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Library Bookwatch

Volume 13, Number 11 November 2018 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Social Issues Shelf
American History Shelf World History Shelf Biography Shelf
Science Shelf Education Shelf Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Library Science Shelf Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf Agriculture Shelf
Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf
Library DVD Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Economic Studies Shelf
Photography Shelf Art Shelf Literary Studies Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Sports Shelf Native American Studies Shelf
Pets/Wildlife Shelf Judicial Studies Shelf Parenting Shelf
Business Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb
Zahi Hawass, author
Sandro Vannini, photographer
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500293904, $39.95, HC, 296pp, www.amazon.com

The tomb of Tutankhamun, with its breathtaking treasures, remains the most sensational archaeological find of all time. The collaborative work of Zahi Awass (who has been secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, and director of excavations at Giza, Saqqara, and the Bahariya Oasis) and photographer Sandro Vannini, "Tutankhamun: The Treasures of the Tomb" is brilliantly illustrated volume takes the reader through Tutankhamun's tomb room-by-room in the order that it was discovered and excavated by Howard Carter, illuminating the tomb's most magnificent artifacts and objects. Now available in a compact edition, and published to coincide with a global touring exhibition that begins in Los Angeles in March 2018 and ends at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2023, this sumptuous volume is the definitive record of Tutankhamun's legacy and will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Egyptology collections and supplemental studies lists.

Surviving the State, Remaking the Church
Li Ma and Jin Li
Pickwick Publications
c/o Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 West 8th Avenue, Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401-2960
http://wipfandstock.com
9781532634604 $27.00 amazon.com

Part of the "Studies in Chinese Christianity" series, Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China lives up to its title as a scholarly, in-depth examination of how Chinese Christians have adapted and grown amid the monumental changes in Chinese society - from agrarian to urbanizing, from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, and perhaps most notably, amid transformations in Chinese cultural beliefs, political ideologies, and commercial values. Chapters address how the values of Chinese Christian congregations come into direct conflict with those of general Chinese society. For example, when a married Christian couple is expecting a child with birth defects, they come under tremendous pressure from family members to abort the child (especially given China's "one-child" policy) while Chinese Christian congregations and values are vehemently anti-abortion. A bibliography and an index round out this "must read" for public and college library International Studies and Religious Studies collections, highly recommended.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book
Penny C. Sansevieri
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781723456954, $6.95, PB, 84pp, www.amazon.colm

Is Your Book Not Selling? Do you feel like you've tried everything to promote your title but nothing is working? If you're struggling to sell more books it's time to stop stressing about it, because it happens to the best of us. The next step is to do something about it. In the pages of "How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book: Simple and Smart Strategies to Sell More Books", book marketing expert Penny C. Sansevieri presents the specialized book marketing strategies of the re-release. With "How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book" even the most inexperience author can come up with a smart and simple plan to revive lackluster sales numbers with minimal effort! "How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book" explains: Why re-releasing a book has become such a lucrative marketing strategy; How to read the telltale signs of a title that's a perfect re-release candidate; How to tell if your cover needs some market-driven updates; How to determine if you need to make content updates; Special considerations for updating fiction and non-fiction; How to make the new version stand out on Amazon; How to upload everything to Amazon the second time around; How to work with Amazon to keep all the reviews from your original version; How to properly price your re-release for maximum exposure; Marketing tips for your re-release. A thoroughly 'user friendly' compendium of expert instruction, advice, commentary, tips, tricks and techniques, "How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book" should be considered mandatory reading by every author and every publisher seeking to maximize sales in general, and exposure to the general reading public in particular. It should be noted that "How to Revise and Re-Release Your Book" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.95).

How to Write a Lot
Paul J. Silvia
APA LifeTools
c/o American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
www.apa.org/books
9781433829734, $19.95, PB, 110pp, www.amazon.com

Everyone in academics need to write (and get what they write published), but many struggle to finish their dissertations, articles, books, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. How can academicians write while still having a life? Now in a newly published second edition "How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing", Paul Silvia (who is the Lucy Spinks Keker Excellence Professor, University of North Carolina - Greensboro) offers fresh advice to help anyone overcome barriers to writing and use their time more productively. After addressing some common excuses and bad habits, Professor Silvia provides practical strategies to motivate students, professors, researchers, and other academics to become better and more prolific writers. Professor Silvia draws from his own experience in psychology to explain how to write, submit, and revise academic work, from journal articles to books, all without sacrificing evenings, weekends, and vacations. The tips and strategies in this second edition of "How to Write a Lot" have been fully updated to apply to academic writing in most disciplines. Also new to this edition is a chapter on writing grant and fellowship proposals. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "How to Write a Lot" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections. It should be noted for all members of the academic community, as well as anyone aspiring to writing a non-fiction article, study or book that "How to Write a Lot" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.78).

Writing for College: A No-B.S. Guide
Robert Rubin
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476673660, $29.95, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Robert Rubin has taught college writing at The George Washington University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Meredith College. He is the author of six books of nonfiction, and presently works as a freelance editor. In the pages of "Writing for College: A No-B.S. Guide" he draws upon his years of experience and expertise to guide first-year students through the do's and don'ts of composition, from such basic questions as "Can I use 'I' in a college essay?" to more advanced points about structure and style. Emphasizing the importance of writing in all majors, "Writing for College: A No-B.S. Guide" encourages students to find their own voice and to express themselves without jargon or "academese". Tips are provided on concision, use of supporting claims, marshaling arguments, researching topics, documenting sources, and revision. Simply stated, "Writing for College: A No-B.S. Guide" should be considered required reading by all college freshmen and a core addition to college and university library collections.


The Social Issues Shelf

The Six-Shooter State
Jonathan Obert
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781316515143, $99.99, HC, 250pp, www.amazon.com

Guns and what to do about gun violence is one of the most political polarizing social issues in our country today. On the one hand, many Americans support the creation of a powerful bureaucracy of coercion made up of police and military forces in order to provide public security. At the same time, many of those citizens also demand the private right to protect their own families, home, and property. "The Six-Shooter State: Public and Private Violence in American Politics" by Professor Jonathan Obert (Amherst College) diagnoses this political schizophrenia as a product of a distinctive institutional history, in which private forms of violence (vigilantes, private detectives, mercenary gunfighters) emerged in concert with the creation of new public and state forms of violence such as police departments or the National Guard. This dual public and private face of American violence resulted from the upending of a tradition of republican governance, in which public security had been indistinguishable from private effort, by the nineteenth-century social transformations of the Civil War and the Market Revolution. Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of figures, tables, a list of abbreviations, and a ten page index, "The Six-Shooter State" is a seminal work of outstanding scholarship and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary Social Issues collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Six-Shooter State" is also available in a paperback edition (9781108454148, $29.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.00).


The American History Shelf

New York and the Lincoln Specials
Joseph D. Collea, Jr.
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476670751, $39.95, PB, 225pp, www.amazon.com

Abraham Lincoln's presidency was bookended by a pair of dramatic railroad trips through the state of New York. His first term began with a pre-inaugural railway tour -- his second ended with a funeral train. Each was a five-day crossing of the Empire State. These two journeys allowed thousands of ordinary Americans first to celebrate, and later to mourn, the great president, and became indelibly etched in the memories of those who had the opportunity to stand along parade route. Drawing on newspaper accounts, memoirs and diaries, "New York and the Lincoln Specials: The President's Pre-inaugural and Funeral Trains Cross the Empire State" by Joseph D. Collea, Jr. brings to life the two epic and unique moments in both New York's and the nation's history. Impressively informative, exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, and featuring occasional black/white historic photographs, "New York and the Lincoln Specials: The President's Pre-inaugural and Funeral Trains Cross the Empire State" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library 19th Century American History collections in general, and Abraham Lincoln supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "New York and the Lincoln Specials: The President's Pre-inaugural and Funeral Trains Cross the Empire State" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).

A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution
Craig L. Symonds
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611214420, $18.95, PB, 120pp, www.amazon.com

"A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution" by Craig L. Symonds (Professor Emeritus at the US Naval Academy where he taught naval history and Civil War History for thirty years) presents a visual and narrative overview of the principal military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Professor Symonds narrates each individual battle in a clear, concise, and readable way. Very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Revolutionary History collections, accompanying two-color, full-page maps make everything easy to understand. Simply stated, "A Battlefield Atlas of the American Revolution" will prove to be an ideal and unreservedly useful classroom text, battlefield tour guide, or library reference.


The World History Shelf

The Thirteenth Century: A World History
Richard Bressler
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476671857, $49.95, PB, 228pp, www.amazon.com

The 13th Century was a fascinating era in world history. It saw Genghis Khan establish the largest contiguous land empire in history. It was when the Magna Carta was drafted. Marco Polo travelled through Asia and trade expanded across the Indian Ocean and Baltic Sea, setting the stage for greater expansion in the 15th century. The Native Americans of Cahokia, Mesoamerica and the Chimor State flourished while Mali, Ethiopia and Great Zimbabwe throve in Sub-Saharan Africa. "The Thirteenth Century: A World History" by Richard Bressler is world history chronicles these and other important events in this pivotal century, while exploring many of the relevant figures of the era, including King John of England, St. Francis of Assisi, Balban of India and many others. An impressively informative and exceptionally well organized study, "The Thirteenth Century: A World History" is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library World History collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers that "The Thirteenth Century: A World History" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99).

