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MBR Bookwatch

Volume 4, Number 3 March 2005 Home | MBW Index

Table of Contents

Donovan's Bookshelf Harold's Bookshelf Klausner's Bookshelf

Laurel's Bookshelf Shelley's Bookshelf Shirley's Bookshelf

Vicki's Bookshelf

Donovan's Bookshelf
Stealing Elections
John Fund
Encounter Books
665 Third St. #330, San Francisco CA 94107-1951
1594030618 $16.95 1-800-786-3839 www.encounterbooks.com

The U.S. has the sloppiest voting system of any industrialized nation: so bad that eight of the 19 hijackers who hit the World Trade center were registered to vote. In Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy, author John Fund tours national voter fraud scandals from rural states to big cities, detailing how fraud happens, how vote brokers steal elections, and how absentee ballots are abused. The entire American electoral process is in jeopardy: Fund shows how too much bureaucracy and ballot rigging combine to make a deadly threat.

Walker & Company
104 - 5th Ave., New York NY 10011
www.walkerbooks.com

Setting: the late 1960s: Astro Turf (0802714277 $24.00) author M.G. Lord was becoming a teen in Southern California, her mother was dying of cancer, and her rocket engineer father disappeared into his work at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. Fast forward thirty years later, where Lord is assigned to report on the lab - and turns a report into a search of her past, an elusive father figure, and rocket science as a whole. Lord celebrates and examines her eccentric father and provides a history of the JPL concurrently: readers interested in rocket science will find this packed with intrigue, insights, and industry revelations, making it much more than another girl's inspection of a father. Andrew Taylor's World Of Gerard Mercator (0802713777, $26.00) provides a review of the mapmaker whose techniques changed geography. Mercator lived in 16th century Europe, when wear threatened the land and the Inquisition muffled creativity and science. While Mercator never traveled beyond northern Europe, his imagination fueled a whole new field - mapmaking - and was to foster a new era of navigation and exploration.

Better Off
Eric Brende
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd St., NY, NY 10022-5299
0060570040 $24.95 1-800-242-7737 www.harpercollins.com

In different hands Better Off : Flipping the Switch on Technology could have all too easily become a book packed with dogma, rhetoric and passionate illogic. But not so under the deft and rational hand of Eric Brende, a graduate of MIT who chose to move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated. Brende decided to see if technology has really made life easier, and if people would be better without it. In Better Off, contemporary science blends with autobiography in an engrossing analysis of the author's personal experiment.

Rarest of the Rare
Nancy Pick
HarperResource c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd St., NY, NY 10022-5299
0060537183 $22.95 1-800-242-7737www.harpercollins.com

Museum enthusiasts and natural history buffs alike will find the museum stories in The Rarest of the Rare: Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History are enhanced with nearly a hundred color photos by Mark Sloan as images accompany descriptions for some of the unusual specimens housed at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, with Nancy Pick explaining the special importance of each. The Rarest Of The Rare is more than a mere listing or summary outline of specimens as author Nancy Pick reveals just how the item was collected and where, as well as noting the diverse financial and collector contributors who often performed extraordinary feats to get the specimen to the museum.

The Africa House
Christina Lamb
HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd St., NY, NY 10022-5299
0060735872 $25.95 1-800-242-7737 www.harpercollins.com

Author Christina Lamb, foreign correspondent for London's Times, was on assignment in Zambia when she stumbled on a rich abandoned house deep in the bush: a house of forty rooms, rose gardens, and even a clock tower. Lamb's discovery of a chest crammed with thousands of letters, and journals, resulted in The Africa House : The True Story of an English Gentleman and His African Dream, an intriguing biographical sketch of English gentleman Stewart Gore Browne and his African dream. THE AFRICA HOUSE first appeared in the UK: this edition updates history to include the next generation of Browne's descendants, who are trying to rescue the decaying wonder of his former estate.

Microterrors
Professor Tony Hart
Firefly Books
155 East 34th Street, #5B, NY, NY 10016
1552979709 $19.95 1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

The telescope's invention and advancement let the human world in on how tiny organisms looked, and helped to reveal pathogens and their dangers: now the images of these disease-producing microbes, from viruses to fungi, are accessible to non-scientists in MICROTERRORS, a gathering of microscope color images paired with a quick reference and health facts. Clinical notes on treatment and prevention round out a unique approach.

The Difference a Day Makes
Karen M. Jones
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1577314751 $12.95 1-800-972-6657 www.newworldlibrary.com

For some, compassionate feelings can overwhelm spare time and energy: readers with such a problem should consider The Difference a Day Makes : 365 Ways to Change Your World in Just 24 Hours a kind of recipe collection for doing good. Turn good intentions into powerful action with a guide which provides vast lists of good things which can be done in a few simple minutes or hours; from providing a resource list for a neighborhood to encouraging workplace and home use of the arts, and assisting an elder who has a pet.

The Big Book of Vegetarian
Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
Chronicle Books
85 Second Street, 6th floor, San Francisco CA 94105
0811841162 $19.95 1-800-722-6657 www.chroniclebooks.com

The Big Book Of Vegetarian: More Than 225 Recipes For Breakfast, Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Main Dishes, Sides, Breads, And Desserts showcases recipes for vegetarian fare that ranges from breakfasts and sandwiches to main dishes and breads, presenting variations on the usual meat favorites, hearty main courses, and vegan dishes throughout. All levels of vegetarians will appreciate this detailed collection, written by the former food editor of Vegetarian Times magazine. No color photos; but the easy dishes and clear instructions don't need 'em.

Each One Believing
Paul McCartney
Chronicle Books
85 Second Street, 6th floor, San Francisco CA 94105
0811845079 $35.00 1-800-722-6657 www.chroniclebooks.com

Fans of the Beatles and Paul McCartney won't want to miss this lovely title, filled with photos never seen before and insider details from McCartney himself, and packed in an eye-catching hardcover suitable for gift giving and coffee tables. Each One Believing: Paul McCartney - On Stage, Off Stage and Backstage blends McCartney's personal reflections and those of his wife Heather, his band, and his crew and covers both public appearances and private moments. An intimate atmosphere is created which follows some of his finest on-stage moments in recent years.

Is Your Straight Man Gay Enough?
Nan Shipley & Jason Anthony
Chronicle Books
85 Second Street, 6th floor, San Francisco CA 94105
0811845109 $14.95 1-800-722-6657 www.chroniclebooks.com

What makes a straight man 'gay'? There's room for improvement, many a gal will admit, if a straight man can belch the national anthem, won't go to a mall unless a food court allowance is provided, and thinks $15. 00 is outrageous for a haircut. From shoes and shopping to the pros and cons of having a man in a particular profession, Is Your Straight Man Gay Enough?: The Ultimate Renovation Guide doesn't require being gay to appreciate.

Masterworks of Technology
E.E. Lewis
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591022436 $28.00 1-800-421-0351 www.prometheusbooks.com

E.E. Lewis is a professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, and in Masterworks of Technology: The Story of Creative Engineering, Architecture, and Design, provides both a review of the history of science and engineering, and a discussion of how two very different technological marvels came together in the 21st century. Individual chapters focus on evolving design, different training and perspectives in architect-engineers past and present, and how basic science has influenced a new world of creative engineering and design strategies. An intriguing, lively discussion and very highly recommended reading, especially for non-specialist general readers with an interest in science and technology..

The Sling and the Stone
Colonel Thomas X. Hammes, USMC
Zenith Press
380 Jackson St. #200, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760320594 $24.95 www.motorbooks.com

It's crucial to understand there are different types of wars, fought in different ways: that's the message of The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Century, with author and U.S. Marine officer Thomas X. Hammes commenting on the nature of war in the 21st century. Colonel Hammes' focus here is upon '4GW': fourth generation warfare which is low-tech and surprisingly effective against high-tech enemies. From its evolution to the revelation that 4GW doesn't attempt a win through traditional military defeats, THE SLING AND THE STONE provides many insights applicable to the Iraq war and beyond.

The Ancient Roman World
Ronald Mellor & Marni McGee
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10016
0195153804 $32.95 1-800-451-7556 www.oup.com

From a legendary prince's journey across the sea to an African general who travels with painted war elephants, the story of the ancient Roman world's history needn't be a dry one: not with Ronald Mellor and Marni McGee's ANCIENT ROMAN WORLD in hand. Yes, there are the usual primary sources lending to a research paper; but there's also the lively overtone missing from many similar coverages on the topic, using that material to create an engaging drama of Roman times.

Coming Apart: Israel on the Appomattox
Melvin Patrick Ely
Alfred A. Knopf
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
0679447385 $35.00 1-800-726-0600 www.aaknopf.com

A Southern experiment in black freedom from the 1790s through Civil War times? President Thomas Jefferson condemned slavery but didn't believe whites and liberated blacks could live together in harmony: His cousin Richard Randolph and ninety blacks set out to prove him wrong, and built a bastion of freedom in his heritage to bondsman Hercules White and dozens of other slaves. The lives of the newly freed people on the land Israel Hill is revealed in Israel on the Appomattox: A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom from the 1790s Through the Civil War, an in-depth survey of how free black and white folk lived together for decades. Chapters provide both a social history of slavery and a set of political insights detailing hardship, black pride, and an impossible dream come to life.

The Seventy Great Inventions of the Ancient World
Brian M. Fagan, Editor
Thames & Hudson
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
0500051305 $40.00 1-800-233-4830 www.thamesandhudsonusa.com

Thames and Hudson's 'Seventy' series provides a blend of discipline contributions in including essays by scientists, historians and more, along with a focus on extraordinary world inventions to tackle all the technological facets which have made modern society so important. Hundreds of photos and special maps and diagrams unique to THE SEVENTY GREAT INVENTIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD pack a coverage which examines not just the origins of these inventions, but their lasting impact on the world. Where would we be without coffee, chocolate and board games? Find out in Brian Fagan's engagingly informative and visually impressive survey.

Historical Atlas of The Celtic World
Angus Konstam
Mercury
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22883 Quicksilver Dr, Sterling, VA 20166
1904668011 $25.00 1-800-758-3756 www.internationalpubmarket.com

Three thousand years ago the Celts came to dominate the north of the continent: many a book has been written on Celtic history and influences, but Angus Konstam's HISTORICAL ATLAS OF THE CELTIC WORLD differs from most in including discussion of Celtic influences which remain to influence the modern world, and in adding a wealth of color illustration on every page to enhance such topics as the roots of Celtic art, the Cimbri migration, bog people and more. A treasure trove of facts embellished with plenty of illustrative color for added effect.

Hole In My Life
Jack Gantos
Farrar Straus Giroux
19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003
0374430896 $8.00 1-888-330-8477 www.fsgbooks.com

It'd be a shame to limit this autobiography to the young adult audience it's intended for: author Jack Gantos dreamed of writing from childhood and is a Newbery Honor medalist among others - but his road to fame wasn't a smooth one. At age nineteen he became involved with a hashish sea voyage - and landed in federal prison, teaching himself to write in a secret diary he kept. HOLE IN MY LIFE is his story of imprisonment and his hard road to a successful writer's career.

Strange Angel
George Pendle
Harcourt
15 East 26th Street, New York NY 10010
015100997X $25.00 1-800-543-1918 www.harcourtbooks.com

Rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons was one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena: a visionary who surprisingly enough was involved not just in science, but in occultism, where friendships with Aleister Crowley and L. Ron Hubbard led to excesses which proved an embarrassment to his colleagues. While his flamboyant beliefs ultimately discredited his scientific brilliance, nonetheless, as George Pendle shows in Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons, Parsons was still a brilliant scientist despite his rogue methods, and his problems partially stemmed from the takeover of rocketry science by big business. Strange Angel is lively reading by a biographer with many science, art and culture articles for the London Times and others to his credit.

Witch Hunters
P.G. Maxwell-Stuart
Tempus Publishing/Trafalgar Square Press
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
0752423398 $35.00 1-800-423-4525 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

If witches were supposed to look and sound like everyone else, how could they be detected, in Salem days? WITCH HUNTERS is the first history of the careers of those said to be able to identify a witch, charting the claims and backgrounds of zealots, professional folks and others who perceived evil and sought to expose it. History lecturer Maxwell-Stuart provides a lively survey which uses source material quotes to back cultural and biographical insights.

Wales Half Welsh
John Williams, Editor
Bloomsbury UK/Trafalgar Square Press
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
0747566062 $14.00 1-800-423-4525 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

So, who says the Welsh have no contemporary fiction writers? John Williams edits a collection of eleven new Welsh writers to draw upon the best of young writers, creating a collection of diverse themes and perspectives united only by their heritage. Any who would believe Wales devoid of literary figures need only consult WALES HALF WELSH to see otherwise.

