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Table of Contents
Reviewer's Choice
African American Almanac, second edition
Lean'tin Bracks, Ph.D.
Visible Ink Press
www.visibleinkpress.com
9781578598311, $74.95, HC, 592pp
https://www.amazon.com/African-American-Almanac-Excellence-Multicultural/dp/1578598311
Synopsis: African Americans helped build the United States. Their contributions, deeds, and
influence are interwoven into
the fabric of the country. Celebrating centuries of achievements, this newly updated and
expanded second edition of the
"African American Almanac: 400 Years of Black Excellence" provides insights on the impact
and inspiration of African
Americans on U.S. society and culture spanning centuries and presented in a fascinating mix of
biographies, historical
facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements.
Covering events surrounding African American literature, art and music; the civil rights
movement; religion within the
black community; advances in science and medicine; and politics, education, business, the
military, sports, theater, film,
and television, this important reference connects history to the issues currently facing the African
American community.
The "African American Almanac" also honors the lives and contributions of 800 influential
figures, ranging from Stacey
Abrams, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, George Washington Carver, and Ray
Charles, to Bessie
Coleman, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., Queen Latifah, and Thurgood
Marshall.
Completely updated and revised for the first time in over a decade, this new second edition of the
"African American
Almanac" also looks at the recent challenges, from the Black Lives Movement to Covid-19, and
the ongoing resilience of
our nation, and it shines a light on our momentous and complicated history, the individual
accomplishments and
contributions of the celebrated and unsung (but no less worthy) African-Americans who built our
country and who
continue to influence American society.
Comprehensive and richly illustrated, it thoroughly explores the past, progress, and current
conditions of America. This
seminal work is the most complete and affordable single-volume reference of African American
culture and history
available today, and it illustrates and demystifies the emotionally moving, complex, and often
lost history of black life in
America!
Critique: An ideal defense against the current attempts to deliberately suppress African American
history in public school
curriculums and college/university curriculums and library collections, "African American
Almanac: 400 Years of Black
Excellence, second edition" should be a core choice and acquisition selection for personal,
professional, community,
highschool, college, and university library American History collections and supplemental
African-American Studies
curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, political activists, public
school boards, and non-
specialist general readers with an interest in African-American history that "African American
Almanac: 400 Years of
Black Excellence, second edition" is also available in a paperback edition (9781578597802,
$36.95) and in a digital book
format (Kindle, $19.99).
Editorial Note: Lean'tin Bracks, Ph.D., is the retired professor of African American literature and
retired chair of the
Department of Arts and Languages, discipline coordinator of English and coordinator of African
American Studies at Fisk
University. Dr. Bracks continues to conduct research in the areas of African American Literature,
Literature of the
Diaspora, and African American Women's Literature. She is the author of "Writings on Black
Women of the Diaspora:
History Language and Identity"; and she is the co-editor of "Black Women of the Harlem
Renaissance Era". She also has
contributed to resource publications and academic journals, including African American National
Biography;
Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture, and Encyclopedia of African American
Business. Dr. Bracks earned
her undergraduate degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, which also bestowed upon her
an honorary doctorate,
and she completed her graduated work at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
National Geographic Atlas of Wild America
Jon Waterman
National Geographic Press
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426222351, $65.00, HC, 432pp
https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Atlas-Wild-America/dp/1426222351
Synopsis: Filled with authoritative maps, data-driven graphics, awe-inspiring photographs, and
thoughtful essays,
"National Geographic Atlas of Wild America" is a vivid large format (10.62 x 1.31 x 13.8 inches,
6.53 pounds) volume
that will feed the soul of everyone who loves wild places. Six lush chapters take readers from the
eastern woodlands to the
central plains, from the northern wilderness to southwestern desert lands -- including key
wilderness areas in Canada and
Mexico.
"National Geographic Atlas of Wild America" reveals the fascinating history of the High Peaks
of the Adirondacks,
presents fossil remains on the Upper Missouri River, showcases the rainforest canopy of Alaska's
Tongass National Forest,
and includes the Grand Canyon Parashat's Dark Sky Park. Of special note is a section rich in
maps and graphics highlights
13 thematic topics, such as the National Scenic Trail System and the human impact on
wilderness areas.
"National Geographic Atlas of Wild America" is beautifully illustrated atlas replete with
information and visual lyricism. It
will inspire all who have journeyed into the wild -- and intrigue many who still hope to do
so!
Critique: From the deep forests of the Canadian Northwest to the red-rock deserts of the
American Southwest, North
America offers a myriad of opportunities for hiking, camping, trekking, and simply enjoying the
abundance of the natural
world. the "National Geographic Atlas of Wild America" is an opulent volume highlights 41 of
those wilderness locations.
Exceptionally informative and impressively 'user friendly' in organization and presentation,
"National Geographic Atlas of
Wild America" is ideal as a library memorial fund acquisition and is unreservedly recommended
for personal, professional,
community, highschool, college, and university library American Atlas/Maps collections.
Editorial Note: Jon Waterman (https://jonathanwaterman.com) has written 15 books on
adventure and the environment,
including the recent National Geographic Atlas of the National Parks. He has also worked as a
wilderness guide and as a
National Park Service ranger and continues to explore remote places around the world by boat,
foot, or dogsled. He has
received three grants from the National Geographic Society Expeditions Council, and his
award-winning writing and
photography have appeared in numerous national magazines and newspapers.
Inside Pompeii
Luigi Spina
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu/publications
9781606068908, $125.00, HC, 480pp
https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Pompeii-Luigi-Spina/dp/1606068903
Synopsis: Pompeii, one of the most astonishing and well-preserved sites of classical antiquity, is
also one of the world's
most visited architectural sites. This large format (9.5 x 2.1 x 12.5 inches, 8.15 pounds)
hardcover edition from Getty
Publications is an impressive and lavish volume by Italian photographer Luigi Spina and takes its
readers on a fantastic
tour of Pompeii through an array of visually compelling and original photographs. Produced in
partnership with the Parco
Archeologico di Pompei, readers are expertly and visually guided through the Roman city's nine
districts, including many
hidden corners that are inaccessible to most visitors.
Pompeii's architecture is a central feature of the images, which were shot at all times of day, in all
seasons, and in natural
light. Lacy peristyles and rows of column fragments give way to intimate, atmospheric interior
spaces. Mosaic floors and
beautiful (albeit fragmentary) wall paintings are reproduced with stunning fidelity and sensitivity.
The volume also
includes an essay by Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park, and
several meditations on the
history, architecture, and natural beauty of the city. "Inside Pompeii" provides the wondrous
experience of wandering
through this remarkable site without ever leaving home.
Critique: The next best thing to being on-site in Pompeii in person, "Inside Pompeii" is an
armchair traveler's dream. This
coffee-table style edition is inherently fascinating to browse through on full page image at a time.
Useful commentaries
add a welcome and informative support for the stunning visual imagery. Simply stated, Luigi
Spina's "Inside Pompeii" is
an ideal choice for a library Memorial Fund Acquisition selection and unreservedly
recommended for personal,
professional, community, college, and university library Roman Art, Architecture, and
Archaeology collections and
supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Luigi Spina (https://www.luigispina.it/about-me) is an Italian photographer. He
has published more than
twenty books and has created photographic campaigns for institutions and museums throughout
Europe.
The Computer Shelf
ChatGPT for Dummies
Pam Baker
For Dummies
c/o Wiley
https://www.wiley.com/en-us
9781394204632 $19.99 pbk / $12.00 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/ChatGPT-Dummies-Computer-tech/dp/1394204639
Synopsis: ChatGPT For Dummies demystifies the artificial intelligence tool that can answer
questions, write essays, and
generate just about any kind of text it's asked for. This powerful example of generative AI is
widely predicted to upend
education and business. In this book, you'll learn how ChatGPT works and how you can operate
it in a way that yields
satisfactory results. You'll also explore the ethics of using AI-generated content for various
purposes. Written by a
journalist who's been on the front lines of artificial intelligence for over a decade, this book dives
deep into ChatGPT's
potential, so you can make informed decisions - without asking ChatGPT for help.
Learn how ChatGPT works and how it fits into the world of generative AI
Harness the power of ChatGPT to help you, and avoid letting it hinder you
Write queries that deliver the kind of response you want
Take a look into how the ChatGPT API interacts with other tools and platforms
This just-in-time Dummies title is perfect for any life or career may be impacted by ChatGPT and
other AI. ChatGPT is
just the tip of the iceberg, and this book can help you prepare for the future.
Critique: Upholding the "For Dummies" series tradition of making difficult topics as accessible
and reader-friendly as
possible, ChatGPT for Dummies tackles the disruptive yet labor-saving potential of ChatGPT
and similar artificial
intelligence language-learning models - generative AI "chatbots" that can write an essay, produce
code, or create art in
response to a prompt. ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize knowledge industries, yet
ChatGPT also has tremendous
pitfalls, including its notorious tendency to "hallucinate", or make false and fictitious statements
that it emphatically
affirms to be true. Tips for writing ChatGPT prompts in business or daily life, warnings about
ChatGPT's limits and the
ethics of using AI responsibly, plain-terms explanations of how ChatGPT works and more fill
this "must-have" reference
resource for everyday laypeople and knowledge industry professionals alike. Highly
recommended! It should be noted for
personal reading lists that ChatGPT for Dummies is also available in a Kindle edition
($12.00).
The Science Shelf
To Infinity and Beyond
Neil deGrasse Tyson, author
Lindsey Nyx Wallace, author
National Geographic Press
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426223303, $30.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Beyond-Journey-Cosmic-Discovery/dp/1426223307
Synopsis: No one today can make the mysteries of the universe more comprehensible and fun
than Neil deGrasse Tyson.
With the publication of "To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery" and drawing
on mythology, history, and
literature (alongside his trademark wit and charm) Tyson and StarTalk senior producer Lindsey
Nyx Walker have
effectively collaborated to bring planetary science down to Earth and principles of astrophysics
within reach.
"To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery" is entertainingly informative book,
illustrated with vivid
photographs and art, readers travel through space and time, starting with the Big Bang and
voyaging to the far reaches of
the universe and beyond. Along the way, science greets pop culture as Tyson explains the
triumphs (and bloopers) in
Hollywood's blockbusters -- all part of another of Tyson's entertaining rides through the
cosmos.
"To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery" begins as we leave Earth,
encountering new truths about our
planet's atmosphere, the nature of sunlight, and the many missions that have demystified our
galactic neighbors. But the
farther out we travel, the weirder things get. What's a void and what's a vacuum? How can light
be a wave and a particle at
the same time? When we finally arrive in the blackness of outer space, Tyson takes on the
spookiest phenomena of the
cosmos: parallel worlds, black holes, time travel, and more.
For science junkies and fans of the conundrums that astrophysicists often ponder, "To Infinity
and Beyond: A Journey of
Cosmic Discovery" is an enlightening adventure into the farthest reaches of the cosmos.
Critique: Fun, informative, fascinating, and an inherently compelling read from start to finish,
"To Infinity and Beyond: A
Journey of Cosmic Discovery" by the team of Neil deGrass Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker is a
highly prized,
unreservedly recommended, and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional,
community, highschool, college,
and university library Astronomy/Cosmology science collections and supplemental curriculum
studies lists. It should be
noted for students, academia, and the legions of Tyson fans that "To Infinity and Beyond: A
Journey of Cosmic Discovery"
is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note #1: Neil deGrasse Tyson (https://neildeGrassetyson.com) is the host of the
acclaimed podcast StarTalk
Radio and Emmy award-winning National Geographic Channel shows StarTalk and Cosmos. He
earned his BA in physics
from Harvard and his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia. The author of more than a dozen
books, Tyson is the first
Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium. He can be followed on: Facebook: Neil
deGrasse Tyson. Instagram:
@neildeGrassetyson Twitter: @neiltyson
Editorial Note #2: Lindsey Nyx Walker (https://lindseynyxwalker.com) is the senior producer
and head writer at StarTalk -
- a popular science podcast and a four-time Emmy nominated television show on the National
Geographic Channel. Before
co-authoring To Infinity and Beyond she was editor of Cosmic Queries, the second book in the
publishing collaboration
between StarTalk and National Geographic.
The Education Shelf
Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education
Liudvika Leisyte, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
www.e-elgar.com
9781800378209, $290.00 HC, $65.00 ebook, 458pp
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/research-handbook-on-the-transformation-of-higher-education-9781800378209.html
Synopsis: Co-edited by the team of Liudvika Leisyte, Jay R. Dee, and Barend J.R. van der
Meuten, "The Research
Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" is compiled of contributions that captures
the complexities and
paradoxes associated with higher education transformation. Drawing upon current empirical and
theoretical scholarship, it
identifies the drivers, actors, developments and outcomes of transformational processes within
the field.
Providing a multi-level outlook on higher education transformation, "The Research Handbook on
the Transformation of
Higher Education" is timely and useful as it identifies key aspects and methods of
transformational change that leaders can
apply to their own institutions. Through detailed analysis of the technological, socio-political and
market forces that are
currently transforming universities and colleges, chapters portray change within higher education
as responsive to global
academic challenges such as structural inequality, reductions in state funding and the
pandemic-accelerated pace of
digitalisation.
Illustrating the scope, process and pace of higher education transformation, "The Research
Handbook on the
Transformation of Higher Education" will be a particularly valuable resource for academics and
doctoral scholars studying
educational policy, public administration and organization studies. Higher education
administrators and those in leadership
positions within colleges and universities will additionally find it to be an enlightening read.
Critique: Comprised of 27 erudite contributions by experts in the field of higher education, "The
Research Handbook on
the Transformation of Higher Education" also includes a seven page listing of the contributors
and their credentials.
Insightfully informative and impressively well organized and presented, "The Research
Handbook on the Transformation
of Higher Education" is a seminal work that is unconditionally recommended for personal,
professional, college, and
university library Higher Education Administration collections and supplemental curriculum
studies lists. The eBook version is priced $65.00 from eBook vendors while the print book can be ordered from the Edward Elgar Publishing website.
Editorial Note #1: Liudvika Leisyte is Professor of Higher Education, Centre for Higher Education,
Department of Business
and Economics, TU Dortmund University, Germany.
Editorial Note #2: Jay R. Dee is Professor of Higher Education, University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Editorial Note #3: Barend J.R. van der Meulen is Professor of Institutional Aspects of (Higher)
Education, Center for
Higher Education Policy Studies, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences,
University of Twente, the
Netherlands.
Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society
Justin Buckley Dyer, editor
Constantine Christos Vassiliou, editor
University of Missouri Press
https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222831, $45.00, HC, 462pp
https://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Education-Citizenship-Constitutional-Democracy/dp/0826222
838
Synopsis: The liberal arts university has been in decline since well before the virtualization of
campus life, increasingly
inviting public skepticism about its viability as an institution of personal, civic, and professional
growth.
New technologies that might have brought people together have instead frustrated the university's
capacity to foster
thoughtful citizenship among tomorrow's political, cultural, and economic leaders, as well as
exacerbating socioeconomic
inequalities that are poisoning America's civic culture.
Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Justin Buckley Dyer and Constantine Christos
Vassiliou, "Liberal Education
and Citizenship in a Free Society" is a compendium of 19 original essays that present the work of
a diverse group of
scholars to assess the value of a liberal arts education in the face of market, technological,
cultural, and political forces
shaping higher learning today.
Critique: "Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society" is a seminal and groundbreaking
collection of astute,
eloquent, insightfully informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and exceptionally well
organized and presented
contributions by experts in the field of Constitutional Democracy. Especially and unreservedly
recommended for personal,
professional, community, college, and university library Political Science collections and
supplemental Constitutional Law
curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, political activists, and
non-specialist general readers
with an interest in the subject that "Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society" is also
available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $42.75).
Editorial Note #1: Justin Buckley Dyer was, until June 2022, Professor of Political Science and
Director of the Kinder
Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. Last month, Justin took on
the roles of Professor of
Government and Executive Director of the newly formed Civitas Institute at the University of
Texas at Austin. Among his
many authored, co-authored, and edited books are Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of
Constitutional Meaning; Natural
Law and the Antislavery Constitutional Tradition; and American Soul: The Contested Legacy of
the Declaration of
Independence.
Editorial Note #2: Constantine Christos Vassiliou is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in
the Department of Political
Science at the University of Houston. A political theorist who specializes in Enlightenment
thought, Vassiliou's research
points to a perennial civic challenge, that of trying to balance commercial considerations with the
public interest. His
upcoming project, "Montesquieu and the Scottish Enlightenment: Liberty and Honor in the
Modern Commercial World,"
examines the competing theories of honor of Montesquieu, David Hume, Adam Smith, and
Adam Ferguson to bring to
light a strand of foundational liberal thought that emphasizes the emotional basis of political
life.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
The Knowledge
Dr. Nighat Arif
Cassell
c/o Octopus Books
https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk
9781783255733, $26.99, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-female-health-menstruation-menopause/dp/1783255730
Synopsis: With the publication of "The Knowledge: Your guide to female health - from
menstruation to the menopause",
celebrated GP Dr Nighat Arif brings women's health to the forefront in this extensive medical
guidebook designed to help
women (and the men who love them) better understand each of the three key stages of a woman's
life: the puberty years,
the fertility years and the peri/menopausal years.
Every step of the way, Dr Nighat will help you get to know the female body by explaining what
is normal, what to expect,
how to care for yourself and when to seek help. "The Knowledge" tackles many important topics:
from the help available
for people with conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome to the symptoms of
heart disease to look out
for in women.
"The Knowledge" is for everyone and encompasses all experiences, including the perspectives of
women of color, people
of all abilities and cultures, and the transgender community to ensure that all groups affected by
female health concerns are
a part of vital conversations.
Simply stated and true, "The Knowledge" is a life-saving book for all genders, ages and
communities. From the young
preteen hoping to understand their first period, to the couple experiencing fertility issues, to the
single father raising
teenage daughters, to the person unknowingly experiencing early signs of gynaecological cancer:
this book is an
indispensable asset for us all.
Critique: Enhanced for the non-specialist general reader with the inclusion of an informative
Introduction, an eight page
Glossary, a six page listing of Resources, and a five page Index, "The Knowledge: Your guide to
female health - from
menstruation to the menopause" is comprehensive, well written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly'
in organization and
presentation. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99), "The Knowledge:
Your guide to female health -
from menstruation to the menopause" is strongly recommended as a core addition to personal,
professional, community,
college, and university library Women's Health & Medicine collections and supplemental
curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Nighat Arif is a GP specialising in women's health and family planning with over
16 years of experience in
the NHS and private practice. She is based in Buckinghamshire and is able to consult fluently
with patients in Urdu and
Punjabi. Dr Nighat is a medical educator and provides teaching to local trainee GPs as well as at
national and international
conferences. Dr Nighat was nominated for the National Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing to
acknowledge her
exceptional commitment to advancing wellbeing in her community. Dr Nighat has worked to
raise awareness on
menopause and women's healthcare in Black and Asian women, she presented her clinical work
at the 'Menopause in the
Workplace' Parliamentary committee hearing. She has also worked with Team Halo, a United
Nation (UN) initiative to
bring an end to the pandemic and presented at the G7 Global Vaccine Confidence Summit that
led to her being awarded an
Honorary Doctorate Degree in Science at London City University for Women's Health, Public
Health and Inclusion.
(https://osdhealthcare.co.uk/our-experts/expert/dr-nighat-arif)
Digital Radiography in Practice, second edition
Quinn B. Carroll, M.Ed., R.T. (R)
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
https://www.ccthomas.com
9780398094126, $45.95 PB / $45.95 ebook, 232pp
https://www.ccthomas.com/details.cfm?P_ISBN13=9780398094126
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Radiography-Practice-Quinn-Carroll/dp/0398094128
Synopsis: This newly expanded and updated second edition of "Digital Radiography in Practice"
is intended to provide
medical radiography programs with an economical textbook that focuses on the practical aspects
of digital radiography. In
this new edition by digital radiography expert Quinn B. Carroll (and with content developed in
close collaboration with the
medical physics community and several reviewers), this is the most accurate information on
digital imaging available.
In this new edition, the terminology has been updated throughout the textbook to conform with
the most recent revisions of
the ASRT Radiography Curriculum Guide and the ARRT Radiography Content Specifications.
Several new illustrations
and helpful tables have been developed to clarify digital concepts.
A new table, Operator Adjustments to Digital Image Qualities and Their Primary Controls,
beautifully summarizes the
effects of leveling, windowing, equalization, edge enhancement, smoothing and noise reduction,
while related text reduces
dozens of different manufacturers' terms to these basic operations in the table.
Material on medical digital fluoroscopy and imaging informatics has been updated, with a
continued emphasis on practical
application and clinically useful information. Extensive support materials, including slides
correlated to a student
workbook, labs, comprehensive question banks and answer keys, have all been updated and
improved.
Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "Digital Radiography in Practice, second edition" is
ideal as a curriculum
textbook and a critical asset to personal, professional, medical school, and hospital library Digital
Radiography collections
and Medical Radiography Program studies lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that
"Digital Radiography in
Practice, second edition" is also available as an eBook directly from Charles C. Thomas,
Publisher ($45.95).
The Parenting Shelf
Things Have Changed
David Magee
Matt Holt Books
c/o BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637743966, $22.00, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Things-Have-Changed-Educator-Substance/dp/1637743963
Synopsis: Raising a child in today's world can be a daunting responsibility for parents. Anxiety,
depression, addiction,
eating disorders, loneliness, social media; the list goes on. With the publication of "Things Have
Changed: What Every
Parent (and Educator) Should Know About the Student Mental Health and Substance Misuse
Crisis ", author, student
wellbeing activist, and creator of The William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing at the
University of Mississippi,
David Magee offers guidance on raising teens amid increasingly common challenges.
Magee shares research-backed insights on how to: Have conversations about mental health and
drug and alcohol abuse;
Empower your child to ask for help when they need it; Decide when and if treatment is needed;
Encourage your child to
invest in healthy relationships; Be intentional about social media use and interactions; Foster
your child's desire to engage
with your family; Create and maintain healthy boundaries; Advocate for your child's wellbeing at
school and with
family.
Now, more than ever, parents and educators need better information about the challenges facing
their children, what sorts
of issues to expect and when, and the warning signs to look for. You'll find the guidance you
need to feel prepared and
tackle obstacles to your child's wellbeing in the pages of "Things Have Changed".
