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The Bookwatch

Volume 8, Number 1 January 2013 Home | BW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Environmental Studies Shelf Art Shelf
Crafts Shelf American History Shelf World History Shelf
Computer Shelf Science Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Psychology Shelf Business Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Travel Shelf Education Shelf Biography Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Sports Shelf
Military Shelf Cookbook Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Photography Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Christian Studies Shelf
Native American Studies Shelf Philosophy Shelf Political Science Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Literary Studies Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Theatre/Cinema Shelf Women's Studies Shelf Humor Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

Life Rules
Ellen LaConte
New Society Publishers
PO Box 189
Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, V0R 1X0
9780865717268, $18.95, www.newsociety.com

LIFE RULES: NATURE'S BLUEPRINT FOR SURVIVING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE is a recommendation for environmental and economic holdings alike as well as social issues collections concerned with global communities, and discusses such varied issues as resource conservation, cooperative living, and how to fix problems that challenge how Man lives on Earth's systems. Solutions to global challenges are offered in an inspiring survey of life-affirming actions and management strategies perfect for any general lending library.

Andrew Jackson Downing: Essential Texts
Robert Towmbly, editor
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393733594, $35.00, www.wwnorton.com

Andrew Jackson Downing: Essential Texts compiles an anthology of Downing's writings and comes from the founder of landscape architecture in the U.S. His extensive writings were published in journals and magazines around the country, and this book covers a range of topics from architecture and landscape gardening to gardening for parks, public beautification programs, and more. Robert Twombly's biography and headnotes provide further insights into Downing's short but highly influential life.

Evolution's Purpose
Steve McIntosh
Select Books
1 Union Square West, Suite 909
NY, NY 10003
9781590792209, $24.95, www.selectbooks.com

Evolution's Purpose: An Integral Interpretation of the Scientific Story of Our Origins provides a fine survey of how evolution progresses and its underlying spiritual purpose in life, arguing that the purpose of evolution is not controlled, but is all about creativity and the choices of evolutionary creatures themselves. Thus the scientific concept of evolving origins is linked to sacred teachings compatible with many different spiritual perspectives, and thus Evolution's Purpose belongs in the collections of any spiritual library interested in linking scientific thought with spiritual reflection.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

The Last Atoll
Pamela Frierson
Trinity University Press
One Trinity Place
San Antonio, Texas 78212
9781595341303, $16.95, www.tupress.org

THE LAST ATOLL: EXPLORING HAWAI'I'S ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS provides a decades-long exploration of the island's atolls and reefs at the far northwestern end of the chain, and details both natural history and human history affecting these atolls. This could have been featured in many sections - our travel section, the science and nature area, or the history shelf: it's recommended for a wide range of holdings - basically, any with an interest in local Hawaiian human and natural history!


The Art Shelf

Creating Exceptional Color with Acrylics
Lexi Sundell
Barrons
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppauge, NY 11788
9781438000961, $21.99, www.barronseduc.com

Creating Exceptional Color with Acrylics: How to Make Color Choices That Will Take Your Painting to a New Level is a 'must' for any acrylic artist working with color and tone, and provides clarify to the different choices acrylics offer. From choosing a balanced palette of strong color to using pigments and semitransparent and opaque paint colors, this explores how to bring out strong color in different genres and how to apply the colors in a range of creative ways. Any working in acrylics who want to 'graduate' to the next level will find this a powerful survey!


The Crafts Shelf

The Lego Adventure Book
Megan Rothrock
No Starch Press
38 Ringold St.
San Francisco, CO 94103-4403
9781593274429, $24.95, www.nostarch.com

THE LEGO ADVENTURE BOOK provides an unofficial survey of the products of the best LEGO builders, presenting nearly 200 innovative models of all kinds and pairing photos of these models with 25 brick-by-brick breakdowns so readers can absorb some of the model makers' special techniques. This makes for a far more useful guide than just a pictorial survey would impart, covering everything from flying machines and dinosaurs to entire cities and a realistic British locomotive with brakes. This fine all-color survey is a 'must' for any LEGO enthusiast who wants to see new ideas and absorb the strategies for creating them.

Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World!
Jared K. Burks, PhD
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive
Raleigh, NC 27614
9781605490335, $9.95, www.twomorrows.com

Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World is a pick for any LEGO builder and fan and comes from an author who has created thousands of custom minifigs over the last decade. This color tutorial assembles his custom figures and tells how to handle decal design, applications, color alternations, customization processes and minifigure displays, and teaches all the basics of creating custom figures for everything from aliens to warriors. A top addition to any LEGO crafter's library!

Simply Stylish Faux Flowers
Sylvia Hague
Barrons
250 Wireless Boulevard
Hauppauge, NY 11788
9781438000381, $19.99, www.barronseduc.com

SIMPLY STYLISH FAUX FLOWERS: GORGEOUS EVERLASTING ARRANGEMENTS TO ADORN YOUR HOME AND CELEBRATE SPECIAL OCCASIONS tells how to personalize any celebration with a home-done floral arrangement and tells how to create different moods, themes and colors through fake flower florals. From step-by-step instructions for practical projects to tools and tips on how to handle the flowers, this is a top recommendation for any crafter looking to work with faux flowers!

Kalmbach Books
c/o Kalmbach Publishing Company
21027 Crossroads Circle
Waukesha, WI 53186
www.kalmbachbooks.com

Peter H. Riddle's second edition of WIRING YOUR TOY TRAIN LAYOUT (9780897785433, $21.95) offers a fine wiring guide for hooking up modern and vintage transformers and creating different layouts for tracks and controls, and is a specific guide for the model train hobbyist who wants to know more about wiring options. Included in the wiring tips are keys to signals and accessories, how to organize writing and set up central controls, and more. Diagrams and schematics are provided for all kinds of options, making this a 'must have' reference for any toy train modeler. Also recommended is the second volume of MODEL RAILROAD BRIDGES & TRESTLES (9780890248683, $17.95), packing in over twenty projects and features that originally appeared as articles in Model Railroader magazine. From the basics of building truss and girder bridges, viaducts and more to installing culverts and making a concrete bridge with real cement, this is packed with fun projects model railroaders can quickly apply to landscapes. Aaron Skinner's MODELING AIRLINERS (9780890248447, $19.95) is a fine guide for any who build jet airliner models, and walks the crafter through the process of painting and applying decals to commercial airplane models. A photo gallery accompanies the step-by-step directions on how to construct and convert airliners, offering all kinds of keys to creating realistic and successful airliner models! Lori Wilkes' THE ABSOLUTE BEGINNER'S GUIDE; WORKING WITH POLYMER CLAY (9780871164537, $21.95) provides everything you need to know to work with polymer clay beads, offering over twenty easy projects paired with lovely color photos. The step-by-step photos accompany multiple crafts and jewelry-making ideas and make for a lovely guide highly recommended for any jewelry-making or beader's collection.


The American History Shelf

Clash of Eagles
Carol Lea Clark
Lyons Press
246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437
9780762778423, $22.95, www.lyonspress.com

Clash of Eagles: America's Forgotten Expedition to Ottoman Palestine provides a fine story of America's first military journey into the Middle East in 1847, when the secretary of the navy authorized one William Lynch to journey east to Ottoman Palestine, there to map what would be Israel and Jordan. While there Lynch made important alliances that would last for decades, overcoming obstacles to his expedition and finding facts that would foster his mission. The Civil War eventually stifled his journeys - and another hundred years went by before America involved itself again in the Middle East. The result is a powerful historical survey of a little-known expedition that is a 'must' for any American history holding.

Hell of a Vision
Robert L. Dorman
University of Arizona Press
355 South Euclid Avenue, Suite 103
Tucson, AZ 85719-6654
9780816528509, $50.00, www.uapress.arizona.edu

HELL OF A VISION: REGIONALISM AND THE MODERN AMERICAN WEST provides an in-depth survey of the ways in which the American West has been portrayed and defined in modern times, exploring how different urban, rural and ethnic identities have evolved and how Western regionalism has been defined by generations of people seeking to understand its diversity and influences. Chapters provide college-level holdings with a fine discussion looking at the works of major novelists, Native American writers, and everything from government reports to environmental impact studies. The result is a fine study of the modern history of the American West, and is a fine pick for any collection strong in Western history and influences.

The Untold History of the United States
Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick
Gallery Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781451613513, $30.00, www.simonandschuster.com

The Untold History of the United States documents the rise and fall of the American empire and uses the latest archival findings and recently declassified documents to tell of a shocking perspective on the Bush-Cheney policies. The U.S. has drifted far from its democratic principles, and the drift has its roots not in modern presidential choices and politics, but in choices that go back to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Among the surprising revelations: the U.S. was largely responsible for perpetuating the Cold War, the nation has been involved in overthrowing elected leaders in favor of installing right-wing dictators in foreign countries, and the U.S. has come very close to nuclear war numerous times over the decades. Any American history collection needs this!

The Fourteenth Day
David G. Coleman
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393084412, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

The Fourteenth Day: JFK and the Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis comes from an expert on nuclear policy and marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New transcripts of Kennedy's tapes not seen before blend with period photos to show how Khrushev's decision didn't actually end the crisis, which continued for months. This is the first book to provide an insider's account based on over 260 hours of secret recordings made by Kennedy before and after the standoff, and should be in the collections of any American history holding strong in the politics of the times.

Custer
Larry McMurty
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781451626209, $35.00, www.simonandschuster.com

CUSTER provides a lively and colorful illustrated volume covering the history of both the man and the battle he's well known for, and outlines all involved in the Battle of the Little Big Horn and how it affected the nation. It's a unique observation of the military man who led over 250 men to death, and examines the event and the personality with a personal and social approach designed to delight any reader of military events or American history. The addition of plenty of visuals sets this apart from any other history and makes it accessible to general-interest readers.


The World History Shelf

Westview Press
2465 Central Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301
www.westviewpress.com

Catherine Allgor's DOLLEY MADISON; THE PROBLEM OF NATIONAL UNITY (9780813347592, $20.00) provides a blend of history and biography pairing the life of first lady Dolley Madison with the role she played in the shaping of the nation. Part of the Lives of American Women series, this uses a particular aspect of her life to identify her role in her era and her influences and achievements in affecting it. It also tells how she became a model of inspiration to others. Women's issues and general American history collections will want to add this. The fourth updated edition of Peter N. Stearns' THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN WORLD HISTORY (9780813343600, $40.00) comes from a historian who investigates the global scope of the Industrial Revolution, considering the social and cultural impact of the changing technology on major societies around the world and adding a new introductory section exploring the industrial revolution and the nature of industrial projects outside of the West.


The Computer Shelf

The dRuby Book
Masatoshi Seki
Pragmatic Programmers
P.O. Box 293325
Lewisville, TX 75029-3325
9781934356933, $35.00, www.pragprog.com

THE DRUBY BOOK: DISTRIBUTED AND PARALLEL COMPUTING WITH RUBY teaches the basics of Ruby from the Japanese Ruby hacker Seki and offers the first book in how own Distributed Ruby library. It's completely written in Ruby and allows readers to communicate between distributed Ruby processes without boundaries. From basic design concepts of distributed programming to advanced Ruby techniques for security and more, this offers a gradated learning foundation that takes Ruby programmers to new levels of achievement, teaches them to integrate dRuby and eRuby, and is a 'must' for any programming library.

Mobile Usability
Jakob Nielsen and Raluca Budiu
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321884480, $34.99, www.newriders.com

Mobile Usability tells how to design top websites and apps for smart phone and tablet users, offering insights into creating an overall mobile strategy for clients and businesses alike. The approach involves writing for small screens: this helps designers and others understand how to create mobile websites to improve user experience. Since the world of computing is rapidly moving to mobile devices, MOBILE USABILITY will prove a top pick for any collection and offers a guide packed with over two hundred illustrations, with techniques based on international studies with over 150 participants.

