SirReadaLot.org
We Review the Best of the Latest Books
ISSN 1934-6557
September 2005, Issue #77
Guide to This Issue
Issue Contents: Art:
Virtual Touring Italy, Rethinking Design,
French Style, A History of Western
Architecture, Small Boatbuilding,
Fiction: Suspense: Patriot Shenanigans,
An Alternative WWII, Novel: Coming-of-Age in Civic
Dissolution, Science Fiction: Posthumanity in
Technological Morphing,
Arts & Photography / Architecture / Travel
Dreaming of Italy:
For centuries, foreign visitors have been drawn to
Dreaming of Italy examines the transformations Las Vegas has
experienced from a city dedicated to gambling, to a city theme-park,
to what is now a popular tourism destination, and, finally, to a
laboratory of contemporary architectural design. In this book,
Giovanna Franci compares three
Franci shows how the builders of these three casinos use
architectural language to unite the themes and functions of American
consumer culture with the romantic mythology of some of the world’s
oases of pleasure. In this context,
The Grand Tour is a crucial episode in the grain of Western
culture. This wonderful book juxtaposes the ancient traveling to
According to Robert Venturi,
In
Dreaming of Italy, Franci’s perceptive commentary offers unique
insight into the trends and intentions behind recent development in
Arts & Photography / Graphic Design / Architecture
Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy by Jonathan Chapman (Earthscan)
Einstein once stated that a problem could not be solved from within the mindset that created it. Indeed, fresh thinking is imperative if we are to successfully transcend current working methods and stride forth into new commercial territories. Emotionally Durable Design reframes the environmental paradigm, increasing resource productivity and reducing waste by elongating the lifespan of products. In this provocative text, Jonathan Chapman, Senior Lecturer in Three Dimensional Design at the University of Brighton and founder of sustainable design and research company Safehouse Creative, proposes a radical design about-face to reduce the impact of modern consumption without compromising commercial viability or creative edge, empowering alternative modes of consumption through provocative genres of objects that expand our experience of daily life, rather than closing it down through endless cycles of desire and disappointment. Emotionally Durable Design does not propose a sweeping overhaul of the entire designed world. Instead, it espouses the emergence of a specialist design genre that caters to deeper, more profound and poetic human needs, taking users beyond the ephemeral world of technocentric design toward a rich, interactive domain of emotionally durable objects and experiences.
Chapman explores the essential question, why do users discard products that still work? The book transports readers beyond symptom-focused approaches to sustainable design such as design for recycling, biodegradability and disassembly, to address the actual causes that underpin the environmental crisis we face. Emotionally Durable Design is an exploration into product lifetimes; belonging to the growing knowledge field of sustainable design, the book essentially embarks upon an investigation into why users dispose of products that still work, while providing designers from a range of creative disciplines with a toolbox of inspiring strategies to extend product life, interlaced with insightful critiques of the motivational drivers that underpin the human consumption and waste of goods. Emotionally Durable Design is not a moralizing tale, nor does it claim to present any singular universal truth. Rather, like a much needed food parcel strategically dropped into a defined region of growing concern, this research delivers timely reappraisal of both economic and environmental sustainability in a destructive age of transient design, consumption and grossly misplaced sustainable agendas.
The result is a revealing exploration of consumer psychology and the deep motivations that fuel the human condition, and a rich resource of creative strategies and practical tools that will enable designers from a range of disciplines to explore new ways of thinking and of designing objects capable of supporting deeper relationships with their users. This is fresh thinking for a brave new world of creative, durable and sustainable products, buildings, spaces and designed experiences. The book is a call to arms for professionals, students and academic creatives; proposing the emergence of a new genre of sustainable design that reduces consumption and waste by increasing the durability of relationships established between users and products.
Arts & Photography / Fashion / History
The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour by Joan DeJean (Free Press)
What makes fashionist as willing to pay a small fortune for a
particular designer accessory – a luxe handbag, for example? Why is
it that people all over the world share the conviction that a
special occasion only becomes really special when a champagne cork
pops – and even more special when that cork comes from a bottle of
Dom Pérignon? Why are diamonds the status symbol gemstone, instantly
signifying wealth, power, and even emotional commitment?
One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides the answer to these and other fascinating questions in her account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today. Joan DeJean takes readers back to mid-1600s France to explain how all that we now consider the ultimate in sophistication originated in France during the reign of Louis XIV, the king who consciously turned Paris into the most talked about and emulated city in the Western world. DeJean in The Essence of Style explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style and an even greater sense of history decided to make both himself and his country legendary by making France a mercantile superpower that would stand out from all its European rivals.
DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first
appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafes, nightlife, and
fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited
confines of court circles. And
- Modern day shopping: Before Louis XIV's reign shops were mere storehouses where shoppers purchased their wares through a window from the street without ever entering. Now they shopped in elegantly decorated interiors where a dazzling selection of goods was artfully displayed.
- Fine Cuisine: The first modern cookbooks promoted a new doctrine: use only the freshest ingredients and prepare them according to newly codified techniques. They convinced the world that the only cuisine worthy of the name was French.
- Fashion seasons: In 1678, fashionistas first learned that they absolutely had to wear certain new styles, colors, and fabrics and that the styles, colors, and fabrics from 1677 were completely passé.
- Street lighting:
- Tourism industry: All of the above transformations brought
tourists from all over
As the author observes, without the Sun King's program for redefining France as the land of luxury and glamour, there might never have been a Stork Club, a Bergdorf Goodman, a Chez Panisse, or a Cristophe of Beverly Hills – and President Clinton would never have dreamed of holding Air Force One on the tarmac of LAX for an hour while Cristophe worked his styling genius on the president's hair.
Not only do French women not get fat, they've led the world in
style for the past 300 years. French historian DeJean's premise is
simple yet wonderfully effective: largely because of one obsessive
spendthrift, Louis XIV, France, in the late 17th century, became the
arbiter of chic, a position from which it has never since faltered.
… Louis was enthralled by glitter, which fostered a huge increase in
the diamond trade; the theft of the Venetians' mirror-making secrets
and subsequent rise of
The Essence of Style is about what its author calls "the most
crucial period ever in the history of elegance, élan, and luxury
goods." … Precisely where all of this fits in the larger scheme of
things is not entirely clear, apart from the obvious economic
benefits to
The first hairdresser, the first celebrity chef, and the first
bubbly. The list is almost endless. … An unusual and delightfully
educational perspective on snob appeal. – Barbara Jacobs, Booklist
A most readable and civilized book that reveals, in fascinating
detail, some of the reasons for the French superiority complex. –
Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence
The Essence of Style takes readers on a trip back to a time when
all things cultural and fashionable were excitingly new. Written
with wit, dash, and élan by an author who knows this true story
better than virtually anyone – DeJean shares her time between
Audio / Mysteries & Thrillers
Cold Hit: A Shane Scully Novel: Abridged Audio CD, 5 hours, 4 CDs by Stephen J. Cannell, narrated by Scott Brick (Audio Renaissance Audiobook)
What if, under the
What if government agents could bug one’s home, car, place of business – one/s entire life – with nothing more than spoken permission from a secret panel of judges?
What if the Department of Homeland Security could pull police officers off the street and hold them in cells indefinitely as material witnesses – because they're working on ‘sensitive’ investigations? These questions are explored in Cold Hit written by the Edgar and Emmy award-winner Stephen J. Cannel, who, in his thirty-five year career, has created over 40 TV series. The audio is read by audio-award-winner Scott Brick.
