catholic man who embraced the ways of peace and Zen and presented an enlightened version of Catholicism. Merton's teachings and thoughts form much of what many Catholic leaders today, and "The Social Thoughts of Thomas Merton" is a must read for any Catholic theologian or philosopher.

Mary's Hours
Penelope Duckworth
Morehouse Publishing
4775 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112
9780819223425, $20.00, www.amazon.com

A week of prayer can do much for one's soul. "Mary's Hours: Daily Prayers with the Mother of God" is a collection of prayers focused on the Virgin Mary, hoping to give readers a guide to strengthen their bond with God and Mary. Mary had great impact on the life of Jesus, and author Reverend Penelope Duckworth does well in showing so in these poetic prayers to read by oneself or for the sake of others. "Mary's Hours" is a fine choice for Christians looking to strengthen their bonds with their faith.

Pope Benedict XVI
Thomas P. Rausch
Paulist Press
997 MacArthur Blvd., Mahwah, NJ 07430
9780809105564, $22.95, www.paulistpress.com

Popes are like political figures - during their time, they try to advance their goals for the good of their followers. "Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to His Theological Vision" tells the story and views of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man who rose to power and became Pope Benedict XVI after the death of John Paul II. His views are unique and in some cases gel with a changing world, but in others continue to clash. "Pope Benedict XVI" is a fine and informative read about one of the key and vital figures in modern Catholicism.

Bible Answers 101
Bruce Bickel & Stan Jantz
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, OR 97402-9173
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
9780736925259, $13.99, www.amazon.com

The Bible is a big book and filled with metaphor, so it may be hard to understand at times. "Bible Answers 101: A User-Friendly Guide to Life's Biggest Questions" looks at many common questions that are asked by many Christians about the Bible. God's divine plan, the definition of a sin, the nature of the afterlife, and many more topics are addressed in plain terms. "Bible Answers 101" is a top pick for Christians who are looking to better understand the Holy Bible.

The Burning Bush
Sergius Bulgakov
WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Dr, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
9780802845740, $28.00, www.eerdmans.com

The mother of God has had very different depictions throughout the many branches of Christianity. "The Burning Bush" is a scholarly exploration of the Virgin Mary and what she means to the Russian Orthodox Church, where she more often referred to as Mary the Mother of God. Although similar in concept and veneration of the figure, the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church worship very differently, and author Sergius Bulgakov does well in explaining this branch of Christianity that is foreign to many readers. "The Burning Bush" is a very much recommended read for any who want to better understand the wider scope of Christianity.

Christ and the Judgment of God, second edition
Stephen H. Travis
Hendrickson Publishers
1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
9781598563382, $24.95, www.hendrickson.com

The God of the Old Testament was one of massive power and vengeance, but what of the God of the New Testament? "Christ and the Judgment of God: The Limits of Divine Retribution in New Testament Thought" discusses the wrath of God when it pertains to the books of the New Testament and the arrival of Jesus Christ. Intellectual and scholarly, "Christ and the Judgment of God" carries much to think about, and gives readers insights that can't be found elsewhere. Now in an updated second edition, "Christ and the Judgment of God" is a strong recommendation for any Biblical scholar, be they professional or amateur.

Universal Truth
Lawrence R. Farley
Conciliar Press Ministries
PO Box 76, Ben Lomond, CA 95005-0076
9781888212600, $15.95, www.conciliarmedia.com

How did early Christians get their message across to the masses? "Universal Truth: The Catholic Epistles of James, Peter, Jude and John" is a collection of the famed epistles, or letters, from four of Jesus's best known apostles. Granting a picture of early Christianity and how these individuals spread their message, and how they debated theology years after Jesus's resurrection, "Universal Truth" is an intriguing exploration of Christianity and its beginnings.

Constructing a Saint Through Images
James P. M. Walsh, translator
Saint Joseph's University Press
5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131-1395
0916101584, $40.00, www.sjupress.com

Ignatius of Loyola was one of the key figures of the Catholic church, honored in 1609 with a collection of images celebrating his life and work. "Constructing a Saint Through Images: The 1609 Illustrated Biography of Ignatius of Loyola" Shown here for American readers is the illustrated biography of man fully translated and explained for English speakers. Each image contains the original image in black and white, as the opposite page translates the words of the image to grant understanding to the reader. A way of learning of a man through contemporary works, "Constructing a Saint Through Images" is highly recommended.

