Reader's Advisory

Prior Book Lists:

Celebrating Food:

Bite by Bite: 100 Sylish Little Plates You Can Make for Any Party
by Peter Callahan
There are 100 recipes, ranging from savory to sweet and haute cuisine to comfort food, and variations, tips, and shortcuts to make and present food and drink. Peter simplifies his catering style and makes his recipes achievable for the home cook, divulging along the way his secrets and inspiration.

Milk: a Local and Global History
by Deborah M. Valenze
"How did an animal product that spoils easily, carries disease, and causes digestive trouble for many of its consumers become a near-universal symbol of modern nutrition? Covering the long span of human history, Milk reveals how developments in technology, public health, and nutritional science made this once-rare elixir a modern-day staple.

Guy Fieri Food: More Than 150 Off-the-Hook Recipes
by Guy Fieri
Food Network superstar and #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Fieri's irresistible personality bursts off the page in his first-ever full-color cookbook, filled with more than 125 original recipes, along with gorgeous photos and illustrations and loads of great cooking tips.

Eat Naked: Unprocessed, Unpolluted, and Undressed Eating for a Healthier, Sexier You
by Margaret Floyd
The benefits of eating fresh and natural, "naked" and how to incorporate these philosophies in readers' own kitchens, every day, in a age of takeout and fast food. In "Eat Naked", Margaret seeks to solve that problem by introducing readers to the easy-to-implement "eat naked" lifestyle.

My Father’s Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness
by Gwyneth Paltrow
The actress and avid foodie shares a sumptuous collection of recipes and photographs celebrating the joy of preparing food for loved ones, a passion she learned from her beloved father.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentices: a Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adria’s elBulli
by Lisa Abend
For years, chef Adrià's creative and enigmatic culinary genius at his restaurant el Bulli drew not only the attention of the world's top chefs and food critics but also of aspiring culinary artists looking to apprentice there. Abend offers an intimate glimpse of life as a stagiaire—a cook who agrees to work for almost nothing for a season as one of Adrià's apprentices.

Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels
by Heather Shouse; photography by Leo Gong and Heather Shouse
With food-truck fever sweeping the nation, Shouse launched a coast-to-coast exploration of street food. The secrets behind the Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Hungarian paprikash, lacy French crepes, and global mash-ups like Mex-Korean kimchi quesadillas are given in recipes, contributed by the truck chefs.

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot
Talbot and Kamozawa use chemistry, biology, and a host of creative cooking techniques to produce the uniquely delicious recipes found in Ideas in Food. Building their book around the science of food preparation, they explain why quickly freezing fruits and vegetables best preserves their texture.

Double Take: One Fabulous Recipe, Two Finished Dishes, Feeding Vegetarians and Omnivores Together
by A.J. Rathburn and Jeremy Holt
Bring your omnivorous and vegetarian friends to the same table with the meals. Each recipe produces two versions of the same dish: one vegetarian and one containing meat. Double Take is a doubly delicious solution to a modern dining dilemma.

Markets of New York City: a Guide to the Best Artisan, Farmer, Food and Flea Markets
by Karen E. Seiger
Comprehensive guide to the rich and diverse markets of New York City: antique and flea markets, artisan markets, farmers’ markets, seasonal markets, and more. Seasonal markets include holiday gift markets and craft markets. The guide has excellent recommendations for die-hard shoppers who are interested in bargains or flea-market finds, as well as collectors, gift shoppers, and craft aficionados.

10 Years on...Fiction with a 9/11 Setting:

Windows on the World
by Frederic Beigbeder
New York realtor Carthew Yorston has taken his seven- and nine-year-old sons for a long-promised breakfast at the eponymous eatery atop the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Alternating with Smith's narration is the voice of Beigbeder himself - or a thinly disguised version of the French author - musing about the tragedy one year later over his own breakfast in Le Ciel de Paris, on the 56th floor of the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris. Each chapter of the novel represents one minute on that fateful morning, from 8:30 to 10:29; nearly all are less than three pages. Beigbeder invests his narrators with such profound humanity that the book is far more than a litany of catastrophe: it is, on all levels, a stunning read.

The Writing on the Wall
by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Thirty-four and decidedly independent, Renata has been known to keep her involvement with people - men in particular - to a minimum. Then Jack, patient, solid and sexy, enters her life. One bright September morning as Renata walks across the Brooklyn Bridge to work, the sky bursts open and change comes without warning. It quickly becomes clear in the days ahead that Renata cannot keep memories of her buried past - of a twin sister, a betrayal, of family truths too ugly to acknowledge - at bay. Written with tremendous compassion and imagination, informed by an abiding love for the people of New York, and crafted by a master storyteller at the height of her powers, "The Writing on the Wall" is a profoundly engaging novel about how one woman saw - and we all continue to ponder - the defining event of our time.

The Good Priest's Son
by Reynolds Price
Flying home to New York after a much needed getaway abroad, private art conservator Mabry Kincaid learns that his downtown loft has been devastated by the World Trade Center attacks. Unable to resume his normal life, he flies south to North Carolina to visit his aged father, a widowed Episcopal priest who is cared for by live-in nurse Audrey Thornton and her grown son, Marcus. During his stay Mabry is compelled to explore his tormented relationship with his father and a world he fondly remembers but has long since abandoned. Back in New York a week later, Mabry faces his old life, which lies in ruins before his eyes. There, he must once again confront change and uncertainty.

A Disorder Peculiar to the Country
by Ken Kalfus
Like their country, Marshall and Joyce Harriman, a Brooklyn Heights couple, are at war. They are one year into an impossibly bitter divorce. When Joyce watches the destruction of the World Trade Center she is seized by a "great gladness," because Marshall works on the eighty-sixth floor of the south tower. But he escapes to fight another day in the apartment that neither will relinquish, home to their two young children—"their divorce's civilian casualties." Kalfus skewers the pieties surrounding 9/11, but, having set his black comedy in the shadow of that national trauma, he reverently charts the powerful sway that world events briefly held over the lives of individual Americans.

The Good Life
by Jay McInerney
In The Good Life, Jay McInerney unveils a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far.Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in TriBeCa, Corrine and Russell Calloway have survived a separation and are wonderstruck by young twins whose provenance is nothing less than miraculous. Several miles uptown and perched near the top of the Upper East Side’s social register, Luke McGavock has postponed his accumulation of wealth in an attempt to recover the sense of purpose now lacking in a life that often gives him pause. But on a September morning, brightness falls horribly from the sky, and people worlds apart suddenly find themselves working side by side at the devastated site.

Falling Man
by Don DeLillo
There is September 11 and then there are the days after, and finally the years. Falling Man is a magnificent, essential novel about the event that defines turn-of-the-century America. It begins in the smoke and ash of the burning towers and tracks the aftermath of this global tremor in the intimate lives of a few people. First there is Keith, walking out of the rubble into a life that he'd always imagined belonged to everyone but him. Then Lianne, his es-tranged wife, memory-haunted, trying to reconcile two versions of the same shadowy man. And their small son Justin, standing at the window, scanning the sky for more planes. Brave and brilliant, Falling Man traces the way the events of September 11 have reconfigured our emotional landscape, our memory and our perception of the world. It is cathartic, beautiful, heartbreaking.

The Future of Love
by Shirley Abbott
Renowned memoirist Abbott debuts as a novelist with a shrewd, polished comedy of manners. Beginning in Manhattan shortly before 9/11 and ending a year later, this witty yet weighty tale is told in eight distinct voices. As dramatic complications and losses accrue, Abbott opens windows onto all that changes and all that remains the same in love, marriage, class, race, and family life, and considers truth as both a weapon and a key to liberation. Abbott reaches deep psychological strata as she parallels the shocking assault on New York with the ravages of disease and time on the body, and illuminates the fact that everything we construct to keep chaos and darkness at bay can be destroyed in an instant.

The Towers
by David Poyer
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Commander Dan Lenson is visiting the Pentagon, and his wife is at a job interview at the World Trade Center. In the action-packed scenes that follow, Dan fights his way through flames and destruction to safety, and tries to reach his wife on her cell phone, but the terrifying few seconds before they're cut off do nothing to calm his fears. Dan immediately becomes involved in the military reaction to the attack. His SEAL team is assigned to Task Force Rhino, a mission that takes him to Afghanistan and the borders of Pakistan in order to hunt down, capture, or kill Osama bin Laden and other senior members of the Taliban government and al Qaeda leadership.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid
Hamid's second book (after Moth Smoke) is an intelligent and absorbing 9/11 novel, written from the perspective of Changez, a young Pakistani. The book unfolds as a monologue that Changez delivers to a mysterious American operative over dinner at a Lahore, Pakistan, cafe. Pre-9/11, Princeton graduate Changez is on top of the world: recruited by an elite New York financial company, the 22-year-old quickly earns accolades from his hard-charging supervisor, plunges into Manhattan's hip social whirl and becomes infatuated with Erica, a fellow Princeton. But after the towers fall, Changez is subject to intensified scrutiny and physical threats, and his co-workers become markedly less affable. Erica is committed to a mental institution, and Changez, upset by his adopted country's "growing and self-righteous rage," slacks off at work and is fired. Despite his off-putting commentary, the damaged Changez comes off as honest and thoughtful, and his creator handles him with a sympathetic grace.

The Submission
by Amy Waldman
A jury gathers in Manhattan to select a memorial for the victims of a devastating terrorist attack. Their fraught deliberations complete, the jurors open the envelope containing the anonymous winner’s name—and discover he is an American Muslim. Instantly they are cast into roiling debate about the claims of grief, the ambiguities of art, and the meaning of Islam. In the fight for both advantage and their ideals, all will bring the emotional weight of their own histories to bear on the urgent question of how to remember, and understand, a national tragedy. In this deeply humane novel, the breadth of Amy Waldman’s cast of characters is matched by her startling ability to conjure their perspectives.

All About You:

The Emotional Calendar: Understanding Seasonal Influences and Milestones to Become Happier, More Fulfilled, and in Control of Your Life
by John R. Sharp
For years, doctors have treated patients for seasonal affective disorder (SAD)—depression that occurs at the same time each year but usually in the sun-deprived fall and winter, and that affects four to ten percent of Americans. In this conversational, case-study-filled guide, Sharp, a medical doctor, elaborates on how time of year, weather, holidays, and even sports seasons influence mood. The book is surprisingly easy to read.

Self-Promotion for the Creative Person: Get the Word Out About Who You Are and What You Do
by Lee Silber
Everything you need to know about marketing yourself is included in this book. Self-Promotion for the Creative Person is packed with proven techniques that will work for you whether you are an author, actor, artist, or accordion player who wants fresh, off-beat, and cost-effective ways to build a business or develop a successful and fulfilling career.

The Life You Want!: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy
by Bob Greene, Ann Kearney-Cooke, and Janis Jibrin
In his latest book, Greene enthusiastically tries to inspire everyone to get slim and trim. To do so, he enlists the help of a psychologist (Ann Kearney-Cooke) and a registered dietitian (Janis Jibrin). The Greene team even gets these folks to use their real first and last names, which adds credibility. The entire package is a practical, down-to-earth guide that should help overweight, out-of-shape Americans (two-thirds of the U.S. population) take action. An easy-to-read how-to book, it invites active participation. There is much here of value.

You Are Not Your Brain: the 4-Step Solution for Ending Destructive Behavior, Changing Bad Habits, and Taking Control of Your Life
by Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding
In You Are Not Your Brain: The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taking Control of Your Life, Jeffrey Schwartz, M.D. and Rebecca Gladding, M.D., leading UCLA psychiatrists and researchers, combine cutting-edge scientific research with an adaptable 4-step program to help people understand, identify, and free themselves from the deceptive brain messages that hold them back. By learning how to identify deceptive brain messages and channel them through the power of focused attention, those who follow this easy- to-implement program can ultimately lead more fulfilling and empowered lives.

You, Losing Weight: the Owner's Manual to Simple and Healthy Weight Loss
by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
In this handy waist-loss guide, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz use their signature wit and wisdom to boil down the science and strategies for you. They keep their usual no-nonsense approach to explaining the human body to outline why crash dieting can’t work for the long term. More important, America’s Doctors share their favorite weight-loss super-foods recipes and provide exercise suggestions for how to get the most from any kind of workout. With food plans, shopping lists, and comprehensive advice on the science of waist loss, this pocket-size paperback is packed with everything dieters need to know about how to develop better habits that will keep pounds off for good.

You Already Know How to be Great: a Simple Way to Remove Interference and Unlock Your Greatest Potential
by Alan Fine with Rebecca R. Merrill
Alan Fine, an accomplished tennis, golf, and executive coach and a renowned authority on peak performance, believes that this "outside-in" method is precisely what's holding you back from doing your best work. He's found the biggest obstacle to improved performance isn't not knowing what to do; it's not doing what you already know. Ironically, the quest for information and instructions designed to help you get ahead can often interfere with your ability to focus on doing something. Fine reveals his simple and proven approach to achieving breakthrough performance. It starts with reducing the interference that blocks your potential through an amazing process called G.R.O.W. (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward).

You Say More Than You Think: the 7-Day Plan for Using the New Body Language to Get What You Want
by Janine Driver with Mariska van Aalst
A former body-language specialist with the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Driver has put her life on the line more times than she can count, depending on her understanding of body language-how to read it and how to use it-to survive. Now a professional body-language trainer, Driver puts her lessons to paper with straightforward prose and easy-to-use methodology, intended to help readers break bad habits, overcome misleading assumptions, avoid blind spots, and project the kind of confidence they need for successful communication and/or negotiation. Offering a number of tips across a range of settings (business, romance, courtroom, etc.), Driver's advice will give readers immediate, effective results, such as a step-by-step guide to "Active Listening Head Moves": "Now try the head tilt with the double nod. Did the person speed up the conversation?" Sound examples (many drawn from her professional adventures), revealing exercises and self-tests, and a game sense of humor keep Driver's considerable expertise from overwhelming readers, making this an enjoyable and highly practical self-help.

Have a New You by Friday: How to Accept Yourself, Boost Your Confidence & Change Your Life in 5 Days
by Kevin Leman
How many times have we tried to change our own habits, only to find that changing ourselves is even harder than trying to change someone else? Now, what the bestselling Have a New Kid by Friday has done for families and Have a New Husband by Friday has done for couples, Have a New You by Friday will do for individuals. With his signature wit and commonsense psychology, Dr. Kevin Leman will walk readers through their own personal five-day action plan.

You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness
by Julie Klam
One needn't be a dog lover to be moved by this charming book. Klam teaches humans how to love and make compromises when necessary through the process of coping with our pets needs, quirks, and demands. Klam s self-deprecating personality is engaging. When we meet her and her first dog, Otto, she's hilarious as she imagines people thinking she can attract only a four-legged companion. Narrator Karen White's spirited delivery enhances the lively text. She perfectly differentiates the many personalities that Julie and her dogs meet in their travels. Klam is a splendid observer, and White delivers, especially when portraying Sharon, an Aussie VIP in Boston terrier circles.

 

Sharpen Your Computer Knowledge:

Flash CS5: The Missing Manual
by Chris Grover
Unlock the power of Adobe Flash and bring stunning animations to life onscreen. It's easy with Flash CS5: The Missing Manual. You'll start creating animations in the first chapter, and learn to produce effective, well-planned visuals that get your message across.

Discovering SQL: A Hands-On Guide for Beginners
by Alex Kriegel
If you're a SQL beginner, you don't just want to learn SQL basics, you also want to get some practical SQL skills you can use in the job market. This book gives you both. Covering the basics through intermediate topics with clear explanations, hands-on exercises, and helpful solutions, this book is the perfect introduction to SQL.

Excel 2010 Workbook For Dummies
by Greg Harvey
Reinforce your understanding of Excel with these Workbook exercises
Boost your knowledge of important Excel tasks by putting your skills to work in real-world situations. The For Dummies Workbook format provides more than 100 exercises that help you create actual results with Excel so you can gain proficiency.

The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You
by Eli Pariser
In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for each user. Instead of giving you the most broadly popular result, Google now tries to predict what you are most likely to click on. According to MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser, Google's change in policy is symptomatic of the most significant shift to take place on the Web in recent years-the rise of personalization. In this groundbreaking investigation of the new hidden Web, Pariser uncovers how this growing trend threatens to control how we consume and share information as a society-and reveals what we can do about it.

How to Do Everything with Adobe Acrobat 8
by Doug Sahlin
Create and share sophisticated electronic documents easily using Adobe Acrobat 8 and the helpful tips in this hands-on guide.

Introducing HTML5
by Bruce Lawson , Remy Sharp
Written by developers who have been using the new language for the past year in their work, this book shows you how to start adapting the language now to realize its benefits on today’s browsers. Rather than being just an academic investigation, it concentrates on the practical—the problems HTML5 can solve for you right away.

Joomla! For Dummies
by Seamus Bellamy, Steven Holzner
Joomla! is a free, open source PHP & MySQL-based content management system that allows you to create interactive, community-based Web sites without having to write or program code in PHP or ASP.NET. This fun and friendly introduction to Joomla! shows you how to create a rich, interactive Web site that does not require any code.

The Official Joomla! Book
by Jennifer Marriott, Elin Waring
The Official Joomla! Book is the authoritative and comprehensive Joomla! reference for every administrator, developer, designer, and content manager. Distilling the unsurpassed experience of two long-time Joomla! contributors, it teaches exactly what you need to know, through practical example sites and crystal-clear explanations.

Photoshop CS5: Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks
by Lynette Kent
Photoshop is the preferred image-editing software, with more than four million users worldwide. Fully revised for the newest Photoshop release, this guide uses step-by-step instructions and full-color screen shots to make comprehension quick and easy for the visual learner.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to iPad and iPhone App Development
by Troy Brant
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Developing iPhone Apps is the perfect introduction for aspiring iPhone app creators, offering a step-by-step approach exploring all of the tools and key aspects of programming using the iPhone software development kit, including getting the finished product distributed through the App Store.

When Gadgets Betray Us: The Dark Side of Our Infatuation With New Technologies
by Robert Vamosi
Vamosi offers a solid analysis of just how deeply technology can be used to gather personal information about us without our awareness, a scenario more alarming than we can imagine.

Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything
by Stephen Baker
What if there were a computer that could answer virtually any question? IBM engineers are developing such a machine, teaching it to compete on the quiz show Jeopardy. In February 2011, it will face off in a nationally televised game against two of the game’s greatest all-time winners, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Final Jeopardy tells the riveting story behind the match.

Connect to Your Inner Self:

And the Pursuit of Happiness
by Maira Kalman
With her trademark wit, style, sensitivity and spontaneity, the author guides a whirlwind tour of American democracy. The book is a remarkable tribute to our history and a powerful reminder of the potential our future holds.

Body Love Manual: how to love the body you have as you create the body you want
By Elizabeth Lily Hills
Learn how to connect with the most intelligent instrument on the planet-your body. The writer offers you the keys to achieving your natural and healthiest weight without dieting or denying yourself any of your favorite foods.

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin lessons in life, love and language
By Deborah Fallows
The joy of this book is its sense of humor and adventure. The writer takes us to the streets of Shanghai and Beijing, making us laugh at her often comical embrace of the culture.

Fortytude: making the next decades the best years of your life…through the 40’s, 50’s and beyond
By Sarah Brokaw
Turning Forty! It’s a milestone that prompts many women to rethink the direction of their lives. The writer recommends that women embrace these five core values: Grace, Connectedness, Accomplishment, Adventure and Spirituality.

Getting into the Vortex: Guided meditations CD and User Guide
By Esther and Jerry Hicks
To live a better feeling life comes down to one thing: coming into alignment with the “Energy of our Source”. A conscious connection to the broader non-physical part of us is necessary to be the joyful beings that we were born to be.

The Happiness Project: or, why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle, and generally have more fun.
By Gretchen Craft Rubin
Describing a year off from her job to find happiness through big and small projects, the writer entertains us with humor as she forges her own path to a happier state of mind.

Heaven is for Real: a little boy’s astounding story of his trip to heaven and back
By Todd Burpo
This is the true story of a four year old boy, who during surgery, slips from consciousness and enters heaven. The disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

I can make you Confident: the power to go for anything you Want
By Paul McKenna
Containing a hypnosis CD that fills your mind with positive thoughts and feelings, this breakthrough book expresses the latest techniques to stop fear and desperation and create massive amounts of confidence and self-belief instantly.

Law of the Garbage Truck: How to respond to People who Dump on you, and how to stop dumping on others
By David J. Pollay
By refusing to let others dump their negativity, anger, and resentment on us, we become happier and more successful, both personally and professionally. And when we stop dumping garbage on others, we improve our relationships, strengthen our businesses, and bring our communities together.

Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry on: Twenty lessons for managing worry, anxiety and Fear
By Mark Reinecke
Twenty short yet powerful lessons and anxiety- reducing techniques that help you move past stressful moments with grace are contained in this book.

Moonwalking with Einstein: the art and science of remembering everything
By Joshua Foer
Follow the author’s compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship, and learn to use visual imaging to increase one’s memory according to the masters.

Near Death Experiences: the rest of the story; what they teach us about living and dying and our true purpose
By P.M. H. Atwater
Real life stories of out of body experiences, encountering a special light, greeters from the after-life, life reviews tunnels and 360 degree vision…are all part of this intriguing look at near death experiences.

Surviving a Shark Attack(on Land): overcoming betrayal and dealing with revenge
By Laura Schlessinger
Powerful and thought- provoking, the book gives readers the emotional defenses they need to overcome the worst life will throw at them, whether it’s a cheating spouse, a lying sibling or a ruthless colleague.

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life
By Karen Armstrong
While compassion is intrinsic in all human beings, each of us needs to work diligently to cultivate and expand our capacity for compassion. A more compassionate life is not only a matter of heart and mind, but a life altering commingling of the two.

Unlimited: how to build an exceptional Life
By Jillian Michaels
Imagine! Believe! Achieve! With the right attitude and skills you can and will accomplish anything and everything you want. You will learn to embrace your uniqueness to create a purpose filled life.

You already know how to be Great: A simple way to remove interference and Unlock your greatest Potential
By Alan Fine
Unlock Faith, Fire and Focus; that is, confidence in our ability, high energy and passion, and focused attention on things that really matter.

150th Anniversary of the Civil War:

America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation
by David Goldfield
This sweeping, history of America from the 1830s through Reconstruction has two themes. One is the importance of evangelical Protestantism, particularly in the North and within the Republican Party, in changing slavery from a political problem to an intractable moral issue that could only be settled by bloodshed. The second is the Civil War's transformation of America into a modern industrial nation with a powerful government and a commercial, scientific outlook, even as the postwar South stagnated in racism and backward-looking religiosity.

Bloody Crimes: the Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse
by James L. Swanson
Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis embark on dramatic final journeys in this gripping account of the weeks following Lincoln’s death and the end of the Civil War. While arguments erupted about where and how Lincoln’s burial should take place, Jefferson Davis attempted to rally his people despite being hunted by Northern troops who suspected his involvement in Lincoln’s assassination. Using relics and key documents of the day, Swanson juxtaposes the travels of Davis and Lincoln, weaving a fast-paced narrative that lures readers in from the get-go.

The Civil War: a Concise History
by Louis P. Masur
An immaculate overview that quickly gets to the heart of the matter, surveying with keen insight the slippery slope to war’s outbreak, which was paved with increasingly bitter opposing views on slavery and states’ rights and territorial expansion. Moving year by year but not ploddingly, Masur charts the ebb and flow of Union and Confederate successes. In wrapping up, the author’s clear view of Reconstruction brings the process of settlement well into the latter part of the century.

The Civil War: the First Year Told by Those Who Lived It
edited by Brooks D. Simpson, Stephen W. Sears, Aaron Sheehan-Dean
Drawn from letters, diaries, speeches, articles, poems, songs, military reports, legal opinions, and memoirs, The Civil War: The First Year gathers over 120 pieces by more than sixty participants to create a unique firsthand narrative of this great historical crisis. Beginning on the eve of Lincoln's election in November 1860 and ending in January 1862, this volume presents writing by well-known figures - Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Mary Chesnut, Frederick Douglass, and Lincoln himself among them, along with many not quite as famous.

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery
by Eric Foner
The author traces the complexities of Lincoln's evolving ideas about slavery and African-Americans: while he detested slavery, he also publicly rejected political and social equality for blacks, dragged his feet (critics charged) on emancipating slaves and accepting black recruits into the Union army, and floated schemes for colonizing freedmen overseas almost to war's end. Eric Foner situates this record within a lucid, nuanced discussion of the era's turbulent racial politics; Lincoln is no paragon in Foner's searching portrait, but something more essential--a politician with an open mind and a restless conscience.

God's Almost Chosen Peoples: a Religious History of the American Civil War
by George C. Rable
In this brilliant and groundbreaking book, University of Alabama historian Rable draws upon newspapers, sermons, diaries, letters, and journals to show that many people on both sides of the conflict turned to faith to help explain the war's causes, course, and consequences. Rable demonstrates that both Northerners and Southerners tried to make sense of the brutal war by thumbing through their Bibles, listening to their preachers, and interpreting battles as a fulfillment of a divine plan. Rable's engrossing study of the role of religion in the Civil War will stand as the definitive religious history of America's most divisive conflict.

Manifest Destinies: America's Westward Expansion and the Road to the Civil War
by Steven E. Woodworth
Although various events ignited the Civil War, the war would never have occurred without the sectional strife over permitting slavery in the enormous territories the U.S. acquired in the 1840s. In this balanced political and military history, Woodworth tracks political tensions exacerbated by continental expansion, closely narrating the response of Whig and Democratic politicians to disputes that pushed slavery to the forefront. Leaving off at the Compromise of 1850, Woodworth dramatically presages the collapse of political parties in the 1850s by his accessible account of the 1840s.

My Thoughts be Bloody: the Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy
by Nora Titone ; foreword by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This is actually a very well-done examination of the trials and tribulations of a remarkable family. The family patriarch, Junius, was a heralded Shakespearean actor, an alcoholic, and an often emotionally abusive parent. His favored son, Edwin, was generally regarded as the greatest American actor of the nineteenth century. Then there was John—desperate for his father’s approval, intensely jealous of his brother, and frustrated by his reputation as a mediocre performer. Titone does a fine job of contrasting the personalities and even the acting styles of the brothers. Her portrait of Edwin as a decent man haunted by his brother’s act is often moving.

The New York Times Complete Civil War, 1861-1865
edited by Harold Holzer and Craig L. Symonds ; foreword by Bill Clinton
The New York Times, established in 1851, was one of the few newspapers with correspondents on the front lines throughout the Civil War. The Complete Civil War collects every article written about the war from 1861 to 1865, plus select pieces before and after the war and is filled with the action, politics, and personal stories of this monumental event. From the first shot fired at Fort Sumter to the surrender at Appomattox, as well as articles on slavery, states rights, the role of women, and profiles of noted heroes such as Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, the era comes alive through these daily first-hand accounts.

Enjoy the Merry Month of March:

101 Places Not to See Before You Die
by Catherine Price
Price brings you lively tales of the most ill-conceived museums, worst theme parks, and grossest Superfund sites that you'll ever have the pleasure of not visiting. Journalist Catherine Price travels the globe for stories of misadventure to which any seasoned traveler can relate, and along the way she discovers that the worst experiences are often the ones we'll never forget.

