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Small Press Bookwatch

Volume 2, Number 9 September 2003 Home | SPBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Fiction Shelf Poetry Shelf
Metaphysical Shelf UFO Shelf Business Shelf
Travel Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf Biography Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
History Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Parenting Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

G. K. Chesterton's Sherlock Holmes
Steven Doyle, editor
The Baker Street Irregulars
7938 Mill Stream Circle, Indianapolis, Indiana 46278
0964878844 $35.00 www.bakerstreetjournal.com

Compiled, edited, and with an informative Introduction by Steven Doyle, G. K. Chesterton's Sherlock Holmes presents nineteen previously unpublished illustrations intended for Sherlock Holmes stories. Commissioned from Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) for an edition of the Sherlock Holmes tales that was ultimately never published, these rare black-and-white sketches had lain unseen in the Lilly Library of the Indiana University for years. Thoughtful appreciations of Chesterton's work, and Chesterton's own writings concerning the literary figure of Sherlock Holmes round out this fascinating "must-read" for any avid fancier of G. K. Chesterton's artwork, as well as the legions of fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective stories showcasing the most famous detective in the history of English literature.

For The Sake Of Marriage
Elinor Verville, Ph.D.
Rainbow Books, Inc.
PO Box 430, Highland City, FL 33846-0430
1568250894 $16.95 1-863-648-4420

Written by Elinor Verville (a clinical psychologist with experience in counseling centers and private practice), For The Sake Of Marriage: What You Give - What You Get acknowledges that sometimes divorce is necessary, yet charges that all too often people are inclined to give up on partnerships that have potential for balance and contentment. Individual chapters focus upon the means to change habits in thinking and acting in order to improve quality of life for both spouses; ways to incorporate acknowledgment that men and women are different; the distinction between healthy and harmful hobbies; the importance of taming emotions run amok, and more. For The Sake Of The Marriage is a highly recommended addition to Marital Relations Studies reference collections, and the personal reading lists of anyone having to deal with the stresses and strains fraying the marriage bond within themselves and their families.

Tameme: Volume 1, Issue 3
Tameme, Inc.
199 First Street, Los Altos, CA 94022
0967409314 $14.95 www.tameme.org

Volume 1, Issue 3 of Tameme is the latest installment of a annual bilingual literary journal dedicated to featuring new writing by a variety of authors from all across North America, including Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Stories, essays, and poetry presented in Spanish and English including "La Reconquista in the Inland Empire"; "The Properties of Magic"; "How Do You Tell a Daughter", and more. These are stories which deftly explore complex social themes, as well as the day-to-day routines of ordinary life served up as a vividly portrayed and varied multicultural experiences. How do you tell a daughter/that life moves on from sorrow,/somehow, and the heart, that bruised/sweet plum, is where the seed lies./How do you tell her that moistened/and fed by rot, the seed/holds tight in its rough fist/a new, green universe/ as yet unimagined/but clean, clear in its intention/ of any contradiction: utterly plum.

Complete Guide To United States Navy Medals, Badges And Insignia World War II To Present
James G. Thompson
MOA Press
114 Southchase Blvd., Fountain Inn, SC 29644
1884452531 $24.95 1-800-308-0849 www.moapress.com www.usmedals.com

Knowledgeable compiled by James G. Thompson, Complete Guide To United States Navy Medals, Badges And Insignia World War II To Present is a detailed catalogue of Navy medals and ribbons, commonly awarded foreign and UN medals, all Navy insignia from World War II to the present, enlisted specialty marks and much more. Black-and-white and color diagrams or photographs of each medal, badge, and insignia make this a first-rate, no-error guide for identification and recognition. An outstanding reference, Complete Guide To United States Navy Medals, Badges And Insignia World War II To Present is a core addition to personal, academic, and community library Military History reference and resource collections.

Invisible Enemy
Edward Abboud
Vox Publishing Company LLC
PO Box 8546, Reston, Virginia 20195
096779157X $29.95 www.voxpublishing.com

Invisible Enemy: Israel, Politics, Media, And American Culture by Edward Abboud is a strongly worded adversarial criticism of the nation of Israel's diverse and continuing attempts to manipulate American public opinion and governmental policy through the American mass media. Thoughtful dissections of the subtle messages in everything from television interviews, to movies such as "Independence Day", as well as harsh criticisms of tendencies to focus upon the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust while strategically ignoring the millions of non-Jewish victims, the down-play of Israel's endemic acts of brutality against its Palestinian citizens, and more, make Invisible Enemy a thought-provoking and challenging account that raises serious and troubling issues -- and the basis for lively political discussions in view of America's current military and political interventions in the Israeli/Palestinian "peace process".

Animal Suffering And The Holocaust
Roberta Kalechofsky
Micah Publications, Inc.
255 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, MA
0916288498 $10.00 www.micahbooks.com

Compellingly written by Roberta Kalechofsky, who is the founder and president of Jews for Animal Rights (JAR), Animal Suffering And The Holocaust: The Problem With Comparisons is an informative and well-reasoned voice of opposition to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals exhibit called "Holocaust on Your Plate". The author contributes a reasoned perspective as someone who is passionately committed to the welfare of people and animals, yet feels the pressing need to point out the dangers of complacency in likening the murderous slaughter of human beings for reasons of bigotry, hatred, and politics, to the killing animals for food. A brief yet on-the-spot work of insight, Animal Suffering And The Holocaust is very highly recommended reading -- especially for animal rights activists.


The Fiction Shelf

Big Ice
Christopher Bonn Jonnes
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592865879 $19.95 www.publishamerican.com

Big Ice is an exciting and suspenseful tale of threat, extremism, and heroic desperation. When a reclusive polar ice researcher discovers a "doomsday fault" that could potentially cause a massive amount of ice to detach, melt, flood coastal cities around the globe and wreak havoc upon humanity, he is thrust in the center of a nexus of journalists, law enforcement officials, and ruthless fanatics determined to make cataclysmic prophecies come true. A gripping and thrilling read, Big Ice documents author Christopher Boon Jonnes as a gifted and original novelist of considerable talent and storytelling expertise.

Fontana
Siegfried Brian Barger
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592864414 $21.95 www.publishamerican.com

Fontana is an original novel by Siegfried Brian Barger and set in today's modern, technology-driven world. Fontana Smith, once a hero of another era, is now an elderly, retired Texas Ranger Fontana Smith who, with his widower friends, seeks a final adventure, renewing a commitment they once made as youths to protect animals that cannot speak for themselves. An emotional story about the advance of age and the drive to recall and pursue ambitions in life's golden years, Fontana is well written, attention engaging, thoroughly entertaining, and enthusiastically recommended.

