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Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
How to Be A Woman Online
Nina Jankowicz
I. B. Tauris Publishers
c/o Bloomsbury Press
www.ibtauris.com
9781350267572, $14.95, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/How-Woman-Online-Surviving-Harassment/dp/1350267570
Synopsis: When Nina Jankowicz's first book on online disinformation was profiled in The New Yorker, she expected
attention but not an avalanche of abuse and harassment, predominantly from men, online.
All women in politics, journalism and academia now face untold levels of harassment and abuse in online spaces. Together
with the world's leading extremism researchers, Jankowicz wrote one of the definitive reports on this troubling
phenomenon.
Drawing on rigorous research into the treatment of Kamala Harris (the first woman vice-president) and other political and
public figures, Nina also uses her own experiences to provide a step-by-step plan for dealing with harassment, abuse, doxing
and disinformation in online spaces.
The result is "How to Be A Woman Online: Surviving Abuse and Harassment, and How to Fight Back" -- an effective
instruction manual and guide for female researchers, female journalists, and all women with a profile in the online space we
now collectively refer to as Social Media.
Critique: An absolutely essential addition to personal, professional, community, governmental, college, and university
library collections on Gender Abuse in general, and On-Line Misogyny and Hate email in particular, "How to Be A Woman
Online: Surviving Abuse and Harassment, and How to Fight Back" is an ideal blend of DIY instructional guide and
imperative, indispensable 'how to' manual for women having to deal with online abuse. Sad to say, but in today's
increasingly volatile and abusive American society, every girl and every woman who ventures out onto the internet needs to
give this 'survival guide' a careful and close reading. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "How to Be A Woman
Online: Surviving Abuse and Harassment, and How to Fight Back" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$9.99).
Editorial Note: Nina Jankowicz is a Washington DC-based writer and analyst with a focus on Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union. She is currently a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Kennan
Institute. Previously, she served as a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellow, a role in which she provided strategic
communications guidance to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Her writing has been published by The New York Times, The
Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, Foreign Policy and others. Nina was a 2017 Foreign Policy Interrupted Fellow.
The Writing/Publishing Shelf
Landscapes for Writers and Game Masters
Scott Rice-Snow
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476683577, $29.95, PB, 250pp
https://www.amazon.com/Landscapes-Writers-Game-Masters-Authentic/dp/1476683573
Synopsis: Landscape science tells fascinating stories, whether in writing fiction or creating a role-playing game. Earth's
varied terrain provides many examples of scene-specific challenges and resources for story characters, with distinctive land
features, compelling locations, and intriguing traits.
Landslides, floods, coastal erosion, glacier movement, and volcanism can deliver fresh plot points and alter the social
character of an imagined region. Characters traveling different river types encounter very different puzzles, opportunities,
and combat environments and the same variety awaits within other classic settings, such as caves, mountains, deserts,
shorelines, and volcanic zones. Atypical landscapes such as tundra, karst, and vast glacier surfaces can breathe fresh air into
any stories.
"Landscapes for Writers and Game Masters: Building Authentic Natural Terrain into Imagined Worlds" by Scott Rice-Snow
is a reference source for creative writing and game world building. It delves deeply into many landscape characteristics that
help set the tone, shape character behavior, and drive the plot. Chapters are divided into diverse geographic environments,
from rivers and shorelines to caves and volcanoes, and show how knowledge of the terrain can deliver plot points, add
veracity, pose key problems, establish conflict, and lead into the next scene. Readers will discover how authors and game
masters can effectively weave land and terrain into their stories.
Critique: Illustrated in black-and-white photos, "Landscapes for Writers and Game Masters: Building Authentic Natural
Terrain into Imagined Worlds" is an invaluable and innovative resource for the novelist and the video game creator.
Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Landscapes for Writers and Game Masters: Building Authentic
Natural Terrain into Imagined Worlds" is a unique and recommended addition to personal, professional, community,
college, and university library Writing/Publishing collections. It is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$17.99).
Editorial Note: Scott Rice-Snow is Emeritus Professor of Geological Sciences at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
He has published research in river, glacial, and karst geomorphology, as well as hydrology, geoarchaeology, and geoscience
education. He also hosts the ground4inspiration.net website, documenting unique landscape features and their
narrative/gameplay potential.
Write Like You Mean It
Steve Gamel
Brown Books Publishing Group
16250 Knoll Trail, Suite 205, Dallas, Texas 75248
https://www.brownbooks.com
9781612545271, $19.95, HC, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Write-Like-You-Mean-Mastering/dp/1612545270
Synopsis: With the publication of "Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word" award-winning
journalist and content writer Steve Gamel dives into his best advice for writers that he has gathered over the years.
With stories from his early years and frequent foibles as a journalist, Gamel equips aspiring writers with trade tips to learn,
tools to utilize, and lessons to write stronger content. He has designed a compendium of experience based
recommendations, instructions and insights that will be exceedingly useful to all kinds of writers: first-time writers, veteran
writers, nonfiction writers, fiction writers, freelance writers, college writers, high school writers, writers who own their own
business, and anyone else wanting to put pen to paper (a keyboard to computer) any kind of story of their own.
Simple steps in each chapter break down the productivity practices of creatives, the organization needed to get to the finish
line, and the purpose behind it all: drawing readers in with quality content and style. Steve Gamel also discusses the
intentional processes behind organizing ideas, conducting interviews, beating writer's block, networking, editing, and
publishing. Whether an old hand at writing, a novice, or a college professor aspiring to write full-time, "Write Like You
Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word" will prove to be as informative as it is inspiring!
Critique: With instructive chapters organized into three major sections (Start Writing!; Writing to a Purpose; Write Like
You Mean It to Be Read), "Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word" is further enhanced for
the aspiring writer with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, and a six page bibliography of Reference and
Resources for Further Reading, six pages of Endnotes. Practical, comprehensive, exceptionally well organized, and
thoroughly 'user friendly' in presentation, "Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word" is
especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library
Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of aspiring and
seasoned writers alike that "Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word" is also readily available
in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Steve Gamel has an informative website about his work and services at
https://www.editthisllc.com/about
How to Tell a Story
Aristotle, author
Philip Freeman, translator
Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
http://press.princeton.edu
9780691205274, $16.95, HC, 264pp
https://www.amazon.com/How-Tell-Story-Ancient-Storytelling/dp/0691205272
Synopsis: Handed down from ancient Greek literature, Aristotle's Poetics is arguably the most important book ever written
for writers and readers of stories -- whether it be novels, short fiction, plays, screenplays, or nonfiction.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) was the first to identify the keys to plot, character, audience perception, tragic pleasure, and dozens
of other critical points of good storytelling. Despite being written more than 2,000 years ago, the Poetics remains essential
reading for anyone who wants to learn how to write a captivating story -- or understand how such stories work and achieve
their psychological effects.
Yet for all its influence, the Poetics is too little read because it comes down to us in a form that is often difficult to follow,
and even the best translations are geared more to specialists than to general readers who simply want to grasp Aristotle's
profound and practical insights.
With the publication of "How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers" ably
translated into English for an American readership by Philip Freeman contemporary and aspiring authors and readers are
provided with the most readable translation of the Poetics ever yet produced, making it an indispensable handbook that is
more accessible, engaging, and useful than ever before.
In addition to its inviting and reliable translation, a commentary on each section, and the original Greek on facing pages, this
edition of "How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers" features unique bullet
points, chapter headings, and section numbers to help guide readers through Aristotle's unmatched introduction to the art of
writing and reading stories.
Critique: A complete course of Aristotelean instruction that is impressively 'reader friendly' in organization and
presentation, "How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers" must be
considered essential reading by anyone aspiring to write stories that would be successfully attractive to an author's intended
audience. This splendid edition from the Princeton University Press is unreservedly recommended for personal,
professional, community, college, and university library Literary Studies collections and as a textbook for creative writing
workshops curriculums. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, aspiring (and experienced)
writers that "How to Tell a Story: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Storytelling for Writers and Readers" is also available in a
digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note #1: Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught
by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition.
Editorial Note #2: Philip Freeman is the author of more than twenty books on the ancient world, including the Cicero
translations How to Think about God, How to Be a Friend, How to Grow Old, and How to Run a Country (all from
Princeton University Press). He also holds the Fletcher Jones Chair in Humanities at Pepperdine University.
The Environmental Studies Shelf
The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change, revised edition
Yoram Bauman, author
Grady Klein, illustrator
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781642832334, $29.00, PB, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Introduction-Climate-Change-Revised/dp/1642832332
Synopsis: Now in a newly revised and expanded edition, "The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change" by the team of
author/storyteller Yoram Bauman and artist/illustrator Grady Klein offered something entirely new in the form of a fun,
illustrated guide to a planetary climate crisis. If that sounds like an oxymoron, you've never seen the carbon cycle
demonstrated through yoga poses or a polar bear explaining evolution to her cubs.
This fully updated edition of "The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change" includes the latest scientific data from the IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
A lot has happened to the climate over the last decade, and "The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change" tackle the
daunting statistics with humor and scientific accuracy in a format recognizing that it is better to laugh than to cry when
confronting mind-blowing facts about our changing world. Readers will become familiar with critical concepts, but they'll
also smile as they learn about climate science, projections, and policy.
Sociologists have argued that we don't address climate change because it's too big and frightening to get our heads around.
"The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change" clearly and effectively takes the intimidation and gloom out of one of the
most important challenges of our time.
Critique: Fun, informative, thought provoking, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, this newly
revised edition of "The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change" from Island Press is especially and unreservedly
recommended for the reading lists of climate change concerned readers from 8 to 88 -- as well as a vital and unreservedly
recommended addition to personal, professional, elementary school, middle school, highschool, and community library
Climatology collections in general, and Environmental Science & Policy supplemental curriculum studies lists in
particular.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
The New Health Economy
Gary Bisbee Jr., author
Donald Trigg, author
Sanjula Jain, author
Georgetown University Press
3240 Prospect Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007
www.press.georgetown.edu
9781647122539, $89.95, HC, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/New-Health-Economy-Ground-Leaders/dp/1647122538
Synopsis: Over the past decade, the health economy has experienced the most dramatic change since the passage of
Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid, demographic-driven Medicare growth,
and the digitization of health records have rapidly changed the traditional dynamics of the field -- and the COVID-19
pandemic has accelerated this process. Experienced and aspiring health sector leaders must navigate an increasingly
complex health care landscape in order to conceive, create, and implement solutions to improve our health care system now
and in the future.
"The New Health Economy: Ground Rules for Leaders" provides health professionals with a 360-degree look at the field by
exploring four pillars of the health economy: politics, policy, providers, and personalization. Topics covered include the
federal government's role as the largest payer and regulator of health care, health care finance and the shift from the
fee-for-service model toward value-based care, the increasing consolidation of provider networks, and data-driven
personalizations inside and outside of the field.
Drawing from interviews with top leaders in the field (including a former CDC director, a former FDA commissioner, and
the current CEOs of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson) "The New Health Economy" is an essential guide that compares each
sector before and during the COVID-19 crisis. These comparisons shed light on how the pandemic has accelerated recent
trends in health care and provide leaders with an outline for a strategic path forward.
"The New Health Economy" also brings together the best thinking from across the health care sector, providing insight into
COVID-19's impact on the health economy and setting the ground rules required to shape a new health care system as we
emerge from the pandemic. This valuable resource will benefit CEOs and other leaders in the health economy, from
hospitals to provider networks and beyond.
Critique: The collaborative project of health care economics expets Gary Bisbee Jr., Donald Trigg, and Sanjula Jain, "The
New Health Economy: Ground Rules for Leaders" is informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an
informative Introduction (The U.S. Health Economy), and Appendix (COVID-19 Timeline of Key Events), a ten page
Bibliography, nine page Index. With a special relevance for health care providers and consumers, governmental health care
policy makers, American economists, "The New Health Economy" is an invaluable and comprehensive study. Exceptionally
well written, organized and presented, "The New Health Economy: Ground Rules for Leaders" is highly recommended for
personal, professional, community, and academic library collections. It should be noted for students, academicians,
economists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Health Economy" is also available in
a paperback edition (9781647122546, $29.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49).
Editorial Note #1: Gary Bisbee Jr., PhD, MBA is founder, chairman, and CEO of Think Medium. He has held leadership
positions spanning Wall Street, academia, and health policy. Prior to founding Think Medium, Bisbee was cofounder,
chairman, and CEO of The Health Management Academy. He holds an MBA in health care and finance from the Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University.
Editorial Note #2: Donald Trigg is the former president of Cerner Corporation, a Fortune 500 supplier of health care
information technology. Trigg has almost a decade of experience in Washington, DC, working at the highest levels of
presidential politics and in a set of senior policy roles in both the legislative and executive branches.
Editorial Note #3: Sanjula Jain, PhD is a health economist working with executives of large health systems and health care
organizations, including Fortune 500 companies. She is the Chief Research Officer of Trilliant Health and on faculty at the
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She earned her PhD in health services research and health policy from Emory
University.
Traumatic Brain Injury
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309490436, $49.00, PB, 244pp
https://www.amazon.com/Traumatic-Brain-Injury-Accelerating-Progress/dp/030949043X
Synopsis: Every American community is affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI) from causes as diverse as falls, sports
injuries, vehicle collisions, domestic violence, military incidents and more. Each of these tragic events can result in injuries
across a spectrum of severity and age groups.
Just as the many causes of TBI and the people who experience it are diverse, so too are the physiological, cognitive, and
behavioral changes that can occur following injury.
The overall TBI ecosystem is not limited to healthcare and research, but includes the related systems that administer and
finance healthcare, accredit care facilities, and provide regulatory approval and oversight of products and therapies.
TBI also intersects with the wide range of community organizations and institutions in which people return to learning,
work, and play, including the education system, work environments, professional and amateur sports associations, the
criminal justice system, and others.
"Traumatic Brain Injury: A Roadmap for Accelerating Progress" examines the current landscape of basic, translational, and
clinical TBI research and identifies gaps and opportunities to accelerate research progress and improve care with a focus on
the biological, psychological, sociological, and ecological impacts. This report calls not merely for improvement, but for a
transformation of attitudes, understanding, investments, and care systems for TBI.
Critique: An official 'Consensus Study Report' of the National Academies of science, Engineering, Medicine, "Traumatic
Brain Injury: A Roadmap for Accelerating Progress" must be considered as a core and critically important addition to
college and university medical library collections, and as a TBI medical school curriculum textbook. Furthermore, it will
have immense relevance and interest for the personal reading lists of medical students, doctors, and non-specialist general
readers with an interest in the subject of Medical Technology & Research in general, and Traumatic Brain Injury assessment
and treatment in particular.
Editorial Note: The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes the publications of the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine. NAP publishes more than 200 publications per year on a wide range of topics in science,
engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative, independently researched information on important matters in science
and health policy.
The Education Shelf
Learning and Teaching While White
Jenna Chandler-Ward, author
Elizabeth Denevi, author
The Countryman Press
c/o W. W. Norton & Company
www.countrymanpress.com
www.blackstoneaudio.com
9781324016748, $37.95, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Teaching-While-White-Communities/dp/1324016744
Synopsis: For too long, white educators have relied on people of color to make changes to a relentlessly racist school
system. Racial equity will not come until white educators recognize their role in supporting racist policies and practices, and
take responsibility for dismantling them.
"Learning and Teaching While White: Antiracist Strategies for School Communities" is an accessible guide to help white
educators, leaders, students, and parents develop an explicit, skills-based antiracist practice.
Through their own experiences working with school communities, and the strategies and tools they have developed,
academicians and educators Jenna Chandler-Ward and Elizabeth Denevi share how white educators can gain greater
consciousness of their own white racial identity; analyze the role of whiteness in their school systems; rethink pedagogical
approaches and curricular topics; address the role of white parents in the pursuit of racial literacy and equity; and much
more.
Featuring 11 black-and-white illustrations, "Learning and Teaching While White" will empower white educators to be part
of creating a more equitable educational system for all students.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of three Appendices (The Cost of Racism to White
People; White Antiracist Activists; Cycle of Oppression), an eight page Bibliography, and a twenty-two page Index,
"Learning and Teaching While White: Antiracist Strategies for School Communities" is an invaluable study and highly
recommended to the attention of all faculty members aspiring to end systemic racism, bigotry and bias in their school
system, be it a grade school, trade school, college or university. While highly recommended for community and academic
library Contemporary Educational Issues collections, it should be noted for student teachers, faculty members, school policy
makers, academics, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Learning and
Teaching While White: Antiracist Strategies for School Communities" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$19.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212021449, $31.95, CD).
