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

Internet Bookwatch

Volume 26, Number 12 December 2016 Home | IBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Christmas Shelf Fiction Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Christian Studies Shelf Islamic Studies Shelf
Poetry Shelf Military Shelf Beer/Wine Shelf
Gaming Shelf Biography Shelf Art Shelf
Graphic Novel Shelf Audiobook Shelf Library CD Shelf
Library DVD Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Photography Shelf Travel Shelf
Education Shelf Architecture Shelf Native American Studies Shelf
Metaphysical Studies Shelf Self-Help Shelf Philosophy Shelf
Woodworking Shelf Crafts Shelf Technology Shelf
Autism Shelf Sports Shelf International Studies Shelf
Botany Shelf Agriculture Shelf Terrorism Studies Shelf
Health/Medical Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf Science Shelf
Money/Finance Shelf Civil War Shelf American History Shelf  
World History Shelf Political Science Shelf Gardening Shelf
Aviation Shelf Library Science Shelf Music Shelf
Literary Studies Shelf Holocaust Studies Shelf  


Reviewer's Choice

The Ex-Offender's Re-Entry Assistance Directory
Ronald L. Krannich, Ph.D.
Impact Publications
9104 Manassas Drive, Suite N, Manassas Park, VA 20111
www.impactpublications.com
9781570233678 $29.95 pbk / $18.99 Kindle amazon.com

The Ex-Offender's Re-Entry Assistance Directory is a reference and resource created especially for American ex-offenders and who have served their prison sentences and seek to successfully return to society as law-abiding citizens. Ex-offenders often find themselves unprepared to deal with the challenges of finding housing, navigating a job market that is quick to reject them, social barriers, and more. The Ex-Offender's Re-Entry Assistance Directory includes information about 39 gateway websites covering housing and employment opportunities, 1,000+ re-entry assistance programs in each state, 50 free downloadable re-entry handbooks and curricula, a 5-page, 13- category, 95-item checklist for re-entry preparation, and much more. Partly directory, and partly an empathetic source of guidance and encouragement, The Ex-Offender's Re-Entry Assistance Directory is worthy of the highest recommendation for public library collections and the bookshelves of ex-offenders as well as professionals who work with them.

Prenuptial Agreements, fifth edition
Katherine E. Stoner, et al.
Nolo Press
950 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.nolo.com
9781413323023, $34.99, PB, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Approximately 50% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. Marriage is one of the few personal contracts in which the state you live in dictates the terms of a divorce -- unless a couple create their own customized premarital agreement. Combining Nolo's legal expertise and plain-English writing, this newly updated and expanded fifth edition of "Prenuptial Agreements: How to Write a Fair & Lasting Contract" makes a potentially touchy subject easy to deal with while explaining how to create a valid contract. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Prenuptial Agreements" is an easy-to-use guide that covers: Whether a prenup is right for your relationship; How to decide what a prenup should include; How to deal with special situations, such as one spouse's debts, business ownership, or kids from a previous marriage; How to assemble a draft agreement; How to turn your draft into a contract; and even offers tips on negotiating and communicating. This current edition of "Prenuptial Agreements" reflects current state laws, plus worksheets and clauses for preparing an agreement that suits the unique needs of anyone contemplating getting married and desirous of the protection that a prenuptial agreement can provide. Simply stated, "Prenuptial Agreements" should be a part of every community library collection. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Prenuptial Agreements" is also available in a Kindle format ($19.24).

Food Anatomy
Julia Rothman
Storey Publishing
210 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, MA 01247
www.storey.com
9781612123394, $16.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

The third book in award-winning food journalist Julia Rothman's best-selling Anatomy series, "Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of Our Edible World" starts with an illustrated history of food and ends with a global tour of street eats. Along the way, Rothman serves up a an informative and witty primer on short order egg lingo and offers a mouth-watering menu of how people around the planet serve fried potatoes -- and what we dip them in. In the pages of "Food Anatomy" Wharton also lends her editorial expertise to a light-hearted exploration of everything food that is replete with little-known facts and delightful drawings. An inherently fascinating, impressively informed and informative compendium of profusely illustrated information, "Food Anatomy" is highly recommended for community library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Food Anatomy" is also available in a Kindle format ($15.95).

Uncle John's Presents Top 10 of Everything 2017
Paul Terry
Portable Press
PO Box 1117, Ashland, OR 97520
www.portablepress.com
c/o Printer's Row Publishing Group
www.printersrowpublishinggroup.com
9781626868465 $19.99 amazon.com

Packed with full-color photography and jaw-dropping facts on every page, Uncle John's Presents Top 10 of Everything 2017 lives up to its title with record-breaking top-ten lists in almost every category imaginable, from the ten highest-selling video game titles, to the ten longest long jumps performed by exceptional athletes, to the ten deadliest natural disasters within the past several hundred years. Readers of all ages will find Uncle John's Presents Top 10 of Everything 2017 amazing and educational! Highly recommended.

Life From Scratch
Sasha Martin
National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426213748, $25.00, HC, 336pp, www.amazon.com

"Life From Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness" is the story of how, over the course of 195 weeks, food writer and blogger Sasha Martin set out to cook (and eat) a meal from every country in the world. As cooking unlocked the memories of her own rough-and-tumble childhood and the loss and heartbreak that came with it, Martin became more determined than ever to find peace and elevate her life through the prism of food and world cultures. From the tiny, makeshift kitchen of her eccentric, creative mother, to a string of foster homes, to the house from which she launched her own cooking adventure, Martin's heartfelt and brutally honest memoir reveals the power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal. Ultimately it is a celebration of the simple truth that happiness is created from within. Witty, warm, and poignant, compelling, candid, deeply personal, and a simply riveting read from cover to cover, "Life From Scratch" is very highly recommended, especially for community library Contemporary American Biography collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Life From Scratch" is also available in a paperback edition (9781426216534, $15.95) and in a Kindle format ($9.99). Librarians should be aware that "Life From Scratch" is available as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio: 9781483085388, $34.95, CD / 9781483085371, $29.95, MP3).

The LEGO Animation Book
David pagano & David Pickett
No Starch Press
245 - 8th Street, San Francisco, CO 94103-3910
www.nostarch.com
9781593277413, $19.95, PB, 216pp, www.amazon.com

LEGO is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group and consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts. LEGO pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways, to construct objects; vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. "The LEGO Animation Book: Make Your Own LEGO Movies!" is a complete course of do-it-yourself instruction on how to bring LEGO models to life with stop-motion animation. By following the throughly 'user friendly' step-by-step instructions to make a LEGO based animation, and then exploring the entire film making process, from storyboards to post-production, "The LEGO Animation Book" shows how to: Create special effects like explosions and flying minifigures; Convey action and emotion with your minifigure actors; Design sets for animation--make three buildings look like an entire city; Light, frame, and capture consistent photos; Add detail and scope to your films by building in different scales; Build camera dollies and rigs out of LEGO bricks; Choose cameras, software, and other essential animation tools, and more! "The LEGO Animaton Book" is enthusiastically recommended for dedicated LEGO fans from ages 8 to 88 and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal and community library collections. It should be noted that "The LEGO Animation Book" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.02).

Collaborative Leadership
Peter M. Dewitt
Corwin Press, Inc.
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-2218
www.corwinpress.com
9781506337111, $28.00, www.amazon.com

Collaborative Leadership: Six Influences That Matter Most offers a different concept of and approach to leadership challenges based on a combination of brain science, psychology, and applied business, and offers a key to understanding both the process of leadership and how it applies under different situations. The focus on collaborative processes translates to an approach that gathers the stories of students, teachers, parents and researchers alike who contribute their experiences to a process that encourages conversation and engagement. The result may be especially recommended to education readers but moves well beyond the classroom community to reach into the efforts of any who want a different vision of leadership's opportunities.


The Christmas Shelf

Christmas from the Heart
Made in Arizona
Heart Dance Records
$13.99 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Christmas from the Heart is a compilation of classic Christmas songs performed by a variety of musicians in the state of Arizona, as part of a "Made in Arizona" project. Instrumental accompaniment ranges from Spanish guitar to finger-style guitar, piano, ambient, Native American flute, and more. A joyful expression of the season, perfect for stirring holiday spirit at Christmas parties, Christmas from the Heart is highly recommended. The tracks are "Joy to the World", "Angels We Have Heard On High", "The Gift", "Away in a Manger", "Light to the World", "First Lights", "Jingle Bells", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Ave Maria", "Greensleeves", "Silent Night", "The Huron Carol, and "O Come O Come Emmanuel". It's worth noting that 10% of the proceeds from Christmas from the Heart will go to Music As Therapy (www.music-as-therapy.com).


The Fiction Shelf

Gunpowder Percy
Grace Tillany
Bagwyn Books
c/o Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
P.O. Box 874402, Tempe, AZ 85287-4402
www.bagwynbooks.com
9780866988155, $14.95, PB, 294pp, www.amazon.com

With "Gunpowder Percy", author Grace Tiffany spins a deftly crafted novel from out of a nation-shaking historical event -- the English Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Her early-modern protagonist is Sir Thomas Percy, a man who is irresistibly drawn to London's Globe theater and the wildly popular new history plays. Inspired by the king-hating warrior Hotspur in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Percy joins a group of disaffected Catholics that includes the mysterious traveler Guido Fawkes and the rebel aristocrat Robin Catesby. The terrorist plot on which they embark is colored by nostalgia and fantasy. It's a quest not just to destroy a Protestant king, but to return the nation to a mythic medieval past. With an impressive adherence to historical detail, "Gunpowder Percy" is a consistently compelling read from beginning to end and showcases author Grace Tillany as an extraordinarily gifted storyteller of the first order. While very highly recommended, especially for community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Gunpowder Percy" is also available in a Kindle format ($5.99).

Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories
John J. Clayton
Paragon House
3600 Labore Road, Suite 1, St. Paul, MN 55110-4144
www.paragonhouse.com
9781557789204 $17.95 pbk / $9.95 Kindle amazon.com

Award-winning author John J. Clayton presents Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories, a highly recommended short fiction anthology of ten interlinked stories about a minyan (a quorum of ten Jewish adults who meet to pray). A mother fears for her son, who shoplifted in Harvard Square and faced the consequences in juvenile court; a man who struggled with mental illness in the past feels the whispers of insanity returning to haunt him; a young rabbi grapples with undeniable evidence that his best friend (and the executive director of the synagogue) is a thief and a sociopath; and much more. Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories is as much about the universal human condition as it is about the lives of Jewish people, and thoroughly captivating from cover to cover. It should be noted for personal reading lists that Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.95).

Charting the Darkness
A.C. Geisel
Cape Breton University Press
P.O. Box 5300, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, B1P 6L2
www.cbupress.ca
9781772060362 $19.95 pbk / $9.99 amazon.com

Charting the Darkness is a novel about the long, hard journey to recovery. Nick Sullivan was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War; his years in a horrific Viet Cong prison camp haunt him long after the war's end, driving him to self-medicate with alcohol. The death of an uncle from his estranged family leads Sullivan to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where he works to refurbish a worn-out sailboat. The process of restoring the boat strikes an epiphany within, in this thoughtful work about gradually discovering renewal and hope. Charting the Darkness is highly recommended for both personal and public library collections.

The Trail Breakers
Logan Winters
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444827910, $20.99, Large Print PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

The Broken W ranch has used the same drive route for years: consequentially, every local rustler knows where the herd will pass, making it easy pickings. Ranch owner Glen Wycherly has an old map showing a potential alternative course through the Poconos - however, the map is incomplete. With a contract to deliver five hundred steers to Fort Davis, Wycherly dispatches former railroad man Ray Hardin to survey the new terrain and report back on its suitability. But Hardin and his companion Wally Chambers will find they are riding along a trail. What they encounter is a lethal conspiracy within the Wycherly family and a riveting final confrontation upon returning to the Broken W ranch at the end of the cattle drive. Logan Winters is a master of the western novel genre and with "The Trail Breakers" has written yet another riveting read that is unreservedly recommended for all western fiction buffs.

Shotgun Charade
Ethan Flagg
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444826449, $17.00 (Amazon), PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

When cowhand Laramie Juke helps out a new friend whose family is being harassed by the unscrupulous Mayor of Jacinto by the name of Highspade Jack Daley he has his own score to settle with the villain who was cheated him at poker. Attempting to get rid of the Cavendish clan, who have discovered a rich gold seam (the source of which hides beneath his own land) Daley hired the notorious Shotgun Murphy. But through a fluke of circumstance Juke slew Murphy and he arrives in Jacinto, he is mistaken for the gunman because he had claimed the infamous assassins trademark shotgun for his own. "Shotgun Charace" is a consistently compelling read by Ethan Flagg who is a master of the western action/adventure genre. This large print edition of "Shotgun Charade" is very highly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library collections.

The Hunt For Iron Eyes
Rory Black
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
PO Box 1230, West Seneca, NY 14224-1230
www.ulverscroftusa.com
9781444827866, $20.99, Large Print PB, 184pp, www.amazon.com

The infamous bounty hunter Iron Eyes is death personified. In "The Hunt For Iron Eyes" he is pursuing ruthless outlaws Joe Hyams and Buster Jones. But the pair get the drop on him, and leave him for dead in the dust. Meanwhile, another man is on the bounty hunter's trail - gunfighter Wolfe, sworn to take his revenge on the man who left him missing one arm. Kidnaping Squirrel Sally, the woman besotted with Iron Eyes, Wolfe sets off across the prairie -- intending to use her as bait to draw out his enemy. Author Rory Black is a master of the action/adventure western genre and "The Hunt For Iron Eyes" is his seventeenth novel depicting the hazardous adventures of the bounty hunter called Iron Eyes. Another extraordinary read from cover to cover, this large print edition of "The Hunt For Iron Eyes" is especially recommended for the personal reading lists of western buffs and is certain to be a popular addition to community library Western Fiction collections.

The Natural Way of Things
Charlotte Wood
Europa Editions
214 West 29th Street, Suite 1003, New York, N.Y. 10001
www.europaeditions.com
9781609453626, $17.00, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Drugged, dressed in old-fashioned rags, and badly in need of a cigarette, Yolanda wakes up in a barren room. Verla, a young woman who seems vaguely familiar, sits nearby. Down a hallway echoing loudly with the voices of mysterious men, in a stark compound deep in the Australian outback, other captive women are just coming to. Starved, sedated, the girls can't be sure of anything -- except the painful episodes in their pasts that link them. In "The Natural Way of Things" author Charlotte Wood depicts a world where a woman's sexuality has become a weapon turned against her. The characters, each of whom are marked by their own public scandal, are silenced and shackled by a cruel system of corporate control and misogyny. In a Kafkaesque drag of days marked only by the increasing strangeness of their predicament, the fraught, surreal, and fierce reality of inhabiting a female body becomes frighteningly vivid. But it's in the very bind of this senseless system that Yolanda and Verla discover their ability to forge a bond powerful enough to bring it down. Drawing strength from the animal instincts they're forced to rely on, the girls go from hunted to hunters, along the way becoming unforgettable and boldly original literary heroines that readers will both relate to and root for. Exceptionally well written and a consistently compelling read from cover to cover, "The Natural Way of Things" is especially recommended for community and academic library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Natural Way of Things" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Shelter in Place
Alexander Maksik
Europa Editions
214 West 29th Street, Suite 1003, New York, N.Y. 10001
www.europaeditions.com
9781609453640, $18.00, PB, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Set in the Pacific Northwest in the jittery, jacked-up early 1990s, "Shelter in Place", by Alexander Maksik is a deftly crafted novel that deals with the hereditary nature of mental illness, the fleeting intensity of youth, the obligations of family, and the dramatic consequences of love. Joseph March, a twenty-one-year-old working class kid from Seattle, is on top of the world. He has just graduated college and his future beckons, unencumbered, limitless, magnificent. Joe's life implodes when he starts to suffer the symptoms of bipolar disorder, and, not long after, his mother kills a man she's never met with a hammer. Joe moves to White Pine, Washington, where his mother is serving time and his father has set up house. He is followed by Tess Wolff, a fiercely independent woman with whom he has fallen in love. The lives of Joe, Tess, and Joe's father fall into the slow rhythm of daily prison visits followed by beer and pizza at a local bar. Meanwhile, Anne-Marie March, Joe's mother, is gradually becoming a local heroine - many see her crime as a furious, exasperated act of righteous rebellion. Tess, too, has fallen under her spell. Spurred on by Anne-Marie's example, Tess enlists Joe in a secret, violent plan that will forever change their lives. A consistently compelling read by an impressively talented writer, Alexander Maksik's "Shelter in Place" is highly recommended, especially for community and academic library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Shelter in Place" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.99). Libraries should be aware that "Shelter in Place" also has a complete and unabridged audio book MP3 CD edition (Blackstone Audio, 9781504749725, $29.95).

Winter Sky
Chris Stewart
Shadow Mountain Publishing
P.O. Box 30178, Salt Lake City, Utah 84130-0178
www.shadowmountain.com
9781629722290, $16.99, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

In a bombed-out Polish village during World War II a young resistance fighter finds that he is suddenly alone and trapped between two opposing armies. He is one of Poland's "Devil's Rebels" fighting desperately to save his homeland, but an injury has erased his memory and his only possession is a torn photograph of a couple he assumes are his parents. The woman appears to be holding the hand of a young child whose image has been ripped off. Could the child be him? A simply riveting novel by an extraordinarily gifted author, "Winter Sky" by Christ Stewart is enthusiastically recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Winter Sky" is also available in a Kindle format ($10.99). Librarians should especially note that "Winter Sky" also has a complete and unabridged CD audio book edition from Shadow Mountain Publishing (9781629722979, $29.99).

