 |
Book
Reviews,
Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers |
| Home / Small
Press Bookwatch |
Small Press Bookwatch
Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
Joy And Evolution
Robert L. Peck, et al.
The Personal Development Center
82 Bush Hill Road, Lebanon, CT 06249
0917828100 $14.95 1-860-423-4785 rpeck1@mindspring.com
The collaborative work of Robert L. Peck, Leslie M. Cassinari, and Christine S. Gavlick, Joy And
Evolution is a unique introduction from the combined perspectivs of philosophy, science, history,
and religion into the phenomena and technology of joy. Contemplating the concept of a true inner
heart, located in the center of the body in the lower abdomen - even as ancient Greeks once
hypothesized was at the base of the spine - Joy And Evolution addresses how to unlock the power
of this hidden heart and enrich one's own life. Chapters address the philosophy of joy,
metaphysical love, the hidden sexual nature of joy, the manner in which pressures to conform,
consume and institutionalize suppress joy, and much more. A far-reaching, at times mystical but
always emphatic about being true to one's own needs.
Your Seventh Sense
Karyn Ruth White & Jay Arthur
LifeStar
2244 South Olive Street, Denver, CO 80224
1884180272 $19.95 1-888-468-1537 www.motivateeeveryone.com/yourseventhsense.html
Jay Arthur is a master practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Karyn Ruth White is a
standup comedian and professional speaker. In Your Seventh Sense: How To Think Like A
Comedian these two quite diverse experts work together to offer the reader an introduction of the
essential skills required to "think like a comedian". Chapters address how to hone one's comedy
radar, learning to refine one's act before taking it public, transforming random ideas into
belly-laugh gold, and much more. Each two-page spread offers solid advice on one page, and a
humorous or inspirational comedy-related quote on the other. An excellent guide not only for
aspiring comedians, but also for those seeking to learn just enough of the art to liven up their
speeches and presentations.
A Collection Of Wisdom
Rodney Ohebsion
Immediex Publishing
540 Evelyn Place, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
1932968199 $29.00 www.immediex.com
Exhaustively compiled, deftly organized, and capably edited by Rodney Ohebsion, A Collection
Of Wisdom is a succinct guide that condenses the greatest morsels of the world's wisdom,
teachings, quotes, and folktales into simple statements and sentences that anyone can readily
grasp. From the insights of Sun Tzu to the ponderings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David
Thoreau, to proverbs from every region of the world and insights from almost every major
religion and much more, A Collection of Wisdom is a solid compendium of life lessons and
quotable quotes. Highly recommended for its inspiration and guidance, whether one looks up a
specific individual's words, turns to a random page, or reads A Collection of Wisdom from cover
to cover straight through.
The Cash Cage
Corey Deitz
Privately Published
8 Chatel Drive, Little Rock, AR, 72223
1591135370 $13.95 www.thecashcage.com
Corey Deitz drew upon his more than 25-year career as a radio host veteran in such major
markets as Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, and others, to write a candidly informative expose of
what happens "back stage" in the world of talk radio. A first-person view of the ups, downs,
backstabbing, money-jockeying, desertions, loneliness and more in an often cutthroat business
world, The Cash Cage is not only an engrossing personal story, but also a no-holds-barred
"how-to" guide for anyone struggling to break into the business, curious individuals seeking to
learn the pitfalls of the trade, and in fact anyone determined to grapple with adversity. Vernacular
plain-terms language distinguishes this highly readable account that actively resists being put
down for any reason.
Paul Bowles, Magic & Morocco
Allen Hibbard
Cadmus Editions, Publishers
Publishers Group West, dist.
PO Box 126, Belvedere-Tiburon, CA 94920
0932274617 $12.95 www.cadmus-editions.com
Paul Bowles, Magic & Morocco by academician, reviewer, essayist, and translator Allen Hibbard
addresses the life and work of expatriate author Paul Bowles. An in-depth work of literary
criticism that transcends boundaries to explore the occult forces that permeated Bowles' life, the
Moroccan mysteries and North African customs, culture, and magic he studied, the mystical
influence drugs, sex, and music, and much more. Paul Bowles, Magic & Morocco takes a
personal turn as author Hibbard dares to speak to Bowles directly, addressing him from beyond
the grave. A college-level analysis, seeking to define unimaginable forces and expressions.
Retracing Marco Polo
Jack Spain, Jr.
Gilgit Press
PO Box 4881, Richmond, VA 23220
0974628328 $37.95 www.gilgitpress.com
Retracing Marco Polo is the travelogue of a modern family's journey to retrace Marco Polo's
route to China. Comparing older texts and modern maps to plot a course, then following a
winding route through Venice, Jerusalem, Turkey, and China (the trail through current-day Iran
and Afghanistan was closed to them, so they went through Pakistan instead), they took in the
sights, scenery, and experiences of pure adventure. Inset sections of color photograph plates
illustrate this enjoyable narrative of setting out to walk in the footsteps of greatness.
Servants Of The Fish
Myron Arms
Upper Access Book Publishers
PO Box 457, Hinesburg, VT 05461
0942679296 $24.95 www.upperaccess.com
Servants Of The Fish: A Portrait of Newfoundland after the Great Cod Collapse is an engrossing
social history of the individual people and of society as a whole in the wake of the threat of
northern cod extinction along the fishing banks of eastern North America. Narrated in brisk,
straightforward prose, it tells of those who dedicated their lives to fishing, and who were both
precipitators and victims of the ecological catastrophe. A plain-terms narration, equally accessible
to the lay reader and the concerned ecologist or environmentalist alike.
Street Smart Firefighting
Robert C. Bingham
Valley Press
PO Box 2044, Vienna, VA 22183
0974844705 $29.95 1-888-825-9550
In Street Smart Firefighting: The Common Sense Guide To Firefighter Safety And Survival,
firefighting expert Robert C. Bingham shares with the reader basic information and strategies that
professional firefighters use to survive and combat blazes. From philosophy and preparation, to
standard operating procedures, mechanical operations, communication basics, command
structure, the incident command system, hazardous materials, special operations, post-incident
analysis and much more, Street Smart Firefighting covers both practical need-to-know survival
issues and equally crucial matters of organization and beauracracy all vital to serving as a member
of the fire department. An excellent and thorough manual, written especially to help would-be
firefighters prepare when they may not always have much opportunity for field experience before
a true crisis hits. Highly recommended for school and community libararies and an absolute
"must-read" for anyone considering a career in firefighting.
The Language Studies Shelf
Welcome To America, English-Russian Version
Vitaliy Demin & Olga Demin Lambert
ViOLa Publishing
PO Box 297, Saco, ME 04072
0972788808 $69.95
Welcome To America, English-Russian Version is an immense and in-depth guide especially for
American immigrants. Each two-page spread presents English information on one side and the
same information translated into Russian on the other. Among the many topics covered this
comprehensive volume are taxes, insurance, buying and selling a home, obtaining employment,
learning English, medical care, credit and credit cards, social welfare and retirement programs,
and much more. An extensively thorough yet down-to-earth practical and easy-to-follow
instructional, and an absolute "must-have" for anyone braving the challenge of a new culture, legal
system and way of life.
The Business Shelf
The Secret Life Of Corporations
Mark Sirkin
New Chrysalis Press
333 Mamaroneck Avenue, #394, White Plains, NY 10605
097454910X $22.95 www.NewChrysalis.com
The Secret Life Of Corporations: Understanding The True Nature Of Business by management
consultant, psychologist, lecturer, and organizational development expert Mark Sirkin is a
management primer written specifically for the business management community of the 21st
century. The focus is on showing just how developing human capital is the preeminent strategy
for corporate survival and sustainable profit margins in an era of increasingly competitive and
unprecedented changes by commercially and technologically. In The Secret Life Of Corporations,
Sirkin applies concepts drawn from evolutionary psychology, biology, and organizational design
in innovative ways to reveal just how organizations are in fact "living systems" while underscoring
that human capital is more critical than financial capital. Also addressed are the issues of board
governance, family businesses, information technology, self-improvement at work, emerging
trends at work, and the future of business. If you are responsible for corporate management and
development, then Mark Sirkin's The Secret Life Of Corporations highly recommended for careful
and considered reading.
101 Home-Based Businesses For Pet Lovers
Louise Louis
Canyon New Media
6900 Westcliff, #801, Las Vegas, NV 89145
1879872005 $19.95 www.ToyBreeds.com
101 Home-Based Businesses For Pet Lovers is a comprehensive introduction to the possibilities
of working at home surrounded by canine and/or feline companions -- or any other category of
pet! Readers will learn how they can become their own boss, working from the comfort and
convenience of their own home, and simultaneously enjoy the company of their animals. A
compendium of full-time, part-time, or retirement businesses ideas, this unique "how to" manual is
replete with examples ranging from horse lovers becoming freelance riding instructors; to bird
enthusiasts starting an aviary day care or bird cage cleaning service; to cat lovers delivering kitty
litter or making organic catnip products; to walking dogs in an suburban area; to operating a
pet-welcoming Bed & Breakfast. No matter what kind of pet you have, there is a stay-at-home
business opportunity for you! Just check it out in Louise Louis' 101 Home-Based Businesses For
Pet Lovers!
