Social Sciences

By Staff -- Library Journal, 09/15/2006

Biography

They started calling themselves the Widows’ Club almost a year after losing their husbands in the World Trade Center attacks, a year in which the friendships these four women nurtured became the most important relationship in their lives, eventually superseding, though never replacing, the love they had shared with their spouses. Pattie Carrington, Julia Collins, and Ann Haynes, all brought together by Claudia Gerbasi, have supported and cared for one another through the waiting, the news that their husbands aren’t coming back, the memorials, survivor guilt, and the seemingly endless moments of unrelenting loss. Together, they travel, mark heartbreaking anniversaries, and finally make it through to the other side of grief, where reignited lives with new loved ones await them. “How could anyone continue to exist after such experiences?” is a question posed by the multiple first-person point of view (which works well here in combination with each woman’s own tale). In this achingly moving book, these women eloquently show us how. Recommended for all public libraries; expect demand, as the authors are booked to appear on 20/20 and Good Morning America.—Elizabeth Brinkley, Seattle

Internationally acclaimed biographer and historian Fraser has written another fascinating and accessible biography. Her focus is on the private life—rather than the power and political achievement—of that larger-than-life sovereign, Louis XIV of France. Beginning with his relationship with his mother, Anne of Austria, Fraser argues that the happiest moments of Louis’s life were associated with women. She details many (though admittedly not all) of his liaisons, interweaving the narrative with rich historical insights about the customs of court life, including practices regarding contraception, sexuality, and sexual initiation. A secondary theme is the apparent contradiction between the enormous power that the Catholic Church held over conscience and behavior at the time and the king’s clearly immoral actions. Absolute kings, as God’s representatives on Earth, were expected to behave better than their subjects, and Fraser shows how Anne of Austria worried about her son’s promiscuity and his salvation. Fraser also wonders about the extent to which Louis’s paramours might be termed victims, and she tries to uncover the perceptions that they had of themselves and of their relationship with Louis. She stresses his generosity and courtesy to them and his enjoyment of female company outside the bedroom. A glossary of principal characters and a chronological political summary help general readers understand the historical context. Recommended for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.]—Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ

Goldsworthy, a historian of ancient Rome, has published other well-received works (e.g., Caesar’s Civil War, 49–44 B.C.) that make this new endeavor, drawing together Julius Caesar’s personal, political, and military history into a single volume, familiar terrain for him. Julius Caesar is perhaps best known for having been the agent of destruction of the Roman Republic and for having been assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 B.C.E. by those who opposed his actions, as most vividly presented in Shakespeare’s play. Goldsworthy includes details of events great and small to expand on the key known facts of Caesar’s life, handling the material chronologically. Although not much is new here—there are no newly opened archives on Caesar—this is an engaging and well-drawn resource for those who wish to be introduced to the man who was Caesar. Readers interested particularly in his military genius might prefer to examine Stephen Dando-Collins’s Cleopatra’s Kidnappers: How Caesar’s Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar. Additions to Goldsworthy’s text include a chronology of key events, a glossary, and notes. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.—Sean Fleming, Lebanon P.L., NH

Art critic Hughes (The Shock of the New: The Hundred-Year History of Modern Art) departs from his usual focus and, with frankness and a sharp eye, here studies his own life. As he delves into his past, he describes in rich detail his Australian roots; his war-decorated, remote, father; his childhood in wartime Sydney in the 1940s; a Jesuit education and doubts about God; his growing appreciation for artistic and literary expression; his start as an art critic; his move to London in 1965, where he contributed criticism to several newspapers; and the development of his general antiwar beliefs and his specific opposition to the Vietnam War. The memoirs culminate with Hughes’s decision to accept a position with Time magazine in 1970, moving from London to New York City, a momentous turning point in his life filled with excitement and trepidation. This fascinating and entertaining read, at times somber and at times amusing, is recommended for all public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/06.]—Mark Alan Williams, Library of Congress

An advocate for restorative justice, Hutchison tells the horrific story of her husband’s murder on New Year’s Eve 1997 and how she and her family have since rebuilt their lives. Hutchison’s husband, Bob McIntosh, a well-regarded lawyer, renowned triathlete, and beloved Squamish, British Columbia, community member, was murdered while trying to be a good neighbor. Checking on an out-of-control teen party at the home of a vacationing friend, he was punched and beaten to death by two teens. Hutchison sketches the near-idyllic life she had led with McIntosh and their then four-year-old twins, her decision to move back home to Victoria to build a new life, the five-year criminal investigation, her remarriage, and her new speaking career. Sharing “The Story of Bob” with students in hopes that she could help curb teen violence, she is now a much-in-demand speaker—sometimes sharing the stage with one of her husband’s killers. This is a powerful tale of resilience and forgiveness. Hutchison’s story is so touching and inspiring that the reader may not question her idealized response to every setback. Highly recommended.—Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia

With Davis (Conspiracy of Eagles), Lieutenant Keegan, a veteran of the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) Special Operations Command, has written a personal chronicle of the post-9/11 recovery effort at Ground Zero. The PAPD’s loss of 37 men on 9/11 was the worst loss of law enforcement officers in U.S. history. Keegan tells not only his story but the many stories of courage, suffering, and valor of others who worked there under horrific conditions. Emerging from Keegan’s recollections are details of several secret operations, including the recovery of a black box from one of the planes and of over 1000 tons of silver and gold that kept the Commodities Exchange from financial collapse. Overshadowed by the New York Police Department and the New York Fire Department, the tiny PAPD demonstrated its skills in the recovery and gained the respect of the other agencies and the public. (The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the land on which the World Trade Center was built.) Keegan has written this book to help himself and others cope with the tragedy and to find the closure of the title. Recommended as a sound and distinct contribution to the literature on 9/11; most collections should consider its purchase.—David Alperstein, Queens Borough P.L., Jamaica, NY

This book reflects the resurgence of interest in one of the most neglected and controversial Americans in the era of the Founding Fathers. Independent historian Nelson (The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid) includes interesting excursions into topics like medicine, the publishing industry, and, most especially, the intellectual movement that we call the Enlightenment. With a storyteller’s gift for the dramatic, Nelson begins with the furtive digging up of Paine’s body in a remote American location and its return to England, and he ends with a discussion of the dispersal of Paine’s body parts and the recent campaign to locate and reassemble them. Though reliable in its general picture of Paine and his time period, the book is marred by numerous small mistakes. For example, Nelson errs in stating that Henry Clinton was part of the British peace commission sent to America in the spring of 1778, and he mentions that British spy William Bancroft worked in Paris during the American Revolution (that was Edward Bancroft). This book will nonetheless make a good companion piece to Harvey J. Kaye’s Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Recommended for all public libraries.—Thomas J. Schaeper, St. Bonaventure Univ.

