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Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
The Hidden Places of World War II
Jerome M. O'Connor
The Lyons Press
www.lyonspress.com
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
246 Goose Lane, Suite 200, Guilford, CT 06437
www.globepequot.com
9781493030385, $27.95, HC, 360pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In "The Hidden Places of World War II: The Extraordinary Sites Where History Was
Made During the War That Saved Civilization", by historian, college instructor, journalist, and
author Jerome M. O'Connor takes readers to a series of overlooked places where WWII history
was made. These are sites that were thought to be closed or locked away forever or (in some
cases) thought never to exist at all, or were ignored by military historians for decades. With
historical photos, contemporary photos, and written in a conversational style, "The Hidden Places
of World War II" reveals to a new generation of readers, as well as an older generation of
military history buffs, and takes them to the actual locations that changed history.
Many military history readers don't know that you can still visit Nazi U-boat pens in Lorient and
La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast (they were used in the filming of Raiders of the Lost
Ark) and even pieces of the Atlantic Wall Hitler had built along the French coast in '43 and '44 to
thwart the invasion he knew was coming. These are only two of the many hidden places the
author introduces the reader to.
Critique: An extraordinary and impressively documented history that could well serve as a kind
of travel guide for World War II military history buffs, "The Hidden Places of World War II: The
Extraordinary Sites Where History Was Made During the War That Saved Civilization" is a
unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, college, and university
library World War II Military History collections and supplemental studies reading lists. It should
be noted for students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest
in the subject that "The Hidden Places of World War II" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $15.49).
The Writing/Publishing Shelf
The Great First Impression Book Proposal
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Modern History Press
https://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/index.htm
c/o Loving Healing Press
5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
www.lovinghealing.com
9781615994816, $8.95, PB, 54pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Carolyn Howard-Johnson, has been a UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor for
nearly a decade. In "The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know
About Selling Your Book to an Agent or Publisher in Thirty Minutes or Less" she draws upon
her decades of experience and expertise to helps authors successfully execute the task they most
love to hate -- writing a book proposal. In this 54 page booklet Carolyn has taken the guessing
out of the book proposal process with a thoroughly 'user friendly' and effective step-by-step
instructional guide and manual.
Critique: The creation of an effective book proposal cannot be overemphasized as a basic skill
set for all aspiring authors seeking publication of their work -- and Carolyn Howard-Johnson is a
time-tested expert on the subject. Every aspiring (and even seasoned) author needs to obtain and
carefully read "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" -- and every Creative Writing class
should list "The Great First Impression Book Proposal" on their supplemental studies reading
lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Great First Impression Book
Proposal" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).
The Social Issues Shelf
Smart Surveillance
Ric Simmons
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781108483605, $105.00, HC, 270pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Over the last decade, law enforcement agencies have engaged in increasingly intrusive
surveillance methods, from location tracking on cell phones to reading metadata off of e-mails.
As a result, many believe we are heading towards an omniscient surveillance state and
irrevocable damage to our privacy rights.
Ric Simmons is the Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer Professor for the Administration of Justice
and Rule of Law at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. He is the co-author
of four textbooks on evidence and criminal procedure, and he has published over two dozen
scholarly articles in law journals. His scholarship focuses on the Fourth Amendment and how
courts and legislatures should react to the impact of new technologies in regulating
surveillance.
In "Smart Surveillance: How to Interpret the Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century",
Professor Simmons challenges this conventional wisdom by taking a broader look at the effect of
new technologies and privacy, arguing that advances in technology can enhance our privacy and
our security at the same time. Rather than focusing exclusively on the rise of invasive
surveillance technologies, Professor Simmons proposes a fundamentally new method of
evaluating government searches (based on quantification, transparency, and efficiency) resulting
in a legal regime that can adapt as technology and society change.
Critique: As informed and informative as it thoughtful and thought-provoking, "Smart
Surveillance: How to Interpret the Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century" is an
impressively presented work of meticulous scholarship and a critically important contribution to
our on-going national discussion over the proper role of the government's use of technology
within the constitutional context of citizen privacy and the necessities of national security. While
especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary
Social Issues collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia,
governmental security officials, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in the subject that "Smart Surveillance" is also available in a paperback edition
(9781108728966, $34.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.20).
After the Bloodbath
James D. Diamond
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
http://msupress.org
9781611863314, $22.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As violence in the United States seems to become increasingly more commonplace,
and active shooter drills are now a standard exercise in our schools, the question of how
communities reset after unprecedented violence also grows in significance.
James A. Diamond was a leading attorney in the community where the Sandy Hook Elementary
School tragedy occurred, focuses on three well-known shootings and a fourth shooting that
occurred on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota.
In "After the Bloodbath: Is Healing Possible in the Wake of Rampage Shootings?" Diamond
examines killing events, producing insights linking rampage shootings and communal responses
in the United States.
"After the Bloodbath" also looks to the roots of Indigenous approaches to crime, identifying an
institutional weakness in the Anglo judicial model, and explores adapting Indigenous practices
that contribute to healing following heinous criminal behavior. Emerging from the history of
Indigenous dispute resolution is a spotlight turned on to restorative justice, a subject no author
has discussed to date in the context of mass shootings.
Diamond ultimately leads the reader to a positive road forward focusing on insightful steps
people can take after a rampage shooting to help their wounded communities heal.
Critique: With the increasing futility represented by politicians who can only seem to offer
impotent 'thoughts and prayers' to the families and communities victimized by these increasingly
frequent mass killings that utilize military style weaponry to inflict as many casualties as possible
in as little time as possible, "After the Bloodbath: Is Healing Possible in the Wake of Rampage
Shootings?" is a much needed and clarion call to a proper understanding what is going on and
what can (and should) be done about it. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented,
"After the Bloodbath" is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library
Contemporary Social Issues collections, as well as the personal reading lists of social activists,
governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the
subject.
Editorial Note: James D. Diamond has spent more than twenty-five years as a criminal lawyer,
with experience as both a state prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, and is certified by the
National Board of Trial Advocacy as a criminal trial specialist. He is the former Director of the
Tribal Justice Clinic at the James E. Rogers College of Law and Professor of Practice at the
University of Arizona. He served as special prosecutor to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and
is on the faculty of the National Tribal Trial College. Diamond was a winner of the 1986
American Bar Association Award for Excellence and was the 1992 Mothers Against Drunk
Driving "Man of the Year." In 2014, Diamond was awarded a Doctor of Juridical Science degree
with an emphasis on indigenous peoples law and policy from the University of Arizona College
of Law.
The Jobs/Careers Shelf
Introduction to Security Consulting
William F. Blake
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
2600 South First Street, Springfield, IL 62704
http://www.ccthomas.com
9780398092962, $42.95, PB, 282pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In today's climate of cyber crime, business owners are facing a new set of challenges to
provide for a safe and secure business environment. But the prudent business owner has only to
look to the professional security consultant for assistance in developing strategies to achieve that
goal.
"Introduction to Security Consulting" by William F. Blake is unique textbook that provides the
private investigator with the information to become a proactive partner with the business owner
in enhancing the safety and security within the business. The text includes information pertaining
to the legal ramifications of negligent security claims; how to ensure employees are whom they
claim to be; optimum utilization of security personnel and electronic security devices and
systems; development of relevant security-related policies and procedures; and supervision and
management controls.
"Introduction to Security Consulting" is comprised of 34 chapters which are written in a very
clear and concise style and include such topics as: elements of premises liability and negligent
security, inadequate security, adequate background investigations, qualifications of a security
force, warehouse and cargo security, successful business marketing, armed or unarmed status,
separating high-risk employees, workplace violence programs, officer training, preventing
internal theft and fraud, employing subcontractors, home and personal safety, guard post orders,
parking lot lighting, home security weaknesses, preparation for litigation, crisis management
guidelines, convenience store security, protecting human assets, and developing a business safety
and security plan.
Critique: Comprehensive, effectively organized and presented, "Introduction to Security
Consulting" is an ideal and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community,
corporate, college, and university library Jobs/Careers collections in general, and Business
Security Consultation supplemental studies reading lists in particular.
Your Architecture Career
Gary Unger
Allworth Press
www.allworth.com
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781621536345, $24.99, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In "Your Architecture Career: How to Build a Successful Professional Life,
professional architect and author Gary Unger provides tips and guidance to students, interns,
architects, and firm owners to help them understand and master the business side of architecture
and interior design.
Students in school are not taught to manage process, projects, and clients - the emphasis is on
design. However, most graduates will not finish their careers as designers. Rather, their focus
will be on marketing, programming, project management, cost estimating, rendering, virtual
reality, drawing documentation, specifications, workplace strategy, and construction
administration. Gary Unger expertly describes the creative aspects of these disciplines and the
considerable value they bring to a firm.
In order to accurately represent how an architecture firm successfully operates, Gary stresses the
importance of teamwork. With project teams made up of architects, engineers, realtors, building
owners, contractors, furniture dealers, and more, it is important to note that a project's success is
measured by how well handoffs of information are executed both inside a firm as well as from
firm to firm. Spanning a wide variety of topics, chapters include: Completing architectural
school; Deciding on a career path; Landing your first job; Building your reputation; Managing
handoffs; RFPs and proposals; Reassessing your career; Starting your own firm
Critique: Comprehensive, expertly organized and presented, "Your Architecture Career: How to
Build a Successful Professional Life" should be considered essential reader for students about to
graduate and are considering a career in architecture. "Your Architecture Career" is an invaluable
resource for the business side of architecture and unreservedly recommended for community and
academic library Jobs/Careers collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Your
Architecture Career" is also available in a paperback edition (9781621537021, $19.99) and in a
digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Gary Unger started his architectural studies at Washington University in St.
Louis, Missouri, and finished up the six-year program at the University of Texas. Prior to
founding CPG Architects in 1980, he was the worldwide director of planning and design at
American Express. He is also the founder of Link Systems, a real estate software business that
provides lease and facility management services to enhance CPG's architectural services. At
CPG, Gary has worked on thousands of projects for such clients as General Electric, Snapple,
Nestle, Newman's Own, and Dannon, along with many financial trading firms.
The Education Shelf
Breathing New Life into Book Clubs
Sonja Cherry-Paul & Dana Johansen
Heinemann
PO Box 6926, Portsmouth, NH 03802-6926
www.heinemann.com
9780325076850, $29.38, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Managing classroom book clubs can be hard. Very hard. But there is no better way to
get students vested in reading than participating in a book club. When book clubs work they
create a culture and environment of reading unlike anything else while bringing out the very best
in students.
In "Breathing New Life into Book Clubs: A Practical Guide for Teachers" educators Sonja
Cherry-Paul & Dana Johansen address teachers' doubts and concerns about book clubs, and build
a compelling case for their value in every classroom. They provide all the nuts and bolts for
creating and managing successful book clubs, including: Dozens of "pitfalls and pathways"
minilessons that address common roadblocks; Tips for using technology to enhance book club
work for deeper student engagement; Suggested "book bins" for book club work, organized by
grade level and genre.
Critique: Literacy and an appreciation for books as a source of information and entertainment is
critical to success in life. Book clubs are an ideal way to instill the skills to read and an
appreciation of the written word. "Breathing New Life into Book Clubs: A Practical Guide for
Teachers" offers essential strategies to make book clubs work at all grade levels -- making it
unreservedly recommended for school district, college, and university library Teacher Education
collections.
Editorial Note: Sonja Cherry-Paul, Ed.D., has taught middle school English for twenty years. She
is a literacy consultant who served on the Jane Addams Children's Book Award committee for
ten years. Sonja leads presentations about literacy at national conferences and provides
professional development for educators on reading and writing instruction and racial literacy. She
is the coauthor, with Dana Johansen, of the titles Teaching Interpretation and Flip Your Writing
Workshop. Follow Sonja on Twitter @LitLearnAct.
Dana Johansen has taught elementary and middle school for more than fifteen years. Dedicated to
the ever-expanding applications of technology in the classroom, she presents at national
conferences on the use of blogs, digital texts, and flipped learning in literacy instruction. She is
the coauthor, with Sonja Cherry-Paul, of the titles Teaching Interpretation and Flip Your Writing
Workshop. Follow Dana on Twitter @LitLearnAct.
Teaching in Effective Primary Schools
Iram Siraj, et al.
UCL IOE Press
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781858565064, $41.95, PB, 220pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Headteachers, teachers, parents, politicians and school governors have long been
united in wondering how to produce effective teaching in primary schools -- but they could find
few reliable answers. "Teaching in Effective Primary Schools: Research into Pedagogy and
Children's Learning" changes that.
Collaboratively compiled and and written by the team of Iram Siraj, Brenda Taggart, Pam
Sammons, Edward Melhuish, Kathy Sylva, and Donna-Lynn Shepherd, in the pages of "Teaching
in Effective Primary Schools" are to be found some of the UK's leading researchers into effective
primary school provision combine qualitative and quantitative research findings to shine a
spotlight on teaching in effective primary schools. They reveal the pedagogical strategies that are
the hallmark of successful schools and bring these strategies to life through detailed observations
of classroom interactions.
Reading "Teaching in Effective Primary Schools" takes the reader into the classrooms of skillful
teachers and describes inspirational teaching -- and offers accessible, multi-layered evidence for
making learning more engaging and motivating for children, through better pedagogical
practice.