Editorial Note #1: Jenna Chandler-Ward is an educator, diversity consultant, and cofounder of the popular professional
development site Teaching While White. With over two decades of experience, she has been an educator in non-profits,
schools, and colleges working with students from kindergarten to adult learners. Jenna was also a founder and co-director of
the Multicultural Teaching Institute, which produces workshops and a conference for educators on issues of equity and
inclusion.
Editorial Note #2: Elizabeth Denevi is an educator, diversity consultant, and cofounder of the popular professional
development site Teaching While White. As Director of the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative, Dr. Denevi has
worked with educational institutions across the country to promote equity and diversity pedagogy. She is also an Assistant
Professor at the Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
Building the Innovation School
T. Philip Nichols
Teachers College Press
1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027
www.tcpress.com
9780807766798, $105.00, HC, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Innovation-School-Infrastructures-Classrooms-dp-0807766798/dp/0807766798
Synopsis: There is no shortage of innovations on offer for schools. Hardly a week passes without someone marching out the
latest device, app, service, curricular add-on, or instructional technique that, we are told, is sure to cure the perennial woes
of systemic education.
"Building the Innovation School: Infrastructures for Equity in Today's Classrooms" by T. Philip Nichols (Assistant
Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Baylor University) is an investigation of this enchantment with
"innovation" and its implications for not only everyday teaching and learning, but also the future of public education.
Based on a study of The Innovation School (a public high school organized around makerspaces, design thinking, and
personalized technology) Professor Nichols challenges conventional wisdom about how educational transformation unfolds
and argues that the popular understanding of innovation exacerbates inequality and undermines teacher and student
autonomy.
"Building the Innovation School" demonstrates how attending to the infrastructures of innovation leads to educational
change that is driven by the interests and values of educators. Repair rather than disruption is the focus -- a commitment to
schools that allow all students to flourish.
Educators and school policy makers are: Shown how specific innovations actually work over time in the everyday life of the
classroom; Provided resources for breaking through the hype of current (and future) innovations-of-the-day; Offered a
framework for "innovating from below," tailoring local innovations to the needs, values, and priorities of students,
educators, and the community; Given an appendix of resources for teachers and administrators interested in applying the
frameworks from "Building the Innovation School" in their own schools and classrooms.
Critique: Informatively enriched for the reader with the inclusion of an informative Foreword by Yasmin B. Kafai, an eight
page listing of References, and an eight page Index, "Building the Innovation School: Infrastructures for Equity in Today's
Classrooms" is an especially valued and unreservedly recommended addition to school district, college, and university
library Experimental Education Methods & Theories collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of
educators, academicians, school policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that
"Building the Innovation School: Infrastructures for Equity in Today's Classrooms" is also available in a paperback edition
(9780807766781, $34.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.20).
The Science Shelf
New Directions for Chemical Engineering
Consensus Study Report
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309268424, $50.00, PB, 368pp
https://www.amazon.com/Directions-Chemical-Engineering-Medicine-Academies/dp/0309268427
Synopsis: Over the past century, the work of chemical engineers has helped transform societies and the lives of individuals,
from the synthetic fertilizers that helped feed the world to the development of novel materials used in fuels, electronics,
medical devices, and other products. Chemical engineers' ability to apply systems-level thinking from molecular to
manufacturing scales uniquely positions them to address today's most pressing problems, including climate change and the
overuse of resources by a growing population.
"New Directions for Chemical Engineering" details a vision to guide chemical engineering research, innovation, and
education over the next few decades. This report calls for new investments in U.S. chemical engineering and the
interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaborations necessary to advance the societal goals of transitioning to a low-carbon energy
system, ensuring our production and use of food and water is sustainable, developing medical advances and engineering
solutions to health equity, and manufacturing with less waste and pollution.
The report also calls for changes in chemical engineering education to ensure the next generation of chemical engineers is
more diverse and equipped with the skills necessary to address the challenges ahead.
Critique: Peer reviewed, impressively informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "New
Directions for Chemical Engineering" is unreservedly recommended for professional, college and university library
Technology, Engineering, and Chemistry Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: The US National Academies Press was created to publish the reports issued by the National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the
National Research Council. It publishes nearly 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in the sciences. (Wikipedia)
Travels with Trilobites
Andy Secher
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023-7015
http://cup.columbia.edu
9780231200967, $39.95, HC, 416pp
https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Trilobites-Adventures-Paleozoic/dp/023120096X
Synopsis: Trilobites were some of the most successful and versatile organisms ever to exist. Among the earliest forms of
complex animal life, these hard-shelled marine invertebrates inhabited the primal seas of the Paleozoic Era. Their march
through evolutionary time began in the Lower Cambrian, some 521 million years ago, and lasted until their demise at the
end of the Permian, more than 250 million years later. During this vast stretch of planetary history, these adaptable animals
filled virtually every available undersea niche, evolving into more than 25,000 scientifically recognized species.
With the publication of "Travels with Trilobites: Adventures in the Paleozoic", trilobite expert Andy Secher invites the
reader to come along in search of the fossilized remains of these ancient arthropods as he explores breathtaking
paleontological hot spots around the world -- including Alnif, Morocco, on the edge of the Sahara Desert; the Sakha
Republic, deep in the Siberian wilderness; and Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia.
"Travels with Trilobites" also offers a behind-the-scenes look at museums, fossil shows, and life on the collectors' circuit.
Features hundreds of photographs of unique specimens drawn from Secher's private collection, showcasing stunning fossil
finds that highlight the diversity, complexity, and beauty of trilobites, "Travels with Trilobites is consistently entertaining
and impressively informative. "Travels with Trilobites" deftly combines key scientific information about these captivating
creatures with wry, colorful observations, and inside stories from one of the world's most prolific trilobite collectors.
Critique: Fascinating, informative, enhanced throughout with magnificent photographic imagery, this coffee-table style
(8.75 x 1.25 x 11 inches, 1.02 pounds) edition of Andy Secher's "Travels with Trilobites: Adventures in the Paleozoic" from
the Columbia University Press must be considered an essential, core addition to personal, professional, community, college,
and university library Paleontology collections in general, and supplemental curriculum Trilobite studies lists in particular. It
should be noted by paleontology students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject the
"Travels with Trilobites: Adventures in the Paleozoic" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.06).
Editorial Note: Andy Secher is a field associate in paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History and the co-
editor of the museum's trilobite website. His private collection comprises more than 4,000 trilobite fossils.
Age of Dinosaurs
Yang Yang, author
Chuang Zhao, illustrator
Chen Mo, translator
Brown Books Publishing Group
16250 Knoll Trail, Suite 205, Dallas, Texas 75248
https://www.brownbooks.com
9781612545288, $29.95, HC, 233pp
https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaurs-Field-Guide-Ancient-World/dp/1612545289
Synopsis: Two hundred and thirty-five million years ago it was the dawn of the age of dinosaurs, an age that would last until
a global catastrophe some sixty-five millions years ago.
Around the globe, dinosaurs were taking dominion over their territory. With the publication of "Age of Dinosaurs" by
author Yang Yang and artist/illustrator Chuang Zhao, dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages will discover their confidence as they
ruled the planet for hundreds of millions of years ago -- roaming the land, certain that they could never die.
These fascinating creatures multiplied in large numbers, developed into numerous species, and spread to all corners of the
earth over the course of three geological periods. "Age of the Dinosaurs" covers the dinosaurs during Triassic, Jurassic, and
Cretaceous periods, showcasing their lives and evolution over time.
"Age of Dinosaurs" will transport you to a time before mammals and humans existed. With its full-color illustrations of the
world of dinosaurs before we knew it, this first volume from the PNSO Field Guide to the Ancient World.
Critique: With full page museum quality artwork in support of scientific research based commentaries, this coffee-table
style (9.49 x 0.93 x 12.43 inches, 3.32 pound) edition of "Age of Dinosaurs" is as fascinating as it is informative.
Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Age of Dinosaurs" is ideal and recommended for personal,
professional, community, or academic library Paleontology collection in general, and supplemental curriculum Dinosaur
studies lists in particular.
Editorial Note: Zaho Chuang (a scientific artist), and Yang Yang (an author of scientific children's books), started working
together when they jointly founded PNSO, an organization devoted to the research and creation of scientific art in Beijing
on June 1st, 2010. A few months later, they launched Scientific Art Projects Plan: Stories on Earth (2010-2070). The plan
uses scientific art to create a captivating, historically accurate narrative. These narratives are based on the latest scientific
research, focusing on the complex relationships between species, natural environments, communities, and cultures.
Age of Ancient Sea Monsters
Yang Yang, author
Chuang Zhao, illustrator
Chen Mo, translator
Brown Books Publishing Group
16250 Knoll Trail, Suite 205, Dallas, Texas 75248
https://www.brownbooks.com
9781612545301, $29.95, HC, 189pp
https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Monsters-Field-Guide-World/dp/1612545300
Synopsis: With the publication of "Age of Ancient Sea Monsters" by author Yang Yang and artist/illustrator Chuang Zhao,
marine dinosaur fans of all ages will take a trip back in time to some five hundred million years ago, and explore the
underwater depths dominated by ancient sea monsters.
Ably translated into English by Chen Mo, "Age of Ancient Sea Monsters" reveals the many mysteries of the aquatic reptiles
lurking below sea-level as they develop long and sharp teeth, massive tails, and unparalleled strength! These features
allowed them to defeat all that was in their path and become the unchallenged hegemons of the ocean.
Readers will also learn about the evolution of sea monsters across the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods as each one
takes control of its own destiny. "Age of Ancient Sea Monsters" tells the story of how these courageous ocean creatures
adapted to new environments and worked for their survival.
Critique: "Age of Ancient Sea Monsters" is third volume from the simply outstanding PNSO Field Guide to the Ancient
World series and will inspire paleontology enthusiasts everywhere to explore their nearby lakes, ponds, and oceans! A
pleasure to browse through, replete with full page artwork, impressively well written, "Age of Ancient Sea Monsters" is
particularly recommended for inclusion into personal, professional, community, college, and university library Paleontology
collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Zaho Chuang (a scientific artist), and Yang Yang (an author of scientific children's books), started working
together when they jointly founded PNSO, an organization devoted to the research and creation of scientific art in Beijing
on June 1st, 2010. A few months later, they launched Scientific Art Projects Plan: Stories on Earth (2010-2070). The plan
uses scientific art to create a captivating, historically accurate narrative. These narratives are based on the latest scientific
research, focusing on the complex relationships between species, natural environments, communities, and cultures.
Age of Pterosaurs
Yang Yang, author
Chuang Zhao, illustrator
Chen Mo, translator
Brown Books Publishing Group
16250 Knoll Trail, Suite 205, Dallas, Texas 75248
https://www.brownbooks.com
9781612545295, $29.95, HC, 191pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pterosaurs-Field-Guide-Ancient-World/dp/1612545297
Synopsis: The Pterosaurs ("wing lizard") were flying reptiles of the extinct clade or order Pterosauria. They existed during
most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the
earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and
other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. (Wikipedia)
Long before the invention of the airplane, the mighty pterosaurs were the first flying vertebrates and the largest flyers ever.
How could these excellent flyers master the difficult trick? How did their body adapt to flying? In their millions of years of
flying, how did they evolve further?
With the publication of "Age of Pterosaurs" by the team of author Yang Yang and artist/illustrator Chuang Zhao, readers
will enjoy joy learning all about pterosaurs throughout the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods as they evolve into the
greatest flyers of all time.
The second volume from the PNSO Field Guide to the Ancient World, and ably translated into English by Chen Mo, the
Brown Books Publishing Group edition of "Age of Pterosaurs" follows the great achievements of the pterosaurs who
believed in the power of their dreams.
Critique: This coffee-table style (9.25 x 1 x 12 inches, 2.9 pounds) volume features beautiful illustrations throughout as it
presents a series of inspirational stories of the pterosaurs' reign over ancient skies. As definitively informative as it is
inherently fascinating, "Age of Pterosaurs" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional,
community, college, and university library Paleontology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Zaho Chuang (a scientific artist), and Yang Yang (an author of scientific children's books), started working
together when they jointly founded PNSO, an organization devoted to the research and creation of scientific art in Beijing
on June 1st, 2010. A few months later, they launched Scientific Art Projects Plan: Stories on Earth (2010-2070). The plan
uses scientific art to create a captivating, historically accurate narrative. These narratives are based on the latest scientific
research, focusing on the complex relationships between species, natural environments, communities, and cultures.
The Psychology Shelf
A History of Delusions
Victoria Shepherd
Oneworld Publications
c/o Simon & Schuster
https://www.simonandschuster.com
9780861540914, $27.95, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/History-Delusions-Substitute-Husband-Walking/dp/0861540913
Synopsis: A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it
is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some
other misleading effects of perception, as individuals with those beliefs are able to change or readjust their beliefs upon
reviewing the evidence. (Wikipedia)
The King of France (thinking he was made of glass) was terrified he might shatter -- and he wasn't alone. After the Emperor
Napoleon met his end at Waterloo, an epidemic of Napoleons piled into France's asylums. Throughout the nineteenth
century, dozens of middle-aged women tried to convince their physicians that they were, in fact, dead.
For centuries we've dismissed delusions as something for doctors to sort out behind locked doors. With the publication of
"A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse", author Victoria Shepherd maintains
that delusions are more than just bizarre quirks -- they hold the key to collective anxieties and traumas.
A groundbreaking and unique history of mental illness, Victoria Shepherd uncovers stories of delusions from medieval
times to the present day and implores us to identify reason in apparent madness.
Critique: An inherently fascinating and compelling read, "A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband
and a Walking Corpse" will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in psychological pathologies and the
history of mental illness in the form of personal delusions. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal,
professional, community, and academic library Psychology/Mental Illness collections, it should be noted for personal
reading lists that "A History of Delusions" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Victoria Shepherd holds an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. She conceived and
produced the ten-part series A History of Delusions for BBC Radio 4. She has produced scores of documentaries and major
strands for BBC Radio 4.
The Audiobook Shelf
Queens of the Underworld
Caitlin Davies, author
Annie Aldington, narrator
Isis Audio
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781399121897, $98.95, Library CD
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781399121897
Synopsis: Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Ronnie Biggs, the Krays... All have become folk heroes, glamorised and romanticised,
even when they killed. But where are their female equivalents? Where are the women who were street robbers, gang leaders,
diamond thieves, gold smugglers and bank robbers?
"Queens of the Underworld" by Caitline Davies and dramatically narrated by Annie Aldington reveals the incredible story of
female crooks from the 17th century to the present. Ranging from Moll Cutpurse to the Black Boy Alley Ladies, from jewel
thief Emily Lawrence to bandit leader Elsie Carey and burglar Zoe Progl, these were all charismatic women at the top of
their criminal games and enterprises.
But female criminals have long been dismissed as either not 'real women' or not 'real criminals', and in the process their
stories have been lost.
Critique: Now rescued from an under-served obscurity, "Queens of the Underworld" is complete and unabridged audio book
(10 CDs) that provides fascinating and detailed stories of British women from the 17th century to the present day who
famously (or infamously) turned themselves into what today would be classified as career criminals. Of special appeal to
students of criminology and true crime biography fans, "Queens of the Underworld" is very highly recommended for
community and academic library audio book collections. It should be noted that "Queens of the Underworld" is also
available in an MP3-CD format (9781399121903, $TBA, 1 Disc).
Editorial Note #1: Caitlin Davies is a novelist, non-fiction writer, award-winning journalist and teacher. She is also the
author of six novels, six non-fiction books, and several short stories. She has written for The Independent, The Sunday
Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Her books include Bad Girls: a History of Rebels and
Renegades, a history of Holloway Prison. She has an accessible website at https://www.caitlindavies.co.uk/
Editorial Note #2: Annie Aldington has a wealth of acting experience and is a highly regarded audio artist who is the go-to
voice for many top-selling authors, including: Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers, Roberta Kray, Jessie Keane, Helen
Carey and Dilly Court. She is equally at home in front of a mic or performing in comedy, classical or contemporary drama.