For Dummies series
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Edward C. Baig and Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus' IPAD FOR DUMMIES, 5TH EDITION (9781118498231, $24.99) tells how to navigate an iPad, use Safari to surf the web, tweak the basic iPad to customize work and play, and more. The all-color screen shots format lends to at-a-glance reference information while all instructions offer both step-by-step direction format and user-friendly boxed interludes for further enhancement. The result is a user's guide that will appeal on many levels, from its color format to its quick notes. Nancy C. Muir's KINDLE FIRE HD FOR DUMMIES (9781118422236, $19.99) is also a winner and teaches the basics of the latest Kindle Fire HD using the same eye-catching format and logical organization. The examinations of Kindle's applications and possibilities helps new users get up and running quickly, making this a top visual recommendation for any new to the Kindle system.

O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein, Hwy N.
Sebastopol, CA 95472-2811
www.oreilly.com

David Sawyer McFarland's DREAMWEAVER CS6: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449316174, $49.99) offers web designers a fine kye to making the most of Dreamweaver CS6, and is a fine guide to using its unique technology to do everything from design site for smartphones and tablets to manage websites easily, reorganize a site, and create visually appealing site. The result is a top reference that should have been in the box with Dreamweaver, that offers specific keys to success paired with real-world applications. Arun Gupta's JAVA EE6 POCKET GUIDE (9781449336684, $14.99) provides a quick pocket-sized reference for Simplified Enterprise Java Development, and provides an easy oreview of Edition 6's mail enhancements. It covers what's new, how to use the new features, and teaches the basics of getting specs for making any application Java EE compliant - all in a slim paperback-sized reference perfect for programmers already working with the language. Matthew MacDonald's WORDPRESS: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449309848, $29.99) provides a fine review of the program and joins others in the 'book that should have been in the box' series. From building a website and adding features to learning search-engine optimization and using social media tools within the WordPress environment, this pairs black and white screen shots with clear directions on using all of WordPress's many features. Highly recommended: a 'must' for newcomers to WordPress. Newcomers to the latest edition of Quickbooks must add Bonnie Biafore's QUICKBOOKS 2013: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449316112, $34.99) to the purchase. It covers everything needed to get up to speed with Quickbooks 2013, from setting up the books to using the Vendor, Inventory and Employee Centers and exchanging data with other programs. Black and white screen shots accompany easy step-by-step instructions. Wes McKinney's PYTHON FOR DATA ANALYSIS (9781449319793, $39.99) offers a practical manual to scientific computing using Python and is directed to beginning analysis new to Python and for Python programmers new to scientific programming. It teaches basic and advanced Python features, tells how to apply the pandas facility to summarize and manipulate datasets, and teaches problem solving using web analytics and more. Examples are specific and offer practical case studies for solving problems, making this a basic primer for any Python user. David Pogue's IPHONE: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449316488, $24.99) is an item of choice for any using the iPhone up through the latest iPhone 5, and covers everything needed to tweak and manipulate the program. The iPhone is basically a pocket computer and holds internet, camcorder, plus phone - and it came without this guide. So new users should run not walk to the nearest bookstore to obtain this: it covers the program, the latest iOS6 software running it, how to find and manage apps that streamline its operations, and more. Tips, shortcuts and workarounds make this the user's manual of choice. Eric Freeman & Elisabeth Robson's HEAD FIRST HTML5 PROGRAMMING (9781449390549, $49.99) provides a fine brain-friendly guide to HTML5 programming based on the latest research on how we learn, and will find this packed with details on the program's new APIs and how they interact with web pages and JavaScript functions. This cognitive science research results in an intensely visual, user-friendly guide that offers easy diagrams, charts, black and white photos, and sidebars of information to consider HTML5 secrets and tips. From avoiding common browser support issues to setting timers and interacting with the Web, this 'brain friendly' guide is where every HTML programmer should begin. Shelley Powers' LEARNING NODE (9781449323073, $34.99) covers the basics of web programming and tells how to use Node to write fast, scalable network applications. From exploring its unique attributes and approaches to applications development to using the Express framework, working with PDF files, and learning to debug and test Node applications, this is a 'must' for any web programming reference library, and is packed with formulas and visual examples throughout. Zigurd Mednieks, et.al.'s PROGRAMMING ANDROID (9781449316648, $44.99) is for any interested in mobile programming and offers the latest user and programmer experiences for handsets and tablets using Android. This completely revised second edition focuses on Android tools and programming basics, from best practices and understanding the Android framework to how to code patterns for accelerating the development of apps that use web data and APIs. From multimedia to account APIs, this covers all the basics for a new generation of mobile computers. Mark Pollack, et.al.'s SPRING DATA (9781449323950, $29.99) is for Java programming collections and offers several sample projects teaching how Spring Data provides a programming model that retails noSQL-specific features. From Spring's template helper classes and using Spring Data with Redis to exploring Spring Data JPA-managed entities to the Web, this is packed with specifics key to understanding the applications and use of Spring Batch and Spring Data. Ian Griffiths' PROGRAMMING C# 5.0 (9781449320416, $54.99) is a pick for any programming collection and has been completely rewritten for experienced programmers who want actual code samples to work with. From how C# supports basic coding features to understanding differences between dynamic and static typing and understanding the new asynchronous language features or using XAML to create Windows 8-style and phone applications, this weighty reference packs in programmer keys to success and is an outstanding survey for C# programmers looking to move to the next level. Chris Grover's ADOBE EDGE ANIMATE PREVIEW 7: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449342005, $24.99) is for any collection strong in web design and HTML5 and provides the basics of how to create animated graphics for iPhone, iPad and the Web. Adobe features can provide the foundation for building HTML5 graphics using this manual, which relies on NO programming experience. Black and white screen shot examples of applications throughout provide all details needed to achieve quick success with clear explanations and visuals supporting strategies. The result is a fine recommendation enhancing any web programmer's toolkit!

Addison-Wesley
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.informit.com/aw

Michael Hartl's second updated edition of RUBY ON RAILS TUTORIAL: LEARN WEB DEVELOPMENT WITH RAILS (9780321832054, $44.99) comes from a Rails developer who teaches Rails by covering the development of a sample application using the latest techniques in Rails web development, and includes updates from a new site design using Twitter's Bootstrap to better automated testing with Guard and Spork and discussions of the new Gherkin and Cucumber. From installing and setting up a Rails environment to mastering Ruby programming skills, this is filled with keys to successful development approaches and is a top pick for any Rails collection. Alan W. Brown's ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE DELIVERY: BRINGING AGILITY AND EFFICIENCY TO THE GLOBAL SOFTWARE SUPPLY CHAIN (9780321803016, $39.99) is a pick for any software engineering holding interested in techniques for building improved software supply chains. From overcoming outdated data and delivery perceptions to building adaptive software factories that blend feedback with concrete change and using virtualized infrastructure to connect global teams, this is filled with actionable techniques perfect for software engineers and business managers alike. Len Bass, et.al.'s SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE IN PRACTICE (9780321815735, $69.99) appears in its third updated edition and has been substantially revised to reflect the latest developments in the field. Here's a review of the best practices in software architecture, from how such a system is structured to algorithm, data representation, and more. Any designing, developing or managing large software systems will find this invaluable: new material for this update is extensive and includes discussions of architecture competence, the origins of business goals, and discussion of the life cycle of architecture and its testing and agile development, making this a fine technical resource for any software engineering holding. Peter H. Feiler and David P. Gluch's MODEL-BASED ENGINEERING WITH AADL: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SAE ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS & DESIGN LANGUAGE (9780321888945, $49.99) is the first guide to use this new standard for development optimization purposes, and provides both an introduction to the AADL language and basic Model-Based Engineering practices. Each AADL element is examined in a guide that considers language, properties, standards, and applies them to real-world examples and applications. Software engineers can conduct analysis of real-time factors with confidence using this fine detailed manual, a pick for any developer's reference collection!

Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Jim Boyce and Rob Tidrow's Windows 8 Bible (9781118203880, $39.99) is a weighty and key reference for any programmer working with Windows 8, and covers all the basics from syncing across to all PC and Windows mobile devices to using Windows 8 on a desktop, tablet or phone. Programmers receive in-depth guides to setting up firewalls, handling cloud functions, making playlists and more, and learn how to apply Windows 8 mechanics to typical home and business uses alike. Black and white display images accompany many step-by-step keys to success, making this a top recommendation for any Windows 8 user looking to tweak and customize the latest operating system. Stephen L. Nelson, MBA, CPA's QUICKBOOKS 2013 FOR DUMMIES (9781118356418, $24.99) is a top recommendation for any looking to acquire, set up and use QuickBooks, offering tips for all the basics, from creating invoices and tracking costs to computing employee wages and tracking inventory. Black and white screen shots and gray sidebars of at-a-glance basics makes this a time-saving study perfect for newcomers to the program.

Prentice Hall Professional
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.informit.com/ph

The second updated edition of Priscilla Walmsley's DEFINITIVE XML SSHEMA (9780132886272, $59.99) covers the latest usage and new XML Schema 1.1, has been completely revised, and packs in over 250 revisions for 1.1 changes, indexing all and adding hundreds more which reflect the latest best practices. It serves as both a tutorial and a reference, showing how designs are achieved and explaining and comparing the pros and cons of different approaches to XML. The result is an outstanding and highly recommended guide for any XML Schema user which goes beyond basics to delve into the best applications. Douglas Alger's THE ART OF THE DATA CENTER (9781587142963, $69.99) belongs in not only computer collections but libraries strong in architecture and business, offering profiles of some eighteen data centers that represent the world's most effective computing environments. One is built into a former nuclear bunker and former chapel, others are powered by solar energy or even incorporate architectural styles from other structural purposes entirely. Color photos abound and accompany specific interviews on the inspiration and evolution of each data center, and how its purposes were fulfilled by innovative techniques. It's a lovely and unique acquisition highly recommended for any looking for specific ideas for data centers.


The Science Shelf

Ordering Life
Kristin Johnson
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421406008, $39.95, www.press.jhu.edu

ORDERING LIFE: KARL JORDAN AND THE NATURALIST TRADITION tells of a scientist who devoted his life to explaining biological diversity, ordering and describing thousands of new species and creating an atmosphere whereby natural history museums and taxonomy could advance. Jordan's attention to creating order in a scientific world affected by wars and political chaos impacted the future of the profession as a whole, and ORDERING LIFE traces his achievements and the scientific milieu of the later half of the nineteenth and first part of the twentieth centuries. Any college-level natural history holding will find this enlightening.

The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix
James D. Watson
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781476715490, $30.00, www.simonandschuster.com

The Annotated and Illustrated Double Helix is published to mark the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize for Watson and Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA, and provides a fine account packed with new annotations, photos and documents. Alexander Gann and Jan Witkowski are the professors who have built upon Watson's original, blending Watson's account with commentary of other protagonists and new insights on the story. The result is a powerful survey highly recommended for any science holding.

Brain Bugs
Dean Buonomano
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393342222, $16.95, www.wwnorton.com

BRAIN BUGS: HOW THE BRAIN'S FLAWS SHAPE OUR LIVES belongs in science and health collections alike in considering the shortcomings of the human brain and how it processes information. From how and why the brain works to what happens when it fails, BRAIN BUGS considers the basic functions of the brain and how it operates in different ways, and provides general-interest readers with a fine science-based survey and neurobiological examination requiring no prior science knowledge. Highly recommended as a lively, revealing study!

Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management, second edition
Daniel J. Decker, et.al., Editors
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421406541, $85.00, www.press.jhu.edu

The second updated edition of Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management is a pick for any student or practitioner involved in wildlife management and provides a textbook exploring the blend of humans with wildlife and their mixed interactions. From conservation and wildlife use to the psychological foundations of wildlife management systems, this revised updated edition includes details about managing citizen input, using economics to support decisions, ethical considerations in wildlife management, and much more. Any college-level collection strong in conservation and resources management as well as wildlife issues will find this an important work!

Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148
www.wiley.com

Kathleen A. Cooney, et.al.'s VETERINARY EUTHANASIA TECHNIQUES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE (9780470959183, $59.99) offers in-depth guidance on euthanasia procedures for not only cats and dogs, but horses, production animals and exotics, and is based on the latest AVMA guidelines. Step-by-step descriptions of all recommended methods offer specifics needed to perform these techniques and provide details for veterinary students, technicians and others involved in the clinical process. Also included are insights on client communication and equipment. Charts on drug information and combinations round out this recommended reference for any professional's library. Suzanne Easton's second updated edition of PRACTICAL VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING (9780470656488, $59.99) offers a key guide to various diagnostic imaging techniques used in veterinary practices, and pairs line diagrams and photos with discussions of ultrasound, fluoroscopy, computerized tomography, and more. Veterinary students will benefit from revision points and self-assessment questions in each chapter which outline and review everything needed to know about diagnostic imaging in veterinary practice. With its focus on best practices and the use of digital imaging to improve image quality, this is a 'must' for any veterinary science holding. Nicola Ackerman's THE CONSULTING VETERINARY NURSE (9780470655146, $49.99) provides a fine resource for all veterinary nurses conducting their own nursing clinics in small animal practice, and offers specific nutritional, medical and behavioral guides for such clinics. From handling senior pet clinics to client compliance and education, this covers clinics organized for a range of animal conditions and is written by an experienced senior vet nurse. Any veterinary collection will find this filled with specifics.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

The Trauma Tool Kit
Susan Pease Banitt, LCSW
Quest Books
c/o The Theosophical Publishing House
PO Box 270, Wheaton, IL 60189-0270
9780835608961, $18.95, www.questbooks.net

The Trauma Tool Kit: Healing PTSD From the Inside Out provides a fine tool kit key to helping people heal from trauma using yoga therapeutics, and is one of the few approaches to incorporate yoga techniques into trauma work. Any suffering from or working with PTSD will find this packed with ideas, from working with supplements and augmenting the healing process psychologically to spiritual considerations of the entire process. The result is an alternative tool kit perfect for PTSD sufferers and those working with them.

Predictive Health
Kenneth Brigham, MD & Michael M.E. Johns, MD
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780465023127, $26.99, www.basicbooks.com

PREDICTIVE HEALTH: HOW WE CAN REINVENT MEDICINE TO EXTEND OUR BEST YEARS proposes an alternative approach to good health: treating the patient's overall health, not the disease. It proposes considering long-term measures to improve overall health rather than tackling individual diseases alone, and considers medical and scientific fields that are behind this new vision of health care. Most fascinating is an outline of a strategy that begins upon birth and assembles a picture of a newborn's health so that risk factors can be caught long before they are issues. Any concerned with long-term health needs this.

The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook, third edition
Kathy Steligo
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421407197, $40.00, www.press.jhu.edu

Any whose lives have been changed by breast cancer will want to understand, early on, the options and issues raised by THE BREAST RECONSTRUCTION GUIDEBOOK: ISSUES AND ANSWERS FROM RESEARCH TO RECOVERY. It covers all the latest findings in a guide critical for making plans based on various reconstruction options, and provides a reference that is easy to understand and loaded with insights. Candid information from professionals, research, and others who have undergone the different procedures provide realistic assessments of pros, cons, and ultimate results, making this a top pick for any breast cancer collection.

Fluid and Electrolyte Balance, fifth edition
Norma M. Metheny
Jones & Bartlett
Jones & Bartlett Publishers
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
www.jbpub.com
9780763781644, $61.95, www.jblearning.com

The fifth updated edition of Fluid and Electrolyte Balance Nursing Considerations should be in any collection appealing to nurses and hospital workers. It takes a case study and applications approach undergrads will appreciate, has been completely revised and updated to provide the latest research on fluid balance and imbalance, and offers an outline of basic concepts and nursing considerations for all kinds of problems. Students will find this easy to understand, especially with the illustrations and tables everywhere along with assessments of the basic concepts and major clinical problems involved in fluid regulation.

North Atlantic Books
2526 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94704-2607
www.northatlanticbooks.com

Laurence Heller, PhD and Aline LaPierre, PsyD's HEALING DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA: HOW EARLY TRAUMA AFFECTS SELF-REGULATION, SELF-IMAGE, AND THE CAPACITY FOR RELATIONSHIP (9781583944899, $21.95) provides a method that blends bottom-up and top-down approaches to regulating the nervous system, and provides the NeuroAffective Relational Model which focuses on maximizing client strengths and resiliency to integrate physical and emotional connections in the body. The authors maintain that most emotional problems can be traced to five biologically based organizing principles, and they describe how these underlie most psychological disorders. Meir Schneider's VISION FOR LIFE: TEN STEPS TO NATURAL EYESIGHT IMPROVEMENT (9781583944943, $19.95) comes from a natural health pioneer who offers ten basics of healthy vision. What is most amazing is that it also comes from an author born legally blind, who taught himself to see and in the process developed an innovative program of healing that has helped thousands of others. Exercises are designed to create healthier eyes, reserve developing issues before they cause damage, and help remedy common problems from near- and far-sightedness and lazy eye to glaucoma or macular degeneration. Based on the Bates Method, this self-healing system is a pick for new age and health holdings alike!


The Psychology Shelf

Radical Distortion
John W. Reich
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781616146580, $19.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

RADICAL DISTORTION: HOW EMOTIONS WARP WHAT WE HEAR comes from a psychologist who provides answers to the question of why radical speech choices on both sides are receiving more attention than the voices of moderates. This offers a psychological and social science perspective on such speech and how extremism causes selective hearing and perceptions. Seven principles to reduce or eliminate extremist rhetoric and selective hearing apply to many situations and make for a powerful survey of manipulating emotions and how radical thought processes get going. College-level collections strong in psychology or social science will find this a winner!

Brain on Fire
Susannah Cahalan
Free Press
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
9781451621372, $25.00, www.simonandschuster.com

BRAIN ON FIRE: MY MONTH OF MADNESS recounts the experiences of a healthy twenty-four-year-old who suddenly begins showing signs of mania, quickly progressing to memory loss, paranoia, psychosis and near death catatonia. Medical tests revealed nothing - until one doctor diagnosed her with a newly discovered autoimmune disorder which was attacking her brain. Her descent into insanity and her recovery is chronicled in a hard-hitting book that should be required reading for any mental health professional, and which belongs in any general-interest health collection.


The Business Shelf

The Heart of Change
John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen
Harvard Business Review Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
9781422187333, $28.00, www.hbr.org/books

THE HEART OF CHANGE: REAL-LIFE STORIES OF HOW PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR ORGANIZATIONS is a guide to helping people think differently about shared goals, and comes from a leadership expert and his coauthor who focus on connecting with people's emotions to spark the kinds of change that will contribute to organizational success. It uses Kotter's eight-step process to illustrate how this approach can spark real changes, pairing real-life stories of people in organizations with keys to positive change initiatives that are based not just on data, but emotions. Business holdings should consider this a 'must'.

World Class Communication
Virgil Scudder with Ken Scudder
Wiley Publishers
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9781118230053, $49.95, www.wiley.com

WORLD CLASS COMMUNICATION: HOW GREAT CEOS WIN WITH THE PUBLIC, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AND THE MEDIA uses the author's experiences in advising some of the most successful corporate heads in the world to provide keys for business success, from managing a crisis to fostering employee loyalty. Case studies and clear directions for achieving these goals focus on communication skills that make the difference between winning and losing, with chapters outlining The Scudder Method, used by CEOs the world over to become great communicators. The result is an outstanding approach highly recommended for any general business library.

Kogan Page USA
1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100
Philadelphia, PA 19102
www.koganpage.com

The third updated edition of Mark Tungate's FASHION BRANDS: BRANDING STYLE FROM ARMANI TO ZARA (9780749464462, $39.95) is a key acquisition for business and arts collections alike, and provides a history of fashion brands and the evolution of the fashion industry. From the development of sports brands such as Nike to the evolution of Prada and designer name brands, this offers a survey of how fashion has become popularized and explores how branding experts have turned their brands into marketable items. A 'must' for any collection strong in fashion and business. Jonathan Moules' THE REBEL ENTREPRENEUR: REWRITING THE BUSINESS RULEBOOK (9780749464820, $19.95) is packed with examples of successful entrepreneurs who have done things differently and offers many contradictions to standard business tradition, from refuting the need to stick to a business plan to increasing prices during tough times. Interviews with rebel business leaders who have made a success from bucking trends and traditions makes this a powerful guide highly recommended for any business collection.

BenBella Books
10300 N. Central Expressway, Ste 400
Dallas, TX 75204
www.benbellabooks.com

David Goldsmith with Lorrie Goldsmith's PAID TO THINK: A LEADER'S TOOLKIT FOR REDEFINING YOUR FUTURE (9781936661701, $35.00) offers business leaders a fine toolkit packed with ideas for increasing productivity and balancing life and work, and provides hands-on ideas for solving daily challenges. Any decision maker will appreciate this research-backed listing of the twelve leadership activities that leaders and managers engage in daily, synthesized into formulas for change. Keys to performing these activities more effectively provide tools and instruction to achieve results, offering a host of opportunities for placing strategies into action. Any leader who wants to redefine and change their approach in the workplace will find this packed with practical, tested applications suitable for any business pursuit. Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat's CUSTOM NATION: WHY CUSTOMIZATION IS THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS AND HOW TO PROFIT FROM IT (9781937856106, $16.95) is written by a business journalist and the founder of YouBar and explores how business is rapidly moving from a world of mass production to one of mass customization, and provides business owners a fine how-to guide. Marketers, brand managers and CEOs across all industries can use this movement toward customization to draw new customers and create new, successful business models: this includes interviews with company founders and CEOs specializing in customization and is a satisfying 'must' for any business leader and collections catering to them. Gino Wickman and Mike Paton's GET A GRIP: AN ENTREPRENEURIAL FABLE (9781937856083, $24.95) provides a strong survey telling of how a fictional organization addresses and resolves its issues by adopting the Entrepreneurial Operating System, and is a fine pick for any business library catering to small business owners who want to overcome the common challenges of not enough profit, not enough company focus, and other issues. The Swan Services profiled here is not a real company, but its issues and experiences with EOS is - making for a very readable assessment perfect for the entrepreneur who finds the usual dry business book difficult to absorb.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

American Vampires
Bob Curran
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601632296, $15.99, www.newpagebooks.com

AMERICAN VAMPIRES: THEIR TRUE BLOODY HISTORY FROM NEW YORK TO CALIFORNIA was published in time for Halloween mention but deserves year-round recommendation for any collection seeing popularity in vampire lore. From vampires in Louisiana to those in California, Manhattan, and all across the country, this packs American vampire legends and lore into a book that covers myths and legends surrounding them. A fine guide for any new age or mythology collection.


