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California Bookwatch

Volume 6, Number 12 December 2011 Home | CALBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Military Shelf Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Audiobook Shelf Business Shelf Religion/Spirituality Shelf
Christian Studies Shelf Music Shelf Travel Shelf
Crafts Shelf Fantasy/SciFi Shelf Needlecraft Shelf
Cookbook Shelf Writing/Publishing Shelf Political Science Shelf
Psychology Shelf Health/Medicine Shelf Education Shelf
Computer Shelf Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf Art Shelf
Gaming Shelf Sports Shelf Economic Studies Shelf
Biography Shelf Antiques/Collectibles Shelf Social Issues Shelf
Mystery/Suspense Shelf Fiction Shelf Photography Shelf
Native American Studies Shelf Nautical Shelf American History Shelf
Science Shelf Pets/Wildlife Shelf California Shelf


Reviewer's Choice

Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman
Elizabeth Abbott
Overlook Press
141 Wooster Street, New York NY 10012
9781590204436, $30.00, www.overlookpress.com

Mistresses: A History of the Other Woman blends a social and political study under one cover and provides a probe into the love lives of famous and infamous mistresses, from royal mistresses in 16th century France to Chinese concubines, mobster molls, and those associated with today's big names. It provides portraits of some 80 women over time who assumed the role of a mistress and pairs history with social analysis in a lively survey recommended for any women's issues or history holding.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Strikingly True
Ripley Publishing
7576 Kingspointe Parkway, Suite 188, Orlando, FL 32819
9781609910006, $28.95, www.ripleybooks.com

It's hard to find a more colorful and attractive 'yearbook of the weird' than the illustration-packed annual Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Strikingly True. It gathers strange facts, stories, interviews, lists and more with eye-popping designs packing every page, gathering unbelievable tales, adding explanations of the science behind them, and including an 8-page gatefold pullout in this edition that celebrates the sideshow performers who appeared in Ripley's first Odditorium at the 1933 Chicago World Fair. Packed with appealing photos, this is a 'must' for any general-interest lending library.

One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo
Aaron Barlow
Travelers' Tales, Inc.
853 Alma Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301
9781609520007, $18.95, www.travelerstales.com

One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo: 50 Years of Amazing Peace Corps Stories: Volume One: Africa (Peace Corps at 50) gathers accounts of Peace Corps volunteers who have worked in Africa, and is the first to detail 50 years of Peace Corps experiences in that country. Sixty stories cover the lives and experiences of these volunteers, covering the highs and lows of Peace Corp works and overseas encounters, from high political levels to villages and cities across the continent. Any collection strong in African social issues will find this inviting.

Visual Complexity: Mapping Patterns of Information
Manuel Lima
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East 7th St., New York NY 10003
9781568989365, $50.00, www.papress.com

Visual Complexity: Mapping Patterns of Information collects and presents nearly three hundred examples of information design from recorded covers of Joy Division to Twitter networks, and interconnections between members of the Al Qaeda network to proteins in a human cell. Discussions of the art, science and visualization of data provide a fine exploration of the impact and choices of illustration pairing essays by network scientists and artists alike in a wide-ranging 'must' for any involved in network visualization.

The Death of a Child
Peter Stanford, Editor
Continuum
c/o Continuum International Publishing Group
80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704, New York, NY 10038
9781441183033, $22.95, www.continuumbooks.com

The Death of a Child gathers a dozen essays in which parents and siblings tell their own stories of loss and how they copied with grief. From loss over miscarriages to the loss of a severely disabled child to the death of a daughter in her forties, this covers a wide spectrum of circumstances and ages and reflect different causes of bereavement and their different paths to resolution. A top pick for psychology and general libraries.

Memory Remains
Francesc Torres
National Geographic
1145 - 17th St. NW, Washington DC 20036-4688
9781426208331, $50.00, www.nationalgeographic.com/books

MEMORY REMAINS: 9/11 ARTIFACTS AT HANGER 17 represents the work of Spanish installation artist Francesc Torres, who was given exclusive access to photograph the debris remains of 9/11 at Hanger 17. MEMORY REMAINS is his tribute to the event, offering photos of twisted steel, smashed ambulances and chilling works accompanied by essays that explore the memory of 9/11 and its lasting impact on the world. If a tribute title to the event is needed, MEMORY REMAINS is all that's required!

Reallionaire
Farrah Gray with Fran Harris
Health Communications Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190
0757302246, $14.95, www.hcibooks.com

Reallionaire: The Essential Lessons that Took Me from Public Assistance to a Millionaire by the Age of 14 is a pick for any personal growth or general lending collection and follows the author's journey from the inner city streets of Chicago to wealth. At age six he carried homemade business cards in his 'briefcase' (a plastic lunch box), at eleven he was co-hosting a national TV-radio simulcast. His memoir offers powerful instructions on how anyone from any walk of life can achieve financial success and personal greatness.

Flying Saucer Technology
Bill Rose
Midland
c/o Ian Allan Publishing
ianallanplus@servicehelpline.co.uk
9781857803235, $39.95, www.ianallanpublishing.com

Flying Saucer Technology uses new investigative material to provide a scientific history of the flying saucer and unusual manmade aircraft that could be mistaken for UFOs. From the circular and oval-shaped airplanes of pre-war years to top-secret German and USAF planes built for war, this debunks the flying saucer as extraterrestrial and focuses on manmade saucers and aircraft. Fine photos lend excitement to the historical overview.

Insecure Gulf
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
Columbia University Press
61 West 62nd St., Ne York NY 10023
9780231702263, $35.00, www.cup.columbia.edu

INSECURE GULF: THE END OF CERTAINTY AND THE TRANSITION TO THE POST-OIL ERA explores and assesses the new relationship between traditional and recent security issues which the changing social and political climate of the Gulf region has brought. Any college-level collection strong in Middle East politics or security issues will find this packed with analysis and considerations of changing security issues in the entire region. It's the first to assess developments in the post-oil era of the Persian Gulf, and belongs in any college-level collection strong in the region's politics.

A Point in Time
David Horowitz
Regnery Publishing Inc.
One Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20001
9781596982901, $24.95, www.regnery.com

A POINT IN TIME: THE SEARCH FOR REDEMPTION IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT comes from a conservative activist and best-selling author who examines his own life experiences and philosophical beliefs to consider the meaning of life, suffering and redemption. A blend of social, religious, political and personal philosophy evolves in an examination of family belief systems and life's real purpose. Fans of Horowitz's writings and ideas will find this a thought-provoking blend of memoir and philosophical inspection.

Mary Turner and the Memory of Lynching
Julie Buckner Armstrong
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Drive, Athens, GA 30602-4901
0820337668, $24.95, www.ugapress.org

Mary Turner and the Memory of Lynching provides college-level social issues and American history audiences with a powerful survey of the relationship between racial violence and historical truth in America. Chapters trace the reaction of activists, artists, and locals to the brutal lynching of a pregnant woman in Georgia in 1918: an event that led to local silence and widespread national response. Chapters document these responses and examine the different roles black women played in the history of lynching.

American Pickers Guide to Picking
Libby Callaway, et.al.
Hyperion Books
77 West 66th Street, NY, NY 10023-6298
9781401324483, $24.99, www.hyperion.com

American Pickers Guide to Picking comes from a journalist who works with picking professionals Mike Wolfe and others from the TV show to cover the people and stories behind picking antiques and gems from the American countryside. Strange and unusual back roads treasures are uncovered by the American Pickers show and here provides readers with the knowledge and tools to perhaps also become a 'picker'. From finding picks to marketing and selling them for the best price, this provides an outstanding survey suitable for any general lending library.

The Rhythm of Family
Amanda Blake Soule with Stephen Soule
Trumpeter
c/o Shambhala Publications
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA 02115
9781590307779, $19.95, www.shambhala.com

The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder Through the Seasons offers crafts and activities the entire family can enjoy and advocates family interactions on a seasonal level. General-interest libraries appealing to parents will find this a popular pick that encourages family togetherness and awareness of nature. Each chapter is devoted to the changes a particular month brings about, offering a blend of essays from the Soules and tips on how to arrange family activities to acknowledge these changes.

The Captains
William Shatner
EntertainmentOne
http://twitter.com/eOneHomeVideo
No ISBN DVD, $19.98

THE CAPTAINS is a fine DVD documentary highly recommended as a 'must' for any collection strong in Star Trek. Captains interviews the captains of the Trek shows, from William Shatner and Patrick Stewart to Kate Mulgrew, providing a two-hour feature that provides behind-the-scenes considerations of the actors who made the Trek series a hit. It compiles stories and insights of five Captains who viewed their Trek roles as monumental - and considers why. No Trek collection is complete without this!


The Military Shelf

What It Is Like to Go To War
Karl Marlantes
Atlantic Monthly Press
841 Broadway, New York NY 10003
9780802119926, $25.00, www.groveatlantic.com

What It Is Like to Go To War provides a powerful survey of combat that analyzes the experience and ordeal of combat and its toll on body and mind alike. Chapters focus on the nature of warfare, how to better prepare young soldiers for war, and the daily challenge soldiers face on and off the battlefield. It identifies gaps in combat training that leave soldiers unprepared for the damaging psychology and spiritual consequences of warfare. A 'must' for military and general interest collections alike.

Skorzeny's Special Missions
Otto Skorzeny
Zenith Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55401
9780760340349, $16.99, www.zenithpress.com

Skorzeny's Special Missions: The Memoirs of Hitler's Most Daring Commando provides a fine personal memoir by Germany's top commando in World War II, who here tells the full story of his involvements in daring rescues and military planning. His controversial intelligence efforts and his successful missions offers key insights into WWII commando missions and undercover operations and is a special pick for any military collection strong in special forces activities.

No 60 Sqn RFC/RAF
Alex Revell
Osprey Publishing
4402 - 23rd Street, Suite 219
Long Island City, NY 11101-5058
9781849083331, $25.95, www.ospreypublishing.com

No 60 Sqn RFC/RAF joins others in the 'Aviation Elite Units' surveys and tells of a corps that went to France in 1916 equipped with obsolete equipment. They suffered heavy casualties and after a period of recuperation returned back to battle to become a notable fighter squadron with new equipment and boasting famous pilots who made it one of the best fighter units in history. Vintage black and white photos accompany a combat history that is outstanding in its detail and strategic analysis.

Scorched Earth
Fred A. Wilcox
Seven Stories Press
140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013
9781609801380, $23.95, www.sevenstories.com

SCORCHED EARTH: LEGACIES OF CHEMICAL WARFARE IN VIETNAM is a recommendation for any collection strong in Vietnam War history. It follow the lasting consequences of Agent Orange in that country, continuing the story begun in WAITING FOR AN ARMY TO DIE and presenting the author's journey to Vietnam visiting the communities and hospitals where Agent Orange victims reside. Vietnam still struggles with these victims, their care, and justice: photos and original letters from Vietnamese families contribute to a top pick for social issues and military holdings alike.


The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Evolutionary Enlightenment
Andrew Cohen
SelectBooks, Inc.
1 Union Square West, Suite 909
New York City, NY 10003
1590792092, $24.95, www.selectbooks.com

EVOLUTIONARY ENLIGHTENMENT: A NEW PATH TO SPIRITUAL AWAKENING offers a fine survey and analysis of spiritual awakening and evolving consciousness, and is a fine pick for any new age library. From taking personal responsibility for imperfection and seeking a better place in the universe to syncing one's emotional make-up with spiritual evolution, this provides a fine survey for any new age spirituality collection.