Yellow Dog
Miriam Korner
Red Deer Press
c/o Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited
195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario, Canada, L3R 4T8
www.reddeerpress.com
9780889955462, $12.95, PB, 264pp, www.amazon.com

Jeremy lives in a small community where winters are long and stray dogs roam the streets. When peer pressure leads Jeremy into a bad prank, he is immediately struck with guilt - and that's when Jeremy's life changes forever. Trying to make amends Jeremy befriends Yellow Dog, and in the process meets a curious old man who introduces him to the adventures of dog sledding. Soon Jeremy is forming his own old-time dog team with Yellow Dog at lead and in the process discovers more about himself (and the old man) than he ever thought possible. With a true natural born storyteller's skill, novelist Miriam Korner is able to deftly craft an impressively engaging and entertaining read that will make "Yellow Dog" an enduringly popular addition to personal reading lists and community library General Fiction collections.

A Lady Unrivaled
Roseanna M. White
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
9780764213526, $14.99, PB, 416pp, www.amazon.com

Lady Ella Myerston can always find a reason to smile -- even if it's just in hope that tomorrow will be better than today. All her life everyone has tried to protect her from the realities of the world, but Ella knows very well the danger that has haunted her brother and their friend, and she won't wait for it to strike again. She intends to take action -- and if that happens to involve an adventurous trip to the Cotswolds, then so much the better. With "A Lady Unrivaled", accomplished novelist Roseanna M. White has written still another wonderfully entertaining Edwardian romance novel for her legions of appreciative readers. While "A Lady Unrivaled" is very highly recommended, especially for community library Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "A Lady Unrivaled" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.86).

Away Running
David Wright & Luc Bouchard, authors
Orca Book Publishers
PO Box 468, Custer, WA 98240-0468
www.orcabook.com
9781459810464, $14.95, PB, 312pp, www.amazon.com

Matt, a white quarterback from Montreal, Quebec, flies to France (without his parents' permission) to play football and escape family pressure. Freeman, a black football player from San Antonio, Texas, is in Paris on a school trip when he hears about a team playing American football in a rough, low-income suburb called Villeneuve-La-Grande. Matt and Free join the Diables Rouges and make friends with the other players, who come from many different ethnic groups. Racial tension erupts into riots in Villeneuve when some of their Muslim teammates get in trouble with the police, and Matt and Free have to decide whether to get involved and face the very real risk of arrest and violence. The deftly written collaboration by novelists David Wright and Luc Bouchard, "Away Running" is a finely crafted story that is a consistently compelling read from cover to cover. While very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Away Running" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

This Road We Traveled
Jane Kirkpatrick
Revell
c/o Baker Publishing Group
6030 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301
www.bakerbooks.com
9780800722333, $14.99, PB, 352pp, www.amazon.com

When Tabitha Brown's son makes the fateful decision to leave Missouri and strike out for Oregon, she refuses to be left behind. Despite her son's concerns, Tabitha hires her own wagon to join the party. Along with her reluctant daughter and her ever-hopeful granddaughter, the intrepid Tabitha has her misgivings. But family ties are stronger than fear. The trials they face along the way will severely test Tabitha's faith, courage, and ability to hope. With her family's survival on the line, she must make the ultimate sacrifice, plunging deeper into the wilderness to seek aid. What she couldn't know was how this frightening journey would impact how she understood her own life--and the greater part she had to play in history. With "This Road We Traveled", novelist Jane Kirkpatrick again reveal a true storyteller's knack for creating an inherently compelling work of fiction that is based on actual events. While very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "This Road We Traveled" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.86).

Exile on Bridge Street
Eamon Loingsigh
Three Rooms Press
www.threeroomspress.com
9781941110423, $15.95, PB, 356pp, www.amazon.com

In "Exile on Bridge Street", author Eamon Loingsigh presents the story of teenage Irish immigrant Liam Garrity and his struggle to adulthood in pre-Prohibition Brooklyn. Back home, Ireland's fight for its own independence erupts with the 1916 Easter Rising. The fate of Garrity's father, an Irish rebel, is unknown, which leaves his mother and two sisters vulnerable on the family farm as British troops swarm, seeking reprisals. Garrity must organize their departure to New York immediately. In Brooklyn, Garrity is adopted by Dinny Meehan, leader of a longshoremen gang based in an "Irishtown" saloon under the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Meehan vows to help Garrity and his family. But just as Ireland struggles for independence, Garrity faces great obstacles in his own coming of age on the violent Brooklyn waterfront. World War I, the Spanish Influenza, the temperance movement, the rise of Italian organized crime, police, unions and shipping and dock companies all target the Brooklyn Irish gang and threaten Garrity's chances at bringing his family to New York. When "Wild Bill" Lovett, one of the gang's dockbosses vies to take over, both Meehan and Garrity face a fight for survival in New York City's brawling streets mirroring Ireland's own fledgling independence movement. An impressively crafted novel and a compelling read from beginning to end, "Exile on Bridge Street" is very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Exile on Bridge Street" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.69).

Stony River
Tricia Dower
Leapfrog Press
P.O. Box 505, Fredonia, NY 14063
www.leapfrogpress.com
9781935248866, $15.95, PB, 320pp, www.amazon.com

It wasn't all poodle skirts and rock 'n' roll in Stony River during the 1950s; it was a perilous time to come of age. "Stony River" by Tricia Dower is about absent mothers, controlling fathers, teenage longing and small-town pretense abound, with the threat of violence all around: crazy fathers, dirty boys, strange men in strange cars, one dead girl, one never seen, and another gone missing. A consistently compelling and unfailingly entertaining read from cover to cover, "Stony River" is very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Stony River" is also available in a Kindle format ($10.99).


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Sherlock Holmes and the Nine-Dragon Sigil
Tim Symonds
MX Publishing
www.mxpublishing.com
9781787050358, $16.95, PB, 364pp, www.amazon.com

It's the year 1906. Rumors abound that a deadly plot is hatching - not in the fog-ridden back-alleys of London's Limehouse district or the sinister Devon moors of the Hound of the Baskervilles but in faraway Peking, China. Sherlock Holmes's task is to discover whether or not such a plot exists -- and if so, to foil it. But are the assassins targeting the young and progressive Ch'ing Emperor or his imperious aunt, the fearsome Empress Dowager Cixi? The murder of either could spark a civil war. The fate of China and the interests of Britain's vast Empire in the Orient could be at stake. Holmes and faithful companion John Watson take up the mission with their customary confidence until they find they are no longer in the familiar landscapes of Edwardian England. Instead, they tumble into the Alice In Wonderland world of the Forbidden City. Author Tim Symonds does full justice to the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in this consistently compelling and deftly crafted Sherlock Holmes novel. Certain to be an highly prized addition to the growing canon of the great detective's adventures, "Sherlock Holmes and the Nine-Dragon Sigil" is unreservedly recommended to the attention of the legions of Sherlock Holmes fans and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Sherlock Holmes and the Nine-Dragon Sigil" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.99).

The Blue Baron Mystery
Jerry Labriola
Strong Books
PO Box 1194, Middlebury, CT 06762
www.jerrylabriola.com/otherBooks.htm
9781928782803, $24.95, HC, 304pp

An expert forensic scientist with an earned reputation for discretion among overt and covert traders in international artifacts, Dr. Paul D'Amean's career and life are on the line in "The Blue Baron Mystery", a truly compelling read by author Jerry Labriola who is a seasoned master of the genre. Hired by 'Gens de Ferite', an ancient French organization dedicated to tracking down the murderer of six people and to locate the stolen Blue Baron diamond, Paul finds himself traveling in perilous jeopardy following a serious of hazardous incidents that occurs as he finds himself in France, Holland, The Hauge, Belgium, Angola, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Buenos Aires and Gibraltar. A deftly crafted and riveting read from cover to cover, "The Blue Baron Mystery" is enthusiastically recommended for the personal reading lists of dedicated suspense thriller buffs and would prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. It should be noted that a complete list of Jerry Labriola eleven previous novels is available at www.jerrylabriola.com/otherBooks.htm

A Death In Vienna
Daniel Silva
Signet
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3658
www.penguin.com
9780451213181, $9.99, 448pp, www.amazon.com

Art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is sent to Vienna to discover the truth behind a bombing that killed an old friend, but while there he encounters something that turns his world upside down. It is a face -- a face that feels hauntingly familiar, a face that chills him to the bone. "A Death In Vienna" is another riveting read from author Daniel Silva who is an undisputed master of the suspense thriller genre. Deftly crafted characters embedded in a consistently compelling story of unexpected plot twists and turns, "A Death In Vienna" is very highly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library collections. It should be noted that "A Death In Vienna" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Death of a Toy Soldier
Barbara Early
Crooked Lane Books
2 Park Avenue, 10th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781629538389, $25.99, HC, 304pp, www.amazon.com

Liz McCall grew up in a playful winter wonderland but it was never her dream to manage her father's vintage toyshop. However, after he sank his entire police pension into the business, someone needed to help him turn his dreams into reality -- and keep him from sneaking off to patrol the not-so-mean streets of East Aurora, NY. The mood goes from nice to naughty when a nervous man, who was trying to have his antique toys appraised, is found in the shop with a lawn dart through his chest. Suddenly, Liz's business plan is plunged into deep freeze, while she and her father find themselves toying with a cold-blooded killer who's playing for keeps. Now, it looks like Christmas might be cancelled for the neighborhood kids if Liz can't wrap up the case. All the more impressive considering that "Death of a Toy Soldier" is author Barbara Early's debut as a novelist, this is a mystery's lover's delight and a solidly entertaining read from cover to cover that launches her 'Vintage Toyshop Mystery' series. While very highly recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs that "Death of a Toy Soldier" is also available in a Kindle edition ($9.59).

Tales of an Unlikely Sleuth
J. R. Canfield
Biographical Publishing Company
95 Sycamore Drive, Prospect, CT 06712-1493
www.biopub.us
9780997602807, $14.00, PB, 412pp, www.amazon.com

Hamilton Smith is a Bon Vivant, man-about-town, and amateur detective who slips in and out of retirement whilst encountering the sinister motivations of several unlikely homicide suspects. "Tales of an Unlikely Sleuth" is comprised of four deftly crafted and sequential Hamilton Smith mysteries in settings ranging from New England to the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains. Exceptionally well written, consistently compelling, and a thoroughly entertaining read from cover to cover, "Tales of an Unlikely Sleuth" is an especially recommended addition to the personal reading lists of all mystery buffs and will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to community library Mystery/Suspense collections.

Goliath
Shawn Corridan & Gary Waid
Oceanview Publishing
595 Bay Isles Road, 120-G, Longboat Key, FL 34228
www.oceanviewpub.com
9781608092154, $26.95, HC, 320pp, www.amazon.com

In the Bering Sea, Bennkah, the largest oil tanker ever built, newly commissioned in Vladivostock, Russia, is on a secret mission. On this maiden voyage, Captain Borodin is at the helm. He is the only one aboard aware of the mission. Soon an engineer discovers a defect -- seemingly minor, but one with disastrous potential. Despite his attempts to correct the problem, a fire erupts, contained at first, then rapidly spreads out of control, consuming the behemoth ship. A Mayday call alerts Sonny Wade some two hundred miles from the burning ship. This could be the lifeline that Sonny and his rag-tag crew need to save their failing salvage business. But Dan Sharp, Sonny's nemesis and former employer (the owner of the largest salvage business in northern Alaska) also hears the call. A brutal race is on to claim the burning ship before it sinks or runs aground, contaminating the entire north Pacific Rim -- and not only with oil. A deftly written and riveting read from beginning to end, "Goliath" is an exceptionally entertaining thriller that is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Goliath" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Where Roses Never Die
Gunnar Staalesen
Orenda Books
c/o Trafalgar Square Publishing
388 Howe Hill Road, North Pomfret, VT 05053
www.trafalgarbooks.com
9781910633090, $14.95, PB, 285pp, www.amazon.com

Mette is a three-year-old girl who in September 1977 suddenly disappears without trace from the sandpit outside her home. Her tiny, close middle-class community in the tranquil suburb of Nordas is devastated, but their enquiries and the police produce nothing. Curtains twitch, suspicions are raised, but Mette is never found. Almost 25 years later, as the expiration date for the statute of limitations draws near, Mette's mother approaches PI Varg Veum, in a last, desperate attempt to find out what happened to her daughter. As Veum starts to dig, he uncovers an intricate web of secrets, lies and shocking events that have been methodically concealed. When another brutal incident takes place, a pattern begins to emerge. Chilling, shocking and full of extraordinary twists and turns by a master of the crime thriller genre, Gunnar Staalesen's "Where Roses Never Die" is a consistently compelling read from first page to last. While very highly recommended for community library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Where Roses never Die" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.89).

Fractured
Catherine McKenzie
Lake Union Publishing
9781477817940, $24.95, HC, 349pp, www.amazon.com

Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who's been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Since Julie doesn't know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course. After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the target of increasingly unsettling harassment. Has Julie's stalker found her, or are her neighbors out to get her, too? As tension in the neighborhood rises, new friends turn into enemies, and the results are deadly. A deftly crafted and consistently compelling read from beginning to end, "Fractured" showcases author Catherine McKenzie's impressive and undeniable flair as a novelist and is very highly recommended, especially for community library General Fiction collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Fractured" is also available in a paperback edition (9781503937826, $14.95) and in a Kindle format ($4.99).


The Christian Studies Shelf

Praying for Your Pastor
Eddie Byun
InterVarsity Press
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 605151426
www.ivpress.com
9780830844661, $15.00, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

Being the pastor of a Christian community is hard work. Pastors must face demands and pressures on every side, ranging from the challenges of a church ministry to the realities of spiritual warfare. But members of a Christian congregation can make a difference in behalf of their pastor. Their Christian prayers can provide a lifeline for their pastor's spiritual health and ministry effectiveness. In "Praying for Your Pastor: How Your Prayer Support Is Their Life Support", Eddie Byun ( lead pastor of Crossway Mission Church in Seoul, South Korea. He is also professor of practical theology at Torch Trinity Graduate University) offers a handy, practical guide to praying for pastors. He shares stories of how congregational intercession changes things, with specific guidelines for prayers for protection, rest, anointing, integrity and more. God calls us to pray for our leaders. When we do, their ministry is strengthened, the kingdom is advanced and lives and communities are transformed. While very highly recommended to the attention of all members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliation, it should be noted that "Praying for Your Pastor" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.88).

Men Who Love Fierce Women
Leroy Wagner & Kimberly Wagner
Moody Publishers
820 N. LaSalle Blvd., Chicago, IL 60610
www.moodypublishers.com
9780802414656, $14.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

It is commonly observed that some men are married to strong-willed women. That can give rise to such questions as: What if I'm laid-back and my wife is... not?; How can I lead when I feel emasculated?; I'm not sure I love my wife anymore. What happened? "Men Who Love Fierce Women: The Power of Servant Leadership in Your Marriage" was written to respond to just such issues and is based on Leroy Wagner's personal experiences with failures and frustrations as a husband, and the ultimate realizations that saved his own marriage, along with the requirements God places on every husband, whether they are laid-back or not in their relationship with their wives. With their insights combined, Kim and LeRoy Wagner equip men to rise up, handle conflict, love their wife, and lead their marriage, regardless of who has the stronger personality. Very highly recommended, "Men Who Love Fierce Women" includes reflection questions at the end of every chapter, plus an appendix for addressing conflict. It should be noted that "Men Who Love Fierce Women" is also available in a Kindle edition ($8.37) and as an unabridged CD audio book ($19.98).

Total Family Makeover
Melissa Spoelstra
Abingdon Press
2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988
www.abingdonpress.com
9781501820656, $16.99, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

As parents, God calls us as parents to be key disciple-makers in our children's lives, but if we're honest, some days it's a battle just to get them dressed and ready for school on time. How can you mold their hearts when sometimes you can't even find their shoes? In "Total Family Makeover: 8 Practical Steps to Making Disciples at Home" popular women's conference speaker, Bible teacher, and writer Melissa Spoelstra gives parents a way to building family discipleship. She focuses on eight key habits of growth: Spending Time in Prayer; Reading God's Word; Growing Through a Mentoring Relationship; Finding Community in the Church; Serving Others; Taking Time to Rest; Giving Back to God; Sharing Your Faith. Disciples are made, not born. Whether children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with the parents. With the help of "Total Family Makeover" Christian parents can provide their family members with a practical approach to helping children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Inspired and inspiring, "Total Family Makeover" is very highly recommended to all members of the Christian community and also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Prosecuting Jesus
Mark Osler
Westminster John Knox Press
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396
www.wjkbooks.com
9780664261856, $17.00, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Christians have been arguing about the answer to the question 'Who is Jesus?' as long as there have been Christians, and it seems unlikely that theyre going to agree on an answer anytime soon. Mark Osler, always a bit uncomfortable in church, was never able to find a Jesus that seemed real to him until he put Jesus on trial. Drawing on his training as a federal prosecutor and professor of law, Osler and a group of friends staged the trial of Jesus for their church, as though it were happening in the modern American criminal justice system. The event was so powerful that before long Osler received invitations to take it on the road. Each time he served as Christ's prosecutor, the story of Jesus opened up to him a bit more. "Prosecuting Jesus" follows Osler in this extraordinary journey of discovering himself by discovering Jesus. Juxtaposing things we rarely put together, like the passion of Christ and our ideas about capital punishment, Osler explores an active engagement between Jesus and our contemporary law and culture. Unique and effective, inherently fascinating and ultimately inspiring, "Prosecuting Jesus" is a consistently compelling read and highly recommended for church, seminary, and community library Christian Studies collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Prosecuting Jesus" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Beyond Stewardship
John Zehring & Kate Jagger
Judson Press
PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
www.judsonpress.com
9780817017668, $15.99, PB, 160pp, www.amazon.com

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations for twenty years as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta). Co-author Kate Jagger chaired the Annual Giving Committee at South Church in Andover which brought the Annual Giving effort to new heights and field-tested this approach over a multi-year period. Together they have collaborated to present "Beyond Stewardship: A Church Guide to Generous Giving Campaign". A complete instruction guide under one cover, "Beyond Stewardship" applies the best principles of fund raising to the annual giving campaign in local congregations. By emphasizing the individual givers and the act of giving as integral to the givers' spiritual life, "Beyond Stewardship" goes beyond typical stewardship models to celebrate the generosity already demonstrated by church members and to invite further giving based on that generous past. Using a collaborative paradigm that engages leadership across the church, this volume offers four interlocking strategies for a successful annual giving campaign: personal visits, concentric circles of commitment, public witness, and direct mail. Enhanced with the inclusion of a practical appendix of tools and resources list, "Beyond Stewardship" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, making it very highly recommended for anyone, clergy or laity, who is charged with the responsibility of assisting their church with respect to its finances.