The Travel Shelf

Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street
Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com

Paul Stiles & E. Clark Carroll's DISCOVER KAUA'I (9781742204673, $21.99) offers itineraries, sustainable travel tips, and keys to exploring the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i and also includes many color photos in its survey of off-the-beaten path adventures and opportunities. From making an itinerary to see the most to blue sidebars of information and keys to island culture, this covers the 'best' of the tourist and hidden attractions of the island, and makes for the perfect destination travel planner. Nate Cavalieri's COSTA RICA (9781742200187, $24.99) provides a powerful trip planner and take-along tote packed with small maps and detailed listing on all the natural and human interest places to visit in the country, and should be in any collection strong in South American travel. From hostels and local transportation to sights and activities, this is packed with destination-oriented travel plans perfect for any journeying to Costa Rica. GREAT ADVENTURES: EXPERIENCE THE WORLD AT ITS BREATHTAKING BEST (9781742209647, $39.99) is a fine oversized collection of color photos capturing unique world adventures for both armchair readers and those contemplating their own global excursions. It's all about ice peaks, underwater caves, challenging bicycling trips, and natural beauty: chapters are packed with lovely images and paired with exciting text, making for an outstanding survey highly recommended for any adventure travel holding. Don Georges edits BETTER THAN FICTION: TRUE TRAVEL TALES FROM GREAT FICTION WRITERS (9781742205946, $15.99), a collection of original travel stories told by some of the world's best novelists. Isabel Allende, Joyce Carol Oates, and more provide warm and lovely stories from an account of an adventure off the beaten path in Malawai to visiting San Quentin Prison and chasing missionaries in far-away regions of Asia. The result is a powerful survey highly recommended for any literary travel collection. Lonely Planet's BEST IN TRAVEL 2013 (9781742209999, $14.99) provides the best places to go and things to do in the world and uses the knowledge and miles traveled by Lonely Planet's staff and authors to provide a year's worth of travel suggestions for extraordinary places and experiences. From 'hidden destinations' far from usual tourist paths to the most thrilling activities and best values, this is a top pick for any general travel holding. Any heading for the South Pacific will find Celeste Brash, et.al.'s SOUTH PACIFIC (9781741797749, $28.99) the book of choice for advance planning or take-along tote. Six authors survey dive sites, natural history, and all the human and natural places to travel in the area, including sidebars of information with maps and the latest details on where to stay, eat, and what to see. A 'must' for any traveler.


The Education Shelf

Systematic Instruction for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities
Belva C. Collins
Brookes Publishing
PO Box 10624
Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
9781598571936, $39.95, www.brookespublishing.com

Systematic Instruction for Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities is a top pick for any special education shelf and packs in practical strategies for educating students with severe disabilities. Teachers are guided on the steps of applying systematic instruction in classrooms, schools and communities to ensure the best outcomes using a program developed by an educator who has trained special education teachers for over 25 years. The result is a powerful and specific key to interacting with such students that outlines a specific course of action and includes sample lesson plans, blank data collection sheets, and much more. Very highly recommended!

Building Brains
Suzanne R. Gellens
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court
St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
9781605541174, $29.95, www.redleafpress.org

BUILDING BRAINS: 600 ACTIVITY IDEAS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN discusses the latest research on brain development in young children and pairs this with activities and curriculum for children from birth to age five. From experiences that drive a young child's growth and engage all his skills to how to apply brain research to activities and ideas to create rich learning environments, this is a 'must' for any early learning educator's collection.

Build It So They Can Play
Teresa Sullivan, et.al.
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
9780736089913, $19.00, www.humankinetics.com

Build It So They Can Play: Affordable Equipment for Adapted Physical Education is simply packed with ideas for physical education teachers, caregivers and recreation leaders, and teaches how to modify equipment used in typical sports to make it accessible for all. The emphasis on working with a tight budget yet producing equipment and sports ideas to develop motor development across the board offers step-by-step instructions for projects, diagrams, photos, and more, making this a 'must' for any physical education program seeking to include special needs children.

Heinemann
PO Box 6926
Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
www.heinemann.com

Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst's NOTICE & NOTE: STRATEGIES FOR CLOSE READING (9780325046938, $27.85) offers a fine, practical guide to what it means to be literate in the 21st century, and packs in keys to noticing important moments in literature. The 'Notice and Note' model is explained in lessons that help introduce students to the concept of more critical reading habits, offering teachers ideas for encouraging more attentive and thoughtful independent reading as a whole. Any who would want close reading strategies options will find this packed with ideas for fostering such thinking. Steven Zemelman, et.al.'s fourth updated edition of BEST PRACTICE: BRINGING STANDARDS TO LIFE IN AMERICA'S CLASSROOMS (9780325043548, $36.88) offers a fine pick examining the meaning of quality in the teaching process and how it translates to real-world classrooms, and uses seven Best Practice structures and implementation policies to show teachers and principals how to translate the latest scientific research into classroom strategies. The Common Core State Standards are at the heart of programs that include classroom vignettes and chapters on basic skills that support unified instructional goals. The result is a basic survey of how any teacher can easily become a Best Practice instructor.

Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.corwin.com

Richard Sagor and Deborah Rickey's THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE (9781412996457, $31.95) tells how to keep teachers motivated and how to attract and retain high-quality teachers, and is a fine guide for any principal or school leader. It's based on the successful methods of Dealous Cox and describes a leadership approach based on personal reflection and community connections, with authors sharing their experience with this particular leadership style and showing how it improved teacher quality and performance. Educators will find this a solid reference. Dean T. Spaulding and Gail Smith's INSTRUCTIONAL COACHES AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM: A GUIDE FOR SCHOOL-BUILDING IMPROVEMENT (9781452226385, $31.95) is a pick for instructional coaches who blend theory and practice to show how coaches can blend themselves into the school and help teachers improve their practice. From observing classrooms and providing important feedback to adapting data into usable applied changes, this provides journal entries based on real-life experiences and is a solid pick for any involved in the coaching process. Cathy A. Toll's LEARNERSHIP: INVEST IN TEACHERS, FOCUS ON LEARNING, AND PUT TEST SCORES IN PERSPECTIVE (9781452216461, $34.95) provides fine insights for becoming a learning leader and blends case histories with theory and different approaches to data and testing. From supporting professional learning teams to educational coaches, this analyzes and presents a range of approaches perfect for any educator's reference library. James Dillon's NO PLACE FOR BULLYING: LEADERSHIP FOR SCHOOLS THAT CARE FOR EVERY STUDENT (9781452216690, $39.95) offers a set of important keys to preventing bullying and describes the steps school administrators need to take to develop and lead a schoolwide bullying prevention program. Such programs often fail because they don't have support from everyone involved - including parent. This provides three critical components of effective leadership for bullying prevention and is packed with activities and examples key to combating menacing behaviors in the schools. Any administrator needs this! Glenn E. Singleton's MORE COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE (9781412992664, $31.00) teaches administrators how to foster racial equality in a school or district, and tackles some hard problems schools have faced when implementing the Courageous Conversations Protocol. Anecdotes document conversations, difficulties, and how to use the platform to move a school from racial equality theory to reality on all levels, from classrooms to administration offices. The 'more' here includes considerations of the knowing-doing gap, how racial equality connects with educational opportunity (or not), and offers leaders advice for managing school boards, staff, and even local community outreach programs. William N. Bender's DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES: NEW BEST PRACTICES FOR GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS (9781412998598, $38.95) appears in its third updated edition to discuss all the latest differentiated instructional tools, from strategies on working within an RTI framework to using technology to help students with learning disabilities and offering better brain-friendly instruction based on the latest research in brain learning techniques. From new research in metacognition to incorporating flipped classrooms, this new edition uses the latest blend of brain research and educational objectives to provide new techniques to differentiating instruction according to the Common Core State Standards, and is a pick for any educator's collection. Luanna H. Meyer and Ian M. Evans' SCHOOL LEADER'S GUIDE TO RESTORATIVE SCHOOL DISCIPLINE (9781412998604, $34.95) provides the latest research on the effectiveness of restorative discipline and how to implement a school wide discipline plan, and is key for any looking for alternative ways to handle school punishment. This is a research-based, field-tested model to help school leaders provide alternatives to the usual exclusion and suspension methods, offering a program that encourages behavior improvement and keeps students in school. From decisions on how a school responds to behavioral problems to child-focused intervention models, this is a 'must' for any school leader. Joan Franklin Smutny, et.al.'s DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING TALENTS IN SPANISH-SPEAKING STUDENTS (9781412996365, $36.95) deserves ongoing recommendation for any teacher working in a bilingual environment, and teaches the basics of how to recognize a student's unique skills and create learning experiences suitable for the entire classroom. Examples of communication with students and parents alike accompany stories from adults who overcame language challenges, pinpointing the special needs of Spanish speakers and showing how they can be an active part of a general classroom environment. The result is a top pick for any bilingual teacher. Phyllis Hostmeyer's TOOLS STUDENTS NEED TO BE SKILLFUL WRITERS: BUILDING BETTER SENTENCES (9781412989046, $36.95) goes beyond the usual approach of diagraming sentences and offers lesson plans for grades 3-8 on how to understand logical sequences and patterns and how to apply them to vivid writing styles. Activities and samples accompany each described pattern and show teachers how to better engage students in the entire process in a handbook that emphasizes how to produce more effective writing. A fine pick for any teacher's reference library!


The Biography Shelf

Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781451662436, $35.00, www.simonandschuster.com

TOTAL RECALL: MY UNBELIEVABLY TRUE LIFE STORY is a top pick for any general lending library and documents Arnold's story of how he grew up in a small Austrian town, moved to America, and within five years had learned English and become the greatest bodybuilders in the world. In twenty years he was a huge movie star, and nearly forty years after journeying to this country he would become governor of California. TOTAL RECALL follows this years, and while it leaves a few more controversial moments out (...we'll leave you to wonder...), it's still a riveting read for any fan of Arnold.

Marmee & Louisa
Eve LaPlante
Free Press
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
9781451620665, $26.00, www.simonandschuster.com

MARMEE & LOUISA: THE UNTOLD STORY OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT AND HER MOTHER provides an outstanding biography of Alcott's relationship with her mother and comes from the great-niece and cousin of Abigail and Louisa May Alcott. New documents, including those discovered in a family attic and others thought long destroyed, offer insights that dispel myths and offer a more in-depth portrait of the Alcott family and their world. This is a pick for any collection seeing popularity with Alcott's writings, and provides a fine survey suitable for any general-interest literary biography holding as well.

Still Lolo
Lauren Scruggs and the Scruggs Family
Tyndale Momentum
c/o Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive
Carol Stream, IL 60188
9781414376691, $24.99, www.tyndalemomentum.com

STILL LOLO provides a true story of a deadly airplane crash and its aftermath - an event that changed author Lauren Scruggs' life and lead to a struggle to survive, self-examination, and ultimately a vastly changed life. It's a religious, inspirational story - and it's also the story of how one woman not only survived the impossible, but changed her life in the process. While normally this would be a pick for religious collections, it's also recommended for any general-interest holding, as it offers gripping action paired with searing self-assessment.


The Audiobook Shelf

Hallucinations
Oliver Sacks
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 8th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780307967329, $35.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

HALLUCINATIONS gathers stories of Dr. Sacks' patients who have experienced hallucinations, and reflects his lifelong interest in psychedelics and the varieties of hallucinatory experience. Reader Dan Woren, a Los Angeles actor and voice-over artist, brings to life this account of a neurology professor's revolutionary discussion on what hallucinations tell us about the brain, culture, and the human condition - and why they are part of any human endeavor. In audio the entire saga springs to life, making this a highly recommended acquisition for any general lending library!

