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SirReadaLot.org


We Review the Best of the Latest Books

ISSN 1934-6557

October 2007, Issue #102

Arts & Photography / Entertainment / Music / Biographies & Memoirs

The Beatles: One Night Stand in the Heartland by Bill Carlson, with an introduction by Colleen Sheehy (Cumberland House Publishing)

The Beatles is a collection of original photographs from August 21, 1965. As such it adds a new chapter to the Beatles' story. In it, Bill Carlson, accomplished photographer and cinematographer, brings to Beatles fans, photography aficionados, and history buffs more than 160 never-before-published photographs that document one day in the life of the Beatles on tour.

The Beatles brings together strands of several stories. First, there is the story of the Beatles themselves as phenomenal artists who changed music and culture forever. Second, Carlson tells his own story of how he interacted with the Beatles on that one day. Third, there is the story of the 25,000 or more screaming, shouting, cheering, swooning, clapping, crying, and singing Minnesotans who were transformed by what they experienced that day – even though most of them probably couldn't hear a single note.

While a high school student, Carlson apprenticed with the prestigious photographer Merle Morris. When the press passes for the Beatles' day in Minneapolis came through, he grabbed one, picked up his Hasselblad and Nikon cameras, and headed out to Met Stadium, where the Minnesota Twins and Vikings performed and where the Mall of America now stands. He went not so much as a Beatles fan but as a photography-hungry youth determined to seize every opportunity to learn and perfect his art.

"The press officers were blanketing the area, trying to get as much publicity as possible," Carlson recalls. "Basically, there was no interest from the other photographers at Morris. But for me, it just seemed like a cool event and I was scouting around for something interesting to shoot."

Carlson gained access not only to the concert – which occurred that evening – but also the Fab Four's arrival at the airport, and the afternoon press conference at WDGY radio. He even rubbed elbows with George Harrison, complimenting him on his new Rickenbacker 360/12 guitar that was presented by B-Sharp Music that day. Later, Carlson made a few prints for himself, and his high school newspaper ran a few shots with a short story. He then filed the negatives away for nearly 40 years.

In 2004, Carlson resuscitated the negatives from a file cabinet, and the now classic black and white photos are finally given their due in The Beatles.

As revealed in The Beatles, his images show the public faces of the Beatles at their press conference at the stadium as they pose and trade quips with reporters. They show the fans, who look so young, hardly even teenagers, putting Minnesota youth on the same footing as those in London and New York. They also show the more familiar scenes of Beatlemania, and the long shots of the concert stage recall that security was so strict that even photographers were banned from the field.

With a foreword written by noted Beatles expert Larry Kane, the book documents a day in the life of the legendary band on tour with over 140 images of the band, recollections from fans who were there, and local newspaper accounts of the magical concert. Paul, John, George and Ringo were relaxed, funny, and affable, and Carlson captures the smiling lads in candid moments during the pre-concert press conference. One shot shows Paul accepting the gift of a cigar; in another, John smilingly tweaks his ear.

Bill Carlson's wonderful images of John, Paul, George, and Ringo are an exciting new addition to Beatles photography. Their candor is endearing and so lovely to see. – Paul Saltzman, Beatles photographer and author of The Beatles in Rishikesh

1965 was a year I will never forget. A local disc jockey, Bill Diehl, introduced the Beatles by saying, ‘a funny thing happened to me on the way to the stadium today . . . THE BEATLES. I had goose bumps and my teenage heart was pumping. I remember thinking, ‘So this is how a real rock concert was supposed to feel.’ – Tom Hopp, concertgoer

The Beatles captures a day in the life of the Fab Four, adding a new chapter to the Beatles' story. In this book, Carlson brings to Beatles fans, photography aficionados, and history buffs more than 100 never-before-published photographs that document one day in the life of the Beatles on tour. There are other books by Beatles photographers, but there is no other book like this that documents one day, one concert, one place. It was a day that brought high fun and high art to the Twin Cities and changed many Beatles fans forever.

Arts & Photography / Performing Arts / Dance / Health, Mind & Body

Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology by Karen Clippinger (Human Kinetics)

All dancers are looking to achieve optimal performance – and Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology will help them do just that.

This text helps dancers learn anatomical and biomechanical principles as they apply to dance performance. It focuses on optimal dance movement and the related principles for understanding the function of body joints. By applying those principles, dancers can reduce their risk of injury and enhance their performance longevity. The book incorporates strength, stretching, and technique exercises for major regions of the body.

In addition, Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology includes special practical applications:

Concept Demonstrations provide hands-on exercises to try.

Tests and Measurements are specific to selected regions of the body.

Dance Cues help analyze cue effectiveness and promote optimal movement execution.

Study Questions and Applications help apply chapter concepts.

Attachments provide the pronunciations, attachments, and key actions of the primary muscles covered in the text.

Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology, written by Karen Clippinger, professor at California State University at Long Beach, where she teaches functional anatomy for dance, Pilates, placement for the dancer, prevention and care of dance injuries, and dance science related to teaching technique, contains eight chapters. The first two chap­ters provide a foundation for the rest of the text by presenting anatomical and kinesiological concepts and terminology that are particularly relevant for dance and that are utilized in the remaining text. Chapter 1 covers bones, joints, body orientation terminology, and joint movement terminology. Chapter 2 focuses on muscle structure, levers, types of muscle contractions and their function in human movement, and an approach to learning muscle names and actions.

Chapters 3 through 7 deal with the various regions of the body. The first of these chapters (chapter 3) focuses on the spine because of its central structural and functional role in movement. The next three chapters (chapters 4 through 6) cover the lower extremity, moving proximally to distally from the hip to the knee and then to the ankle and foot. A single chapter (chapter 7) covers the upper extremity. The lower extremity is discussed first and in more detail because of the preponderance of injury in this area, the important use of the lower extremity for weight bearing and force generation in many dance forms, and the tendency to emphasize the spine and the lower extremity in dance anatomy and kinesiology courses due to time constraints.

Each of these five chapters in Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology addresses the pri­mary bones, joints, muscles, alignment deviations, and mechanics for the given region, with special considerations for dance. Sample strength and flex­ibility exercises are also presented. These exercises

are included to help readers better understand the function and location of muscles as well as the purpose of classic strength or flexibility exercises for improving dance technique and helping prevent common injuries. In the final section of each of these chapters, common dance injuries for the given region are described. The purpose of these injury sections is not for self-diagnosis and self-treatment; they provide a better understanding of the anatomical basis of selected injuries so that teachers and danc­ers have a sound basis for evaluating risk, deciding on temporary modification, or designing sequential class progressions that will allow execution of dance repertoire with the desired aesthetic and lower injury risk. Through the material in the injury sections the dancer can be better informed when seeking treat­ment from a qualified medical professional should an injury occur.

The concluding chapter of Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology provides a schema that will help readers analyze full-body dance movements. The purpose of this chapter is to present a tool that can be used to increase understanding of strength, flexibility, and technique issues that will influence optimal execution of a dance movement. This understanding allows dancers and dance instructors to be more specific in cueing and in the use of supplemental exercises so that dance perfor­mance is enhanced.

Karen Clippinger's Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology is most likely to become the definitive textbook in dance anatomy, kinesiology, and conditioning classes in colleges and universities in the United States. … In short, few texts approach the breadth and depth of this compelling, evidence-based work. If a picture is worth 1,000 words then this must be a 200,000 page book, and thus, good value for the money. … In 20 years of reviewing dance science books, rarely have I seen one so comprehensive, accurate, detailed, and practical. I emphasize the latter because here is a book that is loaded with practical applications for dance... both science text and dance handbook. – Gigi Berardi, Journal of Dance Medicine & Science

Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology offers valuable scientific knowledge and understanding for dancers, helping them to blend anatomical and kinesiological principles with artistic expression. Such a blend of science and art will empower dancers to realize their potential and expand their artistic vision.

Audio / Health, Mind & Body / Self-Help / Psychology & Counseling / Hypnosis

Stress Free Surgery: A Self Relaxation Program to Help You Prepare for and Recover from Surgery by Linda Thomson (2 Audio CDs; running time 89 minutes) (Crown House Publishing Limited)

Forty years of research has shown that patients who are psychologically prepared for surgery have vastly improved outcomes. It has been shown that self-hypnosis, when used in addition to anesthesia, can decrease anxiety and pain and hasten healing. According to author Linda Thomson, nurse practitioner, Certified Consultant in Clinical Hypnosis (The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis), hypnotically prepared patients have shorter hospital stays, less post-operative pain and nausea, use fewer pain medications, and suffer less anxiety and blood loss than patients who receive routine care.

The techniques used in Stress Free Surgery combine imagination with building belief and expectation to create a safe, gentle and effective way to reduce stress and relieve pain. They allow patients to tap into their own inner resources so that they are in the best frame of mind for surgery. This results in less pre-operative anxiety, less post-operative discomfort and faster healing.

Stress Free Surgery contains two CDs, one to play before having surgery to reduce stress and anxiety and to sow the seeds of rapid recovery, and one to play after surgery to promote healing and recovery.

Linda Thomson’s Stress Free Surgery will make a wonderfully helpful contribution to people needing comfort and support at a most vulnerable time in their medical care. Linda Thomson's positive, supportive and gentle hypnotic encouragement to move through surgery and post-surgery with a calm and positive frame of mind, can make a big difference in how well and how quickly someone recovers. Anyone going through surgery can benefit from listening to these well-constructed sessions. – Michael D. Yapko, clinical psychologist and author of Trancework: An Introduction to the Practice of Clinical Hypnosis
Linda Thomson, PhD is a very skilled and experienced hypnotherapist. This is a valuable and powerful technique which can be used effortlessly by any individual who has to undergo surgical procedures. – V.M. Mathew, Consultant Psychiatrist
… an excellent adjunct to conventional, modern surgical treatment of patients. – Robert Novoa, Director, Cardiovascular Surgery, Aultman Hospital

Stress Free Surgery contains everything that patients need to help them prepare for the surgery they are about to undergo, and to recover from the surgery postoperatively.