Queen consort of Edward IV (r. 1461–83), Wydeville (spelled “Woodville” in Shakespeare’s history plays) is usually portrayed as a conniving schemer who used her position to gain influence for her upstart family. After Edward’s death, his brother, Richard III, executed Elizabeth’s brother and cousin, arranged for the murder of two of her sons (the princes in the Tower), and had her marriage to Edward declared adulterous and her children thus bastards. History was written by the winners in that intensely partisan age, and Elizabeth’s side lost. But Elizabeth had reigned as queen for 19 years, bearing Edward ten children—ample reasons for someone to write an unbiased account of her life. This, however, is not it. Okerlund (English, San Jose State Univ.) has mined the available sources, but it strains the evidence to argue that Elizabeth, much of whose time was occupied in childbirth, influenced Edward’s rule in any serious way. Okerlund’s attempt to prove otherwise is disingenuous. There are too many maybes and must haves, and the narrative is padded with fluff: pageants, costumes, etc. An inauspicious start to a potentially intriguing series on England’s forgotten queens; not recommended.—David Keymer, Modesto, CA

Participation in the first-ever Dakota Commemorative March in 2002, honoring the Dakota elders, women, and children who were forced to walk 150 miles from the Lower Sioux reservation to a prison camp at Fort Snelling, MN, after the 1862 war, is the basis for this family memoir. Wilson and her younger brother walk with 40 other people and share discussions of their family history with the strangers they meet. While the walk covers the opening and closing sections of the story, the center contains historical details of Wilson’s bonds with the Dakota. The book emphasizes how Native American people use family relationships to acknowledge ties to their ancestors. This compilation is ideal for genealogists and Native American collections. Lovely writing, solid research, and moving content make this a worthwhile addition to collections in larger regional public and academic libraries.—Joyce Sparrow, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas Cty., Pinellas Park, FL

In her latest book, 20/20 correspondent Sherr (Tall Blondes: A Book About Giraffes) offers a candid and refreshing memoir that also provides an informal history of the evolution of television news over recent decades. After growing up in Philadelphia and attending Wellesley College, she moved into print journalism at AP and Conde Nast before switching to television, starting in local New York news. Her first national exposure was on PBS before she moved to ABC as a reporter for World News Tonight. She covered many subjects over her career, including national politics (she details changes in the national party conventions as their significance to the nomination process lessened) and, later, space travel (including the Challenger disaster). Her memoir blends in her own life with the extraordinary events of the time but also shifts to focus on highly personal issues on their own terms, such as her husband’s losing fight with lymphoma, her own successful battle with colon cancer, and her ways of coping and moving on in the face of such struggles. Her book is both engaging and informative and should find a wide audience. Recommended for most libraries.—Joel W. Tscherne, Cleveland P.L.

Brown (former editor, BusinessWeek; coauthor, Customers for Life) and communications consultant Davis argue that the world is overloaded with information and that anyone who wants to get through to people needs to develop a clear and concise story. In addition, they spell out ways to make each story more compelling. Their advice covers graphic design and navigation, how to pitch a movie, and the varieties of storytelling to use. The book does a fine job of practicing what it preaches, with lots of bulleted lists, callouts, and summaries. Numerous business communication books are already available—including Stephen Denning’s The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling, Laurence Vincent’s Legendary Brands, and Brian Fugere and others’ Why Business People Speak Like Idiots—in part because businesses can get caught up in the details of their product or service and lose sight of what their audience needs to know. This book is as good as any other on the subject but is particularly concise because it does not present very many formal case studies. Everything is in sound bites. A good primer for general circulation libraries and business schools and a good reminder for practicing professionals.—Stephen Turner, Turner & Assocs., San Francisco

Carucci (leadership, Mars Hill Graduate Sch., Seattle) returns to the subject of management relationships, which he explored in The Value-Creating Consultant, here focusing on purely internal relationships. What emerges is a slim volume of advice for “incumbent leaders” regarding “emerging leaders.” His points make sense for the most part, as he accurately describes a younger generation of managers as highly mistrustful of their own managers and averse to taking on leadership positions because of a very strong perception of risk. Carucci’s central thesis is that the emerging leaders have already decided against following a traditional management/leadership mold, so traditional managers must break specific habits in order to retain needed talent. Each chapter focuses on a specific management trait and is framed by a fictional case study that Carucci admits is a best-case scenario. Unfortunately, the table of contents and chapter titles are not descriptive, and many of the lessons are superficial. A decent addition for larger leadership and management collections, but there’s nothing groundbreaking here.—Brian Walton, Rolling Meadows Lib., IL

This latest by Naisbitt (Megatrends) identifies various mind-sets that will enable readers to prepare for the future and understand the global changes that are underway. He shares the values and rules he has developed to discipline his own mind and to filter information, illustrating that it’s how we receive information that moves us forward or holds us back. In Part 1, “Mind Sets,” readers learn how using mind-sets like “Understand how powerful it is not to have to be right,” “Don’t add unless you subtract,” and “Don’t get so far ahead of the parade that they don’t know you’re in it” can organize, instruct, and transform their lives, personally and professionally. Part 2, “Pictures of the Future,” deals with major trends and global shifts, e.g., where Europe is headed and what may be the Next Big Thing as hyped by the media. The key that Naisbitt is offering here is awareness. Once readers are aware of their limitations, imposed by a lifetime of repetition and culturally inherited mind-sets, they can use the author’s mind-sets to open themselves to the future. Business collections will want to add.—Susan C. Awe, Univ. of New Mexico Lib.

Solin (Does Your Broker Owe You Money?), an attorney specializing in securities arbitration,follows in the steps of financial luminaries such as Burton Malkiel and John Bogle in his praise of passive or, as he terms it, smart investing. He advises readers to adopt passive investing to obtain better returns, proposing investment of funds in low-cost index funds that attempt to match stock and bond market indexes by buying every security in a particular index such as the S&P 500. He argues that 95 percent of investors do not beat market averages because of excessive costs in the financial services industry and that history has proven that most professional managers cannot consistently outperform the overall market. Solin does a great job of keeping his advice simple; his guide can be read and digested in a couple of hours. Especially helpful are his inclusion of four different risk-level model portfolios based on Vanguard and Fidelity index funds and an in-depth asset allocation questionnaire to help readers determine their personal investment mix. All public libraries should consider this straightforward guide for their investment collections.—Lawrence R. Maxted, Gannon Univ., Erie, PA

What does it mean to be liberally educated in 21st-century America, and what is the role of liberal education in a democracy? These are the basic questions that motivate very different works by Bérubé (literature, Pennsylvania State Univ.; Life As We Know It: A Father, A Family, and an Exceptional Child) and Levine (sociology, Univ. of Chicago; Visions of the Sociological Tradition). Both works share an interest in addressing limitations in the conservative criticism of higher education that began with works like Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind and Dinesh D’Souza’s Illiberal Education. Bérubé takes aim at the oft-repeated charge of liberal bias and skillfully rebuts many of the claims made by critics such as David Horowitz (e.g., The Professors). Levine, by contrast, focuses on defining a curricular structure for liberal education (rooted primarily in the evolution of undergraduate programs at Chicago, which he calls exemplary).

