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Internet Bookwatch

Volume 26, Number 4 April 2016 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Writing/Publishing Shelf Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Fiction Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Judaic Studies Shelf
Business Shelf Cookbook Shelf Sports Shelf
Computer Shelf Fishing Shelf Music Shelf
Biography Shelf Fashion Shelf Audiobook Shelf
Library CD Shelf Library DVD Shelf Graphic Novel Shelf
Poetry Shelf Travel Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Education Shelf Automotive Shelf
Humor Shelf Activity Shelf Political Science Shelf
Autism Shelf Needlecraft Shelf Gaming Shelf
Agriculture Shelf Jewelry Shelf Art Shelf
Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Gardening Shelf Technology Shelf
Photography Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Philosophy Shelf
Library Science Shelf American History Shelf World History Shelf
Architecture Shelf Science Shelf Civil War Shelf
International Studies Shelf Military Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf
Native American Studies Shelf Parenting Shelf Wisconsin Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

Human Ecology: How Nature and Culture Shape Our World
Frederick Steiner
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610917384 $30.00 pbk / $21.81 Kindle www.amazon.com

Originally published in 2002 under the title "Human Ecology: Following Nature's Lead", Human Ecology: How Nature and Culture Shape Our World is now in an updated new edition for 2016. Human Ecology is a fascinating, scholarly examination of the "human ecology", or the interplay between humans and environment. Drawing from the disciplines of biology, geography, sociology, engineering, architecture, and more, Steiner suggests eight principles for understanding human ecology. The new edition further examines how the latest developments in environmental science and urban design (such as geographical information systems, remote- sensing technologies, and waste life-cycles) have changed human ecology. A "must-read" for environmental scientists, landscape planners, municipal leaders, and concerned citizens, Human Ecology is highly recommended for both public and college library collections.

Happiness and Place
Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
www.palgrave-usa.com
9781137436320, $67.50, HC, 130pp, www.amazon.com

"Happiness and Place: Why Life is Better Outside of the City" by Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn (Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University, Camden Campus) is about places (cities, suburbs and towns) and the happiness of people living in these environs. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Professor Okulicz-Kozaryn defty examines the relations between human happiness and the infrastructure of the places they live. This thought-provoking study aptly argues for the overlooked idea that men and women are happiest in smaller areas and less so in larger communities. Enhanced with sixteen pages of References, and a one page Index, "Happiness and Place" is an inherently interesting read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for academic library Urban Studies reference collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Happiness and Place" is also available in a Kindle edition ($45.00).

Land of Frozen Laughter
John Lewallen
Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company Publishing
PO Box 455, Philo, CA 95466
9780964764309 $19.95 www.seaweed.net

Land of Frozen Laughter: A Community Development Volunteer in the Vietnam War, 1967- 1969 is the firsthand testimony of author John Lewallen, an American civilian who was one of 400 International Voluntary Services volunteers in Vietnam. Lewallen became disgusted with the war; he was an anti-war activist in the war zone (during the era of the 1968 Tet Offensive, no less), and the target of an assassination team. Land of Frozen Laughter offers a grim, ground- level glimpse of military strategy, portraits of soldiers and civilians (including Vietnamese, Chams, and Raglai Montagnards), bars, bases, brothels, culture clash and much more. Lewallen originally penned Land of Frozen Laugher in 1969, immediately after returning from the war; his memories offer a candid, unforgettable, and completely uncensored perspective of the destructive conflict. Highly recommended.

The Geography of Genius
Eric Weiner
Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl., New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781451691658 $26.95 www.amazon.com

The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places, from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley comes from a travel writer and former NPR correspondent who considers how innovations occur and when, where and why these leaps take place. In keeping with his interests in travel and other cultures, Weiner researches circumstances of genius with an eye to exploring its geographic connections and presence, offering a survey that traverses history and place to examine how creative genius is fostered so that ingenuity takes place. Chapters argue that genius is not a personal or private event as much as a public event that is heavily influenced by surrounding environment, and he discusses the ways genius is typically examined, the fallacies in logic that result, and the influences and approaches that attack genius and innovation in the world. From why trauma and hard times fosters genius to how tension encourages leaps in thinking, The Geography of Genius provides a powerful survey that's a highly recommended pick for both leisure readers interested in geography and innovation and for those who would probe the historical connections between genius and worldviews and influences.

Pixyjack Press Inc.
PO Box 149, Masonville, CO 80541
www.pixyjackpress.com

Two examinations of science, nature, and relationships to humans and general and homeowners in particular are recommended picks that should be on any homeowner's reading list. Ancient Fire, Modern Fire by Einar Jensen (9781936555642, $19.95) presents the author's experiences as a firefighter, environmental historian and life safety educator to consider the history of how people deal with fire and fire safety. Chapters delve into the history of fire prevention methods, how it differs from urban to rural settings, and how changing one's basic understanding of fire is key to preventing tragedies. From the basics of fire science (geared to a general-interest, non-expert reader) to arson, world myths surrounding fire, and sacred ceremonies conducted with fire, this provides a treasure trove of details. Linda Masterson's Living with Bears Handbook (9781936555611, $24.00) pairs a basic natural history of bears and understanding their behavior with a focus on what happens when the homes and lives of people intersect with bear interests, and gathers solutions to many of these problems of bear encounters and conflicts. A basic understanding of bear behavior is necessary to adopt measures that help bear-proof a home and keep them from being attracted to gardens, garbage, and other human habitats or habits, and this is provided in the course of explaining real-world solutions to bear problems. A bear manager's experiences and case studies from across the U.S. and Canada round out the information and make for a fine study that should be in every rural homeowner's library.

The Boss of Me is Me
The Youth Connection & June Werdlow Rogers
Cable Publishing
14090 East Keinenen Road, Brule, WI 54820
http://cablepublishing.com
9781934980231, $11.95, Spiral Bound, 48pp, www.amazon.com

June Werdlow Rogers earned a PhD in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Maryland and retired as a DEA Special Agent in Charge in 2008. Dr. Rogers currently serves as Program Director of the Criminal Justice Program at a Michigan college. In cooperation with The Youth Connection, and with the assistance of Grenae Dudley and Rayfield Rogers Jr., Rogers developed "The Boss of Me is Me", a 'fill in the blank' personal notebook that pulls no punches in constructing a variety of scenarios in which teens may either experience harm or be inclined to do harm. "The Boss of Me is Me" is character-driven and teaches teens that there is always a way out of any difficult situation. While highly recommended for use with teenagers either in terms of individual counseling or group counseling, it should be noted that "The Boss of Me is Me" is a 'consumable', making it inappropriate for school or community library permanent collections. Both counselors and parents should note that there is also a discussion manual, "The Companion Guide to The Boss of Me is Me: For Discussion Leaders, Parents & Teen Caregivers" (9781934980248, $19.95, PB, 98pp) available to help facilitate an effective utilization of "The Boss of Me is Me".

101 Magic Tricks
Bryan Miles
Quarry Books
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartous.com
9781631590726, $19.99, Flexibound, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Currently based in Cape Town, South Africa, Bryan Miles is an award-winning and internationally-acclaimed magician. His mind-blowing shows have taken him from London to New York. He has performed at the prestigious Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. He is featured on T.V, radio, magazines and newspapers regularly. Bryan has studied the mysteries of the human mind through illusion, mentalism, magic and hypnosis. He is a Silver Medallion graduate of the College of Magic in Cape Town and is frequently invited to teach his skills to aspiring magicians. His YouTube channel BryanMilesTV showcases his latest clips in which he demonstrates the incredible power of the human mind. In "101 Magic Tricks: Any Time. Any Place. - Step by step instructions to engage, challenge, and entertain At Home, In the Street, At School, In the Office, At a Party" Bryan Miles draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to reveal, step-by-step, 'user friendly' instructions on how to perform 101 different magic tricks. Profusely illustrated throughout, "101 Magic Tricks" is very highly recommended for personal and community library collections. It should be noted that "101 Magic Tricks" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.99).

A Woman's Guide to the Wild
Ruby McConnell, author
Teresa Grasseschi, illustrator
Sasquatch Books
1904 Third Ave, Suite 710, Seattle, WA 98101
www.sasquatchbooks.com
9781632170057 $18.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

A Woman's Guide to the Wild is a "must-read" primer for any every women considering a camping trip or other journey into the wilderness, whether by herself or as part of a group. Chapters address what to bring and what to leave at home; feminine hygiene matters; staying safe; first aid; outdoor etiquette; and much more. Occasional black-and-white sketches and diagrams illustrate this superb reference and resource.

Millville: A Real New England Ghost Story
Eric M. Larson
Morningside Books
c/o Morningside Enterprises
188 Morningside Drive East, Bristol, CT 06010
www.publishbyme.com
9780984461844, $14.95, PB, 284pp, www.amazon.com

Millville, a sleepy little town located on the banks of Connecticut's Farmington River has its secrets. A witch's curse placed on the tiny New England village for the actions of their forefathers. Sarah is a young girl, trapped in the curse's darkness, wanting to come home. She must place her faith on an ancient prophecy and on Luke and Mary, a young couple who only have to do one thing -- believe the unbelievable. "Millville: A Real New England Ghost Story" is an inherently fascinating and deftly crafted story that demonstrates author Erick M. Larson's impressive and exceptional storytelling skills. A fully engaging and absorbing read from beginning to end, "Millville: A Real New England Ghost Story" is very highly recommended for community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Millville: A Real New England Ghost Story" is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.99).

With This Ring?
Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, Melissa Jagears
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
9780764217722, $14.95, PB, 368pp, www.amazon.com

In "With This Ring?: A Novella Collection of Proposals Gone Awry", four top historical romance novelists team up in this new collection that offers four stories of love and romance with a twist of humor. In Karen Witemeyer's "The Husband Maneuver," Marietta Hawkins decides to grab the reins when the ranch foreman she loves seems to be leaving forever. Regina Jennings offers "Her Dearly Unintended," where friends stranded by a rising river pretend to be newlyweds when a dangerous stranger arrives. Mary Connealy's "Runaway Bride" finds a Texas ranger getting more than he expected when he rescues a young woman fleeing a dangerous arranged marriage. And Melissa Jagears' "Engaging the Competition" finds a young woman forced to assist the man she's often sparred with after an accident leaves him helpless. Each deftly crafted tale is a fun blend of history and romance that will delight readers. Very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "With This Ring?" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.27). Librarians please note that "With This Ring" is also available in a hardcover large print edition (Thorndike Press, 9781410486974, $30.99).


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

The Art of Perspective: Who Tells the Story
Christopher Castellani
Graywolf Press
250 Third Avenue North, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55401
www.graywolfpress.org
9781555977269, $12.00, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Christopher Castellani is the author of three novels, including "All This Talk of Love". He is the artistic director of GrubStreet and teaches in the MFA program at Warren Wilson College. He was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for fiction. In "The Art of Perspective: Who Tells the Story" Castellani draws upon his years of experience and expertise to explain that while a writer may have a story to tell, a sense of plot, and strong characters, for all of these to come together some key questions must be answered. What form should the narrator take? An omniscient, invisible force, or one (or more) of the characters? But in what voice, and from what vantage point? How to decide? Avoiding prescriptive instructions or arbitrary rules, Castellani deftly examines the various ways writers have solved the crucial point-of-view problem. By unpacking the narrative strategies at play in the work of writers as different as E. M. Forster, Grace Paley, and Tayeb Salih, among many others, he illustrates how the author's careful manipulation of distance between narrator and character drives the story. "The Art of Perspective" is a fascinating discussion on a subject of perpetual interest to any writer and is very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of any and all aspiring novelists, as well as a critically important addition to community and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "The Art of Perspective" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.56).

Writing Blockbuster Plots
Martha Alderson
Writer's Digest Press
c/o F+W Media
10151 Carver Road, Suite 200, Blue Ash, OH 45242
www.writersdigest.com
9781599639796, $16.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

"Writing Blockbuster Plots: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering Plot, Structure, and Scene" by Martha Alderson is specifically designed o demystify how story writing works. It shows aspiring writers how to track the seven most important elements of a scene on a Scene Tracker, and how to use her Plot Planner to develop a multi-layered plotline for each individual project. "Writing Blockbuster Plots" also provides useful analysis of scenes written by classic and contemporary writers such as Twain, McCarthy, London, Fitch, Chopin, and Letts, all of which will help show writers how to: Pre-plot Link scenes through cause and effect; Determine which scenes are flat and why; Set up tension, conflict and suspense; Develop complex characters; Establish compelling action; Re-vision rewrites; Clarify themes; Deepen and expand narratives. Detailed, comprehensive, insightful, instructive, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Writing Blockbuster Plots" is exceptional and very highly recommended for aspiring writers. It should be noted that "Writing Blockbuster Plots" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.94).

Publishing Romance
John Markert
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786494903, $40.00, PB, 344pp, www.amazon.com

Romance novels have attracted considerable attention since their mass market debut into American popular culture in 1939, yet seldom has the industry itself been analyzed. Founded in 1949, Harlequin quickly gained market domination with their contemporary romances. Other publishers countered with historical romances, leading to the rise of "bodice-ripper" romances in the 1970s. The liberation of the romance novel's content during the 1980s brought a vitality to the market that was dubbed a revolution, but the real romance revolution began in the 1990s with developments in the mainstream publishing industry and continues today. "Publishing Romance: The History of an Industry: 1940s to the Present" by John Markert (Associate Professor of Sociology at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee) traces the history and evolution of the romance industry, covering successful (and not so successful) trends and describing changes in romance publishing that paved the way for the many popular subgenres flooding the market in the 21st century. A seminal work of outstanding scholarship, "Publishing Romance" is enhanced with the inclusion of twenty-five pages of Chapter Notes; a five page Selected Bibliography, and a three page Index. "Publishing Romance" is an extraordinary history that is especially recommended for academic library Writing/Publishing reference collections and will prove to be of special interest for aspiring writers of romance fiction. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Publishing Romance" is also available in a Kindle edition ($18.04).

Red Hot Internet Publicity, fourth edition
Penny C. Sansevieri
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781519495624, $14.95, PB, 414pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a completely updated and significantly expanded fourth edition, "Red Hot Internet Publicity: The Insider's Guide to Marketing Online" by Penny Sansevieri (the woman who responsible for researching, creating and implementing the first comprehensive Internet publicity campaign called, The Virtual Author Tour) is a complete course of instruction in a single volume. "Red Hot Internet Publicity" draws upon real-world examples directly relevant for authors and small business owners trying to build strong brands. Social media and publicity authority, Penny Sansevieri drew upon her many years of experience and expertise to create the essential Internet Publicity roadmap; delivers current, expert insight into how to build the perfect website that will turn visitors into customer; build a strong presence on today's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube and Instagram. "Red Hot Internet Publicity" shows just how to: Amp up engagement on an authentic level and build a loyal fan base; Share content that excites people and gets them coming back for more; Target your activity for maximum exposure and impact - get noticed!; Utilize strategies that are proven to work on every major social media platform. Social media isn't about being everywhere, it's about being everywhere that matters. Of special note to authors and publishers is Penny's section on 'Building Super Fans: The Secret to Selling More Books'. Informative, practical, exceptionally well organized and presented, "Red Hot Internet Publicity" is highly recommended for community and academic library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections, and should be on the "must read" list for anyone trying to make a career out of writing and/or publishing. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Red Hot Internet Publicity" is also available in a Kindle edition ($2.99).

Write Your Tale Off!
Robert Brown Butler
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781514849095, $14.99, PB, 204pp, www.amazon.com

In 1971 when Robert Brown Butler was a what he describes as a"cub ink-slinger" and living in Aspen for the summer, he met Saul Bellow, who was also living there. Bellow read some of Butler's writing, and advised him "to learn the writer's trade". Butler took the future Nobel Prize winner's advice to heart and subsequently has authored eight books: In 1981, The Ecological House, which describes how to design and build houses that are friendly to the environment; between 1984 and 2002, five books on architectural engineering for McGraw-Hill; in 2012, Architecture Laid Bare, a book for laymen that details the latest environmental and technical issues facing American architecture (website: architecturelaidbare.com); and in 2014, the Disaster Handbook, a book on disaster preparedness which to date has won nine literary awards (website: http://thedisasterhandbook .com). In "Write Your Tale Off!", Butler draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to create a kind of "literary tool box" for aspiring authors that contains the essential tools of the writer's trade. Each of its fifty short chapters describes one of these literary tools, exemplifies its use with a passage by a usually famous author, and reveals the "literary script" by which anyone can create and utilize each tool for the purpose of enriching their own writing project whatever it might be. Absolutely 'user friendly' in content, organization and presentation, "Write Your Tale Off!" will prove to be an invaluable, practical, and immediately applicable do-it-yourself instruction manual for any and all aspiring writers for whatever their subject or literary genre might be.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

The Case of the Fickle Mermaid
P. J. Brackston
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.us
9781605989464, $25.95, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Gretel (of the brother and sister team of Hansel and Gretel) is now all grown up and working as a private investigator in 18th century Bavaria. Her professional interest is piqued when she begins to hear whispers of of mysterious goings-on off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein: sailors are disappearing, and there are rumors of mermaids and sea creatures and all manner of slippery, sea-based happenings. Ordinarily, Gretel's interest in sea-life does not extend beyond that which is edible, doused in butter and garlic, and already on the plate before her. However, funds are low, and the captain of the ship Arabella makes a tempting offer of good pay and a free cruise in return for her detective services. With a splendid new wig packed, Hans as her bodyguard on the journey north, and the promise of two weeks of fine dining and erudite company whilst sailing around the picturesque Friesian islands, what could possibly go wrong? P. J. Brackston has come up with the original idea of writing terrific mystery novels based on characters from the old Brothers Grimm fables. "The Case of the Fickle Mermaid" is the latest and one of the very best. An absolute "must" for mystery buffs with fond memories of Brothers Grimm stories, "The Case of the Fickle Mermaid" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Case of the Fickle Mermaid" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).

Between Black and White
Robert Bailey
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Digital Publishing
9781503953079, $15.95, PB, 398pp, www.amazon.com

In 1966 in Pulaski, Tennessee, Bocephus Haynes watched in horror as his father was brutally murdered by ten local members of the Ku Klux Klan. As an African American lawyer practicing in the birthplace of the Klan years later, Bo has spent his life pursuing justice in his father's name. But when Andy Walton, the man believed to have led the lynch mob forty-five years earlier, ends up murdered in the same spot as Bo's father, Bo becomes the prime suspect. Retired law professor Tom McMurtrie, Bo's former teacher and friend, is a year removed from returning to the courtroom. Now McMurtrie and his headstrong partner, Rick Drake, must defend Bo on charges of capital murder while hunting for Andy Walton's true killer. In a courtroom clash that will put their reputations and lives at stake, can McMurtrie and Drake release Bo from a lifetime of despair? Or will justice remain hidden somewhere between black and white? A riveting novel from beginning to end, "Between Black and White" is a compelling page-turner of a read that will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Between Black and White" is also available in a Kindle edition ($5.99).

The Father: Made in Sweden
Anton Svensson, author
Elizabeth Clark Wessel, translator
Quercus
http://www.quercusbooks.co.uk
9781681445403, $26.99, HC, 592pp, www.amazon.com

How does a child become a criminal? How does a father lose a son? Written by Anton Svensson and ably translated from Swedish into English for an American readership, "The Father: Made in Sweden" is an epic crime novel. "The Father" is based on the extraordinary true story of three brothers who, over the course of three years and with stolen military-grade hardware, went on a crime spree, committing numerous armed robberies including ten audacious bank jobs in Sweden. None had committed a crime before. All were under twenty-four years old. When their incredible crime wave had come to an end amid the glare of the international media, all of them would be changed forever as individuals and as a family. This intoxicating, heartbreaking thriller tells the story of how three boys are transformed over the course of their lives from innocent children to hardened criminals. A riveting and deftly crafted read from beginning to end, "The Father: Made in Sweden" is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Father: Made in Sweden" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).

Blood of the Oak
Eliot Pattison
Counterpoint Press
1919 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710-1916
www.counterpointpress.com
9781619026155, $26.00, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

The fourth entry in the author Eliot Pattison's outstanding 'Bone Rattler' series, "Blood of the Oak" advances the protagonist Duncan McCallum to 1765 and into the throes of the Stamp Tax dissent, which marked the beginning of organized resistance to English rule. Duncan follows ritualistic murders that are strangely connected to both the theft of an Iroquois artifact and a series of murders and kidnappings in the network of secret runners supporting the nascent committees of correspondence -- which are engaged in the first organized political dissent across colonial borders. He encounters a powerful conspiracy of highly placed English aristocrats who are bent on crushing all dissent, is captured by its agents, and sent into slavery in Virginia beside the kidnapped runners. Inspired by an aged Native American slave and new African friends Duncan decides not just to escape but to turn their own intrigue against the London lords. Included in the novel's cast of characters are figures from our history who have their own destinies to fulfill in the next decade, including Benjamin Franklin (writing from London), Samuel Adams, the early Pennsylvania rebel James Smith, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and, very briefly, a soft spoken militia officer named Washington. "The Song of the Oak" takes a fresh view on the birth of the new American nation, suggesting that the "freedom" that became the centerpiece of the Revolution was uniquely American, rising not just from unprecedented political discourse but also from the extraordinary bond with the natural world experienced by frontier settlers and native tribes. Another deftly constructed and riveting novel from the pen of Eliot Pattison, "Blood of the Oak" is a riveting read from beginning to end and highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense and Historical Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Blood of the Oak" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.99).

Trace Takes A Hand
Owen G. Irons
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444826104, $20.99, Large Print PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

Years ago, the infamous Arista gang stole fifty thousand dollars, but only for one member betrayed the gang and escaped with the whole haul for himself. That traitor was Luke Cason who lived quietly with his daughter Sally, until one day he is abducted by his former Arista gang members who are seeking both vengeance and the money. Meanwhile, Texas state marshal Trace Cavanagh is staking plenty on a big gamble: taking two convicts from the penitentiary to assist him in hunting the gang. When their path crosses with Sally's, lawkeepers and lawbreakers alike must join forces to track down the deadly Aristas and recover what's left of the stolen money. With "Trace Takes A Hand" western action/adventure author Owen G. Irons has penned another riveting good read replete with unexpected plot twists and surprises all leading up to a climatic and unpredictable end. Very highly recommended in this Lindford Western Library edition, "Trace Takes A Hand" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal reading lists and community library large print western fiction collections.

Karma's a Killer
Tracy Weber
Midnight Ink
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
www.midnightinkbooks.com
9780738742106, $14.99, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

When Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson agrees to teach doga (yoga for dogs) at a fund raiser for a local animal shelter, she believes the only damage will be to her reputation. But a few downward-facing dogs are the least of Kate's problems when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning. The police arrest Dharma, a woman claiming to be Kate's estranged mother, and charge her with murder. To prove Dharma's innocence, Kate, her boyfriend Michael, and her German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism and organizational politics. As they investigate the dangerous obsessions that drive these groups, Kate and her sleuthing team discover that when it comes to murder, there's no place like home! Another terrifically entertaining mystery by a true master of the genre, Tracy Weber's "Karma's a Killer" is the latest, and perhaps the best yet, in here outstanding Downward Dog Mysteries series. Emphatically recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of mystery buffs that "Karma's a Killer" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.59).

Death Deals a Hand
Janet Dawson
Perseverance Press
c/o Daniel & Daniel, Publishers
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
www.danielpublishing.com
9781564745699, $15.95, PB, 232pp, www.amazon.com

It's April 1953, and Zephyrette Jill McLeod is back on the rails, aboard the fabled train called the California Zephyr. Heading west from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, Jill looks forward to reuniting with family members and the new man in her life. She's learned to expect and deal with just about anything on the train, from troublesome passengers to long-lost relatives to high-stakes poker games. But the stakes just got even higher: Death has a seat at the table. Another terrific read for any and all dedicated mystery buffs, "Death Deals a Hand" is the second title in author Janet Dawson's outstanding California Zephyr series. Clearly establishing Janet Dawson's mastery of the genre, "Death Deals a Hand" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

Truth Always Kills
Rick Ollerman
Stark House Press
1315 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501
www.starkhousepress.com
9781933586823, $17.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Jeff Prentiss is a homicide cop in departmental trouble. He knows his wife is being stalked, but feels helpless to do anything about it. Does he report it and bring undue attention to himself, or should he take matters into his own hands, and damn the consequences? In "Truth Always Kills", author Rick Ollerman the author of Turnabout / Shallow Secrets (9781933586472, $19.95 PB, $4.99 Kindle, 256pp), has penned another terrific suspense thriller that will engage and hold the reader's rapt attention from first page to last. A master of the genre, Rick Ollerman's "Truth Always Kills" is very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Truth Always Kills" is also available in a Kindle edition ($4.99).