Expecting Someone Taller & Ye Gods!
Tom Holt
Orbit/Trafalgar Square Press
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
1841493457 $13.95 1-800-423-4525 www.orbitbooks.co.uk www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

Fans of comic fantasy will relish an omnibus of Tom Holt's zany stories, packing in a treasure trove of zany fantasy fiction. Fans of Douglas Adams will recognize a kindred soul in Holt, whose funny protagonists finds themselves in all manner of strange circumstances. Hilarious and unexpected all the way!

Ceaseless Turmoil: Diaries, 1988-1992
James Lees-Milne
John Murray/Trafalgar Square Press
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
0719565782 $45.00 1-800-423-4525 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

Ceaseless Turmoil: Diaries, 1988-1992 is the eleventh volume of prolific chronicler James Lees-Milne's diaries, and surveys his eighties, where his interest in life is as sharp and astute as ever. He discusses architecture with the Prince of Wales, hobnobs with royalty, and reflects on the changes of life and the deaths of friends. An intriguing specialty collection especially recommended for the fan of British upper-class commentary.

Dreaming of Iceland
Sally Magnusson
Hodder & Stoughton/Trafalgar Square Press
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
0340862505 $29.99 1-800-423-4525 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

When author Sally Magnusson invites her father to accompany her to his homeland Iceland to see for herself the places he's told stories about all her life, neither is sure what they will find. Their journey to the old family estate and their travels throughout Iceland reveal the concurrent stories of four generations - and the source of stories which have engrossed Sally Magnusson since childhood, drawing readers into DREAMING OF ICELAND's cultural and family heritage.

The Fly in the Ointment
Dr. Joe Schwarcz
ECW Press
2120 Queen St. East #200, Toronto, Ontario Canada M4E 1E2
1550226215 $15.95 www.ecwpress.com

What is the truth about taking garlic supplements to ward off illness and cure common diseases? What is the relationship between moldy corn and a movie? How do quacks popularize their theories, and what science is involved in corporate crime? These and other questions reveal the mysteries of science, using lively and popular topics to point out the scientific theories, quirks and misconceptions in everyday beliefs. A fun, educational leisure choice for general-interest audiences, The Fly in the Ointment: 63 Fascinating Commentaries on the Science of Everyday Life joins other similar science trivia fact guides by the venerable doctor.

Weather Extremes of The West
Tye W. Parzybok
Mountain Press Publishing Company
PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
0878424733 $24.00 1-800-234-5308 www.mountain-press.com

From twisters to Haboobs and quick, sudden changes in temperature which can break windows, wild weather is still with us, though tamer than in centuries past. Meteorologist Tye Parzybok covers weather extremes and their results in the West, presenting rainfall and temperature averages, case histories of sudden and extreme weather results, and insights into the science of forecasting and prediction processes. From disastrous Santa Ana wind effects to maps and microclimate oddities, WEATHER EXTREMES OF THE WEST is an exciting survey of meteorology and weather oddities.

In Neck Deep
Jay Zimmerman
Bottom Dog Press
PO Box 425, Huron, OH 44839
093308790X $15.00 http://members.aol.com/Lsmithdog/bottomdog

If there's a fisherman in your family who loves to read, give him a copy of Jay Zimmerman's In Neck Deep: Stories from a Fisherman. This is a coming-of-age memoir of a young man who retained a lifetime passion for fishing. First-person life encounters blend with fishing memories in a simple, let lively set of stories from a dedicated fellow angler.

Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3-D!
Suzanne Lloyd
Black Dog & Leventhal
151 West 19th St., NY, NY 10011
1579128945 $24.95 1-800-722-7202

Any with an interest in Hollywood products or nudes will find HOLLYWOOD NUDES IN 3D an outstanding, unique production. If the name 'Harold Lloyd' is familiar to movie-goers, it's because he was best known as a popular silent film star and producer during the 1920s - and was the richest in the world. Lesser known is the fact that in the 1940s and 50s he snapped close to a hundred thousand photos of young women, many of them in 3-dimension. His granddaughter here presents 200 offerings for enthusiasts - and a pair of 3D glasses allows for maximum appreciation of their effects.

Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
1-800-243-0495 www.globepequot.com

A Chianti tour guide presents a native Tuscan's view of travel in Italy in Dario Castago with Robert Rodi's TOO MUCH TUSCAN SUN: CONFESSIONS OF A CHIANTI TOUR GUIDE (0762736704, $14.95), a funny, warm survey of Dario's more unusual clients and his life and times as a travel guide in the Chianti region of Italy. His native roots and perspective offers a different type of coverage than most travelogues of the region, providing a memoir of the Americans who have stormed the area yet missed some of its best attractions - and many a would-be friend. Jeanne L. Clark and Robert W. Garrison's NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NATURE WEEKENDS (Falcon Guides, 0762711515, $14.95) also provides an excellent read as well as serving as a take-along tote for destination-oriented nature lovers visiting Northern California. There are many weekend choices only natives tend to know about, here; from renting a houseboat on Shasta Lake and visiting the tufa mounds and birds at Mono Lake to biking on Angel Island.

Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore MD 21218
1-800-537-5487 www.press.jhu.edu

Two excellent guides to New York's subway history offer very different approaches and insights into the building of the subways. The centennial edition of Clifton Hood's classic treatise 722 Miles: The Building Of The Subways And How They Transformed New York (0801880548, $18.95) tells of how the building of the subways changed New York. At one time in history the 22 miles from New York's City Hall to Lenox Avenue was considered a remarkable engineering fete; but by the 1940s New York's subway system had grown to 722 miles. This process was to change New York, and Clifton Hood reveals the story of the subway system's growth on its centennial, adding a new foreword explaining the modern importance of reflecting on the system's achievement. Even more compelling is Gene Sansone's New York Subways: An Illustrated History of New York City's Transit Cars (0801879221, $49.95), providing an illustrated history of New York City's subway cars. Packed with vintage black and white photos throughout, NEW YORK SUBWAYS is no general coverage, but covers virtually every type of car in detail, providing a brief history of its design, service, construction, and costs. This is THE definitive guide for that in-depth transit student or enthusiast who wants every detail; not just a casual overview.

GemStone Press
Rt 4, Box 427, Woodstock, VT 05091
www.gemstonepress.com

If it's jewelry purchases you regularly make, you absolutely must read and keep close at hand Antoinette Matlins, P.G.'s professional buyer's guides. Her Jewelry & Gems at Auction: The Definitive Guide to Buying & Selling at the Auction House & on Internet Auction Sites (0943763290, $19.95) provides a definitive 'bible' packed with resources, from how to handle auction buying and selling versus other options to understanding knowledge needed before bidding on particular gems, from pearls and diamonds to colored gemstones. Add chapters on jewelry history and notable jewelers and special Internet purchasing concerns and you have a presentation which can't be beat. Colored Gemstones--The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide : How to Select, Buy, Care for & Enjoy Sapphires, Emeralds, Rubbies and Other Colored Gems with Confidence and Knowledge (0943763339, $16.95) narrows the focus to colored gemstones alone. Why? Because there's so many factors unique to colored gemstone buying and selling; from tips on evaluating color and understanding the differences between a natural and an enhanced gem to recognizing the signs of fraud and misrepresentation in the colored gemstone world, and determining value. Both are 'musts' for general-interest and neo-professional alike.

Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature
Kathy J. Whitson
Greenwood Press
PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
0313327319 $65.00 1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

From Isabel Allende to Anzia Yezierska, seventy women writers whose works are widely read in English are featured in an A-Z reference which contains not just the usual biographical sketch and outline of major works, but an interpretative summary of each author along with more general essays on feminist-related topics. Add cross-references and background along with bibliographic references and you have a reference not just for college-level students, but many a high school reader.

Cars and Culture
Rudi Volti
Greenwood Press
PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
0313328315 $45.00 1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

The car has shaped the very fabric of American society, and its history shows how decisions at all levels of government and society have been shaped by the auto. Volti's history covers the technology behind the car's development, plus the accompanying roads, traffic laws, gas production, and regulation which accompanied fostering of the auto as a way of American life. An intriguing survey evolves.

Classic Experiments in Psychology
Douglas Mook
Greenwood Publishing Group
PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
0313318212 $69.95 1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

Most psychology courses touch upon experiments in psychology, discussing results and approaches: few classes do more than this, surveying the research without probing it in depth. Enter Douglas Mook's CLASSIC EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY, which provides an in-depth, college-level approach to psychological experiments and their implications. Classic experiments are outlined, with different areas of study receiving focus on both pitfalls and positives. Excellent - even required - supplemental reading for any serious-level researcher.

'Teen Guides to Environmental Science' set
John Mongillo & Peter Mongillo
Greenwood Press
PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

The five-volume set TEEN GUIDES TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, intended for teens in high school, should not be neglected by college-level or public libraries, either: each book is packed with images, timelines, lists of environment agencies and organizations, and all the details necessary to involve any adult - though the 100 suggested activities does provide a student's focus. The set includes EARTH SYSTEMS AND ECOLOGY (1313321841), RESOURCES AND ENERGY (131332185X), PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS (0313321868), HUMAN IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT (0313321876) and CREATING A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY (0313321884): each set a vital contribution to the whole.

O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472
1-800-998-9938 www.oreilly.com

Two fine additions to O'Reilly's very basic 'Annoyances' series will reach all levels of home computer users who want to fix the most annoying things about computer hardware. We're talking common problems here, from system hang-ups and cranky mice to vanishing graphics and cabling issues. If you're a PC user, choose Stephen J. Bigelow's PC HARDWARE ANNOYANCES (0596007159, $24.95); if a Mac user, not to fret: John Rizzo's MAC ANNOYANCES (059600723X, $24.95) is the ticket of choice. Each book holds a different focus on problems peculiar to each system: each is easy to understand, offering plenty of examples. Each is highly recommended for average computer users seeking the most from their system.

W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110
1-800-233-4830 www.wwnorton.com

Two wonderful books on exploration and discovery are recommended not just for school holdings; but for general interest readers choosing from public library holdings. Michio Kaku's Einstein's Cosmos: How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (039305165X, $22.95) tells how Einstein's ideas changed everyday understanding of the nature of space and time itself. Theoretical physicist and author Kaku provides a fine survey of the universe as Einstein saw it, considering the foundations of his theories and how he thought in terms of simple pictures. It's this focus on how he envisioned space and time which makes EINSTEIN'S COSMOS so accessible to lay audiences with little physics background. Compass: A Story of Exploration and Innovation (0393050734, $22.95) by Alan Gurney provides an eye-opening survey of the history of the magnetic compass, which for a thousand years was the only instrument sailors used for navigation. A chronological order lends interest and logic to this survey of the compass and navigational challenges.

International Designers Network
Shop c, 5-9 Gresson St.
Wanchai, Hong Kong
www.idnworld.com www.amazon.com

Parts of Design Lab's magical presentation Vinyl Will Kill: An Inside Look At The Designer Toy Phenomenon (9889706504 $39.95) weren't seen to review here: the complete kit includes a designer toy poster, 36 web cards, and the 232-page book in a handsome box: it's the book which is the focus here, standing well on its own as a unique, engrossing survey of designer toys. Pages come packed with color examples, interviews with toy designers, and discussions which blend career overviews with industry observations and toy design concerns alike. Company and toy histories are revealed, inspirational sources considered, and designer strategies and challenges imparted. An outstanding blend of artistic and business concerns evolves. JAPANESE GRAPHICS: BEAUTIFUL STREAMLINE (9889809729, $50.00) comes in a gorgeous slipcase to protect the delicate linen-like cover and the lovely graphics from modern Japanese artists. Here are influential works by Hideki Inaba, Yugo Nakamura and more, exploring various visual forms and providing a striking set of pages of works from each. A gorgeous visual sampling of some of Japan's finest modern graphic artists.

Audio Editions
Auburn, CA 95604
www.audiopartners.com

Two new titles are excellent recommendations for fans of leisure mysteries, pairing powerful narrators with tried and tested authors. Emilia Fox brings Agatha Christie's THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD (157270439X, $29.95) to life, telling of a romantic who falls for a handsome stranger and pursues him all the way to Baghdad, where she becomes involved in murder and deception. Michael Prichard's been the reader for all the Rex Stout mysteries, providing a smooth and continuous trend to the Nero Wolfe classics which continues in the latest GAMBIT (1572704411, $27.95). Here Nero braks almost all of his own rules, helping a young female clear her father of murder and encountering problems with four other suspects in the process.

Diane C. Donovan
West Coast Editor

Harold's Bookshelf
You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits
Janine Adams
Running Press
125 South 22nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19103
ISBN: 076241961X $12.95 47 pp.

