Xpress Reviews-First Look at New Books

-- Library Journal, 06/23/2008

Bowden, Jonny with Jeannette Bessinger. The Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals You Should Eat and Why. Fair Winds: Quayside. Jul. 2008. c.368p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-1-59233-318-9. pap. $24.95. COOKERY
Verdict: Unfortunately, the recipes do not include nutritional values, but most people will find the book an interesting and different approach to healthy cooking. Recommended for most culinary collections.
Background: Nutritionist Bowden (The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth) is again exploring healthy nutrition. The emphasis is on polymeal options, which are composed of ingredients that enhance heart and blood vessel health. Readers will find the work organized in an unusual way, with the first ten chapters arranged around a polymeal menu, usually made up of four dishes. Each chapter is lavishly illustrated with additional information about key ingredients and includes a pantry list as well as suggestions for menu substitutions based on recipes from other chapters. A typical menu includes Calf Liver with Green Onions, Sweet Beets and Greens, Veggie Slaw with Flax Oil, and Almond Butter Apricot Cookies. Bowden focuses on developing a high-nutrition polymeal that minimizes the use of sugar and simple starches (such as white flour or white potatoes). Other chapters focus on one pot polymeals (such as Slow Cooker Chicken Curry or Quinoa Risotto with White Beans, Arugula and Parmesan) and beverages.—Deborah Lee, Mississippi State Univ. Libs., Starkville

Brill, Stephanie & Rachel Pepper. The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals. Cleis Pr. Aug. 2008. c.270p. ISBN 978-1-57344-318-0. pap. $16.95. CHILD REARING
Verdict: Libraries may own books dealing with transgender adults, but this is the only guide about raising transgender children. While the general message to parents is that “you have nothing to apologize for and nothing to be embarrassed about,” the authors make it clear that parents and families will not have it easy. Realistic and empowering.
Background: What do you do when it’s Grandma’s birthday dinner and your eight-year-old son insists on wearing his dress and Mary Janes? And how do you handle dating when your transgirl daughter still has male sex organs? Brill (founder, Gender Spectrum Education and Training) and Pepper (coordinator, LGBT studies, Yale Univ.) bring solid credentials and years of research to help parents and others deal with issues specific to transgender children. Answers may not be easy, but blaming the child, denying access to transgender friends, and verbal threats are not helpful. When parents recognize their child’s gender identity, there can be feelings of confusion, anger, shock, fear, shame, and grief. Most children have gender identities by age two or three; like homosexuality, being transgender is not a choice. Nor is it, as it has often been labeled, “acting out” in anger against parents. There is much detail about medical practices and legal matters, most of which become issues as transgender children become adults.—Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

Chertkow, Randy & Jason Feehan. The Indie Band Survival Guide: The Complete Manual for the Do-It-Yourself Musician. Griffin: St. Martin's. Aug. 2008. c.352p. ISBN 978-0-312-37768-7. pap. $14.95. MUSIC
Verdict: This book is written for all budding garage bands and musicians who want to make it big in the music industry yet can’t afford or don’t understand how to go about doing it. Full of practical advice, it would be very popular in any public or academic library.
Background: With today’s technology, it is possible for any band or musician to make it big without the backing of a major record label. All aspects of recording, marketing, distributing, and selling one’s music can be done through the Internet, and authors Chertkow and Feehan, lead members of the band Beatnik Turtle, have successfully used the Internet to do all of these things and more. Applying extensive personal experience, the authors’ advice ranges from how to sell music on iTunes to how to update your fan base on Twitter to how to market your band on MySpace.—Bradford Lee Eden, Univ. of California Lib., Santa Barbara