She has a website at http://www.anniealdington.co.uk
Blood Pact
Heather Atkinson, author
Angus King, narrator
Ulverscroft Audio
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781800482852, $110.95, Library CD
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781800482852
Synopsis: After the defeat of the rival Gordon and Thompson families, the Blood Brothers' reputations as feared lieutenants
of the McVay clan are firmly established. The Gallowburn has become an untouchable stronghold in their capable hands.
However, danger rears its head in another form - Mob boss and Jamie's deadliest foe, Cameron Abernethy.
Still fighting to be released from prison, Cameron decides to use the Lawson family, the Blood Brothers' biggest rivals, to
discover his daughter's whereabouts. With his enemies getting closer, and the police on his tail too, Jamie has some
impossible choices to make. This is his last chance to live the life he's dreamed of with the woman he loves, but first he's got
to make sure he's not caught or killed!
Critique: Angus King's superbly performance as narrator brings novelist Heather Atkinson's "Blood Pact" brilliantly to live
in a true theatre of the mind experience for the listener. Of special appeal to fans of the crime novel, this complete and
unabridged audio book edition of "Blood Pact" (11 CDs) is an especially recommended addition to community library audio
book collections. It should be noted that "Blood Pact" is also available from Ulverscroft Audio in an MP3-CD format (1
Disc).
Editorial Note #1: With over sixty books now available on Amazon Kindle, Heather Atkinson is fortunate enough to write
full-time. She regularly publishes new book and her fans can follow Heather on various internet platforms including:
Website: www.heatheratkinsonbooks.com; Twitter at #heatheratkinso1; Facebook: The Books of Heather Atkinson;
Instagram: heathercrimeauthor
Editorial Note #2: Angus King is a Scottish actor based in London & Glasgow. He trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
and works regularly on television, Motion Capture and the West End and his voice can be heard in audiobooks, political
campaigns, radio drama, corporate videos, computer games, ADR and much more. He has a website at
https://angusking.net
The Library CD Shelf
Envolee
Ariane Racicot
www.arianeracicot.com
Canada Council for the Arts
$20.00 CAD CD / $10.00 CAD digital
https://arianeracicot.bandcamp.com/album/envol-e
Montreal pianist and composer Ariane Racicot presents her debut album Envolee, featuring five original compositions that
draw upon a wide range of jazz piano styles. Antoine Rochefort on electric bass, Guillaume Picard on drums, and Martin
Plante on drums contribute their talents to heighten the intensity and rhythm of the evocative, genre-bending music pieces.
Envolee is a choice pick for both personal and public library collections, highly recommended. The tracks are Vertige,
Coffee and Cigarettes, Bicycle Ride, Crepuscule, and A ciel ouvert.
Fray
Queen Kong
www.queenkongtoronto.com
Canada Council for the Arts
https://queenkong1.bandcamp.com/album/fray
$15.00 CAD digital
https://queenkong1.bandcamp.com/album/fray
Fray is the debut album of the Toronto-based band of klezmorim (Jewish folk music performers) Queen Kong, led by
drummer and composer Lorie Wolf, and featuring Michael Winograd on clarinet, Max Forster on trumpet and electronics,
Nathan Dell-Vandenburg on trombone, Tom Richards on sousaphone, Graham Campbell on guitar, Beth Silver on cello,
and Jaron Freeman-Fox on violin. The ten original songs is an adventure in creative use of metering, and a confluence of
myriad musical styles fused into a klezmer celebration. Fray is a welcome addition to multicultural music collections, highly
recommended for klezmer connoisseurs and public libraries. The tracks are Kavod-19, Bethema, Let Me Take My Time,
If/Then, Kaddish for Jonny, East 3rd and C, Di Zun Vet Aruntergyn, Pirate Max, NBK, Kaddish for Jonny II, and
Moshi.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
The Forest of the Hanged
Liviu Rebreanu, author
Phoebe Cho, illustrator
Center for Romanian Studies
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592110308, $40.70, HC, 326pp
https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Hanged-Liviu-Rebreanu/dp/1592110304
Synopsis: The story of Apostol Bologa, a middle-class Romanian officer serving in the Austro-Hungarian army who
undergoes a transformation as his sense of national consciousness awakens, leading him to make a critical choice that many
faced during this era, "The Forest of the Hanged" by Liviu Rebreanu is a classic Romanian novel that lends valuable
psychological insights into the tragic situation confronting minorities in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War
I.
The novel's protagonist, Bologa undergoes an evolution whereby begins to see beyond class distinction and the veneer of the
civilized world. As the hero states, "The soul is the same in the peasant girl as in the countess, at all events in its bare
essentials. Only the shape has been changed by civilization." The inner struggles confronted by Bologa as he confronts the
savagery and injustice of war are emotionally portrayed by the author.
"The Forest of the Hanged" is rightfully considered one of the greatest novels in Romanian literature. Novelist, playwright,
short story writer, and journalist Liviu Rebeanu (November 27, 1885 - September 1, 1944) was one of Romania's most
distinguished literary figures. His novel "Ion" is arguably the first modern Romanian novel.
It is interesting to note that "The Forest of the Hanged" is based on the life of the author's brother, Emil Rebreanu, a
Romanian officer who served in the Austro-Hungarian army.
Critique: An inherently compelling, deftly crafted, emotionally charged, and simply riveting read, this edition of "The Forest
of the Hanged" is impressively illustrated by talented young artist Phoebe Cho, and includes an informative introduction by
A.K. Brackob -- making it especially and unreservedly recommended for inclusion into community, college, and university
library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Forest of the Hanged" is also
readily available in a paperback edition (9781592111138, $24.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99).
The Literary Fiction Shelf
"The Fairy Pastoral" and "Songs"
Anna Faktorovich, translater
Anaphora Literary Press
https://anaphoraliterary.com
9798750086658, $25.00, HC, 156pp
https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Pastoral-Songs-Re-Attribution-Modernization/dp/B09K236LX1
Synopsis: A standard "Shakespearean" comedy takes a group of youths who are attracted to those who are not interested in
them, and regroups them by the conclusion into neat pairings of three or four marriages. In contrast, Fairy Pastoral appears
to have been censored because the men in the pairings are wooing their intended partners from the beginning, while the
women are homicidally opposed to marriage and prove to the men how much they hate them during the plot, only for them
all to be forced into four marriages that all of them are miserable in by the resolution.
The setting is the Forest of Elvida inhabited by a kingdom of fairies. Events open with a power-transfer from Princess
Hypsiphyle to Prince Orion over accusations of mismanagement. Then, the Princess attempts to regain power across the
competitive hunt the Court undertakes.
Political and romantic tensions are repeatedly interrupted with slap-stick comedy of Schoolmaster Sir David trying to teach
literature while his rear-end is showing, he is falling asleep, and in rare instances when he manages to relate a coherent
lecture, the students fail to comprehend his meaning.
This is a satire not only on the miseries that accompany forced-marriage, but also about the failures of pedagogic
institutions, and irrational transfers of political power through subterfuge and sexism.
Critique: Ably presented by Professor Anna Faktorovich, "Fairy Pastoral" is Volume 8 in the British Renaissance
Re-Attribution and Modernization series and will have a very special appeal to students and academicians with an interest in
Elizabethan era pastoral plays and satiric dramas. While highly recommended for academic library literary fiction and drama
collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in the subject that "Fairy Pastoral" is also available in a paperback edition (9798750086146, $20.00) and in a digital
book format (Kindle, $9.99).
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
The Highlander's Substitute Wife
Terri Brisbin
Mills & Boon
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9780263296051, $31.95, HC, Large Print, 385pp
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9780263296051
Synopsis: When highlander Ross MacMillan lifted his new bride's veil he discovered that she is not the woman he agreed to
marry but her beautiful younger sister, Ilysa MacDonnell! The new MacMillan chieftain must accept Ilysa as his wife, for
retaining his clan's lands depends on her father's support. But why is she there? Are her aims to help him or her father?
Drawing out Ilysa's secrets will kindle an alliance more powerful (and passion) -- than Ross had ever imagined.
Critique: A cleverly crafted and inherently fascinating historical romance set in the Scottish highlands, "The Highlander's
Substitute Wife" by novelist Terri Brisbin is an immensely entertaining read from first page to last. This large print
hardcover Mills & Boon edition of "The Highlander's Substitute Wife" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to
community library Romance Fiction collections with its special appeal to fans of medieval historical romance novels.
Editorial Note: Terri Brisbin is a three-time RWA RITA finalist and has had more than 50 historical and paranormal
romance novels, novellas and short stories published since 1998. She has an informative website at
www.terribrisbin.com
The Schoolmaster's Daughter
Suzan Lindsay Randle
Lindford Romance Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444849257, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 252pp
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444849257
Synopsis: It's 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Eighteen-year-old Louisa Marchington, a headmaster's
daughter who's trying to find her place in local society and the world at large, is caught up in the celebrations. She meets
George Jevcott, a baker's apprentice, who has ambitions to one day become master of his own establishment. However,
before long they're both faced with obstacles to overcome, and decisions to make that affect their families as well as
themselves.
Critique: An inherently entertaining historical novel by an author with a thorough mastery of the romance genre, "The
Schoolmaster's Daughter" by Suzan Lindsay Randle is an extraordinary and fun read from beginning to end. The stuff of
which BBC productions and Hallmark Movies are made, this large print paperback edition of "The Schoolmaster's
Daughter" is a very fine and recommended addition to both personal reading lists and community library Historical
Romance collections.
Editorial Note: There is a website featuring an informative article about Suzan Lindsay Randle at
https://www.thepeoplesfriend.co.uk/2021/07/12/writer-of-the-week-suzan-lindsay-randle
The Western Fiction Shelf
Fire Wolf
Michael D. George
Linden Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848618, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 234pp
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444848618
Synopsis: Fire Wolf is a emotionless and deadly hired killer now heading to a remote settlement in answer to a telegram
message. On his way there, he tangles bloodily with three wanted outlaws in the ghost town known as Gold Strike. When
other outlaws show up, they vow vengeance and set out on his trail. Upon arriving in Jamesburg to find the man he thinks
has hired his lethal services, it seems that no one is expecting him. No one apart from the actual man who has hired Fire
Wolf.
Critique: "Fire Wolf" by western novelist Michael D. George has everything the western action/adventure fan craves --
gunplay aplenty. With a roller coaster of a plot with unanticipated twists and turns, this large print paperback edition from
the Linford Western Library is complete, unabridged, and highly recommended for both personal reading lists and
community library Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Michael D. George has written more than 100 western novels under his real and several pen names,
including Bury Them Deep in War Smoke, Dry Gulch Outlaws, and Shadow Shooters. There is a website dedicated to the
books of Michael D. George at https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/michael-d-george
Dead Man's Return
Derek Rutherford
Linden Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848564, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 258pp
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444848564
Synopsis: How far along the trail of violence and killing can a good man walk before he becomes as bad as those that he is
hunting? A terrible fear paralyses the town of Leyton, Texas. On the morning that Sheriff Jack Anderson is to hang a
16-year-old boy for a horse theft the boy never committed, Jim Jackson arrives in Leyton searching for the man that
betrayed him and sent him to hell for 10 years. Is Jack Anderson that man? And how can Jim Jackson exact revenge in a
town full of cold-blooded and desperate killers? In the final part of Jim Jackson's story, the trail of intrigue and corruption
(as well as the body count) rises into the upper echelons of the Texas political system, leading to a violent and dramatic
finale that will have repercussions at the highest levels.
Critique: Derek Rutherford seems to be one of those masters of the western genre who is able to evoke a true 'theatre of the
mind' experience for his readers. Case in point -- "Dead Man's Return". The plot twists are gripping, the gun play lethal, the
characters memorable, the story pure action adventure. This new large print paperback edition of "Dead Man's Return" from
the Linden Western Library is solidly recommended to the attention of dedicated western fans and community library
Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Derek Rutherford is the author of five Westerns, including Dead Man Walking, and numerous short stories
in the western, crime, science-fiction, and horror genres.
Tanner's Revenge
Michael Stewart
Linden Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444848762, $23.00, PB, Large Print, 228pp
https://www.ulverscroft.com/title.php?sqlCmd=isbn%3D9781444848762
Synopsis: When a gang of outlaws kill Deputy Jack Tanner's ma and pa, he hunts them down, one by one. The trail leads
him deep into the mountains of Mexico, where he encounters the mysterious Queen of Meseta de Plata (boss of the
notorious "thieves' town") and ultimately confronts the gang's leader, the evil Amos Payne in the ultimate showdown.
Critique: A riveting vengeance quest western action/adventure by novelist Michael Stewart, this large print paperback
edition "Tanner's Revenge" from the Linford Western Library series is the stuff of which Clint Eastwood movies were
made. From first page to last, "Tanner's Revenge" is a simply riveting read and one that is unabashedly recommended for the
personal reading lists of dedicated western buffs and community library Western Fiction collections.
The End of Nowhere
Patrick Dearen
Five Star Books
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432888541, $25.95, HC, 223pp
https://www.amazon.com/End-Nowhere-Five-Star-Western/dp/1432888544
Synopsis: It's 1917, and the Mexican Revolution has the Big Bend of Texas aflame. But the firestorm is no greater than the
one inside newspaper reporter Jack Landon. Disillusioned, he flees down the road to nowhere and finds himself in
Esperanza. Populated by people of Mexican heritage, the small village on the Texas bank of the Rio Grande is a target of
Texas Rangers Company B, which unjustly considers it a bandit den.
Jack befriends a teenaged boy and his adult sister, Mary, who teaches in the Esperanza school. As Jack assimilates to life in
Esperanza, the threat of Rangers looms large. Eventually a day of reckoning descends, and it envelops Jack and Mary and
the entire village.
Critique: Although a work of fiction, "The End of Nowhere" is based on what actually happened at Porvenir, Texas, on
January 28, 1918 -- the darkest moment in Texas Rangers history. An inherently engaging read from first page to last, "The
End of Nowhere" by Patrick Dearen is an especially well crafted and highly recommended addition to both the personal
reading lists of dedicated western fans and community library Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: The author of twenty-six books and winner of the Spur Award of Western Writers of America, Patrick
Dearen wears two hats. As a historian and folklorist, he digs deeply into the lore and legend of the West and produces books
that appeal to both scholars and general readers. As a novelist, he draws on this reservoir of knowledge and crafts stories of
people interacting with a harsh and yet beautiful environment. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he preserved the firsthand
accounts of 76 men who cowboyed before 1932. These interviews, along with decades of archival study, have enriched
Dearen's novels and nonfiction books.
The Not So Quiet Life of Calamity Jane
K. Lyn Wurth
Five Star Books
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432871352, $25.95, HC, 286pp
https://www.amazon.com/Not-Quiet-Life-Calamity-Jane/dp/1432871358
Synopsis: Martha Jane Cannary was a western woman who ran through names like whiskey, but one nicknam stuck and she
became known to history as Calamity Jane. Stranded in a Virginia City mining camp, this orphan blasted through the 1860s
West, determined to be noticed and tell her own story.
"The Not So Quiet Life of Calamity Jane" shatters the veneer of legends to reveal her tenacious heart. Rowdy and seemingly
hell-bent on her own destruction, this devoted friend, jilted lover, sometime wife, and heartbroken mother wandered the
West she loved. She shot up saloons, performed in bordellos and Wild West shows, worked when she had to, cared for the
sick, and lied about what she couldn't change.
Critique: Although a work of fiction, "The Not So Quiet Life of Calamity Jane" was meticulously researched by author K.
Lyn Wurth who is ably to so vividly bring to the appreciative attention of a new generation of western fans an original,
remarkable, legendary woman of the American West! Also available in a large print paperback edition (Wheeler Publishing
Large Print, 9781432871369, $25.99), "The Not So Quiet Life of Calamity Jane" is particularly recommended for personal
and community library Western Fiction collections.
Last Comanche Warrior
James D. Crownover
Five Star Books
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432885977, $25.95, HC, 334pp
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Comanche-Warrior-James-Crownover/dp/1432885979
Synopsis: Three times, Adam Bain and his twin sister, Eve, escaped capture by attacking Indians; once by Adam and his
brother, Noah, jumping off a hundred-foot-high bluff into the Llano River.