Great Catholic Parishes
William E. Simon, Jr.
Ave Maria Press
PO Box 428, Notre Dame, IN 46556
www.avemariapress.com
9781594714177, $17.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

In 2012 William E. Simon Jr. founded Parish Catalyst, an organization devoted to researching and supporting the health and development of Catholic parishes. In the pages of "Great Catholic Parishes: How Four Essential Practices Make Them Thrive" Simon offers insights and the success stories of 244 vibrant parishes to show just what makes them great. All of the parishes studied shared four foundational practices that led to a profound sense of belonging within their parish communities and a deepening commitment to discipleship: Share leadership by using clergy and lay staff with the best talents and skills to direct the community; Foster spiritual maturity and plan for discipleship by offering a variety of formation programs and ministry opportunities to reach parishioners at differing points in their lives; Excel on Sundays by dedicating significant time, energy, and money to liturgical celebrations that parishioners and visitors find welcoming; Intentionally evangelize by challenging insiders to look outward and providing service programs, social events, global mission opportunities, and pastoral care at key sacramental moments that focus on inviting outsiders to deeper relationship with Christ and the Church. Each chapter closes with either crucial takeaways or a summary of practical challenges that will help pastors and leaders focus on growth and excellence. "Great Catholic Parishes" is very highly recommended reading for both clergy and parishioners alike. It should be noted that "Great Catholic Parishes" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.15).

Ignatius of Loyola: Legend and Reality
Pierre Emonet, S.J. author
Jerry Ryan, translator
Thomas M. McCogg, S.J., editor
Saint Joseph's University Press
5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
www.sjupress.com
9781945402005, $40.00, HC, 160pp, www.amazon.com

The original French edition of "Ignatius of Loyola: Legend and Reality", by Pierre Emonet, S.J., was published in 2013 by Editions Lessius in Belgium. It has since been translated into Spanish and German. Now the Saint Joseph's University Press offers an English translation of this seminal work by Jerry Ryan. Given all the biographies of Ignatius Loyola already in print, why another one? Unlike many biographies, "Ignatius of Loyola: Legend and Reality" is succinct without being superficial. Here the reader will encounter Ignatius, the man and the legend, in a true and accurate biographical simplicity. Here the reader is presented the traits and characteristics of Ignatius of Loyoal ( October 23, 1491 - July 31, 1556) who is one of the most influential Roman Catholics to have attracted, annoyed, alarmed and amused generations over the last 500 years. Enhanced with fifteen full color images, "Ignatius of Loyola: Legend and Reality" is unreservedly recommended for personal, community, seminary, and academic library collections in general, and Ignatius of Loyola" supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

Favor with Kings
Caleb Anderson
David C. Cook
c/o Cook Communications
4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
www.cookministries.com
9781434710413, $16.99, PB, 288pp, www.amazon.com

"Favor with Kings: God's Purpose, Your Passion, and the Process of Doing Great Things" by Caleb Anderson (who leads Mariners Church in Huntington Beach, one of the fastest-growing churches in Southern California) is a remarkably unique and inspiring look at the ancient Hebrew story of Nehemiah. Anderson takes the story to places it has never been before so that his readers can go to places they have never gone to before. "Favor with Kings" deals with a diversity of issues including: identifying a purpose or dream; developing a passion or conviction; creating a plan of action; empowering people to play their role; persevere through inevitable adversity. "Favor with Kings" is especially recommended to the attention of anyone one within the Christian community who has ever had a dream; ever felt stuck or restless; ever experienced the discouragement of feeling like they are behind or not good enough or disqualified; ever started but lack the courage or conviction to stay the course. Very highly recommended and a potentially life-changing read, it should be noted that "Favor with Kings" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Bernard of Clairvaux: Miscellaneous Sermons
Daniel Griggs, translator
Cistercian Publications
c/o The Liturgical Press
2950 Saint John's Road, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500
www.litpress.org
9780879074685, $39.95, PB, 512pp, www.amazon.com

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 20 August 1153) was a French abbot and the primary reformer of the Cistercian order of the Roman Catholic Church. He joined the fifteen-year-old monastery of Citeaux in 1113. In 1115 he became the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, whence his name, Bernard of Clairvaux. Saint Bernard was a gifted and prolific writer of theological treatises, Scriptural commentaries, letters, and many sermons. Ably translated into English by Daniel Griggs, "Bernard of Clairvaux: Miscellaneous Sermons " is a compilation of his sermons that unlike his lack the specific point of departure that characterizes his other recorded sermons. That is, whereas the sermons on the Song of Songs are a verse-by-verse commentary on that biblical book and his Sermons for the Year follow the liturgical calendar, this collection of sermons deals with his various pastoral concerns. Since Scripture is always Bernard's point of departure and inspiration, the sermons often read like a Scripture study, but what comes through equally is the voice of an understanding spiritual father who is a masterful student of Scripture, biblical language, and the needs of his monks. "Bernard of Clairvaux: Miscellaneous Sermons" is an exceptional and highly recommended addition to personal, church, community, college, and university library Christian Studies collections in general, and Cistercian History supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted that "Bernard of Clairvaux: Miscellaneous Sermons" is also available in a Kindle format ($31.99).


The Islamic Studies Shelf

Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know
John Kaltner
Fortress Press
P.O. Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209
http://fortresspress.com
9780800635831, $11.99, PB, 80pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of "Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know", John Kaltner (Professor of Religion at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee) presents Islam as first and foremost a religion of orthopraxis, that is, a set of prescribed practices that Muslims refer to as the five pillars of Islam. Showing the deep humanism of Islam and its most cherished commitments, Professor Kaltner presents Islam through assertions that counter frequent and common misconceptions of the faith. Give today's unfortunate political climate, "Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know" is an urgently needed and timely volume that can effectively counteract the distortions of what Islam, one of the three great Abrahamic faiths, truly is and what it truly stands for. Informed and informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly' from cover to cover, "Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know" is urgently and unreservedly recommended for community library Islamic Studies collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.59).

Restoring The Balance
John Andrew Morrow
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com
9781443890144, $81.95, HC, 235pp, www.amazon.com

"Restoring the Balance: Using the Qur'an and the Sunnah to Guide a Return to the Prophet's Islam" by independent scholar John Andrew Morrow is a penetrating reflection upon the reality of Islam in the modern world. Addressing a myriad of pressing issues that impact Muslims in the East, West, North, and South, it tackles topics that are both difficult and troubling, threading its way through a mine-field of religious, cultural, and ideological issues with courage, balance, caution, and concern. In a world of extremes, which pits religious fundamentalists against radical reformists, "Restoring The Balance" calls upon Muslims to maintain the middle ground, using the Qur'an and the Sunnah to guide to a return of the Prophet's Islam. Impressively well written, organized and presented, "Restoring The Balance" is additionally enhanced with the include of four appendices: The Covenants Initiative; The Genocide Initiative; Edict against ISIS; What Should Muslims Say to Donald Trump? An invaluable and much needed contribution to our national dialogue and our near term future under a Trump administration, "Restoring The Balance" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to community and academic library collections in general, and Islamic Studies supplemental reading lists in particular.


The Poetry Shelf

The West Coast of Heaven: Poems
Jack Moser
Fithian Press
c/o Daniel & Daniel Publishers
PO Box 2790, McKinleyville, CA 95519
www.danielpublishing.com
9781564745880, $14.00, PB, 108pp, www.amazon.com

A compendium showcasing the poetry of Jack Moser, "The West Coast of Heaven". Toward the end of this seventh published collection of his poetry Moser announces without embarrassment that he is bipolar. This will not surprise readers familiar with his previous work, with its open and honest passion that can be pegged as alternately manic or depressive, revealing the poet to be alternately gloriously happy with the world, with God, and with humankind and also angry and discouraged with the same. Jack Moser is a man and a poet who loves Ireland, his family, his patients, and all the rest of life, especially Shekhinah, the female aspect of God's Holy Spirit. But this same man and this same poet has fierce, angry feelings about the brutality of war, the economics of greed, and humanity's historical and persistent cruelty. A collection of candid and deftly crafted verse, "The West Coast of Heaven" is highly recommended, especially for community and academic library Contemporary Poetry collections.

Blue Hallelujahs
Cynthia Manick
Black Lawrence Press
http://www.blacklawrence.com
9781625579454, $15.95, PB, 65pp, www.amazon.com

Cynthia Manick is a Pushcart Prize nominated poet with a MFA in Creative Writing from the New School; she has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop, Fine Arts Work Center, the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences, Hedgebrook, Poets House, and the Vermont Studio Center. "Blue Hallelujahs" is the latest compendium of her work and showcases her unique gifts as a wordsmith of the first order. A master of the free verse format, Marrick's poetry is deeply personal while being at the same time, impressively universal in accessability. A consistently compelling read from cover to cover, "Blue Hallelujahs" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists as well as community and academic library Contemporary American Poetry collections.

Blaris Moor
Medbh McGuckian
Wake Forest University Press
PO Box 7333, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
www.wfu.edu/wfupress
9781930630789, $13.95, PB, 112pp, www.amazon.com

Elegant, intuitive, reflective, memorable, the poetry of Medbh McGuckian comprising the pages of "Blaris Moor" with its historical overtones and subject matter is very highly recommended for personal, community, and academic library Contemporary Poetry collections. 'An Early Apocalypse': I see the skeleton of the year / poised in the cool moonplay, / trying to catch at the blemished / calendar of the next. // Embraced most of the day / by the low and slender rainbow, / the world-jewel sweeps on / with its morning, noon and night. // The nowhereness of the fifth-month grass / stayed for a moment only, / before the earthless mountain light / anointed without mountains.

Garden Time
W. S. Merwin
Copper Canyon Press
PO Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368
www.coppercanyonpress.org
9781556594991, $24.00, HC, 96pp, www.amazon.com

W. S. Merwin (born September 30, 1927) is an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose. Merwin has served as Poet Laureate of the United States and has received every major literary accolade, including two Pulitzer prizes. Published by Copper Canyon Press, "Garden Time" is his latest collection of free verse prose poetry and is unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of poetry enthusiasts, as well as community, college, and university library Contemporary American Poetry collections. 'Early One Morning': Here is Memory walking in the dark / there are no pictures of her as she is / the coming day was never seen before / the stars have gone into another life / the dreams have left with no sound of farewell / insects wake flying up with their feed wet / trying to take the night along with them / Memory alone is awake with me / knowing that this may be the only time


The Military Shelf

Combat Mission Kandahar
T. Robert Fowler
The Dundurn Group
3 Church Street, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5E 1M2
www.dundurn.com
9781459735163, $21.99, PB, 272pp, www.amazon.com

What was it like to serve in the combat mission in Afghanistan? Journalists' reports from 2006 to 2011 could only give brief glimpses of the reality on the ground for Canadian soldiers. In "Combat Mission Kandahar: The Canadian Experience in Afghanistan" military author T. Robert Fowler reveals the full story of what happened to seven soldiers, ranking from corporal to captain, who were deployed during Operation ATHENA, Phase 2. The operation became known as "the combat mission" as Canadian battle groups engaged in a deadly multi-year war of counter-insurgency in Kandahar province. Each of the seven soldier's experiences covered in "Combat Mission Kandahar" highlights a facet of one of Canada's longest, most complicated, and challenging operations. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Combat Mission Kandahar: The Canadian Experience in Afghanistan" is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to community and academic library Canadian Military History collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Combat Mission Kandahar: The Canadian Experience in Afghanistan" is also available in a Kindle format ($8.79).

Hornet 33
Ed Denny
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476666099, $29.95, PB, 296pp, www.amazon.com

Combat helicopter pilots in the Vietnam War flew each mission facing the possibility of imminent death. Begun as a series of attempted letters to the Department of Veterans Affairs, "Hornet 33: Memoir of a Combat Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam" is compelling memoir of Ed Denny who was an aircraft commander in the 116th Assault Helicopter Company nicknamed "The Hornets". Denny relates his experience of the war in frank and candid detail. From supporting the 25th Infantry Division's invasion of Cambodia, to flying the lead aircraft in the 101st Airmobile Division's pivotal Operation Lam Son 719 invasion of Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail at LZ Hope, Denny vividly recounts the traumatic events of his service from March 1970 to March 1971. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Hornet 33" is an invaluable and highly recommended addition to the growing library of Viet Name War literature. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Hornet 33" is also available in a Kindle format ($3.03).


The Beer/Wine Shelf

PAIRED: Champagne & Sparkling Wines
Fran Flynn & David Stevens-Castro
Paired Media
c/o Latino Cellar
http://www.paired-media.com
9780994348500, $38.00, HC, 150pp, www.amazon.com

Food and wine pairing can be easy! All you need are taste buds, a sense of adventure, and a copy of the Writer's Digest Press award winning "PAIRED: Champagne & Sparkling Wines" by the husband-and-wife team wine expert David Stevens-Castro and food photographer Fran Flynn. Beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color, this thoroughly 'user friendly' culinary recipe compendium showcases sparkling wines of all styles with tantalizing home-cooked recipes for all courses of a complete meal -- and not just with finger food occasions. "PAIRED: Champagne & Sparkling Wines" offers seven chapters each of which showcase a particular style of sparkling wine, present a visual synopsis of the country of origin, supply complimentary cheese ideas, and several recipes that will pair with the topical variety. Common misconceptions about wine are dispelled, a broad range of dishes suitable for sharing and entertaining are presented, and suggestions on how you can introduce your friends to the wonderful world of food and wine are also provided. With "PAIRED: Champagne & Sparkling Wines" even the most novice of kitchen cooks can turn any meal into an elegant and truly memorable dining experience. "PAIRED: Champagne & Sparkling Wines" is very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections.


The Gaming Shelf

How to Crush No-Limit Hold'em
Dusty Schmidt & Paul Christopher Hoppe
Cardoza Publishing
808 South Main Street, Las Vegas, NV 89108-6404
http://cardozabooks.com
9781580423342, $24.95, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

Dusty Schmidt's resume is legendary: He has won more than $5 million in cash games, and had the world's highest win rate in both $5/$10 and $10/$20 no-limit hold'em for two years running. His resume includes 12 million poker hands and 12,000 hours of playing poker. In the pages of "How to Crush No-Limit Hold'em" Dusty Schmidt, draws upon his years of experience and expertise as an Internet cash game player and renowned poker strategy teacher to show players how to crush today's toughest no-limit hold'em cash games. "How to Crush No-Limit Hold'em" explains how to maneuver in inexact situations where players don't know opponents' ranges and strategies, and where pot odds and stack sizes aren't necessarily known quantities. Mistakes, and good plays are dissected allowing aspiring poker players learn how to think and play in real games where multiple situations apply so that players can cut through the noise and focus on the facts that matter most. The critical concepts that spell the difference between winning and losing, and the critical thinking needed to win in today's tough games is the focus of this informed and informative instructional guide to making serious money in cash games. Bluffing, inducing multi-street bluffs, exploiting capped and uncapped ranges, post-flop squeezes, turning scare cards into profit, and over-betting are just a few powerful concepts discussed and dissected through real-play examples. Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "How to Crush No-Limit Hold'em" should be considered a 'must read' for any poker player sitting down to a game of No-Limit Texas Hold'em.


The Biography Shelf

Heroes Without Glory
Jack Schaefer
University of New Mexico Press
MSC05 3185, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
9780826357663 $24.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle www.unmpress.com

Heroes Without Glory: Some Good Men of the Old West lives up to its title as a collection of biographical essays about little-known yet noble-hearted doctors, explorers, and cowboys of the Old West - men who achieved great things without resorting to violence or gun battles. Profiled men include shoemaker James Capen Adams, postman John A. Thompson, Shoshone warrior and statesman Wash-a-kie, peace officer Elfego Baca, and many more. An inspirational anthology packed cover to cover with real-life courage, Heroes Without Glory is highly recommended for both public library collections and personal reading lists.

Tesla for Beginners
Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen
For Beginners LLC
155 Main Street, Suite 211, Danbury, CT 06810
www.forbeginnersbooks.com
9781939994486 $15.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

Part of the "For Beginners" series well-known for its engaging illustrations and reader-friendly text, Tesla for Beginners teaches readers of all ages about Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), a Serbian- American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist. Though not as well-known as his contemporary Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla was a genius who created nearly 300 patents for household an industrial inventions, including his design of the modern alternating current. Black-and-white illustrations on virtually every page make Tesla for Beginners easy on the eyes and thoroughly accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Tesla for Beginners is highly recommended for personal, school, and public library collections.

50 Percent of Mountaineering Is Uphill
Susanna Pfisterer
NeWest Press
#201, 8540-109 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 1E6
www.newestpress.com
9781926455600, $24.95, PB, 310pp, www.amazon.com

Written by his daughter Susanna, "Fifty Percent of Mountaineering Is Uphill" is the personal story of the late Jasper's Willi Pfisterer, who was and remains a legend in the field of mountaineering and safety in the Rocky Mountains. For more than thirty years, Willi was an integral part of Jasper's alpine landscape, guiding climbers up to the highest peaks, and rescuing them from perilous situations. Originally from Austria, Willi was a mountain man who came to Canada in the 1950s to assail the Rockies, and stayed to become an integral part of mountain safety in Western Canada and the Yukon. His daughter, Susanna Pfisterer, has shaped his stories and lectures as an engaging and educational adventure story that features over 100 archival photographs, including avalanches in the National Parks, highlights from climbing 1600 peaks and participating in over 700 rescues, and guiding adventures with Prime Ministers. Accompanied by the humorous wisdom of the "Sidehillgouger", readers will traverse an historical and spectacular terrain. Impressively informative, deftly written, organized and presented, "50 Percent of Mountaineering Is Uphill" is a truly extraordinary account of an extraordinary life and very highly recommended for community library biography shelves and academic library mountaineering history collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "50 Percent of Mountaineering Is Uphill" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.99).