They Are Us
Stephen Bouman & Ralston Deffenbaugh
Augsburg Fortress
PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440
9780806657639, $14.99, www.augsburgfortress.org

Love thy neighbor is a commonly trumpeted virtue of Christianity, and "They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration" echoes this sentiment. Authors Stephen Bouman & Ralston Deffenbaugh explains this viewpoint in regards to immigration calling for Lutherans to take these lost souls under their wing and help them to the best of their power, stating that charity and generosity is the Christian way of life. "They Are Us" is a different and optimistic look at immigration, and a must read for Lutherans.

The Doctrines of Grace
James Montgomery Boice & Philip Graham Ryken
Crossway
c/o Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187
9781581342994, $17.99, www.crossway.com

There are many who have lost the way despite calling themselves Christians. "The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel" is a criticism of modern Christianity and how it has apparently lost its path in life, untrue to the original faith. Saying that Evangelicalism needs to abandon this casual faith and encourage Christians to return to their faith's roots, two pastors speak on modern Christianity, where it's heading, and what can be done. A must for those concerned for their faith, "The Doctrines of Grace" is recommended.

The Evangelical Movement In Ethiopia
Tibebe Eshete
Baylor University Press
One Bear Place, #97363, Waco, TX 76798
www.baylorpress.com
9781602580022, $54.95, www.amazon.com

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries on the African continent. Over the past several decades it has been ravaged by wars, famines, and epidemic disease. It has also been home to the Ethiopian Christian church whose members have been active participants in both the events of the day and in trying to expand their communities of faith even in the face of considerable hardships. This evangelical movement is not something imported from abroad, but has arisen from the ranks of the native Ethiopians themselves. That is the fundamental message of Tibebe Eshete's 480-page history and commentary "The Evangelical Movement In Ethiopia: Resistance And Resilience". Providing an informed and informative historical overview, "The Evangelical Movement In Ethiopia" begins with the first emergence of the Ethiopian Orthodox church from its earliest movement down to the present day. A native Ethiopian, Eshete then covers the first three centuries of the Evangelical Church including the war years, the restoration, and the renewed missionary work. The next major section is dedicated to the Pentecostal Church. The final major section covers the Ethiopian revolution including early church-state relations under Communist rule, responses of the southern evangelical church to persecution, the 'underground' Christian movement within Ethiopian society, and more. A seminal work of outstanding scholarship, "The Evangelical Movement In Ethiopia" is a core and strongly recommended addition to academic library Christian history reference collections in general, and African Christian Studies supplemental reading lists in particular.

From Jay-Z to Jesus
Benjamin Stephens III and Ralph C. Watkins
Judson Press
PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
9780817015459, $15.00 www.judsonpress.com 1-800-458-3766

Written by West Angeles Church of God in Christ pastor Benjamin Stephens III, MDIV, and assistant dean of African-American Church Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary Ralph C. Watkins, From Jay-Z to Jesus: Reaching & Teaching Young Adults in the Black Church is an invaluable reference, guide, and resource to church leaders with regard to reaching out to young people ages 18 to 39. From a discussion of the developmental phases of young adults, to successful models for young adult ministry, how to preach effectively to young adults, and why the future of the church itself lies in the hearts of young people, From Jay-Z to Jesus is broad-ranging in scope with a firm focus on matters both practical and spiritual. "Questions to Consider" follow up each chapter. A "must-have" for church leaders - though written especially for leaders of predominantly African-American churches, From Jay-Z to Jesus is packed with practical advice useful to Christian leaders everywhere. "Real success as a Christian leader is developing a movement that can be sustained after God has called you to other levels of service. One of the most difficult tasks for a leader is prioritizing the time to develop a person or group of people who will replace you. In the midst of developing relationships, being creative, negotiating faith, and maintaining zeal, attention is easily removed from the necessity to prepare for the future. The easiest decision for a Christian leader is to avoid the complication of developing other leaders by managing all the responsibility on your own. By doing this, however, you set up your ministry for abrupt and devastating failure."

Purpose-Filled Presentations
Tony Jeary
Standard Publishing
8805 Governors Hill Dr., Ste. 400, Cincinnati, OH 45249
9780784723142, $14.99 www.standardpub.com

Written by expert presenter Tony Jeary, Purpose-Filled Presentations: How any Christian Can Communicate More Effectively to Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere embodies its title with straightforward guidelines to increase one's confidence and communicate effectively. Written especially for Christians, Purpose-Filled Presentations is particularly ideal for church volunteers and leaders. Chapters address how to lead and empower small groups, maximizing teaching opportunities, interact positively with the media, and much more. Featuring a seven-step process to improve one's presentations in general, Purpose-Filled Presentations is an excellent guide especially recommended for church libraries.