In Cold Hit, Detective Shane Scully suspects that Robert Allen Virtue, the regional boss of the Department of Homeland Security, is thwarting a major murder investigation. But why?
Shane and his partner are investigating the Fingertip Killer, a
serial murderer preying on homeless
A bullet taken from one victim's skull matches the bullet that killed another man ten years earlier. An unexpected ballistics match that links one unsolved case to another is what police call a ‘cold hit.’ When the previous victim turns out to have been an LAPD cop, the investigation becomes personal for Shane. But there's a problem: Robert Allen Virtue wants him taken off of it. Scully teams up with his wife and boss, Alexa, and a pair of tough cops from the LAPD’s anti-terrorism squad. To solve the cop's murder, and possibly the Fingertip Killer case, Scully goes behind the powerful bureaucrat's back and into deep undercover – where he begins unraveling a deadly, far-reaching conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything he loves: his career, his freedom, and his family.
In his new outing,
Scott Brick’s reading is the latest in a string of superb
performances. Brick’s ability to inject irony and wit into the novel
adds to his performance, particularly because his sense of timing is
impeccable... Brick is Scully and always should be. – AudioFile on
Vertical Coffin
Cannell’s brand of thriller is served straight up and he knows
how to cut to the chase. – The New York Times
Cannell delivers non-stop action and intrigue in Cold Hit, the latest installment of his New York Times bestselling Shane Scully series.
Audio / Mysteries & Thrillers
Double Cross Blind, Audio CD, 6 hours, 5 CDs by Joel N. Ross, narrated by Hunter Graham (Random House Audio)
This debut novel by Joel N. Ross, writer and English teacher,
narrated by Hunter Graham, was inspired by Ross’s father and five
uncles’ service in World War II and incorporates some details from
their service in the plot.
Double Cross Blind is another of those what if…things had gone
differently… novels based on the major facts of World War II.
It is seven days before the Japanese attack
For American Tom Wall, the days have run together as he awakens to
find himself locked in a British military asylum. Wounded and
shell-shocked, all he knows is that his brother, Earl, betrayed his
unit in
MI5 releases Tom by way of a bargain – pretend to be Earl and
convince Sondegger to reveal how and where he has arranged to
transmit his intelligence to
But Sondegger proves himself to be a formidable opponent. Even as he
surrendered himself to the British, he knew the Japanese fleet had
sailed for Pearl Harbor. The question is: Who will gain more if the
Allies prevent the attack? Sondegger, MI5, the OSS, Tom, and Earl’s
wife, Harriet, all have different answers. Unable to trust anyone,
Tom attempts to save the Twenty Committee and stop the attack on
This debut thriller joins a long list of espionage novels that
use what-might-have-happened scenarios regarding the signature
events of World War II … So begins a dizzying cat-and-mouse game in
which switches and double switches abound, and the allegiances of
all the principals are never clear until the end. Ross' grasp of the
political dynamics behind Pearl Harbor gives the novel an extra
dimension, despite his only limited success at building full-bodied
characters. Still, a solid debut of definite interest to WWII
espionage fans. – Bill Ott, Booklist
Masterfully told,
Double Cross Blind is a superb WWII thriller. It is haunting and
unforgettable. – Patricia Cornwell
Intelligent, fresh, exhilarating. A new career is launched. –
Daniel Silva
In his debut, Ross combines political insights with the high stakes and fast pace of classic espionage fiction, and he delivers what others have not in more than a decade – a Nazi spy novel that readers will not be able to put down. The audio is convincingly narrated by Holter Graham, stage, television and screen actor.
Audio / Religion & Spirituality
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist, unabridged, 4 CDs, running time 4 hours by Janis Amatuzio (New World Library)
Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a
Forensic Pathologist by Janis Amatuzio (
Written by a scientist in approachable, nonjudgmental language for anyone who has lost someone they love, Forever Ours offers stories that can't be explained in purely physical terms.
Forensic pathologist Janis Amatuzio,
Over the years, several of those ‘left behind’ shared a certain
intimacy with Amatuzio through the death of their loved ones and
they have revealed to her extremely personal accounts of visions and
synchronicities surrounding those deaths. For example, one woman
reflects on the night when she was fast asleep, and was suddenly
awakened by a very real visit from her husband, who died just
moments before in a tragic car accident. He tells her that he loves
her and where his body is located relative to the car he was thrown
from on a desolate highway. Her 911 call to the police leads them to
his body within 40 minutes.
Here is a doctor with a heart. Her book brings tears to my eyes
and joy to my heart and that is what life is about. Though pathology
is her specialty, life is her teacher. Read and learn about life and
the gifts of our mortality. – Bernie Siegel, MD author Love,
Medicine & Miracles
As a forensic pathologist, Dr. Janis Amatuzio looks death in the
eye every day, and she has come away from this confrontation with a
message of promise and hope. ... a stark contrast to the dismal
pronouncements of modern science that death is the end of
everything.
Forever Ours is the only book I know that finds buoyant,
optimistic meaning in the morgue. – Larry Dossey, M.D., author,
Healing Beyond the Body
In years of broadcast interviews few authors have written
material with such universal meaning and healing content as you
have. – Brad Walton, WCCO Radio
Amatuzio explores the mysterious realms of visions, experiences
and communications by families at the threshold of the death of
their loved ones. These unforgettable stories, never documented in
autopsy reports, offer readers' profound lessons on living. A
passionate storyteller, Amatuzio weaves her own life experience
among the true-life stories she has collected, creating a stunning
tapestry of threads of love and hope.
Forever Ours leaves readers comforted and hopeful about the
continuum of life and death.
Biographies & Memoirs / Entertainments
Crossworld: One Man's Journey into
Sixty-four million people do it at least once a week. Nabokov wrote about it. Bill Clinton even did it in the White House.
The crossword puzzle has arguably been our national obsession
since its birth almost a century ago. Now, in
Crossworld, writer, translator, and lifelong puzzler Marc Romano
goes where no Number 2 pencil has gone before, as he delves into the
minds of the world’s cleverest crossword creators and puzzlers, and
sets out on his own quest to join their ranks.
While covering the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for the
Boston Globe, Romano was amazed by the skill of the competitors and
astonished by the cast of characters he came across – like Will
Shortz, beloved editor of the New York Times puzzle and the only
academically accredited ‘enigmatologist’ (puzzle scholar); Stanley
Newman, Newsday’s puzzle editor and the fastest solver in the world;
and Brendan Emmett Quigley, the wickedly gifted puzzle constructer
and the Virgil to Marc’s Dante in his travels through the crossword
inferno.
Chronicling his own journey into the world of puzzling – even
providing tips on how to improve crosswording skills – Romano,
former staffer at the New York Review of Books – tells the story of
crosswords and word puzzles themselves, and of the colorful people
who make them, solve them, and occasionally become consumed by them.
But saying
Crossworld is a book about puzzles tells only half the story. It
is also an explanation into what crosswords tell us about ourselves
– about the world we live in, the cultures that nurture us, and the
different ways we think and learn.
With wit and verve, puzzle devotee Romano offers a bird's-eye
view of the arena of crossword addicts, combining basic information
with engaging anecdotes about those who populate this intense,
competitive corner of the universe. … Clearly infatuated with his
hobby, Romano claims, not entirely tongue-in-cheek, that solving
crosswords can help make you into a ‘better, more informed, fairer,
and more tolerant person.’ – Publishers Weekly
Finally a book about crosswords that's as intelligent, literate,
and funny as the puzzles and people it covers. Thoroughly
entertaining. – Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, New York Times
For those readers who are puzzlers, Crossworld will enthrall. But for those readers have no idea why their spouses spend so much time filling letters into little white squares, Crossworld will explain all – and with luck, save their marriages.
