Return to home
page Book Reviews, Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers
Home / Internet Bookwatch

Internet Bookwatch

Volume 26, Number 5 May 2016 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Parenting Shelf Fiction Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Biography Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf Political Science Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Martial Arts Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Travel Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Photography Shelf Automotive Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf
Education Shelf Activity Shelf Fashion Shelf
Graphic Novel Shelf Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf
Library DVD Shelf Multimedia Shelf Business Shelf
Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf Art Shelf
Sports Shelf Autism Shelf Psychology Shelf
Pets/Wildlife Shelf Crafts Shelf Reference Shelf
Civil War Shelf American History Shelf World History Shelf
Computer Shelf Science Shelf Judicial Studies Shelf
Library Science Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Literary Studies Shelf
Music Shelf Philosophy Shelf Money/Finance Shelf
Social Issues Studies Shelf Folktale/Fairytale Shelf Nautical Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

LinkedIn in 30 Minutes, second edition
Angela Rose
i30 Media Corp.
in30minutes.com
9781939924520 $11.99 pbk / $7.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Part of the "In 30 Minutes" guide series for newcomers to the digital revolution, and now in an updated second edition, LinkedIn in 30 Minutes is a user-friendly guide to the career-focused social media network LinkedIn. Readers will swiftly learn how to build a solid profile, and start networking online. Black-and-white computer screenshots illustrate the easy-to-follow examples of what to do and not do. In today's technology-driven era, LinkedIn is increasingly the tool of choice for locating the right job, or the right person to fill a vacancy; knowing how it works is vital for success!

Twitter in 30 Minutes, third edition
Ian Lamont
i30 Media Corp.
in30minutes.com
9781939924476 $11.99 pbk / $7.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Part of the "In 30 Minutes" guide series for newcomers to the digital revolution, and now in an updated third edition, Twitter in 30 Minutes is a reader-friendly guide to using this social media platform, known for its unique limitation of restricting individual "tweets" (public posts) to no more 140 characters. Chapters cover how to use Twitter to connect with people, how to write memorable tweets, and how to quickly sort through tweets to extract relevant information. Black-and-white screenshots illustrate examples in this plain-terms guidebook, highly recommended for business professionals, hobbyists, and essentially anyone ready to join the 21st century!

Detroit's Eastern Market, third edition
Lois Johnson & Margret Thomas, authors
Bruce Harkness, photographer
Painted Turtle
c/o Wayne State University Press
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
http://wsupress.wayne.edu
9780814341599, $24.99, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Since 1887, Detroit's Eastern Market, the largest open-air market of its kind in the United States, has been home to an amazing community of farmers, merchants, and food lovers. Specialty shops, bakeries, spice companies, meat and poultry markets, restaurants, jazz cafes, old-time saloons, produce firms, gourmet shops, and cold-storage warehouses cover Eastern Market's three square miles. Its many streets and vendors reflect the varied cultures and ethnicities that have shaped the city of Detroit. In this newly updated and expanded third edition of "Detroit's Eastern Market: A Farmers Market Shopping and Cooking Guide", authors Lois Johnson and Margaret Thomas collaborate to informatively recount the history of the market with additional stories and personal accounts of families who have worked and shopped there for as many as four generations. These two authors have joined together to provide the reader with updated store information and added new restaurants and businesses to their original listings, reflecting the changes and additions that have taken place in Eastern Market since the previous edition published in 2005. Richly illustrated with all new photos by Bruce Harkness, "Detroit's Eastern Market" features more than a hundred pages of delightful recipes (including 17 new ones) from market retailers, farmers, chefs, and customers. Anyone who has ever availed themselves of a local farmers market will enjoy browsing through the pages of this new and highly recommended edition of "Detroit's Eastern Market: A Farmers Market Shopping and Cooking Guide"!

Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Dave Hill
Blue Rider Press
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
www.us.penguingroup.com
9780399166754, $27.00, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

With his signature matter-of-fact humor, comedian and musician Dave Hill explores his increasingly close relationship with his recently widowed father in "Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore", a series of painfully funny and truly memorable biographical essays. When Dave found himself pushing thirty while still living with his parents in Cleveland, unsuited for anything but what an "employment expert" vaguely called a career in "art, music, writing, or entertainment", he decided to visit some friends in New York for the weekend and never left. However, getting his life together wasn't as easy as he'd hoped, and even an illegally subletted, rent controlled fifth-floor walk-up studio apartment with a (for the most part) working toilet wasn't glamorous enough to erase the fact that his four siblings were all married with steady jobs and actual human offspring. And in recent years, Dave's father had grown tired of loaning him cash and living alone in the empty family home, neither of which made much sense to Dave, but whatever. Through the process of his father's eventual move to a retirement community, Dave and his dad bonded over the things in life that really matter: scorching-hot rock jams, the gluten allergy craze, eighteen-wheelers, and Italian food (pizza and spaghetti). Meanwhile, Dave discovered his late-blooming manhood via experiences as disparate and dangerous as a visit to a remote Mexican prison, where he learned that people everywhere love the Eagles, and a martial arts class that pushed his resolve and his groin to their limit. In "Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore", his voice is sharp, carefree, laced with just the right amount of profanity, and he is (seemingly despite himself) deeply empathetic as he portrays a difficult time in his family's life and grows up just enough to realize that maybe he and his dad aren't so different after all. Exceptionally well written, "Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a compelling read that is very highly recommended for community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Dave Hill Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.99).

Amazing Moms
Rachel Buchholz
National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com/books
9781426216671, $9.95, www.amazon.com

Amazing Moms: Love and Lessons from the Animal Kingdom provides a fine book pairing fun animal photographs that capture the idea of motherhood with quotes from writers and famous people, and will make for a fine Mother's Day gift. Animal facts and fun insights about nature provide mothers and their families with a fun and colorful set of facts that readers of any age can enjoy.


The Parenting Shelf

Geek Parenting
Stephen H. Segal & Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Quirk Books
215 Church Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
www.quirkbooks.com
9781594748707, $15.95, HC, 208pp, www.amazon.com

It takes more than a village to raise a child. It takes a starship, or a time machine, or a tribe of elves. Fortunately, "Geek Parenting: What Joffrey, Jor-El, Maleficent, and the McFlys Teach Us about Raising a Family" by the team of Stephen H. Segal and Valya Dudycz Lupescu offers all that and more. Comprised of thoughtful mini-essays that reveal profound child-rearing advice (and mistakes) from the most beloved tales of geek culture, parental nerds and norms alike can take counsel from some of the most iconic parent - child pairings found in pop culture including Aunt May and Peter Parker, Benjamin and Jake Sisko, Elrond and Arwen, Cersei and Joffrey, and more. Whether raising an Amazon princess, a Jedi Padawan, a brooding vampire, or a standard-issue human child, "Geek Parenting" will help parents to navigate the ion storms, alternate realities, and endless fetch quests that come with their being a parent today. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it very highly recommended for community library parenting instructional reference collections, it should be noted that "Geek Parenting" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.99).


The Fiction Shelf

My Marriage
Jakob Wassermann, author
Michael Hofmann, translator
New York Review of Books
435 Hudson Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10014
www.nybooks.com
9781590179222, $15.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

J. Wassermann (1873-1934) was a renowned and, late in his life, bestselling German-Jewish author of fiction, plays, biographies, and a memoir, "My Path as a German and a Jew". Posthumously published in 1934 and based on Wassermann's own ruinous marriage, "My Marriage" is the story of Alexander Herzog, a young writer, goes to Vienna to escape his debts and a failed love affair. There he is pursued by book-loving Ganna: giddy, girlish, clumsy, eccentric, and wild. Dazzled and unnerved by her devotion to him, and attracted to the large dowry offered by her wealthy father, he thinks he can mold Ganna into what he wants. But no one can control her troubling passions. As their marriage starts to self-destruct, Herzog will discover that he can never escape her. Deftly translated into English for an American readership by Michael Hofmann, "My Marriage" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "My Marriage" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Kingdom of the Sun: Stories
James Terry
University of New Mexico Press
MSC05 3185
1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com
9780826356406, $19.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Set in southwestern New Mexico, the ten stories by James Terry that comprise his "Kingdom of the Sun" anthology present a stunning debut of short stories that explore the joys, insecurities, and failures of memorable characters as they attempt to connect with (or disconnect from) others around them. The elderly landlady of the Darling Courts apartments hires a reclusive handyman who suffers from a fear of water, and the pair forms an unlikely bond. A worker's unscrupulous plan to build a road in the middle of the desert is threatened by a lonely pregnant woman living in a trailer parked directly in his path. Overcome by nostalgia, a married trucker making the California run from Waco to Los Angeles takes a truck-stop waitress to the Deming drive-in theater with disappointing results. Together, these ten surprising stories uncover how our environment manifests itself in our everyday lives. Very highly recommended for both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that James Terry's "Kingdom of the Sun: Stories" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Welcome Back
Lin Stepp
Kensington
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street, Floor 21, New York, NY 10018-2522
www.kensingtonbooks.com
9781617732829, $15.00, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

When Lydia Cunningham left her husband and moved to Atlanta ten years ago, it was with equal parts sadness and certainty. She loved her home in North Carolina, with its lush green hills and crisp, clean air. And in truth, she still loved John, too. But she could no longer live with her mother-in-law's constant criticism and the distance it created in her marriage. Now, thanks to a job offer at her alma mater, Lydia is moving back, renting the old country house where she and John lived as newlyweds. She hopes to strengthen the frayed ties with her daughter, Mary Beth, and build a relationship with her grandsons. As for John -- it's clear from the moment Lydia sees him standing in her doorway that he hopes they might rekindle their bond. The spark between them hasn't dimmed -- but neither have Lydia's memories of past hurts. Yet in this magnificent landscape that's always felt like home, she might find a way to forgive and begin again. "Welcome Back" is another terrific 'Smoky Mountain' novel from the pen of Lin Stepp and continues to underscore her master of the genre and her impressive attention to character development and background detail. Very highly recommended for community library Romance Fiction, it should be noted that "Welcome Back" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

The Flower Plantation
Nora Anne Brown
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.bloomsbury.com
9781846882913, $17.00, PB, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Arthur Baptiste knows little of Rwanda's past and is unaware of its emerging troubles. He lives with his parents on a flower plantation where he talks to no one, not even the butterflies he collects, until one day Beni appears. Beni, the cook's daughter, is a child much like Arthur but one who lives in a world far different from his own. Their friendship will take them from innocent adventures, to sexual encounters and on towards dark revelations . When news comes that the President has been killed, Arthur is forced to leave his home, the country he knows and the people he loves. Arthur must say goodbye to Beni and leave her to a fate far worse than either could have imagined. An original and impressively well crafted novel that will hold the reader's rapt attention from beginning to end, "The Flower Plantation" by Nora Anne Brown is a terrifically entertaining read that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Flower Plantation" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.13).

A Heart Once Broken
Jerry S. Eicher
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North, Eugene, Oregon 97402-9173
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
9780736965873, $14.99, PB, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Cousins Lydia and Sandra Troyer and their friend, Rosemary Beiler have always been close. The two cousins, however, both have eyes for handsome Ezra Wagler, leaving Rosemary to watch from the sidelines. But when the cousins' fathers face financial ruin, Lydia and Sandra make a deal as to who should have Ezra's affections -- at which point Rosemary decides to make a play for Ezra herself. "A Heart Once Broken" is the first of 'The St. Lawrence County Amish' trilogy and clearly demonstrates that Jerry Eicher has penned another terrific read that is a "must" for his legions of enthusiastic fans. While "A Heart Once Broken" is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that it is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.49). Librarians should be alerted that "A Heart Once Broken" is also available in a hardcover large print edition (Thorndike Press, 9781410488466, $39.99, 467pp).

Verklempt
Peter Sichrovsky
DoppelHouse Press
https://doppelhouse.com
9780983254034, $19.95, HC, 200pp, www.amazon.com

Peter Sichrovsky is an Austrian journalist, author, and former politician. Translated into English from the original German for an American readership by John Howard, and featuring an informative Foreword by Ari Roth, as well as an Author's Preface by Sichrovsky, "Verklempt" is an anthology of eleven short stories with Jewish love themes by a true master of the genre after his landmark books of interviews with German and Austrian children of Holocaust survivors. The love stories range from where love is a bitter pill, to a joke, a missed chance at happiness, a secret, a ghost, or a longing to be with a person one cannot even remember. Sichrovsky writes without embellishment, spare outlines of characters that feel familiar, and infuses them with dark humor and tragedy in equal force. With characteristic inquisitiveness and provocation, Sichrovsky shows he can deliver a delightful and absurd collection that entertains and inspires us to tears, laughter, revelations. Original, entertaining, memorable, and deftly crafted works of fiction, "Verklempt" is very highly recommended for both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Verklempt" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Genius: A Novel
Thomas Rayfiel
Triquarterly
c/o Northwestern University Press
629 Noyes Street, Evanston, IL 60208
www.nupress.northwestern.edu
9780810132467, $18.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Kara Bell, whose IQ is off the charts and whose sexuality is firmly in the closet, has spent her youth plotting escape from Witch's Falls, Arkansas. Relentless determination and sacrifice have led to success in the form of a scholarship at a prestigious philosophy PhD program in Manhattan. But Kara's careful plans are upended by cancer, and suddenly she is home again, where she finds herself subject to her mother's suffocating care, her brother's puzzling love life, the local doctor's meddling, and the strong gravitational pull of her old friend and obsession, Christy Lee. Will Kara find health and sanity? Will she learn what really happened to her father? Can she escape Witch's Falls a second time, or will she succumb to the slow poison of local kindness and Snickers Salad? An impressively skillful author, in "Genius" novelist Thomas Rayfiel deftly blends such diverse elements of "ordinary American life" as terminal illness, organized religion, family secrets, abortion, senility, and gossip, into a extraordinary, original, and compelling read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Genius" is also available in a Kindle edition ($15.95).

Bitter Trail
Dale Graham
Lindford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444826081, $20.99, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Another terrific action/adventure western novel from the pen of Dale Graham, "Bitter Trail" is the story of Lazy Jake Fontell and his partner Buffalo Bob who have gone into the freighting business. Approaching El Paso, they have no idea of the troubles they will encounter after coming to the aid of a dying Mexican grandee. Before succumbing to his injuries, the gun shot victim gives the pair a map detailing the location of an icon that was worn by the legendary Aztec leader Montezuma. A secret revolutionary group has sworn to overthrow the Mexican government - and he who wields the headdress wields the power. To make matters even more complicated is the wife of the leader of that shadowy and lethal group who abhors what her husband is doing, two failed but vicious bank robbing outlaws, a relentless sheriff's posse, as well as the deadly natural hazards that must be gone through. This outstanding, large print edition of "Bitter Trail" is very highly recommended for both the personal reading lists of western novel buffs and community library western fiction collections. Incidentally, for those to whom "Bitter Trail" will be their first introduction to the western novels of Dale Graham, it should be noted that there is a complete listing of his eight earlier titles in the front page of "Bitter Trail" which are readily available from the Lindford Western Library.

Vanilla Salt
Ada Parellada
Alma Books
c/o Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.bloomsbury.com
9781846883330, $15.00, PB, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Alex is a brilliant chef, but he struggles to fill his Barcelona restaurant because of his gruff, eccentric personality and his refusal to use ingredients that trace their culinary origins to America, such as potatoes and tomatoes. When he meets the young, enthusiastic, and beautiful Canadian Annette, he finds his ideas and narrow-minded outlook challenged, and discovers that they both share a painful past. A natural born native of Barcelona, Spain, author Ada Parellada is also one of the most acclaimed of the Catalan chefs and draws upon her personal experience in writing "Vanilla Salt", a sensual and mouth-watering exploration of the kitchen and the human heart, as well as a tale of simmering passions and the need to confront personal truths. Exceptionally well written, impressively original, and consistently entertaining from beginning to end, "Vanilla Salt" is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Vanilla Salt" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Ballet Noir
Caroline Miller
http://booksbycarolinemiller.com
Black Rose Writing
PO Box 1540, Castroville, TX 78009
http://www.blackrosewriting.com
9781612966809, $16.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Experiencing her first tour in Europe, Tara Bentley is a young prima ballerina with a small Seattle dance company who watches her excitement turn to horror when she's haunted by the voice of her deceased dance teacher, Yelena Natilova. She fears she might be going mad until she meets a necromancer who assures her the voice is real. Is he a charlatan? Or, has he the power to guide her through this nightmare as she struggles to hold her career together? Their dash through the great theaters of Europe becomes the performance of a lifetime with death waiting in the wings. Another terrific read from the pen literary imagination of Caroline Miller, "Ballet Noir" is an original and compelling read that is consistently entertaining from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community library collections and personal reading lists, "Ballet Noir" clearly demonstrates author Caroline Miller's impressive mastery of the Paranormal Goth Romance genre.

Freshwater Road
Denise Nicholas
Agate Bolden
c/o Agate Publishing
1501 Madison St., Evanston, IL 60202
9781572841956, $15.00, PB, www.agatepublishing.com

The debut novel of award-winning actress Denise Nicholas, Freshwater Road is a story set during the summer of 1964, about a volunteer for the civil rights movement who may be in over her head. Nineteen-year-old college sophomore Celeste Tyree travels to a small Mississippi town to organize a voter registration project, and prepare townspeople to pass the state's convoluted voting test to defy the Jim Crow laws meant to exclude black citizens from the polls. But as violence strikes members of the movement and a young girl close to her goes missing, she must recognize the ruthlessness of those who oppose change. There are no easy answers in this gripping novel about tensions drawn between lines of race, color, creed, and the power of family bonds. This 10th Anniversary edition is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Freshwater Road" is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.49).

Pacific Burn
Barry Lancet
Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781476794884, $25.00, www.amazon.com

Pacific Burn is a new Jim Brodie thriller that will attract prior fans and newcomers alike, and provides a different story line as Brodie becomes the liaison for the mayor's new Pacific Rim Friendship Program only to face an unexpected sniper attack that leaves his Japanese artist friend in a coma. Because his friend's son was killed under suspicious circumstances a week earlier, it seems his friend's family is being targeted - and there are too many suspects to count. Can Brodie get to the heart of matters before his friend's family is decimated? A powerful story supercharged with personalities and cross purposes makes for a fine read.

The Feathered Bone
Julie Cantrell
Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
www.thomasnelson.com
9780718037628, $15.99, www.amazon.com

The Feathered Bone is set in pre-Katrina New Orleans and tells of Amanda, charged with chaperoning her daughter's sixth-grade field trip into the City during Halloween when a girl vanishes without a trace, sending Amanda's daughter into a depression and the family into a tailspin. Amanda thus undertakes a personal journey to find the girl and make things right, facing loss and Louisiana's darkest secrets in a story that's emotionally captivating and hard to put down.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Sherlock Holmes: A Case At Christmas
N. M. Scott
Magna Large Print
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9780750542166, $35.50, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Ranging across the illustrious detective's long career, author N.M. Scott presents ten new cases in which Holmes and Watson investigate hauntings, grave robberies, art theft and the seemingly inexplicable disappearance of a priceless violin. When murder brings Holmes to the door of a popular novelist, he finds himself uncovering crimes sparked by jealousy and prejudice, and facing a criminal mastermind whose ruthlessness and cunning know no bounds. With all the storytelling skills of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this new and deftly crafted stories are an impressive and much appreciated additions to the growing canon of Sherlock Holmes tales of detection and adventure. An absolutely 'must' for the legions of Sherlock Holmes fans, this large print edition of "Sherlock Holmes: A Case At Christmas And Other New Adventures" will prove an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

A Talent for Murder
Teresa LaRue
Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
www.cengageptr.com
9781432831059, $26.95, HC, 250pp, www.amazon.com

When Kate Spencer learns her aunt's fiance is two-timing her with an old rival, she has no choice but to pass along the information to her mother, who promptly informs her sister what a cad the man is. They are as shocked as the rest of the town when the rival turns up dead and the two-timing fiance disappears. Worse yet, an anonymous call places her aunt at the scene of the crime. Complicating matters, the lead investigator on the case turns out to be Kate's old boyfriend. Though he has a hard time believing the woman who once marched in front of his school carrying a 'save the frogs' sign is capable of murder, he has to consider her aunt his prime suspect. Can the trio find the killer before Kate's aunt is arrested for murder? Are they putting their own lives in danger by investigating the crime? Exceptionally well written from beginning to end, "A Talent for Murder" is a cozy, southern mystery filled with humor and colorful characters, with a touch of romance thrown in for added fun. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of mystery fans that "A Talent for Murder" is also available in a Kindle edition ($3.99).

The Committee
Terry E. Hill
www.terryehill.com
Urban Renaissance
9781622867226, $6.99, PB, 368pp, www.amazon.com

"The Committee" by Terry E. Hill is a deftly crafted novel that involves an Illuminati conspiracy, New Orleans voodoo, American politics, and a subplot gay affair with a twist of turbulence and turmoil. A secret society is behind the country's biggest political ploys. A mysterious New Orleans family of Creole women head "The Committee". and it is they who in fact control the men mistaken to be the country's power figures! "The Committee" has selected every US president since James Monroe and controls much of the country's economy. When they make the decision that the United States is not only ready for a Black woman president, but also select her, the phrase, 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' takes on new and insidious meaning. Camille Ernestine Hardaway is the first African American female mayor of Los Angeles and she has it all - stunning good looks, power, a seemingly devoted husband and influential allies. "The Committee" has decided that she will be the first Black female president of the United States and will stop at nothing to ensure their rising candidate reaches the White House. A deftly crafted and original story from beginning to end, "The Committee" is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. Solidly entertaining and showcasing author Terry E. Hill as an impressively gifted storyteller, it should be noted that "The Committee" is also available in a Kindle edition ($5.99).

Crow Wing Dead
Midge Bubany
North Star Press of St. Cloud
PO Box 451, St. Cloud, MN 56302-0451
www.northstarpress.com
9781682010174, $11.85, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

When Detective Cal Sheehan learns no ones heard from his childhood friend Mike Hawkinson in days, he begins an unofficial investigation. Cal follows a lead from Minnesota to Las Vegas, and back again. When Hawks car is later found abandoned north of Prairie Falls, Birch County officially opens a missing persons case, which allows Cal to hunt for his buddy and investigate the strange circumstances surrounding his disappearance. But Cal doesnt know whether he is conducting a search and rescue (or a kidnapping and murder investigation) all as he is having to deal with the blowback from a family tragedy. "Crow Wing Dead" is a deftly written and thoroughly engaging page-turner of a read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Crow Wing Dead' is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.49).

Blood Defense
Marcia Clark
Thomas & Mercer
9781503936195, $15.95, HC, 389pp, www.amazon.com

Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star -- and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law. Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case. Notorious for living by her own rules (and fearlessly breaking everyone else's) Samantha pulls out all the stops in her quest to uncover evidence that will clear the detective. But when a shocking secret at the core of the case shatters her personal world, Sam realizes that not only has her client been playing her, he might be one of the most dangerous sociopaths she's ever encountered. A deftly crafted suspense thriller from first page to last, "Blood Defense" demonstrates author Marcia Clark (she was the prosecuting attorney in the O. J. Simpson trial) has truly impressive talents as a storyteller. "Blood Defense" is very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Blood Defense" is also available in a paperback edition (9781503954007, $15.95) and in a Kindle format ($5.99).