Dominion
Peter Ackroyd
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
9781250003652, $29.99, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Spanning the end of the Regency, In "Dominion: The History of England from the Battle of Waterloo to Victoria's Diamond Jubilee", author and biographer Peter Ackroyd takes readers from the accession of the profligate George IV whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, whose face was set against reform, to the 'Sailor King' William IV whose reign saw the modernization of the political system and the abolition of slavery. But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, at only eighteen years old, that sparked an era of enormous innovation. Technological progress (ranging from steam railways to the first telegram) that swept the nation and the finest inventions were showcased at the first Great Exhibition in 1851. The emergence of the middle-classes changed the shape of society and scientific advances changed the old pieties of the Church of England, and spread secular ideas among the population. Though intense industrialization brought booming times for the factory owners, the working classes were still subjected to poor housing, long work hours, and dire poverty. Yet by the end of Victoria's reign, the British Empire dominated much of the globe, and Britannia really did seem to rule the waves. A deftly crafted work of history that reads with the inherently narrative driven storytelling of a novel, "Dominion" is the fifth volume in Peter Ackroyd's simply outstanding History of England series and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library history 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 "Dominion" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audiobook (Blackstone Audio, 9781504799553, $29.99, MP3 CD).

The Eternal City: A History of Rome
Ferdinand Addis
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781681775425, $35.00, HC, 648pp, www.amazon.com

The city of Rome, once the capitol of the Roman Empire and then the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, continues to exert a hold on our imagination to this very day. But how did the "Caput mundi" that is Rome come to play such a critical role in the development of Western civilization? In the pages of "The Eternal City: A History of Rome", Ferdinand Addis addresses these questions by tracing the history of the "Eternal City" told through the dramatic key moments in its history: from the mythic founding of Rome in 753 BC, via such landmarks as the murder of Caesar in 44 BC, the coronation of Charlemagne in AD 800 and the re-invention of the imperial ideal, the painting of the Sistine chapel, the trial of Galileo, Mussolini's March on Rome of 1922, the release of Fellini's La Dolce Vita in 1960, and the Occupy riots of 2011. Also known as the City of the Seven Hills, the spiritual home of Catholic Christianity, the city of the artistic imagination, and an enduring symbol of our common European heritage, Rome has inspired, charmed, and tempted empire-builders, dreamers, writers, and travelers across the twenty-seven centuries of its existence. Addis tells this rich story in a grand narrative style for a new generation of readers. Enhanced with the inclusion of 24 pages of color photos and illustrations, "The Eternal City: A History of Rome" is unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of both academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, as well as a core addition to community, college, and university library World History collections.

Dublin and the Viking World
Howard B. Clarke, Sheila Dooley, Ruth Johnson
O'Brien Press
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, 124 Byers Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9781788490160, $20.00, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Viking customs and habits with respect to shipbuilding, praying, raiding, trading and playing, are brought to life in the pages of "Dublin and the Viking World", richly illustrated account of the beginnings of Dublin town. Dublin during the Viking era was a vibrant, multicultural center of commerce in early medieval Europe. Now today Dublin is unique in the world for its enormous stock of preserved archaeological and written records. "Dublin and the Viking World" reveals intimate details of life in the city and bring the interested reader beyond the traditional myths to the real history of a people who developed a small coastal settlement into a bustling hub of trade and craft. Fully illustrated with photographs, drawings and new maps, "Dublin and the Viking World" takes readers into the streets and homes of a major Viking city, making it a very highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Irish History collections in general, and Viking History supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Pocket Museum: Vikings
Steve Ashby & Alison Leonard
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500294406, $17.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

The culture of the Viking world speaks of both violence and of beauty. "Pocket Museum: Vikings" by Steve Ashby and Alison Leonard is extensively illustrated volume that brings together nearly 200 carefully chosen artifacts that reflect the art and daily life of Viking-Age Europe and the North Atlantic. "Pocket Museum: Vikings" includes both iconic items and finds from recent excavations, providing a visual guide to the early-medieval Scandinavian world. Highlights include Norway's famous ship burials, the only complete example of a Viking helmet, and the treasures looted from the monasteries of Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. Equally important are the less familiar fragments of everyday life: a brooch, a woolen sock, even a loaf of bread. The juxtaposition of the outstanding and the everyday makes this volume unique in its field. Featuring sumptuous close-up photographs to best showcase its comprehensive collection of exquisite artifacts, "Pocket Museum: Vikings" provides an informative and impressively organized and presented introduction to Viking history and is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Viking History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Biography Shelf

Churchill: The Statesman as Artist
David Cannadine, editor
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.bloomsbury.com
9781472945211, $30.00, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Although primarily remembered as England's foremost political leader during World War II, Winston Churchill was also an accomplished artist who produced more than 500 paintings in his lifetime. His subjects included his family homes at Blenheim and Chartwell, evocative coastal scenes on the French Riviera, and many sun-drenched depictions of Marrakesh in Morocco, as well as still life pictures and an extraordinarily revealing self-portrait, painted during a particularly troubled time in his life. In war and peace, Churchill came to enjoy painting as his primary means of relaxation from the strain of public affairs. "Churchill: The Statesman as Artist" by Sir David Cannadine (Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University, and Editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and President of the British Academy), provides the most important account yet of Churchill's life in art, which was not just a private hobby, but also, from 1945 onwards, an essential element of his public fame. The first part of "Churchill: The Statesman as Artist" brings together for the first time all of Churchill's writings and speeches on art, not only "Painting as a Pastime," but his addresses to the Royal Academy, his reviews of two of the Academy's summer exhibitions, and an important speech he delivered about art and freedom in 1937. The second part, provides previously uncollected critical accounts of his work by some of Churchill's contemporaries: Augustus John's hitherto unpublished introduction to the Royal Academy exhibition of Churchill's paintings in 1959, and essays and reviews by Churchill's acquaintances Sir John Rothenstein and Professor Thomas Bodkin, and the art critic Eric Newton. "Churchill: The Statesman as Artist" is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of many of Churchill's paintings, some of them appearing for the first time, making this unique volume an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to 20th Century Biography collections in general, and Winston Churchill supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Handel
Romain Rolland
Routledge
711 - 3rd Avenue, Floor 8, New York, NY 10017-9209
www.routledge.com
9781138642461, $150.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

A German, and later British, Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London, George Frideric Handel (23 February 1685 - 14 April 1759) became well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. Handel received important training in Halle-upon-Saale and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he became a naturalized British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the great composers of the Italian Baroque and by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition. Ably translated into English for an American readership by A. Eaglefield Hull, Romain Rolland's biography, "Handel" attempts to provide an overview of Handel's life and works from his early lessons in music to the classical context in which he is commonly placed. Originally published in English in 1916 and now brought back into print for the benefit of a new generation of appreciative readers, Hull's erudite translation gives an informative insight into biographical facts and the musical pieces composed by Handel including his operas, oratorios and chamber music. While "Handel" will be of interest to students of music and musical history and is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that it is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $44.95).

Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man
Timothy Sandefur
Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001-5403
www.cato.org
9781944424855, $14.95, PB, 140pp, www.amazon.com

Born into slavery in 1818, Frederick Douglass rose to become one of the nation's foremost intellectuals and a statesman, author, lecturer, and scholar who help lead the fight against slavery and racial oppression. Unlike other leading abolitionists, however, Douglass embraced the U.S. Constitution, insisting that it was an essentially anti-slavery document and that its guarantees for individual rights belonged to all Americans, of whatever race. Douglass spoke in his most popular lecture, "Self-Made Men", of people who rise through their own effort and devotion rather than circumstances of privilege. "If they have traveled far, they have made the road on which they have travelled. If they have ascended high, they have built their own ladder." In this fast-paced biography by lawyer and author Timothy Sandefur, "Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man" deftly examines the life and ideas of the nation's foremost "self-made man" from his horrific experiences in slavery and his heroic escape from bondage, to his eloquent demands for equal treatment by the federal government and his later career as statesman and intellectual. Throughout it all Douglass was guided by his belief in the sanctity of the individual. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library 19th Century American Biography and African-American Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99).


The Science Shelf

Physical Chemistry for Chemists and Chemical Engineers
Alexander V. Vakhrushev, Reza Haghi, J. V. de Julian-Ortaz
Apple Academic Press
c/o CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781771886550, $159.00, HC, 380pp, www.amazon.com

The collaborative work of Alexander V. Vakhrushev (Professor at the M.T. Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University in Izhevsk, Russi), Reza Haghi (Research Assistant at the Institute of Petroleum Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom), and molecular engineer J. V. de Julian-Ortaz, "Physical Chemistry for Chemists and Chemical Engineers: Multidisciplinary Research Perspectives" is based on different aspects of chemical technology that are associated with research and the development of theories for chemical engineers, helping to bridge the gap between classical analysis and modern, real-life applications. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, "Physical Chemistry for Chemists and Chemical Engineers: Multidisciplinary Research Perspectives" present the current state-of-the-art technology in key materials with an emphasis on the rapidly growing technologies. Expertly organized and presented, "Physical Chemistry for Chemists and Chemical Engineers: Multidisciplinary Research Perspectives" is unreservedly recommended as a textbook in the subject and an unreservedly recommended addition to corporate, college, and university library Chemistry and Chemical Engineering instructional reference collections. It should be noted for students and academia that "Physical Chemistry for Chemists and Chemical Engineers: Multidisciplinary Research Perspectives" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $54.95).