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
www.hachetteaudio.com

C. Baxter Kruger, PhD's THE SHACK REVISITED (9781619693593, $24.98) comes from a minister who preaches on the gospel of the Triune God, who here provides a spiritual survey of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Religious collections will find this an in-depth probe of these three persons and their message that God is love, and will find this offers an array of insights perfect for any religious holding. Nonfiction and business audio libraries will benefit from Greg Smith's WHY I LEFT GOLDMAN SACHS: A WALL STREET STORY (9781619696013, $29.98) comes form a man who resigned as the head of Goldman Sach's United States equity derivatives business in 2012 - and who here tells of his experiences in the company as he moved form an idealistic intern in his twenties to his rise to being a sales trader. His insights on the inner workings of the company make for invaluable assessments any business library will relish. Emma Donoghue's ASTRAY (9781611134209, $26.98) is narrated by the James Langdon and others in a fine multi-narrative collection, and provides engrossing stories of four centuries of wanderings, from a mother who searches for her lost baby girl to a teen soldier who wanders far from home and his upbringing's basic teachings about life. This is a powerful account of interconnected wanderings and personal journeys, and is a top pick for any fan of Donoghue's astute and personal writings. Stephen Colbert's AMERICA AGAIN: RE-BECOMING THE GREATNESS WE NEVER WEREN'T (9781607889700, $24.99) is a hilarious account perfect for any fan of the TV show, offering biting thoughts about everything from politics to how to get the country back on the right track. The tongue-in-cheek observations are fun yet pointed insights on American life, culture and social issues and this is the perfect item of choice for any audio lending collection! The unabridged offering of Nelson DeMille's THE PANTHER (9781619691827, $39.98) is a fine pick for any fan of DeMiller's thriller action. Backed by veteran narrator Scott Brick's powerful voice, it tells of an anti-terrorist task force agent and his wife who are struggling with a new mission in Yemen - and with new challenges that will change their world and threaten their expertise. THE PANTHER is international thriller writing at its best, brought to powerful life in audio! Captain D. Michael Abrashoff's IT'S YOUR SHIP (978161969235, $29.98) provides a fine guide that uses lessons from Navy ship management and applies them to overall business management approaches. This special 10th anniversary presentation has been revised and updated in an unabridged edition read by the author, a former commander in the Navy, and provides powerful insights into how he managed his ship with an eye to business efficiency. Very highly recommended for any business or military audio collection! Jake Tapper's THE OUTPOST; AN UNTOLD STORY OF AMERICAN VALOR (9781619692619, $34.98) is also a recommended pick for military collections, and receives a powerful narration by Rob Shaprio, whose experienced voice has enhanced numerous best-selling audio books. This tells of combat outpost Keating, the U.S. military base in Afghanistan operating in one of the most remote regions of the world, cut off from most of civilization. The area surrounding it was filled with those who wanted to kill the men stationed there - and everyone part of Combat Outpost Keating feared doomsday on a daily level. Journalist Jake Tapper provides a powerful story of those who manned the base in an audio filled with gripping scenarios. Wm. Paul Young's CROSS ROADS (9781611130607, $29.98) receives a fine reading from an award-winning stage and radio actor in Chicago, Roger Mueller. Some of his credits include some big-name audiobook sellers, and his voice here lends passion and high drama to the story of one Anthony, a proud self-made businessman at the height of his career when a cerebral hemorrhage leaves him comatose - and in another world mirroring his earthly life. If he follows directions in this world he could achieve redemption: if he stays, he may be lost forever. High drama and otherworldly intrigue lends to a riveting adventure. James Patterson's MERRY CHRISTMAS ALEX CROSS (9781611130294, $29.98) is set on a snowy Christmas Eve when Detective Alex Cross is at home celebrating with his family when the phone rings with disaster: a family's been taken hostage and the situation is rapidly escalating. Alex must confront a father threatening to murder his family when a second situation emerges that puts millions at risk. What a Christmas Eve! The story evolves to portray a thrilling holiday that could change the lives of all. DAILY READINGS FROM EVERYDAY A FRIDAY by Joel Osteen (9781619692473, $24.98) is narrated by the author and provides an outstanding survey resting upon the premise that every day of the week is a gift from God, and needs to be lived with humor and faith. This collection of nine daily devotionals offers excerpts from this original premise along with key Bible verses, daily prayers and food for thought, packing in material from a senior pastor of a Texas church deemed the country's fastest-growing congregation. An excellent choice for any seeking daily affirmations and spiritual reinforcement! Preston and Child's THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES (9781611139365, $24.98) tells of an ancient tunnel under New York City where nearly forty murdered, mutilated bodies are found. An FBI agent investigating the old crimes inadvertently unleashes a force that begins killing again with fast action spicing a powerful audio, further spiced by the evocative and smooth voice of Jonathan Marosz, who perfectly captures the drama and high tension of the riveting murder mystery. Any murder mystery holding will find this audio a fine, compelling acquisition! Joyce Meyer's TRUSTING GOD DAY BY DAY: 365 DAILY DEVOTIONS (9781619692497, $29.98) comes from one of the world's leading Bible teachers whose TV and radio broadcasts have inspired thousands. Gwen Hughes offers an experienced and evocative voice to this collection of discussions offering daily devotions for the entire year, making for a thoughtful and revealing collection that comes alive in audio and provides listeners with reflections straight from Biblical teachings. Highly recommended!

Highbridge Audio Books
201 Sixth Street SE, Suite 220
Minneapolis, MN 55414
www.highbridgeaudio.com

BLACK MASK STORIES: DOORS IN THE DARK (9781611744583, $29.95) represents a series that takes classic pulp fiction from the pages of Black Mask magazine and brings to them to life in audio format, offering listening fans of hardboiled detective stories a satisfying medium for enjoying some of the winning crime fiction of yesteryear. On audio for the first time are a range of satisfying tales paired with various narrators, from Peter Collinson (Dashiell Hammett)'s 'Arson Plus narrated by Alan Sklar to Lester Dent's 'Luck' narrated by Jeff Gurner. More crime fiction from the magazine are presented in MURDER IS BAD LUCK (9781611744613, $29.95), this including riveting stories from the title tale by Wyatt Blassingame to 'One Shot' by Charles G. Booth and 'The Dancing Rats' by Richard Sale. All are narrated by different readers which lends high drama and different tensions to the tales. THE PARROT THAT WOULDN'T TALK (9781611744675, $29.95) features stories by Tomas Walsh ('Diamonds mean Death'), the title story by Walter C. brown, and Merle Constiner's 'Let the Dead Alone'. MIDDLEMAN FOR MURDER (9781611748116, $29.95) includes the title story by Bruno Fischer read by veteran Scott brick, 'Borrowed Crime' by Cornell Woolrich read by Johnny Heller, and more. THE SHRIEKING SKELETON (9781611744767, $29.95) includes Jeff Gurner's strong narration of Hank Searls' 'Drop dead Twice' and W.T. Ballard's 'A Little Different' and more engrossing stories. #9 in the series, THE CORPSE DIDN'T KICK (9781611744828, $29.95) includes the classic 'Try the Girl' by Raymond Chandler, narrated by veteran audio narrator Scott brick, and Steve Fisher's 'Wait for Me', read by Carol Monda, along with five other classics from the American crime writing magazine. Each story receives a different narrator and features an entirely different crime story. Any fan of crime stories and radio shows will find these a compelling listen, spiced with a variety of accomplished narrators.

Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887
Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com

Ridley Pearson's HARD FALL (9781455890200, $19.99) is performed by David Colacci and provides a thriller that's hard to stop listening to, with Colacci's voice powering the story of an FBI agent facing a strange murder case. What evolves is a cat-and-mouse game with a trail of murder and international espionage coating the entire mission, leading Cameron on an epic quest to piece together a puzzle that could involve the world. A powerful survey results! Ed McBain's CALYPSO (9781455871902, $19.99) provides a fine 87th Precinct novel performed by veteran narrator Dick Hill and telling of a calypso singer and prostitute murdered with the same gun, involving two detectives in an underworld of danger. Dick Hill's experienced approach heightens tension and brings the drama to life in a captivating account hard to stop listening to. Tami Hoag's CRY WOLF (9781455877485, $19.99) enjoys a fine reading by veteran narrator Joyce Bean as it tells of vanishing young women in the rural parishes of Louisiana's French Triangle, and of the return of Attorney Laurel Chandler during a time when a dangerous killer is loose. Laurel finds herself lured into a deadly game and must use all her wits to battle a deadly outcome in this tense thriller, recommended for any audio mystery holding.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Colorful Quilts for Playful Kids
Janet Pittman
Landauer Publishing
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A
Urbandale, Iowa 50322
97819435726258, $24.95, www.landauerpub.com

Colorful Quilts for Playful Kids provides a fine examination of quilt designs and themes with kids in mind, and offers some fourteen projects with dozens of 'mix and match' ideas. Many quilts are designed with the idea of getting kids involved in the process, while others have kid-friendly themes such as an alphabet puzzle quilt or a zoo quilt. Any either producing a quilt for a child or seeking to involve a child in the quilt-making process will find this a winner!


The Sports Shelf

Human Kinetics
PO Box 5076
Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.humankinetics.com

Alisa R. James's SURVIVE AND THRIVE AS A PHYSICAL EDUCATOR: STRATEGIES FOR THE FIRST YEAR AND BEYOND (9781450411998, $29.00) offers ideas and information for any teaching physical education. It could have been featured in our Education Shelf, but is featured here so that coaches and any involved in sports don't miss it. It's based on real-life experiences from the author's background as a K-12 teacher and a college instructor working with teachers, and offers everything from creating lesson plans to handling behavior issues and teaching PE to students. Any involved in physical education or coaching will find this a winner. Frederic Delavier and Michael Gundill's DELAVIER'S ANATOMY FOR BIGGER, STRONGER ARMS (9781450440219, $24.95) packs in over three hundred color photos and 130 anatomical illustrations paired with over 100 exercises targeting arms, and is designed to help exercises understand how muscles interact with joints and how to use them for better results. Over 30 proven programs offer exercises to achieve many different types of goals, making this a solid pick for any physical education library. Triathlon's national governing body's COMPLETE TRIATHLON GUIDE (9781450412605, $21.95) shares coach and athlete tips of the field which include secrets and strategies for all stages of training and participating in triathlon events. From bike-handling techniques professionals utilize to troubleshooting swim strokes and achieving more effective workouts, this is packed with the latest equipment and technology for preventing injuries and common issues, and is for any looking to compete and stay ahead of the game.