Business & Investing / Management & Leadership / Organizational Behavior / Psychology

Seeing Systems: Unlocking the Mysteries of Organizational Life, 2nd edition by Barry Oshry (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.)

When breakdowns occur in organizational life, the tendency is to blame them on the personalities, motivations, and abilities of the individuals involved or on the specific characteristics of one's organization. In Seeing Systems, Barry Oshry demonstrates how everyday breakdowns stem from our failure to see how human systems shape our feelings about ourselves and our relationships with other individuals and groups. He shows how readers can transform ‘system blindness’ into system sight, enabling them to live and work together in productive partnership. Oshry is the founder of Power + Systems, Inc., and developer of the Power Lab and the Organization Workshop on Creating Partnership.

Based on Oshry's 30+ years of studying human interaction in social system life, Seeing Systems is profound in its implications while being accessible. The book explores the powerful and uncomfortable truths of Oshry's 25 years of experience with workshops on power. The book discusses unlocking the mysteries of organizational life.
In it, Oshry explains why so many efforts at creating more satisfying and productive systems end in disappointment, and proposes a new framework for dealing with human behavior. Oshry shows readers how teams of top executives regularly fall into turf battles with one another; why organizational improvement efforts inevitably create tensions between the ‘good’ cooperative workers and the ‘bad’ resistant ones; how marriages seemingly ‘made in heaven’ disintegrate. Oshry demonstrates how these breakdowns in organizations result from blindness to the human systems of which we are a part. Finally, he shows how powerful, productive, and satisfying partnerships are created when we are able to recognize and stop these destructive ‘dances’, and create new ones in which people understand and are respectful of one another.

In addition to illustrative cases and solid systems theory, Seeing Systems is populated with pinballs; talking body parts; mysterious ‘swimmers’; amoebocytes, slugs, and earthworms; dances of blind reflex; and tunnels of limited options. The result is a foundation for revolutionizing readers’ understanding of system life. Oshry tells readers of the first edition, to rest assured, the old favorites are here – from Pinball to the Dance of Blind Reflex, the He/She dialogues, and the Dance of the Robust System. There is also much that is new: new cases, a new Power Lab story, a deepened exploration into the Dance of Blind Reflex, and a new section on Uncertainty and the Tunnel of Limited Options.

Oshry says this second edition has given him the opportunity to continue the exploration into the human and system costs of system blindness and the new level of humanity that comes with system sight. This new edition of Seeing Systems is revised throughout and features an extensive new section on having the wisdom and courage to face and work with the reality of uncertainty, a hopeful antidote to today's righteous battles of certainty versus certainty. This new edition features a new epilogue describing how Oshry is currently using theater, blogs, and pod casts to extend his multi-pronged revolution aimed at transforming system blindness into system sight.

Seeing Systems helps us grasp what really happens beneath the surface in organizations... regardless of whether you are an executive, executive coach, middle manager or individual contributor, Seeing Systems provides powerful insights and applications for enhancing your effectiveness. – Julian D. Kaufmann, Vice President, Leadership & Organization Development, Tyco International

Barry Oshry is the world's master teacher about power and systems, and now he has put his wisdom on the pages of this much-awaited book. Seeing Systems makes paradoxes comprehensible, dilemmas resolvable, and complexities easier to grasp. It will help people in every walk of life or ethnic group gain insights into what drives their behavior, and tools for coping with their roles in social systems at work and at home. – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard University Business School, author of Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End, When Giants Learn to Dance and The Change Masters
This is an incredibly wise book about how each of us behaves in the systems of our lives. Its abundant insights can profoundly affect our perceptions of why we do what we do. And it creates hope that with greater consciousness, we can participate with more humaneness and love in a world that insists we form more and more relationships. – Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science
I have read with enormous interest your book Seeing Systems, and must say that through many years of being involved in entities dedicated to systemic thinking, this has been the most exciting reading. – Enrique G. Herrscher, Dean, Graduate School of Business Administration, ICED, Argentina

Based on more than thirty years of research and packed with illustrative cases and solid systems theory on human interaction, Seeing Systems provides a penetrating look at the dynamics of systems and a unique foundation for revolutionizing our understanding of system life. Seeing Systems is the most accessible, penetrating book available on the dynamics of systems, taking readers to a whole new level of understanding ourselves as human beings. In addition to those struggling to improve their business and community organizations, the book may also be of use to couples looking to improve the communication in their marriages.

Business & Investing / Science / Mathematics / Statistics

Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart by Ian Ayres (Bantam Books)

  • Why would a casino try and stop you from losing?
  • How can a mathematical formula find your future spouse?
  • Would you know if a statistical analysis blackballed you from a job you wanted?

Today, number crunching affect readers’ lives in ways they might never imagine. More and more, choices that have traditionally been made by experts based on experience, intuition and trial and error are now being made – much faster and much more accurately – by individuals and organizations crunching massive databases.

In Super Crunchers, Ian Ayres shows how today's best and brightest organizations are analyzing massive databases at lightening speed to provide greater insights into human behavior. From internet sites like Google and Amazon that know readers’ tastes better than they do, to a physician's diagnosis and their child's education, to boardrooms and government agencies, this new breed of decision makers are calling the shots.

According to Super Crunchers, we are in the midst of a global decision-making revolution. Ayres – an econometrician, lawyer, and William K. Townsend professor at Yale Law School – calls these people Super Crunchers and reveals how this new breed of decision makers is calling the shots that affect readers’ lives in ways that most of them don't even realize.

In Super Crunchers, Ayres shows how Super Crunching is already upon us: doctors increasingly rely on statistical analysis to diagnose an illness where they used to rely on personal intuition and expertise; schools implement curricula whose results have been tested in a 20-year, $600 million Super Crunching study; an economist actually out-predicts the world's most notable ‘wine experts’ in determining the best vintages. Ayres also describes the ways in which anyone can take advantage of the powers of Super Crunching. For example, a website can accurately determine when to buy airline tickets in order to get the best price – and they offer a guarantee. According to Ayres, the prediction is based on a ‘serious super crunch’ which analyzes a database of 50 billion prices for airline tickets and crunches those numbers based on 115 indictors that are reweighed every day for every market.

But there is a dark side to Super Crunching and Ayres introduces readers to a world where marketers and retailers use sophisticated data analysis to predict what readers want better than they can themselves, and then determine the very highest prices they are willing to pay for an item or service. Yet Ayres reveals the ways that readers as consumers can protect themselves from those insidious marketing practices – and how the solutions to these problems are found through Super Crunching.

In this brave new world of equation versus expertise, Super Crunchers shows the benefits and risks, who loses and who wins, and how super crunching can be used to help, not manipulate.

Yale Law School professor and econometrician Ayres argues in this lively and enjoyable book that the recent creation of huge data sets allows knowledgeable individuals to make previously impossible predictions. … Although Ayres presents both sides of this revolution, explaining how the corporate world tries to manipulate consumer behavior and telling consumers how to fight back, his real mission is to educate readers about the basics of statistics and hypothesis testing, spending most of his time in an edifying and entertaining discussion of the use of regression and randomization trials. He frequently asks whether statistical methods are more accurate than the more intuitive conclusions drawn by experts, and consistently concludes that they are. Ayres skillfully demonstrates the importance that statistical literacy can play in our lives, especially now that technology permits it to occur on a scale never before imagined. – Publishers Weekly
In the past, one could get by on intuition and experience. Times have changed. Today, the name of the game is data. Ian Ayres shows us how and why in this groundbreaking book Super Crunchers. Not only is it fun to read, it just may change the way you think. – Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics
Super Crunchers shows that data-driven decision-making is not just revolutionizing baseball and business; it's changing the way that education policy, health care reimbursements, even tax regulations are crafted. … Data-driven policy making forces government to ask the bottom line question of 'What works.' That's an approach we can all support. – John Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress
A lively and yet rigorously careful account of the use of quantitative methods for analysis and decision-making.... Both social scientists and businessmen can profit from this book, while enjoying themselves in the process. – Dr. Kenneth Arrow, Nobel Prize winning economist, and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University
Ian Ayres [is] a law-and-economics guru. – Chronicle of Higher Education

Gone are the days of solely relying on intuition to make decisions. No businessperson, consumer, or student who wants to stay ahead of the curve should make another keystroke without reading Super Crunchers. This lively and groundbreaking new book is a fascinating exploration of this new world of equations versus expertise, its benefits and risks, who loses and who wins, and how, whether we like it or not, Super Crunching is here to stay.

Children’s / Ages 4-8 / Animals

D Is for Dinosaur: A Prehistoric Alphabet by Todd Chapman & Lita Judge, illustrated by Lita Judge (Science Alphabet Series: Sleeping Bear Press)

Mary Anning found fossils
in the cliffs by the sea.
When she was twelve years old
she made her first great discovery. – from the book

All kids seem to love dinosaurs. With D Is for Dinosaur, young readers take a trip back to the Mesozoic era. From the ferocious Giganotosaurus (the biggest meat-eater known) to the most famous dinosaur that never lived (Ultrasaurus), budding paleontologists will discover new facts and explore challenging theories in D Is for Dinosaur.

