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Reviewer's Choice
Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence
Jerry White, author
Georgette F. Bennett, author
Post Hill Press
www.posthillpress.com
9781637581018, $28.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Religicide-Confronting-Roots-Anti-Religious-Violence/dp/1637581017
Synopsis: Religion related violence is the fastest spreading type of violence worldwide. Attacks on religious minorities follow a clear pattern and are preceded with early warning signs. Until now, such violence had no name, let alone a set of policies designed to identify and prevent it. A unique attempt to create a new moral and legal category alongside other forms of persecution and mass murder, with the publication of "Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence ", co-authors Jerry White and Georgette F. Bennett deftly explore the roots of atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnian war, and other human rights catastrophes.
The two authors tap into their decades of activism, interreligious engagement, and people-to-people diplomacy to delve into a gripping examination of contemporary religicides: the Yazidis in Iraq, the Rohingya in Myanmar, Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists in China, and the centuries-long efforts to wipe out Indigenous Americans. Yet, even in the face of these horrific atrocities, the authors resist despair. They amplify the voices of survivors and offer a blueprint for action, calling on government, business, civil society, and religious leaders to join in a global campaign to protect religious minorities.
Critique: Timely and relevant given the rise in America of White Supremacist and Militant National Christian attempts to seize political power by intimidation, persecution of religious minorities (particularly Jews & Muslims), and increasingly (and now almost daily) frequent mass racial and religious mass shootings around the country, "Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence" will have a special value for readers with an interest in identifying and combating religious intolerance, persecution, and religion based political corruption. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Religion & Politics collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for student, academia, clergy, political activists, and non-specialist general readers that "Religicide: Confronting the Roots of Anti-Religious Violence " is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note #1: Dr. Georgette Bennett (https://bennettny.com) is a sociologist, widely published author, popular lecturer, and former broadcast journalist for NBC News. In 1992, she founded the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, the go-to organization for combating religious prejudice. In 2013, Bennett founded the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, which has worked to raise awareness and mobilize more than $175 million of humanitarian aid, benefitting more than 2.2 million Syrian war victims. She is also a co-founder of Global Covenant Partners and served on the U.S. State Department's Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group tasked with developing recommendations to engage religious actors in conflict mitigation. Having published four books and more than eighty articles, Bennett was awarded a 2019 AARP Purpose Prize, and in 2021 was selected as one of Forbes' 50 over 50 Women of Impact.
Editorial Note #2: Jerry White (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_White_(activist)) is an activist entrepreneur known for leading high-impact campaigns, three of which led to international treaties: the Mine Ban Treaty; the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and the Cluster Munitions Ban. White shares in the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. As co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, he worked with Diana, Princess of Wales, to help thousands of war victims find peer support and job training. White served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State to launch the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, introducing advanced decision analytics to predict the outcomes of complex negotiations. White is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia.
The Writing/Publishing Shelf
Psychology for Screenwriters
William Indick, author
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615933471, $29.95, PB, 312pp
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Screenwriters-Building-Conflict-Script/dp/1615933476
Synopsis: People's lives are made up of good and bad decisions, histories filled with triumph and pain, behaviors formed from a lifetime of experiences. A screenwriter's characters should be no different.
But writing psychologically complex characters requires an understanding of human behavior. Fortunately, as a screenwriter you will not need a PhD in psychology to add complexity to your work.
With the publication of "Psychology for Screenwriters: Building Conflict in Your Script", William Indick (an author, active screenwriter, screenwriting consultant, and an Associate Professor of Psychology at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey) will help you add psychological depth to your script with insights from brilliant psychological theorists like Freud, Jung, and Adler.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, a careful reading of "Psychology for Screenwriters: Building Conflict in Your Script" will enable even the most novice of screenwriters to create memorable characters and engaging conflicts that will have their audiences enthralled. While highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing collections in general, and supplemental Screenwritng curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Psychology for Screenwriters" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.45).
Editorial Note: William Indick (https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/william-indick) earned his bachelors degree in psychology (1993) and masters degree in music therapy (1996) from New York University. His other books include Media Environments and Mental Disorder (2021), The Digital God (2015), Ancient Symbology in Fantasy Literature (2012), The Psychology of the Western (2008), Psycho Thrillers (2006), and Movies and the Mind (2004).
Mining Your Past
Richard Lee Zuras
Belle Isle Books
http://www.belleislebooks.com
c/o Brandylane Publishers
5 South First Street, Richmond, VA 23219
www.brandylanepublishers.com
9781958754030, $17.95, PB, 194pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mining-Your-Past-Richard-Zuras/dp/195875403X
Synopsis: No one has ever seen the world the way you have. This is a truth that noted author, poet, and professor Richard Lee Zuras knows well.
As a writer, mining your past for its characters, its lessons, its regrets, and its joys can feel intimidating, but it leads to authenticity in any writer's work that simply cannot be replicated. No one has seen the world the way you do, and so learning how to tap into that world as you create new stories is an invaluable way of finding your voice.
"Mining Your Past: A Creative Writing Professor's Guide" is an accessible and informative writing guide in which Professor Zuras skillfully combines his previous written works and personal histories with concrete tools for any readers looking to integrate their own pasts into authentic writing.
Refreshingly reader-focused, "Mining Your Past" provides the aspiring writer with tangible methods for uncovering their unique world view in order to create more compelling and genuine storytelling. The reader will step away with a greater faith in their potential as writers and with a better understanding of their own pasts, making this an essential read -- especially for novice writers searching for a way to share their stories, as only they can tell them.
Critique: A complete course of informative and practical instruction for personal, professional, community, and academic library Writing/Publishing collections, "Mining Your Past: A Creative Writing Professor's Guide" will be of special and enduring value for anyone with an interest in writing stories, poetry and song lyrics. In full compliance with the old adage of 'Write What You Know', this throughly 'user friendly' DIY instructional is unreservedly recommended for novice writers and has a great deal of insightful and thought-provoking value for even the more experienced author, essayist, song writer, or poet.
Editorial Note: Edward Lee Zuras (http://www.belleislebooks.com/richardleezuras.html) is a professor of English & Creative Writing at the University of Maine at Presque Isle where he has taught creative writing for more than twenty years. His own stories and poems have appeared in dozens of literary journals including Story Quarterly, South Dakota Review, Weber Journal, Big Muddy, Jabberwock Review, Lake Effect, Chicago Quarterly Review, Laurel Review, Yemassee, Xavier Review, Confrontation, Red Rock Review, and Passages North. Richard has held writing conference scholarships at Bread Loaf, Wesleyan University, and Pirate's Alley Faulkner, and is the author of the novels The Bastard Year, and The Honeymoon Corruption as well as the poetry collection Birds at the Post Office (all from Brandylane Publishers).
The Education Shelf
Media Literacy for Young Children
Faith Rogow
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
Box 97156, Washington, DC 20090-7156
https://www.naeyc.org
www.insighterseducation.com
9781938113970, $30.00, PB, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Media-Literacy-Young-Children-Teaching/dp/1938113977
Synopsis: Media literacy is about wonder and imagination, questioning and learning, thinking and reflecting!
"Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates" by Faith Rogow is about all these things, and more importantly, it is about how early childhood educators and professionals can prepare children for their digital future.
"Media Literacy for Young Children" is a first-of-its-kind guide for pre-service and currently practicing teachers and child care professionals looking for pedagogically sound and developmentally appropriate ways to help today's children navigate their media-rich world with confidence, curiosity, and critical thinking.
Detailed descriptions of media literacy competencies, along with dozens of activities, strategies, and tips designed for children ages 2 - 7, demonstrate how to integrate foundational skills, knowledge, and dispositions into existing routines as well as experiment with new lessons.
By examining media through a literacy lens, "Media Literacy for Young Children will show you ways to: Use inquiry and media-making to teach children about media; Plan activities to engage children in meaningful media discussions; Engage with families about the importance of media literacy education for young children; Address media concerns with joy and creativity rather than anxiety or fear -- and much more!
Critique: With the coming of social media, the internet, and Iphones, children must be trained on how to determine fact from fallacy, deal with misinformation and cyber bullying, exercise critical thinking, and benefit from all the good that digital communication has to offer them. A seminal and groundbreaking instructional guide, "Media Literacy for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates" is an essential and substantive contribution that should be a part of every professional, school district, college, and academic library Early Child Education and Media Literacy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for educators and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Media Literacy
for Young Children: Teaching Beyond the Screen Time Debates" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Faith Rogow (https://insighterseducation.com/?page_id=143) is a media literacy leader, innovator, and founder of Insighters Educational Consulting. She was the founding president of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), a founding editorial board member of the Journal for Media Literacy Education, a founding advisor to Project Look Sharp, and a coauthor of NAMLE's "Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States" (2007). For more than twenty years she has been one of the few people in the United States advocating for and creating media literacy education that is developmentally appropriate for early childhood. Her groundbreaking article "The ABCs of Media Literacy" (Telemedium, Spring 2002) has been widely circulated, as has her chapter - "Media Literacy in Early Childhood Education: Inquiry-Based Technology Integration" - in the Routledge/NAEYC anthology Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years: Tools for Teaching and Learning (Donohue 2015). She also coauthored The Teacher's Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World (Corwin, 2012).
The International Studies Shelf
Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage
Andriy Puchkov, et al.
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500026038, $40.00, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Treasures-Ukraine-Nations-Cultural-Heritage/dp/0500026033
Synopsis: "Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage" chronicles the arts and heritage of Ukraine at a time when the country's people, culture, landmarks, and artworks are facing destruction and devastation. Created in partnership with a group of renowned artists, curators, and critics, this record of architectural monuments and artworks reaches from prehistory to the present day.
Organized chronologically across eight chapters, "Treasures of Ukraine" features more than 220 color images that showcase everything from Scythian gold, Byzantine icons, and wooden churches to gold-domed cathedrals, avant-garde masterpieces, and political art after the Orange Revolution, while accompanying texts reveal the history and significance behind the pieces. Examples of vernacular art weave Ukraine's dynamic and inextinguishable folk narrative through the book, providing visual texture as well as a sense of the nation's living history.
Critique: The collaborative work of Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine's most acclaimed living novelist and public commentator); Andriy Puchkov (a specialist in Ukrainian architecture and author of more than two dozen monographs); Christian Raffensperger (Professor of History and Department Chair at Wittenberg University; Diana Klochko (prominent art historian and author of 65 Masterpieces of Ukrainian Art); and Maksym Yaremenko (Professor at the Department of History at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy), "Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage" is an impressive compendium showcasing the unique cultural heritage of Ukraine -- a cultural heritage that is currently in dire straights due to the Russian invasion of that country. Beautifully illustrated throughout with full color images enhancing an informative and well organized commentary, "Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage" is available and recommended for personal, community, and academic library Ukrainian Art & History collections.
Editorial Note: A compelling account of Ukraine's history, told through the prism of a carefully curated selection of key monuments, architectural landmarks, and works of art. All proceeds from the sale of "Treasures of Ukraine: A Nation's Cultural Heritage" will go to PEN Ukraine, to help Ukrainian authors in need.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
Understanding Osteoporosis
Naheed Ali, M.D.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.rowman.com
9781538168141, $35.00, HC, 202pp
https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Osteoporosis-Introduction-Patients-Caregivers/dp/1538168146
Synopsis: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone among the elderly. Bones that commonly break include the vertebrae in the spine, the bones of the forearm, and the hip. Until a broken bone occurs there are typically no symptoms. Bones may weaken to such a degree that a break may occur with minor stress or spontaneously. After the broken bone heals, the person may have chronic pain and a decreased ability to carry out normal activities. (Wikipedia)
With the publication of "Understanding Osteoporosis: An Introduction for Patients and Caregivers", Dr. Naheed Ali offers the non-specialist general read with an interest in the subject cutting-edge tips for sufferers and those who help them, and offers an informed and informative overview of the essentials of treatment, symptoms, risk factors, and outcomes.
Osteoporosis is prevalent among aging women especially, but it can affect anyone as they age. with "Understanding Osteoporosis" Dr. Ali also offers an overview of the disorder and its warning signs and risk factors. He walks his readers through prevention strategies, common symptoms, treatment options, and potential outcomes for sufferers. Keeping caregivers in mind, too, Dr. Ali offers advice for both sufferers and those who love and care for them, to keep them safe.
Critique: While note intended to be a curriculum textbook, but exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Understanding Osteoporosis: An Introduction for Patients and Caregivers" should be considered essential and informative reading for anyone who is dealing with the medical condition of osteoporosis in themselves, a friend or family member, or who are charged with caregiving responsibilities of patient or client with osteoporosis. While unhesitatingly and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Health/Medicine collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Understanding Osteoporosis" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.00).
Editorial Note: Naheed Ali, MD, PhD has more than 15 years of health-related publications to her credit. Now a digital nomad Dr. Ali writes for www.HealthcarePropulsion.com.
Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity
Commission for a Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309471503, $35.00, PB, 314pp
https://www.amazon.com/Roadmap-Healthy-Longevity-National-Medicine/dp/0309471508
Synopsis: With unprecedented global aging, countries around the world ranging from Japan to the United States must undertake all-of-society efforts to maximize the benefits and minimize the burdens of aging populations.
"The Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity" describes a realistic vision of healthy longevity that could be achieved by 2050. The vision includes full inclusion of people of all ages, regardless of health or functional status, in all aspects of society and societies characterized by social cohesion and equity.
To achieve the vision, "Global Roadmap" (a product of the Commission for a Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity -- National Academy of Medicine) recommends changes that need to be made to health systems, social infrastructure, physical environments, education, work, and retirement. In some cases, the recommended changes benefit older people most directly, but when older people thrive, people of all ages benefit.
If taken up, the recommendations of this report can support individuals of all ages in all corners of the globe to live long, meaningful, and purpose-driven lives by 2050
Critique: An aging population is a critically important and global issue that affects everything for social norms, political stability, economics, needed infrastructure, and so much more, the "The Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity" is highly recommended for personal, professional, community, governmental, and academic library Health Policy/Public Health collections and deserves as wide a readership as possible, especially for students, academia, governmental policy makers, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject.
Editorial Note: Since its founding, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (https://nam.edu) is an imprint of The National Academies Press, which publishes the publications of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. NAP publishes more than 200 publications per year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative, independently researched information on important matters in science and health policy.
The Environmental Studies Shelf
Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change
Joan Fitzgerald
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
www.oup.com/us
9780190695514, $31.95, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Greenovation-Urban-Leadership-Climate-Change/dp/019069551X
Synopsis: Collectively, cities take up a relatively tiny amount of land on the earth, yet emit 72 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Clearly, cities need to be at the center of any broad effort to reduce climate change.
With the publication of "Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change", the eminent urban policy scholar Joan Fitzgerald argues that too many cities are only implementing random acts of greenness that will do little to address the climate crisis. She instead calls for "greenovation" -- using the city as a test bed for adopting and perfecting green technologies for more energy efficient buildings, transportation, and infrastructure more broadly.
Further, Professor Fitzgerald contends that while many city mayors cite income inequality as a pressing problem, few cities are connecting climate action and social justice -- another aspect of greenovation. Focusing on the biggest producers of greenhouse gases in cities, buildings, energy and transportation, Fitzgerald examines how greenovating cities are reducing emissions overall and lays out an agenda for fostering and implementing urban innovations that can help reverse the path toward irrevocable climate damage. Drawing on interviews with practitioners in more than 20 North American and European cities, she identifies the strategies and policies they are employing and how support from state, provincial and national governments has supported or thwarted their efforts.
A uniquely urban-focused appraisal of the economic, political, and social debates that underpin the drive to "go green", "Greenovation" helps us understand what is arguably the toughest policy problem of our era: the increasing impact of anthropocentric climate change on modern social life.
Critique: A timely, focused, insightfully informative, and unique contribution to our on-going national conversation about dealing with our climate-changing environment, "Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change" is an extraordinary and inspiring read. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic Contemporary Environmental Policy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, governmental policy makers, environmental activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change" is also available in a paperback edition (9780197651421, $24.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.19).
Editorial Note: Joan Fitzgerald (https://joanfitzgerald.com) is Professor of Urban and Public Policy at Northeastern University. She focuses on urban climate action policy, governance, and finance. She is co-authoring her next book on cities and the struggle for climate justice.
Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fates, and Effects
Consensus Study Report
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309274296, $75.00, PB, 516pp
https://www.amazon.com/Oil-Sea-IV-Inputs-Effects/dp/030927429X
Synopsis: Oil and natural gas represent more than 50 percent of the worldwide energy supply, with high energy demand driven by population growth and improving standards of living. Despite significant progress in reducing the amount of oil in the sea from consumption, exploration, transportation, and production, risks remain.
"Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fates, and Effects " is the fourth report in a series, documents the current state-of-knowledge on inputs, fates and effects of oil in the sea, reflecting almost 20 additional years of research, including long-term effects from spills such as the Exxon Valdez and a decade-long boom in oil spill science research following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
This report finds that land-based sources of oil are the biggest input of oil to the sea, far outweighing other sources, and it also notes that the effects of chronic inputs on the marine environment, such as land-based runoff, are very different than that from an acute input, such as a spill. Steps to prevent chronic land-based oil inputs include reducing gasoline vehicle usage, improving fuel efficiency, increasing usage of electric vehicles, replacing older vehicles.
This report also identifies research gaps and provides specific recommendations aimed at preventing future accidental spills and ensuring oil spill responders are equipped with the best response tools and information to limit oil?s impact on the marine environment.
Critique: Informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of References, a listing Acronyms/Abbreviations, twelve Appendices, and a Glossary, "Oil in the Sea IV: Inputs, Fates, and Effects" is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an invaluable and core addition to personal, professional, governmental, college, and university library Marine Environmental Studies collections and supplemental curriculum lists.
The Science Shelf
Physics of Life
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
www.nap.edu
9780309274005, $60.00, PB, 370pp
https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Medicine-National-Academies-Sciences/dp/0309274001
Synopsis: Biological physics, or the physics of living systems, has emerged fully as a field of physics, alongside more traditional fields of astrophysics and cosmology, atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and plasma physics.
This new field brings the physicist's style of inquiry to bear on the beautiful phenomena of life. The enormous range of phenomena encountered in living systems - phenomena that often have no analog or precedent in the inanimate world - means that the intellectual agenda of biological physics is exceptionally broad, even by the ambitious standards of physics.
With the publication of "Physics of Life", the National Academies Press presents the first decadal survey of this field, as part of a broader decadal survey of physics. This report communicates the importance of biological physics research; addresses what must be done to realize the promise of this new field; and provides guidance for informed decisions about funding, workforce, and research directions.
Critique: A Consensus Study Report of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, "Physics of Life" is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to professional, college, and university library Biological Sciences collections and as a textbook for Biological Physics curriculum syllabus.
Editorial Note: The National Academies Press (NAP) publishes more than 200 publications per year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and medicine, providing authoritative, independently researched information on important matters in science and health policy.
The Economic Studies Shelf
Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence
Despoina Mantzari
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4314
www.oup.com/us
9780198851608, $90.00, HC, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Courts-Regulators-Scrutiny-Economic-Evidence/dp/019885160X
Synopsis: With the publication of "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence", Professor Despoina Mantzari presents the first systematic examination of economic regulation and the crucial role of economic evidence in regulatory authorities and courts.
"Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" presents the first systematic examination of economic regulation and the crucial role of economic evidence in regulatory authorities and courts.
"Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" brings together strands of scholarship from law, economics, and political science to explore two key themes: the influence of economic evidence on the discretionary assessments of economic regulators, and the limits of judicial review of economic evidence, supplemented with comparative examination of both UK and US systems. In light of the challenges posed by economic evidence, Professor Mantzari argues the appropriate scope of judicial review in the era of regulatory economics, and what the optimal institutional response to the pervasiveness of economic evidence in regulation should be.
Building on comparative institutional analysis, "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" rejects single-factor explanations, such as the individual knowledge of judges, in favour of a richer set of macro and micro-level factors that shape the relationships between courts and regulators. Professor Mantzari argues that the 'recipe' for adjudicating economic evidence requires a balance in which a degree of epistemic diversity is introduced in courts, and deference is accorded to regulatory agencies on grounds of institutional competency.
"Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" combines theoretical, doctrinal, comparative, and empirical analysis and it is written to be accessible to lawyers, economists, judges, regulators, policymakers, and political scientists. brings together strands of scholarship from law, economics, and political science to explore two key themes: the influence of economic evidence on the discretionary assessments of economic regulators, and the limits of judicial review of economic evidence, supplemented with comparative examination of both UK and US systems. In light of the challenges posed by economic evidence, Professor Mantzari argues the appropriate scope of judicial review in the era of regulatory economics, and what the optimal institutional response to the pervasiveness of economic evidence in regulation should be.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of Figures, Tables, Cases, Legislation, a ten page Bibliography, and a ten page Index, "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" is an especially well written, organized and presented study that is unreservedly recommended for professional, governmental, college, and university library Economics collections and supplemental curriculum studies syllabus. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Courts, Regulators, and the Scrutiny of Economic Evidence" is also available to students, academia, economists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject in a digital book format (Kindle, $67.49).
Editorial Note: Despoina Mantzari (https://cerre.eu/biographies/despoina-mantzari) is Associate Professor in Competition Law and Policy at University College London (UCL), Faculty of Laws. Prior to that she was a lecturer at the University of Reading and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Competition Policy at the University of East Anglia. She was also a visiting researcher at the UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London. She holds a PhD and an LL.M from UCL and studied law at the National University of Athens. Her research cuts across competition law and public law and regulation and has been funded by the AHRC, the ESRC, and the BA/Leverhulme Trust.
Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America
L. Randall Wray
Polity
www.politybooks.com
c/o John Wiley and Sons (dist.)
www.wiley.com
9781509554256, $59.99, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Money-Work-Us-America/dp/1509554254
Synopsis: Is money precious and scarce, necessitating iron fiscal discipline? Must the government always balance the books or risk ruin? Or is money, in fact, a flexible tool that can be used to mobilize our collective resources to serve those who need them?
With the publication of "Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America", leading Modern Money Theory (MMT) advocate and economist Randy Wray explains that the only real constraints on public policy are physical resources, technological capacity and political will: but never money.
He shows how modern sovereign governments spend by key-stroking money to bank accounts. While taxes serve other important purposes, they do not (contrary to popular belief) fund spending. If we recognize this, and totally reframe how we think about money and debt, we can marshal our national wealth to make us all richer, eliminate unemployment and "look after our own". We can make money work for us and our country.
"Making Money Work for Us" shows how MMT can become a new American political and economic orthodoxy, replacing the dominant conservative framework forever. It is essential reading for all progressives.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of fifteen pages of Notes and a seven page Index, "Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America" is a timely, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to our on-going national discussions on economic financing and government policy reforms. While highly recommended as an essential and core addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Economics collections and supplemental curriculum Income Inequality studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, economists, governmental policy makers, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Making Money Work for Us: How MMT Can Save America" is also available in a paperback edition (9781509554263, $19.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.00).
Editorial Note: L. Randall Wray (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Randall_Wray) is an expert on MMT, as well as Professor of Economics at Bard College and a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute.
The Cookbook Shelf
Knead Peace
Andrew Green
Kyle Books
c/o Octopus Books
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781804191019, $29.99, HC, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Knead-Peace-Ukraine-Recipes-support/dp/1804191019
Synopsis: Inspired by the resilient spirit of Anna Makievska and The Bakehouse, Kyiv, who have continued to bake day and night throughout the Russian attacks on the people and infrastructure of Ukrain, "Knead Peace: Bake for Ukraine: Recipes from the world's best bakers in support of Ukraine" is a unique collection of beautiful bakes in support of Ukraine.
Each recipe was donated by esteemed bakeries from across the globe. Included are sweet and savoury breads, indulgent cakes and cookies, and delicious pies and tarts from Anna Makievska of The Bakehouse, Kyiv; Maxblach-Gentile of Tartine Bakery; Richard Bertinet; Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovic of Honey & Company.; Vanessa Kimbell of The Sourdough School; Alix Andre of Arome Bakery; Hellen Goh and Kitt Tait of The Orange Bakery; Yotam Otto Lenghi and Ixta Belfrage.
Critique: Knead Peace, founded by Andrew Green, was born from the idea that baking is a community that has the power to make a difference. Informative and beautifully illustrated with full color photographs, a simple pleasure to browse through and plan menus with, "Knead Peace: Bake for Ukraine: Recipes from the world's best bakers in support of Ukraine" is unreservedly and enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Andrew Green (https://www.jamesbeard.org/chef/andrew-green) has worked in some of the finest kitchens in the UK and abroad, with a particular love of baking and patisserie. He spent the initial stage of his career working at a range of venues and restaurants across London including the RAC club (where he was consequently offered employment with Nobu London) and the City of London Club amongst others. He also completed work stages with many restaurants including Gordon Ramsey's Royal Hospital Road (three Michelin stars), Nobu London (one Michelin star), He then moved to South Africa for love and continued to build an impressive career, assisting the launch of an array of establishments as head chef. He's also received many awards as head chef including 'Best Asian Restaurant' for Saigon Suzy in the National Restaurant awards.
152 Non-Sad Lunches You Can Make in 5 Minutes
Alexander Hart
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781922754073, $26.95, PB, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/152-Non-Sad-Lunches-Make-Minutes/dp/1922754072
Synopsis: There are few things sadder than a just another ordinary and repetitious desk lunch. But who has the time or endless inspiration to come up with fresh new ideas for a delicious noontime meal every day?
With the publication of "152 Non-sad Lunches You Can Make in 5 Minutes", cookbook author Alexander Hart will to put to an end to the sad desk lunch. Packed from cover to cover with of delicious, healthy lunchbox ideas that can be put together in just 5 minutes (many of which are vegetarian or vegan, gluten free and dairy free) there's no reason to eat a drab, unhealthy, or expensive lunch again.
There is also 'real world practical' advice throughout on how to make bulk lunches for your week and how you might be able to overhaul last night's leftovers into a great midday meal. You'll never be short of time or inspiration with this handy cookbook that is specifically designed to be used daily!
Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated with palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendly, DIY five minute-or-less-to-prepare recipes for lunches, "152 Non-Sad Lunches You Can Make in 5 Minutes" will prove to be an immediately welcome and enduringly appreciated addition to personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections.
Editorial Note" Alexander Hart (https://www.smithstreetbooks.com/book-author/alexander-hart) is a cook and food writer based in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. He's been longtime believer that a healthy lunch leads to a healthy life. He has previously authored Jar Salads, The 5-Minute Vegan Lunchbox, The 5-Minute Salad Lunchbox, and The 5-Minute 5-Ingredient Lunchbox, all published by Smith Street Books.
Fish for Dinner
Nathan Outlaw
Kyle Books
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
http://www.kylebooks.com
9781914239809, $34.99, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Dinner-Nathan-Outlaw/dp/1914239806
Synopsis: Chef Nathan Outlaw is in the process of rebranding and refocusing his Michelin-starred Cornwall restaurants to offer a more affordable and relaxed approach to fine dining. This is driven by his increased interest in accessibility and sustainability, and "Fish For Dinner" is his new collection of delicious fish dishes that will appeal to home cooks looking for easy (and delicious) seafood recipes.
An informative introduction covers how to buy fish ethically, advice on equipment, tips for fish preparation and cooking techniques, followed by a section on the best fish species for cooking. This is followed by recipes which are divided into such chapters as: Flash in a Pan, One in the Oven, Steamed & Poached, Over the Coals, No Cook, Super Salads, Deep & Crispy, In a Bowl and Snack. Of special note is a final section that offers sauce recipes, from Hollandaise to chilli sauce.
Critique: Comprised of beautifully and profusely illustrated recipes that are especially 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, "Fish For Dinner" is an impressive compendium of seafood dishes that are as palate-pleasing and appetite -satisfying, as they are nutritionally healthy and menu inspiring. A true seafood lover's delight, "Fish For Dinner" is highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should also be noted that "Fish For Dinner" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw (www.outlaws.co.uk ) trained with Rick Stein and now runs his own two restaurants in Port Isaac, Cornwall. He appears regularly on Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu, and also featured on Rick Stein's Cornwall TV series. He can be followed on Twitter at @nathanoutlaw
Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy
Toni Okamoto
BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637742495, #26.95, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Plant-Based-Budget-Quick-Easy-Freezer-Friendly/dp/1637742495
Synopsis: With the publication of "Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy: 100 Fast, Healthy, Meal-Prep, Freezer-Friendly, and One-Pot Vegan Recipes ", blogger and cookbook author Toni Okamoto is back to make mealtime delicious, affordable, and easier than ever a compendium of 100 vegan recipes for meal prep, one-pot and one-pan meals, make-ahead dishes, sheet pan suppers, and more.
When we're crunched for time, cooking something healthy and tasty often falls off our to-do lists. But with a little planning (and some smart recipes), eating well can fit into even the busiest lifestyle.
A follow-up to her popular first book, "Plant-Based on a Budget", in this new culinary compendium Toni turns her attention to recipes that save you time and energy in the kitchen -- and, of course, save you money, too! In "Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy", Toni shares creative ways to cut down on active kitchen time without having to invest in a ton of expensive equipment or resort to pricey premade foods.
If meal prep isn't your jam, never fear; Toni offers so much more. Chapters focus on time-saving strategies like make-ahead meals, one-pot or one-pan dishes, sheet pan dishes and casseroles, 30-minute mains, and even simple desserts. Many recipes can be made oil-free, and Toni offers plenty of adaptations for your Instant Pot and air fryer.
"Plant-Based on a Budget" offers kitchen cook friendly recipes ranging from Freezer-Friendly Pancakes and Waffles; Weeknight Pasta; Spinach Alfredo; and Tater Tot Casserole, to One-Pot Veggie-Packed Potato Leek Soup; Sheet Pan Ratatouille; Spicy Peanut Udon Noodles; and Mini Pizza Bagels, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark -- and more!
Critique: A profusely and beautifully illustrated collection of palate-pleasing, appetite-satisfying, budget-conscious vegan themed recipes, "Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy: 100 Fast, Healthy, Meal-Prep, Freezer-Friendly, and One-Pot Vegan Recipes" is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to personal, family, professional, and community library Vegetarian/Vegan cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Plant-Based on a Budget Quick & Easy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Toni Okamoto (https://www.toniokamoto.com) is the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website, food blog, and meal plan that shows you how to save dough by eating veggies. She is also the author of Plant-Based on a Budget and The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook. Plant-Based on a Budget has been featured in Reader's Digest, US News and World Report, and more. Toni's also a regular presence on the FOX affiliate in Sacramento, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget.
Taste of Home: One Pot Favorites
Editorial Staff
Taste of Home
c/o Enthusiast Brand / Trusted Media Brand
PO Box 5294, Harlan, IA 51593-0794
https://www.tasteofhome.com
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781617658938, $24.99, Spiral Bound, 448pp
https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Favorites-meal-one/dp/1617658936
Synopsis: One-dish meals have been a dinnertime staple for years -- and today they're more popular than ever! That's why the team at Taste of Home assembled 519 best-of-the-best recipes for their impressive new cookbook "One Pot Favorites".
From Instant Pot meal-in-one dishes to complete dinners baked on a sheet pan, each of these hearty one-dish wonders are absolutely time-stressed kitchen cook friendly. You will also find simmering Dutch oven specialties, cast-iron skillet suppers, slow-cooker classics, satisfying stews and many more recipes, each offering the one-dish convenience today's family cooks crave.
Critique: Replete with mouth-watering full color photographs of finished dishes, "Taste of Home One Pot Favorites: 519 Dutch Oven, Instant Pot(R), Sheet Pan and other meal-in-one lifesavers" is a foodie's delight to simply browse through one delicious page at a time. Ideal for menu planning this culinary compendium will be a welcome and enduringly appreciated contribution to personal, family, and community library 'family friendly' cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Taste of Home One Pot Favorites: 519 Dutch Oven, Instant Pot(R), Sheet Pan and other meal-in-one lifesavers" is also available in a paperback edition (9781621458937, $19.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Taste Of Home: Make-Ahead Comfort Foods
Editorial Staff
Taste of Home
c/o Enthusiast Brand / Trusted Media Brand
PO Box 5294, Harlan, IA 51593-0794
https://www.tasteofhome.com
https://www.trustedmediabrands.com
9781621458265, $17.99, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Home-Ahead-Comfort-Foods/dp/1621458873
Synopsis: A tight schedule doesn't mean avoiding your favorite comfort foods. Simply make them ahead of time using the recipes compiled by the experts at Taste of Home to be found in "Taste Of Home: Make-Ahead Comfort Foods: 200 Prep-Now Eat-Later Recipes", one of their newest cookbooks specifically designed to help you serve truly memorable meals that your family will request most -- no matter how busy your household might be.
Take advantage of this beautifully illustrated culinary collections of breakfast bakes that set up in the fridge overnight, savory meats that season themselves in an 8-hour marinade and slow-cooked classics that simmer to perfection while you're working elsewhere. You will even find a Bonus Chapter, "Cook Once, Eat Twice" that includes a selection of serve one/freeze one casseroles and shows you how to prepare one meal and turn the extras into a second dinner so delicious no one will realize they're enjoying leftovers.
Critique: Of special note is the inclusion of At-a-Glance icons, serving suggestions and more, ensuring that "Taste of Home Make Ahead Comfort Foods: 200 Prep-Now Eat-Later Recipes" is a favorite cookbook that will referred to for menu planning by time stressed family cooks again and again. A true culinary treasure, "Taste of Home Make Ahead Comfort Foods" is an especially recommended addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "Taste of Home Make Ahead Comfort Foods" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Taste Of Home is a premier publisher of family cook friendly cookbooks: (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Taste-of-Home/author/B00J24QD5G)
Easy Vegan Home Cooking
Laura Theodore
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
62545 State Highway 10, Hobart, NY 13788
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578269259, $25.00, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Vegan-Home-Cooking-Plant-Based/dp/1578269253
Synopsis: Whether you are an accomplished vegan chef or just learning the craft of creating pleasing plant-based meals for your family, it is essential to find recipes that are delicious and easy to prepare.