Critique: Thoroughly 'parent friendly' in style, organization, and presentation, "Things Have
Changed: What Every Parent
(and Educator) Should Know About the Student Mental Health and Substance Misuse Crisis"
must be considered essential
reading for the parents (and teachers) of children growing up in the age of Social Media,
cyber-bullying, misinformation,
economic inequality, racial prejudice, substance addiction, gun crimes, and all the ordinary
'slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune' that are a part of modern life today. While available for personal reading lists
in a digital book format
(Kindle, $11.99), "Things Have Changed: What Every Parent (and Educator) Should Know
About the Student Mental
Health and Substance Misuse Crisis" is unreservedly recommended for family, community, and
academic library Parenting
Teens & Young Adult collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: David Magee (https://www.daviddmagee.com) is the author of Dear William: A
Father's Memoir of
Addiction, Recovery, Love and Loss and other non-fiction books. A changemaker in student and
family mental health and
substance misuse, he is the creator and director of operations of The William Magee Institute for
Student Wellbeing at the
University of Mississippi and a frequent K-12 and university educational and motivational
speaker, helping students find
and keep their joy.
The Environmental Studies Shelf
Democratic Management of an Ecosystem Under Threat
Kelly Dunning, et al.
Anthem Press
www.anthempress.com
9781839986710,$110.00, HC, 238pp
https://www.amazon.com/Democratic-Management-Ecosystem-Under-Threat/dp/1839986719
Synopsis: Using case studies from Florida and the Caribbean region, this book summarizes the
state of coral reef
conservation today. The question this book answers is, what is the best way to protect the
vulnerable coral reefs, with an
ever-worsening climate crisis? "Democratic Management of an Ecosystem Under Threat: The
People's Reefs" by the team
of co-authors Kelly Dunning, Amanda Alva, Sabine Bailey, Daniel Morris, Kasen Wollly, and
Ryan Williamson identifies
and examines closely the avenues available to anyone wanting to participate in coral reef
management -- and how members
of the public are increasingly able to make their voices heard in the marine environment
management process.
Critique: A comprehensively complete, exceptionally well written, deftly organized, and
thoroughly 'reader friendly' in
presentation, "Democratic Management of an Ecosystem Under Threat: The People's Reefs" is a
timely study in view of
the peril of extinction facing so many marine ecosystem environments due to human activities
enhanced climate change.
"Democratic Management of an Ecosystem Under Threat: The People's Reefs" is especially and
unreservedly
recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Marine
Environmental Studies
collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Kelly Dunning is an assistant professor and Director of the Conservation
Governance Lab at Auburn
University. She holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an expert on
global coral reef
management.
Editorial Note #2: Ryan Williamson is an assistant professor in the Department of Political
Science at Auburn University.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and is an expert in congressional politics
including policy,
procedure, and elections.
Editorial Note #3: Amanda Alva graduated with her MS from the Conservation Governance Lab
at Auburn University
studying coral reef policy in the United States. She received her BSc in Marine Science from the
University of Texas at
Austin. She is currently a Marine & Coastal Social Scientist at NOAA for CSS Inc.
Editorial Note #4: Sabine Bailey graduated with her MS from the Conservation Governance Lab
at Auburn University
studying coral reef management. She received her BSc in Biology from McGill University. She is
currently an NOAA
Digital Coast Fellow working with The Nature Conservancy and the Maryland Department of
Natural Resources
Editorial Note #5: Daniel Morris graduated with his MS from Conservation Governance Lab at
Auburn University
studying coral reef management. He received his BA from Auburn University in Political
Science. He is currently a federal
Presidential Management Fellow.
Editorial Note #6: Kasen Wally graduated with his MS from the Conservation Governance Lab at
Auburn University
studying coral reef management in Florida. He received his BSc in Environmental Science from
Western Carolina
University. He is currently a Coastal Resiliency Specialist with the North Carolina Department of
Environmental
Quality
The American History Shelf
Before the Gilded Age
Mark L. Godlstein
Georgetown University Press
www.press.georgetown.edu
9781647123611, $29.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Before-Gilded-Age-Corcoran-American/dp/1647123615
Synopsis: The Gilded Age is a term coined by Mark Twain and used by some historians to refer
roughly to the period
between 1877 to 1900.
With the publication of "Before the Gilded Age: W. W. Corcoran and the Rise of American
Capital and Culture", Mark L.
Goldstein reveals the extraordinary ways in which entrepreneur W. W. Corcoran shaped the
emerging cultural elite and
changed the capital and the country both for better and for worse. A complex and controversial
character, Corcoran
influenced banking and finance, art and American culture, philanthropy, and the nation's
capital.
Based on extensive archival research, "Before the Gilded Age" examines the fascinating life of
an entrepreneur ahead of
his time. A generation before Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller donated vast sums of
money, Corcoran gave away
most of his fortune and helped shape American philanthropy. His dedication to landscaping the
emerging National Mall
predates plans for New York's Central Park. Other legacies included cofounding the Riggs Bank
and founding the
Corcoran Gallery of Art, whose collection has been dispersed among other arts organizations in
Washington, DC,
including the National Gallery of Art.
As a biographer, historian, and author, Mark L. Goldstein provides a colorful account of a
political chameleon who
successfully transcended political party, geography, and ideology to become one of the richest
and most influential people
in the country even as he navigated such controversies as rumors that he was linked to plots to
kill President Lincoln.
"Before the Gilded Age" also offers readers a detailed historical perspective on the development
of banking, investing,
lobbying, art collecting, and philanthropy.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an eight page Introduction,
forty-six pages of Notes, a
sixteen page Bibliography, and an eight page Index, "Before the Gilded Age: W. W. Corcoran
and the Rise of American
Capital and Culture" is a seminal work of detailed and meticulous scholarship resulting in an
exceptionally well written
and impressively comprehensive biography that is unreservedly recommended for personal,
community, college, and
university library 19th Century American History/Biography collections and supplemental
curriculum studies lists. It
should be noted for students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an
interest in the subject that
"Before the Gilded Age" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49).
Editorial Note: Mark L. Goldstein has held senior positions at the US Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs and the
US Government Accountability Office. He holds a master's degree in public administration from
George Washington
University and a PhD in US history from the University of Maryland, College Park.
A History of Boston
Daniel Dain, author
Peter Vanderwarker, photographer
Peter E. Randall Publisher
www.perpublisher.com
9781942155614, $55.00, HC, 832pp
https://www.amazon.com/History-Boston-Daniel-Dain/dp/1942155611
Synopsis: Boston is today one of the world's greatest cities, first in higher education, hospitals,
life science companies, and
sports teams. It was the home of the Great Puritan Migration, the American Revolution, the
Industrial Revolution, the first
civil rights movement, the abolition movement, and the women's rights movement.
But the city that gave us the first use of ether as anesthesia, the telephone, technicolor film, and
the mutual fund (the city
where Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott founded their world-changing partnership) was
also the hub of the
anti-immigration movement, the divisive race-based busing era, and decades of self-inflicted
decay.
Boston has the most important history of any American city. Yet its history has never been given
a comprehensive
treatment until now. With the publication of "A History of Boston", author and history Dan Dain
provides a tour guide
through the city's history from the arrival of First Peoples up to the election of Boston's first
woman and person of color as
mayor. Dain's masterful historical study explores the policies and practices that took Boston from
its highest heights to its
lowest lows and back again, and examines the central role that density, diversity, and good urban
design play in the success
of cities like Boston.
Critique: This hefty edition (7.5 x 2 x 10.5 inches, 3.5 pounds) of "A History of Boston" features
contemporary
photographs by Peter Vanderwarker and is impressively researched, detailed, documented, and
informative, as well as
thoroughly 'reader friendly' in both organization and presentation by Daniel Dain. While an
extraordinary and unreservedly
recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library
American History collections
and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, historians,
and non-specialist general
readers with an interest in the subject that "A History of Boston" is also available in a digital
book format (Kindle,
$8.99).
Editorial Note #1: Daniel Dain was born in Boston and grew up in Newton before leaving the
area to attend Vassar
College and Michigan Law School. Since then, he has spent his entire professional career as a
lawyer in Boston, working
with commercial property owners and developers on issues related to their use and development
of real estate. Dan is the
founder and president of the law firm Dain Torpy, where he chairs the firm's real estate litigation
practice. He writes and
lectures widely on land-use law and urban planning. Dan is active in the community. He loves
giving tours of Boston to
friends and visitors, and is known for his ability to give restaurant recommendations for any
cuisine or location around
Greater Boston.
Editorial Note #2: Peter Vanderwarker is a photographer and artist. His photographs are in the
collections of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, the Addison Gallery of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston. Recent exhibitions
include The Language of Landscape at Gallery NAGA, 2023; Seaport Views at the US District
Courthouse in 2016; and
Vanderwarker's Pantheon, at the Boston Athenaeum in 2009. Vanderwarker's work received
Institute Honors from the
American Institute of Architects in 1991. Peter has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from
University of California,
Berkeley, and he was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University in 1997. His work has been supported
by grants from the
National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation.
(https://www.gallerynaga.com/artists-list/peter-vanderwarker)
America's Good Terrorist: John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid
Charles P. Roland Jr.
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636243221, $24.95, PB, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Good-Terrorist-Brown-Harpers/dp/1636243223
Synopsis: John Brown is a common name, but the John Brown who masterminded the failed raid
at Harpers Ferry was
anything but common. His failed efforts have left an imprint upon our history, and his story still
swirls in controversy. Was
he a madman who felt his violent solution to slavery was ordained by Providence or a heroic
freedom fighter who tried to
liberate the downtrodden slave? These polar opposite characterizations of the violent abolitionist
have captivated
Americans. The prevailing view from the time of the raid to well into the twentieth century (that
his actions were the
product of an unbalanced mind) has shifted to the idea that he committed courageous acts to
undo a terrible injustice.
The debate still rages, but not as much about his ultimate goal as the method he used in
attempting to right what he
considered an intolerable wrong. Are citizens justified in bypassing the normal legal or
governmental processes in a violent
way when they fail, in the eyes of the dissenter, to correct a wrong that touched so many?
Brown's use of violence was to
strike terror in the heart of slave owners, terror that Brown hoped would intimidate them to free
their slaves to ensure their
families' safety.
Despite the differences between modern terrorist acts and Brown's own violent acts, when
Brown's characteristics are
compared to the definition of terrorism as set forth by scholars of terrorism, he fits the profile.
Nevertheless, today Brown
is a martyred hero who gave his life attempting to terminate the evil institution of human
bondage. Brown's violent method
of using terrorism to accomplish this is downplayed or ignored, despite being labeled by
historians as America's first
terrorist. The modern view of Brown has unintentionally made him a "good terrorist," despite the
repugnance of terrorism
that makes the thought of a benevolent or good terrorist an oxymoron.
"America's Good Terrorist: John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid" by Dr. Charles P. Poland Jr.
is new biography covers
Brown's background and the context to his decision to carry out the raid, a detailed narrative of
the raid and its
consequences for both those involved and America; and an exploration of the changing
characterization of Brown since his
death.
Critique: Originally published in 2020 and now newly releases in a paperback edition, "America's
Good Terrorist: John
Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid" is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of
a three page
Bibliographical Comment, twenty-six pages of Endnotes, and a seven page Index. An inherently
fascinating and
iconoclastic work of impressive, meticulous, and seminal scholarship, "America's Good
Terrorist: John Brown and the
Harpers Ferry Raid" is highly recommended for community and academic 19th Century
American History/Biography
collections and supplemental American Civil War History curriculums studies lists. It should be
noted for the personal
reading lists of students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest
in the subject that
"America's Good Terrorist: John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid" is also available in a digital
book format (Kindle,
$3.51).
Editorial Note: Dr. Charles Poland has taught history for more than five decades, touching the
lives of thousands of
students and community members in Northern Virginia. A scholar of the American Civil War, he
promotes direct
engagement with history and its tools. For example, from 1977 to 2015 he conducted celebrated
field-trip courses to the
major and minor battlefields of the Civil War. He is the creator of a mobile Civil War Museum
with hundreds of artifacts
and documents that he toured to public schools across the region. The author of eight books, he
has appeared on television
and radio and made countless presentations to historic, civic, and educational groups on the Civil
War and the impact of
unfettered development in Northern Virginia.
The World History Shelf
Catiline, Rebel of the Roman Republic
James T. Carney
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399067898, $39.95, HC, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/Catiline-Rebel-Roman-Republic-Conspiracy/dp/1399067893
Synopsis: Lucius Sergius Catilina (c. 108 BC - January 62 BC), was a Roman aristocrat from a
poor but noble family. He
was controversial figure both in his own times and in subsequent historical scholarship. Catiline
was cast first as the
Roman equivalent of Richard III and later as a left-wing revolutionary, depending on the times
and historians'
leanings.
Although Catiline's calls for debt relief and other measures in his second consular campaign
earned him support from the
poor, historian and author James T. Carney finds that Catiline was motivated by pride and
ambition rather than by an
interest in widespread social and economic reforms. Embittered by his failure to attain the
consulship which he thought
was his due given his heritage. He had his lieutenant Manlius raise armed forces in Etruria while
he planned to stage a
coup in Rome when these forces approached the city.
The conspiracy was betrayed to Cicero. Cicero skillfully used his knowledge of the conspiracy to
force Catiline to leave
Rome and join Manlius, leaving the city conspirators without effective leadership. Catiline's
urban lieutenants soon
blundered by seeking to enlist the support of a Gallic tribe whose emissaries were in the city. The
Gauls, skeptical of the
conspirators; leadership. decided report all that they had learned about the conspirators' plans to
Cicero. Using the evidence
obtained from the Gauls, Cicero presented a prosecutor's case against the conspirators to the
Senate and rallied public
opinion against the Catilinarians.
Cicero then executed five of the key conspirators without trial. When Catiline's soldiers learned
of destruction of the urban
conspiracy, many deserted. Cataline (finding his army trapped between two larger government
forces) died fighting in a
fierce but doomed battle at Pistoia.
Critique: An informative and thought-provoking historical biography and history, "Catiline,
Rebel of the Roman Republic:
The Life and Conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catilina" is written by author James T. Carney with
all the narrative skill of an
award-winning historical novel. An inherently fascinating study that is enhanced for the reader
with the inclusion of nine
page Bibliography, fifty-six pages of Notes, and a seven page Index, "Catiline, Rebel of the
Roman Republic: The Life and
Conspiracy of Lucius Sergius Catilina" is an especially and unreservedly recommended
contribution to personal,
professional, community, college, and univesity library Ancient Rome History/Biography
collections and supplemental
curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general
readers with an interest in the
subject that "Catiline, Rebel of the Roman Republic: The Life and Conspiracy of Lucius Sergius
Catilina" is also available
in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: James T. Carney is a Yale educated historian and attorney who has been studying
Catiline and the late
Republic since his third year at High School and, since his semi-retirement from legal practice in
2016, has devoted much
of his time to researching and writing this book.
Mapping the Great Game
Riaz Dean
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9781612008141, $32.95, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Great-Game-Explorers-19th-century/dp/1612008143
Synopsis: Although the ultimate prize of the Great Game played out between Great Britain and
Imperial Russia in the 19th
century was India, most of the intrigue and action took place along its northern frontier in
Afghanistan, Turkestan and
Tibet. Maps and knowledge of the enemy were crucial elements in Britain's struggle to defend
the 'jewel in the crown.'
The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India had been founded in the 18th century with the aim of
creating a detailed map of
the country. While most people today are readily able to identify the world's highest mountain,
few know of the man,
George Everest, after whom it was named, or the accomplishment that earned him this singular
honor. Under his
leadership, the Survey of India mapped the Great Arc, which was then lauded as 'one of the
greatest works in the whole
history of science,' though it cost more in monetary terms and human lives than many
contemporary Indian wars.
Much of the work of the Survey was undertaken by native Indians, known as Pundits, who were
trained to explore, spy out
and map Central Asia and Tibet. They did this at great personal risk and with meager resources,
while traveling entirely on
foot. They would be the first to reveal the mysteries of the forbidden city of Lhasa, and discover
the true course of Tibet's
mighty Tsangpo River. They were the greatest group of explorers the world has seen in recent
history -- yet they remain the
classic unsung heroes of the British Raj.
The story of these extraordinary pioneers who explored much of Asia during the 19th century to
fill in large portions of its
map, and spy out the region for military reasons is often forgotten, but with the publication of
"Mapping the Great Game:
Explorers, Spies and Maps in 19th-century Asia", author Riaz Dean's vivid account of their
exploits, their adventurous
spirit and their tenacity in the face of great adversity, all set within the context of the Great Game
and the Survey of India,
will finally bring them the attention they deserve.
Critique: A fascinating, informative, and seminal history of the British exploration of India is a
welcome and unreservedly
recommended contribution to community, college, and university library British/India history
collections and supplemental
curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military historians, and
non-specialist general readers
with an interest in the subject that "Mapping the Great Game: Explorers, Spies and Maps in
19th-century Asia" is also
available in a paperback edition (9781636243764, $24.95), in a digital book format (Kindle,
$11.99), and as a complete
and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212292108, $41.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Riaz Dean is a member of the New Zealand Cartographical Society and an
explorer himself, having
travelled much of the area in Central Asia described in Mapping The Great Game.
The Military History Shelf
Sustaining the Carrier War
Stan Fisher
Naval Institute Press
www.nip.org
9781682478479, $32.95, HC, 258pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sustaining-Carrier-War-Deployment-Pacific/dp/1682478475
Synopsis: The ability of the United States Navy to fight and win a protracted war in the Pacific
was not solely the result of
technology, tactics, or leadership. Naval aviation maintenance played a major role in the U.S.
victory over Japan in the
second World War. The naval war against Japan did not achieve sustained success until enough
aircraft technicians were
available to support the high tempo of aviation operations that fast carrier task force doctrine
demanded.
When the United States realized war was imminent and ordered a drastic increase in the size of
its aviation fleet, the Navy
was forced to reconsider its earlier practices and develop new policies in maintenance, supply,
and technical training. Not
only did a shortage of technicians plague the Navy, but the scarcity of aviation supply and repair
facilities in the Pacific
soon caused panic in Washington.
While the surface Navy's modernization of at-sea replenishment was beneficial, it did not solve
the problems of sustaining
war-time aircraft readiness levels sufficient to a winning a naval air war.
Military historian Stan Fisher clearly outlines the drastic institutional changes that accompanied
an increase in aviation
maintenance personnel from fewer than 10,000 to nearly 250,000 bluejackets, the complete
restructuring of the naval
aviation technical educational system, and the development of a highly skilled labor force.
"Sustaining the Carrier War: The Deployment of U.S. Naval Air Power to the Pacific" is the first
comprehensive study on
the importance of aircraft maintenance and the aircraft technician in the age of the aircraft carrier,
Sustaining the Carrier
War, provides the missing link to our understanding of Great Power conflict at sea.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Sustaining the Carrier War: The
Deployment of U.S. Naval
Air Power to the Pacific" is informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of numerous
illustrations, twenty-two
pages of Notes, a four page Bibliography, and a seventeen page Index. A comprehensively
researched, detailed, and
meticulous work of seminal scholarship, "Sustaining the Carrier War: The Deployment of U.S.
Naval Air Power to the
Pacific" is a primary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional,
community, college, and university
library World War II American Naval Military History and Strategy collections. It should be
noted that "Sustaining the
Carrier War: The Deployment of U.S. Naval Air Power to the Pacific" is also readily available in
a digital book format
(Kindle, $18.12) for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the
subject.
Editorial Note: Stan Fisher (https://www.usni.org/people/stan-fisher) is a commander in the U.S.
Navy and an Assistant
Professor of Naval and American history at the United States Naval Academy. Before
transitioning to classroom, he
accumulated over 2,500 flight hours as a Navy pilot, mainly in SH-60B & MH-60R Seahawk
helicopters. He earned a
commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1997 and has multiple
deployments on frigates, cruisers,
and aircraft carriers. Fisher has also served as a weapons and tactics instructor, squadron
maintenance officer, and
operational test director. Additionally, he has completed tours of duty in engineering and
acquisitions at the Naval Air
Systems Command. He is a past recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Naval History
Scholarship and earned his PhD
from the University of Maryland.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn: A New Appraisal
W. A. Wallace
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399046718, $42.95, HC, 280pp
https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Little-Big-Horn-Appraisal/dp/1399046713
Synopsis: Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer died at the hands of Native Americans by the banks
of the Little Bighorn in
Montana on the 25th June, 1876. This is an established undisputed fact. What is disputed is the
real reason that he
died.
With the publication of "The Battle of the Little Bighorn: A New Appraisal" by W. W. Wallace
reveals that we have
previously and incorrectly been indoctrinated to believe about George Custer.
30 years of diligent research has uncovered the truth in this groundbreaking history about the role
that Custer's political and
military superiors played in the whatever forever would be known as Custard's Last Stand at the
Little Bighorn river.
Critique: Iconoclastic history writing at its best, "The Battle of the Little Bighorn: A New
Appraisal" is an inherently
fascinating, thoughtful and thought-provoking read from start to finish. Enhanced for the reader
with the inclusion of an
Author's Note, an Introduction, a one plage listing of Acknowledgments, a twelve page
Bibliography, and an eight page
Index, "The Battle of the Little Bighorn: A New Appraisal" is an original and ground-breaking
study that is a strongly
recommended pick for community, college, and university library 19th Century American
Military History and Native
American History collections and supplemental George Armstrong Custer curriculum studies
lists. 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
Battle of the Little Bighorn: A New Appraisal" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$18.99).
Editorial Note: Wendy Ann Wallace is an established military historian known worldwide,
whose previous books have
sold out and has written numerous articles for various journals. The author has also successfully
lectured on the American
Indian Wars, reviewed military history books, is married and living in Leicestershire,
England.
Alexander the Great Avenger
Manousos E. Kambouris
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399073929, $46.95, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Great-Avenger-Campaign-Achaemenid/dp/1399073923
Synopsis: Since 500 BC the mainland Greeks had been threatened by the Achaemenid Persian
Empire. They had suffered
major invasions but subsequent attempts to take the offensive had been thwarted. With the
invasion of Alexander the Great
and his army, the rules changed.
In Macedonia a new model army had been developed, taking the traditional hoplite heavy
infantry in a new evolutionary
direction and similarly transforming the heavy cavalry. These developments neutralized the
Persians' own efforts to
modernize their troops, tactics and equipment. Despite the inclusion of a state-of-the-art siege
train, the structure of the
reformed Macedonian army allowed an unprecedented operational tempo.
Manousos Kambouris' detailed analysis in "Alexander the Great Avenger: The Campaign that
Felled Achaemenid Persia"
explains that it was Alexander's intelligent use of these forces, that allowed him to dictate the
course of the campaign. His
excellent strategic and operational decision-making, based on an intimate knowledge of
geography and logistics, along
with well-timed movements and clever feints, allowed him to choose his battles, which he then
won by tactical brilliance
and guts.
