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Volume 30, Number 12 December 2020 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Christmas Shelf
Psychology Shelf General Fiction Shelf Historical Fiction Shelf
Literary Fiction Shelf Romantic Fiction Shelf Western Fiction Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Graphic Novel Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf Travel Shelf
Poetry Shelf Computer Shelf Technology Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Buddhist Studies Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Cookbook Shelf Education Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf Political Science Shelf
American History Shelf Military Shelf Biography Shelf
Martial Arts Shelf Gaming Shelf Money/Finance Shelf
Pets/Wildlife Shelf Human Sexuality Shelf Criminology Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

African American Lawman: 1867-1877
Lievin Kambamba Mboma
Lievin K. Mboma Press
9780998971667, $39.50, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/AFRICAN-AMERICAN-LAWMEN-1867-1877-vol-1/dp/0998971669

Synopsis: "African American Lawman: 1867-1877" by Lievin Kambamba Mboma explores the heretofore understudied topic of African Americans in law enforcement, as well as in executive and elected political offices during the Reconstruction Era. During this historical period, African Americans served in various capacities, including as policemen, justices of the peace, judges, and correctional officers.

Additionally, African Americans were empowered with regulatory duties at the local, state, and federal levels such as serving as tax collectors, school inspectors, sanitary inspectors, county board of supervisors, city appraisers, street commissioners, and assessors. Moreover, they held executive offices at the city and state levels as mayors and lieutenant-governors. Furthermore, they were elected as congressmen and senators.

Mboma analyzes the reconstruction policy approaches of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson along with the views of radical lawmakers regarding the readmission of seceded states. Within this context, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens's radical reconstruction vision is also explained.

"African American Lawman: 1867-1877" also examines the employment of African Americans in states and districts like Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., that were not subjected to Reconstruction.

Mboma objectively tackles the difficulties faced by lawmakers regarding the readmission of rebel states and the specific strategies used to overcome constitutional dilemmas during the readmission process.

Critique: An impressive work of seminal and meticulous scholarship, "African American Lawman: 1867-1877" is a unique and extraordinary contribution to 19th Century American History in general, and Black History Studies supplemental curriculum studies in particular. Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a ten page Selected Bibliography and a ten page Index, "African American Lawman: 1867-1877" is an especially welcome and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library collections.

Education for Democracy: Renewing the Wisconsin Idea
Chad Alan Goldberg, editor
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299328900, $44.95, HC, 314pp

https://www.amazon.com/Education-Democracy-Renewing-Wisconsin-Idea/dp/0299328902

Synopsis: All the public universities in America were founded in a civic tradition that differentiated them from their European predecessors -- steering away from the exclusive pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.

Like many such higher education institutions across the United States, the University of Wisconsin's mission, known as the Wisconsin Idea, emphasizes a responsibility to serve the needs of the state and its people. This commitment, which necessarily requires a pledge to academic freedom, has recently been openly threatened by state and federal actors seeking to dismantle a democratic and expansive conception of public service.

Using the Wisconsin Idea as a lens, the contributors "Education for Democracy" collectively argue that public higher education institutions should remain a bastion of collaborative problem solving. Examinations of partnerships between the state university and people of the state highlight many crucial and lasting contributions to issues of broad public concern such as conservation, LGBTQ+ rights, and poverty alleviation. The contributors also restore the value of state universities and humanities education as a public good, contending that they deserve renewed and robust support from their alumni, their communities, and the state.

Critique: Expertly compiled and edited by sociologist, author and educator Chad Alan Goldberg, "Education for Democracy: Renewing the Wisconsin Idea" is comprised of eleven erudite and informative articles by experts in their fields of studies, and is additionally enhanced for academia with the inclusion of an informative Preface, an Introduction (The University's Service to Democracy), an Afterword (by Owen Drury), a four page listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a twenty-one page Index. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought- provoking, "Education for Democracy: Renewing the Wisconsin Idea" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Sociology of Social Theory collections in general, and Education Reform, Policy, and History supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular.

Editorial Note: After earning a doctorate at the New School for Social Research, Chad Goldberg joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He writes about politics, history, and social theory.

100 Things to Do in Madison Before You Die
Katie Vaughn
Reedy Press
PO Box 5131, St. Louis, MO 63139
www.reedypress.com
9781681061955, $16.95, PB, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/100-Things-Madison-Before-You/dp/1681061953

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "100 Things to Do in Madison Before You Die" by Katie Vaughn fully lives up to its title and should be considered a 'must' for anyone living in or visiting Wisconsin's capital city. Exceptionally well organized and presented, this is the ideal resource and reference for planning itineraries that would include places to go and events to participate in. With the individual entries deftly organized into specific sections for Food & Drink; Music & Entertainment; Sports & Recreation; Culture & History; Shopping & Fashion, it should be noted that "100 Things to Do in Madison Before You Die" is enhanced for Madison residents and visitors is enhanced further with the inclusion of Suggested Itineraries, Activities by Season; and a three page Index.

Critique: Impressively 'user friendly', "100 Things to Do in Madison Before You Die" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) -- making it especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library American Travel Guide collections in general, and Madison, Wisconsin community, school, college, and university library collections in particular.

Napkin Folding
Marie Claire
www.marieclaire.fr/idees
Search Press Ltd.
www.searchpressusa.com
9781782217619, $19.95, PB, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Napkin-Folding-ideas-original-settings/dp/1782217614

Synopsis: Napkins add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any dining table and showcasing 40 ideas for original table settings, "Napkin Folding" from Marie Claire is a wonderful source of inspiration to help even the most novice of hosts to decorate and customize their home with taste and creativity.

Napkins are functional as well as decorative, and these 40 lovely designs include a pleated rectangle, a leaf, a flower and a knot. Each napkin design is explained through clear, step-by-step instructions and illustrations. There are folds to suit every occasion from a smart dinner party to a family barbecue, weddings, picnics and more. The readers of "Napkin Folding" are guaranteed to gain all the skills, techniques and expertise needed in order to create stunning, contemporary table decorations to a professional and elegant standard.

Critique: Beautifully illustrated instructions make "Napkin Folding" an ideal instructional guide and manual. A unique and certain to be immediately popular addition to personal, professional, family, and community library collections, it should be noted that "Napkin Folding" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.20).

Editorial Note: The Marie Claire magazine and website are outstanding resources for craft. Marie Claire Idees is the essential place for creative hobbies from cross stitch, sewing, crochet and embroidery to dyeing painting and collage. It is a community of creative and passionate people who share their creations and ideas through the magazine Marie Claire Idees and the website www.marieclaire.fr/idees

Unicorn in the Woods
Gordon Pitts
Goose Lane
www.gooselane.com
9781773101514, $29.95

https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Woods-Coast-Dreamers-Changing/dp/177310151X

Unicorn in the Woods: How East Coast Geeks and Dreamers Are Changing the Game considers the origins of two tech companies in New Brunswick, Radian6 and Q1 Labs, and how they evolves form basement operations to form companies against all odds. Unlike most 'rags to riches' business stories, these two companies overcame a host of obstacles, from sellouts to struggles that nearly destroyed them, to achieve a triumph that until now has been largely un-applauded. The meat of this story lies not just in their successes, but in the kinds of obstacles each had to overcome to achieve a position of strength. From deals and development to the biographies of their creators, Unicorn in the Woods presents a series of events that educate readers not just about business development, but the kinds of relationships and vision that lead to extraordinary results.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Invent & Wander
Jeff Bezos
Harvard Business Review Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
http://hbr.org/books
9781647820718, $28.00, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Invent-Wander-Collected-Writings-Introduction/dp/1647820715

Synopsis: Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon.com -- which is the dominate on-line bookstore and exerts a powerful impact upon the American publishing industry.

"Invent and Wander" is collection of Jeff Bezos's writings and includes his unique and strikingly original annual shareholder letters, plus numerous speeches and interviews that provide insight into his background, his work, and the evolution of his ideas. Readers will gain an insider's view of the why and how of his success. Spanning a range of topics across business and public policy, from innovation and customer obsession to climate change and outer space, "Invent and Wander" provides a rare glimpse into how Bezos thinks about the world and where the future might take us.

Written in a direct, down-to-earth style, "Invent and Wander" offers readers a master class in business values, strategy, and execution: The importance of a Day 1 mindset; Why "it's all about the long term"; What it really means to be customer obsessed; How to start new businesses and create significant organic growth in an already successful company; Why culture is an imperative; How a willingness to fail is closely connected to innovation; What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us.

Each insight offers new ways of thinking through today's challenges (and more importantly, tomorrow's) and the never-ending urgency of striving ahead, never resting on one's laurels. Everyone from CEOs of the Fortune 100 to entrepreneurs just setting up shop to the millions who use Amazon's products and services in their homes or businesses will come to understand the principles that have driven the success of one of the most important innovators of our time.

Critique: A unique opportunity to tapp into the mindset of a man who has dramatically influenced and shaped the publishing industry of today, "Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos" should be considered mandatory reading for anyone wanting or needing to do business with or through Amazon.com. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Booksellers/Bookselling and E-commerce collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of authors and publishers in particular that "Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.00) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Gildan Media, 9781663710758, $29.99, CD)

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
Christopher Vogler
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615933235, $39.95, HC, 520pp

https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Anniversary-Library-Structure-dp-1615933239/dp/1615933239

Synopsis: Originally an influential memo that Hollywood development executive, screenwriter, author and educator Christopher Vogler wrote for Walt Disney Animation executives regarding The Lion King, "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers" details a twelve-stage, myth-inspired method that has galvanized Hollywood's treatment of cinematic storytelling.

A format that once seldom deviated beyond a traditional three-act blueprint, Vogler's comprehensive theory of story structure and character development has met with universal acclaim, and is detailed in the pages of "The Writer's Journey" using examples from myths, fairy tales, and classic movies. Indeed, "The Writer's Journey" is justifiably credited with having changed the face of screenwriting worldwide over the last 25 years -- and continues to do so to this very day.

Critique: This fourth edition of "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers" from Michael Wiese Productions was published in celebration of its 25th year. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of novice screenwriters, film and television program developers and writers, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781615933150, $29.95).

The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations
Jo Brielyn
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578266302, $11.99, HC, 96pp

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lovers-Treasury-Quotations-Collection/dp/1578266300

Synopsis: Comprised of more than 200 meaningful quotes, heartfelt humor and witty one-liners that will have a very special and direct appeal to dedicated bibliophiles, "The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations: An Inspired Collection on Reading, Writing and Literature" brings together the best and brightest to speak on all that books have to offer. Whether it's their ability to transport us to exciting new worlds, or the way they open our eyes to new ways of seeing our own, "The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations" speaks directly to the lifelong reader in each of us.

Critique: Knowledgeably compiled and deftly organized by Jo Brielyn, "The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations: An Inspired Collection on Reading, Writing and Literature" is a delight to simply browse through again and again and again. Inspired and inspiring, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations: An Inspired Collection on Reading, Writing and Literature" should be considered an essential, core addition to the personal reading lists of authors, publishers, and dedicated fans of the written word. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations: An Inspired Collection on Reading, Writing and Literature" is also readily available in a pocket sized (5 x 0.5 x 7.4 inches) paperback edition (9781578266302, $11.99).

Editorial Note: Jo Brielyn is an author and contributing writer for Hatherleigh Press and has currently completed 16 nonfiction books about health and wellness. She is the founder, writer, and editor of Creative Kids Ideas, a resource website that supplies parents, teachers, and family members with the tips and fun ideas to help build stronger, happier, and more creative kids.


The Christmas Shelf

Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture
Mark Voger
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614
www.twomorrows.com
9781605490977, $43.95, HC, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Holly-Jolly-Celebrating-Christmas-Culture/dp/1605490970

Synopsis: Break out the seasonal candy canes! "Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture" by Mark Voger offers readers a colorful sleigh ride through the history of Christmas, from its religious origins to its emergence as a multimedia phenomenon.

This full-color volume dedicated to all things Christmas in American popular culture explores movies (Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life), music (White Christmas, Little St. Nick), TV (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), books (Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol), decor (1950s silver aluminum trees), comics (super-heroes meet Santa), and more! Featuring interviews with Charles M. Schulz (A Charlie Brown Christmas), Andy Williams (TV's "Mr. Christmas") and others, the story behind Darlene Love's perrennial hit song Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), and still more holiday memories!

Expertly written and deftly designed this profusely illustrated edition of "Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture" takes readers on a kind of time-trip to Christmases past that will be cherished all year long -- and for years to come!

Critique: Fun, informative, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture" is an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, family, community, college, and university library Christmas themed popular culture collections. If you only have time for one Christmas book for your personal reading lists you would be well advised to make it Mark Voger's "Holly Jolly: Celebrating Christmas Past in Pop Culture"!


The Psychology Shelf

Reversing the Trauma of War
Phyllis Kahaney, MSW, PhD
Rachel Epstein, LAc, JD
https://www.drjerryepstein.org
ACMI Press
9781883148263, $18.00, PB, 244pp

https://www.amazon.com/Reversing-Trauma-War-Veterans-personnel/dp/188314826X

Synopsis: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, or other threats on a person's life. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in how a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for months and even years after the event. (Wikipedia).

"Reversing the Trauma of War: PTSD Help for Veterans, Active Duty personnel and Their Families" by Phyllis Kahaney (who worked as a readjustment counselor at the San Diego Vet Center treating veterans with PTSD.) and Rachel Epstein (who is the Director of the American Institute for Mental Imagery and a healthcare practitioner) is for all Vets who have witnessed and survived combat and are still struggling with PTSD. Just as they trained for combat they can now re-train your mind for civilian life.

"Reversing the Trauma of War" is specifically for those who have experienced any or all of these devastating PTSD symptoms: Addiction; Guilt; Anxiety; Hypervigilance; Anger; Insomnia; Depression; Flashbacks; Nightmares; Pain -- emotional and/or physical.

"Reversing the Trauma of War" empowers Vets to become stronger, more self-confident, and able to form healthy relationships. "Reversing the Trauma of War" also outlines safe and effective visual imagery exercises. With regular practice, these exercises will help to cope with stressful situations and slowly transition away from the automatic reactions that arise in PTSD.

"Reversing the Trauma of War" is also a great resource for family members of present and former military personnel as well as healthcare practitioners.

Critique: Expertly written, impressively informative, thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Reversing the Trauma of War: PTSD Help for Veterans, Active Duty personnel and Their Families" should be a core addition to every community, college, and university library Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Popular Psychology Pathologies, and Self-Help/Self-Improvement collection. It should be noted for personal and professional reading lists that "Reversing the Trauma of War" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy
Susan McConnell
North Atlantic Books
2526 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704-2607
www.northatlanticbooks.com
9781623174880, $24.95, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Practitioners-Guide-Somatic-IFS-Therapy/dp/1623174880

Synopsis: "Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice" by Susan McConnell introduces a new therapeutic modality that blends principles of somatic therapy (like movement, touch, and breathwork) with the traditional tools of the Internal Family Systems framework. Broadening the benefits and applications of the IFS model, author Susan McConnell introduces 5 core practices that mental health professionals can apply to their practice: somatic awareness, conscious breathing, radical resonance, mindful movement, and attuned touch. Clinical applications include the treatment of depression, trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness, and attachment disorders.

Within the IFS framework, clients will learn to identify their "inner worlds" -- the discrete subpersonalities within each of us that hold emotions, perceptions, and belief systems, and that affect our behavior and emotional wellness. Body-based somatic tools are incorporated into therapy as patients learn to recognize different facets of their internal family and reconcile the needs of subpersonalities (like their inner child or internal manager) to bring more harmony to their physical and emotional well-being.

Critique: Enhanced for medical practitioners, counselors, psychology students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with six pages of Notes and an eight page Index, "Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice" is an exceptionally well written, comprehensive, informative, organized and presented study that is especially and unreservedly recommended for professional and academic library Psychopathology, Psychotherapy, and Medical Counseling collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Somatic Internal Family Systems Therapy: Awareness, Breath, Resonance, Movement and Touch in Practice" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).

Editorial Note: Susan McConnell is a senior trainer for the Center for Self Leadership, and has taught Internal Family Systems (IFS) in the U.S. and internationally since 1997. Somatic IFS, which McConnell developed in 2004, is a synthesis of her forty years of study, teaching, and clinical practice with bodywork, psychotherapy, and spiritual practices. McConnell holds a Master's Degree with an emphasis on Somatic Psychology, and is a Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist and a Certified Hakomi Therapist. She was also instrumental in curriculum development for IFS trainings and, as a Hakomi faculty member, for a training for bodyworkers using the Hakomi Method to explore through touch the way mind, body, heart, and spirit weave together to form the client's experiential world. McConnell has had a private practice since 1983 in Chicago, where she offers bodymind integration and consultation.

Music Therapy
Aldredo Zotti
Loving Healing Press
5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
www.lovinghealing.com
9781615995318, $29.95, HC, 98pp

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Therapy-Introduction-Studies-Recovery/dp/1615995315

Synopsis: Alfredo Zotti is a professional musician and bipolar survivor with a university degree in social anthropology and three years study of psychology, provides an introduction to music theory with specific case studies of applications for Alzheimer's, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, anxiety, depression and other issues.

Working primarily as a peer support counselor, his person-centered methods are respectful of client's needs, abilities and responses to music therapy. Strategies explored include both active listening of recorded music as well as instruction in playing musical instruments. Using patience and listening skills, the non-specialist general reader can (with the help of Zotti's "Music Therapy") begin their own journey of music therapy.

Critique: Impressively informative, insightful, and 'user friendly' in terms of organization and presentation, "Music Therapy: An Introduction with Case Studies for Mental Illness Recovery" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to community and college/university library Contemporary Psychology & Counseling collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, counselors, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Music Therapy: An Introduction with Case Studies for Mental Illness Recovery" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781615995301, $19.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.95).


The General Fiction Shelf

The Names of the Stars
Ann Tatlock
New Hope Publishers
PO Box 830711, Birmingham, AL 35283-0711
www.newhopepublishers.com
9781563094224, $15.99, PB, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Names-Stars-Novel-Ann-Tatlock/dp/1563094223

Synopsis: Annalise Rycroft has spent her whole life afraid she'll be lost to obscurity. She wants nothing more than to be viewed as someone important.

Synopsis: Anna grew up traveling with her family on the Vaudeville circuit with dreams of becoming a shining star. She has talent. Unfortunately, as a young girl, she also has fears that she will have to overcome if she is going to be successful.

With a powerful voice able to mesmerize audiences, Anna is paralyzed by stage fright. But that's not her only fear. Her deepest fear is that she'll be lost to obscurity, becoming part of the "surplus population" spoken of by Ebenezer Scrooge in her favorite book A Christmas Carol.

