Reviewer's Choice
Why Cops Die (And How to Prevent It)
Gerald W. Garner
Charles C. Thomas, Publisher
2600 South First Street, Springfield, IL 62704
http://www.ccthomas.com
9780398092030 $32.95 amazon.com
Assembled by a police chief who spent 15 years as a sergeant, Why Cops Die
(And How To Prevent It) is a manual filled cover to cover with advice for c
ountering threats to a law enforcement officer's safety. Although Why Cops
Die is written especially for police officers, anyone who needs or wants to
understand just how dangerous police work is can learn from the anecdotes,
case studies, and solid guidelines that responsible cops use to protect th
eir lives and the lives of others. From the importance of always searching
for the next threat, to properly handcuffing and controlling prisoners, to
using light to one's advantage (such as giving one's eyes a chance to adjus
t to light changes, and not letting light frame one's silhouette into an in
viting target), to avoiding deadly accidents while cleaning one's firearm a
nd much more, Why Cops Die is brimming with lifesaving information, and is
an absolute "must-have" for aspiring and practicing law enforcement profess
ionals everywhere, as well as for public, college, and police libraries.
Design As Democracy
David de la Pena, et al.
Island Press
2000 M St NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036
www.islandpress.org
9781610918473, $40.00, PB, 344pp, www.amazon.com
One of the primary political/social questions of our time is: How can we de
sign places that fulfill urgent needs of the community, achieve environment
al justice, and inspire long-term stewardship? The fundamental answer is th
at by bringing community members to the table, we open up the possibility o
f exchanging ideas meaningfully and transforming places powerfully. Collabo
ration like this is hands-on democracy in action. It's up close. It's perso
nal. For decades, participatory design practices have helped enliven neighb
orhoods and promote cultural understanding. Yet, many designers still rely
on the same techniques that were developed in the 1950s and 60s. These appr
oaches offer predictability, but hold waning promise for addressing current
and future design challenges. "Design as Democracy: Techniques for Collect
ive Creativity" is specifically intended to help community members and acti
vists to reinvigorate democratic design, providing inspiration, techniques,
and case stories for a wide range of contexts. Deftly compiled and edited
by six leading practitioners and academics in the field of participatory de
sign, with nearly 50 contributors from around the world, "Design as Democra
cy" shows how to design with communities in empowering and effective ways.
The flow of the book's nine chapters reflects the general progression of co
mmunity design process, while also encouraging readers to search for ways t
hat best serve their distinct needs and the culture and geography of divers
e places. Each chapter presents a series of techniques around a theme, from
approaching the initial stages of a project, to getting to know a communit
y, to provoking political change through strategic thinking. Readers may ap
proach the book as they would a cookbook, with recipes open to improvisatio
n, adaptation, and being created anew. Impressively 'user friendly' in orga
nization and presentation, "Design as Democracy: Techniques for Collective
Creativity" is an extraordinary and 'real world practical' read that is unr
eservedly recommended for both community and academic library Social Scienc
e, Political Science, and Contemporary Social Issues collections. It should
be noted for personal reading lists that "Design as Democracy: Techniques
for Collective Creativity" is also available in a digital book format (Kind
le, $23.99).
I Will Not Fear
Melba Pattillo Beals
Revell
c/o Baker Publishing Group
6030 East Fulton, Ada, MI 49301
www.bakerbooks.com
9780800729431 $16.99 www.revellbooks.com
I Will Not Fear: My Story of a Lifetime of Building Faith Under Fire is the
autobiography of author Melba Pattillo Beals, of one of the black students
chosen to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.
She was only 15 years old when she bravely attended the institution in spit
e of bullying, hatred, and death threats. Her faith in God sustained her th
rough a lifetime of challenges. She married a white man who loved her and w
ho carried no racial prejudice - yet cultural (not racial!) differences led
to their divorce; he wanted a stay-at-home housewife, while she longed for
a college education and a career. She pursued both as a single mother, and
became a writer and an NBC television news reporter. Her story is one of r
esourcefulness, courage, and a bedrock of trust in God. I Will Not Fear is
highly recommended for both public library collections and personal reading
lists.