As an historian and author, Kambouris does not neglect to assess the Persian capabilities and
decision making, concluding
that Darius III was not as inept as often thought. Indeed, he may have been the most militarily
capable King of Kings but it
was his misfortune to be pitted against the genius of Alexander, the great avenger.
Critique: Simply put, "Alexander the Great Avenger: The Campaign that Felled Achaemenid
Persia" is absolutely essential
reading for academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Alexander the Great
and his conquests which
arguably changed the course of human history. A work of meticulous, detailed and documented
scholarship, "Alexander
the Great Avenger: The Campaign that Felled Achaemenid Persia" will have a special value for
readers with an interest in
Ancient Greek & Mesopotamia Military History collections and supplemental Alexander the
Great curriculum studies
lists.
Editorial Note: Manousos E. Kambouris has been researching Ancient Greek warfare for many
years and has published
numerous articles in Archeologija Prirodne Na (Archaeology and Science), Ancient Warfare,
Military History, War &
History, NUOVA ANTOLOGIA MILITARE, Third Eye and Hellenic Nexus. He has written
three previous books on
Marathon, Salamis and Xenophon's Ten Thousand. For the past 8 years he has been a historical
consultant to the
experimental archaeology group Koryvantes, the Association of Historical Studies. His other two
volumes in this Greco-
Persian military history trilogy are also available from Pen & Sword: "The Rise of Persia and the
First Greco-Persian
Wars" and "The Greek Victories and the Persian Ebb 480-79 BC".
The Castle in the Wars of the Roses
Dan Spencer
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781526797476, $26.95, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Castle-Wars-Roses-Dan-Spencer/dp/152679747X
Synopsis: The Wars of the Roses is one of the most dramatic and fascinating periods in medieval
British history. Much has
been written about the leading personalities, bitter dynastic rivalries, political intrigues, and the
rapid change of fortune on
the battlefields of England and Wales. However, there is one aspect that has been often
overlooked, the role of castles in
the conflict.
Originally published in 2020 and now newly available in a paperback edition, "The Castle in the
Wars of the Roses" is Dan
Spencer's original study that traces their use from the outbreak of civil war in the reign of Henry
VI in the 1450s to the
triumph of Henry VII some thirty years later. Using a wide range of narrative, architectural,
financial and administrative
sources, he sheds new light on the place of castles within the conflict, demonstrating their
importance as strategic and
logistical centres, bases for marshalling troops, and as fortresses
Critique: Exceptionally well written and an inherently fascinating read, "The Castle in the Wars
of the Roses" is an
impressively informative and seminal contribution to the literature on the Wars of the Roses in
general, and to the study of
siege warfare in the Middle Ages in particular. Very highly recommended for personal,
professional, community, and
academic library British Military History collections and supplemental Medieval Warfare
curriculum studies lists, it should
be noted that "The Castle in the Wars of the Roses" is also readily available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Dan Spencer (https://danspencer.info) is a historian and author who specializes in
the study of medieval
military history. He is also the author Royal and Urban Gunpowder Weapons in Late Medieval
England (Boydell &
Brewer 2019) and The Castle at War in Medieval England and Wales (Amberley Publishing
2018). Spencer also
co-authored The Agincourt Companion with Anne Curry, Peter Hoskins and Thom Richardson
(Andre Deutsch Ltd 2015).
His doctorate in History was awarded by the University of Southampton in 2016, with his PhD
thesis on The Development
of Gunpowder Weapons in Late Medieval England.
The Armies of Ancient Persia: The Sassanians
Kaveh Furrokh
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399024815, $34.95, PB, 504pp
https://www.amazon.com/Armies-Ancient-Persia-Sassanians/dp/1399024817
Synopsis: Throughout most of the classical period, Persia was one of the great superpowers,
placing a limit on the
expansion of Western powers. It was the most formidable rival to the Roman empire for
centuries, until Persia, by then
under the Sassanians, was overwhelmed by the Islamic conquests in the seventh century AD. Yet,
the armies of ancient
Persia have received relatively little detailed attention, certainly in comparison to those of Rome.
Originally published in
2017 and now available fro the first time in a paperback edition, "The Armies of Ancient Persia:
The Sassanians" is the
first of three volumes that will form the most comprehensive study of ancient Persian armies
available.
The Sassanians, the native Iranian dynasty that ousted their Parthian overlords in AD 226,
developed a highly sophisticated
army that was able for centuries to hold off all comers. They continued the Parthians' famous
winning combination of swift
horse archers with heavily-armored cataphract cavalry, also making much use of war elephants,
but Kaveh Farrokh
interestingly demonstrates that their oft-maligned infantry has been much underestimated.
Critique: Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a number of Plates, Figures, Tables, and
Historical Timeline of the
Sassanian Empire, Maps, forty-seven pages of Notes, a twenty page listing of References, and a
thirty-one page Index,
"The Armies of Ancient Persia: The Sassanians" is a seminal work of original scholarship and
highly recommended for
personal, professional, community, and academic library Persian Military History collections and
supplemental curriculum
studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military historians, and non-specialist
general readers with an
interest in the subject that "The Armies of Ancient Persia: The Sassanians" is also available in a
digital book format
(Kindle, $17.99).
Editorial Note: Kaveh Furrokh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaveh_Farrokh) was born in
Athens, Greece and is an expert
in ancient Persian languages and military history. He has been researching the military history
and technology of Persia for
a quarter of a century. He obtained his PhD in 2001 from the University of British Columbia,
where he is now a lecturer.
He is also Head of the Department of Traditions and Cultural History of the Waalm School of
Cultural Diplomacy. He has
written three previous books on Persian military history. The second, Shadows in the Desert:
Ancient Persia at War
(Osprey, 2007) has been translated into Russian and Persian, received the Best History Book
Award of 2008 and was cited
as among the top 3 history books of 2008 by the Independent Book Publishers Association in the
USA.
The Light Division in the Peninsular War, 1811-1814
Tim Sauncers, author
Rob Yuill, author/contributor
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399007948, $39.95, PB, 260pp
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Division-Peninsular-War-1811-1814/dp/1399007947
Synopsis: By the middle of 1811, Brigadier General Robert Craufurd's Light Division was
emerging as the elite of the
Peninsular Army and Wellington was seeking opportunities to go over to the offensive, following
the expulsion of Marshal
Massena from Portugal.
After a period of outpost duty for the Light Division on the familiar ground of the Spanish
borders, Wellington seized 'the
keys to Spain' in the epic sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. Still reeling from the loss of
General Craufurd, 'The
Division' led the army against Marshal Marmont and after a protracted period of marching and
counter marching, the
French were finally brought to battle at Salamanca. As a result of King Joseph being driven out
of Madrid, the French
marshals united and in the autumn of 1812, the British were driven back to Ciudad Rodrigo in
another gruelling
retreat.
With news of Napoleon's disaster in Russia and with reinforcements from Britain, Wellington
prepared his army to drive
the French from the Peninsular. A lightening march across Spain to cut the Great Road found
King Joseph and Marshal
Jourdan at Vitoria and the resulting battle, in which the Light Division fought their way into the
heart of the French
position, was a triumph of arms for Wellington's light troops.
The pursuit into the Pyrenees, had a sting in the tail when Marshal Soult mounted counter
offensives in an attempt to
relieve San Sebastian and Pamplona. Having thrown the French back and with the Sixth
Coalition intact, the Light
Division fought their way through the mountains and into Napoleon's France.
With the allies closing in on all sides, the French fought on into 1814 and the Light Bobs had
further fighting before the
spoils of peace in a war-weary France could be enjoyed.
Critique: Taking up where "The Light Division in the Peninsular War: 1808-1811" by co-authors
Tim Saunders and Rob
Yuill left off, "The Light Division in the Peninsular War 1811-1814" continues this seminal
history of the British military
enforced empire in the early decades of the 19th Century. Featuring an informative Introduction,
six pages of Notes and a
three page Index, "The Light Division in the Peninsular War 1811-1814" is an exemplary and
detailed history that is
solidly researched, exceptionally well written, and informatively presented in chronological
order. While available for
personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99), "The Light Division in the
Peninsular War: 1811-1814" is
an extraordinary and highly recommended for community, college, and university library 19th
Century British Military
History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Tim Saunders served as an infantry officer with the British Army for thirty
years, during which time he
took the opportunity to visit campaigns far and wide, from ancient to modern. Since leaving the
Army he has become a full
time military historian, with this being his sixteenth book, has made nearly fifty full documentary
films with Battlefield
History and Pen & Sword. He is an active guide and Accredited Member of the Guild of
Battlefield Guides.
Editorial Note #2: Rob Yuill is also the co-author/contributor to "The Light Division in the
Peninsular War: 1808-1811"
which is the first volume of this 19th Century British Military History series.
Argentine Perspectives on the Falklands War
Nick Van Der Bijl
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636241647, $34.95, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Argentine-Perspectives-Falklands-War-Recovery/dp/1636241646
Synopsis: In 1982, the United Kingdom and Argentina fought a war over an historical
disagreement with respect to the
colonial "ownership" or rights over the Falkland Islands. Within months of the Argentinian
defeat, General Edgardo Calvi,
then the Argentine Head of the Army Joint Chief of Staff, was instructed to undertake a
wide-ranging and formal inquiry to
investigate the performance of the Argentine Army during the Falklands.
Calvi concluded that while the Army had the motivation, it lacked the organization, equipment,
training, and ability to
oppose an army capable of operating in a variety of environments. The war exposed political,
military, and public
weaknesses in a period of considerable internal unrest during the seven years of the Dirty War.
Several senior officers who
fought in the Falklands were imprisoned for offenses committed during the Dirty War. Secrecy
and political disagreements
isolated the Service chiefs of staff from the logistic and operational planning.
With the publication of "Argentine Perspectives on the Falklands War: The Recovery and Loss
of Las Malvinas", the story
of the Falklands War is told from the perspective of Argentine Army.
Critique: "Argentine Perspectives on the Falklands War: The Recovery and Loss of Las
Malvinas" by Nicholas van der Bijl
is the first book in English to examine the Falklands War from the Argentine point of view.
Providing an intensely
informative perspective from the Argentinian point of view, "Argentine Perspectives on the
Falklands War" will prove to
be a unique and greatly appreciated addition to personal, professional, community, and academic
library 20th Century
British Military & Argentian Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies
lists. It should be noted for
students, academia, military historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the
subject that "Argentine
Perspectives on the Falklands War" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,
$15.99).
Editorial Note: Nick van der Bijl served 30 years in the Army, mainly in the Intelligence Corps,
that included 3 Commando
Brigade throughout the Falklands campaign, three years in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. His
second career was as an
NHS security manager; also a Justice of the Peace for fifteen years. He is a Trustee of the
Military Intelligence Museum.
He is now retired and has written a number of books about the Falklands War.
The Cookbook Shelf
Taste of Home Budget-Friendly Cookbook
Taste of Home, editor
Trusted Media Brands
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781621459514, $19.99, PB, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Budget-Friendly-Cookbook-thumbs-up/dp/1621459519<
br>
Synopsis: With the publication of "Taste of Home Budget-Friendly Cookbook", it has never been
easier for the family
cook to cut grocery bills while dishing out the meals everyone requests, ranging from homey
meat loaves and lasagnas, to
new takes on pasta and ramen. "Taste of Home Budget-Friendly Cookbook" is packed with over
220 kitchen cook friendly
recipes, dinner ideas, and affordable desserts for every dining occasion. The family will love
these dishes, and the financial
savings with respect to the weekly grocery bill.
Of special note is the bonus chapter on Pantry Staples showing how you can make your own
marinara sauce, biscuit mix,
pizza dough and condiments.
Critique: Profusely illustrated with the inclusion of some 150+ full-color photos, helpful icons
for slow-cooked foods,
recipes that use 5 or fewer ingredients, and 50+ dietitian-approved, good-for-you dishes, each
recipe featured includes
Prep/Cook timelines with each dish, Nutrition Facts with every recipe, and expert tips throughout
to help save money and
time alike. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, "Taste of Home
Budget-Friendly
Cookbook" is an especially recommended addition to personal and community library cookbook
collections. It should be
noted that "Taste of Home Budget-Friendly Cookbook" is also available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Taste of Home (www.Tasteofhome.com) is the leading multi-platform producer
of information on food,
cooking, baking and entertaining, serving home cooks engaging media that capture the joy and
comfort received from food
made with love. Taste of Home magazine has a circulation of 1.5 million and publishes
top-selling cookbooks and
newsstand specials. The Taste of Home website is a top destination for engaging audiences with
kitchen-tested recipes,
how-to techniques, cooking videos and more.
Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes
Brigitte Webster
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399092593, $42.95, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Eating-Tudors-Recipes-Brigitte-Webster/dp/1399092596
Synopsis: "Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes" is an extensive collection of authentic
Tudor recipes by culinary
historian Brigitte Webster that tell the story of a dramatically changing world in sixteenth-century
England and highlights
how religion, reformation and politics influenced what was served on a Tudor's dining table from
the very beginning of
Henry VII's reign to the final days of Elizabeth I's rule.
Fascinated readers will discover interesting and very carefully researched little food snippets
drawn from Tudor society in
the form of household account books, manuscripts, letters, wills, diaries and varied works by
Tudor physicians, herbalists
and chronologists. Readers will learn about the Tudor's obsession with food and uncover which
key ingredients were the
most popular choice. Furthermore, they will rediscover old Tudor favorites that once again are
being celebrated in trendy
restaurants and learn about the new, exotic food that excited and those foods that failed to meet
the Elizabethan
expectations.
"Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes" explains the whole concept of what a healthy
balanced meal meant to the
people of Tudor England and the significance and symbolic connotations of certain food, as well
as its availability
throughout the year. Readers will gain an insight into the world of Tudor food, its role to
establish class, belonging and
status and be tempted to re-create some iconic Tudor flavors and experience for yourself the
many varied and delicious
seasonal tastes that Tudor dishes have to offer. Spice up your culinary habits and step back in
time to recreate a true Tudor
feast by impressing your guests the Tudor way or prepare a New Year's culinary gift fit for a
Tudor monarch!
Critique: Illustrated throughout with B/W photography, "Eating with the Tudors: Food and
Recipes" is a unique, elegant,
fascinating, informative combination of culinary history and historical 16th & 17th Century
British recipes that served the
royal courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. A pleasure to browse through, ideal for recreating
elegantly historical menus,
"Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes" is a very special and recommended addition to
personal, professional,
community, and academic library cookbook collections and supplemental Tudor History
curriculum studies lists. It should
be noted that "Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes" is also readily available in a digital
book format (Kindle,
$18.99).
Editorial Note: Brigitte Webster (https://www.tudorexperience.com) is a qualified teacher of
home economics and history,
making her the perfect 'accomplished' Tudor housewife in modern-day Britain. As a competent
and experienced cook with
a deep passion for Tudor history she fully immersed herself in archaeological, experimental
cookery which also motivated
her to grow period vegetables, herbs and fruits to achieve the most authentic end results.
In 2019 she and her husband bought a small Tudor manor that had escaped ruthless
modernisation. This will form the hub
of their Tudor & Seventeenth-century Experience where guests can enjoy hospitality in a place
for like-minded people who
can come together and embrace a stepping back into culinary Tudor England.
Brigitte has appeared on Professor Suzannah Lipscomb's TV series Walking Tudor England and
is a regular contributor to
the magazine Tudor Places. She also appears in popular history podcasts. In 2019 Brigitte was a
guest speaker at the first
TudorCon exposition in Pennsylvania.
The Business Shelf
Founder vs Investor
Elizabeth Joy Zalman, author
Jerry Neumann, author
HarperCollins Leadership
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9781400242764, $29.99, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Founder-Investor-Venture-Capital-Startup/dp/1400242762
Synopsis: From Google to Facebook to Twitter, Every iconic tech company was once a startup.
And while these companies
like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different:
the early life of most
startups is pure chaos.
This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the
vision and those with the
money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, with the publication of "Founder vs
Investor: The Honest Truth
About Venture Capital from Startup to IPO" co-authors Elizabeth Zalman and Jerry Neumann
focus on the gulf between
what founders and investors promised to do and what they ended up actually doing.
"Founder vs Investor" is the brutal and unvarnished truth showcasing each side's perspective, of
the pitfalls of this tenuous
relationship -- where bad blood can turn sure things into shattered dreams. It is the only book
written by insiders with the
temerity to pull back the curtain on the world of high growth venture-backed startups.
Critique: A fascinating, informative, and stellar study of tech company turmoil based on the
differing perspectives and
goals between creators and financial investors inside the tech companies that have come to so
dramatically and
fundamentally influence our lives, our economy, our politics, and our culture. While also
available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $10.99), "Founder vs Investor: The Honest Truth About Venture Capital from Startup to
IPO" is unreservedly
recommended for personal, professional, community, corporate, college, and university library
Entrepreneurship and
Venture Capital collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Elizabeth Joy Zalman is an infrastructure and information security expert. She
is a two-time founder and
CEO of venture-backed companies, building the first to a successful exit and the second to a
multi-hundred-million-dollar
business. Elizabeth has raised more than $100 million in venture capital from the most renowned
investors in the world.
She is a frequent speaker and guest at industry events and tech podcasts, in addition to being an
investor and advisor
herself.
Editorial Note #2: Jerry Neumann is a twenty-five-year veteran of venture capital. He has
invested in some of the most
successful venture-funded companies of the past three decades, including Datadog and Trade
Desk, and has worked
alongside dozens of entrepreneurs as investor, board member, and advisor. Jerry also teaches
entrepreneurship at Columbia
University, and authors articles on his popular blog, ReactionWheel.net
Creative Together
Steven Kowalski
Page Two Press
https://pagetwo.com/book/creative-together
9781774581629, $17.95, PB, 298pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Together-Sparking-Innovation-World/dp/1774581620
Synopsis: In our era of rapid technological advances, changes, and disruptions, entrepreneurs and
business managers are
being called on to innovate like never before. The trouble is, simply demanding or encouraging
innovation and
collaboration doesn't work. Innovation doesn't just happen. It's the result of one of the most
powerful and sustainable
forces available to us: creativity.
If you want innovation, you must activate creativity. And in the new world of work, going it
alone won't work any longer.
We have to get creative together. Drawing on his decades of experience as a coach, consultant,
and organizational
development expert, conscious creativity authority, with the publication of "Creative Together:
Sparking Innovation in the
New World of Work", Steven Kowalski leads you on a three-part journey to reclaim your
creativity and co-create with
others.
First, you will rewrite the story of who you are as a creator. Then, you will learn to adventure
together with others --
bringing your whole, creative self into a new way of working together. With stories drawn from
real, lived experiences,
research-backed insights, and powerful questions that will open you to new possibilities, you will
master Kowalski's
GIFTED methodology to unlock your creativity, and tackle the biggest threat to conscious
creativity -- Creative Disruption
Disorder.
Despite what you may think, you have what it takes to embrace the new story, take accountability
for your creative power,
and create together within a world in flux. Once you claim your potential, there's no turning back.
By participating in your
life with conscious creativity, you will transform the landscape of your future. You will become
anew, with a deep faith in
your resilience and resourcefulness, and a future full of possibility for yourself -- and for the
companies, organizations, and
causes whose mission you share.
Critique: Impressively well written, organized and presented, "Creative Together: Sparking
Innovation in the New World
of Work" is a thoroughly 'reader friendly' and comprehensive instructional course and an ideal
'how-to' manual for deftly
instilling creativity into personal and cooperative efforts in the work place -- and in life. Of
special and particular value to
readers with an interest in Business Management/Leadership, Workplace Culture, and
Self-Improvement, "Creative
Together: Sparking Innovation in the New World of Work" is especially and unreservedly
recommended for personal,
professional, community, corporate, college, and university library collections and supplemental
MBA curriculum studies
lists. It should be noted that "Creative Together: Sparking Innovation in the New World of
Work" is also available for
personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Steven Kowalski (https://www.stevenkowalski.com) is a leading voice in the
global movement for
conscious creativity with more than 25 years of experience as an organizational development
expert. Through his firm,
Creative License(TM) Consulting Services, he works with clients to shape organizational
cultures and reinvigorate how
teams co-create new value. As a coach, speaker, and consultant-partner, he facilitates the
creativity of scientists, engineers,
business leaders, and professionals across industries. Steven holds a PhD in adult learning and
organizational creativity
from UCLA, and is the author of more than 100 workplace learning programs.
The Photography Shelf
Street Cat Tales and Tangled Times
Stephen Marc
George F Thompson Publishing
c/o Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781938086984, $60.00, HC, 184pp
https://www.amazon.com/Street-Cat-Tales-Tangled-Times/dp/1938086988
Synopsis: In his previous and award-winning book, "American / True Colors", photographer
Stephen Marc presented one
of the most comprehensive photographic surveys ever conducted about America and Americans.
For his efforts (the survey
includes both the Obama and Trump presidencies), for his artistry, and for his unique
African-American perspective, the
Independent Publishers Book Awards gave American / True Colors its 2021 Gold Medal for the
Best Book of the Year in
Photography.
But Stephen Marc was not finished with telling the American story. With the publication of
"Street Cat Tales and Tangled
Times: An American Journey Continues", the visual artist/photographer takes us on another
sweeping journey, coast to
coast, this time straddling before and during the COVID years when America and Americans
were confronted by a
multitude of unprecedented challenges that affected citizens in every aspect of life no matter
where they might live.
With an informative Introduction by Dr. Carla D. Hayden (the 14th Librarian of Congress and the
first woman and first
African American to hold that distinguished post since its founding in 1802), and featuring 210
full color, full page
photographs by Stephen Marc (including 85 captivating digital montages), "Street Cat Tales and
Tangled Times" offers a
creative and highly insightful look at how Americans have been living their life on the streets
during this time of COVID
and controversial Supreme Court rulings and the severe impacts of climate change, social
injustice, mass shootings and
gun violence, inflation, intense political division, the Big Lie, the January 6 insurrection, Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, and
so much more.
As was the case with :American / True Colors", in "Street Cat Tales and Tangled Times" we see
how the American
journey continues. How in our ongoing search for a more perfect Union we need to recognize and
respect more fully the
personal histories that brought us here and the truths we need to face. How in the process of
moving forward toward an
uncertain future we embrace the joy of living and learn to grow and heal as families,
communities, and a nation.
Critique: Adhering to that old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words, "Street Cat
Tales and Tangled Times:
An American Journey Continues" speaks volumes with respect to the American people of this
past decade and into the
present. Unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library
American Photography
collections, and with its large coffee-table style hardcover format, each individual, full color
photograph is cited as to
where it was taken. Simply stated, to browse through the pages comprising "Street Cat Tales and
Tangled Times" is to take
an armchair tour through what is aptly described as truly memorable American Journey across
our diverse and divided
nation.