Death on a Starry Night
Betsy Draine & Michael Hinden
University of Wisconsin Press
1930 Monroe Street, Third Floor, Madison, WI 53711-2059
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299307301, $24.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden (Professors Emeriti of English at the University of Wisconsin - Madison) are the co-authors of the mysteries "Murder in Lascaux" (9780299284206, $26.95 HC; $24.95 PB; $10.49 Kindle) and "The Body in Bodega Bay" (9780299297909, $26.95 HC, $14.95 Kindle), the first two novels in their Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler mystery series. Another deftly crafty novel of mystery and suspense, "Death on a Starry Night" is the third book featuring Nora and Toby. This time finds that when art historian Nora Barnes returns to France for a Van Gogh conference in the charming medieval village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, she's expecting a vigorous debate about whether the famed artist's suicide was actually a homicide. But on the night before the conference, an elderly French woman who'd promised to reveal important evidence is found head down in the village fountain, and her Chanel briefcase is nowhere to be seen. During a week of academic squabbling, dining, romance, and suspense, the quirky conference members, one by one, fall under police suspicion and the amused gaze of Nora's husband, Toby. But someone wants to halt Nora and Toby's amateur sleuthing, and what happens next is no joke. "Death on a Starry Night" is highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to the personal reading lists of mystery buffs, and a sought after addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

Dying for a Taste
Leslie Karst
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781629535975, $25.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

After losing her mother to cancer, Sally Solari quits her job as an attorney to help her dad run his old-style Italian eatery in Santa Cruz, California. But managing the front of the house is far from her dream job. Then in a sudden twist her Aunt Letta is found murdered in her own restaurant, and Sally is the only one who can keep the place running. But when her sous chef is accused of the crime, and she finds herself suddenly short-staffed, Sally must delve into the world of sustainable farming, not to mention a few family secrets, to help him clear his name and catch the true culprit before her timer runs out. A terrifically entertaining and deftly written mystery from the pen of Leslie Karst, "Dying for a Taste" is all the more impressive when considering that this is the author's debut as a novelist. Clearly a master of the mystery genre, "Dying for a Taste" is very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections. For the personal reading lists of mystery buffs it should be noted that "Dying for a Taste" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).

Bad Sign
R. J. Ellory
The Overlook Press
141 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012
www.overlookpress.com
9781468311273, $26.95, HC, 440pp, www.amazon.com

Orphaned by an act of senseless violence that took their mother from them, half-brothers Clarence Luckman and Elliott Danziger have been raised in state institutions, unaware of any world beyond its walls. But their lives take a sudden turn when they are seized as hostages by a convicted killer en route to death row. Earl Sheridan is a psychopath of the worst kind, and as he and his two hostages set off on a frenetic path through California down to Texas, Clarence and Elliot must come to terms with the ever-growing tide of violence in their wake. It's a path that will force them to make a choice about their lives, and their relationship to each other and it will change their lives forever. Set in the 1960s, "Bad Signs" is a tale of the darkness within all of us, the inherent hope for salvation, and the ultimate consequences of evil. With "Bad Sign", author R. J. Ellory has once again penned a spellbinding and compelling thriller of a novel that will hold the reader's rapt attention from beginning to end. "Bad Sign" is very highly recommended and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Bad Signs" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.83).

Dying to Tell
T. J. O'Connor
Midnight Ink
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125-2989
www.midnightinkbooks.com
9780738742076, $14.99, PB, 384pp, www.amazon.com

Oliver "Tuck" Tucker is a former police detective who now solves mysteries from the afterlife. Tuck doesn't know how perilous the past is until his wife, Angel, is nearly killed and reclusive banker William Mendelson is found dead in a hidden vault. Tuck knows there's more to Mendelson's murder than decades-old skullduggery. As murderers, thieves, and spies descend on small-town Winchester, Tuck joins up with Angel, his old detective partners, and his long-dead grandfather who's still on an army mission from 1942. With the case unfolding around him, Tuck must confront haunting family secrets and the growing distance between his death and Angel's life -- and the outcome is a killer of its own. "Dying to Tell" is a deftly crafted blend of mystery and fantasy that will prove a riveting read to fans of both genres. Launching what promises to be an outstanding new series by author T. J. O'Connor, "Dying to Tell" is very highly recommended for community library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Dying to Tell" is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.99).

Midnight in Berlin
James MacManus
Thomas Dunne Books
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
9781250079404, $26.99, HC, 416pp, www.amazon.com

"Midnight in Berlin" by James MacManus is set in Berlin, Germany, in the spring of 1939. Hitler is preparing for war. Colonel Noel Macrae, a British diplomat, plans the ultimate sacrifice to stop him. The West's appeasement policies have failed. There is only one alternative: assassination. The Gestapo, aware of Macrae's hostility, seeks to compromise him in their infamous brothel. There Macrae meets and falls in love with Sara, a Jewish woman blackmailed into becoming a Nazi courtesan. Macrae finds himself trapped between the blind policies of his government and the dark world of betrayal and deception in Berlin. As he seeks to save the woman he loves from the brutality of the Gestapo, he defies his government and plans direct action to avert what he knows will be a global war. Although a work of deftly crafted fiction, "Midnight in Berlin" is inspired by actual true events and historical characters. Indeed, "Midnight in Berlin" is a passionate and riveting story of courage, sacrifice, and love set against a world on the brink of war. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Midnight in Berlin" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99) and in an MP3 CD format ($29.95).

Once Upon a Lie
Michael French
Terra Nova Books
33 Alondra Road, Santa Fe, NM87508
www.terranovabooks.com
9781938288654, $26.95, PB, 388pp, www.amazon.com

Twelve-year-old Jaleel Robeson is on the run after the police in his tiny Texas town try to frame him for the death of his father. A world away, Alexandra "Alex" Baten is growing up amid all the material comforts a wealthy Los Angeles lawyer can provide. One day, a simple cup of lemonade unites their lives, leading to a maze of adultery and murder that shatters Alex's youthful innocence and Jaleel's struggle to reshape his life. While the forces of the law try to unravel the mysterious death (or at least find a scapegoat) the two youths see the trajectories of their lives entwine, unravel, and come together again. Justice, Alex learns, can be a strange and nebulous thing, easily enmeshed in webs of loyalty and betrayal. Justice, Jaleel finds, can be a powerful (but dangerous) rock on which to build a life of honor and courage. As their stories play out over the years in cities far apart, author Michael French fills the world of Alex and Jaleel with a cast of vivid characters both supporting and threatening their efforts to build a life that "works" amid the expectancies of others and their own conflicting drives. "Once Upon A Lie" is a riveting page-turner of a novel from beginning to end and very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Once Upon A Lie" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Cry Blood / Killer in Silk
H. Vernor Dixon
Stark House Press
1315 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501
www.starkhousepress.com
9781933586793, $20.95, PB, 292pp, www.amazon.com

Two riveting classics of noir fiction by the late H. Vernor Dixon have been made once again available to readers who appreciative appreciate an especially well crafted tale of mystery and suspense. A man s friends turn on him when he is unjustly accused of a crime in "Cry Blood". In "Killer in Silk", an alcoholic writer is taken in by a woman who may have murdered her husband. Dixon was a popular Gold Medal writer of the 1950s. This Stark House Press edition of "Cry Blood / Killer in Silk" is enhanced with the inclusion of an informative treatise on H. Vernor Dixon by Donald S. Napoli, and a complete H. Vernor Dixon bibliography. "Cry Blood / Killer in Silk" is very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, as well as the personal reading lists of dedicated noir mystery fans.


The Fiction Shelf

The Lobby
Randi M. Sherman
Friesen Press
990 Fort Street, Suite 300, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8V 3K2
www.friesenpress.com
9781460278109, $31.99, HC, 222pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of his novel "The Lobby", author Randi M. Sherman welcomes the reader to the Shipley Hotel, where the perky and attentive staff provides the gold standard in artificial concern and comfort to all the colorful characters who pass through its polished brass revolving door and find themselves. Practically engineered for eavesdropping, San Francisco's juiciest hotel lobby offers the perfect place to witness the comings and goings-and the most comedic intersections-of staff, long-term residents, and eclectic guests. Featuring over fifty stories all transpiring in a single twenty-four hour period and intersecting in the Shipley Hotel's elegant lobby, readers will meet an eccentric and vast array of characters, most of whom will look awfully familiar and all of whom will speak to the heart. Employing acute skills in human observation and a keen understanding of the essential human needs-frequently unplanned and unexpected rendezvous, ready laughter at others' expense. "The Lobby" is an impressive, deftly crafted work of original fiction that will prove to be a riveting read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Lobby" is also available in a paperback edition (9781460278116, $15.49) and in a Kindle format ($7.99).

Late For Gettysburg
Vance Tillman
Linford Western Library
Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444826111, $24.57, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

When the Civil War ended with the surrender of Confederate forces, Eugene Wyeth who rode with Jeb Stuart refuses to surrender. With a price on his head he assumes there is a bounty hunter around every corner. But when his old comrade-in-arms, Rattlesnake Jack, is shot, Wyeth must risk exposure and ride into town to seek help. Branded a traitor to the southern cause by the fanatical and ruthless Kirby Taylor and his Black Mask gang of gunslingers Wyeth's finds himself a wanted man under a sentence of death. In an ultimate confrontation that includes his sweetheart Jolie being in dire jeopardy because of her love for him, Wyeth must examine all he has stood for and put his very identity to the test. "Late For Gettysburg" is a terrific action/adventure western novel from beginning to end and very highly recommended in this Large Print edition for community library collections and the personal reading list for any and all western buffs.

A Thousand Shall Fall
Andrea Boeshaar
Kregel Publications
2450 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
www.kregel.com
9780825443817, $14.99, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Nineteen-year-old Carrie Ann Bell is independent and spirited. The only thing she really fears are the Union soldiers fighting against her Confederate friends. When her youngest sister runs away from home, brave Carrie Ann is determined to find her and bring her back. Disguised as a soldier, she sets off--only to find she's fallen into the hands of the enemy. Her childhood friend Confederate Major Joshua Blevins has warned her against these Yankees: they're all devils, ready to inflict evil on unsuspecting young women. When Colonel Peyton Collier arrests her for her impersonation of an officer, it seems to confirm all her fears. Soon, though, she finds herself drawn to the handsome, gallant colonel. He rescued her, protected her, and has been every inch the gentleman. Carrie Ann discovers that her foe has become her ally--and more than that, someone she could love. But the arrival of Joshua in the Union camp as a spy will test her loyalties. Will she protect someone who has been like family or be loyal to this stranger to whom she wants to offer her heart? When her world is being torn apart around her, whom should she trust? Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, "A Thousand Shall Fall" is framed around compelling characters and a very romantic setting in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Andrea Boeshaar's extensive research guarantees historical accuracy and romance genre enthusiasts and Civil War buffs alike will enjoy the Christian perspectives on actual historical events. "A Thousand Shall Fall" is very highly recommended for community library Historical Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "A Thousand Shall Fall" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Step by Step
Candace Calvert
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
www.tyndale.com
9781414390345, $14.99, PB, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Three years after a tragic accident left her a widow, ER nurse Taylor Cabot is determined to move on, checking off one item after another on her survival list. Her relationship with a handsome plastic surgeon even gives her hope for the last point, to "fall in love again". At least until crisis chaplain Seth Donovan steps back into her life, reawakening unanswered questions about her husband's death. While in San Diego to train community volunteers, Seth hopes to learn why Taylor is backing away from the crisis team and from their friendship. But nothing prepares him for the feelings that arise when he sees Taylor again . . . and sees her moving on with another man. When a community crisis hits home and puts lives at risk, emotions run high and buried truths are unearthed. Will hope make the survival list? The second volume in author Candace Calvert's outstanding 'Crisis Team' series, "Step by Step" is another deftly crafted and enormously entertaining novel by a true master of the genre. "Step by Step" is very highly recommended for community library Romance Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Step by Step" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

The Tsarina's Legacy
Jennifer Laam
St. Martin's Griffin
c/o St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
9781250091512, $27.99, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Grigory "Grisha" Potemkin has had a successful long association with the powerful Empress Catherine of Russia. But Catherine and Grisha are both older now and face new threats from powers outside of Russia, as well as from those close to them. Haunted by the horrors of his campaign against the Muslim Turks, Grisha hopes to construct a mosque in the heart of the empire. Unfortunately, Catherine's much younger new lover, the ambitious Platon Zubov, stands in his way. Grisha determines that to preserve Catherine's legacy he must save her from Zubov's dangerous influence and win back her heart. When she learns she is the lost heiress to the Romanov throne, Veronica Herrera's life turns upside down. Dmitry Potemkin, one of Grisha's descendants, invites Veronica to Russia to accept a ceremonial position as Russia's new tsarina. Seeking purpose, Veronica agrees to act as an advocate to free a Russian artist sentenced to prison for displaying paintings critical of the church and government. Veronica is both celebrated and chastised. As her political role comes under fire, Veronica is forced to decide between the glamorous perks of European royalty and staying true to herself. In Jennifer Laam's "The Tsarina's Legacy", unexpected connections between Grisha and Veronica are revealed as they struggle to make peace with the ghosts of their past and help secure a better future for themselves and the country they both love. A deftly crafted, multi-layered, exceptionally entertaining read from beginning to end, "The Tsarina's Legacy" reveals author Jennifer Laam as an impressively gifted and original novelist. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Tsarina's Legacy" is also available in a paperback edition (9781250068798, $15.99) and in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Early Warning
Jane Smiley
Anchor Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
www.randomhouse.com
9780307744814, $16.00, PB, 496pp, www.amazon.com

It's 1953, and the Langdons are at a crossroads. Walter, their stalwart patriarch, has died unexpectedly, and his wife must try to keep their farm going. But of their five children, only one will remain to work the land. The others scatter to Washington, DC, California, and everywhere in between. As the country moves into the Cold War, through the social revolutions of the '60s and '70s, and into the unprecedented wealth (for some) of the early '80s, the Langdon children have children of their own: twin boys who are best friends and vicious rivals; a girl whose rebellious spirit takes her to the notorious Peoples Temple in San Francisco; and a golden boy who drops out of college to fight in Vietnam, leaving behind a secret legacy. Capturing a transformative period through recognizable and familiar characters, "Early Warning" is the second volume in Jane Smiley's epic trilogy and brings to vividly to life the challenges and rewards of family and home, even in the most turbulent of times. Penned by a Pulitzer Prize level master storyteller, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Early Warning" is also available in a Kindle edition ($11.99).

Eureka Valley: Grandfathers' Grandfathers
Lisa Doerr
Northern Lakes Farm
2665 - 233rd Street, Cushing, WI 54006
www.northernlakesfarm.com
9780996262606, $19.95, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Who really won America's Civil War? Lycurgus Bell and the more than 100,000 Southern soldiers who fought for Abraham Lincoln thought they knew. They were wrong. "Eureka Valley: Grandfathers' Grandfathers" by Lisa Doerr is a magical re-telling of American history. Grounded in northwestern Wisconsin's glacial landscape, this powerful tale unravels the roots that bind a modern rural couple to their ancestors, Lycurgus Bell and Wood John Johnson. Born to an Alabama family loyal to the Union, Lycurgus serves in Lincoln's Civil War army. Returning home a victor, he expects his just rewards. Instead, the Union he suffered greatly to save hangs him out to dry. Driven from home, Lycurgus and his wife seek refuge with their prized gaited horses in Eureka Valley. Swedish immigrant, Wood John Johnson, spends years felling Wisconsin's forests and cruising new timber stands for East Coast financiers. Upon entering Eureka Valley's unique transitional ecosystem, he glimpses a different way of life that lives on today. These uncommon characters and others such as Sylvester Partridge, Bratch Porter, Chickamauga, Peder Borgen, Waabani and Mountain Slasher, are drawn from the real people who fought the Civil War and made colonization of America's vast heartland possible. Impressively well written and with an exceptional attention to historical detail, "Eureka Valley: Grandfathers' Grandfathers" is a compelling and rewarding read from beginning to end -- and establishing author Lisa Doerr as a novelist of commendable storytelling skill. Very highly recommended as an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Eureka Valley: Grandfathers' Grandfathers" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

The Blackpool Highflyer
Andrew Martin
Isis Large Print
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781785411236, $35.50, 440pp, www.amazon.com

Assigned to drive holiday makers to the seaside resort of Blackpool in the hot summer of 1905, Jim Stringer is happy to have left behind the grime and danger of life in London. But his dreams of beer and pretty women are soon shattered when his high-speed train meets a huge millstone on the line. In the months that follow, as he hunts for the saboteur, Jim is drawn into a beguiling but dangerous world of eccentrics, conmen, and cowards. From ventriloquists to funfair salesmen, ticket clerks to dandies, everyone is a suspect. A deftly crafted and compelling read from beginning to end, "The Blackpool Highflyer" reveals author Andrew Martin as a skilled and impressively accomplished novelist. This large print edition of "The Blackpool Highflyer" is especially commended to the attention of community libraries and the personal reading lists of mystery/suspense enthusiasts.

A Kiss To Change Her Life
Karin Baine
Mills & Boon
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.millsandbook.co.uk
9780263263697, $29.95, www.ulverscroftusa.com

Jessica Halliday is producing a documentary to support Belfast's Community Children's Hospital, and she needs handsome pediatrician Rob Campbell on board. But to persuade him she'll have to put her heart on the line and open up about her infertility. Jessica's confession leads Rob to share a part of his heart he's long kept hidden. With an unexpected intimacy created after just one kiss, their walls begin to crumble. Can Rob create a new happy-ever-after with this time having Jessica by his side? Very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Romance Fiction collections, "A Kiss To Change Her Life" is another terrific read from the pen of Karine Baine who once again has proven herself to be a master of the romance genre.

Fear of Falling
Catherine Lanigan
Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3B 3K9
www.catherinelanigan.com
9780373367818, $6.50, PR, 368pp, www.amazon.com

Was Olivia hearing this right? The one man in Indian Lake she'd found truly intriguing since, well, forever, is the hopelessly handsome heir to the region's most successful farming operation, Rafe Barzonni -- was involved in horse racing? That made him, and her sudden attraction, downright dangerous. He wasn't just out of her league. He was a gambler. Like her father. With the shame of her father's racetrack betting addiction still haunting her, Olivia can't be part of that world. Rafe's world. She can't trust him, or his magnetism. But there's something deep in his incredible blue eyes that keeps drawing her closer. Catherine Lanigan has been writing novels for over 35 years. Her bestselling romances have been translated into 27 languages. When "Fear of Falling" Catherine has written still another terrifically entertaining romance novel which is book 5 in her outstanding 'Shores of Indian lake' series. Very highly recommended for community library Romance Fiction collections, "Fear of Falling" is a 'must read' for Catherine's legions of fans. It should be noted that "Fear of Falling" is also available in a Kindle edition ($4.99).

To Look on Death No More
Leta Serafim
Coffeetown Press
c/o Camel Press
PO Box 70515, Seattle, WA 98127
www.coffeetownpress.com
9781603811927, $13.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

In autumn of 1943, a lone allied soldier parachutes into Greece. His stated goal: to build an airstrip for the British. Brendon O'Malley is an Irishman, and he soon discovers that fighting the Nazis is not the same as embracing the British, who have seriously misled him about his mission. Wounded during the drop, he's set upon and robbed by a seventeen-year-old girl, Danae, and her little brother, Stefanos, who hold him captive for over six weeks, first in a cave and later in the cellar of their home in Kalavryta. A wary friendship develops between the three. Over time O'Malley's relationship with the girl gradually deepens into love. Slowly O'Malley earns Danae's trust, and he stays on with her family in their house in the village. After his wounds heal, he heads up into the mountains to join the Greek soldiers, the antartes, who are suspicious of the British and slow to accept him into their ranks. O'Malley is no ordinary man, and his honesty, strength, and courage impress them and finally win the day. But disaster lies just ahead, and the Nazis, already a palpable presence in their lives, stage a savage attack on Kalavryta. Through it all, the love of this Irishman for his indomitable Greek muse cannot be extinguished. "To Look on Death No More" is an impressively crafted read from beginning to end and clearly establishes author Leta Serafim as an exceptionally gifted novelist. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "To Look on Death No More" is also available in a Kindle edition ($6.95).

Echoes of Massacre Canyon
Ben Tyler
Five Star Books
10 Water Street, Suite 310, Waterville, ME 04901
http://gale.cengage.com/fivestar
9781432831387, $25.95, HC, 254pp, www.amazon.com

Clint Ramsay is an Underwood Detective Agency troubleshooter who in 1881, travels to San Reale, Texas, in order to help a friend. He soon discovers that danger is lurking behind every bush and rock. He finds himself drawn into a complex web of treachery, greed, and murder. What is the secret everyone seems to know but him? Ramsay is unexpectedly reunited with beautiful Calico Holliday, a tough, no-nonsense woman from his past. When we add an old Comanche adversary named, Wolf Eye, an ex-Quantrill raider, and rumors of hidden gold, we have the makings for an exciting adventure. "Echoes of Massacre Canyon" is a fast-paced and riveting read of a western novel of intrigue, twists, and turns, clearly underscoring author Ben Tyler as a master of the western genre. Very highly recommended for western novel buffs and community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Echoes of Massacre Canyon" is also available in a Kindle edition ($3.99).

Once a Rancher
Linda Lael Miller
HQN Books
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780373789771, $26.99, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

Slater Carson might be a filmmaker by trade, but he's still a cowboy at heart - and he knows the value of a hard day's work under the hot Wyoming sun. So when he sees troubled teen Ryder heading down a dangerous path, he offers the boy a job on the ranch he shares with his two younger brothers. And since Ryder's guardian is the gorgeous new Mustang Creek resort manager, Grace Emery, Slater figures it can't hurt to keep a closer eye on her, as well. Grace Emergy doesn't have time for romance. Between settling into her new job and caring for her ex-husband's rebellious son, her attraction to larger-than-life Slater is a distraction she can't afford. But when an unexpected threat emerges, she'll discover just how far Slater will go to protect what matters most -- and that love is always worth fighting for. The first volume of a new series (The Carsons of Mustang Creek), by Linda Lael Miller, "Once a Rancher" is another terrifically entertaining read from a true master of the romance genre. Highly recommended for community library Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Once a Rancher" is also available in a mass market paperback edition (9780373779680, $7.99) and in a Kindle format ($6.49).

What We Find
Robyn Carr
Mira
c/o Harlequin Books
225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3B 3K9
9780778318859, $26.99, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Between the urban bustle of Denver and the high-stress environment of a career in neurosurgery, Maggie Sullivan has hit a wall. When an emergency high-risk procedure results in the death of a teenager, Maggie finds herself in the middle of a lawsuit - and experiencing levels of anxiety she's never faced before. She knows she needs to slow down before she burns out completely, and the best place she can think to do that is Sullivan's Crossing. Named for Maggie's great-grandfather, the land and charming general store at the crossroads of the Colorado and the Continental Divide Trails have been passed down through the generations and now belong to Maggie's eccentric father, Sully. When she shows up unannounced, he welcomes her with open arms, and she relishes the opportunity to indulge in his simple way of life. But shortly after arriving, Maggie's world is rocked once again and she must take on more responsibility than she'd planned. Though she's relieved a quiet and serious-looking hiker, Cal Jones, is willing to lend a hand, Maggie is suspicious of this mysterious man's eagerness to help -- until she finds out the true reason for his deliberate isolation. Though Cal and Maggie each struggle with loss and loneliness, the time they spend together gives Maggie hope for something brighter just on the horizon... if only they can learn to find peace and healing (and perhaps love) with each other. Another deftly written and thoroughly entertaining read from an established master of the romance genre, "What We Find" by Robyn Carr is enthusiastically recommended for community library Contemporary Romance Fiction collections. For personal reading lists for her legions of fans, it should be noted that "What We Find" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99).

Deal Master
Adam Gittlin
Oceanview Publishing
595 Bay Isles Road, 120-G, Longboat Key, FL 34228
www.oceanviewpub.com
9781608091805, $27.95, HC, 416pp, www.amazon.com

Power Broker Jonah Gray is home. But does that mean Amsterdam, or New York City? Will he be Ivan Janse or Jonah Gray? One thing is certain Jonah, as always, is steeled to get where he needs to go. This time around, the stakes couldn't be higher. Someone from Jonah's past is back in a big way. Jonah has been strong-armed into using his knowledge of the business of skyscrapers to assist in a nefarious, global scheme -- and failure, as has been made clear, is simply not an option. There are monstrous deals and piles of cash to be made. There are reputations (even lives) to be lost. Facing the horrors of the past, Jonah's own demons start to encroach as Perry, the woman he loves, seems to sink deeper and deeper into drugs and/or insanity. Jonah could be cracking under stress just as he needs maximum focus. He has always been able to call up his resolute strength of character and it's never been needed more than now. Jonah is in for the fight of his life. Not just for himself, and not just for Perry, but for an entire industry. Another terrific read from the mind and imagination of Adam Gittlin, "Deal Master" is a an original and riveting read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Deal Master" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.95).

