Return to home
page Book Reviews, Book Lover Resources, Advice for Writers and Publishers
Home / The Bookwatch

The Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 4 April 2011 Home | BW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Computer Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Needlecraft Shelf Crafts Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf
Self-Help Shelf Military Shelf Cookbook Shelf
Social Issues Shelf Art Shelf Education Shelf
Business Shelf Music Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Photography Shelf
Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf World History Shelf Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Homeowner's Shelf Biography Shelf Poetry Shelf
Fiction Shelf Gaming Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

Cinderella Ate My Daughter
Peggy Orenstein
Harper
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061711527, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER: DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF THE NEW GIRLIE-GIRL CULTURE comes from an author who sets out to discover the origins of a cultural shift in girls - a shift in trends towards the ultra-feminine. From the roles marketing and packaging has played in this shift to the institutions of Disney, American Girl, and even Miley Cyrus, this provides the author's journeys and interpretations of social change and femininity perceptions and is a 'must' for general lending libraries and women's issues collections alike!

Future Files
Richard Watson
Nicholas Brealey Publishing
20 Park Plaza, Suite 1115A, Boston, MA 02116
9781857885347, $16.95, www.nicholasbrealey.com

FUTURE FILES: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NEXT 50 YEARS provides a fine survey of five trends that will shape the next 50 years, from business and social change to physical world changes. Humor blends with facts in this survey of governments, trends, economics and technology, which documents such changes as the move away from reading fiction and novels in favor of nonfiction and facts, and the embedded intelligence trends that will change the transportation experience. Any general lending library will appreciate this approach!

Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
www.atlantic-pub.com

J.W. "Jack" Koller's HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN PATENT DRAWINGS AND SAVE THOUSANDS (9781601383242, $29.95) blends art with business concepts to tell how to develop and produce patent drawings to eliminate a typically very expensive step in the process of patent application. Both business and arts collections will find this a winning survey, showing tools needed to produce the drawings and how to draw to scale. Sharlee DiMenichi's THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO JOINING THE PEACE CORPS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW EXPLAINED SIMPLY (9781601382849, $24.95) provides political science and travel collections with specific keys to the application and selection process for the Peace Corps, surveying how to prepare for service, what to expect, and how to keep in touch with home. From preparing to leave to returning, this offers advice and case studies from past volunteers and is a fine pick for any general collection. Craig Baird's A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR SINGLE DADS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAISING HEALTHY, HAPPY CHILDREN ON YOUR OWN (9781601363969, $24.95) is a recommendation for any library strong in family issues. It shows how a single father can raise a healthy, happy child alone and covers all the basics of discipline and rules for a single-dad household. From different techniques for raising daughters and sons to how to tackle problems, this is a top recommendation for any single parent needing advice.


The Computer Shelf

Pro WPF and Silverlight MVVM
Gary McLean Hall
Apress, Inc.
233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013
9781430231622, $49.99, www.apress.com

Pro WPF and Silverlight MVVM: Effective Application Development with Model-View-ViewModel is written by professionals for programmers interested in using the WPF and Silverlight interface technologies. It shows coders and programmers how to understanding control interactions and how to address a range of common user concerns, covering everything from validation and subscribing to events to unit testing. The result is a key technical survey recommended for computer libraries catering to professional programmers.

Network Your Computers & Devices Step by Step
Ciprian Adrian Rusen
Microsoft Press
9780735652163, $29.99, www.microsoft.com/mspress

Network Your Computers & Devices Step by Step includes an online edition of the book and teaches how to network devices using the networking features of Windows 7 to connect home computers - even ones using different operating systems. Easy numbered steps and screenshots offer opportunities to build skills, doublecheck work, and learn from practice exercises geared to real-world objectives.

Gray Hat Hacking, third edition
Alan Harper, et.al.
McGraw-Hill
c/o The McGraw Hill Companies
Two Penn Plaza, 11th Floor, NY, NY 10121-2298
0071742557, $60.00, www.mhprofessional.com

The third updated edition of Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker's Handbook would seem to be a misnomer: how can hacking be ethical? It is if it's involving penetration testers and researchers who want to broaden their skills in a range of IT security disciplines. Learn how to develop and launch exploits using various programs, build Perl, Python and Ruby scripts that initiative stack buffer overflows, and prevent malicious content in Adobe, Office and other files with the aid of this 'bible' of tested strategies for uncovering devastating network intrusion attacks. There's nothing like it on the market making this a specific, recommended pick.

O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
www.oreilly.com

Josh Clark's TAPWORTHY: DESIGNING GREAT IPHONE APPS (9781449381653, $39.99) tells how to build ideas from initial concept to polished results, and explores how iPhone programmers can use the right approach at each step of the design process. The designers of popular apps like Facebook and Twitterrific give their insider's secrets on how to produce rich apps, discussing how and why people really use iPhone apps and how to storyboard an app on paper and use standard controls for positive results. Any iPhone programmer needs this! Matthew A. Russell's MINING THE SOCIAL WEB (9781449388348, $39.99) provides a fine in-depth survey of web data analysis, showing readers how to find out who's making connections with social media and where they are located. Learn how to combine social web data with analysis, use adaptable scripts on GitHub to harvest data from social network APIs, and how to apply mining techniques to build interactive approaches. Preston Gralla's DROID X: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449393861, $19.99) is for any Droid phone owner who wants keys to using its many powerful features. From shooting video and syncing a Droid X to Windows Media Player and iTunes to going online using hotspots and connecting to Google maps for geotagging, this is a 'must' for any Droid phone user. Droid users will also value Preston Gralla's DROID 2: THE MISSING MANUAL (9781449301699, $19.99). It covers all the basics of harnessing the Droid 2's built-in power, from getting online and making your phone a portable hotspot or modem for your laptop to capturing photos, playing music, and more. Mark Lutz's PROGRAMMING PYTHON 4TH EDITION (9780596158101, $64.99) covers Python 3x and provides object-oriented programmers with an outstanding 'bible' of facts. It's all about applying Python once the basics are mastered, with topics covering everything from language syntax and programming techniques to correct usage. Code examples tied to purposes make this an outstanding, specific pick packed with real-world examples and applications any programming collection will relish.