Editorial Note #1: Stephen Marc is a documentary/street photographer and digital montage artist,
who was raised on the
South Side of Chicago. He is Professor of Art at Arizona State University, where he began
teaching in 1998, after twenty
years on the faculty of the Department of Photography at Columbia College Chicago. Marc has
received grants from the
Arizona Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and his awards
include the Society for
Photographic Education's Insight Award. In 2021, Marc was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation
Fellowship in Photography. Marc has published three photography books: Passage on the
Underground Railroad
(University Press of Mississippi, 2009); The Black Trans-Atlantic Experience: Street Life and
Culture in Ghana, Jamaica,
England, and the United States (Columbia College Chicago, 1992); and Urban Notions (Ataraxia
Press, 1983).
Editorial Note #2: Carla D. Hayden is the 14th Librarian of Congress, the first woman and first
African American to hold
the post since 1802. From 1993 until 2016, she was the CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in
Baltimore and served as
President of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, Dr. Hayden was
honored with the National
Librarian of the Year Award by Library Journal, the first African American to receive this
prestigious honor, and in 2020
she was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Her books include A Frontier of
Librarianship: Services for
Children in Museums (Chicago, 1987) and, as editor, Venture into Cultures: A Resource Book of
Multicultural Materials
and Programs (American Library Association, 1992).
The Uyghurs: Kashgar before the Catastrophe
Kevin Burbriski, photographer
Tahir Hamut Izgil, contributor
Dru Gladney, contributor
George F Thompson Publishing
c/o Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781938086991, $60.00, HC, 248pp
https://www.amazon.com/Uyghurs-Kashgar-before-Catastrophe-English/dp/1938086996
Synopsis: The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with
the general region of
Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region in Northwest
China. They are one of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities. The Uyghurs are also
recognized by the Chinese
government as a regional minority and the titular people of Xinjiang.
In 1998, Kevin Bubriski was fortunate to spend time with the Uyghurs in Kashgar, their ancient
city on the Silk Road in
Xinjiang, China. While there, he made unforgettable photographic portraits and street scenes that
reveal a haunting beauty
and sense of the past in old Kashgar. Bubriski was drawn to the faces of ordinary people and
their daily lives, with the
intent that through photographs mutual understanding between people might be fostered.
Although 1998 was an uncomfortable time of rapid transformation for the Uyghurs, their oasis
city in the high desert was
still vibrant, even as the Chinese government's brutal crackdown was about to commence. In the
last few years, up to a
million Uyghurs have been detained in "re-education camps" while others have been subjected to
forced sterilizations and
wider persecution. The vibrancy, beauty, and grit that Bubriski witnessed and photographed more
than two decades ago
has irrevocably changed.
The Uyghur cultural, economic, familial, religious, and spiritual traditions are captured in
Bubriski's images and the
extensive text by Tahir Hamut Izgil and the late Dru Gladney. These traditions, interwoven in
Uyghurs' lives and
community for more than two millennia, have been severely impacted by the overt and disastrous
policies of the Chinese
government's crackdown on Uyghur civil, spiritual, and cultural activities.
The Uyghur community is now fractured and split due to widespread surveillance, mass
detentions, and incarcerations.
"The Uyghurs: Kashgar before the Catastrophe" is also presented in a bilingual (English/Uighur)
edition so that it is not
only accessible to Uyghur people living in non-English-speaking regions of the world, but a way
for Uyghurs around the
world to reaffirm their cultural and social identity wherever they now live.
As many Uyghur families are now separated due to detentions or flight to asylum elsewhere, the
book is meant to be an
enduring gift for the Uyghur people and for all who wish to understand better Uyghur culture and
history. Bubriski's book
is a stunning work of art that reveals an earlier time when Kashgar, beloved city of the Uyghurs,
retained much of its
traditional life and charm.
Critique: This large format coffee-table style edition of "The Uyghurs: Kashgar before the
Catastrophe" made available to
a contemporary readership by George F. Thompson Publishing is a stellar compilation of full
page black/white
photography (with the exception of 3 full page color photos at the end of the book) augmented by
texts and poems from
Tahir Hamut Izgil, an informative essay by the late Dru C. Gladney, and translations by M. A.
and Darren Byler. A
magnificent volume that will be of particular value to readers with an interest in Chinese
Communist Party's racial
discrimination campaigns against the Uyghurs and Photography. "The Uyghurs: Kashgar before
the Catastrophe" is a
unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college,
and university library
Travel Photography collections and supplemental Contemporary China/Uyghur Issues curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Kevin Bubriski (www.kevinbubriski.com) is a documentary photographer
whose photographs are in the
permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, San
Francisco Museum of Modern
Art, and Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris, among others. He has received Guggenheim,
Fulbright, National
Endowment for the Arts, and Robert Gardner Peabody Museum Fellowships. Bubriski's other
books include Portrait of
Nepal (1993), Pilgrimage: Looking at Ground Zero (2002), Nepal 1975-2011 (2014), Legacy in
Stone: Syria before War
(2018), Our Voices, Our Streets: American Protests 2001-2011 (2020), and Nepal Earthquake
(2022).
Editorial Note #2: Tahir Hamut Izgil is a prominent modernist Uyghur poet, filmmaker, and
activist who grew up in
Kashgar, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He is recognized as one of the
foremost poets writing in the
Uyghur language. Additionally, he has directed numerous documentaries, music videos,
advertisement campaigns, and
feature films. Fearing persecution from Chinese authorities, he and his family sought asylum in
the United States in 2017.
His poetry has been translated into English, Japanese, Swedish, Turkish, and other languages. He
is the current chair of the
World Uyghur Writers Union.
Editorial Note #3: Dru C. Gladney (1950-2022) was Professor of Anthropology at Pomona
College where he also served as
President of the Pacific Basin Institute. Gladney was the author of more than 100 academic
articles and book chapters on
topics spanning the Asian continent, and his books include Dislocating China: Muslims,
Minorities, and Other Subaltern
Subjects (Chicago, 2004), Ethnic Identity in China: The Making of a Muslim Minority
Nationality (Wadsworth, 2003),
Making Majorities: Constituting the Nation in Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, Fiji, Turkey, and
the U.S. (Stanford, 1998),
and Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic (Harvard, 1991).
The Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Creative Producing
Carol Baum
Allworth Press
www.allworth.com
c/o Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
www.skyhorsepublishing.com
9781621538370, $19.99, PB, 216pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Producing-Pitch-Picture-Development/dp/1621538370
Synopsis: As former co-president of Dolly Parton's production company, Sandollar, and as a
successful independent
producer, Carol Baum is an expert in the art of film production.
With the publication of "Creative Producing: A Pitch-to-Picture Guide to Movie Development",
Braum provides a DIY
crash course in the frequently misunderstood producer's role and the many skills needed to
survive and thrive in
Hollywood. Readers receive a master class in production -- from pitching, script development,
and packaging, to working
with stars, directors, and difficult executives.
Enhanced with behind-the-scenes stories from Baum's illustrious career, "Creative Producing"
offers an intimate look
behind the Hollywood curtain to give film students, cinephiles, aspiring executives, and industry
insiders a must-have
guide to understanding film development from successful pitch to hit picture.
Critique: Impressively comprehensive, exceptionally well written, thoroughly 'reader friendly' in
organization and
presentation, "Creative Producing: A Pitch-to-Picture Guide to Movie Development" must be
considered a core addition to
personal, professional, community, film school, and academic library Cinematic and Viceo
Direction/Production
instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "Creative Producing: A
Pitch-to-Picture Guide to Movie
Development" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Carol Baum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Baum) has produced 34
movies, 17 of them
independently. As co-president of Sandollar Productions, Dolly Parton and Sandy Gallin's
production company, she
produced such hits as Father of the Bride; the Academy Award-winning documentary Common
Threads: Stories from the
Quilt; Jacknife; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Kicking and Screaming; and many more. As an indie
producer, Baum's films
include The Good Girl, My First Mister, and Boychoir, as well as television movies for Hallmark
and several
documentaries. Baum currently teaches producing in the Film and Television Production
Division at USC's School of
Cinematic Arts. She is also a mentor for the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC.
Horror on the Stage
Amnon Kabatchnik
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476675558, $75.00, PB, 283pp
https://www.amazon.com/Horror-Stage-Monsters-Murders-Terrifying/dp/1476675554
Synopsis: There are numerous studies available about the horror genre in film and television, but
none that provide
information about horror on a legitimate stage until now. With the publication of "Horror on the
Stage: Monsters, Murders
and Terrifying Moments in Theater", Professor Amnon Kabatchnik highlights the most terrifying
moments in theater
history, from classical plays like Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Euripides' Medea to the
violence of the Grand Guignol
company productions in 18th-century France, and present-day productions like Stephen
Sondheim's musical Sweeney
Todd, Stephen King's Carrie and dark 21st-century plays by Clive Barker and Conor
McPherson.
In "Horror on the Stage: Monsters, Murders and Terrifying Moments in Theater" Professor
Kabatchnik has compiled the
history and behind-the-scenes tales surrounding stage productions about monsters, hauntings and
horrors both historical
and imagined. Included are the nightmarish adaptations of popular writings from Edgar Allan
Poe, Oscar Wilde, H.G.
Wells, Henry James, Arthur Conan Doyle, and others, as well as plays starring popular characters
like Frankenstein, Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and the Woman in
Black.
More than 500 plays are documented, accompanied by dozens of photographs. Each individual
entry include plot synopses,
existing production data, and evaluations by critics and scholars.
Critique: Unique, seminal, impressively well written, exceptionally 'reader friendly' in
organization and presentation,
"Horror on the Stage: Monsters, Murders and Terrifying Moments in Theater" is an essential and
informative resource for
students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Theatrical History,
Horror/Supernatural Literary
& Performing Arts Criticism. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.99),
"Horror on the Stage:
Monsters, Murders and Terrifying Moments in Theater" is especially and unreservedly
recommended for personal,
professional, community, college, and university library collections and supplemental curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note: Amnon Kabatchnik (https://amnonkabatchnik.com) has served as professor of
theater at several top
universities. In New York, on the road and in summer stock he directed dramas, comedies, and
thrillers, earning the Lola
D'Annunzio Honorary Citation for Outstanding Contribution to the Off Broadway Theater.
The Graphic Novel Shelf
Mingus
Flavio Massaruto, author
Squaz, illustrator
NBM Publishing
www.nbmpub.com
9781681123097, $29.99, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mingus-Comics-Biographies-Flavio-Massaruto/dp/1681123096
Synopsis: Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 - January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright
bassist, composer,
bandleader, pianist, and author. A proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be
one of the greatest jazz
musicians and composers in history, with a career spanning three decades and collaborations with
other jazz greats such as
Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Max Roach, and Eric Dolphy.
Mingus's work ranged from advanced bebop and avant-garde jazz with small and midsize
ensembles, to pioneering the
post-bop style on seminal recordings like Pithecanthropus Erectus (1956) and Mingus Ah Um
(1959), and progressive big
band experiments such as The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963).
"Mingus" is graphic novel style biography by author/biographer Flavio Massaruto and
artist/illustrator Squaz that reveals
the jazz legend's troubled life, his battles against racism, and the brilliant music of a true master
who has left an indelible
mark on the jazz scene. From his beginnings in Los Angeles in the 1940s to his heartbreaking
end in Mexico, this is the
story of a man of indomitable and rebellious talent who crossed styles while always remaining
himself, in perpetual
struggle against a society that wanted him marginalized and subordinated.
Critique: Fascinating, informative, entertaining, "Mingus" is especially and unreservedly
recommended as a 'must read'
pick for the legions of Charles Mingus jazz fans, and will prove to be a welcome addition to
personal, professional, and
community library 20th Century American Biography collections and supplemental Jazz Music
History curriculum reading
lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of jazz enthusiasts that this NBM Graphic
Novel edition of "Mingus"
is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note #1: Flavio Massaruto has been writing about jazz since 2000 for specialized
newspapers and magazines.
Currently he is a music critic for il manifesto. He has written short stories, comic stories and
published several non-fiction
volumes. He investigated the relationship between jazz and comics with the books Assoli di
china, finalist at the Naples
Prize for Italian language and culture 2012. He directs the San Vito Jazz festival and has
conceived and curated
multidisciplinary projects over the years that have involved music, cinema, comics and theater.
(https://nbmpub.com/collections/artist-massarutto-flavio)
Editorial Note #2: Squaz is the pen name for Pasquale Todisco, an Italian comic artist with a very
hard-edged
expressionistic style of art reminiscent of the famous Argentine artist Jose Munoz.
(https://nbmpub.com/collections/artist-squaz)
Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel
Agatha Christie
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780063160354, $25.99, PB, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Orient-Express-Graphic-Novel/dp/0063160358
Synopsis: Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift.
By morning, the
millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his
door locked from the inside.
Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.
Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead
man's enemies, before the
murderer decides to strike again.
Critique: A classic mystery by the legendary Agatha Christie, "Murder on the Orient Express:
The Graphic Novel" is
beautiful, full-color graphic novel adaptation by Bob Al-Greene who brings this favorite mystery
to life and is a perfect
pick for longtime Agatha Christie fans and new mystery/suspense readers alike. While also
available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $13.99), "Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel" is especially and
unreservedly recommended
for personal, community, and academic library Mystery/Suspense & Graphic Novel
collections.
Editorial Note #1: Agatha Christie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Christie) is the most
widely published author of
all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion
copies in English and another
billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six
decades.
Editorial Note #2: Bob -Al-Green (https://www.behance.net/bobalgreene) is an illustrator living
and working in New York
City.
The Audiobook Shelf
Hello Stranger
Katherine Center, author
Patti Murin, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250893246, $39.99, CD (10 Hours 39 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Hello-Stranger-Novel-Katherine-Center/dp/1250893240
Synopsis: Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming. Literally! One minute she's
celebrating the biggest achievement
of her life (placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition) the next she's
lying in a hospital bed
diagnosed with a "probably temporary" condition known as face blindness. She can see, but
every face she looks at is now
a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in
another language. This is
Sadie's new reality.
But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues,
and take care of her beloved
dog, Peanut, she falls in love -- not with one man but two. The timing couldn't be worse.
Making judgment calls on anything right now is a nightmare. If only her life were a little more in
focus, Sadie might be
able to have it all.
Critique: "Hello Stranger" is a romantic comedy by Katherine Center that is brought vividly to
life by the narrative talents
of Patti Murin. This complete, unabridged, and flawless edition from MacMillan is a top pick for
community library audio
book collections and a 'must' for the growing legions of Katherine Center fans.
Editorial Note #1: Katherine Center (https://katherinecenter.com) is the author of over half a
dozen books, including How
to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Katherine writes
laugh-and-cry books about how life
knocks us down -- and how we get back up. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists,
including RealSimple's Best
Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many
more. The movie
adaptation of Katherine's novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and
her novel Happiness for
Beginners is in production now as a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper.
Editorial Note #2: Patti Murin (https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Patti+Murin) is
an American actress,
singer, dancer, and audio book narrator. On Broadway, she has originated the title role in
Lysistrata Jones (2011) and
Princess Anna in Frozen (2018). She also had a recurring role as Dr. Nina Shore in the NBC
medical drama Chicago Med
from 2016 to 2019.
The Raging Storm
Ann Cleeves, author
Jack Holder, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250910318, $39.99, CD
https://www.amazon.com/Raging-Storm-Detective-Matthew-Novel/dp/1250910315
Synopsis: When sailor, adventurer, and legend Jem Rosco blows into town in the middle of an
autumn gale, the residents
of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he
arrived, Rosco disappears
again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place
with legends of its own.
This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he
visited as a child, a
community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found,
and Venn finds his
judgment clouded.
As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself,
is safe from Scully
Cove's storm of dark secrets.
Critique: A very special treat for 'whodunnit' murder mystery fans, novelist Ann Cleeves' "The
Raging Storm" is brought to
life in a true 'theatre of the mind' experience with this complete and unabridged Macmillan audio
book edition featuring the
narrative skills of Jack Holden. "The Raging Storm" is a welcome and stellar addition to personal
and community library
Mystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Books by Ann Cleeves (https://www.anncleeves.com) have been translated
into sixteen languages. She's
a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the
United States. Raven Black
was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden.
Editorial Note #2: Jack Holden is a talented actor and a listing of his narrated audio books can be
found at
https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Jack+Holden
Identity
Nora Roberts, author
January LaVoy, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250893345, $32.99, CD (15 Hours 4 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Identity-A-Novel/dp/B0BH9BBTZM
Synopsis: Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly
neighborhood near Baltimore. Her
friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan's job as a
bartender. But after she and
Nina host their first dinner party - attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who'd been chatting
her up at the bar - her
carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing,
her car is gone, and Nina
lies dead on the floor.
Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. "Luke" is actually a
cold-hearted con artist named
Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits
his ultimate goal:
murder.
What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn't his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply
in the wrong place at the
wrong time. And Morgan's nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her
mother's home in
Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson.
He isn't flashy or
flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting
new victims, and he hasn't
forgotten the one who got away.
Critique: Of particular appeal to fans of romantic suspense and murder mystery novels, this
complete and unabridged
Macmillan audio book edition of "Identity" by novelist Nora Roberts is expertly narrated by the
storytelling talents of
January LaVoy and will prove a welcome and popular addition to community library
Mystery/Suspense audio book
collections and a 'must' for the legions of dedicated Nora Roberts fans.
Editorial Note #1: Nora Roberts (https://noraroberts.com) is the author of more than 230 novels,
including Legacy, The
Awakening, Hideaway, Under Currents, The Chronicles of The One trilogy,and many more. She
is also the author of the
bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500
million copies of her books in
print.
Editorial Note #2: January LaVoy (https://www.januarylavoy.com/home/audio) has narrated
hundreds of audiobook and is
an Audiofile Magazine Golden Voice, with 18 Audie nominations (solo and multicast) and 7
wins. She was named
Audiobook Narrator of the Year by Publishers Weekly magazine in 2013, has received multiple
SOVAS (Society of Voice
Arts and Sciences) awards, and over 40 Audiofile Earphones awards.
Flop Dead Gorgeous
David Rosenfelt, author
Grover Gardner, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250325303, $29.99, CD
https://www.amazon.com/Flop-Dead-Gorgeous-Carpenter-Mystery/dp/1250325307
Synopsis: Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter remembers every dog that's come through the Tara
Foundation's doors, but the
most well-known alum of the dog rescue organization that Andy founded in Paterson, New
Jersey, may be Mamie.
Adopted by famous actress Jenny Nichols (Andy's high school girlfriend) the miniature French
poodle is now practically a
starlet in her own right.
Andy doesn't hold it against his friend. In fact, he and his wife, Laurie, have dinner with Jenny
while she's in town filming
her next big hit. But after an eventful meal, there's a plot twist the next morning that none of
them see coming: Jenny's co-
star is found dead, a knife in his back. It's not long before Jenny is arrested for the murder and
finds herself in need of
Andy's legal services.
While Mamie becomes reacquainted with Tara, Andy's golden retriever, Andy digs into the lives
of the rich and
famous.
Critique: An absolute gem of a mystery novel, Grover Gardner continues to superbly perform as
the narrator for David
Rosenfelt's "Flop Dead Dangerous" in this complete and unabridged Macmillan audio book
edition of the 27th title in the
author's 'Andy Carpenter Mystery' series. Laced with humor, plot twists, and fun, "Flop Dead
Dangerous" is a 'must' for
any and all dog-loving mystery fans, as well as community library Mystery/Suspense audio book
collections.
Editorial Note #1: David Rosenfelt (https://davidrosenfelt.com), was the former marketing
president for Tri-Star Pictures
before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. "Open And Shut" was his first novel; "First
Degree," his second
novel, was named a best book of 2003 by Publishers Weekly.
Editorial Note #2: Grover Gardner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Gardner) is an
American narrator of audiobooks.
As of May 2018, he had narrated over 1,200 books. He was also the Publishers Weekly
"Audiobook Narrator of the Year"
(2005) and is among AudioFile magazine's "Best Voices of the Century".
Fractal Noise
Christopher Paloini, author
Jennifer Hale, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250871589, $39.99, CD
https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Noise-Fractalverse-Christopher-Paolini/dp/1250871581
Synopsis: July 25, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the Anomaly. On the seemingly
uninhabited planet Talos VII
they find a circular pit some 50 kilometers wide. It's curve is not one created by nature, but
designed by an
intelligence.
Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole
and why. But they all carry
the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space. For some the
mission is the dream of the
lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning
in an uncaring
universe.
Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last. And the ghosts
of their past follow.
Critique: Of particular appeal and interest to fans of explorative science fiction adventures, this
complete and unabridged
audio book edition from Macmillan is effective and impressively narrated by Jennifer Hale who
is able to bring
Christopher Paolini's original and deftly crafted novel to life in a true 'theatre of the mind'
experience for the listener. A
Fractal Verse novel, "Fractal Noise" is a firmly recommended addition to community library
Science Fiction collections
and the personal listening lists of dedicated science fiction fans. It should be noted that the first
volume in the Fractal Verse
series is "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars" which is also available as a Macmillan audio book.
Editorial Note #1: Christopher James Paolini (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Paolini)
is an American author
and screenwriter. He is best known for The Inheritance Cycle, which consists of the books
Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr,
Inheritance, and the follow-up short story collection The Fork, the Witch and the Worm.
Editorial Note: Jennifer Hale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Hale) a prolific and highly
acclaimed Canadian
American voice actress and singer, who has performed an impressive array of characters for
video games, audiobooks, and
animated television shows. She made her audiobook debut with Christopher Paolini's "To Sleep
in a Sea of Stars".
A Spanish Sunrise
Boo Walker, author
Dan John Miller, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713667612, $14.99, MP3-CD (11 Hours 54 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Sunrise-Novel-Boo-Walker/dp/1713667614
Synopsis: Adjusting to the death of his wife hasn't been easy on Baxter Shaw -- or on their
eight-year-old daughter, Mia.
Baxter has left his band and abandoned his dreams to focus on being a single father, but it's not
enough: Mia's exhibiting
escalating behavioral problems. And neither has been able to face the past head-on... until the
past reaches out to
them.
After surprising results from a DNA test, Baxter and Mia journey to southeastern Spain to
connect with their mysterious
roots. Staying in a centuries-old villa on a renowned olive oil estate, they come to know the
family they never realized they
had, including a woman whose strength and passion for the estate remind Baxter of the love he
lost -- and that it's not too
late to rekindle his own dreams.