I enjoy finding unique books and this one definitely falls under that category. In addition to the dog biscuit recipes the book includes five cookie cutters to cut your treats into the shape of a dog bone, heart, cat, fire hydrant, or doghouse. The obvious question to many readers is why bother to make your own dog biscuits when you can buy them so readily at the store? If you have to ask then you really don't understand the bond between many dog owners and their dog. For me it is because I can control the ingredients and I can create the "perfect" training snack. My dog is quite finicky about dog treats and doesn't like most of the store brands, so using them as a reward just doesn't work. On the other hand the recipe for Cheddar Liver in this book makes a perfect training reward that she will do almost anything to get. The book itself contains 24 different recipes for everything from basic cheese biscuits to liver and oat, liver leather, multigrain herb, grain-free and even carob biscuits. All are easy to make, although several do require a food processor to puree the ingredients. The attached box with the cutters in it is pretty flimsy and soon falls apart. However, the pages of the book are connected to the box via three metal split rings so the box can be removed, the cutters placed in a kitchen drawer or other appropriate place and the book placed on the bookshelf. This took a lot of thought to put the book together in this fashion so it can be easily converted to a standard book and was greatly appreciated on my part. You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits is highly recommended to dog lovers everywhere and a perfect gift for that friend who treats their dog as a part of the family.

Windows XP Power Hound: Teach Yourself New Tricks
Preston Gralla
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596006195 $24.95 341 pp.

This book is well worth the price just for the section in the first chapter on how to speedup startup and shutdown and resolve problems with both of them. Most of this information is available on the Internet but why not have it at hand instead of spending hours looking for it? For the novice to intermediate user this is an excellent way to get things Windows XP under control and operating the way it is supposed to. Well-written, easy to follow, with everything explained in plain English, Windows XP Power Hound is recommended for the average user who wants to learn more and customize their system but will contain little new information for someone who is already a power user.

The Will of God as a Way of Life
Jerry Sittser
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310259630 $12.99 236 pp. plus notes

How do we find God's will for our life? How do we find that one person God has destined for us? How do we know that a decision is the right one? Traditional Christian thought has taught that God has a specific plan for each of us and it is our job to find out what that is and pursue it. Jerry Sittser takes a different point of view by first making the case that the will of God may not be some specific future plan with all the details already worked out but may in fact be much simpler. What about the problem of pain and suffering? Do those indicate that we are out of the will of God? Jerry Sittser examines these and other questions as he teaches how the will of God may be a lot more liberating than what we have traditionally been taught. Offering a pathway to personal peace through understanding the will of God in a less traditional way, The Will of God as a Way of Life is a highly recommended read.

Why Birds Do That
Michael Furtman
Willow Creek Press
PO Box 147 Minocqua, WI 54548
ISBN: 1595430598 $15.95 96 pp.

With 40 different bird behaviors explained and photographed this is a very interesting book. Some questions are common ones like "Why do birds bathe?" or "Why do birds migrate?". Other questions have more complex answers like "Why do some chicks hatch naked, and others hatch covered with down?". With photographs that illustrate each question or part of the answer and well-written answers this is an excellent book to understand birds better. Written on a level where it can be understood by about 13 years old or older it is an excellent book. Why Birds Do That is highly recommended and informative.

Who Needs That Nose?
Karen Clemens Warrick
T&N Children's Publishing, Inc.
NorthWord Books imprint
11571 K-Tel Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343
ISBN: 1559718870 $15.95 32 pp.

Seven different noses are described one at a time with the following page showing the animal it belongs to. Each page describes the nose and what it is designed to do and then ends with the question of "Who needs that nose?". The book provides a great opportunity for parents to discuss the wonders of nature and how even things like a nose can vary greatly while still providing the same basic function. The pictures are colorful and work great at keeping a child's attention focused on the book. Who Needs That Nose is a recommended fun and educational book for children.

Trout, Trout, Trout
April Pulley Sayre
T&N Children's Publishing, Inc.
NorthWord Books imprint
11571 K-Tel Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343
ISBN: 1559718897 $15.95 32 pp.

More than just a rhyming story the rhythm and cadence produces a strong chant that children fall into naturally. The rhyming pattern is set on the first two pages and follows that pattern throughout the rest of the book. The illustrations are great and create a personality for each fish while at the same time staying true to their basic shape and color so that the reader can identify them. Brightly colored, finely detailed, the illustrations themselves are exceptionally well done. If you like fish or just want to introduce your child to the fascinating world of fish Trout, Trout, Trout is highly recommended and a lot of fun just to read and leaf through. This is a great chant that keeps on your lips long after you are done with the book.

Steal This File-Sharing Book
Wallace Wang
No Starch Press
555 De Haro Street, Suite 250 San Francisco, CA 94107
ISBN: 159327050X $19.95 296 pp.

Whether it's music, programs, games, books or other files it seems that everyone is downloading something over the Internet these days. If you want to know how to find the files you want and download them safely then you will be interested in this book. The author covers a wide array of places to find files including newsgroups, websites, Instant Messenger, Internet Relay Chat, FTP, and networks that are designed specifically for file sharing such as Gnutella, FastTrack, and eDonkey. One of the most interesting parts for the average computer user is the one with information on how to remain anonymous when sharing files. Of course, this section also includes information on the problems of file sharing - viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, and even warez. I've traded files and worked on the Internet for years and I still learned a few tips in this book. The author includes lots of illustrations and specific web sites where you can download the programs he mentions as well as several alternative ones. Mr. Wang even provides a complete analysis of each program's advantages and disadvantages. One of the things I really like is the fact that he includes information on programs you should be careful downloading and using including Fast Track clients that come loaded with spyware like Kazaa and iMesh. If you don't like AIM he even covers Private Internet Messenger products like Meet Gate, P2P Instant Messenger, and Pal Talk. The breadth of coverage is impressive, the writing and organization excellent. Steal This File-Sharing Book is highly recommended to anyone who shares files over the Internet.

Starting Life Ladybug
Claire Llewellyn
T&N Children's Publishing, Inc.
NorthWord Books imprint
11571 K-Tel Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343
ISBN: 1559718927 $16.95 23 pp.

Starting Life Ladybug is an excellent educational book for children. The author walks the reader through the life of a ladybug from the laying of the eggs through the larval and pupa stages and finally to the ladybug that we all know and love. She covers the feeding habits, parts of a ladybug, hibernation, migration, and other aspects in the life of the ladybug. A very good educational book that should be considered for all children's libraries and as an educational resource for the home, Starting Life Ladybug is highly recommended.

So What? Saw-Whet?
Rochelle Frank
Hummingbird Mountain Press
PO Box 127 Midpines, CA 95345
ISBN: 0974679208 $9.95 28 pp.

This is a nice children's book with wonderful photos of the Saw-Whet owl. It is easy reading and provides a basic understanding of the Saw-Whet owl's habits, habitat, and appearance. Educational and entertaining, "So What? Saw-Whet?" is a recommended read.

The Sensational Skillet Cookbook
Wendy Louise
Champion Press, Ltd.
4308 Blueberry Road Fredonia, WI 53021
ISBN: 1891400258 $16.00 281 pp. plus index and glossary

This is an excellent collection of recipes for the electric skillet. Whether it is traditional fried chicken or stuffed pork chops or something a little more exotic (but just as easy to prepare) like Steak Diane or Veal Scaloppini if it can be made in an electric skillet you will probably find it here. Well written, easy to understand directions make it pretty much impossible to mess up a recipe. Whether it is a main dish, side dish, or dessert there are selections in here for every need. The Sensational Skillet Cookbook is highly recommended and sure to produce delicious results in your kitchen.

Selinux: NSA's Open Source Security Enhanced Linux
Bill McCarthy
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, CA 95472
ISBN: 0596007167 $39.95 198 pp. plus multiple appendixes and index

So what makes Selinux more secure than standard Linux? Primarily it is the implementation of role-based access control, sandboxing, and an audit facility that allows the system to log any attempts to exceed specified permissions. It does all this without conflicting with the normal permissions of Linux. If you are able to access a file through normal discretionary access control then the role-based mandatory access control provides additional security to determine if you can run the file or not. The only way to open a file is if both systems agree that you should be able to open it. The author covers installation, configuration, administering, and setting up a security policy. The presentation of SeLinux is straightforward and the security model is presented in a writing style that makes it clear and understandable to the reader. SeLinux: NSA's Open Source Security Enhanced Linux is highly recommended as both a Linux security solution and an excellent book on how to utilize all the resources of SeLinux.

Regular Expression Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach
Nathan A. Good
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 159059441X $34.99 285 pp. plus index

Whether you are using Perl, PHP, Python, grep, sed, or any other program that uses regular expressions you will eventually have a problem trying to figure out just how to do something. That is where this book comes in handy. If you need to resolve a peculiar programming problem then this is the book you will want by your side. If the expression doesn't work, or doesn't provide the correct output this is the best place to turn to figure out what is going on. Or, if you want to do something different then you might want to turn here first to look for ideas on how to attack the problem. Since this is a problem and solution oriented approach it provides a solution in Perl, PHP, Shell Script, and Vim. Regular Expression Recipes: A Problem-Solutions Approach is a highly recommended resource and does an excellent job of describing in plain English how to define the problem, how to work on it, and how to get the results you want. This is the ultimate guide to regular expressions.

Praying the Names of God: A Daily Guide
Ann Spangler
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310253535 $16.99 329 pp.

Every once in a while a book comes along with a deceptively simple title that gives no hint of the much deeper and inspirational thoughts inside. This is one of those books. Throughout the Old Testament God is referred to by various names. Each one represents a specific attribute of God that is particularly relevant to those circumstances. Taken together these names reveal the nature of God and point to ways to see and seek Him as well as understand our relationship with Him. This book is insightful, encouraging, and inspirational while at the same time moving your prayer life up to another level. Full of Bible references, Praying the Names of God is highly recommended and sure to bring a deeper understanding of God to the reader. The only thing about the book that some may find troublesome is the lack of capitalization on all personal pronouns related to God. While God, Lord, and other references are capitalized, Him, His, and He are not. Some more conservative readers may have a problem with this. My advice to them is to not let something like this cause them to miss a very good book.

PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice
Matt Zandstra
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1590593804 $39.99 391 pp. plus appendixes and index

The author of this book assumes a basic understanding of the PHP language and focuses on how to take advantage of the new features of PHP5. The book includes best practices, tools, and principles on how best to write, document and implement a project. The three primary divisions of the book follow along with the title and are sequenced as Objects, Patterns, and Practice. The Objects section covers the history of PHP and how it evolved to include a focus on object-oriented programming. This section contains some of the more basic information in the book including the principles behind objects, classes and inheritance. The section on Patterns examines problems of software design and ways to approach and resolve these problems. In this section the reader learns basic design principles that should be implemented on all projects to make them easier to troubleshoot or expand on later. The last section covers the practices and tools that can be used to correctly manage a project. The focus is on managing your code, managing your project, tracking bugs, collaboration between programmers, and making the project easy to install. It includes a section on Concurrent Versions System (CVS) which allows multiple programmers to work on the same code without overwriting each other's work. Although it assumes some knowledge of PHP programming it does not assume any knowledge of object-oriented programming and that appears to be one of the primary purposes of the book - to take PHP4 programmers and teach them to take advantage of the abilities of PHP5. This is not to say that you can't get a lot of value from the book without prior knowledge of PHP. If you have programmed before and have a basic PHP syntax reference guide available then this book will still be a valuable read. PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice is highly recommended for PHP programmers making the move to PHP5 and PHP5 programmers that need a handle on best practices.

Perl Core Language: Little Black Book, second edition
Steven Holzner
Paraglyph Press, Inc.
4015 N. 78th Street, #115 Scottsdale, AZ 85251
ISBN: 1932111921 $29.99 471 pp. plus index

This book could have saved me hours on the net getting answers to specific problems dealing with Perl scripts I was writing for a client. If you know the basics of Perl and have programmed much with it then you know the frustration of knowing what you want it to do but needing to resolve one minor issue to get it to work. This book contains a lot of the most common problems and solutions. It is not meant to teach you Perl, but to resolve those sticky problems that stop your progress until you figure them out. After starting with some best practices advice it moves into scalar variables and lists, arrays and hashes, operators and precedence, conditionals and loops, regular expressions, subroutines, references, built-in variables, built-in functions, file handling, built-in modules, data structures, creating packages and modules, creating classes and objects, debugging and style guide, CGI programming, Perl and XML, and secure scripts. Each solution states the function to be used, how it operates, an example of its use, an explanation of what occurs in the example, and a list of related solutions with the page number. A fast and easy quick reference for when you get stumped, Perl Core Language: Little Black Book, Second Edition is highly recommended and a book you will want to keep close at hand.

