Booklist articles from April 2008

Booklist archives from April 2008

The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century. By Steve Coll. Apr. 2008. 688p. Penguin, $35 (9781594201646). 953.805. The sprawling and immensely wealthy Bin Laden family has a past and present far more complex and...

Flying High: Remembering Barry Goldwater.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Flying High: Remembering Barry Goldwater. By William F. Buckley. May 2008. 304p. Basic, $27.50 (9780465008360). 973.92092. Buckley's recent death casts a valedictory shadow over his posthumously published tribute to the man who,...

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House: Humor, Blunders, and Other Oddities from the Presidential Campaign Trail.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House: Humor, Blunders, and Other Oddities from the Presidential Campaign Trail. By Charles Osgood. May 2008. 256p. illus. Hyperion, $23.95 (9781401322298). 814. Osgood, a...

Up till Now: The Autobiography.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Up till Now: The Autobiography, By William Sbatner and David Fisher. May 2008. 368p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, $25.95 (9780312372651). 793.45. The Autobiography seems a rather ponderous label for an impish book. On the other...

Moyers on Democracy.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Moyers on Democracy. By Bill Moyers. May 2008. 416p. Doubleday, $26.95 (9780385523806). 320.973. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moyers, best known for his show on PBS, is also a skilled orator who has for decades been sharing his...

A Writer's People: Ways of Looking and Feeling.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A Writer's People: Ways of Looking and Feeling. By V. S. Naipaul. May 2008. 208p. Knopf, $24.95 (9780375407383). 824. Nobel laureate Naipaul is constructing a pathway of autobiographical and critical essays to connect the great...

Black Out.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Black Out. By Lisa Unger. May 2008. 368p. Crown/Shaye Areheart, $23 (9780307338488). Crime Fiction. Annie Powers seems to lead an idyllic suburban life. She has a devoted husband, a cherubic young daughter, and a beautiful home...

The Tempest Tales.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Tempest Tales. By Walter Mosley. May 2008. 190p. Black Classic, $19.95 (9781574780437). Crime Fiction. Tempest Landry, a black man gunned down by white cops in Harlem, finds himself judged by St. Peter at heaven's gate--and...

My Sister, My Love.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * My Sister, My Love. By Joyce Carol Oates. June 2008. 576p. Ecco, $25.95 (9780061547485). General Fiction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Of course Dates, fluent in the valor and vulnerability of girls in our aggressively sexualized...

The Music of Pythagoras: How an Ancient Brotherhood Cracked the Code of the Universe and Lit the Path from Antiquity to Outer Space.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Music of Pythagoras: Row an Ancient Brotherhood Cracked the Code of the Universe and Lit the Path from Antiquity to Outer Space. By Kitty Ferguson. Apr. 2008. 320p.Walker, $25.95 (9780802716316). 182. The mystic...

Hitler's Priests: Catholic Clergy and National Socialism.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Hitler's Priests: Catholic Clergy and National Socialism. By Kevin P. Spicer. Apr. 2008. 308p. Northern Illinois Univ., $34.95 (9780875803845). 282. Sharp historical controversy rages over the relations between the Catholic Church...

The Uncensored Bible: The Bawdy and Naughty Bits of the Good Book.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Uncensored Bible: The Bawdy and Naughty Bits of the Good Book. By John Kaltner and others. June 2008. 224p. HarperOne, $19.95 (9780061238840). 221.6. Religion scholars Kalmer and Steven McKenzie were inspired by a presentation...

35 Miles from Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... 35 Miles from Shore: The Ditching and Rescue of ALM Flight 980. By Emilio Corsetti. Apr. 2008. 352p. illus. Odyssey, paper, $14.95 (9780977897100). 363.124. Pilot and journalist Corsetti provides an enthralling account of the only...

Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists. By Susan Neiman. May 2008. 480p. Harcourt, $27 (9780151011971). 170. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Enlightenment project of constructing a rational morality--pronounced dead by...

The Manley Arts.
April 1, 2008... April 1, 2008 Dear Diary, Aren't you lucky? Today I have finally decided to put you to some use. Freddie Feasley, a well-meaning cataloger and longtime friend of mine, gave you to me several months ago on the occasion of my retirement...

Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle American Anti-Imperialism.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Anti-war Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-imperialism. By Bill Kauffman. Apr. 2008. 288p. Holt/Metropolitan, $24 (9780805082449). 303.6. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Conservative,...

Climate Solutions: A Citizen's Guide.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Climate Solutions: A Citizen's Guide. By Peter Barnes. Apr. 2008. 112p. illus. Chelsea Green, paper, $9.95 (9781603580052). 363.738. In this concisely written guide to common terms used in the global-warming conversation, Barnes...