Old World Witchcraft
Raven Grimassi
Weiser Books
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950-4600
9781578635054, $19.95, www.redwheelweiser.com

Old World Witchcraft introduces wiccans and interested readers to a magical system - The Ash, Bark, and Willow - which comprises the basic teaching of Old World witchcraft. Any new age collection strong in witchcraft history and how-to will find this offers specific keys to spellcasting, using plant ash for magical sigil work and providing new approaches to using old tools. Modern witches seeking connections with the earth will find this a fine spiritual and cultural history.

Energetic Boundaries
Cyndi Dale
Sounds True Inc.
413 South Arthur Avenue
Louisville, CO 80027
9781604075618, $17.95, www.soundstrue.com

Energetic Boundaries: How to Stay Protected and Connected in Work, Love, and Life tells how our psyche actually holds 'energetic boundaries' that help protect it - and it explores how these four boundaries work, how they can be strengthened, and how individuals can identify problem areas and fix a weak boundary. Healthy boundaries allow for increased intimacy and success: chapters explore these connections and how they may be encouraged, teaching the basics of identifying and working with personal and spiritual boundaries. New age collections will find this a positive, enlightening survey.

The Warrior Code
Imre Vallyon
Sounding-Light Publishing
c/o Simon Warwick
18340 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, CA 95476
9780909038649, $14.95, www.soundinglight.com

The Warrior Code: 365 Aphorisms of the Spiritual Warrior comes from an internationally acclaimed educator and spiritual teacher and offers 365 'truths' in a title surveying the behavior and qualities of the 'spiritual warrior'. It's a set of inspirations from a Mantra Yogi who focuses on aphorisms that cover the range of physical, mental and spiritual human existence, and it provides keys to the behaviors and qualities of a spiritual warrior. New age collections will find this a powerful collection of inspirational reflections perfect for every day of the year.

Dreamed Up Reality
Bernardo Kastrup, PhD
O Books
c/o John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
The Bothy, Deershot Lodge Park Lane
Ropley Hampshire SO24 OBE UK
john.hunt@o-books.net
9781845945250, $19.95, www.o-books.com

DREAMED UP REALITY: DIVING INTO THE MIND TO UNCOVER THE ASTONISHING HIDDEN TALE OF NATURE comes from a scientist and engineer who examines perceptions of reality, based on a shared set of cognitive models and expectations that are at once social and genetic in nature. Chapters offer a blend of hard science and personal experience as they re-consider the nature of dreams and spirituality and offer keys to subjectively exploring reality through behavior patterns. There's scientific evidence for how spiritual beliefs and practices disrupt and bypass filtering mechanisms of the brain and affect the nature and perception of reality: DREAMED UP REALITY considers how this process works. New age and science collections alike will find this revealing!

A Shaman's Guide to Deep Beauty
Francis Rico
Council Oak Books
2 West 6th St., Suite #262, Tulsa OK 74119
9780982327425, $18.00, www.counciloakbooks.com

A Shaman's Guide to Deep Beauty provides a new guide to enlightenment and inner peace and comes from a musician and shaman who advocates enjoying life. From self-healing from illness to the mysteries of wellness, spirit, and spirituality, DEEP BEAUTY offers case studies, examples from world spirituality, and more to make for an engrossing survey perfect for new age collections strong in inspirational and joyful writings.

Odyssey of the Gods
Erich von Daniken
New Page Books
c/o Career Press Inc.
PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
9781601631923, $17.99, www.newpagebooks.com

ODYSSEY OF THE GODS THE HISTORY OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT IN ANCIENT GREECE tackles the history of Greece with a new approach to assessing its archaeological research and evidence from early philosophers. Greek myths were in fact reality, charting the arrival and actions of gods who were actually extraterrestrial beings that arrived on earth thousands of years ago. Chapters argue for a different interpretation of ancient Greek sites and legends, and makes ODYSSEY OF THE GODS a fine addition to any new age collection.

Talking to the Dead
George Noory and Rosemary Ellen Guiley
TOR/Forge
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780765325389, $24.99, www.tor-forge.com

TALKING TO THE DEAD comes from the hot of the late night radio show "Coast to Coat AM" and is co-written with paranormal specialist Rosemary Ellen Guiley and explores ways in which computers, radios and other modern technology can help connect individuals to paranormal worlds. History and legend blend in a survey of how devices have contributed to spirit communications, with chapters using case histories and more to cover the metaphysics and spirituality of other worlds. A lively writing style and plenty of diverse examples makes this a top story hard to put down!

Wild Flower Press
Box 1429, Columbus, NC 28722
www.granitepublishing.us

Two fine 'Zeta' titles by Judy Carroll offer the unique account of an Australian Reiki instructor who has experienced contact with non-earthly beings she knows as Greys or Zetas from teen years onward, and provides some unique and powerful accounts of these Zeta beings, two worlds, and the spiritual messages these Zetas bring to Earth. Judy Carroll works with Helene Kaye in THE ZETA MESSAGE: CONNECTING ALL BEINGS IN ONENESS (9780926524705, $17.95), exploring the connections between two women who experienced inexplicable, disturbing activity in their homes and who found many shared experiences and connections. Judy and Helene believe they're living in two worlds and identify as both earth humans and Zetas, and explores their encounters. Judy Carroll's HUMAN BY DAY, ZETA BY NIGHT: A DRAMATIC ACCOUNT OF GREYS INCARNATING AS HUMANS (9780926524712, $18.95) is fiction based on true events documented by Carroll in THE ZETA MESSAGE, and explores some of the concepts introduced in the prior book. Any collection strong in contactees and alien experiences must have both of these books.


The Audiobook Shelf

Every Day a Friday
Joel Osteen
Hachette Audio
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
9781609418311, $29.98, www.hachetteaudio.com

Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week is unabridged on 8 CDs, narrated by the author, and blends spiritual guidance with practical advice on how to find joy and happiness in every day of living. Whatever your challenges, you can choose your response... mindsets and decisions impact happiness. This positive message encourages personal support and understanding and offers key methods for achievement: it's a top pick for any self-motivational audio collection.

Hot Springs
Stephen Hunter
Brilliance Audio
PO Box 887, Grand Haven, MI 49417
1455815624, $29.99, www.brillianceaudio.com

HOT SPRINGS receives a fine performance by Eric G. Dove who enlivens and packs in a crime novel on audio that just won't quit. Dove's varied, accomplished recording career lends a fine touch to the story of one Earl Swagger, about to become a father yet plagued with his own memories of the past. Hot Springs, Arkansas is exploding around Earl and it's up to him to confront a dangerous mob mentality in this engrossing thriller, recommended for any audio collection seeing popularity in Hunter's previous novels.

Dark Predator (Carpathian)
Christine Feehan
Penguin Audio
c/o The Penguin Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9781611760293, $39.95, www.penguin.com

Dark Predator (Carpathian) is narrated by Erik Bergmann & Kristine Ryan, who provide a fine dual reading of a pick recommended for prior fans of Christine Feehan's 'Dark' series. It focuses on the thoughts and reflections of prior protagonist Zacarias, one of the five De la Cruz brothers who after centuries has decided to end his life, convinced he's done all he can for Carpathia. Saved by his mute lifemate Marguarita, Zacarias embarks on a journey to change his own psyche and construct a new purpose for his life. Prior fans of the 'Dark' series may miss some of the interplays between the brothers and the Carpathian peoples, but will find the fuller character development of the enigmatic Zacarias to be detailed and in keeping with the series as a whole. The audio edition brings out the underlying psychological tension more so than the hardcover.


The Business Shelf

Boomerang
Michael Lewis
W.W. Norton
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780393081817, $25.95, www.wwnorton.com

BOOMERANG: TRAVELS IN THE NEW THIRD WORLD isn't a travel book: it's about the global financial crisis, once-booming economies, and how global involvements evolved. From the real estate frenzy in Ireland that collapsed to Iceland's untrained financiers who took crazy leveraged bets, this provides an analysis of different world economies and their pitfalls. A top pick for any business or world economy collection!

Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies
Joshua Waldman, MBA
For Dummies
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470930724, $19.99, www.wiley.com

Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies tells how to use social media marketing to land a first job, re-career or more, and shows how to build business connections into a job search process. From the basics of social networking etiquette to branding and communicating a message online, this covers all the basics of using Twitter, Facebook and other sites to gain new job opportunities. Any job searcher should include this primer in their arsenal of hunting tools!

iPad in the Enterprise
Nathan Clevenger
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9781118022351, $44.99, www.wiley.com

Any business collection and any computer collection strong in Apple programming will find iPad in the Enterprise to be an involving survey of the positive potential of IT development in business circles. From designing usable user interfaces and gaining feedback to applying industry best practices to assure data security and making an iPad work in an organizational setting, this is packed with keys IT managers and businesses can use to incorporate the iPad's strengths with their own business purposes.

Elements of Influence
Terry R. Bacon
Amacom
1601 Broadway, New York NY 10019-7420
0814417329, $26.00, www.amacombooks.org

Elements of Influence: The Art of Getting Others to Follow Your Lead explains how influence works, ethically and productively, in business and daily life and is based on decades of research into the purpose and application of business influence. From compliance to leadership and what happens when an influencer's attempt fails, this covers all the basics and includes skill-building exercises and examples suitable for any business collection.

Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs
Carmine Gallo
McGraw-Hill
c/o The McGraw Hill Companies
Two Penn Plaza, 11th Floor, NY, NY 10121-2298
0071636080, $21.95, www.mhprofessional.com

Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience teaches the specific techniques that have made Jobs a legendary communicator in the business world. It uses his presentations as a blueprint and comes from a coach who has identified a framework of presentation secrets to provide speakers with powerful tools, from picking and answering a key question to translating numbers to meaningful form and developing stage presence. Any who would take lessons from Jobs will find this covers his greatest achievement: communicating effectively to charge and amaze audiences.

Winning at New Products, fourth edition
Robert G. Cooper
Basic Books
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780465025787, $29.99, www.basicbooks.com

The fourth updated edition of Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation offers new research, case studies and data mined by the author and his colleagues on new ways to control modern markets, and is a pick for any who found the last edition useful as well as any business collection looking to add new product development titles. From changes brought about by the Internet-based economy to new strategies in delivering products to market, this surveys all the phases of new product development with an eye to identifying the most successful approaches. Businesses will find this a top pick!

The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America
Marc Levinson
Farrar Straus Giroux
18 West 18th St., New York NY 10011
9780809095438, $27.00, www.fsgbooks.com

The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America packs in anecdotes and references as it investigates the history of a company that became the largest retailer in the world. It grew from a small New York tea shop to become the first retailer to sell, $1 billion in goods, owning nearly sixteen thousand stores across the country. This offers more than a company history: as a recommended pick for business collections, it covers the relationship between capitalism and consumerism and how small businesses grow. Highly recommended for any business collection!

Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising
Perry Marshall and Thomas Meloche
Entrepreneur Press
2445 McCabe Way Suite 400, Irvine CA 92614-6244
1599184303, $24.95, www.entrepreneurpress.com

Ultimate Guide to Facebook Advertising: How to Access 600 Million Customers in 10 Minutes tells how Facebook has changed ideas about online selling, and maintains that any entrepreneur needs to learn Facebook's rules for effective selling. Pages are devoted to translating Facebook fans and their 'likes' into paying customers: it surveys targeted opt-in customer ads, offers three steps to building a Facebook presence and acquiring fans, and packs in the basics entrepreneurs need to know to market to Facebook audiences. A 'must' for any serious business collection.

Get Bold
Sandy Carter
IBM Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0132618311, $14.99, www.ibmpressbooks.com

Get Bold: Using Social Media to Create a New Type of Social Business covers the basics of how to use social media for maximum business purposes, and provides a framework packed with examples and guidance for integrating the two. From networking business processes to analyzing data and creating a trustworthy social presence, this is packed with keys to employee and client engagement and surveys social success and processes for using social media more effectively. Any business will welcome this survey, backed by the power of an author who is an IBM Vice President of Social Business.

No Bullshit Social Media
Jason Falls & Erik Deckers
QUE
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0789748010, $24.99, www.quepublishing.com

No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing provides a results-focused discussion of social media that offers detailed and tested techniques - not hopeful theories - for increasing sales and profits using social media options. From specific solutions from brand-building and R&D to facts and statistics, this identifies strategic goals and tells businesses how to assess and apply proven best practices. A fine survey for any business, linking social media to techniques for its effective use!

The New Players in Life Science Innovation
Tomasz Mroczkowski
FT Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0132119900, $59.99, www.ftpress.com

The New Players in Life Science Innovation: Best Practices in R&D From Around the World explains how China and other powers are gaining leadership roles in bioscience industries - and surveys how their innovation strategies and reforms offer different formulas for success. There's an emerging global 'bioeconomy' in which life science discoveries will affect all kinds of markets: this discusses this new economy and new options for partnering with the new players.

18 Minutes
Peter Bregman
BusinessPlus
c/o Hachette Publishing Group
237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017-0010
9780446583411, $24.99, www.hachettebookgroup.com

18 MINUTES: FIND YOUR FOCUS, MASTER DISTRACTION, AND GET THE RIGHT THINGS DONE is based on the author's popular Harvard Business Review columns, and demonstrates how busy people can find a way to focus on priorities to achieve more in the workworld. The idea is that the best way to combat distracting interruptions is to create productive distractions. Chapters teach how to navigate the meetings, phone calls, emails and more to retain time and energy for more productive pursuits. Case studies blend with first-person insights to create a fine business survey!

Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets
Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Ripa Raashid
Harvard Business Review Press
c/o Harvard Business Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston, MA 02163 USA
9781422160602, $35.00, www.hbr.org/books

Winning the War for Talent in Emerging Markets: Why Women Are the Solution tells how to turn untapped female talent into winning business strategies - and covers the resource of millions of educated women entering labor markets around the world. These women have better credentials and higher ambitions than their male peers, yet have largely been neglected and passed over. WINNING THE WAR tells how to attract and retain such women, and how to build infrastructures - including networks and sponsors - for female leaders. A 'must' for business and women's issues collections alike!

Creating Personal Presence
Dianna Booher
Berrett-Koehler Publications
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650
San Francisco, CA 94104-2916
9781609940119, $15.95, www.bkconnection.com

Creating Personal Presence: Look, Talk, Think, and Act Like a Leader discusses speaking and presence and surveys body language, words and voice, quality of communication, and attitudes and values inherent in actions. It offers tips on how to build a strong personal presence and keys to better using voice and physical presence to better advantage. Any businessperson looking to improve upon their impact and speech-making presence, and collections catering to this audience, will find this a winner!


The Religion/Spirituality Shelf

Turning the Tide
Charles F. Stanley
Howard Books
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781439190623, $24.00, www.simonandschuster.com

TURNING THE TIDE: REAL HOPE, REAL CHANGE provides a studied survey of how prayer and civic involvement can change our nation's course. It discusses political and social issues from holding on to freedoms to making a difference and blends these with a twenty-week prayer guide to help guide this country and its citizens. The close connections between social and political and spiritual objectives make this a winner!

Where Am I Going?
Michelle Cromer
Balboa Press
c/o Hay House
1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington IN 47403
9781452533742, $17.95, www.balboapress.com

WHERE AM I GOING? MOVING FROM RELIGIOUS TOURIST TO SPIRITUAL EXPLORER blends a travel guide with a spiritual memoir surveying seven stages to connect with the soul - but is based on the author's personal quest for meaning. As such it provides a fine exploration of larger, shared questions about finding spirituality and undertaking a spiritual odyssey, and is a powerful, highly recommended pick for any spirituality holding!


The Christian Studies Shelf

Boundaries of Faith
Jill Fehleison
Truman State University Press
100 East Normal Street
Kirksville, MO 63501-4221
9781935503118, $48.00, www.tsup.truman.edu

BOUNDARIES OF FAITH: CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS IN THE DIOCESE OF GENEVA offers a fine survey of religious conviction and devotion in the Catholic areas bordering Geneva. She combines a social analysis of this people and their customs with assessments of rituals associated with Catholic reform in the Diocese of Geneva, providing a scholarly, in-depth analysis perfect for any college-level Catholic history and spirituality collection.

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes
Kenneth E. Bailey
IVP Academic
c/o InterVarsity Press
PO Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 605151426
9780830839346, $30.00, www.academic.ivpress.com

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians provides a new, scholarly analysis of 1 Corinthians and argues that 1 Corinthians consists of five essays, each with a common rhetorical structure. His analysis uses over twenty ancient translations of 1 Corinthians and ancient commentaries on these translations, packing in cultural observations, scriptural analysis, and theologies of sexual practices, immortality, love, worship, and other universal themes. The result is a powerful survey recommended for academic and scholarly spirituality collections.

The Art of Mentoring
Darlene Zschech
Bethany House
11400 Hampshire Ave. South, Bloomington MN 55438
9780764209345, $19.99, www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

The Art of Mentoring: Embracing the Great Generational Transition provides a fine survey packed with insights about how to empower and lead the next generation and comes from a mentor who has much more than the usual business or education approach in mind. Hers is a spiritual collection showing how to link faith stories to lessons passed to future generations, and focuses on how intergenerational leadership can change the world. Any concerned with the church's future will find this offers concrete approaches to being more effective mentors and leaders.

Understanding Islam
Frithjob Schuon
World Wisdom
1501 East Hillside Drive, Bloomington, IN 47401
9781935493907, $24.95, www.worldwisdom.com

Understanding Islam: A New Translation with Selected Letters provides a fully revised translation of Frithjob Schuon's classic study, edited by Patrick Laude - who provides a new preface - and offering over seventy pages of new material, from previously unpublished letters to a new chapter on Sufism. The purpose is to explain why Muslims believe in Islam: this revised, amended translation of a philosopher's major work is a recommended pick for any collection strong in world religious in general and Islam in particular.

The Journey
Adam Hamilton
Abington Press
PO Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202
9781426714252, $18.00, www.abingdonpress.com

THE JOURNEY: WALKING THE ROAD TO BETHLEHEM pairs historical information and archaeological findings with personal reflection as it follows the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem following the birth of Jesus. From a focus on Joseph and what little is known of him and portrayed in the Bible to Biblical passages charting Mary's arrival and the shepherds who arrived to see the newborn king, this provides a fine survey perfect for the holiday season and for year-round Christian collections!

John Howard Yoder: Spiritual Writings
Paul Martens & Jenny Howell, Editors
Orbis Books
Price Bdg., Box 302, Maryknoll NY 10545
9781570759352, $20.00, www.orbisbooks.com

John Howard Yoder: Spiritual Writings comes from a Mennonite theologian who was a strong proponent of Christian nonviolence in the late 20th century. His writings represent careful editing of five decades of work and are gathered in a volume that discusses the meaning of Jesus, church mandates and reflections of Christ, and wider cosmic questions of God and spirituality. The result's a scholarly religious analysis suitable for any college-level Christian studies collection.


The Music Shelf

Acoustic Music Source Book
Richard Matteson
Mel Bay Publications
PO Box 66, Pacific, MO 63069
9780786678389, $29.99, www.melbay.com

Acoustic Music Source Book: Over 200 Old-Time Songs with Melody Line, Lyrics and Guitar Chords is a fine pick for any who like roots and old-time music. It covers music produced from the late 1800s to the 1940s, packs in over 200 songs, and includes all the information needed to successfully produce old-time acoustic songs. A fine pick for any acoustic music collection!

Put the Needle on the Record
Matthew Chojnacki
Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764338311, $39.99, www.schifferbooks.com

Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute comes from a pop culture historian who offers a definitive guide to seven- and twelve-inch vinyl single artwork from the 1980s, comparing over 250 vinyl singles cover images and offering untold stories behind their selection. At once a music and an arts title, this offers insights from over 100 of the '80s top musicians from Duran Duran to the B-52s and is a pick for any pop culture, arts or music collection.

Groove Interrupted
Keith Spera
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
9780312552251, $26.99, www.stmartins.com

Groove Interrupted: Loss, Renewal, and the Music of New Orleans recounts the experiences of musicians who returned to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and found heartache, recovery, and musical insights in the aftermath of devastation, and is a recommendation for music and social issues collections alike. From Fats Domino's journey through Manhattan to promote a post-Katrina tribute CD to a jazz trumpeter who incorporates Katrina experiences into his new music, this is a powerful tribute to the link between music and social experience, and is especially recommended for any collection strong in post-Katrina experiences.

Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records
Bruce Spizer & Frank Daniels
498 Productions LLC
1010 Common St. #1964, New Orleans LA 70112
9780983295709, $69.98, www.beatle.net

Beatles for Sale on Parlophone Records covers all of the Beatles singles, albums and extended play discs issued in the U.K. from 1962 through 1970. All the recordings released by the group during that time were written, recorded and marketed in the U.K.: this book packs in over four hundred pages with 700 images in color and original black and white and details on all the albums. While this reference will particularly intrigue Beatles collectors, it's a fine reference for any Beatles fan who wants detailed descriptions of their recordings.


The Travel Shelf

East Coast Australia, fourth edition
Regis St. Louis, et.al.
Lonely Planet Publications
150 Linden Street, Oakland CA 94607
9781741794717, $24.99, www.lonelyplanet.com

The fourth updated edition of a classic take-along tote provides the latest information about Eastern coastal Australia and is a 'must' for any planning a trip to the area. From rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef to sailing and island-hopping or inner city nightlife, this covers all the hits of the entire area. Updated information comes from actual travelers to the various areas on the East Coast and provides candid assessments of attractions and lodging alike, making this a 'must' for any Australia-bound independent traveler.


The Crafts Shelf

Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World
Jared K. Burks, PhD
TwoMorrows Publishing
10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh NC 27614
1605490334, $9.95, www.twomorrows.com

Minifigure Customization: Populate Your World covers a range of techniques for converting LEGO minifigures to characters, and is a pick for any who would alter the static LEGO figure to custom forms. Tutorials cover decal design, color alteration, and digital photography tips and provide all the tools needed to create custom figures. Packed with color photo examples, this is a top pick for any crafts collection, especially those strong in LEGO titles.