Creating A Culture Of Success
Charles B. Dygert & Richard A. Jacobs
Moo Press
PO Box 54, Warwick, NY 10990
0972485341 $19.95 www.moopress.com
Now in an expanded and updated second edition, Creating A Culture Of Success: Fine-Tuning
The Heart And Soul Of Your Organization by expert and experienced business consultants
Charles Dygert and Richard Jacobs defines what organizational culture is, and how to make it
successful in any entrepreneurial enterprise or corporate business. Emphasizing the importance of
setting a positive, challenging yet supportive work environment, that fosters healthy cooperation
instead of destructive competition, chapters address how to build trust at all levels, focus on the
zone of improvement, uphold high quality standards, and much more. Written in plain terms that
any general reader will rapidly pick up on, Creating A Culture Of Success is as useful and seminal
a guide for non-profit or community organizations as it is for businesses of all sizes.
The Continual Improvement Process
Craig Cochran
Paton Press LLC
PO Box 44, Chico, Ca 95927
0971323186 $24.95 www.patonpress.com
The Continual Improvement Process: From Strategy To The Bottom Line by Craig Cochran
(Project Manager, Center for International standards & Quality, Georgia Tech Economic
Development Institute) is a guidebook especially for business managers and owners, offering
practical wisdom for effective problem solving, learning to identify and communicate what is
important, and generally crafting an environment that fosters improvement in efficiency, customer
satisfaction, revenue, and more. Black-and-white diagrams help to clearly delineate the basic
principles, and straightforward prose presents suggestions in easy-to-grasp terms for readers of all
backgrounds. An excellent sourcebook for strategic planning ideas.
How To Work With A Secretary
Teresa Torres
Annabell Publishing
PO Box 22754, Denver, CO 80222-0754
0965560813 $9.95 1-866-484-6465 www.howtoworkwithasecretary.com
How To Work With A Secretary : The Boss's Handbook by Teresa Torres is a no-nonsense guide
to building a professional and effective boss-secretary relationship. From hiring the right person,
and proper training, to supervising without micromanaging, establishing business protocol, how to
conduct a weekly meeting with one's secretary, the responsibilites a boss has toward the secretary
spelled out, and much more, How To Work With A Secretary lives up to its title with exacting
precision. A no-nonsense, easy-to-understand guide, and a "must-have" especially for anyone who
needs to quickly get used to to working harmoniously with a secretary.
How To Open A Financially Successful Bakery
Sharon L. Fullen & Douglas R. Brown
Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1210 SW 23 Place, Ocala, FL 34474-7014
0910627339 $39.95 1-800-541-1336 www.atlantic-pub.com
The collaborative work of Sharon Fullen and Douglas Brown, How To Open A Financially
Successful Bakery is enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM and provides the reader with a
complete "how to" instruction guide and reference to the operating a profitable commercial
bakery operation. From finding an optimum location for one's business, to pricing formulas to
follow, how to hire and retain a high-quality professional staff, successful budgeting, tips, tricks,
guidelines, and much more, How To Open A Financially Successful Bakery walks the reader
through virtually everything he or she needs to know. A superb guide, filled with basic
information valuable to any would-be small business owner, and an absolute "must-have" for
anyone seriously considering a bakery business.
Loss Prevention Threats & Strategies
Thomas N. Monson & Sarah Kaip
Advantage Source, Inc.
33 North Central Avenue, Suite 202, Medford, OR 97501
0974383015 $44.95 1-800-867-0016 www.advantagesource.com
The collaboration of business security experts Thomas N. Monson and Sarah Kaip, Loss
Prevention Threats & Strategies: How People Steal From Your Business And What You Can Do
To Stop It is a detailed analysis of the top 20 security threats to American corporations, and
means by which business owners and executives can prevent shoplifting, credit card fraud, identity
theft, employee and vendor theft, embezzlement, workplace violence, and much more. A solid,
practical guide emphasizing the crucial importance of instituting policies to protect from both
external and internal theft, as well as lawsuits that can result from everything from accidents to
sexual harrassment, workplace violence, employee discrimination, neglegent hiring, and much
more. An absolute "must-read" for any business owner in today's dangerous, litigatious, and all
too greedy world.
The Edge Up
June Van Klaveren
Compellng Communications Inc.
512 Marie Lane, Machester, MO 63011
0974434957 $11.95 1-800-779-0067 www.TheEdgeUp.com
In The Edge Up: How Small And Home-based Businesses Can Leverage Customer Service As A
Competitive Advantage, author June Van Klaveren draws upon her decades of professional
experience and expertise in helping service related companies attract and expand their customer
base to provide succinct, practical, and effective instruction, insight, and advice that will be
especially useful for the novice small business owner. These past couple of decades of corporate
downsizing and outsourcing has resulted in a surge of small businesses and home-based
businesses being formed, often by people who are technically expert or knowledgeable in a
particular field -- but not in the basics of customer service and the vital role it plays in making or
breaking any commercial venture. Impressively "user friendly", June Van Klaveren's The Edge Up
is a perfect introduction and a very highly recommended crash course in just that particular area
of any commercial enterprise regardless of the type or category of service being offered in a highly
competitive market place.
The Self-Help Shelf
Relationships
Julie Hutslar
Luminous Epinoia Press
PO Box 1224, Cedar City, UT 84721
0975300040 $15.00 www.luminousepinoia.com
In Relationships: Gifts Of The Spirit, Julie Hutslar draws upon her experiences and expertise with
a form of energy healing she calls Accelerated Healing which she uses to assist others in locating
and removing outdated, negative, and limiting beliefs to write a thoroughly "reader friendly"
self-help manual for creating, exploring, developing, and re-developing personal, emotional,
familial, and spiritual relationships. All worthwhile and long term relationships will have a degree
of difficulty. Hutslar shows how to find ways to understand and benefit from those difficulties.
Highly recommended and beneficial reading, Relationships: Gifts Of The Spirit is an ideal and
invaluable addition to any self-help, self-improvement, and relationship improvement reading
list.
When Your "Perfect Partner" Goes Perfectly Wrong
Mary Jo Fay
Out of the Boxx, Inc.
9311 East Pioneer Drive, Parker, CO 80138
0974350478 $22.00 1-303-841-7691 www.Outoftheboxx.com
When Your "Perfect Partner" Goes Perfectly Wrong: Loving Or Leaving The Narcissist In Your
Life by author, columnist, national speaker Mary Jo Fay clearly lays out the problems and
necessities of living with a spouse or life-partner who is exhibits a "Narcissistic Personality
Disorder". Here is a self-help guide that teaches the reader to be alert for signs of egotistical and
controlling behavior, a partner who can never be happy no matter what you do, and other red
flags, as well as what to do to defend oneself from being a pawn in a sex game, caught in a replay
of past abuse, surrounded on all sides by a family of narcissists, and coping with narcissists in the
workplace or among one's friends as well as romantic partners. The true stories of those who
weathered manipulation are sure to reverberate with anyone who has endured similar
maltreatment and selfishness.
Internet Dating
David D. Abernathy & Naomi C. Ballard
One DANA Press
23 Cantilena, San Clemente, CA 92673
0974966002 $19.95 www.internetdating4you.com
It's a new age when the computer can be more effective in helping a man or woman to meet than
bar hopping or church dances. David Abernathy and Naomi Ballard collaborate in Internet Dating:
Find Your Mate In 90 Days Or Less to help their readers navigate this new means of forming
connections. Navigating preparations one should undergo, the criteria for selecting the right
internet dating service, what to expect, week-by-week objectives and recommendations, and
much more, Internet Dating is a serious, nuts-and-bolts outline and a welcome supplement
especially for singles just getting used to the information highway.
Quiet Your Mind
John Selby
Inner Ocean Publishing
PO Box 1239, Makawao, Maui, HI 96768
1930722311 $14.95 1-800-916-3308 www.innerocean.com
Quiet Your Mind by psychologist, writer, producer, therapist and educator John Selbly is a
thoroughly "reader friendly" guide to dealing successfully with chronic worry, emotional
adjutation, and live a calmer, happier, day-by-day life. Guidelines for meditation and tranquility
help teach the reader how to be alone without succumbing to loneliness, learning not to be
dominated by judgmental thoughts, achieving greater passion with one's intimate partner by not
getting lost in distracting fears and obsessions, and much more. A positive, uplifting mental and
emotional self-help guide.
Recreating Eden
Julia Rogers Hamrick
New Realities Publishing
PO Box 24141, Denver, CO 80224-0141
0974927724 $14.95 www.recreating-eden.com www.newrealitiespublishing.com
Recreating Eden: The Exquisitely Simple, Divinely Ordained Plan For Transforming Your Life
And Your Planet by Julia Rogers Hamrick is a self-help guide grounded the Christian tale of
humankind's origins within Eden. Encouraging the reader to connect with the part that recalls his
or her origins in paradise, and offering means to restore Biblical purity and grace within the mortal
world, Recreating Eden stresses the importance of attuning oneself to the Divine Design and
fostering harmony through the power of one's own decisions. Tapping directly into what scripture
has to say about the will of God, creator of Adam and Eve, Recreating Eden is a powerful and
life-changing discourse that draws new revelations from an ancient parable.
