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

Library Bookwatch

Volume 15, Number 4 April 2020 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Education Shelf Psychology Shelf General Fiction Shelf
Romantic Fiction Shelf Western Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Military Shelf
Art Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf American History Shelf
World History Shelf Civil War Shelf Literary Studies Shelf
Computer Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Agriculture Shelf
Technology Shelf Political Science Shelf Biography Shelf
Travel Shelf Parenting Shelf Library Science Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Anthropology Shelf Gardening Shelf
Architecture Shelf Music Shelf Audiobook Shelf
Library CD Shelf Martial Arts Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice


The Smartphone Society
Nicole Aschoff
Beacon Press
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.beacon.org
9780807061688, $25.95, HC, 216pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Our smartphones have brought digital technology into the most intimate spheres of life. It is now time to take control of them, repurposing them as pathways to a democratically designed and maintained digital commons that prioritizes people over profit.

Smartphones have appeared everywhere seemingly overnight: since the first iPhone was released, in 2007, the number of smartphone users has skyrocketed to over two billion. Smartphones have allowed users to connect worldwide in a way that was previously impossible, created communities across continents, and provided platforms for global justice movements. However, the rise of smartphones has led to corporations using consumers' personal data for profit, unmonitored surveillance, and digital monopolies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon that have garnered control over our social, political, and economic landscapes.

But people are using their smartphones to fight back. New modes of resistance are emerging, signaling the possibility that our pocket computers could be harnessed for the benefit of people, not profit. From helping to organize protests against the US-Mexico border wall through Twitter to being used to report police brutality through Facebook Live, smartphones open a door for collective change.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a fourteen page bibliography of Works Cited, fourteen pages of Notes, and an eleven page Index, "The Smartphone Society: Technology, Power, and Resistance in the New Gilded Age" is an extraordinary and seminal work of meticulous scholarship combined with insightful social/cultural commentary with respect to the impact of the 'SmartPhone' on the American public. "The Smartphone Society" is especially recommended for community, college, and university library collections in general, and supplemental curriculum studies lists for the Social Aspects of Technology, Computer Hacking, and the Politics of Privacy & Surveillance in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, social/political activists, and non-specialist general members with an interest in the subject that "The Smartphone Society" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).

Editorial Note: Nicole Aschoff is the editor at large at Jacobin magazine, where she writes about capitalism, technology, and labor. Her writing has also appeared in the Guardian, the Nation, Dissent, and Al Jazeera. Aschoff is also the author of The New Prophets of Capital, and she contributes frequently to podcasts, radio shows, and documentaries about corporate power. Aschoff received her PhD in sociology from Johns Hopkins University and previously taught at Boston University. She maintains a website at www.nicholeaschoff.com and can be contacted on Twitter (@NicoleAschoff).

Shakespeare's First Reader
Jason Scott-Warren
University of Pennsylvania Press
3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4112
www.upenn.edu/pennpress
9780812251456, $45.00, HC, 344pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The man known as Richard Stonley has all but vanished from history, but to his contemporaries he would have been an enviable figure. A clerk of the Exchequer for more than four decades under Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I, he rose from obscure origins to a life of opulence; his job, a secure bureaucratic post with a guaranteed income, was the kind of which many men dreamed. Vast sums of money passed through his hands, some of which he used to engage in money lending and land speculation. He also bought books, lots of them, amassing one of the largest libraries in early modern London.

In 1597, all of this was brought to a halt when Stonley, aged around seventy-seven, was incarcerated in the Fleet Prison, convicted of embezzling the spectacular sum of 13,000 British pounds from the Exchequer. His property was sold off, and an inventory was made of his house on Aldersgate Street. This provides our most detailed guide to his lost library. By chance, we also have three handwritten volumes of accounts, in which he earlier itemized his spending on food, clothing, travel, and books. It is here that we learn that on June 12, 1593, he bought "the Venus & Adhonay per Shakspere" -- the earliest known record of a purchase of Shakespeare's first publication.

In "Shakespeare's First Reader: The Paper Trails of Richard Stonley", Jason Scott-Warren (who is a Reader in Early Modern Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Gonville and Caius College) sets Stonley's journals and inventories of goods alongside a wealth of archival evidence to put his life and library back together again. He shows how Stonley's books were integral to the material worlds he inhabited and the social networks he formed with communities of merchants, printers, recusants, and spies.

Through a combination of book history and biography, "Shakespeare's First Reader" provides a compelling "bio-bibliography" -- the story of how one early modern gentleman lived in and through his library.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative study of meticulous, detailed, and documented scholarship, "Shakespeare's First Reader: The Paper Trails of Richard Stonley" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Literary Studies collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, dedicated bibliophiles, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Shakespeare's First Reader" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $42.50).


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The Public Relations Writer's Handbook
Whitney Lehmann
Routledge
711 - 3rd Avenue, Floor 8, New York, NY 10017-9209
www.routledge.com
9780815365297, $155.00, HC, 202pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: From pitches and press releases to news and feature stories to social media writing and more, "The Public Relations Writer's Handbook" is a new book by author and communications expert Whitney Lehmann, along with a handful of experienced contributors that breaks down the most widely used types of public relations writing needed to become a PR pro.

"The Public Relations Writer's Handbook" serves as a guide for those both in the classroom and in the field who want to learn, and master, the style and techniques of public relations writing. Eighteen conversational chapters provide an overview of the most popular forms of public relations writing, focusing on media relations, storytelling, writing for the web/social media, business and executive communications, event planning and more. Chapters include user-friendly writing templates, exercises and AP Style skill drills and training.

A dedicated eResource also supports the book, with writing templates and answer keys (for instructors) to the end-of-chapter exercises in the text. www.routledge.com/9780815365280.

Critique: Offering a complete and comprehensive instruction manual and guide, "The Public Relations Writer's Handbook" is particularly recommended to the addition of PR majors and/or PR practitioners. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections in general, and Public Relations curriculum supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Public Relations Writer's Handbook" is also readily available in a paperback edition ( 9780815365280, $64.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $61.70).

Editorial Note: Whitney Lehmann, Ph.D., APR, is an assistant professor of communication in the Department of Writing and Communication at Nova Southeastern University, USA. Her industry experience includes working for Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Miami International Airport, Barry University and the Miami Herald.

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

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

After several years of evaluating manuscripts, literary agent Elizabeth Kracht noticed that many submissions had similar problems, so she began to make a list of the pitfalls. "The Author's Checklist: An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript" is comprised of her short, easy-to-implement bites of advice, illustrated by inspiring (and cautionary) real-world examples. Most aspiring authors yearn for a friend in book publishing -- "The Author's Checklist" is just that!

Critique: A critically important instructional resource that should be considered essential reading for any writer (especially self-published authors) seeking publication of their work, "The Author's Checklist: An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript" is impressively well organized and thoroughly 'user friendly' in presentation. While especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Author's Checklist" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Exercises for Sciatica
William Smith, M.S., author
Wazim Buksh, MD, MPH, author
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578267880, $15.00, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Defined as back or leg pain caused by irritation to the sciatic nerve, sciatica is a debilitating and painful condition that is only growing more prevalent with time. As lifestyles become more and more sedentary, cases of sciatica become more common which is why a complete lifestyle overhaul, one which includes targeted exercise routines aimed at easing sciatica symptoms is required to help individuals with this condition live their lives pain-free.

"Exercises for Sciatica: A Simple and Effective Self-Care Program for Pain Relief and the Treatment of Sciatica" works as an integrated part of any sciatic or piriformis syndrome treatment plan, optimizing mobility, increasing strength and minimizing pain, while providing lifestyle tips to keep you motivated and moving forward.

"Exercises for Sciatica" also includes: A detailed overview of how exercise can relieve common sciatica symptoms; Clear, informative pictures of safe, effective exercises; Detailed instructions on how to perform each movement; Information on sciatica life-hacks for relaxation and motivation; A complete fitness approach to restoring health and functionality.

Featuring expert-approved fitness techniques, with options ranging from resistance training to mobility movements to light strength exercises, "Exercises for Sciatica" is the all-in-one resource for anyone looking to take back control and live their best life.

Critique: Expertly and profusely illustrated, "Exercises for Sciatica: A Simple and Effective Self-Care Program for Pain Relief and the Treatment of Sciatica" is an ideal DIY instruction manual and guide that is especially commended to the attention of the non-specialist general reader having to deal with Sciatica as a health issue for themselves or a loved one. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Health/Medicine collections, It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Exercises for Sciatica" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: William Smith, MS, NSCA, CSCS, MEPD, completed his B.S. in exercise science at Western Michigan University followed by a master's degree in education and a post-graduate program at Rutgers University. In 1993, Will began coaching triathletes and working with athletes and post-rehab clientele. He was a Division I Collegiate Strength Coach and has been competing in triathlons and marathons since 1998, recently finishing the Steelhead Half Ironman in Michigan in 5 hours and 22 minutes. Will founded Will Power and Fitness Associates and currently consults for fitness, healthcare, and wellness centers in New York and New Jersey.

Wazim Buksh, MD, MPH, CAQSM, is board certified in both sports medicine and internal medicine. He currently practices both specialties as the lead physician for Primary Care at Novartis, an Atlantic Health System's practice, in New Jersey. He has worked with the New York Jets and the athletic departments of Seton Hall and Drew Universities, respectively. In addition, he has provided sports coverage for a multitude of high schools in the New Jersey area. Dr. Buksh practices with a focus towards prevention.

Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout
National Academy of Medicine
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309495479, $75.00, PB, 334pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Patient-centered, high-quality health care relies on the well-being, health, and safety of health care clinicians. However, alarmingly high rates of clinician burnout in the United States are detrimental to the quality of care being provided, harmful to individuals in the workforce, and costly. It is important to take a systemic approach to address burnout that focuses on the structure, organization, and culture of health care.

"Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being" builds upon two groundbreaking reports from the past twenty years, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century, which both called attention to the issues around patient safety and quality of care. This report explores the extent, consequences, and contributing factors of clinician burnout and provides a framework for a systems approach to clinician burnout and professional well-being, a research agenda to advance clinician well-being, and recommendations for the field.

Critique: A timely and much needed study in view of today's pandemic threat to every medical resource in the country, "Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being" is an urgent and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university medical school library collections and would well served as a textbook for supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of medical students and practicing physicians that "Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $59.84).

Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nursing Practice
Molly Courtenay & Enrique Castro-Sanchez, editors
CABI
745 Atlantic Avenue, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
https://www.cabi.org
9781789242690, $32.95, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Drug-resistant infections are one of the greatest threats to human health, and with resistance on the rise, appropriate antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is more important than ever. This book, written by nurses for nurses, provides a clear and concise approach to good practice in this vital area.

Expertly compiled and co-edited by Molly Courtenay (Cardiff University) and Enrique Castro- Sanchez, (Imperial College, London) and exploring all aspects of AMS, "Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nursing Practice" is underpinned by a competency framework endorsed by scientific and professional societies, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It explains the practices that ensure optimal use of antibiotics for the best clinical outcome, with both minimal toxicity to the patient and minimal impact on subsequent antimicrobial resistance.

The first book that is applied directly to antimicrobial stewardship for nurses, supports standards of proficiency for registered nurses, and can therefore be used by regulators and professional bodies to inform standards of proficiency and guidance, "Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nursing Practice" covers infection prevention and control, antimicrobial resistance, diagnosis of infection and appropriate antimicrobial use, patient engagement, collaboration between professions and how to implement AMS in nursing practice. Including learning tools such as objectives, practical case studies and questions throughout, as well as lecture slides, this book is an essential read for undergraduate nursing students and specialist nurses worldwide.

Critique: An essential and core addition to college and university library Health/Medicine collections, and an ideal textbook for nursing school curriculums, "Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nursing Practice" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $31.12) for the personal reading lists of medical students, nurses, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.


The Education Shelf

What to Expect When You're Expected to Teach Gifted Students
Kari Lockhart
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
www.prufrock.com
9781618219077, $22.95, PB, 140pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "What to Expect When You're Expected to Teach Gifted Students: A Guide to the Celebrations, Surprises, Quirks, and Questions in Your First Year Teaching Gifted Learners" by Kari Lockhart is a practical, easy-to-read guide for classroom teachings that: Reviews expectations versus likely classroom realities that first-time gifted teachers may face; Includes real-world advice for navigating the joys, surprises, and frustrations; Addresses specific topics related to gifted education, including students' social-emotional needs: Includes considerations for choosing appropriate curricular materials and working with parents and families; Features ways to advocate for gifted and advanced programming and tips for continued professional learning.

In each individual chapter the reader will dive into issues that are frequently cited as challenges for new gifted teachers and emerge equipped with resources and strategies to build a successful classroom that meets the needs of high-ability students.

Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "What to Expect When You're Expected to Teach Gifted Students" by Kari Lockhart is especially recommended to the attention of classroom teachers who are new or inexperienced with respect to the education of gifted students K-12 -- and should be a core acquisition for school district, college, and university library Teacher Education & In-Service Training instructional reference collections.

Editorial Note: Kari Lockhart has served the public education system for 10 years in a variety of roles, including gifted and talented teacher, campus coordinator, and district coordinator. She has a master's degree in educational psychology, focusing on gifted education, and is now pursuing a doctoral degree in the field.

Classroom Talk for Social Change
Melissa Schieble, Amy Vetter, Kahdeidra Monet Martin
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
www.tcpress.com
9780807763490, $105.00, HC, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: With "Classroom Talk for Social Change: Critical Conversations in English Language Arts", classroom teachers can learn how to foster critical conversations in English language arts classrooms. This guide encourages teachers to engage students in noticing and discussing harmful discourses about race, gender, and other identities.

"Classroom Talk for Social Change" take readers through a framework that includes knowledge about power, a critical learner stance, critical pedagogies, critical talk moves, and vulnerability. The text features in-depth classroom examples from six secondary English language arts classrooms. Each chapter offers specific ways in which teachers can begin and sustain critical conversations with their students, including the creation of teacher inquiry groups that use transcript analysis as a learning tool.