Jewelry Designs from Nature
Heather Powers
Kalmbach Publishing Company
21027 Crossroads Circle
Waukesha, WI 53186
9780871164285, $19.95, www.kalmbach.com

Jewelry Designs from Nature: Woodlands, Gardens, Sea: Art Bead Jewelry Designs Inspired by Nature provides an outstanding survey offering over thirty nature-inspired jewelry pieces to make, and explains all the easy techniques using step-by-step color photos throughout. Readers can choose to re-create these pieces or can use the directions as stepping stones to adapting works to their own unique style. Any jewelry-making collection will find this an appealing survey!


The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf

Hardware
Brian Hughes and Imogene Foss
Titan Books
144 Southwark Street, London SE1 OUP, UK
9781848566989, $34.95, www.titanbooks.com

Hardware: The Definitive Science Fiction Works of Chris Foss celebrates the artistry and works of a top science fiction artist, offering full-page full-color explorations of his creations and futuristic machines and worlds. Forewords by Moebius (Jean Giraud) and Alejandro Jodorowsky as well as the authors provide a wealth of fine and detailed insights into Foss' works and impact on the science fiction illustration world as a whole. No science fiction or space art collection should be without this amazing and definitive collection.

Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm
Michael A. Martin
Pocket Books
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 13th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781451607154, $7.99, www.pocketbooks.com

Star Trek: Enterprise: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm is a fine novel based on the Star Trek: Enterprise crew and scenarios and here tells of a shattered Coalition of Planets where humanity finds itself not only standing alone, but the sole defender of the galaxy. The Romulans are employing ruthless forces to drive the humans from the stars - and at the forefront of battle is the Enterprise and her captain Jonathan Archer, whose once-peaceful exploration mission has turned into war. Fine action makes this an excellent military science fiction choice.

Mirror Maze
Michaele Jordan
Pyr
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781616145293, $16.00, www.pyrsf.com

Mirror Maze is a satisfying ghost story and tells of Jacob, devastated by the death of his fiancee when he encounters her doppelganger, Livia - which leads to his obsession. Livia is at first terrified by his obsession - but when she discovers a demon is stalking him she struggles to help him overcome a curse, in the process becoming part of its dangerous powers. MIRROR MAZE is a gripping ghost story at its best and is a pick for any collection strong in intrigue and horror.

Awake at Dawn
C.C. Hunter
St. Martin's Press
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
0312624689, $9.99, www.stmartins.com

AWAKE AT DAWN provides a satisfying Shadow Falls novel where Kylie has finally settled in at camp and is exploring the nature of her supernatural abilities when a ghost and a rogue vampire command her attention. Add her romance with a half-fairy which turns into a stormy, confusing affair and the return of a werewolf from her past and you have a plot replete in supernatural influences and packed with unexpected, satisfying twists and turns.

Firestorm: Destroyermen
Taylor Anderson
ROC Books
c/o Penguin Group USA
375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014
9780451464170, $25.95, www.penguin.com

Firestorm: Destroyermen continues Taylor Anderson's alternate history Destroyermen series and ads the sixth installment to the series. Prior familiarity with its predecessors will lend enjoyment to this story of military might, where the Allies and the Empire of New Britain Isles stand united against attacks of the Forces. Matthew is struggling with a new enemy: the Holy Dominion, and his battles plunge him into a firestorm of betrayal and twisted loyalties that offers fast-paced action and exciting twists of plot. Military and alternate history scifi readers will relish the swift pace.

The Werewolf Book
Brad Steiger
Visible Ink Press
43311 Joy Rd #414, Canton MI 48187-2075
9781578593675, $19.95, www.visibleinkpress.com

The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings provides a fine collection of folklore and literary exploration of all manner of werewolves, covering centuries years of history and folklore and recounting all werewolf legends, from how to become one and how to slay one to detecting werewolves, famous personalities said to have had werewolf associations (including Hitler and Bela Lugosi), literary werewolves from Red Riding Hood to modern times, and more. General-interest and science fiction holdings alike will find this a fun, lively survey!

A Beautiful Friendship
David Weber
Baen Books
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781451637472, $18.99, www.baen.com

A Beautiful Friendship provides a new Star Kingdom novel to enthusiasts and tells of Stephanie, who expected to be a forest ranger until her parents relocated to the planet Sphinx. But the planet is wilder and less civilized than her homeworld, and Stephanie's parents don't want her making unsupervised trips into the wilderness. Stephanie's encounter with one of the world's smart treecats results in an unusual situation in this gripping saga, perfect for any science fiction collection.


The Needlecraft Shelf

Make Your Bed
Leslee Evans
Martingale Company
19021 - 120th Avenue NE, Suite 102, Bothell, WA 98011-9511
9781604660478, $26.99, www.martingale-pub.com

MAKE YOUR BED: QUILTED BED RUNNERS, PILLOWS, AND MORE TO SUIT YOUR STYLE provides a fine collection of some nine bed runners that contain coordinating bed projects form shams to sheets, and provides quilters with a new alternative to the usual full-bed quilt project. Sets to suit moods come with a range of design and construction options, making this a top pick for any quilting library looking for a different, related kind of project.

Finishing School
Deborah Newton
SixthandSpring Books
161 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1301
New York, NY 10013
9781936096190, $29.95, www.sixthandspringbooks.com

FINISHING SCHOOL: A MASTER CLASS FOR KNITTERS provides a fine resource for knitters of all levels of expertise and comes from a knitter who offers tools to change any garment into a finished piece. Some 15 patterns accompany illustrated workshops that explore the mechanics of sewing zippers, seaming, and adding knitting. It covers everything from finishing edgings to blocking and is filled with color photos and sidebar tutorials including 'cheat sheets' packed with tips for streamlining polished results. A 'must' for any knitting collection!

Custom Knits 2
Wendy Bernard
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
115 W. 18th St., New York NY 10011
9781584799382, $27.50, www.stcbooks.com

Custom Knits 2: More Top-Down and Improvisational Styles provides more patterns, formulas and tips to any wanting to adapt any pattern to a style and size preference. From converting a pattern to fit an adult or a child to substituting yarns, changing gauges, and producing a range of custom clothing designs, this pairs color photos with plenty of examples and step-by-step instructions to make for a file collection of alternatives for any knitter.

Enhance Your Quilts - Embellish!
Terry White
American Quilter's Society
Box 3290, Paducah, KY 42002-3290
9781604600094, $26.95, www.americanquilter.com

Enhance Your Quilts - Embellish packs in over a hundred examples of creative quilt embellishments and variations and tells how to use a machine's specialty feet and decorative stitches to achieve unusual textures and patterns. The focus on embellishments allows for an in-depth survey of fabrications, applique possibilities, beads, tassels and much more, with color photos packing every page with examples.

Handbag Designer 101
Emily Blumenthal
Voyageur Press
c/o Quayside Publishing Group
400 First Avenue North, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55401
9780760339732, $24.99, www.voyageurpress.com

Handbag Designer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Designing, Making, and Marketing Handbags is packed with design ideas for designers and any woman who wants to make her own handbags. It incorporates advice from successful bag designers with patterns for producing bags, provides basic business and marketing strategies for those who would turn handbag production into a business, and it's packed with everything the new bag designer needs to know. Stories and photos around out an exceptional presentation.

A Fiber Artist's Guide to Color & Design
Heather Thomas
Landauer
3100 NW 101st St Suite A, Urbandale, IL 50322
9781935726098, $29.95, www.landauercorp.com

A Fiber Artist's Guide to Color & Design, The Basics & Beyond provides a fine survey of fiber art techniques and offers 12 workshop lessons designed to help users become better artists. Color theory and design principles are tailored for fiber and teach the basics of scale, value, saturation and harmony and pair color wheels, charts and photos with lesson projects. A top pick for any fiber artist!


The Cookbook Shelf

The Essential Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller
Artisan
c/o Workman Publishing Company
225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014-4381
9781579654375, $100.00, www.workman.com/artisan

The Essential Thomas Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Ad Hoc at Home provides serious home chefs with an outstanding two-book, slipcased reference from Thomas Keller's two award-winning restaurants - with very different culinary perspectives resulting in a delightful dovetail of experience. The French Laundry introduced a new style of bistro fare to Napa County California and his French Laundry Cookbook raised the edge for cookbooks for home chefs as a whole. Here Butter-Poached Lobster and other creations adapted for home kitchens made for an outstanding collection of delicious fare. His Ad Hoc restaurant emphasized family fare, from homemade pies to fried chicken and even his father's meatball recipe. The pairing of the two classic cookbooks under one slipcase assures a weighty and powerful gift to any avid home chef looking for something both different and tested by a restaurateur's expertise!

Sunday Roasts
Betty Rosbottom
Chronicle Books
680 - 2nd St., San Francisco CA 94107
9780811879682, $24.95, www.chroniclebooks.com

SUNDAY ROASTS: A YEAR'S WORTH OF MOUTHWATERING ROASTS, FROM OLD-FASHIONED POT ROASTS TO GLORIOUS TURKEYS AND LEGS OF LAMB collections some fifty recipes ranging from beef to fish and provides a main course for nearly every week of the year. Her book includes over twenty recipes for sides and sauces to accompany the meat main dish, while the meat selections include all kinds of cuts suitable to a range of budgets. The inclusion of international influences makes this quite the recommendation!

Gluten-Free Makeovers
Beth Hillson
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780738214610, $19.00, www.dacapopress.com

Gluten-Free Makeovers follows the author's journey to create healthy food for those who can't have gluten in their diets, and here compiles some of the most popular recipes she's discovered in the process. From chef favorites to comfort foods such as pizza, Beth Hillson packs in over 175 recipes that discuss substitutions, approaches to successful recipe completion, and more. No color photos, but the very easy dishes don't need them!

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows
Melanie Joy, PhD
Conari Press
665 - 3rd St. #400, San Francisco CA 94107
9781573245050, $16.95, www.redwheelweiser.com

Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism includes a group discussion guide and explores the cultural influences on what animals we choose to eat. It comes from a social psychologist who identifies denial as one of the influences on the choice for eating meat, discusses inhumane husbandry practices, and should be required discussion for any arguing for animal rights. Culinary as well as social issues collections will find this discussion engrossing.

The Hour That Matters Most
Les & Leslie Parrott with Stephanie Allen & Tina Kuna
Tyndale House Publishers
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
9781414337449, $15.99, www.tyndale.com

The Hour That Matters Most: The Surprising Power of the Family Meal pairs new recipes not published elsewhere with cooking tips, color photos of family-friendly meals, and discussions of conversation starters to get kids involved in talk at the dinner table. Its purpose is to provide keys to successful family dinners, and this is a recommendation for any who would utilize techniques to make the family meal friendlier and more satisfying to all.

Gudrun's Kitchen
Ingeborg Hydle Baugh, et.al.
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
816 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9780870204623, $22.95, www.wisconsinhistory.org

GUDRUN'S KITCHEN: RECIPES FROM A NORWEGIAN FAMILY comes from the youngest of a Norwegian immigrant family who loved celebrations. This is much more than a cookbook: it combines the story of her immigrant past and journey to America with nearly 200 recipes that include classic Norway dishes as well as Gudrun's adaptations of American fare. So expect to find everything from chop suey to baked beans, smoked haddock to 'Troll Cream' in this fun, lovely presentation!