A Conservative History of the American Left.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A Conservative History of the American Left. By Daniel J. Flynn. Apr. 2008. 336p. Crown Forum, $25.95 (9780307339461). 335.3. Intent upon shaping the future, American leftists have so neglected their own past that they need a...

Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America. By Chris Wood. May 2008. 376p. illus. Raincoast, paper, $22.95 (9781551928142). 333.91. A Canadian journalist interested in water resources, Wood combines reportage from places...

The End of Food.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The End of Food. By Paul Roberts. June 2008. 416p. Houghton, $26 (0-618-60623-8). 363.8. Roberts identifies a fundamental contradiction plaguing America's food supply. On one hand, food constitutes the original economic store of...

The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal. By J. Patrick O'Connor. May 2008. 272p. Lawrence Hill, paper, $16.95 (9781556527449). 345.748. Journalist O'Connor reopens the story of internationally known death-row-inmate Abu-Jamal, a crime...

Futurecast: How Superpowers, Populations, and Globalization Will Change the Way You Live and Work.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Futurecast: How Superpowers, Populations and Globalization Will Change the Way You Live and Work. By Robert J. Shapiro. Apr. 2008. 320p. St. Martin's, $26.95 (9780312352424). 330.9. This is one of those books that seems either...

Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Harpoon: Into the Heart of Whaling. By Andrew Darby. Apr. 2008. 320p. Da Capo, $25 (9780306816291). 333.72. In this devastating indictment of the International Whaling Commission's ineffectiveness over the years, Darby, an...

A Healing Touch: True Stories of Life, Death, and Hospice.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A Healing Touch: True Stories of Life, Death, and Hospice. Ed. by Richard Russo. Apr. 2008. 192p. illus. Down East, $15.95 (9780892727513). 362.17. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Russo (Empire Falls, 2001) edits and, with five...

House Rules.(House Rules: A Memoir)(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... House Rules. By Rachel Sontag. Apr. 2008. 256p. Ecco, $24.95 (9780061341229). 305.23. "So who's the monster... your mom or your dad?" Sontag is asked during the writing of this childhood memoir. The answers are complicated, as...

Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, and Margie Richard's Fight to Save Her Town.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Night Fire: Big Oil, Poison Air, and Margie Richard's Fight to Save Her Town. By Ronnie Greene. May 2008. 288p. HarperCollins/Amistad, $24.95 (9780061123627). 363.738. Infamously known as "Cancer Alley," one particular stretch of...

Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead. By Madeleine M. Kunin. Apr. 2008. 240p. Chelsea Green, $24.95 (9781603580106); paper, $14.95 (9781933392929). 324.7082. In an election year that holds promise for the first...

A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A Place Called Canterbury: Tales of the New Old Age in America. By Dudley Clendinen. May 2008. 366p.Viking, $24.95 (9780670018840). 305.260973. The "new old age" is one of longer lives and greater independence until the prospects...

Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform. By George P. Shultz and John B. Shoven. Apr. 2008. 224p. Norton, $24.95 (9780393066029). 362.1. As the federal government's social programs continue on...

Rapture Ready!(Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Rapture Ready! By Daniel Radosh. Apr. 2008. 320p. Scribner, $25 (9780743297707). 306.6. "Organized as a series of adventures," Radosh's entertaining, often enlightening guide to a $7 billion industry cruises through the complex,...

The Road to Democracy in Iran.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Road to Democracy in Iran. By Akbar Ganji. Apr. 2008. 160p. MIT, $14.95 (9780262072953). 320.955. An Iranian dissident well known to human rights organizations, Ganji has paid the price of his convictions. Imprisoned by the...

U.S. vs. Them: How a Half Century of Conservatism Has Undermined America's Security.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... U.S. vs. Them: How a Half Century of Conservatism Has Undermined America's Security. By J. Peter Scoblic. Apr. 2008. 320p.Viking, $25.95 (9780670018826). 327.73009. The threat of nuclear attack is too critical and present to be...

Unmaking the Public University: The Forty-Year Assault on the Middle Class.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Unmaking the Public University: The Forty-Year Assault on the Middle Class. By Christopher Newfield. Apr. 2008. 320p. illus. Harvard, $29.95 (9780674028173). 378. The grand vision of the public university as a place where people...

The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The World of Mexican Migrants: The Rock and the Hard Place. By Judith Adler Hellman. May 2008. 288p. New World, $25.95 (9781565848382). 305.868. Often overlooked in the heated political debate over the conundrums of immigration...

A$$hole: How I Got Rich and Happy by Not Giving a Damn about Anyone and How You Can, Too.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... A$$hole: How I Got Rich and Happy by Not Giving a Damn about Anyone and How You Can, Too. By Martin Kihn. Apr. 2008. 256p. Broadway, $22.95 (9780767927260). 332. From the guy who brought you House of Lies (2005), which was, to...

