Video

The Patriotic Spirit: Patriotic Songs in ASL. color. 33 min. American Sign Language with English captions. Tim Riley, ASLonDVD.com, 3600 Harbor Blvd., Suite 285, Oxnard, CA 93035; 800-420-1112; www.ASLonDVD.com; also AV Café, 877-228-2233; www.theavcafe.com; and Midwest Tape, 800-875-2785; www.midwesttapes.com. $29.95; public performance $54.95; four-disc set $119.80; public performance $219.80. AMERICANA

Any notion that deaf people can't sing using American Sign Language (ASL) will be banished with one look at The Patriotic Spirit, which movingly presents five patriotic standards (all verses!) plus the Pledge of Allegiance, sung in ASL by Hayden Riley. Even a somewhat cheesy electronic keyboard accompaniment doesn't get in the way of Riley's eloquent performances, and a simple set and plain clothing emphasizes her interpretation. Despite Riley's very clear signing, The Patriotic Spirit is more of an inspirational tool than an instructional DVD. The menu correctly warns that sound and video quality in the slow-motion "study" portion is compromised. But as an adjunct tool, or just as inspiration about the beauty of singing in ASL, it scores high marks. At its competitive price, it is highly recommended for all U.S. school and public library collections. The Patriotic Spirit is part of a four-disc set that includes two programs of Christian prayers and hymns and one of Christmas carols. Based on the strength of this disc, librarians managing religious collections are advised to investigate the full set.—Courtney Deines-Jones, Grimalkin Group, LLC, Silver Spring, MD

These two DVDs target both beginning and intermediate yoga practitioners. Radiant Heart Yoga features Shiva Rea, who teaches Vinyasa Flow yoga; it focuses on connecting to the power of heart energy. The production quality is high and the music soothing. At times, the desert scenery is distracting, but the poses are simple and repetitive enough for beginners. LivingroomYoga, with Eva Barash, provides an Iyengar workout for intermediate practitioners. It is practical and geared toward busy people who would like to fit yoga into their lives. It includes a unique segment on using the couch to assist with poses. The film quality is solid, although at times the sound is muffled and the volume erratic. These DVDs are recommended for those wanting to explore or continue a yoga practice.—Christine Rigda, Univ. of Toledo Lib.

Picture postcards could be considered the email of its time. Introduced at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition, postcards quickly found acceptance as a vehicle for sending simple, inexpensive messages, and by 1905 (the beginning of the so-called golden era of card production, which lasted until 1915) postcards were mailed by the millions. This multimedia kit offers a brief history of postcards as well as a guide to investing in and maintaining a quality collection. The golden era of postcards ended with the increased popularity of the telephone and the cessation of German postcard production after the start of World War I. Still, the program describes the changing features of postcards from the golden era through the cheaper linen-based cards of the Depression era. The video also describes the infinite variety of cards, card grading, avoiding reproductions, buying and selling at shows, the antiques markets, and auctions. This video will be most useful to viewers wishing to learn more about the hobby; though values of cards have skyrocketed, the producers recommend that enthusiasts buy and collect for pleasure, not just the anticipation of financial rewards. The kit comes with a Windows-compatible CD featuring many vintage postcard views, an artist reference, and a useful printed guide on what to buy and avoid. Highly recommended for public libraries.—Stephen Rees, Levittown Lib., PA

Grubin is known for his fine historical documentaries (e.g., Truman), and here he has written and directed another winner with his profiles of 350 years of the Jewish American experience. Onsite locations, great voiceover readings of letters and documents, photos, and insightful commentary (such as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg on the anti-Semitism encountered by Louis Brandeis) bring out the theme: the struggle to maintain an American Jewish identity in a richly assimilative dominant culture. With any such series there will be criticism of what was omitted (while the incredible contributions of Irving Berlin are highlighted and profiled, other great Jewish songwriters and musicians are absent), but Grubin provides a deft hand on the many topics addressed, including Jews in the early settlement of America, Jews in the Civil War, and Jews as a dominant immigration force in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The film can be appreciated by Jews and non-Jews alike; highly recommended for most libraries.—Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL

Conceived as a three-part film project, this presents only the first two segments, which were completed prior to Christopher Reeve's death in 2004. Although each piece covers a different time period, they both chronicle Reeve's strength and determination in recovering from his 1995 spinal cord injury, from his first signs of improvement with a single finger movement to increased use of his limbs and implantation of a pacemaker to stimulate his diaphragm and decrease his dependence on a ventilator. Footage allows us into his family life as well as his public persona fighting for funding for stem cell research and his director role on several film projects. Good technical presentation captures a complex reality of perseverance and hope. Recommended for general audiences.—Warren Hawkes, New York State Nurses Assn. Lib., Latham