Biographies & Memoirs / Historical
From Prairie to Palace: The Lost Biography of Buffalo Bill by John M. Burke, edited by Tim Connor, with an introduction by Jason Berger (Marquette Books)
Although historians credit Burke with turning Cody into the
legendary ‘Buffalo Bill,’ the book Burke wrote has often been
ignored or overlooked by historians of the ‘Wild West.’ In fact,
public relations scholar and assistant professor Jason Berger has
found that only one of four major biographies about Cody cites
Burke’s book.
Berger, who writes the introduction to
From Prairie to Palace, speculates that Burke’s book has been
overlooked partly because the original has not been widely
available. Indeed, a survey of major public libraries in the
Edited by Tim Connor is an investigative reporter, this reprint, which also includes two news stories published about the Wild West show in 1895, is offered to help remedy that shortage. In the introduction, Berger points out that Burke – although controversial and often accused of distorting facts – was a genius when it came to marketing and public relations. As such, From Prairie to Palace is useful not just to historians, but also to public relations practitioners and student of popular culture, who are still trying to understand the ‘Buffalo Bill phenomenon’ and its impact on field of public relations.
Biographies & Memoirs / Historical
“Shakespeare” by Another Name: A Biography of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, the Man Who Was Shakespeare by Mark Anderson (Gotham Books)
From the soaring soliloquies of Hamlet to the sensual imagery of
the ‘Eighteenth Sonnet,’ the plays and poems of William Shakespeare
have captivated the world from their first printings in the late
sixteenth century. But in the centuries since the death of the man
conventionally assumed to be the author of these immortal works –
William Shakspere of
Now, in
“Shakespeare” by Another Name, journalist Mark Anderson creates
an unforgettable portrait of de Vere, a prominent courtier and
quintessential Renaissance man, a scholar, spendthrift, scoundrel,
cosmopolitan traveler, military adventurer, artistic patron, and
prolific ghostwriter. Weaving together a wealth of evidence
uncovered over ten years of research,
Weaving together a wealth of evidence uncovered in ten years of
research,
“Shakespeare” by Another Name is a wake-up call. The wealth of
new and revelatory corroborative evidence in this biography fleshes
out Edward de Vere, seventeenth Earl of Oxford, as the man behind
the plays of Shakespeare, and as the story unfolds, the background
to some of Shakespeare's most important plays springs into life.
Mark Anderson's book will be a galvanizing force for actors and
theatre people with its richly nourishing and illuminating
information. No biography of the
Without exaggeration, this is the most important Shakespeare biography of the past 400 years. Mark Anderson brings Shakespeare out of biographical limbo and, in fully documented and convincing detail, shows who he was, how he fit into his time, and how he became the genius of our culture. This will be a hotly debated book, and doubtless no one will agree with all its conclusions; but anyone who claims to have a serious interest in Shakespeare must read Mark Anderson. – Sarah Smith, author of Chasing Shakespeares
This book, with fascinating specificity, suits ‘the action to the
word, the word to the action.’ Innumerable instances of de Vere's
experiences, his relationships, his travels, and his unusual
circumstances find expression in his plays and poems.
“Shakespeare” by Another Name is one of the very best whodunits
you will ever read. – Sir Derek Jacobi, acclaimed Shakespearean
actor
… The earl's inconvenient death in 1604, however, requires Anderson
to explain away all contemporary references in the last phase of
Shakespeare's output with the same vehemence with which he found
earlier coded identifications. The anti-Stratford movement currently
favors the Oxfordians, who will eat this up; others will find it
hard to swallow. – Publishers Weekly
Insightful and compelling, “Shakespeare” by Another Name is a voyage into the Elizabethan age and the secret history of the immortal bard's masterpieces. Anderson’s page-turning and groundbreaking biography offers tantalizing evidence that it was the 17th Earl of Oxford, who actually created this timeless body of work. The book is a triumph of literary detective work: the first popular biography of the adventurous Elizabethan earl whose life and letters indicate that he may very well have been the true author of the works of Shakespeare.
Biographies & Memoirs / Religion & Spirituality / Politics
Charles W. Colson: A Life Redeemed by Jonathan Aitken (WaterBrook Press)
Charles Colson is often described as a man of extremes. His
involvement in the Watergate conspiracy led him to prison – and then
to a life-changing encounter with God. Once the second‑most-hated
man in
More than thirty years after his spectacular fall from grace, Colson's life has turned full circle. He is a nationally known Christian leader, broadcaster, and best-selling author. Amazingly, he is once again an influential voice in presidential politics, enjoying regular access to the White House, with close ties to President George W. Bush and old friends such as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Few figures in contemporary society have in their lives stirred up greater passions, negative and positive, secular and spiritual.
Jonathan Aitken's biography, Charles W. Colson, seeks to shed new light on Colson's conversion, his prison sentence, and his creation in the late 1970s of a prison ministry based on his own incarceration.
Aitken, the British author of the award-winning biography Nixon: A Life, is the first biographer to be given complete access to Colson's private archives and personal papers. From these, and from his knowledge of Colson and his circle for some seventeen years, Aiken has written Charles W. Colson. Not so incidentally, Aiken’s story is not unlike Colson’s; his political career as a British cabinet member ended in 1999 when he served a seven-month prison term for perjury in a civil case.
… Aitken's prose, usually lively, sometimes turns breathless. At
times Aitken's obvious admiration for his subject leads him to
downplay Colson's critics, including the disaffected associates he
has left behind in his ministry career. But if this falls short of
the definitive critical biography, it is still a compelling portrait
of a flawed but faithful man. – Publishers Weekly
… Colson seeks through his Prison Fellowship to redeem not only
himself but others who have fallen from grace. Therein lies the
reason to read this book: the story of helping others to help
themselves perhaps cannot be told often enough. – Donna Chavez,
Booklist
Rich in detail, Charles W. Colson looks at Colson's life and vocation and analyzes his role in current affairs and matters of faith. Aitken has crafted a revealing portrait of this complex and colorful man.
Business & Investing / Economics / Politics
The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation by Greg LeRoy, with a foreword by William Greider (BK Currents Series: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.)
It's an all-too-familiar story: a large company is in the news, promising to move in or expand operations and create good paying jobs, or threatening to leave and lay off workers. According to Greg LeRoy in The Great American Jobs Scam, in each case, the price demanded is huge tax breaks and other subsidies from state and local governments.
Playing states and communities off against each other in a
bidding war for jobs, corporations reduce their taxes to
next-to-nothing and win subsidy packages that routinely exceed
$100,000 per job. But the subsidies come with few strings attached,
so companies feel free to provide fewer jobs, or none at all, or
even outsource and lay people off. They are also free to pay poverty
wages without health care or other benefits.
All too often, communities lose twice. They lose jobs – or gain
jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community – and lose
revenue due to the huge corporate tax breaks. That means fewer
resources for maintaining schools, public services, and
infrastructure. In the end, the local governments that were hoping
for economic revitalization are actually worse off. They’re forced
to raise taxes on struggling small businesses and working families,
or reduce services, or both.
LeRoy, winner of the 1998 Public Interest Pioneer Award, cites dozens of companies and episodes, revealing scams such as ‘job blackmail’ (Raytheon in Massachusetts), ‘payoffs for layoffs’ (IBM in New York State), ‘exaggerate the ripple effects’ (Illinois for Boeing), ‘stick taxpayers with hidden costs’ (Wal-Mart in many states), ‘soak the taxpayer’ (Dell in North Carolina), ‘ride Enron's coattails’ (ConAgra in Nebraska), and ‘take the money and run’ (Sykes Enterprises, shutting down call centers in several Plains states).
