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Internet Bookwatch

Volume 15, Number 2 February 2005 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Science Shelf Computer Shelf
American History Shelf Criminology Shelf Musicbook Shelf
Gardening Shelf Environmental Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Mythology/Folklore Shelf Business Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Religion/Spirituality Shelf Automotive Shelf Metaphysical Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Martial Arts Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf
Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Native American Shelf Travel Shelf
Sports Shelf Military Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Biography Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Nautical Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Language Studies Shelf
Art Shelf Self-Help Shelf World History Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Library Video/DVD Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Literary Shelf Gaming Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Education Shelf Parenting Shelf Psychology Shelf
Architecture Shelf Library Science Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf
Buddhist Studies Shelf Hunting/Fishing Shelf Interior Design Shelf
Archaeology Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

Designer Scrapbooks With Mrs. Grossman
Andrea Grossman
Sterling Publishing
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016-8810
www.sterlingpub.com
1402710585 $24.95 1-800-805-5489

Mrs. Grossman's colorful sticker packets adorn the shelves and twirl racks of many an art store and grocery, so she would seem the perfect author to present Designer Scrapbooks With Mrs. Grossman, pairing stickering with scrapbooking techniques for colorful, professional results. Grossman's own scrapbooks are used to illustrate how paper selection, design lines, and stickers can enhance pages and turn an ordinary photo book to a family keepsake of memories. Colorful tips on display methods pack a wonderful craft guide.

New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
1-800-972-6657 onewworldlibrary.com

Want a simple, basic guide to 'living in the now'? Plenty of advice titles tell you to do it but not until Shannon Duncan's Present Moment Awareness: A Simple, Step-By-Step Guide To Living In The Now (1577314859, $12.95) does a guide actually cover the nuts and bolts of achieving this preferred state. It's not just an admonition but a set of ideas paired with practical exercises to show readers how to calm worries about the future and begin enjoying the 'here and now'. Discover typical causes of discontent and learn how to re-direct emotions with Present Moment Awareness. Echo Bodine's Hands That Heal (1577314565, $12.95) tells how to heal not just others, but yourself. With Bodine, a renowned spiritual healer and psychic, at the helm, readers are guided through the basics of the traditional Christian 'laying on of hands' technique, offering both stories from those she's healed and insights into how to release emotional blocks and avoid dependency. Frank MacEowen's The Spiral Of Memory And Belonging: A Celtic Path Of Soul And Kinship (1577314239, $14.95) guides in using the traditions of ancient peoples to explore the modern world. Celtic and shamanic wisdom are the foundations explored in a guide which reveals the Irish dreamtime and concepts of Irish spirituality. For something completely different, choose Tad Wise's Tibetan Buddhist Altars: A Pop-Up Gallery Of Traditional Art And Wisdom (1577314670, $21.95). This is a unique and exquisite paper engineering piece which opens like a hardbound temple door and contains pop-up galleries of altars, with text and illustration by Robert Beer and paper engineering by David A. Carter. You won't see anything like it anywhere else, and it makes the perfect unique gift for a Buddhist believer.

University of Calgary Press
2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
www.uofcpress.com

Three excellent new explorations will earn places in specialty collections or collections focusing on Canadian history and culture. Graham Livesey's Passages: Explorations Of The Contemporary City (1552381412, $22.95) provides a gathering of essays exploring eight topics on the modern urban domain. Both geographic and literary topics are revealed, from narrative to metaphor, to survey the post-modern city in all its historical and intellectual mystery. A recommended pick for college-level collections. Brian Kooyman and Jane Kelley's Archaeology On The Edge: New Perspectives From Th Northern Plains (1552381382, $39.95) is dedicated to the memory of Alberta archaeologist Richard G. Forbis, gathering papers by his students and colleagues as a tribute to the man who was instrumental in establishing the field of cultural resource management. His impact on Canadian archaeology and resources encouraged all to push the limits of modern methodology and interpretation, and the papers chosen here focus on these new directions in nor-thern plains archaeological research. Simon Evans' The Bar U: Candian Ranching History (155238134X) is another Canadian specialty item; this covering the Bar U, one of the most famous ranches in Canada. For over a hundred years it covered over 150,000 acres in Alberta and played a key role in the emergence of the Canadian cattle business. The Bar U's business structure, various ownerships and strategies, and major influencers and impacts draws on a host of source materials, from local and oral histories to papers, to reveal the evolution of the bar U's ranching methods.

Making A Killing
Madelaine Drohan
The Lyons Press
www.LyonsPress.com
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
1592285775 $24.95 1-800-836-0510

What happens when multinational corporations decide that the use of armed force is really business? When companies line up with warlords and armies to make a profit? When corporate interests dictate war or peace? Madelaine Drohan's meticulously researched and impressively wrfitten expose, Making A Killing, shows just what happens in a world of multinational power, drawing important connections between corporate armed forces and history and providing food for thought for corporations, policy makers and national leaders alike -- the result is an intriguing, eye-opening discussion.

Alice's Adventures
Will Brooker
Continuum
15 E. 26th Street, New York NY 10110
www.continuumbooks.com
0826414338 $27.95 www.amazon.com

Lewis Carroll wrote "Alice In Wonderland" and is most noted for this achievement, but he did so much more, fostering the setting for later computer games, theme parks, and performances inspired by his works. Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll In Popular Culture isn't just another coverage of Carroll's life; it's a survey of how the characters he created live on in modern times, adapted since his death in 1898. The analysis juxtaposes perfectly with his life and times and creates for more depth in the analysis of Alice's ongoing effects on modern culture, than the modern biography could achieve.

Mixed Nuts
Lawrence J. Epstein
Public Affairs
250 W. 57th St. #1321, NY, NY 10107
www.publicaffairsbooks.com
1586481908 $26.00 1-877-782-1234

Mixed Nuts: America's Love Affair With Comedy Teams From Burns And Allen to Belushi and Aykroyd isn't the typical biography of a single comedy act but an all-embracing set of memoirs of America's love affair with comedy teams as a whole, from Belushi and Aykroyd to Burns and Allen. Analyses include portraits of rises and falls in popularity, departures from traditional comedy team norms, the changing world of comedy as it moved from stage to the big screen, and more. Author Lawrence Epstein is an English professor who frequently lectures on popular culture, with Mixed Nuts bringing a scholarly, yet accessible, atmosphere to a fine history of American comedy interests.

Samuel Johnson's Insults
Jack Lynch, Editor
Walker & Company
104 5th Ave., New York NY 10011
www.walkerbooks.com
0802714285 $12.95 1-800-289-2553

Over three hundred of Samuel Johnson's nastier barbs and their meanings are gathered from his various writings under one cover to appeal to modern readers seeking new ways of insulting. Quotes are often accompanied not just by definitions but insights into the source of the barb or quip, revealing further insights into Samuel Johnson's works and life as well. Samuel Johnson's Insults: A Compendium of Snubs, Sneers, Slights and Effronteries from the Eighteenth-Century Master is highly entertaining and enthusiastically recommended reading.

Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703
1-800-377-2542 www.ulyssespress.com

Two fun new titles are fine picks for readers seeking something different. Flic Everett's Sexy Bitch's Book Of Doing It, Getting It And Giving It (1569753911, $9.95) may not be for every library collection: it's a risqu‚ and fun cultural collection about attitude and spicing up a sexual relationship through images, innuendoes, and more. From changing routines to prevent boredom to spicing up a relationship, it's filled with intriguing moments. Franz Metcalf's Just Add Buddha: Quick Buddhist Solutions To Hellish Bosses, Traffic Jams, Stubborn Spouses, & Other Annoyances Of Everyday Life (1569754098, $11.95) tells how to use real-world tools from modern mantras and small meditative episodes of rejuvenation to applying Buddhist 'rethinks' to gain the most from daily life. A fun and thought provoking guide to living the Buddha life in a world of modern temptations and conflicts.

Cheerleader Ready? Okay!
Elissa Stein
Chronicle Books
85 2nd St., San Francisco CA 94105
0811841278 $15.95 1-800-722-6657

From matching sweaters and pompons to coke and candy posters and ads, the allure of cheerleads in culture and advertising has long been evident in American culture, and here is captured by Elissa Stein in her visual celebration Cheerleader: Ready? Okay! From a history of cheerleading to cheerleader fashion, Cheerleader: Ready? Okay! captures the energy, excitement and changes of the best.

Yeah, I Said It
Wanda Sykes
Atria Books
1230 Ave. of Americas, NY NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
0743482697 $23.00 www.amazon.com

Wanda Sykes has been billed as a outstanding stand up comic and here enters the world of comedy publishing with Yeah, I Said It, a set of her pointed, witty commentary on sex, politics and modern culture. It's often difficult to translate the stand-up comic to print: so much depends on stage presence, nuances in inflection, and more. However, her sharp wit proves it works as well in print as on stage, making Yeah, I Said It a winner.

Word Of Mouse
Jim Banister
Agate
1501 Madison St., Evanston, IL 60202
0972456260 $24.95 www.amazon.com

As more and more devices develop networking capabilities, from computers to games, mobile phones, television and household appliances, the network idea is ever expanded: but how does programming expand with it, to create a flow through the network. Jim Banister is a veteran industry media executive working with big companies such as Disney and Time Warner: his survey analyzes the success stories of internet companies which have become models for networking, outlines the potentials of networked media, and tells businesses how to tap into this potential. Word Of Mouse: The New Age Of Networked Media is a very highly recommended and intriguing survey of evolving programming and its potentials.

Lost On The Ocean Floor
John Christopher Fine
Naval Institute Press
2062 Generals Hwy, Annapolis, MD 21401-6780
www.navalinstitute.org
159114275X $29.95 1-800-233-8764

Blend an award-winning photojournalist with a scuba diving expertise and you have the elements of an intriguing story in Lost On The Ocean Floor: Diving The World's Ghost Ships. Fine has explored and documented not just a few but many of the sunken fleets of the world for most of his adult life, so Lost On The Ocean Floor showcases the most exciting of his discoveries, not just a few. Science blends with archaeology and drama to create a title which will appeal to general interest readers as much as ocean archaeologists and fellow discoverers.

Stranger Than Fiction
Chuck Palahniuk
Doubleday & Company
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
0385504489 $23.95 1-800-726-0600

There's a fine line between reality and fantasy sometimes, as evidenced by such strange oddities as the Rock Creek Lodge Testicle Festival, rock musician Marilyn Manson, and individuals who lead peculiar lives. Enter author Chuck Palahniuk's universe to examine alternate visions of culture and the bizarre with Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, a wide-ranging treatise which runs from the strange world of amateur wrestling to the phenomenon and work of search and rescue dogs. Enter his world and learn about daily dramas, unusual beliefs, and motivated spirits in the truly engrossing Stranger Than Fiction.

13
Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
Thunder's Mouth Press
245 W. 17th St., 11th Fl, NY, NY 10011
1568583060 $22.54 1-800-788-3123

Blend fine historical insights with a fun survey of present-day phobic reactions to the number 13 from the stock market to missing skyscraper floors, and you have Nathaniel Lachenmeyer's 13: The Story Of The World's Most Popular Superstition, a lively survey of the quirky foundations of the number 13, which considers 13 unlucky 13s from 13 perspectives in 13 chapters. Uncovering superstition's origins assumes a lively theme, right down to the book's quirky price, resulting from an unusual add in digits.

Longfellow's Tattoos
Christine M.E. Guth
University of Washington Press
PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145
0295984562 $29.95 www.amazon.com

Charles Longfellow was the son of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Charles visited Japan in the 1870s intending a brief visit, and stayed for two years, returning to Boston with photos and elaborate tattoos he had 'collected' on his body. But Christine M.E. Guth's Longfellow's Tattoos: Tourism, Collecting, And Japan is not so much a survey of collectible items nor even tattoo history, as a cultural expose of Japan in the 19th century travel world. Chapters survey the state and nature of Japanese culture in the world of the times, using art and curios as a focal point.

Everlasting Matrimony
Sheryl P. Kurland
Noble House
8019 Belair Rd #10, Baltimore MD 21236
www.americanliterarypress.com
1561678414 $39.95 1-800-873-2003

What makes a marriage last? Learn just how love is fostered, from the 'pearls of wisdom' from long-married couples over 150 role models in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More. Husbands and wives speak frankly and separately of their key to marital bliss, with unedited, uncensored interviews covering all aspects of common conflict points from children and sex to money and religion. Pair this advice with 'before' and 'now' black and white photos of each couple and you have a coffee table book perfect for a wedding anniversary.

Famous Wisconsin Artists And Architects
Hannah Heidi Levy
Badger Books Inc.
PO Box 192, Oregon, WI 53575
1932542124 $16.95 badgerbooks.com

Compiled and written by Hannah Heidi Levy, Famous Wisconsin Artists And Architects is a straightforward collection of brief biographies of Wisconsin's great artists and architects, including Georgia O'Keefe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and nearly 100 more. The individual biographies range in length from a single page summary to several pages; and some even include one-on-one interviews. More than 150 black-and-white photographs of artists, architects, and their creations illustrate this handy quick-reference guide, resulting in an inherently fascinating, informative "reader friendly" sourcebook which is particularly recommended to the attention of those looking to learn more about Wisconsin's artists and art culture, both past and present.

Horsing Around In Wisconsin
Anne M. Connor
Trails Media Group
PO Box 317, Black Earth, WI 53515-0317
www.trailsbooks.com
1931599386 $18.95 1-800-236-8088

Professional writer and rider of 33 years' experience in the saddle Anne Connor presents Horsing Around In Wisconsin: The State's Best Stables, Barns, And Trails For Lessons And Training, a straightforward guide to anyone looking to discover the joy of horseback riding in Wisconsin, whether as an adult or a parent seeking to teach a child. Filled with information on 260 stables and barns suitable for boarding and renting, descriptions of 85 of Wisconsin's prime horse trails, places that teach riding lessons to all ages, and much more, Horsing Around In Wisconsin is a superb resource. Maps and detailed directions to various locations, as well as descriptions and summaries of what to expect, simplify the issues of travel and what to expect before one experiences firsthand the connection between horse and rider. An excellent guide for equine enthusiasts, especially useful for those seeking to spend a vacation riding.

The Two-Income Trap
Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi
Basic Books
387 Park Avenue So., NY, NY 10016
www.basicbooks.com
0465090907 $14.00 1-800-242-7737

This is the book that first defined the concept of 'middle-class squeeze' a year ago: now The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Parents Are Going Broke is out in paperback to reach new audiences with its claim that despite two incomes, modern middle-class families are actually financially worse off than their one-income counterparts of a year ago. Among the insights offered by the mother/daughter author team of Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi: how the problem developed, and how today's middle-class families can get out from under it.

Arts & Crafts Patterns & Designs
Phoebe Ann Erb
Stemmer House Publishers, Inc.
4 White Brook Road, Gilsum, NH 03448
www.stemmer.com
0880451564 $7.95 1-800-345-6665

Skilled textile designer Phoebe Ann Erb presents Arts & Crafts Patterns & Designs, a selection of black-and-white artistic culled from books, journals, magazines, and art manuals of the art noveau or art deco style, featuring birds, flowers, women reading books, and similar patterns. The black-and-white imagery is striking, and appealing for its own sake or as a template for personal designs and creations. An inspired and inspirational resource, whose images carry in common a soothing and simple beauty.

Wisconsin History Highlights
Jon Kasparek, et al.
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
816 State Street, Madison, WI 53706-1482
www.shsw.wisc.edu
0870203584 $39.95 608-264-6400

The collaboraton of Jon Kasparek, Bobbie Malone and Erica Schock, Wisconsin History Highlights: Delving Into The Past is an engaging textbook especially intended for middle school and high school students and teachers. Wisconsin History Highlights is not a standard, narrative history text; instead, it presents a wide variety of concise historical vignettes about events, people, and places in Wisconsin history, each of which has a wealth of hints to get students started on research projects about those or related topics. A thorough index rounds out this quality resource for building research skills, critical thinking capabilities, and awareness of Wisconsin's rich history.

Butting Out
Ananya Chatterjea
Wesleyan University Press
215 Long Lane, Middletown, CT 06459
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
0819567337 $29.95 1-800-421-1561

Dance professor Ananya Chatterjea presents Butting Out: Reading Resistive Choreographies Through Works by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Chandralekha, the first major study of two significant contemporary female dancers and choreographers of the 20th century. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is the Artistic Director for the world-renowned company The Urban Bush Women, based in New York City, and Chandralekha an East Indian choreographer based in Madras and is especially known for blending postmodern and traditional forms of dance. Both women's contributions to global culture are closely scrutinized with regard to choreographic, aesthetic, and women's studies perspectives. Sparse black-and-white photographs illustrate this scholarly and welcome addition to dance studies shelves.

Toy Soldiers
Richard Scholl
Running Press
125 South Twenty-Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-4399
www.perseusbooks.com
0762418796 $12.98 1-800-345-5359

Award-winning creative director and veteran writer in the realm of collectibles Richard Scholl presents Toy Soldiers: A Century Of International Miniatures, a dazzling study of the Forbes collection, an assemblage of more than 10,000 toy soldiers amassed by world-renowned businessman William Forbes. Full-color photographs of the pieces, and descriptions of the sets' history and how Forbes acquired them fill this captivating "must-have" for toy soldier enthusiasts. Toy Soldiers' flawless, visually impressive and narratively engaging presentation elevates children's playthings to the level of collectible sculpted art. Also very highly recommended is Richard Scholl's companion title drawn from the Forbes collection, Toy Boats: A Century Of Treasures From Sailboats To Submarines (0762418788, $12.98).

Problem Solving Tools And Techniques
Margaret L. Arnold, et al.
Sagamore Publishing Company
804 North Neil Street, #100, Champaign, IL 61824
1571675043 $49.95 1-800-327-5557

Now in an updated fourth edition, Problem Solving Tools And Techniques For The Park And Recreation Administrator by co-authors Margaret L. Arnold, Linda A. Heyne, and James A. Busser, is a no-nonsense guide to standard problem solving methodologies, especially with relation to the needs of park and recreation administrators. Individual chapters address such techniques and factors as case study methods, the role of organizational culture and climate, how to facilitate creative thinking, brainstorming, focus groups, making decision trees, how to mediate conflict resolution, and much more. A thorough, methodical, step-by-step interpersonal resource, focusing on basic logical approaches that can be directly applied to far more than parks and recreation administration, though the specific examples given focus upon that field.

Twenty Remarkable Women Seen Through Their Handwriting
Marian Gimby Brannan
Little River Press
Office Box 507, Little River, CA 95456
1594571449 $24.95

Master Graphoanalyst and member of the World Association of Document Examiners Marian Gimby Brannan showcases her skill in Twenty Remarkable Women Seen Through Their Handwriting, an amazing graphology analysis of twenty great women, including Joan of Arc, Hellen Keller, Mother Teresa, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Queen Victoria. Each essay offers a photograph of a sample of the individual's handwriting, followed by extensive interpretation of the traits in the writing that reveal individual character strengths. Twenty Remarkable Women Seen Through Their Handwriting is a most enjoyable read especially for amateur graphologists.


The Science Shelf

The Book Of Fire
William H. Cottrell Jr.
Mountain Press Publishing
PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
www.mountain-press.com
0878424911 $14.00 1-800-234-5308

The second edition of William H. Cottrell Jr's classic The Book Of Fire introduces nonscientists to how heat, ignition and flame progress from a simple twig to acres of land. Combustion science is illustrated simply to survey differences between candles, campfires, and large fires, with plenty of more advanced discussions following on wildland fire behavior, fire types, and more. The perfect starting place for the would-be firefighter and fire manager.

Body Heat
Mark S. Blumberg
Harvard University Press
79 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138
www.hup.harvard.edu
0674013697 $15.95 1-800-448-2242

In Body Heat : Temperature And Life On Earth, biophysicist Mark Blumberg's exploration of temperature in the world considers the many ways temperature rules the lives of animals, from how penguins survive Antarctic winters to why people survive drowning accidents in winter, but not in summer. Packed with important scientific insights and a lively style which lends to leisure browsing, Body Heat is a remarkable survey and a highly recommended selection for Environmental Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries?
Martin Gardner
W.W. Norton
500 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
0393325725 $14.95 www.wwnorton.com

At the age of 90 author Martin Gardner has already been much applauded for his books on math, science, philosophy in literature: Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries? Shows he hasn't lost any of his touch, providing essays which gathers the best of his recent journalism writings, which have appeared in Scientific American and other notable publications. Essays are organized into five broad categories and survey many theories or 'miracles' which have fooled readers over the years. A delightful probe of 'pseudoscience' evolves.

Dover Publications, Inc.
31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501
1-800-223-3130 doverpublications.com

When Louis Agassiz produced his Essay On Classification in the mid-1800s, its influence on the world scientific community was to establish his reputation. He was a staunch opponent of the theory of evolution and among the last of reputable scientists who rejected it after the publication of The Origin of Species, even though his 1851 Essay provided Darwin and others with evidence to support natural selection. Essay On Classification, edited by Edward Lurie, here provides an excellent treatise reprinting a 1962 classic edition. William Tyler Olcott's Star Lore (04864-35814, $21.95) tackles the myths, legends and facts surrounding star groups, recounting their origins and histories and adding fifty-eight black and white images, including photos of stars. This 1911 classic returns to print to reach a wide age group.

Principles Of Environmental Chemistry
James E. Girard
Jones & Bartlett Publishers
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
0763724718 $87.95 www.jbpub.com

Principles Of Environmental Chemistry is a student-friendly textbook that focuses upon the chemical foundations of environmental science. Including analytical techniques and methods used to measure pollutants in the environment, worked-out, in-chapter problems and problem sets at the end of each chapter, chapters on fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and renewable energy such as hydrogen fuel cells, an appendix with a helpful review of organic chemistry, and so much more, Principles Of Environmental Chemistry is a superb resource for intermediate to advanced coursework or self-study. Extensive black-and-white illustrations and chemical equations help to crystalize the examples given in this solid and readily understandable instructional resource.

Planetary Diagrams For Roman Astronomy In Medieval Europe, ca. 800-1500
Bruce Eastwood & Gerd Grasshoff
American Philosophical Society
104 So. Fifth St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
0871699435 $24.00 www.amphilsoc.org

The history of science is a long and fascinating one covering the evolution of human thought and experimentation in our attempts to explain the world we live in. Planetary Diagrams For Roman Astronomy In Medieval Europe, ca. 800-1500 is a straightforward presentation of diagrams that formed the core understanding of astronomy in Carolingian Europe. Filled throughout with black-and-white reproductions of the diagrams, as well as extensive text delineating the meaning and applications of each diagram in fine systemic and mathematic detail, Planetary Diagrams For Roman Astronomy In Medieval Europe, ca. 800-1500 is a reference work especially intended for scholars, science historians, and reference libraries. Languages incorporated within the diagrams are skillfully translated into English, in this knowledgeable resource that is the next best thing to learning Greek and Latin and searching out individual copies of these groundbreaking ancient diagrams.