Winds of Change
Bonnye Matthews
Publication Consultants
PO Box 221974, Anchorage, Alaska, 99522-1974
www.publicationconsultants.com
www.amazon.com

"Winds of Change" by Bonnye Matthews is an exceptionally and impressively researched five volume series of prehistoric novels focused upon a theme of the Peopling of the Americas. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this outstanding and original series is comprised of "Ki'Ti's Story, 75,000 BC" (9781594333125, $19.95 PB, $8.79 Kindle, 350pp); "Manak-Na's Story, 75,000 BC" (9781594333736, $19.95 PB, $8.79 Kindle, 352pp); "Zamimolo's Story: 50,000 BC" (9781594334566, $19.95 PB, $8.79 Kindle, 266pp); Tuksook's Story: 35,000 BC" (9781594335211, $19.95 PB, $9.49 Kindle, 354pp); and "The Seal Eaters, 20,000 BC" (9781594336003, $19.95 PB, $9.95 Kindle, 314pp). This inherently fascinating series deals with such diverse anthropological issues as when humans first came to the North and America continents, where did the first humans to occupy this new world come from, and just who were they? The currently popular notion that humans didn't cross over from either Asia or Europe until around 10,000 years ago is becoming increasingly obsolete given the continued advances in anthropological and archaeological research. What author Bonnye Mathews has managed to do is to expertly craft a series of notably entertaining novels that incorporates new data into an historical fictional accounts that bring these ancient peoples alive in a way that will prove inherently fascinating, informative, and entertaining for the non-specialist general reader. Each of these five volumes can be read as 'stand alone' works by themselves, but enthusiastic readers will find themselves wanting to engage in what amounts to a more than 50,000 year saga and read all five volumes, especially when reading them in the above chronological order. Simply stated, this outstanding "Winds of Change" series is very highly and enthusiastically recommended for personal reading lists, as well as both community and academic library Historical Fiction collections.


The Christian Studies Shelf

Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism
Stanley E. Porter & Andrew W. Pitts
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
2140 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
www.eerdmans.com
9780802872241, $22.00, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

The textual criticism of the New Testament is the analysis of the manuscripts of the New Testament, whose goals include identification of transcription errors, analysis of versions, and attempts to reconstruct the original. In "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism", Stanley E. Porter (President, Dean, and Professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontari) and Andrew W. Pitts (Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Arizona Christian University in Phoenix) expertly collaborate to present all the essential, foundational elements necessary to grasp textual criticism of the New Testament. "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism" accurately defines the subject of textual criticism, discusses the canon and manuscripts of the New Testament, outlines methodological principles, and more. "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism" then concludes with a chapter on New Testament translations and how to evaluate them. Part of a coordinated Greek study curriculum, "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism" is designed to function as a companion to Fundamentals of New Testament Greek and its accompanying workbook (Eerdmans, 2010); as well as an intermediate grammar of New Testament Greek is forthcoming. "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism" is very highly recommended for seminar and academic library Biblical Studies reference collections, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in New Testament studies. It should be noted for that "Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism" is also available in a Kindle edition ($18.21).

Ten: How the Commandments Set Us Free
Mark Mitchell
Discovery House
3000 Kraft Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512
www.dhp.org
9781627074865, $10.99, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Everyone knows about The Ten Commandments that are deemed as coming directly from God by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. But do you see them as a strict set of rules with a punishment for disobedience? Do you think they are outdated, without meaning for us today? Or might they be a blueprint for your life, designed by a loving and gracious God? The law that He spoke into being on the mountainside so long ago is still active and applicable to our lives now. In "Ten: How the Commandments Set Us Free", Denver Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary graduate Mark Mitchell (who is currently the Lead Pastor of Central Peninsula Church, a multi-campus church on the San Francisco Peninsula) shows us how we can embrace both God's law and His gospel of grace to find true freedom. Witten with an impressive clarity and insight, "Ten: How the Commandments Set Us Free" is very highly recommended for all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Ten: How the Commandments Set Us Free" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

The Face of the Deep
Paul J. Pastor
David C. Cook
c/o Cook Communications
4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
www.cookministries.com
9780781413329, $16.99, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Many Christians don't have a clear idea of the Holy Spirit's role in their life. Yet Scripture is full of stories that show the Spirit as a vibrant, personal being. "The Face of the Deep: Exploring the Mysterious Person of the Holy Spirit" invites you on a quest for the Holy Spirit that journeys through our world and Bible. The adventure is infused with wonder and symbolic imagination ranging from the black void of Genesis 1, all the way through the explosive re-creation at the close of Revelation. You'll encounter the love and power of the Holy Spirit revealed through the beauty of creation, art, history, and theology. Paul J. Pastor is a writer and grassroots pastor living in the woods of Oregon's majestic Columbia River Gorge with his wife and three children. With an M.A. in Bible and Theology from Western Seminary, Paul is a contributing editor for Christianity Today's Leadership Journal and a regular adjunct professor at Multnomah University. With "The Face of the Deep", he draws upon his many years of experience, study, and theological expertise to provide an informative and inspiring treatise that is very highly recommended for both clergy and laity regardless of their denominational affiliation. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Face of the Deep" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

The Splendor of the Saints
Fr. Aloysius Roche
TAN Books
c/o Saint Benedict Press
PO Box 410487, Charlotte, NC 28241
www.SaintBenedictPress.com
9781618906076, $16.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

In "The Splendor of the Saints: Why They Dazzle the World and Shape History", the late Fr. Aloysiys Roche (1886-1968) answers that question of how Catholic saints affect and influence us with a very special wit and wonder in his refreshing, rollicking account of outstanding saintly achievements across the centuries. These stories will inspire you to follow the saints' examples as you discover how they: Lived fascinating lives that make legends seem dull by comparison; Practiced heroic selfness, detachment, self-denial, and generosity; Displayed startling energy and stamina in fulfilling their missions; Transformed society through ways of thinking far ahead of their time; Left their imprint on the world's geography, languages, and cultures. This new and definitive edition of Fr. Roche's modern classic features a new Foreword about the author's life by Paul Thigpen. It also features 133 new biographic and explanatory footnotes; comprehensive Scripture citations, as well as an updated style and vocabulary to make it accessible to the contemporary reader. "The Splendor of the Saints" is especially recommended to the attention of all members of the Roman Catholic community. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Splendor of the Saints" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.98).

Manual for Eucharistic Adoration
The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, author
Paul Thigpen, editor
TAN Books
c/o Saint Benedict Press
PO Box 410487, Charlotte, NC 28241
www.SaintBenedictPress.com
9781618907868, $29.95, Leather Bound, 336pp, www.amazon.com

Eucharistic adoration according to Fr. Frederick Faber is the queen of all devotions. Pope St. Pius X taught that it was the devotion most profitable for our salvation. And St. Gemma Galgani treasured it as the school of Paradise where one learns how to love. So many popes and saints exhort us to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord. Deftly edited by Paul Thigpen, the "Manual for Eucharistic Adoration" from The Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration will enrich your hours with the Lord. The "Manual for Eucharistic Adoration" is presented in two major sections. Part One, Preparing for Eucharistic Adoration, answers these questions: What is Eucharistic adoration, and why is it so important?; What does Scripture teach about this devotion?; What are the fruit of Eucharistic adoration?; How should I spend my time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Part Two, Aids in Eucharistic Adoration, provides these essential resources: Teaching about the Eucharist from Scripture and Church documents; Scripture verses for adoration, wisdom and inspiration from saints especially devoted to our Eucharistic Lord; Prayers, Rosary meditations, reflections and hymns. Mother Teresa once said: The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Take this great saint's words to heart. Then take the "Manual for Eucharistic Adoration" when you go to meet Him, and keep it with you Spiritual Communions and other moments of spontaneous adoration throughout the day. This beautiful Premium UltraSoft leather bound gift edition features sewn binding, ribbon marker and gold edges. Very highly recommended to all members of the Roman Catholic community, it should also be noted that the "Manual for Eucharistic Adoration" is available in a Kindle edition ($9.98).

Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?
Charles Halton, editor
Zondervan Publishing House
5300 Patterson Avenue, S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530
www.zondervan.com
9780310514947, $16.99, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

There is little doubt that in recent years the nature of the Genesis narrative has sparked much debate among Christians. Compiled and edited by Old Testament scholar Charles Halton, "Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?" is part of the Zondervan 'Counterpoints' series and introduces three predominant interpretive genres and their implications for biblical understanding. Each of three contributors identifies their position on the genre of Genesis 1-11, addressing why it is appropriate to the text, and contributes examples of its application to a variety of passages. The contributors and views include: James K. Hoffmeier: Theological History; Gordon J. Wenham: Proto-History; Kenton L. Sparks: Ancient Historiography. Of special note is Charles Halton's explanation of the importance of genre and his provision of historical insight in the introduction and helpful summaries of each position in the conclusion. In the reader-friendly Counterpoints format, "Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?" helps readers to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of each view and draw informed conclusions in this much-debated topic. Simply stated, "Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?" will prove to be of immense and informative interest for academics and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject. While very highly recommended for seminary and academic library Old Testament Studies reference collections, It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Genesis: History, Fiction, or Neither?" is also available in a Kindle edition ($10.99).

Fasting as a Family
Melissa Naasko
Ancient Faith Publishing
PO Box 748, Chesterton, IN 46304-0748
http://store.ancientfaith.com
9781936270521, $21.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

All Christians are familiar with the concept of fasting as a part of their religious lives. But when fasting day or season (such as Lent) arrives, does it find you scanning your pantry shelves in a panic, wondering what in the world to cook for dinner? Help is on the way with "Fasting as a Family: Planning and Preparing Delicious Lenten Meals" by Melissa Naasko, who as a Christian, a food blogger and the mother of 11, will walk you through the process of stocking a Lenten pantry, planning Lenten season meals, provide for those with tight budgets and dietary restrictions, resulting in the cooking of easy to prepare delicious, and varied fast-appropriate meals that both kids and adults will love. With worry about food compatible with a season of fasting is a thing of the past, because you will be able to focus on the spiritual aspect of the fasts as never before. It should be noted that "Fasting as a Family" also includes an extensive recipe section. Illustrated with black/white photography, "Fasting as a Family" is very highly recommended to all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation. It should be noted that "Fasting as a Family" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).


The Judaic Studies Shelf

Relics for the Present
Levi Cooper
Maggid
c/o Toby Press
PO Box 8531, New Milford, CT 06776-8531
www.korenpub.com
9781592643608, $29.95, HC, 324pp, www.amazon.com

Levi Cooper teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and serves as the rabbi of HaTzur VeHaTzohar Congregation in Zur Hadassa, Israel. In "Relics for the Present: Contemporary Reflections on the Talmud", Rabbi Cooper address such theological issues as: How much time should it take to pray? Is one allowed to argue with God? Who can give a blessing? And what is worth crying for? "Relics for the Present" is a page-by-page companion to Berakhot, the first tractate of the Talmud, in which Rabbi Cooper deftly explores the wisdom of the Jewish sages, transforming their ancient teachings into lessons for everyday life. Very highly recommended for synagogue, community, and academic library Judaic Studies reference collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for academia and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in Talmudic studies that "Relics for the Present" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).


The Business Shelf

How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay, second edition
Zachary Humphrey and Alexander L. Kaplan, P.A.
Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 S.W. 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
9781601389459 $16.95 www.atlantic-pub.com

Now in a revised and updated second edition, How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay lives up to its title as a practical, hands-on guide to obtaining quality items that one can buy for a few cents on the dollar and flip on eBay for a profit. Filled with tips, tricks, techniques, an extensive merchandise directory, and an index, How and Where to Locate the Merchandise to Sell on eBay is a thoroughly accessible "must" for anyone interested in their own eBay business, whether as a hobby for a little extra pocket change or a full-time career. Highly recommended!

Shops that POP!
Pamela Danziger & Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti
Paramount Market Publishing, Inc.
950 Danby Road, Suite 136, Ithaca, NY 14850
www.paramountbooks.com
9781941688410, $28.00, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Small businesses create more new jobs than do the corporate conglomerates. But to do that the small business owner and/or manager must be savvy and learn how to tap into retailing trends, attract high-potential and high-spending customers by providing a new shopping experience that those customers cannot find at the mall, in the national chains, or in big box stores.
In "Shops that POP!: 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success", speaker, author, and market researcher Pamela N. Danziger teams up with Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti (an independent writer specializing in writing for market research and analysis, industry reports, business and technology coverage, and corporate communications) to provide even the most novice of small business proprietors with simple step-by-step instructions on how to go about transforming their stores from ordinary to extraordinary, and learn from seventeen of the nation's best specialty retailers about how they made their stores "pop". Very highly recommended for both community and academic library Business Management instructional reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists, "Shops that POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success" is particularly commended to the personal reading lists of independent specialty retailers who want to thrive in the volatile and competitive post-recession shopping environment. It should be noted that "Shops that POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.95).

7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation
Warren Shiver & Michael Perla
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
www.palgrave-usa.com
9781137548047, $35.00, HC, 199pp, www.amazon.com

Collaborative written by Warren Shiver (who is the Founder and Managing Partner of Symmetrics Group, one of America's fastest-growing private companies, which is dedicated to driving sustainable revenue improvements by transforming sales organizations) and Michael Perla (a Principal with Symmetrics Group and who helps to lead, scope and execute sales transformation efforts for the organization), "7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation: Driving Sustainable Change in Your Organization" is specifically intended to enable leaders in transforming their sales team with a practical, 'real-world based', step-by-step plan that includes diagnostics, and an actionable roadmap for transforming change and follow up analytics. Enhanced with the inclusion of figures, tables, four pages of Notes, and a six page Index, "7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation" is an exceptionally well written, informed and informative guide that is very highly recommended for the personal reading lists of anyone charged with sales and marketing responsibilities, as well as corporate, community, and academic library Business Management reference collections and supplemental studies curriculums.

The Surging Team
Scott D. Brennan
New Insights Press
c/o Over And Above Creative Group
www.TheSurgingTeam.com
www.overandabovecreative.com
9780996548601, $24.95, PB, 262pp, www.amazon.com

In "The Surging Team: 10 BOLD skills for Accelerated Team Success", business management expert Scott D. Brennan shows how to develop and lead what he calls a "Surging Team", that is, a team that demonstrates highly functioning interactive capabilities, achieves seemingly unstoppable momentum, and goes on to accomplish its goals and always win. Surging Teams are full of co-creative drive, pursuing a specific purpose, and using collaboration to summon the innovations needed to overcome obstacles. "The Surging Team" shows how to develop a Surging Team based on a powerful methodology that Brennan developed over 25 years as a manager at GE and then as a highly successful business owner. You will learn the 10 BOLD skills for Accelerated Team Success -- a program designed to transform a team into an unstoppable force, one that defeats all internal and external obstacles to achieve its objectives. Knowing how to lead an unstoppable Surging Team will give a significant marketplace edge and help the reader of "The Surging Team" to become a distinctive leader who people will crave to work for. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Surging Team" is very highly recommended for community, corporate, and academic library Business Management reference collections and supplemental studies lists. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Surging Team" is also available in a Kindle edition ($19.95).


The Cookbook Shelf

The Six O'Clock Scramble Meal Planner
Aviva Goldfarb
American Diabetes Association
1701 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311
http://www.diabetes.org
9781580405676, $22.95, PB, 431pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled by cookbook author Avivia Goldfarb, "The Six O'Clock Scramble Meal Planner" is comprised of 160 delicious, diabetes-friendly recipes that require 30 minutes or less to prepare; 32 weekly menu plans complete with main dishes and sides - and an organized grocery list for each week; Recipes organized by season and by week to give you variety throughout the year; Recipes that are built on natural, fresh ingredients; Slow cooker directions for most recipes. Also features are mouth-watering color photos for each individual recipe. The recipes themselves range from Carpool Chicken; Savory Korean Vegetable Pancakes; Salmon Salad Melts with Havarti; Rosemary-Garlic Pork Roast with Whipped Sweet Potatoes; and Spaghetti with Creamy Avocado Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes; to Texas Tornado Bake; Cobb Salad with Bacon, Avocado, and Blue Cheese; Incan Quinoa Delight; Toasty Baked Burritos; and Winter Rainbow Soup. Each recipe is fully compliant with the dietary needs of anyone having to cope with diabetes. Delicious, nutritious, appealing and appetizing, "The Six O'Clock Scramble Meal Planner" will prove to be an enduring favorite for family and community library cookbook collections and meal planning references.

Foolproof Preserving
America's Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
www.americastestkitchen.com
9781940352510, $26.95, PB, 310pp, www.amazon.com

The art of preserving produce by canning and preserving has come full circle from grandmother's kitchen to a whole new generation of family kitchen cooks now eager to learn it. "Foolproof Preserving: A Guide to Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments, and More" is detailed guide to home preserving is perfect for novice canners and holds a great deal of informational value to experienced canners as well. "Foolproof Preserving" showcases more than 100 easy, step-by-step, illustrated food preserving recipes across a wide range of categories, from sweet jams and jellies to savory jams, vegetables, condiments, pickles, whole fruits, and more. Let the experts at America's Test Kitchen show you how to do it right with detailed tutorials, troubleshooting tips, equipment information, and insight into the science behind canning. Certain to be an enduringly popular addition to family and community library collections, it should be noted that "Foolproof Preserving" is also available in a Kindle edition ($25.99).

Betty Crocker Fast From-Scratch Meals
Betty Crocker
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
www.hmhco.com
9780544714458, $19.99, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Home cooks no longer have to choose between speedy meal prep and wholesomeness. Beautifully illustrated throughout, "Betty Crocker Fast From-Scratch Meals" is an impressive collection of 150 delicious recipes that integrates fresh, nourishing ingredients into memorable dinners that are on the table in 30 minutes or less. With tasty main dishes like Provencal Fish Soup or Coconut Curry Chicken, and kid-pleasing desserts like Strawberry Blossoms and Fresh Berry Cobbler, eating healthfully has never been so delicious, quick, or kitchen cook friendly. Special features provide mini-recipes for a specific type of produce, and icons call out Meatless entrees and start-to-finish time. A special pantry guide helps home cooks stock their larders with foods that make meal planning and prep a cinch. In addition, a guide to farmers' markets will ease readers into eating locally and enjoying more produce. From Toasted Pesto-Chicken Sausage Sandwiches; Two-Potato Ham Chowder; and Seared Mackerel with Gremolata Mayonnaise; to Turke-Cheddar-Chipotle Burgers; Speedy Honey-Lime Fruit Salad; and Butter Pecan Cantaloupe Wedges, "Betty Crocker Fast From-Scratch Meals" is as much fun to simply browse through as it is inspiring to plan menus with. "Betty Crocker Fast From-Scratch Meals" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections!

Eat Street
John Carruthers, John Scholl, Jesse Valenciana
Running Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.runningpress.com
9780762458691, $23.00, PB, 328pp, www.amazon.com

John Carruthers is a writer, editor, and 2014 graduate of Hot Dog University. John Scholl is a founding member of ManBQue. Jesse Valenciana is the founder of ManBQue and lifelong Chicagoan. Together the have collaborated in compiling and presenting "Eat Street" a ManBQue based culinary treasure trove of palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly recipes of popular street foods that can be made at home. Beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color, and with recipes ranging from Mexican Truffle Quesadillas; Chicago Meets Buffalo Wings; Bacon Lime Fried Rice; and Sesame Steak Manapua; to Belgian Beer Mussels; Detroit Coney Dogs; Drunk Guy Nachos; and French Pressed Beer, "Eat Street" will prove to be a unique and highly prized addition to personal and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Eat Street" is also available in a Kindle edition ($15.99).

Low-Carb Essentials
George Stella
Quail Ridge Press
PO Box 123, Brandon, MS 39043
www.quailridge.com
9781938879173, $19.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of "Low-Carb Essentials: Everyday Low-Carb Recipes You'll Love to Cook", veteran Food Network chef George has showcases over 120 of his newly created recipes, each one providing the ultimate treat for anyone seeking a healthy diet of incredibly tasteful dishes that achieve weight-loss success. Whether you have been living a low-carb lifestyle for years, or are simply looking to eat less processed foods, "Low-Carb Essentials" will prove to a culinary treasure trove. More than 60 full-color photos present dishes that look as good as they taste. All recipes are made without any white flour or added sugar, making them gluten-free, and great for diabetics as well. Enhanced with complete nutritional analysis, a helpful shopping list, and practical 'kitchen cook friendly' tips, the recipes range from Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes; Guacamole Stuffed Deviled Eggs; Golden Grilled Chicken with Peaches; and Italian Sausage Bolognese; to Tilapia with Blistered Tomatoes; Spaghetti Squash Carbonara; Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Prosciutto; and Toasted Hazelnut Chocolate Cupcakes. From wheat-free casseroles, to no-sugar-added desserts, to guilt-free appetizers, to meal planning for everyday family dinners, "Low-Carb Essentials: Everyday Low-Carb Recipes You'll Love to Cook" will prove to be a family favorite and is highly recommended for both personal and community library cookbook collections.

Kosher By Design Brings It Home
Susie Fishbein
Mesorah Publications Ltd.
4401 2nd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232
www.mesorah.com
9781422616895, $34.99, HC, 256pp, www.amazon.com

Beautifully illustrated throughout by the color photography of John Uher, "Kosher By Design Brings It Home" is a compilation of fully kosher dishes that Susie Fishbein largely obtained through her travels in Italy, France, Mexico, Israel, and throughout North America. Each individual recipe begins with a succinct commentary, a servings estimate, a list of ingredients, and thoroughly 'user friendly' step-by-step instructions. The recipes themselves range from Tilapia with Browned Butter Caper Sauce; Sweet Potato Chestnut Soup; Veal Scallopini; Butternut Squash Farrolo; and Balsamic Glazed Onions; to Provencal Wheatberry Salad; Amalfi Sage Chicken; Cheesy Grits Casserole; Eggplant and Tomato Tart; Roasted Vegetable Crisps; and Halvah Baklava. "Kosher By Design Brings It Home" is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Medieval Cooking in Today's Kitchen
Greg Jenkins
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764348426 $24.99, www.amazon.com

Medieval Cooking in Today's Kitchen compliments a relative handful of other medieval cookbooks on the market today and offers nearly eighty recipes for drinks, breads, appetizers, main courses, and rich desserts. While all these originate from cultures throughout Europe, they have been translated for modern cooks and kitchens and offer not exotic foods so much as unusual combinations that one might not expect. Thus a pudding is baked with raspberries, brandy, and cocoa power and topped with a meringue crust, or potatoes are mashed with rutabagas, turnips, radishes and chives for a fuller flavor. Add introductions to each section and recipes that explain medieval culture and you have a cookbook packed with appealing, accessible dishes that pair history with new dishes.

Go With Your Gut
Robyn Youkilis
Kyle Books
192 - 198 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 1DX
www.kylebooks.com
National Book Network (distributor)
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.nbnbooks.com
9781909487352 $22.95 www.amazon.com

Go With Your Gut: The Insider's Guide to Banishing the Bloat with 75 Digestion-Friendly Recipes comes from a certified wellness expert who has written about and done TV shows on health and discusses how digestive system health affects body processes as a whole, and what to do about it. It goes far beyond giving lip service to wellness and a healthy lifestyle, advocating a series of recipes and lessons on how to properly eat, breathe, relax, and enjoy life. Many of these approaches lead to weight loss and better digestive health overall, as the tips go beyond gut-friendly recipes alone. The result is a combination cookbook and health plan which is highly recommended for any woman who wants to not just listen to her body, but improve her health.

Jewish Cooking for All Seasons
Laura Frankel
Agate Surrey
c/o Agate Publishing
1328 Greenleaf Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572841888, $18.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Laura Frankel is the executive chef and head of food services at the Wolfgang Puck Kosher Catering and Cafe at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago. In "Jewish Cooking for All Seasons: Fresh, Flavorful Recipes for Holidays and Every Day" Chef Frankel draws upon her many years of experience and expertise to present a culinary wealth of 150 fully kosher recipes for dishes that are as nutritious and delicious as they are thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in preparation and presentation. With dishes ranging from Pan-Roasted Wild King Salmon with Mustard-Chive Sabayon; Blackberry-Lemon Frozen Custard; Leek and Onion Tart; and Chilled English Pea and Mint Soup with Mint Pesto Crostini; to Braised Veal Shanks with Moroccan Spices and Mango Gremolata; Venison Loin Poivrade with Roasted Sweet Potatoes; Roasted Duck Breasts with Cherry-Red Wine Reduction; "Jewish Cooking for All Seasons " is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library Ethnic Cookbook collections.

Tasting Kentucky
Maggie Green
Farcountry Press
PO Box 5630, Helena, MT 59604
www.farcountrypress.com
9781560376538, $29.95, HC, 176pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled and presented by Maggie Green, "Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State" showcases Kentucky's impressive cuisine ranging from classic barbecue, Hot Browns, and catfish with beer cheese grits, to innovative fusions of regional and global flavors. Beautifully illustrated with color photography throughout, the 102 recipes comprising "Tasting Kentucky" are drawn from some of the finest restaurants, inns, cafes, and bed-and-breakfasts across the state. Deftly organized into six major chapters: Breakfast & Brunch; Appetizers & Snacks; Salads & Sides; Soups & Stews; Main Courses; Desserts & Treats; the thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes range from Jack's Lounge Mint Julep; Bourbon Mashed Potatoes; Rosemary Braided Bread; and Roasted Cauliflower and Pecan Soup with Mint Oil; to Bison Meatball Sliders with Goat Chees Mayonnaise; Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie; Kentucky Summer Tacos; and Coconut Cream Pie. "Tasting Kentucky" will prove to be a welcome and highly appreciated contribution to any personal, family, or community library regional cookbook collection.

Protein Powder Cooking...Beyond the Shake
Courtney Nielsen
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781612435244, $15.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Courtney K. Nielsen is a recipe blogger and fitness professional from Arizona. In "Protein Powder Cooking...Beyond the Shake: 200 Delicious Recipes to Supercharge Every Dish with Whey, Soy, Casein and More" she draws upon her many years of experience and expertise to showcase protein powder based recipes for dishes that are as nutritious as they are delicious. The recipes range from a Strawberry Banana Bowl; to Orange Walnut Waffles; to Baked Buttery Dumplings; to Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake; to Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies; Chickpea Birthday Cake Bars, and so many, many more. A unique and thoroughly 'user friendly' culinary reference for meal planning, "Protein Powder Cooking...Beyond the Shake" is highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Protein Powder Cooking...Beyond the Shake" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

Master Of The Grill
America's Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
www.americastestkitchen.com
9781940352541, $29.95, PB, 454pp, www.amazon.com

Part field guide to grilling and barbecuing and part cookbook, "Master of the Grill: Foolproof Recipes, Top-Rated Gadgets, Gear & Ingredients Plus Clever Test Kitchen Tips & Fascinating Food Science" features a wide variety of kitchen-tested recipes for meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, pizza, and more. These are the recipes everyone should know how to make, including the juiciest burgers, barbecue chicken that's moist not tough, tender grill-smoked pork ribs, the greatest steak (and grilled potatoes to serve alongside). Regional specialties are included as well and even the most novice of kitchen cooks will learn how to make Cowboy Steaks, Alabama BBQ Chicken, and Kansas City Sticky Ribs. Colorful photography throughout captures the culinary beauty of the recipes, while step-by-step shots guide kitchen cooks through everything they need to know. Of special note is an informed and informative section on grilling essentials that covers the pros and cons of gas and charcoal grills, as well as the tools to use with either of them such as grill brushes, tongs, vegetable baskets, and wood chips and chunks. Another simply outstanding cookbook from America's Test Kitchen, "Master Of The Grill" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Master Of The Grill" is also available in a Kindle edition ($28.99).

Sweet Mornings
Patty Pinner
Midway
c/o Agate Publishing
1328 Greenleaf Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572841864, $27.50, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com

Beautifully and profusely illustrated with full color photography throughout, and showcasing 125 sweet and savory dishes specifically appropriate for breakfast dining, "Sweet Mornings" offering range from donuts, to crumb cakes, to sweet rolls, sundry culinary treats that truly evoke feelings of warmth and comfort like only good, old-fashioned breakfast food can. Author and expert kitchen cook Patty Pinner comes from a long line of breakfast bakers, and many of the recipes in comprising "Sweet Mornings" have been passed down from the great-grannies and -aunties, as well as cousins and other influential women in Pinner's life. These wonderfully delicious recipes range from Glazed Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits; Applesauce Spice Loaf; Triple-Berry Parfait; and Banana Streusel Coffee Cake; to Apricot Galette; Nut Bread; Ricotta Hot Cakes with Berries; and Hickory-Smoked Bacon and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Of special note are the little commentaries that accompany the recipes. A unique and thoroughly delightful culinary treasure trove for browsing and meal planning, "Sweet Mornings" is very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition for personal, professional, family, and community library cookbook collections! It should be noted that "Sweet Mornings" is also available in a Kindle edition ($17.94).

World's Easiest Paleo Baking
Elizabeth Barbone
Lake Isle Press
2095 Broadway Suite 301, New York, NY 10023
http://lakeislepress.com
9781891105579, $19.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Elizabeth Barbone is the author two beloved cookbooks, "Easy Gluten-Free Baking" and "How to Cook Gluten-Free", and shares her love of baking at www.GlutenFreeBaking.com. In her latest cookbook, "World's Easiest Paleo Baking: Beloved Treats Made Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, and with No Refined Sugars" she draws upon her years of experience and expertise to showcase cakes, cookies, pies, doughnuts, breads, and all of the treats that were once off limits but are now ideal for those who are trying to avoid gluten in their daily diet. Each of these showcased recipes are made without grains, dairy, and refined sugar. Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, the thoroughly kitchen cook friendly recipes range from Big Fluffy Pancakes; Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies; Almond-Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake; and Classic Double-Crust or Crumb-Topped Fruit Pie; to Marzipan; Pumpkin Spice Muffins; Fudge Brownies; and Raid-the-Pantry Carrot Cake. Of special note for the novice kitchen cook is the FAQs, Ingredients, and Kitchen Tools sections. An ideal culinary guide for planning gluten-free meals, "World's Easiest Paleo Baking" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections.

My Japanese Table
Debra Samuels
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805313954, $18.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

In "My Japanese Table: A Lifetime of Cooking with Friends and Family", Debra Samuels draws upon a wealth of experience and her a great passion for Japanese cooking to introduce the aesthetics and quality food that are the hallmarks of Japanese cuisine. She learned through her years in Japan that true Japanese homestyle dishes are easy to prepare once you master a few basic techniques. And now that authentic Japanese ingredients are available in most supermarkets, Japanese food has become far more accessible than ever before. The recipes in this Japanese cookbook, the result of decades spent teaching and preparing homestyle Japanese dishes, include familiar favorites like Hand-Rolled Sushi and classic Miso Soup and less familiar but equally welcome dishes such as Lobster Rolls with Wasabi Mayonnaise and Fried Pork Cutlets. There is also a chapter on the increasingly popular bento lunch boxes, along with a wonderful selection of desserts, including the delectable Mochi Dumplings with Strawberries. All of the recipes come with stories and cooking tips to help bring the sights, aromas and tastes of Japan into your kitchen at home. Profusely and beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, "My Japanese Table" is thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in tone, content, organization, and presentation. Of special note is the chapter devoted to Desserts & Drinks. "My Japanese Table" will prove to be a welcome and treasured addition to personal, family, and community library ethnic cuisine cookbook collections.

The Arabian Nights Cookbook
Habeeb Salloum
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804846455, $18.95, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

For untold centuries, the Bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula, in their desert tents, have served their honored guests lavish meals featuring roasted lamb with rice. Bedouin hospitality has not changed over the ages but Arabian cuisine has undergone a remarkable evolution in the last 100 years, making it extremely diverse. This diversity is due, in part, to the explosion of wealth on the Arabian peninsula which has drawn people (along with their foods and cooking methods) from around the world. The blending of these culinary worlds has produced something truly remarkable. In "The Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj, Delicious Homestyle Middle Eastern Cooking", Habeeb Salloum has compiled an amazing array of authentic recipes that celebrate this blending of cultures while still making it compatible with the everyday kitchens of American kitchen cooks. This outstanding compendium of featured recipes present dishes that range from Stuffed Grape Leaves; Spicy Eggplant Salad; Omani-Style Tandoori Chicken; Saudi-Style Shripm 'N Rice; and Spicy Chickpea Stew; to Pita Bread; Pureed Lentils with Fried Garlic and Pita Croutons; Baked Lamb Kebabs with Aromatic Spices; Shrimp Balls in a Tangy Sauce; Irresistible Baklava; Real Arab Coffee Made Just Right. A pleasure to browse through and inspiring to plan meals with, "The Arabian Nights Cookbook: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghanouj, Delicious Homestyle Middle Eastern Cooking" will prove to be an enormously popular addition to any and all ethnic cookbook collections.

The Chew
Ashley Archer, editor
Kingswell
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
www.hbgusa.com
9781484753552, $19.99, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

The five hosts of ABC's hit show The Chew invite you to enjoy the fun and flavor of cooking without the hassle and expense in the pages of "The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining". Just as they do everyday on their popular ABC daytime show, Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Daphne Oz, and Michael Symon collaborate to present a culinary compendium packed with mouth-watering recipes and useful entertaining tips to make cooking for family and friends both unforgettable and manageable. "The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining" is also a prized collection of time-savers and comfort classics, as well as guilty pleasures and recipes handed down from the their families to yours. "The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining" is a thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' instructional guide and resource for the planning, cooking and enjoyment of everyday meals with a very special twist. Beautifully illustrated throughout and showcasing recipes ranging from Sausage and Cheese Manicotti; Lunch Box Yogurt Parfait; Blackberry-Brown Sugar Swirl Pancakes with Bacon-Bourbon Maple Syrup; and Crab Cake Phyllo Cups with Spicy Remoulade; to Greek Lamb Wellington; Crunchy Chicken and Potato Chip Sandwich; Burger Bread Pudding; and Daphne's Baked Doughnuts and coconut Cream, "The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.


The Sports Shelf

The Detroit Tigers, fifth edition
William M. Anderson
Painted Turtle Books
c/o Wayne State University Press
4809 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201-1309
http://wsupress.wayne.edu
9780814341575, $39.99, HC, 360pp, www.amazon.com

Enhanced with more than 500 carefully selected photographs, this newly updated fifth edition of "The Detroit Tigers: A Pictorial Celebration of the Greatest Players and Moments in Tigers History" vividly illustrates the history of major league baseball in Detroit from 1881 through the 2014 season. Author and sports enthusiast William M. Anderson presents highlights and lowlights of each Tigers season and gives a context for appreciating the careers of the many players whose images grace the pages of the "The Detroit Tigers". Organized chronologically by decade, "The Detroit Tigers" surveys the Tigers' earliest days, formidable championship teams, and legendary players, and updates this edition with the team's exploits since the 2008 season. Of special note is the detailing of the recent star-studded Tigers cast, including Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez, and David Price, and the team's four consecutive Central Division titles, 2012 pennant win, and seasons of record-breaking attendance, despite its disappointments in deeper post-season play. Featuring a foreword by former Tigers shortstop and later, manager, Alan Trammell. Tigers fans old and new will appreciate the exhaustive history and striking images in this volume. "The Detroit Tigers" is very highly recommended for Detroit Tigers fans, as well as community library Sports/Athletics sections, and academic library American Baseball History reference collections.


The Computer Shelf

Build Your Own Gaming PC
Russell Barnes
Haynes Publishing
www.haynes.co.uk
9780857338020, $36.95, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

The do-it-yourself, step-by-step, instruction manual to building the ultimate computer, anyone can now get the performance they want on an affordable budget. With "Build Your Own Gaming PC" the build-it-yourself enthusiast will find all the cutting-edge technology and guidance needed to make a perfect PC. Whether looking to upgrade a current computer or building a new one from scratch, anyone will be able to play the latest games in style and be ready to face the challenges of next year's hottest titles. Profusely illustrated throughout, thoroughly 'user friendly' in text, organization and presentation, and featuring a very useful twenty page Index, "Build Your Own Gaming PC" is ideal for personal, community, and academic library Computer Science instructional reference collections.

How Software Works
V. Anton Spraul
No Starch Press
245 - 8th Street, San Francisco, CO 94103-3910
www.nostarch.com
9781593276669, $29.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

We use computer software every day to perform all kinds of tasks. It's the force behind stunning CGI graphics, safe online shopping, and speedy Google searches. Software drives the modern world, but its inner workings remain a mystery to many. "How Software Works: The Magic Behind Encryption, CGI, Search Engines, and Other Everyday Technologies" by V. Anton Spraul (has taught introductory programming and computer science for more than 15 years) deftly explains how computers perform common-yet-amazing tasks that we take for granted every day. "How Software Works" covers such issues as: How data is encrypted; How passwords are used and protected; How computer graphics are created; How video is compressed for streaming and storage; How data is searched (and found) in huge databases; How programs can work together on the same problem without conflict; How data travels over the Internet. "How Software Works" also breaks down these processes with patient explanations and intuitive diagrams so that anyone can understand-no technical background is required, and you won't be reading through any code. In plain English, you'll examine the intricate logic behind the technologies you constantly use but never understood. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind your computer screen, "How Software Works" will give you fascinating look into the software all around you. Impressively well written, organized and presented, "How Software Works" is very highly recommended for high school, community, college, and university library Computer Science reference collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "How Software Works" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.99).

The Dart Programming Language
Gilad Bracha
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321927705 $49.99 www.informit.com/aw

The Dart Programming Language provides a class-based, objected-oriented language coverage for programmers and computer science students who want to know how to apply it most efficiently, and teaches the basics of the Dart object model's unique attributes. It not only covers applications, but how Dart handles statements, its unique attributes that lend to asynchronous programming, and how its key features can be streamlined in the implementation process. Charts serve as examples covering widgets, code examples support functions and Dart classes, and generics survey a host of techniques for synthesizing Dart into real-world applications. The result is a powerful survey highly recommended for any who would learn more about how Dart operates.

Learn to Program with Scratch
Majed Marji
No Starch Press
245 - 8th Street, San Francisco, CO 94103-3910
www.nostarch.com
9781593275433, $34.95, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

Scratch is a fun, free, beginner-friendly programming environment where you connect blocks of code to build programs. While most famously used to introduce kids to programming, Scratch can make computer science approachable for people of any age. Rather than type countless lines of code in a cryptic programming language, why not use colorful command blocks and cartoon sprites to create powerful scripts? In "Learn to Program with Scratch", Majed Marji uses Scratch to explain the concepts essential to solving real-world programming problems. The labeled, color-coded blocks plainly show each logical step in a given script, and with a single click, you can even test any part of your script to check your logic. You'll learn how to: Harness the power of repeat loops and recursion; Use if/else statements and logical operators to make decisions; Store data in variables and lists to use later in your program; Read, store, and manipulate user input; Implement key computer science algorithms like a linear search and bubble sort. Hands-on projects will challenge you to create an Ohm's law simulator, draw intricate patterns, program sprites to mimic line-following robots, create arcade-style games, and more! Each individual chapter is packed with detailed explanations, annotated illustrations, guided examples, lots of color, and plenty of exercises to help the lessons stick. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, content, organization, and presentation, "Learn To Program From Scratch" is strongly recommended for personal, school, and community library Computer Science instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "Learn To Program From Scratch' is also available in a Kindle edition ($13.08).

Problem Solving Cases In Microsoft Access and Excel, 14th edition
Ellen Monk, Joseph Brady, Emillio Mendelsohn
Course Technology
c/o Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
www.cengageptr.com
9781305868625, $107.95, PB, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a newly updated fourteenth edition, "Problem Solving Cases In Microsoft Access and Excel" is the collaborative project of Ellen F. Monk (who has been teaching Information Systems at the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware since 1989; Joseph A. Brady (who has taught MIS courses at the University of Delaware from 1990 to 2009); and Emilio Mendelsohn (who joined the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware in 2012 as an adjunct professor of Management Information Systems and who currently works as a risk manager for U.S. Bank in the Retail Payments Solutions Division. "Problem Solving Cases In Microsoft Access and Excel is specifically designed and intended to show computer science students how to maximize the advantages of the latest Access database management system and Excel spreadsheet to effectively analyze and solve real-world business problems. Packed from cover to cover with hands-on applications, this new edition specifically highlights six user-friendly tutorials that build students' practical knowledge as they walk step-by-step through each software application's capabilities. Twelve all-new case studies present scenarios and problems common in real-life practice while a wealth of online instructor resources support your teaching. In addition, a unique emphasis on skill-building integration requires students to use Access and Excel together on cases, demonstrating the power when these applications work together. Very highly recommended as a curriculum textbook, "Problem Solving Cases In Microsoft Access and Excel " is a completely up-to-date, practical guide for the widely used Access and Excel programs and should be a part of every academic library Computer Science instructional reference collection. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Problem Solving Cases In Microsoft Access and Excel " is also available in a Kindle edition (Rent: $43.38; Buy: $70.99).


The Fishing Shelf

Fish of the Midwest
Dave Bosanko
http://dave.bosanko.net
Adventure Publications
www.adventurepublications.net
9781591935834, $9.95, Spiral Bound, 22pp, www.amazon.com

Whether you're fishing on shore, off a dock or in a boat, anywhere in the Midwest, anglers will want to keep a copy of "Fish of the Midwest" by Dave Bosanko close at hand. Based on Dave Bosanko's best-selling field guides and featuring 81 of the most common sport fish in the Midwest, this tabbed booklet is deftly organized by fish groupings for quick and easy identification. Exceptionally well organized with full color illustrations, "Fish of the Midwest" can easily and effectively narrow the choices by appearance, and view just a few species at a time. The pocket-sized format is much easier to use than laminated foldouts, and the waterproof and tear-resistant pages help to make "Fish of the Midwest" safe to take anywhere, under any conditions. Simply stated, anyone fishing anywhere in the American Midwest should have their very own informed and informative copy of "Fish of the Midwest" for maximum enjoyment of their fishing venture.


The Music Shelf

Ramones at 40
Martin Popoff
Sterling Publishing Company
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810
www.sterlingpublishing.com
9781454918349, $27.95, HC, 208pp, www.amazon.com

The Ramones helped kick-start the punk movement and change rock history. Now, on the 40th anniversary of their critically acclaimed debut album, comes the first fully illustrated color coffee-table book on the legendary band. Written by veteran music journalist Martin Popoff, and enhanced with the inclusion of an informative Foreword by C. J. ramone, "The Ramones at 40" explodes off the pages with superlative visuals and offers fresh, thoughtful writing, stand-alone features, interviews, and a full discography. "Ramones at 40" covers the group's early days and the CBGB crowd, classic albums and rarities, European tours, critical reception, politics, induction into the Hall of Fame, effect on pop culture, and so much more. An absolute "must" for the legions of Ramones fans, "Ramones at 40" will prove to be an enduringly popular addition for community and academic library American Music History collections.


The Biography Shelf

The Cooler King
Patrick Bishop
The Overlook Press
141 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012
9781468312737 $28.95 www.overlookpress.com

Enhanced with brief notes and an index, The Cooler King: The True Story of William Ash, the Greatest Escaper of World War II is the amazing biography of fighter pilot William Ash, who was shot down in 1942 and spent the rest of World War II interred in and escaping from German POW camps. His relentless efforts to achieve freedom caused notable disruption to the German war effort, even though he was ultimately unsuccessful. Ash earned the nickname of "The Cooler King" because he was repeatedly sentenced to "the cooler", a solitary confinement block to punish POWs. Near the end of the war, Ash fell ill, yet worked to achieve one final escape; he successfully informed approaching Allied soldiers of the Germans' location, aiding one of the final battles of the war. An extraordinary chronicle of resolve and heroism, The Cooler King is edifying, inspirational, and highly recommended.

Whiskey River Ranger
Bob Alexander
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
9781574416312 $34.95 www.unt.edu/untpress

Whiskey River Ranger: The Old West Life of Baz Outlaw is the biography of Texas Ranger and Deputy U.S. Marshal Baz Outlaw, well-known for both his heroism, yet also a flawed and fallible human being. Outlaw's career reads almost like wild west pulp fiction, with true tales of train robberies, horseback chases, vigilante justice (and vigilante criminality), ambushes, bushwacking, and more. Outlaw lived by the gun and died by the gun, shot down amid a brothel brawl. An extraordinary read from cover, Whiskey River Ranger is enthusiastically recommended for public library biography collections and casual browsing by anyone interested in true tales of the gunslinging Old West.

The Forgotten Governor
John Wills
Langdon Street Press
322 1st Avenue N, Suite 500, Minneapolis, MN 55401
9781634137270 $21.95 www.langdonstreetpress.com

The Forgotten Governor: Fernando de Rivera and the Opening of Alta California is a studious biography of Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncada (1725-1781), a Spanish soldier who also served as the third governor of Alta California. Over the course of thirteen years, he led and directed California's settlement, helped found missions and presidios, and put down an Indian revolt. Rivera's legacy is largely forgotten today, but in his own time he was a controversial figure; he clashed with Father Serra and Juan Bautista de Anza, and at one point was excommunicated from the Catholic Church for violating church sanctuary. An annotated bibliography and an index round out this nuanced portrait of a complex figure in California history.

Hudson Mack: Unsinkable Anchor
Hudson Mack
Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550177206, $24.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

For decades, Hudson Mack has been the face of television news on Vancouver Island. Mack's career began in 1980 at CFJC (Kamloops) and CKPG (Prince George). In 1985 he moved to Victoria and worked for CHEK TV, The New VI, A-Channel and CTV Vancouver Island. In 2004, when he "crossed the street" from CHEK to The New VI, it was an industry-wide sensation. As he recalls that life-changing event in this autobiography he admits he wasn't sure where his new path might lead. CHEK was established, respected and popular in Victoria, but its senior management had passed Mack over for promotion to news director, more than once. The New VI was high-budget and original, but hadn't exactly earned a reputation for professionalism, especially after one of its anchors dropped an F-bomb on the air. When New VI management offered Mack the chance to rebuild and lead its news department, he couldn't resist the chance to rescue the floundering news program and signed on. Mack has received many industry awards, including Broadcast Performer of the Year, as well as personal accolades such as the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for Community Service, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Chancellor's Community Recognition Award. Exceptionally well written and an inherently fascinating read from beginning to end, "Hudson Mack: Unsinkable Anchor" is a candidly informative autobiography and highly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary Canadian Biography collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Hudson Mack: Unsinkable Anchor" is also available in a Kindle edition ($16.99).


The Fashion Shelf

The Isaac Mizrahi Pictures
Nick Waplington
Damiani
c/o Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9788862084512, $50.00, HC, 168pp, www.amazon.com

From 1989 to 1993, New York fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi granted the British photographer Nick Waplington rare backstage access to photograph every detail of the designer's fitting sessions in the weeks before his twice-yearly fashion shows. Combining Waplington's gritty verite style with Mizrahi's haute couture sensibilities, the resulting images offer a candid glimpse into the world of fashion when supermodels including Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell reigned supreme. At the same time, Waplington set out to document the wildly creative nightlife of the '90s "club kid" culture in New York, juxtaposing his images of uptown style with downtown looks and taking pictures at some of the city's most infamous clubs, such as the Pyramid Club and Save the Robots. "The Isaac Mizrahi Pictures: New York City 1989-1993" showcasing the color photography of Nick Waplington is an inherently fascinating browse and is especially commended to the attention of fashion enthusiasts and photography buffs. In a coffee table art book format, this compendium of Nick Waplington photography is very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library 20th Century American Photography reference collections and supplemental studies lists.


The Audiobook Shelf

Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War
Fred Kaplan
Read by Malcolm Hillgartner
Blackstone Audiobooks
31 Mistletoe Road, Ashland, OR 97520
www.BlackstoneAudio.com
9781504694308 $34.95 www.downpour.com

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Fred Kaplan presents Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, now in an unabridged audiobook rendition. Here is an intense scrutiny of the latest evolving battlefield - cyberwarfare. From the inner workings of the National Security Agency, to the top-secret cyber units of the Pentagon, to the efforts of officers, policymakers, scientists, and spies, Dark Territory shows how cyber battles over the control of computers and data directly affect military and societal plans, potential, and operations. Utterly fascinating throughout, Dark Territory is a "must" for strategists and policymakers of the 21st century. 7 CDs, 9 hours, tracks every 3 minutes for ease of bookmarking.

Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers
Andrew R. Wilson
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
GC0022, 9781490659503, $100.75, www.amazon.com

From Napoleon's revolutionary campaigns to the way insurgency, terrorism, and nuclear weaponry have defined the nature of warfare and the results of military strategy have changed the course of history again and again and again. "Masters of War: History's Greatest Strategic Thinkers" is an audio book collection of 24 thought-provoking 30 minute lectures by Andrew R. Wilson (Professor of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island) give students and non-specialist general listeners with an interest in the history of military strategy a truly insiders study of both the content and historical context of the world's greatest war strategists. "Masters of War" is a concise and rigorous survey in which Professor Wilson introduces: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War; Sun Tzu's famous The Art of War; Machiavelli's strategy for a republic with a citizen-army; Jomini, Clausewitz, and the Napoleonic revolution in warfare; the development of naval strategy and the rise of airpower; Mao Tse-tung, David Galula, and Roger Trinquier's reflections on insurgency and counterinsurgency and their influence on the U.S. Army's Field Manual 3-24; Just-war theory, from Thucydides' Melian Dialogue to Operation Iraqi Freedom; nuclear war, terrorism, and other strategic challenges for the 21st century. Strongly recommended for both community and academic library collections, this flawlessly produced, complete and unabridged, audio book edition for "Masters of War" is comprised of 12 CDs and a bonus disc featuring a course workbook.

The Last Telegram
Liz Trenow
Read by Susan Duerden
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
9781515901594 $42.99 www.tantor.com

The Last Telegram: A Novel of What Saves Us is the unabridged audiobook rendition of an emotional story set during World War II. Told in flashbacks, The Last Telegram traces the memories of Lily Verner, who worked in her family's silk mill to create parachutes for soldiers. A saga of the grim toll of war, and terrible loss, The Last Telegram is thought-provoking and soul-searching to the very end. Highly recommended, especially for public library audiobook collections. 9 CDs, 11 hours.

Steel Magnolias
Robert Harling, author
Jessica Kubzansky, director
L.A. Theatre Works
681 Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
9781682660027 $29.95 www.latw.org

An audiobook of the 1987 play by Robert Harling (recorded before a live audience), Steel Magnolias is about the connections between six women in a small-town community of the American South. When one of their group unexpectedly passes on, each woman must find her own way to cope with the loss. The play's title is a metaphor for the women themselves, who are capable of being both as fragile as a magnolia flower and as strong as steel. A full cast of talented, vivacious professionals brings this captivating story to life; it's the next best experience to witnessing a performance of Harling's classic play in person. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library audiobook and theater collections. 2 CDs, 1 hour 53 min.

The Inferiors
Mari Wolf, author
Jim Roberts, narrator
Speculative!
c/o Brilliance Corporation
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781511357074, $14.99, CD, www.amazon.com

Far into the future, mankind has developed into telepathic beings. However a few children are still born "stupid", that is, without the ability to communicate telepathically. One of these unfortunates is Eric, who grows up knowing that he is different from everyone else. As a child he is taken under the wing of an old man who is a friend of Eric's parents and taught to read the books in an ancient museum, leaning about the old people before the age of universal telepathy. The telepaths learn new things instantly by "hooking up" with others who have the knowledge. Eric has to study and learn in the old way. Eric is treated, and feels, inferior, until he finds a group of others like himself. But they turn out to be nothing like what Eric had imagined they'd be based upon his studies of the ancient humans. Never the less, Eric and decides to embark upon on a dangerous plan to gain back their full humanity and make it out to the stars. An original and highly entertaining story by Mari Wolf that is deftly narrated by Jim Roberts, this flawlessly produced audio book edition of "The Inferiors" provides a true 'theatre of the mind" experience that is a "must" for all dedicated science fiction enthusiasts, and is a very highly recommended addition to community library audio book collections. (2 CDs, 46 minutes).

The Dressmaker's War
Mary Chamberlain, author
Read by Susan Duerden
Highbridge Audio Books
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
9781622319725 $34.99 www.highbridgeaudio.com

Mary Chamberlain (Emeritus Professor of History, Oxford Brookes University) presents The Dressmaker's War: A Novel, the unabridged audiobook rendition a historical fiction saga about a working-class seamstress who dreams of a better life even as the horrors of World War II close in upon her. In 1939, Ada Vaughan falls hard for the romantic promises of Stanislaus von Lieben, who claims to be a Hungarian aristocrat. She agrees to go on a romantic vacation with him, but when war breaks out, he abandons her. Captured by the Germans, Ada must use her talent as a brilliant dressmaker to survive. Yet after the war, she finds London devastated, and the consequences of the choices she made to avoid death continue to haunt her. Emotional, powerful, and a cautionary tale against trusting empty promises (particularly those from a whirlwind romance with a person one has not had the time to get to know well), The Dressmaker's War is highly recommended for both personal and public library audiobook collections. 9 CDs, 10.5 hours.

The China Mirage
James Bradley
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com
9781611136692 $35.00 www.amazon.com

The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia appears in an unabridged audio presentation narrated by Pete Larkin and includes a .pdf of photos as it explores American political encounters with China in the 1800s and beyond. Early and famous Americans made their fortunes in the China opium trade, addicting millions in the process, while American churches sent their missionaries to the country hoping to convert peasants. Novelist Pearl Buck and others perpetuated common myths about China among the American people before Mao came to power to change the long-perpetuated myths about the country. Any who believe they know the history of American and Chinese relationships needs to listen to this account, which is packed with many eye-opening revelations about common Chinese myths.

A Turn for the Bad
Sheila Connolly
Read by Amy Rubinate
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
9781515903208 $39.99 www.tantor.com

A Turn for the Bad is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a murder mystery set in Ireland. After six months in her new home, Boston expatriate Maura Donovan is still learning about Irish culture and customs. Tragedy shakes the close-knit local community, when a farmer mysteriously disappears from the coast, and his young son is the only witness. Was it murder? Suicide? Drowning? Determined to find out the truth for herself, Donovan begins investigating deserted covers and isolated inlets... but is she in too deep? Turn for the Bad is a cozy, captivating mystery, highly recommended. 6 CDs, 7.5 hours.

Chasing the Dime
Michael Connelly, author
Read by Jonathan Davis
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9781478908036 $25.00 www.HachetteAudio.com

Chasing the Dime is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a knife-edge novel of suspense, obsession, and murder. Henry Pierce has just moved to a new apartment, and his job involves "chasing the dime" - doing whatever it takes to ensure his company is the first to deliver a multimillion-dollar scientific breakthrough. But he's distracted from work by phone messages that clearly aren't meant for him - they're addressed to a woman named Lilly, and increasingly disturbing. When Pierce tries to help a woman he has never met, he becomes the chief subject of a horrific murder case. Intense to the very end, Chasing the Dime is a "must-read" for connoisseurs of the genre. 9 CDs, 10.5 hours.

Solar Express
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781494510640, $44.99, CD, www.amazon.com

The nations of the earth had agreed not to militarize space. This one rule had led to decades of peaceful development of space programs worldwide. However, increasing resource scarcity and a changing climate on Earth's surface is causing some interested parties to militarize, namely India, the North American Union, and the Sinese Federation. The discovery of a strange artifact by Dr. Alayna Wong precipitates a crisis. What appears to be a hitherto undiscovered comet is soon revealed to be an alien structure on a cometary trajectory toward the sun. Now there is a race between countries to see who can study and control the artifact dubbed the "Solar Express" before it perhaps destroys itself. Leading the way for the North American Union is Alayna's friend Captain Christopher Tavoian, one of the first shuttle pilots to be trained for combat in space. But, as the alien craft gets closer to its destination, it begins to alter the surface of the sun in strange new ways, ways that could lead Alayna to revolutionary discoveries-provided that Chris can prevent war from breaking out as he navigates among the escalating tensions between nations. Expertly narrated by Robert Fass, and with flawless technical production values, "Solar Express" offers a consistently entertaining 'theatre of the mind' experience and is very highly recommended for personal and community library science fiction audio book collections. Complete and Unabridged, 14 CDs, 17 Hours.

Playing Gods: Isolation
Chris Rohan & Karen Rohan
Graphic Audio
4940 Hampden Lane, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20814
9781628511628, $19.99, www.graphicaudio.net

With humor, modern relevance and amazing new alien worlds and cultures, "Playing Gods: Isolation" is a new action packed cosmic fantasy series from Graphic Audio. Xriah and Vylis, are two avatars, both empowered with differing superhuman abilities, and repeatedly thrust into wildly varying worlds to do battle with each other on behalf of their respective deities. Though the nature of their deities is shrouded in mystery, both of the avatars' faith in their purpose is strong and unwavering. On each successive world they seek one another out, and then it is a battle to the death, despite the fact that both the defeated and victor alike are reborn and plunged into yet another world, to begin the fight all over again. And as they continue their endless battle the real victims are the inhabitants of the avatars' battlefields. The avatar Vylis feels nothing but the joy of the game, the sport of defying expectations, and exploiting the true weakness of his nemesis avatar, namely: that Xriah has come to care for the unfortunate denizens of the worlds upon which this world-crushing game is played. In this debut episode of the "Playing Gods" series, the two bitter opponents unknowingly become trapped on a world cut off from the source of their immortality, the very gods for whom they fight. There will be no resurrection this time in the brutal and lethal game they play. Now for everyone who walks the face of this alien world, inhabitant or intruder, death is absolutely final. Offering a true and complete "theatre of the mind" experience, based upon flawless production values, impressive special effects and music, and showcasing a large and talented group of actors who do full justice to Chris and Karen Rohan's unique science fiction/fantasy story line, "Playing Gods: Isolation" is very highly recommended and will leave its avid listeners looking eagerly forward to the next installment of "Playing Gods". Complete & Unabridged, 9 CDs, 10 Hours.


The Library CD Shelf

Saving Cecil's Pride
savingcecilspride.com
RadHaus LLC
12910 Culver Blvd., Suite D, Los Angeles, CA 90066
$18.00 for 3 CD set plus album download

Cecil was a beloved wild lion in Africa, who was shot and killed by a tourist-hunter. Though Cecil is gone, the quest to preserve Africa's wildlife and ecological diversity continues. Cecil's Pride is a grand album anthology by a wide variety of musicians, created as a fundraiser for the Big Life Foundation, a conservation organization working on the ground in Africa to protect wildlife. All profits from sales go to the Big Life Foundation, and the purchase price includes both the physical set of 3 CDs and the option to download the music. The tracks have been created and performed by a grand variety of artists, and range in nature from ambient to new age, world beat, experimental, and much more. Saving Cecil's Pride is especially recommended as a superb gift for compassionate connoisseurs of world music!

A Bridge Between
Carbe and Durand
carbeanddurand.com
Strange Tree Productions
$12.99 CD / $8.99 MP3 www.amazon.com

A Bridge Between is an extraordinary album by acoustic-guitar duo Carbe and Durand, a team who have spanned genres from classical to blues, pop, rock-n-roll, world-fusion, nuevo-flamenco, and more. The songs include three original compositions, and acoustic-guitar arrangements of classics from the last half-century. A Bridge Between is a "must-have" for connoisseurs of quality acoustic guitar! The tracks are "A Bridge Between", "Time After Time" Scarborough Fair", "A Thought For You", "Classical Gas", "Paint It Blac", "Blackbird", "isn't She Lovely", "Wichita Lineman", "Mountain Song", "Everybody Wants To Rule the World", "Fragile", and "Crazy Train".

Jason Miles Presents: To Grover With Love / Live in Japan
Produced by Jason Miles
Whaling City Sound
1310 Tucker Road, No. Dartmouth, MA 02747
www.whalingcitysound.com
c/o Naxos of America (dist.)
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosusa.com
$16.99 CD / $8.99 MP3 www.amazon.com

Originally recorded in June of 2010 at Blue Note Tokyo, Jason Miles presents: To Grover With Love / Live in Japan is an album is a jazz talent showcase. Jason Miles plays in honor of the great sax player Grover Washington Jr., along with special guest Ralph MacDonald on percussion and Ryan Shaws on vocal cameo. Rendering Grover's beloved songs with passion and inspiration, Jason Miles presents: To Grover With Love / Live in Japan is a treasure for jazz connoisseurs. The physical CD includes a collector's booklet with an introduction by Jason Miles and color photographs (no lyrics, though). The tracks are "Winelight" (8:14), "Sassy Stew" (5:44), "Take Me There" (7:55), "Lorans Dance" (9:43), "Just the Two of Us" (6:26), "Black Frost" (6:56), "Inner City Blues" (5:43), "Let It Flow" (12:21), and "Mr Magic" (8:37). 71 min. 45 sec.

Divine Spark
Natty Nation
iNatty Records
http://nattynation.com
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3 www.amazon.com
$10.00 http://nattynation.bandcamp.com

Divine Spark is an album by reggae performers Natty Nation, based in Madison, Wisconsin. Their membership has been fluid since 1995, but their intense vision of hard roots rock reggae and dub, enriched with elements of soul, rock, and funk, has become a unique signature. Divine Spark is a "must" for connoisseurs, though it should be noted that the song "Civil Rights" has explicit lyrics. The tracks are "Balance", "Meditation", "Intimidation", "Suffice", "Purpose", "Prophecy", "I'm Willing", "Civil Rights feat. F. Stokes", "Negus Negast", "Divine Spark", "5th Dimension Dub", and "She Cries Dub".

Altered States: Music for the Journey Within
Uma Silbey
www.Umasilbey.com
Airo Audio
$TBA facebook.com/umasilbeyofficial

Altered States: Music for the Journey Within is a New Age keyboard album drawing inspiration from the ten scales that comprise traditional Indian ragas. A deep, thoughtful immersion conducive to meditation and healing, Altered States also incorporates acoustic piano, acoustic keyboards, electric keyboards, and synthesized sounds. The soundscape journey incorporates both structure and moments of improvisation. A beautiful reflection of the mysterious, Altered States is highly recommended for New Age music collections. The tracks are "Invitation", "Voices from the Deep", "Morning Embrace", "Mountain", "Streaming", "Cloudscapes", "Levitation", "Remembering", "Moonscape", "Time Travel", "Destination Infinity", "Lightfield", and "Heartfelt".

Abbar el Hamada
Aziza Brahim
Glitter Beat
www.glitterbeat.com
$11.99 CD / $8.99 MP3 www.amazon.com

Abbar el Hamada ("Across the Hamada") is an album by Western Saharan musician and activist Aziza Brahim, who was raised in a Saharawi refugee camp in the Algerian desert, and lived in exile in Cuba and Barcelona for more than two decades. Brahim speaks to the harsh experience of refugees and migrants, in particular condemning the sand fortifications that Morocco created along the Western Saharan border to prevent the return of the Saharawi to their homeland. Elements of traditional African music and the traditions of Barcelona blend in this open and captivating creation; the song titles and lyrics are in Spanish. Abbar el Hamada is a truly unforgettable listening experience. The tracks are "Buscando la Paz", "Calles de Daijla", "El canto de la arena" "El was", "La cordillera negra", "Abbar el Hamada", "Baraka", "Mani", "Intifada", and "Los muros".


The Library DVD Shelf

Humans Series 1
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
9781621724452 $39.99 DVD
9781621724667 $39.99 Blu-ray www.acornonline.com

Available on both DVD and Blu-Ray, Humans Series 1 is now available in a complete, unedited UK edition, featuring more than 20 minutes of footage not previously broadcast on AMC. Series 1 consists of eight dramatic episodes, set in a near-future world where humanoid servants called synthetics, or "synths", ease the burdens of everyday life... but will these synths remain complacent as servants forever? When a husband brings home a female synth to the family, his wife feels uneasy even though the children like her right away; meanwhile, a synth engineer cannot bear to dispose of his beloved yet malfunctioning synth. A keenly character-driven plot speculating on the boundaries of future technology, Humans Series 1 is troubling, riveting, and highly recommended. Bonus features include 30 min. of behind-the-scenes footage, 49 min. of featurettes, and a photo gallery. It should be noted that Humans Series 1 contains violence, coarse language, nudity, and sexual situations. 8 episodes on 3 DVDs (or 2 Blu-ray discs), 385 min. plus bonus material, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

Getting Your Kicks! A Beginner's Guide to Choreography
Adrea Gibbs
Meriwether Publishing
c/o Pioneer Drama Service
PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO 80155-4267
1566081149 $29.95 www.pioneerdrama.com

Getting Your Kicks! A Beginner's Guide to Choreography is a highly recommended introduction to stage choreography (dance moves for theater), consisting of a DVD and a 28-page workbook that fits snugly inside the DVD case. An excellent resource for self-study or classroom instruction, Getting Your Kicks! is perfect for novice or untrained dancers of all ages and backgrounds. Getting Your Kicks! covers fundamentals including jumps, turns, and kicks; a wide variety of dance steps including grapevine, pony, wizard, cakewalk, waltz step, Charleston, soft shoe, etc.; determining formation and staging; and more. Getting Your Kicks! is a "must-have" for dance instruction collections, and highly recommended for anyone with an interest in choreography, whether as a hobby, for community theater, or as a profession. It should be noted that in order to view the Getting Your Kicks! DVD, a DVD player with DVD-R compatibility is required.

Bleach Unforgiven 2-Pack
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
$14.98 www.viz.com

Bleach Unforgiven 2-Pack is a set of two full-length anime (Japanese animation) movies based on the wildly popular, long-running saga of Ichigo, a high school student who accidentally inherits the power and duty to destroy evil spirits ("Hollows") and send good spirits ("Pluses" or "Wholes") to the afterlife. In "Fade to Black", a bizarre catastrophe has affected the Soul Society. Rukia, the Soul Reaper who granted Ichigo his powers, has gone missing; the rest of the Soul Society has no memory of Ichigo, and consider him responsible for the disaster, forcing Ichigo to search for answers while on the run! In "Hell Verse", a group of Sinners condemned to Hell plot to escape their eternal prison, and take Ichigo's younger sister Yuzu as a hostage. Ichigo must brave Hell itself to stop the Sinners and rescue Yuzu - but could his efforts unleash Hell on the world of the living? Both movies are action-packed sagas of supernatural excitement. A "must-have" for longtime fans of the manga, Bleach Unforgiven 2-Pack is also an accessible introduction for newcomers to the series. Bleach Unforgiven 2-Pack is rated recommended for older teen and adult viewers (TV 14 rating) due to scenes of violence. 2 DVDs, 180 min., English and Japanese audio, optional English subtitles.

Midwinter of the Spirit
Starring Anna Maxwell Martin and David Threlfall
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
9781621724780 $34.99 www.acornonline.com

Midwinter of the Spirit is a three-episode supernatural crime drama, starring two-time BAFTA-award winning actress Anna Maxwell Martin. and BAFTA-Award winner David Threlfall. Martin plays country vicar Merrily Watkins, who is in training to be an exorcist. The severe Reverend Huw Owen (David Threlfall) teaches her, but she is wracked with doubt over her husband's death, and the struggle of raising her teenaged daughter as a solo parent. Then Merrily is called to consult on a gruesome murder investigation, and must confront nightmarish terrors. An intense thriller, Midwinter of the Spirit is a "must-see" for connoisseurs of the genre. It should be noted that Midwinter of the Spirit contains coarse language, disturbing images, graphic violence, nudity, and sexual situations. 3 episodes on 1 DVD, 145 min. with bonus photo gallery, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

Mayday
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
9781621723943 $39.99 www.acornonline.com

Mayday is a five-episode British mystery-drama about a remote community harboring dark secrets and a possible killer. The sleepy English village still celebrates pagan traditions, including the May Day parade. But when the May Queen, 14-year-old Hattie Sutton, vanishes just before the event, the local people are terrified by the possibility that a killer could lurk within their midst. The search to find Hattie uncovers lies and conspiracies festering beneath the small town's placid surface. Suspenseful to the very end, Mayday is especially recommended to connoisseurs of the genre. It should be noted that Mayday is intended for mature audiences, as it contains scenes of violence, coarse language, sexual situations, brief nudity, and disturbing images. Bonus material includes a 25-min. featurette, "The Making of Mayday", and a photo gallery. 5 episodes on 2 DVDs, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

In Light of Change: 2 Week Fitness Program
Julie Rammal
www.jsport.co
Privately Published
c/o 411 Video Information (publicity)
$24.95 www.411videoinfo.com

Celebrity fitness trainer (and Ayurvedic and Holistic Health Practitioner) Julie Rammal, who serves clients in both California and the Middle East, presents In Light of Change: 2 Week Fitness Program, a guide to reaping the benefits of regular exercise and improved fitness. In just two weeks, it's possible to begin reshaping one's lifestyle to look and feel younger and more energetic. Filmed on-location at beautiful coastal and natural locations around the world, In Light of Change consists of warm-up, three cardio sections (cardio stretch, cardio box, and cardio legs), lower and upper body workout, "total abs" conditioning, stretching, flexibility, and cooldown segments, offering a fine balance of ancient and modern exercises as well as alternative complimentary medicine techniques. In Light of Change is an excellent addition to personal DVD fitness libraries, highly recommended. 52 min.


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Manga Classics
Udon Entertainment
335 N Ohio Avenue, Fremont, OH 43420
http://www.udonstore.com

The term manga is a Japanese word referring both to comics and cartooning. Manga are the kind of comics created in Japan and conforming to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century. They have a long and complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art, and have become very popular with American readers of all ages. Manga books from Udon Entertainment have their captions translated into English for an American readership. Two of the newest titles in Udon Entertainment's 'Manga Classic' series are particularly outstanding. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and drawn in the Manga style by SunKeno Lee (9781927925348, $24.99, HC, 9783927925331, $19.99, PB, 308pp) and is the classically tragic story Puritan America. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens and drawn in the Manga style by Nokman Poon (9781927925324, $24.99, HC; 9781927925317, $19.99, PB, 308pp) is one of English literature's greatest tales of romance, mystery, comedy, and unforgettable characters woven through a gripping rags-to-riches tale. The manga versions of great literature are exceptionally entertaining for teens and adult, and are very highly recommended as enduringly popular additions for personal, school, and community library collections. Classroom teachers working with reading adverse students should note that the use of manga novels are extraordinarily effective in developing reading skills.

Apollo: The Brilliant One
George O'Connor
First Second
175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.firstsecondbooks.com
9781626720152 $9.99 www.olympiansrule.com

Part of the "Olympians" series of full-color graphic novel adaptations of classic Greek mythology, Apollo: The Brilliant One showcases selected myths about Apollo, the legendary Greek god of order, reason, healing, and the sun. Yet these stories reveal a deity who is all too often consumed by pride, lust, jealousy, or revenge, and those mortals who dare to love Apollo always seem to meet an unseemly fate. Even though Apollo: The Brilliant One flows smoothly as a graphic novel, its rendition of classic Greek mythology is so accurate that it could serve as a study aid for a college course. The darkest aspects of Greek mythology are not sanitized or downplayed, although discretion is applied to the art where particularly violent scenes are concerned. Apollo: The Brilliant One and the entire Olympians series are highly recommended for public and college library graphic novel collections, and for any reader interested in learning more about Greek mythology.

Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling
Tony Cliff
First Second
175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9781626721555 $17.99 www.firstsecondbooks.com

Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling is a full-color graphic novel of swashbuckling adventure, set in the early 1800's. The principal heroes are the roguish Delilah Dirk and her sharp-witted Turkish ally, Erdemoglu Selim. War rages between the British and the French, but Delilah Dirk cares nothing for military matters... until a British officer, Major Jason Merrick, accuses her of treason. Prideful and protective of her reputation, Delilah will go to any lengths to set Merrick in his place - even if those lengths include a return visit to her own family! But in her efforts to remain respected, will Delilah forget to show proper respect to Selim? As the full extent of Merrick's plots come into play, one woman's efforts to clear her good name may well have a shockwave effect on history! Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling is a treasure for connoisseurs of historical adventure. Also highly recommended is the previous Delilah Dirk graphic novel, "Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant" (9781596438132, $16.99).

Master Keaton 5
Naoki Urasawa
Story by Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
www.viz.com
9781421575940 $19.99 www.amazon.com

The fifth volume of Master Keaton continues the black-and-white manga (Japanese graphic novel) series set in the early 1990's, the contemporary times of when it was created. The protagonist, Taichi Hiraga Keaton, is the son of a Japanese father and a British mother. His training in the British military serves him well, since his (unfortunately low-paying) job as an insurance investigator often lands him in dangerous situations! In volume 5, Keaton must get to the bottom of ruthless murders, protect the family of a deceased war veteran from criminal robbers, and much more. The longest and most fascinating saga in this anthology involves Keaton's efforts to rescue a British diplomat from the heart of the Iraq war (not the 2003 invasion of Iraq - that was well after this manga's time - but rather the one triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and spearheaded by the administration of the first President Bush). A fine blend of mystery, intrigue, action, and character development, Master Keaton is a highly recommended series to connoisseurs of classic manga.

Ranma 1/2: 25 & 26 (2-in-1 edition)
Rumiko Takahashi
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
www.viz.com
9781421566344 $14.99 www.amazon.com

The popular martial-arts-action-comedy manga (Japanese comics) Ranma 1/2 has been collected into "2-in-1" editions that are also "unflipped"; each volume displays Rumiko Takahashi's artwork from right-to-left, as originally drawn. Ranma 1/2: 25 & 26 is the thirteenth of the "2-in- 1" editions, gathering volumes 25 and 26 under one cover. In this volume, Ranma fights for the ability to be a man again (even if its only until the next time he's splashed with cold water). Then Ranma confronts Hinako Ninomiya, a new teacher with an extraordinary secret - even though she looks like a little girl, she knows a technique that can cripple master martial artists, and change her body into that of a powerful (and sexy) adult woman! Also, Akane meets a young man who risked his life to save hers when she was a child, and must confront a maiden-devouring mythological monster to obtain lifesaving medicine. Can Ranma and Ryoga overcome their pride long enough to help her? The entire Ranma 1/2 series is both laugh-out-loud funny and an enduring classic for manga fans everywhere. Highly recommended!

Assassination Classroom 8
Yusei Matsui
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
www.viz.com
9781421582801 $9.99 pbk / $4.49 Kindle www.amazon.com

The eighth volume of the Assassination Classroom series of black-and-white manga (Japanese comics) continues the convoluted saga of group of students charged with a most unusual task - to assassinate their own teacher! But their instructor and supposed target Koro-Sensei is not a human being; he (it?) is a multi-limbed, highly adaptable lifeform that has threatened to devastate the Earth if his students don't succeed in their goal. At the same time, Koro-Sensei seems to genuinely care about his students, and wants them to develop their utmost potential, both physically and mentally! In volume eight, the students are in a race against time because they have been infected with a deadly disease - the handiwork of professional assassins. Can they track down the culprits and obtain the cure before time runs out? Even the otherwise powerful Koro-Sensei has been forced into his "absolute defense" form, and is incapable of aiding them beyond giving advice! Assassination Classroom 8 is recommended for older teen and adult readers due to dark themes and violence, yet balances its destructive main narrative with thoughtful undertones about learning, growth, and self-improvement. Highly recommended.

Last Man: The Show
Balak, Bastien Vives and Michael Sanlaville
First Second
175 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.firstsecondbooks.com
9781626720497 $9.99 www.amazon.com

Succinctly translated into English, Last Man: The Show continues the low-fantasy, cross-dimensional, black-and-white graphic novel saga of an unlikely rogue, a single mother, and her gifted yet startlingly naive twelve-year-old son. Marianne Velba and young Adrian Velba have tracked the thieving pit fighter Richard Aldana across parallel universes to Paxtown, a modern mega-city rotted to the core with drugs and crime. Richard's past has caught up to him, and the criminal overlords running the city intend to extract whatever value they can get out of his hide... but first, they plan to put him on display in the Fighting Fists Funeral Cup, the world's most famous boxing tournament. Marianne and Adrian also enlist, but how long can this mother-son team last against the seasoned professions in the ring, let alone against the thugs outside of it? A tangled morass of conflicting motivations and villainous plots takes shape in this action-packed story, recommended for adult or older teen readers due to violence and mature situations.

My Neighbor Seki 7
Takuma Morishige
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993100 $10.95 www.vertical-inc.com

My Neighbor Seki 7 is the latest black-and-white manga (Japanese graphic novel) in a humorous series about schoolgirl Rumi Yokoi, whose efforts to study are all too often derailed by the amazingly brilliant, creative, and mischievous antics of her deskmate Seki. Yet even though Seki is prodigiously talented, his skill has limits. Can Seki win a cocklebur-tossing conflict against the school's ace pitcher? Are the hand-crafted pencils he painstakingly creates truly any better than store-bought ones? Can Yokoi turn around the inevitably tragic story-acts that Seki weaves with puppets and figures? Like all volumes in the series, My Neighbor Seki 7 is an anthology of shorts following only the loosest of continuities, and makes as good a jumping-on point as any for connoisseurs of light comedy. My Neighbor Seki is suitable for all ages, and highly recommended.

Nichijou My Ordinary Life 1
Keiichi Arawi
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
9781942993308 $10.95 www.vertical-inc.com

Nichijou My Ordinary Life 1 is a black-and-white sketch comedy manga (Japanese graphic novel) about a mostly ordinary group of high school students and teachers. Aside from the one girl who is a robot and has a wind-up key in her back. And the principal who wrestles deer. And one oddball thing after another... yet even though the definition of "ordinary" goes up for grabs, Nichijou My Ordinary Life stays close to familiar highlights of schooling, such as the pressure to prepare for exams. Nichijou My Ordinary Life is suitable for all ages, and highly recommended.


The Poetry Shelf

Collected Poems: 1974-2004
Rita Dove
W. W. Norton & Company
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.wwnorton.com
9780393285949, $39.95, HC, 448pp, www.amazon.com

Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and author. From 1993 to 1995 she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937 - 86). Dove also received an appointment as "special consultant in poetry" for the Library of Congress's bicentennial year from 1999 to 2000. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Dove is the recipient of many literary honors, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Fulbright Lifetime Achievement Medal. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she is currently a Commonwealth Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Gathered from thirty years of her poetry, including seven published volumes of her work, "Collected Poems: 1974-2004" is a compilation that includes Dove's fresh reflections on adolescence in The Yellow House on the Corner and her irreverent musings in Museum. She sets the moving love story of Thomas and Beulah against the backdrop of war, industrialization, and the civil right struggles. The multifaceted gems of Grace Notes, the exquisite re-invention of Greek myth in the sonnets of Mother Love, the troubling rapids of recent history in On the Bus with Rosa Parks, and the homage to America's kaleidoscopic cultural heritage in American Smooth all celebrate Dove's mastery of narrative context with lyrical finesse. Rita Dove's "Collected Poems: 1974-2004" is very strongly recommended for both community and academic library American Poetry collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Collected Poems: 1974-2004" is available in a Kindle edition ($19.99).

Anchored
Lorna Shaughnessy
Salmon Poetry
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, 124 Byers Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9781910669228, $18.00, PB, 80pp, www.amazon.com

"Anchored" is an anthology of original Irish poetry that clearly establishes Lorna Shaughnessy as a master wordsmith who can engage in the rhythmic use of language to directly connect with her readership with an authentic Irish perspective. Her free verse poetry is intensely personal and yet universal in its reach and impact. "Anchored" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Contemporary Irish Poetry collections. 'The Chosen': He thought he'd breathed his last / when they asked his religion / and told him to step forward. / A workmate's hand urged caution / but they hadn't come for him. // 'Don't look back', they said / and shoved him on his way. / He staggered down the unlit road / and felt as though his own bones shattered / when they opened fire on the ten left behind. (January 1976).

Domestic Garden
John Hoppenthaler
Carnegie Mellon University Press
5032 Forbest Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15289-1021
www.cmu.edu/universitypress
University Press of New England (dist.)
1 Court Street, Suite 250, Lebanon, NH 03766-1358
www.upne.com
9780887485954, $15.95, PB, 80pp, www.amazon.com

Very highly recommended personal reading lists as well as community and academic library collections, "Domestic Garden" is John Hoppenthaler's third collection of poetry. The theme is one of observing the contemporary remnants of an American Dream and what it mean and looks like in our time is at the book's heart. Hoppenthaler's poems are deftly written in a variety of styles, offering testimony and uncovering, row by row, what remains viable. Deciding to Marry (for Christy): The insistent sweep from the Hatteras / Lighthouse flicks over sand dunes / lining the silver-tinged ocean. Much was // made of John's expected shipwreck / The rats moved on. The mast I cut into cordwood, / and fire changed its nature to wind. // I'd hunkered down in the last place on earth. / I drank from crude stills, distilled bitter fruits. / Mosquitoes swarmed and shape-shifted, // droned sad songs around my head. / It became so obvious: / you at the top of the lighthouse stairs, the red dress.

Return to Streets of Eternity
Jan Carew
Smoke Stack Books
c/o Dufour Editions, Inc.
PO Box 7, 124 Byers Road, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
www.dufoureditions.com
9780992740986, $21.00, PB, 217pp, www.amazon.com

An anthology showcasing the verse of Jan Carew, "Return to Streets of Eternity" brings together, for the first time, poems written during a life-time of passionate engagement in anti-colonial, civil rights, black power, and liberation movements, including many previously unpublished tributes to nineteenth and twentieth-century revolutionary leaders and to writers like Martin Carter, Dennis Brutus, Agostinho Neto, Andrew Salkey, Alejo Carpentier, and Mumia Abu-Jamal. "Return to Streets of Eternity" is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Contemporary Poetry collections. 'To Joy': Even now / I love big brown eyes that caress like silk / ever and ever sad and laughing eyes / whose lids make such sweet shadows when they close / it seems another beautiful look of hers / I love her fresh mouth / ahh her scented mouth / and curving hair / subtle as smoke / and light fingers / and laughter of green gems

From The Wild
Mary Ann Archibald
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781517638399, $14.95, PB, 90pp, www.amazon.com

In the deftly crafted poetry of Mary Ann Archibald as comprised in the pages of "From The Wild", her readers will discover a world where commonplace observation and insight collide. From a hot bubbling pot of fudge to a night sky filled with fireflies, this body of verse holds a prism up to the value of our daily lives. Courage and vivid imagery guide the journey as the Mary Ann Archibald gently pokes fun at lighter moments yet tackles serious issues facing many today in a broader context. "From The Wild" is very highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Poetry collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "From The Wild" is also available in a free Kindle edition for Amazon Kindle subscribers. Day Break: Bumping the moon / onto our garden path / snuffing out fireflies // The dusty moon asleep, / a sliver in the sky / tucks away its cratered mirror // as the sun lights / the other side / and dark finds its dawn.


The Travel Shelf

Lonely Planet San Francisco, tenth edition
Alison Bing, Sara Benson, John A. Vlahides
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
www.lonelyplanet.com
9781559922012, $31.99, HC, 332pp, www.amazon.com

Enhanced throughout with color photography and now in a fully updated and expanded tenth edition, "Lonely Planet San Francisco" is deftly organized into four major sections: Plan Your Trip; Explore San Drancisco; Understand San Francisco; Survival Guide. "Lonely Planet San Francisco" is as comprehensive, informative and practical as it is thoroughly 'user friendly' with relevant, up-to-date, exceptionally well organized and presented advice on what to see and what to skip, as well as what hidden discoveries await the San Francisco visitor. From enjoying Golden Gate Park, to strolling across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, to getting spooked at Alcatraz, to riding a legendary cable car, to maneuver down the crookedest street in the world, to taking a day trip to wine-soaked Napa Valley, and so much more, "Lonely Planet San Francisco" is an ideal resource for planning and enjoying a trip to San Francisco whether you are coming from across the country or the other side of town. Very highly recommended for community library Travel Guide collections, it should be noted for personal use that "Lonely Planet San Francisco" is also available in a paperback edition (9781743218556, $21.99) and in a Kindle format ($12.99).


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Human Chord / The Centaur
Algernon Blackwood
Stark House Press
1315 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501
www.starkhousepress.com
9781944520014, $19.95, PB, 338pp, www.amazon.com

Born in London on March 14, 1869, Algernon Blackwood rebelled against his strong Catholic upbringing and began studying Oriental religions and the occult, later joining several occult societies. When he reached twenty, his father sent him to Canada. Returning to Britain in the late 1890's, he soon began turning some of his strange experiences into stories. An acquaintance sent these stories to a publisher and the result was "The Empty House" (Stark House Press, 9781933586458, $19.95, PB, 352pp), soon followed by many more weird story collections and some truly strange and powerful novels. A storyteller, mystic, adventurer, radio and television personality, Algernon Blackwood revealed to his friends that most of his stories were based on actual events. By the time of his death in 1951, he had become one of the greatest writers of supernatural fiction in the 20th century. This Stark House Press edition of two of Algernon Blackwood's classic stories of the supernatural, "The Human Chord / The Centaur" once again brings back into print two of his earliest novels for a new generation of appreciative readers. For those new to the writings of Algernon Blackwood, "The Human Chord / The Centaur" will prove to be the perfect introduction and sending eager readers out looking for the rest of his impressive library of original and deftly crafted tales. Of special note is that this Stark House Press edition of "The Human Chord / The Centaur" also includes a complete bibliography of Algernon Blackwood's published writings, including his novels, autobiography, short story collections, and plays. "The Human Chord / The Centaur" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library Literary Fiction collections.

Haunting Investigation
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Smoke & Shadow Books
c/o Cleveland Writer's Press
www.clevelandwriterspress.com
9781943052011, $27.99, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Spring 1924. The world has clawed its way back from the ravages of WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic. The 20's are beginning to roar. Poppy Thornton lives with her Aunt Jo and her excitable cat Maestro in upper-crust Philadelphia. Poppy is determined to make a name for herself as a serious crime reporter, but is stuck reporting on garden parties and ladies' fashion. Then one day her editor assigns her to collect background information on the suicide of a prominent businessman. She soon discovers it was actually a murder. But her surprising source for this information is the ghost of a man killed alongside her father during the Great War. Even if she dared tell anyone, who would believe it? Together Poppy and her "gentleman haunt" follow the trail of a string of murders. But as their investigation narrows in on an all-too-familiar suspect, Poppy becomes a target herself and wonders if her ghost of a partner will appear in time to keep her from joining him in the afterlife. "Haunting Investigation" is another terrific read from the mind and imagination of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. A blend of fantasy and mystery, "Haunting Investigation" is a "must read" for the legions of Yarbro fans and is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community and academic library collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Haunting Investigations" is also available in a paperback edition (9781943052004, $19.99) and in a Kindle format ($7.49).

The Service of the Dead
Candace Robb
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.us
9781681771274, $25.95, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

Political unrest permeates York at the cusp of the fifteenth century, as warring factions take sides on who should be the rightful king '-- Richard II, or his estranged, powerful cousin in exile, Henry Bolingbroke. Independent minded twenty-year-old Kate Clifford is struggling to dig out from beneath the debt left by her late husband. Determined to find a way to be secure in her own wealth and establish her independence in a male dominated society, Kate turns one of her properties near the minster into a guest house and sets up a business. In a dance of power, she also quietly rents the discreet bedchambers to the wealthy, powerful merchants of York for nights with their mistresses. But the brutal murder of a mysterious guest and the disappearance of his companion for the evening threatens all that Kate has built. Before others in town hear word of a looming scandal, she must call upon all of her hard-won survival skills to save herself from ruin. "The Service of the Dead" by Candace Robb is a strikingly well crafted novel that is a compelling page-turner from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Service of the Dead" is also available in a Kindle edition ($12.99) and in an MP3 CD format ($29.95).

Kingfisher
Patricia A. McKillip
Ace Books
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
www.penguingroup.com
9780425271766 $27.00 www.amazon.com

Kingfisher is a fine fantasy and coming-of-age story and revolves around Pierce, who has grown up working in his mother's restaurant. She's a powerful sorceress who has hidden her son to protect him - until strangers passing through town lure him with promises of another world that holds a better place for him. There's nothing but a bleak world in the one he currently inhabits, and Pierce's determination leads her furious mother to tell him the truth about his father and family connections - and about his unfaithful father's dangerous love and his mother's determination to raise Pierce away from that danger, now undermined by both strangers and her own son's desire to find his own destiny. Secrets, bad decisions, and a quest join in an epic journey that will lead readers into a riveting saga of self-determination and change.

Poseidon's Wake
Alastair Reynolds
Ace Books
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10014
www.penguingroup.com
9780425256794 $27.00 www.penguin.com

Poseidon's Wake concludes an epic saga begun in On the Steel Breeze and is especially recommended for prior fans who will find this continuation of the story to be involving. Newcomers should really look at the prior story line for easier involvement in this tale, which tells of Ndege Akinya, who lives under permanent house arrest for killing over four hundred thousand people through her actions. Her biologist daughter joins a crew sent to uncover the source of a strange message that came from seventy light-years away, and what they will find will change all their lives in this riveting, engrossing story which takes its time to move slowly and relentlessly towards a surprise conclusion.

The End of All Things
John Scalzi
Tor
c/o Tor/Forge Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
9780765376077 $24.99 www.amazon.com

The End of All Things provides a new story in the 'Old Man's War' universe and deserves ongoing mention and recommendation both for prior fans of the series and newcomers alike. Fans might recall that the first book, Old Man's War, earned Scalzi the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and started a series that would eventually be adapted into a TV show. This book was released as four e-only serial novellas before its appearance here as a final hardcover, and begins where The Human Division ended as it returns to a world where humans have expanded into space only to face a universe of different alien species, all of which wants to destroy them. It sounds complex and it may also seem that familiarity with the prior books are a prerequisite, but newcomers will find it easy to enter this universe at this point and the only real requirement is an interest in military and political sci-fi and alien/human confrontations. Such an audience will find The End of All Things filled with satisfying twists and human/alien confrontations that build solid characters and exciting, believable scenarios between them.

Naruto: Shikamaru's Story
Masashi Kishimoto and Takashi Yano
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
www.viz.com
9781421584416 $10.99 pbk / $4.49 Kindle www.naruto.com

Naruto: Shikamaru's Story is an original prose novel set in the world of the popular Naruto series of manga and anime (Japanese comics and animation), where trained ninja with fantastic, supernatural powers surpass the might of armies. The era is two years after the Great Ninja War. The protagonist is Shikamaru, a colleague and comrade of the nigh-legendary Naruto. Shikamaru has risen through the ranks to become one of Konoha's key protectors; he is well known not only for his masterful shadow ninjitsu, but also his natural talent for leadership. (Despite his efforts to improve, his personal flaws still include a degree of laziness and the tendency to complain... being a good leader is hard work). Then large numbers of ninja from every region start disappearing, including master ninja and artist Sai, whose specialties include the ability to bring his own drawings to life. The abducted Shinobi have been taken to the Land of Silence, an empire shrouded in mystery; Shikamaru must uncover the mastermind behind the disappearances before it's too late! Naruto: Shikamaru's Story is a self-contained adventure; newcomers to the Naruto series can enjoy it as thoroughly as longtime fans. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.

Cockroaches for Sale
Al Kalima
Westbow Press
c/o Thomas Nelson Publishers
PO Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214
www.westbowpress.com
9781512730241, $35.95, HC, 280pp, www.amazon.com

Through diligent research and modern technological innovations, man is able to breach the six hundred light years to Keplar 22b, a planet very similar to earth, ready-made for habitation and yet uninhabited. Keplar 22b seems to be the ideal solution to the teeming population problems of Mother Earth but there is a problem: the astronauts return with a plague and people die in hundreds of thousands. On the brink of extinction, no one has the answers until some people make some serendipitous discoveries which converts the status of cockroaches from pests to priceless commodities. An original and deftly crafted science fiction novel that clearly establishes author Al Kalima as a skilled master of the genre, "Cockroaches for Sale" is a riveting and thoroughly entertaining read from beginning to end, leaving Kalima's readers looking eagerly toward his next novel. Very highly recommended for community library Science Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Cockroaches for Sale" is also available in a paperback edition (9781512730234, $19.95) and in a Kindle format ($4.99).

Battlestorm
Susan Krinard
Tor Books
c/o Tor/Forge Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
9780765332103, $15.99, PB, 480pp, www.amazon.com

Susan Krinard is the author of more than twenty-five fantasy and paranormal romance novels. In "Battlestorm" Susan has penned another terrific science fiction fantasy novel. Centuries ago, the Norse gods and goddesses fought their Last Battle with the trickster god Loki and his frost giants. All were believed lost, except for a few survivors...including the Valkyrie Mist, forgotten daughter of the goddess Freya. But the battle isn't over, and Mist (living a mortal life in San Francisco) is at the center of a new war, with the fate of the Earth hanging in the balance. As old enemies and allies reappear around the city, Mist must determine who to trust, while learning to control her own growing power. It will take all of Mist's courage, determination, and newfound magical abilities to stop Loki before history repeats itself. The third volume in Susan's outstanding 'Midgard' fantasy series, "Battlestorm" is very highly recommended for community library collections. For the personal reading lists of fantasy fans it should be noted that "Battlestorm" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).


The Self-Help Shelf

Switch On Your Brain
Caroline Leaf
Baker Books
c/o Baker Publishing Group
6030 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
9780801018398, $13.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

It is surprising to learn that the vast majority (a whopping 75-98 percent) of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. In fact, fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than thirty different hormones! Today our culture is undergoing an epidemic of toxic thoughts that, left unchecked, create ideal conditions for illnesses. In the pages of "Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health", supported by current scientific and medical research, communication pathologist and audiologist Caroline Leaf gives readers a prescription for better health and wholeness through correct thinking patterns, declaring that we are not victims of our biology. She shares with readers the "switch" in our brains that enables us to live happier, healthier, more enjoyable lives where we achieve our goals, maintain our weight, and even become more intelligent. She shows us how to choose life, get our minds under control, and reap the benefits of a detoxed thought life. "Switch On Your Brain" is exceptionally well written, organized and presented, making it an ideal for the non-specialist general reader and very highly recommended for community library Self-Help/Self-Improvement instructional reference collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Switch On Your Brain" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.32).


The Education Shelf

Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change
Eric Jensen
Solution Tree
555 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404
www.solution-tree.com
9781936764518, $34.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

In "Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change" educator Eric Jensen draws upon his years of experience and expertise to provide practical and research-based strategies to ensure all students, regardless of circumstance, are graduate college and career ready. This thorough resource details the necessary but difficult work that teachers must do to establish the foundational changes essential to positively impact students in poverty. Organized tools and resources are provided to help teachers effectively implement these essential changes. "Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change" will result in an understanding of the urgency of poverty in the United States; the four powerful mindsets required to bring about successful change; how to build effective relationships with students, and help them see achievement as a reachable target; and create a welcoming classroom climate where all students love to learn and are engaged for success. Of special note is that there is a download of free reproducibles from "Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change" at www.go.solution-tree.com/. While very highly recommended for professional and academic library Educational Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, it should be noted for classroom teachers and interested members of the general public that "Poor Students, Rich Teaching: Mindsets for Change" is also available in a Kindle edition ($33.20).

Excellence Through Equity
Alan M. Blankstein & Pedro Noguera
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781483392783, $36.95, PB, 328pp, www.amazon.com

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Alan M. Blankstein (who served for 25 years as the Hope Foundation) and Pedro Noguera (Distinguished Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education and Information, UCLA), "Excellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student" is an illuminating anthology of 15 original articles that collectively builds the case that equity is the most powerful means we have to lift all children to higher achievement and to benefit society at large. "Excellence Through Equity" includes: Examples of high-leverage practices used by award-winning schools and districts; System-level examples of excellence through equity including whole state and district-wide; Examples of classroom level practice that lead to success for students from underserved populations as well as for their more privileged peers; A powerful concluding chapter that focuses on what we can learn from other nations that have pursued the goals of educational equity. Enhanced with an informative Foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "Excellence Through Equity" is very highly recommended reading for educational administrators and classroom instructors. Simply stated, no college or university library should be without a copy of "Excellence Through Equity" in the Educational Studies reference collection. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Excellence Through Equity" is also available in a Kindle edition ($32.25).

Curious Minds
Ty Kolstedt & Azeem Z. Vasi
Zephyr Press
c/o Chicago Review Press
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
9781613731505, $16.95, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

The collaborative project of Ty Kolstedt ( who teaches secondary-level social studies in the Denver area) and Dr. Azeem Z. Vasi (an otolaryngologist who has daily clinic interaction with parents and children dealing with various developmental issues), "Curious Minds: 40 Hands-on Activities to Inspire a Love of Learning" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' resource for parents and homeschoolers in search of kid-friendly DIY projects, educators seeking to enhance classroom lessons, and caregivers or camp counselors looking for activities with a deeper educational lesson behind them, "Curious Minds" is filled to the brim with learning activities that will excite the eager, gifted child just as much as the special needs learner. Through 40 fun projects specifically designed to promote kids' critical thinking about the interest in the world they live in, "Curious Minds" fosters active "learning by doing" in four core academic areas: math, science, social studies, and language arts. Each activity includes a short mini-lesson and list of "related lingo" to provide educational background information; a simple materials list; easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions; and guidance for extending the activity. The wide range of projects ensures every child's interest will be piqued. Kids will make homemade butter like the pioneers did; understand viscosity by making homemade quicksand; learn to recognize and use creative writing techniques; make their own ink using natural resources; and much more! "Curious Minds" is very highly recommended for parents and teachers, as well as community and academic library educational resource instructional reference collections.

Strategies for Writing from Sources
Jessica Hathaway
Shell Education
5301 Oceanus Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1030
www.shelleducation.com
9781425815462, $39.99, PB, 296pp, www.amazon.com

"Strategies for Writing from Sources" by Jessica Hathaway is practical and comprehensive "how-to" guide that will provide classroom teachers with all of the information they will need to help their students write from sources. "Strategies for Writing from Sources" allows students to analyze informational texts, argument/opinion texts, narrative texts, diverse media sources, and multiple sources to help students improve their own writing and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the sources through close reading and critical analysis. Each section contains five lessons that are specific to the grade spans K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, content, organization, and presentation, "Strategies for Writing from Sources" is very highly recommended as a K-12 school writing curriculum supplement, as well as a critically important addition to academic library Teacher Education reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Colleges That Pay You Back: 2016 Edition
Robert Franek, et al.
The Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
www.PrincetonReview.com
9781101882467, $21.99, PB, 480pp, www.amazon.com

A college or university degree is a major financial investment, and one that too many students and parents enter into blindly. The Princeton Review is the fastest growing test-preparation company in the country, with over 60 franchise offices in the nation. Each year, we help more than 2 million students prepare for college, grad school, professional licensing exams, and successful careers. With the publication of "Colleges That Pay You Back: 2016 Edition", The Princeton Review erases that uncertainty with an invaluable guide to public and private schools showing where students get the best return on their tuition investment. That doesn't necessarily mean schools with the lowest price tags, but it does mean schools that give you the best bang for your buck: a combination of great academics with a great price and great experiences for a great post-college outcome! This new 2016 edition of "Colleges That Will Pay You Back" includes: Top-value picks chosen based on 40+ data points, including academics, cost of attendance, financial aid, and post-grad salary figures; Profiles of 200 schools that offer a fantastic value, with insight into their career services offerings; The top 25 schools with the Best Alumni Network, Best Career Placement, Top Financial Aid, and more; The highest-paying majors and great schools that offer them; Starting and mid-career salary information for graduates of each school; Percentages of alumni who report high job meaning and who majored in science/technology/engineering/math (STEM) fields. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Colleges That Pay You Back: 2016 Edition" should be a part of every local high school and community library's college/university admissions reference collection.

Corwin Press, Inc.
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.corwinpress.com

Gravity Goldberg's Mindsets & Moves: Strategies that Help Readers Take Charge (9781506314938, $28.95) is directed to educators working with grades 1-8 and discusses various protocols for encouraging students to read. Unlike most approaches, Gravity shows how to shift the educator's typical role from that of a manager to encouraging kids to take charge of their own reading processes. The idea is to evolve and encourage a 'growth mindset' that offers a model for new ways of reading. More than a philosophical presentation, this book provides practical examples, reading strategies, and a photo tour of a classroom organized with this in mind. From journaling and reading notebooks to producing more effective summaries, notes from student efforts appear in color throughout and highlight a very specific set of directions that will provide teachers with much food for thought. Karen D. Wood, D. Bruce Taylor and Katie Stover's Smuggling Writing: Strategies That Get Students to Write Every Day in Every Content Area (9781506322629, $28.95) shows teachers how to incorporate written response activity results into lesson plans that empower students in grades 3-12 to take charge of their own reading and writing growth. The idea is that more writing can be added to even the heaviest curriculum approach, and this is supported through classroom-tested lesson plans that show students how to use a particular set of strategies in all of their educational pursuits. Tested tools such as Herringbone and Anticipation Guides are re-arranged into sections on concept development and comprehension while sample lessons are backed by traditional teaching methods and online support and activities. The idea is to 'smuggle' writing into or after the lessons for greater effectiveness.


The Automotive Shelf

Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics
Ryan Brutt
Motorbooks
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartous.com
9780760348079 $35.00 www.motorbooks.com

Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics takes the popular TV show approaches of Pawn Stars and American Pickers into the auto realm as it discusses forgotten and abandoned vehicles that have been located and restored to former beauty. Here the process of locating, assessing, restoring and understanding the history and culture behind these selected gems comes to life in a collection filled with old car images, stories of how they were lost and found, and discussions of the restoration process. Packed with color photos, Amazing Barn Finds and Roadside Relics builds on the automotive restorer and collector's interest and provides a compelling collection of nearly-forgotten gems and what it takes to return them to their former glory. No automotive history holding should be without this, which holds the potential to reach into general-interest audiences with its lively history and fine color images.

Top Fuel Dragsters
Steve Reyes
CarTech Inc.
39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056
www.cartechbooks.com
9781613252185, $29.95, PB, 176pp, www.amazon.com

Steve Reyes is one of the most noteworthy and respected drag racing photographers in history. In "Top Fuel Dragsters: Drag Racing's Rear-Engine Revolution" he provides a wealthy of images to enhance his commentary which has as its focus the impact rear-engine automotive technology has had on the sport of drag racing. As informed and informative as it is engaging and absorbing, "Top Fuel Dragsters" is a "must" for the legions of drag racing fans and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Automotive Studies reference collections.


The Humor Shelf

Science of Parenthood
Norine Dworkin-McDaniel & Jessica Ziegler
She Writes Press
1563 Solano Ave #546, Berkeley, CA 94707
9781631529474 $19.95 www.shewritespress.com

Science of Parenthood: Thoroughly Unscientific Explanations for Utterly Baffling Parenting Situations is not really a parenting guide, but rather a hysterically funny compilation of witty insights about the trials and tribulations for parenting, ideal for relieving stress through laughter. Interspersed with wacky color drawings every few pages, Science of Parenthood offers such quick-chuckle quips as "Newton's First Law of Parenting: A child at rest will remain at rest... until you need your iPad back." Highly recommended, whether for personal mirth or as a cheerful giftbook.

Clean Up on Aisle Stupid
Darby Conley
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2109
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
9781449462949, $14.99, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Created by cartoonist Darby Conley, Get Fuzzy first appeared in newspapers in 1999 and has been enormously popular every since. "Clean Up on Aisle Stupid" is the latest collection of the Get Fuzzy newspaper comic strips and continues the hilarious antics of a cat, a dog, and their long suffering master. Laugh out loud funny from first page to last, "Clean Up on Aisle Stupid" is a "must" for the legions of Get Fuzzy fans, and a very highly recommended introduction for those to whom this is their first exposure the wit and wisdom of cartoonist Darby Conly. It should be noted that "Clean Up on Aisle Stupid" is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99). School and community libraries should be aware that "Clean Up on Aisle Stupid" also comes in a library bound edition (Turtleback Books, 9780606378307, $26.95).


The Activity Shelf

Coloring Ocean Mandalas
Wendy Piersall
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781612435466 $10.00 www.amazon.com

Coloring Ocean Mandalas provides thirty designs for relaxation and uses nautical themes and underwater worlds to link mindful mindsets with art. These themes range from whales and mermaids to sea horses, jellyfish, and dolphins, and sometimes add a good touch of whimsy and fun into the mix, as in a circular submarine with flowers, a periscope, and a mariner looking at the world through a spyglass. Most especially, it's a colorful celebration of the ocean for any who love the sea and adds an extra dimension of relaxing detail to the adult coloring world.

Origami Boxes Super Paper Pack
Maria Noble
Creative Publishing International
9781589238992 $12.99
www.QuartoKnows.com

Origami Boxes Super Paper Pack contains ten box designs and over two hundred pages of double-sided origami paper, along with step-by-step instructions for folding boxes with and without lids, and is recommended for paper folders who have some basics down and who want to move to the next step. Some thirty different colors and patterns are printed on both sides and bound into a book but can be easily removed to make the boxes, while instructions are simple enough to follow that any new to origami will find it easy to produce their first project. With over thirty pages of instruction and two hundred papers, crafts users will find plenty to appreciate here, in a collection recommended as a gift for any interested in crafts in general and paper-folding projects in particular.

The Soul Discovery Coloring Book
Janet Conner & Christine Pensa
Conari Press
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950-4600
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781573246859, $14.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Structured around 22 key questions to ignite the imagination, such as: When I look out, what do I see?; When I look in, what do I see?; and if I could create the perfect gate to my extraordinary life, what would it look like?; "The Soul Discovery Coloring Book" by author Janet Conner and illustrator Christine Pensa invites readers to: Noodle: use silence, reflection, staring off into space thereby allowing images to come; Doodle: not drawing to merely replicate; Color: allowing the colors to choose you; and Scribble or soul write -- scribbling because when we soul write we write fast and messy to get ahead of our conscious mind. For each of the 22 key questions there are 4 pages: the first poses and explores the question and provides an image to color, the second provides an image to color plus space to scribble and doodle, the third offers a quote or small inspiration design for free drawing, and the fourth offers blank space to allow the reader to complete their exploration through writing or coloring. "The Soul Discovery Coloring Book" comes with the added benefit of helping readers to reach deep within themselves to connect with the divine. The result? The reader not only colors a beautiful picture, but also creates a beautiful life. Simply stated, "The Soul Discovery Coloring Book" is one of those adult coloring books that will provide hours of contemplative and enjoyable activity that will also nourish the soul and spirit of men and women.


The Political Science Shelf

Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century
Douglas D. Roscoe & Shannon Jenkins
State University of New York Press
State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246-0001
www.sunypress.edu
9781438459493, $75.00, HC, 170pp, www.amazon.com

While the media pay the most attention to the actions of the national political committees, political scientists have long emphasized the key role of local party organizations. Despite sweeping changes in the political environment, remarkably little research has sought to understand precisely how these local parties are structured, what they do, and whether they have any impact on the political system. In "Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century," Douglas D. Roscoe and Shannon Jenkins (both of whom are Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth) use data collected from more than 1,100 local parties in forty-eight states to provide the most thorough examination of the role of local political parties in the US political system, something that has been lacking in contemporary accounts of the role of parties. They show that party organizations take particular forms and engage in certain activities because political actors find these forms and activities useful for winning elections. While past research has centered primarily on the role of national and state political parties in the United States, "Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century" demonstrates the continuing central role of local political parties in the electoral process, providing readers with a more comprehensive understanding of the US party system. An especially timely study during the unusually controversial presidential race of 2016, "Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Political Science reference collections and supplemental studies lists. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century" is also available in a Kindle edition ($67.69).

Democracy on the Edge
Terry A. AmRhein
Mill City Press
322 First Avenue N., 5th floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401
www.millcitypublishing.com
www.amrheinsbooks.com
9781634134323, $16.00, PB, 300pp, www.amazon.com

Trying to make sense of political issues in the United States can be challenging, especially with the "spin" placed on so many issues by media and politicians. If you are fed up with lies and half-truths and want real answers, Terry AmRhein obliges in the pages of "Democracy on the Edge: A Discussion of Political Issues in America" addressing such issues as: The Supreme Court's decision on "Citizens United"; How gun ownership is a right but has limitations; The effects of global warming (by W. K. Fifield, MD); How health care issues affect all Americans; The influence of big business on American lives; Causes of the "Financial Crisis," and what Congress has done; The Tea Party and their conflicting views; America's deep debt and plans to dig out of it. While based on verifiable facts, "Democracy on the Edge" includes Terry's flare for personal anecdotes and humorous quips that make the political treatise as informed, informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and simply delightful to read. Very highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Political Science reference collections and supplemental studies lists, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Democracy on the Edge" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99).

The Four Faces of the Republican Party and the Fight for the 2016 Presidential Nomination
Henry Olsen & Dante J. Scala
Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
www.palgrave-usa.com
9781137577481, $67.50, HC, 163pp, www.amazon.com

An absolutely timely read given the present and highly controversial Republican race for the party's presidential nomination, "The Four Faces of the Republican Party and the Fight for the 2016 Presidential Nomination" by Henry Olsen (Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center) and Dante Scala (Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire and a Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy) provides a better understanding of the archetypes at play in the 2016 Republican presidential nomination by discussing four key factions that comprise today's Republican Party. Religion, class, and ideology have set in place a political map that the successful candidate will have to navigate in order to become the GOP nominee. A succinct, informed, insightful, and thought-provoking read, "The Four Faces of the Republican Party and the Fight for the 2016 Presidential Nomination" is very highly recommended for community and academic library Political Science collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "The Four Faces of the Republican Party and the Fight for the 2016 Presidential Nomination" is also available in a paperback edition (9781349720552, $54.99) and in a Kindle format ($36.00).


The Autism Shelf

Our Brains Are Like Computers!
Joel Shaul
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.jkp.com
9781849057165 $24.95 www.amazon.com

Our Brains Are Like Computers! explores social skills and cause and effect and is designed for parents and educators working with children on the autism spectrum. Photocopiable worksheets accompany discussions of common life encounters that range from how people develop long-lasting bad memories of others to examples of good people who are trying to get others to like them.


The Needlecraft Shelf

An English Paper-Pieced Sampler
Darlene Beltman and Teresa Justice
American Quilter's Society
PO Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
www.americanquilter.com
9781604603972 $24.95 www.amazon.com

An English Paper-Pieced Sampler blends a history of this paper piecing method with an instructional book that offers background, basics, and everything a beginner needs to get started with quilting using the block instructions provided. From traditional to modern block choices and colors, readers are provided with templates, many color photos of all sizes, tips on attaching fabric to paper templates, and sewing instructions. The result is a vivid collection of varied projects and ideas which introduces the history and concept of English paper piecing to quilting newcomers.

Bright & Bold Wool Applique
Angela Lawrence
Landauer Corporation
3100 NW 101st Street, Suite A, Urbandale, Iowa 50322
www.landauercorp.com
9781935726814, $24.95, PB, 112pp, www.amazon.com

Needle artist Angela Lawrence has taught needle turn applique throughout the American Midwest since 1998. In the profusely illustrated pages of "Bright & Bold Wool Applique" she draws upon her many years of experience and expertise to turn ordinary applique patterns into eye-catching projects by introducing wool into your fabric mix. Angela has created more than a dozen projects in a variety of sizes using wool applique. The unique combination of wool, cotton and other materials promises stunning results. The projects comprising "Bright & Bold Wool Applique" include: coasters, pillows, table runners, wall hangings, and a lap quilt. Additional sections on using and caring for wool and preparing wool for applique ensure success. Dozens of applique templates that can be used time and time again accompany the beautiful projects. Detailed stitch diagram complete this thoroughly 'user friendly' instructional compilation. "Bright & Bold Wool Applique" is very highly recommended for both personal and community library Needlecraft reference collections.

Civil War Legacies
Carol Hopkins
Martingale
19021 - 120th Avenue NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011
www.shopmartingale.com
9781604680577, $24.99, PB, 80pp, www.amazon.com

Now dedicated quilting enthusiasts can step back in time with the 15 favorite patchwork-quilt patterns that comprise the "Civil War Legacies" collection that has been compiled and presented by quilting expert Carol Hopkins. Each individual pattern design features classic blocks evocative of the era, beautifully showcasing today's reproduction quilt fabrics. "Civil War Legacies" offers wonderfully scrappy, small quilt patterns in sizes perfect for wall hangings and doll quilts; simple, step-by-step instructions with clear diagrams and pressing directions; and is a thoroughly 'user friendly' collection with something for every quilting skill level. It should be noted that "Civil War Legacies" is also available in a Kindle edition. Also very highly recommended from Martingale is Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene's "The Blue and the Gray: Quilt Patterns using Civil War Fabrics" (9781604682540, $24.99 PB, $9.99 Kindle, 80pp).


The Gaming Shelf

World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1
Blizzard Entertainment
Dark Horse Books
c/o Dark Horse Comics
10956 SE Main Street, Milwaukie, OR 97222
9781616558451 $39.99 www.darkhorse.com

Featuring gorgeous, full-color artwork, World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1 is a coffee-table book detailing the fantastic history and lore of Azeroth, the setting of the Warcraft real-time strategy games and the long-running, multiplayer computer roleplaying game World of Warcraft. As of this writing, World of Warcraft has lasted for 10 years and five expansions, with a sixth expansion and a movie adaptation forthcoming in 2016; its extensive story has also supported dozens of fantasy novels. Volume 1 of the Chronicle not only ties together the many threads of Azeroth's complex history, but also reveals cosmic mysteries that have only been hinted at before. World of Warcraft players will be amazed to learn more about the hidden secrets and tragic backstories of the in-game heroes they have aided, and the enemies they have battled. Volume 1 covers events from ancient, mythical times up to 45 years before the opening of the Dark Portal. The vivid, atmospheric paintings and the extraordinary depth of detail are truly captivating. World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume 1 is an absolute "must-have" for any World of Warcraft player who enjoys the story and mythos of the game!

Tips on Cardplay
Mike Lawrence
Master Point Press
331 Douglas Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5M 1H2
9781771400220 $21.95 www.masterpointpress.com

Part of a three-book series, Tips on Cardplay is an in-depth guide for players of the card game bridge. Chapters cover common play mistakes, timing, endplays, suit preference and defensive signals, third hand play, and much more. A wealth of simple black-and-white diagrams illustrating examples enhances this excellent choice for anyone seriously interested in improving their skill at bridge. Also highly recommended are the other guides in this series, "Tips on Bidding" and "Tips on Competitive Bidding".


The Agriculture Shelf

Compendium of Corn Diseases, fourth edition
Gary P. Munkvold & Donald G. White, editors
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
978089054492-1, $119.00, PB, 165pp, www.shopapspress.org

Compiled and co-edited by the team of Gary P. Munkvold and Donald G. White, this updated and expanded fourth edition of the "Compendium of Corn Diseases" provides the most current, practical, and deftly presented information on the diagnosis and management of corn diseases. This latest edition of "Compendium of Corn Diseases" provides the diagnose and treatment for nearly 90 diseases and disorders. With it's informed and informative text enhanced with the inclusion of more than 300 images and management recommendations, the "Compendium of Corn Diseases" from APS Press continues to be a basic industry reference and is very highly recommended for professional, corporate, and academic library Agricultural Sciences reference collections in general, and Corn Diseases supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Wheat Flour, second edition
William A. Atwell & Sean Finnie
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
9781891127908, $159.00, 164pp, www.shopapspress.org

The collaborative project of William A. Atwell and Sean Finnie, this newly updated and expanded second edition of "Wheat Flour" is a straightforward, practical guide that offers coverage of specific product applications, problem resolution, and basics of wheat and milling. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Wheat Flour" will rapidly and comprehensively inform the reader concerning the latest research on wheat flour. "Wheat Flour" will show the reader how to troubleshoot costly issues related to flour quality and food production, as well as develop a range of consistent, superior products that include wheat flour. The latest addition to the APS Press outstanding handbook series of practical guides designed specifically for the food industry, "Wheat Flour" is very highly recommended for professional, corporate and academic library Food Science reference collections and Agricultural Product supplemental studies lists.

Pesticides, A Love Story
Michelle Mart
University Press of Kansas
2501 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049
www.kansaspress.ku.edu
9780700621286 $34.95 www.amazon.com

Those who were active in the 1960s well know the dangers of pesticides and the warning message in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring; but it seems this message, though acknowledged at the time, has long been lost as pesticide use in America has actually soared in recent decades. Why has this happened? Pesticides, a Love Story seeks out the answer as it considers the bigger pictures of American beliefs in progress and chemical solutions to common problems. Chapters trace the evolution of this belief system with an eye to showing how chemical pesticides became an intrinsic part of American culture, and details how acceptance of their risks and dangers overruled cautions. Chapters tackle how this kind of acceptance was fostered by the pesticide industry, and how economic and social pressures have led to hazardous conditions. More than another 'warning' book and more than an analysis of agricultural choices, Pesticides, a Love Story presents real answers on the ongoing lure of the chemical solution and is an essential read for any who puzzle about the connections between pesticide use, special interests, and the American public's malleable psyche.


The Jewelry Shelf

Diamonds: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide, third edition
Antoinette Matlins, P.G.
GemStone Press
Sunset Farm Offices, Route 4
PO Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091
9780943763736 $18.99 www.gemstonepress.com

Diamonds: The Antoinette Matlins Buying Guide appears in its third updated, expanded edition to provide basic insights on the process of purchasing, caring for, and understanding diamonds, and is recommended as a basic primer for any who would examine what influences diamond quality and cost. Chapters don't presume any prior knowledge of gemstones or jewelry and provide newcomers with plenty of detail about how to understand diamonds and how they are valued. From common cautions to take when purchasing diamonds to common diamond grading systems, cut and proportion considerations, and how to compare stones, this covers all the details any newcomer to diamonds will need to know.


The Art Shelf

Munch and Expressionism
Jill Lloyd
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791355269, $60.00, HC, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Expertly examining Edvard Munch's influence on his Austrian and German contemporaries, "Munch and Expressionism" by Jill Lloyd (an independent art historian who has curated exhibitions for leading international museums including Tate, Royal Academy London and the National Gallery Washington, and who has written extensively on Expressionist and contemporary artists) offers a fascinating new look at the Norwegian artist, whose painting The Scream has become a symbol of modern angst. Edvard Munch came of age during an artistic period that celebrated beauty and design. But in his own art, Munch explored darker themes including alienation, sin, and human vulnerability. His resulting work incorporated the vivid colors of previous styles but intensified their emotional power and paved the way for an entirely new approach to painting. Although much has been written about Munch's life and its influence on his art, there has not been a significant study of the artist's influence on his German and Austrian peers until the publication of "Munch and Expressionism". Featuring contributions by leading scholars in the field, including Patricia Bermann, Alison Chang, Jay Clarke, Reinhold Heller, Jill Lloyd, Nils Ohlsen, and Oystein Uvstedt, this authoritative and beautifully illustrated study explores Munch's impact on Austrian and German artists of the period within an Expressionist context. It also examines work in specific media, such as Munch's seminal contributions to printmaking. The artist's thematic and stylistic leitmotifs are highlighted, including self-portraiture, urban scenes, landscapes, couples, and the artist and his model. Vibrant reproductions of works from throughout Munch's oeuvre, including such icons as The Scream, Madonna, and The Kiss, make this a splendid introduction to the artist as well as an exciting springboard to the study of European Expressionism. As beautiful as it is informed and informative, "Munch and Expressionism" is very highly recommended for academia and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the life and work of Edward Munch. Indeed, this coffee-table style volume would be an ideal Memorial Fund acquisition choice for community and academic library Art History and Art Studies reference collections.

Blue Boy & Co.
Catherine Hess, et al.
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791354682, $39.95, HC, 184pp, www.amazon.com

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (commonly referred to as The Huntington) is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington (1850 - 1927) and located in Los Angeles County at San Marino, California. "Blue Boy & Co.: European Art at the Huntington" is a beautiful and informative volume that offers a celebration of one of America's most important collections of European art, housed in The Huntington. Gainsborough's Blue Boy is just one of the masterpieces contained in the Huntington Galleries and is the first public collection of Old Master painting, sculpture, and decorative arts in Southern California, and among the most important collections of British Grand Manner portraits anywhere. Over one hundred of the most impressive works housed at The Huntington, including paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and works on paper, are published together for the first time in this handsome catalog. Breathtaking in their range, these works are presented in a dynamic format that juxtaposes medium, style, and cultural origin. The result is a visually stunning selection of European masterpieces that will serve as both a guide to The Huntington's collection and an enlightening compendium for anyone interested in European art. Of immense interest to academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the European art collection housed at The Huntington and thereby available to the public for viewing, "Blue Boy & Co.: European Art at the Huntington" is very highly recommended for academic library Art History reference collections, and would be an ideal Memorial Fund acquisition selection for community libraries.