Nessus Network Auditing
Renaud Deraison, Noam Rathaus, HD Moore, Raven Alder, George Theall, Andy Johnston, Jimmy Alderson
Syngress Publishing, Inc.
800 Hingham Street Rockland, MA 02370
ISBN: 1931836086 $49.95 544 pp.

The purpose of Nessus is to provide an Open Source Solution for network auditing on all Unix like systems. This book not only details using Nessus but also comes with a CD containing the program, as well as Ethereal, Snort, and Newt (a port of the program to the Windows environment). What is a network assessment? At its basic level it is an attempt to detect a live system and then identify the computing environment, services, applications, and vulnerabilities on that system. Basically there are two types of assessment - internal and external. An internal assessment is done over the local network and external is done from outside the LAN. Nessus will do both types and the book details how to do either, or both of them. The authors do an excellent job of detailing installation, setup, and how to interpret the results of a scan as well as various factors that can affect the report. One of the parts not to be missed is the discussion of not only the benefits but also the potential problems of scanning your system. Some of the vulnerability types scanned for include buffer overflows, default passwords, backdoors, information leaks, and denial of service. The Nessus scripting language is covered in detail in Appendix A instead of the main portion of the book; a choice I appreciated very much as it allowed the flow of the book to not be interrupted by such a highly technical section. With Open Source products there generally is no organized technical support phone number you can call of help. So, the authors include information on how to get help via the Nessus User Community, mailing lists, and archives. Nessus Network Auditing is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in auditing their network to find potential problems before they become reality.

Zondervan 2005 Minister's Tax and Financial Guide
Dan Busby, CPA
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310262151 $15.99 175 pp. plus citations and index

A perennial guide to the problems and opportunities of taxation for ministers, the Zondervan 2005 Minister's Tax and Financial Guide is once again one of the best sources of information for the layman. Written in a simple, clear style with lots of illustrations and examples this is the essential guide for the non-accountant. In addition to walking the reader through the maze of tax laws he also provides basic financial planning for the minister. Newly updated for 2004 returns, the Zondervan 2005 Minister's Tax and Financial Guide should be read and understood by all ministers and church financial committees.

Molly & The Good Shepherd
Chris Auer
Zondervan Publishing
Zonderkidz imprint
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310708265 $12.99 40 pp.

Molly's school class is going to the art museum today and she is very excited about it. Although she is told to stay with her buddy and keep with the group she soon forgets to pay attention and becomes separated from her classmates. What should she do now? With a focus on staying calm in times of distress and knowing that Jesus always watches over us in times of trouble, Molly & The Good Shepherd is a highly recommended read for children and a recommended purchase for church libraries.

Learn Math and Have Fun Activity Book for Preschoolers
Caramel
Teora USA, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 870 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
ISBN: 1594960097 $7.95 158 pp. plus answer keys

This is not just a math book, but contains a lot of activities like matching, and mazes. With lots of colorful counting, adding, numerical sequence, and other math functions done in a fun and playful way this is a great book for home school or to supplement a traditional school program. Learn Math and Have Fun Activity Book for Preschoolers is recommended for parents and teachers.

Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book (5 - 6)
Caramel
Teora USA, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 870 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
ISBN: 1594960046 plus answer keys $7.95 80 pp.

This book has lots of fun and educational activities for children. Some are math puzzles, counting, and basic addition, others include drawing, observation puzzles, mazes, and lots more. With lots of well-done colorful illustrations that keep the book interesting without making it overly cluttered Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book is recommended for home school or to supplement a traditional school program.

Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book (3 - 4)
Caramel
Teora USA, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 870 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
ISBN: 1594960305 $7.95 80 pp. plus answer keys

The educational activities in this book are mostly related to learning to observe, count and match items. Activities include things like determining which item doesn't belong, matching the shadow with the person, and similar. The illustrations are colorful and keep the book interesting without making it overly cluttered. Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book is a recommended book for home school or to supplement a traditional school program.

Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book (6 - 7)
Caramel
Teora USA, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 870 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
ISBN: 1594960054 $7.95 80 pp. plus answer keys

Part of the Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book series from Teora USA, This one contains a lot of math, seasons, hidden word, reading, scrambled words, learning time, and other activities that encourage creative thinking in a child. It has lots of colorful illustrations that keep the book interesting without making it overly cluttered. Learn and Have Fun Activity & Game Book is a recommended book for home school or to supplement a traditional school program.

Kids Study Bible: New International Readers Version
Zondervan Publishing
Zonderkidz Imprint
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310708028 $22.99 1804 pp.

More than just another NIRV children's Bible from Zondervan this is truly a study Bible for the young. One of the unique features is a lot of bright pictures that appear to be drawn by children. With a very brief introduction before each book, questions scattered throughout to encourage children to think about the lessons behind the stories, and lots of other features it is an excellent choice for children. The Bible ends with a section on life in the New Testament times and a small dictionary. The only thing I don't like is the placement of the various pictures. For example the pictures of Jesus walking on the water and Peter's vision are both in the pages of the book of Jeremiah. Likewise Zacchaeus Climbing the tree is in the pages of Ezekiel. This can be confusing to a child when the pictures are in the wrong books. Even with this caveat it is more than just a readable children's Bible, it teaches children how to study, think about what they have read, and find additional information using the dictionary. The Kids Study Bible: New International Readers Version is highly recommended as a first Study Bible for young children.

Inside Active Directory, second edition
Sakari Kouti, Mika Seitsonen
Addison-Wesley
Pearson Education, Inc.
75 Arlington Street, Suite 300 Boston, MA 02116
ISBN: 0321228480 $54.99 1166 pp. plus index

While the authors note in the preface that this book is suitable for the complete novice, I would disagree. It is a much better match for someone with some knowledge of Active Directory who wants to take their knowledge to the next level and become a true Active Directory wizard. For those with some knowledge who wants to really get down to the inner workings of Active Directory in a depth of detail and breadth of coverage unmatched by any other book this is the place to turn. Kouti and Seitsonen provide excellent coverage of topics a lot of people have difficulty understanding and setting up properly. This book supplies you with sound background theory so you can understand these concepts and at the same time gives just the right amount of detail to actually accomplish what you are trying to do. Inside Active Directory, Second Edition is highly recommended to everyone already possessing a basic understanding of Active Directory and who wants to have the best single reference available at hand.

If There's One Thing I've Learned
James Green
Sound View Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 696 Shoreham, NY 11786-0696
ISBN: 0976105845 $19.95 240 pp. plus index

Wouldn't it be great if you could gather the wisdom gathered over the years by others and use that to not make the same mistakes they did? That is somewhat the premise of this book. Author James Green interviewed people and asked them to share some of their most significant insights that they have learned when asked what they would do differently in life if they could do it over. The answers are arranged into the categories of life experience, the one who got away, marriage, careers, high school, college, money, grudges, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, friends, kindness, and retirement. After sorting through hundreds of responses Mr. Green has put the 87 most insightful and inspirational answers into this book. Each of the responses is well written and contains at least one major truth about life. Interesting and insightful for people of all ages, If There's One Thing I've Learned is highly recommended and should be considered by all parents as an excellent choice for a graduation present. Send your child off into the real world with a resource of solid advice learned the hard way from experience.

Encyclopedia of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Elaine A. Moore
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611 Jefferson, NC 28640
ISBN: 0786417943 $65.00 260 pp. plus resources list and index

This encyclopedia offers a whole lot more than just entries on the thirty plus different organisms that cause sexually transmitted diseases. The entries include not only information on the diseases but also treatment modalities, various statistics, risk factors, prevention, support organizations, and historical information. Some of the entries provide fascinating historical information and statistical relationships between the diseases and race, socio-economic level, and gender. The authors even go so far as to include competing theories about treatment, origins of the disease, etc. Even-handed and complete the Encyclopedia of Sexually Transmitted Disease is a solid survey of the current understanding of sexually transmitted diseases.

Degunking Your Email, Spam, and Viruses
Jeff Duntemann
O'Reilly Media
Paraglyph Press imprint
1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol CA 95472
ISBN: 193211193X $24.99 321 pp. plus index

If you have used email for more than a couple of months you realize the problem of spam, viruses, adware, and other aggravations. Resolving that problem, at least to the extent possible given your user environment is the purpose of this book. The approach is simple - create a gunk-free email strategy, degunk your email, degunk your spam, degunk viruses, worms, and spyware, and then keep it from happening again. While not a technical treatise for the power user this is an excellent resource for the average Internet user who wants to know what is happening with their email, slow system performance, and other annoyances. This book explains in simple layman's terms what is happening, how to clean it up, and how to greatly reduce the rate at which it happens again. Degunking Your Email, Spam, and Viruses is highly recommended for the every-day user who wants to regain control of their in-box.

Dear God, It's Me
Lynn Hodges, Sue Buchanan
Zondervan Publishing
Zonderkidz imprint
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310706459 $14.99 32 pp.

This is a short children's story about how God is with us any time we call upon Him. Some of the writing comes directly from the Psalms (i.e. Make my heart your own) and can be a good way to introduce children to the Bible by locating the same passage. The authors emphasizes continuously throughout the book that God cares about all the details of our life including the most minor things you do and say each day. Written predominantly as a prayer it helps teach children the importance of prayer and how to pray. Dear God, It's Me is a recommended children's book.

Crown of the Continent
Ralph Waldt
Riverbend Publishing
PO Box 5833 Helena, MT 59604
ISBN: 1931832447 $29.95 168 pp.

This book contains some of the most beautiful pictures of the northern Rocky Mountains that I have seen. The author becomes your own personal guide as he takes you on a virtual tour of some of the most breathtaking scenes of the area. In the writing he shares the different facets of the landscape, animals, and character of each area. With its exquisite photography, Crown of the Continent is a highly recommended nature book and a real pleasure just to sit down and browse through.

California Wild
Tim Palmer
Voyageur Press, Inc.
123 North Second Street, PO Box 338 Stillwater, MN 55082
ISBN: 0896586510 $29.95 144 pp.

California Wild can be summed up with two words - incredibly beautiful. Tim Palmer takes the reader on a trip through the wide variety of geology, botany, and animal life of California in this absolutely gorgeous book. The writing is excellent and makes the reader feel they are a part of the wonderful wilds of California. These are some of the most awe-inspiring works of photography to grace the pages of any nature book. California Wild is highly recommended both for the writing style that invites the reader to be a part of a guided tour of the wilds and for the incredible photography.

Creating and Planting Alpine Gardens
Rex Murfitt
B. B. Mackey Books
PO Box 475 Wayne, PA 19087
ISBN: 1893443078 $22.50 268 pp. plus index

If you are interested in designing and building a rock garden using Alpine plants you will find this specialized book a valuable resource. The author covers everything from designing the area, to working with stone effects, building raised beds, preparing the soil, getting the right exposure and selecting the right plants. At the back of the book the author has included an extensive plant guide with detailed descriptions of different types of plants appropriate for an Alpine garden. Creating and Planting Alpine Gardens is recommended for anyone interested in this unique style of gardening.

Zondervan 2005 Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide
Dan Busby, CPA
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310261821 $14.99 206 pp. plus citations

This guide covers all the most important tax topics for churches and nonprofit organizations and includes most of the areas where nonprofits tend to get into trouble. The author covers issues of accountability, tax exemption, employee compensation, benefits, reporting, financial records, charitable gifting, risk management, and many other common problem areas. Of particular value is the special index that points the reader to the specific issues and problems of churches. In addition there are multiple checklists, charts, procedures, and even sample board resolutions. Written in plain English so anyone can understand and yet comprehensive enough to keep your nonprofit or church well-organized and out of trouble, the Zondervan 2005 Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide is highly recommended to everyone involved with the financial aspects of any nonprofit or church.

The Chronicles of Narnia
C. S. Lewis
Harper Collins Publishers
1350 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019
ISBN: 0060598247 $29.99 778 pp.

This complete collection of the Chronicles of Narnia includes all the stories put together in the order in which C. S. Lewis meant them to be read instead of the order in which they were published. For example The Magician's Nephew was written several years after The Chronicles of Narnia was started but was meant to be read first. In this collection it is placed first as Mr. Lewis meant it to be read. In addition it includes a short essay from C. S. Lewis on the subject of Writing for Children. This is a massive work of almost 800 pages. Most readers will be at least somewhat familiar with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as it has been in several smaller children's books and even some television specials, but it is only the beginning of the Chronicles of Narnia. The complete chronicles include The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. This is a high quality hardbound book that will survive the typical abuse of children when reading it. If you liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe you will love the complete collection. The Chronicles of Narnia, one of the all-time classics of children literature, is a highly recommended read and this publication of it should be considered for all public libraries and private collections.