Pegasus Down
Philip Donlay
Oceanview Publishing
595 Bay Isles Road, 120-G, Longboat Key, FL 34228
www.oceanviewpub.com
9781608091690, $26.95, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

A CIA-operated jet on a clandestine mission disappears in Eastern Europe. No mayday, no wreckage, and no known survivors. No way to know if the top-secret extraction of a key American scientist from Slovakia, or his liberator, Dr. Lauren McKenna, code name Pegasus, are dead or alive. Donovan Nash's precarious world is rocked when word reaches him that his wife, Lauren, is missing in Eastern Europe. Using his millions, and fueled by the fear of losing his wife, Donovan and company cut a swath through Austria and Hungary. Desperate, Donovan leverages his lifelong secret to enlist an unlikely ally (one of his oldest friends) who may very well want him dead. As Donovan closes in on the truth, another, and more deadly, reality is revealed. A ruthless terrorist group has acquired a stealth aircraft with the ability to deliver a nuclear device. They are poised to strike -- but the question is where? What started as a rescue turns into a full-throttle aerial chase. Will Donavan be able to rescue his wife, as well as prevent a nuclear catastrophe? The sixth and latest novel in the simply outstanding 'Donovan Nash' series, "Pegasus Down" is another superbly crafted action/adventure suspense thriller from the pen of Philip Donlay and once again confirms him to be a master of the genre. While "Pegasus Down" is very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that it is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Strike a Poser
Dylan Edward Asher
Dog Ear Publishing
4011 Vincennes Road, New Augusta, IN 46268-3005
www.dogearpublishing.net
9781457540677, $12.00, PB, 172pp, www.amazon.com

Olivia, a professional con artist, is putting together a team. Along with her current accomplice, Jillian, she figures they'll need two more as they case a millionaire named Jerry Mallore, having followed him to, of all places, the theme park land of Orlando, Florida. Olivia quickly locates an old flame from way back named Jack. An ex-scammer himself, he's long since gone straight, working as a bar manager of an Irish restaurant just outside the wacky theme parks. His uniform involves kilts. She knows he'll be in. Joining up with Jack, and ultimately his younger brother Kip, they set out to get between Jerry and his shady cash transaction. The plan? Savvy. Complex. Borderline ridiculous. But it'll be flat-out brilliant if they can pull it off, creating the ultimate illusion in the land of illusions, and ultimately relieving Jerry of hundreds of thousands of dollars and leaving him, quite literally, not even sure what day it is. Original, entertaining, and deftly crafted, "Strike A Poster" by Dylan Edward Asher is a compelling, action-driven, page-turner of a read from beginning to end and very strongly recommended for community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Strike A Poser" is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.99).

Beijing Red
Alex Ryan
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781629535944, $26.99, HC, 368pp, www.amazon.com

When ex-Navy SEAL Nick Foley travels to China to find purpose and escape the demons of his past, he instead stumbles into a conspiracy his Special Forces training never prepared him for. A mysterious and deadly outbreak ravages a remote area of western China, and Nick finds himself the lead suspect in a bio-terrorism investigation being conducted by China's elite Snow Leopard counter-terrorism unit. To clear his name and avoid prosecution, he must team up with beautiful Chinese CDC microbiologist Dr. Dazhong "Dash" Chen to find who is really behind the attack. As their investigation proceeds, their budding friendship is tested by nationalistic loyalties and suspicion. In a race against time, Nick and Dash must risk everything to stop a mad man before he unleashes the world's next super-weapon in Beijing. Alex Ryan's "Beijing Red" is another compelling thriller of an action/adventure novel from the pen of a true master of the genre. Very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Beijing Red" is also available in a paperback edition (9781629535951, $16.99) and in an MP3 CD format ($29.95).

Murder at Lambswool Farm
Sally Goldenbaum
Obsidian Mystery
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
http://us.penguingroup.com
9780451471642, $25.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Birdie Favazza has long loved knitting, but lately she's taken on a new challenge -- making a family farm operational again. With help from friends, Lambswool Farm is now up and running, with thriving crops and grazing sheep. In addition, the farm will host rustic, six-course prix fixe dinners plated by local chefs and served on a gorgeous restored harvest table, decorated to perfection with colorful knitted vegetables crafted by Izzy Chambers Perry, her aunt Nell, and the other Seaside Knitters. But on the night of the first meal, everything spins out of control when one of the guests, Seaside Harbor's family physician, becomes fatally ill. It seems that behind Dr. Alan Hamilton's friendly bedside manner was a man with enemies and secrets. Soon the town is gossiping and pointing fingers at all possible suspects -- including the women at Lambswool Farm. Now the Seaside Knitters must join together to uncover the truth in Dr. Hamilton's complicated past -- and restore peace to town and country alike. The eleventh title in Sally Goldenbaum's superbly crafted Seaside Knitters Mysteries series, "Murder at Lambswool Farm" once again demonstrates this author's mastery of the Mystery/Suspense genre. Very highly recommended for community library collections, for personal reading lists it should be noted that "Murder at Lambswool Farm" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99). Librarians should be aware that Sally Goldenbaum's "Murder at Lambswool Farm" is additionally available in a large print edition (Kennebec, 9781410489166, $26.99).

Potter's Field
Chris Dolan
Vagabond Voices Publishing
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, 124 Byers Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9781908251329, $25.00, PB, 296pp, www.amazon.com

In Glasgow's Kelvingrove Park, the bodies of two youths lie with bullet holes in their heads. Hungover, nicotine-starved, and ill-attired, procurator fiscal Maddy Shannon attends the scene, unaware that this grim morning is about to spiral out of control. The corpses have been carefully disfigured, perhaps signs of gangland revenge or, worse, ritual slayings. Motives and suspects are hard to find. As the gruesome complexities of the investigation multiply, the fragmented story of Maddy's immigrant ancestors (her grandfather Nono and his Great Adventure) emerges as a counterpoint to brutality and corruption. As she struggles to prove her worth against the darkest side of human nature, there is in here history and heartbreak that which has created this strong-willed woman. Deftly crafted and a compelling read from first page to last, "Potter's Field" is all the more impressive when considering that this Scottish author Chris Dolan' first mystery novel. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Potter's Field" is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.99).

On Edge
Gin Price
The Poisoned Pencil
c/o Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.poisonedpenpress.com
9781929345205, $10.95, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

Emanuella "LL" Harvey puts her gymnastic skills to good use as a member of her brother's Parkour group. Freerunning, jumping, and climbing over their corner of the city like it's an obstacle course gives them something to take pride in and keeps them out of trouble-sort of. But trouble finds LL when she runs into Haze, a talented graffiti artist whose sister Heather was murdered two years before. Freerunner and Writer promptly fall in love, but they decide to hide their relationship till they're sure it's the real thing-and until they can find a way to placate LL's hotheaded brother, who has it in for Haze and his gang. But when portraits of LL-done in Haze's distinctive style-start popping up on city walls, all hell breaks loose. LL's brother threatens a gang war, which LL tries to avert by identifying the Writer who is really responsible for the paintings. But when another teen is murdered, it looks bad for Haze, especially when LL discovers that Heather's killer and her portrait-painter are one and the same. An original and compelling mystery from the pen of a master of the genre, "On Edge" by Gin Price is very highly recommended for both community library Mystery/Suspense collections and the personal reading lists of mystery fans who appreciate a deftly crafted tale. It should be noted that "On Edge" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

Killer Deal
Sofie Sarenbrant
Stockholm Text
19820 82nd Place NE, Kenmore, Seattle, WA 98028
www.stockholmtext.com
9789175471976, $16.95, PB, 400pp, www.amazon.com

The morning after an open-house showing in a posh Stockholm suburb, a father is found dead by his six-year-old daughter Astrid. There are no signs of a break-in, and the murder weapon is one of the family's own kitchen knives. The only hint that someone from the outside might be involved is that Astrid claims a strange man stroked her cheek during the night. Police Inspector Emma Skold takes up the case. She suspects that the man's wife could be the culprit, but when more murders occur tied to open-house showings, her theory is turned on its head. What's the truth behind the events in the ostensibly idyllic and prosperous residential area? And what is the connection between the victims? Sofie Sarenbrant has established herself as one of Sweden's most popular crime fiction authors. In "Killer Deal" she has once again demonstrated her complete master of the mystery genre. Ably translated into English by Paul Norlen, this Stockholm Text edition of "Killer Deal" is very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For the personal reading lists of mystery buffs it should be noted that "Killer Deal" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Red Nocturne
Bill Mullen
Roundfire Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing, Ltd.
Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK
www.johnhuntpublishing.com
9781785352799, $19.95, PB, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Lilly Rebeck finds herself completely alone in the wake of her father's death in Afghanistan, her mentor's abandonment, and her mother's growing detachment, her only solace being her violin. Driven by loneliness, curiosity, and a unique musical connection, Lilly befriends a mysterious Russian tenant upstairs, unaware that her newfound friendship with this woman would plunge her into a world of arson, murder, and fleeing both the FBI and Chechen mafia. When her world collides with Alexei Volkov, a Russian immigrant paying off an old debt to Chechen mafia, and Anna Stern, a tormented and overworked FBI agent, Lilly must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice for a woman that she has grown to love as a mother, a woman that could be a spy. A riveting and compelling read from first page to last, "Red Nocturne" showcases author Bill Mullen's impressive mastery of the action/suspense genre and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Red Nocturne" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.49).

Horsefever
Lee Hope
www.leehopeauthor.com
New Rivers Press
1104 Seventh Avenue South, Moorhead, MN 56563
www.newriverspress.com
9780898233322, $17.00, PB, 355pp, www.amazon.com

Nikole Swensen has the drive and raw talent to compete in the rigorous sport of horse eventing -- and win. But fear holds her back from realizing her full potential. So her husband, a wealthy Vermont landowner, hires Gabe, a gifted former eventer, half paralyzed from a jumping accident. Before long, a powerful spiritual and physical attraction develops between Nikki and Gabe amid the sensual world of horses and riding. As Nikki moves to higher levels of competition, their respective spouses, Cliff and Carla, grow jealous. The two couples become lost in a tangle of ambition and passion, lust and suspicion. Inspired by an actual murder case, "Horsefever" by Lee Hope will prove to be of immense interest to fans of deftly crafted suspense novels, horse enthusiasts, and any who is drawn to the connections between animals and humans. Original, exceptional, and a riveting read from beginning to end, "Horsefever" is all the more impressive considering that it is author Lee Hope's debut as a novelist. "Horsefever" is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections.

A Fine Line
Gianrico Carofiglio
Bitter Lemon Press
www.bitterlemonpress.com
9781908524614, $14.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

When Judge Larocca is accused of corruption, Guerrieri goes against his better instincts and takes the case. Helped by Annapaola Doria, a motorbike-riding bisexual private detective who keeps a baseball bat on hand for sticky situations, he investigates the alleged links to the mafia. Of course Guerrieri cannot stop himself from falling for Annapaola's exotic charms. The fifth in the best-selling Guido Guerrieri series "A Fine Line" is another deftly crafted and consistently entertaining read from the pen of Gianrico Carofiglio. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, and for the personal reading lists of Gianrico's fans, it should be noted that "A Fine Line" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.89).

Original Cyn
Sylvia Dickey Smith
www.sylviadickeysmith.com
White Bird Publications
P. O. Box 586, Diana, TX 75640
www.whitebirdpublications.com
9781633631496, $18.99, PB, 350pp, www.amazon.com

Drowning in the lack of identity beyond the one assigned by her preacher-husband, Cynthia wonders whether she should stay in the relationship, but before she can decide, events force her to flee. If she goes far enough fast enough, those back home will have to deal with the chaos they created. Deal with it or go to hell in their sanctimonious handbaskets. Until a phone conversation leaves her with even more difficult choices. "Original Cyn" is a compelling and original story penned by Sylvia Dickey Smith, a truly gifted writer that will leaving her enthusiastic readers looking eagerly toward her next novel. While very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Original Cyn" is also available in a Kindle edition ($5.99).

Tumbled Graves
Brenda Chapman
The Dundurn Group
3 Church Street, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5E 1M2
www.dundurn.com
9781459730960, $14.99, PB, 392pp, www.amazon.com

When Adele Delaney and her daughter, Violet, go missing, Jacques Rouleau is called upon to investigate. However, struggling with the impending death of his ill ex-wife, he sends Kala Stonechild and Paul Gundersund instead. Stonechild has been trying to adapt to life as her young cousin Dawn's guardian, and even though Gundersund has offered support, Stonechild is at risk of losing custody. On the second day of the investigation, Adele's body turns up, dumped on the shoulder of the highway with no sign of her daughter. Her husband, Ivo, denies any involvement with either his wife's death or their child's disappearance, but not everyone is convinced. As the investigation unfolds, Stonechild learns that Adele was once entangled with a Montreal biker gang and heads to Quebec to investigate further. As Stonechild and Gundersund juggle personal troubles and a complicated, dangerous case, they find themselves piecing together a chain of disasters leading back to a single betrayal. A terrific read from beginning to end, "Tumbled Graves" is the third novel in author Brenda Chapman's outstanding 'Stonechild & Rouleau mystery series ("Cold Morning" & "Butterfly Kills"). Very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Tumbled Graves" is also available in a Kindle edition ($4.99).

Don't Speak
J. L. Brown
www.jlbrownauthor.com
JAB Press
PO Box 9462, Seattle, WA 98109
9780996977210, $14.99, PB, 384pp, www.amazon.com

Ambitious, twenty-something FBI Special Agent Jade Harrington cuts her vacation short to investigate the murder of a conservative radio personality only to discover that he may be the victim of a serial killer. Whitney Fairchild, the elegant and charismatic Democratic senator from Missouri, campaigns in a cutthroat race for president of the United States. Cole Brennan, the most popular conservative talk-show host in the nation, battles nightly to save his country and help the incumbent Republican president maintain his 'inner conservative' to win re-election. The lives of Jade, Whitney, Cole, and the killer (who has an agenda of his own) are on a collision course. That course will not just impact them each in ways they could never have foreseen, but also the future of the United States of America. Amidst a backdrop of contemporary power politics driven by the influence of talk radio and social media, "Don't Speak" deftly explores many of the complex issues facing Americans today in a fictional format that is drawn from the realities of what we see on the nightly news and read in the daily newspaper. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction and Suspense/Thriller collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Don't Speak" is also available in a Kindle edition ($3.99).

Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
www.poisonedpenpress.com

Betty Webb's The Puffin of Death (9781464204142, $26.95) provides a fine Gunn Zoo mystery as it tells of a California zookeeper's journey to Iceland to pick up a polar bear cub for an exhibit. Murder should be the farthest from Teddy's mind, but when his scenic horseback ride encounters a body on a puffin burrow, identified as a famous American bird-watcher and winner of a huge lottery, events quickly descend into an investigation where Teddy is both a suspect and an investigator. Against the scenic backdrop of Iceland a cat-and-mouse game is played out with the killer one step ahead of Teddy and Iceland's wilderness challenges in a gripping mystery story. Mark de Castrique's A Specter of Justice (9781464204722, $26.95) provides a Sam Blackman mystery as it tells of a private detective's attempt to ease his conscience by helping his partner and lover conduct a fundraiser for newly orphaned twin boys killed in a courtroom shootout. The charity event requires Sam to recreate a ghost story - only somebody else has already set the scene for a duplicate tragedy, involving Sam in the case of a serial killer and possibilities of his guilt. A wonderful rabbit warren of intrigue and twists will delight mystery fans.


The Biography Shelf

Immunity
Luba Vikhanski
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613731109 $26.99 hc / $14.57 Kindle www.amazon.com

Immunity: How Elie Metchnikoff Changed the Course of Modern Medicine is the amazing biography of of Elie Metchnikoff (1845-1916), a Russian zoologist best known for his pioneer work in the biomedical science of immunology - the study of how living organisms' natural defenses against sickness work. In spite of criticism and outright ridicule from his peers, he was the first to propose that specific cells in humans and other animals were a natural defense line against foreign particles. Today such cells are commonly referred to as "white blood cells", but in Metchnikoff's time the idea was revolutionary. Metchnikoff's work earned him a Nobel Prize in 1908, and forever transformed how medical professionals understood and treated illnesses. Immunity draws upon a vast array of primary materials including letters, published articles, and a collection of Metchnikoff's personal documents to offer a portrait of not only his groundbreaking accomplishments, but also his everyday quirks and eccentricities. Even today, as problems arise from the overuse of antibiotics, medical professionals are re-examining some of Metchnikoff's ideas, such as cultivating gut bacteria for health benefits. Fascinating and accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Immunity is highly recommended especially for public and college library biography collections.

Apprehensions & Convictions
Mark Johnson
Quill Driver Books
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721
www.quilldriverbooks.com
9781610352642, $18.95, HC, 334pp, www.amazon.com

Mark Johnson is a retired detective with the Mobile Police Department, where he was decorated several times for service and bravery. Prior to his police career, Johnson spent twenty years as a public relations director and executive director for the United Way. "Apprehensions & Convictions: Adventures of a 50-Year-Old Rookie Cop" is Johnson's explosive memoir of his second career as a cop. Going from fund-raising with socialites to confronting armed suspects in the streets, Johnson found that poverty and crime were no longer social issues but matters of life and death. A civilized man whose first instinct is to help people in trouble, Johnson learned that some men can only be subdued with brute force and some chronic criminals refuse to be redeemed. Defying the skepticism of his wife, the derision of the younger cops who called him "Pawpaw," and his own self-doubts, Johnson rose to become a detective and a highly decorated officer. "Apprehensions and Convictions" also tells a personal story of how Johnson overcame his own demons to find a new sense of purpose and identity in mid-life. From a troubled drink and drug fueled youth, to dealing with both his birth and adoptive parents, to struggling to find a steady career path, Johnson's story is of a man who found his courage and changed himself. An intense, sweeping narrative that explores the frustrations of an over-privileged youth, delves deeply into the dysfunction of the Mobile ghetto, and ends with an armed standoff between Johnson and an escaped cop-killer, "Apprehensions and Convictions" is a compelling new memoir of a remarkable life. An unusually well written and exceptionally compelling read from beginning to end, "Apprehensions & Convictions" is very highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Biography and Law Enforcement Studies collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Apprehensions & Convictions " is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.99).

The Crippler
Chris Leben
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781634505666, $24.99, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Chris Leben is a ten-year veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and "The Crippler: Cage Fighting and My Life on the Edge" is the inherently fascinating story of his life with an emphasis on his being a professional mixed martial arts fighter. Leben's reputation started when he appeared on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, a reality show and competition where hopeful fighters live together and vie for a UFC contract and a path to greatness. He quickly made a name for himself with his controversial and abrasive behavior. During his subsequent ten-year career in ultimate fighting, Leben became one of the most recognized figures in the sport, enthralling audiences around the world with his wild, head-first style of fighting as he took on some of the world's best fighters, including Anderson Silva, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Wanderlei Silva. But Leben's success in the ring and international fame hid a troubled background. Abandoned by his father at a young age, Leben's mother worked long hours to raise him and his two siblings, and Leben learned early he had to be tough to fend for himself. For most of his life, Leben struggled with alcohol and narcotics, and he was suspended by the UFC for nine months for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Written with the assistance of Daniel J. Patinkin, "The Crippler" is not just an exciting account of his rise to prominence within the UFC; it's the incredible story of a renowned wild man dealing with his personal demons and learning that the toughest opponent is always yourself. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library American Biography and Mixed Martial Arts collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Crippler" is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.99).

1969 and Then Some
Robert Whitner
Yucca Publishing
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
http://www.yuccapub.com
9781631580192, $24.95, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

1969 was that pivotal year for the baby boomers. Young and innocent, they were given the ultimate freedoms and were faced with growing up. "1969 and Then Some" is Robert Whitner's touching and hilarious memoir relating the true story of a late sixties grand tour of Europe -- a life-defining parable, for those who remember and for those who can't. Never before and not since have a handful of seasons so exquisitely defined the difference between right and wrong. With the gift of youth the youth of that generation saw, sensed, and savored the laughably clear distinction between profit motive and greed, between truth and propaganda, between national interest and defense contractors, between a lovely cloud of smoke and the smoke of napalm, and between the phantoms of security and the dangers of complacency and atrophy. Stoned to the gills and then some, these adventurers saw and felt and knew things that no generation before did. Some fully engaged in the counterculture while others merely observed, sticking a left foot in, pulling a left foot out, but not quite jumping to the full hokeypokey. It was an incredible time of self-discovery, of love, and of finding out what you were made of. Compelling, nostalgic, entertaining, extraordinary, "1969 and Then Some" will prove to be an exceptionally and impressively popular addition to community and academic library American Biography collections. For academia and the non-specialist general reader it should be noted for their personal reading lists that "1969 and Then Some" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.49).


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Astrology, Plain & Simple
Cass & Janie Jackson
Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781571747471 $14.95 pbk / $9.49 Kindle www.amazon.com

Astrology, Plain & Simple presents the basics of Western zodiac astrology in plain terms, accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Readers will learn about the characteristics of each sun sign, how to create a birth chart, how to find one's riding and moon signs, and more. A few of the more advanced astrological topics are also discussed, such as trines, aspects, and conjunctions. Easy to use, Astrology, Plain & Simple is a choice pick for beginners, or anyone curious in learning more about what goes into their daily horoscope.

Dance of Heavenly Bliss
Garnet Schulhauser
Ozark Mountain Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 754, Huntsville, AR 72740
www.ozarkmt.com
9781940265322, $14.25, PB, 168pp, www.amazon.com

"Dancing on a Stamp" and "Dancing Forever with Spirit" were the first two volumes in author Garnet Schulhauser's series. Now his third book, "Dance of Heavenly Bliss: Divine Inspiration for Humanity", was specifically written to instill in his readers a recognition of the urgent need to discard their negative emotions and embrace love and compassion for one another, for Mother Earth, and for all the creatures who share our planet. "Dance of Heavenly Bliss" reveals that we are all eternal souls traveling on unique journeys on Earth designed to help us grow and evolve as souls. And when our physical bodies perish we will all return to the spirit side where we will be welcomed back with unconditional love, as we eagerly plan the next steps in our evolution. Very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of the non-specialist general reader with an interest in metaphysical and spirituality studies, it should be noted that "Dance of Heavenly Bliss" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

The Children of Roswell
Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
12 Parish Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470
www.newpagebooks.com
9781632650191, $16.99, www.amazon.com

The Children of Roswell: A Seven-Decade Legacy of Fear, Intimidation, and Cover-Ups is highly recommended for any collection strong in UFO and conspiracy theories, especially new age readers interested in ongoing Roswell research. This book focuses on the true stories of Roswell families who were witnesses to events, only to find their sagas twisted and their lives filled with harassment. Hasn't this been done before? Not in this manner, for this book focuses on the long-term effects of ongoing harassment and fear on the descendants of the original Roswell witnesses, and offers an eye-opening, revealing story of how the children and grandchildren of the original observers continue to pay for their parents' experiences. These documented stories provide eye-opening revelations and should join any definitive Roswell collection.

Colloidal Silver: The Natural Antibiotic
Werner Kuhni and Walter von Holst
Healing Arts Press
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
www.healingartspress.com
9781620555002, $14.95, www.amazon.com

Colloidal Silver: The Natural Antibiotic belongs in new age and health holds alike and discusses a natural antibiotic and antiviral used until the middle of the 20th century, when pharmaceuticals were developed and promoted instead. Why is this older form of antibiotic to be considered now? Because the onset of new resistant infections has led to newfound attention on the benefits of colloidal silver. The authors here explore its many benefits and uses for boosting immunity and reducing pain. It can also apply to nearly eighty common conditions from canker sores and eczema to flu, and scientific studies support the fact that this silver works against a range of infections and offers quick relief in many circumstances. The result is a heath discussion that will especially attract those interested in alternative medicine and older forms of natural antibiotics.