LeRoy also explains, in plain English, arcane tax-rule changes – such as ‘Single Sales Factor’ – that companies demand in the name of jobs. Such giveaways, he documents, are costing states such as Massachusetts and Illinois billions of dollars in lost revenue – with no guarantee that even one job will be created or retained.
The Great American Jobs Scam also reveals that corporate subsidies are a significant cause of runaway suburban sprawl, paying companies as they leave urban areas to pave farmland and other natural spaces. LeRoy gives examples of massive subsidies that lead to retail sprawl, such as $1 billion benefiting Wal-Mart facilities and a $31 million subsidy to reduce ‘blight’ in an affluent St. Louis suburb, when an upscale mall decided it needed a Nordstrom store.
LeRoy shows how carefully corporations orchestrate the bidding wars between states and communities. He dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk.
Behind it all, LeRoy argues, is an orchestrated 30-year drive by
many of
The Great American Jobs Scam concludes with a series of simple, common sense reforms to make the job-subsidy system more transparent and effective.
Called by some ‘the leading national watchdog of state and local economic development subsidies,’ LeRoy directs Good Jobs First (www.goodjobsfirst.org), a national resource center he founded in 1998 to promote corporate and government accountability in economic development and smart growth for working families.
We have supported Greg’s work since 1998. This book is a welcome
resource for leaders of our union all over. – Sandra Feldman,
American Federation of Teachers
Greg LeRoy has exposed the problem of corporate misuse of taxpayer
subsidies and promoted real working solutions. – Gerald W. McEntee,
American Federation of State County, and Municipal Employees
LeRoy reveals why corporate tax cuts don’t work: corporations get
huge subsidies while workers get trickle-down lip service. – Jim
Hightower, author of Thieves in High Places and Let’s Stop Beating
Around the Bush
Companies like Wal-Mart aren’t going to want you to read this book –
all the more reason why you should. – Carl Pope, Executive Director,
Sierra Club
…should be required reading for governors, mayors and legislators
who want to invest their citizens’ money wisely and effectively. –
Robert S. McIntyre, Citizens for Tax Justice
Here is the secret history of our economic times, a tale of
public larceny told plainly and painstakingly and also with a dash
of mordant humor. Our erstwhile corporate benefactors have taken us
all for a ride. This book is the first step on the long road back. –
Thomas Frank, author of What's the Matter With
This is the definitive Community Defense Manual for every citizen
who wants to stop corporations from looting the public treasury and
win real community economic development. – Chuck Collins, Senior
Fellow, United for a Fair Economy, and coauthor of Economic
Apartheid in America
The Great American Jobs Scam is a blistering exposé about corporate tax chicanery. LeRoy shows how in case after case, these promises – of good jobs and higher tax revenues in exchange for massive taxpayer subsidies – prove false or exaggerated. In this important book, LeRoy shows how companies are using the sheep's clothing of ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ to fuel bidding wars between both states and localities, resulting a massive drop in corporate taxes and a burden shift onto working families and small businesses. By popularizing these grassroots reforms – most of which are already on the books in some states and cities – The Great American Jobs Scam showcases a movement that has been percolating in the states and places it on a national stage.
Children’s / Ages 4-8
I Is for Idea: An Inventions Alphabet by Marcia Schonberg, illustrated by Kandy Radzinski (Sleeping Bear Press) is for every budding scientist who would like to think beyond the smoking volcano, diorama, and colored graphs of the typical school science fair.
Curious kids will find plenty of inspiration as they discover the answers to their continuous questions. What is the basis for the phrase ‘the real McCoy’? What actually is the mother of invention? What kitchen appliance was developed after a scientist's candy bar suddenly melted?
I Is for Idea explores the development of bicycles, zippers, toilets, computers, and many other inventions that we now take for granted in our daily lives. Readers will learn about the inventors and the genesis behind these ever-present and useful items.
Written by prolific children’s book author Marcia Schonberg, I Is for Idea inspires creativity and imagination in readers as they learn about inventions. Schonberg weaves interesting facts, history and culture into her poetry and text. She brings together men and women who made incredible contributions to our everyday lives through their inventions in this A to Z pictorial.
Able to weave facts and timelines of numerous inventions into her commentary, she connects youngsters to inventors from all over the world and throughout many historical time periods. Illustrator Kandy Radzinski's vibrant, quirky art adds both a whimsical and culturally diverse dimension to Schonberg's work.
From the English patent for Sybilla Masters' method of preserving the cornmeal given to her by Native Americans to Doug Englebart's ‘mouse’ invention that lives happily on many desktops, I Is for Idea will spark imaginative enthusiasm in every reader. Written in a two-tier format with captivating poetry suited for younger children combined with detailed-filled expository text for older readers, this book is sure to grab the attention of many.
Jim Morrison by Michael Burgan (Rock Music Library Series: Capstone Press)
On
According to Jim Morrison, Morrison did more than sing the words to the songs. He performed as if he were acting in a play. Sometimes he fell to the stage and pretended he was in pain. Then, he leaped up and jumped into the air. Later, Morrison ripped off his shirt and threw it into the crowd.
The Doors finished with two encores, then left the stage. The crowd stood and called for the band to play more. Some of the fans rushed onto the stage. Morrison had stirred strong feelings in the fans who loved him and his music.
With the Doors, Morrison was one of the most popular performers in rock music. He wrote both poetry and song lyrics. Many of his poems and songs were about love, death, or other personal topics. Other lyrics dealt with war or problems in society.
According to Michael Burgan in Jim Morrison, Morrison was a talented and troubled artist, a poet and a spokesman for his generation. Young Americans during the 1960s often questioned the rules set for them by adults, and Morrison and the Doors shared many of those feelings.
Burgan relates that Morrison was intelligent and talented, but he had problems with drugs and alcohol. His drug and alcohol abuse often hurt his ability to work. It also may have led to his early death – he was only 27 when he died. Fans still wonder what great songs and poetry he might have written if he had lived longer. The book also discusses Morrison’s impact on later music, especially Pearl Jam and the Doors of the 21st Century.
Jim Morrison gives young readers the opportunity to learn about Jim’s rise to fame as the lead singer of the 1960s group the Doors, and about the drug and alcohol abuse that lead to his death at age 27. The book, written in consultation with Meredith Rutledge, Assistant Curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, explores these issues at the pre-teen level and at a reading level of fourth grade.
Children’s Books / History & Historical Fiction
How to Be a Medieval Knight by Fiona Macdonald, illustrated by Mark Bergin (How to Be... Series: National Geographic Children’s)
How to Be a Medieval Knight is designed to help young readers
put themselves ion the place of legendary medieval knights and
imagine what it would be like for them living in medieval
Author Fiona Macdonald, who has taught in both secondary schools and universities, and illustrator Mark Bergin, specialist in historical reconstructions, present the job requirements:
- Obey orders from the king, royal princes, and great nobles on campaigns at home and abroad.
- Excellent sword-fighting and horse-riding skills and knowledge of medieval armor and weapons.
- Keep law and order in peacetime.
- Fulfill the proper image of a knight through chivalry, loyalty, and honor.
Readers learn exactly what the requirements for being a knight are. Knights generally left home at age 8 and were in training until they were 21. Gradually advancing from a page or a groom, knights-in-training became squires between the ages of 14 and 21.