But the day comes when their luck runs out, and Adam and Eve are captured by Mescalero Apaches. Because of Adam's
flaming red hair, the Indians name him Rojo Pelo. Eve is named Castaano Rojizo because of her auburn hair. They are
carried to the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico Territory where Adam is adopted by the chief, Elkhorn, and enters
training to become an Apache warrior with five Apache boys.
Comancheros from the Rio Grande valley bring whiskey into the village for trade, and Elkhorn is murdered in the ensuing
wild debauchery. Rojo kills the murderer and leaves the village to avoid a feud with the murderer's kin. He carries Elkhorn's
body to the family burial cleft in the Guadalupe Mountains and spends several months living alone in the mountains where
he determines to join Quanah Parker and the Quahadi Comanches.
The Comanches take him on a raid into Mexico to determine if he has the skills to become a Comanche warrior. Rojo gains
notoriety as a warrior fighting the hide men who are killing off the buffalo. He participates in the second battle of Adobe
Walls and the ensuing war against settlers on the Great Plains. When Quanah and the Quahadi decide to surrender to the
army, Rojo joins others who refuse to surrender.
Critique: From start to finish, the action is non-stop in "Last Comanche Warrior" by James D. Crownover. The stuff of
which legendary western movies were made, "Last Comanche Warrior" is a terrific read from cover to cover and a welcome,
unreservedly recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Direct Legacy: A Cold War Spy Thriller
James Stejskal
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636241197, $27.95, HC, 332pp
https://www.amazon.com/Direct-Legacy-Snake-Eater-Chronicles/dp/1636241190
Synopsis: It is the height of the Troubles and Northern Ireland lies under a shadow when Neil Fitzpatrick, a rogue Green
Beret soldier, is recruited by the Irish Republican Army to help prepare a terrorist attack, Paul Stavros, his former teammate,
is sent to stop him and bring him home alive. Fitzpatrick, the American son of an Irish rebel who was forced to flee his
birthplace, is a Special Forces demolitions expert. Fitzpatrick knows his trade and has a personal agenda with the IRA.
Alarm bells erupt when the US government learns that Fitzpatrick has gone over to the IRA. The American public can't find
out that one of its elite soldiers is involved in terrorism and the US government won't rely on the British to find him. They
need someone who knows Fitzpatrick and how he operates. Who better than one of his former teammates?
Paul Stavros is also a Special Forces veteran. He knows little of the Irish Troubles but is about to learn. What he does know
is how to fix problems and Neil has just become his biggest headache. But before Stavros can go operational, he must
endure an arduous and hazardous selection process to be accepted by the joint SAS-intelligence cell that will back him up.
The British aren't happy with Stavros on their turf; they'd rather do the job themselves -- quickly, cleanly, and
terminally.
Once, Fitzpatrick and Stavros were comrades and friends. Now they are pawns on opposite sides of an ugly war where all is
fair and no one is innocent. The British want to kill one, the IRA wants to kill the other. It's a race to see who will be
first.
Critique: A riveting read with a very special appeal to fans of military action/adventure novels that, while works of fiction,
have authors who pay direct addition to historical details. With the publication of "Direct Legacy", author and military/CIA
veteran James Stejskal is demonstrated to be among that elite number of writers who can turn out a narrative driven tale of
historical thriller that fully engages the reader from first page to last. Deftly crafted and also available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $16.95), "Direct Legacy" will prove to be an enduringly appreciated and popular addition to personal
reading lists and community library fiction collections.
Editorial Note: James Stejskal, after 35 years of service with US Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency,
is a uniquely qualified historian and novelist. He is the author of the definitive history: "Special Forces Berlin Clandestine
Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956-1990: and "Masters of Mayhem: Lawrence of Arabia and the British
Military Mission to the Hejaz".
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
The Grief of Stones
Katherine Addison
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
9781250813893, $24.97, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Grief-Stones-Cemeteries-Amalo/dp/1250813891
Synopsis: As a Witness for the Dead, Thara Celehar can speak to the recently departed: see the last thing they saw, know the
last thought they had, experience the last thing they felt. It is his duty to use that ability to ascertain the intent of the dead
and to find the killers of the murdered.
Celehar's time in the city of Amalo has brought him both friends and enemies -- and a great deal of notoriety. Now, when
solving the murder of a marquise raises more questions than it answers, he finds himself exploring Amalo's dark
underside.
His investigations lead him to the Cemchelarna School for Foundling Girls, where all is not as it seems. Discovering the
truth about its headmistress will lead Celehar deep into the city's history -- and into the shattering depths of the loss he fears
the most.
Critique: Deftly combining the elements of dark fantasy and mystery, "The Grief of Stones" is novelist Katherine Addison's
second title in her outstanding fantasy series 'The Cemeteries of Amalo'. Original and a fully absorbing read from first page
to last, "The Grief of Stones" will have a very special appeal to fans of epic action/adventure fantasies. While highly
recommended for community library Science Fiction & Fantasy collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists
of all dedicated fantasy fans that "The Grief of Stones" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$13.99).
Editorial Note: Katherine Addison's short fiction has been selected by The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and The Year's
Best Science Fiction. Her novel, "The Goblin Emperor", won a Locus Award. Under the pen name of Sarah Monette, she is
also the author of the Doctrine of Labyrinths series and co-author, with Elizabeth Bear, of the Iskryne series.
The American History Shelf
Chicago: An Illustrated Timeline
Ellen Shubart
Reedy Press
PO Box 5131, St. Louis, MO 63139
www.reedypress.com
9781681063010, $39.95, HC, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Illustrated-Timeline-Ellen-Shubart/dp/1681063018
Synopsis: Located along a lazy, swampy slow-moving river, in a sea of prairie grasses as far as the eye could see along its
flat plain, Chicago unexpectedly arose as a thriving, prosperous city. Chicago's story is one of meeting challenges over and
over again.
From its inauspicious location, the city developed as a trading location, a transportation hub for the emerging new United
States of America, and a magnet for immigrants seeking jobs and a new lifestyle. In its history, it rose from the ashes of the
Great Chicago Fire, spotlighted its own success at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, and birthed and nurtured the American
architectural phenomenon, the skyscraper.
Replete with vignettes and memorable photography, "Chicago: An Illustrated Timeline" by academician and Chicago
historian Ellen Shubart, follows the city of Chicago's story from its trading post beginnings to its role as a possible
American megacity. Using chronology as its structure, the timeline unveils events that are happily remembered, such as the
two world's fairs held in Chicago or the Cubs' winning the World Series, and those that often are not talked about, such as
the Race Riots of 1919 or the Influenza of 1918.
Guided by historical figures from various areas of life, first settler Jean Baptiste DuSable, Mayor Richard J. Daley, or
Muddy Waters this visually informative history covers all aspects of Chicago life, from art and architecture, to craft beer and
restaurants to sports. It also tracks the history of architectural styles, the growth of the immigrant communities, and the
development of Chicago-style politics.
Join author and Chicago tour guide Ellen Shubart on this detail-packed, visual journey through one of America's most iconic
cities.
Critique: The next best thing to going on alive tour of the Windy City with Ellen Shubart, "Chicago: An Illustrated
Timeline" will have a special appeal to both the armchair traveler and the on-site visitor. Informative and memorable,
"Chicago: An Illustrated Timeline" is an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college,
and university library American History & Travel collections -- and would serve as an excellent template for illustrated
histories of other major American cities.
Editorial Note: A life-long Chicagoan, Ellen Shubart spent more than two decades as a journalist, taught at the college level
for a number of years, and ended her career as an advocate for sustainable city planning. A historian by training, with
Masters degrees in U.S. History and Historic Preservation, she has written another book for Reedy Press, What's With
Chicago?, and two for Arcadia Publishing - Glencoe, Illinois and Taylor Street, Chicago's Little Italy. In retirement, she is a
docent at the Chicago Architecture Center and gives tours of Chicago architecture.
The World History Shelf
The Rise of Persia and the First Greco-Persian Wars
Manousos E. Kambouris
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399093293, $42.95, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Persia-First-Greco-Persian-Wars/dp/1399093290
Synopsis: With the publication of "The Rise of Persia and the First Greco-Persian Wars: The Expansion of the Achaemenid
Empire and the Battle of Marathon", historian Manousos Kambouris revisits the epic events of the first Greco-Persian War
and the Persian invasion of Greece.
Kambouris provides details on the Persian perspective and sets the war in the context of the rise of Achaemenid Persia as
the superpower of the day and the expansion of their empire into Europe. After relating the earlier Persian campaigns in
Europe he shows how the Ionian Revolt, by the Greeks of Asia Minor already under Persian rule, was instrumental. Darius
I, the Persian King of Kings ordered the invasion of Greece ostensibly to punish the Greeks, and more specifically the
Athenians, for their support of the Revolt and to contain further insurgencies but in truth to achieve god-ordained world
dominance.
Describing the invasion in great detail, Kambouris also analyses the king's immense (even if occasionally exaggerated)
army, considering its composition and logistical constraints. The campaign leading to Marathon and the decisive battle itself
are then clearly narrated. Manousos Kambouris' meticulous research brings fresh insights to this timeless tale of defiance of
the odds and victory for the underdog.
Critique: Featuring impressive illustrations, "The Rise of Persia and the First Greco-Persian Wars: The Expansion of the
Achaemenid Empire and the Battle of Marathon" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of an Introduction (A True
Cultural World War), and Epilogue (Normality Resumed), an eight page Bibliography, and a four page Index. As
fascinating as it is informative, "The Rise of Persia and the First Greco-Persian Wars: The Expansion of the Achaemenid
Empire and the Battle of Marathon" is an invaluable and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional,
community, college, and university library Hellenic History and Ancient Greek Military History collections and
supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in the subject that "The Rise of Persia and the First Greco-Persian Wars: The Expansion of the Achaemenid Empire
and the Battle of Marathon" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Manousos E Kambouris has a background in scientific writing, contributing chapters on a wide range of
disciplines to various edited volumes and journals. He has been researching Ancient Greek warfare for many years and has
published numerous articles in 'Archeologija Prirodne Na' (Archaeology and Science), 'Ancient Warfare', 'Military History',
'War & History', 'Nuova Antologia Militare', 'Third Eye' and 'Hellenic Nexus'. He has written three previous books on
Marathon, Salamis and Xenophon's Ten Thousand. For the past 8 years he has been an historical consultant to the
experimental archaeology group Koryvantes, the Association of Historical Studies.
Religion & Classical Warfare: The Roman Empire
Matthew Dillon, editor
Christopher Matthew, editor
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781473834309, $49.95, HC, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Religion-Classical-Warfare-Roman-Empire/dp/1473834309
Synopsis: Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Romans were no exception. No campaign
was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Mars, god of
War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been
regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times.
Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by academicians Matthew Dillon and Christopher Matthew, "Religion & Classical
Warfare: The Roman Empire" directly addresses that omission by drawing together the work of diverse experts from across
the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give
a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Roman Empire.
Aspects considered in depth include: the Imperial cults and legionary loyalty; the army and religious/regional disputes;
Trajan and religion; Constantine and Christianity; omens and portents; funerary cults and practices; the cult of Mithras; the
Imperial sacramentum; religion & Imperial military medicine.
Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a list of Abbreviations, a listing of the contributors and their
credentials, figures, illustrations, and an eight page Index, "Religion & Classical Warfare: The Roman Empire" is an
extraordinary, unique, and informative contribution to personal, professional, community, college, and university library
Roman Religion, and Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students,
academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Religion & Classical Warfare: The Roman
Empire" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49).
Editorial Note #1: Dr Matthew Dillon is Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of New
England, New South Wales, Australia. His previous works include The Ancient Greeks in their own Words (2002).
Editorial Note #2: Christopher Matthew has just completed his doctoral thesis on hoplite warfare at MacQuarie University
in Sydney, where one of his assessors has said he 'singlehandedly advanced the whole field'. He has also been invited to
lecture on the subject at other Australian universities. This book is closely based on his doctoral thesis.
The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260
Paul N. Pearson
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399090971, $42.95, HC, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Roman-Empire-Crisis-248-260-Abandoned/dp/1399090976
Synopsis: With the publication of "The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome", British
historian Paul N. Pearson provides a narrative history of a dozen years of turmoil that begins with Rome's millennium
celebrations of 248 CE and ends with the capture of the emperor Valerian by the Persians in 260.
This was a period of almost unremitting disaster for Rome, involving a series of civil wars, several major invasions by
Goths and Persians, economic crisis, and an empire-wide pandemic, the 'plague of Cyprian'. There was also a sustained
persecution of the Christians.
A central theme of "The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260" is that this was a period of moral and spiritual crisis in which
the traditional state religion suffered greatly in prestige, paving the way for the eventual triumph of Christianity.
The sensational recent discovery of extensive fragments of the lost Scythica of Dexippus sheds much new light on the
Gothic Wars of the period. Author and historian Paul Pearson has utilized this new evidence in combination with in-depth
investigations in the field to develop a revised account of events surrounding the great Battle of Abritus where the army of
the emperor Decius was annihilated by Cniva's Goths. New light is shed on a period which is pivotal for understanding the
transition between Classical civilization and the period known as Late Antiquity.
Critique: Simply stated, no personal, community, or academic library Roman History collection can be considered up to date
without the inclusion of Paul N. Pearson's "The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned Rome". A
masterpiece of original scholarship, this informed and informative study is enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of
plates, maps, a Prologue (Millennium), an Epilogue (Rome Abandons the Gods), a nineteen page listing of Cited Literature,
thirty-nine pages of Notes, and a seventeen page Index. It should be noted for students, academics, and non-specialist
general readers with an interest in Roman History that "The Roman Empire in Crisis, 248-260: When the Gods Abandoned
Rome" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Paul N. Pearson is Honorary Professor of Geology at Cardiff University and has a long-held passion for
Roman history. He has written numerous peer-reviewed articles and is the author of the highly praised 'Maximinus Thrax:
from Common Soldier to Emperor of Rome' (Pen & Sword, 2016).
Roman Empire at War
Don Taylor
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781473869080, $34.99, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Roman-Empire-War-Compendium-D/dp/1473869080
Synopsis: With the publication of "Roman Empire at War: A Compendium of Roman Battles from 31 B.C. to A.D. 565",
Professor Don Taylor catalogues and offers a brief description of every significant battle fought by the Roman Empire from
Augustus to Justinian I (and most of the minor ones too).
The information in each entry is drawn exclusively from Ancient, Late Antique, and Early Medieval texts, in order to offer a
brief description of each battle based solely on the information provided by the earliest surviving sources which chronicle
the event. This approach provides the reader a concise foundation of information to which they can then confidently apply
later scholarly interpretation presented in secondary sources in order to achieve a more accurate understanding of the most
likely battlefield scenario.
In writing the battle descriptions, Professor Taylor has not sought analyze the evidence contained in the surviving accounts,
nor embellish them beyond that which was necessary to provide clarity to the modern reader. He allows the original writers
to speak for themselves, presenting the reader with a succinct version of what the ancient chroniclers tell us of these
dramatic events.
"Roman Empire at War: A Compendium of Roman Battles from 31 B.C. to A.D. 565" is an excellent first-stop reference to
the many battles of the Roman Empire.
Critique: Impressively informative and a welcome contribution to the growing library of Roman Military Histories, "Roman
Empire at War: A Compendium of Roman Battles from 31 B.C. to A.D. 565" is particularly recommended to both academia
and the non-specialist general reader. An exceptionally well organized and presented volume, it should be noted that
"Roman Empire at War: A Compendium of Roman Battles from 31 B.C. to A.D. 565" is also available for personal reading
lists in a paperback edition (9781399085205, $26.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).
Editorial Note: Dr. Don Taylor holds a PhD in European History with a concentration in Ancient Mediterranean Studies
from Fulbright College of the University of Arkansas (USA). Since 1995 he has served as a university professor in
European and Ancient History at Hardin-Simmons University, Texas and he has published and/or lectured on various topics
of Greek and Roman history.
The Hitler Assassination Attempts
John Grehan
Frontline Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399018906, $34.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hitler-Assassination-Attempts-Changed-History/dp/1399018906
Synopsis: Throughout his political career, Adolf Hitler was the subject of numerous assassination plots, some of which were
attempted, all of which failed. While a few of these have become well known, particularly the bomb explosions at the
Burgerbraukeller in Munich in 1939 and the Stauffenberg Valkyrie attempt carried out at the Wolfsschanze on 20 July 1944,
many others have received far less attention - until now.
