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

Library Bookwatch

Volume 16, Number 7 July 2021 Home | LBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Parenting Shelf American History Shelf World History Shelf
Civil War Shelf Art Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Architecture Shelf Literary Fiction Shelf Romantic Fiction Shelf
Western Fiction Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Agriculture/Horticulture Shelf Political Science Shelf Audiobook Shelf
Library CD Shelf Cookbook Shelf Education Shelf
Health/Medicine Shelf Philosophy Shelf Jobs/Careers Shelf
Biography Shelf Holocaust Studies Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future
Martha Honey and Kelsey Frenkiel, editors
Island Press
www.islandpress.org
9781642830767 $37.00 pbk / $35.15 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Overtourism-Dr-Martha-Honey-PhD/dp/1642830763

Synopsis: Before COVID-19 hit, the biggest problem in the world of travel was overtourism. Crowds threatened to spoil natural environments and make daily life unbearable for residents of popular travel destinations. Then, seemingly overnight, tourism nearly ceased. Yet there is no question that travel will resume; the only question is, when it does, what will it look like? Will we return to a world of overrun monuments, littered beaches, and gridlocked city streets? Or can we do things differently this time?

Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future charts a path toward tourism that is not only sustainable but regenerative for the places we love and the people who live there. Bringing together tourism officials, city council members, travel journalists, consultants, scholars, and trade association members, this practical book explores overcrowding from a variety of perspectives. After examining the causes and effects of overtourism, it turns to management approaches in five distinct types of tourism destinations:

1. Historic cities;
2. National parks and protected areas;
3. World Heritage Sites;
4. Beaches and coastal communities; and
5. Destinations governed by regional and national authorities.

While each location presents its own challenges, common mitigation strategies are emerging. Visitor education, traffic planning, and redirection to lesser-known sites are among the measures that can protect the economic benefit of tourism without overwhelming local communities.

As tourism revives around the world, these innovations will guide government agencies, parks officials, site managers, civic groups, environmental NGOs, tourism operators, and others with a stake in protecting our most iconic places.

Critique: Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future is an anthology of scholarly essays by learned authors discussing the problems created by "overtourism" - unsustainable tourism that has detrimental effects upon the environment and the lives of local residents. What are the best models for sustainable tourism that provides economic benefit while conserving the environment? Individual writings focus on the challenges that specific popular tourism destinations have faced, around the world. The ramifications that the Covid pandemic has had and continues to have on the tourism industry are also discussed at length. An index rounds out this excellent and welcome contribution to college library Environmental Studies and Social Issues collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Overtourism is also available in a Kindle edition ($35.15).

"The Million Dead, Too, Summ'd Up"
Ed Folsom, author
Christopher Merrill, author
University of Iowa Press
119 West Park Road, Iowa City, IA 52242-1000
www.uiowapress.org
9781609387464, $35.00, PB, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dead-Too-Summd-Up/dp/1609387465

Synopsis: "The Million Dead, Too, Summ'd Up": Walt Whitman's Civil War Writings" is the first to offer a comprehensive selection of Walt Whitman's Civil War poetry and prose with a full commentary on each work. Ed Folsom and Christopher Merrill carry on a dialogue with Whitman (and with each other) as they invite readers to trace how Whitman's writing about the Civil War develops, shifts, and manifests itself in different genres throughout the years of the war. "The Million Dead, Too, Summ'd Up" offers forty selections of Whitman's war writings, including not only the well-known war poems but also his prose and personal letters. Each are followed by Folsom's critical examination and then by Merrill's afterword, suggesting broader contexts for thinking about the selection.

The real democratic reader, Whitman said, "must himself or herself construct indeed the poem, argument, history, metaphysical essay -- the text furnishing the hints, the clue, the start or frame-work," because what is needed for democracy to flourish is "a nation of supple and athletic minds." Folsom and Merrill model this kind of active reading and encourage both seasoned and new readers of Whitman's war writings to enter into the challenging and exhilarating mode of talking back to Whitman, arguing with him, and learning from him.

Critique: An erudite, eloquent, informative, thought-provoking, unique and inherently fascinating study, "The Million Dead, Too, Summ'd Up": Walt Whitman's Civil War Writings" is an outstanding and seminal contribution to the growing library of Whitman Studies literature. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college and university library American Poetry & Literary Criticism collections in general, and Walt Whitman supplemental studies curriculum reading lists, it should be noted for student, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Million Dead, Too, Summ'd Up" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.25).

Editorial Note #1: Ed Folsom is the Roy J. Carver professor of English at the University of Iowa, editor of the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, co-director of the online Whitman Archive, and editor of the Iowa Whitman Series at the University of Iowa Press. He is also the author or editor
of numerous books and essays on Whitman and other American writers.

Editorial Note #2: Christopher Merrill is the director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. He has published six collections of poetry, including Watch Fire, many edited volumes and books of translations, and six works of nonfiction, among them Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer
J. Michael Straczynski
BenBella Books
benbellabooks.com
9781950665884 $17.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Writer-Staying-Artistry-Storytelling/dp/1950665887

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author and British Academy Award nominee J. Michael Straczynski knew he wanted to be a writer ever since he was a child. What he didn't know was how to actually become, or stay, a writer.

Now, he's giving fellow writers the comprehensive guide he wishes he had all along, personalized tips and techniques that can't be found in any other book on writing.

Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer culls from Straczynski's more than thirty years of experience writing for film, television, books, and comics. Designed for writers in any stage of their career, this quirky, insightful and often humorous book provides an inside look at these industries with advice and wisdom covering such topics such as:

What fledgling writers need to know to improve and sell their work - and avoid wasting valuable time
Tips for experienced writers who want to get to the next level
Staying disciplined when writing is your day job
Why writers should never wait for inspiration
Story-planning strategies that don't kill your spontaneity
Expert techniques for effective, memorable world-building
How to get an agent and survive the writer's journey in more personal relationships
Revising and editing with precision
When and how to reinvent yourself as an artist

Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer includes Straczynski's unique, tried-and-true methodologies that will help storytellers sharpen their work so that it's polished and ready for publication. Part toolbox and part survival guide, this book will be an indispensable guide throughout your entire writing career, offering fresh and practical insights every step of the way.

Critique: A professional writer of thirty years' experience, J. Michael Straczynski presents the advice book for aspiring writers that he wished he could have read when he was young. Here are candid tips, tricks, and techniques for both the creative and the practical side of the business. From how to craft believable characters and revise one's work with high precision, to pitfalls to watch out for when trying to sell one's work, and much more, Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer is candid, thoroughly accessible, and an absolute "must-read" for aspiring and practicing professionals, and highly recommended for public and college library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).


The Social Issues Shelf

Domestic Violence
Frances T. Pilch, editor
Robert D. Reed Publishers
www.rdrpublishers.com
9781944297923 $11.95 pbk / $7.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Domestic-Violence-Janet-Kerr-MA/dp/1944297928

Synopsis: Beginning with a discussion of the magnitude of the problem of domestic violence, the authors present a fictional narrative of "Suzanne," whose relationship with her intimate partner dissolves into abuse and violence, both physical and emotional. What follows is expert commentary on her story by law enforcement, a judge and former district attorney, victim advocate, therapist, and survivor, which provide a unique exploration of the tragedy of abuse and potential means by which it can be addressed. The main theme of the book is the tendency to "blame the victim" for staying in an abusive relationship and the need to understand why leaving can be so difficult and dangerous.

Critique: Domestic Violence: Tragedy and Hope is an anthology of essays by a diversity of expert authors examining complex, difficult, and often tragic situations of domestic violence. A fictionalized case story of "Suzanne" provides a point of references for the methodical commentaries from the perspectives of law enforcement, judges and district attorneys, victim's advocates, and more. Domestic Violence: Tragedy and Hope is a critical-minded assessment of a deadly serious social issue, highly recommended for both public and college library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Domestic Violence: Tragedy and Hope is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism
Andrea L. Press and Francesca Tripodi
State University of New York Press
www.sunypress.edu
9781438481951 $95.00 hc
9781438481968 $32.95 pbk / $32.95 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Media-Ready-Feminism-Everyday-Sexism-Audiences/dp/1438481950

Synopsis: Feminism can reflect the cultural moment, especially as media appropriate and use feminist messaging and agenda to various ends. Yet media can also push boundaries, exposing audiences to ideas they may not be familiar with and advancing public acceptance of concepts once considered taboo. Moreover, audiences are far from passive recipients, especially in the digital age. In Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism, Andrea L. Press and Francesca Tripodi focus on how audiences across platforms not only consume but also create meanings sometimes quite transgressive meanings in engaging with media content.

If television shows such as Game of Thrones and Jersey Shore and dating apps such as Tinder are sites of persistent everyday sexism, then so, too, are they sites of what Press and Tripodi call "media-ready feminism." In developing a sociologically based conception of reception that encompasses media's progressive potential, as well as the processes of domestication through which audiences and users revert to more limited cultural schemas, Press and Tripodi make a vital contribution to gender and media studies, and help to illuminate the complexity of our current moment.

Critique: Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism is a thoughtful, scholarly examination of the impact of modern media from a feminist viewpoint. Chapter scrutinize the pervasive power of media content to spread messages, including both feminist and sexist messages. From television programs to social media and dating apps, Media-Ready Feminism explores concepts for applying media's potential to positively convey philosophies. Chapters focus upon the misogyny present in "Game of Thrones", how female sexuality is portrayed in media, how media's influence affects the discourse of balancing work and family obligations, the interplay of "hookup culture" and structural sexism, and more. Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism is highly recommended especially for public and college library Media Studies and Women's Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Media-Ready Feminism and Everyday Sexism is also available in a Kindle edition ($32.95).