The Raftsmen
Ryan Barnett, author
Dmitry Bondarenko, illustrator
Firefly Books Ltd.
50 Staples Avenue, Unit 1, Richmond Hill, ON, Canada L4B 0A7
www.fireflybooks.com
9781770859784, $24.95, HC, 224pp, www.amazon.com
For four French expatriates who escaped the clutches of the Nazi regime to
find asylum in Canada, adventure was to be the antidote to depression broug
ht on by the cruelty of war. In 1956, armed with nothing but the flannel on
their backs, a small stock of food, and some crude navigation and communic
ation equipment, the quartet set sail from Halifax. Their goal was to becom
e the first crew to cross the Atlantic by raft. Fashioned from telephone po
les and built entirely by hand, the raft they called L'Egare II would be th
eir home for 88 harrowing days as they crossed the North Atlantic from Cana
da to Britain. And they made it! Ryan Barnett is a documentary filmmaker an
d a producer at Historica Canada. Dmitry Bondarenko is a Canadian artist an
d illustrator who lives and works in Toronto. In "The Raftsmen" they collab
orate to present a dramatic and thrilling portrait of a long-forgotten true
adventure and astounding seafaring achievement set in the aftermath of Wor
ld War II. An inherently fascinating read from beginning to end, "The Rafts
men" is unreservedly recommended for the personal reading lists of real lif
e action/adventure fans, and will prove to be a unique and enduringly popul
ar addition to community library collections.
Tortillas, Tiswin, and T-Bones
Gregory McNamee
University of New Mexico Press
MSC05 3185, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com
9780826359049, $24.95, PB, 256pp, www.amazon.com
A detailed history that is as informative as it is inherently fascinating f
or dedicated food buffs, Gregory McNamee explores the many ethnic and cultu
ral traditions that have contributed to the food of the Southwest in the pa
ges of "Tortillas, Tiswin, and T-Bones: A Food History of the Southwest". M
cNamee deftly traces the origins of the distinctive southwester cuisines to
the arrival of humans in the Americas, the work of the earliest farmers of
Mesoamerica, and the most ancient trade networks joining peoples of the co
ast, plains, and mountains. From the ancient chile pepper and agave to the
comparatively recent fare of sushi and Frito pie, this complex culinary jou
rney involves many players over space and time. Born of scarcity, migration
, and climate change, these foods are now fully at home in the Southwest of
today -- and with the "southwesternization" of the American palate at larg
e, they are found across the globe. McNamee also extends that story across
thousands of years to the present, even imagining what the southwestern men
u will look like in the near future. While very highly recommended, especia
lly for both community and academic library Food History collections and su
pplemental studies lists, it should be noted for students, academics, and n
on-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Tortill
as, Tiswin, and T-Bones: A Food History of the Southwest" is also available
in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.96).
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
Farley Mowat
David R. Godine, Publisher
Fifteen Court Square, Suite 320, Boston, MA 02108-2536
www.godine.com
9781567926125, $15.95, PB, 224pp, www.amazon.com
Also available for community and academic library Canadian Biography collec
tions, "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" was originally published in 1957, and beca
me one of those classic dog books that everyone who ever read it remembers.
Much as they remember the great Canadian novelist and environmentalist Far
ley Mowat - for his wry humor, his marvelous use of language (his father wa
s a librarian), his passion for animals in all forms and the outdoors in al
l its glory, and his seemingly endless series of misadventures. A deftly cr
afted memoir that still proves after the passage of 50 years to be an inher
ently fascinating and memorable read from cover to cover, "The Dog Who Woul
dn't Be" should be a part of every community, college, and university libra
ry collection.
Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B
H. Alan Day with Lynn Wiese Sneyd
www.alandayauthor.com
Morgan James Publishing
11815 Fountain Way, Suite 300, Newport News, VA 23606-4448
www.morganjamespublishing.com
9781683503989 $17.00 pbk / $7.99 Kindle amazon.com
Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B is an anthology of true-life stories fr
om award-winning author and modern-day American cowboy H. Alan Day, who gre
w up on a southwestern cattle ranch working with cowhands, horses, and the
land. Here are tales of raising an abandoned baby hawk, surviving an unexpe
cted crash of the small airplane he flew around the ranch daily, and trappi
ng quail so his sister attending Stanford could create a memorable dinner f
or her fellow residents. Lively, adventurous, and with a dash of wry humor,
Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B is captivating from cover to cover, an
d the next best thing to experiencing ranch life in person. Highly recommen
ded!