Die Young with Me
Rob Rufs
Touchstone Books
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
9781501142611, $25.00, HC, 400pp, www.amazon.com

Punk's not dead in rural West Virginia. In fact, it blares constantly from the basement of identical twins Rob and Nat Rufus. When the brothers start their own band, their lives begin to change: they meet friends, they attract girls, and they finally get invited to join a national tour and get out of their rat box little town. But their plans are cut short when Rob is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that has already progressed to Stage Four. Not only are his dreams of punk rock stardom completely shredded, there is a very real threat that this is one battle that can't be won. While Rob suffers through nightmarish treatments and debilitating surgery, Nat continues on their band's road to success alone. But as Rob's life diverges from his brother's, he learns to find strength within himself and through his music. "Die Young With Me" is a raw, candid honest account of a brave teen's fight with cancer and the many ways music helped him cope through his recovery. This extraordinary memoir is very highly recommended, especially for community library Contemporary American Biography collections. For personal reading lists it should be noted that "Die Young with Me" is also available in a paperback edition (9781501142628, $14.99) and in a Kindle format ($12.99).

Smell the Raindrops
B. A. Austin
Crescendo Press
www.baaustin.com
9780989504737, $22.00, HC, 200pp, www.amazon.com

"Smell the Raindrops: One young woman's journey through life, love and recovery" is the very personal memoir of B. A. Austin told in a series of succinct vignettes that result in an inherently fascinating and candid account of her life experiences, the events and the people that comprised formed and comprised her world. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Smell the Raindrops" is an extraordinary and consistently engaging read from first page to last and very highly recommended for community library American Biography collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Smell the Raindrops" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).


The Art Shelf

Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour
Billy Showell
Search Press USA
c/o Publishers Group West
1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
www.searchpressusa.com
9781844484515, $35.00, HC, 192pp, www.amazon.com

Botanical artists Billy Showell's highly accomplished paintings give a contemporary twist to the traditional art of botanical painting, and have received worldwide acclaim. In "Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour" she draws upon her years of experience and expertise to produce an impressive compendium of simply stunning works of art. As an instruction manual, "Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour" covers every aspect of botanical painting, including the materials and tools needed, preserving specimens, drawing, painting, color mixing and composition. Richly illustrated throughout with step-by-step demonstrations and examples of her work, "Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour" is a visual feast as well as an invaluable source of expert guidance and inspiration. With a diverse range of subjects that include flowers, foliage, fruit and vegetables, Billy provides an insight into her painting techniques that artists of all abilities will find both informative and inspirational. "Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in tone, commentary, organization and presentation, making it an ideal and very highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Art Studies instructional reference collections in general, and Botanical Art supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Billy Showell's Botanical Painting in Watercolour" is also available in a Kindle format ($22.30),.

Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective
David Hockney
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500286715, $29.95, PB, 368pp, www.amazon.com

David Hockney is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. An important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is arguably one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. "Hockney's Pictures: The Definitive Retrospective" is a stunningly beautiful compendium that showcases almost fifty years of this truly extraordinary artist's creativity across a range of media. The pieces are selected and organized thematically by Hockney himself, tracking his lifelong experiments in ways of looking and depicting. Including more than 300 perfectly reproduced illustrations, accompanied by quotes from the artist that illuminate the passionate thinking behind the work, "Hockney's Pictures" shows the evolution and diversity of his paintings, drawings, watercolors, prints, and photography, confirming and reinforcing his position as one of the world's most popular living artists. "Hockney's Pictures" is a 'must' for the legions of David Hockney fans, and a critically important addition to community, college, and university library Contemporary Art History collections in general, and David Hockney supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

The Animator's Sketchbook
Tony White
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781498774017, $49.95, www.amazon.com

The Animator's Sketchbook: How to See, Interpret & Draw Like a Master Animator is recommended for students of animation who want to improve their work through drawings, and uses an exercise format designed to enhance the analysis and basic skills needed to become a master animator. Each exercise is timed, while the different art styles encourage individual creativity and skills. Readers of all levels - those with some animation skills under their belts as well as relative novices - will find this can be used as a self-teaching workbook while educators can use it to help students reach new goals and new levels of expertise.

Creative Revolution
Flora Bowley
Quarry Books
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1722
www.quartoknows.com
9781631592591, $24.99, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Flora Bowley is an internationally celebrated painter, workshop facilitator, author, visionary, and inspirationalist. "Creative Revolution: Personal Transformation Through Brave Intuitive Painting" is the culmination of Flora's life's work as an artist, and offers a profusely and beautifully illustrated instruction, inspiration, and guidance for others to embrace their authentic selves through paint. In the pages of "Creative Revolution" Flora has created a kind of do-it-yourself workshop. After reading "Creative Revolution", Flora's readers will have a deeper connection to their intuition, increased confidence to make bolder choices, freedom to let go and explore various options, an understanding that everything is transformable, the trust that it will all work out in the end, and a renewed sense that creating can be fun and playful. All of this powerful transformation begins with paint. While very highly recommended for community and academic library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Creative Revolution" is also available in a Kindle format ($11.99).


The Graphic Novel Shelf

Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo
Sandrine Revel
NBM Publishing
160 Broadway, Suite 700, East Wing, New York, NY 10038
www.nbmpub.com
9781681120652, $25.99, HC, 136pp, www.amazon.com

A prolific and award-winning French creator of graphic novels, Sandrine Revel has turned the life of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould into a graphic novel format. Gould was a child genius who became a worldwide superstar of classical music and is remembered for, among others, his almost revolutionary interpretations of Bach. This graphic novel style approach to biography seeks to understand the eccentric personality behind the persona. Who is the mysterious Glenn Gould? Why did he abruptly end his career as a performing musician? Why did he become one of the very first of his peers to disappear from the public eye like J.D. Salinger? Author and illustrator Sandrine Revel deftly delves into the life of Gould with her hand painted illustrations and the viewpoint of an adoring fan. Unique, unusual, informative and effective, "Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo" is very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Contemporary Biography collections. It should be noted that "Glenn Gould: A Life Off Tempo" is also available in a Kindle format ($14.99).

Blame! 2
Tsutomu Nihei
Vertical, Inc.
451 Park Avenue South, 7th floor, New York, NY 10016
www.vertical-inc.com
9781942993780 $34.95, 374 pp., amazon.com

Blame! 2 is a black-and-white manga (Japanese graphic novel), continuing a gritty, post- apocalyptic cyberpunk saga, set in a future where humanity is on the brink of extinction. The City is a sprawling, technological world populated by human and semi-human tribes struggling for survival. Kyrii and Cibo are tasked with a desperate mission - to search for the Net Terminal Gene, the only thing that can halt the City's expansion and preserve what remains of humankind. Hostile, robotic enemies threaten them; Kyrii awakens a new power of observation within himself; and Cibo must confront her trepidations about Kyrii's true nature. Brought to life with sweeping, intense artwork and dramatic battles, Blame! is a "must-have" for cyberpunk connoisseurs, highly recommended.

The Knight in the Crypt
Raymond Khoury, author
Miguel Lalor, artist
Cinebook, Ltd
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849183086, $13.95, PB, 56pp, www.amazon.com

"The Knight in the Crypt" is the second volume in the outstanding four issue series 'The Last Templar" written by Raymond Khoury and illustrated by Miguel Lalor. In this installment, the investigation onto the lethal museum raid continues, but it's a difficult one. One of the four 'knights' has already died in his guarded hospital room, and FBI Agent Reilly is unknowingly engaged in a race to find the other thieves before the mysterious assassins trying to eliminate them. Meanwhile, young archaeologist Tess Chaykin is following up the Templar lead -- one that the FBI considers too far-fetched to be worth looking into. The storytelling combination of medieval Templar flashbacks and the contemporary action/adventure is flawless. Very highly recommended for personal reading lists and community library Graphic Novel collections, it should be noted that "The Knight in the Crypt" is also available in a Kindle format ($7.55).

Clear Blue Tomorrows
Fabien Vehlmann, author
Bruno Gazzotti, artist
Ralph Meyer, contributor
Cinebook Ltd.
www.cinebook.com
c/o National Book Network (dist.)
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
www.nbnbooks.com
9781849182843, $15.05, PB, 64pp, www.amazon.com

"Clear Blue Tomorrows" begins with a future in which the entire population is under a de facto dictatorship because of cerebral implants invented by one F.G. Wilson -- implants which prevent anyone from trying to harm Wilson. Trying to get around his own implant's prohibition against harming Wilson, Nolan Ska, an engineer, manages to travel back in time, with the intention of changing history by preventing Wilson form inventing his implant through encouraging him to pursue what was his first career of being a novelist. But the man who will eventually become a seemingly immortal despot turns out to be a poor writer, and it will be up to Nolan to use his own memories to be his ghost writer. Superbly illustrated and featuring 'stories within stories', "Clear Blue Tomorrows" is a superbly presented science fiction graphic novel that is enthusiastically recommended for both community library graphic novel collections and the personal reading lists of any and all science fiction buffs.


The Audiobook Shelf

The Go-Between
L.P. Hartley
Read by Sean Barrett
Naxos of America, Inc.
1810 Columbia Avenue, Suite 28, Franklin, TN 37064
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
9781781980255 $59.98 amazon.com

Read by film and theater actor Sean Barrett, The Go-Between is the unabridged audiobook edition of the classic 1953 novel by L.P. Hartley, which has also been adapted to stage and screen. The story lies in the memories of a man who, as a child in the hot summer of 1900's, was persuaded to act as a message carrier between an aristocratic young woman and her lowborn lover. Blinded by his own affections, he was at first unaware of his role in sustaining an illicit love affair. But neither his naivete nor the deception shrouding the love affair could endure forever, with tragic consequences. The Go-Between is poignant, dramatic, and highly recommended especially for personal and public library audiobook collections. 9 CDs, 10 hours 39 min.

If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run!
Whoopi Goldberg
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteAudio.com
9781478960072 $30.00 amazon.com

Read aloud by author, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg, If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run! is the unabridged audiobook rendition of her straightforward, candid chat about human relationships, spiced with her natural genius for comedy. Why is the modern divorce rate so high? Why does our society insist that marriage is the best path for everyone, when for some individuals it clearly isn't? If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run! does not demean the institution of marriage in any way; rather, it emphasizes that understanding one's own nature and desires is crucial to living a happy life, whether or not that life is shared with an intimate partner. Wise, funny, and thoughtful, If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run! is highly recommended. It should be noted that If Someone Says "You Complete Me," Run! is also available in a hardcover edition (9780316302012, $26.00).

Best. State. Ever.
Dave Barry
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
www.recordedbooks.com
C04462, $40.00, CD, www.amazon.com

David McAlister "Dave" Barry (born July 3, 1947) is a Pulitzer Prize winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. Every few months, Dave will get a call from some media person wanting to know, "What the hell is wrong with Florida?" Somehow, the state has acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid. As a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. Sure, there was the 2000 election. And people seem to take their pants off for no good reason. And it has flying insects the size of LeBron James. But it is a great state, and Dave is going to tell you why in a series of unfailingly witty storytelling vignettes superbly narrated by Dick Hill. Listeners will join Dave as he celebrates his beloved state of Florida from Key West at the bottom to whatever it is that's at the top, and from the Sunshine State's earliest history to the fun-fair of weirdness that is Florida today. Wonderfully entertaining from beginning to end, "Best. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland" is very highly recommended, especially for community library audio book collections.

Settle for More
Megyn Kelly
Harper Audio
195 Broadway, Floor 2, New York, NY 10007-3132
www.harperaudio.com
9780062565945 $39.99 amazon.com

Megyn Kelly is a television journalist well-known for her show "The Kelly File" on the Fox News Channel. Settle for More is her autobiography, now available as an unabridged audiobook read by Kelly herself. Kelly speaks openly about growing up in a strict family, the heart- wrenching death of her father, and how she chose to "settle for more" by changing career paths from law to the news business. Kelly also tells her side of her public feud with Donald Trump, offers new insight into the Republican debates of the 2016 presidential primary, and on a personal level, how she balances her job and her home life as a working mother. Told with wry humor, keen insight, and unfettered honesty, Settle for More is highly recommended. 9 CDs, 10 hours.

Burning Bright
Melissa McShane, author
Read by Cat Gould
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781515914303 $42.99 amazon.com

Burning Bright is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a historical fantasy novel about a strong-willed young woman with an unusual talent for pyromancy. Elinor is the only Extraordinary in England capable of wielding fire magic for over one hundred years. When her father tries to force her into a loveless marriage to propagate her gift in more powerful offspring, she rebels and joins the Royal Navy. She turns her burning talent against the French privateers and ruthless pirates of the Caribbean, gradually earning the respect of her captain and the ship's crew. But could her growing talent spiral out of control? Burning Bright is a sweeping, character- driven adventure, highly recommended. 10 CDs, 13 hours.

Ad Astra
Jack Campbell
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
www.tantor.com
9781515960638, $24.99, CD, MP3, www.amazon.com

Expertly narrated by Adam Verner, "Ad Astra" is an audio book collection of science fiction short stories by John Hemry writing under the pseudonym of Jack Campbell. This is a simply outstanding compendium of tales about spaceships, interstellar travel, and far flung colonies. These are the kind of stories that were the mainstay of such classic 'Golden Age of Science Fiction' magazines such as Galaxy and Astounding Tales. Of special note are the succinct introductions to each individual story that reveal the author's original inspiration for writing them. Complete and unabridged (6 CDs, 7 Hours), "Ad Astra" is wholeheartedly recommended for community library audio book collections in general, and the listening lists of dedicated science fiction fans in particular!

Seeds of Deception
Sheila Connolly, author
Read by Marguerite Gavin
Tantor Media, Inc.
6 Business Park Road, Old Saybrook, CT 06475
9781515907725 $39.99 www.tantor.com

Seeds of Deception is the unabridged audiobook rendition of a murder mystery that disrupts the honeymoon of a newly married couple. Meg and Seth both share a love for apples, and come to Thomas Jefferson's orchards at Monticello for their ideal vacation. But when Meg's parents discover the corpse of their handyman in the backyard, Meg and Seth must take action to prove her father's innocence! A dramatic, finely crafted whodunnit brought to life by award-winning performer Marguerite Gavin, Seeds of Deception is highly recommended.

Christmas Caramel Murder
Joanne Fluke, author
Narrated by Suzanne Toren
Recorded Books, LLC
270 Skip Jack Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678
9781501932595 $TBA www.recordedbooks.com

Part of the "Hannah Swensen Holiday Mystery" series (with over a dozen recipes!), Christmas Caramel Murder follows Hannah and her close friend Lisa, who agree to provide snacks for their Minnesota town's production of "A Christmas Carol". Then the ex-girlfriend of Lisa's husband is found dead, clad in a scanty costume. Suspects abound; Hannah and Lisa have to find the season's murderer quickly, before he or she strikes again! A cozy curl-up-by-the-fire audiobook, Christmas Caramel Murder is especially recommended for fans of the genre. 4 CDs, 4.5 hours.

Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.hachetteaudio.com

Maria Semple's Today Will Be Different (9781478927624, $30.00) receives a fine narration by Kathleen Wilhoite, who brings a vigorous voice to the story of an erratic, scattered woman who one day decides to change her life through a series of little changes. Unexpectedly, the little changes she decides upon pale in comparison with the bigger changes that have been taking place around her, and which she discovers on this day. Family secrets and secret lives come to life in a story filled with deep impressions and engrossing insights. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's The Obsidian Chamber (9781478938941, $40.00) tells of a special agent's disappearance, a harrowing discovery, and a kidnapping which evolves into an international manhunt as a long-time bodyguard finds himself chasing after the truth behind the special agent's ward's disappearance. Rene Auberjonois' television background and Emmy-nominated style lends well to his ability to elevate The Obsidian Chamber to exquisite levels of tension and intrigue, backed by his seasoned and powerful voice. Nicholas Sparks' Two by Two (9781619691391, $35.00) is narrated by Ari Fliakos, who brings to life the vivid story of Russell Green, who has a stunning wife, perfect family, fine career and big home. His world seems perfect; but underneath the veneer of perfection is a world cracking open and in just a few months Russ will find himself unemployed and caring for his young daughter alone. In true Sparks fashion, emotional turmoil comes to life in a story that benefits from the narrator's quiet strength and delivery. Dr. Sue Johnson works with Kenneth Sanderfer in Created for Connection (9781478912415, $30.00), narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen, which addresses the real emotional support systems of relationships and how to nurture the type of dependency that is healthy and supportive of the relationship and God. Discussions brought to life in audio seek to connect emotional with spiritual progress. Joel Osteen's Think Better Live Better: A Victorious Life Begins in Your Mind (9781609418250, $30.00) is read by the author and offers a solid strategy for using one's mindset to reach for better opportunities in life. It advocates the idea of better thinking patterns and shows how to take control of one's thoughts for a better, God-driven lifestyle. Osteen's ability to lend his words powerful emphasis through his audio narration makes this a winner especially recommended for self-help and spiritually-minded listeners.


The Library CD Shelf

Beyond Karma
Gyuto Monks of Tibet
Featuring Kim Cunio & Heather Lee
New Earth Records
c/o Sounds True
413 South Arthur Avenue, Louisville, CO 80027
www.soundstrue.com
$10.73 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Beyond Karma is a unique melding of traditional sacred music. The Gyuto Monks of Tibet perform along with two Australian music artists, Kim Cunio and Heather Lee, to create an emotionally moving, transcendent experience. Beyond Karma is a treasure for both personal and public library collections. The tracks are "Beyond Karma", "Karma Burning", "O Pastor Animarum", "Tantric Grace", "Unity of Life", "Mahakala", "Lament for a Lost Land", "On the Path", "As the Sun Sets", "The Suffering of the World", and "Dedication". Also highly recommended for connoisseurs of reflective, spiritual soundscapes is "Shakti Sutra" by Sheela Bringi, an album of evocative music crafted to be especially suitable for chanting, yoga, and movement.

