New Book List

August 27, 2003

Nonfiction

American Soldiers: Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam
- Kindsvatter, Peter S.

This book is the first to synthesize the wartime experiences of American combat soldiers, from the doughboys of World War I to the grunts of Vietnam. Focusing on both soldiers and marines, it draws on histories and memoirs, oral histories, psychological and sociological studies, and even fiction to show that their experiences remain fundamentally the same regardless of the enemy, terrain, training, or weaponry. - from the publisher

Castle - Gravett, Christopher

Crisp photographs of art and artifacts from Europe's Middle Ages highlight "Eyewitness Book" overviews of the feudal system from a castle's construction and life. The two-page "displays" are annotated views that include, the manor's lady and lord, Crusaders, and Japan's samurai; in the second, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese fortress homes, medieval livestock-quite different from today's, and carpenters' and cooks' equipment. Knight's a perfect companion book offers descriptions of the warriors, their fighting techniques and flexible fashions- from functional chain mail to decorative body armor.

What’s that Smell? (Oh, It’s Me) : 50 Mortifying Situations and How to Deal With Them - Shaw, Tucker

You just wrote an e-mail to the love of your life-who has no idea that you're alive, you poured out all your deepest, most private feelings and then, instead of hitting delete... YOU HIT SEND…You're at a party. Something smells. BAD. You look around to see who the unlucky stinker is. And then you realize... Oh, it's me… Between school, family, and crushes, life is full of drama. But when something really mortifying happens, it can be unbearable. That's why Alloy.com's advice expert Tucker Shaw has put together the ultimate handbook for anyone who might fall prey to any number of life's practical jokes. (And guess what? That's you.) – from the publisher

Floating Off the Page: The Best Stories From The Wall Street Journal's Middle Column - Wells, Ken

The column from which this collection derives debuted in December, 1941, and from its 6-decade history Wells has selected 67 engaging examples of journalistic creativity and caprice. Each entry of approximately 1500 words is signed and dated, and tackles an offbeat topic of the staff writer's choice, designed to leaven the daily news offerings and to entertain by wresting readers' eyes from serious matters. For example, one may read about cutting-edge technology in sheep orthodontics, record-breaking distances in piano flinging by trebuchet, and fantasy styling excesses at hair fashion shows. This is a book to be valued equally for the composition lessons inherent in its polished prose and for its appeal to readers.- School Library Journal

Gulag: A History - Applebaum, Anne

Nearly 30 million prisoners passed through the Soviet Union's labor camps in their more than 60 years of operation. This first fully documented history of the gulag, describes how, largely under Stalin's watch, a regulated, centralized system of prison labor-unprecedented in scope-gradually arose out of the chaos of the Russian Revolution. Fueled by waves of capricious arrests, this prison labor came to underpin the Soviet economy. The author draws on newly accessible Soviet archives as well as scores of camp memoirs and interviews with survivors to trace the gulag's origins and expansion. By the gulag's peak years in the early 1950s, there were camps in every part of the country, and slave labor was used not only for mining and heavy industries but for producing every kind of consumer product (chairs, lamps, toys, those ubiquitous fur hats) and some of the country's most important science and engineering (Sergei Korolev, the architect of the Soviet space program, began his work in a special prison laboratory). Applebaum details camp life, including strategies for survival; the experiences of women and children in the camps; sexual relationships and marriages between prisoners; and rebellions, strikes and escapes. There is almost too much dark irony to bear in this tragic, gripping account. Applebaum's lucid prose and painstaking consideration of the competing theories about aspects of camp life and policy are always compelling. She includes an appendix in which she discusses the various ways of calculating how many died in the camps, and throughout the book she thoughtfully reflects on why the gulag does not loom as large in the Western imagination as, for instance, the Holocaust. – Publisher’s Weekly

The Hiding Place - Ten Boom, Corrie

Corrie ten Boom was a leader in the Dutch Underground during WWII. With the aid of her family, she hid scores of Jews from the Nazi invaders. She was arrested along with every member of her family, spending the remaining war years in concentration camps. An inspiring story.

