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| Volume 34, Number 8 | August 2024 | Home | IBWIndex |
Table of Contents
| Reviewer's Choice | Social Issues Shelf | Environmental Studies Shelf |
| AI Shelf | Education Shelf | Health/Medicine Shelf |
| Science Shelf | Psychology Shelf | Wildlife Shelf |
| Cookbook Shelf | Art Shelf | Crafts Shelf |
| Gardening Shelf | Christian Studies Shelf | Buddhist Studies Shelf |
| Photography Shelf | Theatre/Cinema Shelf | Business Shelf |
| Railroading Shelf | American History Shelf | World History Shelf |
| Military History Shelf | Civil War Shelf | Music Shelf |
| Biography/Memoir Shelf | General Fiction Shelf | Historical Fiction Shelf |
| Literary Fiction Shelf | Romantic Fiction Shelf | Western Fiction Shelf |
| Mystery/Suspense Shelf | Fantasy/SciFi Shelf | Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf |
| Audiobook Shelf | Library CD Shelf | Library Blu-ray Shelf |
| Architecture Shelf | Sports Shelf | Beer/Wine/Spirits Shelf |
| Aviation Shelf | Native American Studies Shelf | Judicial Studies Shelf |
| Travel Shelf | Metaphysical Studies Shelf | Wisconsin Shelf |
| Criminology Shelf |
Reviewer's Choice
George L. Mosse
University of Wisconsin Press
www.uwpress.wisc.edu
9780299347642, $28.95, PB, 382pp
https://www.amazon.com/Masses-Man-Nationalist-Perceptions-Collected/dp/0299347648
Synopsis: "Masses and Man: Nationalist and Fascist Perceptions of Reality" is comprised of fourteen essays that speak tothe full breadth of George L. Mosse's intellectual horizons and scholarly legacy. "Masses and Man" explores radicalnationalism, fascism, and Jewish modernity in twentieth-century Europe.
Breaking from the conventions of historical analysis, Mosse shows that "secular religions" like fascism cannot beunderstood only as the products of socioeconomic or intellectual histories but rather must be approached first and foremostas cultural phenomena.
"Masses and Man" is comprised of three parts. The first lays out a cultural history of nationalism, essentially the first of itskind, emphasizing the importance of sacred expressions like myths, symbols, and rituals as appropriated in a politicalcontext. The second zeroes in on fascism's most dramatic eruptions in European history in the rise of Italian Fascism and theNazi Party in Germany, elucidating these as not just political movements but also cultural and even aesthetic ones. The thirdpart considers nationalism and fascism from the particular standpoint of German Jews.
Taken in full, "Masses and Man" is an eloquent summation of Mosse's groundbreaking insights into European nationalism,fascism, and Jewish history in the twentieth century. A new critical introduction by Enzo Traverso helpfully situates Mosse'swork in context and exposes the many ways in which "Masses and Man", first published in 1980, remains relevanttoday.
Critique: A part of the University of Wisconsin Press 'The Collected Works of George L. Mosse' series, and of specialappeal to readers with an interest in European politics, nationalism, and German history, "Masses and Man: Nationalist andFascist Perceptions of Reality" is enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of an informative Introduction(Nationalism and Human Perceptions), fifty pages of Notes, and an eleven page Index. "Masses and Man" is unreservedlyrecommended for personal, community, and college/university library collections.
Editorial Note: George L. Mosse (September 20, 1918 - January 22, 1999) was a legendary scholar, teacher, and mentor. Arefugee from Nazi Germany, in 1955 he joined the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, wherehe was both influential and popular. Mosse was an early leader in the study of modern European cultural and intellectualhistory, the study of fascism, and the history of sexuality and masculinity. Over his career he authored more than two dozenbooks. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Mosse)
The Journey
Greg Kaplan
Health Communications, Inc.
https://hcibooks.com
9780757325045, $16.95, PB, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Prepare-Competitive-Changing-World/dp/0757325041
Synopsis: Young people face an increasing medley of challenges as they pursue higher education -- rising tuition costs,daunting prospective student debt, and a talented and competitive applicant pool. After a decade of preparing students forthe ever more difficult admissions process, college counselor Greg Kaplan wishes parents would stop thinking, "Whatshould I do to get my kid into a good college?" and instead ask: "How can I best prepare my child for what comesnext?"
Having practiced law and worked in investment banking early in his career before pivoting to working with students,parents, and educators, Kaplan knows what the world (and its population of college admissions officers) is looking for intoday's youth and tomorrow's leaders: Grit. Leadership. Passion.
Emphasizing these fundamental tenets of successful adulthood, "The Journey" paints a realistic picture of the lack ofpreparedness among today's youth. Using stories of parents and students who have struggled and succeeded, Kaplan pushesstudents to consider: What do you want to get out of your college and work career? How can you jumpstart your journeyinto the real world? He asks parents: Are you preparing your children to attain a life of health, happiness, and financialindependence?
Rooted in humorous stories sprinkled with bits of brutally honest advice, "The Journey" goes beyond the well-chronicledcollege admissions madness and cuts to the core of parental angst. This is the definitive guide in preparing children for acompetitive and rapidly changing world.
Critique: Informative, comprehensive, exceptionally 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Journey: How toPrepare Kids for a Competitive and Changing World" by Greg Kaplan is an invaluable and inspiring read from start tofinish. "The Journey" must be considered essential reading for the parents of children with college and/or university in mind.Candid and 'real world' practical, "The Journey" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, and communitylibrary Parenting/Education collections. It should be noted that this edition of "The Journey" from Health Communicationsis also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Greg Kaplan (https://gregkaplan.me) is an internationally recognized college admissions strategist andspeaker. Headquartered in Newport Beach, his firm, the Kaplan Educational Group (www.kaplaneducationalgroup.com),helps hundreds of high school seniors and over 1,000 underclassmen reach their educational and career potential each year.Greg draws on his experience as an investment banker and lawyer to tie one's education to their long-term goals. Beyondearning admission, Greg and the Kaplan Educational Group Team are committed to helping all of their students becomehealthy, happy, and financially independent adults.
The Abraham Lincoln Book of Quotes
Travis Hellstrom
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578269709, $15.00, HC, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincoln-Book-Quotes-Collection/dp/1578269709
Synopsis: Abraham Lincoln's words have been a source of wisdom and inspiration for so many people in all walks of life.From his rousing Gettysburg Address to his personal letters to his wife, there is always something new to learn about theman and, in turn, about ourselves.
The Abraham Lincoln Book of Quotes compiles his best quotes, speeches, and advice in one place and reaches out to anAmerica, and a world, which need them more than ever.
Organized into sections by themes, this book is accessible and easy to share with friends and loved ones.
Critique: Simply stated, this compact (5.05 x 0.72 x 7.41 inches) hardcover edition of "The Abraham Lincoln Book ofQuotes" from Hatherleigh Press is a collection of the best quotes, speeches, and advice from one of the most influential andgreatest president of all time, compiled and edited by Travis Hellstrom. Unreservedly recommended for personal,community, and college/university library Quotation Reference collections, it should be noted that "The Abraham LincolnBook of Quotes" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).
Editorial Note: Travis Hellstrom (https://travishellstrom.com) is a writer and consultant helping social entrepreneurs andnonprofit leaders dream big and expand their influence. He is the author of several titles including The Dalai Lama Book ofQuotes and The Peace Corps Volunteer's Handbook.
The Woodenhead: Treachery at the Northern Edge
Mike Skubal
Hodag Press
https://hodagpress.com
9780965374569, $18.00, PB, 175pp
https://www.amazon.com/Woodenhead-Treachery-Northern-Edge/dp/0965374564
Synopsis: In the Spring of 2023, The Outhouse Gene Shepard and the Hodag, appeared in Rhinelander -- a small city in theheart of Wisconsin's Northwoods.
"The Woodenhead: Treachery at the Northern Edge" by Mike Skubal follows the protagonist, The Old Man, as he works outof a remote cabin to discover the true story behind Rhinelander's beloved and nationally celebrated mascot, the Hodag.
"The Woodenhead" brings together Rhinelander's distant past with Mike's current investigation into a captivating tale thatmakes even Rhinelander's old-timers question what they thought they knew.
You may have even read it (many of us have), "The Woodenhead - Treachery at the Northern Edge", follows the same OldMan, still working out of his rustic cabin, on a new quest of discovery.
"The Outhouse Papers: Gene Shepard and the Hodag" had brought Mike some notoriety and with it a letter addressed to"The Old Man who writes in a cabin in the woods." The letter asks him to find a missing chest containing the memorabiliaof Harry (The Great) Lester, an internationally acclaimed vaudevillian ventriloquist and one of Rhinelander's most notableearly 20th-century residents.
His investigation turns up more than just the chest, however, and he shines new light on a nearly century-old tragedy thattook place at a long-forgotten resort on Moen Lake just outside of Rhinelander.
In this second book in the Old Man Series, readers are again taken along with the writer as he weaves in and out ofRhinelander's past and discovers that there is, once again, more to the story.
Critique: A carefully crafted and inherently fascinating read from start to finish, "The Woodenhead: Treachery at theNorthern Edge", written by Mike Skubal and published by Hodag Press, is an especially and unreservedly recommendedpick for personal reading lists and community library collection.
Editorial Note: Mike Skubal (https://www.facebook.com/mike.skubal) is on Facebook.
The Little Black Book of Birthday Wisdom
Mike Kowis, Esq.
https://www.mikekowis.com
Lecture PRO Publishing
9798990013339, $9.99 Paperback/$2.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Black-Book-Birthday-Wisdom/dp/B0D6GXYVN1
The Little Black Book of Birthday Wisdom: Quotes on Aging, Life, and Birthday Cake is the perfect item of choice for abirthday celebration or recipient. Mike Kowis provides over five hundred quotes that juxtapose humor withthought-provoking insights on aging, gleaned from a broad wellspring of sage thinkers. All kinds of birthday concepts arefeatured here, from toasts and famous sayings to quips that lend a fun countenance to the birthday experience. Contrastsbetween youth and 'seasoned citizens,' everything to do with candles and cakes, and famous sayings create an invitingsynthesis of pleasure and contemplative thoughts that will appeal to a range of readers. Samples of these wide-rangingapproaches include:
If you are an actress in L.A., on your 40th birthday they should just hand you the keys to the lunatic asylum.
- Romola Garai
On my 50th birthday in 2005, my discount-wielding AARP card came in the mail. I hurled it in the trash, put on somethingfabulous, and had a decadent meal. Just the thought of putting it in my wallet felt like a concession.
- Iman
Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that Godinvested in you at birth is present once again.
- Menachem Mendel Schneerson
The Little Black Book of Birthday Wisdom should be on the invite list of any birthday organizer, given to celebrants andtoastmasters, and included in any general-interest library for its thought-provoking, fun sayings.
The Social Issues Shelf
W. Lee Hansen
Little Creek Press
https://littlecreekpress.com
9781955656559, $17.95, PB, 200pp
https://www.amazon.com/Forgetting-Forgotten-Dementia-Right-Die/dp/195565655X
Synopsis: Author W. Lee Hansen's wife Sally suffered and died after a decade-long struggle with dementia. With thepublication of "Forgetting and Forgotten: Dementia and the Right to Die" by Little Creek Press her experiences retold here,along with his own as her caregiver.
The purpose of "Forgetting and Forgotten" is to help people making a similar end-of-life journey. To assist them, Hansenpropose and discuss a humane way to deal with dementia at the end of life, one that Sally believed in and would haveenthusiastically endorsed for herself: the Right to Die.
Because Sally could not exercise her right to die, he had to endure her traumatic final years in memory care as she struggledwith her steadily worsening affliction, forgetting who she was and what gave meaning to her life, with the result that bothshe and he were relegated to the ranks of the forgotten.
"Forgetting and Forgotten" includes a "Tool Box" of resources to assist individuals who are seeking help and support intheir caretaking endeavors. "Forgetting and Forgotten will stimulate readers to think differently about how we die and howwe should be allowed to die.
Critique: Unique, poignant, candid, memorable, and of particular interest to readers with concerns about quality of life,terminal illness, and the right to die according to one's own wishes, "Forgetting and Forgotten: Dementia and the Right toDie" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library Public Health Laws collections and supplemental Right to Die curriculum studies lists. It shouldbe noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that W. Lee Hansen's"Forgetting and Forgotten: Dementia and the Right to Die" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle,$9.99).
Editorial Note: W. Lee Hansen (https://www.wleehansen.com), University of Wisconsin Madison professor emeritus,economics, earned undergraduate and master's degrees at UW-Madison (1950, 1955), and a Ph.D. in political economy fromJohns Hopkins University (1958). He taught at UCLA, held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, was asenior staff economist for the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and had visiting appointments at the LondonSchool of Economics, the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia, and Maastricht University. He becameprofessor emeritus in 1998.
The Environmental Studies Shelf
Shimon C. Anisfeld
Island Press
www.islandpress.org
9781642830057, $50.00, PB, 440pp
https://www.amazon.com/Water-Management-Prioritizing-Justice-Sustainability/dp/1642830054
Synopsis: Flooding in California. Drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Massive fish kills in Texas and Australia."Forever chemicals" in US drinking water. Similar headlines are sure to dominate the news in the years ahead. What issometimes missing from the headlines, though, is an understanding that these diverse problems are related: manifestationsof serious underlying stresses on our water systems. These stresses require sustained attention from water managers,scientists, policymakers, and the public, even after the headlines have faded. That attention, in turn, requires a sharedunderstanding of how water systems function, the problems facing them, and the tools available to increase theirresilience.
With the publication of "Water Management: Prioritizing Justice and Sustainability", Dr. Shimon C. Anisfeld fills that needby providing the necessary knowledge base for understanding and managing complex water problems. It is geared primarilytowards students in water management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels but will also be a helpful resourcefor practicing water professionals who want to get new ideas or a broader view of the subject.
Rather than focusing on one type of water problem (as many water books do), "Water Management: Prioritizing Justice andSustainability" explores the entire gamut of water issues, from dams to desalination, from flooding to famine, from priorappropriation to pumped storage, from sanitation to stormwater. And rather than teaching from one disciplinary perspective(as many water books do), it looks at water problems through a variety of lenses: hydrology, climate science, ecology, andengineering, but also law, economics, history, and environmental justice. The result is a concise yet comprehensiveintroduction to one of the most critical and demanding challenges of our time: developing just and sustainable solutions towater management.
Critique: This large format (8.5 x 1.2 x 11 inches, 2.45 pounds) paperback edition of Shimon Anisfeld's "WaterManagement: Prioritizing Justice and Sustainability" from Island Press is informatively enhanced for the reader's beneftwith the added inclusion of a four page listing of Abbreviations, an eighteen page Glossary, twenty-four page listing ofReferences, and a nine page Index. A seminal and comprehensive study, "Water Management: Prioritizing Justice andSustainability" is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an ideal curriculum textbook and an unreservedlyrecommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library NaturalResources/Environmentalism collections and supplemental Environmental Science curriculum studies lists. It should benoted for students, academia, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subjectthat "Water Management: Prioritizing Justice and Sustainability" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,$47.500.
Editorial Note: Shimon C. Anisfeld is Senior Lecturer II and Research Scientist at the Yale School of the Environment,where he teaches courses in water management, coastal ecology, organic pollutants, and physical science for environmentalmanagers. His research and writing interests include both freshwater and coastal issues, which he sees as central to thechallenges facing the world in the coming decades. (https://cbey.yale.edu/our-community/shimon-anisfeld)
The AI Shelf
Joseph Vukov
Magenta
c/o New City Press
www.newcitypress.com
9781565485990, $19.95, PB, 154pp
https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Human-Era-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1565485998
Synopsis: In the words of Professor Joseph Vukov:
"AI poses a real and present danger. It contains the capacity to amplify social problems, drive a wedge further into ouralready-polarized society, and sow seeds of distrust in communities and personal relationships. When approached without arobust sense of human dignity, AI also threatens to undermine our self-understanding. To a degree beyond any previoustechnology, AI can make us forget ourselves. In this new era of AI, we must consciously make a choice: to stay human. Inthis book (Staying Human In an Era of Artificial Intelligence) I provide a map and the tools for doing just that."
Critique: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now a highly controversial subject in terms of how we should view its impact uponhuman activities. These diverse views range from AI as the basis for Utopia to it being the cause of human extinction."Staying Human In an Era of Artificial Intelligence" by Professor Joseph Vukov is an inherently fascinating andthought-provoking read from cover to cover -- and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library AI collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia,and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Staying Human In an Era of Artificial Intelligence" isalso readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).
Editorial Note: Joseph Vukov (www.josephvukov.com) is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Loyola UniversityChicago. He is the author of Navigating Faith and Science (2022) and numerous academic articles on topics ranging fromthe ethics of neuroscience to the philosophy of mind.
The Education Shelf
James Crane, author
Shaun Allison & Andy Tharby, editors
Crown House Publishing
www.crownhousepublishing.com
9781785837197, $19.95, PB, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Every-Lesson-Count-Principles/dp/1785837192
Synopsis Written by James Crane (and co-edited by Shaun Allison and Andy Tharby), "Making Every PE Lesson Count:Six principles to support great physical education teaching" provides realistic and practical strategies that will help physicaleducation teachers make abstract ideas more concrete and meaningful in all PE lessons, both practical and theoretical.
One of the main aims of any PE teacher is to ensure that all students leave school with a lifelong love of physical activityand the enthusiasm to continue participating in sports. The physical, mental and social health benefits are undeniable. Theplace PE holds in the curriculum is therefore fundamental to society in that it acts as a vehicle to promote resilience,determination and perseverance.
Writing in the engaging style of the award-winning the Making Every Lesson Count series from Crown House Publishing,author/PE instructor James Crane articulates the fundamentals of great PE teaching and shares evidence-informed strategiesdesigned to challenge students across all aspects of the subject. In an age of educational quick fixes and ever-movinggoalposts, "Making Every PE Lesson Count" is precise and timely book that returns to the fundamental questions that all PEteachers must consider: 'What can I do to help my students thrive in the wide world of physical education?'
"Making Every PE Lesson Count" is underpinned by six pedagogical principles -- challenge, explanation, modeling,practice, feedback and questioning. Good PE teaching is littered with all these principles, not as a checklist or plan as such,but to ensure that teaching is well structured and thought out.
"Making Every PE Lesson Count" brings research around effective teaching and learning to life through the lens of aphysical education teacher. It will enable all PE teachers to implement the six pedagogical principles in their own settingsand provides them with accessible and transferrable ideas that they can use to make every PE lesson count.
Finally, "Making Every PE Lesson Count" focuses on all aspects of PE in secondary schools with reference to real-lifeexamples and experiences from a huge range of sports and physical activities and classroom theory. James links his findingsback to the subject throughout and offers reflective questions for teachers to sharpen their practice.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Making Every PE Lesson Count: Six Principles to SupportGreat Physical Education Teaching" although primarily focusing on the secondary school student, is essential and beneficialreading for all aspiring and practicing K-12, college and university Physical Education instructors -- and any non-specialistgeneral reader called upon to coach a sports event involving children outside of a school environment. Highly recommendedfor personal, professional, school district, community, and college/university library Physical Education collections, itshould be noted that "Making Ever PE Lesson Count" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.95).
Editorial Note #1: James Crane went to school in Cyprus before moving back to the UK to study Sports Coaching andPhysical Education at University. He is now Assistant Headteacher at Durrington High School and Deputy Director atDurrington Research School. James is a keen sportsman having competed in tennis, swimming and athletics at regionallevels, and has also represented England Colleges at an international level in football.
Editorial Note #2: Shaun Allison leads on CPD in his school and is interested in supporting teachers to grow and developtheir classroom practice. He is the author of the widely acclaimed Perfect Teacher-Led CPD and a popular speaker. Shaun'sbackground is in science teaching and he is currently deputy head teacher at Durrington High School. Andy Tharby, apracticing English teacher, is a research lead with an interest in helping ordinary classroom teachers enhance their practicethrough engagement with a wider evidence base. His well-regarded blog, Reflecting English, covers a range of subjectsfrom improving student writing to finding solutions to the problems and dilemmas faced by busy teachers.
Editorial Note #3: Andy Tharby is a practicing English teacher with over a decade's classroom experience at a secondaryschool in West Sussex. He is co-author of the award winning Making Every Lesson Count and the author of Making EveryEnglish Lesson Count. Andy is also interested in helping fellow teachers enhance their practice through engagement withresearch evidence.
The Health/Medicine Shelf
Elizabeth C. Ward & Corina J. van As-Brooks
Plural Publishing
www.pluralpublishing.com
9781635506907, $149.95, HC, 648pp
https://www.amazon.com/Head-Neck-Cancer-Treatment-Rehabilitation/dp/1635506905
Synopsis: The past decade has seen the continued advancement of head and neck cancer care. This newly updated andexpanded third edition of "Head and Neck Cancer: Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Outcomes", continues in the tradition ofthe prior editions, providing the reader with the most up-to-date evidence relating to head and neck cancer, its management,and its rehabilitation from a multidisciplinary perspective.
As in the prior editions, the content is enriched by the contributions of a large team of internationally recognized expertsfrom both the medical and allied health communities. Beginning with an update of what is known about cancer of the headand neck, the reader is then introduced to the multidisciplinary team and the importance of the multidisciplinary approach inhead and neck cancer management. Chapters then cover nonsurgical and surgical management, and the communication andswallowing management of cancers of the oral/oropharynx and larynx/hypopharynx.
Other chapters guide the reader through current best practice management of lymphedema, tracheostomy, nutrition,neuromuscular disorders, as well as psychological supports and survivorship. A further six chapters are dedicatedspecifically to supporting the laryngectomy patient population and their complex rehabilitation needs. The final chapterpresents the ever-expanding world of technology and its use in the management and delivery of head and neck cancercare.
Together these chapters provide the core theoretical and clinical knowledge for healthcare professionals managing patientswith head and neck cancer. The content has also been presented at a level suitable for both undergraduate and graduatestudents.
New to this third edition of "Head and Neck Cancer": All chapters have been revised and updated with relevant research andclinical insights to reflect the current state of practice; New chapters have been created to cover in more depth specificcontent relating to neuromuscular management, lymphedema management, and psychological supports; New collaboratorshave joined the author groups bringing new insights and learnings; All chapters are illuminated with clinical images,illustrations, and/or case studies; Accompanying video examples and supplementary resources to illustrate key clinicalpresentations are on the companion website.
Critique: With its companion website, this large format (11 x 8.5 x 2 inches, 4.5 pounds) hardcover third edition of "Headand Neck Cancer: Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Outcomes" is an ideal textbook and unreservedly recommended forpersonal, professional, medical school, and college/university library Cancer Research/Treatment collections andsupplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Elizabeth C. Ward is a speech pathologist. She is also the Director of the Centre for Functioning andHealth Research, Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Queensland Health, and a conjoint Professor with the School ofHealth and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.(https://www.pluralpublishing.com/author/elizabeth-c-ward)
Editorial Note #2: Corina J. van As-Brooks is a speech-language pathologist. Her professional career started at theNetherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and has evolved around research and rehabilitation in head andneck cancer patients for more than 25 years. She specializes in voice, pulmonary, swallowing, and olfactory rehabilitationafter total laryngectomy and is dedicated to improving the quality of life of laryngectomized patients and their familiesthrough contributing to product innovation, access to devices, scientific research, and clinical education. She is currently aconsultant for Atos Medical in medical education, clinical research, clinical evaluations, regulatory affairs, innovation, andclinical expertise.
Accessible Ashtanga
Kino MacGregor
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
www.shambhala.com
9781645470816, $29.95, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Accessible-Ashtanga-All-Levels-Primary-Intermediate/dp/1645470814
Synopsis: Even experienced practitioners find the challenging style of Ashtanga Yoga to be daunting. Whether you're abeginner, living in an unconventional yoga body, or need modifications for any reason, "Accessible Ashtanga: AnAll-Levels Guide to the Primary and Intermediate Series" by Kino MacGregor will make you feel empowered, inspired, andconfident to make the adjustments and modifications that feel right for your body.
Kino posits that the Ashtanga Yoga method needs a systemwide reset and reevaluation to make it viable and beneficial to allstudents. She reframes the guru model and re-envisions the method in a way that will truly make Ashtanga available to all,while maintaining the integrity of the traditional teachings.
Kino also presents a brief theory of movement mechanics that can help prevent injury, optimize physical mobility, and tapinto the natural intelligence of the body. The practice section presents each of the poses of the Ashtanga Yoga PrimarySeries (plus some of the poses in the Ashtanga Yoga Second Series) in traditional, modified, accessible, and adaptive forms(including using blocks and a chair). Not only will you see how to modify the pose, you will learn how best to work the posefor your unique need. Teachers will find plenty of reference material to update their teaching methodology.
Critique: This large format (8.52 x 0.55 x 11 inches, 2.31 pounds) paperback edition of Kino MacGregor's "AccessibleAshtanga: An All-Levels Guide to the Primary and Intermediate Series" from Shambhala Publications is profuselyillustrated and thoroughly 'yoga practitioner friendly' step-by-step tutorial. Unreservedly recommended for personal,professional, community, and college/university library Yoga Instructional Reference collections, it should also be noted foryoga students and practitioners that "Accessible Ashtanga" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle,$21.99).
Editorial Note: Kino MacGregor (https://kinoyoga.com) is the founder of Omstars -- the world's first yoga TV network(www.omstars.com) and the Yoga Inspiration podcast. With over two million social media followers, Kino's message ofspiritual strength resonates with yogis worldwide. She is a master teacher, an inspirational speaker, the author of four books,the producer of numerous yoga videos, and the cofounder of Miami Life Center. A Miami native who is happiest on thebeach with a fresh coconut, you can find her teaching online, in Miami, on retreat, or at one of the many seminars she givesworldwide.
The Science Shelf
Charles Liu
Visible Ink Press
www.visibleinkpress.com
9781578598373, $69.95, HC, 480pp
https://www.amazon.com/Handy-Quantum-Physics-Answer-Book/dp/1578598370
Synopsis: Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that describes the behavior of nature at and below thescale of atoms. It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory,quantum technology, and quantum information science. (Wikipedia)
Quantum physics is all around us. It's in electrical lights, lasers, and the color of the sky. Without it, the sun wouldn't shine.It even explains how human eyes work. With its role in photosynthesis, it literally supports life. Yet, it had Schrdingerwondering whether his cat was alive or dead. It tells us that something can be both a wave and a particle and that two linkedparticles can communicate across the universe instantaneously! And it might even explain how the multiverse is real.Quantum physics is the key to understanding our complex world, yet even our most brilliant minds haven't figured it all outyet.
Engaging and approachable for students and the non-specialist general readers, "The Handy Quantum Physics AnswerBook" by astrophysicist Charles Liu helps untangle this complex subject, making quantum physics and its impact on us, theworld, and the universe entertaining and easy to grasp.
From the basics to the theories and from the practical applications to the future, this illuminating volume answers more than800 fascinating questions so you can easily understand quantum physics, including:
Did the Big Bang arise from quantum foam?
When did philosophers first consider the existence of atoms?
What is the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated?
What are quarks?
What is quantum teleportation?
What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?
What is the quantum principle used in MRI machines?
Does entangled time mean the present can affect the past?
Why did Albert Einstein say, "God does not play dice with the universe"?
How is a black hole a quantum object?
How does quantum physics appear in portrayals of space?
Do we live in a multiverse?
What is artificial intelligence?
Are human brains actually quantum computers?
How does quantum physics affect me?
"The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book" provides a bridge between scientific concepts and everyday understanding,allowing you to grasp the wonders and implications of quantum physics. This compelling resource is for the casually curiousas well as those seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most captivating scientific fields of our time. With 135 photosand graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its glossary of commonly used terms cuts through the jargon, a helpfulbibliography provides sources for further exploration, and an extensive index adds to its usefulness.
Critique: Simply stated, "The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book" by Dr. Charles Liu should be a part of everyhighschool, community, and college/university library Science/Physics collection and supplemental Quantum Physicscurriculum studies lists. It should also be noted for personal reading lists that this edition of "The Handy Quantum PhysicsAnswer Book" from Visible Ink Press is readily available in paperback (9781578598052, $29.95) and in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Charles Liu (https://cliuus.wordpress.com) is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of NewYork's College of Staten Island, an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, and host of the podcast The LIUniverse with Dr. Charles Liu. He earned degrees in astronomy,astrophysics, and physics from Harvard and the University of Arizona, and he held postdoctoral positions at Kitt PeakNational Observatory and at Columbia University. His research focuses on colliding galaxies, starburst galaxies, quasars,and the star formation history of the universe. In addition to his research publications, Liu also writes for students andgeneral audiences, including Visible Ink Press' popular The Handy Physics Answer Book and The Handy AstronomyAnswer Book; StarTalk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Jeffery Lee Simons; and The Cosmos Explained. Among his manyprofessional honors, Charles has been awarded the American Astronomical Society Education Prize and the AmericanInstitute of Physics Science Writing Award. He currently serves as president of the Astronomical Society of New York andis a Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, third edition
Gregory S. Paul
Princeton University Press
https://press.princeton.edu
9780691231570, $39.95, HC, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Princeton-Field-Guide-Dinosaurs-Guides/dp/0691231575
Synopsis: Now in a fully updated and expanded third edition, the "Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs" remains the essentialreference for anyone who is fascinated with dinosaurs, from amateur enthusiasts to professional paleontologists. Nowextensively revised and expanded, this dazzlingly illustrated large-format edition features nearly 100 new dinosaur speciesand hundreds of new and updated illustrations, bringing readers up to the minute on the latest discoveries and research thatare radically transforming what we know about dinosaurs and their world.
Written and illustrated by acclaimed dinosaur expert Gregory Paul, "The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs" continues tobe a simply stunningly beautiful volume that includes detailed species accounts of all the major dinosaur groups as well as awealth of breathtaking images including skeletal drawings, "life" studies, scenic views, and other illustrations that depict thefull range of dinosaurs, from small feathered creatures to whale-sized supersauropods.
Gregory Paul's extensive introduction delves into dinosaur history and biology, the extinction of nonavian dinosaurs, theorigin of birds, and the history of dinosaur paleontology, and also gives a taste of what it might be like to travel back in timeto the era when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
This new third edition of "The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs": Covers more than 800 dinosaur species, includingscores of newly discovered ones; Provides startling perspectives on the famed Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus; Revealsthat the largest dinosaurs weighed as much as the biggest whales, and shows why that happened; Features hundreds of colorand black-and-white drawings and figures, including life studies, scenic views, and skull and muscle drawings; Includescolor paleo-distribution maps and a color time line; Describes anatomy, physiology, locomotion, reproduction, and growthof dinosaurs --- as well as the origin of birds and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs
Critique: This large format (9 x 1.2 x 11.1 inches, 3.95 pounds) hardcover edition of Gregary S. Paul's "The Princeton FieldGuide to Dinosaurs: 3rd Edition" from the Princeton University Press is an essential, core, and unreservedly recommendedaddition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library Dinosaur Biology & Fossil Studies collectionsand supplemental Palenotology curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Gregory S. Paul (www.gspauldino.com) is a leading dinosaur illustrator and researcher who helped establishthe "new look" of the Mesozoic creatures seen in contemporary documentaries and movies, including Jurassic Park, forwhich he served as a consultant. His books include Predatory Dinosaurs of the World: A Complete Illustrated Guide. Hiswork has appeared in Scientific American, Nature, the New York Times, and many other publications.
The Psychology Shelf
Bill Eddy
Health Communications, Inc.
https://hcibooks.com
9780757325106, $16.95, PB, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Our-New-World-Adult-Bullies/dp/0757325106
Synopsis: Bullies exist everywhere including: families, workplaces, neighborhoods and communities, politics andgovernment, and organizations of all types and sizes. And in a social media landscape where conflict, crisis, chaos, and fearreign supreme, every day we see the worst behavior of celebrities, politicians, and other public figures who serve as rolemodels.
Winners and losers. Friends and enemies. Heroes and villains. People with high-conflict personalities think almost solely inthese extremes. They regularly express unmanaged emotions, routinely blame others, and do harmful things that 90% ofpeople would never do. Bullies share these characteristics, plus a drive to dominate or destroy their victims.
But all bullies act in the same highly predictable patterns, regardless of their demographics and situation. By focusing on theten hidden powers bullies employ (from their unrestrained nature and bully story to manipulating emotions and playing thevictim), with the publication of "Our New World of Adult Bullies: How to Spot Them - How to Stop Them", attorney,therapist, and mediator Bill Eddy unpacks the way bullies rely on primitive emotions and nonverbal behavior. He helpsreaders spot these behaviors and offers practical actions before they become immobilized by helplessness, blame, andshame.
In today's world, we will all have an adult bully in our lives sooner or later. For anyone who has a bully in their life now, forprofessionals who counsel victims of bullying, and for anyone who is concerned about the fraying of our culture and society,"Our New World of Adult Bullies" gives effective strategies to prevent bullies from taking over.
Eddy's six-step approach includes useful advice on how to:
Recognize the patterns of bully behavior
Pull the plug on the bully's story
Set limits with credible threats
Impose serious consequences
Communicate effectively about bullies to others
Stand strong with others against bullies
Critique: A universal problem intensified and exacerbated by the advent of social media, "Our New World of Adult Bullies:How to Spot Them - How to Stop Them" must be considered essential reading for readers with an interest in the dangerousbehavior of bullies with the intent of learning tools and techniques for avoiding, preventing, stopping, and recovering frombullying behavior in others. While especially and unreservedly recommend for personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library Popular Psychology and Self-Help/Self-Improvement collections, and supplemental PersonalityDisorder curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Our New World of Adult Bullies" is also available in a digitalbook format (Kindle, $12.99) as well.
Editorial Note Bill Eddy (https://highconflictinstitute.com/our-team) is an attorney, therapist, mediator, and the ChiefInnovation Officer of the High Conflict Institute based in San Diego, California. He develops methods to help resolve highconflict family, workplace, and legal disputes, including EAR Statements(TM), BIFF Response(R) emails, New Ways forFamilies(R) skills training methods for potentially high conflict parents in divorce and New Ways for Work(TM) coachingfor potentially high conflict employees. He has trained lawyers, judges, mediators, and therapists in 38 states and 13countries in managing high conflict personalities. He is the author of over 20 books and manuals for managing high conflictdisputes. As a mediator, he was the Senior Family Mediator at the National Conflict Resolution Center based in San Diegofor 15 years. Previously, as a lawyer, he was a Certified Family Law Specialist in California for 15 years representing clientsin family court. Prior to that, he provided psychotherapy for 12 years to children, adults, couples and families in psychiatrichospitals and outpatient clinics as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. His Psychology Today blog has received over 6million views.
The Wildlife Shelf
Sophie A. H. Osborn
Chelsea Green Publishing Company
www.chelseagreen.com
9781645022428, $32.50, HC, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Feather-Trails-Journey-Discovery-Endangered/dp/1645022420
Synopsis: With the publication of "Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds" by the Chelsea GreenPublishing Company, wildlife biologist and birder Sophie A. H. Osborn reveals how the harmful environmental choiceswe've made (including pesticide use, the introduction of invasive species, lead poisoning, and habitat destruction) havedecimated Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors.
In the Rocky Mountains, the cloud forests of Hawai'i, and the Grand Canyon, Sophie and her colleagues work day-to-day totry to reintroduce these birds to the wild, even when it seems that the odds are steeply stacked against their survival.
With humor and suspense, "Feather Trails" introduces us to the fascinating behaviors and unique personalities of Sophie'savian charges and shows that what endangers them ultimately threatens all life on our planet.
More than a deeply researched environmental investigation, "Feather Trails" is also a personal journey and human story, inwhich Sophie overcomes her own obstacles -- among them heat exhaustion, poachers, rattlesnakes, and chauvinism.
Ultimately, "Feather Trails" is an inspiring, poignant narrative about endangered birds and how our choices can help toensure a future not only for the rarest species, but for us too.