Expansions Live
The Dave Liebman Group
Whaling City Sound
www.whalingcitysound.com
c/o Naxos of America, Inc. (dist.)
www.naxosaudiobooks.com
$16.99 amazon.com

Expansions Live is a 2-CD set of a live performance of Dave Liebman's group Expansions, five musicians who tour and record together: Dave Liebman (soprano sax and flute), Matt Vashlishan (reeds), Bobby Avey (keys), Tony Marino (bass), and Alex Ritz (drums). One CD is devoted to acoustic songs, the other to electric songs; all are brimming with creativity, improvisation, and flourish. Expansions Live is highly recommended, especially for jazz connoisseurs, and public library collections. The tracks are "Introduction of band members", "JJ", "Continues to Ignore", "All Blues", "Vendetta", "Good Bait", "Selim", and "India" on the Acoustic disc, and "Surreality", "The Moors", "Footprints", "Ugly Beauty", "Liberian Hummingbird", "Love Me Tender", and "Danse de la Fureur" on the Electric disc.

More Than a Little
Adrian + Meredith
www.adrianplusmeredith.com
Vertigo Productions
$11.00 CD / $7.00 MP3 / $20.00 vinyl

East Nashville based due Adrian + Meredith present More Than a Little, an original Americana music album that freely experiments with punk, folk, rock & roll, and even early swing and jazz. Featuring the stylings of quintessentially Midwestern instruments such as tenor banjo, harmonica, and fiddle as well as guitar, drums, bass, trombone, trumpet, and clear-as-day vocals, More Than a Little is a joy to experience. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Take a Boat", "Bank", "Birthday Cakes", "More Than a Little", "Hero", "Greasy Coat + Kitchen Girl", "Fixer", "Get What She Wants", "Country Tune", "Southern Call", and "Old Midwestern Home".

Late Nights & Heartbreak
Hannah Williams & The Affirmations
Record Kicks
$19.98 CD / $8.99 MP3 amazon.com

Late Nights & Heartbreak is the second dulcet album by UK-based soul performer Hannah Williams and The Affirmations. A resonant, emotionally moving experience, Late Nights & Heartbreak is truly captivating, and a sparkling gem for connoisseurs of the genre. Highly recommended! The tracks are "Tame In The Water", "Dazed and Confused", "Fighting Your Shadow", "Woman Got Soul", "Ain't Enough", "Fool", "Late Nights & Heartbreak", "In Your Arms", "Still In My Head", "Callin' Me Back", "7am to Seville", "Another Sunrise", and "Your Luck Can Change".

Andalusia of Love
Marcel Khalife, composer
Mahmoud Darwish, poetry
Nagam Records
www.andalusiaoflove.com
$18.20 CD / $9.49 MP3 amazon.com

Master of the oud (a stringed instrument used in traditional Middle Eastern music) and composer Marcel Khalife combines his talent with Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (lyrics), Rami Khalife (piano), Jilbert Yamine (kanoun, a stringed instrument similar to the zither), and Bachar Khalife (percussion) to create Andalusia of Love, a passionate, beautiful album. Influenced by Western classical, jazz, experimental music, and traditional Arabic music, Andalusia of Love voices the Arab experience of everyday life, and memories of the glory days of Al-Andalus, a time in history when southern Span was ruled by Muslim Arabs but open to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, who cooperated freely with one another. An album of inspiration and hope, Andalusia of Love is supported by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) which supports civil rights for all people and opposes all forms of racism and bigotry. Also highly recommended for world music collections is "Damar" by Bosnian singer Amira Medunjanin ($16.98 CD / $8.99 MP3).


The Library DVD Shelf

When Two Worlds Collide
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
$19.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

An award-winning selection of the Sundance film festival, When Two Worlds Collide is a gripping documentary about an ongoing struggle set in Peru. On one side is President Alan Garcia who, in order to bolster his nation's economy, has begun seizing oil, minerals, and gas from previously untouched Amazonian land inhabited by indigenous peoples. On the other side is indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, who has made profound, passionate speeches against Garcia's destructive actions and rallied opposition. Their war of words has erupted into outbreaks of violence. A sober, revealing video essay of the potentially deadly conflict over land and its use, When Two Worlds Collide is highly recommended for both personal and public library viewing. 103 min., Spanish language with English subtitles.

Indian Point
A film by Ivy Meeropol
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
$24.95 www.firstrunfeatures.com

Indian Point is a documentary on DVD about Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, an aging facility located a mere 35 miles from Times Square. Although the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) supports the plant, a local anti-nuclear movement has voiced fears that a disaster similar to the 2012 meltdowns at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant could occur. America needs clean energy, and the appeal of nuclear power is very strong, but could government complacency or insufficient regulation cause a nuclear crisis? A balanced appraisal of the risks and rewards of relying on nuclear power, Indian Point is highly recommended especially for public, school, and college library DVD collections. DVD extras include bonus and deleted scenes. 94 min.

Oregon's Crater Lake National Park
Bennett Watt HD Productions, Inc.
13021 - 244th Avenue SE, Issaquah, WA 98027
www.Bennett-Watt.com
9781604902099 $24.95 DVD
9781604902327 $24.95 Blu-ray

Part of the Discoveries... America National Parks series of beautiful, high-definition video essays (available in both DVD and Blu-ray formats), Oregon's Crater Lake National Park is a stunning showcase of the features and natural beauty of this remote natural park. Crater Lake is America's deepest lake, and scientists believe it to be the cleanest and clearest large body of water in the world. Steep, 2,000 foot rock walls surround this difficult-to-reach yet utterly breathtaking natural spectacle. Oregon's Crater Lake National Park includes ranger-guided boat tours, footage from hiking old growth forests, Crater Lake Lodge, ranger-guided snow shoeing and cross country skiing in winter, and the "Dancing Dozers". The next best thing to visiting this extraordinary national park in person, Oregon's Crater Lake National Park is a joy to view, and especially recommended for public library DVD collections. 51 min.

Soundbreaking
Athena
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$49.99 www.acornonline.com

Soundbreaking is a Blu-ray documentary series about the rise of recorded music in the 20th century. Eight episodes draw upon archival studio footage, insights from 150 original interviews, and more to provide a stunning tour of the artists and producers who permanently transformed the modern-day experience of music. As entertaining as it is edifying, Soundbreaking is also available in DVD format ($49.99) and highly recommended for both personal and public library collections. Bonus features include extra footage of Elton John, Sir George Martin, Les Paul, and others, plus a 20-page booklet. 425 min. plus bonus, 1080p, widescreen, SDH subtitles.

Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1
Viz Media LLC
1355 Market Street, Suite 200, San Francisco CA 94103
www.viz.com
$79.99 Blu-ray & DVD combo pack limited edition
$69.98 Blu-ray & DVD combo pack standard edition
$28.29 DVD amazon.com

Usagi is a capricious teenage girl prone to daydreams, who struggles with poor grades in school. Then an intelligent black cat gifts her with magical powers, and the costumed identity of Sailor Moon! Only Sailor Moon, her fellow Sailor Scouts, and the dapper yet mysterious Tuxedo Mask have the power to confront the menace of the Dark Kingdom and the relentless Queen Beyrl. Based on the popular shojo manga (Japanese comics created especially for girls) by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 is the brand new anime (Japanese animation) series that completely re-imagines the 1990's Sailor Moon television series. Featuring gorgeous, 100% original animation, captivating music, and the viewer's choice of Japanese or English voice acting, Sailor Moon Crystal brings the pretty, klutzy, and somewhat ditzy heroine to a new generation of viewers. Set one consists of fourteen episodes, spanning the complete Dark Kingdom Arc. Since there are fewer episodes than the 1990's Sailor Moon anime, Sailor Moon Crystal follows the original manga's story more closely and doesn't have repetitive "filler" episodes with "monster of the week" battles. Children and nostalgic adults alike will find this timeless tale of good versus evil a "must-have"! Highly recommended. Bonus content includes an interview with the English cast, clean opening and ending songs, and an art gallery. Sailor Moon Crystal Set 1 is available in an inexpensive DVD format (2-disc, $28.29), as a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack (4-disc, $69.98), or in a special Limited Edition Blu-ray and DVD combo pack bundled with a full-color artbook and set of illustrated notecards (4-disc, $79.99). 320 min., Japanese and English stereo audio, subtitles, 1080p HD, widescreen, rated TV-14.

The Syndicate: All Or Northing
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$39.99 www.acornonline.com

The Syndicate: All Or Northing is a British television series about class tensions exacerbated by the vagaries of fate. The palatial home of Hazelwood Manor has a rich history dating back to the 18th century, but its owners are burdened with 6.5 million in debt, and have been forced to dismiss all but five of the maintenance staff. When their remaining staff unexpectedly win the lottery, their influx of money rapidly erodes the distinction between social classes! The Syndicate: All or Nothing is a "must" for connoisseurs of character-driven British drama. It should be noted that The Syndicate: All Or Nothing contains coarse language, nudity, and sexual situations, and is therefore recommended for mature viewers. 6 episodes on 2 DVDs, 366 min. widescreen, SDH subtitles. Also highly recommended for fans of the genre is the suspenseful series Capital: Someone Wants What They Have (189 min., $34.99).

Brief Encounters
Acorn Media
c/o RLJ Entertainment
www.us.RLJEntertainment.com
$39.99 www.acornonline.com

Brief Encounters is a British comedy-drama series set in 1980's England. Four married women, in an effort to make ends meet, collaborate in a business for selling exotic lingerie and other "marital aids" that ignites a renewed zest for lovemaking in the local community. But success has its own headaches, in this saga about societal transformation and the difficulties of balancing family responsibilities and professional life. A soundtrack straight from the 80's enhances this character-driven period piece, highly recommended for connoisseurs of the unique wit and insight of British television. Bonus material consists of 14 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes. 6 episodes on 2 DVDs, 288 min. plus bonus, widescreen, SDH subtitles.


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

The Guttersnipes
Scott Eric Barrett
Vanguard Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.vanguardpressbooks.com
9781784651374, $14.99, PB, 250pp, www.amazon.com

Charlie Daniels is more than six feet tall, allergic to almost everything, and has a pet dinosaur named Trike at home. His life in Arizona is relatively normal. That is, apart from the nightmares Charlie has. But when Trike, gets kidnaped by a strange old lady and her cat-like sidekick, Charlie and his misfit friend Arty are sucked into a story bigger than both of them. Risking everything to rescue Trike, Charlie and Arty are flung into the past, landing in the chaos of New York City, 1865. Dodging the mysterious Nasten Cobblestine, and avoiding the perils of New York's nastiest street cleaners' strikes, test Charlie's wits as well as his courage. All he wants to do is reunite with his dinosaur and somehow find a way back home. As Charlie searches for Trike, he draws dangerously close to P.T. Barnum's eerie museum and the creature that lies within. Will he find Trike and get home alive? And who is the Ice Lady of his nightmares?


The Needlecraft Shelf

Corner-to-Corner Lap Throws For the Family
Sarah Zimmerman
Annie's
P.O. Box 8000, Big Sandy, TX 75755
www.anniescatalog.com
9781590127872, $8.99, PB, 20pp, www.amazon.com

Sarah Zimmerman is a yarn lover, crafter, blogger, and a self-taught crocheter. In "Corner-to-Corner Lap Throws For the Family" she draws upon her experience and expertise to provide needlecraft enthusiasts with a fun and unique way of crocheting! By following a pixel graph instead of a written pattern, anyone can incorporate virtually any character or image they desire into a crochet blanket. "Corner-to-Corner Lap Throws For the Family" is great do-it-yourself instructional guide that includes how-to instructions and step-by-step photos. Also included are instructions for 5 cute throws and each showcased design is made using #4 worsted-weight yarn. Simply stated, "Corner-to-Corner Lap Throws For the Family" is enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "Corner-to-Corner Lap Throws For the Family" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

Home Sewn Quilts
Trine Bakke
Sellers Publishing
161 John Roberts Road, South Portland, ME 04106
www.sellerspublishing.com
9781416245858, $19.95, PB, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Trine Bakke is an avid quilt maker and pattern designer. She is the author of two previous books on quilting: "Patchwork Quilts" and "Scandinavian Quilt Style". Now in her third quilting book, "Home Sewn Quilts: 31 Hand & Machine Stitched Projects for All Levels" Trine presents indispensable, straightforward advice for both novice and experienced quilt makers. Throughout "Home Sewn Quilts" needlecrafters will find ideas and inspiration as well as suggestions for tools and supplies, fabric selection, working with repurposed materials, and specific information on cutting. Each individual project includes the finished size, a materials list, cutting methods, and step-by-step instructions accompanied by full-color photography and instructional line drawings. "Home Sewn Quilts" begins with an extensive section on Patchworks and includes 18 scrap-friendly projects for pillows, table runners, shopping bags, and more. The second part moves into Quilt Making and presents six designs for simple bed-size quilts using Four Square and Brick Wall blocks. The following chapter is for the experienced quilter and presents seven designs using Clamshell blocks as well as Grandmother's Flower Garden, Ohio Star, Jack in the Pulpit, Four Square, and Log Cabin. It is interesting to note that Trine has even included at the back of "Home Sewn Books" an enormously helpful 14 page encyclopedia of quilt-making tips and tricks with entries on hand and machine stitching, working with and without special equipment, how to make templates, applying applique, embroidery, assembling the quilt, and types of finishing. Everything is included to get started, making "Home Sewn Quilts" an unreservedly and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and community library Needlecraft/Quilting instructional reference collections.

Within: Knitting Patterns to Warm the Soul
Jane Richmond & Shannon Cook
Marian Rae Publications
c/o Independent Publishers Group
814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610
www.ipgbook.com
www.marianraepublications.com
9780991728923, $21.95, PB, 132pp, www.amazon.com

Jane Richmond is a knitwear designer and a blogger who discusses her process and inspiration through her blog. "Within: Knitting Patterns to Warm the Soul" is the newest collection by designers Jane in collaboration with needlecrafter Shannon Cook, and features six signature patterns knitting patterns. "Within: Knitting Patterns to Warm the Soul" features thoroughly 'user friendly' instructions for knitting accessories, a shawl, and other everyday garments. Together, the pieces in this accessible collection make a functional and beautiful addition to any knitter's wardrobe. More than just another knitting pattern book, "Within" takes the dedicated needlecrafter on an inherently fascinating visual journey through a world of rustic coziness that was photographed on Vancouver Island, and designed to stimulate the senses and kindle inspiration. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Within" is unreservedly and enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library Knitting/Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

Crochet Cowls
Sharon Hernes Silverman
Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921
www.stackpolebooks.com
9780811716741, $21.95, PB, 120pp, www.amazon.com

Cowls are a perennially popular wearable accessory and great cowl designs can be deftly crocheted by even the most novice of needlecrafters. "Crochet Cowls: 15 Bold & Beautiful Designs" crochet design expert Sharon Hernes Silverman draws upon her years of experience and expertise to showcase fifteen simple graphic designs, some in striking black and white, as well as more complex color patterns to present a variety of looks and styles. Includes instructions and patterns for crocheting strikingly beautiful cowls using traditional and Tunisian techniques, plus beautiful color photos of the finished pieces. Profusely illustrated throughout and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Crochet Cowls" is very highly recommended for personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections. It should be noted that "Crochet Cowls" is also available in a Kindle format ($11.99).

The Grid Design Workbook
Cindy Seitz-Krug
American Quilter's Society
PO Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
www.americanquilter.com
9781683390114, $24.95, PB, 96pp, www.amazon.com

Award winning quilter Cindy Seitz-Krug first started quilting in 1992 when her mom signed her up for a quilting class. After making that first quilt, she was immediately hooked on quilting. She considers herself a traditional quilter, but she really likes innovative quilts which take traditional patterns and enhance them. In "The Grid DesignWorkbook" Cindy draws upon her years of experience and expertise to create a thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction manual showcasing a step-by-step process through a an impressive array of gridded quilting designs. Included are numerous examples of where the stitches can be used to best enhance quilts. Detailed diagrams and instructions make learning to quilt these stitches easy. A prize-winning quilt gallery is included that features gridded background designs for inspiration. Beautifully and profusely illustrated throughout, "The Grid Design Workbook" will prove to be an exceptional and highly popular addition to personal and community library Needlecraft instructional reference collections.

Knitter's Know-How
Cap Sease
Martingale & Company
19021 - 120th Avenue NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011
www.shopmartingale.com
9781604687743, $28.99, www.amazon.com

Knitters seeking a general how-to guide that covers the basics all knitters need to know should begin with Knitter's Know-How: 127 Techniques Every Knitter Needs to Know. It offers close-up step-by-step illustrations of different stitches and techniques, it is packaged in lay-flat binding so knitters can easily knit and follow along with the visual display instructions, and it includes notes on the applications of each stitch and its common use to further knowledge and assure correct applications of end results. Any knitter who is learning the basics and wants a visual workbook of progressive learning opportunities will find this holds just the ticket to success.

Martingale
19021 - 120th Avenue NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011
www.shopmartingale.com
www.martingale-pub.com

The Big Book of Fat-Quarter Quilts (9781604688078, $27.99) packs in patterns, color photos, materials, cutting, and piecing instructions, and over two hundred pages of tips in a focus on how to use fat quarters in a wide range of quilt styles, and is a top recommendation for quilters who would receive an extensive coverage to all the different approaches and options in making such quilts. Projects directed to beginning to intermediate quilters pair full-page patterns with step-by-step directions that leave little to wonder. If only one general fat quarter reference were desired, it should be this one. Bonnie Sullivan's A Change of Seasons (9781604687460, $27.99) features fall folk art quilts and home accessories based on different needlework techniques, and is the perfect item of choice for anyone seeking fresh new home designs suitable for the holiday season. Color photos and full-page patterns invite needleworkers at different skills levels to think about Fall-specific accents in new ways.


