Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books

-- Library Journal, 8/15/2005

Week of August 9

Gould, Tony. A Disease Apart: Leprosy in Modern Times. St. Martin's. Sept. 2005. c.432p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-312-30502-8. [ISBN 978-0-312-30502-4]. $29.95. MED

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease of the skin, peripheral nerves, and mucous membranes; its bacterial cause was discovered in 1873, yet even today no vaccine exists, and the method of transmission is still unknown. Gould (A Summer Plague: Polio and Its Survivors) explores the medical and social histories of this terrifying and baffling disease over the past two centuries, concentrating on individual doctors, missionaries, and patients across the globe. Readers meet Stanley Levyson, a Jewish pharmacist from Texas who in 1931 arrived in Carville, LA, the location of the only U.S. hospital for leprosy patients. By his death in 1967, Levyson-forced to change his last name to Stein to avoid embarrassment to his family-had become a well-known crusader in the campaign to end forced segregation of leprosy patients. As Gould reveals, more enlightened attitudes have indeed developed over subsequent decades. His personal experience with polio no doubt gave him special insight into these stories of leprosy patients and the people who helped them. This well-documented book will delight fans of medical history everywhere. Recommended.-A.J. Wright, Univ. of Alabama Lib. at Birmingham

Hendra, Jessica with Blake Morrison. How To Cook Your Daughter: Growing Up in a World Where Nothing Was Sacred. ReganBks: HarperCollins. Oct. 2005. c.288p. photogs. ISBN 0-06-082099-3. $24.95. PSYCH

For much of her life, Jessica Hendra felt either awed or intimidated by her famous father, comedian/writer Tony Hendra, who wrote and edited the National Lampoon. Growing up in his shadow in the 1970s, she witnessed his counterculture lifestyle, which included drug abuse, adultery, and debauchery. When in 2004 Tony published his best-selling memoir, Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul, he presented himself as a repentant sinner, but Jessica was dismayed to find that he had completely ignored the sin he had committed against her-sexual abuse, which propelled her into self-destructive behavior. In this rebuttal, Jessica relates how she decided to go public with her own story; she tried without success to elicit an admission of guilt and an apology from her father. Also detailed are her struggles with bulimia and anorexia and her current life as a wife and mother. Journalist Morrison helps shape Hendra's memoir into a sharply written and absorbing work. For public libraries where memoirs are popular.-Ilse Heidmann, Washington State Lib., Olympia

Reuben, Shelly. Tabula Rasa. Harcourt. Aug. 2005. c.304p. ISBN 0-15-101079-X. $24. M

Licensed P.I. and arson investigator Reuben (Spent Matches) offers a new arson mystery wherein the good guys are all perfect and the bad guys are all evil. Billy Nightingale rescues a baby from a house fire and, with state trooper Sebastian Bly (who is married to Billy's sister Annie), is called in to investigate the case. When the baby's mother goes to prison for setting the fire, which killed her two other children, Annie and Sebastian adopt baby Meredith and raise her as their own. What Reuben does best is unravel the details of fire and arson investigation, but there's too little of that in this effort to draw the reader in. An improbable subplot involving the identity of Meredith's mother serves as an annoying distraction; the characters are simplistically portrayed, and the most compelling suspense takes place early on during the original fire investigation. Given those drawbacks, this is an accessible, quick read that might prove appealing to YA readers. Recommended for large public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/05.]-Caroline Mann, Univ. of Portland Lib.

Skloot, Floyd. A World of Light. Univ. of Nebraska. Sept. 2005. 192p. ISBN 0-8032-4318-9. [ISBN 978-0-8032-4318-7]. $24.95. HEALTH

In his earlier volumes The Night-Side and In the Shadow of Memory, award-winning writer Skloot told the engrossing story of the physical and mental devastation he suffered as the result of a brain-ravaging virus. The best of the 15 essays collected here reveal the Alice-in-Wonderland logic of his 92-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. Simultaneously humorous, frightening, and sad, the essays capture the world in which increasingly more elderly people live, where the body has outlived the mind. Skloot is both tender and kind in speaking of his mother's memories, which have become "driftwood on a sea of forgetfulness." In other essays, he returns to his previous subject and writes about living in an isolated cottage in a forest in western Oregon, where he and his wife face water and weather challenges as well problems with his own memory and cognition. As a whole, these human and engaging familial essays make us realize the necessity of living fully in the present. Highly recommended for public libraries.-James Swanton, Harlem Hosp. Lib., New York