With the publication of "The Hitler Assassination Attempts: The Plots, Places and People that Almost Changed History",
historian John Grehan reveals all of the known planned or proposed assassination attempts on Hitler, ranging from Chicago
to London and from Sweden to the Ukraine. Some of these plots have not previously been presented to the general public by
historians.
All manner of methods were proposed by those willing to bring Hitler's life to a premature end and Hitler was well aware of
the danger which lurked potentially around every corner of every road, railway track, every building and even every
individual. As a result, an immense, multi-layered security apparatus surrounded the Fuhrer day and night. Despite this, and
knowing the risks they faced, many people sought to kill the German leader, and some very nearly did. Yet Hitler survived,
often by just a minute or a millimeter, only to finally die at his own hand.
These plots and conspiracies are detailed and documented in "The Hitler Assassination Attempts", along with a unique
collection of photographs of many of the proposed or actual assassination locations. All will be revealed in this fascinating
compilation of the obscure, the fanciful and the carefully considered attempts to assassinate Hitler.
Critique: An invaluable and unique contribution to the growing library of World War II histories and biographies, "The
Hitler Assassination Attempts: The Plots, Places and People that Almost Changed History" is an extraordinarily informative
and innately fascinating read. A choice and recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university library
World War II collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military
history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Hitler Assassination Attempts: The
Plots, Places and People that Almost Changed History" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: John Grehan has written, edited or contributed to more than 300 books and magazine articles covering a
wide span of military history from the Iron Age to the recent conflict in Afghanistan. John has also appeared on local and
national radio and television to advise on military history topics. He was employed as the Assistant Editor of Britain at War
Magazine from its inception until 2014.
The Civil War Shelf
Lieutenant General James Longstreet
F. Gregory Toretta
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636241173, $34.95, HC, 264pp
https://www.amazon.com/Lieutenant-Longstreet-Innovative-Military-Strategy/dp/1636241174
Synopsis: Lieutenant-General James Longstreet (January 8, 1821 - January 2, 1904), commander of the First Corps of the
Army of Northern Virginia, was a brilliant tactician and strategist. Prior to the Civil War there were many technological
developments, of which the rifled musket and cannon, rail transport and the telegraph were a few. In addition, the North
enjoyed a great advantage in manpower and resources. Longstreet adapted to these technological changes and the disparity
between the belligerents making recommendations on how the war should be fought.
Longstreet made a leap of thinking to adjust to this new type of warfare. Many others did not make this leap, including
Robert E. Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, Bragg, Hood and Jefferson Davis. Unfortunately, his advice was not heeded and given
the weight it deserved. In contrast to many other southern generals, Longstreet advocated for defensive warfare, using
entrenchments and trying to maneuver the enemy to assault his position, conserving manpower, resources and supplies.
With the advent of the highly accurate and long-range rifled musket, offensive tactics became questionable and risky. This
caused Longstreet to come into conflict with General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg. Longstreet opposed the Gettysburg
campaign and Lee's battle plans at Gettysburg against General Meade and the Army of the Potomac. At Chickamauga,
Longstreet was at odds with General Bragg on how to proceed after the stunning victory by the Army of Tennessee over
Rosecrans and his forces.
Longstreet was never given full authority over an army in the field. He was a pragmatic and methodical general and had his
suggestions been utilized there arguably would have been a better outcome for the South. Many historians and biographers
have misunderstood Longstreet and his motives, not focusing on the total picture.
"Lieutenant General James Longstreet: Innovative Military Strategist: The Most Misunderstood Civil War General" by F.
Gregory Toretta offers a fresh and unique perspective on Longstreet and the Civil War. This narrative takes a new viewpoint
of the Civil War and the generals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyses Longstreet's views of the generals
and the tactics and strategy they employed and examines why Longstreet proposed and urged a new type of warfare.
Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, an Epilogue (General Longstreet's Strategy and
Tactics), twelve pages of Notes, a four page Bibliography, and a six page Index, "Lieutenant General James Longstreet:
Innovative Military Strategist: The Most Misunderstood Civil War General" is an impressive work of meticulous and
original scholarship offering an inherently fascinating and informative contribution to the growing library of American Civil
War histories and biographies. While also available to students, academia, and Civil War buffs in a digital book format
(Kindle, $20.95), "Lieutenant General James Longstreet: Innovative Military Strategist: The Most Misunderstood Civil War
General" is unreservedly recommended as a key and important addition to personal, professional, community, and academic
library American Civil War collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: F. Gregory Toretta is a writer and historian with a passion for the American Civil War, accumulating an
extensive library and undertaking copious research.
Spectacle of Grief
Sarah J. Purcell
University of North Carolina Press
116 South Boundary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3808
https://uncpress.org
9781469668321, $95.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Spectacle-Grief-Public-Funerals-America/dp/1469668327
Synopsis: With the publication of "Spectacle of Grief: Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era", Sarah J. Purcell
i( the L. F. Parker Professor of History at Grinnell College), provides an illuminating history that informatively examines
how the public funerals of major figures from the Civil War era shaped public memories of the war and allowed a diverse
set of people to contribute to changing American national identities.
These funerals often featured lengthy processions that sometimes crossed multiple state lines, burial ceremonies open to the
public, and other cultural productions of commemoration such as oration and song. As Professor Purcell reveals, Americans'
participation in these funeral rites led to contemplation and contestation over the political and social meanings of the war
and the roles played by the honored dead. Public mourning for military heroes, reformers, and politicians distilled political
and social anxieties as the country coped with the aftermath of mass death and casualties.
Professor Purcell also shows how large-scale funerals for figures such as Henry Clay and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson set
patterns for mourning culture and Civil War commemoration; after 1865, public funerals for figures such as Robert E. Lee,
Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, and Winnie Davis elaborated on these patterns and fostered public debate about the
meanings of the war, Reconstruction, race, and gender.
Critique: A unique and invaluable contribution to the growing library of American Civil War histories, "Spectacle of Grief:
Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era" is a masterpiece of original scholarship and an unreservedly
recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library collections. Informationally
enhanced with the inclusion of illustrations, maps, sixty-two pages of Notes, a thirty-six page Bibliography, and a fifteen
page Index, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist
general readers with an interest in the subject that "Spectacle of Grief: Public Funerals and Memory in the Civil War Era" is
also available in a paperback edition (9781469668338, $34.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.49).
The Civil War on the Mississippi
Barbara Brooks Tomblin
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
9780813167039, $49.99, HC, 388pp
https://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Mississippi-Captains-Campaign/dp/0813167035
Synopsis: Flowing from its source in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River borders or passes
through ten different states and serves as one of the most important transportation systems in the country. During the Civil
War, both sides believed that whoever controlled the river would ultimately be victorious. Cotton exports generated
much-needed revenue for the Confederacy, and the Mississippi was also the main conduit for the delivery of materials and
food. Similarly, the Union sought to maintain safe passage from St. Louis, Missouri, to Cairo, Illinois, but also worked to
bisect the South by seizing the river as part of the Anaconda Plan.
Drawing heavily on the diaries and letters of officers and common sailors, and with the publication of "The Civil War on the
Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River", Barbara Brooks Tomblin (who
taught military history at Rutgers University and is the author of several articles and books) explores the years during which
the Union navy fought to win control of the Mississippi.
Her approach provides fresh insight into major battles such as Memphis and Vicksburg, but also offers fascinating
perspectives on lesser-known aspects of the conflict from ordinary sailors engaged in brown-water warfare. These men
speak of going ashore in foraging parties, assisting the surgeon in the amputation of a fellow crewman's arm, and liberating
supplies of whiskey from captured enemy vessels. They also offer candid assessments of their commanding officers,
observations of the local people living along the river, and their views on the war.
"The Civil War on the Mississippi" not only provides its readers with a comprehensive and vivid account of the action on
the western rivers; it also offers an incredible synthesis of first-person accounts from the front lines.
Critique: An invaluable and inherently interesting work of groundbreaking Civil War scholarship, "The Civil War on the
Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River" will prove to be a welcome and
instructive contribution to community, college, and university library American Civil War histories. Informationally
enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an eight page Bibliography, forty-four pages of Notes, and a twenty-five page
Index, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Civil War historians, and Civil War buffs that
"The Civil War on the Mississippi" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9780813186771, $30.00) and in a digital
book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Bluejackets and Contrabands
Barbara Brooks Tomblin
The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
9780813125541, $40.00, PB, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/Bluejackets-Contrabands-African-Americans-Union/dp/0813125545
Synopsis: One of the lesser-known stories of the Civil War is the role played by escaped slaves in the Union blockade along
the Atlantic coast. From the beginning of the war, many African American refugees sought avenues of escape to the North.
Due to their sheer numbers, those who reached Union forces presented a problem for the military.
The problem was partially resolved by the First Confiscation Act of 1861, which permitted the seizure of property used in
support of the South's war effort, including slaves. Eventually regarded as contraband of war, the runaways became known
as contrabands.
With the publication of "Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy", academician and historian
Barbara Brooks Tomblin examines the relationship between the Union Navy and the contrabands. The navy established
colonies for the former slaves, and, in return, some contrabands served as crewmen on navy ships and gunboats and as river
pilots, spies, and guides.
"Bluejackets and Contrabands" presents a rare picture of the contrabands and casts light on the vital contributions of African
Americans to the Union Navy and the Union cause.
Critique: Bringing out of an undeserved obscurity the African-American element of the Civil War struggles on the side of
the Union and in direct opposition to the Confederacy, "Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union
Navy" is an extraordinary and impressively informative contribution to 19th Century African-American history in general,
and Civil War histories in particular. Original, informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, no
personal, professional, community, college, or university library American Civil War collection can be considered
comprehensive or up-to-date without the inclusion of Barbara Brooks Tomblin's "Bluejackets and Contrabands: African
Americans and the Union Navy". This unique work of Civil War scholarship is also available for the personal reading lists
of students, academia, Civil War historians, Civil War scholars, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in African-American history in a paperback addition (9780813186870, $30.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle,
$28.50).
Unceasing Fury
Scott L. Mingus Sr., author
Joseph L. Owen, author
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611215557, $32.95, HC, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Unceasing-Fury-Texans-Chickamauga-September/dp/1611215552
Synopsis: It was the Civil War's largest battle second only to Gettysburg, but until recently, very little of consequence had
been written about Chickamauga. You can count on one hand the number of authors who have tackled Chickamauga in any
real depth, and most of their works cover the entire battle. Left unmined and mostly forgotten are the experiences of specific
brigades, regiments, and state-affiliated troops. Scott Mingus and Joseph Owen's "Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of
Chickamauga, September 18-20, 1863", is the first full-length book study to examine in detail the role of troops from the
Lone Star State.
Texas troops fought in almost every major sector of the sprawling Chickamauga battlefield, from the first attacks on
September 18 on the bridges spanning the creek to the final attack on Snodgrass Hill on September 20. Fortunately, many of
the survivors left vivid descriptions of battle action, the anguish of losing friends, the pain and loneliness of being so far
away from home, and their often-colorful opinions of their generals.
The authors of this richly detailed study based their work on hundreds of personal accounts, memoirs, postwar newspaper
articles, diaries, and other primary sources. Their meticulous work provides the first exploration of the critical role Texas
enlisted men and officers played in the three days of fighting near West Chickamauga Creek in September 1863.
"Unceasing Fury" clearly provides the Lone Star State soldiers with the recognition they have so long deserved.
Critique: An exceptional work of original research and meticulous Civil War scholarship, "Unceasing Fury: Texans at the
Battle of Chickamauga, September 18-20, 1863" is a significant and unreservedly recommended addition to the growing
library of American Civil War histories and biographies. Especially appropriate for both community and academic library
collections, informatively enhanced with the inclusion of two Appendices (Overall Casualties at Chickamauga in Texas
Commands & Individual Texas Casualties at Chickamuga by Regiment), a fourteen page Bibliography, a four page list of
Acknowledgments, and a fifteen page Index, "Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18-20,
1863" also readily available for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist general
readers with an interest in the subject in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note #1: Scott L. Mingus, Sr., has written nineteen Civil War books. His biography of Confederate General
William "Extra Billy" Smith won the 2013 Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award and the Dr. James I. Robertson,
Jr., Literary Award, and was also nominated for the Virginia Literary Award for Non-Fiction. A contributor to Gettysburg
Magazine, Scott also maintains a blog on the Civil War history of York County (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball). He
received the 2013 Heritage Profile Award from the York County Heritage Trust for his contributions to local Civil War
history.
Editorial Note #2: Joe Owen is a National Park Ranger at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City,
Texas. He is also a co-author of two books about Hood's Texas Brigade, Texans At Gettysburg: Blood and Glory with
Hood's Texas Brigade, (2016), and Texans at Antietam: A Terrible Clash of Arms, September 16-17, 1862, (2017), and is
the author of Lone Star Valor: Texans of the Blue and Gray at Gettysburg (2019). Joe received the 2019 Jefferson Davis
Gold Medal from the Daughters of Confederacy for outstanding research and writing.
The Military Shelf
General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa, 1914-1917
David Brock Katz
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636240176, $37.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/General-Smuts-First-Africa-1914-1917/dp/1636240178
Synopsis: World War I ushered in a renewed scramble by European powers for control of Africa. At its helm, General Jan
Smuts grabbed the opportunity to realize his ambition of a Greater South Africa. He set his sights upon the vast German
colonies of South-West Africa and East Africa -- the demise of which would end the Kaiser's grandiose schemes for
Mittelafrika. As part of his strategy to shift South Africa's borders inexorably northward, Smuts even cast an eye toward
Portuguese and Belgian African possessions.
Jan Smuts, whose abilities as a general were much denigrated by both his contemporary and then later modern historians,
was no armchair soldier. This cabinet minister and statesman donned a uniform and led his men into battle. He learned his
soldiery craft under General Koos De la Rey's tutelage, and another soldier-statesman, General Louis Botha during the
South African War 1899-1902. He emerged from that war, immersed in the Boer maneuver doctrine he devastatingly waged
in the guerrilla phase of that conflict. His daring and epic invasion of the Cape at the head of his commando remains
legendary.
The first phase of the German South West African campaign and the Afrikaner Rebellion in 1914 placed his abilities as a
sound strategic thinker and a bold operational planner on display. Champing at the bit, he finally had the opportunity to
command the Southern Forces in the second phase of the German South West African campaign.
Placed in command of the Allied forces in East Africa in 1916, he led a mixed bag of South Africans and Imperial troops
against the legendary Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his Shutztruppe. Using his penchant for Boer maneuver warfare
together with mounted infantry led and manned by Boer Republican veterans, he proceeded to free the vast German territory
from Lettow-Vorbeck's grip.
Often leading from the front, his operational concepts were an enigma to the British under his command, remaining so to
modern-day historians. Although unable to bring the elusive and wily Lettow-Vorbeck to a final decisive battle, Smuts
conquered most of the territory by the end of his tenure in February 1917.
With the publication of "General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa, 1914-1917: Incorporating His German South
West and East Africa Campaigns", military historian David Brock Katz makes use of multiple archival sources and the
official accounts of all the participants to provide a long-overdue reassessment of Smuts's generalship and his role in
furthering the strategic aims of South Africa and the British Empire in Africa during World War I.
Critique: An fully impressive work of exhaustive research and meticulous scholarship, "General Jan Smuts and his First
World War in Africa, 1914-1917: Incorporating His German South West and East Africa Campaigns" by Professor David
Katz rescues from an undeserved obscurity on of the truly fascinating general officers of World War I. While very highly
recommended for inclusion into community, college, and university library World War I History & Biography collections,
as well as supplemental curriculum 20th Century South African History studies lists, it should be noted for the personal
reading lists that "General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa, 1914-1917: Incorporating His German South West
and East Africa Campaigns" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99).