The Quantum Quark
Andrew Watson
Cambridge University Press
40 West 20th Street, NY, NY 10011-4211
0521829070 $30.00 1-800-872-7423

The Quantum Quark is a close look at quantum chromodynamics that does not require an extensive mathematics or physics background of the reader. Freelance science journalist and regular contributor to "Science" magazine Andrew Watson explores such topics as the quantum world, "the gregarious gluon", quarks and hadrons, the true significance of the vacuum state, and much more. A handful of black-and-white diagrams and photographs illustrate this fascinating tour of scientific theory, recommended for anyone with even the most casual interest in understanding the fundamental particles composing the Universe.


The Computer Shelf

Charles River Media
10 Downer Ave., Hingham, MA 02043
1-800-382-8505 www.charlesriver.com

Two excellent advanced developer's guides are recommended as basic home and business library purchases, using applied techniques to find solutions to common real-world computer issues. Scott Loveland, Geoffrey Miller, Richard Prewitt Jr. and Michael Shannon's Software Testing Techniques: Finding The Defects That Mtter (1584503467, $49.95) use the authors' experience at an IBM development lab to detail software testing issues, techniques, and solutions to common problems. Practical testing techniques for large-scale software products are presented including different phases of testing for such projects and system-wide testing of the systems they work on. An excellent real-world outlook discusses typical testing and scheduling problems and conflicts, and how to manage them for optimum efficiency and results. Adam Watkins and Chris Neuhahn's The Maya 6 Handbook (1584503513, $49.95) provides what is quite simply a 'bible' of authoritative detail on using Maya. Maya is the program of choice for many modern 3-D artists and animators as well as for game developers: this handbook covers everything from texturing and lighting to creating a Skeletal System, modeling basics, navigating Maya's new interface and using its tools and streamlining its operations for efficient results. Plenty of theory lies behind practical the practical applications laced throughout The Maya 6 Handbook.

The Definitive Guide To Plone
Andy McKay
Apress
2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219, Berkeley, Ca 94710
1590593294 $44.99 www.apress.com

The Definitive Guide To Plone is an all-in-one guide to understanding and using Plone, the leading open-source content management system. Written specifically for professionals, The Definitive Guide To Plone presumes basic familiarity with HTML, CSS, and the Web; knowledge of Python will be helpful in utilizing Plone's advanced features. Chapters address how to install Plone, basic customization and templating, integrating with other systems, setting up security, administering and scaling Plone, writing a product in Python, and much more. Sample code, thorough instructions, and polished technical accuracy make The Definitive Guide To Plone a "must-have" resource for anyone interested in taking advantage of Plone to develop top-of-the-line Web applications.

Cisco Press
800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3770
www.ciscopress.com

Recommended as a college-level technical textbook as it's intended, Wayne Lewis, Ph.D.'s CCNP 4: Network Troubleshooting Companion Guide (1587131412) provides a portable desk reference designed to compliment the CCNP 4: Network Troubleshooting course in the Cisco Networking Academy Program. From documentation of Cisco systems, troubleshooting tools and techniques, and methods to key elements contained in the online curriculum, this Companion Guide even includes references to lab activities and review questions at the end of each chapter. Michael Hicks' Optimizing Applications On Cisco Networks (1587051532, $55.00) delves into the world of optimizing bandwidth and performance, appealing to network managers who wish to streamline operations through tweaking aggressive applications sets and examining the foundations of application performance models. Bruce Alexander's 802.11 Wireless Network Site Surveying And Installation (1587051648, $55.00) is a recommended pick for wireless LAN installers who want a technical key to site surveying methods. 802.11 helps understand typical site survey challenges, absorption factors, radio wave interference, and more. Krishna Sankar, et.al.'s Cisco Wireless Lan Security (1587051540, $55.00) takes the project a step further in narrowing the focus to LAN security issues to protect the entire network. The emphasis here is how to integrate WLAN devices into a wired network while maintaining maximum security. All are fine picks for network applications managers and installation specialists working with Cisco systems.

O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy N., Sebastapol, CA 95472
1-800-998-9938 www.oreilly.com

Alan Schwartz's Spam Assassin (059600-7078, $24.95) covers version 3.0 and covers one of the most widely used anti-spam tools on the internet today. Many servers incorporate SpamAssassin into their systems but Schwartz's Spam Assassin is the item of choice for any who would customize its rules, create new rules, and take full advantage of SpamAssassin's advanced features, such as a Bayesian classifier which can optimize emails received. CSS programmers will welcome Christopher Schmitt's CSS Cookbook (0596005-768, $34.95), covering CSS2.1 and providing a fine introduction to real-world programs and solutions in cascading style sheets, from quick code fixes to page elements and fixing navigation issues. Web programmers will find the 'recipes' in this cookbook readily apply to common issues of web site construction. Four new books in the 'hacks' series compile professional tools for professional results. Shannon Sofield, Dave Nielsen and Dave Burchell's Paypal Hacks (0596007515, $24.95) provides the insights of three leading PayPal experts who discuss the intricacies of developing with PayPal, from building a basic web site which utilizes PayPal for payments, to understanding how PayPal's system works and how to avoid getting ripped off. Any who would understand this very popular ecommerce program, now owned by eBay and touted as its standard package for eBay payments, should have Paypal Hacks as part of their reference collections. Sid Steward's PDF Hacks (0596006551, $24.95) provides a guide to Adobe Acrobat's pdf files. Most people just read or print PDF files without thinking about what other advantages the format holds over Word and competing packages: PDF in reality is the printer's program of choice, offering a flexibility and uniformity of translation unavailable elsewhere and PDF Hacks shows just how to take advantage of this flexibility. IRC Hacks by Paul Mutton (059600687X, $24.95) covers Internet Relay Chat, a network chat system used by millions to chat with friends. Connect to IRC using popular clents, understand its protocol, and create bots to log user activity and more using IRC Hacks, Michael Fitzgerald's XML Hacks (0596007116, $24.95) is a hands-on guide which packs years of XML hacking into a handy reference book of tips, tricks and tools for those who wish to understand XML technology. From creating and editing XML documents to converting text files to XML and subscribing to Atom feeds, XML programmers will find this excellent. All are technical, recommended picks for solid reference libraries.

Sams Publishing
801 East 96h Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
1-800-428-5331 www.mcp.com

Two new and simply outstanding titles from Sams Publishing are invaluable additions to any dedicated computer instructional reference collection. Microsoft Biztalk Server 2004 Unleashed (0672325985, $49.99, 768 pp) is the collaborative effort of Scott Woodgate, Stephen Mohr, and Brian Loesgen in providing the reader with complete coverage of system architecture, application integration, messaging and migration, for Microsoft Biztalk Server 2004 Unleashed. This highly recommended and "user friendly" compendium also illustrates practical application of the server through an entire section dedicated to real-world case studies of businesses using BizTalk Server 2004 on a daily basis. In Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art Of Level Design (0672326922 $49.99, 704 pp.), Jason Busby, Zak Parrish and Joel VanEenwyk capably shows the reader just how to build custom mods, maps and levels with the Unreal engine. The distinctive tutorial format will give users immediate results through the tips and demos provided from the industry's top-level designers.

Theory Of Fun For Game Design
Ralph Koster
Paraglyph Press
1238 East Cambridge Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85006
www.paraglyphpress.com
1932111972 $22.99 www.amazon.com

Plenty of books have been written about playing games or enjoying them but what really makes a game fun? Leading interactive designer Ralph Koster provides a visual survey and discussion which examines the foundation of designing a 'fun game' in Theory Of Fun For Game Design, examining the different levels which work for game designers initially, how these ideas translate into games which teach and evolve, and how learning and playing are interconnected. Chapters aim at the rudiments of why some games are fun and others simply boring.

iPod And iTunes Starter Kit
Brad Miser
Que Publishing
801 East 96h Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
0789732785 $34.99 1-800-428-5331

The revolution in the production of music for the individual consumer began with the invention of the phonograph. Now an equally revolutionary advance has been made with the invention of the wildly popular iPod technology. iPod And iTunes Starter Kit by Brad Miser is an ideal 432-page instructional reference which provides all of the information that non-specialist general reader music fans need to get the most out these amazing digital music tools. Ranging from the basics of listening to audio CDs, to advanced customizing of music on an iPod, the iPod And iTunes Starter Kit will comprehensively equip both Windows and Mac users who have never explored digital audio to master digital music by using these tools. If you have an iPod, then you need to read Brad Miser's iPod And iTunes Starter Kit!

Syngress Publishing
800 Hingham St., Rockland, MA 02370
www.syngress.com

Lee Barken and others form the SoCalFreeNet.org Wireless Users Group, and their Wireless Hacking Projects For Wi-Fi Enthusiasts (193183637X, $39.95) is not to be missed, providing a practical foundation of wireless hacks which include using existing Ehternet cables to provide power to Access Points with no additional source of electricity, using WarDrive for wireless access points, and running Linux on Microsoft Xbox. Simply packed with unusual routes to wireless access. David Allen, et.al.'s Windows Linux Migration Toolkit (1931836396, $49.95) provides all the information needed to migrate from a Windows NT/200 environment to a Linux variant. It shows how to migrate away from Microsoft servers and directories, adding anti-virus and anti-spam features for free, and it provides a process which includes automated migration scripts.

Take Back Your Life!
Sally McGhee
Microsoft Press
1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052
0735620407 $19.99 www.amazon.com

Author Sally McGhee is a leader in the field of productivity management, teaching businesses how to streamline their operations for efficiency: Take Back Your Life!: Using Microsoft Outlook To Get Organized And Stay Organized uses the techniques designed by her business and implemented in many Fortune 500 companies, translating these techniques to fit the features of Microsoft Outlook to help users balance both home and work lives. Chapters cover everything from tracking agreements and task lists to organizing objectives and email alike. The tips on creating a workable folder hierarchy are particularly well done.


The American History Shelf

Minding The Machine
Stephen P. Rice
University of California Press
2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
0520227816 $49.95 www.ucpress.edu

Stephen P. Rice's meticulous and scholarly study, Minding The Machine: Languages Of Class In Early Industrial America, offers a new interpretation of class formation in America during the decades before the Civil War. College-level collections strong in social and industrial history will consider this an important survey of the nation's early industrial development period, when changes raised questions about the value of machinery and associated issues of equality versus inequity among rich and poor. An intriguing, seminal survey particularly recommended for university library American History collections, Minding The Machine is an inherently fascinating, informed and informative read.

The Loyal Women's Club
Kathryn Washburn Breighner
Concierge Publications
PO Box 624, Harbor Springs, MI 49740
0975486403 $14.95

The Loyal Women's Club: Journal Entries Of Rural Indiana Women 1917-1936 is an anthology of the personal testimony of "The Loyal Women's Club", 16 women who started gathering in Benton County, Indiana to support soldier boys in France. They met each month to raise funds for Red Cross work, and discussed topics such as packing hot lunches for school, "dental sanitation", "domestic science", "poultry raising", and more. The individual entries are brief, but collectively they offer a unique look into the lives of a group of intelligent, loving, and witty women. The Loyal Women's Club is a quick read cover to cover, and as a special treat, features classically American recipies from the Loyal Women's Club cookbook such as Prune Bread, White Cake, Mystery Pie, Date Pudding, Oyster Soup, and Pickled Peaches.

In The Saddle With The Texans
Anne J. Bailey
McWhiney Foundation Press
PO Box 637, Abilene, TX 79697
1893114481 $29.95 www.mcwhiney.org

History professor Anne Bailey presents In The Saddle With The Texans: Day-By-Day With Parson's Cavalry Brigade, 1862-1865, a collection of primary sources, especially special orders, general orders, and communication between lieutenants, colonels and the like with regard to Parson's Brigade of Texan cavalry during the American Civil War. An introduction and footnotes strive to clarify references, but the vast bulk of In The Saddle With The Texans simply presents the communications themselves for scholars and amateur or professional historians to contemplate. Most of the actual missives are brief, such as "Maj. Thos [Thomas] Johns Brigade Q.M. will turn over to Lieut. E.W. Hunt Two Hundred dollars to defray expenses in going after Blankets for the Command." Yet a general picture emerges, of a unit constantly on the move, skirmishing with Union cavalry, scouting the enemy, and surviving in hardship. A welcome contribution to primary source references concerning the American Civil War, offering an up-close and personal look Texas cavalry life.

Kannah Creek
Carol M. Anderson
Western Reflections Publishing Co.
219 Main Street, Montrose, CO 81401
www.westernreflectionspub.com
1932738118 $29.95 1-800-993-4490

Kannah Creek: The People, Their Stories, And The History is a close-up study of the people and history of the Kannah Creek area, near the town of Whitewater in Mesa County, Colorado. From the basics of local geography, to an overview of the people who lived there and their lifestyles, survival in tough times, and much more, Kannah Creek gives a fascinating look at the daily struggle to survive. Extensively researched from newspaper and magazine articles, oral histories, personal interviews, and other primary and secondary sources, Kannah Creek is an impressive and vivid picture of ordinary life through the decades. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this engaging and absorbing narrative, written by a thirty-year resident of Colorado.

Healing Waters
Loring Bullard
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Boulevard, Columbia, MO 65201
0826215548 $19.95 1-800-828-1894

Healing Waters: Missouri's Historic Mineral Springs And Spas is a straightforward history of the use and development of mineral springs in Missouri from 1800 to the 1930s. From the earliest spa traditions in America and Missouri's frontier spas to the businesses that flourished bottling mineral waters, the nature of mineralized groundwater resources, the repercussions of establishing saltworks at the state's saline springs, and more, Healing Waters offers a thoroughly researched, in-depth historical tour. Healing Waters concludes with a survey of why mineral springs fell into disuse, with a particular eye on how discoveries in microbiology and biochemistry led to a general repudiation of mineral water health benefits in favor of drug-related treatments. An excellent sourcebook, as approachable to the lay reader as to the historian.

Maine Lighthouses
J. Candace & Mary Louise Clifford
Cypress Communications
35 East Rosemont Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301
0963641263 $22.95 703-548-0532

Maine Lighthouses: Documentation Of Their Past distinguishes itself from other books about Maine Lighthouses in that is is grounded almost entirely on primary sources. J. Candace Clifford, a lighthouse historian, collaborates with Mary Louise Clifford to present execerpts from the lighthouse collection in the National Archives that describe how lighthouse sites were selected, constructions of various towers and auxiliarh buildings, the appointment of keepers, weather-related damage to the stations, repairs and reconstruction done as the years advanced, logbooks of the daily lives of keepers, and much more. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this definitive historical resource for lighthouse fans; Maine Lighthouses: Documentation Of Their Past is the next best thing to combing primary sources firsthand.

The Sum Of Our Past
Judy Busk
Signature Books
564 West 400 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3411
www.signaturebooks.com
1560851848 $32.95 1-800-356-5687

The Sum Of Our Past: Revisiting Pioneer Women strives to answer the question: who were American pioneer women, really? True stories of the lives of courageous women, whether determinedly standing their ground or secretly confiding their weaknesses, assemble a composite picture of both the hardship and the joy of daily frontier life. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this memorable tribute that does not overly idealize pioneer women, nor stereotype them as Hollywood media tends to (in the "submissive but sturdy" civilizing woman category, or the "drinking, smoking, cursing" Calamity Jane category), but rather offers an extensively researched yet thoroughly readable portrait that will connect women readers across America with their roots. Highly recommended and rewarding reading, The Sum Of Our Past: Revisiting Pioneer Women is ideal for collegiate level Women's Studies supplement reading lists as well.

Gold Rush Saints
Kenneth N. Owens
The Arthur H. Clark Company
PO Box 14707, Spokane, WA 99214
www.ahclark.com
0870623362 $39.50 1-800-842-9286

Volume 7 of the "Kingdom in the West: The Mormons and the American Frontier", Gold Rush Saints is an extensively researched history drawing heavily upon documents and primary sources to chronicle the role that Mormons played and the effect they had in California during the Gold Rush era. The text is scholarly in tone yet accessible to lay readers as it presents exciting stories of travel, cooperation, success, and destitution. Focusing especially upon influential and charismatic Mormon personalities, the hardships they endured and the legacies they contributed to, Gold Rush Saints is a welcome and seminal contribution to American and California history shelves.


The Criminology Shelf

High-Tech Crimes Revealed
Steven Branigan
Addison Wesley/Pearson
75 Arlington St., Boston, MA 02116
www.awprofessional.com
0321218736 $29.99 1-800-428-5331

Author Steven Branigan is involved with many real incidents of high-tech crimes, and in High-Tech Crimes Revealed: Cyberwar Stories From The Digital Front provides details on how to find out what actually takes place in such crimes. From the specific abuses of computers and technology to the legal and social concerns often overlooked in cyber-crimes, Branigan's collection of real-world cyberwar stories is enlightening and frightening, documenting a new frontier of the war against terrorism.

Identity Theft
Silver Lake Publishing
101 Tenth St., Aberdeen, WA 98520
www.silverlakepub.com
1563437775 $11.95 1-888-663-3091

Identity theft is one of the hardest thefts to control and is the one most damaging to consumers, so Identity Theft: How To Protect Your Name, Your Credit And Your Vital Information, And What To Do When Someone Hijacks Any Of These is a timely handbook vital to any consumer's fiscal health. Chapters explore common mechancis of ID theft, consider the various ways crooks choose victims and manufacture bogus identities from information, and tells how to reduce a risk of ID theft, and to respond effectively if someone steals an identity.

Halting The Sexual Predators Among Us
Duane L. Dobbert
Praeger Publishers
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
0275978621 $35.95 www.praeger.com

Over 103,845 kids are sexually abused yearly, with a 20-percent increase in rape incidents: but normally statistics are accompanied with only vague advice on prevention. Duane Dobbert's Halting The Sexual Predators Among Us should be part of any public or college-level collection: it outlines the problem and emphasizes everyone should be involved in creating a safer world. Individual chapters outline just how, from defining common sexual disorders and their manifestations to providing case history scenarios of attack and survival tactics. With the rise in sexual predator crimes and their releases back into the community Halting The Sexual Predators Among Us is timely reading.

Murder At Mount Hermon
Craig Walley
Northeastern University Press
360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
1555536182 $24.95 1-800-666-2211

Murder At Mount Hermon: The Unsolved Killing Of Headmaster Elliott Speer is a true crime story concerning the 1934 murder of a thirty-five-year old school administrator, whose efforts to bring progressive reform to the tradition-bound Christian prep school earned the good graces of many students and faculty. A shotgun blast through his study window killed him, and the murder was front-page news nationwide, yet no criminal was ever charged. Veteran attorney Craig Walley pieces together the clues of history and dares even to indicate the most likely killer. A fascinating, fact-filled study of murder and the shortcomings of a 1930's homicide investigation.


The Musicbook Shelf

Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison
Michael Streissguth
DaCapo Press
Eleven Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.dacapopress.com
0306813386 $24.00 1-800-242-7737

In 1969 Cash performed at Folsom Prison in California and produced a title album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison which as to make him a superstar in the country world. Michael Streissguth's Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison: The Making Of A Masterpiece is no ordinary biography of Cash, which has been done before: it's a survey of that performance, what led to it, and what came out of it, richly enhanced by the author's access to Folsom Prison and Columbia Record archives and illustrated with over 100 rare photos. A 'must' for Cash fans.

A Boy Named Sue
Kristine McCusker & Diane Pecknold
University Press of Mississippi
3825 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, MS 39211
www.upress.state.ms.us
1578066786 $20.00 1-800-737-7788

What is the underlying story behind Johnny Cash's famous "Boy Named Sue" song? A Boy Named Sue: Gender And Country Music isn't just a survey of one song; it examines the entire issues of gender in country music as a whole, providing scholarly essays contributing to the first book-length effort to examine how gender conventions have structured country music. A chronological arrangement provides a fine timeline of evolutionary events and perspectives making A Boy Named Sue a useful and recommended addition to American Popular Music History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

Amadeus Press
512 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
www.amadeuspress.com

Some of today's best alternative string players and teachers demonstrate rock, jazz and fiddle styles on the strings for fellow violinists to appreciate, in Alternative Strings: The New Curriculum by Julie Lyon Lieberman (1574670891, $24.95), a fine book/cd package reflecting the author's three decades of experience as an alternative string teacher and performer. Alternative Strings: The New Curriculum is a fine guide for teachers, conductors and musicians alike: over two dozen genre styles are presented, with supportive writings, a large discography, and plenty of musical examples featured on an audio cd profiling fourteen top players. A full-length Hasnssler classic cd is includedi n David Hurwitz's The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (1574670999, $19.95). Novice classical music listeners and Mahler experts alike will appreciate Hurwitz's in-depth details on how each work is arranged, how the parts relate to each other, and what the listener will hear in the Mahler symphonies. An outstanding detailed description backed with listening.

Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz Queen
Bill Egan
Scarecrow Press Inc.
4501 Forbes Blvd. #200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
0810850079 $29.95 1-800-462-6420

Contributing to Scarecrow's 'Studies in Jazz' series comes Bill Egan's Florence Mills: Harlem Jazz Queen, a unique biography of the African American entertainer of the 1920s from childhood to her death at age 31. Mills' achievements opened the doors for generations of black female stars from Lena Horne to modern times, and chapters recount how Mills was able to break through the white barriers to become a star in her own right. She even became famous enough to be listed in a New York Times list of dignitaries sailing aboard a vessel, and helped redefine the world of entertainment as a whole, which was formerly divided between 'black' and 'white' entertainment.


The Gardening Shelf

New Complete Home Landscaping
Catriona Tudor Erler
Creative Homeowner
24 Park Way, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
1580111823 $24.95 1-800-631-7795

Over 950 photographs and watercolor paintings illustrate New Complete Home Landscaping, a step-by-step guide for amateur and professional landscapers alike. Internationally recognized garden writer Catriona Tudor Erler discusses how to choose the right plants for one's climate and soil conditions, how to install a fence, when to fertilize and what fertilizer to use, fighting common diseases, how to transplant large trees and shrubs, and much more. Packed with pages and pages of detail and explicit constructions, New Complete Home Landscaping lives up to its title as an indispensable and well-rounded resource for anyone seriously contemplating a landscaping project.