Addison Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300, Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
www.informit.com

Ken Pugh's LEAN-AGILE ACCEPTANCE TEST-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT (0321714083, $39.99) is a pick for any technical software engineering library strong in Agile frameworks and development. This offers the first real-world guide to Acceptance Test-Driven-Development (ATDD), and presents keys to developing software with testable results. From testing user interfaces to evaluating test results and linking them to a project's overall progress, this packs in keys on scaling ATDD to project results. Any software developer interested in ATDD will find this a thorough coverage. Dean Leffingwell's AGILE SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: LEAN REQUIREMENT PRACTICES FOR TEAMS, PROGRAMS, AND THE ENTERPRISE (0321635841, $49.99) present the "big picture" of Agile requirements in the enterprise and describes the model that Agile project teams can use to manage these requirements. From different requirements for complex systems and multiple teams to Kanban systems and evolving product management, this is a top technical pick for any Agile development collection.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Jack: Secret Vengeance
F. Paul Wilson
TOR Books
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780765318565, $15.99, www.tor-forge.com

Jack: Secret Vengeance is written for young adult audiences but is featured here for its attraction to many an adult reader. It tells of senior Carson Toliver, captain of a football theme who is popular - and who may have attacked a girl on a date. Jack tries to convince her to report popular Carson, and a series of events unfolds that leads Jack to turn to secret vengeance. Any prior fan of the Jack story will find this fills in many gaps in further explaining his personality and evolution.

Scratch Monkey
Charles Stross
NESFA
Box 809, Framingham, MA 01701
9781886778955, $27.00, www.nesfa.org/press

SCRATCH MONKEY tells of Oshi, who works for the Boss doing odd jobs in the Milky Way galaxy. Oshi has been rigorously trained and her body filled with supplemental nanotechnology that enables her to communicate with Dreamtime encoders - but now all her skills are tested in encounters with the Ultralights, artificial intelligences which go beyond her boss' domain. A powerful story of a conflict between worlds and dream worlds evolves in a science fiction thriller perfect for any science fiction library!

Blackveil
Kristen Britain
DAW Books
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780756406608, $25.95, www.penguin.com

BLACKVEIL is the sequel to THE HIGH KING'S TOMB and provides Book 4 in the Green Rider series, continuing the story of a student who finds herself in danger when she becomes the Green Rider - a messenger of the king. Her devotion to her king and fellow Riders is threatened by dark magicians and the evil residing in Blackveil Forest, and Karigan finds herself in a dangerous journey in this powerful fantasy, recommended for any general fantasy collection and especially those seeing popularity with the prior novels in the series.

The Year When Stardust Fell
Raymond F. Jones
Resurrected Press
9781935774402, $12.99 www.resurrectedpress.com

Resurrected Press is dedicated to bringing quality editions of classic writings back to print, publishes the editions in affordable paperback formats, and offers a lovely alternative to paying huge dollars for collectibles of the past when all a library wishes is to stock the title for lending. Raymond Jones' THE YEAR WHEN STARDUST FELL is just one example, republishing a 1958 classic long gone from library shelves - but just as exciting as upon its initial publication. A typical small town experiences changes when one day machines suddenly stop working - and civilization as Mayfield knows it comes to a grinding halt. The mystery and puzzle behind the collapse is lovely and involving in this fine classic tale, which predates most apocalypse writings about modern civilization gone awry. Highly recommended!


The Needlecraft Shelf

Introduction to Making Cloth Dolls
Jan Horrox
Search Press
9781844484584, $19.95, www.searchpress.com

Introduction to Making Cloth Dolls provides a fine guide to cloth dolls that can be made from scraps of fabrics, yarns, ribbons and more. These step-by-step projects focus on building lovely dolls and offer keys to making hands, feet, faces and more, using three projects and three alternative designs to teach the basics of cloth doll-making. Full-size templates for all body pieces are provided at the back of the book, making this a top pick for any dollmaker just learning the basics.

Martingale & Company
19021 - 120th Ave NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011-9511
www.martingale-pub.com

Kim Brackett's SCRAP-BASKET SENSATIONS: MORE GREAT QUILTS FROM 2 1/2" STRIPS (9781604680140, $24.99) offers some eighteen quilts in all kinds of fabrics for any interested in producing quilt projects from precut bundles, or cutting strips from a stash. Full-page facing color photos accompany materials lists, tips on cutting from scraps, quilt assembly and more. Quilters who want more ideas for using scraps will relish this production! Janet Rehfeldt's TERRIFIC TOE-UP SOCKS: KNIT TO FIT (9781604680195, $14.99) provides an outstanding set of stylish socks knitters will relish. Ten new designs cover lace, cables, ribbing and Fair Isle alike and provide illustrated instructions for three cast-on methods. Knitters who already have the basics down will relish this fine collection!


The Crafts Shelf

Bead Tube Jewelry
Nancy Zellers
Kalmbach Books
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53186
9780871164179, $19.95, www.kalmbachbooks.com

Bead Tube Jewelry: Peyote & Brick Stitch Designs for 30+ Necklaces, Bracelets, and Earrings tells how to whip up a batch of bead tubes for jewelry, offering instructions for different patterns, styles, and colors. Over seventy such patterns accompany color photos telling how to use cylinder beads to create a variety of styles.


The Health/Medicine Shelf

The Healthy Gut Workbook
Victor S. Sierpina, MD
New Harbinger
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
9781572248441, $21.95, www.newharbinger.com

The Healthy Gut Workbook: Whole-Body Healing for Heartburn, Ulcers, Constipation, IBS, Diverticulosis & More provides a complete plan for meals designed to help restore a body's balance. Easy lifestyle changes, nutritional supplements, and foods are promoted to heal common digestive problems and are presented in a survey of integrative treatment plans perfect for any health or general lending library!

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0960
www.jkp.com

Rhidian Hughes edits RIGHTS, RISKS AND RESTRAINT-FREE CARE OF OLDER PEOPLE: PERSON-CENTERED APPROACHES IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (9781843109587, $32.95), which provides health and social care professionals with readings on the ethics and use of restraint, and offers articles by contributors from around the world. Alternatives to restraint and new programs for reducing the use of restraint are described in chapters that outline all the issues involved in providing safe environments for elders. Very highly recommended! Also a fine pick for both health and parental libraries is Cheryl R. Carter's ORGANIZE YOUR ADD/ADHD CHILD: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR PARENTS (9781849058391, $15.95). It shows how a simple four-step method can be applied to the typical ADD/ADHD child to teach even the most disorganized, hyperactive child how to make their bed, get ready for school, and get organized. These step-by-step strategies offer routines that aren't boring and ARE positive, keyed to realistic demands and rules governed by fun and individualism.

Death in a Small Package
Susan D. Jones
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 N. Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21218-4363
0801896967, $24.95, www.press.jhu.edu

DEATH IN A SMALL PACKAGE: A SHORT HISTORY OF ANTHRAX comes from a historian and veterinarian who recounts the story of anthrax and how its biology has affected the political, social and health sectors of modern society. From cultural beliefs about anthrax to how anthrax became domesticated and how researchers have learned from outbreaks, this surveys an old disease that has threatened lives for over two thousand years.


