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Volume 24, Number 12 December 2014 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Christmas Shelf Islamic Studies Shelf
Biography Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf Christian Studies Shelf
Travel Shelf Cookbook Shelf Music Shelf
Gaming Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Graphic Novel Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Music CD Shelf Library DVD Shelf
Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf Computer Shelf
Hobby Shelf Fiction Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Education Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Political Science Shelf Sports Shelf Photography Shelf
Gardening Shelf Military Shelf Business Shelf
Crafts Shelf Art Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Science Shelf American History Shelf
World History Shelf Memoir Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf
Library Science Shelf Self-Help Shelf Environmental Studies Shelf
Wisconsin Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

Silent Voices
Robert L. Okin, MD
Golden Pine Press
38 Miller Avenue, #121
Mill Valley, CA 94941
9780996077705 $19.95 http://goldenpinepress.com

Practicing psychiatrist, professor, and former commissioner of mental health Robert L. Okin, MD presents Silent Voices: People with Mental Disorders on the Street, a sobering portrait of homeless mentally ill individuals. Photographic portraits (mostly in color, some black-and-white) are paired with text passages about each profiled individual - sometimes their first-person testimony, sometimes their response to interview questions, and Okin's candid accounts of his encounters with them. One homeless man candidly observes, "If the city really wanted to do something to help them, it's gotta do something other than put 'em back on the street, give 'em a welfare check, and expect them to use it to pay for a shitty, overpriced, depressing little room. People would rather live on the streets, smoke crack, and take their chances on getting arrested again. You gotta give 'em something they view as too valuable to lose if they get caught again, like real housing." The closing chapter is Okin's straightforward assessment of how deinstitutionalization led to an epidemic of homeless mentally ill, and how criminalization of the homeless has exacerbated the problem. Silent Voices shines a spotlight on a serious, ongoing social problem in America, and is worthy of the highest recommendation.

Judy Garland on Judy Garland
Randy L. Schmidt, editor
Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
9781613749456 $28.95 www.chicagoreviewpress.com

Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters is an anthology of interviews with the legendary singer and actress (especially well-known for her pivotal role in "The Wizard of Oz"), as well as the firsthand testimonies of people who encountered her between 1935 and 1969. Judy Garland's own words are a vibrant part of the collection, in a number of essays written for various publications. A handful of inset black-and-white photographs illustrate this compendium, which is as close to completing her unfinished autobiography as any book can come. A "must-read" for Garland fans!

Uncle John's Weird Weird World
Bathroom Readers' Institute
PO Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520
9781626861732, $29.95, www.bathroomreader.com

Uncle John's Weird Weird World is a compilation of high-octane trivia facts for the easily bored, and promises not a moment of dullness as it explodes such headliners as exploding toilets, a one-eyed shark, space toilets, beauty queens who were arrested, and more. An oversized format packed with vintage and contemporary photos and illustrations makes for a compelling format that balances text with inviting images that draw the eye and attention, resulting in a top leisure read recommendation for any who want high interest, facts, and fun embellishments.

Connemara Marble
Stephen Walsh
O'Brien Press
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
9781847175977, $25.00, www.dufoureditions.com

Connemara Marble: Ireland's National Gem comes from an author whose family business revolves around producing jewelry, gifts and souvenirs crafted from Ireland's Connemara marble, but goes a step beyond the crafting arena as it explores the history, geology, and crafting of Ireland's green marble. The story of how this marble came to be admired around the world is an involving one, and this book is a 'must' for any familiar with the marble and interested in its use and origins.

Energize Your Retirement
Christine Sparacino
www.christinesparacino.com
Via Verde Press
2506 Via Verde, Walnut Creek, CA 94598
9780990566922 $14.99 www.amazon.com

Energize Your Retirement: Stories of Passionate Pursuits lives up to its title with true tales of American retirees ages 59 through 84, each of whom found engaging and meaningful pursuits to enliven their golden years. In their own words, they tell of finding satisfaction through bird watching and conservation; writing; sculpting; counseling others on Medicare; home brewing; blogging and vlogging (video blogging); operating ham radio; playing softball; and much more. Each person's interview is presented largely in a question-and-answer format, with emphases on how they got started in their chosen activity, and any regulations, licenses, or requirements involved. A handful of black-and-white photographs, an index, and a wealth of informative resources and websites round out this inspirational font of ideas for relishing every day as a retiree!

Toasts
June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling
Viva Editions
2246 Sixth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710-2219
9781936740857 $16.95 www.vivaeditions.com

Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion is a compendium of witty, insightful, and carefully selected quotes from a diversity of famous individuals. Each quote is ideal for accompanying a toast - whether commemorating a joyous occasion or spreading holiday cheer. Suggested toasts are sorted by suitable category, including christenings, birthdays, charity events, graduations, memorials, holidays ranging from Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year to Valentine's Day, April Fool's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Halloween, and much more. A font of inspirational wisdom! "Christmas Eve Blessing: May the mystical peace / of this blessed Christmas Eve / remain in our hearts / throughout the New Year. -Noreen Braman"


The Christmas Shelf

New Orleans Homes at Christmas
Bonnie Warren, author
Cheryl Gerber, photographer
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street
Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781455619856 $29.95 www.pelicanpub.com

Full-color photography on virtually every page enlivens New Orleans Homes at Christmas, a showcase of holiday cheer and festivity through beautiful interior decorations arranged with the utmost care. Christmas trees, wreaths, aesthetic arrangements of garden harvests, and more add just the right touch of winter cheer to living spaces. A font of inspiration for interior Christmas decorations, New Orleans Homes at Christmas is simply beautiful to page through.


The Islamic Studies Shelf

Qur'an In Conversation
Michael Birkel
Baylor University Press
One Bear Place, #97363, Waco, TX 76798-7363
www.baylorpress.com
9781481300971, $39.95, www.amazon.com

The Quran (which literally translates as "the recitation") is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God. Quranic chapters are called suras and verses are called ayahs. Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam and ended with Muhammad. They consider the Quran to be the only revealed book that has been protected by God from distortion or corruption. According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it. These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthman's codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran we have today. "Qur'an in Conversation" by Michael Birkel (Professor of Religion, Earlham College) is a 292 page compendium comprised of commentaries by a number of contemporary and eloquent interpreters. Organized into seven major chapters: Knowledge Hidden and Manifest; Close Readings Old and New; Living Tradition; Encountering Others; Contemporary Contexts; Justice; The Journey Inward), "Qur'an In Conversation" is enhanced with Professor Birkel's concluding reflections, five pages of Arabic Terms, ten pages of Notes, four pages of Further Reading on Interpretation of the Qur'an, a list of the participants, and Index of Ancient Sources, as well as a Subject and Contributors Index. A critically important contribution to academic library Islamic Studies reference collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted that "Qur'an In Conversation" is also available in a Kindle edition ($17.99).


The Biography Shelf

John Napier: Life, Logarithms, and Legacy
Julian Havil
Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
http://press.princeton.edu
9780691155708, $35.00, www.amazon.com

John Napier of Merchiston (1550 - 4 April 1617) was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. John Napier is best known as the discoverer of logarithms (an enormous intellectual achievement that would soon lead to the development of their mechanical equivalent in the slide rule). He also invented the so-called "Napier's bones" and made common the use of the decimal point in arithmetic and mathematics. Researched and written by Julian Havil, "John Napier: Life, Logarithms, and Legacy" is a 296 page biography that provides a detailed examination as a Scottish landowner, his reputation as a dabbler in alchemy, his interests in agriculture, even his involvement with a notorious outlaw. Napier was also noted for his staunch anti-Catholic beliefs and his relations with his mathematical and scientific peers Henry Briggs, Johannes Kepler, and Tycho Brahe. All this, in addition to his impressive legacy to the development of mathematics. Work of impressively detailed scholarship, "John Napier: Life, Logarithms, and Legacy" is strongly recommended for academic library Biography collections. It should be noted that "John Napier: Life, Logarithms, and Legacy" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.250).

Killing Patton
Bill O'Reilly
Henry Holt & Company
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 400
New York, NY 10010-7725
9780805096682 $30.00 www.henryholt.com

Bill O'Reilly, host of the television show "The O'Reilly Factor", presents Killing Patton, a nonfiction scrutiny of the celebrated World War II general and his mysterious death. Patton's bravery, audacity, and controversy earned him a long list of enemies, and nearly seventy years later, there remains suspicion that he was assassinated. A solid profile of an extraordinary military commander, and a meticulous review of the facts surrounding his death, Killing Patton is as fascinating as it is enlightening from cover to cover. Also highly recommended are the previous books in O'Reilly's series about the deaths of great leaders: "Killing Lincoln", "Killing Kennedy", and "Killing Jesus".

Becoming Miss America
Kate Shindle
University of Texas Press
PO Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
9780292739215, $24.95, www.utexaspress.com

Becoming Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain offers up a memoir of the author's year as Miss America 1998, but moves beyond this year to tackle a history of the pageant and what it means to be America's 'ideal woman'. From past winners, the evolution of American female identity and the pageant's changing image to past winners and crusaders who used their status to help change women's lives, this is a fine coverage that begins with an autobiographical account and evolves to tackle the stereotypes of womens' lives and public images. The result is a close, critical examination of not only the contest but its underlying meaning for generations of American female idols and their followers.

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History
Terrence Edward Paupp
Transaction Publishers
10 Corporate Place South, Piscataway, NJ 08854
www.transactionpub.com
9781412853620, $39.95, www.transactionpub.com

Robert F. Kennedy in the Stream of History isn't just a biography, but blends in history and analysis to provide college-level readers, especially those in political science, with an overall reviews of the thought and work of Robert Kennedy. From what could have happened if the Kennedys had lived beyond the 1960s to how leadership is developed and how Bobby Kennedy pursued social goals beyond his times, this provides a wider-ranging survey than simple biography alone could have achieved; yet is firmly grounded in Kennedy's life as well as his times. Biography and political readers alike will want this!

Epilogue: A Memoir
Will Boast
Liveright Publishing
c/o W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
9780871403810, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

Epilogue: A Memoir offers a powerful family memoir that centers on grief, the hidden world of an ordinary family, and the power of discovery. In only a few years the author lost his mother, his younger brother, and his father. At the age of twenty-four he was alone. EPILOGUE is his story of recovery, discovery, and change - and a document that revealed his father's second family. Chapters detail these world-changing events and how Boast came to realize some new truths about his past, present and future, as a result.

Whitey
Peter B. Mersky
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
9781612517919 $39.95 www.nip.org

Also available as an ebook, Whitey: The Story of Rear Admiral E. L. Feightner, a Navy Fighter Ace is the first complete biography of one of the last surviving U.S. Navy World War II aces. E.L. Feightner survived some of the war's most dangerous campaigns, including Guadalcanal and the Marianas. A talented flyer with a strong positive outlook, Feightner earned the right to command a squadron and later an air group, developing fighting tactics. He had to grapple with politics in the Pentagon even as he strived to improve naval aviation to keep pace with the changing world. A handful of inset black-and-white photographs, notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this multifaceted portrayal of a loyal soldier, capable leader, and death-defying aviator. Highly recommended!

The Father of Virginia Military Institute
Randolph P. Shaffner
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786493951, $45.00, 284pp, www.amazon.com

The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a state-supported military college in Lexington, Virginia, the oldest such institution in the United States. Unlike any other senior military college in the United States, all students at VMI are military cadets pursuing bachelor's degrees. VMI offers cadets strict military discipline combined with a spartan, physically and academically demanding environment. The Institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, the sciences, and the liberal arts. While VMI has been called the "West Point of the South", it differs from the federal service academies in several respects. For example, the living conditions at VMI are far more austere than at the service academies. Also, while all cadets must participate in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), they are afforded the flexibility of pursuing civilian endeavors or accepting a commission in any of the active or reserve components of any of the US military branches upon graduation. "The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J.T.L. Preston, CSA" by Randolph P. Shaffner is a 384 page biography of the man who founded VMI in 1839. John Thomas Lewis Preson was a teacher and soldier, husband and father, who defined the school as it exists today. He served with distinction in the American Civil War under the Confederate battlefield leadership of Stonewall Jackson as his first adjutant general. An exceptionally well written, organized and presented biography, "The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J.T.L. Preston, CSA" is a highly recommended addition to the growing library of Civil War Literature. It should be noted that ""The Father of Virginia Military Institute: A Biography of Colonel J.T.L. Preston, CSA" is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.49).

Glen Campbell: Life With My Father
Debby Campbell & Mark Bego
The Overlook Press
141 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012
www.overlookpress.com
9781468309652, $26.95, www.amazon.com

Glen Travis Campbell (born April 22, 1936) is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host, and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television. During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. He has placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, the Billboard Hot 100, or the Adult Contemporary Chart, 29 in the Top 10 of which 9 peaked at number one on at least one of those charts. Campbell's hits include his recordings of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind", Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "Galveston", Larry Weiss's "Rhinestone Cowboy", and Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights". "Glen Campbell: Life With My Father" is a 176 page biography written from the perspective of his daughter Debby Campbell. Enhanced with numerous photographs and a fourteen page Glen Campbell Discography, "Glen Campbell: Life With My Father" is very highly recommended for community library American Biography collections and is a "must read" for Campbell's legions of fans!


