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Library Bookwatch

Volume 18, Number 1 January 2023 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Education Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Environmental Studies Shelf World History Shelf Military Shelf
Biography Shelf Literary Fiction Shelf Romantic Fiction Shelf
Western Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Religious Studies Shelf Native American Studies Shelf Gaming Shelf
Folktale/Fairytale Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Library Science Shelf
Business Shelf Photography Shelf Art Shelf
Graphic Novel Shelf Library CD Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Archaeology Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Veterinary Shelf
Mathematics Shelf Holocaust Studies Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Frontiers in Civil Justice
Xandra Kramer, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781802203813, $160.00 HC / $TBA ebook, 320pp

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/frontiers-in-civil-justice-9781802203813.html

Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Xandra Kramer, Jos Hoevenaars, Betul Kas, and Erlis Themeli, "Frontiers in Civil Justice: Privatisation, Monetisation and Digitisation" is comprised of studies in three interrelated frontiers civil justice issues from European and national perspectives, combining theory with policy and insights from practice: the interplay between private and public justice, the digitization of justice, and litigation funding. These current topics are viewed against the backdrop of the requirements of effective access to justice and the overall goal of establishing a sustainable civil justice system in Europe.

With perspectives from an impressive selection of contributors "Frontiers in Civil Justice: Privatisation, Monetisation and Digitisation" takes on a pan-European perspective and zooms in on several European jurisdictions, thereby providing a holistic exploration of current civil justice debates and frontiers. It includes chapters dedicated to the interaction between public and private justice, the digitisation of both private dispute resolution and court litigation, including the rapid development and use of advanced forms of Artificial Intelligence, and the funding of justice, especially collective actions and settlements by means of private funding and common funds.

Addressing these key issues in the current European debate on civil justice, "Frontiers in Civil Justice: Privatisation, Monetisation and Digitisation" will be an ideal read for academics and policy makers interested in the most recent frontier developments and innovations. Legal practitioners will also benefit from the insight into complex topics such as litigation funding, legal conflicts in a digital age, and resolving disputes in a private setting.

Critique: Comprised of an informative Introduction and thirteen erudite essays deftly organized into three major sections (ADR and the Courts; Digitising Private and Public Justice; Collectivising and Monetising Civil Litigation), "Frontiers in Civil Justice: Privatisation, Monetisation and Digitisation" is unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, and academic library International Law collections and supplemental Contemporary Judicial curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Xandra Kramer (http://www.xandrakramer.eu) is Professor of Private Law, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Professor of Private International Law, Utrecht University.

Editorial Note #2: Jos Hoevenaars, Betul Kas and Erlis Themeli are Postdoc Researchers, Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.


The Education Shelf

Teaching Kids to Pause, Cope, and Connect
Mark Purcell, Psy.D
Kellen Glinder, MD
Free Spirit Publishing
6325 Sandburg Road, Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55427-3674
www.freespirit.com
9781631983474, $34.99, PB, 198pp

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Kids-Pause-Cope-Connect/dp/1631983474

Synopsis: Elementary school students today face many challenges that did not exist a generation or two ago, and rates of emotional disorders (including anxiety and depression) have increased steadily over the years. Students must also manage an overwhelming amount of information. With today's reliance on technology and social media, they have fewer opportunities to develop effective self-regulation strategies and interpersonal and stress management skills.

Helping students understand their emotions and behavior when they're young will set them on a path to being successful learners and empathetic people throughout their lives. Comprised of thirty easy-to-implement, skill-based lessons and activities for grades 3-6, "Teaching Kids to Pause, Cope, and Connect: Lessons for Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness" provides educators with strategies to help students: Manage and reduce their anxiety with healthy coping skills; Understand and regulate physical responses to stress; Separate emotions from actions; Respond mindfully (rather than impulsively) to difficult situations; Improve social skills, social awareness, and self-regulation; Develop empathy and compassion.

Digital content includes reproducible student handouts that accompany each lesson, plus six bonus lessons.

Critique: An ideal and unreservedly recommended elementary school curriculum development resource, "Teaching Kids to Pause, Cope, and Connect: Lessons for Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness" is highly recommended for school district and academic library In-Service Training curriculums and college/university library Teacher Education collections. It should be noted that "Teaching Kids to Pause, Cope, and Connect: Lessons for Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.24).

Editorial Note: Mark Purcell, Psy.D., (www.drmarkpurcell.com) is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating children and families with emotional regulation challenges. He has been working in various aspects of the mental health field for over twenty years. Mark's professional experience has ranged from providing psychotherapy to children to developing specialized treatment programs and teaching professionals and graduate students. In addition to teaching and training, he provides therapy in his private practice. Mark has particular interests in mindfulness-based therapeutic approaches, such as DBT and MBSR. He also has research interests in the effects of trauma and effective treatment modalities. He coauthored Mindfulness for Teen Anger, which integrates these interests into a self-help workbook for adolescents. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area and can be followed on Twitter @dr_mark_purcell

Editorial Note #2: Kellen Glinder, M.D., (https://profiles.stanford.edu/kellen-glinder) is a pediatrician and site lead for the Silicon Valley office of Private Medical. He is also the emeritus chair of pediatrics at the Palo Alto Division of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and an adjunct clinical assistant professor at Stanford University. He is active in both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. As a Wilderness Medical Society member, he enjoys figuring out how to get kids outside often and with smiles. Kellen is a Screen Actors Guild member, has trained as an improvisational actor, and has taught classes in medical improv and the art of communication, including a course at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. He can be followed on Twitter @drglinder

Equity in the Classroom
Todd M. Mealy, editor
Heather Bennett, editor
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476687032, $39.95, PB, 298pp

https://www.amazon.com/Equity-Classroom-Curricular-Pedagogical-Approaches/dp/147668703 X

Synopsis: Almost 200 years after public schools moved toward free education for all children, educators are still exploring the best approaches for promoting equitable student growth.

In early 2020, Covid-19 operational changes and the challenge to confront America's most profound racial problems exposed many equity issues in schools. As a result, educators were called to reimagine the field of education as the curtain closed on the first quarter of the 21st century.

The essays comprising "Equity in the Classroom: Essays on Curricular and Pedagogical Approaches to Empowering All Students" challenge classroom instructors to consider new approaches to education theory, classroom praxis and teaching content. The chapters herein draw on mixed-methods and narrative form essays to provide practical tools and techniques for building equitable schools.

Viewing schools as extensions of society-at-large, collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Todd M. Mealy and Heather Bennett, delivers innovative curricular approaches to STEM education, the Humanities and applied theater. The authors offer methods for empowering student voices, managing moments of crisis, increasing representation in computer science and implementing restorative justice disciplinary practices in learning institutions. These essays provide all educators with proven instructional models for curricular equity with the goal of moving America closer to a multicultural democracy.

Critique: Along with an informative Introduction by the two editors, "Equity in the Classroom: Essays on Curricular and Pedagogical Approaches to Empowering All Students" is a compendium of thirteen deftly crafted contributions by experts. Of special note is a one page listing of the contributors and their credentials. Timely, thought-provoking, and 'real world' relevant, "Equity in the Classroom: Essays on Curricular and Pedagogical Approaches to Empowering All Students" is an especially recommended addition to professional and academic library Education Theory and Ethnic Education Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists of teachers, school district administrators, board of education policy makers, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Equity in the Classroom: Essays on Curricular and Pedagogical Approaches to Empowering All Students" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).

Editorial Note #1: Todd M. Mealy (https://www.toddmealy.com) has Ph.D. in American studies from Penn State University, and is a writer who specializes in 19th and 20th century civil rights history and sports culture. A contributor to Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine, he resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Note #2: Heather Bennett (https://heatherlbennett.com) assists public school boards and districts with equity-focused tools, programming, and research. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of education, law, and policy, primarily focusing on the impact of the educational experiences of marginalized students, families, and communities. She currently resides in Bangkok, Thailand.

The New Classroom Instruction That Works
Bryan Goodwin, et al.
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416631613, $32.95, PB, 178pp

https://www.amazon.com/Classroom-Instruction-That-Works-Research-Based/dp/1416631615

Synopsis: Built on a more rigorous research base and updated to emphasize student diversity, equity, and inclusion, "The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement" offers a streamlined focus on the 14 instructional strategies proven to promote deep, meaningful, and lasting learning including: Cognitive interest cues; Student goal setting and monitoring; Vocabulary instruction; Strategy instruction and modeling; Visualizations and concrete examples; High-level questions and student explanations; Guided initial application with formative feedback; Peer-assisted consolidation of learning; Retrieval practice; Spaced and mixed independent practice; Targeted support; Cognitive writing; Guided investigations; and Structured problem solving.

These strategies (all of which are effective and complementary) are presented within a framework geared toward instructional planning and aligned with how the brain learns. For each strategy, their are key research findings, the important principles of classroom practice, and recommended approaches for using the strategy with today's learners.

Both new and veteran teachers will finish "The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement" with a better understanding of how effective teaching boosts student achievement and a clearer idea of what to do, when to do it, and why.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The New Classroom Instruction That Works: The Best Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement" is an ideal textbook for in-service training programs on lesson planning/instruction methods, and college/university library Teacher Education instructional reference collections.

Editorial Note #1: Bryan Goodwin (https://www.ascd.org/people/bryan-goodwin) is the president and CEO of McREL International, a Denver-based nonprofit education research and development organization. Goodwin, a former teacher and journalist, has been at McREL for more than 20 years, serving previously as chief operating officer and director of communications and marketing. Goodwin writes a monthly research column for Educational Leadership and presents research findings and insights to audiences across the United States and in Canada, the Middle East, and Australia.

Editorial Note #2: Kristin Rouleau (https://www.ascd.org/people/kristin-rouleau) serves as the executive director of learning services and innovation at McREL International, where she guides a team of consultants who help schools, districts, and state education agencies and ministries of education across the United States, Canada, Micronesia, Australia, the Middle East, and China translate research into solutions that transform teaching, leading, and learning. A licensed school administrator with more than 25 years of classroom and school leadership experience, she coauthored Learning That Sticks: A Brain-Based Model for K - 12 Instructional Design and Delivery, Curiosity Works: A Guidebook for Moving Your School from Improvement to Innovation and Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School.

Editorial Note #3: Cheryl Abla (https://www.edutopia.org/profile/cheryl-abla) is a senior managing consultant at McREL International, where she develops workshops and professional learning sessions for K-12 teachers on research-based instructional strategies in the areas of instructional technology, English learners, and developing a learner-centered classroom and school environment. She also provides consultation for technology integration, technology leadership, and McREL's classroom observation software, Power Walkthrough . Prior to joining McREL, Abla taught all grades from 1-12 for more than 20 years. She is a coauthor of Tools for Classroom Instruction That Works (2018) and a contributor to the George Lucas Educational Foundation's Edutopia blog.

Editorial Note #4: Karen Baptiste, EdD, is a consulting director of learning services and innovation at McREL International, where she provides professional learning and consulting services to schools, districts, and educational agencies. Baptiste's career started in the New York City Department of Education, where she was a special educator, instructional coach, and director of special education. She has worked with K-12 schools across the United States to support improved teaching and learning with an emphasis on quality implementation of evidence-based instructional strategies, including helping teachers create learning environments that encourage student voice and ownership of learning. Her experience also includes being an executive coach to state, district, and school leaders across the nation to transform school culture and educational experiences for students and their families.

Editorial Note #5: Tonia Gibson (https://www.ascd.org/people/tonia-gibson) is a senior managing consultant for McREL International's learning services team. She supports education ministries, district and school leaders, and teachers in using research to improve professional practices and support systemic improvement. She works with educators to address their identified needs, employing a range of strategies including using data for reflection, observations of practice, and analyzing people/organization performance data. In addition to leading workshops and presenting at conferences, Gibson has developed practical guides and materials for teachers and leaders and coauthored Unstuck: How Curiosity, Peer Coaching, and Teaming Can Change Your School (2018). She served as a teacher and assistant principal at primary schools in Melbourne, Australia.

Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew, second edition
Ellen Notbohm
Future Horizons, Inc.
107 W. Randol Mill Road, Suite 100, Arlington, TX 76011
www.fhautism.com
9781949177862, $17.95, PB, 184pp

https://www.amazon.com/Things-Your-Student-Autism-Wishes/dp/1949177866

Synopsis: This newly revised and expanded second edition of "Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew" is exciting companion to "Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew" and offers the unique perspective of an autistic child's voice describing for teachers, in the classroom and adults in the larger community, how to understand thinking and processing patterns common in autism, how to shape an environment conducive to their learning style, and how to communicate with autistic learners of all ages in functional, meaningful ways.

Simply stated, the second edition of "Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew" is the perfect guidebook every educator and family member, worldwide seeking to create effective and inclusive settings where child and adult are both teachers and learners.

This vibrantly updated and expanded edition of {"Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew" includes an imaginative, all-new guide adaptable for group discussion, self- reflection, or self-expression, an afterword from the author's autistic son, and added perspective from autistic adults about their experiences in education. Continuously in print for 16 years, and translated into multiple languages, "Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew" brings fresh perspective to a new generation of educators and autistic learners.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this second edition of "Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew, second edition" must be considered an essential, core addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Autism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew, second edition" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Ellen Notbohm (https://ellennotbohm.com) is internationally renowned for her work which has informed, inspired, and an instructed millions of readers in more than twenty languages. In addition to her four popular award-winning books on autism and her multiple-award winning novel The River by Starlight, her articles and posts on such diverse subjects as history, genealogy, baseball, writing and community affairs have appeared in major publications, and captured audiences on every continent.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Venomous Animals of the United States and Canada
Lawrence L. C. Jones
Rio Nuevo Publishers
www.rionuevo.com
9781940322087 $45.00

https://www.amazon.com/Venomous-Animals-United-States-Canada/dp/1940322081

Synopsis: Venomous animals are everywhere. There could even be one crawling toward you right now. (Indeed, the editor received some fire ant bites at his desk while working on this book!) But despite our fears of potential danger from these animals, they still fascinate and delight us too.

Venomous Animals is intended for anyone interested in, and wanting to safely view, some of our most awe-inspiring animals in nature. It should prove useful to hikers, bird-watchers, and homeowners as well as professionals in poison control centers and the medical field.

Highlights:

More than 80 sections on species that can cause harm to humans - from the familiar European Honey Bee, Portuguese Man-of-War, and Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake to the less familiar biting worms, box jellyfishes, octopuses, and shrews.

Basic information on identification, natural history, habitats, taxonomy, and attributes of venom composition and effects

Envenomation stories. Vicariously live the experiences of people bitten or stung without their pain and hospital bill!

A venom and envenomation primer, along with a chapter on first aid

500+ color photographs of animals and the results of their envenomations

Critique: Studiously detailed, yet thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Venomous Animals of the United States and Canada: A Guide to Vertebrates and Invertebrates of Land and Sea is a comprehensive reference and resource, featuring full-color photographs of venomous animals that are potentially dangerous to humans. From poisonous snakes to biting worms, box jellyfishes, octopuses, shrews, spiders, scorpions, and more, Venomous Animals of the United States and Canada discusses each species' classification, identification, natural history, how they are encountered, their venom apparatus and symptoms of poisoned victims, and offers insightful advice for safely coexisting with these species. Venomous Animals of the United States and Canada is a "must-have" especially for American and Canadian public and university library collections, and a fascinating, educational browse for lay readers.

Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends
Julianna Photopoulos
Amber Books
https://www.amberbooks.co.uk
9781838861629, $29.99, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Celebration-Our-Feline-Friends/dp/1838861629

Synopsis: Why do cats purr? How much can you learn about a cat's mood from the direction it flicks its tail? How do cats show trust with their eyes? Why do cats rub against their owners' legs?

Arranged in chapters covering physical characteristics, senses, life cycle, and behavior, "Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends" by Julianna Photopoulos features a huge range of breeds from all around the world.

Ranging from Siamese to Russian Blue, from Manx to American Bobtail, from Burmese to Bombay, "Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends" expertly explores and celebrates this most beloved pet. With fascinating captions on every page, even experienced and dedicated cat lovers will learn something new.