The Military Shelf

Osprey Publishing
4402 - 23rd Street, Suite 219
Long Island City, NY 11101-5058
www.ospreypublishing.com

T.E. Crowdy's INCOMPARABLE: NAPOLEON'S 9TH LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENT (9781849083324, $29.95) is for any military holding strong in world military history, and documents an elite battalion under Louis XVI, the 9th Light Infantry, which was with Napoleon from the start of his campaign. Motivated by a deep fear of failure, this regiment was to perform unbelievable tasks and spent over a decade following Napoleon on all his campaigns, right up to the end. This story of soldiers who became part of his war machine offers insights on the lives and achievements of these men, and is a top pick for any military history holding. Andrew Roberts' LOVE, TOMMY: LETTERS HOME, FROM THE GREAT WAR TO THE PRESENT DAY (9781849087919, $25.95) provides a collection of original writings gathered by the Imperial War Museum from the last hundred years, revealing the daily lives of soldiers and offering comparisons between the experiences of those fighting different wars. From anecdotes and reflections on experiences to discussions of rations and expressions of love and fear, these capture the hopes, fears and struggles of the universal soldier no matter what the war, and are packed with solid reflections. Robert Forczyk's PANZERJAGER VS. KV-1: EASTERN FRONT 1941-43 (9781849085786, $18.95) provides a solid survey of Eastern Front clashes between Soviety heavy tanks and German antitank weapons, providing a fully illustrated analysis of duels between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front. This discussion includes artillery technical specs as well as reviews of strategy and pairs military insights with vintage black and white photos throughout. Two new additions to Osprey's 'Command' series are picks for any military collection strong in biographical coverages of leaders. Jon Diamond's ARCHIBALD WAVELL (9781849087377, $18.95) tells of the only British commander actively engaging Axis enemy forces, telling of how he successfully conducted campaigns across nine countries. His strategies resulted in unprecedented successes, and this analyzes his command choices and explains their evolution. Diamond's ORDE WINGATE (9781849083232, $18.95) surveys the tactics and battle experiences of one of the most controversial commanders of the second world war. His use of long-range penetration in Africa and Burma helped develop post-war special forces and elite units even as his attitude and abrasive approach made him very unpopular. Military holdings will find these discussions of strategies and their evolution to be important and eye-opening. Angus Konstam's BRITISH LIGHT CRUISERS 1939-45 (9781849086844, $17.95) covers the design, development and history of cruiser which evolved from the sailing frigate and was a warship designed to patrol the seas. The British light cruiser played a key role throughout World War II, and this account documents their naval achievement and how they helped gain control of the seas during the war. Military holdings with specific interest in World War II will find this a winning account! Steven J. Zaloga's DEFENSE OF THE THIRD REICH 1941-45 (9781849085939, $18.95) joins Osprey's series covering the technology and history of key fortresses and defensive systems and is a pick for any World War II collection. It provides an overview of the lavish Flak defenses and their artillery, considering how Flak was deployed and how a variety of structures were created to enhance its performance. German defenses and systems receive an in-depth analysis complete with illustrations by Adam Hook in a fine presentation for any military history holding. Michael McNally's CORONEL AND FALKLANDS 1914: DUEL IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC (9781849086745, $21.95) begins with the first encounter in World War I between the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy which was the first defeat by the Royal Navy for over 100 years. The result was a dispatch of modern ships to eliminate the German threat - and this new study offers insights on the ships and battles that returned control to the Royal Navy. Naval and military history holdings alike will find this packed with insights. Edward M. Young's AMERICAN ACES AGAINST THE KAMIKAZE (9781849087452, $22.95) joins others in Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series and outlines clashes between the US Navy, Marine Corps, and the Special Attack kamikaze units of the Imperial Japanese Army. It documents some of the last aerial battles of the Pacific War during 1945, documenting suicide stories, strategies, and the psyches and motivations of the kamikaze pilots. Military collections in general and aviation libraries in particular will welcome this specific survey. Chris McNab's MG 34 AND MG 42 MACHINE GUNS (9781780960081, $18.95) tells of a new type of weapon Germany brought into the war, driven by the country's need for machine guns in quantity. The MG 42 was actually a revolutionary approach to machine gun design, and was nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw' by the Allied forces. It's still in use some seventy years later. This examination of the pioneering machine gun will appeal to military and weaponry collections alike, offering vintage black and white photos of wartime experiences throughout. Mark Barber's RAF FIGHTER COMMAND PILOT: THE WESTERN FRONT 1939-42 (9781849087797, $18.95) receives fine illustrations by Graham Turner which are paired with vintage black and white photos to bring to life the story of the RAF command's history and evolution. These men from all walks of life fought the battles of France and Britain during the second world war, and many myths evolved from their achievements. This tells their stories through their own writings and offers a fine history of Fighter Command forces and evolution in a highly recommended pick for World War II coverages. Donald Nijboer's METEOR 1 VS. V1 FLYING BOMB 1944 (9781849087063, $18.95) provides a fine in-depth survey of one of Hitler's major offensives against London, and how Britain's Gloster meteor 1 was the first jet fighter used against them. Vintage black and white photos accompany descriptions of combats and victories in a fine survey of the world's first jet-against-jet battle, suitable for military and aviation libraries alike. Michael G. Walling's FORGOTTEN SACRIFICE: THE ARCTIC CONVOYS OF WORLD WAR II (9781849087186, $26.95) tells the complete story of the Allied forces' Arctic Convoys and the role they played in helping Russia repel the Germans. It uses literally hundreds of oral histories from eyewitnesses and veterans of the convoys plus original research in the Russian Naval archives at Murmansk to retell a campaign that has received relatively little in-depth focus in the chronicles of World War II, and is a top pick for any military history holding. Col. Darron L. Wright's IRAQ FULL CIRCLE: FROM SHOCK AND AWE TO THE LAST COMBAT PATROL IN BAGHDAD AND BEYOND (9781849088121, $25.95) comes from an Army officer with three tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom who provides a new assessment of the conflict, believing that the war was a good war fought well. His first-hand survey of the entire eight-year mission in Iraq comes from one who witnessed some of the most intense battles of the war, following the evolution from 'shock and awe' to strategies for handling local violence and counterinsurgency methods. Any collection strong in military history will find this a winning survey. Gordon L. Rottman's US 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION IN WORLD WAR II (9781849088084, $17.95) describes and illustrates the organization, special clothing and equipment, and evolution of the light infantry concept in general and the 10th Mountain Division in particular, offering a blend of rare military photos with detailed color focus on their uniforms and equipment. The result is a lively blend of history and technical survey in a top pick for any World War II collection.


The Cookbook Shelf

The Pickled Pantry
Andrea Chesman
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
9781603425629, $19.95, www.storey.com

THE PICKLED PANTRY offers up dozens of fine possibilities in a pickling guide that includes both traditional pickles such as dills, sours and more, plus ideas for pickling everything from rhubarb to pineapple. Another plus: recipes are designed for either single-jar or big harvests and also include relishes, chutneys, and practically anything that can be frozen or canned. The satisfying results aren't just for a single approach, but embrace a broad spectrum of pickling ideas, making this the perfect item of choice for any pickler.

Old-Fashioned Baking Book
Jim Fobel
Lake Isle Press
c/o National Book Network
4270 Boston Way, Suite 200
Lanham, MD 20706
0962740365, $14.95, www.nbnbooks.com

Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood provides an updated collection of desserts the author's relatives produced when he was growing up in Ohio. These aren't your usual mundane affairs either, with such creations as Aunt Charlotte's Milk Chocolate Cake and Aunt Irma's Sour Cream Twists providing fare not to be found in every baking book. There are no color photos, which would have enhanced and added mouth-watering images to the fine descriptive titles - but really, the simple recipes and intense visual descriptions don't need them. Any collection strong in bakery delights will find this a winning 'must have', offering unique goods not to be found in competing baked goods cookbooks.

Summer Days & Balmy Nights
Ellen Parnavels, Editor
Ryland Peters & Small
519 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10012
9781849752077, $27.95, www.rylandpeters.com

Summer Days & Balmy Nights: Simple Summer Food From Sun-Drenched Shores packs in ideas for entertaining and offers a range of dishes geared to warm weather and outdoors applications. From barbecuing with a new flair by creating Salmon Steaks with Basil and Parmesan Butter to portable picnics and quick fish dishes for lanai dining, this pairs exotic-sounding but surprisingly-easily produced dishes with small color photos on every page and provides both a visual and culinary delight for warm-weather cooks seeking fresh, new ideas for entertaining.

Faviken
Magnus Nilsson
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9780714864709, $49.95, www.chroniclebooks.com

FAVIKEN explains how the author raises his own cattle, butchers his own animals, and hunts for various game on his estate, and is packed with tips on catching, filleting and serving all manner of domestic and wild game and vegetables. Favikan is the farmed owned by a young chef in the woods of Northern Sweden: it pairs some 100 recipes and over a hundred color photos throughout with reflections on the farm, Swedish local dishes, and using local ingredients. The full-page color photos are fine accompaniments to a lovely cookbook that is a cut above your traditional Swedish cookery title - and recommended for any interested in modern Swedish approaches in general and one chef's world in particular.

Polish Classic Recipes
Laura & Peter Zeranski
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street
Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781589809611, $16.95, www.pelicanpub.com

Polish Classic Recipes pairs lovely color photos by Matthew Aron Roth with a fine survey of authentic Polish dishes modified for the home kitchen and featuring such classic fare as Hunter's Stew and Chilled Fruit Soup. The full-page color close-up photos are lovely embellishments to recipes which are relatively quick to produce and lend to easy home cooking. These aren't variations on themes or innovative takes, but all the classic Polish dishes from 'the old country': as such this belongs in any ethnic collection seeking a basic introduction to these dishes and their production.

Share the Bounty
Benita Long
Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
9781401604530, $29.99, www.thomasnelson.com

SHARE THE BOUNTY: FINDING GOD'S GRACE THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY pairs scriptures and prayers with poetry and recipes to make for a multi-faceted cookbook perfect for spirituality and cookbook holdings alike. This is a follow-up cookbook to her COME TO THE TABLE and pairs lovely photos with food the entire family will appreciate. The addition of spiritual reflections on the process of preparing, sharing and eating food adds an extra dimension to the cookbook format.

Cox Cookies & Cake
Eric Lanlard & Patrick Cox
Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
9781845337155, $19.99, www.octopusbooksusa.com

Cox Cookies & Cake provides an intriguingly different cupcake cookbook and uses neon colors, special photos, and stylish design to present recipes which are more than a touch out of the ordinary. From lemon meringue pie cupcakes to skull cakes and Mexican chocolate cupcakes, these are cakes that often hold surprises such as a chili flavored frosting or an interior of fruit compote. Over seventy recipes for cupcakes, cookies and bars excel in out-of-the-box thinking and are recommended for bakers seeking something different.

The Classic Cocktail Bible
Spruce Editors
Spruce Publishing
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
9781846014116, $9.99, www.octopusbooksusa.com

The Classic Cocktail Bible offers a definitive guide to world cocktails and bars, and is a fine collection providing recipes and history of some 200 cocktails and those who created them. Cocktail photos vintage and modern accompany discussions of all kinds of drinks from classic to contemporary, and offer tips on what to look for, what to buy, glasses for serving, and much more. Any collection seeing interest in food and beverages will find this a winning gathering.

Clean Eating for Busy Families
Michelle Dudash, R.D.
Fair Winds Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55401-1721
9781592335145, $19.99, www.fairwindspress.com

Clean Eating for Busy Families tells how to get meals on the table quickly using whole foods recipes that are kid-friendly as well. The recipes each take 30 minutes or less and are designed to appeal to picky eaters and preparers with too much on their places. Everything from slow cooker meals to easy sautes and casseroles are included in a guide that features plenty of international influences as well, from Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry with Snow Peas to Grilled Cilantro Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa. Busy families will find this a winner!

The Naked Foods Cookbook
Margaret Floyd and James Barry
New Harbinger Press
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
9781608823185, $21.95, www.newharbinger.com

The Naked Foods Cookbook: The Whole-Goods, Healthy-Fats, Gluten-Free Guide to Losing Weight & Feeling Great teaches how to make delicious naked comfort foods - i.e. foods which are additive-free and rich in whole food ingredients. Over 150 gluten-free dishes emphasize these fresh whole foods and include such recipes as Cheesy Kale Chips, Nut-Crusted Pesto Chicken, Chili Cheese Fries, and much more - dishes you won't easily find in competing natural foods cookbooks. Black and white photos are peppered throughout, but the easy dishes don't need them.

American Cookery
Amelia Simmons
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street
Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
9781449423131, $19.99, www.andrewsmcmeel.com

American Cookery first appeared in 1796 and was listed as one of the 'Books That Shaped America' by the Library of Congress. It represented the first cookbook written for American kitchens. This reproduction of an antique guide will appeal to new cooks with its blend of narrative-style recipes and American ingredients, and actually offers some unusual homespun approaches to cooking, such as the use of pearlash, a leavening agent that led to baking powder's development. Any interested in traditional American cookbooks and dishes needs this fine survey!

Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street
Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
www.andrewsandmcmeel.com

Megan Seling's BAKE IT IN A CUPCAKE: 50 TREATS WITH A SURPRISE INSIDE (9781449420680, $24.99) offers step-by-step instructions for each cupcake recipe and creates both sweet and savory cupcake delights that even inexperienced bakers can duplicate. Lovely photos accompany recipes that sound complex but are actually easy for home bakers to reproduce, and feature cupcakes not to be found in other baking titles. From Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting to Egg-Filled Croissant Cups with Swiss Cheese and Chives, this is a winning collection of outstanding cupcakes! Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer's CANAL HOUSE COOKS EVERY DAY (9781449421472, $45.00) provides a lively cookbook inspired by the authors' popular daily blog Canal House Cooks Lunch and provides a weighty collection of seasonal dishes for year-round home cooking. Nearly 250 such recipes are paired with over a hundred color photos and illustrations and pack in dishes that celebrate the best of seasonal ingredients - yet this is also a cookbook busy cooks can use to feed their families; not a collection of gourmet oddities. From summer Tomatoes with Tomato Sauce to Skirt Steak with Buttered Spinach and French Fries, this is filled with comfort food and takeoffs on traditional American fare, and is perfect for cooks seeking something new, yet not overly exotic. Hubert Keller's SOUVENIRS: STORIES & RECIPES FROM MY LIFE (9781449411428, $50.00) provides an outstanding collection that blends a memoir with a cookbook, pairing dozens of his personal stories with over a hundred recipes and some three hundred color photos by Eric Wolfinger. Keller works with Penelope Wisner in the production, arranged by defining moments in Hubert's life from family influences on his culinary evolution to his apprenticeship at a French restaurant. The result is a lovely addition to any serious chef's collection, celebrating the evolution - and the recipes - of an acknowledged master.


The Social Issues Shelf

Comfortably Unaware
Dr. Richard Oppenlander
Beaufort Books
27 West 20th Street, Suite 1102
New York, NY 10011
9780825306860, $14.95, www.beaufortbooks.com

COMFORTABLY UNAWARE: WHAT WE CHOOSE TO EAT IS KILLING US AND OUR PLANET draws direct connections between global depletion, extinction processes, and dietary choices, and shows how agra-business, aquafarming and food choices are killing the planet. There are consequences of dietary choices and this provides important connections between what's on the table and such issues as rainforest depletion in favor of raising livestock and how much greenhouse gas domestic animals emit yearly. The hard-hitting messages here should not be ignored, making COMFORTABLY UNAWARE a pick for any social issues collection.

Rural Communities: Legacy and Change
Cornelia Butler Flora and Jan L. Flora
Westview Press
2465 Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301
9780813345055, $45.00, www.westviewpress.com

Rural Communities: Legacy and Change provides a textbook packed with keys to understanding rural society based on a social science perspective. From social capital and its relation to others in social science disciplines to new chapters throughout profiling real people and communities, this has been thoroughly revised and rearranged based on student feedback and covers rural communities around the world and their legacy for change. Social science collections will find this a winner.

So Far From Home
Margaret J. Wheatley
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
9781609945367, $17.95, www.bk-life.com

SO FAR FROM HOME: LOST AND FOUND IN OUR BRAVE NEW WORLD is for any reader who believes their work offers a contribution to others, and discusses how good work can be achieved by bringing consciousness and joy into the process. Discussions of how greed and self-interest partner with oppressive power to create darkness makes for a fine and enlightened guide to the forces that work against good contributions and efforts, making this a top pick for business, new age and social issues holdings alike.

Black, White, and Green
Allison Hope Alkon
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Drive
Athens, GA, 30602-4901
9780820343907, $24.95, www.ugapress.org

BLACK, WHITE, AND GREEN: FARMERS MARKETS, RACE, AND THE GREEN ECONOMY provides a fine survey of the politics revolving around farmers markets produce, and discusses sustainable food systems, environmental concerns, community involvement and local economies in context of the evolution of such markets. This exploration adds race and class issues into the assessment process, as they relate to farmers markets and the green economy, and uses two Bay Area markets - one located in the relatively white neighborhood of North Berkeley, the other in nearby largely black West Oakland - to consider the additional factors of social change fostered by these markets. Any social issues collection will find this an intriguing study.

Who's the Fairest of Them All?
Stephen Moore
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 601
New York, NY 10003
9781594036842, $21.50, www.encounterbooks.com

Who's the Fairest of Them All: The Truth About Opportunity, Taxes, and Wealth in America belongs in political science and public policy collections as well as on social issues shelves, and considers what it means for our economic system to have a fair social safety net. Does fair mean that everyone has a fair shot at success, or that everyone gets the same benefits? Can the government act in a Robin Hood fashion to take from the rich and give to the poor? Chapters explore the nature of a free market system as it relates to the concept of 'fairness'.

Singularity Rising
James D. Miller
BenBella Books
10300 N. Central Expressway, Ste 400
Dallas, TX 75204
9781936661657, $16.95, www.benbellabooks.com

Singularity Rising: Surviving and Thriving in a Smarter, Richer, and More Dangerous World comes from leading thinkers in Silicon Valley who believe in an outcome of Moore's Law - which implies that the amount of computing power you can buy will double every two years - which involves a threshold of singularity blending human and artificial intelligence in a manner that will remake civilization. It comes from an economist and thinker on such singularity and considers the possible trend and the career and investment changes involved, and is a pick for all kinds of holdings, from science collections to business and beyond.


The Photography Shelf

Secrets of Great Portrait Photography
Brian Smith
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321804143, $49.99, www.newriders.com

Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous comes from a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who tells stories behind the photos he's taken in over thirty years of professional experience photographing celebrities and people. From what happens at a celebrity photo shoot to making your own professional portraits, this pairs humor and color photo examples throughout with a fine survey documenting portrait photo shoots and how he achieved his results. Highly recommended for any interested in learning from established professionals!

Photoshop CS6
Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
Peachpit Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321822185, $39.99, www.peachpit.com

Joining other 'Visual Quickstart' guides is a powerful guide to learning Photoshop quickly: a guide packed with color photos throughout and concise explanations to help Photoshop newcomers get up and running quickly. This edition covers the new Blur Gallery, Crop features, and more, offering discussions of such complex topics as vector layers, video editing and more. Each step-by-step explanation is accompanied by color photos and this book also offers three ways to learn - print, ebook and accompanying video. The result is a powerful introduction perfect for the latest Photoshop newbie.

The Lens
NK Guy
Rocky Nook
802 East Cota Street, 3rd Floor
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
9781933952970, $44.95, www.rockynook.com

THE LENS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER narrows the photography focus to what kind of lens to buy for a camera, and how to use it. Many buyers of DSLR cameras only use what's already in the box while there is a world of lens opportunities on the market. This discusses interchangeable lenses, their photos, and is packed with color photos throughout showing results from different lenses. This doesn't just review the latest items: it provides a foundation of knowledge for assessing lenses that lends to assessing new arrivals on the market, as well. A fine pick for any aspiring photographer new to the concept of lens options.

The Complete Photo Manual
Popular Photography
Weldon Owen
415 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
9781616282950, $25.00, www.weldonowen.com

THE COMPLETE PHOTO MANUAL: 300+ SKILLS AND TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT PICTURES offers a basic primer on the selection and use of gear and photo-editing software to get the most from a picture, packing in over three hundred tips accessible by novices and pros alike. From using infrared features to capturing fireworks and expanding dynamic ranges, this covers all the steps involved in creating and capturing an exceptional shot, and is a 'must' for any photographer looking for an intensely visual collection of photographic examples.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Bronze Summer
Stephen Baxter
Roc
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780451464798, $26.95, www.penguin.com

BRONZE SUMMER: THE NORTHLAND TRILOGY is the second novel presenting an alternate prehistoric world set in what would have been the North Sea in our world. A society of literate, self-sufficient people live off the land and are protected by the Wall, which has kept the Bronze Age empire invaders at bay. But said Wall is seeing chinks from an unexpected place as sentiments are changing from within, and the relentless ideas of the Bronze Age may prove unstoppable in this gripping saga, recommended for any scifi holding!

Titan Books
144 Southwark Street
London SE1 OUP, UK
www.titanbooks.com

Philip Jose Farmer's A FEAST UNKNOWN: SECRETS OF THE NINE #1 (9781781162880, $12.95) provides a fine new edition of a trilogy that has received attention as his best, most shocking work, and is a pick for any science fiction holding looking for re-issues of the classics. It's the third to be re-issued from his Wold Newton series and offers bonus material from farmer critics and fans as well as a postscript by contemporary Theodore Sturgeon and words by Arthur C. Sippo. In Farmer's universe Sherlock Holmes, Flash Gordon, Doc Savage and James Bond are all mysteriously connected...and diaries chart a famous personality with an unnaturally long life and powers that bring with them dangerous side effects. A delicious science fiction plot emerges. Archie Goodwin and Walter Simonson's ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY (9781781161296, $14.95) is recommended for science fiction and graphic novel collections alike and provides a full-color graphic novel rendition of the classic Alien movie. It's rare to see a successful movie translate well to comics, but this one does: it's been digitally remastered and is a powerful addition recommended for any who love Alien and want to see it in all its variations.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Art of Pastoring, revised edition
David Hansen
IVP Books
c/o InterVarsity Press
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
9780830841042, $16.00, www.books.ivpress.com

The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers appears in a revised edition to offer a fine survey of pastoral work. It's not another book on how to grow a church: it's about the foundations of pastoral ministry: how to reflect Christian roots in handling everyday life challenges, how to connect such life with Biblical-based insights and solutions, and more. Stories supporting this kind of ministry appear in a newly revised, updated title that includes a new foreword, introduction and afterword, two new appendices, and a discussion guide. A fine choice for any pastor looking to further community and spiritual connections.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
2140 Oak Industrial Drive, NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
www.eerdmans.com

Brian Brock and John Swinton's DISABILITY IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION: A READER (9780802866028, $45.00) provides a fine survey from a range of contributors who bring together key writings on disability by thinkers across Christian history, from Augustine and Kierkegaard to Bonhoeffer. Fourteen experts in theology and disability studies cover different eras and groups of thinkers and highlight important themes in disability and Christian thinking over the eras, providing a powerful reader to any who have a specific interest in Christian perceptions of disability, health, and God's will. An excellent recommendation for scholarly and college-level Christian holdings. William Loader's THE NEW TESTAMENT ON SEXUALITY (9780802867247, $65.00) comes from a professor who reviews cultural contexts and New testament texts related to sexuality, covering warnings about sexual issues and affirmations about sexual union. From divorce and same-sex relations to celibacy and gender roles, this offers specific interpretations blending biblical texts with insights on how they've been interpreted over the centuries, making this a fine pick for any scholarly Christian collection. Reinhard Hutter's DUST BOUND FOR HEAVEN: EXPLORATIONS IN THE THEOLOGY OF THOMAS AQUINAS (9780802867414, $50.00) shows how Thomas Aquinas' view of the human being as dust bound for heaven blends two basic questions: does humanity have such an inbred thirst for God that each person embarks on a religious quest to fill it, and does a human being living after the fall become a 'new creation' for heaven? Christian collections will find this not just an analysis of Aquinas' viewpoint and questions, but how his perspective applies to modern concerns, from politics to relationships between human freedom and divine grace. The result is a top and outstanding pick for any scholarly survey of Thomas Aquinas' works and perspective. C. Randall Bradley's FROM MEMORY TO IMAGINATION: REFORMING THE CHURCH'S MUSIC (9780802865939, $25.00) argues that basic cultural changes require new church responses to worship. It's more than just a review of current ineffectual policies, though: this is a call to action which is packed with imaginative new ways churches can move forward with meaningful change to reach new parishners. Any church looking to incorporate new strategies to reach members will find this a solid acquisition!