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

The Forgiveness Handbook
Created by the Editors at SkyLight Paths
Skylight Paths Publishing
Sunset Farms Offices, Route 4
PO Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091
9781594735776 $18.99 www.skylightpaths.com

The Forgiveness Handbook: Spiritual Wisdom and Practice for the Journey to Freedom, Healing and Peace gathers wisdom and advice from multiple spiritual leaders, from reverends to rabbis. Topics covered include reconciliation and forgiveness in relationships, forgiveness and the divine, what it means to love one's enemies, the connection between forgiveness and justice, and much more. "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission established in South Africa following the fall of apartheid, the system of racial segregation that was in place in that country between 1948 and 1994, is a good example of this need for forgiveness. South Africa's black community had every right to be angry, perhaps even to hate, for their lives had been made a living hell... But Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu saw a more excellent way... Both Tutu and Mandela believed that punishing the criminal would not alone create a climate of reconciliation; rather, it was important that crimes be admitted and the truth be told." A deeply profound and heart-touching anthology, The Forgiveness Handbook is highly recommended for personal spiritual growth and public library collections.


The Christian Studies Shelf

From Vatican II to Pope Francis
Paul Crowley, S.J., Editor
Orbis Books
Box 302, Maryknoll NY 10545-0302
9781626980891, $28.00, www.orbisbooks.com

From Vatican II to Pope Francis: Charting a Catholic Future provides a fine collection of essays especially recommended for Catholic readers interested in Vatican II and the modern evolution of the church. Contributors to this collection focus not on how the church arrived to this point, but where it goes from here, with questions tackling everything from the authority of religious liberty to the changing role of women in the church. The result is an important recommendation for any Catholic study collection concerned with the modern church and its direction.

Sensing the Scriptures
Karfried Froehlich with Mark S. Burrows
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2140 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
9780802870803, $25.00, www.eerdmans.com

SENSING THE SCRIPTURES: AMINADAB'S CHARIOT AND THE PREDICAMENT OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION explores how Christians, from early times through the Protestant Revolution, interpreted the Bible and its meaning, and considers the five bodily senses as a basic organizing principle as it explores theological evolution. Chapters consider the difference between interpretive methods and spiritual goals that guide which interpretations, and study the roots of the process as it relates to the history and purposes of the Church. The result is a solid study recommended for any scholarly Christian collection.

On Exchange and Usury
Thomas Cajetan, author
Patrick T. Brannan, translator
Christian's Library Press
98 E. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Bob Todd Publicity
9781938948640, $9.95, http://www.clpress.com

The two treatises comprising "On Exchange and Usury" provides insight into the banking industry of the early modern era from the perspective of one of the most significant Christian theologians of the period. In the first treatise, Thomas Cajetan carefully argues for a use of bills of exchange on the money market (real exchange) that does not run afoul of the church's condemnation of usury. In the second treatise, Cajetan handles several questions on the nature of usury and outlines the obligations of those who are involved in certain lending practices. Ably translated into English by Patrick T. Brannan, "On Exchange and Usury" is an informative, 142 page seminal work of impressive and articulate scholarship, making it an enduringly important contribution to our understanding of the theological issues involved with the lending and investing of money. "On Exchange and Usury" is especially recommended for academic library History of Economics reference collections and supplemental studies lists.


The Travel Shelf

Ultimate Signspotting
Doug Lansky
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
9781743604625, $9.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

Ultimate Signspotting is quite simply a fun collection of absurd and hilarious signs from around the world, and offers a slim pocket-sized collection in full color. It will make the perfect gift for any avid traveler: it's easy to tote, it's packed with local flavor, and it holds such fun observations as a Chinese sign advertising three styles of coffee: milk, tasteless or strong; or a puzzling road sign advising 'Unnecessary Repetitive Driving Prohibited'. It's a hilarious, fun read for any who enjoy either travel and other cultures, or the incongruities of signage.

The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781743600658, $29.99, www.amazon.com

Lonely Planet is a premier publisher of instructive travel guides to cities and countries around the world. Now in "The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet", a single volume, 960 page compendium, Lonely Planet has provided an alphabetically presented travel guide to every country on Earth from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Beginning with invaluable general 'Need to Know' tips for any world traveler, "The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet" lays out everything a visitor to a particular country would need to know about where to go, what to see, and what to do, when planning an itinerary. Beautifully illustrated throughout with full color photography and maps, "The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet" is the ultimate travel guide for business, for vacationing, or simply for browsing through as an armchair traveler. Also available in a Kindle edition ($16.19), "The World: A Traveller's Guide to the Planet" would make a popular addition to any personal, professional, or community library travel guide collection.

Thailand's Best Street Food
Chawadee Nualkhair
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804844666, $15.95, www.amazon.com

Compiled with succinct informative commentary by Chawadee Nualkhair (a food writer living in Bangkok), "Thailand's Best Street Food: The Complete Guide to Streetside Dining in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Other Areas" is a profusely illustrated, 160 page, vinyl bound paperback providing everything any visitor would want or need to know about sampling local street food. Informed and informative, "Thailand's Best Street Food" details directions on how to find a particular food stall; provides street maps for each sector presented; identifies each food stall's specialty; notes serving options, beverages, and any special extras; as well as whether or not seating is available. Enhanced with the inclusion of recipes for the twelve most popular Thai street food dishes, "Thailand's Best Street Food" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' guide that is enthusiastically recommended for anyone visiting Thailand for business or for pleasure!


The Cookbook Shelf

Veganish: The Omnivore's Guide to Plant-Based Cooking
Mielle Chenier-Cowan Rose
Publicity Department
Viva Editions
2246 Sixth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710-2219
www.vivaeditions.com
9781936740840, $16.95, www.amazon.com

We humans are omnivores can derive our energy and nutrients from a diet consisting of a variety of food sources that may include plants, animals, algae, fungi and bacteria, and all manner of animals. We omnivores are often are opportunistic and consume both animal protein and vegetation -- unlike herbivores that can only consume plants or carnivores that can only survive by eating other animals. As modern humans we have refined out culinary habits to dine on dishes that both please our palates and satisfy our appetites. "Veganish: The Omnivore's Guide to Plant-Based Cooking" is a 224 page compendium of wonderful recipes compiled by Mielle Chenier-Cowan Rose that range from a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette; Parsley-Almond Pesto; Spicy Roasted Cauliflower; and Homegrown Sprouts; to Home-Cooked Black Beans; Scattered Sushi Salad; White Bean Soup with Kale; and Pineapple Rum Upside-Down Cake. Of special note is the opening sections about plant and animal based nutrition and foods, organics, the value of quality ingredients, salt, cooking oils, and cooking materials. Followed by basic advice offering cooking tips, essential cooking techniques, special techniques, and menu planning. Enhanced with the inclusion of a glossary, and index of recipes, and culinary conversions, "Veganish: The Omnivore's Guide to Plant-Based Cooking" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Veganish: The Omnivore's Guide to Plant-Based Cooking" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Goodbye Gluten
Kim Stanford & Bill Backchaus
University of North Texas Press
PO Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336
www.unt.edu/untpress
9781574415780, $21.95, www.amazon.com

About one out of every three people in this country suffer from some degree of gluten intolerance and/or suffer from celiac disease which necessitates them having a gluten free diet. But the absence of gluten doesn't mean a reduction of the quality or variety of wonderfully palate please and appetite satisfying dishes that would grace any dining occasion. Not when they have the Kim Standord and Bill Cackhaus "Goodbye Gluten: Happy Healthy Delicious Eating with a Texas Twist" cookbook! These fully gluten free recipes range from Toasted Pecan, Pear, and Blue Cheese Salad; Weaver Family Chicken-and-Rice Soup; Mexican Quiche with Poblano-Chedda Plenta Crust; and Texas Chicken-Fried Steak with Poblano Gravy; to Herb-Crusted Parmesan Chicken; Tortilla-Chip-Crusted Tacos de Pescado with Chile-Mayo Cabbage Slaw; Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Risotto Cakes; and Mr. Fluffy Pepper jack and Aged Cheddar Biscuits. There's even a 'Booze and Your Bar Guide' for creating a well-stocked and gluten-free bar! Wonderfully 'kitchen cook friendly' in content and presentation, "Goodbye Gluten: Happy Healthy Delicious Eating with a Texas Twist" is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Goodbye Gluten: Happy Healthy Delicious Eating with a Texas Twist" is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.14).

The Girl Who Ate Everything
Christy Denney
Cedar Fort, Inc.
2373 West 700 South, Springville, Utah 84663
www.cedarfort.com
9781462114047, $19.99, www.amazon.com

There is a particular charm associated with cookbooks that are comprised of family recipes. Such is the case with Christy Denney's "The Girl Who Ate Everything" a beautifully illustrated, 213 page cornucopia of wonderfully kitchen cook friendly recipes for dishes that would please any palate, satisfy any appetite, and serve any dining occasion from simple family meals to elegant dining occasions. The recipes range from Roast Beef Sliders; Bloomin' Cheddar Bacon Ranch Bread; Snickerdoodle Muffins; and Parmesan Dijon Crusted Chicken Tenders; to Mom's White Chicken Chili; Loaded Potato Slices; Pear and Quinoa Salad; and Strawberry Shortbread Pizza. Enhanced with two pages of Measurement Equivalents and a comprehensive Index, "The Girl Who Ate Everything" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "The Girl Who Ate Everything" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

Extreme Brownies
Connie Weis
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
9781449450328, $21.99, www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Extreme Brownies: 50 Recipes for the Most Over-The-Top Treats Ever is a collection of creative recipes from a pastry chef and restaurant consultant, crafted for home cooks and featuring unusual flavor takes on brownies and blondies. The focus is on texture and taste and includes recipes for brownies that blend the consistency of pudding or fudge with the flavors of added ingredients from raspberries and peanut butter to cheesecake. With their inviting flavor combinations and foolproof directions, pair these with full-page color photos and you have a winner recommended for any home cook seeking something different.

Good Cheap Eats
Jessica Fisher
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118
9781558328433, $16.95, www.harvardcommonpress.com

Good Cheap Eats: Everyday Dinners and Fantastic Feasts for, $10 or Less is all about eating well on a budget, and comes from the creator of the website Good Cheap Eats: a busy mother of six who developed many of these innovative recipes. Some 200 recipes are compiled into over 70 mix-and-match dinner menus with color photos accenting meals designed for families of four that can be adapted for singles, couples, or any size family. The result is a easy focus on good food for busy families who would eat well even when on a strict budget.

Simply Thai Cooking, third edition
Wandee Young & Byron Ayanoglu
Robert Rose
120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P 1E2
9780778802822, $19.95, www.robertrose.ca

Simply Thai Cooking appears in its third updated edition, packing in over thirty color photos and a range of classic Thai dishes that can be easily located in any local grocery store. Here are such standards as spring rolls, satays, soups and stews, and all kinds of meat dishes. Each one contains about four steps of preparation and clearly outlines nutrition facts. A sidebar of description makes it easy to see which dishes will be appealing, making this a solid winner for any newcomer to Thai cuisine.

Frites
Anne de la Forest
Jacqui Small LLP
www.jacquismallpub.com
c/o Dalyn Miller Public Relations
9781909342608 $29.99

Frites is a cookbook devoted to variants of the widely beloved French Fries, also known as "chips" in England; the general term "frites" is used to encompass a wide variety of fried foods. Recipes branch out beyond traditional American French Fries / English Chips / Belgian Frites into a medly of delicious delights, including Carmelized Honey Frites, Asparagus Frites, Comte Cheese Frites, Pumpkin Frites, Banana and Brown Sugar Frites, and much more, including sauces ranging from homemade ketchup to more exotic aioli, soy, bleu cheese, or fresh herb sauces. Color photography illustrates the 30+ recipes of this "must-have" for fried food gourmets!

100 Animal Cookies
Lisa Snyder
Barron's
250 Wireless Boulevard, Hauppauge, NY 11788
www.barronseduc.com
9781438005225, $17.99, www.amazon.com

Compiled by cookie expert Lisa Snyder, "100 Animal Cookies: A Super Cute Menagerie to Decorate Step-by-Step" is a profusely illustrated, 144 page compendium showcasing thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly', step-by-step recipes for making animal cookies that are as tasty as they are colorful. The animal cookies are arranged and presented in six major sections or themes: Farms & Pets; Garden Critters; Woodland Creatures, Ocean & ice Animals; Safari, Desert, & Jungle Animals; Prehistoric Animals. Very highly recommended for family and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that "100 Animal Cookies: A Super Cute Menagerie to Decorate Step-by-Step" is enhanced with the inclusion of a list of suppliers and a useful index.