"Classroom Talk for Social Change" features: Strategies that educators can use to facilitate conversations about critical issues; In-depth classroom examples of teachers doing this work with their students; Questions, activities, and resources that foster self-reflection; Tools for engaging in transcript analysis of classroom conversations: Suggestions for developing inquiry groups focused on critical conversations.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "Classroom Talk for Social Change: Critical Conversations in English Language Arts" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to school district, college, and university library Teacher Education collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for student teachers, classroom instructors, education administrators, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Classroom Talk for Social Change" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9780807763483, $34.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $34.95).

Editorial Note: Melissa Schieble is an associate professor of English education at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Amy Vetter is a professor in English education in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Kahdeidra Monet Martin is a presidential research fellow and doctoral candidate in Urban Education at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming
April Wells
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
www.prufrock.com
9781618218773, $24.95, PB, 150pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential" offers practical, research-based programming implementations to increase equity in gifted education.

"Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming" also: Helps educators understand diverse learners' identification and needs; Calls educators to act in response to the disproportionate participation of diverse students in gifted programs; Builds off of research on talent development, cultural awareness, and social justice in education; Tasks educators with exploring their own implicit and explicit biases; Asks educators to focus on culturally responsive teaching.

Each individual chapter poses an opportunity for educators to address under representation and their own understanding of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse learners. Under representation in gifted education can be addressed -- it does not have to go on in perpetuity.

Critique: Expertly organized and accessibly presented, "Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming: Dismantling Barriers and Tapping Potential" is an ideal instructional guide that would well serve as a curriculum textbook for school district in-service training programs, and is an essential, core addition to both college and university library Teacher Education collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Achieving Equity in Gifted Programming" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note: April Wells is a district administrator in the second largest school district in Illinois. She facilitated the comprehensive redesign of the district's gifted program. She believes advocacy is key to achieving equitable access for gifted learners.

The Principal Reboot
Jen Schwanke
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416628811, $29.95, PB, 172pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Today's school principals face unprecedented challenges that can overwhelm even the most dedicated among them. What can they do when their initial enthusiasm for the job begins to deflate, when the demands of the job seem to outnumber the rewards? How can they regain the energy that propelled them early in their career?

"The Principal Reboot: 8 Ways to Revitalize Your School Leadership" by Jen Schwanke answers these questions with specific advice on how to reignite passion in addressing the many aspects of the principalship, including: Defining a school's values and mission through rebranding; Strengthening relationships with staff, students, and community; Leading renewed efforts to improve instruction; Developing teacher leadership; Using data effectively and innovatively; and
Improving operational procedures and processes.

Sharing the wisdom gained from colleagues and her own experience as a principal, author and school administrator Jen Schwanke offers an engaging, accessible account of the ups and downs of the job, along with helpful, step-by-step suggestions for how to reinvigorate a flagging career and restore the joy that comes with making a school the best that it can be.

Critique: As thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is informed and informative, "The Principal Reboot: 8 Ways to Revitalize Your School Leadership" offers an extraordinary, practical, and effective instructional guide that should be required reading of all school administrators and a core addition to school district, college, and university library Education Administration collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Jen Schwanke has been an educator for more than 20 years, teaching or leading at all levels. She is the author of You're the Principal! Now What? Strategies and Solutions for New School Leaders, published by ASCD. She has written for Choice Literacy, Education Week Teacher, Principal, and Principal Navigator and presented at conferences for ASCD, as well as NAESP, Battelle for Kids, and various state and local education organizations. She has provided professional development to various districts in the areas of school climate, personnel, and instructional leadership. She is an instructor in educational administration at Miami University and has served on several state-level committees and workgroups focused on best practices in school leadership. She is currently a principal for the Dublin City School District in Dublin, Ohio.

Research in Special Education, third edition
Phillip D. Rumrill, Jr., Bryan G. Cook, & Nathan A. Stevenson
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
2600 South First Street, Springfield, IL 62704
http://www.ccthomas.com
9780398093167, $44.95, PB, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Now in a newly updated and expanded third edition, the primary purpose of "Research in Special Education: Designs, Methods, and Applications" is to offer a broad-based examination into the role of scientific inquiry in contemporary special education -- and to provide a comprehensive overview of the philosophical, ethical, methodological, and analytical fundamentals of social science and educational research.

Aspects of special education research that distinguish it from scientific inquiry in other fields of education and human services are specified. Foremost among these distinctions are the research beneficiaries children with disabilities, their parents, the special educators; availability of federal funds for research and demonstration projects that seek to improve educational outcomes; and the historical, philosophical, and legislative bases for the profession of special education.

This new third edition represents a revision of more than 30 percent with over 250 new references. Each individual chapter is thoroughly updated with new developments in research topics, designs, and methods that have emerged over the past decade in the field of special education. "Research in Special Education: Designs, Methods, and Applications" is a unique resource guide for graduate-level students, practitioners, teachers in the field of special education, disability studies, early intervention, school psychology, and child and family services.

Critique: With this updated and expanded third edition, "Research in Special Education: Designs, Methods, and Applications" continues to be an extraordinary and impressively informative volume that would well served as a curriculum textbook for Special Education coursework. The collective work of Phillip D. Rumrille, Jr. (Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky), Bryan G. Cook (Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education), and Nathan A. Stevenson (School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences, Kent State University), "Research in Special Education: Designs, Methods, and Applications" is an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university library Contemporary Education Issues collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Student Conduct Practice, second edition
Diane M. Waryold & James M. Lancaster, editors
Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781642671049, $125.00, HC, 312pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and considerably expanded second edition, "Student Conduct Practice: The Complete Guide for Student Affairs Professionals" maintains the objectives of the first edition originally published in 2008 to constitute a compendium of current best practices in the administration of student conduct, to summarize the latest thinking on key issues facing practitioners today, and to provide an overview of the role and status of conduct administrators within their institutions.

This text invites student conduct administrators to examine current programs and policies to ensure that the spaces that they create during interactions with students are spaces in which all students feel welcome and heard. As we strive to prepare students not only to be productive members of today's workforce, and more importantly to be good people and upright citizens, this text accentuates the delicate balance between responding to regulatory mandates and meeting the educational aims of student conduct. The aim is to offer those with an interest in student conduct and those professionals who are new or seasoned student conduct administrators with both a compendium of chapters on best practices and the background to grapple with the thought-provoking situations they will encounter.

In close collaboration with the leadership of the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) the editors identified the most pressing conduct issues on our campuses and practitioners and faculty who offer related expertise and a necessary diversity of voices.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a complete listing of the contributors and their credentials, "Student Conduct Practice: The Complete Guide for Student Affairs Professionals" is comprised of fifteen erudite and informative articles and a succinct conclusion. While especially recommended for college and university library Education Administration collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, teachers, administrators, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that this second edition of "Student Conduct Practice: The Complete Guide for Student Affairs Professionals" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781642671056, $37.50) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.99).

Editorial Note: Diane M. Waryold is also an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Psychological Counseling at Appalachian State University. Prior to this position, Dr. Waryold served as the Executive Director for The Center for Academic Integrity and Program Administrator for The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University in Durham, NC.

James M. Lancaster is currently an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Psychological Counseling at Appalachian State University. Prior to taking this position, Dr. Lancaster was Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.


The Psychology Shelf

Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents
Gene Carroccia, Psy.D.
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
2600 South First Street, Springfield, IL 62704
http://www.ccthomas.com
9780398093204, $53.95, PB, 388pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder of the neurodevelopmental type. It is characterized by difficulty paying attention, excessive activity and acting without regards to consequences, which are otherwise not appropriate for a person's age. Some individuals with ADHD also display difficulty regulating emotions. For a diagnosis, the symptoms should appear before a person is twelve years old, be present for more than six months, and cause problems in at least two settings (such as school, home, or recreational activities). In children, problems paying attention may result in poor school performance. Additionally there is an association with other mental disorders and substance misuse. Although it causes impairment, particularly in modern society, many people with ADHD can have sustained attention for tasks they find interesting or rewarding (known as hyperfocus).

"Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Diagnostic Screening System" is the ADHD diagnostic guide that assists clinicians to accurately conduct evidence-based ADHD evaluations, as well as identify and better understand the numerous other possible coexisting conditions that may present along with and worsen true ADHD, or cause ADHD-like presentations when ADHD does not exist.

"Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Diagnostic Screening System" diagnostic clinicians to: Confidently conduct ADHD evaluations; Identify conditions that coexist with, worsen, or mimic ADHD; Improve the accuracy of diagnosing ADHD and other conditions; Better understand and provide referrals for other suspected conditions.

"Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents" is deftly organized into three major sections:

Part One presents the 10-Step ADHDology Evaluation Model, which provides the steps to comprehensively evaluate ADHD.

Part Two presents numerous medical, sleep, psychological, trauma, neurodevelopmental, sensory processing, and fetal substance exposure conditions. These chapters describe the conditions in detail, how they coexist with or appear similar to ADHD, how to distinguish them from true ADHD, and how mental health clinicians and specialists can further evaluate and treat these disorders.

Part Three is composed of the Comprehensive Diagnostic ADHD Screening System (CDASS), a unique approach to improve the accuracy of evaluating ADHD by utilizing checklists to help identify: the risk factors associated with ADHD, the many possible conditions presented in Part 2 that may exist so these can be further considered and evaluated by specialists, and little-known and not typically considered conditions that can cause ADHD-like presentations.

Critique: Expertly written, organized and presented, "Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Diagnostic Screening System" is comprehensive and thoroughly detailed, making it an ideal curriculum textbook for ADHD diagnostic curriculums and an essential, core addition to college, university, and medical school library Psychology Testing & Measurement collections in general, and ADHD supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Editorial Note: Gene Carroccia is a licensed clinical psychologist and author who has extensive experience working with individuals with ADHD, as well as other conditions, including psychological trauma and maltreatment. For over twenty years, he has evaluated and treated hundreds of children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD. Dr. Carroccia works at a large not-for-profit health care system as a vice president of behavioral health care services. Previously, for many years, he supervised doctoral psychology interns and was the director of training of an accredited doctoral clinical psychology internship program. Dr. Carroccia is the author of two ADHDology books, Treating ADHD/ADD in Children and Adolescents: Solutions for Parents and Clinicians and Evaluating ADHD in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Diagnostic Screening System. He was also the editor of the clinical workbook Treating Sexual Abuse and Trauma with Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities, published by Charles C. Thomas.

Healing Childhood Trauma
Robin Marvel
Loving Healing Press
5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
www.lovinghealing.com
9781615994977, $26.95, HC, 106pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Post-traumatic stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, substance abuse, depression, a lack of confidence and many other mental and physical ailments may be a result of childhood trauma you have endured. Uncovering, accepting and healing this childhood trauma will allow you to let go of the pain, releasing yourself from the guilt, shame and self-destruction you have been living with. "Healing Childhood Trauma: Transforming Pain into Purpose with Post-Traumatic Growth" by Robin Marvel (who is a multi-published author and motivational speaker in the field of self development) will provide you with tools and strategies to heal your childhood trauma allowing you to live fully.

"Healing Childhood Trauma" pinpoints the areas of struggle in your life now that are a reflection of the childhood trauma you endured. It also: Tackles limitations by learning how childhood trauma can be healed and forgiven; Strategizes an effective plan that will take you from struggle to success; Reveals hands-on strategies and plans to heal, recover and let go of the limits imposed on your daily living due to childhood trauma.

Critique: Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, "Healing Childhood Trauma: Transforming Pain into Purpose with Post-Traumatic Growth" is ideal for non-specialist general readers having to deal with the aftermath of childhood trauma in their adult lives. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary Psychology & Counseling collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, practitioners, and anyone else with an interest in the subject over overcoming childhood trauma and personal emotional growth.

Healing the Heart
Christine Fonseca
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
www.prufrock.com
9781618218957, $17.95, PB, 200pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Trauma permeates America's families, and no one is immune to its impact. Natural disasters such as the current pandemic, community and institutional violence, adverse childhood experiences -- all of these kinds of events impact the developing brains and bodies of our youth.

Trained as an educational psychologist, Christine Fonseca is dedicated to helping children and adults connect with their personal truth. She is also an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction, a nationally recognized speaker, and an international consultant and coach.

In the pages of "Healing the Heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma" Christine: Provides parents with specific tools to help their trauma-impacted children; Combines the research on adverse childhood experiences and other traumatic events, positive psychology, and resilience: Is presented in an easy-to-read, conversational style; Uses evidence-based strategies, inspirational stories, and role-playing scenarios; Includes the information and tools needed to heal the negative impact of traumatic events.

With specific strategies to address diverse forms of trauma and diverse populations, "Healing the Heart" is an essential and must-read resource for any parent wanting to reestablish safety, increase resilience, and help heal the long-term impact of trauma their child is subject to.

Critique: Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, "Healing the Heart: Helping Your Child Thrive After Trauma" will prove to be a timely, welcome, and enduringly useful addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Parenting collections.


The General Fiction Shelf

Love, Death & Rare Books
Robert Hellenga
Delphinium Books
https://www.delphiniumbooks.com
9781883285852, $26.95, HC, 350pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Grandfather, father and son, Chas. Johnson & Sons has been a family operation for three generations. But when it comes time for Gabe Johnson to take the reins of the business, the world of books has changed, and the combination of the internet and inner city rents forces the bookstore to close.

But instead of folding his hand, Gabe decides to risk everything he has and reopen the shop (and in a sense restart his life) in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Haunted his entire life by an obsession with a former lover, he finds her again only to be faced with yet another even more difficult challenge that threatens the well-being of the revival of the bookstore as well as the fate of his rekindled relationship.

Critique: With the publication of "Love, Death & Rare Books", author Robert Hellenga once again demonstrates his effective narrative storytelling style and impressive flair as a novelist for originality and reader engagement. While certain to be an especially popular addition to community library Contemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Love, Death & Rare Books" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).

Salt the Snow
Carrie Callaghan
Amberjack Publishing
c/o Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781948705646, $24.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Salt the Snow" by novelist Carrie Callaghan is the story of the trailblazing and liberated Milly Bennett, an American journalist Milly Bennett who has covered murders in San Francisco, fires in Hawaii, and a civil war in China. But the Russian city of Moscow in the 1930s presents her greatest challenge yet.