Wildlife-Friendly Plants
Rosemary Creeser
Firefly Books
155 E. 34th St. #5B, NY, NY 10016
1552979547 $29.95 fireflybooks.com

Many home gardeners wish to create a natural habitat for wildlife but don't know how: Rosemary Creeser's bright Wildlife Friendly Plants: Make Your Garden A Haven For Beneficial Insects, Amphibians And Birds covers plants which invite not only birds, but beneficial insects and amphibians, expanding the number of creatures which fall under the 'beneficial' flag. Contrasting colors, scents, and shapes are the heart of creating such a sanctuary, and Creeser's practical advise covers everything from soil preparation to choosing the right plants that go together.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Troubled Water
Anita Roddick & Brooke Shelby Biggs
Anita Roddick Books
c/o Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120, White River Junction, VT 05001
www.chelseagreen.com
095439593X $17.95 1-800-639-4099

Anita Roddick is both an entrepreneur and an activist and in Troubled Water: Saints, Sinners, Truth And Lies About The Global Water Crisis, informatively surveys the issues involved in worldwide potable water availability, from the politics of water distribution and water quality to global warming and bottled water myths. Essays from Greenpeace, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, outline truths, lies, and myths surrounding a range of world water issues.

Global Crises, Global Solutions
Bjorn Lomborg
Cambridge University Press
40 West 20th Street, NY, NY 10011-4211
0521606144 $34.99 www.cambridge.org

Global Crises, Global Solutions is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors directly addressing problems facing the world today, such as climate change, financial instability, communicable diseases, conflicts, cooruption, malnutrition and hunger, trade barriers, water access and more. Each problem is discussed from the point of view of an expert skilled at analyzing the problem's scale as well as cost-and-benefit policy options for improving the situation. Shorter pieces from additional experts with alternative positions provide balance in this superb springboard for debate and understanding key issues. Especially recommended reading for government employees, non-governmental organizations, students of public policy and applied economics, and any individual with a direct personal or professional interest in global development issues.

Political Waters
Eric Jay Dolin
University of Massachusetts Press
PO Box 429, Amherst, MA 01004
www.umpress.umass.edu
1558494456 $34.95 1-800-488-1144

It's hard to conveniently peg Political Waters: The Long, Dirty, Contentious, Incredibly Expensive, But Eventually Triumphant History Of Boston Harbor: A Unique Environmental Success Story is at once a political history of Boston and its harbor, as well as a story of urban planning and environmental success. Political Waters charts some stormy seas indeed as Boston spent literally centuries working to clean up its reputation as having one of the nation's most polluted bodies of water. Political Waters presents a semi-scholarly assessment of this process and is a highly recommended addition to Environmental Studies reference collections and reading lists.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Metro Girl
Janet Evanovich
HarperCollins
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
0060584009 $26.95 1-800-242-7737

Fans of Janet Evanovich will readily acknowledge her penchant for mixing fast-paced murder mystery with intrigue and female savvy in a cocktail of adventure that doesn't fail to shine in her latest Metro Girl. A brother's disappearance prompts Alex to search Florida for his return, involving a survey of possible hit men, NASCAR racing, and boating alike. The action just doesn't quit as Alex races time to locate her brother and ventures into international hot waters in the process.

Poisoned Pen Press
6962 East 1st Avenue, #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
1-800-421-3976 poisonedpenpress.com

Three new winners provide very different but equally gripping mysteries. Ruth Dudley Edwards' Carnage On The Committee (1590581334, $24.95) tells of a prestigious prize committee chairman's puzzling death, and the investigation of one Baroness 'Jack' Troutbeck who must research hated literature to solve the puzzle. Michael Pearce's The Face In The Cemetery (1590580702, $24.95) presents another acclaimed Mamur Zapt mystery: this one revolving around an outbreak of war in Europe which involves the task of rounding up enemy German aliens in Egypt and facing the puzzler of a cat cemetery receiving a human corpse amongst the felines. An excellent interplay of political and mystery plots evolves. Priscilla Royal's Tyrant Of The Mind (1590581350, $24.95) is a historical mystery set in 1271, when a castle facing death finds itself in the hands of a murderer. An innocent man is accused and it's up to Eleanor to save her brother by discovering the real murderer.


The Mythology/Folklore Shelf

The Robber With A Witch's Head
Jack Zipes
Routledge
270 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016
0415970695 $30.00 routledge-ny.com

In 2003 author Jack Zipes translated Beautiful Angiola, the first half of Laura Gonzenbach's treasury of folk and fairy tales told by Sicilian peasants. Now the newly published second installment, Robber With A Witch's Head: More Stories From The Great Treasury Of Sicilian Folk And Fairy Tales , collected by Laura Gonzenbach provides the conclusion of the two volume series with almost fifty new stories about demons and princes alike. In the late 1800s Gozenbach spoke with Italian peasants to gather their stories but she died young, and many of her papers were destroyed in the 1909 earthquake. It seemed fitting that Jack Zipes, one of the world's experts on fairy tales and folklore, should undertake the task of translating and publishing her life's work: Robber With The Witch's Head is a fitting tribute indeed.

Queen Of The Night
Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha
Weiser Books
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser
368 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.redwheelweiser.com
1578632846 $24.95 1-800-423-7087

Writer, musician, member of the Celtic band "The Moors" and practicing Pagan Sharynne NicMhacha presents Queen Of The Night: Rediscovering The Celtic Moon Goddess presents legends of Celtic moon mythology in thirteen chapters, structured to represent the moon's thirteen monthly and annual cycles. Meditations, ceremonies, and exercises to help one connect with the Moon and become in tune with its power in everyday life. As much a transformational book for the self as it is a discussion of how the Moon has been perceived since British and Irish prehistory, Queen Of The Night discusses both astronomical and spiritual manners in layman's terms. A readily accessible and welcome contribution to new age literature and reference.


The Business Shelf

The Skeptical Business Searcher
Robert Berkman
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
www.infotoday.com
0910965668 $29.95 1-800-300-9868

In The Skeptical Business Searcher: The Information Advisor's Guide To Evaluating Web Data, Sites, And Sources, business information expert Robert Berkman identifies the tools and methods for evaluating no-cost online information sources in a fine guide internet researchers will find essential to understanding business site values. Researchers will learn how to gain access to everything from company histories and corporate earnings data to SEC filings and public records of all kinds - and how to recognize the underlying bias and misinformation potentials of any source.

Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York NY 10019
1-800-250-5308 www.amacombooks.org

Amacom's business books offer tips for both managers and consumers, cover a broad range of topics, and pack in details which reflect savvy authors active in their industries. Dave Nelson, Patricia E. Moody and Jonathan R. Stegner's The Incredible Payback: Innovative Sourcing Solutions That Deliver Extraordinary Results (0814472079, $32.95) provides companies with insights on how others on the brink of extinction have revamped their establishments, built strong supply chain relationships and used strategic sourcing and new software innovations to save their businesses. Businesses will also want to keep Donald H. Weiss' Fair, Square & Legal: Safe Hiring, Managing & Firing Practices To Keep You & Your Company Out Of Court (0814408133, $35.00) close at hand: appearing in its fourth updated edition to appeal to human resources people, this provides important keys to understanding employment law and protecting a company and its employees. Business professionals will benefit from Weiss' 30+ years of experience in the industry. Winslow 'Bud' Johnson's Powerhouse Marketing Plans: 14 Outstanding Real-Life Plans And What You Can Learn from Them To Supercharge Your Own Campaigns (0814472192, $29.95) presents tips by the President of the Stamford Marketing Group, a consulting firm specializing in the development and evaluation of marketing plans. Practical real-life stories apply these plans to reality situations, providing behind-the-scenes insights all businesses can apply. Dick Martin's Tough Calls: AT&T And The Hard Lessons Learned From The Telecom Wars (0814-472435, $24.95) will interest any reader involved in the telcom industry. The story of AT&T and the telecom wars which continue to this day are related in Tough Calls, an inside look at how AT&T handled competition, economic turmoil and media criticism. M. Anthony Carr's Real Estate Investing Made Simple: A Commonsense Approach To Building Wealth (081447246X, $17.95) provides a wealth-building approach to real estate investments, seeking appeal for both new investor and seasoned buyers with its commonsense guide to locating properties, evaluating market variables, building an investment team and more. David Reed's Mortgages 101: Quick Answers To Over 250 Critical Questions About Your Home Loan (0814472451, $16.95) will appeal to first-time buyers who want to learn the basics of borrowing for real estate investments; from improving a credit score and obtaining the lowest interest rates to maximizing the return on an investment. Michael C. Thomsett's The Landlord's Financial Tool Kit (0814472354, $18.95) offers real estate investors turned landlord all the foundations of managing rental properties, from understanding cash flow and real estate investment strategies to setting up effective but simple bookkeeping systems and sheltering income.

How To Buy A Franchise
James A. Meaney, Atty.
Sphinx Publishing/Sourcebooks
PO Box 4410, Naperville, IL 60567-4410
www.SphinxLegal.com
1572483849 $19.95 1-800-432-7444

Plenty of workers want to own their own business: for those who would buy into a successful formula, there's attorney James A. Meaney's How To Buy A Franchise, an excellent book (especially for the novice entrepreneur) which is packed from cover to cover with invaluable and seasoned tips on how to research a franchise opportunity, analyze its financial and sales details, and understand typical disclosure documents and agreements. No franchise purchase should be considered without understanding the basics in How To Buy A Franchise.

You Can Bank On Your Voice
Rodney Saulsberry
Tomdor Publishing
Box 1735, Agoura Hills, CA 91376-8591
www.tomdorpublishing.com
0974767808 $16.95 www.amazon.com

Do you have what it takes to be a voice-over artist? Discover the world of voice-over, from learning where and how to audition and locating an agent to making a demo CD, marketing your voice, and recording voice-over at homein Rodney Saulsberry's informative instructive and thoroughly "user friendly" reference -- You Can Bank On Your Voice: Your Guide To A Successful Career In Voice-overs. Techniques blend with marketing tips and insider details on the industry's changing needs and methods to create an impressive, comprehensive, and enthusiastically recommended beginner's guide to doing commercial and professional voice-overs.

Impact Publications
9104-N Manassas Dr., Manassas Park, VA 20111-5211
www.impactpublications.com

Three excellent career guides are recommended for libraries seeking career titles founded in real-world experience. Dr. Ron Krannich's Change Your Job, Change Your Life, 9th Edition: Careering And Re-careering In The New Boom/Bust Economy (1570232202, $21.95) appears in its 9th updated edition to pack in all the basics of successful career management, from understanding the finer art of salary negotiation strategies to tough interview questions likely to be presented on a job interview, strategies for starting your own business, and more. This is all about the power to re-career and change: chapters juxtapose myths and realities. Dr. Caryl Rae Krannich's expanded third edition of 101 Secrets Of Highly Effective Speaker Controlling Fear, Commanding Attention (1570232296, $15.95) tells how to speak like a pro, keying its public speaking tips to each step of a typical presentation process, from gaining initial attention to building credibility and closing powerfully. Both authors join forces in America's Top 100 Jobs For People Without A Four-Year Degree: Great Jobs With A Promising Future (1570232148, $19.95), identifying jobs that offer fine opportunities for non-college grads. Government jobs to those in technology, sports, medicine and travel are all outlined, describing employment outlook, work and working conditions, training requirements and more. Consistently excellent and accessibly practical career guides, all.

How To Run A Thriving Business
Ralph Warner
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.nolo.com
1413301045 $19.99 1-800-955-4775

Do-it-yourself pioneer and co-founder of Nolo Ralph Warner presents How To Run A Thriving Business: Strategies For Success & Satisfaction, a nuts-and-bolts guide packed with tips, tricks, and techniques for being in charge of one's own destiny. Chapters address details ranging from how to choose the right business for one's needs, to getting started on a shoestring, creative marking, how to hire and keep good people, why buying a franchise is a poor idea, why selling services instead of goods can reap greater rewards, how to keep expenses low and react quickly to shifts of ill fortune, and much more. A highly readable account packed cover-to-cover with practical, time and experience-tested advice.

202 Things You Can Buy And Sell For Big Profits
James Stephenson
Entrepreneur Press
2445 McCabe Way, Suite 400, Irvine, CA 92614-6244
www.entrepreneurpress.com
193253122X $19.95 1-800-462-6420

Expererienced marketing consultant James Stephenson presents 202 Things You Can Buy And Sell For Big Profits, which is much more than a list of goods that anyone can buy and sell. Chapters address how to operate a buy-and-sell enterprise, where to find goods available (including wholesalers, manufacturers, auction sales, private sellers, and online auctions), legal issues with direct impact on a buy-and-sell enterprise, and much more. Each of the 202 items, including new toys, software, fitness equipment, licensed products and more is listed with a two-paragraph description and a point-by-point summary of where to buy, sell, and find resources concerning it. An excellent, basic and practical how-to guide for anyone looking to make money as a middleman.

Successful Business Planning In 30 Days
Peter J. Patsula
Patsula Media
PO Box 388, Ashland, OH 44805
0967840236 $24.95

Now in its third edition, Successful Business Planning In 30 Days is a handy guide to creating a business plan and starting one's own business. Written by the creator of Smallbusinesstown.com, Successful Business Planning in 30 Days outlines how to draw up a plan for one's company, marketing, and finances, and day-by-day actions to take getting started, from picking the company name and designing a logo to making an operations schedule, analyzing one's target market, researching competitors, determining distribution, preparing a current income statement, and much, much more. A nuts-and-bolts guide written in plain terms for the lay reader, filled with side notes and sample worksheets to help one better understand the basic process of getting off the ground. Highly recommended.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Tales To Astonish
Ronin Ro
Bloomsbury
175 5th Ave. #300, NY, NY 10010
1582343454 $24.95 bloomsbury.com

Jack Kirby is a renowned comic book artist who with partner Stan Lee created some of the most beloved superheroes in comics, from the X-Men and Silver Surfer to the Incredible Hulk. Their creations have been celebrated visually; now in Tales To Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, And The American Comic Book Revolution, readers can take a behind-the-scenes journey into their inspirations, lives, and achievements in a fine biography of the two and the comic book industry's rise as a whole. Original interviews with friends and colleagues including Stan Lee helps trace Kirby's rise and creations. Enthusiastically recommended reading for all comic book readers and graphic novel enthusiasts!

Suddenly Silver
Lynn Johnston
Andrews McMeel Publishing
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 6411
www.FborFW.com
0740747398 $16.95 1-800-851-8923

Fans of Lynn Johnston's syndicated husband/wife comic strip "For Better or For Worse" will want to consider Suddenly Silver: Celebrating 25 Years Of For Better Or For Worse (the opus of her creations), gathering a quarter century of the comics under one cover in a celebration marking its silver anniversary of publication. Three sections feature cartoons from the strip's early, middle and recent years, following story lines and character development. A keepsake edition: most strips are in black and white, but some color resides.

NBM
555 8th Ave. #1202, NY NY 01018
www.nbmpublishing.com

Two excellent new additions to NBM's comic art line are recommended picks. Lewis Trondheim and Manu Larcent's Astronauts Of The Future (1561634077, $14.95) presents two kid geniuses in a world of parents who are aliens/robots. Full-color art throughout enhances the fun and funny comic story of the enterprising kids and their battles, creating a series of unique adventures. Patrick Atangan's Silk Trapestry And Other Chinese Folktales: Songs Of Our Ancestors V. II (1561634-034, $12.95) provides the second volume adapting three Chinese tales centered around the unique struggle of the artist. Again, full color throughout enhances a wonderful set of Japanese folk stories, with Atangan using classic Japanese ukiuo-e graphics and elements of Chinese art to bring authenticity to his works.

Speed Bump
Dave Coverly
ECW Press
2120 Queen St. East #200, Toronto, Ontario Canada M4E 1E2
1550226584 $16.95 www.ecwpress.com

There's no single theme to Speed Bump: Cartoons For Idea People, no basic philosophy but his 'outtakes' appear in over 200 newspapers around the country and Speed Bump is a fine survey which gathers these into themed chapters, includes the author's introduction to each, and even presents a small portion of color cartoons with the black and white winners. Dave Coverly is funny and pointed: Speed Bump is running in its 10th year and has been nominated for numerous awards, so place this book at the top of the list.

Andrews & McMeel
4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111
1-800-851-8923 www.amuniversal.com

Two wonderful cartoon collections are recommended picks. Darrin Bell & Theron Heir's Peace, Love & Latties (074074-6626, $10.95) provides the second collection of the syndicated comic strip Rudy Park, which has appeared in newspapers across the U.S. and Canada. Anticipate a healthy dose of fun social commentary and pointed observations along with fine humor and funny drawings. He new Baby Blues scrapbook by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott Two Plus One Is Enough (0740741403, $10.95) provide fun stories of raising children and is the latest collection of the popular Baby Blues comic strip. Family antics range from Zoe's learning how to read to a brother's determination to be certain his younger sister doesn't gain on him.

Watson-Guptill Publications
770 Broadway, New York NY 10003
1-800-451-1741 www.watsonguptill.com

Comic book artists now have two excellent guides to help them produce polished results in specific areas. Christopher Hart's Manhwa Mania: How To Draw Korean Comics (082302976X, $19.95) provides a basic key to drawing Korean comics unique in a comic world of books focused on manga. Manhwa is a relatively new craze out of Asia, sharing some traits with Japanese manga, but with a twist. Hart provide basic instruction in how to produce manhwa comic and a set of basic lessons in differentiating manhwa from manga. He also provides an excellent anatomical comic drawing reference with Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference For Comic Book Artists (0823023982, $19.95), a key to understanding major muscle groups, how they look under different comic-action conditions, and choices in display. From male and female heads to rib cages, cool comic poses, and style choices, Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy provides plenty of both color and black and white step-by-step examples, as well as finished results, for aspiring comic artists.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

Reading The Women Of The Bible
Tikva Frymer-Kensky
Schocken Books
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
0805211829 $15.00 1-800-726-0600

In Tikva Frymer-Kensky's Reading The Women Of The Bible: A New Interpretation Of Their Stories, gender issues in the Bible are tackled from the perspective of proposing a new taxonomy of four discourses involving women, reflecting the author's background as a professor of Hebrew Bible at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Informed and informative, Professor Tikva Frymer-Kensky's new and thoughtfully engaging interpretation of their stories includes liberal quotes from the Bible and insights into early Biblical influences and is very highly recommended reading.

The Miracle Detective
Randall Sullivan
Atlantic Monthly Press
841 Broadway, New York NY 10003
www.groveatlantic.com
0871139162 $25.00 1-800-788-3122

Other books have been written on the topic of holy visions and spiritual mysteries; what makes Randall Sullivan's The Miracle Detective: An Investigation Of Holy Visions so well deserving of an on-going recommendation, is that it stands out from the crowd on this fascinating topic with its deeper inquiries into what makes a miracle, how to determine 'miracle' status, and who decides these things. Sullivan's is no casual study: eight years of research went into this narrative, which provides a running history of over 100 years of raptures, holy apparitions and experiences. Current events enter into play in a consideration of these miracles, which also embraces believers, skeptics, religious zealots, and others. The Miracle Detective offers the reader an inherently fascinating journey of spiritual discovery.

Santeria
Miguel A. De la Torre
William B. Eerdmans
255 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids MI 49503
www.eerdmans.com
0802849733 $18.00 1-800-253-7521

Santeria is a growing religion in America with Caribbean origins, and Miguel De La Torre offers an informed and informative history of the beliefs, rituals and culture of Santeria in Santeria: The Beliefs And Rituals Of A Growing Religion In America. Santeria's Afro-Cuban roots are traced to cultural clashes, with its evolving spiritual roots receiving close explanation by an author who was reared in Santeria and clearly provides a basic understanding of its myths, rituals, and its modern role in both Latin and American communities today.


The Automotive Shelf

Veteran Motor Cars
Michael E. Ware
Parkwest Publications
PO Box 20261, NY, NY 10025-1512
http://www.parkwestpubs.com/
085263658X $10.00 1- 646-215-9003

Michael Ware is the retired Director of the National Motor Museum at Bealieu, and in Veteran Motor Cars, provides a fine pam-phlet on veteran cars those British vehicles made not later than 1918. Black and white vintage photos of these classics liberally pepper a discussion of Britain's earliest vehicles, describing how the car developed in the 1880s and 1890s.

Firefly Books Ltd.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

Vintage car collecting is a popular hobby for car buffs and the rich alike but where can you go to see such cars actually on the road? Where else but Cuba, where some of the best classic American cars have their home. Full-color photos of Havana cars feature vehicles Cuba welcomed in the 1940s and 1950s in Simon Bell and George Fischer's Chariots Of Chrome: Classic American Cars Of Cuba (155046-3942, $29.95): the island was the leading importer of these cars and photos of vintage Chevys, Buicks and more here come packed in colorful displays. Highly recommended for any fan of classic American cars. Want to know how to maintain and repair 'em? Choose Lisa Christensen's Clueless About Cars (155297975X, $14.95), a surprisingly easy guide to car maintenance and repair. From simple preventative maintenance to performing easy repairs and making the all-important preliminary diagnosis, Clueless About Cars: An Easy Guide To Car Maintenance And Repair is for that novice driver who doesn't know anything about a car other than where the key fits into the ignition.

So You Wanna Buy a Used Car?
Susan Ann & Herb Peterson
Dorrance Publishing
701 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222
0805960007 $9.00 1-800-788-7654

The collaborative work of Susan Ann and Herb Peterson, So You Wanna Buy a Used Car?, is a very handy pamphlet-style booklet outlining the simple steps to buying a used car that's not a lemon. The authors run their own car repair shop and are in the perfect position to tell what separates a real lemon from one needing little work: a very simple format tells how to test-drive and inspect a potential winner.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

The World Of The Paranormal
Lawrence LeShan
Helios Press
10 East 23rd St. #510, NY NY 10010
1581153600 $16.95 heliospress.com

Psychologist Lawrence LeShan was one of the first to claim paranormal capabilities were natural elements of human perceptions: his initial publication of World Of The Paranormal: The Next Frontier stirred a revolution among those who agreed, and this re-issue updates details with modern insights to reflect the latest scientific and spiritual findings. Modern ideas of the paranormal present arguments that paranormal experiences are perfectly normal even that there is no such things as a paranormal phenomenon.