Taft, Michael. Talkin' to Myself: Blues Lyrics, 1921-1942. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. Sept. 2005. c.744p. index. ISBN 0-415-97378-3. pap. $24.95. MUSIC

Taft, head of the Archive of Folk Culture at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, has revised his 1983 anthology, Blues Lyric Poetry. Just like its predecessor, this updated edition impressively compiles the lyrics of more than 2000 blues recordings produced in the span of two decades by upwards of 350 African American artists. However, brief biographies of each artist have been added, and the text is much easier to read this time around. The entries are transcribed in standard English, and repeated phrases, words, and lines have been deleted. On a negative note, the discography and song index of the original edition have been removed, which cuts down greatly on the book's usefulness. For a better transcription of how lyrics fit within the rhythm and repetition of blues music, choose Eric Sackheim's The Blues Line: Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters. Despite its flaws, this is recommended for academic libraries as it is the only book of its kind.-Todd Spires, Bradley Univ. Lib., Peoria, IL

 Terkel, Studs. And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disk Jockey. New Pr, dist. by Norton. Sept. 2005. c.320p. ISBN 1-59558-003-4. $25.95. MUSIC

Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning master of American oral history best known for Working, Hard Times, and The Good War, has done it again. This magnificent collection of his best interviews with musicians and impresarios over the course of his 45-year career as a disk jockey on WFMT in Chicago offers a fascinating snapshot of 20th-century American music. Classical, folk, gospel, jazz, and blues performers are featured, as are composers like Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Aaron Copland, and Mahalia Jackson-36 individuals in all. Despite the rich diversity of these figures, they all share one thing: passion-passion for life and, especially, passion for the art of music. This alone should make And They All Sang required reading music students and for politicians who just don't get what all the fuss about arts funding is about. Though it lacks the depth of Working, its breadth of personalities more than compensates. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.-James E. Perone, Mount Union Coll., Alliance, OH

Tucker, Jim B., M.D. Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives. St. Martin's. Sept. 2005. c.272p. ISBN 0-312-32137-6. $23.95. PSYCH

In 1958, a team of researchers led by psychiatrist Ian Stevenson (Univ. of Virginia) began studying especially young children who claim to remember a previous life. Over the last 40 years, that team has managed to collect case studies from all over the world (although predominantly from Asia, where the concept of reincarnation is generally accepted). Since Stevenson's recent retirement, child psychiatrist Tucker now heads the project. Here, he summarizes the findings of these many years of research and discusses their implications. In most cases, Tucker reports, children start talking about a past life when they are two or three; many also exhibit phobias or interests consistent with those of the previous personality's and have birthmarks in body locations where the previous personality was wounded or impaired. While Tucker and Stevenson both acknowledge that no single case is airtight, the general consistency of the thousands of cases they've explored over the decades has even impressed such skeptics as the late Carl Sagan. All libraries should invest in either this title or Stevenson's Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation.-Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman WA

Hemingway, Ernest. Under Kilimanjaro. Kent State Univ. c.472p. ISBN 0-87338-845-3 (ISBN 978-087338-845-0). $34. F

True aficionados know that all the best Hemingway concerns how the loss of love destroys your life. This book isn’t about that. Do the math. Nonetheless, like A Moveable Feast, another posthumous work produced in the 1950s, it is a further example of the graying laureate’s experimentation with the nonfiction novel featuring himself as protagonist. Indeed, if he had not succumbed to depression, his greatest work could have been an autobiography, even if part fiction. Under Kilimanjaro is a longer (roughly 150 pages), richer version of 1999’s True At First Light (LJ 5/1/99), and chronicles the 1953/54 African safari undertaken by “Papa” and wife “Miss Mary.” There are echoes of his previous African writings Green Hills of Africa (observations on game, the landscape, and natives) The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (bitchy wife), and The Snows of Kilimanjaro (aside stories). With his hair thinning and his gut hanging over his belt, Papa has mellowed with age, experience, success, and much drinking (beer, the breakfast of champions!), while Mary plays the aggressor with an almost vendetta-like obsession with bagging a marauding lion. Luckily, he has a second, sweeter wife—another recurring Hemingwayism—Debba, a native Wakamba girl. Remembering that the book was unfinished at his death, it often lacks direction and the baby-talk dialog between spouses is nauseating. But there’s also uncharacteristic humor, and Hemingway’s descriptive skills remain unsurpassed. There’s no one better to safari with than Hemingway; with its drinking, hunting, and other signature trappings, Under Kilimanjaro is a welcomed outing with an old friend. Recommended.—Michael Rogers, LJ