I Remember Nothing
by Nora Ephron
Forthright, frequently wickedly backhanded, these essays cover the gamut of later-life observations (she is 69), from the dourly hilarious title essay about losing her memory, which asserts that her ubiquitous senior moment has now become the requisite Google moment. There's an elegiac quality to many of these pieces, handled with wit and tenderness.

Sh*t my Dad Says
by Justin Halpern
Justin Halpern tosses lightning bolts of laughter out of his pocket like he is shooting dice in a back alley. In one sweep of a paragraph, he ranges from hysterical to disgusting to touching—and does it all seamlessly.

How Did You Get This Number?
by Sloane Crosley
Nine thoughtful, unfussy essays by the author of the collection I Was Told There'd Be Cake navigate around illusions of youth in the hope that by young adulthood they'll all add up to happiness. These essays are fresh, funny, and eager to be loved.

I Still Have It, I Just Can’t Remember Where I Put It
by Rita Rudn
The actress-screenwriter-author scribes an intermittently hilarious hodge-podge on the joys of aging, and other preoccupations. Among four dozen semi-related short pieces-comprised of anecdotes, comedy routines, lists, questions and touching vignettes.

Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang Bang
by Chelsea Handler
Comedienne, talk show host and daring author Handler indulges her fans with a new compilation of shockingly direct essays, from which she emerges as a scheming farceur with an expansive range of practical jokes and winning sarcasm, pulled off beautifully against (and with help from) her closest friends and family.

I’ll Mature When I’m Dead
by Dave Barry
None of these pieces have been published before, which is rare for a Dave Barry book. And he is at the top of his game here, with 18 stories of what it means to be an adult. Let's hope he never grows up.

If Ignorance is Bliss, Why Aren’t There More Happy People?
edited by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson
Lloyd and Mitchinson have proven themselves to be masters at digging up obscure facts, abstruse information, and amusing anecdotes and presenting them effortlessly, somewhat slyly, with either great wit or at least a little bit of tongue in cheek. An enjoyable anthology of hundreds of quotes you probably have never heard before, arranged thematically from A to Z.

Unfamiliar Fishes
by Sarah Vowell
Recounting the brief, remarkable history of Hawaii, Vowell, retraces the impact of New England missionaries who began arriving in the early 1800s to remake the island paradise into a version of New England. With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
by David Sedaris
The ancient Greeks had Aesop, and now we, possess the distinct privilege to enjoy the beloved Sedaris’ first collection of short animal tales. The appeal of this aesthetically pleasing little volume is inherent, as the American ambassador of the comedy memoir, turns now to creatures of the hoofed and winged variety to make us laugh and, perhaps, learn a lesson.

A Hot Topic for a Cold Season – Health Care

The New Health Care System: Everything You Need to Know
by David Nather
In this clearly written primer on health-care reform, former Congressional Quarterly writer Nather explains how insurance works, what the big changes are, and when everything will happen. It's a conversational guide that tells readers how to sign up for Medicare, and what to do if they're uninsured, or if they work for a small business versus a large company. Readers won't find comments from policy wonks, politicians, or even real people. This is a nonpartisan, just-the-facts book, which as Nather (not an unabashed booster of reform) explains, is an overview of how the system will work if everything in the law goes according to plan. Nather's book, which includes a useful glossary, provides an excellent snapshot of how the post-reform health-care system should work as it stands now. It may quickly go out of date as Congress continues to tweak legislation, but it's a good and necessary resource, and with any luck Nather will produce a sequel as needed.

Getting It Done: How Obama and Congress Finally Broke the Stalemate to Make Way for Health Care Reform
by Tom Daschle and David Nather
Former Senator Daschle, a key player in health care reform during his tenure, and leading journalist Nather (The New Health Care System) provide an insider's account of the negotiations that resulted in the passage of health care reform legislation. Readers looking for an inside account of the process of drafting and passing health care reform will find much of interest here, but those seeking to understand the legislation itself should take note: Daschle only briefly covers provisions of the law itself. Readers interested in an accessible overview of the coming changes should read Nather's excellent recent effort.

Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future
by Andrew Weil, M.D.
Although policy makers have weighed in on all sides, in this book, bestselling author Andrew Weil, M.D., identifies the root of the problem. Dr. Weil states that we have a right to good healthcare that is effective, accessible, and affordable. Many Americans would be surprised to know that our national health is far from the best in the world, even though we spend more money on it than any other country. The World Health Organization recently rated America thirty-seventh in health outcomes, on par with Serbia. Tackling head-on the Three Major Myths of American Medicine, Dr. Weil shows how medical schools fail to give future doctors the education they need to care for patients, how insurance companies have destroyed our opportunity to get excellent care, and how pharmaceutical companies have come to rule our lives.

The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care
by T. R. Reid
Washington Post correspondent Reid (The United States of Europe) explores health-care systems around the world in an effort to understand why the U.S. remains the only first world nation to refuse its citizens universal health care. Neither financial prudence nor concern for the commonweal explains the American position, according to Reid, whose findings divulge that the U.S. not only spends more money on health care than any other nation but also leaves 45 million residents uninsured, allowing about 22,000 to die from easily treatable diseases. Seeking treatment for the flareup of an old shoulder injury, he visits doctors in the U.S., France, Germany, Japan and England—with a stint in an Ayurvedic clinic in India—in a quest for treatment that dovetails with his search for a cure for America's health-care crisis, a narrative device that sometimes feels contrived, but allows him valuable firsthand experience.

Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America
by Nortin M. Hadler
Although necessary health care should be available to all who need it, Hadler says, the current health-care debate assumes that everyone requires massive amounts of expensive care to stay healthy. Hadler urges that before we commit to paying for whatever pharmaceutical companies and the medical establishment tell us we need, American consumers need to adopt an attitude of skepticism and arm themselves with enough information to make some of their own decisions about what care is truly necessary. Each chapter of Worried Sick is an object lesson regarding the uses and abuses of a particular type of treatment. By learning to distinguish good medical advice from persuasive medical marketing, consumers can make better decisions about their personal health.

Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis---and the People Who Pay the Price
by Jonathan Cohn
In this addition to the list of exposés of our patchwork, profit-based health-care system, Cohn makes a plea for a universal coverage with a single-payer system regulated by the government. Cohn, a senior editor at the New Republic, describes how private insurers decide who and what they will—and will not—cover. He also examines how rising health-care costs lead corporations to seek ways to deny coverage to employees. The author convincingly argues that Medicare and universal health care in such countries as France are far superior to the system most Americans face. Much of this is well-trod territory, but Cohn is eloquent, and he's good at using case studies to dramatize and explain complex issues.

Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business--and Bad Medicine
by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
Bestselling investigative journalists Barlett and Steele deliver a devastating indictment, supported by excellent research, of a health-care system that they say is failing to provide first-rate services to its citizens. The authors present case histories of patients who were ignored by bureaucratic HMOs that put profit first. Barlett and Steele describe how health care first became driven by profits on Wall Street during the Reagan administration. Competing insurance plans, they say, led not to better choices for consumers, but to physicians who are prevented by insurers from prescribing needed treatments; a severe shortage of nurses; and unsafe hospitals where staff shortages and unsanitary conditions result from cost-cutting. The authors, who strongly advocate a single payer plan, successfully depict a health-care system in crisis.

Getting What We Deserve: Health and Medical Care in America
by Alfred Sommer
Both an ophthalmologist and a public health expert at Johns Hopkins, Sommer can honestly claim to have affected millions of lives with his pioneering work in vitamin A deficiency and blindness prevention. In this small gem he gamely takes on America's health care crisis. We have lost sight of the essentials that underlie good health, he declares. Making ample use of graphs, tables and maps to illustrate his clear history, Sommer offers a commonsense approach to our dilemma. Want to understand the West's dramatic improvements in life expectancy? Consider simple, inexpensive improvements in standards of living and public health, such as sanitation and nutrition, that predated the explosion of drugs and medical interventions, he asserts. Will the public option impair our national health? Look no further than Canada and England, where it works—and where residents are just as long-lived and healthy. Sommer concludes that Americans' health will improve as they adopt healthier lifestyles and as better, more cost-effective interventions are developed and made available to all. His cry may get lost in the noisy national debate, but its clarity deserves to be heard.

When Fact is More Frightening Than Fiction…New True Crime:

In the Still of the Night: The Strange Death of Ronda Reynolds & Her Mother’s Unceasing Quest for the Truth
by Anne Rule
From true-crime legend Ann Rule comes this riveting story of a young woman whose life ended too soon and a determined mother's eleven-year crusade to clear her daughter's name. It was nine days before Christmas 1998, and thirty-two-year-old Ronda Reynolds was getting ready to travel from Seattle to Spokane to visit her mother and brother and grandmother before the holidays. At 6:20 that morning, Ron Reynolds called 911 and told the dispatcher his wife was dead. Over the next eleven years, Coroner Wilson would change that manner of death from "undetermined" to "suicide," back to "undetermined" and then back to "suicide" again. But Barb Thompson never for one moment believed her daughter committed suicide. On November 9, 2009, a precedent-setting hearing was held to determine whether Coroner Wilson's office had been derelict in its duty in investigating the death of Ronda Reynolds. Veteran true-crime writer Ann Rule was present at that hearing, hoping to unbraid the tangled strands of conflicting statements and mishandled evidence and present all sides of this haunting case and to determine, perhaps, what happened to Ronda Reynolds, in the chill still of that tragic December night. (Amazon)
The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry
Maurine Watkins, a girl reporter with the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s, was the first to cover the sensational story of two Jazz Age women who killed their men with the insouciance they gave to filing their nails or rolling their stockings. Decades later, Bob Fosse made the pair of stylish killers internationally famous through his hit musical Chicago. In this account, journalist Perry illuminates both the murderesses who held court at Cook County Jail and the newspapers writers who showcased them. This is a well-researched, fast-paced story behind the story. (Booklist)

Murder Behind the Badge: True Stories of Cops Who Kill
by Stacy Dittrich
The majority of law enforcement officers uphold their oath to protect the public; this work profiles 18 who didn't. The officers, two female and the rest male, abused their power and became murderers of friends, family members, and strangers on and off the job. The book is for true-crime enthusiasts and includes a few b&w photos. Dittrich is a veteran law enforcement officer, mystery author, and former detective specializing in sex crimes. She has appeared on national TV. (Booknews.com)

Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery
by Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz
The 2001 disappearance of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy, and the discovery of her remains a year later in a remote area of D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, made headlines, especially when her affair with Congressman Gary Condit became known. Pulitzer Prize–winning reporters Higham and Horwitz expand on their 13-part Washington Post investigation that in 2008 identified Levy's likely killer, delivering a meticulous study of the case and the media circus surrounding it. (Booklist)

Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, JR. and the International Hunt for His Assassin
by Hampton Sides
It's bold to start an account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. without a single mention of James Earl Ray. But in Hellhound on His Trail, Ray's absence is essential--in his place, Hampton Sides traces the alter egos Ray created after escaping from prison and beginning his haphazard journey toward Memphis. Sides meticulously constructs parallel portraits of two very different men--one, the larger-than-life figurehead of the Civil Rights movement; the other, a nondescript loner with a spurious and violent history, whose identity was as fluid as his motives. The narrative builds to the staggering and heartbreaking moment of King's assassination, then races on through the immediate fallout: the worldwide manhunt led by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI; Ray's nearly successful attempt to flee to Rhodesia; and the riots that erupted throughout the United States as racial tensions reached a breaking point. Sides's storytelling packs a visceral punch, and in Hellhound on His Trail, he crafts an authoritative and riveting account of two intersecting lives that altered the course of American history. (Amazon)

Hardboiled Hollywood: The True Crime Stories that Inspired the Great Noir Films
by Max Décharné
Décharné, a member of the British band the Flaming Stars, tackles some literary noir scenarios and true murder tales as prime inspirations for some of the finest crime films produced in Hollywood. He analyzes the thrill gangsters held for the masses when screenwriters put them into films from the 1930s until the present, producing overnight stars like Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart. Although sometimes the book seems like a tame clip job, it does provide the rare eye-opening revelation about the featured films and the real-life or literary events behind their creation: the story of Al Capone behind Little Caesar; the experiences leading Raymond Chandler to write his novel turned movie The Big Sleep; the realities and myths behind the protagonists of Bonnie and Clyde; and the 1950s Los Angeles world of crime and scandal behind the novel and movie L.A. Confidential. Rehashing several familiar Tinseltown tidbits and uncovering very little new material about these landmark offerings, Décharné's work is not an essential reference volume for the entertainment book shelf. (Amazon)

Most Evil: Avenger, Zodiac, and the Further Serial Murders of Dr. George Hill Hodel
by Steve Hodel and Ralph Pezzullo
Twenty years after shocking the world with the Black Dahlia murder, could Dr. George Hill Hodel have returned as a killer unlike anyone had ever known? Former LAPD detective Steve Hodel has devoted the last decade to examining the fascinating and mysterious life of his father, Dr. George Hill Hodel. His findings indicatethat Hodel was one of the most prolific serial killers in history, beginning as a young manand continuing to kill undetected throughout his life, including his possible involvement inChicago's "Lipstick Murders" and the series of killings in 1960s California by the man who called himself Zodiac. In Most Evil, Hodel compiles never-before-seen visual, cirucumstantial, and forensic evidence that reveals his father as a serial killer who may have been responsible for some of the most infamous murders of the last century.


TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...Fabulous Nonfiction:

Breaking Night: My Journey From Homeless to Harvard
by Liz Murray
Murray watched her parents’ mainline cocaine at the kitchen table from before she could speak, and the family often spent 25 days a month—the time after her parents blew the welfare check to feed their blazing drug habit—starving. Murray tells of bearing the weighty burden of young protector to her obviously flailing parents, and eventually living on the streets when it was less unhappy—and perhaps safer—than staying at home. With no resources to speak of, she ultimately commits to high school and finds her prospects can be great. Neither sensationalizing nor soliciting pity, Murray’s generous account of and caring attitude toward her past are not only uplifting, but also a fascinating lesson in the value of dedication. (Booklist)

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey
by Candice Millard
A gripping account of Teddy Roosevelt's search for adventure during a South American trip that quickly evolved into an ill-prepared journey down an unexplored tributary of the Amazon known as the “River of Doubt.” His group was hampered by the failure to pack enough supplies and the absence of canoes sturdy enough for the river's rapids. An injury Roosevelt sustained became infected with flesh-eating bacteria and left the ex-president so weak that, at his lowest moment, he was ready to die in the rainforest. Suspenseful, with a marvelous amount of detail provided on the wildlife that Roosevelt’ group encountered on the journey, as well as the cannibalistic indigenous tribe that stalked them much of the way. (Publisher’s Weekly)

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation
by Sheila Weller
The epic story of three generational icons, this triple biography examines the careers of singer-songwriters Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon, whose success reflected, enervated and shaped the feminist movement that grew up with them. A must-read for any fan of these artists, proving an absorbing, eye-opening tour of rock (and American) history for anyone who’s appreciated a female musician in the past thirty years. (Publisher’s Weekly)

I Closed My Eyes: Revelations of a Battered Woman
by Michele Weldon
Chicago Tribune reporter Weldon skillfully retells an old story about living with and surviving a physically abusive husband. Her tale shatters stereotypes about domestic violence, showing that it permeates all classes and educational levels. By exploring her happy memories as the child of loving, nurturing parents, she challenges the assumption that battered women seek the battering relationships they knew in their childhood. Weldon begins each chapter with a love letter from her husband that is deeply paradoxical to the abuse she subsequently reveals. Then, in finely honed prose, she takes readers from the early days of their romance to the end of their marriage. Uplifting and self-affirming. (Library Journal)

What I Thought I Knew
by Alice Eve Cohen
Alice Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she had a new love in her life, she was rais¬ing a beloved adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming. Then she started experiencing mysterious symptoms. After months of tests, x-rays, and inconclusive diagnoses, Alice underwent a CAT scan that revealed the truth: she was six months pregnant. At age forty-four, with no prenatal care and no insurance coverage for a high-risk pregnancy, Alice was besieged by opinions from doctors and friends about what was ethical, what was loving, what was right. With the intimacy of a diary and the suspense of a thriller, this account is a ruefully funny, wickedly candid tale; a story of hope and renewal that turns all of the "knowns" upside down. (Amazon.com)

Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal
by Julie Metz
Julie Metz's life changed forever on one ordinary January afternoon when her husband, Henry, collapsed on the kitchen floor and died in her arms. Seven months after Henry's death, just when Julie thought she was emerging from the worst of it, came the rest of it: Henry had hidden another life from her. Perfection is the story of Metz's journey through chaos and transformation as she creates a different life for herself and for her young daughter; rebuilding both a life and an identity after betrayal and widowhood, of rebirth and happiness--if not perfection. (Booklist)

Atypical: Life With Asperger’s in 20 1/3 Chapters
by Jesse A. Saperstein
Diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, Jesse has struggled since childhood with many of the hallmark challenges of his condition-from social awkwardness and self-doubt to extreme difficulty with change and managing his emotions. He has also worked hard to understand and make the most of his AS- developing his keen curiosity and sense of humor, closely observing the world around him, and most of all, helping others with AS to better cope and even thrive. Endearing and unflinchingly honest. (Amazon.com)

Topgun Days: Dogfighting, Cheating Death, and Hollywood Glory As One of America's Best Fighter Jocks
by Dave "Bio" Baranek.
The author is a retired Naval flight officer, who made several cruises aboard various carriers as the radar operator in the back seat of an F-14. Even more challenging were his two assignments to the Topgun program, the Navy’s elite fighter-training school, first as a student, then in the coveted position of an instructor. He also helped with the Navy’s support and the flying sequences of the classic movie Top Gun. The author gives details in full measure about experiences for which there is an abiding, even devouring, curiosity among aviation buffs. (Booklist)

The Facebook Effect : The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting The World
by David Kirkpatrick
Written with the full cooperation of founder Mark Zuckerberg, the book follows the company from its genesis in a Harvard dorm room through its successes over Friendster and MySpace, the expansion of the user base, and Zuckerberg's refusal to sell. Significantly more informative, thoughtful, and credible than Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires. (Publisher’s Weekly)

ENTERING A NEW DIMENSION:

Captain Nemo
by K.J. Anderson
In this fictionalized biography of Verne, Anderson postulates a "real" Andre Nemo, Verne's boyhood friend who lived the life that Verne wanted but didn't dare to follow. Anderson's Nemo, whose stories alternate here with Verne's, is a sympathetically drawn Byronic hero, playing off the pedestrian Verne, a multitude of flamboyant pirates, Turkish caliphs, raging sea monsters and the incomparable Caroline, a proto-feminist shipping executive and composer. (Publisher’s Weekly)

Gold: the Final Science Fiction Collection
by Isaac Asimov
A collection of short stories and essays that remained uncollected at the time of Asimov’s death. The stories comprise its first half, and the non-fiction comprise the second half. Gold contains some notable works: "Cal" describes a robot that wishes to write, and the title story “Gold” expresses both Asimov's admiration of King Lear and his thoughts on cinema adaptations of his own stories. The story "Gold" won a Hugo Award.

Ink and Steel: a Novel of the Promethean Age
by Elizabeth Bear
Elizabeth I rules England in the "iron world" of humanity; the other realm, of Faerie, claims Queen Mab as monarch. Both worlds exist in symbiosis, but each is threatened by treachery from within. When Elizabeth's personal spy, poet and playwright Christopher Marlowe, is murdered, his ability to weave sustaining magic into his plays is lost. His replacement, rival William Shakespeare, possesses talent but lacks magic. In order to save England, Faerie intervenes, raising Marlowe as Mab's servant and Shakespeare's teacher. (Library Journal)

The Warded Man
by Peter V. Brett
Mankind has been fractured into tiny societies, each society a small bastion fighting to survive each night. At night, demons come out to play. The only thing that stands between certain death at night are wards — strange magical symbols engraved in surfaces that prevent the demons from entering any space enclosed by wards. These ancient symbols are faint memories from a time when men fought against demons and prevailed. Men fear to challenge the night. But there is one who will fight. (Best Fantasy Books)

Shades of Grey
by Jasper Fforde
In Eddie Russett’s world, color is destiny. People’s perceptions of color, once tested, determine their rank in the Colortocracy. No one can see more than their own color, and no one knows why. This series starter combines the dire warnings of Brave New World and 1984 with the de-evolutionary visions of A Canticle for Leibowitz and Riddley Walker, but, Fforde being Fforde, his dystopia includes an abundance of tea shops and a severe shortage of jam varieties. It’s all brilliantly original. (Booklist)

Monster
by A.J. Martinez
Martinez pokes at big-picture questions, like the nature of the universe and the meaning of life, with abundant, zany humor in this charming tale. Monster, who works in cryptobiological containment, first encounters Judy when he rescues her from a yeti that's trashing the frozen foods aisle of the Food Plus Mart. As an incognizant—someone whose mind can't acknowledge magic—Judy soon forgets the bizarre events, but Monster suspects she's somehow involved with the recent uptick in dangerous cryptobiological happenings. (Publisher’s Weekly)

The Strange Adventures of RangerGirl
by Tim Pratt
As night manager of Santa Cruz’s quirkiest coffeehouse, Marzi McCarty makes a mean espresso, but her first love is making comics. Her claim to fame: The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, a cowpunk neo-western yarn. Striding through an urban frontier peopled by Marzi’s wild imagination, Rangergirl doles out her own brand of justice. But lately Marzi’s imagination seems to be altering her reality. She’s seeing the world through Rangergirl’s eyes – literally – complete with her deadly nemesis, the Outlaw.

Kraken
by China Miéville
When a nine-meter-long dead squid is stolen, tank and all, from a London museum, curator Billy Harrow finds himself swept up in a world he didn't know existed: one of worshippers of the giant squid, animated golems, talking tattoos, and animal familiars on strike. Forced on the lam with a renegade kraken cultist and stalked by cops and crazies, Billy finds his quest to recover the squid sidelined by questions as to what force may now be unleashed on an unsuspecting world. (Publisher’s Weekly).

Keeping It Real
by Justina Robson
Life is anything but real in this entertaining fusion of SF and fantasy spiced with sex, rockin' elves and drunk faeries. In 2015, the quantum bomb at Texas's superconducting supercollider blew a hole in spacetime's fabric, revealing "a total of five other realities" unknown to the human inhabitants of Otopia (formerly Earth). Death threats to a rocker elf prompt the Otopian security agency to assign Lila Black, a nuclear-powered cyborg still adapting to her AI abilities, as his undercover guard. Deft prose helps the reader accept what in lesser hands would be merely absurd. (Publisher’s Weekly)

Wireless
by Charles Stross
A collection of short stories that move the U.S.–U.S.S.R. conflict onto a massive disk in another galaxy, offer a spam-filter solution to the Fermi paradox and suggest clever bargains with the devil in a newly frozen Scotland and demonstrate Stross's ability to crisscross genres, blending SF, fantasy, horror and espionage. He also pays homage to his literary forebears, combining Lovecraft and the Iran-Contra scandal and bringing in Carl Sagan and Stephen Jay Gould as characters. (Publisher’s Weekly)

JOBS FOR THE 21st CENTURY:

100 Fastest-Growing Careers: Your Complete Guidebook to Major Jobs With the Most Growth and Openings
by Michael Farr
Explore 100 in-demand careers, assess which one suit your skills, and get the job you want fast with this resource. In one time saving volume, job seekers and students can reserch fast-growing careers; learn about pay, education, and required skills; match their personal skills to the job; and take seven seteps to a land a good job quickly.

Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job
by Gregory McNamee
This book is a gem! For those who are searching for a rewarding career in renewable energy, this is the place to start. It is chock full of important information and resources that will guide you on your journey.
Michael Farr

Top 100 Careers Without a Four Year Degree: Your Complete Guidebook to Major Jobs in Many Fields
by J. Michael Farr
Many jobs without a four-year degree are growing. Explore 100 careers that don't require a bachelor's degree, assess which ones match your skills, and get the job you want quickly with this authoritative resource.

Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future
by Jim Cassio and Alice Rush
People of all ages and backgrounds are seeking work in career fields that will help save the planet, yet many people are unaware of the variety of green careers available.

200 Best Jobs for Renewing America
by Laurence Shatkin
President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aims to create or save three million jobs for recession-weary Americans and for a nation in need of rebuilding, modernization, and recovery. 200 Best Jobs for Renewing America opens readers eyes to rewarding jobs that will benefit from the six main initiatives targeted for renewal.

Best Jobs for the 21st Century
by J. Michael Farr and Laurence Shatkin
This book features the 500 jobs with the best pay, fastest growth, and most opening and presents more than 70 "best jobs" lists. In just two steps this helps readers quickly and easily focus their career options (step 1: the lists) and learn more about jobs of interest (step 2: the job descriptions).

150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs
by Laurence Shatkin
This unveils the most secure and high-paying jobs in good times and bad times. In just two steps, this book helps readers focus their career options and learn more about secure jobs that interest them.

Green Jobs for a New Economy: The Career Guide to Emerging Opportunities
by Peterson's
An indispensable guide for students and career-seeking adults, Peterson-s Green Jobs for a New Economy offers vital information on a wide array of professional and skilled green careers, with details on job trends, work environment, and earning potential.

Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Employment
by A. Bronwyn Llewellyn
You're interested in going green and, lucky for you, the opportunities for environmentally skilled workers are skyrocketing. Green Jobs will help you to find a job you like-and that'll make the world a better place.

AUGUST IS NATIONAL GOLF MONTH

The Downhill Lie: A Hacker’s Return to a Ruinous Sport
by Carl Hiaasen
Hiaasen, an admittedly woeful golfer, recounts his clumsy resumption of the game after a 32-year layoff. He interweaves passages about his return to the game with diary entries covering more than a year and a half on the links. He mixes childhood memories of playing with his father, who died prematurely, with anecdotes, including the time he and a friend ejected an invasion of poisonous toads from his friend's patio with short irons. His analysis of his lessons, hapless rounds and gimmicky golf equipment is hilarious, and his descriptions are vintage Hiaasen, such as golf balls that are designed to run like a scalded gerbil.

The Last Putt: Two Teams, One Dream, and a Freshman Named Tiger
by Neil Hayes
Based on exhaustive reporting and interviews, The Last Putt tells the story of an epic rivalry that encapsulated the changing face of the game. On one side was Oklahoma State, a true golfing dynasty featuring the young bloods of a privileged golf family and a coach whose winning record and reputation for toughness made him a mythical figure. On the other side was Stanford, born of the creative recruiting of an unforgettable group of players: Notah Begay (golf's first prominent Native American), Casey Martin (who broke down barriers by playing with a severe disability), and Tiger Woods.

Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf’s Greatest Rivalry
by Ian O’Connor & David Black
Sports columnist O'Connor documents the decades-long rivalry between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. The two men couldn't have been more different. Palmer was an effortlessly charming man, a self-made champion from humble Pennsylvania roots who bashed line drives with astounding force. Nicklaus was more introverted and endured endless taunting from those who saw him as a cheerless striver caring only about winning. The two men rode their rivalry as golf grew from a sleepy amateur-only sport through its postwar boom into one of America's leading pastimes.