Orbis Books
PO Box 308
Maryknoll, NY 10545-0308
www.orbisbooks.com

John C. Sivalon, MM's GOD'S MISSION AND POSTMODERN CULTURE: THE GIFT OF UNCERTAINTY (9781570759994, $28.00) is for any Christian collection strong in analysis of missions, and blends the author's passion for mission with his vision of how God and the Church interact in 20th century culture. It provides a key re-visioning of God and a mission for modern times, showing individuals how to recreate God's word in their daily efforts and how to use it to highlight goodness and value in postmodern world culture. An exciting survey evolves! John Feehan's THE SINGING HEART OF THE WORLD: CREATION, EVOLUTION, AND FAITH (9781570759840, $26.00) refutes the argument that atheism is the only belief consonant with the scientific worldview, drawing important links between creation, spirituality, and the presence of God in other life forms. From Emperor penguins and the classification of flies to the need to the evolutionary processes of religion itself, this is a scholarly debate accessible to general spiritual readers as well as religious scholars. Keri Day's UNFINISHED BUSINESS: BLACK WOMEN, THE BLACK CHURCH, AND THE STRUGGLE TO THRIVE IN AMERICA (9781570759819, $28.00) is a pick for any collection strong in Christian life and thinking and examines black church structures and black women, identifying the churches as sites that provide resources for poor black women. Black moral, ethical and spiritual thinking is outlined in a portrait of the social issues of poor black women today and how black churches can become agents of change and models of empowerment, making this a strong pick for college-level social issues holdings as well as religious collections. Dale T. Irvin and Scott W. Sunquist's HISTORY OF THE WORLD CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT V. 11: MODERN CHRISTIANITY FROM 1454-1800 (9781570759895, $40.00) is a top pick for any interested in Christian history. The first volume traced the development of Christianity from its origins to the mid-fifteenth century; this companion continues the treatment and is recommended for readers of the first, blending Orthodox churches into the evolutionary history and showing why Asia, Africa and the Caribbean deserve to be examined as major players in the world Christian movement. Scholarly Christian holdings will consider this a key acquisition.


The Native American Studies Shelf

Blackfoot Redemption
William E. Farr
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806142876, $29.95, www.oupress.com

BLACKFOOT REDEMPTION: A BLOOD INDIAN'S STORY OF MURDER, CONFINEMENT, AND IMPERFECT JUSTICE tells of a Canadian Blackfoot known as Spopee, who shot and killed a white man in 1879. Captured as a fugitive, he was interred in an insane asylum in Washington, D.C. and vanished for some thirty years, until a delegation of his people found him and gained his pardon from then-President Woodrow Wilson. He spent his final year on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. This tells his life story and comes from in-depth archival research on government documents and institutional records, covering the wider issues of racial prejudice and Native American rights and providing a scholarly yet gripping saga that belongs in any serious college-level Native American history holding.


The Philosophy Shelf

Answers for Aristotle
Massimo Pigliucci
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780465021383, $27.99, www.basicbooks.com

ANSWERS FOR ARISTOTLE: HOW SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY CAN LEAD US TO A MORE MEANINGFUL LIFE argues that neither science nor philosophy alone can provide a complete and accurate picture of human life and relationships. Instead it blends the two different approaches to cull lessons from each into a kind of 'unified theory' of human philosophy and meaning, presenting a method of blending science and philosophy to address life questions. Both science and philosophy holdings, as well as many a general interest collection catering to advanced readers, will find this an intriguing approach to analyzing life's meaning.


The Political Science Shelf

Regulating to Disaster
Diana Furchtgott-Roth
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 601
New York, NY 10003
9781594036163, $23.99, www.encounterbooks.com

REGULATING TO DISASTER: HOW GREEN JOBS POLICIES ARE DAMAGING AMERICA'S ECONOMY is a pick for political science, business and economics libraries alike and considers the nature and claims of 'green' jobs, showing how energy prices rise dramatically and American economic growth suffers when government invests in nonviable 'green' businesses. It's a hard-hitting condemnation of President Obama's support of electric cars, solar energy, wind farms and more - and draws intriguing connections between these technologies and how subsidies help create manufacturing jobs in China and South Korea. Any collection interested in the politics surrounding 'green' industries needs this title.

Reagan's Comeback
Gilbert Garcia
Trinity University Press
One Trinity Place
San Antonio, Texas 78212
9781595341426, $17.95, www.tupress.org

REAGAN'S COMEBACK: FOUR WEEKS IN TEXAS THAT CHANGED AMERICAN POLITICS FOREVER re-creates the moment in Ronald Reagan's political career when he unexpectedly swept every congressional district in the 1976 Texas primary, roaring back after a campaign that looked unwinnable. The national Republican leadership was against him up to that point: it took only one state and one month to totally turn this around, and REAGAN'S COMEBACK provides a close analysis using first-person interviews and insights from campaign volunteers, political activists, and more to trace Reagan's insurgent movement and its lasting affects on American political strategy. A 'must' for any political studies collection!


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Writing for the Web
Lynda Felder
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321794437, $24.99, www.newriders.com

WRITING FOR THE WEB: CREATING COMPELLING WEB CONTENT USING WORDS, PICTURES AND SOUND teaches all the basics for creating effective Web content using words, pictures and sound, and comes from a writer who blends guidelines with photos, lists and tables to outline the key concepts behind writing interactive stories. It teaches how to create copy appropriate for the Web and provides exercises and guidelines tested by the author. Any who would produce written content for Web distribution needs this clear how-to manual!

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
Fred White
Writer's Digest Books
c/o F+W Media
38 E. 29th Street
New York, New York 10016
9781599635309, $16.99, www.writersdigest.com

Where Do You Get Your Ideas? A Writer's Guide to Transforming Notions Into Narratives is a recommendation for any writer's reference library and covers six basic stages of writing, from idea to drafting and final product. It tells how to create and use a writer's notebook, where to locate ideas and inspiration, and how to develop said ideas into works of fiction and nonfiction using mapping and collaging techniques, among others. Exercises accompany specific ideas on getting better organized with accompanying online information including printable worksheets for further organizing and encouraging these inspirations. Any writer's reference collection will benefit from this specific approach to honing creative thinking.

Metawritings
Jill Talbot, Editor
University of Iowa Press
119 West Park Road
Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
9781609380892, $39.95, www.uiowapress.org

METAWRITINGS: TOWARD A THEORY OF NONFICTION deserves a place in any college-level literary criticism collection and is packed with examples and interviews demonstrating the finer art of writing about writing. Metawriting is present in Facebook and web pages and has fostered essayists and nonfiction writers in the next generation. METAWRITINGS offers a first-person collection packed with insights both literary and stylistic, and pairs pieces steeped in humor with astute analysis for a diverse anthology that remains lively despite its serious-sounding title.


The Literary Studies Shelf

A Haunted Mind
Dr. Bob Curran
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601632197, $19.99, www.newpagebooks.com

A HAUNTED MIND: INSIDE THE DARK, TWISTED WORLD OF H.P. LOVECRAFT is a 'must' for any collection strong in Lovecraft's writings, and offers a blend of biography and new age thinking to consider his odd life, whether some of the Mythos books really exist, and how Lovecraft's horrifying monsters could have originated in previously worshipped, old gods. Previously unknown and unconsidered Lovecraft material blends with an analysis of his literature and the sources of his horror writings, offering new perspectives and approaches to Lovecraft's world. Any collection strong in Lovecraft's horror writings and their origins should have this different examination and interpretation of his inspirations and achievements.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

If Hooks Could Kill
Betty Hechtman
Berkeley Prime Crime
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10014
9780425252796, $24.95, www.penguin.com

If Hooks Could Kill is another fine crochet mystery and revolves around Molly and the girls, who decide to sell their wares at a street fair. The only problem is somebody shoots Kelly - and there are no leads to her murder. Can crochet be involved - and can the group embark on a needlework quest to find her killer? A fine mystery evolves linking crochet with murder in this outstanding pick, recommended for mystery and needlework collections alike.

The Cold Cold Ground
Adrian McKinty
Seventh Street Books
c/o Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive
Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781616147167, $15.95, www.prometheusbooks.com

THE COLD COLD GROUND provides Book One of the 'Troubles Trilogy' in a fine Detective Sean Duffy novel recommended for any mystery collection. Set in 1981 in Northern Ireland, Belfast is facing civil war while Catholic detective Sean Duffy, operating in a Protestant environment, is busy trying to track a serial killer who targets gay men. Political and social obstacles to his search hamper an investigation that soon turns to dangerous political associations in this involving story of a policeman caught in the political struggles of his times.

The Wrong Hill to Die On
Donis Casey
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
9781464200441, $24.95, www.poisonedpenpress.com

In 1916 Alafair Tucker finds Bernie dead in a ditch, which doesn't endear her to her new home in Arizona despite her initial delight in seeing her sister again and seeing her sick child improve in heath. But her sister's marriage is failing, racial tensions are high in the community, and when Alafair suspects her sister is involved in an illegal operation to smuggle war refugees out of Mexico and into the country, further tensions evolve. A fine mystery for any who appreciate in-depth historical settings involving different times, places, and characters!


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The James Bond 007 Omnibus V. 004
Jim Lawrence and Yaroslav Horak
Titan Books
144 Southwark Street
London SE1 OUP, UK
9780857685896, $19.95, www.titanbooks.com

The James Bond 007 Omnibus V. 004 gathers nine of James Bond's most thrilling missions and packs in adventures to accompany the release of his latest adventure Skyfall. This could have appeared in our Graphic Novels section as indeed this is what it is: black and white graphic novel renditions of these classic stories - but is featured here because any avid James Bond movie-goer and fan of the classic comics that first appeared in the British newspaper The Daily Express in the late '50s and early '60s will find this a compelling gathering of works suitable for graphic novel and Bond fan collections alike.


The Women's Studies Shelf

Black Woman Redefined
Sophia A. Nelson, Editor
BenBella Books
10300 N. Central Expressway, Ste 400
Dallas, TX 75204
9781193661732, $16.95, www.benbellabooks.com

Black Woman Redefined: Dispelling Myths and Discovering Fulfillment in the Age of Michelle Obama provides a fine survey of what it means to be black and female in modern America, and discusses the major challenges to family, career and life that black women face. Original national research is used to provide answers to these issues, from why so many accomplished black women suffer from depression to how political and social circles seem to be moving ahead for black females. The result is a fine survey highly recommended for any black woman and for collections catering to them.

Beauty
Lauen Conrad
Harper
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022-5299
9780062128454, $21.99, www.harpercollins.com

BEAUTY comes from a style setter, Lauren Conrad, who spent years learning from the pros and perfecting her beauty, and who here shares her insights in a guide devoted to beauty and its promotion. From using diet and exercise to maintain healthy skin and hair to makeup techniques and even an 'encyclopedia of brushes' for various applications, this is packed with specific beauty insights, with full-page photos showing before-and-after examples of the difference each beauty approach provides. The result is a powerful survey recommended for any health, beauty or women's collection.


The Humor Shelf

F*CK! I'm in My Twenties
Emma Koenig
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
9781452110530, $9.95, www.chroniclebooks.com

F*CK! I'm in My Twenties is the perfect choice for that twenty-something and comes from the hit Tumblr blog of the same name. The author pens fun observations, uses diagrams and checklists that detail her experience living in a big city, and pairs high points from her blog with at least half new material unique to this book. Any who appreciate angst and candid assessments with not a few explicatives will find this a hilarious piece.


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Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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http://www.midwestbookreview.com


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