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Small Press Bookwatch

Volume 3, Number 4 April 2004 Home | SPBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Fiction Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Poetry Shelf Psychology Shelf Philosophy Shelf
Biography Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf Self-Help Shelf
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

The Next Evolution
Jack Reed
Community Planet Foundation
1611 Olive Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
0974016101 $19.95 www.communityplanet.org

The Next Evolution: A Blueprint For Transforming The Planet by Jack Reed is an original work of vision which encompasses worldwide ecological, political, economic, and cultural realities. Offering revolutionary models for living in harmony and sharing abundance in a manner that will allow the world and all its people to thrive, The Next Evolution is a sweeping and upbeat manifesto of specific methods by which humanity can best transform and enlighten itself. What the readers are offered is quite literally, a prescription that will resolve contemporary social, economic, political, environmental, economic, and social issue concerns that otherwise will threaten the very continuance of humankind on planet Earth.

Pete Thompson And The Long Road Home
Bill Thomas
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21701
www.publishamerica.com
1413716202 $14.95 1-240-529-1031

Pete Thompson And The Long Road Home by Bill Thomas (Preaching Minister, Stony Point Christian Church, Kansas City, Kansas) is the story of growing up in Silar City, with special focus on the thrill of an exciting high school basketball season. But there is more than the intensity of competition troubling a young man learning to polish his game. His best friend has suddenly run away from home and his teammate carries a terrible secret. Pete Thompson And The Long Road Home is an engaging sports oriented story for teen readers of coming of age and learning to deal with difficult problems.

Memoirs Of A Sex Industry Survivor
Anne Bissell
Cleopatra International Publications
c/o Gulotta Communications, Inc.
341 Lexington Street, Newton, MA 02466
www.cleopatra-intl-publications.com
0974606006 $26.95 www.sexindustrysurvivors.com

Anne Bissell is a former prostitute who entered the business at the age of seventeen. She is also the founder of Sex Industry Survivors Anonymous and has taken upon herself the mission of de-glamorizing the global sex trade. While Bissell's Memoirs Of A Sex Industry Survivor is a fictional story, she draws upon very real situations and presents the unvarnished truth of the hardships and exploitations of prostitution. An utterly compelling read that draws one into an inherently fascinating narration of the oppressions sex workers endure, Memoirs Of A Sex Industry Survivor is unique, compelling, informative, entertaining, and strongly recommended reading.

Tick Tock, Don't Stop
Robert S. Swiatek
Infinity Publishing.com
Author Services (publicity)
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 194041-1413
0741416212 $13.95 www.amazon.com

Tick Tock, Don't Stop: A Manual For Workaholics is an informed and informative overview of all aspects of "work", ranging from its origin, to why it is so widely disliked, to the ramifications of minimum wage, to the advantages and disadvantages of working at home, to productive alternatives to the traditional 9 to 5 job, and more. A thoughtful and thought-provoking survey written to provide the reader with information and ideas about a very necessary, ubiquitous part of human life, and touching on ways to improve the daily work life for us all, Tick Tock, Don't Stop is an engaging and confidently recommended reflection offering a much-needed perspective on the "daily grind" that occupies so much of our waking life.

Medicine Creek Journals
D. Jean Smith
Old 101 Press
13680 North Sandhill Road, North Platte, NE 69101
0972161368 $24.95 www.theold101press.com

Medicine Creek Journals: Ena And The Plainsmen presents the life story of Southern belle and sharp-shooting markswoman Ena Raymonde, a frontier woman who crossed paths with the likes of "Buffalo Bill" Cody, "Texas Jack" Omohundro, "Doc" Carver, and so many more of the famous and the infamous in 1870's Old West. Skillfully piecing together the journals and letters of this remarkable woman with materials from her companions on the Medicine Creek, biographer D. Jean Smith presents a rousing true story presented with a keen attention to detail and written in a lively, attention-getting style. Medicine Creek Journals is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to Women's Studies and 19th Century American History reference collections and reading lists.