Critique: An erudite and impressively informative compendium of nine thoughtful and thought-provoking chapters that are enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a glossary of terms, lists
of figures, tables, boxes, abbreviations, as well as the contributors and their credentials, "Teaching
in Effective Primary Schools" also features two appendices (Effective Pre-school, Primary and
Secondary-Education Publications; Chronology of the Department of Education), a fifteen page
listing of References, and a two page Index -- making it an essential, core addition to both
college and university library Teacher Education collections and supplemental studies lists. It
should be noted for students, academia, educational administrators, school board members, and
non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Teaching in Effective Primary
Schools" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.39).
Transition for Pupils with Special Educational Needs
Geraldine Scanlon, et al.
Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
www.peterlang.com
9783034318730, $60.95, PB, 214pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Moving from primary to post-primary school and moving from post-primary to
further/higher education pose significant challenges to many young people. Both transitions force
young people toward greater personal autonomy, self-awareness and ideally self-efficacy.
For students with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), these challenges are
potentially greater, and continuity in, or access to new, support may be necessary to facilitate
these transitions in a manner that gives all students equal opportunities for taking charge of their
own lives, including their education.
The existing empirical literature on the transitions of students with SEND at these levels is
limited. The collaborative work of Geraldine Scanlon, Yvonne Barnes-Holmes, Michael Shevlin,
and Conor McGuckin, "Transition for Pupils with Special Educational Needs: Implications for
Inclusion Policy and Practice" reviews the conceptual, policy and research evidence on young
people's experiences of these transitions.
"Transition for Pupils with Special Educational Needs" also reports on new research conducted
with young people with SEND and relevant stakeholders (including parents, educational
professionals and voluntary agencies) involved in these transitions in Ireland. In so doing, the
book provides a framework of evidence-based practice that can enable schools and professionals
to develop effective and inclusive transition policies and programs.
Critique: Comprised of eight seminal articles by experts in the field of special education,
"Transition for Pupils with Special Educational Needs: Implications for Inclusion Policy and
Practice" is enhanced for academia with the inclusion of illustrative tables, a twenty-four page
Bibliography, and a three page Index. A unique and impressively informative work of meticulous
collective scholarship, "Transition for Pupils with Special Educational Needs" is unreservedly
recommended as a core addition to college and university library Special Education instructional
reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.
Mindfulness in the Classroom
Thomas Armstrong
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416627944, $27.99, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In today's schools, with Active Shooter Drills becoming commonplace, students and
teachers feel unprecedented and even alarming levels of stress. How can we create calmer
classrooms in which students concentrate better and feel more positive about themselves and
others? In "Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration, Compassion,
and Calm", author Thomas Armstrong offers a compelling answer in the form of mindfulness, a
secular practice he defines as the intentional focus of one's attention on the present moment in a
nonjudgmental way.
In "Mindfulness in the Classroom", Armstrong explains how mindfulness affects the structure
and function of the brain; provides an overview of mindfulness as both a personal practice and a
classroom methodology that aligns with such educational models as Social and Emotional
Learning (SEL), Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS), and Universal Design for
Learning (UDL); shares and explains the extensive research that shows the positive effects of
mindfulness practices in the classroom; describes how to adapt mindfulness for different grade
levels, integrate it into regular school subjects, and implement it schoolwide; and offers
guidelines for teaching mindfulness responsibly, without religious overtones.
Dozens of observations from teachers, students, researchers, and practitioners provide striking
evidence of the power of mindfulness and offer hope to anyone who wants to make classrooms
more productive places of learning.
Critique: Simply stated, "Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration,
Compassion, and Calm" should be required reading by every classroom teacher, school
administrator, and school board member. While unreservedly recommended for school district,
college, and university library Teacher Education & School Administration collections, it should
be noted for personal reading lists that "Mindfulness in the Classroom" is also available in a
digital book format (Kindle, $26.55).
The Science Shelf
Map of the World
Martin Vermeer & Antii Rasila
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9780367217730, $99.95, HC, 289pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Geodesy is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's
geometric shape, orientation in space and gravitational field. The field also incorporates studies
of how these properties change over time and equivalent measurements for other planets (known
as planetary geodesy). Geodynamical phenomena include crustal motion, tides and polar motion,
which can be studied by designing global and national control networks, applying space and
terrestrial techniques and relying on datums and coordinate systems.
Carl Friedrich Gauss, the "foremost of mathematicians", was a land surveyor. Measuring and
calculating geodetic networks on the curved Earth was the inspiration for some of his greatest
mathematical discoveries. This is just one example of how mathematics and geodesy have
evolved together throughout history.
The collaborative work of Martin Vermeer (Professor of Geodesy in the Department of the Built
Environment, Aalto University, Finland) and Antti Rasila (Associate Professor of Mathematics at
Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Guangdong, China), "Map of the World:
An Introduction to Mathematical Geodesy" is for students and professionals in geodesy, land
surveying, and geospatial science who need to understand the mathematics of describing the
Earth and capturing her in maps and geospatial data: the discipline known as mathematical
geodesy.
"Map of the World" aims to provide an accessible introduction to this area, presenting and
developing the mathematics relating to maps, mapping, and the production of geospatial data.
Described are the theory and its fundamental concepts, its application for processing, analyzing,
transforming, and projecting geospatial data, and how these are used in producing charts and
atlases. Also touched upon are the multitude of cross-overs into other sciences sharing in the
adventure of discovering what our world really looks like.
Critique: "Map of the World: An Introduction to Mathematical Geodesy" is organized, written
and presented in an impressively accessible style that is replete with exercises -- making it highly
adaptable textbook for curriculum courses on different levels. Especially and unreservedly
recommended for students and professionals in the mapping sciences, "Map of the World" will
prove to be an ideal and instructive source for non-specialist readers with an interest in maps and
map making. While a critically important addition to college and university library collections, it
should be noted for personal reading lists that "Maps of the World" is also available in a digital
book format (eTextbook, $87.96).
The General Fiction Shelf
She Chose Me
Tracey Emerson
Charnwood
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841510, $35.50, HC, Large Print, 384pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: After twenty years abroad, Grace returns to London to manage her dying mother's
affairs. Taking a temporary post teaching English at a local school, she rents a rundown flat and
travels to the care home on weekends. But the people in Grace's life are not what they seem to
be! When she receives a blank Mother's Day card in the post, she is confused and unsettled. Who
could have sent it to her, and why? She isn't a mother. Another Mother's Day card arrives, and
then come the silent phone calls. Haunted by disturbing flashbacks, Grace starts to unravel.
Someone is out to get her. Someone who will make her face the past she has run from for so
long.
Critique: An inherently riveting psychological thriller of a novel from author with a particularly
effective and reader engaging narrative storytelling style, this large print edition of Tracey
Emerson's "She Chose Me" is particularly and unreservedly recommended for community library
Suspense/Thriller collections.
The Western Fiction Shelf
Brothers In Blood
Lee Lejeune
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841411, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 288pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As young Stubbs 'Sunshine' Shining is riding west, he sees four gunmen firing at a
homestead and scares them off. Bethany Bartok, the widowed resident, explains that her son Bart
has gone off in search of his fortune, and her daughter Elspeth has travelled east to be educated.
Sunshine decides to stay for a short spell - but when he learns that Bart has been kidnapped, and
the local Cutaway brothers are determined to get their hands on the property, he starts to untangle
threads that lead him into dangerous territory.
Critique: A superbly crafted western with more surprising twists and turns than a rodeo bucking
bronco, "Brothers In Blood" is an immensely entertaining and satisfying read that will have a
very special appeal for all dedicated western novel fans and in this large print edition is certain to
be an immediately popular addition for any and all community library Western Fiction
collections.
The Tied-Down Holster
Hugh Martin
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841756, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 272pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Men tend to disappear around Blue Mesa, New Mexico. Dick Young, ostensibly an
easy-going artist, vanishes close to a deep chasm in this locality ruled by powerful rancher Walt
Guisewell, who sees the land he has tamed as his kingdom. Bob Young, brother of the missing
man, arrives and proves to be very different from Dick. Sometime soldier, sometime convict and
sometime lawman, he wears the holster of his Colt revolver tied down in a fashion that proclaims
him a serious man to reckon with.
Critique: "The Tied-Down Holster" is another terrifically entertaining action/adventure western
from the pen of Hugh Martin and in this large print edition from the Linford Western Library is
certain to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of all
dedicated western buffs and the Western Fiction collections of community libraries.
Dead Man's Eyes
Derek Rutherford
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444841770, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 296pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Accused of having killed a Texas Ranger, ex-train robber Jim Jackson is now out of
the tough Texas Convict Leasing System, an incarceration where brutal guards beat all the
courage out of him. Now good for nothing except drinking, Jackson is known as 'Junk' or 'Shaky',
the town drunk, by the townsfolk of Parker's Crossing. The only thing strange about 'Junk' is that
he always seems to have money to buy his booze, but no discernable means of earning it. But
Jackson does have one unexpect thing going for him - he's the fastest gunmen in the west. When
a series of violent murders terrify the people of Parker's Crossing and threatens his only friends
(Rose his landlady, and Amos a man blinded by the Apache), it is to Jim 'Junk' Jackson to defend
them. But can Jackson find the courage to take on the killers?
Critique: Once again author Derek Rutherford has penned a riveting western novel with more
plot twists and turns than the Colorado river. This large print edition of "Dead Man's Eyes" is
especially recommended for community library Western Fiction collections, and the personal
reading lists of all dedicated western action/adventure fans!
No Fire Without Smoke
Mark P. Lynch
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444839807, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 216pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Danny Roden's Travelling Medicine and Jamboree Show pulls into Bradbury, hoping
for a peaceful trip. But trouble quickly finds them in the shape of gunman Jack Donovan and two
of his unsavory pals. After a failed robbery attempt, murder and the kidnaping of a young girl, the
lady sharpshooter Smoke Winters' act is disrupted as, haunted by her own past, she must go after
the outlaws and recover the child -- and her friends are compelling to follow after her and into a
den of death in the form of a town called Inferno.
Critique: Another original western novel by the author of "Hour of the Black Wolf", "No Fire
Without Smoke" this riveting story of the Old West by Mark P. Lynch is certain to be a welcome
and enduringly popular addition to both personal reading lists and community library large print
Western Fiction collections.
LeRoy, US Marshal
Neil Hunter
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444839791, $20.99, PB, Large Print, 200pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: No matter what the odds, US Marshal Alvin LeRoy always completes his assignments.
That's why he's been sent after the murderous Jack Reno gang. His pursuit takes him across
southwest Texas, where he faces up to bushwhackers and the aftermath of a massacre of a wagon
train of men, women and children. A trail of deception and danger ultimately leads him to New
York, where he confronts the menacing top man of the crime syndicate who's behind the whole
affair.
Critique: A master of the action/adventure western genre, few writers can equal Neil Hunter and
this large print edition of "LeRoy, US Marshal" is still another example of his impressive and
thoroughly reader engaging narrative storytelling style. Simply stated, no community library
Western Fiction collection should be without a copy of "LeRoy, US Marshal" in their collection
or absent from the personal reading lists of all dedicated western fiction fans.
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Read and Buried
Eva Gates
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781643852331, $26.99, HC, 309pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: The Bodie Island Lighthouse Library Classic Novel Book Club is reading Journey to
the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne while workers dig into the earth to repair the Lighthouse
Library's foundations. The digging halts when Lucy pulls a battered tin box containing a Civil
War-era diary from the pit. Tucked inside is a hand-drawn map of the Outer Banks accompanied
by a page written in an indecipherable code.
The library is overrun by people clamoring to see the artifact. Later that night, Lucy and Connor
McNeil find the body of historical society member Jeremy Hughes inside the library. Clearly
Jeremy was not the only one who broke into the library -- the map and the coded page are
missing.
Lucy's nemesis, Louise Jane McKaughnan, confesses to entering the library after closing to sneak
a peek but denies seeing Jeremy -- or his killer. When Lucy discovers that fellow-librarian
Charlene had a past with Jeremy, she's forced to do what she vowed not to do--get involved in
the case. Meanwhile, the entire library staff and community become obsessed with trying to
decode the page. But when the library has a second break in, it becomes clear that someone is
determined to solve that code.
Critique: A fun read with many an unexpected plot twist and turn, "Read and Buried" is author
Eva Gates latest addition to her simply outstanding 'A Lighthouse Library Mystery' series. While
especially recommended for community library Murder/Suspense collections it should be noted
for individual mystery fans that "Read and Buried" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $12.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio,
9781094006956, $29.95, CD).
The Road To Grantchester
James Runcie
Isis Large Print
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
9781785417429, $TBA, HC, Large Print, 384pp, www.ulverscroftusa.com
Synopsis: In 1938, eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing with Amanda Kendall at the
Caledonian Club. No one believes, on this golden evening, that there will be another war.
Returning to London seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best
friend. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like
the rest of the world -- and Sidney, carrying a terrible guilt, must decide what to do with the rest
of his life.
But he has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent. To the
incredulity of his family and the derision of his friends (irrepressible actor Freddie, and beautiful,
spiky Amanda) Sidney must now negotiate his path to God: the course of which, like true love,
never runs smooth.
Critique: An absolute 'must read' for the legions of the Sidney Chamber's mystery novels by
James Runcie, this large print edition of "The Road To Grantchester" will prove to be an
immediate and enduringly popular addition to all community library collections.
Beyond a Reasonable Stout
Ellie Alexander
Minotaur Books
c/o St. Martin's Publishing Group
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.minotaurbooks.com
9781250205759, $26.99, HC, 288pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: It's the dead season in Leavenworth, Washington. The throngs of Oktoberfest crowds
have headed home, and the charming Bavarian streets are quiet and calm -- momentarily.