Passages
Charles E. Blazek
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592863485 $19.95 www.publishamerican.com

Passages by Charles E. Blazek is an intriguing and superbly crafted novel about Dana Wright, a woman whose personal spiritual development is tied to the fate of the entire world. Dana's many lifetimes intersect with the onward march of history and those destinies of those around her. Only her personal growth and realized potential can save humanity from an implacable enemy bent on causing unmitigated destruction. Passages is an original, fast-paced, adventurous, spiritual and engrossing read.

Dog Days In Bedlam
David James Trapp
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592862926 $19.95 www.publishamerican.com

Dog Days In Bedlam by David James Trapp is a fantastic novel of royal intrigue. Two star-crossed young lovers flee the wrath of a ruthless king, yet when escape becomes impossible, the only remaining option is sacrifice and eternally enshrined love. A moving, romantic parable, Dog Days In Bedlam is thoroughly entertaining and highly recommended leisure time reading.

Getting Back
Mark Maller
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595250475 $14.95 www.iuniverse.com

Getting Back is a fast-paced, wry and deftly written story by Mark Maller that examines the question of free will within the context of an original and entertaining novel. Focusing on the life of a seemingly ordinary man, first as a student struggling against a domineering biology professor, and later in life as a destitute, bitter married man seeking revenge on the wife he suspects of adultery, Getting Back questions whether the actions in one's past permanently etch the chart of one's future, and offers an all-too-real glimpse of the foibles of human nature.

Conquest Of Paradise
Britt Gillette
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595264549 $17.95 www.iuniverse.com

Conquest Of Paradise: An End-Times Nano-Thriller is an exciting techno-thriller novel by Britt Gillette. A war on terror that begins in response to the September 11 attacks and grows to involve the whole world. The charismatic European Union leader Raphael Vicente amasses power and popularity, yet in his relentless pursuit of his dream of social justice, Raphael loses track of consequences until the world itself lies on the brink of annihilation. A real "page-turn" of a read, Conquest Of Paradise is recommended as a shocking, gripping saga of a novel from beginning to end.

Carly's Calling
Sue Ann Smith
1st Books Library
2595 West Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404-2782
1410749347 $12.50 1-800-839-8640 www.1stbooks.com

Sue Ann Smith's debut novel Carly's Calling is the poignant story of Carly, a young girl who is at first terrified by a nighttime spiritual visitor. Yet a far worse threat to her body and spirit comes from her mother, a woman who is pathologically jealous of the bond between her daughter and her husband. The spirit teaches Carly about how to transform her pain into a greater growth and understanding. Carly's Calling is exceptionally well written and recommended for its impressionable and deeply moving narrative.

Call Of The Pines
William V. Reynolds
Double Eagle Enterprises, Inc.
BookMasters (publicity)
735 Liberty Circle, Murphy, NC 28906
0970032021 $16.95 1-828-494-2665 www.doubleeagleenterprises.com

Call Of The Pines by William V. Reynolds is an attention compelling novel based upon the stories of author's father's life. Set amid the terrible poverty of the Great Depression, Call Of The Pines tells of Henry, a young man in an era when work was scarce and the best way to see the country was simply to ride the rails. Tributes to folk legend, hardship, excitement, adventures, and the search to find oneself are all contained in this engrossing and deftly written saga.

The Winds Of Fortune
Janet Flickinger-Bonarski
45th Parallel Publishing Co.
4711 Championship Dr., Gaylord, MI 49735
0971679312 $15.00 www.historic-fayette-michigan.com

The Winds Of Fortune: A Novel About 19th Century Fayette, Michigan is an entertaining historical tale by Janet Flickinger-Bonarski that brings its yesteryear American setting and protagonists vibrantly to life. Love, hope, daily toil, and a soul-searching inner debate that tears a woman inside as this fisherman's widow wonders whether her ardent suitor (a schooner captain with an unsavory reputations as a rake and a pirate) truly considers her the only one in his life. This superbly crafted, emotional poignant, original story of heartbreak, murder, and the burning of the Fayette brothel is one of those novels so easy to pick up and so difficulty to put down.

Behind The Cypress
Yvette D. Stewart
Trafford Publishing
2333 Government Street, Suite E, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
Steward Publishing
2429 Shady Tree Lane, Edmond, OK 73013
1412000696 $19.99 www.yvettestewart.com www.trafford.com

Behind The Cypress is the captivating debut novel of the talented African-American author, wife, and mother Yvette Stewart. Jean-Marie and Sharmaine Martin are two orphaned sisters who search for acceptance. Raised in the bitter care of their mother's sister, they are confronted with abuse, incest, and murder. Jean-Marie and Sharmaine must search for hope and strength within each other in order to rise above their cruel and present circumstances. Deftly written, Behind The Cypress is a thoroughly engaging and original work which is highly recommended reading.

The Rule Of Last Clear Chance
Judith McCormack
The Porcupine's Quill
68 Main Street, Erin, Ontario, Canada, N0B 1T0
0889842647 $18.95 www.sentex.net/~pql

The Rule Of Last Clear Chance is an anthology of deftly written and somewhat askew short stories by Judith McCormack which offer the reader an engaging, entertaining, and rather different take on life. Among the many colorful characters are a lawyer who navigates by smell, a grocer who sells lobsters, and a hapless thief who should have (perhaps) chosen a life of white-collar crime instead. Double entendres, language slanted with a dash of the bizarre, and an abiding insight into the drives of human nature color these unforgettable tales. The Rule Of Last Clear Chance documents Judith McCormack as a wonderfully and uniquely gifted storyteller!

Ordinary Miracles
Diana Aspin
Red Deer Press
813 MacKimmie Library Tower, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
0889952779 $9.95 ($12.95 Canadian) www.reddeerpress.com

Ordinary Miracles is a collection of thirteen stories by Canadian author Diana Aspin, and which revolve around a seemingly common Canadian community. Here are the stories of a man who escaped abusive foster parents in 1909, met a girl from the future, then later found a home, grew up, married, and grew old - as he enters the twenty-first century he remembers the futuristic girl from his memories and the landing card he once gave to her. A thoughtful, moving, and progressive work, Ordinary Miracles is especially recommended for teens and young adults as it draws the reader into its fascinating details of life and love.