From the familiar (Cab Calloway, Fats Waller) to the obscure (Will Bradley, Al Donahue), this collection of early music videos delivers performances of jazz, jump blues, and boogie woogie. Recorded in 1941, these brief soundies were destined for release on the Panoram, a coin-operated video jukebox. Too short for extended soloing, they emphasize the song, ensemble playing, and vocal performance, with the occasional dancers thrown in, yet represent early steps away from the tyranny that melody had held over popular music. A generous 27 performances include a couple of numbers by Lionel Hampton, Dizzy Gillespie scatting "Oop Bop Sh'Bam," the Treniers' "Ragmop," Billy Eckstine's "Rhythm in a Riff," Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," and an adorable Lena Horne singing "Unlucky Woman" with Teddy Wilson's orchestra. Artie Shaw and Hampton contribute longer pieces. This very nice package could have benefited from replacing some of the more obscure acts with better-known performers. Still, most libraries will want it.—John Hiett, Iowa City P.L.

Reading poetry is similar to reading works of drama: both could benefit greatly from being performed or acted, emphasizing the nuances intended by their creators. In these documentaries, poetry transcends into performance art as young poets present their works. The venue is the Poetry Lounge, a circular open stage in a California high school where a multiculturally diverse group of writers perform their works and then discuss both their methods and their content. The Power of Poetics focuses on the use of language and poetic styles and devices; The Power of Performance concentrates on the delivery. It's sometimes difficult to separate the two areas, as one might suspect, as the young artists share their feelings on a range of personal and societal issues through their output. Young viewers should especially enjoy this new perspective on poetry and its lyrical bent—just a sneeze away from today's popular music. Each title also includes links to web sites offering a history of the Poetry Lounge, a transcript of the poems presented, and an insightful guidebook with suggestions for classroom use. While not inexpensive purchases, these nicely paced titles should be strongly considered by libraries with broad literature collections and those with younger patrons.—Dwain Thomas, formerly with Lake Park H.S., IL

This documentary is the antithesis of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Confronting Iraq makes a case for the absolute necessity of invading Iraq as part of the war on terrorism, and it is highly critical of Moore and other antiwar factions for both their disloyalty and their naïveté about Islamic terrorism. It reveals that such activity had been building for more than two decades and that America's weak responses led to an emboldening of the terrorists, which culminated in the 9/11 attacks. It maintains that since Islamic terrorists would only be appeased by the complete destruction of the United States, the only defense possible was aggressively to attack them and nations that harbored them, like Afghanistan and Iraq. Confronting Iraq is sometimes heavy-handed in its arguments and thoroughly opinionated as to the righteousness of America's involvement in the Middle East, but this is no different from Moore's work, which skews to his point of view. Confronting Iraq is several years old, but its focus on the reasons for standing up to Islamic terrorism keeps it current. It would be a reasonable selection for libraries to place alongside Fahrenheit 9/11.—Lawrence R. Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA

Teeth is a commentary on the importance in American culture of possessing perfect teeth and by extension a perfect smile. A group of adults describe their experiences with their teeth/gums/mouth and how they have been affected socially or economically, such as whether they felt pressure to hold back a smile because they believed their own teeth were imperfect in some way. This is contrasted with the saturation of model smiles (teeth) in advertising, news programs, and the TV universe in general. Members of the dental community discuss the array of improvements available to patients today though most are cosmetic. The film focuses on the social and cultural inequities of dental health in the United States, with contributing factors ranging from lack of access to health care for at-risk populations, less access to dental care for the same populations, and lack of education about the importance of both. Recommended for sociology or current events classes and collections.—Margaret Guerrieri, New York State Nurses Assn., Latham

Women NOW, celebrating its 30th anniversary with this DVD release, explores the early days of the feminist movement in the United States, leading to the creation of the National Organization for Women (NOW), before going on to outline NOW's various committees and activities circa 1978. Also included is "Yes Baby, She's My Sir," a short film that examines how language affects our lives and perceptions regarding gender. Much like the work of Leni Riefenstahl, these productions are valuable cultural time capsules regardless of their merits (or lack thereof) as exercises in sociology, philosophy, rhetoric, and semantics. Their production values are meager at best, which in no way detracts from their sincerity and urgency. Yet propaganda they remain, blinkered by a rigid, strident viewpoint as narrow-minded as the male chauvinism that the films rail against. Still, they are fascinating for how purely they capture an ideology that would better the status of women but eventually, for better or worse, help push political correctness to the forefront of discourse in the Western world, as well as lead to what pundits like Bill Maher refer to as the "feminization" of modern Western society. Essential for academic feminist and women's studies collections, but all libraries are advised to look for titles that encompass broader and more objective perspectives on feminism, the women's movement, and political correctness.—J. Osicki, Saint John Free P.L., NB