During the 1918 flu epidemic, Anna has a strange experience where characters from her favorite book unlock a hidden part of her past -- a past that involves an absent father and missing younger brother. Dismissed as a fever dream, Anna pushes aside not only the dream but her fears as she pursues the stage.

Years pass, and eventually Anna finds the career success she desired. Yet even as an adult, she is driven by unfilled longings. She wants to marry her leading man Frederick Mansfield -- only Frederick has fears and failings of his own. Leaving the drunk lush and philanderer behind, Anna pushes toward even greater stardom only to discover that the fever dream was based on reality, when her dad Charles surprises her with a visit.

As she spends more time with her father, she learns she must choose between her fear of being seen as part of the "surplus population" or to courageously believe and act in a way that shows everyone has significance.

Critique: An inherently absorbing novel by an author with an impressive narrative storytelling style that keeps the entertained reader's full and complete engagement from first page to last, Ann Tatlock's "The Names Of The Stars" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library's Christian History Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Names Of The Stars" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts
Nancy Campbell Allen
Shadow Mountain Publishing
P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0178
www.shadowmountain.com
www.blackstoneaudio.com
9781629727370, $15.99, PB, 368pp

https://www.amazon.com/Carriages-Hearts-Proper-Romance-Steampunk/dp/1629727377

Synopsis: Emmeline O'Shea is determined to save the world -- single-handedly, if necessary. A strong voice for societal reform, she is the natural choice to deliver a key speech at the end of the International Shifter Rights Organization's week-long Summit in Scotland.

But when a death threat arrives at Emme's home, she is immediately placed into protective custody, watched over by none other than her personal nemesis, Detective-Inspector Oliver Reed. The two have crossed paths many times, with disastrous results, but now they will have to work together in order to reach the Summit before midnight of the last day in order to ensure legislation is passed to protect the Shifter community.

As unseen enemies close in around Emme and Oliver, they struggle to reach Edinburgh by any means necessary, only to find Emme's vindictive stepsister, Oliver's vampire brother, and a dangerous political minefield awaiting them in Scotland.

Even more difficult is their own refusal to admit that the fiery animosity that once burned between them might be turning into the heat of romantic passion. Could a straitlaced policeman determined to uphold the law and an outspoken activist willing to break the rules ever find true love? Or will all their dreams shatter like glass when the clock strikes midnight?

Critique: Impressively original, entertaining, and showcases author Nancy Campbell Allen's genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling and profusion of unexpected plot twists and turnes, "Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts" is a compelling and enjoyable read from first page to last. While very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of steampunk fans and Scottish/Victorian historical romance buffs that "Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781799905004, $29.95, CD).

The Mermaid from Jeju
Sumi Hahn
Alcove Press
c/o Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
www.dreamscapeab.com/audiobooks
9781643854403, $26.99, HC, 300pp

https://www.amazon.com/Mermaid-Jeju-Novel-Sumi-Hahn/dp/1643854402

Synopsis: In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth. While there, she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place.

Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father. Everywhere she turns, Junja is haunted by the loss of her mother, from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.

The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops. Junja's canny grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known.

Critique: A deftly scripted novel from beginning to end, and exhibiting a genuine flair for originality and a distinctive style of narrative storytelling, "The Mermaid From Jeju" by novelist Sumi Hahn will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library World War II era general fiction collections. Of special interest to readers with a particular interest in Asian American Literature and Coming of Age stories, it should be noted that "The Mermaid From Jeju" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781662055720, $22.99, CD).

Hooting Grange
Jeffrey E. Barlough
Gresham & Doyle
9780978763473, $14.95, PB, 273pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hooting-Grange-Jeffrey-Barlough/dp/0978763475

Synopsis: Jeffrey E. Barlough was born in 1953, and holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. from Cornell. He has published some seventy research and review articles in scientific journals, and has edited several small-press publications of minor and archaic English works. His Western Lights series of fantasy-mysteries, begun in 2000 with the renowned Dark Sleeper, has been widely acclaimed for its imaginative setting, eccentric characters, droll humor, and unconventional storylines.

His novel, "Hooting Grange" is the story of Captain Robert Surtees of Falaise who has found that when he had lost his livelihood and his beloved ship the Lady Jane after a downturn in the coasting trade, his only recourse was to an inheritance left him years earlier by a maiden aunt.

That inheritance was Hooting Grange, a rambling old wilderness of a country manse in the Tillington Road, on the far outskirts of Market Snailsby in Fenshire. With its vast, walled perimeter, steep roofs and clumps of twisted chimneys, the Grange was a sight to behold. And Ramshackle Great Place (the captain's name for the house in his youth ) had a reputation to match. Workmen refused to work in it, housekeepers disliked keeping house in it, because, as people whispered, there was something wrong with the place -- despite their affection for the captain's kindly aunt, Miss Belle Normand, who lived there.

Five years now have passed since the captain's aunt mysteriously vanished on the road, while traveling to a nearby town to consult a medical specialist for her condition. Her nephew has moved into the Grange, and already trouble has reared its head. Worse yet, according to a provision of his aunt's will, Captain Surtees is prohibited from selling the Grange or any part of it or its acres, and so has no practical means of recovering his former life.

Critique: "Hooting Grange" is the eleventh volume in novelist Jeffrey Barlough's acclaimed Western Lights series of fantasy-mysteries, and returns to the scene and times of Bertram of Butter Cross, in a whimsical tale of the captain who might have lost a ship but has gained something else -- trouble! A deftly crafted and narrative driven story that will hold the reader's total and rapt attention from first page to last, "Hooting Grange" is an especially entertaining and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library collections.

The Thief of Blackfriars Lane
Michelle Griep
Barbour Publishing
www.barbourbooks.com
9781643527154, $15.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Thief-Blackfriars-Lane-Michelle-Griep/dp/1643527150

Synopsis: Constable Jackson Forge intends to make the world safer, or at least the streets of Victorian London. But that's Kit Turner's domain, a swindler who runs a crew that acquires money the old-fashioned way -- conning the rich to give to the poor. When a local cab driver goes missing, Jackson is tasked with finding the man, and the only way to do that is by enlisting Kit's help. If Jackson doesn't find the cabby, he'll be fired. If Kit doesn't help Jackson, he'll arrest her for thievery. Yet neither of them realize those are the least of their problems.

Critique: An impressively original, exceptionally entertaining, deftly scripted, and simply riveting read from first page to last, in the pages of her novel, "The Thief of Blackfriars Lane", author Michelle Griep deftly blends elements of Mystery, Suspense, Romance, and Historical Fiction. Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Thief of Blackfriars Lane" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.19) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Oasis Audio, 9781640914780, $14.99, CD).

Notes for a Eulogy
Eric J. Matluck
Next Exit Press
9780578739991, $22.95

https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Eulogy-Eric-J-Matluck-ebook/dp/B08FHFB6P2

High school teacher Morley Peck is passionate about both classic music and literature. He's also a lonely soul who can't tell the truth, and is befuddled by a romance in which he can't gain the courage to be himself. As the story progresses, Morley finds irony, hardship, and lessons in his interactions with Francine, along with many enlightening new truths about his choices as he faces her astute eye and is forced to reconsider his personality and life: "Increasingly I was becoming irritated because it made me wonder if one reason I stayed with - as opposed to by - myself was that I was too embarrassed to present myself in public." These and other revelations are presented in a fun style of literary and psychological inspection that keep readers involved with literary allusions, wry humor, and unexpected twists as Morley finds his life, career, and perspectives challenged in new ways. Novel readers who enjoy close inspections of set lives and rigid thinking will find this a fun, revealing story.

Believing: The Other Stories of Zenna Henderson
Zenna Henderson
NESFA
www.nesfapress.org
9781610373388, $32.00

https://www.amazon.com/Believing-Other-Stories-Zenna-Henderson-ebook/dp/B08797YMK7

Fans of Zenna Henderson who best remember her by her books The People will find this collection a departure and a revelation. It's a companion to her complete People stories, Ingathering, published in 1995, and concludes the aim to collect all of her short stories. The works here center on the theme of belief of various kinds, from fighting evil to believing in personal strengths, and provide a captivating series of over thirty works from previous collections and publications. It's a top recommendation for Henderson fans who appreciate her perspectives about life and the power of children to change their worlds.


The Historical Fiction Shelf

Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman Matrona
Joost Douma
Addison & Highsmith
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781592110629, $32.99, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-Republic-Memoirs-Roman-Matrona/dp/1592110622

Synopsis: Based on historical facts, "Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman Matrona" by novelist Joost Douma recounts the demise of the Roman Republic as seen through the eyes and reflections of Cornelia Africana, mother of the Gracchi brothers and a woman at the zenith of power and influence in the Republic.

At its peak as the sole superpower in the Mediterranean in the 1st century BCE, internal crisis gripped the Republic of Rome, generated by the breakdown of Senate leadership. The Republic had become a source of self-enrichment for the corrupt elites. Land grabs, financial scandals, corruption, intrigues and electoral fraud plunged the Republic into a constitutional crisis. The Gracchi brothers tried to save the Republic, attempting to reestablish it as a union of free men by reclaiming public land for veterans and restoring the rule of law through an extensive legislative program. In a bold move, the eldest brother, Tiberius, succeeded in having his fellow-tribune impeached to break his veto, an unprecedented political act, which tore the Republic apart.

In her final years, an aging Cornelia looks back on her life and that of her sons who tried to save the Republic. This historical novel gives readers keen insight into the secret life of women who were politically active behind-the-scenes. It also recounts a successful women's revolt in 195 BC, with mass sit-downs at the Forum that resulted in greater social freedoms. The reader gets a rich and rare look at the rise of one of the Republic's most politically influential women and the forces that helped to shape her extraordinary life. The story is even more compelling for the parallels it offers with current superpower politics, the rise of strongmen, financial scandals, the shrinking of the middle class, and questions about the future of our democracy.

Critique: With an impressive attention to historical detail, "Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman Matrona" by accomplished novelist Joost Douma is an inherently compelling, entertaining, and thought-provoking read from cover to cover. This is the kind of novel that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf -- making it an unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library Historical Fiction collections.

The Life and Travels of Saint Cuthwin
Irving Warner
Pleasure Boat Studio
3710 SW Barton Street, Seattle, WA 98126
www.pleasureboatstudio.com
9780912887975, $35.00, HC, 428pp

https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Saint-Cuthwin-Pleasure-Studio/dp/0912887974

Synopsis: Set in the 11th century England, during the time of Saxon domination before and after the disastrous Battle of Hastings in 1066, "The Life and Travels of Saint Cuthwin" by Irving Warner is the story of a man known as Cuthwin of Alnwick and his wife who must strive to survive in a turbulent time as best they may.

Critique: With a laudable attention to historical detail, and showing a genuine flair for originality, deftly crafted and memorable characters, as well as the kind of narrative storytelling style that will immediately engage the reader's total attention from first page to last, "The Life and Travels of Saint Cuthwin" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of medieval English history fans, as well as community, college, and university library Historical Fiction collections.

Mary and Martha
H. B. Moore
Covenant Communications
American Fork
9781524414429, $15.99, PB, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Martha-H-B-Moore/dp/1524414425

Synopsis: Experience as never before the accounts of those who knew Christ, not only as the Savior of the World but also as a friend.

For prosperous landowner Lazarus, hard work and extensive travel are a means to comfortably support his family, including his two sisters, Mary and Martha. Following a journey to sell his wares, Lazarus stumbles upon an opportunity to assist a stranger in need, delaying his return home. Through Lazarus's selfless act of service, he, Mary, and Martha find themselves standing witness to miracles they never dreamed possible in the presence of a man who will forever change them and those they love -- a man called Jesus of Nazareth.

Critique: A superbly crafted and impressively entertaining read from cover to cover, "Mary and Martha" is especially and unreservedly recommended to those who appreciate Christian fiction at its very best. While highly commended for community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Mary and Martha" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (9781524414436, $27.99, CD).


The Literary Fiction Shelf

A Good Map of All Things: A Picaresque Novel
Alberto Alvaro Rios
University of Arizona Press
1510 E. University Boulevard
P.O. Box 210055, Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
www.uapress.arizona.edu
9780816541034, $19.95, PB, 248pp

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Map-All-Things-Picaresque/dp/0816541035

Synopsis: "A Good Map of All Things" is author Alberto Alvaro Rios's new picaresque novel presenting a momentous adventure and showcasing quiet connections that brings twenty people to life in a small town in northern Mexico.

"A Good Map of All Things" is home to characters whose lives are interwoven but whose stories are their own, adding warmth and humor to this continually surprising communal narrative. The stories take place in the mid-twentieth century, in the high desert near the border (a stretch of land generally referred to as the Pimeria Alta) an ancient passage through the desert that connected the territory of Tucson in the north and Guaymas and Hermosillo in the south. The United States is off in the distance, a little difficult to see, and, in the middle of the century, not the only thing to think about. Mexico City is somewhere to the south, but nobody can say where and nobody has ever seen it.

Rios has created a whimsical yet familiar town, where brightly unique characters love fiercely and nurture those around them. The people in "A Good Map of All Things" have secrets and fears, successes and happiness, winters and summers. They are people who do not make the news, but who are living their lives for the long haul, without lotteries or easy answers or particular luck. Theirs is the everyday, with its small but meaningful joy.

Whether your heart belongs to a small town in Mexico or a bustling metropolis, Alberto Alvaro Rios has crafted a novel that is overflowing with comfort, warmth, and the familiar embrace of a tightly woven community.

Critique: A deftly crafted novel that highlights the author's genuine flair for originality and the kind of narrative driven storytelling that keeps and holds his reader's rapt attention from beginning to end, "A Good Map of All Things" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly welcome addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "A Good Map of All Things" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

How Fire Runs
Charles Dodd White
Swallow Press
c/o Ohio University Press
215 Columbus Road, Suite 101, Athens, OH 45701
www.ohioswallow.com
9780804012287, $22.95, PB, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Runs-Charles-Dodd-White/dp/0804012288

Synopsis: What happens when a delusional white supremacist and his army of followers decide to create a racially pure "Little Europe" within a rural Tennessee community? As the town's residents grapple with their new reality, minor skirmishes escalate and dirty politics, scandals, and a cataclysmic chain of violence follows.

In this uncanny reflection of our time of armed white supremacist militias, and the resurrection of American neo-Nazis and the KKK, in the pages of "How Fire Runs", novelist Charles Dodd White asks whether Americans can save themselves from their worst impulses and considers the consequences when this salvation comes too late.

Critique: Although a deftly crafted work of fiction, "How Fire Runs" offers a sobering perspective on America today. A compelling and original work, "How Fire Runs" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for persona reading lists that "How Fire Runs" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: Charles Dodd White is the author of four novels, including a second title from Swallow Press: "In the House of Wilderness". He has received the Appalachian Book of the Year Award and the Chaffin Award for his fiction. He is also an Associate Professor of English at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A Sense of the Whole: Stories
Siamak Vossoughi
https://siamakvossoughi.com
Orison Books
PO Box 8385, Asheville, NC 28814
www.orisonbooks.com
9781949039115, $18.00, PB, 176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Sense-Whole-Stories-Siamak-Vossoughi/dp/1949039110

Synopsis: Showcasing the literary talents of Siamak Vossoughi, the fable-like short stories comprising "A Sense of the Whole" feature characters who refuse to believe that we are unconnected, refuse to not aspire to the notion of the human family. These characters are girls and boys, men and women, Iranians and Americans, all seeking a home for the body and the soul.

Critique: Featuring 31 literary gems of original, entertaining, thought-provoking, narrative driven storytelling, "Siamak Vossoughi's "A Sense of the Whole: Stories" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as community, college, and university library Contemporary Asian American Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Siamak Vossoughi was born in Tehran, Iran and currently lives in Seattle, Washington. His first story collection, "Better Than War", received the 2014 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. His stories have appeared in Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, The Missouri Review, and The Rumpus, among other places.

Transcendent Kingdom
Yaa Gyasi
Alfred A. Knopf
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
www.randomhouse.com
9780525658184, $27.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Transcendent-Kingdom-novel-Yaa-Gyasi/dp/0525658181

Synopsis: Gifty is a sixth-year PhD candidate in neuroscience at the Stanford University School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after an ankle injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed.

Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her. But even as she turns to the hard sciences to unlock the mystery of her family's loss, she finds herself hungering for her childhood faith and grappling with the evangelical church in which she was raised, whose promise of salvation remains as tantalizing as it is elusive.

Critique: "Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi is a deeply moving portrait of a family of Ghanaian immigrants ravaged by depression and addiction and grief that blends faith, science, religion, love. Exquisitely written, emotionally searing, "Transcendent Kingdom" is an exceptionally powerful follow-up to Gyasi's phenomenal debut with her first novel "Homegoing" (Vintage, 9781101971062, $16.95 PB, $12.99 Kindle). An original and tautly written with her distinctive narrative storytelling style, "Transcendent Kingdom" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Transcendent Kingdom" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

The OK End of Funny Town: Stories
Mark Polanzak
BOA Editions, Ltd.
www.boaeditions.org
9781950774050, $17.00, PB, 200pp

https://www.amazon.com/End-Funny-Town-American-Reader/dp/1950774058

Synopsis: A fastidious pet robot with a knack for knitting. A soporific giant pitching camp in the middle of a city. A mysterious mime whose upcoming performance has the whole town on edge. The stories comprising Mark Polanzak's BOA Short Fiction Prize-winning short story anthology "The OK End of Funny Town" collaboratively and deftly stitch fantastic situations into the drab fabric of everyday life.

In his stories, Polanzak delights in stretching every boundary he encounters, from the new focus on practical learning at the New Community School, to the ever-changing tastes of diners in search of the next big trend in local cuisine. Wondrous yet familiar, "The OK End of Funny Town" excavates the layers between our collective obsession with passing fads and our secret yearning for lasting connection.

Critique: With an extraordinary flair for originality, "The OK End of Funny Town: Stories" by Mark Polanzak is a compelling read from first page to last and a truly memorable short story anthology that will be an especially appreciated addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary American Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The OK End of Funny Town: Stories" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.49).

Editorial Note: Mark Polanzak is author of the hybrid fiction/memoir POP! (Stillhouse, 2016). His stories have appeared in The Southern Review and The American Scholar, and anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2017. He is a founding editor of draft: the journal of process and a contributor to the podcast, The Fail Safe. A graduate of the University of Arizona's MFA program in fiction, Mark teaches writing and literature at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.


The Romantic Fiction Shelf

Secret Nights with a Cowboy: A Kittredge Ranch Novel
Caitlin Crews
St. Martin's Press
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250625496, $7.99, PB, 400pp

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Nights-Cowboy-Kittredge-Ranch/dp/1250625491

Synopsis: Riley Kittredge has always known exactly what he wanted. His land, his horses. His woman. He met and married Rae Trujillo far too young, and their young love combusted right after they said their vows. But their passion has never managed to burn itself out. Yet when Rae shows up this time, it's not a night of pleasure she demands, but a divorce.