Critique: A coffee-table style volume (9.5 x 0.8 x 11.4 inches, 3 pounds), "Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends" is a impressively informative compendium of succinct informative commentaries accompanying simply stunning color photographs that will have a very special appeal for anyone who has ever had a feline companion of their own. An original and inherently fascinating compendium, "Cats: A Celebration of Our Feline Friends" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Cat Breeds collections.

Editorial Note: Julianna Photopoulos (is a science writer and filmmaker. She has written for various print and online publications including New Scientist, BBC Focus magazine, and Nature, and has been involved in several natural-history documentaries for the BBC and National Geographic. As a biology graduate, she has worked in genetics and in dolphin and whale research. (https://www.progress.org.uk/about-us/people/julianna-photopoulos)


The Environmental Studies Shelf

Planting an Idea
Jerry Apps and Natasha Kassulke
Fulcrum Publishing
3970 Youngfield Street, Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80033
www.fulcrumbooks.com
c/o Independent Publishers Group (distribution)
https://www.ipgbook.com
9781682753422, $19.95, PB, 200pp

https://www.amazon.com/Planting-Idea-Guidebook-Critical-Environmental/dp/1682753425

Synopsis: "Planting an Idea: A Guidebook to Critical and Creative Thinking About Environmental Problems" by Jerry Apps and Natasha Kassulke is specifically written to help the reader figure out what his or her position is on a particular environmental problem, and ultimately not only know what their position is but help provide evidence to back up what that position may be. And not just any evidence, but accurate, verifiable evidence from a reputable, reliable source. So, in a way, "Planting an Idea" is a instructive guidebook and resource for examining and thinking critically and creatively about the important environmental problems that face our planet today.

Critique: As thoughtful and thought-provoking as it is inspired and inspiring, "Planting an Idea: A Guidebook to Critical and Creative Thinking About Environmental Problems" impressively written, deftly organized and accessibly presented -- making it unreservedly recommended for anyone with an interest in environmental issues. Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a seven page bibliography (For Further Reading), twenty pages of Notes, and an eight page Index, "Planting an Idea" will prove an invaluable addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Environmental Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Jerry Apps (https://jerryapps.com) was born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm. He is a former county extension agent and professor emeritus for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Today he works as a rural historian, full-time writer, and creative writing instructor. Jerry is the author of more than forty fiction, nonfiction, and children's books with topics ranging from barns, one-room schools, cranberries, cucumbers, cheese factories, and the humor of mid-America to farming with horses and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Editorial Note #2: Natasha Kassulke is a former journalist for the Wisconsin State Journal and former editor of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. Today, she directs communications for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and teaches journalism courses part-time at Madison College.

The Lost Continent
David Alexander Baker
Imagine Publishing
https://www.imaginebooks.net
c/o Charlesbridge Publishing
85 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472
https://www.charlesbridge.com
9781623545147, $27.99, HC, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Continent-Conservation-Restoration-Extinction/dp/1623545145< br>
Synopsis: Deftly organized and presented into three parts (Discovering Corals, Wonder and Devastation, and Searching for Hope) and told through a series of gripping stories, with the publication of "The Lost Continent: Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Age of Extinction" documentarian David Alexander Baker takes his readers on a global adventure to the front lines of an unfolding ecological crisis.
 
More than half of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed in the past fifty years due to the climate crisis. "The Lost Continent" helps readers gain a deeper understanding of coral reefs and why they are vital to the health of our oceans (and the survival of our planet and of our species) and highlights the incredible conservation and restoration strides being made around the world.
 
With over 60 breathtaking photographs of coral reefs spanning from Colombia to Australia to the Florida Keys readers will be moved both by the majesty of nature and the urgency to preserve and restore these great cities of the seas.

Critique: "The Lost Continent: Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Age of Extinction" is a compelling call to action and is particularly and especially recommended as an essential and critically important addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary Marine Environmental Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, environmental activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Lost Continent: Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Age of Extinction" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: David Alexander Baker is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker. His feature documentaries include Saving Atlantis, American Wine Story, and Three Days of Glory. He's the author of the critically acclaimed novel Vintage, and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in a range of publications. He leads a media production team at Oregon State University where he has covered research projects around the world.


The World History Shelf

The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy
Diana Darke
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500252666, $39.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Ottomans-Cultural-Legacy-Diana-Darke/dp/0500252661

Synopsis: One hundred years after the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate on November 1, 1922, enough time has passed to reexamine the Ottomans and reassess their legacy. "The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy" by Diana Darke is an illustrated volume that deftly explores their unique achievements in architecture, cuisine, music, science, and medicine, as well as the political challenges they met.

The Ottoman Empire faced issues shared by modern European and Middle Eastern countries: how to maintain a balance between religious ideology and secular politics and how to promote fairness and equality among citizens in a multicultural society.

While many still equate the Ottomans with the decadence of Istanbul (extravagant architecture, harems, and hookahs) they are unaware that the secrets of Ottoman success lay in a disciplined bureaucracy and a standing army that both awed and seduced its opponents.

The Ottomans harnessed the talents of their diverse populations and quickly buttressed the crumbling edifice of Byzantine Christianity. Their dynamism and resilience helped fuse the cultures of Asia, Europe, and Africa, from the Himalayas to the Sahara, absorbing whatever impressed them, from Mongol armor to Persian tile work.

Alongside their essential rigor, they enjoyed the finer aspects of life: in music, cuisine, and art, unafraid, even as rugged fighters, to display their love of flowers and gardens, especially tulips and roses. Behind the fine robes, carpets, and ceramics on display today in their great architectural monuments, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia, lie centuries of migration, trade, and struggle.

An original and beautifully illustrated volume, "The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy" reveals a radically new picture of the Ottoman Empire.

Critique: Exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, "The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy" by Diana Darke is informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a four page Select Bibliography, five pages of Notes, a one page listing for Sources of Illustrations, and a three page Index. "The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy" is an impressive and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Ottoman History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Diana Darke (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Darke) is the author of Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, which was one of BBC History Magazine's best books of 2020. Her other books include The Merchant of Syria, My House in Damascus, and The Last Sanctuary in Aleppo.

The King in the North
Gordon Noble, author
Nicholas Evans, editor
Birlinn
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781780275512, $21.99, PB, 208pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-king-in-the-north-gordon-noble/1131287380?ean=9781 788851930

Synopsis: Some years ago a revolution took place in Early Medieval history in Scotland. The Pictish heartland of Fortriu, previously thought to be centred on Perthshire and the Tay found itself relocated through the forensic work of archaeologist Alex Woolf to the shores of the Moray Firth. The implications for our understanding of this period and for the formation of Scotland are unprecedented and still being worked through.

"The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce" by Gordon Noble (and edited by Nicholas Evans) is the first account of this northern heartland of Pictavia for the non-specialist reader with an interest in the subject to take in the full implications of this and of the substantial recent archaeological work that has been undertaken in recent years.

Part of the The Northern Picts project at Aberdeen University, "The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce" represents an exciting cross disciplinary approach to the study of this still too little understood yet formative period in Scotland's history.

Critique: Nicely illustrated throughout, "The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce" is comprised of nine informative essays, plates, figures, a list of Abbreviations, Acknowledgments, a seven page listing of Sites To Visit, a twenty-one page listing of References, and a six page Index. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce" is a singularly recommended addition to personal, professional, college and university library Scottish Archaeology & History collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and the general public that "The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.49).

Editorial Note #1: Gordon Noble (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/geosciences/people/profiles/g.noble) is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Honorary Curatorial Fellow to the University Museums at the University of Aberdeen. He has also been director of the Rhynie Environs Archaeological Project. He is author of a number of books, including Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire.

Editorial Note #2: Nicholas Evans is a Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen School of Geosciences (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/geosciences/people/profiles/nicholas.evans#about)

Military History of Late Rome 602-641
Ilkka Syvanne
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399075671, $52.95, HC, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Military-History-Late-Rome-602-641/dp/1399075675

Synopsis: With the publication of "Military History of Late Rome 602-641", Ilkka Syvanne provides a fresh analysis of the Roman Empire from the reign of Phocas (602-10) until the death of Heraclius (610-41).

This was an era of unprecedented upheavals which is usually considered to have resulted in the end of antiquity. The usurpations of Phocas and Heraclius led to the collapse of the Roman defenses; The Persians conquered Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt; The Avars and Slavs ravaged the Balkans; The Lombards held the upper hand in Italy; the Visigoths conquered Spain; But then happened one of the most remarkable reversals of fortune in the history of mankind. Heraclius began his holy war against the fire-worshippers. He launched a very effective counterattack against the Persians as a result of which the Romans not only defeated the Persians but actually even extended their domains at their expense, and not only this, because by 633 Heraclius was already restoring the Roman fortunes in the Balkans. 

"Military History of Late Rome 602-641" revises many of the previously held views of how this took place and what actually happened. The Roman armies seemed invincible and then happened yet another great reversal of fortune -- the Muslims began their jihad to conquer the world.

Author Ilkka Syvanne provides a fresh analysis of all of these upheavals; explaining in detail why these reversals of fortune happened; what enabled the Romans to defeat the Persians; and why the Romans lost when they fought against the Muslims and, conversely, why the Muslims were so successful.

This was an era of epic campaigns and battles all of which are explained in unprecedented detail. The epic campaigns needed equally talented commanders who include, for example, Heraclius, Chosroes II Parwez, Shahrbaraz, Shahin, Abu Bakr, Umar, Abu Ubaydah, and Khalid b. al-Walid, the Sword of Allah.

Critique: Part of the seven volume 'Military History of Ancient Rome' series from Pen & Sword Books, "Military History of Late Rome 602-641" is informative enhanced with the inclusion of color plates, b/w illustrations, maps, three appendices, forty-two pages of Notes, a six page Bibliography, and an eight page Index. A fascinating, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking history, "Military History of Late Rome 602-641" is exceptionally well written, comprehensively detailed and documented. While a critically important addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Roman History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, "Military History of Late Rome 602-641" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $32.99).

Editorial Note: Currently residing in Kangasala, Finland, Ilkka Syv nne gained his doctorate in history in 2004 from the University of Tampere in his native Finland. Since then he has written extensively about ancient and medieval warfare and his publications include: 'The Age of Hippotoxotai, Art of War in Roman Military Revival and Disaster 491-636' (Tampere UP 2004), 'The Reign of Gallienus' (Pen & Sword, 2019), the multivolume 'Military History of Late Rome' published by Pen & Sword and the critically acclaimed Caracalla. He is the co-author with Professor Katarzyna Maksymiuk of the 'Military History of Third Century Iran' (Siedlce UP, 2018) and the 'Military History of Fifth Century Iran' (Siedlce UP, 2019). He was Vice Chairman of the Finnish Society for Byzantine Studies from 2007 until 2016. He has been an Affiliated Professor of the University of Haifa since 2016.


The Military Shelf

The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told
Tom McCarthy
The Lyons Press
http://lyonspress.com
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
http://www.globepequot.com
9781493066131, $19.95, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Military-Mission-Stories-Ever/dp/1493066137

Synopsis: For many a battle, the orders to proceed were nothing more than an invitation to die, and usually in unpleasant ways. But the soldiers proceeded nonetheless, because a higher cause was at stake.

"The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told" by award-winning editor and writer Tom McCarthy is stunning collection of war stories and a tribute to the courage, steely resolve, and discipline of men who accomplished daunting missions in the face of almost certain death. Nonetheless, they stepped into the breach and performed heroically. That was their duty and they did not question. They had a mission and they accepted.

"The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told" is comprised of ten powerful stories of American soldiers and sailors that span more than 200 years of action with one common theme, summed up succinctly a participant who took control of Omaha Beach on D-Day, 1944.

From Marines taking Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi or defending Khe San, Navy pilots taking to the air to defend Pearl Harbor, or an outnumbered American regiment in Korea defeating the Chinese at the Battle of Chipyong-ni, courage was the common watchword, death the common consequence. Such is the lot of soldiers everywhere.

"The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told" is also a not-so-gentle reminder of the price of freedom that was paid by American men for more than 200 years of struggle, from the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, Civil War, World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam.

Critique: Also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.63), and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated military history buffs, "The Greatest Military Mission Stories Ever Told" is an inherently engaging and core addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Bloody Verrieres
Arthur W. Gullaghsen
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636240947, $37.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Verri%C3%A8res-Verri%C3%A8res-Bourguebus-Tilly-Camp agne/dp/1636240941

Synopsis: South of the Norman city of Caen, Verrieres Ridge was seen a key stepping-stone for the British Second Army if it was to break out of the Normandy bridgehead in late July 1944. Imposing in height and containing perfect terrain for armored operations, the Germans viewed it as the lynchpin to their defenses south of the city of Caen and east of the Orne river.

Following the failure of British Operation Goodwood on 18-20 July and the containment of the Canadian Operation Atlantic, further Allied attacks to seize the ridge would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: The I. SS-Panzerkorps 'Leibstandarte.'

"Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges: Volume II: The Defeat of Operation Spring and the Battles of Tilly-la-Campagne, 23 July - 5 August 1944" by Professor Arthur W. Gullachsen is the second volume of a two-volume military history, that chronicles in detail the premier Anglo-Canadian operation to capture Verrieres Ridge, Operation Spring on 25 July. Designed as an attack to seize the ridge and exploit south with armor, this battle saw the 2nd Canadian Corps attack savaged again by German armored reserves brought in specifically to defeat another Goodwood.

Not satisfied with this defensive victory, German armored forces would then seek to restore an earlier defensive line further north, attacking to destroy the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. Largely unknown, these were some of the strongest and most successful German armored operations to take place in the Normandy campaign.

Critique: An invaluable and superbly researched contribution to personal, professional, community, and academic library World War II European Theatre histories, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges: Volume II: The Defeat of Operation Spring and the Battles of Tilly-la-Campagne, 23 July - 5 August 1944" is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a six page Bibliography, eighteen pages of Endnotes, a Glossary, a listing of Rank Equivalents, and an eleven page Index. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Blood Verrieres" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.95).

Editorial Note: Arthur W. Gullachsen (https://www.rmc-cmr.ca/en/history/arthur-gullachsen) is an Associate Professor within the Royal Military College of Canada's History Department. A Canadian Army officer, he currently teaches military history. The author of An Army of Never-Ending strength: The Reinforcement of the Canadian Army 1944 - 1945, he is also a regular contributor to the Canadian Military History Journal and has authored chapters to the US Army University Press's Large Scale Combat Operations book series. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario History PhD program, he completed his degree in 2016. Captain Gullachsen currently resides in Kingston, Ontario.

C-130 Hercules: A History
Martin W. Bowman
Pen & Sword Books
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
9781399074858, $34.95, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/C-130-Hercules-History-Martin-Bowman/dp/1399074857

Synopsis: Designed in response to a 1951 American military requirement, the C-130 Hercules is the most successful military airlifter ever built. Since it first flew in prototype form on 23 August 1954, more than 2,100 have been produced in over eighty different versions. Across its variants, the Hercules serves more than sixty air forces, as well as many civilian cargo operators, in a multiplicity of roles, including air-to-air refueller, gunship, airborne command post, flying hospital and fire-fighter.

This rugged and easily maintained aircraft entered service in 1956 with the USAF Tactical Air Command. Ten years later the 'Charlie 130' was providing essential logistical support in Vietnam. This period in South-East Asia was the Hercules' finest hour. Paradrops, airlift and evacuation operations were completed around the clock, often at low level, usually under fire and nearly always in bad weather.

A generation later this 'Mr Dependable' was serving with equal distinction in the Gulf War in the role of airlifter, radio-countermeasures and 'psy-ops' platform, gunship and, once again, 'block-buster bomber'. The 'Herky Bird' or 'Fat Albert', as the C-130 is fondly known, has proved a key component in humanitarian relief operations ever since, in all parts of the world.

The incredible success story of the C-130 is far from over. With the publication of "C-130 Hercules: A History", military aviation historian Martin W. Bowman tells the full story of this remarkable aircraft at first-hand.