The Complete Guide to Bible Translations
Ron Rhodes
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon 97402-9173
9780736925464, $13.99 www.harvesthousepublishers.com 1-800-547-8979

Biblical scholar Ron Rhodes presents The Complete Guide to Bible Translations, a straightforward, easy-to-follow guide that literally lives up to its title. Chapters help the reader choose which English translation of the Bible best suits their needs, summarize the most prominent theories of translation (such as word-for-word versus phrase-for-phrase translation), examines the ongoing debate about gender-inclusive language, and most importantly, compares and contrasts the eighteen English translations of the bible from the King James Version to the New Living Translation. The analysis of each translation includes the history of its origin, its intended readership, advantages and disadvantages, and how it matches up to other translations when put side-by-side. An absolute "must-have" for church libraries and any individual of any background interested in a serious study of the Holy Bible - since before one begins to study, one needs to determine which translation one is using and how this choice affects the sacred text!

Tears of God
Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R.
Ignatius Press
PO Box 1339, Fort Collins, CO 80522
9781586172893, $10.95 www.ignatius.com 1-800-651-1531

Spiritual director and psychologist Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel presents Tears of God: Persevering in the Face of Great Sorrow or Catastrophe, a guide for Christians to surviving and coping with times of great distress or loss. Offering prayers most suitable for weathering one's darkest hour, Tears of God looks to Christ's suffering and martyrdom as a source of wisdom and inspiration to all His followers. Amid terrible suffering, Christians are well served to remember Christ's ordeal on the cross, a powerful perspective and truth that no other religious faith can present. A deeply moving work of insurmountable faith, Tears of God is as profound as it is powerful.

Leaders Who Last
Margaret J. Marcuson
Seabury Books
445 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9781596270954, $20.00, www.seaburybooks.com

It's one thing to lead. It's another to keep that leadership going with loyal followers. "Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry" is a guide to crafting Church leadership that is sustainable and doesn't invite burnout. Dividing the many problems that face church leaders and ultimately bring them panic and confusion, author Margaret J. Marcuson offers many tips that will keep leaders spiritual and ready for the next challenges. "Leaders Who Last" is a must for the church leader who wants their position to be more than short term.


The Photography Shelf

Truckers
Mary Richardson
Mark Batty Publisher
36 West 37th Street, Suite 409, New York, NY 10018
9780979966682, $32.95, www.markbattypublisher.com

They are the unsung heroes of American commerce, hauling goods across the country coast to coast. "Truckers" is a collection of photography, both color and black and white, focusing on the people who deliver many of the goods and services of America. Offering insights into the lives of these lone drivers who spend much of their time on the road, far away from their families, "Truckers" is an intriguing and poignant look into the trucking industry and the people who dedicate their lives to it.

The 50 Greatest Photo Opportunities in New York City
Amadou Diallo
Course Technology Cengage Learning
25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210
Gulotta Communications (publicity)
341 Lexington Street, Newton, MA 02466
9781598637991, $29.99, www.courseptr.com

There are few cities more photogenic than New York. "The 50 Greatest Photo Opportunities in New York City" is a guide for the photo taker who plans on visiting the Big Apple with camera in hand. Pointing out the most captivating views one can find throughout the city, from pieces of natural beauty to gorgeous skylines, author Amadou Diallo has created the perfect companion to more traditional travel guides. "The 50 Greatest Photo Opportunities in New York City" is a must for New York City tourists who value photography as their hobby.

Night Shift
Lynn Saville
Monacelli Press
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9781580932196, $45.00 www.atrandom.com

Lynn Saville's photos capture New York during its transition time from daylight to night, when twilight lights up its structures, advertisements, and features and natural light gives way to artificial lighting. The result is eye-catching, disturbingly different angles and perspectives offering a unique New York landscape in a collection highly recommended for any library strong in contemporary photography works.

Canon EOS Rebel XS/1000D Digital SLR Photography
David D. Busch
Course Technology
20 Channel Center St., Boston, MA 02210
159863903X, $29.99 www.courseptr.com

Owners of the digital Canon EOS Rebel will appreciate an in-depth survey of one of the most advanced entry-level cameras Canon has ever made. From choosing lenses and electronic flash options to selecting shutter speeds, using Live View, and troubleshooting tips, this is the owner's manual that should have been in the box, and is a top pick for any Canon owner.