750 Best Appetizers
Judith Finlayson & Jordan Wagman
Robert Rose
120 Eglinton Avenue East Suite 800
Toronto ON, Canada, M4P 1E2
9780778802723, $24.95, www.robertrose.ca

750 Best Appetizers From Dips & Salsas to Spreads & Shooters offers a range of appetizer options in some 16 chapters built around specific types of dishes, from dips to ingredients such as cheese. With such an arrangement by ingredient and type of dish, it's easy to enjoy such appetizers as Fish Sticks and 'food on a stick' dishes, sliders, bread-based appetizers, and much more. A centerfold of color photos accompanies a range of dishes in this outstanding survey recommended for any collection strong in entertainment cooking.

The Dead Celebrity Cookbook
Frank De Caro
Health Communications Inc.
3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
9789757315961, $19.95, www.hcibooks.com

The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes from More than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen comes from an author who has gathered recipes of the stars and put them together under one cover, and comes from a movie critic who offers fun dishes ranging from John Ritter's Favorite Fudge to Liberace's Sticky Buns. Celebrities were producing dishes on shows from Johnny Carson to MASH: here recipes from their creations accompany entertaining commentary and observation in a title recommended for home cooks and fans of entertainment alike.

Malt Whiskey: The Complete Guide
Charles MacLean
Mitchell Beazley
c/o Octopus Books
info@octopus-publishing.co.uk
9781845335700, $19.99, www.octopusbooks.co/uk

Malt Whiskey: The Complete Guide comes from a whiskey expert and offers enthusiasts a fine portable guide to whiskey buying and tasting. Maps accompany locations of key distilleries while over 150 photos display whiskey-making operations. Charles MacLean's A-Z directory profiles all of Scotland's key distilleries and their whiskies, including color labels and guidelines to visiting and drinking Scotch whiskey, and make this a special 'must have' for any planning a journey to Scotland.

Sweet Confections
Nina Wanat
Lark Books
387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016
9781600599200, $17.95, www.larkcrafts.com

Sweet Confections: Beautiful Candy to Make at Home is a fine introduction to making candy, and covers everything from light Strawberry-Lemonade Marshmallows to truffles, taffy, jelly candies, meringues and more. Luscious, often-full-page color photos accompany step-by-step instructions that clearly outline methods, supplies and cookware needed, and how to avoid common candy-making challenges. The simple approach and mouth-watering results make this a top primer for any collection seeking a visual approach to candy making that goes beyond a recipe presentation.

Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th edition
Betty Crocker Editors
Wiley
c/o Wiley Professional Trade Group
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
9780470906026, $29.99, www.wiley.com

The 11th updated edition of Betty Crocker Cookbook includes many new features to make this edition the best of over 60 years of publication and updates. New here are: chapters on canning, entertaining, and a section pairing over 20 classic dishes with innovations on a theme, a 'learn to make' feature complete with step-by-step photos and online video demos for each, photos identifying over 600 foods, mini-recipes for quick dishes, and an accompanying ebook for all e-readers. A 'must' for any general cookery collection!

Made in America
Lucy Lean
Welcome Books
6 West 18th St., New York NY 10011
9781599621012, $45.00, www.welcomebooks.com

MADE IN AMERICA: OUR BEST CHEFS REINVENT COMFORT FOOD provides updated classic dishes from modern innovative chefs, and is a fine pick for any culinary collection. It comes from the former editor of Edible LA who has sifted thousands of traditional American dishes to uncover the top 100 that best represent America's culinary heritage. Each dish was deconstructed and tested by a chef, and includes an introduction on the dish's history and testing. Add color photos throughout and you have a superb winner!

Just Tacos
Shelley Wiseman
Taunton Press
Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506
9781600854071, $19.95, www.taunton.com

JUST TACOS: 100 DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER provides a fine assembly of tacos for all meals, not just dinner, and offers recipes for everything from breakfast and seafood tacos to different meats. Many fillings here are easy to make and just need to be folded into a taco for a complete meal. Add color photos throughout and you have a top pick recommended for any home cook searching for quick, easy dishes!

Pie
Ken Headrich
Harvard Common Press
535 Albany St., Boston MA 02118
9781558322547, $24.95, www.harvardcommonpress.com

PIE: 300 TRIED-AND-TRUE RECIPES FOR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE PIE is a 'bible' of pies and packs in American dishes ranging from the 'best' apple pie ever to a Thanksgiving dried fruit pie and a Ginger Custard Pie. Sidebars of history and information provide whimsical details about recipe developments and pastry history while the pies themselves are easy to produce. There's a centerfold of color photos to add a lively selection to the mix, making this a fine recommendation for any dessert collection.

Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
Cook's Illustrated Editors
America's Test Kitchen
c/o Deborah Broide -- DeborahPub@aol.com
1933615893, $40.00, www.americastestkitchentv.com

Cook's Illustrated Cookbook is a 'must' for any collection seeing interest in the magazine, and packs in over 2,000 recipes from some twenty years of the magazine's publication. Chapters offer unusual and fine recipe divisions, going beyond the usual 'meats, vegetables and desserts' into chapters on Curries, Stir-Fries and Asian Noodle Dishes, Eggs and Breakfast, Pizza, Calzones and Flatbreads, and more. Sidebars of information discuss 'why this recipe works' and offer test kitchen tips to ensure success. Any serious cook or culinary collection needs this!

Street Food
Carla Diamanti and Fabrizio Esposito
H.F. Ullmann
c/o 60 Cycle Media Relations LLC
38 High Avenue, 4th floor office
Nyack, New York 10960
9783833156151, $14.99, www.ullmann-publishing.com

STREET FOOD: AUTHENTIC SNACKS FROM AROUND THE WORLD provides a fine survey of small snacks available in world markets and food carts, and includes over twenty sample recipes to accompany discussions of dishes that represent different cultures. Color photos of the street areas and their dishes and discussions of local ingredients and offerings are the centerpiece of a title that excels in regional offerings.

An Everlasting Meal
Tamar Adler
Scribner
c/o Simon and Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 14th fl.
New York, NY 10020
9781439181874, $25.00, www.simonandschuster.com

An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace provides a series of culinary essays for home cooks and blends philosophy with instruction on how to make the most of everything you buy, from bones and peels to using ingredients such as onions and potatoes for inexpensive meals packed with fresh vegetables. From pestos that can be made with any herb or leafy green to how to cook beans more efficiently and making better polenta with less hassle, this is packed with fine keys to easy culinary success and blends in considerations of atmosphere for maximum impact.


The Writing/Publishing Shelf

Real Revision
Kate Messner
Stenhouse Publishers
477 Congress Street, Suite 4B
Portland, ME 04101-3451
9781571108562, $23.00, www.stenhouse.com

Real Revision: Authors' Strategies to Share with Student Writers is a 'must' for any student or teacher interested in effective editing, and covers the basics of the entire revision process using tested successful strategies. Chapters look at how over thirty successful authors employ these revision strategies, teaching students how to use research, brainstorming, and planning as revision tools. Examples from mentor authors make this a powerful teaching tool for high school and beyond.


The Political Science Shelf

Back Door Channels
Leon H. Charney
Barricade Books
185 Bridge Plaza North #309, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
1569804521, $19.95, www.barricadebooks.com

Back Door Channels: The Price of Peace provides a fine survey of alternative methods for official government, from diplomatic entities to convert intelligence agents. It covers the interplay between these channels and those not in government, discussing behind-the-scenes influences on the peace process between Egypt and Israel. Any political studies collection needs this!

Red Army
Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott
Broadside Books
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-5299
9780062069245, $26.99, www.broadsidebooks.net

RED ARMY: THE RADICAL NETWORK THAT MUST BE DEFEATED TO SAVE AMERICA provides a fine original investigative piece that maintains a group of radical socialists have seized political power, shaped Obama's presidential agenda, and threaten our country's democracy. It comes from investigative reporters who expose the people, groups and relationships in this network and analyze how they influence Obama and their long term plans for the nation. Conservatives may find this supports many of their beliefs.

Ten Letters
Eli Saslow
Doubleday
c/o Random House Group
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780385534307, $25.95, www.randomhouse.com

TEN LETTERS: THE STORIES AMERICANS TELL THEIR PRESIDENTS examines the struggles of ordinary Americans as told through ten letters who have corresponded with the President about their situations. The author discovered these writings and traveled across the country to interview their creators, choosing letters to which President Obama responded. His presentation provides a powerful survey of political and social issues as they affect ordinary Americans and makes this a fine addition to any general or political studies lending library.


The Psychology Shelf

Sybil Exposed
Debbie Nathan
Free Press
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781439168271, $26.00, www.simonandschuster.com

Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case offers a powerful survey based on the original account of multiple personality disorder published in 1973, when only 200 cases were diagnosed in history. Afterwards, the number shot up to over 40,000 in just a few years. SYBIL EXPOSED uses newly-opened archives at John Jay College to reveal the truth about the original Sybil, revealing how a legend evolved, traveling the country interviewing her family, friends, and medical people involved, and uncovering the real tale which revolved around misdiagnosis. A 'must' for any mental health holding!


The Health/Medicine Shelf

Pediatric & Neonatal Dosage Handbook, 18th edition
Carol K. Taketomo, PharmD
Lexicomp, Inc.
1100 Terex Road, Hudson, Ohio, USA 44236
9781591952978, $64.95, www.lexicomp.com

Pediatric & Neonatal Dosage Handbook appears in its 18th updated edition for all clinicians treating pediatric and neonatal patients, and offers a drug reference that should be a standard acquisition for any practice. It includes a new neonatal dosing field, 16 new drug monographs, updates to the entire edition, a new appendix section and updated topics. Over 944 drug monographs and over 100 preparation recipes accompany extensive, in-depth reference information in this outstanding reference!

Medical Tests Sourcebook, fourth edition
Joyce Brennfleck Shannon, Editor
Omnigraphics
155 W. Congress, Suite 200, Detroit, MI 48226
9780780811515, $95.00, www.omnigraphics.com

The fourth updated edition of Medical Tests Sourcebook provides a winning reference suitable for any general lending library collection, and covers screening tests and their pros and cons. It updates information about exams and tests and disease-monitoring procedures, surveying preventative care guidelines and new standards for medical surveys. Its easy reference structure and updated information is essential for any health and general collection.


The Education Shelf

Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom
Joan Franklin Smutny and S.E. von Fremd
Corwin Press
2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
9781412975452, $31.95, www.corwin.com

Teaching Advanced Learners in the General Education Classroom: Doing More With Less offers tips for teachers on using existing resources to provide further learning for gifted students in the general classroom setting. Strategies offer methods for challenging students who need something more, and are packed with keys to creating progressive learning routines. Lessons are easy to integrate, consistent with curriculum standards, and include reproducibles and case histories for their use. Any educator's library will find this filled with useful applications.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Reconsidered
Pat Hutchings, Mary Taylor Huber, Anthony Ciccone
Jossey-Bass
989 Market Street, 5th floor
San Francisco, CA 94103-1741
9780470599082, $30.00, www.josseybass.com

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Reconsidered: Institutional Integration and Impact offers a host of lessons from a decade of experimentation with methods to improve American college student successes. A history of research into personal teaching and new developments in the concepts of teaching make for a fine survey of a movement of analysis that considers the benefits of the scholarship of teaching and learning. New analysis on academics and change make this a fine pick for any college-level education collection.