When Milly's young Russian husband is suddenly arrested by the secret police, she tries to get him released. But his arrest reveals both painful secrets about her marriage and hard truths about the Soviet state she has been working to serve. Disillusioned, and pulled toward the front lines of a captivating new conflict, Milly must find a way to do the right thing for her husband, her conscience, and her heart.

Critique: Based on the life of one of the first female war correspondents whose work has been all but lost to history, "Salt The Snow" is an inherently interesting and impressively crafted novel that is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Salt The Snow" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.49).

Miss Austen
Gill Hornby
Flatiron Books
c/o Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.macmillan.com
9781250252203, $26.99, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister's reputation. Now in her sixties and increasingly frail, Cassandra goes to stay with the Fowles of Kintbury, family of her long-dead fiance, in search of a trove of Jane's letters. Dodging her hostess and a meddlesome housemaid, Cassandra eventually hunts down the letters and confronts the secrets they hold, secrets not only about Jane but about Cassandra herself. Will Cassandra bare the most private details of her life to the world, or commit her sister's legacy to the flames?

Critique: Residing in Kintbury, England, Gill Hornby is the author of the novels The Hive and All Together Now, as well as The Story of Jane Austen, a biography of Austen for young readers. In "Miss Austen" Hornby deftly movies back and forth between the vicarage and Cassandra's vibrant memories of her years with Jane, interwoven with Jane's brilliantly re-imagined lost letters. Exceptionally well written in a distinctively effective and narrative driven storytelling style, Hornby does full literary justice to one of literature's most enduringly popular novelists with the publication of "Miss Austen". While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Miss Austen" is also readily available in a digital book format ($13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Macmillan Audio, 9781250260598, $45.99, CD).

The Great Concert of the Night
Jonathan Buckley
New York Review of Books
435 Hudson Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10014
www.nybooks.com
9781681373959, $15.95, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: David has just spent New Year's Eve alone, watching Le Grand Concert de la Nuit, a film in which his former lover Imogen starred. In the early hours of the new year, consoled and tormented by her ethereal presence, he begins to write. What follows is a brilliantly various journal, chronicling a year in the life of a thinking man.

David works as a curator at the ailing Sanderson-Perceval Museum in southern England, whose small collection of porcelain, musical instruments, crystals, velvet mushrooms, and glass jellyfish is as eccentric and idiosyncratic as the long-dead collectors' tastes. David himself is a connoisseur of the derelict and non-utilitarian, of objects removed from the flow of time.

Refusing the imposed order of a straightforward chronology, his journal moves fluidly back and forth in time, filled with fragments of life remembered, imagined, and recorded, from memories of his past life with Imogen or with his ex-wife, Samantha, to reflections on the lives and relics of female saints or the history of medicine.

There are quotations from Seneca, Meister Eckhart, and the Goncourt brothers mixed in with the equally compelling imagined words of fictional film directors, actors, and, always, the fascinating Imogen, who is alive now only "in the perpetual present of the sentence."

"The Great Concert of the Night" by Jonathan Buckley expertly interweaves sexual despair, cultural critique, the plot lines of one man's quietly brilliant life, and the problems and paradoxes of writing, especially writing about and to the dead.

Critique: Showcasing the author's genuine flair for originality and a pitch-perfect narrative storytelling style, "The Great Concert Of The Night" by Jonathan Buckley is especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Great Concert Of The Night" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.79).


The Romantic Fiction Shelf

Duke In Danger
Fenella J. Miller
Linford Romance Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444843972, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 328pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Lady Helena Faulkner agrees to marry only if her indulgent parents can find a gentleman who fits her exacting requirements. Wild and unconventional, she has no desire for romance, but wants a friend who will let her live as she pleases. Lord Christopher Drake, known to Helena as Kit, her brother's best friend, needs a rich wife to support his mother and siblings. It could be the perfect arrangement. But when malign forces do their best to separate them, can Helena and Kit overcome the disasters and find true happiness?

Critique: Fenella J. Miller is a master of the historical romance genre and her latest novel, "Duke in Danger" is an expertly crated and extraordinarily entertaining read from first page to last. This large print edition of "Duke in Danger" is particularly recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated historical romance fans and community library Romance Fiction collections.

Love's Promise
Jean Robinson
Linford Romance Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444843996, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Having worked the cruising circuit a number of years ago, Hannah now steps on board as a passenger, hoping for a relaxing break from her hectic life as a single parent. It's great to see some familiar faces and catch up with old friends. What she didn't bargain for was meeting her ex, and the father of her young son Charlie, on that ship! Then there's the bad-tempered Claudia, who won't leave him alone... Is Nick still that reckless adventurer, or could love really be lovelier the second time around?

Critique: A thoroughly 'reader engaging' and exceptionally entertaining romance novel that showcases author Jean Robinson's impressive knack for originality in her storytelling, this large print paperback edition of "Love's Promise" is certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of all romance fans, as well as community library Romance Fiction collections.


The Western Fiction Shelf

Lonely Is The Hunter
Dale Graham
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841404, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When outlaw Caleb Ollinger and his gang stop in the New Mexico town of Carrizozo, a few drinks and a game of poker suddenly turn into a double killing. The gambler who was caught cheating matters little, but an innocent boy run down by Ollinger as he rode out of town was the son of New Mexico's territorial governor. Bounty hunter Chance Newcombe is hired to bring the killer in, though he hasn't reckoned on competition from an old comrade who's been promised amnesty for his past crimes if he secures the prize first.

Critique: A classic western novel of revenge, this large print edition of Dale Graham's "Lonely Is The Hunter" is a fully absorbing read from cover to cover and a 'must' for all dedicated western action/adventure fans -- and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to any and all community library Western Fiction collections.

Valeron's Range
Terrell L. Bowers
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444842357, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When Scarlet Valeron, poised to be married in Pueblo, Colorado, she is kidnapped and her betrothed killed by a ruthless gang of outlaws. A desperate call goes out to the extensive Valeron family. Brothers, cousins, and hired help unite in an effort to find her and bring her back. They learn Scarlet is on her way to Brimstone, a bandit stronghold of over a hundred outlaws. Most would look at the incredible odds and figure Scarlet was lost forever. The Valerons and a lady Pinkerton agent, however, see it as a matter of honor to get their kin back -- and settle the score, in blood if necessary!

Critique: Once again veteran western novelist Terrell L. Bowers has written an action packed western with all manner of unexpected plot twists and turns -- including a surprising showdown at the end. Simply stated, This large print edition of "Valeron's Range" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Revenge Burns Deep
Ethan Flagg
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444842722, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 248pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Army scout Green River Jim Claymaker's journey south is disrupted by a devastating prairie fire which claims the life of an old friend who has been scouting for a wagon train. The devious Ira Gemmel has his own reasons for preventing the wagon train from reaching New Mexico; so when he shoots the son of a Comanche chief, he puts the blame on Claymaker and the settlers. Claymaker's proficiency and courage are tested to the limit to bring the real perpetrator to justice and save the pioneers from the avenging Indians.

Critique: With more unexpected plot twists and cliff-hanger turns than a Disney Land roller coaster ride, "Revenge Burns Deep" by Ethan Flagg is western action/adventure at its very best. This large print edition from the Linford Western Library collection is especially recommended for the personal reading lists of all western novel enthusiasts and community library Western Fiction collections.

The Vigilance Committee War
Bill Sheehy
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444842395, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: A gang of vigilantes calling themselves the Vigilance Committee have gone on a lynching spree of rustlers and possibly non-rustlers who are just men in the wrong place at the wront time. This group of vigilantes are preventing part of the Indian Territory from becoming a state, and former Texas Rangers Buck Armstrong and Louie Lewis are being paid by local businesses and ranchers to bring them in -- when noone knows who they are! Making their job even more difficult is the fact that most of the area's ranchers don't care, or even approve of the hangings carried out by the Committee. When the Buck and Louie get too close to Committee members, Louie himself ends up at the end of a hangman's noose -- and things only get worse from there!

Critique: Combining a 'whodunnit' style mystery with a rousing western action novel, "The Vigilance Committee War" is a welcoming and entertaining treat for all dedicated western action/adventure buffs and will prove to be a cherished addition to any and all community library large print and/or Western Fiction collections.

Marshal Of The Barren Plains
I. J. Parnham
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444842753, $21.49, PB, Large Print, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When Marshal Rattigan Fletcher failed to stop Jasper Minx raiding the Ash Valley bank, he and his deputy Callan McBride were forced to leave in disgrace. In the town of Redemption, the pair are hired to find out why men from the Bleak Point silver mine have been disappearing - and when they discover that Jasper works there, they don't have to look far for a culprit. But as the miners side with Jasper, Rattigan will need all his instincts as a lawman if he is to bring his nemesis to justice.

Critique: Featuring and inherently riveting plot featuring many an unexpected twists and cliff hanger turns, "Marshal Of The Barren Plains" by I. J. Parnham is a superbly crafted and unrelentingly entertaining read from beginning to end. This large print edition from the Linford Western Library is an especially and highly recommended addition to the personal reading lists of all dedicated western action/adventure fans, as well as an enduringly popular inclusion to community library Western Fiction collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Death on the Page
Essie Lang
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
www.dreamscapeab.com/audiobooks
9781643852942, $26.99, HC, 330pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: There are a thousand stories arising from New York's scenic Thousand Islands, and when they are published, Bayside Books co-owner Shelby Cox tries to stock them all. But lately, the Blye Island bookseller's life is more about investigation than inventory. True-crime writer Savannah Page caps off two successful signings at Bayside Books with a night in Blye Castle. She's there to research Joe Cabana, a colorful Prohibition-era mobster who owned the castle -- until he was found dead in the island Grotto.

But crime becomes all too true for Savannah. Her body turns up the next morning, in a secret passage at the bottom of the stairs. The last thing Shelby Cox wants is to sleuth another murder, but she's intrigued about how a killer could have reached the island after hours. She's not at a lack for suspects either. It could have been anyone from Savannah's fiance, Liam Kennelly, who argued with her the evening before, to island caretaker Matthew Kessler, recently cleared of his wife's murder. Can Shelby keep regular store hours, elude the police chief, and assemble the clues into a hard-bound case without getting permanently shelved?

Critique: Another exquisitely crafted murder mystery by an author with a genuine flair for the genre, "Death on the Page" is the newest edition to novelist Essie Lang's 'A Castle Bookshop Mystery' series. Certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to any and all community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated mystery buffs that "Death on the Page" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781690590972, $19.99, CD).

Restless Coffins
M. P. Wright
Isis Large Print
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781785418235, $35.50, HC, Large Print, 452pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Bristol, 1967: JT Ellington, ex-cop and reluctant private eye, is still trading in favours, helping those scared of the police or trying to stay one step ahead of the law. But when news arrives of a tragedy that's unfolded thousands of miles away, life gets even tougher. He needs to journey home to Barbados to pay his final respects - but first he must travel to New York, where his cousin Vic is boss of a criminal empire. There, JT discovers a web of violence that stretches to Barbados and back, and connects him to the deaths of his own beloved wife and daughter. Embroiled in a world of drugs, corruption, voodoo and the legacy of slavery, can JT escape the demons of his past as he returns to the island of his birth?

Critique: Showcasing author M. P. Wright's impressive and narrative storytelling skills, this large print edition of "Restless Coffins" is a deftly crafted mystery lover's delight and an unreservedly recommended addition to both the personal reading lists of dedicated suspense/thriller fans and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

The K Team
David Rosenfelt
Minotaur Books
c/o St. Martin's Publishing Group
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.minotaurbooks.com
9781250257192, $27.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel, have recently retired from the police force. Not ready to give up the life yet, they come up with a proposal for fellow former cop, Laurie Carpenter, and her investigating partner, Marcus. Laurie and Marcus (who help out Laurie's lawyer husband Andy on cases) have been chafing to jump back into investigating on their own, so they are in.

They call themselves the K Team, in honor of Simon. Their first job as private investigators comes to them from Judge Henry Henderson, who's known as a very tough but fair judge, and they've all come up against him in court at one time or another. Though it's hard to believe, Judge Henderson is being blackmailed and extorted, and he doesn't want to involve the police -- he needs the K Team to figure out why.

Critique: David Rosenfelt is a master of the mystery/suspense genre and with "The K Team" he has launched a new and inherently entertaining series. While enthusiastically and unreservedly recommended for community library collections where it will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to their collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated mystery buffs and the growing legion of David Rosenfelt fans that "The K Team" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Macmillan Audio, 9781250260819, $29.99, CD).


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Glass Magician
Caroline Stevermer
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
120 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10271
www.tor-forge.com
9780765335043, $26.99, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In 1905 New York City the Vanderbilts, the Astors, and the Morgans are the cream of society -- and collectively they pretty much own the nation on the cusp of a new century.

Thalia Cutler doesn't have any of those family connections. What she does know is stage magic and she dazzles audiences with an act that takes your breath away. That is, until one night when a trick goes horribly awry. In surviving she discovers that she can shapeshift, and has the potential to take her place among the rich and powerful.

But first, she'll have to learn to control that power -- before the real monsters descend to feast!

Critique: A superbly crafted and thoroughly entertaining fantasy with many an unexpected plot twist and turn, "The Glass Magician" showcases author Caroline Stevermer's remarkable originality and storytelling skills as a novelist able to blend magic and romance. While very highly recommended, especially for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Glass Magician" is readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Cinematography for Directors
Jacqueline B. Frost
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932740, $35.95, PB, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Through interviews with current ASC cinematographers, and a balance between technical, aesthetic, and historical content, "Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration" by Jacqueline Frost guides the director into a powerful collaboration with their closest on-set ally. Topics include selecting a cinematographer, collectively discussing the script, choosing an appropriate visual style for a film, color palette, film and digital formats, lenses, camera movement, genres, and postproduction processes - including the digital intermediate (DI). Interwoven are quotes from working ASC cinematographers.

Critique: Impressively informed and informative, expertly written, organized and presented, "Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration" is ideal as a DIY cinematography curriculum textbook and instructional reference resource. Essential reading for anyone seeking to create a work of film regardless of the technology or format to be utilized, "Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Theatre/Cinema/TV collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Jacqueline Frost has been teaching the language of motion pictures (production, history, and cinematography) for thirty years at various universities. Currently a full professor at California State University, Fullerton, she is also an Adjunct Professor at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ. She has taught Cinematography for Directors at the UCLA extension program, and for three lucky summers taught documentary production in Florence, Italy, as part of the CSUF study-abroad program. Additionally, Jacqueline has been the cinematographer or producer on numerous short films, independent features, and documentaries that have screened at festivals around the world. She is a partner and freelance cinematographer at Corazon Pictures.