Bison Delights
Habeeb Salloum
University of Regina Press
University of Regina
3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
www.uofrpress.ca
9780889772151, $29.95, www.amazon.com

"Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style" is a beautifully illustrated, 169 page compendium showcasing a cornucopia of kitchen cook friendly recipes for elegant middle eastern dishes adapted to a western palate -- especially those utilizing bison meat. Each recipe is graced with an introductory commentary providing a frame of reference for that particular dish. The recipes themselves range from Basic Couscous; Kabab Bil 'Asal (Honey Kebabs); Shawrabat Fool Wa Laham (Bean-Vegetable-Meat Soup); and Al-Qidra Bilawz (Almond Bison Stew); to Ragheef Jamus (Bison Meat Loaf); Laham Ma Laban (Ground Bison with Yogurt); and Maqlooba (Upside-Down Eggplant and Bison). Unique and uncommon, "Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style" would make a very special and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Berries
Jean-Paul Grappe
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 4T8
www.fitzhenry.ca
9781554552870, $22.95, www.amazon.com

Combined by culinary expert Jean-Paul Grappe, "Berries And Other Small Fruit" is an impressive and beautifully illustrated collection of sixty wonderful recipes featuring all manner of berries and fruits. The recipes include those for making fruit wine, jams, jellies, soups, crepes, and even main dishes such as Grilled Swordfish with Blueberries. From blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, to apricots, figs, plums, and currants, this assemblage of thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes will produce wonderful dishes to please any palate, satisfy any appetite, and enhance any dining occasion. "Berries And Other Small Fruit" is enthusiastically recommended as a guaranteed popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh
Janna Gur
Schocken
c/o Random House
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.schocken.com
9780805243086, $35.00, www.amazon.com

Compiled and presented with commentary by Janna Gur, "Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh, More Than 100 Unforgettable Dishes Updated for Today's Kitchen" is a beautifully illustrated, 240 page compendium showcasing palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly, authentic Jewish cuisine. The individual recipes are deftly organized into Starters, Salads, and Noshes; Cosy Soups for Chilly Nights; Meatballs, Fish Balls, and Stuffed Vegetables; Braises, Pot Roasts, and Ragus; Meatless Mains; Savory Pastries; Shabbat State of Mind; Cakes Cookies, and Desserts. The recipes themselves range from Homemade Pickled Herring; Passover Green Chicken Soup; Mixed Stuffed Vegetables in Pomegranate Sauce; and Beef Tagine with Dried Fruits and Nuts; to Spinach Flan; Sambousek (Chickpea-Filled Pastry Pockets); Jerusalem Sweet and Spicy Noodle Kugel; Apple and Raisin Studel; and Mofleta (Sweet Pancake Stacks). Enhanced with the inclusion of a two page 'Mail Order Sources for Specialty Ingredients' and a useful Index, "Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh, More Than 100 Unforgettable Dishes Updated for Today's Kitchen" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, professional, family, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections.

Field Peas to Foie Gras
Jennifer Hill Booker
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street
Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781455619726 $26.95 www.pelicanpub.com

Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent collects more than one hundred recipes from Jennifer Hill Booker, who draws influence from both her culinary training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France and her upbringing on a Mississippi family farm. These dishes embody traditional Southern home cooking with French panache, and are sure to delight aficionados of either or both food preparation styles! Dishes include Green Tomato Cha Cha (a type of zesty salad), Glazed Turnips with Pearl Onions & Brown Butter, Mackerel Croquettes, Scotch Eggs with Mustard Sauce, Southern Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy, Coconut Christmas Cake, and much more. Full-color photography enriches this sumptuous recipe treasury! Also highly recommended is Kit Wohl's "New Orleans Classic Creole Recipes" (9781455618798, $16.95), which is packed cover to cover with restaurant-quality Creole cuisine, easy-to-follow constructions, and mouth-watering color photography.

Bread
Dean Brettschneider
Jacqui Small LLP
www.jacquismallpub.com
c/o Penguin Group
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
c/o Dalyn Miller Public Relations
9781909342774 $40.00 www.penguin.com

Author and global baker Dean Brettschneider presents Bread, the definitive cookbook for handcrafting oven-baked bread as a delicacy. From savory breads and sourdoughs, to grainy and health breads, quick breads and scones, festive breads, sweet breads and more, Bread has a recipe for every taste and occasion. Bread also devotes pages to teaching the reader how to select and use bread-making equipment, with step-by-step instructions and photographs for processes such as molding dough into a round cob or boule loaf. Generally, black-and-white photography demonstrates breadmaking techniques, while color photography showcases the sumptuous breads one can make. Recipes include "Olive & Oven-roasted Tomato Panini", "Muesli Rolls", "Panzanella Bread Salad", "NYC Sticky Pecan Buns", and much more. Bread is a treasury for gourmet bakers, highly recommended!

Sharing Morocco
Ruth Barnes
Greenleaf Book Group Press
PO Box 91869, Austin, TX 78709
www.greenleafbookgroup.com
9781626340978, $29.95, www.amazon.com

Compiled and presented by culinary expert Ruth Barnes, "Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours" is a 304 page compendium showcasing authentic Moroccan recipes adapted for an American kitchen. Beautifully illustrated throughout the recipes range from Baked Eggplant Salad; Slow Cooker Moroccan Brisket with Apricots and Prunes; Artichokes Stuffed with Lam; and Almond Cookies; to Baklava with Pistachios and Orange Blossom Water; Stuffed Figs with Goat Cheese, Pistachios, and Honey; Duck Tagine with Figs and Port Sauce; and Saffron Rice with Nuts, Raisins, and Onions. Guaranteed to be a popular addition to personal, professional, family, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections, it should also be noted that "Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

New Orleans Classic Creole Recipes From Favorite Restaurants
Kit Wohl
Pelican Publishing Company
1000 Burmaster Street
Gretna, LA 70053-2246
9781455618798 $16.95 www.pelicanpub.com

Featuring full-color photography on virtually every other page, New Orleans Classic Creole Recipes From Favorite Restaurants lives up to its title with an array of fifty sumptuous recipes of authentic Creole cuisine, provided by popular local restaurants. Dishes include Crabmeat Maison, Shrimp and Ham Jambalaya, Trout Meuniere, Okra Tomato Stew, Sweet Calas, and much more. In addition to step-by-step instructions, many recipes also have sidebars spotlighting a little bit of information about cherished food staples of Creole culture, and the history of their preparation. Anyone interested in trying their hand at Creole cuisine will find New Orleans Classic Creole Recipes indispensable!


The Music Shelf

Liszt's Legacies
James Deaville & Michael Saffle, editors
Pendragon Press
PO Box 190, Hillsdale, NY 12529
www.pendragonpress.com
9781576471692, $54.00, www.amazon.com

Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 - July 31, 1886) was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, teacher and Franciscan tertiary. Liszt gained renown in Europe during the early nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age, and in the 1840s he was considered to be the greatest pianist of all time. Liszt was also a well-known and influential composer, piano teacher and conductor. He was a benefactor to other composers, including Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saens, Edvard Grieg and Alexander Borodin. As a composer, Liszt was left behind an extensive and diverse body of work in which he influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends. Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical departures in harmony. He also played an important role in popularizing a wide array of music by transcribing it for piano. "Liszt's Legacies" is a 408 page compendium comprised of twenty-one informative, scholarly articles on the musician and his legacy to the world of music. Enhanced with the inclusion of illustrations, plats, tables, and musical examples, "Liszt's Legacies" is very highly recommended for academic library19th Century Music History collections in general, and Franz Liszt studies supplemental reading lists in particular.

Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash
Randal Doane
PM Press
PO Box 23912, Oakland, CA 94623
www.pmpress.org
9781629630298, $15.95, www.amazon.com

The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, dub, funk, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career the Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass guitar, vocals) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion). Headon left the group in 1982, and internal friction led to Jones' departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986. "Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash" is a 192 page detailed history of one of punk rock's most successful bands and includes original interviews with key figures from the New York 'punk scene' and a concluding analysis of how music is listened to today and the impact music has upon the written word. Informed and informative, "Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash" is a "must read" for fans of the punk rock movement and an important addition to academic library 20th Century Popular Music reference collections. It should be noted that "Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).


The Gaming Shelf

Minecraft Recipes For Dummies
Jesse Stay & Thomas Stay
For Dummies
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
http://www.dummies.com
9781118968277, $12.95, www.amazon.cpom

Minecraft is a sandbox independent video game originally created by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson and later developed and published by the Swedish company Mojang since 2009. The creative and building aspects of Minecraft allow players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D procedurally generated world. Other activities in the game include exploration, gathering resources, crafting, and combat. Multiple gameplay modes are available, including survival modes where the player must acquire resources to build the world and maintain health, a creative mode where players have unlimited resources to build and the ability to fly, and an adventure mode where players play custom maps created by other players. "Minecraft Recipes For Dummies" is a 224 page compendium comprised of instructions for Minecraft players with respect to making a shelter and protecting themselves; crafting tools, armor, and weapons; finding the blocks needed to create items; quickly repair blocks that have been destroyed, and more. Illustrated throughout in full color, "Minecraft Recipes For Dummies" will prove to be an invaluable and indispensable instructional reference book for novice and experienced Minecraft players alike!


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Generic
Jeremy A. Greene
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
9781421414935, $29.95, www.press.jhu.edu

GENERIC: THE UNBRANDING OF MODERN MEDICINE comes from a physician and historian who offers a history of not just the development of generic drugs, but how they differ from the original. Within his examination are important insights on how drugs are made, what parts of a pill really matter, issues of therapeutic similarity and difference, and more. It's a wide-ranging history that embraces ethical, scientific, health, and economic issues and it provides insights on the history of generic drugs in America and the problems associated with scientific and medical changes in the public eye. The result is a survey that belongs in any health collection and many a general-interest holding.

Delavier's Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts
Frederic Delavier and Michael Gundill
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
9781450466035 $19.95 www.HumanKinetics.com

Delavier's Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts is an in-depth resource packed with 157 exercises and suggested workout plans, specifically grounded in female anatomy. For use at home or the gym, Delavier's Women's Strength Training Anatomy Workouts pairs detailed instructions with demonstrative color photographs, and anatomical drawings that clearly show the muscles being used. Women of all ages and fitness levels can benefit from this practical-minded guide, which can be tailored to one's needs whether for casual conditioning or athletic strength training. Highly recommended!

Your Best Pregnancy
Jill Hoefs & Denise Jagroo
Demos Health
11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036
www.demoshealth.com
9781936303618, $19.95, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Drawing upon their expertise as physical therapists with over twenty years of combined experience, "Jill Hoefs and Denise Jagroo have expertly collaborative to produce "Your Best Pregnancy : The Ultimate Guide to Easing the Aches, Pains, and Uncomfortable Side Effects During Each Stage of Your Pregnancy", a thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction guide to helping women ease sore feet, aching backs, incessant peeing, and many other uncomfortable conditions, Your Best Pregnancy provides simple solutions and easy exercises to help women feel their best from head to toe. Through detailed photographs, illustrations, and down-to-earth advice that is both medically substantiated as well as easy to understand, you will learn how to: Treat the most uncomfortable symptoms during pregnancy, such as back and shoulder pain, bladder issues, night cramps, sciatica, swelling, and varicose veins; Maintain a healthy pregnancy, even while on bed rest; Correctly strengthen the pelvic floor and core to prevent diastasis recti; Nurse, lift, and care for a baby (or babies) using proper body mechanics to avoid strain and injury. Also available in a Kindle edition ($18.00), "Your Best Pregnancy : The Ultimate Guide to Easing the Aches, Pains, and Uncomfortable Side Effects During Each Stage of Your Pregnancy" is very highly recommended for women who find themselves pregnant, and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Health & Medicine reference collections.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Tomboy
Liz Prince
Zest Books
35 Stillman Street, Suite 121
San Francisco, CA, 94107
9781936976553 $15.99 www.zestbooks.net

Ignatz Award-winning author and artist Liz Prince presents Tomboy, her memoir in black-and-white graphic novel format, about growing up as a girl with aversion to traditionally "girly" clothing, pastimes, and behaviors. Liz was not a lesbian, and not transgender; she just absolutely could not stand to wear a dress. "'I can't. I can't wear a dress all day. It's unnatural for me and the kids tease me about it.' 'If somebody is teasing you, you need to bring it to the disciplinarian's attention.' 'But that's only part of it! I don't feel good in a dress. Even if nobody teased me, it's still too distracting. I can't focus on school. It's like I'm wearing a costume.'" Tomboy is not only about being teased and bullied at school, though; it's also about the friendships Liz formed, both among kids her own age (some were well-behaved, others were rebellious) and among adults. And it's about grappling with crushes - how could Liz hope to attract a cute guy's romantic interest, when virtually every other girl was more "girly"? Was the true source of her antagonism really girls and womanhood, or the rigid expectations that society places upon both? Is a girl who acts more like a boy rejecting society's sexism, or unconsciously embracing it (i.e., wanting to emulate boys because of the subconscious belief that boys are superior)? Liz's search to find her own path, based on what is best for her rather than anyone else's expectations or demands, is a valuable navigation of gender and identity issues and deserves to be read by young adults and adults alike. Although Liz's life story involves serious philosophical and social issues, Tomboy contains no explicit content aside from rare instances of the f-word. Highly recommended for graphic novel reading lists, book clubs, and public library collections; Tomboy will provoke the reader to keep thinking long after the story is finished.