Charts of Bible Prophecy
H. Wayne House, Randall Price
Zondervan Publishing
5300 Patterson SE Grand Rapids, MI 49530
ISBN: 0310218969 $18.99 175 pp.

With 119 charts this is an excellent resource for studying or teaching Bible prophecy. There isn't much in terms of explanation but it is still a great resource with some surprises. Some of the charts include a Contrast Between the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenant, Stages of the Kingdom of God, Biblical Types, Basic Approaches to Eschatology, Harmony of Daniel, Views on the Relationship of Joel, Alternate Determinations of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel, Comparison of Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism, Contrasts between the Rapture Views, Prophetic Significance of Old Testament Offerings, Views on the Millennium, Evaluating Views on Daniel, and even a few charts on the similarities and differences between Muslim, Jewish, and Christian eschatology. With even handed treatment that presents different views in an organized and logical form Charts of Bible Prophecy is a great resource for putting the information into an easy to understand format and teaching eschatology.

Birds in your Backyard
Robert J. Dolezal
Readers Digest Association, Inc.
Readers Digest Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570
ISBN: 0762104953 $26.95 259 pp. plus index

We've all heard of butterfly gardening, planting the right flowers and other plants to attract butterflies of all kinds. But have you considered planting the right garden plants and habitat to attract birds? In Birds in your Backyard the author teaches the reader the details of how to make a bird garden that will attract and support various birds. The book contains a complete section on creating an appropriate backyard habitat including providing food, cover, and housing for the species you want to attract. This is typical of the attention to detail the author displays throughout the book. Other sections cover topics like choosing appropriate plants for housing materials, building perches and shelters, birdhouses and feeders (including complete plans, materials lists, and assembly instructions), adding fountains or bird baths, and protection from predators. The last part of the book is very good section on bird habits, migration information, a guide to common North American birds and butterflies, and a guide to plants that attract birds. Birds in your Backyard is highly recommended to anyone interested in attracting birds or creating their own backyard bird watching area.

Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce
Cristian Darie, Mihai Bucica
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1590593928 $44.99 486 pp. plus appendixes and index

The use of PHP 5 and MySQL for e-commerce is a tested and proven combination. This book is primarily intended for the reader who already has some PHP knowledge and needs to understand how to build an e-commerce site. It does not focus on teaching either PHP 5 or MySQL but instead focuses on how to use the combination to produce an exceptional e-commerce solution. The authors use the example of a Tshirt shop and walk the reader through every step of completely constructing a viable e-commerce site. The book covers everything from designing your site, to creating a product catalog, searching the catalog, receiving payments, catalog administration, creating a shopping basket, working with customer orders, product recommendations, storing customer information, secure connections, implementing the order pipeline, working with credit cards, and setting up product reviews. The appendixes include detailed information on installing Apache, PHP, MySQL, and phpAdmin (for both Windows and Unix-like systems), hosting your web site, and project management. While this is not a book about learning the PHP scripting language it does contain enough detailed code to create a functioning e-commerce site even if you don't understand how the code works. For example, on page 192 it says to "Create a new template file named admin_login.tpl in the templates folder and add the following code to it: " This is followed by a long code listing that produces the desired results. There is a short explanation of the function of various sections of the code but nothing that details the purpose of each command, variable, etc. This is really not a problem since they state up front that the target audience is a PHP programmer who needs to learn how to build an e-commerce site, but it does deserve mention for those who have no knowledge of PHP and are considering the book. The first thing a person might notice when thinking about purchasing this book is that there is no CD in the back containing all the many examples of source code. This could be very discouraging as the examples are extensive and rewriting them by hand without error can be a daunting task. However, Apress does make all of the examples available for download at their web site. Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL E-Commerce is highly recommended for anyone who has some basic knowledge of PHP and MySQL and wants to capitalize on this to build a powerful e-commerce site.

Beginning MySQL Database Design and Optimization
Jon Stephens, Chad Russell
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, CA 94710
ISBN: 1590593324 $44.99 487 pp. plus index

The first three chapters of this book deal with the basics of MySQL including basic concepts, column and table types, keys, indexes, and normalization. The authors have written an excellent introduction to MySQL that provides all the core information you need to start using it right away. The chapter on finding the bottlenecks is one of the best sections in the book and details some of the finer points to be considered when creating your database. On the other hand, the part on optimizing queries is excellent for the beginning MySQL student (which is the target audience for this book) but not as good as it could be for the more experienced MySQL user. Perhaps I am just more sensitive to this area because of all the badly done queries I have had to deal with before. A good understanding of just this part can make a tremendous difference in optimization. If you are new to SQL queries the authors have done a great job of explaining why this is important and how to understand it when a query takes under a minute to run and then after a small change takes twenty. The last section covers accessing the MySQL database via other programming languages such as PHP. Beginning MySQL Database Design and Optimization is a recommended read for its target audience - the beginning MySQL programmer.

Basil to Thyme: Culinary Endeavors from the Garden to the Kitchen
Tim Haas, Jan Beane
Champion Press, Ltd.
4308 Blueberry Road Fredonia, WI 53021
ISBN: 1932783113 $22.95 281 pp. plus index and glossary

If you have an herb garden or just like to cook with a lot of herbs you will enjoy this book of recipes that feature herbs. Each herb gets its own chapter with recipes that focus on that particular one. The herbs covered in the book include Basil, Dill, Oregano, Coriander, Tarragon, Chives, Rosemary, Bay Leaf, Thyme, Sage, Parsley, Savory, Fennel, Garlic, and Ginger. As a particular fam of Dill I had to try the Dill butter with Garlic (great of fresh bread) and Dill Dip. It even includes some complete meal plans that focus on a particular herb. The recipes are clear and easy to follow, the additional information on each of the herbs and how to use them is excellent, and the final results delicious. Basil to Thyme: Culinary Endeavors from the Garden to the Kitchen is highly recommended for those who want to add the use of herbs to their repertoire of cooking knowledge.

Amazing Games: Activities for Smart Kids Ages 6 - 10
Caramel
Teora USA, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 870 Chevy Chase, MD 20815
ISBN: 1594960070 $7.95 96 pp. plus answer keys

If you are looking for a collection of fun activities for young children you need look no further than this book. Inside are all kinds of math mazes, connect the dots, puzzles based on viewing items from different perspectives, and lots of other activities all of which require some sort of creative thinking, close observation, counting, or logical thinking. Amazing Games: Activities for Smart Kids Ages 6 - 10 is recommended as a fun way to sharpen the mind and skills of young children.

All Around Cats!
Dolly Viscardi
T&N Children's Publishing, Inc.
NorthWord Books imprint
11571 K-Tel Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343
ISBN: 1559710721 $15.95 32 pp.

All Around Cats is a short book filled with illustrations of cats engaged in common cat activities. Whether stalking, jumping, prowling, sneaking, or napping they are just all around cats. The illustrations point out the wide variety of features among cats including various colors, tail shapes, and fur types. All Around Cats is a good choice for children learning to read, and especially so if they love cats.

Harold McFarland
Senior Reviewer

Klausner's Bookshelf
Clabbernappers
Len Bailey
Starscape
ISBN: 0765309815 $17.95, 224 pp.

The Sarksa pirates abduct the Winter Queen, putting King Krystal of Elidor into a tizzy. He needs to mount a rescue, but who would undertake a seemingly suicidal mission. Krystal knows his champion must be the most courageous soul in the universe and no one in Elidor comes close so the monarch turns to the Dream Machine to summon a special hero to save the Queen. Conceptually the King's idea should have worked, but he has doubts when the Dream Machine brings him the best bull rider in the Oklahoma Junior Division rodeo cowboy Danny Ray who was lifted from a Cherokee County amusement park. The monarch is skeptical not because Danny is from earth; he has misgivings because the "champion" is eleven years old. However, Danny Ray upon grasping why they sent for him, plans to prove the royal dude wrong by rescuing the Queen. His crosses the Checkered Sea with the help of Sea Captain Quigglewigg and the Clabbernappers while pirates, an evil monarch, the malevolent Nightmare Queen, and a nasty ghost attempt to kill him. Middle school students will agree with confident Danny Ray that "CLABBERNAPPERS is the best dang adventure ever" as the young rodeo champion seems to land in one precarious situation after another while befriending interesting allies. The story line never slows down whether Danny Ray persuades his callers that he is the man albeit preadolescent for the job until the final altercation after a series of confrontations with the bad dudes. Len Bailey provides a wonderful young adult fantasy that is not a coming of age tale, but instead a youthful intrepid defender performing what he thought would be an itty bitty task.

The Chairman
Stephen Frey
Random House
ISBN: 0345457609 $21.95, 320 pp.

With the accidental death of founder Bill Donovan, Everest Capital selects thirty-six year old Christian Gillette to replace him. Christian won the CEO seat by a razor thin margin over Bill's heir apparent Troy Martin. After a funeral ceremony at a church, Christian's driver opens the door of the limousine to let him in when the vehicle explodes killing the chauffeur and a passerby woman. Christian wonders who amongst his rivals, (Troy, Ben Cohen, and Nigel Faraday) would want him hostilely removed. He rules out the family oriented Ben who is to into the weeds. He eliminates Troy because he believes the culprit murdered Bill and Troy knew that it was a matter of time before his mentor would retire. However as he takes charge of the firm now trusting no one, he realizes the assailant is trying to destroy Everest Capital; even with private investigator Tom McGuire and his firm on the case, it appears the offender will succeed in obliterating the company and perhaps killing the new CEO. More a cat and mouse suspense tale than a finance thriller, THE CHAIRMAN is an exciting boardroom novel. The ruthless cutthroat (in this case literally) between inside rivals insure that the audience understands the golden rule is do unto others before they do unto you. Thus, Christopher don's call me Chris anymore is a cold person whose life motto is trust no one; this mantra actually gets him in deeper trouble as he must rely on others like McGuire if he to live let alone save the company. Stephen Frey continues to be the chairman of the board when it comes to dirty deadly practices on Wall St.

Conviction
Richard North Patterson
Random House
ISBN: 0345450191 $25.95

Death row attorney Terri Paget is working the fifteen years old capital crime conviction of Rennell Price, who the State of California will execute with a lethal injection in fifty-nine days. Terri realizes that the retarded surly black man is not a good client and her chances of saving him from the death penalty are slim to none. Terri with the help of her spouse and son looks back over time and quickly realizes that neither Rennell had much of a defense. The corpse of nine-year-old Thuy Sen was found in San Francisco Bay and the medical examiner immediately concluded that the cause of her death was choking on semen. Broadcast news ran the story with the picture of the young girl as its feature. This led to a neighbor claiming that Payton and Rennell Price, drug dealers, took the child with them while she was apparently coming home from school. Other evidence placed the victim in the Price vehicle. The circumstantial evidence remains overwhelming yet Terri remains convinced that her client is innocent. CONVICTION is an intriguing legal procedural in which the death penalty debate is incredible, extremely complex and in all honesty wordy (not a one sitting thriller by any stretch even for a reviewer with a multiple book a day habit). Surprisingly with that deep look and with solid courtroom drama, the cast never fully seems real as the law takes on a life of its own superseding any character. Those interested in understanding why the former Illinois Governor halted capital punishment should read Richard North Patterson's strong view on the death penalty, just set aside plenty of time and don't run for DA or Governor of Texas.

A Thread of Grace
Mary Doria Russell
Random House
ISBN: 0375501843 $25.95

By the fall of 1943, European Jews not in death camps or murdered seek sanctuaries in places like Italy's Piedmont Province though this area as a refugee haven remains questionable. The small village of Porto Sant'Andrea is home for Italian Jews led by Rabbi Soncini, Italian Catholics led by Father Tomitz, and the occupying German army represented by Doktor Schramm. Into this mix come non-Italian Jews especially from occupied France. The three prime groups in the village have a tentative peaceful co-existence, but the influx of newcomers places that in jeopardy. The Italian Jews want to welcome their mostly religious kin with open arms. Father Tomitz sets the tone for his followers by providing shelter for the Jews. While Doktor Shramm hides with drink from his murdering almost 100,000 people of which he can account for seemingly everyone, the German leaders blindly follow orders to carry out the Final Solution. Into this volatile situation come the allies. A THREAD OF GRACE is a fabulous complex historical tale (not sci fi as Mary Doria Russell's' two previous works are) that brings alive a dark era through seemingly real people. The story line is fast-paced with multiple subplots that add to the depth and the feel of 1943 Italy. With plenty of tidbits and multifaceted perspectives, the amazing part remains the ensemble cast regardless of national origin or religion which all seem so genuine; for instance the plight of a French Jew with his daughter struggling to cross the Alps to Italy is breathtaking. World War II readers will want to read this slice of an odious era where lights of courageous kindness existed.

