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California Bookwatch

Volume 9, Number 6 June 2014 Home | CALBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Autism Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Crafts Shelf Political Science Shelf
Sports Shelf Psychology Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Military Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Business Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Biography Shelf Computer Shelf
Education Shelf Audiobook Shelf Science Shelf
Photography Shelf Literary Studies Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf American History Shelf World History Shelf
Metaphysical Studies Shelf Travel Shelf Music Shelf
Architecture Shelf California Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Distant Shores: Surfing the Ends of the Earth
Chris Burkard
Ammo
PO Box 412402, Los Angeles, CA 90041
9781623260170, $39.95, www.ammobooks.com

Distant Shores: Surfing the Ends of the Earth will appeal to arts, travel and nature collections alike, with its oversized presentation of color photos by Chris Burkard, who captures modern surf photography in a manner few other surf or outdoor photography books have approached. There are gorgeous full-page and color shots of extraordinary surfing scenes and big waves - and then there are locations one doesn't ordinarily associate with surfing, such as remote regions of snow and ice. The gorgeous color photos and artistic, unique angles make Distant Shores an extraordinary testimony to surfing and nature, and is a gorgeous representation of all the regions of the earth where surfing can capture hearts, minds, and artists.

F This Test
Richard Benson
Chronicle Books
680 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
9781452127767, $9.95, www.chroniclebooks.com

F This Test: Even More of the Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers joins others by Benson (F in Exams and F for Effort!) and provides an all-new, never-before published collection of real test responses from students who invented their own possibilities when they didn't know the answers. From how Dickens creates sympathy for Pip in Great Expectations ("He gives him a girl's name.") to the definition of a 'supersaturated solution' as 'water with extra water in it', this provides a hysterically funny collection that any who have taught school or attended school will find a winner.


The Autism Shelf

Been There. Done That. Try This!
Tony Attwood, et.al., Editors
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
9781849059640, $24.95, www.jkp.com

Been There. Done That. Try This!: An Aspie's Gide to Life on Earth covers the basics of overcoming daily stressors and incorporates articles and insights by fellow aspies and professionals working with them, from Temple Grandin to Anita Lesko and Dr. Stephen M. Shore. Each offer words of wisdom on coping with challenges ranging from self esteem and employment to romance, and each come from mentors who have been there/done that, supplemented by recommendations from Asperger's syndrome expert author Dr. Tony Atwood. The result is a wonderful book that should be in any collection pertaining to Asperger's!

Talk to Me
Heather Jones
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
9781849054287, $19.95, www.jkp.com

TALK TO ME: CONVERSATION STRATEGIES FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM OR WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS is for any child who struggles to talk and for parents who want to help, and provides a guide to teach kids the basics of communication. Plenty of examples - some from the author's own experiences - pack a guide filled with tips and quick, easy reads parents can easily apply.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity
Patricia Carlin
Quirk
215 Church Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
9781593736796, $12.95, www.quirkbooks.com

How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity pairs fine color photos throughout by Dustin Fenstermacher with a hilarious set of insights into how your pet can help make you rich, and is a fun collection considering a cat's moneymaking potentials and how a feline celebrity is born. Chapters cover everything from posing to creating a stage name, identifying a cat's photographic side, and filming and editing a viral video. From polishing a video for its maximum impact to handling endorsement offers, it's a top pick for any cat owner who has a vision of something more.

Citizen Canine
David Grimm
Public Affairs Books
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 West 57th Street, #1321, New York, NY 10107
9781610391337, $26.99, www.publicaffairsbooks.com

CITIZEN CANINE: OUR EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP WITH CATS AND DOGS discusses the future of pets, exploring the changing relationship of pets to people throughout society in a lively history recommended for pet owners and general readers alike. It considers how pets became family members, how their rights have evolved over the decades, and how social and legal reforms are changing the definition of pets in society. The result is an engrossing survey highly recommended for any interested in pets and their changing meaning in human relationships.

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine, fourth edition
Karen Hrapkiewicz, et.al.
Wiley Blackwell
350 Main Street Malden, MA 02148
9781118345108, $54.60 www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine: An Introduction appears in its fourth updated edition to provide veterinary students and assistance with an anatomy and physiology guide to diseases, treatments of small mammals and primates, and more, and pairs tip boxes, images and review questions with a format that invites both study and browsing. New information on drugs, techniques and more compliment features on laboratory animal management, while a companion website offers more review questions, answers and PowerPoint support, making this a fine acquisition for any working with clinical lab animals.


The Christian Studies Shelf

A Passion for Life
Joan Chittister
Orbis Books
PO Box 308, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0308
9781626980600, $24.00, www.orbisbooks.com

A PASSION FOR LIFE: FRAGMENTS OF THE FACE OF GOD is a pick for Christianity collections and uses the icons of Robert Lentz and the insights of Joan Chittister to cover the lives of over two dozen saints, prophets and others who speak about modern spirituality. The icons presented here are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, and for the most part are ordinary people who make personal attempts to correct wrong in the world. From Martin Luther King Jr. to prophets such as Amos, this offers up insights on the qualities necessary to live a spiritual life in modern times, and provides a wide range of portraits recommended for modern spiritual readers. Color representations by Robert Lentz supplement an outstanding survey.

Judas of Nazareth
Daniel T. Untebrink
Bear & Company
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781591431824, $18.00, www.bearandcompanybooks.com

Judas of Nazareth: How the Greatest Teacher of First-Century Israel Was Replaced by a Literary Creation is for any collection strong in either new age for alternative Christianity, and here provides a survey that uses the histories of Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny and the Dead Sea Scrolls to argue that the "Jesus" of the Bible was actually a composite of peoples. It pushes the dating of Jesus's life back nearly a generation to ancient Judea and shows how the real historical Jesus was actually Judas the Galilean. Any who want a different interpretation of Jesus will find this a compelling argument backed by Biblical writings and history alike.


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

Down from the Mountaintop from Belief to Belonging
Joshua Dolezal
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House
119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
9781609382391, $19.95, www.uiowapress.org

Down from the Mountaintop from Belief to Belonging blends a memoir with insights into nature and spirituality, using the author's own search for social and spiritual connections to detail his childhood in the Rocky Mountains, his family life in the Midwest, and how he used his spiritual insights gleaned from nature to form new family bonds. His journey through cultural wars, religious change, and his personal odyssey blend in a fine, sensitive story that will reach autobiography readers but deserves a spot in any collection strong in spirituality.

Prayer: Christian and Muslim Perspectives
David Marshall and Lucinda Mosher, Editors
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
9781589016774, $24.95, www.press.georgetown.edu

Prayer: Christian and Muslim Perspectives reviews the rituals and meaning of prayer in Christian and Muslim circles, and gathers essays from the 2011 Building Bridges seminar in Qatar that hosted scholars who analyzed the meaning of prayer in these traditions. Chapters here vary widely, from scriptural texts to personal experience, and cover everything from understanding the nature of prayer and worship in the Bible and Quran to what each faith thinks of the others' prayer rituals. The result is a scholarly assessment recommended for any interested in prayer and its incarnation in different faiths.

Indie Spiritualist
Chris Grosso
Atria Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781582704623, $15.00, www.atriabooks.com

Indie Spiritualist: A No Bullshit Exploration of Spirituality provides the author's unconventional gathering of stories exploring spirituality and its meaning, and offers insights on how individuals can accept themselves and their imperfections. It discusses how to identify and awaken True Spirit, it considers the underlying nature of spirituality and how an outward appearance can affect perceptions of it, and it covers such diverse topics as active addition, the author's encounters with Ram Dass, Jai Uttal and other new age spiritual leaders, and major and minor 'awakening experiences' throughout life that can lead to or revise concepts of spirituality. The result is a lively discourse probing the underlying meaning and impact of spirituality: a recommendation for new age, self-help and spirituality thinkers alike.


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Apocalypse Against Empire
Anathea E. Portier-Young
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2140 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
9780802870834, $35.00, www.eerdmans.com

APOCALYPSE AGAINST EMPIRE: THEOLOGIES OF RESISTANCE IN EARLY JUDAISM is more than just a Jewish history: it begins simply, with the meaning of 'empire', and evolves to consider an empire's makeup, methods, and what kind of resistance they invite. These insights are then applied to the history of Jewish apocalypses and to Biblical text themselves to blend spirituality, history, and social science. The result is a college-level analysis of how terror and resistance intersect, the realities of Judea conflict experiences, and Biblical evidence of empires at odds. While it's hard to easily categorize this coverage, readers of spiritual and social Judaic studies will be the most likely audience.

Universal Aspects of the Kabbalah & Judaism
Leo Schaya
World Wisdom
1501 East Hillside Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401
9781936597338, $19.95, www.worldwisdom.com

Universal Aspects of the Kabbalah & Judaism is edited by Roger Gaetani and provides a fine collection of essays by the late Leo Schaya - only his second book to appear in English. It's a pick for any Judaic spirituality collection and considers the Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah and how this may be related to universal spiritual energy. Chapters offer detailed analysis, consider Biblical writings and their authors, and provides scholars with a fine reference to Kabbalah and Judaic studies issues.