Understanding the Brain
John E. Dowling
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
9780393712575, $26.95, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

"Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition" by John E. Dowling (who is a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, and has done extensive research into the neurobiology of vision) aptly conveys the essence and vitality of the field of neuroscience as he examines the progress made in understanding how brains work, and shedding light on discoveries having to do with aging, mental illness, and brain health. The first half of "Understanding the Brain" provides the nuts-and-bolts necessary for an up-to-date understanding of the brain. Covering the general organization of the brain, early chapters explain how cells communicate with one another to enable us to experience the world. The rest of "Understanding the Brain" touches on higher-level concepts such as vision, perception, language, memory, emotion, and consciousness. Beautifully illustrated and lucidly written, this introduction to how the brain is constituted and operates elegantly reveals the beauty of the organ that makes us uniquely human. Enhanced with the inclusion of a four page Glossary, a two page listing of Further Readings, and a thirteen page Index, "Understanding the Brain" is an especially and unreservedly recommended acquisition selection for community and academic library collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Understanding the Brain" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99), as well as a complete and unabridged audio book (Highbridge Audio, 9781684416547, $TBA, CD, 9 Hours).


The Education Shelf

School Leader's Guide to Tackling Attendance Challenges
Jessica Sprick & Randy Sprick
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416626817, $34.95, PB, 233pp, www.amazon.com

"For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school." With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritizing student attendance in the pages of "School Leader's Guide to Tackling Attendance Challenges ". This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools needed to implement a multitiered approach to improving attendance and preventing chronic absence. The authors use the results of their work in schools throughout the United States to dispel the myth that educators have little control over student attendance and provide success stories from elementary and secondary schools that have reversed longstanding patterns of absenteeism. Specifically, they explain how to: Build an effective school team to address absenteeism; Create systems to collect accurate data and set priorities; Develop an attendance initiative that generates student enthusiasm as well as staff, parent, and community support; Design and implement strategies that are tailored to specific schoolwide concerns and demographics that reach all students. Equipped with the information and tools presented in the this instruction manual, educators and school district administrators can ensure wise use of staff and other resources while creating a culture of attendance that is the foundation of all successful schools. "School Leader's Guide to Tackling Attendance Challenges" is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to school district, college, and university library Teacher Education instructional reference collections.


The Theatre/Cinema Shelf

The Essentials of Theater
Lisa Mulcahy
Allworth Press
www.allworth.com
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
9781621536468, $29.99, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

"The Essentials of Theater: A Guide to Acting, Stagecraft, Technical Theater, and More" by theater teacher, director, performer, and multimedia writer Lisa Mulcahy will prepare actors and crew for any performance on stage or before cameras. Perfect for college students in theater programs, as well as community theater troupes, "The Essentials of Theater" covers all the bases including brief history on theater over the centuries, basic terminology, tips on interpreting scripts, developing characters, and utilizing props. Special sections include: A simple guide to completing your first production project; Worksheets and checklists to practice new skills; Interviews with theater critics, playwrights, and sound designers; Appendices with suggested readings, viewings, and resources for theater students. Utilizing real-world examples and engaging activities, theater students will explore every facet of the world of theater: acting, directing, playwriting, production, technical design, and more. Of special note is a chapter on innovative ways to use one's theater education off-stage. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Essentials of Theater" is a critically important and impressively useful instruction manual that is especially recommended as a textbook for college theater programs and acting classes in general, and community & academic library Theater/Cinema/TV collections in particular. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Essentials of Theater" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.52).

Visual Storytelling
Morgan Sandler
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932894, $29.95, PB, 200pp, www.amazon.com

"Visual Storytelling" by Morgan Sandler (Professor of Digital Film Production at the University of La Verne in La Verne, California) covers all major components of creating powerful images including lighting, camera functions, composition and storytelling. However, the main focus of the book is not just creating compelling visuals, but more importantly creating images that inform and move the audience. Images carry emotional weight and "Visual Storytelling" deftly teaches readers how to harness these emotions to maximize the emotion of the story, while minimizing the amount of dialogue necessary. What makes "Visual Storytelling" unique is that it not only covers the theoretical concepts of filmmaking but also the technical elements necessary to achieve the emotional outcome. This combination of theory and practice helps to create well informed and skilled filmmakers. Exceptionally well written, illustrated, organized and presented, "Visual Storytelling" is an especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Film Making collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Library Science Shelf

Career Programming for Today's Teens
Amy Wyckoff & Marie Harris
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838917596, $56.99, PB, 200pp, www.amazon.com

Enrollment in vocational programs is on the rise and many high schools are introducing or restarting vocational preparedness components as part of their curricula. An essential resource for frontline library staff and administrators, "Career Programming for Today's Teens" is an instructional guide that presents step-by-step guidance on designing, planning, and implementing career programming for teens, including career readiness workshops and an annual trade school fair. Drawing from their own successful efforts, "Career Programming for Today's Teens" addresses: The importance of career programming for teens in the library, illustrated using research-based evidence; Advice for building a collection of print materials and digital resources to assist teens as they explore career options; Ways that library staff can partner with local schools and other youth-serving organizations to help teens plan for their futures; How library staff can design and facilitate engaging career programming that teens and preteens want to attend, including detailed instructions for replicating the authors Fast Track Trade School Fair; and How to measure the outcomes of these programs and use teen feedback to plan additional programs. This superbly organized and presented resource also includes interviews with library staff, school professionals, and teens who have attended this type of programming, providing additional examples for readers. "Career Programming for Today's Teens" is very highly recommended for school and community library collections.

The Relevant Library
Vera Gubnitskaia & Carol Smallwood, editors
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476670294, $55.00, PB, 298pp, www.amazon.com

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Vera Gubnitskaia (a reference librarian at Valencia College who has worked in public and academic libraries in Russia and the United States, contributed chapters to several professional publications, edited multiple anthologies, and published book reviews) and Carol Smallwood, (who is a recipient of multiple Pushcart nominations, is the author of journal articles as well as editor of numerous books including one in Poets & Writers Magazine List of Best Books for Writers, and whose personal experience includes school, public and special libraries), "The Relevant Library: Essays on Adapting to Changing Needs" is comprised of thirty-four erudite and invaluably informative articles on how libraries and library systems must continue to adapt to the ever changing needs of the patrons, communities, organizations, and institution they serve -- especially in this age of the smart phone and the internet. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "The Relevant Library" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, corporate, governmental, college, and university library staff Library Science instructional reference collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of librarians, library science students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Relevant Library" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.99).


The Fiction Shelf

Flame Across The Land
Colin Bainbridge
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444837889, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Fark Seaton comes to the aid of old timer Utah Red when Utah's flock of sheep are attacked. Who is responsible? The evidence seems to point towards Mitch Montgomery and his Lazy Ladder outfit; but as tension mounts and the bullets fly, Seaton is not so sure. What is the role of Nash Brandon, owner of the Mill Iron, not only in attack Utah but in mysterious small time cattle rustling? Could Seaton's interest in Montgomery's daughter, Maisie, be clouding his judgement? When the sparks of anger finally blaze into uncontrolled fury, the answers at last begin to emerge. Another read terrific for dedicated western action/adventure fans, this large print edition of Colin Bainbridge's "Flame Across The Land" will prove to be an immensely popular for personal reading lists and community library collections!

Black Horse Creek
Corba Sunman
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444837292, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 264pp, www.amazon.com

Deputy Sheriff Lew Kennett is up against it: the Hap Ivy gang are on the prowl, rustlers are at work, and a thief has been busy in town. When Kennett sets out to capture the Ivy gang, the situation gets wildly out of hand; and whilst surviving an ambush and preventing a lynching, he is caught up in another facet of local crime and has to kill a townsman. In author Corba Sunman's western novel "Black Horse Creek", the sheriff's life is always on the line, and even though he's cut up, shot up, and worried about the woman he loves and intends to marry, he is determined to beat the odds, stay alive, and due his duty. A riveting read with more twists and turns than a Coney Island roller coaster, this large print edition of "Black Horse Creek" is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

The Valeron Code
Terrell L. Bowers
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444837568, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 256pp, www.amazon.com

When Rodney Mason is hired by a tenderfoot banker to help his sister, Lynette Brooks, who as the editor of the local newspaper is trying to fight wholesale corruption, it seems like just another job. But he finds more than he bargained for in Deliverance, Colorado. The opposition is ruthless, and the victim someone who can change his world. When an ambush from an assassin who puts a bullet in his back leaves Rod vulnerable and unable to fight back, word is sent to his brothers and cousins -- the Valerons. Within hours, Wyatt and Jared Valeron are dispatched to aid their kin. The odds against them mount, but a Valeron doesn't know how to quit. Another wonderfully entertaining western with more twists and turns that a bucking rodeo horse, "The Valeron Code" is a riveting read from beginning to end and especially recommended for the personal reading lists of dedicated western buffs, as well as community library large print western novel collections.