The Complete Book of Colleges, 2012 edition
Princeton Review
c/o Random House Inc.
1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019
9780375427398, $26.99, www.princetonreview.com

The 2012 edition of The Complete Book of Colleges covers over 1,500 colleges and universities across the country and covers everything from tuition and student fees to majors with the highest enrollment figures, key campus activities and student organizations, and school admission requirements. Profiles for each school are quick and easy to read and provide college-bound students with all the basics and information needed to begin making a decision narrowing the prospects.

Moving the Classroom Outdoors
Herbert W. Broda
Stenhouse Publishing
477 Congress Street, Suite 4B
Portland, ME 04101-3451
9781571107916, $22.50, www.steinhouse.com

Moving the Classroom Outdoors: Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning in Action is a fine pick designed to provide teachers and administrators with a range of ideas for making the schoolyard a viable learning place. Urban and rural schools alike can change school sites to using the outdoors as a teaching tool, and this is packed with ideas for everything from seating and meeting areas to managing the outdoor classroom and adding equipment and outdoor activities. An education collection needs this!

Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings
Martha Zaslow, et.al.
Brookes Publishing
Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624
1598571613, $44.95, www.brookespublishing.com

Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings provides a fine resource on measuring quality in center- and home-based settings, gathering over fifty early childhood experts who consider supports for early literacy developments. Dozens of assessment cases reflect these measures and the new tools available for analyzing and supporting optimal child development. A top pick for any early childhood collection!


The Computer Shelf

Designed for Use
Lukas Mathis, Edited by Jill Steinberg
Pragmatic Programmers
P.O. Box 293325, Lewisville, TX 75029-3325
9781934356753, $35.00, www.pragprog.com

Designed for Use: Create Usable Interfaces for Applications and the Web offers real-world techniques for programmers interested in making products more user-friendly. From adapting designs to writing usable text and using animation during the design process to predict design realism, this is filled with psychological research and computer savvy and comes from a user interface designer and developer who explores the basics of designing better products. A fine choice for any computer designer's collection!

Real-Time Shadows
Elmar Eisemann, et.al.
AK Peters
c/o CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Pkwy, NW #300, Boca Raton FL 33487
9781568814384, $69.95, www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com

Real-Time Shadows documents shadow effects, a key component of advanced computer graphics, and features insights by four world-renowned experts on the topic. Advanced, college-level collections in computer graphics will find this offers game programmers a fine survey of shadowing methods that use different combinations of scenes, shapes, lighting and more for their effects. All of the approaches under one cover make this volume a top recommendation for game programmers and advanced computer graphics collections alike.

Programming in Objective-C, third edition
Stephen G. Kochan
Addison-Wesley
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0321611394, $49.99, www.informit.com/debilibrary

Programming in Objective-C, third edition is updated for Xcode 4 and iOS and updates the basics for new programmers working with Objective-C. It assumes no prior knowledge with either C or object-oriented programming and includes detailed examples of how to use Objective-C in daily programming code and routines. This third edition offers all the latest changes and new tools such as Xcode 4, making this a top pick for any collection seeking a basic primer for programmers new to Objective-C.

Coding Faster
Zain Naboulsi and Sara Ford
Microsoft Press
c/o O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
1005 Gravenstein, Hwy N.
Sebastopol, CA 95472-2811
9780735649927, $39.99, www.microsoft.com/mspress

Coding Faster: Getting More Productive With Microsoft Visual Studio teaches all the basics of changing development setting and keyboard mappings to optimize efficiency. From shortcuts to working with custom templates to using the Visual Studio editor more effectively, chapters are packed with tips and shortcuts covering Visual Studio 2005, 2008 and 2010. Tutorials cover the basics and move on to higher-level thinking in this outstanding guide, recommended for any collection appealing to coders working with any of the Visual Studio versions.

Book of Ruby
Huw Collingbourne
No Starch Press
555 DeHaro Street, #250, San Francisco, CO 94107
9781593272944, $39.95, www.nostarch.com

Book of Ruby: A Hands-on Guide for the Adventurous provides a fine survey of the basics of Ruby's features but focuses on the inner workings of the language, not just quick tricks and trends. This focus allows programmers to receive a progressive approach that builds on a foundation of detailed Ruby knowledge and teaches such routines as how to balance Ruby's function and object-oriented features, how to execute code when errors occur, and how to make the most of Ruby's file-handling processes. Ruby users will find this a top starting place for success!

Mastering Autodesk Revit MEP 2012
Don Bokmiller, et.al.
Sybex
c/o Wiley-Blackwell
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46256
9781118066812, $69.99, www.sybex.com

Mastering Autodesk Revit MEP 2012 is an official Autodesk training guide and provides a detailed survey of Revit MEP modeling software. Tricks, hand-on projects and tutorials from such projects, and expert techniques the pros know well come with a coverage focusing on preparing models for analysis and using Revit MEP for mechanical and plumbing design alike. A fine pick for any engineering or computer collection!

Using Facebook
Kent Joshi and Patrice-Anne Rutledge
Que
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
0789745240, $24.99, www.quepublishing.com

Using Facebook is more than just a book: it supports 3 hours of video and audio both on accompanying DVD and online and teaches the basics of using Facebook to communicate with friends. Step-by-step tutorials each how to set up and use the site, how to customize a page, and how to use Facebook's chats, view and upload photos, and more. A 'show me' video walks through tasks that need visual emphasis while a 'tell me more' offers further in-depth details from experts. Any computer or social networking holding needs this!

R In Action
Robert I. Kabacoff
Manning
Box 261, Shelter Island, NY 11964
1935182390, $59.99, www.manning.com

R IN ACTION is for any advanced computer collection strong in statistics and programming references and covers R, a language for statistical computing and graphics. R IN ACTION offers a tutorial pairing real-world problems and applications with statistics examples and methods for handling challenging data. It provides step-by-step lessons for understanding data analysis using R with other software and teaches how R can help visualize data. Over 130 graphic and eight reference appendixes make this a powerful guide.

Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics, third edition
Eric Lengyel
Course Technology
c/o Cengage Learning, Inc.
200 First Stamford Place, Stamford, CT 06902
1435458869, $69.99, www.courseptr.com

The third updated edition of Mathematics for 3D Game Programming and Computer Graphics illustrate the math concepts a game developer needs to know to develop 3D computer graphics, and is a 'must have' bible for any professional involved at an advanced level. It covers the basics of vector geometry and linear algebra and moves to advanced topics from deviations of results to linear physics and beyond. Graphs and formulas accompany detailed explanations and exercises are included at chapter's end, making this a top classroom text, as well.


The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Something Startling Happens
Todd Klick
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
9781615930593, $27.95, www.mwp.com

Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs to Know provides a breakdown of successful movies and their common elements and is a 'most' for any film or performing arts collection. Chapters show how action draws in audiences, and offers a 120 minute-by-minute story that identifies the unifying elements of the most successful movies. From positive steps to knowledge conflicts, dilemmas, and elusive desires, this is an outstanding analysis identifying common positive moments in movie production.

Marilyn Monroe: The Personal Archives
Cindy de la Hoz
Barron's
250 Wireless Road, Hauppauge, NY 11788
9780764164606, $29.95, www.barronseduc.com

Any fan of Marilyn Monroe will find this a fine keepsake celebration of her life, packing in over 170 photos to accompany facsimile memorabilia and notes about her life. From her journey to stardom to how movies were chosen with her talents in mind, Marilyn Monroe: The Personal Archives offers interviews, her own words, and reflections on her personal life and acting skills. The vivid color photos and memorabilia make this a superior collection for any avid Marilyn fan.


The Art Shelf

Watercolour Flowers
Janet Whittle
Search Press USA
1338 Ross Street, Petaluma, CA94954-1117
9781844486687, $19.95, www.searchpress.com

Janet Whittle's Watercolour Flowers: An Inspirational Step-by-Step Guide to Colour and Techniques provides vibrant paintings and compositions exploring the use of color for capturing flowers in paintings. An oversized presentation captures step-by-step techniques and finished results, providing watercolour artists with a fine set of examples and approaches for producing superior watercolour flowers. Perfect for any arts and crafts collection strong in flower painting options!

The Eugene B. Adkins Collection: Selected Works
Jane Ford Aebersold, et.al.
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
9780806141015, $29.95, www.oupress.com

The Eugene B. Adkins Collection: Selected Works gathers the works of a Tulsa, Oklahoma native who spent nearly four decades acquiring a vast collection of Native American and American Southwestern art. From paintings to jewelry, baskets and ceramics, this collection offers an unsurpassed survey of the Southwest Native American's art - and this volume packs in color reproductions of key works from the Adkins Collection, some reproduced here for the first time. Color photo samplings of works by and about Natives are accompanied by essays by art historians and curators, making this a pick for Native American history and arts holdings alike!

Edward Hopper's Maine
Kevin Salatino
Prestel
900 Broadway #603, New York NY 10003
9783791351285, $49.95, www.prestel-usa.com

Edward Hopper's Maine packs in over a hundred color illustrations gathering Hopper's many images of Maine's lighthouses, towns and cast. Many of these works have been only rarely seen or exhibited, and come together under one cover for the first time making this a pick even for art collections already strong in Hopper works. Essays by Carter Foster and others provide a fine analysis and overview of Hopper's Maine art, representing the many summers he spent there between 1914 and 1929. Both Maine and general arts holdings will appreciate the scope of this collection.

Drawing & Painting Trees in the Landscape
Claudia Nice
North Light Books
c/o F+W Media
4700 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
9781440305375, $27.99, www.fwmedia.com

Drawing & Painting Trees in the Landscape is a fine studio handbook offering the artist's best approaches for painting and drawing trees, and is a pick for any landscape artist who wants to learn how to paint trees in their natural settings. A visual, step-by-step approach to instruction provides a set of reference photos and keys to breaking down their components. From successful color mixes to capturing important details and deconstructing a landscape painting, this is a fine recommendation for any collection strong in landscape approaches.

Portrait Jewels
Diana Scarisbrick
Thames & Hudson
500 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780500515570, $45.00, www.thamesandhudsonusa.com

Portrait Jewels: Opulence & Intimacy from the Medici to the Romanovs covers the fine art of portraits in miniature of famous personalities often set in jewelry from lockets and bracelets to cameos and medals. This history covers the entire development of such portrait jewelry, using the author's knowledge of jewelry and art history and literature to show how the jewels were worn and what they meant to donors and recipient. Scarisbrick's art historian background and her specialty in the history of engraved gems and jewelry makes for an authoritative world coverage key to any serious jewelry or art history holding.