Critique: "Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds" is the story of one woman's remarkable workwith a trio of charismatic, endangered bird species -- and her discoveries about the devastating threats that imperil them. Ona par with "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carlson, this hardcover edition of "Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery AmongEndangered Birds" by Sophie A. H. Osborn is a fundamental and unreservedly recommended addition to personal,professional, community, and college/university library Ornithology & Environmentalism collections and supplementalcurriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and avian wildlife protection activists that "FeatherTrails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $22.26)as well.
Editorial Note: Sophie A. H. Osborn (www.wordsforbirds.net/about) is an award-winning environmental author and wildlifebiologist whose work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the Americas and smallmammal research in the backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park. She has contributed to reintroduction efforts forseveral endangered birds and served as the field manager for the California Condor Recovery Program in Arizona for nearlyfour years. Her books include Condors in Canyon Country, which won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for Natureand the Environment. Her writings have been published in BirdWatching, Wyoming Wildlife, and Sojourns magazines.
Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America
David A. Ebert & Marc Dando
Princeton University Press
https://press.princeton.edu
9780691206387, $35.95, HC, 432pp
https://www.amazon.com/Field-Sharks-Chimaeras-America-Nature/dp/0691206384
Synopsis: The waters off the East Coast of North America are home to an amazing variety of sharks, rays and chimaeras.This groundbreaking, comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide covers all 173 species found along the eastern seaboard ofthe United States and Canada, including Bermuda and the Bahamas, and extending into the Gulf of Mexico to the YucatanPeninsula. These are all the species that are encountered in the shallow waters of estuaries and coasts and in the open ocean,including rarely seen deepsea species.
Lavishly illustrated throughout, "Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America" is anessential and informative guide that includes detailed species accounts describing key identification features, habitat,biology and status. It also features illustrated key guides that enable users to accurately identify species, comparison platesof similar species, dentition plates and illustrations of egg cases, where known. This is also an essential guide for fisheriesmanagement, trade regulation and shark conservation.
"Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America" covers all 173 species; features hundredsof color illustrations and photos; describes key features, habitat, biology and status; includes depth guides, at-a-glance iconsand distribution maps, and offers illustrated key guides, species comparisons and dentition plates.
Critique: Simply stated, "Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America" co-authored byDavid A. Ebert and Marc Dando, and published in a flexibound edition by the Princeton University Press is the definitivefield guide to all the sharks, rays and chimaeras of eastern North America. Impressively well organized and throughly 'userfriendly' in presentation, "Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of the East Coast of North America" is an essential,core, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library MarineWildlife/Biology reference collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia,and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Field Guide to Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras of theEast Coast of North America" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $31.16).
Editorial Note #1: David A. Ebert has devoted his life to studying the ocean's most elusive and fascinating predator - theshark. His adventurous global search for "lost sharks" has taken him to over 35 countries and has resulted in the discovery ofmore than 50 new shark species. He is the author of over 30 books, including the bestselling Sharks of the World(Princeton). A popular television guest, Ebert has appeared on the BBC, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.He is director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, scientific advisor to the United Nations, a member of the ExecutiveCommittee of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and honorary research associate at the California Academy of Sciences andthe South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity. He is also a former president of the American ElasmobranchSociety.
Editorial #2: Marc Dando is a scientific illustrator with an honors degree in zoology. Combining his love for art and thenatural world, especially sharks, Dando has emerged as one of the world's leading shark illustrators. His work has been usedworldwide in aquaria, displays and many books, ranging from children's literature to field guides, including Marine World,Guide to the Manta and Devil Rays of the World (Princeton) and Sharks of the World (Princeton). Dando also teaches atscientific illustration workshops, where he loves to encourage people of all ages and abilities. When time allows, he workson more artistic pieces inspired by nature. This work has been exhibited at the Musee Oceanographique de Monaco, theMall Galleries in London and the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, among other venues. Dando is a patron ofThe Shark Trust.
The Cookbook Shelf
Lovina Eicher
Herald Press
www.heraldpress.com
9781513813394, $24.99, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cherished-Table-Recipes-Stories-Kitchen/dp/1513813390
Synopsis: With the publication of "The Cherished Table: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Kitchen" from the HeraldPress, cookbook author and food columnist Lovina Eicher shares well-loved recipes and heartwarming stories about lifewith her growing Amish family and community. With "The Cherished Table" family cooks can learn more about Amishtraditions and treasured dishes for gatherings large and small, including canning and butchering days, birthdays andweddings, and funerals and family reunions. More than one hundred delectable recipes invite family cooks to share a meal(and create new memories) with their own loved ones.
"The Cherished Table" features beautiful photographs of comforting, wholesome dishes and life in an Amish home. Fans ofEicher's earlier cookbooks will find new recipes in chapters devoted to breads and other baked goods, garden produce,farm-raised meats, carry-in dishes, snacks, desserts, and more.
Throughout the chapters comprising "The Cherished Table", Eicher weaves in stories about the seasons of family life. Joinher as she plans simple menus for busy workdays, prepares a meal for parents with a new baby, and tallies lessons fromearlier family weddings as she anticipates another round of marriage celebrations. While you may not be cooking for fivehundred dinner guests, in the pages of "The Cherished Table" will be found a wealth of information and inspiration to shareas you gather with family and friends around the family dining table in the style of an Old Order Amish family
Critique: Impressively authentic, exceptionally well organized, thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' in presentation, a delightto browse through, and inspiring to plan menus with, "The Cherished Table: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Kitchen" isespecially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, family and community library cookbook collections. Itshould be noted that "The Cherished Table" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Lovina Eicher (https://lovinasamishkitchen.com) is the author of the syndicated column, Lovina's AmishKitchen, which appears in 40 newspapers around the United States and on a weekly blog. She is also the author of severalcookbooks.
Mediterra
Ben Tish
chefbentish.co.uk
Bloomsbury Press
www.bloomsbury.com
9781526661135, $35.00, HC, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mediterra-Recipes-Islans-Shores-Mediterranean/dp/1526661136
Synopsis: Across the Mediterranean, one delicious cuisine gives way to the next. From Spain and Italy, through Greece andTurkey and down to North Africa, the region is rich with deeply delicious food.
With the publication of "Mediterra: Recipes from the Islands and Shores of the Mediterranean" renowned chef andcookbook author Ben Tish gives the culinary tour of a lifetime. With seven-spice falafel from Lebanon, pork belly gyrosfrom Greece, classic tiramisu from Italy, and grilled smoky sardines from Crete, the full flavors of the region are on gloriousdisplay for recipes that work across diets and seasons.
But while each country has its own unique dishes and distinct cultures, there is a distinct Mediterranean signature that bringsthem all together: hot summers, dry winters, coastal briny winds, alfresco eating, street markets, sacrosanct meal times, andbringing the best out of as many local seasonal ingredients as possible.
In this mouthwatering collection, Ben Tish creates outstanding simple, modern recipes whose flavors transport you acrossthe Mediterranean sea with minimal effort in the kitchen, delivering the flavors, sights, and smells right to your owntable.
Critique: Replete with full page, full color photographs of finished dishes, "Mediterra: Recipes from the Islands and Shoresof the Mediterranean" by chef Ben Tish is one of those fabulous cookbooks that is a fun to simply browse through as it isinspiring to plan memorable menus with. Exceptionallh well organized and thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' inpresentation, "Mediterra: Recipes from the Islands and Shores of the Mediterranean" is unreservedly recommended as aparticularly prized pick for personal, family, professional, and community library cookbook collections. It should be notedthat "Mediterra: Recipes from the Islands and Shores of the Mediterranean" is also readily available from Bloomsbury Pressin a digital book format (Kindle, $14.46).
Editorial Note: Ben Tish (www.chefbentish.com) is the Chef Director of Cubitt House, where he oversees the food offeringsacross a number of pubs and eateries in London. With a love of Mediterranean food and history, Ben is passionate aboutrecreating the flavors and dishes of his travels in his own home and restaurants. Ben regularly appears on Saturday Kitchen,Sunday Brunch, and Masterchef, and writes for Delicious, Guardian, Telegraph, Times, Noble Rot and Chef Magazine,among others. He has published four books including Moorish and Sicilia hew can be followed @ben_tish
The Oldest Kitchen in the World
Matay de Mayee
Tra Publishing
https://trapublishing.com
9781962098083, $35.00, HC, 224pp
https://www.amazon.com/Oldest-Kitchen-World-Generations-Cookbook/dp/1962098087
Synopsis: From the world's oldest recorded cuneiform recipes, some 4,000 years ago, there is a straight line to the kitchen ofSmuni Turan. Her recipes have been collected by her son and comprise "The Oldest Kitchen in the World: 4,000 Years ofMiddle Eastern Cooking Passed Down through Generations" from Tra Publishing..
Richly and beautifully illustrated throughout with full color photography, "The Oldest Kitchen in the World" Matay deMayee describes both the oldest cuisine in the world and the culture of the Assyrians. Now scattered all over the world, theyall still speak dialects of Aramaic, and more importantly: they still cook the dishes that all Middle Eastern kitchens areindebted to.
Critique: This large format (10.04 x 0.79 x 7.68 inches, 2.31 pounds) hardcover edition of "The Oldest Kitchen in theWorld: 4,000 Years of Middle Eastern Cooking Passed Down through Generations" is a culinary delight to simple browsethrough and an ideal resource for kitchen cooks wanting to create truly memorable menus with for both formal and informaldining occasions. Blending historical information with clear step-by-step recipe preparations instructions, "The OldestKitchen in the World" will prove a prized addition to personal, family, professional, and community library Middle EasternCooking, Food & Wine collections.
Editorial Note: Matay de Mayee was born in Hengelo as the child of one of the first Suryoye (also called Assyrians orArameans) established in the Netherlands. In 2020, he opened De Stijlkamer Amsterdam, a high-end B&B in a historiccanal house, which he also uses for culinary events or as a photo and film location. With the publication of "The OldestKitchen in the World" from Tra Publishing he makes his debut as a cookbook author.
Japanese Homestyle Cooking: Quick and Delicious Favorites
Susie Donald, author
Masano Kawana & Adrian Lander, photographers
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804857994, $16.99, Spiral Bound, 96pp
https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Homestyle-Cooking-Delicious-Favorites/dp/0804857997
Synopsis: Few home cooks prepare the dishes typically served in restaurants and nowhere is that truer than in Japan.Fortunately, with the publication of "Japanese Homestyle Cooking: Quick and Delicious Favorites", Susie Donaldintroduces Western taste buds to the flavorful, delicious, and easy-to-prepare foods that Japanese home cooks make everyday for family and friends.
Readers will delight in this easy-to-follow Japanese cookbook's step-by-step recipes (including how to use a rice cooker)and their families will love trying tasty new dishes such as sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and teppanyaki. Many home styleJapanese dishes are meat-free and instead feature seafood or tofu along with a wide variety of vegetables, making themperfect for vegetarians.
Accessible and simple to master, the over 80 recipes showcased in "Japanese Homestyle Cooking" from Tuttle Publishingare as authentic as they are delicious. This selection of delicious Japanese recipes that are easy to prepare at home, and lightand healthy too! Cooking Japanese cuisine will be even easier with this book, full of clear, step-by-step instructions forfamily favorites.
Japanese Homestyle Cooking" includes recipes for :
Classic Miso Soup with Tofu and Mushrooms
Sukiyaki Beef Hotpot
Sesame Omelet Rolls with Shrimp
Grilled Yakitori Chicken Skewers
Japanese Grilled Steak
Smoked Trout Sushi Rolls
Hand-rolled Sushi Cones with Ginger Chicken
And much more!
Critique: Originally published in hardcover (2015), "Japanese Homestyle Cooking: Quick and Delicious Favorites" by SusieDonald has been reprinted by Tuttle Publishing in a spiral bound edition, as well as in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).Profusely illustrated through with 'kitchen cook friendly' step-by-step instructions for palate-pleasing, appetite-satisfyingrecipes for an authentic Japanese cuisine. A culinary pleasure to browse through and inspiring to plan menus with,"Japanese Homestyle Cooking: Quick and Delicious Favorites" is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition topersonal, professional, and community/public library ethnic cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: There is an extensive listing of cookbooks by Suzie Donald online athttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/70328.Susie_Donald
Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!
Sara Haas
Hatherleigh Press
c/o The Hatherleigh Foundation
www.hatherleighpress.com
9781578269686, $25.00, HC, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pizza-Recipes-Flavor-Ingredient-Everybody/dp/1578269687
Synopsis: You don't need fancy equipment or expensive ingredients to create delicious pizza at home. All you need is theright recipe, a good attitude, a smoking hot oven, and your own copy of "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" leading you through thebasics with step-by-step instructions as well tips and tricks to help you create awesome pizza every time. Plus you'll get over75 pizza recipes, all easy to make and all delicious.
From quick and easy pizza recipes to creative and fun flavor combinations as well as veggie-forward and healthy-ish pizzas,"Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!" contains culinary wealth of ideas for your next pizza night. Gluten-free and vegan options as well asmultiple recipes for doughs and sauces make it easy to mix and match.
Expect plenty of fun and flavor too! The DIY pizza recipes comprising "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! by Sara Haas range from SpicySouthwest with black beans and salsa; Grilled Vegetable; Roasted Tomato Margarita; and Sauteed Garlic Greens; to Peachand Jalapeno; Potato and Sausage; Pulled Pork and Cabbage Slaw, and more!
Critique: A true pizza lover's delight, this mouth-watering, palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, kitchen cook friendlycompendium of pizza recipes is beautifully illustrated with full page, full color photographs of finished pies. While alsoavailable from Hatherleigh Press in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99), "Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!: Over 75 Fresh Recipes forEvery Pizza Night" is a welcome and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, family, professional, and communitylibrary cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Sara Haas RDN, LDN is a food and nutrition expert with formal training in the culinary arts. She works as afreelance writer, recipe developer, media authority, public speaker, foor photographer, and consultant dietitian/chef. Sara isa former culinary and nutrition instructor and served as a National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Media Spokesperson.Sara has been featured in Eating Well Magazine, Shape Magazine, Parents Magazine, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal,The Huffington Post, Epicurious, BabyCenter, O Magazine and Today's Dietitian Magazine. Sara also shares her love offood and nutrition on her website, SaraHaasRDN.com, and on Instagram (@cookinRD) where she posts recipes, as well asnutrition and cooking tips. She is a also co-author of "Fertility Foods" and the author of "Taco! Taco! Taco!".
Gas Fire Heat
Aly Romero
Familius
www.familius.com
9781641709101, $24.99, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Gas-Fire-Heat-Essential-Outdoors/dp/1641709103
Synopsis: Now with the publication of "Gas Fire Heat: Essential Recipes and Secrets for Cooking Outdoors" by AlyRomero, family cooks and their spouses can get excited about cooking together outdoors! Take recipes from the kitchen tothe grill, enjoying friends and family, and building community through cooking outdoors!
The author of "Gas Fire Heat", Aly Romero, is a private chef, Traeger ambassador, and media personality and has providedillustrated recipes for beef, chicken, seafood, or grilled veggies. "Gas Fire Heat" also provides recipes with a culinaryapproach for BBQ, smoking, and griddling to awaken taste buds with easy, unique, and creative recipes the whole familywill enjoy!
Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Gas Fire Heat: Essential Recipes and Secrets for Cooking Outdoors"is an impressive and 'user friendly' culinary compendium of palate-pleasing, appetite-satisfying, step-by-step recipes thatrange from Roasted Tomato, Feta & Shrimp Crostini, Apple Cider Brined Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa, MixedSeafood Paella, Cheesy Potato Stacks, and so much more! This large format ( 8.35 x 0.85 x 10.35 inches, 2.06 pounds)hardcover edition of "Gas Fire Heat" from Familius is a solid and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, family,professional, and community library Outdoor Cookbook collections.
Editorial Note: Aly Romero (www.alyromero.com) is a private chef, brand ambassador, media personality, and nowofficially a cookbook author -- but you can just think of her as your friend who cooks!
Eat Like a Girl
Dr. Mindy Petz
Hay House, Inc.
www.hayhouse.com
9781401979447, $30.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Like-Girl-Delicious-Hormones/dp/1401979440
Synopsis: With the publication of "Eat Like a Girl: 100+ Delicious Recipes to Balance Hormones, Boost Energy, and BurnFat", nutrition expert Dr. Mindy Petz teaches women how to use food to enhance such benefits as the establishment/returnof regular menstrual cycles, improved fertility, and sustained weight loss that had previously seemed impossible.
Offering more than 100 step-by-step recipes for both plant-based and omnivore diets, Dr. Mindy shows you how to eat foryour hormones and use food to support your fasting lifestyle, while enjoying delicious recipes that reflect the latestnutritional science, including:
Quick and easy "fasted snacks" to sustain you while fasting
Nourishing choices to break your fast and stabilize blood sugar
Meals designed to support hormonal production and balance
Recipes that keep blood sugar levels steady and support a healthy gut
Dr. Mindy writes, "You deserve to live in a body you love - a healthy, happy, vibrant body that lives congruently with yourhormonal wisdom." -- "Eat Like a Girl" is more than a just another cookbook -- it is also a manifesto for women living intune with their body.
Critique: Nicely illustrated with color photos of finished dishes, and offering a complete course of instruction on a diversityof thematic related topics that include hormones and fasting, "Eat Like a Girl: 100+ Delicious Recipes to BalanceHormones, Boost Energy, and Burn Fat" is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional,community, and college/university library Women's Health/Medicine and Contemporary Cookbook collections. It should benoted for personal reading lists that "Eat Like a Girl" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99) aswell.
Editorial Note: Dr. Mindy Pelz, DC (https://drmindypelz.com) is a renowned advocate for women's health and ispassionately committed to empowering women to embrace and trust their body's natural healing processes. With anextensive background in women's health, Dr. Mindy has developed groundbreaking approaches that help women navigatethe complexities of hormonal fluctuations throughout different life stages and the specific needs of women as they age.
French Charcuterie at Home
Gilles Verot
Tra Publishing
www.trapublishing.com
9781962098076, $45.00, HC, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/French-Charcuterie-Home-Rillettes-Saucisses/dp/1962098079
Synopsis: Charcuterie is a branch of French cuisine devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage,terrines, galantines, ballotines, pates, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the chef's repertoire. Originallyintended as a way to preserve meat before the advent of refrigeration, they are prepared today for their flavors derived fromthe preservation processes. (Wikipedia)
With the publication of "French Charcuterie at Home: Terrines, Rillettes, Saucisses, & Pates En Croute", making homemadecharcuterie has never been easier with this culinary compendium of 89 accessible and beautifully illustrated recipes craftedby father and son charcutiers, Gilles and Nicolas Verot from the renowned Maison Verot in Paris.
Detailed line drawings illustrate step-by-step techniques to master the basic methods of charcuterie, and beautifulphotographs provide a visual reference for each dish. Whether country terrine, grandma's pate, or vegetable press, there's noneed for special tools or hard-to-find ingredients -- just simple techniques that bring the art of charcuterie to your kitchenwith ease.
Critique: Enhanced with full page, full color photographs of the prepared recipes, "French Charcuterie at Home: Terrines,Rillettes, Saucisses, & Pates En Croute" will enable American family cooks and amateur chefs to produce palate pleasing,appetite satisfying, memorable varieties of authentic French charcuteries for every formal and informal dining occasion orevent. "French Charcuterie at Home" from Tra Publishing will prove an enduringly welcome and popular pick for personal,professional, family, and community library cookbook collection.
Editorial Note: Gilles, Catherine, and Nicolas Verot helm Maison Verot, a pioneering force in exceptional charcuteriespanning four generations. Maison Verot (www.maisonverot.fr) stands at the forefront of the rekindled interest in thisquintessentially French culinary savoir-faire, from Paris to New York. The heirs have consistently fused tradition withmodernity, maintaining high standards and transparency. Maison Verot's charcuterie distinguishes itself through anunwavering commitment to excellence, blending meticulous sourcing, contemporary recipes, and artisanal methods. MaisonVerot boutiques are located in Paris: Saint-Placide, Sevres-Lecourbe, Enfants-Rouges, Saint Paul, Galeries LafayetteHaussmann and Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysees. Lafayette Champs-Elysees.
The Art Shelf
Shinji Matsuoka
Tuttle
https://www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805318010 $18.99 pbk / $18.04 Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Manga-Composition-Illustrations/dp/4805318015
Synopsis: In this beautifully illustrated book and complete coursebook, award-winning illustrator Shinji Matsuoka presents80 striking case studies from leading Japanese manga artists. He explains in detail how these artists use the time-honoredprinciples of composition, framing, cropping, color use, perspective and character posing!
In hundreds of detailed notes and tips, Matsuoka also teaches you how to use color, shapes, framing, shadows and focalpoints to communicate your stories in a clear and engaging way.
The illustrated case studies in this book show you how to:
Ground your illustrations by using time-tested compositional principles as you position elements on the canvas
Make the main character stand out through the use of framing to direct the viewer's gaze
Create a sense of dynamism by using the lines formed by elements on the page to form a flowing path around thecanvas
Depict scenes from unexpected angles like low angle, telephoto and bird's-eye views to make a dramatic impression
And much more!
Critique: The Complete Guide to Manga Composition: Learn the Art of Perspective and Dynamic Storytelling is anadvanced guide ideal for artists who already understand the basics of drawing. The focus is on teaching aspiring illustratorsand comic creators about perspective, composition, framing, cropping, color use, and character posting to bring their visionto life, whether in a simple character image, a complex work of art, or a panoramic graphic novel. Although The CompleteGuide to Manga Composition uses colorful examples of characters drawn in the style of manga (Japanese comics), thelessons have universal principles applicable to any art style. Author Shinji Matsuoka, an award-winning illustrator and artschool teacher, explains complex concepts in thoroughly accessible terms with a wealth of appealing illustrations. TheComplete Guide to Manga Composition is highly recommended for artists and comic creators seeking to improve theirvisual storytelling and compositional skills. Even lay readers who enjoy manga but don't seek to create it will find theirappreciation expanded as they page through this beautifully illustrated guide. It should be noted for personal reading liststhat The Complete Guide to Manga Composition is also available in a Kindle edition ($18.04).
Cats in Art: From Prehistoric to Neo-Pop Masterpieces
Alix Pare
Tra Publishing
https://trapublishing.com
9781962098052, $24.00, HC, 108pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cats-Art-Prehistoric-Neo-Pop-Masterpieces/dp/1962098052
Synopsis: Did you know that, until the Middle Ages, people were wary of cats -- their being half-domestic, half-wildanimals? That cats evoked laziness, cruelty, greed, and even lust? And that "having a cat's nose" was a serious physicaldefect at the time?
The cat traverses the history of civilizations and the history of art. Its symbolism fluctuates: revered in ancient Egypt,assimilated to Satan in medieval religious painting, companion to the free and independent artist in the 19th century.
Throughout the pages of "Cats in Art: From Prehistoric to Neo-Pop Masterpieces", Alix Pare explore the feline asrepresented in the works of Lorenzo Lotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya, Auguste Renoir, Pierre Bonnard,Fernand Leger, Balthus, Andy Warhol, and more.
This edition of "Cats in Art" includes: A precise selection of essential and unexpected works; Clear visual cues: timelines,maps, graphs; A variety of sidebars: anecdotes, background information, influences.
Critique: Fascinating, informative, compelling, memorable, "Cats in Art: From Prehistoric to Neo-Pop Masterpieces" is aseminal and unique study that will prove to be of immense interest to anyone who has a feline companion of their own. Thecombination of history and art is simply brilliant, making this profusely illustrated hardcover edition of "Cats in Art" awelcome and deservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library catthemed Art History & Culture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Alix Pare, a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre, is a lecturer specializing in Western painting of the 17th, 18th,and 20th centuries. After an eight-year tenure at both the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles, she now gives arthistory lessons and takes part in major Parisian exhibitions.
From Shanghai to Ohio: Woo Chong Yung (Wu Zhongxiong), 1898-1989
Hou-mei Sung, author
Julie F. Andrews & Kuiya Shen, contributors
Giles
https://gilesltd.com
9781913875503, $49.95, HC, 152pp
https://www.amazon.com/Shanghai-Ohio-Chong-Zhongxiong-1898-1989/dp/1913875504
Synopsis: Woo Chong Yung, (Wu Zhongxiong), (1898-1989), also known in the USA as C. Y. Woo, was a highlyaccomplished painter, calligrapher, and poet from Shanghai. During the 1920s to 1940s, Woo was at the center of China'scultural world, feted in art circles in both Shanghai and Beijing. However, faced with political persecution in the 1960s, hemigrated to Ohio before the onset of the Cultural Revolution.
Once in the United States, he became an active presence in the local community, teaching classes in Chinese painting andmartial arts, exhibiting and lecturing in local colleges, and contributing his talents to local arts councils and ethnic festivalsin Columbus and central Ohio. His lifetime works were collected almost exclusively by Cincinnati Art Museum and theFrank Museum of Art at Otterbein University which, until now, have gone unseen by the public.
"From Shanghai to Ohio: Woo Chong Yung (Wu Zhongxiong), 1898-1989" is ground-breaking catalog illustrates Woo'sunique position in Chinese painting history. His remarkable experience of emigrating from China in the face of politicalpersecution in the 1960s and becoming an American utterly transformed and reshaped both his life and painting.
Critique: This large format (9 x 0.75 x 10 inches, 2.05 pounds) coffee-table style hardcover edition of "From Shanghai toOhio: Woo Chong Yung (Wu Zhongxiong), 1898-1989" is a remarkable and impressive compendium of museum qualityChinese works of art and calligraphy. Deftly edited by Hou-mei Sung and featuring informative essays by Julie F. Andrews,Kuiyi Shen, and Hou-mei Sung, "From Shanghai to Ohio: Woo Chong Yung (Wu Zhongxiong), 1898 - 1989" is a stunning,informative, and truly exceptional choic for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Art & Artistcollections.
Editorial Note: Hou-mei Sung is curator of East Asian Art, Cincinnati Art Museum. Julia F. Andrews is DistinguishedUniversity Professor in the Department of History of Art, the Ohio State University. Kuiyi Shen is professor of Asian ArtHistory, Theory, and Criticism, vice chair and director of Ph.D. Program, University of California, San Diego.
Anime + Chibi Art Class
Yoai Yoai
Rock Point
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9781631069901, $21.99, PB, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Anime-Chibi-Art-Class-Complete/dp/163106990X
Synopsis: "Anime + Chibi Art Class: A Complete Beginner Course in Drawing Manga Cuties + Their Chibis" by Yoai isher follow-up to "Chibi Art Class" and "Anime Art Class". In it she embraces the two styles for an all-in-one DIY drawingbook!
A common artistic device within anime and manga is for the characters to morph into a chibi version of themselves forcomic relief, especially when expressing emotion. In "Anime + Chibi Art Class", popular anime artist Yoai teaches you howto draw characters big and little so you don't have to choose. It doesn't matter if you prefer drawing traditionally or digitallybecause both methods are welcome here!
With in-depth what-to-use and how-to guides at the front of the book, the tutorials are divided evenly between traditionaland digital. Spanning from simple to advanced, each focuses on honing an area of drawing, such as basic body shapes,shading, and coloring.
Including all-new material, "Anime + Chibi Art Class" is comprised of 20 step-by-step tutorials will have you nailing thatdistinct anime style in an array of mediums, including:
Pencil drawing
Inking line art
Shading with colored pencils
Coloring with markers and watercolors
Scanning and printing to combine media
and doing it all digitally!
By the end, you will be a seasoned expert in the art of anime and chibi drawing and be ready to design your own expressiveand cute characters.
Critique: With the publication of "Anime + Chibi Art Class: A Complete Beginner Course in Drawing Manga Cuties +Their Chibis" by Yoai you can now say goodbye to all the other anime art books that don't explain what they're doing. Whileunreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Anime Art Instructioncollections, it should be noted that "With the publication of "Anime + Chibi Art Class" is also available in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $10.99).
Editorial Note: Yoai Yoai is a Toronto-based anime artist with a worldwide fan base and popular accounts on Instagram,Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart, and YouTube under the handle @yoaihime. She is also the author of Chibi Art Class andAnime Art Class.
Drawing Nature
Linda Miller Feltner
Princeton University Press
https://press.princeton.edu
9780691255385, $35.00, HC, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Nature-Creative-Illustrator-Naturalist/dp/0691255385
Synopsis: "Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist" by Linda Miller Feltner andpublished by the Princeton University Press presents the creative process of an acclaimed nature artist, guiding readers fromfield sketches to finished art and demonstrating how science and the close observation of nature can be integrated into theartist's work to create dynamic, meaningful images. With chapters that flow from drawing basics to more advanced methodsand concepts, this beautifully illustrated instructional volume is like a having look inside the artist's sketchbooks to discovertheir secrets.
In "Drawing Nature", Feltner also demonstrates how observation and recording are sparks to creativity. Her journey fromloose sketches and drawings to a completed work begins with observing a natural process, object, or interaction betweenorganisms. Her curiosity generates scientific inquiry that, when researched, helps her to answer a question or make broad,often surprising connections. Blending examples of her stunning artwork with invaluable insights into time-honored arttechniques, Feltner illustrates how sketching, developing an image, and scientific accuracy are essential to her art andencourages each of us to cultivate our own powers of observation and discover anew the world around us.
"Drawing Nature" enables us to look at nature through an artist's eyes, draw inspiration from a place or a moment, and giveexpression to its beauty.
Critique: This large format (8.75 x 1 x 11.25 inches, 3.1 pounds) hardcover edition of "Drawing Nature: The CreativeProcess of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist" from the Princeton University Press is deftly organized into seven chapters:A Spark of Curiosity; The Nature of Drawing Nature; Ancient Partnerships; Mammals - Minuscule to Massive; EducationalAnimals; From Spark to Finish; Interpreting Nature's Connections. Of special note is the inclusion of a one page listing ofRecommended Reading for Creative Inspiration. Eloquent, elegant, exceptional in both organization and presentation,"Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist" is especially and unreservedly recommendedfor personal, professional, community, and college/university library Plant/Animal Art Reference/Instruction collections andsupplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers that"Drawing Nature: The Creative Process of an Artist, Illustrator, and Naturalist" is also available in a digital book format(Kindle, $19.25).
Editorial Note: Linda Miller Feltner (www.lindafeltner.com) is an award-winning artist, naturalist, and educator. Her booksinclude A Haven in the Sun: Five Stories of Bird Life and Its Future on the Texas Coast, Brittle Stars and Mudbugs: AnUncommon Field Guide to Northwest Shorelines and Wetlands, and Alaska: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide.
Colored Pencil Drawings & Doodles
Atelier RiLi
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805317952, $17.99, PB, 128pp
https://www.amazon.com/Colored-Pencil-Drawings-Doodles-How/dp/4805317957
Synopsis: With the publication of "Colored Pencil Drawings & Doodles: Draw Adorable Animals, Flowers, Foods andCharacters with Just 12 Colored Pencils!" you can now transform your journals, cards, gifts and place settings into a "canvasof cuteness" with adorable colored pencil drawings.
There's no need for expensive art supplies -- the delightful doodles comprising "Colored Pencil Drawings & Doodles" arebrought to life with just 12 inexpensive pencils! The whimsical examples in this book will get you excited about drawingeverything from baguettes and mushrooms and cherry blossoms to bluebirds, macarons, calico cats and more -- includingholiday motifs and colorful lettering.
Even if you've always thought "I can't draw," you can approach these 21 lessons with the confidence of knowing that thestep-by-step instructions and demonstration videos provide all the support you need to start enjoying this wonderful pastimeright away.
Get ready to draw adorable motifs including: Cuddly Creatures (from charming kitties to lovable hedgehogs and forestanimals); Brightly Colored Flowers and Plants (a botanical bounty awaits, from vibrant tulips and romantic roses to luckyclovers and creeping ivy); Irresistible Foods (from luscious cupcakes, crusty French bread and juicy strawberries to othertreats that look good enough to eat!); -- and so much more including bright ribbons, elegant seashells, enchanting castles andmotifs to celebrate each season of the year.
These playful drawings will add splashes of color and flair to cards and letters, sketchbooks and more, and are a perfect wayto decorate your spaces or create personalized gifts!
Critique: Also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.09) with more than 500 DIY illustrations to color, "ColoredPencil Drawings & Doodles: Draw Adorable Animals, Flowers, Foods and Characters with Just 12 Colored Pencils!" offershours and hours of DIY illustrated fun and is unreservedly recommended for personal and professional pastel and pencildrawing exercises and color use with respect to graphic design.
Editorial Note: Atelier RiLi (www.atelierrili.com) is a multi-award-winning Japanese illustration studio which focuses onpicture-book illustration and other freelance illustration work. They have illustrated dozens of books, and their artwork hasappeared in numerous advertisem*nts and on a range of commercial products. Their work has been exhibited throughoutJapan in solo exhibits, group exhibits and other special events.
The Crafts Shelf
Motoko Maggie Nakatani
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804857666, $18.99, HC, 96pp
https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Quilling-Beginners-All-One/dp/0804857660
Synopsis: Under the expert guidance of Japanese quilling artist Motoko Maggie Nakatani, one of the world's top paperquilling experts, with "Paper Quilling for Beginners: A Complete All-in-One Guide to Creating Paper Flowers, Plants,Vegetables and other Decorative Items!" you will learn how to make many wonderful paper objects with just a fewinexpensive tools and paper strips. Maggie's simple roll-shape-and-paste paper quilling method is ideal for beginners --allowing you to form dozens of shapes and objects easily.
"Paper Quilling for Beginners" features easy-to-follow, step-by-step photographic instructions for 30 projects comprised of75 adorable paper quilled objects, including: Frilly flowers with ornate petals and leaves which make sweet and romanticdecorations; Colorful vegetables, herbs and fruits that look lovely on your kitchen wall or containers; Decorative tiles withfancy whorls and flourishes that can be framed to add a splash of kaleidoscopic color to any room; Japanese dolls, lions andmasks which add a touch of Asian flair to miniature hoop frames and shadow box arrangements; Delicate butterfly and heartbrooches and other one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces that add the perfect finishing touch to any ensemble -- and dozens ofother delightful DIY projects!
Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, "Paper Quilling for Beginners: A Complete All-in-One Guide to Creating PaperFlowers, Plants, Vegetables and other Decorative Items!" is the ideal introduction to the art and craft of paper quilling withits user friendly DIY step-by-step instruction format. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.04), PaperQuilling for Beginners" is ideal for the novice and especially recommended for personal, community library, and seniorcenter instruction crafts/hobbies collections.
Editorial Note: Motoko Maggie Nakatani discovered her love of quilling when she opened a toy and candy shop in Kobe,Japan. She taught herself to quill and began importing quilling tools and materials to sell in her shop. After attending herfirst North American Quilling Guild convention, she was inspired to offer quilling classes customers. Maggie is now thelead instructor for Botanical Quilling Japan, a group that focuses on the seasonal beauty of plants and flowers. She is also afounding member of the Japan Quilling Guild and the Japanese representative to the North American Quilling Guild.(https://www.facebook.com/motoko.nakatani)
Rock Painting for Beginners
Christine Rechl
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9780804857550, $18.99, HC, 96pp
https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Painting-Beginners-Complete-Techniques/dp/0804857555
Synopsis: Using pens, markers, paints, brushes, and the simple lessons in "Rock Painting for Beginners: A Complete Guideto Techniques and Supplies with 50 Original Designs to Inspire You", you will be able to turn stones into gorgeous works ofart that everyone will love.
Design expert Christine Rechl provides all the information you'll need to get started, including a few simple tips andtechniques and over 50 inspiring designs in 225 color photographs.
For aspiring artists of all ages, the simple instructions and examples in this book show you how to create: A menagerie ofcuddly cats, shaggy sheep and adorable dogs - even unicorns; Funny faces, cartoon characters and kooky caricatures;Kaleidoscopic patterns made up of spirals, squiggles, dots and lines; Meditative mandalas, runes, oracle stones, amulets andlucky charms -- and many more creative designs!