For Baxter and Mia, it's a healing season in Spain, and the romance of the culture awakens a new
outlook on life. But when
long-simmering family secrets surface and the estate's fate is called into question, Baxter must
choose to let go of the past
if he ever hopes to find love and live again.
Critique: A skillfully written novel of friendship, family life, and romance, "A Spanish Sunrise"
by author Boo Walker is
dramatically and engagingly narrated by Dan John Miller. This complete and unabridged audio
book from Brilliance Audio
will prove a welcome addition to both personal and community library audio book
collections.
Editorial Note #1: Boo Walker ( www.boowalker.com) is the author of The Singing Trees, An
Unfinished Story, and the
Red Mountain Chronicles. He initially tapped his creative muse as a songwriter and banjoist in
Nashville before working
his way west to Washington State, where he bought a gentleman's farm on the Yakima River. It
was there, among the
grapevines and wine barrels, that he fell in love with telling high-impact stories that now resonate
with book clubs around
the world. Rich with colorful characters and boundless soul, his novels will leave you with an
open heart and a lifted spirit.
He also writes thrillers under the pen name Benjamin Blackmore.
(www.benjaminblackmore.com)
Editorial Note #2: Dan John Miller (https://danjohnmiller.com) is an Audie award-winning
voice-actor and audiobook
narrator who has garnered 10 Earphones awards, 3 Publishers Weekly Listen Up! Awards, 5
Audie nominations and has
been named a "Best Voice" by Audiofile magazine 5 years running. He has narrated over 200
audiobooks,
A Woman in Time
Bobi Conn, author
Shannon McManus, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713663652, $24.99, MP3-CD (11 Hours 10 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Time-Novel-Bobi-Conn/dp/1713663651
Synopsis: The McKenzie women, empowered with a formidable history rooted in the foothills of
Appalachia, have passed
down their folk-healing wisdom through generations. Rosalee, the last living headstrong daughter
in Granny McKenzie's
line, soaked up everything she could about the secrets of the forest before a series of tragedies
left her alone, without the
protection of the women who came before her.
The close-knit ties of Rosalee's childhood are long gone. Now, at her eastern Kentucky farm, she
bears a marriage with a
volatile bootlegger. She struggles with the demands of motherhood. And her independence is
relegated to its "proper
place": under the thumb of men. Her optimism dimming, Rosalee finds solace in the Kentucky
woods, a space that holds
secret powers of protection from a life Rosalee can no longer control. To the graves of her female
ancestors, beside the
waters of an enchanting spring, Rosalee returns time and again to consider her future -- and
discovers a mysterious
connection to her past.
As Rosalee wrestles with her isolation, with being a wife in an increasingly dangerous marriage,
and with being a woman
of her time, she must draw on her strength and resilience to survive (and to protect) on her own
terms.
Critique: Original, compelling, deftly crafted, and superbly narrated from beginning to end, this
complete and unabridged
audio book edition from Brilliance Audio of novelist Bobi Conn's "A Woman in Time" (and
brilliantly narrated by
Shannon McManus) is now available and highly recommended for personal and community
library Women's Fiction audio
book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Bobi Conn is the author of the memoir In the Shadow of the Valley. Born in
Morehead, Kentucky, and
raised in a nearby holler, Bobi developed a deep connection with the land and her Appalachian
roots. She obtained her
bachelor's degree at Berea College, the first school in the American South to integrate racially
and to teach men and
women in the same classrooms. She attended graduate school, where she earned a master's
degree in English with an
emphasis in creative writing.
Editorial Note #2: Shannon McManus (https://shannonmcmanus.com) is an Audie nominated
narrator whose work has
garnered multiple AudioFile magazine Earphones and Publishers Weekly Listen Up awards. She
has recorded over two
hundred titles in romance, mystery, fantasy, nonfiction, young adult, middle grade, and literary
fiction..
Love on the Byline
Xio Axelrod
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713656647, $19.99, MP3-CD (10 Hours)
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Byline-Plays-Players-Novel/dp/1713656647
Synopsis: Blake Dillon isn't exactly living the dream. She longs to follow in her grandfather's
footsteps and make a
difference in the world as a journalist. Unfortunately, her current job has her paying-off hotel
staff for celebrity gossip.
Tasked with shadowing a film star for an in-depth profile, Blake sees it as a chance to finally
prove her worth. She never
expected the interview to reconnect her with her old college crush.
Oliver Benjamin agrees to move to Los Angeles to work as the executive assistant to his best
friend, a rising star. He hopes
it will give him some direction. However, he soon discovers the only difference between being a
frat boy and a Hollywood
heartthrob is the amount of free stuff and the level of media attention. Ollie spends most of his
time putting out fires,
leaving little time for anything else. When Blake is sent to chronicle their lives, he finds himself
face-to-face with the one
that got away.
Blake and Ollie are smart enough to recognize the signs (there are enough sparks between them
to melt glass!) but they
agree to put a lid on it until the article is finished. Much easier said than done when they're forced
to spend more time
together than apart. There's more going on than a simple interview, but they're both professionals.
They must resist
temptation or risk unraveling both their lives.
Critique: The stuff of which Hallmark Rom-Com movies are made, this complete and unabridged
audio book edition of
"Love on the Byline" by Xio Axelrod, co-narrated by Lynn Wright and William LeRoy, is
published by Brilliance audio
and a strongly recommended pick for both personal and community library Contemporary
Romance audio book
collections.
Editorial Note #1: Xio Axelrod writes different flavors of contemporary romance and what she
likes to call, "strange,
twisted tales". Xio grew up in the recording industry and began performing at a very young age.
A completely
unapologetic, badge-wearing, fic-writing fangirl, Xio finds inspiration in everything around her.
From her quirky neighbors
to the lyrics of whatever song she currently has on repeat, to the latest clips from her favorite TV
series.
Editorial Note #2: There is an extensive listing of Lynn Wright narrated audio books at:
https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Lynn+Wright
Editorial Note #3: There is an extensive listing of William LeRoy narrated audio books at:
https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=William+LeRoy
Third Wheel
Nick Spalding, author
Will Watt, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781799783886, $14.99, MP3-CD (8 Hours 35 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Third-Wheel-Nick-Spalding/dp/179978388X
Synopsis: Jake Carlisle is living his best life, thanks to the crazily successful influencer channel
he created with his best
friend Sy. Reviewing whacky hobbies and adrenaline-fuelled adventures, Sy has pushed Jake into
doing more exciting
stuff than either ever thought possible. Then disaster strikes.
When newbie Helena joins the team, Sy quickly falls head over heels for her... All of a sudden,
with romance blossoming
and the business dynamic shifting, Jake is horrified to find himself becoming the dreaded third
wheel.
Being the odd one out was not what he signed up for. And he'll do anything to get his best friend
back -- even if that
involves a little light sabotage, an unhealthy amount of jealousy... and one very unfortunate pair
of tartan Speedos.
Will Jake be relegated to the background from now on? Or will he finally learn to stand on his
own two feet and succeed at
getting his life (along with his friendship) back on track?
Critique: Of very special appeal and interest to fans of contemporary satirical fiction, "Third
Wheel" by author Nick
Spalding is impressively and effectively narrated by vocal actor Will Watt in this complete and
unabridged edition from
Brilliance Audio. Fun and funny, "Third Wheel" will prove to be a stellar addition to personal
and community Humorous
Fiction audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Nick Spalding (www.nickspalding.com) is the bestselling author of sixteen
novels, two novellas and
two memoirs. Nick worked in media and marketing for most of his life before turning his energy
to his genre-spanning
humorous writing.
Editorial Note #2: Will Watt (https://soundbooththeater.com/team/will-m-watt) is a British
voiceover artist and audiobook
narrator with a talent for believable characters, intelligent delivery, and writing about himself in
the third person. Although
American is not his native language, he speaks it almost as fluently as he speaks English!
The Heist
C. W. Gortner & M. J. Rose, authors
Chris Andrew Ciulla & Eva Kaminsky, narrators
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713630197, $14.99, MP3-CD (4 Hours 10 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Heist-Leopard-C-W-Gortner/dp/1713630192
Synopsis: The sequel to co-authors C. W. Gortner and M. J. Rose's "The Bait", "The Heist" finds
that a year later Ania
Throne is once again on the prowl. Gone into hiding, she's planned her next move to perfection,
intent on winning her
dangerous game of cat-against-cat with the Leopard. But Ania doesn't know that even the
best-laid heists have hidden
flaws.
Meanwhile, Jerome Curtis has taken a job at a Hollywood movie studio to try and put his life
back together. When a
familiar face from the past shows up unexpectedly, Jerome realizes that much as he's tried to
forget her, there's no escaping
Ania. And this time, what she's about to do could be her doom.
The heist is on. Jerome must join with Ania again to bring down the mastermind thief who's
dead-set on not getting
caught. Passion and vengeance collide as father and daughter bait each other in a high-stakes
gambit, with Jerome caught
in the middle. Because no matter how much Ania has tried to keep her lover safe, she's only
brought him back into the
center of her ploy - and the Leopard intends to take full advantage of it.
From the glamour of late 1950s Hollywood to a desperate chase in the ravines of Los Angeles,
two leopards must hunt
each other to the end. And only one of them can bring down its prey!
Critique: "The Heist" is the thrilling conclusion in the 'To Catch A Leopard' series -- a dramatic
romantic caper trilogy that
began with "The Steal", and then continued with "The Bait". A complete and unabridged audio
book from Brilliance
Audio, "The Heist is masterfully narrated by the team of Chris Andrew Ciulla and Eva Kamnisky
and highly recommended
for both personal and community library action/adventure audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: C.W. Gortner (http://www.cwgortner.com) holds an MFA in Writing with an
emphasis on Renaissance
Studies from the New College of California and a degree in fashion marketing. In his extensive
travels to research his
books, he has experienced life in a Spanish castle and danced in a Tudor great hall. Half-Spanish
by birth, his novels have
been translated in over 20 languages to date. C.W. enjoys talking to book groups.
Editorial Note #2: M. J. Rose (https://www.mjrose.com/content) work has appeared in many
magazines including Oprah
Magazine and The Adventurine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek,
WSJ, Time, USA Today
and on the Today Show, and NPR radio.
Editorial Note #3: Chris Andrew Ciulla (http://chrisciulla.com) is an award-winning narrator
with over 425 credits.
Editorial Note #4: Eva Kaminsky (https://www.evakaminsky.com) is a NYC based actor who has
worked on Broadway,
Off-Broadway, and has narrated over 300 audio books.
The Last Sentinel
Simon Gervais, author
Jeffrey Kafer, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713651178, $14.99, MP3-CD (6 Hours 59 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Sentinel-Clayton-White/dp/1713651173
Synopsis: Ex - Secret Service agent Clayton White doesn't miss the relentless danger that had
defined his career. These
days, he's enjoying life at sea with his fiancee -- who also happens to be the daughter of the
double-dealing vice president,
Alexander Hammond. But for the most part, Clayton has made peace with his old nemesis.
Then their ship, the NOAAS Surveyor, comes under attack. That same day in Miami, the Second
Lady of the United States
is assassinated. Hammond, who dodged the bullet meant for him, calls upon Clayton to help him
hunt down the
responsible party.
Clayton wants nothing to do with the notorious vice president, who boasts a violent and
capricious history. But with his
fiancee's life in the balance, Clayton has no choice. He jumps back into the fray, where he'll face
off with enemies new and
old. And unbeknownst to Clayton, a deep-rooted enemy has been waiting in the shadows and has
now set his sights on
him.
This time, it's not just the world Clayton's trying to save -- but the woman he loves.
Critique: An impressive action/adventure novel that will have a very special appeal to fans of
politica/military suspense
thrillers, ths complete and unabridged audio book edition of "The Last Sentinel" by Simon
Gervais is flawlessly narrated
by Jeffrey Kafer and a welcome, recommended pick for personal and community library
Suspense/Thriller audio book
collections.
Editorial Note #1: Simon Gervais (https://simongervaisbooks.com) was born in Montreal,
Quebec. He joined the Canadian
military as an infantry officer and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1997. In 2001, he
was recruited by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and became a federal agent. His first posting was in Toronto,
where he served as a drug
investigator. During this time, he worked on many international drug-related cases in close
collaboration with his
American colleagues from the Drug Enforcement Administration. His career switched gears in
2004, and he was placed
with a federal antiterrorism unit based in the Ottawa region. During the following years, he was
deployed in several
European and Middle Eastern countries. In 2009, he became a close protection specialist tasked
with guarding foreign
heads of state visiting Canada. He served on the protection details of Queen Elizabeth II, US
president Barack Obama, and
Chinese president Hu Jintao, among others.
Editorial Note #2: Jeffrey Kafer (https://www.jeffreykafer.com) is an avid performer on the stage
and in voice-overs. He
has narrated over one hundred books spanning all genres and won the 2008 Voicey Award for
Best New Voice.
Centers of Gravity
Marko Kloos, author
Eric G. Dove, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9781713646808, $14.99, MP3-CD (9 Hours 48 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/Centers-Gravity-Frontlines-Marko-Kloos/dp/1713646803
Synopsis: Nine hundred light-years from home, Major Andrew Grayson and the crew of NACS
Washington are marooned
in a sunless system with limited water, reactor fuel, and food. Their last hope for survival is to go
where nothing human
has gone before.
After embarking on a scouting mission to the only moon with surface signs of life, Andrew and
his special tactics team
make two startling discoveries. One is a dream: a form of protein and plant life that could save
the starving humans in the
rogue system. The second is a nightmare: this harvested rock is infested with Lankies. Far from
the seemingly mindless
aggressors Andrew has battled for years, these show a terrifying awareness, and they have
surprising secrets of their own
hidden away in the darkness.
When the Lankies sense an uninvited presence in their world, Andrew's operation becomes an
expedition to hell. The odds
against his small crew are stacked high. Of all the mysteries of space, how to escape with their
lives is the greatest
unknown of all.
Critique: Science fiction action/adventure at its cliff-hanging best, "Centers of Gravity" by author
Marko Kloos is vividly
presented by the impressively exceptional narrative talents of Eric G. Dove in this complete and
unabridged audio book
edition from Brilliance Audio that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal and
community library
Science Fiction audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Marko Kloos (www.markokloos.com) is the author of two military science
fiction series: The Palladium
Wars, which includes Aftershocks and Ballistic, and the Frontlines series, which includes Orders
of Battle and, most
recently, Centers of Gravity. A member of George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards consortium, Marko
writes primarily science
fiction and fantasy.
Editorial Note #2: Eric G. Dove (https://www.ericgdove.com) is an award-winning narrator
whose career spans over 12
years and 450 titles encompassing numerous genres including thrillers, military fiction, romance,
sci-fi, classics, westerns,
fantasy, non-fiction, and more.
The Hanging City
Charlie N. Holmberg, author
Amy Bentley, narrator
Brilliance Audio
https://audiobookstore.com/publishers/brilliance-audio
9798400131561, $29.99, MP3-CD (13 Hours 20 Mintues)
https://www.amazon.com/Hanging-City-Charlie-N-Holmberg/dp/B0BLZ6DZ6D
Synopsis: Seven years on the run from her abusive father, and with no hope of sanctuary among
the dwindling pockets of
human civilization, Lark is out of options. Her only leverage is a cursed power: she can thrust
fear onto others, leaving all
threats fleeing in terror. It's a means of survival as she searches for a place to call home. If the
campfire myths of her
childhood are true, Lark's sole chance for refuge could lie in Cagmar, the city of trolls -- a brutal
species and the sworn
enemies of humanity.
Valuing combat prowess, the troll high council is intrigued. Lark could be much more useful than
the low-caste humans
who merely labor in Cagmar. Her gift makes her invaluable as a monster slayer to fight off the
unspeakable creatures that
torment the trolls' hanging city, suspended from a bridge over an endless dark canyon.
Lark will do anything to make Cagmar her home, but her new role comes with a caveat: use her
power against a troll, and
she'll be killed. Her loyalty is quickly put to the test when she draws the hatred of a powerful troll
who loathes humankind.
Still, she finds unexpected friendship in the city and, even more surprisingly, love. But if
everything else doesn't undo her,
being caught in the arms of a troll surely will.
Now in the fight of her life, Lark has a lot to learn -- about her past, about trust and hope when
all seems lost, and above
all, about the extraordinary power of fear itself.
Critique: Original, fun, and fascinating, the narrative storytelling skills of Amy Bentley bring
author Charlie Holmberg's
high fantasy action/adventure novel "The Hanging City" come alive in a true 'theatre of the mind'
experience. This
complete and unabridged audio book edition from Brilliance Audio is a welcome pick for
personal and community library
Science Ficton & Fantasy audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Charlie N. Holmberg (https://charlienholmberg.com) is an author of fantasy
and romance fiction,
including the Paper Magician series, the Spellbreaker series, and the Whimbrel House series, and
writes contemporary
romance under C. N. Holmberg. She is published in more than twenty languages, has been a
finalist for a RITA Award and
multiple Whitney Awards, and won the 2020 Whitney Award for Novel of the Year: Adult
Fiction.
Editorial Note: Amy Bentley (https://www.amymelissabentley.com) is an award winning
audiobook narrator and has
completed over 200 audiobooks.
The Crying Cave Killings
Wes Markin, author
Aubrey Parsons, narrator
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
$18.99, MP3-CD (11 Hours 55 Minutes)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crying-cave-killings-wes-markin/1143768895
Synopsis: DI Paul Riddick is a man tormented by his own actions and determined to right the
wrongs of his past any way
he can. But when his instincts lead him to follow a child he believes to be in danger, Riddick gets
in deeper than he ever
imagined -- especially when the child is found dead.
DCI Emma Gardner doesn't believe Riddick has blood on his hands, but he's off the case until
she can clear his name. If
she can clear his name. Because Riddick seems determined to chase ghosts that only get him into
more trouble.
Riddick's certain he didn't kill the kid in the cave. But he also remembers another case, twenty
years ago, with shocking
similarities -- which means someone is trying to trap Riddick.
Critique: A murdered child. A case from the past. A detective inspector with nothing to lose.
"The Crying Cave Killings"
deftly written by novelist Wes Markin and vividly narrated by Aubrey Parsons in this superbly
presented, complete and
unabridged audio book production from Boldwood Books offers the listener a truly riveting
'theatre of the mind'
experience. This edition of "The Crying Cave Killings is especially and unreservedly
recommended for both personal and
community library Mystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Wes Markin (facebook.com/wesmarkinauthor) is the author of the DCI Yorke
crime novels set in
Salisbury, England. He is also the author of the Jake Pettman series set in New England.
The Library CD Shelf
Convergence
Nick Maclean Quartet featuring Brownman Ali
www.NicholasMaclean.com
Browntasauras Records
www.Browntasauras.com
$TBA
Vibrant synergy between four expert musicians elevates the jazz music of Convergence into a
rapturous concert.
Convergence is the sophomore full-length album of the Nick Maclean Quartet: Nick Maclean on
piano, Brownman Ali on
trumpet, Ben Duff on acoustic bass, and Jacob Wutzke on drums. (Special guests Mike Downes,
Mateo Mancuso, Jesse
Dietschi, and Luisito Orbegoso contribute to a few tracks). Convergence consists of eight
original songs (seven by
Maclean, one by Brownman), plus three re-imagined classic songs by beloved jazz musician and
band leader Herbie
Hancock. The next best thing to seeing the Nick Maclean Quartet perform live, Convergence is
highly recommended for
both jazz connoisseurs and public library music CD collections. The tracks are Dolphin Dance,
Road Warrior,
Brotherhood, Why the Caged Bird Sings, Eye of the Hurricane, True North, Butterfly, Verboten,
Lie of Easy Attainment,
Fragility of Being, and Wisdom of Aurelius.
The Speed of Time
Andrew Rathbun with Gary Versace, John Hebert, and Tom Rainey
andrewrathbun.com
Steeplechase Records
steeplechase.dk
$19.99 CD / $10.32 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/Speed-Time-Andrew-Rathbun/dp/B0CBNL2BQX
The Speed of Time is an original contemporary jazz album composed by Andrew Rathbun,
featuring Rathbun on tenor and
soprano saxophone, Gary Versace on piano, John Hebert on bass, and Tom Rainey on drums.
The songs showcase exciting
permutations in meter and rhythm; each piece has its own special twist. For example, Speed of
Time plays simultaneously
on two metric planes - half the quartet plays in a cycle of four beats, while the other half plays in
a cycle of eleven beats;
while Widen the Doorway forms a mirror-image clave in seven (a clave is a rhythmic pattern for
temporal organization
often used in Cuban music). Velocity Unknown is a song in 9/4 time, although the piano divides
the bar in half to make it
feel more like 9/8. The Speed of Time is an extraordinary album worthy of the highest
recommendation for public library
collections, and especially for music connoisseurs interested in creations that push the boundaries
of the genre! The tracks
are Speed of Time, Could It Be, Widen the Doorway, Wandering, Fast 5th, Velocity Unknown,
Still a Thing, and Tooth
and Nail.
The Senator: A Tribute to Tommy Banks
Hutchinson Andrew Trio
hatjazz.com
Chronographic Records
https://chronographrecords.com
$12.99 CD / $8.99 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/Senator-Tribute-Tommy-Banks/dp/B0CBQC8KD4
The Senator: A Tribute to Tommy Banks is a jazz album by multiple-award-winning Hutchinson
Andrew Trio (Chris
Andrew on piano, Kodi Hutchinson on bass, and Dave Laing on drums) with contributions for
certain tracks by PJ Perry
on saxophone, Al Muirhead on trumpet, and Mallory Chipman performing vocals for "I'll Be
Seeing You", "Make
Someone Happy", and "All of Me". The album is in honor of Tommy Banks (1936-2018), a
world-class pianist, conductor,
arranger, and composer. Tommy Banks' multifaceted career transcended music; he was also a TV
actor, producer, and a
politician who served nearly 12 years in the Canadian Senate. All of the songs on The Senator
have been arranged by Chris
Andrew. The Senator is an unfettered celebration of a multi-talented genius' life, works, and
accomplishments, and is
highly recommended for both personal and public library music collections. The tracks are Jig,
I'll Be Seeing You, Kerry
Dance, Take The A-Train, Make Someone Happy, All of Me, Bank On It, Joy Spring.
Torrent
Satoko Fujii
www.satokofujii.com
Libra Records
$TBA CD / $TBA digital
https://satokofujii.bandcamp.com/album/torrent
Torrent is the ninth solo album by pianist Satoko Fujii, showcasing six original compositions
performed with beauty and
passion. The music draws the listener into a rich soundscape tour of dream and emotion. Torrent
is a treasure for solo
piano connoisseurs and public library music collections, highly recommended. The tracks are
Torrent, Voyage, Light on
the Sea Surface, Cut the Painter, Horizon, and Wave Crest.