History of Castles: Fortifications Around the World - Gravett, Christopher

The author, an internationally recognized medieval expert and chief curator at Her Majesty's Tower of London, has put together a spectacular volume filled with breathtaking photography and fascinating history surrounding the building and lives of castles. Gravett explores castles in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East, as well as other fortifications in India, China, Japan, and Central and South America, and forts in the United States. He shows castles as symbols of power and places built for defense, administration, and the dispensation of justice. He also discusses religious battles and siege warfare. The book contains 200 beautiful color photographs, 30 reconstructions, 70 detailed maps, and an excellent index and table of contents. – from the publisher

Christianity : The First Two Thousand Years - Partner, Peter

Two volumes bound as one, this book is a companion to a major British television series produced by the BBC, documents the enormous influence Christianity has had for the last 2000 years. The first volume begins with the rise of Christianity as a small sect of Judaism in the first century and its expansion beyond the boundaries of the Roman Empire. The narrative continues with the loss of possessions in the Holy Land to Islam and concludes with the reconquest of Christian lands during the first crusade in the 11th century. Volume 2 presents Christianity's second millennium, from the flowering of the Middle Ages as seen in the grand cathedrals of Western Europe to the turbulent years of the Reformation unto the present day. Concerns of the 21st century, such as geographical changes in Christian populations in Third World countries and the ordination of women, make up the final chapter. – Library Journal

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Popular Culture - Kushner, David

Kushner has cracked open the dark world of John Carmack and John Romero, the authors of the blockbuster computer games Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. Reading this fascinating underground tale is as addictive as the games themselves. It is the ultimate revenge of the nerds: two obsessed gamers who were told that their interests had no redeeming value, their hacker ethic dismissed as borderline delinquent, forged their driven creative genius in programming and design to create the most wildly innovative and popular computer games of the 1990s. Using low-cost shareware distribution, they grew so big so fast that these 20-something renegades soon found themselves courted by the likes of Bill Gates. Unfortunately, Gates was not the only one who noticed. The games' bizarre violence finally got them caught up in controversy involving Columbine and the U.S. Senate, and they unwittingly found themselves victims of their own success. This is a true antihero story of our time, complete with the infamous all-night programming sessions saturated in pizza and Diet Coke, computer geeks turned rock stars spawning an entire cyberculture. - Booklist

Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages - Kaufmann, J. E.

Historical survey of the castles and other walled defenses of medieval Europe. Explains the origins and evolutions, compositions and components of these structures, along with their offensive and defensive strategies, weapons, and modifications. The informative, photographically illustrated and engaging text is enhanced throughout with illustrations and detailed technical drawings. – Internet Book Watch

Our Final Hour : A Scientist's Warning : How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future in This Century on Earth and Beyond - Rees, Martin J.

British astrophysicist Rees has made it his mission to help the public to think big about the universe and our species' role within it. In his latest popular treatise, he offers an unflinchingly grim assessment of the risks associated with myriad scientific advances, from nuclear weapons to genetic engineering. Even readers aware of the negative impact humankind has had on the biosphere will find Rees' vision of the likelihood of a cataclysmic outcome of our nuclear, biological, and cyber pursuits shocking, and yet his arguments are so cogent and his intentions so good--he is making a dramatic case for scientific literacy--that his dire warning is more invigorating than debilitating. Rees' most arresting futuristic scenarios involve biotechnologies that will change the very essence of human nature, and he also offers some chilling observations regarding bioterror and bioerror, certain that one or the other will kill a million people by 2020. Chilling predictions of doom are interrupted by compelling insights into various scientific discoveries. Science, Rees reminds readers, has incalculable social, even cosmic, ramifications, and it must be conducted accordingly. - Booklist

Runner's World Complete Guide to Trail Running - Barrios, Dagny Scott

Everything you wanted to know and more about gear, training, nutrition, injuries, etc.

Taking Flight: Inventing the Aerial Age from Antiquity through the First World War - Hallion, Richard P.

Flight author and former Air Force Historian Hallion has produced an expertly written single-volume history of flight, from Icarus and Daedalus to England's twin-engine "Bloody Paralyser" of WWI, that has the potential to become the standard work on the subject. The book's strength comes from its deft reconsideration of flight within a much broader context than other historians placed it-i.e., "the context of prevailing social, cultural, technological, scientific, political, and military history." Aided by numerous illustrations and archival photographs, Hallion's analysis is artful, and his writing consistently clear, whether the subject is the Chinese kite of the second century, the technical accomplishments of Enlightenment designers, the dominance of balloons and airships in the 18th and 19th centuries, the development of American and European aeronautics, or the crucial incorporation of flight technology by the military. Along with profiles of major figures such as the Wright Brothers and Octave Chanute, Hallion takes care to bring to light lesser-known figures such as Sir George Cayley, "the first of the modern pioneers" of aviation, whose airships and the publicity surrounding them, Hallion expertly notes, were the inspiration for Edgar Allen Poe's "Balloon Hoax."- Publisher’s Weekly

Birding - Forshaw, Joseph

Find a Warbling Vireo! Color drawings and photographs will encourage readers to seek out and identify birds of al types. Several chapters deal with understanding birds and the process of birding, while the remainder is divided into habitats and provides a page for each bird type with photo, drawings, habitat maps, and field notes.