Are You Kidding Me? The Story of Rocco Mediate’s Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the US Open
by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein
June 2008's US Open produced one of the most unexpected and dramatic showdowns in golf history. Day after day the invincible Tiger Woods was challenged by Rocco Mediate, a respected journeyman. On Sunday, both ended play tied at par, forcing a playoff. Defying expectations, Mediate played Woods to yet another tie, losing only after forcing a sudden-death showdown. He emerged as one of the most likable, open, and fascinating golfers. In Are You Kidding Me? Mediate tells the full story of these five life-changing days.

Jack Nicklaus: Memories and Mementos from Golf’s Golden Bear
by Jack Nicklaus with David Shedloski
In Jack Nicklaus, his first fully illustrated autobiography, the legendary golfer offers the story of his life, both professional and personal, in his own voice. From the thrill of winning his first U.S. Amateur title in 1959 to the heart-warming ovation after a birdie on his final hole at the 2005 British Open, Nicklaus walks us through his most significant career highlights. The book includes rare photographs from the Jack Nicklaus Museum.

Tiger: The Real Story
by Steve Helling
Helling gives a recount created largely from previously released information: Tiger's early nerdy image was corrected in school when "glasses were replaced by contact lenses and his thick curls cut shorter;" the golfer places "...family first, school second, and golf third;" and while Tiger had had affairs before his father's death, he "went into overdrive" afterward. He offers observations torn right from the playbook: "Tiger is still one of the best golfers to ever play the game...that will probably not ever be enough to fully restore his public image as perhaps the most beloved athlete in the world."

Preferred Lies: A Journey Into the Heart of Scottish Golf
by Andrew Greig
Greig returns to golf as he is returning to life, the survivor of brain surgery. Drawn to the fairways of his youth, he travels his native country playing courses that have personal significance to him (only a few of which are among those on the British Open rota) and reconnecting with old friends. His story separates itself from the field on multiple levels. It is idiosyncratically but never egotistically personal—reflective, often melancholy anecdotes about his family, his past, his poetry, and his illness all weave their way unobtrusively into the text—but it is also remarkably precise about the game.

BEACH READS FOR THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER:

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
A tail-wagging three hanky boo-hooer, this delightful fiction debut by newspaper columnist Cameron (8 Simple Rules for Marrying My Daughter) proposes that a dog's purpose might entail being reborn several times. A book for all age groups who admire canine courage, Cameron also successfully captures the essence of a dog's amazing capacity to love and protect.

Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, and Lani Diane Rich
Don't be put off by the talking dogs; clever (human) dialogue and sassy heroines make this joint novel an amusing standout. After meeting at a local dog obedience-training session, coffeehouse owner Abby, Web writer Daisy and history professor Shar become fast friends. They also discover that the dog trainer is the Mesopotamian goddess Kammani, determined to rule the world like she did 4,000 years ago. Chosen as Kammani's priestesses, Abby, Daisy and Shar aren't quite ready to support the goddess's destructive goals, even when she grants them magical powers including the ability to understand their dogs.

The Unscratchables by Cornelius Kane
Det. Max Crusher McNash, a fearless bull terrier in the slaughter unit of the San Bernardo police dog force, must overcome his distrust of special agent Cassius Lap, a very Zen Siamese of the FBI (Feline Bureau of Investigation), in their pursuit of a serial killer cat targeting dogs in this off-the-leash hard-boiled satire from the pseudonymous Kane. The fur begins flying when two rottweilers are torn apart. Later victims include a retriever attending a museum shindig, movie star Jack Russell Crowe and a newshound. Crusher and Cassius deal with gangsta hounds as well as visit Kathattan, an island where dogs are unwelcome, and Cattica Correctional Facility, where convicted murderer Quentin Riossiti, a debonair psycho cat, offers his help for a price.

Stay by Allie Larkin
Larkin debuts with a funny and touching story about love, loss, and dog ownership. Twenty-something Van Leone, fresh from serving as maid of honor at the wedding of her childhood best friend and the man Van's been in love with since college, impulsively buys a German shepherd puppy on the Internet while drowning her sorrows in vodka and a late-night Rin Tin Tin marathon. Van's surprised to discover, however, that the little ball of fuzz she's expecting is an enormous Slovakian police dog that she names Joe. The expected furniture-destroying and neighbor-terrifying antics ensue, but Joe quickly becomes Van's family, chief confidant, and romantic catalyst.

Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn
An exciting new mystery series debuts with this first Chet and Bernie novel. Chet the Jet is a dog who failed K-9 school (cats in the open country played a role in his demise), but now he is a dedicated PI and works with Bernie, owner of the Little Detective Agency. The story is told entirely from Chet’s point of view, which will delight dog-loving mystery readers, but the book is also an excellent PI tale, dogs aside, as Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl whose developer dad may be up to no good.

The Highly Effective Detective Goes to the Dogs by Richard Yancey
In Yancey's delightful second mystery to feature lovably inept Teddy Ruzak (after 2006's The Highly Effective Detective), Teddy fails the Tennessee PI licensing exam for the second time and is served notice that he can no longer work as a PI. After shutting down the office, Teddy spots a homeless man on the street and, on impulse, gives him his hat. The next day Teddy finds the man beaten to death in an alley behind his office building. Determined to dig up the truth, Teddy, in his inimitable way, follows the trail. Along the way to a most surprising solution, he finds his life complicated by two unexpected new acquaintances from the dog pound, one four-legged and the other a young woman who finds Teddy very attractive.

Doggie Day Care Murder by Laurien Berenson
At the start of Berenson's warm and fuzzy 15th dog mystery, Melanie Travis, standard poodle lover and dedicated amateur sleuth, checks out the Pine Ridge Canine Care Center in Stamford, Conn., on behalf of Alice Brickman, a mom recently returned to the work force who needs a place to park her golden retriever. On Melanie's second tour of the posh doggie day care center, she discovers the corpse of seriously cute Steve Pine, who co-owned Pine Ridge with his sister, Candy. On Alice's wacky recommendation , Candy asks Melanie to catch the killer. Who cares if Melanie isn't a licensed PI or the local police department doesn't appear to investigate anything? With winning pluck and lots of luck, Berenson's cluehound pursues another cute tail-wagging puzzler.

One Good Dog by Susan Wilson
Adam March is a married father and successful businessman poised to become a CEO—that is, until the day his troubled past catches up with him. Soon Adam has lost his job, his family, and his house and is living in a lonely apartment working off his community-service sentence in a local men’s shelter. Adam’s story alternates with that of Chance, a former fighting pit bull who has escaped, lived on the streets, and is now back at the animal shelter. When circumstances require Adam to adopt and care for Chance, he comes to realize the joy and comfort of animal companionship. Adam’s and Chance’s tale is one of love, loyalty, and determination, as both fight to begin new lives and relationships.

Play Dead by David Rosenfelt
In the sixth Andy Carpenter mystery, Rosenfelt turns his love of golden retrievers into a cracking good yarn. Andy, the New Jersey attorney whose inheritance of $22 million has diluted his work ethic, tends to take a case only when it interests him. When he learns that a beautiful retriever is scheduled to be put down after biting its owner, he decides to represent the dog in court. He is successful, but soon his delight at saving the animal's life turns to amazement--or at least bemusement--when he discovers that the dog may be a key witness in a five-year-old murder.

The Search by Nora Roberts
The latest from Roberts centers on Fiona Bristow, a professional canine search-and-rescue trainer, who moved to Orcas Island in Puget Sound eight years earlier, just after barely escaping from a serial killer. The story opens with Simon Doyle, an artisan cabinetmaker who arrives on the island with a puppy in tow. It's the puppy that brings Fiona and Simon together, and the romance gets off to a rocky start; he's grumpy and plainspoken; she doesn't scare easily. Then a serial killer begins operating within striking distance, and all Fiona's hard-won peace and equanimity begins to wobble.

HONORING FATHER'S DAY:

The Autism Mom’s Survival Guide (for Dads, too!): Creating a Balanced and Happy Life While Raising a Child with Autism
by Susan Senator
Susan Senator interweaves the voices of autism parents, researchers and professionals to offer guidance and encouragement on how to find happiness and fulfillment in the midst of the struggles of raising an autistic child.

Not My Boy! A Father, a Son, and One Family’s Journey with Autism
by Rodney Peete with Danielle Morton
Peete offers not only a heartrending, candid look inside his personal journey with his son’s autism but a first of its kind, inspirational road map that will help families facing similar challenges to move forward.

The Horse Boy: A Father’s Quest to Heal His Son
by Rupert Isaacson
This is a deeply moving, truly one of a kind story—of a family willing to go to the ends of the earth to help their son, and of a boy learning to connect with the world for the first time.

Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction
by David Sheff
Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help.

Dads and Autism: How to Stay in the Game: Bond with Your Child, Develop Affection and Keep the Family Intact
by Emerson Donnell III
Emerson had been a father for only fifteen months, but his instincts told him and his wife Jen there was something very wrong. Nothing would get their son’s attention except spinning wheels. When he looked closely into his son’s eyes, they rolled white to the discomfort of being so physically close. That was the day their world turned upside down.

A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Autism: Stories of Hope and Everyday Success
edited by Colleen Sell
This book is a collection of inspiring true stories that relates the strength, love, and devotion families draw on daily. The stories connect to devoted and courageous parents, giving light to your own child, your blessing.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
by Meg Meeker
Dads, you are far more powerful than you think-and if you follow Dr. Meeker’s advice, the rewards will be unmatched. Because a young woman’s relationship with the father is far more important than we’ve ever realized, a daughter needs her father’s protection, attention, courage and wisdom to become a strong confident woman.

Wisdom of our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons
collected by Tim Russert
What does it really mean to be a good father? Sometimes it is the little gestures that can make the big difference for your child. Heartfelt, humorous, engaging, irresistibly readable, this book is a celebration of the positive qualities passed down from previous generations, bringing with it appreciation for all that fathers do.

Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life: 75 Healthier Ideas for Big Flavor from the Fire
by Bobby Flay
We all need a full and balanced diet to be happy and healthy, so why not make healthy choices and keep grilling for life…Bobby Flay will teach you how to use herbs, spices, heart-healthy oils, citrus zests, juices, honey and vinegars in place of sugary, commercial sauces and marinades. So sharpen your skills by fire and get the biggest, boldest flavor possible from healthy foods.

The Good Father: On Men, Masculinity, and Life in the Family
by Mark O’Connell
Stay emotionally connected with your child by using positive discipline, dealing with spouse’s parenting choices, and using your masculinity to be better and more satisfied fathers.

Big Russ and Me: Father and Son: Lessons of Life
by Tim Russert
Tim Russert learned about American values and the grace of daily obligations and patriotism from his father, Big Russ. This charming memoir of American life in the 1950’s, explores the special bond that he shares with his father.

A Thorn in My Pocket: Temple Grandin’s Mother Tells the Family Story
by Eustacia Cutler
Raising an autistic daughter during the conservative ‘Leave –it –to-Beaver’ world of the fifties, presents more than a challenge to the father and mother. Told from the mother’s point of view, the book explores the triumph of autistic children and their parents over autism.

10 Stupid Things Men do to Mess Up Their Lives
by Laura Schlessinger
Is chivalry dead? Laura Schlessinger explores the mistakes men can make by trying to be overly chivalrous.

Patio Daddy-O: 50s Recipes with a 90s Twist
by Gideon Bosker
Patio Daddy-O brings back all the fun, spirit and nostalgia of outdoor cooking with new twists on classic fare, and valuable tips on barbecuing like a pro for modern times.

Fatherhood
by Bill Cosby
Cosby’s humorous look at fatherhood, includes all the quips for which he is well known. Light-hearted and clever, it makes a good read for Father’s Day!

CELEBRATING MAN'S BEST FRIEND:

How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond
by Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier
For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, says, "Yes, you can raise the perfect dog!" It all starts with the proper foundation in the early years. Here, Cesar tells you everything you need to know to create the best environment for a well-balanced dog in order to avoid behavior issues in the future, and shows you how to correct the most common behavior issues for young dogs.

New Dog: Choosing Wisely and Ensuring a Happy Ever After
by Bruce Fogle with Patricia Holden White
A straightforward guide to welcoming a new dog home. This book establishes a solid timeline for all the key decisions a new dog owner must make, whether adopting a puppy, an adult dog or a rescued dog. Dr. Bruce Fogle provides his time-tested 20 Essential Tips for a Well-Behaved Dog and offers guidance on the 30 most popular breeds (including purebreds, crossbreeds and problem breeds). Careful attention is given to various concerns, such as allergies and urban, suburban and apartment living.

Tales from a Dog Catcher
by Lisa Duffy-Korpics
The title of Duffy-Korpics's memoir conjures up visions of a mean-spirited civil servant netting strays and taking them to a dingy shelter where a dire fate awaits. The author, a social studies teacher, worked her way through college as an animal-control officer in an upstate New York town. Writing in a style reminiscent of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, she recalls her experiences in 22 vignettes that dispel and replace stereotypes with an image of a compassionate individual concerned with animals and people alike.

To the Rescue: Found Dogs with a Mission
by Elise Lufkin; photographs by Diana Walker
In their third collaboration, Animal adoption activist Lufkin (Not Bartlett's) and Time magazine photographer Walker profile the adoptive owners of working dogs, 53 in all, who serve the public and law enforcement officials as certified therapy animals, guides for the disabled, bomb detectors, drug sniffers, and other roles.

The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection between Humans and Dogs
by Jon Franklin
Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Franklin (Molecules of the Mind) draws on a slew of disciplines—evolutionary theory, zooarcheology, behavioral science, ethnology, bio-philosophy and keen firsthand observation—to formulate a challenging but enticingly plausible theory about the psychological leash binding humans and canines.

The Original Dog Bible: The Definitive Source for All Things Dog
by Mehus-Roe, Kristin (Editor) Thorton, Kim (Revised by); Reznick, Allan (Revised by)
The Original Dog Bible is a great overall reference source on dogs, providing information on dog breeds and hundreds more pages on the care of dogs. The second edition brings new chapters, photos, and updated resources. New chapters include “Kids and Dogs,” “Mixes and Designer Dogs,” and “The Problems Surrounding Dogs” (such as dog fighting and puppy mills). The socializing chapter is now separate from the training chapter, which is also considered new. The book will be useful for those deciding on a dog and breed, needing medical or emergency advice on their dogs, and seeking a career with dogs or other animals. The breed guide spans more than 200 pages and more than 250 breeds, arranged alphabetically.

The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training
by Paul Owens with Norma Eckroate
Owens, founder of Raise with Praise, Inc. and a certified evaluator for the Delta Society's Animal Assisted Therapy Program, has written a good, basic, reasonably priced introduction to dog training based upon rewarding "successive approximations" of correct behavior. There are chapters on clicker training, target stick training, and training gear such as collars and leashes; the nine ingredients of canine optimum health (high-quality diet, play, socialization, quiet time, exercise, employment, rest, training, and healthcare); and human-canine communication.

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
by Alexandra Horowitz
Psychology professor and dog person Horowitz was studying the ethology (the science of animal behavior) of white rhinos and bonobos at the San Diego Zoo when she realized that her research techniques could just as easily apply to dogs at the local dog park; there, she began to see "snapshots of the minds of the dogs" in their play. Over eight years of study, she's found that, though humans bond with their dogs closely, they're clueless when it comes to understanding what dogs perceive-leading her to the not-inconsequential notion that dogs know us better than we know them.

Moments with Baxter: Comfort and Love from the World’s Best Therapy Dog
by Melissa Joseph
Moments with Baxter is a collection of touching, true stories about the poignant connection between Baxter, a 19-year-old therapy dog, and the hospice patients and their families to whom he brings comfort and love. During the last four years, Baxter has helped hundreds of patients ease out of their lives with dignity and peace. His uncanny intuition and almost human responsiveness demonstrates the unique and inextricable bond between human and dog. 36 true and touching stories of canine/patient connection.

MATTERS OF FAITH:

Common Word: Muslims and Christians on Loving God and Neighbor
edited by Miroslav Volf, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad Bin Talal & Melissa Yarington
In late 2007 Muslim leaders from around the world together issued in the pages of The New York Times an open letter to Christian leaders inviting cooperation as a step toward peace. The original letter and a collaborative Christian response — "Loving God and Neighbor Together" — both appear in this remarkable volume. All in all, this eventful book encapsulates a brave and encouraging move toward harmony and accord between two world religions so often seen to be at odds.

A Very Brief History of Eternity
by Carlos M.N. Eire
Beginning in the ancient cradle of civilization and ending with the postmodern present, the author addresses both religious and secular notions of eternity in the context of how people throughout time have treated such mysteries and conundrums as what happens after death and the relationship of time to space.

Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures
by Nicholas Wade
Longtime New York Times science reporter Wade deftly explores the evolutionary basis of religion. He draws on archeology, social science and natural science as he vigorously shows that the instinct for religious behavior is an evolved part of human nature because, like other human social traits that have evolved over many thousands of years, the practice of religion conferred a decided survival advantage to those who practiced it.

Jesus, Jobs, and Justice: the History of African-American Women & Religion
by Bettye Collier-Thomas
In her exhaustive and monumental study, Collier-Thomas allows the strong voices of women as diverse as Ida B. Wells Barnett, Sarah Jane Woodson Early (the first black woman to serve on a faculty of an American university), and Mary McLeod Bethune to articulate the causes of liberation and justice in a culture where their race and sex continually called into question their self-understanding. Collier-Thomas demonstrates the ways black women have woven their faith into their daily experience and played central roles in developing African-American religion, politics, and public culture.

Letters from the Land of Cancer
by Walter Wangerin
Prolific writer and teacher Wangerin's diagnosis of lung cancer drove him not to despair but to writing, his usual mode of making sense of things. He tells his family it's an adventure; cancer is his wrestling with God and the big questions, as mortality gets right up in his face. A series of 22 letters—addressed mostly to friends to convey news of his progress.

Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters
by Omid Safi
Who was the historical Muhammad, and how do Muslims remember him—as a holy prophet, a cultural revolutionary, a military leader, or a spiritual mystic? This definitive biography of the founder of Islam by a leading Muslim-American scholar will reveal invaluable new insights, finally providing a fully three-dimensional portrait of Muhammad and the one billion people who follow him today.

Patience with God: Faith for People Who don't like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer
Author Schaeffer adopts a feisty tone in this essay about evangelical Christianity and aggressive atheism. In the first half of the book, he rebuts justifications from both sides, taking aim at the ideas of such celebrity atheists as Richard Dawkins as well as religious leaders like Rick Warren. Schaeffer asks each side to allow for an evolving religion in which allegory takes precedence over literalism.

There is Life After Death: Compelling Reports from Those Who Have Glimpsed the Afterlife
by Roy Abraham Varghese
There Is Life After Death assembles and analyzes a comprehensive range of data on life after death and then provides the framework needed to understand the data. Above all, the book provides exciting and compelling answers to the urgent question: What lies on the other side?

WINTER GOT YOU DOWN? Get away from it all with these great reads:

Two Coots in a Canoe
by David E. Morine
When retired CEO Ramsay Peard, 61, called his old friend David Morine, 59, and asked the longtime conservationistif he wanted to canoe the Connecticut River, Morine said he'd do it under one condition: no camping. "We'll rely on the kindness of strangers." A great story about the mystery of friends and the comfort of strangers.

West of the West
by Mark Arax
These swift, penetrating essays from former Los Angeles Times writer Arax take the measure of contemporary California with a sure and supple hand. Expect the unexpected from Arax's reports up and down the state.

The Ride of Our Lives
by Mike Leonard
Mike Leonard has generously invited the rest of us along for a ride aboard his land yacht, the "S.S.Fiasco." And what a ride it is. Profound and profoundly funny, Leonard takes us on a journey deep into the heart of his family. He has been blessed with characters who are as bizarre, maddening, unpredictable and hilarious as any dreamt up by Hollywood — and they are his real-life parents!

Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage that Redrew the Map of the World
by Douglas Hunter
Half Moon offers a rich narrative of adventure and exploration, filled with international intrigue, backstage business drama, and Hudson's own unstoppable urge to discover. This brisk tale re-creates the espionage, economics, and politics that drove men to the edge of the known world and beyond.

Travel as a Political Act
by Rick Steves
Travel connects people with people. It helps us fit more comfortably and compatibly into a shrinking world. And it inspires creative new solutions to persistent problems facing our nation. We can't understand our world without experiencing it. Steves helps us take that first step.

My Journey with Farrah
by Alana Stewart
Writing candidly about aging, marriage, motherhood, and faith--all topics she and Farrah dealt with together over the years - Alana provides a moving tribute to a woman, once Hollywood's golden girl, and an inspiring celebration of life. My Journey with Farrah is the story of two courageous women who stood by each other through good times, bad times, and now the most trying of times. It is a book that will make people laugh, cry, and rejoice in the power of friendship.

Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska
by Miranda Weiss
In this exceptional book, Weiss, with her boyfriend, gives us an intimate look into the lives of Alaskans living in small coastal communities. Weiss takes us there with her delightful prose style, giving us the feel of the people, the place, and the kind of life that draws nourishment from the land and sea. We can see the textures of the ocean, smell and taste the salt air, and feel the cold crisp snow. We are there as she struggles to fit into the community and make the hardy lifestyle her own.

The Best American Travel Writing 2009
edited and with an introduction by Simon Winchester
Author Winchester and series editor Jason Wilson collect 25 travel essays, from publications including Outside, Slate, and National Geographic, covering everything from wrestling in Bolivia to Arctic distance swimming to the ski runs of James Bond to the problem of "mysterious genital disappearance" in Nigeria. Fans of travel writing will not be disappointed in this latest series entry, which fully supports Winchester's claim that "American travel writing... is better and more stimulating than anywhere else in the world."

TO CHASE AWAY THE WINTER CHILL: HEARTWARMING ANIMAL STORIES:
A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog
by Dean Koontz
Successful novelist Dean Koontz thought he had all he could ever want, until Trixie came along. A retired service dog with Canine Companions for Independence, Trixie became an assistance dog of another kind. She taught Dean to trust his instincts, persuaded him to cut down to a fifty-hour work week, and, perhaps most important, renewed in him a sense of wonder that will remain with him for the rest of his life.

Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Changed the World
by Vicki Myron
One frigid Midwestern winter night in 1988, a ginger kitten was shoved into the after-hours book-return slot at the public library in Spencer, Iowa. In this tender story, Myron, the library director, tells of the impact the cat, named Dewey Readmore Books, had on the library, its patrons, and on Myron herself.

The Dog Diet: A Memoir
by Patti Lawson
Attorney Lawson was depressed. She was overweight but sick of dieting, successful in her career but tired of being lonely. All that changed when she adopted Sadie, a homeless puppy, and redesigned her life to keep up with her new ever-hungry, ever-energetic friend. Sadie ultimately helps Lawson lose weight and feel better about her life.

Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale
by Gwen Cooper
The last thing Gwen Cooper wanted was another cat. She already had two, not to mention a phenomenally underpaying job and a recently broken heart. Then Gwen’s veterinarian called with a story about a three-week-old eyeless kitten who’d been abandoned. It was love at first sight. But it was Homer’s unswerving loyalty, his infinite capacity for love, and his joy in the face of all obstacles that inspired Gwen daily and transformed her life. And by the time she met the man she would marry, she realized Homer had taught her the most important lesson of all: Love isn’t something you see with your eyes.

A Lion Called Christian
by Anthony Bourke
The remarkable story of how Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought the boisterous lion cub in the pet department of Harrods. But the lion cub was growing up--fast--and soon even the walled church garden where he went for exercise wasn’t large enough for him. They took him to Africa with Born Free’s George Adamson to introduce him into his rightful home in the wild. When Ace and John returned to Kenya to see Christian a year later, they received a loving welcome from their lion. Catch the amazing reunion video on YouTube.

Rescuing Sprite: A Dog-Lover’s Story of Joy and Anguish
by Mark Levin
In 1998, Levin and his family welcomed a half-Border Collie/half-Cocker Spaniel they named Pepsi into their lives. Six years later, his wife and son persuaded him to adopt a dog from the local shelter, a Spaniel mix. He was the most beautiful dog they'd ever seen. They named him Sprite. Their lives would never be the same. During the next two years, Sprite and Pepsi were inseparable. And Sprite's bond with the Levin family deepened. A stunningly intimate look at the love between a family and a dog, one that movingly shows, in Mark Levin's words, that "in the end, we humans are the lucky ones."

Saving Cinnamon: The Amazing True Story of a Missing Military Puppy and the Desperate Mission to Bring Her Home
by Christine Sullivan
When Navy Reservist Mark Feffer reports for duty in Afghanistan, he finds an unexpected visitor on base: a stray mixed-breed puppy named Cinnamon. The mutt quickly becomes a base mascot, and morale booster, for the whole unit. At the end of his tour, Feffer is resolved to take Cinnamon home with him to America; unfortunately, he trusts her with a professional dog handler, who abandons Cinnamon at an airport. With Cinnamon missing, Feffer and his family, including the author, his sister, began an international search for the missing canine.

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
by Stacey O’Brien
As a student researcher at Caltech, O’Brien fell in love with an injured four-day-old barn owl and seized the opportunity to adopt him permanently. She named him Wesley, and for 19 years kept, cared for and studied him, forging a tremendous relationship with the still-wild animal, as well as a vast understanding of his abilities, instincts and habits: "He was my teacher, my companion, my child, my playmate, my reminder of God." This memoir will captivate animal lovers and should hold special appeal for Harry Potter fans who've always envied the boy wizard his Hedwig.

Living the Good Life:
Excuses Begone!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating Thinking Habits
by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Within the pages of this transformational book, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer reveals how to change the self-defeating thinking patterns that have prevented you from living at the highest levels of success, happiness, and health. Even though you may know what to think, actually changing those thinking habits that have been with you since childhood might be somewhat challenging.

The Happy Medium: Awakening to Your Natural Intuition
by Jodi Livon
With tips on trusting your senses, maintaining emotional balance, staying grounded, and interpreting signs from the Universe, along with fun exercises to develop your psychic abilities, Jodi's book can help you learn to tune in to your own intuition for higher awareness and guidance in making life's decisions.

The Pursuit of Perfect: How to Stop Chasing Perfection and Start Living a Richer, Happier Life
by Tal Ben-Shahar
We're all laboring under our own and society's expectations to be perfect in every way-to look younger, to make more money, to be happy all the time. But according to Tal Ben-Shahar, the New York Times bestselling author of Happier, the pursuit of perfect may actually be the number-one internal obstacle to finding happiness.

Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life
by Todd Kashdan
Dr. Todd Kashdan offers a profound new message missing from so many books on happiness: the greatest opportunities for joy, purpose, and personal growth don't, in fact, happen when we're searching for happiness. They happen when we are mindful, when we explore what's novel, and when we live in the moment and embrace uncertainty. Positive events last longer and we can extract more pleasure and meaning from them when we are open to new experiences and relish the unknown.