World Triggers 1
Daisuke Ashihara
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200
San Francisco CA 94103
9781421577647 $9.99 www.viz.com

The first graphic novel of World Triggers kicks off a brand new series of black-and-white shonen manga (action-packed Japanese comics, suitable for teen and adult readers). A mysterious alternate dimension threatens Earth with sporadic invasions of seemingly invincible monsters. Beings from the other dimension are called "Neighbors", and Earth's only defense against them are the elite warriors of Border, who use repurposed Neighbor technology to fight back! Osamu Mikumo is a trainee Border agent, and what he lacks in skill he makes up for with idealism and drive. But his already precarious daily life at school is turned completely on edge when he encounters Yuma. Yuma is a transfer student who seems oddly unfamiliar with not only Japanese customs, but also human culture in general. Yuma is also a Neighbor, yet despite his coldly logical sense of ethics and reasoning, he appears far more human than the slavering monsters that periodically threaten Tokyo! Could there be more to the Neighbors than Border's propaganda purports? And can two people on opposite sides of an interdimensional war become friends? A treat for fans of shonen manga and sci-fi excitement, World Triggers is highly recommended.

Honey Blood 1
Miko Mitsuki
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200
San Francisco CA 94103
9781421573373 $9.99 www.viz.com

The debut graphic novel of Honey Blood begins a series of black-and-white shojo manga (relationship-focused Japanese comics, suitable for teen and adult readers) about falling in love with a possible vampire! A girl at Hinata Sorazono's school has been attacked, apparently by a bloodsucking monster, and everyone is at edge. Hinata has never believed in vampires, but her new neighbor Junya Tokinaga certainly appears suspicious - wearing clothing and styles from centuries in the past, even telling her that the taste of her blood is sweet. Hinata finds herself attracted to Junya, but could he truly be a blood-drinking fiend, or the perpetrator of the mysterious attacks? Also highly recommended for vampire fans is "Vampire Knight 19" (9781421573915, $9.99), the final volume of a shojo manga series about a tense, barely preserved peace between humans and pureblooded vampires, and the star-crossed love affairs between the supernatural protectors charged with guarding the innocent!


The Audiobook Shelf

How We Got To Now
Steven Johnson, author
George Newbern, narrator
Penguin Audio
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
9781611763386 $30.00 http://us.penguingroup.com

How We Got To Now is the unabridged audiobook adaptation of Steven Johnson's nonfiction tour of historical innovations across the centuries. Focusing on the development of six critical technologies of modern life (refrigeration, clocks, lenses, water purification, recorded sound, and artificial light), How We Got To Now is fascinating, thought-provoking, and filled with incredible true-life historical anecdotes. The worthy companion to a six-part PBS documentary, How We Got To Now deserves the highest recommendation especially for public library audiobook collections. 5 CDs, 6 hours.

The Great Reformer
Austen Ivereigh, author and narrator
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315
New York, NY 10010
9781427244277 $49.99 www.macmillanaudio.com

Read by author and British journalist Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope is the unabridged audiobook version of a biography about the current Pope of the Catholic Church, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis. The Great Reformer traces Francis' life from the lower-middle-class child of Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires to spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics, including how early Jesuit missionaries inspired him, his radical vision of a Church devoted to serving the poor, and the tension that pervaded his life when Argentina was under the control of a military dictatorship in the 1970s. A powerful, true-life saga of courage and idealism, The Great Reformer is highly recommended.

The Secret Sky
Atia Abawi, author
Ariana Delawari and Assaf Cohen, narrators
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
9781490627403 $77.75 CD / $70.00 eAudio

Afghan-descent author Atia Abawi presents The Secret Sky: A Novel of Forbidden Love in Afghanistan, the unabridged audiobook rendition of a fictional saga loosely based on people she met during her nearly five years as work as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan. Fatima is a Hazara girl; Samiullah is a Pashtun boy. Each has been raised to be loyal to their own family, tribe, village, traditions, and religion. Neither intended to fall in love with an outsider... yet a star-crossed romance blossoms and changes everything. Their respective families and cultures strive to pull them apart, and the threat of the murderous Taliban hangs heavy. A saga of betrayal, love, and omnipresent threat, The Secret Sky is truly unforgettable. 7 CDs, 7.75 hours.

Hounded
David Rosenfelt, author
Grover Gardner, narrator
Listen & Live Audio
PO Box 817, Roseland, NJ 07068
9781593166663 $29.95 www.listenandlive.com

Hounded is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a mystery in author David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter series. In Hounded, Andy's policeman friend Pete Stanton calls in a surprising favor. Ex-convict Danny Diza has been found murdered, and Andy needs to take care of Diza's four-year-old son and pet basset hound, to keep both from being put into "the system". This is stressful enough, but Andy's skill as a defense attorney will be put to the test when Pete comes under suspicion for the murder! Hounded is both a legal thriller and an emotionally moving story about family (and pets who are like family), highly recommended. 6 CDs, 7 hours.

Places to Stay the Night
Ann Hood, author
Eva Kantor, narrator
Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887
Grand Haven, MI 49417
9781491540213 $19.99 www.brillianceaudio.com

Places to Stay the Night is the unabridged audiobook adaptation of an unusual romance novel, featuring two protagonists with families and a lifetime of emotional baggage. Tom Harper is left at a complete loss when his wife of eighteen years, discontented with ordinary suburban life, walks out on the family. He doesn't know what to do for his trouble-prone son, or his jaded daughter. Then Renata Handy enters the lives of the Harper family. Renata has left Manhattan to look after her terminally ill eight-year-old daughter. Her old high school crush Tom and his reeling family form an unexpected haven during dark times. Places to Stay the Night is heart-touching, soulful, and unforgettable. 9 CDs, 10 hours 2 min. Also highly recommended is The Songmaster by Di Morrissey (9781486216604, $19.99, 12 CDs, 14 hours 30 min.), an interwoven saga about connections to ancient rock paintings in the Kimberly bring a disparate group of travelers together, changing their lives forever.

The Hot Zone
Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle, author
Barbara Rosenblat, narrator
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
9781470368241 $92.75 CD / $83.00 eAudio

The Hot Zone: A Rainshadow Novel is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a never-before-published romance novel by Jayne Ann Krentz (writing as Jayne Castle). Sedona has taken a new job managing a small hotel and tavern on Rainshadow, but as the Halloween holiday approaches, a bizarre event in the catacombs below has brought an uproarious group of ghost hunters to her inn's doorstep! Sedona's ex appears on the island, claiming he wants to get back together, and the new Guild boss Cyrus Jones has his own, manipulative plans for her. Superbly performed by Barbara Rosenblat (whose eight Audie Awards and 40 Earphones Awards prompted AudioFile magazine to name her one of the Golden Voices of the Twentieth Century), The Hot Zone is a tempestuous, sensational story of kindled passion, highly recommended especially for connoisseurs of the genre. 8 CDs, 8.75 hours.

Marvel Astonishing X-Men: Gifted
Peter David, et al.
Graphic Audio
4940 Hampden Lane, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20814
www.graphicaudio.net
9781628510829, $19.99, www.amazon.com

A full bodied 'theatre of the mind' experience from beginning to end, "Marvel Astonishing X-Men: Gifted" features truly impressive and flawless production values that include the use of sound effects and music to enhance the gifted performances of an extraordinarily gifted cast. Welcome to the Marvel Universe of mutants vs. non-mutants, of a team of superheroes called the X-Men, of an alien attempting to create (in collaboration with a human researcher) a "cure" for being mutant -- and the havoc that creates within the mutant community. Based on a graphic novel by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, this 5 hour, 5 CD audio book is a "must" for the legions of X-Men fans and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal and community library audio book collections!

Haunted
Randy Wayne White
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10019
9781611763362, $40.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

HAUNTED receives a vivid narration by TV and film actress Renee Raudman, whose extensive background as a reader of over three hundred audiobooks lends to another vivid rendition here. Hannah Smith is trying to stop a condo project while tracking her family history and facing down a possible historic haunted house, but she's bitten off more than she can chew when the ghostly possibilities turn dangerous. As the story evolves, Hannah will learn a lot more about ghosts, hauntings, and the house's history in this vivid story, which comes to satisfying life in audio.

A Path Appears
Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Random House Audio Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 5th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780385367820, $40.00, www.randomhouseaudio.com

A PATH APPEARS: TRANSFORMING LIVES, CREATING OPPORTUNITY receives a fine reading by Olivia Wilde who brings to life the struggles faced by women and girls around the world. It discusses global initiatives to help women, reviews a variety of methods used in the process of transformation and change, and makes for a powerful survey that incorporates the approaches and experiences of women and helpers from all walks of life. The result is a close inspection of the transformation process that changes lives, hearts and minds in an audio presentation perfect for any interested in women's history and social issues.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com

Kip Tindell's UNCONTAINABLE: HOW PASSION, COMMITMENT, AND CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM BUILT A BUSINESS WHERE EVERYONE THRIVES (9781478982609, $30.00) comes from the Chairman and CEO of the successful TheContainerStore, and provides his insights on company secrets used to build his company - even during the 2008 recession. It was as early as 1978 when author Kip Tindell and his partners realized that space-saving solutions would attract a major audience. He not only opened The Container Store, but built his business using open employee communication, a focus on better services and price, and more. His focuses on the seven foundation principles of this business and its philosophy offers an outstanding survey that really comes to life in an audio narrated by Tindell himself. Nicholas Sparks' A WALK TO REMEMBER (0891478982654, $25.00) is narrated by Frank Muller, a classically-trained actor of stage who passed away in 2008, and whose voice lends to the sweet story of one Landon Carter, who remembers 1958, his last year at Beaufort High, and his love for the shy daughter of the town's Baptist minister. His tragic, evocative love story will immerse any with a prior affection for sparks' emotionally-charged writings, particularly since it comes to life in audio under Muller's smooth, compelling reading.


The Music CD Shelf

Singing Lights
Tony Duncan and Darrin Yazzie
Canyon Records Productions
3131 West Clarendon Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85017
$14.98 www.canyonrecords.com

Native American flutist Tony Duncan and guitarist Darrin Yazzie have collaborated to present Singing Lights (49 min. 33 sec.), an original album embodying the spirit of the hoop dance with flowing musical arrangements. A timeless tribute to the sacred in nature, and in the bonds of love that families share, Singing Lights is an exceptional listening experience. The tracks are "Where the Wind Blows" (3:29), "Singing Lights" (4:08), "Our Daughters" (4:44), "Coyote Dances" (4:01), "Sedona Sunrise 2" (3:57), "Sacred Cave" (4:17), "Mother's Beauty" (4:21), "Naiche ('My Son')" (3:53), "Rhythms of Sunrise" (3:48), "Together We Danced" (3:39), "Nakai ('Whippoorwill')" (4:34), "Beauty Surrounds Me" (3:27). Also highly recommended for connoisseurs of Native American music is Breaking Boundaries ($14.98, 45 min. 59 sec.), an album of Pow-Wow songs recorded live at Red Mountain.


The Library DVD Shelf

A Fragile Trust
A film by Samantha Grant
Bullfrog Films, Inc.
PO Box 149
Oley, PA 19547
1941545157 $295.00 www.bullfrogfilms.com

Licensed for public performance, A Fragile Trust: Plagiarism, Power, and Jayson Blair at the New York Times is a documentary about the shocking true story of Jayson Blair, one of the most infamous serial plagiarists of the modern day. Blair's use of purloined quotes, copying, and sometimes outright fabrication in writing for one of most highly reputed newspapers nationwide kicked off a monumental journalism scandal. A Fragile Trust explores not only the story of Blair's deception and its eventual unraveling, but also the deeper issue of ethics in journalism. A Fragile Trust is a "must-have" for Journalism Studies DVD shelves, highly recommended. 75 and 57 versions are both present on one DVD, with SDH captions.

Anita: Speaking Truth to Power
A film by Freida Mock
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213
New York, NY 10036
$24.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock directs Anita: Speaking Truth to Power, a documentary about Anita Hill, an African-American woman who dared to speak up about sexual harassment in the workplace. When Clarence Thomas was nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Anita testified openly and graphically about the sexual harassment that Thomas had perpetrated in the workplace. Anita risked public ridicule and worse to openly speak the truth, and her testimony sparked a national discussion about issues of race, gender, and sexual harassment. DVD extras include "Finding Home", a keynote address by Anita Hill, and "Speaking Truth to Power", an Eve Ensler Curated Performance. Anita: Speaking Truth to Power is a choice pick for public and college library DVD shelves. 77 min. plus 117 min. extras, closed-captioned. Also highly recommended is "Every Three Seconds" (100 min, subtitles), a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Daniel Karslake about ordinary people determined to do their part to make the world a better place.

How to Look at a Painting
Hosted by Justin Paton
Athena
c/o RLJ Entertainment
9781621722854 $49.99

Intended for viewers of all walks of life, How to Look at a Painting introduces one to the world of art. Host Justin Paton (head curator of international art at Australia's Art Gallery New South Wales) explores the questions about the fundamental value of paintings, from portraits to abstract art. How to Look at a Painting tours not only international galleries, but also studios where art is being created with wet paint on canvas. Bonus features include the separate 62 min. documentary "What Is Beauty?", about ten factors that make artwork beautiful, a twelve-page viewer's guide, and profiles of selected artists. How to Look at a Painting is a wonderful introduction to the soul-stirring world of fine art, highly recommended especially for public and college library DVD shelves. 12 episodes on 2 DVDs, 288 min. plus bonus, SDH subtitles, widescreen.