Our Dolphin Ancestors
Frank Joseph
Bear & Company
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
www.bearandcompanybooks.com
9781591432319, $18.00, www.amazon.com

Our Dolphin Ancestors: Keepers of Lost Knowledge and Healing Wisdom explores the human/dolphin connection in a new light, explaining the natural affinity between the two species with an eye to revealing the evolutionary foundations for special relationships with dolphins, contending that human and dolphin come from the same descendants. New age readers familiar with the theory of mankind's aquatic origins will find this a detailed discussion of how human and dolphin connections split over the eons, and will appreciate the addition of scientific research on dolphin intelligence and qualities as it explores the historic connections between dolphins and humans. New age readers will find this an intriguing inspection of just how deep the human/dolphin connection runs.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Essential Expositions of the Psalms
Saint Augstine, author
Michael Cameron, selection & introduction
Maria Boulding, translator
Boniface Ramsey, editor
New City Press
202 Cardinal Rd., Hyde Park, NY 12538
www.newcitypress.com
9781565485105, $39.95, PB, 514pp, www.amazon.com

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) is one of the greatest thinkers and writers of the Western world. After he converted to Christianity he became bishop of Hippo in North Africa, where he was influential in civil and church affairs. His writings have had a lasting impact on Western philosophy and culture. This New City Press edition of "Essential Expositions of the Psalms" is a collection distilled by Michael Cameron from the 6-volume set in the Works of Saint Augustine. As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo. Ably translated into English for the benefit of an American readership by Maria Boulding, "Essential Expositions of the Psalms" is very highly recommended for both seminary and academic library Roman Catholic Theological Studies reference collections in general, and Augustinian Theology supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

The Spirituality of Parenting
Kathy Hendricks
Twenty-Third Publications
1 Montauk Avenue, #200, New London, CT 06320
www.23rdpublications.com
9781627851275, $12.95, PB, 96pp, www.amazon.com

Popular speaker, catechetical leader, and consultant Kathy Hendricks is the author of numerous books, including "Prayers and Rituals for the Home" (9781585959419, $12.95, 112pp) and "Forming Families in Faith: Cultivating Catechesis in the Home" (9781627850957, $9.95, 80pp) both of which are highly recommended and available from Twenty-Third Publications). Now in her third family oriented titles for a Christian readership she has written "The Spirituality of Parenting: Connecting Heart and Soul" which has as its focus the message that parents should reflect upon their role responsibilities for the sake of their children, and to nourish their own spirituality while in the midst of their busy and complicated lives. It is critically important for parents to be vigilant in caring for their own spiritual needs, even as they engaging in challenges and experiencing the blessings of family life. "The Spirituality of Parenting" deftly examines four states of the heart: vigilance, joy, heaviness, and hope, and how each of these conditions are founded in stories found in Christian Scriptures, and underscored by Kathy's own family life experiences. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented in a thoroughly 'reader friendly' tone, "The Spirituality of Parenting" is both inspired and inspiring, making it very highly recommended for personal and church library Christian Parenting Skills instructional reference collections.

The Bible in the Literary Imagination of the Spanish Golden Age
Terence O'Reilly
Saint Joseph University Press
5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
www.sjupress.com
9780916101633, $65.00, HC, 303pp, www.amazon.com

In "The Bible in the Literary Imagination of the Spanish Golden Age", author Terence O'Reilly considers, in a sequence of six informed and informative studies, some of the ways in which the biblical culture of Spain left its impress on the literature and art of the time. It does so by tracing the presence of biblical images in a selection of works composed between the reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella and Philip IV. Together these works represent some of the major genres, literary and artistic, that flourished in the Golden Age, including travelogues, works of devotion, narrative fiction, biblical exegesis, poetry, popular drama, and religious painting. They also illustrate the role played by ancestral images in a period of cultural change. Enhanced with the inclusion of illustrations, a 'Note on Biblical References', an enlightening preface, an instructive introduction, an epilogue, forty-two pages of notes, a forty-eight page bibliography of works cited, a four page biblical index, and an eight page index, "The Bible in the Literary Imagination of the Spanish Golden Age" is an exceptional work of original and illuminating scholarship that is a very highly recommended addition to personal, seminary, church, and academic library Christian Studies collections.

Building Bridges, Not Walls / Construyamos puentes, no muros
John Francis Burke
The Liturgical Press
2950 Saint John's Road, PO Box 7500
Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
www.litpress.org
9780814648087, $24.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

John Francis Burke, PhD, is an author and scholar in political science and religious studies who has taught at Texas State University, Delta State University, the University of Houston-Downtown, the University of St. Thomas, Texas, Cabrini College, and St. Mary's Seminary, Houston, Texas. Professor Burke has extensive experience dealing with social justice and intercultural issues at the parish level, especially from his many years in Texas. In particular, he has a facility for cultivating multicultural/multilingual church choirs. In his bilingual (English/Spanish) "Building Bridges, Not Walls / Construyamos puentes, no muros" he has written an informed and informative work specifically intended for all members of a Roman Catholic parish who are wrestling with how to go about bridging the multiple ethnic, linguistic, and racial communities that increasingly comprise an American parish? With these cultural backgrounds frequently come diverse perspectives on everything from how to communicate with each other to how to understand God. In addition, such cultural divisions all too often manifest differences in the access these communities have to parish decision-making structures. "Building Bridges, Not Walls / Construyamos puentes, no muros" highlights the dramatic impact the growing Latino presence is having in parishes across the country, considers the theology of inculturation and intercultural ministry, and provides practical pastoral ministry suggestions on doing intercultural ministry. Exceptionally well written, organized, and presented, the inspired and inspiring text in presented in both English and Spanish, making it an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, clerical, church, community, and academic library bi-lingual Christian Studies reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Transforming the World
Leo Dee
Urim Publications
c/o Lambda Publishers
527 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, New York 11225
www.UrimPublications.com
9789655242140, $25.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Currently now residing in Efrat, Israel, Leo Dee is a former director at a private equity fund who received his rabbinical ordination in Israel. He was a also community rabbi in a British village in South Hertfordshire where he explored the importance of Judaism. Using history and logic, Rabbi Dee explains in "Transforming the World: The Jewish Impact on Modernity" how Judaism enhances daily life to make it more meaningful. Addressing the fundamental question of why bother being Jewish in a modern world, "Transforming the World" focuses on the tolerance and equality of all mankind that is fundamental in Judaism. With a combination of commandments, traditions, and history, Rabbi Dee shows how Jewish culture transforms a human life and the wider world for the better. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Transforming the World" is very highly recommended for personal, synagogue, community, and academic library Contemporary Judaic Studies reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Political Science Shelf

Grumpy Old Party
Constantinos E. Scaros
Westbow Press
c/o Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
www.westbowpress.com
9781512713244, $28.95, HC, 134pp, www.amazon.com

"Grumpy Old Party: 20 Tips on How the Republicans Can Shed Their Anger, Reclaim Their Respectability, and Win Back the White House" by Constantinos E. Scaros (a presidential historian specializing in voter behavior, a political analyst, and an academician who has taught history, political science, law, criminal justice, and journalism for over twenty years at numerous colleges and universities) is a kind of instruction manual for Republican party bosses and conservative activists alike. As vividly manifested by the current chaos and internecine warfare of the Republican presidential nomination race, the party has fractured with an overt hostility of a significant percentage of the Republican base against its own traditional party leadership within congress and without. Deftly organized into four major sections (Foundations; Basic Dos and Don'ts; Reclaiming; Winning), "Grumpy Old Part" offers a practical, principled, effective, reality based approach to reforming the Grand Old Party and increasing its influence with respect to national policy making and securing the loyalty of a voting majority of the American public. "Grumpy Old Party" is very highly recommended for conservative political activists and GOP party leaders. It should be noted that "Grumpy Old Party" is also available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781512713251, $11.95) and in a Kindle format ($8.99).


The Needlecraft Shelf

Sewing Happiness
Sanae Ishida
Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Ave, Suite 710, Seattle, WA 98101
www.sasquatchbooks.com
9781570619953, $22.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

When Sanae Ishida was diagnosed with a chronic illness and lost her corporate job, she thought her life was over. But these challenges ended up being the best thing that ever happened to her because they forced her to take stock of her life and focus on the important things, and enabled her to rediscover sewing -- her true passion. "Sewing Happiness: A Year of Simple Projects for Living Well" is comprised of twenty simple sewing projects are tied together with a thread of memoir that tells the story of how sewing brought Sanae profound happiness. Each seasonal project is specially designed to promote health, creativity, relationships and more. Each seasonal project provides gentle inspiration to live your best life. Inspired to succeed at just one thing, Sanae vowed to sew all of her daughter's clothes (and most of her own) for one year. "Sewing Happiness" showcases twenty 'user friendly' projects plus variations (including Japanese-inspired home goods and children's and women's clothing) organized by season, and stitched together with Sanae's own charming and personal story. "Sewing Happiness" is very highly recommended for community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Sewing Happiness" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.99).

Jelly Roll Jazz
Jean Ann Wright
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
www.landauercorp.com
9781935726838, $14.95, PB, 48pp, www.amazon.com

Quilting expert Jean Ann Wright has provided still another outstanding quilting project book with the publication of "Jelly Roll Jazz". Showcasing eight all new and thoroughly 'user friendly' quilting projects made with precut jelly roll strips, "Jelly Roll Jazz" offers easy to follow step-by-step, illustrated instructions that include detailed diagrams that each make each of these quilts a perfect weekend project. Of special note is how Jean Ann is able to consistently create interesting and unique quilt designs to ensure that the quilts comprising "Jelly Roll Jazz" won't look anything like a typical precut quilt! "Jelly Roll Jazz" is very highly recommended for personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Never Again
Heather Starsong
Barking Rain Press
c/o BRP Publishing Group
PO Box 822674, Vancouver, WA, 98682
www.barkingrainpress.org
9781941295267, $13.95, PB, 186pp, www.amazon.com

Struck by lightning on her annual birthday hike to a favorite mountain meadow in Colorado, 80-year-old Clara Norwood closes her eyes, expecting to die. Instead, she wakes up on an Elirian spaceship. When she is returned to Earth, however, Clara realizes that the Elirians did more than simply heal her injuries. They also reversed all the ravages of aging, and she is once again a beautiful young woman. At first Clara rejoices in her newfound strength and energy, but before long her 80-year-old spirit begins to feel at odds with her youthful body. She is uncomfortable with the all the electronic gadgets of the 21st century and dreads the prospect of outliving her friends and family. She is also mystified by the unexpected attention she receives from men who are younger than her own adult children -- and completely unprepared for the new realities of modern dating and romance! Original, deftly crafted, absorbingly entertaining from beginning to end, Heather Starsong's "Never Again" is a compelling read and clearly establishes this author as an impressively talented storyteller who will leave her readers looking eagerly toward her next novel. Very highly recommended for community library Science Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Never Again" is also available in a Kindle edition ($5.95).

PSI Explorers
J. Patrick Conlon
America Star Books
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0184
http://store.americastarbooks.pub
9781627720885, $27.95, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

After an extensive period of healing from the almost fatal attack of the mad ethereal entity, three sets of triplets set out to explorer the world around them to include anomalies within our solar system. Their genetic design is following their programmer's design which includes them growing to adulthood at eight years old. Then it's get pregnant or the girls, who are earth's primary defenders, will lose their powers. An original and deftly crafted novel by gifted storyteller J. Patrick Conlon, "PSI Explorers" is a compelling and entertaining read from beginning to end and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Science Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "PSI Explorers" is also available in a Kindle edition ($5.99).


The Martial Arts Shelf

Judo: Seven Steps To Black Belt
Rodolfo Tello
Amakella Publishing
www.amakella.com
9781633870017, $14.99, PB, 121pp, www.amazon.com

Displaying the most impressive throws, decisive armbars, dominant pins, and effective chokes, judo is a particularly powerful sport and martial art that can bring opponents into submission in highly assertive ways. With determination and perseverance, such tremendous power could be yours. Designed with safety considerations in mind, judo allows people of all ages to be involved in a long-term fitness activity with opportunities for continuous improvement. The practice of judo is a way of life that promotes physical and mental harmony, which contributes to a balanced lifestyle. It is also an Olympic sport that has been gaining increasing worldwide visibility. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Judo: Seven Steps To Black Belt" by Rodolfo Tello is impressively 'user friendly in tone, commentary, and content, making it extraordinarily informed and informative. Very highly recommended for personal, dojo, community, and academic library Martial Arts instructional reference collections in general, and Judo Studies reading lists in particular.


The Cookbook Shelf

200 Best Sheet Pan Meals
Camilla V. Saulsbury
Robert Rose Inc.
120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 1E2
www.robertrose.ca
9780778805380, $24.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Camilla V. Saulsbury is a freelance food writer, recipe developer, cooking instructor and creator of the healthy cooking blog powerhungry.com. In "200 Best Sheet Pan Meals: Quick and Easy Oven Recipes One Pan, No Fuss!" she showcases great kitchen cook friendly meals that conveniently using a single sheet pan. These 200 recipes allow for individual ingredients to intensify flavors, and clean up is a breeze. All that is needed is a sheet pan, an oven, and expert instructions and recipes from Camilla Saulsbury for creating some of these extraordinary meals (and desserts). The recipes range from Pesto Chicken Thighs with Roasted Baby Carrots, Persian Rice-Stuffed Butternut Squash; and Chewy Coconut Trail Mix Bars; to Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies; Halibut with Herbed Bread Crumbs and Broccoli; and Lemon Parmesan Prk Meatloaves with Zucchini Chips. A delight to browse and inspiring to plan menus with, "200 Best Sheet Pan Meals" will prove a popular addition to community library cookbook collections, and is especially commended to the attention of anyone pressed for time but wanting to serve meals that are as palate pleasing as they are health and nutritious.

The Top 100 Low-Carb Recipes
Nicola Graimes
Nourish
c/o Watkins Publishing
Angel Business Club, 359 Goswell Road, London, EC1V 7JL, UK
www.watkinspublishing.com
9781848993020, $9.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Nicola Graimes is an award-winning cookery writer and former editor of Vegetarian Living Magazine. In "The Top 100 Low-Carb Recipes" she has compiled a culinary collection that will prove to be an essential meal planning reference for anyone who is interested in controlling their weight by cutting down their intake of carbohydrates. "The Top 100 Low-Carb Recipes" proves that living a low-carb lifestyle does not mean eating unlimited amounts of unhealthy, fatty foods. The key to success is eating the right type of carb alongside good sources of protein and fat. By focusing on unrefined carbohydrates (and eating these in carefully controlled amounts) you can keep blood sugar levels steady, have heaps of energy, and feel fuller for longer. Featuring innovative, delicious and nutritionally balanced dishes, this varied collection of 100 recipes from all over the world provides a safe and responsible blueprint for low-carb eating. Profusely illustrated and featuring thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly dishes that range from Tortilla Egg Rolls; Smoked Haddock Chowder; Crab Cakes with Chilli Dip; and Pan-Fried Pork with Minty Pea Puree; to Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Mozzarella; Crisp Sea Bass with Japanese Pickled Vegetables; Spring Vegetable Stir-Fry with Cashews; and Chocolate Orange Cream; Nicola Graimes' "The Top 100 Low-Carb Recipes " will prove to be an enduringly popular and trusted addition to personal and family cookbook collections.

The Meals to Heal Cookbook
Susan Bratton & Jessica Iannotta
Livelong Books / Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780738218793, $18.99, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Collaboratively compiled by Susan Bratton (Founder and CEO of Savor Health, a comprehensive patient and caregiver focused cancer nutrition service) and Jessica Iannotta (registered dietitian and certified specialist in oncology who is also the Chief Operating Officer of Savor Health), "The Meals to Heal Cookbook" is a compilation of 150 kitchen cook friendly, nutritionally well balanced recipes for dishes that palate pleasing and appetite satisfying -- especially for anyone having to deal with a diagnosis of cancer for themselves or a loved one. With recipes ranging from Peach Cardamon Honeyed Yogurt; Very Veggie Farro Salad; Creamy Grits with Roasted Tomatoes and Sauteed Spinach; Grilled Beet and Goat Cheese Burgers; and Panfried Tofu and Vegetables over Brown Rice; to Orzo Kale Soup; Blueberry Ginger Coconut Smoothie; Chocolate Avocado Fudgsicles; Zucchini Leek Latkes; Harvest Studded Squash; and Roasted Applesauce, "The Meals to Heal Cookbook" is as much a pleasure to browse through as it is to plan meals with. Enhanced with the inclusion of a section of beautiful photographs for selected dishes, an informative chapters on Getting Started, Common Nutrition Topics, Safe Food Handling, and Helpful References, "The Meals to Heal Cookbook" is very highly recommended for all personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "The Meals to Heal Cookbook" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).

Israel Eats
Steven Rothfeld
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com
9781423640363, $35.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Steven Rothfeld is a world-class photographer specializing in luxury imagery. So it is no surprise to find that his first cookbook should be graced by absolutely gorgeous full color images throughout. The result of having spent several months traveling through Israel to explore the vibrant food scene, and with the locals guiding him from one great restaurant to another, as well as to the Israeli growers and producers of fine foods as well, "Israel Eats" is a delicious compilation of stories and recipes showcasing Israel's food culture today. It should be noted that in "Israel Eats", Rothfeld's friend Nancy Silverton contributes ten dishes inspired by the delicious fusion styles that are taking the Israeli culinary community by storm. Featuring thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes, the dishes range from Mushroom Falafel with herb Tabouleh and Sweet and Spicy Yogurt Sauces; Carrot, Cilantro, and Preserved Lemon Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing; and Galilean Kugel; to Glazed Burrata with pumpkin Carpaccio, Pumpkin Seeds, and Fried Sage; Tel-Aviv Style Ashkenazi Knafeh; Broccli Pie; and Pan-Fried Grouper with Jerusalem Artichoke Stew and Clams. As much a pleasure to browse through as it is to plan authentic Israeli menus with, "Israel Eats" is very highly recommended for personal, family, professional, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections.

A Taste of Torah
Aviv Harkov
Gefen Publishing House
11 Edison Place, Springfield, NJ 07081
www.gefenpublishing.com
9789652296672, $29.95, HC, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Aviv Harkov is a twenty-two-year-old amateur cook who started cooking, perched on a stool, as her mother's sous chef. Raised on the principles and love of Shabbat described in the pages of "A Taste for Torah", she has since gone from sous chef to local caterer and the head chef at home as she prepares for Shabbat each week. In "A Taste of Torah" she has compiled a culinary wealth of beautifully illustrated recipes that are ideal for planning a Shabbat menu with. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, the recipes are arranged by courses and include appetizers, salads, side dishes, main courses, and desserts. With appetite-satisfying and palate-pleasing dishes ranging from Roasted Red Pepper Soup; Rustic Grape Salad; and Shepherdess Pie; to Lamb and Mint Stew; Almond-Crusted Salmon with Lemon, White Wine and Scallion Sauce; and Chocolate-Covered Sea Salt Caramel Matzo, "A Taste of Torah" will prove to be a highly prized and enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library Ethnic Cuisine cookbook collections.

Fire Pit Cooking
Vanessa Bante
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
PO Box 667, Layton UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com
9781423641728, $15.99, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Vanessa Bante is a baking and pastry chef with a strong culinary background. In her travels across the United States, she has learned about different styles of food and enjoys creating new deconstructed recipes from what she has tasted along the way. With "Fire Pit Cooking", she focuses on dishes that are cooked on an open fire. With one or a few fun-to-use tools (pie irons, foil, Tarts on Fire, sweet sticks or simply a dowel) by following the thoroughly 'user friendly' recipes that comprise "Fire Pit Cooking", anyone can make family-friendly dishes over a backyard fire pit or at a campground. With 75 scrumptious recipes ranging from Apple and Cheese Quesadillas; Spaghetti Pie Iron Sandwiches; Maple Chicken with Sweet Potatoes in Foil; and Pretzel Sticks with Beer Cheese Sauce; to Blueberry and Chocolate Iron Sandwich; Fire-Roasted Ratatouille; Rustic White Pizza with Scallops and Pancetta; Lemon Mousse in Phyllo Cups; and Bite-Sized Strawberry Angel Food Cake with Chocolate will satisfy any appetite and please any palate. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Vanessa Bante's "Fire Pit Cooking" is enthusiastically recommended and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Dry Aging Meat at Home
Warren R. Anderson
Burford Books, Inc.
101 East State Street, #301, Ithaca, NY 14850
www.burfordbooks.com
9781580801799, $16.95, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Drying meat is the oldest known form of food preservation known to human history and every aboriginal culture. Today dry-aged meat is a meat lover's dream, featuring succulence and flavor that no other meat can match. Typically such meats are available only in elite steakhouse restaurants or high-end specialty butcher shops, at a cost far beyond the pocketbook of most consumers. But now this ultimate expression of meaty flavor is available to all, with the surprisingly simple but detailed instructions in this handy guide. All that's needed is a small refrigerator, a fan, a remote thermometer, and a copy of Warren Anderson's "Dry Aging Meat at Home: A Complete Guide for Dry Aging Beef, Duck, Game, and Other Meat". With these tools anyone can dry age beef, duck, goose, lamb, goat, venison and other game, and more. "Dry Aging Meat at Home" examines the cuts of meat to choose and how to trim them. Exact, step-by-step instructions for dry aging each kind of meat are covered in full detail. "Dry Aging Meat at Home" also addresses health and food-safety concerns in detail, and gives guidelines for how long each meat should be aged. Cooking notes are also included. "Dry Aging Meat at Home" is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library Food Preparation & Cookbook collections.

The Essential 5:2 Fast Diet Planner
Delphine de Montalier & Charlotte Debeugny
Weldon Owen
415 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
www.weldonowen.com
9781616289935, $19.99, www.amazon.com

The Essential 5:2 Fast Diet Planner offers a fasting planner and diet plan for those who would intermittently fast, and provides a diet that's structured over the course of a week, to include several days when food intake isn't more than 500 calories a day for women and 600 for men. With this approach in mind, The Essential 5:2 Fast Diet Planner provides recipes and foods for both fast and non-fast days, with full-page color photos complimenting such dishes as Fruity Grated Carrots, Seared Veal & Mushrooms, and cold or hot Fish and Bean Salad. The result will delight any who seek a specific cookbook that takes fasting into account.

The New Wildcrafted Cuisine
Pascal Baudar
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120, White River Junction, VT 05001
www.chelseagreen.com
9781603586061, $40.00, www.amazon.com

The New Wildcrafted Cuisine: Exploring the Exotic Gastronomy of Local Terroir provides a range of recipes that include infusions and use wild ingredients, and is a recommendation for any who would forage for the best ingredients, then put them to best use. Chapters pack in color photos of foraging and recipe preparation and include many tips that are hard to find elsewhere, such as how to use mustard flowers (common in many places in California in early Spring) to make mustard (by infusing them with white wine, vinegar and spices, or how to make vinegars from scratch. The result is an appealing and unusual collection of herbal recipes and tips not to be easily found elsewhere: one that takes the ingredients of the wild and transforms them into something familiar and necessary for cooking.