The Cookbook Shelf

Gluten-Free Small Bites
Nicole Hunn
Lifelong Books / Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780738218588, $22.99, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Gluten-related disorders is the umbrella term for all diseases triggered by gluten. Gluten-related disorders include celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, gluten ataxia, dermatitis herpetiformis and wheat allergy. This condition is present in a significant percentage of the general population and has given rise to an increasing awareness on the necessity to avoid gluten for those affected by this medical condition. It has also given rise to an increasing number of cookbooks offering gluten-free recipes so those with a gluten allergy can still continue to enjoy gluten free meals that are as palate pleasing as they are appetite satisfying. One of the latest and very highly recommended is Nicole Hunn's "Gluten-Free Small Bites: Sweet and Savory Hand-Held Treats for On-the-Go Lifestyles and Entertaining" -- a thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' and beautifully illustrated culinary compendium of outstanding dishes ranging from Fried Pickle Chips; Sticky Barbecue Chicken Wings; Pizza Pinwheels; Beef Stromboli; and Soft Beef Tacos; to Peanut Butter Cookie Chips; One-Bite Apple Fritters; Miniature Vanilla Beans Scones. Of special note is the chapter devoted to gluten free Breads, Tortillas, and Doughs. While strongly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections, it should be noted that "Gluten-Free Small Bites: Sweet and Savory Hand-Held Treats for On-the-Go Lifestyles and Entertaining" is also available in a Kindle format ($15.99).

Super Fast Food: No Chef Required!
Jason Vale
Crown House Publishing
81 Brook Hills Circle, White Plains, NY 10605
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9780954766474, $39.95, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com

"Super Fast Food: No Chef Required!" by Jason Vale is an outstanding compendium showcases over 100 truly inspirational recipes ranging from incredibly healthy super food breakfasts to palate pleasing desserts! Here are offered healthy versions of all the classics from pizza to pasta to risotto, and even a healthy veggie burger and fries! Also features are super salads, super soups and amazing fish recipes. Whether you're a vegan, veggie or pesci there's something for everyone! The thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes range from Sweet Potato, Beetroot & Ginger Soup; and Seared Tuna on a Bed of Noodles with a Warm Mango, Orange & Coriander Salsa; to Veggie Layered Lasagne; Thai Green Prawn Curry; and Pecan power Granola Bars. Beautifully illustrated throughout, "Super Fast Food: No Chef Required!" is expressly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

Smoke It Like a Pit Master with Your Electric Smoker
Wendy O'Neal
Ulysses Press
PO Box 3440, Berkeley CA 94703-3440
www.ulyssespress.com
9781612436128, $18.95, PB, 144pp, www.amazon.com

Wendy O'Neal is the creator of the popular food and homemaking blog, Around My Family Table. In "Smoke It Like a Pit Master with Your Electric Smoker: Recipes and Techniques for Easy and Delicious BBQ" she draws upon her experience and expertise to compile and present a series of outstanding recipes for dishes using an electric smoker in their preparation that will please any palate and satisfy any appetite. Beautifully illustrated and with thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' recipes that range from Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Dates; Herb-Crusted Pork Loin; Classic Texas Brisket; and Homemade Patrami; to Cajun Salmon BLTs; Smoked Walnut Pesto; Smoked No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies; No-Churn Smoked Peach Ice Cream. Enhanced with the inclusion of Conversion Charts and a Recipe Index, "Smoke It Like a Pit Master with Your Electric Smoker" is very highly recommended for personal, family, and community library cookbook collections.

The Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook
Brenda Michaels & Bill Michaels
Surrey Books
c/o Agate Publishing
1328 Greenleaf Street, Evanston, IL 60202
www.agatepublishing.com
9781572841949, $22.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Compiled by the husband and wife team of Bill and Brenda Michaels (owners of the Fly Creek Cider Mill & Orchard in Fly Creek, New York), "The Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook" is an extraordinary culinary celebration of the versatile apple and showcases more than one hundred recipes based upon apples. Beautifully illustrated throughout, "The Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook" begins with a section of basic apple recipes beginning with the 'Fly Creek Cider Mill 1856 Barbecue Sauce'; to breakfasts dishes such as Apple Pie Spice Pancakes with Cider Syrup and Spiced Apples; to starters and snacks such as Thai Chicken-Apple Skewers; to Soups and Salads including Molded Apple Cider Salad; to side dishes like The Michaels Family Thanksgiving Apple-Sweet Potato Bake; to main course dishes such as Apple Butter-Glazed Salmon; eight different Breads including Apple-Caramel Bread; drink recipes including the Fly Creek Cider Mill Appletini; and of course wonderfully delicious desserts such as a Fly Creek Apple-Cheddar Pie. Thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook" will prove to be an especially and enduringly popular addition to personal, family, and community library cookbook collections. It should be noted that "The Fly Creek Cider Mill Cookbook" is also available in a Kindle format ($13.49).


The Photography Shelf

Shoot What You Love
Henry Horenstein
Monacelli Studio
http://penguinrandomhouse.ca
9781580934558, $40.00, HC, 208pp, www.amazon.com

"Shoot What You Love: Tips and Tales from a Working Photographer" showcases more than four decades of the work professional photographer Henry Horenstein has produced with images that often richly evoke older cultures and places, especially ones that are disappearing including: country musicians in Branson, horse racing at Saratoga Springs, nightlife in Buenos Aires, fais do-dos in Cajun Louisiana, old highways everywhere. A rich visual memoir, enhanced with behind-the-scenes stories, insights, and tips and suggestions for being a better photographer, "Shoot What You Love" will prove to be an inherently fascinating, beautifully illustrated blend of autobiography and instructional guide for professionals and non-specialist general readers with an interest in photography. "Shoot What You Love" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library American Photography collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Wedding Photography 101
Michelle Turner
Ilex Press
c/o Octopus Publishing
236 Park Avenue, New York NY 10017
www.octopusbooksusa.com
9781781573440, $19.99, www.Ilex-press.com

Wedding Photography 101: Capturing the Perfect Day With Your Camera comes from a successful wedding photographer who shares the secrets of her success of blending photojournal techniques with wedding subjects, and is a 'must' for modern aspiring wedding photographers who want keys to success with modern brides. Michelle Turner's candid shots and how they were made lends to a better appreciation of all the nuances of a wedding day and how best to capture them. From creating light to supplement natural environment to capturing the venue and ceremonies of the wedding day itself, this is a powerful survey highly recommended for any aspiring wedding photographer who wants to move beyond posed pictures.

A Wandering Eye: Photographs 1975 - 2005
Eric Boman
Damiani
Distributed Art Publishers
155 Sixth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013-1507
www.artbook.com
9788862084871, $45.00, HC, 128pp, www.amazon.com

Swedish-American photographer Eric Boman embarked on a career in fashion photography in the early 1970s, working for British Vogue, Harper's & Queen, and The World of Interiors in London, and Marie-Claire in Paris. "A Wandering Eye: Photographs 1975 - 2005" is comprised personal photographic work that has remained unseen for over 45 years, and was stored away as 35mm slides. Most of the showcased photographs are devoid of people, in contrast to Boman's professional work, which almost always has involved some form of portraiture. In "A Wandering Eye: Photographs 1975 - 2005" the photographs are juxtaposed for the visual dialogue that emerges including: a picture of a glass merchant in Morocco that faces a nearly identical one of a brass merchant in Tunisia; an image of a manicured Swedish topiary facing a lush rainforest around the corner from Boman's house; and a sculptural memorial to a fallen soldier in Denmark facing a desert island in the Caribbean. Beautifully designed in collaboration with renowned book designer Miko McGinty, "A Wandering Eye: Photographs 1975 - 2005" is a tribute to a well-traveled eye. An inherently fascinating volume that is enhanced with commentary by Kevin Moore, "A Wandering Eye: Photographs 1975 - 2005" is especially recommended for the personal reading lists of photography buffs, as well as community and academic library Contemporary Photography collections.

Little Book of Wonders
Nadia Drake
National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426216893 $12.95 amazon.com

Little Book of Wonders: Celebrating the Gifts of the Natural World pairs vivid, full-color photography of natural wonders with fascinating fact vignettes on every two-page spread. "Rare, emerald-colored icebergs are actually capsized chunks of ice. When the bergs tip over, their formerly submerged bottoms are exposed, revealing frozen seawater colored by algae." The result is a joy to page through, and makes an excellent gift, especially for nature lovers. Highly recommended!


The Travel Shelf

My First Trip to Paris
Sara DeGonia, author
Giovanni Simeone, photographer
Sime Books
www.sime-books.com
9788899180539, $19.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Beautifully and profusely illustrated with the full color photography of Giovanni Simeone, "My First Trip to Paris: A Family's Travel Survival Guide" by Sara DeGonia features informative highlights and helpfully practical advice for visiting more than 100 attractions, restaurants, parks, and playgrounds while touring Paris, France with kids in tow. A thoroughly 'user friendly' and handy guide filled from cover to cover with essential tips and tidbits, as well as metro stops and corresponding websites for logistics of every destination on a dream Parisian vacation (come rain or shine). Along with a metro map, a book of French phrases, and sense of adventure; "My First Trip to Paris" will guarantee a fun-filled journey the whole family will cherish. Simply stated, "My First Trip to Paris" is enthusiastically recommended for personal, family, and community library Travel Guide collections and is ideal for the armchair traveler interested in what an on-site visit to Paris would have to offer.


The Education Shelf

Embracing Rough-and-Tumble Play
Mike Huber
Redleaf Press
10 Yorkton Court, St. Paul, MN 55117-1065
www.redleafpress.org
9781605544687, $39.95, PB, 240pp, www.amazon.com

Physical play is vital to young children's development. "Embracing Rough-and-Tumble Play: Teaching with the Body in Mind" by Mike Huber (an early childhood teacher since 1992 and currently teaches at the Seward Child Care Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is practical, hands-on resource encourages teachers to incorporate boisterous physical play into children's every day activities and offers concrete advice on how to create spaces for safe play, how to effectively work big body movement into children's daily schedule, and how to use physical play to make teaching practice more dynamic and effective. Profusely illustrated and exceptionally well organized and presented, "Embracing Rough-and-Tumble Play" covers: Learning about the importance of big body play for social and emotional development throughout life; Discovering how to communicate about safe and intentional rough and tumble play with children and families; Incorporating big body play into all areas of the child care program while maintaining boundaries and teaching self-regulation; Using the family companion (sold separately) to educate families on the importance of rough and tumble play for all children. While very highly recommended for college and university Teacher Education collections, it should be noted that "Embracing Rough-and-Tumble Play" is also available in a Kindle format ($39.95).

Ensuring High-Quality Curriculum
Angela Di Michele Lalor
ASCD
1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
www.ascd.org
9781416622796, $28.95, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

A curriculum is the core of the classroom experience. Just what makes a quality curriculum? How can educators be sure that what they teach is strongly aligned to the specific standards that their district or school has adopted? What kinds of lessons, learning experiences, and assessments are most effective, and how should they be embedded within the curriculum? "Ensuring High-Quality Curriculum: How to Design, Revise, or Adopt Curriculum Aligned to Student Success" by Angela Di Michele Lalor (a senior consultant at Learner-Centered Initiatives, where her work includes facilitating schoolwide initiatives in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Her primary focus having been helping districts design high-quality units of study that incorporate meaningful and engaging learning experiences for students) provide the answers to these and many other questions in a definitive, step-by-step guide to curriculum design and evaluation. "Ensuring High-Quality Curriculum" offers targeted advice and real-life examples from elementary and secondary units of study across a variety of content areas and standards, as well as field-tested rubrics, protocols, and other tools. Included are criteria for evaluating each component of a curriculum and end-of-chapter checklists to help educators ensure that the criteria are met. Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Ensuring High-Quality Curriculum" is an especially recommended addition to professional, school district, college, and university library Educational Administration collections and supplemental studies reading lists.

Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners, second edition
DeAnna Horstmaeier
Woodbine House
6510 Bells Mill Road, Bethesda, MD 20817
www.woodbinehouse.com
9781606132784, $29.66, PB, 372pp, www.amazon.com

Children and adults with Down syndrome need math for operating in the real world, this includes the skills of counting with meaning, adding the scores in a game, and tracking time in order to keep to a schedule, etc.. Written in a straightforward and user-friendly style, the newly updated and expanded second edition of "Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners" by DeAnna Horstmaeier ( a retired educator, former instructor of special education and speech, language, and communication at the Ohio State University) provides strategies and activities that are relevant to daily living, are concrete and practical, offer hands-on practice, and provide opportunity for successful completion. It covers: Prenumber Concepts; Counting; Recognition & Writing of Numbers; Time & Measurement; Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division; Fractions; Money; and Calculator Use. The included appendices, available to photocopy, feature more than 150 activities such as worksheets, games, and teaching aids for practicing math skills. Parents and teachers can use the comprehensive coverage of math concepts to tailor lessons to students' needs at home and in the community, incorporate goals into IEPs, and help students access the general education curriculum. An ideal classroom curriculum text, "Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners" is very highly recommended for Down Syndrome class curriculums in particular, academic library Special Education instructional collections in general. Impressively well written, organized and presented, "Teaching Math to People with Down Syndrome and Other Hands-On Learners" is ideal for home school parents of Down Syndrome children.

From the Big Screen to the Classroom K-2!
Lynne Stover
Pieces of Learning
1990 Market Road, Marion, IL 62959
www.piecesoflearning.com
9781632790569, $14.95, Spiral Bound PB, 116pp, www.amazon.com

Movie makers have discovered that a popular children's book can be excellent source material for a blockbuster motion picture. Now classroom teachers can take advantage of this trend by using recently released movies as a hook to spark students interest in content connections of the books those movies are based on. K-2 students will learn lessons in civics, economics, geography, history, and world cultures. "From the Big Screen to the Classroom K-2!" contains nine popular book/movie titles and features interactive lessons and activities that will challenge and engage students in content area investigation, skill application, and creative problem solving including: The Adventures of Captain Underpants; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; The Bad Beginning: A Series of Unfortunate Events; The BFG; Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; Fantastic Mr. Fox; The Lorax; The Tale of Despereaux; and Where the Wild Things Are. Also very highly recommended in this outstanding series are: "From The Big Screen To The Classroom 3-6!" (9781632790576, $14.95) and "From The Big Screen To The Classroom 6+!" (9781632790583, $14.95).

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

Jennie Magiera's Courageous Edventures: Navigating Obstacles to Discover Classroom Innovation (9781506318349, $38.95) is a fun, encouraging discussion of innovation and educational technology and defines an 'edventure' as a teacher's willingness to take risks and incorporate innovations into a classroom structure. Each approach includes tips (such as creating physical badges to accompany and support digital ones), overviews of problems and challenges commonly encountered in the classroom's response to innovative approaches, and keys to leading one's class through the routines described in this book. The result is a winning, unique coverage teachers will want to consider. Kathryn Kee, et.al.'s Results Coaching Next Steps: Leading for Growth and Change (9781506328751, $34.95) discusses the benefits of leadership coaching, a technique that can be combined with the latest neuroscientific thinking to help develop routines and approaches that build leadership as well as better learning. Examples of how leaders translate coaching approaches to everyday best practices accompany discussions of the differences between supervision and coaching, how leaders can act as coaches, and how engagement may be better fostered by leaders. The result is a powerful survey that will reach not just educators, but business leaders as well. David M. Horton's Leading School Teams: Building Trust to Promote Student Learning (9781506344928, $28.00) considers team effectiveness and how to create a more engaged teaching environment by increasing student learning strategies, and provides a series of short activities that are quick to apply and easy methods of helping administrators lead teams more effectively. From encouraging collaboration to solving different implementation challenges, Leading School Teams is a powerful key to successful school administration. Tracey K. Shiel's Designing and Using Performance Tasks: Enhancing Student Learning and Assessment (9781506328720, $30.00) provides a step-by-step approach to using performance tasks for teaching and expanding student learning. From different kinds of performance tasks and decisions to making learning progressions a part of school culture, this book offers an assessment of performance task attributes, rubrics for scoring, different curriculum design standards, classroom management rules, and more. John Hattie, et.al.'s Visible Learning for Mathematics: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning (9781506362946, $36.95) is more than an overview of a process, but packs in video clips, templates, planning tools, and everything needed to quickly assess which instructional strategies to apply to different phases of the learning cycle. From surface versus deep learning phases to assessing a student's ability to move between different mathematical frameworks and steps, this book is packed with specific keys for grades K-12 and assesses direct instruction and other methods for their appropriateness to the math learning process at many different stages of progress. Paul Bloomberg and Barb Pitchford's Leading Impact Teams: Building a Culture of Efficacy (9781506322674, $27.00) offers a model supporting two practices - formative assessment and collaborative inquiry - and promotes a kind of school culture that encourages students and teachers to be partners in the process of learning. This 'efficacy culture' encourages a model team approach and outlines evidence supporting success criteria and case studies about Impact Team interactions. The result is recommended for any school culture looking at forming and leading better impact teams.


The Architecture Shelf

Total Latin American Architecture
Ana de Brea
Actar D
c/o Actar Publishers
355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017
http://actar.com
9781940291475, $44.95, PB, 400pp, www.amazon.com

A selected, fully open, and deep assemblage, that carries the explicit intent of outlining, conceptual and practical verifications, on critical views and specific projects, concerning the actual architecture in the Latin American territory, "Total Latin American Architecture: Libretto of Modern Reflections & Contemporary Works" by academician and architect Ana de Brea communicates a targeted objective, to circumscribe a segment, and a series of observations and actions in architecture. However, it is a selected, fully open, and deep fragment, outlining conceptual and practical verifications on critical views and concrete projects, concerning the actual, extensive world of architecture in the Latin American territory, and in the first years of the new century. "Total Latin American Architecture" is comprised of a sequence of topical segments organized as an unsystematic series and through a number of different projects in each case including: the single family house; searches on bigger scales; poetical structures; topics under consideration; a look over laboratories; terrain, landscape and topography; covering folk factors; and the volumetric reasoning and physical features. A selected and deep assemblage of the current architecture in the Latin American territory, "Total Latin American Architecture" is a seminal work that is a 'must' for professional, college, and university library Architectural Reference collections in general, and Latin American Architecture supplemental studies reading lists in particular.