The Gaming Shelf

AK Peters
c/o CRC Press
270 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016
www.akpeters.com

Michael E. Moore's THE BASICS OF GAME DESIGN (9781568814339, $59.95) is for any professional game designer and focuses on creating game mechanics for data-driven games. From simulations to designing data sets for game play, chapters offer keys to building maps, differentiating between military, explorer and other game objectives, designing resources and weaponry to be used by players, and more. A 'must' for any serious game programmer or designer! Roberto Dillon's THE GOLDEN AGE OF VIDEO GAMES (9781439873236, $39.95) comes from a video game industry expert who traces the history of video games and their components. From the rise and fall of game makers to the evolution of new types of games and the rise of the Sony PlayStation, this provides a fine history of the medium and the individuals and companies who influenced its growth and evolution. Highly recommended for any collection covering video game history.


The Sports Shelf

Distance Cycling
John Hughes and Dan Kehlenbach
Human Kinetics
Box 5076, Champaign, IL 61825-5076
0736089241, $19.95, www.humankinetics.com

DISTANCE CYCLING: YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO LONG-DISTANCE RIDES is a top pick for any cyclist and comes from a cycling expert and endurance coach and a coach who team up to cover the sport. From the latest research results in cycling science to selecting distance events, preparing and training for the sport, considering different conditioning programs and more, this offers cyclists keys to making distance cycling a part of their objectives. Any cyclist or professional rider needs this!

Surfing in Hawai'i 1778-1930
Timothy Tovar DeLaVega
Arcadia Publishing
420 Wando Park Blvd.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
0738574880, $21.99, www.arcadiapublishing.com

Surfing in Hawai'i 1778-1930 comes from a Kauai resident and surf historian who has compiled surfing images from a team of historians that span centuries from ancient to modern times. These images provide a visual history of surfing in Hawaii, following both the evolution of the sport and some of the key surfers who tackled the waves. Any surfing collection - and any presenting Hawaiian history and culture - must have this unique survey.


The Economic Studies Shelf

Market as Weapon
Anton Oleinik
Transaction Publishers
35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8042
9781412811293, $59.95, www.transactionpub.com

MARKET AS WEAPON: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC MACHINERY OF DOMINANCE IN RUSSIA discusses power in Russia and how it operates. Any college-level collection strong in economics, sociology and especially Russian history and culture will find this a provocative, in-depth scholarly examination showing how power changes into a coordination mechanism with impact on everyday life. It focuses on power relationships in Russia and offers examples and discussion of market domination tactics in a fine survey for any college-level Russian collection.

Foreign Direct Investment and Development
Theodore H. Moran
PIIE Press
1750 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington DC 20036-1903
9780881326000, $27.95, www.piie.com

Foreign Direct Investment and Development represents the culmination of Institute Investigations of the relationship between foreign direct investment and development, and is a pick for any college-level collection strong in international economics. Foreign direct investment has different impacts on different services, sectors, infrastructure and systems requiring that each broad category of FDI be treated on its own terms. Each of the basic forms of FDI are considered in a fine survey compiling new findings about how benefits from FDI in different sectors can be enhanced. International economics libraries strong in FDI discussions need this specific assessment.


The Biography Shelf

Madden
Bryan Burwell
Triumph Books
542 South Dearborn St. #750, Chicago IL 60605
9781600783791, $24.95, www.triumphbooks.com

MADDEN: A BIOGRAPHY provides a fine survey of a lively football coach who abruptly retired with the second-best winning percentage in NFL history - and went on to become a sports columnist. His in-depth knowledge of football and candid sports analysis endeared him to many and today he's also known for his video games, among the best-selling games of video game history. His many talents and evolution of abilities are explored in a lively presentation especially recommended for sports collections strong in football history and culture.

A Governor's Story
Jennifer M. Granholm and Dan Mulhern
Public Affairs
250 West 57th St., Suite 1321, New York NY 10107
9781586489977, $27.99, www.publicaffairsbooks.com

A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future recounts the stormy political career and struggles of Jennifer Granholm, the first woman ever to be sworn in as governor of Michigan. Her initial optimism about holding office quickly came crashing down as she confronted economic collapse and inherited a number of weighty crisis situations from fiscal crisis to the breakdowns of hospitals and energy grids. Her count of the battles she faced to create jobs and repair crippled infrastructure systems serves as a mirror for the rest of the state of America and makes this a top recommendation for any political collection!

Osama bin Laden: A Biography
Thomas R. Mockaitis
Greenwood Press
c/o ABC-CLIO
Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911
9780313353741, $35.00, www.greenwood.com

Osama bin Laden: A Biography deserves ongoing recommendation as a definitive biography of the man whose face has become the most notorious in modern U.S. and world history. The coverage provides a complete, well-rounded review of bin Laden's life and politics, examining how the Western and Muslim worlds see him and surveying his associations with radical Islam around the world. Any collection strong in Middle East affairs in general and terrorism or bin Laden issues in particular will find this of lasting importance.

True Strength
Kevin Sorbo
Da Capo Press
c/o Perseus Books Group
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142
9780306820366, $26.00, www.dacapopress.com

True Strength provides a powerful autobiography by the actor popularly known on TV as Hercules, and tells of how in 1997 he suffered a series of inexplicable strokes from an arm aneurysm. His arm was saved but his struggle to regain his health occupied years of his life even as he tried to appear normal for the shooting of Hercules, his life's work. An outstanding survey, highly recommended for any film or general lending collection strong in actors' stories and accounts of personal strength and recovery!

Eisenhower: The White House Years
Jim Newton
Doubleday
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
9780385523530, $29.95, www.doubleday.com

Eisenhower: The White House Years explores the politics and achievements of a president typically belittled by his critics during his 1950s term of office, and provides a fine biography that offers a fresh look at his presidency. What makes this different is recently declassified documents from the Eisenhower Library, personal letters and diaries from his childhood friends and associates, and personal papers of contemporaries. The result is a fine tribute to a man typically under-rated!

Dennis Hopper
Peter L. Winkler
Barricade Books
185 Bridge Plaza N, Suite 309, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
1569804494, $26.95, www.barricadebooks.com

Dennis Hopper: The Wild Ride of a Hollywood Rebel provides a fine biography of one of Hollywood's real rebel figureheads, and provides the life of a man intent on providing his genius who acted in over 115 movies and four TV series. His passionate pursuit of all levels of film and photography documents his journey from a self-destructive kid to a Hollywood icon, and makes for a powerful presentation even more important because it's the first book to cover the entire life and career of one whose contemporaries and friends included James Dean and Elvis Presley, among others.

One Day It'll All Make Sense
Common with Adam Bradley
Atria Books
1230 Avenue of Americas, New York NY 10020
9781451625875, $25.00, www.simonandschuster.com

One Day It'll All Make Sense provides a fine survey from an award-winning hip hop musician and actor and charts his personal struggles and experiences that formed his journey into fame. When Common entered the music world as an underground artist with his first album in 1992, he found himself suddenly immersed in a world of hip hop - and his work stood out from the crowd and made him a star. His memoir charts his life and experiences and explore his childhood to his pursuit of a controversial career in hip hop, and is a top pick for any collection strong in music and autobiographies charting personal success.

This is Herman Cain!
Herman Cain
Threshold Editions
c/o Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas, 12th floor
New York, NY 10020
9781451666137, $25.00, www.simonandschuster.com

THIS IS HERMAN CAIN! MY JOURNEY TO THE WHITE HOUSE provides a memoir by the popular conservative Atlanta-area radio talk show host and CEO whose business background has provided a strong foundation for his political insights. His rise is the American Dream and follows a black man who come from a working class background to make a name for himself as commentator and observer of American values and business. A powerful autobiography blends with business and political insights to make for an inspiring piece.


The Antiques/Collectibles Shelf

The Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book, new edition
Geoffrey T. Carlton
Schiffer
4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, PA 19310
9780764338625, $34.99, www.schifferbooks.com

The Star Wars Super Collector's Wish Book is a 'must' bible reference for any collecting Star Wars items, whether they be books, magazines, or any merchandise produced for Star Wars. Buyers and sellers alike receive over 12,000 color photos and estimated values, providing a new edition covering everything from advertising memorabilia and window clings to kitchenware. Star Wars fans will find this a 'must have' reference!

Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money, 30th edition
George S. Cuhaj, Editor & William Brandimore, Market Analyst
Krause Publications
c/o F+W Media
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236
1440217009, $31.99, www.shopnumismaster.com

The 30th updated edition of Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money continues to offer paper money collectors the only annual guide featuring complete coverage of the latest market prices of U.S. currency paired with color photos. One might expect a weighty, oversized production from such an effort but the standard book-sized paperback lends to easy toting, library shelving and quick consultation alike and packs in the latest details on large and small size currency, notes, and all kinds of payment certificates - even encased postage stamps. The wide-ranging definition of 'paper money' paired with clear color photos for identification makes this a top recommendation.


The Social Issues Shelf

Not Yet a Priceless Land
Wilbur Zelinsky
University of Massachusetts Press
Box 429, Amherst, MA 01004
9781558498716, $28.95, www.umass.edu/umpress

Not Yet a Priceless Land: Tracking an Evolving American Geography is recommended for college-level social issues collections and comes from a cultural geographer who maintains that American land and society is becoming both more uniform and more diverse simultaneously. Modern technology, an advanced capitalist market system, and a central political establishment have resulted in standardization yet other influences such as cultural diversity keep the structure fluid and unpredictable. Thus differences in culture and spoken language have not become homogenized, but have maintained their diversity. College-level collections strong in American geography and sociology will find the far-ranging scope of this examination to be intriguing.

The Accidental Slaveowner
Mark Auslander
University of Georgia Press
330 Research Drive, Athens, GA 30602-4901
082034043X, $24.95, www.ugapress.org

The Accidental Slaveowner: Revisiting a Myth of Race and Finding an American Family is a 'must' for any college-level collection strong in the historical study of slavery. It offers original analysis and archival work to detail the history of race relationships in the U.S., following the various ways families and institutional histories of slavery are told and retold by blacks and whites alike. The personal stories of families and communities who experienced splits in the northern and southern meanings of slavery are told in a history that details opposing narratives and how they evolved. Any collection strong in social issues surrounding slavery needs this college-level analysis.

The Better Angels of Our Nature
Steven Pinker
Viking Books
c/o Penguin Putnam Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780670022953, $40.00, www.penguin.com

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined offers a fine survey of human violence and why it's been declining for millennia. Pinker is a psychologist and cognitive neurologist and here uses a blend of history, psychology, war studies, game theory and cultural insights to explore where violence comes, from why it's been so common and why it's declining. The 'why' is the most important part of this inquiry, which adds graphs and maps to show that our era is one of the most peaceful in history. Any social issues collection will find this a 'must'.

Migration, Prostitution and Human Trafficking
Min Liu
Transaction Publishers
35 Berrue Circle, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8042
9781412815055, $34.95, www.transactionpub.com

Migration, Prostitution and Human Trafficking: The Voice of Chinese Women is a top pick for any college-level collection strong in Chinese issues and culture, and provides an analysis of the magnitude of sex trafficking in modern China and its lasting impact on Chinese culture. From its historical roots to how data was collected to support this study and motivations for human trafficking on all sides, this follows the progression of a social condition that has permeated all aspect of Chinese culture and identity. With its focus on exactly how Chinese women in Shenzhen have become embroiled in trafficking, it provides many eye-opening specifics and insights and offers conclusions that will affect consideration of the global issues involved.