Raw Cakes
Joanna Farrow
Spruce
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781846015267, $12.99, www.amazon.com

Raw Cakes: 30 Delicious, No-Bake, Vegan, Sugar-free & Gluten-Free Cakes pairs some forty color photos with recipes for cakes that lack many of the ingredients that would stymie dessert fans from eating them, and making this the perfect item of choice for any who are on a special diet. Cakes made without eggs, flour or butter, and even without baking use substitute ingredients such as maple syrup and almond butter. While bakers might expect exotic ingredients and long prep times, another 'plus' of this book lies in its quick turnaround which makes most of the cakes a snap to produce.


The Travel Shelf

Lonely Planet USA
Regis St Louis, et al.
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781743218617, $29.99, PB, 1216pp, www.amazon.com

Simply stated, "Lonely Planet USA" is the premier travel guide and a kind of passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await the traveler throughout America from the mile-deep chasm of the Grand Canyon, to iconic cities like New York, to sultry southern music and food stir your soul, and so very much more. "Lonely Planet USA" features: Color maps and images throughout; Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests; Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots; Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices; Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss; Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - including history, art, literature, cinema, music, architecture, politics, landscapes, national parks, wildlife, cuisine and wine; Over 96 maps. Covering New England, New York, the Mid-Atlantic, Florida, the South, Great Lakes, Great Plains, Texas, Rocky Mountains, Southwest, Pacific Northwest, California, Alaska, Hawaii, and more, "Lonely Planet USA" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library American Travel Guide collections. It should be noted for the active traveler that "Lonely Planet USA" is also available in a Kindle edition ($18.43).

Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia, second edition
Suzanne Welander & Bob Shelinger
Menasha Ridge Press
2204 - 1st Avenue South, Suite 102, Birmingham, AL 35233
www.menasharidge.com
9781634040068, $18.95, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Covering thousands of miles of Georgia's waterways, and collaboratively compiled by the team of Suzanne Welander and Bob Shelinger, "Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia" is the ideal guide to Georgia's whitewater to wilderness swamps -- and pretty much everything in between. Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia" incorporates the exhilarating new urban whitewater course in Columbus, and the recently established water trails that actively welcome recreational paddlers throughout the state. Now expanded to cover more waterways in Southwest Georgia, including the Kinchafoonee, Muckalee, and Ichawaynochaway Creeks, canoe and kayaking enthusiasts will only need their personal copy of "Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia" to figure out where to float, no matter what type of boat they paddle. An ideal travel guide profusely enhanced with maps and charts, "Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia" is very highly recommended for community library Travel Guide and Water Sports reference collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Canoeing & Kayaking Georgia" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Boomercise: Exercising as You Age
David Pargman
Fitness Information Technology
375 Birch Street, PO Box 6116, Morgantown, WV 26506-6116
http://fitinfotech.com
9781935412328, $16.95, PB, 260pp, www.amazon.com

Men and women of the boomer generation now have "Boomercise: Exercising as You Age", a book by David Pargman (Professor Emeritus at Florida State University, and an expert on the psychology of exercise) specifically about exercise catered to their specific needs and circumstances. Encouraged by doctors to continue to exercise three to five times a week for their health, a legion of running, swimming and biking elders are flouting the conventional limits of the middle-aged body's abilities, and filling the nation's operating rooms and orthopedists' offices in the process. Aging boomers would benefit immensely from regular exercise by first giving a careful reading to "Boomercise: Exercising as You Age" and then applying the presented guidelines in their personal exercise routines and activities. Simply stated, "Boomercise: Exercising as You Age" is a critically important addition to personal reading lists of 'babyboomer' men and women, as well as community, senior citizen center, and academic library Health/Medicine reference collections.

Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands
Gertrude Hirschi
Weiser Publishers
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781578631391, $16.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Mudras (also playfully called "finger power points") are yoga positions for your hands and fingers. They can be practiced sitting, lying down, standing, or walking, at any time and place. Schooled in the traditional knowledge of this eastern art of healing, well-known Swiss yoga teacher, Gertrud Hirschi, shows how these easy techniques can recharge personal energy reserves and improve quality of life. These mysterious healing gestures can calm the stress, aggravations, and frustrations of everyday life. Readers will learn how to apply these simple exercises to prevent illness and support the healing of a great variety of physical and emotional problems; use mudras to promote spiritual development; and additionally intensify the effect with breathing exercises, affirmations, visualizations, herbs, nutrition, music, and colors. Also included are several full-body mudras and exercises to enhance any meditation and yoga practice. Helpfully illustrated with line drawings throughout, "Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands" by Gertrude Hirshi (an experienced yoga instructor with her own yoga school in Zurich, Switzerland) is especially 'user friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, making it an ideal addition to personal, community, and academic library Yoga Exercise instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted that "Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.98).

Safety Concerns for Herbal Drugs
Divya Vohora and S.B. Vohora
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781482256611, $129.95, www.amazon.com

Safety Concerns for Herbal Drugs belongs in any health care collection and offers important examinations in considering whether herbal drugs lack adverse effects when used either individually or in conjunction with modern medicine. It's a compendium of risks and benefits that takes a variety of popular herbal medicines and discusses safety and toxicity, surveying some 1500 medicinal plants and herbal products from various countries and including the latest research, regulations, and their enforcement in over seventy countries. The result is a handbook that addresses many different concerns, backing its contentions with tables of information, statistics, and the latest discussions about herbal remedies.


The Photography Shelf

Picture Perfect Lighting
Roberto Valenzuela
Rocky Nook
802 East Cota Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
www.rockynook.com
9781937538750, $49.95, PB, 340pp, www.amazon.com

In "Picture Perfect Lighting: An Innovative Lighting System for Photographing People", photographer Roberto Valenzuela draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to present a system that will enable even the most novice of photographers to become better, more confident practitioners of their craft through understanding and controlling light in photography. After discussing the universal nature of light, Roberto introduces the five key behaviors of light, which are essential to understand in order to improve your knowledge of light. With those behaviors established, Roberto introduces his concept of "circumstantial light", an ingenious way of examining and breaking down the light around you in any given situation. Providing a detailed analysis of circumstantial light, Roberto develops the top ten circumstantial light elements you need to know in order to fully harness the power of the light around you to create an image that is true to your vision. The final piece of the "Picture Perfect Lighting" system is Roberto's "lighting benchmark test", a brilliant method for determining the quality of the light in any given situation. It is with the lighting benchmark test that you will determine if and when you need to use "helper light", the light that is needed or manipulated in order to "help" the circumstantial light so that your vision comes to life. Helper light is created with diffusers, reflectors, flashes, strobes, and light modifiers. "Picture Perfect Lighting" is very highly recommended for both community and academic library Photography instructional reference collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Picture Perfect Lighting" is also available in a Kindle edition ($23.49).

Sawtooth-White Cloud
Mark William Link, photographer
Nicole LeFavour, essayist
Caxton Press
312 Main Street, Caldwell, ID 83605-3299
www.caxtonpress.com
9780870046001, $26.00, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Blending acclaimed nature photographer Mark Lisk's powerful photos expose a striking side of the lakes and rocky heights of a remote slice of the American wild. Deep in Idaho's newly designated White Clouds Wilderness Area and the dramatic peaks of the Sawtooth Wilderness, with Nicole LeFavour insightful and informative essays underscoring the light and stark beauty of the silence and stillness of these high places perched far from where most will ever travel, "Sawtooth-White Cloud" is an inherently fascinating read and an ideal browsing choice for the armchair traveler.

Kentucky: A Photographic Journey
Linda Doane
Farcountry Press
PO Box 5630, Helena, MT 59604
www.farcountrypress.com
9781560375906, $12.95, PB, 80pp, www.amazon.com

Linda Doane has worked as a commercial and assignment photographer for 29 years. Her powerful images have won awards at the local and national levels as well as featuring in many magazines and books. She has assisted in photographic workshops in Alaska, Africa, and Indonesia. In the pages of "Kentucky: A Photographic Journey", armchair travelers will traverse the Bluegrass State with Linda as she takes them to not only the heart of horse country, but through miles of scenic lakes and rivers, cities and towns, historic Civil War sites and Shaker villages. Along the way, "Kentucky: A Photographic Journey" provides an unforgettable glimpse of Kentucky's bourbon culture, farmers markets, and its many festivals, including the celebrated Kentucky Derby. "Kentucky: A Photographic Journey" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Contemporary American Photography collections.

Andrew Lyght: Full Circle
L. H. Roper, et al.
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art
c/o State University of New York Press
State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246-0001
www.sunypress.edu
9780692405925, $45.00, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

A compendium of flawlessly reproduced photography, "Andrew Lyght: Full Circle" is a venture into the departures, encounters, discoveries, and transgressions that inform Andrew Lyght's artistic practice and life. While living and working for decades in various cultural contexts such as Guyana, Canada, and the United States, Lyght has pursued an extensive inquiry into the mechanics of art making. Curated by Tumelo Mosaka, "Andrew Lyght: Full Circle" is the artist's first museum exhibition since he moved to Kingston, New York in 2006. Best known for his flexible and volumetric forms, vibrant paintings, and abstract linear drawings, Lyght creates a wide range of works that analyze the structural properties of painting and reanimate pictorial space as an open system. Over the many years he has developed an art form that explores the built environment as a dynamic pictorial subject, introducing new ways of seeing the world around us. In addition to an informed and informative commentary, each individual photographic image is captioned for the benefit of the reader. "Andrew Lyght: Full Circle" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary Photography reference collections and supplemental studies lists.

Amherst Media
175 Rano Street, Suite 200, Buffalo, NY 14207-2176
www.amherstmedia.com

Pierre Stephenson's Foundations of Posing: A Comprehensive Guide for Wedding and Portrait Photographers (9781608959457, $34.95) provides a fine book that shows how to built images that make the most of a portrait through proper posing and lighting. Chapters discuss how best to pose women, men, children and groups, considering body language and different kinds of poses for different purposes. From action and storytelling poses to handling perspective, chapters are packed with black and white and color shots that illustrate the finer art of posing for maximum results. Brett Florens' Shot in the Dark: Low-Light Techniques for Wedding & Portrait Photography (9781782030080, $29.95) comes from a commercial and wedding photographer who tells how to produce the best results from low-light situations, and discusses the basics of how to capture scenes and subjects using the least light. Chapters contract images for examples, discuss different techniques that can expand photographic options, and offer plenty of examples of professional results. Any neo-pro working with low-light settings needs this. Christopher Grey's Cheap Tricks: Ingenious Lighting and Shooting Ideas for Studio Photography (9781682030127, $29.95) tells how to produce professional, polished results on a budget and focuses on how to reduce the typical studio budget through reducing special effects equipment and getting results elsewhere, instead. Simple techniques for maximizing common photo equipment offer the same or similar results as those gained from higher-end hardware, with chapters presenting impressive options and tricks for getting the most of standard camera work. The result is an outstanding example of what can be done on a budget: an exceptional collection of studio magic tricks that any photographer can duplicate with the help of this specific guide. Mark Chen's Mastering Composition for Photographers: Create Images with Impact (9781608959815, $37.95) not only teaches photographers the basics of photo composition, but covers the basics of when and how to apply these principles and how to design images that are striking and captivatingly different. There's a fine art as well as a science involved in moving an image from 'interesting' to 'striking', and Chen covers this process through example, teaching photographers about the underlying elements inherent in different shots and options. From using stacked composition to emphasize group dynamics to analyzing masterpiece works to understand their underlying force, Mastering Composition for Photographers teaches by both example and discussion of key influences on composition choices. No aspiring photographer should be without this. The same goes for Jim Cornfield's The Soft Touch: A Photographer's Guide to Manipulating Focus (9781608959495, $34.95): this is an invaluable, necessary reference for any photographer at any skill level who wants details on how to manipulate depth of field and focus to capture moods for all kinds of objectives, from weddings and boudoir to commercial photography and indoor shots. Tips come from several photographers who explain their various techniques for manipulating softness to produce different effects, and include color photo examples throughout and discussions of mystique, creating image, and fine-tuning a photo's impact. The result is a powerful survey that's a specific, top reference for those photographers who have moved past novice endeavors into more advanced pursuits.


The Automotive Shelf

Sox & Martin
Jim Schild
CarTech Inc.
39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056
www.cartechbooks.com
9781613252147, $34.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

As the sport of drag racing exploded in the 1950s, two young men from North Carolina rose through the ranks racing Chevrolets. It didn't take long for Buddy Martin to realize that if he couldn't beat Ronnie Sox it was best to join him. So Martin approached Sox about campaigning a 1963 Z-11 Chevy; and with that partnership, the most dominant duo in the history of drag racing was formed. "Sox & Martin: The Most Famous Team in Drag Racing" is a comprehensive archival recap of straight-line racing's greatest duo. Historic and modern photos recapture the celebrated Plymouth race cars campaigned by Ronnie and Buddy throughout their legendary partnership. Also chronicled are the lesser-known Oldsmobile, Ford, Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Mercury mounts predating their time with Chrysler. The races, the cars, the events; all of it is covered here during this golden age of drag racing. Impressively informative and exceptionally well organized and presented, "Sox & Martin" by Jim Schild (with the help of Buddy Martin, Herb McCandless, Jake King, Diane Sox, and others) is a "must read" for all drag racing enthusiasts and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Automotive History reference collections.

Pontiac Concept and Show Cars
Don Keefe
CarTech Inc.
39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056
www.cartechbooks.com
9781613252161, $39.95, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Showcasing Club De Mer, Banshee, GTO Flamme, Cirrus, Firebird Pegasus and more iconic Pontiac concept cars, "Pontiac Concept and Show Cars" by automotive expert Don Keefe, car enthusiasts will learn how Pontiac did such a great job of distinguishing itself from the other GM brands. Not only did it create the GTO, Firebird, Trans Am and Bonneville, but the company's dedicated staff designed, developed, and built some of the most audacious and progressive experimental and concept cars. Informed and informative, profusely illustrated, and a pure pleasure to browse through "Pontiac Concept and Show Cars" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Automotive History collections, as well as the personal reading lists of dedicated car fans.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Before You Write Your Novel
James McCreet
Routledge
711 - 3rd Avenue, Floor 8, New York, NY 10017-9209
www.routledge.com
9781138186729, $120.00, HC, 214pp, www.amazon.com

"Before You Write Your Novel: Essential Skills for the First-time Novelist" by James McCreet (who has worked as a teacher, a bookseller, an editor, a copywriter, a journalist, and who currently teaches the MA Novel course at Sheffield Hallam University, UK) sets out the essential techniques and basic approaches that lay the perfect foundation for writing your first novel. This concise and readable guide addresses the major stumbling blocks of fiction writing: the importance of planning and structure. "Before You Write Your Novel" covers the essential components of novel writing including narrative, story, plot, pace, chronology, character arc and engagement techniques, as well as research, story building, plotting and editing. Using an open and honest approach, feeding from his own experience as a published novelist and creative writing teacher, McCreet offers a practical guide to the structural mechanisms of the novel, helping you plan a first draft through to a finished novel. While very highly recommended for community and academic library Creative Writing instructional reference collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of aspiring novelists that "Before You Write Your Novel" is also available in a paperback edition (9781138186736, $25.95) and in a Kindle format ($20.18).

The Tao of Book Publicity
Paula Margulies
One People Press
c/o Paula Margulies Communications
8145 Borzoi Way, San Diego, CA 92129
www.paulamargulies.com
9780991354535, $7.99, PB, 156pp, www.amazon.com

Herself a successfully published author, Paula Margulies is also the owner of Paula Margulies Communications, a public relations firm for authors and artists. In "The Tao of Book Publicity: A Beginner's Guide to Book Promotion", Paula draws upon her years of experience and expertise to provide the novice author with a complete course of basic instruction into the nuts and bolts of promoting, publicizing, and marketing books successfully. As informed and informative as it is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Tao of Book Publicity" provides expert commentary and advice on book covers, creating a press release, the author biography, the author photo, book events, scheduling media interviews, social media and blog touring, pricing, web site content, publicity costs, hiring a publicist, and the importance of gratitude. Of special note are the final two chapters: The Ten Best Books on Writing & Publishing Resources. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in content and presentation, every novice author seeking to establish a successful carrier by selling their books needs to have their own personal copy of "The Tao of Book Publicity". It should be noted that Paula Margulies has made her invaluable and comprehensive instructional guide on book publicity available in an inexpensive Kindle edition ($0.99) as well.

The Coffee Break Screenwriter, second edition
Pilar Alessandraw
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932429, $26.95, PB, 270pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of this newly revised and expanded second edition of "The Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time" by Pilar Alessandra (who is the director of the writing program On the Page, and host of the popular On the Page Podcast), the aspiring screenwriter will receive invaluable guidance and practical tips at every stage of the often intimidating writing process with a relaxed, "ten minutes at a time" method that focuses the writer and pushes him or her forward. At each step, writers are encouraged to "Take Ten" and tackle an element of their script using the templates and tools provided. "What You've Accomplished" sections help writers review their progress. And "Ten-Minute Lectures" distill and demystify old school theory, allowing the writer to unblock and get writing. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, content, organization and presentation, "The Coffee Break Screenwriter" will prove to be an enduringly valued and useful addition to personal, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections.

Scenes and Sequels
Mike Klaassen
www.mikeklaassen.com
BookBaby
www.bookbaby.com
9781682229071, $14.99, PB, 200pp, www.amazon.com

Most books about the craft of writing fiction don't even define a scene, much less describe how to write one. Even fewer address sequels. Scenes are the exciting, turbocharged parts of fiction, driving the story forward. Sequels provide a breather, where the focal character can celebrate or lick his wounds and plan his next move. Together, scenes and sequels help create page-turning fiction. The concept of scenes and sequels were championed by Dwight V. Swain (1915-1992) and Jack M. Bickham (1930-1997). In "Scenes and Sequels: How to Write Page-Turning Fiction" published author Mike Klaassen deftly builds on the work of Swain and Bickham to create the most comprehensive and concise explanation of scenes and sequels anywhere. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Scenes and Sequels" is enhanced for the aspiring author with the inclusion of a seventeen page glossary of fiction-writing terms; a four page bibliography; a four page index, and eight pages of end notes. Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, content, and presentation, "Scenes and Sequels" will prove to be an invaluable instruction guide and reference. Very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing reference collections, it should be noted that "Scenes and Sequels" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).


The Education Shelf

Teacher Learning in the Digital Age
Chris Dede, Arthur Eisenkraft, Kim Frumin, Alex Hartley, editors
Harvard Education Press
8 Story Street, 1st floor, Cambridge, MA 02138
www.harvardeducationpress.org
9781612508986, $68.00, Library Binding, 304pp, www.amazon.com

With an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training, "Teacher Learning in the Digital Age" is a compendium of twelve erudite articles by expert academicians that examines exemplary models of online and blended teacher professional development, including information on the structure and design of each model, intended audience, and existing research and evaluation data. From video-based courses to just-in-time curriculum support platforms and MOOCs for educators, the cutting-edge initiatives described in the pages of "Teacher Learning in the Digital Age" deftly illustrate the broad range of innovative programs that have emerged to support preservice and in-service teachers in formal and informal settings. Enhanced with the inclusion of abundant resources, "Teacher Learning in the Digital Age" reveals critical lessons and insights for designers, researchers, and educators in search of the most efficient and effective ways to leverage technology to support formal, as well as informal, teacher learning. While very highly recommended as a core addition to academic library Teacher Education reference collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for academics and aspiring classroom teachers that "Teacher Learning in the Digital Age" is also available for personal reading lists in a trade paperback edition (9781612508979, $34.00) and in a Kindle format ($22.49).

Smart Kid, Can't Read
Lorna Kaufman
Ash Point Publishing Group
www.smartkidcantread.com
Gulotta Communications, Inc. (publicity)
9780997078916, $14.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

More than one third of all children entering the fourth grade are reading below grade level. Even more alarming, less than one third of these children actually receive reading help! "Smart Kid, Can't Read" by dyslexia expert Lorna Kaufman (Adjunct Professor of Language and Literacy, Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts) offers step by step real-world advice for parents, teachers, and caregivers trying to navigate the hurdles of getting a child reading help -- a task which can be amazingly daunting. With a clear and thoroughly 'reader friendly' practicality, "Smart Kid, Can't Read" explains the key points that every parent advocate for a reading-skills-impaired child should know. Armed with information about special education law, research-based reading instruction, and effective, unbiased assessments, parents especially will be ready to take the steps that will launch their child into a successful reading experience. Of special note is that "Smart Kid, Can't Read" also offers easy-to-administer tests that parents can give their children to help decide whether a reading evaluation is warranted. Simply stated, "Smart Kid, Can't Read" should be considered as an essential and critically important addition to community and academic library Educational Studies reference collections and the personal reading list of any parent with a child who is struggling in their attempt to learn how to read.

Science Teachers' Learning
Suzanne Wilson, et al.
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309380188, $54.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Currently, many states are adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or are revising their own state standards in ways that reflect the NGSS. For students and schools, the implementation of any science standards rests with teachers. For those teachers, an evolving understanding about how best to teach science represents a significant transition in the way science is currently taught in most classrooms and it will require most science teachers to change how they teach. That change will require learning opportunities for teachers that reinforce and expand their knowledge of the major ideas and concepts in science, their familiarity with a range of instructional strategies, and the skills to implement those strategies in the classroom. Providing these kinds of learning opportunities in turn will require profound changes to current approaches to supporting teachers' learning across their careers, from their initial training to continuing professional development. A teacher's capability to improve students' scientific understanding is heavily influenced by the school and district in which they work, the community in which the school is located, and the larger professional communities to which they belong. "Science Teachers' Learning" provides guidance for schools and districts on how best to support teachers' learning and how to implement successful programs for professional development. This report makes actionable recommendations for science teachers' learning that take a broad view of what is known about science education, how and when teachers learn, and education policies that directly and indirectly shape what teachers are able to learn and teach. "Science Teachers' Learning" will prove to be a valuable resource for classrooms, departments, schools, districts, and professional organizations as they move to new ways to teach science, making it an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to professional and academic library Teacher Education instructional reference collections.

Who's Doing The Work?
Jan Burkins & Kim Yaris
Stenhouse Publishers
480 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101-3451
www.stenhouse.com
9781625310750, $23.00, PB, 158pp, www.amazon.com

Classroom teachers are concerned about students whose reading development inexplicably plateaus, as well as those who face challenging texts without applying the strategies they've been taught. When such problems arise, their common instinct is to do more. But when summarizing the text before reading or guiding students when they encounter difficult words, are teachers leading the students to depend on teacher support? If teachers want their students to use strategies independently, "Who's Doing the Work?: How to Say Less So Your Readers Can Do More" advocates that teachers must question the ways their scaffolding is getting in the way of their students learning process. Next generation reading instruction is responsive to students needs, and it develops readers who can integrate reading strategies without prompting from instructors. In "Who's Doing The Work?", education specialists Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris examine how instructional mainstays such as read-aloud, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading look in classrooms where students do more of the work. Classroom snapshots at the end of each chapter help translate the ideas in the book into practice. Thoroughly informed and informative, and exceptionally 'user friendly' in tone, content, commentary, organization and presentation, "Who's Doing The Work?" is very highly recommended for professional and academic library Teacher Education instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Leadership And Soft Skills For Students
Cary J. Green
Dog Ear Publishing
4011 Vincennes Road, New Augusta, IN 46268-3005
www.dogearpublishing.net
9781457539190, $19.99, PB, 164pp, www.amazon.com

In today's competitive landscape truly successful students and young professionals exhibit certain skills that make them really stand out from the crowd. They communicate well, dress and act professionally, solve problems, and seem to be natural leaders. Now anyone can acquire these important leadership and soft skills with "Leadership And Soft Skills For Students: Empowered To Succeed In High School, College, And Beyond" by Cary J. Green. An accomplished academician, Green draws upon his many years of teaching and mentoring students to show how students can thrive in their education and in their career by applying the three Rs: Readiness, Relationships, and Results. Readiness teaches you self-awareness. Relationships teaches you to communicate effectively and connect with others in your personal and professional life. Results teaches you to be future-oriented and to set and achieve your goals. "Leadership And Soft Skills For Students" will prove to be an invaluable and instructive advisory whether the reader is in high school, college, or graduate school, or is beginning a post-school career. Very highly recommended for highschool, community, college, and university library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Leadership And Soft Skills For Students" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

1,138 GMAT Practice Questions, third edition
The Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
www.PrincetonReview.com
9780375427480, $21.99, PB, 768pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated third edition, "1,138 GMAT Practice Questions" helps to prepare students for every kind of question they will encounter when taking the GMAT. Each section is tackled by drilling down to core concepts and problem types, so that students can approach the test with confidence and practice their way to perfection! Features include: Extensive Practice with Integrated Reasoning Questions: 100 multi-part practice problems, including online questions for a realistic testing experience; Hands-on experience with table analysis, two-part analysis, graphics interpretation, and multi-source reasoning. Everything You Need to Know about Quantitative Questions: Tips and techniques for dealing with tricky "trap" answers; Subject-specific drills to strengthen algebra, arithmetic, geometry, and statistics skills; and Essential Exposure to Verbal Questions: Tactics for dealing with various passage types, including social sciences and business; Grammar-enhancing drills to prepare for sentence corrections; Clear and concise ways to approach the challenges of critical reasoning. "1,138 GMAT Practice Questions" is an essential and core addition to highschool and community library college preparatory instructional reference collections. Highly recommended!

