Spinning Disney's World
Charles Ridgway
Intrepid Traveler
Box 531, Branford, CT 06405
1887140670, $24.95 www.intrepidtraveler.com
Charles Ridgway is a 'Disney Legend' acknowledged by the Disney Company for his four decades of service to Disney, so SPINNING DISNEY'S WORLD: MEMORIES OF A MAGIC KINGDOM PRESS AGENT is a key to understanding the Disney structure. Ridgway's ingenuity in publicizing and creating the Disney magic is revealed in chapters that cite Disney history and his major contributions. Readers need not be Disney fans to appreciate this survey: any business collection, especially those featuring public relations titles, will find SPINNING DISNEY'S WORLD holds plenty of marketing insights key to understanding Disney's attractions and public relations at its best.
Manspace
Sam Martin
Taunton Press
Box 5506, Newton, CT 06470-5506
1561588202, $24.95 www.taunton.com
ManSpace is a call to action for men: a call to build a 'personal space' outside of the usual woman-controlled home, where you can keep your stuff without fear of its being converted to a 'more useful' nursery or sewing room. MANSPACE: A PRIMAL GUIDE TO MARKING YOUR TERRITORY can be a recording studio, a workshop, or more. Men are invited to view sample houses and homes which reflect 'manspaces', from music rooms to campy man-oriented gadget-filled abodes. Samples from all types of 'manspaces' appear in full color and offer inspiration, insights and a range of options, making MANSPACE perfect for any general-interest lending collection.
Basic Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
www.basicbooks.com
Ian Stewart's WHY BEAUTY IS TRUTH: A HISTORY OF SYMMETRY (046508236X, $26.95) discusses the history and nature of the concept of symmetry, from early times to the latest physics involvement. This analysis comes from a famous mathematician who charts the discoveries and investigative processes of fellow scientists and geniuses as they developed the concept of symmetry and drew important connections between its science and nature. Any collection strong in science needs this discussion. Douglas Hofstadter's I AM A STRANGE LOOP (0465030785, $26.95) blends science with philosophy to offer an inspection of the natures of self, consciousness and the human brain. Physics as well as physiology and philosophy blend in a survey which consider how identity is created in the brain, how symbolic and physical levels feed into one another, and how and if the brain actually houses the human soul.
Raging Beauties: Confessions & Advice
Tim Wright
Conari Press
c/o Red Wheel Weiser
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
1573243108, $14.00 www.redwheelweiser.com
Witty quips and bold statements blend with 'retro' and cranky observations to create a fun women's nostalgia item perfect for gift-giving. Color images from the 50s supplement a chatty, charming set of one-liners which are pointed as they are hilarious. "Raging Beauties: Confessions & Advice" is the perfect gift choice for that independent, cranky woman who 'has everything' – and has been there/done it all.
Get It Together
Melanie Cullen with Shae Irving, J.D.
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1413305636, $21.99 www.nolo.com
Everyone has important paperwork and legal information which loved ones should have access to: GET IT TOGETHER: ORGANIZE YOUR RECORDS SO YOUR FAMILY WON'T HAVE TO appears in its second updated edition to tell how to sort important records, help your family find needed information, and how to do so with or without a computer in hand. Step-by-step descriptions of what documents will be needed, how to organize and protect them, and how to provide selected users with keys for finding them quickly make GET IT TOGETHER a top pick for any public library reference section.
Darwinian Fairytales
David Stove
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 400, New York NY 10003-1239
1594031401, $27.50 www.encounterbooks.com
DARWINIAN FAIRYTALES: SELFISH GENES, ERRORS OF HEREDITY AND OTHER FABLES OF EVOLUTION comes from a philosopher who maintains that Darwin's theory of evolution is a 'ridiculous slander'. One would anticipate that he'd be a creationist or a proponent of intelligent design, but actually David Stove is a theological skeptic whose criticism of Darwin's basic theory avoids the classic arguments to analyze particular problems, from the idea that every organism has as many descendants as it can to the idea high of child mortality rates. Certainly food for thought – and worthy of inclusion in any collection strong in Darwinian theory pro or con.
Baker Books
Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Thomas Woodward's DARWIN STRIKES BACK (0801065631, $14.99) charts a battle over the origins of life and provides a sequel to the author's award-winner DOUBTS ABOUT DARWIN, examining the struggle between science and spirituality over the origin of life. The Darwinian establishment used power to try to crush the Intelligent design Movement: chapters consider the controversies behind the popular headlines and come from an advocate of Intelligent Design.Greg Scheer's THE ART OF WORSHIP: A MUSICIAN'S GUIDE TO LEADING MODERN WORSHIP (080106709X, $15.99) offers contemporary church leaders an excellent leadership resource for modern worship, considering the struggles between traditional and modern musical taste and blending discussions of biblical principles with insights on worship methods suitable for musicians, pastors and students of ministry alike. Collections catering to this audience will find THE ART OF WORSHIP excels in including discussions of new music, the influence of new resources such as the Internet, and more.
Miniature Books
Anne C. Bromer & Julian J. Edison
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
081099299X, $40.00 www.abramsbooks.com 1-800-759-0190
Rare book dealer Anne C. Bromer teams up with scholarly bibliophile and book collector Julian I. Edison (who for more than 40 years has served as the editor of 'Miniature Book News') to present "Miniature Books: 4,000 Years Of Tiny Treasure". This is an elegantly illustrated, 216-page compendium showcasing tiny books showcased in an exhibition at The Grolier Club which, founded in 1884, is America's oldest and largest society for bibliophiles and enthusiasts in the graphic arts. Featuring more than 260 full-color photographic illustrations of miniature books (being 3 inches or smaller in size) from around the world, the examples proffered range from Shakeseare's plays, to Christian bibles, to children's books, to all manner of fiction. Some of these are gemmed, tooled, locked, illuminated, and a few are illustrated by such legendary artists as Picasso, Miro, and Gorey. A work of impressive scholarship and research by Bromer and Edison, "Miniature Books" is a bibliophile's treat and would make a superb Memorial Fund acquisition selection for academic and community library collections.
The Complete Guide to Calligraphy
Professor Ralph Cleminson, General Editor
Firefly Books
Box 1338, Ellicott Station, Buffalo NY 14205
1554071798, $35.00 www.fireflybooks.com
Any who would learn the calligraphy of both West and East will want this introductory lesson guide. It offers step-by-step instruction backed with 45 projects, color photos throughout, and contemporary applications – such as producing Latin Scripts on a stenciled t-shirt, or a birth announcement. It's these modern applications which make The Complete Guide to Calligraphy the perfect addition to any general-interest public library holding.
Miss Ann's Art
Ann Barnes
Winepress Publishing Group
1730 Railroad Street, Enumclaw, WA 98022
1579218253, $29.95 www.winepressgroup.com
"Mis Ann's Art" is an impressive compilation of paintings, stories and poems by Ann Barnes created over many years and reflecting aviation history, Christian inspiration, and family activities. The artworks are museum quality. The stories are heartfelt and engaging. The poetry is superbly crafted. The combinations laid out in the pages of "Miss Ann's Art" are thoughtful and thought-provoking, inspirational and inspiring, engaging and entertaining, and taken all together, an enduring memorial to a life carefully observed, thoughtfully reflected, expertly referenced, well observed, and fully lived. "Miss Ann's Art" is very highly recommended reading and an especially appropriate choice for community library Memorial Fund acquisitions.
Clear Blogging
Bob Walsh
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219, Berkeley, CA 94710
1590596919, $24.99 www.apress.com
A vitally important addition to highschool, university, and community library collections, "Clear Blogging: How People blogging Are Changing The World And How You Can Join Them" by software developer and blogging expert Bob Walsh is an ideal introduction for the non-specialist general reader to what blogging is, how it is done, and why ordinary people should engage in it. "Clear Blogging" is an ideal 'do-it-yourself' manual for aspiring bloggers and offers real-life examples of four successful bloggers in the form of interviews with financially successful blogger Darren Rowse, blogg marketing expert Steve Rubel, business-to-business blogging consultant Richard Edelman, and internet marketing guru Seth Godin. "Clear Blogging" is thoroughly reader friendly and user friendly. If you want to be a part of this latest development in computer-based communication, read Bob Walsh's "Clear Blogging".
Thinking Like a Terrorist
Mike German
Potomac Books Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166-2012
1597970255, $26.95 www.potomacbooksinc.com
THINKING LIKE A TERRORIST: INSIGHTS OF A FORMER FBI UNDERCOVER AGENT covers the latest war on global terror – thought the eyes of one fighting it. Mike German was a former FBI counterterrorism agent who here contends that despite all American efforts, there's a basic failure to understand the terrorists' wants and how they intend to get it. Our policies are driven by misunderstanding: THINKING LIKE A TERRORIST seeks to define and analyze the thinking of terrorism and is essential for any collection strong in terrorist studies, whether it be high school, college or public lending library.
The American Rifle
Major Townsend Whelen
Paladin Press
Gunbarrel Tech Center, 7077 Winchester Circle, Boulder, CO 80301
1581605137, $30.00 www.paladin-press.com 1-800-392-2400
"The American Rifle: A Treatise, A Text Book, And A Book Of Practical Instruction In The Use Of The Rifle" by experienced and expert rifleman Major Townsend Whelen is a complete, illustrated, 650-page, 'user friendly', and highly recommended manual of instruction in the proper use, operation, and firing of a rifle. Readers will acquire an expert understanding of how to develop the skills necessary for a solid, consistent rifle marksmanship that includes such elements as trajectory and elevation, finding the rifle's 'zero', reading the wind, and all the other fundamentals of shooting at a target, regardless of the a distance, technological changes in rifle manufacturing and ammunition design. "The American Rifle" should be considered mandatory reading for anyone seeking to become expert in the use of a rifle whether it would be for hunting, target shooting, or combat.
Jewelry Handbook
Renee Newman
International Jewelry Publications
560 West Main Street, Suite C-200, Alhambra, CA 91801
0929975383, $19.95 intljpubl@aol.com
Respected gemologist and the author of eight outstanding guides on the subject of gems and jewelry, Renee Newman combines her years of experience and expertise with a gift for writing to provide both jewelry professionals and interested non-professional general readers with an informed and informative guidebook and manual on selected just the right jewelry to match a lifestyle, a budget, and even a body type. Profusely illustrated throughout with color photography, the "Jewelry Handbook: How To Select, Wear & Care For Jewelry" lays out clear, concise, step-by-step instructions on choosing jewelry that flatters and which will endure in both value and tenure. Readers will learn how to properly decipher stamps on jewelry mounting, how to make jewelry versatile, how to care for, clean, and protect jewelry, and perhaps most importantly, how to get good value for the money invested in the purchase of jewelry. The "Jewelry Handbook" covers both the benefits and the drawbacks for various setting styles, mountings, chains and metals (including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, titanium, tungsten, and stainless steel). Before buying their next piece of jewelry, readers would be very well advised to read and rely on Renee Newman's "Jewelry Handbook".
Our Point Of View
Thomas Mark Szelog & Lee Ann Szelog
Down East Books
PO Box 679, Camden, ME 04843
0892727047, $24.95 www.downeastbooks.com 1-800-685-7962
In 1987, Thomas and Lee Szelog were two lighthouse enthusiasts who visited a series of Main shoreline beacons for their second date. Two years later (and now married) they moved into the lightkeeper's house at the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. Tom kept a journal, as did Lee. Tom is also an award-winning photographer. Drawing from those journals and Tom's gift for photography, the wrote and illustrated "Our Point Of View: Fourteen Years At A Maine Lighthouse" in which they share their experiences, excitement, and pleasures of living at a lighthouse in every season and through all manner of weather. They even celebrate the gulls, cormorants, whales, seals who turn up at their door, as well as the people meeting and marrying in the shadow of their lighthouse beacon. Simply put, "Our Point Of View" is a joy to read and a 'must' for anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to live in a lighthouse in our day and age.
Strategic Planning And Management In Public Organizations
Meshack M. Sagini
University Press of America
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
0761832394, $33.00 www.univpress.com 1-800-462-6420
"Strategic Planning And Management In Public Organizations: Behavior In Organizations" by Meshack M. Sagini (Professor of Political Science and Director of the Office of Scholarly & Scientific Research at Langston University) draws upon the case studies of four Michigan colleges to provide students, scholars, non-profit agency managers, and government agency policy makers with an empirical, comparative, in-depth analysis and approach to explaining the impact of planning on the management of any public organization, be it public or private. The research employed and succinctly laid out bear upon the relationship between the means chosen by an organization's management and the ends or results those selected means achieve (or fail to achieve) in terms of organizational goals both stated and implied. A seminal study that is notably articulate, academically impressive, quite meticulous in argument, "Strategic Planning And Management In Public Organizations" is an outstanding study that should be a part of every professional, academic, corporate, and governmental management research reference collection and supplemental studies reading list.