Jeeves & Wooster Complete Collection
Starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
9781621722601 $59.99 www.acornonline.com

Golden Globe winner and seven-time Emmy nominee Hugh Laurie (also known for his role in "House") plays the hapless aristocrat Bertie Wooster, and BAFTA award nominee Stephen Fry (known for his role in "Gosford Park") plays Wooster's hyper-competent valet Jeeves in this DVD adaptation of the hilarious comedy-novels of P.G. Wodehouse. Jeeves & Wooster Complete Collection. Jeeves & Wooster Complete Collection includes all 23 episodes of the British comedy, plus photo galleries and episode one of P.G. Wodehouse's "Blandings, Series 1" as a bonus. Fast and furious deadpan sniping, dilemma-inducing social snarls, and Jeeves' incessantly brilliant solutions to the most absurd mix-ups are the order of the day! Wooster desperately needs Jeeves' help in evading the endless threat of matrimony, the disapproval of overbearing aunts, and more in this nonstop treasury of wit and wackiness. Jeeves & Wooster Complete Collection makes an excellent holiday gift for any treasured friend or family member with a keen sense of humor! 8 DVDs, 20 hours plus bonus, SDH subtitles.

Wisconsin Rising
A film by Sam Mayfield
PM Press
PO Box 23912, Oakland, CA 94623
c/o Independent Publishers Group (dist.)
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.ipgbook.com
$19.95 www.pmpress.org

Wisconsin Rising is a pro-union documentary about the largest sustained worker's resistance movement in American history. In 2011, newly elected Republican Governor Scott Walker spearheaded and signed a controversial law that stripped collective bargaining power from Wisconsin's public employees, undercutting eight decades of labor union power. Wisconsin's public fought back. Wisconsinites peacefully occupied the state capitol for weeks in protest. Over one million signatures were collected to force a recall election of Scott Walker. Only two governors in American history had been previously subjected to a recall election; Scott Walker became the third, and the first governor in American history to survive a recall. Wisconsin Rising explores these dramatic events, and makes a fascinating addition to DVD collections with a focus on labor history in general, and Wisconsin history in particular. 60 min., not rated.

Toy Train Revue 2
TM Books & Video
PO Box 9228
Michigan City, IN 46361
9781936890835 $19.99 www.tmbv.com

Toy Train Revue 2 (90 min.) is the second installment of TM Books & Video's twenty-first century revival of the DVD-magazine especially for toy train enthusiasts. Featuring 60 minutes of all-new high-definition, widescreen video footage, as well as 30 minutes of highlights from the original Toy Train Revue 2 (released in 1991), Toy Train Revue 2 includes a tour of various hobbyists applying realistic ground cover, running interconnected layouts, emulating Century O gauge switches from the 50s, and much more. Dedicated hobbyists will thoroughly enjoy Toy Train Revue 2. As of this writing, the Toy Train Revue DVD-magazine has four separate installments ($19.99 each); part 4 is a special Christmas edition!

Element series
Anchor Bay Entertainment
2401 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 200
Troy, MI 48084-3304
$14.98 each www.anchorbayentertainment.com

Two DVDs in the accessible Element series each offer multiple yoga programs to enhance personal fitness, strength, and flexibility. Daily Yoga (88 min.) offers two programs, an energetic morning yoga routine to help the user prepare for the day, and an evening routine to calm down for restful sleep at night. 5 Day Yoga (94 min.) offers five different 15-minute yoga sessions that can be mixed or matched to serve personal needs: strength & stamina, energy & flexibility, core power, stretch & restore, and stress relief & meditation. A certified yoga instructor guides viewers through each program, in these excellent, user-friendly DVDs.

Element: Belly Dance
Jacqui Lalita
Anchor Bay Entertainment
2401 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 200
Troy, MI 48084-3304
$14.98 www.anchorbayentertainment.com

Professional dancer and instructor Jacqui Lalita presents Element: Belly Dance, a DVD designed to teach women of all ages how to belly dance to develop fitness, flexibility, sensuality, and renewed energy. The DVD segments are "Belly Dance Foundations", which teaches basic moves to those new to the art; "Slow & Sensual Belly Dance Toning", which builds muscle strength with moves such as circles, undulations, and figure 8s; and "Belly Dance Burn", which is all about improving strength and stamina through workout bursts. Element: Belly Dance is an excellent way to become acquainted with belly dance for fun as well for healthy living. 63 min.

Just Walk: Walk Off Fat Fast
Leslie Sansone
Anchor Bay Entertainment
2401 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 200
Troy, MI 48084-3304
www.walkathome.com
$14.98 www.anchorbayentertainment.com

Just Walk: Walk Off Fat Fast is an exercise DVD accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels. The goal is to energize oneself and burn fat through an energetic style of walking, that can incorporate slimming and toning moves. Fitness expert Leslie Sansone hosts three different walk-workouts - the 20-minute easy burn, the 30-minute big burn, and the 40-minute super burn. No special equipment is required to fully benefit from Just Walk, only a positive attitude and a willingness to get out of that armchair! Highly recommended. 95 min.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The Room: The Definitive Guide
Ryan Finnigan
Applause Books
c/o Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing
33 Plymouth St, Suite 302, Montclair, NJ 07042
www.halleonardbooks.com
9781480390966, $24.99, www.applausebooks.com

The Room: The Definitive Guide covers the largest pop culture production in modern times: a top theatrical release since 2003. But one needn't have familiarity with The Room in order to appreciate this guide: which explains the film and the art of its making. Chapters consider key scenes, their making, and use cast interviews to discuss both behind-the-scenes production and the nature of the film's cult following. The result is a powerful analysis that is designed with film readers in mind.

Voltron From Days of Long Ago
Brian Smith, Marc Morrell, Joshua Bernard, and Jacob Chabot
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200
San Francisco CA 94103
9781421575407 $29.99 www.viz.com

Voltron From Days of Long Ago: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration is a full-color, coffee-table book compendium of characters, giant robots, and lore from the classic Japanese animated television show Voltron. Debuting on the airwaves in 1984, Voltron was a pop culture sensation in America as well, sparking a hot-selling line of toys and even other merchandise such as lunchboxes. Voltron From Days of Long Ago is especially notable for its reconstruction of the story and mythology of the Voltron universe, from legends about Voltron's origin to profiles of Voltron pilots and their nefarious enemies, the conquest-driven Drule empire. Voltron From Days Long Ago is truly a labor of love, and a "must-have" for lifelong fans of the show!


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Swann's Lake of Despair
Charles Salzberg
Gale
c/o Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
c/o JKS Communications
9781432829360 $25.95 www.cengage.com

Award-nominated mystery author Charles Salzberg presents Swann's Lake of Despair, part of his crime novel series featuring the handsome and suave detective Henry Swann. Financial desperation pushes Swann to become partners with the less-than-reputable, less-than-amicable Goldblatt, a disbarred lawyer who offers to provide leads and muscle if Swann will get out there and do the footwork. Swann's first cases involve a lost diary from the Jazz Age, stolen photographs of Marilyn Monroe, and a writer at odds with his clandestine lover. Beneath the surface of these seemingly simple cases lurks a deadly threat, and if Swann doesn't look sharp he might become its next victim! Dashes of witty humor spike this hard-boiled mystery, especially recommended for connoisseurs of the genre.


The Computer Shelf

Metaprogramming Ruby 2
Paolo Perrotta
Pragmatic Programmers
2831 Eldorado Parkway, #103-381, Frisco, TX 75033-7438
97819412222126, $38.00, www.pragprog.com

Metaprogramming Ruby 2: Program Like the Ruby Pros teaches the basics of how to write powerful Ruby code, has been completely revised and updated to explain the basics of metaprogramming, and offers programmers the chance to absorb the basics of using it to tackle common programming challenges. Over thirty 'recipes' for success accompany examples from real life, while this edition covers the latest features in Ruby 2.0 and 2.1 and offers code from the latest Ruby reference libraries. From lookup methods to issues surrounding code injection, this is a 'must' for any Ruby programmer.

Murach's Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers, second edition
Joel Murach
Mike Murach & Associates
4340 North Knoll Avenue
Fresno, CA 93722
9781890774806 $54.50 www.murach.com

Now in an updated second edition, Murach's Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers is the definitive self-teaching tool and reference for the SQL and PL/SQL programming languages, which are particularly valuable for working with Oracle databases. An understanding of the fundamentals of computer programming is presumed, as chapters walk the reader through how to code efficient SQL statements. Murach's Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers was created by expert programmers and teachers, expressly for application developers and anyone interested in learning SQL. Exercises and sample code clarify the principles of this first-rate resource.


The Hobby Shelf

Guide to Narrow Gauge Modeling
Tony Koester
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9781627001502 $21.99 www.kalmbachbooks.com

Illustrated with full-color photography throughout, Guide to Narrow Gauge Modeling is a hands-on hobby guide to making model train layouts that superbly emulate the narrow-gauge railroads that have historically operated in remote wilderness terrain. Chapters discuss the history and operation of actual narrow-gauge railroads as well as techniques to plan and design an evocative narrow-gauge model train layout. (In this context, "narrow gauge" refers to railroads where the rails tended to be spaced only two or three feet apart, rather than the standard "wide gauge" of four to eight and half feet). As much an educational tour of these function-driven railroads as it is a how-to manual, Guide to Narrow Gauge Modeling will appeal to general train enthusiasts and model railroad builders alike.


The Fiction Shelf

A Christmas Gift
Kathi Macias
New Hope Publishers
PO Box 830711, Birmingham, AL 35283-0711
9781596694163 $15.99 www.newhopepublishers.com

Multiple award-winning author Kathi Macias presents A Christmas Gift, an original novel of faith, endurance, danger, and love. The story follows Julia, a widow pained by the loss of her husband, who seeks a fresh start teaching in Chiapas, Mexico. As the days come closer to Christmas, she becomes aware of the growing mutual attraction between herself and a local pastor. Terrifying kidnappers jeopardize her life and the lives of others; the nightmarish trial truly puts her belief in God to the test, in this powerful story of self-sacrifice, and the enduring flame of hope.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Hexagon Happenings
Carolyn Forster
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A
Urbandale, Iowa 50322
9781935726661 $27.95 www.landauercorp.com

Ideal for intermediate to advanced quilters, Hexagon Happenings is a step-by-step guide to crafting warm, beautiful quilts with hexagon techniques. Over 200 color photos and diagrams help teach the reader how to cut half-hexagons, partial hexagons, diamonds, half-diamonds, triangles, and kites with the hexagon template; combine hexagons with other shapes; sew hexagons by machine or hand; sew hexagons and other shapes into rows which are then sewn together; and more. Fifteen quilts and projects make Hexagon Happenings a "hands-on" guide, perfect for handcrafting memorable, useful gifts for the holiday season!

Bead Crochet Basics
Candice Sexton
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9780871164469, $21.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Making bead crochet jewelry can be relaxing and fun, especially with a step-by-step guide that includes DVD and explorations of all the basics, from tools and materials to how to make some 22 bead crochet projects. Full-page color photos accompany materials descriptions and a range of jewelry-making endeavors that are perfect for even beginning crocheters or jewelry-makers. The result is a recommendation for crafts and needlework collections alike.

Martingale & Company
19021 Avenue NE, Bothell, WA 98011
www.shopmartingale.com

Megan Kreiner's BATHTIME BUDDIES: 20 CROCHETED ANIMALS FROM THE SEA (9781604684155, $22.99) provides new patterns for bathtime seahorses, whales and more: soft tub toys that can be made from water-friendly materials from terry cloth to yarns, and which offer youngsters a fun sea-oriented bath toy. Crocheters who already have skills will find this a fine collection that includes patterns, stitches, full-page color photos of finished creatures, and close-ups of crochet methods. The result is an outstanding survey packed with fun projects that are easy to reproduce. Katja Marek's THE NEW HEXAGON (9781604683844, $26.99) teaches the basics of how to use hexagons to make unique quilt blocks. From choosing among some 52 patterns for 6' blocks to dividing shapes in an outline, this provides a wealth of projects based on a different kind of hexagon usage, and is a pick for any quilter, especially those already familiar with old-style uses who want an expansion on the theme.
Perfect Quilts for Precut Fabrics


The Education Shelf

What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know, third edition
Dave F. Brown & Trudy Knowles
Heinemann
PO Box 6926, Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
www.heinemann.com
9780325057552, $35.00, www.amazon.com

Now in a newly updated and expanded third edition, "What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know" is a 288 page compendium focusing upon classroom teaching and teachers at the middle school level for children age 10 to 14. Organized into four major sections (Who Are Middle Level Teachers?; Who Are Your Students?; What Research Tells Us About Effective Middle level Schools; and How Your Classroom Can Best Meet The Needs Of Students), "What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know" is a complete, comprehensive, and practical instruction manual that will prove to be an invaluably informed and informative guide -- especially for novice teachers just beginning their middle school careers as classroom instructors. Of special note are the 'Concluding Reflections at the end of each of the twelve chapters comprising "What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know". Highly recommended for anyone having the responsibility for teaching children at a middle school level, "What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know" should be considered a 'must' for academic library Teacher Education instructional reference collections.