The Self-Help Shelf

The Lost Art of Happiness
Arthur Dobrin
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2119
9781616142551, $17.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

THE LOST ART OF HAPPINESS offers insights into our culture's obsession with individual happiness and how it often conflicts with ideas of community happiness and satisfaction. Ideas of compassion on an individual and larger scale blend with recent findings in evolutionary biology and ideas in philosophy and comparative religion to make for a key consideration suitable for social issues and general lending libraries alike.

No More Regrets!
Marc Muchnick
Berrett-Koehler Publications
235 Montgomery #650, San Francisco CA 94104-2916
9781605098869, $14.95, www.bk-life.com

NO MORE REGRETS! 30 WAYS TO GREATER HAPPINESS AND MEANING IN YOUR LIFE charts thirty ways to greater happiness through paths that can change lives. Marc Muchnick provides suggestions easy to implement, includes case history examples with discussions of how shifting perspective brings joy, and tells how to live a happier life overall. General lending libraries and new age collections alike will find this an inspiring survey.

Your Life On Purpose
Matthew McKay, et.al.
New Harbinger Publications
5674 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609
9781572249059, $16.95, www.newharbinger.com

Your Life On Purpose: How to Find What Matters & Create the Life You Want provides a powerful survey on how to find out what matters to you, and how to do that every day. From discovering passions and keeping fears and daily demands from blocking them to finding a path when values conflict and making dreams a reality, this also discusses achieving a life of purpose, and is a powerful pick for any self-help library.

How to Think Your Way to the Life You Want
Bruce I. Doyle III, Ph.D.
Hampton Roads Publishing
65 Parker St, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
9781571746405, $14.95, www.hrpub.com

How to Think Your Way to the Life You Want: A Guide to Understanding How Your Thoughts and Beliefs Create Your Life offers an understanding of the basics of thought and why so many people emphasize the influence of beliefs and a positive attitude. This little book is dedicated to understanding how thought influences reality, and how what you believe is what you get. Changing thoughts can change life - new thoughts can change beliefs. This guide tells how.

Surviving a Shark Attack (On Land)
Dr. Laura Schlessinger
Harper
c/o HarperCollins
10 East 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780061992124, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

Surviving a Shark Attack (On Land): Overcoming Betrayal and Dealing with Revenge provides keys on how to handle a 'stealth land shark attack', charting the different emotions that stem from being betrayed and undermined, and showing how to survive it. From the common motives behind betrayal to understanding how to know whether you've been truly betrayed, this offers keys to understanding perfect for general lending libraries.

Ugly As Sin
Toni Raiten-D'Antonio
Health Communications Inc.
3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, Fl 33442-8190
0757314651, $21.95, www.hcibooks.com

UGLY AS SIN: THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW WE LOOK AND FINDING FREEDOM FROM SELF-HATRED is the first book to examine ugliness, how it's defined, and how it controls our lives. It's based on the author's research into bigotry based on appearance and some results come from the author's web-based survey on self-assessment and ugliness, which sparked hundreds of responses around the world. An intriguing survey results!


The Military Shelf

Fragging
George Lepre
Texas Tech University Press
Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037
9780896727151, $34.95, www.ttupress.org

FRAGGING: WHY U.S. SOLDIERS ASSAULTED THEIR OFFICERS IN VIETNAM provides the first in-depth study of the crimes and the military's efforts to stop them, and uses over 500 cases from official records to supplement interviews with both perpetrators and victims. George Lepre spent several years in the Army and set out to research the real truth behind reports he'd heard: FRAGGING is an outstanding result, recommended for any military library.

The Longest War
Peter L. Bergen
The Free Press
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9780745278935, $28.00, www.simonandschuster.com

THE LONGEST WAR: THE ENDURING CONFLICT BETWEEN AMERICA AND AL-QAEDA comes from a veteran investigative journalist and CNN national security analyst who provides a fine history of the war on terror, from 9/11 to the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. His analysis of past and present approaches to the war on terror provides a key survey based on his reporting from the Middle East's front lines, and offers an unusual dual perspective not just from Western perspectives, but from the viewpoint of al-Qaeda leaders and soldiers alike.


The Cookbook Shelf

Bon Appetit Desserts
Barbara Fairchild
Andrews McMeel Publishing
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
0740793527, $40.00, www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Bon Appetit Desserts offers a weighty presentation culled from the magazine's archives, and even includes some never-before-published recipes as it provides insights to over six hundred recipes from cakes and cupcakes to pies, puddings, fruit and more. Over fifty color photos accompany dozens of easy step-by-step photos and sidebars of information in each chapter covering shortcuts and adaptation ideas. Highly recommended for any serious dessert lending library!

Modern Batch Cookery
Victor Gielisse, CMC & Ron DeSantis, CMC
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470290484, $65.00, www.wiley.com

MODERN BATCH COOKERY is a top recommendation for any professional culinary collection and comes packed with color photos and the expertise of two of The Culinary Institute of America's Certified Master Chefs. Recipes are designed to yield 50 servings and cover a range of meals and occasions, from Pecan Carrots and Paella Valenciana to Corn Chowder for a group! A 'must' for any professional culinary library!

101 Recipes for Making Cheese
Cynthia M. Martin
Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
9781601383563, $24.95, www.atlantic-pub.com

101 Recipes for Making Cheese: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply combines 101 of the most popular cheese recipes of the world with a reference designed to explore the entire process of home cheese production. Learn food safety, how to make appealing cheeses from hard to Italian cheese, and follow step-by-step directions that make the entire process simple in a basic pick for any culinary library.

Good Maine Food
Marjorie Mosser
Down East Books
PO Box 679, Camden, ME 04843
9780892729111, $29.95, www.downeast.com

Good Maine Food: Ancient and Modern New England Food and Drink provides the most comprehensive cookbook of Maine recipes ever written - over a thousand dishes from chowders to regional specialties. It originally appeared in 1939 but this new edition features notes by food historian Sandra Oliver, nearly two dozen notes explaining how to cook the traditional recipes, and more. From Swiss Steak to Baked Grits, it's packed with easy traditional Maine dishes highly recommended for any American regional culinary collection.

Setting the Table for Julia Child
David Strauss
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218-4363
0801897734, $45.00, www.press.jhu.edu

Setting the Table for Julia Child: Gourmet Dining in America, 1934-1961 considers the gourmet food movement that swept the nation before Julia Child influenced many a home cook. The revolution actually began not on TV but in dining clubs and in the pages of Gourmet magazine, which became predecessors for Julia Child's lessons in French cooking. Themes of class, national identity and more influenced the birth and rise of gourmet cooking in America, and author David Strauss uses plenty of research to trace early influences on the aesthetics of dining in this top pick for any culinary collection.