Ballad Of The Confessor
William Zink
Sugar Loaf Press
4160 Raccoon Valley Road, Alexandria, Ohio 43001
0970070209 $15.00 www.sugarloafpress.com

Ballad Of The Confessor by William Zink is a stark and stunning novel steeped in the flavor of the American South, presenting the world of work, serious individual and social problems, and the toll that unrelenting toil takes upon people. An impressive feast for the mind that draws the reader in and simply won't let go, Ballad Of The Confessor is enthusiastically recommended reading. Also very highly recommended for the knowledgeably literate is William Zink's anthology of free verse poetry, Torrid Blue (0970070292, $12.00).

The Seesaw Syndrome
Michael Madden
Durban House Publishing Company, Inc.
7502 Greenville Avenue, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75231
1930754426 $24.95 www.durbanhouse.com

The Seesaw Syndrome by Michael Madden is an original and superbly crafted novel of greed, corruption, and ill-gotten gains as drug executives and medical researchers exploit the power they have for tremendous profit. A new drug is debuted, that promotes weight recovery among patients ravaged by cancer - yet when a young woman and her mentor learns that it promotes tumor growth as well, they are marked as targets to be silenced. Gripping and suspenseful reading.

Eden's Secrets
William E. Elmore
Jacyn Books
PO Box 217, Hazelwood, MO 63042
0972994505 $12.95 1-314-921-3183

William E. Elmore's debut novel Eden's Secrets is a fantastic saga of the Garden of Eden, and the great Paradise lost to mankind, as told from the perspective of a cherubim who was there. Drawing upon events mentioned in the Bible, as well as ancient regional myths, and explaining the great deluge that crushed man's earliest civilization, Eden's Secrets is a superbly crafted, thought-provoking, entertaining and intriguing fictional speculation on humanity and the divine.

Strangers
Taichi Yamada, author; Wayne Lammers, translator
Vertical, Inc.
257 Park Avenue South, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010
1932234039 $14.95 www.vertical-inc.com

Succinctly translated into English by Wayne Lammers, Strangers is a Japanese novel by Taichi Yamada of a jaded TV scriptwriter who feels pangs of loneliness, and encounters an ordinary workingman that is, eerily, the very mirror image of the father he lost years ago in a tragic accident that orphaned him. Hauntingly told, with a sublimely subtle undercurrent to the tides of emotion, Strangers is an unforgettable journey through memories and the inner striving to reach out and contact others.

Show Your Own
George L. Bilbe
Sine Wave Press
PO Box 850967, New Orleans, LA 70185-0967
0971089906 $14.95 www.sinewavepress.com

Show Your Own: An Arguable Novel And A Screenplay by George L. Bilbe is a vivid, play-by-play saga of a manic episode and how it greatly affects all those around the one in the grip of an unshakeable euphoria. The lines of dialogue flow fast and furious in this attention compelling story, one which reads well as a straight work of fiction yet begs to be adapted to the stage.

Foolishness, They Called It
Rhonda Rhodes
Heart Wings Publishing
PO Box 36634, Canton, Ohio 44735
0974200514 $13.95 1-800-742-2028 heartwings@cmh.net

Foolishness, They Called It is a romantic, mirthful, and spry novel by gifted writer Rhonda Rhodes about three lesbians from Denver who take an extended vacation on an organic farm, shortly after the Vietnam War era came to a close. The hardships of farm life, a sexual reawakening, and interpersonal exploration on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels fill pages of this original, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and quite enjoyable commentary on life, sex, love, and personal growth.

Serpentina
Kathleen Legeia Davis
Barnhardt & Ashe Publishing, Inc.
Suite 51, PMB 432, 444 Brickell Ave., Miama F. 33131
0971540217 $18.50 1-410-707-6686 www.barnhardtashepublishing.com

Set in America just before and during the Civil War, Serpentina is a novel by Kathleen Legeia Davis about Serpentina, a slave woman's daughter who seeks escape and freedom in Canada. Pursued by slave catchers, rapists, and murderers, Serpentina travels a hard road beset with good and evil, and finds love and a new life even as a war erupts that will forever change the future of America. Serpentina is enthusiastically commended as a vividly written, movingly original, and powerfully told story.

Forever Green
Cathal Liam
St. Padraic Press
PO Box 43351, Cincinnati, Ohio 45243-0351
0970415540 $14.00 www.cathalliam.com

Winner of the 2001 Bronze Medal for historical fiction from ForeWord Magazine, Forever Green: Ireland Now And Again is an anthology of writings by Cathal Liam ranging from mind-expanding stories to political commentary and fluid poetry (including thematically appropriate poems by others as well as Liam's own verse). Remembering the Ireland of decades gone by, and scrutinizing political happenings in the Ireland of today, Forever Green is a compelling, emotional and heartfelt work embracing the continual flux of Irish culture up to the modern day.

The Shift: An Awakening
John English (Rolf V. Lange, editor)
DreamTime Publications, Inc.
c/o Cate Cummings Publicity & Promotion Group
7601 East 93rd Street, Kansas City, MO 64138-4206
0972703411 $14.95 www.dtpublications.com

Deftly edited by Rolf V. Lange, The Shift: An Awakening is a moving contemporary novel by John English, who explores what would happen if spiritually minded people used the power of their conscious intent to give themselves voice in politics, voting booths, and government itself -- and if a new party arose that embraced the concerns of Americans everywhere. Embracing the power within individual people, and the strength that lies in destiny, The Shift is a profound and highly recommended reading experience that blends mysticism with a very real concern of what type of world shall be left behind for our children.

The Anchor
Blonnie Bunn Wyche
Banks Channel Books
2314 Waverly Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403
1889199052 $12.00 1-910-762-4677 bankschan@ec.rr.com

Set in America in 1764, The Anchor by Blonnie Bunn Wyche is a novel for young adults about 15-year old Polly Moore, a young girl caught in the middle of radically changing times in colonial America. As the recently passed and highly unpopular British Stamp Act makes life hard for her, Polly must come to rethink her opinions of slavery, freedom, and the treatment of women -- even as the American colonies comes closer to revolution. Written with an exuberant dash of impetus, willpower, and providing an informative and entertaining perspective on real historical figures and events, The Anchor is very highly recommended reading for teens and young adults.


The Poetry Shelf

Agapi Ke Thanatos: Love And Death
Maria Psanis
Moonlight Press
2 Tunxis Road, PO Box 554, Tariffville, CT 06081
097070433X $15.00 1-860-408-1664 www.poetmaria.com

Agapi Ke Thanatos: Love And Death is a profound collection of poetry by Maria Psanis about the pain and loss of saying goodbye to a loved one. Maria's experience in outliving her father, and her bittersweet memories of his passing, as well as her strength to embrace God's plan, make Agapi Ke Thanatos an unforgettable and highly recommended reading experience. Love: Sacrifice/your need.//Live without/that/you cannot do/without.//Love.