Editorial Note: David Brock Katz lectures at the Army and Defence Colleges of the South African National Defence Force
and is an active member of the Andrew Mlangeni Regiment (formerly the South African Irish Regiment). He completed his
MMil in Military History (cum laude) and a PhD in Military Science in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of
Military Science of Stellenbosch University. He is a research fellow at Stellenbosch University in the Faculty of Military
Science. He has published extensively on South African military history and doctrine and can be followed on Twitter at
https://twitter.com davebrockkatz
Normandy: From Cotentin to Falaise, June-July 1944
Friedrich Hayn, author
Linden Lyons, translator
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636241562, $45.00, HC, 200pp
https://www.amazon.com/Normandy-Cotentin-Falaise-June-July-Wehrmacht/dp/1636241565
Synopsis: With the publication of "Normandy: From Cotentin to Falaise, June-July 1944", historians and military history
buffs are offered a unique perspective on the decisive early weeks of the Normandy invasion in 1944, from the perspective
of Friedrich Hayn, a German Army Corps Intelligence officer stationed in Normandy at the time of the Allied invasion, who
during the invasion was the department head for enemy messages processing (Ic) in the staff of the LXXXIV AK.
"Normandy: From Cotentin to Falaise, June-July 1944" discusses in detail the events leading up to the creation of Falaise
Pocket, described by the Friedrich Hayn as the "tragic turning point of an entire front". It also discusses in detail the
conditions in the American landing section and explains how the German troops based there came to be defeated.
Critique: Providing the German view of D-Day, as personally witnessed by a German Army Corps intelligence officer in
Normandy at the time of the Allied invasion, now published by Casemate, and ably translated into English for an American
readership by Linden Lyons, "Normandy: From Cotentin to Falaise, June-July 1944" is a unique, informative, and inherently
fascinating study that, while also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.490, is an
absolutely essential and core addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library World War II
history collections in general, and D-Day Norman Invasion supplemental curriculum studies lists in particular.
Editorial Note #1: Friedrich Hayn was the head of the intelligence section of the German LXXXIV Army Corps in
1944.
Editorial Note #2: Linden Lyons holds a master's degree in history from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He
also studied German at the University of Freiburg and librarianship at the University of Canberra. He is the translator for
Panzer Operations, Vitebsk, and Leningrad in the Die Wehrmacht im Kampf series.
The Business Shelf
Radically Human
Paul R. Daugherty, author
H. James Wilson, author
Harvard Business Review Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
http://hbr.org/books
9781647821081, $30.00, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Radically-Human-Technology-Transforming-Business/dp/1647821088
Synopsis: In their groundbreaking book, "Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI" (Harvard Business
Review Press, 2018), Accenture technology leaders Paul R. Daugherty and H. James Wilson showed how leading
organizations use the power of human-machine collaboration to transform their processes and their bottom lines. Now, as
new AI powered technologies like the metaverse, natural language processing, and digital twins begin to rapidly impact both
life and work, those companies and other pioneers across industries are tipping the balance even more strikingly toward the
human side with technology-led strategy that is reshaping the very nature of innovation.
Now with the publication of "Radically Human: How New Technology Is Transforming Business and Shaping Our Future",
Daugherty and Wilson once again team up to show this profound shift continuing (and fast-forwarded by the pandemic)
toward more human (and more humane) technology.
Artificial intelligence is becoming less artificial and more intelligent. Instead of data-hungry approaches to AI, innovators
are pursuing data-efficient approaches that enable machines to learn as humans do. Instead of replacing workers with
machines, they're unleashing human expertise to create human-centered AI. In place of lumbering legacy IT systems, they're
building cloud-first IT architectures able to continuously adapt to a world of billions of connected devices. And they're
pursuing strategies that will take their place alongside classic, winning business formulas like disruptive innovation.
These against-the-grain approaches to the basic building blocks of business -- Intelligence, Data, Expertise, Architecture,
and Strategy (IDEAS) -- are transforming competition. Industrial giants and startups alike are drawing on this radically
human IDEAS framework to create new business models, optimize post-pandemic approaches to work and talent, rebuild
trust with their stakeholders, and show the way toward a sustainable future.
With compelling insights and fresh examples from a variety of industries, "Radically Human: How New Technology Is
Transforming Business and Shaping Our Future" will forever change the way you think about, practice, and win with
innovation.
Critique: With a special appeal to readers with an interest in the advances of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on
strategic business planning in the 21st Century, "Radically Human: How New Technology Is Transforming Business and
Shaping Our Future" is unreservedly recommended as a core and fundamental addition to personal, professional,
community, corporate, college, and university library collections and supplemental Computer Design & Architecture
curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, corporate executives,
entrepreneurs, AI developers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Radically Human: How
New Technology Is Transforming Business and Shaping Our Future" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$9.90).
Editorial Note #1: Paul R. Daugherty is Group Chief Executive-Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Accenture, New
York. You can find him on Twitter: twitter.com/pauldaugh, at accenture.com/us-en/about/leadership/paul-daugherty,
linkedin.com/in/paul-r-daugherty, and on Facebook.
Editorial Note #2: H. James Wilson is Global Managing Director, Thought Leadership & Technology Research at
Accenture, San Francisco. Daugherty and Wilson are the authors of Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
(HBR Press). You can find him at: accenture.com/us-en/about/leadership/james-wilson, on Facebook, and at
twitter.com/hjameswilson and linkedin.com/in/h-james-wilson.
The Political Science Shelf
The Digital Republic
Jamie Susskind
Pegasus Books
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781643139012, $28.95, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Republic-Freedom-Democracy-Twenty-First/dp/1643139010
Synopsis: Not long ago, the tech industry was widely admired, and the internet was regarded as a tonic for freedom and
democracy. Not anymore. Every day, the headlines blaze with reports of racist algorithms, data leaks, and social media
platforms festering with and promoting falsehoods and hatred.
With the publication of "The Digital Republic: On Freedom and Democracy in the 21st Century", author Jamie Susskind
argues that these problems are not the fault of a few bad apples at the top of the industry. Rather they are the result of our
failure to govern technology properly.
"The Digital Republic" charts a new course. It offers a plan for the digital age: new legal standards, new public bodies and
institutions, new duties on platforms, new rights and regulators, new codes of conduct for people in the tech industry.
Inspired by the great political essays of the past, and steeped in the traditions of republican thought, it offers a vision of a
different type of society: a digital republic in which human and technological flourishing go hand in hand.
Critique: Our American style democracy has been dramatically impacted with the emergence of computer technology and
social media. This impact is now so great and pervasive that the very continuation of our democracy is under serious and
immanent threat of being overthrown and replaced with a form of autocracy arising from the manipulation of a significantly
large percentage of our citizenry through the digital manipulation of information. All this makes "The Digital Republic: On
Freedom and Democracy in the 21st Century" a timely and urgent warning if our democracy, as we have known it, is to
survive. This is not hyperbole, it is a discomforting truth. While "The Digital Republic" is especially and unreservedly
recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Political Science & Digital Technology Policy
collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, governmental policy makers, technology
corporation executives, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Digital
Republic" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Jamie Susskind is a barrister and the author of "Future Politics: Living Together in a World Transformed by
Tech" (Oxford University Press, 2018), which received the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize 2019, and was an
Evening Standard and Prospect Book of the Year. He has fellowships at Harvard and Cambridge and currently resides in
London.
Government Issued Opinion
Dennis F. Poindexter
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476687124, $29.95, PB, 231pp
https://www.amazon.com/Government-Issued-Opinion-Manipulating-Perceptions/dp/1476687129
Synopsis: Intelligence services, businesses, governments, and political parties use a sinister methodology called an influence
campaign to sway the core values of their own citizens, countries and others around the globe. This method is used by many
different types of world governments (including the U.S.) and can pervade many different sectors of public life. Even
seemingly powerful politicians are impacted by influence campaigns.
While influence campaigns differ from political campaigns or corporate advertising, they share similar characteristics. Both
influence behavior by manipulating beliefs to produce an outcome favorable to the campaign goal.
With the publication of "Government Issued Opinion: The Dark Science of Manipulating Perceptions and Policies", Dennis
F. Poindexter explains the mechanisms of influence campaigns and how they affect policy making, often in surprising ways.
Chapters detail examples of influence campaigns waged by various governments throughout the years and suggest how the
public consciousness should deal with these strategies. As targets of these campaigns, citizens must understand how our
leaders use them for their own benefit.
Critique: In this present age of The Big Steal vs. The Big Lie in American presidential politics, "Government Issued
Opinion: The Dark Science of Manipulating Perceptions and Policies" should be considered essential reading for political
science students, academia, politicians, and most particularly, the non-specialist general reader concerned about the survival
of our American style democracy.
Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an Appendix (Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal Elections, twenty-four
pages of Notes, a twenty page Bibliography, and a three page Index, "Government Issued Opinion: The Dark Science of
Manipulating Perceptions and Policies" is a timely and urgently recommended addition to community, college, and
university library Contemporary Political Science, Political Psychology, and Political Propaganda collections and
supplemental curriculum studies lists.
It should also be noted that "Government Issued Opinion: The Dark Science of Manipulating Perceptions and Policies" is
readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).
Editorial Note: Dennis F. Poindexter has been a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and made information
warfare assessments for Ballistic Missile Defense, the National Command Authority and the Defense Threat Reduction
Agency. He has also performed counter-terrorism operations for the FBI and worked with the White House Critical National
Cybersecurity Initiative Number 7.
The Sports Shelf
Pliability for Runners
Joseph McConkey, MS
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578269105, $16.95, PB, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pliability-Runners-Approach-Training-Preventing/dp/1578269105
Synopsis: With over dozens of exercises and sport-specific workout plans (all backed by modern, field-tested science),
"Pliability for Runners: The Breakthrough Method to Stay Injury-Free, Get Stronger and Run Faster" by Joseph McConkey
(exercise physiologist and coach at the Boston Running Center) offers the key to achieving optimum athletic performance
while breaking the injury cycle.
Recreational runners, cross country and track runners, competitive road racers and professional athletes across the globe
understand the critical importance of taking proper care of our body. Without proper upkeep, muscle fatigue, repetitive
motion injuries and the general wear-and-tear of day-to-day living takes its toll on our body, making it less coordinated,
more restricted and less responsive to the demands of athletic activity.
"Pliability for Runners" offers a complete and thorough breakdown of improving our body's pliability, runners of all skill
and experience levels can take advantage of increased flexibility, stronger muscle resilience and better performance during
(and after) workouts.
Pliability is the key to running injury free and outperforming the competition. Each year there are 50-60 million people in
the US that run regularly, with over 50% of them suffering a running injury. Pliability (the loosening, softening and relaxing
of muscles) is in the midst of a major 'movement' in the realm of professional sports, physical therapy and health/fitness to
help offset these kinds of injuries.
"Pliability for Runners" comprehensively covers: Muscle strength; Range of motion; Explosive power; Chronic muscle
tension; Endurance; Flexibility. Simply stated, "Pliability for Runners" is the breakthrough book that redefines running
performance and injury prevention.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Pliability for Runners: The Breakthrough Method to Stay
Injury-Free, Get Stronger and Run Faster" must be considered essential reading for both the novice and the experienced long
distance runner. A 'must' for the reading lists of anyone aspiring to becoming a professional athlete in the sport of running,
"Pliability for Runners" is an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community,
highschool, college, and university library Sports Training, Stretching, Exercise & Fitness collections. It should be noted for
personal reading lists that "Pliability for Runners" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
After Jackie
Jeffrey S. Copeland
Paragon House
3600 Labore Road, Suite 1, St. Paul, MN 55110-4144
https://www.paragonhouse.com/wp
9781557789488, $19.95, PB, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/After-Jackie-Fifteen-Pioneers-Baseball/dp/1557789487
Synopsis: Most people know the story of Jackie Robinson and his courage and struggles when breaking the color barrier in
Major League Baseball. However, Jackie was the pioneer for only one of the sixteen teams in Major League Baseball at the
time. What about the "other fifteen" pioneers?
With the publication of "After Jackie: Fifteen Pioneers Who Helped Change the Face of Baseball" by Jeffrey Copeland we
are at last provided with the accounts of there struggles in breaking the race barrier of professional baseball.
While they faced many of the same hurdles and roadblocks as Jackie, each had individual twists and turns in his journey
pioneering great change in race relations in baseball and American society. Mr. Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn
Dodgers in April of 1947, but it wasn't until twelve years later that the last team added a person of color (Pumpsie Green, in
1959, for the Boston Red Sox).
Critique: An inherently fascinating and detailed story of the racial integration of professional baseball, "After Jackie: Fifteen
Pioneers Who Helped Change the Face of Baseball" is a unique and groundbreaking history that will have a very special
appeal to dedicated baseball fans and readers with an interest in 20th Century African American history. Exceptionally well
written and presented, "After Jackie: Fifteen Pioneers Who Helped Change the Face of Baseball" is also available for
personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95) and very highly recommended for community, college, and
university library Baseball History & Biography collections.
Editorial Note: Jeffrey S. Copeland, is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan and former member of the ownership
groups of the Waterloo Indians and Waterloo Diamonds He has also written for sports publications, including Sports
Collectors Digest, and has also authored and edited over thirty books.
The Biography Shelf
Prince Eugene of Savoy
James Falkner
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526753533, $42.95, HC, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/Prince-Eugene-Savoy-Against-Ottoman/dp/1526753537
Synopsis: Prince Eugene of Savoy-Carignan (1663-1736), French born of an Italian mother, was destined for the church, but
fled France as a young man and chose the life of a soldier. He entered the service of the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I in
1683 and rose rapidly to become one of the greatest military commanders of the age, playing a leading role in the wars
against both the Ottoman Turks and the French.
With the publication of "Prince Eugene of Savoy: A Genius for War Against Louis XIV and the Ottoman Empire", historian
James Falkner provides the first full biography of Eugene to be published in English for forty years, and reconstructs his
military campaigns in compelling detail, as well as describing his career as a politician and statesman.
Eugene first showed his military genius during the siege of Vienna in 1683 where the Ottoman Turkish threat to western
Europe was thrown back, and he commanded the Imperial army at the resounding victory over the Ottomans at Zenta in
1697. Most famously for English readers, he joined John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough in the victory over the French
at Blenheim in 1704 and served alongside Marlborough at the subsequent victories at Oudenarde and Malplaquet. His later
triumph, again over the Ottomans, at the capture of Belgrade in 1717, sealed his reputation as a great captain.
A lifelong bachelor and fond of women, Eugene was both a typical hard-bitten soldier and an accomplished diplomat, as
well as a great patron of the arts. His summer palace, The Belvedere in Vienna, stands today as a fine monument to this
extraordinary man.
Critique: Exceptionally well written and informative, as well as featuring maps, illustrations, a Chronology of the Lifer of
Eugene, a Note on Terminology, Nomenclasture and Dating, and Appendix (The Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian Empire
and the Habsburg Monarchy), eleven pages of Notes, a three page Bibliography, and a nine page Index, "Prince Eugene of
Savoy: A Genius for War Against Louis XIV and the Ottoman Empire" is a masterpiece of historical biography and will
prove to be a highly prized addition to community, college, and university library European History & Military Biography
collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Prince Eugene of Savoy" is also readily available in a digital
book format (Kindle, $25.00).
Editorial Note: James Falkner is a leading authority on eighteenth-century warfare and he has made a special study of the
military exploits of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. His book, Great and Glorious Days: Marlborough's Battles 1704-1709, is
one of the outstanding studies of the subject. His other books include Blenheim 1704, Ramillies 1706, Marlborough Goes to
War: Eyewitness Accounts 1702-1713, Marlborough's Sieges, Marlborough's Battlefields, Fire Over the Rock: The Great
Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783, Marshal Vauban and the Defence of Louis XIV's France, Marlborough's War Machine and
The War of the Spanish Succession, 1701-1714.
Soldier, Rebel, Traitor
Alexander R. Brondarbit
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399003476, $34.95, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Soldier-Rebel-Traitor-Wenlock-Roses/dp/139900347X
Synopsis: John Wenlock, first Lord Baron of Wenlock (c.1400/04 - 4 May 1471), was a leading diplomat, courtier and
soldier during the Wars of the Roses whose remarkable career offers us a fascinating insight into one of the most turbulent
periods in English medieval history. And yet he has hitherto been overshadowed by his more illustrious
contemporaries.
With the publications of "Soldier, Rebel, Traitor: John, Lord Wenlock and the Wars of the Roses", historian Alexander
Brondarbit has provided a meticulously researched and perceptively informative biography bringing this historical character
out of an undeserved obscurity. It establishes Lord Wenlock as a major figure in his own right and records in vivid detail
how this shrewd nobleman found his way through the brutal conflicts of his times.