Emanuel, Ezekiel J., M.D. Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America. PublicAffairs: Perseus. 2008. 240p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-58648-662-4. pap. $14.95. MED
Verdict: At a time when there is growing agreement that something needs to be done about the U.S. health-care system, Emanuel weighs in with his plan for providing universal care. His documentation is thorough, and his book is accessible to lay readers. Recommended for all public libraries.
Background: Emanuel (chair, dept. of Bioethics, National Insts. of Health) briefly outlines how our current system arrived at its present state and why he thinks it is broken. His proposed plan, which he envisions financed by a value-added tax, would cover everyone. He advocates keeping private insurance companies in the game while administering the plan by use of a national health board and 12 regional ones. His plan also includes a mechanism for dispute resolution to deal with malpractice as well as an institute to monitor the quality of care and evaluate the need for and efficacy of new technology and drugs. He focuses on seven broad goals that he believes any successful new system must meet, which he refers to continuously to compare his plan to incremental, mandated, and single-payer approaches.—Dick Maxwell, Porter Adventist Hosp. Lib., Denver

Gardner, Daniel. The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't—and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger. Dutton. Jun. 2008. c.320p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-525-95062-2. $24.95. PSYCH
Verdict: While at times a bit verbose, Gardner presents a thorough analysis of conscious-vs.-unconscious thought processes surrounding fears and their influence on an accurate perception of reality. Essential reading on the importance of thinking critically.
Background: Canadian journalist Gardner has examined research primarily from the field of cognitive psychology to present the reasons behind our often unreasonable fears and how those fears cause behavior that may actually manifest greater harm. He provides numerous examples of fearful events such as cancer, world famine, nuclear war, terrorism, and the decision to travel by car instead of plane to show how we are influenced by one-time occurrences and doom-and-gloom predications. In retrospect, most of the fear-generating forecasts never come to pass. He cites numerous research studies and subsequent psychological theories, which he humorously renames. An irritating feature is the author’s use of brain teasers to illustrate mental fallacies. While these are amusing, not finding the answer immediately within the following paragraphs is distracting.—Susan Thomas, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend

Grosshans, Beth A. with Janet H. Burton. Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm. Sterling. Jul. 2008. c.336p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-4027-5297-1. $19.95. CHILD REARING
Verdict: Highly emotional parents will struggle with this, but those who believe that the best parenting is done through consistency of action will cheer for its brave invitation to take the reigns. Highly recommended for all libraries.
Background: If kids today seem whiny, self-entitled, anxiety-prone, and obstinate, it’s because parents are lacking leadership skills and have spent 50 years hyperfocusing on self-esteem and democracy. This "Imbalance of Family Power" (IFP), as child psychologist Grosshans calls it, has lead to outrageous, defiant, and anxious children—and stressful home lives. Here, the author seeks to realign the power structure in families, with parents clearly situated at the top. Readers first identify the four parenting styles that lead to IFP: Pleasers, Pushovers, Forcers, and Outliers. They then use Grosshans's five-step “Ladder” program to correct this power imbalance and free kids ages three to ten from the power-bloat burden, where they are neither happy nor productive. In some ways, this plan is similar to 1, 2, 3 Magic (Thomas W. Phelan), but Grosshans believes that actions speak louder than words, so several of the five steps on the ladder have a physical element to them, including the “Parent Hold,” which outlines how to immobilize an out-of-control child.—Julianne J. Smith, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI

Hatcher, John. The Black Death: A Personal History. Da Capo. Jun. 2008. c.330p. index. ISBN 978-0-306-81571-3. $27.50. HIST
Verdict: By extending history through a fictionalized narrative, Hatcher has created a very readable, engaging work that reveals much about the effect of the black death on the lives of everyday people. Though he sometimes assumes prior knowledge of medieval history, lay readers will find the text an accessible and informative introduction to the topic. Recommended for medieval history collections in academic and larger public libraries.
Background: With this unusual take on a popular topic, Hatcher (history, Univ. of Cambridge) takes us inside a Suffolk village ravaged by the black death of the mid-14th century, illustrating the effect of the plague on social, economic, and religious life through the eyes of a fictional contemporary writing shortly after the events described. Though the bulk of the book is “literary docudrama rather than conventional history,” Hatcher carefully avoids sensationalism, using a straightforward, sober narrative to enrich rather than rewrite history. A preface and an introductory chapter explain what is documented in historical records and introduce village life prior to the pestilence. In addition, each chapter begins with a factual introduction to provide historical background for the events described therein.—Janet A. Crum, Oregon Health & Science Univ. Lib., Portland