The Great Halifax Explosion
John U. Bacon
William Morrow & Company
c/o HarperCollins Publishers
195 Broadway New York, New York 10007
97800626666536 $29.99 www.harpercollins.com
The Great Halifax Explosion tells of a 1917 cataclysmic eruption of a freig
hter that held some six million pounds of explosives, on its way to fueling
the Great War. The freighter's explosion was the most powerful ever experi
enced by a human population, involving some 2.9 kilotons of TNT. The ship w
as vaporized in less than a second, the shockwave leveled the city, and a t
sunami finished off the job. John Bacon's survey covers not only the events
before and after the disaster, but illustrates the lessons about mass dest
ruction that were learned from the event by military men and scientists ali
ke. From survivors to all affected by the explosion, this book provides a h
istory like no other and makes for riveting, engrossing reading by lay and
military audiences alike.
Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food
Marcy Carriker Smothers
Disney Press Editions
9781484782293 $35.00 www.disneybooks.com
Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food is not a cookbook; instea
d, it takes an unusual approach in examining the food choices and evolution
of Disneyland, and covers everything from originator Walt Disney's persona
l culinary tastes to how food became an entertainment attraction in its own
right. Walt Disney didn't dream of becoming a restaurateur, but he did hol
d the vision of entertainment extending from Disney characters and producti
ons into the food realm, and this history follows both Walt Disney's person
al and family food traditions to how inns, cafeterias, and events came to b
e part of Disney's vision. The result, packed with vintage photos, is a liv
ely culinary history with a special focus on Disney that no culinary or ent
ertainment library should be without.
My Four Strokes
Leanne Overbeek
CreateSpace
4900 LaCross Rd., North Charleston, SC 29406
www.createspace.com
9781548047177, $9.95, PB, 94pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: "My Four Strokes" by Leanne Overbeek is a raw, vividly honest acc
ount of the harrowing, life-threatening illness experienced by one too youn
g and yet not young enough, woman.
Experiencing four strokes at age 27, fighting to gain control both physical
ly and mentally only to wake up from brain surgery on her 28th birthday, Le
anne pens her difficult experience for others to derive hope.
Though the storm did surge threatening to render her helpless, Leanne was m
iraculously spared from certain death and wants to share her true story of
hope for others to gain new strength. Fighting may seem too much, too exhau
sting, too seemingly hopeless, and yet, all one can do to stay afloat.
But, there is always hope through God, our creator, who is able to grant us
healing. If it is not His will to grant physical healing, He can and will
grant our souls that cleansing, saving grace if, and only if, we turn to Hi
m in honest, sincere repentance. Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and of a good
courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he [it is]
that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Critique: Candid, inspired, and inspiring, "My Four Strokes" is a truly mem
orable read from beginning to end, and a choice pick especially for anyone
in the Christian community beset with their own serious health issues. High
ly recommended.
Morning Coffee at the Goldfish Pond
David Zurick
Shanti Arts
193 Hillside Road, Brunswick, Maine 04011
www.shantiarts.com
9781947067028, $19.95, PB, 234pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: In "Morning Coffee at the Goldfish Pond", David Zurick (winner of
the 2006 National Outdoor Book Award) recounts an event in his life that s
eems exceedingly uncomplicated: he built a goldfish pond in his backyard.
Yet, there is more to a goldfish pond than meets the eye.
Zurick's compelling story travels the world, encompassing places of extraor
dinary beauty and rich cultural traditions, but the core of it is in Wolf G
ap Holler, Kentucky, where he lives among hard-working and community-minded
neighbors, cuts firewood to keep warm in the winter, and enjoys morning co
ffee by his goldfish pond -- often with his neighbor George.
