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The Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 6 June 2011 Home | BW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Business Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Science Shelf
Environmental Studies Shelf Military Shelf Self-Help Shelf
American History Shelf Political Science Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Crafts Shelf Railroading Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Gardening Shelf Architecture Shelf Travel Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Biography Shelf
Art Shelf Dance Shelf Education Shelf
Sports Shelf Computer Shelf Photography Shelf
Writing/Publishing Shelf Nautical Shelf Judicial Studies Shelf
Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Library DVD Shelf Philosophy Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

The House of Wisdom
Jim Al-Khalili
Penguin Press
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9781594202797, $29.95, www.penguin.com

The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance offers a fine survey of the Islamic world's scientific innovations which enabled the European Renaissance, following the history of innovations in science and culture that were the result of medieval scholars of the East. The path and lasting legacy of Arabic science is revealed in a fine survey of how these Arab discoveries influenced European minds in a fine history recommended for any college-level collection strong in either science history or Middle Eastern studies.

Turn & Jump
Howard Mansfield
Down East Books
PO Box 679, Camden, ME 04843
9780892728169, $24.95, www.downeast.com

TURN & JUMP: HOW TIME AND PLACE FELL APART considers the disconnection of time and how it's become divorced from place, and uses small town experiences and American history to chart how time and place were once inseparable, but now experience rifts. Small towns used to set pace according to the sun and time keeping was a local affair: historic preservationist Howard Mansfield considers clocks, time, and vanished habits alike in a powerful assessment of the changing nature of both time and community. Any general lending library will find this a lively discussion.

The Wichita Divide
Stephen Singular
St. Martin's Press
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780312625054, $26.99, www.stmartins.com

THE WICHITA DIVIDE: THE MURDER OF DR. GEORGE TILLER AND THE BATTLE OVER ABORTION is more than just a true crime story: it chronicles the volatile history of the abortion debate, and is a pick for any social issues history shelf; particularly at the college level. This uses the life and death of a controversial abortion doctor to consider the point at which legal and social boundaries collide. Chapters expose an underlying Civil War over the issue, chronicling the debates over abortion rights and the location of Wichita in particular, a divided focal point of contention. A 'must' for any collection strong in abortion surveys.

Atria Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10020
www.beyondword.com

Howard H White's BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE: SEE THE INVISIBLE, DO THE IMPOSSIBLE (9781582701721, $14.95) offers a fine self-help guide discussing how extraordinary people are infused with desire to change and realize their innate abilities. The author interviews those who have achieved such goals, covering favorite athletes and how they reached their dreams. Sports and self-help collections alike will find these vignettes packed with power and insights! Elizabeth Rusch's GENERATION FIX: YOUNG IDEAS FOR A BETTER WORLD (9781582700670, $10.95) offers real-life stories of 'Generation Fixers' who invented programs and products to better the lives of those around them. A series of vignettes shows how these 'fixers' developed ideas that ultimately made life better for those around them, and makes for a solid pick for any lending library.


The Business Shelf

The 10 Laws of Enduring Success
Maria Bartiromo
Crown Business
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780307452535, $15.00, www.crownbusiness.com

The 10 Laws of Enduring Success pairs insights from Maria Bartiromo's personal experience in the business world with her keys to ultimate success, and comes from a successful journalist who reveals pivotal moments in her professional life. Part memoir/autobiography and part business reflection, this shows how she gained her business savvy, what she learned from interacting with powerful world figures, and how to achieve success under any condition. An outstanding and readable business book, this will reach into general lending collections as well as business libraries.

Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World
Peter Shankman
QUE
c/o Pearson Technology Group
800 East 96th St., Indianapolis, IN 46240
078974709X, $19.99, www.quepublishing.com

Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World tells how to deliver amazing customer service using social media as a vehicle. Author Peter Shankman draws on vast experience as a founder of the online growth company HARO to provide solutions for building customer loyalty, trust and credibility online. From organizing a social media team on a budget to earning customer loyalty and rebuilding that loyalty after taking a public 'hit' online, this is a powerful pick for any business collection and especially for smaller entrepreneurs seeking to promote their products online.

Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York NY 10019-7420
www.amacombooks.org

Wayne Rogers with Josh Young's MAKE YOUR OWN RULES: A RENEGADE GUIDE TO UNCONVENTIONAL SUCCESS (0814416578, $23.00) comes from the former star of the MASH TV series who is also a successful entrepreneur who has applied his technique to a range of business pursuits, from a vineyard and a chain of convenience stores to a restaurant, a film distribution company and more. His formula for success shares four decades of experience and is invaluable for any business entrepreneur's library! Jim Hasse compiles and edits PERFECTLY ABLE: HOW TO ATTRACT AND HIRE TALENTED PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (0814415644, $27.95), a top pick for business collections appealing to human resources professionals. It's packed with real-world examples of innovative HR practices at major corporations, and offers insights gained from Lighthouse International's cross disability online career network. Stories of how people with disabilities have handled real-life workplace challenges pinpoint misconceptions and realities about hiring the disabled, making this a key text for any HR manager.

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

Jay Baer and Amber Naslund's THE NOW REVOLUTION: 7 SHIFTS TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER, SMARTER, AND MORE SOCIAL (9780470923276, $24.95) provides a powerful analysis from media experts who present their seven-point plan for using the social web for business promotion. It goes beyond web applications to cover all aspects of a changed job and business world, from hiring and empowering a different type of employee to developing a humanized workplace, responding more effectively to customer concerns, and communicating better. Business collections will find it a more diverse approach than most. Carla O'Dell and Cindy Hubert's THE NEW EDGE IN KNOWLEDGE (9780470917398, $45.00) explores how knowledge management is changing the way business is conducted. Many leading businesses have used KM to further their pursuits, applying its principles to get ahead. Decades of experience from the authors' key center for KM analytics and training result in the best practices drawn from their firm's unique research in a pick that shows how to implement an organization-wide KM strategy that works. Ed Fuller's YOU CAN'T LEAD WITH YOUR FEET ON THE DESK (9780470879610, $29.95) provides a powerful survey on building business relationships and comes from the managing director and president of Marriott Lodging. It offers advice on and keys to connecting with and doing business with people in any culture and comes from a leader who grew Marriott's international business from sixteen hotels in six countries to 400 properties in seventy countries. From cultural and social barriers to success to handling bureaucracy and building shared values in a business partnership, this is a 'must' for any manager seeking to build business connections. THE GOOGLE RESUME by Gayle Laakmann McDowell (9780470927625, $22.95) tells how to land a job at a top tech company and how to prepare for a career using important insights into the tech industry's needs. Author Gayle Laakmann McDowell worked with Apple and Microsoft and provides key advice on everything from choosing an internship to support school study to selecting the part-time job that will help a student stand apart from other applicants when it's time for full-time hire. Any collection strong in job searches and tech industry insights will find this a winner.

Berrett-Koehler
235 Montgomery St. #650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
www.bkconnection.com

Dave Basarah's PREDICTIVE EVALUATION: ENSURING TRAINING DELIVERS BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESULTS (9781605098241, $39.95) tells how to assess and improve programs before, during and after delivery, showing trainers and business owners alike how to forecast training's benefits to a company and measure against these predictions of success. From identifying specific goals you want to instill in participants to developing measures of how employees adopt the target beliefs and goals for positive business results, this is a 'must' for any business owner. Also highly recommended is Vicki Halsey's BRILLIANCE BY DESIGN: CREATING LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT CONNECT, INSPIRE AND ENGAGE (9781605094229, $18.95) provides a powerful tool for educators, coaches and business leaders alike, offering keys to applying innovative design techniques to training models. From expanding connections with case studies to templates for navigating content and conducting a superior learning session, this is a pick for any business collection appealing to coaches. Also recommended is Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff's FUTURE SEARCH (9781605094281, $29.95), which appears in its third updated, expanded edition with nine new chapters packed with new cases and examples. Keys to using FutureSearch to help implement business plans show its many successes around the world, and apply it to formal research studies and issues of diversity and change. Handouts, sample client workbooks, and more are included among the tools to applying FutureSearch to business endeavors, making this an excellent pick for any manager or libraries catering to them.

You Can't Fire Everyone
Hank Gilman
Penguin Portfolio
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9781591843788, $25.95, www.penguin.com

You Can't Fire Everyone and Other Lessons from an Accidental Manager tells how journalist Hank Gilman aspired to be great, writing about important events - and found himself in the position of an editor in charge of difficult reporters who presented him with many management issues. YOU CAN'T FIRE EVERYONE tells how he turned these challenges into assets, and discusses the difficult transition of going from friend or co-worker to boss. Business collections will find this a winner!

The Evolution of Revolutions
Patrick H. Howe
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781616142353, $25.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

The Evolution of Revolutions: How We Create, Shape and React to Change blends historical analysis with business savvy and case studies to examine how an innovation successfully translates to a revolution. It comes from a researcher and economist who provides ideas on how to foster such innovations and is based on his analysis of more than two-dozen revolutions in business, sports, science and politics. Marketing strategies based on change and revolution are revealed in the course of understanding the entire process, making this a recommendation for any college-level collection strong in either business or social issues.

Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW - 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471-0640
www.atlantic-pub.com

Larisa Lambert's THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO GOOGLE ADWORDS (9781601383181, $24.95) is written for business owners who want to market and promote their business through content advertising on the Internet. Chapters apply different methods for direct marketing and teach all the basics of Google AdWords, from researching keywords and choosing a niche to singing up for AdWords and posting ads. Any small business entrepreneur looking at AdWords for the first time needs this insider's guide! Office building designers and business owners considering renovation options need Jackie Bondanza and Martha Maeda's HOW TO DESIGN AND BUILD A GREEN OFFICE BUILDING (9781601382412, $24.95), which considers building options that lend to health and resource conservation. Chapters packed with details on energy efficiency, green building materials, indoor environmental quality, regulations, and alternative energy will appeal to architects and planners as well, making for a versatile presentation. THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL EVENT PLANNING by Shannon Kilkenny (9781601386991, $39.95) provides a fine revised, second edition including information on timely practices and creative marketing techniques for events. A companion CD-ROM with the book offers checklists of details and worksheets to help coordinate an organized event. Business and general collections will find this packed with specifics!


