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Library Bookwatch

Volume 15, Number 3 March 2020 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Education Shelf American History Shelf
World History Shelf Civil War Shelf Military Shelf
Economic Studies Shelf Science Shelf Biography Shelf
General Fiction Shelf Romantic Fiction Shelf Western Fiction Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Library Science Shelf Parenting Shelf Journalism Shelf
Literary Studies Shelf Aviation Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf Library DVD Shelf
Gardening Shelf Business Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Native American Studies Shelf Art Shelf Gaming Shelf
Holocaust Studies Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice


Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples
Nigel Fletcher-Jones
American University in Cairo Press
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2729
www.aucpress.com
9789774168789, $29.95, HC, 190pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The three-thousand-year-old rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel and the story of their rescue from the rising waters of Lake Nasser in the 1960s are almost as familiar worldwide as the tale of the gold funerary mask and brief life of the boy king Tutankhamun. Yet although they remain among the most celebrated, visited, and photographed archaeological sites in the world, the lower Nubian temples (from Philae in the north to Abu Simbel in the south) are some of the least understood by the visitor.

"Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples" is a lucidly written, beautifully illustrated study in which Egyptologist Nigel Fletcher-Jones places the temples in their historical context, telling the story of the discovery of the Abu Simbel temples, and why and how they were moved, explaining what the Nubian temples teach us about ancient Egypt, which gods and goddesses were worshiped there, and the place of Rameses II in the long line of ancient Egyptian kings and queens.

With over 80 new photographs, diagrams, and maps, and packed with fascinating insights, "Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples" is an ideal introduction to one of the world's great regions of archaeological splendor.

Critique: Impressively informative and expertly organized and presented work of meticulous scholarship, "Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples" is enhanced for academia and the non- specialist general reader with the inclusion of a one page listing of Further Readings and a five page Index, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college and university library Egyptology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Nigel Fletcher-Jones, with a PhD in archaeology and anthropology from Durham University, UK, has been director of the American University in Cairo Press since 2012. He writes regularly on Egyptian archaeology and history for magazines, and blogs at www.imagesofcenturies.com.

Coming Full Circle
Wanda Smalls Lloyd
NewSouth, Inc.
105 South Court Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
www.newsouthbooks.com
9781588384072, $28.95, HC, 296pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis:"Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism" by Wanda Smalls Lloyd is the personal memoir of an African American woman who grew up privileged and educated in the restricted culture of the American South during the 1950s and 1960s. Her path was shaped by segregated social, community, and educational systems, religious and home training, a strong cultural foundation, and early leadership opportunities.

Despite Jim Crow laws that affected where she lived, how she was educated, and what civil rights she would be denied, Lloyd grew up to realize her childhood dream of working as a professional journalist. In fact, she would eventually hold some of the nation's highest-ranking newspaper editorial positions and become one of the first African American women to be the top editor of a mainstream daily newspaper.

Along the way she helped her newspapers and other media organizations understand how the lack of newsroom and staff diversity interfered with perceptions of accuracy and balance for their audiences. Her memoir is thus a window on the intersection of race, gender, culture and the media's role in our uniquely American experiment in democracy. How Lloyd excelled in a profession where high-ranking African American women were rare is a memorable story that will educate, entertain, and inspire.

"Coming Full Circle" is a self-reflective exploration of Wand's life journey from growing up in coastal Savannah, Georgia, to editing roles at seven daily newspapers around the country, and circling back to her retirement in Savannah, where she now teaches journalism to a new generation.

Critique: An inherently fascinating, candidly informative, and ultimately inspiring life story, "Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism" is an exceptionally well written and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Contemporary American Biography, Black History, and Journalism History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

River Teeth: Twenty Years of Creative Nonfiction
Joe Mackall & Daniel W. Lehman, editors
University of New Mexico Press
1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com
9780826361394, $24.95, PB, 360pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Nationally recognized River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative has published a host of new and significant voices in creative nonfiction that have included essays, memoir, and literary journalism since 1999.

To celebrate twenty years of introducing talented new writers to readers and publishing great nonfiction, the founding editors, Joe Mackall and Daniel W. Lehman, have selected their all-time favorite essays published in a stunning literary collection called "River Teeth: Twenty Years of Creative Nonfiction".

The essays comprising this unique anthology include up-and-coming authors as well as luminaries such as Ann Hood, Lee Martin, Chris Offutt, Angela Morales, Brenda Miller, Judith Kitchen, Ted Kooser, and Andre Dubus III.

"River Teeth: Twenty Years of Creative Nonfiction" further includes a thoughtful foreword by Robert Atwan that illuminates the importance, breadth, and reach of the journal and shows the diversity of nonfiction writing available in the twenty-first century. A trailblazing publication since its inception, River Teeth continues to share the important work of contemporary writers and will thrive for years to come.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "River Teeth: Twenty Years of Creative Nonfiction" is enhanced for academia with a complete listing of all the contributors and their credentials. The result is a very special and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Literary Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "River Teeth: Twenty Years of Creative Nonfiction" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).

Editorial Note: Joe Mackall is a retired professor of English, the former director of creative writing at Ashland University, and a founder of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. He is also the author of The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage and Plain Secrets: An Outsider among the Amish.

Daniel W. Lehman is a Trustees' Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Ashland University and a founder of River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. He is also the author of Matters of Fact: Reading Nonfiction over the Edge and John Reed and the Writing of Revolution.

Two Popes
Anthony McCarten
Flatiron Books
c/o Macmillan Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.macmillan.com
9781250207920, $16.99, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: he would resign, making him the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a onetime tango club bouncer, a passionate soccer fan, a man with the common touch.

Why did Benedict walk away at the height of power, knowing his successor might be someone whose views might undo his legacy? How did Francis (who used to ride the bus to work back in his native Buenos Aires) adjust to life as leader to a billion followers? If, as the Church teaches, the pope is infallible, how can two living popes who disagree on almost everything both be right?

Having immersed himself in these men's lives to write the screenplay for The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten masterfully weaves their stories into one gripping narrative. From Benedict and Francis's formative experiences in war-torn Germany and Argentina to the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Two Popes glitters with the darker and the lighter details of one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions

Critique: An inherently fascinating and deftly scripted read from first page to last, "The Two Popes" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Two Popes" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Macmillan Audio, 9781250219886, $34.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Anthony McCarten is a New Zealand-born award-winning novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He's written seven novels and twelve stage plays including Ladies' Night, which won France's Moliere Prize in 2001, and Death of a Superhero. His screenplays The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour each garnered worldwide critical acclaim and were nominated for multiple awards, winning three Oscars, three Golden Globes, and five BAFTAs between them. McCarten's screenplay, The Two Popes, is now a major motion picture starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

A Friendly Guide to Writing & Ghostwriting
Andrea Cagan
Palmetto Publishing Group
https://www.palmettopublishinggroup.com
9781641115803, $25.99, HC, 220pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Most aspiring authors have experience having an intriguing idea for a book that has captured their imagination. A story or concept that follows them everywhere they go with an insistence that demands that they can't wait to get the words on the page.

But first, they have to learn how to turn that idea or concept into a finished manuscript ready for publication. In "A Friendly Guide to Writing & Ghostwriting", prolific author, editor, writing coach, Andrea Cagan, shows just how to transform our inner critic from (as she puts it) 'a demanding ogre into an encouraging fairy godmother'.

Cagan's thoroughly 'user friendly' approach teaching about writing and ghostwriting will help even the most novice of authors to dissolve the blocks to creativity and reveal the hidden gateways that exist beyond the words. "A Friendly Guide to Writing & Ghostwriting" shows, step-by-step, how to shorten the distance between the couch and the computer so aspiring authors can do the thing they want to do most -- write.

Whether engaged in journal writing, finding a way to begin a book, making our way through the halfway point, or searching for a great ending, when we see our words as tiles in the mosaic of our lives, we can unburden our hearts and get our authentic message onto the written page.

Critique: Deftly organized and presented in four major sections (Preparing to Write; Getting Down to Business; Ghostwriting & Collaborating; The Finishing Touches), "A Friendly Guide to Writing & Ghostwriting" will prove to be an immediately useful and enduringly practical instructional reference guide and manual for the novice author and the experienced writer alike. While especially and unreservedly recommended for professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "A Friendly Guide to Writing & Ghostwriting" is also available in a paperback edition (9781641115506, $15.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).

Editorial Note: Andrea Cagan is an author and writing coach who has over a dozen bestsellers to her credit, many of them iconic celebrity memoirs. She has written her life story, "Memoirs of a Ghost: One Sheet Away," and is well known for her unique approach to making friends with the writing process.

Writing Fiction: A User-Friendly Guide
James Essinger
The Conrad Press
https://theconradpress.com
9781911546542, $13.00, PB, 184pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The twenty-four chapters comprising "Writing Fiction: A User-Friendly Guide" by James Essinger cover every important matter an aspiring novelist or short story writer would need to know about, including: devising a compelling story, creating and developing characters, plotting, 'plants', backstory, suspense, dialogue, 'show' and 'tell', and how to make the writing feel real to their reader.

Along with a number of others, ranging from Anthony Burgess to J.R.R. Tolkien, "Writing Fiction" is enhanced with the inclusion of 'special guest advice' from professional screenwriter Bob Gale, who wrote the three immortal 'Back to the Future' movies (1985, 1989 and 1990), and novelist and screenwriter William Osborne, whose many screen credits include the co-writing of the blockbuster 'Twins' (1988).

Simply stated, "Writing Fiction" is a highly entertaining instructional guide and manual that will provide aspiring authors all the advice and practical guidance needed to make their dream of becoming published fiction writers come true.

Critique: Expertly written, impressively informative, and thoroughly living up to the promise of its subtitle, "Writing Fiction: A User-Friendly Guide" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all aspiring novelists that "Writing Fiction: A User-Friendly Guide" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note: James Essinger has been a professional writer since 1988. His non-fiction books include Jacquard's Web (2004), Ada's Algorithm (2013), and Charles and Ada: The Computer's Most Passionate Partnership (2019). His novels include The Mating Game (2016) and The Ada Lovelace Project (2020).

A Writer's Guide to Speculative Fiction
Crawford Kilian & Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Self-Counsel Press Inc.
www.self-counsel.com
9781770403161, $19.95, PB, 168pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "A Writer's Guide to Speculative Fiction: Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Crawford Kilian and Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a instructive 'how to' manual that is comprised of hands-on, practical, put-the-book-down-and-start-writing advice that speaks to new and emerging authors of science fiction and fantasy.

Crawford and Silvia are bestselling SciFi writers who have compiled this instructional guide offer far more than pep talks and success stories; they explain genres and how to bend and blend them, giving concrete suggestions for overcoming inevitable writing problems across genres: self-editing, creating plausible characters, and building a plot without writing formula fiction.

With a combined fifty years of experience, Kilian and Moreno-Garcia will save aspiring writers time, energy, and grief by showing them how to master the craft of storytelling and how to market their stories as successfully as possible. Their invaluable advice persuades readers to go beyond expectations of market and genre, pushing them to be better writers, and to add their own unique voices into the growing speculative fiction arena. For aspiring writers of the SciFi & Fantasy genre, this book will light the way to creating your own books.

Critique: Impressively informative, expertly organized, accessibly presented, and especially recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing collections, "A Writer's Guide to Speculative Fiction: Science Fiction and Fantasy" will prove to be invaluable and practical addition to the personal reading lists of anyone with an interest in writing (and having published!) their books and stories in the science fiction and fantasy genres.

Editorial Note: Crawford Kilian has been teaching and writing online since the 1980s. He has published more than twenty books, including Writing for the Web, Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy, and Sell Your Nonfiction Book.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of Signal to Noise, Certain Dark Things, The Beautiful Ones, and the science fiction novella Prime Meridian.

The Author's Checklist
Elizabeth K. Kracht
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
www.newworldlibrary.com
9781608686629, $15.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The bad news for all aspiring writers seeking to get their work published -- even really good manuscripts have weak spots that are enough to garner rejections from agents and publishers. But the good news is that most of these problems are easy to fix once the writer sees and understands them.

After several years of evaluating manuscripts, literary agent Elizabeth Kracht noticed that many submissions had similar problems, so she began to make a list of the pitfalls. She has compiled those observations into "The Author's Checklist: An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript" and offers her short, easy-to-implement bites of advice, illustrated by inspiring (and cautionary) real-world examples.

Most aspiring authors yearn for a friend in book publishing. "The Author's Checklist" is just that.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented, the information, observations, insights, and information comprising "The Author's Checklist: An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript" will prove to be an invaluable and practical resource for the novice author and even the seasoned professional. An ideal addition to writer workshop supplemental studies lists, "The Author's Checklist" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections.

Editorial Note: Elizabeth K. Kracht is a literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates and a freelance editor. She often participates in writers' conferences nationally and internationally.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Virusphere: From Common Colds to Ebola Epidemics
Frank Ryan
Prometheus Books
15200 NBN Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214
www.prometheusbooks.com
9781633886049, $24.00, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Virusphere: From Common Colds to Ebola Epidemics--Why We Need the Viruses That Plague Us" is a fascinating and long overdue examination of viruses - ranging from what they are and what they do, to the vital role they have played in human history.

What are viruses? Do they rely on genes, like all other forms of life? Do they follow the same patterns of evolution as plants and animals? Dr. Frank Ryan answers these questions and many more in a sweeping tour of illnesses caused by viruses. He examines the common cold, measles, chicken pox, herpes, mumps, and rubella, as well as less familiar maladies, such as rabies, "breakbone fever", hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola, and virus-induced cancers.

Along the way, readers will learn about the behaviors of viruses and what drives them to infect a human host. Ryan also explains the role of viruses in the evolution of life, revealing how viruses have changed us at the most intimate level, helping to make us quintessentially human.

Critique: An incredibly timely book given the emergence of a new virus out of China that is currently threatening to evolve into a full blown pandemic, "Virusphere: From Common Colds to Ebola Epidemics--Why We Need the Viruses That Plague Us" is an essential, high priority, and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Health/Medicine collections -- as well as the personal reading lists of medical professionals and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.