The Hot Shoe Diaries
Joe McNally
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321580141, $39.99 www.newriders.com

THE HOT SHOE DIARIES: BIG LIGHT FROM SMALL FLASHES tells how to control, shape and create results from light, and comes form the author's thirty years working for National Geographic, Time, Life and other big-name publications noted for their exceptional images. Here Joe McNally shares his tips for lighting in all situations using Nikon Speedlights, and provides fine keys to using these small flashes to maximum effect. Any library catering to photographers needs this.

Granite, Water, and Light
Mike Osborne
Heyday Books
PO Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709
www.heydaybooks.com
9781597140997, $12.95, www.amazon.com

For its sheer wild and natural beauty, there are few places within the confines of the United States that can match that of Yosemite. This is particularly true of its many spectacular waterfalls -- such as those beautifully documented and described in Mike Osborne's 64-page coffee table compendium "Granite, Water, and Light: the Waterfalls Of Yosemite Valley". Beautifully photographed images of the many falls that simple cascade down from the tops of towering cliffs, Yosemite Valley's elegant waterfalls are gazed upon with awe and appreciation by millions of annual visitors. More than a simple collection of elegant photographs, "Granite, Water, and Light" also provides the reader with information commentary on the geological structures of these waterfalls, as well as where and when to view them. Highly recommended and pleasurable reading, "Granite, Water, and Light" is perfect for the armchair traveler and the next best thing to being there!

Historic Photos Of Broadway
Leonard Jacobs
Turner Publishing Company
200 - 4th Avenue North, Suite 950, Nashville, TN 37219
www.turnerpublishing.com
9781596523623, $39.95, www.amazon.com

The New York City theatrical district popularly known as Broadway had its pre-Civil War origins in the 1850s and continues to be considered the 'Mecca' of live theater to this very day. "Historic Photos Of Broadway: New York Theater, 1850-1970" is a photographic 'biography' of the theaters, performers, directors, producers, and theatrical productions replete with images obtained from the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the new York Public Library for the Performing Arts. With an informed and informative text (including photograph captioning) by Leonard Jacobs, "Historic Photos Of Broadway" offers a fascinating history of an icon of American popular culture and is a welcome, highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library collections.

Ruin
Brian Vanden Brink
Down East Books
PO Box 679, Camden, ME 04843
www.downeastbooks.com
9780892727933, $65.00, www.amazon.com

Brian Vanden Brink is an architectural photographer who has been taking memorable pictures of the interiors and exteriors of American buildings for almost 30 years. In "Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America", Brian has captured hauntingly beautiful images of abandoned homes, churches, mills, are storefronts. A few of the images are in black-and-white, but most of them are in color. Of special note are the photographs of such unusual subjects as the 300 foot tall chimney of a lead smelter, and the stygian depths of an Air Force plutonium storage vault. Enhanced with an informed and informative foreword by historic preservation and architecture expert Howard Mansfield, "Ruin" is a fascinating browse and a very highly recommended addition for any personal, professional, academic, or community library American Photography collection.

Ghost Ranch And The Faraway Nearby
Craig Varjabedian
University of New Mexico Press
1312 Basehart Road SE, Albuquerque NM 87106-4363
www.unmpress.com
9780826336217, $45.00, www.amazon.com

An award-winning fine arts photographer, Craig Varjabedian's work showcased in "Ghost Ranch And The Faraway Nearby" presents his collection of black-and-white photographs depicting the impressive landscapes, scenery, and vistas of the New Mexico country known as Ghost Ranch. This fascinating compendium of compelling images is further enhanced by the inclusion of an informed introduction by Jay Packer, informative essays by Marin Sardy, Belden C. Lane, Douglas A. Fairfield, and Rob Craig. Of very special note is the Afterword by none other than the legendary painter Georgia O'Keeffe. "Ghost Ranch And The Faraway Nearby" is a unique and recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library American photography collections.