The Military Shelf

Designing the T-34
Peter Samsonov
Gallantry Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
c/o Casemate
www.casematepublishers.com
9781911658306, $19.99, PB, 90pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: When the German army launched Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union) on June 22, 1941, it was expecting to face and easily defeat Russia's outdated and obsolete tanks -- and for the most part it did. But it also received a nasty shock when it came up against the T-34.

With its powerful gun and sloped armour, the T-34 was more than a match for the best German tanks at that time and the Germans regarded it with awe. German Field Marshal von Kleist, who commanded the latter stages of Barbarossa, called it 'the finest tank in the world'. Using original wartime documents in "Designing the T-34: Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank" author and military historian Peter Samsonov, (who is the creator of the Tank Archives blog at https://www.tankarchives.ca/) expertly explains how the Soviets came to develop what was arguably the war's most revolutionary tank design.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Designing the T-34: Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank" is impressively and comprehensively informative -- making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated military buffs, as well as to community and academic library World War II military history and armaments collections and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists.

Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century
Leigh Nevill
Pen & Sword Books
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
9781473896130, $42.95, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Soldiers in today's modern armies have access to ever more advanced infantry weapons; lighter, more compact and more accurate than anything seen in the last century. These new battlefield weapons include combat pistols, personal assault rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, light machine guns and squad automatic weapons.

"Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century: Guns of the World's Armies" by Leigh Nevill features all these weapons and more in exhaustive detail. "Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century" features information drawn from the operational combat experience of the users in war zones such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. As well as assessing and comparing the potency of different nations weapon systems, "Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century" also looks to the future demands of the infantry man.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century: Guns of the World's Armies" is an extraordinarily detailed and impressively informative study that is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Military History & Armaments collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and dedicated military buffs that "Infantry Small Arms of the 21st Century: Guns of the World's Armies" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).

Editorial Note: Leigh Nevill is an Australian national who has written over a dozen titles on modern special operations forces, small arms, sniping, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has also professionally consulted on military topics for several wargame companies and television documentary makers. He maintains an informative website at www.leighneville.com

When The Tempest Gathers
Andrew Milburn
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526750556, $32.95, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War" is an account of the combat experiences of the first Marine to command a special operations task force, recounted against a backdrop of his journey from raw Second Lieutenant to seasoned Colonel and Task Force Commander; from leading Marines through the streets of Mogadishu, Baghdad, Fallujah and Mosul to directing multi-national special operations forces in a dauntingly complex fight against a formidable foe.

The journey culminates in the story's centerpiece: the fight against ISIS, in which the author is able to use the lessons of his harsh apprenticeship to lead the SOF task force under his command to hasten the Caliphate's eventual demise.

Milburn has an unusual background for a US Marine, and this is no ordinary war memoir. Very few personal accounts of war cover such a wide breadth of experience, or with so discerning a perspective. As Bing West comments: "His exceptional skill is telling each story of battle and then knitting them into a coherent whole. By the end of the book, the reader understands what happened on the ground in the wars against terrorists over the past twenty years."

Milburn tells his extraordinary story with self-effacing candor, describing openly his personal struggles with the isolation of command, post-combat trauma and family tragedy. And with the skill and insight of a natural story teller, he makes the reader experience what it's like to lead those who fight America's wars.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War" is a unique and especially recommended addition to the personal reading lists of all dedicated military history buffs and a core addition to community, college, and university library American Military History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Col. Andrew Milburn was born in Hong Kong and grew up in the United Kingdom where he attended St Paul's School and University College London. After graduating from law school, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps as a private. He was commissioned from the ranks, and as a Marine infantry and special operations officer, has commanded in combat at every grade. As the commanding officer of the Marine Corps' special operations regiment, he was selected to lead a multi-national task force given the mission of defeating ISIS in Iraq. He retired in 2019 as the Chief of Staff of Special Operations Command, Central (SOCCENT), the headquarters responsible for the conduct of all US special operations throughout the Middle East. He and his wife Jessica live in Tampa, Florida with their two children and a coterie of rescued dogs.

Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front: Volume II
Hans Heinz Rehfeldt
Greenhill Books
Pen & Sword Books
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
c/o Casemate
www.casematepublishers.com
9781784383657, $32.95, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Returning to his old unit, the grenade launcher, in May 1944, Hans Heinz Rehfeldt experienced the heavy defensive battles in Romania as a German army platoon commander and from August 1944 in East Prussia and Lithuania. After being transferred by ship from Memel to K”nigsberg in late 1944, he took part in the battles for Ostprussen in the winter of 1944/1945.

Constantly exposed to the attacks of Russian bombers and fighter planes and severely wounded by shrapnel on the leg, he manages, with the help of a Russian volunteer and a horse-drawn vehicle from Balga to Rosenberg, from there by ship transport via Pillau to Swinoujscie and by train to Schwerin.

Fleeing the impending Russian imprisonment to the west, he falls into American captivity on 3 May 1945 and is released in July 1945 in the home.

Critique: "Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front: Russia, Hungary, Lithuania, and the Battle for East Prussia" is the second volume of Hans Heinz Rehfeldt's World War II military memoirs. Ably translated into English by Geoffrey Brooks and featuring an informative Foreword by Gilberto Villahemosa and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library World War II History & Biography collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated military buffs that it is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99). Also very highly recommended is "Mortar Gunner on the Eastern Front: The Memoir of Dr Hans Rehfeldt. Volume 1: From the Moscow Winter Offensive to Operation Zitadelle" (9781784383619, $32.95 HC, $15.82 Kindle, 352pp).

Editorial Note: Dr Hans Heinz Rehfeldt was born on 21 April 1923 in Hagen/Westphalia. He left for the Front on 27 October 1941, at which point his story begins. He went on to receive several awards for valor in the face of extreme adversity. He went on to become a veterinarian following his studies of veterinary medicine. He died in 2017.

Special Forces Berlin
James Stejskal
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612004440, $32.95, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Highly classified until only recently, two U.S. Army Special Forces detachments were stationed far behind the Iron Curtain in West Berlin during the Cold War. The units' existence and missions were protected by cover stories, their operations were secret.

The massive armies of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies posed a huge threat to the nations of Western Europe. US military planners decided they needed a plan to slow the juggernaut they expected when and if a war began. The plan was Special Forces Berlin. The first 40 men who came to Berlin in mid-1956 were soon reinforced by 60 more and these 100 soldiers (and their successors) would stand ready to go to war at only two hours' notice, in a hostile area occupied by nearly one million Warsaw Pact forces, until 1990.

Their mission should hostilities commence was to wreak havoc behind enemy lines, and buy time for vastly outnumbered NATO forces to conduct a breakout from the city. In reality it was an ambitious and extremely dangerous mission, even suicidal. Highly trained and fluent in German, each man was allocated a specific area. They were skilled in clandestine operations, sabotage, intelligence tradecraft and able to act as independent operators, blending into the local population and working unseen in a city awash with spies looking for information on their every move.

Special Forces Berlin was a one of a kind unit that had no parallel. It left a legacy of a new type of soldier expert in unconventional warfare, one that was sought after for missions such as the attempted rescue of American hostages from Tehran in 1979. With the U.S. government officially acknowledging their existence in 2014, their incredible story is now being told in "Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956 - 1990" by James Stejskal.

Critique: An extraordinary and seminal study, "Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956 - 1990" is impressively informative, expertly organized and presented, making it a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Cold War era Intelligence & Espionage History collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956 - 1990" is also available in a paperback edition (9781612008431, $22.95), in a digital book format ($11.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781541458192, $29.99, CD).

Editorial Note: James Stejskal is an author, military historian, and conflict archaeologist. To gain inspiration and research his writings, he spent 35 years serving with the US Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency in such interesting places as Africa, Europe, the Balkans, the Near and Far East. He is also the author of numerous articles and the well-received book "The Horns of the Beast: The Swakop River Campaign and World War I in South-West Africa, 1914-15".

Taking Fire!
David L. Porter
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476680514, $29.95, PB, 182pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: As a first lieutenant in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army pilot David Porter was section leader in an Aerial Scout platoon in Vietnam. Their mission was to conduct reconnaissance in OH-6 aircraft (a.k.a. Light Observation Helicopter or "Loach") near the Cambodian border. Finding and engaging the enemy at low altitude in coordination with an AH-1 Cobra gunship circling above, these units developed a remarkable method of fighting the Viet Cong: Hunter-Killer Operations.

The tactic had great local success but died with the war. Few today are aware of the hazards these pilots faced during times of intense combat. Porter's vivid memoir recounts the internal workings of a legendary air cavalry troop, in-the-cockpit combat actions, and the men who were key players on this perilous battleground.

Critique: "Taking Fire! Memoir of an Aerial Scout in Vietnam" is an impressively informative, vividly written, inherently fascinating read from cover to cover -- making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library 20th Century American Military History collections in general, and Vietnam War supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Taking Fire! Memoir of an Aerial Scout in Vietnam" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).

Editorial Note: David L. Porter is a retired Regular Army Colonel with twenty-seven years' service as an Army Combat Arms officer. In addition to his year in Vietnam, he served multiple tours in the inter-zonal border between East and West Germany during the cold war. He also served tours in combat divisions, the Armor School, and various staff positions including the Pentagon. Upon retirement, he became the Director of Admissions at Colorado Technical University, in Colorado Springs, Colorado followed by a nineteen year career as a Government contractor. His contractor responsibilities focused on training American Soldiers at various locations throughout the United States and Germany.

Japan's Spy at Pearl Harbor
Taken Yoshikawa, author
Andrew Mitchell, translator
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476676999, $35.00, PB, 308pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Takeo Yoshikawa (1912-1993) was an ensign in the Imperial Japanese Navy and a naval intelligence officer assigned the task of spying on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

Assuming the alias "Morimura" and the role of secretary at the Japanese Consulate-General in Honolulu in March of 1941, Yoshikawa was able to travel all over the Hawaiian Islands to gather intelligence. His reporting during the nine months preceding the outbreak of the Pacific War would help pave the way for Japan's surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.

Yoshikawa's memoirs (published here in Andrew Mitchell's English translation for the first time) offer a gripping spy story, personal confessions, and a Japanese eyewitness view of the war in the Pacific.

Critique: A unique and unreservedly recommended addition to the growing library of World War II biographies and memoirs, "Japan's Spy at Pearl Harbor: Memoir of an Imperial Navy Secret Agent" is an important acquisition for community, college, and university library collections, and a 'must read' choice for the personal reading lists of all dedicated military history buffs.

Editorial Note: Takeo Yoshikawa was born in Matsuyama, Japan, in 1912 and was trained at the prestigious Etajima Naval Academy in the early 1930s.

From Omaha Beach to Nuremberg
Daniel Altman & Fawn Zwickel
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476679235, $29.95, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Sgt. Daniel Altman grew up in the Bronx, New York. He enlisted in the Army at 21 and served in the ETO. When he came state-side he integrated back into civilian life and repressed his memories of the war. "From Omaha Beach to Nuremberg: A Memoir of World War II Combat and the International Military Tribunal" is his personal memoir and history of what he experienced, what he saw, and what he now remembers with the assistance of his granddaughter Fawn Zwickel.

A tough Jewish kid from the Bronx, Dan Altman enlisted in the Army when the U.S. entered World War II. Adapting street smarts to soldiering, he became a skilled sharpshooter and attained the rank of sergeant in the 1st Infantry Division. On D-Day, Altman's unit was among the second wave to assault the German defenses at Normandy. Surviving the invasion, the fighting in the lethal hedgerow country, the Hurtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge, he was later assigned to gather information on the Nazi atrocities performed at the concentration camps for the trials at Nuremburg.

Critique: A simply riveting read from first page to last, "From Omaha Beach to Nuremberg: A Memoir of World War II Combat and the International Military Tribunal" is an invaluable and enduringly appreciated contribution to the every growing library of World War II Histories & Biographies. While unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "From Omaha Beach to Nuremberg: A Memoir of World War II Combat and the International Military Tribunal" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.59).

Attack at Chosin
Xiaobing Li
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806164991, $29.95, PB, 280pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: For members of the U.S. Army's "Task Force Faith" and the First Marine Division, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir is an epic story of survival, courage, and ingenuity. Their exploits are well known and woven into the storied histories of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Now, for the first time, "Attack at Chosin: The Chinese Second Offensive in Korea" recounts this battle from the Chinese perspective, describing the advance that forced General MacArthur to reorient his strategy, which not only marked a turning point in the Korean War but impacted events in Asia in ways that still resonate today.

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as the Chinese commanders foretold, determined the fate and length of the Korean War. Author Xiaobing Li describes the fighting that began on November 27, 1950, when 150,000 soldiers from the Chinese Ninth Army Group attacked the First Marines and elements of the 7th Infantry Division in the remote mountains of North Korea. It was a calculated attempt to repel MacArthur's "home-by-Christmas" offensive and to deter UN forces from further advances toward the Chinese border.

The fierce fighting that followed, combined with the bitter cold, made Chosin one of the deadliest battles of the war. By December 17, after suffering more than 40,000 casualties and failing to achieve their campaign objectives to destroy the American divisions, the Ninth Army Group was forced to withdraw. One day later, on December 18, 1950, the remaining survivors were recalled to China.

As the first book to explore the role of command and control, technology, and combat effectiveness from the point of view of the Chinese, and to examine cooperation and friction between Beijing and Pyongyang, "Attack at Chosin: The Chinese Second Offensive in Korea" sheds new light on the ultimate military success of the UN forces during the Korean conflict. Li also provides invaluable insights into Chinese military doctrine, strategy, and tactics that continue to influence foreign policy and American military institutions today.