According to How to Be a Medieval Knight:
You will need to practice swordsmanship and horse-riding skills. You must have your own war-horse, weapons, and armor. You will go on long campaigns, perhaps even a Crusade. You'll be away from home for long periods of time – maybe even years. Other times you may be barricaded inside your lord's castle during a siege. For entertainment knights do what they do best – fight! But during tournaments the only battles are fake ones, meant to show which knights are the strongest and most clever. What else will you do while you are not at war? You will run your estate, give feasts followed by dancing, oversee the village court, and help the needy. And you will use your best manners to impress the ladies of the court. Perhaps you will sing, play an instrument, or recite poetry! What will your future be like? Who will take care of you if you are injured, or sick? What will happen when you die? All of your questions will be answered to prepare you for the job interview section at the end of the book – a clever way to test if you are ready to become a medieval knight!
With lively text and engaging illustrations, How to Be a Medieval Knight explains everything readers need to know to imagine themselves as medieval knights: they will see what their training covers and what sort of weapons they use. The ideas are well sequenced and the interview at the end is a clever device to focus readers.
Education / Business & Investing / Careers
Blueprint for Action: Achieving Center-Based Change Through Staff Development, 2nd edition by Paula Jorde Bloom (Gryphon House, New Horizons)
Blueprint for Action provides a framework for understanding the
dynamics of organizational change in early care and education
settings. It helps administrators move beyond a ‘quick fix’ notion
of center improvement by serving as a guide for organizational
analysis and action. The book, written by Paula Bloom, professor of
early childhood education and executive director of the
The premise for Blueprint for Action rests on two assumptions: the first assumption is that every center has areas of strength and areas in need of improvement. High-quality programs are distinguished by their willingness to deal with their imperfections. The role of the director is that of catalyst, setting the climate that allows staff to reflect on how program practices might be improved. The second assumption is that organizational change can come about only through change in individuals. That is why the emphasis in Blueprint for Action is on linking individual needs to organizational needs.
The book is organized so that the first three chapters of Blueprint for Action give a global perspective on the issues. Chapter 1 presents a social systems model to help readers better understand the significance of events in the day-to-day life of their center. Chapter 1 also introduces the case study featuring Martha, the director of the Children's Corner. Martha's experiences applying the ideas presented in the book breathes life into the theoretical concepts that serve as the foundation for this approach to center improvement. Chapter 2 addresses the nature of change, providing an overview of how change occurs in early care and education programs. This chapter sets the stage for Chapter 3 which describes more specifically the director's role in the change process.
In the second half of the book readers see how the theoretical concepts introduced in the first three chapters become a blueprint for action. Chapter 4 provides the essential tools that will help readers assess the needs of their center as a whole. This chapter explores issues regarding communication, supervisory processes, goal consensus, leadership style, center climate, and a host of other organizational characteristics. It presents a step-by-step process for collecting data about their center along with practical assessment tools that readers can adapt to their unique situation.
Chapter 5 looks more specifically at how readers can assess the needs of the individuals who work at their center. It presents a framework for developing individual profiles for each member of the staff. This information serves as the springboard from which to implement the staff development model they will learn about in Chapter 6. Chapter 6 takes readers through a step-by-step process for designing an individualized model of staff development. This model serves as a template for putting readers’ philosophy of center improvement into action. The model of staff development presented is in sharp contrast to what is customarily called in-service education, where an inspirational speaker is invited, a smorgasbord of workshops is offered, and dozens of donuts are consumed, but little in the way of substantive behavioral and attitudinal change results.
Chapter 7 links the notion of individualized staff development to the supportive organizational structures that ensure its success. This chapter presents information that will help readers design a comprehensive performance appraisal system and a career ladder for professional advancement. Chapter 8, the final chapter, helps readers learn how to connect organizational needs and individual needs in a unified approach for achieving change. It underscores the importance of thinking of the center as a professional-learning community, a place where collaboration, shared decision making, and team building are the driving forces that make the vision of center-based change possible. The book includes an appendix of assessment tools and worksheets that can be adapted to meet the specific needs of the program. The accompanying CD-ROM can be used to print out reproducible versions of the assessment tools and worksheets.
A four-star blockbuster! Blueprint for Action is an indispensable guide for any director who is serious about staff development. With insight and keen awareness of the realities facing the field, this book provides realistic strategies for promoting change, planning staff development, and increasing program effectiveness. Blueprint for Action is flexible enough to be used in a variety of settings. It is a must for your professional library! – Roger Neugebauer, Publisher, Child Care Information Exchange
Blueprint for Action will help you pinpoint organizational
problems, link staff development to performance appraisal, and
create action plans to achieve your goals. This book is the catalyst
for change, the blueprint you've been looking for. – Marilyn Brink,
Head Start Education Coordinator, Children's Home and Aid Society
Those of us who care deeply about quality in early care and
education settings know that it is not achieved without knowledge
and skill at the administrative level.
Blueprint for Action addresses what goes into a healthy program.
It is a wonderful balance of theory and practical hands-on tools. –
Gwen Morgan, Senior Fellow for Child Care Policy,
This is a guidebook full of practical theory and examples of real-life situations directors encounter with staff in day care centers. It provides a model for implementing change, for evaluating oneself as an administrator and for evaluating staff for their yearly review. From the aspiring or new director to the most seasoned and experienced administrator, this book has something for everyone. Blueprint for Action is comprehensive, providing both a theoretical rationale and practical suggestions for making staff development come alive. And there is a lot of evidence that this book really works – since its first publication nearly 15 years ago, Bloom has received hundreds of letters from directors who provide examples of how they wove the principles described in this book into the fabric of their centers and witnessed the changes in staff morale and job performance.
Education / Sociology / Politics
Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life: Democracy’s Promise and Education’s Challenge, 2nd edition by Henry A. Giroux (Cultural Politics & the Promise of Democracy Series: Paradigm Publishers)
Democracy has never been more threatened in the United States than now – it is under attack by Christian fundamentalists who view the government as an adjunct of the church; by market fundamentalists who believe that consumerism is the only obligation of citizenship; and by neoconservatives who cheapen its meaning by imposing through bombs and military actions the dictates of empire, all the while legitimating such action in the name of democracy.
Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life provides a different
understanding of the meaning of democracy as both a reality and a
promise. According to Henry A. Giroux, professor of education at
This new edition of Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life contributes to that debate and struggle. Written in the late 1980s, the book examines the relationship between democracy and schooling and argues that schools are one of the few spheres left where youth can learn the knowledge and skills required to become engaged, critical citizens. Not only is the legacy of democracy addressed through the work of John Dewey and others, but the democratic possibilities of schooling are analyzed through a range of issues, from the politics of teacher authority to the importance of student voices.
… Giroux argues that the proper function of schools is that of
‘citizenship education,’ the teaching of critical skills that
advance emancipatory interests, promote equity and justice, and
improve not merely SAT scores, but the quality of public life.
Giroux … and addresses a wide range of interrelated subjects –
authority in the classroom, ethics, teacher education, literacy in
terms of their ‘critical’ significance, that is, their role in
making the school into a "progressive force in the ongoing struggle
for democracy as a way of life.” – Publishers Weekly
Although Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life was first written during another trying time in American history, it is, in many ways, more critically useful now than it was when first published. This perceptive, piquant proposal for educational reform exposes the anti-democratic assumptions and underlying elitist prejudices of several of today’s leaders who see education in terms of a narrowly defined labor market perspective.