Priceline.com
Denny Hatch
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1413702139 $24.95 www.publishamerica.com www.PricelineAndTheMedia.com

Priceline.com: A Layman's Guide To Manipulating The Media by Dennis Hatch is the true story of a dot com entrepreneur's rising business, which reflected the boom and bust of internet-based marketing when its stock (bolstered by a $252 million advertising campaign and the endorsement of William Shatner), peaked at a high of $165 a share before the awful truth was revealed -- priceline.com had never made a profit and lost more than $1 billion. Legions of small investors lost money when the stock was reduced to pennies on the dollar, yet priceline.com's officers, directors, warrant holders, and privileged associates had gained more than $3 billion in insider trades. A shocking, enthralling, and aptly researched tale of the extreme uses and abuses to which masterful marketing and business public relations can be put, Priceline.com is a scathing and documented indictment of the kind of corporate corruption that came to be associated with the excesses of Wall Street during the dot.com "wonder years".

French Public Opinion And The Transition To The Single Currency System
Olajide Fashola
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595287700 $14.95 www.iuniverse.com olajidef@excite.com

French Public Opinion And The Transition To The Single Currency System 1981-2002 by Olajide Fashola is a remarkable accounting of the governmental public information campaign and the court of public opinion in modern history as France came to surrender its old currency of French francs and begin using the Euro. An explicitly detailed survey of a most remarkable and transformational shift in French national economics, French Public Opinion And The Transition To The Single Currency System could well serve as a template for similar economic evaluations of other European currencies in their transitions arising from the adoption of a common currency for members of the Economic Union.

Values Of The Wise
Jason Merchey
Infinity Publishing.com
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 194041-1413
0741418185 $19.95 www.amazon.com www.valuesofthewise.com

Compiled by Jason Merchey, Values Of The Wise: Humanity's Highest Aspirations is a very highly recommended assembly of inspirational quotes from great leaders. The focus concerns deep philosophies, applied goals, and the core dreams and hopes of human beings. Each quotation is brief yet reverberates with the profound depth of the perfect grace of inspiration. "There is no cure for birth or death, save to enjoy the interval." -George Santyana. "The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them." -Albert Einstein.

The Gulf War Chronicles
Richard S. Lowry
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595296696 $21.95 www.iuniverse.com

Written by Richard S. Lowry (a veteran of the United States Nuclear Submarine Service during the Vietnam War), The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History Of The First War With Iraq offers a minute-by-minute chronological description of Operation Desert Storm. Drawing upon information, interviews, and diversely informative resources ranging from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990 to the September 11th attacks upon the United States, The Gulf War Chronicles is a solidly presented historical account and offers great insight into the complex interplay of events upon a world stage -- events that continue to have a reverberating impact in the current global war against international fundamentalist Islamic terrorism.


The Fiction Shelf

Save The Elwha
Rick Johnsen
Bigfoot Publishing
c/o Partners West Book Distributing, Inc. (dist.)
1901 Raymond Avenue SW, Suite C, Renton, WA 98055
0974210803 $16.00 1-800-563-2385

Rick Johnsen's Save The Elwha is a humorous and skillfully crafted novel about Ole Jensen, a young reporter on the brink of losing his career, and the women who helps Ole discover his true potential. A cross-hatched saga of conflicting forces, including developers, politicians, a small town desperate to preserve its timber-based jobs, a hot-headed environmentalist threatening to blow up two dams that block the salmon on the Elwha River, Save The Elwha blends a medley of odd people and cross-purpose motives to spin an engaging, rambunctious, deftly woven, and thoroughly entertaining tale.

The One And The Golden Circle
Don Allen Beene
iUniverse.com, Inc.
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
059527921X $18.95 www.iuniverse.com

The One And The Golden Circle by Don Allen Beene is an original and deftly woven novel that explores the secrets hidden within the human genome. From living in the mind of primitive man, to tracing human lineage all the way to the common ancestor of life on Earth, The One And The Golden Circle is a mystical, absorptive literary experience that takes the reader out onto a colorful and imaginative journey enhanced with what contemporary and the breaking edge science of genetics and mapping the genome has to say about the boundless potential of the human body and spirit.

Blondes In Trouble
Serita Stevens, editor
Intrigue Press
PO Box 102004, Denver, CO 80210
1890768561 $14.00 www.intriguepress.com

Compiled and edited by Serita Stevens, Blondes In Trouble & Other Tangled Tales is a delightful and enthusiastically recommended anthology of short yet witty stories by a wide variety of authors, all of whom pay tribute to the blonde protagonist. From five-minute mysteries, to tales of quick thinking, to a re-examination of the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, and more, these tantalizing tales transcend follicular color to prove a compendium of entertaining offering a true literary delight of spicy variety.

The Hitman Diaries
Danny King
Serpent's Tail
c/o Meryl Zegarek Public Relations
255 West 108th Street, New York, NY 10025
1852428287 $14.00 1-800-283-3572

Written by a former burglar who renounced his life of crime, got an education, and started a new career as a journalist, Danny King's The Hitman Diaries is a dark novel of the personal life of a professional killer. Most of the women Ian Bridges meets in his line of work end up dead -- until he is thrust in a moral quandary when his next contract happens to be for the one woman who truly loves and understands him. Black humor laced with tangled human realities make for an engaging, offbeat, original, skillfully crafted novel would make one dynamite Hollywood movie!

Amata Means Beloved
Sister Mary Catharine Perry, O. P.
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595300243 $10.95 iuniverse.com

Superbly written by Sister Mary Catharine (a cloistered Dominican Nun of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, Summit, New Jersey), Amata Means Beloved is a profound and emotionally moving novel about Emily Barone, a young woman who seeks to become a nun and be known as Sister Maria Amata. Yet Sister Maria Amata is hiding from a tragic and painful secret - her inability to forgive the man who murdered her brother. Sister Maria Amata's test of spirit is at hand, and she cannot keep fleeing forever; she must make a hard choice before she can walk God's path. Amata Means Beloved is a moving and uplifting story -- and highly recommended reading.

Mary Of Bellingham
Anneke Campbell
Jodere Group, Inc.
PO Box 910147, San Diego, CA 92191-0147
1588720853 $24.00 www.jodere.com

Mary Of Bellingham is an imaginatively crafted novel by Anneke Campbell premising a modern-day miracle of virgin birth. When a pregnant teenager, alone and in need of help, wanders into an ordinary town, she sparks heated controversy, by claiming that she is channeling the Virgin Mary. Through kindness, a local waitress takes the girl into her own home, while controversy and speculation sets the community into something of an uproar. An exceptionally well written and original work of very highly recommended fiction, Mary Of Bellingham also provides readers with a quite thoughtful commentary upon the nature of the miracle of birth and a compelling testimony with respect to the desperate human desire to be part of something sublime and far beyond the ordinary.

From Dark To Dawn
Elizabeth Charles
Books On The Path
PO Box 436, Barker, TX 77413
www.booksonthepath.com
0974339008 $19.99 1-281-492-6050

Originally published in 1863, From Dark To Dawn: A Tale Of Martin Luther And The Reformation by Elizabeth Charles is a passionate historical novel, set in and woven about the sweeping religious and political changes brought by Marin Luther, as told through the eyes of the fictional family of an ordinary burgher maid. A vivid portrayal of an era beset by plagues and political turmoil, and which leads the reader to closely contemplate Martin Luther's famous posting of his 95 Theses upon a cathederal door, From Dark To Dawn is an immensely involving, deftly woven, inherently fascinating read from cover to cover.

Love's Body, Dancing In Time
L. Timmel Duchamp
Aqueduct Press
PO Box 95787, Seattle, WA 98145-2787
0974655910 $16.00 www.aqueductpress.com

Love's Body, Dancing In Time is a collection of five love stories showcasing the talent and imagination of L. Timmel Duchamp. Sensually charged, sometimes heart-breaking, this mind and imagination engaging anthology includes the Sturgeon Award finalist tale "Dance at the Edge", and the Tiptree short-listed "The Apprenticeship of Isabetta di Pietro Cavazzi". Very highly recommended reading, Love's Body, Dancing In Time is an enthralling selection offering a unique perspective on the power of timeless beauty of human bonds.