Safe and Fun Playgrounds: A Handbook
Healther M. Olsen, EdD, Susan D. Hudson, PhD, Donna Thompson, Phd
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
www.redleafpress.org
9781605544601, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Safe and Fun Playgrounds: A Handbook discusses safety in outdoor play environments and is a recommendation for schools and educators interested in the latest research on equipment, playground design, and play. It's written by the founders of the National Program for Playground Safety, and represents some eighty years of combined professional knowledge as it discusses basic rules for playground design and management and provides strategies for incorporating them into a child's overall educational process. From maintaining equipment to understanding dangerous surfaces and making modifications, this is a 'must' for any who are involved with kids and play.

Corwin Press, Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.corwinpress.com

Jennifer T.H. Wathall's Concept-Based Mathematics: Teaching for Deep Understanding in Secondary Classrooms (9781506314945, $28.00) shows teachers how to better approach math teaching processes, and advocates using concepts to help students link math with higher-level thinking and applications. Examples from various math tasks and processes are accompanied by student work, teaching applications, educator stories, and more, with chapters profiling analytical approaches and using charts and examples to demonstrate collaborative discussion processes. The wealth of information that includes student paper results as well as math approaches will provide any secondary math teacher with all the specifics needed to produce more meaningful associations between math and real-world processes. Eric C. Sheninger's Uncommon Learning: Creating Schools That Work for Kids (9781483365756, $25.00) encourages and shows how to create a student-centered learning experience, tailoring modern teaching routines and classrooms to a different kind of structure that encourages school administrators, teachers, and classroom support groups to work together. Makerspaces, blended and virtual learning environments, adapting digital learning techniques, and badging's importance in continuing learning makes for chapters that address the latest technologies and educational research findings. Educators and principals will find this filled with ideas for transforming the process. Karen D. Wood, D. Bruce Taylor and Katie Stover's Smuggling Writing: Strategies that Get Students to Write Every Day in Every Content Area (9781506322629, $28.95) discusses the basics of how to add even more writing in a curriculum already packed with writing exercises for grades 3-12, and it employs written response activities as part of its process. A range of tested tools are organized by type of activity such as vocabulary, concept development, and research so that teachers can link student activities in other areas to specific enhancements involving writing and comprehension. Sample lessons for traditional and online formats, ideas for reinforcing lesson plans through additional 'smuggled' writing opportunities, and clear strategies that include at-a-glance objectives, overviews, and procedures at different stages leave nothing to guess and provide teachers with concrete options. The third updated edition of David A. Sousa's How the Special Needs Brain Learns (9781506327020, $39.95) offers the latest research to help students who struggle with learning basic reading, writing and computation skills, and offers teachers a compendium of the latest learning tools based on the latest brain research. Chapters focus on a combination of motivational approaches and learning triggers and address the special challenges of all kinds of students, from those with ADHD to students with dyslexia, autism, and emotional problems. Teachers receive clear directions on how to alter instructional approaches to ensure success, and will delight in a clear how-to guide that covers all the bases and provides clear coverage geared to special needs students.


The Activity Shelf

Magical Abstracts Coloring Book: Magical Designs
Samantha Snyder
Doodle Art Alley Books
c/o AKA Associates
www.akabooks.com
9780997102154, $9.95, PB, 104pp, www.amazon.com

The newest addition to Samantha Snyder's outstanding "Doodle Art Alley Books series of coloring books for adults, "Magical Abstracts Coloring Book: Magical Designs" features 50 stress relieving, fun and relaxing abstract design patterns organized from simple to more intricate so that anyone can create their own beautiful pictures from swirling forms, symmetrical patterns, and other amazing abstract designs. Each individual designs is printed on one side of the page. This fifth volume in the Doodle Art Alley Books is a lot of fun and highly recommended as being perfect for adults and older teens (along with younger kids).

Train Your Brain Puzzle Book: Perplexing Puzzles
Tasha Percy, editor
Barron's
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9781438008462 $7.99 www.barronseduc.com

Train Your Brain Puzzle Book: Perplexing Puzzles is a consumable activity book for all ages, packed with 84 word, maze, logic, and math puzzles (note that only simple math skills are required, not algebra). Bring a pencil and get to thinking! The colorful pages are easy on the eyes, and answers are in the back of the book - the reader is on the honor system. "Puzzle 25: Which number comes next in the following sequence? 30, 24, 19, 15, 12, 10, ?" Train Your Brain Puzzle Book is a treat for puzzle fans, and a great way to keep one's brain engaged during downtime. Also highly recommended are the other volumes in the Train Your Brain Puzzle Book series: "Cranium Crunchers" (9781438008455), "Brain-Scrambling Challenges" (9781438007663), "Mind-Melting Conundrums" (9781438007670), "Mind-Twisting Puzzles" (9781438005379), "Brain-Bending Challenges" (9781438005386), and "Super-Tricky Teasers" (9781438005393).


The Fashion Shelf

The Finest Menswear in the World
Simon Crompton
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500518090, $40.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

With impeccable taste and an unerring eye for quality, connoisseur Simon Crompton (a writer and editor best known for his hugely popular blog Permanent Style and for being editor-at-large of The Rake) seeks out the world's most beautifully crafted contemporary menswear, item by item, from the Panama hat to the Milanese buttonhole and presents them with erudite commentary in the pages of "The Finest Menswear in the World: The Craftsmanship of Luxury". In profiles of fourteen distinguished companies that design, make, and sell their own products, "The Finest Menswear in the World" tells the story of how each luxury item is crafted, explaining the subtle but crucial difference a hand-stitched seam, perfectly cut sleeve, or screen-printed silk can make. Augmented by extensive, specially commissioned photographs, "The Finest Menswear in the World" deftly delves into every element of the well-dressed man's wardrobe, both business and casual, from shirts to shoes, suits to scarves, and bags to umbrellas. With Crompton's expert and informative guidance comprising "The Finest Menswear in the World", the discerning gentleman can dress himself head to toe in the finest menswear in the world. Enhanced with the inclusion of 350 illustrations, "The Finest Menswear in the World" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Contemporary Fashion History reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

March: Book One
John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Top Shelf Productions
www.topshelfcomix.com
9781603093002 $14.95

March: Book One is the first of a trilogy of black-and-white graphic novels adapting the true-life story of Congressman John Lewis (GA-5), a major figure of the civil rights movement. An African-American born to Alabama sharecroppers, who grew up attending segregated schools, Lewis' commitment to justice and nonviolence earned him beatings from state troopers - and many years later, the Medal of Freedom from America's first African-American President. In addition to being a biography, March is a keen, historically accurate portrayal of the Civil Rights movement - including how its members were harassed, jailed, belittled, abused, and even murdered. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library graphic novel collections.

March: Book Two
John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Top Shelf Productions
www.topshelfcomix.com
9781603094009 $19.95

March: Book Two is the second of a trilogy of biographical black-and-white graphic novels about Congressman John Lewis (GA-5), and his work in the American Civil Rights movement to end segregation and discrimination. Book Two includes focus on the story of the "Freedom Riders", activists who traveled on interstate buses in mixed-race groups to protest segregation... and who suffered violent and deadly attacks, firebombings, and beatings and worse. In some Southern locations, the law enforcement authorities cooperated with the Ku Klux Klan, deliberately allowing the Klan time to brutalize protesters before the police approached. March: Book Two is a glimpse into the cruel side of American history, as well as the racist authorities and Jim Crow laws that mocked the American ideals of justice and equality, as much as it is the story of Lewis' life. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library graphic novel collections.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Alamo All-Stars
Nathan Hale
www.hazardoustales.com
Abrams/Amulet
115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
www.abramsyoungreaders.com
9781419719028 $12.95 hc / $7.96 Kindle www.amazon.com

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Alamo All-Stars is a black-and-white graphic novel that brings Texas history to life. The cartoony drawings will appeal to children and teens, but the story the simple caricatures tell is direct from history, meticulously researched and rich with detail. Readers of all ages will learn about Texas' violent battle for independence from the Mexican government, and why a small group of adventurers barricaded themselves in Fort Alamo against the might of the Mexican army. Educational and entertaining, Alamo All-Stars is highly recommended for school and public library graphic novel collections, as well as for casual browsing or even as a Lone Star State souvenir! It should be noted that Alamo All-Stars is part of the "Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales" series of history books in graphic novel format, all of which are choice picks for making learning fun. Other titles in the series include "Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood" (a World War I tale), "The Underground Abductor" (an abolitionist tale), "Donner Dinner Party" (about an ill-fated mission of explorers), "Big Bad Ironclad" (about ironclad steam warships used in the Civil War), and "One Dead Spy" (about Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale, a spy hanged by the British).

The Gods Lie.
Kaori Ozaki
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993360 $12.95 www.vertical-inc.com

The Gods Lie. (the period is part of the title) is a black-and-white manga (Japanese comics) about coping with life's difficult challenges. The complete-in-one-volume story follows Natsuru Nanao, young boy in school with a single mother. He loves soccer, but cannot stand how the new soccer coach relentlessly belittles him, and he doesn't really get along with any of the girls at school. But his chance discovery of a helpless kitten leads to an unexpected friendship with Rio Suzumura, a young girl who volunteers to take care of it (for a recurring fee). As Natsuru plays hooky from soccer camp, he spends time with Rio and her little sister, but he can't help noticing that Rio's parents are never present, and her house is in a gradually increasing state of disrepair. If he speaks out about the situation, then Rio will likely be separated from her beloved little sister, yet staying silent could have even worse consequences. Powerful and emotionally moving, The Gods Lie. is highly recommended for all ages, and a choice pick for public and school library graphic novel shelves.

Mystery in Antarctica: A Buck Danny Adventure
Script and artwork by Francis Bergese
Colors by Nathalie Bergese
"Buck Danny" created by Georges Troisfontaines, Victor Hubinon and Jean-Michel Charlier
Cinebook Ltd.
56 Beech Ave., Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7TA, UK
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
9781849182874 $13.95 www.nbnbooks.com

Mystery in Antarctica: A Buck Danny Adventure is the sixth color graphic novel in a series by Francis Bergese, who inherited the legacy of Buck Danny's original creators (the character first appeared in the magazine "Spirou" in 1947, shortly after World War II). Mystery in Antarctica begins when a flight of unidentified fighter is photographed near the Antarctic continent. A formal military presence cannot be authorized, but when Buck and his friends spot a lifeless body and a suspicious cargo ship on their reconnaissance flights, they have to act fast to uncover what's really going on! Mystery in Antarctica is a self-contained adventure, and an excellent staring point to anyone new to Buck Danny's escapades.

What Did You Eat Yesterday? 10
Fumi Yoshinaga
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993247 $12.95 www.vertical-inc.com

What Did You Eat Yesterday? 10 continues a unique culinary manga (Japanese comics) series. The story follows the everyday lives of an eclectic set of characters, but the common thread lies in their appreciation of masterful cooking; every chapter devotes several pages to describe the preparation, service, and enjoyment of a specific dish, in such detail as to encourage the reader to try making it at home! The context of these delicious meals is quite varied, as a restaurant heiress contemplates her engagement to a man who rejected her advances ten years ago; the senior member of a gay couple reflects that he isn't as focused on the future as he thought he was; and visits with family and friends reveal unexpected secrets. Connoisseurs of manga and fine food alike will fiend What Did You Eat Yesterday? a delectable delight!

Nichijou My Ordinary Life 2
Keiichi Arawi
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993315 $10.95 www.vertical-inc.com

Nichijou My Ordinary Life 2 continues the lighthearted, humorous, mixed-up manga (Japanese comics) medley of grade school students and their allegedly "ordinary" lives. Even though one of them is a robot. And one of them can only express her hidden crush through increasingly fantastic displays of artillery. And then the child-scientist who built the robot invents a device that enables her newly-adopted cat to speak! (Cat: "How old are you kids?" Scientist: "I'm 8...". Robot: "I'm 1." Cat: "Well, I'm 20 in cat years. So call me... Mr. Sakamoto.") Loopy escalation and gentle humor are the order of the day! The episodic, slice-of-weird-life format of Nichijou My Ordinary Life makes volume 2 (or any volume) an accessible jumping-on point to comedy connoisseurs.

Mysterious Girlfriend X, volume 1
Riichi Ueshiba
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993452 $15.95 www.vertical-inc.com

The debut volume of Mysterious Girlfriend X is an ever-so-slightly off-kilter romance/comedy/daily life manga (Japanese comics). Akira Tsubaki is a more-or-less ordinary high school boy, who has never had a serious girlfriend before. He finds the new transfer student Mikoto Urabe sleeping on her desk at the end of her school day; after waking her up, he touches and tastes the drool she left behind on a whim... that ends up changing his life! A connection blossoms between Akira and Mikoto, but even though Akira cares about his new girlfriend, he doesn't completely understand her, or her obsession with scissors, or her high level of caution about progressing their romance. And could the power of Urabe's drool-bond affect other people as well? Alternately weird, wacky, sexy, and heartwarming, Mysterious Girlfriend X is enthusiastically recommended.

Cinebook Ltd.
56 Beech Ave., Canterbury, Kent, CT4 7TA, UK
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.nbnbooks.com

Brimming with intense action and drama, three full color Cinebook graphic novel serials captivate the reader's imagination - and their sense of fear. "Namibia Episode 1" (9781849182812 $11.95) begins a five-volume sci-fi series following Kathy Austin, a British secret agent dispatched to Africa, where she discovers that humans may not be the most dangerous things on earth! "Spooks 6: Seth" (9781849182881, $15.95) concludes an arc in which turn-of-the-century agents are caught between a woman with psychic powers and a malicious alternate personality, the obsessive father who believes that the only way to stop her alter ego is to kill her, and her megalomaniacal grandfather. "Insiders 5: Destination Gulag" (9781849182898, $11.95) continues the story of Najah, an undercover agent sent to infiltrate a global mafia that threatens to corrupt and seize control of entire nations. But how can Najah undermine the criminal cartel's roots in Russia, when she herself is arrested and sent to a forced-labor camp? All three titles are highly recommended for older teen and adult readers (ages 15+).


The Audiobook Shelf

Around the World in Eighty Days
Jules Verne, author
Read by Bill Homewood
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781843799726 $41.98 www.amazon.com

Brought to life with actor Bill Homewood's sterling performance, Around the World in Eighty Days is an unabridged audiobook edition of Jules Verne's classic travel-adventure story, originally published in 1873. When Phileas Fogg, a Victorian gentleman with a taste for excitement, accepts a wager that he cannot circumnavigate the world in 80 days, he tackles the challenge with gusto. His faithful French manservant Passepartout accompanies him, and the police officer Detective Fix relentlessly pursues them both under the false conviction that Fogg is a bank robber. Comedy, chivalry, thrills, and even blossoming love create a unforgettable saga that transcends its time. Highly recommended, especially for public, high school, and college library audiobook collections. 6 CDs, 7 hours 39 min.

Utopia
Thomas More
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781843799238, $28.98, CD, www.amazon.com

Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 - 6 July 1535), is today venerated by Catholics as Saint Thomas More. He was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord High Chancellor of England from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. More steadfastly opposed the Protestant Reformation, and in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. Thomas More's "Utopia" stands out as one of the most striking political works ever written. Written specifically as a response to Henry VIII's break with Rome, "Utopia" meditates on the perfect society, while indirectly critiquing the political and social ills of Tudor England. Containing thoughts on religious pluralism, a welfare state and women's rights, "Utopia" was well ahead of its time, already hinting at later theories on communism and capitalism centuries before Marx, Engles and Smith. Superbly narrated by Mark Meadows, complete, unabridged, and with flawless production values, Thomas More's "Utopia" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library audiobook collections. (4 CDs, Time 4:25:08)

A Breath of French Air
H.E. Bates, author
Read by Philip Franks
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781781980019 $28.98 CD / $19.00 download

A Breath of French Air is the unabridged audiobook presentation of the second novel of the Pop Larkin series by H.E. Bates. When the Larkin family visits France, everything that can go wrong seemingly does, from the bad weather to the questionable food to the disrepair of their hotel. Can a wedding anniversary celebration anniversary turn things around? It's up to Pop Larkin's gift of gab to lighten family spirits, in this fantastic foray of free-spirited fun! 4 CDs, 4 hours 25 min.

Hamilton: The Revolution
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
Read by Mariska Hargitay, Lin-Manuel Miranda, & Jeremy McCarter
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9781478913641 $35.00 www.HachetteAudio.com

Hamilton: The Revolution is the unabridged audiobook rendition of the de facto "backstage pass" to the wildly popular Broadway musical "Hamilton", a show directly based on the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers. Authors Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter were both involved in the theater project from its earliest stages. Hamilton: The Revolution includes the full libretto of the show with extensive annotations; more than 30 essays about topics ranging from the cast and production process to events in Hamilton's life; and a PDF on the final disc filled with photographs and more. As much an in-depth study about Hamilton's life as it is about the creation of a hit show, Hamilton: The Revolution is a "must-have". 6 CDs, 6 hours.

Never Sleep Alone
Dr. Alex Schiller
Blackstone Audiobooks
31 Mistletoe Road, Ashland, OR 97520
9781504710787 $19.95 www.BlackstoneAudio.com

Writer, performer, and producer Dr. Alex Schiller (not a medical doctor) presents Never Sleep Alone, a sex and dating guide that blends tongue-in-cheek humor with a deep understanding of sociosexual desire. Now in an unabridged audiobook rendition read by Schiller herself, Never Sleep Alone offers basic principles for building connections, so that dedicated listeners will never sleep alone - unless they choose to! Delightfully witty and insightful, Never Sleep Alone is utterly fascinating whether or not one is actively participating in the dating game. Highly recommended. 3 CDs, 3 1/2 hours.

Fire Touched
Patricia Briggs
Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781455820139, $24.99, MP3, www.amazon.com

Tensions between the fae and humans are coming to a head. And when coyote shapeshifter Mercy and her Alpha werewolf mate, Adam, are called upon to stop a rampaging troll, they find themselves with something that could be used to make the fae back down and forestall out-and-out war: a human child stolen long ago by the fae. Defying the most powerful werewolf in the country, the humans, and the fae, Mercy, Adam, and their pack choose to protect the boy no matter what the cost. But who will protect them from a boy who is fire touched? "Fire Touched" is another outstanding action/adventure fantasy story from the pen of Patricia Briggs. The ninth and newest addition to the Mercy Thompson series, this complete and unabridged audio book edition is ably narrated by Lorelei King who gives a truly impressive performance. "Fire Touched" is very highly recommended for personal and community library audio book collections. (1 disc, 10 hours, 8 minutes).

The Midnight Assassin
Skip Hollandsworth, author
Read by Clint Jordan
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
9781427261779 $39.99 www.macmillanaudio.com

Award-winning journalist Skip Hollandsworth presents The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America's First Serial Killer, a true crime saga about a nightmarish killer who committed grisly murders in Austin, Texas during the late 1800's. Now available as an unabridged audiobook, The Midnight Assassin recounts the gruesome details of a murderer who preferred to strike while his victims were asleep in their beds, and who carried out brutal mutilations. The killer targeted mostly women (both black and white), but men were also victimized. Panic eventually escalated to nighttime vigilante patrols, and the string of murders ended after a year. Speculation remains to this day concerning who the killer was and what became of him, including a theory that he traveled to England and became Jack the Ripper. Horrifying in the extreme, The Midnight Assassin is a "must" for true crime enthusiasts... just don't listen to it right before bedtime! 8 CDs, 9 hours.

Marine Cadet
Tim C. Taylor, author
Tom Zingarelli, narrator
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781515950202, $24.99, 12 CDs, www.amazon.com

"Marine Cadet" is set in the year 2565 AD. That's when seventeen-year-old Marine cadet Arun McEwan forges an unlikely friendship with an alien scribe, he crashes into a world of treachery and conspiracy. How can he possibly survive three more years until graduation when every day brings a new deadly threat? But survive he must because his new alien allies show him glimpses of his destiny-a vision of a better future that only he can forge. A dream called the Human Legion. "Marine Cadet" is the first volume of a new and outstanding science fiction series that will prove to be a "must" from the pen of Tim Taylor, who has proven to be a master of the genre. This complete and unabridged audio book production is dramatically narrated by veteran voice actor Tom Zingarelli. The result is some ten and a half hours of pure 'theatre of the mind' listening pleasure. "Marine Cadet" is very highly recommended for personal and community library science fiction audio book collections.

Being True
Tami Simon
Sounds True Audio
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
9781622036134 $29.95 www.soundstrue.com

Tami Simon, the founder of the Sounds True multimedia publishing house, presents Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love. Offering a lifetime's worth hard-learned lessons about the facing obstacles to work, love and relationships, and the pursuit of happiness, Being True discusses five keys for living with integrity; how to apply one's highest spiritual values to both at the workplace and at home; Simon's encounters with wise and enlightened teachers; and more. A boundless font of inspiration and encouragement, Being True is highly recommended. 4 CDs, 4 hours 38 min.

Finding God in the Hard Times
Matt and Beth Redman
Read by Reed Walker
Oasis Audio
289 Main Place, Carol Stream, IL 60188
9781613757567 $12.99 www.oasisaudio.com

Finding God in the Hard Times is the unabridged audiobook Matt and Beth Redman's guide to keeping one's heart and soul pious no matter how difficult one's road happens to be. It can be difficult to remember God's love when one experiences hardship and suffering; Finding God in Hard Times shows how to draw comfort from psalms, which often reflect upon terrible or tragic circumstances, and how one's personal choices set a path that embraces God or turns away from Him. Profound and thoughtful, Finding God in the Hard Times is highly recommended especially for personal reflection and church library audiobook collections. 2 CDs, PDF included.