The Health/Medicine Shelf

21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart
Neal D. Barnard, MD
Grand Central Publishing
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780446583817, $25.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol and Dramatically Improve Your Health comes from a doctor who has long been on the front of cutting-edge research on what it really takes to lose weight and promote optimal health. From eating the right foods to encourage appetite reduction to burning calories faster and reducing cholesterol as much as drugs can do, this combines weight loss with health goals and is a fine pick for any dieter's arsenal of 'how to' strategies.

Effective Patient Education, fourth edition
Donna R. Falvo
Jones and Barlett
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
9780763766252, $97.95, www.jbpub.com

The fourth updated edition of Effective Patient Education: A Guide to Increased Adherence is written by a nursing expert and former Chair of patient Education for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and gives clinicians tools needed to become effective patient educators. It offers specific strategies for communicating an action plan to a patient, using an approach that considers the patient as a partner in the education process, and it pinpoints common challenges and concerns that can interfere with patient compliance. Any practicing clinician or nurse needs this excellent guide.

Patient Education: A Practical Approach, second edition
Richard D. Muma and Barbara Ann Lyons
Jones and Barlett
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
9781449630188, $75.95, www.jbpub.com

The second updated edition of Patient Education: A Practical Approach includes an online access code and offers proven methods for helping patients understand diseases and treatments. It's been extensively revised and expanded with the latest, new information about behavior modification, alternative medicine, and more and provides patient education materials in both print and electronic form. A 'must' for any patient education collection!

Eating Disorders Sourcebook, third edition
Sandra J. Judd, Editor
Omnigraphics
Box 31-1640, Detroit MI 48231-1640
9780780811430, $95.00, www.omnigraphics.com

The third updated edition of Eating Disorders Sourcebook provides basic consumer health information about anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and more, packing in over fifty chapters discussing eating disorders, risk factors, their medical complications, treatment, and prevention. The latest medical findings relating to eating disorders make for a fine reference recommended for any general lending library with a strong health reference section.

Cancer Sourcebook, sixth edition
Karen Bellenir, Editor
Omnigraphics
Box 31-1640, Detroit MI 48231-1640
9780780811454, $95.00, www.omnigraphics.com

The sixth updated edition of Cancer Sourcebook packs in over seventy-eight chapters with the latest information, from cancer risk factors and prevention to research, discussions of recurrent and advanced cancer, and treatment options and screening exams. General-interest collections will find this a powerful survey for consumers seeking the latest information on cancer treatments and options.

The Vaccine Epidemic
Louise Kuo Habakus, MA and Mary Holland, JD
Skyhorse Publishing
307 West 36th St., 11th Floor, New York NY 10018
9781616082727, $24.95, www.skyhorsepublishing.com

The Vaccine Epidemic offers a close inspection of vaccine safety and how biased science is threatening our human rights and health. Public health officials state vaccines are safe and effective - but there is great potential to injure and case death, and this book focuses on the debate surrounding parental vaccination choices in this country, considering issues ranging from the right to vaccination choice to case histories of parents, children and soldiers who have suffered injury as a result. Keys to action conclude the account.

Lexicomp
1100 Terex Road, Hudson, OH 44236
www.lexi.com

The second updated edition of Lawrence I. Gaum, DDS, FADSA, FICD, FADI's ORAL SURGERY FOR THE GENERAL DENTIST (9781591952879, $69.95) provides students and dentists with a manual packing in over six hundred photos of surgical cases. Twenty new cases are included within 12 new sections in a lay-flat, spiral-bound book that covers everything from what to do when roots fracture to handling impacted teeth, cysts, and more. A specific dental resource for students and practitioners alike! Diedra L. Bragalone, BSPharm, MBA, BCOP's DRUG INFORMATION HANDBOOK FOR ONCOLOGY, ninth edition (9781591952909, $49.95) offers a complete handbook to chemotherapy regimens and is a top pick for any interested in oncology treatments. Updates to this new, thick 'pocket' tote include 18 new drug monographs, 38 new chemotherapy routines, special updates on new cancer therapies and safe handling of hazardous drugs, and more. Highly recommended!

W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com

Daniel A. Hughes's ATTACHMENT-FOCUSED FAMILY THERAPY WORKBOOK (9780393706499, $29.95) comes with a therapy session DVD and outlines key ways which therapists can facilitate spontaneous connections between parent and child. From case examples and worksheets to sample question-and-answer formats and scenarios, this workbook offers all the strategies and tools to effectively handle attachment-focused family therapy issues, and to see that issues are effectively addressed. Any collection catering to therapists will find it engrossing and filled with pointers to success! General lending libraries as well as health collections will relish Margaret Wehrenberg's THE 10 BEST-EVER DEPRESSION MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES (9780393706291, $19.95), a guide to understanding brain functions in the depression process and how they can be changed. From why depression is so common to what the depressed person can do to alleviate symptoms, this uses the latest neuroscience research but provides a very simple method for understanding (and more importantly, applying) paths to positive change. A seasoned clinician provides the ten most effective strategies for moving from depression to a state of hope. Carolyn Daitch's ANXIETY DISORDERS; THE GO-TO GUIDE FOR CLIENTS AND THERAPISTS (9780393706284, $25.95) is a fine recommendation for college-level collections strong in psychology and psychotherapy. It documents the rise of anxiety and anxiety-based disorders, and comes from a therapist who has find clients benefit most when they actively participate in their therapy and are knowledgeable about anxiety disorders. She cover the basics of these disorders and uses case histories to show how patients managed them. Highly recommended!

Body Confidence
Mark MacDonald
HarperOne
353 Sacramento St., Suite 500
San Francisco CA 94111-3653
9780061997273, $26.99, www.harperone.com

BODY CONFIDENCE: VENICE NUTRITION'S 3-STEP SYSTEM THAT UNLOCKS YOUR BODY'S FULL POTENTIAL comes from a personal trainer and nutritionist who became frustrated with the false information prevalent in the fitness and weight loss industries. His experience inspired him to found Venice Nutrition, a fitness program that spread across the country - and his advice here provides a different approach that focuses on stabilizing blood sugar levels to prevent the body from storing fat or burning muscle. It's a powerful pick for any interested in improving body image and approaching weight control and exercise with different parameters in mind, and will see popularity in any general lending library.

Eat
Ian K. Smith. MD
St. Martin's Press
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780312548438, $24.99, www.stmartins.com

EAT: THE EFFORTLESS WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION offers an easy daily eating plan which avoids the concept of dieting and offers keys to eating naturally and normally in a way that enhances body and lifestyle. Here ten 'Rules for Good Eating' offer easy keys to success, from choosing colorful foods to accepting carbs as part of a normal nutrient requirement. Proteins, fiber, portion management and secret calories are all discussed in this fine pick for any health-oriented collection.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Becoming Whole and Holy
Jeannine K. Brown, et.al.
Baker Academic
c/o Baker Books
Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
9780801039256, $24.99, www.bakerbooks.com

Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation About Christian Formation provides a scholarly, college-level discussion about the relationship between wholeness and holiness, drawing on three authors' specialties in biblical analysis, social sciences and ethics to consider spiritual formation and experiencing a communal fullness of life. From language and content in discerning the purpose of God to visions of becoming, this packs in important keys to Biblical understanding.

Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working
Craig Groeschel
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49530
9780310327905, $19.99, www.zondervan.com

Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working provides a simple manual for living a Christ-centered life, explaining why 'normal' isn't working any more for so many Americans and how the author's 'weird' views on scheduling, money and serving God can help people break free from normal routines into a more fulfilling life. If you want a meaningful life - Groeschel's 'weird' offers something different, keyed to modern Christian living.

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

Ron Austin's PEREGRINO: A PILGRIM JOURNEY INTO CATHOLIC MEXICO (9780802865847, $19.99) blends a guidebook with a memoir and history to explore the spiritual foundations of Catholic Mexico. Austin, a devout Catholic, here invites fellow Catholics to make a pilgrimage to Mexico to uncover its cultural identity and Catholic roots, pairing color photos of Christian icons and art with a survey of Mexico's Catholic cultural heritage. Blending the format of guide, Catholic history and cultural tribute, this offers a fine exploration of the spiritual heart of Catholic Mexico and will especially appeal to Catholic collections. Darrell L. Block and Robert L. Webb edit KEY EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS: A COLLABORATIVE EXPLORATION OF CONTEXT AND COHERENCE (9780802866134, $70.00), written by a team of evangelical scholars who examine twelve selected episodes in his life. Six events from his ministry at large and six from his activity in Jerusalem are used to probe his life and work, with essays considering the social, cultural and spiritual impact of his achievements. Each chapter is the work of a single author and these essays offer debate for any serious, scholarly Christian history holding.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

HarperOne
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
www.harperone.com

Father Jonathan Morris's GOD WANTS YOU HAPPY: FROM SELF-HELP TO GOD'S HELP (9780061913563, $24.99) comes from a Catholic priest and FOX news analyst who debunks the notion we need 'self-help' books, and promotes the idea that real happiness is achieved through faith and God's help. Using a self-help framework to present the teachings of Jesus, Father Jonathan offers a different take on how to use faith and love to cure ailments, inviting readers to become proactive believers based on faith. Christian collections will find this thought-provoking and moving. Brian D. McLaren's NAKED SPIRITUALITY: A LIFE WITH GOD IN 12 SIMPLE WORDS (9780061854019, $25.99) examines what people are seeking in a spiritual relationship with God, and why their goals are too often missing from organized religion. A dozen spiritual practices that can lead to a spiritual life are outlined here in a survey intended to strip the layers from spirituality to reveal true belief that happens when symbols and status of public religious programs are set aside.