Light Vision
Mohamad J. Vajed
Regent Press
2747 Regent Street, Berkeley, CA 94705
www.regentpress.net
9781587901676, $27.00, www.amazon.com

Black-and-white photography, when created by a skilled photographer like Irianian-born Mohamad J. Vajed, can and does rise to the level of fine art as evidence by "Light Vision: A Book of Black and White Photographs" which elegantly showcases his work of the past several years. The images are derived from such diverse subjects as plans and flowers, portraits, and studies of industrial forms. What elevates the mundane and ordinary to the memorable and extraordinary is Vajed's utilization of light and shadow. the result is a 120-page volume presenting 45 gelatin silver prints produced in a laser Fultone (Duotone) process and printed on 60lb Century Gloss Book paper. The result is a very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Contemporary Photographic Art collections.

Eddie Adams: Vietnam
Alyssa Adams, editor
Umbrage Editions
111 Front Street, Suite 208, Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.umbragebooks.com
9781884167966, $50.00, www.amazon.com

An award winning professional photojournalist, Eddie Adams was assigned to the Vietnam War where he took photographs that documented the brutalities and hardships of that horrific conflict. It was Adams who took the iconic photograph of the execution of a Vietcong prisoner by the national police chief of South Vietnam, firing a bullet into the head of a man standing an arm's length away on a Saigon street. Now a tour-de-force of Adams's work as a photojournalist has been expertly compiled and deftly edited by Alyssa Adams in "Eddie Adams: Vietnam", a 240-page memorial consisting of 200 black-and-white photographs that graphical portray detailed images from the urban and rural battlefields of Vietnam. Of special note are the succinct commentaries on Eddie Adams' work as a photojournalist from his fellow journalists ranging from Peter Arnett, David Halberstam, Tom Brokwa, and Tom Curley, to George Esper, Kerry Kennedy, David Kennerly, Morley Safer, and Bob Schieffer. "Eddie Adams: Vietnam" is a fitting tribute both to the man who photographed the conflict that was to alter America in ways that are still reverberating in American political culture to this very day.


The Human Sexuality Shelf

Masters of Sex
Thomas Maier
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Publishing Group
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
9780465003075, $27.50 www.basicbooks.com

Masters and Johnson's experiments wrote the book on human sexuality, serving as foundation for many. This history of their works shows how they began their sexuality studies in a small Midwest laboratory, working with prostitutes and volunteers who performed more than 10,000 sexual acts for science. The nature of their experiments, their marital conflicts that evolved as their studies received acclaim, and actual interviews with two notoriously private researchers makes for an outstanding presentation highly recommended for any health or general lending library.

How Sex Works
Dr. Sharon Moalem
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022
9780061479656, $26.99 www.harpercollins.com

HOW SEX WORKS: WHY WE LOOK, SMELL, TASTE, FEEL, AND ACT THE WAY WE DO comes packed with a satisfying blend of anecdotes and insights into myths and scientific revolutions alike and provides a fine historical survey of medical research into sex. From how male virility is fueled by competition to why being in love encourages fidelity, chapters survey the excitement, idea and reality of sex in a lively manner perfect for both health and general-interest libraries.

The Soulmate Secret
Arielle Ford
HarperOne
c/o HarperCollins
10 E 53rd St., New York NY 10022
9780061692376, $23.99 www.harperone.com

THE SOULMATE SECRET: MANIFEST THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE WITH THE LAW OF ATTRACTION offers an inspiring guide to attracting lasting love into your life - a partner who will love, cherish and adore you. THE SOULMATE SECRET shows how to use the Law of Attraction to find a true love partner, using an ancient formula and series of processes and techniques. An outstanding survey evolves.

Don't Blame It on Rio
Jewel Woods and Karen Hunter
Grand Central Publishing
237 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
0446178063, $23.99 www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

DON'T BLAME IT ON RIO: THE REAL DEAL BEHIND WHY MEN GO TO BRAZIL FOR SEX investigates why Brazil is the destination of choice for black professional men seeking sex and freedom they say is impossible with black women in the U.S. The trend holds results for thousands of women caught in clandestine double lives of men who go to Rio "on business" and to engage in risky sexual liaisons. Interviews, statistics, and often fifteen years of study of the behavior of black men lends to a powerful study.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Pieced Applique: More Blocks & Projects
Penny Haren
Landauer Publishing
3100 NW 101st St., Urbandale, IA 50322
9780980068849, $27.95 www.landuaercorp.com

PENNY HAREN'S PIECED APPLIQUE is the second in the series of Pieced Applique block and project books and packs in new techniques, blocks which can be completed in less than an hour, points and curves, and more. There are quick practice projects, blocks that can be easily hand appliqued, and more in an outstanding new title highly recommended.