One thing young readers are sure to enjoy learning is that paleontologists aren't the only ones who have made contributions to the study of dinosaurs. Some important discoveries were found by children – one of the first discoverers of dinosaurs was a little girl.

After graduating from college with a degree in Design Arts, author Todd Chapman began his first job as a toy designer. His career has since taken him into many areas of the high tech world, including printing and publishing, film and animation, networking and the World Wide Web.

Author and illustrator Lita Judge has a degree in geology from Oregon State University. Her fascination with dinosaurs led her to work on paleontology digs with the Tyrell Museum at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada. Judge writes and illustrates children's books in her home in the woods. D Is for Dinosaur is Judge’s second picture book.

Did dinosaurs really die out or is it possible they are still with us today? And what's bigger and scarier than the T-rex? Dino-kids can learn the answers and current theories behind these questions, along with other fascinating aspects of prehistoric life in D Is for Dinosaur. Dramatic, action-filled paintings let readers of all ages roam the prehistoric world. The book is part of the Science Alphabet series which features two levels of information: succinct, large-print messages like the one reprinted above and full color illustrations take up the main part of double pages but a side bar contains more in-depth information for older kids, making the book appropriate for a wider age range.

 Children / Ages 9-12 / Social Issues

If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko (Harcourt, Inc.)

This is lame but I’m actually looking forward to school this year, because every day this summer was like crap: dog crap, cat crap – I even had a few elephant crap days. Trust me, it was bad.
For starters I hardly saw my best friend in the whole world, Rory. She was always in camp or on Maui.
They probably don’t even have crap on Maui.
Besides Rory being gone all summer, my only other friend in the whole world, Nellie, moved away and my mom and dad fought all the time. They stopped seeing my little sister, Kippy, and me, and they definitely stopped hearing what we said. We even tried a little experiment on them. Kippy said there was a colony of worms living in the laundry hamper and my mom said: “Leave your muddy shoes outside.” And I said Brad Pitt had invited me to a slumber party and my mom said: “You already had your snack.”
It was funny for a while. Then it wasn’t. – from the book

In If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period, written by award-winning author Gennifer Choldenko, the worlds of two kids collide.

Kirsten McKenna's world is crumbling. Her parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has fallen under the spell of the school's queen bee, Brianna. It seems like only Kirsten's younger science-geek sister is on her side.

Walker Jones's goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he's going to screw up like his cousin. But Walk is a good kid. So is his friend Matteo, though no one knows why he’ll do absolutely anything that hot blond Brianna asks of him.
But all of this feels almost trivial when Kirsten and Walker discover a secret that shakes them both to the core.

You knew all along," Walk says.

"No I didn't."

"You're lying....You found out and then you told the whole world."

The issues raised are spot-on for this age group. . . . (an) under-the-microscope examination of the often cruel, always dramatic dynamics of junior high. – Publishers Weekly

Choldenko convincingly covers the middle school scene . . . sparkling characterization and touches of humor . . . tumultuous twists that ultimately convince Kirsten that, indeed, she does matter. – School Library Journal

Choldenko’s talent for characters and conversation brings the two voices instantly to life in alternating points of view...This will appeal to a wide range of middle-school readers and would make a great book-club or classroom discussion. – Kirkus Reviews

Two kids’ lives intersect to create one compelling story. Fast paced, marvelously funny, and brutally honest, If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period touches on universal truths about human nature.

Cooking, Food & Wine

The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan, with photography by France Ruffenach (Chronicle Books)

 Why is the country cooking of France so compelling, and why does it exert such fascination and evoke so much respect? The answer lies in the terroir of its pays (regions), the fresh produce and specialty foods that are unique to each area and are then transformed into such traditional favorites as Soupe au Pistou and Choucroute Alsacienne.

Anne Willan combines her years of experience writing about French cuisine with extensive research, hands-on experience, and a deep appreciation of the current culinary trends in France to create The Country Cooking of France. Willan is well known for her highly respected cooking school in France, La Varenne, founded thirty years ago, as well as her many best-selling cookbooks. She operates La Varenne, her cooking school, at Chateau du Fey in Burgundy, France. Willan was honored as Grande Dame of Les Dames d'Escoffier International. The International Association of Culinary Professionals recognized her with their prestigious Lifetime Achievement award, and in Australia at the World Food Media ceremonies she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. At the American Food and Entertainment Awards, Bon Appetit magazine named Willan ‘Cooking Teacher of the Year.’

More than 235 recipes range from the time-honored La Truffade with its crispy potatoes and melted cheese to the Languedoc specialty Cassoulet de Toulouse, a bean casserole of duck confit, sausage, and lamb. And it wouldn't be a French cookbook without desserts: Crepes au Caramel et Beurre sale (crepes with a caramel filling), Pets de Nonne (deep-fried cream puffs), and Galette Landaise (a rustic apple tart) are beyond delicious.

Dishes with a quintessentially French touch are organized into chapters that focus on each specialty: Fish stews such as Bouillabaisse; rustic sauces that convey a strong sense of place including Sauce Bordelaise au Vin Rouge from Bordeaux and Sauce Vin Jaune et Morilles from the Jura; savory tarts, from an Alsatian Zewelwai (onion quiche) to Pissaladiere from the Pays Nicois, bordering Italy, which reveals it close relationship to Neapolitan pizza; not to mention game birds, frogs, and snails.

Using ingredients readers can find at just about any supermarket and farmer's market, Willan offers healthy, imaginative recipes. Sprinkled throughout The Country Cooking of France are historical tidbits about individual regions and the French people. More than 275 photos of the food markets, villages, harbors, fields, and homes make this a beautiful book. Willan provides instructions on growing, storing, and, most of all, cooking the dishes and demystifying the art of cooking authentic French faire.

Anne Willan is the perfect tour guide for this fascinating journey into the heart of French culture and cuisine. She writes with such clarity, passion, and authority that one can't help but feel drawn in and transported to the French countryside. Every dish and culinary term is explained and put into historical context, provid­ing the reader with so much more than just wonderful recipes. This book will stimulate your mind as well as your appetite. – Patrick O'Connell, Chef/Proprietor, The Inn at Little Washington

This very complex, extensive, and beautiful book with well-known recipes and stunning photography is proof that there is always something more to learn about the cuisine of France, even for a French-trained professional chef. – Jacques Pepin, Chef, Cookbook Author, and PBS-TV Cooking Series Host

Readers will be enchanted by the delights of The Country Cooking of France. More than 250 recipes including magnificent desserts capture the vitality of French cooking in a large and stunning volume. Willan combines years of hands-on experience with extensive research to create a new classic. The mouthwatering, healthy and easy-to-follow recipes use the freshest of ingredients, and the enchanting photos by France Ruffenacher, a San Francisco-based photographer, make this large volume is a celebration of French culinary culture.
Cooking, Food & Wine

Tassajara Cookbook: Lunches, Picnics & Appetizers by Karla Oliveira, with photography by Patrick Tregenza (Gibbs Smith, Publisher)

Eat modestly, widely, don't take seconds, and enjoy yourself. – Julia Child

What's for lunch? We all need to eat. And we have lunch in various ways: bag lunch, cafete­ria, diner, burger place, deli or restaurant.

The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a legendary Buddhist monastery set deep in California's Ventana Wilderness, is famous for its healthy gourmet vegetarian cuisine. Tassajara is owned by the San Francisco Zen Center, which also started Green's Restaurant, a popular vegetarian restaurant (and cookbook) in the San Francisco area. Tassajara hosts guests and retreats from April to September, offering beautiful and peaceful surroundings complete with hot springs, creek, Japanese bath houses and food.

Guests rave about one particular Tassajara tradition: the Bag Lunch. The Bag Lunch provides as many as twenty different color­ful spreads, several roasted vegetables, salads, marinated tofu, cheeses, fresh baked bread, olives, pickles, chutneys and delicious desserts to name a few. Now the Tassajara Cookbook by professional chef Karla Oliveira, with photographs by Patrick Tregenza, shares these never-before-published recipes for savory spreads, pates and loaves, sandwich fillings, granolas, salads, chutneys, sauces, and marinades, as well as baked goods and sweet treats. For picnics, snacks, appetizers and small plates, Tassajara Cookbook is filled with recipes that can be prepared in advance. From a delectable Persian Olive, Walnut, and Pomegranate Tapenade to the sweet and sour vegetables of Antipasto Agrodolce, to the addicting Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, this is gourmet vegetarian cuisine for the new age of culinary consciousness.

Tassajara Cookbook was created in response to Tassajara guests who have requested the Bag Lunch recipes over the years. These recipes have been adapted from other cookbooks by the Guest Cooks and Bag Lunch Crew at Tassajara. The Guest Cooks and Bag Lunch Crew are Zen residents and students who usually have no formal cooking experience or training, but work in the kitchen as a part of their Zen practice. The recipes are simple but they are prepared with care. The Zen stu­dents bring their zazen practice (meditation) into their work, taking the leap out of the con­ditioned small mind, into the freedom and generosity of the mind that is accepting, fresh, and full of possibility. It is the unfettered mind of a beginner, otherwise known as ‘Beginner's Mind.’

So, it being said that if the Zen students cook with a Beginner's Mind, then we all can. As with any cookbook, the recipes are meant as guidelines. One needs to taste for his or her own and decide whether or not a recipe needs more of this or less of that or if it needs an ingredient at all.