Entertainment / Music
Best Songs of the Movies: Academy Award Nominees and Winners, 1934-1958 by John Funnell (McFarland and Company)
‘Thanks for the Memory.’ ‘Swinging on a Star.’ ‘The Way You Look
Tonight.’ Three great and popular standards of the American songbook
– and all three won Oscars for best song. But who wrote these songs?
What movies were they written for? Which stars introduced them? In
the 25 years covered by
Best Songs of the Movies, 160 songs by 114 songwriters were
nominated for Academy Awards. Some are well known, but many are
nearly forgotten.
Best Songs of the Movies written by semi-retired teacher and
publisher John Funnell, tells the stories behind all these songs,
year by year. After announcing the nominated songs, the text
describes the way each song was presented and performed, critiques
the lyrics and melody, and provides appropriate historical and
biographical insights.
Some of these songwriters are household names, especially those who
wrote highly successful Broadway shows: Irving Berlin, Cole Porter,
the Gershwins, and so on. And when these and other Broadway
songwriters were induced to write for
In the 1930s and 1940s,
In part it was a desire to track down songs such as these, and to try and discover what led to their nomination, that provided the impetus for Best Songs of the Movies. Another motivation was the desire to discover how nominations for the Best Song Oscar come about. According to Funnell, members of the songwriters' guild decide on the list of nominations for Best Song, voting in secret. Later, the full membership of the Academy votes to determine the winner from the list of nominees. The criteria for the Best Song Oscar nominations have changed over time, but the award has almost always been given only to a song that, as the Academy rules, must be ‘specifically created for the eligible feature-length motion picture.’ This rule means that the songs from film versions of Broadway shows are ineligible. Therefore, when Roberta was filmed in 1935, Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach's lovely song ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ could not be nominated, though ‘Lovely to Look At,’ written especially for the film, could be. According to Funnell, songs that became popular and were then included later in a film should always have been ineligible, and the Academy's rules now state that the song must be "recorded for use in the film prior to any other usage including public performance or exploitation through any of the media whatsoever." This rule was not enforced in 1941 when ‘The Last Time I Saw Paris’ won.
The first years of the Academy Award for Best Song coincided with a time when the popular music of the day appealed to people of all ages. The primary reason, according to Best Songs of the Movies, was that whole families listened to the radio together, all age groups hearing and enjoying the music of the top artists of the day: for instance, 50 million Americans a week (approximately 40 percent of the population) listened to Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall in the 1930s, and Benny Goodman's radio show Let's Dance also attracted huge audiences.
Things are very different today. Far fewer people are aware of the nominations for Best Song. Media speculation in the lead-up to each year's Awards rarely mentions them. The fragmentation began in the 1950s with the emergence of rock 'n' roll: The new phenomenon of teenagers with money to spend led to the development of a music aimed specifically at this age group. The trend has continued over the years, and today there are many styles and genres, each with its devotees who rarely listen to any other kind of music. The decline in production of original screen musicals is also significant in the shift from high levels of interest and awareness of the nominated and winning songs to the current situation where they are largely ignored.
But it is the first 25 years of the Best Song Oscar that are
featured in
Best Songs of the Movies. These years, 1934-1958, coincide with
the golden age of the
Because many of the 114 highly talented writers of the songs were overlooked, Funnell includes an appendix that gives biographical information on each. Another appendix lists the Oscar-nominated and winning songs from 1959 through 2003. A bibliography and index complete Best Songs of the Movies. With many black-and-white photographs from the movies, this compendium of winners and also-rans will appeal to all fans of musicals, but especially to those who were growing up during the heyday of radio.
Entertainment / Music / History
Boogaloo: The Quintessence of American Popular Music by Arthur
Kempton (The
The boogaloo, a dance akin to the jitterbug as well as the title
of a record by a Chicago soul group, in 1965 leapt out
of the communities of black
In
Boogaloo, a survey of the history of soul music in
From Thomas A. Dorsey and gospel to Sam Cooke and the classic age
of boogaloo ('soul') to George Clinton and hip hop, this
comprehensive analysis of African-American popular music is a deep
and gorgeous meditation on its aesthetics and business. – Henry
Louis Gates, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities,
Harvard
Surpassingly sympathetic and probing. . . . a panoramic critical
survey of black popular music over seventy-five years. . . .There is
no book quite like it. –
. . . moving, dense, and fascinating. . . . – New Yorker
. . . a grand and sweeping survey of the history of soul music in
. . . a fascinating and often original addition to the extensive
literature. . . . an astute and witty account. . . . there is plenty
in
Boogaloo to set the mind and heart alight, as well as some
flashes of brilliance and originality rare in music writing today. –
Times Literary Supplement
Boogaloo is the much-anticipated paperback edition of Kempton's story on the art, influence, and commerce of Black American popular music. This readable and brilliant history succeeds in conveying the sweep of the topic as well as providing detailed portraits of the key players.
Health, Mind & Body / Alternative Medicine
Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies: A User's Guide by David R. Card (Hohm Press)
The condition of facial skin is a primary indicator of overall bodily health. Deficiencies in diet and metabolism, together with disease conditions, are easily observed in the face if readers know what to look for.
Cell salts are twelve inorganic biochemicals found in the blood and tissues, catalysts for many essential processes, including digestion. Today, homeopathic practitioners and naturopathic doctors use cell salt supplementation to treat a spectrum of disease conditions. Based in the pioneering work of German researcher W.H. Schuessler (1880), and American physician George W. Carey (1920), Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies presents a guidebook for health practitioners and patients. The book is about how to ‘read the face’, one’s own face, to determine which essential cell salts are lacking in the body. When a diagnosis is determined, the condition can be remedied by supplementing with the proper cell salt.
Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies includes:
- How to Read the Face – by skin color, condition of eyebrows, size and color of lips, musculature, blemishes, and under-eye circles.
- How to Use Cell Salts – explanations of the twelve
cell salts (corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac)
correlated with disease or imbalance conditions.
Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies is a fabulous, comprehensive resource that every physician who wants to incorporate natural medicine in their practice should have. It not only thoroughly reviews the pathophysiology of each cell salt, but also details the physical signs if one's body is deficient. Each chapter has a summary and color facial photos of each cell salt deficiency in its acute and chronic states. I highly recommend this book. – Cindi Croft, D.O.
David R. Card is very knowledgeable in the field of Homeopathic medicine, and his approach is practical and articulate. His books can be used as a guide to wellness in Alternative Medicine, and they have been a great tool in my own practice. The pictures in Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies allow patients to relate to their medical concerns. …– Cesar Diaz, M.D., Family Practice/Natural Medicine
This well-illustrated guidebook by a well-known European
cell-salt practitioner promises to guide individuals, providing
visual cues to the causes of physical conditions.
Facial Diagnosis of Cell Salt Deficiencies is focused on a
common self-diagnosis obsession in
Health, Mind & Body / Psychology & Counseling
Virtue and Psychology: Pursuing Excellence in Ordinary Practices
by
Virtue and Psychology issues a clarion call for psychologists and other mental health professionals to recognize the reality of virtue in social interaction. Virtues are character strengths – such as generosity, loyalty, and honesty – that make it possible for people to pursue worthwhile goals.
Blaine J. Fowers explores the current terrain of psychology, a field that actively avoids discussion of virtue while it implicitly endorses values such as independence and mastery. Some of these implied values derive from and feed into the individualism and instrumentalism of modern cultures, often to the detriment of individual and communal well-being. Virtue and Psychology describes an alternative framework that not only acknowledges virtue but also shows how values that we already hold in common may be incorporated into psychological practice and into our lives as a whole. Indeed, according to the virtue ethics framework proposed in this book, professional and personal lives cannot be separated – at least if one is to lead the best possible existence.