Drenched
Susan Cataldo
Telephone Books
109 Dunk Rock Road, Guilford, CT 06437
0916382389 $9.95 www.spdbooks.org pomowen@ix.netcom.com

Drenched: Selected Poems Of Susan Cataldo 1979-1999 is a collection of expressive, feeling-driven free-verse poetry with a particular focus upon daily life; the complex reaching of one's own emotions; and the struggle to feel, see, and experience the world around one during the brief span of years one is gifted to span upon it. A fast read, yet one with an inner poignancy that reveals itself upon close inspection, Drenched is a welcome addition to any contemporary poetry collection. Working And Paying: If my poetry is as important to you/As our credit card payments then/You won't be hearing any love poems/From me for awhile. Ill be too busy/Working & paying so you can sleep at night./As for what I would have gladly given/You for free, if what's free is not/Worth as much to you as what I have/To slave for to get, you'll be getting/Very little of me.

Spaces In Between
Gil Saenz
1st Books Library
2595 West Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404-2782
1403390177 $9.50 1-800-839-8640 www.1stbooks.com

Spaces In Between is a haunting collection of poetry by Gil Saenz, a renaissance man of the Information Age, who has served his government as a computer specialist, a personnel specialist of the United States Air Force, and a US Diplomatic Courier in the Foreign Service, among his other achievements. Circulating about the themes of love, nature, beauty, and the spiritual, the poetry comprising Spaces In Between deftly evokes a misty memory of emotional richness beyond measure. Love Fantasy: We had been building castles in the air,/Dreaming a bridge of dreams,/Where we could cross over and enjoy a journey/Of unreality and happy adventures together./Time had stood still for us/While we lived the dreamy highlife,/Tripping the light fantastic through yesterdays,/Todays, tomorrows as we felt the bliss/And other good feelings of our love fantasy.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Neptune's Daughter: Journey Into Oneness
Julie Yau
Mystic Hill Publishing
1335 Bounty Way, Laguna Beach, CA
0974032409 $14.95 1-949-464-9256

Author Julie Yau's innate wisdom and her personal studies in Spiritual Psychology show through in Neptune's Daughter: Journey Into Oneness, a spiritual self-help guide that explores her own personal journey and offers a wealth of insights for the reader on his or her own journey down the road to spiritual awareness. Ranging from the enlightenment of the animal kingdom, to what it is like to have paranormal or mystical abilities and gifts, to growing past and transforming the pain of the soul, Neptune's Daughter is commended as a quite memorable, evocative, and lasting outreach into spiritual evolution, wholeness and wellness.

Brain Storms!
Shawn Regan and Eleanor S. Field, Ph.D.
Trance-Formation Productions
BookMasters, Inc. (publicity)
5567 Reseda Blvd., #115, Tarzana, CA 91356
0971797307 $24.95 1-800-564-9766 www.DoctorElly.com

Co-written by award-winning writer Shawn Regan and licensed clinical psychologist and family therapist Eleanor S. Fields, Brain Storms! is a true story of a patient's harrowing journey as he learns from the turbulent experiences of his past life. A work of non-fiction presented with the reading fluency of a novel, Brain Storms! offers therapeutic revelations and insights worthy of the best of the self-help book. Brain Storms! is a compelling and recommended journey taking the reader through phases of life, eras of time, and the depths of the human mind.


The UFO Shelf

Unlocking Alien Closets
Leah A. Haley
Greenleaf Publications
PO Box 8152, Murfreesboro, TN 37133
1883729084 $19.95 www.greenleafpublications.com

Unlocking Alien Closets: Abductions, Mind Control, And Spirituality is the personal testimony of an alien abductee. Author Lea A. Haley was a CPA living a normal life as an accounting instructor, wife, and mother, when the intrusion of alien life altered her perception forever. In Unlocking Alien Closets, Lea seeks to understand and connect aliens, UFOs, mind control and government coverups to God, the Bible, and human spirituality in this engrossing narrative of metaphysical thought and extraterrestrial contact. Unlocking Alien Closets is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading which is especially commended to the attention of UFO enthusiasts.

X3: Healing, Entities, And Aliens
Adrian Dvir
Privately Published
c/o Distribution Services
30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805
9657269008 $19.95 1-419-281-1802 adrian@adriandvir.com http://adriandvir.com

Informatively written by Adrian Dvir (an expert computer engineer who first discovered his ability to communicate telepathically in 1992, and first contacted aliens in the year 1994), X3: Healing, Entities, And Aliens is an exciting and attention riveting metaphysical journey into mind-expanding experiences and the positive intentions of entities from beyond this world. Offering a grand, detailed, investigative account that fleshes out seemingly supernatural occurrences in great detail, and enhanced with an accompany CD, X3: Healing Entities and Aliens is a unique and very welcome contribution to Metaphysical Studies reference collections and UFO Studies reading lists.


The Business Shelf

After Fifty
Leslie M. Harris, editor
Paramount Market Publishing, Inc.
301 S. Geneva Street, Suite 109, Ithaca, NY 14850
0972529020 $39.95 1-888-787-8100 www.paramountbooks.com

Compiled and edited by Leslie M. Harris (Managing Partner of Mature Marketing & Research), After Fifty is a solid, business-minded guide to the lucrative market of the maturing baby boomer generation, now moving past peak earning years into retirement. An assembly of informed and informative articles by marketing experts Leslie M. Harris, Theodore L. Reed, Howard Willens, Amy Myers, John Nielson, Anne Devereux, Ron Paul, Jacqueline Rodriguez, Michelle Edelman, Sherri Akers, and Joan Seamster, After Fifty provides statistics, demographics, reasoned hypotheses, hard facts, and more. Taken together, these articles and essays provide an excellent and thoroughly "reader friendly" assessment that covers an aging "baby boomer" market's demands with regard to travel & leisure, fast food, apparel, technology, health care, financial services and much more.

Enterprise Portals
Berthold Kastel
Competitive Edge International
6960 Professional Parkway East, Suite 100, Sarasota, FL 34240
0974180807 $24.95 1-941-907-6639 www.cei-corp.com

Written by Berthold Kastel (the Founder and CEO of Intech Professionals LLC and Blacksoft Corporation, both of which provide for the enterprise software market), Enterprise Portals: For The Business & IT Professional is a concise and "reader friendly" informational and instructional guide designed specifically for time-stressed business and information technology professionals who seek to learn the basic facts concerning this billion-dollar industry. From what portals are, to integrating business systems, to putting the user in charge of the internet, to features a portal can have, getting value out of portals, an extensive review of portal vendors and applications, and more, Enterprise Portals is a solid resource and highly recommended reference which is nothing short of an absolute "must-read" for anyone newly involved in this rapidly changing and exciting business.