Thinking With The Heart
Horace E. Allen
Winpress Publishing
PO Box 428, Enumclaw, WA 98022
157921603X $19.95 www.winepresspub.com
Also available in a hardcover edition (1579217397, $32.99), Thinking With The Heart: Principle,
Practic, And Purpose For Spiritual Wellness by marriage and family therapist Hoarce E. Allen
(Senior Pastor, East End Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York) explores principles for spiritual
wellness. From the power of confession and forgiveness, to the basic principles such as
conscience and the accumulation of experiences that play a critical role in heart health, to the
spiritual and physical endeavors one can undertake to bring oneself closer to the goal of balance
and wellness, Thinking With The Heart is a profound and moving testimony. An account that
resonates with sincerety, and draws upon scripture, anecdotes, and the author's years of
experience to get across its life-changing message.
100 Magical Moments
Tara Koerber
Beatify Books
PO Box 140, Kingmont, WV 26578
0975476076 $9.95 www.beatifybooks.com
A slender but inspiring read, 100 Magical Moments by Tara Koeber is a simple guidebook to
improving romantic relationships and sharing meaningful moments without necessarily spending
immense amounts of money. 100 simple ideas such as "oil his car" and "write a love letter stating
all the reasons you are her biggest fan, accompanied by a oriental fan or a paper fan" offer a
wealth of helpful suggestions for showing one's significant other how much they mean to oneself.
Some appendices and recommendations for using the 100 tips over the course of magical weeks
round out this delightful, frugal, and highly recommended source of insight.
The Heart Of Healing
Dawson Church, editor
Elite Books
156 George Circle, Vallejo, CA 94591
0972002839 $25.00 www.elitebooks.biz www.NewHealer.com
Compiled, organized and edited by Dawson Church, The Heart Of Healing: Inspired Ideas,
Wisdom And Comfort From Today's Leading Voices is an anthology of essays from a vast
selection of authors discussing alternative paths to inner healing... from reclaiming the soul, to the
fruit of sexuality, to ancient healing approaches seen in a new light and predictions as to the future
of medicine. The thirty-one contributions combine into a profound and eclectic compendium
offering over five hundred years of combined experience and voices that dare to offer new
perspectives into society's concept of health. Especially recommended reading for those seeking
supplements to modern medical care, or insight into avenues beyond the mundane.
Reach To Recovery
Marilyn Patterson
LangMarc Publishing
PO Box 90488, Austin, TX 78709-0488
1880292688 $13.95 www.langmarc.com
In Reach To Recovery: Depression Anonymous by Marilyn Patterson (a Twelve Step Certified
Counselor and Adjunct Professotr, Hosuton Community College Southwest, Stafford Center,
Texas) addresses the mental/emotional condition of chronic depression, a condition that
antidepressant medication can offer no relief to 20% of afflicted men and women. It takes an
often-overlooked approach of transforming the twelve-step recovery program of Alcoholics
Anonymous to a similar Depression Anonymous program, in order to help people cope and
remain balanced. Personal stories of both famous figures and ordinary people who combat
depression, as well as appendices covering cognitive behavior therapy, learned optimism, learned
optimism, and sample format for Depression Anonymous meetings round out this excellent
self-help guide to better understanding and dealing with the depressive condition.
Creatively Unblocking Creative Blocks
Alexandria Levin
Painted Jay Publishing
PO Box 2234, Jenkintown, PA 19046-0834
0974326712 $24.95 www.paintedjay.com
For authors it's called "writer's block". What's not so widely known is that this condition also
afflicts other creative artists whether their medium is painting, sculpture, photography, dance, or
music. In Creatively Unblocking Creative Blocks, artist Alexandria Levin shares more than 300
ways for the "blocked" artist to get unblocked and begin to find inspiration and motivation once
again. Methodologies include brainstorming, translating between mediums, finding inspiration in
the most ordinary of household items, day-to-day language, life events, dreams, and more, or
simply drawing abstraction from realism, Creatively Unblocking Creative Blocks is a superb and
straightforward quick-start gugide to get one's mental juices going and find dramatic, emotionally
moving ideas in the most humble surroundings. Highly recommended.
Know Your Life By Organizing It!
James P. Litchko
Tiny Kitchen Publishing
5115 Ravensworth Road, Annandale, VA 22003
0971602824 $19.95 www.thetinykitchen.com
Written by managerial expert Jim Litchko, who hashandled budget, IT, business, and strategic
planning in everything from commercial industry to military and government and non-profit
organizations, Know Your Life By Organizing It! Start Managing Your Life More Efficiently And
Effectively is a no-nonsense guide to getting one's life in order. From the nuts and bolts of basic
finances (especially income tax!) to personal documents, insurance issues, medical matters
including a living will and steps to ensure that one's wishes are carried out after one is no more,
Know Your Life By Organizing It! emphasizes practical considerations in no-nonsense steps that
anyone can follow. A must-have for anyone seeking to save time and heartbreak before losing an
important document, failing to validate past employment, getting hit over the head with an unpaid
bill or confronting the sad problem of carrying out a loved one's wishes when one is not sure what
those wishes are. Highly recommended.
The Poetry Shelf
The Weeping Time
Christopher Conlon
The Argonne House Press
1620 Argonne Place NW, Washington, DC 20009
1887641181 $19.95 www.wordwrights.com
The Weeping Time: Elegy In Three Voices is a compendium of verse by Christopher Conlon that
taken in sequence and as a whole comprising a kind of novel whose poetic narratives reveal
real-life characters against a background of real events. The Weeping Time is unique and
enthusiastic reading commended to the attention of those who appreciate innovative and superbly
crafted storytelling verse. Blood: Cutting himself while shaving/one morning. Pierce dabs at the
spot/with his fingertips, lifts it to his lips,/sucks at it gently: swallowing the salty/copper taste, he
wonders about/nigger blood: imagines it filled/with the odor of woodsmoke/and the taste of
game, wild, slightly/bitter, overripe, and succulent.
Cloud Seeding
Stacy Gillett Coyle
High Plains Press
PO Box 123, 539 Cassa Road, Glendo, WY 82213
0931271711 $12.95 1-800-552-7819 www.highplainspress.com
The latest title in the High Plains Press "Poetry of the American West" series, Cloud Seeding
showcases the contemporary western poetry of Stacy Coyle. Currently a lecturer in humanities at
the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Stacy Coyle fashions her verse with the skills of a
veteran word smith and provides further documentation as to her award-winning abilities as a
poet. The Poor Farm: He's the only one who gets flowers--/the Negro Boy of the corner
plot./They keep it mowed to the stories/even when it's humid enough to curl/your hair or slather
your toes,/or dry enough to convert you.//Someone has bought the house/and lives in rooms
against the kitchen,/offers tours of the orphans' beds,/rending sheds and cooking schedule:/Dora,
Emma and Bacilo, resting careless/next to the smokehouse and headless cane.
The Common Fire
Shelley Savren
Red Hen Press
PO Box 3537, Granada Hills, CA 91394
188899696X $12.95 www.redhen.org
Winner of the 1994 John David Johnson Memorial Poetry Award, Shelley Savren is the recipient
of nine California Arts Council Artists in Residence grants, two National Endowment for the Arts
regional grants, and two artist fellowships from the City of Ventura. The Common Fire showcases
this remarkable talent and will aptly serve to introduce a whole new audience of readers to a
storytelling poetry of life and family, joy and grief, pleasure, and pain. Summer Days: In a triangle
of afternoon light my daughter/Talia stretches across her bed,/knees bent back, feet crossed, hair
winding/down to her shoulders, soft and blond.//Her skin is like peaches, the smell of steamed
milk/rising. She leans into her Teen Magazine/the way a tree leans toward sunlight,/sways to
headphone music, like a breeze.//She is searching for a boy who will take his hand/from a pocket
and hold hers./She will paste his picture on her notebook/and dance with him in the school
gym.//She tosses the magazine and I iron a dress,/pull it over her head. Static lifts her/as she steps
outside, the dress clinging and sizzling./And for a moment, she is queen.
Elegy With A Glass Of Whiskey
Crystal Bacon
BOA Editions Limited
260 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14604
1929918534 $14.95 www.boaeditions.org
In her poetry, Crystal Bacon seeks to invoke feelings with word clad imagery that evokes a
compelling authority by way of mind inspired, mythos influenced, thoughtfully emotional reader
response. Hinged: In the sea-dark bed my hands find your flesh/fluid, oceanic--manatee?--and/the
scar from sternum to pelvis, the place/where you are joined to you: where the selkie/might hide
the other skin that's tucked inside./Or if you are the root of me, the seed's/pod meets itself there.
But you're no hydra,/no mermaid, your liquid spine hooked side to/side to ribs rearranged since
that impact/of steel on steel that spun you out, that dropped/you here where you have healed. And
now we wake/in this simplicity of touch to find/our love is hinged to your survival.
