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Small Press Bookwatch

Volume 10, Number 3 March 2011 Home | SPBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Poetry Shelf Fiction Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Sports Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Business Shelf Fantasy/Sci-Fi Shelf Hobby Shelf
Science Shelf World History Shelf Money/Finance Shelf
Nautical Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

The Tribes of Burning Man
Steven T. Jones
Consortium of Collective Consciousness Publishing
530 8th Avenue, #6, San Francisco, CA 94118
9781888729290 $17.95 www.cccpublishing.com

The Tribes of Burning Man: How an Experimental City in the Desert is Shaping the New American Counterculture offers an extraordinary, up-close and personal view of the Burning Man social experiment. Over the course of 25 years, what began as an unusual San Francisco beach party has evolved into an annual event in which 50,000 people assemble a city in Nevada's Black Rock Desert for one spectacular week. Fire artists, circus freaks, music aficionados, idealists, the sexually adventurous and many more types representing modern American counterculture assemble and learn from one another. The Tribes of Burning Man focuses upon the impact that this grand undertaking has had on the people who participate within in and American society at large from 2004 to the present day, and is highly recommended for public and college library cultural studies shelves.

Four Little Lindsays
Jeanne Warren Lindsay
Morning Glory Press
6595 San Haroldo Way, Buena Park, CA 90620-3748
1932538992, $14.95, www.morningglorypress.com

No television, no radio, no video games, just your siblings and parents and new experiences. "Four Little Lindsays: And How They Grew 1957-1959" discusses life for the very young children in rural Des Moines, Iowa, as Jeanne Warren Lindsay reflects on this period in the late 1950s and life in a very different time. Charming and thoughtful as it is entertaining, "Four Little Lindsays" is a collection of thought that will be hard to beat.

Twidders
Anita Holmes
Ozark Mountain Publishing
PO Box 754, Huntsville, AR 72740
9781886940116, $15.00, www.ozarkmt.com

The concepts of time and space present so many possibilities that it boggles the mind. "Twidders: Exploration of the Time-Lost Continuum and Travel" explores time, as Anita Holmes presents her thoughts on the many possibilities of our world in relations to time, alternate realities, alternate histories, and the reality of passing over into these other universes. With plenty to ponder and think about the applications of such a science, "Twidders" is a fine read and is very highly recommended.


Poetry Shelf

Love and Lust: An Anthology
Andrea Potos, editor
Parallax Press
PO Box 7355, Berkeley, CA 94707
9781934795293 $TBA www.parallaxpress.com, 1-800-863-5290

Love and Lust: An Anthology is a free-verse poetry chapbook featuring a variety of female contributors; all seek to celebrate 17 years of romance, passion, love and lust remembered in the feminist bookstore "A Room of One's Own". At times hopeful, at times heartbreaking, Love and Lust: An Anthology is a soulful reflection of what the bonds that tie human beings and their emotions together truly mean. "Reasons To Stay Put": Because didn't my ancestor Odysseus / once tie himself to a mast / to save himself, // because didn't I once almost / enter a field where snakes tangled / near an open hole, big enough to catch a wandering / foot, and tall tilting grasses / nearly concealed them, grasses that could tickle / and scratch and nearly coax one into believing / they would make the perfect bed / for some ancient, exhausted ache?

Find a Place That Could Pass for Home
Glenn Shea
Salmon Poetry
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781907056543, $21.95, www.salmonpoetry.com

The world's imperfection is what boggles the mind of many a thinker, poet Glenn Shea included. "Find a Place That Could Pass for Home" is a collection of poetry from him, as he ponders on these imperfections and the search for perfection that drives our lives. Thoughtful and enlightening, "Find a Place That Could Pass for Home" is a choice collection, very highly recommended. "A Tree on Inishmore": so withered its trunk bends/to permanent west, its leaves/being in green well above/where branches breach the/trunk. Obeisance its trick,/it stands. It leaves leaning east against the wind to us.