"Morning Coffee at the Goldfish Pond" at first seems so simple that one bar
ely notices its treatises on the sacred qualities of place, the contemplati
ve virtues of nature, the dilemmas of sustainability, and the spiritual fra
mework that undergirds life. Yet, this is what "Morning Coffee at the Goldf
ish Pond" is about: a sacred and seamless landscape that extends from the h
ighest mountain plateaus in Tibet to the deepest hollers of Kentucky.
Critique: An inherently interesting and entertaining read from beginning to
end, "Morning Coffee at the Goldfish Pond" is unique, extraordinary, and u
nreservedly recommended for community library collections. It should be not
ed for personal reading lists that "Morning Coffee at the Goldfish Pond" is
also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).
Gift from the Garden
Bernie DuBois
Trellis Publishing
PO Box 280, New York Mills, MN 56567
www.trellispublishing.com
9781930650268, $12.95, PB, 84pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Bernie DuBois is a former college educator whose teaching and wri
ting experience has given her a great feel for exploring the lives of women
and phases of a woman's life. In the pages of "Gift from the Garden" she h
as deftly written a gentle book that compares various plants to stages in a
woman's life, exploring issues of life and belonging. Women of all ages ca
n relate to how we change and grow with our various roles, but adds a conte
mporary twist. DuBois' style combines deeply serious yet comic moments, and
helps readers move to a new understanding of building their own lives.
Critique: With underlying messages and values that are both timely and time
less, "Gift from the Garden" is an extraordinary, thoughtful and thought-pr
ovoking read from cover to cover -- and one that is unreservedly recommende
d for personal reading lists as well as community library collections.
A Spiritual Hypothesis
Daniel Punzak, P.E.
AuthorHouse
1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200, Bloomington, IN 47403-5161
www.authorhouse.com
9781524652388, $44.95, HC, 966pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Traditional Western religion explains that each human has a spiri
tual aspect called a soul. However, several passages in the Bible allude to
humans having a soul and a spirit. In "A Spiritual Hypothesis: An Inquiry
into Abnormal and Paranormal Behavior", Dan Punzak explores this idea and p
resents numerous modern psychological findings that support this notion. Sh
amanism and some Eastern religious concepts also support this idea. Diverse
concepts such as creativity and mental illness can be explained by the ide
a that two spiritual forms are in each human.
Critique: A massive and detailed study, "A Spiritual Hypothesis: An Inquiry
into Abnormal and Paranormal Behavior" is an extraordinary work that autho
r Daniel Punzak spent more than four decades in researching near-death expe
riences, dissociative identity disorder, mystery experience and shamanism i
n preparation for. An absorbing and inherently fascinating read, "A Spiritu
al Hypothesis" is exceptionally well written, deftly organized and impressi
vely comprehensive, making it an especially recommended addition to communi
ty and academic library collections. It should be noted for the personal re
ading lists of academia and non-specialist general readers with an interest
in the subject that "A Spiritual Hypothesis" is also available in a paperb
ack edition (9781524652371, $31.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $
3.99).
The Mammoth Letters
Jennifer K. Crittenden
Whistling Rabbit Press
PO Box 910756, San Diego, CA 92191
www.whistlingrabbitpress.com
9780984736089, $17.95, PB, 260pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Questions arise when a big city family moves to a remote mountain
town in the Eastern Sierra: Why is there a bear in the grocery store? What
happened to the missing school teacher? Where do you buy soccer socks arou
nd here?
Skillfully blending anecdote, history, and description, "The Mammoth Letter
s: Running Away to a Mountain Town" is an amusing and sensitive portrayal b
y author Jennifer K. Crittenden of an eclectic town and its colorful inhabi
tants.
An inspired and inspiring read anyone who has wondered about making the lea
p from one world to another, "The Mammoth Letters" is deftly written with a
wide emotional range that will engage the readers in a discovery of myster
y, beauty, and tragedy, and how a majestic but unforgiving alpine wildernes
s affects those living at its edge.
Critique: An inherently fascinating and entertaining read from cover to cov
er, "The Mammoth Letters: Running Away to a Mountain Town" is an especially
recommended addition to community library collections. It should be noted
that a one-dollar donation will be made to the Southern Mono Historical Soc
iety with the purchase of each new paperback edition of "The Mammoth Letter
s". Is should also be noted that "The Mammoth Letters" is available for per
sonal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
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