The Cookbook Shelf

Everyday Bento
Wendy Thorpe Copley
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
9784805312612, $14.95, www.tuttlepublishing.com

Everyday Bento: 50 Cute and Yummy Lunches to Go uses the traditional Japanese concept of bento - one meal packed at home in a reusable container usually intended for lunches - and uses a blend of American ingredients and themes to ramp the traditional Japanese-based bento box up a notch. Here are basic techniques to producing a creative bento box lunch - and lest you think this involves a lot of detail, be advised even busy parents will find it fun. Kids will delight in their 'Choo-Choo Train' bento lunch, a Superhero Bento, or a Pretty Princess lunch. The result is a fine, inspirational collection of kid-friendly favorites that parents will find easy to put together.

Bal's Spice Kitchen
Bal Arneson
Whitecap Books Ltd.
314 West Cordova Street, Suite 210
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1E8
9781770501959, $29.95, www.whitecap.ca

Bal's Spice Kitchen comes from a cook who produced two bestselling books already covering how to cook Indian meals at home. Most recipes were easy to make in under 30 minutes and didn't rely on heavy products like butter. This is her third book - and it offers a diversion, focusing on how to apply spices to traditional favorites without necessarily adding heat. The focus therefore creates such dishes as Masala Mashed Potatoes, Scallops with Green Apples and Basil, and Snapper and Yam with Grilled Beans. The result is a fine selection of easy, delicious-sounding dishes designed to pair the right spice with the right ingredients, and adds a dash of color photos throughout for added attraction.

Sally's Baking Addiction
Sally McKenney
Race Point Publishers
c/o Quarto Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401
9781937994341, $25.00, www.racepointpub.com

Sally's Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes & Desserts for your Sweet Tooth comes from the author of one of the top food blogs on the market who is an innovative baker, and here shares over seventy of her recipes. From Marshmallow Swirl S'mores Fudge to a breakfast Overnight French Toast Bake and Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, this is packed with desserts that are eye-catching, different, easy to bake, and perfect for bakers looking for something with a touch of elegance. Color photos throughout invite newcomers to sample and recreate the fare in this recommended pick for any aspiring dessert cook seeking new inspiration.

The Sugar Season
Douglas Whynott
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780306822049, $24.99, www.dacapopress.com

THE SUGAR SEASON: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MAPLE SYRUP - AND ONE FAMILY'S QUEST FOR THE SWEETEST HARVEST reviews the life and family business of Bruce Bascom of Bascom farms, which produces some 80,000 gallons of maple sap daily. It takes a single season of production and follows him through the entire process of maintaining his trees, making syrup, and grading it, and it offers insights into what has evolved to be a huge industry that even has a black market and a controlling organization overseeing and ruling syrup production and standards. The result is a sweeping look at the industry, its processes, and its challenges and is a 'must' for any collection strong in food history and use.

Kitchen Confidence
Kelsey Nixon
Clarkson Potter Publishers
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9780770436995, $19.99, www.clarksonpotter.com

Kitchen Confidence: Essential Recipes & Tips That Will Help You Cook Anything is a fine basic primer that practically guarantees success, and is for home cooks who want assurance that their efforts do not go in vain. Kelsey Nixon is host of Kelsey's Essentials, a show featured on the Cooking Channel: so if she seems familiar, that's because of her production. But one needn't have this familiarity to appreciate her book, which holds color photos, easy recipes, and fun introductions for such dishes as Essential Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato-Coconut Curry, and Summer Potato Salad. The variation options are also winners.

The Complete Book of Icing, Frosting & Fondant Skills
Shelly Baker
Barrons
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9781438003443, $24.99, www.barronseduc.com

The Complete Book of Icing, Frosting & Fondant Skills is for cake decorators from beginners to neo-professionals, and covers a range of cakes and instructions for decorating them. Over fifty projects cover everything form theme cakes to tiers, cupcakes to cake pops and beyond, and surveys materials, techniques, and how to fix or avoid common mistakes. From making frosting petals to piping, this not only covers techniques but reviews the skills needed to successfully produce a polished result. Packed with color photos on every page, The Complete Book of Icing, Frosting & Fondant Skills is a winning recommendation for any baker.

The Insect Cookbook
Arnold Van Huis, et.al.
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015
9780231166843, $27.95, www.cup.columbia.edu

The Insect Cookbook: Food for a Sustainable Planet joins only a few other cookbooks on the market to cover insect cookery, with a difference: the sustainable focus. Two entomologists and a chef join forces here to present insects as a good source of protein for humans, and pair recipes with interviews with top chefs, insect farmers, and more. Color photos accompany dishes such as Oatmeal Bars with freeze-dried buffalo worms and Thai Salad with grasshoppers. While many won't want to consider the possibilities, any who realize the potential for insects as a sustainable food alternative will find this cookbook goes beyond shock value, pairing practical information on insect usage with recipes and focusing on the science and methods of insect farming and cookery.

Crohn's & Colitis Diet Guide, second edition
Dr. A. Hillary Steinhart, MD, MSc, FRCP(C)
Julie Cepo, BSc, BASc, RD
Robert Rose Inc.
120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 1E2
9780778804789, $24.95, www.robertrosa.ca

Crohn's & Colitis Diet Guide appears in its second updated edition to pack in nearly two hundred recipes specific to Crohn's and colitis sufferers. Dietary adjustments are even more important to these individuals, and this book offers proven recipes and strategies for managing IBD, answering basic questions about causes and symptoms and providing information on nutrition, food labels and more. Recipes will appeal to the entire family, from Ham and Cheese Quesadillas to Scandinavian Pasta Salad, and provide dishes tailored to be easy on the digestive system, making this a pick for health and cooking collections alike.

The Bloomsbury Cookbook
Jans Ondaatje Rolls
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
9780500517307, $39.95, www.thamesandhudsonusa.com

The Bloomsbury Cookbook: Recipes for Life, Love and Art focuses on the Bloomsbury Group, a literary Victorian British group that fostered debate among its politically charged, literary peers, and the meals around where arguments were passed along, and offers a blend of cookbook and cultural history that includes nearly 300 recipes; many from previously unpublished sources and personal archives. Don't expect a straight cookbook format here. DO expect quotes, letters, personal memories, photos, and of course dishes that together recreate everything from high tea to breakfast and dinner meetups, all wrapped up in a fascinating, appealing saga.

Verdure
Christopher Boswell with Elena Coldblatt
The Little Bookroom
435 Hudson St, Suite 300, New York NY 10014
9781936941032, $22.00, www.littlebookroom.com

VERDURE: VEGETABLE RECIPES FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME is the fourth in a series of cookbooks that considers favorite dishes served at the American Academy: each book providing a different focus on soups, biscotti and pasta. This one pairs color photos with inviting introductions and vegetable dishes that range from Chard Gratin and Roasted Root Vegetables with Sage to Herb-Stuffed Baked Tomatoes and Pan-Fried Green Peppers. The result is a lovely compendium of original, innovative recipes perfect for any who enjoy cooking vegetable dishes.

More Quick-Fix Vegan
Robin Robertson
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
9781449446130, $16.99, www.andrewsmcmeel.com

More Quick-Fix Vegan: Simple, Delicious Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less packs in some 150 easy recipes that can be prepared quickly for the entire family, and represents a new idea in 'fast food', adding 'healthy' into the mix with dishes that are hearty and interesting for all. Green-toned color photos (to go with the green highlights of ingredients throughout) accompany such dishes as Figgy Quinoa Pilaf, Vegetable Potpie Bowls, and Bulgar Pilaf with Chickpeas and Cranberries, making for a collection packed with unusual flavors and appeal.

Put 'em Up! Preserving Answer Book
Sherri Brooks Vinton
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
9781612120102, $16.95, www.storey.com

Put 'Em Up! Preserving Answer Book packs in nearly four hundred solutions to questions revolving around canning, freezing, drying or fermenting, and comes from an expert who covers everything from small-scale projects to larger operations. It answers all kinds of questions, presents preserving recipes, and covers everything from how long opened pickles will last in the icebox to making a no-prep, quick Blueberry Jam.

The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook
Denise "DedeMed" Hazime
Idiot's Guides/Alpha
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
9781615644452, $18.95, www.penguin.com

The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook offers easy, basic advice on the diet's ideas, structure, and key ingredients, then offers over 200 recipes geared to this diet in an 'Idiot's Guide' especially accessible to newcomers to the diet. Chapters are packed with discussions on the diet's benefits and include not just recipes but meal plans from breakfast to dinner, a glossary of terms, keys to stocking a kitchen with Mediterranean-friendly ingredients, and more. The result will appeal to any interested in the Mediterranean diet idea.


The Fiction Shelf

Cell
Robin Cook
G. P. Putnam's Sons
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780399166303, $26.95, www.penguin.com

CELL returns Robin Cook to what he does best - medical thriller writing - with a novel centered around an amazing healthcare advancement: a cellphone app named iDoc which works as a virtual personal physician who can diagnose and treat its owners. As an added bonus: it's linked to a network that allows it to learn and grow; and as a result it provides a powerful competitor to physicians. So what happens when unbelievable technology goes awry? Something unpredictable, as Cell demonstrates - and something thoroughly engrossing - as is Robin Cook's style.