The Crow On The Golden Arches
Leo Dangel
Spoon River Poetry Press
PO Box 6, Granite Falls, MN 56241
094402453X $10.00
Enthusiastically recommended reading, The Crow On The Golden Arches showcases thirty-nine
poems by Leo Dangel. This is his fifth and apparently final collection of published poetry. Some of
these poems are actually sonnets by a man who taught literature and creative writing at Southwest
Minnesota State for twenty-five years before retiring to Professor Emeritus status. A Farmer On
Retirement: I keep getting up earlier./They say as you get older/you need less sleep./Not that I'm
old yet.//I just happen to wake up/and figure I might as well/add a little time to my day./Not that I
have much to do.//Wanting to be up more/makes sense as you get closer/to being asleep for
good./Not that I'm close yet.
Poetic Justice
Bruce Weber
Ikon, Inc.
151 First Avenue, #46, New York, NY 10003
0945368089 $12.95 1-212-674-0636 IkonInc@aol.com
Poetic Justice is the newest showcase for the innovative and deftly crafted poetry of art historian
and curator Bruce Weber as he explores and reveals a lyrical and energetic imagery ultimately
derived from his observations of the human experience. The Woman Who Loved The Bicycle
Helmet: she loved his bicycle helmet, so when they broke up/because he was to fragile to run his
fingers across her/pores, between the thighs of her conversation, inside the/hollows of her
breathing, she placed the helmet on her/head and it wrapped around her like the scent of lilies
on/an April morning, her ears cupped by its cradle, like the/interior of a shell, crating a pocket of
air, whistling like/the music of a wind chime, her head held in an ocean of/hands, like waves
lapping on a seashore, where every/harsh word was forgiven, where trust was something
held/onto, where distance would not become them, as she/lifted her body pirouetting onto the
bicycle rotating her/legs bending forward creating a vacuum between her mind/and heart so she
could race forward into the night
There Was A Great Golfer From...
E. Shepard Huntley
LifeStory Publications, Inc.
805-A Settlers Lane, Greensboro, NC 27410
No ISBN $18.00 Lifestorypubinc@aol.com www.Therewasagreatgolfer.com
A founding member of the Cardinal Golf and Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, Shep
Huntley is a 72 year-old golfing enthusiast with a unique flair for creating golf-oriented limerick
poetry that will have special appeal for anyone who has ever held a long handled club to a little
white ball. Highly recommended, this privately published, spiral bound, golf poetry anthology of
900 limericks organized by their state references will prove to be welcome and popular reading
for both golfers and their non-golfing companions. Their Was A Great Golfer From Wisconsin:
There was a great golfer from Milwaukee/Who's putter was always a bit balky./He would rim it
out or run it by,/Then mutter something with a sigh./What he said would not make a good
talky.
How It Seems To Me
Phil Hey
MWPH Books
PO Box 8, Fairwater, WI 53931
0974649910 $12.50 1-920-346-5235 tmmontag@dotnet.com
Enthusiastically recommended reading, How It Seems To Me is a collection showcasing 76 of
Phil Hey's very special poems celebrating hard lives, small joys, and memorable landscapes.
Omens: Don't churn butter before rain/The thunderstorm will come soon enough//Sharpen your
ax when you hear the dog's howl/It will keep the wolf away from the door//Run, run when you
hear the throw of the dice/Life is hard even in good company//See your face in water/Mind how
you are the same, and how not//Regard old words/The hay still needs sunshine to cure//When the
wind changes, stop and listen/Who else knows what is going to happen?
The Fiction Shelf
Pug Sheridan
Sandra Cline
Autumn Leaves Publishing
8201 Golf Course Road NW, D3-334, Albuquerque, NM 87120
0975455443 $15.00 1-505-899-1044 www.autumnleavespublishing.com
Pug Sheridan is author Sandra Cline's debut novel, a work in which she drew upon interviews
with more than fifty elderly residents in the area in which her story is set. Set in the rural South of
one hundred years ago, Pug Sheridan tells of a young tomboy girl who survives the difficult
transition to womanhood, and must struggle against the evil of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan that
threatens her family and cherished friends - members of a secret sorority that dares to transcend
racial taboos. Yet the darkness in the world around her will force her to put her courage,
resourcefulness, and even her willingness to enact violence to the test. A dramatic, soul-searching
story of growing up, coming of age, and daring to take a stand.
The Blue Raspberry Popsicle
Cheryl Leigh
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1413710751 $19.95 www.publishamerica.com
www.publishedauthors.net/cherylleigh/index.html
The Blue Raspberry Popsicle: The First Five Years by Cheryl Leigh is a novel of the first
formative years growing up as a member of the Baby Boomer generation. Nostalgia permeates
The Blue Raspberry Popsicle, which is grounded in the author's girlhood during the 1950s, in a
large, rural midwestern town. A glimpse of the mind and emotions of a very young girl as they are
molded and begin to shape her core personality unfolds.
Hitler Here
George Thomas Clark
Three Point Press
PO Box 70100, Bakersfield, CA 93387
0974731900 $19.95 www.threepointpress.com NBN/Biblio dist. 1-800-462-6420
Heretofore the author of short stories, George Thomas Clark's 637-page biographical novel Hitler
Here documents his ability to carry an extended and complex plot focused upon Adolf Hilter, his
friends and his subordinates. Expertly researched, the fictionalized treatment allows the author to
peer into and reflect Hitler's mind, and talk directly to historical figures such as Eva Braun,
Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, and more. In fact, the novel's style is not that of a traditional
unbroken narrative, but rather a lengthy, hodgepodge collection of first-person reports and views
from a wide variety of figures - each excerpt is rarely more than a page in length, and together
they piece together a dark, unfolding story of the atrocities of World War II. A compelling tale,
all the more horrific for its grounding in truth.
Portisville
Steve Cushman
Novello Festival Press
John F. Blair Publisher, dist.
310 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
0970897294 $21.95 1-800-222-9796
Portisville by Steve Cushman is a gripping story of betrayal, murder, and hidden secrets. Haunted
by the murder of his mother, and a mysterious phone call from the father who has not spoken to
him in years, one man must revisit the hidden horrors of his childhood and painfully uncover a
terrible truth before it destroys him, what is left of his family, and perhaps others caught in its
wake as well. A serious, small-town novel brimming with gut-wrenching pathos that irresistibly
compels the reader to turn the pages.
Short Street
Timothy Gager
Zumaya Publications
1105 Nueces Street, #3, Austin, TX 78701-2129
1894942604 $15.00 www.zumayapublications.com
Short Street is an anthology of 28 stories by Timothy Granger. These are imaginative tales, set
along "Short Street" where junkies, drunks, deadbeats and worse are neighbors live alongside
decent people struggling to survive and intractibly stubborn individuals. People struggle to cope
with demons within and without, from a father deseperately searching for his daughter's killer to a
teenage junkie on the brink of a second chance. Short Street explores the facets of the human
condition, some hopeful, some grim, all unforgettable.
Streets Of Warsaw
Steve Wiggins
Wiinggs Publishing Company
PO Box 2243, Ottawa, IL 61350
0974543500 $19.95 1-815-433-3244 swig0615@hotmail.com
Streets Of Warsaw: A Novel Of The Polish Resistance In World War II is a historical novel and a
totally engaging dramatization of a nearly forgotten espisode in the World War II struggle of the
Polish underground against the German occupation. Chronicling the efforts of a valiant few to
sabotage the Nazi war machine, the ruthless terrorizing and murder of an SS Brigadier General
assigned to root out and destroy the uprising, and one man's desperate mission that could cost him
everything he loves, Streets Of Warsaw is a gripping saga that tells of paying the ultimate price.
Highly recommended.
The Spring Habit
David Hanson
Ad Lib Books
217 E. Foxwood Dr., Raymore, MO 64083
0975297600 $11.99 www.adlibbooks.com
The Spring Habit is an irreverent yet upbeat novel featuring a most unlikely heroine - a chaste and
virtuous nun with a singularly amazing knuckleball. The big league Washington Memorials
grudgingly accept her, yet as she strives to make headway in an all-male world, she develops a
bond with the team's female beat reporter. With the World Series underway, tension promises to
be high amid a gender-redefinition of pro sports!
Voices Airy
Catherine Karp
Coachlight Press
1704 Craig's Store Road, Afton, VA 22920
0971679045 $15.95 www.CoachlightPress.com
In Voices Airy, novelist Cahterine Karp takes her readers back to the troubled year of 1918 when
America and the world were afflicted by two of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse -- War and
Pestilence. The devastating toll of World War I and a global outbreak Spanish influenza leave
countless individuals stricken with grief from the loss of loved ones. A San Diego woman offers
solace by calling up the spirits of the departed in a darkened seance room. Seen through the eyes
of her new husband and younger sister, the question arises... is she a fraud, or delusional? Or is
she truly a conduit to the world beyond? A captivating and thought-provoking story of the
transitions between life and death.