Villagers use the reprieve to drink in the crisp fall mountain air and prepare for the upcoming
winter light festival. Soon the German-inspired shops and restaurants will be aglow with
thousands of twinkling lights. Visitors will return to the northern Cascades to drink warm mulled
cider and peruse the holiday markets.
Brewer, Sloan Krause and her partner Garrett Strong are using the slowdown to stock up on a
new line of their signature craft beers at Nitro. They're experimenting with a hoppy holiday pine
and a chocolate hazelnut stout. The small brewery is alive with delicious scents and bubbling
batches of brew.
Sloan is in her element. She loves the creativity and low-key atmosphere at Nitro. Only that is
soon threatened by the incumbent city council member Kristopher Cooper. Kristopher is running
for re-election on a platform of making Leavenworth dry. Everyone in beertopia is fuming.
Leavenworth's economy relies on keeping the kegs flowing. Kristopher wants to banish beer, a
policy that might just bankrupt the entire village. However, Kristopher turns up dead days before
election night.
Sloan quickly realizes that his murder isn't the work of a stranger. Friends, family, and every
other business owner had a motive to kill him, including none other than April Ablin,
Leavenworth's self-described ambassador of all things German. Sloan finds herself defending
April and trying to sleuth out a killer amongst a group of familiar faces.
Critique: As deftly crafted a mystery novel as an artisan brewed beer, "Beyond A Reasonable
Stout" by Ellie Alexander is a wonderfully entertaining 'whodunnit' that is unreservedly
recommended as an immediate and enduringly popular addition to a community library's
Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated
mystery buffs that "Beyond A Reasonable Stout" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $13.99).
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
The Orchid Throne
Jeffe Kennedy
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
9781250194312, $7.99, PB, 384pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As Queen of the island kingdom of Calanthe, Lia will do anything to keep her people
free (and her secrets safe) from the mad tyrant who rules the mainland. Guided by a magic ring of
her father's, Lia plays the political game with the cronies the emperor sends to her island. In her
heart, she knows that it's up to her to save herself from her fate as the emperor's bride. But in her
dreams, she sees a man, one with the power to build a better world -- a man whose spirit is as
strong, and whose passion is as fierce as her own.
Conri, former Crown Prince of Oriel, has built an army to overthrow the emperor. But he needs
the fabled Abiding Ring to succeed. The ring that Lia holds so dear to her heart. When the two
banished rulers meet face to face, neither can deny the flames of rebellion that flicker in their
eyes -- nor the fires of desire that draw them together. But in this broken world of shattered
kingdoms, can they ever really trust each other? Can their fiery alliance defeat the shadows of
evil that threaten to engulf their hearts and souls?
Critique: An immediately absorbing and original novel by an author with a distinctive and
thoroughly reader engaging narrative storytelling style, "The Orchid Throne" by Jeffe Kennedy
will become an immediate and enduringly popular addition to community library Fantasy Fiction
collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Orchid Throne" is also
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book
(Tantor Audio, 9781977369390, $29.99, CD).
Uncompromising Honor
David Weber
Baen Books
PO Box 1188, Wake Forest NC 27588
www.baen.com
9781481483506, $28.00, HC, 784pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: The Solarian League's navy counts its superdreadnoughts by the thousands. Not even
its own government knows how enormous its economy truly is. And for hundreds of years, the
League has borne the banner of human civilization, been the ideal to which humanity aspires in
its diaspora across the galaxy. But the bureaucrats known as the "Mandarins," who rule today's
League, are not the men and women who founded it so long ago. They are corrupt, venal,
accountable to no one -- and they've decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be
destroyed.
Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom's uniform for half a century and served her
monarch and her people well. In the course of those years, the woman the newsies call the
Salamander has grown from a tactically brilliant but politically naive junior officer to supreme
fleet command and a seat on the highest military and political councils of the Grand
Alliance.
Very few people know war the way Honor Harrington does. Very few have lost as many men and
women, as many friends, as much family, as she has. Yet despite that, hers has been a voice of
caution. She knows the Mandarins and the Solarian League Navy are growing increasingly
desperate as the truth of their technological inferiority sinks home, but she also knows the sheer
size of the League. And she knows how its citizens will react if the Grand Alliance takes the war
to the League, attacks its star systems, destroys its infrastructure, kills its civilians. Today's
victory, bought on those terms, can only guarantee a future war of revenge against a resurgent
Solarian League and its navy.
Honor knows the Grand Alliance must find a victory that doesn't require incursions deep into
Solarian space, doesn't leave a legacy of bottomless hatred, and the strategy she supports has
been working.
The League is sliding towards inglorious defeat as it steadily loses ground in the Protectorates
and the Verge. As its central government teeters towards bankruptcy and even some of its core
systems opt to secede in the face of the Mandarins' corruption. As the Solarian Navy finally
realizes it cannot face an Alliance battle fleet and win. But the Mandarins have embraced a
desperate new strategy, and in pursuit of that strategy, the SLN has committed atrocities such as
the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. The League have violated its own Eridani Edict
against mass civilian casualties, violated the Deneb Accords prohibition on war crimes.
And they have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves. Hers is the voice of
caution and compromise no longer, and the galaxy is about to see something it has never
imagined. The Salamander is coming for the Solarian League, and Hell is coming in her
wake.
Critique: The 19th volume in David Weber's now legendary Honor Harrington science fiction
action/adventure series, "Uncompromising Honor" is a 'must read' for the legions of Weber fans
and will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to both community and
academic library Science Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists of all
dedicated SciFi fans that "Uncompromising Honor" is also available in a mass market paperback
edition (9781982124137, $9.99, 1120pp) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.73).
The Health/Medicine Shelf
Principles of Green Bioethics
Cristina Richie
Michigan State University Press
1405 South Harrison Road, Suite 25
East Lansing, MI 48823-5245
http://msupress.org
9781611863239, $49.95, PB, 244pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Health care is ubiquitous in the industrialized world. Yet, every medical development,
technique, and procedure impacts the environment.
Green bioethics synthesizes environmental ethics and biomedical ethics, thus creating an
interdisciplinary approach to sustainable health care. Notably, green bioethics addresses not the
structure of environmental sustainability in health-care institutions but the sustainability of
individual health-care offerings. It parallels traditional biomedical ethics by providing four
principles for ethical guidance: distributive justice, resource conservation, simplicity, and ethical
economics. Through these four principles, green bioethics presents a coherent framework for
evaluating the sustainability of medical developments, techniques, and procedures.
The future of our world may very well depend on how effectively we halt ecological destruction
and conserve our resources in all areas of life. The principles of green bioethics, outlined in
"Principles of Green Bioethics: Sustainability in Health Care" by Cristina Richie, will advance
sustainability in health care.
Critique: Organized into three major sections (Approaches to Sustainability and Health Care;
Principles of Green Bioethics; Green Bioethics in Practice), and enhanced for academia with the
inclusion of thirty-four pages of Notes, twenty-six pages of References, and a five page Index,
"Principles of Green Bioethics: Sustainability in Health Care" is an extraordinary and timely
study that is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Environmental
Studies, Ethics, and Contemporary Philosophy collections, as well as the personal reading lists of
students, academia, environmental activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in
the subject.
Editorial Note: Cristina Richie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics and
Interdisciplinary Studies, with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Public Health at the
Brody School of Medicine, at East Carolina University. Richie is the head of the North Carolina
Unit of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics.
Exercises for Parkinson's Disease
William Smith, M.S.
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578267668, $15.00, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: William Smith, MS, NSCA-CSCS, MEPD works for a nationally recognized
healthcare system in the New York metropolitan area providing health and wellness services. His
focus is in special populations and how healthcare providers and fitness professionals can work
more closely together. His previous books include "Exercises for Perfect Posture", "Exercises for
Brain Health", and "Exercises for Cardiac Recovery".
In "Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" William Smith provides a complete guide in the same
format to achieving better health for Parkinson's patients, providing them with everything from
tips on how to structure their day to take full advantage of higher energy periods, to tailor-made
workout programs designed to boost mobility and balance. Studies have shown that exercise
improves fitness and energy levels in Parkinson's patients, while also relieving pain and helping
them retain control in their daily life.
"Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" works as an integrated part of any Parkinson's treatment plan,
optimizing mobility, increasing strength and minimizing pain, while providing lifestyle tips to
keep you motivated and moving forward.
"Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" also includes: A detailed overview of how exercise can
improve Parkinson's disease symptoms; Clear, informative pictures of safe, effective exercises;
Information on Parkinson's life-hacks for relaxation and motivation; Detailed instructions on how
to perform each movement; A complete fitness approach to restoring functionality.
Featuring expert-approved fitness techniques, with options ranging from resistance training to
mobility movements to light strength exercises, "Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" is the
all-in-one resource for anyone looking to take back control and live their best life!
Critique: Medically sound in content, thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation,
"Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" is unreservedly recommended for use with Parkinson's
patients and will prove to be an enduringly valued addition to community, hospital, sheltered
living facility, college, and university library Parkinson's instructional treatment collections. It
should be noted that as a complete fitness guide to improve mobility, strength and balance that
"Exercises for Parkinson's Disease" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$9.99).
The Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Reef Fish Behavior: Florida Caribbean Bahamas
Ned Deloach, Anna Deloach, Paul Humann
New World Publications
www.fishid.com
9781878348685, $49.95, PB, 448pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Reef Fish Behavior presents an overview of what is presently known about the nature
of Florida, Caribbean and Bahamas reef fishes for recreational divers, underwater naturalists,
photographers, and budding marine biologists. This new 448-page second edition includes 588
photos, emphasizes reef fish life cycles, reproduction, cleaning symbiosis, colors & camouflage,
senses and sound communications, marine wildlife management plus 16 fish family
overviews.
Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, the fully updated and expanded second
edition of "Reef Fish Behavior: Florida Caribbean Bahamas" is an impressively informative and
exceptionally well organized, making it unreservedly recommended for personal, professional,
community, and academic library collections.
Orca: The Whale Called Killer, fifth edition
Erich Hoyt
Firefly Books Ltd.
www.fireflybooks.com
9780228102298 $24.95 amazon.com
Synopsis: When Erich Hoyt's Orca: The Whale Called Killer was first published in 1981, little
was known about Orcinus orca. The largest member of the dolphin family was then considered
too dangerous to approach in the wild. That all changed when Erich Hoyt and his colleagues
spent seven summers in the 1970s following these intelligent, playful creatures in the waters off
northern Vancouver Island. Working alongside other researchers keen to understand the life
history of the killer whale, Hoyt's group helped to dispel the negative mythology about orcas
while uncovering the intimate details of their social behavior.
This revised fifth edition includes Hoyt's original account, plus exciting new chapters that bring
readers up to date on the revolution in public awareness and orca research that has taken place.
Hoyt's youthful adventures turned into his life's work. Now a world-renowned expert on whales
and dolphins, he shares orca wisdom along with stories gleaned from decades of additional field
study in the Russian Far East as well as return trips to Canada's West Coast to visit with the
descendants of the killer whales he encountered 45 years ago.
Critique: Now in a revised and expanded fifth edition with new chapters about modern-day orca
research, Orca: The Whale Called Killer is an in-depth examination of these complex, intelligent
aquatic mammals. A handful of inset color photographs illustrates this extensive study of killer
whale behavior, thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Orca: The Whale Called
Killer is highly recommended especially for public and college library wildlife science
collections.
Feed the Birds
Chris Earley
Firefly Books Ltd.
www.fireflybooks.com
9780228102014, $24.95, PB, 296pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Feeding birds is growing in popularity and is enjoyed by over 50 million North
Americans each year.
Chris Earley is a zoologist and environmental biologist. He is the Interpretive Biologist and
Education Coordinator at The Arboretum, University of Guelph. His previous books include
"Falcons in the City", "Warblers of the Great Lakes Region and Eastern North America", and
"Birds A to Z".
In his latest book, "Feed the Birds: Attract and Identify 196 Common North American Birds " he
has designed a resource for beginners and experienced birdwatchers alike. Covering 196 bird
species that are attracted to backyard bird feeders, "Feed the Birds" helps the bird lover to not
only attract and identify birds but also understand their behavior and adaptations to the
environment. A wide variety of feeders and seed types are presented with helpful tips on how to
attract the largest variety of birds.
Each individual profile for the 196 featured species includes a variety of photographs, an
identification guide, a range map, information on bird seed and natural food preferences, and
behavior. Other topics include: Why feeding birds is important; Building do-it-yourself feeders;
Foiling squirrels: Attracting birds with natural foods and water; Building shelters and nest boxes;
Involving children; Photographing birds; Hand feeding; Recognizing individual birds and
identifying similar-looking species; Growing plant varieties that make a garden attractive to
birds.
"Feed the Birds" also contains information on how to choose the right seeds; the importance of
ensuring all windows are bird-safe (with links to organizations that work to reduce bird-window
collision); cat-friendly deterrents; and citizen science activities like the annual Christmas Bird
Count and Project Feederwatch.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, expertly organized and presented, comprehensively
informative, "Feed the Birds" is a complete guide that should be a core addition to personal,
professional, community, college, and university library Pets/Wildlife collections in general, and
North American wild bird identification and care studies lists in particular.
The Hidden World of the Fox
Adele Brand
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
195 Broadway New York, New York 10007
www.harpercollins.com
9780062966100, $24.99, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: For thousands of years myth and folklore have celebrated the cunning intelligence of
the fox. Today the red fox is the nature's most populous carnivore, its dancing orange tail a
common sight in backyards. Yet who is this wild neighbor, truly? How do we negotiate this
uneasy new chapter of an ancient relationship?