Rae should have moved on a long time ago. She knows she and Riley just don't work. They might make great lovers, but that doesn't make a marriage. And now Rae wants a new life, complete with a baby. But when her husband offers to be a father, to give her the family she's always secretly desired, she and Riley will both have to face demons from their past -- and choose love over fear at last.

Critique: As an author and novelist, Caitlin Crews continues to reveal her impressive flair for originality, total mastery of the romance genre, and a narrative driven storytelling style that is inherently entertaining and engaging from first page to last. Her latest novel, "Secret Nights With A Cowboy" is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal reading lists and community library Romance Fiction collections. It should be noted that "Secret Nights With A Cowboy" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates
MaryJanice Davidson
St. Martin's Griffin
c/o St. Martin's Press
120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250053176, $16.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Second-Dates-MaryJanice-Davidson/dp/125005317X

Synopsis: Captain Ava Capp has been flying from her past for a decade. She'd much rather leave it, and her home state, behind forever. But when she finds herself back in Minnesota, against her better judgment, everything goes sideways in a way she never expected it to.

M.E. Dr. Tom Baker has never forgotten Ava and the cold case she ran away from. When she shows up unexpectedly in town, in spite of himself, sparks fly. Which is terrible because he can't stop his growing attraction to her. Can these two Type-A's let their guards down and work together to put Ava's tragic past behind her for good? And keep their hands off each other at the same time?

Critique: A wonderfully entertaining blend of contemporary romance and deftly infused humor, "Truth, Lies, and Second Dates" by MaryJanice Davidson is highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated romance fiction fans that "Truth, Lies, and Second Dates" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Western Fiction Shelf

Death On The Bozeman
Paul Bedford
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444844931, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Bozeman-Paul-Bedford/dp/1444844938

Synopsis: One year after the end of the Civil War, three ex-Confederate southerners are heading northwest on the Bozeman Trail to the gold mining camp at Virginia City. When they find the army has closed the trail because the Sioux are on the warpath, they accept work at Fort Phil Kearny. After an Indian ambush, the men flee the fort, together with a man called Slade. But when Slade is revealed as a hired gun and murderer, the southerners, along with a Union Army sergeant and the legendary Jim Bridger are drawn into a bloody hunt to apprehend him, dead or alive, to clear their names.

Critique: The very definition of an compulsively entertaining action/adventure western, "Death on the Bozeman" by veteran western novelist Paul Bedford, this large print edition from the Linford Western Library is certain to be an entertaining read for all dedicated western fans from cover to cover -- making it an especially recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Cross Of Iron
Ethan Flagg
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444844726, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 248pp

https://www.amazon.com/Cross-Iron-Ethan-Flagg/dp/1444844725

Synopsis: Reverend Matthew Devlin is busy writing the moment a ruthless gang of six killers burst through the church doors, attacking both him and his wife Sarah. When Matt regains consciousness, he's been trussed to his own cross, and Sarah has been viciously raped and murdered. And so Matt, (who once was a skilled gunman and bounty hunter called Iron Matt), must again take the path of violence to exact a lethal retribution for those responsible . With an old grudge bearing rival from his bounty hunting days also on the trail of the gang, a war party of vengeance quest Apaches, and a woman who loves her weak-willed husband, a complex confrontation between good and evil is inevitable. But who will emerge the victor?

Critique: As an action/adventure western novelist, Ethan Flagg ranks up alongside such luminaries as Max Brand, Zane Grey, and Louis L'Amour. This large print edition of "Cross of Iron" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated western buffs, as well as community library Western Fiction collections.

Guns and Dreamers
Scott Gese
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444845426, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Dreamers-Scott-Gese/dp/144484542X

Synopsis: All of sixteen years old, Jason McKinney decides to head out on his own to see the country beyond Kansas. His offer of help is declined by a couple of bounty hunters he tries to hook up with in Wichita, so he turns his travels to the south. Upon his return from an eye-opening but short-lived venture into Texas, he finds that his father Mac Shepard is now a wanted man accused of cattle rustling. With Mac on the run, Jason is reluctantly forced to take charge of the ranch while his nearest neighbor schemes to take full possession.

Critique: "Guns and Dreamers" by Scott Gese is a thoroughly absorbing and entertaining read -- and one that will particularly appeal to western novel enthusiasts who appreciate deftly scripted stories that are populated with memorable Old West characters. This large print paperback addition is highly recommended for community library Western Fiction collections and the personal reading lists of western novel fans.

Blood River
Will Black
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444845372, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 240pp

https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444845372

Synopsis: The gold mines still maintaining a foothold in the Sierra Nevadas have a big problem: the wagons transporting gold down narrow, rocky trails are easy targets for outlaws. The Pinkerton Agency has been charged with the security of a large haul of gold, and they have a daring plan. If it works, five hundred gold bars will make it east. If it fails, all will be lost. But unknown to them, the Greeley gang has inside knowledge, and is intent on stealing the cargo at any cost!

Critique: Another deftly scripted and riveting western by a master of the genre, Will Black's "Blood River" has it all in terms of plot twists, gunfights, and the lethal plans of an intelligent and ruthless outlaw gang leader willing to eliminate even the members of his own conspiracy when they've fulfilled their assignments and are no longer useful. This large print edition of "Blood River" is a fully entertaining and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

The Dead, the Dying and the Damned
Matt Cole
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444745386m $21.49, PB, Large Print, 240pp

https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444845396

Synopsis: Juan Manuel Benitez and his bandit army of more than 200 outlaws known as EL AZOTAR (the Scourge) had been the terrors of the border country until they were driven back by the FEDERALES and scattered. Turning to the town of Hermanas Pozos for help, Benitez was rebuffed, his son killed. But now EL AZOTAR has once again reformed, and Benitez is out for revenge. Because of his love for a seriously ill woman, it falls on gunslinger and former Confederate soldier Cotton Harding to deal with him. Will Harding step up to the task, or push others to fight his battles?

Critique: "The Dead, the Dying and the Damned" by Matt Cole is a saga of a novel that will have particular and special appeal for anyone who is a fan of the Yul Brenner movie 'The Magnificent Seven'. A true cliff hanger of a read from start to its unpredicted finish, this large print edition of "The Dead, the Dying and the Damned" will prove to be an exceptionally popular and appreciated addition to personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Persian Betrayal
Terry Brennan
Kregel Publications
2450 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
www.kregel.com
9780825445316, $15.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Persian-Betrayal-Empires-Armageddon-Brennan/dp/0825445310

Synopsis: DSS Regional Security Officer Brian Mullaney has been tasked with an incredibly dangerous mission. When a synagogue in Jerusalem is destroyed by an explosion, burying the second key prophecy Mullaney is hunting (and the deadly box that protects it) the answers he desperately needs are also crushed.

How can he discover the meaning of the centuries-old prophecy now? Why are he and the ambassador he's assigned to protect being targeted? And is there any way this lone man can thwart a nuclear arms race between three ascendant empires of the past?

An otherworldly servant of evil known only as the Turk is maneuvering all three nations into an intricate dance designed to undermine prophecy about the end times. And he won't let Mullaney or anyone else get in his way.

Wounded in a bloody shoot-out, pressured by his wife to come home, and mourning the death of his best friend, Mullaney doesn't need a powerful enemy. Who is he to save the Ishmael Covenant, the treaty promising peace in the Middle East? Despite angelic intervention, Mullaney wants nothing to do with his final assignment. But without him, evil will win the ultimate struggle -- and humankind will have no hope left!

Critique: An inherently riveting story by a novelist with a genuine flair for originality and a reader engaging narrative storytelling style, "Persian Betrayal" is the second installment of author Terry Brennan's skillfully crafted 'Empires of Armageddon' series and an especially recommended addition to community library Contemporary Christian Mystery/Suspense Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Persian Betrayal" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Dog-Gone Dead
Jackie Layton
Bell Bridge Books
http://bellebooks.com
9781611949889, $15.95, PB, 248pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Gone-Dead-Country-Walker-Mystery/dp/1611949882

Synopsis: Low Country dog walker Andi Grace Scott is happy to score some free mulch from one of her brother's landscaping jobs -- until she discovers the dead body buried beneath the bark.

Worse, her brother's landscaping tools were used to commit the murder. Once the police arrest her brother and seem happy to have "caught their man", Andi Grace has no choice but to track down the real killer. She'll risk everything to prove her brother's innocence. Even if it means turning over every rock in town!

Critique: A deftly crafted 'whodunnit' style mystery, "Dog-Gone Dead" by novelist Jackie Layton is an inherently entertaining story laid out against a framework of small-town coastal life, dogs, and strong heroines. Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Dog-Gone Dead" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

The Tease / Sin for Me
Gil Brewer
Stark House Press
1315 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501
www.starkhousepress.com
9781951473044, $19.95, PB, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tease-Sin-Me-Gil-Brewer/dp/1951473043

Synopsis: "The Tease" -- Wes McCord and his wife are fighting again, and this time it looks like she's going to leave him for good. She doesn't trust him; thinks he drinks too much. Alone that evening, Wes receives an unexpected guest, a terrified young girl named Bonnie who is on the run and crying rape. Worse, she had witnessed the death of the "old man," and was being chased by his friends. Wes agrees to hide her. But young Bonnie is more than she seems, and Wes soon finds himself involved with a nosy cop, some very desperate characters and a bundle of stolen money. If only he weren't so broke, he wouldn't be tempted. But, of course, there's Bonnie...

"Sin For Me" -- Sunderland misses his ex-wife Germaine like hell. But she's got a new husband, Paul Knowles, a smooth operator who's living in the house Jesse built. Now Jesse just sells real estate, and drinks a lot. So when a young lady calls him up to show her some houses, he is surprised to find that she doesn't want a house at all. She wants Jesse to steal the money her former partner (who is now known as Paul Knowles) stole from her, which she knows must be hidden somewhere in Jesse's old house. Jesse agrees, and it might have worked if Germaine hadn't found the money first and set him up to be the fall guy in a sudden case of murder!

Critique: Bringing back for a new generation of appreciative mystery buffs two of author Gil Brewer's best suspense thriller short stories under one cover, "The Tease / Sin For Me" will prove to be a welcome and popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections and leave full entertained readers scouring the shelves of bookstores and libraries for more of Brewer's work. It should be noted for personal reading lists that this Stark House Press title is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note: Gil Brewer (Nov. 20, 1922 - Jan. 9, 1983) in Canandaigua, NY. After leaving the army at the end of WWII, he joined his family who had settled in St. Petersburg, Florida. There he met Verlaine in 1947 and married her soon after. Brewer started by writing serious novels, but soon turned to paperback originals after a sale to Gold Medal Books in 1950. At his height, he was a brilliant writer of sharply defined noir thrillers, usually involving a male protagonist driven to crime by the sexual allure of a young siren. But unwilling to promote himself, his career took a turn for the worse after a mental breakdown, and a long decline into alcoholism.

Murder at Andaman
Bharti Kirchner
Camel Press
6524 NE 181st Street, Suite #2, Kenmore, WA 98028
www.camelpress.com
9781603816809, $16.95, PB, 206pp

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Andaman-Maya-Mallick-Mystery/dp/1603816801

Synopsis: Maya Mallick, PI, is called when her best friend's husband, a book publisher, is murdered in the Andaman Islands in India. Maya travels there, endangering herself, only to discover he'd been living a secret life. Her quest is made more difficult when she starts to suspect her friend of wrongdoing.

Critique: Another carefully crafted mystery from the pen of Bharti Kirchner, "Murder at Andaman" is a riveting read that will have special appeal to dedicated mystery buffs and is a 'must read' for the growing legions of Bharti Kirchner fans. Simply stated, "Murder at Andaman" is an original and unreservedly recommended addition to any and all community library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense collections.

Crocodile Tears
Mercedes Rosende
Bitter Lemon Press
www.bitterlemonpress.com
9781913394431, $14.95, PB, 248pp

https://www.amazon.com/Crocodile-Tears-Rosende-Mercedes/dp/1913394433

Synopsis: The setting for author Mercedes Rosende's novel, "Crocodile Tears" is the Uruguay city of Montevideo with its Old Town comprised of dark alleys, crumbling facades and watchful residents. The gig is an armored truck robbery. The cast of characters includes Diego, a failed kidnapper with weak nerves, Ursula Lopez, an amateur criminal with an insatiable appetite, the Hobo, a notorious hoodlum with excessive self-confidence. Dr Antinucci, a shady lawyer with big plans. And finally, Leonilda Lima, a washed-out police inspector with a glimmer of faith in justice.

Critique: Ably translated into English for an American readership by Tim Gutteridge, "Crocodile Tears" by Mercedes Rosende is the kind of suspense thriller read from start to finish that would make for a block buster movie. With many an unexpected twist and laced with dark humor, "Crocodile Tears" is an impressively original, exceptionally compelling, and deftly crafted story -- a novel that would be an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to community library collections and is readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.95).


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Destroyer of Worlds
Larry Correia
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
www.baen.com
9781982124847, $25.00, HC, 416pp

https://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-Worlds-Saga-Forgotten-Warrior/dp/1982124849

Synopsis: The Great Extermination has begun. In the Capitol, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan hatches a plot to kill every member of the untouchable caste in all of Lok, down to the last man, woman, and child. As a member of the Order of Inquisition, Vokkan has no official say in the creation of Law, but he has powerful allies willing to do his bidding. Through them, he has convinced the Judges that the genocide will be swift, complete, and without complication. Nothing is further from the truth.

Lord Protector Devedas has sworn to uphold the Law. Once, he and the traitor Ashok Vadal had been like brothers. Now, he hunts Vadal and the Sons of the Black Sword, heretics and rebels who seek to live outside the rule of the Law. All Devedas must do is find and kill his best friend and order will be restored to Lok.

The rebels seek the secret kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Thera, a paradise where water is pure and food plentiful, where there are no castes, where the people rule themselves, and are not slaves to the Capitol. Ashok Vadal is not sure he believes in such a paradise, but he (along with his allies) do seek refuge in the rebellion's hideout in Akershan. But Vadal, a former High Protector who has turned his back on the corrupt Law, will not merely wait meekly, hoping that fleeing to Akershan will spare the rebellion from the clutches of the Great Extermination. No, if it's a war the Capitol wants, Vadal, who has faced down gods and demons, will be all too willing to give it to them.

Critique: "Destroyer Of Worlds" is the eagerly anticipated third volume of author Larry Correia's epic action/adventure military fantasy series, "Saga of the Forgotten Warrior" that began with "Son of the Black Sword" and continued with "House of Assassins". An inherently compelling and compulsive page turner of a read, "Destroyer Of Worlds" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections -- and a 'must' for the growing legions of Larry Correia fans. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated fantasy fans that "Destroyer Of Worlds" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781982125462, $8.99) digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Casting Shadows
L. R. Braden
Bell Bridge Books
http://bellebooks.com
9781611949896, $15.95, PB, 274pp

https://www.amazon.com/Casting-Shadows-Magicsmith-Book-4/dp/1611949890

Synopsis: Children are disappearing. With Purity growing in political power and bigotry on the rise across the Realms, Alex's short-term goals are to stay under the PTF's radar and as far from the fae Courts as she can. But her plans go up in smoke when May, the younger sister of her good friend Emma, goes missing.

The fae are involved. Alex will do everything she can to find May, but to mount a rescue she'll have to avoid PTF raids, conquer old ghosts, and risk coming face to face with her fae grandfather again.

War is coming. Lines are being drawn. No one is safe. To survive, Alex will have to choose a side.

Critique: While also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99), "Casting Shadows" is the fourth book in fantasy author L. R. Braden's simply outstanding action/adventure fantasy series 'The Magicsmith'. An exceptionally entertaining and compelling read from first page to last, "Casting Shadows" will be especially appreciated by dedicated fantasy fans and is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
V. E. Schwab
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
www.macmillanaudio.com
9780765387561, $26.99, HC, 448pp

https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Life-Addie-LaRue/dp/0765387565

Synopsis: Set in France, 1714, "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V. E. Schwab is the story of how, in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever -- and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name!

Critique: Original, inherently entertaining, and an inherently riveting read from beginning to end, "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" is a deftly scripted, innately compelling and highly recommended addition to community library fantasy fiction collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated action/adventure fantasy fans that "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Macmillan Audio, 9781250777966, $66.99, CD).

The Valkyrie Protocol
David Weber & Jacob Holo
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
www.baen.com
9781982124908, $27.00, HC, 592pp

https://www.amazon.com/Valkyrie-Protocol-Gordian-Division/dp/1982124903

Synopsis: Agent Raibert Kaminski and the crew of the Transtemporal Vehicle Kleio have stumbled across a temporal implosion that has claimed two whole universes, and neither Raibert nor his crew can - figure out what caused this calamity, or how to stop its spread. Meanwhile, old colleagues of Raibert's from the Antiquities Rescue Trust, together with a version of Samuel Pepys transplanted from the 17th century into the 30th, have proposed an expedition into the past. The goal? To branch the timeline by preventing the Plague of Justinian, one of the worst pandemics in human history.

And on a multidimensional level, governmental entity SysGov's multiverse neighbor, the xenophobic Admin, is stirring. While their ambassadors put on a friendly show, the Admin is amassing a fleet of advanced, heavily armed time machines -- with SysGov firmly in the crosshairs.

In the midst of the temporal turmoil, time is running out for Raibert and his team to save the rest of the known universes from ceasing to exist. Navigating the paradoxes of time can be a killer task - especially when dogged by those who seek your destruction at every turn. But this isn't the - first Time Rodeo for the crew of the Kleio, and they won't go down without a - fight no matter where or when the threat to the multiverse arises!

Critique: "The Valkyrie Protocol" is the prequel to David Weber and Jacob Holo's 'The Gordian Protocol' and a 'must' for the legions of David Weber fans. While certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Science Fiction collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated science fiction fans that "The Valkyrie Protocol" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

1636: The Atlantic Encounter
Eric Flint & Walter H. Hunt
Baen Books
www.baen.com
9781982124755, $25.00

https://www.amazon.com/1636-Atlantic-Encounter-Ring-Fire/dp/198212475X

1636: The Atlantic Encounter adds yet another book to Flint's 'Ring of Fire' alternate history series; this focusing on the evolution of the New World in which the English have given over their colonial claims to France. The residents of modern-day Grantsville, a coal mining town suddenly transported to the past, well know the history that led to the United States, but in this world, democratic process has just begun. Is there a way of fostering its evolution without the dangerous impact on Native Americans? An intriguing story revolves around foreknowledge, different choices, and the consequences of a revised struggle for freedom. Both prior fans of the 1636 series and newcomers will find this story accessible and involving.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Manga Classics: Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Story adaptation by M. Chandler
Art by Linus Liu
Manga Classics
www.mangaclassics.com
9781947808157 $24.99 hc
9781947808164 $19.99 pbk amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Manga-Classics-Frankenstein-Mary-Shelly/dp/1947808168

Synopsis: Obsessed with natural philosophy, the young Victor Frankenstein succeeds in creating life from its basic elements - and abandons the newborn monstrosity in terror when he cannot bear to look at it. The rejected creature vanishes, and Victor attempts to forget what he has done... But the monster survives. It learns. Deprived of everything, fated to forever be alone, it has nothing left but revenge.