Hieronymus, Laura & Christine Tobin. 8 Weeks to Maximizing Diabetes Control. American Diabetes Assn. Jun. 2008. c.173p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-58040-279-8. pap. $16.95. HEALTH
Verdict: The reading level here is disappointingly high and the eight-week format somewhat contrived (e.g., checking one’s feet daily for injuries probably shouldn’t wait until the sixth week of exercise). Some better choices are Mario Callazo-Clavell's Mayo Clinic on Managing Diabetes and Rosemarie Perrin and Seth Braunstein's An AARP Guide to Living with Diabetes.
Background: Certified diabetes educator Hieronymus and RN Tobin follow the American Association of Diabetes Educators’ seven self-care behaviors of healthy eating, exercise, monitoring blood sugar, taking medications, problem solving, coping strategies, and reducing risks as a framework for this volume. Emphasizing that knowledge can provide the tools to help readers gain control over their diabetes, the authors highlight in each chapter one self-care topic and subdivide it into small strategies and information for each of the eight weeks touted in the title. The brevity of the sections can provide quick reference; the information appears intended for those who have already learned disease basics but have not yet mastered some of the subtleties of glucose control.—Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hosp., Tampa, FL

McCann, Jennifer. Vegan Lunch Box: 150 Amazing Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups Will Love. Da Capo Lifelong. Jul. 2008. c.288p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-1-60094-072-9. pap. $19.95. COOKERY
Verdict: McCann's recipes are easy to follow; the drawback is that many of the ingredients are unusual and not readily available. Some local grocery stores, for example, don’t carry kombu seaweed, teff flour, or Japanese seven-spice blend. Recommended for libraries in larger cities where specialty food stores are available.
Background: McCann, creator of the award-winning Vegan Lunch Box blog, has written this book for parents who want to pack vegan lunches for their kids. Part 1 has menus for complete lunches, from new twists on familiar peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to more exotic fare like fondue or sunny whole-grain sushi. Each menu includes fruit and other satisfying extras, and many of the dishes can be made ahead of time and packed quickly in the morning. Part 2 has recipes for salads, dips, soups, breads and muffins, desserts, and main meals.—Marija Sanderling, Lane Memorial Lib., Hampton, NH

Notaro, Laurie. The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal. Villard: Random. Jun. 2008. c.240p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6503-5. $20. LIT
Verdict: In best-selling writer Notaro’s (The Idiot Girl’s Action Adventure Club) fifth collection of essays centered on life in Phoenix and Eugene, OR, she offers unflinching appraisals of chin hair, road rage, and other hazards, evoking humorists Erma Bombeck and, at turns, Sarah Silverman. Although her delivery sometimes feels overdone, her latest is recommended for large public and academic collections.
Background: Notaro’s brand of humor can be crude in its transparency—she does not shrink from referring to the size of her underwear or the scatological—and in dialog-heavy essays like “The Lodgers,” recounting a weekend getaway in the White Mountains, her language can feel stagy, as if she were cuing a laugh track. The collection is strongest in pieces that tackle subjects like leaving a first home or adopting a puppy, where the author’s own full-throated yuks are still cutting but come from a surer place and are complimented by tenderness toward her subject. In essays chronicling an Alaskan cruise with her best friend, losing a dog and training a new one, and leaving Phoenix, Notaro’s laughs are well earned, and she shines.—Anne Garner, Montclair, NJ