In the pages of "The Hidden World of the Fox", readers will join British ecologist Adele Brand
on a journey to discover the surprising secrets of the fabled fox, the familiar yet enigmatic
creature that has adapted to the human world with astonishing (some say, unsettling)
success.
Brand has studied foxes for twenty years across four continents ranging from the Yucatan
rainforest to India's remote Thar Desert, from subarctic Canada to metropolitan London. Her
observations have convinced her that the fox is arguably the most modern of all wildlife,
uniquely suited to survival in the rapidly expanding urban/wild interface.
Blending cutting-edge science, cultural anthropology, and intimate personal storytelling drawn
from her own remarkable fieldwork, Adele Brand's "The Hidden World of the Fox" is a rich and
revelatory portrait of the extraordinary animal that she has devoted her life to understanding.
Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of a section of full color photography, "The Hidden World
of the Fox" is an impressively informative and inherently fascinating read from cover to cover.
While unreservedly recommended, especially for community and academic library collections, it
should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Hidden World of the Fox" is also available in
a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone
Audio, 9781094026084, $29.99, CD).
The Library Science Shelf
Putting Library Assessment Data to Work
Selena Killick & Frankie Wilson
Facet Publishing
www.facetpublishing.co.uk
9781783302208, $64.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Effective library assessment is crucial for a successful academic library. But what do
we mean by library assessment and how can it be used to improve the library service? "Putting
Library Assessment Data to Work" provides a practical guide for library administrators,
managers and practitioners on how to make effective use of existing sources of information for
assessment activities with the aim of improving academic library services.
"Putting Library Assessment Data to Work" brings together key library assessment
methodologies detailing how they can be used to improve an academic library. The book takes
common sources of data that academic libraries will already be collecting, and presents simple
qualitative and quantitative techniques that can be used to evaluate and assess their services, both
in detail and overall. The different assessment methods are presented from a practical perspective
with a theoretical grounding, and include practical case studies to illustrate how the
methodologies have successfully been applied.
"Putting Library Assessment Data to Work" includes coverage of: The theoretical framework for
assessment, it's purpose and the tools and techniques used; Institutional, national and
international student surveys and how they can be sued to improve library service; The history
and development of standardized library surveys, how they have been used and their impact; The
benefits of In house library surveys and case studies of where they gave been used; Qualitative
feedback in the library; Taking a holistic approach to library assessment through advocacy and
strategic planning.
"Putting Library Assessment Data to Work" will be essential reading for library and information
service managers, administrators, assessment practitioners, educators and policy shapers. It will
also be useful for students and researchers interested in library assessment.
Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "Putting Library Assessment Data to Work" is a
comprehensive and thoroughly 'user friendly' compendium that is unreservedly recommended for
the personal reading lists of community, corporate, governmental, and academic libraries as a
core part of their Library Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
The American History Shelf
Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty
Ronald R. Switzer
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476677019, $49.95, PB, 277pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In the first decades of the 1800s, white Americans entered the rugged lands of
Arkansas, which they had little explored before. They established new towns and developed
commercial enterprises alongside Native Americans indigenous to Arkansas and other tribes and
nations that had relocated there from the East.
"Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty: Settlement and Economic Development, 1540-1900" by
Ronald R. Switzer (who is a retired National Park Service executive and National Park
superintendent who has written numerous articles, reports, and books on Southwest archaeology
and western history) is the story of Arkansas's people as revealed through numerous biographies,
highlighting early life in frontier Arkansas over a period of 200 years.
"Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty" provides a categorical look at commerce and portrays the
social diversity represented by both prominent and common Arkansans -- all grappling for
success against extraordinary circumstances.
Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, eighteen
pages of Chapter Notes, and a nine page Index, "Arkansas, Forgotten Land of Plenty: Settlement
and Economic Development, 1540-1900" is a unique, informative, well organized, accessibly
presented, and meticulously researched state history that is unreservedly recommended for
personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library American History collections
in general, and Arkansas History supplemental curriculum lists in particular.
The World History Shelf
Medieval Warfare: A Reader
Kelly DeVries & Michael Livingston, editors
University of Toronto Press
10 St. Mary Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4Y 2W8
www.utppublishing.com
9781442636705, $120.00, HC, 392pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Kelly DeVries (Professor in the Department
of History at Loyola University, Maryland and an honorary historical consultant at the Royal
Armouries, UK) and Michael Livingston (who is a professor in the Department of English, Fine
Arts, and Communications at The Citadel), "Medieval Warfare: A Reader" examines how armed
conflict was experienced in the Middle Ages both on the field of battle and at home.
This comprehensive collection of more than 130 primary-source materials (some translated here
into English for the first time) traces over one thousand years of military developments, including
the fall of Rome, the fight for Jerusalem, the building of castles and other fortifications, the rise
of gunpowder, and the negotiation of treaties.
Developed by two of the leading experts in medieval military history, the readings tell stories of
terrors and tragedies, triumphs and technologies in the Middle Ages. By reclaiming the voices of
victims and veterans that have previously been ignored, the editors successfully stake out a
powerful new perspective on the long history of military conflict and suffering.
Critique: A simply impressive work of collaborative scholarship, "Medieval Warfare: A Reader"
must be considered an essential core addition to community, college, and university library
Medieval Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the
personal reading lists of students, academia, medieval warfare enthusiasts, and non-specialst
general readers with an interest in the subject that "Medieval Warfare: A Reader" is also
available in a paperback edition (9781442636699, $49.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle,
$39.95).
Following in the Footsteps of Edward II
Kathryn Warner
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526732934, $24.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Edward II (25 April 1284 - 21 September 1327) is famously one of England's most
unsuccessful kings, as utterly different from his warlike father Edward I as any man possibly
could be, and the first English king to suffer the fate of deposition. Highly unconventional, even
eccentric, he was an intriguing personality, and his reign of nineteen and a half years from 1307
to 1327 was a turbulent period of endless conflict and the king's infatuation with his male
favorites, which ended when his own queen led an invasion of his kingdom.
In "Following in the Footsteps of Edward II: A Historical Guide to the Medieval King" historian
Kathryn Warner deftly presents a new take on this most unconventional and puzzling of kings,
from the magnificent Caernarfon Castle where he was born in 1284 shortly after his father
conquered North Wales, to his favorite residences at King's Langley in Hertfordshire and
Westminster, to the castle of Berkeley in Gloucestershire where he supposedly met his brutal
death in September 1327, to Gloucester Cathedral, where his tomb and alabaster effigy still exist
and are among the greatest glories surviving from medieval England.
Critique: Informed and informative, exceptional in presentation, a meticulous example of
outstanding scholarship, and an inherently fascinating read, "Following in the Footsteps of
Edward II: A Historical Guide to the Medieval King" is an especially recommended addition to
both community and academic library English History collections in general, and Edward II
supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted that "Following in the
Footsteps of Edward II" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.98).
Following in the Footsteps of Oliver Cromwell
James Hobson
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526734839, $24.95, PB, 192pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Oliver Cromwell is one of the most important figures in British History. He was both
soldier and politician and the only non-Royal ruler of Britain in a thousand years. His actions and
ideas still have political and social consequences today, and his legacy still divides people. Love
him or loathe him, Cromwell still matters. "Following in the Footsteps of Oliver Cromwell: A
Historical Guide to the Civil War" by historian and biographer James Hobson is a history of his
life through the places in Britain and Ireland where he lived, visited, ruled or fought.
"Following in the Footsteps of Oliver Cromwell" begins in Huntingdon in 1599, with the
respectable but unimportant Cromwell family living under the shadow of richer relatives. Civil
War and Cromwell's controversial successes at Marston Moor, Naseby, Basing House and
Worcester transform him into the most powerful person in Britain, saving him from obscurity
and moving him from a modest house in Ely to Hampton Court Palace. Cromwell is involved in
the execution of King Charles I outside the Banqueting House, his own coronation in
Westminster Hall, and bloody slaughter in Ireland. His death in 1658 does not end the
controversy. His enemies take revenge on his corpse and the debate about his legacy begins.
Critique: A concise and information packed combination of biography and history, "Following in
the Footsteps of Oliver Cromwell: A Historical Guide to the Civil War" will prove to be a
welcome addition to community and academic library English History collections in general, and
Oliver Cromwell supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students,
academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Following in the
Footsteps of Oliver Cromwell" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).
Following in the Footsteps of Henry Tudor
Phil Carradice
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781526743305, $22.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Henry VII (Welsh: Harri Tudur; 28 January 1457 - 21 April 1509) was the King of
England and Lord of Ireland who seized the English crown on 22 August 1485 and held it to the
day of his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor and therefore popular known as
Henry Tudor .
The story of Henry Tudor's march to Bosworth and the throne of England began long before the
fatal summer of 1485, with his birth in Pembroke Castle. The gigantic fortress where he spent his
childhood years lay some 12 miles inland from the spot where Henry was supposed to have
landed in Milford Haven when he came to challenge Richard III in August 1485.
Henry's landing and progress to Bosworth Field were a gamble, but by 1485 the last of the
Lancastrian princes had little option but to chance his arms. He had worn out his welcome on the
Continent and, despite his unpopularity in some quarters of English society, there was the real
risk that Richard's reign might finally begin to create stability and financial success; Yorkist
stability.
A gamble, yes, but one that had to be taken if the House of Lancaster was to survive.
In "Following in the Footsteps of Henry Tudor: A Historical Journey from Pembroke to
Bosworth" by author and historian Phil Carradice, we are provided with many fascinating stories
drawn from Henry's march and the places he visited. This was a journey that took just over two
weeks.
It was a time of treachery and double dealing but it culminated with the establishment of the
Tudor dynasty, the end of the Wars of the Roses and the beginnings of the modern world.
Critique: Deftly written with all the page-turning compulsion of a work of fiction, "Following in
the Footsteps of Henry Tudor: A Historical Journey from Pembroke to Bosworth" is an
impressively informative, exceptionally well organized and adroitly presented study that is
unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library British History collections
in general, and 15th century English History supplemental studies lists in particular. It should be
noted that for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the
subject that "Following in the Footsteps of Henry Tudor" is also available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $13.99).
The Kongs of Qufu
Christopher S. Agnew
University of Washington Press
PO Box 359570, Seattle, WA 98195-9570
www.washington.edu/uwpress
9780295745923, $95.00, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: The city of Qufu, in north China's Shandong Province, is famous as the hometown of
Kong Qiu (551 - 479 BCE), the man who is best known as Confucius in English and as Kongzi
or Kong Fuzi in Chinese.
In "The Kongs of Qufu: The Descendants of Confucius in Late Imperial China", Christopher
Agnew (Associate Professor of History, University of Dayton) deftly chronicles the history of the
sage's direct descendants from the inception of the hereditary title Duke for Fulfilling the Sage in
1055 CE through its dissolution in 1935, after the fall of China's dynastic system in 1911.
Drawing on archival materials, Professor Agnew reveals how a kinship group used genealogical
privilege to shape Chinese social and economic history. The Kongs' power under a hereditary
dukedom enabled them to oversee agricultural labor, dominate rural markets, and profit from
commercial enterprises. "The Kongs of Qufu" aptly demonstrates that the ducal institution and
Confucian ritual were both a means to reproduce existing social hierarchies and a potential site of
conflict and subversion.
Critique: A seminal work of meticulously researched scholarship, "The Kongs of Qufu: The
Descendants of Confucius in Late Imperial China" is an extraordinary, unique, and unreservedly
recommended addition to community, college, and university library Chinese History collections.
Enhanced with the inclusion of a Chronology of Dynasties, two Appendices, a four page Chinese
Character Glossary, twenty-two pages of Notes, a twelve page Bibliography, and a ten page
Index, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist
general readers that the "The Kongs of Qufu" is also available in a paperback edition
(9780295745930, $30.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.50).
Athene Palace
R. G. Waldeck, author
Ernest Latham, editor
Center for Romanian Studies
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781592110087, $49.99, HC, 382pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As European capitals fell during 1940 and 1941, there swarmed to the Athene Palace,
Bucharest's Grand Hotel, diplomats, generals, Gestapo spies, and demi-mondaines from all over
Europe. Arriving at the crowded Athene Palace on the day Paris fell in June, 1940, American
female journalist Rosa Goldschmidt Waldeck observed for the next seven months all the events
that unfolded and the international figures that made Romania Europe's last sensational hotbed of
intrigue and color.
Hitler's beautiful feminine agents held court in the Athene Palace lobby within eyeshot of British
diplomats, while around them moved fifth columnists, German economists and generals,
American and English diplomats and newspapermen, all who made the Athene Palace the most
glamorous spot on the continent. The dramatic events of this turbulent period are described here
chiefly in terms of personalities: Carol and Lupescu, Antonescu and Dr. Clodius, Nazi
Gauleiters, British Quislings, Romanian appeasers, and all the types who dominated the scene of
World War II Europe... On the surface this is a fast-moving, dramatic study is as readable as a
novel, but it is also a most effective dissection of the Nazi New Order.
This penetrating insight into the German administration of Europe reveals the reasons underlying
the failure of the Nazi regime. Originally published during the Second World War, this new
edition is enhanced by a thorough introductory study on the life of author R. G. Waldeck and
work by Ernest H. Latham, Jr., former cultural attache at the American Embassy in Bucharest
and a well-known specialist in Romanian history who has done extensive research on American
and British journalists in Romania during World War II.