Psychologist Fowers, professor and director of training for the
counseling psychology program at the
Virtue and Psychology is an extraordinary book.
Virtue and Psychology will be a valuable resource for
psychologists seeking to integrate their lives with their work in a
way that rewards themselves, their loved ones, and society at large.
In one of those rare books that have the possibility of transforming
a discipline, Fowers argues persuasively for putting virtue at the
heart of psychological thought and practice.
Health, Mind & Body / Psychology & Counseling
Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and Families edited by Carolyn Hilarski (Haworth Social Work Practice Press) examines addiction concerns ranging from prevention to relapse, offering intervention techniques and assessment tools to serve a variety of populations.
In
Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and
Families, editor Carolyn Hilarski, assistant professor,
Rochester Institute of Technology, brings together leading addiction
researchers to address new developments in theory, methodology,
treatment, and assessment on counselor beliefs, contingency
management, group treatment, rapid assessment instruments,
behavioral couples therapy (BCT), family-based intervention,
motivational interviewing, and 12-step programs and faith-based
recovery. This professional and academic resource presents case
studies, reviews, research findings, and empirical papers that offer
unique perspectives on a variety of topics, including
evidenced-based practice, theory of reasoned action, harm reduction,
juvenile justice, and treatment outcomes. Topics addressed include:
- The gap between research and practice in substance abuse
counseling.
- Prevalence and patterns of illicit drug use among juvenile
offenders.
- The relationship between the reported substance abuse of
African-American and Hispanic youth and their perceived
attachments with their primary caregivers.
- Using a harm reduction approach to the evaluation of
treatment outcomes.
- Using a non-confrontational approach to substance abuse
counseling when addressing client denial.
- Why contingency management interventions are underutilized.
- Motivational interviewing and adapted motivational
interviewing.
- How to use non-abstinence-based prevention services in
working with adolescents.
- How to use and score the k6 scale to screen serious mental
illnesses.
- How to use receiver operating characteristics analysis.
…very timely. . . Covers some of the latest and best-supported
practices in the field of addictions. – Bruce A. Thyer, PhD,
Professor,
The book benefits readers by pulling together important research
studies in the substance abuse field. – Robert H. Keefe, PhD, ACSW,
Associate Professor,
Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and
Families presents sophisticated, cutting-edge theory and
practice concepts that provide professionals, practitioners, and
educators with a more varied focus than most current available books
on addiction. Counselors working in mental health settings and EAP
programs, psychiatric nurses working in hospitals and outpatient
settings, social workers, and students pursuing degrees in social
work, nursing, psychology, and criminal justice will benefit from
the book’s wide range of appropriate addiction, treatment, and
prevention methodologies. In addition,
Addiction, Assessment, and Treatment with Adolescents, Adults, and
Families is a vital professional resource and an invaluable aid
to anyone suffering with some level of addiction and their families.
Health, Mind & Body / Self-Help / Dreams / Death & Dying
Dreaming Beyond Death: A Guide to Pre-Death Dreams and Visions by Kelly Bulkeley & Patricia Bulkley (Beacon Press)
Dreams have long been viewed as religious experiences that can
ease the transition to death. Now in
Dreaming Beyond Death, dream researcher Kelly Bulkeley and
Presbyterian minister Patricia Bulkley argue that pre-death dreams
and visions are of the utmost importance in helping terminally ill
patients – regardless of religious faith or practice – accept death.
Kelly Bulkeley, visiting scholar at the Graduate Theological Union,
and Patricia Bulkley, hospice worker for some ten years, examine the
recurring symbols that occur in dreams and show how these images can
be used to change a person's view of death, allowing them to die
peacefully, and providing comfort to those in mourning.
Documented throughout time and across cultures, dreams experienced
by those on the verge of death offer profound insight into the
process of dying. Drawing from a rich understanding of dreaming in
culture, history, psychology, and through modern dream study,
Dreaming Beyond Death offers interpretations to aid both the
dying person and the caregiver. A final chapter provides resources
and concrete methods for a caregiver to guide a dying person through
the dreaming process and, ultimately, to a sense of peace.
"Our goal in writing this book has much more to do with the practical consequences of taking pre-death dreams and visions seriously in the care of the dying," write Bulkeley and Bulkley in their introduction. "Whatever the origin of these experiences may be, what matters is their emotional impact. As a direct result of the dream or vision, the person's fear of death diminishes, and in its place there arises a new understanding of living, dying, and that which lies beyond death."
Bulkeley and Bulkley write that dreaming is largely consistent with the dreamer's interests and concerns in the waking world. Furthermore, dreaming is extremely responsive to waking attention, they note – merely reading a book or article will enhance the dreamer's recollection. These dreams then can be used to produce an emotional transformation. The authors focus on three types of dreams: dreams where death is portrayed as a journey, dreams where the dreamer meets a guide – often a trusted family member who has already died – and dreams where the dreamer faces deep anxiety or an unresolved conflict.
Because they believe that pre-death dreaming is most powerful when done in a safe, loving environment, the authors wrote Dreaming Beyond Death as a resource for caregivers, whether they are clergy, hospice workers, or family members. They stress that the health care system needs to examine the effects of medication and painkillers on the dying person’s dreams and to be prepared to take this in to account during care-giving in their final days. Often pre-death dreams are attributed to illness, medication, or mental illness, the authors observe, and are ignored when they should be explored.
The authors offer a unique how-to on interpreting dreams, one has
during the period just before death. With a nod to various
scientific and religious factions whose opinions of dreams range
from considering them to be of no value to believing they are works
of Satan, the authors contend that "one of the functions of dreaming
is precisely to create the meanings that will help us face the end
with courage and understanding." If the very thing that defines
humans is the ability to find meaning, they say, then allowing
oneself to experience, remember, and find meaning in dreams can only
serve to enrich one's last days. To support that supposition, they
present anecdotes gleaned mainly from hospice spiritual-services
provider Bulkley's professional experience. They make a case in
favor of dreams as endowing the journey to death with opportunities
for mending fences, making peace with a troubled conscience, and
looking beyond temporary pain to a rich reward or, at least, a
welcome serenity. – Donna Chavez, Booklist
Suitable reading for both the dying and for their caregivers, Dreaming Beyond Death brings to light a distinct and profound part of the dying process. Bulkeley and Bulkley bring together their diverse areas of expertise to create a guide to pre-death dreams that offers practical advice and provides a broader understanding of this phenomenon. Rev. Bulkley’s experience with the transformative possibilities of pre-death dreams as a hospice spiritual counselor lend this book a deeply personal and human touch, while Kelly Bulkeley’s insightful analysis and intellectual framework make it easy to understand the deeper meanings behind this type of dreaming. Let us hope with the authors, that this book provides “a window into the dreaming and visionary experiences that can make this final phase of our bodily existence so richly meaningful.”