Shaping The Next One Hundred Years
Robert J. Lempert, Steven W. Popper and Steven C. Bankes
1700 Main Street, PO Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407
0833032755 $30.00 1-877-584-8642 www.rand.org

The collaboration of Robert J. Lempert, Steven W. Popper and Steven C. Bankes, Shaping The Next One Hundred Years: New Methods For Quantitative, Long-Term Policy Analysis offers complex mathematical analysis techniques for making long-term policy predictions. Sample models, ways to analyze sustainable development, robust and adaptive strategies, and more fill the pages of this technical guide focusing upon quantitative approaches to long-term policy analysis. An excellent guide for forward-thinkers and strategists in business who must take into account such diverse considerations as environmental protection, political terrorism, genetic technologies, international trade developments, and more, Shaping The Next One Hundred Years is very strongly recommended reading.


The Travel Shelf

Walking With The Wild Wind
Jim Stoltz
Lone Coyote Publications
PO Box 160477, Big Sky, Montana 59716
0962022810 $14.00 www.walkinjim.com

Walking With The Wild Wind is the personal travelogue of Jim Stoltz and his solo trek through the wilderness of Montana's roadless areas. A detailed and captivating journey, deftly written with appreciation for the wonders of nature and articulating a regret of man's voracious expansion into pristine land, as well as narrating harrowing close calls with brush fires, falls, wildlife encounters, and river crossings, Walking With The Wild Wind brings the reader along upon an unforgettable journey. Highly recommended reading for nature buffs and armchair travelers, Walking With The Wild Wind would make a welcome and popular addition to community library collections.

Play Hard Rest Easy - New England
Malcolm W. Campbell
Walkabout Press, Inc.
PO Box 11329, Charlotte, NC 28224-1329
1931339007 $19.95 1-800-231-3949 www.playhardresteasy.com

Play Hard Rest Easy - New England: The Ultimate Active Getaway Guide is an informed and informative travel planning resource emphasizing outdoors adventures opportunities in the New England region that doesn't necessarily require outdoors accommodations. More than 150 hikes, assorted mountain bike trails, water adventures, skiing, rock climbing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, gourmet dining, upscale lodging, museums, art galleries, antique shops, and more are all deftly covered in this handy and highly portably resource which is packed from cover-to-cover with ideas and contact information. A superb guide for planning one's New England vacation time to take into account one's favorite passions, Play Hard Rest Easy - New England is recommended for tourists, business travelers, and New England natives looking for day trip, weekend, and vacationing ideas.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Fallback Position
John E. Arnold
Exurba Publishing, LLC
6021 SW 29th St., Suite A #267, Topeka, KS 66614
0972977627 $14.95 1-866-385-1700 www.exurba.com

The days of expecting to keep one's job for 50 years or more are over. Fallback Position: Preparing A Contingency Plan For The Worst Case Scenario is a solid and practical guide to preparing the reader in the event of being fired, downzied, right-sized, outsourced, or otherwise cut loose from his or her job. In today's volatile marketplace and work force, Fallback Position is an absolute "must-read" for negotiating the best career deal when possible and keeping doors open in case the worst happens. A solid, and practical guide of the highest possible recommendation, Fallback Position should be readily available in the Jobs/Careers section of every community library collection in the country!

Train At Home To Work At Home
Michelle McGarry
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595284507 $17.95 www.iuniverse.com

Train At Home To Work At Home: How To Get Certified, Earn A Degree, Or Take A Class From Home To begin A Work-At-Home Career by Michelle McGarry is an invaluable and "user friendly" guide to readying oneself for home-based employment. Individual chapters directly address how to become job certified, earn a college degree, take specific job-oriented classes from home, and offers a wealth of practical advice for pursuing a number of home-based careers such as childbirth educator, financial planner, graphic designer, information broker, paralegal service, web site designer/webmaster, wedding planner, and more. A superb overview and resource for anyone with responsibilities that keep them at home yet seek a productive earning career, Train At Home To Work At Home is a unique and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Jobs/Careers reference and resource collection collections.


The Biography Shelf

Nearly Perfect
Farmer Meadows and Betty Meadows
TurnKey Press
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
2525 W Anderson Lane, Suite 540, Austin, TX 78757
0974185841 $16.95 www.turnkeypress.com

Nearly Perfect: An American Success Story is the story (as told to Cindy Day) of "Farmer" Bill and Betty Meadow's life, their fifty-year marriage, the trials they faced together, and the happiness they've shared. From their poverty in the West Virginia coal mine camps of the 1930s and 40s, to the hard work and success that made them millionaires, Nearly Perfect is an inspirational life chronicle. Black-and-white photographs enhance this involving story of successful lives.

The Short And Tall Of It
Donna Lancaster
Word Wright International
Phenix & Phenix (publicity)
PO Box 1785, Georgetown, TX 78627
0971786801 $14.95 www.wordwright.biz

The Short And Tall Of It is the testimony of Donna Lancaster, a woman who, due to a congenital defect, was born without knees, lower legs, or hip joints. Yet miraculously, Donna learned to walk. During her junior year in college, Donna had the opportunity to wear artificial legs that made her 5' 8"... for 32 years, a troubled marriage, a divorce, and the loss of both parents. Then Donna came to reevaluate her life and her choices. Now retired and speaking at 12-step meetings and conventions in the United States and Canada, she tells her story in a frank, open, and matter-of-fact tone. An inspirational, intimately personal autobiographical account, The Short And Tall Of It is truly memorable and confidently recommended reading.

Voodoo Tower
Casey Sangl
Latitude 21 Press
PO Box 68, Honolulu, Hawaii 96810
097233985X $12.95 www.voodootower.com

Voodoo Tower: A Hawaii Businessman's Worst Nightmare is the memoir of Casey Stangl, an on-air DJ, ad salesman, programmer, and eventually station owner who opted to slow down the daily grind of talk radio, move to the Garden Island of Kauai, and build a radio tower to add new stations to the Island's dial, as well as provide emergency broadcast for police and fire departments. Yet when a politically connected retired physician observed the radio tower obstructing his viewline, there began a nightmare campaign against the tower that drained author Stangl's energy, cash, and credit for more than four years. A testimony to struggles of wills as well as the nuances of local government, Voodoo Tower is a fascinating autobiographical story of conflicting interests and sharply contrasting aims that will leave the reader actually cheering for the lawyers!