The Belief Instinct
Jesse Bering
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393072990, $26.95, www.wwnorton.com

THE BELIEF INSTINCT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SOULS, DESTINY, AND THE MEANING OF LIFE comes from an evolutionary psychologist who draws on research in the fields of evolutionary and developmental psychology to offer insights into the psychological foundations of why we believe. It uses the latest scientific evidence to argue that our religious reflex is a human trait with evolutionary benefits, and it uses hard science to analyze the logical origins of God. Health, spirituality and science collections alike will find this a winner!


The Science Shelf

The Clockwork Universe
Edward Dolnick
HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061719516, $27.99, www.harpercollins.com

THE CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: ISAAC NEWTON, THE ROYAL SOCIETY & THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN WORLD comes from an acclaimed science writer who takes readers to seventeenth century Europe and the age when scientific discoveries changed how mankind viewed the world. Centered around Sir Isaac Newton and the Royal Society, this explores the world's first scientific organization and its lasting impact uncovering nature's laws. From religious foundations to scientific approaches, this comes from a writer who planned a career in theoretical mathematics before becoming a science writer. His lively writing style is accessible to a wide audience.

Once & Future Giants
Sharon Levy
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
9780195370126, $24.95, www.oup.com

Once & Future Giants: What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth's Largest Animals analyzes clues surrounding the Pleistocene megafauna extinction events around the world, using fossil records to piece together the prehistoric evidence to form a picture of the animals' final days. Humans are revealed to be the likely culprits in not just that extinction, but present extinction events, and chapters consider how humans influence extinctions past and present, also surveying conservation efforts around the world.

Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science
Lawrence M. Krauss
Great Discoveries
c/o W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393064711, $24.95, www.wwnorton.com

Quantum Man: Richard Feynman's Life in Science comes from a theoretical physicist and author who offers a fine biography of Richard Feynman, documenting his vivid life in science and his evolving role not just as a physicist, but as an ambassador for science in the public eye. From his changing personality and theories which presented an image at odds with the traditional concept of physicists as geeks to his contributions to modern physics, this is a powerful survey of how Feynman assessed scientific problems and produced engrossing revelations.

A Graphic Guide to the DNA Molecule That Shook the World
Israel Rosenfeld, Edward Ziff, Borin Van Loon
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015
9780231142717, $19.95, www.cup.columbia.edu

The collaborative work of Israel Rosenfeld, Edward Ziff and Borin Van Loon, A Graphic Guide to the DNA Molecule That Shook the World provides an authoritative survey examining the history, science and facts behind DNA. It's a combination of genetics and graphic novel, combining cartoons with personal vignettes, history, and science and is a top recommendation for any general lending library.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

The Quiet World
Doug Brinkley
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780062005960, $29.99, www.harpercollins.com

THE QUIET WORLD: SAVING ALASKA'S WILDERNESS KINGDOM comes from a historian who builds upon the environmental issues he discussed in his prior best-selling title THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR, detailing the history of America's most beautiful natural resource. The fight to save Alaska's wilderness and wildlife is detailed from John Muir to modern times, and makes for a powerful survey recommended for any collection interested in Alaska, environmental studies, or wildlife history.

The Smart Guide to Geothermal
Donal Blaise Lloyd
Pixyjack Press
Box 149, Masonville, CO 80541
9780977372485, $19.95, www.pixyjackpress.com

The Smart Guide to Geothermal: How to Harvest Earth's Free Energy for Heating & Cooling explains how homeowners and builders can use geothermal heat pumps to heat and cool. Most similar discussions of the subject are technical and weighty: this is offered in a format homeowners and general lending collections alike can easily access, and is especially recommended for any considering a home renovation.


The Military Shelf

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Graeme Douglas
Zenith Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55401
9780760340776, $28.00, www.zenithpress.com

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress covers one of the biggest symbols of American military might during World War II: a plane which spearheaded the bomber offensive over Germany. This book packs in specific insights on owning, servicing and flying the bomber, packing in well over 200 color photos and diagrams to pair history with hardware analysis and aviation and military insights like. Military and aviation libraries will find it a compelling visual pick!

This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive
James S. Robbins
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York NY 10003-1239
9781594032295, $25.95, www.encounterbooks.com

This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive offers a fine survey of battlefield history and comes from a national security expert and Washington Times senior editorial writer who attacks myths surrounding Tet, the turning point in the war. The public had become disillusioned with Vietnam before Tet - but the majority wanted to escalate efforts and finish the job, not pull out. President Johnson ignored those advocating for a counter-attack and instead called for negotiations and declined to run for another term. This offers a hard-hitting analysis of the legacy of these decisions and is a recommended pick for any collection strong in Vietnamese military history.


The Self-Help Shelf

The Power of Your Past
John P. Schuster
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
9781605098265, $15.95, www.bk-life.com

The Power of Your Past: The Art of Recalling, Reclaiming, and Recasting Your Past to Become a Better Leader shows that our pasts are the most under-utilized resource for any wanting positive change. Exercises are provided that link past events to achieving sounder interpretations, and are accompanied by inspiring histories of those who have experienced transformation through their own personal and professional pasts.


The American History Shelf

The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn
Suleiman Osman
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
9780195387315, $29.95, www.oup.com

The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York tells of a notorious industrial slum of the 1940s and 1950s which by the 1980s had become a Mecca for hip bars, yoga studios, and expensive townhouses. This follows the history of the area's makeover, surveying New York City history, culture, and the origins of gentrification processes as they link to cultural changes. Collections interested in New York City history and urban renewal in particular will find this a specific, involving account of one slum's amazing changes.

Penguin Books
c/o Penguin Group
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Edward Glaeser's TRIUMPH OF THE CITY: HOW OUR GREATEST INVENTION MAKES US RICHER, SMARTER, GREENER, HEALTHIER, AND HAPPIER (9781594202773, $29.95) comes from an urban economist who offers insights on how cities work and are our best hope for the future. Cities are actually the greenest, healthiest and richest places to live rather than the dirty, poor, crime ridden representations of the worst of humanity. Chapters explore the history of cities and maintain that urban environments bring out the best in humankind. Urban studies and social issues collections alike will find this revealing. Daniel J. Sharfstein's THE INVISIBLE LINE: THREE AMERICAN FAMILIES AND THE SECRET JOURNEY FROM BLACK TO WHITE (9781594202827, $27.95) offers a fine history of three families that represent the complexity of race in this country. The Gibsons were wealthy landowners in South Carolina who became white in the 1760s, the Spencers were farmers in Appalachia in the 1840s and toed the line between white and black, and the Walls represented the rising black middle class in post-Civil War Washington, D.C. Their stories offer both diverse and connected experiences key to discovering America's underlying race rules and perceptions.


The Political Science Shelf

Real Common Sense
Brian Kahn
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York NY 10013
9781609801267, $19.95, www.sevenstories.com

Real Common Sense: Using Our Founding Values to Reclaim Our Nation and Stop the Radical Right from Hijacking America is a strong recommendation for current affairs, political and social issues shelves alike, and lifts part of its title for Thomas Paine's famous 1776 pamphlet COMMON SENSE. Brian Kahn's book advocates cutting rhetoric and spin and identifying and following American values. By emphasizing consumerism over citizenship and entertainment over education this country has veered way off course, and REAL COMMON SENSE provides values keys that return the captain to the helm in a powerful survey recommended for any lending collection, whether public library or school.


The Social Issues Shelf

The Crash Course
Chris Martenson, PhD
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470927649, $27.95, www.wiley.com

THE CRASH COURSE: THE UNSUSTAINABLE FUTURE OF OUR ECONOMY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT explains our current economic predicament, its links to issues of environment and energy, and why our money system places impossible demands upon finite world resources. From rising levels of debt based on assumptions of future economic growth to dwindling oil supplies, this provides a fine survey of the root causes of our current state and offers consumers keys to protecting families from undue risks. Any general lending library must have this!

Life Without Oil
Steve Hallett with John Wright
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781616144012, $26.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

LIFE WITHOUT OIL: WHY WE MUST SHIFT TO A NEW ENERGY FUTURE provides a powerful argument for changing our energy consumption habits and comes from an environmental scientist and veteran journalist who maintain we're at the end of a two-hundred-year energy surplus, and about to experience a decline in oil production. We must plan for a future without reliance on oil - which includes assessing facts and making decisions key to upholding the global economy. An outstanding survey!

Final Jeopardy
Stephen Baker
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
222 Berkeley St., Boston MA 02116
9780547483160, $24.00, www.hmhbooks.com

Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything tells of an IBM computer that battled human champions in a match on the quiz show Jeopardy. When Watson trounced the competition and proved there was a future for smart machines, it raised all kinds of questions about the future of humanity itself. This follows the story of Watson's development, using the author's exclusive access to the project to provide insider details unavailable elsewhere. Science or general-interest collections will find this a winner!

Raising Elijah
Sandra Steingraber
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780738213996, $26.00, www.dacapopress.com

Raising Elijah: Protecting Our Children in an Age of Environmental Crisis comes from a biologist who uses her own family concerns as a foundation for linking key events in her children's lives to world environmental concerns. From bug spray and deck treatment options and household hazards to chemical reforms and a child's special vulnerabilities, Sandra Steingraber provides an involving survey of childhood and environmental risk factors.

Walk Out Walk On
Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
9781605097312, $24.95, www.bkconnection.com

WALK OUT WALK ON: A LEARNING JOURNEY INTO COMMUNITIES DARING TO LIVE THE FUTURE NOW shows how seven sample communities around the world changed their structure and embraced alternative options. It shows people who succeeded in changing beliefs and created healthier communities, and covers examples from around the world. Color photos enhance a text blending interviews with social, political and cultural analysis in a survey suitable for college-level and general lending collections alike!

Lost and Found
Geneen Roth
Viking
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780670022717, $25.95, www.penguin.com

LOST AND FOUND: UNEXPECTED REVELATIONS ABOUT FOOD AND MONEY offers a fine survey in a memoir about recovering from a major money disaster. Roth sought out advice over the years from a range of experts: unable to process their advice, she drifted until disaster hit - then adapted new methods of coping with financial challenges. LOST AND FOUND shows that how we eat and spend have roots in compulsions and unconscious beliefs. Her survey examines relationships to money and how it can be gained and dissolved, and is a fine recommendation for both general and social issues libraries.