Lifer
Annette Basalyga
Music of Note
Gracie Station Box 286, New York, NY 10028
9780982620908, $15.95, www.atlasbooks.com

Widely published and thoughtful poet Annette Basalyga offers some unique thought with "Lifer". Drawing most importantly on her wide array of life experiences and love of life and poetry, her work offers many different dimensions of thought. "Lifer" is a fine collection of thought and wisdom, not to be easily put down. "Recovery": Shaky after a week of flu,/shopping to find a cactus pear/for the papain or some other enzyme like it,/might not be the first choice for anyone/too poor to buy a pineapple. But imagine a salad/of those prickly pears, knobs puckered, skinned/to their red flesh, and add, say, grey-green kiwis,/hairy, then gelatinous, and ask yourself;/if you can stand it long enough,/what doesn't loneliness cure?


The Fiction Shelf

Cold April
Phyllis A. Humphrey
Camel Press
PO Box 70515, Seattle, WA 98127
9781603818223, $15.95, www.camelpress.com

The tragedy of the Titanic is not just the loss of life, but the shambles of personal stories lost within it all. "Cold April" tells the story of Elizabeth Shallcross, as she cares for her the child of Richard Graham on a trans-Atlantic voyage. During her journey, she has many offers of love, but her journey through life and across the ocean will be seriously threatened by the ocean tragedy history remembers most. "Cold April" is a riveting read of Titanic drama, highly recommended. Also recommended from Camel Press Fiction is "Heartbreak Trail" (9781603818315, $18.95) by Shirley Kennedy, telling of romance and life's challenges on the trail towards California, and how just because they reach California, their journey is not yet over.

Telling Tales
John Wheatcroft
The Wessex Collective
36 Doe Trail PO Box 1088, Nederland, CO 80466
978097951677, $15.00

What drives humanity to embrace story telling? "Telling Tales" is a collection of short fiction from John Wheatcroft, as he hopes to explain the elements of humanity, fiction, and the strong relationship between the two that harkens back generations. "Telling Tales" is a fine assortment of short stories, and is a very highly recommended read.

A Shower of Roses
Tom Milton
Nepperhan Press
PO Box 1448, Yonkers, NY 10702
9780982990414, $12.95, www.nepperhan.com

The little things in life can lead to something much bigger. "A Shower of Roses" tells the story of Eva, a pediatric nurse who takes pride in making the world a better place through small and simple actions. She soon finds herself through love dragged into the world of Marek, a CIA agent and her life will never be the same. "A Shower of Roses" is a fun read of international intrigue and love, highly recommended.

Orion
A. S. Johnson
Strategic Book Group
PO Box 333, Durham, CT 06422
9781609765453, $14.50, www.strategicpublishinggroup.com

Millions of miles away from Earth is the last place you want love to show up. "Orion" is a romance set on the space shuttle Orion, where she and Chance Walker find something about each other and put love and romance to the ultimate test that their lives can set it to. "Orion" is quite the fun read that should prove very difficult to put down.

Love Script
Tiffany Ashley
Circle Publishing
PO Box 181389, Arlington, TX 76096-1389
9780983034001, $15.00, www.circle1publishing.com

One lies spawns so many more. "Love Script" tells the stale of Nicholas Sinclair, and in his stupidity and desire to seem like a family man, tells his newest potential client he's married when he's not and now must live the lie. Laney Parks finds herself with a script and a very close status to Sinclair as their on a cruise ship trying to make the lie something true. Romance seems the furthest thing from her mind, even with all the intimacy. "Love Script" is a fun and humorous journey into how appearances can be deceiving and lies can become truth.

Someone's Watching
Sharon Potts
Oceanview
595 Bay Isles Road, 120-G, Longboat Key, FL 34228
Maryglenn McCombs (publicity)
2817 West End Avenue, Suite 126-274
9781608090136, $25.95, www.oceanviewpub.com

Family makes you do strange things with your life. "Someone's Watching" tells the story of Robbie Ivy, a young woman who wants simplicity in her life. Trying to shun away her family ties, she finds them calling out to her, and when it may be too late, she realizes that's a bad idea and finds that finding her lost sister is going to be just the complication in life she doesn't want. "Someone's Watching" is a riveting thriller about family and what they mean to everyone involved.