Power to the Public
Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank
Princeton University Press
www.press.princeton.edu
9780691207759 $19.95 hc / $9.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Public-Promise-Interest-Technology/dp/0691207755

Synopsis: A powerful new blueprint for how governments and nonprofits can harness the power of digital technology to help solve the most serious problems of the twenty-first century

As the speed and complexity of the world increases, governments and nonprofit organizations need new ways to effectively tackle the critical challenges of our time from pandemics and global warming to social media warfare. In Power to the Public, Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank describe a revolutionary new approach public interest technology that has the potential to transform the way governments and nonprofits around the world solve problems. Through inspiring stories about successful projects ranging from a texting service for teenagers in crisis to a streamlined foster care system, the authors show how public interest technology can make the delivery of services to the public more effective and efficient.

At its heart, public interest technology means putting users at the center of the policymaking process, using data and metrics in a smart way, and running small experiments and pilot programs before scaling up. And while this approach may well involve the innovative use of digital technology, technology alone is no panacea and some of the best solutions may even be decidedly low-tech.

Clear-eyed yet profoundly optimistic, Power to the Public presents a powerful blueprint for how government and nonprofits can help solve society's most serious problems.

Critique: Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology is a scholarly discussion of an exciting new tool that governments and nonprofits can use to tackle the greatest problems of the modern era. The titular "public interest technology" refers to gathering input from users and recipients front and center when planning policy changes. Data and metrics should be intelligently harnessed to determine whether a given approach is wise, and small pilot programs should be tested before scaling up a possible approach. Although modern digital technology can be enormously useful, sometimes the best potential solutions are low-tech. Notes, a bibliography, a suggested reading selection and an index round out this "must-read" for policy- makers from local to national level and beyond. Highly recommended! It should be noted for personal reading lists that Power to the Public is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Bridge Builders
Nathan Bomey
Polity
politybooks.com
9781509545933 $25.00 hc / $15.00 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Builders-Bringing-Together-Polarized/dp/150954593X

Synopsis: In these turbulent times, defined by ideological chasms, clashes over social justice, and a pandemic intersecting with misinformation, Americans seem hopelessly divided along fault lines of politics, race, religion, class, and culture. Yet not everyone is accepting the status quo.

In Bridge Builders: Bringing People Together in a Polarized Age, journalist Nathan Bomey paints a forensic portrait of Americans who are spanning gaping divides between people of difference. From clergy fighting racism in Charlottesville to a former Republican congressman engaging conservatives on climate change and Appalachian journalists restoring social trust with the public, these countercultural leaders all believe in the power of forging lasting connections to bring about profound change. Though the blueprints for political, social, and cultural bridges vary widely, bridge builders have much in common and we have much to learn from them. In this book, Bomey dissects the transformational ways in which bridge builders are combating polarization by pursuing reconciliation, rejecting misinformation, and rethinking the principle of compromise.

Critique: Journalist Nathan Bomey presents Bridge Builders: Bringing People Together in a Polarized Age, a close portrayal of the qualities America needs most in this heavily politicized and polarized era. Here are true-life stories of Americans from opposing political backgrounds finding ideological common ground and working toward a better future. Chapters discuss the challenges of bridge-building when different parties may not necessarily agree on what is true, how misunderstandings can be resolved, and how a blueprint for compromise may be worked out. "The concept of mediating a conflict without first determining which side deserves the most blame is decidedly antithetical to our hot-take culture, which teaches us to point fingers and excoriate others for their failures. But the countercultural principles of mediation can serve as an effective antidote to the paralysis often caused by conflict." Bridge Builders is a welcome addition to public and college library Social Issues and Political Science shelves, highly recommended. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Bridge Builders is also available in a Kindle edition ($15.00).


The Parenting Shelf

Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Kids
Gary Quesenberry
YMAA Publications
PO Box 480, Wolfeboro, NH 03894-0480
www.ymaa.com
9781594398117, $18.95, PB, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/Spotting-Danger-Before-Spots-Your/dp/1594398119

Synopsis: The country becomes more challenging with such atrocities as school shootings and gun violence becoming commonplace. That's why parents need to take the time to prepare their children. Not in a threatening or scary way, but with "Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Kids: Teaching Situational Awareness To Keep Children Safe" by Gary Quesenberry in a way that is fun, engaging, and will give them the best possible chance of ensuring their own wellbeing.

"Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Kids is a book about presenting the concepts of situational awareness to children ages 5-12 in a way that will keep them engaged and help them take an active role in their own personal security. This thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional guide and manual shows how to use fun, interactive games to build situational awareness skills such as: How children can identify and understand normal environmental behaviors; How children can spot abnormal behaviors within their given environment; How to give children a plan and a means of avoidance or escape should a dangerous situation present itself.

Whether you're a parent, relative, or work in the childcare industry, the things you impart upon children will have a lasting impact on the way they live their lives. Nowhere is this more important than in the area of personal safety. As caregivers, we have a great responsibility for the security and well-being of our children, and to guide them along the path to independence. A child's future success will depend on their ability to interact with their surroundings and make sound decisions based on what they see. That's the foundation of situational awareness.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, comprehensively informative, impressively organized and presented, "Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Kids: Teaching Situational Awareness To Keep Children Safe" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to family and community library Parenting & Public Safety collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Spotting Danger Before It Spots Your Kids: Teaching Situational Awareness To Keep Children Safe" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.49).

Editorial Note: Gary Quesenberry is a US Army veteran and a career Federal Air Marshal. As a defensive tactics trainer for Federal and civilian services, he has devoted his life to studying the areas of violence and predatory behavior. Gary also serves as the CEO of Q-Series LLC and has developed numerous basic and advanced level training courses focused on mental toughness, marksmanship, and defensive tactics. He has an extensive background in domestic and foreign counter-terror training and has worked in both the private and corporate sectors to help educate others on the importance of situational awareness, and personal safety.


The American History Shelf

The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty
Rawn James, Jr.
University of Missouri Press
201 S. 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211
https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222299, $36.95, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Truman-Court-Law-Limits-Loyalty/dp/0826222293

Synopsis: Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Harry S. Truman's presidency is his judicial legacy, with even the finest of Truman biographies neglecting to consider the influence he had on the Supreme Court. Yet, as Rawn James Jr. lays out in engaging detail in the pages of "The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty", president Truman successfully molded the high court into a judicial body that appeared to actively support his administration's political agenda.

In rulings that sparked controversy in their own time, the Supreme Court repeatedly upheld Truman's most contentious policies, including actions to restrict free speech, expand civil rights, and manage labor union unrest.

"The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty" also argues that the years between FDR's death in 1945 and Chief Justice Earl Warren's confirmation in 1953 (the dawn of the Cold War) were, contrary to widespread belief, important years in Supreme Court history. Never before or since has a president so quickly and completely changed the ideological and temperamental composition of the Court. With remarkable swiftness and certainty, Truman constructed a Court on which he relied to lend constitutional credence to his political agenda.

Critique: Of special and timely interest given today's political climate and calls from some quarters for expanding the number of Supreme Court justices, "The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library American judicial history collections and supplemental studies curriculums. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $35.10).

Editorial Note: Rawn James, Jr. has practiced law in Washington, D.C. for 20 years. His previous books are Root and Branch: Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall and the Struggle to End Segregation and The Double V: How Wars, Protest and Harry Truman Desegregated America's Military.


The World History Shelf

American Women Report World War I
Chris Dubbs, editor
University of North Texas Press
http://untpress.unt.edu
9781574418255 $29.95 hc / $23.96 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/American-Women-Report-World-War/dp/1574418254

Synopsis: In the opening decades of the 20th century, war reporting remained one of the most well-guarded, thoroughly male bastions of journalism. However, when war erupted in Europe in August 1914, a Boston woman, Mary Boyle O'Reilly, became one of the first journalists to bring the war to American newspapers. A Saturday Evening Post journalist, Mary Roberts Rinehart, became the first journalist, of any country, of any gender, to visit the trenches. These women were only the first wave of female journalists who covered the conflict.

American Women Report World War I collects more than 35 of the best of their articles and those that highlight the richness of their contribution to the history of the Great War. Editor Chris Dubbs provides section introductions for background and context to stories such as "Woman Writer Sees Horrors of Battle," "Star Woman Runs Blockade," and "America Meets France."
The work of female journalists focuses more squarely on individuals caught in the conflict - including themselves. It offers a valuable counterpoint to the male, horror-of-the-trenches experience and demonstrates how World War I served as a catalyst that enabled women to expand the public forum for their opinions on social and moral issues.

Critique: American Women Report World War I: An Anthology of their Journalism gathers 35 of the most crucial articles written by female journalists during what was, at the time, called "The Great War". Editor Chris Dubbs adds contextual information about these intrepid women and the stories they wrote. A handful of vintage black-and-white photographs, a bibliography, and an index round out this invaluable contribution to public and college library journalism and world history collections. Highly recommended! It should be noted for personal reading lists that American Women Report World War I is also available in a Kindle edition ($23.96).