Critique: Profusely illustrated with b/w photography throughout, "C-130 Hercules: A History" is a welcome and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library American Military Aviation collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Exception in organization and presentation, "C-130 Hercules: A History" is a comprehensive and detailed history that is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99) for students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.

Editorial Note: Martin Bowman is one of Britain's leading aviation authors and has written a great deal of books focussing on aspects of Second World War aviation history. He lives in Norwich in Norfolk. He is the author of many Pen and Sword Aviation titles, including all releases in the exhaustive Air War D-Day and Air War Market Garden series.

Red Army Tank Commander
Vasiliy Bryukhov
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
https://iremember.ru/en/memoirs/tankers/bryukhov-vasily-pavlovich
9781781590232, $34.95, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Army-Tank-Commander-Eastern/dp/1781590230

Synopsis: What was it like to command a T-34 tank on the Eastern Front during the Second World War? How were tank operations organized and carried out, what was the actual experience of combat, and what were the qualities that made the difference between success and failure - and what were the chances of survival? "Red Army Tank Commander: At War in a T-34 on the Eastern Front" by Vasiliy Pavlovich Bryukhov's vivid, detailed and gripping memoir of his wartime service gives a fascinating and authentic insight into these questions.

In addition, "Red Army Tank Commander" provides an accurate, unsentimental record of the day-to-day life of a tank man whose unit fought in the forefront of the Red Army throughout the conflict across the western Soviet Union and into Eastern Europe. Vasiliy's first-hand eyewitness account is a memorable personal story, and it gives a powerful insight into the reality of tank warfare seventy years ago.

Vasiliy was born in 1924 in Osa. In April 1943, after graduation from tank school, he was given command of a T-34 tank, and he took part in the Battle of Kursk. He served continuously until the end of the war, fighting through Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania and Hungary to Austria. In one action his crew destroyed nine German panzers and in another he led the vanguard of his tank brigade through German lines to capture bridges and cut off the German retreat. In 1944, he was promoted to battalion commander. For his actions at the end of 1944 and 1945, he was nominated for the title Hero of the Soviet Union, but this nomination was not fulfilled until 1995 when he was given the title of a Hero of the Russian Federation for the courage and gallantry he displayed in battle during the Great Patriotic War.

Critique: Ably translated into English by Vladimir Krupnik, "Red Army Tank Commander: At War in a T-34 on the Eastern Front" by Vasiliy Pavlovich Bryukhov is a simply fascinating and impressively informative account which will be a welcome and much appreciated contribution to the growing library of World War II military histories and biographies. While unreservedly recommended for community and academic library World War II Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Red Army Tank Commander: At War in a T-34 on the Eastern Front" is also available in a paperback edition (9781399077330, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).


The Biography Shelf

The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes
Michael W. Nagle
Wayne State University Press
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
http://wsupress.wayne.edu
9780814349939, $26.99, HC, 368pp

https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Iron-King-Great-Lakes/dp/0814349935

Synopsis: Eber Brock Ward (December 25, 1811 - January 2, 1875) began his career as a cabin boy on his uncle's sailing vessels, but when he died in 1875, he was the wealthiest man in Michigan.

His business activities were vast and innovative. Ward was engaged in the steamboat, railroad, lumber, mining, and iron and steel industries. In 1864, his facility near Detroit became the first in the nation to produce steel using the more efficient Bessemer method. Michael W. Nagle demonstrates how much of Ward's success was due to his ability to vertically integrate his business operations, which were undertaken decades before other more famous moguls, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.

And yet, despite his countless successes, Ward's life was filled with ruthless competition, labor conflict, familial dispute, and scandal. With the publication of "The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811-1875" Professor Michael W. Nagle makes extensive use of Ward's correspondence, business records, contemporary newspaper accounts, and other archival material to craft a balanced profile of this fascinating figure whose actions influenced the history and culture of the Great Lakes and beyond.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a twelve-page Bibliography, fifty-eight pages of Notes, and an eight page Index, "The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811-1875" by Professor Michael W. Nagel is a model biography that reads with all the narrative flair of a novel. Impressively researched, written, organized and presented, "The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811-1875" is especially recommended for community and academic library 19th Century American Biography collections. A work meticulous and detailed scholarship, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Forgotten Iron King of the Great Lakes: Eber Brock Ward, 1811-1875" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.57).

Editorial Note: Michael W. Nagle (https://www.facebook.com/MWNagleHistory) is Professor of History and Political Science at West Shore Community College in Scottville, Michigan. He is also the author of "Justus S. Stearns: Michigan Pine King and Kentucky Coal Baron, 1845-1933" (Wayne State University Press, 2015), which won the Kentucky History Award.


The Literary Fiction Shelf

Skins: A Novel
Adrian C. Louis
University of Nevada Press
Mail Stop 0166, Reno, NV, 89557-0166
www.unpress.nevada.edu
9781647790226, $22.00, PB, 284pp

https://www.amazon.com/Skins-Novel-Adrian-C-Louis/dp/1647790220

Synopsis: It's the early 1990s and Rudy Yellow Shirt and his brother, Mogie, are living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the legendary Oglala Sioux warrior Crazy Horse. Both Vietnam veterans, the men struggle with daily life on the rez. Rudy, a criminal investigator with the Pine Ridge Public Safety Department, must frequently arrest his neighbors and friends, including his brother, who has become a rez wino.

But when Rudy falls and hits his head on a rock while pursuing a suspected murderer, Iktome the trickster enters his brain. Iktome restores Rudy's youthful sexual vigor (long-lost to years of taking high blood pressure pills) and ignites his desire for political revenge via an alter ego, the "Avenging Warrior."

As the Avenging Warrior, Rudy takes direct action to punish local criminals. In a violent act, he torches the local liquor store, nearly burning Mogie alive while he is hiding on the store's roof, plotting to steal booze. Although the brothers reconcile before Mogie dies, he leaves the Avenging Warrior with one final mission: go to Mount Rushmore and blow the nose off George Washington's face.

Critique: By the end of the twentieth century, Adrian C. Louis (1946-2018) had become one of the most powerful voices in the canon of Native American literature. "Skins: A Novel", his best-known work, is now available by the University of Nevada Press with a new foreword by David Pichaske. Louis's critically acclaimed novel was made into a movie in 2002, directed by Chris Eyre. Also now available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.55), "Skins" is an acclaimed and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library Native American Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Adrian C. Louis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_C._Louis) was a half-breed member of the Lovelock Paiute Tribe. In addition to Skins, he published over a dozen collections of poetry, a collection of short stories, and posthumously, Ghost Dancers: A Novel. Louis is remembered for his aggressive refusal to romanticize life on or off the reservation.

The Woods: Stories
Janice Obuchowski
University of Iowa Press
100 Kuhl House, 119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
www.uiowapress.org
9781609388751, $18.50, PB, 212pp

https://www.amazon.com/Woods-Stories-Short-Fiction-Award/dp/1609388755

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Woods", short story writer Janice Obuchowski explores the lives of people in a small Vermont college town and its surrounding areas -- a place at the edge of the bucolic, where the land begins to shift into something untamed.

In the tradition of Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge and Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio, these stories follow people who carry private griefs but search for contentment. As they try to make sense of their worlds, grappling with problems (worried about their careers, their marriages, their children, their ambitions) they also sift through the happiness they have, and often find deep solace in the landscape.

What do we find in the woods? An uplifting of spirit or a quieting of sorrow. A sense of being haunted by the past. Sometimes rougher, more violent things: abandoned quarries and feral cats, black bears, brothers caught up in an escalating war, a ghost who wishes to pass on her despair, monsters who boom with hollow ecstatic laughter. But also songbirds: the hermit thrush and the winter wren. Rushing rivers glossy with froth. A nineteenth-century inn that's somehow gotten by all these years. And far within, a vegetal twilight and constant dusk that feels outside of time.

This remarkable short story compendium illuminates the ways we all carry within ourselves aspects stark, beautiful, wild, and unknowable.

Critique: Eloquent, erudite, inherently engaging, thought-provoking and fun, "The Woods" is an impressive collection of eleven original short stories by a master of this difficult literary format. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), this University of Iowa Press edition of "The Woods" is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Janice Obuchowski (https://uipress.uiowa.edu/people/janice-obuchowski" is the author of a number of stories that have appeared in Gettysburg Review, Crazyhorse, Alaska Quarterly Review, Story, Conjunctions online, and LitHub. Previously a fiction editor at New England Review, she currently resides in Middlebury, Vermont.


The Romantic Fiction Shelf

A Gift of a Duke
Fenella J. Miller
Linford Romance Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444849790, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 322pp

https://www.ulverscroft.com/store/us/search/A%20Gift%20of%20a%20Duke

Synopsis: Miss Mirabelle Thompson, at almost one and twenty, is astonished to discover she is an heiress having believed herself to be a penniless orphan. Immediately she rents a house in Cavendish Square and commences her new life. She has no interest in finding a partner and if she did wish to marry it would be someone who loved her for herself and not her money.

Rordon, the Duke of Clonmel, is equally astonished to discover that he has inherited his title from his brother -- and that the estate is forfeit and all he has are debts. He only one way out of this impasse and that is to seek a rich bride in London. Even an impoverished Irish duke will be considered a desirable husband for the daughter of a wealthy cit.

Mirabelle and Rordon attend the same Christmas house party. This has been arranged by a Mr Bradley with the intention of finding his daughter an aristocratic husband - preferably a duke. Those attending the event are either rich young ladies in search of a title or poor aristocrats in search of a rich wife. Can Mirabelle and Rordon overcome the obstacles between them and find happiness together?

Critique: A fun read from beginning to end, "A Gift of a Duke" by novelist Fenella J. Miller will have a very special appeal to fans of Regency Romance. This large print paperback edition from the Linford Romance Library series is certain to be a welcome and popular addition to personal reading lists and community library Romance Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Fenella J Miller (https://fenellajmiller.co.uk) was born in the Isle of Man. Her father was a Yorkshire man and her mother the daughter of a Rajah. She has worked as a nanny, cleaner, field worker, hotelier, chef, secondary and primary teacher and is now a full time writer who has over fifty Regency romantic adventures published -- plus four Jane Austen variations, four Victorian sagas and fourteen WW2 family sagas.

The Gentleman Gypsy
Sarah Swatridge
Linford Romance Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444849881, $23.00, PB, Large Print

https://www.ulverscroft.com/store/us/search/The%20Gentleman%20Gypsy

Synopsis: 1900. Ruth is in need of an income. Meanwhile, handsome but eccentric Newham needs someone to care for his animals while he roams the country in his horse-drawn caravan. Ruth, too, is unconventional, and can often be seen cycling around the village helping those less fortunate than herself. The two of them set off to explore together -- and their friendship may even turn into something more!

Critique: A gentle, heartfelt, deftly crafted novel of unexpected romance by an impressively talented and delightfully original author, this large print paperback edition of "The Gentleman Gypsy" by Sarah Swatridge is an ideal selection choice for community library Romance Fiction collections and the personal reading lists for all dedicated romance fans.


The Western Fiction Shelf

Money Train
Michael Stewart
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848700, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 228pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/money-train-michael-stewart/1130032702?ean=9781444848 700

Synopsis: Danny Spence plans to stay only one night in Gila Creek. But he's mistaken for a snake named Zeke Tolan, and from then on it's just one damn thing after another. He falls foul of the evil Ma Cole, then gets on the wrong side of Hernando Ortiz and his sadistic bodyguard Bracho. Somehow, this is all wrapped up with a train full of money that's rolling south of the border - right into the middle of the Mexican revolution.

Critique: A classic guns blazing western adventure of the first order, this large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Library collection, "Money Train" by author Michael Stewart, is a riveting read from beginning to end and certain to be a popular addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated western fans and community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Michael Stewart (August 1, 1924  - September 20, 1987) was a writer, actor, artist, and filmmaker. Several of his plays have been professionally staged, including his adaptation of Dracula, at the Leicester Square Theatre, London.

Wanted Dead Or Alive
Ralph Hayes
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848878, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 246pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wanted-ralph-hayes/1130032682?ean=9781444848878

Synopsis: A year after being saved from a kidnapping, Dulcie Provost is waiting for the return of her rescuer, bounty hunter Certainty Sumner. But first Sumner has to carry out one more mission - tracking down sadistic outlaw the Lakota Kid. Unbeknownst to Sumner, he himself is also the quarry of an equally ruthless bounty hunter, Luther Bastian. The father of a gang member Sumner killed while rescuing Provost wants vengeance and has duped Bastian into believing that Sumner has turned outlaw. Can Sumner survive being hunted down by a bounty hunter as skilled and determined as himself?

Critique: With many a riveting plot twist and turn, "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Ralph Hayes is an extraordinary and entertaining read that will have special appeal for the dedicated western action/adventure buff. This large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Library collections is an especially recommended addition to community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Ralph Hayes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Hayes_(author)) began authoring stories and full-length novels in 1969. His earliest published work was a short story titled "The Gumdrop Affair", which was featured in a 1967 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. He is the author of eight Black Horse Westerns.

Red Diamond Rustlers
Will DuRey
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848724, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 288pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-diamond-rustlers-will-durey/1130032651?ean=9781444 848724

Synopsis: Law was a rare commodity on the vast cattle ranges and a man had to fight if he meant to hold on to what he owned. A rancher dispensed his owned justice when he caught those who stole his livestock, but Titus Sawyer lost more than cattle when rustlers raided his Red Diamond spread. Men were killed, too, slaughtered in a dreadful ambush, so, when he summoned his nephew Frank to track down the killers his desire to punish the culprits was deeper than justice; it was revenge.

Critique: With all the compelling drama of a true western vengeance quest, "Red Diamond Rustlers" by Will DuRey (who is a stickler for accuracy of detail in its historical western context) is a terrific and compulsive page-turner of a read from cover to cover. This large print paperback edition of "Red Diamond Ruslters" from the Linford Western Library collections will be a prized addition to community library Western Fiction collections -- and a 'must' for all dedicated western novel fans.

Editorial Note: Will DuRey (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/d/will-durey) is a life-long student of the history and legends of the Old West. He has been writing western fiction for more than a decade

Bad Blood At Harlow's Bend
Scott Connor
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848472, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 210pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-blood-at-harlows-bend-scott-connor/1130032663?ean= 9781444848472

Synopsis: When Lorimer Hall returns to the town of Clear Creek after ten years away everything has changed. His father is dead, his friend Budd Ewing has been killed and nobody wants to know him. He decides to move on, but with it looking as if Budd's killer, Glenn Harlow, might get lynched, he is persuaded to accept the task of escorting him to jail. On the journey Glenn claims he's an innocent man, but Lorimer makes a mistake that leads to his prisoner being taken from him and lynched. Lorimer resolves to find out who really killed Budd, but as uncovering the facts could mean he allowed an innocent man to die, will the truth be enough to redeem him?

Critique: Deftly combining the best elements of a 'whodunnit' mystery with an action/adventure western, this large print paperback edition of "Bad Blood at Harlow's Bend" by veteran western author Scott Connor from the Linford Western Library collections is a fun and fascinating read from first page to last -- and certain to be a popular addition to both personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Ian Parnham is the author of 37 western novels published as I. J. Parnham, Scott Connor, and Ed Law.

In Defense of Delia
Pat Stoltey
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
9781432894719, $25.95, HC, 269pp

https://www.amazon.com/Defense-Delia-Sangamon-Novel/dp/1432894714

Synopsis: 1838: Four years after the events in Wishing Caswell Dead. Delia Pritchard gets a chilly reception when she returns to Sangamon, Illinois after a thirteen-year absence. She's riding a Palouse stallion, is dressed like a man, has a bullet in her shoulder, and leads a horse with a seven-year-old black boy astride.

Some think Delia left at the age of sixteen because she killed her parents and set fire to their cabin with the bodies inside. It is also rumored that Delia runs with outlaws and that she shot a lawman.