Marilla of Green Gables
Sarah McCoy
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
195 Broadway New York, New York 10007
www.harpercollins.com
9780062697714, $26.99, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Plucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is thirteen years old when her world is turned upside down. Her beloved mother dies in childbirth, and Marilla suddenly must bear the responsibilities of a farm wife: cooking, sewing, keeping house, and overseeing the day-to-day life of Green Gables with her brother, Matthew and father, Hugh. In Avonlea (a small, tight-knit farming town on a remote island) life holds few options for farm girls. Her one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth "Izzy" Johnson, her mother's sister, who managed to escape from Avonlea to the bustling city of St. Catharines. An opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzy's talent as a seamstress has allowed her to build a thriving business and make her own way in the world. Emboldened by her aunt, Marilla dares to venture beyond the safety of Green Gables and discovers new friends and new opportunities. Joining the Ladies Aid Society, she raises funds for an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity in nearby Nova Scotia that secretly serves as a way station for runaway slaves from America. Her budding romance with John Blythe, the charming son of a neighbor, offers her a possibility of future happiness, but Marilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for another. She soon finds herself caught up in the dangerous work of politics, and abolition -- jeopardizing all she cherishes, including her bond with her dearest John Blythe. Now Marilla must face a reckoning between her dreams of making a difference in the wider world and the small-town reality of life at Green Gables. A kind of precursor to the classic series of Anne of Green Gables novels by L. M. Montgomery, "Marilla of Green Gables" is a wonderfully entertaining and charming novel that will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Marilla of Green Gables" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781982553562, $39.99, CD).

The Half-Life of Everything
Deborah Carol Gang
Bancroft Press
PO Box 65360, Baltimore, MD 21209
www.bancroftpress.com
9781610882330, $25.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

David and Kate are happily married fifty somethings when she's diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. He has never been unfaithful, but after several years of losing Kate more each day, he wonders: What is a married widower supposed to do? Two strong-willed women intervene and everyone finds themselves making unexpected choices. Can any marriage withstand the transformation of one partner into someone who's lost? When does a marriage end? "The Half-Life of Everything" is a realistic novel in every detail except for one speculative twist as author Deborah Carol Gang places David in the unwelcome situation of loving two women. Must he be the good and faithful husband he's always been, or is he deserving of a second chance? The novel is a modern study of marriage and love -- and of friendship, the overlooked foundation of both romantic and everyday life. A deftly crafted novel by an author with a genuine flair for originality and narrative driven storytelling, "The Half-Life of Everything" is a thoroughly absorbing and thought-provoking read from beginning to end. While very highly recommended, especially for community library Contemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Half-Life of Everything" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Murder in the Oval Library
C. M. Gleason
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street, Floor 21, New York, NY 10018-2522
www.kensingtonbooks.com
9781496710215, $26.00, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

With the Confederate Army firing on Fort Sumter, the Civil War has begun and an invasion of Washington, DC, from Secessionist Virginia seems imminent. As the population evacuates, the President is in desperate need of men to defend the capital. Lincoln's trusted aide, Adam Speed Quinn, and Quinn's old friend from the Bloody Kansas conflict, Senator Jim Lane, hastily assemble a motley crew of just over a hundred men and garrison them in the East Room at the White House. Dubbed the Frontier Guard, these rough-and-tumble patriots steel themselves for the inevitable attack. But even as dawn breaks with no Rebel strike, a single act of violence intrudes within the White House. One of the Frontier Guard lies dead in the oval library, throat slit ear to ear. There is a murderer among them. Lincoln promptly assigns Quinn to deal with the matter, who is in turn aided by journalist Sophie Gates and Dr. George Hilton. And to Quinn's chagrin, the Southern belle Constance Lemagne insists on being involved in the investigation as well. But when Dr. Hilton examines the body, he makes a startling discovery that overturns all Quinn's assumptions about the murder. With his president at grave risk from without and within, Quinn must act quickly to catch the White House killer. A deftly crafted and simply riveting historical mystery by a consummate master of the genre, C. M. Gleason's "Murder in the Oval Library" is unreservedly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Murder in the Oval Office" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

A Shot in the Dark
Lynne Truss
www.lynnetruss.com
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.bloomsbury.com
9781635570557, $27.00, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

It's 1957, and the famed theater critic A. S. Crystal has come to the British seaside resort of Brighton with something other than the local production of A Shilling in the Meter on his mind. Sitting in the Brighton Royal Theater with Constable Twitten, Crystal intends to tell the detective the secret he knows about the still-unsolved Aldersgate Stick-Up case of 1945. And yet, just before Crystal names the criminal mastermind involved, he's shot dead in his seat. With a new murder case on his hands and a lazy captain at the helm of the police department, the keen and clever Constable Twitten and his colleague Sargent Jim Brunswick set out to solve the decade-old mystery of the Aldersgate Stick-Up. As the partners venture deep into the criminal underworld that lies beneath Brighton's holiday-happy veneer, they begin to discover a criminal conspiracy that dates back decades. But will Brunswick and Twitten be able to foil the mastermind, or will Crystal's death become just another unsolved crime in this seemingly peaceful seaside city? Showcasing author Lynne Truss' genuine flair for originality, deftly crafted characters, and expertly narrative driven storytelling, "A Shot in the Dark" is an extraordinary mystery that will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "A Shot in the Dark" is also available in a paperback edition (9781635572742, $17.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Black Trails and Bloody Murder
Peter Brandvold
Five Star Books
10 Water Street, Suite 310, Waterville, ME 04901
http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar
9781432847098, $25.95, HC, 309pp, www.amazon.com

Gideon Hawk, the Rogue Lawman, is back in "Black Trails and Bloody Murder", a brand-new western featuring two short stories by Peter Brandvold. In 'Undertaker's Friend', Hawk shoots three men who try to rob a saloon. One of those men is the spoiled son of a local rancher, Mortimer Stanley. When the smoke finally clears over Cedar Bend, if the rogue lawman is still alive, he'll likely discover that one of his only remaining friends is the local undertaker, who whistles while he works and laughs all the way to the bank. In 'Bloody Canaan', Hawk learns that an innocent girl has been kidnapped by the notorious outlaw businessman, Quentin Burnett. With the assistance of the beautiful Saradee Jones, Hawk's lover as well as his nemesis, Hawk shows Burnett what happens when bad men cross the rogue lawman. While certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Western Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated western novel fans that "Black Trails and Bloody Murder" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).


The Health/Medicine Shelf

When A Child Has Diabetes, fourth edition
Denis Daneman, Shaun Barrett, Jennifer Harrington
Robert Rose Inc.
120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 1E2
www.robertrose.ca
9780778806134, $24.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and expanded fourth edition from the Diabetes Team at the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children, "When A Child Has Diabetes" is specifically intended for the parents and caregivers of the more than 15,000 children who are diagnosed with diabetes every year. The underlying messages for parents is that the key to successful diabetes management is to learn as much as possible about juvenile diabetes and armed with this knowledge, they will be able to improve quality of life for both their children and themselves. This new edition of "When A Child Has Diabetes" offers the latest medical expertise, based on current research and standards for diagnosis, and features an even more user-friendly format, case studies, charts and Question and Answer sections. An essential informational resurce for anyone caring for a child with diabetes, "When A Child Has Diabetes" covers the causes of diabetes, current and evolving treatments, blood glucose management, meal planning, associated conditions, strategies for adjustment and much more. Employing a friendly, approachable, accessible style, "When A Child Has Diabetes" is a comprehensive and supportive guide will help parents and children learn the hands-on skills needed for at-home diabetes care so they can all live happy, healthy lives. Simply stated, "When A Child Has Diabetes" should be in the personal reference collection of every parent with a diabetic child and part of every community and academic library instructional reference collection on the subject of juvenile diabetes.

Meet Your Bacteria
Nicola Temple & Catherine Whitlock
Firefly Books Ltd.
www.fireflybooks.com
9780228101260, $24.95, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com

"Meet Your Bacteria: The Hidden Communities that Live in Your Gut and Other Organs" is a fascinating examination of the three pounds of bacteria living in a typical human being. The human body plays host to trillions of living microorganisms too tiny to see -- including our own personal, unique set of bacteria that play an important role in our health as humans. "Meet Your Bacteria" covers: The different bacteria that live on and in various parts of your body (not just in the gut); What these bacteria do, and why some are beneficial and some harmful; Practical advice for promoting the good and inhibiting the bad bacteria; The latest thinking on "clean" environments and the links between bacteria and disease; Bacteria in pregnancy and birth and how children's bacteria set them up for life; The causes of an unhealthy gut, including travel, eating a different diet, prolonged stress, intestinal parasites and improper use or overuse of antibiotics; The current research, including fecal transplantation from a healthy person's gut flora to that of an unhealthy gut; The difference between prebiotics and probiotics and their health benefits, and much more. Exceptionally well written, illustrated, organized and presented, "Meet Your Bacteria: The Hidden Communities that Live in Your Gut and Other Organs" is an extraordinary and highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Health/Medicine collections for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Victor H. Edwards & Suzanne Shelley
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9780815380863, $149.95 HC, 176pp, www.amazon.com

The scope of opportunities in chemical and biomolecular engineering has grown tremendously in recent years. "Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" conveys the breadth and depth of today's chemical and biomolecular engineering practice, and describes the intellectually enriching, socially conscious and financially lucrative opportunities available for such graduates in an ever-widening array of industries and applications. "Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" was written to specifically help students who are interested in studying chemical engineering and biomolecular engineering to understand the many potential career pathways that are available in these dynamic fields -- and is an indispensable resource for the parents, teachers, advisors and guidance counselors who support them. In addition to 10 chapters that discuss the roles such graduates play in many diverse industries, "Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" also features 25 Profile articles that share in-depth, first-person insight from industry-leading chemical and biomolecular engineers. These technical professionals discuss their work and educational experiences (in terms of both triumphs and challenges), and share wisdom and recommendations for students pursuing these two dynamic engineering disciplines. Impressively comprehensive and exceptionally well organized and presented, "Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" is very highly recommended for community, college, and university library Jobs/Careers collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of Chemical Engineering students seeking employment ideas and opportunities that "Careers in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering" is also available in a paperback edition (9781138099913, $59.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $54.05).