Threads West
Reid Lance Rosenthal
Rockin SR Publishing
9780982157619, $14.95, www.rockinSRPublishing.com

The allure of the west brought many people out there, but their success was greatly varied. "Threads West: An American Saga" is the first in Reid Lance Rosenthal's series about a four generations of Americans as they looked westward and the travels they made to claim their own bit of prosperity and life, forming the American spirit and the will to succeed. With plenty of intriguing characters, "Threads West" is a novel well worth reading for those with a love for the old west.

Elijah's Coin
Steve O'Brien
A & N Publishing
3150 South Street, NW Suite 2F, Washington, DC 20007
9780982073544, $21.95, www.elijahscoin.com

When your life falls apart, it takes less than one knows to be set on the right path in their life once more. "Elijah's Coin: A Lesson for Life" tells the story of Tom, a man whose life is crumbling around him. Watchman Elijah King gives him a coin, and Tom slowly finds out about himself and how to recover what he has lost, and how he can set an example for others. A thoughtful tale of life, its challenges, and how to overcome them and be a leader, "Elijah's Coin" is a fine choice for general fiction collections.

Bitter Melon
Cara Chow
Egmont
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806, New York, NY 10016
9781606841266, $16.99, www.egmontusa.com

To please one's parents and to please oneself is a conflict that many young people find themselves stuck in. "Bitter Melon" tells of Frances, a young woman who is living her mothers dream of becoming a doctor. But she soon finds her true hopes lie in public speaking, and to tell the truth, it will go against everything her mother wants of her and she believes it'll break her heart. A soul split between what she believes in selfishness and selflessness, "Bitter Melon" is a fine and very highly recommended read.

The One
Mary Flinn
Aviva Publishing
9781935586142, $19.95, www.theonenovel.com

There is one person out there of you that can save your life and change it for the best. "The One" tells of the story or Chelsea and Kyle, two people quickly approaching adulthood. Separated for a decade, the two reunite their childhood friendship into something more, and through the challenges of their lives becoming more and more complicated around them, "The One" is a fine read and very highly recommended.


The Self-Help Shelf

Happy Together
Bill Cloke
Pacific Highlands Press
10350 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90025
9780982932414, $14.95, www.pacifichighlandspress.com

Love will sustain an attraction and provide glue to a relationship, but it takes a bit more to keep it together. "Happy Together: Creating a Lifetime of Connection, Commitment, and Intimacy" is a guide to making a relationship that withstands the test of time as Bill Cloke offers advice on forging that ironclad relationship through sexuality, anger, and facing life intelligently through cooperation and unity. "Happy Together" is a wise choice for any couple who wants to be prepared for the future.

The Happy Mind
William R. Yoder
Alight Publications
PO Box 524, Sauquoit, NY 13456
9780972155618, $14.95, www.thehappymindbook.com

Happiness is something that can be attained with the right drive and determination. "The Happy Mind: Seven Principles to Clear Your Head and Lift Your Heart" is a thoughtful collection of wisdom and insight from William Yoder, who presents a combination of western and eastern philosophy with the goal of finding what one's true happiness and making choices that will maintain that happiness. "The Happy Mind" is a thoughtful read with much to ponder, highly recommended.

Half a Glass
Craig Price
Blooming Twig Books
PO Box 4668 #66675, New York, NY 10163-4668
9781933918600, $14.95, www.bloomingtwig.com

The world isn't perfect, but it isn't going totally to hell either. "Half a Glass: The Realist's Guide" is a different sort of philosophy guide from Craig Price as he presents a more straight set of philosophy as he urges people to be realistic about their own hopes and dreams, and while they're not going to be an astronaut, it doesn't mean their life can't turn out well. "Half a Glass" is charming and wise reading, very highly recommended.