New Page Books
PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
1-800-227-3371 www.newpagebooks.com

Is there a ghost nearby? Use Jeff Belanger's The Worlds Most Haunted Places: From The Secret Files Of Ghostvillage.com (1564147649, $15.99) to find out: many years of his research into sites draw the best from his archives and present the history, folklore and legends behind points of interest. The ghost tales culled from ghostvillage.com provide stories which read like fiction with all the drama. Stephen Kierulff and Stanley Krippner's Becoming Psychic: Spiritual Lessons For Focusing Your Hidden Abilities (156414755X, $14.99) is a primer providing a dialogue between a clinical psychologist with 'psychic' patients and a parapsychologist who places his reports in a scientific framework. The blend combines with detailed insights on how to develop psychic and mind-reading powers, remote viewing and moving, and more. For an excellent treatise on specialized Wiccan beliefs, choose Lora O'Brien's Irish Witchcraft From An Irish Witch (1564147592, $14.99): lore, humor and Irish history blend in a survey of the influence and history of witchcraft in Ireland, from the witch's place in Irish myths to working with Irish deities, energies, and rituals. Specialized? Yes, but to Wiccan practitioners it'll prove enlightening. Speaking of witchery, Shanddaramon's Self-Initiation For The Solitary Witch: Attaining Higher Spirituality Through A Five-degree System (1564147266, $14.99) also deserves attention: it presents the five degrees of Wiccan studies, from the initial history of the Path of Intellect to more advanced community work, earth consciousness, Wiccan lifestyle and more. Use this to create a personal study program to promote spiritual and personal growth as a Wiccan. And don't miss Patricia Telesco's Which Witch Is Which?: A Concise Guide To Wiccan And Neo-Pagan Paths And Traditions (1564147541, $13.99), a guide to both Wiccan and neo-pagan traditions and choices. Contributions from such Wiccan notables as Raven Grimassi, Selena Fox, and more provide articles for neophytes on specific focal points that influence a spritual choice or path. Patricia Telesco has also expertly written Kitchen Witch's Guide To Divination: Finding, Crafting And Using Fortune-Telling Tools From Around Your Home (1564-147258 , $13.99), teaching the basics of awakening natural divination abilities and understanding how they relate to basic life issues. Even more important: the basic home-based divination methods are easy to use whether at home or on the road, and require little special details to understand and apply. Megan Skinner's Essence Of The Tarot: Modern Reflections On Ancient Wisdom (1564147487, $14.99) focuses on Tarot wisdom and how it can be interpreted to apply to daily living. Each of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana covers the journey from ancient Egypt to modern times, with an excellent focus and insights from sources ranging from astrology and mythology to modern psychology. Ashleen O'Gaea's Celebrating The Seasons Of Lief: Samhain To Ostara (1564147312, $14.99) provides a new age wicca guide which stands out from the norm, examining half of the Wheel of the Year with an idea of taking a broader look at each, to discern how the celebration of one naturally falls into the next. Holidays from October to march are outlined, providing history, customs, and modern meanings for Wiccan families.

Llewellyn Publications
Box 64383, St. Paul MN 55164-0383
1-800-843-6666 www.llewellyn.com

Llewellyn's focus on Wiccan and new age spirituality has produced a host of admirable references. Among the best of new titles: Stephanie Rose Bird's Sticks, Stones, Roots, And Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo & Conjuring With Herbs (0738702757, $14.95), examining hoodoo, mojo and conjuring with herbs: a topic rarely covered in such depth. Hoodoo combines African, Native American and Judeo-Christian rituals with a healthy dose of magick: history and healing processes teach the foundation of applying hoodoo to daily life. Also unique in its class is Raymond Buckland's Book Of Spirit Communications (0738703990, $17.95), offering valuable exercises for those who seek to expand their mediumship abilities. Prepare for becoming a medium and even foster electronic spirit contact, as well as learning how to handle a trance state, clairvoyance, levitation and more, though a title which doesn't leave out avoiding spiritual fraud. Or also consult Konstantinos' Speak With The Dead: Seven Methods For Spirit Communication (0738705225, $14.95), a narrowed focus on speaking with the dead which includes such unusual step-by-step instructions as using electronic devices to make contact and record ghostly phenomena, establishing two-way live communications with spirits, and holding a successful s‚ance. Read all about occult topics in an exciting fiction piece by Rala Trobe in The Magick Bookshop (0738705152, $15.95), presenting an antiquarian bookshop in England which draws more than its share of exciting patrons. Llewellyn doesn't neglect topics of tarot or witchcraft, either. Two new tarot guides especially recommended are Valerie Sim's Tarot Outside The Box (0738702773, $12.95), the first book to explain how to use the practice of comparing cards in decks to apply to both simple and complex spreads, and James Ricklef's Tarot: Get The Whole Story (0738703451, $15.95), which narrows the focus to the tarot spread and understanding how to create and interpret them for any question or occasion. Spreads range from small two-card layouts to complet ten-card spreads and provide many insights on position and interpretation. New Wiccan additions expand Llewellyn's shelf in this area, including Poppy Palin's Craft Of The Wild Witch: Green Spirituality & Natural Enchantment (0738705772, $17.95), a guide to more free-spirited 'wild witchcraft' which springs from nature. Poppy Palin covers trancework, Fey and Otherworld companions, pathworking and herbal helpers alike. Christopher Penczak's The Witch's Shield: Protection Magick & Psychic Self-Defense (073870542X, $17.95) narrows the focus to protection magick and psychic self-defense, providing an ethical guide to using spiritual enlightenment even in difficult or threatening situations. Discover guardian spirit connections, angels, and learn how to use traditional spells for protection in a title which is packed with insights on the nature of good and evil. Edain McCoy's Advanced Witchcraft: Go Deeper, Reach Further, Fly Higher (0738705136, $17.95) is for those living as a witch already. No pat formulas here this assumes the rudiments of Wiccan craft have already been memorized, and provides techniques geared for intermediate and advanced witches on everything from dark witchery and working the maze to advanced tree spirituality, power animals and more.

Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
1-800-246-8648 www.innertraditions.com

Wiccan and new age titles often refer to power pieces and charms, but for an in-depth history and look, choose Sheila Paine's Amulets: Sdacred Charms Of Power And Protection (1594770255, $29.95): all over the world and throughout history amulets have offered protection and now there's an in-depth focus which reveals the past, present and future of amulets in all their symbolism and power. Both symbolism and traditional as well as modern uses of amulets are revealed: the author personally traveled to over thirty countries in her quest to locate unusual stories, and Amulets also excels in over 400 color photos. Jean Markale's Cathedral Of The Black Madonna: The Druids And The Mysteries Of Chartres (159477-0204, $16.95) is presented by a historian and philosopher who's spent his life researching pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. The great cathedral of Chartres is a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture, with roots pre-Christian era when Druids worshipped its site. Markale's examination traces the appeal of the Black Madonna back to ancient goddess legends and times and provides plenty of insights into Druid mysteries. Send for the free Inner Traditions catalog for a complete listing of their many outstanding titles in the field of Metaphysical Studies.

Awakening Your Psychic Skills
Joanne E. Brunn
Barrons
250 Wireless Rd., Hauppauge, NY 11788
www.barronseduc.com
0764127144 $16.95 1-800-645-3476

Joanne Brunn's basic premise is that we all are both with psychic skills revealed by hunches or 'gut feelings', and that these instincts come from a core intuitive nature which is phased out during childhood. There's hope, she maintains, for re-instating these abilities, and Awakening Your Psychic Skills: Using Intuition To Guide Your Life fosters this hope through chapters which teach how to awaken long-dormant instincts, apply them to daily situations, and how to predict the future.

Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Rd, #414, Canton, MI 48187
www.visibleink.com

Two fine new encyclopedic references offer some intriguing insights into astrology and prediction. James R. Lewis' weighty instructional reference, The Astrology Book: The Encyclopedia Of Heavenly Influences (1578591449, $24.95), is not for the dilettante: it provides over 800 pages of details on the ancient art, with a broad scientific, historic and application-oriented text designed to appeal to both novices, practitioners and skeptic alike. Chapters pack in nearly 100 illustrations and charts and over 800 annotated entries from a paragraph to pages in length. Bibliographic source references provide plenty of notes for further reading. The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia Of Divination And Soothsaying (1578591473, $24.95) is written by Wicca seer and Gypsy mystic Raymond Buckland, who deftly describes the art of prediction using an encyclopedia A-Z survey of events, people and techniques. Various soothsaying methods are explained in clear language with excellent bibliographic reference.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Allworth Press
10 East 23rd Street, #210, NY, NY 10010
1-800-491-2808 www.allworth.com

Three important guides provide the basics of writing insights for would-be pros. Essential to the screenwriter is the third updated edition of Stephen Brimer's The Screenwriter's Legal Guide (1581153-42X, $24.95), covering all the basics of how to protect work and gain fair compensation. Author Stephen Brimer is a partner in one of the most prestigious law firms in Hollywood, specializing in entertainment law: he's the ideal author for a title covering everything from understanding contracts and options to negotiating effectively. Jodee Blanco's Complete Guide To Book Publicity (158115349X, $19.95) appears in its second updated edition to cover everything from author tours and obtaining top radio, TV and print interview spots to handling overall public relations issues. There are plenty of sample pitch letters, campaign strategy schedules, and more for both beginners and those more experienced, coming from a former PR firm president who has propelled sixteen books onto the NY Times bestseller list. Top off the presentation with Tad Crawford's Business And Legal Forms For Authors And Self-Publishers (1581153-953, $29.95), whose updated third edition appears also on cd rom with the book as it explores different types of contacts and leases, and all kinds of business forms over twenty in all with step-by-step instructions on filling them out.

Gardner's Guide To TV Sitcom Writing
Marilyn Webber
GGC Publishing
5107 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
1589650166 $26.95 GoGardner.com

What elements differentiate the successful sitcom writer from the mundane? They know and practice the "Road Map" principles outlined in this book, on every script they produce. Beginners and some seasoned writers will find these "Writer's Road Map" guidelines essential for transforming a mundane idea to a great one. The basics of what makes an idea salable are covered through different styles of comedy, sitcom character types, and more. Gardner's Guide To Tv Sitcom Writing: The Writer's Road Map is an essential, core reference for any aspiring television sitcom writer.

Writer's Market Companion
Joe Feiertag, et.al.
Writer's Digest Books/F&W, dist.
4700 E. Galbraith Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45236
1582972915 $19.99 1-800-289-0963

From electronic submission guidelines to query letter samples and fiction and nonfiction book proposals, the new second edition of Writer's Market Companion from Writer's Digest Books is the perfect guide to their weighty publisher industry annual reference "Writer's Market". This thoroughly "user friendly" reference assumes an author's work is complete and tells how to develop a writing plan, finalize sales techniques for all types of writing, and how to write for online markets. With the latest information is presented an in easily-accessible manner, Writer's Market Companion is a key reference for aspiring authors wanting to sell what they write.

What Are You Laughing At?
Brad Schreiber
Michael Wiese Productions
11288 Ventura Blvd. #621, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
0941188833 $19.95 1-800-833-5738

Produce winning comedic screenplays using fiction and nonfiction alike with Brad Schreiber's What Are You Laughing At?: How To Write Funny Screenplays, Stories, & More. Included are over 70 excerpts from top screenwriters and pairing them with writing exercises and details on the differences between writing comedy for TV versus stage. There are eleven modes of comedic dialogue, 13 common problems screenwriters encounter and valuable insights into the rhythm and sound of words in What Are You Laughing At? Brad is himself a L.A. screenwriter, so his tips come from an insider's hand.

American Dictionary Of Writer's Guidelines
Brigitte M. Phillips, et. al., Eds.
Quill Driver Books
1831 Industrial Way, Sanger, CA 93657
www.quilldriverbooks.com
1884956408 $29.95 1-800-497-4909

The fourth updated edition of the American Directory Of Writer's Guidelines from Quill Driver Books is now out, presenting gathered information from well over a thousand magazine editors and book publishers and providing more detail than many of the competing Writer's Market listings offer, from a '1-2-3' listing of publication objectives and goals to descriptions which include editorial guidelines ranging from subject preferences to lengths and illustration submission methods. Contact info includes names, phones, email and website details everything the aspiring writer needs to put together a professional proposal.

Kalmbach Publishing Company
PO Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187
1-800-533-6644 kalmbachbooks.com

Take advice from 40 top agents and industry experts on how to pitch a book project to a publisher and add tips on proposal-writing, identifying selling points, and pitching both verbally at conferences and in writing and you have a winning production in Katharine Sands' Making The Perfect Pitch: How To Catch A Literary Agent's Eye (0871162067, $18.95). The pitch here is designed to catch either a publisher or literary agent's eye: use it to stand out from the crowd of authors. Jeff Herman's Guide To Book Publishers, Editors, And Literary Agents 2005 (0871-162105, $29.95) is one of those desk references no writer should be without: it packs in listings for over 400 US and Canadian trade publishers from majors to independents, provides interviews with key editors and top agents, includes articles from experts on attention-grabbing queries and proposals, and is a treasure trove of information not just listing contacts, but how to attract attention.

The Shy Writer
C. Hop Clark
A FundsforWriters Publication
3145 East Chandler Boulevard, #110 #747, Phoenix, AZ 85048
www.fundsforwriters.com
1591135834 $14.95 theshywriter.com

A lot of writers are less than apt at dealing with other people in social events and public circumstances. This shyness will prove a decided handicap in getting published by the major houses who require their authors to go on speaking tours and take an active, public role in promoting their books. C. Hope Clark has written The Shy Writer as "how to" book for aspiring authors who want to spend their time writing and avoid or at least minimize the hard-pounding, palm-sweating, throat-choking that comes with a fear of performing in public. Beginning with defining and understanding shyness, and then discusses "Reaching Out Reaches In" through examples of singers, comedians, and actors who deal with that form of shyness known as "stage fright". The Shy Writer also deals with one-on-one and large group scenarios. Herself a shy and self-published author, Clark goes on to deal with book signings, the press and media, reviews, writers groups, and all the other experiences common to writing professionally. If you are an aspiring or published writer who dreads the publicity, promotion, and marketing aspects of being a professional author, then give a close and careful reading to C. Hope Clark's The Shy Writer -- it can make all the difference between success and failure in your chosen career!

Jump Start Your Writing
Mary Hubley
Bluefish Bay Publishing
1093 A1A Beach Blvd., Suite 148, St. Augustine, FL 32080
0970726783 $10.95 BluefishBay.com

Jump Start Your Writing offers hundreds of creative activities to inspire writers of all experience levels. Exercises such as trying one's hand at a variety of scenes, revising classic poems into prose, and practicing with different narrative points of view are presented alongside simpler suggestions to get creative juices flowing, such as finding a baby photo of oneself or taking a walk amid nature. Black-and-white photographs add a cheerful touch to this handy collection of tips, tricks, and techniques for streching one's mental muscles for all manner of writing projects.

Writers' & Artists' Hideouts
Andrea Brown
Quill Driver Books
1831 Industrial Way, #101, Sanger, CA 93657
www.QuillDriverBooks.com
1884956343 $14.95 1-800-497-4909

Writers' And Artists' Hideouts: Great Getaways For Seducing The Muse by literary agent Andrea Brown is a very special travel guide for writers, artists, actors, and other creative people seeking to find somewhere they can go to focus upon their work which is all to often interrupted in their primary homes, studios and offices with the demands of friends, family, and the pressures of day-to-day living. Ranging from the inexpensive ($19.00 per night hostels) to the extravagant ($1000.00 per night luxury hotels) Writers' & Artists' Hideouts covers the gamut. Arranged geographically into The Pacific Northwest; California; Hawaii & Alaska; The Southwest; The Rocky Mountain States; The Midwest; The Heartland; The Northeast; The Mid-Atlantic; and The Southeast, Writers' & Artists' Hideouts is further enhanced with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, advice on "How to Use This Book", security tips, an "Index by Venue"; and an "Index by City". If you need to "get away from it all" and consult your personal muse, then browse through the pages of Andrea Brown's Writers' & Artist's Hideouts.


The Martial Arts Shelf

Martial Arts Instruction
Lawrence A. Kane
YMAA
4354 Washington St., Boston, MA 02131
159439024X $15.95 1-800-669-8892

Their are many martial arts books outlining the basics of about any martial art you could wish to learn, but Lawrence A. Kane's Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory And Communication Techniques In The Dojo is different from the rest. Lawrence A. Kane is a man who has taught and created martial arts classes and business seminars, and who focuses on the teacher of martial arts as much as the technique. Readers will lern just how to motivate and retain students, optimize time, and adjust to individual learning styles and talents using Martial Arts Instruction: is an informatively instructive and very strongly recomended manual.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

The Student's Encylopedia Of Judaism
Geoffrey Wigoder, Editor-in-Chief
New York University Press
838 Broadway, 3rd fl., NY, NY 10003
www.nyupress.org
0814742750 $39.95 1-800-996-6987

Co-editors Fred Skolnik and Shumel Himelstein work with editor Geoffrey Wigoder in assembling essays and articles invaluable to charting the history and spirituality of Judaism in their basic Student's Encyclopedia Of Judaism. Here's a comprehensive, A to Z encyclopedic reference to the key spiritual leaders, concepts, and Biblical references of Judaism, blending in biblical sidebars of reference details as well as black and white photos throughout. The Student's Encyclopedia Of Judaism is strongly recommended for Judaic Studies reference collections as an excellent, comprehensive, basic reference.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

An Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Women In Early American Films
Denise Lowe
Haworth Press
10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904
www.haworthpress.com
0789018438 $49.95 1-800-429-6784

True-live drama and bibliographic coverage marks an A-Z reference of women in films from 1895-1930: a reference which refutes the notion that men dominated the film industry in those early years. Many women were crucial to the development of cinema, and An Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Women In Early American Films tells their stories, includes well over a hundred black and white photos, and lists film credits alongside biographical sketches.

The First Female Stars
David W. Menefee
Praeger Publishers
Box 6926, Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
0275982599 $44.95 greenwood.com

From Theda Bara to Anna Nilsson and Sarah Bernhardt, the achievements of fifteen silent film women who entered early motion pictures to become key personalities of the industry are presented in David Menefee's The First Female Stars: Women Of The Silent Era. Menefee produced the first comprehensive study of actress Sarah Bernhardt's work previously, and here uses original sources to examine the influence and significance of her contemporaries.

Meriwether Publishing
Box 7710, Colorado Springs, CO 80933
1-800-937-5297 www.meriwether.com

Beginners new to improvisation receive a fine guide in Bill Lynn's Improvisation for Actors And Writers: A Guidebook For Improv Lessons In Comedy (1566080940 $17.95), which clearly outlines an actor's responsibilities as a student in an improv class. Students already taking improv lessons in comedy will welcome a guide which covers everything from labeling a partner and building character interactions to handling multiple scenes and accepting criticism. Charles I. Swift's Introduction To Stage Lighting: The Fundamentals Of Theatre Lighting Design (1566080983, $19.95) reveals all the basics of stage lighting design: drama teachers and directors as well as design pros will relish an in-depth guide covering everything from source levels and controls to communicating intent during a production. A 'must' for professionals.

Silent Film Sound
Rick Altman
Columbia University Press
61 W. 62nd St., New York NY 10023
www.columbia.edu/cu/cup
0231116624 $50.00 1-800-944-8648

Mention 'silent film' and most will think of images with the absence of sound but in fact, the silent film was accompanied by sound, and original research her provides a challenge to the ideas of earlier histories, revealing the changing nature and sounds of early American silent movies. In reality, silent films were not always accompanied, nor were accompaniments uniform: there was an evolutionary process to silent film sound which involved both evolving technology and changing ideas of film production. From peep show and projection to nickelodeon and the campaign to standardize film sounds, Silent Film Sound is a bible of reference information and vintage photos.


The Native American Shelf

Florida's Lost Tribes
Theodore Morris
University Press of Florida
15 NW 15th St., Gainesville, FL 32611
www.upf.com
081302739X $29.95 1-800-226-3822

The story of Florida's Native American heritage receives close and informative examination through a series of paintings paired with discussions by Jerald T. Milanich, who surveys the vanished cultures and archaeological relics of bygone eras. The pairing of a painter with an archaeologist produces a wonderful blend of scholarship and visual color displays: whether using Florida's Lost Tribes as an art library addition or a survey of Florida culture, it's a unique acquisition indeed.

Promise
Serle L. Chapman
Pavey Western Publishing
c/o Mountain Press Publishing Company
PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
0952860783 $29.95 www.mtnpress.com

Extensively illustrated with vintage black-and-white and full-color photographs on virtually every page, Promise: Bozeman's Trail To Destiny is a thorough history of conflicts between whites and Native Americans along the historic Bozeman Trail. Rich in narrative detail, and drawing on primary sources such as interviews and oral history as well as secondary sources, Promise strives to present as accurate a picture as possible of what daily life and the deadly struggles were truly like. Accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Promise is a welcome and much-needed, in-depth contribution to Native American history shelves.


The Travel Shelf

At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig
John Gimlette
Alfred A. Knopf
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
1400041767 $25.00 1-800-726-0600

Blend a moving history with a travelogue of journeys through Paraguay something rarely covered in popular travel destination choices and you have an exciting and rare glimpse of another world in John Gimlette's At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig : Travels Through Paraguay. This is no serious survey: Gimlette's mishaps and adventures assume a humorous air as he encounters cannibals, religious zealots, myths, realities, and cultural oddities alike. Add a healthy dose of history and political insight and you have a multi-faceted travelogue in At The Tomb Of The Inflatable Pig.

Boston's French Secrets
Rhea Hollis Atwood
Images from the Past
PO Box 137, Bennington, VT 05201
www.ImagesfromthePast.com
1884592414 $19.95 www.amazon.com

There's a strong 300-year-old relationship between Boston and France, and Rhea Hollis Atwood tracks down the specifics of these ties through stories from France and French history in Boston's French Secrets: Guided Walks That Reveal Boston's French Heritage. Then she puts these stories into guided walks around Boston to further emphasize the connections that reflect in today's Boston. Add black and white photos and clear street maps and you have a practical take-along tote for any historic Boston visit.

Orlando, Central & North Florida
Sandra Friend & Kathy Wolf
Countryman Press
PO Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091
www.countrymanpress.com
0881506036 $19.95 1-800-245-4151

If central or northern Florida is your destination, you have to make Sandra Friend and Kathy Wolf's Orlando, Central & North Florida: An Explorer's Guide: Includes St. Augustine, Pensacola, And Jacksonville your take- along tote: it's packed with details on many lesser-known wild regions of the area and even includes bat and alligator watching sites in river towns, unusual 'ghost tours' and local history destinations, and more. Even when covering large-scale theme parks such as Disney World, Orlando, Central & North Florida focuses on getting the most for your money, setting it apart from competing guides.

Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden St., Oakland CA 94607
1-800-275-8555 www.lonelyplanet.com

Destination-oriented travelers on a budget especially students will find Lonely Planet's 'On a Shoestring' guidebook series to be essential for planning and conducting a successful trip: each packs in pages of detail from cultural and artistic insights to practical assessments of hostels, budget accommodations of all types, and independent trekking and travel in each country. South America On A Shoestring (1741041635, $33.99), Africa On A Shoestring (1740594622, $33.99) and Central America On A Shoestring (174-1040299, $23.99) each emphasize exploration and independence from high fees and costs, from imparting budget flight and transportation alternatives to surveying sightseeing options. There are even tips on where to do laundry and how to use public transportation, well as how to locate affordable outfitters. Budget: yes. Poor quality travel: no. Not with the 'On A Shoestring' guides as take-along totes.