The Agriculture Shelf

Detection of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Seed and Other Planting Material, second edition
M'Barek Fatmi, Ron R. Walcott, Norman W. Schaad, editors
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
www.shopapspress.org
9780890545393, $165.00, PB, 360pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "Detection of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Seed and Other Planting Material" is an essential, easy-to-use lab manual describing and illustrating the latest methods for detecting a wide range of bacteria responsible for many of the world's most economically significant bacterial plant diseases in crops. This compendium of forty-eight articles by experts in their fields is deftly organized into four parts: General Seed Pathology; Detections of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Cereals, Grains, Legumes, Grasses, and Forage; General Seed Pathology; Detections of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Vegetables; General Seed Pathology; Detections of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Vegetatively Propagated Crops. An invaluable informational resource, "Detection of Plant-Pathogenic Bacteria in Seed and Other Planting Material" is especially recommended for the reference collections of seed companies, quarantine operators, diagnostic labs, college and university library Agricultural Studies collections, as well as an agricultural classroom textbook on the subject of agricultural bacterial pathogens.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Grand Theft Horse
G. Neri, author
Corban Wilkin, illustrator
Tu Books
c/o Lee & Low Books
95 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.leeandlow.com
9781620148556 $19.95 amazon.com

A true-life story for horse lovers of all ages, Grand Theft Horse is a black-and-white graphic novel about Gail Ruffu (the cousin of award-winning author G. Neri), who endured poverty and risked imprisonment for the sake of one, extraordinary horse. Gail was a professional trainer of race horses; she believed in training them with compassion and care. She shared ownership of a racehorse, Urgent Envoy, with others who she thought believed in her ideals. She was horrified to learn that they did not; excess training injured Urgent Envoy, and without rest a hairline fracture in his leg bone would inevitably become a full break. Yet Urgent Envoy's other owners used drugs to push him further, and planned to run him even if it would kill him. With all other options exhausted to her, Gail took Urgent Envoy away and hid him, in order to save his life. As a result, she was tailed by private detectives, deprived of her license (effectively forbidding her to work with horses), and charged with the crime of Grand Theft Horse (a law dating back to the 1850's). Her fight to protect Urgent Envoy's life and clear her name makes for an utterly captivating page-turner, and reveals the ugly side of the horse racing industry. Grand Theft Horse is a "must-read" for connoisseurs of quality graphic novels, highly recommended especially for public and school library collections.

Macbeth (Manga Classics)
William Shakespeare
Story adaptation by Crystal S. Chan
Art by Julien Choy
Manga Classics, Inc.
https://www.mangaclassics.com
9781947808089 $17.99 amazon.com

Featuring the full, original text of the cherished play by William Shakespeare, the Manga Classics rendition of Macbeth adapts this harrowing tale of pride, treachery, and murder into graphic novel format. The black-and-white artwork in the style of manga (Japanese comics) helps clarify the violent events of Shakespeare's historical fiction - a visual aid that will prove especially valuable to young adults and other readers new to Shakespeare's complex writing style and use of iambic pentameter. The story (very loosely based on Scottish history - Shakespeare took many creative liberties) is a tragedy about the brutal consequences of all-consuming ambition, and resonates as strongly today as it did when first performed hundreds of years ago. A fresh new way to experience one of Shakespeare's greatest and best-known works, the Manga Classics edition of Macbeth is highly recommended especially for school and library graphic novel collections, as well as for personal reading lists.

Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without An Eraser
Dewey Cassell & Jeff Messer
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
www.twomorrows.com
9781605490878, $27.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

From a seminal turn on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes and creating the lost world of the Warlord, to his work on Green Arrow -- first relaunching the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series with Denny O'Neil, and later redefining the character in Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, Mike Grell made an indelible mark at DC Comics in the 1970s and '80s. But his greatest contribution to the comics industry was in pioneering creator-owned properties like Jon Sable, Starslayer, and Shaman's Tears. Grell even tried his hand at legendary literary characters like Tarzan and James Bond, adding to his remarkable tenure in comics. Full of candor, optimism, and humor, "Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without An Eraser" is career-spanning tribute to the master storyteller told in Grell's own words. Lending insights are colleagues Paul Levitz, Dan Jurgens, Denny O'Neil, Mike Gold, and Mark Ryan. Replete with illustrations drawn from every facet of his long career, and enhanced with an informative Foreword by Chad Hardin, "Mike Grell: Life Is Drawing Without An Eraser" also includes a checklist of his work and an examination of "the Mike Grell method", making it an ideal and unreservedly addition to the personal reading lists of Mike Grell's legions of dedicated fans and an important contribution to community and academic library Popular Art History and Comics/Graphic Novels literary collections.

Of Dust & Blood: The Battle at Little Big Horn
Jim Berry, author
Val Mayerik, illustrator
NBM Publishing
160 Broadway, Ste. 700, East Wing, New York, NY 10038
www.nbmpub.com
9781681121833, $17.99, HC, 48pp, www.amazon.com

Written by Jim Berry and superbly illustrated by Val Mayerik, "Of Dust & Blood: The Battle at Little Big Horn" is simply thrilling tale that epically details the day of The Battle at The Little Big Horn as seen through the eyes of Greenhaw, a 7th Cavalry scout on one side of the battlefield, and Slowhawk, a young Lakota warrior on the other. Featuring appearances of Sitting Bull, G.A. Custer, and Crazy Horse, as well as generous portions of meticulously researched history on every inherently fascinating page, "Of Dust & Blood: The Battle at Little Big Horn" is a compelling and memorable read from first page to last. Certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Graphic Novel collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Of Dust & Blood: The Battle at Little Big Horn" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle & comiXology, $9.99).


The Audiobook Shelf

Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic
R. Laurence Moore & Isaac Kramnick, authors
Read by Matthew Boston
HighBridge Audio Books
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
https://highbridgeaudio.com
9781684413768 $29.99 amazon.com

For centuries since colonial times, American laws and court cases ignored the very existence of atheism. It was only in the twentieth century, with the passage of allows that allowed conscientious objection to war, that atheism became a part of debates about religious liberty. Even today, all fifty states mention God in their constitution, and eight require a belief in God to hold public office. God remains omnipresent in American currency, the school Pledge of Allegiance, in the national motto, and more. Now in an unabridged audiobook rendition, Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic examines not only the history of atheism in America, but also the sharp modern rise of nonbelievers, and social movements to hold American government to its secular principles. Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic is thoughtful, serious-minded, and a welcome addition to public and college library audiobook collections. 8 CDs, 9 hours.

A Plea for the Animals
Matthieu Ricard, author
Read by Shaun Grindell
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
https://tantor.com
9781977311726 $39.99 amazon.com

Now in an unabridged audiobook rendition, "A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion" extends author Matthieu Ricard's reasonings from his previous bestsellers "Altruism", and "Happiness" to their logical conclusion: that treating all beings with compassion, including animals, is a moral obligation. "A Plea for the Animals" examines the suffering of animals that we eat, wear, or use for entertainment, and questions every traditional justification for exploiting them on both grounds of conscience and grounds of scientific evidence. A profound and thought-provoking advocacy, A Plea for the Animals is highly recommended especially for public library collections. 9 CDs, 11 hours.


The Library CD Shelf

Small Treasures
Kerani
Kerani Music Production
kerani-official.com
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Small Treasures is a neo-classical album featuring keyboardist and composer Kerani on piano (and some synthesizer), with support from a live string quartet (members of Andre Rieu's Johan Strauss Orchestra) and a handful of special guest musicians and vocalists. Soul-stirring and extraordinarily beautiful, Small Treasures makes an excellent gift for connoisseurs of fine music. Highly recommended. The tracks are "Temple of Roses", "Fields of Hungary", "Sakura", "Fantasy in White", "Celtic Mystery", "Garden of Dreams", "Where the Heart Belongs", "Echo of our Souls", "To the Heavens", and "Reflections of the Heart".