The Sports Shelf

Will You Manage?
Musa Okwonga
Serpent's Tail
c/o Meryl Zegarek Public Relations
255 West 108th Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10025
9781846687242, $15.95, www.serpentstail.com

Management is leadership, and is much harder than it seems. "Will You Manage?: The Necessary Skills to be a Great Gaffer" is a guide to football management, football management of the soccer variety. With plenty of tips on how to be an excellent leader and dealing with problem players and pushing them to take your team further, "Will You Manage?" is a fascinating and useful read for any sports coach, although focused at football/soccer.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

It Was Only a Moment Ago
William E. Hablitzel
Sunshine Ridge Publishing
PO Box 69, Blue Creek, OH 45616
9780977218547, $24.95, www.itwasonlyamomentago.com

Life becomes clearer when you understand the context of time much better. "It Was Only a Moment Ago: More Stories of Healing and Wisdom Along Life's Journey" is an inspirational read from William E. Hablitzel as he advises readers with simple wisdom to help them make the most of their short time on this planet. Drawing on spirituality as well as the author's medical expertise, "It Was Only a Moment Ago" is a thoughtful read that shouldn't be missed.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Stop Alzheimer's Now!
Bruce Fife
Piccadilly Books
PO Box 25203, Colorado Springs, CO 80936
9780941599856, $19.95, www.piccadillybooks.com

Alzheimer's is something to be feared, but it is not an inevitability. "Stop Alzheimer's Now!" is a guide for those who want to do their own fight to stop Alzheimer's from taking control of them, with plenty of preventative measures that one can take through therapy and diet, and how these can fight other neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease as well. A must for anyone who wants to ward off these age-related mental diseases, "Stop Alzheimer's Now!" is a sage and wise guide for anyone concerned about greater mental health.

No More Stress!
Gladeana McMahon
Karnac Books
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
9781855755017, $24.95, www.karnacbooks.com

Stress impacts us all in so many ways. "No More Stress!: Be Your Own Stress Management Coach" is a guide to overcoming stressful situations of one's own and making the most of these situations that can easily take apart one's life. With a bit of choice wisdom for exercise, diet, and other skills, Gladeana McMahon uses her craft and position as one of the UK's most famous stress coaches to help readers a great deal. "No More Stress!" is a fine pick for those being crushed under their own stress.

Healthier Without What
Stephen Wangen
Innate Health Publishing
11300 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98125
9780976853794, $19.95, www.healthierwithoutwheat.com

Wheat is not a food that comes under fire for health often. "Healthier Without Wheat: A New Understanding of Wheat Allergies, Celiac Disease, and Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance" warns of the hidden problems that can bring to many people's lives. With advisory on finding out how gluten affects some individuals, Dr. Stephen Wangen advises how to understand one's gluten tolerance, and how to avoid it. "Healthier Without Wheat" is a choice pick for those who may feel they have a gluten-intolerance.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Praying with Your Children
Pat Fosarelli
Resource Publications, Inc.
160 E. Virginia, St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112-5876
0893905895, $4.95

Prayer is not a strictly solitary practice. "Praying with Your Children: A Guide for Family" is a quick and simple guide for parents who want to enrich their families life with better prayer and dedication. With plenty of wisdom, "Praying with Your Children" is a fine collection and very highly recommended read, not to be missed for Christian families.

The Hand of God
Barry Applewhite
Biblical Concepts Press
3016 Plumtree Lane, Plano, TX 75074-3147
9780983065814, $11.99, www.barryapplewhite.com

Knowing where to find God's hand is vital in following the path he has planned for you. "The Hand of God: How God Gets Personally Involved in Our Lives and Why He Wouldn't Have it Any Other Way" is a spiritual guide for finding God in one's life and spotting where his hand is at work. With a powerful message, "The Hand of God" is a thoughtful read for Christian readers.