Editorial Note: Frank Ryan is a consultant physician and pioneering evolutionary biologist at the University of Sheffield. He is the bestselling author of The Forgotten Plague and Darwin's Blind Spot. He is also the author of The Mysterious World of the Human Genome, Virolution, and many other books. Ryan was named Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield, with the express purpose of developing his evolutionary concepts and helping to translate evolutionary science into medicine. He is a Fellow of The Royal College of Physicians, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Linnean Society of London.


The Social Issues Shelf

Migrating to Prison
Cesar Cuauhtemoc & Garcia Hernandez
The New Press
120 Wall Street, floor 31, New York, NY 10005
www.thenewpress.com
9781620974209, $22.99, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: For most of America's history, America simply did not lock people up for migrating here. Yet over the last thirty years, the federal and state governments have increasingly tapped their powers to incarcerate people accused of violating immigration laws. As a result, almost 400,000 people annually now spend some time locked up pending the result of a civil or criminal immigration proceeding.

In "Migrating to Prison: America's Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants", Professor Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez takes a hard look at the immigration prison system's origins, how it currently operates, and why. He tackles the emergence of immigration imprisonment in the mid-1980s, with enforcement resources deployed disproportionately against Latinos, and he looks at both the outsized presence of private prisons and how those on the political right continue, disingenuously, to link immigration imprisonment with national security risks and threats to the rule of law.

Interspersed with powerful stories of people caught up in the immigration imprisonment industry, including children who have spent most of their lives in immigrant detention, "Migrating to Prison" is an urgent call for the abolition of immigration prisons and a radical reimagining of the United States: who belongs and on what criteria is that determination made?

Critique: Timely, informative, expertly written, organized and presented, "Migrating to Prison: America's Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants" is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Social Issues collections in general, and Immigration Issues supplemental curriculum studies in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists that "Migrating to Prison" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.49), as well as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781494539702, $24.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Cesar Cuauhtemoc Garcia Hernandez is a professor of law at the University of Denver and an immigration lawyer. He runs the blog www.Crimmigration.com and regularly speaks on immigration law and policy issues. He has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and many other venues.


The Education Shelf

MLA Guide to Digital Literacy
Ellen C. Carillo
Modern Language Association
85 Broad Street, Suite 500, New York, NY 10004-2434
www.mla.org
9781603294393, $16.00, PB, 148pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Students at all grade levels face challenges assessing, responding to, and producing information in today's fast-paced, complex digital landscape. "MLA Guide to Digital Literacy" is guide by Ellen C. Carillo that will significantly help students understand why digital literacy is an urgently needed skill: their education, future careers, and participation in democratic processes rely on it.

"MLA Guide to Digital Literacy " is comprised of hands-on, structured activities give students strategies for evaluating the credibility of sources, detecting fake news, understanding bias, and more. Readings and writing prompts support specific concepts, including how to craft a research question and effectively conduct searches. An appendix contains three sample lesson plans.

Critique: Now in our global age of social media it is vital for a functioning democracy that its citizens be able to detect misinformation, bias, and 'fake news'. In short, to become digitally literate. That's why "MLA Guide to Digital Literacy" is an absolutely essential addition to community and academic library General Library & Digital Information Sciences collections and supplemental studies reading lists. An excellent curriculum textbook, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that the "MLA Guide to Digital Literacy" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.20).

Engineering Education for the Next Generation
Samuel Cord Stier
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
9780393713770, $39.95, PB, 360pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Enhanced for the reader with more than 150 illustrations of natural phenomena and engineering concepts, "Engineering Education for the Next Generation: A Nature-Inspired Approach" is a fascinating and practical book that clearly demonstrates how engineering design is broadly relevant for all students, not just those who may become scientists or engineers.

In "Engineering Education for the Next Generation" Samuel Cord Stier deftly describes clever, engaging activities for students at every grade level to grasp engineering concepts by exploring the everyday design genius of the natural world around us. Students will love learning about structural engineering while standing on eggs; investigating concepts in sustainable design by manufacturing cement out of car exhaust; and coming to understand how ant behavior has revolutionized the way computer programs, robots, movies, and video games are designed today.

Classroom teachers will come away with an understanding of engineering and Nature unlike any they have had before, while taking their ability to engage students to a whole new level.

Engineering Education for the Next Generation is a wonderful introduction to the topic for any teacher who wants to understand more about engineering design in particular, its relation to the larger subjects of STEM/STEAM, and how to engage students from all backgrounds in a way that meaningfully transforms their outlook on the world and their own creativity in a lifelong way.

Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of thirty-two pages of Notes and a thirty-one page Index, "Engineering Education for the Next Generation: A Nature-Inspired Approach" will prove to be an ideal and extraordinary curriculum textbook that is unreservedly recommended for school district in-service teacher training programs, as well as college and university library Teacher Education collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists that "Engineering Education for the Next Generation: A Nature-Inspired Approach" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $34.98).

Editorial Note: Sam Stier is the Executive Director of The Center for Learning with Nature (www.LearningWithNature.org), a non-profit organization providing STEM curricula and teacher training founded on the captivating power and modern importance of the natural world. Mr. Stier leads teacher trainings for primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators all over the world, workshops for design professionals, and is a sought-after public speaker. A consultant on Nature-inspired technological innovation and author of the award-winning K-12 curriculum Engineering Inspired by Nature, he is a faculty member at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, where he teaches science and sustainable design.

Educational Politics for Social Justice
Catherine Marshal, Cynthia Gerstil-Pepin, Mark Johnson
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
www.tcpress.com
9780807763247, $110.00, HC, 264pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Employing a social justice framework, "Educational Politics for Social Justice" provides educational leaders and practitioners with tools and strategies for grappling with the political fray of education politics. The framework offers ways to critique, challenge, and alter social, cultural, and political patterns in organizations and systems that perpetuate inequities.

"Educational Politics for Social Justice" focus on the processes through which educational politics is enacted, illustrating how inequitable power relations are embedded in our democratic systems. Readers will explore education politics at five focal points of power (micro, local/district, state, federal, and global). The text provides examples of how to "work the system" in ways that move toward greater justice and equity in schools.

"Educational Politics for Social Justice": Conceptualizes educational politics within a pragmatic social justice framework; Examines the various layers of politics and how they interact; Explains governance structures and policymaking processes, such as policy formulation and implementation; Offers insights into how power operates and how it can be invoked to support the needs of struggling students; Explores why certain values, needs, and ideas are heard while others are not.

Critique: A timely, thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution for educators wanting to prepare their students for participation in the politically intense and complicated American system of governance from the local level to international relations world-wide, "Educational Politics for Social Justice" is ideal as a classroom curriculum textbook and is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary Education Issues collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Educational Politics for Social Justice" is also available in a paperback edition (9780807763230, $39.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $37.95).

Editorial Note: Catherine Marshall is the R. Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor Emerita of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin is a professor and dean of the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Mark Johnson has been a classroom teacher, school administrator, and policy analyst and is currently a researcher at The Learning Partnership in Chicago.

Storycraft: How to Teach Narrative Writing
Martin Griffin & Jon Mayhew
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785834028, $22.95, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Martin Griffin and Jon Mayhew's "Storycraft: How to Teach Narrative Writing" is an inspiring and practical resource to support secondary school teachers in developing their students creative writing.

Not a style manual, "Storycraft" deftly picks apart the craft of narrative writing and equips teachers with activities designed to help their students overcome the difficulties they experience when tasked with creating something from nothing.

"Storycraft" also packs in expert guidance relating to idea generation and the nature of story and provides off-the-peg writing prompts that teachers can immediately adopt and adapt in the classroom. It continues by breaking down the simple components that must be in place for a narrative to work the crafting of character, setting, shape and structure and shares fifty-one stimulating activities that will get students writing narratives regularly, more creatively and with greater confidence.

"Storycraft" also include helpful advice in a chapter dedicated to the process of editing in which they provide activities designed to help students diagnose and improve misfiring narratives, and they close the book with invaluable tips for GCSE exam preparation written directly for students and with an impending creative writing exam in mind.

Critique: An ideal curriculum textbook, "Storycraft: How to Teach Narrative Writing" is especially designed for English teachers of students aged eleven to eighteen. While very highly recommended for school district in-service training programs, "Storycraft" should be a part of every college and university library Teacher Education instructional reference collection. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of aspiring authors seeking to expand their narrative writing skills that "Storycraft" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.99).

Editorial Note: Martin Griffin has over two decades experience teaching students aged eleven to eighteen, and has been a head of faculty, an assistant head teacher and a deputy head teacher. He is also an award-winning writer of children's fiction, whose books include 'The Poison Boy' written under the pseudonym Fletcher Moss and young adult thrillers 'Lifers and Payback'.

Having worked as an English and special educational needs teacher for twenty-five years, Jon Mayhew is now in demand on the school event circuit delivering writing workshops to students from Key Stage 2 to sixth form. He is also a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow, helping students to improve their academic writing at Chester University. Jon is the author of the Monster Odyssey series and the multi-award-winning 'Mortlock'.

Cultural Competence Now
Vernita Mayfield
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416628491, $31.95, PB, 212pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: What will it take to create equitable educational opportunities for all students? According to veteran educator Vernita Mayfield, teachers and school leaders need to learn how to recognize culturally embedded narratives about racial hierarchy and dismantle the systems of privilege and the institutions that perpetuate them with knowledge, action, and advocacy.

Comprised of 56 exercises to help classroom teachers to understand and challenge bias, racism, and privilege, "Cultural Competence Now" provides a structure to begin meaningful conversations about race, culture, bias, privilege, and power within the time constraints of an ordinary school. The 56 exercises include activities, discussions, and readings in which to engage during each of the four quarters of the school year. School leaders will discover how to facilitate learning through the four steps (awaken and assess; apply and act; analyze and align; advocate and lead) as they and their colleagues: Increase their awareness of privilege and bias; Adapt their professional practices to meet the needs of all students; Examine policies and practices that inhibit opportunities for marginalized populations; Align resources to eradicate inequity in their schools.

Mayfield offers advice on establishing a safe environment for professional conversations, setting goals for cultural competency, overcoming resistance, reviewing school data and the school's vision and mission through the lens of race and culture, and strategically managing what can be a transformative yet uncomfortable change process. "Cultural Competence Now" responds to the urgent need to build the cultural competency of educators -- for the sake of children and in the interest of supporting and retaining all educators.

Critique: Expertly written, organized and presented, "Cultural Competence Now" is an ideal textbook for school district in-service training programs and is unreservedly recommended for both college and university library Teacher Education instructional reference collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Cultural Competence Now" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $30.99).

Editorial Note: Vernita Mayfield began her career as an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles, California. As a classroom teacher, Mayfield found her first love serving and supporting students who have been historically marginalized. Since then, she has continued to do so through numerous positions of service, including secondary school principal, researcher and lecturer, and educational consultant at state and national levels. In 2012, she founded Leadervation Learning to support organizations seeking to build leadership capacity, particularly in marginalized communities. The company evolved into a vehicle supporting leaders at all levels to understand and dismantle inequitable systems and organizations by building the cultural competency of staff.

Let Them Shine
Michael Alan Haggood, EdD
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
www.redleafpress.org
9781605547213, $24.95, PB, 120pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Let Them Shine: Inspiring Stories of Empowering Young Children" is a collection of inspiring personal stories of empowerment of young children from Los Angeles Unified District principal Michael Alan Haggood, EdD.

Dr. Haggood highlights the crucial role educators play in young children's lives and how their actions often have lifelong effects on the children in their care. After all, "No child can learn from you if they feel you are not interested in them."

Woven into each narrative are teaching and learning strategies for parents and teachers. Readers will be asked to reflect on their own experiences as each chapter challenges them with thoughtful questions to ponder and answer to make positive, intentional changes.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "Let Them Shine: Inspiring Stories of Empowering Young Children" inspire classroom teachers and school support staff to nurture the light in each student. Organized around twelve traits,"Let Them Shine" is ideal for use with study groups and book clubs. All stories accurately portray adversity and are ultimately inspirational, making "Let Them Shine" unreservedly recommended for community, school district, college, and university library Teacher Education collections. It should be noted for classroom teachers, education students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Let Them Shine" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note: Michael Alan Haggood, EdD, is a principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He is also a professor with National University where he instructs professional educators on a variety of subjects to strengthen their practice.


The American History Shelf

George Washington's Nemesis
Christian McBurney
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611214659, $32.95, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Revolutionary War historians and biographers of Charles Lee have treated him as either an inveterate enemy of George Washington or a great defender of American liberty. In "George Washington's Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court Martial of Major General Charles Lee during the American Revolution", historian and author Christian McBurney argues that neither approach is accurate. McBurney stresses that in order to fully understand the war's most complicated general, objectivity is required.

In this new book relies on original documents (some newly discovered) to combine two dramatic stories involving the military law of treason and court-martials, creating a balanced view of the Revolution's most fascinating personality.

Critique: An extraordinary and meticulous work of detailed and documented scholarship, "George Washington's Nemesis: The Outrageous Treason and Unfair Court Martial of Major General Charles Lee during the American Revolution" is an impressive and iconoclastic contribution to the growing library of American Revolutionary War histories and George Washington biographies. While unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library American Military History collections in general, and American Revolutionary Biographies collections in particular, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "George Washington's Nemesis" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note: An attorney in Washington, D.C., Christian McBurney has written five books on the American Revolutionary War, including Kidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee & Richard Prescott. His published articles include one in MHQ: The Journal of Military History, on the British attempt to abduct George Washington, which was nominated by the U.S. Army Historical Foundation as best magazine article for 2017. He also publishes Rhode Island's leading history blog (www.smallstatebighistory.com).

The Best Years, 1945-1950
Joseph C. Goulden
Dover Publications, Inc.
31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501
www.doverpublications.com
9780486838267, $24.95, PB, 480pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: For many Americans, the five-year period between the end of World War II and the start of the Korean War was a golden era, marked by a booming economy and a national mood of unity and optimism. For others, it represents a simmering mix of tensions, an era shadowed by troubled race relations and out-of-control anti-Communism. "The Best Years, 1945-1950" by journalist Joseph C. Goulden is unique and highly regarded five year history that offers a nuanced and perceptive exploration of how Americans of the era thought and behaved that's based on then-current information rather than through the long-distance prism of history.