Modern Science : Science and Technology in Today's World - Anderson, Barry

Beautifully illustrated with color photographs, this introduces the reader to a myriad of topics in science and technology. Chapters: The Body – Society – Frontiers of Technology – Transportation – Infotech – The Living World – Astronomy and Space Exploration –Index and Glossary.

Voyages of Delusion: The Quest for the Northwest Passage - Williams, Glyn

The eighteenth century - the Age of Reason - was characterized by determined attempts by philosophers, scientists and political theorists to dispel myth, superstition and ignorance. But the Age of Reason also witnessed some of the most irrational and vainglorious attempts by sailors and speculators to find a navigable Northwest Passage that would lead through the icy seas of the Arctic from Hudson Bay to the wealth of the Pacific Ocean. It is a tale of credulity and duplicity, of hopes raised and dashed, of the misdirection of practical seamen by armchair geographers. Lured by the promise of fame and riches, men endured paralyzing cold, malnutrition and terrifying storms. Many lives and fortunes were lost in the quest for the elusive "maritime philosopher's stone." In this gripping work of narrative history, Glyn Williams explores the adventures and mishaps of successive voyages, including one expedition that disappeared entirely in the Arctic ice. Vividly written and replete with fascinating characters. – from the publisher

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bryson, Bill

While this book doesn't cover "nearly everything," it does a fantastic job of tackling certain topics: biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Writing with wit and charm, Bryson, who has hiked the Appalachian Trail (A Walk in the Woods) and traveled around Australia (In a Sunburned Country), now takes us on a scientific odyssey from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. Reflecting his gift for making science comprehensible yet fun, he tells the story of the discoveries and the people that have shaped our understanding of the universe. Along the way, we meet some fascinating and eccentric scientists. Although Bryson clearly intends this book for general readers, subject specialists will also enjoy his wry takes. – Library Journal

Castles: Their Construction and History - Toy, Sidney

Concise, scholarly survey traces castle development from ancient roots. Nearly 200 photographs and drawings illustrate moats, keeps, baileys, many other features. Caernarvon, Dover castles, Hadrian’s Wall, Tower of London, dozens more. 199 black-and-white illustrations. Preface. Index. Footnotes. – from the publisher

Escape from China: The Long Journey from Tiananmen to Freedom - Boli, Zhang

Who can forget the searing images, telecast around the world, of the brave Chinese students facing the tanks that rolled toward them in Tiananmen Square as they rebelled against their Communist government? After a two-week standoff, the military forces charged in and brutally suppressed the revolt, killing many students and issuing a warrant for the arrest of all responsible for the insurgence. As one of the top student leaders in the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, Zhang Boli became even more famous as he managed to evade a ruthless nationwide police manhunt. After two years as a fugitive, he was the only leader who had not been accounted for. Among the twenty-one students placed on the government's most-wanted list, Zhang knew that he would never again be able to live openly in China and that he must bid his beloved country -- as well as his wife and baby daughter -- farewell. In Escape From China, Zhang Boli tells the fascinating, inspirational story of how he avoided capture and surpassed overwhelming obstacles in his struggle to survive and ultimately find freedom in the West. – from the publisher

Icons of Photography: The 20th Century - Stepan, Peter

This chronological assembly of 90 photographers offers a carefully gathered spectrum of photography in this century. Each artist is given a two-page spread, including a portrait shot and an example of a key image; there are 165 images in all, representing the artists' best and most challenging work. In the hands of these daring practitioners, photography looks like a tool of revelation, with imagination, mystery, and the range of human experience on display throughout. These captured instants--framed, composed, labored over, and at times accidental--create an important legacy that will be reviewed for a long time to come. – Library Journal

Castles of England, Scotland and Wales - Johnson, Paul

England, Scotland, and Wales together possess one of the largest and most impressive collections of castles anywhere in the world. Their names--Kenilworth, Edinburgh, Bodiam, Stirling, Tintagel--conjure images of romance, battles and intrigue. Trace each stage of the castles' development from Norman times through Plantagenet and Edwardian expansion, including their role in strengthening the coastline during the Tudor age, the appalling devastation suffered in the Civil War, and the gradual decay of the castle--and its renaissance. – from the publisher

Skywatching - Levy, David H.