While both works will appeal to those with an interest in higher education, they are for different audiences: Bérubé provides an effective liberal counterpoint to the conservative criticism of schools while also providing an extended review of his own work in the classroom; Levine provides a historical analysis of the development of undergraduate education at Chicago and a proposal for a contemporary model of liberal learning. The distinction, of course, is in how one defines the word liberal in reference either to politics or to education. Like Levine’s The Opening of the American Mind, both works help create balance between conservative and liberal volleys in the “culture wars” in higher education and will appeal to many readers. Recommended for academic collections, though note that the first part of Bérubé’s work is likely to have significant appeal to a broader, more popular audience.—Scott Walter, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence

Blackhawk (history & American Indian studies, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison) begins with the premise that too many histories written about the United States downplay the violence perpetrated by its citizens on native peoples. Through his study of the experiences of the various Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone groups residing in what is now Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and California (the Great Basin), Blackhawk vividly demonstrates the importance of illuminating the consequences of that violence, which continue to reverberate today. It should be noted that Blackhawk, a Western Shoshone himself, does not portray the natives as victims. Instead, he demonstrates that their perseverance and ability to adapt to changing conditions over the last two centuries allowed them to help shape the world around them. This exceptional monograph is one of the finest studies available on the native peoples of the Great Basin region. Highly recommended for all public libraries and essential for academic libraries supporting programs in U.S. history.—John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY

Unaware that her father was responsible for sending to their deaths thousands of French Jews, many of them children, Anne Darquier grew up in England in the care of a nanny, having been abandoned in 1930 at three months of age by her parents in France. She believed that she was the child of a wealthy, sophisticated baron, but, as she later learned, nothing could have been further from the truth. Her father was a lazy, loudmouthed Nazi collaborator who preferred drinking and womanizing to working (he let his Nazi colleagues handle the details of deportations to Auschwitz). Her Australian mother was a drunk who fancied herself an heiress. A 1963 suicide attempt by Callil, founder of Virago Press, led her to the adult Anne Darquier, who had become a psychiatrist and whom Callil credits with healing her. Unfortunately, Darquier was unable to heal herself, dying on her bathroom floor of a barbiturate overdose at the age of 40, her life shrouded in secret. At her funeral, Callil learned Anne’s full name, Darquier de Pellepoix, which meant little to her until a year later when she saw a documentary that mentioned Vichy official Louis Darquier de Pellepoix. Thus her thorough research toward this book began. Callil’s compelling work is reparation to the healer and friend who was unable to speak openly about the cause of her loneliness and suffering. Highly recommended.—Patti C. McCall, Albany Molecular Research, Inc., NY

In 1858, a converted luxury yacht named the Wanderer unloaded a cargo of 400 African slaves on the coast of Georgia. Journalist Calonius uses contemporary accounts, court records, and more to uncover details of the ship’s extraordinary voyage and the reasons for it. The importation of slaves into the United States had been illegal for almost 40 years, but a group of Southern extremists known as Fire-Eaters were determined to restart the trade to further their sectional agenda. Failing that, they hoped to provoke a crisis that would result in secession. While always a minority in the South, these Fire-Eaters included leaders of society in cities like Savannah and Charleston. Few of the slaves were ever found by the authorities, and the men who were tried for the crime of slaving were all acquitted. Calonius vividly describes the action and personalities involved in this tale spanning from New York City to the slave coast of Africa, shedding light on a little-known aspect of the contentious climate and the debates that raged around America on the eve of the Civil War. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with Civil War collections.—Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green

Overshadowed by the Allied invasion at Normandy in 1944 and the subsequent Northwestern Europe campaign, the Italian campaign is mentioned only occasionally and the landings at Anzio even less so, autobiographies notwithstanding. Clark (war studies, Royal Military Acad., Sandhurst) has written a conversant, evenhanded account of the Anzio landing and the battle for the liberation of Rome. In late 1943, after considerable political jockeying on strategy, the British Allies gained approval to invade Italy and, in January 1944, to land at Anzio in an attempt to break through the formidable German defenses, the Gustav Line. American preoccupation with planning for the Normandy Invasion kept the Anzio forces from taking advantage of initial German weaknesses that might have led to an earlier liberation of Rome. Anzio nearly became a death trap; it wasn’t until early May that the stalemate was finally broken and, on June 4, Rome liberated. Clark includes the accounts of American, British, and German eyewitnesses at all levels of participation, which gives an immediacy to the narrative. He is as flatly objective as he can be, especially considering the egos and the mistakes involved here on all sides. Recommended for all collections.—David Lee Poremba, Davenport, FL

This October marks the 50th anniversary of one of the Cold War’s first uprisings against Soviet domination: the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Both Korda and Gati were in Budapest in 1956, and each offers his unique perspective of this seminal event. Korda (editor in chief, emeritus, Simon & Schuster; Charmed Lives), whose family fled from Hungary in World War I, was a student at Oxford when he and three friends loaded a car with medical supplies and set off for Hungary more or less on a whim to be a part of history. The first half of his book succinctly relays the background and history of the revolution itself; the second half contains Korda’s personal recollections. Korda does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of excitement, hope, and danger on the streets of Hungary 50 years ago.

Korda’s lively personal account is complemented by Gati’s more academic title. Born and raised in Hungary, Gati (European studies, Johns Hopkins Univ.; The Bloc That Failed) was a young journalist in Budapest at the time. Using hundreds of documents in the archives in Budapest, Moscow, and Washington, he has written a thorough and scholarly analysis of the revolution. An expert in Soviet and Eastern European politics, Gati seeks answers to such questions as why the Soviets changed course and decided to intervene in Hungary after initially pulling out, what effect the attitude of the United States had on the outcome of the revolution, and what role other world events played in forcing Hungary to be a lower priority to the West. Both authors have written honest, unromanticized accounts of those tragic days. They both agree that it was a sort of “David and Goliath” struggle and that although the revolution failed, it ultimately contributed to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989. Gati’s book is clearly the more scholarly, but both works are accessible and engaging. Recommended for public and academic libraries. [Victor Sebestyen’s Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution is forthcoming from Pantheon.—Ed.]—Maria C. Bagshaw, Lake Erie Coll., Painesville, OH

Unlike other, more speculative books on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, this premiere study by Gillespie (executive director, International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery) offers a mind-bogglingly detailed perspective on the 16-day attempt to save both the aviatrix and her navigator, Fred Noonan, following their downing near Howland Island in the Pacific. Despite the deployment of numerous auxiliary vessels, a battleship, and an aircraft carrier, the flight and resulting rescue effort were doomed, according to Gillespie, for numerous reasons. These include micromanaging by Earhart’s husband as well as the White House, U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Department of Interior; Earhart’s questionable airmanship; Earhart’s and Noonan’s inability to cope with Morse Code; and the loss of her plane’s receiving antennae at takeoff on Lae, New Guinea. Gillespie suggests that Earhart may have set down on Gardner Island in the Pacific’s Phoenix Group and lived well past her disappearance, but he offers no definitive evidence. Although this book is soundly researched, its highly technical style and scientific approach may be challenging to the casual reader. Recommended for aeronautical collections and large libraries.—John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs.