Asian. Woman. Alone.
Ayoung M. Kim
Feng Liu Productions
PO Box 248, Mill Valley, CA 94942
097270891X $14.95 1-415-722-6615 www.amazon.com

Presented in the format of a series of essays and prose-poems, Asian. Woman. Alone. is the personal memoir of Ayoung M. Kim, a Korean woman who, after having to call off her wedding, found no acceptance among her family in her native Korea and then traveled to Southeast Asia. There she saw great suffering in the people and animals around her, and gradually constructed a path to healing and forgiveness through compassion and love. Asian. Woman. Alone. is highly recommended as a powerful and moving autobiographical story of personal hardship and growth.

Spirit At Work
Lois M. Grant
Emerald Wave
Elizabeth Caulder & Associates (publicity)
PO Box 969, Fayetteville, AR 70202
0942531353 $15.00 www.daffodilproductions.com

Spirit At Work: A Journey Of Healing is a deeply spiritual memoir of Lois M. Grant and her battle against depression and agonizing chronic pain. Her faith, and her spiritual evolution as she sought to understand herself and the unconditional love of the divine, form a heartwarming and uplifting reckoning of her life, growth, karma, and change. A powerful and positive reading experience, Spirit At Work is commended reading -- especially for anyone currently engaged in overcoming their own life tribulations and are seeking to engage themselves with a search for higher spiritual awareness and greater emotional growth.


The Self-Help Shelf

Happiness On 7 Dollars A Week
Harley B. Bernstein
Barstin Books
Booth Media Group, Inc. (publicity)
PO Box 407, Vienna, VA 22183
0974026409 $19.95 1-760-929-1111 www.happyoneseven.com

Happiness On 7 Dollars A Week: A Formula For Living is an inspirational collection of writings by Harley B. Bernstein, couched in the format of a series of walks, father and son. Following the adjustment of Harley's father to the illness and death of his beloved wife, and revealing an inspirational formula to understanding happiness and the incalculable wealth of a life well-lived, Happiness On 7 Dollars A Week is warmly motivating and highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone seeking to live a life of appreciation and quiet personal accomplishment during hard times.

What We Say Is What We Get
Gerald Baldner
Nelson Books
Jenkins Group (publicity)
PO Box 5394, Elgin, IL 60123
097426010X $19.95 1-800-845-6779 gerald@kitchensolvers.com

Accessibly written by Gerald Baldner (a former school social worker turned college professor and successful businessman), What We Say Is What We Get: The Keys To Building Good Communication Skills For Successful Living is a straightforward guide to improving personal and professional communication skills. From key aspects of effective communication, to the unique difficulties of communicating with children, to the importance of being able to say "I'm sorry", to non-verbal communication, to what to keep in mind when communicating ideas in the workplace, and more, What We Say Is What We Get is an accessibly organized and deftly presented self-help book which is especially recommended to the attention of anyone seeking to enhance their communication skills in their daily life.

Too Young To Retire
Marika Stone and Howard Stone
2 Young 2 Retire
581 Gregory Avenue, A422, Weehawken, NJ 07086
1932133143 $13.95 www.2young2retire.com

Motivational speaker Howard Stone and yoga teacher Marika Stone team up in Too Young To Retire: An Off-The-Road Map To The Rest Of Your Life to present readers with a down-to-earth instructional guide which is drawn from the authors own lives as a couple, their research, and several assorted case histories in order to present practical and effective alternatives to retirement -- including stimulating work and community service. From opportunities to earn money or participate in business, to volunteering one's time, to traveling for fun and profit, Too Young To Retire is an exciting and dynamic self-help instructional guide for charting new possibilities for the future and highly recommended reading -- especially for anyone over the age of 62 and not ready for the rocking chair/nursing home slide into oblivion.

Recharge In Minutes
Suzanne Zoglio, Ph.D.
Tower Hill Press
KSB Promotions (publicity)
PO Box 1605, Doylestown, PA 18901
0941668142 $19.95 1-888-370-8807 www.zoglio.com

Informatively written by psychologist Suzanne Zoglio (who is a life-balance expert and has been featured in numerous magazines), Recharge In Minutes: The Quick-Lift Way To Less Stress, More Success, And Renewed Energy! is an invigorating self-help book presenting ways anyone can take a few moments in course of their daily life to refocus themselves, concentrate their personal energies, and sustain their strength, inspiration, creativity, and endurance through long and difficult times or tasks. From building connections, to boosting confidence, learning to let off steam, and discovering the virtue of courage, Recharge In Minutes is an energetic and "reader friendly" source of advice for go-getters everywhere.

The Phoenix Factor
Phoenix Palmer
Langmarc Publishing
PO 90488, Austin, TX 78709
1880292858 $17.95 1-800-864-1648 www.langmarc.com

Written by a lay person who followed the difficult road from pain to healing, Phoenix Palmer's The Phoenix Factor: Rising From The Ashes Of Abuse presents her personal life in brief, riveting bursts of short essays and cogent observations, showing the tell-tale signs of an abusive relation that ultimately manifested in the relentless stalking, terrorizing, and abusive behavior of her ex-husband -- as well as her on-going struggle to cope with the trauma and transcend the bitterness of. A strong and powerfully moving account, The Phoenix Factor is highly recommended reading for anyone caught up in (or seeking to recover from) abusive personal relationships. It is a sad commentary on the world today, but The Phoenix Factor should be strongly considered for inclusion into community library collections in order to make it as widely available to the general public as possible.

The Pleasure Trap
Douglas J. Lisle, Ph.D. and Alan Goldhamer, D.C.
Healthy Living Publications
c/o Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99, Summertown, TN 38483
1570671508 $24.95 1-888-260-8458 www.bookpubco.com

Co-written by Douglas J. Lisle (formerly a Lecturer of Psychology at Stanford University and currently the Director of Research for TrueNorth Health Center, Rohnert Park, California) and Alan Goldhamer (the Director of TrueNorth Health Center since 1984), The Pleasure Trap: Mastering The Hidden Force That Undermines Health And Happiness is an invigorating and thoroughly "reader friendly" self-help guide to improving one's physical and mental health through positive lifestyle changes; a better understanding how one's physical brain works; and guarding against impulses to overindulge in culinary pleasures or other addictions. An excellent general advocacy guide to moderation, and offering practical instruction in learning to avoid excess of pleasure in order to raise the overall quality of and happiness in one's life, The Pleasure Trap is an enthusiastically recommended addition the personal Self-Improvement, Self-Help reading lists and reference collections.