Siple, Molly. Eating for Recovery: The Essential Nutrition Plan To Reverse the Physical Damage of Alcoholism. Da Capo Lifelong. Jul. 2008. c.336p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-60094-044-6. pap. $17.95. HEALTH
Verdict: Siple provides sound advice to help combat common conditions that accompany heavy drinking and facilitate the detoxification process, offering 21 days’ worth of menus and numerous recipes. Her well-rounded eating guide is recommended for public libraries.
Background: Alcoholics frequently develop unhealthy eating practices while in the throes of their disease, and much of registered dietician Siple’s advice is of general applicability—e.g., eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and three meals a day; buy organic; and avoid caffeine and junk food. Beyond the basics, Siple’s menus are specifically tailored to replace nutrients often depleted from years of drinking, help liver function, and address other health concerns of recovering alcoholics. She identifies foods to improve specific ailments and conditions common to alcoholics. The menus and recipes use a wide variety of ingredients, and the commentary and advice is written in a clear style accessible to laypeople. There is a list of sources for all-natural, free-range, and organic foods; however, resources to help readers find local products are not included.—Elaine M. Lasda Bergman, SUNY at Albany Lib.

Why We Fought: America's Wars in Film and History. Univ. Pr. of Kentucky. (Film & History). Jun. 2008. c.672p. ed. by Peter C. Rollins & John E. O'Connor. photogs. filmog. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8131-2493-3. $75; pap. ISBN 978-0-8131-9191-1. $40. FILM
Verdict: A useful addition to an academic, arts, or film library, this book covers films based on every war fought by the United States. Each chapter is written by a different expert (or experts) and sports an excellent and extensive bibliography. This is essentially a niche purchase, as it is a bit too specialized for the regular market.
Background: O’Connor (history, emeritus, New Jersey Inst. of Technology & Rutgers Univ.) and Rollins (Regents Professor Emeritus of English and American Film Studies, Oklahoma State Univ.) have compiled a book that attempts to uncover the motivation behind American engagement in war as presented in film. They explain how film influenced American public opinion and how public opinion, in turn, influenced film. They also contrast accepted history with film depiction. Included in the book is an idiosyncratic filmography, which chronicles films based on every American war from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq. The films selected for the filmography have either won a Best Picture Oscar or been selected for the National Film Registry, among other criteria.—Diana Lawsky, North Bergen, NJ

Willard, Pat. America Eats!: On the Road with the WPA. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Jul. 2008. c.320p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-59691-362-2. $25.99. COOKERY
Verdict: This is a wonderful anthology for both the academic and the armchair reader.
Background: While researching another topic, Willard, author of the award-winning Secrets of Saffron, stumbled across a reference to America Eats!, a collection of manuscripts from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), a program that provided work for unemployed writers during the Great Depression. But Willard more than presents the original papers as written by the FWP writers—she actually retraces their steps. The result is a rich tapestry of historical and present-day food culture from every U.S. region, from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest. For instance, she discovers the difference between Brunswick Stew in the South, Booya from the Midwest, and Kentucky Burgoo, as well as attends a wide array of long-standing festivals and fairs such as Washington State’s Apple Week and the Arkansas Valley Fair. Also included are numerous, never-before-published pictures and original recipes.—Lisa A. Ennis, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib., Lister Hill

Wright, Alison. Learning To Breathe: One Woman's Journey of Spirit and Survival. Hudson Street. Aug. 2008. c.288p. ISBN 978-1-59463-046-0. $24.95. AUTOBIOG
Verdict: An honest, powerful account of one woman’s near-fatal accident and the inner journey that took her from the brink of death to the summit of Kilimanjaro. This spiritual memoir, which will resonate across a wide range of readers, is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.
Background: Acclaimed photojournalist Wright’s life has been filled with experiences that most can only read about. She’s interviewed the Dalai Lama (who here writes the foreword), worked at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in India, and studied with shamans in the Amazon rain forest. She was a seasoned world traveler until she was nearly killed when her bus collided with a logging truck in a remote region of Laos. Drawing on her Buddhist meditation practices, Wright managed to survive 14 hours without medical attention despite a broken back, collapsed lungs, and internal organs smashed out of place. When doctors informed her that she could never resume her adventurous lifestyle, Wright set herself a new goal—to climb the tallest mountain in Africa—which she achieved on her 40th birthday.—Jeanne Bogino, New Lebanon Lib., NY

