Sacramento
Book Review VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4
F R E E
NEW AND OF INTEREST
Under the Dome
6
A psychology experiment run by Stephen King Page 2
The Atlantis Revelation
World-saving astrologer Page 4
11
John Dies at the End
Following Yonder Star By Jane Yolen Key Porter Books, $16.95, 24 pages
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Jane Yolen is considered a modern-day Hans Christian Andersen, with dozens of books to her name as both an author and an anthology editor. (Even Wikipedia is reluctant to compile a complete list of her literary works.) Fantasy and folklore are her most recognized fields of stylistic expertise, but she has also contributed a great deal to the children’s section of the library, and it’s here that you’d most likely find her latest effort, Under the Star: A Christmas Counting Story. With Vlasta Van Kampen’s simple illustrations vividly enhanced by a rich, vibrant palette, Yolen seamlessly meshes a simple sequential counting activity from one to ten with a barebones look at the birth of Jesus Christ. The slow progression provides a sort of reverse countdown to the momentous event, even as the gathering people and animals herald the growing interest and knowledge of the importance of what’s happening. The final image of the assembled masses
(fifty-five in all, if my addition skills haven’t abandoned me, across a crowded two-page spread) highlights both the multitude of those affected and the magnitude of the event itself. And trust me, all fifty-five are accounted for, as I confirmed with a brief and mildly frustrating Where’s Waldo?-esque exercise of identifying each of the players featured. The closing image of the animals and people all gazing with wonder into the tiny ramshackle manger, as two new parents look down upon their newborn, is an impressive one, both in scale and execution. (Though, admittedly, the familial trio are almost dwarfed by the size of the menagerie gathered around them.) While the cynic in me would love to ask a few questions of the author -- Why are the sheep arriving separately from the shepSee STAR, page 32
Comedic high-octane nightmare fuel Page 7
Gift Guide Page 13
Extreme Cuisine Bon appetit, if you dare! Page 26
Green Metropolis Go green gone wild Page 27
Ace of Cakes
The magic behind Charm City Cakes Page 28
110 Reviews INSIDE!
Horror Under the Dome: A Novel By Stephen King Scribner, $35.00, 1,088 pages If nature abhors a vacuum, then humanity abhors normalcy, which is why we seek out things that are unusual, stories that are out of the ordinary. And Under the Dome may just be one of the strangest, and yet both fascinating and compelling stories ever written. Imagine the quintessential American town – Chester Mills, Maine – where life has rolled along at its own sedate pace since the beginning of time; it is a simple life that many envy and yearn for, while others disregard and ridicule. Now imagine that an invisible dome forms around the boundaries of the town, trapping everyone and everything inside, as well as preventing anyone and anything from entering; all that is able to pass through is air since it is composed of tiny molecules. From now on the humble citizens of Chester Mills must live off of whatever supplies and reserves they have. Then add some classic, unique and outright bizarre Stephen King characters; you’ve got yourself a very special story, weighing in at
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over a thousand pages. There’s Dale Barbara, an ex-military man who came to Chester Mills to get away from everything, who works as a cook at Sweetbriar Rose. After getting into a serious fight with the town bullies – who include the sheriff’s son – he’s all set to quit town, but the dome falls down before he’s able to make his escape. Now he’s trapped inside with a whole mess of people who hate his guts and would sooner see him dead. Jim Rennie – known as “Big Jim – is the town’s Second Selectman, a member of the three-member team that makes up the governing body for Chester Mills. Only Big Jim has everyone in his pocket, owing him favors, and he’s also been running an underground scheme that’s making him a very rich man. He also thrives on power and being in charge, and when the dome comes down he thinks it’s the greatest thing in the world; his calling from god to take charge once and for all. Julia Shumway is the editor, publisher, and devout writer for her very own Chester Mill’s Democrat, continuing the family business, and always looking for a great story and a way to reveal the true, seedy underbelly of Chester Mills that she knows exists. After Dome Day, she knows Jim Rennie is up to something and will stop at nothing to
expose him for the fraud he is. And there is 13-year-old Joe McClatchey, a good-looking nerd with all the answers, but who also has some important ideas about what exactly the dome is and what might’ve made it happen. While the town slowly devolves into pandemonium, he spends his time trying to find out the cause of it all. Stephen King conceived this book, originally titled Cannibals, early on his career, but was never satisfied with the story. Now he has delivered the weighty tome of Under the Dome, where lines will be drawn, sides declared, alliances forged, and enemies and allies made. Many people will die – which is no surprise for a King novel – but the wild thrill ride will keep you addictively reading, aching to find out how it all ends. Reviewed by Alex C. Telander Depraved By Bryan Smith Leisure Books, $7.99, 324 pages When the world is getting you down, and the problems seem never-ending, take a trip to the quaint, quiet town of Hopkins Bend, Tennessee. Only don’t spend too much time interacting with the locals, or checking out the sights and surrounding countryside; in fact, you should probably only stop by Hop-
kins Bend if it’s an absolute emergency, and only for a few minutes. Because there’s a big dark secret about Hopkins Bend that visitors know nothing about, because the visitors never make it out alive. Stories surround the town of bizarre practices, unholy rituals, murder, and even cannibalism. Each year the Holiday Feast is celebrated and for any tourist who doesn’t know better, coming to Hopkins Bend will be the last stop you make in your lifetime. So you should just stay away from the town, but the book Depraved by Bryan Smith about the town is great, with gritty, gory details, and no limit to the . . . depravity . . . which will have you reading on, turning the page, even though you can’t bear to find out any more. Reviewed by Alex C. Telander See VAMPIRE, page 21
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Book Review 1776 Productions 1215 K Street, 17th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Ph. (916) 503-1776 info@1776productions.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ross Rojek ross@1776productions.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kaye Cloutman kaye.cloutman@1776productions.com GRAPHIC DESIGN/LAYOUT Heidi Komlofske heidi.komlofske@1776productions.com
IN THIS ISSUE Horror............................................................2 Mystery, Crime & Thrillers.............................4 Current Events...............................................5 Modern Literature..........................................6 Pop Fiction......................................................7 Romance.........................................................8 Young Adult....................................................9
COPY EDITORS Autumn Conley Diane Jinson
Tweens...........................................................9
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Jen LeBrun Jordan Dacayanan
Biographies & Memoirs................................11
DISTRIBUTION Sacramento Distribution Services ADVERTISING SALES Jordan Bassior sales@1776productions.com
Local Calendar..............................................10 Humor Non-Fiction......................................11 Science Fiction & Fantasy.............................12 Gift Guide.....................................................13 History.........................................................19
The Sacramento Book Review is published monthly by 1776 Productions. The opinions expressed in these pages are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sacramento Book Review or Sacramento Book Review advertisers. All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders. All words © 2009, 1776 Productions.
Subscriptions Send $18.00 for 12 monthly issues to 1776 Productions, 1215 K Street, 17th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Seasonal.......................................................20 Sequential Art..............................................22 Business & Investing....................................22
If you would like to review books for us, send three sample reviews in the body of an email to reviews@1776productions. com, along with the category areas you are interested in reviewing. Reviews are uncompensated, except for a review copy of the book and publishing credit. But you do get to read books before all your friends, so that should count for something.
All of us here at the Sacramento Book Review are very happy to share with our readers the many excellent books that have come through our offices this holiday season. Fall is when most publishers release their best books, hoping for strong sales. Several publishers only release books during the Fall, making holiday sales a critical component of their publishing schedule. We hope you find something of interest for yourself, or as a gift, not only in our reviews, but also in our Gift Guide. This is our second December publishing in the Sacramento area. As we sat down for Thanksgiving, both Heidi and I were thankful for the opportunity we’ve had to create our book review and to grow it from Sacramento into the Bay Area. We’re also thankful to all our publishers and authors that work with us every month, getting us great books for us to review and recommend to our readers. And we’re thankful for the thousands of you that pick us up every month and pass the paper along to other avid book readers. Please also let the distribution point where you pick up the Sacramento Book Review know you read it and appreciate it. As we reach the end of the year, it is a time for thankfulness, giving, and reflection. When you finish your next book, consider donating it to a school, library, halfway house, or shelter. In addition to food, clothing, shelter, and toys, books are always welcome for those in need. Thank you for picking up our latest issue. Let us know what you think.
Religion........................................................23
Happy reading,
Reference......................................................24
Ross Rojek —Editor-in-Chief ross@1776productions.com 1776 Productions
Travel...........................................................26 Science & Nature..........................................27 Sports & Outdoors........................................28
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FROM THE EDITOR
Art, Architecture & Photography.................28
Coming Up... The January 2010 issue of Sacramento Book Review will feature an expanded Sequential Art section in addition to crafts and hobbies and do-it-yourself sections.
Cooking, Food & Wine..................................29 Children’s.....................................................30 Poetry & Short Stories..................................31
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Mystery, Crime & Thriller LOCAL AUTHOR HALCYON: Raised by God Never Told to Lay Down By Michael Holder BookSurge, 15.99, 282 pages Sacramento author Michael Holder has published a supernatural thriller based in the Sacramento area, dealing with a multigenerational occult plot to release a demonic force into the world, a Vatican investigator the eponymous Halcyon, and a Sacramento Sheriff ’s officer Hunter Musgrave. Halcyon and Musgrave have to find the human host of the demon Confectororis and his summoner before it is too late for mankind. The action takes place in easily identifiable areas around Sacramento, making it fun for local readers to follow the story as it takes place around town. The story has high points, and some surprises (including the actual identity of Halcyon and his relationship with the church), which make it a pleasant read. It does have some rough edges with dialog and structure that could be smoothed out with either editing or more experience writing. For an initial release, Halcyon is a good book, and leaves enough room for another story about Father Thaddeus Halcyon. Sponsored Review The Atlantis Revelation By Thomas Greanias Atria Books, $25.00, 278 pages A quick-moving, action-packed thriller, Atlantis Revelation follows internationalplayboy-astrological-archeologist Conrad Yeats half way around the world as he tries to stop billionaire oil tycoon Sir Roman Midas from setting off a nuclear warhead beneath the ancient city of Jerusalem. For fear that the detonated warhead will not only destroy the city, but ultimately start a war in the Middle East killing millions of people, Yeats feverishly works to thwart Midas’ plan. Though this book requires a slight suspension of belief in reality on several occasions, Thomas Greanias masterfully exhibits superior craftsmanship of the English language as he weaves his in-depth knowledge of many different aspects ranging from astrology to international politics throughout the entirety of this book. In the end, readers are satiated with what is written on the pages of this thrilling book Reviewed by Joe Kopaczynski
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Urgent Care By CJ Lyons Jove Books, $7.99, 384 pages Pittsburgh in December. Nora Halloran, on her way to work as a charge nurse at Angels of Mercy Medical Center, stumbles across a coworker who has been brutalized and left for dead. Equally as disturbing as the crime is the suspicion that the unknown murderer may be the same person who assaulted Nora herself two years earlier. The story will be centered on how Nora handles her own fears while attempting to bring the criminal to justice, but there are also three more primary female coworkers involved – Lydia, Amanda, and Gina. “I figure we either make it out of here alive or we die together.” All of these outwardly strong women have personal problems that render them inwardly vulnerable, and all are involved in fragile relationships with men. Throw in an unscrupulous hospital administrator, a sleazy news reporter, overbearing relatives, and various critical patients and you have Urgent Care by author CJ Lyons.?This book undoubtedly presents a realistic picture of the pressure and frustration in the lives of medical personnel, and there is a decent plot, a good beginning, and an interesting ending. Unfortunately, the material between beginning and ending is fairly dull. This is the third book in a series and would probably seem more entertaining if read after the two initial books. Reviewed by Douglas McWilliams Flesh By Richard Laymon Leisure Books, $7.99, 355 pages Welcome to an idyllic American town where life seems simple, except for those who try to make it something else. Then Eddie, driving along in his van, attempts to run down a high school girl innocently riding her bike. She throws herself off the road, saving her life, while Eddie crashes, burns and dies. Meanwhile the evil “thing” escapes from Eddie’s body in search of new hosts. It needs a new live body to feed and become stronger. The town will never be the same. Laymon creates a full cast of characters, giving the town life and realism. He doesn’t hold back on graphic detail, killing
off characters left and right. Hopefully the mystery will be solved and the evil stopped before the town runs of out living beings. Flesh was originally published in 1987 and at times feels a little like watching an old TV show with the dated clothing, language, and terminology. Nevertheless, for any Laymon fan or a reader looking to discover some classic horror, Flesh is a great first step. Reviewed by Alex C. Telander Last Known Address By Theresa Schwegel Minotaur Books, $24.99, 374 pages Sloane Pearson is a new detective to the Sex Crimes division, but is no stranger to being treated not only as a dumb girl, but a dumb blonde as well by the other male detectives. She’s also not a stranger to complex and difficult cases, and her latest case is not different. A rapist is prowling downtown Chicago, pulling women into abandoned and empty apartment buildings and forcing them to fight, knowing all along that he will win. When a real estate agent Sloane knows is the rapist’s latest victim, she finds herself drawn in further than she normally would be and down a dangerous path that could end her career and her life. Last Known Address was a difficult read, not only in the subject matter, but also in the way it was written. Sloane is a very hard character to like, as she is stand-offish and tries hard to be one of the boys which alienate her female victims. Reviewed by Katie Monson The Amateurs By Marcus Sakey Dutton Adult, $29.95, 384 pages Crime does not pay. That is the simple message of Marcus Sakey’s new novel, The Amateurs. The storyline of this book revolves around four friends in their late twenties and early thirties—all of whom have grown frustrated and disillusioned with where they have ended up in life. Each for various reasons of their own agree to take part in the robbery of a drug dealer, figuring that when criminals are the victims of crime, they cannot and will not go to the police. It is the perfect crime, or at least it should be. Needless to say, things go wrong. The robbery does not go according to plan and there are more ramifications and compli-
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cations in the days that follow than any of them expected. The gang of four quickly discovers that they know little about life on the other side of the law. Sakey is a gifted storyteller. He develops a unique personality for each of his main characters that is believable and distinct. Each of the four main protagonists agrees to the crime for extremely different reasons, but what is most important is that they are all believable. Sakey uses a number of interesting approaches. His physical descriptions are sparse, allowing the readers to fi ll in the details with their own imagination. The use of multiple perspectives is important in character development and makes it easy to understand why a seemingly simple crime goes so wrong. The chapters often overlap, telling the same story from different perspectives, but this acts more as a hook and often fi lls in gaps that develop when using the perspective of one character rather than the mutually contradictory accounts of a Rashomon type presentation. The conclusion makes sense and is satisfying. Not every element of the plot gets resolved, but many do not require resolution. The ending also leaves open the possibility that some of these characters will appear in works to follow. Reviewed by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes The Scarpetta Factor By Patricia Cornwell Putnam Adult, $27.95, 512 pages Last time devout readers of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta forensic mystery series saw Kay, she had hit a bit of a rough patch with both her new husband, See SCARPETTA, page 21
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Current Events & Politics Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East By Dennis Ross and David Markovsky Viking, $27.95, 366 pages The author of the acclaimed book Statecraft focuses on the region he knows best with Myths, Illusions, & Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East. Ambassador Dennis Ross, among America’s most seasoned diplomats, and co-author David Markovsky successfully demolish many fictions on which our Mideast diplomacy is often based. Neocons imagine that negotiating with autocrats is by definition fruitless. Their opponents, so-called “Realists,” claim that ideology and religion are just veneers for power politics and that America’s “rational” calculus is universal and axiomatic. Both cling to the specious notion that, despite all evidence to the contrary, the IsraeliPalestinian confl ict is at the heart of all the region’s woes and confl icts. Through careful historical analysis, the authors shatter these misguided notions and offer a new way forward. Iran and Islamic extremists stand out as among our nation’s most vexing foreign policy challenges. Ross and Markovsky offer workable thoughtful prescriptive in these areas that could serve as a roadmap for the new administration. Occasionally reading like a long, imploring memo to the state department, Myths, Illusions, & Peace is a must-read for them and for any serious student of America’s role in this crucial region. Reviewed by Jordan Magill If We Can Put a Man on the Moon By William D. Eggers & John O’Leary Harvard Business Press, $24.95, 275 Pages If We Can Put a Man on the Moon…Getting Big Things Done in Government should be a required reading before running for public office. Eggers and O’Leary eloquently argue the pitfalls of policy, legislation, and program implementation and how to avoid them. They also gracefully explore the psychology of public servants. The authors identify several major mistakes made by most well-meaning politicians: the Tolstoy Trap (failing to recognize and admit failure); the Design-Free Design Trap (drafting legislation that is without an executable structure); the Stargate Trap (poor implementation of policy); the Overconfidence Trap (failing to allow for error);
the Sisyphus Trap (underestimating the special challenges that exist in public reform); the Complacency Trap (fearing change more than fearing antiquation); and the Silo Trap (the insular nature of government entities are bound for failure). In their “Creating a Better Future” section, they offer ideas for reform that meets the needs of personal, political, and public needs. Using examples of both good and bad government programs from seventy-eight case studies (such as the 1944 G.I. Bill to the ongoing New York City School Reform,) make it more than a political “how-to.” The book is, rather, a treatise based on survey results from the National Academy of Public Administration, the Senior Executive Service, and a Canadian Policy Execution Survey. Reviewed by Sheli Ellsworth Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America By Barbara Ehrenreich Metropolitan Books, $23.00, 224 pages How could something so seemingly innocuous as “positive thinking” bring down the American mortgage industry, expand income disparities, prop up mass layoffs, and blame you for your poor health? In this tightly laid argument against the positive thinking movement in America, Barbara Ehrenreich articulately and logically demonstrates the undercutting of our society by what she lays out as a fluff-fi lled philosophy currently running rampant in our country. Before you run out and begin popping balloons or tripping clowns, make no mistake—Ehrenreich is not building an argument against happiness. Rather, her well-researched text points out that forcing yourself to think positively is more akin to turning the other cheek than it is to bringing about measurable joy. In fact, it’s our lack of action that the author admonishes. Ehrenreich follows the trend of positive thinking—a multi-billion dollar industry— to mega-churches, Wall Street, and academia. In each setting, the philosophy plays out similarly: rational analysis is pushed aside, while gut instinct and a positive attitude are placed on pedestals. In mega-churches, Ehrenreich describes a shift from scriptures about sin to motivational pep rallies dedicated to changing your life through positive thinking. Absent are crosses and statues of Virgin Mary. Instead, believers are told that God wants them to succeed, and they will if only they think positively about their futures.