In "The Best Years, 1945-1950" Goulden quotes both prominent and obscure citizens, who describe their experiences of postwar America. His historical narrative is punctuated by several brief reminiscences of his own youth in Texas during these pivotal years, and in this new Dover Publications edition he provides a new Preface with additional insights garnered since the book's original 1976 publication. The result is an intricate and indelible record of a crucial period in American political and social history.

Critique: An impressively informative, exceptionally well written, deftly presented, and inherently interesting history of a socially, culturally, politically, and economically impactful half-decade, "The Best Years, 1945-1950" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library 20th Century American History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Joseph C. Goulden is the author and co-author of 19 nonfiction books, including The Superlawyers, a five-month national bestseller, and Korea: The Untold Story of the War. Goulden spent a decade in daily journalism with The Dallas Morning News and as Washington Bureau Chief for the Philadelphia Inquirer. His other Dover book is The Dictionary of Espionage: Spyspeak into English.

Yountsville
Ronald V. Morris
University of Notre Dame Press
310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
9780268106614, $35.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In "Yountsville: The Rise and Decline of an Indiana Mill Town", Ronald Morris (a Professor of History at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana) and his contributing collaborators examine the history and context of a rural Midwestern town, including family labor, working women, immigrants, and competing visions of the future. Combing perspectives from history, economics, and archaeology, this exploration of a pioneering Midwestern company town highlights how interdisciplinary approaches can help recover forgotten communities.

The Yount Woolen Mill was founded during the pioneer period by immigrants from Germany who employed workers from the surrounding area and from Great Britain who were seeking to start a life with their families. For three generations the mill prospered until it and its workers were faced with changing global trade and aging technology that could not keep pace with the rest of the world. Deindustrialization compelled some residents to use education to adapt, while others held on to their traditional skills and were forced to relocate.

Educators in the county seat offered Yountsville the opportunity to change to an education-based economy. Both the educators and the tradesmen associated with the mill believed their chosen paths gave children the best opportunities for the future. Present-day communities working through industrialization and deindustrialization still push for educational reform to improve the lives of their children.

In the Midwest, many stories exist about German immigrants working in urban areas, but there are few stories of immigrants as capitalists in rural areas. The story of the Yount family is one of an immigrant family who built an industry with talent, labor, and advantage. Unfortunately, deindustrialization, dislocation, adaptation, and reuse were familiar problems in the Midwest.

Critique: An impressive work of meticulous and collaborative scholarship, "Yountsville: The Rise and Decline of an Indiana Mill Town" that will have special appeal to archeologists, scholars, and students of state and local history and the Midwest. Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of figures, tables and graphs, plus fourteen pages of Notes, a six page Bibliography, and a four page Index, "Yountsville: The Rise and Decline of an Indiana Mill Town" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library American Regional History collections in general, and Indiana State History supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Yountsville: The Rise and Decline of an Indiana Mill Town" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).


The World History Shelf

The Impact of World War One on the Jewish People
Larry Domnitch
Urim Publications
c/o KTAV Publishing House
527 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, New York 11225
www.UrimPublications.com
9781602803749, $26.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The First World War was a calamity which significantly impacted the Jewish people. Millions of Jews were personally affected whether upon the battlefields by being in close proximity to the fighting, or as refugees. The era of the First World War ignited existing hatreds against Jewry and posed unprecedented challenges in a world rife with peril. With the Wars end in 1918, dangers and hardships facing Jewry continued. Amid this bleak and ominous picture, the Balfour Declaration gave hope for Jewish statehood. The aftermath of the war eventually led to the rebirth of the Jewish State.

Critique: An extraordinary, impressively informative, and inherently fascinating history of war's impact on the Jewish community, the Judaic diaspora, and the precursor groundwork for the establishment of the state of Israel, "The Impact of World War One on the Jewish People" by Larry Domnitch is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library 20th Century Jewish History collections and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Larry Domnitch has taught history at Touro College and is the author of The Cantonists: The Jewish Children's Army of the Tsar and The Jewish Holidays: A Journey through History, as well as many articles, including in the Algemeiner, The Jewish Press, and Israel National News.

Ireland and the Monarchy
John Gibney, editor
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526736710, $39.95, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: John Gibney is a historian attached to the Royal Irish Academy's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy Project. He is a longtime contributor to History Ireland.

In "Ireland and the Monarchy: Irish Perspectives" Gibney lays out that in the twenty-first century there are two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, and two very different heads of state represent the populations of Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively: the elected presidency of the republic, and the hereditary monarchy of the United Kingdom.

But the idea of monarchy, and the related notion of aristocracy, has a long heritage in Ireland. There was a native aristocracy long before the British conquest, and British monarchs were not the only monarchs to matter to Irish people.

Now, in the third installment of the collaboration between Pen and Sword and History Ireland magazine, a range of experts examine how the role played by monarchs and their monarchies from the middle ages up to the present has had a role in shaping Ireland and its peoples, exploring some unexpected highways and byways along the way. From the Vikings to the Jacobites, and from the high-kings of Irish mythology to Mrs Simpson, "Ireland and the Monarchy" is comprise of seventeen informative articles that collectively surveys Ireland's kings, queens, their followers and their opponents to cast light on Ireland's history from a unique and unexpected perspective.

Critique: An inherently fascinating, thoughtful and thought-provoking work of meticulous collective scholarship, "Ireland and the Monarchy" is an extraordinary and very highly recommended addition to community and academic library Irish History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject tyhat "Ireland and the Monarchy" is also available in a paperback edition (9781526757647, $24.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown
J. F. Andrews
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526736512, $39.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When William the Conqueror died in 1087 he left the throne of England to William Rufus who was his second son. The result was an immediate war as Rufus's elder brother Robert fought to gain the crown he saw as rightfully his; this conflict marked the start of 400 years of bloody disputes as the English monarchy's line of hereditary succession was bent, twisted and finally broken when the last Plantagenet king, Richard III, fell at Bosworth in 1485.

The Anglo-Norman and Plantagenet dynasties were renowned for their internecine strife, and in "Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were", historian J. F. Andrews unearths the hidden stories of fratricidal brothers, usurping cousins and murderous uncles; the many kings (and the occasional queen) who should have been monarchs but never were.

History is written by the winners, but every game of thrones has its losers too, and their fascinating stories bring richness and depth to what is a colorful period of history. King John would not have gained the crown had he not murdered his young nephew, who was in line to become England's first King Arthur; Henry V would never have been at Agincourt had his father not seized the throne by usurping and killing his cousin; and as the rival houses of York and Lancaster fought bloodily over the crown during the Wars of the Roses, life suddenly became very dangerous indeed for a young boy named Edmund.

Critique: An original and seminal work of simply outstanding and documented historical scholarship, "Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown: The Kings and Queens Who Never Were" is further enhanced for academia with the inclusion of illustrations, a list of abbreviations, twenty- seven pages of notes, a four page bibliographical listing of suggestions for further reading, and an eight page index. While unreservedly recommended as a core addition to British history collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Lost Heirs of the Medieval Crown" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).

Editorial Note: J. F. Andrews is the pseudonym of an historian who has a PhD in Medieval Studies specializing in warfare and combat. Andrews has published a number of academic books and articles in the UK, the USA and France, and was one of the contributors to the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology (Oxford University Press, 2010). Andrews is also active in public engagement with history, having written several historical novels and contributed popular history articles to blogs and magazines.

Charles II and His Escape into Exile
Martyn R. Beardsley
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526725721, $39.95, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Charles II (29 May 1630 - 6 February 1685) was king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was king of Scotland from 1649 until his deposition in 1651, and king of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.

Returning to England to try to reclaim his throne, King Charles II was defeated at the Battle of Worcester -- but the battle to save his own life had only just begun. Pursued wherever he went by soldiers from the conflict as well as local militia, Charles donned peasant clothing, crudely cut his hair and tried to adopt a rustic accent. With the secret help of a succession of loyal citizens, he walked till his feet were shredded, waded rivers, coolly mixed with anti-royalists and enemy troopers -- and, of course, famously hid in an oak tree. Never sure of who could be trusted, it was touch and go all the way to the coast and, hopefully, a boat that would take him to freedom.

Critique: Written with all the narrative storytelling skill of a novelist, this meticulously detailed and informative history is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of two Appendices (Lord Henry Wilmot/The Penderels and Petitioners to the King), and a three page Bibliography. Certain to be an enduringly valued contribution to 17th Century English History, "Charles II and his Escape into Exile: Capture the King" is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community, college, and university library Historical Royal British Biographies collections.

Editorial Note: History is Martyn Beardsley's big passion, and he has written books on a variety of subjects. He got the idea for (King Charles) while enjoying a pint (or two) in the George Inn Mere, Wiltshire, which sheltered Charles while on the run, and which has a King Charles room. His other non-fiction works include The Gunpowder Plot Deceit and A Matter of Honour, an account of Britain's last fatal duel.

From Berber State to Moroccan Empire
Maya Shatzmiller
Markus Wiener Publishers
231 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ 08542
www.markuswiener.com
9781558769519, $26.95, PB, 246pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Medieval Fez was a main center of education, art, and commerce from the 13th to the 16th centuries after the Berber tribe of the Marinids seized power in Morocco and moved the capital from Marrakesh to Fez. As non-Arabs they gained legitimacy by founding medresas, religious universities. They also supported the arts and commerce, and expanded their state into an empire. It was the Golden Age of Fez. Maya In "From Berber State to Moroccan Empire: The Glory of Fez Under the Marinids" academician and historian Maya Shatzmiller (University of Western Ontario) draws a historical panorama of this era, highlighting its movers and shakers in locations from North Africa to the Mediterranean world.

Critique: A masterpiece of historical scholarship, "From Berber State to Moroccan Empire: The Glory of Fez Under the Marinids" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library North African & Middle East History collections in general, and Berber/Marinid History supplemental studies reading lists in particular.


The Civil War Shelf

The Second Colorado Cavalry
Christopher M. Rein
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806164816, $34.95, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: During the Civil War, the Second Colorado Volunteer Regiment played a vital and often decisive role in the fight for the Union on the Great Plains -- and in the westward expansion of the American empire."The Second Colorado Cavalry: A Civil War Regiment on the Great Plains" by Civil War historian Christopher M. Rein is the first in-depth history of this regiment operating at the nexus of the Civil War and the settlement of the American West.

Composed largely of footloose '59ers who raced west to participate in the gold rush in Colorado, the troopers of the Second Colorado repelled Confederate invasions in New Mexico and Indian Territory before wading into the Burned District along the Kansas border, the bloodiest region of the guerilla war in Missouri. In 1865, the regiment moved back out onto the plains, applying what it had learned to peacekeeping operations along the Santa Fe Trail, thus definitively linking the Civil War and the military conquest of the American West in a single act of continental expansion.

Emphasizing the cavalry units, whose mobility proved critical in suppressing both Confederate bushwhackers and Indian raiders, Rein tells the neglected tale of the "fire brigade" of the Trans-Mississippi Theater -- a group of men, and a few women, who enabled the most significant environmental shift in the Great Plains' history: the displacement of Native Americans by Euro-American settlers, the swapping of bison herds for fenced cattle ranges, and the substitution of iron horses for those of flesh and bone.

"The Second Colorado Cavalry" offers a much-needed history of the "guerilla hunters" who helped suppress violence and keep the peace in contested border regions; it adds nuance and complexity to an understanding of the unlikely "agents of empire" who successfully transformed the Central Plains.

Critique: An impressively informative and comprehensive history that is expertly enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, twenty-two pages of Notes, and an eight page Appendix (Statistical Abstract of the Second Colorado Cavalry), and a seven page Index, "The Second Colorado Cavalry: A Civil War Regiment on the Great Plains" is an extraordinary and ground-breaking addition to the growing body of American Civil War literature. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Civil War history collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Civil War buffs, and nonspecialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Second Colorado Cavalry" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.95).

Editorial Note: Christopher M. Rein is the Managing Editor of the Air University Press at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and the author of The North African Air Campaign: The U.S. Army Air Forces from El Alamein to Salerno and Alabamians in Blue: Freedmen, Unionists, and the Civil War in the Cotton State.

Martin R. Delany's Civil War and Reconstruction
Tunde Adeleke
University Press of Mississippi
3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211
www.upress.state.ms.us
9781496826633, $99.00, HC, 262pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Militant? Uncompromising? Pragmatic? Utilitarian? Accommodating? Conservative? To engage Martin Robison Delany (1812-1885) is to wrestle with almost all the complexities and paradoxes of nineteenth-century black leadership in one public intellectual.

An African American abolitionist and journalist, Delany advocated for black nationalism, one of the first to do so. After working alongside Frederick Douglass to publish the North Star in the 1840s, Delany looked into establishing a settlement in West Africa. Yet during the Civil War, he served as the first African American field grade officer in the Union Army. Then he labored for the Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina. Delany even ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor as a Republican and later defected to the Democrats.

Compiled and edited by senior historian and academician Tunde Adeleke, "Martin R. Delany's Civil War and Reconstruction: A Primary Source Reader" is comprised of letters, speeches, contemporary nineteenth-century newspaper articles, and reports written by and about Delany. These vital primary sources cover his Civil War and Reconstruction career in South Carolina and include key critical reactions to Delany's ideas and writings from his contemporaries. There are over ninety documents, the vast majority not previously published.

Delany remains the subject of conflicting and confusing interpretations. Professor Adeleke indicates that Delany actually manifested complex dispositions. He presaged manifestations of the strands of both protest and compromise that would define the early twentieth-century world of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. These documents will prove an indispensable call and response to an unparalleled intellectual life.

Critique: An impressively thorough and meticulous work of seminal scholarship and exhaustive research, "Martin R. Delany's Civil War and Reconstruction: A Primary Source Reader" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library 19th Century American History and Black History collections and supplemental studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Martin R. Delany's Civil War and Reconstruction: A Primary Source Reader" is also available in a paperback edition (9781496826640, $30.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.50).