With "Rock Painting for Beginners, anyone can create a colorful rock display for their home or wanting to send an inspiringmessage to a friend. Painted rocks make perfect gifts and keepsakes to treasure forever!
Critique: Profusely and instructively illustrated throughout, Christine Rechi's "Rock Painting for Beginners: A CompleteGuide to Techniques and Supplies with 50 Original Designs to Inspire You" from Tuttle Publishing is an ideal DIYintroduction to the art and craft of a distinctive and fun craft/hobby. While highly recommended for personal andcommunity library collections, it should be noted that "Rock Painting for Beginners" is also readily available in a digitalbook format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Christine Rechl (https://christinerechl.de) designs home decor, textiles, wrapping papers and porcelainswhen she's not writing a new book. She lives in Coburg, Germany, with her family and is the author of many books,including 1,001 Very Easy Design Motifs, Creative Beading, Magical Stones: 30 Symbols, Oracles and Spirit Animals toPaint and Favorite Phrases: Sayings, Messages and Quotes Painted on Stone.
The Gardening Shelf
Judith Clancy, author
Ben Simmons, photographer
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805315965, $18.99, HC, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Kyoto-Gardens-Masterworks-Japanese-Gardeners/dp/4805315962
Synopsis: By design, Kyoto's gardens possess a unique ability to provoke deep contemplation and joy in equal measure."Kyoto Gardens: Masterworks of the Japanese Gardener's Art" is a labor of love from master photographer Ben Simmonsand longtime Kyoto-based writer Judith Clancy.
It contains lyrical images and poetic essays describing Kyoto's most famous gardens -- most of them now UNESCO WorldHeritage Sites, including:
Kyoto's Old Imperial Palace Garden: A massive walled complex filled with flowering plants, trees and buildings whichserved as the official residence of the Japanese emperor for over 500 years before 1868 and is now a public park.
Heian Jingu Shrine Garden: Constructed on the site of the ancient capital and filled with lush greenery, ponds, rocks,bridges and pavilions which float above the water, providing a sense of tranquility and natural beauty.
Ginkaku-ji Pure Land Garden: An earthly paradise featuring a massive truncated mound of packed sand that is resculpted byhand daily, this site was originally designed as a private villa by one of Kyoto's rulers then turned into a Zen Buddhisttemple upon his death.
Kinkaku-ji Estate Garden: Perhaps Kyoto's most recognizable sight, a Golden Pavilion perched on the edge of a tranquilpond on whose smooth surface are reflected beautiful rocks and cypress trees placed all around it.
Ryoan-jin Zen Rock Garden: The purest expression of a world in miniature, expressed as a sea of raked gravel with islandsof natural stone and moss set in its midst, walled off from the outside world to provide a place for meditation andcontemplation.
Saiho-ji Moss Garden: Famed for its moist and soft, shimmering green covering of moss, this unique estate was designed inthe 14th century and radically altered the art of the Japanese garden.
Tof*cku-ji Zen Garden: An ancient temple site which contains some of the best examples of a new "contemporary"gardening style pioneered by Mirei Shigemnori in the early 20th century, featuring enormous rocks set in a sea of rakedgravel and irregular checkboard squares set in a soft bed of moss ringed by azalea bushes.
Plus two dozen other masterful gardens!
Simmons' sensitive photos present a fresh, contemporary look at these timeless gardens while Clancy's graceful descriptionsprovides historic, aesthetic and cultural context. This new edition has been updated and revised, with many newphotographs added.
Critique: An absolutely beautiful tour of some of Japanese finest gardens, this new edition of "Kyoto Gardens: Masterworksof the Japanese Gardener's Art" from Tuttle Publishing is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional,community, and college/university library Contemporary Gardening & Photography collections. It should be noted that"Kyoto Gardens: Masterworks of the Japanese Gardener's Art" is also available in a digital book format that is ideal foron-site tourists.
Editorial Note #1: Judith Clancy (www.kyotoworkshops.com) has lived in Kyoto for more than 50 years, writing andteaching about Japanese culture. Her first publication, Naturescapes, was a tribute to her Ikebana teacher, Tamura Suiko,who, through the art of flower arrangement, instilled a deep and subtle appreciation of Japanese aesthetics and character.Clancy has published multiple books including Exploring Kyoto: On Foot in the Ancient Capita; Kyoto Machiya RestaurantGuide, and Kyoto: City of Zen. Clancy lives in a 120-year-old converted weaving studio in Nishijin, the weaving and dyeingdistrict of Kyoto.
Editorial Note #2: Ben Simmons is a longtime Japan resident whose photos have appeared in books, magazines, andexhibitions worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the United Nations. He holds an MFA from theUniversity of Florida. Some of his other book projects are Tokyo Megacity, Japanese Architecture, Kyoto City of Zen, andThe Little Book of Kyoto--all published by Tuttle. (https://bensimmonsphoto.com/?l=en&p=bio)
The Christian Studies Shelf
Jeannine K. Brown
Baker Academic
c/o Baker Publishing Group
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
9781540967725, $39.99, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Embedded-Genres-Testament-Understanding-Interpretation/dp/1540967611
Synopsis: Genre is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with sociallyagreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, orother forms of art or entertainment, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way ofborrowing and recombining these conventions. Stand-alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individualstyles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed-upon or socially inferred conventions. Some genres may haverigid, strictly adhered-to guidelines, while others may show great flexibility. (Wikipedia)
The genre of what we are reading is crucial to understanding any written work, including the books of the New Testament.However, we may not always realize we use genre categories as we interpret, whether explicitly or implicitly. Embeddedgenres, or genres within genres, can substantively impact the interpretation of an entire New Testament book.
A part of the Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology from Baker Academia, "Embedded Genres in the New Testament:Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation" is a succinct and accessible study by widely respected scholar and seasonedteacher Jeannine K. Brown who introduces embedded genres, their impact on New Testament interpretation, and how theycontribute to the message of the New Testament authors.
Jeannine Brown also offers hermeneutical guidance for interpreting embedded genres and explores the hermeneuticalquestions they raise. She focuses on three case studies of embedded genres that have been contested, underidentified, orunderappreciated across the New Testament corpus: the Christ poem in Philippians 2, riddles in Matthew, and the householdcode in 1 Peter.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Embedded Genres in the New Testament: UnderstandingTheir Impact for Interpretation" is unreservedly recommended for church, seminary, community, and college/universitylibrary New Testament Critism/Interpretation collections and supplemental Biblical Exegesis/Hermenutics curriculumstudies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of clergy, seminary students, and all members of the Christiancommunity regardless of denominational affiliations that "Embedded Genres in the New Testament" is readily available in apaperback edition (9781540967619, $17.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.09).
Editorial Note: Jeannine K. Brown (PhD, Luther Seminary) is the David Price Professor of Biblical and TheologicalFoundations at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of Scripture as Communication, The Gospels asStories, two commentaries on Matthew, and a commentary on Philippians. She coauthored Relational Integration betweenPsychology and Christian Theology and Becoming Whole and Holy and is a coeditor of the revised Dictionary of Jesus andthe Gospels. Brown has also served as a translation consultant for the New International Version, Common English Bible,and New Century Version.
The Buddhist Studies Shelf
Dza Kilung Rinpoche
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
www.shambhala.com
9781645473251, $18.95, PB, 208pp
https://www.amazon.com/Free-Mind-Finding-Digitally-Distracted/dp/1645473252
Synopsis: With the publication of "The Free Mind: Finding Clarity in a Digitally Distracted World" by ShambhalaPublications, Dza Kilung Rinpoche offers a refreshing approach to understanding the role of digital technology in our worldand how we can better manage our relationship to it from a Buddhist perspective.
Our engagement with digital devices connects us to people and ideas, but it also causes anxiety, distraction, imbalance, andsuffering. Rather than a digital detox, we can train our minds to leverage our negative habits and digital temptations to dealwith life more effectively, improve our attention span, reduce mental fatigue, and deepen our happiness.
In 'The Free Mind", Dza Kilung Rinpoche (a respected contemporary Tibetan Buddhist teacher and the author of "TheRelaxed Mind"), skillfully addresses these widespread issues in modern life geared toward a wide audience. In twelve shortchapters, he offers straightforward strategies and tools to clear away the distractive clutter that prevents us from living fullyand with clarity.
"The Free Mind" also explores deeper issues like the nature of wisdom, question of karma, and importance oflovingkindness and compassion.
The practices and meditations in "The Free Mind" will appeal to anyone who suffers from a distracted "monkey mind". Bycalming our minds, we can clearly see the sources of our inner and outer problems and begin to work on them for the benefitof ourselves, others, and the earth.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented for the benefit of students of Buddhism and non-specialistgeneral readers with an interest in the subject of Karma & Tibetan Buddhism in this age of Social Media, "The Free Mind:Finding Clarity in a Digitally Distracted World" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional,community, and college/university library Contemporary Buddhist Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studieslists. It should also be noted that "The Free Mind" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Dza Kilung Rinpoche (https://kilung.org/about-kilung-rinpoche) was born in 1970 and is head of KilungMonastery in the Dzachuka District of Kham, Tibet, which he has been working to reestablish as a center of learning andpractice since he was a teenager. He has been teaching in the West since 1998 and regularly accepts invitations to teach inBoston, Beijing, Denmark, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brazil, and Argentina. His home in the West is on Whidbey Islandnear Seattle, Washington, and he divides his time among Washington, his community in Tibet, and his students worldwide.He is the author of The Relaxed Mind: A Seven-Step Method for Deepening Meditation Practice (Shambhala, 2015).
The Photography Shelf
Jane Flynn
Southern Illinois University Press
www.siupress.com
9780809339402, $24.95, PB, 152pp
https://www.amazon.com/Mennonites-Southern-Illinois-Photographic-Journal/dp/0809339404
Synopsis: Offering a glimpse into a world largely misunderstood by mainstream society, with the publication of"Mennonites of Southern Illinois: A Photographic Journal" documents the period of eight years that Jane Flynn practicedwith Mennonites in two different Southern Illinois communities: Stonefort, and Mount Pleasant in Anna. Despite her statusas an outsider, Flynn was welcomed and allowed to photograph the Mennonites in their homes, making applesauce, farming,and beekeeping.
Escaping persecution from the Catholic Church in Europe, the Mennonites arrived in America in 1683, settling in what isnow Pennsylvania. Today, they live in almost all 50 states, Canada, and South America. To reflect the Mennonites'manual-labor lifestyle, Flynn processed her black-and-white photographs by hand and hand-printed them in a dark room.The imagery explores the Mennonites' labors, leisure, and faith by documenting their homes, places of work and worship,and the Illinois Ozark landscape they inhabit.
Similar to the Amish and the Quakers, Mennonites consider the Bible the supreme authority and insist on a separationbetween church and state. To enact that separation, they distinguish themselves from society in speech, dress, business,recreation, education, pacifism, and by refusing to participate in politics. They believe in nonconformity to the world,discipleship, and being born again through adult baptism. With "Mennonites of Southern Illinois", photographer Jane Flynnprovides representation for these closed communities and illustrates the Mennonites' struggle to find and maintain balancebetween rustic and modern life while remaining faithful to their religious beliefs.
Critique: An impressive compendium of captioned B/W photographs of Mennonites and two of their communities inIllinois, Jane Flynn's "Mennonites of Southern Illinois: A Photographic Journal" from the Southern Illinois University Pressis an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university libraryAmerican Photography collections and supplemental Mennonite curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Jane Flynn (www.janeflynnphotography.com) is a photographer who is deeply interested in documentingthose in contemporary American society who may not typically be considered as under-represented, but are not well (orfairly) represented within the art and media of today.
Farcountry Press
www.farcountrypress.com
Farcountry Press is a premier publisher of travel and photography books with two new entries in their 'A PhotographicJourney' series.
https://www.amazon.com/Grand-Canyon-Photographic-Larry-Lindahl/dp/1560378433
"Grand Canyon: A Photographic Journey" by Larry Lindahl (9781560378433, $14.95, PB, 80pp) is an intimate look at oneof America's grandest and most iconic national parks. Within the pages comprising "Grand Canyon: A PhotographicJourney", readers will enjoy full color and informatively captioned visual images many of the trails, wildlife, waterfalls,rivers, creeks, and impressive geologic features of the Grand Canyon.
https://www.amazon.com/Arizona-Photographic-Journey-Larry-Lindahl/dp/1560378425
"Arizona: A Photographic Journey" by Larry Lindahl and Jake Case (9781560378426, $14.95, PB, 80pp) is a trulyimpressive collection of spectacular and informatively captioned photographs conveys the visual beauty of the Copper State.From Tucson to Flagstaff and the Petrified National Forest to the Grand Canyon, "Arizona: A Photographic Journey"explores and illustrates Arizona's most iconic sights and the startling beauty to be found along the way.
Critique:"Grand Canyon: A Photographic Journey" and "Arizona: A Photographic Journey" are both a pleasure to simplybrowse through one fascinating page at a time. Both titles are ideal, welcome, and highly recommended additions topersonal, family, and community library American Travel Guide and Travel Photography collections.
Editorial Note #1: Larry Lindhal (https://www.larrylindahl.com) is a professional travel and nature photographer withimages published in international magazines, award-winning books, and scenic calendars.
Editorial Note #2: Jake Case (www.mountaintripper.com) is a naturalist, writer, and landscape photographer here inArizona. After graduating from Northern Arizona University, he went on to work as a tour guide at the Grand Canyon SouthRim and a park ranger for the National Park Service at Lake Powell.
The Theatre/Cinema Shelf
David Meuel
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476691473, $39.95, PB, 225pp
https://www.amazon.com/Joan-Crawford-Film-Noir-Actress/dp/1476691479
Synopsis: Joan Crawford's contribution to film noir during the 1940s and 1950s, though rarely discussed in its totality, isone of her most impressive and far-reaching career achievements.
Several of her noir and noir-tinged efforts contain arguably her best acting work, and all bear her personal stamp. These arenot conventional film noirs, they are Joan Crawford noirs: highly distinctive films that extended the boundaries of noircontent and brought added depth and dimension to the noir style.
Unlike most actors who routinely adapted to the needs of particular film projects and directors, she approached each film,first and foremost, as a Joan Crawford vehicle, often exerting great control over multiple production functions and at timesoperating as a de facto producer.
Examining these films as a collective and relatively cohesive body of work, with the publication of "Joan Crawford in FilmNoir: The Actress as Auteur", film historian David Meuel highlights what Crawford aspired to achieve in her art, how(when the circ*mstances were right) she could deliver superb results, how she helped expand the possibilities for noir, andwhy the best of her efforts speak across the decades with such intensity and authority.
Critique: Illustrated with B/W historical photos, "Joan Crawford in Film Noir: The Actress as Auteur" by David Meuel is afascinating and informative read from start to finish. A 'must' for the legions of Joan Crawford fans, this cinematicbiography is insightfully informative and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library Cinematic History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should benoted that this paperback edition of "Joan Crawford in Film Noir: The Actress as Auteur" from McFarland & Company isalso available for film students, academia, and movie buffs in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.49) as well.
Editorial Note: The author of multiple books on film history, David Meuel has also published two books of poems, morethan two dozen short stories, and hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from U.S. national parks to high technology.
The Star Wars Radio Dramas
Maria Jose Tenuto & John Tenuto
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476695631, $39.95, PB, 213pp
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Radio-Dramas-Serialization/dp/1476695636
Synopsis: By 1977 National Public Radio (NPR) was in serious financial trouble, plagued by too little funding and smallaudiences. The phenomenal success of its adaptation of Star Wars as a radio drama in 1981 gave NPR the needed ratings,publicity, and boost in donations that kept it afloat at exactly the time it was threatened the most.
Most importantly, Star Wars brought a new audience to NPR. As it did in theaters, where George Lucas's films redefinedmovie making, so too did NPR's Star Wars forever change the artistic world of radio drama.
That a radio network, dependent exclusively on audio, would find a lifeline in one of the most visually dynamic movies everreleased is the stuff of irony. Utilizing new interviews with creatives such as Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Ann Sachs(Princess Leia), Perry King (Han Solo), and director John Madden, and archival research, "The Star Wars Radio Dramas:Brian Daley and the Serialization That Saved NPR" by professors Maria and John Tenuto details how an unlikely alliance ofacademics, radio executives, Lucasfilm employees, actors, and behind-the-scenes artists banded together, despite theobstacles, to create a unique and consequential work.
It is also the story of how writer Brian Daley was the fulcrum who made it all possible.
Critique: A simply fascination and 'behind the scenes' informative read from cover to cover, "The Star Wars Radio Dramas:Brian Daley and the Serialization That Saved NPR" is especially and unreservedly recommended reading for the legions ofStar Wars fans and students of non-profit public radio station histories. Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit withthe inclusion of two Appendices ('Related Star Wars Audio Projects' & 'NPR Affiliates'), ten pages of Chapter Notes, sixpages of References, and a twelve page Index, "The Star Wars Radio Dramas: Brian Daley and the Serialization That SavedNPR" is unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library collections. It should be noted forpersonal reading lists that "The Star Wars Radio Dramas" from McFarland & Company is also readily available in a digitalbook format (Kindle, $25.99) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Professor of sociology Maria Jose Tenuto was named the 2019 Outstanding Illinois Adjunct Faculty ofthe Year by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9505467)
Editorial Note #2: John Tenuto (https://titanbooks.com/creators/john-tenuto) is a retired sociology professor. He was namedthe 2020 Central Regional Faculty Member of the Year for the United States by the Association of CommunityColleges.
The Ghost of Frankenstein: Scripts from the Crypt, Volume 16
Tom Weaver & Gregory W Mank
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887715018, $50.00, HC, 392pp
https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Frankenstein-Scripts-Crypt-hardback/dp/B0D6K3C69X
Synopsis: Human monsters, cripples and wretches, unite! Ygor, every Monster Kid's favorite blacksmith/body snatcher,adds Paramilitary Strategist to his bulging resume when he unveils his plan to organize his country's outcasts into a fightingforce. Their objective: enslave strong people and make them work for the weak. And at the head of Ygor's hideous hordes:the Frankenstein Monster!
In 1941, as Universal prepared to make The Ghost of Frankenstein, they "took a pass" on screenwriter Eric Taylor's bonkersplotline, described above. But fortunately for 21st-century Monster Kids, a copy of his script still exists; and now it risesfrom the ashes to become the centerpiece of the newest "Scripts from the Crypt" volume. Extras include a deluxe new Ghostof Frankenstein production history by Gregory W. Mank, Fun Facts, bonus essays and a trove of vintage photos.
Critique: Nicely illustrated throughout with B/W historical photos and co-authored by Tom Weaver and Gregory W. Mank,this large format (8.25 x 0.88 x 11 inches, 2.55 pounds) hardcover edition of "The Ghost of Frankenstein: Scripts from theCrypt, Volume 16" from BearManor Press is a unique and highly prized addition to personal, professional, andcollege/university library Cinematic History collections and a 'must' for the legions of Frankenstein fans wanting a peekbehind the curtain with respect to the cinematic fate of The Ghost of Frankenstein.
Editorial Note #1: Tom Weaver (www.imdb.com/name/nm0915967) is a multiple-time winner of the Rondo Hatton ClassicHorror Award, a fan-based award presented each year for the best in horror movie research and appreciation. He wasinducted into the Rondos' "Monster Kid Hall of Fame" on March 30, 2011.
Editorial Note #2: Gregory W. Mank (www.gregorymank.com) is an actor, known for Horror Icons: Lon Chaney Jr, HorrorIcons: The Singular Case of Basil Rathbone and The Chaneys: Hollywood's Horror Dynasty.
The Business Shelf
Mike Maples Jr. & Peter Ziebelman
https://www.patternbreakers.com
Public Affairs Books
c/o Hachette
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com
9781541704350, $30.00, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Breakers-Start-Ups-Change-Future/dp/1541704355
Synopsis: The breakthrough concepts laid out in "Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future" come from theobservations of Mike Maples Jr., a seasoned venture capitalist, who noticed something strange. Start-ups like Twitter,Twitch, and Lyft had achieved extraordinary success despite their disregard for "best practices." In contrast, other startupsdeemed highly promising often failed, even when they seemed to do everything right.
Seeking answers, Maples and co-author Peter Ziebelman set out to discover the hidden forces that drive extraordinarystart-up success. Pattern-breaking success, they reveal, demands a different mindset and actions to harness developmentsothers miss or that may, at first, seem crazy.
"Pattern Breakers" is filled with firsthand storytelling about initial interactions with some of the most transformativestart-ups of recent times as Maples and Ziebelman challenge us to rethink how to transcend the ordinary and achieve theextraordinary.
Critique: Informative, thought-provoking, insightful, and inspiring, "Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change theFuture" is impressively 'user friendly' in organization and presentation. Thoroughly 'real world practical', "Pattern Breakers"will prove to be of immense value to readers with an interest in venture capitalism, entrepreneurship, and businessmotivation/leadership. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, corporate, community, andcollege/university library collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that 'PatternBreakers" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Mike Maples, Jr is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and the co-founder of FLOODGATE, aleading seed stage fund in Silicon Valley that invested in companies like Twitter, Twitch, Okta, and Outreach at the verybeginning of their startup journeys. An eight-time member of the Forbes Midas List of Top Venture Capital investors, hewas one of the pioneers of the seed investing movement, which started in the mid-2000s and now is a mainstream part ofstartup funding. Mike has the popular podcast Starting Greatness(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starting-greatness/id1488560647).
Editorial Note #2: Peter Ziebelman teaches entrepreneurs as a lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School ofBusiness, where he is the principal instructor for the popular graduate school course on entrepreneurship and venture capital.He has also lectured for the Wharton School and the University of Chicago. He started his career as part of the innovativestart-up team for speech synthesis semiconductors at Texas Instruments and then later he was a systems softwareentrepreneur at a venture-backed start-up. In 1996 he co-founded, Palo Alto Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capitalfirm. He consults with Fortune 500 companies on entrepreneurship, and advises start-up companies as an independent boardmember.
Becoming a Self-Reliant Leader
Jan Rutherford & Jacquie Jordan
Matt Holt Books
c/o BenBella Books
www.benbellabooks.com
9781637745595, $30.00, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Self-Reliant-Leader-Disciplined-Indomitable/dp/1637745591
Synopsis: "Becoming a Self-Reliant Leader: How Grit and Disciplined Duty Forge Indomitable Teams" by co-authors JanRutherford and Jacquie Jordan was deftly crafted from author Jan Rutherford's 'Crucible Expedition' wilderness experiences.This insightful, practical guide explores each step of the Crucible journey and how its lessons can be applied to today'sleadership challenges.
The lessons are based around the three pillars of Self-Reliant Leadership: leading yourself, leading others, and leading anorganization).
"Becoming a Self-Reliant Leader" covers: Developing courage, curiosity, and grit to confront challenges and lead your teameffectively; Selecting the right people for your team -- people who are selfless, adventurous, and heroic; Creating the rightdirection, pace, and tone to sustain a culture of disciplined duty; Designing and maintaining a positive and energized workenvironment; Building mutual, genuine trust among team members and fellow leaders where true commitment versus merecompliance prevails.
This compilation of lessons and stories from past expeditions offers business leaders more than just an exciting or inspiringread. "Becoming a Self-Reliant Leader" offers a proven recipe to creating and sustaining high-performing teams.
Critique Of immense relevance and value to readers with an interest in the subjects of personal finance, corporateleadership, employee and self motivation, this edition of Jan Rutherford's and Jacquie Jordan's "Becoming a Self-ReliantLeader: How Grit and Disciplined Duty Forge Indomitable Teams" from Matt Holt Books is a welcome and recommendedpick for personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Business Management collections andsupplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "Becoming a Self-Reliant Leader" is also readilyavailable in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note #1: Jan Rutherford is a former Green Beret and founder of Self-Reliant Leadership(R) where he coachesexecutives, and leads Crucible(R) wilderness expeditions with executives and veterans. Jan has over 25 years of businessexperience and has held executive roles in business development, marketing, sales, training, product management, and as aCEO. For 15 years, he was a Senior Instructor with the University of Colorado Denver Business School, teaching leadershipto MBA students in the U.S. and Ireland. He's the co-host of The Leadership Podcast, and also serves on numerous boards,and invests time with select DOD units and veteran organizations.
Editorial Note #2: Jacquie Jordan, a graduate of West Point and Teacher's College, Columbia University, is passionate aboutimproving work through leader and organizational development. Jacquie cultivated this passion while serving as a logisticsofficer in the US Army, including assignments as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy, a tour withthe United States Army Special Operations Command, and culminating as a Legislative Liaison working to advance USArmy personnel policy. Jacquie deployed to combat four times where she led small and large teams in support of operationsin Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. As a consultant, Jacquie brings her expertise to teams to increase the capacity of leaders tolead, teams to build trust, and organizations to produce results.
Stories Sell
Matthew Dicks
New World Library
www.newworldlibrary.com
9781608689040, $19.95
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Sell-Storyworthy-Strategies-Business/dp/1608689042
Stories Sell: Storyworthy Strategies to Grow Your Business and Brand teaches the basics of embedding corporate pursuitswith personal draws that appeal to human brains wired for stories over data. It raises the notion that becoming a goodstoryteller can lend to success not just in business pursuits, but in writing, marketing, teaching, and virtually every arena oflife.
Examples from his business pursuits show how such stories can be fine-tuned to achieve marketing objectives, provokingconversations, connections, and consumer interest.
Business libraries and educators will find his approach unique, reinforcing a special blend of artistic and business intereststhat join forces to promote success.
The Railroading Shelf
Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, et al.
Giles
https://gilesltd.com
9781913875602, $44.95, HC, 168pp
https://www.amazon.com/All-Aboard-Railroad-American-1840/dp/1913875601
Synopsis: "All Aboard: The Railroad in American Art, 1840-1955" covers the environmental impact of the railroad on theenvironment and social landscape; its role in the western expansion of the USA, and the lasting and hugely detrimentalimpact of this on Native American populations. A wide array of comparative images includes archival and historic views,other related artworks and ephemera, as well as a railroad map.
In the early years of the nineteenth century artists including Thomas Cole and George Inness, of the Hudson River School,feared the impact of the railroad on the natural landscape; later artists were inspired by the newly opened-up landscapes ofthe West, including Albert Bierstadt and Theodore Kaufmann; others like Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, ReginaldMarsh, George Bellows, and John Sloan, were fascinated by movement of freight and people across the railroad network.Ben Shahn, Tomas Hart Benton, and Joe Jones's portrayals of railroad workers become emblems of the very backbone ofAmerica on which the country's social and industrial expansion was built.
Such industrial expansion is captured in the dramatic views of Pittsburgh and mid-west industry in paintings by OttoKuhler, George Luks, and Charles Sheeler. And finally, there are a raft of artists for whom the railroad was both at the heartof a great new machine age, celebrated in paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, Joseph Stella, and Charles Goeller,but also the creator of a more lonely and alienated urban industrial world, most strongly captured in Edward Hopper'srailroad landscapes.
Critique: This large format (9.75 x 0.75 x 11.25 inches, 2.55 pounds) coffee-table style hardcover edition of "All Aboard:The Railroad in American Art, 1840 - 1955" is the collaborative effort of co-authors Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, EllenDaugherty, Thomas Denenberg, Julie Pierotti, and Kevin Sharp. An impressive compendium of museum quality artwork onthe theme of the American railroad of a 75 years time frame. Exceptionally informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly' inorganization and presentation, deftly edited by Julie Pierotti, and enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of aBibliography, a Railroad Chronology, an Exhibition Checklist, and an Index, "All Aboard: The Railroad in American Art,1840-1955" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/universitylibrary American Railroading & American Art History collections.
Editorial Note: Thomas Busciglio-Ritter is Richard and Mary Holland Assistant Curator of American Western Art, JoslynArt Museum. Ellen Daugherty is assistant curator, Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Thomas Denenberg is the director of theShelburne Museum. Julie Pierotti is Martha R. Robinson Curator, Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Kevin Sharp is Linda W. andS. Herbert Rhea Director, Dixon Gallery and Gardens.
The American History Shelf
Amanda Bellows
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063227408, $32.50, HC, 384pp
https://www.amazon.com/Explorers-New-History-America-Expeditions/dp/0063227401
Synopsis: The archetype of the American explorer, a rugged white man, has dominated our popular culture since the lateeighteenth century, when Daniel Boone's autobiography captivated readers with tales of treacherous journeys. But ourcommonly held ideas about American exploration do not tell the whole story -- far from it.
With the publication of "The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions" historian Amanda Bellowsrediscovers a diverse group of Americans who went to the western frontier and beyond, traversing the farthest reaches of theglobe and even penetrating outer space in their endeavor to find the unknown. Many escaped from lives circ*mscribed byracism, sexism, poverty, and discrimination as they took on great risk in unfamiliar territory.
Born into slavery, James Beckwourth found freedom as a mountain man and became one of the great entrepreneurs of GoldRush California. Matthew Henson, the son of African American sharecroppers, left rural Maryland behind to seek the NorthPole. Women like Harriet Chalmers Adams ascended Peruvian mountains to gain geographic knowledge while AmeliaEarhart and Sally Ride shattered glass ceilings by pushing the limits of flight.
In this hardcover edition of "The Explorers" from Dutton, readers will travel across the vast Great Plains and into theheights of the Sierra Nevada mountains; they will traverse the frozen Arctic Ocean and descend into the jungles of SouthAmerica; they will journey by canoe and horseback, train and dogsled, airplane and space shuttle. Readers will experiencethe exhilarating history of American exploration alongside the men and women who shared a deep drive to discover theunknown.
Across two centuries and many thousands of miles of terrain, historian Amanda Bellows offers an ode to our country's mostintrepid adventurers -- and reveals the hidden history of America in the process.
Critique: Each of the ten chapters comprising "The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions" showcases aspecific individual from Sacagawea to Sally Ride and is informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion ofa six page Epilogue (The Future of American Exploration), a four page listing of Acknowledgments, eighty-eight pages ofNotes, and a fifteen page Index. A simply fascinating, seminal, and impressively presented study, "The Explorers" isespecially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library AmericanHistory/Biography collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interestin the subject that "The Explorers" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99) and as a complete andunabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798874622176, $45.95, CD).
Editorial Note: Amanda Bellows is a historian of the United States and teaches undergraduates at the New School. Shereceived her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bellows served as a Project Historian for theNew-York Historical Society's major exhibit Black Citizenship in the Jim Crow Era, supported by a significant NationalEndowment for the Humanities grant, and has published writing in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall StreetJournal, and elsewhere. She is the author of American Slavery and Russian Serfdom in the Post-Emancipation Imagination,published by UNC Press.
The World History Shelf
Ken McGoogan
Douglas & McIntyre
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
c/o Harbour Publishing
https://harbourpublishing.com
9781771623681, $29.95, HC, 360pp
https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Franklin-Answers-Arctic-Mystery/dp/1771623683
Synopsis: Two of Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin's expeditions were monumental failures -- the last one leading to morethan a hundred deaths, including his own. Yet many still see the Royal Navy man as a heroic figure who sacrificed himselfto discover the Northwest Passage.
"Searching for Franklin: New Answers to the Great Arctic Mystery", is author Ken McGoogan's sixth title about Arcticexploration, challenges that vision. It rejects old orthodoxies, incorporates the latest discoveries, and interweaves two mainnarratives.
The first treats the Royal Navy's Arctic Overland Expedition of 1819, a harbinger-misadventure during which Franklinrejected the advice of Dene and Metis leaders and lost eleven of his twenty-one men to exhaustion, starvation and murder.The second discovers a startling new answer to that greatest of Arctic mysteries: what was the root cause of the catastrophethat engulfed Franklin's last expedition?
The well-preserved wrecks of Erebus and Terror (located in 2014 and 2016) promise to yield more clues about what cost thelives of the expedition members, some of whom were reduced to cannibalism. Contemporary researchers, rejecting theoriesof lead poisoning and botulism, continue to seek conclusive evidence both underwater and on land.
Drawing on his own research and Inuit oral accounts, McGoogan teases out many intriguing aspects of Franklin'sexpeditions, including the explorer's lethal hubris in ignoring the expert advice of the Dene leader Akaitcho. Franklindisappeared into the Arctic in 1845, yet people remain fascinated with his final doomed voyage: what happened? McGooganwill captivate readers with his first-hand account of travelling to relevant locations, visiting the graves of dead sailors andexperiencing the Arctic -- one of the most dramatic and challenging landscapes on the planet.
Critique: An inherently fascinating and thought-provoking read from start to finish, "Searching for Franklin: New Answersto the Great Arctic Mystery" by Ken McGoogan is a compelling read that is exceptionally well written, organized andpresented. While also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book(Blackstone Audio, 9798874768010, $45.95, CD), "Searching for Franklin" is an especially and unreservedly recommendedpick for personal, community, and college/university library Arctic Exploration History/Biography collections.
Editorial Note: Ken McGoogan (https://kenmcgoogan.com) is a Canadian author who travels the world researching for hiswriting. He has published numerous fiction and non-fiction books, including several Arctic histories. His best-selling booksinclude Dead Reckoning (Patrick Crean Editions, 2017), Fatal Passage, 50 Canadians Who Changed the World and LadyFranklin's Revenge (Phyllis Bruce Books: 2001, 2013 and 2005). McGoogan has appeared in several documentaries todiscuss Arctic exploration and is a fellow of the Explorers' Club and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
The Military History Shelf
Tom Feigel & Larry Weill
Stackpole Books
c/o Globe Pequot
www.stackpolebooks.com
9780811775663, $29.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Super-Slick-Death-Helicopter-Vietnam/dp/0811775666
Synopsis: Helicopters loom large in how we picture the Vietnam War. Kilgore's birds coming in hot (and Wagnerian) out ofthe rising sun in Apocalypse Now. The infantry/helicopter assault at Ia Drang in the climax of We Were Soldiers. A chopperflying over green rice paddies, with a teenaged door gunner manning a .50-cal. A slick dropping into an LZ whirling withpurple smoke.
We can only imagine it. But Tom Feigel lived it. As a twenty-year-old crew chief in a Huey."Super Slick: Life and Death ina Huey Helicopter in Vietnam" (co-written with Larry Weill) is the story of his year in Vietnam.
Tom Feigel grew up a typical post-World War II kid who wrestled in high school, had a steady girl, and loved working oncars -- and then everything changed. Less than a year out of high school, he was drafted into the army and assigned toaviation, ultimately to helicopters. In Vietnam in 1970, he first worked as a "hangar rat," part of the ground crew responsiblefor maintaining the company's thirty Hueys (the Warriors and Thunderbirds) of the 336th Assault Helicopter Company,which operated in southern South Vietnam, in the Mekong Delta and U Minh Forest.
In short order, Feigel volunteered for a flight mission to replace the rotors of a damaged chopper -- which led to hisbecoming a crew chief on a transport slick called Warrior 21. Before long, he and 21's crew asked the company commanderfor permission to re-outfit their ship for thicker, more dangerous missions -- and they ended up flying an up-gunnedhelicopter call sign Super Slick, tasked with similar missions but into more dangerous zones.
Feigel's memoir recounts the thick and thin of helicopter combat in Vietnam. Heart-pumping missions into hot landingzones (sometimes inserting and extracting Navy SEALs). Adrenaline-fueled flights into enemy-infested jungles and free-firezones. Low-level reconnaissance. "Hash and trash" runs to deliver supplies to far-flung units. Terrifying nighttimeoperations where trees posed nearly as much danger as the enemy. Razor-thin margins between life and death.
It was dangerous; it was thrilling. The crews loved it; the crews hated it. They were proud of it. And they never wanted to doit again. "Super Slick" is as close as you can get to being inside a Huey -- to hearing the radio chatter, feeling the thrum ofthe rotors, the pounding of the door guns.