When World War II ended, the U.S. military was set to release 16 million soldiers from active service, and the G.I. Bill of Rights was designed to help these veterans readjust to civilian life. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Humes (School of Dreams: Making the Grade at a Top American High School) examines the far-reaching impact of this landmark legislation, exploring benefits such as healthcare, home loans, and, especially, education and their impact not only on veterans but on U.S. society as a whole. He brackets each chapter and the entire book with a personal story about one veteran’s experiences with the G.I. Bill, probably the best part of the book. His research appears minimal; those looking for a more in-depth study of the G.I. Bill or the immediate postwar period should look to Mark D. Van Ells’s To Hear Only Thunder Again: America’s World War II Veterans Come Home or Michael J. Bennett’s When Dreams Come True: The GI Bill and the Making of Modern America. Also, possibly unintentionally, Humes’s political leanings are evident in his writing, which detracts from the overall work. Suitable for larger public libraries, but only where there is sufficient interest.—Michael C. Miller, Dallas P.L.

Editor Hollinshead (former publisher, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History) asked 20 accomplished historians (including two historical novelists) each to write an essay about the one American historical scene or event that they wish they could have witnessed. The results form a rich and eclectic anthology. The essays range in coverage from very well known events, as in Thomas Fleming’s “With John Brown at Harper’s Ferry” and Mary Beth Norton’s “The Salem Witchcraft Trials,” to the lesser known, such as Robert V. Remini’s “The Corrupt Bargain,” about the deal making that enabled John Quincy Adams to become President. Overall, this very accessible work will succeed in introducing history fans and general readers to some of our most influential historians (e.g., Joseph Ellis and Robert Dallek) and historical events, not to mention the process of reconsidering the past. The tone is always engaging and dynamic, and the only missing element is advice on further study, given that the book will encourage further interest on the part of its readers. Recommended for all libraries.—Lisa A. Ennis, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib., Lister Hill

Irwin has done everything right in this masterly study of Orientalist scholarship from the Renaissance to the present. The book is at once a history of the scholarly study of Arabic culture by Westerners and a thorough and levelheaded rebuttal of Edward Said’s argument, in his influential Orientalism, that these scholars frequently misrepresented or demeaned the very culture they were studying. Irwin, who has taught Arabic and Middle Eastern history at Oxford and Cambridge, reclaims this scholarship, using strong language when he characterizes Said’s book as “a work of malignant charlatanry in which it is hard to distinguish honest mistakes from willful misrepresentations.” After taking a bow to the Greeks, Romans, and medieval scholars, Irwin moves from the time of the first great Orientalist, Guillaume Postel (d. 1581), through modern days. He takes a subject that could be deadly dull and makes it live: he possesses magisterial familiarity with the sources (more than two millennia’s worth), his judgments are measured and urbane, and he delivers his numerous asides with a sly sense of humor. A serious work of scholarship that is a delight to read from start to finish; enthusiastically recommended for academic collections.— David Keymer, Modesto, CA

This latest book by McConville (history, Boston Univ.; These Daring Disturbers of the Public Peace: The Struggle for Property and Power in Early New Jersey) examines American Colonists’ varied attitudes toward the British monarchy in the volatile years leading up to the American Revolution. He contends that the Colonists had a stronger allegiance to the monarchy than many historians have believed. This powerful but slowly disintegrating bond, he writes, was political, religious, and emotional. McConville thoroughly explains that it was the British rulers’ failure to establish a strong imperial government in the New World that prompted the Colonists to revolt and establish a sovereign nation. He thus places the focus on religious, political, and social instability in England rather than on the American Colonists’ determination and achievement. McConville uses a copious number of primary sources, including diaries and newspapers, to support his radical and provocative arguments. Heavy on political theory, this well-researched and scrupulously detailed work may be occasionally difficult for nonscholars to digest. However, it is an insightful and provocative read, challenging our attitudes and assumptions about the mind-set of American Colonists. Recommended for large academic libraries.—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia

Moss (American & English literature, Univ. of Kent, UK) presents an in-depth examination of the nonfiction literature of polar exploration (with some study of relevant poetry and children’s literature as well). Part literary criticism and part historical survey, Moss’s investigation of the sometimes ghoulish literary results of numerous actual Arctic and Antarctic journeys both fascinates and repels. Detailing the harrowing last moments of doomed explorers, stunning feats of endurance and survival, and even the horrible necessity of cannibalism, Moss analyzes the diaries, expedition journals, and related writings of those rare men (and a few women) either heroic or foolhardy enough to have attempted polar travel. This work is best suited to historians, literary critics, graduate students, or serious readers with previous knowledge of the polar exploration genre, as Moss’s in-depth approach to literary history and criticism, her dense academic writing style, and the rather specialized subject matter will not appeal to most casual readers. Adventure fans might be better off skipping directly to one of Moss’s original sources, such as Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s classic The Worst Journey in the World or Fridtjof Nansen’s epic Farthest North. Recommended for larger academic libraries.—Ingrid Levin, Florida Atlantic Univ. Libs., Jupiter

Former political journalist Shogan (The Fate of the Union) examines FDR’s second term by analyzing two almost simultaneous factors that put the skids on proposed legislation aimed at expanding the New Deal programs he had pushed through Congress during his first term. These were labor union sit-down strikes and FDR’s attempt to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court. Shogan argues that the increased militancy of labor unions alienated most of the electorate that had heretofore supported FDR’s federal programs to help labor. He characterizes Roosevelt’s unsuccessful scheme to pack the court (so that it would reverse previous decisions that had declared New Deal legislation unconstitutional) as a debacle that offended even his staunchest supporters. He is also critical of Roosevelt for trying to rationalize his error in political judgment by saying that Congress rejected the Court-packing proposal because it wasn’t necessary once the Supreme Court had come to support some New Deal legislation. Yet Shogan makes clear that while labor unrest and FDR’s political mistakes in 1937 and 1938 sparked the “backlash” that killed the New Deal, the middle-class ethic of “reverence for individualism and property rights” was the overarching reason why New Deal legislation effectively ended in 1936. Unfortunately, his chapter on labor leader John L. Lewis fragments the narrative unnecessarily, but Shogan’s study is lively, fair-minded, well documented, and unusually accessible. For public and academic libraries.—Jack Forman, Mesa Coll. Lib., San Diego