Manga Classics(R) presents a frightening new manga adaptation of Mary Shelly's famous tale of creation and destruction!

Critique: Manga Classics: Frankenstein adapts Mary Shelley's classic horror novel of madness, a monster, and murder most foul into graphic novel featuring striking black-and-white art in the style of manga. Manga Classics: Frankenstein is both a captivating new way to re-experience this timeless tale of horrific consequences, and an excellent way to encourage young adults to read literature. Highly recommended, especially for both public and school library collections as well as the shelves of manga connoisseurs!

Manga Classics: Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
Story adaptation by Crystal S. Chan
Art by Kuma Chan
Manga Classics
www.mangaclassics.com
9781947808171 $24.99 hc
9781947808188 $19.99 pbk amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Manga-Classics-Anne-Green-Gables/dp/1947808184

Synopsis: Siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert were planning to adopt an orphaned boy to help out around their farm, Green Gables - instead, they got Anne Shirley. A plucky redheaded girl with a vibrant imagination, Anne turns first Green Gables and then the rest of Prince Edward Island on its ear. Manga Classics(R) is proud to be the only authorized manga adaption of Anne of Green Gables by the Heirs of L.M. Montgomery. This trade paperback volume presents a faithful recreation of this classic kids novel, from the Lake of Shining Waters to the Dryad's Bubble!

Critique: Manga Classics: Anne of Green Gables is a black-and-white graphic novel adaptation with manga-style art, fully authorized by the heirs of L.M. Montgomery, the original author of this widely beloved novel for young adults. Like all Manga Classics adaptations, Anne of Green Gables is extremely faithful to the original work. The vast majority of the original's dialogue is preserved, and the beautiful artwork brings to life the saga of a spunky, adopted redhaired girl with unparalleled charm, wit, and imagination. Readers of all ages will thoroughly enjoy this rendition of a beloved, timeless classic, further enriched with a forward by Kate Macdonald Butler (granddaughter of L.M. Montgomery).

Willie Nelson: A Graphic History
T. J. Kirsch, author
Adam Walmsley et al., illustrators
NBM Publishing
160 Broadway, Ste. 700, East Wing, New York, NY 10038
www.nbmpub.com
9781681122625, $16.99, HC, 96pp

https://www.amazon.com/Willie-Nelson-Graphic-History-Biographies/dp/1681122626

Synopsis: Since he was a child in Hill County, Texas, Willie Nelson has been writing and performing his music for adoring crowds. Though his mainstream success did not come until later in his life, he has been determined to take his unique sound and voice to the people even before he was a household name. There have been tragedies, missteps, IRS troubles, good times and bad along the way, but Willie continues to shine his positive outlook and project his humble voice out into the world.

Critique: "Willie Nelson: A Graphic History" by T. J. Kirsch is an informative and inherently fascinating graphic novel style biography with each chapter representing a different era of his life and struggles, and each illustrated by a team of unique independent comics talent. While also available in a digital format (Kindle/comiXology, $11.99), "Willie Nelson: A Graphic History" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, college, and university library American Biography collections.

Fangs
Sarah Andersen
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9781524860677, $14.99, HC, 112pp

https://www.amazon.com/Fangs-Sarah-Andersen/dp/1524860670

Synopsis: Elsie the vampire is three hundred years old, but in all that time, she has never met her match. This all changes one night in a bar when she meets Jimmy, a charming werewolf with a wry sense of humor and a fondness for running wild during the full moon. Together they enjoy horror films and scary novels, shady strolls, fine dining (though never with garlic), and a genuine fondness for each other's unusual habits, macabre lifestyles, and monstrous appetites.

First featured as a webcomic series on Tapas, "Fangs" chronicles the humor, sweetness, and awkwardness of meeting someone perfectly suited to you but also vastly different. This deluxe hardcover edition of Fangs features an "engraved" red cloth cover, dyed black page trim, and 25 exclusive comics not previously seen online. Filled with Sarah Andersen's beautiful gothic illustrations and relatable relationship humor, Fangs has all the makings of a cult classic.

Critique: Simply stated, "Fangs" by Sarah Andersen is a love story between a werewolf and a vampire in the format of a graphic novel. A unique, entertaining, and memorable read from first page to last, "Fangs" is solidly recommended for personal and community library Graphic Novel collections -- and a 'must read' for all dedicated vampire and werewolf fans.

Editorial Note: Sarah Andersen is a cartoonist and illustrator. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2014. Her semi-autobiographical comic strip, "Sarah's Scribbles," finds the humor in living as an adult introvert with beloved pets and the continual struggles with waking up in the morning, being productive, and dealing with social situations. Her debut book, "Adulthood is a Myth", was the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Graphic Novels and Comics.

Marvel Comics: The First 80 Years
Titan
Titan Comics
https://titan-comics.com
9781787735088, $29.99, HC, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Marvel-Comics-First-80-Years/dp/1787735087

Synopsis: For 80 years, the late Stan Lee and Marvel Comics have inspired millions of fans worldwide with iconic characters and timeless stories that have brought the Marvel Universe to the forefront of contemporary pop culture.

Though now the company is famous for their blockbuster hits such as the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and Spider-Man, "Marvel Comics: The First 80 Years" from Titan Comics will explore the Marvel Comics company's humble beginnings and it's struggle to become the powerhouse of publishing that it is today.

Featuring all encompassing overviews of the trials and triumphs from each decade, with marvelous milestones, characters, creators, incredible illustrations, and behind-the-scenes trivia.

Critique: An ultimate, profusely illustrated and impressively informative memorial celebrating and showcasing the mightiest Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe, "Marvel Comics: The First 80 Years" is a 'must read' for the legions of Marvel Comics fans and is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Comics & Graphic Novels History collections.

Authorised Happiness: Vol. 1
Jean Van Hamme, author
Griffo, illustrator
Cinebook Ltd.
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849184472, $13.95, PB, 56pp

https://www.amazon.com/Authorised-Happiness-Vol/dp/184918447X

Synopsis: When society pushes the ideals of social equality to their breaking point, the result can easily become plain absurd. For example, in order to avoid the chronic budget deficit of social security, what better way is there but to forbid people to take any chances with their health? Even if it leads to a Medical Police and fines for anyone not watching the weather forecast. What if in order to keep health costs down taking a vacation was not only mandatory but ruthless enforce as a government controlled imperative? What if severe unemployment resulted in having to work for a company whose products and/or services are a ruthless kept secret -- even from its own employees?

Critique: The first volume in a new graphic novel series dedicated to exploring dystopian futures, "Authorised Happiness" is comprised of three Kafkaesque style stories that paint a frightening picture of an over-regulated world. A compelling thought-ful and thought-provoking read that will leave you looking eagerly toward the publication of "Authorized Happiness: Volume 2", this debut volume is especially recommended for community, college, and university library graphic novel collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Authorized Happiness: Volume 1" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle/comiXology, $5.99).

Vostok, Do You Read Me?
Frederic Zumiehl, author
Gil Formosa, illustrator
Cinebook Ltd.
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849184991, $11.95, PB, 48pp

https://www.amazon.com/Vostok-Isnt-Answering-Buck-Danny/dp/1849184992

Synopsis: Tasked with testing the new F-35 in extreme cold conditions, Buck and his two wingmen are sent to Antarctica -- much to Sonny's disgust. The F-35 recurring technical problems force them to make a longer first stop than anticipated on their crossing of the continent. And while it does allow Buck to meet the lovely Natalya, a Russian scientist, it also puts them in the middle of a merciless snowstorm. That's when they receive a mysterious SOS from Vostok Station and are unexpectedly faced with a biological warfare threat to the entire human race.

Critique: Aviation and military buffs in particular will appreciate the detailed notations for the abbreviations used in this action/adventure graphic novel's dialogue. A compelling and entertaining cliff-hanger of a story, "Vostok, Do You Read Me?" is the eleventh installment in this simply outstanding Buck Danny series from the team of author/storyteller Frederic Zumiehl and artist/illustrator Gil Formosa. Highly recommended for community library Graphic Novel collections.

Mermaid Project: Episode 4
Leo, author
Corine Jamar Fred Simon, illustrator
Cinebook Ltd.
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849184137, $11.95, PB, 48pp

https://www.amazon.com/Episode-Mermaid-Project-LEO/dp/1849184135

Synopsis: Romane Pennac's niece has been kidnapped in Paris. Her genetic makeup, inherited from the experiments conducted on her mother (and Romane) in her youth, make her a perfect candidate for Algapower's hybridisation experiments that seek to surgically create mermaids out of humans. Hell bent on rescuing her and putting an end to the corporation's actions, El Malik and Pennac attempt a daring raid on Algapower's Rio laboratory. But when things go wrong, they'll find some very strange allies!

Critique: A deftly scripted action/adventure plot with a wealth of unexpected twists and turns, "Mermaid Project: Episode 4" is a compelling page turner of a read from beginning to end and highly recommended for community library graphic novel collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that like the first 3 volumes in this outstanding series, "Mermaid Project: Episode 4" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle/comiXology, $1.99).

The Route List: Kansas
Eric Stainer
Cinebook Ltd.
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849184533, $11.95 PB, 48pp

https://www.amazon.com/Kansas-Route-List-Eric-Stalner/dp/1849184534

Synopsis: During the 1961 floods in Kansas, the Clown is searching a house, looking for important documents. When the police arrive, though, a shoot-out ensues that ends in the killer's apparent death. And yet by the time the owner of the house returns, along with Alex Poliac, the documents have disappeared, and Alex is convinced his old enemy is still alive. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Laura Kensington is arrested for treason. "Kansas" is the third volume in author Eric Stainer's graphic novel series "The Route List" and, like the previous two volumes (Illinois and Missouri), continues the death list liquidation of embedded communists under orders to be eliminated as the Kremlin power struggles back in Russia continue.

Critique: A wealth of unexpected plot twists, turns and revelations continue unabated and will leave the reader looking eagerly toward the next installment of this hit man saga, "The Route List: Kansas" is a thoroughly entertaining and highly recommended read and a welcome addition to community library graphic novel collections.


The Audiobook Shelf

Stuff You Should Know
Josh Clark & Churck Bryant
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250771506, $39.99, CD

https://www.amazon.com/Stuff-You-Should-Know-Interesting/dp/1250771501

Synopsis: Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast "Stuff You Should Know" back in 2008 because they were curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.

As it turns out, they aren't the only curious ones. They've since amassed an enthusiastic and growing fan base, making "Stuff You Should Know" one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected elements of a wide variety of topics.

The pair have now taken their near-boundless "whys" and "hows" to the chapters of an audiobook for the first time -- featuring a completely new array of subjects that they've long wondered about and wanted to explore. Fans and everyone else can now follow along as the two dig into the underlying stories of everything from the origin of Murphy beds, to the history of facial hair, to the psychology of being lost -- and so much more!

Critique: Read by the authors, "Stuff You Should Know: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things" includes a bonus PDF on the final disc. Laid out on 8 CDs, and showcasing a wealth of inherently fascinating trivia and 'fun facts, this complete and unabridged audio book edition of "Stuff You Should Know: An Incomplete Compendium of Mostly Interesting Things" is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, college, and university library audio book collections.

Pierce Brown's Red Rising: Sons of Ares
Pierce Brown
Graphic Audio
7520 Standish Place, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20855
www.graphicaudio.net
9781648815324, $TBA, MP3 CD

https://www.graphicaudio.net/red-rising-sons-of-ares-volume-1.html

Synopsis: From the world of author Pierce Brown's original science fiction series Red Rising comes a story of love and loss and rage! In the future, when mankind has spread across the stars, the hierarchy of man is dictated by the color of one's caste.

The Golds rule all, but what will happen when one falls for a lowly Red? "Red Rising: Sons of Ares" reveals how a forbidden love will set the course of events for the future and lead to the formation of the formidable Sons of Ares!

Adapted from the graphic novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music, "Red Rising: Sons of Ares" provides the listener with a true 'theatre of the mind' experience.

Critique: Simply stated, "Red Rising: Sons of Ares" is certain to be an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to personal and community library Science Fiction & Fantasy audio book collections. Listeners will look eagerly toward the next title in this outstanding series from Graphic Audio, "Red Rising: Sons of Ares, Volume 2: Wrath". (1 MP3-CD, 4 Hours)


The Library CD Shelf

Christmas Is
Mike Renzi with Jim Porcella
Whaling City Sound
www.whalingcitysound.com
c/o Naxos (dist.)
www.naxosusa.com
$16.99 CD amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Mike-Renzi/dp/B08FT5KTVD

Award-winning pianist Mike Renzi with baritone vocal performer Jim Porcella present Christmas Is, a holiday-themed album ideal for setting a mood of celebration, joy, and compassion. Wonderful, warmhearted, and evocative, Christmas Is flows beautifully and is highly recommended for both personal and public library music collections. The tracks are "Cool Yule", "The Christmas Song", "The Holiday Song", "Our First Christmas", "Blue Christmas", "Christmas Is", "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", "A Christmas Love Song", "Snowfall", and "Winter Wonderland".

Down Home Christmas
The Oak Ridge Boys
www.oakridgeboys.com
Lightning Rod Records
$14.99 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Down-Home-Christmas-Ridge-Boys/dp/B07WHMPVJG

Down Home Christmas is a holiday-themed album by The Oak Ridge Boys. The songs are overflowing with holiday cheer, and include both renditions of beloved seasonal classic and invigorating original creations! The tracks are "The Family Piano", "Angels", "Bring Daddy Home", "Reindeer on the Roof", "Silent Night", "Hallelujah Emmanuel", "Down Home Christmas", "South Alabama Christmas", "Don't Go Pullin' On Santa Claus' Beard", "Amazing Grace (spoken introduction)", and "Amazing Grace". Also highly recommended is another treasury of Christmas music by The Oak Ridge Boys, "Christmas Time's A-Coming" ($14.00 CD / $9.49 MP3).

Reflections: Improvisations on Christmas
Stephen Wallack
www.stephenwallackmusic.com
Privately Published
$14.64 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Reflections-Stephen-Wallack/dp/B08LKFM9NN

Reflections: Improvisations on Christmas is Stephen Wallack's solo piano renditions and inspirations based on traditional Christmas songs. A joyful and wondrous new way to experience classic favorites, Reflections: Improvisations on Christmas is a choice pick for personal and public library holiday music collections, ideal for setting the mood of the season! The tracks are "Deck the Halls" (4:49), "Rudolph" (3:57), "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" (4:09), "We Three Kings" (5:42), "Away In A Manger" (3:37), "Jingle Bells" (4:02), "Frosty" (4:28), "Joy to the World" (4:26), "Oh Christmas Tree" (3:45), and "Silent Night" (4:26). Also highly recommended is Stephen Wallack's "Stories: Solo Piano Reflections".

Acoustic Christmas
Camille Nelson
www.camillenelson.com
Camille Nelson Music
$12.98 CD / $8.99 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Acoustic-Christmas-Camille-Nelson/dp/B08JLHQNRT

Acoustic Christmas is a beautiful holiday music album showcasing Camille Nelson's talent on the acoustic guitar. Nelson plays arrangements of classic Christmas songs with special guest vocalists, in this treasure sure to add cheer to the winter season. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Come, All Ye Faithful" (3:17), "Joy to the World" (3:36), "Little Drummer Boy" (4:29), "Wexford Carol" (2:55), "Still, Still, Still" (feat. KORA) (4:48), "Once in David's Royal City" (3:30), "More Holiness Give Me" (4:42), "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" (2:39), "O Holy Night" (5:03), and "Silent Night" (3:02).

Waltz of Life
Sydney Stevens
Privately Published
$15.07 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Waltz-Life-Sydney-Stevens/dp/B08L8B98LS

Waltz of Life is an instrumental album showcasing both solo piano and piano accompnied by violin, cello, bass, and other instruments. The flowing music, inspired by the beauty and transitory fragility of life itself, is an emotional treasure ideal for meditation, relaxation, or creative inspiration. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Waltz of Life", "Dreams", "BJ", "A Life", "Looking Back", "Gatherings", "Spring Light", "No More Tears", "Beginnings", "Blind Boy", "Your New Wings", "True Heart", "Harvest Moon", and "Waltz of Life".

Love Italian Style
Perry Canestrari
Hindsight Records
$7.98 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Italian-Style-Perry-Canestrari/dp/B08JRGP6Y2

Love Italian Style is a music album treasury of classic Italian love songs. Emotional, inspirational, and beautifully performed by Perry Canestrari, Love Italian Style is a heartwarming pick to set a romantic mood year-round. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Malafemmena", "Arrivederci Roma", "Il Mondo", "Amore Scusami", "Caruso", "Neapolitan Medley", "My Way", "O Sole Mio", "Perdere L'amore", "Volare", "Love Story", and "Opera Meldey".

Coloradio Zen
Victor Towle
Privately Published
$11.98 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Guitar-Music-Relaxation-Meditation/dp/B0859W561B

Colorado Zen is an instrumental, new age guitar album steeped in Eastern music tradition. Created by music artist Victor Towle and refined through live performances at meditation classes, Colorado Zen is a polished treasure ideal for fomenting relaxation, contemplation, and creativity. Highly recommended, especially to connoiseurs of the genre. The tracks are "Emerging", "Spring Crocus", "Front Porch", "The Sun's Wisdom", "No Reservations", "Freed from Tethers", "September 3rd", "Leaves Falling", "Like the Wind", "Thanksgiving Day", and "Light on the Horizon."

Beethoven 250 Mashup
The Great Kat
greatkat.com
$9.98 CD / $0.99 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08J22K1LT

The extraordinarily talented, boundary-pushing music artist The Great Kat applies her talent for guitar-shredding classical music at extraordinary speeds in Beethoven 250 Mashup, a CD single with over four minutes of mashed-up shreds from Beethoven's "5th Symphony", "Moonlight Mosh", "Turkish March", "Fur Elise", "Beethoven Mosh 2", "Razumovsky String Quartet", "Minuet in G", "Egmont Overture", "Violin Concerto", and "Eroica Symphony". Beethoven 250 Mashup is a brief yet exciting and enthralling new way to experience Beethoven's timeless classics, and makes an adventurous gift for connoisseurs of the intense guitar shredding!