Week of August 2

Berns, Gregory, M.D. Satisfaction: The Science of Finding True Fulfillment. Holt. Sept. 2005. c.288p. ISBN 0-8050-7600-X. $24. PSYCH

Berns (psychiatry & behavioral sciences, Emory Univ.) presents a book for curious and patient general readers as well as his learned peers. Surveying motivation, happiness, and satisfaction, he references everything from evolutionary beginnings to research published in the last few years, including his own. His itinerary features Cuba and Iceland, a sushi feast, an S&M fest, and an ultramarathon, ending happily in his own marital bed. As Berns defines it, satisfaction is "an emotion that captures the uniquely human need to impart meaning to one's activities." It is not simply happiness or the absence of pain; it requires novelty, challenge, action, and change; examples include music, puzzle solving, fine dining, physical exercise, pain, storytelling, and sex. Berns writes in a somewhat technical, but clear and lively, style. While tackling the phenomena of novelty, security, and trust, he introduces research colleagues and his wife, also revealing much about himself, a thoughtful and attractive scientist-narrator. This is a major contribution to the burgeoning literature of brain, behavior, and culture; essential for all public and academic libraries.-E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, DC

Gustafson, Sandra. Sandra Gustafson's Great Eats Italy: Florence, Rome, Venice. 272p. ISBN 0-8118-4555-9.
Gustafson, Sandra. Sandra Gustafson's Great Sleeps Italy: Florence, Rome, Venice. 400p. ISBN 0-8118-4565-6. ea. vol: 5th ed. Chronicle. 2005. index. pap. $14.95. TRAV

Issued every three years, these handy guidebooks start with a respectable amount of introductory material: Gustafson explains her methods of collecting information (unannounced site visits to evaluate the facilities, staff, and overall ambience) and offers advice about money, tipping, safety, and more. Each major section focuses on a particular city and features black-and-white city maps and entries on an eatery or hotel including an in-depth history, phone numbers, web sites, hours and days of operation, payment methods, and approximate prices. Readers will enjoy the delightful and folksy details about inside décor, favorite dishes, and rooms with a view. In the entry for the three-star Venetian hotel Pensione La Calcina, for example, Gustafson notes that "rooms 37, 38, and 39 have terrace views and are especially appealing, and so is No. 2, with three windows and a balcony view of Giudecca, the lagoon, a small side canal, and the bridge over it." Each guide includes a glossary of relevant Italian words and phrases, an index organized by city, price ranges ("big splurges" or "cheap eats" and "cheap sleeps"), and type of establishment (ice cream parlors, pastry shops, food markets, other shopping). Budget travelers and big spenders alike will enjoy the featured establishments. Libraries that already own the previous editions will want to buy these new editions as the content has been thoroughly revised and updated with at least 30 percent new material. Highly recommended.-Elizabeth Connor, Daniel Lib. at the Citadel, Charleston, SC

Hitchcock, Jane Stanton. One Dangerous Lady. Miramax: Hyperion. 2005. c.368p. ISBN 1-4013-5236-7. $23.95. F

To outsiders, New York's high society is a rarified paradise open to a select few. But as insiders like socialite Jo Slater well know, it is a veritable Darwinian jungle of lies, manipulation, and even the occasional murder. Having clawed her way to the top in Hitchock's previous novel, Social Crimes, Jo faces a new predator in the guise of Carla Cole, a shady Italian whose billionaire husband mysteriously disappears from their yacht (and is presumed dead) while attending a wedding in Barbados. Armed with her husband's fortune, the new widow sets out to step on Jo's turf and conquer the "Big Golden Apple." Carla not only buys an exclusive Fifth Avenue co-op despite the angry opposition of Jo's friend June, but she also acquires a seat on the board of the Municipal Museum, which results in Jo's resignation. Along the way, terrible things happen to people who stand in Carla's way: June falls into a coma after a taxi accident; Larry Locket, a Dominick Dunne-like journalist investigating Carla's past, is brutally murdered. When Carla threatens to expose Jo's dark secrets, Jo must act to stop her. Hitchcock here displays the same razor-sharp satirical wit as she did in Social Crimes, but there is a redundant feel to this book. Still, One Dangerous Lady makes perfect hammock reading for the last lazy days of summer; recommended.-Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Jones, J. Stephen, M.D. The Complete Prostate Book: What Every Man Needs To Know. Prometheus. Aug. 2005. c.370p. illus. index. ISBN 1-59102-304-1. pap. $19.
Priest, James D., M.D. Beating Prostate Cancer Without Surgery. Fairview Pr. Sept. 2005. c.192p. index. ISBN 1-57749-153-X. [ISBN 978-1-57749-153-8]. pap. $14.95. MED