Road To Riches
Cathy L. Clamp and C. T. Adams
Western Reflections Publishing Company
219 Main Street, Montrose, CO 81401
1890437840 $14.95 1-800-993-4490

The collaboration of Cathy L. Clamp and C. T. Adams, Road To Riches: The Great Railroad Race To Aspen is an historical novel set in late 1800s America, and about the men of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad who put their backs into a no-holds-barred race against the Colorado Midland Railroad to determine who would be the first to reach Aspen Colorado in 1887, and with that achievement, reap the rich rewards of serving as transportation for tourists, businessmen, and anyone who would buy a ticket. An enthralling, original, deftly woven tale of cut-throat competition, backstabbing, war against the elements, amazing human feats and so much more, Road To Riches is exceptionally well crafted and highly recommended reading.

The Eye Of Odin
James Richard Larson
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595659446 $35.95 www.iuniverse.com

The Eye Of Odin by James Richard Larson is an impressively powerful story based upon historical events and figures drawn from the age of Viking exploration and expansion into Europe. In this saga we follow the journey of a Viking chieftain, his family and associates, and of their perilous journey that will ultimately change the world. Unsympathetically portraying the brutality of Viking raids, but also looking toward still greater evils still that menace humanity as a whole (and the few who dared to challenge them), The Eye Of Odin weaves a memorably written and ultimately satisfying tale laced with conflict, a struggle for survival, and the violence which flared between the Pagan and the Christian. Highly recommended reading and the first of a projected three volume series, The Eye Of Odin is also available in a soft-cover format.

In Praise Of What Persists
Joyce Renwick
Paycock Press
3819 North 13th Street, Arlington, VA 22201
0931181127 $13.95 www.atticusbooks.com

In Praise Of What Persists is a posthumous collection of short stories by Joyce Renwick which deal with diverse aspects of nursing; various complexities of the human heart and emotions; and such intriguing pastimes such as surfing and turtle hunting. Engagingly written in a rough prose style hallmarked with connective expression and empathy, In Praise Of What Persists is an absorbing read worthy of slow and thorough contemplation.

In Lieu Of Heaven
Kevin Archer
Xlibris Corporation
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
436 Walnut Street, 11th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106
1413421865 $30.99 www.xlibris.com

Author Kevin Archer does not identify with any specific religious group, preferring to practice Zen and meditation, and the power of the profound world view that "It takes much more will to be a man than to be a god" is unforgettably expressed within In Lieu Of Heaven, a philosophical and deftly probing novel about two men who meet in the wilderness - one of whom is on a tireless quest to meet God, while the other claims to have already done so. The crossing of their paths brings about difficult examination of each other's beliefs, and will lead the reader down a personal path of self-examination concerning the concepts of God and individual faith. An exploratory and unapologetically deconstructive narrative ponderance, In Lieu Of Heaven is an enthusiastically recommended novel -- especially for those who prefer their literary entertainment to be thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Rebel Dog
Jack Cunningham
AmErica House Publishing
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
159286161X $19.95 www.publishamerica.com

Set during the American Civil War, Jack Cunningham's Rebel Dog is the harrowing novel of Confederate Captain Daniel Kershaw and his faithful companion and canine mascot Squire. When Squire leads a champion pit bull to his death, the event brings about a terrible revenge by their enemies upon Kershaw and Squire. Kershaw's intellectual faith in God is all but destroyed. It is in the midst of horrific fighting at Port Hudson that Kershaw comes to experience a life-changing revelation about God's eternal providence and forgiveness. A harsh yet thrilling and ultimately soulful adventure story, Rebel Dog is exceptionally well written and highly recommended reading.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Faith In The Future
Harold G. Koenig, M.D. and Douglas M. Lawson, Ph.D. with Malcolm McConnell
Templeton Foundation Press
Five Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 120, 100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087-9166
1932031359 $24.95 1-800-621-8476 www.templetonpress.org