Two related but not interdependent epic themes run through this book: the wresting of the Southwest and California away from Mexico to make them a part of the United States and efforts by the Navajo to protect their territory from inroads by Mexico and the United States. Outside magazine editor Sides (Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission) does not give readers much guidance as to which is the principal theme or what his exact intent is here. It appears that he began with the Navajo resistance and kept adding interesting stories as he came upon them, without considering how they related to the dual theme. But he does know how to tell a good story, drawing on a wide variety of published sources. Academic libraries already have analytical works that cover all these topics. However, little has been written for the general reader on either theme, so this book fills that gap and will be useful for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.]—Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette

Readers who enjoyed Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City will like mystery novelist and biographer Stashower’s work here. Following a similar approach to a 19th-century crime, Stashower (Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle) tells the story of New York City cigar store clerk Mary Rogers, whose violent death in 1841 brought on a frenzy of sensational newspaper stories and prompted the interest of Edgar Allan Poe. Stashower’s special distinction is in moving back and forth between the lives of Rogers and Poe and then intertwining their stories: he details how the mystery surrounding Rogers’s murder became the inspiration for Poe’s story “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt.” He also does an excellent job demonstrating the rise of lurid journalism in direct reaction to this crime and the inadequacies of the city police as they attempted to solve it. Well researched and accessible, here is a gripping story that is hard to put down; literary buffs in particular will enjoy this wonderful backstory to the creation of Poe’s sequel to “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Recommended for public and academic libraries of all sizes. (Bibliography not seen.)—Gena Moore, Central Piedmont Community Coll. Lib., NC

This history will be a delight to fans of naval literature, fact or fiction. Toll, a former Wall Street analyst, vividly recounts the first two decades of the U.S. Navy, beginning with Congress’s decision to build six heavy frigates in 1794 and continuing to the end of the War of 1812 (the navy itself takes its founding from the start of the Continental Navy in 1775). The decision to create a maritime force was made in reaction to the seizure of U.S. merchant ships and sailors by the Barbary pirates, and it sparked much heated debate among the Founding Fathers over the issue of a permanent military establishment. But, clearly, the country could not continue with only a standing army. The six frigates, one of which—the USS Constitution—is still afloat, were all of innovative design, more heavily armed yet faster than anything else on the seas. Their service through battles with Barbary pirates, the quasiwar with France, and the War of 1812 are vividly narrated here with firm historical detail and a strong cast of characters ably handled by Toll, ranging from the country’s Presidents to the colorful officers and sailors on these frigates. Strongly recommended for all collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.]—David Lee Poremba, Davenport, FL

Tyerman (medieval history, Univ. of Oxford; England and the Crusades and Fighting for Christendom: Holy War and the Crusades) conveys in his title the importance that he places on the religious component of the Crusades. He traces the growth, in western Christendom, of the concept of holy war and how it emerged from earlier ideas of the just war. The Crusades can be seen, he points out, as a manifestation of papal power. The pope’s ability to rally the military might of Christendom and to launch it in an attempt to regain the Holy Land highlighted the power that the western Church had over people’s lives during the early Middle Ages. Challenging traditional conceptions of the Crusades, e.g., the failure to retain Jerusalem, Tyerman believes that it was the weakening of papal power and the rise of secular governments in Europe that finally doomed the crusading impulse. This is a marvelously conceived, written, and supported book, highly recommended for public and academic libraries.—Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., MN

This book makes an important contribution to a full understanding of World War II France. Taking a social as opposed to a political perspective, it aims to re-create life under German occupation as it was experienced by ordinary French citizens, especially women, Jews, prisoners of war, refugees, and young men drafted to work in Germany. Vinen (history, King’s Coll., Univ. of London) relies on archival sources and published, retrospective accounts, especially autobiographies, to show that life for most of the French from 1940 through 1944 was miserable. Misery, he explains, came to include not only material shortages, physical discomfort, and geographical relocations but also fear, social dislocation, and societal breakdown. Debunking the myth of wartime France as the united home of patriotic resistance fighters, he asserts that particular experiences were shaped by class, geography, occupation, and personal circumstance. He is especially sensitive to class, using case studies and brief biographical vignettes to illustrate his themes. For example, those French women most likely to have relations and relationships with German men came from the most underprivileged parts of society: they were young, poor, and not well educated. Vinen amplifies our understanding of this era. Recommended for academic libraries and specialists in the field.—Marie Marmo Mullaney, Caldwell Coll., NJ

This volume, a godsend for opponents of capital punishment, indicates that there is an even chance that inmates spared the death penalty can be rehabilitated. After the Supreme Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia (1972) that the death penalty was unconstitutional, 589 murderers and rapists were released from death row and into the general prison population. (New laws upheld the death penalty in 1976.) About half of these men were eventually released; Cheever, a legal affairs journalist who trained as a lawyer, found and interviewed 125 of them. Their personal stories feature both redemption and dismal failure but do show that rehabilitation is possible even among the worst cases. Two other trains of thought run through Cheever’s text. First, she was determined to meet Furman, the man behind the 1972 legal decision, and her search for him deep into Mississippi reads like an epic tale. Finally, going back to her unsuccessful legal defense of a man named Walter Williams, whose 1997 execution for murder started her on her odyssey, Cheever hunts down the mother of the victim. Written in a style that should appeal to the general reader, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the right or wrong of the death penalty. Highly recommended.—Frances Sandiford (ret.), Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY

Newton (city-county bureau chief, Los Angeles Times) offers a wide-ranging study of Earl Warren’s life, both political and personal. He presents Warren, whose tenure as chief justice of the Supreme Court spanned 1953 to 1969, as someone of personal moderation and ideological centrism and offers a balanced view of the complexity of Warren’s legal career. Warren moved from local district attorney to attorney general and then governor of California to serving as Thomas Dewey’s running mate on the 1948 presidential ticket to his time as chief justice, the latter being the focus of about half of the book. President Eisenhower made Warren chief justice, anticipating an appointment in line with his own Republican views, but Warren took the Court in unanticipated directions: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and Mapp v. Ohio (1960), which outlawed school segregation and expanded the protection of individual rights, respectively. Newton is appropriately thorough in analyzing Warren’s rhetoric and political decisions, including his support for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and his chairmanship of the commission charged with investigating the assassination of President Kennedy. The clear and concise writing results in a thorough and thoughtful view of Warren and his place in American legal and political history. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.—Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.