History / Military
Warriors and Scholars: A Modern War Reader edited by Peter B. Lane & Ronald E. Marcello, with a foreword by Alfred F. Hurley (University of North Texas Press)
The papers in
Warriors and Scholars, originally from the
The book is edited by
Veterans and their topics include flying with the Bloody 100th by
John Luckadoo; an enlisted man in the Pacific theater of World War
II, by Roy Appleton; a POW in
The
Whatever his wish, Johnson is remembered as a war president, and
among
An outstanding collection of war stories related by men who have
been there and done that. A must-read book for those who recognize
the influence of warfare on the creation and development of nation
states. – Alexander R. Bolling, Jr.,
This collection provides a vivid collage of the American way of
war in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It gracefully
combines the observations of top scholars with the ‘I-was-there’
testimony of articulate and intelligent veterans – a happy mating of
ivory tower erudition with the voice of personal experience. –
Gregory J. W. Urwin, professor of history,
Few works of military history are able to move between the battlefield and academia. But Warriors and Scholars takes the best from both worlds by presenting the viewpoints of senior, eminent military historians on topics of their specialty, alongside veteran accounts for the modern war being discussed. Editors Lane and Marcello have added helpful contextual and commentary footnotes for student readers.
History / Military / World War I / World War II
Master Mind: The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare by Daniel Charles (ECCO)
Fritz Haber (1868-1934) – a Nobel laureate in chemistry, a friend
of Albert Einstein, a German Jew and World War I hero – may be the
most important scientist readers have never heard of. During his
lifetime, he was considered among the giants of European science, as
prominent as Einstein, Planck, and Bohr. The Haber-Bosch process,
which he invented at the turn of the twentieth century,
revolutionized agriculture by converting nitrogen to fertilizer in
quantities massive enough to feed the world. The invention has
become an essential pillar for life on earth; some two billion
people on our planet could not survive without it. Yet this same
process supplied the German military with explosives during World
War I, and Haber orchestrated
In Master Mind, Daniel Charles offers the first biography for general readers of this controversial genius. As he recreates Haber's little-known life story, Charles – a former technology correspondent for National Public Radio – probes the complicated characteristics of this brilliant man, whose accomplishments in the end wore a mantle of disgrace.
Born a Jew in the Prussian city of
Controversial from the start, the use of these poisons was
condemned by many as barbaric. Haber's first wife, herself a trained
chemist, committed suicide, possibly recognizing that her husband's
knowledge had unleashed a horror upon the world. Once
In the eyes of the Nazis, however, Haber's devotion to
"Had German politics taken a different turn, Fritz Haber might be considered a hero, and statues of him might stand in prominent places," Charles writes. "Instead, Haber became a tragic figure, trapped within the moral blinders of his time, unable to recognize the direction of history Haber could not foresee the ultimate consequence of the path he chose; perhaps it isn't fair to expect that he should have. But those consequences – the fateful prolongation of a senseless war, the invention of new methods of dealing out death – stand as a warning to all who follow."
Charles delivers an eminently readable account of German chemist Fritz Haber's life (1868-1934) and precepts. … A perceptively intelligent writer, Charles, one senses, is the biographer Haber would have wanted. – Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
A deeply thoughtful study of Fritz Haber – a brilliant, fascinating and finally tragic figure – and his equivocal legacy. – Oliver Sacks
This is an excellent biography – the fascinating and ultimately tragic story of an extraordinary scientist, a loyal German Jew, rejected by the country he loved, who failed to foresee the bloody history of the twentieth century and became its victim. – W. Michael Blumenthal, director of the Jewish Museum, Berlin and former Secretary of the Treasury
Fritz Haber's brilliance produced discoveries that fed the world, gassed World War I soldiers, and eventually slaughtered millions. Skillfully narrated with verve and sympathy, Master Mind offers a challenging insight into the nature of a man driven by patriotism and absorption in science, and blind to the rise of Nazism that would destroy his world. – David Edmonds and John Eidinow, authors of Wittgenstein's Poker and Bobby Fischer Goes to War
Master Mind resurrects an important, nearly forgotten chapter
from the annals of science, a story that has far-reaching
ramifications today. It is a compelling story of triumph mired in
tragedy, rife with drama, disillusionment and hubris. The book
provides a complete chronicle of Haber’s tumultuous and ultimately
tragic life, from his childhood and rise to prominence in the heady
days of the German Empire to his disgrace and exile at the hands of
the Nazis; from early decades as the hero who eliminated the threat
of starvation to his lingering legacy as a villain whose work led to
the demise of millions. With narrative grace and fair-minded
insight, Charles offers this thought-provoking, long-overdue
reassessment of a seminal figure of the 20th century.
History / Military / 19th Century
The Battle: A New History of
One hundred and ninety years ago, Napoleon faced his final defeat
at the Belgian
Barbero, an Italian historian and novelist, professor of Medieval
History at the University of Piemonte Orientale in Vercelli, Italy,
provides an original narrative-driven perspective of the days and
hours leading up to the battle. After Napoleon's sudden return to
power in the spring of 1815, allied European nations quickly
mobilized their armies. By June a showdown in
Recreating the conflict as it unfolded, Barbero recounts
individual miracles and tragedies, moments of courage and
foolhardiness, from the commands of
Barbero invokes the memories of British, French, and Prussian soldiers and re-creates the conflict as it unfolded, from General Reille's early afternoon assault on the chateau of Hougoumont, to the desperate last charge of Napoleon's Imperial Guard as evening settled in. From privates to generals, Barbero recounts individual miracles and tragedies, moments of courage and foolhardiness, skillfully blending them into the larger narrative of the battle's extraordinary ebb and flow. One is left with indelible images: cavalry charges against soldiers formed in squares; the hand-to-hand combat around farmhouses; endless cannon balls and smoke.
… The narrative is unusually accessible, and as experienced
readers march on, they will find some novel insights and analyses. …
The author also does a better job than many popular historians in
dealing with factors such as rate of fire, accurate range and the
sights, sounds and smells of a Napoleonic battlefield. And while
rejecting certain ‘patriotic myths,’ he supports the concept of
Italian historian Barbero offers a very readable narrative of one of
the most significant battles in European history. …Barbero also
provides enough information on tactics to depict how and why as well
as what the commanders were trying to do, which makes the book an
excellent resource for those with limited knowledge of the battle. …
– Frieda Murray, Booklist
. . . A resounding piece of reportage . . . It does for
Napoleonic-era warfare what Roberto Calasso did for Greek mythology.
– Kirkus Reviews
The Battle is a masterpiece of military history, a vivid human history of the legendary battle. This majestic new account stands apart from previous British and French histories by giving voice to all the nationalities that took part. To its credit, the book leaves readers with a powerful appreciation of the inevitability and futility of war.
History / Transportation
The Haywire: A Brief History of the Manistique and
More properly known as the Manistique and Lake Superior Railroad
for much of its existence, ‘The Haywire’ was one of what Willis
Dunbar called the ‘Little Fellows.’ In its earliest days it was the
product of a
The Haywire tells the story of ‘The Haywire’ as it played a
major role in the industrial development of Manistique and
Schoolcraft counties. But for much of its existence it existed in
virtual anonymity – merely the northern branch of a
Started by visionaries, it was finished by scavengers. By 1968
‘The Haywire’ had outlived its usefulness; it had become an economic
drain on its parent, the
A long-held dream of mine is that someday there would be
comprehensive histories for every notable
Most of its records went into a bonfire at the Manistique depot
in 1955. Hugh Hornstein has replaced an important part of this loss
with his research into the life of the Manistique and
The story of
The Haywire is told by Hugh A. Hornstein, Emeritus Professor of
Muskegon
Home & Garden / Animals & Pets
Cow Tails & Trails: A Fun & Informative Collection of Everything Bovine by Willow Creek Press (Willow Creek Press)
Frank Lloyd Wright once asked, “Has anyone sung the song of the
patient, calf-bearing, milk-flowing, cud-chewing, tail-twitching
cow?”
Not until
Cow Tails & Trails! This informative book is packed with North
American cow facts and trivia. Both dairy and beef cows are
discussed and illustr