Quiet Spaces: Flute Meditations for Mindfulness and Relaxation
Ann Licater
Cul de Sac Mystic Productions
https://www.fluteforthesoul.com
$15.95 amazon.com

Quiet Spaces: Flute Meditations for Mindfulness and Relaxation lives up to its title with soothing music played on Native American, Native American-style, folk, and alto flutes in solo and duet compositions from Ann Licater. Ideal for stress reduction, or for playing during yoga, meditation, or rest, Quiet Spaces is a gentle, mind-expanding soundscape, highly recommended for both personal and public library collections. The tracks are "Quiet Spaces", "Ancestral Gathering", "Aspen Awakening", "Ancient Shores", "Canyon Solace", "Return to Peace", "Divine Harmony", "Morning Rain Reflections", "Celestial Traveler", "Woven Hearts", "Dreaming at Daybreak", "Candlelight Journey", "Wings of Sleep", "Tranquil Dreams", and "Celtic Sun Salutation". 46 min. 35 sec.

In The Distance
Michael Bohne
michaelbohne.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

In The Distance is a new age music album of solo piano compositions, expertly crafted and performed by Michael Bohne. The songs are inspired by the thought of a terrible, global extinction event and its aftermath... would the few remaining survivors fade to nothing, or find a way to press on? Emotional and thought-provoking, In The Distance is highly recommended. The tracks are "When the Time Comes", "Regarding Stonehenge", "Solar Flare", "Never Looking Back", "Descent", "Phantoms Along the Shore", "The Wolves' Den", "Disconnected", "Taking the Scenic Route", "Fading Memories", and "When the Stars Disappeared".

Even For A Moment
Gary Schmidt
www.apianist.com
Heart Dance Records
www.heartdancerecords.com
$13.98 CD / $11.49 MP3 amazon.com

Award-winning neo-classical music artist Gary Schmidt presents Even For A Moment: Piano for the Soul, an album featuring primarily original compositions with piano solos, as well as two classical selections; some tracks have a single complimentary instrument. Sublime in its expression, Even For A Moment is a font of inspiration, and makes an excellent gift for connoisseurs of the genre. Highly recommended. The tracks are "If This Is The Time", "Inside This River", "Face That Lights My Face", "A Train Leaves The City", "The Breath At Dawn", "Even For A Moment", "Menuet In Gm", "Sub Tide", "Simply By Looking", "Crescent Light", "The Light Seems To Move", "No Better Gift", "Adagio For Strings", and "Postlude To A Moment".

Can't Be Denied
Mark Wayne Glasmire
www.markwayneglasmire.com
Traceway Records
$13.82 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Can't Be Denied is an album of original country/Americana songs by singer and guitarist Mark Wayne Glasmire. The emotional lyrics draw upon the ups and downs of everyday life, and speak to the heart even as Glasmire's resonant guitar chords stir the spirit. Can't Be Denied is a "must" for listeners with a passion for soulful country music, highly recommended. The tracks are "I've Got A Feeling", "Those Nights", "Can't Be Denied", "Without You", "Alysia", "Borderline", "Feel Your Love", "Gone Too Soon", "This Too Shall Pass", "Deep Inside My Heart", "Out of the Frying Pan", and "Thru My Eyes".


The Library DVD Shelf

Resistance at Tule Lake
A film by Konrad Aderer
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
www.firstrunfeatures.com
$19.95 resistanceattulelake.com

Japanese-American filmmaker Konrad Aderer presents Resistance at Tule Lake, a DVD documentary about the harshest and most densely packed of the concentration camps that the American government used to imprison Japanese-American citizens and legal residents en masse during World War II. The people held in these camps had committed no crime - they were forcibly segregated and contained solely because of their Japanese ethnicity. Those prisoners who gave incorrect answers on a dubiously written "loyalty" test, as well as any who were deemed to be protesters or troublemakers, were sent to the Tule Lake facility. Thousands were stripped of or renounced their U.S. citizenship. Resistance at Tule Lake draws upon historical records and video footage to shine light upon a heinous crime that the American government committed. Highly recommended, especially for public and school library DVD documentary collections. Bonus materials include "Grace Hata: Life in Japan" (9 min. 41 sec.) in which Grace Hata describes her efforts to survive after being repatriated to Japan, and an interview with director Konrad Aderer (5 min. 4 sec.). 78 minutes, color.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

The Early Eastern Orthodox Church
Stephen Morris
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476674810, $45.00, PB, 191pp, www.amazon.com

Stephen Morris is an independent scholar who lives in New York City. He has studied Byzantine and medieval history and theology at Yale and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Academy and has written on patristic preaching and exegesis as well as medieval and Byzantine hagiography. With "The Early Eastern Orthodox Church" he provides a history of the Eastern Orthodox Church from its beginnings and evolution from AD 60 through AD 1453. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us", the apostles declared at the conclusion of their council described in Acts 15. This apostolic council was the first of many councils to come as Christians sought to discern the will of God in the midst of historic challenges. The faithful continued to struggle to express their new apostolic faith in new words, new languages, new places and new times. Many issues ranging from the interaction of science and faith, divinity and humanity, to the relationship of Church and State, continue to be pertinent today. Basically, "The Early Eastern Orthodox Church" tells the story of these struggles from the days of the New Testament to the fall of the city of Constantinople in AD 1453. It focuses on the Christian community in the eastern Mediterranean which eventually became known as the Byzantine Empire. Each individual chapter deftly examines the personalities and theologies entwined at the heart of conflicts that shaped the medieval world as well as the modern cultures of Greece, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The 'reader friendly' text presumes no previous knowledge on the part of the reader. Each chapter includes suggestions for further reading if a reader wants to know more about certain periods or personalities. Exceptional, informative, impressively well written, organized and presented, "The Early Eastern Orthodox Church" is very highly recommended for church, seminary, community, and academic library Christian Studies collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, clergy, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Early Eastern Orthodox Church" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.99).


The Economic Studies Shelf

Household Debt and Economic Crises
Heikki Hiilamo
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781785369865, $110.00, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

The recent global recession was preceded by easy access to credit and led to a devastating epidemic of household debt. "Household Debt and Economic Crises: Causes, Consequences and Remedies" by Heikki Hiilamo (Professor of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, Finland) examines the causes, consequences and potential public policies related to debt from a social policy perspective, in which over-indebtedness is understood as a social risk. Professor Hiilamo presents a unique conceptual and theoretical approach to the topic - one of the most pressing social issues of the modern Western world. The trajectories of increasing household debt are studied in the contexts of the US and the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Norway. "Household Debt and Economic Crises" also examines remedies to prevent and alleviate the over-indebtedness epidemic, creating a conceptual framework with which to analyse the causes and consequences of debt. Professor Hiilamo persuasively argues that social policies are needed to tackle the current borrowing crisis that endangers and prevents the full participation in society of individuals with excessive debts. "Heikki Hiilamo, Professor of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, Finland" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of figures, tables, a fifteen page list of References, and a five page Index. Impressively informative and exceptionally well organized and presented, "Household Debt and Economic Crises" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, corporate, governmental, college, and university library Contemporary Economics collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Photography Shelf

Visions of the Tallgrass
Harvey Payne, photographer
James P. Ronda, essayist
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806160283, $34.95, HC, 180pp, www.amazon.com

In millennia long past, a vast swath of grassland swept down the center of North America, from Canada's Prairie Provinces down to central Texas. This once-plentiful prairie has now all but disappeared. Humans have grazed, mowed, and plowed the plains, dammed the rivers, and imposed their will on the land and its creatures. Fortunately, some remnants have survived, including the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma. "Visions of the Tallgrass: Prairie Photographs by Harvey Payne" is visually stunning volume in which wildlife photographer Harvey Payne and historian James P. Ronda collaborate to offer the reader an intimate look at and into one of America's Last Great Places. Spanning nearly 40,000 acres in Oklahoma's Osage County, the Preserve is a living witness to a world that once existed. But the Osage prairie is not a museum or theme park -- and it is not frozen in time. Under the stewardship of The Nature Conservancy, which has overseen its restoration, the Preserve lives on as a fully functioning ecosystem. And for twenty-five years, Payne and Ronda have explored these lands, together and in solitude. Rendered here in brilliant color and paired with Ronda's informative yet deeply personal commentary, Payne's photographs open our eyes to the ever-changing world of the Tallgrass Preserve. In chapters focused on grass, sky, birds, bison, and fire, Ronda and Payne reveal that the "Big Empty" is, in fact, teeming with life. Through interwoven images and words, Visions of the Tallgrass shows that our nation's grasslands are sacred ground, a priceless piece of our American past -- and future. Inspired and inspiring, "Visions of the Tallgrass: Prairie Photographs by Harvey Payne" is an extraordinary informative volume that is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Environmental Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.