The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences, twelfth edition
Marybeth Kravets, MA and Imy F. Wax, MS
The Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780804125574 $29.99 www.PrincetonReview.com

Now in an updated twelfth edition, The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences is a resource for selecting the right college for one's needs. Its pages profile 350 schools that have programs or services especially for students with ADHD or learning disabilities. Packed with information about admissions requirements, graduation policies, available support services, procedures concerning course waivers or substitutions, and more for each school, The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences is an excellent starting point when planning out one's future.

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

Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey with Heather Anderson & Marisol Thayre's TEXT-DEPENDENT QUESTIONS: PATHWAYS TO CLOSE AND CRITICAL READING (9781483331379, $34.95) is directed to teachers of grades 6-12 and outlines the best ways to use text-dependent questions to supplement close reading. From recommended text and questions and examples from across content areas to developing TDQ and applying it to curriculum reading lessons, this considers general understanding, interpreting an author's purpose, considering how text inspires further research and critical reading skills, and more. The result is a program teachers can use as a powerful professional development tool throughout the K-12 years. Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey's MAKE LEARNING PERSONAL (9781483352978, $38.95) provides a fine survey of personalized learning strategies and uses Universal Design for Learning principles to offer teachers a different kind of classroom approach. This system includes tools for reducing barriers to learning and interaction, and pairs teachers' own stories of working in this environment with discussions on how to develop a personalized learning routine. From identifying who are learners and how to adapt or adopt models for particular classrooms or schools to considering changing roles of teachers and students, this is a powerful text recommended for any teacher who wants to cultivate a different classroom model.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Large Animal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians
Laura Lien, et.al., Editors
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9781118346716, $64.99, www.wiley.com/go/veterinary

Large Animal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians provides a fine, detailed guide on caring for horses, cattle, and pigs and is intended for veterinary students who want to learn everything possible about large animal medicine. It's presented in color and provides chapters specific to species, along with clinical applications and topics ranging from nutrition and clinical diagnostics to reproduction, disease, and restraint. The book comes with a companion website that includes Powerpoint illustrations of all book features, a large animal breed ID image bank, and more. The result is a fine student text that is especially recommended for any veterinary technician studying large animal care.

Handbook of Canine and Feline Emergency Protocols, second edition
Maureen McMichael
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9781118559031, $69.99, www.wley.com/go/veterinary

The second updated edition of Handbook of Canine and Feline Emergency Protocols provides a step-by-step key to managing animal emergencies in small practices, and packs in over 165 complete protocols for triage, as well as stabilizing and handling patients. It's arranged by category of emergency, it provides step-by-step procedures, and it offers clear guidelines and the latest information on imaging, diagnosis, and treatment. Add a lay-flat binding format designed for use with a patient and color illustrations and bibliographic references and you have an important handbook no vet practice should be without.

How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity
Patricia Carlin, author
Dustin Fenstermacher, photographer
Quirk Books
215 Church Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
9781594746796 $12.95 www.quirkbooks.com

While (almost) no one should reasonably expect retire on the proceeds from cat videos, How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity is a handy resource for getting Fluffy to contribute to the cost of his kitty food. Though it adopts a comedic tone, How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity is quite practical as a guide to staging cat videos for maximum audience appeal, and hopefully financial revenue. Topics include tailoring videos to take advantage of the personality of one's cat (is he/she a daredevil? A clown? A lazy bum? A wacko?), filming aesthetics, suggested props ranging from basic string or catnip to the Roomba or a Christmas tree, and much more. Technical details about operating video equipment or using computer software to edit filmed footage are kept to a bare minimum, but there is no limit to the humor, which shines through in the illustrative (and annotated!) color photographs of cats in bemusing situations. Cat lovers everywhere will enjoy browsing How to Make Your Cat an Internet Celebrity from cover to cover!


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Fire in the Blood
Erin M. Evans
Wizards of the Coast
1600 Lind Ave. SW
Renton, WA 98057
9780786965298 $27.95 www.wizards.com

Award-winning author Erin M. Evans presents Fire in the Blood, fourth in the "Brimstone Angels" series of epic fantasy novels set in the Dungeons & Dragons pen-and-paper role-playing game world of the Forgotten Realms. The Forest Kingdom of Cormyr is at war with Shadovar; its king is ailing, its Crown Prince has gone missing, and his heir mysteriously falls prey to sickness. In the middle of the intrigue is Farideh, still reeling from the repercussions of a devil's bargain. She is loathe to use the powers gifted to her by the god of sin, yet they may be the only weapon she has ready for the crisis! A saga of political intrigue and battlefield bloodshed, featuring a protagonist that must wage a war within as surely as a war without, Fire in the Blood is a captivating page-turner through and through.


The Political Science Shelf

One Vote
Ben Carson, MD with Candy Carson
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive
Carol Stream, IL 60188
c/o Marshall, Nappi & Schulz Publicity
9781496406323 $5.99 www.tyndale.com

One Vote is a brief, pocket-sized book about responsibly exercising the most fundamental privilege and duty of American citizenship - the right to vote. Retired neurosurgeon, Washington Times columnist, and Fox News contributor Dr. Ben Carson distills the basics about voting into this accessible guide. One Vote covers why every American citizen's vote matters; how to ask the right questions about candidates, parties, and voting records; determine the candidates and political parties whose values align with one's own outlook; and learn how one's own senator and congressman have voted in the past. An impassioned call to action, One Vote's message is needed more than ever as governmental gridlock threatens to increase voter apathy. Highly recommended, especially for public library shelves.


The Sports Shelf

Concepts Of Athletic Training, seventh edition
Ronald P. Pfeiffer, Brent C. Mangus, Cynthia A. Trowbridge
Jones & Bartlett Learning
5 Wall Street, Burlington, MA 01803
www.jblearning.com
9781284034127, $99.95, www.amazon.com

Heavily revised and updated with the latest data from the field, the seventh edition of "Concepts of Athletic Training" focuses on the care and management of sport and activity related injuries while presenting key concepts in a comprehensive, logically sequential manner that will assist future professionals in making the correct decisions when confronted with an activity-related injury or illness in their scope of practice. New to this expanded seventh edition is an extensively revised and rewritten chapter on 'The Law of Sports Injury', which includes new material on the ethics of sports-injury care and the role of the athletic trainer in risk assessment and liability; a chapter on 'Sports-Injury Prevention' providing new material on training benefits of anaerobic fitness; a chapter featuring an 'Emergency Plan and Initial Injury Evaluation' which includes an expanded section on the assessment of the injured athlete's physical exam that urges coaches to collect as much information about the injury, as well as the health history of the athlete. The chapter on 'Injuries to the Thorax and Abdomen' contains new sections on muscle strains and cardiac defects. There are new and revised 'What If?' scenarios encourage students to work on critical decision-making skills, alone or in a group setting with role-playing activities; 'Time Out' boxes providing additional information related to the text, such as NATA Athletic Helmet Removal Guidelines, how to recognize the signs of concussion, and first aid for epilepsy; 'Athletic Trainers Speak Out' boxes featuring a different athletic trainer in every chapter who discusses an element of athlete care and injury prevention; 'Anatomy Reviews' introducing body parts to students unfamiliar with human anatomy and acts as a refresher for those students with some anatomy background. Informed, informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Concepts Of Athletic Training" is an ideal Sports Curriculum textbook and strongly recommended for professional and academic library collections.

Chalky White's The 7 Secrets of Skiing
Chalky White, author
Linda Guerrette, photographer
Privately Published
c/o News & Experts (publicity)
www.newsandexperts.com
9780578090566 $29.95 www.the7secretsofskiing.com

Written by a world-class professional ski instructor, Chalky White's The 7 Secrets of Skiing: A Proven Systematic Route into the World of Advanced Skiing is a guide to improving one's performance on the snowy slopes. Although created especially for intermediate to advanced skiers, The 7 Secrets of Skiing will also prove useful to beginners. Chapters emphasize the importance of balance, and offer checklist-style step-by-step exercises and recommendations for perfecting one's form. Color photography offers a visual demonstration of techniques described in-depth. An absolute "must" for serious skiing enthusiasts!

Human Kinetics
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.humankinetics.com

Kevin G. Thompson's PACING: INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES FOR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE (9781450421232, $24.95) provides keys to the latest research and science involved in developing a pace for a strong finish, and offers athletes and trainers plenty of insights into why this part of the process so often goes awry. From the biological and psychological purposes of pacing science and six commonly used pacing strategies that are discussed in detail to pacing strategies for sports ranging from running to swimming for both individual and team competition, this blends scientific research and profiles world-class athletes and coaches, showing how to develop the ideal pacing plan for all kinds of competitions. It's a 'must' for any sports collection. Jack Daniels, PhD's DANIELS' RUNNING FORMULA (9781450431835, $21.95) appears in its third updated edition to provide a review of the best training program for a runner, and comes from a running coach and exercise physiologist who here provides a research-tested, results-proven approach for getting the most from a training routine. From choosing a program and targeting a race to regaining conditioning after a hiatus from running, this edition has been completely updated with new chapters on altitude training, seasonal programs, and treadmills, and allows runners to create and customize a program based on individual abilities and needs. Highly recommended!


The Photography Shelf

Teaching Digital Photography
Keith Kyker
Libraries Unlimited
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911
Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781610698566 $45.00 www.abc-clio.com

Also available as an ebook, Teaching Digital Photography: The Ultimate Guide to 'Tween and Teen Learning lives up to its title as a resource for educators, covering necessary digital photography equipment and software, photography and digital imaging software skills, creative and commercial digital imaging projects, digital imaging layout skills, digital video, and much more. Suggested activities, techniques for monitoring progress and grading, step-by-step procedures, and more ease the process of constructing and carrying out digital photography lesson plans. An accompanying CD-ROM of supplementary materials rounds out this superb resource for educators. Although Teaching Digital Photography is especially meant for teachers with a responsibility to their classroom, individual amateur photographers may also find the lessons invaluable for personal use!

Learning Through A Lens
Jane Hewitt, author
Mick Waters, author & editor
Independent Thinking Press
c/o Crown House Publishing Limited
6 Trowbridge Drive Suite 5, Bethel, CT 06801
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781781351147, $32.95, www.amazon.com

"Learning Through a Lens: It's All About Photography!" is 224 page, profusely illustrated compendium specifically designed instruct the reader in how to use photography in the classroom across all subjects. "Learning Through A Lens" deftly provides a means for either teamwork or self-discovery, inspiration, wonder, exploring hidden depths in iconic images, and follow-up philosophical questions. Not only does "Learning Through A Lens" allow for creativity but also for structure, freedom and rigor. "Learning Through A Lens" covers camera basics composition, camera functions, basic uploading, editing, printing and presentation; self-portraits self discovery, all about me, secrets, hidden depths, expressions; putting old photos into a scene, then and now; using 'tiny people' to create whole new worlds, scenes and stories providing real scope for creativity and fun; the use of photographic images for philosophical discussion; looking at the local community and how to use images such as street art for project based activities. "Learning Through a Lens: It's All About Photography!" can be used by all teachers, parents, youth workers and anyone wanting to teach using photography. Thoroughly 'user friendly' and enhanced with the inclusion of two pages of Bibliography and a comprehensive Index, "Learning Through a Lens: It's All About Photography!" is very highly recommended for personal, school, and community library Photographic Studies instructional reference collections.

Horse Medicine
Tony Stromberg
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
www.newworldlibrary.com
9781608683130, $45.00, www.amazon.com

The horse has been an intricate part of the human imagination from the primeval past down to the present day. "Horse Medicine" is a 184 page compendium showcasing Tony Stromberg's inspired and inspiring full color photography of the horse that is an almost metaphysically spiritual experience to browse through -- one magnificent page at a time. The imagery is nature photography at its very best, making "Horse Medicine" a wonderful experience that is very highly recommended for horse lovers everywhere. This hardcover coffee-table sized edition would make an enduringly popular addition to personal and community library Photography Studies collections -- especially as a Memorial Fund acquisition selection. Also very highly recommended is Tony Stromberg's earlier photographic collection, "Spirit Horses" (9781608681426, $29.95, 160pp).

Agua Nacida
Hugh Arnold
Merrell Publishers
38 High Avenue, 4th floor
Nyack, New York 10960
9781858946368 $65.00 www.merrellpublishers.com

Agua Nacida ("Underwater Nudes") is a spellbinding, coffee-table photography book showcasing both black-and-white and full-color images of slender women skinny-dipping, swimming, diving, or posing in crystal-clear water. Aside from a brief foreword, there is almost no text; the spellbinding images speak for themselves (the scant text is in English, though). The nudity is quite tasteful and artistic, sometimes masked by shadows but but absolutely not censored. An inset ribbon bookmark enhances this splendid celebration of the beauty in both nature and the human body. Agua Nacida is an absolutely unforgettable addition to photography shelves.