Critique: Written with a kind of 'Your Are There" feeling from beginning to end, this edition of co-authors Tom Feigel andLarry Weill, "Super Slick: Life and Death in a Huey Helicopter in Vietnam" from Stackpole Books is an extraordinary andunreservedly recommended high priority pick for personal, community, and college/university library Vietnam Warhistory/biography collections. Also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.45), it should be noted that 100%of the author royalties are being donated to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Editorial Note #1: Tom Feigel is a native of Rochester, New York, where he returned after the war and worked for Xeroxfor forty years. His service in Vietnam earned him a Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and four Army CommendationMedals.
Editorial Note #2: Larry Weill is a retired U.S. Navy Reserve captain who later earned promotion to Rear Admiral andserved as Commander of the New York Naval Militia. A former ranger in the Adirondacks, he is the author of a handful ofbooks on the Adirondack Mountains of New York, including Excuse Me, Sir... Your Socks Are on Fire: The Life and Timesof a Wilderness Park Ranger in the Adirondack Mountains.
The Battle of Bong Son
Kenneth P. White
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636244013, $34.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Bong-Son-Operation-Masher/dp/1636244017
Synopsis: "The Battle of Bong Son: Operation Masher/White Wing, 1966" by Kenneth P. White is a detailed account ofOperation Masher/White Wing, which targeted the regiments of the North Vietnamese Army Sao Vang Division operatingin the Bong Son area in northeast Binh Dinh Province in central South Vietnam. The operation started on January 24, 1966,immediately after the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) and ended six weeks later. It was led by newly promoted Colonel HaroldG. Moore, who as a lieutenant colonel commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry in the battle of Landing Zone X-Ray in theIa Drang Valley two months earlier.
In 41 days of sustained fighting, the 1st Cav battled each of the three regiments of the Sao Vang Division, resulting inenemy losses of more than 3,000 KIA. This came at the cost of 199 Americans killed on the battlefield and 46 more whodied in the crash of a U.S. Air Force C-123 aircraft en route to the battlefield, making it one of the deadliest battles of theentire Vietnam War.
Operation Masher/White Wing was an American military success. The 1st Cav demonstrated that it had the firepower,mobility, and leadership to find the enemy and deliver a severe blow to it in terms of personnel and equipment losses and inforced evacuation from formerly "secure" base areas, seemingly proving the value of the search-and-destroy strategy.
However within a few weeks, intelligence reports indicated that North Vietnamese soldiers were returning to the Bong Sonarea in small groups. By late April, the Sao Vang Division was back in the area in force.
Operation Masher/White Wing proved to be the start of a very long and deadly struggle between the 1st Cav and NorthVietnamese for control of Binh Dinh Province -- multiple search & destroy operations eventually resulted in more than9,000 enemy KIA and 2,358 enemy detained, with friendly losses of more than 1,200 KIA, 5,775 WIA, and 27 MIA.
While Masher/White Wing demonstrated that search & destroy operations were very effective at the tactical level butwithout a high-level strategy to stop the unabated flow of fresh Communist troops and supplies into South Vietnam, itwasn't clear just how they contributed to overall victory. At the start of 1968, General Westmoreland ordered the 1st Cav toterminate its operations in the Bong Son area, bringing the battle to a close.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of Maps, a section of historic photographs, threeAppendices, a four page Glossary, a four page Bibliography, and a four page Index, "The Battle of Bong Son: OperationMasher/White Wing, 1966" by Kenneth P. White is an extraordinarily well presented, documented, and detailed account ofa major American military effort in the Vietnam War. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format(Kindle, $17.49), "The Battle of Bong Son: Operation Masher/White Wing, 1966" from Casemate Publishers is a high valueaddition to community and college/university library Vietnam War collections and supplemental curriculum studieslists.
Editorial Note: Kenneth P. White served 18 months in Vietnam as an infantryman in the 1st Cavalry Division's Long RangeReconnaissance Patrol unit. He was a member of a six-man recon team that supported the brigades of the division in theBong Son area by searching out and locating enemy troop encampments, reporting enemy movements, and directing firepower at targets of opportunity. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia, and is active in the 1st Cavalry Division Association as acontributor to the association's SABER newspaper.
Taking Fire!
David L. Porter
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476680514, $19.99, PB, 182pp
https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Memoir-Aerial-Scout-Vietnam/dp/1476680515
Synopsis: As a first lieutenant in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Army pilot David Porter was section leader inan Aerial Scout platoon in Vietnam. Their mission was to conduct reconnaissance in OH-6 aircraft (a.k.a. Light ObservationHelicopter or "Loach") near the Cambodian border.
Finding and engaging the enemy at low altitude in coordination with an AH-1 Cobra gunship circling above, these unitsdeveloped a remarkable method of fighting the Viet Cong: Hunter-Killer Operations.
The tactic had great local success but died with the war. Few today are aware of the hazards these pilots faced during timesof intense combat. Porter's vivid memoir, "Taking Fire!: Memoir of an Aerial Scout in Vietnam" recounts the internalworkings of a legendary air cavalry troop, in-the-co*ckpit combat actions, and the men who were key players on this perilousbattleground.
Critique: A 'must read' memoir for readers with an interest in the role of the helicopter in the Vietnam War, "Taking Fire!:Memoir of an Aerial Scout in Vietnam" by David L. Porter is a dramatically informative personal account that is bolsteredfor the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a two page Glossary, a two page Index, and a five page Index. Highlyrecommended as a core addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library Vietnam WarHistory/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, this paperback edition of "Taking Fire!: Memoir ofan Aerial Scout in Vietnam" from McFarland & Company is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle,$11.49).
Editorial Note: David L. Porter is a retired Regular Army Colonel with twenty-seven years' service as an Army CombatArms officer. In addition to his year in Vietnam, he served multiple tours in the inter-zonal border between East and WestGermany during the cold war. He also served tours in combat divisions, the Armor School, and various staff positionsincluding the Pentagon. Upon retirement, he became the Director of Admissions at Colorado Technical University, inColorado Springs, Colorado followed by a nineteen year career as a Government contractor. His contractor responsibilitiesfocused on training American Soldiers at various locations throughout the United States and Germany.
Pop a Smoke
Rick Gehweiler
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476688640, $19.99, PB, 182pp
https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Smoke-Memoir-Helicopter-Vietnam/dp/1476688648
Synopsis: By 1969, the Sikorski H-34 was an older helicopter with severe limitations for combat duty in Vietnam. For pilotslike U.S. Marine Lieutenant Rick Gehweiler, the good news was it could still take significant damage and keep flying. Withthe publication of "Pop a Smoke: Memoir of a Marine Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam", he vividly narrates his harrowing (andat times deadly) flight missions under fire, as experienced in the co*ckpit, along with anecdotes of tragedy and humor fromhis 13-month tour through Da Nang and Phu Bai.
Critique: Another fascinating and personal story of combat missions in Vietnam, "Pop a Smoke: Memoir of a MarineHelicopter Pilot in Vietnam" by Rick Gehweiler is especially recommended reading for anyone with an interest in thehistory of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Highly recommended for personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library Vietnam War History/Biography collections, it should be noted for students, academia, andmilitary history buffs that "Pop a Smoke: Memoir of a Marine Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam" is also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $10.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Rick Gehweiler graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1967, attended Marine Corp OfficerCandidate School at Quantico, Virginia, earned his navy wings in Pensacola, Florida, and served a tour in Vietnam as ahelicopter pilot flying combat missions. He currently manages a fly fishing lodge on the Bighorn River in Montana.
Texas South Plains War Stories
Larry A. Williams & Katherine McLamore
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476683072, $35.00, PB, 334pp
https://www.amazon.com/Texas-South-Plains-War-Stories/dp/1476683077
Synopsis: Every veteran in every war has a story to tell -- often war stories that they have not told their own families. But asone vet in this collection of original interviews succinctly said of his combat experiences: "Some things are better leftunsaid."
Documenting recollections from survivors of World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other conflicts (all residents of the TexasPanhandle) "Texas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II to Afghanistan", collaborativelycompiled by Larry A. Williams and Katherine McLamore presents narratives from men and women whose young lives, forgood or ill, were defined by their participation in military warfare in service to their country.
Critique: Illustrated with B/W photos and featuring a two page Veteran's Honor Roll, a four page Bibliography, and atwenty-one page Index, "Texas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II to Afghanistan" is anextraordinary and unique contribution to American Military History/Biography collections. While also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $23.99), "Texas South Plains War Stories: Interviews with Veterans from World War II toAfghanistan" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library AmericanMilitary History/Memoir collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Larry A. Williams is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a retired purchasing manager. He has written articlesfor the Army Chapter of the Chosin Few Newsletter, the Lubbock Avalanche Journal, the Lubbock Magazine and theLubbock Senior Link Magazine. He lives in Lubbock, Texas.
Editorial Note #2: Katherine McLamore has recruited and trained hospice volunteers for over a decade. She has written forthe Lubbock Avalanche Journal, Prize 31 Ministries, and the Lubbock Senior Link Magazine. She lives in Lubbock,Texas.
Bombing Hitler's Hometown
Mike Croissant
Citadel Press
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780806543024, $28.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Bombing-Hitlers-Hometown-Untold-Bomber/dp/0806543027
Synopsis: In April 1945, Linz was one of Nazi Germany's most vital assets. It was a crucial transportation hub andcommunications center, with rail yards brimming with war materiel destined for the front lines. Linz was also the townHitler claimed as home and had long intended to remake as the cultural capital of Europe, filling its planned Fuhrermuseumwith world-famous art stolen from his conquered territories.
Inevitably, Linz was also one of the most heavily defended targets remaining in Europe. The airmen of the Fifteenth AirForce were a mix of seasoned veterans and newcomers. As their mission was unveiled in the predawn hours of April 25,audible groans and muffled expletives passed many lips. The reality of that mission would prove more brutal than anyimagined.
In the unheated, unpressurized B 24 Liberator and B 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, young men battled elements asdangerous as anything the Germans could throw at them. When batteries of German anti aircraft guns opened fire, the menflew into a man made hell of exploding shrapnel. Aircraft and men fell from the sky as Austrian civilians on the ground alsostruggled to survive beneath the bombs during the deadly climax of Hitler's war.
Drawing on interviews with dozens of America's last surviving World War II veterans, as well as previously unpublishedsources, with the publication of "Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of WorldWar II in Europe", Mike Croissant compellingly relates one of the war's last truly untold stories -- a gripping chronicle ofwarfare, the death of Nazi Germany, and the beginning of the Cold War. It is also a timeless tale of courage and terror, lossand redemption, humanity and savagery.
Critique: An impressive work of historical military research, "Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the LastMass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe" is informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a twopage listing of Acknowledgments, a two page Reading Group Guide, a sixteen page collection of B/W historical photos, aten page listing of Sources, forty-six pages of Notes, and a seven page Index. An inherently fascinating and extraordinaryhistory of the last major Allied/American bombing mission in the European Theater of World War II, "Bombing Hitler'sHometown" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library WorldWar II Military Aviation collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Bombing Hitler's Hometown" is alsoavailable in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio,9798874708504, $46.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Mike Croissant (www.mikecroissant.com) retired from the CIA in 2021 after serving for more than twentyyears as an analyst and targeting officer in locations ranging from Washington DC to the Middle East and South and CentralAsia. More than a decade ago, he started seeking out veterans who served with his uncle in Italy during World War II. In thequest to learn about his uncle, who survived the war without a scratch but died in a plane crash shortly after the war ended,Mike discovered the facts revealed in "Bombing Hitler's Hometown". He spent the next several years traveling across theUnited States and Europe, interviewing American veterans and Austrian civilians and visiting locations showcased in thisbook.
Forgotten Battles of World War II
Dr. Donal McAuliffe
DartFrog Books, LLC
www.DartFrogBooks.com
9798987711644, $12.99 Paper/$3.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Battles-World-War-chronological/dp/B0CZQXG1V3
Forgotten Battles of World War II: A Chronological Survey of The 21 Most Significant But Often Overlooked Battles ThatShaped The Outcome Of The War is a 'must have' recommendation for any library considering itself to be definitive inWorld War II history.
While such a collection might think that such extensive holdings need little further embellishment, the publication ofForgotten Battles of World War II says otherwise, presenting history that often doesn't receive close inspection in eithermilitary or historical analyses of the times. Why should the Battle of the Dnieper, the Battle of Hengyang, or OperationGunnerside be omitted if they are as key and important as Dr. Donal McAuliffe maintains? The answer to these omissions isunique to each struggle as the good doctor considers each event, its underlying politics and struggles, and reasons why eachbattle was both important and not part of standard World War II history or knowledge.
Partially due to popular media and film depictions, major battles became prominent public knowledge, and those deemedless dramatic (with lesser potential for public entertainment) were thus regulated to back burners, there to lie nearlyforgotten -- until this book's publication. Forgotten Battles is not meant to be a definitive expose of all neglected battles.Indeed, Dr. McAuliffe admits that much more remains to be explored even as his book uncovers the tip of the World War IIhidden iceberg of history: ...there were hundreds of major battles and thousands of military engagements in the conflict, thevast majority of which have been ignored by Hollywood and forgotten by most everyone other than the experts working onthe history of the war.
Clearly not all of these skirmishes can be retrieved from neglect in the pages of one book, but there is certainly room to tryto shed light on some of these overlooked battles of the Second World War, which is the purpose of this volume. Thiscontention, viewed in context of the vast research Dr. McAuliffe conducted for this book, offers exciting possibilities forfilling in the blanks of WWII history with a renewed focus on facts and events which have received little traditionalexploration in the past.
As for the conflicts outlined here, the stories are presented in an analytical manner that not only covers battleground eventsand military strategy, but the political and cultural ramifications of conflicts that involved differing nations: The Battle ofHengyang was a significant moment on the China Front in the war. Descriptions of it as the "Stalingrad of the East" aresomewhat hyperbolic (millions of soldiers fought at Stalingrad), but it was quite an important battle in its own right.Although the Japanese were victorious, it was a Pyrrhic victory in which Japan lost far too many soldiers against anumerically inferior opponent. That news buoyed Chinese morale in a way that was much needed after the loss of Changshajust days before the conflict at Hengyang began.
Ideally, Forgotten Battles of World War II will not just join other histories that command a static spot on a library bookshelf,but will be highly recommended for students and book clubs interested in fodder for lively debates about these events andtheir underlying contributions to a deeper understanding of cross-cultural and national clashes.
The Civil War Shelf
Dennis W. Belcher
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476692326, $45.95, PB, 289pp
https://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-Army-Ohio-Civil-History/dp/1476692327
Synopsis: At the outset of the Civil War, the cavalry of the Army of the Ohio (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee) was a fledgling force beginning an arduous journey that would eventually make itthe best cavalry in the world.
In late 1862, most of this cavalry was transferred to the Army of the Cumberland and a second cavalry force emerged in thesecond Army of the Ohio.
Throughout the war, these two regiments fought in some of the most important military operations of the war, includingCamp Wildcat; Mill Springs; the siege of Corinth; raids into East Tennessee; the capture of Morgan during his Great Raid;and the campaigns of Middle Tennessee, Perryville, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Nashville.
"The Cavalry of the Army of the Ohio: A Civil War History" by Dennis W. Belcher is their complete history.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, thirty-four pagesof Notes, and an eight page Index, Dennis Belchr's "The Cavalry of the Army of the Ohio: A Civil War History" this largeformat (7 x 0.78 x 10 inches, 1.53 pounds) paperback edition from McFarland & Company is an extraordinary andunreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library American CivilWar history collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Extraordinarily well written, organized and presented, itshould be noted for students, academia, and American Civil War buffs that "The Cavalry of the Army of the Ohio: A CivilWar History" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.99).
Editorial Note: Dennis W. Belcher has edited or authored nine books on the Civil War and has published in the North &South magazine.
The Music Shelf
Benoit Clerc
Cassell
c/o Octopus Books
https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk
9781788404822, $60.00, HC, 528pp
https://www.amazon.com/Abba-All-Songs-Story-Behind/dp/1788404823
Synopsis: The definitive recording history of pop megastars, "ABBA - All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track", tellstheir story song-by-song and track-by-track and is filled with fascinating, full page, color photography (some rarely seen),and sensational behind-the-scenes details.
A loving and thorough dissection of every album and song released by Swedish superstars, ABBA. From their first single in1972, when they weren't yet even called ABBA, all the way up to their Grammy-nominated studio album, Voyage, and theirrevolutionary virtual tour, expert author Benoit Clerc analyzes everything there is to know about each song and session.
"ABBA - All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track" a unique volume that includes the stories behind all their greatesthits, including 'Waterloo', 'Mamma Mia', 'Fernando' and 'Dancing Queen', as well as lesser-known gems.
In over 500 pages, no stone is left unturned. Drawing upon decades of research, it recounts the circ*mstances that led to thecomposition of every song - detailing the inspiration behind the lyrics, the recording process and the instruments used.
Critique: This large format (8.5 x 1.57 x 10.75 inches, 2.31 pounds) hardcover edition of "ABBA - All the Songs: The StoryBehind Every Track: featuring hundreds of full page photographs, as well as rare black-and-white publicity stills, images ofinstruments used by the band, and engaging shots of the musicians on-stage and in-studio, "ABBA - All the Songs: TheStory Behind Every Track" is a 'must' for the legions of ABBA fans. Also available in a digital book format (Kindle,$30.99), "ABBA - All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track" is especially recommended for personal, professional,community, and college/university library Popular/Rock Music History collections.
Editorial Note: Benoit Clerc is the author of Prince all the Songs, David Bowie All the Songs, and Metallica All the Songs,among others.
Mourning Dayze: A Wisconsin Garage Band
Rick Pfeifer
McIver Publishing
http://www.mourningdayze.net
https://www.amazon.com/Mourning-Dayze-Wisconsin-Garage-Band/dp/0996284672
Synopsis: "Mourning Dayze: A Wisconsin Garage Band" new paperback book that is written by band member Rick Pfeifer.Featuring hilarious insights, stories and irreplaceable pictures Mourning Dayze fans will enjoy taking a trip through thesemagical times and hear about their gigs in the oft played towns, bars, and teen events that are recounted in depth. Of specialnote is the inclusion of a DVD of the bands concerts, then and now, as well as interviews with the band members. The bandhad a full length release on CD from Gear Fab in 2007 (GEA 225). NTSC region 1, 153 minutes.
Critique: A 'must' for the legions of Mourning Dayze fans, and a fun read for garage band enthusiasts, this exceptionaledition of Rick Pfeifer's "Mourning Dayze: A Wisconsin Garage Band" from McIver Publishing is especially andunreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library American Music Historycollections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Intimate Conversations
Larry Ruttman
Torchflame Books
www.torchflamebooks.com
9781611534771, $50 Hardcover; $30 Paperback; $12.99 ebook
https://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Conversations-Face-Matchless-Musicians/dp/1611535050
Intimate Conversations: Face to Face With Matchless Musicians holds many surprises. For one: readers who choose thisbook expecting the usual author expertise in the music industry will find that Larry Ruttman's background lies not in musicor even the liberal arts, but in law and writing biographical cultural histories of his hometown in Massachusetts; particularlythe Jewish experience and history of Brookline.
To move from these milieus to the music world might at first seem a dichotomy, but the advantage of an interviewer notimmersed in the music scene lies in the very outsider status that Ruttman held until writing this book, lending him theability to both research and ask questions sans a seasoned insider's perspective in musical culture or politics. From musicianmentors and musical wellsprings of inspiration to how they think about, interpret, make, and compose music from the likesof Mozart and Beethoven to Gershwin and Bernstein, Ruttman approaches the fine art of classic music study and renditionwith an attention to surveying not only the history of classic music, but, more importantly, its potential for ongoingrelevance in modern times and its power in any person's life.
In-depth conversations with these classical musicians thus prove far more contemporary and revealing than a reader mightanticipate from the usually-staid classical enthusiast.
In Larry Ruttman's book, the issue of the future of classical music is discussed. As revered a figure as John Harbison takes adim view of that future in his chapter.
In the story in the book on famed English classical conductor of The Sixteen (the group he founded) Harry Christophers(who, for the last several years, has doubled, to great acclaim, as the conductor of Boston's historic Handel and HaydnSociety, founded in 1815), Ruttman queried the plain-spoken maestro about the reason why pop music is so popular:
"A question often asked is whether classical music will go on? It is hard to draw young people in, but pop music draws thesefantastic crowds. Why does pop music draw young people the way it does?"
"Pop is what young people want to do. It's not cool to go to classical music. It is not cool to sing in a choir at school, or toplay sport, it is not cool to play in an orchestra. I think there is room for all types of music. Actually we've got ourselves toblame for the state of the industry, if you wanted to call it that, for not cultivating younger people. It comes all the way backto education, right to young kids at the primary level. When we've got the young kids at school, let them sing pop songs, butlet's also be introducing them to a simple aria by Handel done well. It is how we educate young people that makes it possiblefor them to come to concerts, how we make them realize they don't have to dress up in a suit and tie. Let them come wearingwhatever they want. I think Bostonians have accepted me for what I am, wearing training shoes and jeans most of the time.We do need to be breaking down those barriers, and it goes right back to education."
Ruttman also addresses the question in the section of his book entitled "Beyond Genre," which includes chapters on pop starJazzer Ran Blake, Americana composer and performer Monica Rizzio, and wide-ranging singing, dancing, andviolin-playing performer and educator Eden MacAdam-Somer.
Through these examples, it should be apparent that the meat of Ruttman's discourses lies in a close inspection of the roleand future of classical music in a changing society. These topics will not only involve anyone interested in music: they willspark important discourses between musicians and their audiences about the culture, adaptations, and information necessaryto keep classical music on the radars of future generations.
The interviewees come from a broad spectrum of life and musical connections, from the founder and artistic director ofMusic for Food and world class violinist Kim Kashkashian to American composer Matthew Aucoin, who is interested inadding contemporary twists to the classical music tradition.
Driven by convictions about connections to others, these seemingly disparate but interconnected classical music supportersoffer conversations rich in insight and modernity. This is why libraries seeking close inspections of classical music'scontemporary meaning will want to make Intimate Conversations a foundation acquisition for any serious music library. It'sa top choice for general-interest collections interested in why music remains so important and necessary to life, highlyrecommended for book clubs interested in interviews that will prompt discussion, debate, and reflection about the natureand evolution of classical music today.
The Biography/Memoir Shelf
Donna Tesiero
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476694535, $39.95, PB, 198pp
https://www.amazon.com/Revolutionary-Woman-Elizabeth-Freeman-Abolition/dp/1476694532
Synopsis: At the end of the American Revolution, Elizabeth Freeman was an enslaved widow and mother living inMassachusetts. Hearing the words of the new Massachusetts state constitution which declared liberty and equality for all,she sought the help of a young lawyer named Theodore Sedgwick, later Speaker of the House and one of America's leadingFederalist politicians. The lawsuit that she and Sedgwick pursued would bring freedom to her and her daughter, as well asthousands of other enslaved people.
After leaving her enslaver's family to work for the family of Theodore Sedgwick, she effectively became the foster motherto his seven children when his wife Pamela became a chronic invalid, enabling Sedgwick to pursue his political career. Twoof his sons would credit her with saving their lives. His daughter Catharine Maria Sedgwick, one of the most famous femalenovelists of the early decades of the nineteenth century, would make her the model for one of her most celebratedheroines.
"A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Abolition of Slavery in the North" is a biography by Donna Te4sierothat details Elizabeth Freeman's life and the far-reaching influence of her battle for freedom.
Critique: Rescuing from obscurity the remarkable story of a remarkable woman who was critically important to the endingof slavery in the northern state of Massachusetts, "A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Abolition ofSlavery in the North" includes a four page Bibliography, twenty pages of Notes, and a five page Index. The result ofmeticulous and detailed historical research, "A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Abolition of Slavery inthe North" is a unique and treasured addition to personal, community, and college/university library African American &Abolition of Slavery history/biography collections. An extraordinary account, it should be noted for students, academia, andnon-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "A Revolutionary Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and theAbolition of Slavery in the North" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $25.99).
Editorial Note: Donna Tesiero holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell, a law degree from Columbia, and master's degreesfrom Harvard and Lesley University.
The Wanderer: James Butler Hickok and the American West
Craig Crease
Caxton Press
https://www.caxtonpress.com
9780870046544, $27.95, HC, 540pp
https://www.amazon.com/Wanderer-James-Butler-Hickok-American/dp/0870046543
Synopsis: With few notable exceptions, most of the men who gained fame in the post-civil war American West, oncestripped of the fanciful myths that made up their public persona, have little left to justify that fame and regard.
But James Butler Hickok was one of the notable exceptions. He excelled in almost everything he did, and his precociousproclivities were evident very early. He fell in love with a half-Indian girl, was a bodyguard for a U.S. Senator, took part intwo battles in the border war skirmishes leading up to the Civil War, rode in the saddle day and night as a scout and spy inthe border war in Missouri and Kansas, and worked his first assignment as a frontier lawman... all before his 21st birthday.He was not even known yet as Wild Bill!
After stripping away the myths and legends, the reader of "The Wanderer: James Butler Hickok and the American West" bybiographer Craig Crease will see that the real life of James Butler Hickok (aka Wild Bill Hickok) was every bit as excitingand unique, compelling and dramatic as any myth or legend. It's no wonder that his real life was such fertile ground for themythmakers. His real life spoke of infinite possibilities, and the mythmakers seized upon that in describing the exploits andlife of Wild Bill Hickok in books and movies.
Critique: A seminal and ground-breaking biography of one of the most iconic figures of the American West, "TheWanderer: James Butler Hickok and the American West" by Craig Crease is an inherently fascinating and informative readfrom cover to cover. Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of 3 Appendices, twenty pages ofNotes, a ten page Bibliography, and a twenty-four page Index, this hard cover edition of "The Wanderer" from Caxton Pressis a solid and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university libraryAmerican Western History/Biography collections.
Editorial Note: Craig Crease is an investigative historian and award-winning writer on the historic frontier trails and theAmerican West. His historical research and articles have appeared in many publications including the Kansas City Star, TheKansas Anthropologist, Wagon Tracks, and the Overland Journal. His research has appeared in several books on theAmerican West. A popular speaker, Crease has appeared many times giving presentations on frontier America. For overthirty years he was an independent historical consultant for the National Park Service.
Lula
Fernando Morais
Verso
www.versobooks.com
9781804294925, $34.95, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Lula-Fernando-Morais/dp/1804294926
Synopsis: Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is among the greatest political figures in Brazilian history. The onlypresident in the country with a working-class background, combined with a party that was profoundly original in its roots,he exercised charismatic power and influence in a more lasting way than any other public figure in the republicanperiod.
Since 2011, Fernando Morais, one of Brazil's leading writers, has gained direct, frank and frequent access to Lula. To thesedozens of hours of testimonies, he has added a reporter's flair and captivating prose to compose a biography that paints apicture in all its grandeur and complexity.
In a narrative that makes use of flash-forwards and flashbacks to maintain an electrifying pace, Morais goes from Lula'schildhood to the annulment of his convictions, in 2021, passing through the new unionism, the ABC strikes, the foundationof the PT and the first election campaign.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Lula" by Fernando Morais and published by Verso for anAmerican readership, is an extraordinarily informative and unreservedly recommended addition for community andcollege/university library Brazilian History/Biography collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Lula" isalso readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Fernando Morais was born in Mariana, Minas Gerais, in 1946. Journalist, he worked for Jornal da Tarde,Veja, and several other Brazilian titles. He received the Esso Award three times and the Abril Journalism Award four times.He was a deputy (1979-1987) and Secretary of Culture (1988-1991) and Secretary of Education (1991-1993) of the State ofSao Paulo. He is the author of many books including The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five fromVerso and which was turned into a film for Netflix under the title Wasp Network - Who Were the Cuban Five?(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Morais)
The Most Human
Adam Nimoy
Chicago Review Press
www.chicagoreviewpress.com
Dreamscape Media
https://www.dreamscapepublishing.com
9780915864737, $30.00, HC, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Most-Human-Reconciling-Father-Leonard/dp/0915864738
Synopsis: While the tabloids and fan publications portrayed the Nimoys as a "close family," to his son Adam, LeonardNimoy was a total stranger.
The actor was as inscrutable as the iconic half-Vulcan science officer he portrayed on Star Trek, even to those close tohim.
Now, his son's poignant memoir, "The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy" explores theircomplicated relationship and how it informed his views on marriage, parenting, and later, sobriety.
Despite their differences, both men ventured down parallel paths: marriages leading to divorce, battling addiction, andfinding recovery. Most notably, both men struggled to take the ninth step in their AA journey: to make amends with eachother.
Readers will discover how the son of Spock learned to navigate this tumultuous relationship (from Shabbat dinners tobasem*nt AA meetings) and how he was finally able to finally reconcile with his father -- and with himself.
Critique: Candid, fascinating, informative, "The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy" will prove tobe of very special interest to the legions of Star Trek fans in general, and Leonard Nimoy fans in particular. While especiallyand unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library American Biography/Memoir collections, itshould be noted for personal reading lists that "The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy" is alsoreadily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (DreamscapeMedia, 9798874751357, $45.95, CD).
Editorial Note: Adam Nimoy (www.adamnimoy.com) is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Loyola Law School. After sevenyears in entertainment law, he left to pursue a directing career. Nimoy has directed over forty-five hours of networktelevision, as well as directing the critically acclaimed documentary film about his father. For the Love of Spock (2016)which was the Official Selection at the Tribeca Film Festival. He was also featured in the New York Times article "ToBoldly Explore Jewish Roots of Star Trek" and he published a Father's Day piece about his relationship with his father forthe Boston Globe. He is the author of My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life and has been in 12-step recovery for twentyyears. Adam has three children, a step-son, a dog and two cats. He lives in Los Angeles.
The Grandfather of Black Basketball
Edwin B. Henderson II
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
www.rowman.com
9781538163610, $36.00, HC, 300pp
https://www.amazon.com/Grandfather-Black-Basketball-Times-Henderson/dp/1538163616
Synopsis: Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson was the son of working-class parents born into slavery. A driven, intelligent, andcharismatic young man, Henderson attended Harvard University's Dudley Sargent School of Physical Training. There hemet the leaders in the new field of physical education and recognized athletics (and basketball, especially) as a public healthinitiative and a way that young African American men could gain college scholarships and debunk the idea of racialinferiority.
With the publication of "The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life and Times of Dr. E. B. Henderson", by EdwinBancroft Henderson II (who is Dr. Henderson's grandson) provides unprecedented detail and fascinating insight into thisinfluential figure in Black history.
Henderson organized the first athletic league for Blacks, introduced basketball to Black people on a wide-scale, organizedbasis, and founded associations to train and organize Black officials and referees. He also wrote and co-edited the firstSpalding publication that highlighted the exploits of African American participation in sports and authored The Negro inSports. Outside of athletics, Henderson was instrumental in founding the first rural branch of the NAACP, advocated forschool desegregation, and held executive board positions with multiple NAACP branches.
Overlooked for decades, Henderson was finally enshrined in the National Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 as a contributor."The Grandfather of Black Basketball" gives long-overdue recognition to a sports pioneer, civil rights activist, author,educator, and pragmatic humanitarian who fought his entire life to improve opportunities for youth through athletics.
Critique: Informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of B/W historical photos, eighteen pages ofNotes, a ten page listing of References, and an eighteen page Index, "The Grandfather of Black Basketball: The Life andTimes of Dr. E. B. Henderson" is a welcome and unreservedly recommended addition for personal, community, andcollege/university library African American & Sports/Basketball history and biography collections and supplementalcurriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in thesubject that "The Grandfather of Black Baskeball" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $34.00).
Editorial Note: Edwin Bancroft Henderson II is the founding president and director of the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation,whose mission it is to research, preserve and celebrate the African American and civil rights history of Falls Church, FairfaxCounty, and Northern Virginia. He received the NAACP's African American History Preservation Award and was named aNational Trust for Historic Preservation Diversity Scholar. He is a Life Member of the NAACP and a member of theHistorical Society of Washington. He has served on the Falls Church Historical Commission since 1995. Henderson was aneducator for 25 years and is the namesake of Dr. E. B. Henderson.
Please Send Hats
Laura Clark-Hansen
TEN16 Press
www.orangehatpublishing.com
9781948365574, $16.00, PB, 210pp
https://www.amazon.com/Please-Send-Hats-Boomers-Awakening/dp/194836557X
Synopsis: "Please Send Hats: One Baby Boomer's Rude Awakening to Ovarian Cancer" is Laura Clark-Hansen's intenselypersonal, emotionally moving and often hilarious story of cancer survival. In her memoir she combines vibrant reflectionson her Baby Boomer past as she tells the story about the transformative power that cancer can have as it... Rearranges thepresent... Evokes memories of the past, and... Forever changes the future.
"Please Send Hats" emphasizes the importance of early detection, teaches the warning signs of ovarian cancer that we canall be watchful for, while providing hope and inspiration for survivors, their caregivers, and their loved ones.
The overall message Of "Please Send Hats" is one of hope and healing as it follows Laura's journey to rebuild, reclaim, andrevitalize a life battered and bruised by illness.
Critique: Exceptionally well written and presented, "Please Send Hats: One Baby Boomer's Rude Awakening to OvarianCancer" is especially and specifically relevant and recommended reading for anyone having to deal with ovarian cancer orwho has a loved one having to deal with ovarian cancer. "Please Send Hats" is an inspiring and welcome pick forcommunity and college/university library Contemporary American Memoir collections.
Editorial Note: Laura Clark-Hansen (www.lauraclarkhansen.com) was an actress, playwright and theater producer. She helda Masters Degree in Human Development and was the co-founder of Cornerstone Productions LLC, a theater companydedicated to helping groups and organizations develop exceptional programs that were educational and entertaining. Sheco-wrote and performed "Questions" & "Questions II" - one woman shows for middle school students and "The NextLevel," - a play celebrating the history of women in sports. She was very involved with the Wisconsin Ovarian CancerAlliance (WOCA) as an Ambassador for the Madison area. She wrote and performed a one woman show about her ovariancancer journey called "Please Send Hats." Laura was also active as a Director and Presenter for "Survivors TeachingStudents: Saving Women's Lives(R)" a program that brings ovarian cancer survivors into medical school classrooms toshare their stories and key information about the disease to 3rd year medical students.
Skid Dogs
Emelia Symington-Fedy
Douglas & McIntyre
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
c/o Harbour Publishing
https://harbourpublishing.com
Tantor Media
https://tantor.com
9781771623643, $19.95, PB, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Skid-Dogs-Emelia-Symington-Fedy/dp/1771623640
Synopsis: In 1991, Emelia Symington-Fedy stumbled upon a tight-knit group of girls hanging out on the secluded railroadtracks intersecting her small rural town -- and became "best friends" with them overnight in the way only fifteen-year-oldscan. Unsupervised and wild, the girls navigated teenage friendship dynamics, toyed with adult vices, and explored theirgrowing sexuality.
Two decades later an eighteen-year-old girl is murdered on Halloween on the same tracks, and Symington-Fedy returns toher hometown to stay with her mother, who is fearful of a murderer at large. The victim was simply taking a shortcut to herfriend's house -- just like Emelia's gang had done so many times in their day. While the media fixates on why the girl daredto be alone on the tracks, Symington-Fedy slowly comes to terms with the mistreatment of her own teenage body and thetwenty years of silence between her former friends.
Combining the intimacy of memoir with the gripping narrative of true crime, Symington-Fedy offers a bold and often darklyhumorous first-hand account of nineties rape culture, the sexual coercion that still permeates girlhood, and the subtle waysthat misogyny shows up daily.
Critique: A riveting read from start to finish, "Skid Dogs" is the fascinating and candidly personal memoir of EmeliaSymington-Fedy and is particularly commended to the attention of readers with an interest in Punk Musician biographies,women's friendship dramas, and True Crime stories written from a candidly personal perspective. Highly recommended forcommunity/public library collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Skid Dogs" is also available in adigital book format (Kindle, $13.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Tantor Media, 9798212952118, $41.99,CD) narrated by the author.