The Avalanche Handbook
David McClung & Peter Schaerer
The Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134-1161
0898868092, $19.95 www.mountaineersbooks.org 1-800-553-4453
Every winter we hear of people who have become the victim of an avalanche while skiing, snowmobiling, or camping in mountainous country where a landslide of snow roars down off a mountain side faster than anyone can move out of its way. Co-authored by David McClung (a professor in the Department of Geography and leader of the avalanche research group at the University of British Columbia) and Peter Schaerer (a senior research officer and head of the Avalanche Research Center of the National Research Council of Canada), "The Avalanche Handbook" is now published and available in a newly updated and expanded third edition that includes all the latest information, techniques, and research on understanding the nature of avalanches, as well as how to avoid and/or survive encounters with them. Readers will learn about the character and effects of avalanches, snow formations, snowpack analysis; the use of multiple transceivers along with other search and rescue techniques and equipment; the elements of avalanche forecasting, backcountry forecasting, and the decision-making process with respect to assessing avalanche possibilities; snow slap instability, terrain variables, skier triggering of avalanches, and the nature of avalanche motion. The informative and thoroughly 'reader friendly' text is superbly organized and nicely illustrated making "The Avalanche Handbook" essential and very strongly recommended reading for anyone venturing into mountain country in winter.
Our Market
Glenn D. Glasgow
Xlibris Corporation
International Plaza II, Suite 340, Philadelphia, PA 19113
159926921X, $20.99 www.xlibris.com
Glenn Glasgow grew up in the Virgin Islands where his mother grew and tended a garden. She, like many others, would talk to her plants as if they were people. Working as an adult in the produce department of a large chain of grocery stores, Glenn came to see that fruits and vegetables can take on a personality of their own. Writing is also a hobby of Glenn Glasgow and so he came to write about how people when setting their minds to something can accomplish anything -- especially when working together towards a common goal. That focus and unity are essential in the struggle to overcome the challenges everyone faces in the course of their daily lives. Remember his mother's garden and his experiences in the produce department, Glenn wrote "Our Market", an imaginative series of deftly conceived and written parables using pears, apples, bananas, watermelons, peanuts, grapes, and oranges to illustrate different situations that people face in meeting their goals despite their respective limitations. Also available in a hardcover edition (1599269228, $30.99), "Our Market" is original, thoughtful and thought-provoking reading that is especially recommended for dedicated parents trying to persuasively inform their children about drug addiction and other commonly encountered hazards in the world today.
The Cookbook Shelf
Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning
Gardeners and Farmers by Terre Vivante
Chelsea Green Publishing
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
1933392592, $25.00 www.chelseagreen.com
The usual book on preserving garden produce assumes boiling or freezing vegetables or fruits will take place – but Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Stage, and Lactic Fermentation uses little-known French techniques for storing and preserving edibles, is newly translated into English for American audiences, and uses less costly methods featuring locally grown, minimally refined fruits and vegetables. It's a cut above your usual 'how to preserve' title and a 'must' for collections strong in either cooking or ecological living.
Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire
Jamie Purviance
Weber-Stephen Products
c/o Sunset Books
200 East Daniels Road, Palatine, IL 60067
0376020474 $19.95 www.weber.com www.sunsetbooks.com
Journalist and author Chef Jamie Purviance has been nationally recognized as a leading expert in outdoor cooking, and WEBER'S CHARCOAL GRILLING packs in over a hundred dishes developed specifically for the charcoal grill. Over a hundred color photos pair with these recipes and cover everything from the usual red meat and marinades to desserts, offering up a wealth of grilling dishes and options. Any collection catering to outdoor entertainment or grilling will find the visual approach perfect for popular library lending.
Betty Crocker Sunday Dinner Cookbook
Deseret Books
PO Box 30178, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0178
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5773
1590387198, $24.95 www.wiley.com www.deseretbook.com 1-800-225-5945
Simply put, Betty Crocker is the most established and trusted name in cookbooks. Now some 150 elegantly presented recipes comprise the newest of the Betty Crocker cookbooks: "Betty Crocker Sunday Dinner Cookbook". It's the Sunday Dinner that is an American family's most traditional meal when and where family members and their friends gather together to enjoy the best that can be offered from what they have. Published with a concealed spiral binding that allows the pages to lay flat upon the kitchen counter or table for ease of use, and wonderfully illustrated throughout with full color photography, each of the recipes comprising this outstanding cookbook collection combines a complete list of ingredients with step-by-step instructions on their preparation into a delicious, nutritious dish that would complement a celebratory family dining occasion whether it would be held on a Sunday or any other day. From halibut-Asparagus Stir-Fry; Chili with Corn Dumplings; Stuffed Zucchini; and Crispy Baked Fish with Tropical Fruit Salsa; to Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Bake; Vegetable-Beef Soup; Baked Barbecue Chicken; and Countryside Pasta Toss, the "Betty Crocker Sunday Dinner Cookbook" is an enthusiastically and confidently recommended as a popular and 'kitchen cook friendly' addition to the family cookbook shelf.
Modern-Day Macrobiotics
Simon G. Brown
North Atlantic Books
1435 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1556436432, $19.95 www.northatlanicbooks.com 1-800-788-3123
More than just another collection of terrific recipes guaranteed to please the palate and satisfy the appetite of even the most gourmet of diners, "Modern-Day Macrobiotics: Transform Your Diet And Feed Your Mind, Body, And Spirt" also presents vitally important information about the importance and health benefits of eating whole, living foods; explains about how eating the foods that are right for the human body can actually enhance our physical and mental energy; why it is necessary to add quality, variety, and flexibility to our diets for health and enjoyment; how to design a personalized macrobiotic diet for a single day, for three months, or for the rest of our lives; as well as where and how to buy wholesome ingredients. Of special note is the advice and guidance for creating menu plans. Enhanced with almost eighty delicious, step-by-step, easy-to-prepare recipes ranging from Shoyu Soup with Carrot and Radish; to Chinese Cabbage and Sauerkraut Rolls; to Nutty Rice Pudding, "Modern-Day Macrobiotics" is very highly recommended, especially for students of nutrition, alternative medicine, and healthy family dining.
Cooking Big Game
Scott Haugen & Tiffany Haugen
Frank Amato Publications
PO Box 82112, Portland, OR 97282
1571884076, $19.95 www.amatobooks.com
Beautifully illustrated on every page with full-color photography showcasing the finished dish, "Cooking Big Game" is the collaborative effort of the husband and wife team of Scott and Tiffany Haugen. Each superbly presented recipe is complete with a comprehensive list of ingredients and clearly organized step-by-step instructions. Of special note are the little descriptive vignettes for each dish giving some background or context to the proffered recipe. There are 'kitchen cook' friendly recipes for dishes involving venison, wild pig, and bear. With a spiral-bound binding that allows for the pages to lay out flat on a kitchen counter or table, "Cooking Big Game" will prove to be a wonderful and unique addition to any personal or professional cookbook collection. Also very highly recommended by Scott Haugen are his previous cookbooks (three by himself and three with his wife) from Frank Amato Publications: "Plank Cooking" (1571883320, $19.95); "Cooking Salmon & Steelhead" (157188291X, $24.95); "Smoking Salmon & Steelhead (1571882901, $19.95);"Summer Steelhead" (1571882952, $13.95); "Recreational Dungeness Crabbing" (157188288X, $12.95); and "Egg Cures: Proven Recipes & Techniques" (1571882383, $15.00).
World Hospitality Cookbook
Erma Sider, Dan Harman, Betty Harman, editors
Evangel Publishing House
2000 Evangel Way, Nappanee, IN 46550
1928915345, $14.95 www.evangelpublishing.com 1-800-253-9315
Published with a ring-style binder that allows the pages to lay out flat on a kitchen counter or table, the "World Hospitality Cookbook" showcases a superb series of easy-to-prepare recipes that have been compiled, organized and edited by the culinary team of Erma Sider, Dan Harman, and Betty Harman. There are dishes for every part of the meal and every dining occasion including appetizers, beverages, breads, soups, salads, dressings, relishes, vegetables, meats, main dishes, and desserts. Of special note is the chapter devoted to 'Menus by Country'. The featured dishes in this highly recommended kitchen cookbook range from the Coconut Bread of Brazil; to an Avocado Dip from Argentina; to a Tamaulipeca Salad from Mexico; to an Orange Chutney from India; to Fried Cauliflower from Egypt; to Stuffed Pork Roast from Denmark; a Cornmeal Porridge from Zimbabwe; to a Chocolate Butter Cream Torte from Germany. The "World Hospitality Cookbook" clearly lives up to its title and would make a superb (and popular!) addition to any kitchen cookbook collection.
Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook
Joanne Raetz Stuttgen & Terese Allen
University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, Third Floor, Madison, WI 53711-2059
0299222748, $24.95 www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress 1-800-621-2736
The cooperative work of Midwest folklorist Joanne Raetz Stuttgen and food columnist and cookbook author Terese Allen, "Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook" is a compilation of the history, anecdotes and recipes associated with some of Wisconsin's very best small town cafes ranging from Boscobel to Glennwood City, and from Stoughton to Sturgeon Bay. The recipes are organized around the categories of Breakfast, Baked Goods, Soups, Salads, Daily Specials, Sandwiches and Burgers, Sid Dishes and Extras, Pies and Other Desserts. Now any family cook can duplicate Wisconsin's Main Street eateries with respect to menu items ranging from pies, meatloaf and fish fries, to casseroles, burgers, and blue plate specials. "Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library regional cookbook collections!
Savor The Seasons
The Junior League of Tampa
The Cookbook Marketplace
c/o FRP Books
2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
0960955658, $17.95 www.frpbooks.com 1-800-269-6839
The third volume in a truly outstanding series of cookbooks created by the members of The Junior League of Tampa, "Savor The Seasons" offers year-round seasonal menus, festive dishes, and dining traditions with a twist. Very nicely illustrated with occasional full color photography, the menus with their component recipes are organized into five major sections: 'Celebrations'; 'Openers', 'Complements', 'Centerpieces'; and 'Finished Touches'. Of special note are the concluding appendices: 'The Perfect Setting'; 'Community Projects'; 'Recipe Contributors and Testers'. "Savor The Seasons" concludes with an Index and 'Order Information'. From Crab and Brie Dip with Artichokes; Sherried Mushroom Soup; Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Brand Cream Sauce; and Skirt Steak with Chimichurri; to Bacon and Leek Quiche; Snapper on Fava Bean Puree with Fig Marsala Reduction; Stacked Turkey with Cranberry Cream Cheese, and Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Amaretto Sauce, "Savor The Seasons" offers 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes and menus appropriate for any dining occasion and that will please any palate while satisfying any appetite.
The Martini Book
Sally Ann Berk & Zeva Oelbaum
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
151 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011
1579127169, $14.95 www.amazon.com 1-800-722-7202
Profusely illustrated throughout with Zeva Oelbaums full-color photography, "The Martini Book" is a compilation of recipes and instructions for making and mixing 201 different cocktail beverages. This newly revised and significantly expanded compendium of one of America's favorite recreational drinks for adults includes directions for setting up a martini bar including the necessary ingredients and equipment. The drink recipes are organized into two sections: 'The Classics' and 'Martinis with a Twist'. concluding with a Recipe Index and an Ingredient Index, "The Martini Book" is the ideal reference for novice bartenders and a welcome, recommended addition to personal and professional reference collections. If you want to learn how to make not only the perfect martini -- but an impressive variety of them -- then "The Martini Book" is the 'user friendly' manual for you!
The Poetry Shelf
75 Poems on Retirement
Robin Chapman & Judith Strasser, editors
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House, 119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
158729527X, $19.95 www.uiowa.edu/uiowapress 1-800-621-2736
75 Poems on Retirement is an anthology of poems by a diversity of male and female writers, all ranging in age from their fifties to their eighties. Some are retired; some are contemplating retirement; all offer their unique, sometimes disconcerting, sometimes witty, sometimes thoughtful insights into this turning point of one's life. Most of the poems are free-verse and brief in length, though all have the resonating power of reflection borne from personal experience. "Open House": I work as hard as I can / to have nothing to do. // Birds climb their rich ladder / of choruses. // They have tasted the top of the tree, / but they are not staying. // The whole sky says, / Your move.