Burns (government, emeritus, Williams Coll.; Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom) has received numerous awards—e.g., the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award—for his writings on FDR. It’s clear that he brings astute analysis and bold prescriptions to his study of American politics and especially the presidency. Here he argues that what our national system needs is transformative leadership. FDR is his model of an aggressive, engaging, and enlightening leader. The President, Burns argues, is the vital center of American politics, but he should not campaign alone or try to govern alone, removed from the people and divorced from the political party system. Burns’s proposals to restore both the American presidency and citizen-based politics are bold: abolish the Electoral College, repeal the 22d Amendment, and restructure the terms of office for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Most of all, however, Burns wants to enliven American democracy and the potential for moral, dynamic leadership from the Oval Office by means of an appeal to citizen-activists to enter the public arena and help save American politics from the professionals, pollsters, and pundits. This timely work is a positive addition to Burns’s influential output on leadership and should be read by any student of U.S. politics and the presidency. It belongs in all libraries.—Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Univ., Nampa, ID

Kozloff (senior research fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington) takes on one of the more controversial figures of the early 21st century in examining Chavez, the president of Venezuela. Venezuela’s role as the fifth-largest oil exporter provides a unique dynamic to both its internal and its external political relations. Kozloff draws on years of experience in Venezuela and on numerous interviews both with top Chavez advisors and with political opponents. What emerges is a complex picture of Chavez—part populist, part Socialist revolutionary. The focus of the work is on the use of oil to solidify Chavez’s internal political party and his ability to use oil also to build an international agenda—and an international following. For example, Chavez has actively sought to build an alliance with Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva of Brazil, with the goal of creating a South American energy alliance. Kozloff’s book is useful both for its biographical background material on Chavez and fot its pertinent insights into his ways. Recommended for all libraries.—Deborah Lee, Mississippi State Univ. Libs., Starkville

On December 10, 2003, Time senior correspondent Weisskopf was seriously injured while on assignment as an embedded reporter in Iraq, losing his right hand when attempting to toss a grenade from the army vehicle in which he was riding. He underwent treatment and outpatient rehabilitation in Ward 57 of Walter Reed Medical Center, the wing for army war amputees (a waiver allowed him to be treated there although he was not in the armed forces). While Weisskopf could have written an interesting book simply about his own experience, he has written an even better one by including accounts of three soldiers undergoing treatment at the same time. As part of all of their stories, he discusses such issues as “phantom pain” and how medication becomes the only way to deal with it, the stress and strain of having to adjust to the loss of limbs, as well as how to reenter regular life. He writes of how the soldiers had to deal with the military bureaucracy and how the military influenced each of them. Weisskopf describes the arc of each soldier’s experience, ultimately showing how each is coping now. Unlike much of the current literature on the Iraq war, little of this book discusses the political aspects of the conflict. Weisskopf recognizes his own experience in that of the soldiers, making for a wonderful story of tragedy and recovery. Strongly recommended for both public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/06.]—Joel W. Tscherne, Cleveland P.L.

Sex toys have been associated with masturbation and alternative sexual lifestyles—i.e., gay, lesbian, or otherwise gender-kinky. This how-to presents toys as safe and fun options for heterosexual couples. Blue, author of numerous excellent sex guides from Cleis Press, concisely covers all the usual suspects: vibrators, dildos, plugs, “toys for boys,” BDSM (bondage & discipline/sadomasochism) gear, how to talk about toys with your partner, and how to use them. What’s new: sex machines, online sex for two, exotic and luxury toys (some mind-bending notions here), and “sex furniture.” It’s a short book, but she surveys the wide variety of products very well, with ample safe-sex and safety reminders. Small black-and-white drawings show toys only, perhaps an advantage for many libraries, although more numerous and colorful drawings of the toys, and the toys in use, could be quite attractive and helpful. A competent resource section gives where-to-buy web addresses, other web sites of interest, and books. Recommended for public libraries. See also Anne Semans’s The Many Joys of Sex Toys, a more substantial but less comprehensive treatment.—Martha Cornog, Philadelphia

Renowned playwright and activist Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), founder of V-Day, an international organization to end violence against women, charts new territory as she provides moving insight into the feminist notion that “the personal is political.” Focusing on the rage for security on a national level, she draws connections to her own quest for security, engendered amid a chaotic upbringing in a family headed by her abusive, alcoholic father. As her personal life fell apart despite her best efforts to exert control, Ensler looks beyond herself to women whose situations are far more insecure. In terse, eloquent chapters, she presents interviews with women in Afghanistan, Mexico, and Indonesia; antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan; and others. She discovers that only by surrendering the incessant, impossible need for control can one defeat the divisive quest for security. Readers looking for a contemporary counterpart to works such as Gloria Steinem’s Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions will be captivated. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.—Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova Sch. of Law Lib., PA

In her first book, Holloway blends a vivid description of her Peace Corps experiences in the West African nation of Mali from 1989 to 1991, with a warm tribute to her colleague, dear friend, and host there, Monique Dembele. Reading Holloway’s book is akin to enjoying the slide show presented by a returned Peace Corps volunteer while sampling the local cuisine. Holloway succeeds at simultaneously conjuring up her day-to-day life in an impoverished African village and aptly describing the unrelenting work and life of the devoted midwife there, a woman, like the author, then in her early twenties. The difficult plight of women in Mali is made apparent throughout. While Holloway’s story is a personal one (she met her future husband during her Peace Corps stint), the rhythm of life and death in Mali itself shines through all the pages. Holloway uses amusing anecdotes and heartbreaking recollections to transport the reader. Recommended for public and academic libraries, especially those where there is an interest in African or women’s studies.—Mary Grace Flaherty, Sidney Memorial P.L., NY

Jeopardy! contestant Jennings broke the record for the largest cash prize won on a TV game show—a piece of trivia about a trivia champ. His new book chronicles the history of trivia from its humble days in newspaper queries to its rise into a television phenomenon. Each chapter combines trivia on trivia and Jennings’s own personal narrative revolving around his 2004 Jeopardy! appearance. In researching trivia, Jennings undertook interviews with the likes of Fred Worth, author of The Complete Unabridged Super Trivia Encyclopedia, and the people of Steven’s Point, WI, where a trivia radio game show takes over the entire town every April. Jennings offers his own unique philosophy on trivia: in an era of specialization, trivia is not trivial; it allows us to know a little bit about a lot of things. Trivia questions are scattered throughout the text, which makes the book interactive and fun. With a time line of trivia and endnotes; recommended for all public libraries.—Jennifer Zarr, NYPL