Audio Reviews

Buckhanon, Kalisha. Conception. 8 CDs. unabridged. 9½ hrs. Books on Tape. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4159-4844-6. $100. F
Verdict: Reader Bahni Turpin expertly captures the nuances of the various generations and times. Highly recommended for a mature audience.
Background: Buckhanon, winner of the Terry McMillan Young Author Award and critically acclaimed for her first novel, Upstate, returns to the adolescent world of temptation and challenge in 1992 Southside Chicago. The author doesn’t just focus on 15-year-old Shivana who sees her fate as single and pregnant, but to a past that takes her story back generations. Buckhanon skillfully and unsparingly infuses life into Shivana, her mother Annette, and Aunt Jewel, who offer different visions of women’s lives, and of Shivana’s lover, Rasul. The story could just as easily have been entitled Deception, but the actual title more accurately portrays the bravery and loss Buckhanon’s characters juggle. [Upstate won an American Library Association Alex Award and was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award in debut fiction.—Ed.]—Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY

Douglas, Kirk. Let’s Face It: 90 Years of Living, Loving, and Learning. 5 CDs. unabridged. 6 hrs. Blackstone Audio. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4332-0989-5. $45; 5 cassettes. ISBN 978-1-4332-0988-8. $44.95; 1 MP3 CD. ISBN 978-1-4332-0992-5. $29.95. FILM
Verdict: One finishes this book greatly charmed by a man who has lived a full life and who sees himself and the world in a thoughtful, even poetic way. Bravo to Jason Alexander for conveying all of this in his excellent reading (his Yiddish pronunciation is spot-on). Recommended.
Background: Very much the musings of a man in his twilight years, Douglas’s latest and likely last autobiographical work focuses on the issues that encroaching death tend to bring forth. In what seems almost to be a long letter to his grandchildren, Douglas (My Stroke of Luck) remembers past sins and triumphs while trying to impart the lessons he learned along the way. He speaks movingly of his family, especially his continuing guilt and sorrow over the death of his youngest son, Eric, a drug addict who overdosed not so long ago. Douglas’s legendary charm is fully evident, although he rarely spares himself when reminiscing about unkind or hurtful acts in his past. Largely, he speaks about his Jewish faith; pulling no punches, he elucidates the end of his friendship with President Jimmy Carter because of the controversial book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, as well as Mel Gibson’s many anti-Semitic rants. [Let’s Face It is also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.—Ed.]—B. Allison Gray, Palmdale City Lib., CA

Winik, Jay. The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788–1800. 26 CDs. unabridged. 31½ hrs. Recorded Bks. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4281-8097-0. $123.75; 26 cassettes. ISBN 978-1-4281-8095-6. $113.75. HIST
Verdict: Jonathan Davis is the perfect reader for this literary labyrinth, inserting just the right mixture of tension, suspense, and theatricality to make the long hours needed to reach the end well worth the effort. Highly recommended for discriminating audiophiles.
Background: This is what every great history book should be: challenging, informative, and entertaining. It’s a look at 12 years that historian Winik (April 1965) considers to be one of the most momentous eras in history, not only in the fledgling United States but also in the encrusted monarchies of Europe and Russia. He brings this era to life, showing how a remarkable group of men and women—Washington, Jefferson, Louis XVI, Robespierre, and Catherine the Great, among others—were intertwined in politics, literature, philosophy, and sociology. What began as a minor skirmish in the far-off colonies of Great Britain ended up being the catalyst for upheavals in France, the Ottoman Empire, Germany, Poland, and Russia. Winik’s characters are not plastic icons, however; they may have been brilliant thinkers and statesmen, but their feet had traces of clay on them. The sheer size of the audiobook demands a lot from its listeners—an extensive vocabulary, and a reasonable knowledge of history—but the rewards of perseverance are plentiful. [Also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.—Ed.]—Joseph L. Carlson, Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA