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California Bookwatch

Volume 1, Number 9 November 2006 Home | CALBW Index

Table of Contents

Donovan's Picks Library Shelf Money/Finance Shelf
Graphic Novel Shelf Humor Shelf Children's Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Biography Shelf Music Shelf
Spirituality Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Computer Shelf
Military Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf Art Shelf
Native American Shelf Science Shelf Business Shelf
Jobs/Careers Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Crafts Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Photography Shelf Interior Design Shelf
Homeowner Shelf Architecture Shelf Woodworking Shelf
Sports Shelf Hunting/Fishing Shelf Gaming Shelf
Genealogy Shelf Language Studies Shelf Black Studies Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Library DVD Shelf Travel Shelf
Paperback Shelf California Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Literary Shelf American History Shelf
World History Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Fiction Shelf 2007 Calendar Shelf Transportation Shelf
Alternative Collections Shelf    


Donovan's Picks

The Japanese Spa
Akhiko Seki & Elizabeth Heilman Brooke
Tuttle
364 Innovation Drive, N. Clarendon, VT 05759
080483671X $26.95 www.tuttlepublishing.com

Perfect for inspiration to any who either wish to visit Japan or model a home redecoration after Japanese tradition, THE JAPANESE SPA: A GUIDE TO JAPAN'S FINEST RYOKAN AND ONSEN provides a color survey of lovely Japanese spas.

Designing Residential Wilderness
Programs for Adults
Michael Day & Ellen Petrick
Krieger Publishing
Box 9542, Melbourne, FL 32902-9542
1575242613 $29.50 www.kriegerpublishing.com

Joining others in the 'Professional Practices' series is a fine guide to creating a residential adult education experience in wilderness areas which links residential living challenges to natural environment challenges. Chapters offer ideas for tailoring educational programs to the wilderness backdrop, showing how to organize and conduct events, work with program instructors, use journaling and program evaluation techniques, and more.

Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge
Vernon L. Trevathan, Editor
ISA
67 Alexander Drive , Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
1556179847 $109.00 www.isa.org

If you're working anywhere in the field of automation, you need this reference: it's the updated second edition of the popular Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, and it packs in writings from nearly thirty leading experts in the field on such diverse subjects as control system documentation, motion control pros and cons, system and network security issues, and more. Students seeking to pass the CAP exam as well as field engineers will find it an essential reference filled with discussions linked to real-life needs and situations.

Geographic Information Systems Demystified
Stephen R. Galati
Artech House
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
158053533X $89.00 www.artechhouse.com

GIS isn't your usual software product-based system: it's used on engineering, mapping and other projects to blend geographic data with business analytic tools, and it uses demographics to promote both business decisions and geographic information management alike. Most GIS titles focus on the geography end, so it's refreshing to see an analysis which focuses equally on business applications of GIS results and strategies, coming with the authority of a member of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, American Geophysical Union, and the New York City Chapter of Geographic Information Systems and Mapping Operations.

Prisoner of Trebekistan
Bob Harris
Crown Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0307339564 $23.95 www.randomhouse.com

Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! Details Bob Harris' journey through the TV game show, from his initial problems passing the audition test to competing in tournaments and playing on stage. Bob began as a stand-up comic with an obsolete engineering degree and some knowledge of the liberal arts: an unlikely candidate for becoming a top Jeopardy winner. But his study sessions paid off, launching him into the world of Jeopardy and revealing hidden tactics and memory techniques that worked wonders – revealed here, for others who would learn from the Jeopardy experience.

Luhmann Explained
Hans-Georg Modeller
Open Court
140 S. Dearborn Avenue, Suite 1350, Chicago, IL 60603
0812694333 $25.95 www.opencourtbooks.com

College-level collections strong in philosophy will appreciate this blend of philosophy and sociology, which considers systems, society, and Niklas Luhmann's sociological theories in particular, which departs from many competing concepts in explaining how economics and mass media evolve. From biology to philosophy and other genres, LUHMANN EXPLAINED analyzes the fundamentals of world society and its logical systems. College-level students will find it a challenging, exciting read.

Treehouses & Playhouses You Can Build
David & Jeanie Stiles
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1586857800 $19.95 www.gibbs-smith.com

Plenty of home handyman titles include kids' playhouses as an aside to a larger garden project; but where else will you find a construction kit entirely devoted to such? Here's something the average 'do it yourself' worker with kids can easily and affordably accomplish – and as an added take, it offers 'themes' for playhouses and treehouses, too. The entire family is encouraged to work together on these projects; not just the husband – making them wonderful picks for families who would join forces to get the job done. Step-by-step easy directions are accompanied by diagrams, patterns and photos throughout.

Ancient Agriculture
Gabriel Alonso de Herrera
Gibbs Smith
Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
1423601203 $29.95 www.gibbs-smith.com

It'd be tempting to place this survey under 'Home and Garden' for this review – but really, ANCIENT AGRICULTURE: ROOTS AND APPLICATION OF SUSTAINABLE FARMING deserves so much more. It'll reach an audience of farmers, gardeners, and history buffs with the first English translation of Obra de Agricultura, offering an early agricultural instruction manual originally written in Spain in 1513 – and holding importance for modern times. Here are insights into traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain: techniques which hold surprising relevance to modern farmers facing global warming and water shortages.

Berrett-Koehler Publishers
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
www.bkconnection.com

Robert W. Fuller's ALL RISE: SOMEBODIES, NOBODIES, AND THE POLITICS OF DIGNITY (1576753859, $22.95) identifies rankism and abuse of powers which comes with elevated ranks. Rather than focusing on the typical abuse of bosses, it analyzes low rank, high rank, and how professional and political costs lend to rankism and obstacles to business and political arenas alike. While this might seem to be a political book about democratic principles, many of its features can apply equally to the business arena – and is thus reviewed here as a special recommendation to managers and businesses. David C. Korten's THE GREAT TURNING: FROM EMPIRE TO EARTH COMMUNITY (1887208070, $27.95) comes from the author whose bestselling WHEN CORPORATIONS RULED THE WORLD reached a wide audience. Here Korten considers the nature of the global corporate economy and its pros and cons, examining the destructive power of a global resistance movement which opposed the centralization of power. Corporate consolidation, Korten argues, is equal to the idea of 'Empire' in the past: the organization of society through violence and intimidation – and THE GREAT TURNING provides both a history of the idea and manifestations of empire and a survey of democratic alternatives.

Our Planet
Nicholas Hulot
Abrams
115 W. 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
0810955342 $55.00 www.abramsbooks.com

Eight biological ecosystems of the Earth are described in full here, but with a difference: an oversized presentation and vivid full-page color photos are as much the emphasis as natural history text, lending to a format which will please coffee table collectors of fine art and photography as much as natural history readers. OUR PLANET: A CELEBRATION OF BIODIVERSITY gathers a striking abundance of close-up images of flora and fauna alike, presenting gorgeous shots which are extraordinarily artistic and well detailed. While the natural history explanations are very well done, it's the vivid color photos which makes for a unique, highly recommended top pick.

House of Plenty
Carol Dawson and Carol Johnston
University of Texas Press
Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
0292705651 $21.00 www.utexaspress.com

HOUSE OF PLENTY: THE RISE, FALL, AND REVIVAL OF LUBY'S CAFETERIAS might at first glance seem a limited regional survey; but in fact it will reach to any interested in business history in general and small business and local history in particular. Luby's experienced phenomenal growth and became a favorite family restaurant during the post-World War II decades, evolving from the dream of a broken man to a cafeteria empire with revenues second only to McDonald's. This excellent survey reveals the specifics of the company's success and how it ultimately failed.

Anatomy of a Chopper
Doug Mitchel
Krause Publications
700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990-0001
0896892662 $34.99 www.fwpubs.com

Doug Mitchel has already photographed and chronicled other books on the topic of motorcycles and bicycles – and if his name sounds familiar, it's because it also appears on articles he's contributed to Hot Rod Bikes, Harley Women, and others. Here full-page color photos of selected choppers supplement discussions of design choices, specs, and features, including reviews of specialty makers who prefer unusual clients. Descriptions are as exact as tank making methods for unique designs, unusual powerful cycle systems by custom makers, and survey of companies on the cutting edge of chopper production. It's a chopper fan's dream guide.

The Secret Life of Numbers
George G. Szpiro
Joseph Henry/National Academies Press
500 – 5th Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
0309096588 $24.95 www.jhpress.org

How does math research apply to everyday life, and what is the history and process of the math discipline as a whole? The Secret Life of Numbers: 50 Easy Pieces on How Mathematicians Work and Think covers the daily work of the math world, from developing theories and testing logic to unsolved problems and individuals whose applications contributed to solutions. Using case histories as foundations, THE SECRET LIFE OF NUMBERS provides a fine survey of the processes of mathematical questioning.

K2: The Price of Conquest
Lino Lacedelli & Giovanni Cenacchi
Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat way Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134
1594850305 $16.95 www.mountaineersbooks.org

One of the major mysteries in mountaineering is what happened to the 1954 expedition, when a agreed-upon base camp was moved, forcing author Lino Lacedelli to reach the summit without rendezvousing with their teammates. Accusations of conspiracy and plots ran amok – here, more than fifty years later, Lacdedelli breaks silence to provide his own version of events, with documentary mountaineer Giovanni Cenacchi providing an excellent focus.

Treasures of the Spanish Main
John Christopher Fine
Lyons Press
Guilford, CT 06437
1592287603 $29.95 www.LyonsPress.com

Treasures of the Spanish Main: Shipwrecked Galleons in the New World tells of gold, treasure, and fleets which promised riches to divers who would unearth them. It's a history of the ships who sailed the 'Golden Highway' laden with gold – and it uses both historical record and the diving explorations of modern treasure hunters to spice its story of pirates, wrecks, and history. An excellent adventure evolves.

Gently Down the Stream
Matt Weinstein & Luke Barber
Berkley/Perigee
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
039953282X $19.95 www.penguin.com

GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM: 4 UNFORGETTABLE KEYS TO SUCCESS tells how to reduce stress, encourage joy in others, and enhance self-esteem and motivation to affect all walks of life. Using the classic song as a metaphor, the authors present the foundations of their successful seminar work to audiences interested in increasing harmony for personal and business success.

Static
Amy Goodman & David Goodman
Hyperion
77 W. 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6298
1401302939 $23.95 www.Hyperionbooks.com

Two popular journalists – one investigative, the other working in radio and TV – provide a new book exposing propaganda which has replaced uncensored public communications in STATIC: GOVERNMENT LIARS, MEDIA CHEERLEADERS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO FIGHT BACK. Major media issues are revealed, myths and lies exposed, and stories of thwarted protestors presented to show how the American media has damaged democracy by distorting and hiding the truth. General-interest colleges to colleges strong in media studies will want this.


Legal Forms for Everyone
Carl W. Battle
Allworth Press
10 E. 23rd St. #510, New York, NY 10010
1581154518 $24.95 www.allworth.com

The fifth updated edition of LEGAL FORMS FOR EVERYONE offers over forty such forms on an accompanying cd-rom and packs in forms essential to a range of everyday legal issues, from preparing an estate and buying a home to leasing property, handling an easy divorce, and more. More than just a collection of forms, however, Legal Forms for Everyone also outlines the pros and cons of using them, providing instructions key to avoiding legal disputes and complexities. An excellent reference, this should be on the shelves of every consumer!

The Homework Myth
Alfie Kohn
Da Capo Press/Perseus
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9738219854 $24.00 www.dacapopress.com

THE HOMEWORK MYTH: WHY OUR KIDS GET TOO MUCH OF A BAD THING offers a challenge to the modern idea that homework is a good thing, offering plenty of evidence to show it holds few benefits and many problems, using the latest research findings to support the idea homework fails to promote student achievement. Chapters explain the rationale behind both homework assignments and its failures, documenting supporting data and also analyzing why educators are ignoring this data. Parents will find this an important survey.

Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions
John F. Burnett
Rodale Press
733 Third Avenue 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017-3204
1594863040 $24.95 www.rodale.com

Uncivilized Beasts and Shameless Hellions: Travels with an NPR Correspondent comes from a radio journalist who has witnessed and covered some of the most important news events of our times. Even if you've seen his reports, you'll find much news in Uncivilized Beasts: insights which due to time constraints could not be expanded upon, copy from notebooks which never saw publication, bizarre encounters, and more. While his is a personal account of encounters and travels, it also provides cultural and social reflections and important first-person observations. A top, recommended pick any library will find popular with patrons, whether they be public library patrons or high school or college students.

Write for Mathematics
Andrew Rothstein, Evelyn Rothstein, Gerald Lauber
Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
1412939941 $39.95 www.corwinpress.com

If students are invited to write about math, their own skills levels improves: that's the message in WRITE FOR MATHEMATICS, SECOND EDITION which offers writing strategies students can use to better understand math concepts. Ten writing strategies are accompanied by teacher directions for incorporating them into curriculum and studies, applications which coincide with NCTM standards, and a number of reproducible templates. The blend of writing examples and emphasis on thought assures students receive an excellent link between concept and written word.

Washington Engineered
Vincent Lee-Thorp
Noble House/American Literary Press
8019 Belair Road #10, Baltimore, MD 21236
1561679402 $26.95 americanliterarypress.com

Between 1740 and modern times much engineering was done in Washington, D.C.: engineering work which was to change the face not only of the nation's capital, but of perspectives on engineering across the U.S. and into Europe, creating the technology that led to the Industrial Revolution. WASHINGTON ENGINEERED draws parallels between engineering and the arts and sciences, surveying projects, providing a healthy dose of Washington DC society history and politics, and surveying other notable engineers who fostered the advancement of engineering as a whole. An excellent blend of biography and history makes for an account recommendable to public as well as college-level libraries.

Brainiac
Ken Jennings
Villard Books
c/o Random House Trade Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
1400064457 $24.95 www.randomhouse.com

If the name of author Ken Jennings sounds vaguely familiar and you've viewed the TV game show Jeopardy recently, you'll recognize he was the greatest champion in the show's history – and BRAINIAC: ADVENTURES IN THE CURIOUS, COMPETITIVE, COMPULSIVE WORLD OF TRIVIA BUFFS takes a journey into the author's two years of winning. Jennings held a long-time love of trivia from childhood on – and apparently he's not alone. BRAINIAC documents similar trivia enthusiasts which form almost a subculture, touring trivia 'hotspots' across the country from college quiz-bowl games to Publishers and annual marathon contests. Expect a healthy dose of humor blended with observations of how and why trivia buffs exist!


The Library Shelf

Exploring the Bancroft Library
Charles B. Faulhaber & Stephen Vincent, Editors
Signature Books
564 W. 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
1893663191 $39.95 www.signaturebooks.com

What is the Bancroft Library? Only one of the foremost research institutions in the world, founded in 1860 by a California bookseller who personally gathered some of the richest source materials on the American West. And all this is covered in EXPLORING THE BANCROFT LIBRARY: THE CENTENNIAL GUIDE TO ITS EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY, SPECTACULAR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, RESEARCH PLEASURES, ITS AMAZING FUTURE, AND HOW IT ALL WORKS. The book celebrates the Bancroft's collection of over 100 years, surveying the treasures for the general public and providing a close examination of how its holdings are acquired and saved. Chapters by individual curators cover the approaches and holdings in depth and detail, and when you add in the numerous color photos, the effect is unsurpassed.


The Money/Finance Shelf

Where to Retire
John Howells
Globe Pequot Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437-0480
0762740655 $17.95 www.globepequot.com

If you're looking for a good, affordable place to retire different than the area you know and live in, take a look at WHERE TO RETIRE: AMERICA'S BEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE PLACES. It outlines affordable places across the country, including not just cost of living insights but assessments of medical care, recreation opportunities, weather, social life, and more. Some states receive their own in-depth coverage; others are included with nearby areas. The concerns raised – both pro and con – are essential for any solid understanding particular to retiree budgets.

Atlantic Publishing Group
1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, FL 34474

Jamaine Burrell's COMPLETE GUIDE TO INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE TAX LIENS & DEEDS (0910627738, $21.95) tells how to make a profit by purchasing tax lien instruments from local governments – instruments which yield high rates of return. These investments can outpace stock market performance and real estate investments alike – if they are handled correctly; and that's where COMPLETE GUIDE TO INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE TAX LIENS & DEEDS comes into play. Chapters provide everything you need to know to invest, understand liabilities and potential pitfalls, and make wise decisions with rich outcomes. Steven D. Fischer's THE REAL ESTATE INVESTOR'S HANDBOOK: THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR (091062769X, $24.95) is for beginners as well as industry pros, sellers and buyers alike. It's a primer covering the latest innovative ideas in real estate investing, using case studies from successful experts to cover all the basics. Or pick Susan Smith Alvis' HOW TO BUY REAL ESTATE WITHOUT A DOWN PAYMENT IN ANY MARKET: INSIDER SECRETS FROM THE EXPERTS WHO DO IT EVERY DAY (0910627673, $21.95), an explanation of 'no down payment' sources, strategies, and pros and cons. A simple formula is provided even for beginners or those with no credit or little money. Hundreds of successful real estate investors who have used such a strategy have been interviewed to provide all the basics here. Rene V. Richards' HOW TO BUY AND/OR SELL A SMALL BUSINESS FOR MAXIMUM PROFIT: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE (0910627533, $24.95) is for the novice businessman who would either buy or sell a small business. From finding a business and raising capital to buy it to evaluating its financials, using brokers, and conducting due diligence, this is an item of choice for either side. Atlantic's THE FRANCHISE HANDBOOK: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO ALL ASPECTS OF BUYING, SELLING OR INVESTING IN A FRANCHISE (0910627541, $39.95) is an excellent resource for prospective franchisees and franchisers: again, both sides are treated to definitive 'how to' tips on structuring a franchise system to make the most of a profitable idea. From managing daily operations and securing financing to legal agreements and cost controls, this reference is a 'must' for any who would become involved, whether in promoting a franchise or buying into one.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Silk Road to Ruin
Ted Rall
NBM
40 Exchange Place #1308, New York, NY 10005
1561634549 $22.95 www.nbmpublishing.com

At a publisher's party an editor asked his newest staff writer to pitch him an idea for the wildest adventure travel piece he could think of – and Ted Rall proposed a setting in post-soviet Central Asia. His drive along the Silk Road from Beijing to Istanbul, sans benefit of research and set plans, results in a blend of graphic novel images and text descriptions which works together for vivid insights in Silk Road to Ruin. This could've been featured in our Travel section but should reach far beyond the usual travel audience, with its inclusion of excellent graphic novel elements throughout.


The Humor Shelf

The Redneck Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree
Jeff Foxworthy
Rutledge Hill press
Box 141000., Nashville, TN 37214
1401602304 $9.99 www.rutledgehillpress.com

If you're a Foxworthy fan of 'redneck humor', don't miss his latest collection The Redneck Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree: its diminutive stature may make it harder to find on shelves, but its one-page insights on 'you might be a redneck if' focuses on funny family connections and makes for an especially strong family gift for the holidays or Father's Day.

Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111-7701
www.amuniversal.com

The latest batch of cartoon collections features the best of strips from today's most popular syndicated writers, and shouldn't be missed. Jim Toomey's PLANET OF THE HAIRLESS BEACH APES (0740760564, $10.95) presents more Sherman's Lagoon features: if you don't already know, Sherman's Lagoon is a microcosm of human society. Here sharks covet over species, vie for attention, and are big, dumb, and funny. Joined by a host of seaside friends, Sherman contemplates the ironies of the Hairless Beach Apes and life in general. Any family with a teen will readily recognize the attitudes presented in the latest Zits Sketchbook 11: ARE WE OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY YET? (0740761994, $10.95). Black and white strips from the feature focus on family relationships, with young Jeremy demonstrating impatience as a form of affection for his loving yet beleaguered parents. Lynn Johnston's SHE'S TURNING INTO ONE OF THEM! (0740758152, $10.95) also features a teen – a girl newly entering teenhood – in a funny collection of Patterson cartoons covering April's transition to teenhood. Stephan Pastis' PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: LIONS AND TIGERS AND CROCS, OH MY! (0740761552, $16.95) holds the second 'Pearls Before Swine' collection, providing another wonderful annotated gathering of misanthropic mishaps following the Pastis formula for success. Color and black and white strips abound in large-size pages easy on the eye. All are wonderful picks for either long-time fans who may've missed some of the regular strips in the daily paper, or for newcomers who will find much to admire here.


The Children's Shelf

The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside
Cynthia von Buhler
Houghton Mifflin Company
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
0618563148 $16.00 www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

Ages 2-5 will love this very different book of friendship and trust, which tells the true story of an author who befriends a stray cat who won't budge from her porch. Cynthia von Buhler slow years of friendship and revamping of her cat's comfortable porch home leads to a relationship, a book, and family involvements. A rich, different kind of story reads like fiction but is based on a true story.


The Social Issues Shelf

Take Steps with a Purpose
Eric M. Latham
Walk About America
15120 Industrial Park Road, Bristol, VA 24202
1424307600 $34.95 www.walkaboutamerica.com

The price tag's high for a standard-sized paperback, but any collection strong in cancer history, medicine, or social issues will find it important: it's a memoir of how the author walked across the country to raise money for cancer research, and packs a surprising number of color photos into the account. His accounts of people he meets along the way aren't just from the medical world, but from average citizens and their struggles. An important, inspirational journey invites readers to join in the battle against cancer.

The Courage of Our Convictions
Gary Hart
Times Books
175 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0805081011 $22.00 www.henryholt.com

The Democrats have lost the last two presidential elections and have also been the minority in Congress: while they're calling for changes, they haven't the power to lead them in. THE COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTIONS: A MANIFESTO FOR DEMOCRATS calls for the party to redefine itself, to clarify its principles and stand behind them, ridding itself of the division and controversy which have contributed to its demise. Any interested in building Democratic strengths and re-learning principles that differentiate it from Republican ideals must have this.

Not a Genuine Black Man
Brian Copeland
Hyperion
77 W. 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6298
1401302335 $22.95 www.hyperionbooks.com

Brian Copeland regularly receives hate mail attacking his black roots: as a stand-up comedian, his approach led to success – and to question the principles of others of his race. His autobiography examines his childhood traumas, his troubles growing up in one of the most racist suburbs in America, and his rise to fame despite struggle – only to be confronted by others claiming he had abandoned his black principles. NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN OR, HOW I CLAIMED MY PIECE OF GROUND IN THE LILY-WHITE SUBURBS should serve as an inspiration for any black reader.

The Age of Fallibility
George Soros
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St. Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107
1586483595 $24.00 www.publicaffairsbooks.com

What are the errors in thinking in our current 'war on terror'? To receive an exacting analysis, try George Soros' THE AGE OF FALLIBILITY: CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR ON TERROR. His analysis pinpoints ways in which the country has lost its direction and some of its values in pursuing such a campaign, analyzing the Bush administration's approach and public sentiments alike. A hard-hitting survey for any interested in the current state of American thinking.

The Moral Center
David Callahan
Harcourt Inc.
0151011516 $24.00 www.harcourtbooks.com

THE MORAL CENTER: HOW WE CAN RECLAIM OUR COUNTRY FROM DIE-HARD EXTREMISTS, ROGUE CORPORATIONS, HOLLYWOOD HACKS, AND PRETEND PATRIOTS argues that underlying concerns such as eroding values, and the rise of greed, are the real problems neither party is addressing in political campaigns. A new vision and strategy is needed based on acknowledgment of this underlying erosion: one provided in THE MORAL CENTER, which argues for change in the face of polarized differences which paralyze both parties and reduce effective strategies.

The Human Experiment
Jane Pynter
Thunder's Mouth Press
245 W. 17th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011
156025775X $26.95 www.thundersmouth.com

It's the 15th anniversary of the Biosphere 2 experiment, when eight individuals sealed themselves into a 2-acre desert building to survive without any help from the outside world – and here one crewmember shares what life was like behind the glass. It was designed to be a mini version of Biosphere 1, and was a self-contained ecosystem which could be viewed either as a prototype for a space habitat or a small version of Planet Earth experiences. The author helped design the experiment, lived it, and walked away from it in the end: her account holds insights for us all.

No One is Illegal
Justin Akers Chacon & Mike Davis
Haymarket Books
Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618
1931859353 $14.00 www.haymarketbooks.org

Anti-immigration vigilantes have their own racist behaviors, fostering ideas which range from the notion illegal immigration patterns are a national crisis to the idea of immigrant impact on American culture and jobs. History and analysis shows quite the opposite – a history and analysis presented here in NO ONE IS ILLEGAL: FIGHTING RACISM AND STATE VIOLENCE ON THE BORDER. Essential reading for any involved in immigration rights or issues.

The New Americans
Michael Barone
Regnery Publishing
1 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001
1596980265 $16.95 www.regnery.com

Is the visionary Melting Pot of American society an idealized image of the past, as white populations shrink and minorities grow? Not so, says political historian and author Michael Barone: his THE NEW AMERICANS: HOW THE MELTING POT CAN WORK AGAIN maintains that in fact the idealized vision has seldom been true. Immigrants have long been a part of U.S. history, and chapters here survey this history to draw important comparisons and contrasts between immigrant populations past and present. The special issues of Latinos, blacks, Italians, Jews and the Irish hold lessons for today's new waves, and chapters provide the in-depth focus needed for these groups.