The collaborative work of Harold G. Koenig, Douglas M. Lawson, and Malcolm McConnell, Faith In The Future: Healthcare, Aging, And The Role Of Religion is a critically important, seminally groundbreaking, and methodical analytical survey of changing population dynamics, a growing healthcare crisis, and the emerging role of religious communities in easing the painful burden associated with chronic and critical health care needs. Describing solutions to difficult problems across the nation, and offering a vision of greatly increased contributions from individuals and institutions alike to those in need, Faith In the Future is a copiously informative, ultimately upbeat and highly recommended study of the positive effect religious communities can and should have upon human beings and their many illnesses and health needs.

Living With HIV/AIDS
Eric Goosby, M.D.
Hilton Publishing Company, Inc.
PO Box 737, Roscoe, IL 61073
0971606706 $16.95 1-815-885-1070 www.hiltonpub.com

Living With HIV/AIDS: The Black Person's Guide To Survival by Dr. Eric Goosby (former Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human services) is a helpful and informative guide for the non-specialist reader -- and most especially for African American men and women seeking to maximize the quality of their lives and/or the lives of their loved ones when having to deal with an HIV infection or AIDS. This informed and informative text especially focusing on the unique challenges for African Americans coping with HIV/AIDS. Living With HIV/AIDS covers the basics of what HIV/AIDS is and how to prevent it; the latest modern treatment options; the diseases particular impact on African American women; how to handle the disease's emotional burdens as well as physical and financial difficulties, and so much more. No health center or community library collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of Dr. Eric Goosby's Living With HIV/AIDS.


The Poetry Shelf

Cold Soul Demands
Dave Daly
Green Boat Press
PO Box 135, Manlius, NY 13104
0967141125 $14.95 www.greenboardpress.com

Cold Soul Demands is an anthology of original free-verse poetry by Dave Daly which is quite distinctive in its ability to paint an unforgettable scene with its wealth of rhythmical detail. Moody, reflective, and offering a quiet window upon human experience, these verses make for fine thoughtful, private reading. "A Cold Night At Home": In the melting of lamplight / my dog lies still; / a pool of yellow fur, / she stretches the blue / of sorry winter evening.

Natural Defenses
Susan Terris
Marsh Hawk Press
PO Box 206, East Rockaway, New York 11518
0972478558 $15.00 www.marshhawkpress.org

Natural Defenses is a collection of free-verse poetry by Susan Terris that especially focuses upon primitive emotions, powerful passions, and the personal feelings that overlay ordinary life. Imagery comes to life as well as heartfelt impressions that carry far beyond the printed page. "Marmaris": Morning sun chokes off the night-dark / as water sparks against the hull / and turquoise streaks ahead // speaking of who I am or might be / until I'm staring into a crazed mirror / of the self.


The Psychology Shelf

Threads, Knots, Tapestries
Tess Castleman
Syren Book Company
2402 University Avenue West, Saint Paul, MN 55114
0929636171 $19.00 www.threadsknotstapestries.com

Threads, Knots, Tapestries: How A Tribal Connection Is Revealed Through Dreams And Syncronicities by Tess Castleman (a Zurich trained Diplomate Jungian Analyst), focuses upon "Dream Groups", and what Jungian analysis has to say about revealing and interpreting human psychology through the examination of unconscious messages. Sifting through stories, myths, and beliefs about dreams in order to better explore just what dreams can tell us about internal and external worlds alike, Threads, Knights, Tapestries is a superbly written and deftly presented analysis which is most especially recommended reading for student of Jungian psychology and psychoanalysis.

Helping Kids Heal
Rebecca Carman, CSW
The Bureau For At-Risk Youth
PO Box 760, Plainview, NY 11803
www.GuidanceChannel.com
1566887232 $TBA 1-800-999-6884

Helping Kids Heal: 75 Activities To Help Children Recover From Trauma And Loss compiled by Rebecca Carman (Clinical Social Worker and Program Manager for Mercy Corps' Comfort For Kids) is a compelling collection of tested activities for school-age children which are designed especially to help them express and recover from grief and trauma. Each activity can be done on a stand-alone basis and ranges from creative uses of imagination, to making a do-it-yourself listening booth. All of the activities feature simple illustrations, the activity's objective, recommended materials and preparation, step-by-step instructions, tips, and more. Helping Kids heal is an excellent and confidently recommended resource for anyone working with troubled children having to deal with traumatic loss and hurt with respect to their families, friends, or themselves.