Meanwhile, corporate America has become almost cult-like in its religious belief in positive thinking. Employees with a negative attitude are laid off. CEO’s ignore risk analysis and promise rosy projections based on their skewed view of the world sitting in penthouses and commuting to work via helicopter. Anyone caught trying to suggest change, rather than toeing the company line, is viewed as an outcast, and quickly sent packing. Incidentally, Ehrenreich shares the stories of several such nay-sayers who had predicted the mortgage downfall— the ultimate negative projection that no one wanted to hear. In academia, psychologists are scrambling to produce research that might show the scientific results of positive thinking on one’s health and mind. Yet, Ehrenreich finds few such studies. In fact, she has better luck with studies linking happiness to wealth. Coincidentally, positive thinking stops us from questioning the current American economic structure. After all, positive thinking is based on the premise that if you believe in your success, you will ultimately become successful like the fat cats on Wall Street. Ehrenreich writes, “why resent the swelling overclass—the CEOs earning an average of $11 million a year, the owners of islands and yachts—when you are aiming to join their ranks?” In fact, according to Ehrenreich’s research, positive thinking gurus even go so far as to blame the individual when something negative happens to them. It is your job to put on a happy face and turn lemons into lemonade. This permeates company layoffs and cancer support groups alike. If you can muster up a positive attitude, life will reward you and your luck will turn. This harsh look at the positive thinking industry, and its many threads woven tightly throughout American society, offers a bold argument against this philosophy. Instead, Ehrenreich begs the reader to return to critical thinking, asking questions, and attempting to bring about change in the world. After all, she argues, real change only truly comes about by hard work and innovation—not a mere positive attitude. If you’re looking for a book to open your mind, Bright-Sided won’t disappoint! Reviewed by Amber K. Stott Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government By Glenn Beck Threshold, $29.99, 299 pages Glenn Beck’s Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government is a frankly fun and informative read. Beck utilizes wit, sarcasm and basic history to back up his ideas on the current state of politics. Beck brings up some common (and some unusual) arguments he sees as frequently brought up in political discourse today. These include questions on capitalism, the
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veracity of commonly held truths and the demonizing of big business. Beck presents some commonly held arguments, both the more extreme and the more frequently seen ones, and uses historic precedents to answer them, using common sense. For good measure, Beck also includes an index afterward, fi lled with citations and locations from which interested readers can find more information on the subject. (Facts, as Mark Twain said, are stubborn things!) The one thing about Arguing with Idiots that didn’t seem necessary was the cover image, with Beck dressed as an officer of something between the Third Reich and Stalin’s USSR. This was likely a satirical answer to Beck’s worst critics, who enjoy demonizing him, but frankly is unpleasant to look upon. The book, however, is a great read, and makes the perfect gift for that liberal friend who needs some good solid facts for Christmas. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky Five To Rule Them All By David L. Bosco Oxford University Press, $24.95, 310 pages The story of the United Nations is the story of the Security Council, and more specifically the five permanent members who have veto power on the Security Council. In a way these five members have control over security of the world, and have the power to decide whether to intervene in confl icts or not. Yet the shape of the Security Council, and what its role should be, has changed and is ever changing. Is it a place for nations to hold diplomatic discussions, See FIVE, page 27
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Modern Literature & Fiction The Witch Doctor’s Wife By Tamar Myers Harper Collins, $13.99, 307 pages Settle in with a host of characters sure to hold your attention from start to finish! The Witch Doctor’s Wife is a delightful mystery filled with all the right ingredients: intrigue, secrets, love affairs, jewels, and deadly wild animals. The scene is a small African village in the Congo colonized by the Belgians. The land’s most valuable asset, diamonds, provide the source of the story’s greed and mystery. The year is 1958. The story opens with a plane crash. Much like the chaos of the accident, the book begins with a rapid series of short chapters, each introducing a new character, revealing only a hint of who they are. The reader doesn’t know it yet, but the characters’ lives are about to slowly intertwine, unwinding truth and deceit along the way. Author Tamar Myers writes from experience, having grown up in the Belgian Congo with her missionary parents. Through this lens, she gives realism to the relationships between whites and colonized Africans, servants and heads of household, employer and the employed. She also provides cultural information and short sketches on African animals at the start of each chapter, giving the reader a keener sense of the characters’ world. In fact, her characters tend to take on some of the traits of these animals. For instance, many animals she describes aren’t quite what they seem. The female hyena sports false genitalia, making her appear to be a male. One of the most deadly African snakes has no poison venom. Instead, it strangles its victims. Nothing is as it seems. Much like these creatures, the characters in the book aren’t what they initially appear to be. There’s a woman with a physical disability whose sharp mind surprises those who judge her based on looks. There’s a demure housewife whose “yes, sir” attitude is masking an evil disposition. And there’s a gorgeous diva whose husband is having an affair with another man. These are but a few of the folks you’ll meet along the way. “The OP felt a twinge of excitement. This business, more than most, was not unlike a night in a gambling parlor. With luck you broke even, some extravagant sallies aside. With exceptional luck-well, there was always that slim chance that someday you’d be the one who struck it big.” Each of these characters has a secret. Yet, this page-turner moves quickly to reveal
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them. Well, most of them. Nearly 200 pages into the book, there’s a man hiding inside a cave whose secret we suspect is darkest, yet whose story we know the least about. In fact, the drama in the lives of the other characters is moving along with such intrigue, you may even forget he’s there. This wise blend of subtlety and fast-paced suspense is truly the author’s gift. If you’re looking for a good read with good speed, beguiling characters, and an enchanting plot, you’ll have fun with The Witch Doctor’s Wife. Reviewed by Amber K. Stott Blame: A Novel By Michelle Huneven Sarah Crichton Books, $25.00, 291 pages Patsy MacLamoore is a history professor by day and a hard-edged party girl by night. She’s fighting a losing battle with the bottle, though she thinks she has it completely under control. Until, after another blackout she wakes up in jail, assuming that she’s been arrested for being drunk and disorderly, or perhaps another DUI. She blacked out the night before and remembers nothing. The news, when it comes, shocks her. She’s killed two people, a mother and daughter. She’d been driving drunk. “Did I kill someone?” In her novel, Blame, Michele Huneven delves into a life of consequences: regret, a trial, prison and the blame that Patsy simply cannot escape. A life built on self-blame is its own prison, though, so when years later the possibility surfaces that Patsy may not have actually been guilty after all, how will she find peace? This novel is, in parts, both well written and questionable. The style is unique, at times refreshingly so, at others aggravating. The characters are alive and compelling, but the resolutions to their stories may leave you wishing they’d been handled differently. The first half is brilliant while the second pales in comparison. It’s a good read, worth your while, but could have been better. Reviewed by Albert Riehle Picking Bones from Ash: A Novel By Marie Mutsuki Mockett Graywolf Press, $24.00, 284 pages Marie Mockett’s novel traverses continents, cultures, and generations, exploring the powerful yet fragile bonds between mothers and daughters. The narration alternates between Satomi and her American daughter Rumi, who believes her mother is dead. Part one opens in 1954 Japan where eleven-year-old Sato-
mi, who has a talent for music, lives with her mother Akiko above their pub. Akiko is determined that Satomi will fulfill her potential and marries a wealthy widower to secure Satomi’s future in music. “People can live their lives with a tiny bit of hidden truth tucked away in a corner of their brain. It can trip up behavior over and over again, only to be revealed in full when an accident forces it out, like a splinter in your toe that has kept you limping for years and only exposes itself when you fall.” A significant portion of the novel focuses on Satomi’s coming of age before switching to Rumi, who has grown up with her father in San Francisco. Rumi has a unique ability – ancient objects “speak” to her. When she discovers a bone hidden in a statue that her father secreted from her, she flies to Japan to find where her mother is buried. Mockett mixes ghosts and demons from folklore with the world of contemporary anime in an interesting twist. Unfortunately, Rumi’s voice does not have the fierce energy of Satomi’s and the story loses some of its power in her sections. However, the suspense of wanting to know, like Rumi, what happened to Satomi propels the reader forward. An engaging debut with heart. Reviewed by Deb Jurmu Biting Anorexia By Lucy Howard-Taylor New Harbinger, $16.95, 171 pages Lucy Howard-Taylor takes us through her descent into anorexia and her ascent to recovery in an extraordinary account of the devastating nature of the disease. It is a biting account that leaves the reader informed and horrified, but the writing, through the honest voice, is worth reading. This is a book to be felt and not just read; Howard-Taylor, a literature major, brings to the memoir the wisdom borne out of her forays into the territory of Virginia Woolf. //Reading the book is traveling from the dark, a “mishmash of memories,” to light, an understanding that liberates the psyche and heals the body. The book reads like a diary, as each detail is a record and labeled memory. There is some immediacy in the prose as the author brings the reader close to the experience in a conversational voice that lets you in on the secret. The sentences are sometimes desperate, rapidly revealing painful details, but
still managing to invite the reader to see what the author has gone through. She has recovered from the condition and now conquers it through remembering. She sits a new place of understanding, which she calls “the light.” Reviewed by Emmanuel Sigauke Box 21 By Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26.00, 393 pages Worlds collide in Box 21, a crime mystery that delves deep into the world of human trafficking. For the past three years, Lydia Grajauskas has been forced to work as a prostitute to pay a supposed debt to the man who bought her from her boyfriend. She is abruptly freed when he beats her a little too hard, and she wakens in a hospital, determined to never be humiliated again. At the same time, two police officers are hot on the trail of a major mafia player and almost have the evidence they need to pin him for good. Lydia surprises everyone by taking hostages. Can the police afford for her truth to be exposed to society? Box 21 is thrilling, edgy, suspenseful, disturbing, and ultimately incredibly unsatisfying. Many of the events are predictable and more than a little improbable; nevertheless, this book is a wild, amazing ride. The writing is a little unpolished, lending a truly gritty feeling throughout. The characters are three-dimensional; all have both faults and virtues, and none are wholly likeable. This novel is definitely not for the faint of heart. Reviewed by Holly Scudero
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Popular Fiction
John Dies at the End
Perfect Timing By Jill Mansell Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.00, 448 pages Author Jill Mansell dishes up another winner with her latest installment of British chick lit. Perfect Timing explores the decisions we make in an effort to find happiness. Talk about timing. The night before her wedding, right smack in the middle of her hen party, Poppy Dunbar meets a charismatic stranger. While not love at first sight, the meeting convinces Poppy of one small but important fact--that there is absolutely no way she can go through with the wedding. Chased out of her small village when she becomes known as “The Girl Who Jilted Rob McBride,” (Poppy has little choice but to take off for the bright lights of London. With a just a little nudge from fate and her own perseverance, she moves into the chaotic household of Caspar French, famous painter and ladies’ man, much to the annoyance of fellow flat-mate Claudia Slade-Welch. Mansell weaves an entertaining tale with rich, interesting characters. Readers can’t help but be amused by this delightful world where it’s utterly believable to win the Lottery or for young, sheltered girls to hobnob with the rich and famous. If I had one wish, however, it’d be that break-ups went as smoothly in real life as they do in Poppy’s world. Perfect for the casual reader. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley
John and David are two college dropouts with an unusual propensity for encountering all manner of horrific creatures and monstrous mind-bending entities. After each of them have unsettling encounters with a drug known as soy sauce, which allows its users to manipulate time and space with terrifying consequences, they find themselves with a heavy burden... save the world from an otherworldly menace with a penchant for crotch-punching. Too bad they’re probably gonna screw this up. As Dave presents his story to an interested but skeptical reporter, the reader follows the bizarre events of the last few years, encountering wig-wearing monsters, exploding Jamaicans, a potentially indestructible dog, and a bratwurst that works like a phone. John Dies at the End is a parade of nightmarish imagery, punctuated by laughout-loud moments, and if nothing else, it’s a fascinating read. The horror moments are genuinely squirm-inducing and unpleasant, hitting all of the major buttons -bodily invasion, unknowable evils, creatures in the night, paranoid delusions, shadowy conspiracies -- and although I finished the book days ago, some of the images are still haunting me. There is a lot of off-putting imagery and several genuinely creepy moments in the novel, and for some readers, they might have the potential to overwhelm the humor. The comedic interludes are fewer and farther between, but they are very welcome breaks from the darker moments. David’s annoyance with virtually everything and John’s enthusiasm for their work form a truly entertaining yin and yang, bright spots in a world where things can turn to crap in a heartbeat. There will undoubtedly be moments where those who don’t partake in recreational drugs (like myself) feel like they’re reading a chronicle of someone’s bad trips, but there’s a lot more to the story if you’re willing to ride out the dark moments. Even with the seemingly insurmountable horrors that John and David encounter, and the pessimistic forthrightness of the title, you might be surprised to find a darkly optimistic undercurrent running throughout the narrative. Despite all of the above, the novel is undeniably worth your time. At heart, John Dies at the End tells the bizarre and compelling story of two guys who have nothing better to do than try to save the world. And when it comes to heroes, we could do a lot worse. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
Nanny Returns By Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus Atria Books, $25.00, 320 pages It’s been 12 years since nanny Nan left the X family at the end of The Nanny Diaries. Nan and her husband, Ryan, (a.k.a. Harvard Hottie) have been living abroad for years, but have just returned to New York and purchased a house. Things get complicated right from the start when Ryan is called away on a humanitarian aid mission while Nan is left to deal with the dilapidated house, a new job as a consultant in a corru pted private school, and a teenaged Grayer X, who appears on her doorstep in the middle of the night. In the space of time that passed between The Nanny Diaries and Nanny Returns, the reader may find it difficult to remember the details from the first book that would make the second a more enjoyable read. Regardless, the book brings
an action-packed, fun and upbeat story full of comical observations of New York City’s quirky upper class. The focus of Nanny Returns is much different from the college student nannying struggles of the first book. Nanny Returns has a more mature focus, centering on the balance of marriage, a career, and the decision to start a family. Reviewed by Megan Just Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen By Marilyn Chin W.W. Norton & Company, $13.95, 224 pages In Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen, poet Marilyn Chin tells, through a series of vignettes, parables, and off-beat tales, the story of Chinese-American twins Moonie and Mei Ling Wong, A-students, delivery vixens supreme for their family’s restaurant, general troublemakers who are raised by their tough grandmother after their father dies and their mother, after an intense bout of depression, moves to Hong Kong. Through Moonie and Mei Ling’s adventures trying to grow up, adapt, come to terms with themselves sexually and culturally, Chin has provided her audience with a book that is a raucous good time—and so much more. While Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen may seem like an irreverent and fun book, rife with humor and sex, it is actually informed by a plethora of different sources, ranging from Chinese folklore to Buddhist philosophy, all of which are so seamlessly woven into the book, which is itself somewhat random and disjointed, that they contribute to a whole that is so much more than the sum of its parts, yet incorporates them in an absolutely flawless manner. Whether read as a statement on growing up Chinese-American, which it certainly is, or merely as a book about two intelligent, rebellious girls trying to figure out who they are, Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen is a brilliant first novel by an author who clearly has something to say. Reviewed by Ashley McCall The Twelve By William Gladstone Vanguard Press, $19.95, 266 pages While The Twelve by William Gladstone seemed slightly reminiscent of Ron Currie, Jr.’s Everything Matters!, it is not that book. As with Everything Matters!, this book deals with a man who knows when “the end of time” will arrive. Max acquires his knowledge at the age of fifteen when he also sees the names of Twelve individuals. Are these persons, all unknown to him, future apostles?
By David Wong St. Martin’s Press, $24.99, 373 pages
An interesting setup, but the writing from first-time author William Gladstone leaves much to be desired. At times, it feels like a children’s book with somewhat squirrely language that explains too much of the obvious: “Max accepted that wherever he was, he was exactly where he was supposed to be... he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time... the idea of making an error never occurred to him. He expected himself to be perfect in everything he did... and so he was.” Enjoying The Twelve will also require acceptance of many implausible events and the overuse of certain words such as “vivacious.” Maybe there’s a fine tale buried here, something that an editor could unearth, but it was simply not for this reader. Reviewed by Joseph Arellano
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Stocking Stuffer Idea! Recommended by HarperOne The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Birth
By Marcus J. Borg; John Dominic Crossan $13.99
December 09
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Romance How Not to Make a Wish By Mindy Klasky Mira, $13.95, 336 pages In How Not to Make a Wish, main character Kira Franklin is having a rough year. Dumped by her boyfriend, she’s sought the solace of her two best friends- Ben & Jerry… and the miseries keep piling on. With thirty extra pounds, Kira’s about to lose her job as a stage manager at a down-and-out local theater. Plus with added pressure from her father to trade her dream career in theater for the steady, reliable income as an attorney, she is just about at her wit’s end. Enter the lamp. As Kira organizes the theater’s vast array of costumes and props for auction, she discovers a magic lantern. Presto! A wish-making genie emerges, offering to solve all of her problems. Although the tale begins charmingly enough, and Kira is an interesting complex character with real-life problems, author Klasky brings nothing new to this wellused (read tired) classic plot. The supporting characters have incredible potential, particularly the genie, Teal, but Klasky fails
to flesh them out. As Kira makes bad choice after bad choice, it’s easy to deduce early that the moral of the story will center on the “be careful of what you wish for” theme. In summary, How Not to Make a Wish falls way short of the mark as true chick lit. However as a light-hearted mix of magic and romance, it’s right on. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley A Christmas Ball By Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan, and Alissa Johnson Leisure Books, $7.99, 336 pages Although I am not usually a fan of regency romance, the three tales penned by Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan, and Alissa Johnson in A Christmas Ball are entertaining enough to change my mind. In “The Longest Night,” Mary Cameron heals an ailing Baron Valentin in Scotland before leaving him behind. When he appears before her in London, she fights the inappropriate attraction she feels. Only his relentless pursuit allows her to see past their individual flaws. In “My Lady Below Stairs,” when her aristocratic le-
gitimate half-sister disappears, Jane Tate is pressed into service. Jane finds impersonating Sybil is easy; falling in love with the head groom Ian MacGregor is not. In “Traditions,” Proper Lord William Casslebury sets to woo the prim if somewhat anti-social Caroline Meldrin. Much to his chagrin he finds himself drawn to her unpredictable friend Patience Byerly instead. Yet he soon finds Patience is exactly what he needs. Reviewed by Lanine Bradley Can’t Stand The Heat (A Recipe for Love) By Louisa Edwards St. Martin’s Press, $7.99, 359 pages One of those rare contemporary romances: no suspense, no outrageous plot twists, no over-the-top humor, no wacky sidekicks--just plain, simple, well-written, and realistic characters. As book one in Edwards’ Recipe for Love series, Can’t Stand the Heat introduces not only the characters of the series, but the cutting-edge restaurant in which most of the action in this book takes place. The trouble begins when
Miranda Wake, the most feared restaurant critic in New York, drunkenly challenges the supremacy of chef Adam Temple’s cooking, and he challenges her to spend a month in his kitchen. The only trouble is, Miranda can’t cook! Compounding her stress is the sudden appearance of her younger brother Jess, whom she raised, and who has now dropped out of college. There is a secondary romance between Jess and a supporting character that may leave some readers uncomfortable, but it is handled in a nonjudgmental and sympathetic manner. Can’t Stand the Heat is definitely a recipe for love, and Edwards’ skill at creating a funny and sexy book without anything but the characters is marvelous. For those searching for contemporary romance with nothing but the hero, the heroine, and their confl ict, Can’t Stand the Heat is a must buy. Reviewed by Angela Tate
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Young Adult Road to Tater Hill By Edith M. Hemingway Delacorte Press, $16.99, 210 pages The devastation of a lost child has taken its toll on the Winter family. But it seems that that unknown baby had caused much more. She realizes that her mother is slipping away into grief. She doesn’t recognize her daughter, doesn’t eat, and doesn’t sleep. To escape, Annie takes frequent walks in the woods, and she discovers a source of comfort—a rock baby. But when she realizes that the place where the rock baby is kept is near to an abandoned house that holds a dark secret, as well as making haunting noises, she runs, only to find that she must go back. But it is perhaps the best thing that happened to her; there, she finds someone who will listen to her, Eliza McGee. Together, they take the first brave steps back into the world. Road to Tater Hill is the epitome of bittersweet books. You will find love, laughter, sadness, and the ability to move on, with no regrets—to make it a better day. It truly is a beautiful book that leaves an irreplaceable mark in the heart. Reviewed by A.Masri Shattered By Kathi Baron WestSide Books, $16.95, 262 pages Young, talented violinist Cassie is thrust into a life on the streets after yet another but most damaging, violent incident with her dad. After Cassie’s violin solo, he throws her precious cat, Calliope, across the kitchen and then turns his anger upon destroying her only vestige of solace; her Mangenot violin. She runs away and discovers the world out there alone is not what she thought it to be nor was her life at home all that bad. When Cassie goes home, she’s forced to deal with the abuse issues but is more ready to face them head on with her goddess by her side. Shattered offers a superb storyline, diminutive chapters, brilliantly mastered ethical dilemmas, marvelously No image plausible characters, yet available the storyteller loses her hold on the reader with choppy sentences in her sometimes police-report style writing. Other times, her descriptive methodologies ostensibly place you right in the scene, right down to your most primitive senses. We’re in for another eminent writer when author Kathi Baron discovers how to blend her phenomenal imagination into a story that whisks you away using the written word to demonstrate her tale and all it has to offer. Reviewed by M. Chris Johnson
Leviathan By Scott Westerfeld Simon Pulse, $19.99, 440 pages Going back in time to the age of WWI is the new debut series, Leviathan, which begins before World War I, when the stirrings of revolt are just beginning to arise. Meet Aleksander Ferdinand, a prince who is fleeing his country, which is dead set on killing him. With a band of loyal servants, he escapes to Switzerland, armed with only a Stormwalker and a secret cargo that withholds an even deeper secret. Meanwhile, on the opposing side, a girl (Deryn) disguised as a boy, by the name of Dylan, is trying out for the British Air Service. She dreams of flying in one of the air-beasts, life threads of different animals welded together to form war machines unlike any other. Her wish is soon granted—a mishap with a Huxley takes her off course, and onto the Leviathan. “One day soon Alek might be piloting one of those machines. War was coming, after all. Everyone said so.”