Lord Wenlock served in Henry V's military campaigns in France in the 1420s before moving on to a career in the royal
households of Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and Edward IV. As a diplomat, he led multiple embassies to Burgundy and
France and, in addition to the kings he served, he was closely connected with other notable figures of the age such as
Richard Neville, earl of Warwick. But Lord Wenlock's speciality was on the battlefield where he took part in many raids,
skirmishes and sieges and in three major battles including the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 where he lost his life.
Using primary sources as well as contemporary assessments in chronicles and letters, Alexander Brondarbit gives a nuanced
description of the main episodes in Wenlock's long career and throws new light on the motivation of a man who has been
labeled a 'Prince of Turncoats' because of his frequent changes of allegiance.
Critique: An inherently fascinating and impressively informative historical biography that is especially recommended for
community and academic library British History and Military Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies
lists, "Soldier, Rebel, Traitor: John, Lord Wenlock and the Wars of the Roses" is further for students and academia with the
inclusion of maps, a list of abbreviations, a glossary, twenty-two pages of notes, a ten page bibliography, and an eight page
Index. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, historians, and the non-specialist general reader with an
interest historical European military biographies that "Soldier, Rebel, Traitor: John, Lord Wenlock and the Wars of the
Roses" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Dr Alexander Brondarbit is a medieval historian and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society whose research
is focused on late medieval English politics and the Wars of the Roses. In addition to a number of academic papers and
magazine articles on these subjects, he is the author of Power-Brokers and the Yorkist State, 1461-1485. His previous
appointments include lecturing on medieval history at Oregon State University and the University of Winchester. He is
currently an Academic Planning Analyst at UC Santa Cruz.
"No Man Knows This Country Better"
Gary S. Williams
The University of Akron Press
30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805
http://www.uakron.edu/uapress
9781629221489, $59.95, HC, 200pp
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Knows-This-Country-Better/dp/1629221481
Synopsis: With the publication of ""No Man Knows This Country Better": The Frontier Life of John Gibson" by Gary S.
Williams, the reader is introduced to an unheralded hero among our nation's Founding Fathers who worked with seven
Presidents, knew a dozen Continental Army generals, and served as an officer of increasing rank in every frontier conflict
between 1758 and 1813.
During the American Revolution, John Gibson (May 23, 1740 - April 10, 1822) led a regiment at Valley Forge, was in
command of Fort Laurens during a month-long Indian siege, and by the time of the Yorktown Campaign was commander of
the Western Department at Fort Pitt. From the time he was nearly burned at the stake during Pontiac's Conspiracy through
his service as Governor of Indiana Territory during the War of 1812, he consistently served with courage and integrity.
But it was more than just his military record that makes Gibson stand out. As an Indian trader on the frontier, Gibson's
reputation for honesty and his ability to master several Native American languages made him a valuable treaty negotiator
and an important cross-cultural figure. His fairness towards Native Americans extended to his personal life as he was a
single father to two mixed race children.
Gibson was not without enemies in his lengthy career. Simon Girty hated him, Albert Gallatin called him incompetent, and
some of his own neighbors threatened to scalp him for being overly partial to Indians, and to hang him for supporting the
federal government during the Whiskey Rebellion. But Gibson stood tall as a citizen and public servant, and his efforts to
help establish our nation and to expand and protect its borders makes his life synonymous with his times.
Critique: Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an eight page Bibliography, twenty-two pages of Notes, and a nine
page Index, "No Man Knows This Country Better": The Frontier Life of John Gibson is a thoroughly researched,
extraordinarily informative, and exceptionally well written biography that lifts from an undeserved obscurity a key figure in
Colonial America, the American Revolution, and 18th and Century Native American history. An extraordinary work of
original scholarship, "No Man Knows This Country Better": The Frontier Life of John Gibson" is an especially and
unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists and community, college, and university library American Political &
Military Biography collections, as well as American Revolution and Native American History supplemental curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note: Gary S. Williams is a retired librarian who has written many articles on Ohio nature and history, as well as
four books on Ohio history and a guide to hiking Ohio. He has a B.A. in History from Marietta College and a Masters in
Library Science from Kent State University.
Edward I's Regent
Michael Ray
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399093545, $49.95, HC, 280pp
https://www.amazon.com/Edward-Regent-Cornwall-Englands-Greatest/dp/1399093541
Synopsis: Born at Christmas 1249 to Richard, Edmund of Cornwall was nephew to Henry III and cousin to Edward I. His
eventful childhood took him to Germany when his father was elected king there. He was captured at the battle of Lewes and
imprisoned for more than a year. Returning from crusade, he witnessed the brutal murder of his half-brother, which left him
as heir to his father, the richest man in the kingdom.
Throughout his life, Edmund played a crucial role in medieval England. As Regent of England, Earl of Cornwall and the
richest man in the land, he was a leading force of the late-thirteenth century.
With the publication of "Edward I's Regent: Edmund of Cornwall, The Man Behind England's Greatest King", historian and
biographer Michael Ray considers Edmund's life, his use of his wealth to lend to the king and others and to be a major
benefactor of religious houses. His piety saw him found two new religious houses, rebuild another and bring the Holy Blood
relic from Germany to Hailes abbey. His record as Regent of England for three years is assessed. The wide spread of his
lands, which included 13 castles and more than 800 places in 27 counties, and his tenants are set out as is his place in the
local community.
The basis of his wealth and its sources, including money from his lands but also from tin mining and marine dues in
Cornwall, is also explored and his knightly affinity and his close associates and officials are considered. On a personal level,
"Edward I's Regent: Edmund of Cornwall, The Man Behind England's Greatest King" examines his unsuccessful, childless
marriage with the sister of the Earl of Gloucester.
Edmund was a key figure throughout Edward I's rein and the late-thirteenth century. "Edward I's Regent: Edmund of
Cornwall, The Man Behind England's Greatest King" is an insightful and detailed account of the man behind England's
'greatest king'.
Critique: Meticulous researched, impressively informative, exceptional in organization and presentation, "Edward I's
Regent: Edmund of Cornwall, The Man Behind England's Greatest King" by Michael Lum rescues from an undeserved
obscurity a critically important figure in 13th Century European history, "Edward I's Regent: Edmund of Cornwall, The Man
Behind England's Greatest King" by Michael Lum is a critically important and commended addition to personal reading
lists, community library collections, and academic supplemental Medieval British & European History studies lists.
Editorial Note: After school in Shropshire, Michael Ray read geography and town planning at King's and University
Colleges, London. Retiring early from a planning career, he returned to KCL and obtained a PhD after a study of aliens in
thirteenth-century England. He has since been published in books, journals and on websites including Academia.
Antarctic Pioneer
Joanna Kafarowski
https://joannakafarowski.com
The Dundurn Group
www.dundurn.com
9781459749535, $21.99, PB, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Antarctic-Pioneer-Trailblazing-Jackie-Ronne/dp/1459749537
Synopsis: Jackie Ronne (October 13, 1919 - June 14, 2009) was an ordinary American woman whose life changed after a
blind date with rugged Antarctic explorer Finn Ronne. After marrying, they began planning the 1946-1948 Ronne Antarctic
Research Expedition. Her participation was not welcomed by the expedition team of red-blooded males eager to prove
themselves in the frozen, hostile environment of Antarctica.
On March 12, 1947, Jackie Ronne became the first American woman in Antarctica and, months later, one of the first women
to overwinter there.
The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition secured its place in Antarctic history, but its scientific contributions have been
overshadowed by conflicts and the dangerous accidents that occurred. Jackie dedicated her life to Antarctica: she promoted
the achievements of the expedition and was a pioneer in polar tourism and an early supporter of the Antarctic Treaty. In
doing so, she helped shape the narrative of twentieth-century Antarctic exploration.
Critique: Rescuing from an undeserved obscurity, "Antarctic Pioneer: The Trailblazing Life of Jackie Ronne" is the
extraordinary biography of a woman who succeeded in an activity that was historical considered to be the exclusive domain
of men. Informative enhanced with the inclusion of black-and-white photography, an informative Prologue & Epilogue, a
'Women in Antarctica Map, two Appendices, eighteen pages of Notes, a twenty-eight page Bibliography, and a six page
Index, "Antarctic Pioneer: The Trailblazing Life of Jackie Ronne" by biographer Joanna Kafarwski is a compelling and
unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Women's Biography collections in
general, and Antarctica History in particular. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-
specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Antarctic Pioneer: The Trailblazing Life of Jackie Ronne" is
also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Currently residing in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Joanna Kafarowski is passionate about researching
and writing about the lives of women in polar history. She is also the author of "The Polar Adventures of a Rich American
Dame: A Life of Louise Arner Boyd", which is the first comprehensive biography of a female Arctic explorer. She has an
informative website at https://joannakafarowski.com
The Native American Studies Shelf
American Indians at the Margins
H. Roy Kaplan
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476684901, $49.95, PB, 358pp
https://www.amazon.com/American-Indians-Margins-Stereotypes-Impacts/dp/1476684901
Synopsis: Since the earliest days of America as a nation, racist imagery has been used to create harmful stereotypes of the
indigenous people.
With the publication of "American Indians at the Margins: Racist Stereotypes and Their Impacts on Native Peoples" by H.
Roy Kaplan, the conflict between invading European white settlers and the indigenous groups who occupied the land that
became the United States is described through the context of race and racism.
Using depictions from art, literature, radio, cinema and television, the origin and persistence of such stereotypes are
explained, and their debilitating effects on the well-being of Indians are presented. The text also explores their
accomplishments in attempts to maintain their sovereignty, dignity and respect.
Critique: Informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an informative Introduction (The Forgotten Minority:
How Stereotypes Marginalized the Indians), a three page Epilogue, a twelve page Appendix (List of Federal and State
Recognized Tribes), forty-two pages of Notes, a sixteen page Bibliography, and a seven page Index, "American Indians at
the Margins: Racist Stereotypes and Their Impacts on Native Peoples" is a critically important contribution to college and
university library Native American Demographic Studies collections and supplemental Native American History curriculum
studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, Native American Rights political
activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "American
Indians at the Margins: Racist Stereotypes and Their Impacts on Native Peoples" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $29.99).
Editorial Note: H. Roy Kaplan, a former executive director of the Tampa Bay region of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews, teaches courses on race and ethnic relations for the University of South Florida, Tampa. The author of
six other books, he was named a Hero of Education by the U.S. Department of Education.
The Earth Is All That Lasts
Mark Lee Gardner
Mariner Books
www.marinerbooks.com
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780062669896, $28.99, HC, 560pp
https://www.amazon.com/Earth-All-That-Lasts-Sitting/dp/0062669893
Synopsis: Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull have become iconic Native Americans whose significance in 19th Century
American western history undeniable. Together, these two Lakota chiefs, one a fabled warrior and the other a revered holy
man, crushed George Armstrong Custer's vaunted Seventh Cavalry. Yet their legendary victory at the Little Big Horn has
overshadowed the rest of their rich and complex lives. Now, based on years of research and drawing on a wealth of
previously ignored primary sources, Western author and historian Mark Lee Gardner delivers the definitive chronicle,
thrillingly told, of these extraordinary Indigenous leaders in "The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the
Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation".
Both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were born and grew to manhood on the High Plains of the American West, in an era
when vast herds of buffalo covered the earth, and when their nomadic people could move freely, following the buffalo and
lording their fighting prowess over rival Indian nations. But as idyllic as this life seemed to be, neither man had known a
time without whites. Fur traders and government explorers were the first to penetrate Sioux lands, but they were soon
followed by a flood of white intruders: Oregon-California Trail travelers, gold seekers, railroad men, settlers, town builders
- and Bluecoats. The buffalo population plummeted, disease spread by the white man decimated villages, and conflicts with
the interlopers increased.
On June 25, 1876, in the valley of the Little Big Horn, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, and the warriors who were inspired to
follow them, fought the last stand of the Sioux, a fierce and proud nation that had ruled the Great Plains for decades. It was
their greatest victory, but it was also the beginning of the end for their treasured and sacred way of life. And in the years to
come, both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, defiant to the end, would meet violent (and eerily similar) fates.
An essential new addition to the canon of Indigenous American history and literature of the West, "The Earth Is All That
Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation" is a grand saga, both triumphant and tragic,
of two fascinating and heroic leaders struggling to maintain the freedom of their people against impossible odds.
Critique: Informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a two page Map, a four page listing of Native American
Informants, ninety-six pages of Notes, a twenty-eight page listing bibliography of Resources, and a fourteen page Index,
"The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation" is an extraordinary
work of exhaustive research and meticulous scholarship. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Earth Is
All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation" is a welcome and recommended
addition to community, college, and university library Native American History & Biography collections. It should be noted
for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that
"The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation" is also available in a
digital book format (Kindle, $14.99), as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798200972654,
$41.99), and in a large print paperback edition (HarperLux, 9780063242098, $30.99).
Editorial Note: Mark Lee Gardner is also the author of "Rough Riders, To Hell on a Fast Horse" and "Shot All to Hell: Jesse
James, the Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's Greatest Escape", which received multiple awards, including a Spur Award
from Western Writers of America. An authority on the American West, Gardner has appeared on PBS's American
Experience, as well as on the History Channel, AMC, the Travel Channel, and on NPR. He has written for National
Geographic History, American Heritage, the Los Angeles Times, True West, and American Cowboy.
The Library Science Shelf
Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction
Linda Maxie
Spoon Creek Press
https://spooncreekpress.com
9798985923407, $29.95, PB, 416pp
https://www.amazon.com/Library-Curated-Collection-Superlative-Nonfiction/dp/B09ZLD21H5
Synopsis: "Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" is a librarian's A-list of nonfiction books organized
by subject area -- just like a library.
Linda Maxie (aka Library Lin) combed through 65 best books lists going back a century. She reviewed tens of thousands of
books, sorted them according to the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and selected an entire library's worth for you to
browse without leaving home.
"Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" is comprized of summaries of outstanding titles in every
subject and suggestions for locating reading material specific to your needs and interests.
"Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" offers a broad survey of all the nonfiction categories, with titles
on everything from the A-bomb to Zen Buddhism. Readers browsing through its pages may well find themselves immersed
in whole subject areas that they might never have thought they would be interested in.
Critique: Unique and inherently fascinating, impressively comprehensive and exceptionally well organized and presented,
"Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" will be of immense interest to dedicated bibliophiles,
inquisitive booksellers, library science professionals, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in cataloging,
bibliographies, and indexes. Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and
academic library collections, it should be noted that "Library Lin's Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction" is also
readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Linda Maxie is a retired librarian with a passion for matching the right book with the right reader. After
earning an MLS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she spent her career working in public, elementary,
and high school libraries, where she obsessively pored over book reviews, intent on building the perfect collection.
Embracing Change
Silke Higgins, editor
Ngoc-Yen Tran, editor
Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838937662, $86.00, PB, 330pp
https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Change-Alternatives-Traditional-Assignments/dp/0838937667
Synopsis: The pedagogical value and real-life applicability of traditional research writing assignments has been investigated
since at least the 1990s, and the increase in adoption of alternative assignments could be an indication that students are
questioning their long-term benefits. Traditional research writing assignments do not always align with the goals and
outcomes that students set for their education.
Collaborative compiled and co-edited by Silke Higgins and Ngoc-Yen Tran, "Embracing Change: Alternatives to
Traditional Research Writing Assignments" is a compendium of existing alternative assignments from librarians and
classroom instructors and examines their benefits and drawbacks, impact on various student populations, and the support
needed to make them successful.
In two parts (Analog-Driven Assignments and Technology-Driven Assignments) contributing authors offer a wealth of
insight into the theory and practice of utilizing alternative assignments. Case studies detail the development of assignments,
their implementation, lessons learned, and assessment, and provide examples and reference materials for incorporating or
refining your own alternative assignments.
The projects covered include: How students engage with writing gray literature; Producing a local voting guide; Creating
museum-level exhibit labels; Composing and printing original poems using a letterpress; Developing finding aids; Writing a
children's book; Creating infographics and lightning talk videos; Learning digital literacy using podcasts; A variety of digital
humanities projects.
"Embracing Change" is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, highlights the value of alternative
assignments, and provides librarians and educators with practical guidance for creating, implementing, and supporting
alternatives to research writing assignments.