Living Serendipitously: Keeping The Wonder Alive
Madeleine Kay
Chrysalis Publishing
c/o DeVorss & Company (Distributor)
553 Constitution Avenue, Camarillo, CA 93012-8510
www.livingserendipitously.com
0971557233 $16.95 1-800-843-5743

Madeleine Kay's Living Serendipitously: Keeping The Wonder Alive is an expertly written self-help guide specifically intended to aid readers in living their life fully embracing the miraculous in all they see and do. An upbeat work showing the choices that help one make one's own happiness, putting one's passion to work unlocking new possibilities, and the undying power of love, Living Serendipitously is a recommended and "reader friendly" work of wisdom, reassurance, growth, and outreach.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Dictionary Plus For Women
Suzette Buhr, R.T.R.
Cindy Baker
1st Books Library
2595 West Vernal Pike, Bloomington, IN 47404-2782
1403394431 $12.50 1-800-839-8640 www.1stbooks.com www.dictionaryplusforwomen.com

Dictionary Plus For Women is a resource filled with easy-to-reference facts about hysterectomies, menopause, and related female health and wellness issues. The diverse topics are accessibly arranged in lexicographic order, and each word entry contains a capsule definition, as well as a longer explanation concerning how that word relates to menopausal issues. Of special note is the discussions of Estrogen Replacement Therapy and Vaginal Dryness. A very highly recommended addition to personal and community library Women's Health reference collections, The Dictionary Plus For Women also covers up-to-date information on necessary vitamins and minerals, the benefits of various herbs, facts and statistics about menopause and hysterectomies, and more.

Growing Up With Scoliosis
Michelle Spray
Book Shelf
Growing Up with Scoliosis Book Division
PO Box 946, Stratford, CT 06615
0971416036 $12.95 www.havingscoliosis.com

Growing Up With Scoliosis is the personal and heartfelt memoir of Michelle Spray, a young girl, who wrote down her thoughts as she adjusted to living with braces, posture exercises, and surgery to treat her scoliosis in the form of a spine curvature so severe it threatened to mercilessly twist her body. An upbeat and engaging true experience, highly recommended for young people everywhere who have to deal daily with this all-too-common condition, Growing Up With Scoliosis is especially recommended reading for young readers having to deal with scoliosis -- as well as their friends, families, neighbors, teachers, and providers.

Prostate Cancer Prevention And Cure
Lee Nelson, M.D.
Huntington Press Publishing
3687 South Procyon Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103
0929712145 $19.95 1-800-900-5166 www.huntingtonpress.com

Written by medical expert and prostate cancer survivor Lee Nelson, Prostate Cancer Prevention And Cure is a straightforward informational and instructional guide to preventing, controlling, and curing this specific form of cancer. An exceptionally detailed resource, Prostate Cancer Prevention And Cure is written so as to be complete accessible for the non-specialist general reader and covers everything from risk factors and screening, to the many types of applicable therapies, to new and future medical developments, and more, Prostate Cancer Prevention And Cure is an invaluable addition to community library Health & Medicine reference collections, and especially recommended reading for all men over 50 with family histories of prostate cancer -- as well as their wives, friends, children, and companions.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

A Hawk In The Sun
Leon R. Powers
Dimi Press
3820 Oak Hollow Lane, SE, Salem, Oregon 97302-4774
0931625408 $14.95 1-800-644-3464 http://home.earthlink.net/~dickbook

A Hawk In The Sun by Leon R. Powers (Professor of Biology, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa - Idaho) is a narrated story of observations by Professor Powers as he watched the nesting and daily habits of the ferruginous hawk - a shy bird that is the largest hawk in North America. From a battle between a pair of hawks, to the travails of a hawk mother who strives to raise her young, to the loss of a hawk chick, and more, A Hawk In The Sun is fascinating, informative reading, and very highly recommended for ornithologists, bird watchers, and anyone else who is keen to learn more about the life and habits of these fascinating feathered raptors.

Hello, Goodbye, I Love You
Pamela Bauer Mueller
Pinata Publishing
112 Dunbarton Drive, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
0968509738 $7.99 1-912-638-2676 www.kiskalore.com

Based on a true story, Hello, Goodbye, I Love You: The Story Of Aloha - A Guide Dog For The Blind by Pamela Bauer Mueller is the story of a twelve-year-old young man named Diego Escobar and Aloha -- the dog he raised from puppyhood. At eighteen months, it was time for Diego to send his beloved canine companion off to guide dog school for formal training and a productive future as a guide dog for the blind. The heartbreak of letting go, and the joys of little miracles fill the pages of this compassionate true story which is especially recommended reading for dog lovers.

Space Dogs
Chris Dubbs
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595267351 $11.95 www.iuniverse.com

Space Dogs: Pioneers Of Space Travel by Chris Dubbs is a fascinating and informative presentation of the canine contributions (and sacrifices) that helped advance space travel technology and accomplishments from 1951 to 1966. From world-famous space dogs, to the animals that worked and died unknown, Space Dogs offers an historical overview of the training, early flights, and terrible accidents that befell these proud and companionate animals. Never-before published photographs from the archives of Novosti, the Russian News Agency, are included. Space Dogs is very highly recommended reading for dog lovers and students of the Space Exploration History.


The History Shelf

The Gray Matter
Burton H. Baker
TelePress
BookMasters (publicity)
PO Box 592, St. Joseph, MO 49085-0592
061511329X $14.95 www.atlasbooks.com

The Gray Matter: The Forgotten Story Of The Telephone by Burton H. Baker is the fascinating history of two American inventors, Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray, two men who, independently of one another strove to come up with the means to improve upon the telegraph. Yet only one man could utilize their researches and discoveries to earn the coveted and incredibly profitable telephone patent involved with the creation of a newly emerging communications industry. Comprising the absorbing and little-known 1876 American saga of a remarkable invention which became a technological staple of modern life, The Gray Matter is a true and very highly recommended history of judicial inquiries, conflicts, congressional investigation, and perhaps some ethically questionable dealing.