The Philosophy Shelf

New Century Citizen
Mary Wallstrom, M. Ed.
Aubergine Publishing
3830 Valley Centre Dr. #705, PMB 705, San Diego, CA 92130
0974831344 $14.95 1-858-342-4994

Strongly recommended reading for all social activists and social issue policy makers, New Century Citizen: What Is The Highest Priority For Human Beings? by Mary Wallstrom is an alarming look at the problems besetting the global community today, ranging from worldwide poverty; to armed conflict; to depressed literacy rates among children, and so much more. Combining hard statistics with a stringent wake-up call for men and women to take responsibility and contribute what they can to improve the world's future, New Century Citizen is an impassioned and stringent call to collective improvement.

Moral Armor
Ronald E. Springer
Trafford Publishing
2333 Government Street, Suite 6E, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
1412009936 $32.95 www.trafford.com

Moral Armor by Ronald E. Springer is a philosophical, psychological, and spiritual treatise discussing what constitutes morality in a day and age when so many conflicting human ideologies often disregard what seems to be basic human decency. Emphasizing the importance of a moral code set down by rational standards, Moral Armor informatively explores disturbing contemporary issues and then offers means with which to select one's actions based on right and wrong as best as circumstances can allow, unclouded by the endless and often self-contradictory clamor of outside forces. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Moral Armor is very highly recommended reading.


The Biography Shelf

Chained Generations
Luminitza Sava and Lidia Sava Callvert
Llumina Press
PO Box 772246, Coral Springs, FL 33077-2246
193256053X $18.95 www.llumina.com

The collaborative effort of Luminitza Sava and Lidia Sava Callvert, Chained Generations is a true-life family saga spanning three generations of love, sacrifice, hardship, and survival, spanning the pre-revolutionary era to the end of the Iron Curtain. Names have been changed to protect those who still live within Russia, but the power of these tales shine through. From a daughter separated from her parents and raised by her wet-nurse; to the brutal repressions of Stalin's regime; to the hope brought about by political detente, and more, Chained Generations is a moving and poignant biographical saga of a remarkable and memorable family.

H. V. Jones: A Newspaperman's Imprint On Minneapolis History
John J. Koblas
North Star Press of St. Cloud
PO Box 451, St. Cloud, MN 56302-0451
0878391916 $19.95 1-888-820-1636

H. V. Jones: A Newspaperman's Imprint On Minneapolis History is an expertly written biography of Herschel V. Jones, a stand-out newspaperman of the early twentieth century. Black-and-white photographs intersperse this engaging tale of Herschel Jones' life from infancy to old age, especially focusing upon his journalism career and contributions when Minneapolis was a developing city. A thoroughly detailed and involving life story, biographer John J. Koblas has done a truly masterful accounting, making H. V. Jones: A Newspaperman's Imprint On Minneapolis History a welcome and much appreciated contribution to American Biography and Journalism History supplemental reading lists and reference collections.

The Original Marvelettes
Marc Taylor
Aloiv Publishing Co.
PO Box 340484, Jamaica, NY 11434-0484
0965232859 $22.95 www.touchofclassicsoul.com

The Original Marvelettes: Motown's Mystery Girl Group by Marc Taylor is the pull-no-punches true story of the immensely popular all-girl group who called themselves the Marvelettes, and how their music became part of the Motown legend. Covering the secrets behind closed doors, as well as the glamour of open performances, The Original Marvelettes is an enthralling and informative narrative which was extensively researched and then revealed with uncompromising honesty. The Original Marvelettes is "must" reading for all Motown music fans and students of American popular music.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Mindful Drumming
Kokomon Clottey
Sankofa Publishing
PO Box 23503, Oakland, CA 94623
0971967806 $12.95 1-510-652-7901 www.ancestralhealing.com

A unique and singularly impressive work, Mindful Drumming: Ancient Wisdom For Unleashing The Human Spirit And Building Community by Kokomon Clottey offers the reader a tour of the enduring spiritual resources and implications of rhythm and sound. Drawing upon the drumming practices of indigenous peoples to reveal gateways to spiritual power and openness, Mindful Drumming is a profound meditation offering a blend of musical, mystical, and metaphysical perspectives.