Brand New
Honey Made
Privately Published
$10.00 CD / $7.00 digital bandcamp.com

https://honeymadeatx.bandcamp.com/track/brand-new

Austin-based funk and soul band Honey Made present their debut full-length music album Brand New, which showcases their talent for crafting and performing music with elements of soul, funk, reggae, and jazz. Vibrant and extraordinary, Brand New is enthusiastically recommended especially to connoisseurs of original soul. The tracks are "Chicken Sweats feat. Ms. Mack", "Brand New", "Steppin' Out", "Be True feat. Ms. Mack", "Smoove", "Can You Feel It?", "Canadian Mist", "Like You", "Southern Fried Funk", and "So Good".

Never Mind
Margie Singleton
margiesingletonmusic.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $TBA digital

Never Mind is a country music EP album by 85-years-young music artist, songwriter, and mother Margie Singleton. Her son Steve aided the creation of Never Mind as a studio builder, producer, and co-writer, making Never Mind their first "family affair". A rich, emotional, "FCC Clean" collection, Never Mind is a joy for country music connoisseurs and also makes an excellent holiday gift. The tracks are "Never Mind" (3:22), "Who's Gonna Love You" (2:34), "Wonder What She's Doing" (3:10), "Missing You" (2:59), and "Lie to Me" (4:04).

Sacred Gift
Nader Vasseghi
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083XN86N3

Sacred Gift is a wonderous and spiritual new age album featuring both instrumentals and vocals. A philosophical journey that transcends the moment, Sacred Gift is a choice pick for fomenting inspiration, creativity, passion, and contemplation. Highly recommended, especially for connoisseurs of the genre. The tracks are "First Creek", "Spacious Heart", "Kojaeed", "Fragments of a Dream", "Calling Forth", "Dance of Waves", "Rising Sun", "Touch", and "Flow".

Illuminance
Sangeeta Kaur
www.sangeetakaurmusic.com
Privately Published
$12.89 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Illuminance-Sangeeta-Kaur/dp/B08GG72P3Q

Illuminance is a beautiful, new age music album featuring the vocals of classically-trained music artist Sangeeta Kaur, the piano and keyboards of Peter Kater, the cello and cello arrangements of Tina Guo, the bass of Mark Gorman, the guitar of Dat Nguyen, and the percussion of MB Gordy and Christian Teele. A profound, multidimensional musical journey, Illuminance cultivates an uplifting sense of grace, elegance, and fascination. Highly recommended. The tracks are "All My Love", "Illuminance", "Worlds Collide", "Light Of Love", "Path oOf Light", "Come And Find Me", "Supernova", "Stardust", and "Dedication".


The Travel Shelf

Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide, third edition
Susan Reigler
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
9780813180311, $21.95, PB, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Kentucky-Bourbon-Country-Essential-Travel/dp/0813180317

Synopsis: Bourbon is a type of American whiskey, a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name ultimately derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise inspiration for the whiskey's name is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the dynasty. Although bourbon may be made anywhere in the United States, it is strongly associated with the American South and with Kentucky in particular. As of 2014, distillers' wholesale market revenue for bourbon sold within the U.S. was about $2.7 billion, and bourbon made up about two-thirds of the $1.6 billion of U.S. exports of distilled spirits. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, in 2018 U.S. distillers derived $3.6 billion in revenue from bourbon and Tennessee whiskey (a closely related spirit produced in the state of Tennessee) sold in the United States. It was recognized in 1964 by the United States Congress as a "distinctive product of the United States". Bourbon sold in the United States must be produced in the U.S. from at least 51% corn and stored in a new container of charred oak. (Wikipedia)

Like wine lovers who dream of traveling to Bordeaux or beer enthusiasts with visions of the breweries of Belgium, bourbon lovers plan their pilgrimages to Kentucky. Some of the most famous distilleries are tucked away in the scenic Bluegrass region, which is home to nearly seventy distilleries and responsible for 95 percent of all of America's bourbon production. Locals and tourists alike continue to seek out the world's finest whiskeys in Kentucky as interest in America's only native spirit continues to grow.

Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition, "Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide", by Susan Reigler offers updated, essential information and practical advice to anyone considering a trip to the state's distilleries (including the state's booming craft distillery sector) or the restaurants and bars on the Urban Bourbon Trail. Featuring more than two hundred full-color photographs and a bourbon glossary, "Kentucky Bourbon Country" is organized by region and provides valuable details about the Bluegrass -- including attractions near each distillery and notes on restaurants, lodging, shopping, and seasonal events in Kentucky's beautiful historic towns.

In addition to providing knowledge about each point of interest, "Kentucky Bourbon Country" weaves in little-known facts about the region's best-kept secrets, such as the historic distillery used as a set in the movie Stripes and the fates of used bourbon barrels. Whether you're interested in visiting the place where your favorite bourbon is made or hoping to discover exciting new varieties, "Kentucky Bourbon Country" is handy and practical guide is the key to enjoying the best of bourbon.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, this new third edition of "Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide" is an ideal planning guide for any and all bourbon enthusiasts wanting to explore the history and culture of 'Bourbon Country' for themselves. Simply paging through "Kentucky Bourbon Country" as an armchair traveler will prove to be an immensely interesting pastime. While very highly recommended for community library American Travel Guide collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Kentucky Bourbon Country" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.49).

Editorial Note: Currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky, Susan Reigler is a former restaurant critic for the Louisville Courier-Journal and a current correspondent for Bourbon+ and American Whiskey magazines. She has also authored or coauthored six books on bourbon, and in 2019, she was inducted into the Order of the Writ.

Lonely Planet's Where To Go When Europe
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781838690403, $24.99, HC, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planets-Where-When-Europe/dp/1838690409

Synopsis: Packed from cover to cover full with trip recommendations for every time of year, and
curated with weather, seasonal costs, crowds and events in mind, "Lonely Planet's Where To Go When Europe" covers every flavor of the European travel experience, from culture-rich city breaks and sun-kissed beach escapes to scenic road trips and adrenaline-fuelled adventures.

With more than 300 suggestions for destinations across Europe and the best time of year to experience them, this 304-page travel guide is the ultimate trip planner for every month of the year. It features unique interactive flow chart in each month's chapter to help you refine your interest. Find out how to escape the crowds in the pastel-hued villages of Italy's Cinque Terre, discover why the slopes of Moritz are the place to be come winter time, and get to know when to explore the highlands and islands of Scotland for the best weather.

Destinations are divided by months of the year, and a key describes where on the continent is best to enjoy adventure, culture and food and drink, where is best to spot species of wildlife, the best places to kick back and relax, and where you get the best bang-for-your-buck. Ultimately, whether you want to wander through sky-high mountain ranges or lose yourself wandering through quaint and cobbled city streets, this trusty and expert-led book will have you covered.

Critique: Ironically in this time of a botched pandemic response by the Trump administration, Americans are forbidden to travel to Europe, "Lonely Planet's Where To Go When Europe" is the next best thing to being able to go there and will be treasured by dedicated armchair travelers and frustrated on-site travelers alike. Beautifully illustrated, impressively informative, exceptionally well organized and presented, "Lonely Planet's Where To Go When Europe" will prove to be an immediately welcome and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Travel Guide collections.

Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List, second edition
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781788689137, $24.99, HC, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planets-Ultimate-Travel-List/dp/1788689135

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition of "Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List", the armchair traveler and trip planner is presented with an all-new ranking of the greatest places to visit on Earth, reflecting the travel tastes and trends of today's world. Decided by Lonely Planet's global family of writers, editors and industry experts, and packed from cover to cover with insightful commentary, awe-inspiring photos and over 200 new entries, "Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List" is a unique, informed and informative reference and resource for explorers and armchair travellers alike!.

With experiences ranging from hiking among the vast granite pillars of South America's mesmerising Torres del Paine to snaking your way through the desert to the treasured ancient city of Petra, this anticipated book covers everything from UNESCO World Heritage Sites to azure bays and white-sand beaches by way of iconic cities. With 500 entries, 320 pages and an all-new ranking system, this is the definitive wishlist for the best places to visit on the planet.

Critique: Fun to browse through, beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, "Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List" is a unique, extraordinary, thoroughly reader/user friendly in organization and presentation, making it an unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Travel Guide collections.


The Poetry Shelf

The Readiness
Alan Gillis
Wake Forest University Press
PO Box 7333, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
www.wfu.edu/wfupress
9781930630949, $13.95, PB, 96pp

https://www.amazon.com/Readiness-Alan-Gillis/dp/1930630948

Synopsis: Alan Gillis's "The Readiness" is a volume of verse that moves fluently among various modes of poetic expression: the lyric, one of his most beautiful and assured; the gritty, one of his most familiar; and the comic, one of his most form-splitting.

As a poet Alan Gillis can be darkly profound and lovingly comic, bitingly indicative, and compassionately pained. Gillis crafts poems that measure our cultural morass with the love, pity, and sarcasm that it deserves. The volume is set in the terms Hamlet finally comes to at the end of the play: "There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow... the readiness is all." Gillis concludes: So make sure you're up to speed when, at sunset or dawn, worms vex the seed, crows shadow the corn.

The shadowy threats that appear throughout the volume are met in "Late Spring" by how the beauty of "a green / world moves through // us in slow motion." They are also answered by the "quake" of recognition in a poem like "The Dote" that leaves the poet's "mind in the air." Yet, the darkness remains. We readers must also be ready, and, as the poet insists, we "know this, / the oncoming day, is nothing / but the night's brief parenthesis."

Critique: A visceral word smithing delight for those who appreciate the versatility of the English language in setting up memorable word pictures with an emotional impact and cerebral insight into the human conditions. "The Readiness" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community/academic library Contemporary Poetry collections.

Editorial Note: Alan Gillis is from Belfast and now lives in Scotland, where he teaches English at the University of Edinburgh. He has published Scapegoat and Other Poems (2016) in the US, which was a compendium of poems from previous volumes published in Ireland: Scapegoat (2014), Here Comes the Night (2010), Hawks and Doves (2007), and Somebody, Somewhere (2004), which won the Strong Award for Best First Collection in Ireland. He has also been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, and for the Irish Times Poetry Now Award.

Beyond Earth's Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight
Julie Swarstad Johnson, editor
Christopher Cokinos, editor
University of Arizona Press
1510 E. University Boulevard
P.O. Box 210055, Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
www.uapress.arizona.edu
9780816539192, $19.95, PB, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Earths-Edge-Poetry-Spaceflight/dp/0816539197

Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Julie Swarstad Johnson and Christopher Cokinos, "Beyond Earth's Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight: is a trailblazing anthology of poetry that spans from the dawn of the space age to the imagined futures of the universe. This anthology offers a fascinating record of both national mindsets and private perspectives as poets grapple with the promise and peril of U.S. space exploration across decades and into the present.

Tracing an arc of literary skepticism during the Apollo era and before to a more curious, and even hopeful, stance today, "Beyond Earth's Edge" includes diverse perspectives from poets such as Robert Hayden, Rae Armantrout, N. Scott Momaday, Adrienne Rich, Tracy K. Smith, Ray Bradbury, May Swenson, Pablo Neruda, and many other engaging poetic voices.

"Beyond Earth's Edge" vividly captures the violence of blastoff, the wonders seen by Hubble, and the trajectories of exploration to Mars and beyond through a wide array of lyric celebrations, somber meditations, accessible narratives, concrete poems, and new forms of science fiction. With the dawn of the New Space movement, continued interest in Mars, and renewed excitement about returning to the Moon, "Beyond Earth's Edge" is a giant leap toward bridging poetry and science.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and memorable volume of original and space exploration themed verse, "Beyond Earth's Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight" is a unique and extraordinary anthology that is especially recommended for personal, community, college, and university library Contemporary Poetry collections.

How Time Moves: New and Selected Poems
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Meadowlark Press
www.meadowlark-books.com
9781734247725, $22.00, PB, 376pp

https://www.amazon.com/How-Time-Moves-Selected-Poems/dp/173424772X

Synopsis: "How Time Moves: New and Selected Poems" brings together over 30 years of Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg's poetry on what it means to be human in a particular place, time, body, history, and story. The new poems include a special section on pandemic time, exploring how the nature of our hours, days, and months change during this unprecedented era in our lives.

Mirriam-Goldberg is a wise and warm literary companion, leading us into more vivid sight and keen insight into the times of our life, and how time tumbles across generations, landscapes, callings, and questions.

Critique: An impressive compendium of literate, articulate, reflective, considered, lyrical verse showcasing Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg's word smithing skills, "How Time Moves: New and Selected Poems" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary American Poetry collections.


The Computer Shelf

Murach's JavaScript and jQuery
Mary Delamater & Zak Ruvalcaba
Mike Murach & Associates
4340 North Knoll Avenue, Fresno, CA 93722
www.murach.com
9781943872626, $59.50, PB, 752pp

https://www.amazon.com/Murachs-JavaScript-jQuery-Mary-Delamater/dp/1943872627

Synopsis: If you're developing websites, you have to know JavaScript. There's no way around it today. Now in this fully updated and expanded fourth edition, "Murach's JavaScript and jQuery" by the team of Mary Delamater and Zak Ruvalcaba is a DIY curriculum textbook that teaches how to code modern JavaScript that conforms to the ECMAScript standards. It also teaches how to use jQuery, the classic JavaScript library, to handle the DOM scripting that gives JavaScript so much of its power. And it works for web designers who are coming from a background in HTML and CSS or a server-side programmer who's coded in languages like PHP, C#, Java, and Python.

Section 1 presents a 7-chapter course on JavaScript that will get anyone off to a great start, with a special focus on the skills you need for getting the most from jQuery. Then, section 2 presents the jQuery skills that are likely to be used, including how to create slide shows, image swaps, carousels, and accordions (how to validate the data in forms) and how to use plugins and widgets.

At that point, "Murach's JavaScript and jQuery" will have provided a solid set of JavaScript and jQuery skills. Then, section 3 expands the user's skill set as they learn how to work with date and time objects, browser objects, web storage, arrays, the user's own objects, regular expressions, and more. Finally, section 4 takes skills to a new level as the user learns how to use ECMAScript modules, work with Promises and Ajax, and get started using Node.js.

Complete coding examples, practice exercises, and Murach's distinctive "paired-pages" format (each topic is presented in a 2-page spread with text and illustrations); all combine to let the student/reader to tailor the pace and content to their personal learning style.

Critique: Comprehensive and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Murach's JavaScript and jQuery" is the perfect DIY instruction manual for beginners and impressively useful as a reference resource for even the experience professional -- making it an invaluable and recommended addition to personal, professional, college and university library Computer Science collections in general, and JavaScript curriculum studies lists in particular.

Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python
Ravishankar Chityala & Sridevi Pudipeddi
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9780367198084, $120.00, HC, 451pp

https://www.amazon.com/Image-Processing-Acquisition-Python-Chapman/dp/0367198088

Synopsis: "Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python" by the team of Ravishankar Chityala and Sridevi Pudipeddi provides readers with a sound foundation in both image acquisition and image processing -- one of the first books to integrate these topics together. By improving readers' knowledge of image acquisition techniques and corresponding image processing, "Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python" will help them perform experiments more effectively and cost efficiently as well as analyze and measure more accurately. Long recognized as one of the easiest languages for non-programmers to learn, Python is used in a variety of practical examples.

A refresher for more experienced readers, the first part of "Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python" presents an introduction to Python, Python modules, reading and writing images using Python, and an introduction to images. The second part discusses the basics of image processing, including pre/post processing using filters, segmentation, morphological operations, and measurements. The second part also describes image acquisition using various modalities, such as x-ray, CT, MRI, light microscopy, and electron microscopy. These modalities encompass most of the common image acquisition methods currently used by researchers in academia and industry.

Critique: With its impressively organized and comprehensive text, "Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python" is an ideal and unreservedly recommended curriculum textbook and should be a part of every professional, college and university library Computer Science collection in general, and Python instructional reference lists in particular. It should be noted for personal and academic studies that "Image Processing And Acquisition Using Python" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $47.16).

Editorial Note: Ravishankar Chityala, Ph.D. is Principal Engineer at IonPath, with eighteen years of experience in image processing. He teaches Python programming and Deep learning using Tensorow at the University of California Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley Campus. Dr. Chityala co-authored Essential Python (Essential Education, California, 2018), also contributed to the writing of Handbook of Physics in Medicine and Biology(CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2009, Robert Splinter). His research interests include image processing, machine learning and deep learning.

Sridevi Pudipeddi, Ph.D. has eleven years of experience teaching undergraduate courses. She teaches Machine Learning with Python and Python for Data Analysis at the University of California Berkeley at San Francisco campus. Dr. Pudipeddi's research interests are in machine learning, applied mathematics and image and text processing. Python's simple syntax and its vast image processing capabilities, along with the need to understand and quantify important experimental information through image acquisition, have inspired her to co-author this book. Dr. Pudipeddi co-authored Essential Python (Essential Education, California, 2018).

Murach's SQL Server 2019 for Developers
Bryan Syverson & Joel Murach
Mike Murach & Associates
4340 North Knoll Avenue, Fresno, CA 93722
www.murach.com
9781943872572, $59.50, PB, 674pp

https://www.amazon.com/Murachs-SQL-Server-2019-Developers/dp/1943872570

Synopsis: The collaborative work of Bryan Syverson and Joel Murach, "Murach's SQL Server 2019 for Developers" is specifically crafted for professional application developers, as well as anyone training to be one.

"Murach's SQL Server 2019 for Developers" presents the SQL statements that developers need to retrieve and update the data in a database. These are the SQL statements that would be used every day. Then this expert instructional guide and manual shows how to design a database, how to implement that design, and how to work with database features like views, scripts, stored procedures, functions, triggers, transactions, security, XML data, and BLOB data with FILESTREAM storage.

With "Murach's SQL Server 2019 for Developers" developers will be able to create database applications that are thoroughly professional, as well as being familiar with the DBA-related issues. Of special note is that SQL developers will have a handy reference to answer questions and handle new challenges as they come up.

Critique: Expertly written, organized and presented, "Murach's SQL Server 2019 for Developers" is ideal as a curriculum textbook and a DIY instruction manual -- making it especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, technical college, and university library Computer Science Training & Reference collections.

Murach's ASP.NET Core MVC
Mary Delamater & Joel Murach
Mike Murach & Associates
4340 North Knoll Avenue, Fresno, CA 93722
www.murach.com
9781943872497, $59.50, PB, 780pp

https://www.amazon.com/Murachs-ASP-NET-Core-Joel-Murach/dp/194387249X

"Murach's ASP.NET Core MVC" by the team of Mary Delamater and Joel Murach is intended for computer science students and practitioners who already know the basics of C# and are ready to learn how to create web applications using Microsoft's powerful technology, ASP.NET Core MVC (Model-View-Controller).

By the end of section 1 (just 5 chapters) the reader will be developing real-world web apps using C# code for the model and controller classes including HTML, CSS, and Razor code for the view files (for the user interface), as well as Bootstrap classes for responsive design so that apps adapt well to all screen sizes. Readers will also be able use the debugging tools in Visual Studio and their browser to test their apps and make sure they'll work right for all users.