Girls Like Us
Rachel Lloyd
Harper
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061582059, $24.99, www.harpercollins.com

GIRLS LIKE US: FIGHTING FOR A WORLD WHERE GIRLS ARE NOT FOR SALE, AN ACTIVIST FINDS HER CALLING AND HEALS HERSELF blends a memoir and autobiography with a story of evolving women's issues, telling of a woman who became a victim of commercial sexual exploitation - and how she escaped. Her immersion in an industry of sexual trafficking in New York City and how she escaped makes for a powerful story of not only the author, but the girls she worked with - girls as young as eleven. A powerful story of exploitation and recovery evolves, perfect for any social issues or women's issues collection.


The Crafts Shelf

Say It With Style 2
Tanya Fox, Editor
DRG
306 East Parr Road, Berne, IN 46711-1138
9781596353473, $19.95, www.drgnetwork.com

SAY IT WITH STYLE 2 packs in over a hundred quotable quotes for any card-making project, arranging them in alphabetical order and including all types of card celebrations from birthdays and get-well cards to holidays and more. Proverbs, verses from the Bible, historical quotes and literary references abound in this collection of phrases tied to handmade cards and other memory crafts.

The Elemental Journal
Tammy Kushnir
North Light Books
c/o F+W Media
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpublications.com
1440305366, $24.99, www.mycraftivitystore.com

THE ELEMENTAL JOURNAL: COMPOSING ARTFUL EXPRESSIONS FROM ITEMS CAST ASIDE tells how to create expressive books from salvaged materials and provides fifteen journal projects based on found objects and materials. From searching for unique materials to applying them to a variety of journals, this provides fun for writers and crafts artists alike.

Surface Treatment Workshop
Darlene Olivia McElroy & Sandra Duran Wilson
North Light Books
c/o F+W Media
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.fwpublications.com
1440308241, $24.99, www.mycraftivitystore.com

Surface Treatment Workshop: Explore 45 Mixed-Media Techniques illustrates 45 mixed-media techniques that add depth to artwork, featuring swatches and descriptions of techniques and offering projects from two artists that show how to combine them into finished works of art. All styles and levels of skill will benefit from this outstanding guide, which packs in color examples throughout!


The Railroading Shelf

Miniature Garden Guidebook
Nancy Norris
Kalmbach Publishing
P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9780890247778, $21.95, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Miniature Garden Guidebook offers model railway buffs a fine key to creating a living landscape, and focuses on planning and designing railway gardens. Galleries of miniature gardens provide basic ideas for selecting plants, mastering the special needs of miniature landscapes, and more. Nancy Norris contributes columns for magazines on garden railway planning: her book provides winning discussions of specific plants and settings suitable for model railroaders.


The Cookbook Shelf

A Tiger in the Kitchen
Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
Voice
c/o Hyperion Books
77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6298
9781401341282, $14.99, www.hyperionbooks.com

A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family documents the author's year spent cooking with her female relatives. Born in the Year of the Tiger, Tan was raised in Singapore by parents who allowed her to avoid traditional training while exploring the wider world - so she never learned how to cook. By her mid-thirties she was curious about the culture she had lost touch with - so she moved to Singapore to spend a year learning to cook her childhood favorites. A TIGER IN THE KITCHEN offers a vivid account of her culinary explorations.

Blue Ribbon Desserts
Cook's Country
America's Test Kitchen
1933615796, $29.95, www.cookscountry.com

Blue Ribbon Desserts comes from the editors of Cook's Country and provides a powerful collection culled from recipe boxes, Junior League cookbooks, and more. The editors tested and perfected their favorites to offer not just foolproof recipes, but superior, top results. Regional favorites from a Brooklyn baker's Chocolate Blackout Cake to an unusual 7Up Pound Cake make for over 120 heirloom recipes from the hit TV show. Any general lending collection seeking basic, appealing dessert favorites will find this a superior presentation!

Coffee Talk
Morton Satin
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781591026884, $21.95, www.prometheusbooks.com

Coffee Talk: The Stimulating Story of the World's Most Popular Brew comes from a food expert who describes how coffee has come the center of social living. From a history of coffee and how its consumption evolved to fit social circles to the economics and production of coffee, this packs in a fine survey for any general lending library.

Chasing Chiles
Kurt Michael Friese, Kraig Kraft, Gary Paul Nabhan
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
PO Box 428
White River Junction, VT 05001-0428
9781603582506, $17.95, www.chelseagreen.com

CHASING CHILES: HOT SPOTS ALONG THE PEPPER TRAIL provides a fine survey of the cultural and culinary traditions of pepper use around the world. The authors journey to eight pepper-growing states in search of rare chilies, presenting a combination of travelogue and food insight. No recipes - plenty of recipe titles are already on the market - just lots of culinary and cultural insights into how the pepper became part of diets around the world, making this a solid pick for any general-interest collection.

Home Dairy
Ashley English
Lark Crafts
c/o Lark Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9781600596278, $19.95, www.larkcrafts.com

HOME DAIRY WITH ASHLEY ENGLISH provides a fine survey of how to make dairy products either from milking animals or from milk from the grocery. It offers a fine key to producing butter, yogurt, cheeses and ice creams and introduces home dairy-makers who chose to make all their own staples from scratch. Color photos, recipes, and basic techniques for making home dairy products make this a top pick for any who would make diary products from scratch.

If It Makes You Healthy
Sheryl Crow & Chuck White with Mary Goodbody
St. Martin's Press
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780312568953, $29.99, www.stmartins.com

If It Makes You Healthy: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes Inspired by the Seasons comes from a rock star activist and mother whose relationship with her personal chef Chuck White led to better eating habits. White taught her how to keep her diet wholesome yet accessible for a busy work schedule: this offers over a hundred seasonal recipes reflecting both her touring schedule needs and her desire for healthier fare. Color photos of such dishes as Pecan-Crusted Trout and Grilled Peaches and Cream abound.

Vij's At Home
Meeru Dhalwala & Vikram Vij
Douglas & McIntyre
1094 Flex Drive, Jackson TN 38301
9781553655725, $35.00, www.douglas-mcintyre.com

Vij's At Home: Relax, Honey - The Warmth & Ease of Indian Cooking celebrates shared meals with family and friends and comes from owners of Vij's, a Vancouver Indian restaurant notable for its regional interpretations of Indian foods. Stories and recipes blend in this cookbook, which pairs quick preparation techniques with notes on each dish's unique attributes. From Kidney Beans and Rice and Chickpeas in Star Anise to Chicken, Tomato and Green Bean Curry, this is packed with flavor and chatty insights perfect for all levels of Indian cooks and any ethnic culinary library.

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

Sandra Lee's BAKE SALE COOKBOOK (9780470645598, $19.95) packs in over a hundred fifty ideas for producing winning desserts for a bake sale, adding nearly three hundred color photos to over two hundred pages of recipes and tips. These offer fresh new twists on favorite desserts that not only feature tested dishes for perfect results, but tell how to create fast-selling attractive items for a bake sale. Vegetarian Times' EVERYTHING VEGAN (9780470547885, $29.95) provides over two hundred healthy recipes for any seeking to cook vegan foods, packing in color photos and discussions of the science supporting the nutritional benefits of a vegan diet. Recipes all come with full nutritional analysis and include many international influences in this treasure trove of healthy vegan fare, perfect for any general lending collection.


The Gardening Shelf

Growing Vegetables & Herbs
Ruth Lively, Editor
Taunton Press
63 South Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470
9781600853364, $24.95, www.taunton.com

Taunton's Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables & Herbs is a fine pick for any who have tried to grow a vegetable garden, and offers an authoritative reference to growing herbs and veggies at home. From what to grow and where to plant it to getting the most from a garden, this offers tips from gardening experts who share their knowledge on building raised beds, keeping a garden pest-free, and designing a working garden.

Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com

Edward C. Smith's THE VEGETABLE GARDENER'S CONTAINER BIBLE (9781603429757, $19.95) tells how to grow food in pots, tubs and other containers and shows how to reap big harvests in small spaces, providing the basics of growing food in containers with less digging, weeding and even less watering. Anyone with a patio or balcony can successfully use this book, which picks the best of garden produce to grow in all kinds of containers and shows how to grow a productive backyard garden - without a back yard! Tammi Hartung's HOMEGROWN HERBS (9781603427036, $19.95) tells how to infuse a yard with organic herbs, offering a guide to planting and harvesting the best of nature's bounty. From preparing herbal baths and mixing custom seasoning blends from a garden to making healing tinctures and homemade body creams, this covers over 100 herbs and all their possible applications along with how to grow them successfully.


The Architecture Shelf

Alvar Aalto Houses
Jari Jetsonen and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East 7th St., New York NY 10003
9781568989822, $50.00, www.papress.com

Alvar Aalto Houses provides nearly thirty of Scandinavian modernist Alvar Aalto's most important modern residences - many designed for famous personalities from the 1920s through the 1970s - and is a pick for any college-level arts library strong in architectural history. Color photos of interiors and exteriors accompany archival drawings by Aalto himself, and make for an outstanding survey of architectural genius perfect for any interested in Aalto's Finnish homes.

Solar Home Design Manual for Cool Climates
Shawna Henderson and Don Roscoe
Earthscan
c/o Stylus Publishing
Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172-0605
www.earthscan.co.uk
9781844079698, $49.95, www.amazon.com

Solar Home Design Manual for Cool Climates provides homeowners with a fine survey of renewable energy and solar heat and explains the basics of using solar energy to heat a home. It comes from the CEO of a design company who has been writing about energy efficiency and sustainable housing since 1992: chapters provide design outlines, summarize design points, and are a pick for any homeowner's collection where alternative energy is of interest.

Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW - 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471-0640
www.atlantic-pub.com

Robert McConkey's COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUILDING AFFORDABLE EARTH-SHELTERED HOMES (9781601383730, $24.95) is a fine pick for any collection strong in owner-builder guides. It interviews construction experts and earth-sheltered homebuilders and offers details of how you can create your own underground home, covering basic construction options, land choice and preparation, and working with prefab units to cut costs. Randy LaTour and Sarah Ann Beckham join forces with 101 DIFFERENT WAYS TO BUILD HOMES AND PENS FOR YOUR ANIMALS: A COMPLETE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE (9781601383716, $24.95), written by an industrial designer and author who examines different kinds of animals and their pen needs. Over 101 different plans and methods for home pen building offer detailed instructions on how to meet the needs of different animals from snake pens to birdcages, cats and dogs to turtles.


The Travel Shelf

Unexpected New York
Sandy Miller
Interlink Publishing Group
46 Crosby St., Northampton, MA 01060-1804
9781566568050, $25.00, www.interlinkbooks.com

Unexpected New York includes photos by Juliana Spear and offers an informal guide to New York businesses, buildings, history and events that stand out even from the wealth of tourist literature written about the city. It's written by a New Yorker who loves her city and specializes in capturing areas and influences of New York that are rare insights into the city's culture and connections. New Yorkers and visitors alike will appreciate the unusual focus of this blend of travelogue and cultural insight.

The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Las Vegas
Shaena Engle
Globe Pequot Press
246 Goose Lane, Suite 200, Guilford, CT 06437
9780762760022, $14.95, www.globepequot.com

The Cheap Bastard's Guide to Las Vegas offers a fine survey of free and cheap stuff in Las Vegas, uncovered by the 'Cheap Bastard who provides keys to bargains and where to find them. From being entertained for free or nearly free to locating free bars and clubs, museums and more, this is packed with loads of inexpensive choices in a city noted for its expensive pastimes, and is a 'must' for any planning a budget trip to Las Vegas.

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

Bradley Mayhew, et.al.'s BHUTAN (9781741049190, $26.99) is packed with over thirty maps, appears in a fourth updated edition, and covers a little-known world and traveler's destination perfect for any independent, destination-bound researcher. From festivals and road trips to sidebars covering events of note, this is packed with colorful destination features perfect for any who are planning a trip to Bhutan. Independent travelers will also relish the sixth updated edition of SCOTLAND (9781741793246, $22.99), which includes a pull-out map of Edinburgh to accompany the latest updated listings detailing where to go, stay, eat, and what to see in Scotland. From historic villages to rural locales, this is packed with details gathered by Neil Wilson and Andy Symington and recommended for any European travel collection. Sara Benson, et.al.'s ZION & BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARKS (9781741045741, $19.99) is a 'must' for any traveler journeying to one of these amazing places. It offers detailed itineraries, best hiking routes, and family-friendly options perfect for any independent traveler interested in seeing the outdoors. Also recommended is BALI & LOMBOK by Ryan Ver Berkmoes (9781741297046, $23.99), surveying the culture and attractions of the two Indonesian islands in a fine take-along tote. Maps, listings, and sidebars of at-a-glance information make this a fine choice. CROATIA by Anja Mutic and Iain Stewart (9781741795950, $22.99) achieves the same thing for Croatia: offering a narrowed focus to a region usually included only in a larger consideration and thus offering visitors specifics other guides don't have. Maps, keys to islands and coastal areas, and listings of hotels, pensions and more provide everything the independent traveler needs to enjoy a visit to Croatia.

To A Mountain in Tibet
Colin Thubron
Harper
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061768262, $24.99, www.harpercollins.com

TO A MOUNTAIN IN TIBET blends a memoir with a travel guide and recounts the author's journey to Kailas, the holiest mountain on earth. His trek began after the death of his mother, the last remaining member of his family, and it recounts an arduous journey by foot through a remote world few Westerners visit. Any general travel collection will find this an inspirational read.


The Audiobook Shelf

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born
Harry Harrison
Brilliance Audio
1704 Eaton Dr, Grand Haven MI 49417
1441881441, $29.99, www.brillianceaudio.com

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born receives a fine performance by Phil Gigante and provides Book 6 in the 'rat' series, a prequel to the original story that tells of teen Slippery Jim, who leaves his farmboy origins to begin a life of crime. His plan to enter the prison school of crime lessons makes for an involving story spiced with more adventures on the planet Spiovente fighting feudal wars, all brought to life by veteran narrator Phil Gigante's marvelous voice.

Blood, Bones & Butter
Gabrielle Hamilton
Random House Audio
1745 Broadway, 8th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780739332443, $40.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef receives a fine narration by the author, who is herself the chef/owner of a restaurant in New York and who here provides a fine culinary memoir of her experiences. It follows her journey through many a kitchen around the world, where she learns the basics of hospitality, and it makes for an outstanding culinary survey.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
www.hachetteaudio.com

Preston & Child's GIDEON'S SWORD (9781600249976, $34.98) provides an outstanding narration by John Glover, who has extensive Broadway credits to his name, as it tell of Gideon, who witnessed his father's murder at the age of twelve and at the age of twenty-four, learns his father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. His dying mother's wish for vengeance sends him on a mission to find the man who caused his father's death in this outstanding saga of a dangerous quest. Kate Atkinson's STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG (9781607886785, $34.98) receives Graeme Melcom's fine Broadway acting voice as it tells of a security worker who makes a dangerous purchase, only to find she has sold her soul and freedom in the process. Pursued by neglected dogs, unwanted kids and secrets, Tracy finds herself on a dangerous journey in this unabridged saga.

Penguin Audio
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.penguin.com

Amy Chua's BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER (9780142429105, $29.95) is narrated by author Amy Chua herself, who does a fine job of capturing the drama and cultural clashes of a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. At odds with Western indulgences, Amy Chua decided to raise her daughters the Chinese way - a way which involves arming them with skills and strong work habits. Tiger mothers view childhood as a training period for life: Chua's daughters received lessons in math, speed drills, and hours of practicing instruments. The results created empowered lives, documented in this moving audio autobiography. Patricia Cornwell's PORT MORTUARY (9780142428726, $29.95) receives a fine reading by Kate Burton and provides a new Scarpetta mystery telling of a port for the dead and a case that could shut down Scarpetta's new facility and run her personally and professionally. Kate Burton, Broadway actress and TV star, adds drama and vivid life to this engrossing account! Gayle Forman's WHERE SHE WENT (9780142428252, $25.95) receives a fine narration by Dan Bittner, who holds many Broadway and theatre productions to his name and who spices this story, a sequel to the best-selling IF I STAY. It's been three years since Adam's loved saved Mia after a terrible accident - and three years since she walked out of his life. Now living on opposite coasts, a return home sparks new feelings from the past in this account, told from Adam's point of view. Margaret George's ELIZABETH 1 (9780142429136, $49.95) features a fine reading by actress Kate Reading, who bring to life the detailed biographical survey of Elizabeth Tudor, queen of England. Elizabeth hated war and dressed lavishly but was conservative elsewhere in her life: this offers a detailed survey of her life and times and comes alive under audio treatment. Donald Rumsfeld's KNOW AND UNKNOWN: A MEMOIR (9781611760002, $39.95) receives a fine survey narrated by the author himself and telling of Rumsfeld's rise to fame. From his coming of age during the Depression and World War II to his challenges as Bush's secretary of defense, this is a unique personal observation of his life and his career - and blends in his blunt opinions on world figures. Alex Berenson's THE SECRET SOLDIER (9780142428924, $39.95) receives a powerful narration by George Guidall, a top audiobook narrator, and provides the lively story of a Saudi king losing his hold on his family and people as a series of terrorist attacks puts the kingdom on edge. An undercover investigation leads to danger as John Wells finds his life endangered by his investigations. A fine survey, this is a pick for any audio collection specializing in thrillers.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes
Val Kells and Kent Carpenter
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218
0801898382, $25.00, www.press.jhu.edu

A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes from Maine to Texas provides a fine, accurate identification guide to over 1,000 nearshore and offshore fishes that live in brackish and marine waters from Maine to Texas. The authors have decades of experience and biology background: their guide packs in over 1,000 color illustrations accompanying descriptions of each fish and insights about their habitats, distribution and more. Any serious biology collection interested in these regional coastal fishes needs this reference!


The Biography Shelf

Pink Boots and a Machete
Mireya Mayor
National Geographic Books
1145 0 17th St. NW, Washington DC 20036-4688
9781426207211, $26.00, www.nationalgeographic.com/books

Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer describes the author's thrilling adventures in an engrossing memoir telling of her transition from a sheltered cheerleader in Miami to her current globe-trotting adventure life. Mireya survived a plane crash in the jungle, tracked gorillas in the Congo, and more: her passion for wildlife and her discoveries and travels make for an eye-opening, engrossing read perfect for any general lending library.

Big in China
Alan Paul
HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061993152, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

BIG IN CHINA: MY UNLIKELY ADVENTURES RAISING A FAMILY, PLAYING THE BLUES, AND BECOMING A STAR IN BEIJING recounts his changes playing music and raising three American children in Beijing. Alan Paul moved to China when his wife got a job as the China Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal. His three-and-a-half year experience documents challenges he and his family faced living in China, and also tells of his time fronting Woodie Alan, a blues band he formed with a Chinese partner. An outstanding account, this is a pick for any general collection.

One Hundred Names for Love
Diane Ackerman
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393072419, $26.95, www.wwnorton.com

One Hundred Names for Love: A Stroke, A Marriage, and the Language of Healing provides a powerful account of a gifted husband's devastating stroke and a wife who faced a grim prognosis for his recovery. A wordsmith, Paul Ackerman was unable to identify a drawing or swallow his food without choking after his stroke. How his wife coped and even devised a new kind of language therapy based on her background in brain science lends to a heartwarming story of success and love that should be in every general lending library.

Every Day by the Sun
Dean Faulkner Wells
Crown
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780307591043, $25.00, www.crownpublishing.com

EVERY DAY BY THE SUN: A MEMOIR OF THE FAULKNERS OF MISSISSIPPI blends biography with memoir and is written by the niece of William Faulkner, the oldest surviving Faulkner of her generation. Her exploration of family relationships and her history of the Faulkners of Mississippi provides a powerful survey blending anecdotes, stories, and family history and is paired with family drawings, letters and telegrams collected by the author. A 'must' for any definitive Faulkner collection and any American literature library.