Critique: Offering a unique perspective on a key battle of the Korean War, "Attack at Chosin: The Chinese Second Offensive in Korea" is an impressively informative contribution that is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library American Military History collections in general, and Korean War supplemental studies lists in particular. Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of an eighteen page Selected Bibliography, a fourteen page Glossary of Names and Terms, fifty pages of Notes, and an Index, it should be noted for students, military historians, and non-specialist general readers that "Attack at Chosin" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).

Editorial Note: Xiaobing Li is the Professor of History and Director of the Western Pacific Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma. He is the executive editor of the Chinese Historical Review and the author or coauthor of numerous books, including China's Battle for Korea: The 1951 Spring Offensive and The Cold War in East Asia.


The Art Shelf

Degas at the Opera
Henri Loyrett
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500023396, $60.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 - 27 September 1917) was a French artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings of ballerinas. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is especially identified with the subject of dance; more than half of his works depict dancers.

From his debut in the 1860s up to his final works after 1900, the Paris Opera formed a focal point of Edgar Degas's paintings. He explored the theater's various spaces (auditorium and stage, private boxes, foyers, and dance studios) and painted those who frequented them: dancers, singers, orchestral musicians, audience members, and subscribers watching from the wings. This theater presented a microcosm of infinite possibilities, allowing him to experiment with multiple points of view, contrasting lighting, motion, and the precision of movement.

A magnificently produced catalog "Degas at the Opera" by Henri Loyrette was created in concert with an exhibition at the Muse e d'Orsay in Paris, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, to consider the Paris Opera's influence on Degas as a whole by examining not only his passionate relationship with the house and his musical tastes, but also the infinite resources of the opera's marvelous toolbox.

Critique: Showcasing some 300 full color reproductions of Degas's work, and enhanced with the inclusion of insightful essays by leading curators and scholars Kimberly A. Jones, Leila Jarbouai, and Marine Kisiel, "Degas at the Opera" by Henri Loyrette (who is the former director of the Louvre Museum and former curator and director of the Muse e d'Orsay) is certain to be a much appreciated and enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Art History collections in general, and Edgar Degas supplemental studies lists in particular.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: A Guide to the Collections
Maureen Melton
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.mfa-publications.org
9780878468621, $24.95, PB, 440pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Now in a newly updated and expanded edition, "Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: A Guide to the Collections" by Maureen Melton is the definitive guide to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's most enduring masterpieces and provides an enticing, informative, beautifully illustrated introduction to a collection that circles the globe and spans thousands of years.

Featuring more than 500 works of art ranging from Native American ceramics to European silver, Egyptian funerary arts to Warhol silkscreens, and alongside world-renowned paintings and sculpture (all reproduced in vibrant color) "Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: A Guide to the Collections" is substantial guide that invites readers and visitors alike to experience the surprise, delight and inspiration offered by the collections of a major museum.

Critique: A beautifully composed and impressively informative guide to one of the nation's premier museum collections, "Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: A Guide to the Collections" is a pleasure to simply browse through and an essential, practical, and thoroughly 'user friendly' reference for getting the most out of a trip to Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity
Sandra Postel
Island Press
2000 M Street NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610917902, $35.00, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: We have disrupted the natural water cycle for centuries in an effort to control water for our own prosperity. Yet every year, recovery from droughts and floods costs billions of dollars, and we spend billions more on dams, diversions, levees, and other feats of engineering. These massive projects not only are risky financially and environmentally, they often threaten social and political stability. What if the answer was not further control of the water cycle, but repair and replenishment?

In "Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity", Sandra Postel takes her readers around the world to explore water projects that work with, rather than against, nature's rhythms. In New Mexico, forest rehabilitation is safeguarding drinking water; along the Mississippi River, farmers are planting cover crops to reduce polluted runoff; and in China, "sponge cities" are capturing rainwater to curb urban flooding.

Efforts like these will be essential as climate change disrupts both weather patterns and the models on which we base our infrastructure. We will be forced to adapt. The question is whether we will continue to fight the water cycle or recognize our place in it and take advantage of the inherent services nature offers. Water, Postel writes, is a gift, the source of life itself. How will we use this greatest of gifts?

Critique: An impressively informative and timely contribution to our national dialogue over water use and dealing with the stresses on our water systems because of Climate Change, "Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Hydrology & Water Environmental Issues collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, governmental policy makers, environmental activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781642830101, $26.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.49).

Editorial Note: Sandra Postel is the director of the Global Water Policy Project and co-creator of Change the Course, the national water stewardship initiative awarded the 2017 US Water Prize for restoring billions of gallons of water to depleted rivers and wetlands. From 2009-2015, she served as Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society. Postel is author of Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? and Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, the basis for a PBS documentary. Her work has appeared in Science, Natural History, and Best American Science and Nature Writing.


The American History Shelf

Enterprising Waters
Brad L. Utter
Excelsior Editions
c/o State University of New York Press
State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246-0001
www.sunypress.edu
9781438478265, $39.95, PB, 432pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: One of the largest public works projects in American history, the Erie Canal inspired a nationwide transportation revolution and directed the course of New York and American history. When completed in 1825, the engineering marvel unlocked the Western interior for trade and settlement, boomtowns sprang up along the canal's path, and New York City grew to be the nation's most powerful center of international trade. Millions of people poured into New York (and some through it) to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities provided by the canal, influencing settlement and the social, political, and commercial landscapes of America.

Produced in honor of the bicentennial of the beginning of construction of the canal, "Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York's Erie Canal" by Brad L. Utter (who is a Senior Historians and Curator at the New York State Museum) is a companion catalog to the New York State Museum's exhibition of the same name and includes reproductions of objects and images from the collections of more than thirty-five different institutions and individual lenders. It also contains reproductions of fifty-nine works of art used in the companion exhibition "Art of the Erie Canal." Themes of politics, engineering, commerce, life on the canal, and more are paired with full color images of artifacts, documents, and images to bring this unique American story to life, from its inception to today.

Critique: Profusely illustrated with captioned period photography throughout, "Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York's Erie Canal" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a two page Bibliography, two pages of Notes, and a fourteen page Index, making it an exceptional work that is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library American Transportation History collections in general, and Erie Canal history supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Enterprising Waters: The History and Art of New York's Erie Canal" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $36.22).

The Old West's First Power Couples
William R. Nester
Rio Nuevo Publishers
PO Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703
www.rionuevo.com
9781940322445, $24.95, PB, 344pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: A century and a half before the Kennedys and the Clintons, the Fremonts and the Custers were American power couples. John and Jessie Fremont and George and Libbie Custer pioneered that American cultural phenomenon. -- So what made the Fremonts and the Custers so famous?

Fremont mapped swaths of the West in five expeditions and helped lead America's conquest of California. He was nominated as the newborn Republican Party's presidential candidate in the 1856 election. During the Civil War, Custer was the boy-general who led cavalry charges that routed rebel forces in a score or more combats. He achieved immortality for his last stand with 262 of his men against thousands of Indian warriors during the battle of the Little Bighorn. But above all he and his wife helped spearhead Manifest Destiny, the belief that Americans have a God-given right to expand their nation across the continent and beyond to the ends of the earth.

Although little known today, their wives, Jessie and Libbie, were nearly as famous as their husbands. Each served as her husband's political muse, offering candid advice and spurring him to higher ambitions. They were vivacious women who loved entertaining and being the center of attention. They were also courageous and followed their husbands into the dangers of war, the frontier, and the wilderness.

Proudly backed by their wives, Fremont and Custer committed epic acts in epic times that brought them enormous fame. Yet eventually each self-destructed. The reason was simple but serious character flaws and hubris that made each man his own worst enemy. Becoming adored heroes at an early age warped each to believe that he could get away with anything. Once extolled as symbolizing America's greatest traits of courage, decisiveness, and ingenuity, with time John Fremont, George Custer, and, by extension their wives, have increasingly been reviled in later generations for representing imperialism, racism, and genocide.

"The Old West's First Power Couples: The Fremonts, the Custers, and Their Epic Quest for Manifest Destiny" by William Nester (who is a professor at St. John's University in New York and the author of numerous books on American national security, global politics, military history, and the nature of power) neither celebrates nor demonizes the Fremonts and the Custers. Instead each couple is explored as an extraordinary, gifted, flawed, unique individuals who were half of a unique matrimonial pair that made history and advanced America's Manifest Destiny -- for better or worse.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and absorbing read throughout, "The Old West's First Power Couples: The Fremonts, the Custers, and Their Epic Quest for Manifest Destiny" is an impressively well written work of meticulous scholarship, making it a unique and truly extraordinary contribution to personal, community, and academic library Western American History and 19th Century American Biography collections.


The World History Shelf

God's Viking: Harald Hardrada
Nic Fields
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781473823426, $44.95, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Harald Hardrada (c. 1015 - 25 September 1066) is perhaps best known as the inheritor of 'seven feet of English soil' in that year of fateful change, 1066, when he was defeated by the invading Normans under the leadership of William the Conqueror. But Stamford Bridge was just the terminal point of a warring career that spanned decades and continents.

Prior to forcibly occupying the Norwegian throne, Harald had an interesting (and lucrative) career in the Varangian Guard, and he remains unquestionably the most notable of all the Varangians who served the Byzantine emperors. In the latter employment he saw active service in the Aegean, Sicily, Italy, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine and Bulgaria, while in Constantinople he was the hired muscle behind a palace revolution.

A man of war, his reign in Norway was to be taken up with a wasteful, vicious and ultimately futile conflict against Denmark, a kingdom (like England) he believed was his to rule. "God's Viking" also follow Harald's life from Stiklestad, where aged fifteen he fought alongside his half-brother king Olaf, through his years as a mercenary in Russia and Byzantium, then back to Norway, ending with his death in battle in England.

Critique: An extraordinary and inherently interesting historical study of meticulously detailed and deftly written scholarship that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of three Appendices (Skald, Saga, Serpent Slayer, Son of Odinn; Mosfell Archaeological Project; He, Her, Hero, Heroine); a two page listing of Abbreviations; an eighteen page Bibliography; and a fourteen page Index, "God's Viking: Harald Hardrada" will prove to be a welcome addition to both community and academic library Medieval History collections in general, and Harald Hardrada supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, medieval history buffs, Viking history fans, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "God's Viking: Harald Hardrada" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the military, he went back to university and completed his doctorate in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director of the British School at Athens, then a lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh. He is now a freelance author and researcher based in southwest France, specializing in ancient military history.


The Civil War Shelf

Emotional Gettysburg: Paintings & Essays
Bruce E. Mowday, essayist
Karl J. Kuerner, artist
Regent Press
2747 Regent St., Berkeley, CA 94705
www.regentpress.net
9781587904820, $34.99, HC, 98pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In a series of historic vignettes that deftly combine the contemporary paintings of artist Karl J. Kuerner and the essays of Bruce E. Mowday explore the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg in a way never before depicted in the pages of "Emotional Gettysburg: Paintings & Essays".

For Karl, the spirit of art has spurred him to create a series of paintings that are peaceful and tranquil despite the death and destruction that took place here. Also, there are tears for those who sacrificed so much.

For Bruce, he calls upon his years of Civil War historical research to recount some of the heroic deeds of the conflict that threatened the very existence of the United States of America.

Ten of thousands of soldiers.... Ten of thousands of emotional stories each with a life of its own. So many stories will never be told, lost along with those who sacrificed their lives at Gettysburg during three days of July in 1863. What took place in Gettysburg, documented or not, forever will have profound meaning for Americans, a soul and a spirit.

Critique: A thoughtful, informative, beautifully enhanced, and moving volume, "Emotional Gettysburg: Paintings & Essays" is an extraordinary, unique, inherently fascinating, and unreservedly recommended contribution to personal, community, college, and university library American Civil War collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Editorial Note: Bruce Mowday is an award-winning journalist who was given the Local Author Hero Award by the West Chester, Pennsylvania, library during its 2008 Literacy Heroes event at Longwood Gardens. Bruce is also listed on the author's mural at the Chester County Library, Exton. Bruce has authored books on history, true crime, sports and business. Mowday gives talks on his books and also offers help to other authors on publishing issues, and maintains a web site at www.mowday.com

Karl Kuerner's artwork has been exhibited in Belgium, Nigeria, and Togo through the "Arts in Embassies" program, as well as at the Brandywine River Museum and Berman Museum at Ursinus College. Karl exhibited his Places to Go, Things to See series at West Chester University where he received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service. Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, Nebraska, plans to feature Karl's creations in 2020. Karl has been featured in many books and publications, recently appearing in PBS's American Masters Series documentary Wyeth. A well respected teacher of 38 years, Karl has carried the "Art Spirit" throughout his time. Those interested can visit the web site at www.karljkuerner.com to explore Karl's paintings, books, news and more.


The Literary Studies Shelf

All of the Belles
F. Scott Fitzgerald
NewSouth Books
105 South Court Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
www.newsouthbooks.com
9781588384232, $23.95, HC, 112pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: During his Roaring Twenties heyday, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote three stories about the belles of Tarleton, Georgia, a setting readers recognized as a thinly veiled version of his wife Zelda's hometown of Montgomery, Alabama.

Inspired by Fitzgerald's own belle, Zelda Sayre, whom he met in Montgomery while stationed at Camp Sheridan training for the Great War, these stories are minor masterpieces long regarded as the very best of the 160-plus short stories the writer published during his short life.

"All of the Belles: The Montgomery Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald" collects these stories("The Ice Palace," "The Jelly-Bean," and "The Last of the Belles") in a single volume for the very first time. This very special book is being released to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Scott and Zelda's marriage and in recognition of the many hundredth anniversaries of Fitzgerald's work which will be celebrated starting in 2020.

The heroines of these still remarkable tales rebel against Southern expectations of women, revel in the newfound freedoms young people enjoyed at the outset of the modern age, and ultimately discover that home is far harder to run away from than they ever expected. The stories capture all the winsome qualities that readers love about F. Scott's writing: the keen observation of manners, the comic insights, the lyricism, and the poignant, powerful sense of loss. The Jazz Age may have begun a century ago, but Fitzgerald's works remain among American literature's most powerful writing, as will become clear with a reading of "All of the Belles".

Critique: Simply stated, every personal, community, highschool, college and university library in the country should have a copy of "All of the Belles: The Montgomery Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald" in their American Literature collections in general, and F. Scott Fitzgerald literary curriculum studies reading lists in particular.