Sonic Bouquet
Jocelyn Gould
www.jocelyngould.com
Privately Published
$20.00 CD / $TBA digital
https://www.jocelyngould.com/store
JUNO award-winning guitarist Jocelyn Gould presents Sonic Bouquet, an album of new jazz
arrangements of treasured
classic songs (and one original song). Roughly half the songs were arranged by Jocelyn Gould,
and half were arranged by
Randy Napoleon. Supporting Jocelyn Gould's standout guitar performance are Randy Napoleon
on guitar, Virginia
MacDonald on clarinet, Will Bonness on piano, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Quincy Davis on
drums. A delectable
spread of jazz including swing, bebop, blues, and more, Sonic Bouquet is an audiophile's
treasure, highly recommended for
both personal and public library music collections. The tracks are Trail Blazer (J. Gould), Tender
is the Night (Sammy
Fain), My Foolish Heart (Victor Young), The Kicker (Joe Henderson), Jessica's Birthday (Quincy
Jones), Spring
Regardless (R. Napoleon), Last of the Rounders (R. Napoleon), Is That So? (Duke Pearson), and
Napoleon's Prelude (R.
Napoleon).
A Million Miles Later
Exile
Clearwater Records
$TBA CD / $8.99 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDCL17XK
A Million Miles Later is the first studio album in 30 years by Exile, who are celebrating their
sixtieth anniversary as a
country band in 2023. They have reunited along with some longtime collaborators to perform a
medley of their most
popular songs, their brand new song "Rough Around the Edges", and an unforgettable
performance of the classic "Sixteen
Tons", originally penned by Mike Travis and made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford. A Million
Miles Later is an absolute
"must-have" for fans of Exile's enduring legacy, and highly recommended for both personal and
public library country
music collections. The tracks are A Million Miles Later, Too Far Gone, After You, Daydreamin',
Keep On Pushin',
Valentine Sky, This Ain't Nothin', Rough Around The Edges, Nothin' But Sunshine Now, Never
Lets Go, Down In Cold
Water (featuring The Isaacs), Just To Get Home, Sugar Free, and Sixteen Tons.
No Goodbyes
John Stein
Whaling City Sound
www.whalingcitysound.com
c/o Naxos (distribution)
www.naxosusa.com
$11.89 CD / $8.99 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/No-Goodbyes-John-Stein/dp/B0CDXX8YJR
Guitarist John Stein presents No Goodbyes, his eighteenth recording with collaboration from Ed
Lucie on bass, Mike
Connors on drums, and Cindy Scott performing vocals. No Goodbyes is an emotionally moving
jazz album that swells
with courage, perseverance, and dedication. As inspirational as it is entertaining, No Goodbyes is
highly recommended.
The tracks are Zip Line, Falling Grace, Dig Blues, What If Love Never Dies, Courage, Triste, No
Goodbyes, Jardin del
Turia, Our Love Will See Us Through, Every Stepping Stone, and Groundswell.
Genesis
The Black Gold Orchestra
Sessions Lane Records
$TBA CD / $8.99 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFGGDHHK
Genesis is the debut album of The Black Gold Orchestra, a world-class 19-piece big band
founded by GRAMMY-
nominated producer Larry Wilson. Genesis showcases all types of Black American music,
including jazz, R&B, hip hop,
house, rock, blues, and gospel, in the style of big band tradition. Featuring both original
compositions from band members
and new arrangements of classic covers, Genesis is a choice pick for both personal and public
library collections, highly
recommended. The tracks are Gyau, On The Move, Firm Roots, Midnight Oil, In The Beginning,
The Creation, First Sight,
Intoxicating Beauty, Prototype, Release, Merging Lanes, and Nutville Remix.
Rezurrektion: String Quartets
Wayne Alpern
www.waynealpern.com
Henri Elkan Music
$TBA CD
Composer, arranger, and scholar Wayne Alpern presents Rezurrektion: String Quartets, an album
that transforms and
reimagines classic works by Mozart and others. Each classic work has been arranged by Wayne
Alpern; the performances
are by Chern Hwe Fung and Gregor Huebner on violins, Ron Lawrence on viola, and Jeremy
Harmon on cello.
Rezurrektion: String Quartets is a dynamic new way to experience timeless works of artistry,
highly recommended for both
personal and public library collections. The tracks are Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart), G
Minor Quartet (Mozart), A
Minor Sonata (Mozart), F Major Sonata (Mozart), C Major Sonata (Mozart), Rent/Holberg
(Larson/Grieg), Black Beauty
(Ellington), and Porgy and Bess (Gershwin).
The Library DVD Shelf
Biosphere
IFC Films
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
www.acornonline.com
B0C8VSLHMQ, $27.97 (IFC Films) / $16.99 (amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/Biosphere-Sterlin-K-Brown/dp/B0C8VSLHMQ
Synposis: In the titular life-sustaining structure, White House science advisor Ray (Sterling K.
Brown) and lifelong pal and
old boss Billy (Mark Duplass) were becoming accustomed to possibly being the last people
remaining on Earth. As the
reality of their situation sinks in and relationships become strained, Billy finds himself adapting
to the new reality in an
unexpected fashion, in this darkly observational apocalyptic film.
Critique: A co-scripted farce written and performed by Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown,
"Biosphere" is directed by
Mel Eslyn and now available as a 106 minute Widescreen DVD with an English soundtrack. A
fun and memorable
blending of science fiction and comedy, "Biosphere" is especially and unreservedly
recommended for personal and
community library DVD collections.
The Angry Black Girl & Her Monster
Starring Laya Deleon Hayes and Denzel Whitaker
Directed by Bomani J. Story
Image Entertainment
www.shudder.com
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
www.acornonline.com
B0C5S3G2HZ, $27.95 DVD Image Entertainment
$13.99 DVD / $14.99 Blu-ray amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Angry-Black-Girl-Her-Monster/dp/B0C5S3G2HZ
Synopsis: Gifted inner-city teenager Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) had hoped that her incredible
grasp of science would
someday lift her out of the rough streets that had claimed her mother. When she lost her big
brother Chris (Edem
Atsu-Swanzy) to gang violence, she had enough-but her successful efforts to reanimate his
corpse would have unholy
consequences.
Critique: An intense and compelling modern day spin on the "Frankenstein" theme, "The Angry
Black Girl & Her
Monster" stars Chad L. Coleman, Denzel Whitaker, and Reilly Brooke. Directed by Bomani J.
Story and with a running
time of 91 minutes, this Widescreen and English soundtrack, this DVD edition is a riveting and
recommended addition to
personal and community library Horror/Fantasy DVD movie collections. "The Angry Black Girl
& Her Monster" is not
rated by the Motion Picture Association film rating system.
The Biography Shelf
Loyalty First
David A. Foy
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636243498, $37.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Loyalty-First-Willoughby-MacArthurs-Intelligence/dp/1636243495
Synopsis: Major General Charles A. Willoughby served as Douglas MacArthur's stalwart chief
intelligence officer (G-2)
for over a decade, throughout World War II and the Korean War. "Loyalty First: The Life and
Times of Charles A.
Willoughby, MacArthur's Chief Intelligence Officer" by David A. Foy is the first full biography
that specifically examines
Willoughby's shadowy origins in his native Germany, his curious arrival in the United States, and
his military service in
World War I, as well as his work during the interwar years as a junior diplomat, budding
historian, and neophyte
intelligence officer. His chance encounter with MacArthur in the mid-1930s would prove to be
the genesis of a
near-symbiotic relationship between the two, with significant consequences for both.
Throughout his life, Willoughby identified with strong, authoritarian leaders, notably Franco, and
(especially) MacArthur.
As a biographer, David Foy also assesses Willoughby's performance as a professional
intelligence officer both in World
War II and Korea, where he is often vilified for his inaccurate assessments of enemy strength and
most likely courses of
action, as well as his sycophantic relationship with his commander. Willoughby is most often
criticized for his failing to
foresee the entry of Chinese forces into the Korean War and its impact upon the US Army and
the prosecution of the war.
Following MacArthur's removal by President Truman in 1951, Willoughby retired and spent the
rest of his days engaged in
right-wing political activity and in staunchly defending his much-maligned boss.
The legacy he left is one filled with lingering and important questions about loyalty to superiors,
in civilian as well as
military environments, how far that loyalty should extend, and walking the tightrope involved in
telling truth to
power.
Critique: Although a fascinating biography in its own right, "Loyalty First: The Life and Times of
Charles A. Willoughby,
MacArthur's Chief Intelligence Officer" seems particularly timely and relevant given the new
revelations about how the
current command structure of the U.S. Military was able (and had to) to resist the unlawful and
deadly dangerous attempts
of Donald Trump to unconstitutionally use the military as his own personal instrument for
insuring the continuation of his
power and authority as a President and Commander-in-Chief before and after an insurrection.
The question is now, as it
was back then, of the necessity and limitations of loyalty in an American military chain of
command. While highly
recommended for personal, professional, community, War College, and academic library
American Military
Biography/History collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Loyalty First:
The Life and Times of
Charles A. Willoughby, MacArthur's Chief Intelligence Officer" is also readily available in a
digital book format (Kindle,
$17.49).
Editorial Note: Dr. David Foy received his Ph.D. in Modern European History from the
University of Arkansas, where he
also was selected for Phi Beta Kappa. He has more than three decades' experience as a
professional historian and
intelligence officer, having worked as a college faculty member, an active-duty and civilian
member of the US Army, a
defence contractor, and an intelligence officer for several agencies within the US Intelligence
Community. He is also the
author of For You the War is Over: American POWs in Nazi Germany During World War II, a
history of the tenure of a
Director of National Intelligence.
Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons
Charlotte Gray
Simon and Schuster
www.simonandschuster.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9781668031971, $29.99, HC, 432pp
https://www.amazon.com/Passionate-Mothers-Powerful-Sons-Churchill/dp/1668031973
Synopsis: Born into upper-class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano (later to become
the mother of Franklin
Delano Roosevelt) and Jennie Jerome (later to become the mother of Winston Churchill) refused
to settle into predictable,
sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. Instead, both women concentrated much
of their energies on
enabling their sons to reach the epicenter of political power on two continents.
In the mid-19th century, the British Empire was at its height, France's Second Empire flourished,
and the industrial vigor
of the United States of America was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and
Jennie, raised with
privilege but subject to the constraints of women's roles at the time, learned how to take control
of their destinies -- Sara in
the prosperous Hudson Valley, and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London.
Yet their personalities and choices were dramatically different. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie
married Lord Randolph
Churchill, a rising politician and scion of a noble British family. Her deft social and political
maneuverings helped not only
her mercurial husband but, once she was widowed, her ambitious son, Winston. By contrast,
deeply conventional Sara
Delano married a man as old as her father. But once widowed, she made Franklin, her only child,
the focus of her
existence. Thanks in large part to her financial support and to her guidance, Franklin acquired the
skills he needed to
become a successful politician.
Set against one hundred years of history, "Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of
Jennie Jerome Churchill and
Sara Delano Roosevelt" is a study in loyalty and resilience in which historian and biographer
Charlotte Gray argues that
Jennie and Sara are too often presented as lesser figures in the backdrop of history rather than as
two remarkable
individuals who were key in shaping the characters of the sons who adored them and in preparing
them for leadership on
the world stage.
Impeccably researched and filled with intriguing social insights, "Passionate Mothers, Powerful
Sons: The Lives of Jennie
Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt" breathes new life into our understanding of Sara
and Jennie while offering a
fascinating and fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made.
Critique: Fascinating, informative, detailed, documented, extraordinary, and insightful,
"Passionate Mothers, Powerful
Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt" is a compelling and
exceptionally well written
biography of two of the two most influential mothers of two of the most influential men of their
time. While also available
for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and
unabridged audio book
(Blackstone Audio, 9781797167510, $49.99, CD), "Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons" is
especially recommended for
person, professional, community, college and university library Biography collections and
supplemental Women In History
curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Charlotte Gray (www.CharlotteGray.ca) is one of Canada's best-known writers
and the author of twelve
acclaimed books of literary nonfiction, including The Promise of Canada. Her bestseller The
Massey Murder: A Maid, Her
Master, and the Trial That Shocked a Country won the Toronto Book Award, the Heritage
Toronto Book Award, the
Canadian Authors Association Lela Common Award for Canadian History, and the Arthur Ellis
Award for Best Nonfiction
Crime Book. An adjunct research professor in the department of history at Carleton University,
Charlotte has received
numerous awards, including the Pierre Berton Award for distinguished achievement in
popularizing Canadian history. She
is a Member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
The Art Shelf
The History of Color
Neil Parkinson
Frances Lincoln
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711288843, $28.00, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/History-Color-Universe-Chromatic-Phenomena/dp/0711288844
Synopsis: Color is fundamental to our experience and understanding of the world. It crosses
continents and cultures,
disciplines and decades. It is used to convey information and knowledge, to evoke mood, and to
inspire emotion.
With the publication of "The History of Color: A Universe of Chromatic Phenomena", Neil
Parkinson explores the history
of our understanding of color, from the ancient world to the present, from Aristotle to Albers.
This is interspersed in the
historical story with numerous thematic essays that examine how color has been used across a
wide range of disciplines
and fields: in food, music, language and many others.
The illustrations are drawn from the Royal College of Art's renowned Colour Reference Library
which spans six centuries
of works and nearly 2,000 titles, from a Gothic manuscript on the composition of the rainbow to
hand-painted
Enlightenment works on color theory and vibrant 20th-century color charts, including many
fascinating examples not seen
in other books.
Delving far and wide in this fascinating and varied subject, "The History of Color: A Universe of
Chromatic Phenomena"
will help readers find new layers of meaning and complexity in their everyday experiences and
teach them to look closer at
our colorful lives.
Critique: A seminal, fascinating and informative study that will be appreciated by academia and
non-professionals alike,
"The History of Color: A Universe of Chromatic Phenomena" is exceptionally well illustrated,
impressive well written,
and thoroughly 'reader friendly in both organization and presentations. While also readily
available in a digital book format
(Kindle, $21.49), "The History of Color: A Universe of Chromatic Phenomena" is a unique,
effective, and unreservedly
recommended contribution to personal, professional, community, college, and university library
Art History and Graphic
Design/Illustration collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Neil Parksinson (https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/staff/neil-parkinson) manages over
30 different special
collections at the Royal College of Art, providing access to the College's unique heritage
materials and supporting a wide
range of research projects and enquiries from staff, students and the external research
community. The College's special
collections include the RCA archives and art collections, the photographic record of student
work, and the internationally
renowned Colour Reference Library, one of the largest collections of material on color in the
world.
No Ordinary Magic: The Art of Laurie Swim
Carol Bruneau
Goose Lane Editions
www.gooselane.com
9781773103457, $40.00, HC, 104pp
https://www.amazon.com/No-Ordinary-Magic-Laurie-Swim/dp/1773103458
Synopsis: Laurie Swim is an artist of extraordinary range and vision. For more than forty years,
she has been among the
most capable and passionate practitioners of textile art.
In her chosen art form, Swim captures the essence of the seacoast. For the ocean, she works with
silk, pulling stitches until
they pucker to create gentle ripples. For vegetation and seaweed, she combines quilting,
embroidery, painting, dyeing, and
other seemingly opposing techniques.
With the publication of "No Ordinary Magic: The Art of Laurie Swim", author Carol Bruneau
showcases both Swim's
unconventional use of materials that is so distinctive, and her gift for narrative that makes her art
both resonant and
endlessly intriguing. This a retrospective, large format (0.75 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches, 1.6 pounds)
volume in which Bruneau
deftly explores Swim's history, her defiance of convention, and her reinvention of quilts as
paintings-made-of-fabric. The
result is a profound exploration of Swim's sometimes monumental yet astonishingly intimate
work.
Critique: Beautifully illustrated in color throughout, "No Ordinary Magic: The Art of Laurie
Swim" is impressively
informative and a pure pleasure to simply browse through in full appreciation of a truly gifted
textile media artist. "No
Ordinary Magic: The Art of Laurie Swim" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly
appreciated and highly valued
addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Textile Art collections and
supplemental curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Carol Bruneau (https://carolbruneau.com) is the award-winning author of nine
books. Her reviews,
essays, and articles have appeared across Canada, and she has previously taught courses on
writing for the arts at the Nova
Scotia College of Art and Design.
Editorial Note #2: Laurie Swim has worked as an artist for forty years, developing unique and
innovative treatments to
fashion her imagery in textiles with fabric and thread. She is the author of five books, including
The Joy of Quilting (with
an introduction by Alex Colville), Quilting, Rags to Riches: The Quilt as Art (with an
introduction by Mary Pratt), and a
children's book entitled Hope and Survival on the Halifax Explosion. Swims's works grace many
private and public
collections, including the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Art Bank, Nova Scotia
Designer Craft Council, the City
of Toronto Art Collection, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold
Carmen Hermo, et al.
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu/publications
9781606068588, $45.00, HC, 216pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mar%C3%ADa-Magdalena-Campos-Pons-Carmen-Hermo/dp/160606
858X
Synopsis: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons (b. 1959) makes powerful works of art that holds and
beholds the stories of
historically silenced peoples and urges societal change. Her journey as an artist, teacher, and
activist has taken her from
Cuba through the United States, and her autobiographical compositions honor her Nigerian and
Chinese ancestors while
also facing the future.
With an artistic practice that crosses boundaries, intertwines media (from photography to
sculpture, film to performance)
and references traditions and beliefs ranging from feminism to Santeria, Campos-Pons's work is
deeply layered and
complex.
Published by the J. Paul Getty Museum, "Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold" is the first
critical look at the artist's
oeuvre in nearly two decades, and surveys the concerns, materials, and places invoked
throughout her forty-year career.
Thoughtful essays by contributors deftly explore her vibrant, arresting artwork, which confronts
issues of agency and the
construction of race and belonging and challenges us to reckon with these issues in our own
lives.
This unique volume (co-published with the Brooklyn Museum) accompanies an exhibition on
view at the Brooklyn
Museum from September 15, 2023, to January 14, 2024, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke
University from February 15
to June 9, 2024, the Frist Art Museum from September 27, 2024, to January 5, 2025, and the J.
Paul Getty Museum at the
Getty Center from February 11 to May 4, 2025.
Critique: Deftly compiled and edited by Carmen Hermo and featuring informative contributions
by Mazie M. Harris,
Amalia Mesa-Bains, Jenee-Daria Strand, Philip Townsend, and Selene Wendt, this large format
(9 x 1 x 10.5 inches)
hardcover coffee-table style edition of "Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: Behold" is a singular
informative, visually stellar,
memorably impressive, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional,
community, college, and
university library Individual Artist Monographs and Mixed Media Art collections. It should be
noted by students,
academia, artists, art collectors, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject
that "Maria Magdalena
Campos-Pons: Behold" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $42.75).
Editorial Note: Carmen Hermo (https://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/chermo) is associate
curator at the Elizabeth A.
Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum.
The General Fiction Shelf
Picture Perfect Autumn
Shelley Noble
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063141544, $18.99, PB, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Autumn-Shelley-Noble/dp/006314154X
Synopsis: Dani Campbell is the latest darling of the Manhattan art scene. As a self-taught
photographer, Dani is loving
every minute of her sudden popularity, but has no idea how she got there, or a clue as to how to
stay. On a shoot at an
antiques barn, she discovers an envelope of old photos and sees in them what her photos are
missing. Her search for their
source leads Dani to a small Rhode Island town, a dilapidated American Gothic beach house --
and a man named Lawrence
Sinclair.
Reclusive and bitter, the last thing eighty-year-old Lawrence wants to think about is photography
-- the thing that
inadvertently led to his son's death and tore his family apart. But Dani is determined and
persuasive, and Lawrence can't
help but be intrigued by the girl with spiky hair who wants to learn from him, when almost
everyone else just wants to
relieve him of his substantial fortune.
Dani and Lawrence's mentorship blossoms unexpectedly, but everything is put in jeopardy by the
appearance of Lawrence's
estranged grandson, Peter. Peter is determined to spend some time reconnecting with his
grandfather and to get rid of the
supposed fortune hunter after Lawrence's money. But Dani is not what he was expecting, and he
soon discovers that they
have more things in common than not.
Brought together by fortune, fate, and the ties that bind, all three embark on journeys of
discovery and love.
Critique: As an author, Shelley Noble is a novelist whose specialty is in Women's Family/Domestic Life and Contemporary Women's Fiction genres. "Picture Perfect Autumn" is
her latest (and arguably her
best yet) novel and features a carefully crafted, original, and inherently interesting story
populated by distinctively
memorable characters, as well as an impressively effective and narrative driven storytelling style.
While a very highly
recommended pick for community library Contemporary General Fiction & Women's Fiction
collections, it should be
noted for personal reading lists that "Picture Perfect Autumn" is also available in a digital book
format (Kindle, $9.99) and
as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212696241, $41.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Shelley Noble (https://shelleynoble.com) is the author of Whisper Beach and
Beach Colors. Her other titles
include Stargazey Point, Breakwater Bay, and Forever Beach (a story of foster adoption in New
Jersey) and four spin-off
novellas. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Women's
Fiction Writers
Association.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann
Virginia Pye
www.virginiapye.com
Regal Publishing
https://regalhousepublishing.com
9781646033973, $19.95, PB, 312pp
https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Undoing-Victoria-Swann/dp/1646033973
Synopsis: Victoria Swann is a successful author of romance and adventure novels who becomes
a champion of women's
rights as she takes on the literary establishment and finds her true voice, both on and off the page.
But everything changes
for Victoria when she goes against her publisher's demands and abandons her frivolous style to
tell her own story.
Her new, young, Harvard-bred editor becomes her unexpected ally as she fights for the women
who have been her faithful
readers. Set in Gilded Age Boston, "The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann" by novelist
Virginia Pye shows writing and
reading as acts of defiance and revision in life and revision on the page as intimately
entwined.
Critique: A deftly crafted, thought-provoking, compelling, and fun read from start to finish, "The
Literary Undoing of
Victoria Swann" fully showcases author Virginia Pye's genuine flair for memorable original
characters and an original,
narrative driven plot that will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in historical
fiction reflecting the
struggle to have women's abilities recognized and appreciated in 19th Century America. While
especially recommended
for community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists
that "The Literary
Undoing of Victoria Swann" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.49).