Editorial Note: Tunde Adeleke is a Professor of History and the Director of the African and African American Studies Program at Iowa State University. His books include the critically acclaimed UnAfrican Americans: Nineteenth-Century Black Nationalists and the Civilizing Mission; The Case against Afrocentrism; and Without Regard to Race: The Other Martin R. Delany, the latter two published by University Press of Mississippi.

The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect
Constance Hall Jones
Southern Illinois University Press
1915 University Press Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901
www.siupress.com
9780809337613, $26.50, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect: The Life and Diary of Confederate Artillerist William Ellis Jones" by Constance Hall Jones (who is an antiquarian book dealer and author working in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a remarkable biography presented in an edited diary format to tell the story of William Ellis Jones (1838-1910), an artillerist in Crenshaw's Battery, Pegram's Battalion, the Army of Northern Virginia. One of the few extant diaries by a Confederate artillerist, Jones's articulate writings cover camp life as well as many of the key military events of 1862, including the Peninsula Campaign, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Maryland Campaign, and the Battle of Fredericksburg.

In 1865 Jones returned to his prewar printing trade in Richmond, and his lasting reputation stems from his namesake publishing company's role in the creation and dissemination of much of the Lost Cause ideology. Unlike the pro-Confederate books and pamphlets that Jones had previously published (primary among them the Southern Historical Society Papers) his diary shows the mindset of an unenthusiastic soldier.

In a model of contextualization, biographer Constance Hall Jones shows how her ancestor came to embrace an uncritical veneration of the army's leadership and to promulgate a mythology created by veterans and their descendants who refused to face the amorality of their cause.

Jones brackets the soldier's diary with rich, biographical detail, profiling his friends and relatives and providing insight into his childhood and post-war years. In doing so, she offers one of the first serious investigations into the experience of a Welsh immigrant family loyal to the Confederacy and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Civil War era Richmond and the nineteenth-century publishing industry.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative Civil War biography, "The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect: The Life and Diary of Confederate Artillerist William Ellis Jones" will prove to be a welcome and enduringly popular addition to community, college, and university library American Civil War collections and supplemental studies curriculum lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Civil War history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.31).


The Military Shelf

Unbreakable Hearts!
Earl "Dusty" Trimmer
https://www.unbreakableheartsbook.com
Dog Ear Publishing
8888 Keystone Crossing, Suite 1300, Indianapolis, IN 46240
www.dogearpublishing.net
9781457569975, $34.99, HC, 586pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In "Unbreakable Hearts!: The Vietnam Wars from 111 BC to 1979", Earl 'Dusty' Trimmer provides invaluable insight into Vietnamese history and culture as he skillfully brings the reader into more comprehensive understanding our Vietnamese enemy's amazing resolve to win against the most powerful military on earth.

Dusty deftly explains in impressive detail the evolution of our Vietnamese enemy over hundreds of years of invasions and wars. Always defending their country to remain free became an art. Of special note is the chapter in which Dusty describes the role and expertise of Vietnamese women fighters.

Critique: Earl "Dusty" Trimmer relates with both skill and personal experience events surrounding the Viet Nam conflict -- perhaps the most forgettable and misunderstood war in America's history. Presenting a nearly two millennia history of the wars that took place in Viet Nam, "Unbreakable Hearts!: The Vietnam Wars from 111 BC to 1979" is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Military History collections in general, and Viet Nam War supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Unbreakable Hearts!: The Vietnam Wars from 111 BC to 1979" is also available in a paperback edition (9781457568565, $29.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Earl "Dusty" Trimmer was a combat infantry soldier in the Vietnam War from 1968-1969. As a combat infantryman, often he walked at the head of the combat mission as the point man during the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War, 1968.

"Vincere!"
Federica Saini Fasanotti
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402
www.nip.org
9781682474280, $44.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Vincere!" presents an overview of the counterinsurgency operations carried out by the Italian Royal Army from 1922 to 1941 in Libya and Ethiopia. Based on ten years of study conducted in the Italian archives and on the ground, "Vincere!" looks at a period when the Italian Royal Army faced significant new challenges in the conduct of war. Facing new challenges in an atypical theater of war, Italian Royal Army forces learned significant lessons that would shape the conduct of future combat.

In the period covered in "Vincere!", the Italian Royal Army forces had to adapt to new terrain, while modifying their techniques and methods in relation to the local populations and the overall characteristics of the territories in Africa. Moving away from a reliance on heavy, slow battalions formed for the most part by Italian troops, the Italians instead turned to mobile units, lightly armed and composed primarily by African troops who were able to respond quickly to the needs of this kind of war.

Men coming from the loyal Eritrean colony, from Somalia, Libya, from the countries on the Red Sea and even from Ethiopia, progressively replaced Italian troops. In Libya, warfighting and counterinsurgency operations were conducted mainly by regular infantry (Libyan battalions, Meharists, Saharian) and cavalry units (Savaris and Spahis), while in Ethiopia, regular and irregular bands were used. "Vincere!" offers insights into some of the earliest irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations the modern Italian forces ever conducted.

Critique: An impressive work of extensively detailed and documented scholarship, "Vincere!: The Italian Royal Army's Counterinsurgency Operations in Africa 1922-1940" is a unique and exceptionally informative military history that is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library military history collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Vincere!" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.49).

Editorial Note: Federica Saini Fasanotti graduated in Contemporary History with honors and then gained a PhD at the University of Milan. She is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. She has published five books on military history and her many essays and articles have appeared in a number of journals and historical magazines.

Normandy 1944
Niklas Zetterling
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612008165, $34.95, HC, 480pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness" by Niklas Zetterling is a significantly revised and updated single-source reference which accurately details the German field forces employed in Normandy in 1944 and their losses.

Dr. Zetterling also provides a sobering analysis of the subject matter and debunks a number of popular myths concerning the campaign (the effectiveness of Allied air power; the preferential treatment of Waffen-SS formations in comparison to their army counterparts; etc.). He supports his text with exhaustive footnoting and provides an organizational chart for most of the formations covered in the book.

Critique: Of special note is the inclusion of numerous organizational diagrams, charts, tables and graphs, making "Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness" a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library World War II Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Normandy 1944" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Niklas Zetterling is a military historian and researcher at the Swedish Defense College. His previous books include Bismarck, The Korsun Pocket, and The Drive on Moscow, 1941.

Operation Crusader
Hermann Buschleb, author
David Dorondo, translator
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612007236, $29.95, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The port of Tobruk, Libya, was besieged by German and Italian forces in April 1941. Following an abortive attempt in June, the Allies tried to relieve the siege in late November, when the Eighth Army launched Operation Crusader, which aimed at destroying the Axis armored force then advancing. After a number of inconclusive engagements, the British 7th Armoured Division was defeated by the Afrika Korps at Sidi Rezegh.

Erwin Rommel was then forced to withdraw his troops to the defensive line at Gazala, making the operation the first Allied victory over German land forces in World War II. "Operation Crusader: Tank Warfare in the Desert, Tobruk 1941" is a detailed and documented account of the tank warfare during Operation Crusader in front of Tobruk in the fall of 1941 and examines the roles of commanders in the battles of Operation Crusader, in particular the part of Erwin Rommel, who achieved some defensive successes during the battle.

As well as examining the part of commanders, "Operation Crusader" discusses the parameters of the battle: the terrain, weather, visibility, logistics, intelligence, and the forces involved. It then narrates the course of the battle, and the result of the battle.

Critique: Ably translated from German by David Dorondo for the benefit of an American readership, "Operation Crusader: Tank Warfare in the Desert, Tobruk 1941" by the late Hermann Buschleb (1915-1998) who fought in World War II and subsequently became an respected historian who wrote a number of books on military history, is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library World War II Military History collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and dedicated military buffs that "Operation Crusader" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Shooting Vietnam
Dan Brookes & Bob Hillerby
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526744005, $32.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Shooting Vietnam: The War By Its Military Photographers" is comprised of firsthand accounts and view the hundreds of photographs by men who lived the war through the lens of a camera from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, revealing what was it like in the Vietnam War to be a military combat photographer in the most photographed war in history.

Military and civilian photographers documented everything from the horror of combat, to the people and culture of a land they suddenly found themselves immersed in. Some even juggled cameras with rifles and grenade launchers as they fought to survive while carrying out their assignments to record the war. "Shooting Vietnam" also finally brings recognition to these unheralded military combat photographers in Vietnam that documented the brutal, unpopular, and futile war.

Although some didn't survive. The cameras around their necks often shared space with a rifle or grenade launcher that enabled them to stay alive while performing their assigned military duties, killing, if necessary, to survive.

Often, during a brief respite from trudging through swamps and rice paddies or jumping from a chopper into a hot landing zone, they would wander the streets of villages or even downtown Saigon, curiously photographing a people and a culture so strange and different to them. It is these photographs, of a kinder, more personal nature, removed from the horror and death of war that they also share with the reader.

The accounts in this historical study by Dan Brookes (with the assistance of Bob Hillerby) come from young men thrust into a conflict half way around the world, and all who had their own unique perspective on the war. Some were seasoned photographers before the military, others had only recently held a camera for the first time.

Critique: A unique and impressively informative contribution to the growing body of Vietnam War histories, "Shooting Vietnam: The War By Its Military Photographers" is an extraordinary, profusely illustrated, and inherently fascinating read from first page to last. While especially recommended for community, college, and university library 20th Century American Military, Vietnam War History, and 20th Century Photography collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Shooting Vietnam: The War By Its Military Photographers" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).

Editorial Note: Dan Brookes is a writer, photographer, and graphic artist. His tour in Vietnam gave him the travel bug and he still takes to the road, ocean, and air the world over adding to his collection of stories and pictures for his next books and photo exhibits. In addition to many other things, has been the production manager of a Hollywood-based gambling magazine, piloted a riverboat through the Amazon where he helped establish schools in tribal rainforest areas, ran a catering business that fed some of the most famous rock stars on tour, co-founded a UFO research group, and recently retired from Apple where he was a computer solutions consultant.

Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War
Eric Hammel
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612007885, $24.95, HC, 432pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Told from the point of view of the men in the foxholes and tanks, outposts and command posts, "Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War" is the definitive account of the epic retreat under fire of the 1st Marine Division from the Chosin Reservoir.

Author and military historian Eric Hammel first sketches in the errors and miscalculations on the part of the American high command that caused the Marines to be strung out at the end of a narrow road scores of miles from the sea. He then plunges right into the action: the massing of Chinese forces in about ten-to-one strength; the Marines' command problems due to the climate and terrain and high-level over confidence; and the onset of the overwhelming Chinese assault.

Critique: Exceptionally well written on a foundation of exhaustive and meticulous reserarch the results in the offering the read a genuine wealth of tactical detail and small-unit action, "Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War" is the most complete book written to date on this iconic battle and is masterful account offers invaluable perspective on war at the gut level -- making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Korean War collections, as well as the personal reading lists of all dedicated military history buffs.

Editorial Note: Eric Hammel's passion for writing military history books began when he was twelve years old. He has established a formidable reputation as an author and journalist, with forty books and nearly seventy magazine articles to his name. A particular specialty is the U.S. Marine Corps at war, and he has appeared in numerous television documentaries on Marine Corps operations in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Beirut.

Mil Mi-24 Attack Helicopter
Michael Normann
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764358678, $39.99, HC, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The Mil Mi-24 Soviet/Russian gunship and attack helicopter has been in continuous combat service since its first appearance in the early 1970s. Its impressive performance, ability to transport fully armed troops, and imposing armament soon earned the Mi-24 the nickname "Crocodile" and have made the big helicopter an opponent that is still feared to this day.

The Mi-24's technical, developmental, and operational details, as well as upgrades and variants, all are discussed in documented detail in "Mil Mi-24 Attack Helicopter: In Soviet/Russian and Worldwide Service, 1972 to the Present" by Michael Normann. Included are discussions of all versions, armament, radio, radar warning and navigational equipment, and defense systems.

Tactics and operations are also presented, with special emphasis on the Mi-24's service in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. Worldwide use by over 30 countries includes the air forces of Angola, Brazil, Cuba, India, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen, and others.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Mil Mi-24 Attack Helicopter: In Soviet/Russian and Worldwide Service, 1972 to the Present" is a comprehensively informative and model study. Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Military Aviation History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Michael Normann performed his military service in an East German helicopter unit and is an expert on the Mi-24. He regularly publishes articles on aviation in the specialized press.


The Economic Studies Shelf

Debt Entanglement Between the Wars
Era Dabla-Norris, editor
International Monetary Fund
www.imf.org
9781513511795, $27.00, PB, 322pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: World War I created a set of forces that affected the political arrangements and economies of all the countries involved. This period in global economic history between World War I and II offers rich material for studying international monetary and sovereign debt policies.

Expertly compiled and deftly edited by Era Dabla-Norris (who is a Division Chief in the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department), "Debt and Entanglements Between the Wars" focuses on the experiences of the United States, United Kingdom, four countries in the British Commonwealth (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Newfoundland), France, Italy, Germany, and Japan, with the contributors collectively offering unique insights into how political and economic interests influenced alliances, defaults, and the unwinding of debts. The narratives presented show how the absence of effective international collaboration and resolution mechanisms inflicted damage on the global economy, with disastrous consequences.

Critique: A unique and impressively informative anthology of seven independent and erudite studies, "Debt Entanglement Between the Wars" is enhanced for academia with a complete listing of the contributors and their credentials, an Appendix (The Interwar Debt Database), and a ten page Index. While especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Economic Studies collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, economists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Debt Entanglement Between the Wars" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Science Shelf

The Anatomy Bible
Ken Okona-Mensah
Firefly Books Ltd.
www.fireflybooks.com
9780228102403, $19.95, PB, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "The Anatomy Bible: The Incredible Biology of You" by Ken Okona-Mensah delivers a concise and entertaining package of authoritative information on a fundamental aspect of human existence; in this case, the bones and muscles and organs that make up human anatomy, the one common element of all human life.