The Gardening Shelf

The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual
Roger Marshall
Timber Press
133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527
www.timberpress.com
9781604694147, $24.95, www.amazon.com

A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a building or complex in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to industrial-sized buildings. A miniature greenhouse is known as a cold frame. Commercial glass greenhouses are often high tech production facilities for vegetables or flowers. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment like screening installations, heating, cooling, lighting and also may be automatically controlled by a computer to maximize potential growth. A greenhouse is a structural building with different types of covering materials, such as a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming visible sunshine is absorbed inside the structure. Air warmed by the heat from warmed interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall; the air that is warmed near the ground is prevented from rising indefinitely and flowing away. "The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual" by gardening expert Roger Marshall is a profusely illustrated, 256 page instruction guide that will enable even the most novice of gardeners to successful utilize a greenhouse environment to raise all manner of plants and vegetation. Beginning with chapters on selecting just the right greenhouse and creating a greenhouse environment, "The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual" goes on with chapters on starting seeds and propagation; growing vegetables, herbs, and fruits; growing without soil; growing flowers and foliage plants; growing orchids, bromeliads, cacti and succulents. Of special value are the chapters on controlling greenhouse pests and diseases, and greenhouse maintenance. "The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual" concludes with an invaluable chapter on making a profit from a greenhouse operation. Absolutely 'user friendly' from beginning to end, "The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library Gardening instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "The Greenhouse Gardener's Manual" is also available in a Kindle edition ($3.49).

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation
Tradd Cotter
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
85 North Main Street, Suite 120
White River Junction, VT 05001
9781603584555, $39.95, www.chelseagreen.com

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation offers new methods for urban and off-grid growing, making mushroom beers, and advancing the possibilities for morel cultivation, and is a pick for any advanced gardening or farming collection. It's a practical guide to advanced mushroom cultivation theory and techniques especially recommended for those who want to generate and expand spawn instead of purchasing it, and covers everything from lab techniques and low-cost cultivation alternatives to using mushroom farming to help heal the land and encourage better sustainability. The result is a technical, in-depth guide highly recommended for any interested in organic farming in general and mushroom-specific questions in particular.


The Military Shelf

Osprey Publishing
4301 21st St, Suite 220B
Long Island City, NY 11101
www.ospreypublishing.com

BOLTACTION: TANK WAR (9781472807373, $24.95) is for wargamers who subscribe to the Bolt Action scenario, and provides a new supplement and new opportunities to expand player games into the armoured warfare circle. Engagements, battles, special rules and army options pack a gaming guide for those who would either build upon prior themes with existing armies or develop a new force with tank warfare in mind. Color photos and illustrations of tanks throughout enhance a powerful survey that is packed with war game scenarios and options, making this a 'must' for prior Bolt Action players. Bill Yenne's THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY: THE INVINCIBLE YEARS 1941-42 (9781782009320, $29.95) narrows the focus to the year when the Imperial Japanese Army was conducting its ground campaign in the Far East - but it offers up a difference in considering these events from the Japanese viewpoint. Chapters reveal their attacks, conquests, and battles using first-hand accounts from Japanese sources, making for a unique inspection of the tactics and approaches of the army during their offensive. Any interested in a specific analysis of this era will find Yenne's approach unparalleled in scope and content.


The Business Shelf

The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking, second edition
Heather Townsend
FT Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.ftpress.com
9781292003955, $36.99, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated and newly expanded second edition, "The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking: How to Use the Power of Online and Offline Networking for Business Success" by business communication expert Heather Townsend is basically a 272 page instruction manual on using online networking to advance and achieve corporate goals. The continued technological advances of online communications makes it ever more imperative that corporate executives and staff members be able to fully utilizing those networking-based advantages -- and avoid some of the pitfalls and perils along the way. Thoroughly 'user friendly', exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking" is enhanced with the inclusion of an appendix (Useful Financial Times Articles), a five page Glossary, a six page bibliography (Further Resources), and a comprehensive Index. Very highly recommended for professional, corporate, community, and academic library Contemporary Business Studies reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists, it should be noted that "The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking" is also available in a Kindle edition ($24.79).

People Tools for Business
Alan C. Fox
Kogan Page USA
1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100, Philadelphia, PA 19102
9781590792872, $16.95, www.koganpage.com

People Tools for Business: 50 Strategies for Building Success, Creating Wealth, and Finding Happiness shares tools any businessperson can use to create wealth and find success, and is based on the lessons Fox learned in the course of enjoying a profitable career. He presents his strategies for achieving lasting success and his discourse is narrated in a chatty first-person tone that makes it accessible and readable, while his tools are backed by case histories and examples of how they work in the real world. The result is a powerful collection of business tips recommended for any who would focus on people-oriented tools for achieving maximum business acclaim.

Why Motivating People Doesn't Work
Susan Fowler
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
1333 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland CA, 94612
9781626561823, $24.95, www.bkconnection.com

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK... AND WHAT DOES: THE NEW SCIENCE OF ENERGIZING, AND ENGAGING comes from a top leadership researcher, consultant and coach who offers some starting advice against the norm: stop trying to motivate people. People already are motivated; just in different ways. This book instead uses a scientific research model to provide a course of action to help leaders guide their people toward a particular kind of motivation that leads to increased productivity. It argues that typical leadership motivation routines are dated and that there are better alternatives, and it outlines an Optimal Motivation process to help people move away from dependence on external rewards. The result is a 'must' for any who would understand the latest insights on motivational processes.


The Crafts Shelf

Timeless Wire Weaving
Lisa Barth
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9781627000765, $19.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Timeless Wire Weaving: The Complete Course provides thirteen projects that blend wire with seed beads and various components to make lovely wire earrings, necklaces and bracelets, and uses step-by-step how-to photos and clear instructions to provide a complete course in a book on using wires to make jewelry. From creating wire clasps and using connectors to different effects, this teaches techniques master wire weavers use in their design process. The result is a survey recommended for any who would learn how to apply the latest jewelry-making techniques.

Micro Macrame Basics and Beyond
Raquel Cruz
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
9781627000468, $21.99, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Micro Macrame Basics and Beyond comes from a jewelry artist who teaches how to turn cords, knots and beads into jewelry. Step-by-step directions for seventeen colorful projects focus on creating different knots for different purposes, teaching how to use common jewelry cord in micro-macrame projects that go far beyond potted plant holders and the typical vision of what macrame is. The result is a fine artist's guide perfect for any pursuing a different kind of jewelry project.


The Art Shelf

Pen & Ink Tattoos & The Stories Behind Them
Isaac Fitzgerald and Wendy MacNaughton
Bloomsbury Press
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
9781620404904, $22.00, www.bloomsbury.com

Body art is a specialty these days and so many sport 'tats' that it's easy to forget that many of these decorative embellishments actually have a story behind them. This collection covers these stories and offers insights on the tattoos of ordinary people with often-extraordinary tales to tell. Each story includes illustrator Wendy MacNaughton's artwork, which accompanies fun tales of tattoo inspirations and creations. Any with an interest in tattoo art will find this a fun, intriguing pairing of story and art.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Secret Chamber Revisited
Robert Bauval
Bear & Company
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781591431923, $25.00, www.bearandcompanybooks.com

Secret Chamber Revisited: The Quest for the Lost Knowledge of Ancient Egypt provides a fully updated new edition that includes new color photos and more insights on the author's own investigation of events at Giza and the role played by ex-Minister of Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass. Prior familiarity with the book or its basic concepts will lend to the excitement over this new updated edition, which explores what lies behind the mysterious doors at the end of the Great Pyramid's star shafts and what is the real purpose of chambers within the Pyramid. Collections strong in new age Egyptian mysticism will find this a solid examination of ancient texts and modern investigations.

Unidentified: The UFO Phenomenon
Robert Salas
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
220 West Parkway, Unit 12, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
9781601633422, $15.99, www.newpagebooks.com

In 1969 the U.S. Air Force issued a statement that stated that no UFO ever investigated by the military indicated any threat to U.S. security. This blanket statement has since been proven untrue by many military officers and by studies documenting incidents involving UFOs and nuclear weapons, and this book reveals how an important federal study was buried to cover up the reality of UFOs. UNIDENTIFIED publishes evidence that the Colorado study team knew about UFO-related missile shutdown incidents but didn't include them in this report - and it reveals how world governments have conspired to keep a huge secret. Any interested in UFOs MUST have this investigative study.

Llewellyn Worldwide
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com

Steven A. LaChance with Shannon N. Lusk's BLESSED ARE THE WICKED: THE TERRIFYING SEQUEL TO THE UNINVITED (9780738738963, $16.99) is recommended for any collection strong in paranormal stories, and offers more accounts of the ghostly Union Screaming House and its demonic possession. Steven A. LaChance lived with this darkness and the story of his family's trauma was related in his first book, The Uninvited. Marked by the supernatural trauma, they now find it follows them - and this book is a powerful testimony to events that dominate his world. Any who love paranormal true stories will find this a vivid, compelling read! Kristy Robinett's FOREVERMORE: GUIDED IN SPIRIT BY EDGAR ALLAN POE (9780738740676, $15.99) provides new age readers with an excellent discussion of how Poe helped author Robinett to become a psychic medium. Poe, as portrayed here, was a sleuth who worked with law enforcement, and he mentors Kristy as she focuses her para-abilities on murders and missing persons of past and how these affect modern experience. Her survey of her own personal and psychic growth makes for an invigorating, engrossing read. Kristoffer Hughes' THE JOURNEY INTO SPIRIT; A PAGAN'S PERSPECTIVE ON DEATH, DYING & BEREAVEMENT (9780738740751, $19.99) provides a discussion of death and the afterlife from the perspective of a Druid priest author who explores the three Celtic realms of existence and how grief and mourning play into matters. Exercises, meditations and rituals accompany discussions of the discoveries to be made from these transitional points.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money V. 1
Don and Lois Bailey
Whitman Publishing
4001 Helton Drive, Florence, Alabama, 35630
9780794834074, $39.95, www.whitman.com

Whitman Encyclopedia of Mexican Money V. 1: An Illustrated History of Mexican Coins and Currency provides the first in a projected four-volume encyclopedia on the topic and is recommended for collectors and historians who want an overview of the history of Mexican coinage. Two scholars worked with coin collectors, dealers, museum curators, government officials and more to produce this series. This first book covers pre-Columbian money to the colonial era, covering all coins issued during revolutions, reform periods, for commemorative programs, and more. It also explores tokens, sets and decorations also of interest to numismatics.


The Science Shelf

Fakes!? Hoaxes, Counterfeits and Deception in Early Modern Science
Marco Beretta & Maria Conforti, editors
Science History Press
PO Box 1240, Sagamore Beach, MA 02562-1240
www.shpusa.com
9780881354959, $47.96, www.amazon.com

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Marco Beretta (History of Science, University of Bologna) and Maria Conforti (History of Medicine, Sapienza-Rome University), "Fakes!? Hoaxes, Counterfeits and Deception in Early Modern Science" is a 296 page compendium comprised of ten major articles, each one devoted to a specific fraudulent incident or activity in the early decades of the adoption of the scientific method of inquiry. The articles begin with Owen Gingerich's Is Doctoring Data Always Misconduct?: Case Studies - Ptolemy, Copernicus, Lansbergen" and conclude with Stefano Gattei's "An Original Fake: Closing the Debate on Flammarion's Engraving". A seminal body of original scholarship that is very highly recommended for both academic and community library collections, "Fakes!? Hoaxes, Counterfeits and Deception in Early Modern Science" is an inherently fascinating read and will prove to be of immense interest to academia as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the history of science.


The American History Shelf

The First Lady of Radio
Stephen Drury Smith, editor
The New Press
38 Green Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10013
9781620970423 $25.95 www.thenewpress.com

The First Lady of Radio: Eleanor Roosevelt's Historic Broadcasts is a primary source consisting almost entirely of Eleanor Roosevelt's historic radio broadcasts. President FDR was not the only major political figure of his era to engage the American public in "fireside chats"; during his presidential term, first lady Eleanor became the first wife of an American president to cultivate a media relationship with the American public. Eleanor Roosevelt was FDR's political partner as well as his spouse. She held a series of prime time radio programs in which she candidly shared details of White House life, supported her husband's vision for a brighter future - and sometimes even publicly disagreed with him, offering her own thoughts and alternatives on the air. Her transcribed radio speeches include "A Mother's Responsibility as a Citizen", "Life in a Tenement", "Shall We Arm Merchant Ships?", "Pearl Harbor Attack", and many more. Her words are as relevant today as they were during the darkest hours of the Great Depression and World War II. The First Lady of Radio is worthy of the highest recommendation for public and college library American History shelves.

Imaging Hoover Dam
Anthony F. Arrigo
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 0166
Reno, NV, 89557-0166
9780874179538 $39.95 www.unpress.nevada.edu

Imaging Hoover Dam: The Making of a Cultural Icon is the story of the single most ambitious civil engineering project of the Great Depression. Built in the Mojave Desert to hold back the largest man-made lake in America, the Hoover Dam became a visible symbol of American ingenuity and construction, even amid dark times of widespread poverty, unemployment, and hunger. Imaging Hoover Dam draws upon a vast selection of primary sources and archival materials to tell the story of the Hoover Dam's construction, documentation, and use in commercial promotions, fine art photography, and paintings. As much a glimpse into American Culture as it is a landmark history, Imaging Hoover Dam is especially recommended for public and college library American History collections.