Critique: Comprehensive, informative, exceptional in both organization and presentation, "Embracing Change:: Alternatives
to Traditional Research Writing Assignments" is of particular interest and relevance to Library & Information Science
students and Library Staff In-Service Training programs, as well as a critically important and unreservedly recommended
addition to personal, professional, and academic Library Science instructional reference collections and supplemental
curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Silke Higgins is an associate librarian for research and instruction at San Jose State University. She holds
an MLIS from San Jose State University. Her primary field of library and information science research revolves around the
role libraries play in furthering the academic success of nontraditional and international students, with focus on English as a
foreign language (EFL). Her writing on library and non-library related research has been published nationally and
internationally; she is also the coeditor of Supporting Today's Students in the Library: Strategies for Retaining and
Graduating International, Transfer, First-Generation, and Re-entry Students (ACRL Publishing, 2019).
Editorial Note #2: Ngoc-Yen Tranis the coordinator for teaching and learning at Seattle University. She holds an MLIS from
the University of Washington. The focus of her research is on high-impact educational practices, especially the high-impact
practice of undergraduate research experiences. Her library and information science research revolves around scholarly
communications topics and information literacy instruction. She has published her research and writing in multiple journals,
including College and Research Libraries, The Reference Librarian, and Internet Reference Services Quarterly. She is also
the co-editor of the book "Supporting Today's Students in the Library: Strategies for Retaining and Graduating International,
Transfer, First-Generation, and Re-entry Students" (ACRL Publishing, 2019).
The Art Shelf
Propagazioni: Giuseppe Penone at Sevres
Giulio Dalvit, author
Xavier F. Salomon, author
Giles
https://gilesltd.com
9781913875251, $17.95, HC, 72pp
https://www.amazon.com/Propagazioni-Giuseppe-Penone-at-S%C3%A8vres/dp/1913875253
Synopsis: A major figure in the Arte Povera movement of the late 1960s, the renowned Italian artist Giuseppe Penone (b.
April, 3, 1947) is known for his exploration of the relationship between art and the natural world in a body of work that
includes sculpture, performance, works on paper, and even garden design. His first works in porcelain, the exquisite disks
presented here, draw attention to the moment of touch (the convergence of surface and skin) that underpins so much of his
work.
Published to accompany a special exhibition of works by Penone organised by New York's Frick Collection, "Propagazioni:
Giuseppe Penone at Sevres" is a new volume that comprises eleven porcelain disks that the artist made during his 2013
collaboration with the Manufacture Nationale de Sevres, the influential porcelain factory founded in the 18th century. A
continuation of his Propagazioni (Propagations) series, begun in 1995, which includes various media, each disk bears the
imprint of one of the artist's fingertips. One of them is in gold, its imprint a variation on the artist's index finger. Never
before presented to the public, the disks are installed in a gallery adjacent to a porcelain at the Frick's temporary home on
Madison Avenue, kindling a rich artistic dialogue which is further explored in this remarkable volume.
Critique: With the publication of "Propagazioni: Giuseppe Penone at Sevres by Xavier F. Salomon (deputy director and
Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, The Frick Collection, New York) and Giulio Dalvit (assistant curator of Sculpture, The Frick
Collection, focusing on the museum's sculpture and medals collections), have created an inherently fascinating and expertly
illustrated volume that is further enhanced with the inclusion of a two page Bibliograpy. This unique study will prove to be
a valued and very special addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Art History collections. .
The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
The Sound Effects Bible
Ric Viers
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932047, $34.95, Library Binding, 360pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Effects-Bible-Create-Hollywood/dp/1615932046
Synopsis: A complete and comprehensive instruction guide and 'how to' manual for recording and editing sound effects,
"The Sound Effects Bible" by veteran sound engineer Ric Viers covers an impressive range of thematically appropriate
topics and issues including microphone selection, field recorders, the ABCs of digital audio, understanding Digital Audio
Workstations, building your own Foley stage, designing your own editing studio, and so much more.
Critique: Expertly written, impressively organized and thoroughly 'user friendly' in presentation, "The Sound Effects Bible"
is essential reading, not only for cinematic film and video sound technicians, but the directors, actors, producers, editors,
camera operators, and other crew members working with sound engineers whether in a studio setting or at an on-site
location. While a fundamental and essential addition to personal, professional, film school, and academic library Video
Direction & Production, Movie Direction & Production, and Performing Arts collections and supplemental curriculum
studies lists, it should be noted that "The Sound Effects Bible" is also readily available in a paperback edition
(9781932907483, $28.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.439).
Editorial Note: Ric Viers knows sound effects. His work appears on more sound effects products than anyone else on Earth!
In 2015 he celebrated the release of his 666th sound effects library "Haunted FX" with 666 sound effects to wake the dead.
He's started his own sound effects studio, written a book about the subject, and founded Blastwave FX - the world's first all
HD sound effects publishing company. His location sound credits include hundreds of productions for nearly every major
television network, Universal Studios, Dateline, Good Morning America, Disney, and many others.
The Photography Shelf
The Complete Beginner's Photography Course
Ben Hawkins
Ilex Press
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781781578551, $29.99, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beginners-Photography-Course-Modular/dp/1781578559
Synopsis: While digital cameras have made photography more accessible than ever, taking full creative control of your
equipment should be every photographer's aim.
With the publication of "The Complete Beginner's Photography Course: A Modular System for Success", photography
writer and expert Ben Hawkins uses his extensive experience to deliver a unique modular system of learning. Covering all
of the key genres, a range of diverse projects will teach every essential skill, technique and technical competency, while also
offering inspiration and delivering a beautiful image for your first portfolio.
"The Complete Beginner's Photography Course" covers: Mastering every skill, technique and camera setting essential for
great photography; Learning at your own pace through a difficulty-rated modular system that increases in challenge as your
competency grows; Getting to grips with every genre of photography from landscapes to portraits and nature to
reportage.
Critique: Profusely and effectively illustrated with full color photographs throughout, "The Complete Beginner's
Photography Course: A Modular System for Success" is an ideal introductory instruction guide and how-to manual on the
art and science of modern photography that will enable even the most novice of photographers to produce truly memorable
photographs. Comprehensive and extraordinary in organization and presentation, "The Complete Beginner's Photography
Course: A Modular System for Success" is highly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and
university library Contemporary Photography collections. It should be noted that "The Complete Beginners' Photography
Course" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Ben Hawkins is an award-winning writer and journalist specializing in photography and creative media. He
was the group editor of Practical Photography magazine, 2013-20, and regularly contributes to magazines including
Amateur Photographer and Outdoor Photography. He has interviewed some of the world's most revered film photographers,
including Albert Watson, David Bailey and Bob Carlos Clarke.
The Economic Studies Shelf
Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
Paul D. Reynolds
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781802206739, $135.00, HC, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurship-Economic-Development-Business-Creation/dp/1802206736
Synopsis: With the publication of "Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: The Global Scope of Business Creation"
by Paul D. Reynolds (Honorary Professor of Entrepreneurship, Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK and Founding
Coordinating Principal Investigator, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Program) addresses the importance of business
creation, which is endemic in subsistence indigenous cultures, widespread in developing economies, and a critical feature of
adaptation in the most advanced economies. Professor Reynolds offers systematic comparisons of six stages of economic
development which provide information about the adjustments in the economic and social context affecting participation in
business creation, the sectors where activities occur, and the nature of the contributions to economic growth and
adaptation.
Implications for public policy varies for countries at different stages of development. "Entrepreneurship and Economic
Development" includes an introduction to harmonized data developed over the past two decades while avoiding technical
complexity. Descriptions are based on representative samples of business creation with an emphasis on grassroots business
creation in countries during all stages of economic development.
Entrepreneurship, economic development and public policy scholars and faculty as well as policy analysts focusing on
economic development will benefit from the breadth of knowledge included in the exploration of business creation that
comprises "Entrepreneurship and Economic Development".
Critique: Informationally enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of two Appendices (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Program and Economic Development: Cross-Stage Descriptions), a five page listing of References, and a five page Index,
"Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: The Global Scope of Business Creation" is a timely and important addition
to personal, professional, corporate, college, and university library Business Development and Entrepreneurial collections
and supplemental curriculum Contemporary Economics studies lists.
The Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi
Darren Pietersen, author
Luke Verburgt, author
John Davies, author
Penguin Random House South Africa
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781775847373, $32.00, PB, 544pp
https://www.amazon.com/Snakes-Reptiles-Zambia-Malawi-Struik/dp/1775847373
Synopsis: Zambia and Malawi are home to 240 known snake, lizard, terrapin, tortoise and crocodile species; of these 13
snakes and lizards are endemic to the region. "Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" is the first
book of its kind for the region, and describes every species of reptile known to occur in the two countries -- including
several new discoveries.
Deftly organized into four sections reflecting the four orders: snakes, lizards, tortoises/terrapins and crocodiles, "Field Guide
to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" provides a comprehensive description of each order, suborder and
family, followed by genera and species accounts.
Each species account covers diagnostic features, subspecies/taxonomic notes (where applicable), habitat, behavior, prey and
predators, reproduction and range, and whether the species is venomous and poses a danger to humans.
The accounts are supported by stunning color photographs and up-to-date distribution maps that draw on over 16,000
recorded observations. Diagrammatic illustrations demonstrate morphological details useful for accurate identification. To
aid identification, dichotomous identification keys (based predominantly on morphological differences) guide users to the
correct genus and species.
"Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" features an informative introduction, plus descriptions
and maps of the region's biogeography and diverse habitat types, as well as a discussion on different venom types and the
basic principles of snakebite treatment.
"Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" is a unique guide and an important contribution to the
literature on reptiles in Africa, and will appeal to both the novice and experienced herpetologist, as well as visitors the
region and nature enthusiasts in general.
Critique: "Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" is profusely and effectively illustrated with full
color photography throughout. Comprehensive, informative, impressively organized and presented, "Field Guide to Snakes
and Other Reptiles of Zambia and Malawi" is also available for personal, professional, community, college, and university
library African Wildlife collections in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).
The Computer Shelf
Continuous Architecture in Practice
Murat Erder, author
Pierre Pureur, author
Eoin Woods, author
Pearson Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
www.pearsoned.com
9780136523567, $44.99, PB, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Architecture-Practice-Addison-Wesley-Signature/dp/0136523560
Synopsis: With the publication of "Continuous Architecture in Practice: Software Architecture in the Age of Agility and
DevOps", authors and computer experts Murat Erder, Pierre Pureur, and Eoin Woods have taken their extensive software
architecture experience and applied it to the practical aspects of software architecture in real-world environments.
"Continuous Architecture in Practice" provides hands-on advice for leveraging the continuous architecture approach in
real-world environments and illuminates architecture's changing role in the age of Agile, DevOps, and cloud platforms. This
instructive guide will help technologists update their architecture practice for new software challenges.
As part of the Vaughn Vernon Signature Series, "Continuous Architecture in Practice: Software Architecture in the Age of
Agility and DevOps" was hand-selected for the practical, delivery-oriented knowledge that architects and software engineers
can quickly apply. It includes in-depth guidance for addressing today's key quality attributes and cross-cutting concerns such
as security, performance, scalability, resilience, data, and emerging technologies. Each key technique is demonstrated
through a start-to-finish case study reflecting the authors' deep experience with complex software environments.
The key topics covered include: Creating sustainable, coherent systems that meet functional requirements and the quality
attributes stakeholders care about; Understanding team-based software architecture and architecture as a "flow of decisions";
Understanding crucial issues of data management, integration, and change, and the impact of varied data technologies on
architecture; Architecting for security, including continuous threat modeling and mitigation; Architecting for scalability and
resilience, including scaling microservices and serverless environments; Using architecture to improve performance in
continuous delivery environments; Using architecture to apply emerging technologies successfully.
Critique: Comprehensive and exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Continuous Architecture in Practice:
Software Architecture in the Age of Agility and DevOps" is unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal,
professional, and academic library Software Design, Development & Engineering collections. It should be noted for
personal reading and reference that "Continuous Architecture in Practice: Software Architecture in the Age of Agility and
DevOps" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $25.99).
Editorial Note. "Continuous Architecture in Practice: Software Architecture in the Age of Agility and DevOps" can be
register for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. the details for registration
are inside the book.
The Archaeology Shelf
Athens, Etruria, and the Many Lives of Greek Figured Pottery
Sheramy D. Bundrick
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299321000, $119.95, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Etruria-Figured-Pottery-Wisconsin-Classics/dp/0299321002
Synopsis: A lucrative trade in Athenian pottery flourished from the early sixth until the late fifth century B.C.E., finding an
eager market in Etruria. Most studies of these painted vases focus on the artistry and worldview of the Greeks who made
them, but with the publication of "Athens, Etruria, and the Many Lives of Greek Figured Pottery", Professor Sheramy D.
Bundrick shifts attention to their Etruscan customers, ancient trade networks, and archaeological contexts.
Thousands of Greek painted vases have emerged from excavations of tombs, sanctuaries, and settlements throughout
Etruria, from southern coastal centers to northern communities in the Po Valley. Using documented archaeological
assemblages, especially from tombs in southern Etruria, Professor Bundrick challenges the widely held assumption that
Etruscans were hellenized through Greek imports.
Professor Bundrick marshals evidence to show that Etruscan consumers purposefully selected figured pottery that
harmonized with their own local needs and customs, so much so that the vases are better described as etruscanized.
Athenian ceramic workers, she contends, learned from traders which shapes and imagery sold best to the Etruscans and
employed a variety of strategies to maximize artistry, output, and profit.
Critique: Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photos, "Athens, Etruria, and the Many Lives of Greek Figured
Pottery: is a unique, informative, and inherently fascinating work of original and meticulous scholarship. Impressively well
written, organized and presented, this insightful study is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal,
professional, and academic library Ceramic Art History collections in general, and Hellenic Archaeology supplemental
curriculum studies lists in particular. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in the subject that "Athens, Etruria, and the Many Lives of Greek Figured Pottery" is also available in a paperback
edition (9780299321048, $32.50).
Editorial Note: Sheramy D. Bundrick is a professor of art history at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and the
author of "Music and Image in Classical Athens".
The Language Studies Shelf
Japanese for Busy People I: Kana Version, revised fourth edition
Association for Japanese-Language Teaching
Kodansha
www.kodansha.us
9781568366203 $29.95 pbk / $17.99 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Busy-People-Book-download/dp/1568366205
Synopsis: The 4th Revised Edition of Japanese for Busy People is the most popular Japanese language textbook series in the
world.
Since it was first published in 1984, the focus of the Japanese for Busy People series has always been to teach Japanese for
effective communication.
As suggested in the title, this is a concise course for busy students who want to learn natural, spoken Japanese as efficiently
as possible in a limited amount of time.
The new Japanese for Busy People: Revised 4th Edition is made up of three volumes: Book I, Book II, and Book III. Book I
is available in both romanized and kana versions, similar to the Revised 3rd Edition.
The Kana Version is exactly the same as the Romanized Version except for the scripts used throughout the book: hiragana
and katakana.
The Kana Version is therefore recommended for those who have already learned kana (as these scripts are collectively
called) or are learning them with Japanese for Busy People Kana Workbook or another such text. Studying Japanese in
kana, rather than in romanized script, can lead to fluent pronunciation and facilitate a smooth transition to the study of
kanji.
Critique: Now available in a revised fourth edition, and bundled with a free audio download, Japanese for Busy People I:
Kana Version is an excellent, consumable textbook suitable for classroom use or self-study. Japanese for Busy People I is
available in both romanized and kana versions; the kana version facilitates studying Japanese in its own written syllabary,
rather than transcribed into an English alphabet, and makes an excellent intermediate step in preparation for studying the
kanji writing system. (Kanji are not covered in Japanese for Busy People I: Kana version.) The chapters cover how to
understand and express basic things, such as greetings, asking the time, interactions while shopping, simple descriptions,
asking permission, and much more. The reader is invited to practice listening to and repeating the audio download, and
write exercises in the book. Japanese for Busy People I is a "must-have" especially for tourists or business travelers
interested in learning useful, basic Japanese quickly, as well as those with a broader interest in the language and culture
searching for a good way to start learning the basics. Highly recommended! It should be noted for personal reading lists that
Japanese for Busy People I: Kana Version is also available in a Kindle edition ($17.99).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
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