Traditional Chinese Feng Shui And The More Advanced Flying Star Feng Shui
Alan S. F. Lum
Alan & Kerri Lum Publishing, LLC
PO Box 19157, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
0972086919 $18.88 1-808-732-8889

Traditional Chinese Feng Shui And The More Advanced Flying Star Feng Shui by Alan Lum is a handy, detailed, informed and informative guide to understanding and using the Chinese methodology of Feng Shui for creating balance and harmony of everyday life. Including real life case studies, a sample Feng Shui consultation, an extensive discussion of Feng Shui principles and how to apply them, and more, Traditional Chinese Feng Shui is a well-rounded and highly recommended reference appropriate for feng shui practitioners of all skill and experience levels.


The Self-Help Shelf

Just Who Do You Think You Are?
Alan Mesher
Sirius Creations Inc.
PO Box 1290, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
0966029526 $19.95 www.siriuscreations.com

Inspirationally written by Alan Mesher (a professional spiritual teacher and healer of twenty years' experience), Just Who Do You Think You Are? The Power Of Personal Evolution is a "reader friendly", spiritual self-help guide to healing from pain, and charting a path of personal evolution to help one better adapt and thrive despite the complexities of modern life. Employing no-nonsense terms, Mesher's Just Who Do You Think You Are? deftly examines the ego and offers ground breaking insights concerning the seven principles of negative force, the five characteristics of a true purpose, the three zones of personal evolution, and more. An excellent guide with a strong positive message, Just Who Do You Think You Are? is a welcome and much appreciated addition to the growing library of self-help, self-improvement literature.

Connecting With People
Donald Caplin and Frank Swiatek
Swiatek-Caplin Associates
22 Ely Road, Depew, NY 14043
0972474609 $15.00 1-781-893-3881

The collaborative and highly recommended effort of Donald Caplin and Frank Swiatek, Connecting With People: Essential Skills For Building Trust And Rapport With Others is more than just another self-help guide in the field of interpersonal communications- rather it is a much needed and timely antidote to the conundrums arising from how the onward press of modern technology allows for greater ease of communication than ever before with the simultaneously deleterious effect of eroding one's ability to form lasting connections with people. Exhorting that we do not have to be impersonal in order to achieve success, Connecting With People offers self-tests, techniques, skills, and a great deal more designed to improve our abilities for cultivating lasting business and personal relationships in an ever-changing and technologically influenced world.

Wake Up Live The Life You Love
Steven E. and Lee Beard
Little Seed Publishing, LLC
Seven Locks Press, dist.
PO Box 4483, Laguna Beach, CA 92652
0964470640 $14.95 1-800-354-5348 wwwwakeupcoauthors.com

Collaboratively compiled and arranged by Steven E. and Lee Beard, Wake Up... Live The Life You Love: Inspirational "How To" Stories To Bring More Joy, Love And Prosperity Into Your Life is an impressive anthology of inspirational and motivational anecdotes and true-life stories presented by a wide variety of authors and about individuals and groups who had earned their success in purpose, finance, relationships, or other aspects of the human experience. These brief yet emotionally charged tales include "From a Small Foreign Village to the Top of Amazon.com"; "How One Book Changed My Life"; "Hard Work And Learning Are My Friends", and more. An excellent, upbeat treasure trove of great achievements, Wake Up...Live The Life You Love is enthusiastically recommended reading.