Two World Order
Neil T. McCabe
Legwork Team
9781935905202, $15.99, www.legworkteam.com

TWO WORLD ORDER is a recommendation for readers who want political drama set in the near future, and tells of global geography changed by reckless Russian mining practices, which has resulted in massive earthquakes around the world that decimated America, among others. Oil is nearly gone, all surviving nations stand on the edge of war, and there's only one hope in a newly discovered planet that offers a refuge to those who would dare to reach it. While this could also have been featured in our Science Fiction column, it's reviewed here for its exceptional appeal to thriller readers.

Where Earth Meets Water
Pia Padukone
Harlequin Mira
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780778315971, $14.95, www.harlequin.ca

Where Earth Meets Water provides a powerful fiction piece telling of one Karom Seth, who has escaped death time and again, staying one step ahead of such disasters as 9/11 and the 2004 tsunami in India. Yes, he's stayed alive: but what have these near-escapes cost him? Karom's quest to understand belief, survival, and why fate has chosen him to remain alive takes him on a journey that affects friends, lovers, and everyone that comes into contact with him. It takes an extended trip through India for Karom to learn about a woman whose past may hold the key to the insights he seeks. A moving, spiritual story comes to life in a novel that will delight a wide audience.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Apocalypse
Dean Crawford
Touchstone Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781451659498, $24.99, www.simonandschuster.com

Apocalypse isn't science fiction, but is mystery/thriller genre writing at its best, and details what happens when a private jet vanishes without a trace - a jet containing all the scientists working for one philanthropist. At the same time Kyle is investigating a murder scene which appears simple, but soon involves him in a physicist's puzzling vision of his own murder: a murder that can only come true. As clues are left for a reporter who has yet to become involved on any level, a desperate search begins to uncover the fact that the future has been changed - and that somebody may hold the answers in a dangerous new game that could threaten everything. A fine thriller emerges, perfect for even those with plenty of experience with thrillers.

Evil in the First House
Mitchell Scott Lewis
Poisoned Pen Press
6962 E. First Ave., #103, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
9781464201875, $24.95, www.poisonedpenpress.com

Evil in the First House provides a fine new Starlight Detective Agency mystery, and presents astrologer detective David Lowell's most difficult case involving a briefcase of a million dollars - IF he can locate the twin brother of the doctor's teen son in time for a kidney transplant. It's unusual to see a mystery revolving around an astrologer detective, a psychic hacker, and a bodyguard - but these elements spice and add interest to the search for a missing twin and his mother, making for an exceptional read recommended for mystery fans looking for something new in the way of characters and approaches to solving crimes.

Murder, She Write: Aloha Betrayed
Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
Obsidian Mystery
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780451466549, $23.95, www.penguin.com

Murder, She Write: Aloha Betrayed offers the fortieth installment of a popular series, this one set in Hawaii where a local environmentalist is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. It's up to Jessica to find the murder, and what evolves is a fat-paced mystery revolving around Jessica's involvement with the local Maui police department and the body of a colleague, a popular professor known for her activism. An engrossing mystery with many unexpected twists and turns evolves, highly recommended for any mystery reader.

Death Come Quickly
Susan Whittig Albert
Berkeley Prime Crime
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
9780425255636, $25.95, www.penguin.com

DEATH COME QUICKLY provides another China Bayles mystery and is recommended for prior fans and newcomers alike. Here China comes to suspect her friend's death is connected to a piece of Mexican art and a fifteen-year-old murder case: her problem lies in convincing others that this is the case. She's determined to find the killer, but her probe into something long considered buried will bring out some dangerous and complex pathways in this involving crime saga that is just as spicy and revealing as the previous books in the China Bayles mystery series - and just as highly recommended.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Civil War Legacies II
Carol Hopkins
Martingale
19021 Avenue NE, Bothell, WA 98011
9781604683820, $24.99, www.shopmartingale.com

Civil War Legacies II: 17 Small Quilt Patterns for Reproduction Fabrics follows up the author's best-selling guide Civil War Legacies, and provides more projects base on scraps and 1860s reproduction fabrics. Some seventeen patterns hold something for every skill level, while color photos embellish projects ranging form small quilts for dolls, wall hangings or home decor to full-sized quilt productions. The 'To Add Interest' box and sidebars of information along with smaller color photos of projects make this a fine winner.

Embroidery & Patchwork Revisited
Janice Vaine
Landauer Publishing LLC
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
9781935726517, $27.95, www.landauerpub.com

Embroidery & Patchwork Revisited was inspired by the author's interest in antique quilts and hand embroidery, and comes from an expert who provides step-by-step guidance through patchwork block templates and more. Besides discussions of techniques and supplies, there are small practice projects, illustrations for 19 stitches, and projects that blend applique and embroidery with piecing tips. Design ideas and stitch patterns are accompanied by diagrams and packed with color examples on every page, making this a treasure trove of techniques and applications recommended for any needleworker.

Crochet Wraps Every Which Way
Tammy Hildebrand
Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921
9780811711838, $19.95, www.stackpolebooks.com

Crochet Wraps Every Which Way provides nearly twenty original patterns and techniques, and is a fine blend of traditional crochet and motifs with regional methods such as Tunisian crochet. Step-by-step photos and instructions compliment techniques that any crocheter can easily use, with a foundation of six techniques for making wraps like shawls and ponchos. The result is a fine collection that offers inspiring ideas for a range of skill levels.

Knit in New Directions
Myra Wood
XRX Books
P. O. Box 965, Sioux Falls, SD 57101-0965
9781933064284, $24.95, www.knittinguniverse.com

Knit in New Directions: A Journey into Creativity pairs Alexis Xenakis' full-page color photos and Wood's creative knitting projects in a slightly oversized presentation perfect for knitters seeking new inspiration. Myra Wood is a fiber artist and designer: here are her techniques to encourage fun knitting, paired with templates that teach knitters how to use them to make their own measurements. From sizing directions to alternate routes to creating new knitting designs, this goes beyond most knitting 'how to' handbooks to provide the tools knitters need to create their own style with optimum results.


The Crafts Shelf

Create Three Dimensional Jewelry
Heather DeSimone
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9780871164940, $21.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Create Three Dimensional Jewelry is a pick for any jewelry maker who wants to learn new designs and construction processes, from how to layer and rivet to using stamp metal and stitched loops, and features over twenty projects along with color photos and step-by-step directions. Jewelry making guides too often focus on beading: this offers many alternatives and keys to successful work with jewelry, and is a top recommendation for those with some jewelry-making experience who are looking to expand their skill sets.

Small Beads Big Jewelry
Jean Power
Barrons
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9781438003511, $21.99, www.barronseduc.com

Small Beads Big Jewelry: 30 Unique Pieces to Make teaches how to make modern, multi-dimensional jewelry using easy beadweaving techniques and is a pick for any who want to enhance beading efforts. It covers different bead types, tools, and instructions for basic stitches along with some thirty projects for all kinds of jewelry. The techniques are varied enough to appeal to newcomers and advanced jewelry-makers and beaders alike, and includes some 200 color illustrations. The result is a lovely project guide recommended for any jewelry maker and collections catering to them.


The Political Science Shelf

Demographic Gaps in American Political Behavior
Patrick Fisher
Westview Press
c/o Perseus Book Grop
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
9780813345963, $34.00, www.westviewpress.com

Demographic Gaps in American Political Behavior considers how and why US demographic groups are politically different, with each chapter using a specific demographic to present data and different perspectives on voting behavior patterns. This approach incorporates some of the latest political and voting trends and is written not with the political scientist but the general-interest reader in mind. This approach assumes no prior knowledge of either voting or political history, and relies on the latest data from the 2008 and 2012 elections to help readers understand exactly how demographics affect political behavior.

The Smart Society
Peter D. Salins
Encounter Books
900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, NY 10003
9781594037009, $25.99, www.encounterbooks.com

THE SMART SOCIETY: AMERICA'S GREATEST RESOURCE, ITS PEOPLE belongs in any political science collection concerned with public policy and economics, and provides a powerful survey of how the U.S. success formula is based on being smart and innovative. Over the last four decades, however, the country's ideals have been breaking down. This survey offers a blueprint for jumpstarting the U.S. and revamping its policies from education to work environment, and provides not just theory but specific insights on how revitalization can be achieved. The result is a formula highly recommended for any political studies collection.

The Nuclear Terrorist
Robert Gleason
Forge Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780765338129, $25.99, www.tor-forge.com

The Nuclear Terrorist: His Financial Backers and Political Patrons in the U.S. and Abroad comes from a nuclear terrorism expert who strikes at the heart of the problem of nuclear terrorism: that too many U.S. officials prefer to profit off rogue states instead of actively opposing their nuclear ambitions - and this is fostering the real scenario of nuclear bombs exploding on U.S. soil. Time after time the Bush and Obama administrations have chosen politics and business concerns over public safety: chapters pinpoint the politicians and officials who have had special-interest connections to other nations. It shows how the government has failed to secure U.S. nuclear power plants, how its nuclear arsenals are vulnerable to attacks, and how terrorist actions around the world are successfully staging attacks on other countries' nuclear facilities. The result is a powerful, damning look at U.S. failures to protect the people not just from nuclear proliferation and terrorism, but from special interest groups. No political and social issues collection should be without this!