When Doc Hemmer insists Delia and the boy remain in Sangamon while she recuperates from surgery, he doesn't realize a vicious gang known as the Biedler Brothers is on her trail. Preacher John Claymore, also unaware of the danger, wants to meet Doc's patient with the beautiful eyes.

Farmer Annie Gray kills one of the Biedlers and triggers a violent response from the gang. Delia knows the brothers will be relentless. She brought this disaster down on the town and its residents. Can she save them all?

Critique: As a novelist, Pat Stoltey is a master of the mystery thriller genre, but with the publication of "In Defense of Delia" she proves an equal mastery of the western action/adventure genre as well. Memorable characters, a riveting plot, everything a dedicated western fan wants, "In Defense of Delia" is unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: Pat Stoltey (https://patriciastolteybooks.com) is the author of two Sylvia and Willie amateur sleuth mysteries, The Prairie Grass Murders and The Desert Hedge Murders; a thriller titled Dead Wrong; and the first Sangamon novel of frontier fiction, Wishing Caswell Dead. Dead Wrong and Wishing Caswell Dead were finalists for the Colorado Book Award.

Trini! Come!
W. Michael Farmer
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
9781432895785, $25.95, HC, 343pp

https://www.amazon.com/Trini-Come-Geronimos-Captivity-Trinidad/dp/1432895788

Synopsis: Although a work of fiction, "Trini! Come!: Geronimo's Captivity of Trinidad Verdin" is based on an historical event. Trinidad VerdŸin's story reveals the courage, suffering, and lessons a twelve-year-old girl learns about Apaches and herself during her captivity with the Naiche-Geronimo band hiding, fighting, and raiding in northern Sonora.

After breaking their surrender agreement with General George Crook in late March 1886, forty Apaches (eighteen men, fourteen women, and six children) led by Geronimo established a camp at the top of the Azul Mountains in western Sonora and began raiding north. They crossed the United States border with Mexico east of Nogales, Arizona, stole horses from the village of Calabasas.

On the morning of April 27, 1886, they attacked the Artisan and Petra Peck Ranch about eight miles northwest of Nogales. They killed pregnant Petra and her two-year-old son, Andy, and were about to kill her niece, Trinidad, when Geronimo decided to spare the child and took her captive. Later that day Geronimo also let Artisan Peck live after he was taken while branding cattle.

The Apaches carry Trinidad east deep into the Pinito Mountains where she witnesses an ambush of black soldiers before Geronimo leads the band back west to the Cibuta Mountains where they are attacked by Mexican militiamen who are mostly Tohono O'odham Indians. The Tohono O'odham militia suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Apaches who show them Trinidad, challenging them to come take her. Instead the militia run away.

The Apaches return east and establish a camp on the RŸio Santa Cruz and in the CocŸospera Mountains while they raid for livestock and fight US Cavalry. Trinidad becomes friends with a boy, Garditha, near her age who teaches her to use a sling. She helps him learn Spanish; he helps her learn Apache. While practicing with their slings they are attacked by three vaqueros who want the boy's scalp for Apache scalp reward money, but Trini and Garditha drive the attackers off. Geronimo later leads the vaqueros into a trap using Trini for bait.

With the US Cavalry hot on their trail, the Apaches split into three bands, the smallest being Geronimo's, which includes Trini, and they plan to reunite about a hundred miles southeast in the mountains at the confluence of the Yaqui and Aros Rivers. While going up the RŸio Dolores, Geronimo's band is attacked by Mexican militia. Geronimo tries to escape with Trinidad behind him but his horse stumbles and they are both thrown off. Trinidad uses the fall as an opportunity to escape to the Mexican militia led by Don Patricio Valenzuela.

After giving her story to the US Cavalry led by Captain Lawton and Mexican authorities, her Uncle Artisan returns her back to Nogales.

Critique: A simply fascinating story by historical novelist W. Michael Farmer, "Trini! Come!: Geronimo's Captivity of Trinidad Verdin" is a particularly recommended and unique addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated western action/adventure fans and certain to be an enduringly popular pick for community library Western Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: W. Michael Farmer (https://wmichaelfarmer.com) is the author of Hombrecito's War, which won a Western Writers of America Silver Spur Award for Best First Novel in 2006 and was a New Mexico Book Award Finalist for Historical Fiction in 2007. The sequel, Hombrecito's Search, was released in July 2007, and is based on the remarkable fact that Sierra Madre Apaches still raided across the United States border as late as 1930. He is also the author of Conspiracy: The Trial of Oliver Lee and James Gililland, Tiger Tiger Burning Bright: The Betrayals of Pancho Villa, as well as short stories for two anthologies, and won awards for essays at the Christopher Newport University Writers' Conference, and published an essay on Pat Garrett in Roundup magazine.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

City of Fortune
Victoria Thompson
Berkley Books
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
www.penguin.com
9780593440575, $27.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/City-Fortune-Counterfeit-Lady-Novel/dp/0593440579

Synopsis: Wealthy but uncouth Sebastian Nolan has invited his lawyer, Gideon Bates, and his lovely new wife, Elizabeth, to attend the famous Belmont Stakes. Nolan is anxious for Gideon and Elizabeth to help his daughter, Irene, acquire a bit of polish, now that his venture into thoroughbred racing has allowed them entry into society. He is also hoping to find her a rich potential suitor. Elizabeth is not exactly the society girl Nolan believes her to be, but she is eager to attend the races. Her con artist family has made a lot of money at racetracks, although not from betting on the horses, and she enjoys the excitement of the track.

Irene Nolan seems more interested in horses than husbands, and she jumps at the chance to show Elizabeth her horse, Trench, and introduce her to his rider, Cal Regan. Elizabeth soon realizes there is more than just a working relationship between Irene and Cal. But she also knows that Irene's father would never allow his only daughter to marry a jockey. When Cal takes a terrible tumble injuring both himself and Irene's beloved Trench, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the mishap was not simply bad luck -- but that the horse and rider are victims of sabotage.

It turns out that Sebastian Nolan has more than a few skeletons in his closet and someone is out to get their long sought-after revenge. Elizabeth knows that to help Irene and Cal, she is going to need some help in creating the quintessential con. With the ever honest Gideon at her side, she enlists those closest to her to come up with a scheme that will either ensure young Irene and Cal a first-place finish or have disastrous consequence!

Critique: Especially recommended to the attention of dedicated historical mystery and cozy mystery fans, "City of Fortune" by impressively talented novelist Victoria Thompson is an original and fun read from first page to last. While highly recommended for personal and community library Mystery/Suspense collections and reading lists, it should be noted that "City of Fortune" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: Victoria Thompson (http://www.victoriathompson.com) is the Edgar and Agatha award-nominated author of the Gaslight Mysteries including Murder on Pleasant Avenue, and the Counterfeit Lady Mysteries including City of Scoundrels.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Lost Witch
Paige Crutcher
Griffin
c/o St. Martin's Press
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250797391, $16.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Witch-Paige-Crutcher/dp/125079739X

Synopsis: 1922. The town of Evermore off the coast of Ireland is under the protection of a Goddess. She has bestowed power upon village healer Brigid Heron to ensure the heart of magic within the Lough of Briongloid (the lake of dreams) remains untouched. For the witches of Knight want to absorb its powerful energies and release the Damned from the Otherworld. Brigid has devoted her whole life to being Evermore's guardian, immersing herself in witchcraft, and sacrificing her own dreams. Until Luc Knightly, a trickster god with his own claim on the lough, offers Brigid her heart's desire in exchange for betraying her Goddess's trust.

2022. A century later, Evermore is under siege. The witches of Knight wield chaos magic, opening the rift between the island and the Otherworld wider every day. Beings born from folklore nightmares prey on the villagers, consuming their very humanity. Ophelia Gallagher, Brigid's descendent, and her fellow witch Finola McEntire do their best to keep the monsters and mayhem at bay.

Brigid awakens in this world with no memory of how she traveled into the future, and why Evermore has been cursed. To seal the lough and stop the witches of Knight, she must work with Ophelia and Finola to help her remember the events of a hundred years ago. But the knowledge she seeks lies with Luc Knightly himself (mysterious, handsome, and powerful) and the one who once upon a time granted Brigid her dearest wish -- a daughter. But to save Evermore, Brigid may have to lose her daughter -- again and forever!

Critique: An impressively crafted and original novel of fantasy, "The Lost Witch" by Paige Crutcher showcases the author's genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling that provides the reader with compulsive page turner of a story from beginning to end. While very highly recommended for community library Fantasy Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Lost Witch" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99).

Editorial Note: Paige Crutcher (https://paigecrutcher.com) is a former Southern Correspondent for Publishers Weekly, an artist and yogi, and co-owner of the online marketing company Hatchery.


The Religious Studies Shelf

Global Faith, Worldly Power
John Corrigan, et al.
University of North Carolina Press
116 South Boundary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3808
https://uncpress.org
9781469670584, $110.00, HC, 410pp

https://www.amazon.com/Global-Faith-Worldly-Power-Internationalism/dp/1469670585

Synopsis: Assessing the grand American evangelical missionary venture to convert the world, with the publication of "Global Faith, Worldly Power: Evangelical Internationalism and U.S. Empire", an international group of leading scholars reveal how theological imperatives have intersected with worldly imaginaries from the nineteenth century to the present.

Countering the stubborn notion that conservative Protestant groups have steadfastly maintained their distance from governmental and economic affairs, these experts show how believers' ambitious investments in missionizing and humanitarianism have connected with worldly matters of empire, the Cold War, foreign policy, and neoliberalism. They show, too, how evangelicals' international activism redefined the content and the boundaries of the movement itself.

As evangelical voices from Africa, Asia, and Latin America became more vocal and assertive, U.S. evangelicals took on more pluralistic, multidirectional identities not only abroad but also back home. Applying this international perspective to the history of American evangelicalism radically changes how we understand the development and influence of evangelicalism, and of globalizing religion more broadly.

In addition to a critical introduction and essays by editors John Corrigan, Melani McAlister, and Axel R. Schafer are essays by Lydia Boyd, Emily Conroy-Krutz, Christina Cecelia Davidson, Helen Jin Kim, David C. Kirkpatrick, Candace Lukasik, Sarah Miller-Davenport, Dana L. Robert, Tom Smith, Lauren F. Turek, and Gene Zubovich.

Critique: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by John Corrigan (Lucius Moody Bristol Distinguished Professor of Religion, Professor of History, and Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University), Melani McAlister Professor of American Studies and International Affairs at George Washington University), and Axel R. Schafer (Professor of U.S. History at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at the University of Mainz, Germany), "Global Faith, Worldly Power: Evangelical Internationalism and U.S. Empire" is especially commended to the attention of readers with an interest in Religion & Politics. While highly recommended for community and academic library Church & State collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists of students, academia, political advocates, clergy, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Global Faith, Worldly Power: Evangelical Internationalism and U.S. Empire" is also available in a paperback edition (9781469670591, $29.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.39).


The Native American Studies Shelf

Codex Taawa: Exploring the Cosmos of the Hopi
Gerald Dawavendewa
Rio Nuevo Publishers
PO Box 5250, Tucson, AZ 85703
www.rionuevo.com
https://www.fourthworlddesign.com/pages/gerald-a-a-dawavendewa
9781940322452, $19.95, HC, 104pp

https://www.amazon.com/Codex-Taawa-Exploring-Cosmos-Hopi/dp/B0B2BN98WW

Synopsis: With the publication of "Codex Taawa: Exploring the Cosmos of the Hopi", Native American artist Gerald Dawavendewa presents a series of illustrations inspired by ancient imagery that explores the cosmos of the Hopi people. Each piece highlights a part of the Hopi tradition, stories, or knowledge. The original artworks reproduced here were black and copper ink on handmade Nepalese Lhakpa paper and were inspired by the Codices of Mesoamericans. For the Hopi, the night sky is an astronomical calendar with all of its elements used to set ceremonies, rituals, seasons, events, and measures of time. The Hopi people have observed and measured the movements in the sky to create a complex guide to assist them with existing in this world, which we know as Tuuwaqatsi -- the Fourth World.

Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated and with a succinctly informative commentary for the Hopi images portrayed, "Codex Taawa: Exploring the Cosmos of the Hopi" is an inherently fascinating, impressive, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Native American Culture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Gerald Dawavendewa (https://artofwhere.com/artists/gerald-dawavendewa) grew up in the Hopi village of Munqapi, located in the desert of Northern Arizona, and with Cherokee relatives in the deep woods of Oklahoma. With little outdoor lighting at Munqapi and none at his Cherokee grandparent's home, the night sky was overwhelming, with every space filled with stars, planets, meteors, the milky way, and the moon. In 1994, in partnership with NASA and the University of Arizona, Gerald was honored to be asked to create artwork depicting the Hopi cosmos, which was sent into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-59). Through his artwork, Gerald hopes to share his cultures, educate the public about the rich heritage of native nations, and promote a greater understanding of the indigenous world.


The Gaming Shelf

Chess for Schools
Richard James
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785835971, $23.95, PB, 200pp

https://www.amazon.com/Forthcoming-Picture-Chess-Schools-competitions/dp/1785835971

Synopsis: Chess is a game of extraordinary excitement and beauty and all children should have the opportunity to experience it. Indeed, many claim that playing abstract strategy games such as chess provides a wide range of cognitive and social benefits -- such as improvements in problem-solving ability and communication skills.

However, with the publication of "Chess for Schools: From Simple Strategy Games to Clubs and Competitions", chess expert and educator Richard James argues that, because of the complexity of chess, most younger children would gain more benefit from simpler chess-based strategy games and incremental learning. With this practical handbook, Richard provides a wide range of games and puzzles based on these principles which are appropriate for primary schools and explains how teachers can identify children who would benefit from starting young.

Richard also sets out how this approach can engage the whole community, including working with children with special needs, getting parents involved in learning and playing, and developing partnerships between primary and secondary schools.

"Chess for Schools" also shares the latest research into how children process information, combined with insights into international best practice in teaching chess to young children. Furthermore, "Chess for Schools" demonstrates the transforming effect chess can have on older children, and how this can be promoted in secondary schools. Of special note are James valuable insights into the greater context of chess-playing, expressing how and why chess is a joy to so many worldwide and shares a series of resources and minigames for teachers to use with their learners.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of four Appendices (The Rules of Chess; Terminology; Competitive Chess; Chess Ratings) and a four page Bibliography, is an ideal resource to help classroom teachers and school counselors encourage preteens, teens, and young adults to enjoy the benefits and challenges of the chess game. While highly recommended for personal, professional, and academic library Educational Gaming collections, it should be noted that "Chess for Schools: From Simple Strategy Games to Clubs and Competitions" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $21.80).

Editorial Note: Richard James (https://chessimprover.com/contributors/richard-james) has been teaching and organising chess for children since 1972. Between 1975 and 2006, Richard ran the highly successful Richmond Junior Chess Club, whose members included Luke McShane, Jonathan Rowson and other future grandmasters. He is also the author of Chess for Kids and The Right Way to Teach Chess to Kids, and has written extensively on chess history and trivia.


The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scottish Highlands
Michael S. Newton
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476690025, $39.95, PB, 276pp

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fairy-Hill-Folktales-Highlands/dp/1476690022

Synopsis: Headstrong heroines and hot-tempered chieftains, loch monsters and hill fairies, cattle raids and clan feuds, wise animals and foolish saints: the Scottish Highlands' folktales date back centuries and preserve the history and beliefs of a people deeply rooted in their land and culture.

Oral traditions connect the modern world with the hearts and minds of Scottish Highlanders across the ages, bringing their world to life in vivid detail. With the publication of "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scottish Highlands" Professor Michael S. Newton is an anthology that includes new and approachable translations of folk tales from the Scottish Highlands and Nova Scotia, providing extensive commentary on this rich storytelling tradition.

Of special note is that each story is annotated with information about its origins and any insights into its meaning. The original Scottish Gaelic texts, collected from a wide variety of rare and obscure sources, are provided in an appendix.