Looking Beyond the Highway
Claudette Stager & Martha Carver
University of Tennessee Press
293 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 37996-0325
1572334673 www.utpress.org 1-800-621-2736

Any interested in Southern history, culture and social issues must take a look at Looking Beyond the Highway: Dixie Roads and Culture. It follows the Dixie Highway from southern Illinois to Florida with essays which cover a wide swatch of the South and a range of Southern subjects, from the rise and fall of brick highways to changing styles in Southern hotels, architecture, and music and the arts. A fine survey of evolving Southern culture lends plenty of insights into social and political influences along the way.

Hip Hop Culture
Emmett G. Price III
ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
1851098674 $85.00 www.abc-clio.com

Hip hop began as an alternative street lingo but has swept the world to become a dominant, lasting social force rather than just another musical fad – and HIP HOP CULTURE documents the sweeping progress of the movement as a whole, providing a narrative history pairing photos of hiphop styles and peoples with a glossary of terms, a bibliography of associated resources, and an analysis of the most influential songs of the movement. Chapters thus blend biographical sketches with an overall attention to cultural change to make this essential reading for any student of the movement.

Revel with a Cause
Stephen E. Kercher
University of Chicago Press
1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
0226431649 $35.00 www.press.uchicago.edu 1-800-621-2736

Early liberal satirists helped oppose the nation's leaders and their policies, providing an alternative to political conservatism during the 1950s and 60s: REVEL WITH A CAUSE focuses on the use of comedy and satire to prove alternative commentary and nonconforming ideas to the public. College-level students of media studies or American social issues will find it a fine survey of the uses of comedy and satire in the political and social arena.

Islam: The Basics
Colin Turner
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
041534106X $17.95 www.routledge-ny.com

While ISLAM: THE BASICS joins others in the basics series, it's a powerful stand-alone pick for any collection, college-level, high school or public library, providing all the basics on key areas from the Koran and women in Islam to key dates, ideas, and Islam culture. From social life and practice to spirituality, ISLAM: THE BASICS provides a solid foundation for understanding.

Encyclopedia of Human Development
Neil J. Salkind, Editor
Sage Publications
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
1412904757 $495.00 www.sagepublications.com

College-level collections on human development must have this 3-volume set ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, which brings together social, psychological and physical sciences and provides an analysis of the changing world of the human condition associated with aging. Cross-disciplinary coverage comes from experts in different fields and entries cover classic studies, theories, and research. Essays provide coverage of specific phases of development, while concluding summaries offer bibliographic references for added reading. The set will be a useful reference for any student of psychology or social development.

Urban Nightmares
Steve Macek
University of Minnesota Press
111 3rd Avenue South #290, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
081664361X $22.95 www.upress.umn.edu

College-level collections strong in urban studies will welcome the survey teacher Steve Macek offers up in URBAN NIGHTMARES: THE MEDIA, THE RIGHT, AND THE MORAL PANIC OVER THE CITY. Its chapters survey issues of urban blight, crime, and hopelessness, drawing links between these conditions and the media, which has validated the right-wing analysis of the urban crisis through news and TV reports. Is the media biased against cities?

Mad Sheep
Linda Faillace
Chelsea Green
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
1933392096 $25.00 www.chelseagreen.com

In 2001 after months of surveillance and harassment armed federal agents seized a flock of some 100 organically-raised dairy sheep. One might think this an isolated incident, but MAD SHEEP: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE USDA'S WAR ON A FAMILY FARM holds implications for farming and food distribution channels as a whole. USDA chief Linda Detweiler claimed the imported sheep had been exposed to a disease, but the flock's owners – here, the authors – weren't about to let the judgement pass silently: they weren't just farmers but scientists, and demonstrated the impossibility of their sheep being infected. And then the fight really begins – documented here in eye-opening pages of detail.

Liberty & Learning
Robert C. Enlow & Lenore T. Ealy, Eds.
Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
1930865864 $11.95 www.cato.org

In 1955 Milton Friedman wrote 'The Role of Government in Education', little knowing his essay would promote and begin the modern 'school choice' movement. In it he argued there was no justification for the government's operation of schools – and his essay here is reconsidered fifty years later, gathering writings form the nation's top educators to consider its merit in modern times. Colleges strong in education studies must have this.

Screwed
Thom Hartmann
Berrett Koehler
235 Montgomery st. #650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
1576754146 $22.95 www.bkconnection.com

SCREWED: THE UNDECLARED WAR AGAINST THE MIDDLE CLASS – AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT comes from an Air America Radio talk show host who argues that the American middle class is nearly extinct. As the middle class sector is intrinsic to the health of any democracy, this spells danger to our society as a whole – and Hartmann provides a discussion which both analyzes the roots of the American middle class and threats to its existence, but related issues of business law, equal opportunity, and living standards. His intriguing survey also offers a solution.

Scandal
Lanny Davis
Palgrave Macmillan
175 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010-7848
1403974950 $24.95 www.palgrave-usa.com

In the late 90s the author was special Counsel to President Clinton and was offered a ringside seat to the inner sanctum of the political process: SCANDAL: HOW 'GOTCHA' POLITICS IS DESTROYING AMERICA offers damning details on all parties as it surveys the evolving 'scandal culture' affecting political elections and decisions. From Watergate to modern times, the scandal machine has revved up: SCANDAL documents exactly how it has evolved, the ideas underlying party manipulation of the political system, and different paradigms of change.

The Looming Tower
Lawrence Wright
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
037541486X $27.95 www.aaknopf.com 1-800-726-0600

THE LOOMING TOWER: AL-QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11 joins a host of other books on the topic, with a difference: it offers a wide-ranging narrative history of events leading to 9/11 with an eye to documenting terrorist plans, Western intelligence failures, and world-wide involvements. Wright spent five years researching and conducting interviews throughout the Middle East, Europe and the U.S., going beyond simple archive reconstruction to examine events through the interwoven lives of two al-Qaeda leaders, the FBI's counterterrorism chief, and the former head of Saudi intelligence. By using these lives as a foundation for facts, THE LOOMING TOWER probes far deeper into motivation and history than competing titles.

Six Arguments for A Greener Diet
Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Center for Science in Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Avenue, #300, Washington, DC 20009-5728
0893290491 $14.95 www.cspinet.org

Scientific studies maintain that eating more plant foods and less animal products can lead to years of better health: a diet which also results in less pollution and impact on the environment, too. For those who would still argue the facts, SIX ARGUMENTS draws more direct links between dietary choices and environmental and health issues, with chapters providing step-by-step proofs on how meat-loaded diets lead to ill health and environmental degradation. While the theme isn't new, it's the reasoned and exact, science-based point-by-point six arguments which are clearer than more general surveys of the issues involved.


The Biography Shelf

Dark Hero of the Information Age
Flo Conway & Jim Siegelman
Basic Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
0465013716 $17.95 www.basicbooks.com

Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Nortbert Wiener the Father of Cybernetics tells of an ex-child prodigy and MIT mathematician who founded cybernetics – and then spent the rest of his life warning the world of the consequences of the new technologies he helped foster. Surprisingly, his works and his warnings are relatively unknown today – despite the fact many of his concerns and predictions came true. Dark Hero of the Information Age recounts his life and discoveries – and the consequences of his discoveries.

The Bridge Builder
Beverly Rybarz
Wakefield Press
1 The Parade West, Kent Town, South Australia 5067
1862546592 www.wakefieldpress.com www.amazon.com

In 1951 the author was 21 when she arrived in New Guinea to live with her new husband. Festooned in pearls, she soon found a world filled with snakes in the ceiling, spiders as big as dinner plates, and cultural challenges galore – but it was her involvement with Pole Stan Rybarz which led to her journey into the jungles of New Guinea to construct roads and bridges. Plenty of cultural insights meld with an autobiography of adventure which will engross any reader.

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
John Wood
Collins/HarperCollins
10 E. 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
006223207X $25.95 www.harpercollins.com

For almost ten years the author was one of the 1990s tech stars who 'had it all' at one of the best companies in the world, Microsoft. He had the corporate luxuries, big paycheck, and more – but something was missing: something discovered on a trip to Nepal that would inspire him to give up all his luxuries. Similar to THREE CUPS OF TEA, he left career and U.S.A. to enter the world of building schools across the developing world: this is the story of how he did it – and why.

Madame Chiang Kai-Shek
Laura Tyson Li
Atlantic Monthly Press
841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
0871139332 $30.00 www.groveatlantic.com

It's surprising to note that this is the first biography of one of the most politically influential women of modern times, but MADAME CHIANG KAI-SHEK: CHINA'S ETERNAL FIRST LADY remains the only title to provide the complete story of a woman who seized unofficial and official power during China's civil war. Her position against Chinese Communism and her diplomatic relations affected decades of Chinese-American relations, so this book is key to a thorough understanding of not just the woman, but Chinese politics and influences in particular.

Reclaiming the Sky
Tom Murphy
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0814409091 $21.95 www.amacombooks.org

These personal stories of aviation employees whose lives changed after September 11th, 2001 makes for an outstanding collection of memories of those who acted courageously and behind the scenes. RECLAIMING THE SKY: 9/11 AND THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MEN ND WOMEN WHO KEPT AMERICA FLYING offers stories of professionals who were on duty on that day: it makes for a passionate, involving set of experiences of ordinary individuals placed in unusual situations calling for action.

Twice Born
Betty Jean Lifton
Other Press LLC
2 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10016
1590512448 $15.95 www.otherpress.com

The author's written several books on the psychology of the adopted, but here provides her own autobiographical experience, telling of a life where adoptees were still kept in the dark about their identification. As an adult she not only identified with orphans left behind by American soldiers in Japan and Vietnam; she embarked on her own journey to discover the forbidden knowledge of her own adoptive parents and her roots. TWICE BORN: MEMORIES OF AN ADOPTED DAUGHTER traces her journey and feelings.

The Librettist of Venice
Rodney Bolt
Bloomsbury
175 – 5th Avenue Suite 300, New York, NY 10010
1596911182 $29.95 www.bloomsburyusa.com

Lorenzo Da Ponte was an early Venetian librettist well known in the late 1700s: he was Mozart's poet, Casanova's friend, and would serve as librettist of three of his friend Mozart's most controversial operas. He went on to become the first professor of Italian at Columbia University: THE LIBRETTIST OF VENICE traces a varied, involving life but also provides a fine history and set of social insights of his times, recreating the politics and world of early Vienna through the changing career of a remarkable man. Engrossing.

The Lost: A Search For Six Million
Daniel Mendelsohn
HarperCollins
10 E. 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0060542977 $27.95 www.harpercollins.com

The author grew up in a family haunted by the disappearance of six relatives during the Holocaust: as an adult, his discovery of letters written to his grandfather in 1939 sent him on a journey to locate the remaining eyewitness to his relatives' last days: a journey which would lead him across four continents and back to the small Ukrainian town of his family's origins. Much of THE LOST reads with the drama of fiction, but it's not: it's the author's own struggle to solve a mystery intrinsic not only to his own past, but to the world of immigrant Jews and Holocaust survivors alike.

The Robin Hood Handbook
Mike Dixon-Kennedy
Sutton
Phoenix Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, Glos UK GL5 2BU
075093977X $24.95 www.suttonpublishing.co.uk www.amazon.com

Most treatments of Robin Hood are light, semi-fantasy coverages for younger ages, so it's important to note that THE ROBIN HOOD HANDBOOK: THE OUTLAW IN HISTORY, MYTH AND LEGEND is far different, covering not only many true-life biographical details, but rounding out biography with a social and political history of his times. Original research by a long-time mythology researcher enhances the story of Robin Hood, reconstructed from myths, films, folklore, place-names, ballads and more.

The Sea Captain's Wife
Martha Hodes
W.W. Norton
500 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10110
0393052264 $24.95 www.wwnorton.com

THE SEA CAPTAIN'S WIFE: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, RACE, AND WAR IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY tells of an ordinary New England working-class white woman who in 1869 decided to marry a black sea captain from the West Indies. The unexpected occurred: she went from a poor Yankee widow of a Confederate soldier to a genteel lady in an elite colored family in the Caribbean. Over five hundred family letters along with census records and local histories were used to reconstruct her story here, and comes form a history professor who lends historical authenticity and the drama and characterization of fiction to THE SEA CAPTAIN'S WIFE, making it a biography hard to put down.

Madame Tussaud: A Life in Wax
Kate Berridge
William Morrow/HarperCollins
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0060528478 $25.95 www.harpercollins.com

If the name of Madame Tussaud sounds familiar, just think of the House of Wax to get the association: House of Wax museums exist across the country and even in London and Asia – and her name is on each museum marquee. Despite this, relatively little has been written about her life, until now: writer Kate Berridge uses Tussaud's memoirs, British and French historical archives, and interviews with her descendants to reconstruct her life and times from birth to her business associations. She was the first to bring art and entertainment to newfound middle-class and working-class groups and her influence extended far beyond the wax museum cult, as MADAME TUSSAUD: A LIFE IN WAX proves.


The Music Shelf

This Business of Songwriting
Jason Blume
Watson-Guptill Publications
770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
0823077594 $24.95 www.watsonguptill.com

This Business of Songwriting: A Practical Guide to Doing Business as a Songwriter may look like just another book on the topic – but it's the first to cover the basics of music publishing as a whole; not just how to write a song. From approaching songwriting as a business, building the appropriate structure of understanding contracts, licensing, and income generation, to gaining alternative venues of distribution such as Internet and live performances, details on copyright, competitions, performances, and supporting organizations offer up invaluable insider details essential to serious songwriters.

Guitar: An American Life
Tim Brookes
Grove Press
841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
0802142583 $14.00 www.groveatlantic.com

When author Tim Brookes' beloved guitar was accidentally destroyed, his journey for a new one led him to the Vermont rural workshop of a master guitar maker – and further on the road to explore the power of the guitar in American culture. Thus GUITAR: AN AMERICAN LIFE is really two stories in one: an autobiography of the author's own affection for the instrument, and a history of the guitar's construction and importance in this country. One would expect this to be dense and hard-hitting – but it's not; it's lively and very readable – perhaps it's the blend of travelogue and journeying into the process, but it's a winner.

Platinum Blonde
Deborah Harry
Andre Deutsch/Trafalgar Square
Box 257, N. Pomfret, VT 05053
0233001530 $12.50 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

Written with the singer's authorization, PLATINUM BLONDE is a biographical sketch of Debbie Harry, who reflected New York attitude and punk sentiments primarily during the 1980s. As PLATINUM BLONDE reveals, she actually influenced the movement from the late 60s to modern times, with her group Blondie creating a lasting sensation on the scene. Any fan of Blondie must read about its dynamic leader's life and many other musical facets.

One O'Clock Jump
Douglas Henry Daniels
Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108-2892
0807071366 $27.95 www.beacon.org

ONE O'CLOCK JUMP: THE UNFORGETTABLE HISTORY OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY BLUE DEVILS offers up a wealth of detail on a legendary jazz band from Oklahoma City. They went through many changes from 1923 to 1933, but their legacy has been under-stated until this book, so any avid fan of jazz may know of them, but only in passing. ONE O'CLOCK JUMP fills the gaps, using interviews with the six surviving Blue Devils and others and supplementing these with newspaper accounts of performances and government records. The result is rich reporting and jazz music history which cannot be ignored.

Ten Minute Masters
Music Tech Magazine
PC Publishing/O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy, Sebastopol, CA 95472
187077504X $17.95

From explanations of music theories to new technological advancements and protocols in music recording, TEN MINUTE MASTERS will appeal to both newcomers and experienced musicians alike, explaining the latest advancements as they affect sound, recording, and music mixing.


Acoustic Design for
The Home Studio
Mitch Gallagher
Thomson Course Technology
25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210
159863285X $19.99 www.courseptr.com

It used to be that musicians went to a professional studio to make recordings; but with all the advancements in computer and recording technology, such a studio is affordable for the home – and ACOUSTIC DESIGN FOR THE HOME STUDIO tells how to make a room perfect for the recording sound desired. Tips on how to sound-proof a home or project studio tell how to use an existing room, whether it be garage or bedroom, and provide diagrams, photos of revamped rooms, and tips on getting the most from such a project.

Music Production
Michael Zager
Scarecrow Press
4501 Forbes #200, Lanham, MD 20706
0810857049 $50.00 www.scarecrowpress.com

Music production requires a knowledge of art, technology and business alike, and the college-level guide MUSIC PRODUCTION: A MANUAL FOR PRODUCERS, COMPOSERS, ARRANGERS, AND STUDENTS guides readers through the music production process, explaining all that's needed to know about producing classical, pop, and even film or music video recordings. An accompanying cd of exercises reinforces lessons on composition, songwriting, and arrangement and comes from a music professor with strong credentials and experience.

Great Rock Drummers of the Sixties Revised
Bob Cianci
Hal Leonard
19 W. 21st St. #201, New York, NY 10010
0634099256 $19.95 www.halleonard.com

Now in its second printing, the classic survey GREAT ROCK DRUMMERS OF THE SIXTIES provides a history of the era's best rock drummers and drumming – and here is reissued in its original form with added revised data updating drummer biographies to modern times. All notable drummers of the era, both famous and lesser-knowns, are included in chapters which review tours, notable achievements, pack in plenty of vintage black and white photos, and chart the rise of rock groups.

Laurel Canyon
Michael Walker
Farrar Straus Giroux
19 Union Square West, New York, NY 10003
0571211496 $25.00 www.fsgbooks.com

Dozens of hits central to rock and roll's evolution in the 1960s emerged from an artists' colony in the Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon, fostering a sound which became standard for rock groups around the country – yet few coverages mention the connection between Laurel Canyon and the emerging talents. Journalist Michel Walker tells of the key musical figures from this community who fostered innovative changes to the way music was made: chapters include new, modern interviews with Graham Nash, Gail Zappa, and other groupies and musicians with direct connection to Laurel Canyon, making for a documentation essential to understanding the 1960s and 70s sounds in LAUREL CANYON: THE INSIDE STORY OF ROCK AND ROLL'S LEGENDARY NEIGHBORHOOD.


The Spirituality Shelf

The Visionary State
Erik Davis
Chronicle Books
85 – 2nd Street, San Francisco CA 94105
0811848353 $40.00 www.chroniclebooks.com

California has a reputation for the diverse and eccentric: a reputation which extends into the spiritual realm as well, and THE VISIONARY STATE: A JOURNEY THROUGH CALIFORNIA'S SPIRITUAL LANDSCAPE PRESENTS COLOR PHOTOS BY Michael Rauner to accompany a historical and social survey of California's alternative spirituality communities. From theme parks and alternatives to conventional churches to Buddhist areas and visions of the Virgin, THE VISIONARY STATE is packed with images and ideas reflecting the individuals and spiritual movements that make up California.

A Secular Faith
Darryl Hart
Ivan R. Dee
1332 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2694
1566635764 $26.95 www.ivanrdee.com

A SECULAR FAITH: WHY CHRISTIANITY FAVORS THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE outlines the foundations of a long-standing argument – and the divide between religious and secular America, which has been particularly pointed over the last few decades. Can Christianity be used for political and social ends? A SECULAR FAITH questions this approach and provides documentation of political and religious rivalries over the years.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art
Wassilly Kadinsky
MFA Publications
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-5597
0878467025 $24.95 www.mfa-publications.org

Wassilly Kadinsky was a 20th century painter and his CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART provides a blend of philosophical, spiritual and artistic reflection as it examines the premises and presence of spirituality in art. This new edition is a recommended pick not just for art students of modernism, but for readers of spiritual works: it includes letters between Kadinsky and Sadler, unpublished prose poems, and a fine attention to artistic reflection and analysis.


The Elements of Prayer
Joe B. Jewell
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1577315472 $15.00 www.newworldlibrary.com

Author Joe Jewell was a Methodist pastor for over twenty years: the most common question he got was 'what is prayer and how does one pray?' The answers are in THE ELEMENTS OF PRAYER: LEARNING TO PRAY IN REAL LIFE, which offers up ten rules of prayer from composition and structure to approach. Both religious and literary guidelines are followed in a structured survey of prayer options and possibilities.

West of Jesus
Steven Kotler
Bloomsbury USA
175 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
1596910518 $23.95 www.bloomsburyusa.com

What could link surfing with spirituality? Journalist Steven Kotler's title blends memoir with insights into both surfing and God and tells of a point in time where he loses his perfect life and embarks on a search for 'the Conductor'. His mystical experiences along the way are revealed in a survey that considers neuroscience, the sport of surfing, and the nature of spirituality alike. The blend of topics, from travel discovery to personal insights, make for a stimulating, involving story.

Water from the Well
Anne Roiphe
William Morrow
10 E. 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022
0060737964 $24.95 www.harpercollins.com

WATER FROM THE WELL: SARAH, REBEKAH, RACHEL AND LEAH focuses on the true stories of four Biblical women whose influence on the early stories of the Bible will reach not just Christians but Jewish and Muslim faiths. Texts of different religions, from the Torah and prayer books to the Bible, are utilized in Roiphe's study of the women's personalities, struggles, and interactions with God. A blend of anthropology, religious study and folklore has been culled to build a foundation of knowledge based on known facts and source materials in this outstanding study.

HarperSanFrancisco
353 Sacramento St. #500, San Francisco CA 94111
www.harpersf.com

Douglas Willard's THE GREAT OMISSION: RECLAIMING JESUS'S ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS ON DISCIPLESHIP (0060882433, $23.95) draws a distinction between Jesus' last command to 'make disciples of all nations' and the difference between a 'disciple' and a 'Christian'. It's this misunderstanding, according to Christian thinker Willard, which has been the church's 'great omission', and he seeks to clarify and rectify this misunderstanding through analysis of New Testament lifestyles and teachings, and ideas on how Christians can remain faithful without applying their understanding of the Kingdom of God to all life. An intriguing discussion emerges of definitions and understandings gone awry. Barbara Brown Taylor's LEAVING CHURCH: A MEMOIR OF FAITH (0060771747, $23.95) tells of the author's dream of becoming the pastor of her own small congregation after nine years serving on the staff of a large Atlanta church – a dream which was to lead to her realization that she might have to leave the church to serve more effectively. LEAVING CHURCH follows her spiritual journey, providing in the course of the trip many insights on the pressures on spiritual leaders.

Jesus Mean and Wild
Mark Galli
Baker Books
Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
0801012848 $17.99 www.bakerbooks.com

The modern church has long portrayed Jesus as meek and nice – but Mark Galli, editor of Christianity Today, offers up a new interpretation of Jesus as he's presented in Mark's Gospel, revealing a militant Christ. Biblical history, stories of saints, and discussions portray a deeper personality and purpose: one which may not be as safe and smooth, but which is ultimately more challenging and revealing.

The Bible and Other Faiths
Ida Glaser
InterVarsity Press
Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
0830833110 $18.00 www.ivpress.com

The Bible and Other Faiths: Christian Responsibility in a World of Religions comes from a theologian who argues something different from many Christian treatises: that an understanding of other religions and their effects is essential. Chapters survey how God interacts with different religions, how Christians should respond to the God concepts of these other religions, and how to understand the world and concepts inherent in the texts of other faiths. An intriguing survey.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

On the Line
Robert Viagas, et.al.
Limelight/Amadeus Press
512 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
0879103361 $20.00 www.limelighteditions.com

The Broadway hit A Chorus Line is returning to Times Square in a major revival this fall – and ON THE LINE: THE CREATION OF 'A CHORUS LINE' provides an oral history from the nineteen original cast members who recall how they become involved with the project, how it evolved from workshops, and how it made many of them lasting successes in their fields. Robert Viagas collaborated with original cast members Baayork Lee and Thommie Walsh to provide this memoir, which is a 'must' for any prior or present fans of the Broadway musical production. Many insider's views here can't be found elsewhere.

Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide
Nikki Stafford
ECW Press
2120 Queen Street East #200, Toronto, Ontario, CA M4E 1E2
1550227437 $17.95 www.ecwpress.com

If you're a fan of the popular TV show LOST, you can't be without this unofficial guide to the seasons: it's the only book to provide an episode-by-episode commentary, with chapters offering background, insider clues, surveys of its history and philosophical reflections, and more. Original air dates, flashback scenes, guests casts – all the information is here, along with show-by-show synopses.

'Til the Fat Girl Sings
Sharon Wheatley
Adams Media
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322
1593375433 $14.95 www.adamsmedia.com

This could've been featured in our Biography section, but is reviewed here for its insights on how a Broadway star made it big – despite her lifetime weight problem. Sharon Wheatley weighed over two hundred pounds by high school, but never stopped dreaming of a career on Broadway. Her journey and reach for leading roles would take her to the top and 'TIL THE FAT GIRL SINGS: FROM AN OVERWEIGHT NOBODY TO A BROADWAY SOMEBODY – A MEMOIR tells how.

Making Short Films
Jim Piper
Allworth Press
10 E. 23rd St. #510, New York, NY 10010
1581154445 $24.95 www.allworth.com

Plenty of books give all the basics of how to make a film of any size – but MAKING SHORT FILMS goes a step further in also surveying the purpose and problems involved. From whether or not to write a script and how to develop it to composing shots, using editing programs on computers, and creating special effects, there are plenty of tips paired with hands-on application projects perfect for newcomers. The DVD in back offers thirty completed short films by students and beginners, for further inspiration and example.