Editorial Note: Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896, F. Scott Fitzgerald first came to Alabama in the summer of 1918 as an Army lieutenant stationed at Camp Sheridan while training for the Great War. According to legend, that's where he met Montgomery belle Zelda Sayre at a country-club dance. The pair married on April 3, 1920 and, thanks to the success of Fitzgerald's debut novel (published eight days before the wedding) instantly became symbols of the Roaring Twenties. Over the next two decades, Fitzgerald published three more novels (including his masterpiece, The Great Gatsby) and 160-plus short stories. He died in 1940, having fallen out of public favor. Within a decade, however, readers and academia rediscovered his brilliance and he continues to be celebrated as one of America's greatest authors today.

Affect and Literature
Alex Houen, editor
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781108424516, $120.00, HC, 470pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Expertly and knowledgeably compiled and edited by Alex Houen, the twenty three articles and essays comprising "Affect and Literature" collectively considers how 'affect', the experience of feeling or emotion, has developed as a critical concept within literary studies in different periods and through a range of approaches.

Stretching from the classical to the contemporary, the first section of the book, 'Origins', considers the importance of particular areas of philosophy, theory, and criticism that have been important for conceptualizing affect and its relation to literature. "Affect and Literature" also includes ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, eighteenth-century aesthetics, Marxist theory, psychoanalysis, queer theory, and post-colonial theory.

The chapters of the second section, 'Developments', correspond to those of the previous section and build on their insights through readings of particular texts. The final 'Applications' section is focused on contemporary and future lines of enquiry, and revolves around a particular set of concerns: media and communications, capitalism, and an environment of affective relations that extend to ecology, social crisis, and war.

Critique: A seminal body of meticulous, informative, and deftly presented scholarship, "Affect and Literature" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library Literary Criticism & Theory collections and supplemental curriculum reading lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Affect and Literature" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $96.00).

Editorial Note: Alex Houen is author of Terrorism and Modern Literature (2002), and Powers of Possibility: Experimental American Writing since the 1960s (2012). His edited publications include: a special issue on 'Affects, Text, and Performativity' of Textual Practice (March/April 2011); and (with Jan-Melissa Schramm), Sacrifice and Modern War Literature: Battle of Waterloo to the War on Terror (2018). He also co-edits the international journal of poetry, Blackbox Manifold.


The Computer Shelf

A First Course in Network Science
Filippo Menczer, Santo Fortunato, Clayton A. Davis
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781108471138, $44.99, HC, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Networks are everywhere: networks of friends, transportation networks and the Web. Neurons in our brains and proteins within our bodies form networks that determine our intelligence and survival. "A First Course in Network Science" by the team of Filippo Menczer, Santo Fortunato, Clayton A. Davis (all from Indiana University, Bloomington) is modern, accessible textbook introduces the basics of network science for a wide range of job sectors from management to marketing, from biology to engineering, and from neuroscience to the social sciences.

Students will develop important, practical skills and learn to write code for using networks in their areas of interest - even as they are just learning to program with Python. Extensive sets of tutorials and homework problems provide plenty of hands-on practice and longer programming tutorials online further enhance students' programming skills. This intuitive and direct approach makes the book ideal for a first course, aimed at a wide audience without a strong background in mathematics or computing but with a desire to learn the fundamentals and applications of network science.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with two appendices (Python Tutorial & NetLogo Models), a ten page listing of References, and a two page Index, "A First Course in Network Science" is an impressively informative and expertly presented introduction to Network Science and an original, highly recommended addition to both college and university library Physics collections in general, and Mathematical Physics collections in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "A First Course in Network Science" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $21.99).


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Butterflies: Their Natural History and Diversity
Ronald Orenstein, author
Thomas Marent, photographer
Firefly Books Ltd.
www.fireflybooks.com
9780228102496, $24.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Butterflies: Their Natural History and Diversity" is a visual feast that informatively showcases a multitude of butterfly and moth species from around the globe. Here featured are some of the most colorful, spectacular and sometimes weird examples of the world's butterflies and moths. Vibrant color photographs and macro images by Thomas Marent complement the enlightening text written by zoologist Ronald Orenstein, who explains the scientific curiosities of these amazing insects. "Butterflies: Their Natural History and Diversity" makes clear how to differentiate between butterflies and moths; how caterpillars camouflage themselves; and how their feeding strategies and evolutionary adaptations help them prevail in the wild.

Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated with truly stunning photography, "Butterflies: Their Natural History and Diversity" is an impressively written, organized and presented natural history of the butterfly and their role in the ecosystems of earth. This coffee-table style volume (8.9 x 0.7 x 10.9 inches) is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, school and community library Pets/Wildlife collections in general, and supplemental Lepidoptera curriculum studies lists in particular.

Editorial Note: Ronald Orenstein is a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist who has written extensively on natural history issues. His most recent books are Ivory, Horn and Blood and Hummingbirds.

Thomas Marent is a wildlife photographer based in Switzerland. His previous books include Frog, Rainforest and Life in the Wild.


The Agriculture Shelf

Cucumber Mosaic Virus
Peter Palukaitis & Fernando Garcia-Arenal, editors
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
www.shopapspress.org
9780890546093, $255.89, HC, 380pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) has the broadest host range of any virus, and among the 1,000-plus host plants it affects are economically important food crops such as tomato, pepper, and lettuce. New species of host plants are being identified every year, mostly among weeds and ornamental plants as the latter become more popular. This is especially true in the developing world, where many plant species have not yet been surveyed.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Peter Palukaitis and Fernando Garcia-Arenal, "Cucumber Mosaic Virus" is the first collective study on the pathology and molecular biology of the virus, as well as CMV's exceptional ability to override host defense mechanisms (referred to as 'RNA silencing suppression') and evaluations of disease detection methods and management of strategies.

Critique: Drawing upon contributions from an international group of 29 experts that are exceptionally well organized and informatively presented, "Cucumber Mosaic Virus" is an ideal and authoritative reference that is unreservedly recommended for college and university library Gardening/Horticultural collections, as well as the supplemental curriculum studies reading lists for students, academia, and plant disease researchers.


The Technology Shelf

Structural Steel Design, third edition
Abi O. Aghayere & Jason Vigil
Mercury Learning
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781683923671, $99.95, HC, 900pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded third edition, "Structural Steel Design" by Abi O. Aghayere (who is a licensed professional engineer and a professor of structural engineering at Drexel University) and Jason Vigil (who is a consultant in Rochester, New York, and an adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology), is a simple, practical, and concise guide to structural steel design using the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) and the Allowable Strength Design (ASD) methods -- that equips engineering and architectural students with the necessary skills for designing real-world structures.

Civil, structural, and architectural engineering students intending to pursue careers in structural design and consulting engineering, and practicing structural engineers will find the text useful because of the holistic, project-based learning approach that bridges the gap between engineering education and professional practice. The design of each building component is presented in a way such that the reader can see how each element fits into the entire building design and construction process. Structural details and practical example exercises that realistically mirror what obtains in professional design practice are presented.

Critique: This new third edition of "Structural Steel Design" is comprised of updated content/example exercises that conform to the current codes (ASCE 7, ANSI/AISC 360-16, and IBC); Additional coverage to ASD and examples with ASD to parallel those that are done LRFD; Follows a holistic approach to structural steel design that considers the design of individual steel framing members in the context of a complete structure. Expertly written, organized and presented, "Structural Steel Design" is an ideal textbook for Architectural Materials, Metallurgy Materials Engineering, and Cvil Engineering curriculums, and an unreservedly recommended addition to college and university library collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students and academia that "Structural Steel Design" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $49.95).

Telecommunication Electronics
Dante Del Corso, et al.
Artech House
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
www.artechhouse.com
9781630817367, $179.00, HC, 260pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: All model parameters are fundamentally coupled together, so that directly measured individual parameters, although widely used and accepted, may initially only serve as good estimates. "Telecommunication Electronics" by the team of by Dante Del Corso, Vittorio Camarchia, Robert Quaglia, and Paolo Bardella is comprehensive resource presents all aspects concerning the modeling of semiconductor field-effect device parameters based on gallium-arsenide (GaAs) and generative adversarial network (GaN) technology.

Metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs), high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) and heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), their structures and functions, and existing transistor models are also classified. The Shockley model is presented in order to give insight into semiconductor field-effect transistor (FET) device physics and explain the relationship between geometric and material parameters and device performance. Extraction of trapping and thermal time constants is discussed.

Of special note is a section that is specifically devoted to standard nonlinear FET models applied to large-signal measurements, including static-/pulsed-DC and single-/two-tone stimulation. High power measurement setups for signal waveform measurement, wideband source-/load-pull measurement (including envelope source-/load pull) are also included, along with high-power intermodulation distortion (IMD) measurement setup (including envelope load-pull).

"Telecommunication Electronics" is the publication to cover of all aspects of semiconductor FET device modeling in a single volume.

Critique: Expertly written, organization and presented, "Telecommunication Electronics" is an ideal textbook for curriculum courses and unreservedly recommended for college, university library Telecommunications Technology collections and supplemental studies lists.

Editorial Note: Artech House provides today's professionals and students with books and software from the world's authorities in RF/microwave design, wireless communications, radar engineering, and electronic defense, GPS/GNSS, power engineering, computer security, and building technology. Artech House is a subsidiary of Horizon House Publications, Inc., publisher of Microwave Journal.


The Political Science Shelf

The Hidden History of the War on Voting
Thom Hartmann
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
1333 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland CA, 94612
www.bkconnection.com
9781523087785, $15.99, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In today's America, only a slim majority of people register to vote, and a large percentage of registered voters don't bother to show up: Donald Trump was elected by only 26 percent of eligible voters. Unfortunately, this is not a bug in our system, it's a feature.

In "The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back", Thom Hartmann unveils the strategies and tactics that conservative elites in this country have used, from the foundation of the Electoral College to the latest voter ID laws, to protect their interests by preventing "the wrong people" (such as the poor, women, and people of color) from voting while making it more convenient for the wealthy and white. But he also lays out a wide variety of simple, commonsense ways that we the people can fight back and reclaim our right to rule through the ballot box.

Critique: A timely and much needed contribution to our on-going national dialogue concerning voter suppression efforts by conservative right-wing political establishments, "The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back" should be a part of every community, college, and university library collection in the country. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host. Talkers Magazine named him America's #1 most important progressive host and the host of one of the top 10 talk radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. A four-time recipient of the Project Censored Award, Hartmann is also a New York Times bestselling author of thirty-two books, translated into multiple languages.

A Short History of Presidential Election Crises
Alan Hirsch
City Lights Publishers
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
www.citylights.com
9780872868298, $16.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In 2000, the American public learned that an exceptionally close presidential election can produce chaos, because we have no reliable Constitutional mechanism for resolving disputes.

Since 2016, we have learned that foreign countries such as Russia and North Korea (and perhaps other malevolent actors) have been covertly attacking U.S. election systems. In the age of hacking, our elections are more vulnerable than ever, and yet we have failed to adequately prepare for all possible scenarios. It is time for us to think about how we can prevent and/or deal with disaster before it strikes.

In "A Short History of Presidential Election Crises: And How to Prevent the Next One", constitutional scholar Alan Hirsch addresses these issues with urgency and precision. He presents a concise history of presidential elections that resulted in crises and advocates clear, common-sense solutions, including abolishing the Electoral College and the creation of a permanent, non-partisan Presidential Election Review Board to prevent or remedy future crises.

Critique: In our present era of social media based misinformation, Russian troll bots, and a president who is an infamously compulsive, pathological liar of things both significant and insignificant, "A Short History of Presidential Election Crises: And How to Prevent the Next One" is an impressively timely (given the 2020 Presidential election cycle) and seminal work of meticulous and informative scholarship that should be considered as an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Political Science collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "A Short History of Presidential Election Crises" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99).

Editorial Note: Alan Hirsch, is the Instructor in the Humanities and Chair of the Justice and Law Studies program at Williams College, is the author of a number of books including Impeaching the President: Past, Present, and Future (City Lights) and For the People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights (Free Press) (coauthored with Akhil Amar). He received a J.D. from Yale Law School and B.A. from Amherst College. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Newsday, and the Village Voice. Hirsch also serves as a trial consultant and expert witness on interrogations and criminal confessions, testifying around the nation.

Beyond Populism
Jeff Maskovsky & Sophie Bjork-James
West Virginia University Press
1535 Mileground, Morgantown, WV 26506
www.wvupressonline.com
9781949199451, $99.99, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Across the world, politics is lurching to the right, ethnic nationalism is on the rise, and people are furious. In "Beyond Populism: Angry Politics and the Twilight of Neoliberalism", the team of Jeff Maskovsky (Professor of Anthropology and Professor of Urban Studies at Queens College, City University of New York) and Sophie Bjork-James (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University) collaborate to compile and edited a number of essays that collectively examine the new destructive projects of resentment that have surfaced in the political spaces opened by neoliberalism's failures, particularly since the financial collapse of 2008.

"Beyond Populism" contextualizes the recent history of the Global North (notably Brexit and the Trump election) among wider comparative politics, with chapters on India, Colombia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and other parts of the globe marked by populist insurgencies.

The essays collected here explore how global, regional, national, and local structures of power produce angry politics. They go beyond conventional academic debates about populism to explore the different kinds of anger that shape politics today and to make legible the multiplicity of forces, antagonisms, conflicts, and emergent political forms that mark the present.

By examining the politics of anger, "Beyond Populism" also considers what is needed to transform anger from a reactionary to an emancipatory force.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with a complete listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a seven page Index, "Beyond Populism: Angry Politics and the Twilight of Neoliberalism" is an extraordinary and timely contribution to both community and academic library Contemporary International Political Science collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should be noted for students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Beyond Populism" is also readily available in a paperback edition, (9781949199468,$26.99).


The Biography Shelf

Lost in Ghost Town
Carder Stout
Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190
www.hcibooks.com
9780757323546, $16.95, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Lost in Ghost Town" by psychologist to the Hollywood elite Dr. Carder Stout is a page-turning memoir about his fall from grace into the gritty underbelly of crack addiction, running drugs for the Shoreline Crips, surviving homelessness, escaping a murder plot, and finding redemption in the most unlikely of places.