The Social Issues Shelf

Inherently Unequal
Lawrence Goldstone
Walker & Company
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780802717924, $26.00, www.walkerbooks.com

Inherently Unequal: The Betrayal of Equal Rights By the Supreme Court, 1865-1903 provides a powerful account of the lynching of blacks in America after the enactment of equal rights to all Americans. These crimes were perpetrated without fear of retribution - and this focus shows how the Supreme Court and others allowed - even mandated - America to become a land of quasi-slavery, fostering the Jim Crow era and using justice to hide prejudice. Civil rights collections should consider this legal history essential.

Tragedy in Crimson
Tim Johnson
Nation Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016
9781568586014, $26.99, www.nationbooks.org

TRAGEDY IN CRIMSON: HOW THE DALAI LAMA CONQUERED THE WORLD BUT LOST THE BATTLE WITH CHINA provides a powerful social and political history of modern Tibet, tracking the country's changes through the eyes of its religious and political leader, the Dalai Lama. Tim Johnson is a field reporter who has spent years covering the region and traveling all areas of Tibet: his insider's knowledge and professional analysis provides a powerful reflection while his exclusive access to the God-king and his inner circle offers a unique portrait no other Tibet history can touch.


The Art Shelf

Powerful Watercolor Landscapes
Catherine Gill with Beth Means
North Light Books
c/o F&W Publications
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
1600619495, $29.99, www.fwpublications.com

Powerful Watercolor Landscapes offers a fine survey packed with strategies for tackling painting challenges, and uses lay-flat hardcover binding, hands-on demos, and diagrams to make these tips easy to learn. From mixing a range of vibrant colors to checklists for value sketches and keys to building a painting in stages, this is packed with colorful examples any beginning landscape painter will relish.

Realistic Abstracts
Kees Van Aalst
Search Press
9781844485604, $25.95, www.searchpress.com

REALISTIC ABSTRACTS: PAINTING ABSTRACTS BASED ON WHAT YOU SEE covers the entire concept of realistic abstract painting, an impressionist form that relies on the viewer's imagination. Color examples throughout provide both an artistic and historical survey that adds in techniques and tips for crafters, Numerous examples of works by various artists using watercolors, gouache and acrylics accompany descriptions and analysis in a pick for arts and crafts collections.


The Education Shelf

College Essays That Made a Difference, fourth edition
Staff of Princeton Review
Princeton Review Books
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780375427855, $13.99, www.princetonreview.com

The 4th updated edition of College Essays That Made a Difference offers successful essays by real students and tells how to get past admission office barriers. The college essay is an important piece of the package where a student has control over opportunity and loss, so this book interviewed admission officers at selective colleges to see what they looked for in essays - and college students here share their application essays, SAT scores, and tips. Any library catering to college-bound students needs this!

More Than Counting, standards edition
Sally Moomaw & Brenda Hieronymus
RedLeaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
9781605540290, $34.95, www.redleafpress.org

MORE THAN COUNTING STANDARDS EDITION provides preschool and kindergarten teachers with a play-based curriculum - some 124 math activities and games - and is a top pick for any early learning collection. It blends activities from the best-selling MORE THAN COUNTING and MUCH MORE THAN COUNTING, offering teachers keys to teaching kids math skills while meeting content standards. Answers to common teacher problems and information for applying content and process standards make this a winner!

Getting the Most Out of IEPs
Colleen A. Thoma & Paul Wehman
Brookes Publishing
Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
1557669449, $29.95, www.brookespublishing.com

Getting the Most Out of IEPs: An Educator's Guide to the Student-Directed Approach is packed with advice and IEP resources for students, offering a fine guide to developing student-directed IRPs. From setting goals and evaluating progress to communicating interests and accepting responsibility for improvement, this packs in keys to making a student-directed approach work within the educational structure, and is a top pick for any education collection.

Unseen Worlds
Kate Adams
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
400 Market St. #400, Philadelphia, PA 19106
9781849050517, $34.95, www.jkp.com

UNSEEN WORLDS: LOOKING THROUGH THE LENS OF CHILDHOOD explores the nature of child imagination and dreams, and surveys how adults tend to trivialize these worlds. Kids of various ages express here how they encounter these worlds, from nightmares to playful daydreams, in chapters that cover common themes, adult reactions, and how to affirm and foster a child's world and development. Educators as well as childcare specialists need this!

Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks CA 91320
www.corwin.com

Kurtis S. Meredith & Jeannie L. Steele's CLASSROOMS OF WONDER AND WISDOM: READING, WRITING, AND CRITICAL THINKING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (9781412918152, $33.95) provides an outstanding survey of educator learning processes using a successful literacy-based professional development program as its model. From keys to tracking educator process to routines designed to help teachers help students learn, chapters pair expected outcomes with self-evaluation activities and learning experiences for any interested in self or group development. Richard D. Sorenson, et.al.'s THE PRINCIPAL'S GUIDE TO CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP (9781412980807, $33.95) offers school principals important discussions on curriculum development and the renewal process, offering step-by-step guidance for working collaboratively with personnel, maximizing professional development opportunities, and more. Practicing and aspiring public and private school administrators receive a fine collection of case studies, activities and specialized curriculum models filled with case histories and charts. Jill Joline Myers, Donna S. McCaw and Leaunda S. Hemphill's RESPONDING TO CYBER BULLYING: AN ACTION TOOL FOR SCHOOL LEADERS (9781412994842, $31.95) offers keys on what every school leader needs to know about cyber bullying and the law. From rules for addressing cyber bullying to strategies for documenting aggressive cyber situations, this offers case studies on how schools regulate, censor or sanction inappropriate cyber activities. Any educator's library and many a computer collection should consider this a 'must', as it outlines legal and liability issues all should know about. Jennifer Stepanek, et.al.'s TEACHING BY DESIGN IN ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS GRADES 2-3 (9781412987059, $38.95) provides a powerful addition to a series of teaching guides that helps teachers discover how students learn best. Reproducible handouts, facilitation notes, and keys to resources for teachers and students alike pack chapters of strategies, activities, and models for success. No teacher's collection should be without this!


The Business Shelf

Information Nation
Jeffrey M. Stanton, Indria R. Guzman, Kathryn R. Stam
Information Today Inc.
143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055
9781573874014, $35.00, www.infotoday.com

Information Nation: Education and Careers in the Emerging Information Professions presents three years of research by three educators who ask why colleges have failed to teach and produce a new generation of information professionals for nearly every business in U.S. society. From issues of retention to how students are prevented from gaining the interdisciplinary skills they need to help the U.S. gain leadership in the global information world, this also tells of students who are thriving in new majors and jobs that could lead to an economic recovery. A fine assessment for any business or education collection!