With the publication of "Easy Vegan Home Cooking: Over 125 Plant-Based and Gluten-Free Recipes for Wholesome Family Meals", celebrity chef Laura Theodore shows you how by showcasing healthy recipes that require eight ingredients or fewer, while focusing on bountiful breakfasts, light lunches, satisfying suppers, and delightful desserts.
"Easy Vegan Home Cooking" takes the guesswork out of eating healthier by sharing shopping lists, pantry "must-haves," quick cooking tips, flavor enhancers, and effective plant-based substitutions and is specifically designed to please vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike.
Critique: Illustrated throughout with full color photography of finished dishes, "Easy Vegan Home Cooking: Over 125 Plant-Based and Gluten-Free Recipes for Wholesome Family Meals" is an impressive DIY source for creating memorable menus -- even when stressed for time. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly" in organization and presentation, "Easy Vegan Home Cooking" will prove to be an immediately welcome addition to personal, professional, family, and community library Vegan/Vegetarian cook book collections. It should be noted that "Easy Vegan Home Cooking" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Laura Theodore (https://jazzyvegetarian.com/about-me) is a nationally recognized television personality, podcast radio host, and celebrity PBS vegan chef. Laura is co-creator of the highly successful Jazzy Vegetarian cooking series on national public television, and she is host of the Jazzy Vegetarian Podcast on Unity Online Radio. She is also an award-winning cookbook author with such titles as Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan and Vegan for Everyone. Laura has made guest appearances on The Talk on CBS, Insider/Entertainment Tonight, and the WCBS Radio Health Report. She has been featured in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Mother Earth Living, VegNews, Family Circle, Readers Digest, and PBS Food, among other highly respected news, food and lifestyle-related journals as well as been on the cover of American Vegan.
The Social Food
Shirley Garrier, author/contributor
Mathieu Zouhairi, author/contributor
Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9780847872596, $40.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Social-Food-Cooking-Inspired-Flavors/dp/0847872599
Synopsis: Discerning epicureans and dedicated foodies need look no further. With the publication of "The Social Food: Home Cooking Inspired by the Flavors of the World" by culinary experts Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi is the must-have guide for anyone looking to master shopping for, preparing (and most importantly) enjoying good food.
"The Social Food: Home Cooking Inspired by the Flavors of the World" is inspired by their love for travel, their contemporary approach to cooking is enhanced by ingredients and techniques brought back from their numerous voyages,
Blending French, Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian, and Spanish culinary traditions, each recipe packs complex flavors while requiring minimal effort using simple, everyday ingredients that anyone can source. With sandwiches, rice, soups, fish, desserts, pasta, cocktails, and more, the dynamic plates radiate freshness and vibrancy.
Captured during the duo's travels, gorgeous images of ingredients and local food shops punctuate the dishes. From a sardine banh mi and mushroom rigatoni to ramen with winter vegetables and a burnt cheesecake with dark chocolate and mezcal, each plate is perfectly adapted for seasoned cooks and amateur home chefs alike.
This is the food that will guarantee "Wow, this is amazing!" at any and all dining occasions.
Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout with full color photography, ""The Social Food: Home Cooking Inspired by the Flavors of the World" is a simple culinary pleasure to browse through and to create memorable menus with. This distinctive compendium of palate-pleasing, appetite-satisfying, kitchen cook friendly recipes is a very special and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi are the founders of The Social Food, a creative studio specializing in food design, styling, and photography. Known for their immensely popular Instagram account, where they share recipes and explore the world of cooking, they work in collaboration with the most acclaimed chefs and restaurants in Paris.
The Graphic Novel Shelf
The King's Ransom
Vincent Brugas, author
Herzet Benoit Dellac, illustrator
Cinebook Ltd.
https://www.cinebook.co.uk
c/o National Book Network (distribution)
https://nbnbooks.com
9781800440593, $13.95, PB, 56pp
https://www.amazon.com/Kings-Ransom-Nottingham-Vincent-Brugeas/dp/1800440596
Synopsis: 1192. Richard, King of England, hasn't returned from the Crusades. Rumors say he may be dead, and his brother John Lackland begins moving his pieces to claim the throne, counting on the support (and money) of the kingdom's sheriffs. Deep inside Sherwood Forest, Marian, young Saxon Lady, tries to convince a family of outlaws to join her in fighting the prince, with the help of a mysterious man in a hood -- none other than the Sheriff of Nottingham himself!
Critique: "The King's Ransom" by author/storyteller Vincent Brugas and artist/illustrator Emmanuel Herzet Dellac is the first volume "Nottingham", a new graphic novel action/adventure series. Offering a new take on the Robin Hood legend, "The King's Ransom" is a fun, impressive, memorable addition for personal and community library Graphic Novel collections for readers of all ages. It should be noted that "The King's Ransom" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle/Comixology, $4.61).
Editorial Note #1: Vincent Brugeas (https://www.europecomics.com/author/vincent-brugeas) holds both a passion for, and a degree in, History. Several of his series have garnered much interest and praise: Block 109, Le Roy des Ribauds, and especially the superb The Regiment, which is also published by Cinebook.
Editorial Note #2: Emmanuel Herzet (https://www.europecomics.com/author/herzet) teaches History in Belgium, and began writing comics out of sheer passion. Among others, he's worked on series Alpha, also published by Cinebook. Benoit Dellac has illustrated several series, including an adaptation of Roger Zelazny's The Chronicles of Amber.
The Audiobook Shelf
An Unwanted Inheritance
Imogen Clark, author
Bronwen Price, narrator
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781713647454, $19.99, MP3-CD
https://www.amazon.com/Unwanted-Inheritance-Imogen-Clark/dp/1713647451
Synopsis: When their father dies unexpectedly, siblings Max, Ellie and Nathan can't even contemplate emptying his house -- not least because he spent his last decade curating what feels like a museum to his polished public image. So it is Max's wife, Caroline, who finds the suitcase under a bed. A suitcase stuffed full of an awful lot of cash!
The source of the money is a mystery to them all, and each has a strong opinion about what to do with it. Ellie and her husband James have an expensive lifestyle to maintain and could do with their share of the windfall -- James in particular, for reasons he doesn't dare reveal. Nathan can't be trusted with money, as the others all know; he's desperate to get his hands on some (or all) of the cash. But Caroline is the one guarding the suitcase, and she's insisting to Max that they take it to the police.
The three siblings have always been close. But now, with this money from nowhere threatening to rewrite what they thought they knew about their father and their family, nothing seems certain. Could it really tear them apart?
Critique: A cleverly crafted and impressively original story by gifted novelist Imogen Clark and, in a superbly produced, complete and unabridged audio book from Brilliance Audio, "An Unwanted Inheritance" is brought to life by the storytelling talents of Bronwen Price. "An Unwanted Inheritance" (offers 11 hours and 32 minutes of of listening pleasure) is unreservedly recommended for personal and community library audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Imogen Clark (https://imogenclark.com) writes contemporary fiction about families and secrets. Her books have topped the Amazon kindle chart eight times and Where the Story Starts was short listed in the UK for Contemporary Romantic Novel of the year 2020.
Editorial Note #1: Bronwen Price (https://www.bronwenprice.co.uk) is a multi award nominated voice actor based in London. She works in genres as varied as audiobooks and corporate narration, video games and IVR, and radio drama and commercials.
The Library CD Shelf
Blues To Be There: A Salute To Duke Ellington
Planet D Nonet, artist
Eastlawn Rcords
http://www.eastlawnrecords.com
MP3, FLAC, $TBA, CD
Synopsis: The now legendary Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. "Blues To Be There: A Salute To Duke Ellington" is a musical tribute honoring the Duke and his contributions to the evolution of Jazz in America by the group Planet D. Nonet. The sixteen pieces comprising this superbly produced album include: Spacemen (6:38); Pie Eye's Blues (4:18); Chinoiserrie (3:22); Moon Maiden (4:04); The Swingers Get The Blues Too (3:06); Blow By Blow (3:40); Tigress (3:43); Almost Cried (2:28); Purple Gazelle (2:47); Way Early Subtone (3:34); Take The A Train (5:04); U.M.M.G. (2:58); Bonga (4:26); Moonbow (3:16); Vip's Boogie/Jam With Sam (5:31); and the title piece, Blues To Be There (8:27).
Critique: An album that will be of special interest to connoisseurs of great Jazz, "Blues To Be There" lives up to the standards set by Duke Ellington and is highly recommended for personal and community library CD Music collections.
Out of Doors
Bodhiheart
Blue Yarn Records
https://www.bodhiheartmusic.com
www.blueyarnrecords.com
MP3, FLAC, $TBA, CD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BR63ZZMH
Synopsis: "Out of Doors: Meditations for Piano and Nature" by the team of Wells Hanley and Matt Wyatt is comprised of twelve original compositions: Departure (2:23), First Signs of Spring (5:38), The Rainy Season (5:12), Daybreak (5:30), Derecho (5:48), Migration (7:53), Snow Melt (4:20), Creek Song (5:55), Midnight (5:09), Ocean, Sand, Skinn (5:47), Summer Storm (6:26), Other Worlds (8:14). The total running time is 1 hour, 8 minutes.
Critique: Creative, original, memorable, gentle, inspiring tranquility and peace of mind, the music as composed and performed will draw its listeners back to "Out of Doors: Meditations for Piano and Nature" time and time again. Certain to be enduringly appreciated, "Out of Doors" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and community library CD Music collections.
The Genealogy Shelf
Researching Scots-Irish Ancestor, second edition
William J. Roulston
Ulster Historical Foundation
c/o Genealogical Publishing Company
3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 229, Baltimore, MD 21211
www.genealogical.com
9781909556652, $34.95, PB, 640pp
https://www.amazon.com/Researching-Scots-Irish-Ancestors-essential-genealogical/dp/1909556653
Synopsis: When the first edition of "Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The essential genealogical guide to early modern Ulster, 1600-1800" appeared in 2005 it was quickly recognized as an essential work of reference for family historians researching Ulster ancestors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It filled an important gap in providing reliable guidance on sources for perhaps the most critical period in understanding a family's links with the north of Ireland.
This is territory where some family historians fear to tread. But they need not. This newly updated and expanded second edition of "Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors" opens up avenues for research; drawing attention to the riches of archives inside and outside of the island of Ireland, demonstrating the benefit of often undervalued, rare, even quite unconventional, yet accessible sources if you know where to look which can help document your ancestors back to the 1600s.
At more than twice the size of the original, this new second edition is a massively expanded version of the first volume. It includes additional information on church records and landed estate papers, as well as new chapters looking at records relating to law and order, emigration, business and occupations, diaries and journals, and clubs and societies.
The extensive appendices to the book include a summary breakdown of the sources available from this period for every parish in the historic nine counties of Ulster (including a listing of surviving pre-1800 church records); a detailed description of around 350 collections of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century landed estate papers; and a listing of more than 500 towns and villages in Ulster with parish locations.
Whether your ancestors are of English, Scottish or Gaelic Irish background, whether their religious affiliation was Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic or other, whether they were farmers, merchants or labourers, this volume will be of enormous value to anyone wishing to find out more about their Ulster roots.
Critique: An indispensable and essential reference and reserach resource for anyone researching Scots-Irish ancestors of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries, "Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The essential genealogical guide to early modern Ulster, 1600-1800: 2nd Edition" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Genealogy collections.
The Biography Shelf
Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen
Paul Kendall
Frontline Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399018357, $49.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Elizabeth-Life-Legacy-Virgin/dp/1399018353
Synopsis: The forty-four-year reign of Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and the last Tudor monarch, was considered a golden age. It saw the emergence of the great playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, while the exploits of Sir Francis Drake and other 'sea-dogs' helped establish England's position among the great maritime powers.
With the publication of "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen", historian and biographer Paul Kendall looks at Elizabeth's life through some of the many artifacts, buildings, documents and institutions that survive to this day. From the execution of her mother, Ann Boleyn, when she was just two-and-a-half-years-old, to her imprisonment on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, Elizabeth's early life was a turbulent one, but her accession to the throne ushered in a period of stability.
During her reign, England's wealth and prestige grew through her patronage of seafaring privateers such as Drake, John Hawkins and Walter Raleigh. She encouraged the exploration and colonization of North America, marking the birth of the British Empire and the establishment of British trade routes. Elizabeth was responsible for expanding the English Navy, its defeat of the Spanish Armada being considered one of England's greatest military victories.
In this magnificently illustrated volume we see her birthplace at Greenwich Palace, her childhood homes, her prison in the Tower of London, the palaces she lived in, ruins of stately homes she visited, such as Gorhambury House, Kenilworth House, Upnor Castle and the Elizabethan town walls at Berwick, the many fortifications built during her reign to defend her realm, through to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey.
Also found in this fascinating study are books that she presented to her father and step-mother, Katherine Parr, with the binding embroidered by Elizabeth, her clothes, letters she wrote in her own hand, her coronation chair, her coat of arms asserting her title as Governor of the Church of England and her signature signing the death warrant of her cousin, the 4th Duke of Norfolk. This book is not just a journey back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I, but also a tour across the country to visit the sites which still evoke that golden era of the Virgin Queen.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, a seven page Bibliography, and a four page Index, "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen" is an impressive contribution to the study of Elizabethan England in general, and Quen Elizabeth I in particular. Particularly and strongly recommended for community, college, and university library Historical English Royalty Biography collections, it should be noted for students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the life and times of Queen Elizabeth I that "Queen Elizabeth I: Life and Legacy of the Virgin Queen" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.49).
Editorial Note: Educated at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, where he also served as an Honorary Midshipman with the University of London Royal Naval Unit, Paul Kendall (https://www.paul-kendall.co.uk) is a military historian and author from Kent specializing in the First World War.
The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu
Constantin Manolache, author
Diana Livesay, translator
Center for Romanian Studies
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592111695, $29.99, HC, 386pp
https://www.amazon.com/Scintillating-Life-Iulia-Hasdeu/dp/1592111696
Synopsis: Ably translated into English by Diana Livesay, with the publication of "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu", biographer Constantin Manolache presents the life and literary works of the Romanian child genius of the 19th century.
Iulia Hasdeu (14 November 1869 - 29 September 1888) was the daughter of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, one of the greatest literary and political figures in modern Romanian history. Iulia started reading at two years old and she wrote her first historical study at the age of six. At eight years old she was fluent in French, German, and English. She graduated from the Bucharest Conservatory at eleven with excellent accomplishments in piano and canto, after which she left for Paris and started studying at Sevigne College. She was the first Romanian woman to be accepted at Sorbonne University.
During her short life, before she was ultimately taken by an incurable illness, Iulia wrote countless poems, short stories, and plays. Her drawings and her letters also survived the passing of time, allowing us a glimpse into her tragic childhood and adolescence, her emotions, and her most intimate thoughts. "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" is a premiere introduction of a remarkably gifted Romanian woman for international readers.
Critique: In addition to being an informative and well written biography, "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" contains English translations for many of her works and letters making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Literary Biography & Poetry collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Scintillating Life of Iulia Hasdeu" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).
Editorial Note #1: Constantin Manolache (14 February 1883 - 21 January 1954) was a military prosecutor, chief of military justice, and professor at the University of Bucharest. (https://generals.dk/general/Manolache/Constantin/Romania.html)
Editorial Note #2: Diana Livesay is a journalist translator from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. (https://ro.linkedin.com/in/diana-livesay-2187b319b)
From the Battlefield to the Stage
Norman S. Poser
McGill-Queen's University Press
www.mqup.ca
9780228014539, $37.95, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Stage-Lives-General-Burgoyne/dp/0228014530
Synopsis: Primarily known today chiefly for his surrender to the American forces at Saratoga, New York, in 1777, General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 - 4 August 1792) was one of the most interesting and extraordinary figures of the eighteenth century.
With the publication of "From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne" Norman Poser (Professor Emeritus at Brooklyn Law School and the author of "Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason") provides a rounded biography, covering not only the Saratoga campaign but also elements of Burgoyne's eventful life that have never been adequately explored.
At the age of twenty-eight, Burgoyne eloped with Charlotte Stanley, the daughter of the immensely wealthy and influential Earl of Derby. Though initially furious, the earl, convinced of the young officer's good character, eventually forgave the couple, and the Stanley family became a major influence in Burgoyne's life and career.
He was a socialite, welcome in London's fashionable drawing rooms, a high-stakes gambler in its elite clubs, and a playwright whose social comedies were successfully performed on the London stage. As a member of Parliament for thirty years, Burgoyne supported the rule of law, fought the corruption of the East India Company, and advocated religious tolerance.