Icons of Style
Paul Martineau
Getty Publications
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90049-1682
www.getty.edu/publications
9781606065587, $65.00, HC, 368pp, www.amazon.com

In 1911 the French publisher Lucien Vogel challenged Edward Steichen to create the first artistic, rather than merely documentary, fashion photographs, a moment that is now considered to be a turning point in the history of fashion photography. As fashion changed over the next century, so did the photography of fashion. Steichen's modernist approach was forthright and visually arresting. In the 1930s the photographer Martin Munkacsi pioneered a gritty, photojournalistic style. In the 1960s Richard Avedon encouraged his models to express their personalities by smiling and laughing, which had often been discouraged previously. Helmut Newton brought an explosion of sexuality into fashion images and turned the tables on traditional gender stereotypes in the 1970s, and in the 1980s Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts made male sexuality an important part of fashion photography. Today, following the integration of digital technology, teams like Inez & Vinoodh and Mert & Marcus are reshaping our notion of what is acceptable (not just aesthetically but also technically and conceptually) in a fashion photograph. "Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography" is lavishly illustrated survey of one hundred years of fashion photography updates and reevaluates this history in five chronological chapters by experts in photography and fashion history. It includes more than three hundred photographs by the genre's most famous practitioners as well as important but lesser-known figures, alongside a selection of costumes, fashion illustrations, magazine covers, and advertisements. A veritable tour through some ten decades of fashion in general, and fashion photography in particular, "Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography" is an extraordinary, informative, and a times inherently fascinating read from cover to cover -- making it an unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library History of Photography and History of Fashion collections.


The Art Shelf

Bestiary
Christopher Masters
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500480236, $24.95, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Drawing on the world-leading scholarship and vast collections of the British Museum, "Bestiary: Animals in Art from the Ice Age to Our Age" by art historian Christopher Masters is a wonderful visual, thematic exploration of animals (real, surreal, and imaginary) as depicted on beautiful ritual objects and works of art. Famous masterpieces mix with little-seen artifacts from every age and around the globe. Arranged thematically into five chapters (Wild, Domestic, Exotic, Symbolic, Hybrids and Mythical Creatures), "Bestiary" depicts animals in intelligent pairings and groupings of images that encourage the reader to find and learn the cultural context and connections between the origins of many different civilizations. An ancient Egyptian bronze divine cat sits next to a nineteenth-century print of English domestic feline bliss; a miniature Ice Age mammoth sits with an ancient engraved drawing of a horse; a Minoan acrobat leaps onto the back of a 3,500-year-old bull. Unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and academic library collections, "Bestiary" is an impressively informative guide, that is brilliantly illuminating with some 268 illustrations, and brings both familiar masterpieces and bringing lesser-known treasures to the readers attention.

Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation
Johannes Grave
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791383972, $120.00, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430 - 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter who is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it towards a more sensuous and color oriented style. Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Giovanni created deep, rich tints and detailed shadings. His sumptuous coloring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on the Venetian painting school, including his pupils Giorgione and Titian. Following the arc of Bellini's career, from his early devotional paintings to his later, occasionally secular works, "Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation" by Johannes Grave (Professor of Art History at the University of Bielefeld in Germany) offers an in-depth appreciation of the Venetian master who dominated the Early Renaissance. Featuring nearly every extant Bellini work, as well as those of his contemporaries, "Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation" is a veritable showcase of simply gorgeous Renaissance art. Professor Grave also focuses on some of the artist's greatest works including Allegoria Sacra, the Brera Pieta, and the altarpiece of San Giobbe as a means of exploring how Bellini excelled in tempera before mastering oil painting. Professor Grave discusses how Bellini's precise lines, his delicate facial expressions, and the subtle effects of light and shadow were used in his religious paintings as well as his portraiture and late mythological depictions. "Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation" deftly examines Bellini's life, including his complex relationships with his father Jacopo, his brother Gentile, and his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna. Professor Grave additionally considers the original contexts of Bellini's works, and elucidates the ways in which these paintings were meant to be perceived. "Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation" also links Bellini's devotional paintings with the poetic creations of his pupil Giorgione. An important contribution to the scholarship of Renaissance art, "Giovanni Bellini: The Art of Contemplation" is an impressively informative, magnificently illustrated, exceptionally well written, organized and presented study that arguably reaffirms the establishment of Bellini's status as one of Venice's greatest painters.

Performance Now
RoseLee Goldberg
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500021255, $45.00, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

"Performance Now: Live Art for the Twenty-First Century" by RoseLee Goldberg (who is an art historian, author, critic, and curator specializing in modern and contemporary performance art) is a major survey that charts the development of live art across six continents since the turn of the twenty- first century, revealing how it has become an increasingly essential vehicle for communicating ideas across the globe in the new millennium. "Performance Now" offers an unprecedented illustrated survey of this temporal medium which is notoriously hard to document. Six chapters cover different themes of performance art, such as beauty, global citizenship, and activism, as well as its intersection with other media including film and technology, dance, theater and architecture -- interspersed with illustrated profiles of some of the world's best-known performance artists, including Marina Abramovic, Matthew Barney, and Laurie Simmons. Extended captions assess the importance of specific works in context. "Performance Now" is an impressively illustrated and informative introduction to the medium, as well as a basic reference guide for artists, students, and historians, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in avant-garde theater and film -- and certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to both community and academic library Live Art History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Literary Studies Shelf

Video Gaming in Science Fiction
Jason Barr, author
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, series editor
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476666372 $39.95 amazon.com

Part of the "Studies in Gaming" series, Video Gaming in Science Fiction: A Critical Study is a scholarly scrutiny of how video gaming and gaming culture have been incorporated into works of literary science fiction since the 1970's. What, exactly, is the definition of a "geek" or "geek culture", and how has it been portrayed both then and now? Chapters discuss the lasting effects of media-fueled paranoia about video games as echoed in science fiction, negative stereotypes of gamers that linger even though video games have become widespread and mainstream, and criticize modern science fiction's lack of honest, straightforward views of everyday human beings who play video games as a hobby. Thoughtful, judicious, and enhanced with chapter notes and an index, Video Gaming in Science Fiction is a welcome addition to public and college library literary studies shelves.

The Cause of Humanity and Other Stories
Rudyard Kipling, author
Thomas C. Pinney, editor
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781108476423, $24.99, PB, 450pp, www.amazon.com

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is an author whose work is known and loved the world over by children and adults alike. His novels and short stories have been translated into many languages, and onto the cinema screen. Compiled and edited by Thomas Pinney (Professor of English, Emeritus, at Pomona College, Claremont, California) "The Cause of Humanity and Other Stories: Rudyard Kipling's Uncollected Prose Fictions" brings together for the first time is a single volume some 86 uncollected short fictions by Kipling. Almost all of them will be unfamiliar to readers; some are unrecorded in any bibliography; some are here published for the first time. Most of them come from Kipling's Indian years and show him experimenting with a great variety of forms and tones. We see the young Kipling enjoying the exercise of his craft; yet the voice that emerges throughout is always unmistakably his own, changing the scene every time the curtain is raised. A unique anthology that will prove to be a prized addition to community, college, and university library English Literature collections, "The Cause of Humanity and Other Stories: Rudyard Kipling's Uncollected Prose Fictions" is especially recommended to the attention of students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the career and literature of Rudyard Kipling.


The Cookbook Shelf

Vegan Challenge
Lisa Montgomery
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578267729, $17.00, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

From recipes to menus and more, "Vegan Challenge" by cookbook author and Holistic Health Care Practitioner Lisa Montgomery offers a comprehensive 30 day plan for anyone who has ever wanted to change their diet and eat healthier foods. "Vegan Challenge" highlights and showcases how simple and enjoyable trying a vegan diet can be. Combining a caring and personal tone with a wealth of information about veganism, "is a Holistic Health Care Practitioner" is ideal for vegan beginners and anyone else interested in trying a fresh and healthy new diet. "Vegan Challenge" features a 30-day planner, complete with daily recipes, helpful hints, and words of wisdom from food experts. The 125 thoroughly palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, and kitchen cook recipes range from a Strawberry Orange Smoothie, to Family Potato Pancakes, to a Dirty Chocolate Cake, to Eggplant Bacon -- and so many more! An ideal and certain to be popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that "Vegan Challenge" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Baladi: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea
Joudie Kalla
Interlink Publishing Group
46 Crosby Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1804
www.interlinkbooks.com
9781623719814 $35.00 amazon.com

Illustrated with sumptuous, full-color photography throughout, Baladi: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea is a showcase of Palestinian cuisine, traditional recipes, and culinary heritage. Author and professional chef Joudie Kalla presents recipes learned from her relatives and passed down through the generations; many of these were prepared by her grandparents prior to their 1948 exile from Palestine. Here are classic staples created primarily from ingredients that thrive in the Mediterranean, as well as a handful of creative modern fusions that Joudie has developed in her restaurants. Here also are captivating anecdotes and stories about the recipes, such as how Kalla's grandmother used to drill carrots at the electric shop next door rather than engage in the extensive labor of hollowing them out by hand (in order to stuff them with spiced lamb). Recipes include "Kataifi-wrapped shrimp with parsley garlic sauce", "Lemon, scallion, and dill potatoes", the delectable dessert "Semolina and sweetened cheese bake with lemon sugar syrup", and much more. Baladi: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea is a treasure for personal and public library international cookbook collections, highly recommended.