The Sports Shelf

Women's Lacrosse, updated edition
Janine Tucker and Maryalice Yakutchik
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421413983, $29.95, www.press.jhu.edu

The newly updated edition of Women's Lacrosse: A Guide for Advanced Players and Coaches pairs charts and diagrams with black and white photos throughout, and covers specific skills along with instructional diagrams for any playing lacrosse. From survival skills to advanced techniques, this covers both offensive and defensive strategies and has been updated with more skill instructions and drill suggestions, along with reviews of the latest rules of the sport. The result is a coverage recommended for any coaching or playing in the field of women's lacrosse.

Sport Management
George B. Cunningham, Editor
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
9781781007174, $299.95, www.e-elgar.com

Sport Management is a pick for college-level collections and compiles articles and essays reviewing recent issues in sport management organizations. As such, it's a recommendation for professionals in the field and for those seeking the latest ground-breaking research in the field, considering the insights of leading scholars who present a variety of issues. Any interested in theoretical frameworks, group conflicts, better marketplace understanding, and institutional strategies will find this packed with important technical articles and insights.

Strength Training for Fat Loss
Nick Tumminello
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
9781450432078, $21.95, www.humankinetics.com

Strength Training for Fat Loss is a specific training guide for a specific purpose, and will reach out not only to athletes but to individuals focused on reducing fat and developing muscle. It packs in over 150 exercises that use barbells, resistance bands, and machines commonly found in gyms, it provides step-by-step photos to pair with instruction on sequences that burn the most fat, and it provides both individual routines that can be added into a general regimen and wider home-, gym- and body-weight-based workout programs. The result is an excellent guide for any who would combine strength training with fat reduction objectives.

The Drake Relays: America's Athletic Classic
David Peterson
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House
119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
9781609382292, $25.00, www.uiowa.edu

The Drake Relays: America's Athletic Classic provides a powerful photography book by an artist who has been covering the Drake Relays for nearly forth years, and who ran on three winning relay teams there himself. Using his own personal archive he provides a powerful set of images spanning nearly decades and capturing the highlights of the Drake Relays and their key athletes. This photographic tribute is as powerful a coverage as any sports commentator could have drummed up, and is a top pick for Iowa-area and any sports collection.


The Psychology Shelf

Bipolar Disorder, third edition
Francis mark Mondimore, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421412061, $19.95, www.press.jhu.edu

Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families appears in its third updated edition to provide the latest new information about the causes of bipolar disorder, its diagnosis, and its treatment. There are a host of new medications on the market since the last edition: this book explores the pros and cons of each, considers their side effects, and reviews scientific studies on alternative treatments. The result is a relatively simple explanation of a potentially confusing psychological disorder, and is a pick for any general health holding.

The Truth About Trust
David DeSteno, PhD
Hudson Street Press
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9781594631238, $25.95, www.penguin.com

The Truth About Trust: How It Determines Success in Life, Love, Learning, and More gathers the latest research from different fields - psychology, biology, economics and more - to consider trustworthiness and how it is perceived, gained, or lost. Trust isn't about good or evil: it's about gain and perceived behavior patterns. Chapters discuss these facets and are supported with research from the author's own lab as he considers the influences involved in developing, maintaining and exhibiting trustworthy qualities, including trust in oneself. The result is a different approach that hones in on how decisions are made and communicated: a key acquisition for a variety of collections, from psychology to business and beyond.

Freud and the Science of Trauma
John Fletcher
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue
University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
9780823254606, $35.00, www.fordhampress.com

Freud and the Science of Trauma is recommended for college-level psychology, literary and philosophy readers alike, and argues that Freud's focus on trauma is central to his clinical interpretation of his patients' symptoms and the overall development of his models explaining such in his patients' lives. It's this focus that lead to his break from traditional focus on neurological models, and it also lead to his affinity for literature and literary renditions of trauma. The result is an in-depth analysis perfect for any interested in Freud's theories in general and his focus on loss and trauma in particular.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Liberty: 1784
Robert Conroy
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
9781476736273, $25.00, www.baen.com

Liberty: 1784 follows a group of rebels who flees the 1781 attempt by George Washington to trap the British forces at Yorktown - a disaster that collapses the resolution - and considers a new colony called Liberty which provokes the British forces to destroy them. In case you haven't guessed, this is an alternate history story set in an America facing its second war for independence - and the politics and encounters created by Conroy are vivid, realistic, and involving. Readers of alternate history science fiction will find it a fine saga of military might and conflict.

The Tropic of Serpents
Marie Brennan
Tor
c/o Tor/Forge Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780765331977, $25.99, www.tor-forge.com

The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent provides the second book in Lady Trent's memoirs, set in a fantasy world where dragons follow her as she sails the world making discoveries. Isabella Trent was born a society lady in a world just beginning to open up to new vistas and possibilities; and what better person to set off on adventure than a girl who dreams of a life beyond that of a lady? Her first memoir A Natural History Of Dragons showed how she entered the world of exploration, joining an expedition to the mountains of Vystrana: this sequel offers another epic journey; this time to investigate dangerous creates in a jungle popularly known as the Green Hell. The result is a fine fantasy that combines epic adventure with dragons: perfect for those who like gripping fantasy sagas.


The Military Shelf

Rising Sun, Falling Skies
Jeffrey R. Vox
Osprey Publishing
4301 21st St, Suite 220B, Long Island City, NY 11101
9781780967264, $29.95, www.ospreypublishing.com

Rising Sun, Falling Skies: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II provides a powerful survey of Allied losses in the early months of their involvement in the Pacific, especially during the Java Sea Campaign, and narrows the focus to this battle, the first in an ongoing sea fight the Americans were to conduct in the area. It's important to realize that the Allied goal wasn't so much to win as to delay. Chapters closely examine the Java Sea Campaign's events and reconstructs battles, fatal mistakes, and errors that cost Allied lives. The result belongs in military and aviation collections alike!


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Nuke 101, second edition
Ron Ganbar
Peachpit Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321984128, $64.99, www.peachpit.com

NUKE 101: PROFESSIONAL COMPOSITING AND VISUAL EFFECTS appears in its second updated edition to provide a complete guide to Nuke, and is a collection of advice and techniques from an expert compositor who offers a basic tutorial pairing real-world examples of applications with projects and discussions of tools for Nuke users. Beginning to advanced digital film and video manipulators will find this an excellent survey that covers everything from color correction to tracking, making for a powerful discussion of camera tracking techniques and various types of compositing. The result is fine survey for computer and film users alike.

The Art of the Documentary, second edition
Megan Cunningham
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321981929, $54.99, www.newriders.com

Whether you're a director or a cinematographer or producer, you'll find this a powerful guide that considers how nonfiction filmmaking works from initial idea to shooting, producing, editing and releasing the documentary. The Art of the Documentary is a recommendation for novices and professionals alike, pairing conversations with professional directors, cinematographers and more with keys to understanding the basics of producing a good documentary. This second updated edition includes black and white and color photos throughout as it explores important keys to filmmaking success.

Testimony
USC Shoah Foundation
Newmarket Press for IT Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780042285188, $35.00, www.harpercollins.com

TESTIMONY: THE LEGACY OF SCHINDLER'S LIST AND THE USC SHOAH FOUNDATION comes from the archives of the USC Shoah foundation, which holds over 50,000 video-recorded testimonies from Holocaust survivors and those of other genocides, and which has become a major reference for academics, libraries, schools and much more. In actually it holds two parts: it gathers production stills and interviews to bring to life the art and science of crafting Schindler's List, and it examines the challenges of director Steven Spielberg as he interacted with Holocaust survivors and was inspired to preserve their testimonies by creating the Foundation. It was a five-year plan to record some 50,000 testimonies in 58 countries and numerous languages: this lovely illustrated book is itself a testimony to the efforts of all involved, and should be in any film and social issues collection.

Dramatic Circumstances
William Wesbrooks
Applause Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
www.halleonard.com
9781476623010, $24.99, www.applausebooks.com

Dramatic Circumstances: On Acting, Singing, and Living Inside the Stories We Tell comes from a director and educator who presents a new approach for singers and actors who want better techniques and insights on their work. Psychology blends with the author's background to provide a new process that allows performers to bring characters and songs to life. It's a structured process: expect specific chapters and guidelines in a resource that teaches the basics of empowering stories so audiences gain maximum emotional 'charge' from their drama experience. Dramatic Circumstances should be in any aspiring actor's collection!

The Metropolitan Opera Presents: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
Introduction by Peter Gelb
Amadeus Press
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
www.halleonard.com
9781574674453, $18.99, www.amadeuspress.com

Having the complete libretto to cosi fan tutte will delight opera fans who will appreciate this latest addition to the Metropolitan Opera Presents Libretto Library Series, and includes not only the complete libretto but color images from Met productions and official program notes. An introduction by Peter Gelb, Met Opera General Manager, lends authority and insights to a fine survey packed with insights into Mozart's classic, covering the opera's greatest singers and their achievements. The result is essential for any classical music or opera fan who wants a notable book about this opera in their collection!