The 13 illustrated chapters comprising "The Anatomy Bible" cover: The discovery and application of knowledge of human anatomy; the language of anatomy; The organization of your body from cellular to chromosomal, to tissues and organs; The 3 layers of skin that protect us; fat, hair, glands and nails; The musculoskeletal system, bone; tendons, ligaments and muscles; cartilage and bone growth; aging; The heart, arteries, capillaries, veins, oxygen; Immunity and wound repair; lymphocytes; hypersensitivity; Respiration and lungs; The nervous system; neurons, axons, the brain parts, cortices, the senses; Chemicals and glands; Upper and lower gastrointestinal tract and its parts, from mouth to throat to stomach to lower intestines; liver and gallbladder; The urinary system; kidneys, bladder, ureter and urethra; blood filtering; blood pressure; The structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems; genetics and inherited characteristics; And looking ahead on the subject of 21st-century anatomy.

Critique: Comprehensive and exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this compact, illustrated, and succinct edition of "The Anatomy Bible: The Incredible Biology Of You" is an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Human Physiology & Biology collections.

Editorial Note: Ken Okona-Mensah is a freelance science writer who has over 16 years' experience working in academia and writing about health-based topics. With a background in pharmacology and toxicology, research and science communication he previously worked as a scientific writer for Imperial College London where he produced technical and lay reviews for scientific advisory committees of Public Health England.


The Biography Shelf

Texas Ranger Lee Hall
Chuck Parsons
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
www.untpress.unt.edu
9781574417906, $29.95, HC, 432pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When he left North Carolina to find adventure in Texas, Jesse Lee Hall (October 9, 1849 - March 17, 1911) was one of many young men seeking a new life following the Civil War. After a stint as a deputy sheriff and a Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Representatives, he joined Captain Leander McNelly's Texas Ranger Special State Troops in 1876. This was the career move that he had needed as he soon found enough action in South Texas.

When McNelly could no longer command due to illness, Hall was named to take his place. Hall was involved in arresting King Fisher and his gang, and he (with a small squad) arrested seven of the Sutton faction, effectively ending the bloody Sutton-Taylor Feud. One of his men, John B. Armstrong, finally captured the most wanted man in Texas, John Wesley Hardin, in far-off Florida. In 1878 Hall took part in the gun battle ending the career of outlaw Sam Bass.

Nearing his fiftieth birthday, Hall hoped to join Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders," but that did not happen. Instead he was posted to the Philippines, where as a commander during the Philippine Insurrection he was so badly injured that he was given a medical discharge. The old warrior died in San Antonio in 1911, loved and respected, having a reputation equaled by few.

Critique: An impressively detailed, illustrated, documented, and meticulously presented biography that is as riveting a read as any action/adventure western novel, "Texas Ranger Lee Hall: From the Red River to the Rio Grande" is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to both community and academic library American Biography collections in general, and Texas Ranger supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted that "Texas Ranger Lee Hall: From the Red River to the Rio Grande" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $23.96).

Editorial Note: Texas based historian Chuck Parsons is the author of Captain John R. Hughes: Lone Star Ranger; The Sutton-Taylor Feud; Captain Jack Helm; John B. Armstrong: Texas Ranger, Pioneer Rancher; and Captain L. H. McNelly. He is also co-author of A Lawless Breed: John Wesley Hardin, Texas Reconstruction, and Violence in the Wild West and Texas Ranger N. O. Reynolds.

Ernest Thompson Seton
David L. Witt
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com
9781423654711, $24.99, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: One of the world's first conservationists, Ernest Thompson Seaton (August 14, 1860 - died October 23, 1946), "Ernest Thompson Seton: The Life and Legacy of an Artist and Conservationist" is the inherently intriguing story of the man who served as the inspiration behind the Boy Scouts of America and who dedicated his life to preserving nature and promoting outdoor youth education. Celebrated in text and visuals, "Ernest Thompson Seton" by David L. Witt showcases more than 100 of Seton's paintings and illustrations.

Critique: Featuring an impressively informative and profusely illustrated commentary, "Ernest Thompson Seton: The Life and Legacy of an Artist and Conservationist" is an unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college and university library American Biography collections.

Editorial Note: David L. Witt is curator and director of the Seton Legacy Project for the Academy of the Love of Learning, an educational organization in Santa Fe. A lifelong naturalist, he lives in Taos, New Mexico.

Boy on the Bridge
Andrew Marble
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
9780813178028, $36.95, HC, 416pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Born in Poland, John Shalikashvili (June 27, 1936 - July 23, 2011) descended from aristocratic European families that served with distinction in both battle and government for centuries. After barely surviving the Warsaw Uprising, he and his family fled to Germany during World War II to escape advancing Soviet troops and emigrated to the United States in 1952. Shalikashvili was drafted into the army as a private in 1958 and rose steadily through the ranks, serving in every level of unit command from platoon to division. In 1993 Shalikashvili was tapped by President Bill Clinton to replace General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the first immigrant, first draftee, and first Officer Candidate School graduate to hold the position.

"Boy on the Bridge: The Story of John Shalikashvili's American Success" by Andrew Marble (a writer and editor who has worked in the fields of Chinese politics, Taiwan studies, US policy to Asia, and international food policy) is first and thus far only biography of Shalikashvili's classically American riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches story reveals how his distinctive background helped him become one of the United States's greatest military leaders.

Shalikashvili exhibited a unique and unconventional leadership style that employed expertise, humility, straightforwardness, and empathy with which he adroitly used to resolve or prevent destructive conflict. His distinctive leadership style greatly benefitted the United States, Europe, and beyond: as when he led the rescue of 500,000 Kurdish refugees in the first Gulf War's aftermath; when he represented Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell in helping secure loose nukes in the former Soviet republics; as he joined forces with fellow immigrant Madeleine Albright on the Partnership for Peace initiative and NATO enlargement program in the 1990s; and in retirement, when he helped end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, thereby finally allowing gay service members to serve openly without fear of dishonorable discharge.

Critique: The life and career of John Shalikashvili is the embodiment of the American dream and this impressively informative, meticulously researched, expertly organized and presented biography is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library American Military Biography collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated military buffs that "Boy on the Bridge" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.99).


The General Fiction Shelf

The Body Politic
Brian Platzer
Atria Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781501180774, $27.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: New York City is still regaining its balance in the years following 9/11, when four twenty-somethings (Tess, Tazio, David, and Angelica) meet in a bar, each yearning for something: connection, recognition, a place in the world, a cause to believe in. Nearly fifteen years later, as their city recalibrates in the wake of the 2016 election, their bond has endured -- but almost everything else has changed.

As freshmen at Cooper Union, Tess and Tazio were the ambitious, talented future of the art world -- but by thirty-six, Tess is married to David, the mother of two young boys, and working as an understudy on Broadway. Kind and steady, David is everything Tess lacked in her own childhood -- but a recent freak accident has left him with befuddling symptoms, and she's still adjusting to her new role as caretaker.

Meanwhile, Tazio has left the art world for a career in creative branding and politics. But in December 2016, fresh off the astonishing loss of his candidate, Tazio is adrift, and not even his gorgeous and accomplished fiancee, Angelica, seems able to get through to him. With tensions rising on the national stage, the four friends are forced to face the reality of their shared histories, especially a long-ago betrayal that has shaped every aspect of their friendship.

Critique: An elegant, erudite and perceptive novel by Brian Platzer, "The Body Politic" deftly explores the meaning of commitment, the nature of forgiveness, the way that buried secrets will always find their way to the surface, and how all of it can shift (and eventually erupt) over the course of a life. A skillfully crafted and inherently riveting read throughout, "The Body Politic" will be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Contemporary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Body Politic" is also readily available in a paperback edition (Washington Square Press, 9781501180781, $17.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

O America: Discovery in a New Land
William Least Heat-Moon
University of Missouri Press
201 S. 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211
https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222046, $29.95, HC, 338pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: As word of the discovery of gold in northern California spreads, Nathaniel Trennant, an English physician, accepts an offer to serve as doctor on a ship carrying immigrants to America. Alongside some two hundred emigres from northern Europe is a contingent of wealthy British people who call themselves not immigrants, but colonists. With this imported cultural divide, Nathaniel begins a long journey into what he terms the American experiment, one already under the stress of social injustices and economic inequities.

Trennant arrives in Baltimore and stumbles onto its slave market, where he witnesses the horrors of human bondage. One night in a boardinghouse he discovers under his bed a runaway slave. Disturbed and angered by the selling of human lives, he offers to help the young man escape, a criminal action that will put the slave and physician into flight from both the law and opportunistic slave hunters.

Traveling by foot, horse, stage, canal boat, and steamer, the two men gradually form a bond as they explore the backcountry and forge a deep friendship as they encounter the land and a host of memorable characters who reveal the nature of the American experiment.

Critique: A remarkable and skillfully crafted historical novel by an author with an impressively original and effective narrative storytelling style, "O America: Discovery in a New Land" is a thoroughly entertaining and compellingly thought-provoking read throughout. While unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "O America: Discovery in a New Land" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.17).


The Romantic Fiction Shelf

The Land Beneath Us
Sarah Sundin
Fleming H. Revell Company
c/o Baker Publishing Group
6030 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301
www.revellbooks.com
9780800737757, $29.99, HC, 384pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In 1943, Private Clay Paxton trains hard with the US Army Rangers at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, determined to do his best in the upcoming Allied invasion of France. With his future stolen by his brothers' betrayal, Clay has only one thing to live for -- fulfilling the recurring dream of his death.

Leah Jones works as a librarian at Camp Forrest, longing to rise above her orphanage upbringing and belong to the community, even as she uses her spare time to search for her real family -- the baby sisters she was separated from so long ago.

After Clay saves Leah's life from a brutal attack, he saves her virtue with a marriage of convenience. When he ships out to train in England for D-day, their letters bind them together over the distance. But can a love strong enough to overcome death grow between them before Clay's recurring dream comes true?

Critique: Featuring characters that seem as real as our next door neighbors, "The Land Beneath Us" by Sarah Sundin is an inherently riveting read from first page to last. While especially recommended for community library Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Land Beneath Us" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9780800727994, $15.99), in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781977363596, $29.99, CD).


The Western Fiction Shelf

Rio Ruidoso
Preston Lewis
Five Star Publishing
10 Water Street, Suite 310, Waterville, ME 04901
http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar
9781432868420, $25.95, HC, 292pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Rio Ruidoso" is one of those western novels that offers a gripping blend of history and story as author Preston Lewis explores the violent years before the famed Lincoln County War in New Mexico Territory. Seamlessly weaving fact with fiction, Lewis details the county's corruption, racism, and violence through the eyes of protagonist Wes Bracken, newly arrived in the region to start a horse ranch with his alcoholic brother. Bracken's dreams for the Mirror B Ranch are threatened by his brother's drunkenness, the corruption of economic kingpin Lawrence G. Murphy, and the murderous rampages of the racist Horrell Brothers. To bring tranquility to Lincoln County, Bracken must defeat those threats and stand his ground against the ever-changing alliances that complicate life and prosperity in multi-racial Lincoln County.

Critique: Another riveting and entertaining read by the award winning western novelist Preston Lewis, "Rio Ruidoso" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of all dedicated western fans, as well as any and all community library collections.

Send For The BAD Guy!
Ethan Flagg
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841398, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: A gang of notorious outlaws led by Cain Vender is causing mayhem in Sweetwater County. Special agent Drew Henry is reluctant to come out of retirement until he learns that his brother has been killed by Vender and his men. Drew adopts the persona of a deceased train robber to infiltrate the gang -- but a conflict of interest in the delectable form of Ruth Vender threatens to overshadow his subterfuge. Will he have the strength of will he needs to defeat the outlaws?

Critique: A thoroughly engaging action/adventure western novel by a master of the genre, this large print edition of "Send For The BAD Guy" by Ethan Flagg is especially recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated western buffs and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Western Fiction collections.

Last Stage To Aspen
Allan Vaughan Elston
Sagebrush Large Print Western
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781785416897, $30.59, PB, Large Print, 246pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When his stage is held up, driver Wes Brian is lucky to get away with his life, let alone his cash. He asks his broker, Frank Bayard, to invest his life's savings, $300.00, -- but what he doesn't know is that Bayard is a double-crossing swindler who'd sell his grandma for a profit. So when aging miner John Hostetter comes in to sell a busted claim he sinks Brian's money into it. But then Bayard finds out that a sample mix-up it is really worth millions. So Bayard erases Brian's name on the deed and inserts his own, he initiates an unexpectedly lethal chain of events, while selling Brian a small ranch some 40 miles away. Meanwhile, Brian finds himself dodging bullets and dynamite, and dealing with a gang of outlaws with a score to settle. And in addition, an assassin on Bayard's payroll seeking to terminate anyone who might reveal Bayard's treachery.

Critique: Once again with the publication of "Last Stage To Aspen", seasoned western author Allan Vaughan Elston has produced still another terrific action/adventure western with a wealth of unexpected by always entertaining twists and turns -- right down to an unexpected final confrontation! This large print edition is unreservedly and emphatically recommended for personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Ghosts of the Missing
Kathleen Donohoe
Mariner Books
c/o Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.hmhco.com
9780544557178, $17.99, PB, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Culleton, New York has a long history of writers, of artists, and of unsolved mysteries.

That's where Adair grew up before she moved to Brooklyn to try to make it as an artist. But after years away from her hometown and little to show for it, Adair decides to return. She moves back in to Moye House, the old mansion, and current writer's retreat, imbued with her family's legacy.

Ciaran is a writer staying at Moye House in the hopes of finally solving the mystery of what happened to Rowan Kinnane -- his sister, and Adair's childhood best friend. As the two begin investigating, secrets long buried rise to the surface, complicating their sense of themselves and their understanding of what happened on that fateful day.

Critique: With a true noir style of narrative storytelling, "Ghosts of the Missing" by Kathleen Donohoe is a compelling novel that will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library contemporary suspense thriller collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated mystery fans that "Ghosts of the Missing" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Initiate
James L. Cambias
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
www.baen.com
9781982124359, $25.00, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: If people who can work magic are so powerful, why don't they rule the world? Well, as it happens, they do. And one man wants to change that.

The Apkallu are masters of magic. They rule the world from the shadows, using mind control and deadly monsters to eliminate any threat to their power. Sam Arquero lost his family to a demon sent by an Apkallu. He knew that nobody would believe the truth, but now an old man offers Sam the chance to find out who is responsible and bring down the Apkallu forever.