Value Chain Finance
IIRR Institute
KIT Publishers
publishers@kit.nl
www.kitpublishers.nl
9789460220555, $39.95, www.amazon.com

College-level collections strong in international farmer support agencies will find this focuses on rural finance and financial services for value chain development, offering keys to understanding the process whereby specialized financial institutions are linked to the value chain to offer services that build relationships along the line. 13 cases from 10 countries around the world provide keys to linking value chains to rural initiatives and improving the lives of the rural poor and make this a solid pick for business and international social issues collections alike.

Practically Radical
William C. Taylor
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061734618, $27.99, www.harpercollins.com

PRACTICALLY RADICAL: NOT-SO-CRAZY WAYS TO TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY, SHAKE UP YOUR INDUSTRY, AND CHALLENGE YOURSELF comes from the co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company, one of the world's top business magazines, and offers in-depth insights into over twenty profit and nonprofit companies to find out how they moved forward under all kinds of conditions. From embracing new ideas and opportunities to taking risks for the bigger picture, this is an outstanding survey any forward-thinking businessman needs!

The Quants
Scott Patterson
Crown Business
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780307453389, $16.00, www.crownbusiness.com

THE QUANTS: HOW A NEW BREED OF MATH WHIZZES CONQUERED WALL STREET AND NEARLY DESTROYED IT provides a journalistic investigation of the rise of the elite math genius who run supercomputers and who have become masters in Wall Street power plays. Their role in the rise and fall of the market in recent years is analyzed in a lively, disturbing survey key to any collection strong in stock market analysis and history.

The Right-Brain Business Plan
Jennifer Lee
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
9781577319443, $19.95, www.newworldlibrary.com

The Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success offers a different method of approaching business that appeals to all kinds of thinkers who seek creative approaches to doing business. It encourages entrepreneurs to embrace creative dreams while holding on to business plans grounded in reality, and outlines the differences between a right-brain business plan and traditional approaches. An intriguing formula encourages success through creative thinking.

The Personal MBA
Josh Kaufman
Portfolio Penguin
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9781591843528, $27.95, www.penguin.com

THE PERSONAL MBA: MASTER THE ART OF BUSINESS provides a multidisciplinary approach to business education, sharing the basics of marketing, sales, negotiation and systems design. In effect a course under one cover, this details the most important business lessons the author's learned and translates them into models that can be applied to real-world experiences. Case histories and explorations are also tied to video tutorials on PersonalMBA.com. Simply outstanding!

Exorbitant Privilege
Barry Eichengreen
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016-4314
9780199753789, $27.95, www.oup.com/us

Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System comes from an economist who challenges the assumptions about the future of the dollar. His work has been featured in numerous financial publications in recent months, and here he evaluates the U.S. economic situation as he presents the idea that the supremacy of the U.S. dollar is not a requirement for economic health. College-level economic collections will find this a modern discussion and a winning survey!

Guitar Lessons
Bob Taylor
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470937877, $24.95, www.wiley.com

GUITAR LESSONS: A LIFE'S JOURNEY TURNING PASSION INTO BUSINESS comes from the co-founder and president of Taylor Guitars, and provides a fine story of a teen who couldn't afford a guitar, made his own in shop class during his junior year of high school, and went on to evolve an entire career making guitars. His autobiography shares business tips on how his passion led to his business success, how he worked with a business partner to grow his endeavor, and lessons learned along the way. Libraries catering to musicians and business entrepreneurs will find this a lively, popular pick.

Atlantic Publishing
1405 SW 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
www.atlantic-pub.com

John Peragine and Cheryl Russell's EBAY INCOME, 2ND EDITION (9781601384416, $24.95) tells how anyone can build a profitable online business with eBay. From learning how eBay works and the process of creating and handling an auction from start to finish to making multiple sales, using marketing and programming tools, and understanding Buy It Now merchandising, this covers all angles of selling on eBay, and is a pick for business and general collections alike. Business libraries will find Michael J. Cavallaro's HOW TO OPEN & OPERATE A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE INVESTIGATION BUSINESS (9781601383310, $39.95) a winning exploration. It comes with a CD-ROM that packs in all forms used in the book plus a pre-written business plan in MS Word, and it is written for any who have worked in private investigation and wants to know more about the profession's opportunities. From hiring and keeping a qualified, professional staff to managing employees, this pairs business general basics with PI-specific instruction perfect for any business collection.

Harvard Business Review Press
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163
www.hbr.org

Harvard Business Review's ON STRATEGY (9781422157985, $24.95) is a pick for any college-level business collection strong in business management, and pinpoints the problems inherent in companies that spend too much time on strategy development with few proven results. From distinguishing a company from rivals and clarifying its strengths to developing concrete methods of measuring strategy, this packs in many keys to improving strategy analysis and business success, by linking strategy to real-world results and streamlining the entire analytical process. HBR'S 10 MUST READS ON LEADERSHIP (9781422157978, $24.95) is also a top pick for business collections, showing business managers how to make the transition from being a good manager to a key leader. It tells how to motivate others to excel, shows how to make positive changes, and teaches how to manage using tough empathy techniques. A 'must' for any business collection catering to managers. Also recommended is Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback's BEING THE BOSS: THE 3 IMPERATIVES FOR BECOMING A GREAT LEADER (9781422163894, $25.95) which considers how to get the best from people in a tough environment. It comes from six decades of the authors' combined business management experience and research, and provides insights and directions that outline how managers get 'stuck' and how they make progress. Any business manager will find this a top pick!


The Music Shelf

Gigging
Patricia Shih
Allworth Press
10 East 23rd Street, Suite 510, New York, NY 10010
www.allworth.com
9781581152753, $19.95, www.amazon.com

In the parlance of musicians, a 'gig' is an opportunity to play their music -- hopefully, but not always, a paying opportunity. A professional songwriter and musician, Patricia Shih draws upon her more then 35 years of experience to present an informed, informative, and realistic instructional guide for all aspects of earning a living by playing music whether as a solo act or as part of a band in "Gigging: A Practical Guide for Musicians". Particular attention is given to the nuts and bolts of professional music including establishing contracts, finding band members; booking appearances; auditioning; establishing performance fees; caring for instruments and sound equipment; dealing with band members, road crews, attorneys, and publicists; touring; and the role of musicians' unions. Of special note is the experienced insider information on finding outlets for performing that include both traditional venues and unconventional opportunities. Thoroughly 'user friendly', "Gigging" should be considered mandatory reading for anyone seeking to perform professionally and succeed financially regardless of whatever genre of music they are a part of. Also highly recommended for aspiring musicians is Patricia Shih's "Truly Rotten Gigs From Hell: The Funny, The Sad, The Unbelievably Bad" (9781450041454, $19.99).