In section 2, readers will build out that set of skills to create more complex controllers, work with Razor views, handle cookies and sessions, do model binding, validate data, and handle database data with EF (Entity Framework) Core. They will also see how all these skills come together in a single application, with coverage of the gotchas that can occur and how to solve them.

Finally, in section 3, readers can pick up additional skills as they need them to: create custom tag helpers and view components; authenticate and authorize users; use dependency injection to automate testing; and use Visual Studio Code.

All along the way, readers will get complete web apps that show how each feature works in context (these can be downloaded these for free from the Murach website). Readers will get chapter exercises that let them practice their new skills. And readers will get Murach's distinctive paired-pages format that presents each skill in a 2-page spread, full of examples, notes, and explanation -- a format that developers praise because it saves them both training and reference time.

Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly' as a training and reference resource for computer science students in general, and ASP.NET Core MVC students and practitioners in particular, "Murach's ASP.NET Core MVC" is an ideal and unreservedly recommended DIY instructional textbook and will prove to be a welcome and appreciated addition to personal, professional, technical college and university library Computer Science collections.


The Technology Shelf

Medical Device Cybersecurity for Engineers and Manufacturers
Axel Wirth, Christopher Gates, and Jason Smith
Artech House
www.artechhouse.com
9781630818159, $159.00

https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Device-Cybersecurity-Engineers-Manufacturers/dp/1630818151

Medical Device Cybersecurity for Engineers and Manufacturers is a 'must' for information security personnel interested in management processes specific to smart medical devices, and provides an in-depth coverage that reviews all phases of the medical device's development, deployment, concept and design, and maintenance. Common vulnerabilities that have been exploited or identified in the past receive attention while insights into new regulations, customer use patterns, internal communication requirements, and more provide the latest best practices in medical device use. From update packages and their assembly to firewall, network, and cloud security approaches, charts, diagrams, and visuals support discussions that discuss reports, pros and cons to different approaches, and testing regimens. IT information collections should consider this extensive, specific survey a key addition.

The Practitioner's Guide to Cellular IoT
Cameron Kelly Coursey
Artech House
www.artechhouse.com
9781630818074, $139.00

https://www.amazon.com/Practitioners-Guide-Cellular-Iot/dp/1630818070

The Internet of Things (IoT) began as a limited specialty market of machine-to-machine communication, but has grown to become a wider-ranging force that affects the technology of devices most people use every day, from cell phones and data systems to how hardware applications and software are changing consumer devices, robotics, and more. While the brunt of readers of this technical discussion will be cellular communications professionals, it holds expanded and wide-ranging discussions for a variety of IoT uses and roles, and will also interest readers of sociology and technology connections. Chapters discuss IoT applications, providing examples of their development and uses and their impact in a wide range of social and economic arenas. From creating IoT solutions applicable to various scenarios to changing standards, goals, and the special requirements of a global IoT approach, mobile communications technicians will welcome the wide-ranging technical discussions and their ability to connect with related social issues.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Weekend Makes: Hoop Embroidery
Rosemary Drysdale
GMC Publications
c/o The GMC Group
www.gmcbooks.com
9781784945909, $22.95, PB, 144pp

https://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Makes-Embroidery-Rosemary-Drysdale/dp/1784945900

Synopsis: In the pages of "Weekend Makes: Hoop Embroidery Art", experienced needlecrafter Rosemary Drysale features 25 beautifully stitched embroideries that are mounted and hung in an embroidery hoop. Inexpensive and quick to make, these small pieces are perfect for using up remnants of fabric and embroidery thread, felt, buttons and beads. The essential tools and techniques section means that those new to embroidery will be able to pick up a much-loved craft and create beautiful and simple pieces. "Weekend Makes: Hoop Embroidery Art" also covers how to finish the back of the pieces, as well as how to hang them. These simple projects are achievable for all levels of ability and experience from novice to professional.

Critique: Profusely and beautifully illustrated throughout, "Weekend Makes: Hoop Embroidery Art" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation -- making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended introduction and instructional guide to hoop embroidery and an enduringly welcome addition to personal, professional, and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

Editorial Note: Rosemary Drysdale has worked as an embroidery designer. She was at the forefront of the cross-stitch craze in the 1990s, traveling the world teaching workshops and giving demonstrations. She is recognized as a global expert on black work embroidery, as well as a teacher of many other advanced stitching techniques.

Weekend Makes: Punch Needle
Sara Moore
GMC Publications
c/o The GMC Group
www.gmcbooks.com
9781784945893, $22.95, PB, 144pp

https://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Makes-Needle-Sarah-Moore/dp/1784945897

Synopsis: Fun and fats, the use of a Punch Needle is one of the hottest trends in needlecrafting right now. Featuring 25 quick and easy punch needle designs, "Weekend Makes: Punch Needle" by Sara Moore is a great way to learn the craft or challenge yourself with a new design idea.

"Weekend Makes: Punch Needle" introduces the needlecrafter to the basics of the punch needle craft, including the materials needed, marking fabric, and the basic stitches and techniques to be used. There are also tips for successful stitching, guiding the needlecrafter through the process of making some stunning projects in very little time.

Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Weekend Makes: Punch Needle" is the ideal DIY combination of step-by-step instruction guide and manual -- making it an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library Needlecrafting collections.

Editorial Note: Sara Moore is a modern punch needle artist, teacher, and the owner of Whole Punching, a needle punching on-line shop. Based in Bristol, United Kingdom, Sara has been teaching the craft since 2018 throughout the South West. Sara is passionate about encouraging others to engage in the craft through teaching in person and with her online presence. More of her work can be seen at https://www.wholepunching.co.uk/blogs/news, or she can be followed on Instagram @wholepunching.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Shroud of Turin
Andrea Nicolotti
Baylor University Press
One Bear Place, #97363, Waco, TX 76798-7363
www.baylorpress.com
9781481311472, $59.95, HC, 524pp

https://www.amazon.com/Shroud-Turin-History-Legends-Worlds/dp/1481311476

Synopsis: Shrouds have long held a special place among the sacred relics of Christendom. In the Middle Ages, shrouds, like holy relics, were the prize possessions of churches and cities.

Cloaked in mystery, these artifacts have long been objects of reverence and awe, as well as sources of debates, quarrels, thefts, and excommunications. Shrouds (so some Christians claim) provide visible testimony to faith. One in particular has drawn the interest of scholars, clergy, and the public alike: the Shroud of Turin.

In "The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World's Most Famous Relic", Andrea Nicolotti (Professor of History of Christianity and the Churches at the University of Turin) chronicles the history of this famous cloth, including its circuitous journey from the French village of Lirey to its home in the Italian city of Turin, as well as the fantastical claims surrounding its origin and modern scientific efforts to prove or disprove its authenticity.

Full of intrigue and mystery, "The Shroud of Turin" dismantles hypotheses that cannot survive the rigors of historical analysis as Nicolotti directly addresses the thorny problem of the authenticity of the relic and the difficult relationship between history, faith, and science.

Critique: Impressively written, organized and presented, "The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World's Most Famous Relic" by Professor Andrea Nicolotti is an extraordinary work of exhaustive and meticulous research conducted with an impressive degree of seminal scholarship. Ably translated into English for an American readership by Jeffrey M. Hunt and R. A. Smith, "The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World's Most Famous Relic" is enhanced for academia with Figures, Genealogical Stemma, and an Index of Names -- making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, church, seminary, college and university library Christian Historiography collections in general, and Shroud of Turn supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov
Robert F. Slesinski
SVS Press
575 Scarsdale Road, Yonkers, NY 10707
www.svspress.com
9780881416015, $35.97, PB, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Sergius-Bulgakov-Scholarly-Monographs/dp/0881416010

Synopsis: Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov (28 July 1871 - 13 July 1944) was a Russian Orthodox Christian theologian, philosopher, priest and economist.

"The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov" by Fr. Robert F. Slesinski is arguably the single best one volume introduction and critical study of Bulgakov now available in English. In a time when Bulgakov's complex theology and profound legacy in modern theology in Christian East and West is finally being widely appreciated, Fr. Slesinkski's study has given us a sure conceptual guide, with marked critical analysis, not a mere summary, to the major themes and words of Bulgakov's massive oeuvre. "The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov" is a meticulous and detailed study which will set a scholastic standard for all future academic work that attempts to understand Bulgakov -- who is to be noted as the awakening giant of modern Orthodox theology.

Critique: Fr. Slesinski's "The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov" is an impressively informative and detailed biography of Bulgarkov's life and work. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to church, seminary, college, and university library Orthodox Christian collections and supplemental curriculum studies list. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of clergy, seminary students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Theology of Sergius Bulgakov" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Robert F. Slesinski received his doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and served on the faculty of the John XXIII Institute for Eastern Christian Studies (Bronx, NY). He is the author of Pavel Florensky: A Metaphysics of Love (SVS Press, 1984), as well as other books and articles.

DoubtLess - Because Faith is Hard
Shelby Abbott
www.shelbyabbott.com
New Growth Press
1301 Carolina Street, #L101, Greensboro, NC 27401
www.newgrowthpress.com
9781645070757, $15.99, PB, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/DoubtLess-Because-Faith-Shelby-Abbott/dp/1645070751

Synopsis: Is God good? Can I trust him with my life? Is the Bible true? These are just some of the questions that can plague young adult Christians as they stand at the crossroads of life, when new responsibilities loom large and the world around them treats God as a small or irrelevant part of life.

In DoubtLess, author and Cru campus minister Shelby Abbott comes alongside young Christians to help them honestly face their doubt and turn to God for the gift of faith. He reminds readers that biblical scripture recounts the stories of many men and women who have also faced deep misgivings and uncertainty in their walk of faith.

Using both Scripture and personal illustrations, Abbot shows us how to feed our faith in seasons of doubt through authentic relationships with other Christians, hearing from God in the Bible, and practicing thankfulness. Doubt should not scare us, nor should it become our obsession. He urges readers to see the difference between doubt and unbelief, assuring us that big questions can press us deeper into the heart and character of God rather than push us away from him.

Used for biblical reflection, group discussion, devotional reading, DoubtLess is full of gospel hope for those grappling with the mysteries of Christian faith.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "DoubtLess - Because Faith is Hard" is an inspired and inspiring read that is unreservedly recommended to all members of the Christian community regardless of denominational affiliations. It should be noted for students, clergy, seminarians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "DoubtLess - Because Faith is Hard" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Shelby Abbott is an author, campus minister, and conference speaker on staff with the ministry of Cru. His passion for university students has led him to speak at college campuses all over the United States and author the books Jacked, I'm Awkward You're Awkward, I Am A Tool (To Help With Your Dating Life), and Pressure Points. He and his wife have two daughters and reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He maintains a ministry oriented website at www.shelbyabbott.com


The Buddhist Studies Shelf

Unreasonable Joy
Turiya, author
Yoni Zilber, illustrator
Electric Bliss Publishing
https://www.facebook.com/electricblisspublishing
9781952753008, $23.99

https://www.amazon.com/Unreasonable-Joy-Awakening-through-Buddhism/dp/1952753007

Unreasonable Joy: Awakening Through Trikaya Buddhism isn't the usual Buddhist treatise for applying centuries-old wisdom to modern living, but offers a new school of Buddhism for the modern world that begins with the idea that Enlightenment is real, and is possible for all. Turiya has been developing this premise for decades, translating Tantric teachings to a different style of Buddhism that relates more closely to 21st Century living. From meditation approaches that can be incorporated into the busiest lifestyle to gaining better control of time, understanding values and beliefs in the face of social and political influences, and narrowing one's focus to changing reactions and perceptions, this survey combines ideals and spiritual insights with exercises and approaches through nine lessons exploring mindfulness, karma, and more.

The format of Unreasonable Joy is also different than most Buddhist enlightenment discussions. Poetry, essays, and stories are employed to link these teachings to experience and examples of how they operate in daily life. Chapters conclude with 'practice pointers' that contain questions for reflection, exercises, and experiential experiments that reinforce that chapter's discussion. All these are linked to daily life experiences and the lessons they hold. For example, consider the section 'Mammograms, Ropes, and Snakes'. Turiya's experience of testing and possible disease juxtaposes with spiritual conclusions: "The sadness dissolved into gratitude for this body and the life it has lived."

The blend of spiritual, philosophical, and psychological reflection elevates Unreasonable Joy above and beyond many Buddhist treatises, offering opportunity for reflection, change, and renewed purpose and meaning through a life led with deliberate awareness of actions. Followers of spiritual paths and self-reflective works will find Unreasonable Joy encouraging and solidly connected to everyday living, offering a succinct blend of food for thought and paths to enlightenment.


The Self-Help Shelf

The Ikigai Journey
Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805315996, $15.99, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Ikigai-Journey-Practical-Happiness-Japanese/dp/4805315997

Synopsis: Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being". The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one's life being made worthwhile, with actions (spontaneous and willing) taken towards achieving one's ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.

In "The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way", authors Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles showing their readers just how to find their own ikigai through practical exercises, such as employing new habits and stepping outside your comfort zone.

Ikigai is the place where our passion (what we love), mission (what we hope to contribute), vocation (the gifts we have to offer the world) and profession (how our passions and talents can become a livelihood) converge, giving us a personal sense of meaning. "The Ikigai Journey" helps the reader to bring together all of these elements so that they can enjoy a balanced life.

The Japan people have one of the longest life spans in the world, and the greatest number of centenarians -- many of whom cite their strong sense of ikigai as the basis for their happiness and longevity. Unlike many "self-care" practices, which require setting aside time in an increasingly busy world, the ikigai method helps to find peace and fulfillment in a busy life.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way" is thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone and narrative style -- making it an ideal and enduringly popular addition to community, college, and university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Hector Garcia was born in Spain and worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan, his home of more than 15 years. In Japan he developed voice recognition software and the technology for young Silicon Valley companies to enter the Japanese market. His popular blog kirainet.com led to his internationally successful book A Geek In Japan.

Francesc Miralles is a lecturer and author specializing in the areas of health and spirituality.

Be the Awesome Man
Dennis Gazarek
Quill Driver Books
c/o Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721-9875
www.quilldriverbooks.com
9781610353373, $18.95, PB, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Be-Awesome-Man-Handbook-Happiness/dp/1610353374

Synopsis: Young men are underachieving in unprecedented numbers. More and more young men are not attaining standard benchmarks of maturity, such as entering and graduating from higher education, finding a career, establishing their financial independence, and living on their own.

"Be the Awesome Man: A Young Man's Guide to Achieving Discipline, Success, and Happiness" by Dennis Gazarek approaches the challenges of being a young man from a unique and practical perspective. Written in a sensible, easy-to-read format, "Be the Awesome Man" delves into the roots of male underachievement and provides practical guidance for young men and their parents, teachers, ministers, coaches, and other mentors.

Drawing on real-world experience as a coach, mentor, and father, Gazarek provides methods to counter the negative influences that encourage underachievement, and shows how effective decision making can lead to a better life. "Be the Awesome Man" emphasizes that freedom requires responsibility and offers specific guides and advice for taking full responsibility and control over one's life.

Combining old-fashioned wisdom, a critical analysis of modern culture, and a pragmatic program of character development, "Be the Awesome Man" offers a better way of life for young men who want to break out of mediocrity and underachievement.

Critique: As informed and informative as it is inspired and inspiring, "Be the Awesome Man: A Young Man's Guide to Achieving Discipline, Success, and Happiness" is a kind of DIY self-help/self-improvement instructional guide and manual for young men regardless of their ethnicity or background. While a highly recommended addition to community, college and university library Parenting and Teenage/Young Adult self-help collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Be the Awesome Man" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Born in a working-class neighborhood of Windsor, Ontario, Dennis Gazarek paid for college by working on farms, in factories, and in horse-racing tracks. His early work experience taught him the reality of heavy manual labor and an appreciation for the challenges faced by working people in everyday life. After receiving an honors degree in business administration from the University of Windsor, Gazarek worked in sales for Procter & Gamble and General Motors, as well as working in real estate and as a business consultant. He is the author of Whacked! How GM Careened into Bankruptcy and Took the Innocent with Them. Gazarek lives with his wife in the Toronto area, where he plays saxophone with the Markham Concert Band.

Rethink Your Self
Trevin Wax
B&H Publishing Group
1 LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234
www.bhpublishinggroup.com
9781535995634, $17.99, PB, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Rethink-Your-Self-Looking-Before/dp/1535995637

Synopsis: Follow your heart. You do you. You are enough. -- We take these slogans for granted, but what if this path to personal happiness leads to a dead-end?

In the pages of "Rethink Your Self: The Power of Looking Up Before Looking In", Trevin Wax encourages you to rethink some of our society's most common assumptions about identity and the road to happiness.

Most people define their identity and purpose by first looking in to their desire, then looking around to express their uniqueness, and finally (maybe) looking up to add a spiritual dimension to life. "Rethink Your Self" proposes a counter-intuitive approach: looking up before looking in.

The ultimate message of "Rethink Your Self: The Power of Looking Up Before Looking In" is that it's only when we look up to learn who we were created to be that we discover our true purpose and become our truest selves.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Rethink Your Self: The Power of Looking Up Before Looking In" is an insightfully inspiring, life changing/life enhancing read and one that is especially recommended for community, college, and university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement and Christian Spiritual Growth collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of seminary students, clergy, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Rethink Your Self: The Power of Looking Up Before Looking In" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Trevin Wax is senior vice president of Theology and Communications at LifeWay Christian Resources and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. A former missionary to Romania, Trevin hosts a blog at The Gospel Coalition and regularly contributes to The Washington Post, Religion News Service, World, and Christianity Today, which named him one of thirty-three millennials shaping the next generation of evangelicals. As former director of Bible Publishing at LifeWay, he led the launch of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) and served as general editor of the CSB Worldview Study Bible. Currently he is the general editor of The Gospel Project, and an author of many books, including This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, Gospel Centered Teaching, and Rethink Your Self.


The Cookbook Shelf

The Friendly Vegan Cookbook
Toni Okamoto & Michelle Cehn
BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781950665365, $22.95, PB, 300pp

https://www.amazon.com/Friendly-Vegan-Cookbook-Essential-Omnivores/dp/1950665364

Synopsis: The recipes comprising "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to Share with Vegans and Omnivores Alike" by Toni Okamoto and Michelle Cehn clearly demonstrate that eating vegan doesn't have to mean a lifetime of bland veggie burgers and boring salads. Nor does it have to make every shared meal a source of stress!

Enter Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto are longtime friends and two of the most trusted figures in the online vegan community. Through their popular food blogs, videos, podcast, and cookbooks, the two have helped millions of people make living vegan easy, fun, and delicious. In "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook" they draw upon their mutual culinary experience and expertise to share 100 amazing recipes for satisfying meals, snacks, and treats, designed for both the veggie-curious and longtime vegans looking for a trusted recipe resource.