Moon Handbooks Argentina
Wayne Bernhardson
Avalon Travel Publishing
1400 - 65th Street, Suite 250, Emeryville, CA 94608
www.moon.com
1566915090 $19.95 1-800-345-5473

Moon Handbooks Argentina is an all-purpose guidebook for business and recreational travelers to this great South American nation. Suggested plans for exploring the entire nation in twenty-one days, traveling with focus on nature or overland routes, historical tours, a fifteen-day art and architecture viewing, a tastebud excursion through wine country and more are just the beginning. Sections point out the highlights and quality resorts in various different provinces, as well as the most effective means of travel, and offer capsulized background information on Argentina's land, flora, fauna, cultural landscape, environmental issues, history, economy, and more. A listing of internet resources rounds out this recommended guide for anyone determined to see Argentina's beauty with their own eyes.

Best Places: Portland
John Gottberg
Sasquatch Books
119 South Main Street, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98104-2555
www.sasquatchbooks.com
1570614008 $19.95 1-800-775-0817

Now in an updated sixth edition, Best Places: Portland is a handy travel guide to the best restaurants, lodgings, sights, shopping, and more to be found in Portland, Oregon. Icons for "editor's choice", "good (monetary) value", "family", and "romance" allow for quick and easy selection of Portland features to suit one's needs. Best Places: Portland prides itself on only mentioning the best of the best; even one-star establishments will be a cut above. Suggested day trips and three-day itineraries will aid the reader in maximizing enjoyment on minimum funds. Best Places: Portland is not a catch-all travel guide; it focuses specifically on listing "must-see" places along with brief descriptions, addresses, websites, and so on. A superb resource for business or leisure travelers alike.

Fodor's India
Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
1400013127 $23.95 www.fodors.com

Now in an updated and strongly recommended fifith edition, Fodor's India is an information-packed travel guide to just about everything business or vacation travelers need to know or would like to see in this vast and dazzling nation. From where to go tiger-spotting to paying homage to holy sites to learning how to navigate bazaars and much more, Fodor's India brims with over 600 pages full not only of places to go, but tips for blending in and making the most of one's experience when one gets there. Over 600 pages cover the sights to see in various sections of India as well as a basic overview of the culture, language, and strategies for navigating. Fodor is a premier publisher of travel guides offering expert information on cities and countries abroad. Send for their free catalog for a complete title listing.


The Sports Shelf

Surfcaster's Guide To Baits, Rigs And Lures
Milt Rosko
Burford Books
PO Box 388, Short Hills, NJ 07078
1580801188 $14.95 burfordbooks.com

Surf fishermen who want a basic primer on baits, rigs and lures will find this an excellent compilation of over fifty years of caster/author Milt Rosko's experiences. There are literally hundreds of different baits, rigs and lures to choose from, any of which can catch a fish under the right conditions. It's determining these conditions which makes for complexity, and which is covered clearly in The Surfcaster's Guide To Baits, Rigs & Lures, which holds black and white photo examples throughout.

Five-Star Basketball Coaches' Playbook
Leigh Klein, et al.
Equilibrium Books/Wish Publishing
PO Box 10337, Terre Haute, IN 47801
1930546718 $18.95 wishpublishing.com

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Leigh Klein, Matt Masiero and Kevin Pigott, Five-Star Basketball Coaches' Playbook compiles successful and innovative basketball plays from a wide variety of the coaches who have made Five-Star Basketball one of the most respected basketball camps in the world. Each play is explicitly spelled out with simple diagrams, a quick statement of purpose, by-the-numbers steps for organization, plus some hot tips for enhancement. A glossary of terms rounds out this useful reference for anyone involved in coaching basketball in youth leagues, high school, or college. Highly recommended.


The Military Shelf

Historic Naval Aircraft
Norman Polmar
Brassey's Inc.
PO Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0960
www.brasseysinc.com
1574885723 $34.95 1-800-775-2518

From the pages of Naval History Magazine comes Norman Polmar's Historic Naval Aircraft: The Best Of "Naval History" Magazine, providing readers with a close look at over thirty key U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft drawn from the 'Historic Aircraft' column in Naval History magazine. Famous crafts appear along with nearly unknown ones to display fighters, bombers, trainers and more, with black and white photos accompany rich history on each aircraft type. A 'must' for the in-depth military, aviation or specialty naval library.

Boston Mills Press/Firefly, dist.
4 Daybreak Lane, Westport, CT 06880
1-800-387-5085 www.fireflybooks.com

The Aviation century series will total five volumes, two yet to be published, chronicling the history of flight from Kitty Hawk to space, and Ron Dick and Dan Patterson's World War II (1550464264, $39.95) is a solid addition to the series, exploring World War II expanding air power from Europe and the Mid-East to the Pacific, China and India. Aviation's role in the war is defined throughout, with chapters by a seasoned military pilot (Ron Dick) describing how aviation changed the face and effects of warfare. Co-authors Ron Dick and Dan Patterson's The Golden Age (1550464094, $39.95) covers the period between the World Wars, when aviation pioneers took technological advances and applied them to aircraft in new nonmilitary ways, leading to light aircraft and a new age of competition. The Golden Age will prove particularly enlightening when read in conjunction with World War II, filling gaps in both aviation history and military insight.

An Ordinary Soldier
Marvin L. Gebhardt
Author House
1663 South Liberty Drive, #2, Bloomington, IN 47403-5161
www.authorhouse.com
1418401641 $24.95 1-800-839-8640

An Ordinary Soldier is the inspirational memoir of Charles William Gebhardt, who served in the 7th Infantry Division of the 17th Infantry Regiment, whose duties took them from the Aleutians to the Marshall Islands to the Philippines. He encountered life-threatening battles and during the course of World War II, yet also forged enduring friendships. Written by Gebhardt's nephew, An Ordinary Soldier follows his service from his difficult childhood and the rigors of boot camp into the true hell of combat. He would belong to the group that wore the symbol and shared the nickname of the "Hourglass". A remarkable true story that brings the Pacific Theater experience to vivid life, and a welcome contribution to military history and biography shelves.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Ace Books
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
1-800-847-5515 www.penguin.com

Three exciting new reads are outstanding and highly recommended picks. Clive Woodall's One For Sorrow, Two For Joy (0441012655, $19.95) will appeal to fans of Watership Down and any animal-character plot: the bird kingdom is brought to life as an owl and a lone robin struggle against the terrible magpies and crows who are determined to slaughter smaller birds to extinction. An excellent, fast-paced story of feathered battles ensues. Alastair Reynolds' Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (0441012388, $22.95) returns to the setting of his prior Revelation Space to explore collective consciousness and a remote planet home to a brutal machine-like culture. These are two novellas set in Reynolds' universe and each provides a very different plot and facet of Revelation Space worlds. Robert Metzger's Cusp (0441012418, $24.95) is set in 2031, when a solar flare shifts the sun's position while two immense walls encircle the Earth like rings. The predicted toppling of political powers and geographic chaos brings a new world order: Cusp is set decades later and provides a fine political power struggle of the future.

Dreams Made Flesh
Annie Bishop
ROC Books
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com
0451460138 $16.00 1-800-847-5515

The four all-new adventures of Jaenelle and her kind in Annie Bishop's Dreams Made Flesh tell of a powerful witch made flesh at last by dreams and ties with the mightiest of Blood warriors. Her ties with three deadly magicians will make her Queen of the Darkness, and restore order and peace but at a terrible cost which will cost her very soul. Intrigue, mystery and passion permeate a fast-paced and winning set of adventures.

DAW Books
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
1-800-847-5515 www.dawbooks.com

It's hard to strictly peg Kevin Mccarthy and David Silva's thriller Into The Darkness (075640021X , $6.99): part horror, part science fiction and part mystery, Into The Darkness tells of a man and his three adopted psychic kids who have fled a rogue CIA agent and PSI project gone awry, only to find Hunter is able to find them even across the country. Strong characterization and a powerful, changing plot keep Into The Darkness unpredictable and fast-paced. While Into The Darkness represents Book 2 of 'The Family', no prior familiarity with Book 1 is necessary in order to enjoy and easily understand the background and setting. Embark on a whole new mission with R.M. Meluch with The Myriad (0756402794, $23.95), presenting a fast-paced first novel in a projected military science fiction series. Set in the distant future when Earth and her worlds have been at war with another empire, military passion takes an extra step and ramps up in The Myriad, designed to appeal to readers of military scifi. Cheryl J. Franklin's Tales Of Taormin: Fire Get, Fire Lord (075640293X, $14.00) tells of the domain of Serri, facing a challenge threatening their survival. It's up to a child of wizards, raised among mortals and ignorant of his powers, to respond to the call of soul fire creatures who prey upon the living, to confront his past, his powers, and his peoples. S.L. Farrell's Heir Of Stone: The Cloudmages #3 (0756402549, $23.95) provides the third novel in an epic survey which began in Holder Of Lightning, when a young woman finds a master stone to awaken magical powers and assumes the dreadful responsibility of being the First Holder. Mage Of Clouds followed the next generation of holders as her daughter becomes involved, and now Heir Of Stone returns to the world when the daughter's oldest reaches adulthood and is in training to continue to legacy a plan turned astray through attacks on the family. A recommended pick for prior fans of the Cloudmages action.

Baen Books
PO Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
1-800-223-2336 www.baen.com

Baen's gripping list of science fiction never stops: these are some wonderful recent winners. Leo Frankowski's Conrad Stargard: The Radiant Warrior (0743488636, $24.00) presents a total life change for one Conrad Schwartz, who one moment is hiking through the mountains of Poland, and the next finds himself stranded in 1231 AD, fleeing an angry Teutonic knight. Medieval Poland comes alive as Conrad decides to turn it into the most powerful country in its time and faces the Inquisition during the process. Spider Robinson's Very Bad Deaths (074348861X, $18.00) confirms that Spider Robinson hasn't lost any of his compelling touch despite decades of writing. Shattered by the death of his wife, American expatriate Russell Walker is ready to join her but Smelly, his old college roommate, won't let him go. And Smelly's urgent need for an intermediary with the police brings Russell into contact with a feisty female constable, a telepathic hermit, and a serial killer monster in the process. Swift action with a healthy dose of irony evolves. Travis S. Taylor's Warp Speed (0743488628, $22.00) tells of an astronaut who strives to reach the stars, preparing himself through martial arts, physics studies, and more. Her and his team have actually built the first warp drive, convincing the government to fund an impossible dream: now Dr. Clemons has new ideas for the drive, unsuspected by America's enemies, and espionage and international intrigue create high stakes for the prize. Wen Spencer's Tinker (0743498712, $6.99) appears in paperback to provide a riveting story of a girl genius inventor, Tinker, who lives in future Pittsburgh, which exists in the land of the elves. Tinker finds herself too involved in the politics of the Elven court, technology smugglers, and more as she tries to balance inventions with romance. Humor permeates a fast-paced, unpredictable plot. David Drake's The Far Side Of The Stars (0743488644, $7.99) tells of one Lt. Daniel Leary and fellow officer Adele Mundy, who must find other work during peaceties. Their venture into a dangerous escort service involves them with winged dragon challengers, jealous lovers, and a prophetic mystery in Drake's involving winner.

Getting Near The End
Andrew Weiner
Red Deer Press
Mackimmie Library Tower, Room 813, 2500 University Drive, NW, Calgary, AB, Canada, T2N 1N4
www.reddeerpress.com
0889953074 $19.95 1-800-663-5714

Getting Near The End is both an apocalyptic science fiction story and a deftly presented human drama about the very last days. On New Year's Eve, the world is consumed with terror at the brink of its end, yet there is time for one last celebration, featuring a megastar singer whose music seemingly has the power to predict the future. Getting Near The End is an enthralling and highly recommended science fiction saga that matches the length of a song to the remaining time of the world, and is a true "page-turner" of interpersonal problems dramatically heightened by a sense of panic that keeps the reader absorbed until the fiery end.

Historical Dictionary Of Science Fiction Literature
Brian Stableford
Scarecrow Press
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.scarecrowpress.com
0810849380 $70.00 1-800-462-6420

Historical Dictionary Of Science Fiction Literature is a straightforward reference that lists the names of historically significant science fiction authors, common terms used when discussing science fiction literature (such as "space opera" or "fandom"), branches such as "Spanish Science Fiction", and more. Each entry is brief, no more than a few paragraphs long, yet accurately summarizes its topic. Easy to consult and use, and proffering an extensive bibliography, Historical Dictionary Of Science Fiction Literature is an excellent quick-lookup resource for libraries, as well as literature students and professors.


The Biography Shelf

First Daughters
Gerard W. Gawalt & Ann G. Gawalt
Black Dog & Leventhal
151 W. 19th St., New York NY 10011
1579123708 $17.95 1-800-722-7202

Readers interested in first daughters have had relatively little to choose from, with all the attention being given first ladies: the Gawalts remedy this with First Daughters: Letters Between U.S. Presidents And Their Daughters, a gathering of personal correspondence drawing upon thousands of documents from the Library of Congress and Presidential archives alike. Highly recommended reading, the individual letters from Presidential fathers to their daughters are poignant, revealing, and personal: small black and white photos of the family bring each set to life.

Reflections From The Shining Brow
Kamal Amin
Fithian Press
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, Ca 95519
www.danielpublishing.com
1564744396 $26.95 1-800-662-8351

Author Kamal Amin was an idealistic young Egyptian just out of architecture school when he traveled to America to join Frank Lloyd Wright's circle, there to become a working member of his Taliesin Fellowship, and a disciple of Wright. Reflections From The Shining Brow: My Years With Frank Lloyd Wright And Olgivanna Lazovich combines a memoir with a biographical sketch of Wright and his Fellowship members, including many details on Wright's third wife Olgivanna Lazovich, who dominated the atmosphere of the group at the time. A unique portrait of Wright from a very different and insightful perspective.

Happy Trails
Howard Kazanjuan and Chris Enss
Twodot/Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
www.globepequot.com
0762730897 $24.95 1-800-243-0495

Other books have been written about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the king and queen of B Western movies for over a decade who went on to produce a hit television show for ten years thereafter. None contain the rare family photos paired with personal reminiscences which make Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration Of The Life And Times Of Roy Rogers And Dale Evans such a memorable keepsake and winner. Happy Trails is simply packed with private photos from the duo's childhoods, early singing careers, marriage, and family life, alongside more familiar publicity shots from their films and show. A gorgeous, highly recommended keepsake.

Strength And Honor
Richard N. Cote
Corinthian Books
PO Box 1898, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465
1929175094 $29.95 corinthianbooks.com

Strength And Honor: The Life Of Dolley Madison is the true story of First Lady Dolley Madison, wife to President James Madison. She was First Lady during the early 19th century, an era when renewed war with the British threatened American independence and invaders burned the White House to the ground. Author Richard Cote's background in journalism and service on the staff of the South Carolina Historical Society serve him well, and his experience is reflected in the extensive research and adept narration of Strength and Honor. An engaging account of a staunch, sincere, and truly remarkable woman's life from early childhood to her influence on the Presidency to old age.

Emma The Twice-Crowned Queen
Isabella Strachan
Peter Owen Publishers/Dufour Editions
Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.peterowen.com
0720612217 $27.95 1-800-869-5677

Emma The Twice-Crowned Queen: England In The Viking Age is the first full biography of Queen Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor and Hardecanute. The half-Danish sister of the Duke of Normandy and a descendant of Vikings, she would be Queen to two kings, Ethelred the Unready (who needed to ally with the Normans against Viking raiders) and later, the Danish Canute. She was a noteworthy political figure of her day, and her writings indicate she was a Danish nationalist who wished to see England join with Viking Denmark. Yet her great-nephew William the Conqueror would be the one to drastically alter the future of England. Drawing from primary sources, the work of scholars, contemporary writings and more, Emma The Twice-Crowned Queen is at once both scholarly and readily accessible. A must-have for British history and biography reference shelves.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Simple Scrapbooks
Deborah Cannarella
Hugh Lauter Levin
9 Burr Rd., Westport, CT 06880
0883637057 $30.00 www.hlla.com

If it's a no-brainer scrapbooking tutorial you wish, look no further than Simple Scrapbooks: Ideas And Techniques by Deborah Cannarella and the editorial staff of "Simple Scrapbooks Magazine". Simple Scrapbooks comes virtually packed with the best tips gathered from "Simple Scrapbooks" magazine and provides beginners with the basics for producing a professional-appearing scrapbook result without many of the headaches of planning the production. Chapters emphasize undertanding the basic goals of a layout, directing the layout to the proper audience, and creating a tone with the layout choice. Tips offer insights on everything from color choices and effects to writing choices. From digital scrapbooking choices to journaling and creating memorabilia packets, Simple Scrapbooks comes with a free CD of 150 decorative paper designs to boot!

25 Bags To Knit
Emma King
Trafalgar Square Books
PO Box 257, Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053-0257
www.trafalgarsquarebooks.com
1570762821 $24.95 1-800-423-4525

25 Bags To Knit: Beautiful Bags In Stylish Colors is a stylish presentation of over twenty hand-knitted bags in a range of styles, shades and stitches includes a workshop section on basics of yarns, linings and techniques, color photos throughout, charts and plenty of tips for easy reproduction of patterns. Knitters who wish to make colorful, useful and varied bags receive all they need for fine reproductions, from materials lists and explanations of knitter's abbreviations to advice on gauge and needles. 25 Bags To Knit is a welcome and recommended addition to the dedicated needlecrafter's reference and project collection.

American Quilters Society
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
www.aqsquilt.com www.amazon.com

American Quilter's Society consistently publishes user friendly needlecraft books. Any sewing machine can make lovely threat-painted designs: but how? Follow Nancy Prince's instructions in Quilt Savvy: Simple Thread Painting (1574328611, $21.95)) to find out how to turn the simplest sewing machine into a stitcher's art tool. Five seasonal projects are used to demonstrate the techniques of using the straight and zigzag stitches to produce works of art. Unique and gorgeous. Brenda Brayfield and Lise Merchant's Stained Glass Applique: The Simple Fused Way (1574328689, $21.95) covers a new fused method of producing stained glass effects for appliques. Two authors blend their different interests quilting and stained glass construction for a fine selection of eleven patterns that can be reproduced in simple steps. The hints on shortcuts will especially interest beginners who want to produce a polished product in a minimum of time. Bea Oglesby's Butterfly Album: Monarchs & More (1574328719, $19.95) showcases over three dozen patterns for a range of butterflies which can be easily cut and sewed for appliques. Shapes and field markings of individual butterflies are surprisingly true to real life and are lovely crafts projects.

Shadow Knitting
Vivian Hoxbro
Interweave Press
201 E. 4th St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655
www.interweave.com
1931499411 $21.95 1-800-645-3675

Add color to a knitting project and make the most of highlighting and shadows with Shadow Knitting, which demonstrates how to use alternating rows of light and dark yarn to produce subtle patterns. Prior knitting experience and experience reading patterns will assist in the use of an excellent survey which includes everything from the charts and counting needed to produce special effects to color photos of complete projects and step-by-step directions.

Pieced To Fit
Sheila Sinclair Snyder
Martingale Company
20205 144th Ave. NE, Woodinville, WA 98072-8478
www.martingale-pub.com
1564775615 $22.95 1-800-426-3126

Learn how to produce exceptional quilt borders using easy blocks with veteran quilter Sheila Sinclair Snyder's Pieced To Fit: Instant Quilt Borders From Easy Blocks, with it's in-depth and narrowed focus which uses nine quilt patterns to illustrate choices in creating borders using easy outer blocks. Color photos of completed quilts accompany step-by-step instructions that highlight time-saving techniques in producing these border blocks.

Super Quick Colorful Quilts
Rosemary Wilkinson, Editor
Good Books
PO Box 419, Intercourse, PA 17534-0419
www.goodbks.com
1561484504 $24.95 1-800-762-7171

Compiled and edited by quilting expert Rosemary Wilkinson, beginning needlecrafters, as well as more advanced quilters who lack time, will find Super Quick Colorful Quilts: 20 Sparkling Designs For Fast Quilts to be a welcome and "user friendly" coverage presenting twenty new quilt patterns in varied colors, made with easy shapes, easy piecing, and fast techniques. 20 projects show how to gain the most from checks, flowers, pinwheels and other traditional design choices, streamlining quilting operations and patterns for maximum results.


The Nautical Shelf

Sequoia Presidential Yacht
Giles M. Kelley, Captain, USNR (Ret.)
Ann Stevens, photographer
Tidewater Publishers
c/o Cornell Maritime Press
PO Box 456, Centreville, Maryland 21617
0870335618 $19.95 www.amazon.com

Written by a seaman through and through whose service include four years of sea duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Sequoia Presidential Yacht is the amazing portrait of the Sequoia, a 104-foot yacht that has served eight sitting American presidents. Extensively researched an illustrated throughout with rare black-and-white and color photographs, Sequoia Presidential Yacht is in many ways a biography - but a biography of a sturdy and faithful vessel rather than a person. Especially recommended for yacht history and presidential trivia buffs.

Paradise Cay Publications
PO Box 29, Arcata, CA 95518-0029
1-800-736-4509 www.paracay.com

Two new editions of classic boating references are picks for advanced sailors and nautical library holdings, promising repeat reference value. Earl Hinz's Heavy Weather Tactics Using Sea Anchors & Drogues (0939837374, $TBA) appears in an updated second edition to probe the foundations of using sea anchors and drogues. Any sailor needs to know these basics, and Heavy Weather Tactics Using Sea Anchors & Drogues teaches everything needed to know about waves, deploying a sea anchor, and different designs. The 2005 commercial edition of the Nautical Almanac is out (0939837641, $24.95), and it's another winner: covering January 1, 2005 through January 1, 2006, it is a reference packed with nautical reference tables, from altitude adjustments to star charts, phases of the moon, and much more. Keep both of 'em handy on board. Speaking of keeping on board, don't forget to keep Des Pawson's Knot Craft (0939837633, $10.95) in a waterproof bag close at hand: it's packed with recipes for a variety of knots and knotworked items, from key fobs to fenders and mats, and is one of the few knot guides which covers not only making the knots, but how to apply them after.

Ghost Ship
Brian Hicks
Ballantine Books
1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
www.ballantinebooks.com
0345463919 $25.95 1-800-726-0600

Readers seeking a gripping true sea mystery will already know of the legend of the Mary Celeste, found drifting with crew missing in 1872: Brian Hicks tackles this 130-year old mystery in Ghost Ship : The Mysterious True Story Of The Mary Celeste And Her Missing Crew, re-creating events leading up to the disappearance and revealing the aftermath of suspicion and intrigue which followed a puzzling investigation after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sensationalized the event in fiction. A fascinating modern probe of all the facets of an old unsolved mystery.