Profusely illustrated, Skywatching has been well designed to advise and encourage the potential "backyard" astronomer. Brief background explanations speed the reader through relevant topics such as the history of astronomy, types of stars and other celestial objects of interest to skywatchers, and techniques and equipment for the amateur. The core of the book features a series of seasonal sky charts to be used in conjunction with a generous alphabetical arrangement of constellation maps. Viewpoints for both northern and southern hemispheres are represented, with the sky's offerings accessible through binoculars, small telescope, and the naked eye clearly set out for any approximate latitude and time of year. – Library Journal

Ancient Egypt : An Illustrated Reference to The Myths, Religions, Pyramids And Temples of the Land of the Pharaohs - Oakes, Lorna and Lucia Gahlin

Originally published as two volumes (Egypt: God, Myths and Religion and Sacred Sites of Ancient Egypt), this lushly illustrated volume covers the bases from temples to tombs.

World's Greatest Buildings : Masterpieces of Architecture & Engineering

This intriguing volume showcases 100 of the world’s most admired and timeless structures. A representative sampling includes churches, castles, palaces, forts, stadiums, museum galleries, bridges, canals, statues, memorials, parliaments, and skyscrapers. Photographs, diagrams, and illustrations show not only what these building look like, but also how they were built. You’ll marvel at man’s many engineering feats, from Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt to the Panama Canal. – from the publisher

How to Think like Einstein: Simple Ways to Break the Rules, Free Your Mind and Uncover Your Hidden Genius - Thorpe, Scott

In this totally accessible, ingenious book, you will learn the tricks and techniques used by Albert Einstein and other great minds to solve bewildering problems. From business and parenting to becoming more creative and improving relationships, How to Think Like Einstein provides the tools to discovering breakthrough solutions to everyday challenges. – from the publisher

The American Heritage History of Notable American Houses - Davidson, Marshall B.

Illustrates and describes in their historical contexts houses that have contributed most notably to our changing ideas of what a home should be, inside and out.

Inside the Third Reich - Speer, Albert

From 1946 to 1966, while serving the prison sentence handed down from the Nuremburg War Crimes tribunal, Albert Speer penned 1,200 manuscript pages of personal memoirs. Long after their initial publication in 1969, Speer's memoir continues to provide one of the most detailed and fascinating portrayals of life within Hitler's inner circles, the rise and fall of the third German empire, and of Hitler himself. – Amazon.com

The Nightmare Years : 1930 – 1940 - Shirer, William L.

A vivid first-person account of life in Europe during Hitler’s rise to power by the American foreign correspondent and acclaimed author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The added dimension in The Nightmare Years is the personal story of Shirer’s life as a journalist, husband, and father. Events of his career and family life became an obbligato accompanying political events in Europe and written with all the action and suspense of a novel.

Son of the Morning Star - Connell, Evan S.

On June 25, 1876, Gen. George Armstrong Custer and some 200 cavalrymen under his command blundered into a coulee along the banks of Montana's Little Bighorn River. They never came out; several thousand Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho warriors saw to that. The name and the event of the Little Bighorn have subsequently entered into American mythology, reverberating throughout the nation's history. Custer's famous demise has yielded thousands of books, and Son of the Morning Star is exceptional among them: part anthropological study of Plains Indian life, part military history, and part character study of the principal actors in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Evan Connell's work presents the first truly balanced account of Custer's career. – Amazon.com

The Met: One Hundred Years of Grand Opera - Mayer, Martin

A lavishly illustrated history of the Metropolitan Opera.

Opera - Hartmann, Rudolf

The creative processes that go into producing operas, from commission to set design to premiere. Discusses various historical and contemporary productions of 11 operas in depth.