Of special note is that in "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook" Michelle and Toni also share their go-to kitchen tips to make meal planning a breeze, helpful shopping lists, and directions for vegans making their own staples, including nut milks, dressings, pasta sauces, and breads.

Critique: Beautifully illustrated with finished dishes throughout, "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook: 100 Essential Recipes to Share with Vegans and Omnivores Alike" is thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation -- making it an ideal resource for vegan menu planning with respect to any and all dining occasions. While also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), "The Friendly Vegan Cookbook" is unreservedly recommended for personal, family, professional, and community library Vegan/Vegetarian Cookbook collections.

The Dirty Vegan Cookbook, revised edition
Catherine Gill
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578268719, $25.00, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Vegan-Cookbook-Revised-Favorite/dp/1578268710

Synopsis: Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, "The Dirty Vegan Cookbook: Your Favorite Recipes Made Vegan" lets even the most novice of kitchen cooks prepare delicious vegan cuisine that anyone and everyone can enjoy, and showcases the sheer variety of amazing recipes you can create, all while remaining vegan. For too long, the vegan lifestyle has been seen as limiting -- a laundry list of all the things vegans can't or shouldn't have.

Providing healthy, vegan alternatives to the sorts of delicious comfort foods that everyone craves, "The Dirty Vegan Cookbook" makes it easier than ever to live the vegan lifestyle, featuring delicious recipes that use common ingredients available in any grocery store.

"The Dirty Vegan Cookbook" features over 120 rich, indulgent recipes that are sure to delight, and range from Artisan Sicilian Pizza, Breakfast Lemon Cheesecake, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, and Chocolate Chip Cookies, to Gourmet "Beef" Stroganoff, Roasted Carrot Tomato Soup, Sausage YUMbo Gumbo, Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie and so many more.

With simple, delicious recipes, "The Dirty Vegan Cookbook" is not just for vegans, but is ideal for menu planning for anyone who wants to prepare nutritious dishes using minimal equipment and processing. Self-styled as "vegan junk food" (healthy vegan food that doesn't skimp on taste) "The Dirty Vegan Cookbook" is a culinary celebration of all the amazing tastes and dishes available to those on vegan diets -- making it especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library vegan/vegetarian cookbook collections.

Mediterranean Instant Pot
America's Test Kitchen
www.americastestkitchen.com
9781948703062, $24.99, HC, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Instant-Pot-Inspired-Eating/dp/1948703068

Synopsis: Mediterranean cuisine is the foods and methods of preparation by people of the Mediterranean Basin. Many culinary experts define the three core elements of the cuisine as the olive, wheat, and the grape, yielding olive oil, bread and pasta, and wine; others emphasize the diversity of the region's foods and deny that it is a useful concept. A common definition of the geographical area covered follows the distribution of the olive tree.

The region spans a wide variety of cultures with distinct cuisines, in particular (going anticlockwise around the region) the Maghrebi, Egyptian, Levantine, Ottoman (Turkish), Greek, Italian, Provencal (French), and Spanish, though some authors include additional cuisines. Portuguese cuisine, in particular, is partly Mediterranean in character.

Utilizing an Instant Pot for their creation, "Mediterranean Instant Pot: Easy, Inspired Meals for Eating Well" showcases succulent meals such as Chicken Tagine, Lamb Meatballs with Couscous, Pickled Onions, and Tahini, Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto, and Gigante Bean Soup with Celery and Olives become hands-off affairs for the busy cook.

The Instant Pot also takes the waiting game out of cooking dried beans and sturdy grains so it's easy to enjoy them more often. And vegetables get star billing, both as main dishes (Braised Whole Cauliflower with North African Spices), and sides (Marinated Artichokes and Baba Ghanoush). Recipes embrace the tenets of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, translating its less-meat-and-more-vegetables approach into vibrant, healthy one-dish meals that take the guesswork out of balancing portions and multiple dishes.

Most recipes comprising Mediterranean Instant Pot" are ready in under an hour. Full nutritional information is provided for each recipe.

Critique: Featuring mouth-watering full color photography of finished dishes throughout, "Mediterranean Instant Pot: Easy, Inspired Meals for Eating Well" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted as a personal culinary reference and menu planning resource that "Mediterranean Instant Pot" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).


The Education Shelf

Unlocking Potential
Tamra Stambaugh, editor
Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, editor
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
www.prufrock.com
9781646320806, $45.00, PB, 300pp

https://www.amazon.com/Unlocking-Potential-Identifying-Low-Income-Households/dp/1646320808

Synopsis: Written by authors with extensive experience in working with gifted students from low-income households, and collaboratively edited by Tamra Stambaugh and Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, "Unlocking Potential: Identifying and Serving Gifted Students From Low-Income Households" focuses on ways to translate the latest research and theory into evidence-supported practices that impact how schools identify and serve these students.

Readers will: Learn about evidence-supported identification systems, tools, and strategies for finding students from low-income households; Discover curriculum models, resources, and instructional strategies found effective from projects focused on supporting these students; Understand the important role that intra- and interpersonal skills, ethnicity/race, families, school systems, and communities play; Consider the perceptions of gifted students who grew up in low-income households; Learn how educators can use their experiences to strengthen current services.

"Unlocking Potential" is the go-to resource for an up-to-date overview of best practices in identification, curriculum, instruction, community support, and program design for gifted learners from low-income households.

Critique: Thoroughly 'educator friendly' in organization and presentation, "Unlocking Potential: Identifying and Serving Gifted Students From Low-Income Households" is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, school district, college, and university library Teacher Education collections and Gifted Education supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Tamra Stambaugh, Ph.D., is an associate research professor in special education and executive director of Programs for Talented Youth at Vanderbilt University.

Paula Olszewski-Kubilius is currently the director of the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. She has more than 24 years of experience designing and conducting educational programs for learners of all ages including summer programs, weekend programs, distance learning programs, programs for underrepresented gifted students, as well as workshops for parents and teachers. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and currently is a member of the boards of the National Association for Gifted Children and the Illinois Association for Gifted Children.

The Complete Learner's Toolkit
Jackie Beere
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781781353172, $26.95, PB, 200pp

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Learners-Toolkit-Metacognition-equipping/dp/1781353174

Synopsis: Jackie Beere knows that schools have a much more important job to do than simply to prepare children for exams. In "The Complete Learner's Toolkit" she hands busy classroom teachers the tools they need to weave personal development into the curriculum in powerful and exciting ways.

"The Complete Learner's Toolkit" focuses on the most important skills identified by the World Economic Forum (including critical thinking, emotional intelligence and judgement and decision making) and presents 36 lessons that can either be used as stand-alone sessions or be incorporated into a topic or subject context. Furthermore, they can be employed in whole-class lessons or when working with individuals/small groups who need extra support to become more independent, confident learners.

Jackie has devised each lesson to develop the habits of reflection and metacognition in all learners, setting them up with the skills they will need in order to thrive and the emotional intelligence that will help them pursue a happy future.

To make the most of the material in "The Complete Learner's Toolkit" and create the best outcomes for students, Jackie suggests teachers also treat these lessons as personal CPD. Doing so can help embed in teachers day-to-day practice the skills and mindsets which she promotes, and so model them for their students. Teachers can also consider how best to adapt the lessons in this book and how to incorporate the World Economic Forum essential skills within their subject specialisms.

Critique: Specifically designed for classroom teachers to use with studens ages 7-16, the individual lesson plans in "The Complete Learner's Toolkit" are also available as editable PDFs sold under an annual licence. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Complete Learner's Toolkit" will empower teachers to transform their pupils learning and reliably achieve academic success throughout their school career and life.

Editorial Note: Jackie Beere, OBE is an Independent Thinking Associate who worked as a newspaper journalist before embarking on a career in teaching and school leadership. She was awarded an OBE in 2002 for developing innovative learning programs and is the author of several books on teaching, learning and coaching. Since 2006, Jackie has been offering training in the latest strategies for learning, developing emotionally intelligent leadership and cultivating a growth mindset.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309670388, $125.00, PB, 650pp

https://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Based-Emergency-Preparedness-Coronavirus-Resources/dp/0309670381

Synopsis: When communities face complex public health emergencies, state local, tribal, and territorial public health agencies must make difficult decisions regarding how to effectively respond. The public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR) system, with its multifaceted mission to prevent, protect against, quickly respond to, and recover from public health emergencies, is inherently complex and encompasses policies, organizations, and programs.

Since the events of September 11, 2001, the United States has invested billions of dollars and immeasurable amounts of human capital to develop and enhance public health emergency preparedness and infrastructure to respond to a wide range of public health threats, including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear events.

Despite the investments in research and the growing body of empirical literature on a range of preparedness and response capabilities and functions, there has been no national-level, comprehensive review and grading of evidence for public health emergency preparedness and response practices comparable to those utilized in medicine and other public health fields.

"Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response" reviews the state of the evidence on PHEPR practices and the improvements necessary to move the field forward and to strengthen the PHEPR system.

This publication evaluates PHEPR evidence to understand the balance of benefits and harms of PHEPR practices, with a focus on four main areas of PHEPR: engagement with and training of community-based partners to improve the outcomes of at-risk populations after public health emergencies; activation of a public health emergency operations center; communication of public health alerts and guidance to technical audiences during a public health emergency; and implementation of quarantine to reduce the spread of contagious illness.

Critique: Particularly timely with respect to the current Covid pandemic, "Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, university, governmental, and health care center Health Policy & Emergency Medicine Response collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases
Jacques Martel
Findhorn Press
www.findhornpress.com
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644111895, $34.99, PB, 608pp

https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Ailments-Diseases-Conflicted-Feelings/dp/1644111896

Synopsis: Our bodies use a secret language to talk to us. An ailment or illness is our body's way of shouting for help, making us understand that we need to change our thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behaviors. Our bodies wants us to become aware of the stress that we carry, conscious or not, so that we can release all of our un-managed past and present emotions and the physical complaints that accompany them.

Compiling years of research and the results of thousands of cases he encountered in his private practice and during workshops over the past 30 years, in the pages of "The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases: How to Heal the Conflicted Feelings, Emotions, and Thoughts at the Root of Illness", Jacques Martel explains how to read and understand the body's language of disease and imbalance. In this encyclopedia, he shows how body language reveals specific thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are at the source of nearly 900 different ailments and diseases. Martel also details his Integration and Acceptance Technique, which enables healing information to bypass the brain and connect directly with the heart. This technique disables the source of the conflict, conscious or not, that could be at the root of an illness, behavior, or condition and improves the chances of true healing.

"The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases" is a comprehensive manual that offers a tool to help each of us become, to some extent, our own doctor or therapist, get to know ourselves better, and recover health and well-being physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. For practitioners and therapists, "The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases" is a remarkable reference tool provides invaluable insights and prompts for healing.

Critique: Comprehensively detailed, impressively 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases: How to Heal the Conflicted Feelings, Emotions, and Thoughts at the Root of Illness" is an ideal personal health reference and instructional for the non-specialist general reader and is an excellent resource for all members of the medical community. While unreservedly recommended for family, community, college and university library Health/Medicine collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Encyclopedia of Ailments and Diseases: How to Heal the Conflicted Feelings, Emotions, and Thoughts at the Root of Illness" is also readily available in a digital book format (eTextbook, $23.99).

Editorial Note: Jacques Martel is an internationally known therapist, trainer, and speaker. A pioneer in the field of personal development, he has created new methods and practical exercises that allow deep and permanent emotional and spiritual transformations.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Say Goodbye to Plastic
Sandra Ann Harris
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578268603, $15.00, HC, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Say-Goodbye-Plastic-Room-Room/dp/1578268605

Synopsis: Even with accelerated recycling efforts, discarded plastic is polluted our oceans and filling up our trash dumps.

If you've heard of the plastic-free lifestyle, but think you don't have time for it in your busy life, prepare to be delightfully wrong. In the pages of "Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living" environmentalist, anti-pollution activist, and entrepreneur Sandra Ann Harris shows you how -- whether you are seeking to knock plastic out of your life or just try out a few novel eco-hacks in your kitchen, bathroom, office or dining room.

In "Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living" Sandra Ann Harris invites us to say goodbye to plastic, room by room. Opportunities abound to simplify our lives by re-thinking our wasteful habits -- we just need to learn to recognize them!

Critique: Impressively informative and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living" is an extraordinary, timely, and practical contribution to our on-going national dialogue with respect to the role of plastic in environmental pollution. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Environmental Issues collections and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists, it should be noted for students, academia, environmental activists, and non-specialists with an interest in the subject that "Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: Sandra Ann Harris is the founder and president of ECOlunchbox, a mission-based consumer products company. Her passion is protecting the oceans by reducing people's dependence on plastics. ECOlunchbox innovates and sells high-quality, plastic-free food container solutions. She has a diverse background in business consulting, product development, investigative journalism, and digital marketing strategy along with her work in the non-profit sector for a humanitarian aid organization.


The Political Science Shelf

American Cause
Russell Kirk
ISI Books
3901 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE 19807-1938
www.isibooks.org
9781882926930, $13.00, PB, 125pp

https://www.amazon.com/American-Cause-Russell-Kirk/dp/1882926935

Synopsis: In the pages of "The American Cause", author Russell Kirk explains in simple yet eloquent language the bedrock principles upon which America's experiment in constitutional self-government is built.

Kirk, whose life and thought has recently been featured in C-SPAN's acclaimed American Writers series, intended his little book to be an assertion of the moral and social principles upholding our nation. Kirk's primer is an aid to reflection on those principles (political, economic, and religious) that have united Americans when faced with challenges and threats from the enemies of ordered freedom.

In this new age of politically based terrorism and authoritarianism, Kirk's lucid and straightforward presentation of the articles of American belief is both necessary and welcome.

Of special note is that Gleaves Whitney's newly edited version of Kirk's work, combined with his insightful commentary, make "The American Cause" a timely and invaluable addition to the literature of liberty.

Critique: In this era of pandemic, economic collapse, social justice based unrest, political division, and Donald Trump, "The American Cause" should be read by everyone wanting to defend American democracy from the authoritarian forces abroad and at home that seek erode it. While unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Political Science collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of political science students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The American Cause" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note; Russell Kirk (1918-1994) is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the postwar conservative intellectual movement. A columnist, essayist, novelist, historian, and critic, Kirk's best-known work is The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot. Gleaves Whitney is a senior aide to and chief speechwriter for Michigan Governor John Engler. The first senior fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, his work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Christian Science Monitor, Vital Speeches of the Day, Crisis, Modern Age, Intercollegiate Review, University Bookman, and Policy Review.


The American History Shelf

Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent During World War I
Eric T. Chester
Monthly Review Press
134 W. 29th Street, Suite 706, New York, NY 10001
www.monthlyreview.org
9781583678695, $49.00, HC, 416pp

https://www.amazon.com/Speech-Suppression-Dissent-During-World/dp/1583678697

Synopsis: World War I, given all the rousing "Over-There" songs and in-the-trenches films it inspired, was, at its outset, surprisingly unpopular with the American public. As opposition increased, Woodrow Wilson's presidential administration became intent on stifling antiwar dissent. Wilson effectively silenced the National Civil Liberties Bureau, forerunner of the American Civil Liberties Union. Presidential candidate Eugene Debs was jailed, and Deb's Socialist Party became a prime target of surveillance operations, both covert and overt. Drastic as these measures were, more draconian measures were to come.

In "Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent During World War I", Eric Chester reveals that out of this turmoil came a heated public discussion on the theory of civil liberties -- the basic freedoms that are, theoretically, untouchable by any of the three branches of the U.S. government. The famous "clear and present danger" argument of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, and the "balance of conflicting interest" theory of law professor Zechariah Chafee, for example, evolved to provide a rationale for courts to act as a limited restraint on autocratic actions of the government.

But Chester goes further, to examine an alternative theory: civil liberties exist as absolute rights, rather than being dependent on the specific circumstances of each case. Over the years, the debate about the right to dissent has intensified and become more necessary. This fascinating book explains why, a century after the First World War (and in the era of Trump) we need to know about this.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a five page Chronology, fifty-one pages of Notes, a seven page Glossary, a ten page Bibliography, and a twenty-five page Index, "Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent During World War I" is a meticulous work of informed and informative scholarship that is especially recommended for community, college, and university library 20th Century American History & Political Science collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of student, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Free Speech and the Suppression of Dissent During World War I" is also readily available in a paperback edition ( 9781583678688, $27.00) and in digital book format (Kindle, $19.00).

Editorial Note: Eric Thomas Chester was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and, later, lecturer at San Francisco State University. In the 1960s, Chester was active in the civil rights movement and Students for a Democratic Society. He remains an activist in the trade union solidarity movement and the Socialist Party, and was the Socialist Party's vice-presidential candidate in 1996. He is the author of Socialists and the Ballot Box. His essays have appeared in the Cambridge Journal of Economics, Critique, Z, Insurgent Sociologist, Resist, Public Finance, Changes, and Against the Current.

Finding the American Dream
Bill Vlevlen
Reedy Press
PO Box 5131, St. Louis, MO 63139
www.reedypress.com
9781681062754, $22.50, PB, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-American-Dream-Bill-Clevlen/dp/1681062755

Synopsis: From a can of Dr. Pepper, to the iconic sounds of Motown hits like Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, and The Temptations, each of these uniquely American emblems began as a dream. From humble beginnings and against insurmountable odds, our culture pervasively clings to the notion that given equal opportunities, anyone can achieve the success of their wildest imagination. It's the dream that has empowered countless entertainers, leaders, inventors, and historical figures to become and create to the best of their ability, and that still inspires us today.

Travel journalist and author Bill Clevlen opens up the topic in "Finding the American Dream: A Guided Tour Of Places Where Americans Changed History", one dreamer at a time. The reader will be guided to the place were they began their journey, as if traveling there themselves. Standing inside the small rural house were Johnny Cash grew up after the Great Depression. Exploring the bottling plant where Dr. Pepper became America's first nationally sold soft drink. Discovering the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant where 65 year-old Harland Sanders started a billion-dollar franchise.

"Finding The American Dream" showcases and proves that the American Dream is not dead. The inspiring stories comprising this combination biography and history book demonstrate that anyone can still achieve greatness through hard work, determination, and of course, a little bit of luck.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Finding the American Dream: A Guided Tour Of Places Where Americans Changed History" is an inherently fascinating and impressively informative read from cover to cover. While also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99), "Finding the American Dream: A Guided Tour Of Places Where Americans Changed History" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, school, community, college, and university library American History collections.