Your Body, Your Mind, & Their Link To Your Health
Sandy Jost, Ph.D.
ONE Health Publishing, LLC
PO Box 31073, St. Louis, MO 63131-1073
1932153241 $15.99 1-877-795-5824 www.ONEhealthpublishing.com

Your Body, Your Mind, & Their Link To Your Health by Sandy Jost is a combination book and audio CD introduction to the practice of guided imagery for the purpose of training the human mind to better meet challenges forthcoming in everyday life. A practical and effective technique for applying the sheer power of positive thinking to cope with physical issues, Your Body, Your Mind, & Their Link To Your Health is a superbly presented self-help guide that walks the non-specialist general reader completely through the process of building up beneficial emotions and attitudes. The audio CD is relaxing and soothing to listen to while enhancing awareness and recognition. An easy-to-understand multimedia self-improvement tutorial, Your Body, Your Mind, & Their Link To Your Health is a strongly recommended addition to any personal self-help studies curriculum.

Happy 4 Life: Here's How To Do It
Bob Nozik, MD
Trafford Publishing
2333 Government Street, Suite 6E, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
1412000831 $17.95 www.trafford.com

Happy 4 Life: Here's How To Do It is a straightforward and recommended self-help guide by Bob Nozik (Professor Emeritus, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco) offers psychological secrets for pursuing and achieving lifelong happiness. From the importance of self-esteem, appreciation and gratitude; to balancing responsibility with a non-judgmental view; to the detours and pitfalls to watch over as one works to improve the quality of one's mood and life, Happy 4 Life is useful, accessible, and offers concepts that are easy for the nonspecialist general reader to put into the practice in the course of their everyday living.

The Complete Success Guide For The Immigrant Life
Monette Adeva Maglaya
PDI Books
PO Box 3867, Glendale, CA 91221-0867
0974110299 $19.95 www.immigrantsuccess.com

The Complete Success Guide For The Immigrant Life by Monette Adeva Maglaya is an informed and informative self-help guide written especially for American immigrants. From practical problems such as getting legal status and employer sponsorship; to economic budgeting; to learning how to tap into inner personal strengths and making a difference for the better, The Complete Success Guide For The Immigrant Life is well-rounded, useful, practical, and very highly recommended reading offering a wealth of applicable advice for all immigrant Americans regardless of their cultural or ethnic origins.


The Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf

Turn Of The Wheel
Jennifer Oberlander
Silver Dragon Books
PMB 238, 8691 9th Avenue, Port Arthur, TX 77642
1930928955 $18.95 www.rapbooks.biz

Turn Of The Wheel by Jennifer Oberlander is an exciting and original fantasy of Venom, a dark-skinned woman who is bereft of her memories and who learns to her horror that she used to be a notorious pirate and bloodthirsty murderer. In Venom's search to make amends before her likely execution, she becomes embroiled in a struggle against the Machiavellian plans of her former allies. Aided by Ellianora (a half-elf with a disturbing secret), Terrell (a well read priest with perfect recall); Zaphrina (a mage with natural talent but little training), and Gasqule (Venom's would be arrestor), our heroine must defeat the might of a coalition that knows no mercy. Turn Of The Wheel is an imaginative, enthralling, and superbly crafted adventure.

The Genesis War: First Prophecy
Stewart Ryan Shields
Intellectual Property Publications
PO Box 5009, Abita Springs, LA
0974484202 $24.99 www.thegenesiswar.com

The first title in an exciting new saga by Stewart Ryan Shield, The Genesis War: First Prophecy is a truly gripping novel of simulataneously mortal and divine struggles. Two archangels meticulously search the Earth for the missing brother Lucifer, while a seemingly ordinary young man becomes embroiled in a whirlwind cataclysmic tour, a ruthless leader of thieves investigates the appearance unholy armies on the brink of war, and an individual who has presided over Earth's greatest city for 1500 years since Creation quests for the bridge between humanity and the celestial. Threads of a complex plot are deftly woven into a complex saga that unleashes a torrent of metaphorical and literal strife upon the waning Earth. The Genesis War: First Prophecy is one of those remarkable works of high fantasy that is so easy to pick up and so hard to put down.


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


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