Dr. Carder Stout's clientele includes Oscar-, Golden Globe-, Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy winners, bestselling authors, and billionaires. He may not be able to share their dark secrets, but for the first time, everyone will know his.

At the age of thirty-four, Carder would have gladly pawned the silver spoon he was born choking on for a rock of crack. His downfall was as swift as his privilege was vast -- or had he been falling all along?

Raised in a Georgetown mansion and educated at exclusive institutions, Carder ran with a crowd of movers, shakers, and future Oscar-winners in New York City. But words like "promise" and "potential" are meaningless in the face of serious addiction. Lost years and a stint in rehab later, when Carder was a dirty, broke, soon-to-be-homeless crackhead wandering the streets of Venice, California. His lucky break came thanks to his old Ford Taurus: he lands a job of driving for a philosophical drug czar with whom he finds friendship and self-worth as he helps deliver quality product to LA's drug enthusiasts, from trust-fund kids, gang affiliates, trophy wives, hip-hop producers, and Russian pimps. But even his loyalty and protection can't save Carder from the peril of the streets--or the eventual contract on his life.

From a youth of affluence to the hit the Shoreline Crips put on his life, Carder delves deep into life on the streets.

Critique: Incredibly candid, impressively well written, inherently fascinating, "Lost in Ghost Town: A Memoir of Addiction, Redemption, and Hope in Unlikely Places" is an insightfully informative study of "the power of addiction, the beauty of redemption, and finding truth somewhere in between". An extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Contemporary American Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Lost in Ghost Town" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).


The Travel Shelf

The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad
Emily Thomas
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
www.oup.com/us
9780198835400, $18.95, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: How can we think more deeply about our travels? This was the question that inspired Emily Thomas' journey into the philosophy of travel.

Part philosophical ramble, part travelogue, "The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad" begins in the Age of Discovery, when philosophers first started taking travel seriously. It meanders forward to consider Montaigne on otherness, John Locke on cannibals, and Henry Thoreau on wilderness.

On our armchair travels with Emily Thomas as we page through "The Meaning of Travel", we discover the dark side of maps, how the philosophy of space fuelled mountain tourism, and why you should wash underwear in woodland cabins. We also confront profound issues, such as the ethics of 'doom tourism' (travel to 'doomed' glaciers and coral reefs), and the effect of space travel on human significance in a leviathan universe.

The first ever exploration of the places where history and philosophy meet, "The Meaning of Travel" will reshape our understanding of travel in unexpected and often surprising ways.

Critique: A kind of 'philosophy meets travelogue' study, "The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad" is a unique and extraordinary read that is as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Enhanced with occasional illustrations, "The Meaning of Travel" is a meticulous work of engaging scholarship that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, fourteen pages of Notes, and an eight page Index. While an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Travel & Philosophy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Meaning of Travel" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).

The Family Travel Handbook
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781788689151, $17.99, PB, 168pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Full of practical advice, ideas and inspiration from Lonely Planet's parents to you, "The Family Travel Handbook" is an essential guide offers a wealth of amazing travel experiences around the world, as well as cogent advice and commentary on how to plan and enjoy them with the family.

Also included is a section of recommendations on the best places to go, whatever sort of trip is being planned for the family ranging from the top five places for infants, toddlers, tweens and teenagers, and the top five budget destinations, to favorite family-friendly cruises, wildlife-spotting adventures and beach holidays.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, expertly organized and thoroughly 'user friendly' in presentation, "The Family Travel Handbook" is certain to be an immediate and invaluable addition to family and community library Contemporary Travel Guide collections. It should be noted for personal use that "The Family Travel Handbook" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.82).


The Parenting Shelf

Parenting Made Simple
Dr. Sarah Huges
EK Books
c/o Exisle Publishing
www.exislepublishing.com.au
c/o The Quarto Group (dist.)
www.quartoknows.com
9781925820324, $19.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Parenting Made Simple: Straightforward, Practical Strategies for Common Childhood Challenges" is a practical, easy-to-implement guide in which specialist child psychologist Sarah Hughes gives parents the tools they will need for every age and stage of their child's development.

"Parenting Made Simple" focuses on six key areas that include: Challenging behavior; Emotions and tantrums; Confidence; Social skills and friendships; Anxiety; Parenting well through separation and divorce.

Parents will learn all the do's and don'ts, and discover effective techniques for raising well-adjusted children because Dr Hughes uses real-world examples and scenarios to delve deep into the emotional and behavioural development of children, including rooting out just why kids can't always behave well (hint: because their brains haven't finished developing yet).

Critique: A thoroughly 'user friendly' compendium showcasing a commonsense and effective approach that all parents can benefit from, "Parenting Made Simple: Straightforward, Practical Strategies for Common Childhood Challenges" fully lives up to the promise of its title and is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary Parenting instructional reference collections.

Editorial Note: Sarah Hughes is a clinical psychologist and the founder and director of Think Clinical Psychologists. She completed her clinical training at the University of Sydney and holds a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a PhD in child and adolescent anxiety disorders. She has a decade's worth of experience working with kids, teens, adults, and families experiencing a wide range of difficulties, including: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and relationship issues. Sarah is also the author of the successful self-help guides, Skip the Drama: Practical, Get-Ahead Strategies to Survive Your Daughter's Teenage Years (Exisle) and Parenting Made Simple (Exisle), and regularly appears on Channel 7's The Morning Show as their parenting expert.


The Library Science Shelf

Cultivating Civility
Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, Richard Moniz
ALA Editions
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838947166, $59.99, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Like other workplaces, libraries can sometimes be stressful, with library workers bearing the brunt of such problems as uncivil patrons, poor communication, inadequate leadership, and toxic behaviors by fellow employees. In "Cultivating Civility: Practical Ways to Improve a Dysfunctional Library, librarians Jo Henry, Joe Eshleman, and Richard Moniz present proactive solutions and guidance culled from their own research, including interviews with library administrators and staff. Sharing their valuable insights that will stimulate thought and discussion towards the goal of a healthier and more harmonious workplace.

"Cultivating Civility": Addresses the subject from four viewpoints (individual, team, leader, and organization) focusing on solutions and practical steps in each area; Shows how self-reflection and self-awareness can be key starting points for exploring workplace issues; Offers numerous suggestions for wellness and self-care; Provides tips for improving interpersonal communication and conversations in ways that prevent silos and span boundaries; Sheds light on forming and sustaining cohesive library teams, then provides solutions for misaligned teams and dissenters; Discusses why effectively conveying vision, role modeling, and demonstrating empathy are all crucial behaviors of library leaders; Shares actions library leaders can take to engage employees in the change process; Examines how organizational structures can either detract or contribute to a library's success; Details types of training that can be utilized to minimize dysfunction, including training for bias, empathy, conflict management, and diversity.

Critique: An expertly organized and presented compendium of beneficial and 'real world practical' advice, "Cultivating Civility: Practical Ways to Improve a Dysfunctional Library" is very strongly recommended resource that will help public, academic, corporate, and governmental libraries to be better workplaces for library staff, administrators, and ultimately the library patrons. Simply stated, "Cultivating Civility: Practical Ways to Improve a Dysfunctional Library" should be considered mandatory reading by all librarians, an ideal textbook for Library Science curriculums and in-service training programs, as well as a core addition to college and university library collections.

Editorial Note: Jo Henry is reference and instruction librarian at the Horry- Georgetown Technical College Library (Georgetown Campus), South Carolina. Previously she was a librarian at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and the information services librarian at South Piedmont Community College. She obtained her MLIS from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a master's degree in public administration from Georgia Southern University. She has coauthored four books: Fundamentals for the Academic Liaison (2014), The Personal Librarian: Enhancing the Student Experience (2014), The Mindful Librarian (2016), and The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships (2017). Henry has presented at numerous library conferences and has co-facilitated library workshops (alongside Richard Moniz and Joe Eshleman) both online and in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Joe Eshleman is senior librarian at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was previously the instruction librarian at the Johnson & Wales University Library - Charlotte from 2008 to 2015 and was head librarian for two years at the JWU Providence library. He received his MLIS degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2007. He has completed the Association of College & Research Libraries' Immersion Program, an intensive program of training and education for instruction librarians. Eshleman is a coauthor of Fundamentals for the Academic Liaison (2014), The Mindful Librarian (2016), and The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships (2017). He is also a coauthor of Librarians and Instructional Designers: Innovation and Collaboration (2016) and a contributor to The Personal Librarian: Enhancing the Student Experience (2014). He has presented at numerous conferences on instructional librarianship and other topics.

Dr. Richard Moniz is the director of library services at the Horry-Georgetown Technical College, which has campuses in Conway, Georgetown, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He previously served as the director of library services for Johnson & Wales University's North Miami campus from 1997 to 2004 and was director of library services for Johnson & Wales University's Charlotte campus from 2004 to 2018. He is also an adjunct instructor for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's LIS program. In addition to publishing numerous articles, Moniz is the sole author of the textbook Practical and Effective Management of Libraries (2010) and the coauthor or coeditor of six other books: Fundamentals for the Academic Liaison (2014), The Personal Librarian: Enhancing the Student Experience (2014), The Mindful Librarian (2016), Librarians and Instructional Designers: Innovation and Collaboration (2016), The Dysfunctional Library: Challenges and Solutions to Workplace Relationships (2017), and Recipes for Mindfulness in Your Library (2019).


The Money/Finance Shelf

Find More Money
Art Rainer
B&H Publishing Group
1 LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234
www.bhpublishinggroup.com
9781535971072, $17.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: What do you do when cutting your budget is no longer effective in managing your expenses? From pastors in the pulpit to people in the pews, many people have cut and cut, but still find themselves struggling to pay the bills. Their full-time job is giving them barely enough to get by; how could they even begin to think about eliminating debt, saving, and living generously?

In "Find More Money: Increase Your Income to Tackle Debt, Save Wisely, and Live Generously", financial expert and author Art Rainer helps answer these questions by pointing readers to the reality of the gig economy. When a full-time job doesn't provide what you need, finding a "gig" may be the answer to your problems.

"Find More Money" is not just about financial stewardship, but about stewarding your talents, time, and abilities -- not so you can get rich, but so you can live generously on mission for the kingdom.

Critique: Taking a Christian and professional perspective to money management, dealing with debt, and effectively handling financial issues, "Find More Money: Increase Your Income to Tackle Debt, Save Wisely, and Live Generously" is impressively 'user friendly' in organization and presentation. While very highly recommended for community and academic library Money Management & Finance collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that Find More Money: Increase Your Income to Tackle Debt, Save Wisely, and Live Generously" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.55).

Editorial Note: Art Rainer is the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University and an MBA from the University of Kentucky. He writes widely about issues related to finance, wealth, and generosity, and is the author of The Money Challenge: 30 Days of Discovering God's Design for You and Your Money, and The Marriage Challenge: A Finance Guide for Married Couples.

Women With Money
Jean Chatzky
Grand Central Publishing
c/o Hachette Book Group
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
www.hachettebookgroup.com
9781538745380, $28.00, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Ask successful women what they want from their money and they'll tell you: independence, security, choices, a better world, and way less stress -- not just for themselves but for their kids, partners, parents, and friends. Through a series of HerMoney Happy Hour discussions (when money is the topic, wine helps) and one-on-one conversations, Jean Chatzky gets women to open up about the one topic we still never talk about. Then she flips the script and charts a pathway to this joyful, purpose-filled life that today's women not only want, but also, finally, have the resources to afford.

Through Chatzky's candid three-part plan was formed through detailed reporting with the world's top economists, psychiatrists, behaviorists, financial planners, and attorneys, as well as her own two decades of experience in the field, In "Women with Money" her readers will learn to: Explore their relationships with money; Take control of their money; Use their money to create the lives they want.

"Women With Money" shows readers how to wrap their hands around tactical solutions to get paid what they deserve, become inspired to start businesses, invest for tomorrow, make their money last, and then use that money to foster secure relationships, raise independent and confident children, send those kids to college, care for their aging parents, leave a legacy, and bring them joy!

Critique: A complete, comprehensive, and thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction guide and manual for women with respect to managing their finances, "Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and, Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Money/Finance budgeting and investment collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Women with Money" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781538745397, $17.99), in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (9781478995913, $35.00, CD).

Editorial Note: Jean Chatzky launched HerMoney Media and HerMoney.com in 2018 to provide women with information about money they can actually trust. The award-winning financial editor of NBC Today, Jean has also appeared on shows including Oprah, MSNBC, CNN, The View, The Talk and many others. Millions have tuned into her podcast, HerMoney with Jean Chatzky which has received shoutouts from The New York Times, Yahoo Finance and Refinery29. The best-selling author of 11 books and an in-demand motivational speaker, Jean is also AARP's Financial Ambassador and a fierce advocate for financial literacy. In 2015, she partnered with the PwC Charitable Foundation and Time for Kids to launch Your $, an in-school magazine that reaches 2 million schoolchildren each month.


The Anthropology Shelf

Anthropology and Radical Humanism
Jack Glazier
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
http://msupress.org
9781611863505, $45.95, HC, 260pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: Paul Radin, famed ethnographer of the Winnebago, joined Fisk University in the late 1920s. During his three-year appointment, he and graduate student Andrew Polk Watson collected autobiographies and religious conversion narratives from elderly African Americans. Their texts represent the first systematic record of slavery as told by former slaves.

That innovative, subject-centered research complemented like-minded scholarship by African American historians reacting against the disparaging portrayals of black people by white historians. Radin's manuscript focusing on this research was never published.

Utilizing the Fisk archives, the unpublished manuscript, and other archival and published sources, "Anthropology and Radical Humanism" revisits the Radin-Watson collection and allied research at Fisk. Radin regarded each narrative as the unimpeachable self-representation of a unique, thoughtful individual, precisely the perspective marking his earlier Winnebago work.

As a radical humanist within Boasian anthropology, Radin was an outspoken critic of racial explanations of human affairs then pervading not only popular thinking but also historical and sociological scholarship. His research among African Americans and Native Americans thus places him in the vanguard of the anti-racist scholarship marking American anthropology.