Food is, in fact, one reason people keep returning to Tassajara. – The New York Times

Tassajara Cookbook is perfect for vegans and vegetarians on the go, or anyone who wants to add healthy, tasty snacks to his or her diet. Readers will find an array of finger foods that are easy to put together when there is little time to cook a meal. The cookbook is a valuable resource for recipes to use when camping or when traveling. And it provides ideas for alternatives for those suffering from allergies, whether dairy, wheat, or soy, and for those desiring to eat fewer carbohydrates or animal products.

Education

Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns by Michael Stephen Schiro (Sage Publications, Inc.)

I first encountered the four curriculum ideologies described in this book when I was teaching in public schools in the 1960s. I taught first in a high school, then in a mid­dle school, and finally in an elementary school. I was under constant pressure in these schools to believe in and teach in accordance with several conflicting philosophical viewpoints. In addition, during the 1960s I saw curriculum developers create very different types of curricula and argue about which curriculum ideology should be the dominant one in schools.

Later, as a faculty member at Boston College during the 1970s, I witnessed faculty members' vigorous debate over whether we should orient our teacher education programs around the Scholar Academic or the Social Efficiency perspective. During the 1980s, the faculty argued over whether the Social Efficiency or the Learner Centered ideology should provide the underpinnings for our programs. During the 1990s, the debate was over whether the Learner Centered or the Social Reconstruction perspec­tive should be our guiding light. Now, during the first years of the 21st century, we have ‘social justice’ as our overarching educational theme at Boston College.

… Over the last 30 years I have attempted to help educators deal with these issues. This book is my attempt to help a larger audience struggle with philosophical issues I have seen many educators deal with on a daily basis. – from the book

As told in Curriculum Theory, for almost a hundred years, educators have been at war with each other over what the nature of the American school curriculum should be. Underlying this war are four visions of what the school curriculum should look like. These visions are based on four curriculum ideologies – or curriculum philosophies – that advocate very different purposes for schooling and very different methods of achieving those respec­tive purposes. The competition between the four visions of education has stimulated advocates of each to develop increasingly powerful curricula, instructional methods, and research bases. The result is improved instruction for children.

The competition between the four visions of education has also made it difficult for educators and the general public to reach a consensus on the nature and purposes of the American school curriculum. Seemingly irresolvable disagreements include the reading controversies over whether it is more important to teach decoding (phonics) or comprehension (whole language), the mathematics disputes over whether it is more important to teach mathematical understanding or mathematics skills, and the history conflicts over whether it is more important to teach knowledge of the past or to build strategies for critically analyzing and reconstructing society in the future. These dis­putes have recently become so fierce that they have become known as the reading wars, the math wars, and the history wars. Each of the four visions of curriculum embodies distinct beliefs about the type of knowledge that should be taught in schools, the inherent nature of children, what school learning consists of, how teachers should instruct children, and how children should be assessed. Each vision has its own value system, its own purposes of education, its own meanings for words, its own heroes whose beliefs it repeats, and its own villains whose beliefs it rails against.

A description of the major curriculum philosophies that have influenced educators and schooling over the last century, Curriculum Theory analyzes four educational visions – Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction – to enable readers to reflect on their own educational beliefs and allow them to more productively interact with educators who might hold different beliefs. Author Michael Stephen Schiro, former chair of the Department of Teacher Education and School Administration at Boston College, describes the effects that these competing visions can have on the professional lives of educators over the span of their careers. Schiro was born in the slums of Washington, DC. He specializes in mathematics education, and has taught courses in mathematics education, curriculum theory, computer education, literacy, and multicultural education at Boston College since 1974.

Key features of the book include:

  • Provides a historical perspective on the origins of curriculum ideologies.
  • Offers a model of how educational movements can be critically analyzed.
  • Highlights the complexities of curriculum work in a social context.
  • Pays careful attention to the way educators use language to give meaning to frequently unspoken assumptions.

Curriculum Theory is organized into an introductory chapter, four main chapters that examine each of the major curriculum ideologies, a chapter that compares the four ideologies, and a chapter that examines the ways in which debate over the ideologies influences the personal lives of individ­ual educators over their life span.

Each of the four main chapters that examine a curriculum ideology is structured in the same way. Each chapter (1) opens with a brief overview of the ideology; (2) contin­ues with a description of curricula that illustrate the ideology under discussion; (3) examines the ideology's educational vision, global assumptions, and conceptual framework while referencing descriptions of the curricula; (4) describes the historical evolution of the ideology over approximately the last hundred years; (5) examines in detail the ideology's aims, view of children, perspective on learning, concept of teach­ing, conception of knowledge, and beliefs about assessment; and (6) presents conclud­ing perspectives on the ideology.

Each of the four main chapters provides readers with an understanding of an ideology from the perspective of educators who advocate that ideology, without refer­ence to other ideologies. However, each ideology's underlying myths and assumptions are made clear, and the hidden meanings in its use of words such as learning and knowledge are closely examined – using critical analysis in the spirit of poststructural­ism and postmodernism. The four ideologies are compared in a separate chapter designed to highlight their similarities and differences.

The book also attempts to help educators understand how their own personal educational philosophies have been shaped during their lives and how their beliefs might evolve during the future span of their careers. The book includes a short inventory to help readers place themselves on a graph of their own curriculum beliefs.

Curriculum Theory is intended to help both experienced and pre-service educators understand the educational philosophies (or ideologies) they are likely to encounter in their everyday lives. The book provides readers with a clear, sympathetic and unbiased understanding of the four conflicting visions of curriculum that will enable them to more productively interact with educators who might hold different beliefs. The book stimulates readers to better understand their own beliefs and also provide them with an understanding of alternate ways of thinking about the fundamental goals of education.

The model employed in the book demonstrates how to analyze and question one's thoughts and those of one's colleagues, official policies and agendas, and new curriculum fads promoted by politicians, textbook salesmen, school boards, curriculum consultants, and others attempting to influence schools. This enables readers to more effectively contribute to the public debate about educational issues.

The book highlights in a rigorous way the complexities of curriculum work in a social context in which ideolog­ical struggles dominate current educational discourse and in which educators are constantly pressured to act in accordance with a variety of conflicting ideological perspectives. Having a clear understanding of the ideological pressures exerted by others helps readers put pressures into perspective and maintain their own values, beliefs, and practices.

Entertainment / Gambling

Championship Hold'em Satellite Strategy by Tom McEvoy & Brad Daugherty (The Championship Series: Cardoza Publishing)

Chris Moneymaker did it when he parlayed a $39 satellite win into a world championship title and $2.5 million, as did Grey Raymer in 2004 when he turned $150 into $5 million.

The first satellite in history was a one-table satellite for the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas in the late 1970s. Eric Drache, the tournament director of the WSOP in the early days, was continually encouraging players to sign up for the $10,000 championship event because he always wanted to top the previous year's figures by at least one player. Drache had been having trouble getting people to enter the tournament when he noticed a pot-limit hold'em cash game with $5-$10 blinds going strong.

All of the players at the table, mostly Texas road gamblers, had about $1,000 each, making around $10,000 total on the table – the cost of a buy-in for the championship event. "Why don't you gentlemen put up $1,000 apiece and play a freezeout for a seat in the Big One?" he suggested. They did, and the first tournament satellite was born. – from the book

Two world champions show players how to win their way into big tournaments offering millions of dollars in prize money for a fraction of the cost by playing in small-entry-fee tournaments. These exciting mini-tournaments, called satellites, made the authors millions of dollars and now they share their secrets with their audience.

In Championship Hold'em Satellite Strategy, authors Tom McEvoy and Brad Daugherty show readers how to win their way into big money tournaments that have turned amateurs into multi-millionaires almost overnight. In the past ten years, six amateurs – Noel Furlong (1999), Robert Varkonyi (2002), Chris Moneymaker (2003), Greg Raymer (2004), Joe Hachem (2005), and Jamie Gold (2006) – have parlayed nominal investments into winnings totaling more than $30 million and world championship titles. And lots of other players have won tens of thousands, hun­dreds of thousands and millions of dollars playing satellite tournaments.

Eleven major sections in Championship Hold'em Satellite Strategy give readers specific strategies for winning no-limit and limit hold'em satellites and earning entry into any tournament they want to play. Step-by-step, readers learn insider strategies for beating limit and no-limit hold'em satellites, as well as one-table, multi-table, online, and super satellites. And since readers will use many of the same strategies to win satellites and tournaments, they will also improve their chances of winning the big events.

McEvoy, 1983 World Champion of Poker, and Daugherty, 1991 World Champion of Poker, have earned millions of dollars by master­ing the art of satellite play, and in the book they share their secrets with readers. Even if readers have never played a satellite before, the authors say, have no fear. They explain where to find them, which ones to enter, how to play, and then how to beat these mini-tour­naments.

According to McEnvoy and Daugherty, as satellites have become increasingly popular among players, so has their level of competence. Players are studying poker books, discussing with friends what works and what doesn't, and practicing on the Internet. Playing Internet satellites is particularly valuable because players can access hand histories, which can assist them in getting a line on how their opponents play, as well as allow them to study their own statistics. For example, players can download the last 150 hands they have played. Using this information, they can determine which types of hands they have won with and which they have lost with. And they can get a full account of what has gone on in the pots that they have played, which will help them determine whether they have been playing too many hands or too few, too loose or too tight.

If you want to turn a toothpick into a lum­beryard like I did in 2003, read this book. – Chris Moneymaker, 2003 World Champion of Poker

Nobody knows how to win poker tourna­ments better than McEvoy. – Russ Hamilton, 1994 World Champion of Poker

Brad Daugherty knows how to win satel­lites. Nobody has a better record in the one-tables or supers. Brad and Tom share valu­able information that would take a lifetime to learn on your own. – Vince Burgio, World-Class Tournament Champion

McEvoy and Daugherty are two of the win­ningest satellite players in World Series of Poker history. If you want to join them at the championship table, read this book. You'll be glad you did. – T. J. Cloutier, Tournament Player of the Year, 1998 and 2002

Championship Hold'em Satellite Strategy can be a step to earning a shot at fame and fortune; written for readers who want a chance at big money for just a small investment, this indispensable book will show them how it's done.