Truly Rotten Gigs From Hell
Patricia Shih
Xlibris Corporation
1663 South Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403-5161
www.xlibris.com
9781450041454, $19.99, www.amazon.com

In "Truly Rotten Gigs From Hell: The Funny, The Sad, The Unbelievably Bad", author Patricia Shih draws upon her more than thirty-five years of experience as a professional musician and her numerous contacts within the music world to compile 75 real life stories from 35 professional musicians occurring in eleven states and three countries. These were incidents in the lives of performing musicians that range from the comedic to the tragic to the ridiculous to the exasperating. From Charlie King's 'Will Sing for Food'; to Ray Korona's 'The Bggest Thrill is in Getting There'; to Ron Meixsell's 'A Musician's Nightmare'; to Pete Seeger's 'At Las Vegas'; to 'Stephen Fricker's 'By the Time We Got to Woodstock', these are true life stories as lived by some of the most accomplished musicians of our time. A thoroughly fascinating read from beginning to end, "Truly Rotten Gigs From Hell" is a compendium of cautionary tales that should be considered a 'must read' for any and all aspiring musicians contemplating a life on the road and appearances on the stage. Also very highly recommended is Patricia Shih's "Gigging: A Practical Guide for Musicians" (9781581152753, $19.95).

Macho Man
Randy Jones & Mark Bego
Praeger Publishers
c/o ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9780275999629, $39.95, www.abc-clio.com

MACHO MAN: THE DISCO ERA AND GAY AMERICA'S 'COMING OUT' is a fine, detailed college-level pick for music and social issues collections alike, and comes from an original member of the Village People band who took the late 1970s music scene by storm with their rock music and gay sexuality. Thirty years later the band still has a large following - and band member Randy Jones explores the band's evolution in the disco era, its new musical style, and how it fostered an American gay rights movement. The dual focus on music and the gay movement makes this an intriguing, detailed coverage.

Rockin' Your Stage Sound
Rob Gainey
Hal Leonard Corporation
7777 W. Bluemound, Box 13819, Milwaukee, WI 53213
9781423492788, $24.99, www.halleonard.com

Rockin' Your Stage Sound: A Musician's Guide to Professional Live Audio is a pick for any musician or music technology collection, and is the best guide on the market for helping musicians understand the peculiarities of live audio and how to work with the medium for a top-notch sound. Author Rob Gainey is a professional live-sound engineer who blends his tips and insights with ideas from successful players of all types to show how to get great sounds from equipment and stage set-ups alike. Very highly recommended!


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

For Seven Lifetimes
Vatsala & Ehud Sperling
Inner Traditions
Box 388, Rochester, VT 05767
9781594773730, $19.95, www.innertraditions.com

FOR SEVEN LIFETIMES: AN EAST-WEST JOURNEY TO A SPIRITUALLY FULFILLING AND SUSTAINABLE MARRIAGE is an excellent pick for both new age collections and those seeking cross-cultural insights into what makes a spiritually satisfying relationship. Examples of couples who looked to other cultures to fulfill their needs and the dialogues between two different spiritual and social beliefs systems make for an absorbing survey that considers what is needed to build real spiritual compatibility. A unique, fine survey!

The Twelfth Insight
James Redfield
Grand Central Publishing
c/o Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9780446575966, $25.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

THE TWELFTH INSIGHT: THE HOUR OF DECISION builds on the author's prior books to consider the further changes brought about in 2012 and the prophecies that predict them. This takes the form of a new novel in his Celestine Series that follows the protagonist and his close friend Wil as they receive another portion of an ancient manuscript that describes a secret approach to spirituality - based on fragments of clues. While this could've been reviewed in our novels section, it's featured here for its definite interest to any new age library that has seen popularity with James Redfield's prior publications in the Celestine Series.

The Caregiver's Tao Te Ching
William and Nancy Martin
New World Library
14 Pamaron Way, Novato, CA 94949
9781577318880, $14.00, www.newworldlibrary.com

The Caregiver's Tao Te Ching belongs in new age and caregiving collections alike, offering a slim, pocket-sized collection of solace ideas tied to the Tao Te Ching. Eighty-one chapters include a poem for caregivers, verses of the Tao, and reflections specific to caregiving issues. Health and new age libraries alike will relish this!

New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.newpagebooks.com

Michael Clarkson's THE POLTERGEIST PHENOMENON (9781601631473, $15.99) provides a powerful survey filled with real ghost stories and presenting an original look at an old subject. The author reviewed over seventy cases and interviewed hundreds of witnesses to paranormal events: this survey blends science and new age considerations to review all the theories of poltergeists and other unexplained disturbances in the force. Any collection strong in paranormal investigations will appreciate this. Dr. Steven Manly's VISIONS OF THE MULTIVERSE (9781601631299, $15.99) offers a scientific probe of the theories of multiple universes and considers quantum mechanics, string theory, and other ideas. It's reviewed here for its special appeal to new age readers but also deserves a spot in any serious science collection, exploring ideas of the 'multiverse', concepts of what it is, and how humans exist in such a reality.


The Audiobook Shelf

West of Here
Jonathan Evison
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
9781615731169, $39.95, www.hachetteaudio.com

WEST OF HERE receives a fine narration by Edgardo Ballerini, who brings to life a novel about the Pacific Northwest and its peoples. Set on the Olympic Peninsula, it tells of generations moving from frontier pioneers to great-great-grandsons wanting to fulfill a more prosperous future. Generations of drama and intrigue make for a fine historical novel perfect for any audio lending library.

Last Sacrifice
Richelle Mead
Penguin Audio
375 Hudson, New York NY 10014
9780142428177, $9.99, www.penguin.com

LAST SACRIFICE provides a powerful novel narrated by Emily Shaffer, whose dramatic voice lends drama and tension to the story of Rose, in prison for the assassination of a monarch and wrongly accused. Add a fantasy element of a vampire world and you have a riveting story packed with intrigue, drama, politics, and mystery perfect for any general lending library.

Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
www.brillianceaudio.com

J.T. Ellison's ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS (1441838392, $29.99) receives an outstanding performance by veteran Joyce Bean, who brings to life the Taylor Jackson novel revolving around a local girl who becomes a serial killer's prey. It's up to Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, to pursue the murderer before he strikes again in this engrossing tale of dangerous truths. Mary Alice Monroe's THE LONG ROAD HOME (1441891552, $29.99) receives an outstanding performance by long-time veteran narrator Sandra Burr as it tells of Nora, a Manhattan socialite made penniless by her husband's suicide and shady financial operations. She's managed to keep their mountain farm and begins learning the farming business with the aid of a hardworking, gentle teacher who will teach Nora more than just farm skills in this fine saga of romance and recovery.