Dancing On A Slippery Floor
Jane Katims
American Literary Press
8019 Belair Road, Suite 10, Baltimore, MD 21236
1561679690, $9.95 www.americanliterarypress.com 1-800-873-2003
A member of the Board of Visitors of the English Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and co-producer of six radio series for Wisconsin Public Radio, Jane Katims now demonstrates her impressive skills as a wordsmith with "Dancing On A Slippery Floor", a very highly recommended book of poetry showcasing an undeniable talent with free verse pieces that evoke recognition and appreciation in the mind of the reader. 'Time With Louisa': We hung out in my kitchen,/her dark eyes fixed on the table/as if its wood-grain/held ridges of Brazil./Her Portuguese sounded distant/like the chirping of cicada,/remote, like the large land shape/she traced in my son's Atlas./We learned quickly/a language without words./Otherwise, her isolation/far from the floresta,/and mine/would be endless as the Amazon.
Cold Panes Of Surfaces
Chris Banks
Nightwood Editions
c/o Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
0889712220, $16.95, www.harbourpublishing.com 1-604-883-2730
"Cold Panes Of Surfaces" offers appreciative readers 96-pages of Chris Banks superbly crafted and enthusiastically recommended prose poems that take for the subject matter an impressive range of themes drawn from the Southern Ontario landscape, a fifteenth-century Japanese poet, a magician's assistant, the Muse, and all the vagaries of human relationships. 'Neighbourhood Watch': One day you come home/to a letter in your mailbox./It asks you to quietly observe/a neighbour -- a young man/who owns a brick house/across the street from you./You scan the envelope for clues/to its origins, wondering how/it came to you to bear witness/to a stranger's life. but/after scrutinizing the instructions,/you sit the whole long night/outside the poor man's house,/staring through his windows,/under the lag of moon and stars,/recording his every private act or whim,/slight ashamed to be alone/rooting through his garbage, too,/looking for the secret writ to his life,/for what it is he is hiding -- until,/empty-handed and solemn/you walk home, noticing someone/has trampled your rose bushes/and your garbage is strewn/like a banner of lies and half-truths,/across the city's shining ruin.
Cornsilk
Carol Alena Aronoff
Pelican Pond Publishing
c/o Blue Dolphin Publishing
PO Box 8, Nevada City, CA 95959-0008
1577331753, $12.95 www.bluedolphinpublishing.com 1-800-643-0765
An impressive and very highly recommended collection of poems and photographs by Hawaiian-based psychologist, academician, and writer Carol Alena Aronoff, "Cornsilk" offers a body of lyrical prose poems that, combined with an accompanying black-and-white photograph, reveal the wonder of the natural world of earth and sky, sight and sound, texture and aroma, that are so integral a part of ancient native cultures and contemporary metaphysical meditations. 'Ualena': I am the tears of joy/you weep/in the laughing/yellow rain./Your sound/rounds my tongue/in waves/of mango moonlight;/your soft drops/fall hard/on glistening rock --/tapping sweetly,/tapping sweetly./I listen/for your floating/hula rhythms/as you dance/through the drought/in my heart --/tapping sweetly,/tapping sweetly./Ualena.
Anson County Poems
Joseph Bathanti
Parkway Publishers
PO Box 3678, Boone, NC 28607
1933251115, $11.95 www.parkwaypublishers.com 1-800-821-9155
An award winning poet, Joseph Bathanti was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and now teaches Creative Writing at the Applachian State University. "Anson Country Poems" is his latest anthology and continues to document him as a an imaginative master of the prose poem who draws his inspiration from what most of us see without noticing, note without reflection, and accept without further inquiry. 'Drought': The corn chants/to be buried in early August,//It prays the land lie/fallow under merciful heaven.//Even the direst Love/in the burnt cropheart//and the blood of a boy/farmer could not save it.//There is a farmhouse surrounded/by more hell-colored corn//than one can see beyond./The cows go unfed//on the day of trucks/at the Walltown graveyard. Also very highly recommended reading for poetry enthusiasts are Joseph Bathanti's previous four collections: "Communion Partners"; "The Feast Of All Saints"; "This Metal"; and "East Liberty".
Jesse Glass was raised on a horse farm near Westminister, Maryland. He currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. His plays, poems, performance works, and fiction have been published in a wide variety of journals and anthologies over the years. "The Passion Of Phineas Gage & Selected Poems" is the latest collection of his poetry and will well serve to bring his abilities as a word smith to an appreciative readership. Glass is perhaps best known for his experimental writing and insights into human nature. This new compilation of his writings will continue to document his unique approach to the written word that includes the deft use of such postmodernism tools and poetic forms as collaging, fragmentation, and 'Oulipo-like' processes. The limitations of this review format cannot hope to do justice to Glass' imaginative layouts and framing of words-on-the-page. "The Passion Of Phineas Gage & Selected Poems" collection of Jesse Glass' work is most especially recommended to the attention of avant-garde poetry enthusiasts. Two other volumes of poetry from Ahadada Books are also highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library poetry collections: Jerome Rothenberg's "China Notes & The Treasures Of Dunhuang" (0973223391, $12.95) and Jim Daniels' "Now Showing" (0978141415, $10.00).
The Resurrection Trade
Leslie Adrienne Miller
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, Saint Paul, MN 55114
1555974635, $14.00 www.graywolfpress.org 1-651-641-0077
Leslie Adrienne Miller is an instructor at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota and an accomplished poetry with four previously published volumes of her work documented her ability and talent. "The Resurrection Trade" is her fifth and newest collection with a deftly scripted theme of delving into women's lives to understand the objectification of the female -- past and present -- through the deft use of lyrical and engaging free verse. 'Anatomy at the Dinner Table': Vesalius advises us to notice as we pluck/at table the cooked meat from the neck/of a calf, piglet or kid, the yellow ligament/so tough it's offered only to dogs./The only ligament in the body unfit/for human consumption, it is offered/he says, in Brussels to young girls/because its pale yellow color is not/unlike the color they desire in their hair,/and the ligament itself diffuses its fine/strains into other parts of the body./Not unusual then, to recommend/that one eat what one desires to wear/in the flesh, Beauty, we suppose,/being its own invitations to a meal.
The Geometry Of Loneliness
Lee Passarella
David Robert Books
PO Box 541106, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1106
1933456396, $17.00 www.davidrobertbooks.com
Academician, writer, literary editor, and an award winning poet, Lee Passarella is a master of the prose poem and able to create word images that impact on both the imagination and the emotions of his reader. Enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone who appreciates well-crafted examples of lyrical prose that evokes images as effective as they are unexpected, "The Geometry Of Loneliness" will prove to be a very rewarding read. 'Auto-da-fe': Cruel as the grave/you said of jealousy/that night you were even crueler,/when I came to you still/in the winding sheet. And you,/bringing resurrection like a trial,/like the fireball Jesus rides on/in the Bruenwald Resurrection:/you ask more of the faithful/than any god would ask,/a savior/like an inquisition, a Christ of napalm,/killing villages to save them,/and I your converted jew,/your reclaimed good.
Shouldering Zero
S. Beth Bishop
Custom Words
PO Box 541106, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1106
1933456485, $17.00 www.custom-words.com
Collectively, the poetry by Beth Bishop as compiled in "Shouldering Zero" map out the landscapes of the human heart and mind as she deftly explores through a lyrical poetic license a diversity of subjects, themes, and issues. 'Say Something: Attinni stylo': Between lovers' talk, the threat of dry tongue space/clicks and cleaves, heaves spittle, leaves a gap./St. Simeon, say! You Stylites might have guessed/that sainthood's built, as Babel was: ground-up.//Or that cubits more of pillar can amplify/only the eye, leaving the voice to Doppler's mercy/and distance. A word might serve as a bridge or prize/our hills apart. A thought could be lightning and we//mere lightning rods. God! Thirty-seven years/on pillars! It's a living good for one dead saint. No two/alike, saints or snowflakes, both brushed as hair/from the mountains. One settles cold, another shoots//away, like a curl, from the high, bald ridge./Oh, speak me a scissor; I'm freezing white on this ledge.
The Underflower
Jay Snodgrass
Cherry Grove Collections
PO Box 541106, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1106
1933456647, $17.00 www.cherry-grove.com
The poetic talents of Jay Snodgrass are clearly documented in this highly recommended collection of his work that aptly displays his unique and distinctive visions concerning the relationships between the mundane and the spiritual. 'Crawling Growth': Sealed like a love letter/And visibly desperate, you may not/Leave this place, Insect-Sun, in an envelope,/Nor scorn the gifts/Of my higher head, its/Murky sewer laser-beamed/With love and strewn with chewed up/Carnations. These exposed crocus beds/Are a rhizomatic perversion,/The grass handlers gift of/Heavy ropes and highway:/I only hear this now/Because of the infiltrating breeze's/Turned-down gift of righteous flesh.
Babel's Stair
Rhoda Janzen
Word Press
PO Box 541106, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1106
1933456523, $17.00 www.word-press.com
Enthusiastically recommended reading, "Babel's Stair" succinctly showcases the verse of Rhoda Janzen, with each of her carefully crafted poems telling a little story that is hallmarked by the lyrical precision that only a master poet can successfully construct. 'How We Unlove Our Heroes': Consider how we unlove our heroes./We fall in love with Wagner. And then dense/as Nietzsche, we wait gloved in an immense/drawing room, concentrating on our prose./Naturally faith flourishes like fiction./One of Cosima's chickens rustles in,/dressed absurdly in a crinoline,/twittering to set the cracked addiction./Clucks breezy as a hostess dropping hints./You know how you try not to read ahead,/but how the last word is already read?/It's like the dawn, all vicious innocence–/and implicated by the very word/that crashes like a high-toned Wagner chord.
Music For Landing Planes By
Eireann Lorsung
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South, #300, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1246
1571314288, $14.00 www.milkweed.org 1-800-520-6455
"Music For Landing Planes By" is the debut publication of poetry by Eireann Lorsung who takes as her themes the makers, methods, and materials associates with common, daily objects we are all familiar with. Loursung's free verse poetry deftly combines art and artifact in a truly literate and sometimes whimsical use of language that engages the reader's imagination and appreciation from beginning to end. 'Dressmaker': Nothing touches like tan velvet touches/the palm. Now the cracks come, because what gives/without taking? -- doesn't exist. Say//you forget what is lanolin, what is raw about fleece/uncarded & unwashed. Say the silver feel/of charmeuse lines your sleep. You've lost//what there was before pins & needles, sound/a scissors makes through cloth on a hardwood floor, thick waist of the dressmaker's dummy. don't tell me//any more. Without Burano lace, without cinnabar/strung on a cuff, shantung and satin and netting and swiss:/no rich man, no camel, no needle's threatening eye.
Doing 70
Hettie Jones
Hanging Loose Press
231 Wyckoff Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
1931236720, $15.00 www.hangingloosepress.com
Hettie Jones lectures widely and teaches at The New School, Eugene Lang College, and the 92nd Street Y Poetry Center in New York. Her third published volume of poetry, "Doing 70" continues to document Hettie's impressive, original, and unabashed talent with free verse artfully displayed on the printed page. Also available in a hardcover edition (978-1-931236-73-7, $25.00), this latest anthology of Hettie's verse is especially recommended for the wit and craft displayed in each individual poem. 'Aunt Cora -- for Cora Coleman 1927-2004': Aunt Cora joined the army,/found a girlfriend, left/the former and kept the latter/for thirty years. Aunt Cora,/as a court reporter, saw a/lot of undercover and over-/heard a lot more. Aunt Cora's/lover was a beauty/and they lived happily/until they didn't. We loved our Cora's/wayward ways, her forward march, the way/she kept us all in step. Altogether, we loved/Aunt Cora. All together: We Loved Aunt Cora!
Dear Blackbird,
Jane Springer
University of Utah Press
1795 East South Campus Drive, #101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9402
0874808979, $12.95 www.uofupress.com 1-800-773-6672
A teacher of English in the Creative Writing Program at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Jane Spring's poetry anthologized in the pages of "Dear Blackbird," won The Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry for 2007 and documents her impressive flair for free verse lyrics that are not restricted to the boundaries of ordinary stanza sequences or formats but are as original in their composition as they are in their content. Lovers of language and appreciators of poetry will enjoy the originality and engagement of Springer's deftly crafted verse. 'Quilts in a Pattern of Flower Gardens': Our grandmother cut/her patterns from/brown paper sacks then fit//flowers the size of/camels through/her nimble-swift needle//& Lord, what do you think of that/thimbleful of miracles?....