Old Testament Warriors
Simon Elliott
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612009544, $29.95, HC, 160pp

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Testament-Warriors-Cultures-Ancient/dp/1612009549

Synopsis: The historical period covered by the Old Testament (beginning in approximately 3000 BC) was one of great technological development and innovation in warfare, as competing cultures clashed in the ancient Middle East. The Sumerians were the first to introduce the use of bronze into warfare, and were centuries ahead of the Egyptians in the use of the wheel. The Assyrians developed chariot warfare and set the standard for a new equine-based military culture. The Babylonians had an army whose people were granted land in return for army service.

Deftly combining biblical records and archaeology findings, "Old Testament Warriors: The Clash of Cultures in the Ancient Near East" by Simon Elliott is an authoritative history that gives both academia and the non-specialist general reader an informative overview of warfare and fighting in the age of the Old Testament, from the Akkadians, Early and Middle Kingdom Egypt and their enemies, Mycenean and Minoan Greece and Crete, Assyrians and New Kingdom Egyptians, the Hittites, the Sea Peoples who gave rise to the Philistines, the Hebrew kingdom, the Babylonian kingdom, the Medes and later Persian Empires, through to early Classical Greece.

Of special note is how archaeologist and historian Simon Elliott deftly explores how archaeology can shed light on events in the Bible including the famous tumbling walls of Jericho, the career of David the boy warrior who faced the Philistines, and Gideon, who was able to defeat an army that vastly outnumbered his own.

Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of an informative Introduction and Conclusion, a Timeline, a two page Further Reading bibliography, a two page listing of Acknowledgments, and a three page Index, "Old Testament Warriors: The Clash of Cultures in the Ancient Near East" is highly and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Ancient Mesopotamian Military History collections and supplemental studies curriculums. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Old Testament Warriors: The Clash of Cultures in the Ancient Near East" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.49).

Editorial Note: Simon Elliott is an historian, archaeologist and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent where he studied for his PhD in Archaeology on the subject of the Roman military in Britain. He also has an MA in War Studies from KCL and an MA in Archaeology from UCL. He frequently gives talks on Roman themes and is co-Director at a Roman villa excavation.


The Civil War Shelf

Embattled Capital
Robert M. Dunkerly, author
Doug Crenshaw, author
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611214918, $14.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Richmond-During-Civil-War-Emerging/dp/1611214912

Synopsis: "On To Richmond!" proclaimed the editors for the New York Tribune in the spring of 1861. Thereafter, that call became the rallying cry for the North's eastern armies as they marched, maneuvered, and fought their way toward the capital of the Confederacy.

Just 100 miles from Washington, DC, Richmond served as a symbol of the rebellion itself. It was home to the Confederate Congress, cabinet, president, and military leadership. And it housed not only the Confederate government but also some of the Confederacy's most important industry and infrastructure. The city was filled with prisons, hospitals, factories, training camps, and government offices.

Through four years of war, armies battled at its doorsteps and even penetrated its defenses. Civilians felt the impact of war in many ways: food shortages, rising inflation, a bread riot, industrial accidents, and eventually, military occupation. To this day, the war's legacy remains deeply written into the city and its history.

"On to Richmond!: Richmond During the Civil War" by historians Doug Crenshaw and Robert M. Dunkerly tells the story of the Confederate capital before, during, and after the Civil War. This DIY guidebook includes a comprehensive list of places to visit: the battlefields around the city, museums, historic sites, monuments, cemeteries, historical preservation groups, and more.

Critique: Impressively informed and informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "On to Richmond!: Richmond During the Civil War" is a valued and enthusiastically recommended addition to community, college and university library American Civil War histories. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academicians, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "On to Richmond!: Richmond During the Civil War" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note #1: Robert M. Dunkerly is a historian, award-winning author, and speaker who is actively involved in historic preservation and research. He works as a park ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park. Among his several books are two in the ECW Series: To the Bitter End: Appomattox, Bennett Place, and the Surrenders of the Confederacy and No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign.

Editorial Note #2: Doug Crenshaw is a volunteer historic interpreter for the Richmond National Battlefield Park. A member of the Richmond Civil War Roundtable, he is a speaker, presenter, tour leader, and the author of books on Glendale and Fort Harrison. Doug is a descendant of the Sydnor family, which lived at Beaver Dam Creek during that battle, and the Binford family, which lived behind the Malvern Hill battlefield.


The Art Shelf

Object Lessons: Case Studies in Minimal Art
Martha Buskirk, et al.
Guggenheim Museum
c/o Distributed Art Publishers (DAP)
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9780892075560, $55.00, HC, 324pp

https://www.amazon.com/Object-Lessons-Guggenheim-Collection-Initiative/dp/0892075562

Synopsis: Based upon the research of the Panza Collection Initiative at the Guggenheim Museum, "Object Lessons: Case Studies in Minimal Art" is an ambitious, 10-year study project that focuses on four works by key figures of 1960s Minimalism and Conceptual art: Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Robert Morris and Lawrence Weiner.

Commentators and authors Francesca Esmay, Ted Mann and Jeffrey Weiss present each work from several vantages: an exhaustive chronological account conveys the surprisingly complicated history of the work's realization, acquisition, ownership and display. An overview addresses the broad practical and conceptual implications of this information for the historical identity of the work and its consequences for the work's future.

A conservation narrative establishes the role of fabricators and the material and technical standards for the production of the object. Together, the contributors explore how a previously unaddressed history of production, ownership and display has deeply influenced the life and legacy of the radical objects of Minimal art.

A separate section, with contributions by Martha Buskirk and Virginia Rutledge, examines the topic of decommission, a new category of collection classification for works that are contested or compromised and are therefore no longer viable for display.

Throughout, "Object Lessons: Case Studies in Minimal Art" is copiously illustrated with photographs of the works, the exhibitions in which they appeared, and related drawings and proposals. Rounding out this exceptional volume are extensive excerpts of new interviews with artists and fabricators, key historical documents and previously unpublished correspondence.

Critique: A seminal study of outstanding scholarship, informative insight, and instructive commentary, "Object Lessons: Case Studies in Minimal Art" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Conceptual Art History collections and supplemental studies curriculum reading lists.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home
Lynda V. Mapes
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781680513264, $34.95, HC, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Orca-Shared-Waters-Home/dp/1680513265

Synopsis: Orca whale J35, also known as "Tahlequah," gave birth in July of 2018 in the waters off British Columbia, but her calf died soon after, leading its mother to carry her for 17 days across 1000 miles before finally releasing the calf and rejoining her pod. This extraordinary and caring behavior sparked not only worldwide sympathy, but also a revival of our awareness of the critical need to preserve orcas, the chinook salmon they feed on, and their habitat that together make up the core of Pacific Northwest identity.

In the profusely illustrated pages of "Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home", journalist Lynda V. Mapes explores the natural history of the orca and the unique challenges for survival of the Southern Resident group that frequents Puget Sound. These whales are among the most urban in the world, a focus of researchers, tourists, and politicians alike. Once referred to as "blackfish" and still known as "killer whales," orcas were for generations regarded as vermin to be avoided or exterminated, then later were captured live for aquariums all over the world. With greater exposure, scientists realized how intelligent the mammal is and are learning about their matriarchal family groups, vocalizations, behavior, and different subspecies.

Today only 74 Southern Resident whales are left, and they are threatened by habitat degradation, lack of chinook salmon (their primary food source), relentless growth, and climate change. It is an open question as to wether this trend toward extinction can be reversed.

Critique: An extraordinarily informative and beautifully illustrated account, "Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home" is especially and unreservedly recommended, especially for personal, professional, community, college and university library Aquatic & Marine Wildlife collections.

Editorial Note #1: Lynda V. Mapes is a journalist, author, and close observer of the natural world. The Seattle Times has made a point of focusing on environmental issues for its readership; Lynda has been a key part in this effort, covering natural history, environmental topics and issues related to Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures. Her writing connects ordinary people and nature. In 1997, while working at the Spokesman Review in Spokane, Washington, she was awarded the Gerald Loeb award for a series on salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia Basin. It was the first time anyone looked at what the region had spent on recovery in the basin and what had resulted from those efforts. In addition to her newspaper career, she is the author of two books, Washington: The Spirit of the Land and Breaking Ground. Her first extended encounter with the Elwha ecosystem, dams, Port Angeles community and Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, this latter book laid an important groundwork of sources for reporting the forthcoming newspaper series and this proposed book on the Elwha.

Editorial Note #2: This special project, co-published with the Pulitzer Prize winning Seattle Times newspaper, features stunning imagery by Times photographer Steve Ringman, as well as from partner organizations including The Whale Museum, NOAA, and Center for Whale Research.


The Architecture Shelf

The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture
Manuel Gausa, author
Jordi Vivaldi, author
Actar D
c/o Actar Publishers
440 Park Avenue S, 17th FL, New York, NY 10016
http://actar.com
9781948765572, $44.95, PB, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/Threefold-Logic-Advanced-Architecture-Informational/dp/1948765578

Synopsis: During the last 30 years, Advanced Architecture has consolidated an interactive and informational logic that differs from that of Modernity and Postmodernity. This logic is threefold; it is modulated through three coexisting protocols (modes of action) whose peaks of intensity occur in three different decades.

"The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture: Conformative, Distributive and Expansive Protocols for an Informational Practice: 1990-2020" by the team of Manuel Gausa and Jordi Vivaldi proposes a threefold cultural narrative whose interactive and informational logic differs from that of modernity and postmodernity. It positions three different ethos by critically approaching the architectural side of a cultural mutation that has been affecting the Western experimental areas of knowledge and practice since the end of the last century.