Who Really Invented The Steamboat?
Jack L. Shagena, P.E.
Humanity Books/Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Dr, Amherst, NY 14228
www.prometheusbooks.com
1591022061 $35.00 1-800-421-0351

Historical accounts and claims of Robert Fulton himself attribute the invention of the steamboat to himself; but in fact he didn't invent it, says retired professional engineer Jack Shagena in his survey Who Really Invented The Steamboat?: Fulton's Clermont Coup. Various individuals contributed to its invention, and there's a more credible candidate who more justly earns the title of its inventor. Who Really Invented The Steamboat isn't just the story of these inventors and Fulton's coup of the credits; it follows how the myth was fostered in textbooks for almost two hundred years, providing a fascinating true tale of intrigue and confusion.

New Jersey Shipwrecks
Margaret Thomas Buchholz
Down The Shore Publishing
Box 3100, Harvey Cedars, NJ 08008
0945582943 $44.00 down-the-shore.com

New Jersey Shipwrecks: 350 Years In The Graveyard Of The Atlantic is an extensively researched chronicle of shipwrecks in the New Jersey area from 1642 to the modern day. Illustrated throughout in black-and-white with numerous vintage photographs and artworks, New Jersey Shipwrecks commands the browser's attention with its gripping true tales of life, death, survival, and rescue. A welcome contribution to modern nautical history, analyzing individual disasters throughout history in depth and vivid detail.

The Lo-Tech Navigator
Tony Crowley
Seafarer Books
c/o Sheridan House Inc.
145 Palisade St., Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522
1574091913 $17.95 1-888-743-7425

The Lo-Tech Navigator is a straightforward and practical guide to navigating at sea without the use of modern computers and advanced navigational devices. Such devices are useful, but sometimes they fail; and sometimes sailors can't afford such tools to begin with. The Lo-Tech Navigator discusses how to build and use simple compasses, sextants, and other simple tools that can cultivate navigational skills while saving hundreds of dollars. The basic mathematical formulas for calculating such things as longitude are described with examples. Color photographs and poetry releated to seafaring sprinkle amid this superb resource, recommended for all sea voyagers - it's always good to back up one's aids and gadgets with good old-fashioned knowledge.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Secrets Of Living And Loving With Diabetes
Janis Roszler, et.al.
Surrey Books
230 East Ohio Street, #120, Chicago, IL 60611
1572840668 $19.95 surreybooks.com

Diabetes is one of the fastest-growing afflictions in the country, affecting an increasing amount of adults and children alike; that's why a book such as Janis Roszlder's The Secrets Of Living And Loving With Diabetes: Three Experts Answer Questions You've Always Wanted To Ask is so important: it uses the latest medical information and blends in exercises, case histories and humor, adding the clinical expertise of diabetes experts William H. Polonsky, PHD, CDE and Steven V. Edelman, MD to answer common questions. Questions and answers are geared to both insulin-dependent injectors and oral medicine-taking diabetics, and thus two very different groups receive details explicit for them.

Pathways To Nursing
Dennis C. Tucker & Paula Craig
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
www.infotoday.com
1573871923 $24.95 1-800-300-9868

Library and electronic research in the fields of nursing and allied health are described in Pathways To Nursing: A Guide To Library And Online Research In Nursing And Allied Health, a detailed and very strongly recommended resource for nursing students, paramedics, and medical researchers. From using the library and its resources to expanding the search online, chapters cover the basics of a variety of resources in nursing, from using document delivery services to locating specialized encyclopedias in health and nursing fields.

Strength Training For Women
Joan Pagano
DK Publishing
375 Hudson, New York, NY 10014
0756605954 $15.00 www.dk.com

Women who participate in strength training routines can battle osteoporosis and even defy aging with just a few sessions a week. Women who want to learn exercises which shape up without bulking the body, but who balk at descriptions, now have Strength Training For Women: Tone Up, Burn Calories, Stay Strong by Joan Pagano. This is a very easy and quick visual guide which covers everything from step-by-step routines to pinpointing which muscles should be feeling the results of such exercise. Color photos of different women are the meat of this easy tone-up handbook.

The Only Menopause Guide You'll Need
Michele Moore, M.D.
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218
www.press.jhu.edu
0801880130 $15.95 1-800-537-5487

Now in a second edition updated with the latest information on hormone replacement therapy, The Only Menopause Guide You'll Need is a straightforward health guide for women to dealing with this transitional phase of life. Chapters discuss remedies for common symptoms, health concerns such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cancer risk, recommended diets for improved health and fitness, and much more. Lists of resources, references, a glossary, and an index round out this easy-to-use guide that presents straight facts in layman's terms. Confidently recommended for any woman approaching the Change.

Bellydancing For Fitness
Rania Androniki Bossonis
Fair Winds Press/Rockport Publishers
33 Commercial St, Gloucester, MA 01930
159233086X $19.95 www.rockpub.com

The creator of the wildly popular "Bellydance Fitness for Weight-Loss" video series presents Bellydancing For Fitness: The Sexy Art That Tones Your Abs, Butt, And Thighs, a straightforward introduction to bellydance moves that can be incorporated into a solid and beautiful exercise workout. Full-color photographs clearly illustrate warm-up stretches, basic movements and poses, and offer suggestions for putting it all together into a dance routine. The texts describe what to do and how to do in detail, and an accompanying music CD offers 40 minuts of modern, enthusiastic bellydance music to get one started shaking the fat away! A delightful and effective guide to enhancing physical fitness and sex appeal alike.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Collector Books
PO Box 3009, Paducah, KY 42002-3009
1-800-626-5420 www.collectorbooks.com

Collector Books is the publisher of choice if you're a serious collector seeking the latest object-specific reference guides combining bright color identification photos with values guides. Among their latest offerings: Russell E. Lewis' Field Guide To Fishing Lures (1574324195, $16.95) provides an affordable take-long tote packed with clear color photos of fishing lures and a values guide which includes company/maker histories and overviews of particular lure styles and background. Two doll collector guides are also recommended picks: J. Michael Augustyniak's Collector's Encyclopedia Of Barbie Doll Exclusives 1972-2004 (1574324047, $29.95) appears in its updated third edition to cover all Barbie exclusives, from K. Mart and KB lines to FAO Schwarz and more. These lines expand and change so get the third edition to remain current. The second edition of Collector's Encyclopedia Of Vogue Dolls (1574324004, $29.95) by Judith Izen and Carol Stover updates price lists, continues to provide extensive doll and maker history, and excels in fine color photos which are clear and lend to easy identification. If those aging dolls need repair or if you wish to research them, consult Kathryn Witt's Doll Directory (1574324152, $14.95: it's an excellent reference to US doll museums, collections, doll hospitals, clubs and annual shows. Chapters include address, phones, hours of operation, focus, and a paragraph of description along with small black and white photos. Don't put those Christmas lights away: not with Cindy Chipps and Greg Olson's Electric Christmas Lighting Identification And Values Guide (15743-2408X, $39.95), which comes packed with excellent color photos of lamps, lights, strings, wreaths and more novelty holiday lights. Arranged by type of light, this often includes photos of strings in their original packaging along with the latest prices. The second edition of B.J. Summers' Antique & Conte Porary Advertising Memorabilia (1574323733, $29.95) highlights values and reduces photo size, but this doesn't mean it isn' useful. Chapters excel in descriptions and provide the latest values. The fifth edition of B.J. Summers' Guide To Coca Cola (15743234101, $24.95) comes packed with updated information and values for every kind of Coke ad you can imagine; from signs and ads to radios, paper goods, clothing even matches. Margaret & Kenn Whitmyer's Fenton Art Glass Colors And Hand-decorated Patterns 1939-1980 (1574324187, $29.95) accompanies other Fenton glass books from this publisher, expanding the listings to include a focus on colors and hand-decorated patterns from specific years and organizing these values and photos by color for quicker reference. Just about anything can be a collectible even a sewing machines, as the second updated edition of Carter Bays' Encyclopedia Of Early American Sewing Machines (1574324-160, $29.95) demonstrates. Vintage black and white and color photos of machines virtually pack a treasure trove of identification and values, including not just small photos, but many half-page spreads. A 'must' for collectors. All are excellent, outstanding guides.

Toys & Prices, 12th Edition
Karen O'Brien, Editor
Krause Publications
700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990-0001
www.krause.com
0873498305 $19.99 1-800-258-0929

Browse through favorite childhood toys and learn just how much they're worth now in the new twelth edition offering the latest updates in what is justifiably considered to be the toy bible for serious collectors and antique dealers -- Toys & Prices 2005. While small black and white photos and a sampling of color photos are included, the meat of Toys & Prices 2005 lie in alphabetically arranged listings organized into 23 main categories, from games and lunch boxes to space toys and more. Three price ranges reflect different condition ratings: especially valuable considering it's a medium which typically is difficult to preserve from young players.

Dollmakers And Their Stories
Krystyna Poray Goddu
Henry Holt
115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011
0805072578 $17.95 1-888-330-8477

Though Dollmakers And Their Stories: Women Who Changed The World Of Play by Krystyna Poray Goddu was written for a younger readership and can appeal from middle school grades on up, Dollmakers And Their Stories is reviewed here and strongly recommended for adult readers for its fine applicability to anyone of any ages who is just beginning to collect dolls. Girls have played with dolls since ancient times and the dolls have changed over the centuries: selected stories of courageous dollmakers who produced Barbie, Madame Alexander collectibles, the Sasha line and more provide wonderful stories of strong entrepreneurs and feminists who displayed both business and political skills in producing dolls in times when women didn't ordinarily work outside the home or the family farm.

Thimbles And Thimble Cases
Eleanor Johnson
Shire Publications
c/o Parkwest Publications
PO Box 20261, NY, NY 10025-1512
www.shirebooks.co.uk
0747804036 $12.00 parkwestpubs.com

Thimbles may be considered mundane, ordinary sewing tools by most, but there's a world of thimble collectors who think otherwise, including author Eleanor Johnson who's enjoyed needlework and crafts and who specializes in antique needlework tools. Thimbles And Thimble Cases will fit in the pamphlet section of any collection and provide a key to collecting a range of thimbles, from simple working thimbles to specialty pieces and their cases. From old to more modern fare, Thimbles And Thimble Cases receives color photos and a fine discussion of the differences between luxury items and novelties.


The Language Studies Shelf

Word Histories And Mysteries
Editors of American Heritage Dictionaries
Houghton Mifflin
222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116
www.hmco.com
0618454500 $12.95 1-800-225-3362

How do new words enter the English language and dictionaries - and where did some older oddities come from? Plenty of 'word origin' titles are published; the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries answer numerous questions about what influences word changes and popularity, providing the stories of over 400 words from all areas of the vocabulary. Word Histories And Mysteries: From Abracadabra To Zeus is a very fine linquistic survey which is especially recommended for 'word origin' fans.

Pirate Dictionary
Terry Breverton
Pelican Publishing
PO Box 3110, Gretna, LA 70054
www.pelicanpub.com
1589802438 $14.95 1-800-843-1724

Left together on ships for months or years, pirates developed their own expressions which moved into common usage: just consider sea terms such as 'don't rock the boat', or 'know the ropes', to understand the impact of pirate lingo on even today's life. The words and phrases described herein offer a healthy set of insights into word origins and pirate history alike. Pirate Dictionary is a unique and impressively informative linguistic study which is recommended for Language Studies reference collections, as well as simple browsing by the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the evolution of popular English and American slang.


The Art Shelf

Prestel
900 Broadway, #603, NY, NY 10003
1-888-463-6110 www.prestel.com

Three engrossing new titles are top picks from art publisher Prestel's latest releases, and are especially recommended for college-level art library holdings. Pippa Hurd's Icons Of Erotic Art (3791331655, $39.95) examines the presence and influence of classical myth in erotic art, considering the ritualization of erotic art sexuality and discussing the origins of erotic sentiments and essences in both men and women. Full-page color reproductions of classics in erotic art accompany scholarly discussions of the use of disguises, lighting, landscapes and social morals to create atmosphere. Pamela Kort's Comic Grotesque: Wit And Mockery In German Art, 1870-1940 (3791331957, $49.95) also is recommended as a basic acquisition for the serious art library collection; especially for libraries strong in German art history. Comical elements and absurdist humor took off as a modernist art method termed comic-grotesque and Kort's survey accompanies an exhibition of the theme as it surveys the artists whose works influences the course of German art history. Over a hundred color plates and numerous black and white illustrations pack a fine presentation. Eckhard Hollmann and Juergen Tesch's A Trick Of The Eye: Trompe L'oeil Masterpieces (3791331639, $35.00) covers the winsome artistic form of "trompe l'oeil", an artistic illusion form influencing art from Renaissance times to the present day. A Trick Of The Eye focuses on forty paintings by trompe l'oeil masters, presenting them in fine full or double-page spreads, each presented twice: one for reality, the second revealing the visual deception within. From still lives to window views and wall paintings, five centuries of trompe l'oeil painting are distilled into one hard-hitting expose.

Batik: Design, Style & History
Fiona Kerlogue
Thames & Hudson
500 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
0500284776 $29.95 1-800-233-4830

Batik's world-wide influence on textile art is unprecedented: no other cloth in Asia has so much symbolism and meanings, and Fiona Kerlogue's is the perfect introduction to the style, choosing from the holdings of the Rudolf G. Smend Collection to explore the history, traditions, cultural symbolism and motifs of batik. Add numerous color photo examples and you have Batik: Design, Style & History -- firmly recommended as an abundant and lovely basic primer.

Andres Serrano, America
Andres Serrano
Taschen
6671 Sunset Blvd., #1508, Los Angeles, CA 90028
3822835048 $59.99 www.taschen.com

Don't recognize the name of artist Andres Serrano? You should he is one of this country's most surveyed modern artists, responsible for such controversies as "Piss Christ", and for a modern movement of controversial art. Serrano enjoys creating extraordinary situations from ordinary daily living, and Andres Serrano, America: And Other Work excels in presenting his greatest achievement: three years of work producing over a hundred 50x60 inch photos representing the melting pot of America as seen through Serrano's art. Anticipate often-startling images of people in striking, full-page displays.

Adventure House
914 Laredo Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20901
www.adventurehouse.com

Pulp art magazine collectors and students of pulp art will find two coverages exceptional in their history and reproduction of some of the best pulp art. Bedarski: Pulp Art Masters (1886937741, $20.00) provides an exciting art history survey of the works of one Rudolph Belarski, who produced some of the best paperback book pulp art of the late 1940s and 50s. Nearly 350 of his pulp covers are reproduced many from the artist's own color proofs and archives- while author John Gunnison provides a sound organization by pulp theme for easy understanding. Darrell C. Richardson's Those Macabre Pulps (1886937796, $22.00) comes from a multi-faceted author who has produced numerous articles about pulp magazines, science fiction and more. Cover reproductions and inside art selections are accompanied by brief histories and a fine listing of issue contents, making Those Macabre Pulps a thrilling survey of the field as a whole.

Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop
Jan Greeneberg & Sandra Jordan
Delacorte Press
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com/kids
038573056X $16.95 1-800-726-0600

While Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop was co-authored by Jan Greeneberg and Sandra Jordan with teens in mind, it will also hold a dual interest for adult readers seeking a particularly lively, well detailed introduction to the life and works of ground breaking and innovative American artist Andy Warhol. There are selections of representative art but the strength of Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop lies in its survey of his controversies, his New York hipster lifestyle, his influences, and his trend-setting achievements. Highly recommended reading, Andy Warhol: Prince Of Pop is so much more accessible than similar treatises which assume prior familiarity with Warhol's art.

MFA Publications
465 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115
1-800-338-2665 mfa-publications.org

Two specialty presentations are to be considered a 'must' for art libraries specializing in Japanese holdings. Joe Earle's Lethal Elegance: Samurai Sword Fittings (0878466797, $50.00) narrows the focus to Samurai sword fittings, which were not only a military symbol but became a fashion accessory and status symbol alike. The sword's metal fittings mirrored the complexities of a samurai life, and Lethal Elegance profiles over a hundred of these sword fittings, packing in commentary and history with color photos. Joe Earle's is one of the few books in English to focus on the stylings and techniques of Samurai: his is not to be missed for any serious collector or student. Earle's Netsuke: Fantasy And Reality In Japanese Miniature Sculpture (0878466754, $35.00) is also an outstanding presentation with a narrowed scope suitable for specialty theme collections. Netsuke are tiny sculptures used to secure pouches to the kimono and have long been collected around the world. The origins of designs and achievements of Netsuke artists receive close attention in Netsuke, whose lovely close-up color photos of selected Netsuke objects is not to be missed.

Totems To Turquoise
Kari Chalker, general editor
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
100 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011
www.abramsbooks.com
0810955938 $45.00 1-800-759-0190

Totems To Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts Of The Northwest And Southwest is a lavish artbook filled cover-to-cover with full-color photographs not only of beautiful Native American jewelry, but also portraits of the individual artists crafters who create it. Brief descriptions of each piece and broader essays enlighten the reader as to how and why these visually stunning articles were created, and the symbolism underlying their design. Many pieces feature short commentaries by the creators themselves. A truly well-rounded treasury and a welcome addition to contemporary Native American art shelves.

In The Realm Of Gods And Kings
Andrew Topsfield
Philip Wilson Publishers
c/o Palgrave
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.palgrave-usa.com
0856675938 $60.00 1-888-330-8477

In The Realm Of Gods And Kings: Arts Of India is a catalogue of East Indian paintings, photographs, and works of art ranging from ivory combs to silver cream jugs. Spanning 1000 B.C. to the twentieth century, these treasures are beautifully presented in full-color photographs; many are from the Metropolitan Museum of New York and most have never been previously published. Accompanying each item is a sidebar describing composition materials, physical dimensions, and the like, as well as a brief description of how it was made and used, as well as insight on the earthly or spiritual meanings in its design. In The Realm Of Gods And Kings particularly focuses upon artworks connected to East Indian religion, with subsections devoted to artworks that portray Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, and Goddesses, and also artworks connected to court life, including the hunt, courtly manuscripts, and royal portraits. In The Realm Of Gods And Kings is the next best thing to seeing timeless Indian treasures in person, and especially recommended for art shelves.

Modern Masters: Kevin Nowlan
Eric Nolen-Weathington, editor
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
1893905381 $14.95 twomorrows.com

The fourth volume in the series on comix and graphical novel artists, Modern Masters: Kevin Nowlan is a clear and deserved tribute to Eisner Award-winning artist Keven Nowlan, perhaps best known for his superhero comic book art of such four-color heroes as Batman, Superman, Doctor Strange and Jack B. Quick (a character Nowlan has co-created with Alan Moore). Nowlan is truly a renaissance man of the superhero comic industry, skilled at cover art, penciling, inking, lettering, coloring, and even writing. Featureing an in-depth interview with Nowlan, numerous black-and-white examples of his art - some never before published - plus a gallery of color plates, Modern Masters: Kevin Nowlan is a "must-have" for his legions of fans and all who appreciate Nowlan's contribution to modern comic art.

Art: 21 - Seasons One and Two
PBS Home Video
c/o Crystal Productions
PO Box 2159, Glenview, IL 60025-6159
www.crystalproductions.com
0793695503 $49.98 1-800-255-8629

Art: 21 Seasons One and Two is the DVD anthology of seasons one and two of "Art in the Twenty-First Century". This eye-opening series, originally broadcast on PBS, introduces the viewer to 37 artists working in the United States today, offering insightful and informed "behind-the-scenes" profiles of their life, their work, and their struggle to create, demonstrating the labor of love that is the underlying motivation for their dedication to modern-day art. The individuals profiled come from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds, and the connective theme of their art is its expressiveness, message, and revelation of talent. Highly recommended viewing for art lovers, this DVD edition of Art: 21 - Seasons One and Two consists of two superbly produced disks in full color, with a running time of 7.5 hour.


The Self-Help Shelf

The Velveteen Principles
Toni Raiten-D'Antonio
Health Communications Inc.
3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
www.hcibooks.com
0757302114 $14.95 1-800-441-5569

When "The Velveteen Rabbit" was first published, it became an instant and enduringly popular children's classic primer on how to face and accept self even a tattered self in comparison with others. Toni Raiten-D'Antonio's The Velveteen Principles: A Guide to Becoming Real Hidden Wisdom from a Children's Classic goes a step further, using the story as a foundation for a self-help primer discussing superficial and inner beauty differences, and how to become more involved in a life well lived. Individual chapters insightfully discuss everything from real courage to developing emotional sensitivity and finding meaning in life.

The Times Book Of IQ Tests Book 4
Ken Russell and Philip Carter
Kogan Page/Stylus Publishing
PO Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
www.styluspub.com
0749441674 $17.95 1-800-232-0223

Want to exercise your mind? Improve your IQ? Or just learn how it can operate? IQ tests are organized into 10 timed tests, of 40 questions each, and come with a guide for assessing performance. Understand how their recurring themes work and get a leg up on the workplace IQ test with the helpful primer The Times Book Of IQ Tests Book 4, offering both education and entertainment value.


The World History Shelf

Anthrax: A History
Richard M. Swiderski
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
0786418915 $35.00 1-800-253-2187

Anthrax had reverted to the background of public concerns until 2001, when it surfaced in postal mailboxes as a terrorist weapon; but it's always been here, both in soil and livestock, before it became an industrialized disease. Richard Swiderski's methodical study of this killer disease, Anthrax: A History, reveals the development of the disease, from the 18th century discoveries made about the bacteria until modern times. An intriguing and timely history.

Greenwood Press
88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
1-800-225-5800 www.greenwood.com

Greenwood's list of history titles provides many strong selections for advanced high school to college level grades, creating references which will prove lasting and applicable to reports and curriculum studies. The documentary survey Politics And Population Control: A Documentary History (0313322791, $95.00) by Kathleen A. Tobin will prove pricey for non-specialty collection, but college-level collections will find this provides the ONLY comprehensive source of primary documents relating to world popular issues, covering the mid-18th century to modern times in an expansive collection unparalleled elsewhere. Edward Mihalkanin's American Statesmen: Secretaries Of State From John Jay To Colin Powell (0313308284) is a standard reference any serious political science collection should have: secretaries of state from John Jay to Colin Powell are presented in a collection of essays analyzing their foreign policy ideas, the changes they made while in office, and how major foreign policy issues were handled. Add biographical backgrounds and you have a fine comprehensive survey. Katherine Gischer Drews' Magna Carta (0313325901, $45.00) will appeal to any high school collection of medieval studies: the in-depth focus on a key document which codified royal power and individual liberties provides students the opportunity to understand how the original agreement gained popularity in the legal and political circles of early England. George Lane's Genghis Khan And Mongol Rule (031-3325286, $45.00) examines the war legacy of the Mongols to history and their contributions to international trade and cultural exchange a less stated facet of their history. The transition of Mongol policy from one of warfare to governance receives in-depth attention from historian George Lane. Paul Reed's Puebloan Society Of Chaco Canyon (0313327203) adds to Greenwood's Medieval series and will appeal to college-level collections including archaeological coverages: Chacoan society lasted for over two hundred years and the archaeological records ffer some secrets which have helped scholars reconstruct this society's history. 20 annotated excerpted primary and secondary documents guide readers through the Canyon materials. Ffiona Swabey's Eleanor Of Aquitaine, Courtly Love, And The Troubadours (0313325235, $45.00) tells of the 12th century troubadours who wrote new romances in vernacular language to express and present the image of the feminine. Women's imbalance in society up to their time and the resulting intellectual inquiry and discovery which came from these troubadour efforts makes for a specialty item recommended for college-level Medieval studies collections. From high school through college, Helen Nicholson's The Crusades (0313326851) will prove an outstanding survey, using a narrative history approach and thematic chapters to provide an overview of the Crusades, from the politics and religious influences of their battles to their motivations. A timeline and maps provide excellent overviews and make it easy for all to understand. Joseph Byrne's The Black Death (0313324-921, $45.00) is not only recommended for the same grade level for Medieval studies, but for any comprehensive health history collection. The Black Death killed between a quarter to a half of any stricken region's population: chapters organized by themes consider the medical perspective of the plague and its impact on society and culture of its times.


The Audiobook Shelf

Echoes
Danielle Steel
Books On Tape, Inc.
Box 25122, Santa Ana, CA 92799-5122
www.librarybooksontape.com
1415913315 $TBA 1-800-541-5525

Danielle Steel's Echoes is the audiobook edition of her memorably impressive and attention engaging generational saga of love, war, faith and betrayal. Three generations of women struggle with loss, the difficulty of survival, and the interminable devotion of true love. In the summer of 1915, a young Jewish beauty falls in love with a French Catholic, wracked by the knowledge that her family will never approve of the marriage; years later, her daughter is about to take the vows of a Carmelite nun, yet Hitler's reign of terror threatens her family. An odyssey marked by the bond between family that transcends space, time, and even mortality, and the determination to survive even in the darkest hours of history, Echoes is a profound listening experience and highly recommended library acquisition.

Random House Audio
1745 Broadway, 8th floor, NY, NY 10019
1-800-726-0600 randomhouse.com/audio

Random House pairs gripping classics in both fiction and nonfiction with readers with the power to attract attention. Most highly recommended from their recent titles are Jonathan Kellerman's Twisted (07-39313959, $44.95), narrated by Lindsay Crouse who offers up a virtual tension-filled reading appropriate for capturing Kellerman's tale of an unidentified drive-by shooting victim's mystery. Mark Winegardner's The Godfather Returns (07393-14424, $54.95) receives Scott Brick's fine dramatic style capturing the new novel based on the original Godfather Corleone family characters created originally by Mario Puzo. Add an interview with the author to supplement the story set in 1995 and revolving around an attempt to consolidate family power and you have a sweeping epic. Sandra Brown's Demon Rumm (0739318233, $29.95) showcases Staci Snell's excellent quiet drama as it explores a publicity stunt gone awry and a woman's romance with a puzzling pretender. Random doesn't lack for nonfiction winners, either. Clay Aiken's Learning To Sing (0739318955, $21.95) is read by the author himself and tells how to hear music and sing. It's part autobiography, speaking of his childhood and his lessons learned from music, and part inspirational, telling of the highs and lows of embarking on a singing career. Patti Davis' The Long Goodbye (0739318355, $20.00) is narrated by Davis herself and describes the process of losing her father Ronald Reagan to Alzheimer's Disease. Fans of Reagan and his family as well as those involved with Alzheimer's will find her personal memoir poignant and gripping. Edward Hallowell and John Ratey, MDs' Delivered From Distraction (0739317628, $22.95) discusses attention deficit disorder, surveying the latest drug therapies to treat the disorder and discussing aspects of the condition from diagnosis to treatment options. Nancy Thayer's Hot Flash Club Strikes Again (0739317903, $27.50) pairs Wendy Dillon's smooth and dramatic voice with the new novel telling of four women who each struggle with dreams and relities, from being the perfect mother to a career woman who finds new romance. Friendship ties the four and all their struggles. Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy (073931-5536, $44.95) receives John Bedford Lloyd's dramatic film background and tells of one Jimmy Tock, whose dying grandfather predicts dangerous days ahead for his grandson. Four predicted crisis points prove chillingly true and portend an evil which may place the world in jeopardy. Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat (0739316567, $22.00) receives Guiliano's own warm rendition as it tells the secret of how to eat for real pleasure rather than habit. Guiliano was a slender French girl when she came to America as an exchange student and went back home fat. French Women Don't Get Fat comes from the heart and offers strategies against weight gain. Fans of Westerns will relish Louis L'Amour's Son Of A Wanted Man (073931730X, $14.99), a gripping saga which enjoys a fine audio dramatization as it tells of a secret outlaw kingdom where one Ben Curry has ruled for fifteen years. The aging outlaw wants to turn his legacy over to his adopted sun but though Mike has the skills, he's never broken the law.

Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
1-800-854-7859 brillianceaudio.com

These new audios are wonderful leisure listens and come highly recommended for avid listeners seeking quality productions on compact disc. Dean Koontz's Cold Fire (1593553382, $40.95) excels in a dual narration by Carol Cowan and Michael Hanson, who bring to life the intriguing story of a reporter interested in a repeat hero who has saved 12 lives in 3 months. Her probe into his abilities will open new worlds for them both. Max Allan Collins' Road To Purgatory (1593559542, $31.95) receives Stanley Tucci's fine narrative style as it presents an epic story of family secrets in 1942, in a world occupied by gangsters ala Godfather. And speaking of Godfather, don't miss Mario Puzo's full-cast rendition (1596002433, $39.95): the multi-voice production far excels from other single-voice renditions and listens like a full-cast play with all the drama, sound effects and lively nuances. Sandra Brown's Sweet Anger (159355902X, $29.95) receives Susan Ericksen's warm voice which is the perfect accent to a story of a TV newscaster who blames a shattered life on a D.A. who destroyed her husband's reputation. Her search for the truth brings her to passion in unexpected places. Author Jayne Ann Krentz's Falling Awake (1596002425, $26.95) receives veteran narrator Laural Merlington's clear and warm voice as it tells of a dream analyst who finds dreams all too real and even dangerous. John Lescroart's The Motive (159600245X, $26.95) receives veteran David Colacci's warm and gripping rendition as it tells of a double homicide which involves investigator Abe Glitsky in a dangerous, controversial investigation. Glitsky's suspicions break with the police's investigation as he pursues an alternate answer which is even more deadly. Linda Howard's To Die For (1593559-305, $24.95) receives Franette Liebow's smooth and steady reading, bringing to life the story of Blair Mallory, the owner of a thriving fitness center who has to handle a fixated customer who imitates her style and dress and who is murdered. Blair witnesses the horror ad becomes determined to probe the dead woman's demise, with conflicting results. Stephen Coonts' Deep Black Dark Zone (1596000503, $24.95) enjoys J. Charles' excellent ability to bring thriller plots to life, telling of a terrorist mission to set off an underwater explosion so great it could destroy the planet. Add a missing nuclear weapon and a cadre of special agents to the drama and you have a techno-thriller which excels in audio and seems perfectly made for audio drama: much more than print. Suzanne Brockmann's Hot Target (1596002417, $29.95) receives an excellent and powerful dual narration by Ptrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank as it tells of a Navy SEAL chief who finds himself offering services to Troubleshooters Incorporated, a security firm which carries out covert missions too volatile for US military action. James W. Hall's Forests Of The Night (1596003200, $26.95) receives veteran professional narrator Laurel Merlington's firm and gripping style, which is an excellent drama tool for depicting the story of a patrol woman whose instinct borders on psychic. Her abilities don't seem to help when a stranger shows up with a chilling and puzzling warning for her husband. All are outstanding listens.

Audio Editions
PO Box 6390, Auburn, CA 95604
1-800-231-4261 www.audiopartners.com

Audio Editions places exciting unabridged compact disc productions in the hands of discriminating listeners who want high-quality listening experiences. Among the best of their newest releases: three by Agatha Christie to pique the mind. The Secret Adversary (157270425X, $31.95) receives Alex Jennings' experienced and powerful rendition as it presents a Tommy and Tuppence mystery in their second crime caper revolving around the two school chums who become involved in international intrigue and romance. Hugh Fraser lends a veteran and staid, smooth voice to her And Then There Were None (1572702516, $34.95), presenting the classic puzzler of ten houseguests trapped on an isolated island facing a dangerous killer. Christie's The Big Four (1572704322, $27.95) also benefits from Hugh Fraser's veteran reading abilities, with a fine Hercule Poirot story of a quartet of criminals who decide to pursue world domination. It's up to Poirot to resolve the threat. Mark Twain's lesser-publicized but equally powerful classic Letters From Hawaii (1572704-284, $24.95) receives McAvoy Layne's extensive background as a Twain scholar renowned for his Twain impression performances: his background lends an aura of authenticity and excitement to this colorful story of old Honolulu. All are wonderful listens.

Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim
David Sedaris
Time Warner Book Group
135 W. 50th St., New York, NY 10020
1586215027 $31.98 www.amazon.com

Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim is an audiobook anthology of personal essays on five CDs. Playwright and National Public Radio commentator David Sedaris offers glimpses into the absurd non sequitirs that abound in everyday life, just beneath the surface of what is considered respectable and proper. Read by the author with wit and charm, Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim elevates arguing to a higher art form and provokes serious contemplation on the mysteries of dailly existence. Highly recommended.


The Library Video/DVD Shelf

Wolf: An Ancient Spirit Returns
Michael Rosen and Sharon Howard
Peter Coyote, narrator
Bullfrog Films, Inc.
PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547
1594580480 $TBA 1-800-543-3764

Wolf: An Ancient Spirit Returns is an amazing video about the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. Thousands of years ago, humankind domesticated the wolf and made them into the beloved animal companions that are dogs. Wild wolves remain villified by legend and media, and hated by livestock owners near Yellowstone because the hungry predators take a bite out of their cattle profits. But wolves are also a crucial part of balancing Yellowstone's ecosystem, keeping the coyote and grazing mammal population in check, and revered by Native American cultures. If America were to become unwilling to bring wolves back to their Yellowstone homeland, what message would it send to other nations with fewer resources striving to preserve and repatriate their exotic wildlife? Wolf: An Ancient Spirit Returns interviews wolf experts, from wildlife stage trainers to scientists to authentic native shamans, reveals the hardships of a wolf hunt (perhaps one in thirty-five wolf attempts to catch a meal yields success), and much more. The Inspirational viewing for any wolf lover, Wolf: An Ancient Spirit Returns is also very highly recommended for junior high, high school and college classrooms.

Learn To Dance Salsa
SalsaCrazy.com
c/o 411 Video Information
PO Box 1223, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
DVD $39.95 www.SalsaCrazy.com

An expertly produced and professionally presented instructional DVD, Learn To Dance Salsa: Volume 1 - Beginners offers 120 minutes of easy-to-follow, step-by-step expertly provided instructions that will enable even the most novice dancer to quickly acquire the ability to stride upon the dance floor at any social event and perform with their partner in a lively Salsa dance with a passion and pure enjoyment. Very highly recommended for anyone wanting dance to the natural rhythms of the Salsa!

Extreme Makeover Fitness
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
c/o 411 Video Information
PO Box 1223, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
#37182 $19.99 www.411videoinfo.com

Extreme Makeover Fitness: Weight Loss Workout For Beginners is a 75-minute, full color, "user friendly" DVD from the popular "Extreme Makeover" ABC television series and offers easy-to-follow, programmable workouts that can be readily combined into three categories of exercise: Weekly Workouts (ranging from 30-45 minutes for best results); Time Crunch Workouts (3 targeted workouts under 30 minutes each); and Customizable Workouts (9 ten-minute mini-workouts adaptable to any time schedule and target specific problem areas including abs, upper body, butt, hips, and thighs). Personal trainer Robert Reames hosts this practical and highly recommended exercise DVD which is enhanced with Spanish and French subtitles for those would desire them, as well as style and fashion advice from celebrity stylist Jeanne Yang, and a booklet of "take Along Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle".

The B-1 Stealth Bomber
Vat 19
11783 Borman Dr., St. Louis, MO 63146
DVD $19.95 www.Vat19.com

Produced in cooperaation with the 509th Bombr Wing, The B-2 Stealth Bomber provides the viewer with unprecedented access to the world's most sophisticated military aircraft. Expertly presented is the story of this warplane's development which drew upon more than a hundred years worth of technological devlopment and profited from hard-earned lessons from the B-17, B-52, SR-71, and F-117 military aircraft which preceeded it. Also deatiled are the qualities of the B-2 design which allows it to avoid detection by radar, sighgt, sound, and heat. This confidently recommended, 56 minute, full color DVD is enhanced with an interactive 3D tour of the B-2, desktop wallpaers for the computer, a complete B-2 slideshow, and a "How to Become a B-2 Pilot" featurette.

Yoga Zone Essentials
Koch Vision
411 Video Information (publicity)
22 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington, NY 11050
1417227729 $29.98 kochvision.com

Yoga Zone Essentials is a three-DVD set for beginning to intermediate level Yoga practitioners. Filmed on location in Jamaica, Yoga Zone Essentials provides an atmosphere of tranquility as two senior instructors guide the viewer through workouts for health and fitness. One instructor performs the poses, while the other coaches proper form. Each program offers 40 minutes, which can be followed as one workout or two separate 20 minute workouts, and individual chapters can be mixed and matched. Disc 1, Yoga Basics, teaches the viewer about basic Yoga postures and body alignment, and is useful both as an introduction and a refresher course for those who have already experienced Yoga. Disc 2, Yoga Sculpting, is separated into upper-body and lower-body workouts designed for muscle tone and body sculpting. Disc 3, Fat Burning, features Yoga poses that boost one's metabolism and promote weight loss. All three are useful for improving flexibility and personal health, and are easy to follow, with a music-only option once one is familiar with the instructors' guidance. A superb guided step-by-step series and a quality supplement any Yoga practitioners DVD library.


The Cookbook Shelf

Big Fat Cookies
Elinor Klivans
Chronicle Books
85 2nd Street, 6th Floor, San Francisco CA 94105
www.chroniclebooks.com
0811842169 $17.95 1-800-722-6657

What could be more appealing than thick, soft cookies especially when paired with color photos throughout by Antonis Achilleos in Elinor Klivans' Big Fat Cookies? Positively packed with mouth-watering inventions and innovations, Big Fat Cookies focuses on soft cookies with plenty of appeal, from Super-Sized Ginger Chewies to the two-color glazed Big City Black and Whites. Another bonus: each of the recipes is quite simple and whips up in a flash.

Just One Pot
Lindsey Bareham
Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue So, NY NY 10016-8810
1844032841 $29.95 1-800-805-5489

Just One Pot is a cookbook especially for those with very little kitchen space or only one or two burners, just as author, restaurant critic, and award-winning food writer Lindsey Bareham had to deal with. Over 100 delicious recipes emphasize minimum preparation, ingredients that are readily available (at least when in season), imagination, and of course, the ability to be cooked in just one pot. Color photographs illustrate recipes such as Salsa Cruda Tortilla Pizza, Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo, Green Fruit Salad with Avocado Cream, and so much more. Just One Pot does not feature professional restaurant techniques, but rather a wide variety of simpler tips, tricks and techniques that any lay person can master to streamline delicious food preparation without excess time investment or cleanup hassle.

Last Chance To Eat
Gina Mallet
W.W. Norton
500 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
0393058417 $25.95 1-800-233-4830

Where has all the good food gone, and what is the fate of food in the world? In the last fifty years 'food' has become associated with 'bad', with diets and the focus on weight and food nutritional value overcoming the prior focus on food affection. In Last Chance To Eat: The Fate Of Taste In A Fast Food World, Gina Mallet covers the history and problems of five popular foods: eggs, cheese, beef, vegetables and fish. Individual chapters narrow the focus to a cultural examination of the evolution of dishes around each of these ingredients and changing perceptions about their health and value.

Greenwood Press
PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
$49.95/Each 1-800-225-5800

College-level students considering the history and culture of food around the world will find Greenwood's 'Food Culture' series exceptional: each provides an excellent historical overview, chapters on ingredients, major foods, and typical meals at home and in restaurants, and plenty of bibliographic references as well as a sampling of representative recipes. Fabio Parasecoli's Food Culture In Italy (0313327262) considers the changing role of women in Italian food history and culture; Another in the "Food Culture around the World" series, Laura Mason's Food Culture In Great Britain (031332798X) focuses on the impact of commercialization and globalization on British cooking. Melitta Weiss Adamson's Food In Medieval Times (0313321477) which part of the Greenwood Press "Food through History" series draws on period resources from literature to archaeological and religious texts to explore foods of both the upper crust and the masses. All are three titles offer excellent historical overviews and are highly recommended additions to personal, academic, and community library Culinary History collections.

GP Putnam's Sons
375 Hudson St., NY, NY 10014-3657
$18.95 each www.penguin.com

When you shop for cookbooks, do you just seek recipe titles, or is the background history and culture of American cooking also of interest? Putnam's 'An American Story' series by John T. Edge which focus on popular American standbys that have gained collective attraction and acceptance in American culture. Fried Chicken: An American Story (0399151834) moves from Memphis to Manhattan as it celebrates the evolution of fried chicken in American culture, both urban and rural. Chapters pack in recipes for variations on the theme and explain how different regions have developed their own unique fried chicken dishes. Apple Pie: An American Story (0399152156) gathers the history and lore of American apple pie, from its English origins to its incarnations in American kitchens and restaurants. Edge's articles have regularly appeared in Gourmet and other culinary magazines.

The Donut Book
Sally Levitt Steinberg
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCa Way, North Adams, MA 01247
1580175481 $14.95 storeybooks.com

The hole truth and nothing but is revealed in Sally Levitt Steinberg's The Donut Book, a 'bible' of donut history blending fiction, fact, pictures and fun. Yes, there are almost thirty recipes here but don't buy The Donut Book for its recipes alone; it's the background history and whimsical cultural insights which makes for such a winner.

Emeril's Potluck
Emeril LaGasse
William Morrow
10 East 53rd St, NY, NY 10022-5299
www.harpercollins.com
0688164315 $24.95 1-800-242-7737

What is 'kicked-up comfort food'? It's what chef Emeril LaGasse specializes in producing and what Emeril's Potluck: Comfort Food With A Kicked-Up Attitude so innovatively covers. This is a party cookbook for those invited to 'potluck' who wish to bring something flavorful, simple, and widely appealing. Dishes such as Aldain's Grandmother's Meat and Potato Casserole or a classic Country Captain Chicken dish are presented with the mark of Lagasse's recommendation and family experiences with the dish. While most will sound familiar, having a host of comfort foods tried and tested under one cover makes Emeril's Potluck appealing and special.

Everyday Low-Carb Desserts
Kitty Broihier, MS, RD
Marlowe & Company
c/o Avalon Publishing Group
245 West 17th St, 11th fl, NY, NY 10011
1569244200 $15.95 1-800-788-3123

Everyday Low-Carb Desserts proffers more than 120 tasty low-carb treats for any occasion. Written by the president of NutriComm, Everyday Low-Carb Desserts includes such mouth-watering lite delights such as Boston Cream Pie (net carbs 12g), Three-Layer Blackberry Bars (net carbs 9g), Pumpkin Pie (net carbs 4.5 g) and much more. Tips, tricks, and techniques for cooking low-carb dishes in general pepper this handy, easy-to-use guide

The Best Of Tofu
Junko Takagi
Kodansha America, Inc.
575 Lexington Avenue, NY, NY 10022
www.kodansha-intl.com
4889961720 $17.95 1-800-451-7556

Richly illustrated with full-color photographs on every page, The Best Of Tofu is an introduction to the wide and wondrous variety of delicious dishes that can be created with this staple of Japanese cuisine that is fast growing in popularity in the West. Simple descriptions of types of commercially available tofu, as well as how to make, drain, and preserve tofu at home, complement such recipes as Tofu Steak; Sichuan-Style Hot and Sour Soup; Jellied Tofu Topped with Sweetened Beans, and much more. A sumptuous and versatile guide to creating mouth-watering tofu-dishes, for chefs at skill levels.

I Want My Dinner Now!
Renee Pottle
Hestia's Hearth Publishing and Design
PO Box 7059, Kennewick, WA 99336
www.hestiashearthpublishing.com
0976013711 $12.95 www.amazon.com

I Want My Dinner Now! is a no-nonsense cookbook for harried meal planners short on time. Inexpensive meals and home-style family favorites, recommended lists to stock one's pantry, crystal clear recipe directions for two to six servings and more make I Want My Dinner Now! an ideal cookbook especially for hard-working parents. Straightforward instructions clearly illustrate meal plans classified into sections titled "Fast And Simple", "Toss It In The Oven", "One Pot Meals" (for less dishwashing afterward), and "Let's Use Those Appliances". An extensive "Cooking Basics" section will quickly familiarize even the most inexperienced cook with these nutritious, mouth-watering, and above all, easy-to-make dishes.

Nightly Specials
Michael Lomonaco & Andrew Friedman
William Morrow & Company
10 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022-5299
www.harpercollins.com
0060555629 $34.95 1-800-242-7737

Executive chef and host of "Epicurious" on the Travel Channel Michael Lomonaco collaborates with veteran cookbook writer Andrew Friedman to present Nightly Specials: 125 Recipes For Spontaneous, Creative Cooking At Home, a cookbook celebrating the spirit and themes of a restaurant's special dishes: to take advantage of the catch of the day, or the time when certain fruits and vegetables are in season; to experiment with new ideas that may become menu staples; to enhance culinary creativity; and much more. Full-color photographs illustrate such vibrant dishes as Linguine with Manila Clams and Spicy Sauce; Maryland-Style Crab Cakes; The Best Fries You've Ever Made!; Gingered Green Beans, and a great many others. More than just a cookbook, Nightly Specials is a gateway to inspiration and imagination for any personal professional chef interested in trying something new.

Small-Batch Baking
Debby Maugans Nakos
Workman Publishing Company
708 Broadway, 6th Floor, NY, NY 10003
www.workman.com
0761130357 $13.95 1-800-722-7202

Small-Batch Baking is a cookbook especially for those seeking to make small portions of savory baked goods, whether for romantic occasions, small households, quick snacks for the kids, or a treat to enjoy for oneself. Simple and explicit instructions detail how to prepare 255 small-yield baking recipes; fun facts, trivia, and recommended substitutions for alternative flavors enhance such treats as Chocolate Cream Meringue Pies; Butterscotch Bread Pudding; Peanut Butter Tarts; and so very many more. A delight for the baked goods enthusiast who doesn't have room in the kitchen to store too many sweets.