The Next Settlement
Michael Robins
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336
1574412256, $12.95 www.unt.edu/untpress 1-800-826-8911
Michael Robins has had his poetry published in the 'Boston Review', 'The Cincinnati Review', the 'Denver Quarterly', 'The Iowa Review', and several other lesser known journals. The first published anthology of his work, "The Next Settlement", won Robins the Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry for 2006. This is a compilation of meditative poems in which word images are conjured with fine honed sensitivity and brutal surprise. Original, lyrical, and highly recommended reading, these free verse creations showcase a unique and memorable voice in American literature. 'The Cows Go Mulling Home': I fed in your pasture, the others/were soured company to the sky.//I assumed the error of moths,/your pastoral broad as the moon//while the cats fray a low grass,/birds taking up the form of wings.//Having one long key for the gate,/I might resist the heated fence//where expectation sets on the lip,/catches within the nest of the throat.//I considered proof of my flight,/that you'd be quite pleased to see.
Glad of These Times
Helen Dunmore
Bloodaxe Books
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
1852247584, $21.95 www.dufoureditions.com 1-800-869-5677
Compiled and anthologized in "Glad Of These Times", the story-telling free verse poetry of novelist and children's writer Helen Dunmore explores such issues as the fleetingness of life, its sweetness and intensity, the brevity of our time on earth, the pleasures of the earth, death as a frame which sharpens everything in life and gives it an ultimate shape. The poetry comprising this enthusiastically recommended volume of her work have been drawn from seven previously published collections and are especially noteworthy for their lyrical language, the emotional impact, and their literary artistry. 'Odysseus': For those who do not write poems/but have the cause of poems in them:/this thief, sly as Odysseus/who puts out from Albanian waters/into the grape-dark Ionian dawn,/his dirty engine coughing out puffs of black,/to maraud, as his ancestors taught him,/the soft villas of the south --
The Edge Of Beulah
David Elliott
Breakwater Books Limited
100 Water Street, St. Johns, NL, Canada, A1C 6E6
0920911609, $14.95 www.breakwaterbooks.com 1-800-563-3333
When he's not writing memorable, well crafted poetry, David Elliott teaches English at the Sir Wilfred Grenfell College of Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Very highly recommended reading, "The Edge Of Beulah" is his debut published volume showcasing his elegant flair for language and imagery cast into a free verse format. 'Lemmings': Lemmings I learn do not swarm to death/browning the spring sea/as if it had grown a fur coat.//It seems merely that in their folk-wanderings/population pressure/many are pushed in the sea and drowned.//But I want old stories to be true/what price lives of lemmings/great auks, dodos, first-born of Egypt/against the death of a legend.
Revolt Of The Crash-Test Dummies
Jim Daniels
Eastern Washington University Press
705 West 1st Avenue, Spokane, WA 99201
1597660248, $15.95 www.ewu.edu/ewupress 1-800-508-9095
"Revolt Of The Crash-Test Dummies" is the latest and highly commended collection of poetry by Jim Daniels who is a Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A seasoned poet with nine published volumes of verse to his created, Daniels holds the Brittingham Prize for Poetry. With an obvious flair for language and a crafted talent for phrases that evoke the twin elements of irony and humor, "Revolt Of The Crash-Test Dummies" continues to demonstrate and document Daniels as a major contemporary poet deserving of as wide an appreciative audience as possible. 'Poetry': It isn't brain surgery./But then again, what else is?//Two dogs are company./Three's a lot of shit.//Isn't lingerie a great word?/I mean, it's got 'linger' in it.//What came first, the nook/or the cranny?//A dead squirrel was the first/heating pad.//Ice it, or heat it? Even the doctors/get confused. That leads me//to inflamed. See, that's a great/word because it's got 'med' in it.//And lame! And inf, an obscure name/for a Danish elf.//I want to be a Danish elf in lame/who's finally off his meds.//I picked three flowers today./They quietly share the same vase.
The Sweet Fuels
Erin Knight
Goose Lane Editions
500 Beverbrook Court, Suite 330, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5X4
0864924917, $14.95 www.gooselane.com 1-800-565-9523
"The Sweet Fuels" is a compilation of Canadian poet Erin Knight's free verse poetry and serves admirably to introduce an appreciative readership to an accomplished practitioner of poetry. Some of the more than four dozen poems comprising this remarkable and highly recommended anthology were written in English, while others were composed in Spanish and the translated into English. A few were written in English, converted to Spanish, and then translated back into English. The result is a quite unique framing of prose verse. One such example is a poem titled 'The Rooster on the Balcony - Elva Macias' which appears side-by-side in both Spanish and English: A rooster sleeps on the balcony,/my daughter trends to him each morning./And in the evening,/when the poet sings/of how the flame that floats between them/is nothing but a word, once/and again and again the rooster/announces my betrayal.
The Travel Shelf
The Streets of Jerusalem
Ronald L. Eisenberg
Devora Publishing
c/o Pitspopany Press
40 East 78th Street, Suite 16D, New York, NY 10021
1932687548, $21.95 www.devorapublishing.com 1-800-232-2931
Radiologist and non-practicing attorney Ronald L. Eisenberg presents The Streets of Jerusalem: Who, What, Why, a most unusual reference to Jewish history as well as Israel's streets. Arranged alphabetically like an encyclopedia, The Streets of Jerusalem consists of entries, most of which are one paragraph long, describing the histories of people in the Old Testament and more recent historical figures who have had Israeli streets named after them, and the meanings and context behind other street names referring to people or places. Black-and-white photographs pepper this thoughtful, thorough, and heavily researched quick-reference.
A Traveler's History of Poland
John Radzilowski
Interlink Publishing Group, Inc.
46 Crosby Street, Northhampton, MA 01060-1804
156656655X, $14.95 www.interlinkbooks.com
Written by Poland history and culture expert John Radzilowski, A Traveler's History of Poland is a primer of Polish history written for anyone looking to better experience and understand the nation's culture and legacy during their visit. From Poland's origins, to the end of the Commonwealth, war, occupation, and the Holocaust, the all too often violent rule of Communism, the ascent of Polish pope John Paul II and the dawn of modern Polish independence, A Traveler's History of Poland succinctly surveys history and does not whitewash the sufferings and atrocities that all the different ethnicities of people in Poland have endured across the decades. A highly readable, enlightening, even-handed and accessible account ideal for readers of all backgrounds.
Introducing Denmark And The Danes
David E. Nye
Insight Books/University Press of Southern Denmark
c/o International Specialized Book Services (ISBS)
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97213
87-7674-128-1, $12.90 www.isbs.com 1-800-944-6190
"Introducing Denmark And The Danes: A Two Hour Briefing" by David E. Nye provides the non-specialist general reader with an informed and informative overview of Denmark including its people, its cities, its culture, and its countryside. A succinct and thoroughly 'reader friendly' text is organized into four major sections: 'Cultural Background'; 'National Character'; 'Economics and Politics'; and 'Practical Advise for Visitors'. In particular, it is these last section with practical advise on such fundamental issues as getting registered, traveling and working within Denmark, what to bring and what to buy, the climate, the holidays, and learning the language, that make this an indispensable instructional reference for tourists, business travelers, exchange students, and immigrants. Of special note are the single page descriptions on 'Danish national Newspapers' and 'Libraries and Books'. Anyone considering traveling to or within Denmark should begin their preparations with a careful reading of David e. Nye's "Introducing Denmark And The Danes".
Cancum Cozumel & The Riviera Maya
Bruce Conord & June Conord
Hunter Publishing
130 Campus Drive, Edison, NJ 08818
1588435989, $16.99 www.hunterpublishing.com 1-800-255-0343
Now in a significantly updated and revised fourth edition, "Cancum Cozumel & The Riviera Maya " by the husband and wife team of Bruce and June Conord is a handy, pocket-sized, 306-page, illustrated travel guide that is part of the superbly produced 'Alive!' series from Hunter Publishing. An impressive and thoroughly 'user friendly' compendium of practical travel tips, "Cancum Cozumel & The Riviera Maya" offers invaluable information on hotels for every budget; local, casual and fine dining cafes and restaurants; town and regional maps; suggested day trips; as well as nature and eco-tours recommendations. Fully indexed and replete with 'insider info' by travel writers who have actually 'been there and done that', "Cancum Cozumel & The Riviera Maya" is an indispensable and very strongly recommended guide to getting the most out of traveling to Cancum Cozumel and the 'Riviera May' country whether for vacation or for business, as a weekend getaway or an extended recreational holiday.
The Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Guide
Craig LeBan
Camino Books, Inc.
PO Box 59026, Philadelphia, PA 19102
0940159988, $14.95 www.caminobooks.com
Written by award-winning "Philadelphia Inquirer" restaurant critic Craig LeBan, The Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Guide is a compendium of 76 in-depth reviews of the most enticing restaurants in and around Philadelphia, as well as over 600 capsule reviews of additional quality food joints, and special features on coffee shops, food trucks, retail shopping, dining at the Jersey Store, and more. The in-depth reviews include a list of menu highlights, lunch or dinner hours, notes on prices, parking, and whether credit cards are accepted, a brief history, and of course, a succinct summary of the restaurant's ambiance and highlights. The capsule reviews tend to be only one or two sentences plus the restaurant's address, phone number, and website, but a simple four-star rating system (with the stars replaced by liberty bells) immediately highlights the best of the best. A wide variety of ethnic eateries are among the many profiled in this "must-have" for epicureans visiting or living in the Philadelphia area.
The World History Shelf
The Sea Rover's Practice
Benerson Little
Potomac Books Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166-2012
1574889117, $17.95 www.potomacbooksinc.com
THE SEA ROVER'S PRACTICE: PIRATE TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES 1630-1730 is based largely on first-person accounts and describes how pirates and buccaneers made sea roving a profitable business. Successful pirating was conducted on the high seas to acquire wealth: chapters come from first-person source materials and reveal all the basic details perfect for any general-interest collection where lively history is of interest.
Historical Dictionary of Taiwan, 3rd Edition
John F. Copper
Scarecrow Press
4501 Forbes Boulevard #200, Lanham, MD 20706
081085600X, $85.00 www.scarecrowpress.com
College-level collections strong in Asian history and culture can't be without this updated third edition of HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF TAIWAN, which surveys the nation's history, ongoing conflicts with China, and other political and social issues. Here's a cross-referenced dictionary of entries which includes important people, places, events and political parties, surveying the entire country's affairs. Perfect for in-depth reports or as a reference starting point.
"Better in France?"
Frederic Ogree, editor
Bucknell University Press
c/o Associated University Presses
2010 Eastpark Blvd., Cranbury, NJ 08512
0838755976, $55.00 www.bucknell.edu./universitypress
Edited by Frederic Ogree (Professor of English Literature, University of Paris 7 - Denis Diderot), "Better in France?": The Circulation of Ideas Across the Channel in the Eighteenth Century is an anthology of essays by distinguished authors concerning the theory and practice of cultural exchange between Britain and the Continent, from 1660-1815. The process of cultural transfer, and the manner in which ideas from another way of life are imported, imitated, translated, appropriated, and criticized form the heart and soul of these writings, which include "The Spectator's Curtailed Legacy: The Periodical Press Between England and France in the 18th Century", "The Englishness of the English Gothic Novel: Romance Writing in an Age of Europhobia", and "The Britishness of Caricature in Revolutionary France". Aspects of culture from music and art to philosophy and pop culture drama or fiction each have their moment in the spotlight, in this scholarly and extensively researched scrutiny historical human interaction, recommended for college library shelves.
Reading and Riding
Eileen S. DeMarco
Lehigh University Press
c/o Associated University Presses
2010 Eastpark Blvd., Cranbury, NJ 08512
0934223831, $38.50 1-609-655-4770
Scholar Eileen S. DeMarco presents Reading and Riding, the very first in-depth study of Hachette and Company's railroad bookstore network, The Bibliotheque des Chemins de Fer, which originated in 1853 to market a collection of books to train travelers and evolved into France's first national chain bookstore. Focusing on events from 1826 to 1914, Reading and Riding traces the supervisors, suppliers, operators, and consumers of the network, how financial clout, more than political discourse, was destined to shape landmark decisions in the commerce of book distribution. Extensively researched, with a selected bibliography, alphabetic list of authors and book titles of The Bibliotheque des Chemins de Fer, and an index, Reading and Riding is a scholarly case study sure to particularly intrigue bibliophiles.
Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History
F. Arturo Rosales
Arte Publico Press
University of Houston, 452 Cullen Performance Hall, Houston, TX 77204-2004
1558853472, $69.95
Written by F. Arturo Rosales (professor of history at Arizona State University), Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History is a solid, first-of-its-kind dictionary reference of people, places, events, issues, and terms crucial to Latino history, particularly Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican history. Entries are arranged alphabetically, with cross references; a handful of black-and-white photographs, a chronology, bibliography, and index further enhance utility. Each entry also cites its source, which is frequently a functioning website. "National Day of Solidarity: On October 27, 1974, the Puerto Rican Socialist Party mobilized twenty thousand people, filling up Madison Square Garden in solidarity for the independence of Puerto Rico. Not only did this represent the largest political assembly of Puerto Ricans in the United States, but it also demonstrated the strong support that independence organizations had obtained during the decade. [SOURCE: Torres and Velazquez, 'The Puerto Rican Movement', 54.]" An excellent and easy-to-use reference especially recommended for college libraries and Latino Studies shelves.
The New Complete Works Of Josephus
William Whiston & Paul L. Maier
Kregel Publications
PO Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501
0825429242, $24.99 www.kregelpublications.com 1-800-733-2607
Flavius Josephus (c. A.D. 37-100) was a member of an aristocratic Jewish family who served as a priest, then when the Jews of Palestine revolted against the Roman occupying forces, became a commander of Jewish forces in Galilee. Captured by the romans, Josephus changed sides and allied with the Romans. After the destruction of the Temple, Josephus lived out his later years in Rome under the patronage of the Roman emperors where he composed his history of the Jewish People and his account of the Jewish war that led to the end of the Jewish Temple, the extermination of the priestly class, and the expulsion of the Jews from Palestine and their consequent diaspora or migration throughout the Roman empire. Josephus history is the only non-canonical first century historical source that mentions Jesus of Nazareth. Originally translated into English by mathematician and history William Whiston (1662-1752), students of Jewish history can now benefit from a newly revised and significantly expanded edition and translation by Paul L. Maier (Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University) that features a new introduction and commentaries on the text. Enhanced with more than 40 photographs of ancient sites and artifacts referred to by Josephus, as well as a number of charts, tables, and maps throughout, this outstanding edition also features cross reference numbers throughout to the Greek text of Josephus in the Loeb Classical Library. With the inclusion of a revised subject index and an index of Old Testament texts parallel to the writings of Josephus, "The New Complete Works Of Josephus" is a strongly recommended, core addition to personal, academic, and community library Judaic Studies and World History reference collections.
Wind & Water In The Middle Ages
Steven A. Walton, editor
Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
PO Box 4402, Tempe, AZ 85821-4402
0866983678, $55.00 www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs 1-480-965-5900
Knowledgeably compiled, nicely organized, and expertly edited by academician and historian Steven A. Walton (a member of the Center for Medieval Studies and a faculty member in the Intercollege Science, Technology & Society Program at Penn State University), "Wind & Water In The Middle Ages: Fluid Technologies From Antiquity To The Renaissance" is a series of essays offering descriptive commentary and analysis of windmills, watermills, water control, and irrigation systems employed in Medieval Europe. The continuity of mill technology and its transfer between Arabic and European cultures is discussed in substantial detail, as are the literary and artistic representations of these technologies, as well as their urban, rural and monastic contexts. Of special note are the early modern adaptations of the medieval technologies of wind and water and their impact on agriculture, the rise of the cities, and emergent national identities. Nicely enhanced with 46 key illustrations, a list of contributors, and an index, "Wind & Water In The Middle Ages" is a body of impressively articulate and seminal scholarship worth of inclusion into any academic library's Medieval Studies reference collection.
The Music Shelf
The Words and Music of Bob Marley
David Moskowitz
Praeger
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0275989356 $44.95 www.praeger.com
Reggae singer Bob Marley died before he was 40, but his music lives on – and his album Exodus was deemed by Time Magazine the most important of the 20th century, so THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF BOB MARLEY is certain to be an ongoing, popular pick for any college-level music library serious about representing lasting artists. A chronological arrangement provides a blend of biography and music analysis, following the developing themes of Marley's works and presenting the histories of his albums and songs which made headlines and drew important links between new and traditional concepts. Any definitive Marley collection needs this.
Sibelius: The Orchestral Works: An Owner's Manual
David Hurwitz
Amadeus Press
c/o Hal Leonard Corporation
512 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains,NJ 07444
1574671499, $27.95 www.amadeuspress.com 1-800-637-2852
Sibelius is an exploration any classical music library needs: it considers Sibelius' musical language, its origins and works, and the elements which make his music distinct, offering two full-length CDs to accompany text – and providing two complete symphonies and two of his most popular tone poems in the process. As an introduction to newcomers to classical music or Sibelius' works – particularly students at the middle and high school grade levels – it provides a grounding framework for understanding to make it a perfect basic collection pick.
The Big Book Of Children's Songs For Little Guitar Pickers
Santorella Publications, Ltd.
13 Pleasant Avenue, Danvers, MA 01923
TS104, $17.95 www.santorellapublication.com 1-877-600-0049
A thoroughly 'kid friendly' anthology of well-known songs, "The Big Book Of Children's Songs For Little Guitar Pickers" will enable children who are learning to play the guitar to gain experience, expertise, and confidence with their instrument. Showcasing 176 popular songs that range from Hush Little Baby, The Farmer in the Dell, Ten Little Indians, and Old MacDonald, to The Bear Went Over the Mountain, Three Blind Mice, Rock-A-Bye Baby, and Mary had a Little Lamb. Enhanced with an alphabetical listing for ease of access to any given song by its title, "The Big Book Of Children's Songs For Little Guitar Pickers" is especially recommended as an instructional text by music teachers working with young children, involved parents wanting to instill a love of music in their son or daughter, and as a curriculum supplement for grade school music education programs. Also very highly recommended from Santorella Publications are "Easy Method For Little Guitar Pickers" (TS255, $14.95); "Easy Gospel Songs For Little Guitar Pickers" (TS253, $7.95); "Easy Songs For Little Guitar Pickers" (TS252, $7.95); and "Easy Bluegrass Songs For Little Guitar Pickers" (TS254, $7.95);
The Z'mirot & Kumzitz Songbook
Velvel Pasternak
Tara Publications
29 Derby Avenue, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
0933676638, $19.95 www.jewishmusic.com 1-800-827-2400
Knowledgeably compiled and expertly arranged by Velvel Pasternak, "The Z'mirot & Kumzitz Songbook" is a compilation of 117 Jewish songs with Hebrew lyrics. The lyrics lined up with the music notation are presented in English lettering. The Hebrew script for those same lyrics is at the bottom of the page, or in a few instances because of length, on the opposing page. "The Z'mirot & Kumzitz Songbook" is an ideal anthology for inclusion in personal, professional, or synagogue music reference collections. Also very highly recommended from Tara Publications, a premier publisher of Jewish music, are two companions to "The Z'mirot & Kumzitz Songbook": "The Z'miort Handbook' featuring all the songs from the "Z'mirot & Kumzitz Songbook" in a bencher format (making it ideal for the Shabbat table) and "The Z'mirot Sing-Along" which is a technically flawless recording of the songs and available in both an audiocassette and a CD format.
The Singer's Companion
Brent Monahan
Amadeus Press, LLC
512 Newark Pompton Plains, New Jersey 07444
1574671502, $14.95 www.amadeuspress.com
Written by expert vocal coach Brent Monahan, The Singer's Companion: A Guide to Improving Your Voice and Performance is a guide for lay people and professional singers alike to improving one's singing talent. The Singer's Companion simplifies the art of performance by emphasizing practical techniques rather than complex lessons on physiology and theories. Chapters cover proper stance, breathing, phonation, resonance, range, health, vocal exercises, pronunciation and diction, and more. Diagrams, exercise sheets, sample songs, and an audio CD complement this solid, "hands-on" self-training guide for singers of all backgrounds, from aspiring actors to church choir singers to folks who love to sing in the shower.
The Symphony
Robert Greenberg
The Teaching Company
4151 Lafayette Center Drive, Suite 100, Chantilly, VA 20151-1232
#7210, $374.95 DVD, www.teach12.com, 1-800-832-2412
"The Symphony" is a series of twenty-four informed and informative lectures brilliantly presented by Professor Robert Greenberg (currently the music historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances). Professor Greenberg expertly and knowledgeably presents an overview and analysis of the history of the symphony over its almost 300-year existence as a basic form of Western concert music. The symphony is a multi-movement, multi-instrument, coordinated composition for an orchestra that has its origins in the concerti and opera overtures of the Baroque era, becoming an increasingly popular entertainment for the masses as well as the aristocracy and privileged classes during the Classical and early Romantic eras. The inherently fascinating description of the symphony's development and expansion includes succinct biographical portraits of some of the very best and most influential of the symphonic composers including such luminaries as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Mahler, Ives, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Copland, Barber, and so many others. Examples of symphonic performances are laced throughout t the lectures themselves for illustrative purposes. Enthusiastically recommended for high school music department, university and community library Music History collections, the DVD format for "The Symphony" divides Professor Greenberg's superbly crafted, 45 minute lectures into three parts encompassing. "The Symphony" is also available in an audio CD format ($269.95), and in an cassette tape format ($199.95). Verbatim transcript books ($35.00) for this outstanding course are also readily available and recommended.
The American History Shelf
The Buffalo Soldiers
William H. Leckie with Shirley A. Leckie
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
0806138408, $19.95 www.uoakpress.com 1-800-627-7377
The revised edition of THE BUFFALO HUNTERS: A NARRATIVE OF THE BLACK CALVARY IN THE WEST updates a classic originally published in 1967, when it was the first book to recognize the importance of Afro-American units in the opening of the West. This revised edition expands the original research to explore the lives of these soldiers in the 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments, using recent scholarship to expand and enhance discoveries and creating an eye-opening title recommended for any college-level or in-depth collection of either military or Afro-American history.
Solomon's Builders
Christopher Hodapp
Ulysses Press
Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703
1569755795, $14.95 www.ulyssespress.com
SOLOMON'S BUILDERS: FREEMASONS, FOUNDING FATHERS AND THE SECRETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. deserves repeated and ongoing mention as an excellent survey of Freemason influences on United States history. It's hard to neatly peg this guide: it could go under new age or American history as neatly as in spirituality sections – so any library covering any of these topics needs SOLOMON'S BUILDERS, which presents a Freemason's tour of Washington D.C. and charts Masonic influence during the construction of America, from national monuments and symbolism in city streets to temples and keys to religious insights.
Fort Randall on the Missouri, 1856-1892
Jerome A. Greene
South Dakota State Historical Society Press
900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SC 57501-2217
0977795500, $17.95 www.sdshspress.com
Research historian Jerome A. Greene presents Fort Randall on the Missouri, 1856-1892, an in-depth study of the military post of Fort Randall: its establishment, the day-to-day life of its troops and their support of military expeditions against American Indians, routine patrols of Dakota and Nebraska territory, exploration and mapping missions among the Black Hills, and more. Black-and-white photographs and illustrations, including all twenty-four of the original stereopticon photographs of Sitting Bull's incarceration at Fort Randall, illustrate this heavily researched and meticulously accurate chronicle. A welcome addition to American and Missouri state history shelves.
The Opium Debate
Diana L. Ahmad
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 166, Reno, NV, 89557-0076
0874176980, $34.95 www.unpress.nevada.edu 1-877-682-6657
"The Opium Debate And Chinese Exclusion laws In The Nineteenth-Century American West" by Diana L. Ahmad (Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri-Rolla) is the story of a mid-nineteenth century 'war on drugs' and immigration restriction policies carried out by governmental agencies. Professor Ahmad articulately explains how anti-Chinese propaganda and the spread of opium addiction led to exclusionary immigration laws and the attitude that the Chinese and the recreational use of opium associated with their communities were a danger to the national economy and middle-class Anglo-American domestic life. A fascinating and scholarly study that features extensive notation, an exhaustive bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "The Opium Debate" is as informed and informative as it is well organized and 'reader friendly'. This is an impressive and very highly recommended contribution to academic library 19th Century American History reference collections and reading lists.