A transformative process constituted by a constellation of transdisciplinary manifestations, accelerations, turns, shortcuts and clusterizations that by no means can be read under one single epistemological umbrella. In this sense, rather than approaching the practice of architecture focusing on its disciplinary inner specificity, "The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture" approaches the research of experimental architecture focusing on its extra-disciplinary entanglements.

"The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture" also argues that a vast multiplicity of fields of knowledge participates in a cultural endeavour modulated through three protocols (forms of action) that singularize three decades: Conformative Protocols (1990-2000), Distributive Protocols (2000-2010) and Expansive Protocols (2010-2020). These three periods shouldn't be read as three hermetic and concatenated monades, but as three different modulations of the same narrative, that is, as three overlapping and coexisting systems whose peaks of intensity occur in three different decades.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture: Conformative, Distributive and Expansive Protocols for an Informational Practice: 1990-2020" is an impressively informative and comprehensive study that must be considered an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, college and university library Contemporary Architectural Studies collections and supplement curriculum reading lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of architectural students, academia, and practicing architects that "The Threefold Logic of Advanced Architecture: Conformative, Distributive and Expansive Protocols for an Informational Practice: 1990-2020" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.49).

Editorial Note #1: Manuel Gausa PhD is a Full Professor of Architecture and Landscape Design, DSA- Faculty of Architecture (UNIGE-Universit… degli Studi) of Genova. He is also a Founding Member of Actar Architecture and Actar Projects Editorials.

Editorial Note #2: Jordi Vivaldi is a writer and theorist based in Vienna. PhD Architect (IOUD, Austria, 2014-18) and PhD Philosopher (EGS (cand.), Switzerland, 2018 - ...). Jordi's areas of research include 20th and 21st century's theory of experimental architecture and technology, as well as various forms of Speculative Realism and New Materialism. Besides his curatorial tasks as editor in chief of the architectural magazine "IaaC Bits", his work has crystallized in several articles, essays and lectures.

Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient
Fadi Masoud
Actar D
c/o Actar Publishers
440 Park Avenue S, 17th FL, New York, NY 10016
http://actar.com
9781948765381, $39.95, HC, 216pp

https://www.amazon.com/Terra-Sorta-Firma-Reclaiming-Littoral-Fadi-Masoud/dp/1948765381

Synopsis: For millennia and with the discovery of agriculture, cities have grown and expanded onto previously saturated grounds; "reclaiming" land from estuaries, marshes, mangroves, and seabeds. While these artificial coastlines are sites of tremendous real estate, civic, and infrastructural investments, they are also the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

"Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient" by Professor Fadi Masoud documents the global extent of reclaimed coastal lands, and provides a framework for comparison across varying geographies, cultures, and histories. It renders visible the ubiquity and precarity of urban coastal reclamation in an age of increased environmental and economic indeterminacy. It challenges designers, developers, policymakers, engineers, and urbanists to reconsider the design and construction of land itself, and to re-imagine this most fundamental of all infrastructures along a gradient of inundation.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient" is a seminal work of simply outstanding scholarship. Exceptionally informative, well written, organized and presented, "Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university library Coastal Ecosystems, Landscape Architecture, and Urban & Land Use Planning collections and supplemental studies curriculums. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, professionals, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.95).

Editorial Note: Fadi Masoud is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the Daniels Faculty. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, Masoud was a Lecturer in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and an affiliated faculty with the MIT Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, where he co-led research and design projects on coastal urbanism, urban codes, and the Future of Suburbia.

Towers in the City: Berlin Alexanderplatz
Hans Kollhoff, author
Kyle Dugdale, editor
Yale School of Architecture
c/o Actar Publishers
440 Park Avenue S, 17th FL, New York, NY 10016
http://actar.com
9781638409021, $20.00, PB, 156pp

https://www.amazon.com/Towers-City-Alexanderplatz-Hans-Kollhoff/dp/1638409021

Synopsis: Deftly edited by Kyle Dugdale, "Towers in the City: Berlin Alexanderplatz" by architect and academician Hans Kollhoff examines the tower as the architectural expression of a long-term commitment to the city of Berlin, arguing that development must be driven not only by property value and architectural ingenuity but also by a responsibility to collective memory and to a common humanity.

These public commitments find architectural expression in a tectonic radically different to that of contemporary patterns of development. Taking Berlin's Alexanderplatz as an opportunity for studying the role of the skyscraper within the urban fabric, the volume presents a series of prompts, provocations, and projects to address the challenge of designing a tower that can be understood as a monolithic whole, even if it is assembled from discrete parts.

Critique: A profusely illustrated, informative, and thought-provoking study, "Towers in the City: Berlin Alexanderplatz" is a seminal and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, college and university library Contemporary Architecture collections and supplemental studies curriculum reading lists.

Editorial Note #1: Hans Kollhoff is a German architect and professor. He is a representative of Postmodern and New Classical Architecture, as well as a protagonist of New Urbanism.

Editorial Note #2: Kyle Dugdale is an architect and historian. He has taught history, theory, and design at Yale School of Architecture and at Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He holds an undergraduate degree in classics from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, a professional degree in architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design, and a doctorate from Yale.


The Literary Fiction Shelf

American Orphan
Jimmy Santiago Baca
Arte Publico Press
University of Houston
4902 Gulf Freeway, Bldg 19, Rm 100, Houston, TX 77204-2004
www.artepublicopress.com
9781558859128, $18.95, PB, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/American-Orphan-Baca/dp/1558859128

Synopsis: "There's no way you can do this reentry thing," Orlando Lucero tells himself after getting out of prison. He has spent most of his life institutionalized, first in an orphanage and then in the Denver Youth Authority for smuggling weed. Orlando knows nothing about freedom. What does one do with it? What is it?

His brother promised to teach him the carpentry trade, but Orlando quickly discovers Camilo is like their parents an addict, robbing and stealing to feed his habit. So he turns to Lila, his prison pen pal who encouraged both his poetry writing and sexual fantasies. Soon he moves in with her and engages in the acts he dreamed about while incarcerated, but living the straight life seems impossible. "Freedom is full of hazards, lots of sharp edges, and they cut me at every turn." As he is sucked back into a life of crime, he can't help but think going back to prison would be a relief.

In "American Orphan", renowned poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca explores in lyrical prose one young man's attempts to break free from the cycle of addiction, violence and abuse that contributed to his imprisonment and impede his search for happiness and a productive life. In a society that considers him a criminal because of his brown skin, and where those in authority including a parade of priests when he was just a boy take advantage of him, Orlando must learn to believe in himself against all the odds, in spite of the institutionalized racism he has endured since boyhood.

Critique: A masterpiece of deftly crafted literary fiction that packs an impressive and memorable emotional punch for the reader, "American Orphan" clearly showcases author Jimmy Santiago Baca's storytelling telling talents as a novelist. An exceptional work of Hispanic Cultural Heritage fiction, "American Orphan" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections.

Editorial Note: An award-winning poet, essayist and novelist, Jimmy Santiago Baca's books include Laughing in the Light (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2020), When I Walk through That Door, I Am: An Immigrant Mother's Quest (Beacon Press, 2019), Healing Earthquakes (Grove Press, 2007) and A Place to Stand (Grove Press, 2002). The recipient of numerous awards including the American Book Award and a Pushcart Prize, Baca lives and works in his native New Mexico.

Hieroglyphics
Jill McCorkle
Algonquin Books
PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2225
www.algonquin.com
9781616209728, $19.99, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hieroglyphics-Jill-McCorkle/dp/1616209720

Synopsis: Lil and Frank married young, launched into courtship when they bonded over how they both (suddenly, tragically) lost a parent when they were children. Over time, their marriage grew and strengthened, with each still wishing for so much more understanding of the parents they'd lost prematurely.

Now, after many years in Boston, they've retired to North Carolina. There, Lil, determined to leave a history for their children, sifts through letters and notes and diary entries -- perhaps revealing more secrets than Frank wants their children to know.

Meanwhile, Frank has become obsessed with what might have been left behind at the house he lived in as a boy on the outskirts of town, where a young single mother, Shelley, is just trying to raise her son with some sense of normalcy. Frank's repeated visits to Shelley's house begin to trigger memories of her own family, memories that she'd hoped to keep buried. Because, after all, not all parents are ones you wish to remember.

Critique: A deftly crafted work that is especially recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections, "Hieroglyphics" reveals the difficulty of ever really knowing the intentions and dreams and secrets of the people who raised you. In her deeply layered and masterful novel, Jill McCorkle deconstructs and reconstructs what it means to be a father or a mother, and what it means to be a child piecing together the world around us, a child learning to make sense of the hieroglyphics of history and memory.

A truly memorable read, and readily available for personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9781643751382, $15.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), "Hieorglyphics" is one of those novels that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf.


The Romantic Fiction Shelf

Love in Lavender Lane
Jill Barry
Linford Romance
c/o Ulverscroft Publishing
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444847338 $TBA

https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444847338

Synopsis: Fiona exchanges her quiet suburban world for 1970s London when she inherits her great-aunt's marriage bureau near Marble Arch. But she has never been truly in love, so it's going to be a challenge arranging perfect pairings for her starry-eyed clients... While Fiona's busy interviewing and arranging introductions, how will she ever find time to make her own dream come true? And could it be that she and her most difficult client to match are actually meant for one another?