Native American In The Land Of The Shogun
Frederik L. Schodt
Stone Bridge Press
PO Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707
1880656779 $19.95 www.stonebridge.com

Frederik L. Schodt is an interpreter and translator whose specialty is writing and understanding Japanese culture and Japanese-U.S. relations. In Native American In The Land Of The Shogun: Ranald MacDonald And The Opening Of Japan, Schodt ably presents the fascinating and true account of a half-Chinook, half-Scot adventurer who braved feudal Japan in 1848, when it was still closed to the outside world, and helped establish a legacy of knowledge that would pave the way to Japan's involvement in modern times. It was Ranald MacDonald's study of the Japanese language, and his teaching of English to interpreters of a nation, which helped Japan when the Japanese government had to negotiate with foreign visitors such as Commodore Perry and his fleet of "Black Ships" which arrived in 1853. An amazing, trailblazing account of one man's achievements and the intercultural communications he fostered, Native American In The Land Of The Shogun is an enthusiastically recommended addition to 19th Century Japanese History reference collections and reading lists.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

What You See
Ann Mullen
Afton Ridge Publishing
PO 162, Stanardsville, Virginia 22973
0972532722 $24.95 www.AftonRidge.com

What You See by Ann Mullen is a suspenseful tale and the first in a series of Jesse Watson mysteries. When a young girl goes missing in the mountains of Virginia, private detective and Cherokee Indian Billy Blackhawk and his resourceful secretary Jesse Watson are beset with mayhem, as a dysfunctional family turns upon each other. Ruthless motives hidden in the shadows come to light, and the girl may not be the only one to go missing as threats turn tangible in this captivating mystery. What You See clearly establishes author Ann Mullen as an original and gifted writer, as well as leaving the reader looking eagerly toward the next Jesse Watson mystery!

Black Velvet
P. S. Elsner
Micleric Publishing
PO Box 626, Taylors, SC 29687
0974025402 $12.95 1-864-877-8829

Set in 1956 on the mean streets of Detroit, Black Velvet by P. S. Elsner is a dark mystery novel of private investigator Nick Dallas, who finds himself caught up in the middle of a haven for organized crime, illegal drugs, and multiple murders. Crooked cops impress their hold, and only Dallas has the opportunity to clear a good cop's name before he is unjustly put behind bars forever. A thrilling, hard-boiled, page-turner of a novel, Black Velvet is the Micleric Publishing's debut effort and one that will leave appreciative fans of the mystery genre looking eagerly forward to their next effort.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Gatekeeper
Trilby Plants
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592865097 $19.95 www.publishamerican.com

Gatekeeper by Trilby Plants is an enthralling fantasy novel. Kerrick Malone is a successful writer who becomes involved in a deadly, netherworldly struggle. Horrific entities from beyond the common realm slaughter his wife, and threaten to pour through portals from other worlds to wreak havoc - unless Kerrick learns to harness the magic within himself, and defeat a terrible villain from beyond. A suspenseful tale of conflict and destiny, Gatekeeper establishes author Trilby Plants as a gifted storyteller and will leave the readers looking eagerly toward her next effort in the genre.

The Ring Of The Dark Elves
Victoria Randall
iUniverse.com, Inc.
2021 Pine Lake Road, #100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595272355 $20.95 www.iuniverse.com

The Ring Of The Dark Elves is a work of fantasy by Victoria Randall who draws from Norse legend for her story. Utilizing the same mythic conflicts that drive Richard Wagner's immortal operatic cycle, "The Ring of Nibelung", The Ring Of The Dark Elves tells of Oden's efforts to hold off the onset of Ragnarok by ensnaring Sigurd's service and using him to regain the ring of power from the ruthless dragon Fafnir. An epic, enthralling tale, The Ring Of Dark Elves is entertaining and imaginative storytelling and a highly recommended addition to personal and community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Common Errors In English Usage
Paul Brians
William, James & Co.
8536 SW St. Helens Drive, Suite D, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070
1887902899 $13.00 1-800-322-2665 www.wmjasco.com

Common Errors In English Usage puts the wisdom of author and English professor Paul Brians' web site, "Common Errors in English," into print. Offering essential information concerning commonly misused words and phrases, from a scholar whose web site has been endorsed by BBC Online, Life magazine, USA Today, Yahoo! Internet (among others), Common Errors In English Usage is a practical, sensible, and very highly recommended "reader friendly" educational resource and reference for anyone seeking to improve their personal command of the fine nuances of the English language.

Word Carving
Moira Farr and Ian Pearson, editors
The Banff Centre
PO Box 1020, 107 Tunnel Mountain Drive, Banff, Alberta, Canada, T1L 1H5
1894773020 $15.95 1-403-762-7532 www.banffcentre.ca/press

Collaboratively compiled and edited by Moira Farr and Ian Pearson, Word Carving: The Craft Of Literary Journalism offers twelve quality essays drawn from contributors to The Banff Centre's Creative Non-Fiction and Cultural Journalism Program. A unique melding of real-world truth and art, works such as "Post Traumatic Stress: How I learned to stop worrying about Conrad Black's evil plan to destroy Canada's universal health-care system and love my job at the National Post" make for a thoroughly "reader friendly", thoughtful and thought-provoking reading experience that draws the reader into the depths of literary aspects of the craft of journalism and the real world pictured in timeless words.


The Parenting Shelf

Parenting Letters
Susan Schulman, M.D. and Lisa Fraser
LDF Publishing Inc.
PO Box 45, Port Perry, ON, Canada L9L 1A2
0969642784 $12.95 1-877-492-6845 www.parentingletters.com

The collaborative effort of Dr. Susan Schulman and Lisa Fraser, Parenting Letters is a unique and highly recommended resource for parents. Consisting of 40 original letters, each of which is ready to be torn out of the book and mailed directly to a child, Parenting Letters offers concerned parents tools to begin a conversation with their children about a range of serious subjects, including dealing with bullies, accepting personal responsibilities, mastering the many difficulties of life, and more. Parenting Letters is an excellent and "parent friendly" source of inspiration in coming to terms with how to write about complex matters to a child -- even those parents preferring not to take the direct approach and not wishing to simply send the letters taken directly out of the book.

The Unprocessed Child
Valerie Fitzenreiter
Unbounded Publications
PO Box 1050, Lake Charles, Louisiana 70602
0972941606 $14.95 www.ubpub.com

The Unprocessed Child: Living Without School by Valerie Fitzenreiter is the true story of Laurie Chancy, a child who was raised with no hard and fast curriculum. Laurie learned topics of her own choosing, and when she was eighteen, she scored in the top 10% of the state of Louisiana on her college entrance exam and Laurie went on to pursue her dream to learn more. Laurie's intelligence, discipline, and exploration of the world around her, and her success in a nontraditional, "self-schooling" lifestyle and her personal story make for a most intriguing case study. Author Valerie Fitzenreiter writes with a particular authority -- she is the mother of Laurie Chancey. The Unprocessed Child is especially commended reading for any parent considering homeschooling their own children.


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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