Critique: Impressively organized and presented, this new edition of "Athene Palace" is an
extraordinary and impressively informative history that will prove to be an enduringly welcome
addition to the growing body of World War II histories. While unreservedly recommended for
community, college, and university library 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
"Athene Palace" is also available in a paperback edition (9781592110070, $29.99).
The Civil War Shelf
Columbus, Georgia, 1865
Charles A. Misulia
The University of Alabama Press
PO Box 870380, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0380
www.uapress.ua.edu
9780817359768, $29.95, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Columbus, Georgia, 1865: The Last True Battle of the Civil War" by Charles A.
Misulia (who is the president of Veteran Arms, LLC, a Georgia-based company specializing in
reproductions of historical firearms and works extensively with historical film, television, and
theatrical productions) is a comprehensive study of the Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, conflict,
which occurred in the dark of night and extended over a mile and half through a series of forts
and earthworks and was finally decided in an encounter on a bridge a thousand feet in
length.
This original study offers the first complete account of this battle, examining and recounting in
depth not only the composition and actions of the contending forces, which numbered some three
thousand men on each side, but meticulously detailing the effect of the engagement on the city of
Columbus and its environs.
"Columbus, Georgia, 1865" fills in an omission in the grand account of our cataclysmic national
struggle and adds a significant chapter to the history of an important regional city. In addition,
"Columbus, Georgia, 1865" takes on the long-vexing question of which encounter should be
recognized as the last battle of the Civil War and argues persuasively that the battle that took
place in Columbus, Georgia, qualifies for this distinction on a number of counts.
Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of illustrations, five appendices, fifty-six
pages of notes, an eight page bibliography, and a fourteen page index, "Columbus, Georgia,
1865: The Last True Battle of the Civil War" is a work of extraordinary and meticulous
scholarship and a prized addition to the growing library of American Civil War history and
literature. While unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library
American Civil War collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for students,
academia, civil war history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the
subject that "Columbus, Georgia, 1865: The Last True Battle of the Civil War" is also available
in a digital book format (eTextbook, $28.45).
Colonels in Blue
Roger D. Hunt
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476675893, $39.95, PB, 249pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Colonels in Blue: Missouri and the Western States and Territories" compiled by
Roger D. Hunt is a biographical civil war dictionary that catalogs the Union army colonels who
commanded regiments from Missouri and the western States and Territories during the Civil
War. The seventh volume in a series documenting Union army colonels, "Colonels in Blue"
details the lives of officers who did not advance beyond that rank. Included for each colonel are
brief biographical excerpts and any available photographs, many of them published for the first
time.
Critique: Impressively informative, expertly organized and presented, illustrated throughout with
black-and-white historical photography, "Colonels in Blue: Missouri and the Western States and
Territories" is a critically important and essential addition to any personal, community, or
academic library American Civil War collection and supplemental studies lists.
The Architecture Shelf
Downsize: Living Large in a Small House
Sheri Koones
The Taunton Press
63 South Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470
www.taunton.com
9781641550338, $34.95, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: A successful columnist and speaker, Sheri Koones is also an expert on small houses,
energy efficiency, and prefabrication. She is an authority whose previous books include
Prefabulous, Prefabulous Small Houses, Prefabulous + Sustainable, Prefabulous + Almost Off
the Grid, and Prefabulous World. She won the prestigious Robert Bruss Real Estate Book Award
from NAREE in 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2017.
In "Downsize: Living Large in a Small House", she presents the hottest trend in the housing
market. The 25 small houses presented in this profusely illustrated volume are owned by people
who have made a conscious decision to downsize from a larger home to a smaller home -- or
who just decided to build small in the first place.
Some of the houses are new (site-built or prefab), others are remodels. All are 2,000 sq. ft. or
less. The featured houses show how to use space efficiently through such strategies as: Creative
storage space; Multi-purpose rooms; Pocket and Barn doors; Integrating smaller appliances.
These exceptional houses show how small can be comfortable, practical, energy efficient -- and
beautiful.
Critique: Exceptionally informative and a simple pleasure to simply browse through, "Downsize:
Living Large in a Small House" will be an enduringly popular addition to personal, professional,
community, and academic library Contemporary Architecture collections and supplemental
studies reading lists.
The African Dwelling
Epee Ellon & Diane Chehab
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476673806, $49.95, PB, 231pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Housing has changed in Sub-Saharan Africa since the Europeans arrived. Africans no
longer live in traditional homes. This historical transition from "hut to house," from traditional to
Western style, reflects slavery, colonialism and other social influences.
Epee Ellong teaches African Architecture at the Ecole Superieure Speciale d'Architecture du
Cameroun in Yaounde, Cameroon. In 1988, he was published in Presence Africaine on the use of
urban space in African funeral ceremonies. While working in the U.S. as an architect, he spoke
regularly at universities and at the Museum for African Art.
Diane Chehab is an American project manager and former architectural designer. She lived in
Cameroon from 1981 to 1993, and between 2015 and 2016. She writes about Africa on her blog,
Away From Africa.
In "The African Dwelling: From Traditional to Western Style Homes" Eppe Long with the
assistance of Diane Chehab focuses on Cameroon, known as "Africa in Miniature" because of its
geographical and cultural representation of the continent at large.
Architectural styles, materials and construction techniques are discussed within a larger context,
examining how lifestyle changes and architectural trends influence each other. "The African
Dwelling" provides a rich examination of the challenges and opportunities for a new generation
of African architects to integrate the lessons of the past and create a future more responsive to the
region's needs.
Critique: A unique and impressively informative study that is replete with black-and-white
photographic illustrations, "The African Dwelling: From Traditional to Western Style Homes" is
enhanced with academia with the inclusion of a one page Bibliography, seven pages of Chapter
Notes, and a six page Index. An extraordinary work of meticulous scholarship, "The African
Dwelling" is an especially recommended addition to personal, professional, college, and
university library Architectural Studies collections and supplemental curriculum lists.
The Sports Shelf
Managing Sport Events, second edition
T. Christopher Greenwell, Leigh Ann Danzey-Bussell, & David J. Shonk
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.HumanKinetics.com
9781492570950, $95.00, PB, 260pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Running a successful sporting event (whether it's a local event, state championship, or
international competition) requires the knowledge and skills to plan, organize, promote, lead, and
communicate effectively. Merging research findings with best practices, this newly updated and
expanded second edition of "Managing Sport Events" presents the key principles of event
management to prepare students to enter the field with the skills needed to immediately engage in
event production and evaluation.
With updated references throughout, this second edition of "Managing Sport Events" emphasizes
practical application by offering plenty of contemporary examples and learning opportunities for
students including: New industry profiles at the beginning of each chapter showcase
professionals putting theory into practice; Added sections address emerging trends and topics,
such as sustainability and event security; Examples show how new technologies can be utilized
for event management and event presentation; Scenarios highlighting recreational and
community events better represent smaller-scale events such as a local 5K run or a youth
basketball tournament; Case studies and learning activities at the end of each chapter allow
students to put theory into practice; A new web resource offers mini case studies with
multiple-choice questions that provide immediate feedback to help students gauge their
comprehension.
This new edition of "Managing Sport Events" will lead students through the reality of what it
takes to conduct a successful event. Starting with event conception and development, the text
then addresses key planning areas, including staffing, budgeting, marketing, promotion,
sponsorship, and legal and risk management. It then moves into key operational areas such as
services, logistics, and on-site management, and it concludes the process with postevent duties
and considerations.
Critique: Comprehensively informative, exceptionally well organized and presented, this newly
published second edition "Managing Sports Events" is an ideal and highly recommended
curriculum textbook and should be a part of every college and university library collection. It
should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, sports events managers, and
non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Managing Sports Events" is
also available in a digital book format (eTextbook, $64.79).
Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History
Josh Chetwynd
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476679129, $45.00, PB, 389pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: With the success of The Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, baseball in Europe
has begun to receive more attention. But few realize just how far back the sport's history stretches
on the continent. Baseball has been played in Europe since the 1870s, and in several countries the
players and devoted followers have included royalty, Hall of Famers from the U.S. major
leagues, and captains of industry.
Featuring approximately 80 new interviews and 70 new photos and images, this newly updated
and revised second edition of "Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History" by Josh
Chetwynd builds extensively on the previous edition's country-by-country histories of more than
40 European nations. Also included are two new appendices on European players signed by MLB
organizations and European countries' performance in worldwide rankings.
Critique: A fascinating and informative sports history, this newly updated and expanded second
edition of "Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History" will prove to be a unique and
unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and
university library Sports History collections in general, and Baseball History supplemental
studies reading lists in particular.
Editorial Note: Josh Chetwynd is an award-winning journalist who has served as a staff reporter
for USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter and U.S. News & World Report. A former
professional baseball player in the United Sates and Europe, he has broadcast baseball in the
United Kingdom on both television for Channel Five and BT Sport and on radio for the
BBC.
The Art Shelf
Helene Schjerfbeck
Jeremy Lewison, Rebecca Bray, Desiree de Chair, et. al.
Royal Academy of Arts
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9781912520039, $40.00, HC, 168pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Though little known outside her native country, Helene Schjerfbeck (July 10, 1862 -
January 23, 1946) is one of Finland's best-loved artists, and has influenced artists far beyond its
borders. Her career, which stretched from the late 1870s to the end of World War II, spanned
both impressionism and modernism.
"Helene Schjerfbeck" is published to accompany a major survey exhibition at London's Royal
Academy of the Arts, the artist's first solo exhibition in the UK since she exhibited in London in
1890. The full range of her exceptional work is presented, with 70 paintings in all genres,
including portraits and self-portraits, landscapes and still lifes. With essays about Schjerfbeck's
technique, her social and cultural context and her influence on later artists such as Francis Bacon,
Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach, this volume offers a thorough introduction to the artist's work
and legacy.
Critique: Impressively informative, beautifully illustrated, exceptionally organized and presented,
"Helene Schjerfbeck" showcases the life and career of an extraordinary artist and should be
considered a core addition to college and university library European art history collections in
general, and Helene Schjerfbeck supplemental studies reading lists in particular.
Greco Disco
Luke Edward Hall
www.lukeedwardhall.com
teNeues Publishing
350 Seventh Avenue, Suite 301, New York, NY, 10011
www.teneues.com
9783961711963, $65.00, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Artist and designer Luke Edward Hall, based in London, has taken the design world by
storm with his playful, nostalgic, charming, and sophisticated interiors, fabrics, ceramics,
furniture, stationery, prints, drawings, and paintings.
With a strong belief that his artwork, d cor, and interior design convey happiness and optimism,
whimsical and romantic themes and a bright color palette are purposeful hallmarks of the
wunderkind's aesthetic. Before the age of 30, Luke has already collaborated with some of the
world's most prestigious creative brands and garnered acclaim from The New York Times,
Vogue, and many of the most influential arts, design, and fashion publications. teNeues is proud
to debut the exciting, beautiful, and exuberant first monograph of the brilliant Luke Edward
Hall.
After graduating from the esteemed Central Saint Martins, Hall began his career in interior
design before establishing his own studio in 2015, and has since worked across a broad range of
art and design commissions and interior design projects. He has expanded his portfolio to design
collections of housewares, table linens, ceramics, stationery, embroidered slippers, clothing, and
jewelry, and more. Burberry, Liberty London, Svenskt Tenn, Rowing Blazers, Christie s, and the
Royal Academy of London are among his notable clientele.
Luke has exhibited his artwork in London and Stockholm and contributed art pieces and his
writings to such lauded culture magazines as Cabana, House & Garden, and Pleasure Garden. He
is currently a regular columnist for the House & Home section of the Financial Times.
Critique: An impressively illustrated and informative coffee-table style (10.1 x 1 x 12.9 inches)
compendium showcasing and commenting upon the art and designs of Luke Edward Hall,
"Greco Disco" is certain to be an enduringly valued addition to both community and academic
library collections in general, and Luke Edward Hall supplemental studies reading lists in
particular. It should be noted that additional information on Hall's continuing work can be found
on his web site at: www.lukeedwardhall.com
Gordon Onslow Ford: A Man on a Green Island
Sepp Hiekisch-Picard, et al.
Lucid Art Foundation
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9781732667303, $65.00, HC, 384pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Gordon Onslow Ford (26 December 1912 - 9 November 2003) was one of the last
surviving members of the 1930s Paris surrealist group surrounding Andre Breton. Born in the
English town of Wendover in 1912 to a family of artists, Onslow Ford began painting at an early
age. His grandfather, Edward Onslow Ford, was a Victorian sculptor. At the age of 11, he began
painting landscapes under the guidance of his uncle. Following the death of his father at age 14,
he was sent to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. The ocean affected him deeply and his
early works depicted ocean scenes. The metaphor of taking a "voyage" later became an important
aspect of his paintings. (Wikipedia)
Published by the Lucid Art Foundation, "Gordon Onslow Ford: A Man on a Green Island" is a
comprehensive and profusely illustrated study that is the first major resource on the life and work
of Ford (1912 - 2003) who spent more than 50 years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Marked by an initial interest in automatist techniques, Ford's painting gradually developed
through studies of Eastern philosophy, mysticism and ecology resulting in complex and varied
works that incorporated cosmic charts and biomorphic abstraction.
This superbly organized publication is comprised of a series of thoroughly researched essays,
includes previously unpublished archival material, and features some 200 color illustrations trace
Onslow Ford's time spent in Paris, stints in New York and Mexico, culminating in his move in
1947 to the Bay Area.