Roses are Red
James Patterson
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com
9781478964193, $25.00, www.amazon.com

Roses are Red appears in an unabridged audio edition narrated by Peter Jay Fernandez and revolves around detective Alex Cross, who against pursues a dangerous killer. This time it's a criminal called the Mastermind who has orchestrated some of the most outrageous unsolved mysteries in Washington D.C. The killer is meticulous and a control-freak: can he be stopped? Only if the detective is just as savvy - and only if that detective is in time to stop not just a crime spree, but events leading up to one big perfect crime. The effect on audio is even more powerful than in book format.


The Library CD Shelf

A Tribute to Jack Hardy
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
www.folkways.si.edu
$21.98 CD / $19.98 download

John Studebaker "Jack" Hardy (1947-2011) was an American singer-songwriter and playwright; his inspirational work in North American and European folk music influenced generations, including star talents such as Suzanne Vega and John Gorka. A Tribute to Jack Hardy is a double-CD music album of two dozen Hardy's songs, covered by wide variety of performers, all in honor of Hardy's creative imagination, masterful techniques, and unabashed love for his craft. A "must-have" for connoisseurs of folk, and Hardy's classic works in particular, A Tribute to Jack Hardy is especially recommended for public library music CD collections.

Chapters of My Life
Moken
Bantu Records
www.banturecords.com
$16.99 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com

Visual artist, musician, and African-American immigrant Moken presents Chapters of My Life, an avante-garde original album grounded in the challenges he has faced. A fortunate winner of the green card lottery, Moken received the coveted opportunity to attend a design college in Detroit; yet money was so tight he had to live out of his car. Yet he also formed deep friendships with Senegalese musicians, and from the depths of hardship he discovered truth and inspiration. Chapters of My Life is vibrant, emotionally moving, and highly recommended. The tracks are "Wild Wild Ways", "Maliga", "A Bone to Grind with Einstein", "A Bato Bam", "The Man that Never Gives Up", "Ma Masse", "Machine Man", "Walkin Man", "Jerusalem" and "Waiting for the Day".

Hearing Music
Joanna Brouk
The Numero Group
numerogroup.com
$13.99 CD / $15.98 MP3 www.amazon.com

Hearing Music is an album of ambient, new age music by Joanna Brouk, a composer known for her trailblazing electronic and acoustic creations in the 70's and 80's. Assembling 22 pieces from the span of Brouk's twenty-year career, Hearing Music makes some songs that were previously only on rare cassettes, and some songs from Brouk's archive of unreleased recordings readily available to the public. Hearing Music is a treasure for connoisseurs, especially those who are interested in the history and evolution of the genre.

Colors in the Diary
Marika Takeuchi
www.marika-takeuchi.com
$15.00 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com

Japanese musician and composer Marika Takeuchi has synesthesia, a rare neurological condition that strongly affects one's perception of the world. Takeuchi sees colors in her mind in response to words and numbers, and hears notes in response to witnessing beautiful scenes. She has studied classical music and composition all her life; her immense talent is showcased in her latest album Colors in the Diary. An interweaving of piano, cello, and violin, Colors in the Diary is a wondrous soundscape, created in memory of timeless moments observing natural beauty; for example, several songs trace their genesis to witnessing frozen rivers and lakes in Norway. Extraordinary and unforgettable, Colors in the Diary is a treasure. The tracks are "Frozen Lake", "Green Field", "Blue Falls", "White Mountains", "Gray Clouds", "Remembrance", "Ocean Wind", "Nostalgia", "Into the Storm", "Sparkling Sky", "Colorful Mind" and "Morning Light".

Qingxi
DJ Sun
Soular Productions
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/qingxi/id1093319031
$TBA CD / $6.93 MP3 www.amazon.com

Qingxi is an original, instrumental soundtrack inspired by music artist DJ Sun's quest to learn more about his Chinese ancestor Soon Sam Sin. At the young age of 20, Sam Sin traveled from the Dongguan region of South China to Suriname, South America in 1858 as an indentured servant. Named for the Chinese city that Sam Sin once called home, Qingxi reflects on the lands, people, and driving motivations behind Sam Sin's transcontinental tribulations. Intensely beautiful, contemplative, and outreaching, Qingxi is highly recommended. The tracks are "Nature", "Bees", "Chaos", "Shop", "Mystery", "Macau", and "Journey." 50 min.

Strange Monsters: A Music & Words Collaboration
Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam and Peter Brewer
bonniejostufflebeam.com
EasyBrewStudio.com
$9.99 CD / $7.99 download www.cdbaby.com

Strange Monsters: A Music & Words Collaboration is a unique hybrid of audiobook anthology and music CD. Each track consists of a brief fiction story (or poem) set to contemporary jazz music and performed by actors. The tales meld elements of surreal fantasy and fearful suspense: Rumpelstiltskin's wife is questioned by police over the disappearance of a local boy; a cursed ballerina who yearns only to dance must deal with an obsessive fan and the hatefully jealous director of her ballet company; a group of do-nothing friends in love with the same woman discover disturbing skeletons of extinct animals on a treacherous camping trip; and more. Haunting, ethereal, and unforgettable, Strange Monsters is music-storytelling fusion experience like no other. Highly recommended. The tracks are "The Stink of Horses", "Mrs. Stiltskin", "Skeletons", "No Eyes", "Selected Poems", and "Where You Came From".

Funk 'n' Feathers
Cha Wa
UPT Music
$12.97 CD / $9.99 download www.cdbaby.com

Funk 'n' Feathers is the debut full-length CD of Mardi Gras Indian funk band Cha Wa. Known for their exciting live performances, Cha Wa kicks it up a notch with percussive frenzy, joyful vocals, booming bass, alluring guitar and more. A vibrant balance between Mardi Gras Indian traditional music and unfettered street funk, Funk 'n' Feathers is a "must" for fans of the genre! The tracks are "Injuns, Here They Come" (4:11), "Ooh Na Nay" (3:39), "UPT" (3:20), "Shallow Water" (5:11), "Jock-A-Mo" (3:47), "Hold 'em Joe" (3:59), "All on a Mardi Gras Day" (4:13), "Li'l Liza Jane" (4:38), "Tootie Ma" (4:05), and "Cha Wa Got Fiya" (3:34).

Petal
Avataar
sundarmusic.com
$12.97 CD / $9.99 download cdbaby.com

Petal is an album that fuses East Indian classical music with jazz, ambient music, and more. Indian elements include the tabla, a type of Indian drum, and mesmerizing vocals. An extraordinary, rich sensory cultivation, Petal is especially recommended for world music collections. The tracks are "Agra" (6:57), "Banda Aceh (6:58), "Monsoon" (3:48), "The Long Dream" (6:19), "Infinite Open" (5:28), "Raudra" (7:29), "Petal (the space betwen)" (5:50), "Ishwar" (5:45), "Annapoorna" (7:52), and "Petal (ephemerata)" (5:43).

Monistic Theory
Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate
www.joeandsekou.com
Cumbancha
www.cumbancha.com
$11.99 CD / $7.99 MP3 www.amazon.com

Folk/funk/hip-hop musician Joe Driscoll and Guinea-born musician Sekou Kouyate have created their second album as a duo, Monistic Theory. Kouyate's skill with the kora (a 21-stringed West African harp) is superbly balanced with Joe Driscoll's guitar in this original showcase of entrancing songs with stirring vocals. A "must" for world fusion connoisseurs! The tracks are "Tamala" (3:31), "Just Live" (3:39), "Tokira" (4:16), "Monistic Theory" (3:60), "Batafa" (3:49), "Barra" (4:21), "Rising Tide" (3:34), "Wama" (4:34), "Badiya" (4:17), and "Master Blaster (Live)" (3:48). Also highly recommended is the Haitian roots music album "Wa Di Yo" ($11.39 CD / $7.99 MP3), an extraordinary expression of courage and hope by the multigenerational collective group Lakou Mizik.

Cosmic Connections Live
Deva Premal & Miten with Manose
White Swan Records
$16.99 CD www.amazon.com

Cosmic Connections Live is an album recorded live during the 2014-2015 world tour of Deva Premal & Miten with Manose, featuring a glorious concert of tanpura, keyboard, guitar, wood flute, and dulcet singing. The songs are spiritually inspired, and encourage the listener to seek peace through meditation and forming bonds. Cosmic Connections Live is a transcendental experience, highly recommended. the tracks are "OM sahana vavtu mantra", "mangalam", "nam myoho renge kyo mantra", "OM kumara mantra", "rang de""white cloud white swan", "native son", "audience OM", and bonus studio track "OM mantra (the cosmic yes)".

Believe
Take 6
http://take6.com
Sono Recording Group
sonorecordinggroup.com
$11.92 CD / $9.49 MP3 www.amazon.com

African-American a cappella group Take 6 has earned an immense reckoning of prestigious awards, including ten Grammys, ten Dove Awards, a Soul Train music award, induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and much more. Their latest album is Believe, featuring songs about love, grief, hope, and remembrance. An absolute "must have" for a cappella connoisseurs, Believe is a showcase of consummate vocal talent, and includes a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Beautiful Day", "Reset", "You Know You're in Love", "When Angels Cry", "here in L.A.", "Walk Away", "Statistic", "You Make Me Happy", "On Your Side", "Keep the Faith", "You're All I Need", "Song For You", "5 Minutes with God", and "When Angels Cry (A Cappella)".

Jupiter
Silva
Six Degrees Records
www.slapmusica.com
$9.99 CD / $9.49 MP3 www.amazon.com

Brazilian singer Silva presents his third full-length album Jupiter, a music CD mystical pop drawing elements from bossa nova, R&B, electronica, and hip-hop, performed in melodic Portuguese. Hypnotically lilting, Jupiter balances its smooth, resonating vocals with shifting soundscapes, and is a choice pick for world music aficionados. The tracks are "Jupiter", "Sufoco", "Eu sempre quis", "Feliz e ponto", "Io", "Sou desse jeito", "Nas horas", "Se ela voltar", "Marina", "Deixa eu te falar", and "Noticias".

The Art of Balance
Mighty Mystic
mightymystic.com
$9.99 CD / $9.49 MP3 www.amazon.com

Reggae artist Mighty Mystic (a.k.a. Kevin Holness) presents his third album The Art of Balance, which draws upon his Jamaican and American roots. The songs revolve around the central theme of balance, not only in the arts but in everyday life, whether between laughter and tears or hard work and play. Free-spirited and adventurous, The Art of Balance is a unique experience for fans of original reggae, highly recommended. The tracks are "How I Rock", "Rebels", "Something Bout Mary", "Red Light Girl", "How Many Miles", "Fast Car", "Woman", "Easy", "Solid As A Rock", "Boys In Blue", "Only Birds", "High Grade", "Is Not Gold", "Only the Strong", and "Blackened".

Heart Dance Records
www.heartdancerecords.com
www.amazon.com www.cdbaby.com

Three New Age CDs from Heart Dance Records soothe the spirit and enrich the psyche, each in its own way. Michelle Qureshi's "Scattering Stars" ($14.99 CD / $9.49 MP3, michellequreshi.com) is an ambient, instrumental album, drawing inspiration from Sufi mysticism and the writing sof Rumi and Hafiz. "Eterna" ($14.99 CD, davidwdonner.com) is the debut solo finger-style guitar album of David W. Donner, primarily played on the first guitar he ever owned - a gift from his grandmother twenty years ago, and the age of its wood lends a unique quality to Donner's original compositions. Flautist Sherry Finzer, guitarist Darin Mahoney, and Grammy-nominated percussion artist Will Clipman combine their talents in "Trialogue" ($14.99 CD / $9.49 MP3, sherryfinzer.com, darinmahoney.net, willclipman.com), a soaring soundscape with a motivating beat that enlivens the imagination and invites the listener to move with the music. All three soul-stirring creations, highly recommended especially for connoisseurs.


The Library DVD Shelf

Jeff Miracola's Fantasy Art Workshop: Acrylic Painting Techniques
Three Points Publishing
PO Box 210861, Milwaukee, WI 53221
www.threepointspublishing.com
$39.95 www.fantasyartworkshop.com

Jeff Miracola's Fantasy Art Workshop: Acrylic Painting Techniques is an extensive, four-disc DVD guide to the joy and art of acrylic painting, especially with regard to the fantasy genre. Professional artist Jeff Miracola, who has illustrated properties such as Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Star Wars, Magic the Gathering, and more, shares his tips, tricks, and techniques at length. Viewers will learn about the tools needed for sketching, composition, painting surfaces, how to care for paints and brushes, advice for painting problematic subjects, painting splatter and texture effects, how to seal the final work, and freelance career advence. Candid and accessible, Jeff Miracola's Fantasy Art Workshop: Acrylic Painting Techniques is an absolute "must-have" for both hobbyist and aspiring professional acrylic painters! Highly recommended. 4 DVDs, 6 hours 36 min., widescreen.

Strange & Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
$24.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

Strange & Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island is a true story of Fogo Island, a tiny landmass off the coast of Newfoundland, where the collapsing fishing industry presents residents with strong economic challenges. Local entrepreneur Zita Cobb and architect Todd Saunders joined forces to create a unique inn on Fogo Island's beautiful coastline. Their design was so eye-catching that it sparked a surge in architecture-as-art on the island, and their efforts became a catalyst for social and economic change. Strange & Familiar offers a vivid tour, the next best thing to visiting Fogo Island in person, and shows how the local community of artisans as well as Saunders and Cobb collaborated in the creative process. A treasury for architecture enthusiasts, Strange & Familiar is especially recommended for public and college library DVD collections. 54 min., English SDH.

Building Strong Families
Learning ZoneXpress
667 East Vine Street, Owatonna, MN 55060
$79.95 www.learningzonexpress.com

Intended for students in grade 6 through high school as well as adults, Building Strong Families is a DVD documentary about families can most effectively reinforce their bonds and help one another through the ups and downs of life. The program consists of "Vision" (10:31), "Define Your Family" (7:00), "Be Positive" (8:32), "Establish Rules" (8:35), "Spend Time Together" (9:18), and "Support One Another" (8:22). Printable teaching materials are available at www.learningzoneexpress.com/worksheets online. Accessible and viewer-friendly, Building Strong Families is enthusiastically recommended for both public and school library DVD collections. 52 min., closed-captioned.

Independence Hall, Liberty Bell & Historic Pennsylvania
Bennet Watt HD Productions, Inc.
13021 - 244 Avenue SE, Issaquah, WA 98027
9781604902075 $24.95 www.Bennett-Watt.com

Part of the Discoveries... America National Parks series of panoramic, high-definition DVDs showcasing the splendor of American nature preserves and historic sites, Independence Hall, Liberty Bell & Historic Pennsylvania offers an extraordinary tour of the America's very birthplace. Beautiful, on-location footage and informative commentary offer the next best thing to seeing the Liberty Bell, Gettysburg National Military Park, Valley Forge National Military Park, Independence Hall National Historical Park and much more in person. Highly recommended, especially for public and school library DVD collections; Independence Hall, Liberty Bell & Historic Pennsylvania also makes a wonderful gift or souvenir for Independence Day! 53 min.

Art House
A film by Don Freeman
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
$24.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

Art House is a vivid documentary on DVD about American artists' houses that are themselves bold and striking works of art. A broad range of styles from classic to futuristic appear in this celebration of the meeting point between art and architecture, inspiration and the comforts of home. Art House is a particular joy for connoisseurs of fine art and graceful design! Extras include a photo gallery, artist bios, and a filmmaker bio. 87 min., optional English subtitles.

And Then There Were None
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$34.99 www.acornonline.com

Available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats, And Then There Were None is the mini-series adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery-thriller. Set just before the outbreak of World War II, the story unfolds as ten strangers are lured to an isolated island, each under different pretenses. Each has a dark secret in their past... and when one of them is suddenly found dead, the true reason for their invitation becomes horrifyingly clear. Superb performances by a cast of talented actors and actresses distinguish this suspenseful saga of murder and revenge. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette (43 min.), an interview with screenwriter Sarah Phelps (15 min.), and a photo gallery. And Then There Were None is an absolute "must-have" for connoisseurs of Agatha Christie's novels! It should be noted that And Then There Were None contains strong language, graphic violence, disturbing images, and sexual situations. 3 episodes on 2 discs, SDH subtitles, widescreen.

19-2 Season 1
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$49.99 www.acornonline.com

19-2 Season 1 is a Canadian crime/police drama on DVD. The saga follows Officer Nick Barron (played by Adrian Holmes), who is back on Montreal street patrol after a shooting incident, despite his lingering guilt. His new partner is Ben Chartier, whose zeal for the job is about to crash headfirst into the stark reality of brutal criminals and their violent crimes. A talented ensemble cast distinguishes this excellent series, highly recommended for connoisseurs of the genre (including fans of other classic crime/police dramas such as "Hill Street Blues" or "N.Y.P.D. Blue"). It should be noted that 19-2 Season 1 contains coarse language, graphic violence, sexual content, nudity, and disturbing images. 10 episodes on 3 DVDs, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

Prisoners Wives
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
9781621721567 $59.99 www.acornonline.com

Encompassing both Series 1 and Series 2, Prisoners Wives is a British drama on DVD about the wives, girlfriends, daughters, and mothers left behind to carry on when the men they care about are imprisoned. Together, they form an unusual sorority to help and support one another. Stellar performances distinguish this show about hard times, sisterhood, and hope in the unlikeliest places. A "must-see" for connoisseurs of quality drama, Prisoners Wives invites a favorable comparison with "Orange is the New Black". It should be noted that Prisoners Wives contains violence, coarse language, nudity, and sexual situations. 10 episodes on 4 DVDs, 608 min., widescreen, SDH subtitles.

A Place to Call Home, Season 3
Starring Marta Dusseldorp
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$59.99 www.acornonline.com

A Place to Call Home, Season 3 continues the popular period drama on DVD, set in post-World War II Australia. Actress Marta Dusseldorp plays the role of Sarah Adams, a nurse connected to the wealthy Bligh family. Emotionally, Sarah is torn between her traumatized husband Rene and her handsome ex-fiance George Bligh. Meanwhile, the Blight family struggles with its own dilemmas; the recent marriage between young lovers Anna and Gino is on shaky ground, and new mother Olivia hides a potentially destructive secret from her husband, James. Matriarch Elizabeth considers leaving Ash Park indefinitely, and the selfish Regina has no qualms about tearing the family apart to get what she wants. A Place to Call Home is riveting, superbly performed, and unforgettable. Bonus features include the original cliffhanger ending to Season 2 (4 min.) and a photo gallery. It should be noted that A Place to Call Home contains violence, sexual situations, and nudity. 10 episodes on 3 discs, 505 min. plus bonus, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

Find Me
GlobalStory2 Films
c/o Vision Video
P.O. Box 540, Worcester, PA 19490
$19.99 www.visionvideo.com

Find Me is a documentary on DVD, following three Christian families who seek to adopt children from China. Both sides of the adoption journey are explored; not only the children's transition to a new home and a new country, but also the story of biological parents who could not afford to raise them, and the orphanage nannies or foster families who took care of them before their adoption. Deeply spiritual and inspirational, Find Me is ultimately about God's love and how adoption profoundly transforms lives. Highly recommended, especially for church library DVD collections. 77 min., widescreen, optional English subtitles.


The Multimedia Shelf

Pete-Pak
Pete Seeger and the Paul Winter Consort
Living Music
www.paulwinter.com
$25.00 www.paulwinter.com/recordings

Pete-Pak is a CD with companion DVD that celebrates the life and music of Pete Seeger. Included are a fully remastered edition of "Pete" (Seeger's first album to win a Grammy award), a new "Pete Seeger at the Living Music Festival DVD" showcasing three historic videos of Pete Seeger in live performance, and two booklets with excerpts of books and articles authored by Pete Segger himself, as well as David Dunaway's 1990 biography of Pete. A grand tribute to this beloved musician, well-known for his talent with the banjo and 12-string guitar, Pete-Pak has traditional ballads, Pete's original compositions, and three songs recorded for the first time: "Huddie Ledbetter was a Helluva Man", "Natural History (Spider's Web)", and Don West's anthem of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". An absolute "must-have" for grass-roots music connoisseurs of all ages, Pete-Pak is highly recommended. The CD music tracks are "Well May the World Go", "My Rainbow Race", "Huddie Ledbetter", "The Water is Wide", "All Mixed Up", "Sailing Down My Golden River", "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "Living in the Country", "How Can I Keep from Singing", "Garbage", "Natural History (Spider's Web)", "Old Devil Time", "Of Time and Rivers Flowing", "In the Evening", "To Everyone in All the World", "River of My People", "Russian Song/Ode to Joy" and "To My Old Brown Earth". The DVD contents are "Living Music Festival" (1982), "Pete-nic" (1997), and "Pete Seeger Solo" (2005), featuring eighteen different songs.


The Business Shelf

Driven by Difference
David Livermore
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
www.amacombooks.org
9780814436530, $27.95, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Like America's general population, today's workforce is more diverse than ever before. But despite new perspectives and talents, the promise of increased innovation rarely materializes. Why are so few businesses seeing results? Studies show that diverse teams are more creative than homogenous ones -- but only when they are managed effectively. The secret is to minimize conflict while maximizing the informational diversity found in varied values and experiences. To do this, both leaders and team members need a high level of cultural intelligence, or CQ. Drawing on success stories from Google, Alibaba, Novartis, and other groundbreaking companies, "Driven by Difference: How Great Companies Fuel Innovation Through Diversity" by David Livermore (President and Partner of the Cultural Intelligence Center, a research institute at the forefront of CQ assessment and development) identifies the management practices necessary to guide multicultural teams to innovation, including how to: Create an optimal environment; Build trust; Fuse differing perspectives; Align goals and expectations; Generate fresh ideas; Consider the various audiences when selecting and selling an idea; Design and test for different users. Cultural differences can lead to gridlock, or they can catalyze innovation and growth. "Driven by Difference" offers a research-based plan to turn diversity's potential into a successful economic reality. Unique and extraordinary, "Driven by Difference" is very highly recommended for community, corporate, and academic library Contemporary American Business reference collections and supplemental studies curriculums. For the personal reading lists of MBA studies, corporate professionals, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject it should be noted that "Driven by Difference" is also available in a Kindle edition ($15.37).

Global Sport Marketing
Norm O'Reilly, et. al.
Fitness Information Technology
375 Birch Street, PO Box 6116, Morgantown, WV 26506-6116
9781935412434 $41.00 http://fitpublishing.com

Global Sport Marketing: Sponsorship, Ambush Marketing, and the Olympic Games is a practical-minded, in-depth business guide especially for aspiring and practicing professionals in the field. Chapters cover sport marketing and the law, sponsorship as an element of marketing strategy, the strategy of "ambush marketing" (keeping the marketing campaign secret until very close to the officially sponsored event, thus creating a stronger link by association between one's marketed product and the event), a wealth of case studies, and more. Chapter questions, black-and-white photographs, an index, and a list of references round out this excellent text for college courses or self-study.

Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver
Ron Wallace
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
1333 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland CA, 94612
www.bkconnection.com
9781626566880, $24.95, HC, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Ron Wallace was a UPS delivery driver for six years before he began rising through the ranks, ultimately becoming president of UPS International. In other companies, that might be extraordinary, but at UPS it's par for the course. UPS has a unique corporate culture. It's like a family. Package loaders call executives by their first names and vice versa. The company almost always promotes from within. Lifetime employment is common. Most employees own UPS stock. Wallace credits the company's success (and his own) to its culture of "we, not me". As Wallace puts it, working at UPS gave him a PhD in teamwork. Instead of writing a typical business memoir that celebrates the leader as celebrity, in the pages of "Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver", Wallace shares vivid stories that focus on the people he worked with, the challenges they overcame, and the simple principles and practices that make up the UPS way. He exhorts his readers to grow their people, not just their business plans. The leadership style described in "Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver" is simple, direct, and effective. The straightforward and easy-to-understand lessons provide a blueprint for an individual or company to build on past successes and adapt to future challenges. Very highly recommended for personal, corporate, community, and academic library Business Management instructional reference collections, "Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver" is a must-read for anyone aspiring to become a great leader -- especially in any kind of business enterprise. It should be noted that "Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.99) and in an audio book format (9781520004655, $19.99).