Critique: Available in reader-friendly large print, Love in Lavender Lane is a heartwarming romance set in 1970s London. When Fiona inherits her great-aunt's marriage bureau near Marble Arch, she takes on the challenge of running a matchmaking business when she personally has never experienced true love. How can Fiona balance her work responsibilities and make her own dream of finding the right life partner come true? And... could her most difficult client, who seems to be a match for no one else, be the right match for her? Love in Lavender Lane is an excellent pick for lending libraries and romance novel connoisseurs alike, highly recommended.

Wedding Date with the Billionaire
Andrea Bolter
Mills & Boon
c/o HarperCollins
https://www.harpercollins.com
9780263290011 $TBA hc
9780263298956 $13.39 pbk / $2.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Date-Billionaire-Harlequin-Romance-ebook/dp/B08CSQ7H YV

Synopsis: Best man Kento Yamamoto and maid of honor Erin Barclay are thrown together at a luxury wedding years after their heartbreaking split. Now the fire between them is set ablaze once more. Tech billionaire Kento's no longer the penniless student Erin's controlling parents snubbed. Can she finally find the courage to break free from their hold? And could a cunning recoupling of convenience pave the way to something unexpected but breathtakingly real?

Critique: Available in reader-friendly large print, Wedding Date with the Billionaire is a sweeping romance about reunion after a heart-rending breakup. Best man Kento Yamamoto and maid of honor Erin Barclay see one another for the first time in years after their ill-fated relationship crumbled. Kento is now a tech billionaire, and not the penniless student that Erin's control-freak parents soundly rejected - but the root of their breakup involved far more than money. Erin is still dominated by her parents; is there any hope that she and Kento can rekindle their love? A poignant, character-driven romance, Wedding Date with the Billionaire is highly recommended for connoisseurs of the genre, and sure to prove a popular lending library pick. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Wedding Date with the Billionaire is also available in a Kindle edition ($2.99).


The Western Fiction Shelf

Return to Blood Creek
Frank Callan
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444846713, $22.50, PB, Large Print, 216pp

https://www.amazon.com/Return-Blood-Creek-Frank-Callan/dp/144484671X

Synopsis: When the Kenny brothers break out of jail, Deputy Sheriff Ben Stile takes after them, but at that moment Cal Roney, Pinkerton detective, is riding into town and takes a bullet meant for Stile. He is nursed back to health by Emilia Stile and Doc Dan Heath. But in his fever, Cal speaks his real name: one that strikes hatred into the hearts of everyone in Long Corral. Cal's secret past catches up with him, leading to a final and bloody showdown.

Critique: A superbly crafted and compelling western novel by a master of this action/adventure genre, this large print paperback edition of Frank Callan's "Return to Blood Creek" is especially recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated gun smoke western fans, and will prove to be a very welcome addition to community library Western Fiction collections.

Bounty By Chance
J. L. Guin
Lindord Western Library
Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444846737, $22.50, PB, Large Print, 265pp

https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444846737

Synopsis: Jeremiah Hackett is a young man who teams up with huckster George Finimin, a tonic salesman. When Finimin is brutally murdered in front of him, Jeremiah kills two of the three murders and then dedicates himself to a vengeance quest seeking out the third killer. But things do not prove straightforward for Jeremiah, and he needs to mature and learn some harsh lessons before he can finally achieve his aim. Along the way he is joined by a young man named Lester in an incident that results in him becoming a most unusual kind of bounty hunter.

Critique: J. L. Guin is a master storyteller and "Bounty By Chance" is another of his impressively original but action packed western stories in this large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Library series that will prove to be a welcome and prized addition to both the personal reading lists of dedicated western fans and community library Western Fiction collections.

The Lords of the Plains
Paul Bedford
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444846744, $22.50, PB, Large Print, 232pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Plains-Paul-Bedford/dp/1444846744

Synopsis: Originally hired on to secure buffalo meat for railroad work crews, after an Indian attach on the railroad crew Josiah Wakefield and his friend Dan Sturgis are promoted to be troubleshooters for the Union Pacific Railroad. That's when the pair discover that someone is supplying Sioux warriors with repeating rifles, and that stolen strongbox filled with 'Double Eagles' is tied up with corruption at the very top of the Union Pacific. Recovering the gold turns out to be simple -- but keeping hold of it is something else entirely. Unsure who they can trust, they return to the railhead. Here, they make a stand against all comers, in the hope that they can finally bring the ringleader to account.

Critique: Another rousing great western novel by one of the true masters of the genre, Paul Bedford's "The Lords of the Plains" is a riveting and entertaining read from beginning to end. This large print edition from the Linford Western Library series is particularly and unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of all dedicated western action/adventure fans and community library Western Fiction collections.

Revenge at Powder River
John McNally
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444846690, $22.50, PB, Large Print, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Powder-River-John-McNally/dp/1444846698

Synopsis: Sam Heggarty returns home to hunt for the heartless gunmen who robbed and executed his father. As he makes his way back, he witnesses another murder and stumbles across a clue to the people responsible for his father's death. He discovers that the one person who may hold the key to the identity of his father's murderers is someone that everyone else is intent on killing. With the help of an Indian, a pegleg marshal, a couple of neighbors, Heggarty will have to save the life of a man involved in his father's death if he is to find who is involved and deserving of gun smoke justice.

Critique: A ripping great read with more unexpected plot twists and turns than the Colorado River in full flood, this large print paperback edition of "Revenge at Powder River" perfectly showcases the narrative storytelling style of western action/adventure novelist John McNally and a highly recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library collections.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Tom Clancy's Op-Center: The Black Order
Created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik
Written by Jeff Rovin
St Martin's Group
www.stmartins.com
9781250222343 $17.99 pbk / $11.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Clancys-Op-Center-Black-Order/dp/1250222346

Synopsis: In a plot ripped from today's headlines, America's elite task force must take down a group of ruthless domestic terrorists determined to paralyze the country through extreme acts of violence in this action-packed new thriller in the bestselling Tom Clancy's Op-Center series.

They are known as the Black Order. Self-proclaimed patriots and survivalists, they refuse to surrender their values and beliefs to the left-leaning cultural and progressive forces threatening their nation. Military veterans and high-tech specialists, they've begun a savage war which includes public assassinations of politicians and celebrities and high-profile bombings, striking without warning or mercy. The Black Order wants nothing less than complete capitulation by the US government, giving them free rein to make their ideologies the law of the land.

Only Op-Center's Black Wasp, a skilled team of military operatives answerable to the President, can defeat these militant revolutionaries. But even as Admiral Chase Williams and his agents force them on the run, the Black Order possesses a weapon of mass destruction that they will not hesitate to unleash against millions of innocent civilians.

Critique: Tom Clancy's Op-Center: The Black Order is a thrilling novel about American domestic terrorism masquerading as claims of patriotism. The Black Order consists of military veterans and high-tech specialists who assassinate politicians, celebrities, and civilians without mercy, in a vicious crusade to overthrow the American government. The Black Wasp, a trained team of military specialists, are America's final line of defense, tasked with wresting a weapon of mass destruction from the Black Order before apocalypse falls! Riveting to the very end, Tom Clancy's Op-Center: The Black Order is enthusiastically recommended for genre connoisseurs and public library military fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Tom Clancy's Op-Center: The Black Order is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.99).


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland
Jonathan Green
Winged Hussar Publishing
www.wingedhussarpublishing.com
9781909679818, $42.62, HC, 402pp

https://www.amazon.com/Alices-Nightmare-Wonderland-Jonathan-Green/dp/1909679593

Synopsis: Several years after the events of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass", Alice once again finds herself back in Wonderland and called upon to save the world of playing cards and talking animals from the increasingly deranged Queen of Hearts. But all is not as it first appears in the fluctuating dream world and soon Alice is battling to save herself from the nightmare that is rapidly overtaking the realm.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Alice hadn't drunk from the bottle labeled 'Drink Me', or if she hadn't joined the Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse for tea? Well now you can find out in "Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland" by Jonathan Green where you as the reader will decide which route Alice should take, which perils to risk, and which of Wonderland's strange denizens to fight.

But be warned -- whether Alice succeeds in her quest or meets a dire end as the nightmare escalates will be down to the choices you as the reader will make as you, along with Alice, go back down the rabbit-hole!

Critique: Using a 'choose your own adventure' storytelling style, "Alice's Nightmare In Wonderland" can be read over and over again with great and cliff-hanger style enjoyment by fantasy enthusiasts of all ages. While very highly recommended for community library Dark Fantasy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated Alice in Wonderland fans that "Alice's Nightmare In Wonderland" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781909679597, $19.95).

The Blacktongue Thief
Christopher Buehlman
Tor
www.tor-forge.com
9781250621191 $25.99 hc / $13.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Blacktongue-Thief-1/dp/1250621194

Synopsis: Set in a world of goblin wars, stag-sized battle ravens, and assassins who kill with deadly tattoos, Christopher Buehlman's The Blacktongue Thief begins a 'dazzling' (Robin Hobb) fantasy adventure unlike any other.

Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path.

But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark.

Galva is a knight, a survivor of the brutal goblin wars, and handmaiden of the goddess of death. She is searching for her queen, missing since a distant northern city fell to giants.

Unsuccessful in his robbery and lucky to escape with his life, Kinch now finds his fate entangled with Galva's. Common enemies and uncommon dangers force thief and knight on an epic journey where goblins hunger for human flesh, krakens hunt in dark waters, and honor is a luxury few can afford.