Critique: Comprehensively informative and superbly organized, "Gordon Onslow Ford: A Man
on a Green Island" is an impressive memorial to the man and his art -- making it an unreservedly
recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library 20th
Century Art History collections in general, and Gordon Onslow Ford supplemental studies
reading lists in particular.
The Self-Help Shelf
To Hell With the Hustle
Jefferson Bethke
Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
www.thomasnelson.com
9780718039202, $17.99, PB, 197pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Our secular culture makes constant demands of us: Do more. Accomplish more. Buy
more. Post more. Be more. In following these demands, we have indeed become more: More
anxious. More tired. More hurt. More depressed. More frantic. What we are doing isn't
working!
In a society where hustle is the expectation, busyness is the norm and information is king, we
have forgotten the fundamentals that make us human, anchor our lives, and provide meaning.
Jefferson Bethke, (a New York Times bestselling author and popular YouTuber), has lived the
hustle and knows we need to stop doing and start becoming.
In "To Hell With the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and
Overconnected World", Bethke draws upon his years of experience and expertise to show: How
to proactively set boundaries in your life; How to get comfortable with obscurity; The best way to
push back against the demands of contemporary life; The importance of embracing silence and
solitude; How to handle the stressors that life throws at us.
Bethke's underlying message in this age of a ubiquitous social media is that the very things the
world teaches us to avoid at all costs (silence, obscurity, solitude, and vulnerability) are the very
things that can give us the meaning, and the richness we are truly looking for.
Critique: Exceptionally well written and as insightfully thoughtful as it is ultimately inspiring,
"To Hell With the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and
Overconnected World" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community,
college, and university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections. It should be noted for
personal reading lists that "To Hell With the Hustle" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $9.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Brilliance Audio,
9781799724377, $22.99, CD).
The Photography Shelf
Camera Austria International
Christiane Kuhlmann & Vaclav Macek, authors
Christine Frisinghelli, editor
Spector Books
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9783959052573, $40.00, HC, 322pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Camera Austria International: Laboratory For Photography And Theory" traces the
artistic and institutional decisions that have influenced the Camera Austria association. Since its
founding in the mid-1970s as an association of Austrian photographers, the group has had an
important place in the European photography world, putting on exhibitions and symposia on
topics in photography and, since 1980, publishing the magazine Camera Austria
International.
Operating through a network of photographers, academics and art critics from all over the world,
Camera Austria has come to function like a laboratory shaping photographic culture. At the
center of this unique and very special volume are the photographers that Camera Austria has
worked with, whether in exhibitions, at symposia or in the magazine -- numbering among them
Robert Adams, Nobuyoshi Araki, Lewis Baltz, William Eggleston, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Seiichi
Furuya, Luigi Ghirri, David Goldblatt, Nan Goldin, Zofia Kulik, Tatiana Lecomte, Susan
Meiselas, Peter Piller, Walid Raad, Michael Schmidt, Allan Sekula, Ahlam Shibli, Lieko Shiga,
Manfred Willmann and Tobias Zielony.
Critique: An impressive and meticulously presented contribution to the history of photography,
"Camera Austria International: Laboratory For Photography And Theory" is especially
commended as an extraordinary and enduringly valued addition to personal, professional,
community, college, and university library collections and supplemental studies lists.
The World at Night
Babak Tafreshi
White Lion
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartoknows.com
9781781319130, $40.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Bringing together the images of over 40 photographers across 25 countries, those who
browse through the pages of Babak Tafreshi's The World at Night: Spectacular Photographs of
the Night Sky" will be astounded by the lights of the night sky in some of the darkest places on
earth; discover the beauty of galaxies, planets, and stars; view great celestial events; and see
some of the world's most important landmarks against the backdrop of an incredible
nightscape.
Babak Tafreshi is the founder of the international organization The World at Night, and has
personally curated the images in this collection (many of them previously unseen) to reveal the
true splendor of the sky at night. This profusely illustrated volume is a kind of specialist guide to
night-sky photography will help aspiring astronomers and amateur photographers capture their
own gorgeous images of the heavens.
Commentary on the science, astronomy, and photography accompany stunning images organized
by theme and include: Symbols of all nations and religions embraced by one sky of endless
beauties; UNESCO World Heritage Sites at night; The Universe revealed through constellations,
sky motions, atmospheric phenomenon, Aurora, and other wonders; Images highlighting the
beauty of dark skies away from light-polluted urban areas; Celestial events, from great comets to
spectacular eclipses; Astro-tourism destinations, like ancient astronomical monuments and
modern.
Critique: A breathtakingly beautiful volume of truly memorable images and a sheer pleasure to
simply browse through one page at a time, "The World at Night: Spectacular Photographs of the
Night Sky" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional,
community, and academic library Contemporary Photography collections.
The Gaze of Things
Nuria Enguita, Akihito Yasumi, & Miryam Sas
La Fabrica
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9788417048860, $40.00, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Focusing on the two most influential groups of postwar Japanese photographers (the
Vivo group (1957 - 61) and the editorial collective responsible for the short-lived but legendary
Provoke journal (1968) "The Gaze of Things: Japanese Photography in the Context of Provoke"
supplies an overview of Japanese art and photography from the 1950s to the present, with a
particular emphasis on the transformations undergone by photography during the period.
Photographers associated with Vivo (including Ikko Narahara, Shomei Tomatsu, Eikoh Hosoe
and Akira Sato) and Provoke (Daido Moriyama, Yutaka Takanashi and Takuma Nakahira)
developed a new photographic language during the seismic shifts in postwar Japanese society,
much of which centered on critiques of American occupation and Japan's adoption of American
ways of life.
Published to accompany an exhibition at the Bombas Gens Centre d'Art in Valencia, Spain, this
catalog surveys these artists' lasting impact into the 21st century.
Critique: A unique, absorbing, deftly organized, exceptionally informative, and accessibly
presented volume by the team of Nuria Enguita, Akihito Yasumi, and Miryam Sas, "The Gaze of
Things: Japanese Photography in the Context of Provoke" is unreservedly recommended for
personal, professional, community, college, and university library 20th Century Photography
collections in general, and The History of Japanese Photography supplemental studies lists in
particular.
The Mathematics Shelf
Neutrices and External Numbers
Bruno Dinis & Imme van den Berg
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781498772679, $149.95, HC, 360pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Neutrices and External Numbers: A Flexible Number System" introduces a new
model of orders of magnitude and of error analysis, with particular emphasis on behaviour under
algebraic operations. The model is formulated in terms of scalar neutrices and external numbers,
in the form of an extension of the nonstandard set of real numbers. Many illustrative examples
are given.
"Neutrices and External Numbers" starts with detailed presentation of the algebraic structure of
external numbers, then deals with the generalized Dedekind completeness property, applications
in analysis, domains of validity of approximations of solutions of differential equations,
particularly singular perturbations. Finally, it describes the family of algebraic laws
characterizing the practice of calculations with external numbers.
"Neutrices and External Numbers" presents scalar neutrices and external numbers, a
mathematical model of order of magnitude within the real number system, outlines complete
algebraic rules for the neutrices and external numbers, conducts operational analysis of
convergence and integration of functions known up to orders of magnitude, formalises a calculus
of error propagation, covariant with algebraic operations, and presents mathematical models of
phenomena incorporating their necessary imprecisions, in particular related to the Sorites
paradox.
Critique: The latest addition to the outstanding CRC Press 'Monographs and Research Notes In
Mathematics' series, "Neutrices and External Numbers: A Flexible Number System" by Bruno
Dinis (who is a postdoc at the Faculdade de Ciˆncias, University of Lisbon, whose main area of
interest is Mathematical Logic, Proof Theory, Nonstandard Analysis, and Philosophy of
Mathematics) and Imme van den Berg (who is an Associated Professor in Mathematics at the
University of Evora, Portugal and whose main area of interest lies in non-standard analysis) is
enhanced for academia with an informative five page Foreword, as well as the inclusion of a
twelve page Bibliography and a four page Index -- making is a significant and unreservedly
recommended addition to professional, college, and university library Advanced Mathematics
collections and supplemental curriculum lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-
specialist readers with an interest in the subject that "Neutrices and External Numbers" is also
available in a digital book format (eTextbook, $99.81).
The Environmental Studies Shelf
Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and Transport
Marta Villar Ezcurra, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781789904178, $150.00, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As populations become increasingly concentrated in urban centres and mega cities,
while demands on transportation continue to grow, the question of how to mitigate the
environmental footprint of these trends is ever more pressing. This comprehensive book
demonstrates the potentially significant role of environmental taxation and other market-based
instruments in meeting these challenges.
Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by the team of Marta Villar Ezcurra (Professor of
Financial and Tax Law, Faculty of Law, CEU San Pablo University, Spain), Janet E. Milne
(Professor of Law and Director of the Environmental Tax Policy Institute, Vermont Law School,
US), Hope Ashiabor (Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Business and Economics,
Macquarie University, Australia), and Mikael Skou Andersen (Professor of Environmental Policy
Analysis, Aarhus University, Denmark), "Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and
Transport " provides global insights as it features international contributions from specialists in
economics, law, technology, political economy and policy analysis. Studying environmental
pricing policies in the context of urban sustainability and transportation, the contributing scholars
identify cross-cutting issues to demonstrate how the use and evaluation of policy instruments can
be improved.
This is in addition to addressing the pervasive environmental impact of cities and transportation,
novel case studies illustrate how the digital economy, as well as increasing globalization,
necessitate a more sustainable approach in which environmental fiscal solutions could play a
vital role.
"Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and Transport" will have broad appeal for
researchers and will also be a useful resource for students in law, economics and politics with an
interest in urban and environmental issues. Policymakers and their staff will find its use of
real-world examples and nontechnical language particularly beneficial.
Critique: Comprised of eighteen scholarly contributions that are deftly organized into five major
sections (Impacts of the Emerging Twenty-First Century Economy; Fiscal Environmental
Policies for Urban Concentration; Challenging Issues for Transport Taxes; The Evaluation of
Cross-Cutting Policies), "Environmental Fiscal Challenges for Cities and Transport" is enhanced
for academia with the inclusion of figures, tables, a listing of abbreviations, as well as a listing of
the contributors and their credentials. The twenty-first volume in the outstanding Edward Elgar
Publishing series 'Critical Issues in Environmental Taxations", "Environmental Fiscal Challenges
for Cities and Transport" is an especially recommended addition to college and university library
Urban Transportation Studies and Environmental Studies collections and supplemental
curriculum reading lists.
Handbook on Green Growth
Roger Fouquet, editor
Edward Elgar Publishing
9 Dewey Court, Northampton, MA 01060-3815
www.e-elgar.com
9781788110679, $290.00, HC, 528pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Economies around the world have arrived at a critical juncture: to continue to grow
fueled by fossil fuels and exacerbate climate change, or to move towards more sustainable,
greener, growth. Choosing the latter is shown to help address climate change, as well as present
new economic opportunities. Knowledgeably compiled and deftly edited by Roger Fouquet
(Associate Professorial Research Fellow, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and
the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK ) the "Handbook on
Green Growth" provides a deeper understanding of the concept of green growth, and highlights
key lessons from the experience of green transformations across the world following a decade of
ambitious stimulus packages and green reforms.
With comprehensive chapters from key researchers in the field drawn from across the globe, the
"Handbook on Green Growth" offers up to date and original analysis of the many facets of the
phenomenon of green growth. Is economic growth desirable? When can economic growth and
environmental policies work together? What are the key factors that will achieve green growth?
What will be the multiple impacts of green growth? And, what have been the experiences of
economies that have undertaken a green transformation?
The "Handbook on Green Growth" will be a key resource for students and academics interested
in economics, environmental and ecological studies, as well as for those specialising in
environmental policy. It will also be a valuable tool for policy makers concerned about the dual
objectives of stimulating economic growth and addressing environmental damage.
Critique: Comprised of twenty-one erudite and informative contributions by experts that are
organized into five major sections (The Growth Strategy; The Potential for Green Growth and Its
Impacts; The Drivers of Green Growth; Green Transformations; Beyond Green Growth),
"Handbook on Green Growth" is enhanced with a complete listing of all the contributors and
their credentials, as well as a nineteen page Index. An ideal curriculum textbook, the "Handbook
on Green Growth" is unreservedly recommended as an essential and core addition to both college
and community library Contemporary Environmental Issues collections and supplemental studies
reading lists.
The Big Thaw
Eric Scigliano, et al.
Mountaineers Books
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134-1161
www.mountaineersbooks.org
9781680512472, $35.00, HC, 176pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Permafrost (the dark, ice-flaked, permanently frozen ground that lies under tundra and
boreal forests across our northern regions) covers more than 12 percent of the earth's land mass.
It exists in places that seem otherworldly and unimaginably remote to most of us, but the changes
taking place in the permafrost layer may ultimately affect the lives of every person on Earth.
In "The Big Thaw: Ancient Carbon, Modern Science, and a Race to Save the World", readers
meet a diverse team of scientists and students who have been studying the permafrost and what
lies beneath: a vast store of ancient carbon, more than four times the quantity found in all of
today's forests, which is releasing carbon dioxide and methane as the permafrost thaws. The
release of all this carbon would alter Earth's climate forever. Braving endless hordes of
mosquitoes, quicksand, and extreme temperatures, the researchers are racing against the clock to
educate us all about the changes we must make in order to combat climate change being
exacerbated by the melting of permafrost world wide.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout with full color photography combined with an
impressively informative commentary, "The Big Thaw: Ancient Carbon, Modern Science, and a
Race to Save the World" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to the
personal reading lists of all environmental activists, as well as a core addition to community and
academic library Contemporary Environmental Studies collections and supplemental curriculum
lists.