Editorial Note: Virginia Pye (www.virginiapye.com) is the author of the short story collection
Shelf Life of Happiness
which won the 2019 IPPY Gold Medal for Short Fiction. Her two historical novels set in China,
"Dreams of the Red
Phoenix" and "River of Dust", also received literary awards. Her essays have appeared in The
New York Times, Literary
Hub, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She is Fiction Editor at Pangyrus and has taught writing at
NYU, UPenn, and at
GrubStreet Writing Center in Boston.
Flags on the Bayou
James Lee Burke
Atlantic Monthly Press
c/o Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
www.groveatlantic.com
9780802161697, $28.00, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Flags-Bayou-James-Lee-Burke/dp/0802161693
Synopsis: In the fall of 1863, the Union army is in control of the Mississippi river. Much of
Louisiana, including New
Orleans and Baton Rouge, is occupied. The Confederate army is retreating toward Texas, and
being replaced by Red Legs,
irregulars commanded by a maniacal figure, and enslaved men and women are beginning to
glimpse freedom.
When Hannah Laveau, an enslaved woman working on the Lufkin plantation, is accused of
murder, she goes on the run
with Florence Milton, an abolitionist schoolteacher, dodging the local constable and the
slavecatchers that prowl the
bayous. Wade Lufkin, haunted by what he observed (and did) as a surgeon on the battlefield, has
returned to his uncle's
plantation to convalesce, where he becomes enraptured by Hannah.
"Flags on the Bayou" is an engaging, action-packed narrative that includes a duel that ends in
disaster, a brutal encounter
with the local Union commander, repeated skirmishes with Confederate irregulars led by a
diseased and probably deranged
colonel, and a powerful story of love blossoming between an unlikely pair. As the story unfolds,
it illuminates a past that
reflects our present in sharp relief.
Critique: As a novelist, James Lee Burke is a gifted wordsmith who describes the rich Louisiana
landscape, the sunsets on
the Mississippi River, the dingy saloons of New Orleans, the tree-lined shores of the bayou, and
so much more as the
background framing of his impressively original and narrative driven storytelling style. "Flags on
the Bayou" is a
memorable and unreservedly recommended pick for community library Historical Fiction
collections. It should be noted
for personal reading lists that "Flags on the Bayou" is also available in a paperback edition
(Grove Press, 9780802163387,
$18.00), in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.24), and as a complete and unabridged audio book
(Simon & Schuster Audio,
9781797159485, $34.99, CD).
Editorial Note: James Lee Burke (https://www.jamesleeburke.com) is a two-time winner of the
Edgar Award, and the
recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He's authored thirty-seven
novels and two short story
collections.
A Beautiful Rival
Gill Paul
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063245112, $18.99, PB, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Rival-Helena-Rubinstein-Elizabeth/dp/0063245116
Synopsis: They could have been allies: two self-made millionaires who invented a global
industry, in an era when wife and
mother were supposed to be the highest goals for their sex. Elizabeth Arden and Helena
Rubinstein each founded empires
built on grit and determination -- and yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents,
two world wars, and the
Great Depression.
Brought up in poverty, Canadian-born Elizabeth Arden changed popular opinion, persuading
women from all walks of life
to buy skincare products that promised them youth and beauty. Helena Rubinstein left her native
Poland, and launched her
company with scientific claims about her miracle creams made with anti-ageing herbs.
And when it came to business, nothing was off-limits: poaching each other's employees, copying
each other's products,
planting spies, hiring ex-husbands, and one-upping each other every chance they had. This was a
rivalry from which there
was no surrender! And through it all were two women, bold, brazen, and determined to succeed
-- no matter the personal
cost.
"A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden" is sweeping historical
novel in which two
larger-than life fashion icons are brought back to life with all their passion, bitterness, and
ambition as they each try to live
the American dream.
Critique: Of special appeal to readers with an interest in historical fiction and celebrity
biographical fiction, "A Beautiful
Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden" is an enormously entertain,
exceptionally well written novel by
Gill Paul who pays meticulous attention to historical details in his historical work of fiction.
While a very highly
recommended pick for community library Historical/Literary Fiction collections, it should be
noted for personal reading
lists that "A Beautiful Rival" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99)
and as a complete and
unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798212694865, $41.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Gill Paul (http://gillpaul.com/author) is the author of twelve historical novels,
many of them about real
women from the past whom she thinks have been marginalized or misjudged by historians. Her
novels have reached the
top of the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Toronto Globe & Mail charts, and have been
translated into twenty-two
languages. Gill also writes historical non-fiction, including A History of Medicine in 50 Objects
and series of Love Stories.
Published around the world, this series includes Royal Love Stories, World War I Love Stories
and Titanic Love
Stories.
The Literary Fiction Shelf
No Use Pretending
Thomas A. Dodson
University of Iowa Press
www.uiowapress.org
9781609389178, $19.00, PB, 172pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pretending-Iowa-Short-Fiction-Award/dp/1609389174
Synopsis: The characters in the short stories that comprise "No Use Pretending" by Thomas A.
Doson have been forced
into conditions of life that they find unbearable, and the stories chart their often tragically
misguided attempts to relieve
their suffering via connections with other people or through the pursuit of addictive attachments
(to opiates in one story, to
sleep in another).
This inherently fascinating collection encompasses diverse genres, from ecologically informed
realism to a Kafkaesque
fairy tale, from fabulist "weird fiction" to an episode from The Odyssey that becomes a
meditation on what distinguishes
human beings from animals. These stories invite the reader to reconsider moral and ideological
certainties, to take a fresh
look at such issues as fracking and drone warfare.
In one story, a petroleum engineer discovers that one of his wastewater wells may be causing
earthquakes, and in another
the pilot of an Air Force drone seeks to reconcile his conflicting roles as protector and
executioner, husband and soldier.
The scientist and the serviceman are both presented with problems that have no easy or obvious
solutions, situations that
force them to confront the messy, compromising complexity of being human.
Critique: With impressive literary excellence and eloquence, the eleven short stories comprising
the Thomas A. Dodson
anthology, "No Use Pretending", are a compelling, memorable, and deftly crafted read. While
especially and unreservedly
recommended for community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fictions & Short
Story collections, it should be
noted for personal reading lists that "No Use Pretending" is also readily available in a digital
book format (Kindle,
$9.99).
Editorial Note: Thomas A. Dodson (https://thomasadodson.com/about-thomas) is an assistant
professor and librarian at
Southern Oregon University.
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
The Little Beach Cafe
Sarah Hope
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781805490913, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 388pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-little-beach-cafe-sarah-hope/1143775969
Synopsis: Love, friendship and new beginnings! It's all waiting for Pippa Jenkins at The Little
Beach Cafe.
When Pippa's aunt leaves her a cafe by the beach, it doesn't take her long to jump at the chance of
a new start. Waving
goodbye to mounting debt, threatening bailiffs and never-ending shifts at a job she hates, she and
her young son, Joshua,
prepare for their new life. But as Pippa strives to make her new business a success, the arrival of
her ex makes her question
everything. Will she succumb to his charms, or will Joe, the local plumber, be able to repair
Pippa's heart?
Critique: With a very special appeal to fans of 'new beginnings' and 'starting over' romance
novels, "The Little Beach Cafe"
by author Sarah Hope is as memorably entertaining as it is original, deftly crafted, and offering
the basis of a Hallmark
Channel romance movie of the week! A fun diversion of a read from first page to lasts, this large
print paperback edition of
"The Little Beach Cafe" from Boldwood Books is especially commended as a pick for personal
reading lists and
community library Contemporary Romance Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Sarah Hope prefers to write romance novels and novellas with a Happy Ever
After ending. She has two
main romance series, the Escape To... series that focuses on single mums taking a chance and
fulfilling their career dreams
as well as finding love, and The Cornish Bakery series, that follows a busy bakery in a beautiful
fictional bay in Cornwall.
She has also written some women's fiction books.
(https://www.boldwoodbooks.com/contributor/sarah-hope)
The Western Fiction Shelf
The Guns of Gabriel
Sheldon B. Cole
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444850321, $24.50, PB, Large Print, 204pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-guns-of-gabriel-sheldon-b-cole/1136785775
Synopsis: Blake Durant is one of the crew driving Jay Hurwood's cattle to the railhead at Gabriel.
The trail has been hard,
but nothing more than he'd expected. Then two murders are committed, right out on the open
prairie, and suddenly
everyone becomes a suspect. Because there wasn't any love lost between Blake and the victim
Joe Sowarth, Joe's brother
Lanny is convinced that Blake is the culprit, and figures to even the score any way he can. But
there is more going on
around Hurwood's trail drive than anyone can imagine. The only way Blake can clear his name is
by finding the real
killer...and their sinister motive!
Critique: Sheldon B. Cole is as good as he his prolific when it comes to action/adventure western
novels. The large print
paperback edition of "The Guns of Gabriel" from the Linford Western Library series is a fun read
from start to finish and is
unreservedly commended for both personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction
collections.
Editorial Note: Roger Norris-Green (aka Sheldon B. Cole) has written 137 published westerns
under 6 pen names plus 2
under his own name. Some of his westerns have received 'Best Western of the Month' awards.
Roger lives with his wife
Elaine in Moonta Bay, South Australia. Although retired, he is still writing and has published
more than 140 western
novels.
The Big Ranchero
E. Jefferson Clay
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444850277, $24.50, PB, Large Print, 228pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-big-ranchero-e-jefferson-clay/1136785770
Synopsis: After witnessing the cold-blooded killing of a man named Boyd Larsen, Duke
Benedict and Hank Brazos find
themselves up to their gunbelts in mystery, murder and mayhem. Larsen was an insurance man
investigating a claim of
rustled stock on Rancho Antigua, and his notes include a familiar name - Bo Rangle, the
cut-throat outlaw the pair have
been tracking ever since he robbed them of a fortune during the Civil War. Benedict and Brazos
set out to run the rustlers
to ground and exact their revenge on Rangle. But those cattle seem to have vanished right off the
face of the earth!
Critique: Another superbly crafted and thoroughly fun action/adventure westerns starring the
former Union Army Captain
Duke Benedict and his unlikely partner, former Confederate Sargent Hank Brazo -- and once
again featuring that infamous
villain of the plains, Bo Rangle and his latest outlaw band. Warning -- the Benedict & Brazo
westerns are addictive.
Nevertheless, this large print paperback edition of "The Big Ranchero" from the Linford Western
Library series is a 'must'
for the personal reading lists of all western novel fans and a prime pick for community library
Western Fiction
collections.
Editorial Note: E. Jefferson Clay (www.fantasticfiction.com/c/e-jefferson-clay) is one of the
many pseudonyms for
Australian author, comic book writer and illustrator Paul Wheelahan.
Two Guns To Apache Wells
Cole Shelton
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444850338, $24.50, PB, Large Print, 210pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-guns-to-apache-wells-cole-shelton/1136777151
Synopsis: Rancher's daughter Rebecca Donnell is marked for death after recognizing one of the
men robbing the stage she
is traveling on. Her father knows only that she has vanished off the face of the earth, so he hires
Shane Preston and Jonah
Jones to find her -- or her body. The two gunfighters ride into the wilderness and discover the
remains of the missing
stagecoach. Nearby are three shallow graves. Their quest should have ended there. But the lean
gunfighter and his crusty
old companion know they won't rest until they settle with the killers themselves, the outlaws that
call themselves the Long
Knife outfit.
Critique: A riveting read with more plot twists and turns that a Texas tornado, this large print
paperback edition of"Two
Guns To Apache Wells" by western novelist Cole Shelton and from the Linford Western Library
series is a fascinating and
compelling read from beginning to end. Original, exceptional, memorable, "Two Guns To
Apache Wells" is a highly
recommended pick for the personal reading list of western novel fans and community library
Western Fiction
collections.
Editorial Note: Cole Shelton is a prolific writer of action packed western novels. An impressive
listing of them can be
found at (https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7160486.Cole_Shelton)
Race Against Time
P. J. Gallagher
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444850499, $24.50, PB, Large Print, 228pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/race-against-time-p-j-gallagher/1137640879
Synopsis: Corporal Race Monro, a former Confederate officer and now a member of the North
West Mounted Police, is on
a mission into Montana Territory when he is attacked and left for dead by fellow trooper Bill
Westerman. But Race
survives, and he must complete his assignment - in addition to bringing his would-be murderer to
justice...
Critique: P. J. Gallagher is among the best of the western novelist. His latest action/adventure
epic, "Race Against Time" is
another of his impressively original, carefully crafted and thoroughly entertaining stories that his
legions of fans have come
to expect. This large print paperback edition from the Linford Western Library series is an
especially welcome addition to
personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: P. J. Gallagher served in the British Army. He has written and had published
close to 20 articles for The
Journal of the Royal Artillery, competed for the past 20 years in Cowboy Action Shooting, and is
a collector of antique
firearms. There is an extensive listing of his books at:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/281621.Paul_Gallagher
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Overdue or Die
Allison Brook
Crooked Lane Books
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781639104833, $31.99, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Overdue-Die-Haunted-Library-Mystery/dp/1639104836
Synopsis: Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge
Library, preparing for her
wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn't steal away one of her
part-time employees. Her fiance
Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka (art collector and successful
businessman) to select
paintings for an art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor's home would be the
perfect wedding venue, Dylan
spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor's collection.
Then Martha Mallory is found murdered in her art gallery. With the assistance of Evelyn, the
library ghost; the resident cat,
Smoky Joe; and the office manager of Dylan's private investigation company, Carrie comes up
with a suspect list long
enough to rival the size of an encyclopedia. During her investigation, Carrie stumbles across a
terrible truth: Martha's
murder was part of something far bigger and more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.
And it all leads back to
the art gallery.
How far will Carrie go to find the killer and uncover the truth? If the killer finds her first - will
Carrie finally be taken out
of circulation?
Critique: The seventh and newest addition to novelist Allison Brooks' 'A Haunted Library' cozy
mystery series, "Overdue
or Die" is yet another carefully crafted and fun read with all the elements her fans have come to
expect -- an intrepid
amateur female sleuth finding herself compelled to solve a puzzling murder mystery with many a
false lead and
unexpected plot twist. A 'must read' pick for the growing legions of cozy mystery enthusiasts in
general, and Allison Books
fans in particular, "Overdue or Die" is readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99)
and a welcome,
unreservedly recommended addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Allison Brook (https://cozy-mystery.com/allison-brook.html) is a former Spanish
teacher who now writes
cozy mysteries, and romantic suspense novels.
Lord James Harrington And The Michaelmas Fair Mystery
Lynn Florkiewicz
Isis Large Print
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781399125765, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 342pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lord-james-harrington-and-the-michaelmas-fair-mystery-lyn
n-florkiewicz/114011216
9
Synopsis: It's a busy time of year for Lord James Harrington and his wife Beth. Their good
friends Bert and Gladys are
getting married; James has a school reunion to attend; and he and Beth have entered the
London-to-Brighton veteran car
run.
Before all that, there is the Michaelmas Fair in the village to enjoy. But matters take a sinister
turn when the body of the
founder of the Jolly Madrigals singing group is discovered after the fair. James' friend DCI
George Lane is in charge of the
investigation, but as further murders occur, he grows increasingly baffled. James and George are
convinced that a single
killer is responsible for these deaths. But what could possibly connect the victims?
With dogged determination, James delves into his own past for clues -- and is shocked at what he
learns!
Critique: A perfectly crafted and classic 'whodunnit' historical murder mystery, this large print
paperback edition of "Lord
James Harrington And The Michaelmas Fair Mystery" by Lynn Florkiewicz is a fun read for
mystery buffs from first page
to last -- and has the highest recommendation possible for personal reading lists and community
library Mystery/Suspense
collections.
Editorial Note: Author Lynn Florkiewicz has created an informative website dedicated to her
Lord James Harrington
novels at www.lordjamesharrington.com
Murder in Siena
T. A. Williams
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781804832486, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 304pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-siena-t-a-williams/1143427411
Synopsis: It's a lazy weekend in the country as Dan Armstrong and the new love of his life, Anna,
are heading to a hotel
deep in the gorgeous Tuscan countryside for a long weekend, looking forward to some time away
from the stresses of their
day jobs. With the beautiful and historic city of Siena just around the corner, it promises to be
relaxing and enjoyable.
What could possibly go wrong?
A mutilated body! But when a mutilated body is discovered in the hotel grounds Dan is called in
to help with the
investigation. But who or what could have been responsible for such a vicious attack? Was it the
work of wild animals, or
is there a brutal murderer at large? A killer who cried wolf? Dan knows he is dealing with a
clever killer -- whether two or
four legged! And as he sets out to solve the case he begins to worry about his own loyal canine
companion. Could Oscar be
in more danger than any of the other hotel guests or is a murderer trying to cover their tracks? It's
another case for Dan and
Oscar to solve!
Critique: Another carefully crafted, impressively written, cozy mystery fun delight for fans of this
increasingly popular
genre, with the publication of "Murder in Siena", novelist T. A. Williams continues the
adventures of Dan Armstrong, a
British police officer now retired and residing the loveliest (and apparently murderous) Italian
countryside who keeps
finding himself helping the local Italian police with still another puzzling murder mystery. This
large print trade paperback
edition of "Murder in Siena" from Boldwood Books is especially commended to personal and
community library
Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: T. A. Williams (www.boldwoodbooks.com/contributor/t-a-williams)is the author
of more than twenty
bestselling romances for HQ and Canelo and has now turned his hand to writing cosy crime
novels set in his beloved Italy.
The series introduces us to retired DCI Armstrong and his labrador canine companion Oscar. The
other titles in this series
include Murder in Tuscany, Murder in Chianti, Murder in Florence, and Murder at the
Matterhorn.
Mayhem in the Mountains
Kelly Oliver
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781804831779, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 420pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143493644
Synopsis: 1918 Italy. When a deadly blizzard traps Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane in the Dolomite
Mountains, it's all downhill
from here. Their hotel is snowed-in, and no one can get in or out. Then a man is found dead in
his locked hotel room -' and
that means the killer is still on the premises. But with no murder weapon and too many suspects,
their investigation is
treading on thin ice. The colder it gets outside, the hotter it gets inside as Fiona squares off with
both her beloved Archie
and her nemesis Fredricks. With her love-life on a slippery-slope, Fiona risks everything in one
bold move!
Critique: Another riveting read that is part of novelist Kelly Oliver's outstanding Fiona Figg &
Kitty Lane Mystery Series,
"Mayhem in the Mountains" has everything a 'whodunnit' mystery fan could want -- carefully
crafted characters embedded
in an inherently fascinating and original story replete with unexpected plot twists and turns,
leading to a dramatic and
memorable conclusion. This large print trade paperback edition from Boldwood Books is an
especially recommended pick
for personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Kelly Oliver (KellyOliverBooks.com) is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of
Philosophy at Vanderbilt
University and the award-winning author of three mystery series: the seven-book suspense
Jessica James Mysteries; the
three-book middle grade Pet Detective Mysteries; and the five-book historical cozy Fiona Figg
Mysteries. Kelly is also the
current Vice President of Sisters in Crime.
Foul Play at Seal Bay
Judy Leigh
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781837514564, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 418pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/foul-play-at-seal-bay-judy-leigh/1143466259
Synopsis: It was meant to be the start of quiet season in the sleepy Cornish village of Seal Bay,
but not for sexagenarian
librarian and wild swimming enthusiast Morwenna Mutton. Because when a local businessman is
found on the beach with
a bread knife in his back, bungling police officer DI Rick Tremayne is soon out of his depth.
Morwenna knows it's going to
be down to her to crack the case. The list of people the victim upset is long, the evidence is
slight, and an arrest illusive.
Morwenna has plenty to occupy her time what with ghostly goings-on at the library and
skulduggery at her granddaughter's
school, but she could never resist a challenge. And even the most ruthless of murderers should
quake at the sight of this
amateur sleuth getting on her bike to track them down.
Critique: Everything that a cozy mystery fan could want is to be found in novelist Judy Leigh's
"Foul Play at Sea Bay".
Shades of Miss Marple! An elderly and respectable lady must play sleuth if a the culprit is to be
found in this entertainingly
crafted 'whodunnit' murder mystery. A part of author Judy Leigh's 'A Morwenna Mutton Mystery'
series, this large print
trade paperback edition of "Foul Play at Seal Bay" from Boldwood Books will prove to be an
immediate and enduringly
popular pick for personal and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Judy Leigh (https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/judy-leigh) has had a 20 year
career as an Advanced Skills
instructor of Theater Studies. She left that to complete an MA in Professional Writing at
Falmouth University. As a
professional writer she has been published in magazines including the Feminist Wire, The Purple
Breakfast Review, and
You is for University.
A Marriage To Murder For
E. V. Hunter
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781804835869, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 384pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-marriage-to-murder-for-ev-hunter/1143611722
Synopsis: Social media influencer Crystabel Hughes is determined that her high society wedding
to Giles Preston Smythe
will be the talk of the town. No matter the cost or the upset, nothing will stop this wedding.
Except maybe a cheating
groom!
But for Alexi Ellis and the rest of the staff at Hopgood Hall, Crystabel's demands are becoming
increasingly extreme. And
when Alexi spots the groom getting up close and personal with one of the bridesmaids, she fears
trouble is only a bouquet
toss away. A killer bride caught red-handed?
And Alexi's fears are confirmed when the groom is found dead on the night before the wedding,
stabbed through the heart
-- the person holding the dagger is his beloved bride-to be Crystabel. Hopgood Hall doesn't need
any more bad press, but
the race is on to find the killer and close the case before Crystabel live streams her dilemma.
Can Alexi, Jack and Cosmo find out why Giles was killed? And, more importantly, can they stop
the killer before they
strike again?
Critique: A riveting great read from first page to last, "A Marriage to Murder For" is novelist E.
V. Hunter's third book in
her "Hopgood Hall Murder Mystery' series and another winner of a pick for the dedicated
historical mystery/crime fiction
fan. This large print trade paperback edition of "A Marriage to Murder For" is especially and
unreservedly recommended
for community library Mystery/Suspense collections and a 'must' for the growing legions of E. V.
Hunter fans.
Editorial Note: E. V. Hunter (https://wendysoliman.com/about) is the pen name of author Wendy
Soliman who has written
some of the best crime fiction being produced today.
Murder on the Farm
Kate Wells
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781785134173, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 490pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-on-the-farm-kate-wells/1143599221
Synopsis: Lambing season always brings the unexpected. But no one anticipated murder!
Jude Gray never thought she'd find herself widowed and running a working farm full-time, but
here she is, living in the
small Malvern village her husband spent most of his life in. After a particularly gruelling lambing
season, she is looking
forward to some time off, but there's no rest for the wicked, especially when she finds the body of
one of Adam's oldest
friends on her farm.