Entertainment / Humor / Comics & Graphic Novels

Blondie: The Bumstead Family History by Dean Young & Melena Ryzik (Thomas Nelson)

Over the years I have often wondered what my father, Chic Young, would have to say about the amazing durability of the characters that he created almost eight decades ago. I'm sure he would be thrilled to know that the world is still enjoying a daily dose of his wacky creation.

And every day, I thank my lucky stars for this magical menagerie of zany comic strip characters that became my responsibility to protect, honor, and keep funny. What a thrill it is to work with characters that literally explode like chemicals when they come in contact with one another. Sometimes I just turn them loose and let them do whatever they want. It's almost like the strip could write itself. With this cast of characters, even a monkey could do it! – from the book

Blondie – the comic strip – was born on September 8, 1930. Dagwood was the rich but awkward son of millionaire industrialist J. Bolling Bumstead, while Blondie was a poor and beautiful nobody. Dagwood's parents were opposed to the marriage, but love won out even though Dagwood had to give up his inheritance to marry Blondie in February, 1933.

For more than 75 years Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead have been one of America's favorite couples. Through war and peace, through boom and bust, through sexual revolution and social upheaval, Blondie has become the most widely read comic strip in syndication – in 35 languages and in 47 countries.

As told in Blondie, over the years, the particulars of the Blondie comic strip have changed. Traveling salesmen have been replaced by telephone salesmen. Dagwood no longer takes the bus to work; he now rides in a car pool. But the themes have remained the same – eating, sleeping, making a living, and raising children – all tied together by Blondie and Dagwood's undying devotion to each other.

Here in Blondie are stories of the lives of Blondie and Dagwood and their interactions with their children Alexander and Cookie, their neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, the family dog Daisy, Dagwood's boss Mr. Dithers, the mailman Mr. Beasley, and the neighborhood kid Elmo Tuttle. The book includes early history: Blondie and Dagwood's courtship, their early beaus, their wedding, Dagwood at work, Blondie starting her catering business. Then there are the cartoonist's favorite strips and the story of Chic and Dean Young, the father and son, creators of Blondie. Co-author with Dean is Melena Ryzik, a New York writer.

Young says that the strips on the pages of Blondie are some of his personal favorites. He hopes readers enjoy them as much as he has enjoyed creating them.

Blondie: The Bumstead Family Album is a celebration of family at its most genuine. This enduring domestic comedy continues to make an impression in the hearts and minds of Blondie fans who connect with the Bumsteads' ability to cope, without losing sight of the things that count. People recognize and relate to the Bumstead family because they see themselves and their loved ones reflected inside the paneled walls of the comic strip. It’s all here in Blondie, the definitive book for the Blondie fan.

Entertainment / Movies / Biographies & Memoirs

King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema by Anupama Chopra (Warner Books)

Shah Rukh Khan is a modem-day god. On streets in India, his posters are sold alongside those of religious deities. Shrines have been erected in his name. For Indians and the varied non-Indian lovers of popular Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh is bigger than Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt combined. Over fifteen years and fifty films he has straddled Bollywood like a colossus. In the paan-stained studios of Mumbai, Shah Rukh's story, how a middle-class Muslim boy from Delhi became one of the biggest movie stars in the biggest film industry in the world, is legend. So when he flicks away cigarette butts people pick them up as souvenirs. – from the book

King of Bollywood is the true story of Bollywood, a portrait of a country finding its identity, a movie industry that changed the face of India, and one man's struggle to become a star. Shah Rukh Khan is the superstar of the Bollywood industry and the face of a glittering new India. An international phenomenon, he generates Beatlemania-like hysteria around the world, at appearances and performances across the U.S., throughout Europe, and beyond. Shah Rukh's larger than life tale takes readers through the colorful and idiosyncratic Bollywood movie industry, where fantastic dreams and outrageous obsessions share the spotlight with extortion, murder, and corruption.

After graduating from high school, Shah Rukh moved from theater to television to movie acting, gradually finding his niche with brooding antihero roles, the sort that other actors rejected for fear of spoiling their leading-man image. Shah Rukh broke into this $1.5 billion business despite the fact that it has always been controlled by a handful of legendary film families and sometimes funded by black market money. As Shah Rukh has become a bigger star, playing a variety of roles, he also helped the industry expand. His films range from traditional themes (Asoka) to remakes of classics (Devdas), song-and-dance romances and even Mission Impossible-type films. As a Muslim in a Hindu majority nation, exulting in classic Indian cultural values, Shah Rukh has come to embody the aspirations and contradictions of a complicated culture tumbling headlong into American-style capitalism. His story is also the mirror to view the underbelly of the culture of Bollywood.
Author of King of Bollywood, Anupama Chopra, renowned film critic and journalist, combines her knowledge of Bollywood with firsthand interviews and exclusive photographs for an insider's look at Shah Rukh, a country finding its identity, and an industry that helped to change the face of India.

Although he's not a household name in America, Shah Rukh Khan, sometimes called the Tom Cruise of Hindi film, is a world-famous superstar, the kind who generates Elvis-level hysteria wherever he goes. … Chopra, a Mumbai-based freelance journalist who comes from a filmmaking family herself, offers readers both the life story of Shah Rukh and a condensed history of the Indian film industry. Even if you know nothing about Indian cinema, her prose style (Bollywood now recoiled from the mafia like a man shrinking from a sore-covered leper on the street) makes this a bizarrely fun read. – Publishers Weekly
A bounty for cinema lovers everywhere. – Mira Nair, Director, The Namesake and Monsoon Wedding
King of Bollywood is the all-singing, all-dancing back stage pass to Bollywood. Anupama Chopra chronicles the political and cultural story of India with finesse and insight, through fly-on-wall access to one of its biggest, most charming and charismatic stars. – Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend it Like Beckham
The ‘Easy Rider Raging Bull’ of the Bollywood industry and essential reading for any Shah Rukh Khan fan. – Emma Thompson, actress
Anu Chopra infuses the pivotal moments of Shah Rukh Khan's life with an edge-of-your-seat tension worthy of the best Bollywood blockbusters. – Kirkus

The legendary success story of Shah Rukh Khan is brought to life in King of Bollywood, a fascinating look at Bollywood, told through the story of its iconic star. The first comprehensive narrative account of Bollywood published in the U.S., this story serves as a scintillating introduction to India’s billion-dollar movie industry.

Foreign Languages / Linguistics / Psychology & Counseling

A Language in Space: The Story of Israeli Sign Language by Irit Meir & Wendy Sandler (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates)

This English version of A Language in Space, which received the Bahat Award for most outstanding book for a general audience in its Hebrew edition, is an introduction to sign language using Israeli Sign Language (ISL) as a model. Authors Irit Meir and Wendy Sandler offer a glimpse into a number of descriptions of the ISL community to which linguists and other researchers may not have access. An underlying premise of the book is that language is a mental system with universal properties, and that language lives through people.
A Language in Space addresses relevant aspects of sign language, including the most abstract questions and matters related to society and community. Divided into three parts, the book covers the linguistic structure of ISL; the language and its community; and a broad depiction of ISL and the contribution of sign language research to linguistic theory. 

The book, which assumes no prior knowledge of linguistics or sign language, offers a detailed description of this young, relatively unknown sign language, accompanied by 250 illustrations. Alongside the linguistic analysis, Meir and Sandler present the human side of the story: The development of the Deaf community in Israel, from its earliest days in the 1930s to the present, including personal narratives by three of its members. The authors also show how research on sign languages in general and on ISL in particular can help to answer one of the most compelling questions in modern linguistics: What are the basic properties that characterize all human language?

Meir, lecturer in the Department of Communication Disorders and the Department of Hebrew Language at The University of Haifa and a researcher in the Sign Language Research Laboratory; and Sandler, professor of linguistics in the Department of English Language and Literature at The University of Haifa and director of the Sign Language Research Laboratory say it has been their privilege to study ISL for more than fif­teen years. They have investigated and analyzed this language in the context of research on other sign languages and of spoken languages as well. By studying sign languages, linguists have learned much more about the human language faculty than they ever could have done by studying spoken languages alone.

It is commonly known that spoken languages have different levels of struc­ture. They have sounds that go together to make words, and meaningful word bits that go together to make more complex words; they have syntactic rules for combining those words into sentences; and semantic principles for inter­preting the whole thing. The fundamental question that has driven their research and that of like-minded linguists has been: How do sign languages do all that? They ask: Do sign languages have the equivalent of sounds? Are there complex words in sign lan­guage? Complex sentences? Can a language without sound have intonation? How much of language is shared uni­versally by all languages?

A major goal of A Language in Space is to provide an up-to-date introduction to the nature and structure of sign languages in general by focusing on ISL. They do so by examining this language in detail, but in non-technical language that any interested reader – linguist, school teacher, or interpreter; parent or other family member of a deaf child; firefighter or movie director – can understand and appreciate.

A lot can be learned about sign language in general by the careful study of any one sign language. The first sign language to be studied extensively was ASL. In A Language in Space, Meir and Sandler point out both similarities and differences between ISL and ASL in particular, and include information about other sign languages as well. In this way, they show specific parameters along which the grammatical structure of sign languages converge and diverge from one another.