Under a new identity, Sam must learn the secrets of magic, infiltrate the Apkallu, and walk a razor's edge of daring as he attempts to destroy the Apkallu leaders and avoid the supernatural detectives on his trail. But Sam's greatest challenge perhaps lies within -- to avoid becoming like the hated Apkallu himself!

Critique: An original and impressively crafted fantasy novel by game designer, and cofounder of Zygote Games. James L. Cambias. an author with a genuine flair for reader engaging narrative storytelling, "The Initiate" is a simply riveting read from beginning to end. While especially recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated fantasy fans that "The Initiate" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

The Firmament of Flame
Drew Williams
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
120 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10271
www.tor-forge.com
9781250186195, $30.99, HC, 368pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: For nearly a century, the Justified have been searching for gifted children to help prevent the return of the Pulse. Until recently, they thought they were the only ones. Jane Kamali and her telekinetic protege Esa, now seventeen, barely managed to claim victory against a Cyn (a being of pure energy) hell bent on hunting down the gifted. Now they face an army. The Cyn and their followers will stop at nothing to find Esa and the others. No one knows what they want, but Jane, Esa, and their allies in the Justified are determined to find out -- even if they have to go to the ends of the known universe to do it!

Critique: The third volume in author Drew Williams' the 'Universe After' science fiction action/adventure series, "The Firmament of Flame" is the kind of novel that dedicated Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica fans will especially appreciate. A riveting page turner of a read from cover to cover, "The Firmament of Flame" is unreservedly recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Firmament of Flame" is also available in a paperback edition (9781250186201, $18.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

Hollywood: Her Story
Jill S. Tietjen & Barbara Bridges
The Lyons Press
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
246 Goose Lane, Suite 200, Guilford, CT 06437
www.lyonspress.com
9781493037056, $35.00, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The year was 1896, the woman was Alice Guy-Blache, and the film she created was called The Cabbage Fairy. It was less than a minute long. But it made Guy-Blache the first female director who would go on to make hundreds of movies during her career.

Thousands of women with passion and commitment to storytelling followed in her footsteps. Working in all aspects of the movie industry, they collaborated with others to create memorable images on the screen. This book pays tribute to the spirit, ambition, grit and talent of these filmmakers and artists.

With more than 1200 women featured in this profusely illustrated history of women and the movies, "Hollywood: Her Story" is comprised of names that everyone knows and loves -- the movie legends, as well as the hundreds and hundreds of women whose names are unknown to the general public and include actresses, directors, stuntwomen, screenwriters, composers, animators, editors, producers, cinematographers and on and on.

Critique: A delight to browse the photographs that capture and document the women who worked in the movie business, "Hollywood: Her Story" an ideal and thoroughly 'user friendly' informational reference for all dedicated movie buffs. A comprehensive photo-treasury of women and film, "Hollywood: Her Story" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Cinema History collections. It should be noted that "Hollywood: Her Story" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.49).

Editorial Note: Jill S. Tietjen has conducted research into historical women around the world for the past thirty years and speaks around the country about women's contributions to history. One of the top historians on women across all fields of endeavor in the U.S., she works to bring more visibility to women through her continual nominations of historical and living women for national, state and local awards. Her nominees have been successfully inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, and a number of state women's halls of fame. Jill is often profiled and quoted in the media, and her articles have been printed in a wide variety of publications. She has received numerous awards and has been inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.

Barbara Bridges founded Women+Film, a program in partnership with the Denver Film Society, in 2006. This is where she has been bringing audiences together with films, by and about women, that ignite discussions around global issues facing women today. With the annual Women+Film Festival, a section of movies in the Denver Film Festival and movie screenings throughout the year, it is a popular film program that not only entertains but educates and inspires as well. Barbara speaks to various groups about the role of women in the movies and has been involved with various film festivals. The Denver Post named her one of Colorado's Top Thinkers in Arts and Culture. Barbara has served on the boards of several women's organizations, both locally and nationally, and has received numerous awards as a result.

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away
Paul Hirsch
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781641602556, $30.00, HC, 384pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits - Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More", provides a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most influential films of the last fifty years as seen through the eyes of Paul Hirsch, the Oscar-winning film editor who worked on such classics as George Lucas's Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Brian De Palma's Carrie and Mission: Impossible, Herbert Ross's Footloose and Steel Magnolias, John Hughes's Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Joel Schumacher's Falling Down, and Taylor Hackford's Ray.

Hirsch breaks down his career movie by movie, offering a riveting look at the decisions that went into creating some of cinema's most iconic scenes. He also provides behind-the-scenes insight into casting, directing, and scoring and intimate portraits of directors, producers, composers, and stars. Part film school primer, part paean to legendary filmmakers and professionals, this funny and insightful memoir will entertain and inform aficionados and casual moviegoers alike.

Critique: An absolute 'must read' for all dedicated movie fans, "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits - Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library American Cinema History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of film students, academic, movie buffs that "A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.71) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781094008844, $29.95, CD).

Editorial Note: Paul Hirsch received the Academy Award for his editing work on Star Wars in 1978. In 2005, he received his second Academy Award nomination for Taylor Hackford's Ray. He is the only person to ever win the Saturn Award for best editing twice. In 2017 he was given the special Award to Editor with Unique Visual Sensitivity by the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, Camerimage.


The Library Science Shelf

A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries
Paul Pedley
Facet Publishing
www.facetpublishing.co.uk
9781783304684, $59.95, PB, 201pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries" is groundbreaking new book that considers how privacy issues can arise in a library context and what library and information professionals can do to protect the privacy of their users. Featured are a wide range of practical examples of such issues, providing insights and practical steps which readers can follow. In-depth case studies and scenarios support the examples laid out, while examples of data breaches which have occurred in a library setting, and the lessons we can learn from them, are also included. "A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries" also covers the main legislation governing data protection - GDPR - which will be particularly relevant to European librarians, and international librarians offering services to EU citizens.

"A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries" provides a range of tools through which libraries can communicate how they handle the personal data of their users whilst ensuring that they are following best practice with their privacy policy statements, their privacy audits and data protection impact assessments. Privacy is not the same thing as data protection, and the book outlines the differences between these two concepts. Nevertheless, "A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries" has been written with the requirements of data protection law very much in mind.

Critique: Essential reading for library and information professionals who need to understand and support privacy in the library setting and a useful reference for students and researchers in the field who need to understand this topic in practice, "A Practical Guide to Privacy in Libraries" is an ideal textbook for library system in-service training programs, and must be considered a core and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university Library Science collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Paul Pedley MA MLib is a leading expert in information law. He regularly provides training on copyright, licensing and other legal issues. He has been a member of LACA, the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance since 1998; and is the author of Essential Law for Information Professionals, Practical Copyright for Library and Information Professionals, The E-copyright Handbook, Digital Copyright, and Copyright Compliance: practical steps to stay within the law, and editor of Managing Digital Rights.


The Parenting Shelf

The New Adolescence
Christine Carter
BenBella Books
10300 N. Central Expressway, Ste 400, Dallas, TX 75204
www.benbellabooks.com
9781948836548, $16.95, PB, 230pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "The New Adolescence: Raising Happy and Successful Teens in an Age of Anxiety and Distraction" by Christine Carter is a realistic and reassuring handbook for the parents of teenagers. It offers road-tested, science-based solutions for raising happy, healthy, and successful teenagers.

Readers will find practical guidance for: Providing the support and structure teens need (while still giving them the autonomy they seek); Influencing and motivating teenagers; Helping kids overcome distractions that hinder learning; Protecting them from anxiety, isolation, and depression; Having effective conversations about tough subjects -- including sex, drugs, and money.

"The New Adolescence" is based upon the latest findings in neuroscience, sociology, and social psychology, along with Christine Carter's own real-world experiences as the mother of four teenagers.

Critique: Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, "The New Adolescence: Raising Happy and Successful Teens in an Age of Anxiety and Distraction" is an impressively informative and imminently practical instruction guide and manual that is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (HighBridge Audio, 9781684579778, $29.99, CD). Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Parenting collections, every parent of a teenager would benefit immensely from reading Christine Carter's "The New Adolescence"!

Editorial Note: A sociologist and senior fellow at UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, Christine Carter draws on the latest scientific research in psychology, sociology, and neuroscience (and uses her own often hilarious real-world experiences) to give advice for living, working, and parenting with greater joy and meaning.

Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety
John Duffy
Mango Publishing
www.mango.bz
9781642500493, $18.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Children are growing up with nearly unlimited access to social media and the internet, and unprecedented academic, social, and familial stressors. Starting as early as eight years old, children are exposed to information, thought, and emotion that they are developmentally unprepared to process. As a result, saving the typical "teen parenting" strategies for thirteen-year-olds is now years too late.

Comprised of urgent and 'real world practical' advice for parents of teenagers. "Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety: A Complete Guide to Your Child's Stressed, Depressed, Expanded, Amazing Adolescence" by John Duffy is a new and necessary parenting instructional guide that specifically addresses this hidden phenomenon of the changing teenage brain.

"Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety" will help parents to: Sort through the overwhelming circumstances of today's teens and better understand the changing landscape of adolescence; Come away with a revised, conscious parenting plan more suited to addressing the current needs of the New Teen; Discover the joy in parenting again by reclaiming the role of your teen's ally, guide, and consultant.

Critique: Expertly written, impressively informative, exceptionally insightful, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety: A Complete Guide to Your Child's Stressed, Depressed, Expanded, Amazing Adolescence" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library Contemporary Parenting instructional reference collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.49) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781974972661, $29.99, CD).


The Journalism Shelf

Breaking News
Alan Rusbridger
Picador USA
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1800, New York, NY 10010
www.picadorusa.com
9780374279622, $30.00, HC, 464pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Technology, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle has radically altered the news landscape. Once-powerful newspapers have lost their clout or been purchased by owners with particular agendas. Algorithms select which stories we see. The Internet allows consequential revelations, closely guarded secrets, and dangerous misinformation to spread at the speed of a click.

In "Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now", veteran journalist Alan Rusbridger demonstrates how these decisive shifts have occurred, and what they mean for the future of democracy. In the twenty years he spent editing The Guardian, Rusbridger managed the transformation of the progressive British daily into the most visited serious English-language newspaper site in the world. He oversaw an extraordinary run of world-shaking scoops, including the exposure of phone hacking by London tabloids, the Wikileaks release of U.S. diplomatic cables, and later the revelation of Edward Snowden's National Security Agency files.

At the same time, Rusbridger helped The Guardian become a pioneer in Internet journalism, stressing free access and robust interactions with readers.

In "Breaking News" Rusbridger vividly observes the media's transformation from close range while also offering a vital assessment of the risks and rewards of practicing journalism in a high-impact, high-stress time.

Critique: Impressively informative, expertly organized and presented, "Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now" is a timely and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Journalism History collections and supplemental studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of journalism students, academia, practicing journalists, political activists, social reformers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Breaking News" is also available in a paperback edition (9781250234940, $20.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Alan Rusbridger was editor in chief of Guardian News and Media from 1995 to 2015. He is the author of Play It Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible and is currently chair of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.


The Literary Studies Shelf

The Next Instalment
Wendy Roy
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
www.wlupress.wlu.ca
9781771123914, $85.00, HC, 440pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: McClung's Pearlie Watson trilogy (1908-1921), Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables books (1908-1939), and de la Roche's Jalna novels (1927-1960) were read avidly not just as sequels but as serials in popular and literary newspapers and magazines. A number of the books were also adapted to stage, film, and television.

In "The Next Instalment: Serials, Sequels, and Adaptations of Nellie L. McClung, L.M. Montgomery, and Mazo de la Roche", Professor Wendy Roy argues that these three Canadian women writers, all born in the same decade of the late nineteenth century, were influenced by early-twentieth-century publication, marketing, and reading practices to become heavily invested in the cultural phenomenon of the continuing story.

A close look at their serials, sequels, and adaptations reveals that, rather than existing as separate cultural productions, each is part of a cultural and material continuum that encourages repeated consumption through development and extension of the original story concept. "The Next Installment" is a deftly written work that considers the effects that each mode of dissemination of a narrative has on the other.

Critique: A unique, exceptionally informative, meticulously researched and thought-provoking work of seminal scholarship that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of bibliographical references and an index, "The Next Instalment: Serials, Sequels, and Adaptations of Nellie L. McClung, L.M. Montgomery, and Mazo de la Roche" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Canadian Literature collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Next Instalment" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $30.99).

Editorial Note: Wendy Roy is Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Saskatchewan. She researches gender and culture in Canadian women's writing and is the author of Maps of Difference: Canada, Women, and Travel (2005) and co-editor of Listening Up, Writing Down, and Looking Beyond: Interfaces of the Oral, Written, and Visual (2012).


The Aviation Shelf

North American Aviation in the Jet Age
John Fredrickson
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764358746, $45.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: During the waning days of World War II, a frenzied race was underway in rubble-strewn Europe as US and Soviet forces sought to seize advanced German weapons technology. Over the next quarter century, North American Aviation (NAA) would enhance these spoils of war into fearsome weapons in America's arsenal.

There's the swept-wing F-86 Sabre jet fighter, which would go on to be the only Allied warplane to outmaneuver a Soviet MiG-15 over Korea. X-15 rocket planes that carried humans to the boundaries of space, setting speed and altitude records that still hold today.

"North American Aviation in the Jet Age: The California Years, 1945-1997" by John Fredrickson is the detailed and documented story of these weapons and the engineers who nourished them is a fascinating look into postwar corporate history of the NAA and its impact on US aviation and space history.

Critique: Copiously and lavishly illustrated throughout with both color and b/w photography, "North American Aviation in the Jet Age: The California Years, 1945-1997" is an inherent fascinating and impressively informative history -- and one that is unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library 20th Century American Aviation collections in general, and American Military Aviation supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Editorial Note: John Fredrickson worked at Boeing from 1975 to 2011. His military service included four years of active duty, followed by 17 years with the USAF Reserve. A one-year assignment with the B-52 unit (307th Strategic Wing) at U-Tapao Airfield earned him the Vietnam Service Medal.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

For Better or for Worse The Complete Library, Volume Four: 1990-1993
Lynn Johnston
IDW Publishing
idwpublishing.com
9781684055852 $49.99 hc / $29.92 Kindle amazon.com

Synopsis: Collect the beloved newspaper comic strip that chronicles the saga of the Patterson family in real time, over three decades, in this definitive edition.