Jude refuses to believe the official line, that Sarah's death was a suicide, and starts an
investigation of her own. But as the
body count rises, danger creeps ever closer to Malvern Farm. A killer is on the prowl. And all
that stands in their way is
one woman -- and her dog.
Critique: "Murder on the Farm" is another carefully crafted cozy mystery showcasing novelist
Kte Wells' complete and
impressive mastery of the 'whodunnit' genre with its nonprofessional, driven to it by
circumstance, female sleuth trying to
solve a murder mystery in dangerous circumstances. Replete with more unexpected twists and
turns than an Oklahoma
tornado, and launching her new 'A Malvern Farm Mystery' series, this large print trade paperback
edition of "Murder on
the Farm" is especially recommended for both personal reading lists and community library
Mystery/Suspense
collections.
Editorial Note: There is a substantial listing of the published works of Kate Wells online at
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/742356.Kate_Wells
Murder in the Bookshop
Anita Davison
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781785133091, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 384pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-the-bookshop-anita-davison/1143539359
Synopsis: 1915, London, and someone's been read their last rites.
Working in the dusty bookshop that her Aunt Violet mysteriously inherited, Hannah Merrill is
accustomed to finding
twists in every tale. But discovering in the middle of the bookshop her beloved best friend
Lily-Anne with a paperknife
through her heart is not a plotline she saw coming.
The case is anything but textbook. With the discovery of a coded German message, and Hannah's
instinct that Lily-Anne's
husband is keeping secrets, she determines to get to the bottom of it. She can't do it alone though.
To crack this case,
Hannah will need the enlist the help of her outrageous, opinionated,
only-occasionally-objectionable Aunt Violet.
They think they're making progress until one of their chief suspects is found dead. And Hannah
realises that she is herself
now in the murderer's sights. Will the final chapter be the ending of a killer -- or just a killer
ending?
Critique: A 'Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet Mystery" by novelist Anita Davison, "Murder in the
Bookshop" is especially
commended to the attention of all dedicated cozy mystery readers as a deftly crafted and fun read
from first page to last.
This large print paperback edition from Boldwood Books is a deftly crafted and highly
recommended addition to both
personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Anita Davison's first published novels were set in the 17th Century, about The
Woufe Family of Loxsbeare
in Exeter during the Monmouth Rebellion and the Glorious Revolution. Royalist Rebel, based on
Elizabeth Murray, later
the Duchess of Lauderdale during her youth in the English Civil War. Her current works are the
Flora Maguire Mysteries,
a series of Edwardian Cosy Mysteries published by Aria Fiction. The first book is Flora's Secret
set on an Atlantic
Steamship in 1900, followed by Betrayal at Cleeve Abbey, A Knightsbridge Scandal, The
Forgotten Children and The
Bloomsbury Affair which was released in November 2018.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle
T. L. Huchu
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
9781250883063, $29.99, HC, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Dunvegan-Castle-Edinburgh-Nights/dp/1250883067
Synopsis: Everyone's favorite fifteen-year-old ghostalker, Ropa, arrives at the worldwide Society
of Skeptical Enquirers'
biennial conference just in time to be tied into a mystery -- a locked room mystery, if an entire
creepy haunted castle on
lockdown counts. One of the magical attendees has stolen a valuable magical scroll.
Caught between Qozmos, the high wizard of Ethiopian magic; the larger-than-life Lord
Sashvindu Samarasinghe;
England's Sorcerer Royal; and Scotland's own Edmund MacLeod, it's up to Ropa (and Jomo and
Priya) to sort through the
dangerous secret politics and alliances to figure out what really happened. But she has a special
tool -- the many ghosts tied
to this ancient, powerful castle.
Critique: "The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle" is the third title in novelist T. L. Huchu's 'Edinburgh
Nights' fantasy series that
also includes "Library of the Dead" and "Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments". Bringing a feeling
of authenticity to a
contemporary world of magic made real, "The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle" is an original and
entertaining novel that will
have a special appeal to fans of Paranormal Urban Fantasy and Ghost Fiction. A fun read from
beginning to end, "The
Mystery at Dunvegan Castle" is highly recommended for community library Science Fiction &
Fantasy collections. It
should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle" is also
available in a paperback edition
(9781250883087, $18.99) and in digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: T. L. Huchu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tendai_Huchu) has been published
previously (as Tendai
Huchu) in the adult market, but the Edinburgh Nights series is his genre fiction debut. His
previous books (The Hairdresser
of Harare and The Maestro, The Magistrate and the Mathematician) have been translated into
multiple languages and his
short fiction has won awards. Tendai grew up in Zimbabwe but has now lived in Edinburgh for
most of his adult life.
The Library Science Shelf
Creators in the Academic Library: Collections & Spaces
Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch, editor
Alexander C. Watkins, editor
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
https://www.ala.org
9780838939826, $72.00, PB, 278pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creators-Academic-Library-Collections-Spaces/dp/0838939821
Synopsis: Engineering students, designers, studio artists, and other student creators have unique
research needs that college
and university libraries are well-positioned to meet. They use academic literature to inspire and
ground creation, but also
seek information from trade literature, patents, technical standards, and how-to manuals. They
apply tacit knowledge and
need to learn not only how to write within academic discourse but also create objects, designs,
and experiences.
In four parts, "Creators in the Academic Library: Collections & Spaces" explores how academic
libraries can build
collections, spaces, and communities that serve creators and is organized into four major
sections: Tailoring Collections
for Creators; Making in the Academic Library; Creating Experiences in the Library; Cultivating
Creator
Communities.
Individual chapters identify innovative ways the academic library can support creators by
building new kinds of
collections, resources, and experiences, including the use of rare books and archives; building a
comprehensive technology
and research equipment lending collection; performing in library spaces; supporting
sustainability across disciplines; and
creating equitable access to creator spaces, tools, and resources.
This edition of "Creators in the Academic Library: Spaces & Collections" also documents spaces
and collections that strive
for equity and authenticity, for playfulness and joy, and offers strategies for creating a library
open to all comers seeking a
place to create in a liberating environment.
Critique: Collaborative compiled and deftly co-edited by the team of Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch
and Alexander C. Watkins,
"Creators in the Academic Library: Collections and Spaces" is very highly recommended for
personal, professional, and
academic library Library Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies list. It should
be noted that it is also the
companion book to "Creators in the Academic library: Instruction and Outreach" which is also
from ACRL Books
Association of College & Research Libraries.
Editorial Note #1: Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch (https://experts.colorado.edu/display/fisid_152452)
is the faculty director and
team lead for Branches & Services at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research draws on
her experience in science
and engineering librarianship. She received her undergraduate degree in history and biology from
Knox College, a master's
degree in history from UCLA, and her MLIS from the University of Washington.
Editorial Note #2: Alexander C. Watkins (https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/alexander-watkins)
is the art and architecture
librarian and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research focuses
on methods for critical,
engaging, and effective teaching in libraries. He received a bachelor of arts degree in the history
of art and anthropology
from the University of California Berkeley, and master's degrees in the history of art and design
and library and
information science from Pratt Institute.
Creators in the Academic Library: Instruction & Outreach
Alexander C. Watkins, editor
Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch, editor
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
https://www.ala.org
9780838939703, $72.00, PB, 312pp
https://www.amazon.com/Creators-Academic-Library-Instruction-Outreach/dp/0838939708
Synopsis: Engineering students, designers, studio artists, and other student creators have unique
research needs that
libraries are well-positioned to meet. They use academic literature to inspire and ground creation,
but also seek information
from trade literature, patents, technical standards, and how-to manuals. They apply tacit
knowledge and need to learn not
only how to write within academic discourse but also create objects, designs, and
experiences.
In four parts (Technology, Tools, and Techniques for Creation; Inspiring Creativity through
Research; Creator's Unique
Information Needs; Grounding Creation in Research), "Creators in the Academic Library:
Instruction and Outreach"
explores how to teach specifically for creator research, motivate learning, and deepen students'
understanding of their own
practice.
Individual chapters are grouped by learning objectives rather than discipline to highlight the
throughlines that unite
creators regardless of their field. They include methods for researching creative technology,
tools, and techniques in
different settings and disciplines; how to research for inspiration; adapting our tools and teaching
to the unique
information-seeking behaviors of creator disciplines; and how these skills can be transferred to
students' future
careers.
"Creators in the Academic Library: Instruction & Outreach" offers learning strategies and
objectives that can help you
teach all manner of creators.
Critique: Collaborative compiled and deftly co-edited by the team of Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch
and Alexander C. Watkins,
"Creators in the Academic Library: Instruction & Outreach" is unreservedly recommended for
personal, professional, and
academic library Library Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies list. It should
be noted that it is also the
companion book to "Creators in the Academic library: Collections & Spaces" which is also from
ACRL Books Association
of College & Research Libraries.
Editorial Note #1: Alexander C. Watkins (https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/alexander-watkins)
is the art and architecture
librarian and an associate professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research focuses
on methods for critical,
engaging, and effective teaching in libraries. He received a bachelor of arts degree in the history
of art and anthropology
from the University of California Berkeley, and master's degrees in the history of art and design
and library and
information science from Pratt Institute.
Editorial Note #2: Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch (https://experts.colorado.edu/display/fisid_152452)
is the faculty director and
team lead for Branches & Services at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research draws on
her experience in science
and engineering librarianship. She received her undergraduate degree in history and biology from
Knox College, a master's
degree in history from UCLA, and her MLIS from the University of Washington.
Practicing Privacy Literacy in Academic Libraries
Sarah Hartman-Caverly, editor
Alexandria Chisholm, editor
ACRL Books Association of College & Research Libraries
c/o American Library Association
https://www.ala.org
9780838939895, $90.00, PB, 390pp
https://www.amazon.com/Practicing-Privacy-Literacy-Academic-Libraries/dp/0838939899
Synopsis: Even in this ear of social media and internet hackers, privacy is not dead: Students care
deeply about their
privacy and the rights it safeguards. They need a way to articulate their concerns and guidance on
how to act within the
complexity of our current information ecosystem and culture of surveillance capitalism.
"Practicing Privacy Literacy in Academic Libraries: Theories, Methods, and Cases" can help to
teach privacy literacy,
evolve the privacy practices at academic institution, and re-center the individuals behind the data
and the ethics behind
library work.
This large format (7 x 0.9 x 10 inches, 1.11 pounds) edition of "Practicing Privacy Literacy in
Academic Libraries:
Theories, Methods, and Cases" is divided into four major sections: What is Privacy Literacy?;
Protecting Privacy;
Educating about Privacy; Advocating for Privacy.
Individual chapters cover a range of thematically relevant topics including privacy literacy
frameworks; digital wellness;
embedding a privacy review into digital library workflows; using privacy literacy to challenge
price discrimination; privacy
pedagogy; and promoting privacy literacy and positive digital citizenship through credit-bearing
courses, co-curricular
partnerships, and faculty development and continuing education initiatives.
"Practicing Privacy Literacy in Academic Libraries: Theories, Methods, and Cases" provides
theory-informed, practical
ways to incorporate privacy literacy into library instruction and other areas of academic library
practice.
Critique: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by experienced academic librarians Sarah
Hartman-Caverly and
Alexandria Chisholm, "Practicing Privacy Literacy in Academic Libraries: Theories, Methods,
and Cases" is an
extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, college, and
university
Library/Information Science collections and as a supplemental Library & Information Science
curriculum textbook.
Editorial Note #1: Sarah Hartman-Caverly, MS(LIS), MSIS, is a reference and instruction
librarian at Penn State Berks,
where she liaises with Engineering, Business and Computing division programs. Sarah delivered
her first privacy literacy
workshop, "Is Big Data Big Brother?," in 2014. She co-facilitated a faculty learning community
examining learning
analytics through a privacy lens in 2017 and a professional community of practice workshop on
privacy in 2021. Sarah's
research examines the compatibility of human and machine autonomy from the perspective of
intellectual freedom, and she
publishes and presents on privacy literacy and other topics as part of this work. She earned her
MS(LIS) and MS in
information systems from Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics (then iSchool)
and holds a BA in
anthropology from Haverford College. Outside of the library, Sarah is an edible gardener,
chicken herder, and homemaker.
Together, Sarah and Alex Chisholm created the Penn State Berks Privacy Workshop Series,
collaborate on privacy literacy
research and professional development, and maintain the Digital Shred Privacy Literacy
Toolkit.
Editorial Note #2: Alexandria Chisholm is an associate librarian at Penn State University
Libraries and liaison to the Berks
campus' first-year experience program and science division. She has over ten years of reference
and instruction experience
at both private and public baccalaureate- and doctoral-degree granting institutions. Chisholm's
research focuses on privacy
literacy, with special attention on digital wellness and algorithmic transparency as well as
information literacy and student
engagement. Together, Alex and Sarah Hartman-Caverly created the Penn State Berks Privacy
Workshop Series,
collaborate on privacy literacy research and professional development, and maintain the Digital
Shred Privacy Literacy
Toolkit.
The Mathematics Shelf
Mathematical Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms
Tong Zhang
Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
9781009098380, $54.99, HC, 479pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Analysis-Machine-Learning-Algorithms/dp/100909838
1
Synopsis: The mathematical theory of machine learning not only explains the current algorithms
but can also motivate
principled approaches for the future. "Mathematical Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms"
by Tong Zhang is
self-contained textbook that introduces students and researchers of AI to the main mathematical
techniques used to analyze
machine learning algorithms, with motivations and applications.
The topics covered include the analysis of supervised learning algorithms in the iid setting, the
analysis of neural networks
(e.g. neural tangent kernel and mean-field analysis), and the analysis of machine learning
algorithms in the sequential
decision setting (e.g. online learning, bandit problems, and reinforcement learning).
Students will also learn the basic mathematical tools used in the theoretical analysis of these
machine learning problems
and how to apply them to the analysis of various concrete algorithms. "Mathematical Analysis of
Machine Learning
Algorithms" is ideal for anyone who has some background knowledge of basic machine learning
methods, but wants to
gain sufficient technical knowledge to understand research papers in theoretical machine
learning.
Critique: Impressively comprehensive, exceptionally well written, effectively organized and
presented, Tong Zhang's
"Mathematical Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms" is an ideal addition to personal,
professional, college, and
university library Computer Science collections and Programming Algorithms & Pattern
Recognition curriculum studies
lists. It should be noted for students and academia that "Mathematical Analysis of Machine
Learning Algorithms" is also
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $52.24).
Editorial Note: Tong Zhang (http://tongzhang-ml.org) is Chair Professor of Computer Science
and Mathematics at the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where his research focuses on machine
learning, big data, and their
applications. A Fellow of the IEEE, the American Statistical Association, and the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics,
Zhang has served as Chair or Area chair at major machine learning conferences such as NeurIPS,
ICML, and COLT, and
he has been an associate editor for several top machine learning publications including PAMI,
JMLR, and 'Machine
Learning.'
The LGBTQ Studies Shelf
Bending Toward Justice
Vic Basile
Querelle Press
https://querellepress.com
9798985034165, $21.00, PB, 264pp
https://www.amazon.com/Bending-Toward-Justice-Leadership-Founding/dp/B0C7JNFQ6J
Synopsis: With the publication of "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of
LGBTQ Leadership and the
Founding of the Human Rights Campaign", Vic Basile (with the assistance of Donna Mosher)
deftly chronicles the early
years of a movement pressing for equal rights and lifesaving resources for LGBTQ people -- who
for centuries had been
shunned by the ignorant, reviled by the so-called faithful, and shamed even by their own
families.
Vic Basile was one of those who led the Human Rights Campaign through the AIDS epidemic,
as it suffers too many lives
lost, fights for essential funding for research, education and treatment, confronts ignorance and
discrimination, and begins
to shift the hearts and minds of Americans about equal treatment.
These unsung heroes of the LGBTQ movement worked unobtrusively and bravely within the
system to change the system.
Some of them are still here, too many are gone. Every single one of them has a poignant,
powerful story that must be told
and that never should be forgotten.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, comprehensively informative, impressively 'reader friendly'
in organization and
presentation, "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership and
the Founding of the Human
Rights Campaign" is a vital and appreciated history of the LGBTQ community struggle for equal
rights and recognition
politically, culturally, socially, and legally. While also readily available for personal reading lists
in a digital book format
(Kindle, $8.99), "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership
and the Founding of the
Human Rights Campaign" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal,
professional, community, college,
and university library LGBTQ History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note: Vic Basile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Basile) has enjoyed the rare
opportunity and extraordinary
privilege of a career of public service and social justice advocacy. A widely recognized national
leader in the LGBTQ
community, he currently lives in Maryland.
The Music Shelf
Mozart's Operas and National Politics
Marin Nedbal
Cambridge University Press
One Liberty Plaza, Fl. 20, New York, NY 10006
www.cambridge.org
9781009257596, $110.00, HC, 306pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mozarts-Operas-National-Politics-Formation/dp/1009257595
Synopsis: As both an in-depth study of Mozart criticism and performance practice in Prague, and
a history of how
eighteenth-century opera was appropriated by later political movements and social groups, with
the publication of
"Mozart's Operas and National Politics: Canon Formation in Prague from 1791 to the Present",
Marin Nedbal (Associate
Professor of Musicology at KU School of Music) explores the reception of Mozart's operas in
Prague between 1791 and
the present and reveals the profound influence of politics on the construction of the Western
musical canon.
Tracing the links between performances of Mozart's operas and strategies that Bohemian
musicians, critics, directors,
musicologists, and politicians used to construct modern Czech and German identities, Professor
Nedbal explores the
history of the canonization process from the perspective of a city that has often been regarded as
peripheral to mainstream
Western music history. Individual chapters focus on Czech and German adaptations of Mozart's
operas for Prague's
theaters, operatic criticism published in Prague's Czech and German journals, the work of
Bohemian historians interpreting
Mozart, and endeavours of cultural activists to construct monuments in recognition of the
composer.
Critique: An original, seminal, inherently fascinating, and scholastically meticulous study,
"Mozart's Operas and National
Politics: Canon Formation in Prague from 1791 to the Present" is enhanced for the reader with
the inclusion of lists for
figures, tables, and musical examples. There is also a sixteen page Bibliography and a five page
Index. While also
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $104.50), "Mozart's Operas and National Politics:
Canon Formation in Prague
from 1791 to the Present" will prove of particular interest to Mozart enthusiasts and an
unreservedly recommended
addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Opera Music collections and
supplemental Mozart
curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Martin Nedbal (https://music.ku.edu/people/martin-nedbal) is Associate Professor
of Musicology at the
University of Kansas. He is the author of Morality and Viennese Opera in the Age of Mozart and
Beethoven (Routledge,
2016) and translator and editor of The Published Theoretical Works of Leos Janacek (Editio
Janacek, 2020).
The Architecture Shelf
Cities & Rivers
Inaki Alday, author
Jover Margarita, editor
Actar D
c/o Actar Publishers
https://actar.com
9781945150746, $54.95, HC, 300pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Rivers-I%C3%B1aki-Alday/dp/1945150742
Synopsis: "Cities & Rivers" consists of a collection of projects (each designed from their local
and territorial DNA) that
respond in new ways to the global socio-ecological crisis in which we have been in engaged with
since the beginning of
the 21st century.
Featured works comprising "Cities & Rivers" include public spaces, architecture and urban
studies that incorporate natural
dynamics and that also emphasize (and recovering in some cases) legal access among all citizens
and equal access to the
city and its opportunities.
The works presented are particularly renowned given their leadership role in a new approach to
the relationship between
cities and rivers, in which natural dynamics become part of the public space, eliminating the
effect of climate change
driven "catastrophes".
Critique: This large format hardcover edition (10.5 x 1.5 x 12.25 inches, 4.89 pounds) of "Cities
& Rivers" is an
impressive compendium of forty eloquently written and exceptionally informative essays by
experts in their field and will
prove to be of exceptional interest and value for personal, professional, community, college, and
university library
Urbanism and Landscape Architecture collections, as well as a supplemental contribution to
Urban/Land Use curriculum
studies lists.
Editorial Note: Aldayjover architecture and landscape was founded in 1996 in an old seventeen
century palace in the center
of Barcelona, and expanded to Virginia (USA) in 2011. It is headed by three partners (Inaki
Alday, Margarita Jover, Jesus
Arcos), and an associate director of landscape architecture Francisco Mesonero. Aldayjover is a
multidisciplinary research
based practice, focused in innovation and in the specific character of the place. The work is
particularly renowned by its
leadership in a new approach to the relation between cities and rivers, in which natural dynamics
as the flood become part
of the public space, eliminating detrimental effects of flooding through urban landscaping
designs.
The Literary Studies Shelf
Jazz Fiction: Take Two
David Rife, author
James Langdon, editor
Lulu Publishing
www.lulu.com
9781387422715, $43.02, HC, 458pp
https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Fiction-Take-David-Rife/dp/1387422715
Synopsis: "Jazz Fiction: Take Two", written by David Rife and edited by James Langdon, is the
sequel volume to "Jazz
Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's Guide" which was originally published in
2008.
While the earlier work filled a pressing need in jazz studies by identifying and discussing 700
works of fiction with a jazz
component, "Jazz Fiction: Take Two" surveys over 500 newer works of jazz-inflected fiction that
have appeared from the
turn of the 21st century to the present.
The essay style reviews at the heart of the book give readers a sense of the plot of each surveyed
work and characterizes its
debt to jazz. The entries are written with both general readers and scholars in mind and are
intended to entertain as well as
inform. This alone qualifies Jazz Fiction: Take Two as an original and useful resource.
Critique: Informative, comprehensive, and deftly organized into three major sections
(Introduction to Select Categories;
Works Under Review; Reader Resources and Indices), "Jazz Fiction: Take Two" also features a
four page Jazz Players and
Friends Reference Index, as well as a thirteen page Title Index. Offering a wealth of impressively
organized and presented
'reader friendly' information and history that will be of particular and special interest to fans,
students, and practitioners of
American Jazz, this exceptional and seminal compendium of jazz music history, recordings, and
musicians is especially
and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library Jazz
Music History collections
and supplemental Music Biography/Index curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Jazz
Fiction: Take Two" is also
readily available in a paperback edition (9781387515608, $27.10) and in a digital book format
(Kindle, $15.00).
Editorial Note #1: The publication of "Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's
Guide" (Scarecrow Press,
9780810859074, $82.00, PB, 292pp) in November of 2007 revealed that David Rife's
annotations qualify as short critical
essays, generally providing a jargon-free, often witty presentation, making them a pleasure to
read. Broad in scope,
meticulously researched, and comprehensive with titles that have long been inaccessible, this
definitive resource is
essential for libraries and valuable to scholars and fans of jazz and literature.
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
www.midwestbookreview.com
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