Critique: An impressive work of original scholarship that is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusions of anAppendix of Original Gaelic Stories, four pages of Notes, a four page Bibliography, and a two page Index, "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scottish Highlands" is an unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Scottish Folklore/Mythology collections and as a textbook for supplemental curriculum Folklore/Fairytale, Mythology studies lists. It should be noted that "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scottish Highlands" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).

Editorial Note: Michael S. Newton (https://independent.academia.edu/MichaelNewton" was an Assistant Professor in the Celtic Studies department of St Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia from 2008 to 2013. He has written a multitude of books and articles about Gaelic culture and history and is a leading authority on Scottish Gaelic heritage in North America.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Roots of Film Noir
Kevin Grant
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476687483, $39.95, PB, 252pp

https://www.amazon.com/Roots-Film-Noir-Precursors-Silent/dp/147668748X

Synopsis: Film Noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations.

Comprised of individual reviews for 90+ films created and released before 1941, "Roots of Film Noir: Precursors from the Silent Era to the 1940s" by Kevin Grant (a film historian and periodical journalist living in London) is the first title-by-title reference guide to the forerunners of film noir. Silent Hitchcock thrillers and German expressionist masterpieces, French poetic realist dramas and forgotten Hollywood B-movies, pseudo-Freudian gangster films and costume melodramas are among the works covered.

Illustrated with black/white period photos, this collection spans subgenres and cultures of filmmaking, aiming to demonstrate that the roots of noir were sown far and wide, long before the lasting and mysterious genre flowered in America during the war years.

Critique: Fascinating, informative, detailed, and a genuine treat for Film Noir movie buffs, "Roots of Film Noir: Precursors from the Silent Era to the 1940s" is a welcome and unreserved recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic librry Cinematic History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of film buffs, film students, and academia, that "Roots of Film Noir: Precursors from the Silent Era to the 1940s" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $23.99).

Try Not to Hold It Against Me
Julian Schlossberg
Beaufort Books
27 West 20th Street, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10011
www.beaufortbooks.com
9780825310256, $26.95, HC, 374pp

https://www.amazon.com/Try-Not-Hold-Against-Me/dp/0825310253

Synopsis: Veteran motion picture, television, and Broadway producer Julian Schlossberg grew up in New York City with an early love of entertainment. As a child, he was an avid fan of radio, film, and the new art of television, and harbored ambitions of meeting his favorite stars one day. Little did he know that in the course of his career, he would not only meet many of them, but also become their producer, representative, and friend.
 
During his nearly 60 years in show business, Schlossberg has worked as a producer, director, distributor, exhibitor, radio and television host, and record executive. At 27 he was the youngest head film buyer of a national theater chain; after working at the ABC network, the Walter Reade Organization, and Paramount Pictures, he would start his own motion-picture company, Castle Hill Productions, which would become one of the largest independent film-distribution companies in the world with a library of over 500 films. Not willing to restrict his efforts to film and television, he has also produced award-winning plays and musicals for Broadway and off-Broadway, working closely with brilliant writers and directors like Mike Nichols, Larry Gelbart, Susan Stroman, Woody Allen, and David Mamet.
 
With the publication of his memoir "Try Not to Hold It Against Me", Schlossberg shares stories from a lifetime in entertainment, from his childhood in the Bronx to his years as a producer for screen and stage. Schlossberg takes us through the trials and triumphs of work and play in every avenue of the business: negotiating with Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds, and Lillian Hellman; hosting the syndicated radio and television production Movie Talk, which introduced him to hundreds of stars; experiencing the paranormal with Shirley MacLaine and Betty Hill; running the Orson Welles estate and restoring Welles' masterly film adaptation of Othello; partying with Barbra Streisand and Liza Minelli; testifying in a lawsuit against The Beatles; and interviewing over 120 of the most influential figures of the 20th century for his series Witnesses to the 20th Century.
 
Written with engaging humor and self-deprecation (and featuring a foreword by Academy Award winner Elaine May), "Try Not to Hold It Against Me" gives readers a behind-the-scenes pass to Cannes and Las Vegas, the lives and homes of the stars, and the rarely seen but crucial work of the producer in the midst of it all. It's a compelling read for film, television, and theater enthusiasts alike -- and a one-of-a-kind autobiography by one of entertainment's true insiders.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative insider's account of a successful and substantial Hollywood career behind the camera, "Try Not to Hold It Against Me" has a very special appeal to readers with an interest in cinematic history in general, and film industry biographies/memoirs in particular. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Try Not to Hold It Against Me" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library American Cinema, Theatre, and Television History, as well as Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Try Not to Hold It Against Me" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note #1: Julian Schlossberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Schlossberg) has produced more than 60 works in film, theater, and television. During his career, he has established himself as a producer's representative for such prominent figures as Elia Kazan, John Cassavetes, Elaine May, and George C. Scott. Schlossberg is also the co-founder of Merlian News, an online magazine, and (with partner Danny Goldberg) Gold Castle Records. He is currently producing Witnesses to the 20th Century, a TV series examining the century's major events through the experiences of its most prominent people.

The Good, the Bad and the Ancient
Sue Matheson, editor
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476667645, $55.00, PB, 227pp

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Bad-Ancient-Greco-Roman-Influence/dp/1476667640

Synopsis: Although Americans are no longer compelled to learn Greek and Latin, classical Greco/Roman ideals remain embedded in American law and politics, philosophy, oratory, history and especially popular culture.

In the Western genre, many film and television directors (such as John Ford, Raoul Walsh, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann and Sam Peckinpah) have drawn inspiration from antiquity, and the classical values and influences in their work have shaped our conceptions of the West for years.

Compiled and edited by Sue Matheson, "The Good, the Bad and the Ancient: Essays on the Greco-Roman Influence in Westerns" is a thought-provoking, first-of-its-kind collection of essays that celebrate, affirm and critique the cinematic Westerns relationship with the classical world. Explored are films like Cheyenne Autumn, The Wild Bunch, The Track of the Cat, Trooper Hook, The Furies, Heaven's Gate, and Slow West, as well as serials like Gunsmoke and Lonesome Dove.

Critique: Comprised of fifteen impressively informative and deftly crafted essays, as well as a complete listing of the contributors and their credentials, "The Good, the Bad and the Ancient: Essays on the Greco-Roman Influence in Westerns" is a singularly unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Movie/TV History & Criticism collections. It should be noted for dedicated western movie and television fans that "The Good, the Bad and the Ancient: Essays on the Greco-Roman Influence in Westerns" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $32.99).

General Note: Sue Matheson (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sue-Matheson) is a Professor of English at the University College of the North in Manitoba, Canada.


The Library Science Shelf

Creating a School Library with Impact
Caroline Roche, Barbara Band, Nick Cavender, Lucy Chambers, Annie Everall, Ellen Krajewski, and Sarah Pavey
Facet Publishing
https://www.facetpublishing.co.uk
9781783305537 $40.94 pbk / $30.49 Kindle

Synopsis: School libraries are facing numerous challenges in the 21st century. The number of professionally qualified staff working in schools has fallen in recent years and, increasingly, new appointments to library positions are sorely lacking the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their roles. While there are a number of resources available detailing how to improve your school library once it is up and running there is a dearth of books that deal with the absolute basics in a practical manner, looking at the role from the first day.

Creating a School Library with Impact: A Beginners Guide is an introductory manual for anyone entering or looking to enter the exciting world of school librarianship in primary or secondary school settings. It provides readers with everything they need to know and understand from day one from author visits, social media, reading schemes, information literacy, evaluating your library, the physical layout of your room and much more, providing an invaluable guide to those first few years in the role.

Critique: Featuring contributions from a wide array of expert authors, Creating a School Library with Impact is an excellent reference and resource especially for professional librarians and educators in primary and secondary schools. Individual chapters discuss "Creating a Reading Rich Environment", "Information Literacy and Digital Literacy", "Using Technology to Enhance the Library Experience", "Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the School Library", and much more. Creating a School Library with Impact is highly recommended as a practical-minded, "must-have" for school librarians and Library Science collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Creating a School Library with Impact is also available in a Kindle edition ($30.49).

Academic Librarian Faculty Status: CLIPP #47
Edgar Bailey, compiler
Melissa Becher, compiler
Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601-7616
https://www.ala.org
9780838936641, $52.00, PB, 172pp

https://www.amazon.com/Academic-Librarian-Faculty-Status-Information/dp/0838936644

Synopsis: The College Library Information on Policy and Practice (CLIPP) publishing program, under the auspices of the College Libraries Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, provides college and small university libraries analysis and examples of library practices and procedures.

Collaboratively compiled by Edgar Bailey and Melissa Becher, "Academic Librarian Faculty Status: CLIPP #47" contains a thorough literature review and bibliography, analysis and discussion of survey results, and sample criteria, policies, and guidelines for appointment, promotion, and tenure for librarians with and without faculty status.

No other group of employees in higher education has occupied quite the same ambivalent status on campus as librarians. The debate over granting librarians the same rights and responsibilities as faculty has generated a substantial body of literature over the years. Most of this research has tended to focus on either a mix of institutional sizes or on large universities, with a surprising dearth of studies of smaller institutions. The results of the survey reported in CLIPP #47 fills this gap, as well as offering practical information and sample tenure and promotion documents and policies.

Critique: Exceptionally well organized and impressively presented, "Academic Librarian Faculty Status: CLIPP #47" (which is Volume 47 of the College Library Information on Policy and Practice series) is unreservedly recommended as an essential, core addition to the Library Science collections of college and university libraries, library systems, as well as an important resource for Library Science curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Edgar Bailey (https://alastore.ala.org/content/edgar-bailey) has a 35 year career that includes five years at Eastern Connecticut State University and thirty years at Providence College where he served as reference and instruction librarian and, for ten years, as library director. He also served on the committee that established the Center for Teaching and Learning. He has published on a variety of library and non-library topics including help-seeking behavior, library anxiety, government publications, library school curricula, and Ursula K. LeGuin. He currently teaches a course in academic librarianship at the University of Rhode Island library school.
 
Editorial Note #2: The Associate Director of Research, Teaching and Learning at American University Library, Melissa Becher's job responsibilities include management and supervision, as well as administering platforms that support research assistance such as LibGuides, the Library's FAQ, and a 24/7 chat service. Over the years she has conducted user testing for the Library, other campus offices, the local consortium, and a professional association. Melissa's research agenda focuses on how the academic library intersects with broader trends in higher education. She has published on instruction coordinators' use of higher education accreditation documentation, the library's visibility on college and university websites, and the experiences of full-time nontenured library faculty. She maintains a WordPress site on librarian status. Melissa is also a member of ALA's Reference & User Services Association and recently chaired the RUSA Emerging Technologies Section.

The Data Literacy Cookbook
Kelly Getz, editor
Meryl Brodsky, editor
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601-7616
https://www.ala.org
9780838939253, $82.00, PB, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Data-Literacy-Cookbook-Kelly-Getz/dp/0838939252

Synopsis: Today's students and library patrons create and are confronted with many kinds of data in multiple formats. Data literacy enables students and researchers to access, interpret, critically assess, manage, handle, and ethically use data.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Kelly Getz and Meryl Brodsky, "The Data Literacy Cookbook" includes a variety of approaches to and lesson plans for teaching data literacy, from simple activities to self-paced learning modules to for-credit and discipline-specific courses.

Sixty-five recipes are organized into nine sections based on learning outcomes: Interpreting Polls and Surveys; Finding and Evaluating Data; Data Manipulation and Transformation; Data Visualization; Data Management and Sharing; Geospatial Data; Data in the Disciplines; Data Literacy Outreach and Engagement; Data Literacy Programs and Curricula.

Many sections have overlapping learning outcomes, so you can combine recipes from multiple sections to whip up a scaffolded curriculum. "The Data Literacy Cookbook" provides librarians with lesson plans, strategies, and activities to help guide students as both consumers and producers in the data life cycle.

Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "The Data Literacy Cookbook" is an ideal and highly recommended textbook for in-service and/or academic library science curriculum training programs -- as well as a core and essential addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Library Management/Information Science collections.

Editorial Note #1: Kelly Getz (https://guides.emich.edu/prf.php?account_id=111877) is an Associate Professor and S.T.E.M. Librarian at Eastern Michigan University. She holds a BA in Chemistry from Michigan State University, and both a Master of Science of Information and a Master of Science in Bioinformatics from the University of Michigan. Prior to becoming an academic librarian in 2013, she was a high school chemistry and environmental science teacher. Her teaching philosophy, in brief, is: do things to foster curiosity and no things to harm it. Kelly's research interests include information and data literacy in secondary and post-secondary education, inclusive design in libraries, and many other sciencey rabbit holes.

Editorial Note #2: Meryl Brodsky (https://www.lib.utexas.edu/about/directory/meryl-brodsky) is the liaison librarian for the School of Information and the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas - Austin. She has a Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University and an MBA from Cornell University. Her research interests include data literacy, data management, and data curation. She has spent half her career working as a corporate librarian and half as an academic librarian. It was her work in the corporate sector that sparked her interest in data literacy. She witnessed her co-workers doing terrible things to data and returned to the academic sector to become involved in data literacy education.

Designing Libraries for the 21st Century
H. Thomas Hickerson, editor
Joan K. Lippincott, editor
Leonora Crema, editor
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601-7616
https://www.ala.org
9780838939222, $150.00, PB, 462pp

https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Libraries-Century-Thomas-Hickerson/dp/0838939228

Synopsis: The 21st century has seen a transformational shift in the design of college and research libraries, one focused more on user experience and engagement than on collections. Dramatic changes in library design have been driven by changes in the core functions of universities and colleges: the reliance on digital tools and content, integration of technologies into pedagogy and research, and emphasis on the active and social aspects of learning, inclusion, and community engagement. Planning for these vibrant spaces needs to incorporate new program and staffing strategies, robust technical infrastructure, human-centered design, and flexibility to enable ongoing change.

The collaborative work of co-editors H. Thomas Hickerson, Joan K. Lippincott, and Leonora Crema, "Designing Libraries for the 21st Century" explores these trends and identifies promising strategies for new or renovated library space. This outstanding volume features an impressive array of contributions by authors drawn largely from the conference of the same name, providing guidance, principles, and a wealth of creative ideas for spaces, technology, programs, and partnerships.

Twenty-nine chapters packed with full color images and illustrations explore the themes of: 21st-Century Academic Libraries in an Evolving Environment; Aligning with the Institutional Vision; Working with Architects, Designers, and Planners; Key Issues in Planning; Collaborations and Convergence; Leadership, Organizational Change, and New Staff Roles; Programming for Research, Learning, and Community; and Looking Ahead.

Often major building projects focus primarily on the physical facility, but "Designing Libraries for the 21st Century" makes the case for designing libraries in a much more holistic fashion. Today all types of libraries are engaged in reimagining their roles and the spatial design through which this new vision will be realized.

Critique: Exceptional in organization and presentation that is inspirational, asperationaly, and yet 'real world' practical, "Designing Libraries for the 21st Century" is essential reading for librarians, architects, planners, academic leaders, and anyone interested in the future of libraries. Unreservedly recommended as a textbook for Library Science curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Designing Libraries for the 21st Century" is also available as an open access edition at https://bit.ly/DesigningLibraries

Editorial Note #1: H. Thomas Hickerson (https://alastore.ala.org/content/h-thomas-hickerson) guided the Cornell University Library's archives and rare book programs, serving as President of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and on the International Council on Archives Executive Board. In 2006, Tom became Vice Provost at the University of Calgary with a mandate to lead the design of a new model for university libraries. The $205M project to build the Taylor Family Digital Library led to broad recognition and to his founding role in the Designing Libraries for the 21st Century Conference series. His professional leadership includes serving on the Board of the Association of Research Libraries and as President of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries. He is also a Cornell University Librarian Emeritus whose recognitions include being named an SAA Fellow and Computerworld Honors Program Laureate for "the use of information technologies for the benefit of society".