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

The Official Overstreet Identification and Price Guide to Indian Arrowheads, 14th edition
Robert M. Overstreet, author
Sam W. Cox & Steven R. Cooper, editors
House of Collectibles
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9780375724039, $29.99, PB, 1392pp, www.amazon.com

Simply stated, this newly updated and expanded fourteenth edition of "The Official Overstreet Identification and Price Guide to Indian Arrowheads" is the professional standard reference for collectors of Native American arrowheads. This newly revised edition is packed with thousands of photographs of arrowheads from all over the United States, including Alaska. Illustrations guide the reader to the understanding of arrowhead types, manufacturing, grading, materials, and more. It is a hands-on education to everything about arrowheads all in one book. For almost three decades, there has been only one authoritative resource for experienced enthusiasts and beginners, professional dealers, and Native American Studies historians, and that reference is "The Official Overstreet Indian Arrowheads Identification and Price Guide" The features include more than 12,000 actual-size photographs covering hundreds of point types; a full color section with photographs of some of the finest points; special sections on how to grade, identify, and catalog your points; revised pricing to reflect the current marketplace; an expanded tour of the Museum of Native American History; an introduction to arrowhead hunter-collector "Turtleman" who is the star of the Animal Planet TV series Call of the Wildman; and an inspiring survey of several collectors and their personal collections. "The Official Overstreet Identification and Price Guide to Indian Arrowheads: 14th Edition" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Native American Studies reference collections.


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO
Beverly E. Jones
Career Press Inc.
12 Parish Drive, Wayne, NJ 07470
9781632650177 $15.99 www.careerpress.com

Fortune 500 energy executive Beverly Jones presents Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO: 50 Indispensable Tips to Help You Stay Afloat, Bounce Back, and Get Ahead at Work, a compilation of tips, tricks, techniques, and strategies that lives up to its title. Chapters discuss how to recover from stress or setbacks, how to smoothly transition between jobs (a valuable skill in today's era of high workforce turnover), how to maximize the return one gains from spending hours at other people's meetings, and much more. "Be prompt. By typically being there at the appointed hour, you can help to set a more productive tone. And once you're there, you can make use of any delay by reviewing the materials or networking with the crew." Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO is a superb supplementary resource for career professionals of all walks of life.


The Art Shelf

Drawing Perspective
Matthew Brehm
Barron's
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
www.barronseduc.com
9781438006598, $19.99, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

"Drawing Perspective: How to See It and How to Apply It" by Matthew Brehm (Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Idaho) is a hands-on guide to perspective that's for anyone who wants to draw or paint in any genre or medium. "Drawing Perspective" is partly about learning how to draw a set of straight lines that meet at a point, but it's not filled with lots of dull, dry theory (although it does explain how it all works). Instead, it gives you tons of fun, practical exercises, and encourages you to play with them, so that learning how to draw in perspective is effortless and easy. Aspiring artists can test their observational skills with: Image Quizzes: take a pen and draw in all the vanishing points onto the book itself; Perspective Chambers: draw objects onto an existing scene, keeping it all in the right perspective--sort of like 3D doodling; Unique exercises with more than 100 vanishing points to figure out. By the time "Drawing Perspective" is completed, readers will have a keen understanding of how perspective really works. Plus, they will learn how to look at the world around them, see what's really there, and spot where those invisible straight lines may be located. It will become like a sixth sense to the budding artist and one that will add depth and meaning to every artistic pursuit. Profusely illustrated and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Drawing Perspective", with its workbook exercises and grids to draw over, is very highly recommended for art students and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject.

Southwest Art Defined: An Illustrated Guide
Margaret Moore Booker
Rio Nuevo Publishers
PO Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703
www.rionuevo.com
9781933855752, $40.00, HC, 232pp, www.amazon.com

All of the traditional Native American arts of the American Southwest are brought together in the profusely illustrated pages of Margaret Moore Booker's "Southwest Art Defined: An Illustrated Guide" for the first time. Comprehensive descriptions of Native American and Hispano art are accompanied by full-color photographs of art from museums, galleries, and private collections. An impressive and comprehensive compendium showcasing stunning pottery, patterned weavings, distinctive jewelry, unqiue carvings, and the exceptional indigenous architecture of the American Southwest, "Southwest Art Defined: An Illustrated Guide" is an enthusiastically recommended and core addition to community and academic library Native American Arts & Crafts reference collections and supplemental studies curriculums. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Southwest Art Defined: An Illustrated Guide" is also available in a paperback edition (9781940322124, $19.95).

The Drawings of G.F. Watts
Chloe Ward
Philip Wilson Publishers
c/o I. B. Tauris Publishers
9781781300350, $35.00, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

G.F. Watts (23 February 1817 - 1 July 1904) was one of the Victorian era's greatest painters. Yet his drawings which offer unequaled insight into his techniques and compositional decisions when developing his most celebrated paintings have never previously been studied. With paintings drawn from The Watts Gallery, and accompanied by an informative commentary provided by art historian Chloe Ward, "The Drawings of G.F. Watts" is the first in depth study of Watts's drawings. "The Drawings of G.F. Watts" illustrates over 100 works selected from the substantial holdings of The Watts Gallery and ranges from G. F. Watts' studies for paintings to his beautifully detailed figurative drawings executed throughout the artist's remarkable career. With flawlessly reproduced images, "The Drawings of G.F. Watts" is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library British Art History reference collections in general, and Victorian Art History supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty
Edgar Degas, artist
Jodi Hauptman, editor/contributor
Carol Armstrong, contributor
The Museum of Modern Art - New York
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9781633450059, $50.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas (1834 - 1917) was a French painter, draftsman, printmaker and sculptor celebrated for his scenes of modern life, from the cabaret concert to the racetrack to the ballet, the subject for which he is best known. Academically trained, Degas emulated old master and 19th-century predecessors; at the same time, he embraced radically new subjects, compositions and techniques. Yet it was his work in monotype that reveals the true extent of his restless experimentation. In the mid-1870s, Degas was introduced to the monotype process, a technique in which the artist draws in ink on a metal plate that is then run through a press, typically resulting in a single print. Degas embraced the medium with enormous enthusiasm, inventing a new repertoire of mark-making that included wiping, scraping, scratching, fingerprinting and rendering via removal. The resulting works are characterized by enigmatic and mutable forms, luminous passages emerging from darkness and a heightened tactility. Taking the monotype process to radical ends, Degas explored a variety of subjects, including city dwellers in motion; harshly illuminated cafe singers, ballet dancers on and offstage, women in intimate settings; and evanescent landscapes. With this medium, Degas is at his most modern, liberating drawing from tradition, depicting the body in new and daring ways, and boldly engaging the possibilities of abstraction. Published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, "Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty" a richly illustrated catalogue presents approximately 120 monotypes along with some 60 related works, including paintings, drawings, pastels, sketchbooks and prints. Essays and detailed studies by curators, scholars and conservators explore the creative potency of Degas' rarely seen monotypes, and highlight their impact on his wider practice. "Edgar Degas: A Strange New Beauty" is an essential and core addition to personal, community, and academic library Art History collections in general, and Edgar Degas supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

The Art of Peter Sculthorpe: Paintings Spanning Four Decades
Peter P. Sculthorpe
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764349140, $50.00, www.amazon.com

The Art of Peter Sculthorpe: Paintings Spanning Four Decades by Peter P. Sculthorpe (a leading American artist working in both watercolor and oil) offers a definitive collection covering his art spanning some four decades, through different mediums and locations, and is a 'must' for any art collection interested in representations of classic art in general and Sculthorpe in particular. An oversized oblong hardcover captures in full-page displays the paintings of landscapes that are one of the hallmarks of his art - over a hundred works that are accompanied by his essays and descriptions. Any art holding strong in paintings will find this a solid addition.


The Sports Shelf

Functional Training
Juan Carlos "JC" Santana, Med, CSCS
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.HumanKinetics.com
9781450414821, $21.95, www.amazon.com

Functional Training: Exercises and Programming for Training and Performance offers a new approach to training and conditioning methods that can apply to a range of sports activities, and packs in exercises based on the latest sports training research along with proven programs that can be added to any existing routine. Its functional training concepts can be applied to eleven specific sports while its routines incorporate dumbbells, bands, stability balls and more tools. Readers learn how to analyze the special needs of their sport, how to tailor exercises based on these needs, and how to customize and refine a training program. The result is recommended for coaches, triathletes and any who would add to an existing training routine.


The Autism Shelf

Sex, Drugs & Asperger's Syndrome (ASD)
Luke Jackson
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.jkp.com
9781849056458, $25.00, www.amazon.com

Sex, Drugs & Asperger's Syndrome (ASD): A User Guide to Adulthood should be required reading for any ASD young adult on the cusp of adulthood. It comes from a 26-year-old who charts the common pitfalls of entering the adult world, and it covers bullying and body language, the strange world of dating and relationships, ethical considerations in life, conversational blunders, and truths about drug use. All these subjects are referenced in a chatty, involving manner that makes for easy reading offering many enlightening tips on how to make the most of life.


The Psychology Shelf

APA College Dictionary of Psychology, second edition
Gary R. VandenBos, editor
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242
www.apa.org/books
9781433821585, $19.95, PB, 518pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, the popular, compact, and economical "APA College Dictionary of Psychology" for students and practitioners features some 5,500 entries (that's over 500 more than the original first edition), while continuing to feature clear and authoritative definitions that provide basic coverage from across 90 sub-disciplines of psychology. Special emphasis is concentrated on the fields that are typically encountered in undergraduate studies, such as general, personality and social, life span developmental, abnormal, and cognitive psychology. Moreover, basic coverage of neuropsychology and of statistics and methodology have been enhanced for the second edition, and two helpful appendixes have been included: Abbreviations and Acronyms and Symbols. Very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and library Psychology/Psychiatry Studies reference collections, "The APA College Dictionary of Psychology, second edition" is a reliable resource that answers the needs of both advanced placement high-school students and college undergraduates -- whether they are taking psychology as part of a broader curriculum or making it their major field of study.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.jkp.com

Lucy Whitman's People With Dementia Speak Out (9781849052702, $24.95) takes the experiences of over twenty people from diverse backgrounds who tell about their diagnosis and how they lived with dementia, and provides too few books on the topic can offer: a roadmap for survival. These personal accounts discuss a range of life challenges, from gaining support from friends, family and other places to living with the slow erosion caused by dementia; but if it's one major truth they succeed in illustrating, it's that dementia experiences are not the same for all. Having an abundance of information from different people serves to illustrate that though the physical forms of dementia may be similar, how they are experienced and processed is a very individual task. Readers who would gain a better understanding of dementia's feelings and experiences will find People With Dementia Speak Out an outstanding collection of diverse people, experiences, and coping mechanisms. Annie Heiderscheit edits Creative Arts Therapies and Clients with Eating Disorders (9781849059114, $39.95), a primer gathering the expertise of a range of creative arts therapists from around the world who examine how their practices have benefited from applying these therapies to clients with eating disorders. Art, dance, drama, music and writing therapies have encouraged growth and change in a clientele notoriously difficult to transform: these articles explain how each therapy is instituted in the course of traditional eating disorder treatments, and how inpatients, outpatients, and varying degrees of ED disorders benefit from these different creative arts approaches. Clinical practitioners and students of ED will find these case illustrations combine theory with applications that promise positive change and results that last.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

BSAVA Manual of Canine Practice: A Foundation Manual
Tim Hutchinson and Ken Robinson, Editors
Wiley/Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781905319480, $130.00, www.amazon.com

Written by vets with years of experience in general practice, this 'Foundation Manual' is the first place a busy practitioner should turn to when a puzzling new case presents. It's specific to canines and it provides clear sections covering general practices, common challenges, and clinical presentations which demand an extra layer of thought and analysis. Designed as a quick reference guide, this book is perfect for trauma assessment and emergency canine management, and discusses all kinds of symptoms and vet responses. The result is a definitive, authoritative set of concise answers that focus on clinical approaches and quick analysis.


The Crafts Shelf

Draw Horses in 15 Minutes
Diana Hand
Ilex
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781781572498, $12.99, www.amazon.com

Draw Horses in 15 Minutes shares the insights and techniques that have made author Diana Hand a professional equine artist, and is recommended as a basic starting point for any who would draw horses. Her step-by-step instructions shows how to choose a horse model, how to draw in such a way as to capture its movement and personality, and how to understand the basics of drawing the horse figure and the options involved. The result is a fine horse drawing beginner's guide that offers the basics for capturing the right feel of a horse's image.


The Reference Shelf

The Image Processing Handbook
John C. Russ and F. Brent Neal
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781498740265, $199.95, www.amazon.com

The seventh updated edition of The Image Processing Handbook covers 2D and 3D imaging techniques, image printing and storage, quantitative analysis, and algorithms for measurement, and represents a technical engineering reference powerful in its electrical theories and applications. Here are over 1,700 references to theory and applications covering a range of disciplines, with revamped chapters offering new figures, images, color representations, and revisions to statistics and processes. Researchers and novices alike will find the technical discussions accessible and backed by formulas and calculations while the broader scope of image processing applications makes for a powerful sweeping interdisciplinary survey. The result is a top pick for any electrical, engineering or reference collection.


The Civil War Shelf

The Red River Campaign and Its Toll
Henry O. Robertson
Marketing Department
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476663784, $29.95, PB, 209pp, www.amazon.com

The American Civil War saw many brutal and bloody battles. The Red River Campaign in the spring of 1864 that was one of the most destructive of the Civil War. The agricultural wealth of the Red River Valley tempted Union General Nathaniel P. Banks to invade with 30,000 troops in an attempt to seize control of the river and confiscate as much cotton as possible from local plantations. After three months of chaos, during which the countryside was destroyed and many slaves freed themselves, Banks was defeated by a smaller Confederate force under General Richard Taylor. "The Red River Campaign and Its Toll: 69 Bloody Days in Louisiana, March-May 1864" by civil war historian Henry O. Robertson (who is also an Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of Institutional Effectiveness at Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana) takes a fresh and documented look at the fierce battles at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, the Union army's escape from Monett's Ferry and the burning of Alexandria, and explains the causes and consequences of the war in Central Louisiana. A model of civil war scholarship, "The Red River Campaign and Its Toll" is a valued and strongly recommended contribution to the growing body of Civil War literature and very highly recommended for community and academic library collections.

Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War
James Patrick Morgans
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786470693, $29.95, PB, 277pp, www.amazon.com

Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 - January 3, 1916) was a Union army officer on the frontier and pioneering figure in military intelligence during the Civil War, who served as Ulysses S. Grant's intelligence Chief in the Western Theater. He served in several notable assignments, including command of the XVI Corps during the Atlanta Campaign. He later served as a U.S. Congressman, businessman, and railroad executive who helped direct the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. "Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War" by James Patrick Morgans is the story of how, in 1861, Colonel Grenville Dodge organized the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment and led them off to war. They had few uniforms or weapons and were more of a mob than a military unit, but Dodge shaped them into a fighting force that won honors on the battlefield and gained respect as one of the best regiments in the Union army. Promoted to the rank of major-general, Dodge became one of the youngest divisional, corps and departmental commanders in the Army. A superb field general, he also organized a network of more than 100 spies to gather military intelligence and built railroads to supply the troops in the Western Theater. "Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War" covers Dodge's Civil War career and the history of the 4th Iowa, who fought at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Atlanta. Exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, "Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library American Civil War reference collections and supplemental studies curriculums. For the personal reading lists of academia and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the Civil War is should be noted that "Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.99).

The Collapse of Price's Raid
Mark A. Lause
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Boulevard, Columbia, MO 65201
9780826220257 $32.95 hc
9780826273215 $32.95 ebook www.umsystem.edu/upress

The Collapse of Price's Raid: The Beginning of the End in Civil War Missouri is a scholarly study of the final major Southern operation west of the Mississippi River, during the American Civil War. By the time of Price's Raid (also known as Price's Missouri Expedition), the Confederates were desperate for food and supplies. Confederate Major General Sterling Price sought to seize resources by using his cavalry expedition and recruiting guerrilla fighters to his cause. Yet Price made costly strategic mistakes; worn down by Union forces, he ultimately returned with half as many men as he initially set out with. Price's failure was so catastrophic that it substantially contributed to Union morale and President Lincoln's re-election. The Collapse of Price's Raid meticulously examines the entire chain of events, skirmish by skirmish, from both military and historical perspectives. Extensive notes and an index round out this excellent contribution to public and college library Civil War shelves.


The American History Shelf

Abductions in the American Revolution
Christian McBurney
McFarland
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476663647 $35.00 pbk / $24.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Written with the precision of a historian, yet accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Abductions in the American Revolution: Attempts to Kidnap George Washington, Benedict Arnold and Other Military and Civilian Leaders is an utterly fascination examination of kidnapping as a military strategy during the Revolutionary War. Both sides sought to kidnap officers and prominent civilian leaders, including mayors or governors. Even George Washington called such efforts "honorable" (though he did write a wartime letter disapproving of the execution of kidnapped prisoners as a retaliatory measure, saying, "...where you have not the transgressor himself in your possession. Humanity will ever interfere and plead strongly against the sacrifice of an innocent person for the guilt of another.") Indeed, Washington himself had to beware kidnap attempts; as did Benedict Arnold, and a future king of Great Britain. A successful kidnapping could turn the tide of battle, while an unsuccessful attempt could end with the would-be kidnapper getting hanged. Enhanced with extensive notes and index, Abductions in the American Revolution is a welcome contribution to public and college library collections, and highly recommended.

Fatal Sunday
Mark Edward Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806153353 $34.95 hc / $29.89 Kindle www.oupress.com

Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle is an extensive, scholarly assessment of a crucial turning point in the American Revolutionary War - and in George Washington's military and political career. If not for Washington's relative success (the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse was technically a tactical draw, and because of the scorching summer weather, heat stroke is said to have claimed more lives than musket fire), his political opponents might have replaced him as the American commander-in-chief. Also notable is how the battle ended the military career of Washington's chief rival and fiercest critic, Major General Charles Lee. Lee and Washington and Lee had an acrimonious history, and Lee desired to be commander-in-chief instead of second-in-command; but during the battle, Lee's decision to retreat in defiance of orders, combined with his public disrespect of Washington, resulted in a court-martial. Extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this fascinating account of the Monmouth Campaign and its repercussions, from military, political, and historic viewpoints. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library American History collections.

The Apache Wars
Paul Andrew Hutton
Crown
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.crownpublishing.com
9780770435813, $30.00, HC, 544pp, www.amazon.com

The young white boy was called Mickey Free. His kidnapping started the longest war in American history, and both sides (the Apaches and the white invaders) blamed him for it. A mixed-blood warrior who moved uneasily between the worlds of the Apaches and the American soldiers, he was never trusted by either but desperately needed by both. He was the only man Geronimo ever feared. He played a pivotal role in this long war for the desert Southwest from its beginning in 1861 until its end in 1890 with his pursuit of the renegade scout, Apache Kid. In this sprawling, monumental work, Paul Hutton unfolds over two decades of the last war for the West through the eyes of the men and women who lived it. "The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, the Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History" by Paul Andrew Hutton (Professor of History at the University of New Mexico) is the true story Mickey Free, as well as the story of his contemporaries: the great Apache leaders Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and Victorio; the soldiers Kit Carson, O. O. Howard, George Crook, and Nelson Miles; the scouts and frontiersmen Al Sieber, Tom Horn, Tom Jeffords, and Texas John Slaughter; the great White Mountain scout Alchesay and the Apache female warrior Lozen; the fierce Apache warrior Geronimo; and the Apache Kid. These lives shaped the violent history of the deserts and mountains of the Southwestern borderlands -- a bleak and unforgiving world where a people would make a final, bloody stand against an American war machine bent on their destruction. Professor Hutton has written a detailed and riveting history that will prove to be a compelling and informative read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for both community and academic library American Western History and Native American Studies collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists of academia and the non-specialist general reader that "The Apache Wars" is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.99) and in an Audio CD format (HighBridge Audio, 9781681680767, $44.99).

Traqueros
Jeffrey Marcos Garcilazo
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
9781574416275 $24.95 www.unt.edu/untpress

Traqueros: Mexican Railroad Workers in the United States 1870-1930 is an extensively researched, scholarly history of Mexican-American railroad laborers who settled in the United States, especially in the Southwest and the Midwest. In this era, railroad work was the second largest employer of Mexican labor, surpassed only by agricultural work. Traqueros examines how Mexicans were recruited to work on America's railroads, their positive and negative experiences on the job, labor struggles and unrest, boxcar communities, traquero culture, and more. Endnotes, a bibliography, and an index round out this excellent contribution to public and college library American History collections.


The World History Shelf

Hair: A Human History
Kurt Stenn
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.us
9781605989556, $26.95, www.amazon.com

Hair: A Human History comes from an expert on hair who provides a fun global romp through history discussing various aspects of hair; from no-hair and long-hair peoples to how changing fashion trends in hair styling affected the uses and applications of hair products and hair commodities. Chapters discuss all aspects of hair, from its biology and art to its various uses, and provides a lively blend of history and science highly recommended for any interested in the evolution and culture of hair.


The Computer Shelf

Addison Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/aw

Steven M. Bellovin's Thinking Security: Stopping Next Year's Hackers (9780134277547, $39.99) is recommended for IT professionals with a particular interest in security, and provides a new method of analyzing security needs to develop a different approach to preventing intrusions. The basic premise here begins with the idea that security is a systems problem requiring different routines to address gaps and common problems, and it also maintains that backups and Plan B routines should be established to counter the possibility of failure. There are many myths associated with the topic of computer security and Thinking Security addresses many of them, from wireless issues and fallacies in thinking about the security or vulnerability of such systems to how to evaluate defenses and make wide-ranging changes that address not just present-day known vulnerabilities, but possible feature issues. The result is a security approach no IT professional or business manager should be without. Peter Gottschling's Discovering Modern C++ (9780134383583, $49.99) provides an introduction for using the latest C++ programming routines and is recommended for any programmer who wants to get up to speed quickly with the concepts and applications of C++. Examples from real-world issues use the author's experience training professionals and students alike to craft problems and solutions that demonstrate C++'s strengths and abilities, but heart of the book is designed to help relative newcomers get started quickly - and to this end, templates provide recipes for success. The emphasis is on writing the best software possible to take advantage of C++'s strengths: chapters not only provide formulas but discuss common errors and how to address them. Filled with code and screen examples, Discovering Modern C++ is a fine recommendation for any programmer who would learn from a blend of best practices and real-world examples.

Big Data Fundamentals
Thomas Erl, et.al.
Prentice Hall Professional
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/ph
9780134291078, $39.99, www.amazon.com

Big Data Fundamentals: Concepts, Drivers & Techniques provides a guide to big data basics and comes from IT professionals who explain the basic concepts and their applications, adding case study examples to cement each foundation idea. As a primer to the subject, it provides college-level readers and computer IT students with a guide that connects the basic concepts of big data management to business pursuits, offering chapters that show how to adopt, set up, instigate, and create powerful plans for gathering, storing, and using big data. From data warehouses and considering various kinds of Big Data resources to processing in batch mode, applying analytics, and considering different methodologies, Big Data Fundamentals is packed with charts and diagrams and provides everything needed for an IT reader to get up and running.