The Christian Studies Shelf

The Life of Charles Hodge
A. A. Hodge
The Banner of Truth Trust
PO Box 621, Carlisle, PA 17013
9781848710900, $32.00, www.banneroftruth.co.uk

The future does not always require a revolution in thought, but instead to not forget the principles that brought you there. "The Life of Charles Hodge" looks at a leading figure in the American Presbyterian Church who states he created no new ideas, but instead allowed the church to return to its faith and focus more intently. Written shortly after Hodge's death by his son who followed in his footsteps as a leader of faith, this tale of the early American faith and its approach to the newness and conflict of it all makes for a thoughtful and spirituality charged read, making "The Life of Charles Hodge" a strong addition to any community library religion and biography collection.

Transforming Prayer
Daniel Henderson
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
9780764208515, $13.99, www.bethanyhouse.com

TRANSFORMING PRAYER: HOW EVERYTHING CHANGES WHEN YOU SEEK GOD'S FACE comes from a sought-after teacher on prayer and provides keys to praying more effectively. From praying for more than personal satisfaction to praying from God's word as opposed to personal ideas, this is a top pick for any spirituality collection.

Unprotected Texts
Jennifer Wright Knust
HarperOne
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-5299
9780061725586, $25.99, www.harperone.com

UNPROTECTED TEXTS: THE BIBLE'S SURPRISING CONTRADICTIONS ABOUT SEX AND DESIRE comes from a Bible scholar who considers the big questions about sex and the Bible. Popular misconceptions of the Bible's guidelines on sex and an argument that the Bible should not dictate sexual morality despite popular claims make for a fine critical survey of Bible passages and their interpretation in a pick any spirituality or Christian collection will find enlightening.

The Latter-Day Saint Family Encyclopedia
Christopher Kimball Bigelow & Jonathan Langford
Thunder Bay Press
10350 Barnes Canyon Road, San Diego, CA 92121
1607101114, $34.95, www.thunderbaybooks.com

The Latter-Day Saint Family Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive survey that cover's the church's history, leadership and beliefs and offers ordinances, church growth around the world, key personalities, and more. Maps, tables and color photos pack an oversized, weighty presentation on Mormon culture and present all details in an A-Z compilation for quick and easy reference. No spirituality or LDS reference collection should be without this incredible, detailed and lively reference.


The Photography Shelf

Canon Powershot G12: From Snapshots to Great Shots
Jeff Carlson
Peachpit Press
1249 - 8th St., Berkeley CA 94710
0321771613, $24.99, www.peachpit.com

Canon Powershot G12: From Snapshots to Great Shots is more than just a manual on how to operate the Canon Powershot G12 model: it's a tutorial on how to go beyond camera options to use a camera to take outstanding shots. From mastering composition basics to getting the best shots in all kinds of light learning exactly when to choose different camera modes for specific purposes, this packs in keys that help users differentiate between mediocre and great shots. A top pick!

Off-Camera Flash
Neil van Niekerk
Amherst Media
Box 586, Buffalo, NY 14226
9781608952786, $34.95, www.amherstmedia.com

Off-Camera Flash: Techniques for Digital Photographers offers fine keys to selecting the right flash, using it properly, and understanding flash settings, options and results. From modifying and positioning a flash to using off-camera flash for various photo purposes, this is packed with color images and specifics on using off-camera to best advantage. Any technical photographer's library needs this reference!

Rocky Nook
26 West Mission St #3, Santa Barbara CA 93101-2432
www.rockynook.com

Juergen Gulbins & Uwe Steinmueller's THE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORKFLOW HANDBOOK FROM IMPORT TO OUTPUT (9781933952710, $49.95) can be used as either a photographer's reference or as a textbook for amateurs and semi-pros alike. It provides a step-by-step guide to the photographic workflow, from capturing and editing an image to producing a fine photo print. From integrating RAW converters into the workflow process to using Adobe Lightroom and using masks to increase luminance, this is packed with keys to success! Marc Muench's EXPLORING NORTH AMERICAN LANDSCAPES: VISIONS AND LESSONS IN DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY (9781933952536, $39.95) comes from a third generation landscape photographer who shares his images and discusses how landscape photography can become an artistic and personal exploration. Photographers of all levels learn how to capture landscapes and receive a blend of personal stories about photography and stories about creating exceptional images.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Frederick Wiseman
Joshua Siegel & Marie-Christine de Navacelle, Editors
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St., New York NY 10019-5497
9780870707919, $39.95, www.moma.org

Frederick Wiseman is published to accompany a year-long exhibition of his films and is the first in English to provide a review of all his works, from film to opera and theater. Small black and white and color photos from his films accompany in-depth coverage, including analysis and plot synopsis, of his productions, collecting essays that offer insights into his work and world. Any modern film library will find this a winner!

Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd. #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com

Richard D. Pepperman's ILLUMINATIONS: MEMORABLE MOVIE MOMENTS (9781932907780, $26.95) is a pick for any college-level film collection strong in screenwriting, film and video. It investigates the impact of movies and the effects of nostalgia and history on movie-making choices, offering chapters that pinpoint and discuss memorable shots of particular, significant movies. Quotes from critics, discussions of genre, and surveys of producer choices make this a top pick for any film library. Joshua A. Friedman's GETTING IT DONE: THE ULTIMATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANT GUIDE (9781932907889, $20.95) is for any performing arts or film reference collection, and shows how to become indispensable on film and TV sets. From the different roles of a PA to insider practices drawn from his own expertise and years of real-world experiences, this provides a tutorial for beginners as well as a reference for filmmakers with some experience under their belts, offering keys to understanding the functions of different departments involved in a production and daily set operations. Any film how-to library needs this! Hester Schell's CASTING REVEALED (9781932907872, $20.95). Hester Schell's CASTING REVEALED is a top pick for any performing arts or video collection, telling how to obtain a great cast to make a great movie. All steps of the casting process are covered, from filing union paperwork and posting audition announcements to running casting sessions. Chapters break down the entire process of casting in a fine survey.


The World History Shelf

Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History, second edition
William H. McNeill, et al.
Berkshire Publishing Group
120-122 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230-1506
www.berkshirepublishing.com
9781933782652, $575.00, www.amazon.com

An impressive and exhaustive collaboration of authors and editors William H. McNeill, David Christian, Jerry Bentley, and Jerry H. Bentley, the "Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History" is a six volume, 3,152 page compendium offering a wealth of informed and informative articles descriptively laying out the high points of human history from traceable human origins down to the present day. Of special note are the numerous and diverse new articles on environmental history, world art, global communications, and information technologies. Replete with sidebars, graphics, charts, and more, 'Reader's Guide' features showcasing a cornucopia of subject categories. Backgrounded with meticulous research and insightful commentaries by noted academics, scholars, and researchers, the "Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History" this new and significantly expanded and updated edition is strongly recommended as a comprehensive and core library reference for academic and community library World History reference collections.