Native Soul
Michael Rubcic
Native Sun Press
PO Box 1139, Summerland, CA 93067
0974684805 $14.95 www.nativesunpress.com
Set in the early frontier California of 1840, Native Soul by Michael Rubcic is the story of
Frederico, a misunderstood boy of twelve. Tormented by his delinquent older twin brothers, he
finds a special bond of wonder with his beloved nanny and her Native American father. They
teach him how to deal with his abusive siblings and distant father, and the secret of living
peacefully. A powerful novel especially meant for young adults, but also reaching out to readers
of all ages with its message of inner strength and wisdom.
Pierce The Veil
Bob Adamov
Greenleaf Book Group LLC
4425 Mopac South, Suite 600, Austin, TX 78735
1929774338 $24.95 1-800-932-5420 www.greenleafbookgroup.com
Pierce the Veil by author Bob Adamov is the sequel to his earlier novel, Rainbow's End. Another
adventure featuring "Washington Post" investigative reporter Emerson Moore, Pierce the Veil
draws its irrepressible newshound into a cat-and-mouse game of corporate intrigue. Sailing
adventures, a prominent executive's early demise, an utterly unforgiving CEO and a blonde ice
queen who cannot be trusted all figure in an ever-escalating saga of power and fierce competition,
heating up to a spectacular climax.
Up South - Spring
Lynda Breckenridge Gaetano
Blue Stocking Press
PO Box 340060, Austin, TX 78734
0975313703 $24.95 http://gaetanos.home.mindspring.com
Up South - Spring is a unique collection of historical anecdotes by Lynda Breckenridge Gaetano
that is presented to the reader as a seasonal collection of life stories, narrated by a wizened old
mape tree growing somewhere in Western New York. Drawn from real life history and folklore,
the thumbnail biographies summarize the exploits of famous individuals from the Harding family
to Elizabeth Wadsworth, and even the exploits of the Amsterdam Company. An engrossing
tapestry of human lives and efforts as they shaped the nation in the 1800's.
Enchanter
David M. Dibble
Asgard Publishing Company
21185 Tennyson Road, Moreno Valley, CA 92557-8407
0974579017 $23.95 asgardpublish@earthlink.net
Enchanter, by novelist David Dibble, is a fascinating saga that intertwines, romance, magic,
acting, and deceit. A troupe of American actors work to bring a film to life in Italy. The film itself
is based on a surviving Roman play from two thousand years ago, and modern-day romance plays
out against the ancient tale of a boy, aided by a wily slave, who courts the heart of his beloved in
spite of her father's wishes. The movie's director, the consummate artist Cagliostro, tells his actors
that the original play's story is true yet ended in death and tragedy. And in the modern day, is
Cagliostro's true purpose a simple movie, or a gruesome theater of real life? An intertwining,
mesmerizing saga that keeps the reader guessing up to the very end.
A Question Of Consequence
Gordon Ryan
Mapletree Publishing Company
6233 Harvard Lane, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130-3773
0972807136 $13.95 1-800-462-6420 www.mapletreepublishing.com
Matthew Sterling is a recent Brigham Young University law school graduate and the assistant city
manager of Snow Ridge, Utah, a small community in the Wasatch Front. Julia Wells is the newly
elected mayor of this predominantly Mormon community. Upon entering the duties of their
respective offices, Matt comes to find himself entangled in a web of City Hall corruption. Should
Matt "go along to get along" or should he put his reputation, and perhaps his life, on the line. Will
Julie believe him or will she believe the supposedly good LDS men who have set out to destroy
his credibility? Matt's own tangled life is reflected in a similar situation of an ancestor of his, a
Revolutionary War hero when he discovers the personal journal of Major Andrew McBride. The
stories of Matt and Andrew are woven together into an impressive and memorable climax. A
Question Of Consequence is as thoughtfully reflective as it is engagingly entertaining reading and
document Gordon Ryan as a writer of skill and originality.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Even The Stones
Marie Jakober
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
c/o Hades Publications, Inc.
PO Box 1714, Calgary, Alberta T2P 2L7, Canada
189406318X $14.95 www.edgewebsite.com
Even The Stones is a fantastic epic, set in a land torn apart by war. A young queen must heed the
call of destiny and accept the power of a goddess long since forsaken. Captured and learning to
survive in a land where women are bought and sold, where her own court is rife with corruption,
all her skills and sorcery will be put to the most fierce test in her attempts to bring about lasting
change. A vividly fantastic and wondrous saga, featuring a strong-willed heroine.
Thumbprints
Pamela Sargent
Golden Gryphon Press
Independent Publishers Group, dist.
3002 Perkins Road, Urbana, IL 61802
1930846290 $25.95 1-800-888-4741 www.goldengryphon.com
Pamela Sargent is one of today's most imaginative and talented fantasy writers. Thumprints is an
anthology of twelve of her short fiction pieces -- each of which is a minor gem of creative story
telling. Some of the tales take place in twelfth-century Mongolia; one in present day Mongolia;
one follows a charcter from Sargent's "Venus" trilogy; a title story that delves just how far a
nearly demonic literary agent will go to ensure that his fees are paid; and several more. Exciting
and mystical tales, steeped in the resonance of culture and defying prediction until the last page is
turned, Thumbprints is highly recommended, especially for fans of Sargent's other works.
The Closet Devil
Anthony Pour
Hudson Books
244 Madison Avenue, #254, New York, NY 10016
0974986011 $19.50 1-877-822-2504
The Closet Devil: 13 Devils In The Old Familiar Places is an anthology of short stories by
Anthony Pour, an acknowledged master of macbre fantasy deftly told with a keen sense of dark
humor. People say "the Devil made me do it" but no one ever applauds the Devil for his tireless
work. Life is not fair, it simply is what it is, and according to The Closet Devil, the Devil himself
is just doing his job - nothing personal, it's just what he does best. The thirteen tales are meant to
follow the Devil's influence from the Date Line into the setting sun, and his relationship especially
with the working men and women who struggle to make ends meet without complaints or
whining. An evilly engrossing collection, that will leave the reader rethinking basic assumptions
about human nature.
Wistrix Donn
Peter DeVries
Bohemian Ink Publishing
PO Box 627, Andover, KS 67002
0972605134 $24.95 www.bohemian-ink.com
Wistrix Donn: The Mystery And The Miracle is an action adventure fantasy novel by Wistrix
Donn. Destiny threads together the lives of an outcast and his estranged lover, both of whom
received the blessing and burden of the Mystery and the Miracle long ago. Now they are on their
own, their God murdered, as they confront the terrible threats of betrayal, war, and the focus of
cruelty - a tower of amethyst called the Wistrix Donn. An exciting and passionate saga of braving
terrible forces in defence of what good there is to be had in life.
Damned
David G. Barnett, editor
Necro Publications
PO Box 540298, Orlando, FL 32854-0298
1889186422 $50.00 www.necropublications.com
Compiled and edited by David G. Barnett, Damned: An Anthology Of The Lost showcases the
work of twelve outstanding masters of modern horror fiction and the macabre. Enhanced with
illustrations by Erik Wilson, this impressive anthology is comprised of The Coliseum (Patrick
Lestewka); No We Love No One (Gerard Houarner); Casuistry (Charlee Jacob); Damned If You
Do (Jack Ketchum); Green Green Glass (John Everson); When The Bough Doesn't Break (Brian
Hodge); Thief of Golgotha (Tom Piccirilli); Siren (Jeffrey Thomas); The Angel (Edward Lee);
Close (Mehitobel Wilson); That and the Rain (Gary Bruanbeck); and Nexus of Crisis (Doc
Solammen). All the tales revolve around lost souls, corruption, damnation, and perhaps the very
faint hope of salvation between the hot and cold wars of Heaven and Hell. An enthralling, often
wicked and twisted, but always captivating assemblage of physical and spiritual struggle.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
Break Your Prescribed Addiction
Billie Jay Sahley & Katherine M. Birkner
Pain & Stress Center
5282 Medical Drive, #160, San Antonio, TX 78229-6023
1889391273 $14.95 1-210-614-7246
Break Your Prescribed Addiction by pain management therapists and experts Billie Jay Sahley and
Katherine M. Birkner is a guidebook to weaning oneself from tranquilizars, antidepressants
(S.S.R.I.'s and M.A.O.'s), and more using amino acids and nutrient therapy. Emphasizing the
value of a drug-free life, Break Your Prescribed Addiction covers withdrawal and recovery issues
in-depth, along with standard procedures, and an extensive listing of the characteristics and
pitfalls of a large number of commonly prescribed, often-abused drugs, from antabuse/disulfiram
to prozac to viagra. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn about the negative side of
common pharmaceutical treatments.
The Last Diet Book Standing
Kerry McLeod
Simple Nutrition Series Press
1930 Tapawingo Drive, Gainesville, GA 30501
0975341103 $19.95 www.simplenutritionseries.com
There seems no end to the flood tide of "how to" books on dieting and nutrition. So it comes as a
distinct pleasure to pick up Kerry McLeod's The Last Diet Book Standing and find that it's far and
away more effective and "user friendly" than the usual title dedicated to help control weight and
improve personal eating habits. Readers will benefit from McLeod's nutrition organizer,
recommendations for designing a personal makeover plan to improve one's habits for a healthier
lifestyle, and much more. Spiral-bound to lay flat for easy reference when filling out or consulting
the recommended meal plans, The Last Diet Book Standing is an excellent, step-by-step resource
for molding one's life and health for the better.