"From the Battlefield to the Stage" paints a vivid portrait of General John Burgoyne, remembering him not only for his role in one of Britain's worst military disasters but also as a brave, talented, humane man.
Critique: An impressive work of definitively informative scholarship, "From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne" is exceptionally well researched, organized and presented, making it an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library 18th Century Biography collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "From the Battlefield to the Stage" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $36.05).
To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent
Lewis M. Simons
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.rowman.com
9781538173169, $35.00, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Truth-Life-Foreign-Correspondent/dp/1538173166
Synopsis: With the publication of "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent", Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Lewis M. Simons's recollects his 50 years as a foreign correspondent, one whose powerful stories contributed to transforming Asia from Vietnam War-era basket case to a global boomtown that today rivals the United States.
Simons's investigative work led to the toppling of a dictator in the Philippines. He covered the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, bloody coups in Thailand, attempted genocide and societal collapse in Cambodia, and economic advance, decline and rebirth in Japan. He was expelled from India for his exclusive reporting on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's political misuse of the armed forces. Breaking his own strict rule against becoming personally involved with people whose stories he covered, he saved the life of a dying teenaged Tibetan Buddhist monk.
Simons molds the narrative of his lengthy, action-packed career from foxhole mud and backroom dirt. Layered with moments of tenderness and humor, as his camp-following family often accompanies him, the result is a masterful chronicle of war and murder; extreme poverty and suffering alongside repellent wealth and indulgence; wholesale larceny and ruling-class corruption -- much of which escaped the scrutiny of other journalists. Readers who appreciate real-life historic drama will be enthralled.
Critique: A skillfully written, organized and presented memoir that will be of special appeal to readers with an interest in journalism, "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" is an impressively informative and persona/professional account of the career and adventures of a war correspondent and a journalist investigating corruption and the tensions between the wealthy and the poor in various hot spots around the world. An informative and fascinating read, "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" will prove a welcome addition to community, college, and university library American Biography and Journalism Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists of journalism students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "To Tell the Truth: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.00).
Editorial Note: Lewis M. Simons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Simons) is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent on foreign affairs throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The Veterinary Shelf
Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing
Sue Badger, editor
Andrea Jeffery, editor
Wiley-Blackwell
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell
9781119664437, $50.00, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Professionalism-Reflection-Veterinary-Nursing-Badger/dp/1119664438
Synopsis: Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by veterinary nurse Sue Badger and orthopaedic nurse Andrea Jeffery, "Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing" offers insights into the role of the veterinary nurse in the 21st century. It provides useful information that facilitates a deeper understanding of the underlying theory that supports clinical nursing practice. Exploring concepts that underpin the delivery of professional veterinary nursing, the book covers core issues, themes and principles that explain what it means to be a veterinary nurse.
"Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing" covers: The role of the registered veterinary nurse; The registered veterinary nurse's responsibility to the patient; Evidence-based veterinary nursing; Veterinary nurse trainer and educator resources.
A timely publication due to the increased recognition and expectations of the role of the veterinary nursing profession, "Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing" is ideal for veterinary student nurses and qualified veterinary nurses, enabling them to contribute to the development of the professional identity.
Critique: Comprised of an insightful introduction and nine informed and informative articles contributed by experts in the field of veterinarian medicine, "Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing" is an unreservedly recommended and core addition to professional, college, university, and veterinary school collections and supplemental curriculum lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Professionalism and Reflection in Veterinary Nursing" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $40.00).
Editorial Note #1: Sue Badger MEd, Cert Ed, RVN veterinary nurse since 1976 with 18 years in clinical practice from small animal to mixed and exotic practice. Set up and ran the veterinary nursing course at the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol. After more than two decades at the university, she took early retirement to concentrate on editorial work and education consultancy. (https://icatcare.org/team/sue-badger)
Editorial Note #2: Andrea Jeffery Ed.D MSc Dip, AVN, Cert Ed, RVN trained orthopaedic nurse in the NHS and then a veterinary nurse. Worked in both primary care and referral specialist practice then became a veterinary nurse educator. At University of Bristol for 17 years as part of and as lead for the veterinary nursing undergraduate programmes. She joined Linnaeus in 2019 as the Chief Nursing Officer with the remit of developing a nursing strategy for the group. (https://www.veterinarywoman.co.uk/2021/03/veterinary-woman-role-model-andrea-jeffery)
Companion Animal Behaviour Problems
Rachel Cassey, et al.
CABI
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781780643458, $130.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Animal-Behaviour-Problems-Prevention/dp/1780643454
Synopsis: Ensuring the well-being of animals is a primary concern not only for their owners, but for every veterinary practice.
Split into easily accessible sections, part one of "Companion Animal Behaviour Problems: Prevention and Management of Behaviour Problems in Veterinary Practice" outlines the origin of animal behavior and how this has adapted to the domestic environment.
Part two focuses on the role of the veterinary practice in preventing undesirable behavior, such as practice design, socialization classes and communication with owners.
Part three gives practical advice for handling dangerous animals, discussing options such as euthanasia and working with referral veterinarians.
Behavioral problems remain the number one cause of companion animal euthanasia. With the publication of "Companion Animal Behaviour Problems: Prevention and Management of Behaviour Problems in Veterinary Practice" seeks to improve the situation for all involved, veterinarians and owners alike.
Critique: "Companion Animal Behaviour Problems: Prevention and Management of Behaviour Problems in Veterinary Practice" is collectively compiled and co-edited by Rachel Casey (Director of Canine Behavior and Research at Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog charity); Sarah Heath (an RCVS and an EBVS(R) European Veterinary Specialist in Behavioral Medicine, as well as a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviorist); Helen Zulch (who is a practicing veterinarian, a Diplomat of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioral Medicine (BM) and a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Recognized Specialist in Behavioral Medicine, and currently the Head of Professional Development in Canine Behavior at Dogs Trust where she has responsibility for staff education and professional development in dog behavior and training.
An ideal veterinary school curriculum textbook, "Companion Animal Behaviour Problems: Prevention and Management of Behaviour Problems in Veterinary Practice" is unreservedly recommended for professional, college, and university library Veterinary Science collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of veterinary science students, academia, practicing veterinarians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Companion Animal Behaviour Problems: Prevention and Management of Behaviour Problems in Veterinary Practice" is also available in both a paperback edition (9781780643465, $60.00) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $36.87).
House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats
Trudi Atkinson
CABI
c/o Stylus Publishing, Inc.
22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012
www.styluspub.com
9781789246872, $40.00, PB, 104pp
https://www.amazon.com/House-Soiling-Problems-Domestic-Behaviour/dp/1789246873
Synopsis: Practical and comprehensive, "House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats" by veterinarian Trudi Atkinson is the first in a series entitled 'Domestic Cat Behaviour Problems' which is specifically designed to help veterinary professionals and behaviorists understand the background behind common domestic cat behavior problems and provide various treatment strategies.
"House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats" specifically covers feline problem elimination and marking behavior inside the home. Outlined are: What constitutes normal behavior; The various underlying causes of feline house-soiling; Prevention of unwanted behavior; Recognition of potential trigger factors and warning signs; How to identify contributory factors; Practical treatment strategies.
Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats" is comprised of sound and practical advice. "House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats" is an invaluable and highly recommended resource for veterinarians, veterinary nurses/technicians, clinical animal behaviorists, and those studying domestic cat behavior. While unreservedly recommended for professional, veterinary clinic, and academic library Veterinarian Medicine collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "House Soiling Problems in Domestic Cats" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $23.44).
Editorial Note: Trudi Atkinson qualified as a veterinary nurse in 1986 and attained her postgraduate diploma at the University of Southampton in 1999. In July of the same year she was accepted as a full member of the Association of Pet Behavior Counsellors (APBC) and in 2000 left veterinary practice to start her own behavior referral practice covering the South West of England. In 2004, she achieved accreditation as a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviorist (CCAB) under the scheme run by the Association for the Study of Animal Behavior (ASAB). In early 2016, she started to specialize solely in feline behavior and has presented talks on feline behavior and companion animal behavior in general for organizations including: APBC, British Veterinary Behavior Association (BVBA), British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA), British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the Centre for Animal Welfare (CAW).
The Theatre/Cinema Shelf
Hollywood in the Klondike
Michael Gates
Harbour Publishing
www.harbourpublishing.com
9781550179965, $34.95, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hollywood-Klondike-Dawson-Citys-Great/dp/1550179969
Synopsis: In 1978, hundreds of reels of silent films were unearthed from beneath the demolished site of an old hockey arena in Dawson City, Yukon. Author Michael Gates witnessed the cinematic discovery of these once-lost films -- and with the publication of "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" tells of excavating time lost cinematic treasures while illuminating the history of a gold rush town like no other.
An event in the most unlikely of places and circumstances, the Klondike gold rush was unique in the history of Canada and the development of the North. Dawson City, the "Paris of the North," was the hub of the Klondike gold rush 125 years ago. There were more saloons, gambling halls and theatres than there were places serving food, and the live theatre was at the centre of it all.
Readers will discover the icons who went from the Klondike to Hollywood including Robert Service, Jack London, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander Pantages, Sid Grauman, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Marjorie Rambeau and more.
Readers will join Gates on his cinematic journey as he ponders the question: Did the Klondike help make Hollywood, or did Hollywood make the Klondike? Crafted from Gates's first-hand experience and extensive research, "Hollywood in the Klondike" casts a spotlight on an exciting piece of Canadian (and Hollywood) history.
Critique: A seminal work that is an absolutely essential read for dedicated students of cinematic film history (and the history of Dawson City), "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" is an extraordinary and inherently fascinating account. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" is informatively enhanced with the inclusion of a five page Appendix (Gold-Mining Techniques and Terminology), a six page Bibliography, eighteen pages of Notes, and a an eight page Index. This edition of "Hollywood in the Klondike: Dawson City's Great Film Find" from Harbour Publishing is highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Cinematic History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Michael Gates (https://harbourpublishing.com/collections/michael-gates) is the Yukon story laureate. He is the author of several historical books, including From the Klondike to Berlin, which was shortlisted for the Canadian Authors Association Fred Kerner Book Award, and Dublin Gulch: The History of the Eagle Gold Mine, which received the Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for corporate history. He was formerly the curator of collections for Klondike National Historic Sites in Dawson City and pens the popular column History Hunter for the Yukon News. He lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograph
Jan Olsson
University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443, Madison, WI 53706-1418
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299339906, $79.95, HC, 312pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-life-and-afterlife-of-swedish-biograph-jan-olsson/1141872290
Synopsis: Sweden's early film industry was dominated by Swedish Biograph (Svenska Biografteatern), home to star directors like Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller. It is nostalgically remembered as the generative site of a nascent national artform, encapsulating a quintessentially Nordic aesthetic -- the epicenter of Sweden's cinematic Golden Age.
With the publication of "The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograph: From Commercial Circulation to Archival Practices", veteran film scholar and academician Jan Olsson takes a hard look at this established, romanticized narrative and offers a far more complete, complex, and nuanced story.
Nearly all of the studio's original negatives were destroyed in an explosion in 1941, but Olsson's comprehensive archival research shows how the company operated in a commercial, international arena, and how it was influenced not just by Nordic aesthetics or individual genius but also by foreign audiences' expectations, technological demands, Hollywood innovations, and the gritty back-and-forth between economic pressures, government interference, and artistic desires.
Professor Olsson's focus is wide, encompassing the studio's production practices, business affairs, and cinematographic conventions, as well as the latter-day archival efforts that both preserved and obscured parts of Swedish Biograph's story, helping construct the company's rosy legacy. The result is a necessary rewrite to Swedish film historiography and a far fuller picture of a canonical film studio.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of illustrations, three appendices, thirty-four pages of notes, a four page bibliography, and a sixteen page index, "The Life and Afterlife of Swedish Biograph: From Commercial Circulation to Archival Practices" by Professor Jan Olsson is an extraordinary work of meticulous, exhaustive, and research. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, this seminal study is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Swedish Cinematic History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Jan Olsson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Olsson_(film_scholar)) is a Swedish film scholar, professor of cinema studies and former head of department at Stockholm University. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Southern California, UCLA, Northwestern University, Utrecht University and the City University of Hong Kong. Olsson is the founding editor of John Libbey's book series Stockholm Studies in Cinema, and the founding editor of the scholarly journal Aura Film Studies Journal. Along his trajectory of archival research, he has found copies of two previously lost early films, Buster Keaton's The Cook and Fatty Arbuckle's A Reckless Romeo. He currently leads the research project "From Business Commodities to Revered Cultural Heritage: Global Media, Vernacular Strategies, and Cultural Negotiations," funded by a grant from Vetenskapsradet (the Swedish Research Council). He is also responsible editor of Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis' cinema studies series which is distributed by Stockholm University library.
The General Fiction Shelf
Terra Nova
Henriette Lazaridis
Pegasus Books
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781639362424, $25.95, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Terra-Nova-Novel-Henriette-Lazaridis/dp/1639362428
Synopsis: "Terra Nova" by novelist Henriette Lazaridis is set in the year 1910, and tells the story of two Antarctic explorers, Watts and Heywoud who are racing to the South Pole, while back in London, Viola, a photo-journalist, harbors love for them both.
Though anxious for both men, Viola has little time to pine. She is photographing hunger strikers in the suffrage movement, capturing the female nude in challenging and politically powerful ways. As she comes into her own as an artist, she's eager for recognition and to fulfill her ambitions. And then the men return, eager to share news of their triumph.
But in her darkroom, Viola discovers a lie. Watts and Heywoud have doctored their photos of the Pole to fake their success. Viola must now decide whether to betray her husband and her lover, or keep their secret and use their fame to help her pursue her artistic ambitions.
Critique: "Terra Nova" clearly reveals how Henriette Lazaridis seamlessly ushers the reader back and forth between the austere, forbidding, yet intoxicating polar landscape of Antarctica to the bustle of early twentieth century London. Deftly scripted with memorable characters and unexpected plot twists, "Terra Nova" is one of those novels that challenges its readers to consider how 'love and lies, adventure and art' can intersect. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99), "Terra Nova" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Literary Fiction collections and will prove to have an exceptional appeal to readers with an interest in 20th Century women's adventure stories.
Editorial Note: Henriette Lazaridis (www.henriettelazaridis.com) is the author of The Clover House. Her short work has appeared in ELLE, The New York Times, New England Review, The Millions, Pangyrus, and more. She has earned a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artists Grant. She is a graduate of Middlebury College, Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and the University of Pennsylvania. Having taught English at Harvard, she now teaches at GrubStreet in Boston. She founded The Drum Literary Magazine and currently runs the Krouna Writing Workshop in northern Greece. She also writes the Substack newsletter The Entropy Hotel (www.henriettelazaridis.substack.com).
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Within These Walls of Sorrow
Amanda Barratt
Kregel Publications
2450 Oak Industrial Drive, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
www.kregel.com
9780825447013, $17.99, PB, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Within-These-Walls-Sorrow-Poland/dp/0825447011
Synopsis: Zosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany's invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves. As ghetto walls rise and the occupiers tighten their grip on the city of Krakow, Zosia joins pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz and his staff in the heart of the Krakow ghetto as they risk their lives to aid the Jewish people trapped by Nazi oppression.
Hania Silverman's carefree girlhood is shattered as her own family is forced into the ghetto. Struggling to survive in a world hemmed in by walls and rife with cruelty and despair, she encounters Zosia, her former neighbor, at the pharmacy. As deportations winnow the ghetto's population and snatch those she holds dear, Hania's natural resiliency is exhausted by reality.
Zodia and Hania's lives intertwine as they face the griefs and fears thrust upon them by war, until one day, they are forced to make a desperate choice -- one that will inexorably bind them together, even as they are torn apart.
Critique: Set in World War II Poland, with the publication of "Within These Walls of Sorrow", novelist Amanda Barratt's meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing result in an emotionally moving story about a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times. A timely reminder of the evils of Nazism in view of the rising presence of authoritarianism in America over the past few years, "Within These Walls of Sorrow" is especially and unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library Historical Fiction collections. With a special appeal to readers with an interest in World War II and the Holocaust, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Within These Walls of Sorrow" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Amanda Barratt (www.amandabarratt.net) is the Christy Award-winning, ECPA best-selling author of several novels and novellas, including My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Lost Love. She is also a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a two-time FHL Reader's Choice Award finalist.
The Literary Fiction Shelf
A Bach Concert
Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu, author
Olga Rogozenco, illustrator
Gabi Reigh, translator
Center for Romanian Studies
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592111701, $29.99, HC, 244pp
https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Concert-Classics-Romanian-Literature/dp/159211170X
Synopsis: One of the first successful novels written by a female author in Romania, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu's "A Bach Concert" remains a classic work of Romanian literature. Originally published in 1927 in Romanian, the novel follows the life of the Hallipa family. The main plot revolves around a Bach concert organized by Elena Hallipa-Draganescu for the elite society of Bucharest. It's a story of high society intrigue, family tragedy, East European urban life after World War I, and culture. Published for the first time in English, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu's realistic novel will delight its readers with stories of this long-forgotten era.