The Craft of Love
Stan Parmisano
SOLAS Press
PO Box 4066, Antioch, CA 94531
9781893426030, $28.95, www.solaspress.com

Love's choice is a very Christian thing. "The Craft of Love: Love and Intimacy in Christian Marriage" analyzes a long history of the sum of male and female in Christian society, and looks at how through history this fact has remained true even as it has been challenged for years on end on the nature of choice on both sides of the union. With plenty to think about drawing from scripture, history, and good Christian sense, "The Craft of Love" is a grade-A pick, highly recommended.

Walking in Broken Shoes
Susan Magnuson Walsh
Grace Acres Press
PO Box 22, Larkspur, CO 80118
9781602650329, $14.95

An earthquake can tear apart one's world both literally and figuratively. "Walking in Broken Shoes: A Nurse's Story About Haiti and the Earthquake" is a wise read as Sue Walsh reflects on her own trip as she traveled to Haiti as the earthquakes tore through the island in 2010 and left an already rough country in even worse shape. With wisdom and empathy, "Waling in Broken Shoes" is quite the read and is very highly recommended.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Murder on Mt. McKinley
Charles G. Irion & Ronald J. Watkins
CGI Irion Books
9780984161836, $19.95, www.irionbooks.com

Mountain climbing is something very dangerous innately, when murder enters into it, it grows even rougher. "Murder on Mt. McKinley: A Summit Murder Mystery" is another entry into the Summit Murder mystery series, spinning a murder mystery around a mountain climbing expedition, focusing on each of seven major mountains around the world. A fun read with no shortage of adventure, "Murder on Mt. McKinley" will prove a top pick.

Nine Man's Murder
Eric Keith
Ransom Note Press
PO Box 419, Ridgewood, NJ 07451
9780977378777, $13.95, www.ransomnotepress.com

Students of crime solving, their ultimate test has their lives as the reward for passing. "Nine Man's Murder" tells the tale of nine graduates of a detective school who on a class reunion, starts to pick them off one by one. As time starts to dwindle down, they must act quickly and use everything they learned to survive. "Nine Man's Murder" is a fine read with plenty to ponder, highly recommended.


The Business Shelf

Start It Up
Kenrya Rankin
Zest Books
c/o Orange Avenue Publishing
35 Stillman Street, Suite 121, San Francisco, CA 94107
9780981973357, $14.99, www.zestbooks.net

The ultimate goal in life is not to be rich, but to do what you enjoy doing. "Start It Up: The Complete Teen Business Guide to Turning Your Passions Into Pay" is a guide for those who want to pursue their dreams and live their lives while still making a living. Kenrya Rankin discusses what one can do to realize what they want to create, and do it to the most successful degree that they can do. "Start It Up" is a top pick for any aspiring entrepreneur, very highly recommended.

Traction
Gino Wickman
Entrepreneurial Operating System
17197 N. Laurel Park Drive, Suite 149, Livonia, MI 48152
9780979799037, $16.95, www.eosworldwide.com

Traction is all about formulating one's plan and sticking to it. "Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business" is a guide to forming a shared and useful vision for business and executing that goal in the more effective way possible. Stating that the ability to stay on the road and avoid things that would swerve you off your path to success is vital to a good business, "Traction" is full of good wisdom for business success that talks on countless things that would make your business lose said traction to succeed.

42 Rules of Product Management
Brian Lawley & Greg Cohen
Superstar Press
c/o Happy About
20660 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 210, Cupertino, CA 95014
9781607730866, $19.95, www.superstarpress.com

Good management can make a good product great. "42 Rules of Product Management" is a business guide form Brian Lawley & Greg Cohen as they advise readers on what they need to know to more effectively market their product so that it reaches its maximum potential. Breaking down the tips into 42 aspects of marketing, "42 Rules of Product Management" is a must for any entrepreneur or business leader.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Mauria
Steve North
BFE Press
22647 Ventura Blvd., #422, Woodland Hills, CA 91364
9780983126171, $14.95, www.bfepress.com

Few are hospitable to their food source. "Mauria" is a delve into fantasy as author Steve North tells a story of the Maurians and Vuervee, two races who are plunged into conflict with each other with little hope of peace. As a few individuals try to push further for their beliefs of peace, it seems more and more unlikely that anything but violence will come from their relations. "Mauria" is a fascinating read with much to ponder, highly recommended.