Novelli, CEO of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), presents a synopsis of the many changes in U.S. society that will be driven by the massive 50-plus population (the cascade of those over 65 is expected to double over the next 30 years to 70 million). Novelli describes the enormous impact the aging of this population segment will have on family life, healthcare, and work and the economy, and he discusses the looming crises that will result, including the business shift of financial risks and responsibilities to workers and retirees. In keeping with the entrepreneurial spirit, Novelli considers these impending challenges as opportunities, providing high-level policy recommendations for transforming healthcare, advocating for the aging population, and more. While these demographic realities are certainly not news to elected officials and policymakers, Novelli’s AARP position and his notoriety will likely stimulate interest in this title, which grapples more keenly with this age phenomenon than does Ken Dychtwald and Joe Flower’s Age Wave: How the Most Important Trend of Our Time Can Change Your Future or Marc Freedman’s Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America. Recommended for demography/sociology collections in academic and larger public libraries.—Dale Farris, Groves, TX

Remember playing the board game Chutes and Ladders? Drawing on an eight-year study, Newman (sociology & public affairs, Princeton Univ.; A Different Shade of Gray: Midlife and Beyond in the Inner City) effectively uses ethnographic portraits to examine why some low-wage earners in New York’s ghettos and beyond—particularly African American and Latino service-sector employees—have been experiencing a real-life version of the game. Some were able to capitalize on the economic prosperity of the late 1990s, often thanks to family, friends, and public subsidies; they went up the ladder, returning to school and obtaining trade certificates, high school diplomas, and even college degrees. Meanwhile, others, faced with family obligations, little or no training, and sheer prejudice, were not able to take advantage of these opportunities and moved downward.

Similarly, sociologist Venkatesh (director of research, Inst. for Research in African American Studies, Columbia Univ.; American Project: The Rise and Fall of a Modern Ghetto) looks at the impoverished residents of Southside Chicago’s Maquis Park and the networks they have developed to cope with their devastating circumstances. For example, a mechanic works in an alleyway “shop,” and gang-run businesses are an everyday affair. While Venkatesh has a more personal, compelling writing style, Newman’s work offers appendixes rich in socioeconomic detail and will be of greater interest to policymakers. Both of these books are in the fine tradition of David K. Shipler’s The Working Poor: The Invisible in America, and both deserve places in public and academic libraries.—Ellen D. Gilbert, Princeton, NJ

This collection of 24 commissioned essays covers the varied experiences these professional writers had with caregivers for their children. Editors Davis (senior producer, North Carolina Public Radio) and travel writer Hyams have done a remarkable job of pulling together writing mothers willing to bare their souls, revealing the joy, guilt, relief, and fear of employing a nanny (the issue of the privileged concept of hiring a nanny is not disregarded). The pieces, roughly divided into four sections, are well written, hauntingly honest, and thought-provoking, progressing from hiring a nanny to negotiating a relationship with this “other mother,” dealing with tensions and with the end of the relationship. Woven throughout are universal themes—class, work, family, and values—but the contributors avoid preachy moralizing or sweeping generalizations. A foreword by Melissa Block (host of All Things Considered on National Public Radio) engages readers from the first page. With more and more families hiring nannies every year, this work will resonate with mothers around the country. Recommended for large public libraries.—Erica L. Foley, Flint P.L., MI

Cahill (Lost in My Own Back Yard)is this year’s editor of the “Best American Travel Writing” series, and he has selected very well. Adopting the philosophy that travel writers are “writers first, travelers second,” Cahill has created a diverse collection, full of insights, humor, the exotic and distant, and the ordinary and near. The narratives cover travel in Vietnam, where the air is an “oxygen chowder”; visits to the “last savages” of West Papua, Indonesia; the surreally transformed city of Dubai; and a wayward cough drop in David Sedaris’s flight to Raleigh, as well as a remembered Ohio childhood, reminding the reader that one traveler’s exotic is often another’s ordinary. The stories were chosen from a range of publications, including The New Yorker, the Georgia Review, Travel + Leisure, Outside, and FarFlungMagazine.com. The result is a compelling mixture by talented writers and an essential addition to all libraries.—Melissa Stearns, Franklin Pierce Coll., Rindge, NH

De Blasi’s book will make you hungry, and that’s a good thing. The latest gastronomic adventure from the author of A Thousand Days in Venice brings to life an Italian culture steeped in culinary tradition and social eccentricity. De Blasi’s narrative focuses on the city of Orvieto—a city “built on wine”—in Italy’s Umbria, where she and her husband, Fernando, search for a home and find one: a former ballroom in a 15th-century palazzo. Her exploration of her new life in Orvieto is meal-centered, showing us mouth-watering community feasts, fascinating culinary traditions—did you know that polenta should only be stirred clockwise?—and quirky characters who help pass the time between espressos and the construction in the author’s home. Recipes are included, so in the end, de Blasi’s Umbria may or may not be a place you need to visit, but, thanks to this book, it will already be a place that you have “tasted” and “seen.” Recommended for public libraries.—Mari Flynn, Keystone Coll., La Plume, PA

This book is a companion volume to Mayle’s acclaimed accounts of living in Provence, A Year in Provence, Toujours Provence, and Encore Provence, proving that he has still not exhausted his fund of information on the subject. The 200 entries in this A-Z listing average a page and a half in length and are frequently accompanied by illustrations. This compilation is based on “personal interests, personal discoveries, personal foibles,” which may explain why “Daube à la Provençal,” a local beef dish, is included but writer Alphonse Daudet is not. The entries are listed in their original French; for instance, “Huile d’olive” is the title of the essay on olive oil. Anecdotes, recipes, sundry facts, and quirky bits of Provençal ritual are relayed with wit and humor. Mayle is at his best when writing about food, cheeses, and wines. The essay on “Fruit Confit” combines a little history, a recipe, and the proper way to eat this delicacy. An optional purchase, but, given Mayle’s legion of fans, and the continued popularity of Provence, expect demand. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/06.]—Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL

By Deborah Bigelow, Director, Leonia P.L., NJ

Written as a follow-up to Brantley (founder, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Prog., Ctr. for Integrative Medicine, Duke Univ.) and certified holistic nutrition counselor Millstine’s Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm & Focused All Day Long, this guide offers practices for relaxing, connecting with loved ones, and getting rest and renewal. The authors base their recommendations on the concept of mindfulness, or paying attention in a welcoming way that endeavors to understand one’s experience without trying to anticipate a specific outcome. For five designated minutes every evening, readers are instructed to be present mindfully, set a clear intention, and act wholeheartedly. Geared toward the more spiritual person, this book offers a path to serenity and should enjoy decent circulation, especially among the Oprah crowd. Recommended for most public libraries.

Believing that women’s friendships are some of the most intense relationships in the universe, Carol (Journeys of Courage) draws on research findings, opinions, and case studies to validate the power of these friendships and provide solutions to possible problems. Carol discusses the important role played by mothers and sisters as a woman’s first friends and explores that bond’s implications in later life. A particularly helpful feature is the Q&A section at the end of each chapter, in which the author pulls together solutions women have managed when dealing with a particular dilemma.