In Part I, Describing the Language, which constitutes the core of A Language in Space, Meir and Sandler unfold the answers that they have found to questions about ISL in particular, about sign languages in general, and about how these languages encode the same kinds of information that spo­ken languages do, often using similar types of structure. Using traditional tools of linguistic investigation, they take the language apart, and describe the way words are built up from meaningless elements, how more complicated words can be constructed from meaningful parts, the way in which sentences are put together, and how the whole system is given more meaning and expressiveness through the intonation expressed on the face of the signer.

Part II, The Language and Its Community, explores the idea that even if all languages have certain organizing principles in common, each lan­guage is refined and expanded by its community of users. Just as a community defines its language, so does a language define its community. This bond between language and community is doubly clear in the case of the lan­guage of Deaf people. In Part II of A Language in Space, Meir and Sandler take a closer look at the language in its social context. They describe the history of the Deaf community in Israel and the birth and development of ISL. Their interest in the history of this community was sparked by a presentation given by one of the Deaf sign language consultants associated with their lab, an architect by profession, Meir Etedgi. Together with Etedgi, they set about trying to learn more about that community by interviewing its oldest members and by reading its annals in the archives of the National Association of the Deaf in Israel. In Chapter 11 they report the story that unfolded: when and under what conditions Deaf people discovered each other and began to congregate, how the idea arose to form an association – how a community originated. As the Israeli Deaf community is relatively young, they have the advantage of learning firsthand about its forma­tion from its founders and their families. But it is likely that Deaf communities the world over have experienced some of the same growing pains and achieve­ments, and they hope that their local account will be of more general interest, and will also encourage similar documentation elsewhere.

In the years in which the country was forming, Deaf people brought with them whatever signing they had used in their country of origin, and Israeli Sign Language was born. They have managed to learn something about that process and about earlier forms of the language, which they report in Chapter 12 of A Language in Space.

But the human side of ISL cannot be told fully by lin­guists or chroniclers. It must be told also by the people whose language it is. In Chapter 13 they bring to readers four narratives. Three were first presented in ISL at a symposium conducted at The University of Haifa in 1996, called ‘Seeing Voices’, and have been translated to English in the book. One was written more re­cently. Each presents the point of view of a different Deaf person; collectively they convey something of the essence of ISL in the lives of Israeli Deaf people – and of the place of sign language in the lives of Deaf people everywhere.

Part III, The Big Picture, discusses more theoretical issues. In the past 30 years or so, the study of sign language has left the realm of the arcane, and entered the mainstream of theoretical linguistic research. The realization that language exists in two modalities, spoken and signed, means that researchers must commit themselves to the serious study of both. Languages in the two modalities share certain defining properties, properties which Meir and Sandler deduce must be the essential universals of human language. Sign languages, like spoken languages, have word structure, syntactic structure, and even phonology, the equivalent of a sound system. But other properties distin­guish the two. In this part they ask, What have we learned about language through cross-sign-linguistic research, and What is the relevance of sign lan­guage research for linguistic theory in general? They conclude that it is only by comparing language in the two modalities in which it naturally manifests itself that we can fully understand this remarkable human capacity.

A Language in Space is based on an earlier version written in Hebrew for an Israeli audience. They have revised, cut, and added to that version considerably, with the goal of making it interesting and relevant for an international audience. They are aiming at a wide audience, and they take it for granted that different readers may be interested in different parts or chapters of A Language in Space.

One difference from the earlier version is the inclusion in Chapter 15 of a synopsis of their more recent work on a new sign language that developed among a community of Bedouins in the Israeli Negev, conducted with colleagues Carol Padden and Mark Aronoff. This language, Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (ABSL), is one of a number of distinct sign languages used by small groups of Deaf people in Arab, Druze, and Bedouin towns and villages in Israel. This language has a lot to teach readers about the most basic elements of human language.

A superb book from every point of view. A Language in Space offers the reader a view of sign language in general, and of Israeli Sign Language in particular. The book is clear, extremely readable, and fascinating....It touches on every topic relevant to sign language, from the most abstract theoretical issues to matters of society and community. All this it does with charm, simplicity, and clarity, from a perspective that is well developed, theoretically deep, and informed by the most up to date research in the field. The figures and illustrations are wisely selected and tastefully presented. – Yosef Grodzinskv, McGill University

This original and timely book will definitely be an important addition to LEA's growing list in signing and deaf studies. – Dan Slobin, Berkeley

Fascinating, A Language in Space is clear and engaging read, appealing and accessible to a wide variety of readers. The personal narratives are illuminating and moving and the illustrations are lively. The book is intended for linguists, psychologists, educators, sociologists of all stripes, students, and also for anyone interested in finding out more about the essence of human language.

HHealth, Mind & Body / Biographies & Memoirs

Face to Face by Audrey Kishline & Sheryl Maloy (Meredith Books)

What would you say to the drunk driver who killed your child?/p>

After her 12-year-old daughter and ex-husband were killed in a head-on crash, Sheryl Maloy came to a startling decision: Her path to healing would lead her to an incredible meeting – to prison, to the driver of the lethal vehicle, to say "I forgive you.”

Brought together by unspeakable tragedy, Face to Face is the true story of two women whose lives connected in a way neither could have imagined. It is a story of hope, faith and what the power of forgiveness can accomplish even in dark times.

On the night of March 25, 2000, 911 operators began answering calls from worried motorists on Washington's Interstate 90, who reported a pickup truck headed west in the eastbound lanes. Within minutes, the calls changed to reports of a violent crash.

The driver of the pickup, Audrey Kishline, was on the road with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit. In a wide-awake blackout, she slammed into a car, killing a young girl and her father.

The tragedy of the crash was compounded by the fact that Kishline, who recovered from serious injuries, was the founder of Moderation Management, a controversial program that suggested steps to moderate drinking for people who were concerned about controlling their alcohol consumption.

For Sheryl Maloy, the tragedy landed full force on the already wearying struggles of a single parent and on her hopes to restore her marriage to her ex-husband. As she struggled to recover from the loss of her daughter and ex-husband and searched for a new future, she realized the key to her healing lay in an incredible step. Compelled by her Christian faith, Maloy visited Kishline in prison, not to angrily confront the woman who had killed her loved ones, but to hold her in her arms and offer forgiveness.

In Face to Face, they tell their stories in alternating chapters: Kishline shares her battle with alcohol, injuries, and prison, while Maloy attempts to overcome the loss of her family and the deep scars of her past.

The relative of the victims of a drunk-driving accident extends forgiveness to the criminal driver in this stark, improbable memoir of tragedy. In alternating chapters reflecting the points of view of the two authors (streamlined by the writer Laura Morton), the woeful tale unfolds. … The aftermath was bittersweet: although Maloy was supportive, Kishline continually faltered before she could put her life back together. The stories of these women are wrenching and real, and now they plan to travel and speak publicly together. – Publishers Weekly

Face to Face is the gripping and unforgettable account of two women struggling to rebuild their lives. Maloy's ability to forgive will inspire anyone who is struggling to move forward with life after tragedy or hardship.

Health, Mind & Body / Science / Medicine / Research

The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research by Kenton Kroker (University of Toronto Press)

We tend to think of sleep as a private concern, a nighttime retreat from the physical world into the realm of the subconscious. Yet sleep also has a public side; it has been the focal point of religious ritual, philosophic speculation, political debate, psychological research, and more recently, euroscientific investigation and medical practice.

In The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research, the first ever history of sleep research, Kenton Kroker draws on a wide range of material to present the story of how an investigative field – at one time dominated by the study of dreams – slowly morphed into a laboratory-based discipline. The result of this transformation, Kroker, assistant professor in the Science and Technology Studies Program at York University, Toronto, argues, has changed the very meaning of sleep from its earlier conception to an issue for public health and biomedical intervention.

Examining a vast historical period of 2500 years, Kroker separates the problems associated with the history of dreaming from those associated with sleep itself and charts sleep-related diseases such as narcolepsy, insomnia, and sleep apnea. He describes the discovery of rapid eye movement – REM – during the 1950s, and shows how this discovery initiated the creation of ‘dream laboratories’ that later emerged as centers for sleep research during the 1960s and 1970s.

Sleep research began to coalesce only around 1900, once investi­gators began to describe sleep as a positive, rhythmic process that served a biological function. According to the book, it seems counter-intuitive to suggest that anyone could ever have imagined that sleep did not serve a function, but sleep was generally framed in terms of individual psychology before 1900. Sleep, so the reasoning went, is little more than nothingness, and how can nothingness have a function? Of course, most people dream, and on this basis psychologists suspected sleep is not the simple elimination of consciousness.

The dynamic interaction of dreaming and sleep as scientific objects has not, however, been at all straightforward, so The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research shows how the intimacy of their relationship has oscillated over the past twenty-five hundred years. When sleep emerged as an object of modern biomedical analysis over the past century, dreams were effectively set outside the investigative domain. They were reunited, briefly, in mid-century by virtue of the discovery and dissemina­tion of REMs around 1953. But, by the mid-1970s, they had begun to separate again, as the sleep clinic began to take shape and biomedical interest in establishing sleep as a public-health problem trumped engagement with the idea of using laborato­ries to comprehend dreaming.

The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research tries to incorporate aspects of all approaches by concentrating on the diversity and dynamism of the ways in which sleep has been made into an object of scientific knowledge. Both dreaming and sleeping were found, in different configurations, within the spheres of the personal and the public, of the visible and the invisible, of the animal and the human, of the clinical and the experimental, and even of the sacred and the profane. Kroker offers an overview of how those different configura­tions ultimately generated a new view of sleep that transformed it from an intimate experience to an impersonal and public object.