Tweens The Georges and the Jewels By Jane Smiley Random House Children’s/Knopf Delacorte Dell, $16.99, 232 pages Seventh grader Abby Lovitt’s father makes a living buying horses, re-training them, and selling them for a higher price. His most persuasive selling point is that a horse is so gentle and well trained that a kid could ride it, the “kid” being Abby, who has never minded her after school chore of riding horses until a horse called Ornery George bucks her off. Abby stands up to her strongwilled father for the first time in her life and refuses to remount, but she knows it’s just a matter of time until he’ll force her to face the dreaded horse. The Georges and the Jewels is a touching glimpse of ranch life in California in the 1960s through eyes of an honest, impressionable protagonist. The book is Pulitzer Prizewinning author Jane Smiley’s first book for children and she’s done a fantastic job. As in her novels for adults, in The Georges and the Jewels Smiley communicates harsh but true
It’s the Clankers versus the Darwinists, Aleksander versus Deryn, and they will be enemies forever. Or not. Because their courses collide by an unpredictable event that sends them aboard the Leviathan, and on an adventure that has the potential to change the world. The alteration in Scott Westerfeld’s writing is truly eminent, and absolutely enjoyable. Leviathan is the perfect adventure tale--a breakthrough for steampunk writers. Complete with capturing illustrations, this is a great gift for the fast-paced reader. I myself cannot wait for the sequel, and there is no doubt that fans of Westerfeld will not be disappointed either. Reviewed by A. Masri Living Dead Girl By Elizabeth Scott Simon Pulse, $8.99, 170 pages This book will draw comparisons to the real life case of Jaycee Dugar, the girl who was kidnapped and held as a sex slave for seventeen years. In a similar situation, the character in this novel, Alice, once had another name and another family. She has
themes though subtle undercurrents. Here, she’s catered to her newest readers by selecting a plotline with two elements young girls won’t be able to resist: horses and a gang of four middle school prima donnas. Reviewed by Megan Just The Magical Ms. Plum By Bonny Becker Random House Children’s, $12.99, 104 pages “What is Ms. Plum,” the children in Springtime Elementary School’s second grade class wonder? Is she a witch? Perhaps she is a fairy? Or, could she simply be a magical teacher? Not one of her students is quite sure what Ms. Plum is exactly, but each of them can agree that she is not ordinary. From deep in her supply closet, which smells of something yummy but unrecognizable, come the most fantastic creatures: monkeys who ride snowballs, poodle-like alligators, talking birds, miniature pooping ponies, and much, much more. Every time she asks a student to retrieve something from the closet, the perfect animal for that student
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become a shell of herself--a living dead girl-while being held by Ray, her captor. Though only 170 pages, this book packs a powerful punch as Alice narrates her terrifying story in stream-of-consciousness style. “I look wrong. I look dead. I’m not, though. I’m only partway there, a living dead girl. I have been for five years.” Alice, who hasn’t been in school for five years, learns about the world through television talk shows and soap operas. Though Alice is forced to eat only yogurt and take pills in order to keep her girlish figure, Ray is displeased by her progression from little girl to teenager. The narrator knows what happened to a previous Alice, and fears she will meet the same fate. When Ray decides to abduct another little girl, Alice is asked to assist. The realization of what will happen to the new girl finally gives Alice the courage to change her fate. The difficult scenes are artfully written so as to not be overly graphic. It’s a book that is both disturbing and hard to put down. Reviewed by Leslie Wolfson
appears. The only question the reader is left to ponder is, “If I went to the supply closet, what would come out after me?” “They will be wonderful. Hopers and schemers, helpers and dreamers, jokers and heroes. I can’t wait to meet each and every one.” The Magical Ms. Plum is a carefully crafted and beautifully told story of a teacher we all wish we had. The level of reading difficulty this book presents is perfect for the reader who is tired of reading children’s books, but who is not quite ready for novels. Peppered with lovely black-and-white illustrations, The Magical Ms. Plum is a sure crowd-pleaser. Reviewed by Kim Hudson Raffanelli The Mystery Stallion By Sharon Siamon Walrus Books, $8.95, 119 pages If you like horses, adventure, and actionpacked plots, you’ll want to read The Mystery Stallion. In this adventure, city-raised twins Liv and Sophie find themselves at their grandparents’ Arizona ranch tracking See MYSTERY, page 10
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down a lost wild stallion and its herd. While Liv loves horses as much as she loves the challenge of reaching for impossible goals, her twin Sophie is outdoor-adventure challenged. The legendary Diego, the wild stallion that’s been on their family land for generations, is injured and separated from his herd. Leaving him in the barn with Sophie to watch over him, Liv and their cute ranch hand, Shane, head out to search for the missing herd. But Sophie’s all thumbs at nursing an injury, and when Diego is spooked and starts thrashing in his stall, she panics and saddles a horse to get the ranch hand to help. Not a horse person, she forgets to double check the cinch, and the saddle slides sideways, causing her to fall and injure herself. This adventure is complete with conniving neighbors who want to get their hands on the grandparents’ land, hovering helicopters, and threatening rifles – a wellwritten, fast moving romp that makes for an excellent start to the Wild Horse Creek series. Reviewed by Susan L. Roberts
The Wizards Of Rondo By Emily Rodda Scholastic Inc., $16.99, 385 pages Don’t judge a book by its cover. This wellworn saying is applicable to many books, and could definitely be used for The Wizard of Rondo. The luminous green castles, and the poisonous-looking wizard brandishing the glowing wand are definitely woven into the story, but the cover does not encompass the adventurous and even whimsical world inside. With dramatic talking pigs, snappy, spicy ducks, and sensitive pots, this is hardly the scary story that the illustration portrays. Hidden beneath is the world of Rondo, where the main characters Leo Zifkak and Mimi Langlander are trying to rescue their magical world from its peril. But their mission is sidetracked when the infamous Wizard Bing goes missing along with the accused apprentice Simon. They set off with a unique entourage to clear Simon’s name and find (or rather rescue) Bing. But once they scrape the top of
10 December 09
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this mystery, they find that something lurks beneath, something that is far more dangerous and willing to kill them. The quirky characters and descriptions are wonderful, along with the surprise ending. There is, though, a problem. This book is for the reader who has been bred out of the books of childhood but cannot roam into the young adult. While perfect for the age group of 8-10, it can be ludicrous and even annoying for the older, more matured literary lover. The characters that are featured are not suitable for the terror of the adventure. The main character’s feelings are very mixed and do not have a definite shape. It is very awkward to read a book like this because nothing truly fits in the situation. Otherwise, it is a light adventure for the young tween reader. Reviewed by A. Masri
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Biographies & Memoirs Cold Eye, Warm Heart By Gerald Rosen Calm Unity Press, $17.95, 531 pages Nice, Jewish boy Gerald Rosen first began questioning the meaning of life while studying engineering in college. He completed a master’s degree at Wharton School of Business, joined the army, and got a PHD, all the while questioning why he was so unhappy. He searched for meaning by various methods, including reading the beat poets, experimenting with swamis, Eastern philosophy, and LSD, and remaining permanently drunk or high. He fought against materialism and became a professional Vietnam War protester. Eventually, he moved to northern California with his odd wife, Charlotte, to live in a shack on a commune. Along the way, he landed a job as an English professor at Sonoma State by telling the hiring committee that his first lesson would be to burn a dictionary in class. Rosen’s memoir is filled with colorful, offbeat characters and some fascinating, often bizarre experiences. Readers will be privy to an intimate portrait of the fifties, sixties, and early seventies from someone who was very involved with the artistic, social, and political climate. However, Rosen asks too many questions, over-philosophizes, and frequently comes across as self-absorbed. Some readers will find that charming; others will want to hand him some Prozac and tell him to see a shrink. Reviewed by Leslie Wolfson
Samuel Johnson By David Nokes Henry Holt and Company, $30.00, 432 pages Dictionaries are important. Not only do they tell people how to spell words that they do not know, they also promote a common definition, which will not dramatically change from region to region. The person most responsible for this was Samuel Johnson, who lived in the 1700s in England. His most well-known work was publishing a definitive dictionary, bringing together the many different spellings and definitions to promote a standard version. Besides that his life is full of missed opportunities and over-promotion. He constantly thought more of himself than what he actually accomplished. David Nokes took on the task and telling us why Samuel Johnson’s life was so important. Unfortunately the work, Samuel Johnson, falls flat throughout. We get the standard biography, with many events happening and all of them very important, though with little analysis or digging into these events; and many events in the long run being not very important or memorable. The best analysis happens when Mr. Nokes is examining some of Johnson’s couplets and poems; Mr. Nokes seems more adept at analyzing poems than living the life of a writer. Samuel Johnson’s life is not very impressive and he was not that nice of a man. Besides his Dictionary, his life is utterly forgettable. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and the Completion of the American Dream By Harlow Giles Unger Da Capo Press, $26.00, 352 pages As an 11-year-old student at Westmoreland County, Virginia’s only school, James Monroe formed what has to be one of the most remarkable schoolboy friendships in history, with 14-year-old John Marshall. They would eventually take different philosophical paths over the Constitution, with Marshall taking the Federalist viewpoint that the federal government could use any appropriate means to achieve its legitimate ends, and Monroe taking the Republican position that federal powers should be limited to national defense, foreign affairs, and international and interstate commerce. They would come back together on March 4, 1817, when, at the request of his old friend, Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office to President James Monroe. Monroe’s relationship with Marshall is more than just an interesting bit of trivia. James Monroe made a lifelong practice of establishing and maintaining relationships with people. As president, he toured the nation to promote national unity, something no president had done since Washington. I appreciated Unger’s clarity of expression. His descriptions of the American and French Revolutions, the events surrounding the Louisiana Purchase, and the War of 1812 are among the most lucid I’ve read. Reviewed by Paul Mullinger
God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Political and Personal Memoir By Joseph Sebarenzi with Laura Ann Mullane Atria, $25.00, 272 pages God Sleeps In Rwanda (Atria Books) by Joseph Sebarenzi (with Laura Ann Mullane) is a riveting, searing memoir by genocide survivor and parliamentarian Sebarenzi. In lyrical prose, he takes us from his childhood in rural Rwanda through his rise to Speaker of Parliament in the 1990’s. Though he states his family was poor, by the standards of the time and place, they were actually quite comfortable; his father had three wives, and the family owned land and cattle. However, they were Tutsi, and the family twice survived Hutu/ Tutsi violence. He escaped Rwanda before the 1994 genocide, but was forced to leave his wife and children behind. He lost seven siblings, his parents, and many other relatives in the genocide. He rejoined his wife and children in 1995, was elected to Parliament, and became Speaker. He details his growing disillusionment as promising democratic foundations based on the rule of law were gradually undone by Paul Kagame (currently President of the Republic of Rwanda), and as constitutional rights were abrogated. Convinced he was slated for assassination, he executed another harrowing escape, again leaving his wife and children behind. Eventually, with the aid of cooperating governments, the family was reunited. Today, Sebarenzi argues passionately and eloquently for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation, so that Rwanda can survive and prosper. Overall, a “must read.” Reviewed by Claudette C. Smith
Morecock, Fartwell, & Hoare: A Collection of Unfortunate but True Names By Russell Ash St. Martin’s Press, $14.99, 256 pages In this gleefully written volume are some of the silliest English names in history. I know of some silly-but-true names already, so when I see a volume like this I imagine it’s filled with names not too far off from those I’ve already encountered. That said, author Russell Ash has done a fine job crafting this book, and it’s organized so as to explain much prior to diving into the lists of various genres of ill-considered names. I didn’t expect to get as many laughs out of
this book as I ultimately did get, and confess to having laughed myself to tears once or twice. Despite the fact I didn’t find anyone named Hammond Egger in there, and clearly some of the names wouldn’t be funny if not for the advent of something over time to make it so (e.g. the name Minnie Cooper wouldn’t be funny prior to about 1970) there was no shortage of really incredibly silly names in this book. Some names were painfully embarrassing. This book could be a very dangerous thing in the hands of a pubescent boy a la Bart Simpson so I’d recommend keeping it away from the ‘tweens in the house. Short of that, especially over cocktails or coffee, this is a great little book to have strategically placed for a little conversation-making. Reviewed by John Cloutman
Humor - NonFiction The F Word By Jesse Sheidlower Oxford, $16.95, 270 pages Futz, fug, frell, frak, foul, mofo, OMFG, snafu, janfu, MILF, variations starting with cluster, mother, goat, and many others... the word in question has numerous linguistic siblings and cousins, and there has never been a more exhaustive or more complete collection of them than the third edition of Jesse Sheidlower’s The F Word. Annotated with the same attention to detail as the OxfordEnglish Dictionary -to be expected, since Sheidlower is Editor at
Large of the OED -- The F Word is replete with examples of usage spanning decades, sometimes centuries. Through it all, the book remains utterly professional, never descending into sophomoric snickering. It even goes so far as to document numerous stand-ins and safer alternates for the aforementioned word, as well as an unfortunate species of bird, simply as a matter of thoroughness. As an unabashed swearing enthusiast, I know full well the unbridled joy that a properly expressed swear can elicit, and as an equally unabashed word lover, the presentation and diligence of The F Word makes it both a satisfying read and a worthwhile resource. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
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Science Fiction & Fantasy Nightchild: Chronicles of the Raven By James Barclay Pyr, $16.00, 403 pages Five years have passed since the mercenary band known as The Raven retired, but a threat to a child born to two members of the group has brought them together again. Lyanna, daughter of Denser and Erienne, is the child of prophecy and her unfocused power is tearing the world apart. Fleeing the mage college that had awakened the child’s powers too early, Erienne seeks help from the only surviving mages who can train Lyanna. Denser seeks out the remaining members of The Raven to find Erienne and Lyanna and protect them from the mage hunters who seek to kill the child before her power can be fully realized. Nightchild is the third book in the Chronicles of the Raven and is easily James Barclay’s best book so far. Mixing terrifically atmospheric action with excellent characters, Barclay continues to show steady growth as an author and assurance with building a credible story. Nightchild is a bittersweet book that reminds us that love can be costly, but it is still a satisfying read and well worth the time. Reviewed by Theresa Lucas Unseen Academicals By Terry Pratchett Harper Collins, $25.99, 400 pages When the Wizards of Unseen University discover they must revive the (dubiously) fine tradition of organized football, and that they can’t use their magic during the game, everyone is in store for a debacle of truly legendary proportions. For starters, no one seems to know how it’s played, what kind of ball to use, or who should play. As football fever sweeps through the university, it falls to a curious foursome to add their own touches to the game -- the lovely, flighty Juliet, the sensible, capable Glenda, the handsome, misdirected Trevor, and the mysterious, inexplicably polite Mr. Nutt. After all, the fans are bringing their own magic to the big game. A bit more anarchic than his usual fare, Unseen Academicals is a tremendous return to the DiscWorld universe after the brief departure of his previous work, Nation. It’s a deft mixture of love story, mystery, comedy, and the classic underdog sports epic, with new characters and old favorites alike spinning the various
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threads together in a very satisfying package. Pratchett is back, and it’s like he never left at all. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas The God Engines By John Scalzi Subterranean, $20.00, 136 pages John Scalzi isn’t the more recognized name in science fiction, despite having won awards in the field and having his first novel nominated for the Hugo. Despite this he’s quietly built up an impressive body of hard science fiction. Scalzi abandons this fertile and familiar turf in his latest piece of work, the novella The God Engines, an intriguing work of fantasy that somehow manages to center around interstellar travel, holy wars, and the role of the individual in society. Scalzi somehow manages in a mere 136 pages to create believable, likeable characters who exist in a world that, while fantastic (spaceships travel by dominating captured deities and forcing them to move them through the stars), is both wonderful and convincing. I have only two complaints with the book: it ends far too soon and the conclusion is rushed as if Scalzi forced an ending on a story that needed several more pages to it. In the future I hope Scalzi takes another stab at fantasy, one that lasts a little longer… Reviewed by Jonathon Howard Quatrain By Sharon Shinn Ace, $24.95, 369 pages Quatrain is an anthology featuring new and original short stories featuring Sharon Shinn’s best-loved worlds, and once again reveals why Shinn is one of the best sf/f writers on the market. The anthology opens with Flight, which takes place in the world of the beautiful and fascinating angels. In it, Salome’s worst fears come true when the angels she avoided for over a decade appear unexpectedly as guests in the home in which she works. Their appearance creates a grave conflict between Salome and her rebellious teenaged niece, and opens wounds Salome thought healed years ago. Next is Blood, which an indigo/ gulden novel, which centers around gulden man Kerk, who hopes to find his mother, who escaped his abusive father years before. More social than any other story in the anthology, if not Shinn’s entire booklist, the plight of abused women and children is the
heart of this section, and Kerk’s decision to use the best of his heritage is harrowing. Gold is third, and follows the spoiled but charming daughter of the characters from Summers at Castle Auburn, who is taken to a seductive land for safety during a civil war, and nearly loses the man she loves. Lastly is Flame, which is set in the Twelve Houses series. While culling a bit from the Salem Witch Trials, Shinn once again expresses social issues in a fantasy setting without dogma or judgment, and ends with a wonderful romance. Quatrain is perfect for those wanting more from Shinn’s wonderful worlds. Reviewed by Angela Tate At Empire’s Edge By William C. Dietz Penguin, $24.95, 310 pages William C. Dietz writes hard-edged science fiction filled with action and adventure. He is an expert at creating intriguing and often hostile aliens and in depicting the chaos, blood, heroism, and randomness of battle. Dietz’s latest, At Empire’s Edge, finds him at the top of his game. At Empire’s Edge is the first of a planned two-book series featuring Jak Cato, a “xeno cop” in the interplanetary Uman empire. Xeno cops are genetically engineered with enhancements that make them ideal tools of law enforcement. Jak is a hardened cop with a tendency to drink too much and go his own way. As At Empire’s Edge begins, Jak and his interstellar shipmates are returning a shape-shifting, man-eating creature called a Sagathi to captivity. Toward the end of the mission, Jak is off getting drunk when his crew mates are suddenly killed and the Sagathi is freed. Driven by the need for revenge, Jak tracks the Sagathi across a planet at the edge of the Uman empire, where he is enmeshed in a political power struggle complete with oppression, deceit, and murder. The writing in At Empire’s Edge is spare and tight, driving the quickly moving plot forward. There is plenty of intrigue, fighting, and, of course, aliens. My only complaint is that as masterful as Dietz is in depicting battles and keeping things moving, a romance novelist he is not. Dietz’s description of Jak’s developing romance is awkward, to say the least. Thankfully, the touchy-feely moments are few and do not detract too much from the overall reading experience. All in all, Jak Cato’s first adventure is a fun, action-packed romp, and the second is sure to be more of the same, which is a good thing. Reviewed by Doug Robins
Sasha By Joel Shepherd Pyr, $16.00, 421 pages Sashandra Lenayin is one plucky gal. Not only has she thrown off her role as the Princess of Lenayin in order to become the student of Kessligh, one of the land’s greatest warriors, but she is also a dab hand with a sword, hot-tempered, sassy, and wants nothing to do with the binding loyalties her family expects of her. Sasha is an unladylike fighter in a world dominated by men and a follower of the ancient ways of Goeren-yai when the others of the land, including her family, follow the ways and gods of the Verenthane. Her place halfway between both worlds makes her an ideal player in the conflict that erupts, especially when the Goeren-yai come to see her as being anointed by their great spirit, the Synnich, as the savior of their people. Sasha reads like a pleasant melding of Lord of the Rings, medieval-style warfare and intrigue mingled with the political and religious wranglings of Dune. In fact, Sasha makes a nice female parallel to Dune’s Paul Atreides. With a galloping plot and plenty of swordplay, honor, dishonor, treacheries, and victories, Sasha is a worthy addition to the heroic fantasy genre. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns Doubleblind By Ann Aguirre Ace, $7.99, 302 pages Aguirre takes on the dominantly male science fiction genre and forces room for her jaded, nuanced heroine, Sirantha Jax, in Doubleblind, the third volume in her science fiction/adventure series. The book picks up were Wanderlust left off, though it stands alone quite well. In Doubleblind, Jax’s independence and unorthodox lifestyle are challenged by the new responsibilities placed on her by galaxy politics. Aguirre is masterful in worldbuilding and drawing a tale that is both imaginative and familiar, as Jax is one of the most relatable heroines present in fiction. Complicating her mission is the change found in her lover, March, who lost all memory of their relationship in the previous book. This relationship is painful and difficult to read, and it is to Aguirre’s credit See DOUBLEBLIND, page 23
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San Francisco & Sacramento Holiday
Gift
Dec 09 FREE
Guide Frank Lloyd Wright Complete Works, Vol. 3: 1943-1959 (v. 3) By Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer, Peter Gssel, and Peter Gossel Taschen, $ 200.00
The staff at Sacramento Book Review would like wish you a joyous holiday season. We’ve assembled book recommendations in this Gift Guide to make your shopping a little easier. Sacramento Book Review
Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen as Comic Strip By Stuart Hample and R. Buckminster Fuller Abrams, $35.00 The quirky and undoubtedly hilarious life of Woody Allen is put to paper in a series of comic strips, now collected in Dread & Superficiality: Woody Allen as Comic Strip. With style and a sense of humor, Allen’s personality shines through the comic and into the lives of those who read it.