Just Fine
Carol Sveilich, MA
Avid Reader Press
6705 W. Hwy 290, Suite 502-295, Austin, TX 78735
0970015046 $15.95
Just Fine: Unmasking Concealed Chronic Illness And Pain brings together a wealth of individual
anecdotes concerning ways to deal and live with chronic pain and ill conditions, including Crohn's
disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, colitis, and much more. Black-and-white photographs are
sprinkled throughout the plain-terms tales that offer hope, healing, and testimony to the resilience
of the human spirit. Highly recommended.
Hand To Mouth
Norman Haughness
Echo Park Press
PO Box 2222, Tehachapi, CA 93581
0975929909 $10.95 1-661-822-5125 nch@inreach.com
The reason why most "how to" books on dieting aren't work the paper they are printed on is
because they offer "quick fix" eating solutions to what are essentially deeply ingrained lifestyle
behaviors. That makes Hand To Mouth: Reality-Oriented Weight Control's approach to losing
surplus pounds -- and keeping them lost -- such a realistic and refreshingly honest approach to the
problem of weight control. Obesity is epidemic among Americans, even our children, so the
emphasis in Hand To Mouth on lifestyle and lifestyle changes is an intelligent, workable, and hard
work alternative to the seemingly perennial blather of diet fads. The emphasis is on establishing
new eating habits, dealing with bad eating habit enablers, the indispensable role of exercise, and
other key elements to transforming an weight gaining, unhealthy lifestyle, into a weight controlled
healthy alternative. If you want to get off the dieting roller coaster of fads and fantasies, then give
a careful reading to Norman Haughness' Hand To Mouth: Reality-Oriented Weight Control.
What To Ask The Doc
Margaret Fitzpatric, et al.
RN Interactive, Inc.
6157 North Sheridan, Suite 22G, Chicago, IL 60660
0974700207 $14.95 www.whattoaskthedoc.com
The collaborative work of Margaret Fitzpatrick, Linda Burke, and Daryl Lee (three Chicago area
critical care nurses) What To Ask The Doc: The Questions To Ask To Get the Answers You
Need is an ideal guide for the non-specialist general reader who needs to clear responses from
doctors and nurses with respect to sixty-six different health care issues, settings, services.
Enhanced with fifteen informative articles covering diverse difficult issues including "End of Life
Decisions" and "Who's Who in the Healthcare Setting", What To Ask The Doc is highly
recommended, exceptionally practical, inordinately useful reading for anyone faced with medical
emergencies or healthcare situations ranging from pediatric procedures to menopause.
The Biography Shelf
The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln
V. Neil Wyrick
Magnus Press
PO Box 2666, Carlsbad, CA 92018
0972486917 $12.00 1-800-463-7818 www.magnuspress.com
The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln by retired Presbyterian minister V. Neil Wyrick is a biography of
America's famous president of the Civil War era, from a different perspective. Focusing upon
Lincoln's spiritual life, and the manner in which his faith influenced his politics, it traces his
decisions and events that speak strongly of his faith in God and the Bible even during the darkest
hours of the war. Insights and vignettes about the beliefs of a truly great man reveal the true story
behind popularly circulated tales of Lincoln's life and faith, in this engrossing new portrait.
Fidel Castro: A Biography
Volker Skierka
Polity Press
c/o Blackwell Publishing
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
0745630065 $29.95 1-800-216-2522
Fidel Castro: A Biography is a solid and thorough rendition of the life of Cuba's tenacious and
controversial political leader. Tracing his early years, his influence on profound events of history,
economic and social issues plaguing the nation of Cuba up to the modern era, and much more,
Fidel Castro: A Biography is an exceptional, evenhanded portrait of an undeniably strong leader's
strengths and weaknesses. An inset selection of black-and-white photographic plates complements
the involving prose.
Immortal Light
Swami Amar Jyoti, author; Sita Stuhlmiller, editor
Truth Consciousness
3403 West Sweetwater Drive, Tucson, Arizona 85745-9301
0933572786 $24.95 1-520-743-8821 www.truthconsciousness.org
Also available in a hardcover edition (093357276X, $34.95), Immortal Light: The Blissful Life
and Wisdom of Swami Amar Jyoti is the life story of Swami Amar Jyoti (1928-2001), one of the
most prominent gurus who brought understanding of of Yoga and Vedanta to the West, born into
a Hindu family in Larkana, Sindh Province, before the partitioning of India and Pakistan by the
British. Known for his kindness, his vision, and his humility, he presents his tale in his own words,
skillfully edited by Sita Stuhlmiller. Inset sections of color photographs add a vibrant dimension to
the wisdom of a life lived in devotion.
Louise Michel
Nic Maclellan
Ocean Press
PO Box 1186, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10113-1186
1876175761 $11.95 oceanbooks.com.au
Compiled and edited by Nic Maclellan, Louise Michel: Rebel Lives is the dramatic biography of
Louise Michel, the fiery leader of the 1871 Paris Commune, a short-lived workers' government
created when the city population rose up to exert its will. Also known as "The Red Virgin",
Louise Michel was a rebel who spent much of her life on the run, in exile, in jail, or in danger of
being locked in a mental asylum. "Louise Michel" tells the story of her life by directly collecting
and editing her own words from her memoirs and the insights of her contemporaries. Her story is
presented with her sharp-eyed criticism of a society and an era where the only lucrative trade for a
woman was prostitution, and tributes to her life and efforts from such prominent figures as Emma
Goldman, Victor Hugo, Karl Marx, and much more.
Spy Bate
Ron Lippert Jones
BookMasters, Inc.
PO Box 2139, Mansfield, OH 44905
1594572178 $16.50 1-800-537-6727 www.booksmasters.com
Spy Bate: Memoirs Of A Cover Agent is the autobiographical story of Ron Jones, a man who
barely escaped execution and spent ten years in a Cuban prison as a covert operative for the
American
CIA, before he was finally released in 1973. Written in Jones' own words, without the use of a
co-author, Spy Bate questions why the goals he sacrificed years of his freedom for became so
callously tossed aside, even as he was ignored and left to rot in a terrible jail cell. His memoir tells
not only of the crushing hardships he endured, but the extreme difficulty of re-adjusting to daily
life, especially in the wake of chemical and sexual revolutions in American culture.
I Wouldn't Die
Franco Antonetti
Via Novi Press
2170 East Sierra Madre Avenue, Gilbert, AZ 85296
097091122X $19.95 www.francoantonetti.com
I Wouldn't Die: A Memoir is the dramatically titled autobiography of a man who surved incredible
hardships and personal risks in the course of his life time. A miraculous story of survival, tracing
his life from Rome, Italy to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, I Wouldn't Die tells of the
journey from childhood to fatherhood, of living through wars and watching history unfold, and
striving to do one's best in a demanding world. An inspirational life story, written in
down-to-earth prose that inexorably draws the reader in.
Childhood Memories Of The Great Depression Era
Ted A. Woodworth
Emerald Ink Publishing
16630 Imperial Valley Drive, Suite 149, Houston, TX 77060
1885373295 $12.95 www.emeraldink.com
Childhood Memories Of The Great Depression Era: A Book Of Short Stories clearly documents
Ted Woodworth as a master story teller drawing upon his memories and experiences of a
yesteryear America. These are more than tales of poverty or coping in an era when jobs, food, and
money were scarce; they are character vignettes, glimpses into the hearts and minds of everyday
Americans earning a living. An involving read that exposes one to vivid, unforgettable images of
everday life seventy years ago.
The Political Science Shelf
The Right Way
Charles A. Salter
Xulon Press
6947 Fox Chase Road, New Market, MD 21774
1594675317 $12.99 www.amazon.com
The Right Way: Why The Left Is Wrong And The Right Is "Right" by Charles A. Salter (holder of
five earned university degrees, including Tulane University, the University of Pennsylvania, and
Harvard University) is a sharply conservative manifesto, that discusses a wide variety of social
topics including abortion to gun control, poverty, sexuality, the first and second amendments, and
global terrorism. Each topic is treated succinctly, over the course of a couple pages, presenting
first what the author views as the "liberal" point of view, then what the author views as the
"conservative" point of view (though oddly enough, the author tends to claim that all or the
majority of "liberals" hold an extreme left-wing position on many issues, while simultaneously
claiming that "conservatives" hold a wide gamut of ideals and perspectives, from moderate to
hard-line right-wing). Though hardly impartial, and also strongly influenced by the author's devout
Christian faith and beliefs, The Right Way does present thought-provoking issues and probes
basic flaws, both theoretical and observed, in past policies pursued by the American government.
A thought-provoking book, offering passionately charged arguments that should not be ignored,
although it is unfortunately not long enough to give each difficult subject an appropriately
in-depth complex analysis.