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

Kim Brackett's SCRAP-BASKET SURPRISES: 18 QUILTS FROM 2 1/2" STRIPS (9781564778901, $24.99) provides projects which can be used from a stash or precut Jelly Rolls, featuring easy triangle-free piecing in a range of fabrics for all quilting skills levels. Sidebars of information accompany color photos and patterns for quick and easy use. Perfect for any library strong in quilting options. Debby Kratovil's SUPERSIZE 'EM: 22 QUILTS FROM OVERSIZED BLOCKS (9781564778734, $27.99) is a pick for any quilter's library, offering tips on how to use oversized big blocks to maximum effort for projects from lap-sized to bed-sized quilts. From piecing and easy applique to making table runners and other offshoots from the same pattern, it's packed with winning, easy guides and color photos throughout.

Quilting UFOs with Helen's Hints
Helen Squire
American Quilter's Society
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
9781574329704, $24.95 www.americanquilter.com

A four-question formula allows quilters to focus on quilting choices needed for all unfinished projects and offers over 100 original patterns in full-size options with 45 illustrated examples of borders, blocks, strips and more. 17 chapters offer easy reference on fabric choices, marking techniques and more in an oversized presentation perfect for active quilters with puzzling projects at a standstill.

Knitting in the Sun
Kristi Porter
John Wiley
111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030
9780470416662, $22.99 www.wiley.com

Over 30 projects designed to knit and wear in warm weather offers knitters sleeveless tops, short-sleeved and lightweight clothing, and summer light cardigans plus accessories. Patterns offer fun contemporary designs and color photos embellish step-by-step directions in a pick perfect for any knitting library, especially those seeking lighter summer projects.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl
Karen Burns
Running Press
2300 Chestnut St, Philadelphia PA 19103
9780762433483, $14.95 www.runningpress.com

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF WORKING GIRL: REAL-LIFE CAREER ADVICE YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE comes from Working Girl, who has had 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities and four countries - and only got fired from one of the jobs. Her extensive background lends to a set of job survival tips presented in highlighted blocks and with accompanying fun cartoon figures. Perfect for high school collections and college libraries catering to new workers, as well as any general lending library.

Becoming an Interior Designer, second edition
Christine M. Piotrowski, FASID, IIDA
Wiley-Blackwell
10475 Crosspoint Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
9780470114230, $39.95 www.wiley.com

This latest, updated guide to becoming an interior designer offers tips from a range of practitioners and educators about the professional requirements and business of interior design. This is in the form of various interviews synthesizing the advice of design experts. Sidebars of information, discussions of specific design challenges from hospitality design to other specialties, job challenges in the industry, and more are accompanied by insider's specifics to make for a 'must' for any business or career collection.


The Sports Shelf

Triathlon 101, second edition
John Mora
Human Kinetics
Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736079440, $18.95 www.hkusa.com

The second updated edition of the best-selling guide TRIATHLON 101 is a winning survey offering more updated information and tips on choosing equipment for both budget and terrain, creating your own triathlon program for different events and distances, preventing over training, and more. Packed with sample training programs and the latest equipment options, this is a pick for any library strong in sports.

Cycling Anatomy
Shannon Sovndal, MD
Human Kinetics
Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736075879, $21.95 www.hkusa.com

What does it take to maximize cycling power and speed? Over seventy proven cycling exercises come with step-by-step instructions and color anatomical illustrations of muscles in action, making this a 'must' for any performance-oriented cyclist. From modifying exercises for target muscles and goals to developing training based on individual goals, it's a 'must' for cyclists.


The Computer Shelf

Agile Web Development with Rails, third edition
Sam Rudy, Dave Thomas, David Heinemeier Hansson, et.al.
Pragmatic Programmers
sales@pragmaticprogrammer.com
1934356166, $43.95 www.pragmaticprogrammer.com

The third updated edition of Agile Web Development with Rails is a manual no Ruby library or web programmer's development collection should be without. Rails has evolved and this book has changed to match it, still offering step-by-step discussions of all application development issues and offering tips on how to blend Ajax and other web services into Ruby's mix. Rails 2 is covered in detail in this excellent programmer's guide.

Going to War
Jason Daeby
Course Technology
20 Channel Center, Boston, MA 02210
1598635662, $39.99 www.courseptr.com

GOING TO WAR: CREATING COMPUTER WAR GAMES is for any programmer or IT industry person who wants to know how to get started with game programming. It covers the basics of using the drag/drop game engine Multimedia Fusion 2 and shows how to use the interface to create a game that forms the basis of every lesson in the book, producing a working result at books end. Any game programmer or library catering to beginning computer game creators will find this inviting.