Sheepish
Catherine Friend
DaCapo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780306818448, $16.00, www.dacapopress.com

SHEEPISH: TWO WOMEN, FIFTY SHEEP AND ENOUGH WOOL TO SAVE THE PLANET tells of the author's journey from an urban existence to a farm, where she owned ducks, goats, fifty sheep and several acres of Minnesota farmland. Her experiences with life on the farm in general and her sheep in particular offers a warm series of personal anecdotes to reveal her passion for the land, insights into unauthorized sheep breeding and sharing experiences, and more, in a lively pick for any general lending library.

Prodigal Father Pagan Son
Anthony "Lt" Menginie and Kerrie Droban
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780312576547, $24.99, www.thomasdunnebooks.com

Prodigal Father Pagan Son: Growing Up Inside the Dangerous World of the Pagans Motorcycle Club tells of a son abandoned by his drug addict mother and raised by a motorcycle gang leader and his club. His memoir examines the inner sanctum of outlaw motorcycle clubs and provides a powerful survey by a son who grew up there and a reporter who immersed herself in their lifestyle to get inside their secretive world. Any general-interest lending library will find this an involving, moving memoir!

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention
Manning Marable
Viking
c/o Penguin Group USa
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780670022205, $30.00, www.penguin.com

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention is packed with new information and revelations that go beyond the prior definitive AUTOBIOGRAPHY and provide a fine history of race and class in America. It follows Malcolm X's troubled youth, his parents' activism and his own involvement in the Nation of Islam, and is based on extensive interviews with Louis Farrakhan and others, as well as previously unseen FBI files and details from the Nation of Islam's own records. A powerful survey of Malcolm X's life and times, this must be alongside any collection with interest in his formerly-definitive AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Harper
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061732379, $24.99, www.harpercollins.com

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe tells of five sisters in Kabul whose lives are changed when the Taliban seize control of the city. Kamila is banned from teaching and confined to her home and becomes sole breadwinner for her five siblings when her father and brother are forced to flee. Her sewing business would help mobilize her community under the Taliban in this engrossing blend of biography and Afghani cultural history, recommended for both general-interest collections and those with a focus on Afghanistan history and culture.

Cold-Blooded Kindness
Barbara Oakley
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781616144197, $26.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

COLD-BLOODED KINDNESS: NEUROQUIRKS OF A CODEPENDENT KILLER, OR JUST GIVE ME A SHOT AT LOVING YOU, DEAR, AND OTHER REFLECTIONS ON HELPING THAT HURTS is a recommendation for general-interest collections and offers the true story of an eccentric mother of five who wanted to help society's outcasts. She took in animals and people alike, over-extended her meager resources, and often neglected her own children in pursuit of her higher interests. Ultimately she shot and killed her husband. This saga pinpoints dangers of codependency and offers an engrossing saga of how caring impulses can mask deadly concerns. Psychology and general libraries alike will find this fascinating - and disturbing.


The Art Shelf

Picasso Horses
Laurence Madeline, Dominique Dupuis-Labbe & Jean-Louis Gourand
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, 74-2 Union Street
Manchester, VT 05254
9781555953607, $65.00, www.hudsonhills.com

Picasso Horses opens with a few articles providing the artistic history of Picasso's horses, then moves to black and white sketches and color plates representing them. It accompanies an exhibition of more than fifty works, many of which have rarely been exhibited in public, and is an outstanding survey for any Picasso collection: especially art libraries who have students interested in Picasso's approaches to form and sketching.

Toys of the Avant-Garde
Jose Lebero Stals, Juan Bordes, & Carlos Perez
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, 74-2 Union Street
Manchester, VT 05254
9781555953638 $56.00 www.hudsonhills.com

Toys of the Avant-Garde offers a fine survey of toys that may also be considered works of art, blending art history with toy construction. Full color photos and illustrations of these toys accompany histories of European artists who created them, providing a unique survey which will appeal primarily to college-level arts collections but also holds the potential to cross over into collector shelf realms.


The Dance Shelf

Cuban Ballet
Octavio Roca
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
1423607589, $40.00, www.gibbs-smith.com

Any collection strong in dance history in general and ethnic dance history in particular must acquire CUBAN BALLET. It offers a lovely, illustrated book focusing on the life and career of Alicia Alonso, discusses spectacular Cuban ballet performances, and focuses on Cuban dancers within and outside of Cuba. From political issues involved in Cuban dance expressions to the evolving history of Cuban ballet, this is packed with powerful images and discussions and is a key acquisition for collections interested in either Cuban culture and history or dance.


The Education Shelf

Successful Online Learning
Theresa A. Middleton Brosche and Michelle Feavel
Jones & Bartlett
40 Tall Pine Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776
9780763776190, $50.95, www.jbpub.com

Successful Online Learning: Managing the Online Learning Environment Efficiently and Effectively is a top pick for high school to college-level students who are new to online learning. It includes proven strategies and tips for success and teaches the basics of how to efficiently used the online learning environment. From working in groups and communicating to managing an online course and overcoming technological barriers, this comes packed with keys to success.

Corwin Press
2455 Teller Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
www.corwin.com

Pamela Nevills's BUILD THE BRAIN FOR READING: GRADES 4-12 (9781412961110, $34.95) offers a hands-on guide to literacy applying the latest neuroscience findings on learning, and is a top pick for any studying the relationship between brain development and phonemic awareness. From identifying areas where students struggle to applying research-based methods on all content areas, this is packed with important learning keys recommended for any working with grades 4-12. Jann H. Leppien and Jeanne H. Purcell edit PARALLEL CURRICULUM UNITS FOR SCIENCE GRADES 6-12 (9781412965422, $38.95), a fine survey based on the best-selling title THE PARALLEL CURRICULUM offering user-friendly guides for creating more thoughtful lessons that include more students. From connecting science to society through studying history and literature to integrating field-tested and standard-based strategies for success, this covers study components, provides sample lessons, and includes online tools such as handouts, PowerPoint presentations, and more. Alan M. Blankstein and Paul D. Houston edit LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY IN OUR SCHOOLS (9781412981613, $30.95), a fine survey of practical strategies for promoting socially responsible school cultures. This explores concepts of equality and character and considers issues involved in moral teaching and imparting socially responsible values in kids. Educators receive guidelines on how to implement democratic practices in the classroom in this outstanding survey. Nancy P. Gallavan's NAVIGATING CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN GRADES K-5: A COMPASS FOR TEACHERS (9781412978491, $31.95) helps ensure young children make a successful transition from home to school, and offers an eight-point 'cultural compass' for creating a grade-appropriate inclusive curriculum. Chapters offer activities and strategies perfect for any working with kids from various cultural backgrounds, and provide keys to connecting a child's home life and ethnic background with school life. Educators need this!

The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook
Dathan D. Rush and M'Lisa L. Shelden
Brookes Publishing
Box 10624, Baltimore MD 21285-0624
1598570676, $34.95, www.brookespublishing.com

The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook is a pick for any working with children with special needs, and offers evidence-based coaching methods to help early childhood practitioners support professionals and families in the process of handling these special needs kids. From understanding the five basics of coaching practices and how to conduct a positive coaching session to adjusting coaching techniques to meet parent and educator needs, this is recommended for developmental specialists in early education, and any college-level collection catering to such programs.


The Sports Shelf

Sport Finance, second edition
Gil Fried, et.al.
Human Kinetics
Box 5976, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736067701, $73.00, www.hkusa.com

SPORT FINANCE appears in an updated, second edition to show students how to apply financial concepts to the ideas of sport management and operations. College-level sport finance courses offer keys for students interested in becoming involved in the sport industry, from clubs to retail and professional settings, and this new edition expands coverage on business structures, ethical guidelines, and more. Newly updated examples and case studies keep the concepts and examples current.

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt
Tom Rubython
Myrtle Press
tomrubython@themyrtlepress.com
http://www.themyrtlepress.com
9780956565600, $30.20, www.amazon.com

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt documents the life of a race car driver as notorious for his wild personality and many girlfriends as he was for racing. Despite his off-track activities, he also was known as the fastest driver on the Formula One circuits in the 1970s - and this definitive biography focuses on his life in sports. His researchers have provided a solid focus on the extent of his driving career, from his early days to the last hours of his life, and examines his astonishing rise in fame. No racing library should be without this detailed examination, which captures not only his career but his times.

Human Kinetics
Box 5976, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
www.hkusa.com

The fourth updated edition of Paul M. Pedersen, et.al.'s CONTEMPORARY SPORT MANAGEMENT (0736081674, $89.00) provides students with a fine overview of sport management, presenting discussions of the basic aspects of the profession and its requirements. This revised edition offers a full-color format, blends in an online study guide, and teaches the legal, cultural, historical and psychology aspect of sport management. Three new chapters cover youth and community sport. Any college-level sports business library will find this a solid reference! General appealing to snow bunnies will relish Chris Fellows' TOTAL SKIING (0736083650, $24.95), from a renowned ski instructor who shares his proven step-by-step program for assessing skiing skills and identifying exercises to enhance these skills. Sample programs for each skier type offer guidance for dryland and on-snow drills for all levels of ski performance, making this a top pick for any general lending library or sports collection. Joseph F. Signorile's BENDING THE AGING CURVE: THE COMPLETE EXERCISE GUIDE FOR OLDER ADULTS (0736074457, $44.00) pairs a book with a DVD package and provides a training program for older adults. It offers strategies for improving body composition and flexibility and offers a series of tests that allow you to assess your clients' strengths and weaknesses. Videos of these exercises complete the presentation and provide professional trainers with a powerful resource and prescription for safer, more effective elder exercise! Krista Austin, PhD, CSCS and Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS's PERFORMANCE NUTRITION: APPLYING THE SCIENCE OF NUTRIENT TIMING (0736079459, $24.95) is a fine recommendation for any who would optimize training and improve performance. Theory is blended with the latest research in nutrient timing and offers a survey of sport nutrition that belongs on the shelves of any serious sports library. Chapters recommend approaches for a range of sport types, from endurance to combative and team sports, and include food lists for nutrition plans, food functionality, and more. Bill I. Campbell and Marie A. Spano edit NSCA'S GUIDE TO SPORT AND EXERCISE NUTRITION (0736083499, $39.00), a fine survey offering guidelines on nutrition needs for a range of sports and exercise clientele. Fitness professionals receive advice on nutrition for a range of aspirations, from competition to individual fitness programs, and will appreciate the in-depth survey of food selection, digestion, and more. Any who want to improve training and performance will find this a top reference perfect for any fitness professional!