Editorial Note #2: Joan K. Lippincott (https://www.cni.org/about-cni/staff/joan-k-lippincott) is Associate Executive Director Emerita of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), a joint program of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE. At CNI, Joan provided leadership for programs in learning spaces, teaching and learning, digital scholarship, ETDs, and assessment. She also served on the boards of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), the New Media Consortium (NMC) and on the advisory board for the Horizon Report and served as a member of the ACRL task force that produced the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Joan has consulted with many academic libraries on their space renovation projects and has been on the planning committee for the Designing Libraries for the 21st Century conference since its inception.

Editorial Note #3: Leonora Crema (BA, MA, MLS) is a Librarian Emerita at the University of British Columbia. She has exercised a leading role in the design of two new buildings on the UBC campus, the Walter C. Koerner Library and Library PARC, as well as numerous space renovations. Leonora's roles at UBC have included serving as Associate University Librarian for Client Services, AUL for Planning and Community Relations, and Director of External Relations for the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. Active in professional associations, including as a past President of the British Columbia Library Association, she speaks regularly on topics such as service innovation and library space design. Her career recognitions include a national award for innovation from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers, and a Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries award for outstanding contributions to the consortium. (https://scholcomm.ubc.ca/professional-profile-leonora-crema)

The Academic Library in the United States: Historical Perspectives
Mark L. McCallon, editor
John Mark Tucker, editor
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9780786495870, $75.00, PB, 294pp

https://www.amazon.com/Academic-Library-United-States-Perspectives/dp/0786495871

Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Mark L. McCallon and John Mark Tucker, the articles comprising "The Academic Library in the United States: Historical Perspectives" collectively advance the belief that the library (more than any other cultural institution) collects, curates and distributes the results of human thought.

This collection of essays broaden the debate about academic libraries beyond only professional circles, promoting the library as a vital resource for the whole of higher education. Topics range from library histories to explorations of changing media. Essayists connect modern libraries to the remarkable dream of Alexandria's ancient library -- facilitating groundbreaking research in every imaginable field of human interest, past, present and future.

Academic librarians who are most familiar with historical traditions are best qualified to promote the library as an important aspect of teaching and learning, as well as to develop resources that will enlighten future generations of readers. The intellectual tools for compelling, constructive conversation come from the narrative of the library in its many iterations, from the largest research university to the smallest liberal arts or community college.

Critique: An impressively informative compendium of an Introduction followed by fifteen erudite and thought-provoking essays, "The Academic Library in the United States: Historical Perspectives" is unreservedly recommended for the personal, professional, college, and university Library Science & History collections. Exceptional in organization and presentation, it should be noted that "The Academic Library in the United States: Historical Perspectives" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.99).

Editorial Note #1: Mark L. McCallon (https://acu.edu/faculty/mark-mccallon) is a professor and associate dean for library information services at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. His interests include electronic resources management, the history and biography of reading and librarianship.

Editorial Note #2: John Mark Tucker (https://prabook.com/web/john_mark.tucker/49998) is Professor Emeritus from Purdue University, served as Humanities, Social Science, and Education Librarian at Purdue and, later, as dean of library and information resources at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.


The Business Shelf

Win When They Say You Won't
Daphne E. Jones
McGraw Hill Professional
1221 Avenue of the Americas, 45th Floor, New York, NY 10020
www.mhprofessional.com
9781264277995, $27.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Win-When-They-Say-Wont/dp/1264277997

Synopsis: As a businesswoman: Have you ever met the requirements for a promotion, but still didn't feel qualified enough to take on the new role? Has a male colleague ever repeated what you just said in a meeting, and received positive feedback as if he said it first? Has anyone every implied that you should be less confident and direct, and more "likeable"?

Innovation thought leader and former Fortune 50 executive, Daphne E. Jones has experienced her share of dog whistle disempowerment throughout her career -- but she didn't let it stop her. Instead, she developed an actionable system for overcoming imposter syndrome, negativity and building the career of her dreams -- and now with the publication of "Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success" she shares her winning approach with you.

"Win When They Say You Won't" shows how to: Envision what success looks like to you; Prioritize your objectives and mapping out how to achieve them; Work your plan, soliciting constructive feedback from other stakeholders, and altering your strategy as needed; Reflect on your accomplishments and lessons learned, while defining your next win.

"Win When They Say You Won't" provides the inspiration, insights, and tools a woman in business needs to deconstruct any momentum that has been set against her and take her career to the next level -- starting now.

Critique: As inspired and inspiring as it is 'real world' practical, "Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success" is exceptionally well written, organized and presented. An essential and insightful 'how to' guide, "Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, and academic library Business Leadership & Motivational Management collections. It should be noted for MBA students and women in positions of corporate responsibility that "Win When They Say You Won't: Break Through Barriers and Keep Leveling Up Your Success" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.49).

Editorial Note: Daphne E. Jones (https://www.daphneejones.com) has 30+ years of experience in general management and executive level roles at IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Hospira, and General Electric. At GE, she served as SVP for Future of Work, SVP & CIO for Product Engineering, Imaging, and Ultrasound, and Senior Executive & CIO for Global Services, all of which composed a $13 billion segment of GE Healthcare. The recipient of numerous domestic and international awards, Jones serves on the board of directors for AMN Healthcare, Inc., Barnes Group Inc., and Masonite International Corp.

The Artisan Brand
Jan Mulholland, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781839106125, $140.00 HC / $TBA ebook, 264pp

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/the-artisan-brand-9781839106125.html

Synopsis: Investigating the changing forms, dynamics and trajectories of the artisan and craft sector, "The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies" is a timely consideration of the opportunities, challenges, and uncertainties associated with artisanal businesses in these new economic times.

Exploring how artisanal and craft products remain vibrant embodiments of tradition, heritage, authenticity and creativity, "The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies" explores how these qualities are being harnessed and transformed to enable artisanal businesses to exploit the opportunities presented by technological innovation and evolving consumption patterns for their future viability and vitality.

Revolutionary advancement in digital technologies offer 'game-changing' possibilities for artisanship and craft, across a spectrum ranging from production practices to e-commerce. But such technological advancements also present challenges to how artisanship sustains its important 'traditional' associations, and how it builds on its relationship with the ethical, the sustainable and the local.

Featuring an international range of case studies, chapters exemplify how artisanal organisations can revitalise their business models, using innovative branding and marketing strategies, and entrepreneurship, to utilise the best of both the past and the future.

"The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies" will prove invaluable to students and scholars of marketing, business studies and sociology who are interested in contemporary innovation in artisanship and craft. With practical advice from industry experts, it also serves as a useful resource for practitioners and stakeholders within the artisanal and craft sector who might be concerned with the impact of digitalisation on the field.

Critique: Exceptionally well organized, impressively informative, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in presentation, "The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies" is a seminal and timely compendium of thirteen erudite, insightful, and thought-provoking contributions that will be of particular and special interest to entrepreneurs and corporate administrators interested in the bourgeoning popularity of 'artisan' brands. A seminal work, "The Artisan Brand: Entrepreneurship and Marketing in Contemporary Craft Economies" is an important and recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and academic library Business Management & Entrepreneurship collections and as a textbook form supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Jon Mulholland (https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/JonMulholland) is an Associate Professor, University of the West of England, UK,

Editorial Note #2: Alessandra Ricci is a Post Doctoral research fellow, Department of Business, Law, Economics and Consumer Behavior, IULM University, Milan, Italy.

Editorial Note #3: Marta Massi is an Assistant Professor, Trent University, Canada

Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship
Mohammad Keyhani, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781800373624, $255.00 HC / $TBA ebook, 340pp

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/handbook-of-digital-entrepreneurship-9781800373624.html

Synopsis: "Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship" compiles a diverse set of contributions on digital entrepreneurship, and provides an in-depth study of how digital entrepreneurship research has evolved over the years, and where it stands today.

Offering a snapshot of the major themes in digital entrepreneurship research, the "Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship" highlights a wide range of both practice-engaged and practice-relevant works and explores the fundamental concepts and common themes in the field. Individual chapters examine key topics including the digital platform economy, the digitalization of work, the blockchain economy, and the rural - urban digital divide.

Furthermore, the "Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship" analyzes the history and theory of digital entrepreneurship, while also sparking ideas for future research through a consideration of emerging phenomena and new ways to approach research in this broad area of study.

Discussing a diverse set of questions, contexts, theories, and methods, the "Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship" will be a key resource for researchers and advanced students with a particular interest in entrepreneurship, innovation, technology management, and digital business models. Managers and entrepreneurs will also find the discussion of digital entrepreneurship in relation to financing, social issues, and technology beneficial.

Critique: A seminal compilation of sixteen informative studies by thirty-six knowledgeable contributors which are deftly organized into seven thematic sections (Introduction; Digital Entrepreneurship and Definitions; Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystems; Digital Entrepreneurship Technologies; Digital Entrepreneurship Adoption and Outcomes; Digital Entrepreneurship and Financing; Digital Entrepreneurship and Social Issues), "Handbook of Digital Entrepreneurship" is a seminal work of outstanding scholarship and unreservedly recommended for inclusion in personal, professional, corporate, college, and university library Business Management & Entrepreneurship collections and supplemental curriculum studies reading lists.

Editorial Note #1: Mohammad Keyhani is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Canada,

Editorial Note #2: Tobias Kollmann is the Professor of Digital Business and Digital Entrepreneurship, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.

Editorial Note #3: Andishe Ashjari, Doctoral Candidate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, Canada,

Editorial Note #4: Alina Sorgner is an Assistant Professor of Applied Data Analytics, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy, Research Affiliate, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) and Research Fellow, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

Editorial Note #5: Clyde Eirikur Hull is Professor, Department of Management, Saunders College of Business, Rochester Institute of Technology, US


The Photography Shelf

Michael Freeman On... Light & Shadow
Michael Freeman
Ilex Press
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781781578544, $27.99, PB, 176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Freeman-Light-Shadow/dp/1781578540

Synopsis: With the publication of "Michael Freeman On... Light & Shadow: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass", and drawing upon more than 40 years of practical experience, author and photographer Michael Freeman examines the most fundamental building-blocks of photography (light and shadow) bringing this key element of the picture-making process into the 21st century.

In this combination of instruction guide and 'how to' manual, Freeman takes a new and different view of photography's prime commodity, arguing that for the photographer, the rich and evocative world of shadows is the full equal of the actual light that casts them and bathes scenes. He defines the varied qualities of both light and shadows (of which there are at least ten distinct types), and shows how they have particular meaning and purpose. He also argues for integrating exposure and processing with an appreciation of light and shadow quality so as to have full and subtle control. Armed with this understanding and these techniques, the creative photographer can work with light and shadow to add depth and quality to imagery.

"Michael Freeman On... Light & Shadow: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" includes: All new content from the master of photography guides; Concise and easy-to-follow format clearly explains the fundamentals of light and shadow; A light and shadow discussion of photographic image-making; Real-life examples, clearly illustrated, cut through the jargon and show the theory of light and shadow in practice.

Critique: Informatively and beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, "Michael Freeman On... Light & Shadow: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" is an ideal DIY instruction guide that will prove to be an invaluable resource for aspiring and experienced photographers alike. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99), "Michael Freeman On... Light & Shadow: The Ultimate Photography Masterclass" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Photographic Lighting and Reference collections.

Editorial Note: Michael Freeman (http://www.michaelfreemanphoto.com) was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in Geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. In 1971 he made the life-changing decision to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures he came back with, he embarked on a full-time photographic career. Since then, working for clients that include all the world's major magazines, most notably the Smithsonian Magazine (for which he has shot more than 40 stories over 30 years), Freeman's reputation as one of the world's leading reportage photographers has been consolidated. Of his many books, which have sold over 4 million copies worldwide, more than 60 titles are on the practice of photography. For this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture.

Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle
Hassan Sarbakhshian, author
Lior B. Sternfeld, author
Parvaneh Vahidmanesh, author
Penn State University Press
820 North University Drive, University Park, PA 16802-1003
www.psupress.org
9780271092645, $29.95, HC, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jews-Iran-Photographic-Chronicle-Imagination/dp/0271092645

Synopsis: Westerners often imagine Jews in Iran as a captive and oppressed community, alienated within their home nation yet restricted from leaving it. The reality is much more complex. "Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle" is a photographic journey through twenty-first-century Iran, providing a unique view of the country's Jewish community in situations typically unknown to the Western world.

Photojournalist Hassan Sarbakhshian spent two years living among Iran's Jewish communities, joining them for holidays, family gatherings, and travels, and (with the help of fellow journalist Parvaneh Vahidmanesh) documenting how they lived. Moving beyond the well-known state and regional confrontations, the photos that Sarbakhshian took tell a broader story about a community of people who live in the figurative and literal middle. They are Iranian nationals by birth and by choice, and they are Jews by religious affiliation. Full loyalty to their country is expected, even as their ancestral homeland is at odds with their political homeland. This photographic chronicle illuminates the grey zone that they inhabit.

Featuring over one hundred full-color photos which are contextualized with extensive annotations, and accompanied by a substantive introduction written by historian Lior B. Sternfeld, "Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle" calls into question Western views of this religious community.

Critique: Given the current political unrest in Iran today, "Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle" is a timely reveal of one of the most beautiful and complicated untold stories of contemporary Iran. A visual documentation of an Iranian story that is obscured by a political and cultural unrest that dominates the news headlines of today. An inherently fascinating photojournalism volume, "Jews of Iran: A Photographic Chronicle" is a highly recommended and unique addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Judaic History, Photojournalism, and Contemporary Iranian History collections.

Editorial Note #1: Hassan Sarbakhshian has thirty years of experience in journalism, television production, and photojournalism. He began his journalism career at Voice of America in Washington, DC. His photographs have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, The Economist, and other international newspapers and magazines.

Editorial Note #2: Lior B. Sternfeld is Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies at The Pennsylvania State University and the author of Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran.

Editorial Note #3: Parvaneh Vahidmanesh has seventeen years of experience in journalism inside and outside of Iran. She is currently a broadcast journalist at Radio Free Europe's Persian service in Prague.


The Art Shelf

The Oil Painter's Color Handbook
Todd M. Casey
Monacelli Studio
c/o The Monacelli Press
www.monacellipress.com
9781580935883, $45.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Painters-Color-Handbook-Contemporary/dp/1580935885

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Oil Painter's Color Handbook: A Contemporary Guide to Color Mixing, Pigments, Palettes, and Harmony", artist Todd M. Casey provides informative instruction, including step-by-step demonstrations, and challenging exercises, with which even the most novice of aspiring artists will be able to learn how to apply these techniques and concepts to their own painting. Once educated with this fundamental knowledge, as an artist, anyone can begin to find the balance between the science and emotional intuition in creating art.

Critique: A coffee-table style volume (11.25 x 2 x 9.25 inches, 3.62 pounds), this edition of "The Oil Painter's Color Handbook: A Contemporary Guide to Color Mixing, Pigments, Palettes, and Harmony" is an impressively informative, visually dynamic combination of instruction manual and 'how to' guide book that will be of particular interest and value to artists, art students, and art instructors, as well as serious amateurs and dedicated hobbyists. Beautifully and effectively illustrated throughout, "The Oil Painter's Color Handbook: A Contemporary Guide to Color Mixing, Pigments, Palettes, and Harmony" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Oil Painting/Graphic Art Design collections and supplemental art studies curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Todd M. Casey (https://www.toddmcasey.com), drawing inspiration from classical art, historical literature, and personal experience, imbues each piece of his artwork with a love of both pragmatic, corporeal form, and storied, intentional function. That is to say, every painting has a tale to tell; whether emergent from the viewer's own perception, or brewed from the very deep well of introspective thought, the artist inculcates with each brush stroke. Subtlety, refined grace, meditation, and honesty are the hallmarks of Todd Casey's artistic aesthetic. His paintings have been honored with awards, several times in recent years. Most recently, he won first place 3 years in a row in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, and first place in oil painting from the Allied Artists of America, in 2015. His work can be found in collections throughout the United States; and exclusively on the East Coast, at Rehs Contemporary Gallery, in Midtown New York City.