It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been
by BJ Gallagher
Dreams deferred are dreams that die — a process that can take the dreamer along with them. Gallagher believes it's never too late to revisit, and relive, one's deepest desires. Writing in her trademark warm and witty style, Gallagher argues that rather than spend endless time trying to find oneself, one should start creating oneself by returning to basic life wishes.

Walking Tall: How to Build Confidence and Be the Best You Can Be
by Marie-Jose Auderset
Everybody wishes for a bit more self-confidence. This book discusses the five main ways that we judge ourselves: by our sense of security, personal identity, relationship with family, academic standing/accomplishments, and social successes. But there are also other important issues, such as body image and social anxiety and why we care so much about how the outside world views us. Walking Tall helps explain these ideas and fears and, most important, gives teens the encouragement they need.

The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
by Jean M. Twenge Ph.D., W. Keith Campbell Ph.D
The authors argue that the nation needs to recognize the epidemic and its negative consequences, and take corrective action. Individuals can start by practicing gratitude, and parents can teach their children friendship skills, with the emphasis on others rather than self.

Philosophy of Love: A Partial Summing-Up
by Irving Singer
Singer has written 15 works on the philosophy of love, and this latest can serve as an introduction to his oeuvre, a stand-alone survey of the topic or a model methodology for seeking greater understanding.

Play Ball! America's Favorite Pastime:
It was Never about the Babe: The Red Sox , Racism, Mismanagement, and the Curse of the Bambino
by Jerry M. Gutlon
With the thorough research of a seasoned journalist and the zeal of a lifelong Red Sox fan, Gutlon explains why the Sox came up short season after season: ownership chose managers and players not based on their talent, but on whom they drank with; before and after baseball integrated, personal and institutional racism affected their decision-making; and their teams consistently lacked the talent, leadership, chemistry, and luck needed to win championships. Covering the early Red Sox championship dynasty of Ruth, the never-good-enough teams of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Carlton Fisk and Curt Schilling, It Was Never About the Babe is an eye-opening read for every baseball fan.

The Truth about Ruth: Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore
by Peter Handrinos
The Truth About Ruth is an entertaining and informative dissection of these and many more of the Yankees' most legendary stories and personalities. With both sharp analysis and playful wit, baseball historian Peter Handrinos examines the Bronx Bombers' true legacy through the prism of statistics, interviews, humor, and cold, hard facts. Who's overrated? Who's underrated? Which World Series-winning team is the best: 1927, 1939, or 1998? Whether you are a fan looking to settle a bar argument or a serious student of the sport, this book is the perfect volume to amuse and educate anyone who loves the game of baseball.

Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love With the New York Yankees
by Jane Heller
In this witty, observant, and decidedly female look at the nature of the bond between fan and team, Jane Heller goes in search of answers. With her husband as her traveling partner, she literally follows the Bronx Bombers through the rest of their challenging 2007 season, hoping to score interviews with the players, watch every game in every city, and inject some excitement into her marriage. Through interactions with other fans, as well as members of the media covering the Yankees, plus game-by-game analyses, Heller learns personal life lessons about competition, loyalty, and acceptance—and about why baseball, like any truly romantic relationship, requires commitment, patience, and a deep, abiding love.

Stolen Bases: Why American Girls Don’t Play Baseball
by Jennifer Ring
Jennifer Ring questions the forces that have kept girls who want to play baseball away from the game. Stolen Bases also looks at American softball, which was originally invented by men who wanted to keep playing baseball indoors during cold winter months but has become the consolation sport for most female players. Throughout her analysis, Ring searches for ways to rescue baseball from its arrogance and exclusionary entitlement and to restore the great American sport's more optimistic nickname: the people's game.

Bert Sugar’s Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America’s Greatest Game
by Bert Randolph Sugar
This striking volume takes readers deep into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as never before. Since opening its doors in 1939, the Museum has welcomed more than 14 million wide-eyed baseball fans through its hallowed halls to experience the rich history of America’s Pastime. Now, with more than 500 color and black-and-white original and archival photographs—along with engaging and informative commentary by a celebrated sports raconteur—Bert Sugar's Baseball Hall of Fame: A Living History of America's Greatest Game offers a quintessential take-home of the timeless experience of baseball’s spiritual home.

Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero
by Peter Morris
Today the baseball catcher is a familiar but uninspiring figure. Decked out in the so-called tools of ignorance, he stolidly goes about his duty without attracting much attention. But it wasn't always that way, as Peter Morris shows in this lively and original study. In baseball's early days, catchers stood a safe distance back of the batter. Then the introduction of the curveball in the 1870s led them to move up directly behind home plate, even though they still wore no gloves or protective equipment. Extraordinary courage became the catcher's most notable requirement, but the new positioning also demanded that the catcher have lightning-fast reflexes, great hands, and a cannon for a throwing arm. With so great a range of needed skills, a special mystique came to surround the position, and it began to seem that a good catcher could single-handedly make the difference between winning and losing.

Splitters, Squeezes and Steals: The Inside Story of Baseball’s Greatest Techniques, Strategies, and Plays
by Derek Gentile
This fascinating and totally original take on baseball history—packaged in simulated baseball material with red stitching—is a richly illustrated, lively examination of the evolution of the plays, moves, rules, equipment, and strategies that make up the game. Written by sportswriter Derek Gentile, Splitters, Squeezes, and Steals is divided into seven parts: pitching, batting, fielding, baserunning, umpires and management, equipment, and ballparks. Chapters include "The Fastball," "The Hit and Run," "Stealing Bases," "The Hidden Ball Trick," and more—and each play or move is dissected in detail to reveal its history, its execution, and its greatest innovators.

As They See ’Em: Travels in the Land of Umpires
by Bruce Weber
As They See 'Em is an insider's look at the largely unknown world of professional umpires, the small group of men (and the very occasional woman) who make sure America's favorite pastime is conducted in a manner that is clean, crisp, and true. Weber reveals how umps are tutored to work behind the plate, what they learn to watch for on the bases, and how proper positioning for every imaginable situation on the field is drilled into them. He describes how they're counseled to respond -- or not -- to managers who are screaming at them from inches away with purposeful inanity, and tells us exactly which "magic" words result in an automatic ejection.

Yankee Colors: The Glory Years of the Mantle Era
by Al Silverman
Here is an intimate pictorial history featuring rare and many unpublished color photographs of the Yankees from the golden age of the celebrated baseball team. Yankee Colors tells the story of the legendary period from 1949 to 1964 when New York baseball was supreme and the New York Yankees were in the World Series almost every year. Now, this glorious period of Yankees history is captured through the intimate lens of famed sports photographer Marvin Newman. He was one of the only sports photographers of the time shooting in color and capturing the Yankee greats such as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Casey Stengel, and Yogi Berra. Images of regular season games, pennant races, World Series competition, and Yankee Stadium are included.

National Women's History Month:
Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the King and I Governess
by Susan Morgan
Uncovers and competently demonstrates the achievements of an extraordinary Victorian woman. Anna Leonowens (1831–1915) was not the genteel British lady she purported to be, but a low-born, Anglo-Indian army brat who had severed ties with her family in India. A young widow living in Singapore, Leonowens was hired by King Mongkut to teach his wives and 82 children English.

Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt
by Joyce Tyldesley
Attempts to debunk many myths surrounding her legacy. Egyptologist Tyldesley digs deeply into Cleopatra's life, piecing together a unique portrait of her successes and failures. In chronological fashion, the author covers the major historical issues surrounding Cleopatra.

Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners
by Laura Claridge
Award-winning author Laura Claridge presents the first authoritative biography of the unforgettable woman who changed the mindset of millions of Americans, an engaging book that sweeps from the Gilded Age to the 1960s.

Florence Nightingale: The Making of an Icon
by Mark Bostridge.
In this remarkable book, the first major biography of Florence Nightingale in more than fifty years, Mark Bostridge draws on a wealth of unpublished material, including previously unseen family papers, to throw new light on this extraordinary woman’s life and character. Disentangling elements of myth from the reality, Bostridge has written a vivid and immensely readable account of one of the most iconic figures in modern history.

Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres
by Ruth Brandon
In nineteenth-century England, girls were most commonly educated by governesses; the system was also a way of absorbing the country’s "huge pool of spinsters." For upper- and middle-class women forced to earn a living, it represented one of the only respectable employments, and often a dreaded inevitability: This exploration of the lives of six governesses is as entertaining as the contemporary works of fiction such lives inspired ("Jane Eyre" chief among them).

The Journal of Hélène Berr
translated from the French by David Bellos
This journal, which begins in 1942 as the record of a young woman's intense and buzzing inner life, becomes over time a record of human suffering. Berr died in Bergen-Belsen in 1944, five days before the camp's liberation, but her vibrant voice—full of anguish, compassion, indignation and defiance—springs from these pages—as extraordinary a document of occupied France.

Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation
by Cokie Roberts
Recounted with insight and humor, and drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources, here are the fascinating and inspiring true stories of first ladies and freethinkers, educators and explorers. Featuring an exceptional group of women—including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Rebecca Gratz, Louise Livingston, Sacagawea, and others.
Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir
The life and times of the remarkable woman who was mistress and eventually the wife of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, Weir's well-researched, engrossing and perceptive biography gives a gutsy beauty her due while vividly describing the age of chivalry and its many players, including Katherine's renowned brother-in-law, Geoffrey Chaucer.

Mrs. Lincoln: A Life
by Catherine Clinton
Mary Lincoln's story is inextricably tied with the story of America and with her husband's presidency, yet her life is an extraordinary chronicle on its own. Authoritative and utterly engrossing, Mrs. Lincoln is the long-awaited portrait of the woman who so richly contributed to Lincoln's life.

There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters
by Claire Berlinski This funny and opinionated book gives an important and unconventional new perspective on the Iron Lady. In this new biography, journalist and author Claire Berlinski re-examines the life and legacy of one of the most fascinating and controversial figures of the twentieth century, Margaret Thatcher.

Heart-Healthy Relationships:

Becoming a Calm Mom: How to Manage Stress and Enjoy the First Year of Motherhood
by Deborah Roth Ledley, PhD
Having a new baby is a life-changing event that brings both delight and doubt in its wake. The Calm Mom Toolbox includes strategies for healthy thinking, behavior, communication, and decision-making, as well as relaxation skills and approaches to nurturing existing and new relationships. Rather than simply giving advice, Becoming a Calm Mom teaches skills to help new moms function better, and gain more enjoyment from this exciting stage of life.

Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart
by Tara Bennett-Goleman; foreword by the Dalai Lama
According to ancient legends, alchemists use a magical philosopher's stone to transmute lead into gold. In Emotional Alchemy, Tara Bennett-Goleman shows readers how they can use this alchemist metaphor to transform emotional confusion (lead) into insightful clarity (gold). And what does the magic stone represent? "Mindfulness," a lifelong practice that can bring readers more joy and contentment than the gold, according to Bennett-Goleman. "Mindfulness means seeing things as they are without trying to change them," she writes. "The point is to dissolve our reactions to disturbing emotions, being careful not to reject the emotion itself."

Forgive for Love: the Missing Ingredient for a Healthy and Lasting Relationship
by Dr. Fred Luster
Luskin pinpoints forgiveness as the secret to a relationship's longevity and harmony. He defines forgiveness as letting go of anger and despair when your partner doesn't do what you want. His steps toward full forgiveness remind readers that they made the choice to be with the person they're with, and that their partner is flawed and so are they. Luskin’s notion of forgiveness includes such steps as acceptance of a partner's imperfections, recognizing the love he or she gives and committing to the relationship.

Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Lover: 101 True Stories of Soul Mates Brought Together by Divine Intervention
by Arielle Ford; foreword by Deepak Chopra
101 vignettes tell how prayer, mandalas, mantras, numerology, gurus, tarot cards, meditation, numerology, and numerous other paths to enlightenment have brought soul mates together. Most of the tales are of lovers coming together by following their own spiritual paths. A full gamut of ideologies is represented from Christian to Wiccan and beyond. With a foreword by Deepak Chopra and chapters dealing with premonition, love at first sight, love from past lives, and angelic intervention, this book will engage many readers.

I Know Just what You Mean: the Power of Friendship in Women’s Lives
by Ellen Goodman and Patricia O’Brien
In this warm, honest and engaging book, Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe columnist Goodman and novelist O'Brien use their 27-year friendship as a starting point for reflecting on the importance of women's camaraderie. Platonic friendship, they write, matters a great deal: "Women today--with lives often in transition--depend on friends more than ever." Goodman and O'Brien discuss how women listen, talk, care for and empathize with their women friends--and how they compete with and betray one another. The result is an unsentimental tribute to the strength of the authors' relationship. Heavy on insight and light on psychological jargon, this book is an intelligent, observant read.

The Secret Language of Girlfriends
by Karen Neuburger
A joyful celebration of female friendship in all its wild, poignant, and inspirational glory. Karen Neuburger has spent the past ten years collecting stories of love, laughter, and inspiration between girlfriends from the thousands of women she comes in contact with. Often funny, sometimes sad, but always enlightening and uplifting, these testimonials show that in a world where women are constantly being pulled in several directions, they can always rely on their girlfriends to be there for them

Simple Abundance: a Daybook of Comfort and Joy
by Sarah Ban Breathnach
This book features 366 essays penned from a woman's perspective. Sample topics include gratitude, harmony, self-nurturing, positive body image, the importance of scented linen closets, and many others. Each essay sports a quote as a byline. It’s hard to argue with Simple Abundance's earnest admonitions to appreciate life, in all its messy imperfect excellence. Fans of guardian angels will greet these feel-good essays every morning with the rising sun, a cup of mint tea, and a bluebird chirping on the windowsill, and be happy.

Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Passionate Heart
by Christopher Phillips
Christopher Phillips goes to the heart of philosophy and Socratic discourse to discover what we're all looking for: the kind of love that makes life worthwhile. Love here is not defined only or even primarily as eros, but in all its classic varieties—from love of family and love of neighbor to love of country, love of God, love of life, and love of wisdom. He talks with moms and dads about "parent love," with inmates of a maximum-security prison about "unconditional love," with Hurricane Katrina refugees and a family who took them in, and with Japanese seniors and schoolchildren in Hiroshima Peace Park. Throughout, he enriches his dialogues with commentary on the great philosophers of love.

Soul Mates: Honoring the Mysteries of Love and Relationship
by Thomas Moore
Moore tackles soul-to-soul relations, drawing from mythology, theology, literature, his own life, experiences of patients in psychotherapy, and the writings of Marsilio Ficino, a 15th-century Florentine thinker. By far the most invigorating moments come when Moore swims against the tide of current opinion by declaring marriage “a sacred symbolic act,” rather than a financial or social convenience, and by upholding the ancient virtues of chastity and obedience. Underneath it all lies a devout traditionalist, which may explain Moore's great success.

What makes Women Happy
by Fay Weldon
Not only does a woman's happiness stem from only six possible sources--sex, food, friends, family, shopping, and chocolate--it's also frustratingly elusive when it does arrive, lasting only 10 minutes before subversive doubts creep in to undermine any unadulterated joy. Women are their own worst enemies, trapped in an eternal nature-versus-nurture conflict that makes lasting tranquility unobtainable. So why are women so unhappy? Part memoir, part self-help guide, Weldon's theory is completely thought-provoking.

A. Lincoln:

The Age of Lincoln
by Orville Vernon Burton
Burton focuses on the five decades related to the presidency of Lincoln, beginning with the 1840s, chronicling in compelling detail the process of secession, the conduct of events in the course of the Civil War itself, and acts of reconstruction.

Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered
by Barry Denenberg ; illustrations by Christopher Bing
A children’s book conceived as a one year anniversary edition of a newspaper, dated April 14, 1866, strongly evocative of the time and the nation’s mood. The moment-by-moment recital of the events of the day that ended in assassination holds readers enthralled awaiting the tragic end.

Lincoln the Lawyer
by Brian Dirck
This meticulous study of Lincoln leaves aside his well-covered presidency to spotlight his rather pedestrian career as an Illinois lawyer. Dirck's command of legal theory and straightforward prose make this book appropriate even for those without prior knowledge of the law or Lincoln's life.

Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America
by Andrew Ferguson
His new book is part historiography, part travelogue, part memoir and part indictment -- if not of Lincoln, then of some of the modern Americans who devote themselves to preserving his reputation and memory.

Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America
by Allen C. Guelzo
An astute, gracefully written account of the celebrated Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858. These seven debates between two powerful attorneys and statesmen, Abraham Lincoln and Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, starkly defined the stakes between sharply different positions on slavery and union on the eve of civil war and offered examples of serious, deeply reasoned exchanges of views rarely seen in American politics.

Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon
by Philip B. Kunhardt III and Peter W. Kunhardt
An extensively researched, lavishly illustrated consideration of the myths, memories, and questions that gathered around our most beloved—and our most enigmatic—president in the years between his assassination and the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.

President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman
by William Lee Miller
Subtle and nuanced, this study is something of a sequel to Miller's Lincoln's Virtues. Here he examines Honest Abe's moral and intellectual life while in the White House, prosecuting a bloody war.

Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
by Doreen Rappaport; illustrated by Gary Kelley
Despite the obstacles he faced as a self-educated man from the back woods, Lincoln persevered in his political career, and his compassion and honesty gradually earned him the trust of many Americans. As president, he guided the nation through a long and bitter civil war and penned the document that would lead to the end of slavery in the United States. For children ages 9 – 12.

A Lincoln: A Biography
by Ronald C. White, Jr.
In this magnificent book, Ronald C. White, Jr., offers a fresh and compelling definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity–what today’s commentators would call “authenticity”–whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life.

Need to Get Away But Can't?
Curl Up With One of Our Armchair Travel Books:

Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West
by Shannon McKenna Schmidt
Novel Destinationsinvites readers to follow in the footsteps of much-loved authors, discover the scenes that sparked their imaginations, glimpse the lives they led, and share a bit of the experiences they transformed so eloquently into print. If you're looking to indulge in literary adventure, you'll find all the inspiration and information you need here, along with behind-the-scenes stories.

Titanic's Last Secrets: The Further Adventures of Shadow Divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler
Titanic's Last Secrets is a fresh, moving, and irresistible portrait of the doomed ship. Combining insightful character sketches, secret archives, forensic engineering, death-defying dives and suspenseful writing, Brad Matsen travels effortlessly between past and present and offers haunting new conclusions about Titanic: It did not have to happen this way.

Hunting Pirate Heaven: In Search of the Lost Pirate Utopias of the Indian Ocean
by Kevin Rushby
Traveling on an assortment of vessels, the author embarked on a quest to find the old pirate settlements of the Indian Ocean and to track down the descendants of some of the celebrated pirates. Rushby boasts lively characters, plenty of local color, and just a hint of danger. Readers will learn some things, too: the skull and crossbones, the traditional pirate flag according to the movies, wasn't used until about 1700. Rushby's account is perfect for armchair travelers, history buffs, and lovers of excitement that doesn't require one actually to leave the house.

Pint-Sized Ireland: In Search of the Perfect Guinness
by Evan McHugh
Determined to discover exactly what makes a pint of Guinness so legendary, McHugh crosses the Emerald Isle in search of his answers. But in sampling pints as he goes, he soon realizes that in each town, and at every pub, someone always says that the best glass of Guinness is to be found somewhere else. In his comedic and sentimental journey, McHugh and his companion, Twidkiwodm hitch around Ireland, meeting unforgettable characters.

Italy Out of Hand: A Capricious Tour
by Barbara Hodgson
With its genius for art and culture, there is no country in the world as wonderfully civilized as Italy. For centuries it has been overrun by waves of invaders, all contributing questionable bits of culture, and wantonly adding to the confusion. Barbara Hodgson has neatly brushed away the chaos and assembled an treasury of forgotten and overlooked oddities. It is a tour of a country that is too overwhelming and extravagant for most of us to comprehend without a little guidance. Illustrated with a selection of photographs, portraits, and art, it is the perfect companion for those who like their truths to be stranger than fiction.

Venice Is a Fish: A Sensual Guide
by Tiziano Scarpa
Built on an inverted forest, paved with a tortoiseshell of boulders, Venice is a maze of tiny alleys, bridges, and squares. Tiziano Scarpa wanders through the city, recounting the customs and secrets that only Venetians know, providing a treasure map of the senses, and encouraging readers to give free rein to the desires awakened by the island city.

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
by Paul Theroux
Way back in the dark pre-Internet, the way to get from Europe to Asia was by train. A young writer named Paul Theroux made his literary mark by taking the 28,000-mile intercontinental journey via rail from London to Tokyo. His book became a travel-lit classic. Thirty years later, Theroux decided to retrace his steps. The result is a fascinating account of the places you vaguely knew existed (Tbilisi), probably won't ever go to (Bangalore), but should know something about (Mandalay). Get on board Theroux's fast-moving travelogue, which features some of the most astute commentary on our notions of time, space, and each other in the age of jet speed, broadband connections, and cultural extinction.

Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey Through the Congo
by Daniel Liebowitz
This account tells of Henry Morton Stanley's (1841-1904) final journey across Africa, to rescue Emin Pasha (1840-1892), governor of the southern Sudan. During this journey, which began in 1887 and lasted three years, the expedition's intentions were also to expand the territory of the Imperial British East India Company. The authors trace their journey through the Ituri forest of Africa to its success and aftermath.

American Indian Places: A Historical Guidebook
by Frances H. Kennedy
An all-in-one guide to American Indian places, featuring illuminating essays and contributions from leading Indian scholars. This historical guidebook includes 366 places that are significant to American Indians and open to the public. The book is organized geographically and includes location information, maps, and color photographs. More than 275 authorities who know and revere these places have written essay.

The Third Coast: Sailors, Strippers, Fishermen, Folksingers, Long-Haired Ojibway Painters, & God-Save-the-Queen Monarchists of the Great Lakes
by Ted McClelland
Suspecting that Americans living along the Great Lakes have more in common with their Canadian neighbors than their Southern countrymen, Ted McClelland embarked on a three-month-long trip around the lakes. Much more than a typical armchair travel book, this humorous cultural exploration is filled with quirky people and unusual places that prove the obscure is far more interesting than the well known.

Death in a Cold Climate:

Black Seconds
by Karin Fossum
When nine-year-old Ida Joner takes off for town (never named) on her new bike one afternoon and is never seen again, suspicion falls on Emil Johannes Mork, a silent, simple man. Emil, however, doesn't appear to have the heart of a killer. The narrative shifts smoothly among those affected by the tragedy: Emil's beleaguered mother, a good woman with little life of her own; a male cousin of the missing girl who may suffer some secret guilt; and, of course, Insp. Konrad Sejer and his younger colleague, Jacob Skarre. Sejer is a beautifully created character, a thoughtful, lonely man with great empathy. As he investigates Ida's disappearance, it's not so much the facts of the case as the impact of it on the people who surrounded the girl that fuel the story.

The Draining Lake
by Arnaldur Indridason
At the start of Gold Dagger Award–winner Indridason's carefully plotted fourth entry in his crime series starring detective Erlendur Sveinsson (Jar City, etc.), a human skeleton surfaces in the bed of a lake near Reykjavik that's been mysteriously draining away. The bones are tied to some kind of Russian listening device, presumably a remnant of the Cold War. As Erlendur and his colleagues, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli, go about checking on people who went missing around 1970, Erlendur is reminded of the disappearance of his younger brother when they were children. Erlendur's lifelong obsession with the missing provides a haunting metaphor for this lonely, middle-aged man, divorced and alienated from his own two children.

Missing
by Karin Alvtegen
Born into a life of privilege, Sybilla has spent the past many years opting instead to live on the streets of Stockholm, cadging a bed, a bath, a meal, where she can. Her favorite technique -- one she permits herself only as a special treat -- plays out at the Grand Hotel, where with luck and persistence she can usually charm a lonely visiting businessman into buying her dinner and a room for the night. But then she picks the wrong businessman. When his dead body is found the next morning, Sybilla becomes the prime suspect. And when a second person is killed in a similar manner, Sybilla becomes the most wanted woman in Sweden.

The Demon From Dakar
by Kjell Eriksson
Swedish author Eriksson's masterful ensemble procedural immerses the reader in the ordinary and extraordinary lives of detective Ann Lindell and her colleagues of the Uppsala police force. The odd assemblage of characters who engage the interest of the police include a Mexican peasant, Manuel Alavez, who has traveled to Sweden to see his imprisoned brother; a restaurant owner, Slobodan Andersson, whose successful restaurants, Dakar and Alhambra, owe much to shady funds and his unusual partner, Armas; and a single mother, Eva Willman, for whom a waitressing job opens new vistas. There are plenty of shades of gray in this tale told with wry humor, compassion and a fine understanding that in life often things cannot be resolved either neatly or completely.

The Black Path
by Asa Larsson
In Swedish author Larsson's superb, gut-wrenching police procedural, Insp. Anna-Maria Mella and her longtime partner, Sven-Erik Stålnacke, investigate the brutal torture-murder of Inna Wattrang, head of information for Kallis Mining, whose body is found in an ark, a small cabin on runners, on a frozen lake. While the plot offers little mystery, this intelligent thriller carries tremendous emotional heft and makes Swedish society easily comprehensible to an American reader.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson
This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades.

The Glass Devil
by Helene Tursten
Swedish author Tursten's taut third contemporary police procedural (after 2006's The Torso) opens with a compelling setup: after Det. Insp. Irene Huss and her team find Jacob Schyttelius, a divorced teacher, shot to death in his isolated cottage, his computer monitor marked with a bloody Satanic symbol, they visit his parents, Sten and Elsa, only to find them dead as well and with the same markings on their computer. The data on both machines was erased professionally, and the only viable lead, Jacob's London-based sister, Rebecka, is too devastated by the dual tragedy to offer much assistance. Tursten does her usual solid job of populating the novel with credible, flawed characters and bringing to life modern Swedish society.

Frozen Tracks
by Ake Edwardson
Christmas is fast approaching, but life is anything but festive for Detective Chief Inspector Erik Winter. Days of dwindling daylight find the Swedish detective haunted by two puzzling—and seemingly unconnected—sets of crimes. Several university students have been viciously attacked at various points around the city. At the same time, children are being abducted from metropolitan nurseries, a situation that hits much too close to home for Winter, who dotes on the young daughter he shares with longtime live-in lover Angela. Leads followed by Winter and his colleagues take them to the parched prairies of rural Sweden, whose inhabitants are every bit as bleak and desperate as the landscape. Something sinister has happened out here, Winter tells his partner. He can feel it in his bones.

What Never Happens
by Anne Holt
All over Oslo, celebrities are turning up dead in the most macabre of situations: a talk show host with her tongue cut out, a politician crucified with a copy of the Koran stuffed up her private parts, a literary critic stabbed in the eye. It's clear that the killer seeks some sort of retribution, but for what? Adam Stubo and Johanna Vik, recently new parents, are reluctantly drawn into the investigation. As Stubo leads the inquiry, Johanna is exhausted by the new baby. But she is haunted by a pattern she discovers from a time long ago when she was in the FBI, a time she has tried to forget . . . and time is running out to stop the killer from completing this chilling series of murders.