The Computer Shelf

iMovie '11 & iDVD: The Missing Manual
David Pogue & Aaron Miller
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein, Hwy N.
Sebastopol, CA 95472-2811
9781449393274, $39.99, www.oreilly.com

iMovie '11 & iDVD: The Missing Manual offers the book that should have been in the box, and teaches the basics of how to create a professional video from raw footage, add transitions, and design movie previews. From distributing a movie on smartphones and one's own website to exporting to YouTube, Facebook and other social media networks, this is packed with a range of applications for any who would work with iMovie 11 and iDVD.

R Cookbook
Paul Teetor
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
9780596809157, $39.99, www.oreilly.com

R Cookbook packs in over 200 practical recipes and helps users perform data analysis with R quickly and efficiently. It gathers task-oriented 'recipes' that already have the calculations embedded, addresses specific problems they apply to, and discusses solutions and how they work. Data programmers learn how to create vectors, handle input and output data, work with probability, create graphic displays, and more. Data analysts will find this a unique, invaluable guide!

Beginning Java SE 6 Game Programming, third edition
Jonathan S. Harbour
Course Technology
20 Channel Center Street, Boston MA 02210
1435458086, $34.99, www.courseptr.com

The third updated edition of Beginning Java SE 6 Game Programming is a recommendation for beginning game programmers who already have some Java experience but who want to learn how to create games using the latest version of the Java SDK, Java 6. Easy language uses tutorials and examples showing how to write short programs that reinforce programming concepts. A step-by-step foundation is presented that creates key building blocks of knowledge in a pick for any game programming collection.

GPU Pro2
Wolfgang Engel, Editor
A.K. Peters
5 Commonwealth Road, #2C, Natick, MA 01760
9781568817187, $69.95, www.akpeters.com

GPU Pro2 offers the second volume in the GPU Pro book series, offering hands-on advice and procedures for resolving common graphics programming issues. Any who have the basics down will find this progresses to cover advanced rendering techniques and keys to integrating shadow maps and more. From post-processing effects on mobile devices to visibility for games, this offers advanced, specific formulas and keys in a pick especially recommended to accompany others in the series.

Microsoft Press
c/o O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein, Hwy N., Sebastopol, CA 95472-2811
www.microsoft.com/mspress

Joan Lambert and Joyce Cox's MOS STUDY GUIDE FOR MICROSOFT WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT & OUTLOOK EXAMS, 2010 (9780735648753, $44.99) includes an ebook of practice files, an exam discount offer, and chapters packed with exam prep for MOS certification. From objective-by-objective reviews and hands-on practice tests to reviews that explain concepts and their many applications, this is packed with keys to success and is a 'must' for any MOS exam-taker! Mike Snyder, Jim Steger and Brendon Landers' MICROSOFT DYNAMICS CRM 2011 STEP BY STEP (9780735648906, $34.99) provides easy numbered steps, screenshot examples, and tips for using practice files for hands-on experience and is a top pick for any student of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. It teaches how to profile customer relationships, track customer activity, and access data in other areas from Outlook to the web, and it surveys campaigns, contracts and more. Learn to set up a dashboard of key metrics, copy campaign records, and create and edit a Knowledge Base with this outstanding guide! Dino Esposito's PROGRAMMING MICROSOFT ASP.NET 4 (9780735643383, $59.99) provides a fine guide to developing ASP.NET web solutions, and is a definitive guide for any web developer's collection. From learning how to configure ASP.NET to choosing server controls, managing sessions and using patterns for presentation, this is packed with examples and code and is a top recommendation for any programmer working with ASP.NET 4. Rob Miles' LEARN PROGRAMMING NOW: MICROSOFT XNA GAME STUDIO 4.0 (9780735651579, $29.99) tells game programmers how to create games for Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7 and other applications, teaching the basics while assuming no prior knowledge of computer programming. The basics of XNA and C# programming are revealed in projects that bring game ideas to life and teach how to build game objects, capture sounds, and create networked games. A fine pick for any game programmer's collection! Raffaele Garofalo's BUILDING ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS WITH WINDOWS PRESENTATION FOUNDATION AND THE MVVM MODEL VIEW VIEWMODEL PATTERN (9780735650923, $19.99) tells how to create line-of-business applications with MVVM design, teaching the basics of UI design patterns and how to use the application for different project goals. Business programmers and developers will appreciate the hands-on tutorial covering all its basics plus practice exercises to reinforce learning. MICROSOFT EXPRESSION BLEND 4 STEP BY STEP (9780735639010, $44.99) teaches how to design rich user interfaces for Microsoft Silverlight-based applications using Expression Blend 4. It provides step-by-step approaches to using interactive elements without writing code, packing in screen images to help check work and showing how to build skills using ready-made practice files. Any collection strong in Microsoft Expression 4 must have this practice guide!

PKI Uncovered
Andre Karamanian, Srinivas Tenneti, Francois Dessart
Cisco Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
800 East 96th St., Indianapolis, IN 46240
1587059169, $65.00, www.ciscopress.com

PKI Uncovered: Certificate-Based Security solutions for next-Generation Networks provides a powerful survey sharing best practices and experiences drawn from helping Cisco customers deploy PKI in different kinds of organizations, and is a must for any developer planning a PKI system. From secure remote access and using certificates to manage identity to offering guidelines for using PKI with Cisco operations and troubleshooting, this pairs case study examples with technical insights and is a 'must' for any networking library strong in security protocols.


The Photography Shelf

Serial Photography
Harold Mante
Rocky Nook
26 West Mission St. Suite 3, Santa Barbara CA 93101
9781933952734, $39.95, www.rockynook.com

Serial Photography: Using Themed Images to Improve Your Photographic Skills explains how to focus your photographic work on themes, objects and colors and offers a series of tips on how to incorporate this perspective into photographic efforts and new images. Many of the author's own photos serve as examples explaining concepts and the idea of producing serial projects. This can be used as either a textbook or a course guide by amateurs and professionals alike, and is a pick for any serious photography collection.

Course Technology
20 Channel Center St., Boston MA 02210
www.courseptr.com

The sixth updated edition of BEN LONG'S COMPLETE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY (1435459202, $44.99) is 'the' book of mention for any interested in the latest digital photography options. New material covering Photoshop CS5, CameraRaw6, and more offer insights into all the latest programs and techniques and teach how to handle equipment and take the best shots. Image editing, composition, and shooting panoramas are only a few of the topics all enhanced by many striking color photo examples throughout, making this a top recommendation for any photographer's collection! Photography libraries will also welcome Lindsay Adler's FASHION FLAIR FOR PORTRAIT AND WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY (1435458842, $34.99), a coverage that shows how to apply the concepts of fashion photography to portrait and wedding photography needs. From using fashion concepts to make a wedding portrait stand out to lighting and camera tricks, this teaches how to maximize the fashion fair approach for outstanding results. David Busch and Alexander S. White's CANON POWERSHOT G12 GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY (1435459504, $29.99) provides a fine, specific guide to the digital Canon model and is a pick for any owners, whether newcomers or old hands. It shows how to use all its controls and features, from selecting the best autofocus mode to understanding the 'fad' that is HDR photography and using the camera's advanced shooting and movie-making capabilities.

iPhoto '11: The Missing Manual
David Pogue & Lesa Snider
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
9781449393236, $34.99, www.oreilly.com

iPhoto '11: The Missing Manual is a 'must' for any interested in Macs and digital photography, showing how to organize a collection and how to share images online. iPhoto 11 is perfect for Mac users who wish to transfer photos from a digital camera, organize them, and more: this manual tells how, covering all the basics of editing raw files, fixing images, setting up a Flickr account, and more.

Green Screen Glamour Photography Made Easy
Jack Watson
Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Ave, Ocala FL 34471-0640
9781601386731, $39.95, www.atlantic-pub.com

Green Screen Glamour Photography Made Easy offers keys to creating glamour photo images using Green Screen technology, is accompanied by a DVD and software, and offers specifics into a technique for compositing two images together in which color from one is removed, revealing another image behind it. This technology was once only for advanced photographers: now a wider audience has access to it, with software paired with a specific book for digital video pros and photographers alike. A fine, specific guide for any in-depth photography library!


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel
Daniel Cooney
Barron's
250 Wireless, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9780764146299, $23.99, www.barronseduc.com

Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel: All New Edition provides a fine survey sharing the secrets of creating character, plotlines, and how to bring drama to a graphic novel story. The basics of drawing are covered, including digital rendering, in a fully illustrated step-by-step presentation of both black and white and color sketches.

Writing the Paranormal Novel
Steven Harper
Writer's Digest Books
4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
1599631342, $17.99, www.writersdigest.com

Writing the Paranormal Novel: Techniques and Exercises for Weaving Supernatural Elements Into Your Story provides writers with a fine reference on how to build successful supernatural elements into any story line. Whether handling magic and vampires or creating a twist of plot and a believable subplot, this covers writers' techniques and tells how to research a novel and get it published. An outstanding survey results!