Reimagining History from an Indigenous Perspective
Joyce M. Szabo
University of New Mexico Press
www.unmpress.com
9780826364098, $29.95, PB, 120pp

https://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-History-Indigenous-Perspective-Graphic/dp/0826364098

Synopsis: Few contemporary artists before the 1990s explored the culturally negative impact of the Spanish in the Southwest. Unreflective celebrations of the Columbus Quincentennial brought about portrayals of a more complicated legacy of Columbus's arrival in the Americas -- especially by Indigenous artists.

Through a series of etchings, Floyd Solomon of Laguna and Zuni heritage undertook a visual recounting of Pueblo history using Indigenous knowledge positioned to reimagine a history that is known largely from non-Native records. While Solomon originally envisioned more than forty etchings, he ultimately completed just twenty.

From nightmarish visions of the Spanish that preceded their arrival to the subsequent return of the Spanish and their continuing effects on the Pueblo people, Solomon provides a powerful visual record. These insightful, probing etchings are included in this important full-color volume showcasing Solomon's work and legacy.

With the publication of "Reimagining History from an Indigenous Perspective: The Graphic Work of Floyd Solomon", Professor Joyce M. Szabo positions Solomon among his contemporaries, making this vibrant artist and his remarkable vision broadly available to audiences both familiar with his work and those seeing it for the first time.

Critique: Impressively and informatively illustrated, "Reimagining History from an Indigenous Perspective: The Graphic Work of Floyd Solomon" is a meticulous and exceptionally well written study that will be of special appeal to readers with an interest in the impact that the Spanish had upon Native American Art and Culture. While highly recommended as an invaluable contribution to personal, professional, community, and academic library Native American Studies and Art History collections, it should be noted that "Reimagining History from an Indigenous Perspective: The Graphic Work of Floyd Solomon" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.95).

Editorial Note: Joyce M. Szabo (https://art.unm.edu/profile/joyce-m-szabo) is the Regents' Professor of Art History Emerita at the University of New Mexico. She is also a specialist in Native American art and museum studies and the author and editor of several books, including Howling Wolf and the History of Ledger Art (UNM Press).

The Portraitist: Frans Hals and His World
Steven Nadler
University of Chicago Press
1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
www.press.uchicago.edu
9780226698366, $35.00, HC, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/Portraitist-Frans-Hals-His-World/dp/022669836X

Synopsis: Frans Hals (c. 1582 - 26 August 1666) was one of the greatest portrait painters in history, and his style transformed ideas and expectations about what portraiture can do and what a painting should look like.
 
Hals was a member of the great trifecta of Dutch Baroque painters alongside Rembrandt and Vermeer, and he was the portraitist of choice for entrepreneurs, merchants, professionals, theologians, intellectuals, militiamen, and even his fellow artists in the Dutch Golden Age. His works, with their visible brush strokes and bold execution, lacked the fine detail and smooth finish common among his peers, and some dismissed his works as sloppy and unfinished. But for others, they were fresh and exciting, filled with a sense of the sitter's animated presence captured with energy and immediacy.
 
With the publication of "The Portraitist: Frans Hals and His World", Professor Steven Nadler gives us the first full-length biography of Hals in many years and offers a view into seventeenth-century Haarlem and this culturally rich era of the Dutch Republic. He tells the story not only of Hals's life, but also of the artistic, social, political, and religious worlds in which he lived and worked.

Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a two page listing of Acknowledgments, thirty-two pages of Notes, twenty-two pages of References, and an eighteen page Index, "The Portraitist: Frans Hals and His World" is an impressively work of meticulous research and scholarship, making it a very special and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Artist Biography and History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Portraitist: Frans Hals and His World" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.49).

Editorial Note: Steven Nadler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Nadler) is a professor of philosophy and director of the George L. Mosse/Laurence A. Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the author, most recently, of Spinoza: A Life, which won the 2000 Koret Jewish Book Award for biography, and Spinoza's Heresy: Immortality and the Jewish Mind.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Vanko, 1848
Jean Van Hamme, author
Philippe Berthet, illustrator
Cinebook
https://www.cinebook.co.uk
c/o NBN Books (distribution)
www.nbnbooks.com
9781800440609, $13.95, PB, 56pp

https://www.amazon.com/Vanko-1848-Fortune-Winczlavs-Hamme/dp/180044060X

Synopsis: 1848. In Ottoman-occupied Montenegro, young doctor Vanko Winczlav is one of the leaders of a popular uprising. Betrayed, wanted by the authorities, he flees the Balkans for the United States in the company of a Bulgarian refugee, Veska, whom he marries to allow her to enter New York legally. So begins the history of a family closely entwined with that of a still new country going through many transformations.

Critique: An inherently interesting and entertaining 19th Century immigrant story told in a graphic novel format by the team of author/storyteller Jean Van hamme and artist/illustrator Philippe Berthet, "Vanko, 1848" from NBM Publishing is a highly recommended addition to both personal and community library Graphic Novel collections. It should be noted that "Vanko, 1848" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle/Comixology, $4.61).

Editorial Note #1: Jean Van Hamme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Van_Hamme) is one of the most acclaimed writers of European comics. Among his many successes, let's mention Thorgal with Rosinski, XIII with Vance and Largo Winch with Francq, but also Lady S., Wayne Shelton, Authorised Happiness, and several volumes of Blake & Mortimer - all published by Cinebook.

Editorial Note #2: Philippe Berthet (https://www.europecomics.com/author/philippe-berthet) is a French 'ligne claire' artist. After a remarkable entrance onto the comics scene in Spirou Magazine with Couleur Cafe in 1980, he created, among others, Le Prive d'Hollywood, Les Exploits de Poison Ivy as well as Pin-up with Yann.


The Library CD Shelf

Voices: A Musical Heritage
Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
www.winnipegjazzorchestra.com
Independently Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMZPZ3VN

The sixth album by Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, Voices: A Musical Heritage collects commissions from eight jazz composers intended to reflect the richness of Manitoba's musical heritage. Individual songs trace their roots to the First Nations, Metis, Ukrainian, Jewish, Chilean, Brazilian, Nigerian, and Icelandic cultures. A world-spanning treasury, superbly performed, Voices: A Musical Heritage is a "must-have" for adventurous jazz connoisseurs and highly recommended for public library music collections. The tracks are The Parallel Steppes: Keeyn, Ochka, Yaseni (John Stetch), Homenaje (Rodrigo Munoz), The Living Mind (Jeff Presslaff), Oriri (Henry Onwuchekwa; arr. Richard Gillis), Shadows (Richard Gillis), Choro para Amazonia (Marco Castillo), Ishpiming (Andrew Balfour; arr. Richard Gillis), and The Bison Hunt (Michelle Gregoire).

Dreamride
Composed by Holly Burke & Bill Runge
Linda Lee Thomas, piano
www.hollyburke.com
www.billrunge.com
Canada Council for the Arts
$TBA CD / $TBA digital

https://billrunge.com/music

Composed by Holly Burke and Bill Runge, and performed by Linda Lee Thomas (principal pianist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 1972 and a member of the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame), Dreamride is an extraordinary, original piano album of twenty beautiful, inspirational songs. Dreamride is a joy for piano connoisseurs, a welcome addition to public library music collections, and also makes an excellent gift! Highly recommended. The tracks are New, Butterfly, The Briny Deep, Minerva's Owl, Lindo, Shapeshifter, Lily Pond, Exegesis, Daphne, Manny's Arms, Amoroso, Bill & Bob's Big Adventure, Two Eagles, Valentina, First Snow on Cypress, Elysium, Fall, Monkey Puzzle Blues, O Catalpa, and Music for Maple.

Let There Be Love
Carmen McRae
Hindsight Records
$10.98 CD / $9.49 MP3

Let There Be Love collects timeless performances of classic songs by beloved jazz singer Carmen McRae (1920-1994). A treasury showcasing McRae's dulcet voice, Let There Be Love is a choice pick for both personal and public library jazz collections, and also makes an excellent gift. Highly recommended! The tracks are If You Never Fall In Love With Me, Fly Me To The Moon, Let There Be Love, It Could Happen To You, I've Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good), Make Someone Happy, The Right To Love (Reflections), Watch What Happens, I Left My Heart In San Francisco, Alfie, I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (And Throw Away The Key), Miss Brown To You, Stardust, and Too Close For Comfort.


The Cookbook Shelf

Body on Fire Anti-inflammatory Cookbook
Monica Aggarwal, MD
Jyothis Rao, MD
The Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99, Summertown, TN 38483
www.BookPubCo.com
9781570674075, $24.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Body-Fire-Anti-inflammatory-Cookbook-Disease/dp/1570674078

Synopsis: "Body on Fire Anti-inflammatory Cookbook: Your Guide to Eating Plant Foods That Fight Disease" is a companion volume to "Body on Fire" and reiterates essential concepts about the nature of inflammation and its relationship to chronic illness, while offering insights into why certain foods are health-supporting, and provides a how-to-start manual that features an abundance of easy-to-make recipes.

The main goal is to calm inflammation and reduce the risk of illness. While there are multiple steps involved with healing, nutrition should be the first one to turn to. Combined with a renewed focus on sleep, movement, and an unstressed mind, Drs. Aggarwal and Rao provide natural solutions for regaining health. Guidance, encouragement, and sound advice are offered on everything from the best times to eat and which foods affect sleep, exercise, and outlook to rediscovering the joys of cooking and budget-friendly options.

The recipes use minimum amounts of salt and oil, are nutrient-dense as well as universally appealing, and deliver a boost to your health with each flavorful bite.

Critique: Beautifully illustrated, "Body on Fire Anti-inflammatory Cookbook: Your Guide to Eating Plant Foods That Fight Disease" is an ideal compendium of recipes for dishes that will significantly aid in dealing with chronic inflammatory issues of the human body. Each palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly recipe results in a quality dish that would please the epicurean appetites of even the most sophisticated of gourmets. Absolutely recommended for anyone one having to deal with chronic inflamation, "Body on Fire Anti-inflammatory Cookbook: Your Guide to Eating Plant Foods That Fight Disease" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

Editorial Note #1: Monica Aggarwal, MD, (https://www.drmonicaaggarwal.com) is board certified in cardiology, echocardiography, and nuclear cardiology. She is focused on educating people about the importance of plant-based nutrition and its benefits in treating and potentially reversing chronic illness.

Editorial Note #2: Jyothi Rao, MD, has worked in clinical practice since 1997. Board certified in internal medicine as well as in anti-aging and regenerative medicine, she is the medical director of Shakthi Health & Wellness Center in Maryland. For more information visit her websites at www.drmonicaaggarwal.com and www.raowellness.com

The Food Allergy Baking Book
Kelly Woyhan
Agate Surrey
c/o Agate Publishing
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572843158, $21.95, PB, 176pp

https://www.amazon.com/Food-Allergy-Baking-Book-Nut-Free/dp/1572843152

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Food Allergy Baking Book: Great Dairy-, Egg-, and Nut-Free Treats for the Whole Family", Kelly Woyan offers more than 90 timeless, foolproof recipes that are easy to prepare, even for the most novice kitchen bakers. It is an invaluable and delicious resource for home bakers (and their families) who love sweets and treats -- but have egg, nut, and dairy allergies.

These beautifully illustrated recipes are more than delicious enough to be enjoyed by everyone who craves great baked treats, whether they have food allergies or not, but they fill a particular need for families who find baking at home to be the smartest and safest option to avoid exposure to allergens.

All the traditional baking favorites are included, with chapters devoted to the best and tastiest muffins and quick breads, cookies and bars, and all manner of cakes, pies, crisps, and cobblers. The book also provides practical advice about dealing with classroom and birthday parties, as well as easy ingredient substitution ideas. 

Critique: The go-to guide for food-allergy conscious bakers everywhere, "The Food Allergy Baking Book: Great Dairy-, Egg-, and Nut-Free Treats for the Whole Family" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections. It should also be noted that it is available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99) as well.

Jazzy Vegetarian
Laura Theodore
The Book Publishing Company
PO Box 99, Summertown, TN 38483
www.BookPubCo.com
9780996547536, $26.95, PB, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jazzy-Vegetarian-Lively-Cuisine-Delicious/dp/0996547533

Synopsis: This newly released 10th-anniversary edition of "Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine That's Easy and Delicious" is comprised of more than 120 recipes, features 200 full-color photos, as well as a number of brand-new recipes and many updated originals. Family cooks will be able to make outstanding vegetarian dishes that are easy to prepare. Additionally there is a full range of vegetarian menu ideas for family meals and holiday celebrations, with sumptuous photographs of finished dishes and the preparatory steps to make them. Culinary author Laura Theodore's distinctive style infuses each page and every recipe. The result is a perfect vegetarian oriented cookbook for anyone starting a plant-based diet, as well as for omnivores who are on the lookout for exciting new vegan options.

Critique: With a special appeal for those with an interest in gluten free recipes, vegan/vegetarian cooking and menu planning, "Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine That's Easy and Delicious" is a very highly recommended choice for personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

Editorial Note: Laura Theodore, (https://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/laura-theodore), is a PBS celebrity vegan chef, recognized television personality, podcast host, and vegan cookbook author. She is co-creator of Jazzy Vegetarian and author of six vegan cookbooks including: Easy Vegan Home Cooking, Vegan For Everyone, Laura Theodore's Vegan-Ease, Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan, Jazzy Vegetarian Classics, and Jazzy Vegetarian. Laura is presently the on-camera host and co-producer of the TASTE award-winning television show, Jazzy Vegetarian, seen on national Public Television, and she is host of Jazzy Vegetarian Radio and The Laura Theodore Podcast.

Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic
Good Housekeeping, editor
Hearst Home
300 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
https://www.hearst.com/magazines/hearst-books
9781950785797, $30.00, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Housekeeping-One-Pot-Magic-Wonderful/dp/1950785793

Synopsis: With the publication of "Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic: 180 Warm & Wonderful Recipes", even the most novice of kitchen cooks can create fast and delicious one-pot meals that take full advantage of all their favorite appliances and everyday cookware. Good Housekeeping's tested-til-perfect recipes plus appliance and equipment testing notes and care instructions makes "Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic" the ultimate one-pot recipe collection.

With "Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic" anyone can transform their weeknight cooking routine with satisfying recipes utilizing their: AIR FRYER (Mediterranean Chicken Bowls, Roasted Cauliflower Tacos); CASSEROLE AND SHEET PAN (Fish Chowder Bake, Stuffed Shells); DUTCH OVEN (Guinness Beef Stew, Coq Au Vin Ros, Chicken Curry); INSTANT POT (Brisket with Roasted Red Onions, Pho with Chicken); SKILLET (Chicken with Sauteed Apples, Beef and Broccoli); SLOW COOKER (BBQ Brisket Sandwiches, Curried Butternut Stew).

Each individual recipe comes with variations, meal prep ideas, cooking shortcuts, and other useful time-saving tips. Plus the recipes are labeled as vegan, quick and easy (ready in under 30 minutes!) and family friendly.

Whether you're craving satisfying soups and stews, speedy sheet pan and skillet suppers, cozy casseroles or time-saving air fryer and Instant Pot favorite, these all-star one-pot wonder recipes will inspire you to serve something exciting every night that the whole family will love -- and with fewer dishes to wash up afterwards!

Critique: With its beautiful full page color photos of finished dishes and informative foreward by Kate Merke, "Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic: 180 Warm & Wonderful Recipes" will prove to be an especially prized addition to personal, professional, and community library American cookbook collections of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly dishes for all dining occasions. It should be noted that "Good Housekeeping One-Pot Magic: 180 Warm & Wonderful Recipes" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note #1: Good Housekeeping is a leading lifestyle media brand inspiring a monthly audience of 58M readers.

Editorial Note #2: Kate Merker (https://katemarkerhome.com) is the Chief Food Director and oversees the food content appearing in several of Hearst's top titles, including Good Housekeeping. After attending Yale University, she graduated first in her class at the Culinary Institute of America.