The Women's Studies Shelf
Women, Power, And The Biology Of Peace
Judith L. Hand
Questpath Publishing
PO Box 270074, San Diego, CA 92198-2074
0970003161 $14.95 1-858-485-8001 Questpathpub@aol.com
In Women, Power, And The Biology Of Peace, author Judith Hand (an expert in the field of
Animal Behavior and Evolutionary Biology) addresses the biological basis of war and describes
necessary steps needed to achieve lasting peace. Emphasizing the crucial role women must play in
partnership with men to make the dream of a peaceful future into reality, Women, Power, And
The Biology Of Peace is an uplifting message advocating positive change for a truly better world.
A work of vision grounded in science and human behavior as surely as noble ideals.
The Hungry Heart
Zoe Ann Nicholson
Lune Soleil Press
c/o Cate Cummings Publicity & Promotion Group
7601 East 93rd Street, Kansas City, MO 64138-4206
0972392831 $21.95 www.LuneSoleilPress.com
The Hungry Heart: A Woman's Fast For Justice is the personal story of Zoe Ann Nicholson.
Twenty-two years after the fact, she speaks of the summer of 1982 when she joined six women in
a fast to support the Equal Rights Amendment. Traveling to Illinois to gather support for
ratification of the ERA, her firsthand experiences with the U.S. women's movement, the NOW
leadership, and the legislators of the day are put forth in sweeping, unforgettable, personal terms,
taken from own journal of her experience. For over thirty days, she subsisted on nothing but
water, putting her body on the line for the sake of her beliefs. The experience transformed her,
teaching her more about what she could live with and live without. Her revelations and message
of strength and self-respect unfold clearly within the pages.
Blessingways
Shari Maser, CCE
Moondance Press
4830 Dawson Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
0975455176 $14.95 www.blessingway.net
Blessingways: A Guide to Mother-Centered Baby Showers is a resource especially for planning
and hosting Blessingway baby showers that foster a bond of community, support and
connectedness for the mother-to-be. The distinguishing feature of a Blessingway baby shower is
that it is a woman-centered celebration, that especially focuses upon the strength, beauty, and
metamorphosis of the female powers of the expectant mother, rather than the more typical
baby-centered parties used to accumulate goods for the newborn. Blessingways outlines how to
plan and host a mother-centered bonding, rituals such as music, evocations, grooming actions
including hairbrushing, headwreaths, and belly art, sharing circles, reaching out across long
distance, and much more. Notes on Blessingway variations in response to adoption or grieving the
loss of a baby are also included. Black-and-white illustrations and simple music for the songs that
can be sung round out this uplifting, meaningful guide to helping new mothers across a difficult
yet fantastic journey.
The Perfect Divorce
Cheri Arterburn
BC&C Publishing
4967 Ocean Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92109
0975304909 $24.95 1-858-272-2091 theperfectdivorce@aol.com
In The Perfect Divorce, author and divorce expert Cheri Arterburn draws upon her own
experience as a divorced wife and mother, who had to deal with the realities of navigating the
American legal system, her own emotional turmoil, and the responsibilities to her children when
undergoing her own divorce. But In The Perfect Divorce is not just a personal story; in fact, the
personal details of the author's divorce are kept brief in favor of emphasis on how to protect one's
children, make a good example for them, keep things civil with one's ex, guard one's own
interests, and above all, learn not to lose control to negative emotions concerning one's ex,
especially in front of one's own children or in any social setting. Some of the author's most
eye-opening warnings include the absolute importance of choosing an honest and competent
lawyer - one of her first choices was actually paid off by her ex to lobby for his interests, not hers,
and billed her an extra $30,000 when she fired him! - and the significance of refusing to sign
divorce papers until a settlement is reached, since once the papers are signed the incentive to
conclude the settlement diminishes and the process can drag on for years. Perhaps the most
crucial warning lies in the fact that once two people have children, they are bound together for
life, as both will always have duties and responsibilities to the children... and as a result, even if
they divorce, they must learn how to get along with one another, especially in front of the kids.
Highly recommended.
The Parenting Shelf
See How They Run
Lorilee Craker
WaterBrook Press
c/o Creative Media Resources
PO Box 1665, Sandpoint, ID 83864
1578564883 $12.99 1-800-858-9388 www.waterbrookpress.com
Its a shame that a great many harried and exhausted parents of runamuck toddlers won't have the
energy or time to read Lorilee Craker's See How They Run: An Energizing Guide To Keeping Up
With Your Turbo-Toddler. It's a shame because if they did, they would be treated to practical,
frustration avoiding, behavior correcting, invaluable advice that would make their parenting so
much easier and so much more effective. Tips, tricks, and techniques for dealing one to
three-year-old kids include how to tame tantrums, extensive advice on painless toilet training,
how to serve the little one a balanced diet, and much more. An invaluably helpful source for
harried parents everywhere.
Yes, Your Parents Are Crazy!
Michael J. Bradley
Harbor Press
Booth Media Group (publicity)
PO Box 1656, Gig Harbor, WA 98335
093619748X $14.95 www.harborpress.com
In Yes, Your Parents Are Crazy!: A Teen Survival Guide, psychologist Michael Bradley draws
upon his more than thirty years of experience and expertise to write this amazing sequel to his
earlier book, Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy! Humorous cartoons add a lighthearted touch to the very
solid advice, which has earned The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval. Chapters deal
with all sorts of issues touching aupon day-to-day life of parents and teens, from blended families
to religion, internet issues, school attendance, abuse, and much more. Written in down-to-earth
terms intended for and accessible to any teenager, In Yes, Your Parents Are Crazy! is a first-rate
help for teens and parents alike.
Child Survival Skills
Jerry Hyde and Terra Hulse
Bentle Books
PO Box 2274, Oakhurst, CA 93644
0974690449 $14.95 www.BentleBooks.com
Written by two expert self-defense instructors, Child Survival Skills is a solid teaching manual
especially for parents concerning how to teach children to protect themselves from dangerous
people and predators. From teaching young people to yell, dodge, run, or go to a low-risk adult
when a potentially dangerous person tries to grab them, to "red flags" that all children need to be
aware of and immediately report (such as when a person stares at them for too long, or attempts
to touch any part of the body covered by a bathing suit, or tries to enlist their help to find
something lost), Child Survival Skills walks one through the basics of explaining, training, and
reinforcing self-protective behaviors in the very young. Child Survival Skills is not a martial arts
instructional; it focuses primarily on learning how to teach one's very young children to recognize
"unsafe people" (who are often not strangers!), and what to do in case of a bad situation.
The Child Safety Guide for New and Expecting Parents
Christian J. Bezick
SafeKids Books
1500 South Dixie Highway, Third Floor, Coral Gables, FL 33146
0975889508 $12.95
The Child Safety Guide for New and Expecting Parents is a potentially life-saving resource.
Offering plain-terms warnings of numerous hazards to infants and children, and the basics of
childproofing one's home and car, chapters cover how to place one's baby to sleep (always rest
infants on their back, to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome), car seats made simple,
common choking/poison/water/window hazards young children face, and much more. An absolute
must-have for anyone about to deal with very young children, whether welcoming a new family
member or just baby-sitting for a few hours.
The American History Shelf
Crossing The Line
Gord Steinke
Folk Lore Publishing
1808 B Street NW, Suite 140, Auburn, WA 98001
1894864166 $10.95 1-800-661-9017
Crossing The Line: Mobsters And Rumrunners by journalist and broadcaster Gord Steinke is an
entertaining account of the most famous exploits of rum-running mobsters who dealt in the illegal
booze trade during the Prohibition era of the roaring 20's, written especially for lay readers. Crime
sprees, ruthlessness, clashes with the law, and the overwhelming drive of human greed that kept
mobsters in business permeates this collection of true stories, researched and deftly told with a
flair for modern legend. An accurate and amazing survey of a colorful and sometimes bloody
aspect of early twentieth century American history.
The Money/Finance Shelf
Top Secrets Revealed
Marc Vanasse
Quickread Publishing
PO Box 213, Santa Barbara, CA 93102
0974894702 $14.95 www.amazingcardeals.com
Top Secrets Revealed: The Hassle Free Approach To Car Buying & Leasing by professional auto
buying consultant Marc Vanasse is a hotbed of tips, tricks, and techniques to save the dedicated
auto shopper money. From eliminating sales pressure by negotiating over the phone rather than
the car lot, to solid advice for online buying, to the importance of verifying one's auto dealer,
no-nonsense explanations of what leasing entails, and much more, Top Secrets Revealed offers a
new approach for the twenty-first century buyer. Highly recommended for anyone interested in
buying a new car.
The Insider's Guide To Home Equity Borrowing
Pete Hitesman
Relentless Press
PO Box 2219, Dublin, CA 94568
0975283502 $21.95 www.RelentlessPress.com
An expert loan consultant, Pete Hitesman has personally originated more than a thousand home
equity loans and credit lines. In The Insider's Guide To Home Equity Borrowing he draws upon
his years of experience and expertise to show the reader in great and comprehensive detail just
how to determine the best home equity lender for them, how to successfully negotiate the best
terms for a home equity loan, and how to get their home equity loan application quickly approved
by the lender. Readers will learn just what home equity borrowing is, how it works, how interest
rates are determined, how they are adjusted, and the pitfalls to watch out for. If you are
considering a home equity loan, the begin by giving a careful reading to Pete Hitesman's The
Insider's Guide To Home Equity Borrowing!