Murder at Five Finger Light
Sue Henry
NAL
ISBN: 0451213971 $23.95, 288 pp.

Sled dog racer Jessie Arnold feels the world is looking up as she rebounded from knee surgery, recovered from a DEATH TRAP, and is back with her beloved State Trooper Alex Jensen. Jessie accepts an invitation to a paint party thrown by close friends Laurie and Jim Trevino, who are renovating a fixer-upper Five Finger Lighthouse on Alaska's Inner Passage; Alex has a meeting that he must attend so he cannot accompany Jessie, but tells her to have a good time. However, thinking this will be fun though hard work, Jessie goes leaving Alex behind. However, the idyllic gala of paint and panorama ends when Jessie finds the corpse of another guest. Assuming a tragic accident occurred Jessie changes her mind when she tries to call for help by phone and radio; neither work as a killer has severed the lines with the objective to snuff the life out of the party one death at a time. The latest Sue Henry Alaska mystery will remind readers of Agatha Christie's classic Ten Little Indians. The story line is action-packed once Jessie stumbles over a dead body and never slows down as the sleuth realizes a murderer is amongst the guests. The scenery as usual is breathtaking, but it is the cat and mouse game between the culprit and the detective that will have the audience spellbound.

The Big Boat to Bye-Bye
Ellis Weiner
NAL
ISBN: 0451213963 $22.95, 288 pp.

Children's TV producers Charlotte Purdy and her spouse Donnie Dansicker, owners of D&D Productions hire private investigator Pete Ingalls to uncover the identity of a blackmailer. Charlotte explains that someone demands one million dollars in a few days or a damning tape containing lewd behavior by the puppet stars of the popular PBS kiddy show Playground Pals, the flagship of D&D, will be shown over the net. Pete begins making inquiries after interviewing the staff as it seems obvious that to have taped the bawdy exchanges that occurred between actual takes, it had to be an inside job. He quickly discovers almost everyone detests the producers and had access to the tape. While Pete is ably aided by his office assistant wannabe actress Stephanie Constantino, the case turns deadly when murder occurs. Following up on his sleuthing in DROP DEAD, MY LOVELY, Pete works the Hollywood crowd as he tries to solve the case in which there are suspects galore. He remains a pop philosopher with observations on life that would make everyone except Stephanie, who knows better, believe that he has too much time on his hands. The blackmail turning into a homicide investigation is cleverly conceived so that fans of Hollywood Noir receive an enjoyable often amusing one reel tale.

'Til Morning Light
Ann Moore
NAL
ISBN: 0451214048 $13.95, 416 pp.

In 1852, Irish widow Gracelin O'Malley accompanied by her daughter Mary Kate and adopted son Jack travels to San Francisco where she will wed Captain Reinders in a marriage of convenience. However, Reinders is at sea somewhere near Panama City, a place Gracelin never heard of. Reinders' partner Lars Darmstadt and his spouse Detra are also away. Needing income, Gracelin obtains work as a housekeeper for Dr. Wakefield and his family. The job would be fine except for the machinations of her employer's sister Abigail, who tries to blackmail her to achieve her goals. When Reinders arrives in town, Gracelin prepares for her wedding, but a ghost arises from the dead that may put a halt to the nuptials. Ann Moore continues the exciting adventures of Gracelin O'Malley who has long since left Ireland and has now journeyed across the New World continent with this story having her already arrived in San Francisco. The story line is filled with historical tidbits that enable the audience to believe they are in the middle of the nineteenth century. However, it is the deep cast that makes this a solid historical tale as the audience can taste the psychological prisons that each person uses to lock themselves up from fully enjoying life. 'TIL MORNING LIGHT is a fine Americana tale.

Forgotten Man
Robert Crais
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385504284 $24.95, 342 pp.

At four in the morning, LAPD Detective Kelly Diaz calls private eye Elvis Cole to inform him that a shooting victim just before dying mentioned him as his son. Elvis is shocked as he never knew the identity of his father though he spent much of his life seeking his paternal shadow. Overwhelmed emotionally, Elvis turns to his partner Joe Pike for advice and help especially since the corpse means nothing to him. They fail to learn much more from the police beyond the deceased registered as Herbert Faustina at the Home Away Suites. Could Herbert, if that was the man's actual name, really be Elvis' father? Detective Carol Starkey, who obsessively desires Elvis in what seems like unrequited love keeps doing little favors to help the sleuth learn more. Hindering Elvis is Frederick Conrad who has covered up a deadly secret for years; believing Elvis killed his fellow conspirator his boss, he plans to murder the sleuth. The latest Elvis Cole thriller is very personal as he struggles to determine whether a dying man's last words are true only to find himself with Joe watching his back caught up in a dangerous cat and mouse game in which he is the rodent. The dark story line is driven by Elvis who seems human as he switches back and forth between belief and doubt over the veracity of the death alley statement, but also uses people like he does with besotted DEMOLITION ANGEL Carol. Robert Crais provides an outstanding investigative tale that brings home many of the hero's insecurities.

The Society of Others
William Nicholson
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385513275 $23.95, 224 pp.

He recently graduated college, but has no goals and speculates that life is meaningless. Why bother? However, tired of parental nagging, he decides on a coming of age grand adventure on the continent. He hitches a ride from the English side of the Chunnel with a philosophical truck driver on a three day trek across Europe. However, once they leave the land of the Euro into the heavily guarded East, thugs using a roadblock stop the truck, torture and kill the trucker, but his passenger escapes. They burn the books inside the truck, but the hitchhiker rescues one along with an envelope that the driver gave him. The hiker reaches a nearby town where he meets Petra, who informs him that the burned books were targeted to go to those names listed in the envelop. He joins Petra's revolutionary band, but when her group torture the enemy at another roadblock, he flees into the woods in despair. By himself he ponders the meaning of life. The first half of this novel is a great coming of age tales as the unnamed narrator (apropos label for the disenchanted) finds his grand tour turn into a nightmare. Nameless struggles with both sides in the dispute who use any means to achieve their end. Once he flees from Petra, the story line turns much more introspective as the lead character begins to analyze his relationships especially with his parents even while he dodges the police and to a lesser degree the revolutionaries. This is a strong thriller worth reading due to the despairing antihero but the latter half though superbly well written cannot match the incredible levels of excitement and suspense of the first part.

Rogue Berserker
Fred Saberhagen
Baen
ISBN: 0743498739 $22.00, 281 pp.

Harry Silver, with a wife and as a new father, needs money, but a Berserker destroyed his vessel. Wealthy Winston Cheng offers him a small fortune along with a quality ship in exchange for Harry leading a private army to rescue his granddaughter and great-grandson kidnapped by a Berserker. Harry knows that if these killing machines allow a "Goodlife" to live it is only because they become subservient. Winston feels this abduction is different because the death machine is a rogue who acts dissimilar from the others. Still Harry says no as he has two reasons to live. However, Harry learns that the rogue Berserker kidnapped his wife and son. His only hope to save his beloved Becky and Ethan, assuming they have not been terminated as "Badlife" and that Cheng's theory is correct, is the deal. Harry meets old friends, several enemies, and other adventurers while preparing for an assault. Though Winston's strategy seems logical, Harry knows from first hand experience that the best laid plans of Silver always goes astray when confronting a Berserker so why should this quest be any different especially when another machine seeks to kill Cheng's crew. ROGUE BERSERKER is a throwback tale to the earlier novels with Berserkers in the forefront leading to non-stop action. Harry seems more complete as he seeks vengeance, prays for a miracle expecting none, and accepts any means is fine as long as he rescues his family. Fueled by anger and helplessness, his obsession makes him less ethical yet more human than hero. Fred Saberhagen provides a terrific entry in his long running series as he returns to the basics: human vs. invincible killing machine within a tense story line.

Dance of Desire
Catherine Kean
Medallion
ISBN: 193281535X $6.99

In 1192 Lady Rexana Villeaux is desperate to save her fifteen years old brother Rudd from being arrested as a traitor. To succeed she must steal a list that High Sheriff Fane Linford has. To accomplish this deed, she must replace an ailing actress and dance like a desert courtesan as rumors that the former Crusader survived months of torture and imprisonment due to the love of a Saracen courtesan. While she distracts Fane, her accomplice is to take the list. Fane immediately realizes that the scantily clad female is a fake as she fumbles several nuances in her performance. Still he is intrigued as to why she would perform as she has. When he learns who her sibling is, he offers her a bargain; marry him and he will help her brother. Medieval romance readers will appreciate the DANCE OF DESIRE because of the brooding hero and the courageous woman who lightens his soul when she steals his heart. The story line is somewhat typical of the sub-genre with clever villains plotting against King Richard while a former Crusader and his reluctant bride stand in their way. Still the changing relationship between the couple entertains the audience who will wonder whether ultimately Rexana will have to choose between her love for her husband or for her brother.

Daniel's Veil
R.H. Stavis
Medallion
ISBN 0974363960 $6.99, 308 pp.

Police officer Daniel O' Brady has witnessed one death too many with the latest involving a child he couldn't save from her father. He's ordered to take a vacation and heads to the countryside when he has an accident with his car. He walks to a village where the people welcome him and won't take money from him for food, lodgings or anything else. He meets Rosie the owner of a diner and the two are drawn to one another. However not everything is good in paradise. The clock in the center of town never moves and a house with blue lights flashing comes into existence when Daniel comes to town. The house, surrounded by blue lights attracts him and when he enters he sees a man in another dimension who is in a supposedly haunted house trying to prove his theory that Slim Veils, energy fields separates the various dimensions and when the veil is slim enough, contact between the two planes can appear. Michael and Daniel discover the truth, one that they never before considered, and it will change their lives forever. Michael wants to prove that the so called ghosts that have been seen by people are really entities from another dimension. Daniel wants to discover what the townsfolk are hiding from him. Neither man realizes they are linked together in a way that defies space and time. R.H. Stavis has written a fascinating and enthralling paranormal tale of what lies beyond the veil. The ending will come as a shock to the readers as the author brilliantly creates a solution that takes in all the possibilities from the adjoining sides of the veil.

Big Hair and Flying Cows
Dolores J. Wilson
Medallion
ISBN: 1932815171 $24.95 228 pp.

All Roberta "Bertie" Bird wants is to live a normal life. However that is not easy when you drive a two truck five days a week in which your neighbors in Sweet Meadow, Georgia think is a taxi service. They will do anything and everything to get their ride. Even moving out from her parents' home has not proven easy since the owner and previous resident elderly Pete Forney constantly sneaks out of the nursing home to "visit" Birdie when he is not trying to toss her out. She has males in her life, but none reach first base because the zany world intrude from Catch 22 zoning laws to running over a mattress that destroys her wrecker that places "Dirty Bird" on national TV. Following the death of Pete, Birdie meets Pete's son Arch and his granddaughter Petey; they make her feel normal except he fled when she kissed him. Life in Bertie's beloved rural Georgia means the sublime is the norm. BIG HAIR AND FLYING COWS is a series of vignettes centering loosely on a series of misfortune hammering at Bertie that is similar in many ways to the Mossy Creek tales. Bertie is a delight as her efforts to obtain normalcy is constantly devastated by those in need of her services. Her autobiographical account of sh*t happens is southern humor at its most jocular. Mossy Creek readers will appreciate a slice of life in Sweet Meadow through the eyes of a native daughter who just wants the garage sign changed to Bird and daughter from Bird and Sons as she remains while her brothers flew the coop years ago.

The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
Kim Harrison
Harper Torch
ISBN: 0060572973 $6.99, 453 pp.

After being given crap cases that she felt were below her talent, witch Rachel Morgan broke the cardinal rule by resigning from the human managed federal government's Inderland Security. EEO and merit promotion fail when it comes to the glass ceiling for witches and other assorted ilk. Rachel opens up a firm with Jenks the Pixie and Ivy Tamwood the ill-tempered Vampire, but though she loves the independence worries about the rent. Her former agency contracts out an assignment to Rachel. In Cincinnati, a serial killer is murdering witches, which makes Rachel the perfect witch to stop the culprit. The preliminary evidence points towards Trent Kalamack, who would cherish feeding his black magical soul with the prowess of his victims. With her helpers not much help as Ivy still needs to cut her teeth and Jenk is stuck in polyester and her boyfriend is tied up with demons that he conjures up, Rachel patrols the night by herself knowing that she risks her life to stop an evil from feeding on her sisters. This sequel to the delightful DEAD WITCH WALKING is a wonderful paranormal private investigative tale that in many ways will remind readers of the works of Kelly Armstrong and Charlaine Harris. The story line is terrific as Kim Harrison displays insider knowledge to the workings of a bureaucracy when they force Rachel to quit, but hire her back as a contractor for more money and full use of her skills. The key to the tale is the cast who will turn believers of skeptics that vampires, pixies, witches, and an assortment of other supernatural beings exist. That is the magic of Kim Harrison.