The Computer Shelf

CSS: The Missing Manual
David Sawyer McFarland
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472
0596526873 $34.99 www.oreilly.com

Cascading style sheets are the heart of some of the most popular web sites but getting them to work with HTML can be frustrating. That's why CSS: THE MISSING MANUAL is so important a pick: it provides an introduction to both HTML and CSS interactions, offering up an experienced web designer's strategies for overcoming obstacles and finding the heart of CSS strengths and options. Over a hundred pages of tutorial exercises offer a real-world opportunity to see how tested web pages work and how to implement advanced functions. A top pick.

Teaching Web Search Skills
Greg R. Notess
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
1573872679 $29.50 www.informationtoday.com

If you're teaching web searching techniques, you shouldn't be without this book – and if you're a web searcher seeking the best approaches, run don't walk to the shelves which hold TEACHING WEB SEARCH SKILLS: TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES OF TOP TRAINERS. Here are tips from the best Internet searchers, going beyond the usual basics on how to conduct a basic search and probing the methods that narrow results and get the best results. From image searches and usenet to understanding search engine pros and cons and overcoming these limitations, teachers in particular and searchers in general receive many specifics.

Collada
Remi Arnaud & Mark C Barnes
AK Peters Ltd
888 Worcester Street #230, Wellesley, MA 02482
1568812876 $49.00 www.akpeters.com

COLLADA: SAILING THE GULF OF 3D DIGITAL CONTENT CREATION is for any game developer beyond the novice stage: it discusses the pros, cons, applications and future of a bold new technology for creating games, and comes from a joint industry effort focusing on effective 3D interaction in game developments. The Collada initiative surveys the history and especially the applications of the 3D industry tool, offering up a basic guide to the Collada 1.4 specifications and reviewing foundation concepts, tools, and applications and design. It's simply a 'must' for any serious game developer.

Real-Time Volume Graphics
Klaus Engel, et.al.
AK Peters Ltd
888 Worcester Sreet #230, Wellesley, MA 02482
1568812663 $64.00 www.akpeters.com

Any developer who would work with volume graphics needs this basic text, which provides an introduction to texture-based volume rendering methods, techniques, and optimization routines. Even code examples are included within the examples and technical discussions of generating images from 3D scalar data. It's an advanced computer and game developer's primer important for any comprehensive collection.

PHP Cookbook
David Sklar & Adam Trachtenberg
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol CA 95472
0596101015 $44.99 www.oreilly.com

Web developers might already know PHP, but this updated second edition of a classic still remains an important desk reference to solving common problems and coding obstacles. PHP is used on millions of web sites today, so its depth and applications hold many possibilities for confusion as well as opportunities for optimization choices. PHP COOKBOOK covers all angles, from processing XML and obtaining solutions to common applications problems to working with JavaScript interactions. Any professional PHP user needs this.

Implementing Lean Software Development
Mary & Tom Poppendieck
Addison-Wesley
75 Arlington Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116
0321437381 $39.99 www.awprofessional.com 1-800-428-5331

Software engineers and any interested in agile software development will appreciate this gathering of lean principles and techniques which shows how to develop and implement Lean software development through a series of applied lessons. A highly recommended addition to personal and professional computer reference collections, here are surveys of agile practices, tips on driving quality through discipline and feedback, examples on how to write less code, and more.

Design for Trustworthy Software
Bijay K. Jayaswal & Peter Patton
Prentice Hall Press
c/o Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
0131872508 $64.99 www.prenhallprofessional.com

College-level students of quality assurance will welcome this integrated approach to software quality issues, which tells how to prevent bugs in implementation rather than discovering them after. Case examples of DFTS technology include FMEA, QFD and more, and provide a blend of theory, applications, and exercises designed to test student knowledge. Classrooms in particular will find it excellent. Its authors are a CEO of a quality assurance company and a chairman of a consulting group, and professor.

Google Hacks
Rael Dornfest, et.al.
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472
0596527063 $24.99 www.oreilly.com

Almost anyone who uses a computer knows that Google is a superior search engine – but do you know it also offers ways to organize and manipulate that information? The updated third edition of GOOGLE HACKS: TIPS & TOOLS FOR FINDING AND USING THE WORLD'S INFORMATION tells how, with chapters covering not just search techniques or advanced search strategies, but what to do with the information once it's found. From building a customized Google map for your web site to handling RSS feeds, news listings, blogs, and even using Gmail as an external hard drive, GOOGLE HACKS comes packed with usage tips not to be found elsewhere.

Ruby on Rails
Bruce A. Tate & Curt Hibbs
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472
0596101325 $29.99 www.oreilly.com

RUBY ON RAILS: UP AND RUNNING covers all the specs for building applications that are geared to real-world needs, from using templates to develop HTML views to modeling relationships between tables in a database and using Ruby's Test: Unit framework to test applications. Web developers will find this a simple yet specific guide to Ruby's strengths.

The History Highway, 4th edition
Dennis Trinkle & Scott Merriman, Eds
ME Sharpe
80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, NY 10504
0765616319 $39.95 www.mesharpe.com

This updated, revised 4th edition provides high school and college-level students with an updated, modern guide to the latest Internet resources, revising the history sites on the Net and including an expanded, updated cd-rom to cover the latest details on over 3,000 web sites, US, European and World history, and more. What makes this more valuable than just surfing for the same information is the doublecheck of each site by experts in their fields to assure high quality of materials and presentation. Ten new chapters here also handle environmental and business history, immigration and oral history, and futurism. And these are more than just web addresses: each comes with a synopsis of what's covered, making it possible to be specific in searches – and saving lots of time in the process.

Hacking Web Services
Sheeraj Shah
Charles River/Thomson
25 Thomson Place, Boston, MA 02210
1584504803 $49.95 www.charlesriver.com

The development of web services is growing, along with security issues relating to web sites and their management – and HACKING WEB SERVICES is a recommended pick for any concerned with ongoing security issues. Intermediate to advanced security pros and developers receive a detailed look at the foundations and tools for web services security, from the evolution and historical background of their development to using the latest open source tools and techniques. From common vulnerabilities and built-in problems to handling commercial loss, HACKING WEB SERVICES also includes a cd-rom for maximum detail.

Working Smart in Adobe Photoshop CS2
Conrad Chavez
Adobe Press
1249 – 8th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
0321335392 $39.99 www.adobepress.com

Photoshop offers up many tools designed to save users time and effort, including keyboard shortcuts – and its latest CS2 version offers even more customization options. That's why you need Working Smart in Adobe Photoshop CS2 on hand to take advantage of the latest and best options: it covers everything from configuring hardware to using the software's advanced layer options, tools, and templates. It covers all the basics of streamlining and producing shortcuts for common tasks – and tells how to work more efficiently with Photoshop's many powerful options.

Santa Shops on eBay
Marsha Collier
Wiley Publishing
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
0470047089 $16.99 www.wiley.com

Marsha Collier is a recognized authority on eBay business, putting her daughter through college on profits form her ebay business and giving seminars on the topic, and her SANTA SHOPS ON EBAY: HOW TO FIND DEALS, GET ORGANIZED, AND GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF TIME is a timely 'must' for any who would shop safely, target searches, and uncover the best shopping sites. Chapters cover everything from understanding values and making wise decisions on spending to checking current prices. Sidebars of special tips supplement item-specific chapters on electronics, food, and more.

Project Management with The IBM Rational Unified Process
R. Dennis Gibbs
IBM Press
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
0321336399 $39.99 www.ibmpressbooks.com

Any computer user contemplating managing software projects with the IBM Rational Unified Process must have Project Management with The IBM Rational Unified Process: it comes from an author with plenty of background in the system and reviews the program through the entire development cycle, from initial planning to final regular maintenance. Don't think projects have to be large to use this, either: small and medium-sized projects will benefit, as well. All the instructions needed to understand the basics and progressive steps are included, here.

Ubuntu Linux for Non-Geeks
Rickford Grant
No Starch Press
555 DeHaro #250, San Francisco CA 94107
1593271182 $34.95 www.nostarch.com

Ubuntu provides an African-based user-friendly name paired with a user-friendly system for any who want to use Linux but have been foiled by its complexities, before. Pair Ubuntu Linux with an author who is dedicated to teaching this easy Linux version through a series of step-by-step projects geared to real-world applications and you have a fine survey which reviews applications not for the usual advanced computer user, but for neophytes who own a home PC and want to learn how to install free applications, connect to the Internet, and watch DVDs, among other popular tasks. A refreshing, welcome change from the developer-oriented complex Linux guides on the market.

Beginning SharePoint With Excel
Gini Courter & Annette Marquis
Apress
2560 - 9th St. #219, Berkeley, CA 94710
1590596900 $39.99 www.apress.com

Excel users who want to work with SharePoint's special features will find Beginning SharePoint
With Excel the perfect starting point: it's the first to focus exclusively on SharePoint and how it interacts with Excel, and one of the few to use real-world business problems and applications as examples. Chapters use charts, gray sidebars of details, and scales along with assigned 'projects' as examples to get users accustomed to SharePoint's strengths.

Agile Principles, Patterns And Practices in C#
Robert C. Martin & Micah Martin
Prentice Hall
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0131857258 $59.99 www.prenhallprofessional.com/martinseries

Advanced developers will benefit from a book which packs in case studies to illustrate C# development and design routines, and will also appreciate the smooth move from UML models to C# code, which flow between initial logic and explanation to actual applications and upward migrations of skills levels. C# as well as Visual Basic or Java programmers will find the progressive, technical lessons and applications an important key to understanding the foundations of agile software principles and shared strengths.

Peachpit/New Rider Press
1249 – 8th Street, Berkeley CA 94710
www.peachpit.com www.newriders.com

Both beginners and more advanced users will find plenty to applaud with these excellent new titles. David Reynolds' VISUAL QUICKSTART GUIDE: .MAC WITH IWEB, 2ND EDITION (0321442288, $21.99) teaches .Mac using a picture-oriented visual approach. This means sample screen shots on nearly every page in black and white to accompany a progressive step-by-step lesson plan on .Mac which can serve equally well as an introduction and as a refresher course. Dave Cross' PHOTOSHOP FINISHING TOUCHES (0321441664, $39.99) doesn't cover the basics of producing pro-quality images - that's already much covered in competing titles – but focuses on the finishing touches which range from frames and artistic additions to lighting and color adjustments and background enhancements. Learn how to use special effects in an easy manner with a title which offers up a visual table of contents, examples in full color which also explore elements of black and white tweaking and interactions with color photos, extracting and creating unusual borders, and more. Dan Saffer's DESIGNING FOR INTERACTION: CREATING SMART APPLICATIONS AND CLEVER DEVICES (0321432061, $40.00) covers the history, theory and application of 'interaction design': finding applications and designs which work harmoniously with products and services. So what does this have to do with computers? Interaction design blends applied art with computer savvy to show how both work together to provide solid practices, laws and rules which translate to superior design choices. Chapters survey digital icons, interactive prototypes, seamless faceless interfaces and more. Simply outstanding, coming from a webmaster and interactive media expert.

Javascript: The Definitive Guide
David Flanagan
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472
0596101996 $49.99 www.oreilly.com

The fifth edition of JAVASCRIPT: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE has been completely revised and expanded to cover the Web 2.0 applications, yet retains the same attention to real-life problem solving which made the preceding editions so popular. Here are chapters on how to understand and modify the scripting used by web browsers, tips on developing client shortcuts for streamlining operations, and a section of core reference documents for all aspects of Javascript 1.5 and ECMAScript version 3. An outstanding reference.

Ajax user guides
Prentice-Hall
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.prenticehallprofessional.com

Two fine Ajax user guides will delight programmers interested in the foundations of a powerful program which can create superior web pages. AJAX: CREATING WEB PAGES WITH ASYNCHRONOUS JAVASCRIPT AND XML by Edmond Woychowsky (0132272679, $44.99) is for web programmers who want to make the most of Ajax's processing powers. From understanding and using back-end code to developing Ajax libraries for code re-use and reference and linking elements with attributes and descriptions, here's an easily-understood, basic guide to not just Ajax, but other open source technologies and how they interact, from Firefox to MySQL. Joshua Eichorn's UNDERSTANDING AJAX: USING JAVASCRIPT TO CREATE RICH INTERNET APPLICATIONS (0132216353, $39.99) comes form a teacher of code and provides web programmers with advanced Ajax applications using XSLT, JSON, and more. Here are custom solutions advanced Ajax users will appreciate, coming form an author with over six years' experience maintaining Ajax systems and libraries. From using AJAX information libraries to building a trouble ticket system, here are all the basics and reference details advanced users will appreciate.

USB Mass Storage
Jan Axelson
Lakeview Research
5310 Chinook Lane, Madison, WI 43704
1931448043 $29.95 www.lvr.com

Learn how to design devices with embedded hosts and share information with USB hosts with USB Mass Storage: Designing and Programming Devices and Embedded Hosts. From handling commands and data errors to interface specs, manipulating FAT file systems, and more, USB MASS STORAGE provides project managers and developers with all the basics on using industry standard commands, controllers, and ports.

Deliver First Class Web Sites
Shirley Kaiser
Sitepoint
424 Smith Street Collingwood, VIC Australia 3066
0975841904 $39.95 www.sitepoint.com

Learn how to tailor high-quality web sites through others' experiences with Deliver First Class Web Sites, a collection of 'best practice' insights from not just the author's own design background, but from other notables in the field. Checklists for design, usability, accessibility and more touch upon all the common flaws of website design and how to overcome them, offering 101 checklists for circumventing common problems.


The Military Shelf

The Castro Obsession
Don Bohning
Potomac Books
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166-2012
1574886762 $19.95 www.potomacbooksinc.com

THE CASTRO OBSESSION: U.S. COVERT OPERATIONS AGAINST CUBA, 1959-1965 covers a range of actions which constituted a secret war against Castro at the height of the Cold War. No small measure, it was one of the most sustained, expensive and useless military campaigns in history – and chapters coming from the research of a former Latin American editor for the Miami Herald document the efforts, which go beyond most newspaper reports. A shocking, intriguing expose.

Breeding Bin Ladens
Zachary Shore
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
0801885051 $25.00 www.press.jhu.edu

BREEDING BIN LADENS: AMERICA, ISLAM AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE covers the heart of terrorist activity: in the communities which foster and harbor Muslim militants: Europe itself. Here is associate professor Zachary Shore's argument that the growing ambivalence of Europe's Muslim community poses risks to international security and national alliances, and that Europe's failure to integrate its Muslim communities are leading to breeding grounds for terrorist activities. Interviews with Muslims living across Europe document the problems and outline possible solutions.

Why Secret Intelligence Fails
Michael A. Turner
Potomac Books
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
1574888919 $18.95 www.potomacbooksinc.com

Yes, this title's been in print before, and here appears in a newly revised edition to revisit the many problems that continue to plague U.S. intelligence efforts. In the aftermath of 9/11 Why Secret Intelligence Fails is even more important to consider: it pinpoints problems in intelligence routines and information analysis and its chapters on analytic snafus and changing intelligence focus and priorities are particularly revealing.

Ghosts of War
Jeff Belanger
New Page Books
Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
1564148890 $14.99 www.newpagebooks.com

Ghosts of War: Restless Spirits of Soldiers, Spies, and Saboteurs could have been featured in our New Age section but is covered here for its interest to any involved in military history and spirituality. Wartime history is revealed through modern-day legends and ghost sightings, run through the filter of historical fact. Its survey of lingering impressions at battle sites, military fortifications, and even relics should not be missed.

Twice Armed
R. Alan King
Zenith/MBI Publishing
380 Jackson Street #200, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760323860 $24.95 www.zenithpress.com

TWICE ARMED: AN AMERICAN SOLDIER'S BATTLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS IN IRAQ is for any American reader who would understand, from an insider's perspective, the magnitude of the military and social fighting taking place in modern Iraq. Author King is a war fighter and soldier who negotiated with numerous sheiks and clerics, earning their trust. He captured or accepted the surrender of nearly a dozen of the most-wanted Iraqi personalities from Saddam's regime, and yet was willing to practice the customs of the region so he could gain the people's trust. A riveting story evolves of his years of duty.

God's Terrorists
Charles Allen
Da Capo Press/Perseus
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
0306815222 $26.95 www.dacapopress.com

GOD'S TERRORISTS: THE WAHHABI CULT NAD THE HIDDEN ROOTS OF MODERN JIHAD provides a history of the reform movement of al-Wahhab and his followers, who in the 18th century sought to restore Islamic purity. So what does this early history of the Wahhabi sect hold in meaning for modern readers? Plenty: it follows a sect that spread throughout the region and whose concepts today form the foundation for modern extremists. His history isn't filled with solutions, but it is filled with understanding of past events, key to understanding modern jihad.

The American Aircraft Factory in World War II
Bill Yenne
Zenith Press/MBI
380 Jackson #200, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760323003 $40.00 www.mbipublishing.com

There are plenty of visual treatments of the battles of World War II, but relatively few covering the underlying military support systems at home. The American Aircraft Factory in World War II fills this gap, covering the history, work, and production efforts of military aircraft factories across the country that contributed greatly to the success of soldiers. This was a major manufacturing shift which changed the business and military face of America: chapters document the production of fighters by manufacturers using new and converted factories alike, and even pack in fifty unusual color photos new to print, here. An eye-catching, outstanding production results.

The History of Browning Firearms
David Miller
Lyons Press
Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
159228910X $24.95 www.LyonsPress.com

The History of Browning Firearms uses a visual approach to capture the history of one John Browning's contributions to gunsmithing – and shows that Browning's efforts, important as they were, reflected a strong family interest in gunsmithing innovation. Chapters tell how Browning inherited the family business and patented unique productions that were to change the design and manufacture of guns decades later. From a general company history to surveys of special innovations, any gun owner must have this.

The Dunces of Doomsday
Paul L. Williams
WND Books/Cumberland House
431 Harding Industrial Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
1581825293 $24.95 www.wndbooks.com

THE DUNCES OF DOOMSDAY: 10 BLUNDERS THAT GAVE RISE TO RADICAL ISLAM, TERRORIST REGIMES AND THE THREAT OF AN AMERICAN HIROSHIMA is no general treasure but hones in on ten major errors which have left security holes in the United States. Former FBI consultant Williams documents the history of these blunders, including the underlying belief that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and provides keys to how to cap the dangers – if we act quickly enough.

Purdue University Press
509 Harrison St./SCCE, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2025
1557534187 $34.95 www.purdueuniversitypress.com

Joining the 'Advanced in Homeland Security' college-level set is Sandra F. Amass 's Volume 1, The Science of Homeland Security, which will serve as the perfect introduction to college-level courses discussing communication strategies, physical security, strategy modeling techniques, technical elements of risk and likelihood. Anticipate essays that include statistical formulas and references, in-depth analysis of risk factors and responses, and scientific analysis of bioterrorist threats and more. Volume 2, GUIDING FUTURE HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY: DIRECTIONS FOR SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY (1557534187) is just as detailed and scientific, analyzing the future of homeland security directions based on scientific logic and probable directions. Both are essential for any college-level analysis of homeland security issues.

Counterterrorism Strategies
Yonah Alexander
Potomac Books
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166-2012
1597970182 $48.00 www.potomacbooksinc.com

Counterterrorism Strategies: Successes and Failure of Six Nations is more than another focus on 9/11: it embraces a broad sweep of counterterrorism issues and measures around the world, with contributors answering four major questions of different country perceptions of the threat, different governmental actions and policies, and counterterrorism performance records of individual nations. The result culls down a series of 'best of' practices and provides the keys to influences on their development and progress. A 'must' for any college-level military or social history holding.

Osprey Publishing
443 Park Avenue South #806, New York, NY 10016
www.ospreypublishing.com

Darren Fa & Clive Finlayson's THE FORTIFICATIONS OF GIBRALTER 1068-1945 (1846030161, $16.95) offers up one of the most extensive histories of fortifications we've seen. Why Gibralter? Because its fortifications cover some ten centuries of history, and offers the most extensive museum archives and holdings of records to survey in depth. Steven J. Zaloga's GERMAN PANZERS; 1914-18 (1841769452, $15.95) covers the German Army's active tank program of the first war – a program which overcame design flaws and strategy issues to battle directly with British tanks. An outstanding survey of struggles and technology results in this analysis. Clayton K.S. Chun's DEFENDING SPACE: US ANTI-SATELLITE WARFARE AND SPACE WEAPONRY (1846030390, $16.95) explores the design and development of US military space systems past and present, covering everything from early warning devices and delivery systems to prediction tools and targeting systems. It's an intriguing survey of space weaponry development and history key to any understanding of modern military systems. Greg VanWyngarden's EARLY GERMAN ACES OF WORLD WAR 1 (1841769975, $20.95) joins others in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series, offering a comprehensive history of the early German fighters of the Fokker Eindecker monoplane and the legendary aces who flew it. These early fighters created some of the first tactics of the German aviation division, and their strategies and battle contributions receive in-depth analysis, here. John Weal's JAGDGESCHWADER 51 'MOLDERS' (1846030455, $22.95) offers up a combat history of a renowned fighter and bomber unit which has, surprisingly, not had detailed historical coverage before. From the early pilots and their tactics to the planes themselves, JAGDGESCHWADER 51 'MOLDERS' fills in the depth and detail needed for any thorough coverage of military aviation history. All are top picks for specialized military holdings.

Helion & Company Ltd.
26 Willow Road, Solihull, W. Midlands UK B91 1UE
www.helion.co.uk www.amazon.com

Evgeniy Mariinskiy's RED STAR AIRACOBRA: MEMOIRS OF A SOVIET FIGHTER ACE 1941-45 (1874622787, $49.95) tells of a Soviet air fighter ace and hero who shot down twenty enemy plains during world War II – and was himself shot down not once, but several times. His memoir provides an soldier's eye view of the Eastern Front, surveying the fighting forces and tactics of the Red Army and providing a 'you are there' set of battle experiences. His first-hand experiences and accounts of battle engagements provide enlightening details on what it meant to participate in Soviet battle. Alexander V. Pyl'cyn's PENALTY STRIKE: THE MEMOIRS OF A RED ARMY PENAL COMPANY COMMANDER, 1943-45 (1874622639, $49.95) is also essential reading for any who would understand the WW2 experience from the Soviet participant's viewpoint: again a participant's vivid memories are plumbed: this time from a company commander's viewpoint. The author and his unit participated in the 1944 soviet summer offensive program and the final assault on Berlin: his accounts of penal companies and battalions offer vivid insights into the foundations of a penal battalion's operations. Both are essential for any researching the Soviet military experience during the second world war.

Collateral Damage
Paul R. Kimmel & Chris Stout, Eds
Praeger
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0275988260 www.praeger.com

COLLATERAL DAMAGE: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF AMERICA'S WAR ON TERRORISM goes beyond other books which focus on terrorist tactics to consider the long-term psychological impact of terrorism on this country. From the increased stereotyping of and prejudice against foreigners in general and Arabs in particular to increases in domestic hate crimes and depression, militancy and anger, COLLATERAL DAMAGE examines national reactions to terrorism as a whole and is essential for any in-depth college-level military or social science collection.

Flashback
Penny Coleman
Beacon Press
25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108-2892
0807050407 $23.95 www.beacon.org

FLASHBACK: POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, SUICIDE, AND THE LESSONS OF WAR comes from the author's own experience of marrying a young Vietnam vet who eventually killed himself. He suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder that at the time was little known: while today it's better known, Coleman here has made it her personal mission to portray techniques for battling the disorder, turning a research project into a series of applied strategies essential for any military family. Case histories of other experiences blend with damning evidence of the government's failure to properly respond to and treat the disorder.

Greenhill Books/MBI Publishing
380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
www.greenhillbooks.com

August Kubizek's THE YOUNG HITLER I KNEW (1853676942, $29.95) is an extraordinary memoir by a man who actually met Hitler in 1904 while they were both competing for a space at the opera. Their mutual passion for music created a friendship, and a roommate situation – and lends a personal and unique eye to explaining Hitler's character at the time. Most biographies begin with Hitler's rise to power: THE YOUNG HITLER I KNEW is a 'must' for any who would delve into the roots of his personality. Peter G. Tsouras edits HITLER TRIUMPHANT: ALTERNATE DECISIONS OF WORLD WAR II (1853676993, $29.95) provides another alternate history 'what if' collection of scenarios, this using Hitler's decisions and key changing points during the war to provide a more scholarly survey of how different circumstances could have altered the outcomes and given Hitler victory. Most such coverages come from a science fiction viewpoint – but here the analysis of battle strategy and military might makes for a top pick for military readers seeking more than fantasy speculation.

Imaginary Weapons
Sharon Weinberger
Nation Books
245 West 17th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011
1560258497 $26.00 www.avalonpub.com

Susan Weinberger is a defense journalist and first heard about isomer weapons at a casual defense briefing in Washington – a device no bigger than a hand grenade with the punch of a nuclear weapon. Her investigation into one lone device led to insights on everything from weapons development strategies to particular weapon concepts in the works in IMAGINARY WEAPONS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE PENTAGON'S SCIENTIFIC UNDERWORLD. Most are considered 'fringe science' possibilities now – but the government's embracing of such concepts holds vast military applications and promises many changes, so IMAGINARY WEAPONS is more than idea alone.