The Pyramid
by Henning Mankell
The five stories in this outstanding collection from Mankell (Faceless Killers) provide glimpses into Kurt Wallander's early life as a policeman as well as paint evocative portraits of contemporary Swedish society. An unremarkable businessman is poisoned in The Man on the Beach but—in typical Mankell fashion—the case is larger, more complex and more interesting than it first appears. In the volume's best entry, The Death of the Photographer, Simon Lamberg takes studio portraits of weddings and children, but a couple of nights each week, he uses his darkroom to distort published photographs of politicians and newsworthy people for a macabre personal scrapbook. It's a bizarre hobby, but the cause of Lamberg's brutal, apparently senseless death is an even stranger puzzle. Like the Wallander novels, these stories rank among the finest police procedurals being written today.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS….THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:

Choosing the President 2008: A Citizen's Guide to the Electoral Process (Choosing the President)
by The League of Women Voters and Bob Guldin
An essential, nonpartisan guide for understanding the process, laws, and issues that impact a U.S. presidential election. This timely guide offers regular citizens and specialists alike sound information on the mechanics and implications of the political process.

Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter
by Rick Shenkman
At a moment when Americans are choosing leaders, Rick Shenkman’s brisk, provocative and vigorously argued book implores us to rethink our roles as citizens and improve our political environment. There could not be a better time for this important message.

Man of the People: The Life of John McCain
by Paul Alexander
An informative, politically astute biography of Sen. John McCain-navy brat, navy pilot, prisoner of war, populist Republican legislator, and presidential candidate.

Obama: From Promise to Power
by David Mendell
A nuanced, compelling look at Senator Barack Obama, a man of idealism and ambition intent on making history.

Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics
by Senator Joseph Biden
Story of the vice-presidential candidate who faced down personal challenges and tragedy to become one of our most effective leaders.

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down
by Kaylene Johnson
In this first biography of Governor Palin, the author draws upon personal interviews with Palin, her family, and other highly placed sources to explore Palin's family life, her upbringing in a devout Christian home, her political rise, and how she went from being a long-shot candidate to--potentially--one of the world's most powerful women and political figures.

The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: Who the Candidates Are, Where They Come from, and How You Can Choose
by Mark Halperin
With intelligence, insight, and his trademark wit, Halperin offers an engaging, in-depth examination of the histories, qualifications, agendas, and personal beliefs of the major candidates.

What You Should Know About Politics...But Don't: A Nonpartisan Guide to the Issues
by Jessamyn Conrad
A breakdown, issue by issue, explaining who stands for what, and why--whether it's the economy, the war in Iraq, health care, oil and renewable energy sources, or climate change. If you're a Democrat, a Republican, or somewhere in between, it's the perfect book to brush up on a single topic or read through to get a deeper understanding of the often-mucky world of American politics.

Baseball...Football:

ONE SEASON ENDS…
Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember
by John Feinstein
The title of John Feinstein's Living on the Black refers to the area on the outer edges of the strike zone where veteran pitchers whose fast ones have slowed to under 90 mph must consistently place the ball. The term also reflects the precarious situation that the New York Yankees' right-hander Mike Mussina and former New York Mets left-hander Tom Glavine were in at the start of the 2007 season.

Still a Kid at Heart: My Life in Baseball and Beyond
by Gary Carter
A grounded, sincere man, Carter has gone on to help kids through the Gary Carter Foundation and worked as a broadcaster and a coach. Now, Carter is the manager for the minor-league Orange County Flyers. Reflecting on life before and after his 19-year career in Major League Baseball, Carter reveals how his hard work, dedication, and love of the game, as well as the love and support of his family, have helped him maintain his legendary youthful attitude.

You Can Observe A Lot by Watching: What I’ve Learned from Teamwork and Life from the Yankees and Life
by Yogi Berra
Notorious for his run-ins with the English language, baseball great Berra has become an improbably prolific author. He and coauthor Kaplan follow up 2002's What Time Is It? You Mean Now? with this charming, if meandering, book about teamwork. In anecdote after anecdote about his legendary career with the Yankees, his not-so-legendary career as a manager, and his days growing up on the streets of St. Louis, Berra shows how respect and cooperation made him a success on the field and in life.

The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox and the Playoff of ’78
by Richard Bradley
Major league baseball was vastly different 30 years ago when free agency and the designated hitter were relatively new concepts, and most games were not televised. But one thing was the same: the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were fierce rivals. In the 1978 season, it all came down to a roller-coaster ride of a pennant race that culminated in one Monday afternoon playoff game to decide the winner of the American League East. Bradley scores a solid hit with his first baseball book, recounting the sudden-death game and the season leading up to it.

Magic Moments: The Yankees
by Phil Pepe
No team has quite the same legend as the New York Yankees. They're the celebrated overachievers--setting records that have redefined baseball; recruiting players whose names are synonymous worldwide with our national pastime--Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Gehrig, Jeter. In nearly every decade, there have been moments and players to celebrate. Discover the magic and relieve the memories in this commemorative look back at the Yankees of yesteryear.

ANOTHER BEGINS…

After a Few Seconds of Panic: a 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL
by Stefan Fastis
Fatsis is dwarfed by any of the NFL athletes who put their bodies on the line. But that doesn't stop him from asking to attend the Denver Broncos' training camp in hopes of learning one very specific athletic skill—that is, placekicking—and not to become an NFL-caliber kicker, but to become a credible one. Fatsis is treated like any rookie, from having to sing his alma mater's fight song minutes after stepping into the locker room to carrying the team's duffel bags and bunking in the hotel with all the other rookies. But his vibrant enthusiasm for improving his kicking ability helps his Bronco teammates accept him as one of their own. With that, the reader gets a glimpse of the true NFL.

Rozelle: Czar of the NFL
by Jeff Davis
Rozelle turned out to be arguably the most effective sports commissioner of all time, overseeing with quiet but effective diplomacy and incredible marketing savvy the joining of football with American pop culture and technology. Davis details the context out of which the modern game emerged, from the postwar band of hard-boiled owners (Halas being preeminent) to the growth of TV sports to key games that moved the sport forward.

Boots on the Ground at Dusk: The Life and Death of Pat Tillman
by Mary Tillman
Tillman, the mother of the late professional football player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, and former journalist Zacchino collaborate for this disturbing story of a mother's desperate search for the truth of her son's death. Pat Tillman constantly defied expectations; following 9/11, he shocked his family and football fans everywhere when he quit the NFL and joined the army rangers. On April 21, 2004, while on a combat mission in Afghanistan, Pat was killed in a firefight.

Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan
by Pat Jordan
Included is an exciting selection of Jordan's profiles of sports legends such as Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Seaver, Greg Louganis, Venus and Serena Williams—each one frank, insightful, and salty—as well as an extraordinary sampling of the pieces with which Jordan made his name: those about athletes who are obscure, unsuccessful, or have fallen from grace. Whether writing about the marginal, the famous, or the infamous, Jordan displays a hard-boiled, highly literate prose and a capacity to convey how the idiosyncratic mindsets of athletes lead to success or failure.

Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL
by Mark Bowden
Bowden tells the story of the 1958 National Football League championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants, a legendary game that proved to be a harbinger of the enormous popularity of pro football over the next 50 years. Bowden writes that the game featured the greatest assemblage of talent ever on one field, including 17 future Hall of Fame inductees. The game, played in frigid Yankee Stadium three days after Christmas, stretched into the evening, garnering the largest television audience in the history of the sport to that time.

Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty
by Jeff Pearlman
In his latest effort, Pearlman (The Bad Guys Won!) tells the story of how the Dallas Cowboys went from being a league doormat to a Super Bowl–winning machine. It's the cast of characters that makes this story a page-turner, starting with controlling owner Jerry Jones; all-business coach Jimmy Johnson, who would cut a player without blinking; and star players Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders. Pearlman explores the many other people who bought into the philosophy that if you were going to be a Dallas Cowboy... you needed to live the life—and that meant, in the early '90s, plenty of infidelity, cocaine, nightly trips to gentleman's clubs and hangovers at practice.

Summer Survival:

The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining: spirited recipes and expert tips for barbecuing, charcoal and gas grilling, rotisserie roasting, smoking, deep frying, and making merry
By Cheryl Alters Jamison
This title says it all!

Bobby Flay’s Grill It!
By Bobby Flay
The Food Network’s grill guru has done it again with 150 simple and delicious recipes in this fully illustrated, full color grilling book.

Closet Smarts : expert advice about finding flattering fashions that don’t cost a fortune, revamping your closet – what to keep, what to toss - what to wear with what, clothes you should never wear and why, filling wardrobe gaps, the truth about color, clothes, and you
By Emily Neill
Tired of last summer’s clothes? Here’s some helpful advice for a wardrobe makeover.

Crafts to Make in the Summer
By Kathy Ross
Presents twenty-nine easy-to-make craft projects with summertime themes for kids ages 4 and up.

The Family Kitchen : easy and delicious recipes for parents and kids to make and enjoy together
By Debra Ponzek
Take advantage of those long summer days with your kids by spending quality time in the kitchen preparing easy, nutritious meals, while teaching cooking skills, and encouraging them to discover new flavors.

50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America
By Marybeth Bond
For girls only: where to bond, celebrate birthdays, heal a broken heart, have an adventurous escape, or just have fun! Golfing, spas, chocolate baths, pampering, art havens, shopping and much more – leave the men and children home!

50 Nifty Super Travel Games
by Kevin Taylor and Joan C. Taylor

Car Smarts : activities for kids on the open road
By Ed Sobey
“I’m bored!” “Are we there yet?! “If I have to stop this car one more time…!”
Keep ‘em busy with these boredom busters and watch the miles fly by!

500 Places To Take your Kids Before They Grow Up
By Holly Hughes
Parents, grandparents, and kids can create a lifetime of shared memories while visiting destinations the whole family can enjoy. Here are cities, zoos, sports shrines, museums, castles, beaches, outdoor activities, and more—500 thoughtfully-chosen places that will enchant and beguile both the young and the young at heart.

The 5-Minute Face : the quick and easy makeup guide for every woman
By Carmindy and Palma Kolansky
Spend less time getting ready and more time out and about looking great, without heavy makeup in the sticky heat! The authors offer a practical, easy, and always successful makeup routine designed for all ages and skin types.

Let’s Take the Kids! : great places to go in New York’s Hudson Valley (including the Catskills, the Capital Region, the Adirondacks to Lake George, the Berkshires and Cooperstown)
By Joanne Michaels
Features hundreds of family activities for an afternoon, weekend, or a whole week in the Hudson Valley region. From picnic spots to riverboat cruises, every listing in this guide is written with a kid's interests and attention span in mind.

The Summer Shack Cookbook : the complete guide to shore food
By Jasper White
Enjoy the catch of the day with these tasty and fun seafood recipes, compiled by a winning chef, complete with helpful tips and insider tricks and techniques. Includes recipes for old time favorite desserts like strawberry shortcake and whoopee pies, to provide a sweet ending to your meal.

Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook : travel
By Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
Just in time for summer travel, this is the most delightfully terrifying, all-true, laugh-out-loud hilarious book which covers such horrors as alligators and quicksand. Don't leave home without it!

Big is Beautiful: Oversized Books:

From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated & Expanded
by Donald Johanson & Blake Edgar
Permitting a face-to-face encounter with human ancestors, this work furnishes
essential information, an incomparable visual experience, and a mulligan for
libraries that missed the first edition.

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
edited by Clair Nouvian
Species from as far down as four and a half miles are depicted in exquisite detail;
most are mere centimeters long, though the giant squid, a timid creature despite
its size, grows to almost 60 feet. Fifteen short, jargon-free essays assembled by
editor and French journalist Nouvian – who became enthralled with the deep after
visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium – flesh out the fantastical images with scientific
fact.

The Elements of Organic Gardening
by HRH Charles, Prince of Wales & Stephanie Donaldson
This volume offers a wealth of wisdom to delight and inspire any gardener. Prince
Charles’s practices, based on a deep respect for nature, can be adapted to
almost any garden, large or small. The Prince is hands-on in his gardens, and it is
this passion that reveals itself intimately to be at the heart of this book.

Islamic Art and Culture: A Visual History
by Nasser D. Khalili
Khalili’s visual history of Islamic art is breathtaking in its complexity, beauty, and
vast amount of information. It is impossible to understand another culture without
delving into its religion, history, and art. Khalili’s book is a portal into the artistic and
spiritual wonders of Islam.

The Sixties: Photographs by Robert Altman
Introduction by Ben Fong-Torres
Those nostalgic for the free love era will revel in this handsome, oversized
collection of gritty photographs by celebrated photographer Altman.

Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
by David Cote
Like the show itself, this gorgeous, full-color companion book captures the magic
and the original excitement of the band’s life and times through all-new interviews
with the band members. It also features the show’s libretto; interviews with the
show’s writers, director, and cast; and over 200 photos from the band members’
personal collections of rarely-seen memorabilia.

Richard Avedon: Photographs, 1946 - 2004
edited by Michael Juul Holm
In August of 2007, Denmark’s renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
presented Richard Avedon: Photographs, 1946 - 2004, the first major retro-
spective devoted to Avedon’s work since his death in 2004. (With stops in
Milan, Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam, the higly-anticipated exhibition concludes
at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art in October of 2009.

Travel: Where to Go When
Consultant editor, Joseph Rosendo
Thirty destinations are presented for each month, with eleven covered in depth.
Tuscany, Italy, is recommended for October, when the grape and olive
harvests take place, and when porcini mushrooms, prized truffles, and other
specialties appear on regional menus.

Go Green:
Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities
by Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon
Green Infrastructure advances smart land conservation: largescale thinking and integrated action to plan, protect and manage our natural and restored lands. From the individual parcel to the multistate region, Green Infrastructure helps each of us look at the landscape in relation to the many uses it could serve, for nature and people, and
determine which use makes the most sense.

The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions: Herbs, Foods, and Natural Formulas to Keep You Young
By James A. Duke with Michael Castleman
Dr. Duke is convinced that almost all plants contain compounds that can slow aging and minimize its effects on the body and mind. In The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions, he identifies the herbs and foods that he believes deliver on the promise of lifelong youth. Some of these plants are familiar, like ginkgo for a sharp memory and garlic for...well, just about anything. Others are just beginning to attract attention, like pigweed to strengthen bones and astragalus to boost the immune system.

Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby
by Lynda Fassa
The very first guide for new mothers in raising a "green" family-and doing it simply and inexpensively. Filled with necessary and convenient advice that takes the reader from the first months of pregnancy and beyond, this indispensable book explains: the safest ways to get the house ready for the baby; the best baby gear-from clothes to crib mattresses; how to keep play areas safe from chemicals; how to handle the diaper dilemma: wash vs. toss,
and much more.

Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Baby Care
by Alan Greene ... [et al.]
Dr. Greene and child safety experts show parents how to eliminate hazards in the home, room by room. They also discuss the perils of daily activities: eating, sleeping, getting dressed, playing, and traveling. Illustrations, checklists, and charts make this user-friendly. Everything from choosing the best diapers to selecting nontoxic nursery paint and organic baby food is offered along with commonsense advice about diaper rash and food allergies.

Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home
by Linda Mason Hunter & Mikki Halpin
Green Clean is the definitive, step-by-step guide to cleaning better while using nontoxic, eco-friendly products. Room by room and stain by stain, Green Clean breaks environmentally conscious cleaning into simple principles and easily mastered techniques that let readers set their own goals and develop their own cleaning plan. Also included are recipes for safe, simple, and economic cleaning solutions and the lowdown on the best eco-friendly cleaning products on the market today.

Green This! Greening Your Cleaning
by Deirdre Imus
Deirdre Imus reveals some of the chemicals we use to maintain our homes are doing us and our families much more harm than good. In Greening Your Cleaning, the first in her Green This! series, Deirdre shows how cleaning house the environmentally responsible way can be as effective and often cheaper than the more traditional, toxic, means.

Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through Earth-and Animal-Friendly Living
by Ingrid Newkirk
If the term animal-friendly living conjures up only images of eating nothing but bland vegetarian casseroles and wearing dowdy cloth coats instead of sumptuous full-length furs, then this practical, comprehensive handbook will go a long way toward dispelling these popular misconceptions by enlightening readers about the many simple ways in which more environmentally aware and cruelty-free behaviors can be incorporated into everyday routines. Newkirk addresses such diverse issues as home decoration, food preparation, vacation destinations, and childhood education.

Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods: Earth, Plaster, Straw Bale, Cordwood, Cob, Living Roofs
by Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan
This absolutely groundbreaking manual doesn't just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step! More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the addition of final-touch interior details. Co-authors Snell and Callahan (a professional builder and contractor) provide thorough discussions of the fundamental concepts of construction, substitutes for conventional approaches, and planning a home that's not only comfortable and beautiful, but environmentally responsible.

Presidents and Wannabes:
Presidential Inaugurations
by Paul F. Boller, Jr.
Paul Boller Jr. examines the events and controversies surrounding Presidential inaugurations. Examining many of the human-interest stories behind the inaugural ceremony, Boller looks at how the President-elect got to Washington, DC, the often inclement weather, the inaugural addresses (most of which are quite forgettable), the swearing-in ceremony, the evolution of the parade and balls, and a host of other interesting aspects of this oft-neglected national spectacle.

Write It When I’m Gone
by Thomas M. DeFrank
In an extraordinary series of private interviews, conducted over sixteen years with the stipulation that they not be released until after Ford's death, the thirty-eighth president of the United States reveals a profoundly different side of himself: funny, reflective, gossipy, strikingly candid-and the stuff of headlines. Here is the real Ford on his relationship with Richard Nixon; Ford's experiences on the Warren Commission; his complex relationships with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter; his startling, never-before-disclosed discussions with Bill Clinton during the latter's impeachment process; his opinions about both Bush administrations, the Iraq war, and many contemporary political figures; and much more.

For Liberty and Glory: Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
by James R. Gaines
At the heart of this story is the complicated relationship between George Washington and Lafayette, the young French aristocrat with republican ideals who came to serve both Washington and the American cause. Gaines shows their relationship as nuanced: both sharing a tendency toward vanity, a thirst for glory, and a need to stand apart from their peers.

A Tragic Legacy: How a Good vs. Evil Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency
by Glenn Greenwald
Greenwald begins by documenting Bush's political collapse and then explores the core beliefs that have driven Bush's decision making, as well as the broader philosophical and political dangers of such strong convictions. He details how the president's absolutist moralistic worldview, the simple identification of good and evil, overshadowed decisions that required more nuanced views in the lead-up to the war in Iraq. Advisors with other points of view were ignored as Bush's strong ends-justify-the-means approach resulted in such decidedly un-American practices as indefinite detentions, use of torture, and preemptive war. This is a compelling examination of how moral beliefs can drive political decisions, with disastrous consequences.

Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum
by Harold Holzer
This series of essays by noted Lincoln scholars, originally presented as lectures at the Lincoln Forum, an annual meeting held each November in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is a superb collection that covers a wide variety of topics and offers fresh perspectives on Lincoln's political views, religious impulses, and some of his more controversial actions as president. Joseph Fornieri examines the basis of Lincoln's moral opposition to slavery.

The Undecided Voter’s Guide to the Next President
by Mark Halperin
They call it a horse race, and in this election the candidates got out of the gate early. But it's still hard to tell them apart and make a choice. Mark Halperin, veteran reporter and political analyst, sizes up the White House hopefuls with intelligence, insight, and his trademark wit, offering engaging, in-depth examinations of the histories, qualifications, agendas, and personal beliefs of the major candidates—including Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson, as well as some "dark horse" contenders.

A Bound Man: Why We are Excited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win
by Shelby Steele
In Shelby Steele's beautifully wrought and thoughtprovoking new book, A Bound Man, the award-winning and bestselling author of The Content of Our Character attests that Senator Barack Obama's groundbreaking quest for the highest office in the land is fast becoming a galvanizing occasion beyond mere presidential politics, one that is forcing a national dialogue on the current state of race relations in America. Says Steele, poverty and inequality usually are the focus of such dialogues, but Obama's bid for so high an office pushes the conversation to a more abstract level.

One Man Great Enough: Abraham Lincoln’s Road to Civil War
by John C. Waugh
Waugh covers the events in Lincoln's pre-April 1861 life, making liberal use of Lincoln's own words, primarily from letters and speeches, and the reminiscences of one of Lincoln's closest friends and associates, his former law partner William Herndon. Waugh shows that although Lincoln embraced white supremacy and opposed interracial marriage and black suffrage during his early years as an Illinois state legislator, he managed to separate those views from his strong opposition to the institution of slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong, Lincoln later said. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel.

Armchair Travel:
A Moveable Thirst: Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country
by Rick Kushman and Hank Beal
Hank and Rick set out to visit all 141 public tasting rooms in Napa during the course of a year and the result is an engaging, often hilarious book that's one part Sideways, one part Frommer's.

Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
by Joan Druett
Druett re-creates the different experiences of the survivors of two wrecked vessels, the Grafton and the Invercauld. Both shipwrecked on opposite ends of the same subantarctic island, and while Grafton's entire crew survived, the Invercauld, fell into arguing and dwindled to three.

Shadow of the Silk Road
by Colin Thubron
Thubron's beautiful prose details his journey through modern Asia along the ancient Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean. Eloquently describing the history, cultures and people along the way.

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List by Patricia Schultz
Schultz has a gift for description and her love and enthusiasm overflow for the places she writes about for the reader. She tells you what is beautiful, fun and unforgettable-everywhere on earth.

No reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach
by Anthony Bourdain
The book traces Bourdain's trips from New Zealand to New Jersey and everywhere in between. It mixes beautiful, never-before-seen photos and mementos with Bourdain's outrageous commentary.

The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
by Colin Woodard
This is a fast-paced narrative that will be especially attractive to lovers of pirate lore and to vacationers who are Bahamas-bound. Includes maps.

Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran
by Jason Elliot
Timely portrait of a country and culture that is precariously balanced between East and West. Elliot captures the rich, complex, contradictory essence of Iran, its history and people.

The Happiest Man in the World: An Account of the Life of Poppa Neutrino
by Alec Wilkinson
Wilkinson, who specializes in portraiture, tells Neutrino's enthralling story of how he has roamed the country. Wilkinson's account of Neutrino's life is filled with wonder, respect, and marvelous literary finesse.

Fried Eggs with Chopsticks: One Woman's Hilarious Adventure into a Country and a Culture Not Her Own
by Polly Evans
Evans recounts her solo trip across China. She includes historical nuggets on the Mao regime and more. She makes an entertaining companion for armchair travelers who enjoy women's magazine-style travel writing.

The Ends of the Earth: An Anthology of the Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic
by Elizabeth Kolbert and Francis Spufford
Stocked with first-person narratives, cultural histories, nature and science writing, and fiction, this book is a compendium of the greats of their fields: including legendary polar explorers and such writers as Jon Krakauer, Jack London, Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

 

CONNECTING WITH NATURE:

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and other Winged Wonders to Your Backyard
By Kris Wetherbee
This well illustrated guide is an attractive and delightful resource designed to help novices develop wildlife gardens that range from easy container planting all the way to planned wildlife sanctuaries.

Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany
By Graeme Gibson
In an eclectic collection of writings that ranges through hundreds of years and across continents, Gibson provides glimpses into the bond humans feel with birds: as parables, natural history, allegory, and mythic guides. The reader will be well rewarded by these insights into avian-human relations.

Divine Wind: the History and Science of Hurricanes
By Kerry Emanuel
Hurricanes are presented in verse, art, history, and science in this gripping, popular treatment, written in exceptionally clear prose by MIT professor Emanuel.

Frogs: a Chorus of Colors
By John and Deborah Behler
With richly colorful photos and compelling, informative descriptions, the authors have written a homage to nearly 5,000 species of frogs. "Frogfacts" in each section furnish fun trivia.

Ice: the Nature, the History, and the Uses of This Astonishing Substance
By Mariana Gosnell
A compendium of the human and natural history of ice. En route through the science, condensed from the technical literature, the author imparts eclectic information through excerpts from poems, adventure and disaster stories, and discussion of ice sports and diversions. An entrancing account for nature readers.

Snowstruck: in the Grip of Avalanches
By Jill Fredsen
An electrifying account of the dangers of avalanches, their causes, their victims, and their victims' rescues, from the author's own vast experiences tracking avalanches and rescuing skiers trapped by them. Fredsen sends a wake up call to those who ski, hike, or drive snow machines through snow-packed peaks and passes, describing the best ways to minimize their risk.

Zamba: the True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived
By Ralph Helfer
Legendary Hollywood animal trainer and behaviorist Helfer writes a fascinating story of his unique bond with a lion cub named Zamba. In training the cub for a movie role, he developed the revolutionary "affection training" method of animal training which is based on love, not fear. The authors bond with his lion becomes a true spiritual connection which will touch the heart of any animal lover.

On Entertaining:
At Home with Michael Chiarello: Easy Entertaining, Recipes, Ideas, Inspiration
by Michael Chiarello
The Napa Valley-based TV chef and author takes his own message to heart in this collection of 135-plus recipes for imaginative entertaining. Chiarello's formulas, for the likes of Grilled Salmon and Spinach Salad with Corn Juice "Zablione," Turkey Osso Buco, and "Short Stacks" with Shredded Chicken and Balsamic BBQ Sauce, do reflect his ceaseless invention; but unlike some other chef's recipes, these are cook-friendlier, with flavors rooted in "homier" Italian and American culinary traditions. His chapter on pasta and rice dishes, with the likes of Lasagna of Roasted Butternut Squash, and Bordetto of Shrimp-Stuffed Pasta Shells, is particularly good.

Do It for Less! Parties
by Denise Vivaldo
Do It for Less! Parties has all the tools you need to plan efficiently and entertain flawlessly when cooking for a crowd. Packed with quantity recipes for 12, 25, 50, or 75 friends and family, this combination party cookbook, decorating guide, and entertaining primer shows today’s savvy hostess how to do it for less time and do it for less money without sacrificing one’s sanity or style.

Everyday Celebrations: Savoring Food, Family, and Life at Home
by Donata Maggipinto
Donata Maggipinto, lifestyle contributor for NBC's Today show, reawakens our appreciation for all that has meaning in life in Everyday Celebrations and shares her sensational craft and food recipes to create heartwarming gatherings at home. Sparkling with style and great ideas, this entertaining book will make every day a special occasion, and every get-together a celebration.

Katie Brown Entertains: 16 Menus, 16 Occasions, 16 Tables
by Katie Brown
Katie Brown provides easy and affordable advice on casual entertaining. Her Katie Brown Entertains offers readers 16 menus for as many occasions, plus table décor and other party projects, including invitations, centerpieces, and favors.

Perfect Party Food: All the Recipes & Tips You’ll Ever Need for Stress-Free Entertaining from the Diva of Do-Ahead
by Diane Phillips
Cooking teacher Phillips includes more than 600 recipes, each one serving 10 to 12 guests, and each containing do-ahead components that can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen (many recipes can be completely cooked advance). The recipes are generally simple, though no less appealing, and include dips and spreads, "small bites" like Pigs in a Blanket and Prosciutto Pinwheels, salads, side dishes, main dishes, breads, beverages and desserts (there's also a chapter on breakfast and brunch).