IWork '09
Josh Clark
Pogue Press
c/o O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
9780596157586, $39.99 www.oreilly.com

iWork '09: The Missing Manual provides coverage of Apple's collection of programs for creating slideshows, documents and spreadsheets, explaining how and when to use each feature and surveying everything from charts and animation to creating professional-style documents. A powerful pick for any business library where Apple computers are a key feature.

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

Eben Hewitt's JAVA SOA COOKBOOK (9780596520724, $49.99) provides programmers and collections catering to them with a fine review of SOA architecture standards, packed with Java and XML code and recipes alike. From building data models for SOA applications and real-world web services to improving reliability and working with forms, URIs, and custom bindings, this is a 'must' for any serious web programmer working with Java applications. David Pogue's IMOVIE '08 & IDVD (0596516193, $39.99) covers the basics of film technique and Mac film potentials, from editing basics to locating an audience on the Web, exporting files, distributing movies on DVDs, and more. Any library strong in video production and computer filmmaking needs this. Computer libraries will also relish Alan Beaulieu's LEARNING SQL, 2ND EDITION (9780596520830, $39.99), updated for the latest database management systems including Server 2008 and Oracle 11g. It provides self-contained lessons on key SQL techniques and shows how to create database objects, interact sets with queries, and convert data. A 'must' for any SQL programmer.

Eclipse Modeling Project
Richard C. Gronback
Addison Wesley
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321534077, $54.99 www.informit.com/aw

ECLIPSE MODELING PROJECT: ACHIEVE BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY WITH MDD AND ECLIPSE-BASED DSLS is for any Java programming library strong in domain-specific languages and software engineering guides. It covers the benefits of a model-based approach and surveys the Eclipse Modeling Project's ability to create new DSLs. An outstanding survey evolves in a technical title recommended for any advanced computer collection.

Javascript for Programmers
Paul J. Deitel and Harvey M. Deitel
Prentice Hall/PTR
c/o Pearson Education
801 East 96th Street, 3rd floor, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0137001312, $39.99 www.informit.com/ph

Programming libraries must have Javascript for Programmers, a guide to XHTML, CSS, XML and more. It applies the author's infamous live-code approach to JavaScript operations, presenting the basics in the form of over a hundred tested programs with 6,000 lines of code and detailed descriptions. RIA development is covered in detail plus there's a website with download code examples and free updated for this book online. A 'must' for any library catering to professional programmers.


The Military Shelf

A More Unbending Battle
Peter N. Nelson
Basic Civitas
c/o Perseus Publishing Group
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
9780465003174, $27.50 www.basiccivitasbooks.com

A MORE UNENDING BATTLE; THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS' STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM IN WWI AND EQUALITY AT HOME provides the powerful story of the first Afro-American regiment to fight in World War 1. Journalist Peter Nelson details the story of a troop recruited from all walks of Harlem life, which became one of most successful regiments of the war. An excellent pick for any library strong in both military history and social issues.


The Archaeology Shelf

The Ancient Southwest
David E. Stuart
University of New Mexico
MSC042820, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
9780826346384, $18.95, www.unmpress.com

The Ancient peoples of the Southwestern United States have been an endless enigma and curiosity of archeologists. "The Ancient Southwest: Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde" is a collection of columns from David E. Stuart from his work over three decades. An archeologist nearly completely dedicated to this area, Stuart's writing is heavily researched and provides very much insight for readers to enjoy on the topic. Strongly recommended for academic library Archaeology Studies reference collections, "The Ancient Southwest" is informed and information reading for non-specialist general readers curious about ancient peoples, their cultures, lifestyles, and artifacts.


The Dance Shelf

Dynamic Women Dancers
Anne Dublin
Second Story Press
20 Maud Street, Suite 401, Toronto, Suite 401, Toronto, ON, Canada M5V 2M5
9781897187562, $10.95, www.secondstorypress.ca

Dance is the one art form that has been dominated by women throughout most of its history. "Dynamic Women Dancers" looks at the art of dance throughout modern history and how it has evolved today to be more than a traditional practice. Dance can also be a form of expression that discusses serious modern issues such as domestic abuse. "Dynamic Women Dancers" builds dancing as more than just timed movements.


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Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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