A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Montreal, second edition
Nancy Dutton & Helen Malkin
Douglas & McIntyre
c/o Harbour Publishing
PO Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, Canada, V0N 2H0
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
9781771621113 $24.95 amazon.com

Featuring full-color photography throughout, as well as maps ideal for a self-guided walking tour, A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Montreal showcases the extraordinary architecture of Montreal, Canada. More than 100 notable contemporary architectural projects are featured, each with photographs and a few descriptive paragraphs. A Guidebook to Contemporary Architecture in Montreal is also highly recommended to armchair travelers, as the next best thing to seeing Montreal's architectural wonders in-person!


The Native American Studies Shelf

Dividing the Reservation
Nicole Tonkovich
Washington State University Press
PO Box 645910, Pullman, WA 99164-5910
www.wsupress.wsu.edu
9780874223446, $29.95, PB, 344pp, www.amazon.com

Alice C. Fletcher was an ethnologist who helped write the Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887 and became one of the first women to serve as a federal Indian agent. A commanding presence, she spent four summers with the Nez Perce, completing close to 2,000 allotments. Charged with supervising the daunting task of re-surveying, verifying, and assigning nearly 757,000 acres, Fletcher also had to preserve land for transportation routes and restrain white settlers claiming prime properties. She sought to "give the best lands to the best Indians", but faced numerous other challenges, including the terrain, complex ancestries, and her own misperceptions about Native American life. Fletcher wrote daily in the diverse forms of letters, reports, petitions, scholarly documents, articles, diaries. The collection reproduced here as "Dividing the Reservation: Alice C. Fletcher's Nez Perce Allotment Diaries and Letters, 1889 - 1892" fully illuminates her relations with the key players and offers insight into how federal policy was applied, resisted, and amended, as well as her internal conflicts over dividing the reservation. A unique and critically important contribution to college and university Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental studies reading lists, "Dividing the Reservation" is a seminal work of scholarship for academia and will prove to be a fully accessible and highly recommended study for the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject.

World of the Teton Sioux Indians: Their Music, Life & Culture
Frances Densmore
World Wisdom
1501 East Hillside Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401
www.worldwisdom.com
9781936597512, $23.95, www.amazon.com

World of the Teton Sioux Indians: Their Music, Life & Culture is edited by Joseph A. Fitzgerald and explores the Lakota Sioux Indians through their eyes, as it was told to anthropologist Frances Densmore. This book is an abridged, illustrated edition of the definitive monograph on Lakota culture, and has been edited and revised to make it more accessible to general-interest audiences. A foreword by Charles Trimble, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and over a hundred color and black and white illustrations supplement an in-depth coverage of Sioux culture, rituals, and society that should not be missed by any serious Native American library.

"All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths about Native Americans
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Beacon Press
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.beacon.org
9780807062654 $15.00 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

Award-winning author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and award-winning journalist Dina Gilio- Whitaker present "All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths about Native Americans, a sober, serious deconstruction of popular beliefs about the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Why are Native Americans purported to be "dying off" when, according to the 2010 US census, 5.2 million people identified as Native American or Alaskan Native (either alone or in combination with other races), and 2.9 million people identified as Native American or Alaskan Native alone? Why does the bizarre idea that "Sports Mascots Honor Native Americans" get so much traction, in spite of Native American protests? How does the false belief that "Indian Casinos Make Them All Rich" persist in spite of the high rate of poverty among the Native American population? "The myths about Native peoples outlined in this book grow from the racialized social structures upon which the United States is built... Ultimately they serve the settler state and by extension its international allies, who largely fail to recognize the political existence of Indigenous peoples." "All the Real Indians Died Off" and 20 Other Myths about Native Americans is enlightening from cover the cover, and highly recommended for both public library collections and personal reading lists.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Tarot for One
Courtney Weber
www.thecocowitch.com
Weiser Books
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781578635955 $19.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

Tarot are a set of specialized cards that have been used for divination since the late 18th century. Simple, black-and-white illustrations and card layout diagrams illustrate Tarot for One: The Art of Reading for Yourself, a user-friendly guide to the history, practice, and interpretations of Tarot. Guiding readers step-by-step to the basics of a Tarot reading that allows the cards' message to come through, Tarot for One is a choice pick for self-study or Tarot workshops. Author Courtney Weber, a Wiccan priestess and a Tarot reader of 20 years' experience, has provided a clear, concise, and thoroughly accessible how-to book, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Tarot.


The Self-Help Shelf

You Are What You Believe
Hyrum W. Smith
Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.
1333 Broadway, Suite 1000, Oakland CA, 94612
www.bkconnection.com
9781626566668 $14.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

You Are What You Believe: Simple Steps to Transform Your Life is a self-help guide to improving one's own behavior for greater success in one's career and in everyday life. The core concept is that changing one's principles and beliefs changes one's behavior. Readers are guided step-by-step to a "Reality Model" for remaking one's approach to life from the inside out. You Are What You Believe is candid, accessible, and positive, and highly recommended. "Imprinting a new principle on a Belief window is the same as developing a new habit. At first, it will seem awkward, and you will have to consciously remind yourself that you believe in a new way. Over time, especially as you see the results of the new behaviors that grow out of your new principle, it will become a natural part of you."


The Philosophy Shelf

The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophy
Edited by Eric J. Silverman and Robert Arp
Open Court Publishing Company
70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601
www.opencourtbooks.com
9780812699500 $19.95 pbk / $9.99 Kindle amazon.com

The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophy: You Think or Die is an anthology of essays by learned authors discussing philosophical concepts in the wildly popular television series "Game of Thrones" (which is based on the novels by George R.R. Martin). Individual writings include "Jon Snow, a Misshapen Christ Figure", "How Can We Know Anything in a World of Magic and Miracles?", "Horrifying Violence, Gratuitous Sex, and the Truth", and more. The Ultimate Game of Thrones and Philosophy will appeal to both fans of the series, and to philosophy students interested in seeing concepts applied in methodical practice. Highly recommended.


The Woodworking Shelf

The Fundamentals of Segmented Wood Turning
James Rodgers
Linden Publishing
2006 South Mary, Fresno, CA 93721-9875
www.woodworkerslibrary.com
9781610352789, $24.95, www.amazon.com

The Fundamentals of Segmented Wood Turning: Projects, Techniques, and Innovations for Today's Woodturner provides a fine crafts guide for woodworkers new to the art who want to begin with the basics. The approach is visual in nature, offering step-by-step directions that begin with acquiring and using basic tools and moving to cutting and turning processes. The designs are simple and require a bare minimum of tools and woodworking basics to prove accessible, and they can apply to a range of projects based on just a few techniques. Anyone who wants to learn segmented woodturning will find this an easy approach, packed with good-sized and clear color photos throughout.


The Crafts Shelf

Cool Copper Cuffs
Eva M. Sherman
Kalmbach Publishing
21027 Crossroads Circle, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
www.kalmbachstore.com
9781627002332, $22.99, www.amazon.com

Cool Copper Cuffs: 25 Metal and Wire Projects comes from an experienced jewelry-making teacher who provides the basics of different cuff-style bracelets and how to make them from copper. Close-up and good-sized how-to color photos for each project accompany a surprisingly wide array of styles and methods of shaping and decorating the copper, while materials and tools lists assure that newcomers to working with copper or making jewelry will receive everything they need for successful results.


The Technology Shelf

On-Wafer Microwave Measurements and De-Embedding
Errikos Lourandakis
Artech House Publishing
685 Canton Street, Norwood, MA 02062
www.artechhouse.com
9781630810566, $169.00, www.amazon.com

On-Wafer Microwave Measurements and De-Embedding is a technical manual on microwave design that tackles state-of-the-art information on on-wafer measurements, building a theoretical framework for understanding for researchers and lab professionals working with microwave devices and silicon applications. College-level engineering holdings receive discussions that cover basic to advanced techniques and tools, including the equations, charts, diagrams and design discussions necessary to understand the latest technology's applications. Students will find it an excellent and specific set of discussions.


The Autism Shelf

The Power Card Strategy 2.0
Elisa Gagnon, MS and Brenda Smith Myles, PhD
AAPC Publishing
11209 Strang Line Road, Lenexa, KS 66215
9781942197263, $27.95, www.aapcpublishing.net

The Power Card Strategy 2.0: Using Special Interests to Motivate Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder offers an evidence-based approach to working with kids on the autism spectrum, and presents a tested strategy developed by parents and educators committed to helping kids understand social situations, routines, and the daily world around them. This strategy can be integrated into educational and socialization pursuits alike and the Power Cards are easy tools any can learn and apply.


The Sports Shelf

Human Kinetics
PO Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61820-5076
www.humankinetics.com

David Magida and Melissa Rodriguez's The Essentials of Obstacle Race Training (9781492513773, $23.95) comes from the founder of Elevate Internal Fitness and a TV sports show host and a woman who is the former contributing editor for Mud & Obstacle magazine, and covers the events, obstacles, and strategies for succeeding in obstacle race courses. Over a hundred exercises to improve mobility, balance, endurance and more accompany nearly thirty workouts that are keyed to obstacle course challenges, with chapters adding a basic knowledge of nutrients and diet, exercise, and obstacle race-specific tips. The color photos throughout illustrate everything that's needed to know about race training. Helen Vanderburg's Fusion Workouts: Fitness, Yoga, Pilates, and Barre (9781492521389, $21.95) combines fitness, yoga, Pilates and barre for a workout that is a synthesis of all these techniques, incorporating their special strengths into one unified program. While some might think that each program's unique approach wouldn't lend to such a fusion, in fact the 15 ready-made workouts in this book provides easy and exact guidelines for participating in a workout that incorporates the best strategies of each discipline. Clear color photos of each routine make for a winning blend especially recommended for readers who may have prior experience with one or more of the techniques and affinity for trying the rest.


The International Studies Shelf

Modern Finland
Harald Haarmann
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476662022, $39.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com

The Republic of Finland is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, Finland has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. Providing a multifaceted view of modern Finland, German linguist, cultural scientist, and Finland resident Harald Haarmann covers topics that include Fenno-Scandia inhabitants and their environment, traditional naturalism and modern environmentalism, and the salient features of "Finnishness", including an analysis of the Finnish educational system and gender equality. Also represented are Finland's art, architecture and music, along with its peace-keeping missions worldwide. The country's several ethnic groups and their languages are discussed including the Saami, Finns, Finland-Swedes, Russian-speaking peoples, Jews and Gypsies. "Modern Finland" deftly examines Finland's late but rapid development in commerce and industry, with a focus on the history of Nokia Corporation, which grew from a 19th-century manufacturer of pulpwood and rubber boots to a 21st-century international digital communications company. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Modern Finland" is impressively informed and informative. While very highly recommended for community and academic library Finland collections in general and supplemental studies lists in particular. For the personal reading lists of students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject it should be noted that "Modern Finland" is also available in a Kindle format ($9.99).

The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa, eighth edition
Mark Gasiorowski and Sean L. Yom, Editors
Westview Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.westviewpress.com
9780813349947, $52.00, www.amazon.com

The eighth updated edition of The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa has been completely revised to reflect the latest and ongoing changes in politics and government in the region, which makes this a 'must' for any college-level collection strong in the area's history. Among the many features of this update are a newly expanded introduction, incorporation of political changes, and a blend of historical background with discussion of regional changes that are supplemented by extensive bibliographic references, black and white maps, and detailed discussions contributed by experts. No college-level history and political science collection strong in the Middle East or Africa should be without this latest survey.


The Botany Shelf

Botanical Miracles: Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World
Raymond Cooper and Jeffrey John Dakin
CRC Press
6000 NW Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
www.crcpress.com
9781498704281, $119.95, www.amazon.com

Botanical Miracles: Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World belongs in botany and college-level chemistry collections as it considers how the composition of natural products have changed the world. It uses selected plants from around the world and provides a combination of science and history, discussing their properties, use in various products, and how plant extracts contribute to mankind. From the growing and processing of tea and its use as a modern medicine to the uses and properties of nicotine and the medicinal qualities of frankincense, black and white and color photos and charts pepper chemistry facts to bring the discussions in line with the latest science and plant applications. Study questions at the end of each chapter pair with bibliographic references for further reading, making for a solid college-level classroom reader.


The Agriculture Shelf

Biting the Hands that Feed Us
Baylen J. Linnekin
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610916752, $30.00, HC, 257pp, www.amazon.com

Food waste, hunger, inhumane livestock conditions, disappearing fish stocks -- all of these are exactly the kind of issues we expect food regulations to combat. Yet, today in the United States, laws exist at all levels of government that actually make these problems worse. In "Biting the Hands that Feed Us: How Fewer, Smarter Laws Would Make Our Food System More Sustainable", Baylen Linnekin (a food lawyer and an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University Law School, where he teaches the Food Law & Policy Seminar, and is an Adjunct Faculty Member at American University, where his teaching focuses chiefly on food policy) ably argues that, all too often, government rules handcuff America's most sustainable farmers, producers, sellers, and consumers, while rewarding those whose practices are anything but sustainable. Impressively well researched, written, organized and presented, "Biting the Hands that Feed Us" is as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. A critically important contribution to our on-going national conversations over food safety, animal management, contemporary hunger management, and related social issues. Of special note is the chapters on to 'Wasting Your Money Wasting Food' and 'There Are Good Food Rules'. Enhanced with 48 pages of Notes and an eight page Index, "Biting the Hands that Feed Us" is highly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary Social Issues collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of academics and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Biting the Hands that Feed Us" is also available in a Kindle format ($3.03).


The Terrorism Studies Shelf

Syria in Ruins
David S. Sorenson
Praeger
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9781440838361 $75.00 amazon.com

Syria in Ruins: The Dynamics of the Syrian Civil War lives up to its title as a scholarly, expertly researched and meticulously presented analysis of the ongoing war that has torn apart Syria, fueled the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization, and flooded neighboring nations and Europe with Syrian refugees. Chapters offer a straightforward, candid discussion of the Syrian Civil War's origins, the rise of the Islamic State, international responses, and an overview of the different possible ways in which the war may end. "One sign of the impact of IS's declining resources is the announcement that it had cut the wages of its fighters in half, from US $400 to $200 in early 2016." Extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this measured and candidly honest accounting, highly recommended especially for public and college library reference shelves.


The Health/Medical Shelf

Managing Hypertension
Sandra A. Moulton
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9780786494217, $29.95, PB, 244pp, www.amazon.com

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common chronic disease affecting people of different ages, cultural backgrounds and socio-economic statuses worldwide. Research links hypertension to increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease--the leading cause of death worldwide. "Managing Hypertension: Tools to Improve Health and Prevent Complications" by Registered nurse Sandra A. Moulton (who is an urgent care coordinator at Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre in Toronto, Canada) provides an up-to-date illustrated overview of research findings concerning hypertension, covering risk factors, increase in prevalence, cultures affected and challenges to treating and managing the disease in specific populations. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for effectively managing hypertension are discussed. Exceptionally well informed and informative, "Managing Hypertension " is especially recommended for health center, community, college, and university library Health/Medicine collections in general, and Hypertension supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Managing Hypertension " is also available in a Kindle format ($17.99).


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Publishing Your Medical Research, second edition
Daniel W. Byrne
Wolters Kluwer
PO Box 1600, Hagerstown, MD 21740
www.lww.com
9781496353863 $59.99 pbk / $47.39 Kindle amazon.com

Now in an updated second edition with additional details to aid medical researchers in a "publish or perish" world, Publishing Your Medical Research is a practical, no-nonsense guide to planning a balanced, publishable paper; anticipating and avoiding common criticisms; observing and collecting requisite data; writing fluently with proper formatting; and editing and revising one's work. "If you collected your data by surveying the past (retrospectively), explain why this approach was appropriate, despite its limitations. Retrospectively collected information often is of poorer quality than prospectively collected information because the presence or absence of many conditions is not documented consistently in routine medical records. For instance, smoking and drinking histories may be vague or may not be recorded at all." Publishing Your Medical Research is a "must-have" for college library collections and professionals in the field, highly recommended.


The Science Shelf

A Space Traveler's Guide to the Solar System
Mark Thompson
Pegasus Books
80 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004
www.pegasusbooks.com
9781681772394 $27.95 hc / $14.99 Kindle amazon.com

British astronomer Mark Thompson, also well-known as the host of the award-winning BBC program "Stargazing Live", presents A Space Traveler's Guide to the Solar System, an eye- opening tour of the planets in the solar system and beyond. Written to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds, touches upon the history of astronomical discoveries about the solar system as well as what a hypothetical space traveler might expect to see and encounter. A Space Traveler's Guide to the Solar System is the ultimate "must-read" for armchair travelers, highly recommended for both personal and public library collections!


The Money/Finance Shelf

How to Go to College on a Shoe String, second edition
Ann Marie O'Phelan, author
Revised by Debra Lipphardt
Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
1405 S.W. 6th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34471
www.atlantic-pub.com
9781620231180 $21.95 pbk / $21.95 Kindle amazon.com

Now in a revised, up-to-date second edition, How to Go to College on a Shoe String: The Insider's Guide to Grants, Scholarships, Cheap Books, Fellowships, and Other Financial Aid Secrets lives up to its title as a reader-friendly guide to funding one's higher education. Chapters discuss how to choose the best college for one's needs, the pros and cons of student loan programs, work opportunities while attending college, how to pursue grants and scholarships, and much more. A list of additional online resources and an index round out this absolute "must- have" for any high school graduate who is not independently wealthy!