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over
by Pamela Anderson
Anderson revives the art of entertaining in this unthreatening collection of simple but elegant dishes, following her successful The Perfect Recipe (which won a Julia Child Award), Cooksmart and How to Cook Without a Book. She focuses on moderately easy, stick-to-your-ribs, crowd-pleasing dishes that can be made in bulk (for up to 20 people). Anderson helpfully answers anticipated questions for each recipe: When should I serve it? Any shortcuts? How far ahead can I make it? What should I serve with it? What about leftovers? Throughout, Anderson's easygoing tone and reassuring attitude will relax any nerve-jangled host or hostess. This is not a book for master chefs, certainly, but it delivers solid dishes sure to impress the average dinner party crowd.

Raising the Bar: Better Drinks, Better Entertaining
by Nick Mautone, et al
Mautone, former manager of New York's Gotham Bar and Grill, and Gramercy Tavern, applies 20 years of fine-dining knowledge to the art of the cocktail, explaining how to perfect the Manhattan and the Martini, and bringing herbs, exotic fruits and other unpredictables into the realm of the highball. Beginning with chapters on bar basics and ingredients, Mautone addresses the science of balancing liquor and mixer, lectures on the proper size of ice cubes, and reveals that homemade grenadine is as simple as sugar, water and pomegranate juice. Fifty-two of the 250-plus offerings fall into the "Favorite Classic Cocktails" section, resplendent with standards like the Old-Fashioned and the Rusty Nail. Thus fortified, the rest of the book strives for, and often attains, a level of Falstaffian bliss.

New Biographies:
Bat Boy: My True Life Adventures Coming of Age With the New York Yankees
By Matthew McGough
McGough, a Fordham Law School graduate and New York City attorney, tells the tale of his two years as batboy for the New York Yankees, in 1992-93. It is a pretty story of a boy who made a dream come true and then remembered to live all the parts of it.

Copy This!: Lessons From a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies
By Paul Orfalea & Ann Marsh
A charismatic, heart-warming business memoir that’s filled with life lessons on overcoming obstacles, Copy This! is the story of how Paul Orfalea opened a small copy shop called Kinko’s in 1970 and turned it into a $1.5 billion-a-year company, while barely being able to read, write, or sit still through a business meeting.

Down Came The Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression
By Brooke Shields
In this compelling memoir, actress Brooke Shields talks candidly about her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and provides millions of women with an inspiring example of recovery.

Even After All This Time: a Story of Love, Evolution and Leaving Iran
By Afschineh Latifi
Similar in tone to Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003), this poignant memoir chronicles one family's odyssey through the Iranian Revolution and beyond, as remembered by the author, a schoolteacher, who was also the daughter of a colonel in the shah's army. Latifi's tribute to her family's courage and resilience is a compelling testament to the dauntless nature of the human spirit in the face of all types of repression and adversity.

The Glass Castle: a Memoir
By Jeannette Walls
Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, Walls, her brother and two sisters were left largely to their own devices. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. On the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover.

Hans Christian Andersen: a New Life
By Jens Andersen
Danish biographer Andersen (no relation to his subject) provides a fascinating backdrop for the life of the acclaimed fairy tale writer on the 200th anniversary of his birth. Most readers will be caught up in this smoothly translated, accessible evaluation of a budding genius placed in the context of his time.

No Mountain High Enough: Raising Lance, Raising Me
By Linda Armstrong Kelly
The mother of six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong has managed to turn out an honest, fun and engaging account of her life. Kelly was thrown for a loop when she unexpectedly became pregnant (with Lance) as a junior in high school. She made the most of her limited circumstances, raising Lance alone and relates their trials—as well as the string of less-than-perfect boyfriends and husbands she went through—in a winningly homey and self-teasing manner making for a sincerely heartwarming tale, laced with true Texas grit.

Smashed: the Story of a Drunken Girlhood
By Gail Zailckas
Zailckas is unsparingly insightful and acutely aware of what drinking can and does do to girls. At 24 (her present age), she gave up drinking after a decade of getting drunk, having blackouts and experiencing brushes with comas, date rape and suicide She explains that while kids are taught that drugs are always dangerous, alcohol is perceived as an acceptable rite of passage. Her book is deeply moving, written in poetic, nuanced prose that never obscures the dangerous truths she seeks to reveal.

A Widow’s Walk: a Memoir of 9/11
By Marian Fontana
On September 11, 2001, Marian Fontana lost her husband, Dave, a firefighter from the elite Squad 1 in Brooklyn, in the World Trade Center attack. A Widow's Walk begins that fateful morning, when Marian, a playwright and comedienne, became a widow, a single mother, and an unlikely activist. Written with great heart and humanity, her memoir presents a timely opportunity for remembrance and a timeless testament to love's loss and the resilience of the human spirit.

Will’s Choice: a Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery
By Gail Griffith
In this beautifully written and gripping account, readers learn a great deal about adolescent depression through the experiences of the author, whose 17-year-old son Will attempted suicide by overdosing on the antidepressant drug Remeron. Griffith describes the effect of the suicide on herself, her husband, and Will’s girlfriend. Parents and teens will find it instructive in how to recognize and respond to a child’s depression for positive results.

 

New Adult Fiction Books:

The Ottoman Cage : A Novel of Istanbul by Barbara Nadel
British writer Nadel (Belshazzar's Daughter) delivers on the promise of her American debut in this second outing featuring Turkish homicide detective Çetin Ikmen. This time around, the chain-smoking, brandy-swilling inspector is investigating a young man's murder in an apartment in one of Istanbul's upscale neighborhoods. Nadel's lively characters pop off the page-particularly tech-challenged Ikmen, who recalls Clouseau in his slapstick relationship with his mobile phone-and the author ably evokes the sights and sounds of Turkey, a country where ethnicity is destiny, and the present is shadowed by events of the past. This is a richly textured tale packed with earthy humor and intrigue.

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride
Relentless rain reflects the tormented mood that permeates MacBride's impressive debut set in Aberdeen, Scotland. Det. Sgt. Logan MacRae, back from a lengthy convalescence caused by a crazed suspect's knife attack, is plunged straightaway into the investigation of a brutally murdered child. Logan must eliminate the distractions caused by the sensational publicity and summon his barely restored strength to anticipate the killer's next move. MacBride allows his characters their humanity, while weaving intriguing subplots in this edge-of-your-seat page-turner.

Love @ First Site : A Novel by Jane Moore
Thirty-four year-old television producer Jess Monroe triumphs over the vicissitudes of singlehood with a wry sense of humor and a little help from her friends in Moore's snappy but familiar novel (after Fourplay). The spirited daughter of happily married parents and adoring younger sister to happily married Olivia, fancy-free Jess is looking for the perfect mate. Jess's friends sign her up for an Internet dating service for her 34th birthday, a venture that, not surprisingly, leads to a series of bruising, dead-end encounters. Moore's latest is an entertaining re-tread of the personal growth and happily-ever-after story.

Belle Ruin by Martha Grimes
When twelve-year-old Emma Graham, a waitress at her mother’s decaying resort hotel and now the youngest cub reporter in the history of La Porte’s Conservative newspaper, discovers the crumbling shell of a fabulous hotel hidden in the woods near her small town of Spirit Lake, she never imagines that the mysteries it holds will bring her one step closer to solving a forty-year- old crime—and force a new transgression to light. Highlighting Martha Grimes’s extraordinary range and depth, Belle Ruin is a fitting follow-up to the acclaimed Hotel Paradise and Cold Flat Junction that will continue to enchant readers who avidly follow the adventures of intuitive, calculating, and irrepressible Emma Graham.

Evening Ferry by Katherine Towler
The second volume of Towler's trilogy (after Snow Island) continues the story of a small and isolated New England island, picking up over 20 years after the end of the first book, in 1965. At 33, Rachel Shattuck, a recent divorcée and schoolteacher who grew up on Snow, has lived most of her adult life on the mainland. When her widowed father, Nate, has an accident, Rachel returns home for the first time since her mother's funeral the year before. Towler succeeds in bringing the small island community to vivid life, and the introspective characters are sympathetic.

The Ezekiel Option: A Novel by Joel Rosenberg
New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg brings readers this thrilling new novel. When Russia's richest oil baron is killed, Moscow suddenly teeters on the verge of political chaos. Tehran races to complete its nuclear arsenal. Washington finds herself dangerously divided from her European allies. And in the dead of night, in the hills overlooking Jerusalem, a senior White House advisor uncovers a chilling ancient conspiracy as real as the morning's headlines. Woven through the writings of the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, more than 2,500 years old, are eerily prescient descriptions of modern countries then unborn, modern alliances then unformed, and an imminent day of unspeakable terror. Now, with the clock ticking down to war, two Americans are caught in the crossfire, wondering, Is the last judgment at hand?

The Big Over Easy : A Nursery Crime by Jasper Fforde
Crime lies at the heart of the most innocent-seeming nursery stories: con games (The Emperor's New Clothes), counterfeiting (rumpelstiltskin), domestic violence (Punch and Judy), destruction of property and vigilantism (The Three Little Pigs). Fforde, who in his terrific Tuesday Next books (Something Rotten, 2004) enjoys deconstructing literature (Next is a cop charged with keeping the classics from falling into chaos), here launches a new detective series, set in Reading, England's no-respect Nursery Crime Division (their clues tend to come in threes). Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary are summoned to a trash-strewn and albumen-spattered yard where, at the foot of a wall, lie the mortal remains of one Mr. Dumpty. The British have a rich tradition of nonsense and whimsy, and Fforde is a worthy standard-bearer.

The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth
The many admirers of Airth's impressive debut, River of Darkness (1999), which was an Edgar finalist, will relish his gripping second police procedural, set in 1932. The brilliant Scotland Yard inspector John Madden has retired to the countryside and built himself a new life and a new family, but his tranquil, pedestrian existence is shattered when he stumbles on the battered corpse of a young girl. Evidence soon surfaces that the killing is one of a series that spans several countries, and the trail gets murkier when a major suspect proves to be linked to international espionage. The political ramifications of the murders, which may complicate British-German relations on the eve of the Nazis' rise to power, only add to the challenges the police face in preventing another death.

Forcing Amaryllis by Louise Ure
Ure's debut so compellingly evokes the hot, dry Southwest, readers may want to have an icy-cold glass of water nearby while reading it. Trial consultant Calla Gentry loves living in Tucson, despite the triple-digit heat, and she doesn't mind her job--as long as she can stick to civil cases. Inevitably, Calla's demanding boss insists she take on a criminal case--working for the defense team of accused rapist and murder Ray Cates. For Calla, whose sister Amaryllis was raped and nearly killed, and now sleeps in a coma following a suicide attempt, this task is almost unbearable. In the process, she must reopen the deep wounds of previous rape victims, who are her only hope of proving Cates' guilt. Ure, a Tucson native, clearly adores the city, and she brilliantly depicts its landscape, citizenry, and culture. This could be the start of a very special series.

Dark Harbor by David Hosp
Compelling characters pulse through attorney Hosp's surprisingly engaging fiction debut. Why surprising? Because readers will think they've seen all this before, and more stylishly told: there's a gritty urban center (Boston) menaced by a serial killer (nicknamed "Little Jack" because of his similarities to the legendary Ripper) but protected by a tough cop (prickly police lieutenant Linda Flaherty). But Hosp works some wrinkles on the formula with a terrorist subplot and digs deep for complex portraits of Flaherty and a jittery suspect, lawyer Scott Finn. Finn was the last known person to see Natalie Caldwell, the killer's latest victim, alive: they were colleagues at the prestigious law firm as well as former lovers.

American History Books:

The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West
by Joel Achenbach
The story of Washington's ambitions for the brand-new republic that he had fought so hard to create. His western journey culminates in a breathtaking scheme: Washington, with the help of Thomas Jefferson, will transform the Potomac River into a commercial artery that will link the new West to the old East. The future of the Union, Washington believes, depends on the Potomac route to the West, which will bind the country to one enterprise.

Light and Liberty : Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness
by Thomas Jefferson, Edited by Eric Peterson
Were Thomas Jefferson alive to read this book, he would recognize every sentence, every elegant turn of phrase, every lofty, beautifully expressed idea. Indeed, every word in the book is his. In an astonishing feat of editing, Eric S. Petersen has culled the entirety of Thomas Jefferson’s published works to fashion thirty-four original essays on themes ranging from patriotism and liberty to hope, humility, and gratitude. The result is a lucid, inspiring distillation of the wisdom of one of America’s greatest political thinkers.

Dred and Harriet Scott: A Family's Struggle for Freedom
by Gwenyth Swain
A well-researched and engaging account of the life and struggle of two slaves who fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court for their freedom. The book traces Scott's life from his earliest days as a slave through his travels around the United States and its territories. After Dred and Harriet married and started a family, they decided to appeal to the courts for their freedom. Although the Scotts did not gain their freedom, the case added more fuel to the fire that would eventually engulf the country in the Civil War.

Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 :
How Americans Lived During the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
by David E. Kyvig
In this fascinating book, David Kyvig describes everyday life in the 20s-40s decade, when automobiles and home electricity became commonplace, and radio and the movies became popular. The details of work life, domestic life, and leisure activities make engrossing reading and brings the era clearly into focus.

No Greater Glory :
The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II
by Dan Kurzman
In the Battle of the Atlantic's catalog of tragedies, the 1943 sinking of an American troop transport stands out as a heroic vignette witnessed by survivors. They recounted how four chaplains, after pressing their life jackets on terrified young men, went down with the ship, praying. The chaplains have been commemorated over the years in various media but never in so comprehensive a fashion as in Kurzman's book.

The Most Fearful Ordeal :
Original Coverage of the Civil War by Writers and Reporters of The New York Times
by James M. McPherson
The format of depicting a war through coverage by war correspondents is now effectively applied to the American Civil War in this collection of New York Times articles on major events from John Brown at Harper's Ferry to Lincoln at Ford's Theatre. Noteworthy is the amount of rumor, innuendo, and downright fancy that even the best correspondent could spread... and considerable was the effect of that state of reportage on public opinion and individuals' states of mind.

The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin &Eleanor, the King & Queen of England...
by Will Swift
Comparative politics involving Great Britain and the United States during the 20th century forms the background for this book, which traces the lives of two couples, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. British amateur historian Swift elucidates the monarchical aspect of World War II, which is typical slighted; accounts tend to focus on the American presidency and the British prime ministership.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors :
The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
by James D. Hornfischer
This piece of World War II naval history reads like a particularly good novel. It is an account of the October 1944 battle off Samar, in which a force of American destroyers and escort carriers drove off a Japanese fleet at least 10 times its strength. The struggle was a part of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was the beginning of the campaign to liberate the Philippines.

Gettysburg: You Are There
by Robert Clasby
Essentially a colorful Civil War reenactment in book form, this volume uses photos and digital technology to reconstruct realistic and detailed images of key scenes in the battle. Well-selected photographs show each location as it was in 1863 and as it is today, along with some scenes from the 1880s. The digital reconstructions are the heart of the book, its most novel feature and the one likely to draw the most comment. On the whole, that comment should be favorable...

A History of New York
by Francois Weil
This compelling, single-volume history takes on the New York of myth and offers an original analysis of how it actually developed into a global city -what some have called the capital of the twenty-first century. Founded in the 1620s as New Amsterdam, New York City maintains a perpetual and uneasy tension between capitalism and multiculturalism. The book shows how, over the course of nearly four centuries, this tension has been at the heart of the city´s immense physical, social, economic, and cultural transformation as well as of American notions of what urban "space" is, for whom it exists, and how it is used.

 

Books with Musical Themes:

Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and the Rise and Fall of American Soul
by Craig Hanson Werner
Werner's exquisite prose and his richly informed music history offer a deeply felt love letter to three of soul music's greatest. -- Publisher's Weekly

Jazz Styles
by Mark C.Gridley
This is a wonderful text about jazz appreciation, focusing on American instrumental jazz and styles rather than time periods. -- Publisher's Weekly

Latin Beat: the Rhythms and Roots of Latin Music from Bossa Nova toSalsa and Beyond
by Ed Morales
For everyone who has fallen in love with Latin music this is a guide to its many styles that also traces its place in American music and culture.

MakingIt in the Music Business: The Business and Legal Guide for Songwriters and Performers
by Lee Wilson
This book contains valuable practical advice songwriters and performers need to survive and thrive in today's competitive music industry.

Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs
by Jack Perricone
This guide unlocks the secrets of hit songs, examining them and revealing why they succeed. Fine-tune your craft and start writing hits!

Music Festival Guide: for Music Lovers and Musicians.
by Jon Pruett
This book covers 600 music festivals worldwide with lively descriptions of festivals of all manner, size and form.

New York Times Essential Library: Classical Music: A Critics Guide to the 100 Most Important Recordings
by Allan Kozin
It's always a tricky task to pick a list with as sweeping a title as this, but Kozin has managed to get the classics and more contemporary works as well. -- Publisher's Weekly

NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music
by Tim Smith
This volume includes major composers and performers. It also discusses the language of classical music and listening resources.

What to Listen for in Music
by Aaron Copland
This book owes its success to its simple jargon-free language and engaging style. This is an excellent guide for the novice. -- Library Journal

World Music: A Very Short Introduction
by Philip Bohlman
This book draws readers into a range that shows the power to evoke the exotic and give voice to the voiceless.

Health/Medical Books:

The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness
by Jerome Groopman, Md.
In this provocative book, New Yorker staff writer and Harvard Medical School professor Groopman (Second Opinions; The Measure of Our Days) explores the way hope affects one's capacity to cope with serious illness. Groopman successfully convinces that hope can offer not only solace but strength to those living with medical uncertainty. -- Publisher's Weekly

The Anti-Aging Solution: 5 Simple Steps to Looking & Feeling Young
by Vincent Giampapa, Ronald Pero & Marcia Zimmerman
Anti-aging expert Giampapa (Quantum Longevity), DNA researcher Pero and nutritionist Zimmerman present a five-step program that claims to reverse the aging process because it "attacks aging at its genetic roots with a comprehensive plan." --

Beautiful Bones without Hormones
by Leon Root, Md. & Betty Kelly Sargent
Osteoporosis, often called "the silent killer," affects both men and women. This is a practical, how-to book that lists the new bone-building medications available and provides readers with a 14-day, healthy, high-calcium diet; a seven-day, healthy, high-calcium diet for vegetarians; and one for the lactose-intolerant as well. -- Publisher's Weekly

His Brother's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine
by Jonathan Weiner
When Stephen Heywood, a 29-year-old carpenter, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease), his older brother, Jaime, launched his own research project to search for a cure. Weiner can't give readers a happy ending for Stephen, but he can—and does—offer a powerful account of equal parts ambition and hope. -- Publisher's Weekly

Learning Sickness: A Year with Crohn's Disease
by James M. Lang
The author James M. Lang is a professor of English at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. His frank, intimate chronicle of the worst year of his life details suffering the pain and the ignominy of a severe bout of Crohn's, and it shares invaluable, hard-earned wisdom about how anyone with a debilitating disorder may learn to accept the cards he or she has been dealt and get on with living. -- Booklist

A Man After His Own Heart: A True Story
by Charles Siebert
This compelling and complex narrative is based on a New York Times Magazine story by Siebert (Wickerby: An Urban Pastoral) that recounted his involvement with a team of surgeons who "harvested" a human heart from a recently dead person and transplanted it into a waiting recipient. What has evolved from that essay is a combination memoir, biography, science essay, medical history, social study, mythological exploration; above all, it is an excellent piece of journalism. -- Publisher's Weekly

The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle
by Eric Lax
In this fluent, entertaining report on the history of the arguably most significant medical discovery of the twentieth century, Lax delves into the lives of the colorful scientists who played significant roles in developing the antibiotic. -- Booklist

The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health
by Paul F. Campos
The recent bowwow about rampant obesity shortening Americans' lives conflicts with the fact that Americans enjoy the longest life expectancy of any industrialized nation's populace. Campos shines a beacon on the deadly irony of America's obsession--unjustified, unrealistic, and downright unhealthy--with thinness. -- Booklist

Should I Be Tested for Cancer?: Maybe Not and Here's Why
by H. Gilbert Welch
Welch, a specialist in cancer detection, challenges common knowledge about everyday screenings, such as mammograms and PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests, citing patient anecdotes and research data on the most commonly diagnosed cancers in this readable, thought-provoking book. -- Booklist

Taking on Heart Disease: Peggy Fleming, Brian Littrell, et al, Reveal How They
Triumphed Over the Nation's #1 Killer -- And How You Can, Too!
by Larry King
Since King underwent quintuple bypass surgery in 1987, he has worked hard to convey the message that people can fight heart disease if they are willing to change their lifestyle. That's the lesson from this collection of stories from more than a dozen celebrities in the entertainment, sports and political world.
-- Publisher's Weekly

Earlier Book Lists:

March Upcountry by David Weber
Everything seems normal; even dull: Prince Roger MacClintock is making an obligatory visit to a distant planet for a ceremonial appearance. And then the unthinkable occurs: A crash leaves him and his guardian Royal Marine on a hostile planet. Now, to survive, the prince must become a man. (Barnes and Noble) Sequels: March to the Sea, March to the Stars

Green Rider by Kristen Britain
Young heroine Karigan hardly has time to regret being expelled from school (for dueling) before finding herself committed to the desperate errand of a murdered Green Rider...(Amazon.com) Sequel: First Rider's Call

Germ Line by Nelson Erlick
Dr. Kevin Kincaid is on the verge of a major breakthrough. He has developed a biological vector that can introduce new genes into the DNA of unborn children-and all their descendants. He hopes to eradicate a wide variety of genetic defects, but others see more sinister uses for this new technology.(Book description)

The Poison Master by Liz Williams
When the ruling aliens known as the Lords of Night take Alivet Dee's twin sister into their service, the young alchemist accepts the task of accumulating enough money to buy her sister's freedom. Accused of murdering a client, Alivet accepts a proposition from a mysterious stranger whose promise to help her may also result in her death. (Library Journal)

Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
Imagine two parallel worlds. In one, not unlike our own, homo sapiens dominate. In the other, Neanderthals rule. Both civilizations have achieved impressive levels in culture and in science, but they remain quite different. When a Neanderthal physicist is popped accidentally into "our" world, he becomes a captive and the target of intense curiosity. How both species cope with this strange insertion is the subject of this novel, the first in a projected trilogy. (Barnes and Noble) Sequels: Humans, Hybrids

Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon
Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world. (Tom Doherty and Associates) Sequels: Prophecy, Destiny, Requiem for the Sun

On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Life of Sir Christopher Wren
by Lisa Jardine
Through the prism of the tumultuous life and brilliant intellect of Sir Christopher Wren, the multitalented architect of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, historian Lisa Jardine unfolds the vibrant, extraordinary emerging new world of late-seventeenth-century science and ideas. The man behind the bold, imposing beauty of Saint Paul's was as remarkable as the monuments he has left us.

The Degaev Affair: Terror & Treason in Tsarist Russia
by Richard Pipes
The organization People's Will, which was responsible for the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881, is pertinent not only to the genealogy of Russian radicalism but also, as one of its earliest modern exponents, to the practice of a terrorist. In one member of the People's Will, eminent historian Pipes has found a roiling theater of the inner psychology of terrorism. From a comfortable Muscovite family, Sergei Degaev was, like many students of the time, sympathetic to the People's Will. As well as a true-crime account, Pipes offers shrewd insights about the revolutionary mind. Gilbert TaylorCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur & Orville Wright
by Noah Adams
Adams, cohost of NPR's All Things Considered and author of Piano Lessons, sets out to learn about the Wright Brothers, their family and why they loved to fly so much. Adams visits all the spots important to the brothers, from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where they flew gliders, to France; Dayton, Ohio; and New York. The most appealing part of the book is the look at the close relationship between Orville, Wilbur and their sister Katherine.
-- Publishers Weekly

Love & Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, & the Heart of a New Nation
by David Price
This sparkling book retells a beloved tale in modern terms. Price relates the entire riveting story of the founding of Virginia. Smith is of course at the center of the tale, because rarely did a colonial leader so bountifully combine experience, insight, vision, strength of character and leadership skills to overcome extraordinary odds. The book's leitmotif is the interaction of differing cultures and men, like the British gentry, whom Smith scorned for refusing to adapt to hard colonial labor, and the wily Indians, who resorted to starving out the colonists and in 1622 massacred many of them.
-- Publishers Weekly

The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, & Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism
by James McGrath Morris
Today, seventy-three years after his death, journalists still tell tales of Charles E. Chapin. As city editor of Pulitzer’s New York Evening World, Chapin was the model of the take-no-prisoners newsroom tyrant. In 1918, at the pinnacle of fame, Chapin’s world collapsed. Facing financial ruin, sunk in depression, he decided to kill himself and his beloved wife Nellie. On a quiet September morning, he took not his own life, but Nellie’s, shooting her as she slept. After his trial—and one hell of a story for the World’s competitors—he was sentenced to life in the infamous Sing Sing Prison.

Pushkin: A Biography
by T.J. Binyon
This work won the Samuel Johnson nonfiction prize in Britain, and it's easy to see why: it's a fascinating treatment of an equally fascinating subject. By chronicling Pushkin's literary successes and his personal failures, Binyon draws a compelling portrait of the writer and his milieu. One of Russia's most celebrated authors, Pushkin (1799-1837) lived a life as captivating as his poems and stories. -- Publishers Weekly

Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened the East
by Giles Milton
Milton focuses on the exploits of another undiscovered historical personage to center a more expansive story. The individual is William Adams, and the larger narrative is the developing trade relationship between Japan and Western Europe. Adams arrived in Japan in 1600 after a death-defying 20-month voyage. Over the next two decades, he embraced Japanese culture, learned the language and rose to prominence in the court of the reigning Shogun, Ieyasu. -- Publishers Weekly

Among Stone Giants: The Life of Katherine Routledge & Her Remarkable Expedition to Easter Island
by Jo Anne Van Tilburg
Katherine Routledge (1866-1935) arrived at Easter Island, leading an anthropological and archeological expedition with her husband, William Scoresby Routledge, to investigate the origins of the island's mysterious giant statues. Although she made several critical discoveries about the Rapa Nui culture during her 17 months of research, the expeditionary force was wracked by internal tensions, and she found herself caught up in a native uprising led by a charismatic prophetess. -- Publishers Weekly

That Man: An Insider's Portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt
by John Q. Barret (Editor), William E. Leuchtenburg, Robert Houghwout Jackson
Robert H. Jackson was one of the ultimate FDR insiders. Nominated by Roosevelt to the Supreme Court as an associate justice in 1941, Jackson had previously served the president as attorney general, solicitor general and in other posts. More importantly from the standpoint of this book, FDR and Jackson were great personal friends. Through Jackson's informed lens, we are shown FDR as president, politician, lawyer, commander-in-chief, administrator, populist leader and companion. -- Publishers Weekly

Mary, Queen of Scots & the Murder of Lord Darnley
by Alison Weir
Mary, Queen of Scots has for centuries fascinated historians and the general public, her life involving murder, rape, adultery, abdication, imprisonment and execution. In bestselling historian Weir's able hands, we see the young Catholic queen ruling over Protestant Scotland and a group of unruly nobles. Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley, participated in the 1566 murder of Mary's favorite adviser, David Rizzio. Darnley himself was murdered the next year, and some historians have claimed that Mary plotted his death so she could marry her lover, Bothwell. But Weir argues convincingly that the evidence against Mary is fraudulent.-- Publishers Weekly

The Lady Godiva Murder by Laurie Moore
Cezanne Martin has had it rough-she made it through her rookie year as a Fort Worth, Tex., cop; survived a disastrous affair with a colleague who neglected to mention his unbalanced wife; and managed to see the silver lining in having crusty Roby Tyson, a longtime veteran of the force, as her partner. Yet her world is turned upside-down with the Lady Godiva case, where the lady in question is none other than the captain's daughter and Roby's secret lover. Cezanne has handily earned a spot among contemporary female crime solvers like Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, Grafton's Kinsey Millhone and Garcia-Aguilera's Lupe Solano. --from Publishers Weekly

Alice in Exile: A Novel by Piers Read
By critically acclaimed author Piers Paul Read, Alice in Exile is an exquisite historical novel featuring Alice Fry-a free-thinking and independent-minded woman in a world ruled by men-and the two men who love her. Alice in Exile is Piers Paul Read's triumphant return to the fiction for which he is widely hailed-romantic, dramatic, and rich with historical detail and fascinating characters that make Alice's story an enchanting and unforgettable read. -- from Amazon

The Lost Army of Cambyses by Paul Sussman
Sussman's accomplished first thriller mixes an ancient legend of an invading Persian army swallowed up by a sandstorm in the Egyptian desert with the explosive politics of modern Egypt. Sussman, who works on excavations in Egypt, has created a textured, well-researched and expertly paced debut. As the murders and thrills accumulate, the story veers toward melodrama, but the truly inventive plot twists come along at such a fast clip that readers won't mind. -- from Publishers Weekly

The Usual Rules: A Novel by Joyce Maynard
Wendy, the 13-year-old heroine of Joyce Maynard's The Usual Rules, lives in a happy, haphazard Brooklyn household with her dancer/secretary mom, her jazz musician stepfather, and her eccentric little brother. Life for Wendy is fraught with the usual teen angst until September 11, when her mom heads off to work at the World Trade Center and never comes home. -- from Amazon

Life Sentence by David Ellis
Ellis follows up the success of his debut legal thriller, the Edgar Award-winning Line of Vision, with an equally intricate and intelligent murder puzzle that feels like it's 100% plot, laid out with clean precision. First-person narrator Jon Soliday, workaholic legal counsel and best friend to state senator Grant Tully, lands in the middle of three homicide mysteries (and an oblique blackmail attempt) in the first 75 pages. -- from Publishers Weekly

A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel
Luna McGraw has reached a turning point: she has remained sober for four years and now her beloved teenage daughter, Joy, is coming to live with her in Taos, New Mexico. What she doesn't need is a relationship with a man, but that seems to be happening after she rescues an elderly neighbor from a house fire and runs into the woman's grandson. -- from Booklist

Wolf Pass: A Novel by Steve Thayer
Thayer brings back Deputy Sheriff P.A. Pennington of Kickapoo County, Wis. (hero of last year's The Wheat Field), who singlehandedly solves a set of sniper murders in which he is the chief suspect. The thriller is set in 1962, when Pennington is running for sheriff. This fast-paced, sexy suspense novel also offers a snapshot of postwar ethnic and social rivalries in the bucolic fictional Wisconsin county. -- from Publishers Weekly

Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
This debut thriller should come with a warning--do not pick up if you have anything else planned for as long as it takes to read it! Tropic of Night is a dramatic, stylish, smart, and very strongly plotted novel, mixing anthropology, ethnography, sorcery, mayhem, and murder in an intriguing and wholly captivating story that ranges from Mali to Siberia, Nigeria to Miami, and never lets up. -- from Amzon

The Deed: A Novel by Keith Blanchard
Jason Hansvoort lives an all-too-common 20-something existence: he has an unfulfilling job at an uncaring corporation, too many evenings spent in bars with friends, and a string of one-night stands to his credit, but very little direction in life. Then the beautiful Amanda, a Native American law student, finds him and tells him he may stand to inherit Manhattan Island if a 350-year-old deed can be found. -- from Booklist

The Chestnut Tree: A Novel of the Women of World War II by Charlotte Bingham
British writer Bingham follows the lives of four women from the fishing village of Bexham during World War II. The reaction of the men of Bexham to the abrupt emancipation of women during war and the women's perspective on this change shape much of the story as Bingham's quartet of women show breathtaking courage, suffer sorrow, find joy, and together create a haunting, distinctly female portrait of war. -- from Booklist

Painting Rooms: How to Choose & Use Color Like an Expert
by Judy Ostrow
For the cost of several cans of color and a few simple tools, you have the power to transform an ordinary room into something memorable, beautiful, and comfortable. Available in an almost infinite rainbow of colors, paint has become the most easily obtainable, versatile, and economical decorating medium.
--from the introduction

Cooking Spaces: Designs for Cooking, Entertaining, and Living
by Helen Thompson, Anna Kasabian
This is a wonderful book showing a wide range of kitchen styles from modern to country and blue and white to classical. It explains design secrets that help you create a beautiful, yet practical cooking space.
--from a Cleveland, Ohio, reviewer

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating
by Christopher Lowell
Now, the most popular and colorful personality on the Discovery Channel brings his proven Seven Layers of Design system to readers in a lively blend of design theory and hands-on advice for do-it-yourself projects. In this book, as on his program, Lowell brings his humor, wit, and charm to a host of decorating projects and ideas, making them simple, fun, and rewarding.

Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings
by Linda Hallam, editor
Much of this book provides a look at homeowners' decorating schemes in a variety of styles, such as traditional, mid-century modern, and southwestern, through numerous color photographs captioned with budget-stretching tips and the homeowners' decorating tips.
--from Library Journal

Grand Finishes for Tile: Home Installation Projects 101
illus. by Matt Nikitas, Amy Evans, Ronald Monk
Nikitas, author of several excellent titles on finishing techniques, has produced a helpful introduction to tile installation. Written in a readable style, this title provides a variety of information about tools, selecting tile, designing, installation (including area-specific instructions for floors, walls, and counters), and maintenance.
--from Library Journal

Nell Hill's Style at Home
by Nell Hill
A fabulous home furnishings store in Atchison, Kansas? And one where 95 percent of its customers drive more than 50 miles? Stranger things have happened--but Garrity's store, named after her maternal grandmother, is all of that and more. Each of her five major tenets--layer, tell a story through displays, update with fabric, anything can be a wall, and home-ize your house--is explained well (with the help of coauthor Caldwell) through color photographs and a bit of text.
--from Booklist

Reader's Digest Complete Book of Home Decorating: Inspiring Ideas and
Practical Techniques for Making Your House Your Home
Tackling the field of home decorating, the editors of Reader's Digest provide a comprehensive, well-thought-out book whose five sections planning, style, color, decorating options and practical instructions cover everything needed to revamp a home.
--from Publishers Weekly

The Bathroom Planner: Hundreds of Great Ideas for Your New Bathroom
by Suzanne Ardley
The Bathroom Planner is full of practical advice and handy tools that will help readers looking to update their bathroom--or completely remodel it--find the perfect design.

Get the Look: How to Be a Stylist in Your Own Home
by Rebecca Tanqueray
Get the Look is an insider guide to the tricks of the home stylist’s trade, showing you how to create chic interiors simply and inexpensively. Complete with 300 tips and ideas, 20 “quick fix” projects, and 150 stunning color photos.

Trade Secrets from Use What You Have Decorating
by Lauri Ward
Ms. Ward provides a foundation of unassailable basics, from decorating to streamlining a room overstuffed with paintings and photographs.
--from the New York Times

Sounds of the River: A Memoir
by Da Chen
This is a beautifully written account of the experiences of a college student from a rural village in China who studied English in Beijing and eventually emigrated to the United States. While Da Chen describes unique aspects of the Chinese political and social environment, the story he tells is universal, involving the struggles to work hard, survive on very little money, separate from the family sphere, and deal with situations beyond one's immediate control.

Time Traveler: In Search of Dinosaurs & Ancient Mammals from Montana to Mongolia
by Michael J. Novacek
Transporting readers to dinosaur excavations across the globe, paleontologist Novacek (Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs) offers a spellbinding natural history of our planet, as well as the equally fascinating story of how he fell into the profession.
"Armchair travelers and paleontologists in training, to say nothing of readers going through a dinosaur phase of their own, will take much pleasure in Novacek's journeys into his--and the planet's--past." --Gregory McNamee

London: The Biography
by Peter Ackroyd
Novelist and biographer Ackroyd offers a huge, enthralling "biography" of the city of London. Ackroyd examines London from its pre-history through today, artfully selecting, organizing and pacing stories, and rendering the past in witty and imaginative ways.

A House in Corfu: A Family's Sojourn in Greece
by Emma Tennant
Exercise caution when reading this book--it's likely to induce a serious longing to hop on the next flight to Greece. British novelist Tennant's parents succumbed when, taking a Greek island cruise in the early 1960s, they impulsively decided to buy some land on Corfu and build a house. Tennant relays the challenges--primitive building methods, brackish water, the islanders' relaxed sense of time--but these turn out to be minor inconveniences compared to the sheer beauty of the place.

Venice: Lion City
by Gary Wills
The tiny island city-state of Venice was, for a time, one of the greatest maritime powers the world has ever known, its influence extending far beyond the Mediterranean. Garry Wills, well known for his studies of American political history, travels far afield to explore Renaissance Venice at the height of its power.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How
Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It
by Arthur Herman
Focusing on the 18th and 19th centuries, Herman has written a successful exploration of Scotland's disproportionately large impact on the modern world's intellectual and industrial development.

The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love & Betrayal in World War I
by Ben MacIntyre
MacIntyre has uncovered the story of a small band of English soldiers who, in 1914, were found and sheltered by the peasants of Villeret, a small French village near the Somme River. When the German occupiers became more intrusive in local life, billeting their troops in private homes and confiscating supplies, the French took a more collective approach to hiding the Brits sharing their food and housing among a network of families. Private Robert Digby, the hero of this tale, blended in so successfully, "It's almost like he was running for mayor," said one villager, that he fell in love with the local belle, Claire Dessenne.

This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
by Gretel Ehrlich
From the acclaimed chronicler of open spaces, Gretel Ehrlich, comes a stunning and lyrical evocation of a practically unknown place and people. Beginning in 1993, Ehrlich traveled to Greenland, the northernmost country in the world, in every season--the four months of perpetual dark (in which the average temperature is 25 degrees below zero), the four months of constant daylight, and the twilight seasons in between--traveling up the west coast, often by dogsled, and befriending the resilient and generous Inuits along the way.

Looking for Alaska
by Peter Jenkins
In 1999, Peter Jenkins and his family left their farm in Tennessee to live in Alaska for a few seasons, eventually renting a house in Seward, Alaska (pop. 2,830) on the Kenai Peninsula. The principal aim of the trip was for Jenkins to write a travelogue, but he also saw it as an opportunity to end a period of personal stagnation. It appears to have worked, for Looking for Alaska is filled with a vibrancy that can only come from one with a fully charged battery.

The Last Days of St. Pierre: The Volcanic Disaster that Claimed 30,000 Lives
by Ernest Zebrowski
The eruption of Mount Pele on the Caribbean island of Martinique in the spring of 1902 destroyed the entire French West Indies city of St. Pierre. A hundred years later, natural disaster buff Zebrowksi has pulled together enough records to create a subtle though gripping account that combines powerful human drama (and tragedy) with a well-documented report of catastrophe in paradise.

Mae West: An Icon in Black and White
by Jill Watts
West, the shimmying belle of innuendo and unabashed female sexuality, and self-mythologizer extraordinaire, conquered stage, film, print, and television with her bawdy comedy, which bashed gender and racial stereotypes and aroused both worship and controversy for decades.

Her Own Woman: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
by Diane Jacobs
Diane Jacobs's exemplary popular biography makes pioneering 18th-century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) a vivid character for contemporary readers. Jacobs acknowledges Wollstonecraft's extravagantly emotional nature and wearying demands on loved ones, yet roots her shortcomings in frustration provoked by a society blatantly unjust toward women.

The Execution of Major Andre
by John Evangelist Walsh
Popular history writer Walsh (Midnight Dreary) offers an account of the serendipitous events that led to British Major John Andre's capture and execution in 1780 which arguably made possible the success of the American Revolution. Andre was the British spy dispatched to plot the fall of West Point with Benedict Arnold. The British capture of West Point would have most likely diminished or even ended the chance for an American victory.

The Monarchy: An Oral Biography of Elizabeth II
by Deborah Hart Strober, Gerald S. Strober
This multifaceted "oral biography" presents a complex and intriguing portrait of the woman who has been Great Britain's head of state for nearly half a century. The Strobers whose popular, critically noted oral biographies of Reagan and Nixon are landmarks of the genre have shepherded quotes from more than 150 interviews into a balanced and critical (if sympathetic) study; their questions serve as section headings and are followed by responses from their interviewees.

Edith and Woodrow: The Wilson Whitehouse
by Phyllis Lee Levin
Former New York Times reporter Levin (Abigail Adams) delivers a beautifully written and impeccably researched account of Edith Bolling Galt Wilson and her key role after President Woodrow Wilson's stroke on October 2, 1919. The second Mrs. Wilson who had married the president one year after the untimely death of First Lady Ellen Wilson acted very much like a regent, restricting access to her sickly husband and issuing executive orders and directives that she presented at the time (and later, in her memoirs) as Wilson's own instructions.

52 McGs.: The Best Obituaries from Legendary New York Times Writer Robert McG. Thomas, Jr.
edited by Chris Calhoun
The late New York Times reporter Robert McG. Thomas Jr. (1939-2000) developed a loyal following for quirky, witty obituaries that illuminated the lives of people not automatically destined for "the Newspaper of Record." This highly browsable collection of 52 obits shows Thomas at his deadline best.

Music & Silence: A Memoir
by Andrea Bocelli
In this honest and engaging memoir, translated from the Italian, Bocelli talks as never before about his blindness, his early life, the importance of his family, stage fright, and the pressures of international stardom. Andrea Bocelli cannot remember a time when he was not passionate about music.

Dragon Hunter: Roy Chapman Andrews & the Central Asian Expeditions
by Charles Gallenkamp, Michael J. Novacek
Roy Chapman Andrews wanted nothing more than to be an adventurer. He got his chance when he talked his way onto the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1906, under whose auspices, 15 years later, he was to mount the first of his central Asian expeditions. This decade-long program of exploration took Andrews and his team into the heart of the Gobi, one of the last uncharted regions on earth.

Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray & the Oxford English Dictionary
by K.M. Murray, R.W. Burchfield
This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

The Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human
by Peter Gethers
Fans of Gethers's two previous chronicles of life with his cat, Norton (The Cat Who Went to Paris and A Cat Abroad), will be delighted by this third installment. Here, Gethers (who was feline-unfriendly until he received Norton as a present) recounts Norton's physical deterioration (kidney failure, cancer) and eventual death in 1999 at age 16.

Ash Child: A Gabriel DuPre Mystery
by Peter Bowen
This compelling series, set in a contemporary Wild West where little old ladies come into the saloon, order red beers and go home and shoot at meddlesome strangers, offers another success... It's a pleasure to read a story that was clearly written with pleasure. --from Publishers Weekly

The Passion of Artemisia
by Susan Vreeland
Like her bestselling debut, Girl in Hyacinth Blue, Susan Vreeland's second novel, The Passion of Artemisia, traces a particular painting through time: in this case, the post-Rennaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi's violent masterpiece, "Judith." Beyond the paintings Artemisia left behind, Vreeland's vision may be as close as we can come to understanding the anger and ambition that kept this talented woman at the doors of the Accademia, demanding entrance, in a time when respectable women rarely left their homes. --Regina Marler, for Amazon.com

The Caves of Perigord
by Martin Walker
The discovery of a fragment of a prehistoric cave painting stirs up old passions in modern Europe in this busy, fact-driven fourth novel by commentator and journalist Walker (America Reborn). When Maj. Philip Manners approaches auction house expert Lydia Dean about an object inherited from his father, he expects merely to turn a quick profit. But Lydia is alarmed: the fragment appears to be from an uncharted French cave and was probably obtained illegally. --from Publishers Weekly

Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
by India Edghill
India Edghill's well-written debut novel Queenmaker paints a dark picture of the lauded biblical hero as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Michal... Those who like their biblical narrative served straight up and their heroes untarnished may be disturbed by this reassessment; those who like a good story and a new spin on biblical champions, however, will enjoy this unvarnished look a Judiasm's and Christianity's most lauded personalities. --Cindy Crosby for Amazon.com

A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity: A Novel
by Whitney Otto
The bestselling author of How to Make an American Quilt experiments again with a patchwork narrative, building an elaborate, piquant story of the loves and lives of a group of young 1980s San Franciscans around a series of 18th-century Japanese woodblock prints. Each chapter begins with the reproduction and explication of a print; all date from a long period of peace in Japan, roughly from 1615 to 1868. --from Publishers Weekly

At Swim, Two Boys
by Jamie O'Neill
In the spring of 1915, Jim Mack and "the Doyler," two Dublin boys, make a pact to swim to an island in Dublin Bay the following Easter. By the time they do, Dublin has been consumed by the Easter Uprising, and the boys' friendship has blossomed into love -- a love that will in time be overtaken by tragedy. -- Amazon.com

Tepper Isn't Going Out
by Calvin Trillin
Anyone who lives and tries to park in Manhattan (or any other big city, for that matter) will respond to Trillin's take on life in the Big Apple (before 9/11). Murray Tepper, loving husband, father, grandfather, and part owner of a company that brokers mailing lists, also has a dark side -- he likes to park. But he doesn't just park, he finds a "beautiful spot," puts his money in the meter, and sits in his car until his time is up. -- from Booklist

A Death in the Venetian Quarter: A Medieval Mystery
by Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon continues his winning streak with the third Theophilos the Jester novel, after Thirteenth Night and Jester Leaps. This highly original and highly entertaining series, set in the early years of the thirteenth century, puts forward the wonderfully engaging idea that court jesters -- or fools, as they were called -- were members of an elite guild that, in fact, functioned as an intelligence organization run by the govenment. -- from Booklist

Instances of the Number 3
by Salley Vickers
The classic threesome husband, wife, mistress proves mathematically unstable in Vickers's profound comic novel (following her debut, Miss Garnet's Angel). When 62-year-old Londoner Peter Hansome dies in a car crash, his widow, Bridget, and his mistress, Frances, develop an awkward intimacy cemented by their shared loss. But Peter is never actually gone, as his ghost watches over his former "consorts." In the tradition of the late Iris Murdoch, this extraordinary book will inspire and delight.
-- from Publishers Weekly

The Lake of Dead Languages
by Carol Goodman
It has been twenty years since Jane Hudson graduated from Heart Lake School in the Adirondacks. She returns to her old, all-girls school to teach Latin. Heart Lake, like many schools, has its legends, the most persistent being that the lake claims the lives of students. One of her students almost drowns in what appears to be a suicide attempt, and Jane realizes that the nightmare she lived through at school may be recurring. -- from Amazon.com

Take Me Out to the Ballgame:

Shades of Glory
by Lawrence Hogan 796.357 HOG (New Shelf)
Celebrating African America's contribution to our great national pastime, this comprehensive, lively history combines vivid narrative, visual impact, and a unique statistical component, to recreate the excitement and passion of the Negro Leagues. Packed with stories, biographical essays, scores of archival photographs and other evocative artifacts, it is an important contribution to sports history and a wonderful tribute to the players and teams who wrote a unique chapter in the annals of baseball and American culture.

Spalding’s World Tour
by Mark Lamster 796.357 LAM (New Shelf)
In the late nineteenth century, Albert Spalding, a sporting-goods magnate and former baseball star, decided to improve business by anointing himself ambassador for baseball and taking two teams of professional players on a six-month world tour. He brought along sideshow attractions, including an aerialist who hung on a trapeze from a hot-air balloon before the game, and he paid a prominent journalist to lend his support in print. Spalding's success is debatable; spectators in Britain, for instance, were hard-pressed to follow the action and declared the game a knockoff of rounders. Spalding's jaunt was an early example of the globalization of sports.

The Only Game in Town
by Fay Vincent 796.357 VIN (New Shelf)
This first entry in an ambitious, multivolume oral history of baseball compiled by former commissioner Vincent collects the memories of 10 notable players from the 1930s and '40s. The tone is primarily upbeat, as when Dominic DiMaggio—one of the almost-as-talented but often forgotten brothers of Joe—sticks to the sunny side: "I think it's just a wonderful, wonderful game." It's the early integrators and Negro League pros like Larry Doby whose comments make the best reading; their stories have a drama and gravitas that some of the others lack. Dedicated fans stand to gain the most from this nostalgic spin through one slice of baseball history.

Sultans of Swat: the four great sluggers of the New York Yankees
796.357 SUL (New Shelf)
Sultans of Swat tells in dramatic words and vintage black and white photographs the stories of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle: the four legendary New York Yankee Hall of Famers. The Babe's 700th home run, Gehrig's farewell "Luckiest Man" speech, DiMaggio's fifty-six-game hitting streak, Mantle's triple crown--all are here, in a book all baseball fans will treasure.

Pedro, Carlos, and Omar
by Adam Rubin 796.357 RUB (New Shelf)
Hardcore New York Mets fans will be thrilled by this in-depth look at the team's 2005 season by the Mets beat writer for the New York Daily News. Rubin captures all the highlights of what became a memorable winning season, but he focuses on what was the biggest Mets story in years: new general manager Omar Minaya's signing of two major players, pitcher Pedro Martinez and outfielder Carlos Beltran, after the 2004 season.

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero
by David Maraniss B Clemente (New Shelf)
If ever a baseball player were deemed worthy of canonization, right fielder Roberto Clemente might be the one. Jackie Robinson may have suffered greater hardships during his career, but Clemente's nobility, charity and determination make him far more appropriate for a postage stamp than a Nike commercial. After 18 distinguished seasons, the Pirate star with the astonishing throwing arm died in a 1972 plane crash while en route to deliver relief supplies to Nicaraguan earthquake victims.

Clearing the Bases
by Mike Schmidt 796.357 SCH (New Shelf)
Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. With bold and spirited counsel, Schmidt offers his own prescription for restoring integrity to the game and bringing baseball back, once and for all, to its rightful place.

Love Me, Hate Me : Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero
by Jeff Pearlman B Bonds (New Shelf)
In Love Me, Hate Me, author Jeff Pearlman offers a searing and insightful look into one of the most divisive athletes of our time. Drawing on more than five hundred interviews -- with former and current teammates, opponents, managers, trainers, friends, and outspoken critics and unapologetic supporters alike -- Pearlman reveals, for the first time, a wonderfully nuanced portrait of a prodigiously talented and immensely flawed American icon whose controversial run at baseball immortality forever changed the way we look at our sports heroes.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame for Younger Fans:

Play Ball Like the Hall of Famers
by Steven Krasner J 796.357 KRA
Krasner assembles an impressive group of subjects, from Johnny Bench and Gary Carter on catching, to Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, and Tom Seaver on aspects of pitching. Both offense and defense are covered: George Brett discusses clutch hitting and Rod Carew addresses baserunning techniques, while Golden Glove shortstops Ozzie Smith and Carl Yastrzemski discuss fielding.

Ballpark : the Story of America's Baseball Fields
by Lynn Curlee
In this succinct and thoughtful overview, Curlee traces developments in the game from the mid-1800s to the construction of landmark arenas. The early 1900s saw the building of intimate playing fields such as Boston's Fenway Park and Chicago's Wrigley Field. Yankee Stadium, "the House that Ruth built," opened in 1923 and immediately became one of the country's best-loved ballparks. In the era of expansion teams, Houston's Astrodome opened in 1965–a huge but characterless stadium typical of the era. Baltimore's Camden Yards in 1992 saw a return of nostalgia-inspired fields.

Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America
by Sharon Robinson; JB Robinson
There are numerous biographies about Robinson available for young people, but none have this book's advantage of family intimacy. In a personal account, Robinson's daughter, Sharon, describes her father's youth, his rise to become major-league baseball's first African American player, and his involvement in the civil rights movement. Sharon Robinson is an education executive for major-league baseball, and she writes about the sport and her father's life with the same immediate familiarity.

Derek Jeter
by Sandra Donovan; JB Jeter
In his first year of baseball Derek Jeter won the rookie of the year award. Jeter’s work in the community has made him a role model for fans and his skill on the field has made him a superstar.

A Whole New Ball Game: the Story of … Girls Professional Baseball League
by Sue Macy; J 796.357 MAC
Macy offers an excellent introduction to one of the least explored areas of baseball history. Established by Chicago Cubs owner and chewing-gum magnate Phil Wrigley in 1943 as an entertainment alternative to the war-depleted major leagues, the AAGPBL lasted until 1954--and until very recently was all but forgotten. Macy has wisely chosen to focus not on the trivia of games past (although the appendix offers enough statistics to satisfy the most rabid baseball addict) but on the social history that produced the league and on the experiences of its players.

Summer Outdoor Living Ideas:

The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking & Entertaining
by Cheryl & Bill Jamison
This is a book for cooks who want to grill great meals and put on terrific outdoor parties. The Jamisons devote their first three chapters to explaining the difference between grilling and traditional barbecue, how to build a fire and how to set up an outdoor kitchen with the proper grill, smoker or big-pot cooker. Next are lessons in Seasoning 101 and 102, with 200 recipes for rubs and sauces, and separate instructions for using them. There are more than a dozen burgers, plus pizza, tapas, salads, pastas, vegetarian entrees and desserts—all of which can be cooked and/or eaten outdoors.

Real Life Entertaining
by Jennifer Rubell
In Real Life Entertaining, Jennifer Rubell offers break-the-rules entertaining ideas and quick, easy, stylish recipes for last-minute drop-in dinners, sit-down meals, brunches, buffets, and one-pot meals. Conventional wisdom says it's rude to invite someone to dinner on the same day. Jennifer's real life wisdom says it's never rude to invite guests to your home. The worst that will happen is that they'll be busy and say no. Conventional wisdom says never serve the same meal that you offered guests the last time. Jennifer says if you've got a signature dish, flaunt it!

Deck Designs
by The Editors of Homeowner
Deck Designs, Plus Railings, Planters, Benches, is a combination idea and how-to book that contains 25 deck designs, plus general design information, for those contemplating building a deck. For homeowners, one of the most challenging aspects of building a deck is choosing a design that works for both the family and the yard where the deck will be installed. To help generate ideas, Creative Homeowner presents the best designs from four of the top deck designer/builders in the country. Their designs are shown in photos and renderings, as well as floor plans and details. Amenities like overhead structures, railings, benches, and planters are also detailed.

Ideas for Great Patios & Decks
by Sunset Books
Ideas for Great Patios & Decks is for the do-it-yourselfer or for the homeowner working with contractors. Photo gallery has stunning examples of outdoor living spaces transformed by classic patio and deck additions, as well as new materials, such as concrete and composites. An abundant collection of site-evaluation tips, planning suggestions, and supplies recommendations round out this consistently popular volume. Ideas for Great Patios & Decks features: outdoor living space with fresh approaches for entertaining, retreats, outdoor kitchens; photos of ideas to enhance patios and decks; and amenities, such as water features, lighting & railings.