Iwo Jima
Eric Hammel
Zenith Press/MBI Publishing
380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760325200 $40.00 www.zenithbooks.com

Plenty of books have been written on one of the bloodiest wars Americans have ever encountered, but none hold the visual impact of IWO JIMA, which pairs vintage black and white photos with a 'you are there' history of events during the battle, during which hundreds of rockets and bombs hit virtually any spot on the island. Eric Hammel is a military historian who has collected many previously unpublished photos of Marines in action and combat: IWO JIMA is a historically significant, major release and a 'must' for any serious military collection.

Strike Beyond Top Gun
Rick Llinares
Zenith Press/MBI Publishing
380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760325251 $34.95 www.zenithbooks.com

In 1996 the U.S. military moved its Top Gun Navy weapons school to Fallan, joining others in a new command center to help create a top-notch air combat training school backed by all military branches. Strike Beyond Top Gun traces the history of the NSAWC, from early combat operations to the idea of creating the Top Gun school. Various missions, changing fighter model choices, and academy training routines are presented along with gorgeous full-color photos on every page of planes against scenic backdrops. The blend of military and aircraft history is detailed and will even attract more general-interest audiences.

82nd Airborne Division
Dominique Francois
Heimdal
2840482150 $65.00 www.editions-heimdal.fr www.amazon.com

Casual readers might wonder at an entire book devoted to one division of the military – but the 82nd consisted of particularly notable, courageous parachute jumpers whose contributions to battle made their names famous, and thus 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION: 1917-2005's history chronicles some of the most known names in U.S. air battle history. Intended as a memorial album as well as a history, 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION backs in hundreds of vintage black and white photos and captures ceremonies of honor, parachutists in the field, battles, and memorials alike. A 'must' for any in-depth U.S. military history holding.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Never Despair
Gerhart M. Riegner
Ivan R. Dee
1332 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2694
1566636965 $35.00 www.ivanrdee.com

In 194 a counsel in the Geneva office of the World Jewish Congress sent the first notice of the 'Final Solution' affecting Jewish peoples in Europe – it was known as the Riegner Telegram and while it was a pivotal point in his career, it by far wasn't the only memorable point in his life. This biography surveys the life of a middle-class Jewish family in Germany and tells how Riegner fled Hitler's rise and worked for the World Jewish Congress all his life thereafter, sponsoring many key programs. Any interested in Jewish history in general will find NEVER DESPAIR: SIXTY YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE NAD THE CAUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS to be essential reading.

Hebrew Illuminations
Adam Rhine
Sounds True
Box 8010, Boulder, CO 80306-8010
1591793459 $29.95 www.soundstrue.com

Adam Rhine's Judaic art can be found on many mediums; from calendars and cards to magazine covers and commercial products. HEBREW ILLUMINATIONS is the first place to bring his diverse portfolio together in one place, providing over forty images in full color. Each full-page color image is accompanied by a facing page containing history, Judaic cultural insights, and the artist's own reflections on sources of inspiration and his personal life. Any interested in Judaic art in general and Rhine's works in particular must have this!

Questions Christians Ask the Rabbi
Rabbi Ron Isaacs
KTAV Publishing
930 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306
0881259241 $22.95 www.ktav.com

Why do Jews believe in Heaven and Hell, what are the origins of the Sukkot festival, and who was the last Jewish prophet? Use these and other questions to better understand Jewish sentiments and history in an easier format than most with Questions Christians Ask the Rabbi, which serves as a bridge between two faiths and outlines clearly differences and similarities.


The Art Shelf

After Lewis & Clark
Gary Allen Hood
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
0806199598 $24.95 www.oupress.com

AFTER LEWIS & CLARK: THE FORCES OF CHANGE, 1806-1871 may look like another history coverage, but it's much more: it features over sixty drawings, paintings and prints from the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma, and the works of artists who accompanied the explorers to capture history in the making. Early landscapes, pivotal moments, and the works of notable American artists are presented in full color to display forts, Native Americans, and countryside alike.

The Best American Comics
Harvey Pekar, Guest Ed
Houghton Mifflin
215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
0618718745 $22.00 www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

While The Best American Comics represents the newest addition to a best-selling 'best' series, it's a fine pick for any interested in all kinds of comics, whether they be newspaper, magazine, or pamphlets, and stands well alone for all kinds of readers. Harvey Pekar, guest editor, has written graphic novels and created an Oscar-nominated film, while the series editor Anne Elizabeth Moore has numerous editing awards to her name. Black and white and color comics alike are profiled from all kinds of artistic sources.

Tiffany By Design
Nina Gray
Schiffer
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764324845 $19.95 www.schifferbooks.com

Eight color photos do more than display Tiffany lamps, as other titles do: they have been polled from thousands of lamps with hundreds of designs to show the differences in shade patterns and complexity. A lovely display of colors and patterns is accompanied by clear description and artistic and collector value insights. "Tiffany By Design" is an outstanding reference and a welcome addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library Antiques & Collectibles reference collections.

Pen & Ink With Watercolor
George Olson
North Light Books/F&W Publications
4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
1581807546 $19.99 www.fwpubs.com

Learn how to draw using a crow quill pen and India ink, and through the instruction of an artist who shows not just pen and ink techniques, but how to enhance these with watercolor. Most books on the topic provide an overview of a daunting array of artists' tools; but this uses a minimum of specialized equipment and offers up an easy program for getting started in inking and watercolor. Exercises teach the basics and provide twelve step-by-step illustrated demonstrations covering landscapes, interiors, nature and architecture alike.

The Best of Draw! V. 2
Bret Blevins, et.al.
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
1893905586 $17.95 www.twomorrows.com

If you missed the sold-out issues to DRAW! Numbers 3 and 4, now's your chance to scoop up the highlights in the collection of lessons in The Best of Draw! V. 2. It provides tutorials and interviews with some of the top names in graphic art, covering everything from penciling and inking techniques to composing action figures and coloring. Black and white and color examples throughout enhance and reinforce the lessons.

Selling Art 101
Robert Regis Dvorak
ArtNetwork
Box 1360, Nevada City, CA 95959
0940899868 $22.95 www.artmarketing.com

SELLING ART 101: THE ART OF CREATIVE SELLING deserves ongoing recommendation as one of the few art marketing titles to cover all the details needed to sell art. What differentiates this from other 'how to sell titles'? Chapters cover studio selling, topics specific to appealing to art buyers, taking notes during conversations discussing needs, and more, offering sidebars of first-person insights to supplement art-specific selling ideas.

Celebrating Freedom: The Art of Willie Birch
David S. Reubin & Leslie King-Hammond
Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254-9911
1555952658 $50.00 www.hudsonhills.com

Willie Birch has captured the New Orleans atmosphere through his art since 1997, documenting the Afro-American culture with large drawings that capture people, culture, dress codes and everyday habits. This monograph features his works in full color, offering a full page for each picture and adding commentary as well as an interview with the artist. The works are from 1968-2004 and accompany a traveling exhibition – but since the show probably won't reach many, this catalog offers up the next best thing: a rich compendium of images representative of Birch's style.

Soviet Textiles: Designing The Modern Utopia
Pamela Jill Kachurin
MFA Publications
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115-5597
0878467033 $24.95 www.mfa.org

Between 1927 and 1933 a rare experiment in textile making took place in the Soviet Union, with political changes encouraging a group of designers to create thematic textile designs which mass-produced symbols of modernity for the average person -– symbols intended to encourage the ideal soviet citizen idea. While the experiment failed, the artistic results of the idea linger in bold and different designs now chronicled in SOVIET TEXTILES. Color photos of textiles accompany social, political and artistic history.

Media Facades
Ag4 Mediatecture Company
DAAB
7 E. 14 St. Suite 17-Z, New York, NY 10003
3937718974 $29.95 www.daab-online.com

How can media faηade concepts translate to LEDs and be useful for business art purposes? MEDIA FACADES delves into the topic, providing both a technical and social survey of media facades and backing the printed word with a cd of pictures and movies of media facades. From interactive and reactive programming choices to examples of architectural strengths, this bilingual (no English) survey provides an excellent introduction for college-level students.

Drawing & Painting Fantasy Landscapes & Cityscapes
Rob Alexander
Barron's
250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788
0764132601 $21.99 www.barronseduc.com

Fantasy enthusiasts and artists who would create their own cities and worlds will learn much from Rob Alexander, a working illustrator who has moved between games and collectible card game markets to magazine art. He's known for his fantasy and science fiction works as well as for landscapes and fine art, and Drawing & Painting Fantasy Landscapes & Cityscapes combines all his talents, packing in color examples throughout to help with fine drawings of fine art works. An outstanding 'how to' guide any aspiring fantasy artist can learn from.

Green Design
Buzz Poole, Editor
Mark Batty, Publisher
202 W. 40th, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018-1504
0976224585 $34.95 www.markbattypublisher.com

Recycled art and green games, toys, fabrics, energy and more are revealed in a range of images and ideas gracing GREEN DESIGN, a survey which crosses categories and could be recommended not just for those involved in the arts, but for consumers and energy-conscious homeowners as well. Here are designs which promote and teach sustainability in all areas: designs which candidly assess common problems of 'green' design and in many cases offer solutions. Color photos of products accompany explanations of what makes them 'greener' than their competitors.

Alaska Native Art
Susan W. Fair
University of Alaska Press
Box 856240, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240
1889963798 $65.00 www.uaf.edu

ALASKA NATIVE ART: TRADITION, INNOVATION, CONTINUITY examines and presents the best of Native Alaska artists of modern times, covering beadwork and jewelry, basketry, and skin sewing examples from a range of Alaskan Native cultures and traditions. Color photos of both artists and works accompany rich discussions that survey not just techniques but cultural history and artist perspective, making ALASKA NATIVE ART one of the best on its topic.

Art Nouveau Ironwork
Federico Santi & John Gacher
Schiffer Publishing
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310-9717
0764324365 $49.95 www.schifferbooks.com

ART NOUVEAU IRONWORK OF AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY uses some five hundred color photos to capture the rich examples of Art Nouveau ironwork to be found in an array of business and residential districts throughout Budapest and Vienna. These display balconies, lanterns, gates, doorways and more, providing not only artistic color shots but explaining the details, decorations, and embellishments of the ironwork objects. An excellent history and an outstanding survey of ironwork art covers a region given little attention elsewhere.

My Love Affair With Modern Art
Katharine Kuh
Avis Berman, Editor
Arcade Publishing
141 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010
1559707690 $27.50 www.arcadepub.com

In the 1930s interest in modern art was low – but Katharine Kuh opened a gallery in Chicago anyway, exhibiting many then-obscure artists form Paul Klee to Ansel Adams and Marc Chagall. Her passion for modern art fostered their careers and led to a world-wide revitalization of interest, documented here in a blend of modern art history and autobiography. Her friend Avis Berman, a art historian, edited her writings for this book after Kuh's death: it provides a moving memoir of a life in the art world at a time when her artists' visionary works weren't widely recognized.

The Painted Desert
Scott Thybony
University of Arizona Press
355 S. Euclid Avenue #103, Tucson, AZ 85719
0816524807 $14.95 www.uapress.arizona.edu

Arizona's Painted Desert area is not only overlooked by most tourists because of its inhospitable terrain and difficulty of access, but has received relatively little mention – so any who would understand the region must have THE PAINTED DESERT: LAND OF WIND AND STONE in their collection. Black and white photos of the landscape by David Edwards accompany a first-person survey of the author and photographer's encounters in the area.

Indian Painting
Joan Cummins
MFA Publications
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115
0878467041 $50.00 www.mfapublications.org

Over a hundred examples of Indian painting history and styles, in full color, grace the pages of INDIAN PAINTING FROM CAVE TEMPLES TO THE COLONIAL PERIOD, a far-reaching survey of illustrations selected for their ability to reach the non-artist, non-Indian-specialist viewer. A history of Indian painting styles and trends covers scriptures, music-inspired images, and historical renditions while full-page color selections liberally dose almost every page. Over a hundred works from the MFA's holdings make for an exceptional presentation.

Explorations Along an Imaginary Coastline
Martha Casanave
Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254-9911
155595278X www.hudsonhills.com

Martha Casanave had always been an indoor photographer before this book, living on the central California coast among landscape photographer friends and colleagues. She shot indoor portraits of friends and people – until six years ago she was invited to take her camera to the ocean, beginning a long-term love affair with the coastline, here reflected in a series of black and white photos. The full-page black and white studies capture artistic elements of the coastline and are a pick for any college-level art collection strong in landscape works.

Prestel
900 Broadway #603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com

Ruth Hanisch's ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! ARCHITECTURE AND FASHION (3791335219) draws designers and architects under one cover to survey their influences on retail merchandising. Fashion stores are the focus here, with pages of interior color photos accompanied by essays delving into the new functions – and new display requirements – of modern buildings, which often houses fashion showroom, haute couture salon, and design studios alike. Fashion manufacturing can be dirty and need special surroundings, too: fashion's varying and changing needs are the focus. Oliver Herwig and Florian Helzherr's DREAM WORLDS: ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT (3791332201) offers up the concept of architecture as entertainment within itself, surveying a history of such architectural entertainments from ancient Rome to future visions. From entertainment-housing structures and malls to entire entertainment cities such as Las Vegas, chapters cover resorts, theme parks, amusement centers and more.

The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe
Michael W. Fazio & Patrick A. Snadon
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
0801881048 $75.00 www.press.jhu.edu

College-level architectural collections serious about their in-depth coverage will want to look at the weighty The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. It catalogs all of Latrobe's domestic commissions from interiors to exteriors, and even includes analysis of his training and career in both England and Europe, his design principles, and his methods. Analytical essays accompany sketches and vintage black and white photos, surveying changes in his thinking and approach, considering his contemporaries and influences, and examining the preservation of his structures. A comprehensive 'must' for any serious college-level architectural history holding.


The Native American Shelf

Social Life in Northwest Alaska
Ernest S. Burch, Jr.
University of Alaska Press
Box 756240, Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240
188996378X $65.00 www.uaf.edu/uspress

Any college-level collection strong in Alaskan cultural insights must have Social Life in Northwest Alaska: The Structure of Inupiaq Eskimo Nations. It provides the third, completing volume in a series on the early contact period Inupiaq Eskimos of the region, and covers virtually every subject of importance to anthropological research of a hunter-gatherer society. Chapters survey economics, roles, politics and more and provide plenty of depth and detail in a remarkable survey.

Migrations
Marjorie Devon, Editor
University of New Mexico Press
MSC04 2820, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
0826337694 $24.95 www.unmpress.com

MIGRATIONS: NEW DIRECTIONS IN NATIVE AMERICAN ART provides a selection of pieces by six new emerging Native American artists featured in a 2002 Migrations exhibition, with essays by three scholars exploring the evolution and history of the field as a whole. Many titles focus on prior representations of Native lives: too few on the new Native artists and their explorations, so Migrations is both an essential exhibit and stands well alone as an important survey.

Native American Fetishes, 2nd Edition
Kay Whittle
Schiffer
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764325167 $14.95 www.schifferbooks.com

What makes a Native American fetish a fetish – or not? What is the history of such guardian tokens? Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Native American Fetishes, isn't just for collectors of such: it's for any enthusiast of Native American history and culture, exploring the fetishes carved by artists from the Southwest Pueblos and linking pictures and text to cover not just collector's items, but the cultural and artistic implications of fetish production. Enhanced with a revised price guide "Native American Fetishes will prove invaluable for collectors.

Taking Charge
George Pierre Castile
University of Arizona Press
355 S. Euclid Avenue #103, Tucson, AZ 85719
0816525420 $35.00 www.uapress.arizona.edu

TAKING CHARGE: NATIVE AMERICAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND FEDERAL INDIAN POLICY, 1975-1993 provides a sequel to the author's TO SHOW HEART, but no familiarity with the prior book is needed to appreciate this survey, which focuses on the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1875. TO SHOW HEART analyzed the act and its results through 1975: TAKING CHARGE continues the survey since, offering a blend of analysis and historical developments and using unpublished presidential papers and other archives for its foundation of events. An excellent guide any college-level Native American library should have.

History of the Cherokee Indians
Emmet Starr
Genealogical Publishing
3600 Clipper Mill, #260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953
0806317299 $60.00 www.genealogicalpub.com

HISTORY OF THE CHEROKEE INDIANS: THEIR LEGENDS AND FOLK LORE surveys not just the genealogy of the Cherokee and their intermarriages with whites, but their history, culture, myths, and legal resolutions affecting the tribe. Source materials come from recorded documents, different government archives, and more and provide a comprehensive, technical survey perfect for the avid follower of Cherokee traditions and history.


The Science Shelf

Bones Rocks and Stars
Chris Turney
Macmillan
175 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
1403985995 $24.95 www.amazon.com

How does dating affect authenticity in identifying relics and linking historical facts? Eleven chapters each focus on a famous dating controversy, examining the procedures of dating, common methods used to date everything from tree rings to astronomical bodies, and common problems which involve dating. Discrepancies in evidence, forgeries, and misinterpretations are all covered in BONES, ROCKS AND STARS: THE SCIENCE OF WHEN THINGS HAPPENED, an essential pick for college-level collections strong in scientific inquiry.

After the Dinosaurs
Donald R. Prothero
Indiana University Press
601 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
0253347335 $39.95 http://iupress.indiana.edu

AFTER THE DINOSAURS: THE AGE OF MAMMALS finally takes the focus off the dinosaur and into the next era: an age where Earth was inhabited by an array of strange creatures, from huge hornless rhinos to an elephant-like hoofed mammal. Family trees of evolutionary species and discussions of evidence blends with an analysis of climate change and other environmental influences on the age of mammals for college-level audiences and collections strong in science history.

A Meaningful World
Benjamin Wiker & Jonathan Witt
InterVarsity Press
Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
0830827994 $18.00 www.ivpress.com

Modern philosophy would have it that the world is meaningless: disputing this contention is A MEANINGFUL WORLD: HOW THE ARTS AND SCIENCES REVEAL THE GENIUS OF NATURE, examining the purpose in life and the universe. Very highly recommended reading, co-authors Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt provide informative and illustrative examples from literary sources, the sciences, and the arts alike which are then blended to support an argument that the universe has importance beyond human endeavors.

Seeking the Sacred Raven
Mark Jerome Walters
Island Press
1718 Connecticut Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009
1559630906 $24.95 www.islandpress.org

Seeking the Sacred Raven: Politics and Extinction on a Hawaiian Island tells not only how one species has reached the edge of extinction, but more importantly details the ironies and problems of those who worked to protect it – instead contributing to factors leading to its demise. It's these lessons of what goes awry in the best plans that form the wealth of information in SEEKING THE SACRED RAVEN, setting it apart from books which chronicle threats without documenting the specific steps leading directly to extinction.

Understanding Environmental Policy
Steven Cohen
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015
0231135378 $26.50 www.columbia.edu/cu/cup

College-level students of environmental science will find Understanding Environmental Policy a scholarly, detailed analysis of the structure of such policy development around the world. Cohen uses his background as a director of the Master of Public Administration program in Environmental Science to analyze not just scientific policy development, but its global political ramifications and influences, with chapters surveying policy implementation, political issues, regulation strategy approaches, and much more. Political science students – especially those working on the global scale – will also find it invaluable.

The Mobius Strip
Clifford Pickover
Thunder's Mouth Press
245 W. 17th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10011-5300
1560258268 $24.95 www.avalonpub.com

The mobius strip – a continuous loop with only one side and one edge – was popularized by the illustrations of M.C. Escher, yet few know of its history and the evolution of its concept. Drive Clifford Pickover here provides a lively survey of the strip from the mid-1800s when Drive Mobius described it, to its influence in the fields of math, science, engineering, and the arts. It's more than a concept: it offers up new methods of thinking and discussions here include related shapes and ideas as well.

Walking Zero
Chet Raymo
Walker & Company
175 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
0802714943 $22.95 www.walkerbooks.com

Author Chet Raymo is a physicist and astronomer, and his WALKING ZERO: DISCOVERING COSMIC SPACE AND TIME ALONG THE PRIME MERIDIAN focuses on the history of the prime meridian and its impact on scientific luminaries throughout the ages. Raymo walks across southeastern England in the course of a journey probing not just history and astronomy, but geology: this lively discourse will appeal not just to students of science, but to general-interest readers.

Handbook of Toxic Plants of North America
George E. Burrows & Ronald Tyrl
Blackwell Publishing
Box 570, Ames, IA 50010-0570
0813807115 $89.99 www.blackwellprofessional.com

The hefty price tag of this paperback may limit it to college-level collections, but there it's appropriate and important for any collection strong in environmental science, veterinary science, agricultural science or botany. The organ or body system affected by the plant poison serves as a point of reference here, with chapters organized with vets, livestock owners and students in mind. Each coverage begins with the system and moves to an explanation of the toxic plants that can affect it. Color photos of each plant round out the details. An invaluable reference.

Plant Conservation: An Ecosystem Approach
Alan Hamilton & Patrick Hamilton
Earthscan/Stylus Publishing
Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
1844070832 $45.00 www.earthscan.co.uk

College-level botany courses will welcome PLANT CONSERVATION: AN ECOSYSTEM APPROACH, which is the latest addition to the 'People and Plants' series but stands well on its own as a survey of plant management history. From threats to plants and management strategies to community plant projects and social and political plant policies, any interested in plant conservation will find it important.

The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought
J.E. De Steiguer
University of Arizona Press
355 S. Euclid Avenue Suite 103, Tucson, AZ 85719
0816524610 $24.95 www.uapress.arizona.edu

Blends of environmental, science and philosophical thinking aren't usual, but here they come together to provide a satisfying survey of the earliest philosophies which provided the foundation of environmentalism. From social and economic influences in a post-war America which created the modern environmental movement to the development of 'land ethics' and economic foundations, THE ORIGINS OF MODERN ENVIRONMENTAL THOUGHT is a recommended college-level pick for any collection strong in science or social science.

Shifting and Rearranging
Carsten Reinhardt
Science History Publications
P.O. Box 1240, Sagamore Beach, MA 02562-1240
088135354X $49.95 www.shpusa.com

Chemistry is not the evolving, smooth science it is perceived as today: in the second half of the 20th century it actually went through a large transformation in which the solid chemical substance idea changed to an abstract structure, with the chemical reaction supplemented by physical methods and the chemist replaced by technical measurement devices. Physical methods were the heart of this change – and SHIFTING AND REARRANGING: PHYSICAL METHODS AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF MODERN CHEMISTRY documents this process, contributing an excellent college-level survey essential for any in-depth science collection.


The Business Shelf

Risk Intelligence
David Apgar
Harvard Business School Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
1591399548 $29.95 www.hbspress.org

If you view risk management as a field fit only for technical specialists in the subject, this book is for you. It 's directed to the executive who would use risk management givens and unknowns to make better business decisions: chapters directed to this audience explain how to identify knowable and unknowns, how to uncover facts to turn unknowns into knowns, and how to assess which risks are learnable and changeable. It's an excellent guide executives need to know about.

The Essential Guide To Recruitment
Margaret Dale
Kogan Page
525 S. 4th St. #241, Philadephia, PA 19147
0749444746 $35.00 www.kogan-page.co.uk

A manager's success is dependent on the quality and performance of those he manages and recruitment techniques are key to obtaining the best help: that's why the step-by-step directions of The Essential Guide To Recruitment: How to Conduct Great Interviews and Select the Best Employees is so important. Chapters cover the best questions and how to assess answers for underlying strengths and weaknesses.

The Rexall Story
Mickey C. Smith, RPh, PhD
Pharmaceutical Products/Haworth
10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580
078902473X $24.95 www.haworthpress.com

THE REXALL STORY: A HISTORY OF GENIUS AND NEGLECT covers the rise and fall of a pharmacy which became a name brand across the country before big business was a common name. Rexall was the brain child of genius Louis Liggett, who began the company in 1903. The Rexall name grew to become an accepted institution of families across the country until drug manufacturers entered the business and sunk them. Learn about not only Rexall's business and health importance, but about the marketing strategies and ideas that made it a respected name.

Encyclopedia of American Business History
Charles R. Geisst
Facts on File Inc.
132 W. 31st St. 17th Floor, New York, NY 10001
0816043507 $125.00 www.factsonfile.com

While this 2-volume set is geared for grades 9 and up, it's really the advanced high school to college level grades who will find it thematically appropriate, and essential to understanding business history. Entries in this A-Z encyclopedia cover American business pursuits from early times through Internet trade, offering over 400 entries blending biographical sketches with histories of major events, trends, changes and more. The inclusion of key documents and references lends authority and bibliographic importance to the history.

The Property Management Tool Kit
Mike Beirne
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0814473512 $19.95 www.amacombooks.org

Many real estate investment books would have you think all you need to do is purchase rental property to become rich – but in reality the property must be managed property to become a cash cow, and that's where The Property Management Tool Kit comes in. Chapters cover all kinds of issues, from making improvements which substantially increase property values to handling tenants, maintaining the property, and more. It's not all do-it-yourself, either: if your choice is to buy then hire a management team - The Property Management Tool Kit tells how, from what to look for to how to partner with vendors. Packed with great ideas, this is a 'must' for would-be real estate investors.