The Cocktail Primer: All You Need to Know to Make the Perfect Drink By Eben Klemm; Mary Goodbody Andrews McMeel, $19.99 The Cocktail Primer teaches how to make a variety of good drinks, and more important, is what you need to know, other than the recipe, that will make a drink perfect for any occasion.
This three-volume monograph features all of Wright’s designs, both realized and unrealized. Made in cooperation with the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives in Taliesin, Arizona, this collection leaves no stone unturned in examining and paying tribute to Wrights life and work. Author Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer highlights the latest research and gives fresh insight into the work. Volume 3 starts after World War II, when Wrights organic living architecture introduced ideas for the use of solar energy and curved open spaces.
Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist By Herbert Block W.W. Norton & Co., $35.00 A celebration of the man and his work, including a DVD with 18,000-plus cartoons. There was no one like him. Throughout a career spanning 72 years and 13 American presidents, Herblock’s spare, folksy cartoons made complex issues seem simple and moral choices clear. It is a celebration of his life that reinforces the importance of editorial cartoons as a vital means for expressing political opinion in America.
Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years By Charles Schultz Andrews McMeel, $75.00 Sixty years of Peanuts, generations of fans, a gang of beloved characters, but only one creator: the legend, Charles M. Schulz. Andrews McMeel is proud to showcase the exclusive Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years. It is packed with commentary from throughout Schulz’s career, making this book not only a heartwarming tribute but also a true collector’s item. Th is special 60th anniversary tribute is arranged decade, to spotlight the highlights and development of this world favorite classic.
Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book By Norman Rockwell Abrams, $24.95 Originally published by Abrams in 1977, Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book is a holiday classic that has remained a bestselling family treasure for over 30 years. With over 85 images from Norman Rockwell’s archive of art, this fully redesigned edition brings a fresh, contemporary appeal to the original vintage volume. Th is holiday favorite features timeless art, including images of children sleigh-riding, families caroling, and Santa preparing for his big night, in addition to 15 new images culled from Rockwell’s extensive archive and eight ready-to-frame limited-edition prints.
For Dad Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL By Peter King Sports Illustrated, $25.95 Part memoirs, part analytical look at the sport of Football (an everything and everyone that Football includes).
Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book By Editors of Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated, $29.95 As only Sports Illustrated can bring you, Sports Illustrated: The Golf Book offers up the rich history of a game that has baffled, been loved by, played by, hated by, and watched by billions over the 500 years.
Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War By Terry Brighton Crown, $30.00 Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War illustrates the living and fighting philosophies and personalities of three World War II commanders from three separate nations, the USA, Britain, and Germany, respectively.
For the Artist Picasso By Dagen, Philippe Random House, $150.00 An intimate, and yet still worldly look into the life of the undeniably most famous artist of modern times, Picasso by Philippe Dagen covers the life, the work, and the legacy of Pablo Picasso.
Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo By Edited by Annice Jacoby Abrams, $35.00 A fine example of a beautiful art book, as the name suggests, differentiates itself by providing images and background on some of the most stunning pieces of street art in the city.
John Rombola: Eclectic Eccentric By Veronique Vienne; Melissa Tardiff Chronicle Books, $50.00 Veronique Vienne and Melissa Tardiff have found the perfect description of John Rombola’s unique, folksy, and utterly creative art with Eclectic Eccentric.
For the Music-Lover All You Need to Know About the Music Business: 7th Edition By Donald S. Passman Free Press, $24.95 A much-needed guide for anyone interested in or entering the fickle waters of today’s music industry. Covering recording to getting signed and branding, this manuscript also offers ideas that may be useful in helping the growing internet-pirating problem. Michael By Jason Fine; Editors of Rolling Stone HarperStudio, $29.99 A complete biography of the most famous man of our time, Michael chronicles the life and career of Michael Jackson, pop megastar. From the early days until his tragic death, the editors of Rolling Stone take an in-depth look at the life of a great musician.
Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties By Ethan A. Russell Grand Central Publishing, $35.00 Ethan A. Russell, who traveled with The Rolling Stones on their Let It Bleed tour, has brought forth a telling book with Let It Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties. The Velvet Underground: New York Art By Edited by Johan Kugelberg Rizzoli, $50.00 The Velvet Underground; the most famous project by Rock and Roll legend Lou Reed, the band almost universally named as one of the most influential and creative bands of its time, has its own thorough and authoritative book.
The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer By Johnny Mercer, Robert Kimball, Barry Day, and Miles Kreuger Knopf, $65.00 Johnny Mercer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American lyricists of all time, took the art of writing and performing song lyrics to a whole new level. Now, his complete collected works are together. The Jazz Loft Project: Photographs and Tapes of W. Eugene Smith from 821 Sixth Avenue, 1957-1965 By Sam Stephenson, W. Eugene Smith Knopf, $40.00 Until the publication of The Jazz Loft Project, no one had seen Smith’s extraordinary photographs or read any of the firsthand accounts of those who were there and lived to tell the tale(s).
For the Movie-Lover Some Like it Hot By Laurence Malson Harper Collins, $35.00 More than a film-companion guide, Some Like It Hot is filled with information from both on-scene and behind the scenes from the classic film of the same name. Perfect for the enthusiast and the newcomer alike, this work gives the film a new depth.
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Audrey Hepburn: International Cover Girl By Brizel, Scott Chronicle Books, $45.00 A collection of hundreds of magazine covers featuring the marvelous Audrey Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn: International Cover girl contains more than just an assortment of images that prove the book’s title.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence By Jan Harlan; Jane Struthers; Chris Baker Thames & Hudson, $60.00 Showing and telling the story of one of the most important movies of the 2000’s, A.I. Artificial Intelligence contains textual and visual insight into the film. A collaboration between legendary directors Kubrick and Spielberg, the film’s back-story and making-of has much to reveal.
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For Kids Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Complete Series By Rick Riordan Disney, $89.99 Packaged in a series-themed chest, contains all five books bound in hardcover. This special edition also includes a built-in secret chamber with a few Percy-fied surprises. Brisingr Deluxe Edition By Christopher Paolini Random House Childrens, $29.95 Continuing the fantastical journey of the Inheritance Series, Brisingr Deluxe Edition is great fantasy for the young reader. Included with the deluxe edition are items that tie into the series, such as art and deleted scenes.
New Moon Collector’s Edition By Meyer, Stephenie Little, Brown Young Readers, $30 For those who have read New Moon and loved it, as well as for those who are new to the series, New Moon Collector’s Edition is a subtle-yet-good-looking addition to Meyer’s wildly popular Twilight series. The Twilight Journals By Meyer, Stephenie Little, Brown Young Readers, $24.99 Write your own Twilight Saga! With The Twilight Journals, four blank slate (save art and a quote here and there) hardbound journals, one can create their own story, or do anything else they wish with them. The possibilities are literally endless.
Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia By Christopher Paolini Random House Children’s, $24.99 For the Eragon-enthusiast and general fantasy-fan alike, the easily accessible Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia is here and filled with art from the series. This is a great accompaniment and/or introduction to the magic of Eragon. The Annotated Wind in the Willows By Kenneth Grahame Norton, $39.95 Presenting one of the modern classics in young reader’s English literature in a new light and with new insight, Annie Gauger gives us an annotated version of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows with this The Annotated Wind in the Willows.
For the Decorator Majestic Metropolitan Living: Visionary Homes in the Heart of Cities By Sue Hostetler Clarkson Potter, $65.00 Taking a look into the highest-end heart-of-the-city homes, from San Francisco to New York, this work tours some of the most exquisite residential usages of prime city real estate.
Lasting Elegance English Country Houses 1830–1900 By Michael Hall Monacelli Press, $65.00
Rooms To Remember By Suzanne Tucker Monacelli Press, $65.00 A large art book filled with inspiring interior-design ideas, examples, and perfection, Rooms to Remember takes a glance at some very finely decorated buildings. From minimalistic to gaudy, a range of styles are covered and exemplified.
Portraits of remarkable English and Welsh 19th century homes, many of which are closed or unknown to the public, are found within Lasting Elegance: English Country Houses.
For the Fashionista The Ballets Russes and the Art of Design By Alston Purvis, Peter Rand & Anna Winestein Monacelli Press, $60.00 Considered still some of the most avantegarde performances of all time, Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes were a culmination and overlapping of the pinnacles of many different forms.
<<Title Book>> Sumo HelmutofNewton: By <<Author>> By June Newton <<Publisher/Imprint>>, <<Price (use Taschen, $150.00 $)>>, <<Page Count (type>> Originally clocking in at more than 66 pounds in weight, Sumo is back in a more common-man friendly version, but it definitely does not lack any content.
Posing Beauty By Deborah Willis Norton, $49.95 Big, Black, and Beautiful, Posing Beauty by Deborah Willis is a thorough and varied collection of photographs of African American people, culture, and life spanning from just before the 20th century all the way until today.
The World in Vogue By Bowles, Hamish Random House, $75.00 A hardbound collection of Vogue’s most vogue people and events, The World in Vogue offers an insider’s look into the uber-elite world of the ultrachic celebrity life. Hundreds of photographs of some of the most recognizably high-class-cool people.
The Style Strategy: A Less-IsMore Approach to Staying Chic and Shopping Smart By Garcia, Nina Harper Collins, $21.99
Dita: Stripteese By Von Teese, Dita Harper Collins, $30 Dita: Stripteese by the ever-sexy burlesque star Dita Von Teese is a tribute to the art of burlesque and the strip tease. With flip books of her performances, this enticing title is sure to excite readers, and leave them Teesed and wanting more.
Reconciling the two seemingly contradictory goals of frugality and fashion sense, Nina Garcia’s The Style Strategy walks the everyday fashionista through looking good without spending a lot.
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For the Home Chef/Foodie My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur By Romney Steele Andrews McMeel, $35.00 A memoir of life in the seemingly faraway world of Big Sur, California, My Nepenthe tells of growing up in an isolated, beautiful, and laid back community. It also tells of dining at the Nepenthe resteraunt, nestled in the heart of Big Sur.
The Competent Cook: Essential Tools, Techniques, and Recipes for the Modern At-Home Cook By Lauren Braun Costello Adams Media, $19.95 The Competent Cook offers advice, methods, and tips on how to make your home cooking and kitchen more exciting, efficient, and just plain better. The Competent Cook will leave readers more than just competent.
Venezia: Food and Dreams By Tessa Kiros Andrews McMeel, $34.99 A partially autobiographical cookbook, Tessa Kiros’s Venezia: Food and Dreams is an outline of the food, fun, and culture of Venice. Chronicling Kiros’s escapades in the great Italian city, meal by meal, readers and cooks will end their day satisfied.
Coffee Table Books Space Project By Lynn Davis; Alan Weisman Monacelli Press, $65.00 Offering a view into the futuristic looking and often secretive world of space travel, Space Project provides background and images of the many different space programs and program sites around, on, and outside of the Earth. Lives of Devotion: The Many Faces of Faith Photographs by Fernando Moleres Rizzoli, $80.00 Lives of Devotion is a photographic look at the devoutly faithful of all types that dedicate their lives to religion, God, spiritualism, monasticism, and the like.
Ancient Light: A Portrait of the Universe By David Malin Phaidon Press, $49.95 Literally reaching for the heavens, Ancient Light: A Portrait of the Universe by David Malin is a star-studded book. Filled with graciously primal photographs of some of the highlights of the known universe, it is an awe inspiring work. Painting Today By Tony Godfrey Phaidon Press, $75.00 Painting Today is a comprehensive overview of the last 30 years of painting, presenting work by celebrated figures like Gerhard Richter and Neo Rauch alongside emerging artists like Jumaldi Alfi and Ingrid Calame.
Jesus of Nazareth: The Illustrated Edition By Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger Rizzoli, $60.00 Pope Benedict XVI’s book about Jesus, the man, is back and illuminated! With its release coinciding with the holiday season, Jesus of Nazareth: The Illustrated Edition is a beautifully put together book. Earth on Fire By Bernhard Edmaier and Phillip Strand
Phaidon Press, $59.95 Earth on Fire features images of a wide variety of phenomena that are the result of volcanic activity, accompanied by clear, accessible texts explaining key details and events.
History Buffs Women Aviators By Bernard Marck Rizzoli, $45.00 A tribute to women taking to the skies, Women Aviators documents the stories of women in the air, all the way up to modern female astronauts.
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography By John Milton Cooper Jr Knopf, $35.00 Woodrow Wilson: A Biography tackles the touch assignment of writing an interesting, fair-minded, and balanced presidential biography with ease and knowledge. Covering Wilson’s life and controversial career, Woodrow Wilson is a prime example of an indepth and non-recycled biography.
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Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It By Susan Wels Running Press, $35.00 An in-depth biography of one of the most famous female pilots ever, Amelia Earheart: The Thrill of It not only chronicles her early life and flying career, but also travels into deeper and lesser-known aspects of the enigmatic woman.
American Entrepreneur By Larry Schweikart and Lynne Pierson Doti AMACOM, $29.95 A history of America told through the lens of biographies of our most innovative businessmen, American Entrepreneur is an informative collection of biographies.
How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood By William J. Mann Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28 A big, beautiful book for a larger-than-life beauty, How To Be A Movie Star chronicles the life and times of the most famous violet-eyed woman of all time, and one of the first movie-mega-stars, Elizabeth Taylor. New York 400 By The Museum of the City of New York Running Press, $40.00 New York 400 celebrates the 400th Hudson River anniversary in a very researched, thorough, and downright interesting fashion. A visual history and portrait of the great city is within the pages, and what a portrait it is!
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For the Photographer Bolivia By Don McLaughlin Fields Publishing, $39.95
Photography in 100 Words By David Clark Focal Press, $29.95
Empty Quarter By George Steinmetz Abrams, $40.00
Give the photography, literature, or general arts enthusiast a peak at this book and they won’t be able to put it down. Photography in 100 Words is not only a stimulating concept, it is executed with precision, and the end result is excellent artistic commentary.
While on a Standard-Oil sponsored oil hunt through South America, Don McLaughlin took the opportunity to photograph a far off and exotic country and its people. The result, now almost half a century later, can be seen in the stunning collection of photographs within Bolivia.
The stark and literally barren heart of the Arabian Desert is viewed aerially in The Empty Quarter. The complete lack of any life proves for very enigmatic photographs, as this concept of places on our Earth being so inhospitable is hard to wrap one’s head completely around. What results is breath-taking imagery.
For Mom Style and Substance: The Best of Elle Decor By Russell, Margaret Filipacchi Publishing, $45.00 Offering the cream of the crop of 20 years’ worth of Elle Decor magazine’s featured rooms, floor plans, DIY advice, and general tips concerning the decoration and organization of space. Return to Beauty: Old-World Recipes for Great Radiant Skin By Narine Nikogosian, Nancy Singer Simon & Schuster, $25.00 Return to Beauty offers regimens made from fresh ingredients that can be found right in your kitchen. With recipes for winter, spring, summer, and fall, you can look beautiful throughout the year.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl By Drummond, Ree William Morrow Cookbooks, $27.50
Girlfriends Are Lifesavers By Reeda Joseph Viva Editions, $14.95 Filled with pairings of photographs of kindred women accompanied by whimsical captions, Girlfriends Are Lifesavers celebrates the friendship of women and brings a variety of emotions to the table.
The semi-autobiographical The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a personal story of love, food, and finding one’s inner country side. Filled with color recipes and colorful anecdotes, The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a wonderfully entertaining guide. Simply Stunning Jewelry: A Treasury of Projects, Techniques, and Inspiration By Nancy Alden Crown Publishing, $24.99 No matter what material you want to work with, this book has it covered. In one indispensable volume, renowned designer Nancy Alden shares her expansive knowledge of jewelry design.
Site Furnishings: A Complete Guide to the Planning, Selection and Use of Landscape Furniture and Amenities By Bill Main, Gail Greet Hannah Wiley, $65.00 Introducing the first all-in-one guide to site furniture principles, processes, and best practices. Site Furnishings comprehensively examines how to elevate the design of site furnishings to achieve programming goals.
For the Baker Gingerbread: Timeless Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Desserts, Ice Cream and Candy By McGlinn, Jennifer Lindner Chronicle Books, $19.95
The Amish Cook’s Baking Book By Lovina Eicher with Kevin Williams Andrews McMeel Universal, $29.99 In The Amish Cook’s Baking Book, this elegant simplicity, this minimalism, is demonstrated to still be able to provide flair and pleasure through the presentation of 100 delicious baking recipes.
It’s the time of year for Gingerbread! Original and creative, McGlinn will have you salivating for this often Holiday-only treat all year round.
Rose’s Heavenly Cakes By Rose Levy Beranbaum Wiley, $39.95 An all-new, full-color cake-lover’s companion from Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Diva of Desserts! This comprehensive guide will help home bakers to create delicious, decadent, and spectacularly beautiful cakes of all kinds with confidence and ease.
For the Writer The Oxford Companion to English Literature By Graham Rees, Margaret Drabble Oxford University Press, $125.00 The Oxford Companion has been thoroughly revised and updated to meet the needs and concerns of today’s students and general readers. More than 1,000 new entries have been added from around the world.
Garner’s Modern American Usage By Bryan Garner Oxford University Press, $45.00 In this update of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (1998), a contributor to The Chicago Manual of Style (2003) offers entries that discuss either a particular word or phrase, or larger issues of usage and style.
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The Talented Miss Highsmith By Joan Schenkar St. Martin’s Press, $40.00 In this revolutionary biography, Joan Schenkar paints a riveting portrait, from Highsmith’s birth in Texas to Hitchcock’s filming of her first novel, Strangers On a Train, to her long, strange, self-exile in Europe.
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Games Samurai: The Card Game Rio Grande Games # of Players: 2-4, $19.95
Ninja Versus Ninja Out of the Box #of players: 2, $16.24 A Stealthy Game of Swords and Rewards. Your Ninjas must defend the honor of their dōjō against a rival dōjō. Victory hinges on eliminating Ninjas and skillfully venturing into the opponent’s dōjō. Every move is critical as you position.
Samurai - The Card Game requires players to follow the traditions set by the Samurai (unfailing courage, unquestioned loyalty, and internal harmony) in order to win this new, but old, game.
Word on the Street Out of the Box # of Players: 2-8, $24.99
Burger Joint Rio Grande Games # of Players: 2, $24.95 In this two-player game, each player runs a chain of fast-food joints: one specializes in burgers and the other in pizzas. As each expands, he takes on some of the menu items of the other in order to compete for customers. The most successful chain will win in the end!
Letter Roll Out of the Box # of Players: 2-8, $24.99
On each turn, one team flips over a category card. Team members frantically brainstorm words that fit the category while the opposition tries to sidetrack them. The team must agree on a word and pull each letter of that word one lane closer to their side of the street, all before the time runs out.
Everybody’s Word Game! Roll the special dice and flip the timer. Players race to list words containing the three letters shown on the dice. Only words listed by a single player score points so players are rewarded for their speed and creative thinking!