Outdoor Kitchens: Designs for Outdoor Kitchens, Bars, and Dining Areas
by Amanda Lecky
With Outdoor Kitchens you will be able to personalize the outdoor cooking space that perfectly suits your lifestyle. Superb photography creates a catalog of options, inspiring you to design a space that exactly meets your desires, climate, cooking style, and budget. This book equips you with all the information you need to successfully set up an outdoor kitchen.

Outdoor Kitchens: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Design & Construction
by Better Homes & Gardens
Outdoor Kitchens: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Design & Construction shows detailed plans for outdoor kitchen in a variety of locations. Color photos provide inspiration on how to apply designs to any setting. Insights and ideas for the cook, as well as smart tips for the builder. Coverage of both form and function to help homeowners assess their needs for cooking and storage space. Special section provides all-time favorite grilling recipes and tips for outdoor cooking from the Better Homes and Gardens experts.

The Swimming Pool: Stylish & Inspirational Ideas for Building & Decorating...
by Martha Baker
The Swimming Pool matches superb aesthetics with the best of today’s most innovative building materials for the ultimate guide to building your backyard retreat. Renowned landscape designer Martha Baker explores four popular styles—Romantic, Modern, Classic, and Rustic—and details the key elements that help to create a complete look. She offers a wealth of advice on: identifying the right design style to complement your property; siting your pool and selecting the best pool shape; creating poolside cooking and dining areas; choosing furniture that epitomizes the art of relaxation; landscaping to integrate your pool with your home and property, and; pinpointing the best accessories to pull it all together.

What Color is Your Swimming Pool?
by Alan Sanderfoot
This easy-to-use, easy-to-understand resource teaches pool owners everything they need to know about keeping a pool or spa beautiful and healthful. Sanderfoot starts with basics: water treatment and filtration systems. Then he moves on to the nitty gritty of how to select and care for filters, pumps, motors, and heaters. He explains the best way to clean a pool, how to make minor repairs yourself, and what to look for in pool covers and such pool accessories as automatic water monitors.

More Summer Reading Suggestions:

Dancing in a Distant Place
by Isla Dewar
Although Iris Chisholm's marriage wasn't the happiest, she is nonetheless devastated when her husband dies suddenly. Still reeling from the tragedy, she receives more shocking news. Unbeknownst to Iris, her husband has gambled away everything--their savings, their home, even their possessions. Iris has no choice but to start over. She takes a teaching job in Scotland--mainly because it comes with free housing--and moves to the tiny village of Cairns Green with her two teenage children. As the family tries to adapt to life in a sleepy village and deal with their grief and loss, they become more and more distant from each other. Touching without being overly sentimental, Dewar's funny, tragic, warmhearted, life-affirming story is guaranteed to hold readers spellbound. Superb women's fiction.

Recipes for a Perfect Marriage
by Morag Prunty
Afraid she is too old to wait for "The One," successful 38-year-old food writer Tressa Nolan marries the next man who asks her—her building super, amiable, kindly, not-very-educated Dan Mullins. Less than two months into her marriage, she realizes she does not love her husband, and never has. Horrified by his blue-collar habits, his desire to move from their Upper West Side apartment to Yonkers and his combative mother, Eileen, Tressa wishes desperately for the counsel of her late Irish grandmother, Bernadine, who taught her to cook and whose 50-year marriage to grandfather James seemed like the model of the perfect relationship. Along with old-fashioned recipes (e.g., Slow-Roasted Clove Ham and Honey Cake), Bernadine's tale, set in 1930s and '40s Ireland, is interspersed with Tressa's, in 2004 Manhattan.

The Poe Shadow
by Matthew Pearl
Fans of Pearl's bestselling debut, The Dante Club (2003), will eagerly embrace his second novel, a compelling thriller centered on the mysterious end of Edgar Allan Poe, who perished in Baltimore in 1849. Poe's ignominious funeral catches the notice of Quentin Clark, a young, idealistic attorney, who finds himself obsessed with rescuing Poe's reputation amid rumors that the writer died from an excess of drink. The lawyer journeys to France to track down the real Dupin, in the hopes that the detective can help him solve the puzzle of Poe's death. Pearl masterfully combines fact with fiction and presents some genuinely new historical clues that help reconstruct Poe's final days. While Clark remains a little enigmatic, the exciting plot, numerous twists and convincing period detail could help land this on bestseller lists as well.

The Whistling Season
by Ivan Doig
Doig's latest foray through Montana history begins in the late 1950s, with Superintendent of Public Instruction Paul Milliron on the verge of announcing the closure of the state's one-room schools, seen as hopelessly out of date in the age of Sputnik. But quickly the narrative takes us back to Paul's pivotal seventh-grade year, 1910, when he was a student in one of those one-room schools, and two landmark events took place: the Milliron family acquired a housekeeper, and Halley's comet came to Montana. The saga of how this stranger from Minneapolis and her brother (soon to become the new teacher) change lives in unexpected ways has all the charm of old-school storytelling, from Dickens to Laura Ingalls Wilder. An entrancing new chapter in the literature of the West.

L’America
by Martha McPhee
A soft clash of civilizations disrupts romance in this rapturous but socially acute fable of cross-class love. Sojourning in Europe, 18-year-old Beth, raised by her hippie father on a Pennsylvania commune, finds her polar opposite in Cesare, handsome scion of a 500-year-old Italian banking dynasty. For the motherless Beth, Cesare represents the allure of rootedness and gracious traditions. For Cesare, straitjacketed by family, class expectations and a prospective banking career he dreads, Beth represents America's wide-open possibilities, headquartered at her father's egalitarian but entrepreneurial commune, a refuge for dreamers of all stripes seeking to reinvent themselves. McPhee's lush, erotically charged prose evokes their erotic obsession—and the glamorous Old World locales where it blossoms.

Adverbs
by Daniel Handler
The qualities that draw millions to Lemony Snicket—absurdity, wicked humor, a love of wordplay—get adulterated in this elegant exploration of love. Handler brings linguistic pyrotechnics to a set of encounters: gay, straight, platonic and all degrees of dysfunctional. In "Obviously," a teenage boy pines for his co-worker at the multiplex while they both tear tickets for Kickass: The Movie. In "Briefly," the narrator, now married, recounts being 14 and infatuated with his big sister's boyfriend, Keith. "Truly" begins "This part's true," and features a character named Daniel Handler, who has an exchange about miracles with a novelist named Paula Sharp. Handler began his career with the coming-of-age novel The Basic Eight; this lovely, lilting book is a kind of After School Special for adults that dramatizes love's cross-purposes with panache.

Daniel Isn’t Talking
by Marti Leimbach
Leimbach (Dying Young) notes on the back of the galley that she has modeled her title character on her own autistic son; the result is moving, frequently funny and never mawkish. The novel is narrated by Melanie Marsh, an American woman living in England who seems to have it all: Stephen, a rich if somewhat starchy husband; Emily, a vivacious daughter; and an adorable son named Daniel. But after a normal infancy, Daniel is beginning to behave strangely—throwing tantrums, walking on his toes, still seeking his mother's breast and refusing to talk. As Melanie unravels, Stephen remains in denial, until the dreaded diagnosis of autism is delivered. The marriage falls apart, but Melanie does not. She embarks on a frustrating, heroic mission to get the best treatment for her son, eventually entrusting his care to Andy O'Connor, a behaviorist with a dubious reputation. But his unorthodox methods get results, and soon, a bit too predictably, a romance blossoms between Andy and Melanie.

In the City of Dark Waters
by Jane Jakeman
Set in Venice in 1908, Jakeman's second novel to feature Claude Monet (after 2005's In the Kingdom of Mists) offers a complex and shadowy plot in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier's Don't Look Now. Revel Callender, an English attorney taking a year off before settling down in his profession, is hired by Count Roberto Casimiri to look through the papers of a recently deceased relative born into a wealthy Anglo-Irish banking family. Soon after the count dies under bizarre circumstances, Callender travels to Paris at Monet's request to monitor the investigation of the murder of the painter's brother-in-law, which occurred several months earlier. Callender finds unusual parallels between the two killings and a 16th-century Italian scandal. With impeccable pacing and prose, Jakeman sweeps the reader into the conflict between the decadent world of the old Venetian aristocracy and the new age of a unified Italy rebuilt with American money.

The WWW Club
by Anita Notaro
Woefully inept at both dating and dieting, pals Ellie, Maggie, Pam, and Toni are determined to fight the consequences of a dearth of good men and a wealth of good food. Calling themselves the WWW (Women Watching Weight) Club, these 30-ish Dublin lasses band together for evenings of healthy food, vigorous exercise, and motivating weigh-ins. Or at least that's the theory. Their meetings usually devolve into pity parties to bemoan Ellie's demeaning job as a daycare worker, Maggie's lackluster relationship with a stodgy accountant, Pam's anxiety over her ex-husband's long-distance relationship with their sons, and the challenges Toni faces as a young, attractive nurse in a retirement home of stodgy octogenarians. As vulnerable as they are vivacious, Notaro's zaftig heroines bring a new zaniness to the chick-lit genre.

The Duchess of Aquitaine
by Margaret Ball
Years before Eleanor of Aquitaine gained prominence as a strong-willed queen of England, she was the 15-year-old heiress to the richest province of southern France. After her father's unexpected death in 1137, Eleanor brokers her own marriage with Louis Capet, the French king's heir. All too soon, Louis inherits the throne, and Eleanor learns that he's an exceptionally pious man ashamed of his attraction to her. With Louis set on establishing his royal authority, it's left to Eleanor to look out for the interests of her Poitevin countrymen. Despite having greater intelligence and political acumen than her ineffectual husband, she dutifully serves his will, even accompanying him on the Second Crusade. Ball's prose sparkles with colorful images of medieval France and Byzantium; readers may find themselves turning pages slowly to absorb the atmosphere more fully.

Warm & Fuzzy Knitting Inspiration:
Teach Yourself Visually Knitting
by Sharon Turner
Do you learn faster by seeing and doing than by wading through tedious instructions? Then get yourself some yarn and needles and get knitting! Teach Yourself VISUALLY Knitting shows you the basics—photo by photo and stitch by stitch.

Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitter’s Guide...
by Kay Gardiner & Anne Shayne
Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne are the rock stars of the knitting community--fans flock to their popular blog (masondixonknitting.com) for a daily dose of knitting genius, tips, and humor. In their first book, Mason-Dixon Knitting, you'll find practical advice, instruction, and more.

Knit 2 Together: Patterns & Stories for Serious Knitters
by Tracy Ullman & Mel Clark
Tracey Ullman has been known for almost 20 years as an award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and producer, well-loved for her eccentric and iconoclastic humor. She is also an avid knitter, and she brings the same freewheeling spirit to her most recent production, a book she created with knitwear designer and yarn-shop owner Mel Clark.

Quick Knits with Today’s Yarns
by Jayne S. Davis
Knitters who want to create today's popular fashions in a minimal amount of time will love this book, with 50 projects that can be completed using just two basic stitches: knit and purl.

Knitting Over the Edge
by Nicky Epstein
Nicky Epstein, one of today's hottest knitwear designers, has created a fabulous follow-up to last season's bestselling Knitting on the Edge. With hundreds of new and super edgings to try, it's a must-have in every knitting library.

Luxury Knitting
by Linda Morse
The owner of New York City's premier knitting boutique--String--takes knitters on a tour of the world where superior fibers are found and woven into luxury yarns.

Ponchos & Wraps: A Knitter’s Dozen
by Elaine Rowley
The best ideas for making ponchos and wraps from Knitter's Magazine are featured in this project book for knitters of all skill levels.

Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Uses for Leftover Yarn
by Barbara Albright
Odd Ball Knitting solves the conundrum of what to make with your yarn stash by offering more than thirty beautiful projects that don’t look as if they were made with odds and ends. From stylish accessories to decorations for your home, there’s something fun and unexpected to knit from every strand you’ve been saving.

For the Love of Knitting: A Celebration of the Knitter’s Art
by Kari Cornell & Melanie Falick
Do you live to knit? Have you made finding that perfect shade of periwinkle yarn an obsession? Have you ever stayed up to the wee hours of the night just to see how a yarn pattern would knit up? If you answered ""yes"" to any of these questions, you’ve caught the knitting bug.

Shadow Knitting
by Vivian Hoxbro
The mysteries of shadow knitting—a simple technique of alternating rows of dark and light yarn to produce a subtle patterning that appears and disappears depending on the angle from which it is viewed—are explored and refined here by a professional knitwear designer.

Get a Life! New Biographies:
Dry: A Memoir
By Augusten Burroughs B Burroughs
In this sequel to Burroughs’s darkly funny childhood memoir Running with Scissors, the adult Augusten, an alcoholic, albeit a professionally thriving advertising executive, relates his experiences as he is forced by his colleagues to check into America’s frumpiest alcohol rehab facility for gays. A heroic, heart-wrenching tale told with brilliant, candid humor.

Insight : Case Files From the Psychic World
By Sylvia Browne B Browne (New Shelf)
Opening up completely, the author shares her thoughts on the significance of her gift and its impact on others, as she tells her stories about life as a psychic. Fans will adore this compassionate account of the wide variety of situations encountered by the author in the course of her career.

Charlemagne : The Great Adventure
By Derek Wilson B Charlemagne (New Shelf)
In this first major study of Charlemagne in more than 25 years, the author provides an absorbing and lively account of his life, character, and accomplishments. A masterful, multidimensional portrait of a great historical figure whose religious devotion was exceeded only by his will to power.

Pursuit of Happyness
By Chris Gardner B Gardner (New Shelf)
The astounding yet true rags-to-riches saga of a homeless father who raised and cared for his son on the mean streets of San Francisco and went on to become the crown prince of Wall Street. Recently made into a motion picture starring Will Smith.

Timothy Leary : A Biography
By Robert Greenfield B Leary (New Shelf)
A charismatic and brilliant psychologist, Leary became first intrigued and then obsessed by the effects of psychedelic drugs in the 1960’s while teaching at Harvard, where he encouraged and instituted their experimental use among students and faculty. The first major biography of one of the most controversial figures in postwar America.

Piece of Cake : A Memoir
By Cupcake Brown B Brown (New Shelf)
The strange, heart-wrenching, exhilarating tale of a woman named Cupcake (yes, that’s her real name) who is orphaned, abused, rejected, and forgotten, until she takes the same fortitude it took to survive the streets and uses it to become a lawyer. Her story of survival and triumph is incredible and often rough, but ultimately satisfying, startlingly funny, and genuinely inspiring.

Spoiling for a Fight : The Rise of Eliot Spitzer
By Brooke A. Masters B Spitzer (New Shelf)
A timely examination of the New York State attorney general’s seven years in office, given his candidacy in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. The book is well researched, even-handed and thoughtful. The author skillfully places Spitzer in the context of previous reformers within government, especially Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Brandeis and Rudy Giuliani.

Stuart : A Life Backwards
By Alexander Masters B Shorter (New Shelf)
In this extraordinary book, the author has created a moving portrait of a troubled man and a desperate world few ever see. Masters meets a drunken Stuart lying on a sidewalk in Cambridge, England, and an unlikely friendship begins. An advocate for the homeless, the author critiques the system of British welfare and criminal justice institutions which basically caused Stuart’s total loss of control over his life.

Ice Man : Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer
By Philip Carlo B Kuklinski (New Shelf)
This captivating true-crime book is written like a novel, with engrossing details of the multiple atrocities committed over 43 years by Richard Kuklinski, a sadistic killer for the mob. Kuklinski led a double life beyond anything ever seen on the Sopranos, and became the subject of three documentaries about which the New York Times raved.

Come Back : A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back
By Claire and Mia Fontaine B Fontaine (New Shelf)
An unflinching true account of a teenage girl’s descent into society’s underbelly and her mother’s determined and ultimately successful attempts to bring her back. A powerful and moving mother-daughter memoir, told in alternating voices through daughter Mia’s desperate diary entries and mother Claire’s lively, angry, sarcastic dialogue.

Summer Cooking: Gardens, Grilling & Get-Togethers:
Deen Brothers Cookbook
by Jamie and Bobby Deen & Melissa Clark.
This companion piece to the Deen’s series recounts their visits to mom-and-pop establishments across the country, alongside their own take on featured establishments' signature dishes.

Everyday Pasta
by Giada De Laurentiis.
In Everyday Pasta you'll find more than a hundred new recipes for pasta dishes (as well as for sauces, salads, and sides) that are easy to prepare and delicious, whether you are looking for something light and delicate, or rich and hearty.

The Glory of Southern Cooking
by James Villas.
For Villas, southern cooking includes everything from Key West specialties to Cajun and Creole casserole, through Carolina low-country seafood and on up as far as Maryland. Multiple fried chicken recipes reflect different geographic traditions and so do varieties of biscuits. Cakes, pastries, candies, and other sweets abound.

How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table
by Russ Parsons.
California food writer Parsons (How to Read a French Fry) begins with a fascinating tale of agribusiness trumping our taste buds en route to supplying year-round on-demand produce, and how farmer's markets are bringing back both appreciation of, and access to, local and seasonal foods.

My Italian Garden: More Than 125 Seasonal Recipes from a Garden Inspired by Italy
by Viana La Place.
La Place begins with a lyrical account of how she created the garden in her San Francisco home after observing some in Italy, and each seasonal section and recipe is accompanied by an inspiring meditation on the ingredients.

Race Day Grub: Recipes from the NASCAR Family
by Angela Skinner.
This cookbook by Angela Skinner, wife of NASCAR driver Mike Skinner, gives you the inside scoop on many drivers’ race-day routines and traditions as well as high-octane recipes from drivers, their families, and their fans.

Roadfood Sandwiches: Recipes and Lore from our Favorite Shops Coast to Coast
by Jane and Michael Stern.
The Sterns offer up recipes as well as extensive history because they believe "that a sandwich is far more interesting when you know who makes it, who invented it, who eats it, and where and how it's served." They list traditional sandwiches unique to specific regions like the Hot Brown of Kentucky as well as more inventive, unusual combos like Peanut Butter and Bacon served at Becky's Diner in Portland, Maine.

The Texas Cowboy Cookbook
by Robb Walsh.
This 10-chapter history of Texas reaches as far back as the year 1540, when cattle first came to the area, and examines a multitude of geographic and demographic influences on the Lone Star State's cuisine. It is both a study of rich diversity and a collection of over 100 recipes.

The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food
by Jasper White
White provides stellar versions of such seaside classics as Steamers Cooked in Beer, Creamy Cape Cod Clam Chowder, Fabulous Retro Shrimp Cocktail, and a Classic Maine Lobster Roll. There are also dishes with international accents—Steamed Black Sea Bass with Ginger and Scallions, Portuguese-Style Clam Stew—and old-school summer desserts like Strawberry Shortcake and Whoopie Pies.

Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate
by Patricia Wells.
Wells, the author of several cookbooks including The Provence Cookbook, puts vegetables center stage in this appetizing and innovative collection. After surveying the bounty of her backyard garden, Wells became inspired to build meals around vegetables rather than starting with meat, fish or poultry.

Off to College:
90 Minute College Major Matcher: choose your best major for a great career
By Laurence Shatkin
An outstanding resource for helping students who are in the process of considering or choosing a college major. Focuses on self evaluation of interests, skills, values, and favorite high school courses to guide students in this important process.

College Dorm Survival Guide: how to survive and thrive in your new home away from home
By Julia DeVillers
This informative and funny guide gives experts' advice on everything students need to know to enjoy dorm living to the fullest. Offers expert advice and the inside scoop on:
• Choosing the right residence hall
• Getting along with a roommate (and handling conflict)
• Bathroom, laundry, and dining hall survival
• Dealing with stress, depression, and safety issues

College Planning for Gifted Students: choosing and getting into the right college
By Sandra L. Berger
This book offers up suggestions, inventories, and checklists that are important for all college-bound teens. Of particular interest may be the sections on gifted students with disabilities and homeschoolers. Berger walks college-hopefuls through every step, from making an educational plan in seventh grade, to writing a successful essay, asking for letters of recommendation, and making the final choice.

Dorm Room Diet: the 8 step program for creating a healthy lifestyle plan that really works
By Daphne Oz
Passing along wisdom the author learned from her father, Mehemet Oz, author of You: The Owner's Manual (HarperCollins, 2005), this title is part dietary adviser, part survival guide for the first year of college. Specifically addressing girls, it is filled with quotes from young women, giving tips for staying healthy. Topics include eating habits for all-nighters and illustrated exercises to be done in the dorm room. Checklists, self-reflection questions, and boxed tips are interspersed throughout.

How to Choose a College Major
By Linda Landis Andrews
Guides students through the crucial process of picking a major. Not only is the vast array of choices overwhelming, the fear of making the wrong decision can be downright paralyzing. Eventually students have to choose—and the sooner they do, the more successful they’ll be.

Less Stress, More Success: a new approach to guiding your teen through college admissions and beyond
By Marilee Jones
Co-written by a top college admissions dean and a leading pediatrician, this first-of-its-kind book delivers strategies for surviving the admissions process while strengthening parent-child relationships, managing the stress of applying to college, and building resilience to meet challenges today and in the future.

Parent’s Guide to College Life: 181 straight answers on everything you can expect over the next four years
By Robin Raskin
This candid guide answers questions like:
·How much money should my son/daughter be spending a week?
·Is it wise to give my child a checkbook? A credit card?
·Should she/he take a semester abroad? What are the downsides? The benefits?
·How can we choose the best meal plan?
·Does my son/daughter need a laptop or a desktop computer?
·Should she/he be working a job while attending school?

Survival Guide for College Students with ADHD or LD
By Kathleen G. Nadeau
Contains everything students need to know:
-Find the best college
-Build great relationships with professors
-Make the best use of support services and accommodations
-Select and schedule courses
-Choose a major and possible career
-Get everything done…and still have time for fun!

They Teach That in College!?: a resource guide to more than 75 interesting college majors and programs
By Andrew Morkes
Provides information about interesting, lucrative, and cutting-edge college majors unknown to many guidance counselors, educators, parents, and students. It includes profiles of more than 75 college majors and schools, course listings, potential employers, contact information for colleges and universities that offer these programs, professional associations that offer career information about these fields, and interviews with educators in the field.

What Colleges Don’t Tell You: (and other parents don’t want you to know)
By Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
The author highlights 272 "secrets" to winning at the college application process, from answering the Big Question of why a specific college would take one's son or daughter, to preparing for standardized testing and interviews with college admissions officers.

All That Jazz:
Myself When I am Real: the Life and Music of Charles Mingus
by Gene Santoro
In an art form known for its outrageous characters, Charles Mingus stood out. He was a forceful, virtuosic bassist. He was an imaginative and original composer and arranger second only to Duke Ellington. He was also a social critic, bully, lady's man, father, and hypersensitive man-child who simply wanted to be appreciated for his work. Santoro produces the literary equivalent of a masterful Mingus composition, complete with labyrinthine surprises and complexities.

Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones
by Quincy Jones
This (auto)biography full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes has an improvisational feel that suits its subject: a jazz musician and superstar composer. Jones discovered his talent for music early on, and hit the road with Lionel Hampton's jazz band when he was still a teenager. Hampton is just one of the musical greats who makes an appearance Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington and Ray Charles are others. The strength of the book comes early on, when he describes the joy of his discovery of music, his early friendship with Charles and his struggles and joys as a jazz trumpeter on the road. "When I played music, my nightmares ended. My family problems disappeared." But to Jones's credit, he doesn't hold back his narrative when those problems caught up with him in the 1980s and he suffered a mental breakdown. With the help of his friends, Jones has composed a life story that gives much more than the typical celebrity memoir.

To a Young Jazz Musician: Letters From the Road
by Wynton Marsalis with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
America's foremost jazz classicist assesses the state of the art in this impassioned epistolary manifesto. Marsalis, now the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, answers critics who denounce him as the "gatekeeper" for a fossilized middlebrow establishment with a spirited defense of standards against both post-bebop modernist abstraction and the contemporary trend toward promiscuous fusion with other pop styles. As conservator of the Armstrong-Ellington legacy, he champions a jazz grounded in melody, blues, romantic feeling and, above all, swing rhythm—a "democratic, quintessentially American concept" that "channels the spirit of the nation jazz men. Musicians, aficionados and casual listeners alike will enjoy this lively polemic.

Jazzwomen: Conversations with Twenty-one Musicians
by Wayne Enstice and Janis Stockhouse
At their best, question-and-answer interviews can communicate personality as impressively as the best fiction. Such outstanding examples of the form are masterpieces of the writer-editor's craft, requiring immense sensitivity to the interviewee's vocal tone, cadences, and inflections, and to the interviewee's characteristic vocabulary. Each woman sounds unique, and as any jazz lover would tell you, that's what makes each of them a jazzwoman. Sublime.

Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way: a Biography
by Peter J. Levinson
Levinson's authoritative approach, layered with details, makes this book a bonanza for big band fans. He shares an arsenal of anecdotes, having interviewed over 160 people, including family, friends and ex-Dorsey musicians. The result is a striking portrait of Tommy Dorsey—"volatile, demanding, yet charming and engaging"—and a successful recreation of the swing era's glory days.

Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker
by Brian Priestley
Charlie "Bird" Parker achieved nearly mythic status as a difficult person and heroin addict. And while Priestly's book describes Parker's tumultuous personal life and his lifelong struggle with addiction, its focus is on Bird's music. The book contains a thorough investigation of Bird's prodigious musical talent and his contributions to jazz and bebop. Priestly, a jazz pianist and co-author of The Rough Guide to Jazz, cautions readers that "so much of Parker's sound and style has entered the present-day language as to make the original seem old hat" before describing what made Bird a legend: his mastery of the alto sax, his brilliant improvisations and the speed with which he played.

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans
by Thomas Brothers
In this many-sided chronicle of Armstrong's early life a passionate, intimate picture of the teeming musical brew of early 20th-century New Orleans is painted and how it was uniquely suited to nurture both jazz and Armstrong's exceptional musical talents. "Armstrong lived a childhood of poverty, on the margins of society, and this position put him right in the middle of the vernacular traditions that were fueling the new music of which he would eventually become one of the world's greatest masters.”

George Gershwin: His Life and Work
by Howard Pollack
Scholarly yet entertaining, Pollack's survey is not chronological; it's divided into two book-length sections. In part one, a study of popular music trends serves as an overture to Gershwin's musical influences, his childhood and Tin Pan Alley years, followed by a look at Gershwin as a pianist and conductor through his death from a brain tumor at the age of 38. The book's second half, titled "Work,'' is an ambitious attempt to document Gershwin's entire output, from orchestral works to theater, radio and films, including the role of lyricist Ira Gershwin in reworking his brother's tunes, as he did for Billy Wilder's 1964 film Kiss Me, Stupid. The creation of Porgy and Bess and subsequent revivals, films, concerts, recordings and jazz interpretations (notably by Miles Davis) fill several chapters with fascinating details. Gershwin's innovative synthesis of classical, blues and jazz into a "glorious body of work" is illuminated by Pollack's insightful analysis.