The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf

Western Classics
Zane Grey, et al.
Eureka Productions
8778 Oak Grove Road, Mount Horeb, WI 59572
www.graphicclassics.com
9780978791995, $17.95, www.amazon.com

The twentieth volume in Eureka Production's truly outstanding series of graphic novel adaptations of classic works of literature, "Western Classics" features stories set in the American West and written by some of the most talented authors of the genre including Zane Grey, Bret Harte, Robert E. Howard, Willa Cather, Clarence Mulford, Gerturde Atherton, and John G. Neihardt. Each superbly crafted story has been successfully adapted to an illustrated format by some of the best graphic artists working today including Al Feldstein, Cynthia Martin, George Sellas, Reno Maniquis, Dan Spiegle, Arnold Arre, Ryan Huna Smith, and John Findley. From Zane Grey's true American western masterpiece 'Riders of the Purple Sage', to golden age pulp fiction author Robert E Howard's 'Knife River Prodigal', to Willa Cather's memorable 'El Dorado', "Western Classics" is thoroughly entertaining from first page to last, and a perfect addition to personal, school, and community library Graphic Novel collections and supplemental reading lists.


The Homeowner's Shelf

Convert Your Home to Solar Energy
Everett M. Barber Jr. and Joseph R. Provey
Taunton Press
Box 5507, Newtown, CT 06470-5507
9781600852527, $24.95, www.taunton.com

Convert Your Home to Solar Energy offers homeowners a definitive guide to solar energy and is the only title to cover all types of solar energy in an easy primer, from photovoltaic electricity to water heating and passive systems. Cost calculators, tips on rebates and incentives, and how to find a specialized contractor come from two experts in the field who have some 30 years experience installing and writing about solar systems. Libraries catering to homeowners will find this a key acquisition.


The Biography Shelf

Hiroshima in the Morning
Rahna Reiko Rizzuto
Feminist Press
365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
9781558616677, $16.95, www.feministpress.org

Tragedy creates empathy for tragedy. "Hiroshima in the Morning" reflects on the interviews Rahna Reiko Rizzuto received when she interviewed survivors of the Hiroshima bombing after the attacks of September 11th. As the events unfold, Rizzuto also asks herself questions, and finds that crisis strikes us all in many unusual ways. "Hiroshima in the Morning" is an insightful dive into the parallels of history, highly recommended.

I'm Still Standing
Shoshana Johnson
Simon and Schuster
1200 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
9781416567493, $15.00, www.simonandschuster.com

No war is won without casualties on our side, and many men and women in the American forces have endured much but live on. "I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen-- My Journey Home" is the autobiography of Shoshana Johnson, who was injured and taken captive in March of 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Through it all, she tells how she came to join the military, her endeavor, and how her life has changed since. A thoughtful read on the modern prisoner of war, "I'm Still Standing" is a strongly recommended read that should be in every biography and memoir collection.


The Poetry Shelf

In the Ninth House
Louise C. Callaghan
Salmon Poetry
c/o DuFour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781907056529, $21.95, www.salmonpoetry.com

Finding how you're connected to the world is a journey many seek to take in their lives. "In the Ninth House" is a collection of poetry from Louise C. Callaghan as she discusses the details of life and the search for belonging in the path to a greater life. "In the Ninth House" is a choice read and an excellent addition to poetry collections. "Making & Doing": A blackbird mimics raindrops on the lawn:/bird-foot drumming over and back.../Snowflakes fall on the grass, covering in/the skylight. You, Oscar, and I iglooed inside.

Ten New Poets Spread the Word
Bernardine Evaristo & Daljit Nagra, editors
Bloodaxe Books
c/o Dufour Editions
PO Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425
9781852248796, $19.95, www.dufoureditions.com

Every new poet brings his or her own new flavor to the medium. "Ten New Poets Spread the Word" is a collection of poetry from ten newer poets in Bernardine Evaristo & Daljit Nagra as they compile these writers to grant voice to minority poets in the United Kingdom, providing a very different view of the world. "Ten New Poets Spread the Word" is a fine volume of poetry, highly recommended. "Moon Jelly" by John Stammers: Its luminescence belongs here in the sea./Throwback from coral, this/polyp floats on the surface: an outcast, seven inches/of nerves, no brain or heart./Four arms hang down from a bell./A drifter -- agile, scyphozoan --/a blob of streaks and patterns,/its light in the last hour.


The Fiction Shelf

Shafter Range
T. T. Flynn
Isis Publishing Limited
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
9780753187395, $29.99

Family ties are strange things. "Shafter Range" is a two in one book of large print Western novels from T. T. Flynn. 'What Color is Heaven?' is the story of Rick Candleman facing destruction of his ranch. His only hope is his brother Joe, who left long ago to become an outlaw, and may have ties with the very person out to destroy him. 'Shafter Range' follows Mike Shafter as he returns to the country after twenty years of departure as he finds himself being the one to bring peace to his former home. "Shafter Range" is an exciting compilation for anyone who loves western novels.

The Camera Store and Other Stories as Times Pass
Richard Selinka
Dorrance Publishing Co.
701 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
9781434908896, $28.00, www.dorrancebookstore.com

Through success and failure, life will always go on. "The Camera Store and Other Stories as Times Pass" is a collection of short stories from Richard Selinka as he ponders many aspects of his life and life he as seen, speaking on the challenges of life and how throughout life, no matter if we win or lose, time will continue to pass. With a wide range of setting and subject, "The Camera Store and Other Stories as Times Pass" is a fine collection, not to be missed.


The Gaming Shelf

Bridge with Bells & Whistles
Mary Ann Dufresne & Marion Ellingsen
Master Point Press
331 Douglas Ave., Toronto, ON Canada M5M 1H2
9781897106693, $21.95, www.masterpointpress.com

Many use it an avenue to meet with friends, but it doesn't mean you can't get the thrill of victory. "Bridge with Bells & Whistles" is a bridge strategy guide from Mary Ann Dufresne & Marrion Ellingsen as they tackle on how to bring one's bidding to the next level and use advanced tactics to stay ahead of the game and gain more victories. "Bridge with Bells & Whistles" is a must for those who want to take their bridge game to a higher level.


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


Copyright ©2001

Site design by Williams Writing, Editing & Design