The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change, third edition
Andrew E. Dessler & Edward A. Parson
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781107179424, $105.00, HC, 278pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition reflecting the large changes in
scientific knowledge and policy debates on climate change since the previous edition in 2009,
"The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate" provides a concise
but thorough overview of the science, technology, economics, policy, and politics of climate
change in a single volume.
The perfect response to climate change deniers, "The Science and Politics of Global Climate
Change" explains how scientific and policy debates work, outlines the scientific evidence for the
reality and seriousness of climate change and the basic atmospheric science that supports it, and
discusses policy options and the current state of the policy debate.
By pulling these elements together, "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change"
explains why the issue can be so confusing and provides guidance on practical routes forward.
Anyone interested in climate change, the global environment, or how science is used in policy
debates should read this book.
Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change:
A Guide to the Debate" by Andrew E. Dressler (Texas A&M University) and Edward A. Parson
(University of California - Los Angeles) is the ideal textbook for undergraduate or graduate
courses in environmental policy and climate change -- and an unreservedly recommended
addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Environmental Studies
collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, environmental
activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Science and
Politics of Global Climate Change" is also available in a paperback edition (9781316631324,
$44.99) and in a digital book format (eTextbook, $27.49).
The Political Science Shelf
In All Fairness
Robert M. Whaples, et al.
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
www.independent.org
9781598133318, $26.95, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Collaborative compiled and co-edited by the team of Robert M. Whaples (who is
co-editor and managing editor of The Independent Review and Professor of Economics at Wake
Forest University), Michael C. Munger (who is also the co-editor of The Independent Review
and Director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program and a professor in the
Departments of Political Science and Economics at Duke University), and Christopher J. Coyne
(another co-editor of the Independent Review and the F. A. Harper Professor at George Mason
University), "In All Fairness: Equality, Liberty, and the Quest for Human Dignity" is a collection
of essays in which the authors challenge recent misbegotten egalitarian ideas, exposing the
quicksand on which they rest, and the self-serving interests they often promote.
This original collection of erudite contributors is replete with thoughtful and thought-provoking
insights about the connections among fairness, liberty, equality and the quest for human
dignity.
While each individual chapter offers unique insights, the overriding theme is that fairness must
rest on a conception of humanity that recognizes the dignity of each person -- a dignity that
requires everyone to respect individual choices and voluntary transactions.
Critique: Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a thirty-page Bibliography, twenty pages
of Notes, and a four page listing of the contributors and their credentials, "In All Fairness:
Equality, Liberty, and the Quest for Human Dignity" is unreservedly recommended for
community and academic library Political Science and/or Contemporary Social Issues collections
and supplemental studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist
general readers with an interest in the subject that "In All Fairness" is also available in a digital
book format (Kindle, $16.99).
The Cookbook Shelf
Cannelle et Vanille
Aran Goyoaga
Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Ave, Suite 710, Seattle, WA 98101
www.sasquatchbooks.com
9781632172006, $35.00, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Compiled by Aran Goyoaga, the recipes comprising "Cannelle et Vanille: Nourishing,
Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood" are deftly organized around the day: starting off
with Spicy Carrot, Grapefruit, and Sunflower juice Soft-cooked Eggs with Dukkah and Bitter
Greens; and move on to Tomato, Corn, and Bread Salad at midday.
There is a chapter of everyday dinners you can prepare on a weeknight, such as a simple
spaghetti and meatballs supper or Braised Chicken with Apples and Cider. You'll also find a
chapter of menus to inspire you when you want to gather together a larger group of friends and
family which Aran heartily encourages! She is especially known for her tender, gluten-free
baking, and her compendium of palate-pleasing, appetite satisfying dishes includes recipes for
her sourdough bread, caramelized onion and fennel biscuits, and apple tarte tatin (with flour
substitutions are included for those who aren't gluten-free).
Filled with Aran's gorgeous photographs, there are suggestions sprinkled throughout "Cannelle et
Vanille" for creating a welcoming space with lighting, linens, flowers, and flatware, along with
gentle encouragement to spend time in the kitchen nourishing yourself as well as those you
love.
Critique: An elegant compendium of thoroughly kitchen cook friendly recipes, "Cannelle et
Vanille: Nourishing, Gluten-Free Recipes for Every Meal and Mood" is a delight to browse
through and inspiring to plan menus with. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$17.99), "Cannelle et Vanille" is very highly recommended for personal, professional, family,
and community library gluten-free cookbook collections.
The Biography Shelf
The Black Prince
Michael Jones
Pegasus Books
148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781643132297, $19.95, PB, 488pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: As a child Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to
posterity as the Black Prince was given his own suit of armor. At the age of sixteen, he helped
defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced
the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the
Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and
southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but
unruly Gascon nobility and drew them like moths to the flame of his cause.
Edward's military achievements captured the imagination of Europe: heralds and chroniclers
called him "the flower of all chivalry" and "the embodiment of all valor". In the pages of "The
Black Prince: England's Greatest Medieval Warrior", Michael Jones (a military historian,
battlefield tour-guide, and documentary film presenter, and the co-author of "The Women of the
Cousins' War" and "The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III") deftly examines in
documented detail what was the true nature of the man behind the chivalric myth, and of the
violent but pious world in which he lived.
Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of 5 pages of Maps, 8 pages of color illustrations, a
Timeline, and Appendix (Black Propaganda and the Sack of Limoges), 21 pages of Notes, a 12
page Bibliography, and a 12 page Index, "The Black Prince: England's Greatest Medieval
Warrior" is an impressively informative and exceptionally well written biography that is very
highly recommended, especially for community and academic library 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 Black Prince: England's Greatest Medieval Warrior" is also
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
The Graphic Novel Shelf
Manga Classics: Dracula
Bram Stoker, author
Stacy King, adapter
Virginia Nitouhei, illustrator
UDON Entertainment
http://www.udonentertainment.com
9781947808058, $24.99, HC, 300pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: With the publication of his novel "Dracula", author Bram Stoker created a new genre within the horror category. In this brilliant Manga Classic graphic novel adaptation by Stacy King and illustrator Virginia Nitouhei, readers from age 7 to 70+ will encounter Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, who is traveling to Castle Dracula in the Eastern European country of Transylvania. The reason for his journey is to finalize the details of a real estate transaction with a nobleman named Count Dracula. As Harker explores the beautiful countryside he begins to receive warnings from the locals about the man he about to meet. They give him odd charms and crucifixes to ward off evil spirits. They also utter a strange word that Harker later discover means "vampire". Originally published in 1897, Dracula has inspired many horror genres, gothic drama, theatrical, film and tv interpretations.
Critique: The manga-style artwork offers a new way to immerse oneself in the classic horror story that established vampires in the public consciousness as monsters to be feared. Clearly the best graphic novel edition of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" published to date, Manga Classics: Dracula is especially and unreservedly recommended for school and community library Graphic Novel collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Manga Classics: Dracula" is also available in a paperback edition (9781947808065, $17.99).
Rust Belt
Sean Knickerbocker
Secret Acres
www.secretacres.com
9780999193549 $18.95 amazon.com
Synopsis: Some people aren't invited to the Resistance. They meet no definition of the Other.
Identity politics excludes them. They're called unlucky when they fall victim to economic
injustice. They even take the blame for our national crises - but who are these people? Rust Belt
looks right at the underemployed, the working poor and the dreamers of America's changing,
post-industrial cities.
Critique: Rust Belt is a black-and-white graphic novel about the working poor, the unemployed,
the underemployed, and the left behind of post-industrial cities and towns. Here are the people
struggling to get by on low-paying service jobs if they can find a job at all, and coping with the
toll of the grind in various ways, not all of them healthy. Raw, real, and unforgettable, Rust Belt
is a sobering read, highly recommended.
The Woman Who Loved Life And Other Stories
Johnny Craig
Fantagraphics Books
7563 Lake City Way, NE, Seattle, WA 98115
www.fantagraphics.com
9781683962014, $29.99, HC, 232pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: John "Johnny" Thomas Alexis Craig (born in 1925 in Pleasantville, New York) drew
one of the most infamous covers in comic book history: the "severed head" Crime SuspenStories
that was spotlighted at the Kefauver comics hearings. He passed away in 2001.
Published by Fantagraphics Books, "The Woman Who Loved Life And Other Stories" collects
all of the legendary comics stories that Craig and EC great Al Feldstein collaborated on under the
pseudonym F.C. Aljon. Of special interest to collectors are presented two stories for the first time
since their initial publication more than 70 years ago. "Moon Girl," EC's first (and only)
superhero and one of EC's earliest horror stories, and "Zombie Terror," both scanned from the
original art. Plus "Edna Sunday," the story of a vicious woman murderer, restored for the first
time ever with its original, never-before-printed shocking splash panel.
"The Woman Who Loved Life And Other Stories" is comprised of twenty-six stories in all, with
essays and commentary by EC experts. There are black & white illustrations throughout.
Critique: An absolutely 'must read' for all dedicated graphic novel enthusiasts and EC Comics
fans, "The Woman Who Loved Life And Other Stories" showcasing zombies, mood, murder and
mayhem, is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library
collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Woman Who Loved Life And
Other Stories" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.94).
The Audiobook Shelf
Me
Elton John, author
Read by Taron Egerton with Elton John
Macmillan Audio
175 Fifth Avenue, Suite 315, New York, NY 10010
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250231055 $39.99 audio CD
9781250231062 $26.99 digital
Synopsis: In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth
about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to
becoming a living legend.
Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the
London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three he was
performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees,
a star-spangled T-shirt, and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would
never be the same again.
His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner
Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying
to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with Princess Diana and Queen
Elizabeth; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael to setting
up his AIDS Foundation to conquering Broadway with Aida, The Lion King, and Billy Elliot the
Musical. All the while Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a
decade.
In Me, Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love
with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble, and open, this is
Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will
stay with you by a living legend.
Critique: Me is the unabridged audiobook rendition of mega-successful singer-songwriter Elton
John's autobiography. Here are gripping, behind-the-scenes true stories of the complex music
world, extraordinary stardom, and a life-destroying drug addiction that lasted over a decade (after
which Elton made and kept a commitment to sobriety). Here also are true-life anecdotes of love,
civil partnership, and marriage to a partner of the same gender, as well as raising two sons as a
family. Me is utterly fascinating from beginning to end, and highly recommended especially to
fans of Elton John's memorable music. 10 CDs, 12 hours.
A Room with a View
E. M. Forster, author
Kate McAll, adaptor & director
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
www.latw.org
9781682660935, $29.95, CD, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In this original audio book adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, "A Room with a View",
an encounter in Florence and an offer to exchange rooms brings George Emerson to the attention
of Lucy Honeychurch. Their flirtation is cut short by Lucy's chaperone, but when they meet again
back home in England, Lucy must negotiate the demands of her station with the desires of her
heart.
This audio book production includes an interview with Julian Sands, was recorded before a live
audience at the UCLA James Bridges Theater in March, 2019, is adapted and directed by Kate
McAll, and features a gifted cast that includes Rosalind Ayres as Charlotte Bartlett; Edita
Brychta as Mrs. Honeychurch, Miss Lavish, Signora; Alastair James Murden as Freddy
Honeychurch, Guide, Italian Driver; Moira Quirk as Miss Catherine Alan, Miss Teresa Alan,
Maid; Darren Richardson as Mr. Beebe and Sir Harry; Julian Sands as Mr. Emerson; Eugene
Simon as George Emerson; Eleanor Tomlinson as Lucy Honeychurch; and Matthew Wolf as
Cecil Vyse, Shopkeeper, English Driver.
Critique: A superbly produced 'theatre of the mind' experience, this L.A. Theatre Works edition
of E. M. Forster's "A Room with a View" is unreservedly recommended for personal,
community, and academic library audio book collections. (3 CDs, 2 Hours 8 minutes).
Hold These Truths
Jeanne Sakata
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
www.latw.org
9781682660911, $29.95, CD, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: During WWII in Seattle, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi fights
the US government's orders to forcibly remove and incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on
the West Coast. As he struggles to reconcile his country's betrayal with his passionate belief in
the US Constitution, Gordon begins a 50-year journey toward a greater understanding of
America's triumphs -- and a confrontation with its failures.
This flawlessly produced audio book production also includes an interview with playwright
Jeanne Sakata and was sponsored in part by the California Civil Liberties Program from the
California State Library and directed by Jessica Kubzansky. Starring the vocal talents Ryun Yu,
this production of "Hold These Truths" also features the additional voices of Matthew Floyd
Miller, Suzy Nakamura, Matt Walker, and Greg Watanabe.
Critique: A deftly presented, thoroughly entertaining, thoughtful and thought-provoking
production from beginning to end, "Hold These Truths" (and given the times we now live in) is
an especially recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library audio book
collections. (2 CDs, 1 Hour 45 Minutes)
A Walk in the Woods
Lee Blessing, author
Cameron Watson, director
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
www.latw.org
9781682660898, $29.95, CD, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Lee Blessing is an American playwright whose best-known play, "A Walk in the
Woods", was a Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Winner (Booth Theatre). It
was later produced in London's West End and seen on PBS's American Playhouse. It's the story
of an idealistic American diplomat who locks horns with a mercurial Soviet negotiator during a
series of conversations in the woods outside Geneva. As their mutual friendship and
understanding deepens, an awareness that their work may ultimately be pointless casts a shadow
over their hopes to achieve a lasting peace.