The Olive Harvest
Gerald Gass & Jacqueline Mallorca
Chronicle Books
85 Second Street, 6th floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441
0811841626 $35.00 1-800-722-6657

Written by the executive chef of McEvoy Ranch, a place renowned for its organic extra virgin olive oil, The Olive Harvest is a sumptuous cookbook of recipes that showcase the flavors and delights that can be created with olive oil, or that use olive oil as a garnish. Full color photographs by Maren Caruso and explicit step-by-step instructions walk the amateur to professional chef through the steps of creating such delicacies as Lemon-Tarragon Gazpacho; Warm White Bean Salad; Salt Cod with Potatoes, Leeks, and Saffron; Walnut-Olive Oil Cake, and much more. An appetizing cookbook to simply page through, offering succulent and memorable dishes.

Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22311
1580401805 $16.95 www.amazon.com

Published by the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook offers more than 160 delicious recipes that promote healthy eating habits. Dishes such as Stuffed Mushrooms with Ham and Vegetables, Tuna Kebabs, Chunky Vegetable and Egg Salad Sandwiches, Applesauce-Almond Squares and more aren't just for people with diabets or heart problems; the cuisine blends nutritional awareness with a zest for food that simply tastes great, and will appeal to everyone. The instructions are easy to follow, and cooking tips for beginners intersperse the recipes. Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook is an excellent and basic resource for anyone interested in preparing healthier meals for themselves, their family, and their guests.

The Pressure Cooker Gourmet
Victoria Wise
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
www.harvardcommonpress.com
1558322019 $16.95 1-888-657-3755

The Pressure Cooker Gourmet offers 225 recipes with distinctive, simmered taste that can be completed in just minutes by taking advantage of the modern pressure cooker. Easy-to-follow instructions peppered with hints and suggestions make The Pressure Cooker Gourmet simple and fun to use. Mouth-watering dishes include Spring Spinach and Scallion Soup; Stuffed Bell Peppers; Chinese Chicken Wings; Steamed Bananas in Rum Chocolate Caramel with Macademia Nuts, and much, much more. An index rounds out this sumptuous collection.


The Literary Shelf

Patrick White: A Bibliography
Brian Hubber & Vivian Smith
Oak Knoll Press
310 Delaware St., New Castle, DE 19720
www.oakknoll.com
1584561432 $95.00 1-800-996-2556

The expert collaboration of Brian Hubber and Vivian Smith, Patrick White: A Bibliography is a straightforward and extensive bibliography of the writings of Patrick White (1912-1990), one of Australia's greatest writers, recipient of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature, whose work has been translated into thirty-one languages. Bibliography entries include descriptions of all the editions and translations of White's works, listings of reviews of first and other significant editions, and accounts of the composition and reception of each work, as well as such mundane facts as book physical description, page count, dimensions, print run, etc. A superb, high-quality text that spares no detail, especially recommended for reference libraries and individual enthusiasts who need to know detailed information about Patrick White's works.


The Gaming Shelf

Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence
John Cox
Everyman Chess/Globe Pequot Press
PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437
www.everymanchess.com
1857443705 $18.95 1-800-243-0495

Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence is an extensive guide for intermediate to advanced chess players to the controversial oppening in which Black attacks from its very first move, seeking to provoke White into a central pawn formation that will fall prey to a deadly counterattack. A favorite among many no-holds-barred professional players such as Fischer (and of course Alekhine), and more recently used by Ivanchuck and Short, the Alekhine's Defense move is excellent for the strongly aggressive player. Diagrams, sample games, tips, and warnings guide the reader into learning how to utilize or defend against Alekhine's Defence, in this smooth instructional written by FIDE Master, junior championship winner and international chess player John Cox.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

On the Trail!
Jan Tweedie
Alpine Publications, Inc.
PO Box 7027, Loveland, CO 80537
1577790057 $19.95 1-800-777-7257

Author Jan Tweedie puts her experience in law enforcement and search and rescue operations into practice in On The Trail!: A Practical Guide To The Working Bloodhound And Other Search And Rescue Dogs. Written specifically to aid those who seek to train a skilled and valuable search-and-rescue dog, one who can use its nose to find people who are lost or in trouble, On The Trail! covers the basics of training a working search-and-rescue dog, registration concerns, whether and how to approach advanced training such as searches for human cadavers or obstacle navigation, working with law enforcement and courtroom testimony concerns, maintaining a working dog's health, and much more. An expert how-to manual for professional trainers, police, and anyone charged with the responsibility of cooperating with a bloodhound or other dog to save lives.

Butterflies Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley
Roland H. Wauer
Spring Creek Press Book
c/o Johnson Books
1880 South 57th Ct., Boulder, CO 80301
1555663478 $25.00 www.amazon.com

Butterflies Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley is a full-color field guide to butterflies in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Beautiful, full-color photographs on every page display individual species in all their grace and majesty. The text lists straightforward information on when and where each species can be found, how to distinguish it from similar species, its wingspan, and much more. Appendices, a butterfly checklist, and an index round out this slightly-larger than pocket size guide, which is a "must-have" for butterfly sightseers and breathtaking to page through for anyone with a keen interest in these ephermal and delicate insects.


The Education Shelf

Managing Teacher Workload
Sara Bubb & Peter Earley
Paul Chapman Publishing
c/o Sage Publications
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.sagepub.com
1412901235 $22.95 1-800-818-7243

Managing Teacher Workload: Work-Life Balance And Wellbeing is a useful guide for professional educators that focuses on how to assess, manage, and economize the time spent on school work without sacrificing quality of instruction. Chapters address basic advice on managing time and stress, tips for streamlining planning, report writing, and meetings, examples of how support staff such as HLTAs and bursars can be used, and much more. Sample charts, statistics backing up solid tips and a plain-terms writing style make Managing Teacher Workload easy-to-follow and a must-have resource for anyone walking the difficult balance between career and personal life demands.

The Developmental Benefits Of Playgrounds
Joe L. Frost, et al.
ACEI
17904 Georgia Avenue, Suite 215, Olney MD 20832
0871731649 $32.50 www.acei.org

A collaboration of expert researchers Joe L. Frost, Pei-San Brown, John A. Sutterby and Candra D. Thornton, The Developmental Benefits Of Playgrounds studies how growth and development can be stimulated in a child's play environment, with special emphasis on useful applications of behavioral and scientific findings. Revealing that the more children are allowed to be absorbed in play, the more they are able to realize imaginative skills and immerse themselves in the adult world. Specific topics include the importance of height for both child development and playground safety, the very real problem of obesity among children as exacerbated by unhealthful diets and insufficient physical activity, the nature and benefits of children's climbing behaviors, and so much more. Packed from cover-to-cover with practical, applicable recommendations, The Developmental Benefits Of Playgrounds is enthusiastically recommended for anyone responsible for deftly designing a safe and stimulating play area for children.

Teaching Powerful Personal Narratives
Mary Jane Reed
Maupin House Publishing
PO Box 90148, Gainesville, FL 32607
0929895789 $19.95 1-800-524-0634

Teaching Powerful Personal Narratives: Strategies For College Applications And High School Classrooms is a guide especially for teachers, who need to instruct their students in the art of captivating the reader's attention with essays, especially in a college application, but the advice herein will prove equally useful to high school seniors themselves. Individual chapters cogently address the different types of personal narrative questions one is likely to encounter, brainstorming ideas, how to tune in to one's "voice", guidelines for revising drafts, sample selections of college essays, caveats against too much coaching, and more. A sensible compendium of practical advice, written by an experienced writing consultant and enhanced with a CD-ROM of useful handouts and transparencies.

Handbook For Qualities Of Effective Teachers
James H. Stronge, et al.
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
1416600108 $29.95 1-800-933-2723

Intended as a companion guide to "Qualities of Effective Teachers", Handbook For Qualities Of Effective Teachers by co-authors James H. Stronge, Pamela D. Tucker, and Jennifer L. Hindman is a resource that offers a wealth of strategies to examine the practice of teaching, aid teachers in improving their skills, and create an environment that fosters good teaching and learning. Filled with sample or reproducible resources for analyzing, understanding, and improving teaching specifications, including tables to record overall time use in classrooms, student discussion charts that reveal at a glance how students tend to participate, benchmark charts and more, Handbook For Qualities Of Effective Teachers emphasizes not only gathering raw data on how students are doing but also how to interpret that data to formulate more effective teaching plans. Chapters discuss how to support new teachers, identify specific teacher needs, coach promising teachers and much more. An excellent supplementary resource for anyone responsible with overseeing teachers, as well as for any teacher determined to improve the quality of their own performance. Also highly recommended is the resource companion, "Qualities of Effective Teachers".


The Parenting Shelf

Stop Arguing With Your Kids
Michael P. Nichols, Ph.D.
Guilford Publications, Inc.
72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012
www.guilford.com
1572302844 $15.95 1-800-365-7006

Psychology professor Michael P. Nichols, Ph.D. presents Stop Arguing With Your Kids: How To Win The Battle Of Wills By Making Your Children Feel Heard, a guide for parents to showing one's children that their feelings and thoughts matter without necessarily giving into their demands. The key to the method is refusing to argue back - one can make and stick to tough decisions, while still listening to what one's children have to say. A superb guide to the basics of responsive listening and how to break bad habits, get closer in touch with one's children, and weather the inevitable storms of adolescence. Stop Arguing With Your Kids is very highly recommended reading for parents seeking to enhance the effectiveness of their non-confrontational disciplinary skills.

Journey Into Motherhood
Sheri L. Menelli
White Heart Publishing
Box 235705, Encintas, CA 92023-5705
www.WhiteHeartPublishing.com
0974785326 $17.95

Journey Into Motherhood is an anthology of pregnancy and childbirth stories that emphasizes the positive. In today's culture of fear surrounding childbirth, Journey Into Motherhood offers a much-needed alternative vantage. Journey Into Motherhood is not an all-encompassing guidebook, and it certainly does not replace more comprehensive or explicit instructionals concerning health, execercises, diet, and prepartions for natural childbirth, but the 48 heartwarming tales are sure to kindle the spirit with the knowledge that childbirth is indeed an experience to look forward to, and offers suggestions toward creating an optimum birth to suit the mother's desires and needs. Highly recommended supplementary reading for expectant mothers.


The Psychology Shelf

Pathological Gambling
Nancy M. Petry
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
apa.org/books
1591471737 $59.95 1-800-368-5777

Psychiatry professor Nancy M. Petry presents Pathological Gambling: Etiology, Comorbidity, And Treatment, a scholarly discussion of psychological problems related to gambling. Drawing quite heavily upon extensive scholarly research, Pathological Gambling informatively discusses advanced psychological concepts, and although readable for lay people, is especially geared toward field students and professionals. Diverse anecdotes help to flesh out the specific issues and obstacles that challenge those trying to help pathological gamblers reclaim their lives. Pathological Gambling is a welcome, timely, and much-needed contribution to gambling addiction treatment resource shelves.

Trance & Treatment
Herbert Spiegel & David Spiegel
American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825, Arlington, VA 22209-3901
www.appi.org
1585621900 $52.00 1-800-368-5777

Now in its second edition, Trance & Treatment: Clinical Uses Of Hypnosis discusses the practice of hypnosis as a facilitator and diagnostic tool that psychologists can use in various treatment strategies. Arranged to echo the flow of a standard evaluation and treatment sessions, Trance & Treatment discusses how to use the author's "Hypnotic Induction Profile", a 10-minute clinical assessment procedure that connects hypnotizability to the patient's personality style. Further chapters cover use of hypnosis for smoking control, eating disorders, anxiety, concentration, insomnia, phobias, psychosomatic disorders and much more. An excellent source, drawing heavily upon systemtic data to support its investigation into the beneficial uses of hypnosis in the treatment of psychological dysfunction, and recommended for scientific students of hypnosis, particularly those interested in applying it to mental health practices.

Not The Big Sleep
Daryl Sharp, B.J., BSc., M.A.
Inner City Books
PO Box 1271, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4T 2P4
1894574133 $16.00 1-416-927-0355

Not The Big Sleep: On Having Fun, Seriously is a love story heavily grounded in Jungian psychology. Grounded in the Jungian terms of individuation, typology, complexes, projection, active imagination, conflict, enatiodromia, the holding of tension, and transcendent function, Not The Big Sleep blends psychological precepts with eroticism, deep existential issues, and unfolding layers of the transforming psyche. Written by a gradute of the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Not The Big Sleep brings to life complex abstract concepts concerning how the human mind gravitates toward involvement, and even love, in a narrative manner that readers of all background can relate to.

Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults
James T. Webb, Ph.D., et. al.
Great Potential Press
PO Box 5057, Scottsdale, AZ 85261
www.giftedbooks.com
0910707677 $19.95 1-877-954-4200

Talented medical and mental health professionals James T. Webb Ph.D., Edward R. Amend Psy.D., Nadia E. Webb Psy.D., Jean Goerss M.D. M.P.H., Paul Beljan Psy.D., and F. Richard Olenchak Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults is a no-nonsense analysis of two traits that can cause difficulties among children - mental disorders including ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger's, and Depression, and natural giftedness in areas such as language, mathematics, or other intellectual talents (athletic-ally gifted children often have a much easier time of it in America's all too anti-intellectual society). Misdiagnosis is a great problem for such children - the gifted child who is inattentive because he or she is bored by the curriculum or who has trouble socializing with age group peers because their intellect and interests lag so far behind will be overmedicated, deprived the chance to develop his or her gifts, or worse if wrongly labeled with a mental disorder. On the other side, a child with a mental disorder such as ADHD or Asperger's, whether gifted or not, will be done a grave disservice if not properly diagnosed and treated. Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults closely examines the criteria for determining giftedness and mental disorders, as well as whether the two co-exist, and presents up-to-date information in clear terms that professionals and parents alike can readily grasp. An absolute "must-have" for parents and child psychologists alike, and deserving the highest possible recommendation.


The Architecture Shelf

New Spiritual Architecture
Phyllis Richardson
Abbeville Press
116 W. 23rd St, Suite 500, NY, NY 10011
www.abbeville.com
0789208350 $75.00 1-212-577-5555

New Spiritual Architecture is a breathtaking survey of modern global architecture utilized by various religious faiths, and the worldwide exchange of cultural aspects in architecture. From the design of a Buddhist temple and ossuary in Japan to a Los Angeles cathedral to a Cistercian monastary in the Czech Republic and more, New Spiritual Architecture combines keenly insightful text with beautiful full-color photography and a handful of black-and-white diagrams for an architectural tour like no other. A "must-have" for architecture aficonados, and a treasury of inspiration both mundane and spiritual, especially for modern builders and designers.

High-Rise Living
Andrew Weaving
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com
1586854100 $39.95 1-800-748-5439

Full-color, full-page photographs illustrate High-Rise Living, a tour of high-rise architecture, guiding the reader through twenty-five different apartments with a spectacular view in Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia, and the United States. Text descriptions of each residence summarize the building's history, general design, unusual features, and more. An elegant and inviting spectacle, and highly enjoyable browsing material for architecture and interior design enthusiasts - the skillful arrangements that personalize high-rise living spaces are also appealing to behold.


The Library Science Shelf

From Outreach To Equity
Robin Osborne, editor
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
0838935419 $32.00 1-866-746-7252

From Outreach To Equity: Innovative Models Of Library Policy And Practice is a collection of examples offering guidance for public libraries seeking to improve access to information for the public at large. A variety of sample models put into effective practice for different situations illustrate specific issues and creative solutions to common problems. Contributions from a wide variety of experienced professionals include discussions of how to provide inclusive service for children with special needs, using modern information technology to maximum advantage, developing outreach skills in library staff, and much more. An expertly researched account; most of the individual essays concerning each model are brief (only a few pages at most) and keenly to the point.

Copyright For Teachers And Librarians
Rebecca P. Butler
Neal-Schuman Publishers
100 William St., #2004, NY, NY 10038
www.neal-schuman.com
1555705006 $59.95 1-866-672-6657

Copyright For Teachers And Librarians by Rebecca Butler (Associate Professor in the Educational Technology, Research, and Assessment Department in the College of Education at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois) is a no-nonsense guide to copyright law. The principle of fair use defined and explained, the procedures one should follow when asking permission, the specific applications of copyright law, particulars with regard to copyright law and CDs, DVDs, videos, or television, and much more, including a sharp focus on how copyright law relates directly to the needs of teachers and librarians, all make Copyright For Teachers And Librarians a hands-on practical resource. An absolute must-have for any teacher or librarian not intimitely familiar with America's copyright laws, Copyright For Teachers And Librarians is also useful to general readers as it presents basic facts in a highly readible manner.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

How To Escape Life Time Security And Pursue Your Impossible Dream
Kenneth Atchity
Helios Press
10 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010
1581153856 $16.95 heliospress.com

How To Escape Life Time Security And Pursue Your Impossible Dream is a groundbreaking career guide, written by a tenured professor who pursued his own "impossible dream" to become a story merchant and film producer. Written especially for individuals looking to abandon routine and familiarity to earn a living at what they truly love, How To Escape Life Time Security And Pursue Your Impossible Dream covers how to draw up a step-by-step timetable and plan, how to "steal" time for your dream when the demands on you seem endless, dealing with family, spouses, ex-friends, nay-sayers, and the like while making the transit, and much more. A can-do guide to relishing the unplanned and achieving the highest goals of the imagination.

The Book Of U.S. Government Jobs
Dennis V. Damp
Bookhaven Press
249 Field Club Circle, McKees Rocks, PA 15136
0943641233 $21.95 www.amazon.com

Now in an updated ninth edition, The Book Of U.S. Government Jobs is a no-nonsense career resource that explains in plain terms where available American government jobs are and how to get one. From an overview of the federal employment process, to advice concerning the interview process, completing one's employment application, and passing civil service exams, to overseas employment opportunities, careers specific to the postal service or law enforcement, and much more, The Book Of U.S. Government Jobs is a solid primer of what to expect and thoroughly reflects the many changes in the American governmental employment process that have been wrought in response to the September 11th attacks. Point-by-point requirements, recommendations, and contact information for each institution from which one can seek employment form the heart of this handy and easy-to-use resource.

It's Your Career: Take Control!
Catherine B. Beck
Davies-Black Publishing
3803 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303
0891061835 $20.95 1-800-624-1765

Out of work? Can't find a job? Or just tired of your current position? Now there's a handy guide to address all three scenarios under one cover: Catherine Beck's survey, It's Your Career: Take Control!, is based on her twenty years of helping thousands search for and find new jobs and careers. It's Your Career: Take Control! is specifically designed as an interactive workbook and provides exercises, sample cover letters and resumes, sample interview questions to expect and a number of fill-in spaces on many of the pages.


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Dharma, Color, And Culture
Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin
Parallax Press
PO Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707
1888375426 $16.00 www.parallax.com

Dharma, Color, And Culture is an anthology of twenty-six essays by Buddhist practitioners of color, including Latino, Asian, Asian American, African American, and Native American authors such as Maxine Hong Kingston, Charles Johnson, Thich Nhat Hanh and more. The common theme of all writings centers upon how tenets and traditions of Buddhism revealed a path to the cessation of suffering. Firsthand accounts by skilled writers about the discovery of spiritual truth, the long road to finding balance, and the obstacles to maintaining and sharing insights into an unpredictable world make Dharma, Color And Culture a welcome contribution to Buddhist studies reading lists.

The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment
Tsong-kha-pa
Snow Lion Publications
PO Box 6483, Ithaca, NY 14850
1559391685 $29.95 snowlionpub.com

The second volume of The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment continues the three-volume classic treatise of Tibetan Buddhism, first completed in 1402. Author Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419) was careful to base his insights upon Indian Buddhist literature, using citations as well as sayings from the masters to clarify his points. The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment is especially for any student or follower of Buddhist teachings searching for means to put the wisdom and generosity of a divine being to practical application. For example, tenets of how to give unselfishly and for universal benefit are discussed - one such tenet cautions against storing unneeded goods rather than freely giving them, as the guilt to disburse the goods will eventually cause one to impulsively give to those who may not be in need, rather than see that the goods are given to those who need them most. Other chapters discuss ethical discipline, the virtues of patience and perseverance, how to maintain the spirit of enlightenment, and much more. A must-read for anyone seeking to better understand the principles of Buddhism, as well as an effective manual for spiritual self-improvement.


The Hunting/Fishing Shelf

Salmon Camp
Livingston Parsons, Jr.
Frank Amato Publications
PO Box 82112, Portland, OR 97282
www.amatobooks.com
1571883363 $14.95 1-503-653-8108

Salmon Camp: The Boland Brook Story is the fascinating true story of a small family fishing camp, never operated as a club or commercial venture. In the 1930s, a young woman named Katharine Parsons acquired a stretch of land with a mile and a quarter of Atlantic salmon river running through it, constructed Boland Brook Camp, an oversaw it for years until her nephew inherited it after her passing in 1993. Her nephew recounts a detailed and flavorful history of the camp, the people who fished there, the experience of angling on the Upsalquitch River, and more, illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs. A wonderful fishing memoir sure to appeal to enthusiasts of the sport, Salmon Camp: The Boland Brook Story is ideal and enthusiastically recommended "winter reading" as dedicated anglers and outdoors enthusiasts wait out the weather until they can return to the streams, lakes, and rivers in pursuit of their favorite pastime.


The Interior Design Shelf

The Illustrated Guide To Cabinet Doors And Drawers
David Getts
Linden Publishing Company
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
094193683X $25.95 1-800-345-4447

The Illustrated Guide To Cabinet Doors And Drawers: Design, Detail And Construction is a quite thorough do-it-yourself guide for both hobbyists and professional woodworkers alike. Filled with color photographs, The Illustrated Guide To Cabinet Doors And Drawers includes basic construction advice and guidelines, a gallery of door and drawer styles, how to install cabinet hardware, edge banding, metal drawers, veneer work, and much more. An easy-to-use, must-have resource for anyone looking to build or repair functional and aesthetic cabinet drawers.


The Archaeology Shelf

North American Archaeology
Timothy Pauketat & Diana Loren, editors
Blackwell Publishing
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
www.blackwellpublishing.com
0631231838 $69.95 1-800-216-2522

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Timothy R. Pauketat and Diana DiPaolo Loren, North American Archaeology is an anthology of essays by learned and scholarly authors concerning hot topics in archeology on the North American continent. Individual contributions include The Peopling of North America, Creolization in the French and Spanish Colonies, Archaeology and the African Diaspora on the Atlantic Seabord, Labor and Class in the American West, and more. Each essay is carefully researched, presenting its reasonings and conclusions in detail, with a handful of black-and-white maps or diagrams as needed. A glossary of technical terms rounds out this welcome contribution to archaeology studies and reference shelves.

Never in the recorded history of the human race has there been so much to learn and so rapid an increase in what there is to learn. We live in a world that books have built by transmitting more and more information from previous generations to future ones -- with no end in sight.


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