An Actor Succeeds
Boze Hadleigh
Applause Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10010
www.halleonard.com
9780879108885, $19.99, www.applausebooks.com

AN ACTOR SUCCEEDS: TIPS, SECRETS, AND ADVICE ON AUDITIONING, CONNECTING, COPING, AND THRIVING IN AND OUT OF HOLLYWOOD, FROM STARS, AGENTS, COACHES, CASTING DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS, AND OTHERS gathers nearly a thousand personal tips and advice from some of the biggest names in theater history, and provides new insights on what it means to be a successful actor. Five chapters cover all the basics of acting, auditioning, and coping with the field, using insights from actors, directors and writers alike and providing quotes that cover a range of lessons common to an actor's experience. The result is a vivid collection 'from the horse's mouth' that covers all kinds of scenarios.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying
Carol Leifer
Quirk Books
215 Church Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
9781594746772, $19.95, www.quirkbooks.com

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying: Lessons from a Life in Comedy comes from female comedian Carol Leifer, who forged a name for herself in television comedy at a time when TV comedy was a man's world. These essays follow her encounters with show business personalities, the problems she ran into while learning lessons about the industry and women's place in it, and hilarious moments with other famous personalities from Frank Sinatra to Aaron Spelling and Joan Rivers. With a hilarious observational tone, this is a fun read and a fine pick for any interested in Leifer or TV comedy or women's changing roles in the industry.


The Business Shelf

The Economy of You
Kimberly Palmer
Amacom Books
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
9780814432730, $21.95, www.amacombooks.org

The Economy of You: Discover Your Inner Entrepreneur and Recession-Proof Your Life shares how the author gained her own financial stability in the course of researching, developing and launching a business to supplement her full-time job, and provides a game plan others can use to follow in her footsteps. Along the course of her journey she met numerous others who fostered their own businesses on their own time: this covers the new and evolving culture of 'side-giggers' who build careers outside traditional economic courses, filling the gap between primary income and expenses and serving as a hedge against unemployment. The result is an inspirational collection of all kinds of 'side jobs' that more than fit the bill, recommended for any business or entrepreneur's collection.


The Social Issues Shelf

Pop Culture Freaks
Dustin Kidd
Westview Press
c/o Perseus Book Grop
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
9780813349121, $35.00, www.westviewpress.com

Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society provides a review of the sociology of popular culture and is a pick for any college-level reader just entering the field. It focuses on the basics methods of pop culture study and theories, assessing research trends and possibilities, discussing methodology and gender relationships, and considering evolving global identities and their influences. The result is a powerful survey highly recommended for any sociology reader, especially those new to pop culture research and study.

Ethnic Cleansing and the Indian
Gary Clayton Anderson
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806144214, $29.95, www.oupress.com

Ethnic Cleansing and the Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America comes from an American Indian history professor who here uses ethnic cleansing as a tool to challenge the idea that Anglo-American colonialism consisted of genocide. He redefines ethnic cleansing and documents facts supporting the idea that the goal of U.S. Indian policy was not to kill off the native population, but to obtain land and resources. Clashes revolved around these conflicts, not the modern definition of purposeful genocide, and chapters thus make the case for ethnic cleansing - no less forgivable, but different. History and Native American collections will find this a specific and important analysis.

The Search for Domestic Bliss
Ian Dowbiggin
University Press of Kansas
2501 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049
9780700619474, $29.95, www.kansaspress.ku.edu

The Search for Domestic Bliss is for any interested in mental health and social issues, and documents the history of marriage counseling in North America: as such, it's a powerful survey of how couples therapy evolved and how it came to be accepted in society. Chapters document the techniques of therapy and its challenges in a fine survey recommended for any collection strong in either discipline, especially for college-level readers who want an in-depth study of the subject.

The News: A User's Manual
Alain de Botton
Pantheon
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780307379122, $26.95, www.pantheonbooks.com

The News: A User's Manual is recommended for social issues and media collections alike, and uses over twenty archetypal news stories as examples o how news is interpreted and received. This analysis intends to investigate how readers absorb information in general and news in particular, and analyzes such facets as what makes disaster stories so uplifting and why readers enjoy stories of struggle and adversity. Any who would understand the social and psychological ramifications of the media will find this a key acquisition, highly recommended for any involved in news and media dissemination.

Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil, second edition
Inga Muscio
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013
9781609805203, $16.95, www.sevenstories.com

Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society would normally be considered in our 'Biography and Autobiography' section were it not for the fact that much of it revolves around social issues. It's a revised, updated second edition that comes from a feminist author who maintains that history as we know it is actually a marketing brand cleverly disguised as truth, designed to maintain social inequality. Her title considers the roots of democracy, how it's bought and sold, and makes for striking, literary social commentary recommended beyond the usual 'biography' reader.

Africare: Black American Philanthropy in Africa
Penelope Campbell
Transaction Publishers
10 Corporate Place South, Piscataway, NJ 08854
9781412852548, $24.95, www.transactionpub.com

Africare: Black American Philanthropy in Africa tells of a US-based non-profit organization specializing in development aid for Africa, and studies the leadership affecting Africare, which sought to become a leading voice on African concerns in this country - something often disjoined. Overall there's poor coverage of African affairs, barring a few headline stories. Penelope Campbell argues that unless Africare assumes a broader role, it may lose not only its voice, but its ability to be an effective philanthropy group. Chapters consider the failures of development groups in Africa, their issues, and how Africare holds the possibility of being a leader in its field. Any college-level collection strong in African affairs will find this essential reading.


The Biography Shelf

Gene Everlasting
Gene Logsdon
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120
White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603585392, $24.95, www.chelseagreen.com

GENE EVERLASTING: A CONTRARY FARMER'S THOUGHTS ON LIVING FOREVER is a fine autobiography recommended for collections strong on rural living and farming, and documents the reflections of an author on nature, death and eternity. Philosophy blends with accounts of his entire life and his recent struggle with cancer, with each story centered around the lessons that farming and nature have taught him on how to handle life. The result is a fine, inspirational work perfect for any who live close to the land or who want a fine treatise on natural living.

John Wayne: The Life and Legend
Scott Eyman
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
9781439199589, $32.50, www.simonandschuster.com

John Wayne: The Life and Legend uses unpublished materials and over a hundred interviews with Wayne and his colleagues, friends and family to arrive at the heart of reality of Wayne's movie career and influences, and is a pick for any general-interest, biography or movie history collection. Wayne became more than a movie star: he represented the idea of American masculinity in portraying the rugged individualist American cowboy of the West. Surprisingly, he didn't set out to be an actor: he stumbled into the job. This is no casual coverage, but a weighty consideration of Wayne's entire life, influences, and achievements, and should be considered a definitive 'must' for any John Wayne enthusiast.

Devotion & Defiance
Humaira Awais Shahid with Kelly Horan
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393081480, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

Devotion & Defiance: My Journey in Love, Faith and Politics chronicles the efforts author Shahid, a working mother and committed politician who fought for the rights of Pakistani women and girls and became an activist for women's rights. How did all of this come about in a country not known for women's achievements? Humaira's memoir is as much about her faith and relationship with God and Islam as it is about her evolution and her family ties, and offers a powerful portrait of how she pursued advanced education and helped change the perspectives of Pakistani women across her country. It's a vivid, moving memoir that will enchant a wide audience.


The Computer Shelf

Scaling Networks Lab Manual
Cisco
Cisco Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.mcp.com
9781587133251, $47.50, www.ciscopress.com

Scaling Networks Lab Manual is highly recommended as the only authorized lab manual for the Cisco Networking Academy Scaling Networks course in the CCNA Routing and Switching curriculum, and contains all the labs and class activities needed for the course. Students will find this an excellent survey filled with workbook pages, explorations of subjects from wireless implementations and configuration processes to troubleshooting connectivity issues, and more, and will appreciate the book's clear and step-by-step processes.

Functional Programming in Java
Venkat Subramaniam
Pragmatic Programmers
2831 Eldorado Parkway, #103-381, Frisco, TX 75033-7438
9781937785468, $33.00, www.pragprog.com

Functional Programming in Java: Harnessing the Power of Java 8 Lambda Expressions is edited by Jacquelyn Carter and provides programmers with a quick survey of the new Java 8 language features and style and how to use them to create better code. Chapters cover Lambda expressions from their syntax to expressions, offering reviews of techniques to implement designs unique to Java 8 and showing how to streamline its features. The result is an excellent recommendation for any Java programmer who wants an introduction to the next level.

Sams Teach Yourself jQuery and JavaScript in 24 Hours
Brad Dayley
Sams
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780672337345, $34.99, www.informit.com/sams

Sams Teach Yourself jQuery and JavaScript in 24 Hours teaches how to build web pages using jQuery and JavaScript and discusses everything from syntax and objects to building interactive web pages using events handlers, creating animations, working with all kinds of data using XML and binding, and much more. It uses a step-by-step approach to teach all these basics, adding examples from real-world applications and reinforcing learning with quizzes and exercises. The result is a fine primer that will help relative newcomers get up to speed quickly.

The Book of F#
Dave Fancher
No Starch Press
38 Ringold Street, San Francisco, CO 94103-4403
9781593275525, $44.95, www.nostarch.com

The Book of F#: Breaking Free with managed Functional Programming uses the author's more than ten years of experience as a software developer with the .NET framework to show how to use F# to write reliable code, and is a 'must' for any programmer's reference collection. Newcomers to F# will find it particularly inviting: it assumes no prior knowledge of F# (though programming background is useful) and it teaches all the basics, from pattern matching and parallel programming to using modules. Packed with code examples, this is rich in content and covers F# 3.1 as well.