Tiger Eye
Marjorie M. Liu
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505526263 $6.99, 352 pp.

In Beijing, Dela Reese searches the various booths of the Cheap Dirt Market until she purchases an ancient looking riddle box for a ridiculously low price. She takes the box to her apartment, but is unable to read the inscription that looks like gibberish to Dela. However, she manages to "open" the box; in the next nanosecond a handsome seven foot warrior offers to obey her commands. Dela tells Hari he is free, but he says she cannot release him because part of the curse is that he must stay near his owner. He explains that the curse began two millennium ago when a magi stole his skin and killed his sister. When an assassin tries to kill Dela with a knife she made, he intercedes though she never commanded him to do so. As Hari finds Dela unique and different than any previous owner, they fall in love, but someone wants her dead and if they succeed the trouble with Hari is that they would own him unless Hari can end the curse by finding his skin. TIGER EYE is an exhilarating fantasy romantic suspense that enables the audience to glimpse modern day Beijing. The genie in a non-bottle container rescued by a courageous heroine is not a new theme. Sherrilyn Kenyon's did this in FANTASY LOVER. However, Marjorie M. Liu makes it feel as if she is the first to use this concept because of the interactions between Dela and Hari. She adapts perhaps because of her curse to "hear" people's laments while he struggles to accept her honest efforts to liberate him without personal gain; together they make for an exciting tale.

Night Games
Nina Bangs
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505524805 $5.99, 353 pp.

In 2502, the most popular spectator sport to watch is sex games. The current league MVP is Brian Byrne has sent many a woman into faint and many a man filled with envy (semen would be too much effort). With the season finished, Brian decides he needs a breather, but his head is too well known so he chooses to travel back five centuries to his ancestral Irish estate. Ally O'Neal is the author of a perfect wife series but her recent divorce jeopardizes the franchise. Her editor wants her to write a book on getting back into the dating game. However, Ally decides to take a breather first and accompanies her eccentric aunt on a ghost-busting trip to Ireland. When Brian and Ally meet, he immediately employs all his craft to bed her though his contract forbids off-season sex, but shockingly, Ally rejects his efforts. Even his strange but interesting gadgets fail to get a rise from Ally. Soon the future stud and the modern day woman fall in love, but how far will they go? Nina Bangs has to be the imagination queen of amusing sexual romances for who else could come up with such a plot and devices that appear to work and blend them with warm characters into an entertaining novel. The science fiction romance story line engages the audience who can understand the future evolution of sports and the spectator. The lead couple is a delight, as their interactions will provide readers with quite a bang. NIGHT GAMES is a humorous satire poking fun at the games people play.

Time Rogues
Kay Austin
Love Spell
ISBN: 0505526212 $5.99, 308 pp.

In Dallas, Mackenzie Cates believes that the Pompeii Man and the rest of the exhibit from that doomed city will be the final ticket for her to become the museum director. However her former lover archeologist Professor Rick Mason is also back and wants a second chance after foolishly dumping her. Besides the weird noises that Mack insists must be from the new ventilation system, she sees the statue move; that has no rationalization. Unable to resist, Mack touches the stone and somehow frees Dak a time rogue trapped inside the stone who now shares Rick's body. As Mack and Rick begin to reconcile, a strange bald female stares at him and the statue as if she desires both. Rick tries to persuade his beloved that he will marry her, but first must save the world from the time rogue and get Dak back to his body; failure in the first could mean the end of the world as Mack knows it, but worse failure with the second means Rick shares his body and so does Mack with that bald beauty. This is an exciting time travel romance starring two delightful battling lead protagonists (kind of like the couple from Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Lost Ark). The story line is fast-paced and action-packed but can be difficult to follow with numerous short inserts that spin away from the prime players, which in fairness paradoxically gives the science fiction feel to the tale. Mack and Rick are a wonderful pairing struggling with a second chance at love while under pressure to save the world. Fans will enjoy the TIME ROGUES, a wild torrid trip back and forth into the past, present, and future.

For Camelot's Honor
Sarah Zettel
Luna
ISBN: 0373802188 $13.99, 400 pp.

Widow Adora is pulled in two directions as Arthur of Camelot and Urien of Eufaen want her to align her cantrev Cantru Pont Cymryd with them. Adora takes a daring approach weighing the honor being a vassal to both men while her daughter Elen crosses the bridge to help one of the fae l give birth. A healthy baby is born and Elen heads home, but finds Urien is the Lord and her mother dead. Morgaine le Fay cuts out Elen's heart and puts it inside a falcon so that whoever controls the bird has the woman also under a gaes. Round Table knight Sir Geraint falls in love with Elen while sensing her danger. He tries to rescue her and grabs the falcon just before it takes them to the land of fairy. Elen makes a deal with the Lord and Lady that she will return to them the Spear of Monewydden once she completes her vengeance on Urien. This means traveling to Morgaine's ally the Little King Gwiffert, who has plans for the female falcon with only Sir Geraint to keep Elen safe or die in the attempt. The land where Gwiffert rules is loaded with magic and glamour making it difficult for the two outsiders to locate him until they observe how he treats his subjects. This is a microcosm of the bewitching tale that focuses on one of King Arthur's knights and the woman he loves. Sara Zettel has written an enchanting tale where magic is taken for granted in a similar way to how we accept technology. The Arthurian crowd will love this adventure and look forward to a sequel.

Trip Wire
Charlotte Carter
One World (Ballantine)
ISBN: 0345447697 $12.95, 192 pp.

In Chicago Cassandra Perry cherishes her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Woody for taking her in almost ten years ago when her grandmother who raised her without love died. By 1968 the twenty years old Cassandra is mortified by the world she sees. Her cousin was murdered in front of her, assassinations have struck down two leaders, and recently the riots at the Democratic Convention have made her reconsider her values. When fellow Afro-American Wilt Mobley asks her to move into a hippie commune, she does over the chagrin of her loving relatives. Someone murders Wilt and his white girlfriend Mia Boone. Chicago Police Detective James Norris snidely questions commune members, refusing to look elsewhere for a culprit. He hones in on the only other Negro member Sandy as the commune calls Cassandra insisting that she was jealous sharing a hunk Black man with a white. Accompanied by Ivy and Woody, Cassandra begins her own inquiries knowing the police will either blame her or ignore the double homicides, but the trio is not prepared for the politicians that are willing to kill to stop her investigation. This engrossing historical fiction is a terrific look back to 1968, a year of disenchantment through the eyes of a former idealist turn lost soul. The story line is fantastic as Cassandra wonders what's going on especially when the cops' attitudes towards Blacks and hippies (or worse if you belong to both) are loud and clear. The amateur sleuth elements start late and are fun to follow, but the heart and soul of Charlotte Carter's TRIP WIRE is Christmas1968 in a Chicago where no joy to the world exists.

Hello to All That: A Memoir of War, Zoloft, and Peace
John Falk
Holt
ISBN: 0805072187 $25.00, 284 pp.

This touching autobiography wins on two fronts as John Falk paints quite a self portrait of his depressing teen years culminating with the miracle of Zoloft and his twenties as a journalist in Sarajevo in 1993, the heart of the hostilities. Both accounts rivet the audience as Mr. Falk explains that he was a happy preadolescent raised in a loving home when suddenly at twelve he became depressed and stayed that way for a dozen years until Zoloft gave him back his life. To celebrate his return from the living dead, John becomes a war correspondent. This segment of the book relates how the devastated city is home to people trying to stay alive. These human interest stories are touching and warm with hopes that those like a working student made it. Mr. Falk provides a heartfelt remarkable memoir of a person surviving two wars, a personal one that medicine cures and the other caused by human atrocities that should shame everyone.

Busted Flush
Brad Smith
Holt
ISBN: 0805076506 $24.00, 320 pp.

Everybody in Coppers Falls, New York has an explanation why Dock Bass left town, leaving his social climbing spouse and the realty job she pushed him into behind as he resents one and hates the other. In fact, no one is close to the truth why abruptly Dock, who enjoys fishing and cards with beer left town. Simply the letter from the Pennsylvania attorney gave Dock a reason and means to skip for he has inherited a farm in the Gettysburg area. On his new homestead that needs immense cleaning, Dock finds nineteenth century treasures especially valuable Civil War artifacts, but the prize is an apparent recording of Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address. For someone who sought mellow, Dock finds he becomes the center of a storm with the media, treasure hunters, avaricious "friends", and his greedy wife. Using hyperbole to exaggerate traits, Brad Smith provides a biting satire on America where everything from the Blair House to the Lincoln Room to an Inauguration is on sale. Nothing is sacred regardless of what it might be as there is a price for everything as unassuming Dock learns during the shark infested frenzy. Fans of wild lampooning and historical buffs (while cringing with the for sale sign) will enjoy this sharp edged tale and ponder could Monica's dress be E-Bay bound?

The Rising
Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
Tyndale
ISBN 0842360565 $25.95, 380 pp.

Marilena Carpathia is a dowdy unfeminine woman who is more interested in the intellect than in looking attractive. She is married to Sarin who, like her, is a professor at the University of Bucharest in Romania. Their relationship is platonic, a mating of the minds, and she is satisfied until the day comes that she wants a child, something Sarin doesn't want. She meets and becomes involved with Viv Ivins, a spiritualist who worships Lucifer. She tells Marlena that Lucifer will grant her a child if she promises to raise him to worship him. Both Lucifer and Christ contact her; the former promises her the child while the latter offers her nothing but salvation. She chooses Viv's god and gives birth to Nicolae who grows up to be a brilliant, cunning, and manipulative man who promises to worship Lucifer as his god in return for becoming ruler of the Earth. Readers of the Left Behind series get to see how Nicolae came into being, how Viv entered his life and how Lucifer controlled events to make Nicolae the perfect Antichrist who would obey him. Surprisingly, hearts will go out to Marilena who realized she made a Faustian bargain and lived to regret it. The audience also learns how Rafe Steel becomes the man he grew up to be prior to the Rapture. THE RISING is a fantastic work that only master writers like Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins can produce.

Necessary Evils
Neesa Hart
Tyndale
ISBN: 1414300395 $14.99, 308 pp.

When National Press Secretary George Romero failed to appear at the White House Situation Room following the abrupt disappearance of millions of people, the Chief of Staff Brad Benton assumes his friend is dead. Pictures delivered to Brad prove that someone murdered George. Brad investigates, which leads to several attempts to kill him and his loved ones. Brad works with Los Angeles Times reporter Liza Cannley who finds evidence that wealthy industrialist Victor Rudd, a major campaign contributor to President Fitzhugh's election efforts, abetted by Constantine Kostankis diverted gold from the Federal Reserve. They used their illegal gain to fund a covert operation using Abkhazian rebels to recapture a research facility from Muslin Fundamentalists with the conspiracy involving the White House, the Joint Chiefs, and high ranking Justice and State Department officials. However when the evidence is found the question remains of who to give it to since anyone in Washington and connected to the president is suspect. Unlike the first two tales in this series, the action centers on the heroic Brad who risks his life to expose high level corruption, murder and other illegalities in order to bring George's killers to justice. There is plenty of action especially as the perpetrators attempt to kill Brad. Though his enemies seem invincible and omnipotent in most matters, they are pathetic when it comes to erasing two fleas. Still Neesa Hart provides an enthralling refreshing and original post Rapture political thriller that emphasizes the international left behind crowd more than the religious implications.

3 Brides For 3 Bad Boys
Lucy Monroe
Kensington Brava
ISBN: 0758208588 $14.00

Rand. Phoebe loves Rand, but a tragedy has left him rejecting her. Desperate she offers him a deed to property he covets for one week of sex. Though he vowed never to have sex with Phoebe the offer is too enticing on the boardroom and bedroom fronts. She prays that once they commingle, he will want her forever though she knows the risk could be a broken heart. Carter. To inherit a fortune from his late father, Carter must marry. He selects his employee, the pretty intelligent Daisy as his temporary wife. She agrees as she will earn an easy half a million. Their wedding night is heaven making Carter wonder how to persuade Daisy he wants to erase the temporary from her new job description of wife; Daisy knows now the 500K was not worth the broken heart when Carter ends their marital arrangement. Colton: When Colton wakes up with a woman sharing his bed, he smiles until Fayre insists they are married. He cannot believe he does not remember saying I do. As cool hand Colton wonders how opposites could stay blissfully wedded the more he is with his new wife the more he wants to be with this ardent soul. These three novellas star the Denning "bad boy" brothers and a trio of delightful females who heat more than just their blood. Each tale is distinct because the lead couples contain differing personalities and albeit divergent relationships. Though Phoebe trade raises eyebrows even if her motives are pure, fans of erotic romantic anthologies will enjoy Lucy Monroe's passionate love stories due to a fine cast.