This audio book adaptation includes a post-play discussion with playwright Lee Blessing and
UCLA Political Science professor Richard Anderson. It was recorded before an audience at
UCLA's James Bridges Theater in January 2019, and was directed by Cameron Watson.
Critique: An inherently riveting 'theatre of the mind' experience from beginning to end, "A Walk
in the Woods" will prove to be a welcome and appreciated addition to personal, community, and
academic library audio book collections. (2 CDs, 1 Hour 44 minutes)
The Library CD Shelf
Everybody Under the Sun: Voices of Solstice, Volume 1 The Singers
Paul Winter Consort & Friends
paulwinter.com
solsticeconcert.com
Living Music
c/o Earth Music Productions, LLC
$20.00 double-disc CD / $12.99 digital download
Everybody Under the Sun: Voices of Solstice, Volume 1 The Singers is a two-disc CD anthology
of live recordings of 22 guest singers from 13 cultures around the world, each of whom have
been featured in Paul Winter's solstice celebrations at the world's largest cathedral (New York's
St. John the Divine) during the past 38 years. An eclectic, extraordinary, and utterly unforgettable
musical celebration of the turn of the seasons, Everybody Under the Sun: Voices of Solstice,
Volume 1 The Singers is a treasure for personal and public library music collections, highly
recommended. The disc 1 tracks (72 min.) are "Kurksi Funk", "In My Life", "The Sparrow",
"How Can I Keep from Singing?", "Luiza", "Lua Soberama", "Golden Apples of the Sun",
"Witchi Tai To", "Fog on the Hill", "Nhemumusassa", "Bulgarian Song", "Singing to the
Mountain", "Zebra Song", "Sound Over All Waters", and "A Whiter Shade of Pale". The disc 2
tracks (77 min.) are "You Are My Sunshine", "El Belen", "Desenredo", "Green Grass, It Grows
Bonny", "Prayer, Suite Port Au Prince", "Sweet Memories", "Before It's Too Late", "Words of
Wish Fulfillment", "Mystery", "Angola", "Christmas Day Is Come", "In My Life", "The Good
Wish", "The Rain is Over and Gone", and "Minult/Auld Lang Syne".
Healing Hands
Cathy Oakes
www.cathyoakessolopiano.com
Sierra Keys Music
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com
Healing Hands is a solo piano album by Cathy Oakes, who has taught piano and voice for over
40 years. The songs reflect upon her challenging journey to survive breast cancer, and are an
homage to the medical professionals who aided her, as well as an offering of support to others
battling the affliction. Healing Hands is an uplifting, life-affirming experience, highly
recommended especially for connoisseurs of solo piano. The tracks are "The Threshold",
"Healing Hands", "Letting Go", "Blanket of Solitude", "Wings of Change", "The Darkest Hour",
"A Silent Prayer", "Grateful", "A Fragile Grasp", "Anchor of Hope", "Thankfulness", and
"Blessed Journey".
A View from Within
Jim Robitaille Group
Whaling City Sound
www.whalingcitysound.com
$TBA CD / $8.91 MP3 amazon.com
Award-winning guitarist Jim Robitaille and Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor saxophones),
Tony Marino (double bass), and Alex Ritz (drums) present A View from Within, a vibrant jazz
album that captivates the listener with its extraordinary flair. A treasure for connoisseurs of the
genre, A View from Within is highly recommended for personal and public library jazz guitar
collections, and also makes an excellent gift! The tracks are "A View from Within", "Slow
Tuesday", "Point of Origin", "Nightfall", "Touch and Go", "Opaque", "What is this Thing Called
Love", "Spatial", and "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise".
The Space Between Breaths
Sherry Finzer & Will Clipman
sherryfinzer.com
willclipman.com
Heart Dance Records
$13.98 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com
The Space Between Breaths is a new-age instrumental album blending the flute play of Sherry
Finzer and the pan-global percussion of Will Clipman into a unique, original soundscape ideal
for relaxation, massage, yoga, meditation, or simply experiencing the joy of the moment. A
beautiful treasure perfect for unwinding at the end of the day, The Space Between Breaths is
highly recommended for both personal and public library music collections. The tracks are
"Evening at Angkor Wat", "Cliff Dwellers", "Kilauea Rain", "Penumbra", "The Space Between
Breaths", "Enchanted Forest", "Black Swan", "Valley of Lights", "Timbuktu & You", and
"Child's Play." 57 min., 5 sec.
All the Pieces
Lynn Tredeau
www.lynntredeau.com
Privately Published
$10.95 CD / $9.00 digital
The sixth album by solo piano artist Lynn Tredeau, All the Pieces is an inspirational work of
original songs that evokes the spirit of storytelling through music alone. From "Photos Without a
Memory", which reflects upon the mental theft committed by Alzheimer's disease; to "A
Weathered Heart" about the impressions left by tremendous joy and sorrow upon one's core
being, and much more, All the Pieces draws the listener on thought-provoking journeys. Highly
recommended, especially for solo piano connoisseurs. The tracks are "Photos Without a
Memory", "Love for a Lifetime", "One Drop is an Ocean", "All in One Place", "910 Taylor", "A
Weathered Heart", "Sea of Amber", "Bohemian", "Wilson's Pond", "Broken Pieces", "Precious
Handprints", and "History Yet to Come".
The Library DVD Shelf
A Discovery of Witches
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$39.99 www.acornonline.com
A Discovery of Witches is the DVD and Blu-ray debut of a Sundance Now/Shudder Original
Series, set in a modern-day world where witches, vampires, and demons quietly exist among
humans. The intelligent historian Diana Bishop (played by Teresa Palmer, who has also had roles
in "Warm Bodies" and "Hacksaw Ridge") is a witch who resists her own talent - until she
accidentally calls up an ancient manuscript with great and terrible powers, and thrown into an
unlikely alliance with geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont (played by Matthew Goode,
who has acted in "Downton Abbey" and "Watchmen"). The mysterious manuscript, and a
blossoming romance between Diana and Matthew, threatens to break ancient taboos and destroy
the fragile peace between powerful species! A Discovery of Witches is an exciting and rapturous
fantasy saga, highly recommended for connoisseurs. Bonus materials include 45 min. of
featurettes about the series' characters, mythology, and TV magic. It should be noted that A
Discovery of Witches is intended for mature viewers, due to the presence of strong language,
violence, sexual situations, and disturbing images. 8 episodes on 2 discs, 355 min. plus bonus,
SDH subtitles.
The Military Shelf
Operation Starlite
Otto J. Lehrack
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612008011, $19.95, PB, 233pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "Operation Starlite: The Beginning of the Blood Debt in Vietnam - August 1965" is a
graphic account of the first major clash of the Vietnam War. On August 18, 1965, regiment
fought regiment on the Van Tuong Peninsula near the new Marine base at Chu Lai. On the
American side were three battalions of Marines under the command of Colonel Oscar Peatross, a
hero of two previous wars. His opponent was the 1st Viet Cong Regiment commanded by
Nguyen Dinh Trong, a veteran of many fights against the French and the South Vietnamese.
Codenamed Operation Starlite, this action was a resounding success for the Marines and its result
was cause for great optimism about America's future in Vietnam.
Of special note are the detailed descriptions of how the fight unfolded. Marine participants from
private to colonel were interviewed during the book's research phase. The battle is seen from the
mud level, by those who were at the point of the spear. But this is not just another war story told
exclusively from the American side. In researching the book, the author talked with and walked
the battlefield with men who fought with the 1st Viet Cong Regiment. All were accomplished
combat veterans years before the U.S. entry into the war.
The reader is planted squarely in America in 1965, the year that truly began the long American
involvement. Operation Starlite sent the Vietnam War into the headlines across the nation and
into the minds of Americans, where it took up residence for more than a decade. Starlite was the
first step in Vietnam's becoming America's quagmire.
The subtitle, The Beginning of the Blood Debt in Vietnam - August 1965, refers to "han tu"
translated as Blood Debt and in Vietnamese, can mean revenge, debt of honor, or blood owed for
blood spilled. The Blood Debt came into Vietnamese usage early in the war with the United
States. With this battle, the Johnson Administration began compiling its own Blood Debt, this
one to the American people.
"Operation Starlite" also looks at the ongoing conflict between the U.S. Army and the U.S.
Marines about the methodology of the Vietnam War. With decades of experience with
insurrection and rebellion, the Marines were institutionally oriented to base the struggle on
pacification of the population. The Army, on the other hand, having largely trained to meet the
Soviet Army on the plains of Germany, opted for search-and-destroy missions against
Communist main force units. The history of the Vietnam War is littered with many "what ifs."
This may be the biggest of them
Critique: Otto Lehrack served with the U.S. Marines for 24 years as an enlisted man and officer.
He was an infantry company commander during the Tet Offensive on his first tour (1967 - 1968),
and the operations officer of a signal intelligence battalion on his second tour (1970 - 1971) in
Vietnam. He has an MA in history from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Lehrack is the author
of No Shining Armor: The Marines at War in Vietnam and America's Battalion: Marines in the
First Gulf War. With "Operation Starlite: The Beginning of the Blood Debt in Vietnam - August
1965" he has once again provided an impressively informed and informative study that should be
a core part of every community and academic library Viet Name War collection, as well as the
personal reading lists of students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers
with an interest in the subject.
Ambush Valley
Eric Hammel
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781612007878, $22.95, PB, 345pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In the summer of 1967, the Marines in I Corps, South Vietnam's northernmost military
region, were doing everything they could to lighten the pressure on the besieged Con Thien
Combat Base.
Still fresh after months of relatively light action around Khe Sanh, the 3d Battalion, 26th
Marines, was sent to the Con Thien region to secure the combat bases' endangered main supply
route. On September 7, 1967, its first full day in the new area of operations, separate elements of
the battalion were attacked by at least two battalions of North Vietnamese infantry, and both
were nearly overrun in night-long battles.
On September 10, while advancing to a new sector near Con Thien, the 3d Battalion, 26th
Marines, was attacked by at least a full North Vietnamese regiment, the same NVA unit that had
attacked it two days earlier. Isolated into two separate defensive perimeters, the Marines battled
through the afternoon and evening against repeated assaults by waves of NVA regulars intent
upon achieving a major victory. In a battle described as "Custer's Last Stand -- With Air
Support," the Americans prevailed by the narrowest of margins.
"Ambush Valley: I Corps, Vietnam 1967: The Story of a Marine Infantry Battalion's Battle for
Survival" is an unforgettable account of bravery and survival under impossible conditions. It is
told entirely in the words of the men who faced the ordeal together -- an unprecedented mosaic of
action and emotion woven into an incredibly clear and vivid combat narrative by one of today's
most effective military historians.
"Ambush Valley" achieves a new standard for oral history. A war story not to be missed.
Critique: A deftly organized and presented study that is enhanced with the inclusion of a two
page Bibliography, a six page listing of Reflections of a representative collections of survivors,
"Ambush Valley: I Corps, Vietnam 1967: The Story of a Marine Infantry Battalion's Battle for
Survival" is unreservedly and especially recommended for both community and academic library
Viet Nam War collections and supplemental studies lists. It should be noted for students,
academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest of the subject
that "Ambush Valley" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Tours of Duty
Michael Lee Lanning, editor
Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921
www.stackpolebooks.com
9780811738484, $19.95, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Michael Lee Lanning served more than twenty years in the U.S. Army, including
service in Vietnam, where he commanded an infantry platoon, a recon platoon, and a rifle
company. His other books include the classic memoir Vietnam, 1969-1970, which the New York
Times called "one of the most honest and horrifying accounts of a combat soldier's life to come
out of the Vietnam War," and Inside Force Recon.
Compiled and edited by Lanning, "Tours of Duty: The Best Vietnam War Stories from the Men
Who Served" is a compendium of personal accounts of what the Viet Nam war was like for the
men who fought it out in the jungles, deltas, paddies, villages, and cities of that controversial
conflict.
These are the stories Vietnam vets tell over beers at Legion halls and VFW posts -- stories of
young men tangled up in the chaos of landing zones and nameless jungle hills, in the boredom of
base camps, in the confusion of a controversial war. Raw, often gut-wrenching, sometimes funny,
these war stories describe slices of individual tours of duty, from the firefights to the friendships,
and capture the kaleidoscope of the American experience in Vietnam.
Critique: An absolutely fascinating read from cover to cover, "Tours of Duty: The Best Vietnam
War Stories from the Men Who Served" is especially and unreservedly recommended for both
community and academic library Viet Name War military history collections and supplemental
studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist
general readers with an interest in the subject that "Tours of Duty" is also available in a digital
book format (Kindle, $9.99).
The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf
Directing Actors
Judith Weston
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932009, $39.95, Library Binding, 336pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: A complete and comprehensive course of detailed instruction by Internationally
renowned directing coach Judith Weston, "Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances
for Film & Television" demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want
from a director, what directors do wrong, script analysis and preparation, how actors work, and
shares insights into the director/actor relationship.
Critique: An ideal curriculum textbook, "Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances
for Film & Television" is impressively organized and presented, making it an essential and core
addition to professional, community, and academic library Theatre/Cinema/TV instructional
reference collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, stage
and film directors, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that
"Directing Actors" is also available in a paperback edition (9780941188241, $29.95), in a digital
book format (Kindle, $16.19), and as an audiobook (Dreamscape Media, 9781974970513 $39.99
CD / 9781974970551 $19.99 MP3 CD).
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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