This volume includes the story that earned Lynn Johnston a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The '90s start with a bang for the Pattersons when Elly finds out she is pregnant! Follow April Patterson as she grows from a toddler to a three year old, all in this single volume, but that isn't all the excitement in the house, especially when there is a teenager around. Michael gets his first summer job, a steady girlfriend, and a driver's license--if he passes the test. Adolescence is just as challenging for Elizabeth, who navigates middle school, learns to cope with the stigma of wearing glasses, and is peer-pressured into smoking a cigarette! Meanwhile, John succumbs to his (first) mid-life crisis when he buys his first model train.

The highlight of this collection, however, is Lawrence's coming out story, a tender and compassionate tale of gender identity and acceptance for which Lynn was deservedly nominated for the newspaper industry's top honor. Includes every comic strip from December 10, 1989 to April 24, 1993.

Each volume also contains a number of annotations by Lynn Johnston detailing motivations for certain strips, funny anecdotes, observations about the reaction from fans, and much more!

Critique: The Complete Library edition of For Better for Worse is the ultimate, definitive way for newspaper comic strip connoisseurs to enjoy this long-running, heartwarming series of the joys, trials, and travails of the Patterson family. Every strip is represented; all Sunday strips are in full color. Volume 4 gathers more than 1,200 sequential daily and Sunday strips from December 10, 1989 to April 24, 1993. Special highlights of volume 4 include Elly discovering that she's pregnant, and Lawrence's coming out story. The Complete Library edition of For Better for Worse is highly recommended, for both personal and public library collections! It should be noted for personal reading lists that volume 4 is also available in a Kindle edition ($29.92).


The Audiobook Shelf

The Puritans: A Transatlantic History
David D. Hall, author
Narrated by Jason Culp
Recorded Books, LLC
www.recordedbooks.com
9781980061656 $TBA

Synopsis: This book is a sweeping transatlantic history of Puritanism from its emergence out of the religious tumult of Elizabethan England to its founding role in the story of America. Shedding critical new light on the diverse forms of Puritan belief and practice in England, Scotland, and New England, David Hall provides a multifaceted account of a cultural movement that judged the Protestant reforms of Elizabeth's reign to be unfinished. Hall's vivid and wide-ranging narrative describes the movement's deeply ambiguous triumph under Oliver Cromwell, its political demise with the Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, and its perilous migration across the Atlantic to establish a "perfect reformation" in the New World.

A breathtaking work of scholarship by an eminent historian, The Puritans examines the tribulations and doctrinal dilemmas that led to the fragmentation and eventual decline of Puritanism. It presents a compelling portrait of a religious and political movement that was divided virtually from the start. In England, some wanted to dismantle the Church of England entirely and others were more cautious, while Puritans in Scotland were divided between those willing to work with a troublesome king and others insisting on the independence of the state church. This monumental book traces how Puritanism was a catalyst for profound cultural changes in the early modern Atlantic world, opening the door for other dissenter groups such as the Baptists and the Quakers, and leaving its enduring mark on what counted as true religion in America.

Critique: The Puritans: A Transatlantic History is the unabridged audiobook rendition of an in- depth work of scholarship by historian David D. Hall (professor emeritus of American religious history at Harvard Divinity School). Why were the Puritans so influential in both British and American culture, a legacy that continues even to the present day, when few or any modern-day people would describe themselves as following all the religious tenets the Puritans in? Enlightening, fascinating, and exhaustively researched, The Puritans: A Transatlantic History is highly recommended especially for public, college library, and personal audiobook collections. 17 CDs, 21.25 hours.

Escape from Rome
Walter Schneider, author
Daniel Henning, narrator
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
9781980062377, $TBA, CD, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The fall of the Roman Empire has long been considered one of the greatest disasters in history. But in this groundbreaking audio book written by Walter Scheidel and narrated by Daniel Heming, argues that Rome's dramatic collapse was actually the best thing that ever happened in that it cleared the path for Europe's economic rise and the creation of the modern age. Ranging across the entire premodern world, "Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity" offers new answers to some of the biggest questions in history: Why did the Roman Empire appear? Why did nothing like it ever return to Europe? And, above all, why did Europeans come to dominate the world?

In an absorbing narrative that begins with ancient Rome but stretches far beyond it, from Byzantium to China and from Genghis Khan to Napoleon, Scheidel shows how the demise of Rome and the enduring failure of empire-building on European soil ensured competitive fragmentation between and within states.

It was this rich diversity that encouraged and made possible the political, economic, scientific, and technological breakthroughs that allowed Europe to surge ahead while other parts of the world lagged behind, burdened as they were by traditional empires and predatory regimes that lived by conquest. It wasn't until Europe "escaped" from Rome that it launched an economic transformation that changed the continent and ultimately the world.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative history, this complete and unabridged audio book edition of "Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library audio book collections in general, and Roman History/Economic History supplemental curriculum studies lists. (18 discs: 21.5 Hours).

Behind the Sheet
Charly Evon Simpson
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
www.latw.org
9781682661178 $29.95

Synopsis: An important medical breakthrough has a shameful history. In 1840's Alabama, a slave-owning doctor performs medical experiments on involuntary subjects - enslaved women - in an effort to solve the problem of fistulas, a post-childbirth anomaly. As the experiments proceed, and he gets close to a solution, the women try to survive and even find dignity in the face of inhuman treatment.

Includes conversations with playwright Charly Evon Simpson and Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of Medical Bondage: Race, Gender and the Origins of American Gynecology.
Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in August 2019.

Behind the Sheet is part of L.A. Theatre Works' Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world.

Critique: Behind the Sheet is an audiobook of a full-cast play about a shocking and controversial part of modern medical history. In the 1840's, a slave-owning doctor performed medical experiments on involuntary subjects - enslaved women - while trying to solve the post-childbirth problem of fistulas. These experiments were painful and dangerous. An intense story about racism, ruthlessness in the name of medicine, and the efforts of the enslaved subjects to find dignity, Behind the Sheet is unforgettable and highly recommended especially for public library audiobook collections. 2 CDs, 2 hours 8 min.


The Library CD Shelf

Within Earth
Apollo Chamber Players
apollochamberplayers.org
Nayona Records
$14.99 CD / $8.99 MP3 amazon.com

Apollo Chamber Players presents Within Earth, a multicultural album that celebrates diversity. There are tracks written by a variety of different creators, assembled by Apollog Chamber Players as part of the 20x2020 project (meant to commission 20 new multicultural works by the end of the decade). The tracks include commissions by Afro-Cuban/Afro-Brazilian guitar composer Leo Brouwer; Christopher Walczak's musical rendition of the cultural creation myth, crafted with inspiration from Australian aboriginal concepts; Vietnamese musician Vanessa Vo's piece combining traditional instruments with classic Western stringed instruments; and more. Within Earth is a treasure for both personal and public library collections, highly recommended. The tracks are "Introduction", "Preambulo", "Sonata", "The Dream of the Sun, Moon, and Stars", "The Dreams of the Statue and the Tree", "The Dream of the Ladder", "May [Cloud]", and "Within Earth, Wood Grows".

Fire in the Clouds
Eric Bikales
www.EricBikales.com
Privately Published
$9.98 CD / $8.99 MP3 amazon.com

Fire in the Clouds is solo piano album, inspired by the striking beauty of cloudy, sunset skies. The songs have a sweeping, majestic quality that stirs the imagination and quickens the spirit. Fire in the Clouds is an exceptional listening experience for connoisseurs of the genre and public library collections, highly recommended. The tracks are "Yellow Bird", "Cebu Sunrise", "Journey Within" "Fire in the Clouds", "Now This", "Khai", "And Then", "Setting Sun", "Reasoning with the Wind", and "Kansas Wind". 31 min., 18 sec.


The Library DVD Shelf

Discoveries... Costa Rica: Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
Bennett-Watt Entertainment, Inc.
www.Bennett-Watt.com
9781604902983 $24.95

Discoveries... Costa Rica: Olive Ridley Sea Turtles is an extraordinary, beautifully filmed video documentary about the life cycle of sea turtles in Costa Rica. Here is spectacularly captured footage of turtles digging nests, laying eggs, hatching, emerging, and struggling to reach the sea before predators take their lives. As educational as it is entertaining, Discoveries... Costa Rica: Olive Ridley Sea Turtles is highly recommended for both school and public library DVD collections. 90 minutes.

Discoveries... America National Parks: Alaska
Bennett-Watt Entertainment, Inc.
www.Bennett-Watt.com
9781604902174 $24.95

The thirty-sixth program in the "Discoveries... America National Parks" DVD series, Discoveries... America National Parks: Alaska a superb, high quality DVD video essay showcasing the breathtaking scenery and wildlife of Alaska's parks. The next best thing to visiting Alaska in person, Discoveries... America National Parks: Alaska takes the viewer on an extensive tour of the Alaska Highway, Kenai Fjords National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Seward National Scenic byway - All American Road, and much more. Discoveries... America National Parks: Alaska is highly recommended both for public library and personal documentary collections. 51 min.


The Gardening Shelf

You Bet Your Garden Guide to Growing Great Tomatoes, second edition
Mike McGrath
Fox Chapel Publishing Company
1970 Broad Street N., East Petersburg, PA 17520
www.FoxChapelPublishing.com
9781497100756, $14.99, PB, 120pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "You Bet Your Garden Guide to Growing Great Tomatoes" by organic gardening expert Mike McGrath (who is the host of the nationally syndicated public radio show hit You Bet Your Garden), will teach even the most novice of recreational gardeners everything they will need to know in order to grow tomatoes like a pro. From choosing tomato varieties, seeding, germination, planting, staking, caging, food, water, lighting, maintenance and nurturing, to controlling pests and dealing with disease, and harvesting, McGrath shows gardeners of all skill levels how to grow a wide variety of great-tasting homegrown tomatoes anywhere you have a place to plant seeds!

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "You Bet Your Garden Guide to Growing Great Tomatoes" is impressively 'user friendly' and comprehensive in organization and presentation, making "You Bet Your Garden Guide to Growing Great Tomatoes" an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal and community library Gardening instructional reference guides and DIY manuals for the growing of delicious, nutritious tomatoes.

Shrubs and Hedges
Eva Monheim
Cool Springs Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartoknows.com
9780760366844, $30.00, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Whether they're flowering shrubs or evergreen hedges, these long-lived plants fill a lot of space in our landscapes; yet they don't capture as much attention as perennials, annuals, and even trees. The front doors and picture windows of millions of houses world-wide are adorned by shrubs. Despite their ubiquity, selecting and maintaining shrubs remains a mystery to many.

Shrubs are all-too-often inappropriately pruned into "meatball" shapes, or alternatively, left to become an overgrown tangle of branches. But as aspiring home gardeners will discover in the pages of "Shrubs and Hedges: Discover, Grow, and Care for the World's Most Popular Plants", that when cared for properly, these workhorse plants have much to offer. They mask foundations, delineate property lines, increase privacy, stabilize soils, provide food for wildlife, and add beauty and interest to the landscape. It's time for shrubs to take center stage.

"Shrubs & Hedges" includes: Advice on how to pick the best shrubs for your growing conditions; Plant profiles of both dependable classic shrubs and new rising stars; Step-by-step propagation instructions for making more shrubs -- for free!; Shrub identification tips; A lesson on the value of hedges and hedgerows; The best shrubs for pollinators and other wildlife; Pruning illustrations and tips to maximize shrub performance and health; Tips for designing with shrubs

Critique: Profusely illustrated with full color photography throughout, and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library collections, "Shrubs and Hedges: Discover, Grow, and Care for the World's Most Popular Plants" is the ideal and comprehensive introduction and instructional guide for the aspiring home gardener to growing shrubs and hedges.

Editorial Note: A horticulturist, certified arborist, master floral designer, artist, and writer, Eva Monheim is the co-founder of Verdant Earth Educators (VEE), a horticulture education and consulting firm. Eva is also an instructor at the world-famous Longwood Gardens in their Professional Horticulture Program where she teaches woody plants and arboriculture. A faculty member at The Barnes Arboretum of St. Joseph University where she teaches Landscape Management, Eva was an assistant professor at Temple University in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture for over twelve years where she taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses. Eva's articles, designs, and photographs have appeared in national, regional, and local magazines and newspapers, including a column in the Philadelphia Inquirer.


The Business Shelf

International Management: A Stakeholder Approach
Peter Stanwick & Sarah Stanwick
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781788112727, $215.00, HC, 544pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "International Management: A Stakeholder Approach"is an innovative textbook that applies a practical and engaging approach to the rapidly evolving field of international management. Business students will learn the many complexities that managers must address when making decisions in the global marketplace. "International Management: A Stakeholder Approach" covers a range of leadership challenges, including environmental change, social responsibility, global strategies, communication organizational change and human resources.

International Management identifies the responsibilities and obligations of managers in the age of globalization and includes: Critical chapters on global corporate governance, corporate compliance and global environmental issues, which invite students to consider some of the ways in which global businesses affect the world around us; Thirteen global case studies exploring the mechanisms of some of the world's leading business performers, including Patek Philippe, Nestle, Adidas, Bombardier and the BBC, giving students the opportunity to further their understanding by identifying theory in practice; Comprehensive opening vignettes framing each case study to facilitate classroom discussion.

An ideal core textbook for use in undergraduate international management courses as well as an introductory text at postgraduate level, "International Management: A Stakeholder Approach" also offers supplementary reading for strategic management or general management classes.