Real-Time Rendering
Gabriuel Wong and Jianliang Wang
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781466583597, $89.95, www.crcpress.com

Real-Time Rendering: Computer Graphics with Control Engineering is a recommendation for college-level holdings strong in computer science and engineering alike, and provides a unique framework for resolving issues of resource allocation and interactive computer graphics rendering. The usual approach are specific to individual applications - and thus, labor-intensive. The solution provided her uses concepts from control engineering to expand real-time rendering techniques and create a system for both linear and non-linear models. The result is a powerful survey recommended for any interested in computer graphics rendering processes.


The Education Shelf

Turning the Tide
Gina A Oliva and Linda Risser Lytle
Gallaudet University Press
800 Florida Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002-3695
9781563685996, $29.95, www.gupress.galludet.edu

Turning the Tide: Making Life Better for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Schoolchildren comes from authors who both experienced being the only deaf student in a regular school. They became educators and studied deaf and hard of hearing students in these schools, interviewing in three different regions of the country and examining issues ranging from socialization to K-12 interpreting and programs for deaf students. They added comments from interpreters, educators and parents and used this information to provide ideas on improving schools for all deaf children. Turning the Tide is an important survey, highly recommended for any involved with the deaf community and its needs.

Preparing to Study Abroad
Steven T. Duke
Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
9781579229948, $22.50, www.styluspub.com

Preparing to Study Abroad: Learning to Cross Cultures is a recommendation for travel and education collections alike, and teaches students how to travel abroad for the first time and how to make the most of an overseas experience. Chapters cover everything from meeting locals to understanding different cultural values and interpretations, and focus on cross-cultural engagement within the educational arena. The result is a powerful recommendation for any who would undertake study abroad, who would understand the complete cultural ramifications of their experience.

Making it Better, second edition
Barbara Oehlberg
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
9781605541600, $19.95, www.redleafpress.org

Making it Better: Activities for Children Living in a Stressful World appears in its second updated edition to offer insights on trauma-informed education, an approach that recognizes the impact of traumatic stress on children and applies the latest brain research to teaching methods and interactions that support grieving children. These challenges range from natural disasters to abuse or neglect in a family, and activities presented here are designed to help children heal and provides them with emotional security. Procedures, materials, issues and purposes are outlined in easy chapters any educator, parent or childcare provider can readily apply, making this an exceptional pick for all audiences.

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child
Anthony Esolen
ISI Books
3901 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE 19807-1938
1610170792, $18.00, www.isibooks.org

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child deserves ongoing recommendation as a top guide for parents and teachers alike, and considers trends of the last few decades and how educators and adults can encourage, not destroy, a child's imaginative and creative processes. Chapters cover everything from replacing traditional fairy tales with political and educational associations and cliches to the tendency to 'make heroes human'. From the corruption of play and fantasy to 'dos and don'ts', this is a solid reference that offers much food for thought on the raising and tailoring of childhood.

If the U Fits
Kevin McMullin and Robert Franek
The Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780805554124713, $14.99, www.princetonreview.com

If the U Fits: Expert Advice on Finding the Right College and Getting Accepted is all about helping students know all about financial aid, waitlisting processes, rejection and acceptance benefits, and more and teaches the basics of finding the right college and handling the admission process. Chapters offer advice pairing statistics and social concerns with kid-to-kid and parent-to-parent tips on how best to manage the process, creating a user-friendly guide packed with tips on how to get the most out of a college environment. No high school collection or college-bound senior should be without this.


The Audiobook Shelf

Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office
Lois P. Frankel, PhD
Hachette Audio Books
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9781478925385, $22.00, www.hachetteaudio.com

Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office comes from the president of Corporate Coaching International, a popular speaker and executive coach who reveals a set of behaviors women learn in girlhood that can affect their adulthood. If these mistakes can be identified and eliminated, then new career opportunities will blossom - and that's the contention of an audio that pinpoints how women avoid playing office politics, overachieve with multitasking, and avoid confrontation - all strategies that lend to failure. By surveying these behaviors, Nice Girls Still Don't Get the Corner Office offers a fine analysis that links common female tendencies to career problems - and shows exactly how to overcome them. Any business listener will find this a rich, exciting survey.

The Star of Istanbul
Robert Olen Butler
Highbridge Audio Books
201 Sixth Street SE, Suite 220, Minneapolis, MN 55414
9781622311804, $36.95, www.highbridgeaudio.com

The Star of Istanbul provides a fine Christopher Marlowe Cobb thriller and is set during World War I, when a war correspondent and American spy is asked to follow a possible covert SS agent. There he falls in love, follows the woman to Istanbul, and finds himself deep behind enemy lines uncertain of who to trust and what will come to pass. Reader Ray Chase brings the drama and tension to life in this audio, making it a gripping listen for any who like international intrigue and romance.

The Counterfeit Agent
Alex Berenson
Penguin Audio Books
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9781611762402, $39.95, www.penguin.com

The Counterfeit Agent pairs veteran narrator George Guidall's fine voice with a new John Wells novel centered around an undercover operation where John masquerades as an Arab as nuclear threats between Iran and the U.S. are increasing. As warnings and danger escalate, John struggles to find the truth - and finds himself chasing around the world in pursuit of a cunning former CIA operative who seems to have vanished. Espionage and danger combine in a vivid listen that will engross any who like international thrillers and twists of plot.


The Science Shelf

The Galapagos: A Natural History
Henry Nicholls
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780465035977, $27.99, www.basicbooks.com

The Galapagos: A Natural History provides a fine survey of the region and its unique species, and comes from a science writer who here offers the natural and human history of the archipelago and how it changed from a deserted, little-known wilderness to a focal point for scientists and eco-tourists alike. Chapters consider its life forms, its terrain, and the qualities that make it unique, and blend natural history with his own experience of the islands. Any interested in the region will find this an engrossing historical overview, accessible to lay readers and scientists alike.

Science, Ideology and the Media
Ronald Fletcher
Transaction Publishers
10 Corporate Place South, Piscataway, NJ 08854
9781412852746, $29.95, www.transactionpub.com

Science, Ideology and the Media: The Cyril Burt Scandal crosses genres to appeal to a range of collections, from science history and media studies to psychology, and appears five years after the death of British scientist Sir Cyril Burt. This is written as a defense of Burt and also documents the effects of mass media on science, and the successful strategies of an invasion of scientific process that threatens intellectual authority and autonomy. The result is a specific examination of how an injustice has been done to Sir Cyril Burt - and also an expose of interpretation, scientific process, and errors. College-level students will find this an intriguing study.

To the Denmark Strait
Dallas Murphy
Burford Books
101 East State Street, #301, Ithaca, NY 14850
9781580801737, $35.00, www.burfordbooks.com

To the Denmark Strait: Oceanographers Search for a Mysterious Current deserves ongoing recommendation as an outstanding collection of photos by Rachel Fletcher and Sindre Skrede, paired with a DVD of videos by Ben Harden and cemented by a collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Its purpose is to explore the research and work of the research ship "Knorr", a vessel involved in oceanographic research in Iceland and Greenland, and its method of presenting the Knorr's journeys makes for a "you are there" feel throughout. Any with an interest in the science and process of oceanic research will love this pictorial representation of the look, feel, and process of the ocean-going craft. The result is a powerful survey highly recommended for any science, nature, or nature photography library.

A Course in Mathematical Methods for Physicists
Russell L. Herman
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781466584679, www.crcpress.com

A Course in Mathematical methods for Physicists is a weighty, college-level study recommended for any advanced student of physics, and is based on the author's junior-level undergrad course. Intended as an introductory textbook for a course, this covers the physics of oscillations and waves and is packed with mathematical techniques and their applications for physics audiences. Expect formulas, classroom-tested explanations of functions and analysis processes, and coverage of everything from vector analysis to non-sinusoidal harmonics and transform techniques in a highly recommended, technical survey!

Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense, revised edition
Steve Hagen
Sentient Publications
1113 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302
9781591811800, $18.95, www.sentientpublications.com

If Why the World Doesn't Seem to Make Sense: An Inquiry into Science, Philosophy, and Perception sounds familiar, that's because it's a revised edition of his first book titled How the World Can Be the Way It Is. And if you think this is just for scientists, think again: it's for an intelligent, general-interest audience concerned with questions raised by the intersection of modern science and philosophy, and it requires no special expertise to absorb. Chapters consider paradoxes, belief, scientific challenges to belief and perception, and offer a new way of understanding the ethical conflicts and principles revolving around living and experiencing the world. The result is recommended for science and philosophy holdings alike, and is a powerful recommendation for any general reader interested in either science or philosophy.


The Photography Shelf

How Photographs Are Sold
Alain Briot
Rocky Nook
802 East Cota Street, 3rd Floor, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
9781933952932, $36.95, www.rockynook.com

How Photographs Are Sold: Stories and Examples of How Fine Art Photographers Sell Their Work is a 'must' for any working photographer, and provides an excellent survey of the entire marketing process for fine art works. The author is a teacher and fine art photographer who uses stories and examples to show how successful photographers market their fare. It's these first-hand experiences that help aspiring photographers understand the business side of the art; a process that many don't completely get. Lessons from Alain's own personal sales techniques supplement advice on how to describe photos, understanding the special business approaches to photography, and how to create an effective artist statement. Highly recommended!