The Board Book: An Insider's Guide for Directors and Trustees.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Board Book: An Insider's Guide for Directors and Trustees. By William G. Bowen. Apr. 2008. 256p. Norton, $26.95 (9780393066456). 658.4. Former president of Princeton and of the Mellon Foundation, coauthor or author of more than...

How to Be Useful: A Beginner's Guide to Not Hating Work.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... How to Be Useful: A Beginner's Guide to Not Hating Work. By Megan Hustad. May 2008. 256p. Houghton, $19.95 (0-618-71350-6). 650.1. Futurists admit that the youngest U.S. generations (X and Y) are different than the boomers and...

The World Is Your Oyster: The Guide to Finding Great Investments around the Globe.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The World Is Your Oyster: The Guide to Finding Great Investments around the Globe. By Jeff D. Opdyke. Apr. 2008. 288p. Crown Business, $27.50 (9780307381040). 332.6. Financial journalist Opdyke offers his theory that small and...

In Pursuit of the Gene: From Darwin to DNA.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... In Pursuit of the Gene: From Darwin to DNA. By James Schwartz. Apr. 2008. 370p. illus. Harvard, $29.95 (9780674026704). 576.509. Schwartz's scientific history of the origin of genetics spans from 1868, when Darwin proposed an...

Lost Worlds: Adventures in the Tropical Rainforest.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Lost Worlds: Adventures in the Tropical Rainforest. By Bruce Beehler. Apr. 2008. 272p. illus.Yale, $28 (9780300122282). 508.315. Beehler, an ornithologist, describes 12 field trips he has taken to the tropics during the last three...

Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo. By Kate Jackson. Apr. 2008. 321 p. illus. Harvard, $27.95 (9780674029743). 597.96096724. Herpetologist Jackson is candid, funny, and precise as she chronicles her...

Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life. By Carl Zimmer. May 2008. 256p. Pantheon, $25.95 (9780375424304). 579.3. Escherichia coli could benefit from better public relations, so poor is its image whenever the bacterium is...

One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers. By Andrew Hodges. May 2008. 304p. illus. Norton, $23.95 (9780393066418). 513.2. Cartographer for the land of numbers, Hodges here maps out an exhilarating journey, converting the simple trip...

Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius. By Silvan S. Schweber. Apr. 2008. 432p. illus. Harvard, $29.95 (9780674028289). 530.092. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Typically viewed as solitary geniuses, the two most prominent...

Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music in a Sea of Sound.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Thousand Mile Song: Whale Music In a Sea of Sound. By David Rothenberg. May 2008. 272p. illus. Basic, $27.50 (9780465071289). 599.5. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maybe music is part of nature itself"--a hypothesis philosopher and...

Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History. By Von Hardesty. 2008. 180p. illus. Smithsonian, $21.95 (0-06-126138-6). 629.13092. This book companion to the Smithsonian National Air and Space...

Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It. By Julia Keller. June 2008. 304p. illus.Viking, $25.95 (9780670018949). 683.4. The Gatling gun, named after Richard...

Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food. By Pamela C. Ronald and R. W. Adamchak. Apr. 2008.232p. illus. Oxford, $29.95 (9780195301755). 338.1. With the world's population projected to grow some 50...

The Way Toys Work: The Science behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch a Sketch, Boomerang, and More.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Way Toys Work: The Science behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch a Sketch, Boomerang, and More. By Ed Sobey and Woody Sobey. May 2008. 140p. illus. Chicago Review, paper, $14.95 (9781556527456). 688.7. Here's a great present for all...

The Complete Compost Gardening Guide.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Complete Compost Gardening Guide. By Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin. Apr. 2008. 320p. Storey, $29.95 (9781580177030); paper, $19.95 (9781580177023). 635. When heaping mounds of garden debris just sit there like so much,...

The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face, Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Veggie Gardener's Answer Book: Solutions to Every Problem You'll Ever Face, Answers to Every Question You'll Ever Ask. By Barbara W. Ellis. Apr. 2008. 434p. Storey, paper, $14.95 (9781603420242). 635.9. In this latest...

Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries!(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Frank Davis Makes Good Groceries! By Frank Davis. Apr. 2008. 320p. illus. Pelican, $23 (9781589805361). 641.59. For his title, Davis turns to Louisiana patois, where groceries refers to cooking ingredients, "good groceries"...

The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession. By Adam Leith Gollner. May 2008. 288p. Scribner, $25 (9780743296946). 641.3. Fruit plays a pivotal role in human history, from Adam's apple to George...