The Mystery/Suspense Shelf

Murder, She Wrote: The Fine Art of Murder
Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
Obsidian Mystery
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
9780451234735, $23.95, www.penguin.com

Murder, She Wrote: The Fine Art of Murder is the latest book in the series where mystery author Jessica Fletcher is vacationing in Italy. A tour of less popular Italian masterworks leads to an observation of painting theft and murder - and involves a trip back to Italy in a search for the murderer. Based on a TV series, this is a fine murder mystery that comes packed with action and back-and-forth murder intrigue. Any mystery collection will relish this!

Naughty in Nice
Rhys Bowen
Berkeley Prime Crime
c/o Penguin Group (USA)
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
978042543497, $24.95, www.penguin.com

Naughty in Nice offers the fifth mystery in the Royal Spyness series and is set in 1933 telling of Georgie, a penniless heiress who escapes to the French Riviera after the Queen sends her on a mission to recover a stolen snuff box. Lady George is honored when Coco Chanel asks her to model clothing - until a necklace belonging to the Queen is stolen on the catwalk, leading Georgia to locate two missing items AND solve a murder associated with them. A top historical mystery thriller evolves, perfect for any mystery collection.


The Fiction Shelf

Habibi
Craig Thompson
Pantheon
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
1745 Broadway, 17th floor, New York, NY 10019
9780375424144, $35.00, www.pantheonbooks.com

HABIBI is a fine novel set in the Middle East and offering a sweeping romantic epic centered around Dodola and Zam, orphaned lovers who find each other amidst the Arab slave trade. Told in graphic novel format replete with stunning calligraphy and Middle East illustration, this saga of two loners adrift through a dangerous world incorporates social issues and blends sex and violence with its survey of their conflicts. The two grow up together, are separated, and come together again in a saga that is epic in structure and classic high drama. Highly recommended for graphic novel and regular lending collections alike!

Dry Ice
Bill Evans and Marianna Jameson
Tor/Forge
175 - 5th Avenue, New York NY 10010
9780765324726, $24.99, www.tor-forge.com

DRY ICE offers an outstanding thriller based on the premise that meteorologists could predict AND control the weather. Here a weather operator for a multinational company has gone rogue and is secretly controlling world weather. Now he's created a device powerful enough to destroy all life on the planet - and when the company's leaders become suspicious of his actions, it's up to Tess and old flame Nik to crack a code of retribution before it destroys the world. This is thriller at its best, and is a top recommendation for any general lending library strong in either science fiction or thrillers!

The Tehran Initiative
Joel C. Rosenberg
Tyndale House
351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188
9781414319353, $26.99, www.tyndalefiction.com

THE TEHRAN INITIATIVE is thriller writing at its best, set in a believable volatile future where Iran has just conducted its first atomic weapons test and Muslims around the world become convinced their messiah has arrived on earth. Israel fears a nuclear attack and a second Holocaust, Washington is worried their friend will strike first, and it's up to CIA operative David and his team to sabotage Iran's nuclear warheads first. THE TEHRAN INITIATIVE is prediction and action at its best, and earns a place in every general lending library's collection.


The Photography Shelf

Your Camera Loves You
Khara Plicanic
Peachpit Press
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321784100, $29.99, www.peachpit.com

Your Camera Loves You: Learn to Love It Back comes from a photographer who teaches the basics of digital camera operations and how to produce superior shots from a digital camera. From different models and pixel options to techniques for producing a good photo under less than perfect lighting conditions and fixing exposure, this covers everything from taking superior shots to adopting superior editing techniques, and shows digital camera users how to move beyond 'auto' mode into the professional realm of polished results. A fine guide for beginners no matter what model of digital camera's chosen.

The Portrait Photographer's Guide to Posing, second edition
Bill Hurter
Amherst Media
Box 586, Buffalo NY 14226
9781608952434, $34.95, www.amherstmedia.com

The second updated edition of The Portrait Photographer's Guide to Posing blends coverage of the classic rules of posing and new rules of how to pose people and when to break the rules, and offers neo-pro portrait photographers tips gained from the pros. From special techniques for weddings and seniors to strategies for all ages and tips for making an extraordinary pose, this is packed with fine keys to producing superior results no matter what the occasion, and is a pick for any semi-professional's collection.

Chasing the Light
Ibarionex Perello
New Riders
c/o Pearson Technology Group
801 East 96th Street, #300
Indianapolis, IN 46240-3759
9780321752505, $44.99, www.peachpit.com

Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light deserves ongoing, repeated recommendation for any serious photography library. It covers everything that should be known about using available light, from shooting rural and urban landscapes to understanding different light requirements for black and white versus color shots, and explaining exposures and why one setting should be chosen over another to achieve superior results. Chapters aim at helping beginners gain a feel for the existing light and its translation into a photo: they show how an understanding of technical requirements can result in a superior work of art rather than just a snapshot. Any photography library should have this!


The Native American Studies Shelf

People of the Big Voice
Charles Van Schaick
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
816 State Street, Madison, WI 53575
9780870204760, $29.95, www.wisconsinhistory.org

People of the Big Voice: Photographs of Ho-Chunk Families provides a fine visual history of Ho-Chunk families at the turn of the twentieth century and beyond as seen by photographer Charles Van Schaick, a studio photographer who captured family relationships from 1879-1942. Introductory essays from Matthew Daniel Mason, Amy Lonetree and Tom Jones accompany over three hundred lovely duotone photos that include captions identifying over ninety percent of those pictured. Native American and photography collections must have this!


The Nautical Shelf

Safer Offshore
Ed Mapes
Paradise Cay
Box 29, Arcata, CA 95518-0029
9780939837908, $19.95, www.paracay.com

SAFER OFFSHORE: CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCY REPAIRS AT SEA provides basic information and solutions to real life problems and tells how to manage emergencies on the open ocean. From handling flooding or fire to repairs, medical emergencies, abandon ship techniques, and surviving in a life raft, this covers the basics of stabilizing a boat and determining what to do in an emergency situation. Highly recommended for any nautical collection!


The American History Shelf

Fighting for America
Jeremy Black
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797
9780253356604, $39.95, www.iupress.indiana.edu

College-level collections strong in American history will find this a fine scholarly focus on the history of the competition for control of North America, from Spaniards under Cortes to the slow withdrawal of France and Spain from North America. The focus on how the U.S. gained supremacy in the region provides a geographical and political focus on the major players of the region and considers the influence of international competition and influence upon American soil. FIGHTING FOR AMERICA: THE STRUGGLE FOR MASTERY IN NORTH AMERICA, 1519-1871 is thus a powerful different kind of history perfect for any in-depth American history collection.


The Science Shelf

Denying Science
John Grant
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781616143992, $25.00, www.prometheusbooks.com

DENYING SCIENCE: CONSPIRACY THEORIES, MEDIA DISTORTIONS, AND THE WAR AGAINST REALITY comes from a popular science and science fiction writer who considers how culture has developed a widespread antagonism toward science and its research. Large sections of populations in developed nations deny the scientific process - and even question the ability of science to investigate and define reality. These unscientific contentions are considered here, in DENYING SCIENCE, with an eye to showing how special interest groups work to distort or suppress scientific findings. A startling, revealing expose, this belongs in any serious science collection.

Evidence from the Earth, second edition
Raymond C. Murray
Mountain Press Publishing
P.O. Box 2399, Missoula, MT 59806
9780878425778, $16.00, www.mountain-press.com

EVIDENCE FROM THE EARTH: FORENSIC GEOLOGY AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, SECOND EDITION offers a new edition of a fine primer on gathering geologic evidence and is a fine melding of soil science and criminal investigation. Chapters provide an excellent introduction to the techniques of forensic geology and offer real criminal cases to illustrate how it's conducted. From accounts of kidnapping and murder to theft, this shows how soil and rock evidence aids investigations and crime-solving, and provides an accompanying history of forensic geology. Science and criminal studies collections alike will find this an excellent introduction.

Windfall
Robert W. Righter
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman OK 73069
9780806141923, $19.95, www.oupress.com

WINDFALL: WIND ENERGY IN AMERICA TODAY comes form a historian who explains how wind is transformed into energy and how the use of wind power has affected land use decisions as new wind farms have proliferated. Righter is a critical advocate of wind energy, and here considers the various social and political factors that have thwarted viable wind energy endeavors. There's science here, but tempered with social issues and political insights that any general lending library will relish.


The Pets/Wildlife Shelf

Following Atticus
Tom Ryan
William Morrow
10 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022
9780061997105, $25.99, www.harpercollins.com

FOLLOWING ATTICUS: FORTY-EIGHT HIGH PEAKS, ONE LITTLE DOG, AND AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIENDSHIP provides the light-hearted, winning account of an out-of-shape newspaperman and a miniature schnauzer who became mountaineers one winter. They set out to climb all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000-foot peaks, twice, in the 90 days of winter - and discovered extraordinary connections in the process. Despite the challenges of health the two achieved some amazing feats together - and FOLLOWING ATTICUS chronicles a compelling journey in a story perfect for any pet or general lending collection.

Year of the Pig
Mark J. Hainds
University of Alabama Press
Box 870380, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0380
0817356703, $16.95, www.uapress.ua.edu

YEAR OF THE PIG provides a fine story of the hunter author's pursuit of wild pigs in eleven American states, and is a power set of anecdotes that covers both hunting and ecosystem management. Chapters tell of Mark Hainds' hunting through wetlands, forests, and swamp environments but they also document the wild pig's impact on world ecology. While it reads like an adventure hunting story, it also comes packed with insights on wild pigs and their issues, and is recommended for hunting and ecology collections alike.

Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook, seventh edition
Donald C. Plumb
Wiley-Blackwell
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148
9780470959657, $79.99, www.wiley.com

The seventh updated edition of Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook is a 'must' for any college-level collection serious about veterinary references, and for practicing vets. It provides short assessments of dosages for dogs, cats and horses, with each drug receiving details on drug interactions, prescriber highlights, use indications, overdoses and reactions, and more. Packed with fine, at-a-glance detail, this is a 'must have' for any serious collection.

The Dolphin in the Mirror
Diana Reiss
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003
9780547445724, $27.00, www.hmhbooks.com

The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives comes from a world expert on dolphin intelligence who has helped spearhead the revolution in dolphin understanding for three decades. She's rescued dolphins repeatedly and has researched and produced documentaries about them: here she blends science and activism to discuss dolphin intelligence and threats to their being. Any library interested in natural history will find this book's lively tone and presentation appealing.


The California Shelf

On-the-Road Histories: California
Victor Silverman and Laurie Glover
Interlink Publishing Group
46 Crosby Street
Northampton, MA 01060-1804
9781566568098 $22.00 www.interlinkbooks.com

Featuring excellent color (and some historic black-and-white) photography throughout, On-the-Road Histories: California is an invaluable historical guide for tourists and armchair scholars alike, as it does not gloss over the dark, violent, or bitter moments in California history. Chapters trace the evolution of the state and the people who call it home from its earliest human settlers to its thriving metropolises of the modern day. With references to special visitor resources and must-see sites, On-the-Road Histories: California is especially useful as a supplement to any vacationer who wants to personally experience the state's greatest highlights. Highly recommended.


James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
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

Diane C. Donovan, Editor & Senior Reviewer
12424 Mill Street, Petaluma, CA 94952
phone: 1-707-795-4629
e-mail: donovan@sonic.net


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