Many men will suffer from prostatitis at some point in their lives, and about one in six will contract prostate cancer. These figures have resulted in a slew of consumer health books on the topic. In The Complete Prostate Book, urologist Jones (Cleveland Clinic Fdn. Urological Inst.) thoroughly and clearly demystifies prostate anatomy and function as well as abnormalities ranging from common annoyances to the most devastating cancerous conditions. In addition, he details the full array of treatments for prostate disorders. The book's goal is well met-to help men make (with their physician) informed prostate health and medical decisions based on their individual risk factors and current medical knowledge. A glossary, notes, and a resource section nicely round out the text. Similar in scope and usefulness to another excellent comprehensive guide, Dr. Peter Scardino's Prostate Book: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Prostate Cancer, Prostatitis and BPH, this is recommended for all consumer health collections. (Index not seen.)

A retired orthopedic surgeon who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, Priest takes a different approach, using a journal format to describe his choice and use of radiation therapy. Insertions of varying length are employed to explain various diagnoses and treatments. However, the pros and cons of individual therapies are at times incomplete; short shrift is given to individual health profiles that many experts believe are important in therapy decision making. No references were included. Not recommended. (Resources section not seen.)-Janice Flahiff, Medical Univ. of Ohio, Toledo

Kent, Mary. Salsa Talks: A Musical Heritage Uncovered. Digital Domain. Sept. 2005. c.416p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-9764990-0-2. $59.95. MUSIC

Kent, who has worked for more than 15 years as a PR photographer, offers a glossy coffee-table book featuring photos and short interviews with 40 prominent artists from the salsa world. Preeminent figures like Celia Cruz and Tito Puente as well as lesser-known artists are each given four-to-eight-page treatments evenly split among the subject's responses to questions about their backgrounds, the nature of salsa, and notable events in their musical careers and glamour shots. A short chapter on three notable salsa concerts and one on the origin of the term salsa are also included. More of an oral history than an exhaustive historical survey, this pricey book is for enthusiasts rather than newcomers to the genre. Readers seeking a more thorough treatment should try Sue Steward's Musica!: The Rhythm of Latin America; Salsa, Rumba, Merengue, and More or Isabelle Leymarie's Cuban Fire: The Story of Salsa and Latin Jazz.-Dave Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA

Landes, Sonia & others. Pariswalks. 6th ed. Owl Bks: Holt. 2005. 295p. photogs. index. ISBN 0-8050-7786-3. pap. $16. TRAV

This delightful and informative guide provides seven different walking tours through the most exciting neighborhoods of the fascinating and always romantic Paris, from the Place de la Bastille to Boulevard Saint-Germain. American mother and daughter authors Sonia and Alison Landes, who keep an apartment in the City of Light for their frequent visits, wrote the first edition of this work in 1972; 33 years later, Sonia's granddaughter, Rebecca, has joined them in this three-generation sixth edition. Each walk, which can be completed in a morning or an afternoon, is thoroughly revised, with neighborhood shops and eateries updated; additionally, the authors have included a new walk in the Place de la Vendôme neighborhood. Useful and readable maps and many black-and-white photographs-plus an excellent index and a list of cafes and restaurants, hotels for each neighborhood, and a historical chronology of the French nation-round out the guide's superb coverage. Readers will be inspired to travel to Paris and see its neighborhoods as Parisians do-on foot, viewing cultural and historical sites, shopping, and tasting the food for which the French are famous. Recommended.-Melinda Stivers Leach, Precision Editorial Svcs., Wondervu, CO

Patinkin, Mark. Up and Running: The Inspiring True Story of a Boy's Struggle To Survive and Triumph. Center Street: Warner. Sept. 2005. c.320p. photogs. ISBN 1-931722-49-8. $22.95. HEALTH

Andrew Bateson was a healthy six-year-old boy until July 3, 1996, when he contracted bacterial meningitis from an unknown source. Despite early detection and treatment, toxins generated by the bacteria caused massive, life-threatening damage: he was unable to breathe on his own, his kidneys shut down, and blood clots caused oxygen deprivation to his extremities. Patinkin, a columnist for the Providence Journal, here chronicles Andrew's struggles to survive the initial onslaught of the disease and the subsequent complications he faced, including amputation of both legs below the knees. Perspectives from Bateson's New England family, friends, and the medical personnel who treated him provide a rounded account of the ordeal and highlight the dedication of health professionals determined to save a small boy's life and support his family. Prayer and religious belief are emphasized as major parts of the healing process and sources of emotional strength. While Bateson's story is moving, Patinkin doesn't write well. Still, this makes for an important cautionary tale for parents against meningitis vaccinations. For large collections. [This story first ran as a series in the Providence Journal and was excerpted in Reader's Digest.-Ed.]-Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans' Hosp., Tampa