In "Anthropology and Radical Humanism: Native and African American Narratives and the Myth of Race", Jack Glazier (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Oberlin College) sets Paul Radin's findings within the broader context of his discipline, African American culture, and his career-defining work among the Winnebago.

Critique: A meticulous work of detailed scholarship, "Anthropology and Radical Humanism: Native and African American Narratives and the Myth of Race" by Professor Jack Glazier is an extraordinary and seminal work that is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a fourteen page Bibliography, thirty pages of Notes, and a six page Index. While an exceptional and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university library Contemporary Cultural Anthropology collections in general, and Racial Discrimination supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular, it should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers that "Anthropology and Radical Humanism: Native and African American Narratives and the Myth of Race" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $37.78).


The Gardening Shelf

Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening
Matt Mattus
Cool Springs Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartoknows.com
9780760366271, $30.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Flowers, from Today's Favorites to Unusual Varieties" is gorgeously illustrated instructional gardening book by Matt Mattus that is based on decades of first-hand experience in his own garden and greenhouse that was made popular on his blog 'Growing with Plants'.

Every variety or species presented is one that he has personally trialed and grown. Mattus sets you up for success by providing everything you need to know about starting seeds, soil, sowing, hardening off, to transplanting, and growing on. Then, in the following chapters, you'll find tips for growing over 100 different annuals from seed and many summer bulbs, vines like wisteria and even blooming shrubs like lilacs. Every flower includes detailed information based on his hands-on experience, going beyond the information typically available on the seed packet or a nursery tag.

Aspiring flower gardeners can now learn useful, practical details and cultural facts that will help them to grow better flowers while introducing them to many more they may not be familiar with. This is a profusely illustrated compendium of tips for topics like how to grow challenging annual poppies and biennials from seedand forcing flowers for winter blooms. Just a small selection of the flowers covered: heirloom and exhibition chrysanthemums, larkspurs and annual poppies, delphiniums, peonies, lilacs and wisteria. Bulbs include spring and summer bulbs such as anemone, ranunculus, tulips, lilies, gladiolus, and cut flower dahlias, while winter indoor bulbs cover every aspect of forcing bulbs indoors like narcissus, amaryllis, South African bulbs -- and even how to force Lily of the Valley.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented for maximum instructional value, "Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Flowers, from Today's Favorites to Unusual Varieties" is an extraordinary and thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional guide and manual that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Gardening & Horticulture collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

The Blue Garden
Arleyn Levee
Giles
c/o Giles D. Limited
www.gilesltd.com
9781911282594, $49.95, HC, 212pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: "The Blue Garden: Recapturing an Iconic Newport Landscape" by landscape historian Arleyn A. Levee is the compelling story about the decline and rebirth of a 100 year old garden. Until recently, the Blue Garden, an icon of Gilded Age splendor in Newport, Rhode Island, was known only from hand-tinted slides dating from 1917.

Originally designed in collaboration with the garden's original owner by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr, and the Olmsted firm (founded by his father, the great landscape architect responsible for Central Park, New York City) it has now been brought back to life.

"The Blue Garden" skillfully interweaves the garden's design and social history, and stories of its founders and the Olmsted firm, with historical photos, original drawings and sketches, and images of the restored garden from 2015. "The Blue Garden" is a timeless and inspiring account of the devoted patrons, skilled artisans and great designers behind the creation and revival of a masterpiece, made possible by the vision of a devoted patron, and the relevance of historic preservation of gardens in the 21st century.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "The Blue Garden: Recapturing an Iconic Newport Landscape" is an inherently fascinating, impressively informative, and exceptionally well written, organized and presented study, making it especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Gardening & Horticultural Studies collections.


The Architecture Shelf

Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide
Mohamed Elshahed
www.Cairobserver.com
American University in Cairo Press
200 Park Avenue, Suite 1700, New York, NY 10166
www.aucpress.com
9789774168697, $39.95, PB, 407pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The city of a thousand minarets, Cairo is also the city of eclectic modern constructions, turn-of-the-century revivalism and romanticism, concrete expressionism, and modernist design. Yet while much has been published on Cairo's ancient, medieval, and early-modern architectural heritage, the city's modern architecture has to date not received the attention it deserves. "Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide" is the first comprehensive architectural guide to the constructions that have shaped and continue to shape the Egyptian capital since the early twentieth century.

From the sleek apartment tower for Inji Zada in Ghamra designed by Antoine Selim Nahas in 1937, to the city's many examples of experimental church architecture, and visible landmarks such as the Mugamma and Arab League buildings, Cairo is home to a rich store of modernist building styles. Arranged by geographical area, the guide includes entries for more than 220 buildings and sites of note, each entry consisting of concise, explanatory text describing the building and its significance accompanied by photographs, drawings, and maps.

This significant compendium is an ideal companion for the city's visitors and residents as well as an invaluable resource for scholars and students of Cairo's architecture and urban history.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout with black-and-white photography and maps, "Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a ten page Glossary, two pages of Notes, a four page Bibliography, and a two page Index of Architects. A unique, seminal and detailed study, "Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to community, professional, and academic library Architecture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Mohamed Elshahed is a researcher, curator, and specialist on architecture, design, and material culture in Egypt. He holds a PhD from New York University and an MA from MIT. He is the curator of the Modern Egypt Project at the British Museum and founder of the website www.Cairobserver.com.


The Music Shelf

Raising Hell
Jon Wiederhorn
Diversion Books
443 Park Avenue South, Suite #1004, New York, NY 10016
www.diversionbooks.com
9781635766493, $30.00, HC, 480pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: In his song "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" Ozzy Osbourne sings, "Rock and roll is my religion and my law." This is the mantra of the metal legends who populate Raising Hell - artists from Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Slipknot, Slayer, and Lamb of God to Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Disturbed, Megadeth, and many more! It's also the guiding principle for underground voices like Misery Index, Gorgoroth, Municipal Waste, and Throwdown.

Through the decades, the metal scene has been populated by colorful individuals who have thwarted convention and lived by their own rules. For many, vice has been virtue, and the opportunity to record albums and tour has been an invitation to push boundaries and blow the lid off a Pandora's box of riotous experiences: thievery, vandalism, hedonism, the occult, stage mishaps, mosh pit atrocities, and general insanity.

To the figures showcased in "Raising Hell: Backstage Tales from the Lives of Metal Legends" by Jon Wiederhorn, metal is a means of banding together to stick a big middle finger to a society that had already decided they didn't belong. Whether they were oddballs who didn't fit in or angry kids from troubled backgrounds, metal gave them a sense of identity.

Drawing from 150-plus first-hand interviews with vocalists, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, and drummers, music journalist Wiederhorn offers this collection of wild shenanigans from metal's heaviest and most iconic acts -- including the parties, the tours, the mosh pits, the rage, the joy, the sex, the drugs that made up the heavy metal life!

Critique: Impressively informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Raising Hell: Backstage Tales from the Lives of Metal Legends" is an extraordinary read from cover to cover. While especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library American Music History collections in general, and Heavy Metal supplemental studies lists in particular, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated heavy metal fans that "Raising Hell" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99).

Editorial Note: Jon Wiederhorn is the author of Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal (with Katherine Turman) and the co-author of My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts & Glory (with Roger Miret), Ministry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen (with Al Jourgensen) and I'm the Man: The Story of That Guy from Anthrax (with Scott Ian). He has written for Rolling Stone, SPIN, MTV, Guitar World, and Revolver, among others.


The Audiobook Shelf

The Book of Delights: Essays
Ross Gay
Recorded Books
www.recordedbooks.com
9781501977534 $TBA

Synopsis: The winner of the NBCC Award for Poetry offers up a spirited collection of short lyric essays, written daily over a tumultuous year, reminding us of the purpose and pleasure of praising, extolling, and celebrating ordinary wonders. Ross Gay's The Book of Delights is a genre-defying book of essays- some as short as a paragraph; some as long as five pages-that record the small joys that occurred in one year, from birthday to birthday, and that we often overlook in our busy lives. His is a meditation on delight that takes a clear-eyed view of the complexities, even the terrors, in his life, including living in America as a black man; the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture; the loss of those he loves.

Critique: Read by the award-winning author, The Book of Delights: Essays is the unabridged audiobook rendition of author Ross Gay's collection of essays about making space in life for joys great and small, and a wide variety of other reminiscences, observations, and insight. From the dark side of consumer-driven culture, to the everyday realities of life as an African-American man, to the difficulty of coping with loss, The Book of Delights: Essays covers topics that are thought-provoking and insightful. Highly recommended. 4 CDs, 5 hours.

Pearls of Wisdom
First Lady Barbara Bush
Read by Susan Larkin, et. al.
Hachette Audio
www.HachetteAudio.com
9781549129476 $25.00

Synopsis: First Lady Barbara Bush was famous for handing out advice. From friends and family to heads of state and Supreme Court justices, and certainly to her staff, her advice ranged from what to wear, what to say or not say, and how to live your life.

She especially loved visiting with students of all ages, from kindergartners to college graduates. When she turned 80, she owned up to all her advice-giving and explained it this way: After all, in 80 years of living, I have survived 6 children, 17 grandchildren, 6 wars, a book by Kitty Kelly, two presidents, two governors, big Election Day wins and big Election Day losses, and 61 years of marriage to a husband who keeps jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. So, it's just possible that along the way I've learned a thing or two.

At the end of the day, she taught all of us some valuable lessons. As First Lady, she made a point of cuddling a baby with AIDS and hugging a young man who was HIV positive and whose family had rejected him, showing us by example the importance of compassion and the myth of fear. As a mother, she made sure we all knew that your children must come first, and one of the most important things you can do is to read to them. As a friend and mentor, she showed that you had to be true to yourself, and even at the end of her life, she taught us how to die with grace.

Full of Barbara Bush's trademark wit and thoughtfulness, Pearls of Wisdom is a poignant reflection on life, love, family, and the world by one of America's most iconic -- and beloved -- public figures.

Critique: Pearls of Wisdom is the unabridged audiobook rendition of First Lady Barbara Bush's insights and inspirations. Here is the wisdom of a mother and matriarch, a woman of dignity and boundless compassion. Read aloud by a wide diversity of performers, and enhanced with a PDF of supplemental materials, Pearls of Wisdom is a motivational listening experience and highly recommended especially for public library audiobook collections. 4 CDs, 4 hours.

The Mirror & the Light
Hilary Mantel, author
Read by Ben Miles
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781427289513 $59.99

Synopsis: With The Mirror & the Light, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with her peerless, Booker Prize-winning novels, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man's vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.

The story begins in May 1536: Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The blacksmith's son from Putney emerges from the spring's bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.

Cromwell, a man with only his wits to rely on, has no great family to back him, no private army. Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry's regime to the breaking point, Cromwell's robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. All of England lies at his feet, ripe for innovation and religious reform. But as fortune's wheel turns, Cromwell's enemies are gathering in the shadows. The inevitable question remains: how long can anyone survive under Henry's cruel and capricious gaze?

Eagerly awaited and eight years in the making, The Mirror & the Light completes Cromwell's journey from self-made man to one of the most feared, influential figures of his time. Portrayed by Mantel with pathos and terrific energy, Cromwell is as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a husband and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.

Critique: The Mirror & the Light is the complete and unabridged audiobook rendition of a sweeping historical novel, concluding a trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, a consummately skilled and powerful politician of 16th century England. A vivid, engaging, and powerful portrait of a complex individual, brought to life with a masterful performance by Ben Miles, The Mirror & the Light is highly recommended. Bonus materials include a conversation between the author and narrator, and a PDF featuring the cast of characters and two family trees. 30 CDs, 39 hours.


The Library CD Shelf

Celtic Women
Putumayo
www.putumayo.com
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Celtic Women is a music album anthology of contemporary songs inspired by Irish and Scottish traditions, performed by a variety of female singers. Some songs showcase the beauty of the Gaelic language. Celtic Women is a treasure for connoisseurs of Gaelic music, a choice pick for public library collections, and also makes an excellent gift. Highly recommended!

The Long Road
Monica Logani
www.monicalogani.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

The Long Road an original, new age, solo piano album that music artist Monica Logani crafted in tribute to the all too brief yet thoroughly vibrant life of a dear friend. Wistful and wonderous, The Long Road is a welcome contribution to both personal and public library collections. The tracks are "Birds", "Daybreak", "Juliette", "Poette", "Temporality", "Mantra", "The Long Road", "Storyteller", "Space", "Dreamer", "Valencia", "Devotion", "Savior", "Summer's End", and "The Last Embrace". 35 min.

A Classical Meditation
Gary Schmidt
www.apianist.com
Privatetly Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

A Classical Meditation is a new age, solo piano album of performances selected from the works of timeless masters including Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak, and more. These songs were chosen especially to draw upon the intrinsic, mind-expanding beauty of classical style music to promote meditation and relaxation. A Classical Meditation is a welcome addition to personal and public library solo piano music collections, and also makes an excellent gift. Highly recommended. 1 hour.


The Martial Arts Shelf

The Art and Science of Stick Fighting
Joe Varady
YMAA Publications
www.ymaa.com
9781594397332 $22.95 amazon.com

Synopsis: The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is a unique, non-style specific, approach to fighting with the short stick. Its curriculum is streamlined and divided into nine logical stages of training that allow the reader to quickly and methodically learn and develop the skills needed for fighting with the stick. Whether you are just starting out, or have been practicing stick fighting for years, there is something for everyone in this book. Also included are systematic workouts and descriptions of how to make and use specific training equipment as you learn and master The Art and Science of Stick Fighting.

This book stands apart from other stick fighting training manuals because it emphasizes the dynamics of combat. Many other books focus on forms and twirling. The author draws on thirty years of martial experience, presenting the best of both Eastern and Western traditions.

Whether you already study the stick or are just starting out, if you want to learn how to get an edge, The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is for you!

Critique: Black-and-white photographs on nearly every page illustrate The Art and Science of Stick Fighting, an in-depth, instructional guide to stick fighting. Chapters cover all aspects of this martial art, and offer recommendations for developing one's own stick fighting skills. A top- notch reference and resource for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of or personally practicing stick fighting, The Art and Science of Stick Fighting is highly recommended and a welcome addition to personal and public library Martial Arts collections.


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


Copyright ©2001

Site design by Williams Writing, Editing & Design