Editorial Note: Emelia Symington-Fedy (www.emeliasymingtonfedy.com) grew up in Armstrong, British Columbia. Shehas worked as an essayist, storyteller, and documentary producer for CBC Radio and is co-artistic director of The ChopTheatre. She is the creator of the popular blog and radio show that became an audiobook, Trying to Be Good: The HealingPowers of Lying, Cheating, Stealing, and Drugs.
The General Fiction Shelf
Laura Essay
She Writes Press
www.shewritespress.com
9781647427047, $17.95, PB, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Side-Effects-Are-Minimal-Novel/dp/1647427045
Synopsis: When ambitious attorney Claire Hewitt is asked to represent the Satoris, one of Philadelphia's most prominentfamilies, in a lawsuit over the death of their daughter, she is thrust into an opioid nightmare with deadly impact -- and notfor the first time.
Claire's guilt for not saving her sister, Molly, has not subsided in the twenty years since Molly's almost certainlyopioid-related death. Now, with this new assignment, her guilt comes full circle. Who was really at fault in Molly's death?And who is at fault now?
What begins as a quest for truth becomes infinitely more complicated as Claire struggles to balance her desire for justicewith the Satoris' thirst for revenge. She knows she needs to expose the greed that transforms legal opioid production intoillicit fabrications and the neglect that is the breaking point between physicians and their patients. But there are powerfulpeople who will seemingly stop at nothing to prevent these truths from seeing the light of day, and she is sabotaged at everyturn. Can she push past the obstacles in her way to build a winning case?
Critique: Although a work of fiction, "Side Effects Are Minimal" by author Laura Essay is based on true events -- includinga corrupt pharmaceutical industry, the guilt of physicians prescribing the opioids that kill, and the pain experienced byfamilies who've lost loved ones to an epidemic that has brought the United States to its knees. A deftly crafted novel of ourtimes, "Side Effects Are Minimal" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community/public library ContemporaryGeneral Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Side Effects Are Minimal" is also available ina digital book format (Kindle, $9.95).
Editorial Note: Laura Essay (https://lauraessay.com) "Side Effects Are Minimal" is her debut novel. Her knowledge of theopioid crisis stems from her penchant for research and innumerable hours spent searching for the truth about opioids inAmerica. She also has devoted a great deal of time to working with youth programs in her state, assisting the homeless, andsetting up new homes for refugees relocating to Nebraska. In 2016, she launched a fundraiser that provided hundreds of carseats to infants in need and served as a court-appointed special advocate for foster children.
Plays Well with Others
Sophie Brickman
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780063371200, $28.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Well-Others-Sophie-Brickman/dp/0063371200
Synopsis: Annie Lewin is at the end of her rope. She's a mother of three young children, her workaholic husband is neveraround, and the vicious competition for spots in New York City's kindergartens is heating up. A New York Timesjournalist-turned-parenting-advice-columnist for an internet start-up, Annie can't help but judge the insanity of it all -- evenas she finds herself going to impossible lengths to secure the best spot for her own son.
As Annie comes to terms with the infinitesimal odds of success, her intensifying rivalry with hotshot lawyer BelindaBrenner (a deliciously hateful nemesis, what with her perfectly curated bento box lunches and effortless Instagram chic)pushes her to the brink. Of course, this newly raw and unhinged version of Annie is great for the advice column: the moreshe spins out, the more clicks and comments she gets.
But when she commits a ghastly social faux pas that goes viral, she's forced to confront the question: is she really any betterthan the cutthroat parents she always judged?
A shimmering epistolary novel incorporating emails, group texts, advice columns, newspaper profiles, and more, "PlaysWell with Others" is a whip-smart, genuinely funny romp through the minefield of modern motherhood. But beneath itsfast-paced, satirical veneer, Brickman gives us a fresh, open-hearted, all-too-real take on what it means to be a parent --fierce love, craziness, and all.
Critique: A masterfully written work of recognizable satire arising from the frustrations of modern parenting for theambitious, "Plays Well with Others" by Sophie Brickman is a fun and thought-provoking read from start to finish. A veryhighly recommended pick for community/public library Contemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted forpersonal reading lists that this William Morrow edition of "Plays Well with Others" is also readily available in a digitalbook format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (HarperCollins, 9798874623883, $45.95,CD).
Editorial Note: Sophie Brickman (www.sophiebrickman.com) is a writer, reporter, and editor who has written for the NewYorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Elle, Saveur, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other outlets. Herwork has also appeared in the Best Food Writing and the Best American Science Writing anthologies.
Fire Music
Connie Hampton Connally
Coffeetown Press
c/o Camel Press
www.camelpress.com
9781684921591, $24.95, PB, 422pp
https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Music-Connie-Hampton-Connally/dp/1684921597
Synopsis: Antal Varga, a Budapest violinist, is 78 years old when a young American stranger places a yellowed music sheetinto his hands. With shock he recognizes his own teenage handwriting, for he himself wrote this piece in 1945, when hiscity was under siege.
Desperate to talk with this American woman, Varga enlists his grandson Kristof to translate; and he finds that the woman,Lisa, shares his family's painful heritage. Now his grandson and this young American press him for the story behind themusic, and especially behind its shattered ending.
For decades he's hidden this story of war, love, jealousy, and loss. Can he bear to tell it now? Can they bear to hear it?Cautiously Varga, Kristof, and Lisa open the music and its hard secrets, hoping that although pain has extended overgenerations, perhaps love will extend further still.
Critique: Original, deftly crafted, and a compelling read from start to finish, "Fire Music" by Connie Hampton Connallyshowcases this author's distinctively impressive and narrative driven storytelling style. Of special and particular value toreaders with an interest in historical literary fiction, "Fire Music" is especially and unreservedly recommended forcommunity library collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Fire Music" is also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $8.99).
Editorial Note: Connie Hampton Connally (https://conniehamptonconnally.com) holds a BA in English from the Universityof Washington and an MFA from Antioch University. She has taught high school English and elementary music, worked asan editor, led workshops at writers' conferences, and written both fiction and non-fiction. Her debut novel, The Songs WeHide, was published by Coffeetown Press in 2018. Fire Music is Ms. Connally's second novel.
Big in Sweden
Sally Franson
Mariner Books
www.marinerbooks.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063312746, $28.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Sweden-Novel-Sally-Franson/dp/0063312743
Synopsis: Paulie Johansson has never put much stock in the idea of family: she has her long-term boyfriend Declan andbeloved best friend Jemma, and that's more than enough for her. Yet one night on a lark, she lets Jemma convince her toaudition for Sverige och Mig, a show on Swedish television where Swedish-Americans compete to win the ultimate prize: areunion with their Swedish relatives. Much to her shock, her drunken submission video wins her a spot on the show, andagainst Declan's advice Paulie decides to go for it.
Armed with her Polaroid camera, a beat-up copy of Pippi Longstocking, and an unquenchable sense of possibility, Pauliehops on a plane to Sweden and launches into the contest with seven other Americans, all under the watchful eye of a cameracrew. At first, Paulie is certain that she and her competitors have nothing in common besides their passports and views theirbloodthirsty ambitions with suspicion. Yet amid the increasingly absurd challenges (rowing from Denmark to Sweden in thefreezing rain, battling through obstacle courses, competing in a pickled herring eating contest) Paulie finds herselfrethinking her snap judgments about her fellow countrymen, while her growing attachment to her Swedish roots increasesher resolve to win the competition herself.
Grappling with long-held notions of family, friendship, and love (not to mention her feelings for the distractingly handsomeSwedish cameraman who's been assigned to follow her around) Paulie starts to reconsider her past and rethink what shewants for the future. A fish-out-of-water tale filled with warmth, optimism, and wit, Big in Sweden is at its heart a lovestory: love for family, friends, country, and (most importantly) oneself.
Critique: A delightful blending of wit, humor, friendship, and personal growth, "Big in Sweden" by Sally Franson is a fun,original, and memorable read from cover to cover. While an unreservedly recommended pick for community libraryContemporary General Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that this edition of "Big in Sweden"from Mariner Books is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridgedaudio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798874621513, $41.99, CD).
Editorial Note: Sally Franson (www.sallyfranson.com) is the author of "A Lady's Guide to Selling Out". Her work hasappeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Best American Travel Writing, and on NPR, among other places. Shegrew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and was educated at Barnard College and the University of Minnesota. She currently livesin Minneapolis.
Dawnland
Tess Callahan
Little A
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517594, $28.99, HC, 332pp
https://www.amazon.com/Dawnland-Novel-Tess-Callahan/dp/1662517599
Synopsis: April, her brother-in-law Oliver, and their families reunite in Cape Cod on an exquisite stretch of beach calledDawnland. After eleven summers of building traditions (kayaking, whale watching, bonfires, and ocean swims) this yearcomes with new threats both on and off the coastline.
Before their marriages, April and Oliver had an intense but disastrous fling that they kept hidden. Although they moved onwith their lives, their more recent fiery encounter is getting harder to keep secret -- especially as the week unravels,revealing fault lines not only between husbands and wives but between brothers, fathers and sons, and children growing upamid discord and lies. Ground zero for conflict is April's volatile teenage son, Lochlann.
The family structure begins to teeter. Secrets are surfacing. As everyone faces the consequences of their choices, the truthcould finally forge them together or tear them apart forever.
Critique: A deftly crafted and simply riveting read from start to finish, and one that will be especially appreciated by readerswith an interest in complex family relationships, "Dawnland" by Tess Callahan is a very special and recommended pick forcommunity/library Contemporary General Fictions. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Dawnland" is alsoavailable in a paperback edition (9781662517570, $16.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Editorial Note: Tess Callahan (www.tesscallahan.com) is the author of April & Oliver. Her essays and stories have appearedin the New York Times Magazine, Writer's Digest, National Public Radio, AGNI, Narrative Magazine, AWP: The Writer'sNotebook, Newsday, The Common, the Best American Poetry blog, and elsewhere. Her TEDx talk on creativity is titled"The Love Affair Between Creativity and Constraint." Tess is a graduate of Boston College and Bennington College WritingSeminars and teaches creative writing and meditation.
How to Age Disgracefully
Clare Pooley
Pamela Dorman Books
c/o Penguin Group
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com
9780593831496, $29.00, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/How-Age-Disgracefully-Clare-Pooley/dp/0593831497
Synopsis: When Lydia takes a job running the Senior Citizens' Social Club three afternoons a week, she assumes she'll bespending her time drinking tea and playing gentle games of cards.
The members of the Social Club, however, are not at all what Lydia was expecting. From Art, a failed actor turnedkleptomaniac to Daphne, who has been hiding from her dark past for decades to Ruby, a Banksy-style knitter who getsrevenge in yarn, these seniors look deceptively benign -- but when age makes you invisible, secrets are so much easier tohide.
When the city council threatens to sell the doomed community center building, the members of the Social Club join forceswith their tiny friends in the daycare next door (as well as the teenaged father of one of the toddlers and a geriatric dog) tosave the building.
Together, this group's unorthodox methods may actually work, as long as the police don't catch up with them first!
Critique: A fun read from first page to last, "How to Age Disgracefully" showcases author Clare Pooley's impressivelyimaginative, quite distinctive, and narrative driven storytelling style. Deftly crafted characters and more plot twists and turnsthan a Coney Island roller coaster, "How to Age Disgracefully" is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick forcommunity library Contemporary General Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "How to AgeDisgracefully" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Clare Pooley (https://clarepooley.com) graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge and spent twentyyears in the heady world of advertising before becoming a full-time writer. Her memoir, "The Sober Diaries", has helpedthousands of people worldwide to quit drinking. Clare's first novel, "The Authenticity Project" was a BBC Radio 2Bookclub pick, a New York Times Bestseller and the winner of the RNA debut novel award. It has been translated into 30languages. Her second novel, "The People on Platform 5" (titled Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting in the USA) waspublished in 2022.
The Historical Fiction Shelf
Sofia Robleda
Amazon Crossing
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517976, $16.99, PB, 301pp
https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Fire-Novel-Sofia-Robleda/dp/1662517971
Synopsis: In 1551, Catalina de Cerrato is being raised by her widowed father, Don Alonso, in Guatemala, scarcely thirtyyears since the Spanish invasion. A ruling member of the oppressive Spanish hierarchy, Don Alonso holds sway over thenewly relegated lower class of Indigenous communities.
Fiercely independent, Catalina struggles to honor her father and her late mother, a Maya noblewoman to whom Catalinamade a vow that only she can keep: preserve the lost sacred text of the Popol Vuh, the treasured and now forbidden historyof the K'iche' people.
Urged on by her mother's spirit voice, and possessing the gift of committing the invaluable stories to memory, Catalinaembarks on a secret and transcendent quest to rewrite them. Through ancient pyramids, Spanish villas, and caves of maskeddevils, she finds an ally in the captivating Juan de Rojas, a lord whose rule was compromised by the invasion. But as theirlove and trust unfold, and Don Alonso's tyranny escalates, Catalina must confront her conflicted blood heritage (and itssecrets) once and for all if she's to follow her dangerous quest to its historic end.
Critique: An original and simply fascinating read from start to finish, "Daughter of Fire" by Sofia Robleda is a carefullycrafted novel that will have immense appeal to readers with an interest in Hispanic American historical fiction withelements of a cultural heritage and magical realism. While currently available from Amazon.com for personal reading listsin an inexpensive digital book format (Kindle, $1.99), "Daughter of Fire" is an especially and unreservedly recommendedpick for community/public library Historical Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Sofia Robleda (www.sofiarobleda.com) is a Mexican writer who has spent her childhood and adolescence inMexico, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. She completed her undergraduate and doctorate degrees in psychology at theUniversity of Queensland, Australia. She currently lives in the UK with her husband and son, and splits her time betweenwriting, raising her son, and working as a clinical psychologist supporting people with brain injuries and neurologicalconditions.
The Literary Fiction Shelf
S. J. Perelman
The Library of America
www.loa.org
9781598537789, $10.49, PB, 312pp
https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Like-Fox-Classic-Collection/dp/1598537784
Synopsis: When asked about himself the writer Sidney Joseph Perelman once quipped, "before they made him, they brokethe mold". Nowhere is S. J. Perelman's one-of-a-kind, madcap sensibility (his gift for wordplay, witticism, spoofery, andsheer nonsense) on better display than in his classic collection "Crazy Like a Fox", originally published in hardcover in 1944and here restored to print for the first time in decades by the Library of America publishers.
In a playful, loving tribute to the funny man, novelist Joshua Cohen (who is also an erudite wordsmith and punster)introduces Perelman's sui generis comic pieces to a new generation of readers, certain to fall in love with the writer whomThe New York Times once noted for his ability "to transform the common cliche or figure of speech into an explodingcigar".
Included here in this paperback edition of "Crazy Like a Fox" are such beloved classics as:
The Joycean virtuoso performance "Scenario"; "A Farewell to Omsk," Perelman's hilarious homage to Dostoevsky; and"Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer," his side-splitting send-up of the hardboiled detective fiction of Raymond Chandler.
Here is Perelman's own selection of the very best of his inimitable humor, restored to print for the first time in decades.
Critique: Rescuing from an undeserved obscurity for the benefit of a new generation of appreciative readers, this edition of"Crazy Like a Fox" perfectly showcases the wit and literary talent of S. J. Perelman. While also readily available forpersonal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99), "Crazy Like a Fox" is especially and unreservedlyrecommended for community and college/university library American Literary Fiction & Humor Essay collection andsupplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 - October 17, 1979) was a longtime contributor to The NewYorker, in which he first published many of his humorous essays and sketches, and travel pieces. He also wrote film scriptsfor the Marx Brothers and shared an Oscar in 1956 with James Poe and James Farrow for the screenplay of Around theWorld in Eighty Days. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._J._Perelman)
Editorial Note #2: Joshua Cohen (https://joshuacohen.org) is the author of The Netanyahus, winner of the 2022 PulitzerPrize for fiction, and several other works of fiction, including Witz (2010), Book of Numbers (2015), and Moving Kings(2017) as well as the nonfiction work ATTENTION: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction (2018).
Walker Percy: The Moviegoer and Other Novels 1961-1971
Walker Percy, author
Paul Elie, editor
The Library of America
www.loa.org
9781598537758, $45.00, HC, 1000pp
https://www.amazon.com/Walker-Percy-Moviegoer-1961-1971-Gentleman/dp/159853775X
Synopsis: A physician-turned-writer and self-described diagnostician of "the malaise" Walker Percy plumbed the depths ofmodern American angst and alienation as few other writers have. Now he joins the Library of America series with a volumecollecting his first 3 books.
"The Moviegoer" (1961), winner of the 1962 National Book Award for Fiction, is the story of John Bickerson "Binx"Bolling, a New Orleans stockbroker who finds in movies a resplendent reality that lifts him, for a time, out of the mire ofeverydayness. Binx is a modern-day pilgrim whose progress unfolds in what editor Paul Elie calls "the first work of what wecall contemporary American fiction, the earliest novel to render a set of circ*mstances and an outlook that still feelrecognizably ours."
In "The Last Gentleman" (1966), Percy portrays another troubled, searching young man, this time a southerner living inNew York whose intermittent amnesia and odd moments of deja vu lead him to imagine that the world catastrophe everyonefears has already occurred.
A satirical work of speculative fiction, "Love in the Ruins" (1971) introduces lapsed-Catholic psychiatrist Dr. ThomasMore, inventor of the lapsometer, a devise that measures the spiritual sickness of a near-apocalyptic America torn apart bythe forces of the far right and left.
Critique: The 103rd title in the Library of American series, this hardcover edition of "Walker Percy: The Moviegoer &Other Novels 1961-1971: The Moviegoer / The Last Gentleman / Love in the Ruins" edited by Paul Elie is an extraordinaryand welcome pick for personal reading lists, as well as community and college/university library American Literary Fictioncollections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note #1: Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1916, Walker Percy was trained as a physician at Columbia University.After a year's internship at Bellevue Hospital in New York, he contracted tuberculosis and abandoned medicine for a literarycareer. His first novel, The Moviegoer, was awarded the 1962 National Book Award for Fiction. His other books include thenovels The Last Gentleman, Love in the Ruins, and The Thanatos Syndrome as well as the collection of essays The Messagein the Bottle. Percy died in Covington, Louisiana, in 1990.
Editorial Note #2: Paul Elie is a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and WorldAffairs. His first book, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, received the PEN/Martha Albrand Prize and was a NationalBook Critics Circle award finalist in 2003. He is also the author of Reinventing Bach, a finalist for National Book CriticsCircle award in 2012. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Elie)
Quincas Borba
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, author
Margaret Jull Costa & Robin Patterson, translators
Liveright Publishing Corporation
c/o W. W. Norton & Company
www.wwnorton.com
9781324090687, $29.99, HC, 352pp
https://www.amazon.com/Quincas-Borba-Joaquim-Maria-Machado/dp/1324090685
Synopsis: Hailed in his lifetime as one of Latin America's greatest writers, Machado de Assis (1839 - 1908) was a storytellerknown for his wholly innovative narrative techniques and uncanny talent for unraveling the social and political milieu ofnineteenth-century Brazil. These signature traits are on full display in "Quincas Borba", a novel that sees Machado satirize arapidly changing Rio de Janeiro.
Originally published in 1891, the story begins with the death of its titular character, a mad philosopher infamous forspouting pessimistic theories of "Humanitism." Borba leaves his fortune (including his dog, also named Quincas Borba) toRubiao, his loyal caretaker and a schoolteacher by trade. Bestowed with opulence beyond his wildest dreams, Rubiao isquickly coaxed into the comforts of a rich man's life - the only stipulation being that he continues to care for the canineQuincas Borba with the same dedication he once did the human. Adrift in the big, bad, bustling world of late-1860s Rio deJaneiro, it isn't long before Rubiao is targeted by the city's sycophants, who can smell his naivete from a mile away.
Playfully told by an omniscient and possibly unreliable narrator, as a novel, "Quincas Borba" is at once irreverent andambitious, brimming with barbed wit and keen philosophical inquiry.
Brilliantly and collaboratively translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson (the duo credited with introducing anew generation of readers to Machado through their translations of Dom Casmurro, The Collected Stories, and PosthumousMemoirs of Bras Cubas -- "Quincas Borba" is another strikingly modern tale from a blazing progenitor of twentieth-centuryfiction.
Critique: A classic of Brazilian literature and now available in English for an American readership from LiverightPublishing Corporation (an imprint of W. W. Norton & Company), "Quincas Borba" is unreservedly recommended forcommunity/public and college/university library Literary/Satirical Fiction collections and supplemental Brazilian Literaturecurriculum studies lists. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Quincas Borba" is also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $14.99) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (1839 - 1908) was born in Rio de Janeiro and, as well as his sevenshort-story collections, wrote such groundbreaking novels as Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas, Dom Casmurro, QuincasBorba and The Alienist.
Editorial Note #2: Margaret Jull Costa has translated Javier Marias and Jose Saramago. She lives in England.
Editorial Note #3: Robin Patterson has translated Jose Luandino Vieira. He lives in England.
After Oz
Gordon McAlpine
Crooked Lane Books
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781639107858, $29.99, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/After-Oz-Novel-Gordon-McAlpine/dp/1639107851
Synopsis: Kansas, 1896. After a tornado destroys the Gale family farm, eleven-year-old Dorothy goes missing. As the dayspass, the Gales are increasingly terrified the worst has happened. But when the girl turns up unharmed four days later, thetownsfolk breathe a sigh of relief. That is, until Dorothy herself relates her account of the events that took place during herdisappearance.
In vivid detail, Dorothy describes a fantastical land and its magical inhabitants: a scarecrow, a tin man, a cowardly lion, awizard, a witch. Her recollections are not only regarded as delusional, but also as pagan and diabolical in nature, especiallywhen the body of a local spinster is found matching Dorothy's description of a witch she claims to have killed. Authoritiesfind incriminating evidence tying Dorothy to the real murder, and they sentence Dorothy to the Topeka Insane Asylum.
When twenty-eight-year-old psychologist Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford arrives at the asylum to interview Dorothy, she beginsto wonder if Dorothy truly committed the crime or if something unfathomable has really occurred.
In a small town full of insidious secrets, Evelyn sets out to save Dorothy from her terrible circ*mstances, but can't help butfear whether something menacing may be lurking just out of sight.
Critique: A simply brilliant re-working of the Frank Baum 'Wizard of Oz' series by continuing the story of Dorothy as one ofpsychological mystery, murder mystery thriller, and tragedy, "After Oz" is unique, riveting, and unreservedly recommendedfor community and college/university library Literary Fiction and Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be noted for thepersonal reading lists of the legions of Wizard of Oz fans that "After Oz" is also readily available in a digital book format(Kindle, $17.99).
Editorial Note: Gordon McAlpine is the author of Girl with a Blue Pencil and Holmes Entangled and a contributor toOrange County Noir. An Edgar Award finalist, he taught creative writing and literature at U.C. Irvine, UCLA., andChapman University.
Reuniting With Strangers
Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio
Douglas & McIntyre
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
c/o Harbour Publishing
https://harbourpublishing.com
9781771623582, $18.95, PB, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Reuniting-Strangers-Novel-Jennilee-Austria-Bonifacio/dp/1771623586
Synopsis: Vera has been dreaming for years about the day she will be reunited with her son Monolith, who has been raisedby her sister in the Philippines ever since Vera moved overseas to work as a caregiver. But when he finally arrives, Monolithis violent, destructive, and unable (or unwilling?) to speak.
Monolith and Vera weave themselves through the chapters that follow in author Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio's novel,"Reuniting with Strangers" as new characters take up the narrative, telling their own stories and providing insight intoMonolith's psyche.
Incorporating a plethora of forms (emails, text messages, resumes, a songbook, an instruction manual) and traversingdiverse settings scattered across Canada and the Philippines, their voices combine to form a joyful, devastating, humorous,and surprising account of the way North American reliance on Filipina caregivers has impacted families on both sides of theocean.
Compellingly readable, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio's stunning debut reveals the displacement, estrangement, resilience andhealing in the homes and hearts of the Filipino community around the globe.
Critique: All the more impressive when considering that "Uniting with Strangers" is author Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio'sdebut as a novelist, it should be noted for personal reading lists that it is available from Douglas & McIntyre in a digitalbook format (Kindle, $12.99). Of appeal to readers with an interest in emigrant displacement stories in general, and storiesarising out of th American Filipino community in particular, that "Uniting with Strangers" is a highly recommended pick forcommunity and college/university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio (http://jennileeaustriabonifacio.com) is a Filipina-Canadian author, speaker andschool board consultant who builds bridges between educators and Filipino families through her initiative, Filipino Talks.After completing her master's degree in Immigration and Settlement Studies, she graduated from the Humber School forWriters and completed a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She was a finalist for the Jim Wong-ChuEmerging Writers Award and has been published in various anthologies.
Emily Forever
Maria Navarro Skaranger, author
Martin Aitken, translator
World Editions
https://worldeditions.org
9781642861372, $19.99, PB, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Emily-Forever/dp/1642861375
Synopsis: Emily is nineteen years old and pregnant. Her boyfriend Pablo has gone out "to take care of something" and hasn'treturned. Her mother, who raised Emily alone, moves into the little apartment to help.
Meanwhile, Emily's neighbour (who may or may not be a clergyman), wonders if it's normal to be so infatuated withsomeone you've never spoken to. Emily's boss at the supermarket might have feelings for her too, if only she'd notice.
"Emily Forever" by author Maria Navarro Skaranger is a poignant, achingly hard-hitting novel about class and about diggingdeep to find what it takes to get by. At the same time, it is a deeply original exploration of how a girl like Emily is seen fromthe outside, by those who think they know who she is and how her life is supposed to pan out.
Empathetic and quizzical, and scathingly humorous, "Emily Forever" is a novel of unyielding solidarity and smolderingsocial dissent, by a new star of Scandinavian literature.
Critique: Ably translated into English for an American readership by Martin Aitken, "Emily Forever" showcases authorMaria Navarro Skaranger's distinctive and narrative driven storytelling style that creates an inherently interesting, original,and memorable coming of age novel. While unreservedly recommended for community and college/university libraryLiterary Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Emily Forever" is also readily available fromWorld Editions in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note #1: Maria Navarro Skaranger was born in 1994 in Oslo and made her debut in 2015 with Alle utlendinger harlukka gardiner (All Foreigners Keep Their Curtains Closed). Hailed for its prose (a groundbreaking and highly stylizedimmigrant-influenced Oslo vernacular) the novel was nominated for the Tarjei Vesaas First Book Award and also won theDebut Prize 2015 in Norway. Her acclaimed second novel, Bok om sorg (Book of Grief), was awarded the Oslo Prize andthe EU Prize for Literature. Skaranger won the Missing Voice Prize 2022 for her latest novel, Emily Forever, herinternational breakthrough.
Editorial Note #2: Martin Aitken's translations of contemporary Scandinavian literature are numerous. His work hasappeared on the shortlists of the International DUBLIN Literary Award and the US National Book Awards, as well as the2021 International Booker Prize. He received the PEN America Translation Prize in 2019, and most recently the 2022 USNational Translation Award for Prose. He lives and works in Denmark.
The Romantic Fiction Shelf
Victoria Walters
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781835189603, $42.00, PB, Large Print, 298pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-plot-twist-victoria-walters/1144919048
Synopsis: Stevie Phillips has just landed her dream job working for a publishing company and it seems like this is page oneof her new, improved life.
But her first day throws more curveballs than she thinks she can handle: there's been a takeover and the whole publicityteam has been fired. And her new boss is the last face she expected to see.
Because Noah Anderson also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
Thrown together on a campaign for a book the rest of the staff don't want to touch with a barge-pole, Stevie resolves tomake the best of a bad situation. This is her chance to prove herself, and she's not going to let the man who broke her heartruin it for her.
When Noah starts hinting that there was more to their break up then him just not loving her, Stevie's resolution starts towobble. Getting back with your ex is never a good idea, is it? Especially not when your ex is also your boss...
Critique: Original, deftly crafted, and a fun read from start to finish, "The Plot Twist" by Victoria Walters will haveparticular and special appeals to fans of paranormal romance novels. This large print paperback edition from BoldwoodBooks is especially and unreservedly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library Romance Fictioncollections.
Editorial Note: Victoria Walters (https://victoria-writes.com) is a full-time author living in Surrey who writes sweet andspicy RomCom novels including "The Love Interest" She used to work in publishing and a bookshop, and has been abookworm since childhood. Victoria is also the romantic series "Glendale Hall" and the cosy crime series "The Dedley EndMysteries" She can be followed on Instagram at @vickyjwalters, on X at @Vicky_Walters, or on Facebook and TikTok atVictoria Walters author.
The Secret Life Of A Lady
Darcy McGuire
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781836035312, $42.00, PB, Large Print, 410pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secret-life-of-a-lady-darcy-mcguire/1144901147
Synopsis: Lady Hannah Simmons is a quintessential wallflower, unassuming, dowdy yet ignored by most. But underneathher plain exterior, Hannah is hiding a thrilling secret! Unbeknownst to the rest of the ton, she is Queen Victoria's leadingfemme fatale, slipping unnoticed through the streets of London and listening to scandalous whispers from lords and ladies.But with daggers in her stockings and pistols in her pockets, Hannah's mission is to apprehend a deadly killer.
Private Investigator to the Prime Minister, damaged, yet devastatingly handsome ex-war hero Duke Robert Killian alwaysputs duty first. However, when he finds himself competing with the intriguing Lady Hannah on the same daring task, hisblood boils with frustration - and desire! Is it possible to seduce this vexing woman whose not afraid to put herself in dangerand achieve the upper hand?
Hannah enjoys Killian's attempts to distract and tempt her, but she has never faced an adversary she couldn't overthrow. AndKillian has never met a challenge he couldn't conquer...until now. The gauntlet has been thrown, can they finish their jobsand resist the temptation?
Critique: Launching a unique series, "The Queen's Deadly Damsels", that will have enormous interest to fans of spicyhistorical romance novels laced with suspense and featuring deadly female protagonists, "The Secret Life of a Lady" byDarcy McGuire is a superbly crafted, fascinating and fun read from first page to last. This large print paperback edition of"The Secret Life of a Lady" from Boldwood Books is a very special and highly recommended addition to both personalreading lists and community library Historical Romance Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: The second title in this simply outstanding series by Darcy McGuire is the forthcoming "A Lady's Lesson inScandal" ($3.99 Kindle).
All Our Tomorrows
Catherine Bybee
Montlake
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517235, $16.99, PB, 415pp
https://www.amazon.com/All-Tomorrows-Heirs-Catherine-Bybee/dp/1662517238
Synopsis: When Chase Stone's estranged father dies, leaving his multibillion-dollar business to his children, no one is moresurprised than Chase. Growing up outside of the high-stakes world filled with human vultures, Chase and his sister, Alex,are less than enthusiastic about stepping into their father's shoes. That is until they learn of a half brother they didn't knowexisted and must find to share their inheritance with.
Piper Maddox was the elder Mr. Stone's ubercapable assistant -- abruptly fired two weeks before his death. She knowseverything about Stone Enterprises and the man who built it. But Piper has no desire to work for another member of theStone family. Even one as down-to-earth as Chase.
Desperately needing financial security, Piper agrees to return so long as kissing up to Chase and accepting unwantedadvances are not part of her job description. A promise that becomes a serious hurdle for both of them. Piper and Chasescramble to find the third Stone sibling before the media does, sharing secrets along the way. Secrets that can bring themtogether or tear them irrevocably apart.
Critique: A fully engaging read from cover to cover, "All Our Tomorrows" by Catherine Bybee will have a special attractionfor readers with an interest in Contemporary Romance. The stuff of which Hallmark Movies are made, "All OurTomorrows" is an impressive crafted and original novel that is especially recommended for community library collections. Itshould be noted for personal reading lists of Catherine Bybee fans that "All Our Tomorrows" is also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Editorial Note: Catherine Bybee (https://catherinebybee.com) has written thirty-eight books that have collectively sold morethan ten million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybeemoved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returnedto school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full timeand has penned the Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series.
Close Knit
Jenny Colgan
Avon Books
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
www.harpercollins.com
9780063386662, $30.00, HC, 336pp
https://www.amazon.com/Close-Knit-Novel-Jenny-Colgan/dp/0063386666
Synopsis: In the northernmost reaches of Scotland, where a string of little islands in the North Sea stretches towardsNorway, lives Gertie MacIntyre, a proud island girl by birth. Her social circle is small but tight: family and friends,particularly the women in her knitting circle.
In the whitewashed cottages of their hometown, everyone knows everyone, and the ladies of the knitting circle know morethan most. In a place of long dark winters and geographic isolation, the knitting circle is a precious source of gossip, home,laughter, and comfort for them all. And while she knits, Gertie's busily plotting what to do with the rest of her life.
When Gertie develops a crush on Callum Frost, who owns the local airline, she dares herself to take a job as an airstewardess on the little plane that serves the local islands. Terrifying at first, the sixteen-seat puddle jumper also offers thefirst taste of real freedom she's ever known. Will Gertie's future lie in the skies? Or will she need to go further afield to findthe adventure she craves?
Critique: Simply stated, Jenny Colgan is a natural born storyteller with an impressively flair for the kind of narrative drivenstyle that is reader compelling from start to finish. "Close Knit" is her latest novel and a 'must' for the growing legion ofJenny Colgan fans. Especially recommended for community/public library Contemporary Romance Fiction collections, itshould be noted for personal reading lists that "Close Knit" is also readily available in a paperback edition (9780063260566,$18.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous novels, including The Christmas Bookshop, The Bookshop on theCorner, Little Beach Street Bakery, and Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe. Jenny, her husband, and three children live in agenuine castle in Scotland.
That Prince is Mine
Jayci Lee
Griffin
c/o Macmillan
https://us.macmillan.com
9781250907769, $18.00, PB, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/That-Prince-Mine-Jayci-Lee/dp/1250907764
Synopsis: Emma Yoon dreams of opening a culinary school in Los Angeles. To that end, she teaches Korean royal courtcuisine to hopeful brides of upper-crust Korean families. Thanks to her godmother, a renowned matchmaker, business isbooming.
But when rival matchmakers plot against her godmother using Emma's single status, she must save her godmother'sreputation and her dreams by finding a perfect-on-paper husband -- even if she's not ready for love.
Meeting the gorgeous and irresistible Professor Michel Chevalier is not part of her plan.
Prince Michel Chevalier refuses to marry a woman handpicked by his elders. If he must spend the rest of his life in serviceto his country, he wants to do so with someone he loves by his side.
With only three months left until his arranged engagement is formally announced, Michel escapes to Los Angeles to find abride of his choosing, someone who loves him for himself rather than his crown.
Serendipity leads him right to Emma Yoon, who might just be the woman of his dreams.
Critique: "That Prince is Mine" by novelist Jayci Lee is what all rom-com novels should be -- a fun read from cover tocover. The stuff of which Hallmark Channel movies are made, "That Prince is Mine" is unreservedly recommended forpersonal reading lists and community/public library Contemporary Romance Fiction collections. It should be noted that"That Prince is Mine" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).
Editorial Note: Jayci Lee (https://jaycilee.com) writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance novels featuring KoreanAmerican main characters. Her books have been in O, The Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly,Hollywood Reporter, E! News, and Women's World. Jayci is retired from her fifteen-year career as a litigator because of allthe badass heroines and drool worthy heroes demanding to have their stories told.
Meeting Her Match
Jen Turano
Bethany House Publishers
c/o Baker Publishing Group
www.bethanyhouse.com
9780764240225, $17.99, PB, 368pp
https://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Her-Match-High-Society-Matchmakers/dp/0764240226
Synopsis: Miss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, hasvowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearlyabducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman whochallenges her in a manner she wasn't expecting.
After learning that Camilla Pierpont has enjoyed success with taking wayward young ladies in hand, Mr. Owen Chesterfieldtravels to the Hudson River Valley determined to convince Camilla to sponsor his sister, who is in desperate need of socialrehabilitation.