Scraps, Peels, and Stems
Jill Lightner
Skipstone
c/o Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134-1161
www.mountaineersbooks.org
9781680511482, $22.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Each month nearly twenty pounds of food per person is thrown out in the United States. "Scraps, Peels, and Stems: Recipes and Tips for Rethinking Food Waste at Home" by food journalist Jill Lightner is a comprehensive and accessible guide to how you can reduce food waste in your daily life. "Scraps, Peels, and Stems" shows how to manage your kitchen for less waste through practical strategies, tips, and advice on food purchasing, prep, composting, and storage. Topics and features include: 70+ recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks as well as items for your pantry; Money-saving tips throughout; Three levels of action for every topic, to help you figure out what's doable; Composting and recycling tips; Portioning to avoid leftovers on the plate; Meal planning vs. freestyle cooking; Grocery shopping and dining-out tactics; Storage strategies for small, urban kitchens -- and how to read expiration dates; Insight into "nose to tail" and "root to stem" cooking trends. Through clear advice, quick tips, useful techniques, and easy recipes, "Scraps, Peels, and Stems" clearly shows how, by utilizing the food waste we create and/or encounter in our daily lives, we can stretch our food budgets, serve nutritious meals with what used to be thoughtlessly discarded, and make a significant difference for our selves and our planet. It should be noted that "Scraps, Peels, and Stems" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.69).


The Sports Shelf

Hockey Anatomy
Michael Terry, MD & Paul Goodman
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.HumanKinetics.com
9781492535881, $24.95, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

In "Hockey Anatomy", Dr. Michael Terry (the team physician for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks) and Paul Goodman (the strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Blackhawks), collaborate to share 96 of the most effective hockey exercises, each with step-by-step descriptions and full-color anatomical illustrations to show the muscles in action. "Hockey Anatomy" also includes 68 exercise variations to increase difficulty, add complex movements, or simply change up your routine. But "Hockey Anatomy" goes beyond the exercises by taking the reader out onto the ice and into the action with illustrations of the muscles involved in shooting, passing, and stopping the puck, showing how the exercises are fundamentally linked to hockey performance. No matter the team position, or hockey skill set of the reader, there is something here for everyone. "Hockey Anatomy" also explores the anatomy of common injuries as well as exercises for minimizing and recovering from such setbacks. Essential reading for players, coaches, trainers, and fans of hockey, "Hockey Anatomy" is very highly recommended for community, academic, and hockey team reference collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Hockey Anatomy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).


The Native American Studies Shelf

Rooster Town
Evelyn Peters, Matthew Stock, Adrian Werner
University of Manitoba Press
301 St. John's College, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3T 2M5
www.uofmpress.ca
9780887558252, $31.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Melonville. Smokey Hollow. Bannock Town. Fort Tuyau. Little Chicago. Mud Flats. Pumpville. Tintown. La Coulee. These were some of the names given to Metis communities at the edges of urban areas in Manitoba, but Rooster Town, which endured on the outskirts of southwest Winnipeg from 1901 to 1961, is probably the most famous of them all. Those years in Winnipeg were characterized by the twin pressures of depression and inflation, chronic housing shortages, and a spotty social support network. At the city's edge, Rooster Town grew without city services as rural Metis arrived to participate in the urban economy and build their own houses. Metis culture and community remained a central part of their lives. In other growing settler cities, the First Nations experience was largely characterized by removal and confinement. But the continuing presence of Metis living and working in Winnipeg, and the establishment of Rooster Town itself, made the Metis experience unique. "Rooster Town: The History of an Urban Metis Community, 1901-1961" is the collaborative work of Evelyn Peters (an Urban Social Geographer whose research has focused on First Nations and Metis people in cities), Matthew Stocks (whose research interests include social policy and Canadian history), and Adrian Werner (who is a GIS analyst whose work has included research in urban form and urban history) recounts and documents the story of a community rooted in kinship, culture, and historical circumstance, whose residents existed unofficially in the cracks of municipal bureaucracy, while navigating the legacy of settler colonialism and the demands of modernity and urbanization. An extraordinary work, "Rooster Town" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Urban Canadian Studies and Canadian Indigenous Studies collections.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Caribou Rainforest
David Moskowitz
Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134-1161
www.mountaineersbooks.org
9781680511284 $29.95 hc, 192 pp., amazon.com

Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope is an astonishingly beautiful coffee table book about the mountain caribou, a reclusive animal on the edge of extinction, found only in western Canada and the Northwestern United States, where they migrate between alpine habitat and pockets of inland rainforest. Striking, full-color nature photography balanced with thoughtful insights on the difficulty of preserving the rainforests, and the challenges facing the economic well-being of the people who call these areas home. Caribou Rainforest acknowledges the complexity and difficulty of preserving ecosystems and the wild animals that live within them, yet never abandons the search for balanced solutions. Gorgeous and thought-provoking, Caribou Rainforest is highly recommended for both public library and personal collections, and makes an excellent giftbook for nature lovers everywhere.


The Judicial Studies Shelf

Voice of Justice
Margaret Tarkington
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781107146839, $99.99, HC, 287pp, www.amazon.com

The First Amendment rights of lawyers are ethereal. Most lawyers fail to realize that courts may deny them access to the First Amendment's protective shield in many regulatory and disciplinary contexts. Overall, attorneys cannot and should not assume that they can obtain First Amendment protection -- especially when acting as an attorney in their role as an 'officer of the court'. Yet, it is precisely in the lawyering context (where attorneys engage in speech, association, and petitioning for the very purpose of securing client rights, invoking law, enabling the judicial power, and obtaining justice) that the need for First Amendment protection is the most acute. If regulators silence that voice, they silence justice. From overarching theory to specific real-world contexts, "Voice of Justice: Reclaiming the First Amendment Rights of Lawyers" by Margaret Tarkington (Professor of Law at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law) provides a critical resource for lawyers, judges, and scholars to understand the relationship between the First Amendment rights of lawyers and the integrity of the justice system. Impressively informative, expertly written, accessibly organized and presented, "Voice of Justice" is unreservedly recommended for law firm, college, and university library Judicial Studies collections in general, and the personal reading lists of practicing attorneys, law students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject in particular.


The Parenting Shelf

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder
Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, author
Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh, PsyD, foreword
New Harbinger Publications
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
www.newharbinger.com
9781684030439, $16.95 PB, $9.99 Kindle, 165pp, www.amazon.com

"When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder" is a compassionate, practical, evidence based guide to supporting a teenager with an eating disorder to recovery. Specific suggestions about how to handle meals, binging, purging, and exercise and prevent relapse are incorporated throughout. The subtitle is "Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover from Anorexia, Bulimia and Binge Eating." The approach is strongly parent oriented but keyed to full awareness of teen behavior and outlooks. In addition to specific strategies to structure recovery and manage behaviors, there is an important emphasis on assessment of progress and overcoming challenges, as well as the concept of exposure to build flexibility. At first the parent is encouraged to take charge of recovery, and then there is a plan to hand back control to the teen with an eating disorder, so they can work towards independence. Finally, recovery and relapse prevention are addressed, with descriptions of what recovery looks like, and how to watch for indications of relapse, or how to work on relapse prevention. Recovery is seen as a combination of a remission of eating disorder behaviors, physical and weight recovery, psychological recovery, emotional recovery, cognitive recovery, and recovery of hunger cues. Further suggestions for treatment resources are referenced, along with the inclusion of a bibliography and said references. "When Your Teen Has An Eating Disorder" is an excellent parent guidebook for dealing with this extremely dangerous set of self threatening behaviors in teenagers.

The Fun Book of Fatherhood, revised edition
Jerry Cammarata with Frances Spatz Leighton
www.thefunbookoffatherhood.com
Christian Faith Publishing
www.christianfaithpublishing.com
9781641406116 $16.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

The Fun Book of Fatherhood is the newly revised edition of a classic title by Dr. Jerry Cammarata, who in 1973 was the first American father to fight for and win paternity leave from the New York City Board of Education. Chapters draw parables from parenting in the animal kingdom to emphasize the importance of parents as role models rather than teachers. New to the revised edition are a prologue and epilogue examining the current state of parenting globally, as well as suggesting ways to reach out to legislators on the issues of parenting and paid family leave. "It is very important that human fathers get into the act as quickly as possible after the new baby's birth. Don't take my word for it. It is the finding of scientists that a baby can develop a bond with its father in the first three days after birth. Doctors maintain that this engagement develops at that early stage, the child gets an increased sense of self-esteem that will help its growth into a confident trouble-free child." The Fun Book of Fatherhood is captivating, enlightening, and highly recommended.


The Business Shelf

Retail Disruptors
Jan-Benedict Steenkamp with Laurens Sloot
Kogan Page
www.koganpage.com
9780749483470 $29.95 pbk / $27.03 Kindle amazon.com

Retail Disruptors: The Spectacular Rise and Impact of the Hard Discounters is a scholarly analysis of how "hard discounter" chains like Trader Joe's and Aldi have spread like wildfire, and why their business model - which offers consumers less choice in products and mostly private labels, in return for lower prices that maintain an acceptable quality standard - has been so successful. Traditional, full-service supermarkets such as Whole Foods or Kroger are increasingly feeling the pinch from competition. What can conventional grocery retailers do to keep their market share? Retail Disruptors discusses valuable strategies that for competing with hard discounters on price, promotions, assortment, quality, service, and convenience. Something as simple as reorganizing aisles, or offering a no-hassle online shopping service, can potentially make all the difference in customer loyalty. Retail Disruptors is an absolute "must-read" for anyone in the grocery, retail, or brand-building business, and highly recommended especially for public and college library Business collections.


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Midwest Book Review
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