Our Very Illustrious Brother, Abraham Lincoln
Larissa P. Watkins
Oak Knoll Press
310 Delaware Street, New Castle, DE 19720-5038
#92274, $65.00 www.oakknoll.com 1-800-996-2556
The bicentennial anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth will take place on February 12, 2009. "Our Very Illustrious Brother, Abraham Lincoln" by bibliographer Larissa P. Watkins is co-published by Oak Knoll Press and the Library of the Supreme Council in order to present an up-to-date bibliography for Lincoln scholars and American history enthusiasts in preparation for the anticipated celebration. A work of exhaustive scholarship, "Our Very Illustrious Brother, Abraham Lincoln" features some 1,000 entries, including more than 100 images of covers and title pages, as well as brief excerpts about President Lincoln drawn from many of the listed publications. With the inclusion of an informative foreword, an informed introduction, a 26-page facsimile of "Abraham Lincoln, Freemason" by Lincoln collector and scholar L. D. Carman, "Our Very Illustrious Brother, Abraham Lincoln" is a very strongly recommended and absolutely core addition to personal, academic, and community library Abraham Lincoln and American History reference collections.
Inside The Confederate Nation
Lesly J. Gordon & John C. Inscoe
Louisiana State University Press
P.O. Box 25053, Baton Rouge, LA 70894-5053
0807132314, $19.95 www.lsu.edu/lsupress 1-800-861-3477
The academically impressive and deftly collaborative editorial effort of Lesley J. Gordon (Associate Professor of History, University of Akron) and John C. Inscoe (Professor of History, University of Georgia), "Inside The Confederate Nation" is a compilation of essays in honor of Emory M. Thomas by a series of learned contributors and scholars that focus on the subject of the conservative revolution of 1861 that transformed an essentially conservative American South into a radically different socio-political culture by the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865. The contributions are organized into four major sections: 'Nationalism and Identity'; 'Family and Gender'; 'Race'; 'Memory and Legacies'. Enhanced with an informative introduction by Professors Gordon and Incoe, and the article by Russell Duncan and Jennifer Lund Smith, 'Emory M. Thomas and the Confederate Imagination', and concluding with a Select Bibliography, a list of Editors and Contributors, and a comprehensive Index, "Inside The Confederate Nation is a superbly presented and organized model of anthologized, specialized, analytical historical studies. Also available in a hardcover edition (9780807130995, $65.00), "Inside The Confederate Nation" is a very strongly recommended addition to academic and community library Civil War Studies and 19th Century American History Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Texas Towns And The Art Of Architecture
Richard Payne
Texas State Historical Association
The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, D0901, Austin, TX 78712-0332
0876112181, $49.95 www.tsha.utexas.edu 1-800-687-8132
"Texas Towns And The Art Of Architecture: A Photographer's Journey" by architectural photographer Richard Payne is a photographic survey of small Texas towns. Payne embarked on this project as a part-time activity -- something to do in his spare time out of nostalgia, curiosity, and taking pictures of places that reminded him of him own hometown. The 'golden age' of small town Texas architecture ran from 1880 to 1930 and reflected all of the early American architectural styles and influences including Greek, Roman, Italian, Egyptian revival, Spanish Colonial, Victorian, Art Deco, Moorish motifs, and a great many idiosyncratic oddities that defy classification. "Texas Towns And The Art Of Architecture" showcases architectural examples drawn from around two hundred towns throughout every region of Texas. Payne carefully documents his beautifully detailed images, many of which rise to the status of art as reflected through the lens of his camera. A unique addition to personal, professional, and academic library collections, "Texas Towns And The Art Of Architecture" is a very highly recommended reading for students of Photography, Architecture, and Texas History.
Finding Indiana Ancestors
M. Teresa Baer & Geneil Breeze, editors
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202
9780871952035, $29.95 www.indianahistory.org
Compiled, organized and edited by M. Teresa Baer and Geneil Breeze, "Finding Indiana Ancestors: A Guide To Historical Research" is specifically designed to help students, scholars, and family historians to effectively utilize all of the historical resources available to them. Common questions posed by novice genealogists and family historians are answered with a special focus on Indiana-specific issues and sources. Divided into six sections, "Finding Indiana Ancestors" addresses getting started, working with family stories and pictures, documenting sources in libraries and archives, understanding different record groups, researching with maps, researching different ethnic groups, manuscript and artifact research, 19th century medicinal and industrial history, and data verification. Of special note are the six model chapters showing how to turn data into full-fledged stories. Enhanced with a sample family group sheet and a sample pedigree chart, as well as selected bibliographic references and an index, "Finding Indiana Ancestors" is especially recommended to the attention of genealogists and family historians researching their Indiana forebears.
The Rise And Fall Of Indian Country, 1825-1855
William E. Unrau
University Press of Kansas
2501 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049
0700615113, $29.95 www.kansaspress.ku.edu 1-785-864-4154
Featuring five maps, extensive notes, exhaustive source lists, and a comprehensive index, "The Rise And Fall Of Indian Country, 1825-1855 by William E. Unrau (Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Wichita State University) is a superbly written, thirty year history of the impact of Section 1 of the 1834 Act regarding the establishment of 'Indian Country', a territory set aside as a place for native American survival and improvement, protected against white settlement and encroachment, that originally encompassed more than half of the Louisiana Purchase stretching from the Red River to the headwaters of the Missouri River. What Professor Unrau's research has documented is a three decade governmental complicity in disregard of federal regulation in order to facilitate white settlement and the development of the trans-Missouri West. An important and strongly recommended addition to American Western History and Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "The Rise And Fall Of Indian Country, 1825-1855" is the chronicled and documented story of land-hungry whites moving to claim Native American treaty lands and how subsequent legislation by complicit lawmakers and governmental bureaucrats negated the originally promised permanence of 'set aside' Native American lands.
A Day's Work
W. H. Bunting
Tilbury House, Publishers
2 Mechanic Street, Gardiner, ME 04345
0884481891, $35.00 www.tilburyhouse.com 1-800-582-1899
"A Day's Work: A Sampler Of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920: Part 1" is compiled with annotations by Maine historian, author, cattleman, and businessman W. H. Bunting who labored for almost 30 years assembling his collection of historic photographic images of the people, buildings, activities and landscapes that comprise Maine's history, commerce, and communities. Each of the 225 black-and-white photos is accompanied by a narrative caption that are as entertaining as they are informative. From a lumber batteau working on a log jam, to an eccentric cobbler traveling from island to island by sailing scow, to trains wrecks, hootchie-cootchie dancers, coastwise cargo schooners, and so much more, readers are treated to unique perspectives captured by a camera's lens and documented life and work in the state of Maine during a sixty year span that begins in 1860 and ends in 1920. Also available in a hardcover edition (0884481883, $55.00), "A Day's Work" is especially recommended for academic library Regional History reference collections in general, and Maine's community library State History collections in particular.
Texas: A Compact History
Archie P. McDonald
State House Press
McMurry University, PO Box 637, Abilene, TX 79697
193333715X, $16.95 www.mcwhiney.org/press
Texas: A Compact History condenses hundreds of years of Texas history into a no-nonsense chronological narrative. A phrase in bold marks the main topic being discussed every few paragraphs, allowing for quick and easy browsing of highlighted historical events. An index rounds out this easy-to-follow guide, especially ideal for browsing prior to traveling to Texas for business or pleasure. "The elimination of the buffalo produced two significant results in Texas. It forced the Indians to remain on reservations to obtain food and it opened th plains for the spread of cattle raising." Enthusiastically recommended for anyone who wants to quickly familiarize themselves with Texas history.
The Money/Finance Shelf
Buying A Second Home
Craig Venezia
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1413305563, $24.99 www.nolo.com 1-800-955-4775
The purchase of a second home for use as an income property, for vacation getaways, for retirement, is becoming more and more popular and no longer relegated to the upper income wealthy. Indeed, in today's market, two out of every five U.S. homes are purchased as a second residence. Craig Venezia is an authority on private mortgages and brings to bear his considerable experience and expertise in "Buying A Second Home: Income, Getaway Or Retirement", a comprehensive and detailed manual designed for the non-specialist general reader thinking about acquiring a second residence. Of special note are the 'Seven Secrets of Buying a Second Home' covering such fundamental issues as timing the purchase of a second home, budgeting for a second home, the importance of location, understanding tax consequences, nontraditional financing, renting to offset the expenses of purchase and maintenance, and protecting the investment that a second home represents. Accompanied by a CD containing useful checklists and custom worksheets for use when entering the market for a second residence, "Buying A Second Home" is essential, money-saving, investment enhancing, anxiety abating, fundamentally important reading for anyone contemplating the purchase of a second home for themselves that would be compatible with their financial resources and life style plans.
Stock Market Explorer
Mathew Aaron
Chart & Compass Security Analysis Inc.
2701 University Avenue, Suite 2-457, Madison, WI 53705
0977821226, $18.95 www.chartandcompass.com
"Stock Market Explorer: A Time-Saving Guide For Beating The Market" by security analyst and market researcher Mathew Aaron offers investors a systematic description and discussion of the stock market and the investment process. Providing expert insight on simple yet powerful analytical tools that all to often the novice investor is unaware of, the "Stock Market Explorer" provides an invaluable discussion of fundamental principles that must be understood and adhered to if investors are to establish and maintain their portfolios on a solid, prosperous approach that can deal with the market's volatility. Investors are provided with a methodical, step-by-step, practical and time-proven plan for 'beating the market' which is founded on hard numbers and evaluations taken from actual companies. "Stock Market Explorer" should be considered a basic and fundamental 'must read' for anyone with no pressing interest in stock investing but who want to understand the basics involved in the process, and those who have an interest in becoming actively engaged in stock investing. Articulate, informed and informative, "Stock Market Explorer" will prove to be invaluable and indispensable in helping the non-specialist general reader understand and negotiate their way through the hazards and opportunities of stock marketing investing. As such, "Stock Market Explorer" should also be a part of every community library's Money & Financing reference collection as well.
The Education Shelf
Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
www.corwinpress.com
William H. Peltz's DEAR TEACHER: EXPERT ADVICE FOR EFFECTIVE STUDY SKILLS (9781412938839, $29.95 ) is a top pick for both middle/high school and college-level reference libraries catering to students who want to learn how to study more effectively. It comes from an experienced teacher and study skills coach who demonstrates basic studying techniques, offers an easy 'Dear Abby' question and answer format which lends to browsing, and teaches students how to organize work, take notes, manage time and assume responsibility for behaviors. Brian M. Pete and Robin J. Fogarty's NINE BEST PRACTICES THAT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE (0971733236, $19.95) provides a teacher-tested set of 'best practices' in overall school performance, from note-taking and homework to understanding cooperative learning strategies, setting objectives, testing hypothesis and more. Educators will find this an excellent collection of 'best practices' that really work. Both excellent guides, these are recommended picks.
Home Schooling At The Speed of Life
Marilyn Rockett
B&H Publishing Group
127 Ninth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37234-0143
0805444858, $17.99 www.bhpublishinggroup.com 1-800-251-3225
In "Home Schooling At The Speed Of Life", Marilyn Rockett draws upon her experiences homeschooling three of her four sons over the course of fifteen years (plus six grandchildren who are all homeschooled) to create an instruction manual for fathers and mothers seeking to homeschool their sons and daughters and needing to balance the demands of the home, schooling, and family life in the contemporary world at large. Enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM starts with some cogent remarks on 'Getting Started' and then proceeds with chapters covering everything from getting organized, to home management, to record-keeping, to so much more that is practical and applicable to the needs and necessities of homeschooling. With the inclusion of four appendices on Resources; File-a-Plan Category List; File-a-Plan Archive Category List; and File-a-Plan From List: Description, "Home Schooling At The Speed Of Life" concludes with a list of available seminars and workshops of particular interest to dedicated homeschooling parents. Anyone considering, or already engaged in, homeschooling their children will want to give Marilyn Rockett's "Home Schooling At The Speed Of Life" a careful reading. It will prove to be an invaluable reference and very useful resource.
Teaching The Story
Carol Baldwin
Maupin House Publishing
PO Box 90148, Gainesville, FL 32607
0929895959, $23.95 www.maupinhouse.com 1-800-524-0634
"Teaching The Story: Fiction Writing In Middle School" was developed from materials that freelance writer Carol Baldwin developed when she taught creative writing in several different middle-school classrooms over the years. "Teaching The Story" is a thoroughly 'student friendly' curriculum supplement that will enable classroom teachers to prepare their students for standardizing testing, as well as for their academic writing assignments. Baldwin's flexible approach to teaching creative writing skills to children are especially appropriate for students seeking to write coherent and readable sports, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical stories. Enhanced with more than seventy customizable transparencies and reproducibles included on an accompanying CD, "Teaching The Story" is strongly recommended for use with grades 5 through 8.