Knowing her life is in danger, Camilla agrees to Owen's proposition and travels with him to West Virginia, finding herselfcharmed by the less-than-formal attitude of his small hometown, as well as by Owen himself. But danger waits in theshadows, disrupting what she knows would be the most spectacular match she's ever made -- her own.
Critique: The third title in author Jen Turano's 'The Matchmaker', "Meeting Her Match" is a Christian historical romancenovel set in New York's high-society. Laced with Turano's remarkable humor and memorable characters, "Meeting HerMatch" is a fun read from cover to cover and a 'must' for her growing legions of fans. While highly recommended forcommunity/public library Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Meeting HerMatch" is also readily available from Bethany House Publishers in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.49).
Editorial Note: Jen Turano (www.JenTurano.com) is an author known for penning quirky historical romances set in theGilded Age. Her books have earned Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from RT Book Reviews, andpraise from Library Journal. She's been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers' Choice Awards and had two of her bookslisted in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist.
After the Red Carpet
Patricia Leavy
She Writes Press
www.shewritespress.com
9781647427504, $17.99 PB, $12.99 Kindle, 213pp
https://www.amazon.com/After-Red-Carpet-Patricia-Leavy-ebook/dp/B0D3FJGP55
Synopsis: After legendary Hollywood star Finn Forrester proposed to philosopher Ella Sinclair on the red carpet at theCannes Film Festival, the couple captivated the press and public with their real-life fairy tale.
Now they vow to prioritize their romance and live an adventure of their own making. Ella moves into Finn's Beverly Hillsmansion and must adjust to his world. Finn, secretly afraid of losing Ella, is determined to make everything perfect for hisbetrothed.
Meanwhile, Ella wants nothing more than to retain her own identity as they build their new life together. All the while, sheis writing a philosophical treatise on love, exploring the question: when we love so deeply, where do we end and where doesthe other begin?
"After The Red Carpet" by novelist Patricia Leavy is the highly anticipated sequel to "The Location Shoot" and answers thequestion of weather or not Ella and Finn will finally live the life they've dreamed of as their epic romance continues tounfold.
Critique: A fun read from start to finish, author Patricia Leavy's "After The Red Carpet" from She Writes Press is a welcomeand unreservedly recommended addition to the personal reading lists of dedicated romance fans and community/publiclibrary Contemporary Romance Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Patricia Leavy (https://patricialeavy.com) in addition to being an author, was formerly an AssociateProfessor of Sociology and the Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College. She has published more than fortybooks and has received career awards from the National Art Education Association, the American Creativity Association,the American Educational Research Association, and more. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women's Hall ofFame and SUNY-New Paltz when they established the "Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice."
His Treasured Bride
Jodi Hedlund & Patti Stockdale
https://jodyhedlund.com
https://pattistockdale.com
Sunrise Publishing
https://sunrisepublishing.com
9781953783813, $16.99, PB, 380pp
https://www.amazon.com/His-Treasured-Bride-Ships-Voyages/dp/1953783813
Synopsis: After recently arriving in Vancouver Island on a bride ship, aspiring seamstress Daisy Harper is determined not torush into a hasty and quarrelsome marriage, a mistake her parents made. To avoid choosing the wrong man, she creates arigorous list of ten requirements for a potential husband.
Mapmaker Seth Ryann moved to the colony to assist his partially blind brother, a local missionary. They'll soon return toIreland, but first, Seth is tasked by a friend to find a treasure of gold hidden in the mountains. Seth has the map to thetreasure, but he's missing the key.
When he discovers Daisy somehow has the key, the two agree to search for the treasure together. They're left with littlechoice but to quickly enter a marriage of convenience. As they venture into the wilderness and work together to overcomedanger, an undeniable attraction grows. But will they find the treasure only to lose what matters most?
Critique: An original and fun read from start to finish, "His Treasured Bride" by co-authors Jody Hedlund and PattiStockdale will have a special appeal for readers with an interest in Christian historical romance novels. While especially andunreservedly recommended for community/public library Historical Romance Fiction collections, it should be noted forpersonal reading lists that this paperback edition of "His Treasured Bride" from Sunrise Publishing is also readily availablein a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Jody Hedlund (https://jodyhedlund.com) is the author of over fifty sweet historical romances and is thewinner of numerous awards.
Editorial Note 32: Patti Stockdale (www.pattistockdale.com) is a historical romance author and freelance writer who lives inWisconsin and creates tangled-up characters full of heart and hope.
The Western Fiction Shelf
Ethan Flagg
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444853100, $25.00, PB, Large Print, 234pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-guy-rough-justice-ethan-flagg/1136775915
Synopsis: In pursuing the notorious Silver Dollar Gang, undercover agent Drew Henry is catapulted into a bizarre criminalconspiracy in the Wyoming town of Bridger. Three deputies have disappeared in mysterious circ*mstances, leading Drew toplace himself in the firing line as the fourth potential victim.
Suspicions abound as to the identity of the culprits. But only when he accidentally stumbles upon a robbery do the grimfacts begin to emerge. A break comes when an outlaw Drew thought had escaped the long arm of the law suddenly turns up.The outlaw's objective is to blackmail the perpetrators of the robbery scam with exposure.
Drew must use all his skills as a BAD boy to bring all the guilty parties to justice. But this proves far more dangerous thanhe could ever have foreseen.
Critique: Simply stated, as an author of western action/adventure novels, Ethan Flag stands out with his distinctive andnarrative driven storytelling style. Original, compelling, and a fun read from beginning to end, this large print paperbackedition from the Linford Western Library series of his novel "Bad Guy - Rough Justice!" is an absolute 'must' for thepersonal reading lists of all dedicated western fiction fans and a certain to be popular pick for community library WesternFiction collections.
Editorial Note: on collections. Editorial Note: Ethan Flagg is the pen-name of Graham Dugdale. He acquired his interest inAmerican Western history following a period working as a teacher in New Mexico. He also compiles crossword puzzles fora weekly country sports newspaper and has produced 11 walking guides all based in the north of England. There is an onlinelisting of his books at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/673765.Graham_K_Dugdale
The Return Of The Pinfire Lady
P. J. Gallagher
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444853476, $25.00, PB, Large Print, 252pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-return-of-the-pinfire-lady-pj-gallagher/1132682529
Synopsis: Lady Abigail Penraven returns to her native England to deal with family matters, but a visit to a London gunsmithto repair her trusty Pinfire revolver leads to the kidnapping of her Ute Indian friend Minny.
The subsequent gunplay results in Abbie killing a thug who, unbeknown to her, is involved in a conspiracy to thwart theUSA's purchase of Alaska. Abbie returns to the USA in a new role as a British Government agent working with the US, butfinds herself caught up in treachery, intrigue, and skulduggery, and has to draw on all the skills that first led her to becomeknown as the "Pinfire Lady."
Critique: "The Return of the Pinfire Lady" is the highly anticipated sequel to author P. J. Gallagher's western novel "ThePinfire Lady" and continues the adventures of the lady gunslinger and her native American girl who has become hersidekick. With action aplenty in the form of gunplay and more unexpected plot twists and turns than a Texas Tornado, "TheReturn of the Pinfire Lady" is a fun read from start to finish and this large print paperback edition from the Linford WesternLibrary series is a welcome and recommended pick for personal reading lists and community library Western Fictioncollections.
Editorial Note: P.J. Gallagher served in the British Army. He has written and had published close on 20 articles for TheJournal of the Royal Artillery. He has competed for the past 20 years in Cowboy Action Shooting and is a collector ofantique firearms. He lives in Woodville, Ontario.
The Sons Of Some Dear Mother
Matt Cole
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9780719830075, $25.00, PB, Large Print, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sons-Mother-Black-Horse-Western/dp/0719830079
Synopsis: The five sons of Dorothy Daniels (Frank, a notorious gunman; Hugh, an attorney; Urban, a drifter who works oddjobs; Virgil, a sober and serious rancher; and the youngest, Casey) reunite in their hometown of Blue Springs Creek,Missouri, for their mother's funeral, after she is murdered.
The townspeople are shocked, and an eyewitness claims it was the outlaw leader Henry Lowe and the Murdock Gang whowere responsible. When the brothers become disillusioned with the local law and their lack of pursuit, they decide to trackdown the gang themselves and get their vengeance.
On the trail of the murderous outlaws, the brothers start to find some of the brotherly love they had lost since they were kids.The trail is filled with danger, duels, and death. The brothers will risk everything to get justice for their mother -- especiallyFrank, the toughest and most ruthless of Dorothy's sons.
Critique: A simply riveting read from first page to last, "The Sons Of Some Dear Mother" is a superbly crafted vengeancequest western of the first order. A seasoned author of western fiction, with "The Sons Of Some Dear Mother" author MattCole continues to demonstrate his complete mastery of the genre with a novel that is especially and unreservedlyrecommended. This large print paperback edition of "The Sons Of Some Dear Mother" from the Linford Western Libraryseries is an ideal pick for personal reading lists and community library Western Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Matt Cole was born in Oberlin, Ohio and grew up in Central Florida. Most of his heroes growing up as a boyrode horses and saved damsels in distress. They wore white hats and shot six guns. He is the author of more than 20published books. He currently teaches English at several higher education institutes and universities. He lives in Plant City,Florida.
The Flames Of Alvorado
Peter Wilson
Linford Western Library
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781444853162, $25.00, PB, Large Print, 276pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-flames-of-alvorado-peter-wilson/1130920559
Synopsis: Matt Brogan, wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his wife and son, escapes to go in search of the real killerswhose evidence brought about his conviction. In the remote town of Alvorado, a hideaway for outlaws on the run and thepower base of the McLagan family, Brogan links up with lawman Jed Harding and the pair set out to rid the territory of therule of fear.
When hot-headed Roy McLagan sets out to burn the farmers from their homes, Brogan and Harding persuade the locals tofight back. But to bring an end to the killings Brogan has to call on help from an unlikely source - Alex McLagan, the manhe had vowed to kill.
Critique: Another riveting read from western novelist Peter Wilson, this large print paperback edition of "The Flames OfAlvorado" from the Linford Western Library collection is an ideal pick for the personal reading lists of all dedicated westernaction/adventure fans and community library Western Fiction collections.
Iron Star
Loren D. Estleman
Forge
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
9781250892515, $29.99, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Star-Loren-D-Estleman/dp/1250892511
Synopsis: From his youth as a revolutionist to his time as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, aging lawman Iron St. John has become alarger-than-life figure -- and in the process, the man has disappeared behind the myth. During his brief, unsuccessfulpolitical career, St. John published his memoirs -- a sanitized version of his adventures to appeal to the masses. A generationlater, the clouded truth of this giant of the Old West has been all but lost.
Now, Buck Jones, a pioneering film star, is vying for a cinematic story that will launch his career to incredible heights. Heapproaches Emmet Rawlings, a retired Pinkerton detective, to set the record of St. John's life straight once and for all.Twenty years ago, Rawlings accompanied St. John on his final manhunt, and in desperate need for the funding a successfulbook promises, he dives deep into St. John's past (and his own buried memories) to tell the truth about this part-timehero.
As the story of St. John unfolds, the romance of the period is stripped away to reveal a reality long-forgotten in thisunvarnished, heart-racing depiction of the American West.
Critique: Loren D. Estleman is an accomplished veteran of the western genre and with "Iron Star" adds still anotheroutstanding credit to his literary legacy. With his own distinctive storytelling style, Estleman's "Iron Star" is a 'must' for hislegions of fans and an especially, unreservedly, recommended pick for community library Historical Fiction & WesternAction/Adventure collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Iron Star" is also available in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Loren D. Estleman is the author of more than eighty novels, including the Amos Walker, Page Murdock, andPeter Macklin series. The winner of four Shamus Awards, five Spur Awards, and three Western Heritage Awards, he livesin Central Michigan with his wife, author Deborah Morgan. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_D._Estleman)
The Mystery/Suspense Shelf
Kate Wells
Boldwood Books
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print, Inc.
www.ulverscroft.com
9781785134395, $42.00, PB, Large Print, 320pp
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-body-by-the-henhouse-kate-wells/1145183414
Synopsis: The time for celebrations is over. Jude Gray's farm is going from strength to strength, and even though hergrumpy neighbour has concerns about the new campsite in the lower field, she is undeterred.
When a hen party arrives for a weekend away, she does her best to cater for their celebrations. But with a sheep needingurgent care - an accidental mishap or something more nefarious? She finds herself consulting the group, whichcoincidentally contains four vets. When one of the hens goes missing, it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play,and someone is targeting her farm.
With the help of close friend Detective Inspector Binnie Khatri, Jude once again dons her amateur sleuthing hat. Theyuncover a web of deceit, affairs and rivalries, but will they find the perpetrator before events turn murderous?
Critique: The third title in novelist Kate Wells' 'A Malvern Farm Mystery' series, "A Body by the Henhouse" is a fun readand unreservedly recommended to the attention of all dedicated cozy mystery fans! Offering more unexpected plot twistsand turns than an Oklahoma tornado, this large print paperback edition of "A Body by the Henhouse" from BoldwoodBooks is a riveting and deftly crafted thriller that will prove to be an popular pick for personal reading lists and communitylibrary Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Kate Wells grew up in Malvern on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border and still spends much of hertime there. It is her heart's home and the muse for a lot of her writing. Her first two novels in her outstanding Mavlern FarmMystery series are "Murder on the Farm" and "Stranger in the Village".
A Farewell to Arfs
Spencer Quinn
Forge
c/o Tor/Forge Books
www.tor-forge.com
9781250331809, $27.99, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Arfs-Chet-Bernie-Mystery/dp/1250331803
Synopsis: Chet the dog, and his human partner PI Bernie Little, are on to a new case, and this time they're entangled in aweb of crime unlike anything they've ever seen before.
Their elderly next door neighbor, Mr. Parsons, thought he was doing the right thing by loaning his ne'er do well son, Billy,some money to help get himself settled. But soon, Mr. Parsons discovers that his entire life savings is gone. Arun-of-the-mill scam? Bernie isn't so sure that the case is that simple, but it's Chet who senses what they're really upagainst.
Only Billy knows the truth, but he's disappeared. Can Chet and Bernie track him down before it's too late? Someone else isalso in the hunt, an enemy with a mysterious, cutting-edge power who will test Chet and Bernie to their limit -- or maybebeyond. Even poker, not the kind of game they're good at, plays a role.
Critique: A finely crafted and original cozy animal mystery, "A Farewell to Arfs" by Spencer Quinn is a fun read from coverto cover. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community/public library Mystery/Suspense collections, itshould be noted for the personal reading lists of all dedicated cozy mystery fans that "A Farewell to Arfs" is also readilyavailable in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).
Editorial Note: Spencer Quinn is the pen name of Peter Abrahams, the author of many novels, including the Chet and Berniemystery series, Mrs. Plansky's Revenge, The Right Side, and Oblivion, as well as the Bowser and Birdie series for youngerreaders.
You Shouldn't Be Here
Lauren Thoman
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662517686, $28.99, HC, 396pp
https://www.amazon.com/You-Shouldnt-Be-Here-Novel/dp/1662517688
Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Angie Stewart starts hearing a mysterious voice in her house, she's thrilled at thepossibility of a ghost. Finally, something interesting is happening in her boring hometown of East Henderson, Pennsylvania.But why is she the only one who can hear it? And what does it want from her?
Meanwhile, first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao just got the keys to her new home, which is located close to her job, withinwalking distance of a dog park -- and, most importantly, in the town where her cousin went missing several years ago. Noone in East Henderson wants to talk about what happened, but Madelyn is determined to find answers.
As the two strangers search for clues, their investigations begin to point toward the same dark place. But by the time theyrealize that the truth could be deadly, it's too late to turn back. And someone out there will stop at nothing to make sure theirsecrets stay buried.
Critique: An original and deftly crafted novel of murder, suspense and cover-up revealed, "You Shouldn't Be Here" byauthor Lauren Thoman is a fun read from cover to cover for those who enjoy female amateur sleuth suspense thrillers withmore unexpected plot twists and turns than an Oklahoma tornado. Especially and unreservedly recommended forcommunity library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "You Shouldn't Be Here"is also readily available in a paperback edition (9781662517693, $16.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $1.99).
Editorial Note: Lauren Thoman (www.laurenthomanwrites.com) writes speculative fiction for teens and adults. Her debutnovel, I'll Stop the World, was selected for publication in 2023 by six-time Emmy nominee Mindy Kaling through hereponymous imprint, Mindy's Book Studio. Lauren's pop culture writing has also appeared in numerous online outletsincluding Parade and Vulture.
Summers End
Juneau Black
Vintage Books
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
www.randomhouse.com
9780593470534, $17.00, PB, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Summers-End-Shady-Hollow-Mystery/dp/0593470532
Synopsis: It's late August in Shady Hollow, and intrepid reporter Vera Vixen agrees to chaperone the school's annual fieldtrip to Summers End, an ancient tomb built by an early woodland culture. Naturally, her good friend Lenore Lee comesalong to help her.
But when the group enters the tomb one morning, they find a corpse that is distinctly more modern than expected! Diggingdeeper, Vera and Lenore discover that the deceased was involved in the recent excavation at the site, and very unpopularwith their colleagues -- including Lenore's sister, Ligeia.
Now the fox and raven must delve into the dark world of academia and archaeology to clear Ligeia's name. Some creature atSummers End thought they were clever enough to get away with the perfect murder. Can Vera and Lenore unearth the truthin time?
Critique: A part of author Juneau Black's 'Shady Hollow Mystery' series, this paperback edition of "Summers End" is afascinating and fun read from beginning to end. Of particular interest to fans of the cozy mystery genre feature amateurwomen sleuths and deftly scripted 'whodunnit' murder mysteries, "Summers End" is an ideal and unreservedlyrecommended pick for both personal reading lists and community library Mystery/Suspense collections. It should be notedthat "Summers End" is also readily available for mystery buffs in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Juneau Black (www.juneaublack.com) is the pen name of authors Jocelyn Cole and Sharon Nagel. Theyshare a love of excellent bookshops, fine cheeses, and good murders (in fictional form only). Though they are two separatepeople, if you ask either of them a question about their childhood, you are likely to get the same answer. This is a littleunnerving for any number of reasons.
Known to the Victim
K. L. Armstrong
Doubleday Canada
c/o The Random House Publishing Group
www.randomhouse.com
9780385697705, $18.00, PB, 344pp
https://www.amazon.com/Known-Victim-K-L-Armstrong/dp/0385697708
Synopsis: When Amy Gibson's mother is brutally murdered by her boyfriend, Amy's world is completely undone. Overcomewith grief and heartache, she withdraws from everything around her -- college, her friends, her entire life. Until herestranged half-brother, Oliver, saves her, pulling her back into her life and giving her family. Giving her a home.
Eight years later, she's picked herself up and has worked hard to move forward. She's the host of a popular true crimepodcast that focuses on crimes against women committed by their partners and is finding purpose and healing throughhelping women in ways she couldn't help her mother.
And then Oliver is accused of the unthinkable -- something that is so unlike him. Something that horrifies Amy. Butdesperate to save the only family she has, she sets out to prove her brother's innocence.
But as the days pass and more information about Oliver and his past slowly comes to light, Amy begins realizing thatnothing is ever as it seems -- especially when it comes to family.
Critique: A crisply crafted story of suspense and mystery, "Known to the Victim" by K. L. Armstrong is a simply rivetingread from start to finish. Compelling, original, memorable, "Known to the Victim" is a solid and unreservedly recommendedpick for community library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense/Thriller collections. It should be noted for personal readinglists that "Known to the Victim" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).
Editorial Note: K. L. Armstrong (www.kelleyarmstrong.com) is the pseudonym of a popular author who lives in Ontario,Canada.
If You Tell a Lie
Lucinda Berry
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662512629, $16.99, PB, 267pp
https://www.amazon.com/If-You-Tell-Lie-Thriller/dp/1662512627
Synopsis: They never considered how his wife might react, or that by the end of the summer a man would be dead. ButBlakely always got her way, and the others followed her lead -- even when they knew it was dead wrong.
The girls had been friends from day one at Camp Pendleton, a haven for gifted children. But their senior summer wasdifferent. When Mr. Crosby, the handsome tennis coach, wound up murdered after a reckless lie, Blakely, Grace, Meg, andThera swore themselves to secrecy. And never spoke to each other again.
Not until twenty years later a sinister note claiming to know what they did brings them back together. And once againBlakely is pulling the strings.
Critique: Deftly written in a dual timeline, "If You Tell a Lie" by novelist Lucinda Berry takes her readers on a disturbingjourney into the dangerous, sometimes deadly consequences of peer pressure. Replete with unexpected plot twists and turns,"If You Tell a Lie" is an original and riveting read from start to unexpected finish. Available for personal reading lists in adigital book format (Kindle, $4.99), this paperback edition of "If You Tell a Lie" from Thomas & Mercer is a quality andrecommended addition to community/public library Mystery/Suspense/Thriller collections.
Editorial Note: Dr. Lucinda Berry (https://LucindaBerry.com) is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhoodtrauma. Now she writes full time, using her clinical experience to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoystaking her readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche. Her work has been optioned for film andtranslated into multiple languages.
Murder at the White Palace
Allison Montclair
Minotaur Books
www.minotaurbooks.com
c/o Macmillan
https://us.macmillan.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9781250854216, $29.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-White-Palace-Bainbridge-Mystery/dp/1250854210
Synopsis: In the immediate post-war days of London, two unlikely partners have undertaken an even more unlikely, ifnecessary, business venture -- The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The two partners are Miss Iris Sparks, a woman with adangerous (and never discussed) past in British intelligence and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge, a genteel war widow with ayoung son entangled in a complicated aristocratic family.
Looking to throw a New Year's Eve soiree for their clients, Sparks and Bainbridge scout an empty building -- only to find abody contained in the walls. What they initially assume is a victim of the recent Blitz is uncovered instead to be a murdervictim -- stabbed several times.
To make matters worse, the owner of the building is Sparks' beau, Archie Spelling, who has ties to a variety of enterpriseson the right and wrong sides of the law, and the main investigator for the police is her ex-fiancee.
Gwen, too, is dealing with her own complicated love life, as she tentatively steps back into the dating pool for the first timesince her husband's death.
Murder is not something they want to add to their plates, but the murderer may be closer to home than is comfortable, andthey must do all they can to protect their clients, their business and themselves.
Critique: A fun read from cover to cover, with the publication of "Murder at the White Palace", novelist Allison Montclairproves herself to be a master of the cozy mystery genre with the introduction of two memorable, admirable, and amateurfemale sleuths who find themselves having to solve an complicated murder mystery. While especially and unreservedlyrecommended for community/public library Historical Mystery/Suspense collections, "Murder at the White Palace" is alsoreadily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio,9798874837976, $45.95, CD).
Editorial Note: Author Allison Montclair grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bondmovies, becoming addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through thecorners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of herown.
Broken Bayou
Jennifer Moorhead
Thomas & Mercer
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781662518775, $16.99, PB, 238pp
https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Bayou-Jennifer-Moorhead/dp/1662518773
Synopsis: Dr. Willa Watters is a prominent child psychologist at the height of her career. But when a viral video of adisastrous television interview puts her reputation on the line, Willa retreats to Broken Bayou, the town where she spentmost of her childhood summers. There she visits her aunts' old house and discovers some of her unstable mother'sbelongings still languishing in the attic -- dusty mementos harboring secrets of her harrowing past.
Willa's hopes for a respite are quickly crushed, not only by what she finds in that attic but also by what's been found in thebayou.
With waters dropping due to drought, mysterious barrels containing human remains have surfaced, alongside something elsefrom Willa's past, something she never thought she'd see again. Divers, police, and media flood the area, including a newsreporter gunning for Willa and Travis Arceneaux -- a local deputy and old flame.
Willa's fate seems eerily tied to the murders. And with no one to trust, she must use her wits to stay above water and make itout alive.
Critique: All the more impressive when considering that "Broken Bayou" is author Jennifer Moorhead's debut as a novelist,this carefully crafted, memorable, and impressively original murder mystery/suspense thriller of a read is readily availablefor personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99) and will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popularpick for community/public library Contemporary Mystery/Suspense Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Jennifer Moorhead graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Geaux Tigers! She haswritten and produced three indie short films, which made Top 20 at Louisiana Film Prize and were presented with awards atfestivals around the world. She lives in Louisiana with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and one cat - plus plenty ofhorses, mini ponies, and donkeys - in a place where swamps and winding trails are the norm. When she's not writing orspoiling her pets, she's on a tennis court laughing and providing job security for her coach.
A Scandal in Mayfair
Katharine Schellman
Crooked Lane Books
www.crookedlanebooks.com
9781639108411, $30.99, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Scandal-Mayfair-LILY-ADLER-MYSTERY/dp/1639108416
Synopsis: London, 1817. The London Season is beginning once more, and Lily Adler's return to her home on Half MoonStreet feels different this year. No longer a recent widow, she has a life and friends waiting for her. Lily also has newresponsibilities in the form of her protegee Amelia, the sister of her longtime friend Jack Hartley, who is escaping her ownbrush with scandal and murder.
It doesn't take long for Lily's growing reputation as a lady of quality who can discreetly find what is missing or solve what ispuzzling to bring a desperate young woman to her doorstep. But helping her means unraveling a tangled web of familysecrets. Soon, a missing will, a dead body and the threat of blackmail leave Lily facing danger every way she turns.
The glittering society of Mayfair conceals many secrets, and the back alleys of London hide even more. Lily Adler will needto find the connection between them quickly if she wants to stop a killer before it's too late.
Critique: The newest addition to novelist Katharine Schellman's 'A Lily Adler Mystery', this new edition of "A Scandal inMayfair" has everything a cozy mystery fan could want -- an historical English setting, an amateur female sleuth, a hightension 'whodunnit' murder mystery of a thriller from start to finish. While especially recommended as an enduringlypopular pick for community and public library Mystery/Suspense collections, it should be noted for personal reading liststhat "A Scandal in Mayfair" is also readily available from Crooked Lane Books in a digital book format (Kindle, $18.99) aswell.
Editorial Note: Katharine Schellman (www.katharineschellman.com) is a former actor, a one-time political consultant, andcurrently the author of the Lily Adler Mysteries.
The Fantasy/SciFi Shelf
Marko Kloos
47 North
c/o Amazon Publishing
9781542036153, $16.99, PB, 203pp
https://www.amazon.com/Descent-Palladium-Wars-Marko-Kloos/dp/1542036151
Synopsis: POW Aden Jansen has lost a decade of his life to both the war and internment when he's recruited by the Alliance.He's to return to Gretia as an undercover Blackguard operative and destroy Odin's Wolves -- an insurgency that's setting hishome world afire. The mission comes with a full pardon and a chance to reclaim his identity. It also means rejoining hisfriends and family in space. That's motive enough. If he can succeed -- and survive.
Dunstan Park is on piracy patrol to track down the spaceborne arm of the uprising. Meanwhile, the rebels' insidious terroristcells are targets for battle-hardened insurgent hunter Idina Chaudhary and her Palladian commandos. As for Aden's sister,Solveig, she's put herself in the line of fire before, but discovering who's bankrolling Odin's Wolves is as dangerous as it ispersonal.
As Aden works his way back into the confidence of his comrades, the stealth campaign to sow discontent descends intochaos. At risk: Aden's legacy, and the very stability of a galaxy struggling for peace against all odds.
Critique: Book 4 of the Palladium Wars series by novelist Marko Kloos, "Descent" is an action packed science fictionadventure that is a 'must' for the growing legions of Marko Kloos fans. A fun read from cover to cover, "Descent" will holdspecial appeal to fans of deftly crafted Space Marine/Space Fleet combat stories. While "Descent" is readily available forpersonal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99), it is especially and unreservedly recommended forcommunity/public library Science Fiction collections.
Editorial Note: Marko Kloos (www.markokloos.com) is the author of two military science fiction series: The PalladiumWars, which includes Aftershocks, Ballistic, Citadel, and Descent, and the Frontlines series, which includes, most recently,Centers of Gravity. A member of George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards consortium, Marko writes primarily science fiction andfantasy -- his first genre loves ever since his youth, when he spent his allowance on German SF pulp serials.
The Heir of Venus
Laura Shepperson
Alcove Press
www.alcovepress.com
9781639108435, $18.99, PB, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Heir-Venus-Novel-Laura-Shepperson/dp/1639108432
Synopsis: Lavinia never asked to be fought over. But now her childhood sweetheart has waged a war that threatens todestroy everything she holds dear, all because Lavinia's father has promised her to somebody else -- Aeneas.
Aeneas, rumored to be the son of Venus, is famed for his bravery, cunning, and his vision for a new great Empire. He is alsosecretive, slippery, and Lavinia wonders why he will never discuss the past he left behind.
So when a stranger arrives in the camp with stories about Aeneas that suggest he is not what he seems, Lavinia realizes shehas to take her future, and that of her people, into her own hands.
With striking prose and an inquisitive eye cast back on mythology, "The Heir of Venus" is an impactful and relatable storyof a fight for the truth, set in the rich world of Greek mythology.
Critique: A fascinating and fun read from cover to cover, "The Heir of Venus" will have a tremendous appeal to readerswith an interest in the retelling of ancient Greek myths with a new modern sensibility and imagination. With her narrativedriven and distinctive storytelling style, novelist Laura Shepperson's "The Heir of Venus" is a unique, memorable, andunreservedly recommended pick for community/public library Historical Fiction collections. It should be noted for personalreading lists that this paperback edition of "The Heir of Venus" from Alcove Press is also readily available in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $14.99) as well.
Editorial Note: Laura Shepperson was born in the UK and has always been fascinated by myths and myth retellings,studying classical studies at the University of Auckland. Her first novel, Phaedra, was a UK Sunday Times bestseller. (underthe title The Heroines). In 2017 she was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Prize for Fiction. Laura holds a master of studiesin creative writing from the University of Cambridge. Laura lives outside London with her husband and two children. Shecan be found on Twitter and Instagram @LauraShepperson
The Boy From Two Worlds
Jason Offutt
CamCat Books
www.camcatpublishing.com
9780744308242, $28.99, HC, 400pp
https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Two-Worlds-Girl-Corn/dp/0744308240
Synopsis: Thomas Cavanaugh's life is now a blur, a blend of foggy memories and hidden horrors. When his fae girlfriendJillian begins to act strangely, he wonders whether he should put an end to their relationship. Then Jillian does theunthinkable and vanishes with four-year-old Jacob Jenkins, a boy with terrifying supernatural powers. Suddenly, years later,Jacob reappears unaged, claiming to have been in another world.
Sheriff Glenn is called in to investigate a series of violent murders, all with evidence pointing toward the boy from twoworlds. Someone with dark magic is devouring souls but for what purpose? Thomas and his allies must prepare for a bloodyfinal battle before their world is completely swept away into another, with no way to get home.
Evil comes in pretty packages.
Critique: Dark fantasy at its very best, "The Boy From Two Worlds" showcases author Jason Offutt's total master of thisspecialized genre. Original, deftly crafted, memorable and entertaining from start to finish, "The Boy From Two Worlds"will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular pick for community library Fantasy Fiction collections. It should benoted for personal reading list that "The Boy From Two Worlds" from CamCat Books is also available in a large printpaperback edition (9780744308273, $29.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).
Editorial Note: Jason Offutt (www.jasonoffutt.com) writes books. This is infinitely better than what his father trained him todo, which was to drink beer and shout at the television. He is best known for science fiction, such as his end-of-the-worldzombie novel Bad Day for the Apocalypse (a curious work that doesn't include zombies), his paranormal non-fiction likeChasing American Monsters (that does), and his book of humor How to Kill Monsters Using Common Household Objects.He also teaches university journalism.
Terralena
Victoria Wattiaux
CK Books Publishing
https://ckbookspublishing.com
https://terralena.com
9781949085624, $14.99, PB, 272pp
https://www.amazon.com/Terralena-Victoria-Wattiaux/dp/1949085627
Synopsis: When Lea's family is murdered by Mertonan soldiers from the North, her misery is unleashed in a powerful forcethat causes the ground to quake. Unable to control her unusual gift, she wanders the woods alone, grieving for her lostpeople. When Lea discovers she is pregnant by the soldiers who raped her, she falls into deep despair.
Elmond is a mystic aligned with the wind and is far from home when the Mertonans attack the southern towns along theHelian Sea. A refugee family begs him to guide them north to Halen through the dangerous Brenan Woods. In the forest,they are under constant threat from renegade soldiers but find strength in their own solidarity, a protective spirit wanderingin the woods, and the Ria, the life force that flows through all nature.
Only by aligning with the Ria, can Lea recover from her past and follow her own destiny, and only through its power, canshe and the other mystics overcome the violent Mertonans to protect the creatures and forests of Terralena.
Critique: Deftly crafted and impressively original, "Terralena" by Victoria Wattiaux adroitly features elements of magicrealism, romance, and action/adventure -- making it an inherently fascinating read from start to finish. Unreservedlyrecommended for community/public library Epic Fantasy collections it should be noted for personal reading lists that"Terranlena" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99). It should also be noted that "Terralena" has beennewly released in a Spanish edition by the author (9798874016050, $10.99 PB, $2.99 Kindle).
Greatest Hits
Harlan Ellison, author
J. Michael Straczynski, editor
Union Square & Company
www.unionsquareandco.com
9781454953371, $19.99
https://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Herald-Classics-Harlan-Ellison/dp/1454953373
Look in many an online or local library for science fiction by Harlan Ellison and you may be surprised to note that too manyof his classic collections have fallen under the library axe of weeding out old texts in favor of bright new covers andauthors.
This is why Greatest Hits deserves top billing for any collection considering itself definitive in its science fiction coverage.Packaged in a bright, contemporary, appealingly colorful cover, enhanced by a forward by Neil Gaiman, and edited by J.Michael Straczynski, such classic short stories as '"Repent, Harlequin,' Said the Ticktok Man," "Jeffty is Five," and "TheBeast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" represents Ellison's most beloved, top hits.
This is an anthology that is quite simply an outstanding gathering worthy of acquisition, re-reading, and enjoyment by a vastaudience of newcomers to Ellison's magic as well as prior fans who want a fine sourcebook of his top wonders.
Baen Books
www.baen.com
These two new arrivals are top picks for libraries seeking definitive, engrossing stories from seasoned, already-acclaimedsci-fi writers.
https://www.amazon.com/Down-Deep-Dust-Knights/dp/1982193506
Catherine Asaro's The Down Deep (9781982193508, $28.00) is a Dust Knights novel that rests firmly on issues of class andstruggles between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' Colonel Lavinda Majda has recruited Bhaaj and her Dust Knights to be herguides and bodyguards on a goodwill mission to resolve disparities in a kingdom, but the Undercity's challenges portendmore struggle than resolution as the Dust Knights probe a mysterious world known as the Down Deep. Excellentcharacterization and involving subplots keep the story vividly engrossing.
https://www.amazon.com/Ribbon-Dance-26-Liaden-Universe%C2%AE/dp/1982193441
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Ribbon Dance (9781982193447, $28.00) is a New Liaden Universe story that will especiallybe appreciated by prior fans of the series. Here, chaos is kept at bay by the Grid. Trader Padi yos'Galen is a new arrival tothe clan divisions and clashes that are part of this world, and has yet to fully utilize or understand her innate psychicabilities. Her learning process forces her beyond her interest in trading and into a deadly political confrontation thatultimately addresses her own disparities and mystery.
Both of these two new titles are fine recommendations for readers seeking a blend of strong characterization, fast-pacedstory, and vivid scenarios.
The Comix/Graphic Novel Shelf
Simon Elliott
Francis Lincoln
Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711294967, $19.99, HC, 160pp
https://www.amazon.com/Vincent-Graphic-Biography-BioGraphics/dp/0711294968
Synopsis: The artist Vincent Van Gogh once remarked: 'I know for sure that I have an instinct for color, and painting is inthe very marrow of my bones.'