The Military Shelf

From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog
Colonel Steve Ladd USAF (Retired)
Air World
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781526761248, $34.95, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/F-4-Phantom-10-Warthog-Memoirs/dp/1526761246

Synopsis: Fighter pilots in wooden planes from the earliest days of World War I down to the present age of the jet plane are iconic warrior symbols of aerial combat. Images of Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker in the Great War, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Stanford Tuck and Richard Bong in the Second World War, or Robin Olds in Vietnam, all spring to mind. Volumes have been written about them, past and present. Understandably, most of these revolve around the skill, cunning and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve -- until now.

"From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot" is Colonel Steve Ladd's fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through the narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia; Europe to the Middle East; linking the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot.

The anecdotes provided are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in "From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot", Colonel Ladd stresses that the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft.

Critique: Offering unique and informative insights into being a fighter pilot in times of war and in times of peace, "From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library Military Biography collections. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs and aviation enthusiasts that "From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog: Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Spying from the Sky
Robert L. Richardson
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612008363, $34.95, HC, 312pp

https://www.amazon.com/Spying-Sky-Controls-Aerial-Intelligence/dp/1612008364

Synopsis: William Gregory, "Greg" to all, was born into a sharecropper's life in the hills of north central Tennessee. From the back of a mule-drawn plow, Greg learned the value of resilience and the importance of living a determined life. Refusing to accept a life of continued poverty, Greg sought and found a way out in the form of a work-study college program that made it possible to leave farming behind him forever.

While at college, Greg completed the Civilian Pilot Training Program and was subsequently accepted into the Army's pilot training program. Earning his wings in 1942, Greg became a P-38 combat pilot and served in North Africa during the summer of 1943 -- a critical time when the Luftwaffe was still a potent threat, and America had begun the march northward from the Mediterranean into Europe proper.

Following the war, Greg served with a B-29 unit, then transitioned to the new, red-hot B-47 strategic bomber. In his frequent deployments, he was always assigned the same target in the Soviet Union - Tblisi, Stalin's home town. While a B-47 pilot, Greg was selected to join America's first high-altitude program - the Black Knights. Flying RB-57D aircraft, Greg and his team flew peripheral "ferret" missions around the Soviet Union and its satellites, collecting critical order-of-battle data so desperately needed by the Air Force at that time.

When that program neared its design end, and following the Gary Powers shoot-down over the Soviet Union, Greg was assigned to command of the CIA's U-2 unit at Edwards AFB. It was during that five-year command that Greg and his team provided critical overflight intelligence, including during the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam build-up. He found time to also become one of the first to fly U-2s off aircraft carriers in a demonstration project.

Following his U-2 command, Greg attended the National War College, was assigned to the reconnaissance office at the Pentagon, and then was named Vice-Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Greg retired from the Air Force in 1972.

Critique: An inherently interesting, impressively informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented military biography, "Spying from the Sky: At the Controls of US Cold War Aerial Intelligence" by Robert L. Richardson is a unique and especially recommended addition to both community and academic library collections. Of particular interest to students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Aviation & Nautical Biographies, or in Cold War Era Political Intelligence that "Spying from the Sky" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).

Editorial Note: Following a successful career in international business and global education, Robert Richardson began writing about the little-known, personal, but critically important stories of World War II and the Cold War. He wrote The Jagged Edge of Duty in 2017, and his current project relates to the events in the South Pacific during the early months of World War II.


The Biography Shelf

Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor
Simon Elliott
Greenhill Press
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781784385255, $42.95, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pertinax-Slave-Became-Roman-Emperor/dp/1784385255

Synopsis: The son of a former slave, Pertinax was the Roman Emperor who proved that no matter how lowly your birth, you could rise to the very top through hard work, grit and determination.

Born in AD 126, he made a late career change from working as a grammar teacher to a position in the army. As he moved up the ranks and further along the aristocratic cursus honorum, he took on many of the most important postings in the Empire, from senior military roles in fractious Britain, the Marcomannic Wars on the Danube, to the Parthian Wars in the east. He held governorships in key provinces, and later consulships in Rome itself.

When Emperor Commodus was assassinated on New Year's Eve AD 192/193, the Praetorian Guard alighted on Pertinax to become the new Emperor, expecting a pliable puppet who would favor them with great wealth. But Pertinax was nothing of the sort and when he then attempted to reform the Guard, he was assassinated. His death triggered the beginning of the 'Year of the Five Emperors' from which Septimius Severus, Pertinax's former mentoree, became the ultimate victor and founder of the Severan Dynasty.

This previously untold story brings a fascinating and important figure out of the shadows. A self made everyman, a man of principle and ambition, a role model respected by his contemporaries who styled himself on his philosophizing predecessor and sometime champion Marcus Aurelius, Pertinax's remarkable story offers a unique and panoramic insight into the late 2nd century AD Principate Empire.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and deftly crafted biography, "Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor" by Simon Elliott is an extraordinary work of seminal and meticulous research. An invaluable contribution to community, college and university library Roman History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Pertinax: The Son of a Slave Who Became Roman Emperor" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $25.00).

Editorial Note: Simon Elliott is an historian, archaeologist and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent where he studied for his PhD in Archaeology on the subject of the Roman military in Britain. He also has an MA in War Studies from KCL and an MA in Archaeology from UCL. He frequently gives talks on Roman themes and is co-Director at a Roman villa excavation.


The Martial Arts Shelf

The Martial Arts of Vietnam
Augustus John Roe
YMAA Publications
PO Box 480, Wolfeboro, NH 03894-0480
www.ymaa.com
9781594397974, $17.95, PB, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/Martial-Arts-Vietnam-Overview-History/dp/159439797X

Synopsis: "The Martial Arts of Vietnam: An Overview of History and Styles" by Augustus John Roe presents an engaging overview of the evolution of Vietnamese martial arts from 2,000 BCE until today.

"The Martial Arts of Vietnam" examines the mythical origins of the Vietnamese people and the impact that invasions from neighboring countries had on the martial culture of Vietnam. It also covers how kings and governments promoted and, in some cases, crushed martial traditions; alongside how Vietnams' unusual geography both protected and exposed martial styles and lineages.

"The Martial Arts of Vietnam" features stunning photography, era timelines, and regional maps that allow for an engaging adventure through Vietnam's northern, central, and southern regions, all in search of events and catalysts that shaped its martial history through the ages.

In examining Vietnams' martial arts society, the reader learn about the many teachers from the northern, central, and southern regions who, through courageous efforts, are attempting to codify and preserve their unique combat systems for the benefit of all martial artists. "The Martial Arts of Vietnam" also explores the ethnic minority martial arts, Sino-Vietnamese and Chinese martial arts, as well as various imported and foreign systems and how they are positioned in relation to modern Vietnam's martial arts practices.

"The Martial Arts of Vietnam" lifts the veil of secrecy long surrounding this socialist state to reveal its combat systems and their thousand years of evolution.

Critique: Impressively informative, expertly written, accessibly organized and presented, "The Martial Arts of Vietnam: An Overview of History and Styles" is an inherently fascinating read and will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community, college, and university library Martial Arts collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for martial arts students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Martial Arts of Vietnam: An Overview of History and Styles" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note: Augustus John Roe is an author, linguist, and instructor of traditional Vietnamese martial arts. For more than a decade, he has lived and trained in Asia. During this time Augustus has worked on numerous television shows, books, magazines and academic projects documenting local cultures and martial arts practices.


The Gaming Shelf

Chess Improvement: It's all in the mindset
Barry Hymer & Peter Wells
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785835025, $19.95, PB, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Improvement-Its-all-mindset/dp/1785835025

Synopsis: "Chess Improvement: It's all in the mindset" by the collaborative team of Barry Hymer and Peter Wells is an engaging and instructive guide that sets out how the application of growth mindset principles can accelerate chess improvement.

With contributions by Tim Kett, "Chess Improvement" also features insights from Michael Adams, David Howell, Harriet Hunt, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Matthew Sadler and Nigel Short, as well as an informative Foreword by Henrik Carlsen -- father of world champion Magnus Carlsen.

Twenty-first-century knowledge about skills development and expertise requires us to keep such mystical notions as fixed talent in perspective, and to emphasise instead the dynamic and malleable nature of these concepts.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in chess, where many gifted players fall prey to plausible but self-defeating beliefs and practices-and thereby fail to achieve the levels their natural abilities predicted. Happily, however, the reverse can be true too; through learned dispositions such as grit, risk-taking, strategic thinking and a capacity for sheer hard work, players of apparently modest abilities can achieve impressive results.

Blending theory, practice and the distinct but complementary skills of two authors-one an academic (and amateur chess player) and the other a highly regarded England Chess Olympiad coach (and grandmaster)-Chess Improvement is an invaluable resource for any aspirational chess player or coach/parent of a chess player.

Barry and Peter draw on interviews conducted with members of England's medal-winning elite squad of players and provide a template for chess improvement rooted in the practical wisdom of experienced chess players and coaches.

They also include practical illustrative descriptions from the games and chess careers of both developing and leading players, and pull together themes and suggestions in a way which encourages readers to create their own trajectories for chess improvement.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Chess Improvement" is immanently suitable for any chess player from novice to professional, as well as the reading lists of chess coaches or the parent of a chess player. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Chess instructional reference collections, it should be noted for personal studies that "Chess Improvement" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).

Editorial Note: Based in Lancashire, UK, Barry Hymer is Emeritus Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Cumbria and author or co-author of ten books and numerous papers in the field of teaching and learning. He is one of the UK's foremost authorities on the educational applications of mindset theory, and has worked with Carol Dweck on several conference tours. He is a national ambassador for the organisation Potential Plus UK and for the educational chess organisation Dansk Skoleskak.

Grandmaster Peter Wells has over 30 years' professional experience in the chess world and has authored or co-authored nine well-received chess books. He has extensive coaching experience, having worked with the England Open and women's teams at a total of 16 major events, and now works with the leading English juniors through the Chess Trust's Accelerator Programme. As a player Peter has won three British Rapidplay titles and is part of a small group of English players to have progressed beyond the zonal stage of the World Championship cycle.


The Money/Finance Shelf

Handbook of Financial Risk Management
Thierry Roncalli
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781138501874, $288.40, HC, 1176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Financial-Management-Chapman-Mathematics/dp/1138501875

Synopsis: Developed over 20 years of teaching academic courses, the "Handbook of Financial Risk Management" by Professor Thierry Roncalli can be divided into two main parts: risk management in the financial sector; and a discussion of the mathematical and statistical tools used in risk management.

This comprehensive textbook offers readers the chance to develop a sound understanding of financial products and the mathematical models that drive them, exploring in detail where the risks are and how to manage them.

Of special note is that written by an author with both theoretical and applied experience, "Handbook of Financial Risk Management" features: comprehensive coverage of the key topics in financial risk management and contains 114 exercises -- with solutions provided online at www.crcpress.com/9781138501874

Critique: Exceptional in organization and presentation, the "Handbook of Financial Risk Management" is an ideal curriculum resource for students pursuing a master's degree in finance who want to learn risk management. While unreservedly recommended for college and university library Business Finance and Money Management instructional reference collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, professional money managers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that the "Handbook of Financial Risk Management" is also readily available in a digital book format (eTextbook, $240.00).

Editorial Note: Thierry Roncalli is Head of Quantitative Research at Amundi Asset Management. He is also a Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Evry. Dr. Roncalli has over 20 years of experience in finance and is the author of many articles and several books in quantitative finance. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Bordeaux.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats
Timothy Beatley
Island Press
2000 M Street NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781642830477, $35.00, PB, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bird-Friendly-City-Creating-Urban-Habitats/dp/164283047X

Synopsis: How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds. Warblers become disoriented by nighttime lights and collide with buildings. Ground-feeding sparrows fall prey to feral cats. Hawks and other birds-of-prey are sickened by rat poison. These name just a few of the myriad hazards. How do our cities need to change in order to reduce the threats, often created unintentionally, that have resulted in nearly three billion birds lost in North America alone since the 1970s?

In "The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats", Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. Beatley shares empowering examples, including: advocates for "catios," enclosed outdoor spaces that allow cats to enjoy backyards without being able to catch birds; a public relations campaign for vultures; and innovations in building design that balance aesthetics with preventing bird strikes. Through these changes and the others Beatley describes, it is possible to make our urban environments more welcoming to many bird species.

Readers will come away motivated to implement and advocate for bird-friendly changes, with inspiring examples to draw from. Whether birds are migrating and need a temporary shelter or are taking up permanent residence in a backyard, when the environment is safer for birds, humans are happier as well.

Critique: Impressively informed and informative, exceptionally well organized and presented, clearly outline the problems while offering insightful and practical solutions, "The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats" is an outstanding and unreservedly recommended contribution to personal, professional, community, college and university library Urban & Land Use Planning collections in general and Bird Field Guides and Avian Environmental studies curriculum lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, urban planners, governmental policy makers, wildlife enthusiasts, bird lovers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Bird-Friendly City: Creating Safe Urban Habitats" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.24).

Editorial Note: Timothy Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities at the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for over twenty-five years. His primary teaching and research interests are in environmental planning and policy, with a special emphasis on coastal and natural hazards planning, environmental values and ethics, and biodiversity conservation. His books that explore these issues include "Biophilic Cities, Resilient Cities, and Blue Urbanism" (Island Press).

Dog's Best Friend
Simon Garfield
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
195 Broadway New York, New York 10007
www.harpercollins.com
www.blackstoneaudio.com
9780063052246, $26.99, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Best-Friend-Story-Unbreakable/dp/0063052245

Synopsis: Ludo is a dog and Simon Garfield's beloved black Labrador retriever, one of millions of canines who have become integral parts of our personal lives. But how did the dog become top dog? How did these faithful animals come to assist us not only in hunting, but in bomb disposal and cancer detection -- and ultimately become our closest companions? "Dog's Best Friend: The Story of an Unbreakable Bond" examines how this bond developed over the centuries, and how it has transformed countless lives, both human and canine.

Garfield begins with the earliest visual representations (dogs depicted in ancient rock art) and ends at the laboratory that first sequenced the canine genome. Along the way, we meet the legendary Corgis of Buckingham Palace, the dogs of the Soviet space program, the world's first labradoodle, and a border collie that can identify more than a thousand different plush toys. Garfield reveals the secrets of the world's best dog trainers, takes us inside the wild world of dog breeding and dog shows, and unearths the deep psychological roots of the human-dog link. And Ludo pops his snout in from time to time as well.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative read from cover to cover, "Dog's Best Friend: The Story of an Unbreakable Bond" is a history and celebration of a unique interspecies connection. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Pets/Wildlife collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of anyone who has or ever has had a canine companion of their own that "Dog's Best Friend: The Story of an Unbreakable Bond" is also readily available in a digital book format ($13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9781799945277, $34.99, CD).

Editorial Note: A recipient of the Somerset Maugham Award for nonfiction and currently residing in London, England, Simon Garfield is author of more than a dozen acclaimed books of nonfiction including Timekeepers, To the Letter, On the Map, and Just My Type.

Doggie Language
Lili Chin
https://www.doggielanguagebook.com
Summersdale
www.summersdale.com
c/o Octopus Books
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781787837010, $11.99

https://www.amazon.com/Doggie-Language-Lovers-Understanding-Friend/dp/1787837017

Doggie Language: A Dog Lover's Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend is the perfect gift for dog enthusiasts who need visual cues to understanding dog behaviors, and will make an exceptionally fine gift for those new dog owners who have little prior experience with dogs. Some 60 appealing line drawings accompany discussions of various body language indicators, from ears to posture and eyes. Visual cues pair nicely with easy discussions of what a dog may be thinking and feeling for a book that will appeal to all ages with simple at-a-glance images and language that lends to browsing and fun.

101 Rescue Puppies
Kathy Callahan
New World Library
www.newworldlibrary.com
9781608686568, $18.95

https://www.amazon.com/101-Rescue-Puppies-Familys-Fostering/dp/1608686566

101 Rescue Puppies: One Family's Story of Fostering Dogs, Love, and Trust comes from a family that has rescued over 100 puppies from shelters over the last decade. Their stories about these puppies forms the foundation for a photo exploration that charts the ups and downs of rescuing animals. From the happy ending that some experienced to learning how others became captivated over the puppy stories and saddened whenever a puppy didn't make it, readers interested in education, entertainment, and puppy rescue will find these stories of fostering are inspirational and involving. It's the perfect gift for anyone with an affection for dogs or rescue efforts.


The Human Sexuality Shelf

The Gingerbread Kama Sutra
Patti Paige
Kyle Books
c/o Octopus Books
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9780857839213, $9.99

https://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Kama-Sutra-mind-blowing-bakes/dp/0857839217

The Gingerbread Kama Sutra combines the Eastern sexual flavors of the kama sutra positions with fun baking templates which show how to apply cookies to a fun outline of bedroom pleasures. It's a whimsical cookbook that will bring interesting laughs and position examples, featuring twenty-five Kama Sutra positions, various gingerbread recipes, and tips for working with the templates included in the book. Readers who enjoy whimsical cooking will find this a fun sourcebook.


The Criminology Shelf

Requiem for a Female Serial Killer
Phyllis Chesler
World Encounter Institute
c/o New English Review Press
https://www.newenglishreview.org/New_English_Review_Press
9781943003426, $29.99, HC, 250pp

https://www.amazon.com/Requiem-Female-Serial-Phyllis-Chesler/dp/1943003424

Synopsis: "Requiem for a Female Serial Killer" by Phyllis Chesler (Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at City University of New York) is a true crime psychological thriller takes us inside the mind of a unique female serial killer, a prostitute who murdered seven adult men in a case with which the author was intimately involved. The issues raised by this high-profile criminal case remain unresolved to this day.

Women, even prostitutes, have the right to self-defense in theory, but in practice, the story is more complicated. "Requiem for a Female Serial Killer" will challenge everything you ever thought about prostitutes, serial killers, and justice in America.

Aileen Wuornos is a damaged soul, a genuine American outlaw, a symbol of women's rage, a symbol of what can happen to severely abused children, and of how our justice system fails women.

Professor Chesler's involvement with a serial killer has haunted her ever since. She speaks in Aileen Wuornos' voice, as well as in her own, and delivers an incisive, original, and dramatic portrait of a cognitively impaired, traumatized, and alcoholic woman who had endured so much pain in her short life. When she'd had enough, the results were deadly.

"Requiem for a Female Serial Killer" is a poignant, sometimes humorous, never-before-told behind-the-scenes tale. Wuornos' story is handled with great sensitivity, but also with realistic detachment by Professor Chesler as she probes the telling moment, the telling phrase. Was Wuornos suffering from post-traumatic stress after a life lived on a "killing field?" Was she also "born evil?" So many prostitutes have been torture-murdered by serial killers - how did Wuornos, once prey, become a predator?

Critique: A impressively seminal contribution to community, college, and university library Criminology collections, "Requiem for a Female Serial Killer" is an extraordinary story and one that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of criminology students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Requiem for a Female Serial Killer" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781943003433, $14.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


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Diane C. Donovan, Editor
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