Dominion Rio Grande Games # of Players: 2-4, $44.95 You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams! You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion!
Holiday-Related A Kidnapped Santa Claus Illustrated by Alex Robinson Harper Collins, $14.99
French General: Handmade Soirees: Simple Projects for Special Occasions By Kaari Meng Chronicle Books, $29.95
The Gift of the Magi Illustrated by Joel Priddy Harper Collins, $14.99
A re-imagined cartoon version of L. Frank Baum’s holiday tale, A Kidnapped Santa Claus is fantastical fun, especially during this season. More than just a little bit of creativity and imagination put into the illustration of such an entertaining story. A Christmas Present For: ME! By Lily Karr, Illustrated by Jill McDonald Scholastic, $6.99 Made to look like an already wrapped Christmas present, A Christmas Present For Me! offers a gift and a holiday story all wrapped up into one. Save time and energy, and give the gift of a warming Holiday Book!
A comic-book interpretation of a classic holiday tale, The Gift of the Magi by Joel Priddy adds a new dimension to the story with his art. A touching story, The Gift of the Magi is sure to warm the hearts of all.
With over 20 projects outlined, French General: Handmade Soirees shows everyone how to add a touch of class to their homes, and makes it as easy and fun as arts and crafts should be. My First Countdown to Christmas By Dr. Mary Manz Simon Scholastic, $9.99
A Chanukah Present for: ME! By Lily Karr, Illustrated by Jill McDonald Scholastic, $6.99 Made to look like an already wrapped Chanukah present, A Chanukah Present For Me! offers a gift and a holiday story all wrapped up into one. Save time and energy, and give the gift of a warming Holiday Book!
Count down to Christmas with someone special to you or with your kids! Countdown to Christmas (My First Read and Learn) is filled with activities and lessons that the family can enjoy.
Miscellaneous Kata Golda’s Hand-Stitched Felt By Kata Golda Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $19.95 With Kata Golda’s Hand-Stitched Felt, Kata Golda shows the arts and crafts enthusiast how to sew a variety of quaint and fun crafts out of felt using simple, easy-to-follow techniques. With over 25 projects, Golda will keep reader’s hands busy for some time to come.
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The USA Book: A Journey Through America (General Pictorial) By Karla Zimmerman and et. al. Lonely Planet, $39.99 A state-by-state tour of the best that this great country has to offer, The USA Book: A Journey Through America reminds one why they love living in this nation. Filled with visually stunning photographs.
Ranches of the American West By Linda Leigh Paul Rizzoli, $65 Exploring the contemporary ranch-house: Both functional and elegant, these ranch houses incorporate all of the utility of American ranches of the past, as well as the beauty of modern architecture.
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History Incest and Influence: The Private Life of Bourgeois England By Adam Kuper Harvard University Press, $27.95, 296 pages Marriage between first cousins is a staple of Victorian fiction: Mansfield Park, Bleak House, and Wuthering Heights each feature endogamous unions. In Incest and Influence: The Private Life of Bourgeois England, Adam Kuper demonstrates how widespread “cousin marriage” in the 18th and 19th centuries in England accompanied the rise of the urban bourgeoisie. In Victorian England, 10% of marriages within this emerging “status group” (we might call it the “upper middle class” today) were between first cousins or in-laws. “Marriage within the family” kept property within the family and maintained kinship networks, solidifying the wealth, influence, and prestige of such clans as the Darwin-Wedgwoods, the Macaulay-Trevelyans, and the members of the evangelical “Clapham Sect,” progenitors of the writer Virginia Woolf. Indeed, Kuper ends his study of this phenomenon with a chapter on the 20th century Bloomsbury group, who take inter-marriage and cultural influence to radical new extremes. Inevitably, Kuper’s discussion of specific families is apt to gloss over complex individual biographies in favor of sketching the broader family tree. Nonetheless, this is an invaluable survey of a significant, and under-studied, social phenomena reflected in Victorian literature Reviewed by Catherine Hollis Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel By Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett Abarams/Abrams Image, $24.95, 167 pages Where does history end and fiction begin? There exists a narrow line between telling a true story and telling a story with facts dispersed within it. Boilerplate is a combination of the two; there are real people involved in real events, but in the middle of all this reality exists something that is not real. It is the story of the first mechanical man— a prototype meant to be used by the armies of the world so that men would no longer have to die in war. One scientist in the 1800s dreamed of this creation and built his mechanical man but was never able to convince the governments of the world of its usefulness. The authors treat this as a history: Boilerplate
meets Presidents, fights in wars, goes to Alaska for the Gold Rush, and fights in World War I. We see photos of Boilerplate meeting famous people. The authors have done an excellent job of incorporating Boilerplate into the history of the late 1800s and early 1900s. They weave his actions and appearances seamlessly into the history of that time. The photos look like they actually happened, and as a reader you must continually remind yourself that you are reading a work of fiction—a work that is not totally true—written in a manner that will prove quick and enjoyable to read. Reviewed by Kevin Winter There Is No Freedom Without Bread!: 1989 and the Civil War That Brought Down Communism By Constantine Pleshakov Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, $26.00, 289 pages As someone who was lucky enough to be in Eastern Europe shortly after the Wall fell, I was struck by the reaction of the natives to the events: euphoria, of course, and hostility toward the departing Russians, but also a wistful regret that “the system” had failed. Constantine Pleshakov explores the latter aspect--that there was a homegrown “goulash communism” and socialism in Eastern Europe separate from Russian influence--in order to bolster his argument that the collapse in the East had a lot more to do with internal conflicts than with gung-ho webeat-communism Western pressures. He thus replaces the old (reactionary) conventional wisdom with a new (progressive) one; I’m sure neither is entirely correct, but it’s fascinating to get an insider’s point of view. The book has a central problem, at least for Western readers: you’re apt to bog down in the welter of unfamiliar names and local events, and sometimes the book’s style becomes unfocussed and overheated. Despite that, it’s a worthy read: the characterizations of Gorbachev, Walesa et al. are thoroughly intriguing, if somewhat contemptuous. And it’s hard to argue with Pleshakov’s main point: the system may have changed, but the disenchantment lingers on. Reviewed by Jim Vasser The Twilight Years By Richard Overy Viking, $35.00, 522 pages Through the lens of history, the two decades that comprise the inter-war years might well be called World War 1.5. While the League of Nations struggled to enforce the Versailles Treaty, trouble brewed throughout Europe, leading to what many
argue was the inevitable build-up to World War 2. Author Richard Overy describes the era in The Twilight Years, a thoroughly researched account of Britain between the wars. Although some have called the period between 1919–39 “the twenty glorious years,” Overy contends that Britain was overcome by a nihilistic “culture of crisis,” during which intellectuals, politicians, scientists, workers, and writers bemoaned the coming end of civilization. Overy focuses his account of the inter-war years on the ideas and issues of the day: capitalism, fascism, and pacifism, as well as psychoanalysis, sex, and eugenics. Overy, a professor of modern history at the University of Exeter, ably examines this critical period in history. The book’s introduction provides a comprehensive explanation of Overy’s approach to the topic, outlining well his reasons for focusing solely on Britain instead of the whole of Europe—and explaining away omissions that otherwise might be considered detrimental. The Twilight Years: The Paradox of Britain Between the Wars is itself a paradox in some ways. It is at once dense and accessible. At times, the conversational writing style belies an assumed level of knowledge that general readers may not have. And, while Overy provides a readable overview of Britain during the era, the text often gets bogged down in minutiae, such as, for example, how many copies of a notable publication were printed in what format in how many editions at what price. Although such details are interesting, the implications of such information often, unfortunately, are not explained. In general, Overy offers no facile explanations of the state of Britain during the inter-war years. He provides ample evidence to describe the various issues that shaped the Empire, but more analysis would be welcome. For example, he shines when explaining the effects on Britain of the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39, but glosses over the Czech crisis in 1938. The final two chapters of the book are more insightful, however, and provide a thoughtful conclusion. The Twilight Years fills a gap in contemporary literature about the inter-war years. Complex but readable, ambitious but accessible, it provides an in-depth look at one of Europe’s major powers during a troubled and tumultuous era. Reviewed by Kelli Christiansen
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The Black-White Achievement Gap: Why Closing It Is the Greatest Civil Rights Issue of Our Time By Rod Paige and Elaine Witty Amacom Books, $22.00, 209 pages After African-Americans have overcome so many obstacles, the inequity in the education system remains. Black students are trailing their while peers on academic tests, experience high dropout rates and low college completion rates, and usually shy away from majors in hard sciences and mathematics. These students, according to these authors, fall behind early in school and fall farther behind as each year passes, with a gap developing that is due to many socioeconomic disparities. These students are not learning effectively and lack fundamentals, high expectations, and great teaching, along with the support and commitment from home, school, and community. This intellectual inferiority not only slows the accumulation of wealth, but can also be linked to a lack of health insurance, time served in prison, and earlier death. Disengagement, conflict of politics and a sensitivity to discuss matters that might reflect poorly on the African-American community are a few of the issues discussed by these scholars on closing the achievement gap, which have been avoided. When a politician or leader is judged more by his or her political party than by his or her aims, students lose out, these scholars believe. In America, according to these researchers, trying to close the achievement gap now and setting an example for the future are important. Old laws restricting the education of students in black schools and universities have enabled the African-American community to rise, with many educational opportunities. Quoting from this impressive study, Paige and Witty have issued a call in that education should be on the lips of every AfricanAmerican leader so that they understand the issues, accept responsibility and bring it to the community with a sense of purpose and urgency. This should be the most important subject discussed at conferences and conventions, local and national, even down to active participation in local school board elections. Paige and Witty believe that the commitment of leaders can mobilize the entire community and close the black-white achievement gap once and for all. Reviewed by Claude M. Ury
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Seasonal The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever By Steven Kroll, Illustrated by Jeni Bassett Scholastic, $4.99, 32 pages Clayton and Desmond, both residents of Mouseville, are on the hunt for the biggest Christmas tree ever. They wake up the day after Thanksgiving to begin their search and are both disheartened when they can’t find what they are looking for. They go back out on their search after sound advice from their dad and uncle and they come across the biggest, most spectacular tree around. They rally friends and family and carry it back to Mouseville where they all pitch in to decorate it. This is a cute story about mice coming together and celebrating Christmas as a community. The wording is fairly simple, but younger children may need some help reading due to the amount of words on each page. The drawings are colorful and very appropriate for children. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun Santa’s Stowaway By Brandon Dorman Greenwillow Books, $16.99, 40 pages When I first saw this book I thought the artwork would most impress me. It seemed like authentic Victorian-era art gracing the pages of this sweet-hearted children’s holiday story. At first I thought maybe the storyline was a bit too familiar ,though I don’t suppose there’s much left to wring out of Kris Kringle stories that hasn’t been conceived already. It’s more about the way the story is told. It’s a wonderful story, with just the right level of complexity for a child and with minor details linking the artwork with the storyline that make a big difference in the end. Notice the little girl who stayed
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up late on Christmas Eve and met Santa, and see that she is missing a button, just like the doll that the elf thought was somehow imperfect. That is a hidden lesson in the story I hope every little boy and girl learns – something can seem defective, broken or incomplete, but still be perfect. That detail alone makes this a sweet, sincere, and endearing little story and it’s sure to send any little boy or girl to a happy dreamland when it’s read to them at bedtime this holiday season. Reviewed by John Cloutman Tree of Cranes By Allen Say Sandpiper, $7.99, 32 pages What did Christmas mean to a little boy in Japan years ago? Allen Say recalls his childhood memory of his first Christmas. One day, his Californian-born mother, who was raised in the western hemisphere, decided to surprise and introduce this worldwide popular tradition to her young son. However, that very day, the boy had misbehaved. He knew he was wrong. His conscience constantly bothered him. His mind puzzled and assured him that mama was upset at his disobedience. And Mama behaved unusually strangely…he felt that mama was cold and mysterious. When mama came in with a baby pine tree in a large pot, the boy got even more curious. Say cleverly interlaces the western and Japanese traditions and cultures in his gentle and refreshing way with delicate and detailed illustration that reaches to all our senses. This book is a window not only for us to see how Christmas is celebrated in other cultures, but also, how Christmas has a special meaning to mama, to the boy, and to each one of us. Tree of Cranes is truly a great choice to read with your young child. Reviewed by Sophie M.
Stocking Stuffer Idea! I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More By Anna Getty $ 24.95
Recommended by Chronicle Books It’s Christmas By Tina Burke Kane/Miller, $14.95, 32 pages How can you explain Christmas to the young ones? How can they remember the details of Christmas celebration? Well, Burke has done it all. From the front cover, Burke already starts to show what Christmas is like. Houses and Christmas trees are decorated with colorful lights. In the middle of the night (must be Christmas Eve,) when the moon was perfectly round, accompanied by glittering stars, the excited boy and girl in their pajamas, look out of their window, and see Santa flying by in his sleigh pulled by nine reindeer. This boy and girl must have kept watch all night long to have such an exciting sight. Burke chose children, both boys and girls, to tell the story of Christmas tradition and its preparation, baking cookies, caroling around, decorating Christmas tree, buying or making presents, letting Santa know your wish-list, and much more… Christmas is not Christmas until Santa comes to deliver presents. Kids prepare cookies and milk for Santa while others hang stockings for Santa to fill. Did Santa come? This book is great to read and re-read with your young ones. The illustration speaks for itself. It is definitely a must-have book either to gift or to keep. Reviewed by Sophie M.
The Sound of Kwanzaa By Dimitrea Tokunbo, Illustrated by Lisa Cohen Scholastic, Inc., $16.99, 32 pages Before reading this book I pretty much knew nothing about Kwanzaa. Though a children’s book, it is informational and straightfor ward. Learning about the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles) was most interesting. If we all followed those principles, the world would probably be a lot better off. It is easy to get wrapped up in the commercialism that the Christmas season brings and many people forget the real reason for the season. Kwanzaa remembers the principles through the lighting of candles every night for seven nights. And each night highlights its own special principle. “Come close, gather ‘round. Listen to the sounds of Kwanzaa.” I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it gave me a chance to learn about a new celebration in a very easy to understand way. This would be an excellent book in a classroom to teach children about different celebrations throughout the holiday season. Tokunbo’s breakdown of the Kwanzaa traditions is easy to read and understand. Cohen’s organic illustrations capture the essence of Kwanzaa. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun
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The Fun Book For Christmas By Melina Gerosa Bellows Andrews McMeel, $9.99, 86 pages An alternate title for this book could have been “Unique Holiday Suggestions for Adults”; the PG-13+ contents also suggest a title change, as nothing on the book’s cover would deter children from picking it up by mistake. Ratings aside, Bellows clearly had fun writing down her various Christmas memories in the prologue, though the font changes and sporadic bold lettering make reading a bit difficult. “If Norman Rockwell had been Italian, he would have depicted the Gerosa holiday scene...” While only eighty-six pages long, this pocket-sized suggestion book holds several distinctive ideas and recipes for spicing up one’s holiday experiences, all the while stressing that one remember to take a moment to actually relax. Bellows’ suggestion that one buy a quality girdle in order to “look five pound thinner for parties” displays a playful sort of realism that most folks will appreciate. Good suggestions abound: make a day of artfully wrapping gifts (in lieu of the average slap-dash packaging), deliver a decorated tree to a family in need, start a tradition where family members exchange “crazy” slippers, sing carols at a retirement community wearing the tackiest holiday sweater imaginable, swap houses with a family in another country for the holidays, take a nature walk on Christmas afternoon, or gather all your friends for a large-group skating party. A few of the ideas caused raised eyebrows, such as “give a gift to your least favorite body part,” which in this reader’s office provoked a lot of jokes about air-filled seating rings. On the whole, this was a charming little book overflowing with nostalgia, as well as some good ideas guaranteed to generate a smile. Reviewed by Meredith Greene Twas the Night Before Christmas By Clement Clarke Moore Accord, $17.99, 28 pages The classic Christmas poem ’Twas the Night Before Christmas gets a new life in this beautiful AniMotion edition. The story has been illustrated by Jon Goodell, but hidden within these warm and cheery pictures are AniMotion windows, which literally bring the story to life, causing stars to twinkle, sugar plums to dance, and Santa’s jolly belly to literally
shake “like a bowlful of jelly.” This lovely book could be a perfect holiday gift for a special child: an amazing edition of a timeless story. Reviewed by Holly Scudero My Chanuka Playbook By Salina Yoon Little Simon, $10.99, 6 pages My Chanukah Playbook by Salina Yoon is a delightful toddler book that introduces the holiday and traditions associated with celebrating Chanukah. The heavy cardboard pages will hold up to sticky fingers and baby’s penchant for tasting things. Salina Yoon’s illustrations are bright across the pages. “Light the candles of your chanukkiyah and remember all your happy memories and your blessings.” My Chanukah Playbook comes with a pull out slip containing eight gold colored disks. These disks are used to complete Maccabee shields, fill a tzedekah box and complete the candles on the menorah. The slips for the disks provide not only an interactive experience but a tactile one as well for small exploring hands. Salina Yoon has created an outstanding first book that parents will enjoy reading and playing with their little ones. “Chanukah is a time to celebrate our traditions and share our blessings with others!” My Chanukah Playbook is an excellent reading tool that introduces the holiday and is the kind of book parents will save for their grown up children to pass along to their own kids. Reviewed by Vicki Hudson Santa’s Stowaway By Brandon Dorman Greenwillow Books, $16.99, 40 pages When I first saw this book I thought the artwork would most impress me. It seemed like authentic Victorian-era art gracing the pages of this sweet-hearted children’s holiday story. At first I thought maybe the storyline was a bit too familiar ,though I don’t suppose there’s much left to wring out of Kris Kringle stories that hasn’t been conceived already. It’s more about the way the story is told. It’s a wonderful story, with just the right level of complexity for a child and with minor details linking the artwork with the storyline that make a big difference in the end. Notice the little girl who stayed up late on Christmas Eve and met Santa, and see that she is missing a button, just like the doll that the elf thought was somehow imperfect. That is a hidden lesson in the story I hope every little boy and girl learns – something can seem defective, broken or
incomplete, but still be perfect. That detail alone makes this a sweet, sincere, and endearing little story and it’s sure to send any little boy or girl to a happy dreamland when it’s read to them at bedtime this holiday season. Reviewed by John Cloutman
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VAMPIRE, con’t from page 2 The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published By Otto Penzler, Neil Gaiman, and Kim Newman Vintage, $25.00, 1,034 pages A vampire’s thirst for human blood appears a model of restraint next to pop culture’s seemingly insatiable hunger for everything vampire. Arriving on the scene to both demonstrate and test that theory is The Vampire Archives: The Most Complete Volume of Vampire Tales Ever Published, and with 86 stories spanning three centuries, it certainly earns its subtitle. The expected modern horror and fantasy greats are all here, including Steven King and Anne Rice along with earlier masters like H.P. Lovecraft, Poe and Bram Stoker, but the anthology steps beyond the expected with offerings from Guy de Maupassant, Lord Byron, and D.H. Lawrence. Editor Otto Penzler, famed guru of mystery fiction, has leapt into the supernatural with evident zeal, presenting a wide spectrum of vampiric lore from the coldly chilling to the erotic, the humorous to the contemplative, while organizing the stories under groupings that, while a little puzzling, make browsing a thrill. At over 1,000 pages it’s a veritable tome, an awkward bedfellow to huddle under the covers with on dark, stormy nights. But for the addicted masses this anthology presents a blood-dripping smorgasbord of horrific delights upon which to feast with abandon. Reviewed by Ariel E Berg
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SCARPETTA, con’t from page 4 Marino. Kay and Benton were having some trouble adjusting to married life, especially with Pete Marino’s return to New York City reviving the specter of his attempted assault of Kay at the conclusion of the 15th book, The Book of the Dead. The Scarpetta Factor, the newest addition to the series, picks up where the last left off, with Kay even more overworked and overbooked than ever. She’s now working for both the New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and for CNN as the Senior Forensic Analyst. CNN wants to make the most of their forensic star, and they tout her ability to unravel a difficult case as “the Scarpetta Factor.” But all of this extra work and worry may be interfering with Kay’s ability to do her job. When Kay autopsies the body of a young woman killed by a single blow to the head, she is puzzled by other evidence that seems to indicate the woman was alive at least a day later than Kay supposed. Kay starts to wonder if she’s slipping. And she isn’t the only one. Matters are complicated by an appearance Kay makes on the CNN call-in show The Crispin Report. The anchorwoman, Carley Crispin, uses the opportunity to suggest that the young woman’s death and the previous disappearance of a young businesswoman are the work of a serial killer. Couple that with an unusual sub-plot involving one of Benton’s old psychiatric patients and you’ve got the basic Scarpetta novel formula: lots of forensic details, ominous links to other people in Kay’s life, and multiple story lines that converge in the end. Some of the old-guard Scarpetta fans have been unhappy with the last several books of the series, complaining the stories have veered away from the action and hard forensic detail that made the original books such fascinating reading. Unfortunately, those fans won’t be much mollified by The Scarpetta Factor. The focus is largely on the relationships between the main characters and their personal problems and less on the nitty-gritty details of crime. Which, while morbid, was why everyone started reading the series to begin with. The action and suspense level picks up in the final quarter of the book, but only the truly devoted will probably be able to persevere with it that long. If you’re new to Scarpetta, you’re best starting with the first book of the series, the classic Post Mortem, and going from there. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns
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Sequential Art The Search By Eric Heuvel, Ruud van der Rol, Lies Schippers and Lorraine T. Miller Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $9.99, 61 pages The Search tells the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of Esther, a Jewish girl who escaped to southern Netherlands as her family was captured by the Nazis. Relying on the kindness of friends and strangers, she was able to avoid arrest, all the while searching for her parents. As she met an old neighbor in Amsterdam, she found out that they wouldn’t be coming back. Grief-stricken, she didn’t ask how it happened and tried to forget the experience. Now in her old age, she decides to find out what really happened to her parents in Auschwitz …and hears a revelation which not only affects her but her grandson as well. Presented in the timeless comics format, this work is a simple yet powerful re-telling of the events leading to the Holocaust and the misery and confusion it caused the Jews and the world. The illustrations are reminiscent of Tintin comic books--clean lines, vivid colors, dynamic stills. The story is narrated as a series of recollections, further bringing home the point that the Holocaust is an experience too personal to be forgotten. Reviewed by Donabel Beltran-Harms
Sleeper Season Two By Ed Brubaker Wildstorm, $24.99, 286 pages Ed Brubaker, the talent who brought readers “The Death of Captain America” and breathed new life into characters like Dare Devil and Iron Fist, in Sleeper: Season Two continues and concludes this superb noir tale of espionage. Readers who missed Season One will quickly come up to speed and doubtless enjoy this dark tale, perfectly suited to Brubaker’s gifts for moral ambiguity and hard-boiled protagonists. Holden Carver is a reluctant double agent without options, caught in the middle of an Oedipal labyrinthine battle between super-terrorist Tao and amoral spymaster John Lynch. Carver’s power is his curse, unable to feel pain or pleasure but able to inflict it on others by the merest touch. Torn away from the woman he loves and bound to another he hopes to save, Carver struggles to survive and dreams of finding a path that will lead to freedom and, perhaps, a way to feel again. As complex and well crafted as any of Brubaker’s work, readers will be unable to put down this collection as they pray that this tragic hero may find, if not redemption, at least peace. Reviewed by Jordan Magill
14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric Covered Box: A Dilbert Book By Scott Adams Andrews McMeel Publishing, $12.99, 128 pages Honestly, how could anyone not love Dilbert? Whether you are yourself a denizen of a soul-sucking, fabric-covered box, or you simply like to giggle at cute little dogs as they roundly demean the human populace, this book is the latest of thirty-three volumes of surefire humor. Chronicling the adventures of our favorite mouthless office drone from late 2008 to mid 2009, 14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric-Covered Box is full of that singular kind of zany humor that we’ve come to love throughout the past two decades. The office suffers the effects of the bad economy, desperation sets in on the staff, Dilbert loses his job, it’s all ripe, comedic ground. “Being worthless at work is only hard for the first ten years. After that, it’s a lifestyle.” ~Wally Every strip is reproduced in full color, giving even the dailies the full vividness of the Sunday pages. Combine that with Scott Adams’ usual hilarious introduction, and this collection truly offers something that you cannot get in the papers. A fine example of the best of office humor, and a definite must-have for any Dilbert library. Reviewed by Micah Kolding
Business & Investing The Design of Business By Roger Martin Harvard Business Press, $26.95, 208 pages In order to win in business, today’s companies need to latch on to the idea of design. This is at the heart of Roger Martin’s The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking Is The Next Competitive Advantage, which focuses on a deep understanding of customers, creative resolution of tensions, collaborative prototyping, and continuous modification and enhancement of ideas and solutions. It falls somewhere between the exploration of new knowledge (or innovation) and the exploitation of current knowledge (or efficiency).