The life of Van Gogh has gone down in legend as the archetypal artist's existence. He was irascible and short-tempered,hugely passionate and emotional, absurdly talented and, for most of his lifetime, notoriously misunderstood andunder-appreciated. And yet today, we see him as one of the most inventive, influential and admired painters of the entireWestern canon, if not a artistic genius.
Taking us through his short but explosive life, "Vincent: A Graphic Biography" by Simon Elliott paints a vivid picture ofVan Gogh's unusual youth, his famous early failures, his discovery of a new style of painting, his tragic suicide, and themeteoric artistic legacy that followed.
For those looking for a novel introduction to this incredible artist, or searching for a fresh take on his story "Vincent: AGraphic Biography" is Vincent Van Gogh's life as you've never seen it before.
Critique: A simply impressive and novel presentation on the tragic life and career of the artist Vincent Van Gogh, "Vincent:A Graphic Biography" uses a graphic novel approach to the painter's non-fiction biography. The result is an especially andunreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, and college/university library Biography/Memoircollections.
Editorial Note: Simon Elliott is a criminal barrister, art obsessive and standup comedian. Inspired by Hockney's message'spring cannot be cancelled', and with time to fill (thanks to Covid), Simon engrossed himself in all things Hockney, learnedhow to paint on an iPad and began a journey to create this colourful, joyous and thought provoking biography with atwist.
Comic Book Implosion: Expanded Edition
Keith Dallas, et al.
TwoMorrows Publishing
https://twomorrows.com
9781605491240, $26.95, PB, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Implosion-Expanded-Keith-Dallas/dp/1605491241
Synopsis: In 1978, DC Comics launched a bold initiative to win over fans and retailers with an expanded line-up billed as"The DC Explosion." But mere weeks after its launch, DC's parent company pulled the plug, cancelling a slew of titles, andleaving stacks of completed comic book stories unpublished.
Now, over 45 years after that "DC Implosion", TwoMorrows Publishing recalls one of the most notorious events in comicswith an exhaustive oral history from Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Len Wein, Mike Gold, Al Milgrom, and other creators andexecutives involved! Plus: detailed analysis and commentary by other top pros who were "just fans" in 1978 (Mark Waid,Michael T. Gilbert, Tom Brevoort, and more) -- examining how it changed the landscape of comics forever!
This new Expanded Edition of the long sold-out first edition of the Eisner Award-nominated book authored by Keith Dallasexplodes in full cover for the first time, with additional coverage of lost 1970s DC projects like Ninja the Invisible and anadaptation of "The Wiz," Jim Starlin's unaltered cover art for Batman Family #21, content meant for cancelled Marvel titlessuch as Godzilla and Ms. Marvel, and more!
Critique: An absolute 'must' for all dedicated comic book history fans, this large format (8.27 x 0.55 x 10.94 inches, 1.25pounds) paperback edition of "Comic Book Implosion: Expanded Edition" is a profusely illustrated, inherently fascinating,exceptionally informative, and highly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/universitylibrary 20th Century American Pop Culture history and biography collections.
Epilectra: Graphic Novel Series
Sue Seserman
Dorrance Publishing Company
www.dorrancepublishing.com
9798892112314, $34.95, PB, 172pp
https://www.amazon.com/Epilectra-Graphic-Novel-Sue-Seserman/dp/B0D5JR6S8P
Synopsis: The electrifying graphic novel series, Epilectra by Sue Seserman, follows the incredible journey of Eden Rivers, a5th grade social studies teacher, whose life takes a shocking turn when she's struck by lightning and develops epilepsy as aresult.
But what initially appears as a frustrating disability soon reveals itself to be a remarkable superability. As Eden grappleswith her new reality, she quickly becomes New York City's newest and most unconventional superhero: Epilectra.
Epilectra Book 1 is packed with three exciting adventures: Story 1: SEEZation, Epilectra's origin story, Story 2: Up on theRoof, where troublemaker Henry takes Epilectra's story nationwide, and Story 3: River Rager, which spans from the bottomof the Hudson River to the top of the Empire State Building.
Critique: An original and fun read from start to finish, this large format (8.5 x 0.45 x 11 inches, 1.25 pounds) paperbackedition of Sue Seserman's "Epilectra: Graphic Novel Series" from the Dorrance Publishing Company unique showcases theconcept of a female superhero that transforms a disability into a 'superability', and is especially and unreservedlyrecommended for the personal reading lists of dedicated fans of superhero comics, and community library Graphic Novelcollections.
Editorial Note: Sue Seserman (www.epilectra.com) is the Creator and Author of Epilectra. Her graphic novel reflects manyof her own battles with and successes over different autoimmune disorders, all while trying to live a "normal" life. She wasdiagnosed with epilepsy in 2013 and with type 1 diabetes in 1993. Her graphic novel conveys the crucial message that beingdifferent should not invoke shame, but rather pride in the strength it takes to manage a disability and deal with theunknowns and inconveniences it throws your way. Epilectra's motto is, "Your Difference Is Your Strength," and everyone isdifferent in one way or another.
The Audiobook Shelf
Beth Moran
Boldwood
c/o Ulverscroft Large Print (USA), Inc.
www.ulverscroftusa.com
2940191742724, $20.99, MP3-CD (11 Hours 14 Minutes)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/it-had-to-be-you-beth-moran/1145532030
Synopsis: Their parents fostered children of all ages, and although the girls loved playing their part in providing a safehaven, it meant that life was rarely peaceful.
Now as a single mother of two, Libby's life is still anything but peaceful. In her work as an antenatal coach, as well as forthe charity she and Nicky run for teenage mothers, Libby uses all the skills she learnt growing up surrounded by children.Her days are full, caring for her family, the mothers-to-be and the latest strays she has welcomed into her home. But in thedark of the lonely nights, Libby worries she's falling apart at the seams.
One troubled boy and a reckless decision she made thirteen years ago still haunts her.
Two hearts that were broken, still not mended.
The time has come for Libby to look out for herself. As her family, friends and her community have known forever, Libby isone of a kind, and if she can just learn to love herself, she may be able to welcome back the love she let slip through herfingers.
Critique: Masterfully narrated by Rosalind Steele, this complete and unabridged audio book edition of "It Had To Be You"by author Beth Moran brings to life in a true 'theatre of the mind' experience this deftly crafted, entertaining and memorablestory that will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in contemporary women's fiction. While highlyrecommended for personal and community library audio book collections, A 'must' for the growing legions of RosalindSteele fans, it should be noted that "It Had To Be You" from Boldwood Books is also readily available in a hardcoveredition (9781804833711, $29.99), in large print edition (9781804833711, $17.99), and in a digital book format (Kindle,$4.99).
Editorial Note #1: Beth Moran (https://bethmoranauthor.com) is the author of twelve novels including the number onebestseller, Let it Snow. These are mostly set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most morningswalking her spaniel, Murphy. Prior to becoming an author, she worked as a biochemist doing cancer research and was anantenatal educator. While her older children have all now flown the nest, she is a foster carer for teenagers so life is neverboring.
Editorial Note #2: There is an extensive on-line listing of books narrated by Rosalind Steele athttps://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Rosalind%C2%A0Steele
The Familiar
Leigh Bardugo, author
Loren Fortgang, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
2940159945839, $39.99, 11 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-familiar-leigh-bardugo/1144086938
Synopsis: In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to getthrough her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering inthe kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's socialposition.
What begins as simple amusem*nt for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Perez, thedisgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in thewar against England's heretic queen - and Perez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.
Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men andhucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does thedanger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will tosurvive -- even if that means enlisting the help of Guillen Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secretscould prove deadly for them both.
Critique: Artfully narrated by the spell-binding storytelling talents of narrator Laren Fortgang, this complete and unabridgedaudio book edition from Macmillian Audio of Leigh Bardugo's compelling and original fantasy novel, "The Familiar" isunreservedly recommended for personal and community college audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Leigh Bardugo (www.leighbardugo.com) is the author and creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflixseries) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, The Language of Thorns, and the King ofScars duology -- with more to come. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (GoodreadsChoice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019).
Editorial Note #2: Lauren Fortgang (www.laurenfortgang.com) is an actor and voiceover artist. Following training atA.C.T.'s Young Conservatory in San Francisco, she attended Fordham University: College at Lincoln Center, where shemajored in theater. Her curiosity for tapping into varied niches of the industry has afforded her a broad career spectrum,both in and out of the 'spotlight' as actor, singer, spokesperson, audiobook narrator, producer, and, on the odd occasion,costume designer.
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Natalie Jenner, author
Juliet Aubrey, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250348883, $39.99, 9 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/every-time-we-say-goodbye-natalie-jenner/1143881682
Synopsis: In 1955, Vivien Lowry is facing the greatest challenge of her life. Her latest play, the only female-authored playon the London stage that season, has opened in the West End to rapturous applause from the audience. The reviewers,however, are not as impressed as the playgoers and their savage notices not only shut down the play but ruin Lowry's lastchance for a dramatic career.
With her future in London not looking bright, and at the suggestion of her friend, Peggy Guggenheim, Vivien takes a job inas a script doctor on a major film shooting in Rome's Cinecitta Studios. There she finds a vibrant movie making scene filledwith rising stars, acclaimed directors, and famous actors in a country that is torn between its past and its potentially brightfuture, between the liberation of the post-war cinema and the restrictions of the Catholic Church that permeates the verysoul of Italy.
As Vivien tries to forge a new future for herself, she also must face the long-buried truth of the recent World War and themystery of what really happened to her deceased fiance.
Critique: "Every Time We Say Goodbye" by novelist Natalie Jenner is a brilliant exploration of trauma and tragedy, hopeand renewal, filled with dazzling characters both real and imaginary, from the incomparable author who charmed the worldwith her novels The Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls. This complete and unabridged audio book edition fromMacmillan Audio is superbly narrated by the BAFTA award winning actress Juliet Aubrey and is an very special andunreservedly recommended pick for personal and community library audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Natalie Jenner (www.nataliejenner.com) was born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been acorporate lawyer and career coach and once owned an independent bookstore in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, where she liveswith her family and two rescue dogs.
The Women
Kristin Hannah, author
Julia Whelan, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250317964, $44.99, 12 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-women-kristin-hannah/1143461662
Synopsis: Women can be heroes.
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in thesun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herselfon doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself.When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction ofwar. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. Inwar, she meets (and becomes one of) the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed anddivided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
"The Women" is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm's wayand whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and boldpatriotism, "The Women" is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire willcome to define an era.
Critique: Now available as a complete and unabridged audio book impressively and deftly narrated by the vocal actingtalents of Julia Whelan, this Macmillan Audio edition of "The Women" by novelist Kristin Hannah is a welcome and highlyrecommended pick for both personal and community/public library Women's Coming Of Age themed audio bookcollections.
Editorial Note #1: Kristin Hannah (https://kristinhannah.com) is the author of more than twenty novels, including TheNightingale, The Great Alone, and The Four Winds.
Editorial Note #2: Julia Whelan (https://jmwhelan.com/narrator) has narrated over 600 audiobooks in all genres, Whelan is,by industry standards, considered one of the top narrators recording today. She's repeatedly featured on AudiofileMagazine's annual Best-Of Lists. She was named Audible's Narrator of the Year in 2014 and is a Grammy-nominatedaudiobook director. Julia has acquired multiple Audies and SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts) Awards, including for theperformance of her own novel, My Oxford Year. She has won dozens of Earphone Awards, The Audie Award for BestFemale Narrator of 2019, and was presented with Audiofile Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Golden Voice Award in2020.
Dog Day Afternoon
David Rosenfelt, author
Grover Gardner, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250345073, $29.99, 7 CDs,
https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Day-Afternoon-Carpenter-Mystery/dp/1250345073
Synopsis: Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter has run the Tara Foundation (the dog rescue organization named after his belovedgolden retriever) for years. It's always been his calling, even as Andy's pulled into representing clients in court. Hisinvestigator, Marcus Clark, has been at Andy's side for a long time. Even though they've known each other for years, Marcuskeeps his personal life a mystery.
So it's a shock when Marcus arrives at the Tara Foundation with two strangers in tow. Turns out Marcus takesdisadvantaged young men under his wing, gets them jobs, a place to live, and a chance at a different life. And they want adog. Andy's specialty. One of the young men, Nick Williams, instantly falls in love with one of the dogs, Daisy.
When there's a mass shooting at Nick's work, leaving six dead, all signs point to Nick. Marcus, who's never asked Andy foranything, asks Andy for help. Despite Nick's troubled background, Andy trusts his friend and takes the case.
Critique: The 29th title in the enduringly popular Andy Carpenter mystery series by David Rosenfelt, this complete andunabridged audio book edition of "Dog Day Afternoon" from Macmillan Audio is vividly brought to life in a true 'theatre ofthe mind' experience by the storytelling talents of Grover Gardner. As with its 28 predecessors, "Dog Day Afternoon" isunreservedly recommended for personal and community library Mystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: David Rosenfelt (https://davidrosenfelt.com) is a native of Paterson, New Jersey, is a graduate of NYU.He was the former marketing president for Tri-Star Pictures before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. "Open AndShut" was his first novel; "First Degree," his second novel, was named a best book of 2003 by Publishers Weekly. Hecurrently lives in Southern California with his wife and 35 dogs.
Editorial Note: Grover Gardner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Gardner) is an American narrator of audiobooks. Asof May 2018, he had narrated over 1,200 books. He was also the Publishers Weekly "Audiobook Narrator of the Year"(2005) and is listed among AudioFile magazine's "Best Voices of the Century".
The Burning
Linda Castillo, author
Kathleen McInerney, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250345097, $39.99, 8 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-burning-linda-castillo/1143881801
Synopsis: Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is awakened by an urgent midnight call summoning her to asuspicious fire in the woods. When she arrives at the scene, she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, thedeceased, an Amish man named Milan Swanz, was chained to a stake and burned alive. It is an appalling and eerilysymbolic crime against an upstanding husband and father.
Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and noone will speak about the murdered man. From what she's able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and hadrecently been excommunicated. But if that's the case, why are the Amish so reluctant to talk about him? Are they protectingthe memory of one of their own? Or are they afraid of something they dare not share?
When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which shewas once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violentturn when Kate's life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.
To uncover the truth about the death of Milan Swanz, Kate must dive deep into the Anabaptist culture, peering into all thedark corners of its history, only to uncover a secret legacy that shatters everything she thought she knew about the Amishthemselves -- and her own roots.
Critique: In this complete and unabridged audio book edition from Macmillan Audio of Linda Castillo's novel "TheBurning", we are treated to the impressive storytelling skills of narrator Kathleen McInerney. Offering a true 'theatre of themind' experience, "The Burning" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to personal and communitylibrary Mystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Linda Castillo (www.lindacastillo.com/about_linda.html) is the author of the Kate Burkholder mysteryseries, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled AnAmish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Critically acclaimed as "the master of the genre" (Peoplemagazine), Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including an Edgar Award, the Sue Grafton MemorialAward, a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for an Audie Award for bestmystery audiobook, and an appearance on the Boston Globe's shortlist for best crime novel.
Editorial Note #2: Kathleen McInherney has narrated numerous audiobooks by bestselling authors such as Emily Giffin,Danielle Steel, Jeffrey Stepakoff, Mary Kay Andrews, and Linda Castillo. Her narration of Just One Day by Gayle Formanwon an AudioFile Earphones Award. She has appeared onstage in New York and around the United States in both classicaland contemporary theater. Her credits also include television commercials, daytime drama, radio plays, and animationvoice-overs.
Extinction
Douglas Preston, author
David Aaron Baker, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
2940160028224, $39.99, 11 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/extinction-douglas-preston/1142827191
Synopsis: Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offersguests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought backfrom extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation.
When a billionaire's son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to bea gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcordto track down the perpetrators.
As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolentpresence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection -- but extinction.
Critique: Impressively original, exceptionally well written, and brought vividly to life by the narrative talents of DavidAaron Baker, "Extinction" by Douglas Preston will prove to be of particular interest to any and all dedicated mystery fans.Blending action, adventure, just a touch of science fiction, this complete and unabridged audio book edition from MacmillanAudio is an ideal and highly recommended pick for both personal and community library Mystery/Suspense audio bookcollections.
Editorial Note #1: Douglas Preston (www.prestonchild.com) has published forty books of both nonfiction and fiction, ofwhich thirty one have been New York Times bestsellers, a half-dozen reaching the #1 position. He is also the co-author,with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He also writes nonfiction pieces for the New Yorker. He worked asan editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University.He is president emeritus of the Authors Guild and serves on the Advisory Board of the School for Advanced Research inSanta Fe.
Editorial Note #2: David Aaron Baker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Aaron_Baker) is a talented American actor andnarrator whose credits stretch across theater, film, television and audio books
Children of Anguish and Anarchy
Tom Adeyemi, author
Cynthia Erivo, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
2940159612427, $39.99, 9 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/children-of-anguish-and-anarchy-tomi-adeyemi/1142835788
Synopsis: When Zelie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchyhad finally fallen. The maji had risen again. Zelie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreignship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.
Then everything changes when Zelie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who hasravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr's quest to harness Zelie's strength sends Zelie, Amari, and Tzain searching forallies in unknown lands.
But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orisha's shores. It will take everything Zelie has to face her final enemy andsave her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.
Critique: Unreservedly recommended for personal and community library Fantasy Adventure audio book collections, thiscomplete and unabridged audio book edition of the third title in author Tomi Adeyemi's 'Legacy of Orish' fantasy series,"Children of Anguish and Anarchy" is brought to life in a magnificent 'theatre of the mind' experience for the listener by thestorytelling skills of Tony, Grammy, and Emmy award winning actor Cynthia Erivo.
Editorial Note #1: Tomi Adeyemi (https://tomiadeyemi.com) is a Hugo- and Nebula Award - winning Nigerian Americanwriter and storyteller based in New York, New York. After graduating from Harvard University with an honors degree inEnglish literature, she studied West African mythology, religion, and culture in Salvador, Brazil. Her first novel, Children ofBlood and Bone, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Its highly anticipated sequel, Children of Virtue andVengeance, also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Tomi's Legacy of Orisha trilogy is being developedinto a feature film. Tomi can be found teaching creative writing online. In 2020, she was named one of Forbes's 30 Under 30in Media, and her website was named one of the 101 Best Websites for writers by Writer's Digest.
Editorial Note #2: Cynthia Erivo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Erivo) is an English actress and singer. She gainedrecognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 TonyAward for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of Americanabolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for BestActress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the BestOriginal Song category.
Mind Games
Nora Roberts, author
January LaVoy, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250345318, $39.99, 12 CDs
https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Games-Novel-Nora-Roberts/dp/1250345316
Synopsis: As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for atwo-week stay at their grandmother's. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and freshbread and Grammie's handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they're aboutto cross paths with a ticking time bomb.
Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have neverdiscussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible hashappened.
The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea's vision, their parents' killer will spendhis life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and soulsstill lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse -- because the inmate who shattered herchildhood has the same ability.
Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. Along, silent battle will be waged between them -- and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head...
Critique: Nora Roberts at her best, "Mind Games" is now available as a complete and unabridged audio book fromMacmillan audio. Deftly narrated by the impressive storytelling talents of actress January LaVoy, "Mind Games" is awelcome and unreservedly recommended pick for the legions of Nora Roberts fans and community/public libraryMystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Nora Roberts (https://noraroberts.com) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200novels, including Shelter in Place, Year One, Come Sundown, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling InDeath series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than five hundred million copies of her books inprint.
Editorial Note #2: January LaVoy (www.januarylavoy.com) is the recipient of the 2023 Helen Hayes Award for OutstandingLead Performer (Fires in the Mirror), January made her Broadway debut in Lucy Prebble's ENRON in 2010, and hasappeared Off-Broadway in Wings (Second Stage), Coraline (MCC), Measure for Measure (TFANA), Mrs. Murray'sMenagerie (Ars Nova, Lucille Lortel Nomination) Two Trains Running, Home, Funnyhouse of a Negro, and Wakey, Wakey(Signature Theatre).
House of Glass
Sarah Pekkanen, author
Laura Benanti, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250345103, $39.99, 9 CDs
https://www.amazon.com/House-Glass-Novel-Sarah-Pekkanen/dp/1250345103
Synopsis: On the outside they were the golden family with the perfect life. On the inside they had built the perfect lie.
A young nanny who plunged to her death, or was she pushed? A nine-year-old girl who collects sharp objects and refuses tospeak. A lawyer whose job it is to uncover who in the family is a victim and who is a murderer. But how can you find outthe truth when everyone here is lying?
Rose Barclay is a nine-year-old girl who witnessed the possible murder of her nanny (in the midst of her parent's bitterdivorce) and immediately stopped speaking. Stella Hudson is a best interest attorney, appointed to serve as counsel forchildren in custody cases. She never accepts clients under thirteen due to her own traumatic childhood, but Stella's mentor, arevered judge, believes Stella is the only one who can help.
From the moment Stella passes through the iron security gate and steps into the gilded, historic DC home of the Barclays,she realizes the case is even more twisted, and the Barclay family far more troubled, than she feared. And there's somethingeerie about the house itself: It's a plastic house, with not a single bit of glass to be found.
As Stella comes closer to uncovering the secrets the Barclays are desperate to hide, danger wraps around her like a shroud,and her past and present are set on a collision course in ways she never expected. Everyone is a suspect in the nanny'smurder. The mother, the father, the grandmother, the nanny's boyfriend. Even Rose. Is the person Stella's supposed toprotect the one she may need protection from?
Critique: Now in a complete and unabridged audio book edition deftly narrated by Laura Benanti, "House of Glass", adomestic suspense thriller of a novel by Sarah Pekkanen will prove to be an immensely popular pick for personal andcommunity/public library Mystery/Suspense audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Sarah Pekkanen is the co-author of four novels of suspense including The Golden Couple and The WifeBetween Us, as well as the solo author of the thriller Gone Tonight.
Editorial Note #2: Laura Benanti (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Benanti) is an American actress and singer.
The Rom-Commers
Katherine Center, author
Patti Murin, narrator
Macmillan Audio
www.macmillanaudio.com
9781250344786, $39.99, 9 CDs
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rom-commers-katherine-center/1143881615
Synopsis: Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She's spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writingromantic comedies -- good ones! Ones that win contests! But she's also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad,who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates (herpersonal writing god!) it's a break too big to pass up.
Emma's younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of alifetime. But what is it they say? Don't meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn't want to write with anyone -- much less "afailed, nobody screenwriter". Worse, the romantic comedy he's written is so terrible it might actually bring on theapocalypse. Plus! He doesn't even care about the script -- it's just a means to get a different one green-lit.
Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
But Emma's not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She willconvince him that love stories matter -- even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But... what if that kiss is accidentallyamazing? What if real life turns out to be so much... more real than fiction? What if the love story they're writing breaks allEmma's rules -- and comes true?
Critique: The stuff of which Hallmark Channel movies are made, this complete and unabridged audio book edition ofKatherine Center novel "The Rom-Commers" is ably narrated by the impressively skilled storytelling talents of Patti Murin.From Macmillan Audio, "The Rom-Commers" is unreservedly recommended for personal and community/public libraryRomance themed audio book collections.
Editorial Note #1: Katherine Center (https://katherinecenter.com) writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks usdown -- and how we get back up. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple's Best Books of 2020,Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many more. The movie adaptation ofKatherine's novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners isnow a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper.
Editorial Note #2: Patti Murin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patti_Murin) is an American actress, singer and dancer. OnBroadway, she has originated the title role in Lysistrata Jones (2011) and Princess Anna in Frozen (2018). She also had arecurring role as Dr. Nina Shore in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med from 2016 to 2019.
The Library CD Shelf
Russ Brannon
russbrannon.com
Privately Published
$14.00 CAD CD / $7.00 CAD digital
https://russbrannon.bandcamp.com/album/sojourn
Sojourn is an album of original compositions by Russ Brannon, a Canadian guitarist with a talent for improvisation. Withcontributions from a wealth of talented music artists on vocals, tenor saxophone, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, andstrings, Sojourn is an extraordinary album featuring richly crafted songs that describe a lifelong journey, from traveling theworld to raising a family. Thoughtful, beautiful, and joyful, Sojourn is a treasure for connoisseurs of fine listening andpublic library music collections, highly recommended. The tracks are Casco Viejo, Pauline, From The Mountain, Ville Bleu,Bluesold, Free Flight, Sojourn, Thistle Street, Grace, Passage, Raltzy, Prayer to Somewhere, and Casco Viejo Reprise.
The Sixth Dimension
Doug Wilde
dougwilde.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $9.49 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8JZ12Z3
The Sixth Dimension is an extraordinary musical experiment - an original, instrumental album created with unconventionalsix-note scales, also known as hexachords, as opposed to the more commonly used seven note scales and their derivedmajor and minor chords. Keyboardist Doug Wilde created each of The Sixth Dimension's ten tracks with a different,specially selected six-note scale. The result is a creative, inspiring breakaway from traditional constraints, that is nonethelessbeautifully melodic. Performed by Doug Wilde on keyboards, Colleen Allen on saxophones and bass clarinet, James Ervinon trumpet and flugelhorn, Charlie Cooley on drums, and Paul Novotny and Henry Heilig on electric and acoustic bass, TheSixth Dimension is a wondrous showcase of what music can become when it reaches beyond arbitrary boundaries, andhighly recommended for both personal and public library collections. The tracks are The Sixth Dimension, Hextopia,Category Noon, Blue Sky Day, A Conversation, Zephyr, Backstory, Water Music, Summer Calling, and Sketches ofTomorrow.
Brian Landrus Plays Ellington & Strayhorn
Brian Landrus
brianlandrus.com
Palmetto Records
$10.00 CD / $9.49 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/Plays-Ellington-Strayhorn-Brian-Landrus/dp/B0D22YGY3K
Brian Landurs, a music artist specializing in low woodwind, presents Brian Landrus Plays Ellington & Strayhorn, a tributealbum to jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Ellington's frequent composing partner,composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967). Landrus plays songs composed by Ellington and Strayhorn on awide assortment of instruments including baritone and bass saxophones, bass and contra alto clarinets, piccolo, and C, alto,and bass flutes. With aid from Grammy-winning engineer and producer John Kilgore, Brian Landrus' performances havebeen mixed into a flowing recreation of beloved twentieth century jazz, supported by rhythms from guitarist Dave Stryker,bassist Jay Anderson, and drummer Billy Hart. Brian Landrus Plays Ellington & Strayhorn is a choice pick for classic jazzconnoisseurs and public library music collections, highly recommended. The tracks are Agra, Chelsea Bridge, A Flower is aLovesome Thing, Daydream, Praise God, Prelude to a Kiss, Come Sunday, The Telecasters, Lotus Blossom, Lush Life,Isfahan, Star-Crossed Lovers, Warm Valley, and Sophisticated Lady.
Echoes of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington Vol. 2
Planet D Nonet
Eastlawn Records
https://www.eastlawnrecords.com
$TBA CD / $10.00 digital
https://planetdnonet.bandcamp.com/album/echoes-of-harlem-a-salute-to-duke-ellington-vol-2
Echoes of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington Vol. 2 is Planet D Nonet's follow-up album to "Blues to Be There: A Saluteto Duke Ellington". Both albums pay homage to legendary American jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington(1899-1974), who is especially known for his creative orchestra and big band compositions. The talented members of PlanetD Nonet combine their music artistry to bring to life new arrangements of more of Ellington's beloved classics. Smoothlyand superbly performed, Echoes of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington Vol. 2 is a "must-have" for both personal and publiclibrary jazz collections, highly recommended. The tracks are Happy Anniversary, Flirtibird, Rocks in My Bed, Echoes ofHarlem, Addi, Blood Count, Juniflip, Azalea, La Belle Plus Africaine, Caravan, Frustration, I'm Gonna Go Fishin', HappyReunion, The Shepherd (Who Watches Over the Night Flock), and Sophisticated Lady.
Augie Haas +8 Live at the Speakeasy
Augie Haas
www.augiehaas.com
Playtime Music
$TBA
https://www.augiehaas.com/lats
Jazz trumpeter and singer Augie Haas presents Augie Haas +8 Live at the Speakeasy, a new album recorded in one takebefore a live audience in 2024. Created to evoke the sense of experiencing live music in a New York speakeasy, Augie Haas+8 Live at the Speakeasy includes both original creations and arrangements of classics such as Sinatra's "Fly Me to theMoon". Performed with a grand gathering of talented vocalists and music artists playing alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax,trumpets, trombone, piano, bass, and drums, Augie Haas +8 Live at the Speakeasy is a celebration of live jazz performance,highly recommended. The tracks are Jamo Rocks, The Sound, Candy, Fly Me To The Moon (ft. Major Attaway), You CanFly!, Keep On Keeping On, I Put A Spell On You (ft. Kacie Sky & Mike Gorham), Feelin' Alright, The Red Door (ft.Andrew Carson), and Za Toba Pojde Jak Na Bal.
Vagabond Heart
Rosemary Loar
www.rosemaryloar.com
Atlor Music
$TBA CD / $12.00 digital
https://www.rosemaryloar.com/music
Vagabond Heart is the latest album from Rosemary Loar, a jazz vocalist of over 35 years' experience. Three of the songs arewritten by Loar herself; others are classics by various beloved creators. Loar's singing is emotionally charged andpassionate, supported by the mellifluous performances of Frank Ponzio on piano, Tom Hubbard on upright bass, VitoLesczak on drums, Gary Schreiner on chromatic harmonica, and David Longworth on egg shaker and triangle. VagabondHeart is a treasure for connoisseurs of vocal jazz, highly recommended. The tracks are Coracao Vagabundo, Just a FairyTale, Get Out Of Town, Midnight Sun, Your Turn To Be Brave, You Taught My Heart To Sing, Fascinating Rhythm, LaBelle Dame Sans Regret, I Don't Want To Know For Sure, Show Me, I Fall In Love Too Easily, and Cool.
Recuerdo
Amanda Martinez
amandamartinez.ca
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $11.49 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6P8GC3L
Recuerdo (which translates to "I remember") is a Spanish-language Latin music album, the fifth by talented vocalistAmanda Martinez, with support from music artists on trumpet, flugelhorn, violin, piano, guitars, percussion, and more. InRecuerdo, Martinez celebrates the life of her father, who recently passed on, and from whom she inherited her passion formusic. With elements of world music, jazz fusion, Latin rhythms, and a smidgin of pop, Recuerdo is a multifaceted treasureand highly recommended especially for international music connoisseurs. The tracks are A la edad de cuatro, Mi libertad,Recuerdo, Release Me, No te vayas, Todavia, Sol de ayer, Quiero volver, Ya viene el sol, and Nostalgia.
A Window Within
Olivia Foschi
https://www.oliviafoschi.com
Privately Published
$TBA CD / $8.91 MP3
https://open.spotify.com/album/3oJ3XIsgv343TQDpH8YeOK
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3M8KL7B
Jazz singer and composer Olivia Foschi presents A Window Within, a collaborative album with drummer MauricioZottarelli. Most tracks are Foschi's original creations; "Live With It" is co-written with Zottarelli, and "Cun la Prema Stela"is a revival of a traditional song from the 1920's by D.G.C. Martuzzi and A. Spallicci. Foschi's singing is transcendentlybeautiful, in this emotionally uplifting album highly recommended for connoisseurs of vocal jazz. The tracks are Caught MeBy Surprise, Pieces of Central Park, Live With It, Cun La Prema Stela, Nona, Eat Wind, Savoring the Rain, Subtle Farewell,and John John Joel and Joan.
Paganova
Michael Pagan
www.michaelpaganmusic.com
Capri Records
www.caprirecords.com
$16.99 CD / $8.99 MP3
https://www.amazon.com/Paganova-Michael-Pag%C3%A1n/dp/B0D3FHBB51
Award-winning arranger and prolific pianist and composer Michael Pagan presents Paganova, a jazz album featuring five ofPagan's compositions and three arrangements of beloved classic tunes. Paganova is performed by a jazz quintet: MichaelPagan on piano, his son Louie Pagan on upright bass, Ray DeMarchi on drums, and David Chael and Michael Herrera onsaxophones - they twitch between tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones throughout. Paganova is a mind-expanding musicaljourney and a treat for jazz connoisseurs, highly recommended. The tracks are Burn it Forward, Deep in My Soul, GuessWhose Blues, Eiderdown, Where Do We Go From Here, Gaviota, Just the Other Day, and Napoli.
Miniature America
Miles Okazaki
https://www.milesokazaki.com
Cygnus Recordings
$15.00 CD / $12.00 digital
https://miniatureamerica.bandcamp.com/album/miniature-america
The twelfth album of guitarist Miles Okazaki, Miniature America is a unique work combining the talents of ten musicartists, including vocalists and performers on vibraphone, piano, saxophones, trombones, and Miles Okazaki on guitar. Theindividual tracks quite short - most are 1-2 minutes long - and have been crafted as brief fragments and atmosphericmoments. An exquisitely crafted collection of fleeting instants, Miniature America is adventurous, inspirational, and highlyrecommended. The tracks are The co*cktail Party, The Funambulist, The Funicular, Lookout Below, Wheel Of Cloud, AndThe Deep River, Follow That Car, Open Road,
Whack A Mole, Promise Me, The Cavern, Chutes And Ladders, The Haze, The Hive, Venus Calling, Zodiacal Cloud, OnlyOuter Space, The Firmament, The Furniture, Pulsation Station, In The Fullness Of Time, and A Clean Slate.
The Library Blu-ray Shelf
Bruce McDonald, director
Studio: Unobstructed View
B0D4RLND88, $29.98, 1 Blu-ray Disc (1 Hour 24 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/DANCE-ME-OUTSIDE-BLURAY-Blu-ray/dp/B0D4RLND88
Synopsis: In his Blu-Ray drama, "Dance Me Outside", director Bruce McDonald explores live in a northern Ontario nativereservation. This Canadian drama based on a book by W.P. Kinsella, examines the tension between Native Canadians andAnglos in Canada from a Native perspective. Silas Crow, who lives on a Northern Ontario reserve, wants to take amechanic's course in Toronto with his friend Frank Fencepost. But before he can enroll, the teen must write a short narrativedescribing his home. The film is a series of alternatively poignant vignettes from Crow's narrative.
Critique: Exceptional, fascinating, impressive, memorable, "Dance Me Outside" will prove to be a prized pick for personal,community, and college/university library Native American themed Blu-Ray video collections.
Meeting The Beatles In India
Paul Saltzman, director
David Lynch, actor
Pattie Boyd, actor
https://thebeatlesinindia.com
SUN1066, Blu-Ray, $24.98, Documentary, 1 Hour 19 Minutes
https://www.amazon.com/MEETING-BEATLES-INDIA-BLURAY-Blu-ray/dp/B0D4RL4TH4
Synopsis: "The Beatles In India" is a full color documentary of the Beatles trip to India in 1968 by Canadian documentarymaker Paul Saltzman. Included as a bonus are 57 minutes of extra scenes and a trailer.
Critique: Brilliantly narrated by Morgan Freeman, "The Beatles In India" is a 'must' for the legions of Beatles fans andunreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library Documentary Video collections.
Subversives: The History of Lowest of the Low
Simon Head, director
Studio: Unobstructed View
B0D47S5Z77, $24.98, 1 Blu-ray Disc (2 Hours 2 Minutes)
https://www.amazon.com/SUBVERSIVES-History-Lowest-BLURAY-Blu-ray/dp/B0D47S5Z77
Synopsis: "Lowest of the Low" is a Canadian Band that has been together for over 30 years. They had the record for mostalbums sold until Barenaked Ladies outsold them in the early 1990's. This is the story of how a band that stuck to their gunsflying the "indy flag" until the major labels came calling in the mid-nineties. It's a story of tenacity and the will to create artwithout the corporate fingers in the pudding.