Critique: Collaboratively written by Peter Stanwick and Sarah Stanwick, (both of whome are professors on the facultury of the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, Aburn University, USA) and Sarah Stanwick), each chapter comprising "International Management: A Stakeholder Approach" includes Chapter Objectives, a Chapter Summary, and Questions for Discussion. While unreservedly recommended for college and university library International Business Management collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "International Management: A Stakeholder Approach" is also available in a paperback edition (9781788112741, $63.46, www.amazon.com)

High-Growth Women's Entrepreneurship
Amanda Bullough, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781788118705, $130.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Women's entrepreneurship is vital for economic and social development, yet female entrepreneurs worldwide are consistently found to have weaker sales and employment growth, fewer jobs, and lower profitability. "High-Growth Women's Entrepreneurship: Programs, Policies and Practices" was published to specifically and collectively address this reality and focuses on the high-growth potential of women entrepreneurs.

The scholars contributing to "High-Growth Women's Entrepreneurship" conducted qualitative as well as quantitative research in contexts around the world, including Eswatini (Swaziland), Australia, China, Slovenia, Peru, and one global study of 43 countries. Chapters are organized according to three key themes: the practice of building networks, programs and the support environment, and policies and regulations. Topics addressed within these themes include the interconnected and mutually reinforcing features of a fruitful entrepreneurial culture, including financial and human capital advancement and readiness, new opportunities for expansion and an assortment of institutional and infrastructural provisions for innovation and business growth.

"High-growth Women's Entrepreneurship" will have a special value to public and private sector managers, policy makers and politicians who want to promote a culture and ecosystem that supports women's growth-oriented business potential -- as well as educators and program designers who want to help women grow their businesses, and scholars who want to explore further research will find the information invaluable.

The contributors include: N. Birdthistle, C.J. Boudreaux, Z. Brixiova, C.G. Brush, A. Bullough, D. Cetindamar, M. Cordova, L.F. Edelman, R. Eversole, B. Freser, V. Godinho, D. Hechavarria, F. Huaman, E. James, T. Kangoye, T. Lammers, Y. Li, S. Muhammad, B. Nikolaev, A. Pearce, K. Sirec, E. Sullivan, P. Tominc, M. Walo, J. Wu

Critique: Comprised of nine informative articles, "High-growth Women's Entrepreneurship: Programs, Policies and Practices" is further enhanced for academia with the inclusion of figures, tables, a complete listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a nine page index, making it an unreservedly recommended addition to professional, corporate, college, and university library Business Management collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Amanda Bullough is an Associate Professor of Management and Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Women's Leadership Initiative, University of Delaware. Diana M. Hechavarria is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Entrepreneurship, Muma College of Business, University of South Florida. Candida G. Brush holds the Franklin W. Olin Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship and is Vice Provost of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership, Babson College. Linda F. Edelman is Professor of Management, Bentley University, US.


The Cookbook Shelf

Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed
Rebecca Toutant, RD, LDN, CDE
Rockridge Press
9781646114740, $15.99, PB, 166pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Written specifically for anyone needing to coming to terms with diagnosis of celiac disease and who might feel like they can't eat all the things the used to, "Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed: Guidance and Recipes for an Easy Transition to the Gluten-Free Diet" aims to help them eat what they want, with as few restrictions as possible. In "Celiac for the Newly Diagnosed" are to be found the tools needed to understand celiac disease and thrive with a gluten-free dining lifestyle.

"Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed" begins with learning about a celiac disease diagnosis and how it affects the body. Then presents the 7-day meal plan help make the first gluten-free week a success. The 75 delectable recipes (plus tips on how to involve a support network, setup a kitchen, and get started on shopping) are the perfect foundation for feeling great while eating nutritious and delicious foods.

Critique; The ideal combination of recipes and basic information for those having to deal with a celiac disease diagnosis, "Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed: Guidance and Recipes for an Easy Transition to the Gluten-Free Diet" fully lives up to the promise of its subtitle and is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, it should be noted for personal reading lists that the "Celiac Disease Cookbook for the Newly Diagnosed" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Rebecca Toutant is a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and certified diabetes educator working in Boston area. Her background is as eclectic as her practice, working as a researcher, marketer, and counselor helping people of all ages navigate celiac disease, eating disorders, diabetes, autism, and endurance sports while leading full, nourishing lives. She began her career by exploring and publishing research with the experts at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Celiac Center surrounding the challenges young adults with celiac disease experience in their transition to college. She completed her undergraduate degree in Dietetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her graduate degree in Health Communication from Emerson College and Tufts University School of Medicine. She can be found online at www.NourishingBitsandBites.com.

The Best of New Orleans Cookbook
Ryan Boudreaux
Rockridge Press
9781646114337, $15.99, PB, 130pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Ryan Boudreaux was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and raised in Algiers on the West Bank of New Orleans. He has more than 36 years of professional culinary experience in and around the New Orleans area. In "The Best of New Orleans Cookbook" he draws upon his years of experience and expertise with th New Orleans melting pot of cultures and flavors to showcase a vibrant cuisine that is as unique as the city itself.

More than just a culinary compendium of decadent recipes, "The Best of New Oreleans Cookbook" also features profiles of iconic culinary landmarks like Cafe du Monde, insights as to where to find the ingredients that define its cooking, like andouille, crawfish, and Louisiana hot sauce. That are also DIY recipes for the libations that New Orleans is famous for.

Critique: A delight to plan menus with, and featuring thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinners, cocktails and appetizers, main course and deserts, and a whole section dedicated to rice dishes, "The Best of New Orleans Cookbook: 50 Classic Cajun and Creole Recipes from the Big Easy", which is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99), will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to family, personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

Ultimate Soup Maker
Joy Skipper
Hamlyn
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9780600636410, $14.99, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Ultimate Soup Maker" is a beautifully illustrated compendium of 100 simple, nutritious recipes to make in your Soup maker. These are thoroughly 'user friendly' recipes that will save time in the kitchen, cut costs and create delicious, nourishing bowls of soup at home.

From light lunches to something more substantial, soups can be healthy, comforting, hearty and nourishing, as well as easy to incorporate into your daily diet. All of the recipes comprising "Ultimate Soup Maker" can be made from beginning to end in soup makers featuring a saute function or otherwise prepared in a pan before transferring to a soup maker. Each recipe serves four people and includes suggestions for additional garnishes.

Critique: An inspiring delight to simply browse through and ideal for planning menus with, "Ultimate Soup Maker" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Ultimate Soup Maker" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).

Editorial Note: Joy Skipper is a qualified nutritional therapist specialising in Sports Nutrition. She has a BSc (Hons) in Nutritional Therapy from The Centre of Nutrition Education and Lifestyle Management, following her graduation from the world-renowned Institute of Optimum Nutrition in 2009. She writes extensively on healthy food for a number of magazines, including Waitrose Kitchen, Delicious Magazine, Weight Watchers Magazine and BBC Good Food and has authored several books.


The Native American Studies Shelf

American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century
Paul R. Misencik & Sally E. Misencik
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476679976, $45.00, PB, 292pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In the mid-17th century, the Iroquois Confederacy launched a war for control of the burgeoning fur trade industry. These conflicts, known as the Beaver Wars, were among the bloodiest in North American history, and the resulting defeat of the Erie nation led to present-day Ohio's becoming devoid of significant, permanent Indian inhabitants. Only in the first quarter of the 18th century did tribes begin to tentatively resettle the area.

"American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century" by Paul and Sally Misencik details the story of the Beaver Wars, the subsequent Indian migrations into present Ohio, the locations and descriptions of documented Indian trails and settlements, the Moravian Indian mission communities in Ohio, and the Indians' forlorn struggles to preserve an Ohio homeland, culminating in their expulsion by Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act in 1830.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a five page Bibliography, nine pages of Notes, and an eleven page Index, "American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century" is an inherently fascinating and impressively informative history that is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college and university library Native American Studies collections and supplemental curriculum reading lists.


The Art Shelf

Tomoko Fuse's Origami Art
David Brill and Hideto Fuse
Tuttle
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805315552 $29.99 hc / $16.19 Kindle amazon.com

Synopsis: Tomoko Fuse has been one of the world's premier origami artists for more than 35 years. This beautifully photographed book examines the three-dimensional geometric designs she is famous for.

Fuse, often referred to as "the queen of origami," discovered the art of folding paper at just seven years old. She has come a long way since then, having had her work highlighted in exhibitions around the world, including Paris Origami (Carrousel du Louvre, 1998), On Paper (Crafts Council London, 2002) and her solo show Yorokobi (Bauhaus Dessau, 2004).

In addition to teaching, folding and writing, she also collaborated with designer Denis Guidone for Milan Design Week 2018 and was a featured artist in Nova's episode "The Origami Revolution" (February, 2017).

An artistic anthology of her most impressive work, Tomoko Fuse's Origami Art can serve multiple purposes: as inspiration for an experienced origami folder; as a truly impressive coffee table book for the artistically-minded; or as a push for intermediate folders to try their hand at modular origami models.

Critique: Showcasing full-color photography of Tomoko Fuse's elaborately folded, papercraft artworks on every page, Tomoko Fuse's Origami Art: Works by a Modern Master is an extraordinary showcase of the three-dimensional geometric designs that have made Fuse world- famous. A small amount of text is also present, including descriptions of some of the types of folds used in this artworks. These descriptions are paired with meticulous instructions and diagrams that advanced origami practitioners can use to experiment with Fuse's paper-folding techniques. Tomoko Fuse's Origami Art is a treasure for artbook collections and origami enthusiasts, highly recommended. It should be noted that Tomoko Fuse's Origami Art is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.19).


The Gaming Shelf

Planning the Defense
Barbara Seagram & David Bird
Master Point Press
www.masterpointpress.com
9781771400534, $19.95, PB, 173pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: A resident of Toronto, Canada, Barbara Seagram travels the world teaching bridge. She is author or co-author of more than a dozen well-known books, the most popular being 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know.

A UK resident, David Bird is perhaps the most prolific bridge author of all time having more than 130 titles to his credit. He is the holder of a record seven ABTA Book of the Year awards.

Ten years after their collaboratively written and award-winning volume "Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand", now with the publication of "Planning the Defense" Seagram and Bird now tackle the hardest part of the game using the same step-by-step approach as they guide the aspiring bridge player through the minefield of signaling, making a defensive plan and, above all, counting points, tricks and distribution.

Critique: Simply stated, all aspiring or even experienced bridge players will substantially benefit from a close and careful reading of Barbara Seagram and David Bird's "Planning the Defense". An expertly written, organized and presented instruction guide and manual, "Planning the Defense" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition for personal, community, and academic library Bridge card gaming collections.


The Holocaust Studies Shelf

Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities
Stephen Wynn
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526728210, $32.95, HC, 168pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The Holocaust is without doubt one of the most abhorrent and despicable events not only of the Second World War, but of the twentieth century. What makes it even more staggering is that it was not perpetrated by just one individual, but by thousands of men and women who had become part of the Nazi ideology and belief that Jews were responsible for all of their woes.

"Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities" by Stephen Wynn begins by looking at the build up to the Second World War, from the time of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, as the Nazi Party rose to power in a country that was still struggling to recover politically, socially and financially from the aftermath of the First World War, whilst at the same time, through the enactment of a number of laws, making life extremely difficult for German Jews. Some saw the dangers ahead for Jews in Germany and did their best to get out, some managed to do so, but millions more did not.

"Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities" then moves on to look at a wartime Nazi Germany and how the dislike of the Jews had gone from painting the star of David on shop windows, to their mass murder in the thousands of concentration camps that were scattered throughout Germany. As well as the camps, it looks at some of those who were culpable for the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Nazism. Not all those who were murdered lost their lives in concentration camps. Some were killed in massacres, some in ghettos and some by the feared and hated Einsatzgruppen.

Critique: At a time when the generation that experience the Holocaust personally is passing from this world, historical studies like "Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities" are increasingly necessary to remind present and future generations of what can happen when the forces of bigotry and racially motivated hatred goes unchecked in even the most civilized of nations. Given the present rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States, "Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities" is an absolutely and unreservedly recommended addition to all community, college, and university library Holocaust collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Holocaust: The Nazis' Wartime Jewish Atrocities" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Stephen Wynn is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police as a constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013. His two sons served five tours of Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013 and both were injured. This led to the publication of his first book, Two Sons in a Warzone - Afghanistan: The True Story of a Father's Conflict, published in October 2010 by Clairview Books. Both Stephen's grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Marine, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War. He is also the author of a number of military and history books published by Pen & Sword Books.

999
Heather Dune Macadam
Citadel Press
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street, Floor 21, New York, NY 10018-2522
www.kensingtonbooks.com
9780806539362, $28.00, HC, 480pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: On March 25, 1942, nearly a thousand young, unmarried Jewish women boarded a train in Poprad, Slovakia. Filled with a sense of adventure and national pride, they left their parents' homes wearing their best clothes and confidently waving good-bye. Believing they were going to work in a factory for a few months, they were eager to report for government service. Instead, the young women (many of them teenagers) were sent to Auschwitz. Their government paid 500 Reich Marks (about $200) apiece for the Nazis to take them as slave labor. Of those 999 innocent deportees, only a few would survive.

The facts of the first official Jewish transport to Auschwitz are little known, yet profoundly relevant today. These were not resistance fighters or prisoners of war. There were no men among them. Sent to almost certain death, the young women were powerless and insignificant not only because they were Jewish -- but also because they were female. Now in "999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz" author Heather Dune Macadam reveals their poignant stories, drawing on extensive interviews with survivors, and consulting with historians, witnesses, and relatives of those first deportees to create an important addition to Holocaust literature and women's history.

Critique: All the more valued because the last of their generation is now passing from the world even as we are seeing a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism throughout Europe and the United States, "999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Holocaust History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Exceptionally well written, impressively informative, expertly organized and presented, "999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz" is also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781494539788, $29.99, CD).

Editorial Note: Heather Dune Macadam's first book (which was co-authored with Rena Kornreich Gelissen), was Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz. The Director of the Rena's Promise Foundation, Macadam also sits on the advisory board of the Cities of Peace Auschwitz and is the producer/director of the documentary film 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz. Her work has been recognized by Yad Vashem in the U.K., the USC Shoah Foundation, the National Museum of Jewish History in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the Memorial Museum of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland. Her writing has been featured in National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, on NPR, and in other major media outlets. She divides her time between New York and Herefordshire, England. Those interested can visit 999thefirstwomeninauschwitz on Facebook, @heatherdune on Twitter, or www.999themovie.com.


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
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