Getting Started with English Language Learners
Judie Haynes
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
1416605193, $23.95 www.ascd.org
Written by veteran elementary ESL teacher Judie Haynes, Getting Started with English Language Learners: How Educators Can Meet the Challenge is an in-depth guide for schoolteachers to encouraging English language learners to participate in class, help them feel more comfortable around other students, and above all, help them succeed. Packed with tips, tricks, techniques, and wisdom borne of 26 years of experience, Getting Started with English Language Learners is especially valuable for educators who are new to the ESL field yet recommended to ESL teachers of all experience levels. "Because many ELLs simply memorize material for a test and don't understand what they have learned, teachers need to develop alternative assessments specifically for ELLs. These assessments should provide teachers with a realistic picture of what individual ELLs can do without focusing unduly on what they can't do." From basic concepts of second-language acquisition theory, to the best way to handle newcomers' first weeks of school, to differentiating instruction for English language learners, programs for English language learners, and more, Getting Started with English Language Learners is a top-quality resource.
Integrating Literacy And Technology
Susan Watts Taffe & Carolyn B. Gwinn
Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
1593854528, $19.95 www.guilford.com 1-800-365-7006
"Integrating Literacy And Technology: Effective Practice For Grades K-6" is the collaborative project of literacy education researchers and consultants Susan Watts Taffe (a former special education teacher and reading diagnostician) and Carolyn B. Gwinn (who is currently an elementary curriculum specialist for one of the largest school districts in Minnesota). Specifically organized and designed for maximum accessible for elementary school classroom teachers for whom in-service training time is a premium, "Integrating Literacy And Technology" will enable an teacher in grades K to 6 through a step-by-step instructional process involving ongoing cycles of planning, teaching, and assessment in a technology-rich environment that includes the utilization of the internet, reading and writing software, and more to teach core literacy skills to their students, as well as help those children to develop new reading and communication competencies for the digital age. Enhanced with a wealth of specific tools and tips to support professional development, and also available in a hardcover format (1593854536, $42.00), "Integrating Literacy And Technology" is a welcome and invaluable addition to any teacher in-service training curriculum in the field of literacy education.
Summer Smarts
Jeanne Crane Castafero & Janet Van Roden
Kingfisher
c/o Houghton Mifflin Company
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
0753461129, $8.95 www.hmco.com 1-800-225-3362
The collaborative and thoroughly 'kid friendly' effort of experienced elementary school classroom instructors Jeanne Crane Castafero and Janet Van Roden, "Summer Smarts: Activities In Math, Science, Language Arts, And Social Studies To Prepare Students For 2nd Grade" is a workbook compendium of fun and educational activities, puzzles, exercises and quizzes which are based on standard school curriculums, reinforce concepts and skills covered by achievement tests, build confidence and self-esteem for children about to enter the second grade. Children will engage in such skill building activities as addition and subtraction, number values, vowel sounds and rhyming, reading and writing, American history and geography. Simple projects and science information will encourage children to explore the world while providing literally hours of self-guided learning. "Summer Starts" is especially recommended for Summer School curriculums, home-schooling parents, and for use as a rainy day activity source, long car trips, and 'quiet time' recreations.
Raising Multicultural Awareness in Higher Education
Ana Maria Klein
University of America Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
0761832572, $21.00 www.univpress.com 1-800-462-6420
Raising Multicultural Awareness in Higher Education by Ana Maria Klein (assistant professor, College of Education, SUNY Fredonia) is a straightforward guide to fostering cultural awareness among teacher candidates. A consumable book with practice exercises and reflection exercises followed by blank lines for the reader to write upon, Raising Multicultural Awareness in Higher Education covers such diverse topics as self-regulated learning, life-long learning, multiculturalizing thematic units, the teacher's role as change-agent/negotiator/peace-builder, and much more. "Helpful techniques for developing cross-cultural listening skills for example, require that you don't just listen to something, instead you are encouraged to listen for something. Listening to silence or for non-verbal cues or variations in voice intonation provide something to listen for. Learning how to ask questions or what questions to ask are also important cross-cultural considerations." An excellent broadening and enriching guide, recommended for college teachers everywhere and those in charge of screening, training, or hiring them.
Founding the Future
David C. Nichols
Truman State University
100 East Normal Street, Kirksville, MO 63501-4221
1931112630, $34.95 www.tsup.truman.edu
Written by former Truman State University director of the graduate program in music David C. Nichols, Founding the Future: A History of Truman State University is an eye-opening chronicle of the proud history of Truman State from its visionary founding over a hundred years ago to modern changes and transformations, such as the introduction of value-added assessment and student reactions. Founding the Future also looks beyond Truman State's rich history toward its future legacy, from study abroad to the development of liberal education outside the classroom. Black-and-white photographs, notes, and appendices round out this glowing tribute to the evolution of an American font of higher learning.
All American Colleges
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
ISI Books
PO Box 4431, Wilmington, DE 19807-0431
1932236880 $22.00 www.isibooks.org
Compiled by Intercollegiate Studies Institute, All American Colleges: Top Schools For Conservatives, Old-Fashioned Liberals, and People of Faith is a practical, no-nonsense profile of fifty colleges especially suitable for prospective students with specific values and educational goals - ones who seek learning grounded in concepts of liberty, and education as an enrichment in the process of understanding what it means to be a "good" or "free" person. In other words, institutions that are not so radicalized as to attack fundamental concepts such as abstract truth or disinterested, unbiased scholarship. The medley of schools surveyed include a broad range of religious colleges, as well as secular schools for conservatives and "old-fashioned" liberals in the tradition of John F. Kennedy and George McGovern. From Catholic colleges to Southern military academies to Quaker and Mennonite schools to evangelical Christian universities, All American Colleges spans the gamut of faiths and interests. Each school profile offers vital statistics (enrollment numbers, freshman retention rate, graduation rate, courses with fewer than 20 students, etc.), lists of what courses all students are required to take, several pages summarizing what the college offers and the nature of its environment. An excellent starter guide for learning more about and possibly choosing a higher-education institution with good old-fashioned moral values.
Teaching Kids With Mental Health & Learning Disorders In The Regular Classroom
Myles L. Cooley
Free Spirit Publishing
217 Fifth Avenue North, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1299
1575422425, $34.95 www.freespirit.com
A practicing psychologist for more than 30 years who evaluates and treats children, adolescents and adults for a variety of problems, Myles L. Cooley also draws upon his experience and expertise as a consultant to schools and as a presenter of education al programs to educators, mental health professionals, physicians, and parents in "Teaching Kids With Mental Health & Learning Disorders In The Regular Classroom". This basic and very strongly recommended instruction manual and guidebook is specifically designed to help classroom teachers learn how to recognize, understand and help challenged (and often challenging) students to learn and succeed academically. A compendium of practical and proven strategies educators can use when teaching and supporting students who exhibit mental health problems and learning disorder issues, "Teaching Kids With Mental Health & Learning Disorders In The Regular Classroom" will also alert teachers as to what behavior sand symptoms to look for in troubled students, provide ideas for fostering social development in these children, and how best to motivate all students to learn. Of special note is the discussion of the latest approach to intervention procedures, including Response to Intervention (RTI).
Look, Look! I Wrote a Book!
Linda Ball and Laurel Brucker
Good Year Books
PO Box 91858, Tucson, AZ 85752-1858
0673363570, $14.95 www.goodyearbooks.com 1-888-511-1530
Look, Look! I Wrote a Book! is an educational resource intended for instructors of young children from prior to kindergarten through second grade. The reproducible pages are templates for cutting and putting together brief, little books with simple, repetitive, child-centered texts based on oral language, as well as share-and-sign pages. For example, the reproducible pages allow a child to assemble a book "Fish Facts" that reads "1-2-3-4-5 Once I caught a fish alive. / A fish can ___. / A fish can ___. / A fish can ___. / A fish can't ___. / 6-7-8-9-10 Then I let it go again!", and the child is encouraged to write true statements in the blanks. An excellent resource for reinforcing basic literacy concepts, stimulating creativity, or just plain rainy-day fun.
Reading The Media
Renee Hobbs
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
0807747386, $23.95, www.tcpress.com 1-800-575-6566
"Reading The Media: Media Literacy In High School English" by national media education expert Renee Hobbs (Associate Professor of Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) chronicles the successful practice of highschool English teachers who developed an innovative curriculum for their students that incorporates popular media, television, journalism, film, and 'new media' information sources, as well as the specific, measurable impact that this curriculum supplementation had on the students' academic performance. "Reading The Media" documents how a media literacy course significantly improved reading comprehension, writing, critical analysis, and other academic skills. Teachers are also provided with practical information on how to revise their lessons plans and activities to take advantage of media literacy strategies to increase student motivation and equip basic citizenship skills. Superbly organized and presented, "Reading The Media" is a welcome and very highly recommended addition to high-school and home-school Media Literacy and English Language Studies curriculums.
Puzzle Them First!
A. Vincent Ciardiello
International Reading Association
PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139
0872075818, $23.95 www.reading.org 1-800-336-7323
"Puzzle Them First!: Motivating Adolescent Readers With Question-Find" by academician and reading instruction specialist A. Vincent Ciardiello focuses on the use of 'question-finding' as a strategy for teaching content literacy to adolescent students. 'Question-finding' teaches students how to effectively probe the multiple meanings of text, as well as reducing any social constraints, thereby increasing their independence as readers and inquirers. Enhanced with annotated resources, a sample lesson plan, motivational sources for question-finding, and a glossary of key concepts and specialized terms, "Puzzle Them First!" is especially recommended to the attention of classroom teachers and parental homeschoolers working with teenagers ages 12 to 18.
Mentor Texts
Lynn R. Dorfman & Rose Cappelli
Stenhouse Publishers
477 Congress Street, Suite 4B, Portland, ME 04101-3451
157110433X, $22.50 www.stenhouse.com 1-800-988-9812
"Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6" is the collaboration of Lynne R. Dorfman (a writing extension teacher for the Upper Moreland School District in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania with more than thirty years experience) and Rose Cappelli (a primary-grade reading specialist in the West Chester Area School District in West Chester, Pennsylvania with more than twenty years of experience). These two seasoned and expert reading teachers explain just how the authors of children's books create the wonder felt when boys and girls become immersed in them. They address just what students and teachers learn from these authors and their books if utilized as writing mentors. "Mentor Texts" is very nicely organized around the characteristics of good writing: focus, content, organization, style, and conventions. Classroom teachers and novice reading tutors are shown that 'mentor texts' can serve as a practical scaffold for student work; are provided with student writing examples demonstrating how students take risks as writers; teacher writing examples illustrating the power of the teacher as writer; and a comprehensive annotated list of children's literature including specific suggestions for teaching points. Of special note are the 'Your Turn' lessons at the end of each chapters showing how to put the ideas discussed in that chapter into practice. Expertly written in a conversational style, employing numerous illustrative anecdotes, and thoroughly 'user friendly', "Mentor Texts" should be considered mandatory reading for anyone charged with the responsibility of teaching writing at the elementary school level.
Cognitive Connections
Robert Myers
Zephyr Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60611
1569760357, $19.95 www.zephyrpress.com 1-800-232-2187
"Cognitive Connections: Multiple Ways of Thinking About Math" by elementary school curriculum consultant Robert Myers is a compendium of 87 'teacher friendly' cross-curricular activities that will enhance a student's ability to do math problems through cross-curricular activities that go beyond a traditional math curriculum approach to demonstrate math is more than just numbers. Among these math skill enhancing activities are such projects as 'Kitchen Design' where students redesign their families' kitchens, employing geometry in real-world situations; 'Tom's Game' where students look for a mathematical solution to a play ground problem: how can every student be included in a game with a limited amount of equipment?; 'Sprouts', where students explore ratios of germinating seeds and use this information to advise a gardener on planting next year's crops for a maximum yield; 'It Figures' with children interviewing adult professionals about the math skills they use to perform their jobs; 'The Right Change' where students are asked to solve the mistake made by a store clerk, and suggest a solution that will keep the error from happening again. Fun, effective, and especially appropriate for students in grades 4 through 8, "Cognitive Connections" is a superbly organized and presented educational resource. It would also prove invaluable for a homeschooling parent's mathematics curriculum reference shelf as well!
The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
Television Criticism
Victoria O'Donnell
Sage Publications
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
1412941679, $37.95 www.sagepublications.com
College-level collections strong in film and television will find Television Criticism a welcome addition to the collection: it explores the business, production and entertainment aspects of the TV industry and the critical rhetoric, culture and representation surrounding it, offering a range of analytical styles for past and current TV programs in different genres. Students receive a variety of formulas for developing critical thinking about television, and are provided everything they need to develop such perspectives, from new guidelines for television analysis to insights from producers and business people working in the field. TELEVISION CRITICISM is not only recommended for library acquisition but will also make a fine course supplement – perhaps even serve as a basic text.