The documentary film "Subversives: The History of Lowest of the Low" was funded and directed by Simon Head with somecontributions from fans of the band. The making of the film parallels the bands ethics and beliefs regarding art &commerce.
Featured Extras for "Subversives: The History of Lowest of the Low" include: Shakespeare My Butt Song For Song BrownHawkins Stanley - City Full Of Cowards Don't Call Me A Sellout Fights Nazis And Other Delights Greg Broke A StringLazy Days Life Imitating Art Toronto And Buffalo Fans.
Critique: A superbly produced Blu-ray video, "Subversives: The History of Lowest of the Low" is a 'must' for the legions ofLowest of the Low fans and is especially and unreserved for personal, community, and college/university library PopularMusic/Musicians video collections.
Helck Complete Collection
Sentai Film Works
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com
c/o RLJ Entertainment (distribution)
$58.99
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com/products/816726025063-helck-season-1-complete-collection-blu-ray
Helck Complete Collection presents the entire anime (Japanese animation) series about Helck, a powerful human hero whoaspires to become the next Demon Lord! To fulfill his dream, Helck enters the traditional tournament to fill the vacancy ofthe previous Demon Lord, who was slain by human heroes. Why would any human ever want to become the next DemonLord? Helck claims to hate his own kind, but can the word of a human be trusted? Vermillion, the tournament overseer,suspects that Helck secretly plans to betray and destroy demonkind - but she knows so little about Helck that finding proofof his true intentions is an uphill struggle. Even worse, Helck grows more popular among the ranks of demons every day!Helck Complete Collection treads a fine line between comedic parody and dark fantasy, and is enthusiasticallyrecommended for anime connoisseurs. Helck Complete Collection is rated TV-14; it's intended for viewers age 14 and updue to coarse language and scenes of violence. 24 episodes on 3 Blu-ray discs, English and Japanese audio, Englishsubtitles, 600 minutes.
Is the Order a Rabbit? Season 2 Complete Collection
Sentai Film Works
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com
c/o RLJ Entertainment (distribution)
$32.99
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com/products/816726027760-is-the-order-a-rabbit-season-2-complete-collection-blu-ray
Is the Order a Rabbit? Season 2 Complete Collection presents the entire second season of an anime (Japanese animation) setamid the cafes and restaurants of a quaint, European-style town. Is the Order a Rabbit? has relatively little plot, insteadfocusing on the relationships, silliness, personality quirks, and strange happenings among several teenaged girls working aswaitresses, baristas, and other restaurant-themed jobs. Is the Order a Rabbit? is lighthearted fun, and its slice-of-life comedyformat makes Season 2 just as good a jumping-on point as Season 1. Highly recommended especially for animeconnoisseurs who just want to relax and enjoy delightful hijinks! Is the Order a Rabbit? Season 2 Complete Collection israted TV-PG (parental guidance recommended for young children). 12 episodes on 2 Blu-ray discs, Japanese audio, Englishsubtitles, 300 minutes.
Dark Gathering Complete Collection
Sentai Film Works
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com
c/o RLJ Entertainment (distribution)
$58.99
https://www.sentaifilmworks.com/products/816726024868-dark-gathering-complete-collection-blu-ray
Dark Gathering Complete Collection presents the entire anime (Japanese animation) series about a young man and a geniusgirl who make a pact to take on supernatural forces. Keitaro is a natural magnet for ghosts, and his uncontrollable talentcaused him and a friend to become cursed; Yayoi is a genius prodigy girl who wants to save her missing mother from theevil spirit who made her vanish. Keitaro agrees to go ghost-hunting with Yayoi in exchange for her promise to help him finda way to break his curse. A suspenseful, modern-day dark fantasy, Dark Gathering Complete Collection is highlyrecommended especially for connoisseurs of ghost stories in general and Japanese horror in particular. Dark GatheringComplete Collection is rated TV-MA; it's intended for mature viewers ages 17 and up due to scenes of violence and sexualsituations. 25 episodes on 3 Blu-ray discs, English and Japanese audio, English subtitles, 625 minutes.
The Architecture Shelf
Robert Oxman
ORO Editions
www.oroeditions.com
9781957183954, $55.00, PB, 300pp
https://www.amazon.com/Socializing-Sky-Robert-Oxman/dp/1957183950
Synopsis: With the publication of "Socializing the Sky", Robert Oxman presents the remarkable history of the emergence inthe past two decades of the dramatically new design of multi-tower and multi-functional tall building clusters. Based upon adecade of architectural research, "Socializing the Sky" provides a definition of the new typology, here termed The TowerCluster, and its major concepts, design characteristics, and the typological knowledge required to design creativesub-variants. It provides the detailed analysis of a large series of recent case studies of the typology.
In addition, "Socializing the Sky" categorizes various types of sky amenities such as sky pools, sky plazas, outlook decks,and other functions that have been, in this new typology, distributed through the vertical order of the tower cluster in orderto create a new form of Vertical Campus which contains a designed selection of social, cultural, commercial, andentertainment facilities. The various types of groupings of advanced amenities in multi-story residential buildings, hotelbuildings, office buildings, and high-tech headquarters/research buildings are presented and discussed in detail.
The design knowledge and architectural knowledge of tower clusters and their vertical amenity structures are defined, andthe definition and general application of typological knowledge in design provides to the reader a valuable knowledge basefor the future designs of creative sub-variants tower clusters, as well as for their urban and landscape development. Thereby,the highly articulated knowledge component contained in the book becomes a valuable contribution to the future design oftower clusters as well as to the creation of a model of how to define architectural knowledge. "Socializing the Sky"constitutes a brilliant working guide for the design of new skyscrapers.
This work is part of a broad historical quest for an architectural medium (a typology of design) that might be capable oftransferring certain urban social places to new locations above their traditional ground-based urban locations. That is,"Socializing the Sky" provides a new medium in the architecture of skyscrapers.
Critique: This large format (8.25 x 0.75 x 10.75 inches, 2.46 pounds) paperback edition of Robert Oxman's "Socializing theSky" from Oro Editions is of particular relevance to readers with an interest in the evolution of skyscraper architecture.Illustrated throughout with color photos, and featuring Notes, a Bibliography, and an Index, "Socializing the Sky" is acritically important and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, and college/university libraryContemporary Architecture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Robert Oxman is a Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, TheTechnion, Israel Institute of Technology. At the Technion he is a Professor of Architectural Design History and Theory. Heis a Registered Architect in Massachusetts, and The State of Israel.
The Sports Shelf
Gary Player & Randy O. Williams
Dey Street Books
c/o William Morrow & Company
www.harpercollins.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9780063277847, $32.50, HC, 480pp
https://www.amazon.com/Golfs-Majors-Inside-Unforgettable-Performances/dp/0063277840
Synopsis: In the game of golf, four tournaments stand alone: The Masters. The U.S. Open. The British Open. The PGAChampionship. Each of them boast histories that stretch back a century or more. Winning a major is the capstone of agolfer's career, a guarantee that they will be remembered by history. Gary Player has won nine, a figure that ranks him fourthall time. Player has been at the heart of the golf world for more than six decades (his first major victory was in 1959) and isuniquely positioned to write the definitive history of golf's greatest tournaments.
Over the course of four thrilling sections, one for each of the majors, Player takes readers inside the minds of the game'sgreatest competitors at the most dramatic moments. There are pulse-pounding finishes: Phil Mickelson roaring back fromfive shots down to win the 2013 British Open; Jack Nicklaus's stunning comeback to take the 1986 Masters at age 46;Player's own thrilling victory in a playoff at the 1965 U.S. Open to complete the Career Grand Slam. There is great glory:Johnny Miller dropping a Sunday 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open; Tiger Woods's thunderous coronation at the 1997 Masters.And there is heartbreak, as well: Roberto De Vincenzo signing the wrong scorecard in 1968; Jean van de Velde's meltdownin 1999 at Carnoustie.
Throughout "Golf's Majors: From Hagen and Hogan to a Bear and a Tiger, Inside the Game's Most UnforgettablePerformances" Player (with the assistance of Randy O. Williams) shares his insider wisdom on what makes each tournamentunique. While the Masters returns to Augusta National each spring, the other three majors cycle between a variety of coursesthat reward different styles of play. He reveals his personal opinions on the craziest finishes, the toughest courses, the mostchallenging holes to play, and whom he believes to be the greatest golfer of them all.
Critique: An absolute 'must' for the legions of golf enthusiasts, "Golf's Majors: From Hagen and Hogan to a Bear and aTiger, Inside the Game's Most Unforgettable Performances" by co-authors Gary Player and Randy O. Williams is afascinating, informative, and fun read from cover to cover. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $15.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798874622442, $41.99, CD),this edition of "Golf's Majors" from Dey Street Books is especially and unreservedly recommended for community/publicand college/university library Sports/Golfing collections.
Editorial Note #1: Gary Player has won 167 professional golf tournaments worldwide and is one of only five men to capturegolf's coveted career Grand Slam. He won nine Major championships on the PGA Tour and nine Major championships onthe Senior Tour, and is the only player in history to complete the career Grand Slam on both tours. He is the author of theacclaimed book Sports Cinema--100 Movies: The Best of Hollywood's Athletic Heroes, Losers, Myths, and Misfits.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Player)
Editorial Note #2: Randy O. Williams has written on sports and entertainment for major publications and websites such asSports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, NFL.com, and ESPN.com. He is the coauthor, with JerryRice, of "50 Years, 50 Moments and America's Game".
The Art of Climbing
Simon Carter
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500025970, $45.00, HC, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Climbing-Simon-Carter/dp/0500025975
Synopsis: The popularity of rock climbing (arguably the single most dangerous recreational pastime) is burgeoning acrossthe globe, with dedicated communities practicing everything from bouldering to sport climbing, top roping to free soloing,in awe-inspiring locations. "The Art of Climbing" showcases climber and photographer Simon Carter's dramatic and oftengraphic photos, providing inspiration for aspirational outdoor climbers (anyone keen to graduate from inside climbing walls)and seasoned climbers alike.
The main chapters evoke powerful themes (from Formations to Environment, Intensity to Flow) that exist at the intersectionof sport and art. "The Art of Climbing" is a compendium of thoughtful chapter texts, written by Carter and major names onthe international climbing scene, who narrate their experiences on the rock face, exploring both the athletic and aestheticvalue of climbing. Of special note is the inclusion of a reference section that includes practical details such as a glossary,grading table, and descriptions of ten selected routes.
229 color illustrations
Critique: This large format (9 x 1.1 x 10.9 inches, 2.31 pounds) hardcover edition of Simon Carter's "The Art of Climbing"features 229 full color, informatively captioned photographs -- many of which are simply harrowing but illustrate anddemonstrate the excitement rock climbing has as a recreational activity for both amateurs and professionals. Informative andfascinating, this coffee-table style edition of "The Art of Climbing" from Thames & Hudson is especially and unreservedlyrecommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Climbing Sports Photography/Essayscollections and reading lists.
Editorial Note: Simon Carter (https://www.onsight.com.au) is an Australian rock climber and photographer. He beganworking as a professional photographer and established Onsight Photography in 1994. Since then, he has traveled widelyand built up an extensive body of work encompassing many of the world's best climbing destinations. Carter is the recipientof several photography accolades and the author of four previous coffee-table books, including World Climbing: Imagesfrom the Edge, which won the Best Book -- Mountain Image award at the Banff Mountain Book Festival.
The Beer/Wine/Spirits Shelf
Shelly Slipsmith, author
50s Vintage Dame, illustrator
Smith Street Books
c/o Rizzoli
www.rizzoliusa.com
9781923049307, $24.95, HC, 264pp
https://www.amazon.com/Tiki-co*cktails-dreamy-luau-inspired-libations/dp/1923049305
Synopsis: Whether you're a seasoned bartender, a co*cktail enthusiast, or tending bar for friends at home, "Tiki co*cktails:180+ Dreamy Drinks and Luau-Inspired Libations" is your DIY ticket to co*cktail success. In these profusely illustratedpages you can explore classic rum-based recipes like the Mai Tai and the Zombie, as well as other fruity co*cktails like theTrotsky and the Woodpecker.
Complete with fabulous retro illustrations by 50s Vintage Dame to accompany each recipe, along with notes on glasswareand garnishes by Shelly Slipsmith, "Tiki co*cktails" is your guide to stirring, shaking, and sipping summer drinks.
Critique: Thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "Tiki co*cktails: 180+ Dreamy Drinks andLuau-Inspired Libations" is a 'must' for all dedicated co*cktail enthusiasts and will prove to be an extraordinary andenduringly popular pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library collections.
Editorial Note #1: Shelly Slipsmith is a mixologist and writer specializing in Rum-based co*cktails.
Editorial Note #2: 50s Vintage Dame is a freelance illustrator, designer and digital artist specializing in portraying modernconcepts and ideas through vintage-style illustration.
The Aviation Shelf
Jack J. Hersch
Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781526773142, $32.95, HC, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Dangers-Automation-Airliners-Accidents-Waiting/dp/1526773147
Synopsis: Automation in aviation can be a lifesaver, expertly guiding a plane and its passengers through stormy weather to asafe landing. Or it can be a murderer, crashing an aircraft and killing all on board in the mistaken belief that it is doing theright thing.
Lawrence Sperry invented the autopilot just ten years after the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903. But progress was slowfor the next three decades. Then came the end of the Second World War and the jet age. That's when the real trouble withaviation automation began.
Aviation automation has been pushed to its limits, with pilots increasingly relying on it. Autopilot, autothrottle, autoland,flight management systems, air data systems, inertial guidance systems. All these systems are only as good as their inputswhich, incredibly, can go rogue. Even the automation itself is subject to unpredictable failure. Can automation account forevery possible eventuality?
And what of the pilots? They began flight training with their hands on the throttle and yoke, and feet on the rudder pedals.Then they reached the pinnacle of their careers - airline pilot - and suddenly they were going hours without touching thecontrols other than for a few minutes on takeoff and landing. Are their skills eroding? Is their training sufficient to meet thedemands of today's planes?
"The Dangers of Automation in Airliners: Accidents Waiting to Happen" by Jack J. Hersch delves deeply into thesequestions. You will be in the co*ckpits of the two doomed Boeing 737 MAXs, the Airbus A330 lost over the South Atlantic,and the Bombardier Q400 that stalled over Buffalo. You will discover exactly why a Boeing 777 smacked into a seawall,missing the runway on a beautiful summer morning. And you will watch pilots battling (sometimes winning and sometimesnot) against automation run amok.
"The Dangers of Automation in Airliners: Accidents Waiting to Happen" also investigates the human factors at work. You'lllearn why pilots might overlook warnings or ignore co*ckpit alarms. You will observe automation failing to alert aircrews ofwhat they crucially need to know while fighting to save their planes and their passengers.
The future of safe air travel depends on automation. "The Dangers of Automation in Airliners: Accidents Waiting toHappen" tells its story
Critique: Given the new public awareness of the problems of aviation automation in general and Boeing in particular, "TheDangers of Automation in Airliners: Accidents Waiting to Happen" by Jack J. Hersch is an extraordinarily timely andinformatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of a nineteen page Glossary, a ten page listing ofResources, and a five page Index. An essential pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university libraryCommercial/Military Aviation History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students,academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Dangers of Automation in Airliners:Accidents Waiting to Happen" from Casemate Publishers is also available in a paperback edition (9781526798275, $28.95)and in a digital book format (Kindle, $2.99).
Editorial Note: Jack Hersch (https://jackhersch.com) is an expert in the field of troubled and distressed companies. He is astrategic advisor to corporate managements and investment institutions, has served as a corporate board member, and hasguest-lectured in the business schools of M.I.T., U.S.C., and U.C. Berkeley, among others.
The Native American Studies Shelf
Cathy Coats
Minnesota Historical Society Press
www.mnhs.org/mhspress
9781681342559, $19.95, PB, 174pp
https://www.amazon.com/Banish-Forever-Ho-Chunk-Cleansing-Minnesota/dp/1681342553
Synopsis: In 1863, after the end of the US - Dakota War, a group of men in Mankato, Minnesota, formed a secret society. Atthe beginning of every meeting, members of the Knights of the Forest recited its ritual pledge, including these words: "Isincerely hope this meeting may be profitable to each one of us, and that we may go forth from this Lodge stronger andbraver in the determination to banish forever from our beautiful State every Indian who now desecrates our soil."
The Ho-Chunk people, who had not participated in the war, occupied a reservation about two miles south of Mankato onsome of the state's richest agricultural lands. The Knights (determined to claim these lands for their own profit) advocatedfor the removal of the Ho-Chunk, who had already been forced to move three times before settling in Blue Earth County ofsouth-central Minnesota. Exploiting the fears of white people living in the area at the end of the brutal war, the Knights sentarmed men to surround the Ho-Chunk reservation, threatening to shoot anyone who crossed the line. Within just a fewyears, the Ho-Chunk had been kicked off their land and removed to reservations outside of the state.
"To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, the Ho-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota" by Cathy Coats is a true historyof the Knights, the Ho-Chunk, and the ethnic cleansing of southern Minnesota.
Critique: An extraordinary, seminal, and ground-breaking history of 19th Century Minnesota and the mistreatment of theNative Americans comprising the Ho-Chunk nation, with the publication of "To Banish Forever: A Secret Society, theHo-Chunk, and Ethnic Cleansing in Minnesota" by Cathy Coats rescues from an undeserved obscurity still another story ofthe maltreatment of Native Americans at the hands of racist and avaricious whites. A model of scholarly research, "ToBanish Forever" is informatively enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion of four Appendices, fourteen pages ofNotes, an eight page Bibliography, and a seven page Index. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $8.99), "To Banish Forever" from the Minnesota Historical Society press is especially and unreservedlyrecommended for community and college/university library Minnesota History, 19th Century American History, and NativeAmerican history collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Cathy Coats (www.lib.umn.edu/about) is the metadata specialist at the University of Minnesota Libraries.She previously worked at the James W. Miller Learning Resources Center at St. Cloud State University.
The Judicial Studies Shelf
Robert G. Klein, Esq.
https://kleinlg.com/robert-g-klein
Miracle Mile Publishing
9798218370459, $24.95 Paperback/$9.99 eBook
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Your-Jury-Litigate-Advocates/dp/B0CTY6ZHYN
Winning Your Jury: How to Litigate Like the Nation's Top Trial Advocates should not only be in legal libraries, but ingeneral-interest collections for patrons who would better understand jury selection and litigation processes. Both audienceshere receive a 'how to' explanation of not just legal process, but the influencers on decisions and outcomes. This will proveinvaluable to anyone involved in legal struggles; especially the finer art of predicting jury behavior.
Robert G. Klein, Esq. has extensive background in the legal profession, but his perspective isn't geared to professionalsalone. Chapters probe all kinds of courtroom topics, from what makes for a good, successful trial lawyer to developing acase and a 'discovery plan,' understanding the psychology of jurors and what influences their decisions, and the processes ofboth getting organized for a trial and conducting examinations and cross-examinations.
Surveying the roots of why a lawyer should (or should not) take a case to concluding arguments, Klein provides all thebasics to enlighten both aspiring lawyers and laymen who would better understand legal process. From the inherentcontroversy in punitive damage awards to the surprising legal applications and strategies of Sun Tzu's classic The Art ofWar to the legal cases, Klein goes far beyond a simple charting of process, considering underlying influences, psychology,options, and opportunities that uniquely reside in the courtroom.
Winning Your Jury should not only be a mainstay of legal student reading, but ideally will be assigned for college-levelclassroom discussion because of its roots in real-world experience. These pair powerfully with its discussions of legal tacticsand the rigors of writing a brief, conducting interviews, and more. Winning Your Jury's attention to detail and examplesfrom trials and research are invaluable, easy to absorb, and shed much light on why some cases are winners and othersbecome losing bets.
The Travel Shelf
Sondra Diepen
Sunstone Press
www.sunstonepress.com
9781632934413, $60.00, PB, 216pp
https://www.amazon.com/Route-New-Mexico-Visual-Tour/dp/1632934418
Synopsis: "Route 66 New Mexico: A Visual Tour" by Sondra Diepen will inspire her readers to as up the car, fill the cooler,pack a lunch, and get ready to seek out snake pits, curio shops, wall murals, old gas stations, and vintage motels that werewelcomed sights and exciting attractions to travelers along Historic Route 66 in New Mexico since 1926.
There are a great many Route 66 books and travel guides about this famous 2,448-mile U. S. highway connecting Chicagoto Santa Monica, California. Yet, few points of interest are detailed along New Mexico's 507-mile segment of the MotherRoad. But "Route 66 New Mexico: A Visual Tour" is different.
With over 200 beautiful color photographs and simple maps to guide the traveler, this tour guide provides lively stories,interesting facts, and unique tales about 51 different locations and sites along Historic Route 66 across the Land ofEnchantment.
Amidst New Mexico's awe-inspiring beauty lie remnants of way stations that provided weary travelers with water, curiosand oddities. Today you'll find businesses serving tourists from all corners of the world, providing nostalgia, souvenirs, anda cold soda pop.
Sondra Diepen has captured it all -- from vintage trading posts, motor courts and classic cars, to neon motel signs that stillbeckon travelers to stop, rest, and see the sights. Whether you are relaxing in your armchair or revving up your engine to hitthe road, let "Route 66 New Mexico: A Visual Tour" be your guide
Critique: This large format (8.5 x 11 x 0.5 inches, 1.57 pounds) paperback edition of "Route 66 New Mexico: A VisualTour" from Sunset Press is a profusely illustrated, informative and fun read which is recommended for on-site visitors andarmchair travelers alike. Simply stated, "Route 66 New Mexico: A Visual Tour" is especially and unreservedlyrecommended for personal and community library American Travel Guide collections.
Editorial Note: A resident of New Mexico since 1974, artist/photographer Sondra Diepen spent the past ten years travelingthe cities, villages, and ghost towns along Route 66 of her beloved Land of Enchantment. With two Nikon cameras and astack of vintage maps, she headed out on I-40, exiting here and there, seeking the original Route as it once wound acrossNew Mexico. (http://www.rainbowartists.com/sondra-diepen.html)
Charleston Food Crawls
Jesse Blanco
The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
9781493058945, $26.95, PB, 144pp
https://www.amazon.com/Charleston-Food-Crawls-Neighborhoods-Libation/dp/1493058940
Synopsis: "Charleston Food Crawls: Touring the Neighborhoods One Bite and Libation at a Time" by Jesse Blanco is anideal DIY planning resource for taking exciting culinary tours through Charleston, the largest city in South Carolina.
Locals and visiting tourists alike can taste the city's culinary history through its top-notch neighborhood restaurants and barsin this profusely illustrated and informative guide..
Hit the Upper Peninsula for a day of breweries and barbeque galore. Just in town for the weekend? Take a stroll throughKing Street for quick bites and crafty sips. Experience where southern comfort food and zesty libations collide, and dig intoCharleston one dish at a time.
Critique: "Charleston Food Crawls: Touring the Neighborhoods One Bite and Libation at a Time" is a welcome and highvalue pick for personal, professional, and community library South Carolina tour guide collections.
Editorial Note: Jesse Blanco's 24-year career in TV news coupled with his large Cuban family's influence on his taste infood has given him the ability to connect with viewers and readers through their stomachs. This has led Jesse and hisbusiness partner to create Eat It and Like It, a blog and TV show that reports on the culinary scene of the South. A full-timefood writer with an insatiable desire to travel and explore, Jesse is also the author of Savannah Food Crawls: Touring theNeighborhoods One Bite and Libation at a Time.
The Metaphysical Studies Shelf
Zack Davisson
Tuttle Publishing
www.tuttlepublishing.com
9784805317730, $19.99, PB, 288pp
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Japanese-Yokai-Creatures/dp/4805317736
Synopsis: Featuring more than 250 images/illustrations, "The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai: Ghosts, Demons, Monstersand Other Mythical Creatures from Japan" by Zack Davisson introduces a vast range of mysterious beings from Japanesemythology and folklore that ranges from malevolent demons and chilling monsters, to spectral ghosts and enchantedbeasts.
Throughout "The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai", Davisson skillfully navigates this elusive spirit realm, shedding lighton their mysteries and revealing their significance to the cultural tapestry of Japan.
Featuring iconic Yokai such as the enigmatic Amabie, the endearing Tofu Kozo, and the pitiful Kyokotsu, alongsidelesser-known entities like the repulsive Akaname and the never before catalogued Kaiju, this book offers a comprehensiveexploration of Japan's supernatural pantheon.
Modern Yokai art by esteemed artists such as Lili Chin, Emi Lenox, and Peach Momoko breathe new life into the age-oldlegends shared within. Illustrated with over 250 color woodblock prints and paintings, and packed with interesting facts andentertaining stories, this book transports readers into a realm where the line between myth and reality blurs.
Critique: Beautifully illustrated throughout, this paperback edition of Zack Davisson's "The Ultimate Guide to JapaneseYokai: Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Other Mythical Creatures from Japan" from Tuttle Publishing is an extraordinary andunreservedly recommended contribution to personal, professional, community, and college/university library JapaneseMythology & Folklore collections and supplemental Metaphysical Studies curriculum studies lists. It should be noted forstudents, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Ultimate Guide to JapaneseYokai: Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Other Mythical Creatures from Japan" is also readily available in a digital bookformat (Kindle, $18.99).
Editorial Note: Zack Davisson (https://zackdavisson.com) is the author of Yurei: The Japanese Ghost, Yokai Stories andKaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, and many more. He has translated Japanese bestsellers including Leiji Matsumoto'sSpace Battleship Yamato, Go Nagai's Devilman, and Shigeru Mizuki's Kitaro. He lectures on translation, manga andfolklore at Duke, UCLA and the University of Washington, as well as contributing to major international exhibitions.
Astrology's Magical Nodes of the Moon
Carmen Turner-Schott & Bernie Ashman
O Books
c/o Collective Ink Books
https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com
9781803414126, $16.95, PB, 152pp
https://www.amazon.com/Astrologys-Magical-Nodes-Moon-Releasing/dp/180341412X
Synopsis: With the publication of "Astrology's Magical Nodes of the Moon: Releasing the Past & Embracing the Future",co-authored by professional astrologers Carmen Turner-Schott and Bernie Ashman, will effectively introduce and guide theinterested reader in the basics and fundamentals of astrology, including the importance of the moon's nodes in a birth chart,and the soul's higher purpose.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Astrology's Magical Nodes of the Moon: Releasing the Past& Embracing the Future" is an informative read from start to finish and will be of special value to readers with an interest inpractice, principles, and applications of astrology. Highly recommended for personal, professional, community, andcollege/university library Metaphysical Studies/Astrology collections, it should be noted that "Astrology's Magical Nodes ofthe Moon: Releasing the Past & Embracing the Future" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Editorial Note #1: Carmen Turner-Schott, MSW, LISW, is a practicing licensed clinical social worker, astrologer, writer,and teacher with a national and international clientele. She has worked with victims of trauma for over 25 years. Since 2010she has managed several Facebook Astrology groups which have over 50K members from all over the world. She lives inTroy, Illinois. (https://carmenturnerschott.com)
Editorial Note #2: Bernie Ashman (https://bernieashman.com) is the author of several astrology books including How toSurvive Mercury Retrograde. Bernie is also a professional astrologer serving clients internationally. His insightfulinterpretations have also been utilized for astrology software programs used worldwide and now produced by CosmicPatterns in the U.S.
The Witch's Book of Spells
Lindsay Squire, author
Viki Lester, illustrator
Leaping Hare Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711289635, $23.00, HC, 192pp
https://www.amazon.com/Witchs-Book-Spells-Simple-everyday/dp/0711289638
Synopsis: Do you want to tap into your metaphysical power and bring out your inner Witch? With the publication of "TheWitch's Book of Spells: Simple spells for everyday magick", a unique collection of over 100 spells and rituals from LindsaySquire, The Witch of the Forest, will show you how -- step by step, spell by spell.
Profusely illustrated by Viki Lester, "The Witch's Book of Spells" from Leaping Hare Press, is mystical guide showcasingspells for:
The different moon phases, seasons, and Witches' sabbats
Protection and hex breaking
Spiritual well-being
Manifestation and abundance, whether for finances, career, or personal wellbeing
Self-love and self-care
Love and romance
Peace and justice
Success and happiness -- and more!
Taken from Lindsay Squire's personal grimoire, "The Witch's Book of Spells" is a compendium where each spell and ritualis organized by theme. With a combination of simple, five-minute spells, to longer, more in-depth spells and rituals, andincluding beginner, intermediate, and advanced spells, this DIY instructional will be your guide as you grow and progresswithin your craft.
From the same author-illustrator team behind The Witch of the Forest's Guide series, and containing a mixture of modernand traditional spells and rituals, with a focus on Witchcraft for well-being, there's something in this book for every Witch atevery level of experience.
Critique: "The Witch's Book of Spells: Simple spells for everyday magick" is an ideal introduction to the creation offascinating spells ranging from Moon Magick, Success, Happiness, Peace, Good Luck, Protection, Spell Removal, and somuch more. A pleasure to work with and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The Witch's Book ofSpells" is an ideal and recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university libraryMetaphysical Instructional collections. It should be noted that "The Witch's Book of Spells" is also readily available in adigital book format (Kindle, $17.49) as well.
Editorial Note #1: Lindsay Squire aka The Witch of the Forest is a practitioner of eclectic Witchcraft and is the Witchbehind the popular Instagram account, @thewitchoftheforest. She has been walking her own spiritual path for over a decade,and is passionate about helping and empowering Witches at the beginning of their Witchcraft journeys. She is the author ofseveral titles on witchcraft and astrology, including those from the Witch of the Forest's Guide to... series, such as AstrologyMagick, Natural Magick, Earth Magick, and Tarot Magick. Lindsay lives in her home county of Yorkshire, England, withher husband and their mischievous cats, Luna and Merlin. (https://bookshop.org/shop/lindsaysquire)
Editorial Note #2: Viki Lester of Forensics & Flowers is an illustrator from London. Her work inspires people to feelmagical, and features positivity with a dark botanical twist. She has previously illustrated Practical Crystals, The Witch ofthe Forest's Tarot Magick Deck, and Practical Symbols. (https://www.forensicsandflowers.com)
Goddess Oracle Deck
Katja Perez
Leaping Hare Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711297753, 96pp, Card Deck (52 cards)
https://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Oracle-Deck-channel-Esoteric/dp/0711297754
Synopsis: "Goddess Oracle Deck" from Katja Perez is a magnificent, culturally rich deck of 52 oracle cards offers spiritualguidance that encourages you to explore and channel your inner goddess. Each individual card is infused with the divinewisdom of a unique goddess, and includes an evocative illustration by artist Katja Perez, alongside an affirmation that willenhance your life with sacred energy.
Feel the transformational power of deities from around the world, including: Melissa, Greek Bee Goddess (for inner strengthand femininity); Ixchel, Mayan Goddess of the Moon, Weaving, and Childbirth (for change and inner beauty); Pele,Hawaiian Goddess of Fire, Volcanoes, and Dance (for channeling passion); Hathor, Egyptian Goddess of Women, Fertility,and Joy (for expressing gratitude); Hel, Norse Goddess of Death and the Underworld (for opportunities for growth).
Also included is an illustrated guidebook that explains more of the background of each goddess and features rituals to helpyou channel their energy, empowering you to: Connect with your intuition; Add layers of depth to your oracle readings;Gain clarity into relationships, personalities, behaviors, and tendencies.
The "Goddess Oracle Deck" from Leaping Hare Press is is the ultimate invitation to listen to your feminine intuition,immerse yourself in the beauty of diverse mythology, and embrace the goddess within.
Critique: Beautifully illustrated, "Goddess Oracle Deck" is an impressively original, exceptionally 'user friendly', andunreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library MetaphysicalStudies oracle deck collections.
Editorial Note: Katja Perez (https://katjaperez.com) makes art that is feminine, magical and inspired by all things witchy.She draws the goddesses she sees in her dreams, and has a special fascination with the moon. She firmly believes in thehealing power of rituals and meditation and hopes that her art can transport some of that magical energy into your home.She can be followed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katja.perez/?hl=en
The Wisconsin Shelf
Michael Grudzielanek
Prosna Banks Publishing
9798218395315, $34.95, HC, 66pp
https://www.amazon.com/Wisconsin-Through-Seasons-Mid-Twentieth-Landscapes/dp/B0CZ999R1X
Synopsis: Polish-American artist Thomas Angelski and his sons Edward and Eugene studied art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,and completed dozens of works during their lifetimes. "Wisconsin Through the Seasons: Mid-Twentieth CenturyLandscapes as Seen by an Artist and Two of His Sons" is a collection of fifty carefully selected pieces of Angelski familyartwork shows the progressive change of everyday scenes of country and city life from one season to the next in the middleof the Twentieth Century. These scenes may be studied and savored as the artists guide you on a self-paced tour of EasternWisconsin from January through the end of the year.
Critique: This large format (11 x 0.31 x 8.5 inches, 1.13 pounds) hardcover edition of "Wisconsin Through the Seasons:Mid-Twentieth Century Landscapes as Seen by an Artist and Two of His Sons" from Prosna Banks Publishing is anbeautifully reproduced compendium of captioned artworks showcasing rural farms and urban neighborhoods from the 1930sthrough the 1950s that is a fascinating delight to browse through one memorable page at a time. Simply stated, "WisconsinThrough the Seasons" is a delight from cover to cover and an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for personal,professional, community, and college/university library Wisconsin Art & Artists collections.
The Criminology Shelf
Roger Barr
Minnesota Historical Society Press
www.mnhs.org/mhspress
9781681342894, $24.95, PB, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Hill-Secret-Mysterious-Munson/dp/1681342898
Synopsis: At 7:00 a.m. on December 9, 1937, St. Paul firefighters battling an arsonist's fire in the abandoned AberdeenHotel discovered the badly burned body of a woman. The victim was soon identified as 31-year-old Ruth Munson, awaitress at the Union Depot -- a "small-town girl" who had moved to the big city in search of a new life.
Using original police records, Ruth's own diary and letters, newspaper accounts, public documents, and other primarysources, with the publication of "A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of Ruth Munson", authorRoger Barr meticulously retraces the investigation, as detectives examined Ruth's background, work history, relationships,and social life in search of clues to her killer. As they looked into her sexual relationships, the detectives uncovered hints ofRuth's secret, double life, which included legal but culturally taboo connections with Black men. Despite years of searching,police never caught the murderer. Their work was met with mistrust, silence, and denial among both white and Blackpeople. Barr provides a careful examination of the missed opportunities, secrets, and racism that hampered theinvestigation.
Rich in period detail and fascinating anecdotes, "A Murder on the Hill" constructs a procedural investigation worthy of ahigh-profile case. Readers see for themselves what it is like to winnow important information from a flow of rumors, tips,and leads. What emerges is a remarkable view of a racially and economically divided time in the not-too-distant past. Themurder of a working-class white woman in a Midwestern city was sensationalized by journalists due to racial prejudice; as aresult, the historical record offers glimpses into the lives of dozens of individuals whose story might have otherwise beenignored all (like Ruth) trying to scratch out a living in a Depression-ridden, segregated city.
Critique: A seminal study enhanced for the reader's benefit with the inclusion an informative Preface, an Afterword,twenty-two pages of Notes, and a twenty page Index, "A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of RuthMunson" is an inherently fascinating read from start to finish. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "AMurder on the Hill" from the Minnesota Historical Society Press will prove to be of special interest to True Crime fans anda prized addition to community and college/university library True Crime collections and supplemental Criminologycurriculum studies lists. It should be noted that "A Murder on the Hill" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle,$8.99).
Editorial Note: Roger Barr is a writer and writing teacher living in St. Paul. He is the author of ten published books, morethan thirty published short stories, an award-winning play, and newspaper and magazine articles. Barr's short story "PuzzlePieces" received the 2021 Hal Prize for short stories. His short story "Forgiveness" was a finalist in Narrative's 2020 WinterShort Story Contest.
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
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