Critique: Featuring illustrations by Olga Rogozenco and ably translated into English by Gabi Reigh, "A Bach Concert" by Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu will prove to be of particular appeal to readers with an interest in World War I historical romance fiction. A 'time lost' classic that is now brought back into print for a new generation of appreciative readers, "A Bach Concert" is highly recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted that "A Bach Concert" is also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note #1: Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu was born in 1876 in Galati, Romania. After her marriage with General Nicolae Papadat at only 20 years old, her literary career was stalled because of frequent military relocations and the need to care for her three children. She started publishing stories in literary magazines and in 1919 she published her first novel. Unfortunately, after a long life filled with literary accomplishments and collaborations, she died forgotten by her friends and former colleagues at the age of 79.
Editorial Note #2: Gabi Reigh won the Stephen Spender Prize for poetry translation in 2017, which inspired her to translate more Romanian literature. As part of her Interbellum Series project, she has translated interwar novels, poetry, and drama by Lucian Blaga, Liviu Rebreanu, and Mihail Sebastian, including The Town with Acacia Trees, which received a PEN Translates award. She has also translated of The Illuminated Burrow by Max Blecher (2022).
Editorial Note #3: Olga Rogozenco is a talented young artist from the Republic of Moldova.
The Last Pomegranate Tree
Bachtyar Ali, author
Kareem Abdulrahman, translator
Archipelago Books
232 Third Street #A111, Brooklyn, NY 11215
https://archipelagobooks.org
9781953861405, $24.00, PB, 321pp
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Pomegranate-Tree-Ali-Bachtyar/dp/1953861407
Synopsis: "Whenever he told lies, the birds would fly away. It had been that way since he was a child. Whenever he told a lie, something strange would happen."
So begins Bachtyar Ali's novel "The Last Pomegranate", a phantasmagoric warren of fact, fabrication, and mystical allegory, set in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein's rule and Iraq's Kurdish conflict.
Muzafar-i Subhdam, a peshmerga fighter, has spent the last twenty-one years imprisoned in a desert yearning for his son, Saryas, who was only a few days old when Muzafar was captured. Upon his release, Muzafar begins a frantic search, only to learn that Saryas was one of three identical boys who became enmeshed in each other's lives as war mutilated the region.
An inlet to the recesses of a terrifying historical moment, and a philosophical journey of formidable depths, "The Last Pomegranate" interrogates the origins and reverberations of atrocity while also probing, with a graceful intelligence, unforgettable acts of mercy.
Critique: A deftly scripted chronicle of war and an a memorable story of love between a father and his son from one of Iraq's most celebrated contemporary writers,"The Last Pomegranate" by Bachtyar Ali (and ably translated from Kardish into English by Abdulrahman) is an eloquent and deftly crafted work of literature that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf. While readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99) from Archipelago Books, "The Last Pomegranate Tree" is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library Literary Fiction collections.
Editorial Note #1: Bachtyar Ali (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachtyar_Ali) is one of the most prominent contemporary authors and poets from Iraqi Kurdistan. He has written over 40 books of fiction, poetry, and criticism, including 12 novels, and has been widely translated, a renown very few authors writing in the Kurdish language enjoy. In 2017, he was awarded the Nelly Sachs Prize, joining past recipients such as Milan Kundera, Margaret Atwood and Javier Marías. He is the first author writing in a non-European language to do so. In 2009, Ali received the first HARDI Literature Prize, part of the largest cultural festival in the Kurdish part of Iraq. In 2014, he was also awarded the newly established Sherko Bekas Literature Prize.
Editorial Note #2: Currently residing in London, Kareem Abdulrahman is a translator who has also worked as a Kurdish media and political analyst for the BBC. His translation of Bakhtiyar Ali's "I Stared at the Night of the City" was the first Kurdish novel to be translated into English. (https://www.catranslation.org/person/kareem-abdulrahman)
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
One Duke Down
Anna Bennett
St. Martin's Press
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250793935, $8.99, PB, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/One-Duke-Down-Rogues-Lovers/dp/1250793939
Synopsis: Miss Poppy Summers is determined to keep her family's fishing business afloat. Her poor widowed father has fallen ill, and her foolhardy brother has moved to London, leaving her precious little time to read or pursue her own dreams. But she'll do anything for her family, so she cheerfully spends mornings in her rowboat, casting her nets. The very last thing Poppy expects or wants to find tangled in them is a dangerously attractive man. Especially one with a head wound -- who's convinced he's a duke.
Andrew Keane is the Duke of Hawking, but he's having the devil of a time convincing his fiery-haired rescuer of that fact. The truth is he came to the seaside resort of Bellehaven Bay to escape his life in London. Unfortunately, someone in Bellehaven wants to kill him -- and he intends to find out who. He implores Poppy to tend to his injuries and hide him on her beach, reasoning it will be easier to find his attacker if that man assumes Keane is already dead. She wants no part of the scheme but can't refuse the generous sum he offers in exchange for food and shelter while he recovers. It's a mutually beneficial business arrangement... nothing more.
Under Poppy's care, Keane regains his strength and a sense of purpose. As they work together to solve the puzzle of his would-be murderer, he's dazzled by her rapier wit and adventurous spirit; she's intrigued by his mysterious air and protective streak. Though Poppy's past gives her every reason to mistrust someone like Keane, the seawalls around her heart crumble in the storm of their passion. But when clues hint at the prime suspect in Keane's attempted murder, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie. Torn between the world she's always known and the one she's always dreamed of, she'll need true love for a shot at her fairytale ending.
Critique a fun read that will have a very special appeal for those with an interest in Regency romance novels, "One Duke Down: A Rogues to Lovers Novel" by Anna Bennett will prove to be a welcome and entertaining addition to personal reading lists and community library Historical Romance Fiction collections. It should be noted that "One Duke Down: A Rogues to Lovers Novel" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).
Editorial Note: Anna Bennett (https://us.macmillan.com/author/annabennett) is also the author of the Debutante Diaries and Wayward Wallflowers series.
Make a Wish
Helena Hunting
Griffin
c/o St. Martin's Press
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250624741, $16.99, PB, 368pp
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Wish-Helena-Hunting/dp/1250624746
Synopsis: Ever have a defining life moment you wish you could do over? Harley Spark has one. The time she almost kissed the widowed father of the toddler she nannied for. It was so bad they moved across the state and she never saw them again.
Fast forward seven years and she's totally over it. At least she thinks she is. Until Gavin Rhodes and his adorable now nine-year-old daughter, Peyton, reappear at a princess-themed birthday party hosted by Spark House, Harley's family's event hotel. Despite trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation, she can't help but notice how unbearably sexy he looks in a tutu. Add to that a spontaneous hives breakout, and it's clear she's not even remotely over the mortification of her egregious error all those years ago.
Except Gavin seems oblivious to her inner turmoil. So much so that he suggests they get together for lunch. For Peyton's sake, of course. It's the perfect opportunity to heal old wounds. Or it could just reopen them. This is one of those times Harley wishes she could see the future!
Critique: A fun read from cover to cover, "Make A Wish" by Helena Hunting is a romance lover's delight. This is one of those novels that is laced with humor and the kind of happy ending that lingers in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf. While very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedy collections, it should be noted that "Make A Wish" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).
Editorial Note: Helena Hunting (https://helenahunting.com) writes all things romance -- contemporary, romantic comedy, sports and angsty new adult. Some of her books include Meet Cute, Pucked, and Shacking Up.
The Western Fiction Shelf
Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West
Matthew P. Mayo
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432898090, $25.95, HC, 303pp
https://www.amazon.com/Half-Pig-Other-Stories-West/dp/1432898094
Synopsis: "Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West" is a collection of eighteen frontier tales by Matthew P. Mayo that includes his previously unpublished novella, "Trouble at Tall Pine", starring ever-popular Roamer, noble loner forever trying to lose himself in the West.
In this special anthology the reader will find the lynching-inspired Spur Award finalist title story, 'Half a Pig'; the bone-cold, eye-for-an-eye drama of Will Rogers Medallion Award-winning 'Peaches'; the clanking, clockwork gundown of Peacemaker Award finalist 'Scourge of the Spoils'; and numerous other critically acclaimed short stories, including the noir-tinged pages of 'Snows of Montana' and 'Snake Farm.'
The there's the classic Western barroom showdown in 'Just Once,' the time-travel nightmare of 'Been a Long Time,' and the brutal hunter/hunted chase novella 'Bloodline.' The freaky shaman's subterranean rituals in 'The Witch Hole' rival the grim comeuppance of a truly bad seed in 'Pay the Ferryman.' And then there's the mysterious journal of the gritty disappearance of an inveterate rover in 'Lucky Tam'.
Of special note is the inclusion of five bold and brassy adventures of that silent, noble loner, Roamer, and his jug-hoisting mentor, crusty mountain man, Maple Jack, including the heretofore unpublished 'Trouble at Tall Pine.
"Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West" is a memorable compendium of short stories that are as varied and as surprising as the assortment of bottles lining the mirror-backed bar in Lucky's Gambling Hall and Saloon!
Critique: A fun and memorable read throughout, "Half a Pig and Other Stories of the West", is an anthology of short stories by western author Matthew P. Mayo that is particularly and especially recommended for both personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Matthew P. Mayo (www.MatthewMayo.com) is the author of thirty-plus books and dozens more short stories. His novel, "Stranded: A Story of Frontier Survival" won the prestigious Western Heritage Wrangler Award for Outstanding Western Novel by the National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum, as well as the Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction by the Western Writers of America. His novel, "Tucker's Reckoning" won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel, and his short stories have been Spur Award and Peacemaker Award finalists.
Killstraight Returns
Johnny D. Boggs
Five Star Publishing
c/o Gale Cengage Learning, Inc.
20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210
https://www.gale.com/five-star
www.cengageptr.com
9781432899912, $25.95, HC, 253pp
https://www.amazon.com/Killstraight-Returns-Daniel-Novel/dp/1432899910
Synopsis: Returning home to the Comanche reservation after spending seven years learning the ways of the white man, Daniel Killstraight discovers that his childhood friend Jimmy has been hanged for a crime he did not commit and agrees to help Jimmy's mother prove her late son's innocence -- even at the risk of his own life.
Critique: Part of western author Johnny D. Boggs' Daniel Killstraight series, "Killstraight Returns" is set in the 1892 Comanche reservation in southern Oklahoma and offers the reader a deftly crafted adventure story with a Native American as the hero. Entertaining, compelling, deftly crafted, and highly recommended for community library Western Fiction collections, it should be noted for fans of western action/adventure stories that "Killstraight Returns" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99).
Editorial Note: Johnny D. Boggs (www.johnnydboggs.com) has won six Spur Awards from Western Writers of America, a Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and has been called by Booklist magazine "among the best western writers at work today". He also writes for numerous magazines, including True West, Wild West, Boys' Life and Western Art & Architecture, speaks and lectures often, studies old movies (Westerns and film noir).
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
The Penguin Pool Murder
Stuart Palmer, author
American Mystery Classics
c/o The Mysterious Press
http://mysteriouspress.com
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781613163894, $25.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Pool-Murder-Stuart-Palmer/dp/1613163894
Synopsis: For the third graders at Jefferson School, a field trip is always a treat. But one day at the New York Aquarium, they get much more excitement than they bargained for. A pickpocket sprints past, stolen purse in hand, and is making his way to the exit when their teacher, the prim Hildegarde Withers, knocks him down with her umbrella.
By the time the police and the security guards finish arguing about what to do with Chicago Lew, he has escaped, and Miss Withers has found something far more interesting: a murdered stockbroker floating in the penguin tank. With the help of Detective Oscar Piper, this no-nonsense spinster embarks on her first of many adventures. The mystery is baffling, the killer dangerous, but for a woman who can control a gaggle of noisy third graders, murder isn't frightening at all.
Critique: A fun read for all dedicated fans of 'whodunnit' mysteries featuring amateur women sleuths, "The Penguin Pool Murder" by Stuart Palmer is part of the Hildegarde Withers Mysteries series, which also includes Murder on the Blackboard and Murder on Wheels. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading list that "The Penguin Pool Murder" is also available in a paperback edition (9781613163979, $15.95), in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.990, and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Brilliance Audio, 9781531816032, $9.99, MP3-CD)
Editorial Note: Stuart Palmer (June 21, 1905 - February 4, 1968) was an American author of mysteries. Born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Palmer worked a number of odd jobs including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting, before publishing his first novel, the crime drama Ace of Jades, in 1931. It was with his second novel, however, that he established his writing career: The Penguin Pool Murder introduced Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who, on a field trip to the New York Aquarium, discovers a dead body in the pool. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels, including Miss Withers Regrets (1947) and Nipped in the Bud (1951). A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books, including The Penguin Pool Murder, were filmed by RKO Pictures Inc. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Palmer)
The Album
Mary Roberts Rinehart
American Mystery Classics
c/o The Mysterious Press
http://mysteriouspress.com
9781613163610, $25.95, HC, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Album-Mary-Roberts-Rinehart/dp/1613163614
Synopsis: Even in the early 1930s, Crescent Place is a neighborhood out of the past. The five Victorian mansions and the remote patch of pasture placed between them have the air of the 1890s, even as the city (once miles away from this idyllic retreat) encroaches and surrounds the enclave. But while these rarified residences may appear calm on the outside, their isolated interiors contain dark secrets, prolonged feuds, and generations of high-toned trouble.
In these houses are a husband and wife who fight constantly, and another couple who hasn't spoken to each other in two decades. There is a widow in permanent mourning and a daughter whom the newspapers call psychotic. And there is a bedridden old woman who is about to be killed with an ax.
When her murder shatters the well-mannered quiet of the cul-de-sac, the tabloids delight in trumpeting Crescent Place's peculiarities. But as the search for the killer intensifies, it becomes clear that the area's strangest secrets have yet to be revealed.
Critique: A suspenseful and 'yesteryear' mystery that enriched for the reader by sly social satire and set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, "The Album" is a memorable and classic whodunnit by the late Mary Roberts Rinehart -- one of the most beloved and popular mystery authors of the Golden Age era. While strongly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated historical mystery and amateur sleuthing fans that "The Album" is also available in a paperback edition (9781613163627, $15.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).
Editorial Note: Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876 - September 22, 1958) was the most beloved and best-selling mystery writer in America in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Pittsburgh to the owner of a sewing machine factory, she wrote fiction in her spare time until a stock market crash sent her and her husband into debt, forcing her to lean on her writing to pay the bills. Her first two novels, The Circular Staircase (1908) and The Man in Lower Ten (1909), established her as a bright young talent, and it wasn't long before she was a regular on bestseller lists. Among her dozens of novels were The Amazing Adventures of Letitia Carberry (1911) and The Bat (1932), which was among the inspirations for Bob Kane's Batman. Today, Rinehart is often called an American Agatha Christie, even though she was much more popular than Christie during her heyday. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Roberts_Rinehart)
Murder in the Manger
Debbie Young
Boldwood
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781804830772, $41.00, PB, Large Print, 328pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-the-manger-debbie-young/1135522985
Synopsis: When Sophie Sayers' plans for a cosy English country Christmas are interrupted by the arrival of her ex-boyfriend, her troubles are only just beginning. Before long, the whole village stands accused of murder.
Damian says he's come to direct the village nativity play, but Sophie thinks he's up to no good. What are those noises coming from his van? Who is the stranger lurking in the shadows? And whose baby, abandoned in the manger, disappears in plain sight?
Critique: With the publication of this large print paperback edition of "Murder in the Manger", the legions of Debbie Young fans will enjoy the fun of a traditional Cotswold festive season, as Sophie seeks a happy ending for her latest village mystery -- and for her new romance with charming local bookseller Hector Munro. A mastery of the cozy mystery genre, Debbie Young never disappoints, making "Murder in the Manger" a welcome addition to personal reading lists and a 'must' for community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: When Debbie Young (https://authordebbieyoung.com) is the UK Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), a course tutor for Jericho Writers, and the author of several instructive guidebooks for authors. In 2015 she founded the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival in her home village in the Cotswolds. The Festival now takes the form of a year-round series of talks on different themes and genres, each featuring at least three guest authors, with me in the chair. See www.hulitfest.com for more details.
The Archaeology Shelf
The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages
Edoardo Albert, author
Paul Gething, author
Birlinn
c/o Pen & Sword Books
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781780277844, $29.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Sword-Forging-Dark-Ages/dp/1780277849
Synopsis: In 2000, archaeologist Paul Gething rediscovered a sword. An unprepossessing length of rusty metal, it had been left in a suitcase for thirty years. But Paul had a suspicion that the sword had more to tell than appeared, so he sent it for specialist tests. When the results came back, he realized that what he had in his possession was possibly the finest, and certainly the most complex, sword ever made, a sword which had been forged in seventh-century Northumberland by an anonymous swordsmith.
With the publication of "The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages", co-authors Edoardo Albert and Paul Gething relate the story of the Bamburgh Sword -- of how and why it was made, who made it and what it meant to the warriors and kings who wielded it over three centuries. It is also the remarkable story of the archaeologists and swordsmiths who found, studied and attempted to recreate the weapon using only the materials and technologies available to the original smith.
Critique: The story of the Bamburgh Sword (arguably one of the finest Medieval swords ever forged), "The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages" features an insert section of color photographs, maps, an Epilogue (The Perfect Sword), a three page listing of Acknowledgments, and an eight page Index. Informative and deftly presented, "The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages" will prove to be a welcome addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Medieval History & Archaeology collections. It should be noted that "The Perfect Sword: Forging the Dark Ages" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $21.95).
Editorial Note #1: Edoardo Albert (https://edoardoalbert.com) is a London-based writer of Italian and Sri Lankan extraction who specialises in religion, travel and archaeology. His previous books include: Warrior: A Life of War in Anglo-Saxon Britain and Northumbria: The Lost Kingdom, both of which he co-authored with Paul Gething.
Editorial Note #2: Paul Gething (https://birlinn.co.uk/contributor/paul-gething) is Director of the Bamburgh Research Project. He studied Archaeological Science at the University of Sheffield and began excavating in 1987. Since then, he has worked in the Middle East, North Africa, France, Spain and the length and breadth of the UK. He has written for History, Current Archaeology, The Great Outdoors and Time Out.
The Political Science Shelf
Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy
Daniel Drache, author
Marc D. Froese, author
ECW Press
www.ecwpress.com
9781770417052, $19.95, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Has-Populism-Won-Liberal-Democracy/dp/1770417052
Synopsis: From Trumpian America to Putin's nationalist Russia, and from Poland to the Philippines, rapid change and rising inequality have fueled a retreat into tribalist nationalism fed by a fear of being left behind.
Populist and authoritarian leaders reach into this fear, using it as a lever to power with empty promises of looking out for the little person and promising a return to national greatness. This is happening in countries spread across the globe and the political spectrum, arising in the right and the left alike, and recently brought into harsh relief against Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine. So why are we so susceptible to this pernicious political style at this moment? How did we get here? And more importantly, will we get back to more even-handed governments?
Filled with original research, political scientists, with the publication of "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy", co-authors Daniel Drache and Marc Froese collaboratively present an insightful, chilling and compelling analysis of the rise of populism, and reveal what it will take to douse the flames.
Critique: "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy" is essential reading for those with concern about the proliferating encroachments on democratic freedoms and the rule of law in the United States and around the world. Informative enhanced with the inclusion of an Introduction (A Warning), two Appendices, a two page bibliography of Further Readings, and a twelve page Index, "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy" is unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Contemporary Political Science collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Has Populism Won?: The War on Liberal Democracy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.95).
Editorial Note #1: Daniel Drache (https://danieldrache.com) is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and a Senior Research Fellow at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University in Toronto. He is also the author of over twenty books on social policy and international affairs.
Editorial Note #2: Marc D. Froese (https://www.burmanu.ca/directory/marc-froese) is the Professor of Political Science and the Founding Director of the International Studies Program at Burman University in Alberta. He is also the author of three books and dozens of articles on international trade and political economy.
The Seven Democratic Virtues
Christopher Beem
Penn State University Press
820 North University Drive, University Park, PA 16802-1003
www.psupress.org
9780271093949, $29.95, HC, 236pp
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Democratic-Virtues-Tribalism-Democracy/dp/0271093943
Synopsis: The insurrection of January 6, 2021, demonstrated conclusively that tribalism in the United States has become dangerous. The "other side" is no longer viewed as a well-intentioned opponent but as an existential threat. If we don't change course, the survival of American democracy is far from assured.
With the publication of "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy", Christopher Beem outlines specific steps that average citizens can take to back the nation away from the brink.
Instead of looking to political leaders, institutions, or policy for solutions to extreme partisanship, Christopher Beem argues that concerned citizens can and must take up the cause. He spells out seven civic practices we can all follow that will help us work against our antidemocratic tendencies and reorient the nation toward the "more perfect union" of our Founders. Beem's road map to restore our democracy draws on thinkers from Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas to James Madison, Hannah Arendt, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Empathetic and eminently reasonable, "The Seven Democratic Virtues" presents practical advice for what each of us can do to change the political discourse and save our democracy. This is necessary reading for our politics today -- and in the future.
Critique: A timely contribution to our national discourse with respect of the great chasm of disinformation created divisions currently threatening the continuation of such essential pillars of a democratic society as the peaceful transfer of power based on free and fair elections, "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy" is an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Political Science collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Deserving of as wide a readership as possible, it should be noted for students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy" can be a substantial tool in preserving our democracy in the face of insurrectionists -- including those still serving in the Federal Congress and in state governments at the present time.
Editorial Note: Christopher Beem (https://democracy.psu.edu/people/cxb518) is Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, Associate Research Professor of Political Science, and Affiliate Faculty in the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State. He is also the author or co-editor of five books, including The Necessity of Politics: Reclaiming American Public Life and Democratic Humility: Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America's Political Crisis. Further, he is a co-host of the Democracy Works podcast and a frequent contributor to The Conversation.
The Agriculture Shelf
Postharvest Pathology of Fruit and Nut Crops
James E. Adaskaaveg, editor
Helga Forster, editor
Dov B. Prusky, editor
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
https://www.apsnet.org/publications/apspress/Pages/default.aspx
9780890546673, $195.00 (APS Members, $175.00), HC, 606pp
https://my.apsnet.org/APSStore/Product-Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=2661527A-8D44-496C-A730-8CFEB6239BE7&iProductCode=46673
Synopsis: Postharvest pathology is one of the most essential considerations in producing an agricultural commodity and is critical in minimizing not only crop losses but also the entire economic investment related to growing, harvesting, packing, transporting, and marketing a commodity. Understanding postharvest pathology is crucial for providing fresh, unspoiled produce to consumers.
"Postharvest Pathology of Fruit and Nut Crops: Principles, Concepts, and Management Practices" from APS is the most complete guide to postharvest diseases ever published. This new and comprehensive volume provides current reports of postharvest diseases of fruit and nut crops around the world.
Part I offers an overview of postharvest pathology principles, concepts, and management strategies, including alternative approaches that have emerged in response to the increasing number of fungicide-resistant fungal strains and growing concerns about the effects of fungicides on human health and the environment. Part II discusses postharvest diseases of fruit and nut crops of temperate zones, and Part III focuses on fruit crops of semi-arid, subtropical, and tropical zones.
The 20 crop-specific chapters in Parts II and III are organized similarly and provide descriptions of the importance and cultivation of the crop and reviews of related major and minor postharvest diseases, covering the etiology of the causal agent, disease symptoms, disease cycles, and epidemiology. Each chapter concludes with the latest integrated management practices, including biological, chemical, and cultural treatments. Two appendixes catalog fungal pathogens that cause diseases of selected fruit and nut crops and bacterial pathogens that cause diseases of selected fruit crops.
Collaborative editors James E. Adaskaveg, Helga Forster, and Dov B. Prusky have compiled information drawn from 36 researchers with a wide knowledge of specific crops to complete this study, which serves as a single and singular resource for researchers, growers, and students looking for the most up-to-date knowledge about postharvest diseases.
Critique: Informatively illustrated in full color with respect to 270 illustrations of plant disease symptoms and disease cycles, "Postharvest Pathology of Fruit and Nut Crops: Principles, Concepts, and Management Practices" is a fundamental and unreservedly recommended addition to professional and academic library "Agricultural Studies" instructional reference collections and essential for readers with an interest in the occurrence, spread, and management of postharvest diseases, the latest nomenclatural information of fungal and bacterial pathogens.
Editorial Note #1: James E. Adaskaveg received his B.S. degree in agronomy in 1982 at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology in 1984 and 1986, respectively, at the University of Arizona, Tucson. He was post-doctoral researcher and subsequently research plant pathologist/lecturer in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis, from 1986 to 1990 and 1990 to 1995, respectively. In 1995, Adaskaveg joined the faculty of the Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, where he is currently professor of plant pathology with statewide responsibilities in tree fruit and nut pathology. He received the Almond Research Appreciation Award in 1997 for his investigation of almond anthracnose, the Cherry Man of the Year Award in 2003 for his pre- and postharvest research on brown rot of sweet cherry, and the Albert G. Salter Memorial Award in 2006 for his research on Septoria spot and postharvest decays of citrus. For the last 3 years, he has been the scientific advisor for USDA-APHIS in negotiations with the Korean government on the exportation of California oranges to Korea.
Editorial Note #2: Helga Forster (https://www.zoominfo.com/p/Helga-Forster/1242453098) Helga Forster is a Department of Plant Pathology at UC Riverside based in Riverside, California.
Editorial Note #3: Dov B. Prusky (https://www.agri.gov.il/en/people/744.aspx) is with the Agricultural Research Organization (the Volcani Center) and the author of numerous science papers on the etiology and control of postharvest losses in deciduous and subtropical fruits by integration of pre-and postharvest treatments.
A Farmer's Guide to Wheat Diseases
Damon Smith, et al.
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
https://www.apsnet.org/publications/apspress/Pages/default.aspx
9780890546512, $35.95, PB, 168pp
https://my.apsnet.org/APSStore/Product-Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=2661527A-8D44-496C-A730-8CFEB6239BE7&iProductCode=46512KIT
https://www.amazon.com/Farmers-Guide-Wheat-Diseases/dp/0890546517
Synopsis: With easy-to-use keys and cross-referencing tools that enhance efficient diagnosis, "A Farmer's Guide to Wheat Diseases" helps wheat growers to pinpoint diseases and disorders in the field. The management recommendations offered are intentionally general and meant to give wheat growers and consulting wheat crop specialists a starting place to discuss more localized treatment recommendations with Extension or crop specialists in their region.
Critique: Comprehensive, informatively illustrated in full color throughout, "A Farmer's Guide to Wheat Diseases" is expertly compiled by Damon Smith and features expert commentaries by nine contributors. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "A Farmer's Guide to Wheat Diseases" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' and recommended addition to personal, professional, college, and university library Agriculture/Horticultural collections -- and a 'must' for anyone involved with the raising of wheat fields.
Editorial Note: Damon Smith (https://plantpath.wisc.edu/faculty/damon-smith-2) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, fourth edition
Lane P. Tredway, et al.
APS Press
3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121
https://www.apsnet.org/publications/apspress/Pages/default.aspx
9780890546871, $79.00, PB, 188pp
https://my.apsnet.org/APSStore/Product-Detail.aspx?WebsiteKey=2661527A-8D44-496C-A730-8CFEB6239BE7&iProductCode=46871
Synopsis: Many advances in turfgrass pathology have occurred since publication of the third edition in 2005, calling for a revised edition. Approximately half of the fourth edition text is new or revised, with more than 200 new, high-quality figures have been added -- including disease symptom images, photomicrographs, pathogen drawings, and disease cycle diagrams.
The new edition of "Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases" is a thorough resource on turfgrass diseases, their pathogenic causes, and their effective management. The editors' combined experience, which exceeds 100 years, paired with contributions from 23 U.S. scientists and specialists ensures the utmost accuracy.
While previous editions focused on diseases of cool-season grasses grown in northern, temperate climates, this newly published fourth edition also emphasizes warm-season turfgrass diseases, which will benefit scientists and practitioners in all climates. This new edition also covers approximately 75 diseases and abiotic disorders, with detailed descriptions of characteristic symptoms and causal agents. The cycle and the epidemiology of each disease are described, with emphasis on the conditions that stimulate disease development -- helping to prevent disease altogether.
The compendium is organized into four parts: infectious diseases, noninfectious agents, disease management, and disease diagnosis. Topics include turfgrass characteristics, the damage caused by noninfectious agents in the turfgrass ecosystem, the ecology and taxonomy of fungi pathogenic to turfgrasses, research-based integrated management approaches (emphasizing the use of resistant cultivars or species, cultural management practices, and proper timing of fungicide application when necessary), and basic diagnostic procedures.
This extended study also includes an introduction, appendix, glossary, and index. Plus, references sections throughout the book include key sources for further reading on each topic, providing a gateway to the primary literature on turfgrass diseases.
"Compendium of Turfgrasses" is a practical and technical reference, blending descriptive terminology with the technical language of plant pathology to accommodate all knowledge levels within the diverse audience of practitioners, academics, and industry workers involved in fine turf.
Critique: The collaborative work of Lane P. Tredway, Maria Tomaso-Peterson, James P. Kerns, and Bruce B. Clarke, "Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases" is now available in a fully updated and expanded fourth addition, making it a must-have reference for golf course superintendents, lawn care professionals, grounds managers, sports field managers, sod growers, agronomists, turfgrass consultants, educators, turfgrass scientists, plant pathologists, Extension professionals, plant disease diagnosticians, undergraduate/graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, R&D scientist sales representatives, technical representatives, technical managers, brand managers, and turf fertilizer and turf products marketing managers.
Editorial Note: For more than a century, members of APS have been making and sharing significant breakthroughs, both for science and society. APS is driven by a distinctive community of scientists, whose energy and commitment ensure the global advancement of agricultural science. APS members represent a broad range of specialties, from pushing frontiers in the accuracy and speed of field diagnosis, to increasing our understanding of plant pathology through laboratory research. Members come from academia, government, industry, and private practice. The diversity of the members and science makes the society pertinent to a multitude of research areas, while the international involvement ensures that the latest innovations from around the world are available to all.
The Travel Shelf
The Ethical Traveler
Imogen Lepere
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
300 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor, New York, NY 10010
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781925811988, $16.95, HC, 108pp
https://www.amazon.com/Ethical-Traveler-World-Without-Ruining/dp/1925811980
Synopsis: Travel can be fun, informative and life-event memorable, but there are hidden costs to your trips that go deeper than your pockets. From potential impacts on the environment or the communities we visit to respecting others' cultures, taking a moment to consider our choices can make a real impact on the planet and other people.
Whether it's doing the research to make sure the money we pay to see wild animals isn't going into the pockets of those abusing them or forgoing the familiarity of Starbucks for local restaurants, there are countless ways we can travel more consciously.
"The Ethical Traveler: 100 Ways to Roam the World (Without Ruining It!)" by experienced travel writer Imogen Lepere offers 100 specific tips to help protect the planet, support communities, and plan trips that are more mindful for anyone who wants to explore the world while conserving everything that makes it so special.
Critique: Simply stated, "The Ethical Traveler: 100 Ways to Roam the World (Without Ruining It!)" should be considered essential reading for anyone traveling across the city, across the state, across the country, or across the world -- especially when visiting another country with its customs and culture different from the traveler's own. The tips are simple, succinct, and come with a full color illustration. Of special note is the informative introduction and the opening section of advice on 'How To Use This Book'. "The Ethical Traveler" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Ecotourism and General Travel Guide collections.
Editorial Note: Imogen Lepere (https://www.imogenleperewriter.com) is an award-winning travel writer based in London who specializes in food, female empowerment, and community. Her previous adventures include living with a commune on a Thai island, couch surfing around Scandinavia, riding the Trans-Mongolian Railway, sailing to Indonesia's Spice Islands, and a summer spent with a nudist colony in Greece.
The Architecture Shelf
RESIDENSITY: A Carbon Analysis of Residential Typologies
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
ORO Editions
31 Commerical Blvd., Suite F, Novato, CA 94949
www.oroeditions.com
9781954081390, $35.00, PB, 188pp
https://www.amazon.com/RESIDENSITY-Carbon-Analysis-Residential-Typologies/dp/1954081391
Synopsis: With the publication of "RESIDENSITY: A Carbon Analysis of Residential Typologies", Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture investigates how much embodied and consumed carbon is used in each typology and how it affects density and open space from the viewpoint of sustainability, carbon emissions, and carbon sequestration.
A superbly organized and presented study that determines which building typology is the most sustainable on a comparative basis. Nine prototypical buildings were designed (Megatall, Supertall, High-Rise, Mid-Rise, Low-rise, Courtyard, Three-Flat, Urban Single-Family, and Suburban Single-Family) set within nine prototypical communities. The informative study designates an archetypal residential community of 2,000 units with an average unit size of 150 sm as a reasonable and representative cross section of different housing typologies.
Critique: Simply stated, "RESIDENSITY: A Carbon Analysis of Residential Typologies" is a seminal and ground breaking study that is an especially and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, college, and university library Contemporary Residential Architecture Studies and Urban Land Use Planning collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is dedicated to the design of high-performance, energy-efficient, and sustainable architecture on an international scale. The firm approaches each project, regardless of size or scale, with an understanding that architecture has a unique power to influence civic life. The firm was founded in 2006 by partners Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill and Robert Forest. Today there are 100 employees in offices in Chicago and Beijing.
The Innovative Urban Workplace
Nina Rapport, editor
Stella Xu, editor
Yale School of Architecture
c/o Actar Publishers
440 Park Avenue S, 17th FL, New York, NY 10016
http://actar.com
9781638400806, $30.00, PB, 200pp
https://www.amazon.com/Innovative-Urban-Workplace-Distinguished-Architecture/dp/1638400806
Synopsis: The Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Architecture Fellowship studio with Abby Hamlin (founder of Hamlin Ventures, Dana Tang '95, architect and partner at Gluckman Tang Architects), and Andrei Harwell (senior critic in architecture at Yale studio) investigated the role of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York City in order to understand and meet the BNY's mission and design distinctive solutions that speak to the type of workplace needed in an urban development today.
Students in the studio identified potential urban business models that address future relationships between places of production and consumption. They looked at comparable waterfront development projects and addressed issues including flood mitigation and environmental remediation in their proposals.
Critique: Exceptionally well organized and enhanced for the reader with illustrations, "The Innovative Urban Workplace" is collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Nina Rappaport and Stella Xu. Impressively informative, "The Innovative Urban Workplace" is a specialist and unreservedly recommended addition to professional and academic library Contemporary Architecture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Nina Rappaport (http://ninarappaport.com/main.html?id=1) is an architectural critic, curator, and educator. She is also the publications director at Yale School of Architecture and editor of the biannual publication Constructs (numbering 35), the exhibition catalogs (numbering 48), as well as the school's book series (22 to date).
The World History Shelf
Onwards to Omdurman
Keith Surridge
Helion and Company
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781915070517, $45.00, PB, 170pp
https://www.amazon.com/Onwards-Omdurman-Anglo-Egyptian-Reconquer-1896-1898/dp/1915070511
Synopsis: On 2 September 1898, the Anglo-Egyptian army under General Kitchener crushed the Mahdist Sudanese army of the Khalifa Abdallahi at the battle of Omdurman. Depictions of the battle, in books and films, have too often depicted it as the hapless slaughter of the Mahdists by a modern, well-equipped professional army.
With the publication of "Onwards to Omdurman: The Anglo-Egyptian Campaign to Reconquer the Sudan, 1896-1898", Keith Surridge seeks to show, however, that the battle was not a foregone conclusion and that the result might have been closer if the Mahdists had conformed to their battle-plan. By examining the battle in fair detail, the book emphasizes that the Mahdists battle plan was poorly executed, hence their defeat. Although it took another year before the Khalifa was defeated and killed, the battle at Omdurman ended a two-year campaign that had utilized the power of modern Victorian technology.
To fully understand how and why an Anglo-Egyptian army arrived to fight at Omdurman, "Onwards to Omdurman" takes a fresh look at the Sudan campaign as a whole, because it provides an excellent example of how modern technology was used to overcome the vagaries of the desert and the river Nile. Thus, railway lines were built to bring troops and supplies across the desert. Communications were enhanced by miles of telegraph wire. Control of the Nile was ensured by British-built gunboats, armed with machine guns and artillery.
While the Anglo-Egyptian army carried modern rifles, machine guns and artillery. Kitchener had witnessed Britain's failed Sudan campaign in 1884-85 to rescue General Gordon trapped in Khartoum by Mahdist forces, because of too much haste and not enough forethought. Kitchener did not make the same mistakes. Moreover, he and his officers never underestimated the fighting prowess of their enemy.
Before Kitchener's campaign is examined, however, "Onwards to Omdurman" provides context by discussing how and why Britain was involved in Egypt and why the decision was made to invade Mahdist Sudan. It then considers the political, social and military organization of the Khalifa's domain. Also examined is the Egyptian army and provided are details on the British contingent. The various stages of Kitchener's advance are then discussed.
"Onwards to Omdurman" is based on British accounts from unpublished material in archives and published contemporary works, for they are readily available. Where possible, this military history takes into account the Mahdist perspective by using the available published sources and the Intelligence reports prepared from information supplied by Sudanese agents and informers.
Critique: A minor masterpiece of illustrated historical research, "Onwards to Omdurman: The Anglo-Egyptian Campaign to Reconquer the Sudan, 1896-1898" is an invaluable contribution that will prove to be an enduringly appreciated and valued contribution to personal, professional, community, and academic library British and Egyptian military history collections in general, and the British/Egyptian Sudan campaign in particular.
Editorial Note: Keith Surridge (https://london.nd.edu/about/faculty/keith-surridge) gained his BA in history at Queen Mary College, London in 1989, and his Ph.D at King's College, London in 1994. Since 1993, he has taught aspects of British history at various American university programs in London. His books include Managing the South African War, 1899-1902. Politicians vs Generals (1998) and with Denis Judd, The Boer War (2002). He has also published many articles on aspects of the South African war 1899-1902 and on the British army and imperialism during the late-nineteenth century.
Augustus at War: The Struggle for the Pax Augusta
Lindsay Powell
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399023368, $28.95, PB, 496pp
https://www.amazon.com/Augustus-War-Struggle-Pax-Augusta/dp/1399023365
Synopsis: The Latin words Pax Augusta (or Pax Romana) evoke a period of uninterrupted peace across the vast Roman Empire. With the publication of "Augustus at War: The Struggle for the Pax Augusta", author and historian Lindsay Powell exposes the truth for the lie that it is. Almost every year between 31 BC and AD 14 the Roman Army was in action somewhere, either fighting enemies beyond the frontier in punitive raids or for outright conquest; but it was also entangled in suppressing rebellions within the borders -- or itself on the verge of mutiny.
Remarkably over the same period Augustus succeeded in nearly doubling the size of the Empire, outperforming either Pompey the Great or Julius Caesar for conquests. How did Augustus, a second-rate field commander, and a man known to become physically ill before and during battle, achieve such extraordinary success? Did he, in fact, have a grand strategy?
The decisions Augustus made determined the future of the empire -- and of the Europe which followed. Powell reveals Augustus as a brilliant strategist and manager of war. As commander-in-chief he made changes to the political and military institutions to keep the empire together -- and to hold on to power.
His genius was to build a team of semi-autonomous legati (deputies) to ensure internal security and to fight his wars for him. Often bound by ties of blood and marriage, but above all loyalty, these men (more than 50 of whom are profiled in this volume) fought for Augustus, who claimed for himself the credit for their achievements.
Critique: Lucidly written by the author of the acclaimed biographies "Marcus Agrippa" and "Germanicus", and drawing upon archaeology, art, coins, inscriptions and documents of the period, Lindsay Powell with "Augustus at War: The Struggle for the Pax Augusta" presents a new and provocative assessment of the men and events shaping a crucial period in world history, which still reverberates down to our own time. Informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of informative illustrations, military symbols, tables, a section of color plates, four appendices, sixty-one pages of Notes, a 30 page Bibliography, and a twenty-six page Index, "Augustus at War: The Struggle for the Pax Augusta" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community and academic library Ancient Roman History collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Augustus at War: The Struggle for the Pax Augusta" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Lindsay Powell (https://lindsay-powell.com) is a historian and writer who has a passion for the history of the Roman Empire. He is news editor of Ancient History and Ancient Warfare magazines. His appearances include BBC Radio, Dan Snow's HistoryHit, and the History Channel. He is also the author of Eager For Glory; Germanicus, and Marcus Agrippa (all from Pen and Sword Books). He is a graduate of the University of Aston in Birmingham, a veteran of The Ermine Street Guard re-enactment society, and divides his time between Austin, Texas and Wokingham, England.
The Civil War Shelf
The Military Memoirs of a Confederate Line Officer
John C. Reed, author
William R. Cobb, editor
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611215144, $19.95, PB, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Military-Memoirs-Confederate-Line-Officer/dp/1611215145
Synopsis: John C. Reed fought through the entire Civil War as an officer in the 8th Georgia Infantry, most of it with General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The Princeton graduate was wounded at least twice (Second Manassas and Gettysburg), promoted to captain during the Wilderness fighting on May 6, 1864, and led his company through the balance of the Overland Campaign, throughout the horrific siege of Petersburg, and all the way to the Appomattox surrender on April 9, 1865.
John Reed's "The Military Memoirs of a Confederate Line Officer" is a perceptive and articulate account filled with riveting recollections of some of the war's most intense fighting. Reed offers strong opinions on a wide variety of officers and topics. This outstanding memoir (judiciously edited and annotated by William R. Cobb) is published here in full for the first time.
Critique: "The Military Memoirs of a Confederate Line Officer: Captain John C. Reed's Civil War from Manassas to Appomattox" is a valuable and informative resource certain to become a prized addition to personal, community, and academic library American Civil War History & Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: William R. "Ron" Cobb is a retired engineer and management consultant He is also a descendant of a Confederate private who fought in the 59th Georgia, a sister regiment to the 8th Georgia. This is his first Civil War-related book.
The Military Shelf
Armies of Anglo-Saxon England 410-1066
Gabriele Esposito
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399093972, $42.95, HC, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Armies-Anglo-Saxon-England-410-1066-Organization/dp/1399093975
Synopsis: In the early 5th century, Germanic Angles, Saxons and Jutes crossed the North Sea in increasing numbers and began settling among the ruins of the former Roman province of Britannia. This led to centuries of warfare as these 'Anglo-Saxons' carved new, independent kingdoms at the point of the sword, fighting the native Britons and each other. From the late eighth century they also had to face the threat of the Vikings, at first as opportunistic raiders but increasingly bent on conquest. The last Viking invasion was defeated by Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge but he was then defeated by the Normans in that same fatal year of 1066, ending the Anglo-Saxon Age.
With the publication of "Armies of Anglo-Saxon England 410-1066: History, Organization and Equipment", historian Gabriele Esposito gives an overview of Anglo-Saxon military history, narrating the great campaigns, such as those of Alfred the Great of Wessex and Harold Godwinson. He discusses in detail the composition of Anglo-Saxon forces, their tactics, weapons and equipment, detailing developments across the period. The informative, accessible text is supported by dozens of color images showing replica Saxon war gear in use.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout with magnificent full color photography, "Armies of Anglo-Saxon England 410-1066: History, Organization and Equipment" is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of n informative Introduction, a four page Bibliography, a six page listing of The Reenactor Contributors, and a one page Index. Impressive, informative, exceptional in organization and presentation, "Armies of Anglo-Saxon England 410-1066: History, Organization and Equipment" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library British Medieval Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Gabriele Esposito (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Gabriele-Esposito/a/3200) is an Italian researcher and a long-time student of military history, whose interests and expertise range widely over various periods. He is also the author of numerous books on armies and uniforms and is a regular contributor to many specialized magazines in Italy, France, Netherlands and UK. His many previous works include Armies of Early Colonial North America 1607-1713, published by Pen & Sword in 2018.
Blood, Dust and Snow
Friedrich Wilhelm Sander, author
Robin Schaffer, editor/translator
Greenhill Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781784388300, $37.95, HC, 448pp
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Dust-Snow-Diaries-Commander/dp/1784388300
Synopsis: The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theater in the bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed first-hand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler's top armored formations, which was involved in most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; including campaigns such as Operation Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm.
Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated into English for the first time by historian Robin Schafer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into the mind of a young and highly politicized officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the close-knit community of a German Panzer crew.
A brutally honest, immediate and unfiltered personal account, Sander's translated diaries make for some uniquely fascinating reading about some of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. Supported by more than 100 photographs and maps from the period, Blood, Dust & Snow will be of great interest not only to readers studying the war on the Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.
Critique: An invaluable contribution to the growing library of German World War II accounts, "Blood, Dust and Snow: Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front" is a riveting read from beginning to end. Impressively candid, detailed, and informative, "Blood, Dust and Snow" will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in the Eastern Front battlegrounds of World War II and has the highest possible recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library World War II Military History and Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Blood, Dust and Snow: Diaries of a Panzer Commander in Germany and on the Eastern Front" is also currently available in a digital book format (Kindle, $0.99).
Editorial Note: Robin Schafer (https://robschaefer-historian.com) is a German military historian, writer and producer. He has worked as historical advisor for British and international television programmes, including the BBC's The Great War Interviews, Voices 16 - Somme, Last Heroes of the Somme and Channel 4's Battle of Britain: The Last of the Few. He is the creator and former historical editor of Iron Cross Magazine and co-author of "Fritz and Tommy: Across the Barbed Wire".
The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard
James W. Bancroft
Frontline Books
c/o Pen & Sword Books
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399009966, $39.95, HC, 248pp
https://www.amazon.com/Rorkes-Drift-Commanders-Gonville-Bromhead/dp/1399009966
Synopsis: Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead and Lieutenant John Chard had fame thrust upon them, as did the place known as Rorke's Drift, which before 1879 was an unknown homestead situated in the middle of the South African veld.
Although both men came from families whose various members were highly distinguished for their military service and for their service to the church, they became reluctant heroes after being awarded Britain's highest decoration for valor, the Victoria Cross.
During the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, a British invasion force was massacred at Isandlwana, after which a wing of the Zulu army about 3,000 strong attacked the outpost at Rorke's Drift. Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard commanded the post, and after supervising the construction of barricades they led their men in defensive actions throughout the night until the Zulus lost heart and returned to their kraals. For their gallantry 'under most trying circumstances', both Bromhead and Chard, along with nine of their comrades, were subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.
In 1964 the defense of Rorke's Drift was brought back to public attention with the producing of the epic motion picture Zulu! In this film, Chard was portrayed by Sir Stanley Baker, while Bromhead provided Sir Michael Caine with his first starring role.
Bromhead and Chard epitomized the way of life of Victorian officers, with the exception that fate put them at Rorke's Drift. They became major players in a battle which continues to excite interest and cause debate, and is unlikely ever to be forgotten.
Critique: Informative enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an informative Introduction, three Appendices, black/white images, a nine page listing of Research Sources, a seven page Bibliography, and a three page Index, "The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard" is an impressively researched work of meticulous scholarship. Effectively organized and presented, "The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard " will prove to be a welcome addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library 19th Century British Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, military history buffs, and non-specialist general readers that "The Rorke's Drift Commanders: Gonville Bromhead and John Chard" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $25.05).
Editorial Note: James Bancroft (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/James-W-Bancroft/a/3080) for over four decades has been writing he has produced more than 100 books and articles, the subjects of which reflect his varied interests. He has contributed a number of articles for The New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and his book Rorke's Drift: The Zulu War, 1879 has been re-printed seven times.
Sharpshooter in the Crimea
Michael Springman
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
9781399074483, $29.95, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sharpshooter-Crimea-Letters-CaptainGerald-Goodlake/dp/1399074482
Synopsis: Compiled and edited by author and historian Michael Springman, "Sharpshooter in the Crimea: The Letters of the Captain Gerald Goodlake VC 1854-56" is a compendium of the letters home to his family that Gerald Goodlake wrote as a young officer in the Coldstream Guards. Remarkable reading, they vividly describe the ill-preparedness of the British Army and the dire conditions experienced by all ranks in the Crimea.
Goodlakes views on senior officers were frank to say the least! Most important, Goodlakes initiative and courage in organizing and leading what were the Special Forces of their day were rewarded by the award of one of the first Victoria Crosses -- with Goodlake serving in the Crimea from early 1854 to the end two years later.
Critique: Transcribed, edited and annotated by Michael Springman, "Sharpshooter in the Crimea: The Letters of the Captain Gerald Goodlake VC 1854-56" provides a unique, informative, and fascinating perspective on the British forces engaged in the Crimean conflict. While very highly recommended as a core addition to 19th Century British Military History collections in general, and the Crimean War in particular, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Sharpshooter in the Crimea: The Letters of the Captain Gerald Goodlake VC 1854-56" is also available in a paperback edition (9781399074483, $29.95), and in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99). (https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Michael-Springman/a/488)
Combat Divers
Michael G. Welham
Osprey Publishing
4301 21st St, Suite 220B, Long Island City, NY 11101
www.ospreypublishing.com
9781472856005, $40.00, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Combat-Divers-illustrated-history-Special/dp/1472856007
Synopsis: Combat divers are an elite within an elite. Every special forces combat diver is required to pass selection twice. First into the elite military unit and then a combat diving qualification. The combat dive units themselves are tiny and the operations highly classified. The role of a military diver is inevitably a lonely and a dangerous one, whether clearing mines or striking from the sea against enemy-held targets.
Fully illustrated with rare and unusual images, with the publication of "Combat Divers: An illustrated history of Special Forces divers ", Michael G. Welham reveals their little-known yet fascinating operations, from Dutch Special Forces combat divers covertly operating against Somali pirates to the actions of Soviet Spetsnaz divers in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War. "Combat Divers" also examines how the most famous units, such as the US Navy SEALs and the Royal Navy's SBS, are currently operating and adapting to threats in a multitude of theatres.
"Combat Divers" gives an insight into specialist kit and vehicles presently used and equipment that is being developed and trialed throughout the world. Covering a variety of kit, from dry deck shelters to mini-submarines and swimmer delivery vehicles, former Royal Marines Commando Michael G. Welham draws on his own extensive diving experience to reveal exactly how this equipment is used by special forces dive teams. As their kit and equipment constantly evolve, so does the nature of their work and even the team element.
"Combat Divers" also details the first female combat divers and includes their own first-hand accounts about their groundbreaking roles within their respective units to create a fascinating history of these elite special forces operatives.
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout with both color and black/white photos, "Combat Divers: An illustrated history of Special Forces divers" is an impressively informative, comprehensive, organized and presented study and one that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Military History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and military buffs that "Combat Divers: An illustrated history of Special Forces divers" is also readily available from Osprey Publishing in a digital book format (Kindle, $21.49).
Editorial Note: Michael G. Welham is a former Royal Marines Commando (specialist skills: diving, canoeing and parachuting), and subsequently a member of 21 SAS and Naval Gunfire Support 95 Commando RAR. He has some 40 years of diving experience, both military and civilian. He is also the author of Combat Frogmen (with Lord Paddy Ashdown), Naval Elite Units, Exploring the Deep, and Frogmen Spy.
The Art Shelf
Renaissance Secrets
Maurizio De Luca, author
Jason Cardone, translator
Getty Publications
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90049-1682
www.getty.edu/publications
9781606067994, $35.00, PB, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Secrets-Lifetime-Paintings-Michelangelo/dp/1606067990
Synopsis: Beginning in the late 1400s, the greatest artists of Renaissance Italy were summoned to Rome, where they were employed decorating the walls and ceilings of the Vatican. Expert restorer Maurizio De Luca spent his forty-year career in the Vatican Museums, including fifteen years as head restorer of the Painting Restoration Laboratory. He personally oversaw some of the most important restorations of the last half century, including wall paintings by Perugino, Botticelli, and others on the walls of the Sistine Chapel; the Pintoricchio wall paintings in the Borgia Apartments; the Raphael Rooms; and the last two frescoes by Michelangelo, in the Pauline Chapel at the Apostolic Palace.
With the publication of "Renaissance Secrets: A Lifetime Working with Wall Paintings by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Others at the Vatican", an accessible and copiously illustrated coffee-table style paperback (8.25 x 0.3 x 11 inches, 1.11 pounds) volume, De Luca conveys the kind of knowledge that can only be derived from close personal observation. The reader is offered a stunningly intimate perspective that illuminates the distinctive expressive challenges, choices, and techniques of each artist and demonstrates how the conservation process enriches the understanding and interpretation of these iconic works.
Critique: Magnificently and profusely illustrated in full color throughout, combined with an impressively informative commentary and captioning, "Renaissance Secrets: A Lifetime Working with Wall Paintings by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Others at the Vatican" is unreservedly recommended for inclusion into personal, professional, community, college, and university library Italian Renaissance Art History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note#1: Maurizio De Luca was head restorer at the Painting Restoration Laboratory at the Vatican Museums at the time of his retirement in 2010. (https://shop.getty.edu/products/renaissance-secrets-a-lifetime-working-with-wall-paintings-by-michelangelo-raphael-and-others-at-the-vatican-9781606067994)
Editorial Note #2: Jason Cardone (https://aur.edu/faculty/professor-jason-cardone) is an Adjunct Professor at the American University of Rome.
Balthazar
Kristen Collins, editor
Bryan C. Keene, editor
Getty Publications
www.getty.edu/publications
9781606067857, $40.00, PB, 152pp
https://www.amazon.com/Balthazar-Black-African-Medieval-Renaissance/dp/1606067850
Synopsis: According to the Gospel of Matthew, magi from the East, following a star, traveled to Jerusalem bearing precious gifts for the infant Jesus. The magi were revered as wise men and later as kings. Over time, one of the three came to be known as Balthazar and depicted as a Black man.
Balthazar was familiar to medieval Europeans, appearing in paintings, manuscript illuminations, mosaics, carved ivories, and jewelry. But the origin story of this fascinating character uncovers intricate ties between Europe and Africa, including trade and diplomacy as well as colonization and enslavement.
With the publication of "Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art" experts in the fields of Ethiopian, West African, Nubian, and Western European art explore the representation of Balthazar as a Black African king. They examine exceptional art that portrays the European fantasy of the Black magus while offering clues about the very real Africans who may have inspired these images.
Along the way, the contributors chronicle the Black presence in premodern Europe, where free and enslaved Black people moved through public spaces and courtly circles. The volume's lavish illustrations include selected works by contemporary artists who creatively challenge traditional depictions of Black history.
Critique: A magnificent coffee-table style (9781606067857, 1.11 pounds) volume, "Balthazar: A Black African King in Medieval and Renaissance Art" is an inherently fascinating and informative art history presentation that is unreservedly recommended as a prized addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university Medieval/ Renaissance Art History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Kristen Collins is curator of manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum. (https://www.curatorialleadership.org/participants/ccl-program/kristen-collins)
Editorial Note #2: Bryan C. Keene (https://smarthistory.org/author/dr-bryan-c-keene) is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Riverside City College and a former Associate Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum. He specializes in codex cultures of a global Middle Ages and fantasy medievalisms.
Noguchi
Fabienne Eggelhofer, editor
Rita Kersting, editor
Florence Ostende, editor
Prestel Publishing
www.prestel.com
9783791379791, $55.00, PB, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Isamu-Noguchi-Fabienne-Eggelh%C3%B6fer/dp/3791379798
Synopsis: Now available in paperback, "Noguchi" is the definitive exploration of the multidisciplinary career of Isamu Noguchi, one of the most experimental and pioneering artists of the 20th century.
Encompassing the entirety of Noguchi's work in sculpture, ceramics, photography, architecture, design, as well as the artist's playscapes, gardens and stage sets for modern dance and theatre performance, this superbly illustrated survey explores Noguchi's creative process and lesser-known aspects of his practice, his engagement with a wide range of mediums and cultures, and his innovative achievements over six decades.
Brimming with imagery and contributions from an international range of authors, "Noguchi" helps the reader to grasp the diversity and patterns of Noguchi's work both in situ and in galleries. Archival photographs of the artist's studios offer glimpses into his experimental attitude towards sculpture. Themes of harmony and dissonance, which were central to his practice, are explored in a series of essays that consider the artist's dual heritage, the Japanese American experience, his worldwide travel and his many influences.
"Noguchi" also pays tribute to Noguchi's fruitful collaborations with creatives from a range of industries, such as R. Buckminster Fuller, Martha Graham and Louis Kahn.
Throughout the monograph Noguchi's own words provide a critical backdrop towards understanding an artist who embraced many schools of thought, and whose entire life and career set an example for partnership and cooperation across artistic, political and cultural boundaries.
Critique: Offering a complete chronology of Isamu Noguchi's work, "Noguchi" by the editorial team of Fabienne Eggelhofer (Chief Curator at Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern), Rita Kersting (Deputy Director at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne), and Florence Ostende (Curator at the Barbican Art Gallery, London) is a truly splendid coffee-table style (9.06 x 0.9 x 10.63 inches, 3.02 pounds) volume that will have a particular appeal to readers with an interest in sculpture. Informative, profusely illustrated, "Noguchi" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Art & Sculpture collections.
Jean-Michel Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs
Dieter Buchhart, editor
Antonia Hoerschelmann, editor
Prestel Publishing
www.prestel.com
9783791379579, $55.00, HC, 216pp
https://www.amazon.com/Jean-Michel-Basquiat-Symbols-Dieter-Buchhart/dp/3791379577
Synopsis: Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 - August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat's symbolic, complex, and often emotionally charged work made a huge impact on the 1980s downtown New York City art scene. And though his all-too-brief career ended when he died at age 27, Basquiat left behind an enormous legacy -- not only in the number of works he produced, but also in the messages he encoded around political, social, racial, and cultural issues.
With the publication of "Jean-Michel Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs" by the editorial team of Dieter Buchart (an international guest curator and Basquiat specialist) and Antonia Hoerschelmann (Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Albertina Museum, Vienna), the reader is shown how Basquiat used an intricate network of signs and symbols to challenge the very system that made him a darling of the art world.
"Jean-Michel Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs" also traces his inspiration from cartoons, children's drawings, and advertising as well as his own Haitian and Puerto Rican heritage; discusses the influence of African-American, African, and Aztec cultural histories; and shows how Basquiat incorporated into his work classical themes and contemporary icons ranging from athletes to musicians. What becomes clear is how, even as a young man, Basquiat had a profound understanding of the artist's role in art history, and of his unique position as a young Black artist in a world of racism, suppression and social injustice.
"Jean-Michel Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs" will help the reader in decoding Basquiat's unique lingua franca, an intoxicating body of work brimming with social commentary that was in turns incisive, angry, comic, hip, and heartbreaking, and that remains powerful and meaningful today.
Critique: An impressive compendium of presentation and analysis of his art, "Jean-Michel Basquiat: Of Symbols and Signs" is a coffee-table style (10 x 0.93 x 12.13 inches, 3.44 pounds) volume that is as thoughtful and it is thought-provoking. It is one that is exceptionally informative and very highly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library 20th Century American Art History collections.
The Language Studies Shelf
New Testament Greek: A Reading Course, Level 1
Sally Teague
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
1000 Brown Street, Unit 301, Wauconda, IL 60084
www.bolchazy.com
9780865168657, $49.00, PB, 347pp
https://www.bolchazy.com/New-Testament-Greek-P3975.aspx
Synopsis: "New Testament Greek: A Reading Course, Level 1" is a complete introductory course to Koine Greek that offers a clear, step-by-step approach to the fundamentals needed to read the New Testament in its original language. Concepts are presented in small, manageable increments, followed by short exercises that promote mastery. With a wealth of practice drills, readings, and conceptual questions, "New Testament Greek: A Reading Course, Level 1" is ideal for many kinds of learners -- including those in homeschool, college, and seminary, as well as autodidacts.
This comprehensive program helps establish a strong foundation in biblical Greek. Each chapter logically and methodically builds on previously introduced material. New Testament Greek: A Reading Course does not assume any prior experience with Greek, or other inflected languages. Abundant practice, starting with the alphabet, allows learners to proceed at a pace appropriate for their goals and needs.
In its approach, "New Testament Greek: A Reading Course, Level 1" firmly grounds itself in the Koine Greek of the Bible. Scope and sequence proceeds according to vocabulary and grammar most frequently used in the New Testament. From chapter 7 on, each chapter culminates in a set of carefully selected unadapted readings. Upon completing Level 1, learners will have read more than 100 verses from the Septuagint and more than 400 verses from the New Testament. An additional 44 verses are used to illustrate important concepts. An index of Greek citations makes it easy to locate a particular reference.
Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "New Testament Greek: A Reading Course, Level 1" is an ideal textbook for New Testament Koine Greek language curriculums, and an unreservedly recommended addition to professional, seminary, college, and university library collections.
Editorial Note: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers provides educational materials for Latin, Greek, and Classics teachers and students. Their Latin textbooks cover everything from introductory Latin, with their series Latin for the New Millennium, to Advanced Placement(R) Latin, both AP(R) Vergil and AP(R) Caesar, to advanced Latin in our BC Latin Readers Series. Their Latin workbooks and LEGAMUS Transitional Latin Readers are ideal for those making the leap to intermediate Latin and authentic Latin author texts.
The Photography Shelf
Varanasi: City Immersed in Prayer
David Scheinbaum, photographer
B. J. Miller, contributor
Diana L. Eck, contributor
George F Thompson Publishing
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781938086960, $45.00, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Varanasi-Immersed-Prayer-David-Scheinbaum/dp/1938086961
Synopsis: Varanasi (also known as Kashi and Banaras) is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating to the 11th century B.C.E. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India, the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River's sacred waters for prayer and ritual. In Varanasi, one is in a time warp where one is living in history as if time has never stopped, for the people, both residents and pilgrims, continue their daily practices and worship in ways relatively unchanged for millennia -- down a continuum of thousands of years. Being in Varanasi is like being on a thread pulled from a cloth that dates back to the beginning of time. Here, one doesn't "see" a ruin, as one does in other ancient civilizations, but a living city where history hasn't stopped.
With the publication of "Varanasi: City Immersed in Prayer", photographer David Scheinbaum guides us, with his camera, through the city's winding streets that are filled with thousands of shrines and temples at virtually every turn. He takes us on an incredible visual journey to the Ganges, the sacred river where bathers are in prayer, and to the funerary Ghats, steps that lead down to the river where cremations take place, filling the air with incense and burning pyres. Hindus believe that being cremated along the banks of the holy Ganges allows one to break the cycle of death and rebirth and attain Moksha, (salvation) making it a major center for pilgrimages.
Scheinbaum's beautiful, soulful photographs present an ancient, holy city immersed in prayer. Woven through are the words of contributors B. J. Miller and Diana L. Eck, two noted scholars and writers who each shed light on the special qualities that make Varanasi the holy city it has always been.
Critique: A visually magnificent coffee-table style volume (12.5 x 1 x 11.25 inches, 3.59 pounds), "Varanasi: City Immersed in Prayer" is a pure pleasure to browse through one page at a time. Inherently fascinating is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Indian Travel, Cultural, and Historical Photography collections.
Editorial Note #1: David Scheinbaum (https://npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/photography.html) is the former Director/Chair of the Photography Department in the Marion Center for Photographic Arts at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design and Professor Emeritus at the College of Santa Fe. He is the author of Bisti, (University of New Mexico Press, 1987), Miami Beach: Photographs of an American Dream (Florida International University Press, 1990), Stone: A Substantial Witness (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2006), and Hip Hop: Portraits of an Urban Hymn (Damiani Editore, 2012). He and his wife, Janet Russek, have collaborated on three other projects: Ghost Ranch: Land of Light, Photographs by David Scheinbaum and Janet Russek (Balcony Press, 1997), Images in the Heavens, Patterns on the Earth: The I Ching (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2005), and Remnants: Photographs of the Lower East Side (Radius Books, 2017).
Editorial Note #2: B. J. Miller (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BJ_Miller) is an American physician, author, educator, and practicing hospice and palliative medicine physician who is best known for his 2015 TED Talk, "What Really Matters at the End of Life?" B. J. has taught at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, since 2007. In film, B. J. is the subject of Netflix's Academy Award-nominated short documentary, End Game, by veteran directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. His book for approaching the end of life, A Beginner's Guide to the End, was co-authored with Shoshana Berger (Simon and Schuster, 2019).
Editorial Note #3: Diana L. Eck (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_L._Eck) is Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies and Frederic Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society at Harvard University. She is also the author of Banaras: City of Light (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982); Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India (Anima Books, 1981); and India: A Sacred Geography (Harmony Books, 2012). As the founder and director of the Pluralism Project, she produced the Web-based resource On Common Ground: World Religions in America. On the subject of pluralism she has written Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras (Beacon Press, 1993) and A New Religious America: How a "Christian" Country Has Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation (Harper San Francisco, 2001). In 1998, she received the National Humanities Medal from President Bill Clinton for her work on religious pluralism in America.
The Social Issues Shelf
Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement
Ignacio Lopez-Calvo, editor
Marjorie Agosin, editor
Anthem Press
www.anthempress.com
9781839982484, $125.00, HC, 260pp
https://www.amazon.com/Refugees-Displacement-Studies-American-Literature/dp/1839982489
Synopsis: Every American is a descendant of either a Native American, and enslaved person, an immigrant, or a refugee. Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Ignacio Lopez-Calva and Marjorie Agosin, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is devoted to that fourth category.
The essays comprising "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" study the concept of refuge as well as historical forced displacement and statelessness, trying to provide potential lasting solutions to the many problems associated with this situation. This volume is not only timely but expansive, as it moves from the pressing crisis of refugees to the crisis of humanity that seeks to find refuge.
From refugees to asylum seekers, from climate change to war, from historical uprootedness and displacement to today's crisis of refugeeism, these topics are mobilizing humanities scholars to think about refugees with a new sense of urgency. "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" demonstrates how interdisciplinary cultural approaches grounded in the humanities can transform refugee conversations so often dominated by political science, economics, and other disciplines. In doing so, the collection sets up far more inclusive refugee discussions and urges humanities thinkers to respond by taking the lead in the face of environmental and sociopolitical uncertainties.
Critique: A timely contribution to our national discussion concerning the admission of refugees into the United States of America, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is comprised of an informative Introduction followed by thirteen erudite and informative essays by contributors with expertise in their areas of study, deftly organized into four major sections (Humanity and Human Displacement; Seeking Refuge; Acts of Creating Refuge; Approaches to Constructing Refuge). While available in a digital book format (Kindle, $35.20) for personal reading lists for students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is particularly recommended for professional and academic library Immigration Policy & Studies collections and supplemental curriculum lists.
Editorial Note #1: Marjorie Agosin (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/marjorie-agosin) is a poet and human rights activist with a long career dedicated to the themes of social justice.
Editorial Note #2: Ignacio Lopez-Calvo is UC Merced Presidential Endowed Chair in the humanities and professor of Latin American literature. He is the author of eight monographs. (https://www.ucmerced.edu/content/ignacio-l%C3%B3pez-calvo)
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Diane C. Donovan, Editor
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