Baked To Death
Dean James
Kensington
ISBN 0758204876 $22.00, 286 pp.

Taking the pill daily gives vampire Simon Kirby-Jones all the nourishment he needs so he doesn't drink human blood, is able to walks in the sunshine and has heightened senses. The only changes are that he is immortal and is stronger and faster than humans. After he broke up with Professor Tris Lovelace, the vampire that turned him, he moved to Laurel Cottage in the English village of Snupperton Mumsley. He is attracted to his assistant Giles but fears disclosing his feelings in case his cherished one turns away in revulsion when Simon tells him he is a vampire. Tris arrives declaring that he wants Simon wants back. When a medieval fair comes to the village, Simon, Tris, and Giles are present in the tent of Luke de Montfort when the host suddenly dies. Tris believes he was poisoned; Simon throws himself into the investigation to stop thinking about Tris who might have caused Luke's death because he refuses to succumb to blackmail and change Luke into a vampire. There are other suspects who hated Luke; Simon hopes that one of them and not Tris will turn out to be the killer. Dean James has written an upbeat amateur sleuth mystery with a vampire as the hero. Simon has many wonderful qualities and his fear that Giles will turn away from him in horror once he learns the truth about him endears him to the audience. BAKED TO DEATH shows readers what it is like behind the scenes at a medieval fair and how it mimics the real world. Readers will find this charming entertaining and delightful mystery a book to put on the keeper shelf.

The Assassin
Rachel Butler
Dell
ISBN: 0440241200 $6.99, 384 pp.

In Key West, artist Selina McCaffrey runs Island Dreams, an art gallery except when she is on assignment for her "Uncle" William Davis. Fourteen years ago William "helped" Selena with a problem involving a death and she would do anything for him now. William sends Selena to clean up a mess incriminatingly left behind by his assistant Damon Long. An irate Damon detests Selena who is treated more like William's family than a worker. Selena temporarily moves to Tulsa to live next door to Detective Tony "Chee" Ceola, who is putting together a case against William. Selena is to destroy the dossier and if necessary kill the cop. Damon hopes she will mess up though he admits she is a survivor. While a serial killer murdering the dregs of society leaves behind "repent" as his message diverts Tony's efforts to put away William, the detective and his assassin fall in love. Will Selena choose the man who gave her a lifeline when she was a drowning teen or the cop that offers her a lifetime of love? The key to THE ASSASSIN is the believability of Selena as a fighter, a survivor, and a woman in love; the cast including Chee pale next to her. The story line grips the audience from the moment Selena shows her skills against a much heavier male opponent and never slows down until she must choose sides. Readers will wonder whether she will go with the father figure who "saved" her in the past or the hunk who offers her a warm enlightened future. Rachel Butler provides a gripping thriller that keeps her audience guessing which one Selena will select.

Path of Glory
Bret M. Funk
Tyrannosaurus Press
PO Box 8337, New Orleans, LA 70182
ISBN: 097188191X $19.95

In the land of Madryn, the four races are forced to work together to defeat the evil Darklord Lorthas. The elves, the humans and the Garan'ah fought courageously at the final battle when the mages erected the Barrier to contain Lorthas. The Barrier is a magical mountain range with only one entrance, a portal guarded by a garrison of troops. A millennium later, the segregated races keep totally to themselves distrusting one another. Young orphan Jeran lives on a farm near the Boundary; he befriends a runaway slave Dahr. The twosome share many happy times together before two outlaws thought to have been exiled inside the barrier attack their homestead. Jeran's uncle sends him to warn King Mathis that the Barrier is weakening. Accompanied by Dahr, Jeran meets allies and enemies in their quest to see the king; even after their message is delivered, the adventures of Jeran and Dahr are just beginning as the monarch has plans for his youthful messengers. PATH OF GLORY is epic fantasy in the tradition of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and the SHANNARA series. The protagonists are two young people who must learn about their different heritages if they hope to understand what is happening and being able to help when the seemingly inevitable war begins. No one will be in a funk after reading this fine coming of age novel except those who fail to read the next tale, SWORD OF HONOR, in the Boundary Fall series.

Sword of Honor
Bret M. Funk
Tyrannosaurus Press
PO Box 8337, New Orleans, LA 70182
ISBN: 0971881901 $19.95

The orphan Jeran and the former slave Dahr thought their mission would end once they warned King Mathis that the "boundary" that entrapped the Darklord Lorthas is weakening (see PATH OF GLORY). The concerned monarch understands how difficult it was to incarcerate Lorthas when the four races united a millennium ago; he fears defeat since there is much more disharmony between the people now. He assigns the messengers and his son Martyn to rally allies among the other races and warn them that Lorthas is coming. Jeran and Martyn meet with the elves, who detest commingling with other species, to persuade them to join in a new alliance; Dahr goes to rally his race the Garun'ah against a not so common foe. As Lorthas mentally crosses the Boundary to devastate the teen messengers when they dream, others plot to use his return to overthrow the King. The elves are divided as some feel Lorthas was right and they should stay out or join his side of the dispute. The Garun'ah have doubts about renewing the ancient alliance. Book two of the Boundaries Fall saga is a terrific coming of age epic fantasy in which Bret Funk makes his five races worshiping different Gods seems genuine as if the Middle East relocated to Madryn. The complex story line contains two prime subplots, the split adventures of Jeran/Martyn and Dahr on their separate treks though other themes are also explored. The cast enables the audience to comprehend how each race sees the world so differently. Though it would be better to have read the previous book first as references to events in BOUNDARY'S FALL would prove meaningless, fans will enjoy this deep fantasy.

The Devil of Nanking
Mo Hayder
Atlantic/Grove
ISBN: 0802117945 $24.00, 368 pp.

In Tokyo former London University student "Grey" Hutchins seeks information on war atrocities specifically the 1937 Nanking Massacre. She hears rumors that visiting Chinese Professor Shi Chongming was in the province at the time and filmed the occupying Japanese army torturing the locals. She requests a copy of the 8mm film, but he tells her to leave. Though broke, Grey refuses to give up just because an elderly scholar declines to help her. She obtains employment at The Club, frequented by gangsters where she meets wheelchair-bound hoodlum Fuyuki. He is protected by a mini army of thugs and is rumored to have an elixir that keeps him alive. At Tokai University, Chongming learns that Grey has befriended Fuyuki so the professor offers her a deal; he will give her the film in exchange for her providing him with Fuyuki's elixir. Though probably deadly, Grey accepts the devil's terms, but wonders why he never released the film and why he covets the elixir. She will soon learn more than she ever wanted to know about both and information on her own link to 1937 Nanking. THE DEVIL OF NANKING is an extremely complex tale not for the faint of heart that moves on two major paths. Readers follow the Professor in 1937 Nanking and Grey in 1990 Tokyo; however, the key to the flow and the evidence of Mo Haydor's skill lies in the way the subplots deftly intermingle without disturbing each other yet connect through events and people. This dark at times gloomy tale filled with depressing lost souls is not for everyone, but those who "never forget" the depravity of humans towards humans will feel the haunting of Nanking.

In One Year and Out the Other
Nine different authors
Downtown (Pocket)
ISBN: 1416503307 $13.00, 373 pp.

This nine tale chick lit anthology is overall an entertaining relatively strong collection. Each tale is well written with none disastrous and a third really superb. Especially enticing are entries by sub-genre favorites Cara Lockwood, Beth Kendrick, and Diane Stingley. Though this reviewer holds a prejudicial belief that that the short story is the perfect medium for this milieu, sub-genre fans including those who prefer novels will appreciate this collection. This reviewer's New Year resolution is to try to read books in a timelier manner. Still better late than never, fans will toast the authors of this delightful lighthearted anthology, which holds up for any holiday as the characters and their respective relationships make for a fun read in time for Valentine's Day.

Best of Friends
Cathy Kelly
Downtown
ISBN: 0743490258 $14.00, 528 pp.

Abby Barton has become a famous TV personality with the success of her show "Declutter: Your Home and Your Life". However, she feels pressure on all sides from her producer to her spouse, but mostly her reticent teenage daughter Jess. Medical receptionist Lizzie Shanahan nurtures everyone but herself. However, in spite of caring for patients, her adult children and even her former husband Myles, Lizzie feels alone; her despondency is augmented by Myles finding a new love in his life. After a decade in the States, Erin Kennedy and her spouse Greg return to Ireland where he begins a new job in Cork. However, she worries about returning to Ireland after fleeing from her family years ago to live in Boston, and Chicago. Sally Richardson is contented with raising her children with a loving spouse, but her happiness is tempered by cancer. When she dies, her three friends, who believed they had the weight of the world on their back, learn what life is all about. The four subplots are handled with dexterity so though rotated in no obvious order; readers with a degree of difficulty will be able keep track of how each of the key females feels. Readers will care about these women and hope for the best for each of them. The character driven subplots are complex and interesting as the surviving trio begins to appreciate what they already have. Cathy Kelly furbishes a fine tale with the moral of live life to the fullest with loved ones for one day you will be an angel sitting on a cloud looking down hopefully with joy towards those you cherish.

I'm With Cupid
Diane Stingley
Downtown
ISBN: 0743464923 $13.00, 304 pp.

Cynical Cupid believes he has the "worst job in the entire universe" as he deals with romance on Planet Thirty-seven, known by the whining inferior natives as Earth. His current assignment is to bring together Anna Munson and Nick Wells, who work in the same firm, but both avoid office romances. After hearing his laugh at a joke involving an imitation of a difficult client, Anna and Nick feel an attraction. Perhaps it is Cupid's frustration over not obtaining the transfer to Planet Forty-three or just dealing with billions leading to some form of on the job stress, but on their first date, Cupid breaks the romance SOPs. He shoots a true love arrow into Anna's heart before the pair can become better acquainted with one another. Anna goes from self assured to floor mat as she would do anything including destroying her life for Nick. Cupid quickly realizes that after millennium of matchmaking he has made a big error that he must correct or at least cover-up because his employers will punish him for this rule breaking. He must make Anna not love her man; this should prove easy as Nick is a rat who uses abuses and surely loses sweet Anna if Cupid has his way. Chick lit meets the Roman Gods in an amusing offbeat tale. The story line is fun to follow when Cupid is active, but loses some of its zaniness when nasty Nick is the center as he is just a selfish dude (ask the "the not-particularly-promising girl" about him). Still fans will enjoy this fine fantasy romance filled with a lead couple learning what a relationship really is.

Scare the Night Away
Vicky Delaney
Poisoned Pen
ISBN: 1590581415 $24.95, 346 pp.

Vancouver bank executive and widow Rebecca McKenzie swore she would never return to her home town of Hope River. However, the only person who could ever possibly get Rebecca to return, her beloved mom, died so she has come home for the funeral. Her father welcomes her as if she was never away; her older sister Shirley resents her; her older brother Jimmy wants her to forgive him for his behavior as a teen towards her when he emulated their sociopathic grandfather with Rebecca being an abused victim. Her dad gives her diaries that her mom kept especially during World War II when she a Brit, married a Canadian soldier and relocated to Canada where she met "It" her terrorizing father-in-law. In town, she is accosted by two angry men who blame Jimmy as a former convict for the disappearance of a popular high school student, Jennifer Taylor. As Rebecca meets her nieces, nephews and other relatives for the first time and reads the diaries she begins to feel for her father and her siblings. As the trio reconciles Rebecca investigates what happened to Jennifer since she no longer believes the reformed Jimmy did anything. SCARE THE NIGHT AWAY is a fabulous Canadian family drama with the suspense that comes in the latter half of the tale serving as the catalyst towards bringing an estrange family together. The story line is character driven mostly by Rebecca and how she relates with her father, her siblings, their spouses, children, and grandchildren. The diary serves as a solid subplot describing Rebecca's sociopath grandfather terrorizing her parents. Readers will enjoy the cell phone ending to a strong character study.

Painted Veil
Beverle Graves Myers
Poisoned Pen
ISBN: 1590581407 $24.95, 314 pp.

After debuting as a castrati (male soprano) three years ago in Venice, Tito Amato's career soared with plum role

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