 

Reference

World Atlas of Biodiversity : Earth’s Living Resources in the 21st Century

Addresses the remarkable growth in concern at all levels for living things and the environment, and increased appreciation of the links between the state of ecosystems and the state of humankind. Building on a wealth of research and analysis by the conservation community worldwide, this book provides a comprehensive and accessible view of key global issues in biodiversity. It outlines some of the broad ecological relationships between humans and the rest of the material world and summarizes information on the health of the planet. – from the publisher

Past Worlds : Atlas of Archaeology

An archaeological retelling of the human story uses maps, illustrations, photographs, and meticulous reconstructions of ancient sites, applying the latest scientific techniques to the examination of Old World empires and more obscure civilizations.
Contents: Archaeology, understanding the past - Human origins, 16 million to 10,000 BC – The agricultural revolution, 10,000 to 4,000 BC – The first cities and states, 4000 to 1000 BC – Empires of the old world, 1000 BC to AD 650 – The new world, 10,000 BC to AD 1600 – Towards the modern world, AD 650 to 1800.

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology

Covers both Western and Eastern mythology. Lavishly illustrated

Colonial America - Gray, Edward G.

Presents excerpts from printed and pictorial primary sources that together form a compact portrait of the Colonial era in America, from the late 15th century through 1763. Eight thematic chapters treat English and European expansion, the process of settlement, Native Americans and the colonists, indenture and slavery, family life, religion, the genteel classes, and common material goods and luxuries. Each chapter begins with concise introductory remarks that create a clear context for the lists, letters, drawings, maps, portraits, ads, diagrams, news stories, diary entries, poems, and other documentation that follow. Additional cogent commentary and analysis by Gray appears in boldface type between the primary documents. Short sidebar quotations and black-and-white illustrations enhance both the content and the attractive layout. – from the publisher

World Atlas of Coral Reefs - Spalding, Mark D.

This atlas explores one of nature's most diverse and beautiful ecosystems--coral reefs. Its coverage is vast, providing an area-by-area summary of coral-reef systems in all geographic locations and countries. Each section includes an overview of the area, the locations of the reefs, data on size, and the specific pressures and hazards to those reefs. Background information of coral-reef evolution, environmnental issues, and reef-mapping techniques is also provided. Scientists, researchers, and teachers will appreciate the currency and comprehensiveness; lay readers and students will find the plethora of superior maps and lavish color photographs of the many reef species inviting. - "The Best of the Best Reference Sources," American Libraries, May 2003.

Antarctica and the Arctic: The Complete Encyclopedia - McGonigal, David

Contents: The ends of the earth. The geology of the poles ; The polar environment -- Polar regions. The Antarctic peninsula ; The Ross Sea and East Antarctica ; The sub- Antarctic Islands ; The Arctic -- Polar wildlife. Antarctic ecology ; Seals ; Whales, dolphins, and porpoises ; Seabirds ; Penguins ; Arctic wildlife -- Polar exploration. Early explorers, 1487-1900 ; The heroic age, 1901-1917 ; Modern explorers, 1921-1959 ; Arctic exploration -- Life at the poles. Managing the poles ; Conquering the poles ; Living and working in the cold -- Resources.

Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice

This 4-volume set contains scholarly articles and research on various aspects of criminal behavior and law, such as Class and Crime, Right to Counsel, Capital Punishment, Euthanasia, Family Relationships and Crime, Interpol, Military Justice, War Crimes, White-Collar Crime, etc.

Oxford World Atlas and Philip’s Great World Atlas

Know where you are and where you’re going.

 

Fiction

Revenge - Fry, Stephen

A modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. The victim of a schoolboy prank that goes bad and ultimately involves the British Intelligence Service, Ned Maddstone finds himself imprisoned in a private lunatic asylum, where he is kept in a drugged state for ten years before he is allowed contact with anyone else. For the next decade, he falls under the tutelage of a man known only as Babe, an elderly spy who teaches him the ways of the world and aids his escape, setting him up with near-limitless funds. The second half of the novel follows Ned as he wreaks his vengeance on all those involved with his mistaken arrest and imprisonment. This bald description does not do justice to the novel's brilliant execution, diminished only by a protagonist who is not very likable and the absence of true conflict as he carries out his revenge. Still, this is a highly intelligent and well-written story by British actor Fry (The Liar, etc.), the author of three previous comic novels and a memoir. – Library Journal

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling, J, K.

When the government of the magic world and authorities at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry refuse to believe in the growing threat of a freshly revived Lord Voldemort, fifteen-year-old Harry Potter finds support from his loyal friends in facing the evil wizard and other new terrors. - Ingram