More Scenes and Monologs from the Best New Plays
Roger Ellis, Editor
Meriwether Publishing
Box 7710, Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7710
1566081424, $15.95 www.meriwether.com
Scenes designed in a range of short lengths – under 10 minutes each – include scenes for two women, two men, and combinations – and for all age ranges. This places More Scenes and Monologs from the Best New Plays above the usual student drama oriented collection or title, reaching into adult circles and any actor who wants monologs and short scenes to practice. Notes precede each section and set the scene.
Imaging Blackness
Audrey Thomas McClusky
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
0253217792, $24.95 www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796
"Imaging Blackness: Race And Racial Representation In Film Poster Art" is compiled, edited, curated and presented by Audrey Thomas McCluskey (Associate Professor of African-American and African Diaspora Studies). Professor McCluskey draws upon her years of experience and expertise when she was formerly the director of the Black Film Center Archive at Indiana University to present a series of movie posters for the 'race movies' that were a part of cinematic history from the late 1920s through the early 1940s when African-Americans were largely barred from mainstream Hollywood productions (except for stereotypical roles as maids, butlers, and comic relief characters), necessitating independent and small budget productions featuring African-American casts. Posters were a widespread means of advertising and promotion, designed to persuade members of the public to buy a ticket and see the film publicized by the images depicted in the poster material. "Imaging Blackness" shows the steady evolution of how African-American men and women were pictured on those posters in incremental changes that paralleled the discrimination and slow progress of change of the broader American culture. A fascinating approach to film history that accords with vigorous academic standards of scholarship, "Imaging Blackness" is an especially recommended addition to academic and community library African-American Studies and American Film History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Sexy Thrills
Nina K. Martin
University of Illinois Press
1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6975
0252074378, $20.00 www.press.uillinois.edu 1-800-545-4703
Written by Nina K. Martin (assistant professor of film studies, Emory University), Sexy Thrills: Undressing the Erotic Thriller is a close examination of direct-to-video erotic thriller films - which unlike most soft-core pornography, are usually made specifically for female viewers. Chapters examine how the erotic thriller has refashioned the gothic and film noir genres, the subtle and not-to-subtle messages these films convey concerning female sexuality, subjectivity, and gender construction, and much more. Scrutinizing the almost contradictory tendency of these films to elevate an empowered, sexually experienced heroine ("sexy bad girl") and emphasize standards that strictly limit acceptable expressions of female sexuality, Sexy Thrills provides an expert-level measured discourse of this pop culture phenomenon. Highly recommended especially for cinematic studies shelves.
The Most American Thing in America
Charlotte M. Canning
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House, 119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
1587295857, $19.95 www.uiowapress.org 1-800-621-2736
Winner of the 2006 Barnard Hewitt Award for Excellence in Theatre History, The Most American Thing in America: Circuit Chautauqua as Performance by Charlotte M. Canning (professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, University of Texas, Austin) is part history, part evaluation of the Circuit Chautauquas, the iterant branch of an adult education movement created to spread culture and entertainment across America, particularly isolated rural areas. The Chautauquas flourished, despite some conflicts - their African-American members were in danger when they toured areas rife with KKK members and sympathizers - filling a much-needed role until the Great Depression, when the rise of radio and movies eclipsed them. Their performances included lectures, music, occasional political debate, and much more. Theatre historians have long neglected the Circuit Chautauquas because they didn't quite fit the mold of established theatre; Canning seeks to remedy this omission through an in-depth history examining not only the Circuit Chautauquas as performers, but also as facilitators of American community and democracy. Highly recommended.
Film Histories
Paul Grainge, Mark Jancovitch, Sharon Montieth, editors
University of Toronto Press
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4Y 2W8
0802095089, $39.95 www.utppublishing.com 1-800-565-9523
The collaborative and detailed work of Paul Grainge (Associate Professor in Film Studies, University of Nottingham), Mark Jancovitch (Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of East Anglia), and Sharon Montieth (Professor of American Studies, University of Nottingham), "Film Histories: An Introduction And Reader" is a 612-page compendium of information providing an historical overview and analytical survey of movies from their cinematic origins in 1895 down to the present day. Laid out chronologically, each individual chapter covers the key developments within the period covered, followed by a classic piece of historical research about that particular period. Different types of film historical research are provided for the benefit of film students. The result is a narrative history spine enhanced with introductions to different approaches to the study and research of cinematic history. A truly impressive body of seminal scholarship in both its scope and execution, the text is superbly organized, informed and informative, as well as being thoroughly comprehensive and 'student friendly'. Also available in a hardcover edition (0802093558, $85.00), "Film Histories: An Introduction And Reader" is a very strongly recommended for students of films and their genres, as well as being a core addition to personal, professional, and academic library Cinematic Studies & History reference collections.
The Gaming Shelf
Off-Road Declarer Play
David Bird
Master Point Press
331 Douglas Avenue, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5M 1H2
189710619X, $18.95 www.masterpointpress.com
OFF-ROAD DECLARER PLAY: UNUSUAL WAYS TO PLAY A BRIDGE HAND is for intermediate to advanced bridge players seeking less well-known stratagems to enhance the bridge move, from creating entries and surviving bad trump breaks to getting the defenders to help. Bridge players receive a fine, uncommon set of tips which is perfect for moving ahead in the skills levels of the game – and perfect for any library catering to advanced bridge playing patrons.
Blood-Horse Authoritative Guide to Betting Thoroughbreds
Eclipse Press
c/o Blood Horse Publications
PO Box 919003, Lexington, KY 40591-9003
1581501196, $16.95 www.eclipsepress.com 1-800-582-5604
Written and compiled by the staff members and correspondents of Blood-Horse Publications, the "Blood-Horse Authoritative Guide to Betting Thoroughbreds" is a superbly organized and presented step-by-step instruction manual that will teach the reader how to effectively wager on 'the sport of kinds'. "Blood-Horse Authoritative Guide to Betting Thoroughbreds" covers how to place a bet and cash a ticket, understand what odds mean, read the tote board, study past performances, and generally gain invaluable insights into the world of race horses as it is relevant to determining and placing bets in terms of their workouts, medication, and equipment. An absolutely essential read for novice gamblers, "Blood-Horse Authoritative Guide to Betting Thoroughbreds" has a great deal of value for even the more experienced gambler on thoroughbred horse racing.
Rifts D-Bees of North America
Alex Marciniszyn, Wayne Smith, & Kevin Siembieda, editors
Palladium Books Inc.
12455 Universal Drive, Taylor, MI 48180
1574571702, $22.95 www.palladiumbooks.com
Rifts D-Bees of North America is a sourcebook of 100 types of nonhuman Dimensional Beings (D-Bees) suitable for introduction as friends, foes, or exotic player characters in any Rifts fantasy role-playing game. The game system used for the creature statistics compatible with the entire Palladium Books Megaverse, though the ideas and concepts touched upon in the elaborate descriptions can offer inspiration for a game master to assemble his or her own creations according to different fantasy game rules. Black-and-white illustrations and extensive and engaging text descriptions fully flesh out each distinctive race of creatures, some appearing almost human, others decidedly not. An excellent supplement to the library of any Palladium Books Megaverse game player or game master.
My 50 Most Memorable Hands
Doyle Brunson
Cardoza Publishing
857 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003
1580422020, $14.95 www.cardozapub.com 1-800-577-9467
A two-time world series champion poker player and winner of ten bracelets from the World Series of Poker (as well as the winner of a 'Legends of Poker' tournament on the World Poker Tour), Doyle Brunson is a universally acknowledged legend of the game who brings more than half a century of experience to bear in "My 50 Most Memorable Hands". Doyle began playing as a young man in Texas when poker was an illegal pastime involving dodging the cops and avoiding being robbed, all while constantly moving on the road from town to town and city to city in search of a game. In this fascinating little book Doyle offers a collection of terrific stories combined with practical advice connected to some truly remarkable poker hands he's played out against some of the finest poker players to ever play the game. Each poker hand cited begins with a biographical anecdote providing an historical context, then follows Doyle's hand along with a paragraph or two of description as to how it was played out. Very highly recommended reading and a simply superb addition to the growing library of books about poker, each of these individual hands will be read with interest border on fascination by both novice poker players and those with more seasoned experience at the game.
The Christian Studies Shelf
Soul Cravings
Erwin Raphael McManus
Nelson Books
0785214941, $19.99 www.thomasnelson.com
'Soul cravings' are what defines us as human – it's an inner quest for more than physical sustenance, but for spiritual meanings in life – and SOUL CRAVINGS seeks to define the parameters of these cravings for intimacy and community, destiny and meaning in life. It's these basic cravings which suggest a human connection with God, Erwin McManus maintains: chapters analyze belief, belonging, and more in a fine exploration of human interconnections and faith.
The Jesus Way
Eugene H. Peterson
William B. Eerdmans Publishing
255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503
080282949X, $22.00 www.eerdmans.com
THE JESUS WAY: A CONVERSATION ON THE WAYS THAT JESUS IS THE WAY draws a symbiotic connection between the ways Jesus leads and the ways people follow, studying those who came before Christ and how they led and comparing these with Jesus' methods of leadership. Chapters challenge the methods of the modern American church and argue against consumerism, charisma and other barriers to understanding the Jesus path, using a blend of scholarship and spiritual insights to push the boundaries of belief and wisdom. Perfect for any collection strong in Christian thinking.
Real Christianity
William Wilberforce, author
Regal Books
1957 Eastman Ave., Ventura, CA 93003
0830743111, $14.99 www.regalbooks.com 1-800-4-GOSPEL
Revised and updated by Bob Beltz, Real Christianity is a classic text originally written by abolitionist William Wilberforce more than 200 years ago in order to denounce slavery by appealing to human belief and redefining authentic Christian life. Now, experienced minister Bob Beltz offers a revised and updated version of Real Christianity in modern English (with brief notes) for contemporary readers. Wilberforce's core messages about the true standards of Christian behavior, authentic faith, and the nature of man are unchanged and thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. "To live our lives and miss that great purpose we were designed to accomplish is truly a sin. It is inconceivable that we could be bored in a world with so much wrong to tackle, so much ignorance to teach and so much misery we could alleviate." Highly recommended.
My Conversations With God
Henry A. Buchanan
AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403
1425976867, $27.99 www.authorhouse.com
My Conversations With God: Wondering, Pondering and Trying to Get it Right is nothing less than the meticulous accounting of personal talks that author and theology expert Henry A. Buchanan had with the Creator and Father of Jesus Christ. Chapters state God's own words as Buchanan heard them about Adam and Eve, the story of the Flood, Abraham, Jacob, Job, Judas, Paul the Apostle, and much more. "Then God said, 'of course, Jesus of Nazareth, the child of Joseph and Mary, is My Son, and you are My Son, without impugning the sanctity of your parents' marriage. Jesus is called the First Born, and Unique Son because He is the First to really get the message from Me... don't you be put off by the people who want to evade the responsibilities of sonship by relegating it to some area of magic and mystery beyond the knowledge and experience of man. People do that in order to make it seem impossible to do what they are not willing to do.' I said, 'What is that, Lord?' And He said, 'Be like Jesus. They excuse themselves by making Him different in nature, hence incapable of being the example of character and behavior that I am requiring them to follow.'" Regardless of whether one accepts My Conversations With God as a literal transcript the author's communion with the divine, the insight into human beliefs, morals, strengths, and weaknesses is vividly unforgettable.
Pardon and Peace
Alfred Wilson, C.P.
Roman Catholic Books
PO Box 2286, Fort Collins, CO 80522-2286
1929291930, $19.95 www.booksforcatholics.com 1-970-490-2735
Written by pastor Father Alfred Wilson, Pardon and Peace was originally published in the 1940s; today, this laymen's guide to obtaining the full spiritual and mental gifts of the Catholic practice of Confession remains as relevant and valuable as ever. Chapters discuss the problems of inaccurate confession, the three conditions that must be present for a sin to be mortal, four guidelines for confessing venal sins, common excuses for avoiding Confession and why they should be shot down, helpful advice for those who find themselves confessing the same sins over and over, and much more. "God has given us ten commandments only. If we make additions of our own, we imply that God's way is not safe, which is blasphemous nonsense and implicit, if unintended, lecturing of the Almighty. By all means let us do the harder thing, the supererogatory, provided our motive is love not fear; but let us not make commandment