The Civil War Shelf

Confederate in Congress
Joshua E. Kastenberg
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476664897, $35.00, PB, 208pp, www.amazon.com

In May 1865, the final month of the Civil War, the U.S. Army arrested and prosecuted a sitting congressman in a military trial in the border state of Maryland, though the federal criminal courts in the state were functioning. Convicted of aiding and abetting paroled Confederate soldiers, Benjamin Gwinn Harris of Maryland's Fifth Congressional District was imprisoned and barred from holding public office. Harris was a firebrand (and uniquely effectively as Confederate serving in Congress) and had long advocated the constitutionality of slavery and the right of states to secede from the Union. "A Confederate in Congress: The Civil War Treason Trial of Benjamin Gwinn Harris" is first book-length analysis of the unusual trial examines the prevailing opinions in Southern Maryland and in the War Department regarding slavery, treason and the Constitution's guarantee of property rights and freedom of speech. Illuminating a heretofore obscure incident in the political history of the American Civil War, "Confederate in Congress" is a unique and seminal work of impressive scholarship that will prove to be an especially welcome addition to the growing body of Civil War literature and is unreservedly recommended for community, college, and community library Civil War collections. It should be noted for academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Confederate in Congress" is also available in a Kindle format ($19.99).

The Chickamauga Campaign - Barren Victory
David A. Powell
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
9781611213287 $34.95 hc / $9.99 Kindle www.savasbeatie.com

The third and final volume of the "Chickamauga Campaign" trilogy studying a series of battles fought in northwestern Georgia during the American Civil War, The Chickamauga Campaign - Barren Victory examines the conclusion of this important and complicated military operation. Chapters scrutinize events from Monday, September 21, 1863, immediately after Confederate commander Braxton Bragg's victory, to the end of the extremely costly campaign. An extraordinarily detailed Chickamauga orders of battle, including information about unit strengths and losses, as well as a comprehensive bibliography round out this scholarly military history, highly recommended especially for public and college library collections along with the first two volumes of the trilogy, "The Chickamauga Campaign - A Mad Irregular Battle" (9781611211740, $37.50 hc / $9.99 Kindle) and "The Chickamauga Campaign - Glory or the Grave" (9781611212020, $39.95 hc / $13.99 Kindle).


The American History Shelf

A New Deal for South Dakota
R. Alton Lee
South Dakota Historical Society Press
900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SC 57501-2217
www.sdshspress.com
9781941813119 $24.95 amazon.com

A New Deal for South Dakota: Drought, Depression, and Relief, 1920-1941 is a scholarly examination how New Deal programs, instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, impacted the state of South Dakota during the Great Depression. In the depths of depression, economic hardship and unemployment were so extreme that many fled the state, and New Deal programs supported nearly half of South Dakota's remaining population. Political historian R. Alton Lee (professor emeritus of history, University of South Dakota) examines how the programs affected families, farmers, miners, young people, and women. A handful of black-and-white photographs, extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this excellent contribution to public and college library American History collections.

Honor Before Glory
Scott McGaugh
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Book Group
250 W. 57th St., Suite 1500, New York, NY 10107
www.perseusbooksgroup.com
9780306824456 $25.99 hc / $17.99 Kindle amazon.com

After Pearl Harbor was attacked and America entered World War II, over 100,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated along the West Coast for no crime. Honor Before Glory: The Epic World War II Story of the Japanese-American GI's Who Rescued the Lost Battalion is the striking true story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which consisted of thousands of Japanese men who volunteered from within the internment camps to fight in a segregated unit, on behalf of the nation that had imprisoned them. The 442nd Regiment was charged with rescuing the "Lost Battalion", over two hundred American soldiers surrounded by German troops in the forests of eastern France's Vosges Mountains. Despite suffering over 350 casualties, the "Go-for- Broke" regiment succeeded in their mission, and rescued 211 of the "Lost Battalion". Honor Before Glory is the story of these brave Japanese-American veterans during and after their two years of military service, both in the context of history and with a focus on the personal stories of many individuals - some of whom returned home after the war, and some who did not. Highly recommended, especially for both personal and public library American History collections.

When Lincoln Came to Egypt
George W. Smith
Southern Illinois University Press
1915 University Press Drive, SIUC Mail Code 6806, Carbondale, IL 62901
www.siupress.com
9780809335527, $20.50, PB, 202pp, www.amazon.com

In "When Lincoln Came to Egypt", the late George Washington Smith (who served on the faculty of the History Department at Southern Illinois University from 1890 to 1935 and was a professor emeritus from 1935 until his death in 1945) provides a detailed record of Abraham Lincoln's travel in the southernmost region of Illinois, commonly referred to as Egypt. These visits began in 1830, before Lincoln had held public office, and continued through 1858, when he debated Stephen A. Douglas in Jonesboro and Alton as they ran against each other for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Lincoln found in the southern third of Illinois a political climate very different from that of central Illinois, where his career had begun. Lincoln's trips to Egypt thus broadened his experience and understanding of the state as well as the nation. Professor Smith also discusses the origins of the people of the region and Lincoln's early public life and provides historical and political background for his detailed discussion of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The culmination of fifty years of extensive research, "When Lincoln Came to Egypt" provides a glimpse into an often overlooked part of Lincoln's development as a politician. A work of detailed and seminal scholarship "When Lincoln Came to Egypt" and a part of the Southern University Press 'Shawnee Classics" series and a critically essential addition to community, college, and university library American History collections in general, and Abraham Lincoln Studies supplemental reading lists in particular. For students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject it should be noted that "When Lincoln Came to Egypt" is also available in a Kindle format ($19.48).

Italian Prisoners of War in Pennsylvania
Flavio G. Conti and Alan R. Perry
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
The Gatehouse M010C, 285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940
www.fdupress.org
9781611479973 $95.00 hc / $69.82 Kindle amazon.com

During World War II, 51,000 Italian prisoners of war were detained in the United States. In September of 1943, Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, and most of these Italian soldiers agreed to swear allegiance to the United States and aid in the war effort against Germany. More than 1,200 Italian soldiers were detained at the Letterkenny Army Depot of Pennsylvania. They formed the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion and remained until October 1945. These soldiers helped to order, stock, repair, and ship military goods, munitions, and equipment. Italian Prisoners of War in Pennsylvania gathers the stories of these Italian soldiers from oral histories of surviving POWs, memoirs generously provided by family members, archival material from Italy and United States, and much more. The portrait that emerges is fascinating and remarkably positive; it's notable that Italian co-operators received a modest regular salary and more freedom than most POWs, even the liberty to leave their posts in groups chaperoned by American soldiers. Notes, appendices, and an index round out this welcome contribution to public and college library American history collections, highly recommended.


The World History Shelf

The Secret History of World War II
Neil Kagan & Stephen G. Hyslop
National Geographic Press
101 West 104th Street, Suite 8, New York, NY 10025
www.nationalgeographic.com
9781426217012, $40.00, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

The collaborative work of Neil Kagan and Stephen G. Hyslop, "The Secret History of World War II: Spies, Code Breakers, and Covert Operations" is the inherently fascination and true story behind the covert activity that shaped the outcome of one of the Second World War. This profusely illustrated and consistently compelling military history reveals the secret lives of spies and spy masters; the role of secret agents and secret armies; Enigma machines and code breakers; the shadowy world of psychological warfare and black propaganda; secret weapons and secret battle strategies. Seven heavily illustrated narrative chapters reveal the truth behind the lies and deception that shaped the "secret war", eight informed and informative essays showcasing hundreds of rare photos and artifacts (many never before seen); and featuring more than 50 specially created sidebars tell the stories of spies and secret operations, "The Secret History of World War II" is emphatically and unreservedly recommended for personal, school, college, university, and community library World War II military history collections. It should be noted that "The Secret History of World War II" is also available in a complete and unabridged MP3 audio book format (Blackstone Audio, 9781504746960, $29.95).


The Political Science Shelf

Critical Government Documents on Law and Order
Don Philpott
Bernan Press
c/o Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
4501 Forbes Blvd., Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
http://www.bernan.com
9781598887839, $50.00, HC, 324pp, www.amazon.com

"Critical Government Documents on Law and Order" reviews of many law and order issues relevant to our current national issues. This extensive volume does not offer any new science, nor does it attempt to take sides with respect to any given law and order issue. It is, however, an impressive attempt to gather together information from as many sources as possible so that the reader doesn't have to. "Critical Government Documents on Law and Order" presents arguments for and against the issues covered so that the reader can come to their own conclusions. Areas and issues covered include the threat from domestic and international terrorism and the growth of extremist militias; the increase in school place and workplace violence; relationships between police and the public; and how people can protect themselves from being victims of crime. Enhanced with the inclusion of eleven pages of Notes, and a ten page Glossary, "Critical Government Documents on Law and Order" is very highly recommended for community, college, and university library Political Science collections in general, and Contemporary Judicial & Law Enforcement supplemental studies reading lists in particular. It should be noted for students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Critical Government Documents on Law and Order" is also available in a Kindle format ($47.50).


The Gardening Shelf

Indoor Green: Living with Plants
Bree Claffey, author
Lauren Bamford, photographer
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500500538, $39.95, HC, 206pp, www.amazon.com

In the pages of "Indoor Green: Living with Plants", Bree Claffey (the owner of Mr. Kitly, an emporium of carefully curated ceramics, housewares, and indoor plants) provides a visual and informational journeys into the interior worlds of fellow plant lovers for the purpose of exploring the enduring attraction of houseplants. From the ever-reliable peace lily and beguiling fiddle leaf fig to the elusive Chinese money plant, "Indoor Green" makes it obvious that even the humblest greenery can transform a home. Houseplants encompass the art of decorative arrangement and add romance to any room. Within the pages of "Indoor Green" gorgeous photographs were taken by Lauren Bamford of interiors from across the globe, and then divided into chapters such as "Plant Music", "How to Grow Fresh Air", "Plant Portraits", and more, making the house plant magic easy to replicate in within any home. Interviews of indoor green enthusiasts appear alongside the images, as well as tips on caring for plants and an index of plant varieties. More than just good-looking decorative props, plants are living, growing, joyful things rooted in community and creativity, and are easy to introduce into any home and lifestyle. Simply beautiful and inspiring to browse through, "Indoor Green" is thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, making it an ideal and enduringly popular addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Gardening & Interior Design collections and supplemental studies reading lists.


The Aviation Shelf

Training the Right Stuff
Mark A. Frankel & Tommy H. Thomason, authors
Jack Morris, illustrator
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
www.schifferbooks.com
9780764350306, $69.99, HC, 352pp, www.amazon.com

"Training the Right Stuff: The Aircraft That Produced America's Jet Pilots" is a comprehensive and profusely illustrated study of the training aircraft used to transition the United States military into the jet age. At the end of World War II, high-performance jets with unfamiliar operating characteristics were replacing propeller-driven airplanes. As accident rates soared, the Air Force and Navy recognized the need to develop new trainers to introduce fledgling as well as experienced pilots to jet flight. The first step occurred in 1948, when a two-seat jet trainer, the T-33, was developed with private funds. It was welcomed by the Air Force and subsequently the Navy, allowing both services to start building modern air arms. Over time other new trainers were developed to serve specific needs while innovations, such as high fidelity simulators, accelerated the process, reduced costs, and increased safety. That military aviation evolution continues today with the goal of producing high-quality newly winged aviators for assignment to operational squadrons. Impressively informed and informative, "Training the Right Stuff" is a truly extraordinary and unique addition to personal, community and academic library Military Aviation History collections.


The Library Science Shelf

Winning Grants, second edition
Stephanie K. Gerding & Pamela H. MacKellar
Neal-Shuman Publishers
c/o American Library Association
50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611
www.alastore.ala.org
9780838914731, $108.00, PB, 248pp, www.amazon.com

When economic times get tough, one of the first community resources to see cutbacks in their funding are the libraries. Now in a newly revised and updated second edition, "Winning Grants: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians" is invaluable how-to manual that will effectively instruct librarians and library board members in the skills and strategies crucial for finding, applying for, and winning grants. Loaded with a wide variety of forms, worksheets, and checklists to help stay organized when applying for a grant, "Winning Grants": summarizes the grant process cycle and outlines a clear path to success; shares inspiring grant success stories in action from diverse libraries; offers guidance on gathering knowledge and conducting research, with updated resource lists and links to the various types of funders; covers every stage of planning, including how to cultivate community involvement, methods for needs assessment, advice on organizing the grant team, and exercises to help you write realistic goals and objectives; gives tips on writing the proposal, such as where to find the best statistics and census data to support your statement of needs; advises how to announce a successful grant to the community, and other first steps of implementation, including the basic principles of project management; provides guidance on what to do when you're turned down and how to conduct an effective review session that keeps the process moving forward; highlights ways to stay current through online discussion groups, blogs, networking groups, and more; and features sample RFPs, budget templates, grant partnership documents, and many other helpful tools. Collaboratively written by Stephanie Gerding and Pamela MacKellar (two librarians who are experts in grantsmanship), "Winning Grants" is an all-in-one toolkit for successfully applying for grants that will prove to be an invaluable instructional guide for library directors, grant writers, board members, consultants, and anyone else involved in planning library programs and services.

Prison Librarianship Policy and Practice
Suzanna Conrad
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
9781476666334, $45.00, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com

Prison libraries violate many tenets of librarianship under the justification of maintaining order. The field is de-professionalized in that many of positions are filled by persons without degrees in library science, and corrections administrators often write policy for library services within their correctional institutions. Critics of prison library systems cite the need to implement public library service models despite practical difficulties. "Prison Librarianship Policy and Practice" by Suzanna Conrad (Head of Library Information Systems in the University Library at California State University - Sacramento) investigates state, national and international policies on prison libraries, reviews literature on the topic and describes partnerships between prisons and public libraries. Results from a national survey and follow-up interviews are included, providing a full narrative of policy outcomes in U.S. prisons. Informed and informative, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Prison Librarianship Policy and Practice" is a core and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university Library Science collections and supplemental studies reading lists -- and should be considered mandatory for anyone having responsibilities for operating or servicing a prison library system.


The Music Shelf

The Words and Music of Sheryl Crow
Christopher Gable
Praeger Publishers
c/o ABC-CLIO
PO Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
www.abc-clio.com
9781440831287, $49.00, HC, 138pp, www.amazon.com

Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter and actress whose music incorporates elements of pop, rock, folk, country and blues. She has released eight studio albums, two compilations, a live album and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards (out of 32 nominations) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In addition to her own work, Crow has performed with the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, Michael Jackson, Steve Earle, Prince, Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, George Strait, Tony Bennett, Kid Rock and Sting, among others. She has also performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Belinda Carlisle, Bob Dylan and Joe Cocker. "The Words and Music of Sheryl Crow" by Christopher Gable (a lecturer of music at the University of North Dakota) combines commentary, musical analysis, and detailed interpretation of Crow's songs' lyrics. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "The Words and Music of Sheryl Crow" presents an in-depth and complete listening guide to all of Crow's songs, including B-sides and rarities; features insightful commentary with song analysis; and includes a glossary of musical and technical terms for the non-specialist general reader. Impressively informed and informative, "The Words and Music of Sheryl Crow" is a 'must' for the legions of Sheryl Crow fans. While highly recommended for both community and academic library Contemporary American Music collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Words and Music of Sheryl Crow" is also available in a Kindle format ($38.71).


The Literary Studies Shelf

Eight Children in Narnia
Jared Lobdell
Open Court Publishing Company
70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601
www.opencourtbooks.com
9780812699012 $49.95 pbk / $29.49 Kindle amazon.com

Author and literary scholar C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) decided late in his life to embark upon a new type of project - a fantasy novel especially for children and young adults. He drew upon his own childhood memories as well as concepts from philosophy and spirituality to create the timeless Narnia series, which eventually spanned seven books. Eight Children in Narnia: The Making of a Children's Story is an in-depth study of the Narnia series, influences upon their creation, their themes, and their legacy. A studious literary analysis, Eight Children in Narnia is especially recommended for college library literary studies shelves, as well as for connoisseurs of Lewis' work seeking to better understand the Chronicles of Narnia.


The Holocaust Studies Shelf

Defying The Nazis
Artemis Joukowsky
Beacon Press
24 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210
www.beacon.org
9780807071823, $25.95, HC, 272pp, www.amazon.com

In 1939, the Reverend Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: they were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the mounting refugee crisis. Seventeen ministers had been asked to undertake this mission and had declined; Rev. Sharp was the first to accept the call for volunteers in Europe. Armed with only $40,000, Waitstill and Martha quickly learned the art of spy craft and undertook dangerous rescue and relief missions across war-torn Europe, saving refugees, political dissidents, and Jews on the eve of World War II. After narrowly avoiding the Gestapo themselves, the Sharps returned to Europe in 1940 as representatives of the newly formed Unitarian Service Committee and continued their relief efforts in Vichy France. "Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War" offers a fascinating and detailed portrait of resistance as told through the story of one courageous couple as it offers a rare glimpse at the high-stakes international relief efforts during WWII. This is the remarkable true story of a couple whose faith and commitment to social justice inspired them to risk their lives to save countless others. "Defying The Nazis" is the companion to a documentary film directed by Ken Burns and Artemis Joukowsky and is very highly recommended for both community and academic library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Defying The Nazis" is also available in a Kindle format ($15.99). Librarians should note that "Defying The Nazis" is available as a complete and unabridged MP3 audio book (Tantor Audio, 9781515959793, $24.99).


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
http://m.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/dec_16.htm
m.midwestbookreview.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2019-47
197558
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:KX624QAXCLXWHRDCMH3MGMGCEWOE2QMM
<urn:uuid:a7604f7f-ceb9-47cd-bec3-9f3bbc520cf3>
2019-11-17T20:03:21Z
209.151.25.246
text/html
sha1:KQ6D7RHORNFCNLT7L3Z5O2EGOY7EEQ6P
<urn:uuid:67e55b85-f61f-4dcc-a975-aa2187fa0c08>
http://m.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/dec_16.htm
response
<urn:uuid:4fa66780-aa91-46ec-9c0a-816b00c1276a>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-47
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for November 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-116.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.16 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.1-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/