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“... the creative instinct--the unanalyzed flash of insight--is venerated as the source of true innovation. At the heart of this school is intuitive thinking-the art of knowing without reasoning. This is the world of originality and innovation.” Design thinking is a way to push knowledge through stages in ways that produce breakthrough innovations and competitive advantage. The Design of Business maps the route followed by successful design thinkers in business, science, and the arts. Colorful stories and practical guidelines illustrate how to: combine proof-based analytical thinking with possibility-based “abductive thinking”; change structures and processes to move knowledge from one stage to the next; develop the key tools of design thinkers—observation, imagination and configuration; defend design thinking to employees,
boards, and investors; and revamp financial planning and reward systems to encourage bold ideas. As a shift or departure to typical business thinking, Martin’s The Design of Business can serve as the new foundation of profit and success. Reviewed by Dominique James Your Next Move By Michael D. Watkins Harvard Business Press, $26.95, 220 pages There was a time not too long ago when we didn’t have to worry much about changing careers and status. Why? Because it didn’t happen often enough. Of course we’ve all been through one transition period or another, but in those simpler and relatively “stable” times, we trudged through relatively unscathed. Nowadays, however, when everything is in a state of constant flux and transition
Grandville By Bryan Talbot Dark Horse, $17.95, 108 pages Inspired by the French artist Ignace-Isidore Grandville, Brian Talbot (Adventures of Luther Arkwright, Sandman) created an anthropomorphic world where France is the dominant power having won the Napoleonic Wars. With a steampunk setting, Grandville follows the investigation of Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock, a badger, and his assistant Detective Roderick Ratiz, a rat, as they pursue the killer of a British diplomat. Their investigation leads them to Paris and deep into international conspiracy. LeBrock pushes his way through the Parisian underworld, finding opium dealers, assassins and the Knights of Lyon, modern descendants of the Knights Templar. Talbot’s use of animals as characters follows Grandville’s use of them in the 1800’s for social satire and as illustration in many of the fantastical books being released at that time, including the Fables of La Fontaine and his own Les Métamorphoses du jour. Grandville not only references other literary sources - Rupert Bear, Tintin and Sherlock Holmes - but also modern events like September 11th and weapons of mass destruction. This is the first of two books, with more potentially planned. Grandville isn’t a book friendly for children, with adult themes, situations and scenes, but excellent for older readers. Quite possibly what would have resulted had Arther Conan Doyle teamed up with Grandville to write a graphic novel for The Strand Magazine.
periods are more the norm for everyone, we need to learn not just how to cope with it, but more importantly, how to make the most out of these turbulent transition periods that will make life for us and for others better. In a time when professional careers are really a series of crucial transitions, Michael D. Watkin’s Your Next Move: A Leader’s Guide to Navigating Major Career Transitions shows us what to do with the changes we face on the road to success. The book offers beneficial wisdom, strategies, and tactics for dealing with the challenges of a promotion, leading former peers, adjusting to a new culture, and making everyone comfortable with change. Based on research, there are eight perennial transitions that we will encounter at various career stages. Watkin’s Your Next See BUSINESS, page 23
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BUSINESS & INVESTING, cont’d Move (which serves as a perfect complement to his previously published bestselling guide, The First 90 Days) arms us with all the necessary know-how and skill to go through these crucial turning points with the greatest of ease. Reviewed by Dominique James You’ve got big ideas and ambitions in your career, and you’ve done well ... so far. But are you ready for your next move? Twitterville By Shel Israel Portfolio, $23.95, 306 pages Unless you’re stuck between the Stone Age and the Industrial Age, you have most likely heard of the Silicon Age phenomenon called Twitter. It’s one of those things that have grown big on the Internet in the past two years. Dubbed as the “SMS of the Internet,” Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows you to carry on a conversation with a whole bunch of people in 140 characters or less at a time. It has been rapidly adopted by more than 10 million users to date. You can send and receive tweets from your desktop computer or on your mobile device wherever you may happen to be. For many, it is deemed as the best way to share and to discover what’s happening right now. The question now is, why are businesses flocking to Twitter?
Religion It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian By Samir Selmanovic Jossey-Bass, $24.95, 300 pages One of the problems facing the deeply religious in this day and age is that there seem to be multiple ways to the same place, and it’s more about choosing the road than the goal. It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian shows that that perception may be wrong. Rather than looking at the roads as separate, it shows that all of the roads may have some of the same landscape. As Selmanovic has tried most of the roads, he has the valuable perspective of experience in looking at multiple roads and comparing their similarities. He found that those similarities far outweighed the differences, and that, even though the details may have been differ-
Shel Israel has the answers in Twitterville: How Business Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods. “Twitter is not a technology. It’s a conversation. And it’s happening with or without you. It’s up to you to decide if, when, and how you will listen and join in. Won’t you come and take a walk around Twitterville?” On Twitter, words can spread faster than wildfire. It therefore makes sense for companies to join in the conversation. The fact that, unlike most other hot social media spaces, Twitter is dominated by professionals and not just kids, makes it an intriguing and useful multi-way communications tool. And despite its size, it has proven to be flexible enough to manage and control such that anyone can quickly find those who will be able to make a difference. Best of all, despite the millions who are on Twitter, it allows people to interact in much the way they do face-to-face, honestly and authentically. In order words, because no matter where people are from or what they happen to be doing for a living or what their interests are, and because the conversations on Twitter are too compelling to ignore, there’s much value for businesses in Shel Israel’s Twitterville. Reviewed by Dominique James Profit Power Economics By Mia de Kuijper Oxford University Press, $34.95, 352 pages Imagine that you are at a bookstore, and you spot a title you’re interested in. You pull it out of the shelf, leaf through it, and look at the sticker price. Of course, you can afford to buy it! But, if you have an iPhone, and you
ent, the message was basically the same. It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian is an interesting look at are religion and how we set up artificial barriers between religions. It convincingly shows that we should focus more on our similarities and less on the differences, and that by doing so we may be able to build peace. As religion seems to be one of our biggest remaining barriers, it’s interesting to see ways to bring it down. Reviewed by Jamais Jochim Evolution of Faith and Religion: An Exploration By Ajit Randhawa Authorhouse, $31.99, 392 pages Randhawa’s stated goal with this book is to improve human relations through increased understanding of religious doctrine and philosophy. Toward that end he has put together a reference book that sets out to provide a description of the world’s six major religions, their separate evolutions, and, for each, the meaning of faith, ritual, and codes of conduct.
happen to have an app that can check the book’s barcode or ISBN and tell you where you can buy it at the lowest price, you may hold off from buying the book but instead opt to order online with the lowest price and free delivery. You may wait for a few days, but, you’ll get the book soon enough anyway, and you console yourself with the fact that you’ve saved money. Information and knowledge helped you save money. “To an economist, a perfect market is one that works so efficiently that any profit beyond the bare minimum is competed away.” One of the bedrocks of economics is the “efficient market theory,” which means abundant information should help markets become more efficient so that supply and demand will be in perfect balance, prices will be set at the right levels, and extraordinary profits will no longer be possible. What you just did at B&N is a very simplified example of an “efficient market theory.” But what if, the book’s author happens to be there delivering a talk and you want your first edition hardcover signed? You end up deciding that you want to buy the book right there and then, even if you can get it at a lower price elsewhere. You and millions of others, in what can be termed as “wisdom of crowds” or “tipping points,” make purchase decisions in a similar fashion—with different “variables” that either translate into a sale or not.
Most unfortunately, Randhawa has not found an editor to coach him. With such a comprehensive scope, I naturally wanted to scan the Table of Contents to get an idea of how the book is organized. There is no such “table” to assist me. Starting at the Preface, then, I was alarmed at the first sentences: “When did early humans start rituals? What generated faith and early belief systems?” With these questions strikingly posed, Randhawa simply plunges in. His preface is a series of unlinked paragraphs about hunters and gatherers, sects, kings and chiefs, the role of women during invasions. The narrative is peppered with facts like this: “One third of the world’s population is Christian, Muslim, or Hindu. The remainder belongs to other faiths and atheists are God’s people, too.”
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To make sense of it all, both big and small, read Mia de Kuijper’s Profit Power Economics: A New Competitive Strategy for Creating Sustainable Wealth. Reviewed by Dominique James
DOUBLEBLIND, cont’d from page 12 that the storyline of Jax/March does not turn into turgid melodrama. Doubleblind’s prose is brisk and descriptive, and the choice to tell the story in present tense makes the action more immediate and the characters more alive. Despite being the third novel, Doubleblind makes it well worth picking up the first two in the Sirantha Jax series. Reviewed by Angela Tate
I spent over an hour with this reference book and actually found several interesting sections. However, I cannot find them again, because the book is so disorganized. The reviewer’s copy is offered in bold-faced type throughout and this accelerated my weariness. It is unfair to any reader to send out such a poorly constructed book. I hope Randhawa can find an editor to work with because his passion for this subject is evident. Until then, stay clear of this one. Reviewed by Marcia Jo
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Reference Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual By David Pogue O’Reilly, $34.99, 886 pages Although software manuals seem like the complete antidote to controversy or enthusiasm, the author is not a typical technical writer. David Pogue’s increasing prominence and influence is starting to get him in trouble when he expresses opinions in periodicals about Macs and PCs. “The real snow leopard is an endangered species, native to Cental Asia. It has no larynx and so it can’t roar. It can kill animals three times its size. Insert your own operating system metaphor here.” Mac users are typically suspicious about operating system upgrades like Snow Leopard that result in all G4 and G5 machines losing technical support and can be wary of writers like Pogue who trumpet the change as a big improvement. A recent dustup in The New York Times forced an editorial clarification about his multiple status as a product reviewer, writer of computer guides and quotable computer pundit. Nonetheless, Pogue is eminently qualified to lead both computer novices and seasoned users around the new features of the latest Mac operating system, even if he sometimes seems a bit too enthusiastic about some of the latest improvements. Pogue makes up for it somewhat by being so readable. Although it seems to nearly outweigh a MacBook, Pogue’s book is extremely user friendly, and goes way beyond operating system questions to explain basics of the fifty pieces of bundled free software that come with Snow Leopard, as well as explanations of online Apple services like MobileMe. The book does not shortchange arcane subjects like networking with PCs, using Unix commands and utilities, debugging permissions, or troubleshooting web connections. It genuinely seems to have something for everyone who buys an Intel Mac. Reviewed by Richard Tolmach Doug Box’s Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers By Doug Box Amherst Media, $34.95, 126 pages If you are a budding photographer who has been struggling to get people to look right by posing them right in pictures, Doug Box’s instructional Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers might just offer you the right information to get you started in the right direction.
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“There is as much psychology in making great photographs as there is science.” Doug Box attempts to guide you step by step through the process he uses in trying to make subjects look their best from head to toe. Included are techniques for posing both individual subjects and groups, on location or in the studio, as well as tips for working with kids. The visually intensive approach (read: lots of pictures) makes this book a reference to see what works and what doesn’t, which readers can judge on their own, and allowing them to quickly adopt portrait poses that will hopefully work. This book is about: understanding the goals of posing and why good posing is critical to the success of portraits, posing the face for a flattering view and getting great expressions from subjects, matching the pose to the portrait length, tips for posing the hands to look natural and relaxed, techniques for designing effective group portraits, making lighting and posing work together seamlessly, choosing the best focal length and camera height for each pose, establishing good communication with each of the subjects, using activity-based posing to enliven the images, corrective posing techniques for addressing concerns your subject may have about appearances. You will surely gain more understanding and learn a thing or two about what to do and what not to do when it comes to posing with Doug Box’s Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers. From there, you can evolve and update it to your own style and to today’s standards. Reviewed by Dominique James The Beginner’s Guide to Photographing Nudes By Peter Bilous Amherst Media, $34.95, 126 pages The Beginner’s Guide to Photographing Nudes by Peter Bilous touches on a lot of grounds: understanding the genre of nude photography and the qualities that define them; finding the right models for your images; creating nude images with models of varying experiences and background; ideas for incorporating the features of the location into your images; selecting the right cameras and lenses for the work you want to do; choosing lighting equipment to meet your technical and creative needs; creating a detailed but flexible plan for each session in order to
maximize your results; what to expect at a session from the moment the model arrives; techniques for posing your models and working with them during the session; editing your images and archiving your files; taking the images to the next level with creative tips for lighting, posing, and post-production enhancements; and, ideas for displaying, publishing and sharing your images. What is not discussed in the book, though, is how you can make the most out of your creative approach, technique, and style as an artistic or cutting-edge photographer. “Shooting the nude female form inspired me like no other subject ever had.” As you will most likely discover, the greatest pitfall of shooting nude is in coming up with nothing more than common, typical and ordinary images of people without their clothes on. If you are not in touch with today’s modern outlook in terms of taste, style, creativity and the art of nude photography, or if you lack an expansive view or a classical view of nude imagery, you can be quickly left behind along with the rest of the unimaginative photographers. For those without experience who are interested in exploring the art of nude photography for the first time, Peter Bilous’ The Beginner’s Guide to Photographing Nudes might just prove to be an eye-opener on how the process works from start to finish. But in order for you to succeed as a photographer of the nude human form, it’s up to your sense and sensibility to lift yourself and your photographs from out of it and out of there. Reviewed by Dominique James The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis By Chase Jarvis New Riders, $19.99, 246 pages Who could have imagined that, when Apple CEO Steve Jobs officially unveiled the iPhone on January 9, 2007, it would turn out to be a mobile device so imaginative that it would eventually challenge numerous notions of what pocketable gear is and what it can do? As we know now, it ended up revolutionizing the mobile phone industry and the computer industry, among others. And then, as people got into the habit of using the iPhone for any number of reasons (you know, there’s an app for that!), that it would also, in no small measure, somewhat “revolutionize” photography as well. We see an example of such “minor” revolution in Chase Jarvis’ mini photo book, The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You.