The Literary Studies Shelf

Art's Undoing
Forest Pyle
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue
University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
9780823251124, $28.00, www.fordhampress.com

ART'S UNDOING: IN THE WAKE OF A RADICAL AESTHETICISM is recommended for literature and philosophy and arts holdings alike and offers college-level readers a survey of radical aestheticism, which describes a recurring event in 19th-century British literary texts. It explores the underlying beliefs of writers of the times and what happened when the writers ran up against philosophical and aesthetic conflicts, and it considers the images and beliefs that are fundamental to aesthetic critical inquiry. The result is a wide-ranging survey of literary tradition covering writers and their connections to social, philosophical and literary tradition.

The Science of Shakespeare
Dan Falk
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9781250008770, $26.99, www.stmartins.com

The Science of Shakespeare: A New Look at the Playwright's Universe examines the different sciences of Shakespeare's time and considers which of them he knew and how it may have influenced his writings. In taking such an approach readers receive both a literary and scientific investigation that probes astronomy, key figures of Shakespeare's time, and how new ideas were reflected in his works. While popular literary belief has it that Shakespeare largely ignored changes in scientific circles, Falk refutes this notion with an excellent, studied examination recommended for any student of Shakespeare's works.

Point Made
Ross Guberman
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
9780199943852, $21.95, www.oup.com

POINT MADE: HOW TO WRITE LIKE THE NATION'S TOP ADVOCATES uses examples from top lawyers in hundreds of cases to cull 50 writing tips any can use, and offers plenty of examples of clear legal writing. Legal writers and general writers who want to improve their style and content will find this a handbook packed with examples on how to be outstanding legal writers. The writing is broken into segments with boxed highlights of information - such as how to properly use parentheses or quotes - providing concrete keys to writing success. While legal students will be the likely readers of these arguments, the general writer who wants to improve style or content should not neglect this excellent survey.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Miller's Collectibles Handbook & Price Guide 2014-2015
Judith Miller & Mark Hill
Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781845337902, $27.99, www.millersonline.com

Miller's Collectibles Handbook & Price Guide 2014-2015 appears in its 23rd updated edition and has updated the entire price guide, adding new listings, photos, pricing information and new sections covering everything from glassware and pens to ceramics, dolls, posters and memorabilia. The features in each category cover what to look for and how to value an item, while accompanying biographies of designers and factors round out the collector's guide. Also included are new sections on Art Deco, comics, music and oriental collectibles. This continues to be one of the more valuable general collector handbooks on the market, with good-quality small color photos throughout enhancing the identification process.

Carson City Morgan Dollars, third edition
Adam Crum, et.al.
Whitman Publishing
4001 Helton Drive, Florence, Alabama, 35630
0794842275, $24.95, www.whitmanbooks.com

Carson City Morgan Dollars provides coin-by-coin entries that include values in Mint State grades, insights on condition ratings, keys to coin history, and the latest markets for them, and has been updated here in a fresh, new third edition that includes new historical photos and information. The history of Carson City Morgan Dollars began with California's gold rush in 1848 and today collectors have been affected by government sales of these coins, brought out of storage since the 1970s. The result is a fine blend of coin history and valuation, perfect for collectors and especially recommended for those new to Carson City Morgans.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Would You Teach a Fish to Climb a Tree?
Anne Maxwell, LCSW, et.al.
Access Consciousness Publishing
www.accessconsciousnesspublishing.com
9781939261502, $35.00, www.amazon.com

Would You Teach a Fish to Climb a Tree? A Different take on Kids with ADD, ADHD, OCD, and Autism takes quite a different perspective than the view that there's something wrong with kids who learn differently. The idea here is that educators and parents need to work with this difference, not try to teach via mainstream methods - and chapters support and present these methods, combining the insights of child and play and family therapist Anne Maxwell, LCSW, RPT-S with those of co-writers author Gary Douglas and International speaker and workshop coordinator Dr. Dain Heer. From how to work with kids who have spherical awareness patterns to developing a stance of allowing people to be who they are, this book promotes positions of strength, understanding, and flexibility in working with kids who think and perceive outside the box. The 'different take' here is more than idealism: concrete techniques are supported by case history examples to promote understanding and new paths of communication and education. Very highly recommended for any working with kids on the autism spectrum and children who learn differently.

Public Health Administration, second edition
Lloyd F. Novick, Cynthia B. Morrow, Glen P. Mays
Jones & Bartlett Learning
5 Wall Street, Burlington, MA 01803
9780763738426, $139.43, www.jbpub.com

The second updated edition of Public Health Administration: Principles for Population-Based Management provides a fine survey gathering writings from top industry leaders and reviewing the latest issues for new and experienced public health administrators alike, and is a special pick for any college-level collection. From epidemics ranging around natural disasters and emerging new diseases to population health changes and changing public health systems, this incorporates the latest research and includes new chapters, completely revised chapters with new guidelines for strategic planning, and new reports and findings reflecting major changes in health agency management at different levels of government and private sector involvement. The result is a comprehensive and detailed survey any public health administrator will need.

Honey in Traditional and Modern Medicine
Laid Boukraa, Editor
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
9781439840160, $139.95, www.crcpress.com

College-level health collections strong in pharmaceutical science and alternative medicine will find Honey in Traditional and Modern Medicine a specific, clear discussion of the medical uses of honey, and will want to include this in any health holding. From honey's chemical composition and healing properties to its botanical origins, description, and other qualities, chapters survey medicine uses and review its many beneficial effects, and provide an excellent overview filled with technical studies and references. A 'must' for any health holding.

Joyous Childbirth Changes the World
Dr. Tadashi Yoshimura
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013
9781609805241, $16.95, www.sevenstories.com

Joyous Childbirth Changes the World presents a doctor's view of childbirth and comes from an internationally acclaimed obstetrician who considers the power and truth of birth. Yoshimura describes babies born in joy and how they transformed mother and child alike, describing the natural process of childbirth and discussing a compassionate birth culture that holds potential for transforming lives. It's a fine testimony to meeting the needs of women through their pregnancy and birth and makes for a wonderful, joyful celebration of the process.

Athlete, Not Food Addict
Daniel Kirschenbaum
New Horizon Press
PO Box 669, Far Hills, NJ 07931
9780882824642, $15.95, www.newhorizonpress.com

Athlete, Not Food Addict teaches the basics of losing weight permanently and comes from the president of Wellspring, a provider of treatment services for overweight young people and families. Here he argues that weight watchers can overcome obesity by adopting athlete strategies: chapters discuss the addictive nature of foods, how to become a "weight controller athlete", and how to achieve permanent weight loss. A 'must' for any interested in better food management!

Traumatic Childbirth
Cheryl Tatano Beck, et.al.
Routledge
711 - 3rd Avenue, Floor 8, New York, NY 10017-9209
9780415678100, www.routledge.com

Traumatic Childbirth goes beyond the usual discussion of postpartum depression to address the lasting impact of traumatic childbirth on new mothers, and gathers academic, clinical and personal stories under one cover to address the implications of such births. From mother and father perspectives to impacts on breastfeeding, subsequent births, and more, this offers health professionals a fine guide to the latest information and research covering traumatic childbirth, and is a 'must' for both health and women's issues collections alike.

Spirit Recovery Medicine Bag
Lee McCormick and Mary Faulkner
Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190
9780757317941, $14.95, www.hcibooks.com

SPIRIT RECOVERY MEDICINE BAG: A TRANSFORMATIONAL GUIDE FOR LIVING HAPPY, JOYOUS, AND FREE is all about self-help and growth, and is for any who feel limited by behavior and beliefs in life. Those who have questioned life's progress and opportunities will find this comes from veterans in the recovery process who believe that traditional therapies and self-help books too often focus on what is broken. In contrast, SPIRIT RECOVERY MEDICINE BAG is arranged around health and wholeness, and offers 12 step programs and insights on how real transformation is achieved. Health, mental health and spirituality collections alike will find this a powerful read.

Practical Bedside Echocardiography Cases
Daniel Shindler
McGraw-Hill
c/o McGraw Hill Professional
1221 Avenue of the Americas, 45th Floor, New York, NY 10020
www.mhprofessional.com
9780071812658, $80.00, www.mcgrawhillmedical.com

Practical Bedside Echocardiography Cases: An Atlas for Mobile Devices covers some 850 echocardiography codes and images and provides an in-depth review of imaging enhanced by hundreds of online animations viewable on a mobile device, and is a pick for any medical professional interested in specifics surrounding echocardiographic representations. Numerous references are provided with an emphasis on freely available full-text articles, while medical students and practitioners at all levels of training will find this provides black and white images throughout. A fine 'must' for any considering medical references for a library.

The Heart Health Bible
John M. Kennedy, MD
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780738217185, $15.99, www.dacapopress.com

The Heart Health Bible: The 5-Step Plan to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease offers up a program designed to reduce stress, introduce regular physical activity, and prevent or reverse heart disease, and is a recommendation for any general-interest health library. It covers traditional and alternative paths to healing and reducing common risk factors, from relaxation techniques and aerobic exercise to reducing weight and blood sugars. At each step of the way, clear explanations are given on heart health and how to promote it, making for a 'bible' packed with practical advice and the latest medical research.