David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition
Richard Benefield, et al.
Prestel Publishing
900 Broadway, Suite 603, New York, NY 10003
www.prestel.com
9783791353340, $65.00, HC, 228pp, www.amazon.com

David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. An important contributor to the Pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. "David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition" was published to accompany exhibition of his work drawn from the past few years. This beautifully illustrated catalogue with its informed and informative commentaries captures the grand scale and vibrant color of Hockney's work of the twenty-first century. Featuring over 100 full-color works of art from museum collections and Hockney's private studio, including such major new works as The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate Wood, The Bigger Message, and Bigger Yosemite, "David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition" also includes multiple-image galleries (spread over gatefolds) of some of his iPad drawings and self-portraits, plus film stills from the artist's "Cubist" movies. Hockney's own insight into this latest chapter of his career is included, as is thoughtful commentary by renowned critic Lawrence Weschler and art historian Sarah Howgate. "David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition" is a "must" for the legions of David Hockney enthusiasts and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, community, and academic library Contemporary Art History reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
John Muir Laws
Heyday Books
PO Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709
www.heydaybooks.com
9781597143158 $35.00 www.amazon.com

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling is a drawing exercise book with a difference: it teaches not just the basics of nature drawing, but how to become a better artist as well as a better observer of nature by capturing it more accurately. This process is imparted through exercises that teach how to capture animals, plants, landscapes and the outdoors for artists at all levels of expertise. Designed to improve the work of advanced artists as well as introduce newcomer to the process, it uses a journaling format and step-by-step details that contrast the basics of art (i.e. how to apply watercolors) with that of nature observation (i.e. how to speed-draw dragonflies or capture butterfly wings in motion). Color art throughout makes this a visual winner, accompanying all descriptions with clear examples that leave nothing to wonder. The result is an outstanding survey, highly recommended for aspiring nature artists who want details on how to use journaling and art to best advantage.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The Director's Six Senses
Simone Bartesaghi
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932344, $15.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Simone Bartesaghi is a professional filmmaker with awards in several international festivals both as a screenwriter and as a director. Currently he develops new projects through his production company, SIBA MEDIA LLC, and teaches film as an adjunct professor at Santa Monica City College. Simone draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to write "The Director's Six Senses: An Innovative Approach to Developing Your Filmmaking Skills", an innovative, unique, and engaging approach to the development of the skills that every visual storyteller must have. The fundamental premise of "The Director's Six Senses" is that a director is a storyteller 24/7 and must be aware of the "truth" that he or she experiences in life in order to be able to reproduce it on the big screen. Through a series of hands-on exercises and practical experiences, the reader develops the "directorial senses" in order to be able to tell a story in the most effective way. Practical, comprehensive, insightful, and thoroughly 'user friendly' in composition, organization, and presentation, "The Director's Six Senses" is essential reading for all aspiring directors of theatrical or cinematic projects. Very highly recommended for academic library Theatre/Cinema/TV instructional reference collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Director's Six Senses" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.52).

You Can Act on Camera
D. W. Brown
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932337, $15.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

From the big issues to the fine points, "You Can Act on Camera: Insider Tips for Delivering a Great Performance Every Time" gives you what you need to know when they call "Action!". The author of "You Can Act on Camera", D. W. Brown, is one of the world's leading experts on the subject and he provides his invaluable 31 Principles for Acting On Camera, as well as key advice on how to come through in the clutch. In addition, he incisively interviews directors of major acclaim for their insights on the unique art of acting for the camera. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "You Can Act on Camera" is very highly commended to members of community theatrical groups, community and academic library Theatre/Cinema/Television instructional reference collections in general, and the personal reading lists of aspiring actors. It should be noted that "You Can Act on Camera" is also available in a Kindle edition ($14.60).

Shoot Like Scorsese
Christopher Kenworthy
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932320 $14.95 www.amazon.com

Shoot Like Scorsese: The Visual Secrets of Shock, Elegance and Extreme Character takes one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history and uses them as examples to teach key techniques on framing, space, and more. The author is himself a writer, director and producer and so is well versed in what devices help keep audiences on the edges of their seats, but the strength of his approach lies in how to use screen direction, camera positions, actor positioning, and scene set-up to best advantage. Filled with black and white film examples throughout, Shoot Like Scorsese is highly recommended for any cinema photographer, cameraman, and film director who want to make the most from their choices.


The Gardening Shelf

Container Theme Gardens
Nancy J. Ondra
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com
9781612123981 $19.95 www.amazon.com

Container Theme Gardens: 42 Combinations Each Using 5 Perfectly Matched Plants packs full-page color plant photos in a discussion of over forty foolproof gardens for all kinds of styles which use only five matched easy plants paired with different kinds of containers. Using her approach the casual gardener interested in containers for a variety of spaces need only choose a color scheme and container to create themes suitable for shade gardens, Spring celebrations, and more. There are other books covering container gardening, but this title's special focus on themes offers gardeners many more options to create a unified appearance.


The Technology Shelf

Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS and LIDAR: A Workbook
Kathryn Keranen and Robert Kolvoord
ESRI Press
380 New York Street, Redlands, CA 92378-8100
www.esri.com/esripress
9781589484290 $79.99 www.amazon.com

Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS and LIDAR: A Workbook is a technical reference providing the third book in the Making Spatial Decisions series, and is recommended for ArcGIS program users who want an approach that features Lidar as its primary data source. Chapters covering analysis, applications, and GIS approaches revolving around this source will find here a series of progressive lessons in a workbook format that includes downloadable data and a 180-day free trial of ArcGIS. Exercises teach how to handle data, draw conclusions, solve typical geographic-based problems, and more, and offer important tools and strategies for a more effective use of ArcGIS.


The Photography Shelf

Infrared Photography
Laurie Klein, BFA, MFA and Kyle Klein, BFA
Amherst Media
175 Rano Street, Suite 200, Buffalo, NY 14207-2176
www.amherstmedia.com
9781608959259 $37.95 www.amazon.com

Infrared Photography: Artistic Techniques for Brilliant Images is a 'must' reference for digital photographers who would learn and apply some of the basic artistic techniques surrounding infrared to photo results. It covers the basics of how to expose infrared in digital images, how to handle their different tones and how to apply them to portraits and landscapes alike, and how to understand the special challenges of the medium which can lead to common problems. It also covers some of the strengths of infrared and tells how to make the most of them. From shutter speeds and changing viewpoints to shooting structures or nudes or just adding an infrared glow, this coverage is loaded with color photo examples throughout in a pick highly recommended for photographers who have basic skills down but who are just entering the realm of infrared's many options.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Back Pain: How to Get Rid of It Forever
John Perrier
Hale & Iremonger
PO Box 652, Willoughby, NSW, 2068
http://www.ghrpress.com
0 86806 675 3 $29.95 www.amazon.com

The sheer volume of health books on the market about back pain should be an indicator of not only how pervasive this condition is, but how tricky it is to alleviate. This title makes some big claims: that its readers may be able to permanently end their back pain; but this achievement doesn't come without work. That work is provided by physiotherapist John Perrier, who designs a coverage that leaves no treatment option unturned in the quest for a better back. First, suffers need to understand some basic physiology, and the introductory sections focus on the spine's structure, different kinds of common injuries that cause back pain, and how muscles, nerves, and vertebra injuries can change. Next, a self-assessment quiz allows readers to narrow the causes of their back pain, while a final section offers a blend of back exercises and tips to sit, stand, walk, lift, and even sleep to lesson impact on the back. From drugs and diets to common myths about what causes back pain, this isn't a light and quick overview, but delves into a variety of treatment options, questions, and insights on back health. Spinal pain is complex, but this book helps suffers understand the factors influencing pain and its alleviation, and will find it an excellent self-help approach to supplement physician advice and physiotherapy. Note: the ebook version is in two volumes: Back Pain: How to get rid of it Forever, Volume 1: The Causesand Back Pain: How to Get Rid of It Forever Volume 2: The Cures.

Living with Lymphoma: A Patient's Guide
Elizabeth M. Adler, PhD
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
9781421418100 $26.95 www.amazon.com

Living with Lymphoma: A Patient's Guide comes from a neurobiologist who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and who set out on a mission to learn everything she could about the disease. The results of her findings blend science with personal odyssey in a book about understanding and managing the condition. Included in her coverage are the latest facts and scientific research, insights on symptoms and new therapies, the use of medical marijuana and different kinds of directed therapies, and genetic influences on the disease's progression. Highly recommended for any patient or family member seeking a clear health book with the latest facts.


The Philosophy Shelf

I Eat, Therefore I Think
Raymond D. Boisvert
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
The Gatehouse M010C
285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940
www.fdupress.org
9781611476866, $70.00, HC, 176pp, www.amazon.com

"I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" by Raymond Boisvert (who teaches philosophy at Siena College, Loudonville, New York) breaks new ground by introducing philosophy via an activity central to life: eating. Building on the original meaning of philosophy as love of wisdom, "I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" explains how the search for wisdom can best succeed by addressing not just the mind, but the entire human being. Eating, an activity that integrates physiological, social, religious, cultural, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions, offers an opportunity to re-think fundamental questions. The result: "I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" is a surprising and novel ways to approach art, religion, knowledge, ethics, and even democracy. "I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" outlines a new philosophy for our time. As such, it will be of interest to people curious about the topic of food, to those interested in learning about philosophy, and to those who seek new ideas as guides for living meaningful lives in an intelligible world. Informed and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" is very highly recommended for academic library Philosophy and Anthropology reference collections. For the personal reading lists of academics and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, it should be noted that "I Eat, Therefore I Think: Food and Philosophy" is also available in a paperback edition (9781611477122, $39.99) and in a Kindle format ($39.99).


The Library Science Shelf

Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
Moira J. Bent
Facet Publishing
7 Ridgmount Street, London, England, WC1E 7AE
www.facetpublishing.co.uk
978178330174, $49.95, PB, 263pp, www.amazon.com

"Practical Tips for Facilitating Research" by Moria J. Bent (Faculty Liaison Librarian & National Teaching Fellow at Newcastle University) is a an effectively informed and informative instructional guide that offers innovative tips and reliable best practice to enable new and experienced library and information professionals to evaluate their current provision and develop their service to meet the evolving needs of the research community. Interacting effectively with information is at the heart of all research, consequently information professionals have a key role to play in facilitating the development of researchers who are able to operate confidently and successfully in the information world. Grounded in current theory and informed by practitioners from around the world, "Practical Tips for Facilitating Research" offers a wide range of ideas and methods to assist library and information professionals in developing and managing their role in the research environment. Part of the outstanding 'Practical Tips for Library and Information Professionals' series from Facet Publishing, "Practical Tips for Facilitating Research" covers: Getting to know your research community; Collection management to meet specific and often conflicting research needs and spaces for researchers; Developing information literate researchers; Supporting researchers at a distance, including the international aspects of research support; Contributing to research excellence exercises; Getting involved in the publication process; Making and measuring research impact in terms of bibliometrics; Ethics and academic integrity for researchers; Scholarly communication and open access; Social media and networking for researchers in terms of the library's role; Research data management. Comprehensive and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in tone, content, organization, and presentation, "Practical Tips for Facilitating Research" is strongly recommended library and information professionals who work with research staff and students and an essential, core addition to college and university Library Science reference collections and supplemental studies lists.


The American History Shelf

Bold Women in Indiana History
Louise Hillery
Mountain Press Publishing Company
PO Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
9780878426553 $14.00 www.mountain-press.com

Teen and adult readers will enjoy Bold Women in Indiana History, a nonfiction anthology about women from the state of Indiana who dared to make a difference. Here are the true stories of Marie Bailly, the first settler in northwest Indiana; Mother Theodore Guerin, a Catholic nun eventually canonized as a saint; Vivian Carter, founder of a successful record label; and many more. A list of selected sources, recommended sites to visit, occasional black-and-white photographs, and an index round out the edifying collection about courageous women. Highly recommended, especially for school and public library American history shelves.

The Alamo's Forgotten Defenders
Phillip Thomas Tucker
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
9781611211917 $29.95 www.savasbeatie.com

The Alamo's Forgotten Defenders: The Remarkable Story of the Irish During the Texas Revolution shines a spotlight on the oft-overlooked contribution that people of Irish heritage made to the Texas uprising of 1835-1836. Irish-Americans were the single largest immigrant group in Texas during that time; they were among the garrison of Goliad, which raised the first flag of Texas Independence; and more than a dozen Irish natives gave their lives in defense of the Alamo. The Alamo's forgotten Defenders draws upon newspaper articles, journals, diaries, and secondary accounts to assemble a thoughtful military history of the Texas Revolution from the perspective of Irish-Americans who were in the thick of it. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library American History collections.

Riding for the Lone Star
Nathan A. Jennings
University of North Texas Press
1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017
9781574416350 $32.95 www.unt.edu/untpress

Frontier historian and U.S. Army officer Nathan A. Jennings presents Riding for the Lone Star: Frontier Cavalry and the Texas Way of War, 1822-1865, a scholarly examination of the military history and contributions of Texas cavalry. Jennings utilizes military reports, memories of cavalry participants, government documents and more to trace the how Texas militarism throughout clashes with Indian tribes, territorial conflicts, the Mexican-American War, the cataclysmic American Civil War, and more. Endnotes, a bibliography, and an index enhance this excellent scrutiny. As engaging and entertaining as it is edifying, Riding for the Lone Star is especially recommended for public and college library American History collections.

Citizen of a Wider Commonwealth
Edwina S. Campbell
Southern Illinois University Press
1915 University Press Drive, SIUC Mail Code 6806, Carbondale, IL 62901
9780809334780 $34.50 www.siupress.com

Citizen of a Wider Commonwealth: Ulysses S. Grant's Postpresidential Diplomacy is a scholarly analysis of the travels and influence of Ulysses Grant, the famous Civil War general and eighteenth President of the United States, after the end of his presidency. Grant worked to confirm and strengthen Anglo-American cooperation, supported universal (male) suffrage as the bedrock of governmental legitimacy, shaped Jonh Hay's Open Door policy in 1899-1900, and much more. A chronology, notes, and an index round out this thoughtful, heavily researched and engagingly presented history, highly recommended for public and college library collections.


The World History Shelf

A History of Modern Latin America, second edition
Teresa A. Mead
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
9781405120517, $56.95, PB, 416pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "A History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present" which is compiled and edited by Teresa A. Mead (Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History and Culture, Union college, New York), examines the diverse and interlocking experiences of people of indigenous, African, and European backgrounds from the onset of independence until today. "A History of Modern Latin America" illustrates and analyzes the major and minor events that shape history, including the triumphs and defeats, as well as the everyday lives of people of varied classes and racial and ethnic backgrounds. "A History of Modern Latin America" intersperses accounts of the lives of prominent figures with those of ordinary people; emphasizes gender's role in influencing political and economic change and shaping cultural identity. Very highly recommended for academic library Latin American History collections, as well as a Latin American History curriculum textbook, there is an invaluable student and instructor resources for "A History of Modern Latin America" available at http://minerva.union.edu/meadet/modernlatinamerica/index.html. For the personal reading lists of students, academics, and the non-specialist general reading with an interest in 19th and 20th century Latin American history, it should be noted that "A History of Modern Latin America" is also available in a Kindle edition ($35.49).


The Architecture Shelf

American Architecture: A History, second edition
Leland M. Roth & Amanda C. Roth Clark
Westview Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
9780813349688, $85.00, PB, 752pp, www.westviewpress.com

Now in a fully updated second edition, "American Architecture: A History" by Leland M. Roth (Marion Dean Ross Professor of Architectural History Emeritus, University of Oregon - Eugene) and Amanda C. Roth Clark (Assistant Professor of Art History and Library Director, Whitworth University) provides a sweeping introduction to the history of architecture in the United States including the major developments that shaped the environment from the first Americans to the present, from the everyday vernacular to the high style of aspiration. Eleven chronologically organized chapters chart the social, cultural, and political forces that shaped the growth and development of American towns, cities, and suburbs, while providing full description, analysis, and interpretation of buildings and their architects. Featured in this second edition is an entirely new chapter detailing the green architecture movement and architectural trends in the 21st century. Further updates include an expanded section on Native American architecture and contemporary design by Native American architects, new discussions on architectural education and training, more examples of women architects and designers, and a thoroughly expanded glossary to help today's readers. The art program is expanded, including 640 black and white images and 62 new color images. Accessible and engaging, American Architecture continues to set the standard as a guide, study, and reference for those seeking to better understand the rich history of architecture in the United States. Very highly recommended as a textbook for a college or university architectural history curriculum, "American Architecture: A History" is a core addition for community and academic library American Architecture reference collections and supplemental studies lists. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "American Architecture: A History" is also commended to the attention of the non-specialist general reader with an interest in American architecture and its history. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "American Architecture: A History" is also available in a Kindle edition ($54.99).

Landscapes of Communism
Owen Hatherley
The New Press
126 Wall Street, floor 31, New York, NY 10005-4007
www.thenewpress.com
9781620971888 $35.00 hc / $23.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, and enhanced with notes and indexes (both a general index and an index of places), Landscapes of Communism: History of Buildings is a history of architecture created and influenced by communist governments in the former Soviet bloc. Drawn from an extensive five-year travelogue, Landscapes of Communism examines both edifices and public spaces, as well as the economic forces that affected their construction. The irony and ramifications of capitalist societies occupying what used to be centerpieces of communism are also contemplated. Notably, Landscapes of Communism is from a socialist perspective, and questions how the ideology of socialism transformed into the Communist Party. Landscapes of Communism is a welcome addition to public and college library architectural history collections.


The Science Shelf

Energy In Context
Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
www.cengageptr.com
9781410317483, $344.00, HC, 2 Volumes, www.amazon.com

Energy is a subject that impacts lives and economies across the globe. "Energy: In Context" is a two volume, comprehensive instructional reference work that will help students and non-specialist general readers to understand the fundamentals of energy science, while also exploring the social, political, economic, and cultural factors that impact how we find, use, store, and sometimes waste energy. The 224 signed, alphabetically arranged entries meet the needs of students from high school through college as well as public library users concerned about this important resource. Each entry follows a standard set of rubrics, including "Introduction," "Historical Background and Scientific Foundations," and "Impacts and Issues." Unfamiliar terms are called out in a Glossary box in each entry in addition to being defined in the text. Each entry includes a bibliography; many also feature interesting sidebars. Some 50 primary source documents and 270 color images, illustrations, and other graphics further enhance the text. "Energy In Context" features signed articles enabling users can rely on its authority; color photos and graphics that clarify and add interest for all users, but are especially important for visual learners; sidebars and primary source documents to provide the contextual information; specialized terms are defined within the text, in a glossary box for the article, and in a cumulative glossary for the set, so readers don't need to go to another source for a thorough understanding; as well as up-to-date information on important topics in the field of Energy science. "Energy In Context" is a core, essential, and vitally important addition to high school, community, college, and university library Energy Science & Issue reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Civil War Shelf

Trevilian Station, June 11-12, 1864
Joseph W. McKinney
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786499038, $39.95, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

In June 1864, General Ulysses Grant ordered his cavalry commander, Philip Sheridan, to conduct a raid to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad between Charlottesville and Richmond. Sheridan fell short of his objective when he was defeated by General Wade Hampton's cavalry in a two-day battle at Trevilian Station. Enhanced with period photography, "Trevilian Station, June 11-12, 1864: Wade Hampton, Philip Sheridan and the Largest All-Cavalry Battle of the Civil War" by retired U.S. Army officer and military historian Joseph W. McKinney is an exceptionally well documented and an impressively detailed, comprehensive, and informative account. A seminal work of original scholarship, "Trevilian Station, June 11-12, 1864" is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to community and academic library American Civil War reference collections and supplemental studies lists. For the personal reading lists of Civil War buffs it should be noted that "Trevilian Station, June 11-12, 1864" is also available in a Kindle edition ($24.99).


The International Studies Shelf

Bound by Conflict: Dilemmas of the Two Sudans
Francis Mading Deng in collaboration with Daniel J. Deng
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue, University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
www.fordhampress.com
9780823270781 $22.00 pbk / $14.99 Kindle www.amazon.com

Bound by Conflict: Dilemmas of the Two Sudans is a scholarly analysis of the disturbing and ongoing war in Sudan, ever since its independence in 1956. A comprehensive peace agreement in 2005 gave South Sudan independence, yet bloodshed persists and each nation accuses the other of supporting the other nation's rebels. Francis M. Deng, the first Permanent Representative of South Sudan to the United Nations collaborates with Daniel J. Deng, a senior adviser to the Japan International Cooperation Agency in South Sudan, to question the common assumptions about the conflict, and offer a framework for the elusive possibility of peace, security, and stability between the two nations, with the possibility of forming a meaningful association. Measured and thought-provoking, Bound by Conflict is a "must-read", and the concepts it discusses have potential implications bringing peace to other multigenerational wars as well. Highly recommended.

International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs, fourth edition
Paul D'Anieri
Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
www.cengageptr.com
9781133602101, $164.95, PB, 544pp, www.amazon.com

Now in a fully updated fourth edition, "International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs" by Paul D'Anieri (Professor of Political Science, University of California, Riverside with a special research focus on and foreign policy in the post-Soviet states, and especially on Ukraine-Russia relations) is a student-oriented and contemporary textbook on introducing the study of international relations in a clear, accessible style, with engaging concepts and analytical tools for students and a fully developed pedagogical program for instructors. "International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs" bridges the gap between analytical theories and real-world issues and events. Students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in international political issues will enjoy varied case studies and boxed features on history, policy, culture, and geography, along with vivid graphics. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "International Politics: Power and Purpose in Global Affairs" is now in a fully updated and significantly expanded fourth edition that will prove to be an ideal textbook for college and university Global Political Studies curriculums, and is an essential, cored addition to academic library International Political Science reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Military Shelf

An Untaken Road
Steven A. Pomeroy
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402
9781612519739 $44.95 www.nip.org

Technology historian Steven A. Pomeroy (associate professor of military and strategic studies at the Air Force Academy) presents An Untaken Road: Strategy, Technology, and the Hidden History of America's Mobile ICBMs, a history of not only the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles, but also key strategic decisions of the Cold War involving the strengths and weaknesses of nuclear power as a deterrent weapon of America's military forces. A handful of black-and-white illustrations, notes, a bibliography, and an index enhance this scholarly and measured chronicle of military technology and history. Drawing upon recently declassified documents, An Untaken Road should be required reading for anyone pursuing or engaged in a defense department career, and is especially recommended for college library military history collections.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Living with Bears Handbook, second edition
Linda Masterson
Pixyjack Press
PO Box 149, Masonville, CO 80541
PixyJackPress.com
9781936555611 $24.00 www.amazon.com

Now in an expanded second edition, Living with Bears Handbook is a no-nonsense guide written especially for people who live in bear country. Bears are dangerous predators; humans who intentionally or unintentionally lure them with food only exacerbate the odds of disaster. Living with Bears Handbook handbook emphasizes the prevention of human-bear conflicts, through such common-sense measures as bear-proofing one's home (and garbage!), managing potential bear attractors such as fruit trees or gardens and much more. Also included are instructions for responding to bear encounters or attacks, and case studies from the U.S. and Canada. Living with Bears Handbook has the potential to save the lives of both bears and people, and is highly recommended.


The Native American Studies Shelf

Native American Almanac
Yvonne Wakim Dennis, Arlene Hirschfelder, and Shannon Rothenberger Flynn
Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Rd., #414, Canton, MI 48187-2075
9781578595075 $24.95 www.visibleinkpress.com

Native American Almanac: More than 50,000 Years of the Cultures and Histories of Indigenous Peoples is an extensive reference and resource about the complex heritage and cultures of indigenous peoples of the North American continent. Black-and-white photographs are interspersed throughout this survey of pre-contact and post-contact history, brief biographies of notable individuals, environmental and land issues, treaties, languages, social movements and much more. A "must-have" for public and college library Native American Studies collections, highly recommended.


The Parenting Shelf

Free Your Child from Overeating
Michelle P. Maidenberg, PhD, MPH, LCSW-R
The Experiment
220 East 23rd Street, Suite 301, New York, NY 10010-4674
www.theexperimentpublishing.com
9781615192700 $16.95 pbk / $12.51 Kindle www.amazon.com

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist Michelle P. Maidenberg, PhD, MPH, LCSW-R presents Free Your Child from Overeating: A Handbook for Helping Kids and Teens, a parenting guide for today's modern world, which unfortunately inundates children (and adults!) with unhealthy food. Chapters show basic principles of mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral therapy, acceptance, and commitment therapy can help young people improve their eating habits and form the foundation for lifelong better health. Adults will also find these no-nonsense techniques useful! Highly recommended, both for personal reference and public library parenting and health collections.


The Wisconsin Shelf

Wisconsin Logging Camp, 1921
James Bastian
Trails Books
c/o Big Earth Publishing
3005 Center Green Drive, #225, Boulder, CO 80301
www.bigearthpublishing.com
www.wisconsinloggingcamp.com
9781934553541, $18.95, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

"Wisconsin Logging Camp, 1921" by James Bastian is a beautifully written historical fiction novel set primarily in the north woods of Wisconsin during 1920 and 1921. The narrative entwines the fictional story of an eight-year-old boy, Will, within that period's rich historic context. The story meticulously incorporates the history of logging in Wisconsin, the flu pandemic, Prohibition, World War I, and post-war American culture, specific to that time and place. Will's story reflects the challenges, hardships, and ethnic discrimination faced and overcome by American immigrants, then and now. These themes remain as relevant today as they were in 1920, and portray an archetypal immigrant experience, which is part of the proud, shared heritage of all Americans. The colorful language, rich history, characters, and Wild West atmosphere of the region will appeal to all readers. An extraordinary and compelling read from beginning to end, "Wisconsin Logging Camp, 1921" clearly documents author James Bastian's consistently impressive storytelling skills. Solidly entertaining from first page to last, "Wisconsin Logging Camp, 1921" is enthusiastically recommended for personal reading lists and community library General Fiction collections.


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


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