Boom
Mary Brown & Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0814473903 $24.00 www.amacombooks.org

BOOM: MARKETING TO THE ULTIMATE POWER CONSUMER – THE BABY-BOOMER WOMAN is for any business selling products to women, who make most of the purchasing decisions. The authors have used results from proprietary research to help their firm's clients outsell the competition – and here they share some of their insights on what works and why. Dozens of market leaders in many industries contribute case histories and experiences from real life to a survey that offers dynamic testimony from leading edge successful marketers.

True to Yourself
Mark Albion
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
1576753786 $12.00 www.bkconnection.com

TRUE TO YOURSELF: LEADING A VALUES-BASED BUSINESS adds to others in 'The social Venture Network' series, but stands well alone as a detailed analysis of how to build the kind of organization which is both financially successful and a positive force on the planet. Ideals are fine – but how can one keep customers happy, have ideals, and keep the bottom line in the black, simultaneously? TRUE TO YOURSELF offers the author's own experiences as well as interviews with over seventy industry leaders who lend insights on issues of commitment, competence, and how to run a business.

The Money Men
H.W. Brands
W.W. Norton
500 – 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10110
0393061841 $23.95 www.wwnorton.com

The Money Men: Capitalism, Democracy and the Hundred Year's War Over the American Dollar charts the influence and struggles of the financial industry in American history, using biographical sketches of five key financiers to follow the story of the American dollar. Andrew Hamilton, Nicholas Biddle, Jay Cooke, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan each helped form the monetary system in this country – and thus helped shape its political choices. THE MONEY MEN follows their lives, philosophies, clashes and lasting influences.

Outside the Box
Lynn Sherr
Rodale Books
400 S. 10th Street, Emmaus, PA 18098-0099
1594862575 $25.95 www.amazon.com

If Lynn Sherr's name is immediately familiar, it's because she was a national TV reporter for over forty years, and her memoir OUTSIDE THE BOX charts vast changes in the industry during her tenure, from her beginnings in an industry reluctant to hire girls to how TV journalism has changed over the decades, both good and bad. Any with a special interest in either Sherr or journalism history should read OUTSIDE THE BOX: it charts many major events.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007
Richard Nelson Bolles
Ten Speed Press
Box 7123, Berkeley, CA 94707
1580087949 $17.95 www.tenspeed.com

Why keep buying updated editions of a decades-old classic? Because it's remained a best-selling guide all these decades, and updates techniques and tips for modern times while retaining its easy accessibility. Job tips unique to the 2007 market are more than updates: the entire book is rewritten yearly to keep up with changing economics, and includes new material, new research, and new approaches to the job search. Here are new resources for handling handicaps, discrimination issues, healthcare questions, benefits, and more. Its wide-ranging changes keep it at the top of the pack of job-hunting guides.

The FBI Career Guide
Joseph W. Koletar
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
0814473172 $15.00 www.amacombooks.org

If you're looking to develop an FBI career, first consult The FBI Career Guide: Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World. It spells out exactly what the Bureau looks for in candidates, covering how to meet and network with agents, how different FBI forces work, and how to avoid the many common mistakes applicants make. It's a 'must' guide to the complex world of the FBI career.

To Be A Crime Scene Investigator
Henry M. Holden
Zenith Press
380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760325243 $19.95 www.mbipublishing.com

The crime scene investigator collects evidence, photographs the scene, and uses every particle of evidence to reconstruct events – but few books reconstruct the progress of the career of a crime scene investigator. Here's a survey that covers both the process of the investigation and the progress of a career in the field, surveying training, applications of ideas, and methods of processing and locating evidence. Color photos throughout and sidebars of crime-specific detail make for an essential guide.

Never Order Barbecue In Maine
Ken Tanner
Nelson Business
Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
078521349X $18.99 www.nelsonbusinessbooks.com

Never Order Barbecue In Maine: Proven Career Strategies from People Who've Been There, Done That is for young adults and those entering the work world who wish to benefit from experience. Strategies for job advancement come from those with actual experience and represent 'I wish I knew then what I know now' insights. From networking and developing profitable business relationships to locating new career opportunities within and outside a field, NEVER ORDER BARBECUE IN MAINE is packed with ideas based on the school of hard knocks and life experiences.

Encyclopedia of Job-Winning Resumes
Myra Fournier & Jeffrey Spin
Career Press
Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
1564148718 $16.99 www.newpagebooks.com

If you need a template for any kind of resume or cover letters and want plenty of examples to choose from, Encyclopedia of Job-Winning Resumes is for you. Its contents have been tested as job-winning, examples are provided which show how to personalize an approach for a particular kind of job, and expert advice throughout supplements the templates.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Raptors of North America
Noel and Helen Snyder
Voyageur Press
380 Jackson #200, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760325820 $50.00 www.voyageurpress.com

There are some 53 raptor species in North America, and Raptors of North America provides an oversized book describing all of them. It comes from two ornithologists who have studied and photographed raptors in nature for over 50 years: their field research has also included personal involvement in conservation issues. An outstanding reference, this provides both the scholarly natural history references and the large-size photos lacking in more diminutive coverages.

Equipping Your Horse Farm
Cherry Hill & Richard Klimesh
Storey Publishing
210 Mass Moca Way, N. Adams MA 02147
158017843X $19.95 www.storey.com

EQUIPPING YOUR HORSE FARM: TRACTORS, TRAILERS, TRUCKS & MORE is for any new horse farm owner who is interested in choosing the right equipment for common farm chores. An inventory of essential equipment includes desirable features, accessories, and how to make choices that avoid common maintenance problems. Also important are comparisons between models and makes which allow new farmers to consider the pros and cons of special features.

Practical Wildlife Care
Les Stocker, MBE
Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014-8300
140512749X www.blackwellpublishing.com

The second edition of a classic on wildlife rehabilitation packs in details essential to any working with wildlife; particularly since much has changed in wildlife care in the years since the first edition appeared. Here are the latest first aid tips, handling instructions, and expanded chapters on species-specific care, from badgers to hedgehogs. Here are the color photos to illustrate care techniques, and here also is inclusion of many 'alien' species. While specific to Britain, PRACTICAL WILDLIFE CARE will reach around the world with its instructions, not to be found in most competing veterinary guides.

Among Wild Horses
Lynne Pomeranz
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCa Way, North Adams, MA 01247
158017633X $16.95 www.storey.com

AMONG WILD HORSES: A PORTRAIT OF THE PRYOR MOUNTAIN MUSTANGS is a gorgeous image-laden photography book from an art photography who spent two years tracking and photographing the Pryor Mountain Mustangs. Her full-page, full color photos of these wild horses in nature are unique and gorgeous: observations of their special challenges and actions accompany the visual treat.

Manual of Parrot Behavior
Andrew U. Luescher, Editor
Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014
0813827493 www.blackwellprofessional.com

Any veterinary library or holding specializing in pets – even at the public library level – will want to have Manual of Parrot Behavior in the collection: it's the first detailed reference of its kind to provide a survey by international experts on parrot behavior under one cover. Here are keys to both normal and abnormal parrot behavior, techniques on treating common problems, and checklists of tameness and other scores. Invaluable.

All About the Labrador Retriever
Robert Berndt & Richard Myers
Alpine Publications
Box 120, Crawford, CO 81415
1577790421 $19.95 www.alpinePublishers.com

ALL ABOUT THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER appeared in 2003 but deserves ongoing recommendation for any Lab owner who wants a basic, general-interest guide to the breed. Other books focus on its hunting or show abilities, but ALL ABOUT THE LABRADOR RETRIEVER is all about what labs can do in many capacities, from field training to home and show use. Berndt is an all breed judge and former Lab exhibitor, but his is a recommendation not just for breeders and showers, but for any would-be Lab owner.

The 5-Minute Veterinary Consult Ferret and Rabbit
Barbara L. Oglesbee
Blackwell Publishing
2121 State Avenue, Ames, IA 50014
0781793998 www.blackwellprofessional.com

Vets as well as owners of either ferrets or rabbits will appreciate this concise guide for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in either. A series of formatted topics address all common conditions, covering diagnosis, treatment and medication and listing topics alphabetically for quick consultation. Each condition receives an overview of the basics, diagnostic procedures, treatment options, and medications. While it's technical enough for a vet's office, owners will find it equally valuable.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Fitness After 50
Walter G., Ettinger, M.D., et.al.
Human Kinetics
1607 North Market St. , Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736044132 $19.95 www.humankinetics.com

No prior level of fitness is presumed in order to use FITNESS AFTER FIFTY: ADD YEARS TO YOUR LIFE AND LIFE TO YOUR YEARS. And it's not even necessary to follow a single program of exercise to use this, either: it's a self-paced workbook manual which imparts the basics of after-50 fitness, from asking questions of a doctor and exercising safely to adapt an activity regimen to a medical limitation. From aerobic benefits and how to explore them to enlisting friends in a program to add support, any over-50 person should have this basic guide.

The Dorm Room Diet
Daphne Oz
Newmarket Press
18 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017
1557046859 $16.95 www.newmarketpress.com

If you're looking for an easy 8-step program to create a healthier lifestyle, THE DORM ROOM DIET: THE 8-STEP PROGRAM FOR CREATING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE THAT REALLY WORKS is for you. The author's father and grandfather were both cardiac surgeons and her grandmother was a nutritional advisor, so it's logical that college student Daphne Oz would develop her own approach and diet that works. In her first semester she lost ten pounds: boxed highlights of bonus tips accompany easy 'friend and foe' discussions of foods which are easy to choose.

What Your Doctor Hasn't Told You and the Health Store Clerk Doesn't Know
Edward L. Schneider, MD & Leigh Ann Hirschman
Avery/The Penguin Press
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
1583332529 $19.95 www.penguin.com

If you want a one-stop shopping guide to alternative treatments which covers them all without the weight of some hefty treatises, choose What Your Doctor Hasn't Told You: organized by condition, it covers all nontraditional alternatives to chronic health issues, and comes from a doctor who is a leading researcher and clinician, explaining the latest studies and results. Whether you have back pain, arthritis, or anxiety – this covers both physical and mental conditions and uses very easy language to contrast a range of alternative treatments - and their pros and cons.

Doctors on the Edge
Frederick R. Abrams, MD
Sentient Publications
1113 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302
1591810450 $23.95 www.sentientpublications.com

Drive Abrams has been a specialist for over forty years in obstetrics and here documents growing ethical issues in treatment options in DOCTORS ON THE EDGE: WILL YOUR DOCTOR BREAK THE RULES FOR YOU? The case histories here illustrate how medical work is laden with moral and ethical decisions and gathers accounts of doctors faced with conflicts of principles. A fascinating set of insights medical students in particular will relish.

The Resistance Band Workout Book
Ed McNeely and David Sandler
Burford Books
32 Morris Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081
1580801382 $16.95 www.burfordbooks.com

The Resistance Band Workout Book advocates workout routines using the resistance band – and reinforces theory with almost a hundred exercises using this accessory. The blend of general workouts and sports-specific, goal-oriented exercises comes with illustrations and makes for an excellent primer.

No Flour, No Sugar Diet
Drive Peter H. Gott, MD
Quill Driver Books
1254 Commerce Way, Sanger, CA 93657
1884956521 $14.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com

No Flour, No Sugar Diet: The Simplest Way to Lose Weight deserves ongoing mention and recommendation simply because so many new diagnoses of either flour allergies or diabetes are being made – and add these concerns to simple weight control issues and you have a book which promises wide appeal and repeat usage. Chapters link flour and sugar usage to obesity and associated problems, then provide meal plans and a selection of dishes that do without them. So what's left? Lean mats, brown rice, and low-fat dairy products make up the new meal.

On Becoming Fearless
Arianna Huffington
Little, Brown
1271 Avenue of Americas, New York, NY 10020
0316166812 $21.99 www.hachettebookgroupusa.com

Arianna Huffington is an author and Internet entrepreneur who believes conquering fear is the first step in leading a fulfilled life and making a difference in the world – and On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work and Life tells exactly how this may be achieved. The author is fearless – but not by nature, so her struggles with fear and techniques for overcoming fear-driven responses will strike a chord in any who suffer from the same. She builds a model for becoming fearless through routine and behavior modification – a program any reader can learn here.

Your Thyroid and How To keep It Healthy
Drive Barry Durrant-Peatfield
Hammersmith Press Ltd.
496 Fullham Palace Road, London SW6 6JD UK
190514010X www.hammersmithpress.co.uk www.amazon.com

Thyroid problems are increasing yet the average person rarely recognizes the common symptoms of malfunction. Your Thyroid and How To keep It Healthy provides all the information needed to understand these common symptoms, which include weight gain, high cholesterol, poor circulation, and unexplained hair loss. Chapters survey symptoms, advocate consumer involvement in treatment options, and provide the latest details and research in an updated second edition filled with nutritional and medical advice.

The Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine
Keith Wailoo & Stephen Pemberton
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
0801883261 $21.95 www.press.jhu.edu

The Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine: Ethnicity and Innovation in Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sickle Cell Disease provides a history of diseases which have been connected with racial makeup, sparking ethnic controversies in their discussion and analysis. The authors draw links between biology and social issues, examining underlying influences on research and perspective of modern medicine and how Americans ultimately come to embrace or reject projected breakthroughs. From therapy as social justice to media headlines and changing social perspectives, THE TROUBLED DREAM OF GENETIC MEDICINE is a powerful testimony to the power of prejudice even in the field of medical research.

Nanotechnology: Regulation and Policy Worldwide
Jeffrey H. Matsuura
Artech House
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
1580531067 $89.00 www.artechhouse.com

College-level collections strong in health and legal issues must have Nanotechnology: Regulation and Policy Worldwide: it's the first to provide a global assessment of legal and policy initiatives aimed at either fostering or restricting nanotechnology research, and provides a survey which considers everything from property rights and key interests to political and social influences on research. Chapters consider compliance, the impact of regulation on research approaches, and more.

Biotechnology Unzipped
Eric S. Grace
Joseph Henry Press
National Academies Press
500 – 5th Street, N.W., Washington DC 20001
0309096219 $19.95 www.jhpress.org

Eric Grace is a science writer with a Ph.D. in zoology: his BIOTECHNOLOGY UNZIPPED: PROMISES AND REALITIES may sound technical but is surprisingly accessible, appearing in a revised second edition to provide chapters covering health, environmental concerns, and biotech applications. The first edition, which appeared in 1997, was on the cutting edge of biotech's promise: since then much has happened, and this second edition updates details for the latest studies and issues.

Ethical Issues in The New Reproductive Technologies
Richard T. Hull, Editor
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
1591023009 $21.00 www.prometheusbooks.com

The second edition of Ethical Issues in The New Reproductive Technologies seeks a cross-section of thinking of the specialists involved in reproductive technologies, providing essays and articles which survey major ethical issues raised by fertilization technology, whether it be paternity questions or surrogate motherhood. From legal and moral claims to social issues, this should be required reading for college-level audiences with studies in medicine: it offers a survey of not just present issues, but evolving research and its implications.

Cancer Sourcebook for Women
Amy L. Sutton, Editor
Omnigraphics
615 Griswold, Detroit, MI 38226
0780808673 $78.00 www.omnigraphics.com

The third updated edition of a major sourcebook reference for health consumers covers cancer issues women need to know, from the latest risk factors and treatments to new research in the fields of breast, gynecologic and lung cancers. Parts divisions focus on broad areas of interest, while chapters narrow down topics and provide the latest research. Indispensable.

Is He Depressed or What?
David B. Wexler, Ph.D.
New Harbinger
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
1572244240 $15.95 www.newharbinger.com

Husbands or boyfriends who demonstrate short tempers, the tendency to withdraw, and a variety of physical problems may actually be depressed: but how can the myriad of symptoms involved be properly analyzed to determine depression – and what can be done? Step-by-step advice examines the symptoms of different kinds of depression, tells how to effectively communicate with the depressed person, and tells how to locate treatment and what to watch for. An excellent guide teaches all the basics of male depression symptoms, treatment, and a concerned partner's options.

Frozen Shoulder Workbook
Clair Davies, NCTMB
New Harbinger
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
157224447X $18.95 www.newharbinger.com

The author's own frozen shoulder condition led him to study trigger points, which eventually led to his popular book TRIGGER POINT THERAPY WORKBOOK. To be more specific, Frozen Shoulder Workbook addresses all points particular to this condition, using the basic principles of the other manual to promote trigger point therapy as a formula for lasting relief, unlike the injections and painkillers traditional medicine uses. An excellent guide to lasting recovery.


The Crafts Shelf

Memory Maker Books
4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.memorymakersmagazine.com

Darlene D'Agostino's ASK THE MASTERS! SCRAPBOOK SOLUTIONS FROM THE MEMORY MAKERS MASTERS (1892127881, $22.99) incorporates the best of design expertise and problem-solving from the panel of experts called Memory Makers Masters, offering a scrapbooker's guide based on their answers. This isn't just written advice, either: visual embellishments provide examples of every solution or recommendation, from how to invent lively titles and utilize space on the page to using a photo border and creating non-distracting pattern pages. A cd-rom of page ideas and sketches accompanies Memory Makers' THE AMAZING PAGE: 650 NEW SCRAPBOOK PAGE IDEAS, TIPS AND TECHNIQUES (1892127911, $24.99), which focuses on scrapbook themes, styles, and page layouts which have proven the best of the Memory Makers editor's choices over time. Here are boxed sidebars and tips, full-color page examples, and plenty of insights on what makes a page exciting. Together these how-to guides pack in plenty of details.

Up in Flames
"Yosemite" Sam Radoff
Motorbooks International
729 Prospect Avenue Box 1, Osceola, WI 54020
0760323348 $34.95 www.motorbooks.com

Flame painting hot rods is a surprisingly old art: some fifty years old – but it's not diminished during that time, and UP IN FLAMES; THE ART OF FLAME PAINTING will reach any who are interested in the specifics of flame painters, pinstripers, and others. Color photos of designs and designers pack profiles of some eighteen contemporary artists, covering the style, career and craft of flame painting past and present. These are gorgeous photos and inspirational insights any crafter will appreciate – car painters, in particular.

Halloween Propmaker's Handbook
Kenneth Pitek
McFarland Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640
078642463X $35.00 www.mcfarlandpub.com

Halloween Propmaker's Handbook arrived too late for October mention but deserves ongoing recommendation for any avid party crafts person who enjoys putting together unique Halloween props. Here are recipes for fake blood, papier-maiche projects such as skills, two-way mirrors, and other techniques just perfect for Halloween decorators. No color photos, but the step-by-step black and white images and clear directions need little color to prove involving.


The Needlecraft Shelf

And So to Bed…: Handknits and Things
Lucinda Guy
Trafalgar Square
Box 257, N. Pomfret, VT 05053
1570763291 $22.95 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

AND SO TO BED… takes the theme of bedtime and provides handknits for girls and boys ages 2-5 in this sequel to HANDKNITS FOR KIDS. Full-page patterns and easy directions assume prior knitting experience and provide fun socks, a bathrobe for boys, toys, and more for this age range. Colorful photos throughout insure interest and polished results.

Sew Subversive
Melissa Rannals, et.al.
Taunton Press
Box 5507, Newtown, CT 06470-5507
1561588091 $14.95 www.taunton.com

There are plenty of books covering 'how to sew' – but few covering how to individualize fashion in the process. SEW SUBVERSIVE: DOWN & DIRTY DIY FOR THE FABULOUS FASHIONISTA covers how to transform clothing to make them unique and personal – and some projects don't even require sewing! From revamping old clothes to adding life and personality to thrift store finds, color photos accompany how-to directions for maximum fun!

In Praise of the Needlewoman
Gail Carolyn Sirna
Merrell
49 W 24th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10010
1858943418 $34.95 www.merrellpublishers.com

In Praise of the Needlewoman: Embroiderers, Knitters, Lacemakers, and Weavers in Art could've been featured in our Arts section but is reviewed here for its special interest to any involved in the needlework arts. Works by old to modern masters depict the needlewoman's artistic pursuits, and come from such famous names as Vermeer, Chardin, and Dali. This celebrates the theme, analyzing the surveying the fine art of women's work through some of the best needlework classics of the art world. Lovely full-page color photos are accompanied by insights into the painter, his subject, and the world of needlework.

Voyageur Press
380 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
www.voyageurpress.com

Kari Cornell edits HOOKED: A CROCHETER'S STASH OF WIT AND WISDOM (0760326479, $16.95), providing not the usual 'how to crochet' guide, but a survey of insights and stories revolving around crocheter experiences. Illustrations from vintage pattern booklets accompany autobiographical sketches of crocheters both amateur and neo-pro. Lela Nargi edits KNITTING MEMORIES: REFLECTIONS ON THE KNITTER'S LIFE (0760326487, $16.95), presenting a set of vignettes, whimsy and insights from knitters. From family inspirations affecting wool choice and strategies to undone projects and knitting guides, KNITTING MEMORIES is a lovely gift choice for avid knitters who already have more than enough project-oriented books.

Martingale & Co
20205 144th Ave NE, Woodinville, WA 98072-8478
www.martingale-pub.com

Susan Breier's IT'S A WRAP: SEWING FABRIC PURSES, BASKETS, AND BOWLS (156477662X, $19.95) tells how to sew fabric strips into containers, from plates to baskets, purses to bowls. Cotton clothesline serves as the foundation: coil into shape, stitch via machine, and use vibrant strips of colors to finish. A wide range of projects is featured. Jennie Atkinson's ROMANTIC STYLE: KNITS AND CROCHET TO WEAR OR DISPLAY (1564777154, $29.95) provides over twenty designs which range from dresses and blouses to shawls, belts and accessories. The styles of the 1930s are used as a foundation for classic alluring pieces, while attention to lace and other finishing touches add professional chic allure. Full-page photos accompany classic knitter and crochet directions for those who already have a foundation of knowledge and need project ideas.

Sew It in Minutes
Chris Malone
KP/F&W Publishers
700 East State Street, Iowa, WI 54990-0001
0896893588 $22.99 www.fwpublications.com

Over twenty projects can be done in a matter of minutes in SEW IT IN MINUTES: 24 PROJECTS TO FIT YOUR STYLE AND SCHEDULE. These range from photo albums and map holders to pincushions and book covers: each project is perfect for gift-giving, practical rather than merely ornamental, and includes material lists, easy instructions, and often full-sized patterns as well as color photos of finished results. An excellent pick for the busy gift-giving sewer.

C&T Publishing
Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
www.ctpub.com

Louise Handley's FABRIC SILHOUETTES: QUILTED TREASURES FROM THE FAMILY ALBUM (1571203478, $20.95) is a gorgeous and unique crafter's guide which tells how to begin with an ordinary photo, enlarge it, transfer key figures to fabric, and stitch such to a special background, creating a virtual fabric scrapbook of art as a result. From what kinds of photos best lend to the silhouette process to ten projects to follow step-by-step to get your feet wet, FABRIC SILHOUETTES is a wonderful new approach to keepsake creation. Jean & Valori Wells' OH SEW EASY: DUVET COVERS & CURTAINS (1571203583, $19.95) tells how even beginning sewers can create polished, professional results for covers and curtains. Lessons assume no prior sewing or decorating background and provide all the basic foundation instructions on color, design, and sewing to offer easy methods of refurbishing.

Patches & Posies
Carol Armstrong
C&T Publishing
Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549
1571203532 $24.95 www.ctpub.com

Use applied patchwork to maximum advantage with a primer which links new pieced elements with traditional methods for different approaches and results in CAROL ARMSTRONG'S PATCHES & POSIES: DESIGNS FOR APPLIQUE & QUILTING. From adding dimensions with special effects and beading to varying embellishment options for a given project, PATCHES & POSIES is packed with delightful insights.

Silver Threads
Jeanne Rhodes-Moen
Kalmbach Publishing
Watson-Guptill, Dist.
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53186
0871162210 $22.95 www.kalmbachbooks.com

It's easy to make silver filigree jewelry, despite the complex-looking curls and twists of the results – and especially when SILVER THREADS: MAKING WIRE FILIGREE JEWELRY is in hand. Each page is loaded with color photos as it covers production basics, embellishments, variations on themes, and polishing techniques. Sidebars of any special skills needed, such as how to use a solder pick, accompany easy directions for simple projects which encourage amateur jewelry makers. A lovely project guide indeed.

Applique: The Basics & Beyond
Janet Pittman
Landauer Books
3100 NW 101st Street, Urbandale, IA 50322
1890621064 $24.95 www.landuercorp.com

If you're just getting started in applique or want to improve existing skills, APPLIQUE: THE BASICS AND BEYOND is for you: it packs in over a hundred pages and over five hundred color photos and illustrations to survey the art, from equipment and stitches needed to mixing pattern groups and learning from projects. Add lay-flat hardcover binding with spine lettering and you have a fine guide whether you're using a machine or appliqueing by hand.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Seizing Power
Stephan Mace
New Falcon Publications
Box 256, Milford, CT 06460-0256
1561842397 $14.95 www.newfalcon.com

Seizing Power: Reclaiming Our Liberty Through Magick is more than just another magickal guide: it tells how to use magick to handle the two institutions which always seem to try to cripple its effects and access: the Corporation and the State. Rare it is to find an occult how-to guide linked to politics and social issues, but Mace draws important, unusual connections between magickal endeavors and politics in an important guide.