The Hobby Shelf

Quarterama
Sunbelt Publications
1256 Fayette Street, El Cajon, CA 92020-1511
9780984562404, $50.00

The state quarters inspired much in the way of patriotism, and even a greater fervor for collectors. "Quarterama" follows the sensation following these fifty coins with an additional dozen coins dedicated to the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States. With slots to display one's quarters, credits to those who crafted the coins, dates, and more, all done in full color, "Quarterama" is a must for anyone who has a special love for these all-American collectibles.


The Science Shelf

The Handy Physics Answer Book
Paul W. Zitzewitz
Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Road #414, Canton, MI 48187-2075
9781578593057, $21.95

Physics are a daunting subject that even physicists are not entirely sure of. "The Handy Physics Answer Book" is another entry in Visible Ink's Smart Reference series, seeking to answer plenty of common and some uncommon questions about the fascinating topics of physics. From the power of magnets and how they work, why high pitched noises will break glass, why microwaving metal is a bad idea, and much more, "The Handy Physics Answer Book" is sure to intrigue and entertain for hours on end.


The World History Shelf

America and the Vatican: Trading Information After WW II
Robert F. Illing
History Publishing Company, LLC
PO Box 700, 15 Heyhoe Woods Road, Palisades, New York 10964-0700
9781933909691 $25.95 www.historypublishing.com

Foreign Service veteran Robert F. Illing presents America and the Vatican: Trading Information After WW II, a history of the relationship between a mission founded by the United States and the Vatican from fifteen years after WW II onward. Illing, a non-Catholic, served as the charge d'affaires of the small American mission; he draws upon personal experience, historical anecdotes, portions of the Vatican's Secret Archives, and more to present a well-rounded viewpoint. Of particular interest is Illing's insight into the Vatican's financial workings, and its logistic nature as a city-state political entity, separate from its role as the center of the Roman Catholic Church. America and the Vatican offers a wealth of food for thought, and is highly recommended for history and international studies shelves.


The Money/Finance Shelf

Trading in the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes
Dr. Anthony Trongone
W&A Publishing / Traders Press Inc.
PO Box 849, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
9781934354186 $24.95 www.w-apublishing.com www.traderspress.com

Certified Financial Planner and graduate psychology professor Anthony Trongone presents Trading in the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes: Balancing Probabilities for Successful Investing, a guide to applying deductive and inductive reasoning worthy of the legendary icon of sleuthing fiction to putting one's money to work. Chapters stress the importance of keeping a level head and an objective eye when taking into account everything from news reports and public reactions, to the difficult process of cultivating one's own ability to accurately perceive risk. "When there is a meltdown, the standard risk measures are not an accurate signpost of the future because they cannot quantify the psychological reaction of the crowd. Risk metrics by themselves are unquantifiable because a mathematical model can never completely capture every aspect of exogenous risk (the risk not contained in the model). Mathematical models aid judgment, but they do not offer a foolproof solution to the dangers of risk." Quotes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Holmes novels and stories ground and illustrate key points, in this user-friendly guide to effectively overseeing a diverse and productive portfolio.


The Nautical Shelf

Superships of the Great Lakes
Raymond A. Bawal, Jr.
Inland Expressions
42211 Garfield Rd. #297, Clinton Township, MI 48038
9780981815749 $19.95 www.inlandexpressions.com

Superships of the Great Lakes: Thousand-Foot Ships on the Great Lakes presents the amazing true story of a gigantic class of ships on the Great Lakes, whose existence was made possible through improvements to shipping channels. The first of these ships was the Stewart J. Cort, commissioned in 1972; more mega-ships of unrivaled size and carrying capacity were to follow. Superships of the Great Lakes combines black-and-white photographs with text histories of these ships, the companies that made them, and the details of their nautical service. An index for quick reference rounds out this heavily researched focus on these truly extraordinary vessels.


James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
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