Sleep had, of course, been part of medical practice since antiquity. As the first chapter indicates, ancient medical interests in sleep were encapsulated by the role dreams played in the Asclepian cults. Galen acknowledged the value of such dreams for medical diagnosis, but it was his emphasis on sleep as a ‘non-natural’ that was ultimately formalized by the medieval medical schools, as dreaming was separated from medi­cal practice and became part of philosophical psychology.

Chapter 2 introduces some nineteenth-century aspects of the scien­tific study of sleep. There were two dominant approaches to the prob­lem of sleep in this period: one from the clinical point of view, and one from the perspective of physiological psychology. The most prominent clinical problem concerning sleep was insomnia. Many investigators were enthusiastic about using hypnosis as a tool that could probe the unconscious mind. By the time war broke out in Europe in 1914, hypnotism had fallen from grace, and its status as a form of ‘artificial sleep’ was thor­oughly rejected.

The study of fatigue, on the other hand, was just getting started. Etienne Jules Marey's ‘graphical method’ offered a means of describing physiological phenomena without disturbing the organism's natural state, regardless of whether it was an ani­mal, a patient, or a laborer. The graphical method allowed the construction of an image of sleep from the perspective of the body, rather than the mind.

But, if sleep was becoming more and more grounded in the body in the early twentieth century, psychoanalysis, which took dreaming as a model of mental activity, seemed headed in the opposite direction. The third chapter of The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research deals with two distinctive approaches to dreaming in the early twentieth century: those of Sigmund Freud and Henri Bergson. Both produced important contributions to the study of dreaming around 1900, although only Freud has attracted much attention from historians. For Kroker’s purposes, his original significance lies in the fact that he turned dream­ing into a vital function, linking it to health rather than to a pathological alteration of consciousness. Bergson, on the other hand, took dreams to be a primitive experience of time as duration, which he con­trasted to the mechanized, scientific vision of time as a succession of instants that could be represented by space. The fate of sleep as a function is charted in chapter 3 through the early career of Henri Pieron, a psychologist who had studied under Pierre Janet and Theodule Ribot. Pieron's study of sleep revolved around his method of ‘experimental insomnia,’ a technique that involved depriving his animal subjects of sleep until they slipped into a coma and died. Such research reinforced the belief that sleep should be studied through the observation of comportement, or ‘behavior,’ rather than through the methods of introspec­tive psychology.

At this point, the story shifts, in part, to the New World. Chapter 4 discusses the epidemic of ‘sleeping sickness’ that spread through North America in the wake of the influenza pandemic of 1918-19. Ameri­can neurologists began to focus on this mysterious disease that often left its victims in varying states of dementia. Their interest in sleep brought the topic out of the doldrums of hygiene and into the world of organic brain disease. Constantin von Economo, the Viennese clinician who first described ‘encephalitis lethargica’ in 1917, visited the United States in 1929. Drawing on Pav­lov's description of sleep as inhibition, Economo argued that natural sleep was the product of a regulatory ‘sleep centre’ in the brain, which was somehow damaged over the course of the disease.

Chapter 5 examines the very local conditions of early sleep research at the University of Chicago during the interwar period. According to The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research, when Pavlov visited the A.J. Carlson's Physiology Department in 1923, a young stu­dent named Nathaniel Kleitman was just publishing the first of a series of papers on the physiology of sleep. Kleitman, who would eventually establish himself as the first physiologist to dedicate his entire career to sleep, had adapted Pieron's method of ‘experimental insomnia’ to the unique conditions of physiological research at Chicago. He used human subjects for many of his experiments, preferring to rely on innovative physiological recording techniques rather than post-mortems to frame his questions about sleep.

The electroencephalograph (EEG), the topic of chapter 6, was first discovered by a German psychiatrist named Hans Berger in 1925. But it did not receive much sci­entific attention in the United States until 1934. Alfred Lee Loomis, who had a long-standing passion for precision instruments and timekeeping, used his extensive financial resources to construct an enormous kymograph that was able to record eight hours' worth of sleep at a time. By late 1935, his work had established a standardized set of five ‘sleep stages’ based on distinctive EEG tracings, through which the brain ‘cycled’ throughout the night. This image of sleep as a phenomenon of brain-regulated timekeeping was to dominate sleep research for the remainder of the century. Chapter 6 also examines the conditions under which REM finally appeared to scientific perception in the year that led up to Eugene Aser­insky and Kleitman's publication of their discovery in 1953. Once the province of an elite group of neurologists and ambi­tious psychiatrists, psychoanalysis had assumed a dominant role in the sciences of mind and brain by the early 1950s, and the systematic study of dreams outside the clinic was high on the agenda. William Dement, a young medical student with a keen interest in psychiatry, recognized the potential of REM to bridge the gaps between the physiological laboratory and the psychiatric clinic. By the mid-1960s, his experiments with psychiatric patients and his theories about ‘dream deprivation’ had brought sleep research out of the backwaters of physi­ology and onto the center stage of the neurosciences.

Chapter 7 discusses the gradual shift toward more clinically oriented research brought about by the formation of a social organization to promote it. When it emerged in the early 1960s, members of the Association for the Psychophysiological Study of Sleep (APSS) took seri­ously the idea that laboratories would reveal the truth about dreaming. Many of them also felt that the ‘dream laboratory’ would finally bring psychoanalytic concepts and practices into the domain of the biomedi­cal sciences, precisely because they took REM to be an unproblematic and objective index of dreaming that could be effectively detached from its instrumental and cognitive context. Dement became instrumental in shifting the trajectory of the laboratory towards clinical problems. Narcolepsy, in particular, became a pivotal disease that was remade by laboratory-based sleep research. The ‘laboratory test’ for narcolepsy ultimately redefined it as a state-specific pathology that could be accurately diagnosed only through identification of its victims' aberrant REM periods. With this development, sleep research began to shift towards the biomedical field and away from neuroscien­tific investigation. In the process, the APSS was itself transformed, as an ever-greater proportion of its members identified themselves as clini­cians, not psychophysiologists.

Narcolepsy, however, had always been understood to be a relatively rare disorder. It was not until insomnia was brought within the purview of the sleep laboratory that sleep medicine began to emerge as a medi­cal specialty and sleep itself came to be depicted as a public-health issue. This process, described in chapter 8, was by no means a linear progression from laboratory-based knowledge to its application in clinical practice. As consumers of a vast amount of pharmaceuticals to treat their condition with a minimum of medical supervision, insomniacs were perceived to be at risk for addic­tion and even death by accidental or intentional overdose. While narcolepsy had justified the sleep laboratory's entry into the clinic, the evolution of insomnia as a public-health issue presented the prospect of an entirely different scale of expansion.

The final chapter evaluates the rise of sleep apnea following sleep medicine's first forays into public health through the problem of insom­nia. The latter disorder was cursed, as it had always been, by indetermi­nacy. Insomnia was both mental and physical, and such a position was difficult to negotiate during the 1980s, when the American psychiatric establishment began a full-scale purge of psychoanalytic ideas from its diagnostic canon. Insomnia also fell victim to a recriminalization of drug addiction in the United States. Instead, biomedical interest turned towards sleep apnea. Practically unknown before the 1980s, the problem of sleep apnea had blossomed into a major public-health debate ten years later.

This is the best systematic account of how people have tried to understand sleep. The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research presents not only the memorable innovations such as Freud on dreams, REM, and sleep apnea, but also the strange byways, some well forgotten, and others in need of another look. Kenton Kroker offers a deep analysis of how measuring devices, crude electrodes placed on the head, and a new institution, the sleep laboratory, completely changed what had been the most private, solitary, and perhaps non-existent time in our lives – when we are asleep. – Ian Hacking, Chair of Philosophy and History of Scientific Concepts, College de France
In The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research, the history of scientific investigations into sleep and sleep-related problems unfolds as a rich and complex territory. Incorporating a vast amount of material, in terms of periods covered as well as in the numbers of evaluated printed and archival sources, Kenton Kroker offers a fascinating account of research into sleep. – Cornelius Borck, Department of Social Studies of Medicine, Canada Research Chair in Philosophy and Language of Medicine, McGill University

The Sleep of Others and the Transformations of Sleep Research is an extended essay in cultural history, written from the perspective of a his­tory of knowledge. A fascinating study, it covers a wide range of material, telling of the metamorphosis over time of the psychological study of dreams into the biomedical discipline of sleep research. Kroker’s work is unique in subject and scope and will be enormously useful for sleep researchers, medical historians, and anybody who’s ever lost a night’s sleep.

History / Americas / West

Let' er Buck:: A Story of the Passing of the Old West by Charles Wellington Furlong, with a new introduction by W.K. Stratton (The Overlook Press)

Long before the popular participatory journalism of George Plimpton and Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Wellington Furlong wrote about his experience in the bull-riding competition at the 1914 Pendleton, Oregon Round-Up in Let' er Buck. He broke his wrist, but won the competition seated aboard a notorious bucking-bull called Sharkey – ‘a ton of living dynamite.’

First published in 1921, Furlong's classic account of the Pendleton Round-Up was a bestseller that extolled the virtues of the Old West. Out of print for over eighty years, Let' er Buck brings the book back to life with a new edition, faithful to Furlong's original volume, with more than 50 authentic black-and-white photographs.

Furlong's monumental bestseller was first published in 1921 to educate the ‘blasé, effete, lily-livered youths’ of America about the values of an ‘honorable physical contest’ – the rodeo.