Retire Without Worry
Robert J. Reby
R. J. Reby Foundation, Inc.
c/o Mantra, Empowered Public Relations
110 West 26th Street, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10001-6805
0974016306 $27.95 1-212-645-1600 www.MantraPublicRelations.com
Retire Without Worry: Simple, Straightforward Answers To Serious Financial Questions by
certified financial planner Robert J. Reby is a no-nonsense guide to preparing for retirement.
Written in question-and-answer format, and narrated in a style readily accessible to lay readers,
chapters cover stocks, bonds, funds, investing, estate planning, taxes, and much more. Highly
recommended for anyone coming to grips with the difficulty of properly preparing for the future
while maintaining a decent standard of living in the present.
Astrology & Money
Beverly Flynn
TLH Publishing Company
1845 Cambria Avenue, Landers, CA 92285
0975858319 $12.95 TLHPublishing@aol.com
Astrology & Money: What's Your Wealth Quotient? by astrology expert of thirty years'
experience Beverly Flyn brings a metaphysical perspective to the issue of money and wealth. The
first portion of Astrology & Money offers the "Wealth Quotient" test that one can take, tips for
how to improve a low Wealth Quotient, and suggestions as to why someone with a high Wealth
Quotient has not reached his or her financial goals. The second part of Astrology & Money strives
to answer the question of what money really is, and how astrology is interconnected with it. The
role of money through history, myth, folklore, and the Bible are all explored, offering new lessons
to pursue for self-improvement and the achievement of one's dreams. An insightful guide that
dares to bring a new twist to astrological prediction and character description.
The Sports Shelf
Ski Spot Run
Matt Haakenstad & John Thompson
KISATI Ventures
PO Box 1401, Minnetonka, MN 55345
0974801100 $18.95 kisati@mn.rr.com
Enhanced with black-and-white photography, as well as the line drawn illustrations of Jack
Lunde, Ski Spot Run: The enchanting World Of Skijoring And Related Dog-Powered Sports is
the collabortive work of Matt Haakenstad and John Thompson and will be of especial interest to
outdoors winter sports enthusiasts who wish to involve their canine companions. A
straightforward introduction to skijoring - a winter sport in which a person wearing skis is drawn
over snow by a dog or a horse - as well as the basics of training one's dog to pull, how to wear
and use appropriate belts, harnesses, and other equipment, etiquette when on the trail, and much
more fills this superb reference compendium. Black-and-white diagrams and photographs round
out the simple, vivacious instructions, which are narrated in plain terms for dog lovers of all
backgrounds.
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Siren Song
Stephen Schwandt
Bridge Works Publishing
PO Box 1798 , Bridgehampton, NY 11932
188259388X $15.95 1-800-462-6420 National Book Network, dist.
Also available in a hardcover edition ($23.95), Siren Song is an impressively written novel of
mystery and suspense by award-winning novelist Stephen Schwandt. A burned-out schoolteacher
leaves his job for the wilderness of Wisconsin's Door County peninsula, but when he discovers the
grisly used cabin cruiser he buys carries the secrets of a murder victim with a hidden stash of
money. Death threats, pursuit, human greed, ethical dilemmas and much more make for a
tantalizing outdoors tale that keeps the reader guessing up to the very end.
The Gardening Shelf
Herbs And Spices
Monica Moran Brandies
B. B. Mackey Books
PO box 475, Wayne, PA 19087
0961633867 $15.50 www.mackeybooks.com
Herbs And Spices For Florida Gardens, by herb gardening expert Monica Moran Brandies, is
specifically designed to help the aspiring gardening grow and enjoy Florida plants that have
special culinary, medical, floral, and horticultural properties. Black-and-white drawings succinctly
illustrate the methodical instructions and advice, as well as the basic wealth of practical and
descriptive information concerning a vast variety of plant species. A handy, no-nonsense reference
for everything from simple window ledge gardens to involved and complex personal plots.
The Psychology Shelf
Drugs & Clients
Padma Catell
Solarium Press
PO Box 2503, Petaluma, CA 94953
0929150767 $39.95 1-800-752-7730 www.drugsandclients.com
Drugs & Clients: What Every Psychotherapist Needs To Know by Padma Catell (Associate
Professor of Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies) is a straightforward reference
informing psychotherapists and lay readers alike of the basic facts concerning common
psychoactive medications as well as non-prescription psychoactive drugs such as alcohol,
antihistamines, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, marijuana and more. Written in no-nonsense, unbiased
terms, it describes the effects of drugs, how they are viewed by the modern American legal
system, health risks, results of statistical studies, and more. A superb resource manual for anyone
needing to acquaint themselves with the basics of common psychoactive chemicals.
The Judicial Studies Shelf
The Color Of Guilt & Innocence
Steve Holbert & Lisa Rose
Page Marque Press
PO Box 1672, San Ramon, CA 94583
0974664006 $29.95 www.policeprofiling.com
The Color Of Guilt & Innocence: Racial Profiling And Police Practices In America by law
enforcement veteran Steve Holbert and attorney Lisa Rose is a highly readable discussion of the
all too common practice of racial profiling in America. Discussing data collection and analysis
programs used to help determine whether racial profiling takes place, issues of civil liberty, police
reaction to accusations, and much more, The Color Of Guilt & Innocence takes an urgent and
serious topic head-on without losing itself in excessively confusing terminology or philosophy.
Highly recommended.
The Art Shelf
Cartooning Basics
Duane Barnhart
Cartoon Connections Press
PO Box 10889, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
0965713644 $12.99 www.cartoonconnections.com
Cartooning Basics is an award-winning, step-by-step cartooning guidebook for doodlers age 7
and up. Though the simple illustrations and plain-terms instructions are readily accessible to
young people, they are equally instructive to amateur adults seeking to hone their cartooning skills
and learn how to create cartoon characters. Now in an enlarged and revised format with a
foreward by Jim Davis, creator of "Garfield", Cartooning Basics covers how to get ideas for
'toons, common symbols, especial tips for expressions and facial features, showing distance,
depth, and perspective, and much more, while the many, many illustrations demonstrate how all
cartoons begin as a collection of simple shapes, from which details are elaborated. Highly
recommended for practicing artistic techniques or just plain drawing fun.
The Jobs/Careers Shelf
America's Top 100 Jobs For People Without A Four-Year Degree
Ron Krannich & Caryl Krannich
Impact Publications
9104-N Manassas Drive, Manassas Park, VA 20111-5211
1570232148 $19.95 1-703-361-7300 www.impactpublications.com
America's Top 100 Jobs For People Without A Four-Year Degree: Great Jobs With A Promising
Future by Ron and Caryl Krannich is a guidebook to jobs that are projected to grow the fastest
and pay the best as the twenty-first century progresses. Avoiding careers that are more likely to be
outsourced to cheaper labor markets abroad, or made obsolete by technological advances,
America's Top 100 Jobs For People Without A Four-Year Degree covers burgeoning
opportunities in everything from government to science, construction, sports, medicine,
computers and the internet, and much more. Each recommended job listing makes a note of
typical annual earnings, necessary education and training, projected employment outlook, a
summary of the nature of the work, typical working conditions, and key websites and institutions
one can contact to learn more information. Highly recommended.
The 7 Keys To A Dream Job
Dilip G. Saraf
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595662455 $40.95 www.iuniverse.com
The 7 Keys To A Dream Job: A Career Nirvana Playbook! by Dilip Saraf draws upon the author's
past three years working with employment seeking clients who were laid off during the Silicon
Valley high tech retrenchments and dotcom failures. Chapters address how to adapt to sudden
change including the loss of one's job, learning how to differentiate oneself and customize one's
resume for maximum self-promotion when job-hunting, tips, tricks, and techniques for acing an
interview, from being readily accessible to staying aware of body language, negotiation advice and
suggestions for following a wide array of job leads through email, networking, and much more.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in pursuing a new career. Of especial note are the
in-depth delineations of e-mail hunting and other technological etiquette appropriate for online job
hunting - the new social decorum of the twenty-first century.
The Human Sexuality Shelf
Low Self-Esteem In The Bedroom
Marilyn J. Sorensen
Wolf Publishing Company
16890 SW Daffodil Street, Sherwood, OR 97140
0966431529 $18.95 www.TheSelfEsteemInstitute.com
Low Self-Esteem In The Bedroom: How LSE Affects Intimacy by clinical psychologist Marilyn J.
Sorensen deftly explores the physical and emotional intimacy that comprises pre-marital and
marital adult relationships and how low self-esteem (LSE) is the primary factor in impeding the
sustained establishment of verbal, emotional, and sexual intimacy. Using case examples to
illustrate her analysis of LSE hinderment, Marilyn Sorensen provides suggestions for recovery
from LSE. Of special note are the "Things To Consider/Questions To Answer" provided at the
end of each individual chapter. If you or someone you love is having a rough time establishing or
maintaining sexual and marital intimacy in their special relationship, the give a careful and close
reading to Marilyn J. Sorensen's Low Self-Esteem In The Bedroom.
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
Copyright ©2001
Site design by Williams Writing, Editing &
Design