“Inherently, we all know that an image isn’t measured by its resolution, dynamic range, or anything technical. It’s measured by the simple--sometimes profound, other times absurd or humorous or whimsical--effect that it can have upon us. If you can see it, it can move you.” This book is a collection of Jarvis’ artful and artsy pictures taken with the iPhone’s puny 2- and 3-megapixel camera over a period of about a year, all edited to its final visual construct from within the iPhone itself using nothing more than a number of 3rd-party applications (or apps) such as Photogene, CameraBag, TiltShift, among others, and then uploaded to the Internet directly from the iPhone. One way of looking at it is that, in a Photoshop-crazy world, Photoshop was actually “not harmed in any way” in the making of any one of the photos in this book. And in a sense, Jarvis somehow legitimizes the idea that great images can come from any camera, even that of a mobile phone. The subjects of the pictures in the book are varied—airports, beverages, bodies of water, cars, chickens, humans, road signs, school buses, shoes, traffic cones, and words—serving as a “sketchbook” of a visual world revealing in some ways how Jarvis as a photographer absorbs and process the visual information that’s all around him. But you don’t have to just pick up and admire Jarvis’ photographs. You can participate in the creative process. This book simply is a part of an “ecosystem” that feeds upon a multimedia/multi-platform advantage: a new app with the same name as the book that iPhone users can buy from iTunes, and which they can then share through an online community (again, with the same name). All in all, this book, whether a part or not of an “ecosystem,” is a very clever idea. Reviewed by Dominique James The Photographer’s Eye Field Guide By Michael Freeman Focal Press, $19.95, 192 pages If you are the type who packs a “photography” travel bag whenever you venture a mile or more away from home, there is one pocket-sized guidebook that you shouldn’t be without—Michael Freeman’s The Photographer’s Eye Field Guide: The Essential Handbook for Traveling with Your Digital SLR Camera. Though small in size, this book is big one two things: All the essential information you need to know about doing photography wherever you may happen to find yourself in the world, and, See REFERENCE, page 25
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REFERENCE, con’t from page 24 helping you get inspired with a number of lush photographic ideas and examples. The book is conveniently organized into six logical sections: Preparation, On the Road, Appreciating Light, Subjects, Themes, and Reference. These sections, written in a direct, easy-to-understand format, will help you prepare for the trip, provide invaluable practical advice for when you’re traveling, and offer, through superb illustrative images by one of the world’s most respected travel photographers, masterful guidance on how, what and when to photograph. “The broad idea of travel has a long and intimate relationship with the camera.” With The Photographer’s Eye Field Guide by Freeman, the aim is for you to be armed with practical and applicable knowledge as well as a creative frame of mind when confronted with the striking beauty of the world that is all around us. When you want to shoot images of people on location or create scenic landscapes, The Photographer’s Eye Field Guide is a useful, practical and inspiring pocketable reference. Reviewed by Dominique James
The Book of Inkscape By Dmitry Kirsanov No Starch Press, $44.95, 448 pages Inkscape is a powerful open source SVGbased vector-based graphics editor that competes with expensive drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw. And yes, it’s free. If you are a graphics professional or even someone who’s merely interested in being able to create graphic arts, Dmitry Kirsanov’s The Book Of Inkscape: The Definitive Guide To The Free Graphics Editor is for you. “A vector editor is not yet a standard accessory of a computer in the same way a bitmap editor like Photoshop is, but it’s getting there--and Inkscape has been a major part of this ‘vector revolution.’” In The Book Of Inkscape, core Inkscape developer Dmitry Kirsanov shares his design experience and knowledge of Inkscape’s inner workings as he walks you through the basics of using the program: drawing, working with objects, transformations and styling, adding text and shapes, and more. Kirsanov couples his detailed explanations with step-by-step tutorials that show you how to create business
cards, animations, and technical and artistic drawings. In addition to the basics, you will learn how to: navigate the canvas and customize your workspace and views; create new objects and then transform, style, clone, and combine them; use drawing tools, strokes, and Bézier curves; use gradients, patterns, fi lters, and path effects to liven up your work; use the XML Editor to view and manipulate the structure of your artwork; work with layers, groups, object order, and locks to control your images; and export your artwork to various formats. This practical guide will show you how to harness Inkscape’s powerful features to produce anything from a child’s doodle to highend, professional design projects. With this book, you can go ahead and draw something fun or awesome, or hopefully, both. Reviewed by Dominique James The California Missions Sourcebook By David J. McLaughlin with Dr. Ruben Mendoza Pentacle Press, $24.95, 68 pages The mission system has intrigued me for years. It is a large part of both Catholic and California history. What took place on the sites of the missions was often unthinkable human cruelty, yet sadly that was the norm for the time. The architecture, plant life, and artwork are still in place today at all the twenty one missions. Earlier this year I visited San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, or
better known as the Carmel Mission, and it is by the far the most stunning of the missions I have seen. It includes the burial site of the founder of the missions, Fr. Junipero Serra, as well as a modest burial site of the Native Americans buried there. I wouldn’t say the missions should be the proudest moments in history, but the remnants of such a time are spectacular. The California Missions Source Book by David J. McLaughlin with Dr. Ruben G. Mendoza has a plethora of information that is easy to read and understand. Many children begin learning about the missions in the fourth or fifth grade, and this book would be a terrific tool for the classroom or at home working on a mission project for school. There is information on each mission, illustrations from the time period, recent photographs, as well as the history of the mission system as a whole. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun
Justina Robson Chasing the Dragon Robson's novels have been noted for sharply-drawn characters, and an intelligent and deeply thought-out approach to the tropes of the genre. She has been described as "one of the very best of the new British hard SF writers." Living Next-Door to the God of Love is a loose sequel to Natural History, inasmuch as it is set in the same universe. Keeping It Real marks the beginning of a series, the Quantum Gravity Books.
Chuck Fischer Angels
Author Interview podcasts.
Frank Portman Andromeda Klein Frank Portman (better known by the pseudonym Dr. Frank) is an American musician, singer, guitarist, and author. He is the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the Berkeley, California, punk rock band The Mr. T Experience, and has remained the only consistent member of the band since its formation in 1985, performing on ten studio albums and five EPs. He has also recorded and performed as a solo artist, releasing the album Show Business is My Life in 1999 and the EP Eight Little Songs in 2003. In recent years he has pursued a writing career in young adult literature, authoring the novels King Dork (2006) and Andromeda Klein (2009).
Chuck Fischer’s paintings hang in some of the finest residences in the world. His designs have been reproduced on holiday ornaments and home furnishings, including on wallpaper and fabrics in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. He is the author of five previous pop-up books— books—The White House, Great American Houses and Gardens, Christmas in New York, Christmas Around the World World, and In the Beginning. He lives in New York and Florida.
www.sacramentobookreview.com/audible_authors.php
Travel Best of Lonely Planet Travel Writing By Tony Wheeler Lonely Planet, $14.99, 271 pages The Best of Lonely Planet Travel Writing serves up slices of the travel life that are seemingly chosen for their brevity, universal themes, lessons learned and engrossing exposition. Well-published authors share the requisite vignettes, unhindered by theme or geographic region; this is simply “the best.” Interested readers will want to note, however, the type of trip that Lonely Planet ascribes to: although there is mention of favorites such as Paris and Prague, Lonely Planet, in general, features the proverbial “road less traveled.” The subtleties of travel writing are apparent here, so connoisseurs of travel essays won’t be disappointed, but Lonely Planet tends to dig deeper and be willing to confront the sometimes darker side of travel. Not to be missed is Miles Roddis’ hilarious account of a pick pocketing in the heart of Africa, and Alana Semuels’ account of the marriage between a Peace Corps worker and an Ecuadorian famer, complete with a suburban American family and the gift of a pig to the in-laws. Reviewed by Allena Tapia City of Gold By Jim Krane St. Martin’s Press, $27.99, 368 pages Americans have a skewed view of the Middle East. It’s very far away and the cultures throughout the countries that make up this part of the world are very different from our own. Add to that the fact that, for many of the last 30 years, the United States has been in confl ict of some sort with a Middle Eastern country, and it seems understandable that many of us really have no idea what to think about the Middle East. Unfortunately, it isn’t just familiarity that breeds contempt; ignorance often plays a role. Fortunately, there are people working to inform us truthfully about these locations that are too often soiled in the media by their location, religion, or proximity to other nations. Jim Krane is one of these people, and in his book City of Gold, he demystifies one of the Middle East’s most famous cities and anomalies: Dubai.
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In City of Gold, Krane traces Dubai’s growth from a small village in harsh desert conditions to one of the richest, most metropolitan cities in the world. City of Gold provides information about the tribal history of Dubai as well as the last 50 years of the country’s history—a period which has brought immense change and made Dubai the vibrant, complex and exciting city that it is today. Reviewed by Ashley McCall The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World 2010 Edition By Doug Ingersoll Alpha, $18.95, 395 pages Though this is a quite lengthy book, it is definitely worth reading for your upcoming trip to Walt Disney World and the surrounding attractions. There is probably more information than will come in handy in this book, but everyone who reads it will find what they need. The most useful sections I found were the Dining Guide and the Resort Guide. These are usually the areas of vacations that cost the most money, so the details listed can help you plan accordingly based on your budget. My favorite section was the chapter on the Magic Kingdom, which familiarizes you with the park itself. There are summaries of each ride and attraction, as well as a rating based on age. Each page is packed with information; keep your eyes out for the “Don’ts” and “Hidden Magic” boxes as well as the others. As I am a huge Disney fan and habitual visitor of the original park, Disneyland, this will definitely come in handy for my future trip to Walt Disney World. Doug Ingersoll’s extensive breakdown of the park makes you feel like you have your own personal travel agent. This is a must-have if you’re planning a trip to Walt Disney World. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun
Extreme Cuisine: Exotic Tastes From Around the World By Lonley Planet Publications Lonely Planet, $9.99, 136 pages
Some books are meant to be read for knowledge; others for entertainment. Extreme Cuisine certainly falls into the latter category. It’s the type of book you might buy for your teenage son to occupy his time on a car trip. In fact, I’m not sure how many readers will be able to stomach the content. In addition to the vividly horrific photographs (slimy concoctions, wiggly worms, pigs faces), the unappetizing text confirms that this is not meant as a cookbook: “A fetid flavour is guaranteed if the intestines weren’t cleaned well,” or, “Assuming you don’t have issues with slimy textures and phallic shapes at dinner time, then sea cucumber is a pleasure to eat.” Extreme Cuisine is a tiny guidebook to the world’s most exotic fare. But by “exotic,” they really mean “absurd.” They’ve included bull penis, popular in Asia; fish sperm, a delicacy in Japan; cow udder, enjoyed in Italy; and of course, lime green Jell-O salad, an American favorite. (A link to this recipe is included—taking the reader directly to a Sacramento-blogger’s website). Each food comes complete with a full-color image to help produce nausea. I don’t recommend reading this on either an empty or a full stomach. “Even less attractive than natto itself is having to watch someone eat it, so do it at home. Otherwise, you risk looking like a swamp thing with strings of natto slime attached to your lips, stretching and contracting with each bite.” Perhaps most unappetizing are the ethical issues tied to some of this bizarre food, such as the poison fish, fugu, known to cause death to those who eat it if not properly prepared; or the animals that must suffer to produce it, such as foie gras. Then again, this thankfully wasn’t meant as a cookbook; just a close-up look at the weird world of food. In fact, since the fine folks at Lonely Planet produced this unsavory morsel, you might consider picking it up as a guide for what not to eat on your travels. The book explains what each featured food actually is, where you’ll find it, how it “works,” and what sort of food experience you can expect. The next time you find yourself in Peru being offered a guinea pig sandwich this book might save you from an awkward lunch! The author best describes what it takes to dine on such cuisine, “Some people consider themselves gustatorily liberal, but when push comes to shove, or when eggs over easy become balut, these eaters curl up into a foetal position…” Packed with humor, Extreme Cuisine doesn’t take itself too seriously. “So if you think you might enjoy the taste of an oversized rat with a hint of turkey flavour, gobble up a nutria.” Bon Appetite, if you dare! Revieed by Amber K. Stott
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Science & Nature Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction By John Austin Chicago Review Press, $16.95, 243 pages Anyone who has ever worked at an office knows there are moments of down-time; lunch breaks and coffee breaks can be downright monotonous, laced with the ubiquitous bitter beverages and dull conversation… but no more! John Austin, author of Cubicle Warfare and Prank University, presents a handy guide to low-tech office gaming. The mini-weapons are made from things found around most offices: plastic spoons, fi le clips, toothpicks, paper, pencils and rubber bands. “... will prepare you for a Zombie uprising or inevitable alien invasion.” The book’s arsenal includes shoelace darts, paperclip trebuchets, clip crossbows and catapults, all presented with all the seriousness of an Olympic Games trial. The author included paper targets in the back of the book, for those players who are, as he put it, “more MacGyver than marksman.” With a little adult supervision, these mini-WMDs of the office can double as family fun. Attractively packaged and well illustrated, Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction would make an amusing stocking-stuffer… just don’t take aim at the boss. Reviewed by Meredith Greene The Monty Hall Problem By Jason Rosenhouse Oxford University Press, $24.95, 208 pages “Let’s Make a Deal,” with its popular host Monty Hall, was a staple of 1970s game shows, with squirming contestants trying to guess which of three doors concealed the grand prize. The contestant chooses a door, but does not open it. Monty opens a different door, always empty. The contestant faces a choice: stick with his original door or switch to the remaining door? This mindbender is known as “the Monty Hall Problem,” the subject of Jason Rosenhouse’s witty new book. Rosenhouse, associate professor of mathematics at James Madison University, examines the problem from multiple angles, lucidly explaining why, though counterintuitive, the best choice is to switch doors. The Monty Hall Problem is sure to elicit emotional responses—as the conundrum itself has for years among mathemati-
cians, philosophers, physicists, and others. Rosenhouse acknowledges the provocative nature of the problem and faces it head on, thoroughly and convincingly explaining the math and logic of the problem and addressing several variations. Although Rosenhouse’s enthusiasm for the subject is infectious, readers whose education ended with Math 101 may find much of this book beyond reach, as it is thick with equations. But for those who aren’t arithmophobes, The Monty Hall Problem is delightfully challenging. Reviewed by Kelli Christiansen Reading in the Brain By Stanislas Dehaene Viking, $27.95, 388 pages How does the brain interpret two-dimensional squiggles on a page into sounds with distinct meanings? Anyone even slightly curious about the answer should pick up this book. Mathematician, scientist and psychologist Stanislas Dehaene presents an intricate look into the brain’s ability to read and also how this extraordinary feat is accomplished. Director of the Cognitive NeuroImaging Unit in Saclay, France, Dehaene included accurate brain-scan images and diagrams enabling the reader to better understand the “cerebral” prose. “Our ability to read brings us face-toface with the singularity of the human brain.” Notwithstanding a rather obvious acceptance of Darwin’s theories, Dehaene convincingly explains such intriguing subjects as dyslexia, the learning instinct and symmetry perception. The author’s deep appreciation for the human brain’s ability to learn and use spoken and written language paints the pages with a reverence which is quite refreshing in a science tome. Dehaene points out that not only are humans unique in this ability, but it is their desire to learn this amazing art which sets them above every other species on earth. An excellent— if slightly biased—book full of remarkable data and images on the inner working of the reading brain. Reviewed by Meredith Greene
Green Metropolis
By David Owen Riverhead Hardcover, $25.95, 368 pages Green Metropolis is well written, thoughtfully researched, and passionately argued. It is also obscenely pretentious, patronizing, and a supreme example of pointy-headed thinkers taking their idealist precepts to intrusive and kooky levels. Mr. Owen’s thesis is this: big cities, instead of being the hell-holes of pollution and environmental apocalypse that we all assume them to be, are actually less of a strain on the environment than we’ve been led to believe. According to Mr. Owen, residents of cities like New York City – and, in particular, Manhattan – use less energy, throw away less trash, and drive much less (if at all) compared to their wasteful, commuting, SUV-driving, water-consuming-yard owning, great-big-house buying relatives in the suburbs. So, according to Mr. Owen, we should strive to become more like Manhattan – less suburban and much, much more urban. Sounds eminently reasonable, doesn’t it? Not a bad idea at all, right? That is, until you start getting into the nitty gritty of Mr. Owen’s arguments. For instance, try this quote on for size: “A sensitive person’s first reaction to the mounting evidence that Americans, especially young Americans, may be losing interest in directly experiencing the natural world is likely to be one of regret and loss, or even despair. But is it necessarily a bad thing, globally speaking? It seems perverse to say so, but sitting indoors playing video games is easier on the environment than any number of (formerly) popular outdoor recreational activities…In the end, it may not be a bad thing for the earth or for the human race if increasing numbers of Americans would rather watch our shrunken wilderness on TV than fly to it in an airplane and drive across it on a motorbike.” If this were satire, it would be hilariously funny. But it isn’t. Mr. Owen’s solution to the waste and degradation of natural resources is to “live closer”: screw backyards and camping and rural living. We don’t need that stuff. Kids just want to stay in and play video games anyway. What about our rapacious use of oil and other energy sources? Easy – live in smaller houses, closer together. In other words, forget your selfish ideal of living in a house in a pleasant rural area with more than 1.34 children and room to grow. You’re killing the world as we know it if you even consider it. Mr. Owen’s arguments are interesting and appealing, but only in a world populated by individuals who are perfectly willing to let someone else decide where and how we should live, how many children we should have, and how and what we should eat. The overwhelming majority of Americans bucks against this sort of highhandedness, and thank goodness for that. The concepts he puts forward are definitely worth considering – it’s his solutions that are problematic. America has always been about the search and discovery of more solutions, not fewer. Let’s hope that Mr. Owen’s dream of a greener America doesn’t end up being constrained by this horrendous vision of one big, brave, urban new world. Reviewed by Michelle Kerns
FIVE, con’t from page 5 and have ways for belligerent nations to save face; or is it a governing body that can actively take part in governance of the world by getting actively involved in local confl icts? It has been both of these things, and the Security Council struggles to this day with these two competing ideologies. David Bosco gives the reader the story of the Security Council from the point of view of the Big Five--How the relations of the Big Five affected how the Council worked, from the early days, through the height of the Cold War to the fall of Soviet Russia and the rise of transnational threats. Bosco uses
a United States-British point of view of the Council, briefly bringing in the other voices. He admits this at the end--that drawbacks include a combination of lack of archival access and a language barrier. While the book is good for students early on in their education or a reader wanting to know more, there is a lack of discussion about how the Security Council interacted with other bodies in the UN besides the General Assembly and how formal treaties came to be, with or without approval from the Big Five. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
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December 09 27
Sports & Outdoors K2 Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain By Ed Viesturs; David Roberts Crown, $25.00, 342 pages Ed Viesturs brings K2 to life in his monumental book, K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain. No doubt, the ascent of the world’s second tallest mountain must be a triumph that boggles the imagination. According to Viesturs, there is a big price to pay to bask in the horror of conquering K2. The contents, which includes seven chapters, covers: 1) The Motivator, 2) Decision, 3) Breakthrough, 4) The Great Mystery, 5) Brotherhood, 6) The Price of Conquest and 7) The Dangerous Summer. Within these, he chronicles the six most dangerous seasons in the mountain’s history from 1938 to 2008. He walks us through all the danger zones with brilliant, clear language complemented with dazzling photographic images.
The breathtaking vistas, captured in photography throughout the book, only add to the descriptive details this work enjoys. Clear sketches of the mountain’s majesty adorn the content on both ends of the book, adding to the depth of the imagery created by his account of the adventure of a lifetime. Rich with adventure, the author entertains the reader with awe. He draws upon adventures of the greatest climbers such as Rheinhold Messner, Edmund Hillary and countless others to embroider his tale. Reviewed by D. Wayne Dworsky
Wilderness Survival for Dummies By John Haslett, Cameron Smith Wiley, $19.99, 462 pages The “For Dummies” series of books has been a wildly successful franchise since its debut in the early 90s. The books are topical, step-by-step instructional guides geared towards the layperson that claim to “make everything easier” – and largely succeed. Wilderness Survival For Dummies is the latest in the series, proving that if there is enough of a niche market, then a “For Dummies” guide is certain to follow. “We wrote this book with sympathy for both - those involved in exotic adventures and those who just got a little turnedaround while taking pictures.”