SAMS
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/ph
www.informit.com/unleashed

Andrew Pinkham's Django Unleashed (9780321985071, $49.99) uses the author's background as a teacher of the computer Django system to tackle common issues and programming questions, providing a step-by-step user-friendly guide for any who would better understand how Django works with website development. From how to write Pyton code and solve problems that revolve around Django applications to applying Django's particular approach to real-world problems, this book is a 'must' for relative newcomers who would get up and running quickly. It teaches how to use Django templates to best advantage, how to troubleshoot common problems and apply Django Forms and models to typical applications, and how to protect a website while taking advantage of Django's processes. The result is a highly recommended pick for any Django programmer and relative newcomer to the program's potentials. Andy Nicholls, Richard Pugh and Aimee Gott's Sams Teach Yourself R in 24 Hours (9780672338489, $39.99) presents a format that provides 24 lessons of one hour or less each to impart the basics of R, and is especially recommended as a teach-yourself workbook that pairs real-world examples and problem solving with R basics supported by quizzes and exercises for self-testing. Chapters cover all the basis, from installing and understanding the R environment to writing and working with common R structures, plugging data into various R functions, and applying families of functions to best advantage. Code examples, summary processes, tips for understanding the grammar of graphics terminology, insights into creating various models, and more all contribute to an outstanding self-learning tool that promises newcomers the quickest, most methodical learning process for absorbing R and its applications.

Getting Started with Data Science
Murtaza Haider
IBM Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/ph
9780133991024, $39.99, www.ibmpressbooks.com

Getting Started with Data Science: Making Sense of Data with Analytics packs in stories about data science to provide a jargon-free coverage of basic theory and technique, and pairs discussions with real-world examples and hands-on exercises. Rather than presenting theory and tossing in a few case histories, this book builds a data science foundation of progression discoveries by encouraging readers to problem-solve and answer data science questions from consumer, education, online and technology applications. Each problem walks readers through the options and resolution process and provides charts, tables, maps, and plenty of visuals. The result is a study that is packed with data science insights and which excels in its presentation and approach. It's not the typical textbook of facts, but teaches a system and a method of troubleshooting that ultimately result in a professional approach to the data science field as a whole.

Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days, seventh edition
Rogers Cadenhead
SAMS
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/ph
9780672337109, $44.99, www.amazon.com

The seventh updated edition of Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days covers Java 8 and Android development, and teaches how to use the Java language to create a variety of applications. One might think that such a study would be directed to programmers with prior Java experience, or to programmers familiar with other languages; but in fact, no previous programming is needed at all (though computer and programming basics will help). Learners receive a self-guided workbook that creates chapters based on foundation information provided in a progressive manner. This means that the building blocks of knowledge assume a logical format and allow all kinds of computer learners at all levels to absorb Java 8's basics in a methodical manner. Each chapter includes exercises and self-tests and teach also adds certification practice questions, for those who intend on getting certified. This edition has been completely revised and expanded, so owners of older editions should consider it an important replacement which retains the same easy approach and examples as prior editions, but adds all the latest Java 8 features. It's a 'must' for anyone who would learn Java in a self-directed self-study approach, but will also serve well as a classroom supplement or text.

Ubuntu Unleashed, 2016 Edition
Matthew Helmke
SAMS
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
www.informit.com/ph
9780134268116, $54.99, www.amazon.com

The 2016 edition of Ubuntu Unleashed covers 15.10 and 16.04 editions and provides the same attention to detail as its predecessors in a new edition. Ubuntu programmers who have either utilized previous editions or who want a comprehensive and in-depth coverage that begins with the basics and moves into advanced customization processes will find everything here that's needed to make Ubuntu a productive business asset. It offers more than added information about the latest features, but revises and updates the entire book to incorporate much new information on how to apply it more effectively in a web development environment. From initial setup and monitoring to applications for mobile devices and on the cloud, Ubuntu Unleashed assumes no prior knowledge and covers both basic commands and advanced applications. Configuration code, editing default settings, turning regular tasks into programs that run when a system is booted up, and hosting a virtual domain are only a few of the topics covered in a computer guide packed with real world examples, code, and clear discussions.


The Science Shelf

Engineering Drawing and Design, sixth edition
David A. Madsen & David P. Madsen
Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.cengageptr.com
9781305659728, $242.95, HC, 1065pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded sixth edition, "Engineering Drawing and Design" by David A. Madsen (Emeritus Professor in Drafting Technology with the Autodesk Premier Training Center at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Oregon) and David P. Madsen (President of Engineering Drafting & Design, Inc., and Vice President of Madsen Designs Inc., who provides drafting and design consultation and training for all disciplines and is an Autodesk Authorized Author) is an ideal drawing and designing curriculum textbook for students of engineering. An easy-to-read, comprehensive drafting and design instruction manual that complies with the latest ANSI and ASME industry standards for mechanical drafting. "Engineering Drawing and Design" offers a multitude of real, high-quality industry drawings and more than 1,000 drafting, design, and practical application problems -- including many new to the current edition. The informative and 'reader friendly' text showcases actual product designs in all phases, from concept through manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. In addition, the engineering design process now features new material related to production practices that eliminate waste in all phases, and describes practices to improve process output quality by using quality management methods to identify the causes of defects, remove them, and minimize manufacturing variables. "Engineering Drawing and Design, sixth edition" is an essential and core addition to technical college and university library Contemporary Engineering instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Control Engineering in Development Projects
Olis Rubin
Artech House
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
www.artechhouse.com
9781630810023, $169.00, HC, 280pp, www.amazon.com

"Control Engineering in Development Projects" by Olis Rubin is a practical new guide to designing control systems gives students and professionals a virtual experience into the complex engineering problems that may occur during the design and development process. "Control Engineering in Development Projects" provides engineers with practical guidance in their journey to obtain a greater understanding of the thought processes involved in designing and developing successful control systems. "Control Engineering in Development Projects" is a constructive new resource that takes engineers through the various phases of project development including A Motor Drive Project- Technology Programs, the project definition phase, the design phase, the implementation phase flight control, and aerodynamic concepts. Clear examples and case studies are presented throughout demonstrating various management styles, and confronting readers with a variety of challenges that could occur during actual projects. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Control Engineering in Development Projects" is very highly recommended for professional and academic library Technology Studies collections in general, and Electrical Engineering supplemental studies reading lists in particular.


The Judicial Studies Shelf

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook, third edition
Melissa A. Bailey, et. al.
Bernan Press
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
9781598886788 $99.00 www.bernan.com

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook is the go-to reference and resource for the fundamentals of occupational safety and health law in America, including matters pertaining to the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Each chapter is by an expert attorney in the specific field. Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook has been deliberately written in plain-terms English, avoiding legal jargon so as to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds. The updated third edition includes new material about major changes to the Hazard Communication Standard, new enforcement initiatives, updated regulations in the construction industry, new emergency response procedures, and more. Although Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook cannot substitute for the counsel of a trained attorney, it is an invaluable tool for reducing the risk that legal troubles will arise in the first place - and an excellent resource to study prior to consulting with an expensive professional who bills by the hour! Highly recommended for law, college, and corporate reference shelves.

Privacy and Freedom
Alan Westin
Ig Publishing
PO Box 2547, New York, NY 10163
www.igpub.com
9781935439974, $22.95, PB, 500pp, www.amazon.com

In defining privacy as "the claim of individuals... to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about them is communicated", the late Alan Westin (a Professor of Public Law and Government at Columbia University) in his 1967 classic work "Privacy and Freedom" laid the philosophical groundwork for the current debates about technology and personal freedom, and is considered a foundational text in the field of privacy law. By arguing that citizens retained control over how their personal data was used, Westin redefined privacy as an individual freedom, taking Justice Louis Brandeis' 19th century definition of privacy as a legal right and expanding it for use in modern times. Westin's ideas transformed the meaning of privacy, leading to a spate of privacy laws in the 1970s, as well as prefiguring the arguments over privacy that have come to dominate the internet era. This all new edition of "Privacy and Freedom" from Ig Publishing features a new introduction by Daniel J. Solove (the John Marshall Harlan Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School) and is very highly recommended and critically important addition to professional and academic library Judicial Studies reference collections.

The Contours of International Prosecutions
Elinor Fry
Eleven International Publishing
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR, 97213
www.isbs.com
9789462366213, $88.50, PB, 228pp, www.amazon.com

By nature, core international crimes have indistinct factual parameters. War crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide generally occur on a massive scale, spread out over a large geographical area and a long time span, involving many perpetrators at various distances from the crime scene(s). These characteristics make international crimes difficult to demarcate from the start (when determining the jurisdictional scope for the investigation in its earliest stage) to the finish (pronouncing the final judgment on the charges as delineated in the indictment). Taking the nature of international crimes as point of departure, "The Contours of International Prosecutions: As Defined by Facts, Charges, and Jurisdiction", Elinor Fry (Assistant Professor of the VU University Amsterdam Faculty of Law and Deputy Director of the Center for international Criminal Justice) addresses the delineation difficulties by exploring the jurisdictional and factual boundaries of international criminal prosecutions. This entails researching the legal aspects that influence demarcation - jurisdiction (in terms of scope as well as institutional influence), charges, and identifying material facts - by adequately distinguishing them from background information and evidence for the purpose of the indictment. A truly impressive work of detailed and seminal scholarship, "The Contours of International Prosecutions" is enhanced with the inclusion of two appendices (Evidence, Facts, and Charges & The 10 Pleading Principles) as well as a nineteen page bibliography, making it very highly recommended, especially for academic library Judicial Studies and International War Crime Studies reference collections and supplemental curriculum reading lists.


The Library Science Shelf

Shared Collections: Collaborative Stewardship
Dawn Hale, editor
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838914038, $75.00, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Libraries and the information technology organizations that provide services to them are devoting more attention to system-wide organization of collections whether the "system" is a consortium, a region or a country. As a strategy for saving space and money while expanding access to additional materials and resources, the value of shared collections is indubitable. "Shared Collections: Collaborative Stewardship" is a collected volume from the Association of Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) that spotlights the histories and experiences of several collaborations at academic libraries. Contributors share winning strategies for intentional decision-making in developing and managing shared collections, both print and digital, with expert guidance such as: analysis of six consortia case studies, ranging from giants like CIC and CARL to regional collaborations like the State of Maine and Manhattan research libraries; elements to address in a memo of understanding among participating institutions; risk assessment methodologies that enable institutions to focus local resources where they will provide the greatest return; and costs to anticipate for budgeting, such as collection analysis, space, validation, transport, staff, and administration. With practical advice on issues such as governance and business models, demand driven acquisition, rare works, and access, this monograph is a valuable resource for academic library directors, administrators, and collection development leaders. Enhanced with the inclusion of a six page listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a seventeen page index, "Shared Collections: Collaborative Stewardship" is very highly recommended for the Library Science instructional reference collections of community, corporate, private, governmental, and academic library systems.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Climate Change For Beginners
Dean Goodwin
For Beginners LLC
155 Main Street, Suite 211, Danbury, CT 06810
www.forbeginnersbooks.com
9781939994431, $15.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Year after year science continually proves that global climate change is real. But what does it all really mean and what can or should we do about it? This new edition of "Climate Change For Beginners" provides is a clear, fluid narrative by Dean Goodwin, a leading scientist and educator who takes a scrupulously balanced approach in explaining the history of global climate monitoring and change, and the whos, hows, whats, whens, wheres and whys of the interaction between human activity and recent trends in the Earth's climate. Working from the premise that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something, Goodwin challenges readers with experiments they can conduct to gain a better understanding of the science underlying the problems facing our planet and concludes with a list of 50 easy actions readers can choose from to start doing their part in the effort to slow or stop global warming. Simply stated, "Climate Change For Beginners" is a critically important and thoroughly accessible work that should have as wide a readership as possible -- starting with the Republican members of the congressional science committee and the current crop of Republican presidential nominee candidates who are all on record as denying that the phenomena of climate change is real. This new edition of "Climate Change For Beginners" should be a part of every school and community Environmental Studies collection and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for the non-specialist general reader that "Climate Change For Beginners" is also available in a Kindle edition ($15.15).


The Literary Studies Shelf

The Entrapments of Form
Catherine Toal
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue
University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
www.fordhampress.com
9780823269341, $70.74, HC, 184pp, www.amazon.com

Arguing that cruelty acquires a new meaning in modernity, "The Entrapments of Form: Cruelty and Modern Literature" by Catherine Toal (Professor of Literature and Dean of the College at Bard College Berlin, Germany) follows its evolution through exchanges between French and American literature over the contradictions of Enlightenment (slavery, genocide, libertine aristocratic privilege). Professor Toal traces Edgar Allan Poe's influence on the Sadean legacy, Melville's fictional dramatization of Tocqueville, and Henry James's response to the aesthetic of his French contemporaries, including Flaubert. The result is not simply a literary analysis that provides close readings of key literary texts of the nineteenth century-Benito Cereno, The Turn of the Screw, Maldoror-but one that shows how in this era cruelty develops a specific narrative structure, one that is confirmed by the manner of its negation in twentieth-century philosophy. The final chapters comprising "The Entrapments of Form" address this shift: the postwar French reception of Sade and the relationship between American cultural theory and the rhetoric of the so-called war on terror. Enhanced with thirty pages of Notes and a fifteen page Index, "The Entrapments of Form" is a truly impressive and inherently compelling work of seminal scholarship and very highly recommended for academic library Contemporary Literary Studies collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Entrapments of Form" is also available in a paperback edition (9780823269358, $25.00).


The Music Shelf

The Complete Singer-Songwriter, second edition
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
Backbeat Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
33 Plymouth Street, Suite 302, Montclair, NJ 07042-2677
www.halleonard.com
9781495019913, $19.99, PB, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording, and Business" continues to be the ultimate guide for the modern performer, being packed from cover to cover with practical tips, applicable tools, and productive inspiration for both aspiring troubadours and those looking to take their craft and career to the next level. Author Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers (founder of "Acoustic Guitar" magazine and who has been writing extensively on the acoustic music scene since 1989) draws on firsthand interviews with song writing legends and rising stars; expert advice from managers, agents, lawyers, and publishers; and his own experiences as a performing songwriter. He offers this invaluable companion for singer-songwriters on their journey from idea to song to the stage, studio, and beyond. "The Complete Singer-Songwriter" covers a songwriter's guide to chord progressions; understanding song form and rhyme; dozens of songwriting games and exercises; essential info on copyrighting your songs, music publishing, and digital royalties; online companion at www.completesingersongwriter.com (complete with playlists and additional resources); song writing tips and techniques from more than 100 artists, including Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Rosanne Cash, Jewel, Jeff Tweedy, Ani DiFranco, James Taylor, John Fogerty, Brandi Carlile, Richard Thompson, Jason Mraz, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Garcia, Dar Williams, and more. A complete course of thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction, examples, and resources, "The Complete Singer-Songwriter" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library collections. It should be noted that "The Complete Singer-Songwriter" is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.99).

Les Paul in His Own Words
Les Paul & Michael Cochran
Backbeat Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
33 Plymouth Street, Suite 302, Montclair, NJ 07042-2677
www.halleonard.com
9781495047398, $29.99, PB, 366pp, www.amazon.com

In 2009, the legendary Les Paul passed away at the age of 94. In celebration of his life, this centennial edition of "Les Paul in His Own Words" fully captures Paul's own reflections on his remarkable inventions and guitar playing. Originally published as a high-end collector's edition, this 2015 edition is a celebration of Les Paul having reached his centennial, and Backbeat Books is pleased to celebrate the legend once more in the first-ever paperback edition of Les Paul in His Own Words, makes his fascinating story available to a wide range of a new generation of readers. "Les Paul in His Own Words" is the definitive work on the recording and electric guitar pioneer whose prodigious talents and relentless work ethic single-handedly launched a new era in American popular music. This authentic account of Les Paul's life is packed with words of wisdom and experience from one of the most important contributors to modern music. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Les Paul in His Own Words" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library American Music History reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Philosophy Shelf

Philosophy in Seven Sentences
Douglas Groothuis
IVP Academic
c/o InterVarsity Press
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 605151426
www.ivpress.com
9780830840939, $16.00, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Philosophy is not a closed club or a secret society. It's for anyone who thinks big questions are worth talking about. To get us started, Douglas Groothuis unpacks seven pivotal sentences from the history of western philosophy, of which a few are famous, all are short, and none are trivial. Included are: "The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates; "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." Augustine; "I think, therefore I am." Decartes; "The heart has reasons, that reason knows nothing of." Pascal. Other sentences are drawn from the works of Protagoras, Aristotle and Kierkegaard to round out this quick tour. Since every philosopher has a story, not just a series of ideas, Douglas Groothuis (Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado) also offers a bit of each one's life to set the stage. The seven sterling sentences themselves, while they can't tell us all there is to know, offer bridges into other lands of thought which can spark new ideas and adventures. And who knows where they might lead? An inherently fascinating, thoughtful and thought-provoking read, "Philosophy in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic" is very highly recommended for high school, college, university, and community library Philosophy collections. For academia and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in philosophy it should be noted that "Philosophy in Seven Sentences" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.04).


The Money/Finance Shelf

Real Money Answers for Every Woman
Patrice C. Washington
Amistad Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
www.harpercollins.com
9780062420268 $15.99 pbk / $10.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Real Money Answers for Every Woman: How to Win the Money Game With or Without a Man is a money management guide written especially for women, and couched in question-and-answer format. Author Patrice Washington turned around $18,000 in debt (some from attending college, some from too many rationalizations for expensive purchases) in three years, by transforming her financial counseling into a successful business. She learned from her clients even as she taught them, and now she shares her understanding of the emotional forces that all too often induce women to make harmful financial decisions. Real Money Answers for Every Woman covers money myths; how to set realistic goals; how to improve one's professional life or even start making money from one's hobby; saving while reducing debt; banking fundamentals; how to improve one's credit rating; and much more. Perhaps the most standout chapters are the ones about relationships and money - including money problems with one's significant other, family members, or kids. "Q: I said 'no', and now my loved one isn't speaking to me. What next? A: Being in your life is a privilege, and you have to regard it as such. Not everyone deserves that privilege, especially those that choose to be angry with you because you're finally ready to make your dreams a reality."

Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions, 21st edition
Joseph Matthews, Attorney
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.nolo.com
9781413322354, $29.99, PB, 496pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded twenty-first edition, "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions: Get the Most Out of Your Retirement & Medical Benefits" fully explains all of the new rules and pertinent strategies on and for Social Security conditions, personal and spousal benefits, as well as benefits for disabilities, dependents, survivors, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This complete and comprehensive reference will prove critically important for anyone trying to decide whether to take an early Social Security benefit or wait until age 70. "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions" covers earn how to qualify for and enroll in both Medicare and Medicaid programs, including Medicare Part D drug coverage. "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions" will prove invaluable for understanding Medigap insurance and Medicare Advantage plans, as well as what new Medigap policies are available (and old ones that aren't), comparing Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans, and ultimately choosing what's best. Of special note is the information "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions" provides on government pensions and veterans benefits, including discovers when and how to claim the benefits earned. Enhanced with information on how to file many essential forms online, "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions" will prove to be an indispensable and reliable informational guide and reference, making it critically important and highly recommended addition for community library Money/Finance instructional reference collections. For personal reading lists and references it should be noted that "Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions" is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.32).


The Social Issues Shelf

Enduring Uncertainty
Ines Hasselberg
Berghahn Books
20 Jay Street, Suite 512, Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.berghahnbooks.com
9781785330223, $45.00, HC, 252pp, www.amazon.com

Focusing on the lived experience of immigration policy and processes, "Enduring Uncertainty: Deportation, Punishment and Everyday Life" by antropologist Ines Hasselberg ( who is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, and the Associate Director of Border Criminologies research webpage) provides fascinating insights into the deportation process as it is felt and understood by those subjected to it. "Enduring Uncertainty" presents a rich and innovative ethnography of deportation and deportability experienced by migrants convicted of criminal offenses in England and Wales. The unique perspectives developed here - on due process in immigration appeals, migrant surveillance and control, social relations and sense of self, and compliance and resistance - are important for broader understandings of border control policy and human rights. An impressively informative and exceptionally presented study that includes a ten page bibliography of References and an eighty-five page Index, "Enduring Uncertainty" is a compelling work of original scholarship that is very highly recommended for academic library Contemporary Social Issues reference collections in general, and Deportation Policy supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Racial Realities and Post Racial Dreams
Julius Bailey
Broadview Press
c/o FedEx Trade Networks
555 Riverwalk Parkway, Tonawanda, NY 14150
www.broadviewpress.com
9781554813162, $22.95, PB, 190pp, www.amazon.com

"Racial Realities and Post-Racial Dreams: The Age of Obama and Beyond" is a moral call, a harkening and quickening of the spirit, a demand for recognition for those whose voices are whispered. Author Julius Bailey straddles the fence of social-science research and philosophy, using empirical data and current affairs to direct his empathy-laced discourse. He turns his eye to President Obama and his critics, racism, income inequality, poverty, and xenophobia, guided by a prophetic thread that calls like-minded visionaries and progressives to action. Providing a keenly honest look at the current state of our professed city on a hill and the destruction left on the darker sides of town, "Racial Realities and Post-Racial Dreams" is a compelling read and underscores the devastation that the U.S. Supreme Courts gutting of the anti-voter rights legislation has created with the almost immediate appearance and re-emergence of the old Jim Crow laws and voter suppression legislation enacted by Republican controlled states. A compelling and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Racial Realities and Post Racial Dreams" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library Social Issues and Contemporary African-American Studies collections.


The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

The Grimm Future
Erin Underwood, editor
NESFA Press
PO Box 809, Framingham, MA 01701
www.nesfapress.com
9781610373159, $35.00, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and edited by Erin Underwood, "The Grimm Future" is an anthology that blends fresh new science fiction with a futuristic dash of magic in the form of fourteen re-imagined Brothers Grimm fairy tales from some of today's most exciting authors -- along with the original stories that inspired them. The original stories comprising "The Grimm Future" examines our humanity and what that term might come to mean through the eyes of future generations as society advances into an age when technology consumes nearly every aspect of our lives or has ultimately changed life as we know it. How might these timeless stories evolve? Given the relentless onrush of technology, there is even greater need for fairy tales and the kind of Grimm magic that is to be found in the pages of "The Grimm Future"! A compelling and thoroughly entertaining read from beginning to end, "The Grimm Future" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists of science fiction enthusiasts, as well as community, and academic library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections.


The Nautical Shelf

21st Century Knox
Edited by David Kohnen
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402
9781612519807 $24.95 pbk / $14.49 Kindle www.nip.org

21st Century Knox: Influence, Sea Power, and History for the Modern Era is a scholarly analysis and discussion of the ideas and legacy of Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (1877 - 1960), an officer in the United States Navy who served in the Spanish-American War and World War I, and who oversaw the Navy Department's historical office for many years. Knox's influence is especially notable during the years of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency; Knox advocated for the navy as an instrument for the preservation of peace and the protection of trade, rather than solely for warfare. Knox's views on naval strategy, leadership, and maritime options transcend his era, and offer invaluable insights to military and naval professions in the twenty-first century. Highly recommended, especially for college library nautical studies shelves.


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


Copyright ©2001

Site design by Williams Writing, Editing & Design