The Art of Friendship is not so much a narrative as a compilation of tips and rules garnered from a lifetime of experience. Catalog entrepreneur and Broadway producer Roger Horchow and his journalist daughter, Sally, offer suggestions on how to meet people, maintain quality friendships, deal with problems, and end a relationship if the need should arise. A lot of the advice seems fairly obvious and almost redundant (e.g., listen before you speak, express affection), but the authors’ writing style and anecdotes make for a fairly engaging read. While Carol’s book is satisfactory, Liz Pryor’s What Did I Do Wrong? would be a better purchase because it deals more fully with the demise and pain of women’s friendships. The Horchows’ book is recommended for larger public libraries.

A world-renowned leader in the fields of holistic health and human potential, Chopra (The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success) has found time and again that people are looking for happiness in all the wrong places—fame, luxury, or belonging. Happiness eludes them, he maintains, because it is a state of consciousness that exists within every human being and can only be rediscovered through infinite consciousness. Drawing from the spiritual wisdom of ancient India, Chopra provides detailed guidance for understanding the mystery of one’s existence. He advocates spending time in silence, pondering coincidences, and realizing that the self is a creator, not a victim. This latest effort does not seem to add anything new to Chopra’s oeuvre; recommended only where his books have enjoyed a healthy circulation.

Coughlin (No More Christian Nice Guy) and his wife, Sandy, have put together this empathetic guide to help women understand the inner lives of their emotionally absent men and facilitate change. According to the authors, the CNG type (Christian Nice Guy) is consistently passive, won’t stand up to his boss or parents, and placates rather than connects. While the authors use biblical texts to illustrate their message, it is based on sound psychology and therapeutic techniques. The writing is clear and not condescending; the information offered will help any married couple dealing with passive aggression and rigidity, regardless of religious affiliation. Recommended for all libraries.

If this book is any indication, coffins are so 20th century. Ad executive Cromer traveled across the country to discover families and entrepreneurs who are inventing new ways to remember and celebrate life. She details options ranging from inserting remains into golf clubs or pottery to launching oneself into space using rockets or fireworks, making sure to cite costs and contact information. Readers will also learn a lot about mummification and cryonics (deep freezing). This illustrated book is the first of its kind and is highly recommended for all libraries.

Tackling the ever-pervasive reality of marital infidelity, psychologist Judah (executive director, Columbus Marriage Coalition) presents a comprehensive discussion of why affairs take place and how couples can restructure their marriages afterward. The author, who has himself been married for more than 35 years, examines how the stage of infidelity is set in childhood, how to overcome infidelity safely, and how to move relationships toward wholeness. While he encourages disclosure (in most cases) and reconciliation rather than divorce, he acknowledges how difficult and grief-ridden that process can be. Judah provides quite a few biblical examples, but his sound advice stands on its own. Clear, well researched, and well presented, this book is highly recommended for all public libraries.

In this all-inclusive book, marriage and family therapist Gendreau focuses on sacred sexuality—the melding of body and mind that allows lovers to experience the ecstasy of true communication. Pulling together the wisdom of spiritual teachers, therapists, and such writers as Deepak Chopra, Harriet Lerner, and John Gray, Gendreau provides insights into the subjects of loving imperfection, healing broken relationships, risking authenticity, rediscovering passion, and seeing the connections between eros and intimacy. It might be said that concern for life’s spiritual dimensions will usher in the second phase of sexual liberation; if that’s the case, this book leads the way. Recommended for all libraries.

Designed as crib notes for engaging in intelligent conversation at social gatherings, this little gem is packed with information on a variety of topics as diverse as a typical round of Jeopardy! Television/film writer Matalon and writer/actor Woolsey have distilled entire events into short, humorous paragraphs. One section intended to help with sports conversation is titled “Driving in Circles Is Fun: The Birth of NASCAR,” while another, meant to help in the art of political chatter, reads “Che Guevara: More Than a Cool T-Shirt.” Ways to bring up each subject in conversation are included at the end of each chapter. Whether one reads this book for help or for fun, it’s a great way to get a whirlwind cultural education. Recommended for all libraries.

In contrast to Matalon and Woolsey’s party guide comes this down-home path to appreciating the richness of life. Rhodes (Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau) serves up some of her grandmother’s most inspirational teachings, which she learned in the shadow of Pittsburgh steel mills. Advice ranges from reminders to celebrate being alive to instructions to wear clean underwear. One warning cautions that prejudice is sinful—that all blood flows red. Parker’s accounts encourage readers to remember their own family history and to encourage the younger generation to do the same. An easy, inspirational read, although better for gift giving than library use. Recommended where there is interest.

Meeting the interests of baby boomers who have turned or will soon turn 60 is the goal of this captivating essay compilation written by doctors, celebrities, financial experts, and others who have reached that milestone. Contributors include A Prairie Home Companion writer and host Garrison Keillor, antiaging expert Dr. Nicholas Perricone, and 58 others who discuss everything from health and fitness to sex and investments. While many essays are reflective and thought-provoking, others are lighthearted and humorous. The overall message is one of encouragement and enthusiasm for life. This excellent, thoughtful, and funny book will fly off shelves; highly recommended.

Steckel (president, Fellowship of Christian Athletes), who coached for 23 years in the National Football League, describes what it’s like to endure personal lows and to trust God for the future. In what could almost be categorized as an autobiography—though one designed for the Christian sports fan—Steckel details his struggles with his father, his commitment to his wife, and the play-by-play action with the football teams he coached. He relates how his faith got him through rough spots and how the reader can similarly triumph. While this book is a worthy effort, its appeal will be limited to its intended audience; recommended for libraries serving predominantly Christian readers.

According to Whitfield, an internationally recognized expert on mental illness, humility is not only the key to better relationships—it is also the portal through which people can experience peace, love, joy, and gratitude. Whitfield defines humility as a state of mind that opens one up to more choices and peaceful resolutions than the normal ego-centered unawareness. He uses the concept of triangles to illustrate how two people in conflict bring in, or “triangle in,” a third person, place, or thing to relieve their stress and how they end up in a worse position. The figures and line drawings are not particularly helpful, and the cross-cultural examples distract rather than clarify. While the message is valuable, the presentation is difficult to wade through. Not recommended.

While many people are concerned with their looks in this appearance-centric society, some individuals experience so much dissatisfaction that they avoid certain social activities, spend excessive amounts of time and money on beauty products, and try every strategy to look better. So says Wilhelm (founder & director, Body Dysmorphic Disorder Clinic & Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hosp.). Using research, case studies, and clinical experience, Wilhelm explains the nature of this affliction and provides strategies and encouragement for overcoming distress. She offers techniques for controlling excessive appearance rituals and for dealing with social situations head-on. Most books on this subject have been geared toward women, but Wilhelm focuses on both genders. Useful for those who want to help themselves or their loved ones; for most libraries.