Each fall in Pendleton, Oregon, there is great carnival that epitomizes the most dramatic phases of the pioneer days of the West. The epitome of the great human virtues with which the West was replete – courage, daring, belief in work, love of play, optimism, and, above all, that balance-wheel of life – humor. There the real, practical work of the trail, cow camp and range is shown through the sports of the pioneer.

Let' er Buck is the story of the passing of the Old West, illustrated from photographs of bucking horses, cow-pony races, bulldogging Texas longhorns, Indians, cowboys, fancy ropers, and old time scouts as seen as the annual cowboy carnival, the Round-Up, held in Pendleton, Oregon, each September.

Charles Wellington Furlong (1871-1967) was an explorer, painter, explorer, writer, university professor, lecturer, publicist, soldier, and the author of numerous books and magazine articles. In 1966, at age 91, Furlong returned to the Round-Up to lead the annual Westward Ho! Parade, billed as the largest parade in the world without any motorized entries.

Furlong spent years studying and participating in the life and culture of the American West, including four Pendleton Round-Ups where cowboy contests epitomized the most dramatic phases of the pioneer days of the West and its spirit. "In all the world there is no more thrilling and impressive spectacle," wrote Furlong. "It nurtures the wonderful heritage our forefathers created for us, it puts a glow into the minds of youth; it strikes you squarely behind the eyes, and reveals the great living, painting the West before you."

Let' er Buck is the classic account of the famous Pendleton round-up and rodeo, back in print for the first time in eighty years. Both a call to action and a cowboy's lament, Furlong's lively classic is an unforgettable piece of the story of the American past. Recalling a phase of Americana that has all but passed, here is the work and life of the Old West, eternally engraved upon history. Beautifully and remarkably photographed, this reproduction is faithful to the original.

History / Ancient / World

Books on Fire:: The Destruction of Libraries throughout History by Lucien X. Polastron (Inner Traditions)

Hebrew, Hindu, Nordic, and Islamic traditions share the belief of a vast library existing before the creation of the world. The Vedas say that this library predated the creator’s creation of himself. Yet, almost as old as the idea of the library is the urge to destroy it. The reasons cited for this are many: educated people are much harder to govern, and some proclaim that only the illiterate can save the world. There are also great destructions brought about by weather, worms, and even the paranoia of the library’s owner. br /> Books on Fire traces the history of this perpetual destruction, from the burning of the great library of Alexandria on three separate occasions and the libraries of the Chinese Qing Dynasty to more modern catastrophic losses such as those witnessed in Nazi-occupied Europe and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The author, ancient historian Lucien X. Polastron, examines the causes for these disasters, the treasures that have been lost, and where the surviving books, if any, have ended up. His investigation also reveals a new danger facing libraries today with the digitalization of books threatening both the existence of the physical paper book and the very idea of reading for free. According to Books on Fire, the promise of an absolute library offered by the computer may well turn out to equal the worst nightmares of Ray Bradbury, Aldous Huxley, and George Orwell.
Lucien X. Polastron is a historian specializing in Chinese and Arab studies and has written several books on calligraphy as well as a monumental study of paper, Le Papier: 2000 ans d’histoire [Paper: 2000 Years of History].

In his acclaimed Double Fold (2001), Nicholson Baker expressed outrage over newspapers and books turned into landfill by librarians who chose microfilm over paper. French historian Polastron picks up where Baker left off, writing with equal passion yet punctuating his pages with wit. A specialist in Chinese and Arab studies, Polastron surveys the annihilation of libraries from ancient Mesopotamia and China to potential problems looming with the cyber contents of today's virtual books. Although Polastron learned of lost libraries while writing a history of paper, it was the 1992 destruction of the National Library in Sarajevo that triggered his desire to explore all nooks and crannies of history in the attic of every civilization. … Lamenting the loss of the ancient Alexandria library, the author covers books that perished during the Inquisition, the French Revolution and in Nazi Germany. Polastron's exhaustive research and vast scope make this detailed, authoritative study a revelatory read. – Publishers Weekly
This book contributes to a new understanding of the devastation caused by book burning. Every reader's worst nightmare is recorded with horrid fascination. – Fernando Báez, author of A Universal History of the Destruction of Books

The exhaustively researched Books on Fire is a comprehensive and authoritative historical survey of the destruction of knowledge from ancient Babylon and China to modern times. Books on Fire received the 2004 Société des Gens de Lettres Prize for Nonfiction/History in Paris.

History / Europe / Biographies & Memoirs

Henry VIII:: Court, Church and Conflict by David Loades (The National Archives)

Henry VIII's reign changed the lives of nobles and commoners, priests and laymen, and sent shock waves well beyond England's shores. Yet this clever and charismatic monarch survived rebellion, religious turmoil and the enmity of Catholic Europe, manipulating the most powerful and ambitious personalities of the age. From Renaissance prince to bloated monarch, Henry VIII dominated his country and court for almost 40 years. Destined for the centre stage of Europe, united with the royal line of Aragon, Henry's dramatic break with the Church of Rome led his kingdom into years of turmoil. Yet the headstrong monarch was also a shrewd operator who managed the powerful personalities around him to build one of the most momentous – and controversial – of English reigns./p>

Henry VIII focuses on the fluctuating, often fraught relationships between the king and his court, his Church and his people – and with the other powers of continental Europe, relations who were thrown into turmoil by Henry's successive marriages. The book explores Henry's policies and strategies and his manipulation of key players such as Wolsey, Cromwell, Fisher and More. It also probes the intriguing nature of the man behind the monarch, especially his complex religious beliefs that changed the direction of England's history.

David Loades, an authoritative historian of Tudor England, begins by explaining how historians have treated Henry and the expectations contemporaries had of the renaissance prince who ascended the throne. He describes the England that the young king inherited and explores his rich and varied reign in detail. Henry VIII considers the king's role in the wars, law enforcement, the succession question, the court, the rebellions and the problem of Ireland, illustrating the narrative with original National Archives documents and full color portraits of those involved. Finally Loades, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wales and Research Professor of History at the University of Sheffield, unravels the ambiguous but still tangible legacy that this most high-profile of monarchs has left.

The book shows how the larger-than-life ruler wielded his power – at court, in wars, in government, over his nobles and in his turbulent, politically driven quest for an heir.

Henry VIII reveals the strategies that bol­stered Henry's power, from the shaping of his royal image, to navigating the shifting alliances of continental Europe. The narrative charts the king's struggles – against northern rebels, the religious establishment, the ‘wild Irish’ and, vitally, to secure the survival of his Tudor dynasty. Loades also probes the nature of the man behind the monarch, and dashes some modern miscon­ceptions about Henry the tyrant, or Henry the gullible, or Henry the feckless slave to sexual appetite.

Henry VIII is a fascinating and compelling portrayal of an iconic king in his realm.

As intriguing as its subject, Henry VIII examines articulately and in detail the king's volatile relations. Historian Loades draws on a wealth of knowledge of the Tudor period to reveal the man behind the monarch and the lasting legacy of England's most celebrated king.

History / Military / Religion & Spirituality

MMaking War in the Name of God by Christopher Catherwood (Citadel Press)

Christian versus Muslim.br /> Sunni verses Shiite.
Catholic versus Protestant.

You cannot reason with people who believe God is on their side. – Vince Flynn, author of Consent To Kill

As religious zeal and sectarian strife set the opening years of the new millennium ablaze, they ushered in the latest chapter of a story that began centuries ago. From Bali to Beirut, humanity has inherited an idea that is as old as religion itself: killing in the name of God.

In Making War in the Name of God, renowned historian Christopher Catherwood, recounts a saga of passion, prejudice, and imperialism that laid the foundation for this troubled age. Beginning in the year 632, Muhammad – as much political leader and general as prophet – commenced the breathtaking spread of Islam that, under his successors, eventually conquered an empire larger than Rome's at its height. Even as this realm broke apart into Sunni and Shiite factions, the Christian retaliation – ruthlessly and unscrupulously unleashed in 1095 with the First Crusade – sparked a clash between East and West that continues to this day.

According to Catherwood, history professor at Cambridge University and at the University of Richmond, the pattern would repeat itself again and again. Catherwood goes back almost two millennia, researching the impetus behind religious warfare, from the first Jihads of the seventh century and the Crusades of the Middle Ages, to the wars of the Reformation and the sectarian terrorism of today. Episodes include the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans, in which the same Islamic faith that had once been an institution for tolerance in places like Spain became an instrument of expansion; the wars of the Reformation, when Catholics and Protestants slaughtered each other in the name of the Prince of Peace; and the endless conflicts of the modern Middle East, savagely fought over by three faiths that all worship the same God.

Making War in the Name of God is a look at the past altercations that have forged our violent present and the long history behind the powder keg of Islamic extremism. The book exposes a history of dissent and distortion that is seemly doomed to continue to repeat itself. Based on exhaustive research and written with an eye toward revealing the often painful truth, the book unveils humanity's habit of sanctifying bloodshed – and exposes a past that we forget at our peril. Catherwood traces the history of holy war, revealing complexities and subtleties that are vital to understanding a subject that continues to divide us. As the war in Iraq, the war on terror and the endless battles in the Middle East rage on, Making War in the Name of God offers a sobering look at the strange and terrifying connection between war and religion. Catherwood vividly reexamines these devastating struggles, answering questions that are timeless, vital, and unsettling.

Home & Garden / Crafts & Hobbies / Knitting / Children

Essential Baby:: Over 20 Handknits to Take Your Baby from First Days to First Steps by Debbie Bliss (Trafalgar Square Publishing)

The period immediately before the arrival of a baby is a unique time for nesting, perfect for creating special hand knits to welcome a newborn infant home. With this in mind, in Essential Baby