Phinney, Kevin. Souled American: How Black Music Transformed White Culture. Billboard: Watson-Guptill. Sept. 2005. c.352p. photogs. index. ISBN 0-8230-8404-3. $29.95. MUSIC

Journalist Phinney here poses the oft-made argument that African Americans were the innovators of American music and that the talented white musicians who helped develop and popularize related genres were the ones to reap the financial reward. In the first half of the book, he relies on secondary sources to describe early American musical styles: slave hollers and minstrel shows, jazz and recorded blues, and be-bop, to name a few. Drawing on more than two dozen of his own interviews, he then turns to the gospel, hillbilly, and electric blues that influenced Elvis and Chuck Berry; civil rights-inspired folk; British blues rock; the Motown and Stax sounds; and the innovations of Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and Janis Joplin. He completes his study with an examination of funk, disco, Michael Jackson, Prince, and hip-hop. Though he successfully conveys the pioneering efforts of African American artists and the additional contributions of white musicians, Phinney adds little to this already well-articulated subject and presents his mass of material in a jumble. Recommended for music novices who do not already know the full story.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

Vieira, Mark A. Greta Garbo: A Cinematic Legacy. Abrams. Aug. 2005. c.256p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-8109-5897-X. $50. FILM

Owing to MGM's publicity tactics and the degree to which she guarded her private life, Greta Garbo has intrigued moviegoers for some 80 years as a woman of mystery. For Vieira (Sin in Soft Focus), the actress can best be understood through the films she made during her 15-year career (1926-41). In addition to discussing each film's plot, he provides often fascinating sidelights into her life at the time of production and tidbits about her directors and costars, studio politics, and production. Three hundred iconic photographs-many of which are being published for the first time-embellish the text and demonstrate her demigoddess aura. Though previous works have taken a similar approach (e.g., Michael Conway's The Films of Greta Garbo), none has done so with Vieira's thoroughness and readability. His conclusions may be as flawed as those of other authors who have attempted to analyze the inscrutable actress, yet this is a most engaging and useful work. Recommended for all collections.-Roy Liebman, Los Angeles P.L.

Zimler, Richard. Guardian of the Dawn. Delta: Dell. 2005. c.403p. ISBN 0-385-33881-3. pap. $14. F

During the 1600s, the terror of the Inquisition came to India when the Portuguese founded a colony. Through them, the Catholic Church established such a strong presence in Goa that the colony's nickname was "The Rome of the Orient." It's in this unique setting that a young boy, Tiago Zarco, comes of age. With a Jewish father and a Hindu mother, young Tiago is forced to live in the shadow of both religions. It's a time of betrayal-from unexpected sources. Narrator Tiago recounts how a secret Hebrew manuscript, written by his greatgrandfather, has been turned over to the inquisitor. Determined to discover who betrayed his family, Tiago is then forced to make a choice that will change his life forever-if he can live with it. Readers who loved the author's best-selling The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon will be drawn into this historical novel as it continues the tale of the Zarco family. Offering a surprising look at Indian Jewish culture, this is recommended for all public libraries.-Marika Zemke, West Bloomfield Township P.L., MI

Zugibe, Frederick, M.D. & David L. Carroll. Dissecting Death: Secrets of a Medical Examiner. Broadway. Aug. 2005. c.256p. ISBN 0-7679-1879-7. $24.95. SCI

Zugibe, a former chief medical examiner and a noted forensics expert, takes readers on a compelling insider's tour of the world of forensic pathology. Each chapter leads us to a different true crime scene-from the sometimes ordinary to the truly bizarre. Unlike the stories on television's CSI, these real cases are not solved neatly in an hour. Zugibe explains the painstaking steps and procedures to which the forensic pathologist must adhere, from initial inspection of the body and crime scene to conviction in the courtroom. He introduces the myriad laboratory techniques and tools that speak volumes about methods of murder, and he discusses how the interactions of many players-from pathologists to attorneys-affect prosecution outcomes for better or for worse. And Zugibe enlightens readers as to how timing, serendipity, common sense, and plain hunches also can play critical roles in case solutions. Intriguing and accessible to the nonscientist, this title is highly recommended for popular science and true crime collections.-Judith A. Matthews, Michigan State Univ. Libs., Lansing

August Xpress Reviews Continued...