The World History Shelf

A History Of South Africa
Fransjohan Pretorius, editor
Protea Boekhuis
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
www.internationalpubmarket.com
9781869199081, $29.00, www.amazon.com

The Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It has 2,798 kilometers of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. To the north lie the neighboring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; and within it lies Lesotho, an enclave surrounded by South African territory. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 53 million people, is the world's 25th-most populous nation. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution's recognition of 11 official languages, which is among the highest number of any country in the world. Two of these languages are of European origin: English and Afrikaans, the latter originating from Dutch and serving as the first language of most white and colored South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fourth most-spoken first language. Compiled and edited by Fransjohan Pretorius (Professor of History, University of Pretoria), "A History of South Africa: From the Distant Past to the Present Day" is a 706 page compendium presenting a comprehensive overview of the history of South Africa presented in twenty-nine informative articles beginning with South Africa's primeval past, to the Dutch era, to the coming of the British, to the struggle against apartheid, to the current era of developing trade unions, and the establishment of a democracy. Of special note is Elize S. van Eeden's article 'An environmental history of South Africa'. Enhanced with the inclusion of maps, a bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "A History of South Africa: From the Distant Past to the Present Day" is a remarkable work that should be a part of every academic library's World History collection in general, and the supplemental studies reading lists for students of South African history in particular.

Operatives, Spies, And Saboteurs
Patrick K. O'Donnell
The Free Press
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.simonsays.com
978074323574, $17.00, www.amazon.com

A 384 page history of World War II espionage and covert operations activities, presented from the perspective of OSS agents, recounts numerous secret missions that contributed to the war's outcome, "Operatives, Spies, And Saboteurs" by Patrick K. O'Donnell is a riveting and informative read from beginning to end. This is one of those cases where true stories are as suspenseful as any fictional thriller ever penned. Enhanced with the inclusion of sixteen pages of Notes, an eight page Glossary, an eight page Bibliography, and a comprehensive Index, "Operatives, Spies, And Saboteurs" is highly recommended for academic and community library collection in general, and commended to the attention of non-specialist general readers with an interest in World War II era espionage in particular. It should be noted that "Operatives, Spies, And Saboteurs" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.02).

Glimpses of Ireland's Past
Angelique Day
Royal Irish Academy
www.ria.ie
c/o International Specialized Book Services
920 Northeast 58th Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, OR, 97213
9781908996459 $50.00 www.isbs.com

Glimpses of Ireland's Past - The Ordnance Survey Memoir Drawings: Topography and Technique collects black-and-white sketches that were made of Irish landscapes, ancient sites, monuments, historic objects, etc. created as visual documentation of Ulster, during the decade before the Great Famine of the mid-nineteenth century. Paired with the preserved illustrations are descriptive and informative text vignettes. Glimpses of Ireland's Past lives up to its title as a preserved treasury; its drawings were not commercial, but rather created specifically to preserve, record, and remember. Highly recommended, especially for college library world history shelves.

The Yanks Are Coming!
H.W. Crocker III
Regnery Publishing, Inc.
One Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
9781621572626 $29.99 www.regnery.com

Military historian H.W. Crocker III presents The Yanks Are Coming! A Military History of the United States in World War I, an in-depth focus on America's contribution to The Great War. The Yanks Are Coming! does not shy from political judgment and evaluation, painting President Woodrow Wilson as a pacifist who was reluctantly forced into an inevitable war, exploring how the ashes of WW I birthed Communism and Fascism, and how the war was a crucial turning point in America's rising influence, from frontier power to global superpower. "The question the Unknown Soldier might ask us is whether we have adequately paid our debt to the generation of Americans who fought the Great War, who forged the American Century, who defined for the world what it meant to be an American." Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out complex, detailed, and far-reaching account of not only the war itself, but also its long-term politics and consequences.


The Memoir Shelf

The Memoirs of Ardeshir Zahedi: Volume II
Ahmad Ahrar, recorder
Farhang Jahanpour, translator
IBEX Publishers
PO Box 30087, Bethesda, MD 20824
www.ibexpublishers.com
9781588140999, $40.00, www.amazon.com

Ardeshir Zahedi (born 16 October 1928) was an important Iranian diplomat during the 1960s and 1970s, serving as the country's foreign minister and its ambassador to the United States and the United Kingdom. "The Memoirs of Ardeshir Zahedi, Love, Marriage, Ambassadorship in The United Sates and the United Kingdom (1955-1966)" is the second volume of Ardeshir Zahedi's memoirs as he dictated them to Ahmad Ahrar. In this volume of his memoirs, he covers the death of his father; courtship and marriage to the Shah's daughter, Shahnaz; his appointment as ambassador to the United Kingdom and learning the interactions of British civil and court politics; his appointment as ambassador to the United States where he becomes acquainted, among others, with President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon and the Kennedy brothers; and his first hand experiences with the student opposition to the Shah in the United States. He also describes his and Princess Shahnaz's involvement in the process of selecting a suitable wife for the Shah, who had recently separated from Queen Soraya, and who wanted to remarry and produce a male heir. As informed and informative as it is candid and straightforward, "The Memoirs of Ardeshir Zahedi: Volume II" is very highly recommended reading and a valued addition to academic library biography and international studies collections. Also strongly recommended is the first volume, "The Memoirs of Ardeshir Zahedi Volume I" (9781588140739, $25.00, 514pp).


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Writing Local History Today
Thomas A. Mason & J. Kent Calder
AltaMira Press
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.rlpgbooks.com
9780759119024, $70.00, www.amazon.com

The collaborative work of Thomas A. Mason and J. Kent Calder, "Writing Local History Today: A Guide to Researching, Publishing, and Marketing Your Book" is a 148 page instruction manual specifically designed to assist the novice writer seeking to produce saleable work in the field of writing local community histories. Deftly organized into four chapters (The Consumer: Who Is Your Audience?; Evidence: Where Do You Find It? How Do You Use It?; Communication: How Do You Shape a Specialized Subject for a Nonspecialist Audience?; Economics, Design, and Production: How Do You Produce and Market A Book That People Will Pay For?). Succinctly comprehensive, immanently practical, thoroughly 'user friendly', and enhanced with the inclusion of eight appendices ranging from 'Sample Author's Guideline' to 'Why Books Cost: A quick Lesson in Finance for Publishers', a four page Bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "Writing Local History Today: A Guide to Researching, Publishing, and Marketing Your Book" will prove to be an invaluable addition to any aspiring writer's reference shelf in general, and a "must" for anyone wanting to enter the specialized field of local history writing in particular. It should be noted that "Writing Local History Today: A Guide to Researching, Publishing, and Marketing Your Book" is also available in a paperback edition (9780759123953, $27.95) and a Kindle edition ($23.44).


The Library Science Shelf

Dragons in the Stacks
Steven A. Torres-Roman and Cason E. Snow
Libraries Unlimited
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911
Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9781610692618 $45.00 www.abc-clio.com

Part of the Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides for Young Adult Librarians Series, intended especially for librarians specializing in collections that serve teens and young adults, Dragons in the Stacks: A Teen Librarian's Guide to Tabletop Role-Playing demystifies pen-and-paper table-top role-playing games. The most famous of these games belong to the genre-defining Dungeons & Dragons system, but there are literally dozens of other role-playing game materials, which can be used to share creative adventures in just about any setting, from futuristic sci-fi to horror or the Old West. Dragons in the Stacks has an easy-to-use glossary of RPG terms, a short history of tabletop RPGs, suggestions for collection development and programming, and more. Most of all, it offers brief (one to three pages) profiles of all sorts of different RPG systems, describing the basic setting, the role that players have, genre tags, an evaluation with a simple scoring system, and so on. An index rounds out this excellent, user-friendly resource, especially recommended for librarians interested in incorporating table-top role-playing into the library's schedule of youth activities!

The Maker Cookbook
Cindy R. Wall & Lynn M. Pawloski
Libraries Unlimited
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9781610696616, $45.00, www.amazon.com

The collaborative work of two experienced librarians, Cindy R. Wall and Lynn M. Pawloski, "The Maker Cookbook: Recipes for Children's and 'Tween Library Programs" is a 237 page compendium offering easy-to-use, step-by-step guidance for school and community librarians wanting to create engaging K - 8 programs in science and technology, arts and crafts, and home skills that are perfect for the library setting. The menu of ideas is broken into four types of programming. "Appetizers" add a taste of the Maker movement to existing library programs. "Entrees" present full programs for a lengthy one-day event or a short series. "Side Dishes" are programs you can use if you have limited staff, budget, space, or any combination of those. "Desserts" are low-tech programs, suitable for young children. Each "recipe" includes extensions, variations, and curriculum tie-ins that give you even more ways to present the program ideas, whether to a different audience or as part of other related activities. Programs that involve creating a "Balloon Zip Line," a "Zen Garden," or a "Maker Marketplace" will delight library users and generate activity and excitement in your library. Thoroughly 'user friendly' throughout, it should also be noted that ""The Maker Cookbook: Recipes for Children's and 'Tween Library Programs" is also available in a Kindle edition ($35.99).


The Self-Help Shelf

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In
Louis Zamperini & David Rensin
Dey St.
c/o William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022-5299
9780062368331 $22.99 www.harpercollins.com

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In: Lessons from an Extraordinary Life is an inspirational book drawn from the life lessons of World War II veteran and survivor Louis Zamperini. During the war, Zamperini served aboard a B-24 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Zamperini was among one of the three who survived the crash. They subsisted on rain water and raw albatross... barely. On the 33rd day adrift, one survivor died. Zamperini made a heartfelt plea to God, "I promise to seek you and serve you if you just let me live." On the 47th day adrift, Zamperini was taken prisoner by the Japanese. He suffered two and a half years of torture, particularly at the will of a cruel prison guard known as the "Bird". Post-traumatic stress disorder haunted Zamperini after his return home, prompting him to drink and pick fights. It was renewed religious faith that turned his life around, beginning with the words of a young preacher named Billy Graham. Zamperini learned about the importance of forgiveness - an act that can be at once the most difficult and the most transforming deed of one's life. Zamperini's courageous story has been meticulously detailed in the autobiography and movie "Unbroken"; while Don't Give Up, Don't Give In emphasizes what readers of all faiths and backgrounds can learn from Zamperini's internal and external struggles. "When I get on an airplane, before I even sit down, I look around for the exit doors. When the flight attendant does the safety demonstration, I already know where I'm going. Awareness equals survival." Highly recommended.


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Collected Papers of Michael E. Soule
Michael E. Soule
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610915748, $35.00, www.amazon.com

Michael E. Soule is a U.S. biologist, best known for his work in promoting the idea of conservation biology. He earned a Ph.D. in Population Biology at Stanford University under Paul R. Ehrlich. He co-edited with Gary Lease a book of essays titled Reinventing nature?: responses to postmodern deconstruction (1995), which was a response to the arguments presented by environmental historian William Cronon and others in Uncommon ground: toward reinventing nature (1995). He is Research Professor (Emeritus) in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz. Soule was a cofounder of the Society for Conservation Biology and currently serves on the board of Round River Conservation Studies and the Wildlands Network. Soule has most recently spoken out against approaches to environmental conservation that discount the value of species diversity. "Collected Papers of Michael E. Soule: Early Years in Modern Conservation Biology" is a 376 page compendium comprised of fourteen major papers that Soule either wrote or co-wrote in the field of conservation biology. Enhanced with the inclusion of a list of Permissions and Original Sources, "Collected Papers of Michael E. Soule: Early Years in Modern Conservation Biology" is a major contribution that should be a part of every academic library's Conservation Biology reference collection and course work supplemental studies list. It should be noted that "Collected Papers of Michael E. Soule: Early Years in Modern Conservation Biology" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.24).


The Wisconsin Shelf

Bibliography of Metropolitan Milwaukee
Ann M. Graff, Amanda I. Seligman, Margo Anderson
Marquette University Press
PO Box 3141, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
www.marquette.edu/mupress
9780874620849, $25.00, www.amazon.com

Milwaukee is the largest city in the State of Wisconsin, the 31st most populous city in the United States, and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. With a population of 600,000+, the City of Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee - Racine - Waukesha Metropolitan Area with a population of more than two million. This ranks the region as the 29th most populous Combined Statistical Area of the United States. In 2012, Milwaukee was listed as a gamma global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Compiled by the team of Ann M. Graff, Amanda I. Seligman, Margo Anderson, "Bibliography of Metropolitan Milwaukee" is a 345 page compendium comprising 19 thematic chapters that are further organized by topic, The "Bibliography of Metropolitan Milwaukee" includes resources for Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties. Subjects covered include places, biographies, race and ethnicity, politics, business, the economy, charity, religion, the arts, architecture, recreation, health, gender, the natural environment, media, infrastructure, bibliographies, and archives. "Bibliography of Metropolitan Milwaukee" offers the most comprehensive bibliographical resources about the Milwaukee area ever produced and should be considered a core addition to academic library U.S. demographic reference collections in general, and Wisconsin demographic information collections in particular.


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


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