The American History Shelf

The Routes Not Taken
Joseph B. Raskin
Empire State Editions
c/o Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue
University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
www.fordhampress.com
9780823253692, $34.95, www.empirestateeditions.com

THE ROUTES NOT TAKEN; A TRIP THROUGH NEW YORK CITY'S UNBUILT SUBWAY SYSTEM provides an examination of what did not happen in building the system, and why - and offers in-depth accounts of why several subway lines long needed never got built. This isn't a simple construction review but an intersection of politics, business interests, civil groups and engineers who all argued over the route. Vintage black and white photos and maps accompany a powerful review highly recommended for any transportation collection or any collection strong in New York City history.

America's Covered Bridges
Terry E. Miller and Ronald G. Knapp
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
9780804842655, $39.95, www.tuttlepublishing.com

America's Covered Bridges: Practical Crossings-Nostalgic Icons is the first book to consider the range of some 15,000 covered bridges built in the U.S. and Canada over the past 200 years, and provides an oversized format suitable to capturing the color photos within. From wooden bridges to those constructed of steel or concrete, this captures their history, documents those remaining today, and discusses restoration controversies as it packs in over 550 historic photos, paintings and drawings to compliment the modern photos of A. Chester Ong. The result is a lovely coffee table addition and a suitable historic document.


The World History Shelf

How the West Won
Rodney Stark
ISI Books
3901 Centerville Road, Wilmington, DE 19807-1938
1610170857, $27.95, www.isibooks.org

How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity is recommended for college-level readers of Western history and considers the rise of Western civilization and the ideas and ideals that fostered its growth from the fall of Rome to modern times. It challenges commonly-held notions about Western history, charts different forces in the rise of the West, refutes the ideas that Greeks stole their culture from Africa and similar myths, and provides a well-rounded and astute examination of how the West came to power.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

The Power of Angels
Joanne Brocas
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601633194, $14.99, www.newpagebooks.com

The Power of Angels: Discover How to Connect, communicate, and Heal with the Angels is recommended for any new age collection strong in angel and spirit guides, and teaches readers how to embark on their own journey touching base with angels and higher powers. From signs angels leave that indicate their presence in our lives to learning how to see and hear angels and how to use their healing powers, this discusses intuition, perception, and how angels use subtle signals to communicate. The result is an assessment of the signs that lead to angel encounters, with chapters surveying how to best use their messages for personal and spiritual growth.

The Lost City of the Exodus
Ahmed Osman
Bear & Company
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
9781591431893, $16.00, www.innertraditions.com

The Lost City of the Exodus uses decades of research and new archaeological findings in Egypt to reveal the exact location of the lost city of the Exodus; but it also details his 25-year struggle to have his discovery confirmed by the Egyptian government: an effect that resulted in many controversial debates with former Egyptian Minster for Antiquities Affairs Zahi Hawass. His book points out that modern scholars were looking in the wrong historical period - and the wrong region of Egypt - and it outlines how alternative research, which concludes the biblical city was to be found at the ruins of Zarw. Any interested in Biblical history, archaeology or alternative research will find this an exciting survey.

Wizard and the Witch
John C. Sulak
Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
9780738714820, $24.99, www.llewellyn.com

Wizard and the Witch provides a fine oral history of Oberon Zell and Morning Glory: two individuals who embraced Paganism as their spiritual path and who lived in an open marriage for over forty years. This tells their stories and reveals how they established the Church of All Worlds and more, offering a lively survey that stems from hundreds of hours of interviews. A 16-page color insert of photos completes this lively documentation of counterculture living and Pagan rituals, making this a strong pick for any collection interested in new age topics and individuals.

Dragon Flame
Lawren Leo
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601633101, $15.99, www.newpagebooks.com

DRAGON FLAME: TAP INTO YOUR RESERVOIR OF POWER USING TALISMANS, MANIFESTATION, AND VISUALIZATION is another solid pick for new age collections and readers, and provides a fine set of magickal exercises and rituals designed for beginners who want to learn to work with talismans and dreams. It teaches how to understand links between karma and magickal choices, it shows how to find and create a Philosopher's Stone, and it provides a solid set of insights perfect for new age applications.


The Travel Shelf

The Broken Road
Patrick Leigh Fermor
New York Review Books
435 Hudson Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10014
9781590177549, $30.00, www.nyrb.com

THE BROKEN ROAD: FROM THE IRON GATES TO MOUNT ATHOS is the second half of an account of a 1933 walk across Europe by then-eighteen-year-old Patrick Leigh Fermor, and recounts the final leg of his adventure as a youth which he was unable to complete before his death in 2011. This was assembled from his last manuscripts by his biographer Artemis Cooper and travel writer Colin Thubron, and provides a personal account of Paddy's journeys through Bulgaria and Romania. The same sense of adventure and excitement represented in his previous books is captured here, making for a vivid and lively presentation especially recommended for prior fans.


The Music Shelf

My Way
Paul Anka with David Dalton
St. Martin's Griffin
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9781250044495, $16.99, www.stmartins.com

MY WAY provides a fine autobiography of a music icon and teen idol of the 1950s, and offers a series of stories about Anka's life and the state of the music business of his times. Anka worked with some of the top names in the industry, from Michael Jackson and Tom Jones to actresses such as Brooke Shields and Elizabeth Taylor. He toured the world, he encountered many famous personalities, and his insights and experiences make for a powerful autobiographical read perfect for any music history collection.

ASCAP Centennial Songbook
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Hal Leonard
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing
33 Plymouth St, Suite 302, Montclair, NJ 07042
9781480350519, $19.99, www.halleonard.com

ASCAP Centennial Songbook presents sheet music and song notes for over fifty classic songs, offering works for piano, vocals and guitar and including such classic popular songs as 'The Way We Were', 'Over the Rainbow', 'Ol' Man River', and 'Cry Me a River'. The sheet music is clear and easy to follow while having the lyrics and music under one cover assures that a wide audience will find these songs accessible and revealing. ASCAP Centennial Songbook should be in any popular music collection and offers many standards players will find essential to any pop music repertoire.

The Time of My Life
Bill Medley with Mike Marino
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780306823169, $26.99, www.dacapopress.com

The Time of My Life: A Righteous Brother's Memoir captures the voice and experiences of Bill Medley, one of the Righteous Brothers, and packs in a story of musical partnerships, the changing politics and music of popular music in the 1960s, and more. It captures Bill's life and times and those of his contemporaries by following some five decades of musical and media success, considering the evolution of Bill and his world. From the murder of his first wife Karen to his close friendship with Elvis and the special challenge of losing his voice, this is a vivid, powerful saga that belongs on the shelves of any popular music history collection.

A Broken Hallelujah
Liel Leibovitz
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780393082050, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

A Broken Hallelujah: Rock and Roll, Redemption, and the Life of Leonard Cohen considers the spiritual journey that is at the heart of songwriter Leonard Cohn's work, considering the various influences upon and facets of Cohen's career and touching upon the highlights of his life. More than a biographical coverage, A BROKEN HALLELUJAH considers the circumstances under which Cohn's voice and message flourished, and how facets of his upbringing influenced his works and the evolution of his faith. Spiritual and music collections alike will find this a warm, lovely invitation to appreciate Cohn's art and influences.


The Architecture Shelf

New Orleans Historic Homes
Bonnie Warren
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street, Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781455618989, $29.95, www.pelicanpub.com

New Orleans Historic Homes is a recommendation for architecture, home and garden and Southern history collections alike and pairs lovely color photos throughout by Cheryl Gerber with a survey of the city's homes from small cottages to historic mansions. Histories of the homes and their occupants accompany interior and exterior shots, and covers the history of each property's purchase and development. The result is an outstanding survey, highly recommended for any interested in New Orleans history and culture.


The California Shelf

Pier Pressure
Kathy Schroeder
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764343537, $34.99, www.schifferbooks.com

PIER PRESSURE: CALIFORNIA PIERS FROM SAN DIEGO TO SAN FRANCISCO moves along the entire California coast from San Diego to San Francisco and covers the fishing piers along the way, with some 500 color photos covering over fifty piers in the state. From facts such as which pier is the longest wooden pier and which can be seen from airplanes to the evolution of piers in general, this is packed with color photos on every page and provides readers with a fine survey suitable for either study or leisure browsing. No California history collection should be without this!

When Mandates Work
Michael Reich, Ken Jacobs, Miranda Dietz, Editors
University of California Press
2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
9780520278141, $34.95, www.ucpress.edu

Beginning in the late 1990s through 2008, San Francisco enacted nearly a dozen laws to raise pay, improve benefits, and help low-wage city residents and workers who were being hammed by the high cost of living in the City. As a result, over one in five San Francisco workers now receive good benefits. These new labor standards have improved living conditions across the city for low-wage workers and have not hurt employment at all: this account follows the 15-year experiment San Francisco fostered, and considers its lasting impact and the myths and worries that didn't come true. It serves as a model for others who would raise labor standards in other cities and is packed with invaluable examples detailing exactly why and how this all came to pass. No labor or social issues collection should be without this in-depth examination!


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
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

Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net


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