Critique: The Blacktongue Thief is a fast-paced fantasy adventure about a thief, Kinch Na Shannack, who owes the "Takers Guild" that trained him a modest-sized fortune. Kinch joins forces with Galva, a knight who survived the deadly goblin wars, on a quest to find her missing queen. An action-packed saga of fantastic beasts, man-eating goblins, and the otherworldly equivalent of student loans that can't be discharged through bankruptcy, The Blacktongue Thief is highly recommended for connoisseurs of the genre and public library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that The Blacktongue Thief is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.99).


The Agriculture/Horticulture Shelf

A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides, second edition
Richard Latin
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
www.shopapspress.org
9780890546734, $215.00, HC, 353pp

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Turfgrass-Fungicides-Second/dp/0890546738

Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded second edition, "A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides" by Richard Latin (Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana) is a current, comprehensive, and hands-on resource focused specifically on the fungicides used for disease control on turfgrass.

Professor Latin developed "A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides" to be a thoroughly 'user-friendly' guide based on his belief that if turf managers understand how and why fungicides work (and sometimes fail), they will use these products more effectively and efficiently and communicate disease control issues with greater confidence.

Professor Latin describes this combination instructional guide and manual as "an off-season resource" that can be used to reflect on past seasons and plan for the season ahead.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "A Practical Guide to Turfgrass Fungicides" is an impressively comprehensive, nicely illustrated, and informative textbook that is especially and unreservedly recommended for professional, college and university library Agriculture/Horticulture collections and supplemental studies curriculums.


The Political Science Shelf

Diplomacy and the Future of World Order
Chester A. Crocker, et al.
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
www.press.georgetown.edu
9781647120931, $110.95, HC, 376pp

https://www.amazon.com/Diplomacy-Future-World-Chester-Crocker/dp/1647120934

Synopsis: Diplomacy in pursuit of peace and security today faces severe challenges that had not been seen in decades. The reemergence of strong authoritarian states, discord in the UN Security Council, destabilizing transnational non-state actors, diminishing space for civil society within states, and the weakening of the international liberal order all present new obstacles to diplomacy.

In "Diplomacy and the Future of World Order", an international group of academicians, political scientists, and other experts confronts these challenges to peace and conflict diplomacy -- defined as the effort to manage others' conflicts, cope with great power competition, and deal with threats to the state system itself. In doing so, they consider three potential scenarios for world order where key states decide to go it alone, return to a liberal order, or collaborate on a case-by-case basis to address common threats and problems.

These three scenarios are then evaluated through the prism of regional perspectives from around the world and for their potential ramifications for major security threats including peacekeeping, nuclear nonproliferation, cyber competition, and terrorism. Editors Chester A. Crocker ( James R. Schlesinger Professor of the Practice of Strategic Studies at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University), Fen Osler Hampson (Chancellor's Professor and professor of international affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and president of the World Refugee and Migration Council), and Pamela Aall (senior advisor for conflict prevention and management at the United States Institute of Peace) conclude the volume by identifying emerging types of diplomacy that may form the foundation for global peacemaking and conflict management in an uncertain future.

Critique: A fully absorbing and informative study, "Diplomacy and the Future of World Order" is a timely and seminal study that should be considered as an essential, core addition to community, governmental, college, and university library Contemporary International Diplomacy collections in general, and National/International Security supplemental studies curriculums in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Diplomacy and the Future of World Order" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781647120948, $36.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.99).


The Audiobook Shelf

Drunk
Edward Slingerland, author
Jordan Benlevi, narrator
Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781713587378, $38.99, MP3-CD (11 Hours, 30 Minutes)

https://www.amazon.com/Drunk-Sipped-Danced-Stumbled-Civilization/dp/1713587378

Synopsis: Offering a comprehensive, convincing answer to the basic question of why humans want to get high in the first place. "Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization" by Professor Edward Slingerland elegantly cuts through the tangle of urban legends and anecdotal impressions that surround our notions of intoxication to provide the first rigorous, scientifically-grounded explanation for our love of alcohol.

Drawing on evidence from archaeology, history, cognitive neuroscience, psychopharmacology, social psychology, literature, and genetics, Slingerland shows that our taste for chemical intoxicants is not an evolutionary mistake, as we are so often told. In fact, intoxication helps solve a number of distinctively human challenges: enhancing creativity, alleviating stress, building trust, and pulling off the miracle of getting fiercely tribal primates to cooperate with strangers.

Our desire to get drunk, along with the individual and social benefits provided by drunkenness, played a crucial role in sparking the rise of the first large-scale societies. We would not have civilization without intoxication.

From marauding Vikings and bacchanalian orgies to sex-starved fruit flies, blind cave fish, and problem-solving crows, "Drunk" is simply packed with fascinating case studies and engaging science, as well as practical takeaways for individuals and communities. The result is a captivating and long overdue investigation into humanity's oldest indulgence -- and one that explains not only why we want to get drunk, but also how it might actually be good for us to tie one on now and then.

Critique: A unique and inherently fascinating history of alcohol usage and its relationship to human civilizations over the past several millennia and around the world, this complete and unabridged audio book edition of "Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization" is ably narrated by Jordan Benievi and will prove to be an immediately popular and enduringly appreciated addition to personal listening lists, as well as community, college, and university library Evolutionary Psychology, Civilization, and Cultural History collections.

Editorial Note: Edward Slingerland is a Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia. In addition to academic journal articles in a wide range of fields, Professor Slingerland has written several scholarly books, including What Science Offers the Humanities, Mind and Body in Early China, and a translation of the Analects of Confucius. He maintains an informative UBC homepage at http://eslingerland.arts.ubc.ca/


The Library CD Shelf

Serendipity
John Stein
Whaling City Sound
https://whalingcitysound.com
$16.99 CD / $8.99 MP3

https://www.amazon.com/Serendipity-John-Stein/dp/B0942DW48Z

Serendipity is an album recorded of a live jazz concert, featuring Jon Stein on guitar, Ed Lucie on bass guitar, and Mike Connors on drums. Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the concert was broadcast virtually, yet its conditions were deliberately similar to playing to a full house. There were no second takes, no overdubs, and no corrections; just a pure, passionate performance. An upbeat, vivacious album superbly capturing the spirit of the stage, Serendipity is highly recommended. The tracks are "Alfie's Theme", "On Green Dolphin Street", "Well, You Needn't", "Labor of Love", "Insensatez (How Insensitive)", "Bing Bang Boom!", "Elvin!", "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", and "Happy Hour".

Carolina Child
Ric Robertson
ricrobertsonmusic.com
Free Dirt Records
freedirt.net
$14.98 CD / $8.99 MP3

https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Child-Ric-Robertson/dp/B093RHMFF8

Singer-songwriter Ric Robertson presents Carolina Child, an original album fusing elements of jazz, funk, and country into a unique Americana perspective. Carolina is emotional and compelling; the songs range from wistful reflections on love to a metaphorical appreciation of the natural world's perseverance. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Getting Over Our Love", "Harmless Feeling", "Carolina Child", "Sycamore Hill", "Thinkin' About You", "Anna Rose", "My Love Never Sleeps", "I Don't Mind", "Rollin' River", and "Julie".


The Cookbook Shelf

Reader's Digest Plant Based Health Basics
Reader's Digest Press, editor
c/o Trusted Media Brand
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781621455516, $19.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Readers-Digest-Plant-Health-Basics/dp/1621455513

Synopsis: "Reader's Digest Plant Based Health Basics: Nourish Your Body and Brain with Grains, Vegetables, and More" is a compendium of information and recipes on plant-based eating for middle America, using familiar, easy-to-find ingredients to help readers eat more healthfully.

Eating a diet higher in plant foods and lower in animal products has been shown to provide many health benefits, including reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes as well as aiding in weight loss. Dietary guidelines and recommendations from nutrition experts reflect this, encouraging the adoption of diets such as the Mediterranean, Flexitarian, Vegan or DASH diet that are heavy on fruits and vegetables and reduce or restrict the consumption of meat and meat products.

Whether folks are choosing to boost their nutritional intake by consuming more plants within their meat-based diets, or avoid animal product once a week such as Meatless Mondays, or go all out vegan, they need support in starting out with this new way of eating. Understanding the importance of the nutrients in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will help the reader grasp why eating more plants will improve their overall health.

This A-Z comprehensive guide lays out all the nutrients and other compounds currently known to researchers that help fight disease. It includes: A guide to the powerful disease-zapping nutrients in more than 40 superstar foods, from apples to winter squash, with tips on how to maximize their dietary benefits and tasty ways to include them in your daily diet; A specific food arsenal to manage and prevent more than 50 common ailments, from asthma to osteoporosis; 90 delicious disease-combating recipes, including appetizers, main courses, and desserts, that make it easy to eat for good health; A new introduction explaining how whole food plant-based eating promotes health and prevents and/or reverses diseases.

Of special note is the inclusion of recent research boxes highlighting the latest studies that show the health effects of eating a fruits/veggie dense diet on health conditions

Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, "Reader's Digest Plant Based Health Basics: Nourish Your Body and Brain with Grains, Vegetables, and More" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99). Thoroughly 'user friendly' in style, organization and presentation, "Reader's Digest Plant Based Health Basics: Nourish Your Body and Brain with Grains, Vegetables, and More" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, family, and community library Vegetarian Cookbook collections. I

Editorial Note: Founded in 1922 by DeWitt and Lila Wallace, Reader's Digest is recognized worldwide and today reaches an audience of more than 25 million in the United States. Serving up a mix of moving stories and trusted information (often told with a good dash of fun), Reader's Digest aims to inspire the good in people and families everywhere.

Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook
Taste of Home, editor
c/o Trusted Media Brand
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781621455318, $19.99, PB, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Farm-Table-Cookbook/dp/1621455319

Synopsis: "Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook: 279 Recipes that Make the Most of the Season's Freshest Foods - All Year Long!" is an impressive culinary compendium of recipes that will allow kitchen cooks and their families to relish the goodness of garden fresh foods and make the most of their garden and their farmer's market finds all year long.

Have a bumper crop of tomatoes? Need to use up some rhubarb? Craving blueberry muffins or peach preserves? Simply turn to the mouth-watering ideas in "Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook" where each of the 279 sensational recipes it showcases take full advantage of fresh produce all year long. From apples to zucchini and from appetizers to main courses (and, of course, all those wonderful desserts), "Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook" is colorful collection of dining and menu ideas that will deliver wholesome specialties to your table every day.

Critique: Enhanced with full color photography throughout, and featuring thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly" step-by-step instructions for each recipe, "Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook: 279 Recipes that Make the Most of the Season's Freshest Foods - All Year Long!" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to every personal, professional, family and community library cookbook collection. It should be noted that "Taste of Home Farm to Table Cookbook: 279 Recipes that Make the Most of the Season's Freshest Foods - All Year Long!" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note: Taste of Home is the leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining, serving home cooks engaging media that capture the joy and comfort received from food that's made with love. Taste of Home magazine has a circulation of 3.5 million and publishes best-selling cookbooks; popular bookazines; and engaging newsstand specials.


The Education Shelf

Schooling Teachers
Megan Blumenreich and Bethany L. Rogers
Teachers College Press
www.tcpress.com
9780807764688 $36.95 pbk / $31.49 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Schooling-Teachers-America-Teacher-Education/dp/080776468X

Synopsis: Schooling Teachers tackles the perennial and pressing issue of how this nation will attract, prepare, and retain high-quality teachers for all students, particularly those in our most challenging classrooms.

Drawing on participant voices from the inaugural 1990 cohort of Teach For America, this book situates their experiences within the larger context of teacher education and reform of the last three decades. Through an investigation of one of the more influential departures from traditional teacher preparation during this period, the authors examine the "teacher problem" and illustrate why solutions remain elusive and limited.

This book moves beyond the purported dichotomy between university-based teacher education and alternatives such as Teach For America to consider their common challenges, suggesting a starting place from which to create a future of more effective teacher preparation.

Critique: Schooling Teachers: Teach for America and the Future of Teacher Education is a practical-minded examination of how to attract, prepare, and retain high-quality teachers in America. Chapters scrutinize the 1990 cohort of Teach for America, in the context of efforts to train and improve teachers from the 1990's to the present. Extensive notes and an index round out this thoughtful, methodical, and highly recommended study. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Schooling Teachers is also available in ta Kindle edition ($31.49).

Teaching Race in Perilous Times
Jason E. Cohen, editor
Sharon D. Raynor, editor
Dwayne A. Mack, editor
State University of New York Press
State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246-0001
www.sunypress.edu
9781438482255, $95.00, HC, 352pp

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Perilous-Critical-Studies-Education/dp/1438482256

Synopsis: The college classroom is inevitably influenced by, and in turn influences, the world around it. In the United States, this means the complex topic of race can come into play in ways that are both explicit and implicit. "Teaching Race in Perilous Times" highlights and confronts the challenges of teaching race in the United States -- from syllabus development and pedagogical strategies to accreditation and curricular reform.

Comprised of fifteen original essays, the contributors to "Teaching Race in Perilous Times" draw on their experiences teaching in different institutional contexts and adopt various qualitative methods from their home disciplines to offer practical strategies for discussing race and racism with students while also reflecting on broader issues in higher education. The contributors also examine how teachers can respond productively to emotionally charged contexts, recognize the roles and pressures that faculty assume as activists in the classroom, focus a timely lens on the shifting racial politics and economics of higher education, and call for a more historically sensitive reading of the pedagogies involved in teaching race.

"Teaching Race in Perilous Times" offers a corrective to claims following the 2016 US presidential election that the current moment is unprecedented, highlighting the pivotal role of the classroom in contextualizing and responding to our perilous times.

Critique: An ideal curriculum textbook, "Teaching Race in Perilous Times" is an especially recommended addition to college and university Cultural Anthropology collections in general, and Higher Education/Continuing Education supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students and academia that "Teaching Race in Perilous Times" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781438482262, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.55).

Editorial Note: Jason E. Cohen Associate Professor of English at Berea College. Sharon D. Raynor is Dean of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and Professor of English at Elizabeth City State University. Dwayne A. Mack is Professor of History and Carter G. Woodson Chair in African American History at Berea College.

Talent Development in School
Julie Dingle Swanson, editor
Meta Van Sickle, editor
Prufrock Press
PO Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714-8813
www.prufrock.com
9781646321223, 39.95, PB, 275pp

https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Development-School-Implementing-Identification/dp/1646321227

Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Julie Dingle Swanson and Meta Van Sickle "Talent Development in School: An Educator's Guide to Implementing a Culturally Responsive Talent Identification and Development Program" is specifically designed to help educators utilize research-based curriculum and strategies to implement talent development in the classroom.

Talent Development in School" is a practical guide that: Focuses on a talent development model that is centered on teacher learning; Highlights talent development's impact on culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse learners; Details how to apply the talent development model in one's school or district and opening access and opportunity to all students: Reviews current theories, concepts, and research on talent development in the field of gifted education;

Perfect for teachers, coordinators, and administrators, "Talent Development in School" also features techniques for culturally responsive teaching and considerations for how psychosocial skills and noncognitive influences on learning (such as motivation, grit, resiliency, and growth mindset) affect talent development.

Critique: Exceptionally organized and throughly 'reader friendly' in presentation, "Talent Development in School: An Educator's Guide to Implementing a Culturally Responsive Talent Identification and Development Program" is a timely and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, school district, college and university library Educational Assessment and Gifted Education collections and supplemental studies curriculum reading lists.

Editorial Note: Julie Dingle Swanson, Ed.D. is a professor at the College of Charleston, SC and has taught in and coordinated K - 12 gifted programs and directed federal projects focused on gifted students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Meta Van Sickle is a professor at the College of Charleston, having earned a Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include studying the ethics of care in science education and science for all.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Modern Epidemics: From the Spanish Flu to Covid-19
Salvador Macip
Polity
politybooks.com
9781509546572 $19.95 pbk / $16.00 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Epidemics-Spanish-Flu-COVID-19/dp/150954657X

Synopsis: COVID-19 has made us all aware of the fact that we live in a world full of invisible enemies. Normally, we don't even realize they're there, but from time to time one of these microscopic creatures becomes powerful enough to turn everything upside down. What are these invisible enemies, and how can we prepare ourselves for the pandemics of the future?

A specialist in the cellular biology of diseases, Salvador Macip explains, in a language everyone can understand, what it means to share the planet with millions of microbes - some wonderful allies, others terrible foes. He provides a concise account of epidemics that changed history, and focuses on the great modern plagues that are still causing millions of deaths every year, from influenza, TB and malaria to COVID-19. Macip also examines the methods we have used - from vaccines to improved sanitation and social distancing - to try to control these invisible enemies.

This authoritative overview of modern epidemics and the pathogens that cause them will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our world today, a world in which some of the greatest threats to the human species come from the invisible microbes with which we share this planet.

Critique: Modern Epidemics: From the Spanish Flu to Covid-19 is written by cellular biology specialist Salvador Macip, yet thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Chapters discuss the history of the past century's epidemics, with particular focus upon influenza, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. A glossary and an index round out this highly informative study of deadly microbes, and how human society has struggles to keep their invisible threat under control. Highly recommended, especially for public library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Modern Epidemics is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.00).

Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and their Care Partners and Caregivers
Eric B. Larson and Clare Stroud, editors
The National Academies Press
www.nationalacademies.org
9780309154291 $60.00 pbk / $41.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Management-Effects-Coalbed-Methane-Produced/dp/0309154294

Synopsis: Millions of people are living with dementia in the United States and globally. To live well with dementia, people need care, services, and supports that reflect their values and preferences, build on their strengths and abilities, promote well-being, and address needs that evolve as cognitive impairment deepens.

Persons living with dementia co-manage their care with or rely on the support of a wide range of care partners and caregivers, including spouses, other family members and friends, and direct care workers in homes or residential care settings. While dementia care has improved since the 1970s, many individuals still lack access to high-quality care and are not living as well as they might. Disadvantaged groups, especially racial and ethnic minorities, still face challenges in access to care, services, and supports, due to deep and persistent inequities.

Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners and Caregivers: A Way Forward examines the complex body of evidence on dementia care and informs decision making about which interventions are ready to be broadly disseminated and implemented. It also offers a blueprint to guide future research using rigorous, cutting-edge methods that are inclusive, equitable, and yield critical information for real-world implementation, toward the ultimate goal of better supporting persons living with dementia and their care partners and caregivers in living as well as possible.