Why Buffalo Dance
Susan Chernak McElroy
New World Library
14 Pamaron way, Novato, CA 94949
1577315421 $16.00 www.newworldlibrary.com

WHY BUFFALO DANCE: ANIMAL AND WILDERNESS MEDITATIONS THROUGH THE SEASONS offers a lovely set of nature appreciations musing on everything from the lessons of eagles in 'The Right Timing' to a Spring celebration in 'The True Nature of Things'. These aren't the one-line meditations you've come to anticipate in such celebrations of life, but thought-provoking essays linking observations of nature with seasonal inspiration.

Aaron's Crossing
Linda Alice Dewey
Hampton Roads Publishing
1125 Stony Ridge Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902
1571745122 $16.95 www.hrpub.com

Linda Dewey's walk through an abandoned cemetery led to an unusual connection with a presence that would start a relationship beyond the grave Aaron Burke had died over 70 years earlier – he followed Linda home from the graveyard, and she learned he was stuck in limbo, unable to cross over. The two worked together to effect his release and AARON'S CROSSING: AN INSPIRING TRUE GHOST STORY charts their path in a dramatic, revealing account of 'the other side'.

Unexplained
Judy Allen
Kingfisher
222 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116
0753459507 $19.95 www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com

While this could be used for younger audiences and indeed comes from the Kingfisher imprint, many an adult will find Unexplained: An Encyclopedia of Curious Phenomena, Strange Superstitions and Ancient Mysteries to be vivid and involving – beyond the middle-grade reader audience it's intended for. Bright color illustrations and photos on every page pack in details of superstitions and mysteries, pairing known facts with exciting insights and folklore.

Sun Signs for Writers
Bev Walton-Porter
Writer's Digest/FW Publications
4799 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
1582974039 $12.99 www.fwpublications.com

Why isn't SUN SIGNS FOR WRITERS in our writer's area? Because any who must or could write – or write better – and who also have an affection for sun signs must have this. It's a unique blend of astrology and writing skills, providing, for each sun sign, tips on beating writer's block, making improvements, handling criticism, and using the strengths of a given sun sign to further the writing process. A unique, revealing guide.

Freedom Is
Brandon Bays
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1577315553 $22.95 www.newworldlibrary.com

Brandon Bays' bestseller THE JOURNEY has received much attention, and her latest spiritual growth guide FREEDOM IS: LIBERATING YOUR BOUNDLESS POTENTIAL promises the same, providing an overview of freedom as it relates to daily living. Unlike most titles on the topic it's not about freedom – it's about experiencing the feeling. Chapters provide case histories of master/student interactions and examples and plenty of first-person reflections from the author's own seminars and experiences.

Plant Spirit Shamanism
Ross Heaven & Howard G. Charning
Destiny/Inner Traditions
1 Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
1594771189 $16.95 www.DestinyBooks.com

PLANT SPIRIT SHAMANISM: TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR HEALING THE SOUL explores not the usual medicinal qualities of plants, but shaman communications with the spirits of the plants themselves. Both authors have years of in-depth field shamanic work in the Amazon, Haiti and Europe, and their experiences and interviews with other master shamans in different areas results in a core of insights gleaned from not just one but a variety of indigenous cultures. Healers will find this essential to understanding plant processes.

Creating Circles & Ceremonies
Oberon Zell-Ravenheart & Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart
New Page Books
Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
1564148645 $14.99 www.newpagebooks.com

If the authors' names sound familiar, it's because they've spent over thirty years traveling the world's magical communities and meeting with leaders of varying traditions: CREATING CIRCLES & CEREMONIES: RITUALS FOR ALL SEASONS AND REASONS stems from these travels and blends three books under one cover: the fist outlining basic principles, the second following actual ceremonies and rites, and the third compiling full rituals for the eight seasonal festivals. An excellent guide embraces all new age ceremonial traditions.


The Cookbook Shelf

Cook's Books
Carolyn Hart
Simon & Schuster UK/Trafalgar Square
Box 257, N. Pomfret, VT 05053
0743275357 $15.95 www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com

Many cooks own a huge cookbook collection – and spend lots of time looking for just the right recipe. It's easier to gather favorites under one cover – and COOK'S BOOKS; A DEFINITIVE COLLECTION OF 50 CLASSIC RECIPES FOR EVERYDAY LIFE takes the search out of the kitchen. Author Carolyn Hart is Food Editor of the Saturday Telegraph Magazine and has collected recipes and cookbooks all her life: what better authority, then, to compile the best recipes for 50 classic dishes, from soups to eggs benedict.

Mama Nazima's Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine
Rivka Goldman
Hippocrene Books Inc.
171 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
0781811449 $24.95 www.hippocrenebooks.com

When the Jews fled Iraq for Israel they brought along their culture and cuisine – and dishes unique to Iraqi Jewry which don't appear in the typical Iraq or Israeli cookbooks. They do here, and thus Meatballs with Pumpkin, Butternut Squash with Apricots, Garlic and Basil Fish and more provide a unique set of dishes not to be found elsewhere – and are furthermore paired with cultural and historical insights for added flavor. No color photos, but this already-rich collection doesn't need 'em. Very highly recommended.

America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
America's Test Kitchens
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
193361501X $34.95 www.americastestkitchen.com

What makes the America's Test Collection compilation special is not only a handy lay-flat binding paired with a durable hardcover with spine lettering for easy location, but the guarantee that every recipe will work every time. In fact, each of these recipes have been tested as many as 20-40 times to assure this guarantee – and tested using cheap cookware, mediocre stoves, and even the wrong ingredients to assure the beginning or average home cook can't fail. This revised edition holds a design easier on the eye, a more compact, sturdier binder, and a new chapter on lighter recipes. What's not to like?

Regional Indian Cooking
Ajoy Joshi & Alison Roberts
Periplus/Tuttle, Dist.
364 Innovation Drive, N. Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
0794650252 $24.95 www.tuttlepublishing.com

The five main regions of India produce very different dishes - and here to celebrate and explore them is REGIONAL INDIAN COOKING, profiling differing food philosophies of each area. Chapters cover techniques, basic spice mixtures, and dishes from appetizers to dessert, with color photos throughout making it simple for cooks to follow along. All that's needed is access to spices now ordinarily located in any good supermarket.

Beautiful Breads & Fabulous Fillings
Margaux Sky
Thomas Nelson/Rutledge Hill Press
Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
1401602509 $24.99 www.rutledgehillpress.com

If this were called 'The Sandwich Book' it wouldn't receive nearly as much attention – but Sky's productions are so much more, and naming it BEAUTIFUL BREADS & FABULOUS FILLINGS is a masterpiece of strategy that more aptly highlights her unique productions. Bright color photos on every page accompany such recipes as Chicken Salad in Minty Yogurt Sauce on Brown Harvest Bread or Reuben with Reuben Sauce on Herbed Rye Bread. And, the dishes are surprisingly easy to put together – even the fresh bread.

Wine & Cheese Pairing Guide
Norm & Barbara Ray
Rayve Productions
Box 726, Windsor, CA 95492
1877810002 $15.95 www.rayvepro.com

There's over a thousand wines and a thousand cheeses in the world with many possible taste combinations: if you want to take the guesswork out of the process, be sure WINE & CHEESE PAIRING GUIDE: YOUR EXCITING SEARCH FOR WOW! COMBINATIONS is close at hand. It doesn't just recommend specific pairings – though this is included amply in a series of charts – but provides a formula for wine and cheese separately which encourages personal assessment and taste development. Readers are encouraged to understand why they like different flavors, for optimum pairing of the two.

The Cornucopia
Judith Herman & Marguerite Shalett Herman
Huntington Library Press
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108
0873282132 $29.95 www.huntington.org

THE CORNUCOPIA: BEING A KITCHEN ENTERTAINMENT AND COOKBOOK was published to critical acclaim in 1973, and was annotated collection of five centuries of European and American culture, using over a hundred sources through the centuries to gather culinary lore. Its republication here will be welcomed by avid cooks who will receive a compendium of lore gathered from 1390 to 1899 writings. From a recipe for the curds and whey of Little Miss Muffit to traditional Richmond Maids of Honor little cakes, these dishes won't be seen in many other cookbook collections.

A Culinary Traveller In Tuscany
Beth Elton
Little Bookroom
1735 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10019
1892145367 $24.95 www.littlebookroom.com

Beth Elton's title isn't just a cookbook – it takes a culinary tour of Tuscany into regions largely uncovered in other titles – and surveys the special kitchens and products of over fifty restaurants whose cooks produce original recipes revealed just for this title. All dishes have been adapted for home cooks but retain the authenticity of generations of development, so cooks seeking a blend of travelogue and new dishes to try will find delightful the blend of travel insights and easy dishes. No photos, but the simple instructions don't need them.

Cradle of Flavor
James Oseland
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
0393054772 $35.00 www.wwnorton.com

CRADLE OF FLAVOR: HOME COOKING FROM THE SPICE ISLANDS OF INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE is one of the best we've seen recently on the region's foods, surpassing the common 'Asian cookbook' to provide a food writer's passionate enthusiasm for the region's flavors. He's spent over twenty years touring the islands in search of recipes and regional specialties, and the result is over a hundred dishes culled from his journeys and talks with locals – including many dishes for non-meat eaters, sauces, and discussions of cooking techniques. Discussions that include descriptions of what makes each local cuisine unique also differentiate CRADLE from the rest. While a centerfold of color photos is included, the meat here is in the recipes and cultural descriptions.

The Taste of Home Cookbook
Taste of Home
Reiman Publications
5400 S. 60th Street, Greendale, WI 53129
0898214971 $29.95 www.tasteofhome.com

Over 1,200 recipes and 300 tips are backed by color photos and a lay-flat, large-size binder format for spine lettering for both easy kitchen use and easy filing. Dishes come from the test kitchens of Taste of Home, the biggest food magazine around – and guarantee recipes will work. Over 1,000 field editors across the U.S. and Canada helped create the magazine issues and the best of these dishes are culled for the weighty TASTE OF HOME COOKBOOK: TIMELESS RECIPES FROM TRUSTED HOME COOKS. From tips on food proportions and preparations to color photos and easy tabs for quick recipe location, THE TASTE OF HOME COOKBOOK competes well with Better Homes & Gardens and other basic home reference standard collections. In fact, it's outstanding in its scope and depth and in its promise of recipes which cannot fail.

Zest
Michele Cranston
Graphic Arts Center Publishing
Box 10306, Portland, OR 96296-0306
1558687734 www.gacpc.com

ZEST is all about spices, and takes a world tour to teach aspiring cooks how to pair the spices of different regions with local ingredients. Zest can be as simple as a twist of lemon rind or as complex as a mixture of spices for Chipolte Chicken. Color photos embellish such dishes as Roast Tuna with Fennel and Tomato, Fresh Lasagne with Chili Crab, and Roast Red Capsicum Soup with Minted Yogurt. A gorgeous, oversized presentation will please cooks who like spice and zest.

Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes
Dede Wilson
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
1558323236 $17.95 www.harvardcommonpress.com

Other books have been written about cupcakes – but this streamlines the baking process, using fifteen 'master' cake recipes for cake batters and frostings and teaching how to customize and build upon them. Also unique here are 'theme' ideas for New Year 'Champagne' cupcakes or Mother's Day Breakfast-in-Bed Cupcakes: indeed, it's these themes and decoration ideas that give Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes a unique twist and a flair for the unusual, with color photos throughout. A top pick!

Mom's Big Book of Cookies
Lauren Chattman
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
1558323007 $21.95 www.harvardcommonpress.com

The 200-some cookie recipes in this title differ from competing cookie cookbooks: they've all been 'kid tested', decorations are done with kids in mind, and MOM'S BIG BOOK OF COOKIES: 200 FAMILY FAVORITES YOU'LL LOVE MAKING AND YOUR KIDS WILL LOVE EATING includes special tips on baking for kids. With kid-friendly recipes and plenty of baker's tips, it's not to be missed!

Brownies to Die For!
Bev Shaffer
Pelican Publishing
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
1589803825 $24.95 www.pelicanpub.com

BROWNIES TO DIE FOR! THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR BROWNIE LOVERS comes from a chef, culinary instructor and bakery director who has tested every recipe in her book. It provides both a cookbook and a history of brownies, including plenty of tips and varying recipes from traditional to unique, new creations. Full-page color photos of finished results adorn nearly every page while recipe introductions provide one-line descriptions and delicious insights. What's not to love about all this?


The Photography Shelf

The Digital Photography Book
Scott Kelby
Peachpit Press
1249 Eighth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
032147404X $19.99 www.peachpit.com

Scott Kelby has a long-standing reputation for books which encourage digital photographers: his latest The Digital Photography Book is a top guide to taking pro-quality photos using the same tricks digital pros use – but it doesn't hold the complexity of similar-sounding guides which try to pack in too much detail for relative beginners. From which button to push to how to achieve more dramatic results from scenes and settings, this book should 'be in the box' of any new digital camera owner.

Amherst Media
Box 586, Buffalo, NY 14226
www.AmherstMedia.com

These Amherst titles deserve ongoing mention and recommendation as top picks for any who would gain professional results from their photo efforts. Patrick Rice's MASTER GUIDE FOR PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS (1584281952, $34.95) comes packed with tips not just from the author's own experiences, but from professional photography industry leaders. Here are details ranging from using hardware and software to composing eye-catching images and getting the right, polished results the first time. Color photo examples throughout are complimented by tips on what made them special challenges and how difficulties were overcome to produce polished results. Norman Phillips' MASTER POSING GUIDE FOR CHILDREN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY (158428191X, $34.95) tackles the very challenging world of taking posed portraits of children, offering up strategies particular for all ages, from babies to teens, and showing how to design sets and group portraits, how to pose families and individual children, and how to create poses unique to a child's qualities and nature. Bill Huter edits RANGEFINDER'S PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: TECHNIQUES AND IMAGES FROM THE PAGES OF RANGEFINDER MAGAZINE (1584281936, $34.95), which gathers the inside secrets of some of the top photographers – some one hundred – who have created successful professional images. Even the amateur can learn from masters who manipulate lighting, props, and image settings for maximum results, and chapters packed with eye-catching color displays cover not just the art of setting up the shot, but the 'new darkroom' techniques of Photoshop to manipulate the results. All are highly recommended picks deserving places on shelves ranging from college-level photography collections to public library settings.

On Digital Photography
Stephen Johnson
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy, Sebastopol, CA 95472
059652370X $39.99 www.oreilly.com

There are so many photography books on the market that one might wonder at the need for yet another – but STEPHEN JOHNSON ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY comes from a digital photography pioneer whose photos are part of many professional institutional holdings, so his tips come from not just experience, but an innovative approach which embraces editing programs other than Photoshop alone. Chapters cover the basics of using photography as an art form, surveying color management, correction, digital image manipulation, and basic principles of scanning.


The Interior Design Shelf

Randall International
P.O. Box 388, Ashland, OH 44805
www.randallonline.com

Three outstanding home decorator's guides are top picks. M. Demir's HOME FASHIONS, 4th EDITION (1890379131, $19.95) packs in over five hundred decorating ideas for windows, beds, pillows, and curtains, using house dressings from homes and hotels alike to illustrate a range of options for bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms. The focus on window coverings and embellishments provides a wide range of accessory ideas complete with displays of finished results. Charles T. Randall's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WINDOW FASHIONS (1890379123, $19.95) is even more comprehensive and comes from a leading expert on window style, packing in 2,000 decorating ideas for windows and accessories and adding illustrations by Patricia M. Howard to round out the displays. Measurement tips, charts, and ideas for displays are provided for virtually any window or style one could imagine – with full color illustrations throughout. Kathleen S. Stoehr's DREAM FLOORS: HUNDREDS OF DESIGN IDEAS FOR EVERY KIND OF FLOOR (1890379115, $19.95) covers tile, stone, hardwood, carpeting, and the latest new materials available for home floors. Advantages, disadvantages and costs of cork, linoleum and many other products allow consumers to easily weigh pros and cons of finished results. All are top picks.


The Homeowner Shelf

The Passive Solar House
James Kachadorian
Chelsea Green
Box 428, White River Junction, VT 05001
1933392037 $40.00 www.chelseagreen.com

The Passive Solar House: The Complete Guide to Heating & Cooling Your Home appears in a newly updated edition to include an interactive solar design cd-rom, reflecting many industry changes. It's been nearly 10 years since the author's original title provided homeowners with proven techniques to solar design: this second edition expands and revises details to include new materials and is based on the author's Solar Slab heat exchanger. From foundation to roof and everything in between, Kachadorian provides tips and techniques for all budgets and levels of expertise.

Eliminate Chaos
Laura Leist
Sasquatch Books
119 S. Main Street Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98104
1570614679 $19.95 www.sasquatchbooks.com

There's plenty of books on the market on how to organize, but few which offer a simplified 10-step process for reducing the clutter, as does ELIMINATE CHAOS: THE 10-STEP PROCESS TO ORGANIZE YOUR HOME & LIFE. The author is a consulting expert and pairs tips with 'before' and 'after' makeover color photos which include all steps in-between. The home ideas translate to life in general and help develop a solid, easy system for categorizing keepsakes and discarding the rest.

Atlantic Publishing Co
1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, FL 34474-7014
www.atlantic-pub.com

If you're thinking of building a retirement nest egg on real estate, then Jeff Haden's THE SECOND HOMEOWNER'S HANDBOOK: A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR VACATION, RETIREMENT, AND INVESTMENT (0910627746, $21.95) is for you. Here's a set of keys on how to use a second home to fuel both present vacations and future retirement, whether you've bought for resell, rent, or personal use. Chapters tell what to look for, how to rent, how to handle income taxes and financing, and more. Frankie Orlando's THE PRE-FORECLOSURE REAL ESTATE HANDBOOK: INSIDER SECRETS OF LOCATING AND PURCHASING PRE-FORECLOSED PROPERTIES IN ANY MARKET (0910627665, $21.95) goes beyond your usual foreclosure investment guide to show how to locate such properties and buy directly from property owners whose loans are in default. The strategy offers a simple method for identification of such properties, including how to approach owners and how to make attractive offers. It's a specialty area and investors will find this specific to all requirements.

Creative Homeowner
24 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
$19.95 Each www.creativehomeowner.com

ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRIM CARPENTRY by Neal Barrett (158011279X) tells how to add trim and molding to a home to increase its value. From crown molding and paneled columns to door and window casting trim and baseboards, installation tips include tricks of measuring, common pitfalls, and design details. John D. Wagner's YARD AND GARDEN SHEDS (1580112803) packs in project ideas for five DIY designs, plus includes over ten blueprints for other projects which may be ordered. A wide range of plans and sizes for different yard and garden purposes are included in pages packed with step-by-step color photos and directions on construction techniques. Creative Homeowner's ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CERAMIC AND STONE TILE (1580112978) provides over sixty step-by-step projects for installing tile with polished results, whether it be ceramic, stone, porcelain, glass or more. Besides assessing the pros and cons of different tile types and applications, ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CERAMIC AND STONE TILE provides over sixty step-by-step projects to reinforce its ideas. A top pick handy homeowners will relish.


The Architecture Shelf

Underground Homes
Louis Wampler
Pelican Publishing
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
0882892738 $15.95 www.pelicanpub.com

The layman who wants an easy introduction to planning and building an earth-sheltered home typically has plenty of construction guides to choose from, but UNDERGROUND HOMES differs from most in offering all the basics, from site choice and waterproofing and insulation choices to handling problems unique to subterranean homes, such as determining the local water table and handling heating and cooling systems for different climates. The basics are all covered in easy language and diagrams.

Green Building Products, 2nd Edn
Alex Wilson & Mark Piepkorn
New Society Publishers
Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1XO, Canada
086571570X $34.95 www.newsociety.com

Homeowner/builders must have GREEN BUILDING PRODUCTS: THE GREENSPEC GUIDE TO RESIDENTIAL BUILDING MATERIALS: the first edition described products and manufacturers for over 1,500 environmentally superior products and materials, and this updated listing adds new products, grouped by function for quick access. Any who would build while staying 'green' will find everything needed, here, to do so.

25 Tropical Houses in Indonesia
Amir Sidharta
Periplus/Tuttle
364 Innovation Drive, N. Clarendon, VT 05759
0794602452 $44.95 www.tuttlepublishing.com

Architects designing homes in Indonesia face not only the usual aesthetic concerns, but the task of building homes which handle the problems of a tropical environment. Over twenty of the best solutions to such problems have been selected for feature here in 25 Tropical Houses in Indonesia: a guide to blending classic Indonesian aesthetics with new design ideas and materials to create both pleasing and long-lasting structures. Color photos of interiors and exteriors accompany discussions of special materials, aesthetics, and themes.


The Woodworking Shelf

Stanley Book of Woodwork
Mark Finney
Batsford/Sterling Publishing
387 Park Avenue S., New York, NY 10016-8810
0713490039 $19.95 www.chrysalisbooks.co.uk www.amazon.com

You don't have to be a master woodworker to appreciate the overview for all levels provided in Stanley Book of Woodwork: Tools, Techniques, Projects. It's published in conjunction with a leading woodworking tool manufacturer and covers equipment, usage, care, and techniques alike, with chapters using projects for six pieces of furniture to reinforce diagrams, color photos, and written 'how to' advice. An excellent survey will reach beginners, especially, with clear details.


The Sports Shelf

A Game of Inches
Peter Morris
Ivan R. Dee
1332 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2694
1566637058 $28.95 www.ivanrdee.com

A GAME OF INCHES: THE STORIES BEHIND THE INNOVATIONS THAT SHAPED BASEBALL is a treasure trove of detail contributing to and concluding the multivolume encyclopedia 'Game Behind the Scenes'. It focuses on ballparks, fans, marketing, team-building and other topics relating to the business and building of the sport of baseball, detailing themes, codes of conduct, salary contracts and other influences on the sport. Owners of the other books must have this, but it stands alone well on its own as a serious baseball fan's guide to behind-the-scenes business concerns.


The Hunting/Fishing Shelf

Creative Outdoors
24 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
www.creativehomeowner.com

Two new sports and hunting 'Outdoorsmans Edge' titles are top picks for any outdoorsman who wants specific, useful tips. COMMON SCENTS STRATEGIES: TRICKS OF THE TRADE FOR ATTRACTING DEER (1580013079, $14.95) provides whitetail hunters with a very specific collection of insights on how to defeat a deer's sense of smell. His tactics pairs natural history knowledge with camouflage specifics. Monte Burch's WILDLIFE & WOODLOT MANAGEMENT: A COMPREHENSIVE HANDBOOK FOR FOOD PLOT & HABITAT DEVELOPMENT (1580113060, $14.95) comes from an expert with over 30 years of experience planting food plots on his farm: chapters discuss everything from choosing the right piece of land and planning plots specific to its features and soil condition to managing timber forest, improving crops, and implementing controlled burns – all with the idea of attracting desirable bucks to the property. Both are unique, outstanding titles hunters must have.

Legendary Hunts
Boone & Crockett Awards
Boone & Crockett Club
250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT 59801-2753
0940864541 $19.95 www.boone-crockett.org

Any fan of hunting big game will relish the short stories from the Boone and Crockett Awards, LEGENDARY HUNTS. It packs in over forty such tales recounting adventures hunting North American big game trophies: all appeared in the Awards books and were handpicked for their uniquely stellar descriptions, so expect lots of emotion, excitement and hunting insights, here.

Cowboy Trout
Paul Schullery
Montana Historical Society
Box 201201, Helena, MT 59620-1201
097215227X $17.95 www.montanahistoricalsociety.org

The author of COWBOY TROUT is an angler and a historian who here focuses on the history as well as the experience of western fly fishing, form early pioneer angler fishing wilderness streams to modern fly fishermen. It's more than a survey of the sport's evolution, though this does happen too: it's a blend of history, science, sports writing, philosophy and nature and thus COWBOY TROUT: WESTERN FLY FISHING AS IF IT MATTERS is a fine treatise fishermen of all skills levels will appreciate. Perfect for reading while fishing!


The Gaming Shelf

Innovation Games
Luke Hohmann
Addison-Wesley
75 Arlington Street, Suite 300, Boston, MA 02116
0321437292 $29.99 www.awprofessional.com

This wide-ranging book could also have been reviewed in our computer or business sections, but is featured here for its additional interest to any interested in links between games and real-world strategies. Chapters survey how customers define success, impart wants, and foster product development – but go further, in showing how product developers may foster innovative strategies to meet unspoken demands and needs. INNOVATION GAMES: CREATING BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCTS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PLAY tailors games to results.

Poker and Philosophy
Eric Bronson, Editor
Open Court
Box 300, Peru, IL 61354-3000
0812695941 $17.95 www.opencourtbooks.com

POKER AND PHILOSOPHY: POCKET ROCKETS AND PHILOSOPHER KINGS is for philosophers and poker enthusiasts alike, linking the moves and strategies of the game to ideas of prediction, civil order, calculated wins, and more. Chapters based on different poker moves allow for a more detailed, applied approach to the rules of philosophy and will intrigue any with an interest in either topic.