Like the other books in the franchise, Wilderness Survival For Dummies is written by people with impressive credentials; John Haslett is an expedition leader and adventure writer, and Cameron Smith is an archaeologist who has journeyed to the Arctic. They have encountered tough situations in which survival depended upon keeping their wits, and impart that knowledge to the reader in a friendly, easy-to-read tome that generously incorporates illustrations, diagrams, and charts with practical advice on everything from making fire and building shelter to carving bones into tools and identifying which berries and insects are safe to eat. Wilderness Survival For Dummies is one of those books that you hope you’ll never need, and yet if you’re unfortunate enough to find yourself in a life or death situation, will be thankful you read. Reviewed by Mark Petruska
Art, Architecture & Photography The Alchemy of Paint: Art, Science and Secrets from the Middle Ages By Spike Bucklow Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd., $17.95, 335 pages Ultramarine, vermilion, gold... more than options in a jumbo Crayola box, these colors were once the crossroads of art, science, religion and expression. They were elements of wonder and inspiration, instruments of instruction and divinity, and valuable resources to be fought over. Far beyond mere shades of the primary colors, these singular alchemical pigments held myriad secrets and insights into the world. The above only scratches the surface of Spike Bucklow’s love letter to the medieval palette, The Alchemy of Paint. An exhaustive (and often exhausting) treatise on how these colors came to be, what they represented, and the mythology behind their recipes, Bucklow’s work demands a lot from the reader. His explanations include the four elements, history, art theory, chemistry and philosophy, and his overall argument is often bogged down by verbose writing and tangential details. At its core, The Alchemy of Paint laments the loss of importance of color to the world, and while Bucklow makes a strong case for its return to status, the sheer volume of material overwhelms his message. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
28 December 09
On Art and War and Terror By Alex Danchev Edinburgh University Press, $75.00, 242 pages Does art have a place in war, and terror? According to Alex Danchev the answer is yes, and in the essays in his latest work, On Art and War and Terror, you will likely agree. Each essay is an examination of a different artistic discipline and how it either related to war or terror. From the first chapter and the Baader-Meinhof group and an artist who used their pictures for his paintings. To photographs of solders during wartime; to movies to examine the issues after the fighting is over. Each essay is a stand alone and informative. This is an highly academic work, perfect for a student or teacher. Each essay explores the topic of the chapter in-depth, though some of the essays have been printed elsewhere, or were part of a lecture given for a class. It expands our understanding of how art can used in wartime. The use of art can send a message to occupiers, and fighters, a message that might take years to understand, but a message still the same. Hopefully this work will encourage other academic writers to take on this topic. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
Surrealist Painters By Sarane Alexandrian Filipacchi, $40.00, 312 pages A treatise on the surrealism movement, covering all of the major names and some of the most obscure and super-real works by them, from Dali to Miro, Surrealist Painters by Sarane Alexandrian explores and explains some of the most interesting aspects and people of the intellectually and visually challenging movement of surrealism in the early twentieth century. Beginning with brief, to-the-point biographies of the artists whose work is featured in the book, explaining a bit of their background, creative process, and art, the breadth of knowledge on all of the facets of the surrealist movement is astounding, though the depth of specific knowledge seems not to be the focus. The second, and best, section of the book is the gallery; in alphabetical order, of selected works by each featured artist, is by far one of the most interesting and stimulating collections of art in recent art books. Though one flaw may come with the formatting of it, in an “All biographies first, and then all artwork last” type of organization, which can lead to a lot of flipping back and forth, and seems a bit strange, it does fit the theme of the art--to be challenging. Reviewed by Jordan Dacayanan
A Common Destiny A Photographic Journey Through a Changing World By Cedric Delsaux Monacelli Press, $75.00, 216 pages Photography gives us glimpses of our world, from the beautiful to the sublime, from the horrific to the brave. It can also give us a glimpse at how we have had an impact on our planet, and this is what Cedric Delsaux is doing with his work A Common Destiny. Cedric Delsaux juxtaposes man and nature, from the water slide at a water park in the middle of the desert; to high rises being built right at the edge of nature; to visitors in Iceland taking pictures of vanishing glaciers in their diesel powered truck; to slums at the bottom of brand new buildings that hardly see the sun. Delsaux wanted to show man’s impact on the planet by starting off with serene photographs of nature in action, and he accomplishes this. He then moves onto to showing the ways man has impacted this world. With shots of lone buildings among wide vast spaces, electrical transformers in the middle of the desert, these images work because they lack man. In most of the pictures you do not see people, except for a few, and they are blurred and not the focus. This will challenge the way you will see the world and the impact we are having. Reviewed by Kevin Winter
See SAATCHI, page 32
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Cooking, Food & Wine The Silver Spoon for Children: Favourite Italian Recipes By Editors of Phaidon Press Phaidon Press, $19.95, 104 pages I’m no chef. The closest to a culinary experience I’ve had was opening a box of Betty Crocker cookie mix and adding an egg and butter to it. I’ve mastered the timing and baking after many attempts and burned cookies, so the outcome has definitely improved over time. In the current economy, both parents need to work and children like myself do not have the luxury of having home-cooked meals every night. Many may feel sorry for me but it’s unavoidable… Honestly, I hate to admit it but I was growing tired of constant PBJ sandwiches, Mac and cheese and cup noodles until I came across this book. My mom gave it to me and I thank her for it. They say “survival is learning how to cook,” so I was ready to take on the challenge! First of all, let me tell you that any child from age 8 and above will be drawn to The Silver Spoon for Children because of its appealing and colorful illustrations. Aside from providing us the various choices of scrumptious Italian dishes, the recipes are very kid-friendly and easy to do. I appreciate how they provide graphic explanations of how to cut, slice, stir, mix and serve as well as some history behind the dish. Adult supervision and help is needed for some that require baking but overall any kid my age will be able to prepare a hearty gourmet pizza, bruschetta, and pasta dishes that will be a source of pride and joy to any parent. Reviewed by Amber Guno Cloutman Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook Momentum Program Edition By Weight Watchers Wiley, $29.95, 440 pages Weight Watchers is known around the world for its success with helping many people accomplish weight-loss goals and keeping up healthy lifestyles. Weight Watchers also will be releasing a new cookbook for the holidays, titled Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook Momentum Program Edition. The Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook Momentum Program Edition is easy to understand, easy to read and makes dieting seem THAT much easier! One of the nicest things about this resource is how useful it can be, for a wide variety of occasions. Divided up neatly into recipes and nutrition data on breads, marinades, sweets, main
courses (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and much more, this is a great tool to keep around the kitchen. Whether or not you are looking to lose weight, this book is a treasure trove of information on healthy eating, and offers a nice variety of recipes for everyday use. This is a book I would recommend, both for personal use and as a holiday gift. Reviewed by Susie Kopecky The American Lighthouse Cookbook By Becky Sue Epstein & Ed Jackson Cumberland House, $26.99, 295 pages If you are looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves to cook, travel, and explore the past, this book is the one! Epstein and Jackson present not only the main dishes, but also appetizers, side dishes, dessert, sauces & dips, and drinks to go along with them. The level of difficulty ranges from cooking game to baking cake from the box, or making some simple but delicious drinks. If you think that the meat they use are mainly fish or shellfish, you are missing out: venison, pork, chicken, duck, quail and elk are part of the ingredients. You’ll be surprised that the authors give out lots of vegetables dishes as well. Enough of the chef’s delight; the book also includes some tasty tidbits on the coastline history and tradition, where the sketches of lighthouses add to cozy and romantic feelings. The homemade comfort food covers year-round recipes. The steps are easy to follow, even for beginners; however, I am more of a visual learner. Therefore, if this book included more photographs of the dishes, I would highly recommend getting one! Reviewed by Sophie M. Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes By Duff and Willie Goldman Harper Collins, $35.00, 307 pages One thing Duff makes very clear in the beginning of this book is that it is NOT a cookbook or a “how-to” manual. This is a book about the people that make up Charm City Cakes and how they all came to work there. It also talks a lot about the making and fi lming of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes. There are amazing photographs from the cakes themselves, the bakers, and some of the clients. Each baker has their own unique story. Many of them were never chefs but had skills in another field that helped once at the bakery. If you’ve ever
watched the show, you hear Duff say “So I hired some of the most talented people I know--my friends”. And he sure has. Most of the people that work there he has known for many years and reading the book makes you feel like you’ve known them just as long. Duff was a devious child who didn’t always have a creative outlet for his art. He tells the story much better than I can, but the message he sends is clear: follow your instincts. They are not just cake decorators, but artists. This would make a great Christmas gift for the fan in your family. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun Rice Pasta Couscous By Jeff Koehler Chronicle Books, $29.95, 224 pages This savvy survey does a complete circuit of Mediterranean ports in the form of a cookbook, and manages to transmit a sense of place for many of the landing spots via excellent photography and interviews with chefs. The gems include extensive coverage of Catalonian dishes, particularly a pork ribs and a fresh sausage fideos dish from the Pinotxo Bar in La Boqueria market, one of my favorite Barcelona stops.
San Antonio
“Earthen, tapering pigeon cotes, or coops, with protruding stick perches sprout up in tight pairs across Egypt’s Nile Delta, weighing down garages, shops, and simple brick homes. Nowhere have I eaten such tender, juicy pigeons—grilled as well as stuffed with either rice or frik (green wheat)—as Egypt in springtime.” There is also a thorough exploration of pilafs in Istanbul, and a surprising upside down rice and eggplant casserole from Syria. Perhaps the best part of the book is the section on couscous, featuring over 20 recipes including a compelling Tunisian fish couscous with quince. The book is full of useful cooking tips, and has a clear explanation of types and sizes of couscous as well as techniques and secrets of couscous cookery. Reviewed by Richard Tolmach
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December 09 29
Children’s Books Wag! By Patrick McDonnell Little, Brown Young Readers, $15.99, 40 pages Wag! is the adorable tale of tails! The question raised in this story is what makes Earl’s tail wag. It wags for tummy rubs, squeaky toys, and friends. But what really makes it wag is love. Patrick McDonnell is the well-known creator of the Mutts comic strip. This book was written out of the love for his own dog, named Earl, and that love shows through. The drawings are adorable and completely appropriate for young readers. One subtle thing I liked about this book was that each page was printed on different colored paper. This a great book for the beginning reader in your family or for a quick bedtime story. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun A Gift of Days By Stephen Alcorn Atheneum, $28.99, 128 pages I am quite lost at first, trying to match the title of this book: a gift of days: the greatest words to live by with its content. I try to interpret what the author really means by “the greatest words…” Alcorn presents this book as a calendar with daily quotes. Each day is associated with some famous or known individuals, who come from various walks of life and over a long stretch of time. Some of them are famous; their lives and words are courageous, inspiring, and heroic…the rest, however, carry much less weight. In his foreword, Alcorn defended his selection of individuals and their words: “… Inspiration travels in mysterious ways and flows from a seemingly infinite variety of sources, and has a way of striking when one least expect...” Since Alcorn’s target audience is readers from ages 8 and up, some of the selected quotes can be “a gift,” and/or “greatest words to live by” to the young ones; the rest is catered to an older crowd. The same is true for the illustration and selection of the artwork, including the highlighted words; they are both impressive and inspirational. This book will last the readers for quite a lifetime. Reviewed by Sophie M. The Seeing Stick By Jane Yolen Running Press Kids, $16.95, 30 pages Originally published in 1977, The Seeing Stick is a beautifully written and gloriously illustrated tale of a blind girl who learns to
30 December 09
see the world, not through her eyes, but through the intricate carvings on a seeing stick. Re-introduced with new illustrations, the book features renderings by artist Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, who complements what the blind girl experiences by illustrating the story in shades of gray. When a wise, old man shares his seeing stick of detailed carvings depicting his world around him, the pages burst into color. Award-winning author Jane Yolen sings the story with almost musical language that is still fresh and rich today. “Her fingers, like little breezes,”” Feel the lines in the old man’s face…from years of worry and years of joy.” Attentive to every detail, Yolen named the girl Hwei Ming, which translates into “the lightless moon on the last day of the month” and “becoming luminous.” A rich tale pleasant for the eyes, ears and heart. Reviewed by Susan L. Roberts Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice By Judy Schachner Dutton Juvenile, $16.99, 32 pages To read Skippyjon Jones, you need an acquired taste. I suggest that if you are new to this series, this book is not a good one to start with. Though I do understand a little Spanish, the Spanglish conversation can really get in the way. However, lo and behold, my seven-year-old who has no Spanish background, laughed out loud reading this book for the first time. She thinks Skippyjon Jones is a really entertaining book, and would like to read the whole series. Aside from Spanish and Spanglish vocabulary, Schachner also included quite a number of challenging words for youngsters, such as Galactic Zoo, Chihuahua and Martian. I have to not only translate the words from Spanish to English, but also explain new words in the right context. I wonder how Schachner waved her magic wand to attract tireless young readers into Skippyjon’s world. As an adult reading this book for the first time, I don’t get the fun or funny part. But Schachner’s unique illustrations with whimsical characters must somehow help them step into the world of Skippyjon Jones. Reviewed by Sophie M. Monster Sleepover By Scott Beck Abrams Books for Young Readers, $14.95, 32 pages Doris is getting ready for a very special party. She has invited all her friends, and wants to make sure things are just right for
when they arrive. She cleans up the bones in the living room, and sets fire to the leaves outside. Doesn’t sound like your typical party? Well it’s not. Doris is throwing a slumber party for all her monster friends. They play typical games like Simon Says and they also look into the crystal ball. But the best part is staying up past their bedtime, which Vampire really enjoys. This is a cute book perfect for bedtime for your little monster. Scott Beck, author and illustrator, does a great job with the simple pictures and dialogue which makes this book suitable your younger children. Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun Do You Sing Twinkle?: A Story About Remarriage and New Family By Sandra Levins and Bryan Langdo Magination Press, $14.95, 32 pages At a glance, this book looks like most other kids’ books, but when I saw this was about remarriage and how kids (and parents, and stepparents) have to adapt, all of a sudden I was intrigued. The illustration is very nicely done and has an air of early 60’s vintage stylings belied only when the subject matter (like e-mail) deals with the present. The topic is a difficult one, and in my youth I saw a lot of my friends go through some of the emotions described in this book. I think it is handled gracefully here, with tact and composure. Author Sandra Levins shows sensitivity and creativity in describing ways to handle the problems, and I could tell that she had written this in part from her own personal experience. The “Notes to Parents” section in the back of the book is of vital importance. As much as this book is intended to help kids, it also tries to reach parents and stepparents as well. Anyone undergoing this difficult transition could benefit from “Do You Sing Twinkle?” Reviewed by John Cloutman Louise the Big Cheese By Elise Primavera and Diane Goode Simon & Schuster, $16.99, 34 pages Louise Cheese was a small girl who had big dreams. She longed for her mother to be the Brownie troop leader and prayed for her father to be the principal of her school. But Louise knew they did not like the limelight. Louise wanted to be a diva and her motto was to Dream Big! So when her teacher, Mrs. Little, announced that this year’s school play was
going to be Cinderella, Louise wished she could be Cinderella in the play. This was her chance to be a big star—a divine diva. One small problem: Fern her best friend was going to try out to be Cinderella, and she could act and sing beautifully. This was a dilemma for Louise. Louise was very small and was afraid she would get an unimportant part like a mouse—and after all, she had told her parents and Pee Wee her dog that she already got the part of Cinderella. You must pick up this book to find out what happens in this story. This is a book where friendship, jealousy and humor all play their part. Who gets to be Cinderella? Will Louise and Fern stay friends, as they both want to be Cinderella. The competition is tight. Louise does an act of kindness for Fern in this heartwarming story about two friends. This is a great read with an unforgettable ending. Illustrations are fun with lots of excitement on each page. At the end of the story is a Broadway quiz on what you would do if you became a big cheese. Comics on the front and back are also extra fun for the kids to read. You learn that in the heart of your parents, you are always a star! I give this book two thumbs up! Reviewed by Rhonda Fischer Who Lives Here? Savanna Animals By Deborah Hodge, Illustrated by Pat Stephens Kids Can Press, $14.95, 24 pages The savannas of Africa are full of amazing animals. Animals with tongues as long as your arm, animals that weigh as much as 13 pianos, and animals that can run just one hour after their birth. This book is full of great information about the animals and the things that make them so unique. Having reviewed many children’s books, I’ve found it’s hard to find the balance between educational and kid-friendly. This book nails it. I’ve loved animals as long as I can remember, and many times preferred Animal Planet to Cartoon Network. If that sounds like your child, this book is perfect for the animal lover in your family. This book is full of information even I didn’t know. Who Lives Here? Savanna Animals is a great treasure. Deborah Hodge’s information is simple to understand while being extremely informative. Pat Stephens does an excellent job of the illustrations; they are realistic and yet still appropriate for a children’s book. The last page of the book features some of the animals’ special body parts to help reinstill some the facts your child has just read. Kids Can Press also features more books in their Who Lives Here? series. Pick this book up today! Reviewed by Jennifer LeBrun
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Poetry & Short Stories The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age By Victoria Zackheim Prometheus Books, $25.00, 278 pages Is who you are now the person you expected you would be? Is there a dichotomy between your reality and the fantasy of your childhood yearnings? Editor Victoria Zackheim asked these questions to compile The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age, and received eloquent and intelligent reflective essays from twenty talented writers from diverse backgrounds. “At the very least, my parents wanted a child who was normal, but what they got was a writer.” Syndicated columnist and novelist Joyce Maynard observes that, “sooner or later, the truth about who you really are is likely to slip out,” a theme found in many of the essays. It seems that with age comes a certain acceptance, and appreciation for oneself, especially if, like Alan M. Dershowitz, we have exceeded even the best hopes anyone held for us as children,
but even if we happen to end up looking exactly how we hoped we’d never look, or acting just like our parents. Despite re-occurring themes, each essay manages to surprise and delight. Reviewed by Robin Martin The Suicide Run By William Styron Random House, $24.00, 194 pages William Styron’s new collection contains stories written from the 1950s to the 1990s. They are an honest depiction of Styron’s Marine Corps experiences, stories that delve deeper into what life means when one is in and away from the battlefield.
to understand that he too is imprisoned by his meaningless authority. In “Elobey, Annobon, and Corisco,” the narrator fights his fear of impending war by daydreaming about distant islands in his stamp collection, and in “My Father’s House,” a returned soldier struggles to resettle in a civilian life, but keeps thinking about the deaths in the battlefield. Styron’s stories are forceful in their honest depiction of the fears of soldiers fighting wars they don’t understand. The stories are written in a language so concrete that the sentences roll across the page with a serpentine wriggle only characteristic to the Styron of Sophie’s Choice. Reviewed by Emmanuel Sigauke
“In my reveries of the Marine Corps it is for some reason almost always raining.” The narrator of “Suicide Run” tells us about his redrafting after World War II for the Korean War, but he we never get to see him in either of the wars, choosing to share the frustrations of life at the base. An army prison guard in “Blankenship” is made
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STAR, cont’d from page 1 herds? What are cows doing in the desert following the star? Why no mention of the donkey that accompanies one of the fathers? -- the reader can’t help but enjoy the simplicity of the story, the terrific renderings of the various animals, and the looming expectation of something important about to occur, unified under a gorgeous, captivating, starlit sky. At its heart, Under the Star is about more than counting, though it handles that task with ease. It’s an exercise in slow-burn anticipation, disguised as a simple counting book, and no matter how heavy-handed you may find its message, the two are inextricably linked. You may pluck it off the shelf for the counting, the story, or both, but it’s those rich visuals that will convince you it’s worth your time. Reviewed by Glenn Dallas
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From the co-creator of the bestselling Olive, the Other Reindeer comes a tale about friendship. “Quirky charm.”— School Library Journal
A perfect gift for the holiday season!
ISBN (978-0-8109-8410-3) • $16.95
Abrams Books for Young Readers An imprint of ABRAMS
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December 09 31
SAATCHI, con’t from page 28 My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic By Charles Saatchi Phaedon Press, $9.95, 167 pages Charles Saatchi is a powerful name in the advertising industry. But even if you don’t know him, his influence is evident in the fact that he has probably sold you a product or a service through the many ads that his agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, has churned. Since now that you know that you bought the products and services that he and his cohorts have peddled, aren’t you the least bit curious to know just who this guy is? If you are, he has taken the time to answer questions about himself in Phaedon’s pocketable book called My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic: Everything You Need To Know About Art, Ads, Life, God and Other Mysteries—and Weren’t Afraid to Ask.
As it turns out, Charles Saatchi is known for many things other than being enormously successful in the international advertising arena. As a reclusive art collector, he is reputed for breaking the careers of unknown artists. He also happens to be the husband of much adored British chef Nigella Lawson. What he is not known for, however, is answering questions (a lot of them) from the media or the general public who are eager to know more about his enigmatic persona. So now comes the handy My Name is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic, where he candidly and fl ippantly answers nearly 200 questions, and for the first time, on subjects of peculiar interest such as the leading international advertisers, artists, dealers, media, galleries, directors and politicians as well as musicians, fi lm makers and coffee, among others. In turn provocative, surprising and funny, this book is Charles Saatchi as has never been known before—often provocative, surprising and funny. Reviewed by Dominique James
“By and large talent is in such short supply, mediocrity can be taken for brilliance rather more than genius can go undiscovered.”
There’s no place like home
for the holidays. Introducing the perfect gift: The USA Book The USA Book explores the unique personality and magnetic appeal of each of the 50 states with insightful observations and over 400 color photographs. The book contains informative and engaging details on each state, including history, culture and traditions, politics, myths and legends, trademarks and essential experiences.
lonelyplanet.com
32 December 09
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