Critique: Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and their Care Partners and Caregivers: A Way Forward is a scholarly, close examination of the societal problem of caring for people whose mental faculties have degenerated due to dementia. Chapters discuss the current and evolving systems for dementia care, and provide guidelines for future research in the field. The challenges faced by people in disadvantaged groups are especially scrutinized. "A lived experience cannot be taught. Diverse, multidisciplinary research times are needed to ensure that team members collectively have insight into and sensitivity to different perspectives and cultures." Highly recommended, especially for college and professional library health and medicine collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Meeting the Challenge of Caring for Persons Living with Dementia and their Care Partners and Caregivers is also available in a Kindle edition ($41.99).

The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines
Peter Hill
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Inc.
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.jkp.com
9781787755680, $19.95, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Parents-Guide-ADHD-Medicines/dp/1787755681

Synopsis: "The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines" by Peter Hill is reassuring guide explains prescribed ADHD medicines for children in clear, everyday language. Based on questions Professor Hill has received from countless families in his work as a Consultant Psychiatrist, the expert information in comprehensive volume answers the most pressing questions a parent will have about ADHD medicines: how they work, what they do, what is available and how to talk about them to your children.

"The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines" also sheds light on why not all medicines are easily available, the differences between certain medications and their level of effectiveness, all based on scientific evidence. This information will support parents in discussions with medical professionals, explaining the practicalities and demystifying the terminology around medication and treatments.

"The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines" also provides insights into the decisions behind prescribing certain medicines and how they should be taken. Armed with this guide, parents (as well as teachers and others working with kids with ADHD) can feel confident and assured when their child is prescribed treatments for ADHD.

Critique: Thoroughly 'parent friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, "The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines" is especially and unreservedly recommended for family and community, college and university library Parenting & Health/Medicine collections in general, and ADHD supplemental studies curriculum reading lists in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of parents, caregivers, healthcare workers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Parents' Guide to ADHD Medicines" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.95).


The Philosophy Shelf

Parva Naturalia: with On the Motion of Animals
Aristotle, author
David Bolotin, translator
Mercer University Press
1501 Mercer University Drive, Macon, GA 31207-0001
www.mupress.org
9780881467833, $45.00, HC, 260pp
9780881467840, $20.00 pbk

https://www.amazon.com/Parva-Naturalia-Motion-Animals-Aristotle/dp/0881467839

Synopsis: David Bolotin's translation of Aristotle's "Parva Naturalia: with On the Motion of Animals" aims above all at fidelity to the Greek. It treats Aristotle as a teacher regarding the topics that he discusses, and hence it tries to convey the meaning, to the extent possible in English, of his every word.

Aristotle clearly intended these treatises as a sequel to his "De Anima" and Bolotin's translation is a sequel to his translation of that work. The title "Parva Naturalia" goes back to the Latin Middle Ages, and though the traditional grouping doesn't include the treatise "On The Motion Of Animals" it is included here, since there is strong manuscript evidence that it ought to be included.

Bolotin has made a scrupulous effort to examine the manuscript tradition, and he has relied only on readings that are well attested in the oldest manuscripts, rather than accepting conjectural emendations of modern editors, who too often substitute a Greek text that is easy to understand for any of those from the ancient copyists.

Critique: An erudite and eloquent translation of the Greek into English for an American readership, "Parva Naturalia: with On the Motion of Animals" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition college and university library Philosophy collections in general, and Aristotle supplemental curriculum studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Parva Naturalia: with On the Motion of Animals" is also readily available in a paperback edition ($20.00).

Editorial Note: David Bolotin is a retired teacher from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is also the author of "Plato's Dialogue On Friendship" and "An Approach to Aristotle's Physics", as well as the translator of Aristotle's "De Anima".


The Jobs/Careers Shelf

The Ladder
Andrew Bernard
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781781353745, $22.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/Ladder-Supporting-students-successful-confident/dp/1781353743

Synopsis: Many people's careers are founded on a series of chance encounters, experiences and serendipity. School, college, university, jobs, family, sports, hobbies, friends, relationships are all fertile grounds for career-related conversations and explorations. But what if teachers, guides, mentors, parents and peers started to notice these seemingly unconnected happenings and, indeed, started to engineer and encourage them to happen?

Using the mantra 'every adult is a careers teacher', "The Ladder: Supporting students towards successful futures and confident career choices" will inspire classroom teachers to explicitly link their subject area to students' futures, both in school and outside its walls, and support them in doing so. Bernie draws upon his 30-year career in education and business development to bring clarity, focus and ideas to educators as to how they can best start students on their own ladders to success.

In doing so, Bernie provides a range of user-friendly, engaging and downloadable materials for teachers to use with the young people they work with to help uncover their talents and link those talents to opportunities for growth. He also shares invaluable advice on how best to reach out to local businesses and external organizations to support a students' careers education.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Ladder: Supporting students towards successful futures and confident career choices" is also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.90) and containing everything classroom educators and school counselors need to know in order to be effective advocates for young people and their future aspirations, pathways and career aims is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to school district, college and university library Jobs/Careers Education collections and supplemental studies curriculum reading lists.

Editorial Note: Andrew 'Bernie' Bernard is an entrepreneur, a TEDx Speaker, a director of both Innovative Enterprise and National Careers Week, and a Fellow of the Professional Speaking Association who, since 2006, has worked with schools, businesses, charities, universities and colleges to help over 150,000 young people bring their future to life through enterprise and careers workshops.


The Biography Shelf

The Savior of Deadwood
David A. Wolff
South Dakota Historical Society Press
www.sdhspress.com
9781941813355 $29.95 hc

https://www.amazon.com/Savior-Deadwood-James-Miller-Frontier/dp/1941813356

Synopsis: Arriving in Deadwood just days after the death of Wild Bill Hickok in early August 1876, businessman James K. P. Miller found the months\-old mining camp in turmoil. By the time of his own death in 1890, Miller had gained a reputation as the "savior of Deadwood"; for his efforts to bring prosperity to the area. Yet, while Deadwood denizens such as Hickok, Calamity Jane, and Seth Bullock became Western legends, Miller faded into obscurity.

After fleeing his native New York in disgrace, Miller sought to redeem himself to his family and strike it rich in the West. Living under an assumed name in Montana Territory, Miller gained valuable experience in the grocery trade. He ventured to Deadwood soon after its founding in 1876, and, using his birth name, opened a successful grocery firm and exchange bank with a partner. The business endured a disastrous fire, a flood, and a series of dramatic economic ups and downs. Eventually, Miller became the town's preeminent promoter and developer, advancing several large projects and persuading outside investors to join him. He even played a key role in convincing railroads to build in Deadwood, bringing a permanency that few would have predicted.

Author David A. Wolff has pieced together the largely untold story of how Miller helped turn a rugged gold camp into a permanent settlement. The Savior of Deadwood follows Miller's career while granting fresh insight into the early history of one of the most legendary towns of the Wild West, highlighting how violence, relations between settlers and American Indians, economic changes, and political battles shaped the modern Black Hills.

Critique: The Savior of Deadwood is the true-life biography of a Wild West frontiersman who made history championing the needs of a frontier town. Businessman James K. P. Miller is obscure today, perhaps because instead of being a gunslinger or a robber, he was an economic developer with the charisma to cajole outside investors to put a stake in the South Dakota town of Deadwood. Miller even played a role in convincing railroads to build in Deadwood. A handful of black-and-white photographs, notes, a bibliography and an index round out this fascinating historical portrait, highly recommended especially for public and college library Biography and American History collections.


The Holocaust Studies Shelf

The Remnant
Michael G. Kesler
Vallentine Mitchell Publishers
https://www.vmbooksusa.com
9781912676637, $22.95, PB, 168pp

https://www.amazon.com/Remnant-Burning-Displaced-Persons-Beyond/dp/191267663X

Synopsis: Because of the Nazi invasion, Michael Kesler and his sister fled their home in Dubno, Poland as panicked Jewish teenagers in June 1941, and landed in the Soviet Union amid the raging war. A flashback catches them in Stalingrad, besieged by the Germans. A stroke of luck landed them in Uzbekistan where Michael excelled as a veterinary assistant.

Two years later, the Soviet Army drafted Michael and trained him to remove mines planted by retreating Germans. After a dogged search, his sister found him and persuaded him to desert. An overnight train took them to Samarkand where they set up shop as weavers and Michael studied Economics at night.

At war's end, they hastened home and witnessed the mass graves of Dubno's 8,000 Jews, including their parents. Threatened, they found Moniek's mother and cousins and headed to a Displaced Persons camp in Germany. Britain dashed Michael's hopes to go to Palestine. A year later, Hillel surprisingly awarded him a scholarship to Colby College, where he arrived in 1947. He transferred to MIT and began to build a new life.

Critique: "The Remnant: On Burning Wings: To a Displaced Persons Camp and Beyond" is the personal biography of Michael G. Kesler and an invaluable contribution to the growing body of Holocaust literature, World War II histories, and 20th Century Jewish Biographies. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Remnant: On Burning Wings: To a Displaced Persons Camp and Beyond" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists, as well as community, college and university library collections.

Editorial Note: Michael Kesler, with a doctorate in chemical engineering, worked over fifty years in the petroleum industry. Since his retirement in 2006, due to glaucoma-induced loss of vision, he has focused his work on his World War II experiences. His notable Shards of War appeared on the list of bestselling eBooks in Europe for several months. Since then, he has lectured and presented annual events to raise public awareness of East European Jewish civilization before the Holocaust.


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


Copyright ©2001

Site design by Williams Writing, Editing & Design