The Genealogy Shelf

National Archives titles
International Publishers Marketing Inc.
Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk www.amazon.com

Two excellent references will aid researchers in locating ancestors' lost documents and historical facts by making uses of publicly recorded documents and the census. Karen Grannum and Nigel Taylor's WILLS AND OTHER PROBATE RECORDS (190336549X, $22.95) provides insights from the experts at the National Archives, and while this holds a British focus, many researchers from other countries will find it invaluable. Those whose ancestors have roots in the UK receive chapters on how to conduct research for such instruments, and the pros and cons of their contents. Susan Lumas' MAKING USE OF THE CENSUS (190336535X, $12.95) has been revised to include the 1901 census and appears in its fourth updated edition to cover how the census was taken and preserved, where to locate its components, and how to locate supporting indexes of information.

Journeys in Family History
David Hey
National Archives
c/o International Publishers' Marketing Inc.
Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
1903365619 $49.95 www.nationalarchives.gov.uk www.amazon.com

Author David Hey is a leading family historian who reveals the basics on how to conduct a family history research project in Journeys in Family History: The National Archives' Guide to Exploring Your Past, Finding Your Ancestors. From chief problems in verifying records and recorded ages to using ethnic, national and government records more effectively, in Journeys in Family History should be the starting point for any conducting serious family background checks.

The Hidden Half of The Family
Christina Kassabian Schaeffer
Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road #260, Baltimore, MD 21211-1953
0806315822 $39.95 www.genealogicalpublishing.com

Women's individual names have long been hidden over the decades as they assumed the family names of husbands, making women's genealogy particularly challenging. THE HIDDEN HALF OF THE FAMILY: A SOURCEBOOK FOR WOMEN'S GENEALOGY finally focuses on how to conduct family research based on these hidden names – a special challenge which often thwarts common approaches to genealogical research. Chapters tell how to take a new, closer look at the areas where female ancestors interact with governmental and legal systems – and how to locate these records to reveal the female ancestor's identity and paths. A state-by-state arrangement makes it easy to look up citizenship, marriage and divorce records, and more.


The Language Studies Shelf

Barron's
250 Wireless, Hauppauge, NY 11788
$16.99 Each www.barronseduc.com

Two new foreign language guides, FRENCH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY (0764133306) and SPANISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY (0764133292) are excellent library additions promising lasting lending reference. Each includes English and language definitions, heading words in color with pronunciation and translation guides, usage and grammatical tips, and even maps and cultural insights. The arrangement promises quick reference and lasting usage.

An Encyclopedia of Swearing
Geoffrey Hughes
ME Sharpe
80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, NY 10504
0765612313 $110.00 www.mesharpe.com

An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, And Ethnic Slurs in the English-speaking World provides college-level collections with a solid social history which covers all kinds of ethnic and language slurs around the world. From analysis of the instability of swearing terms to those which have evolved over time, and surveys of taboos and their usage, AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SWEARING does more than chart common and changing swear words: it documents their underlying social causes and impact and provides scholarly reference under each general swear word theme. Many a high school and public lending library will also find it a compelling addition, capable of reaching beyond the scholarly audience to general interest readers with a special concern for language history and evolution.


The Black Studies Shelf

African American Chronology
Kwando M. Kinshasa
Greenwood Press
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0313337977 $45.00 www.greenwood.com

AFRICAN AMERICAN CHRONOLOGY: CHRONOLOGIES OF THE AMERICAN MOSAIC is more comprehensive than most other Afro-American histories: it examines the influence, rise and impact of waves of changes affecting Afro American issues and community struggles, offering chapters of detail from an Associate Professor of Sociology. Each century receives its own chapter, allowing for a narrowed focus on these major events. A breakdown within centuries by year allows for further explicit definition of changes relating to law, the arts, education and more. Both key individuals and events are profiled.


The Audiobook Shelf

Brilliance Audio
Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com

Ted Bell's SPY (1597373834, $39.95) receives John Shea's passionate reading as it tells of an intelligence officer who leads a mysterious expedition into darkness in the Amazon, facing cannibals and forced into slave labor where he witnesses vast terror armies bent on a destructive jihad. Can he make a difference? Terry Brooks' ARMAGEDDON'S CHILDREN (1423322568, $38.95) receives veteran Dick Hill's experienced and moving voice, the perfect pairing for the tense story of a ruined future world and a last stand against evil. A girl named Angel may prove the key to mankind's last salvation, but her meeting with one Logan may change that destiny, too. John Case's GHOST DANCER (1423306171, $39.95) also enjoys Dick Hill's experienced narrative style which lends to the thriller as it tells of a photojournalist used to war and death – until a helicopter crash in Africa leads to romance and then sets him adrift, void of purpose. Suzanne Brockmann's INTO THE STORM (1596001550, $38.95) enjoys a dual narration by Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank as it tells of Navy Seals who face tension and intrigue when a new receptionist vanishes, launching a manhunt in cooperation with the FBI which will lead to murder. David Morrell's THE COVENANT OF THE FLAME (1597377732, $29.95) tells of a two thousand year conflict which bursts into the open to change the world – and to involve an unsuspecting woman reporter in murder which moves quickly from familiar New York to European caves. J.D. Robb's RAPTURE IN DEATH (1423313526, $36.95) receives Susan Ericksen's experienced voice in film and stage as it tells of three seeming suicides with nothing in common but their passion for life and the smiles on their faces in death. Is a police investigator right in finding them connected and suspicious? Alice Hoffman's INCANTATION (1423323599, $19.95) receives Jenna Lamia's award-winning and smooth style, which brings to life a gentle story for ages 12 and older, but which will easily reach into adult audiences with its story of one Estrella, living in a cruel world in Spain where Jews who refuse conversion to Christianity risk families – until romance and forbidden love complicates her life even more. Larry Bond's RED PHOENIX (1423312198, $44.95) enjoys an unabridged narration by J. Charles, who brings to life the thriller set in a second Korean War, providing intricate details on how a second Korean War would emerge. It's a tense thriller which can't be beat for not only fans of military fiction, but for those interested in World War III science fiction scenarios. Laurell K. Hamilton's STRANGE CANDY (1423327306, $32.95) enjoys a dramatic reading by Cynthia Holloway, whose acting and voice-over skills lend a professional feeling to the collection of fantasy fairy tales and short stories. Hamilton is best known for her erotic Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels; but here demonstrates her talent for the short story format. All are excellent leisure listens, and are highly recommended picks. Jim Bond lends his narrative strengths to another Alex McKnight story in Steve Hamilton's A Stolen Season (1423307135 $29.95): here an adventure where Alex rescues passengers of an antique wooden boat, only to find them returning to his life to complicate the life of his best friend, who wants to kill them. Add dangers affecting his beloved and you have a fast-paced thriller that comes to life on audio. Andrew Klavan's DAMNATION STREET (1423312805, $34.95) tells of two sworn enemies and a woman on the run from them both. One is a detective, the other a professional killer: the woman is a hooker who can't escape either. Andrew Vachss' MASK MARKET (1423317017, $34.95) receives David Joe Wirth's fine style, which add life and vigor to the story of burke, who searches for a vanished woman he'd once rescued from a brutal pimp. Will his search change his life? John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA (1423324447, $29.95) receives Jeff Woodman's excellent narrative style, benefitting from his extensive stage and TV work as it tells of a youngster who leaves for boarding school only to find a very different world. Daniel Silva's THE MESSENGER (1596008865, $26.95) receives Christopher Lane's ability to translate an already tense thriller to new heights as it tells of an art restorer and spy facing not only an al-Qaeda threat, but the possibility the Vatican itself has been penetrated by an immense enemy who's just getting started. Jack DuBrul's HAVOC (1423306139, $38.95) enjoys J. Charles' narrative style, which reflects some 40 years of experience in professional theatre and radio, as it tells of a long lost letter which could change the status of the U.S. in the world. A lethal weapon and clues that a geologist must follow to keep terrorism at bay leads to tense action. J.D. Robb's HAUNTED IN DEATH (1423325362, $19.95) receives veteran Susan Ericksen's fine background in stage and TV, lending an outstanding voice to the story of a murder at a haunted building, which pulls Eve Dallas into investigating the possibilities of the supernatural. Linda Francis Lee's DEVIL IN THE JUNIOR LEAGUE (1423324188, $36.95) receives Jenna Lamia's excellent style as it tells of an exclusive Junior League membership and one Fredericka, whose perfect status receives a blow when her husband betrays her. Laura Zigman's PIECE OF WORK (159737430X, $32.95) enjoys a strong performance by Emily Durante as it tells of a woman who foregoes a career to be a stay-at-home mom, only to find herself back in the work force and facing new challenges. All are recommended picks.

In the Presence of a Great Mystery
Eckhart Tolle
New World Library Audio
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
157731557X $21.95 www.NewWorldLibrary.com

Almost all humans share a sense of identity based on personal history, mental interpretations of the world, and memories of the past: it's how these all combine which make for differing perspectives and personalities. In the Presence of a Great Mystery surveys additional influences to draw links between these facets and the spiritual world, considering greater realities which influence and exist beyond the ideals of history and personality. His is an evocative, moving study which comes alive on audio.

Clipper Audio
270 Skipjack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com

Erica James' GARDENS OF DELIGHT (1845058402, $109.75) provides a weighty listen lightened by Jilly Bond's involving, moving narrative style as it tells of Helen, who have just moved into the Old Rectory, and who throws herself into gardening to make up for a distant husband. Two very different women find refuges in gardening possibilities. Gerald Seymour's RAT RUN (1845056213, $109.75) tells of an intelligence officer posted to Iraq who seems guilty of cowardice when his platoon is ambushed. He becomes a recluse in London – but arises to demonstrate true courage after an attack. Cirspin Redman adds spice to a fine thriller. Reginald Hill's THE STRANGER HOUSE (1845054991, $109.75) is narrated by Gordon Griffin who lends excellent drama to the story of a young post-grad Australian who journeys to Cambridge to find himself linked with a Spanish historian fleeing from a priest's seminary. An unusual relationship evolves. Adele Parks' HUSBANDS (1845059439, $69.75) enjoys a multi-cast narration which spices up the action and assumes the drama and interest of a play in the process. Bella has secretly been married to her childhood sweetheart for over a decade and left when things got bad: it's years later, and her new romance has one small hitch – she's still married, and her best friend has fallen for her former husband… Santa Montefiore's THE GYPSY MADONNA (1845055509, $109.75) enjoys Glen McCready's steady voice and smooth style as it tells of one Mischa, whose German father abandoned him and his mother to endure the hatred of the French villagers. When his mother dies, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery to find out why. All are compelling listens, packaged in high-quality library lending packages promising durability. Clare Morrall's NATURAL FLIGHTS OF THE HUMAN MIND (1845059115, $69.75) is narrated by Patience Tomlinson and her smooth, evocative voice lends power to the story of a restoration challenge and a school caretaker who inherits a run-down cottage in a nearby village.

Audio Editions
Auburn, CA 95604
www.audiopartners.com

Agatha Christie's DEAD MAN'S FOLLY (1572705470, $27.95) provides yet another complete, unabridged Hercule Poirot mystery pairing David Suchet's warm British voice with the satisfying story of a new 'murder hunt' party game. Ariadne has designed the perfect party game: a mystery that turns too real when a real corpse is turned up, leading Hercule to uncover the perp. Christie's TOWARDS ZERO (1572705434, $27.95) provides Hugh Fraser powering the story of a dashing tennis player and yet another murder at a party. Superintendent Battle is called upon to solve a case with its roots deep in the past. Willa Cather and other classic writers have their short works narrated on GREAT AMERICAN WOMEN'S FICTION: 10 UNABRIDGED CLASSICS (1572705469, $25.95). Here Chris McGlasson and others narrate works that represent some of the finest of women authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. P.G. Wodehouse's THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS: JEEVES TO THE RESCUE (1572705487, $29.95) also enjoys an excellent unabridged presentation paired with the flair of Jonathan Cecil, whose extensive acting experience lends high drama to the latest story of a clever British butler. Here are fun interactions and clever twists as the classic Woosters interact and vie for power and pleasure. Jane Austen's classic SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1572705524, $37.95) receives actress Sarah Badel's fine and revealing talents as it provides the classic story of two very different sisters who face love and disappointment very differently. Rex Stout's THE BLACK MOUNTAIN (1572705456, $29.95) provides another excellent Nero Wolfe mystery with the smooth acting prowess of Michael Prichard As in other Wolfe mysteries, Prichard brings the tension to life in a story of Wolfe's search for the killer of his best friend. These are all wonderful listens for discriminating home listeners. Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres narrate THE ESSENTIAL KING JAMES BIBLE: COMPLETE STORIES FROM THE OLD & NEW TESTAMENTS (1572705562, $24.95), presented on 6 cds and receiving excellent embellishment from two award-winning Shakespearean actors. Elizabethan English comes to life under their treatment, which proves audio can enhance an appreciation of classic writing no matter what the era. Barbara Leigh-Hunt and others narrate GREAT CLASSIC STORIES; 22 UNABRIDGED CLASSICS (1572705616, $29.95), which packs in a range of actor/readers paired with equally talented short stories. Works by Oscar Wilde, E. Nesbit, Edgar Alan Poe, and others represent some fine picks. Jennifer Egan's THE KEEP (1572705609, $31.95) pairs the excellent narrative prowess of actors Jeff Gurner and Geneva Carr with the thought-provoking story of two cousins changed by a childhood prank who reunite 20 years later to renovate a castle in Europe, breaking codes of silence and face not only the horrors of their connected pasts, but possible terrible future encounters.

HighBridge Audio
33 S. 6th Street, CC-2205, Minneapolis, MN 55402
www.highbridgeaudio.com

Elisabeth Hyde's THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER (1598870440, $32.95) is not to be missed: Elizabeth Hyde's fine story pairs with Beth McDonald's extensive Broadway background and smooth reading to provide a fine Christmas story of an outspoken abortion doctor in a small Colorado town who is murdered. Bitter battles and plenty of suspects cloud the investigation. Sylvia Browne's INSIGHT: CASE FILES FROM THE PSYCHIC WORLD (1598870319, $26.95) explores some fifty years of the author's psychic readings, using her own words to provide stories of her cases, her perceptions, and her world. Discover what it means to be a psychic in this fine survey of her experiences. Denise Mina's THE DEAD HOUR (1598870289, $29.95) receives Heather O'Neill's smooth and evocative manner as it tells of one Paddy Meehan, an investigative journalist who never has hit the big time as a reporter – until a common domestic dispute turns into the story of her life, and involves her in suicide and death. A fast-paced thriller listeners will love. Jonathan Franzen's THE DISCOMFORT ZONE: A PERSONAL HISTORY (1598870548, $29.95) receives the author's own reading of his memoir of growing up a small, sensitive person into an adult with many strong passions. His is an involving, evocative listen of a life charged with interest and achievement.


The Library DVD Shelf

Razor Digital Entertainment
12031 Ventura Blvd. Suite 3, Studio City, CA 91406
$14.99 Each DVDs www.razordigitalent.com

Jari Love's GET RIPPED TO THE CORE (1595523243) provides viewers with a full-body workout which holds vigorous movements designed to burn 2-3 times more calories than other training programs. Use dumbbells and/or your own weight to work out to nine exercises which work several muscles at once, and benefit from a personal fitness trainer's expertise and winning routines – as well as an interview with an exercise psychologist and demonstration of a 57-year-old student. Tracey Mallett's SUPERBODY BOOT CAMP: BURN IT (1595523294) is also a high energy workout for all levels which blends elements of cardio kick boxing, sports conditioning and strength training into routines which feature short bursts of cardio fat-burning exercises. From a basic training warm-up session to intense drills and a cool down session, these are exercises any motivated person can readily achieve.

Travel with Kids Hawaii: Oahu
Destination Travel guides
No ISBN $14.95 www.islandtots.com

If you're planning to take the little ones to Hawaii, this is the DVD for you: it portrays the Roberts family's tour of the Hawaiian islands – Oahu, here – and covers parks, museums, history and cultural centers, and kid-friendly adventures. The inclusion of tips on how to enjoy Hawaii with kids makes for a winning production indeed.

Cooking for Kids Episodes 1-6
Cooking for kids/Title Set
1618 Central Avenue #22, Minneapolis, MN 55413
0972694587 $39.95 www.amazon.com

It's rare to find even a single DVD on the topic of cooking with kids, let alone a 4-cd pack: this is Vole 1, covers six episodes, and provides tested methods on how to introduce kids to cooking. Kids cook cookies, breakfast, and other meals under the instruction of Chef Desiree, and both parents and kids will find this involving and inspirational, packed with recipes, ideas, and step-by-step examples demonstrated by kids.


The Travel Shelf

Japan Atlas: A Bilingual Guide
Kodansha International
4770030266 $24.00 www.kodansha-intl.com

You'd expect an atlas format to be large and oversized – not JAPAN ATLAS: it's the size of a regular book, which lends to easy shelving, yet it is the only one of its kind to provide place names in both English and Japanese, offering over twenty large-scale maps of Japan's various regions, 19 maps of major urban areas, and other smaller maps of roads and tourist areas. Whether it's used as a take-along tourist's tote or a library addition, it's a winner.

Illustrated Atlas of the Himalaya
David Zurick & Julsun Pacheco
University Press of Kentucky
663 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
0813123887 $50.00 www.kentuckypress.com

The Himalayas are extensively featured as asides in many geography and history titles, but until now have not been given their own complete coverage. ILLUSTRATED ATLAS OF THE HIMALAYA is the first in-depth atlas to focus entirely on the region, with its authors holding over 25 years of combined experience to do so: cartography, GIS and photography expertise creates an outstanding title. Presented in an oversized edition to embrace the fine photos, ILLUSTRATED ATLAS surveys local tribes, geological history, changes, and relationships between land and peoples throughout the region, using color key-coded maps and charts and plenty of color photos.

Dufour Editions
Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
$28.95 Each

Two fine 'Through Writer's Eyes' series titles go beyond the usual travel guide handbook, providing details on settings, scenes, and cultural insights that have served as inspiration for writers. SICILY (09087191, 28.95) and SYRIA (0907871844, $28.95) each gather writings from T.E. Lawrence, Ross Burns, and many others who provide cultural, historical and social insights on each country. Famous writers explore their personal experiences in each country and provide a rich survey making for engrossing reading.

Adventure Guide: Maui, Lanai & Molokai
Sharon Hamblin
Hunter Publishing
130 Campus Drive, Edison, NJ 08818
1588435164 $16.99 www.hunterpublishing.com

Outdoors and adventure-oriented travelers will find Adventure Guide: Maui, Lanai & Molokai the perfect item of choice for determining where to stay, what to eat, and how to best see these Hawaiian islands. Here are in-depth descriptions of accommodations – both good and bad points – and the best deals on everything on the islands: an especially important focus given how expensive the islands can be for visitors. Whether you're diving, shopping, dining or driving, Adventure Guide: Maui, Lanai & Molokai is the perfect advance planner, and a good on-site tote, too!

Great River Cruises: Europe & the Nile
Insight Guides
36-36 – 33rd Street, 4th Floor, Long Island City, NY 11106
9812583971 $23.95 www.insightguides.com

If you're contemplating a cruise in Europe, don't leave home without using and taking along Great River Cruises: Europe & the Nile: it packs in photos, color maps, tips on booking itineraries and historical background on all major ports of call and river cruising opportunities in the region, offering 'can't miss' tips for selected, recommended trips. From excursions, castles, hotels and sightseeing to the course of the river and boat rides, it's the item of choice for any journeying to Europe.

New England's Favorite Seafood Shacks
Elizabeth Bougerol
Countryman Press
Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091
0881507083 $16.95 www.countrymanpress.com

If you like seafood and are heading for the East Coast, don't leave home without a copy of New England's Favorite Seafood Shacks in hand: it reviews the best-loved eateries along the coast, offering over seventy profiles on seafood shacks and specialties of the house. Some are as brief as a few sentences, while others command a page or two of historical reference and description. Add in black and white photos and notes on hours, address, web sites and specialties and you have a winning reference indeed.

Lonely Planet titles
150 Linden, Oakland, CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com

Lonely Planet's handy pocket-sized take-along totes are required reference for any adventure-oriented traveler who would depart from the beaten path. Each book covers the local scene, uses opinionated reviews to provide candid assessments of accommodation, eatery or travel pros and cons, and includes a fine blend of local folklore and cultural insights and travel specs. SAMOAN ISLANDS & TONGA (174104531, $21.99) offers up a range of options for seeing the area, from budget to luxury, and covers local lore and places to see. VANUATU & NEW CALEDONIA (1741042968, $24.99) does the same for these South Pacific islands, including the author's research and traveler-tested information. THAILAND'S ISLANDS & BEACHES (1740599306, $21.99) covers the coastal areas and islands of Thailand, covering everything from nearly deserted get-aways to resorts. Each book includes plenty of small black and white local maps throughout, black and white photos, and lists of local festivals and events. The insights on places to see come from traveler notes and are specific and well detailed.

The Creaky Traveler in Ireland
Warren Rovetch
Sentient Publications
1113 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302
1591810272 $15.95 www.sentientpublications.com

You don't need to be on the road to either Ireland nor disability in order to appreciate The Creaky Traveler in Ireland, which offers a set of travelogues blending history, culture and sightseeing opportunities for the older crowd. Fun encounters with alternative cultures – such as Celtic spiritualism – as well as popular tourist sights make for a fun set of travel mishaps and adventures which vividly bring the country to life.


The Paperback Shelf

Pocket Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.simonsays.com

Susan Sizemore's PRIMAL HEAT (1416513353, $6.99) is vampire romance at its best. Mathias is Prime of his vampire family and sworn to protect his people – but he finds himself falling in love with a lovely police officer from the past, and when a band of vampire hunters threatens them, Matt finds a hidden danger underlying his romance and longing for love. Swift action and vampire fantasy make for a steamy combination. Julie Leto's DIRTY LITTLE LIES (1416501630, $6.99) tells of Marisela, who has been training for an investigative job and seeks relief from a demanding routine. Her romantic fling evolves into a dangerous situation when a senator is shot and she finds the assassin has links to her old world. Readers are treated to a story line hard to define: part PI, part romance, and many twists and turns.

BL Publishing
1525 Hulse Road Unit 1, Pt. Pleasant, NJ 08742
www.blacklibrary.com

Nick Kyme's BACK FROM THE DEAD (1884163768, $7.99) tells of one Eric Bane, whose life falls apart when he's expelled from a top-level position at Necromunda Hive City. A girl on the run, an underground gang chasing her, and a plague racing through the hive leaving zombies behind spices up his life in this action-packed science fiction thriller.


The California Shelf

Left in the Dust
Karen Piper
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
1403969310 $24.95 www.palgrave-usa.com

California natives and residents are already well acquainted with the passionate feelings about water conservation in this dry state, but Left in the Dust: How Race and Politics Created a Human and Environmental Tragedy in L.A. offers new dimensions of the problem in adding a social survey to the issues. The author's childhood was affected by decisions which made for an environmental crime: LEFT IN THE DUST covers the city of Los Angeles's creation of, cover-up of, and inadequate attempts to repair the dustbowl it created from poor management decisions and corruption. From DPW issues and Native American struggles to the author's own investigations, LEFT IN THE DUST provides compelling, damning evidence of governmental destruction.

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf
Alessandro Baccari Jr.
Arcadia Publishing
0738528978 $26.99 www.arcadiapublishing.com

If your collection needs more local San Francisco-specific history, you can't go wrong with this coverage of one of the city's biggest tourist attractions, San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. An oversized format (well, oversized compared to Arcadia's usual smaller book size) succeeds in capturing Fisherman's Wharf in all its changing facets, using vintage black and white photos to display the evolution of the area from its origins as Meigg's wharf, once the main port of entry to San Francisco, to its current attraction to tourists. Many of these images haven't seen print before, and see print now thanks to the efforts of author Alessandro Baccari Jr, founder and president of the Fisherman's Wharf Historical Society. A 'must' for any in-depth San Francisco history collection, its contents are unparalleled despite the preponderance of San Francisco histories on the market.

Nolo's Guide to California Law
Attorneys Lisa Guerin & Patricia Gima
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
1413304915 $24.99 www.nolo.com

California law issue are addressed in this updated 9th edition of a primer which covers almost any situation, from parental kidnapping to landlord/tenant relations, responsibilities, and common issues. Two attorneys provide the latest facts in language any consumer can readily understand, covering California legal requirements and regulations on employer/employee relations, housing, and private life. An updated 'must' for any interested in California law.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Krause Publications
700 E. State Street, Iola, WI 54990-0001
www.fwpublishers.com

The collector and also the sports enthusiast/gun owner who will find Frank C. Barnes' CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD, 11TH EDITION (0896892972, $29.99) provides a complete reference to over 1,500 cartridges for guns, providing ballistics and load data, information on modern as well as obsolete cartridges, military rifle and proprietary cartridges, and more. Each listing comes with a good-sized black and white photo of the cartridge, with historical background accompanying general specs and information. Ken Ramage edits the 61st updated edition of GUN DIGEST 2007 (0896893162, $29.99), providing and updating the latest in firearms data. Gun digest has been produced since 1944, and this compiles and synthesizes all kinds of details for the shooting sportsmen, gathering reports from the field, details on prices and caliber, collector's information, and pairing all with small black and white photos. The new gun collector's guides reports and feature reports can't be beat.