The Archaeology Shelf

The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discovery, revised edition
Nicolas Reeves
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500052167, $50.00, HC, 464pp

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Tutankhamun-100-Years-Discovery/dp/0500052166

Synopsis: On November 4, 1922, Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter's long search in Egypt's Valley of the Kings drew to a triumphant close: Tutankhamun's tomb had been found. As news of the discovery spread, and as images of the breathtaking treasures began to circulate, this once obscure pharaoh would capture the imagination of the entire world.

One hundred years later, both the fascination and the drama continue. Scientific research has moved on, and the results have been impressive:the tomb's ground-plan and setting are now fully remapped; CT-scanning and aDNA (ancient DNA) have begun to shed their unique light on Tutankhamun in life and in death; super-accurate recordings have been secured of the Burial Chamber's decorated walls; and we possess at last high-quality photography of Pharaoh's possessions. Access to Carnarvon and Carter's extraordinary find is greater today than it has ever been, and from this fuller evidence comes one new realization among many -- that both the tomb and its treasures had been intended for someone else.

In the new, revised and expanded edition of his landmark book, "The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discover"  Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves revisits Tutankhamun in the context of his time, the excavators in the context of theirs, and every aspect (old and new) of the tomb's discovery, archaeology, architecture and art. If what was found in 1922 would amaze, then what has been revealed over the last 100 years will simply astonish. 

Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of 500 color illustrations and photographs, "The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discover" is a fascinating, comprehensive, and informative study that will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in Archaeology, Egyptology, and the Tutankhamun legacy. This definitive, newly revised and expanded guide to Tutankhamun and his tomb (what it contained, why, and what it means today) is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Ancient Egypt collections and supplemental Archaeology curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Nicholas Reeves (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Reeves) is an Egyptologist specializing in the history and material culture of the Amarna period and its immediate aftermath. He has held curatorial positions at the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and worked extensively as an archaeologist both in and around the tomb of Tutankhamun. He is the author of several books, including Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet and The Complete Valley of the Kings, both published by Thames & Hudson.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Digital Dentistry: A Step-by-Step Guide and Case Atlas
Arthur R.G. Coretes, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119851998, $190.00, HC, 400pp

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Dentistry-Step-Step-Guide/dp/1119851998

Synopsis: An informative introduction to using digital technology in dentistry, "Digital Dentistry: A Step-by-Step Guide and Case Atlas" compiled and edited by Arthur R.G. Cortes provides basic information on the use of digital resources to find a diagnosis, create a treatment plan, and execute that strategy within different dental specialisms.

This instructive and comprehensive manual includes the science behind all procedures that use digital technology and provides a clinical step-by-step guide toward the use of these developments for every dental specialty area. Users will find a wide range of areas covered, from prosthodontics, restorative dentistry, and endodontics to oral and maxillofacial surgery and public health.

"Digital Dentistry" also includes: A guide to all current basic digital imaging and CAD-CAM procedures, with an emphasis on the most popular systems and software programs; An atlas of multidisciplinary cases that were treated with digital dentistry, from diagnosis and treatment planning to execution and follow-up, in order of complexity; Assessment of the scientific basis for using digital dentistry in each category; A presentation of clinical cases to support the use of digital methodologies in all relevant scenarios; An exploration of the role of digital dentistry in dental public health, preventive dentistry, and dental education.

Critique: Exceptionally 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Digital Dentistry" is unreservedly recommended for dental clinicians (general practitioners and specialists) as well as all other dental professionals, such as dental technologists, dental hygienists, and dental students, As a textbook and reference, "Digital Dentistry: A Step-by-Step Guide and Case Atlas" is an essential tool and reference work to help dental practitioners streamline and update their practice with the most up-to-date technologies. Unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and academic library Dentistry Medicine collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Digital Dentistry is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $152.00).

Editorial Note: Arthur R.G. Cortes, DDS, MSc, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Acting Head of Department, Department of Dental Surgery, Faculty of Dental Surgery, University of Malta. He has a PhD in Oral Diagnosis after completing a one-year postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, Boston, USA. He is also an Oral Implantologist, fellow and speaker of the International Team of Implantologists (ITI) and co-founder of the European Academy of Digital Dentistry.

Adult Orthodontics, second edition
Birte Melsen, editor
Cesare Luzi, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119775775, $150.00, HC, 480pp

https://www.amazon.com/Adult-Orthodontics-Birte-Melsen/dp/1119775779

Synopsis: Drawing from renowned contributors from the orthodontic community and collaboratively compiled and co- edited by orthodontist Birte Melsen and Cesare Luzi, this newly updated and expanded edition of "Adult Orthodontics" is an authoritative resource on the subject of adult orthodontics, blending together clinical guidance with a thorough evaluation of the evidence base.

"Adult Orthodontics" include: Context for adult orthodontics, including patient demographics and aetiology; Treatment planning considerations, including patient case profiles, initial outcomes and longer-term expectations; Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, including the links between adult orthodontics and periodontics, prosthetics, and temporomandibular disorders.

Critique: An invaluable and comprehensive instructional and informational resource for professionals providing orthodontic treatment to adults and those dealing with orthodontics as part of the interdisciplinary management of the adult dentition, "Adult Orthodontics" is especially recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, and academic library Dentistry/Orthodontics collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of orthodontist students and practitioners that this new second edition of "Adult Orthodontics" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $120.00).

Editorial Note #1: Birte Melsen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birte_Melsen) is the past President of European Orthodontic Society in 2004 and has made significant contributions to the field of orthodontics with her research, publishing around 350 papers in scientific journals on topics related to anchorage (orthodontics) and adult orthodontics. She is currently an orthodontist from Denmark.

Editorial Note #2: Cesare Luzi (https://www.eos2023.com/speakers/cesare-luzi) is Founder and first President of the European Postgraduate Students Orthodontic Society (EPSOS). Past President of the Italian Society of Biomechanics (SIBOS) and of the Italian Association of Specialists in Orthodontics (ASIO). President AIDOR (Italian Academy of Orthodontics) 2022. Visiting Professor University of Ferrara and Rome Cattolica (Italy). He is currently in private orthodontics practice in Rome, Italy.

Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child
Marc Saadia, author
Roberto Valencia, author
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119720188, $235.00, HC, 896pp

https://www.amazon.com/Dentofacial-Orthopedics-Growing-Child-Understanding/dp/11197201 84

Synopsis: "Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child: Understanding Craniofacial Growth and the Management of Malocclusion" by the orthodontic team of doctors Marc Saadia and Roberto Valencia provides step-by-step guidance on diagnosing and treating malocclusions in young patients.

"Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child" addresses both class I, II and III malocclusions, and more complicated cases such as facial asymmetries and temporomandibular problems that develop in the primary dentition. Concise, highly illustrated chapters describe normal and abnormal craniofacial development, and how and why environmental factors can affect the growth pattern. Early diagnosis and treatment planning, long-term case resolution, complementary methods of diagnosis such as occlusion and cephalometric, and more are discussed.

"Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child": Provides clinicians with visual guidance on how to rapidly diagnose malocclusions; Contains over 1,300 high-quality images of different Class I, Class II, and Class III malocclusions, including temporomandibular problems, both before and after correction, and long-term follow-ups; Helps clinicians correct different malocclusions using the fewest number of appliances and in the least amount of time; Includes tables of different cephalometric of before and after corrections for most clinical cases presented in the book. Of special note is the chapter on how to communicate and bond with children as patients to help them understand the importance of wearing their appliances

Children are not young adults so diagnostic methods which are regularly used can often misguide the clinician. "Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child" is an invaluable reference that guides pediatric dentists, orthodontists, general dentists, and maxillofacial and craniofacial surgeons with treating children.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child: Understanding Craniofacial Growth in the Management of Malocclusions" is an ideal textbook for orthodontics curriculums. While an essential and core addition to professional and academic library Dentistry/Orthodontics collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Dentofacial Orthopedics in the Growing Child" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $188.00).

Editorial Note #1: Dr Marc Saadia (https://iccpd.org/dr-marc-saadia) is a pediatric dentist in private practice. Previously, he was Director of Postgraduate and Graduate studies in Pediatric Dentistry at the Technological University of Mexico. Dr Saadia is a Diplomat of the American and Mexican Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry.

Editorial Note #2: Dr Roberto Valencia (https://valenciafamilydental.com) is a pediatric dentist, Professor of the Specialty in Pediatric Dentistry at the Technological University of Mexico, past President of the Mexican Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr Valencia is Editor of the Dental and Biomaterial Journal.

Endodontic Advances and Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines
Hany M. A. Ahmed, editor
Paul M. H. Dummer, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119553885, $100.00, HC, 832pp

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Endodontic+Advances+and+Evidence+Based+Clinical+Guideline s-p-9781119553892

Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Hany M. A. Ahmed and Paul M. H. Dummer, "Endodontic Advances and Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines" provides a comprehensive and up-to-date description of recent research findings and their impact on clinical practice. Using an innovative approach to the field, this comprehensive textbook enables dental students and practitioners to translate the current body of knowledge on endodontic diseases and treatment into guidelines for enhancing patient care.

Divided into four parts, "Endodontic Advances and Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines" first addresses new research findings and advances in technology, techniques, materials, and clinical management. In addition, it provides revised clinical guidelines for a variety of areas within the specialty, such as endodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, management of endodontic emergencies, regenerative endodontic procedures, three-dimensional imaging, and the use of systemic antibiotics. Each individual chapter contains numerous high-quality illustrations and clinical cases highlighting current research directions, key concepts, and new trends in clinical techniques and education.

Critique: Effectively illustrated throughout, "Endodontic Advances and Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines" is impressively comprehensive, exceptionally well organized, and 'user friendly' in presentation -- making it a vitally important and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Dentistry & Endodontics collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for dental students and practitioners that "Endodontic Advances and Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines" is also avalable in a digital book format (Kindle, $100.00).

Editorial Note #1: Hany M. A. Ahmed, BDS, HDD, PhD, FICD, MDTFEd (RCSEd), FPFA, FADI, (https://umexpert.um.edu.my/hanyendodontist.html) is the Senior Lecturer of Endodontics, Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the European Endodontic Journal.

Editorial Note #2: Paul M. H. Dummer, BDS, MScD, PhD, DDSc, FDS (RCSEd), (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Dummer) is an Emeritus Professor, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK, as well as a Past President of the European Society of Endodontology and a former Editor-in-Chief of the International Endodontic Journal


The Veterinary Shelf

Large Animal Neurology, third edition
Rob MacKay, author
Joe Mayhew, author
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119477037, $145.00, HC, 608pp

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Animal-Neurology-Rob-MacKay/dp/1119477034

Synopsis: A comprehensive and authoritative guide to neurologic disease in large domestic animals world-wide, this newly revised third edition of "Large Animal Neurology" by Joe Mayhew (Professor of Equine Studies at Massey University, New Zealand) and Rob MacKay (Professor of Large Animal Medicine at the University of Florida, USA) delivers a practical and complete reference for veterinarians, veterinary trainees and scientists dealing with large animal neurology.

Vividly illustrated in full color and containing many clinical photographs and detailed line drawings to highlight the concepts discussed within, "Large Animal Neurology" is deftly organized into three parts, offers practitioners and students straightforward guides on how to perform neurologic examinations for domestic large animal species, including neonates. It also discusses the presenting clinical syndromes caused by common nervous system diseases, as well as giving details of the specific neurologic diseases of large domestic animals.

"Large Animal Neurology" includes: A thorough introduction to the evaluation of large animal neurologic patients, including discussions of neuroanatomy, neurologic evaluation, ancillary diagnostic aids, and the important pathologic responses of the nervous system; Comprehensive exploration of 26 presenting clinical problems, including behaviour disorders, seizures, epilepsy, sleep disorders, blindness, strabismus, monoplegia, wobblers, tetraplegia, pruritus and cauda equina syndrome; Detailed coverage of the specific diseases, including those of genetic, infectious, nutritional, toxic and metabolic cause, and the many diseases with multifactorial and with unknown cause.

Critique: An ideal and comprehensive reference for all equine and farm animal veterinarians, veterinary neurologists, as well as trainees in the field, this newly updated and revised edition of "Large Animal Neurology" is also an indispensable resource for undergraduate veterinary students, animal pathologists, and neuroscience researchers. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, academic library Veterinary Medicine collections and curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Large Animal Neurology" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $116.00).


The Mathematics Shelf

Galois Theory, fifth edition
Ian Stewart
CRC Press
www.routledge.com
9781032101583 $66.95 pbk / $49.30 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Galois-Theory-Ian-Stewart/dp/103210158X

Synopsis: Since 1973, Galois theory has been educating undergraduate students on Galois groups and classical Galois theory. In Galois Theory, Fifth Edition, mathematician and popular science author Ian Stewart updates this well-established textbook for today's algebra students.

This bestseller continues to deliver a rigorous, yet engaging, treatment of the subject while keeping pace with current educational requirements. More than 200 exercises and a wealth of historical notes augment the proofs, formulas, and theorems. Digital resources are available for mathematics instructors at

https://www.routledge.com/Galois-Theory/Stewart/p/book/9781032101590

New to the Fifth Edition:

Reorganised and revised Chapters 7 and 13

New exercises and examples

Expanded, updated references

Further historical material on figures besides Galois: Omar Khayyam, Vandermonde, Ruffini, and Abel

A new final chapter discussing other directions in which Galois theory has developed: the inverse Galois problem, differential Galois theory, and a (very) brief introduction to p-adic Galois representations

Critique: In mathematics, the fundamental theorem of Galois theory connects field theory and group theory, enabling certain mathematical problems in field theory to be reduced to group theory, making the problems simpler and easier to understand. The fifth updated edition of the textbook Galois Theory is an invaluable teaching text and resource for instructors of undergraduate mathematics students. Featuring more than 200 exercises and historical notes to enhance understanding of the proofs, formulas, and theorems, the fifth edition of Galois Theory is a "must-have" for university library mathematics collections, and highly recommended for instructors or for self-study (provided that the self-motivated student already possesses the foundational mathematical knowledge of algebra and polynomial factorization). Highly recommended. It should be noted for personal reading lists that the fifth edition of Galois Theory is also available on Kindle ($49.30).


The Holocaust Studies Shelf

Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust
Laura Hilton, editor
Avinoam Patt, editor
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299328603, $34.95, PB, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Teaching-Holocaust-Goldberg-History/dp/0299328600

Synopsis: Few topics in modern history draw the attention that the Holocaust does. The Shoah has become synonymous with unspeakable atrocity and unbearable suffering. Yet it has also been used to teach tolerance, empathy, resistance, and hope.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by academicians Laura Hilton and Avinoam Patt, "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" provides a starting point for classroom teachers in many disciplines to illuminate this crucial event in world history for students. Using a vast array of source materials ranging from literature and film to survivor testimonies and interviews, the contributors to "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" effectively demonstrate how to guide students through these sensitive and painful subjects within their specific historical and social contexts.

Each individual chapter comprising "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" provides pedagogical case studies for teaching content such as antisemitism, resistance and rescue, and the postwar lives of displaced persons. Simply stated, "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" will transform how students learn about the Holocaust and the circumstances surrounding it.

Critique: A part of The Harvey Goldberg Series for Understanding and Teaching History from the University of Wisconsin Press, "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" features an informative Introduction (The Challenges and Necessity of Teaching the Holocaust in the Twenty-First Century), twenty erudite essays deftly organized into two major sections (Teaching Specific Content; Sources, Methods and Media for Teaching the Holocaust), a six page listing of the contributors and their credentials, and a twenty-five page Index. "Understanding and Teaching the Holocaust" is a timely and highly recommended contribution (given the current rise in Anti-Semitism at home and abroad) to personal, professional, college, and university library Holocaust Education collections.

Editorial Note #1: Laura Hilton (https://www.muskingum.edu/directory/hilton-laura) is a Professor of History at Muskingum University, where she has taught courses on the Holocaust for sixteen years.

Editorial Note #2: Avinoam Patt (https://languages.uconn.edu/person/avinoam-patt) is the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies and Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of Finding Home and Homeland: Jewish Youth and Zionism in the Aftermath of the Holocaust.


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
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Oregon, WI 53575-1129
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