Writer's Digest Books
4700 E. Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.writersdigest.com

Donald Maass's THE BREAKOUT NOVELIST: CRAFT AND STRATEGIES FOR CAREER FICTION WRITERS (1582979901, $24.99) uses lay-flat hardcover spiral binding to make it easy for shelving and reference alike and comes from a veteran literary agent who uses his workshops and previous books to provide writers with keys to getting a novel recognized. Examples from modern authors from all genres teach the basics of writing great fiction and offer important insights into the differences between ordinary and exceptional writing. The story-by-story analysis and comparisons and invaluable for any novelist. Larry Brooks' STORY ENGINEERING: MASTERING THE 6 CORE COMPETENCIES OF SUCCESSFUL WRITING (9781582979984, $17.99) examines the basic of what makes a good story or screenplay superior. From the design and elements that make up a story to how it handles six specific aspects of storytelling to become superior, this is a pick for any novelist who wants to improve their writing style.


The Nautical Shelf

RMS Titanic: Owner's Workshop Manual
David F. Hutchings and Richard de Kerbrech
Zenith Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 - 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55401
9780760340790, $28.00, www.zenithpress.com

RMS Titanic: Owner's Workshop Manual provides an outstanding survey of the Titanic's technical specifications, and is a top pick for any interested in the ship and its systems. It focuses on the design and construction of the passenger ship and offers color and black and white photos, diagrams, ad reproductions, and more and is a specific, top reference for any collection strong in Titanic history and events.


The Judicial Studies Shelf

A Practical Guide to Fostering Law
Lynn Davis
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0980
9781849050920, $34.95, www.jkp.com

A Practical Guide to Fostering Law: Fostering Regulations, Child Care law, and the Youth Justice System surveys the key role foster parents play in a child's life, offering a detailed survey of the legal concerns and policies applicable to fostering law. Key areas of law show how foster care fits into the regulations surrounding childcare, explaining care proceedings, witness requirements, and what happens if a fostered person becomes involved in crime. Any collection catering to foster parents needs this different, specific reference.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The Art of Immersion
Frank Rose
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393076011, $26.95, www.wwnorton.com

THE ART OF IMMERSION: HOW THE DIGITAL GENERATION IS REMAKING HOLLYWOOD, MADISON AVENUE, AND THE WAY WE TELL STORIES provides a fine account of the next generation of media and those who are changing its systems and presentations. Stories today are changing the boundaries imposed by print, film and video, combing formats and creating three-dimensional narratives for the world to see. Chapters document these changes and discuss the future of media as a whole.

The Script-Selling Game
Kathie Fong Yoneda
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
9781932907919, $19.95, www.mwp.com

The Script-Selling Game offers a revised, updated edition of a classic guide to how the movie and TV business works, and comes from an author who has worked in film and television for more than 30 years. Her positions working with Disney, Paramount TV and others makes for a solid insider's approach to story analysis for live-action and animation projects alike, offering script writers keys to breaking into the Hollywood market. From common mistakes new writers make - such as submitting a script in the wrong format - to how writers over-use dialogue, this is packed with keys to success and is a top pick for any would-be Hollywood script writer!

A Shot in the Dark
Jay Holben
Course Technology
20 Channel Center St., Boston MA 02210
143545863X, $44.99, www.courseptr.com

A SHOT IN THE DARK: A CREATIVE DIY GUIDE TO DIGITAL VIDEO LIGHTING ON (ALMOST) NO BUDGET shows that good lighting doesn't require extensive hardware. Film directors can produce near-professional results with their own equipment and a little more savvy about lighting - and this book is the place to turn to for more details. From techniques to hands-on projects that pave the way to creating this lighting to obtaining tools from inexpensive resources, this makes for an outstanding reference any small production director on a budget should have.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Cypress House
Michael Koryta
Little, Brown
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780316053723, $24.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

THE CYPRESS HOUSE is a top recommendation for any general lending library seeing popularity in supernatural fiction. Arlen is able to see death in a man's eyes - but when he awakens on a train one evening and sees his fellow passengers are doomed, he tries to warn them. Only a teen believes him and they abandon the train, only to find themselves trapped at an isolated boardinghouse in the path of a hurricane. Can they really beat their destiny? A gripping supernatural thriller evolves.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim
Mark Twain and W. Bill Czolgosz
Gallery Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781451609783, $15.00, www.simonandschuster.com

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim provides a fine literary mix taking the Finn legend and adding a modern element in which the dead arise from a mutant strain of TB, causing a son to flee his undead father and journey down the Mississippi. The added zombie intrigue and fantasy segment makes for an involving remake of the Mississippi coming of age classic - and will be a pick for any fan of the old Huck Finn and the new science fiction focuses.

The Amazon Legion
Tom Kratman
Baen Books
Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471
9781439134269, $24.00, www.baen.com

The Amazon Legion tells of a colony planet where one Carrera has had his revenge, destroying those who had ruined his life by killing his family in a terrorist attack. Now there's political strife between warring factions over a nuclear armed United Earth Peace Fleet - and the Amazon Regiment is entrusted with the job of finishing freeing the planet - by placing women and children at the forefront of battle. An outstanding military fantasy emerges, recommended for any sci fi collection strong in military settings.

Blind Man's Bluff
Peter David
Gallery Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9780743429603, $16.00, www.simonandschuster.com

Another Star Trek: New Frontier title is recommended for collections that have seen prior enthusiasm for Peter David's AFTER THE FALL and MISSING IN ACTION. Here Captain Calhoun faces a dual threat from two dangerous forces - a mysterious alien rate bent on the destruction or domination of humanity, and a living creature turned computer simulation that represents a growing menace for the Federation. A fine tense science fiction thriller evolves!


The Needlecraft Shelf

Sensational Bead Embroidery
Sherry Serafini
Lark Crafts
c/o Lark Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9781600596728, $24.95, www.larkcrafts.com

Sensational Bead Embroidery is for any crafter who would incorporate needlework into jewelry-making efforts. It covers the basics of Sherry Serafini's signature bead embroidery, showing how she selects her designs and puts together her pieces. All the basics of bead embroidery are covered in a fine series of projects perfect for bead-making and jewelry-making audiences alike!

Martingale & Company
19201 - 120th Ave NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011-9511
www.martingale-pub.com

Barbara Warholic's SEWING POTTERY BY MACHINE (9781604680294, $22.99) is a recommendation for any needlework collection looking for different projects. It teaches how to wrap fabric strips around cording to make coiled pots, showing how to make traditional pottery shapes using the method on seven sample projects. Any needleworker with a fabric stash will find this a winner, packed with color photos and examples of how to sew pottery by machine. A bonus CD of patterns comes with Kay MacKenzie's INSPIRED BY TRADITION (9781604680225, $22.99), which provides some 50 applique block patterns following up to her EASY APPLIQUE BLOCKS title. Here the new designs teach how to blend them into fabric, offering a line drawing for each tracing and tips on hand and fusible machine applique alike. Any collection seeing enthusiasm from her prior book must have this followup! Sheryl Thies' GET HOOKED ON TUNISIAN CROCHET: LEARN HOW WITH 13 PROJECTS (9781604680355, $22.99) teaches different applications for Tunisian crochet, offering a collection of garments, accessories, and items for home decor which use the Tunisian crochet technique. Pieces range from easy to intermediate, are identified for different skills levels, and include color photos of finished pieces as well as materials and stitch guides. A top pick for any crocheter seeking something different!


The Library DVD Shelf

Flabs 2 Abs
Craig & Matt Lewandowski
Flabs2Abs LLC
PO Box 44312 Indianapolis, IN 46244
No ISBN, $19.95, www.flabs2abs.com

Flabs 2 Abs tells the truth behind weight loss and teaches how to go on a 30-day weight loss program. The focus is on quick weight loss and toning: the creators of the program succeeded in changing their bodies in a 30-day period in a quest to lose 25 pounds. This DVD pairs a nutrition program with cardio and other exercises that begin with a 20-minute walk and go on from there. Any who wish to lose weight will find this a winning approach!

Breathe: The Perfect Harmony of Breathing
Fabio Andrico and Yamila Diaz
Yang Tantra
c/o Shang Shung Institute - USA
18 Schoolhouse Road
P.O. Box 278, Conway, MA 01341
No ISBN, $19.95, www.yantrayoga.org

Breathe: The Perfect Harmony of Breathing is a solid pick for any DVD collection focusing on yoga or new age applications. It comes from a certified yoga master who demonstrates simple exercises to strengthen purposeful breathing, and presents exercises developed by Fabio Andrico, inspired by his experience of many yoga systems. New age and collections seeing interest in yoga topics will find this a top pick!


The Philosophy Shelf

Philosophy of Human Rights
David Boersema
Westview Press
2465 Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301
9780813344928, $46.00, www.westviewpress.com

Philosophy of Human Rights combines primary readings by noted authorities to consider the theory and application of human rights to basic social and political concerns. College-level students of either philosophy or social issues will find chapters packed with scholarly insights on basic rights concepts, covering the scope of rights, their nature, and how they apply to issues and modern debates.

Reading Negri: Marxism in Age of Empire
Pierre Lamarche, ax Rosenkrantz, David Sherman, Editors
Open Court Books
70 East Lake St., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60601
9780812696554, $39.95, www.opencourtbooks.com

Reading Negri: Marxism in Age of Empire comes from a key Marxist theorist well known for his striking new analysis of globalization he co-authored with Michael Hardt in 2000. Most accounts of Negri focus on Empire: this differs in providing a collection of essays offering readers a fuller picture of Negri's thoughts, using all his works and discussing the great texts of philosophy in their context. College-level collections strong in philosophy or Negri should consider this a key acquisition!


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

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

Scott Hilburn's PUNS OF STEEL (9781449401054, $12.99) provides a fine all-color collection of Argyle Sweater single-panel cartoons, and is a 'must' for any ongoing fan of the panel or for former fans of Gary Larson's classic The Far Side. Far Side has been reincarnated here: everyday expressions, animals, and zany humor blend in a satisfyingly fun collection perfect for any collection seeing popularity with Larson's style. Parents and collections catering to them will find Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman's Zits character appealing - and the latest collection, DRIVE! (9781449401078, $12.99) offers sketchbook 14 in the Zits collection. Outstanding strips and panels capture the ongoing angst of the teen and his parental units, and make for an ongoing recommendation for general collections!


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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