Old School Hot Rods
Alan Mayes
Krause Publications
700 E. State Street, Iola, WI 54990-0001
089689245X $24.99 www.fwpublishers.com

'Old school' is here defined as 'Deuce' coupes and Model A roadsters, among others: it's old chassis, old stylings, and old hot rods from the 1950s. Any hot rod fan who collects vintage classics will thus relish Old School Hot Rods: Radical Rides That Stand the Test of Time, which packs in pages of color photos along with rebuilding and renovation experiences from a range of collectors.

The Collector's Encyclopedia Of Buttons
Sally C. Luscomb
Schiffer Publishing
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
0764323296 $24.95 www.schifferbooks.com

Any button collector knows the number of books on the topic are surprisingly limited – which is why the updated, revised sixth edition of an industry classic The Collector's Encyclopedia Of Buttons remains so essential. Button listings here cover all periods, materials, and manufacturers and small black and white photos throughout make for easier identification (color might have made it even better). Add an encyclopedia A-Z arrangement by manufacturer and type, revised prices, and clear descriptions and you have a real winner here.

A Guide Book of Washington And State Quarters
Q. David Bowers
Whitman Publishing
3101 Clairmont Road Suite C, Atlanta, GA 30329
079482059X $19.95 www.whitmanbooks.com

A Guide Book of Washington And State Quarters: Complete Source for History, Grading, and Prices provides a very specific, detailed resource for quarter collectors which pairs a history of quarter issues with tips on assessing coins, buying wisely, and valuing quarters from 1932 to date. Illustrations in full color throughout make identification easy – along with a grading guide and the latest values. Any coin collector specializing in quarters must have this.

Schiffer Publishing Company
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com

Drive Edward Force's DINKY TOYS (0764323644, $19.95) appears in its revised 6th edition, with prices updated by Jeff Bray and including not just your usual descriptions and color photos, but details on the new and old system of catalog numbers. Here's a chronological arrangement of photos, notes on model changes and pricing, company histories, and thorough descriptions of each model's components. Toy collectors must have this. Mary Martin & Nathaniel Wolfgang-Price's GREETINGS FROM CHICAGO (0764325450, $24.95) covers the vintage hand-tinted and black and white postcards which dated from the turn of the century through the 1950s, celebrating Chicago. It's a specialty focus, sure: but one amply covered in collectible vintage images, here displayed four to a page with accompany notes on Chicago culture and collectibles. Deborah A. Robinson's EMMONS & SARAH COVENTRY: JEWELRY FASHION SHOW (0764321455, $29.95) provides an in-depth, detailed reference documenting all phases of the jewelry from these makers. Over a thousand items receive a pairing of color photos with discussions of changing styles, different sales outlets, and jewelry production for these outlets. Original catalog pages, ads, awards, current values and history provide excellent insights. Two fine jewelry titles have been revised and expanded in updated, new editions collectors will want. Nancy N. Schiffer's TURQUOISE JEWELRY (0764323490, $9.95) covers a range of Southwest Indian-made pieces, with color photos displaying both ancient and modern works and providing a price guide revised for the latest prices. Theda and Michael Bassman's ZUNI JEWELRY (0764323579, $12.95) does the same for Zuni productions, packing in full color pages displaying pieces and styles. Both are highly recommended references for specialty jewelry collectors.

Cherrypicker's Guide to Rare Die Varieties of United States Coins
Bill Fivaz & J.T. Stanton
Whitman
3101 Clairmont Road Suite C, Atlanta, GA 30329
0794820530 $39.95 www.whitmanbooks.com

Cherrypicker's Guide to Rare Die Varieties of United States Coins isn't for novices: it tells avid collectors how to cherrypick rare coins, culling a collection of normal coins for the rare characteristics and issues that make for unique acquisitions. This 4th updated edition represents the 2nd volume: it covers half dimes to modern dollars, gold, commemoratives, and packs in the black and white photo close-ups of marks and dies which make identification of smaller marks a snap. Reviews of collector holdings, varieties of coins, and discussions and arguments within the collecting community over the cause of marks enhance a lay-flat binding with spine lettering perfect for frequent consultation or library shelving. A top pick.

American Art Glass
John A. Shuman III
Collector Books
Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009
1574324829 $29.95 www.collectorbooks.com

The second updated edition of Collector's Encyclopedia of American Art Glass is a winner: it packs in full pages of color photos on each and every page, pairs these with written descriptions, and includes the latest updated values. Pieces come from a range of collections, so they aren't limited by collection or ownership, and glass examples were chosen with readers' interests in mind. From glassmaking tools and their history to logos and design insights, this is an outstanding survey and a 'must' for any serious collector.

Collector Books
Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009
www.collectorbooks.com

Bob & Jane Hanson's AMERICAN ART POTTERY COLLECTION IDENTIFICATION AND VALUES (1574325086, $29.95) is a top pick for any collector amassing American art pottery. Pages come packed with close-up color photos of all kinds of pieces, while histories of production companies and makers supplement the latest, updated prices. Carrie and Gerald Domitz's FENTON GLASS MADE FOR OTHER COMPANIES VOLUME II: 1970-2005 (1574325159, $29.95) continues the referencing begun in an earlier volume, starting with 1970 production up to modern times. Fenton pieces all receive color photos, while charts of patterns, shapes, ware numbers and the latest collector's prices accompany chapters arranged by company listings. The sixth updated edition of B.J. Summer's GUIDE TO COCA COLA (1574325108, $29.95) updates prices for all kinds of Coke collectibles, from bottles and ads to toys and games, postcards, and clothing. All are essential, specific collector's references.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

2007 Writer's Markets
F&W Publications
4700 East Galbriath Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpublications.com

These outstanding annual writer's references are 'must have' acquisitions not just for libraries, but for individuals serious about selling their work. The 'granddaddy' of all is the 2007 WRITER'S MARKET (1582974276, $29.99), now in its 86th annual edition. If you haven't taken a peek lately, look at the newest: over 4,000 listings include book publishers, consumer magazines, trade journals and literary agents and pair sidebars of interviews with writers and professionals with the latest details on what's needed and how to submit. Over 600 new listings appear here. The 26th annual edition of NOVEL & SHORT STORY WRITER'S MARKET (1582974306, $26.99) narrows the topic for this genre, packing over a thousand listings for writing contests, agents, magazines and more and including the same sidebars of detail. Over 200 new listings, here. The children's market is a specialty market and thus the 19th annual edition of CHILDREN'S WRITER'S & ILLUSTRATOR'S MARKET (1582974357, $26.99) is essential for writers working this market. Again, the inclusion of web sites, reference icons, specific contact names, and tips on approaching with the right content can't be beat. This series is simply a 'must' for any serious about publishing.

The Dog Walked Down The Street
Sal Glynn
Cypress House
155 Cypress Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
1879384663 $13.95 www.cypresshouse.com

The Dog Walked Down The Street: An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish is an excellent guide for any writer who would understand how to work effectively with a publisher or editor. It not only covers the basics of good writing and good marketing: it provides some 'terrible truths' about publishing and marketing and educates writers on the publishing business as a whole.

Lights! Camera! Fiction!
Alfie Thompson
Running Press
125 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
076242401X $12.95 www.runningpress.com

LIGHTS! CAMERA! FICTION! THE MOVIE LOVER'S GUIDE TO WRITING A NOVEL is for any who have watched a movie and thought they could've written better. The basics of characterization, plot development, tension development and high drama – all parts of the movie – are also a writer's tools; yet this is the only book to link storytelling skills using examples from film studies. College-level students of either film or writing will find it important.


The Literary Shelf

Facts on File
132 W. 31st Street, New York, NY 10001
$50.00 each www.factsonfile.com

The four volumes in the 'Banned Book' set each offer specific focus and important details, and the set's revised new editions are key picks for any high school or college-level collection including social history and literary insights. Dawn B. Sova's LITERATURE SUPPRESSED ON SEXUAL GROUNDS (0816062722), Margaret Bald's RELIGIOUS GROUNDS (0816062692), Nicholas J. Karolides' POLITICAL GROUNDS (0816062706) and Sova's SOCIAL GROUNDS (0816062714) each provides surveys of historical, social, and censorship issues, with new entries in each revised edition covering more major writers, themes, and the most recent censorship actions by school boards, governments, and others. Each entry provides a summary of actions, censorship history as a whole, and further reading – and each book covers significant challenges and changes in censorship theories and efforts, using the literature to survey trends and ideology. The set is a 'must' for any school considering assigning reports or studies on literary censorship issues.

101 Best Scenes Ever Written
Barbaby Conrad
Quill Driver Books
1254 Commerce Avenue, Sanger, CA 93657
1884956564 $14.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com

Writers and readers alike will find much to love in 101 BEST SCENES EVER WRITTEN: A ROMP THROUGH LITERATURE FOR WRITERS AND READERS. Here works by Hemingway, Jack London, Steinbeck, Twain and other notables are surveyed with an eye to providing examples of some of the most memorable writing approaches in modern history. Playwrights, in particular, will want this survey of what influences transform an ordinary scene to a great one.

Randolph Caldecott: His Books And Illustrations for Young Readers
Robert J. Desmarais
University of Alberta Press
Ring House 2, University Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2EI
1551952076 $24.95 www.uap.ualberta.ca

Caldecott is today associated with the children's book award in his name, but few coverages provide more than a bow to his many achievements: for this you need Randolph Caldecott: His Books And Illustrations for Young Readers. It tells of the past history of children's illustration pre-Caldecott, of his determination for better quality picture books, and of the methods he employed to add color at a time when children's books were dull and dark. Color illustrations on nearly every page come from the author's personal collection and spice a strong literary history of not just Caldecott, but of children's picturebooks as a whole.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Lewis Buzbee
Graywolf
2402 University Avenue #203, St. Paul, MN 55114
1555974503 $17.00 www.graywolfpress.org

If you're a 'book junkie' who loves reading more than any other activity, then the delightful memoir from ex-bookseller Lewis Buzbee, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, is for you. It celebrates the bookseller trade, providing a history of the first library to bookmaking's evolution and bookselling's concurrent popularity through the centuries, peppering anecdotes with lively surveys of book trends and development. A fine history evolves.

Our Roots Are Deep With Passion
Lee Gutkind & Joanna Clapps Herman, Editors
Other Press
2 Park Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10016
1590512421 $15.95 www.otherpress.com

OUR ROOTS ARE DEEP WITH PASSION: CREATIVE NONFICTION gathers new writings by Italian American writers, compiling over twenty essays on the ways in which Italian ancestry enhances the lives of Americans. Essays cover everything from food and romance to cultural history, and offer both Italians and non-Italians an affection survey of Italian impacts on American culture.

Empires of the Word
Nicholas Ostler
HarperPerennial
10 E. 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
0060935723 $17.95 www.harperperennial.com

EMPIRES OF THE WORD is the first history of the world's great languages, from how Chinese proved resilient over centuries of invasions to why Latin died, arose, and then died again. From the spread of Sanskrit in India to the evolution of French as a romance language, EMPIRES OF THE WORD provides a lively, fond review of evolving languages and their influences.


The American History Shelf

University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK
www.oupress.com

Albert L. Hurtado's JOHN SUTTER: A LIFE ON THE NORTH AMERICAN FRONTIER (080613772X, $34.95) is a top pick for any high school or college-level history collection, and for California history holdings in particular. John Sutter founded a modern settlement in California's Sacramento Valley whose economy depended on Indian slaves and free laborers: it drew immigrants and fortune seekers alike, and made Sutter one of the richest men in the early West – a wealth brought down by his poor business sense. Professor Hurtado uses a range of source materials to provide the definitive coverage of Sutter's life, times, and rise and fall. An essential coverage. Ross Hassig's MEXICO AND THE SPANISH CONQUEST (0806137932, $14.95) appears in its second updated edition to cover the role indigenous peoples played in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Primary sources display the experiences of the Indians of Mexico and survey the politics, economics, and social history of both peoples and their interactions, adding new research for this updated edition.

Uncle Sam's Camels
Lewis Burt Lesley, Editor
Huntington Library Press
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108
0873282205 $24.95 www.huntington.org

UNCLE SAM'S CAMELS: THE JOURNAL OF MAY HUMPHREYS STACEY SUPPLEMENTED BY THE REPORT OF EDWARD FITZGERALD BEALE tells of how the U.S. Congress funded the importation of camels in 1855, to test their fitness for military purposes in the Southwest. It was Beale who led the first and only 'camel corps' from Texas to California in 1857, joined by the then-19-year-old May Stacey, who kept a journal of their travels and experiences. UNCLE SAM'S CAMELS is that journal, reproducing the expedition stories and returning to print a title originally published in 1929, still the definitive text on the experience to date.

Writing the Trail
Deborah Lawrence
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House, Iowa City, IA 55442
1587295091 $29.95 www.uiowapress.org

WRITING THE TRAIL: FIVE WOMEN'S FRONTIER NARRATIVES is for any collection strong in either women's studies or early American history. It gathers together the journeys and very different experiences of five early frontier women, and come from as diverse a sector as a teen bride and 'wandering princess' on the Santa Fe Trail to life in California's mining camps. Quotes from letters, journals and source materials are supplemented by historical and cultural reflections suitable for college-level study.

Elephants for Mr. Lincoln
William Strobridge & Anita Hibler
Scarecrow Press
4501 Forbes Blvd. #200, Lanham, MD 20706
0810857626 $40.00 www.scarecrowpress.com

ELEPHANTS FOR MR. LINCOLN: AMERICAN CIVIL WAR-ERA DIPLOMACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA tells of American-Asian relationships and encounters before and during the U.S. Civil War era, focusing on the individuals who fostered relationships throughout the war years. Diplomacy, trade, and changing relationships between different Asian countries are the focus of chapters surveying changing opinions, politics, and relationships both affected by and distant from Civil War events. A fascinating coverage provides college-level readers with an unusual early diplomatic history key to understanding today's Asian history.


The World History Shelf

Encountering Terra Australis
Jean Fornasiero, et.al.
Wakefield Press
Box 2266, Kent Town, SA 5067, Australia
1862546258 $44.95 www.wakefieldpress.com.au www.amazon.com

College-level collections strong in Australian history and early exploration must have Encountering Terra Australis: The Australian Voyages of Nicolas Baudin and Matthew Flinders. It covers the achievements and encounters of these two navigators at the beginning of the 19th century, differing from competitors in examining the voyage of Baudin, rather than Flinders, to provide a different interpretation, reworking facts from the authors' own translation of Baudin's journals and original sources. The contrasting achievements of the two navigators thus receive more of an even analysis here, using both French and Australian sources to authenticate and correct historical facts.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Searching for Yellowstone
Paul Schullery
Montana Historical Society/Globe Pequot Press
Box 201201, Helena, MT 59620-1201
0972152210 $19.95 www.montanahistoricalsociety.org

Combine history, scholarship, and a survey of nature and ecological issues and you have an uncommon history of Yellowstone that examines the political and cultural influences on the park's development and management over the decades. SEARCHING FOR YELLOWSTONE: ECOLOGY AND WONDER IN THE LAST WILDERNESS offers up chapters packed with true stories of environmental encounters and wonders. Readers with affection for Yellowstone will find these early encounters riveting.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Armageddon's Children
Terry Brooks
Del Rey
c/o Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
0345484088 $26.95 www.delreybooks.com

Logan Tom is a survivor, living in a world post-apocalypse, in a poisoned, ruined America. He's determined to seek a being born of magic with magical abilities who can battle the final darkness about to descend – and his encounter with one Angel, another survivor, will lead to changes and possibly a new future in this riveting story of a new world's brave survivors. Characterization is strong throughout, powering a story that blends a coming of age with a survival theme.

Baen Books
Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
www.baen.com

Catherine Asaro's ALPHA (1416520813, $25.00) comes from a Nebula-winning author and provides a sequel to her popular SUNRISE ALLEY, continuing the story of Charon, now dead, who was a brilliant criminal and practitioners of illegal robotics and androids. General Wharington believes himself safe – but one Alpha, the only android survivor of Charon's talents, remains, with her superhuman skills and deadly capabilities. His affection for her leads Thomas to some bad decisions, for Alpha kidnaps him and continues to carry out her late master's unknown orders in this riveting thriller. David Drake'' SOME GOLDEN HARBOR (1416520805, $25.00) is a pleasing military thriller telling of a dangerous Alliance which continues its war against the Republic. It's up to one newly promoted Commander, Daniel, and his crew to keep the world from falling to an invasion. Spider & Jeanne Robinson's THE STARDANCE TRILOGY (1416520821, $26.00) finally gathers the Hugo and Nebula-winning trio of novels, STARDANCE, STARSEED and STARMIND, under one cover for the first time, providing a unified collection of stories which chart humanity's first uncertain contact with aliens A gifted dancer goes to space to create a new art form in three dimensions – and is the key to saving Earth, when the aliens arrive. A gripping set of interplays and contacts makes for an involving sequence of adventures here. David Weber and John Ringo's WE FEW (1416520848, $7.99) tells of one Roger McClintock, playboy prince who has won battles and watched those around him die to keep him alive. He's coming home now – but to a family that has been decimated by violence. Can he save the Empire – and his family? Spider Robinson's VERY BAD DEATHS (141652083X, $7.99) tells of a broken American changed by the death of his longtime wife, who is ready to join her – but one Smelly, his former college roommate, won't let him give up. Smelly has been a hermit for years and Russel knows his secret: he can read minds. Three unlikely heroes evolve from this secret power.

Ace Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Joe Haldeman's A SEPARATE WAR AND OTHER STORIES (0441014070, $23.95) gathers, for the first time, some fifteen tales of Haldeman's best works, from his first short story to later favorites, and will delight and surprise fans who know him best through his full-length award-winning novels THE FOREVER WAR and others. These retrospective stories come with in-depth author notes and provide a strong chronological assessment of the changing skills of a young writer who became an award winner in his genre. Charles Stross' GLASSHOUSE (0441014038, $24.95) tells of one Robin, who wakes up in a clinic with amnesia – only to discover someone's trying to kill him. It's the 27th century, when the world has been changed by network worms and interstellar travel: apparently what Robin knows but can't recall threatens the stability of the world – and Robin's search for sanctuary leads him to the Glasshouse project, simulating a pre-accelerated culture, where his new identity gains him both protection and trouble. A fast-paced, hard-hitting story evolves with many unpredictable twists of plot.


The Fiction Shelf

Bachelors
Arthur Schnitzler
Ivan R. Dee
1332 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60622-2694
1566636116 $27.50 www.ivanrdee.com

Margret Schaefer here translates and gathers new novellas and stories from Arthur Schnitzler, whose works offer penetrating insights into the male psyche. No ordinary collection of fiction, each piece is as clear as a bell, as sparkling as a jewel in its penetrating analysis of male ambiguities, perversities, and psychology. An excellent collection of short works, Bachelors narrows the focus with skill and outlines bachelor concerns with precision.


The 2007 Calendar Shelf

Andrews McMeel Publishing
4520 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Check out some of the funniest calendars around, published by Andrews McMeel and reflecting the finest offerings of major comic strip artists syndicated in America. Any with a teen shouldn't miss Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's ZITS 2007 FAMILY ORGANIZER (0740758705, $12.99): it's a long-sized call calendar pairing a 'family organizer' format suitable for posting with reminder stickers plus a pocket for storing important papers. Despite this, it does hold a monthly page format with a different piece of Zits artwork and calendar boxed grid for each month, making it more than a calendar alone. Scott Adams' cubicle world of Dilbert is reflected in I USED THE WEEK TO DEVELOP SOME NEW COFFEE-SIPPING NOISES 2007 calendar (0740759019, $12.99). Here's a fold-out, lay-flat notebook calendar and datebook which holds spaces for notes, at-a-glance monthly small calendars, color cartoon Dilbert joke strips, and a weekly boxed format easy for filling in appointments. Both are top picks.

2007 Wall Calendar
American Quilter's Society
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
1574329103 $9.95 www.americanquilter.com

Any who love quilts, whether as a professional fellow quilter or as an art appreciator, will also love the 2007 WALL CALENDAR from American Quilter's Society, a display of 12 of the most vivid quilt designs of the year. These are winners of the AQS quilt show and contest, and a gorgeous format displays them in vivid color for your wall.

Brown Trout Publishers
www.browntrout.com

Brown Trout's wall calendars go by themes and thus make perfect gifts for any with hobbies, special interests, or particular subject needs. Dog lovers don't just get a general dog calendar, for example, but breed-specific choices, such as 2007 GREAT PYRENEES (1421607255, $13.99), which holds 12 months of gorgeous photos, from puppies to adults. Wildlife fans will appreciate such wild animal-specific choices as John Hendrickson's OWLS 2007 (1421605023, $12.99), which pairs gorgeous photos of owls of the West Coast with a practical wall format suitable for eye-catching display. Bonnie Muench provides the vivid photos for AFRICA 2007 (1421609045, $12.99), which captures countryside and different nations, from animals of Kenya to Victoria Falls in Kenya and Namibia sand dunes. Lighthouse fans will love ATLANTIC COAST LIGHTHOUSES (1421603780, $13.99), which comes in a slightly oversized wall calendar display format to better accent the different, lovely lighthouses within. All are exceptional picks discriminating 2007 calendar buyers will want.


The Transportation Shelf

The Ducati Story
Ian Falloon
Haynes Publishing
1844253228 $44.95 www.haynes.co.uk www.amazon.com

Ducati is known for its motorcycles among transportation buffs today, but it switched from electronics to motorcycle manufacturing after a bombing during the second world war – and thus made its name in the industry. What is less well known is the stormy path that led to this reputation, chronicled here in The Ducati Story, now in its 4th edition. Ducati experienced a number of rises and falls due to questionable managerial decision-making processes. This book portrays some of its most famous designers and designs but also charts a company history behind the scenes. Falloon has written over 20 books on motorcycles, including eight on Ducati, but this in-depth survey is one of his best, pairing eye-catching color motorcycle photos with business and design facts.

TVR Performance Portfolio
R.N. Clarke, Compiler
Brooklands Books
Box 146, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1LG UK
1855207176 www.brooklands-books.com www.amazon.com

You have to be a sports car fan in general with a special affection for English creations in particular, but if you're such a fan, the specialty details in TVR Performance Portfolio is for you. It offers up a summation of activities of the past six years of the TVR manufacturer, packing in performance details, technical details, comparisons and history. Yes, there are also over forty color pages detailing these newer models. A 'must' for any who would keep up with changing times and designs.

Danica Patrick
Jonathan Ingram & Paul Webb
Motorbooks
380 Jackson Street #200, St. Paul, MN 55101-3885
0760325170 $14.95 www.motorbooks.com

If you know anything about motor racing, you know Danica Patrick is America's hottest female driver at the moment, commanding attention over her male counterparts nearly every time she races. This photo journal of her life packs in over a hundred images from racing photographer Paul Webb and details her racing background and rise to fame: it's essential for any Danica fan.

Deuce: 75 Years of The '32 Ford
Robert Genat
Car Tech
39996 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056
1932494138 $39.95 www.cartechbooks.com

The 1932 Ford Deuce was a landmark achievement for Ford, featuring an eight-cylinder flathead engine over the usual V-8 designs. While many books focus on this groundbreaking model, few take the time to place it in perspective: for that you need Deuce: 75 Years of the '32 Ford. Chapters offer up a complete history of the car's design, changes, influences, and racers. Vintage factory photos and details about each model provide a wide-ranging survey of the changes incorporated into the Deuce over the decades.

Allies of the Earth
Alfred Runte
Truman State University Press
1931112525 $29.95 www.tsup.truman.edu

ALLIES OF THE EARTH: RAILROADS AND THE SOUL OF PRESERVATION comes from an environmentalist and historian whose concurrent exploration of railroad history and environmental preservation efforts draw together in an unusual survey of both. When he realized America's parks had been formed by railroads, he followed the historical connections between environmental efforts and rail history, blending in a first-person travelogue of experience with history, culture, political and social influences, and preservation challenges alike. While difficult to easily categorize, this reaches across categories and collection boundaries and even will appeal into the public library setting as a unique leisure choice.


The Alternative Collections Shelf

Bruno Gmunder Verlag
Kleiststrasse 23-26, D-10787, Berlin, Germany
www.brunogmuender.com

Bruno Gmunder's photobooks aren't for your general collection, but are a specialty item which features artistic but vivid, blatant shots of nude men: as such, they will reach gay collections and many a personal library. FRESH MEN: YOUNG, FRESH, SEXY (3861879883, $39.95) is more than just a photo collection: it culls the best of fifteen years of the popular photo magazine 'Freshmen', offering up an erotic collection of young boyish faces and bodies. Howard Roffman's THE BOYS OF BEL AMI (3861879891, $79.00) also focuses on young nude men and their lives, this capturing more couple shots and offering up romance as well as erotic images (all soft porn – but more revealing than U.S. soft porn would be). Ray Dragon's REAL MEN (3961879913, $29.95) offers up industry stars who know how to show off their bodies. Masculinity is the theme here, making for powerful posed themes. All are too explicit for your general collection; but gay-oriented holdings and personal collectors will find them exceptionally well done productions: artistic, tasteful, and erotic.


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

Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net


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