The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe. By Bob Spitz. May 2008. 320p. Norton, $24.95 (9780393060591). 641.59. Spitz has actually pursued what is only a dream for most foodies,...

The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers. By Scott Gold. 2008. 368p. Broadway, $24.95 (0-7679-2651-X). 641.3. Meat eaters have been lately disgraced by nutritional correctness, which commands that animal protein be...

The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats. By Joanne Chen. 2008. 272p. Crown, $24.95 (9780307351906). 641. Without question, humans crave the comfort of sweetness on the tongue. But, as Chen points...

Union Oyster House Cookbook: Recipes and History from America's Oldest Restaurant.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Union Oyster House Cookbook: Recipes and History from America's Oldest Restaurant. By Jean Kerr and Spencer Smith. 2008. 128p. illus. Seapoint, paper, $12.95 (0-9786899-1-7). 641.6. Although the Union Oyster House has expanded...

The Adventures of Herge: Creator of Tintin.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Adventures of Herge: Creator of Tintin. By Michael Farr. Apr. 2008. 128p. illus. Last Gasp, $29.95 (9780867196795). 741.5. While intrepid young reporter Tintin, beloved for more than 70 years everywhere but in the States, is...

Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City. Ed. by Dennis O'Neil. 2008. 227p. BenBella, $17.95 (1-933771-30-5). 741.5. Over the course of nearly seven decades, there have been dozens of different versions of...

Film on Paper: The Inner Life of Movies.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Film on Paper: The Inner Life of Movies. By Richard Schickel. Apr. 2008. 304p. Ivan R. Dee, paper, $18.95 (9781566637596). 791.43. Time film critic Schickel's new book collects not more movie reviews but his monthly Los Angeles...

Like a Rolling Stone: The Strange Life of a Tribute Band.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Like a Rolling Stone: The Strange Life of a Tribute Band. By Steven Kurutz. Apr. 2008. 224p. Broadway, $23.95 (9780385518901). 782.42. To get the inside poop on tribute bands, the combos that play the repertoires of much more...

Contemporary Knitting for Textile Artists.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Contemporary Knitting for Textile Artists. By Ruth Lee. 2008. 128p. illus. Batsford, $27.95 (9780713490466). 746.43. For those yearning to break out of the straightforward designs dictated by many knitting books, British artist Lee...

Painting on Glass and Ceramic.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Painting on Glass and Ceramic. By Karen Embry. 2008. 128p. illus. Sterling, $24.95 (9781402752643). 748.502. With so many new paints and glazes on the market today, it's as easy as having a free afternoon to make your own designer...

Anatomy of Baseball.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Anatomy of Baseball. Ed. by Lee Gutkind and Andrew Blauner. Apr. 2008. 232p. Southern Methodist, $22.50 (9780870745225). 796.357. Baseball can be many things to people, and its place in their lives evolves through the years. It's...

Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Note by Note: A Celebration of the Piano Lesson. By Tricia Tunstall. Apr. 2008. 214p. Simon & Schuster, $24 (1-4165-4050-4). 786.2. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The piano lesson is one of the basic rituals of American childhood,...

Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams. By Jennifer Sey. May 2008. 304p. illus. Morrow, $24.95 (9780061351464). 796.44. Sey was the 1986 U.S....

Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Chief Bender's Burden: The Silent Struggle of a Baseball Star. By Tom Swift. Apr. 2008. 368p. illus. Univ. of Nebraska, $24.95 (9780803243217). 796.357. Charles Albert "Chief" Bender was raised on an Indian reservation in...

Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty. By Daniel R. Levitt. Apr. 2008. 496p. illus. Univ. of Nebraska, $29.95 (9780803229747). 796.357. Before Ed Barrow became the New York Yankees general manager in 1920,...

We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk about the Game They Loved.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... We Would Have Played for Nothing: Baseball Stars of the 1950s and 1960s Talk about the Game They Loved. By Fay Vincent. Apr. 2008. 336p. illus. Simon & Schuster, $25 (9781416553427). 796.357. This engaging collection of 11...

Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Why a Curveball Curves: The Incredible Science of Sports, Ed. by Frank Vizard. May 2008. 224p. illus. Hearst, $19.95 (9781588164759). 613.7. Have you always believed the scientists who say that a curveball is just an optical...

Comfort: A Journey through Grief.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Comfort: A Journey through Grief. By Ann Hood. May 2008. 160p. Norton, $21.95 (9780393064568). 813. How does one recover from the plenary grief of losing a precious five-year-old child? Novelist Hood's answer is simple: one...

Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Kate Field: The Many Lives of a Nineteenth-Century American Journalist. By Gary Scharnhorst. Apr. 2008. 288p. illus. Syracuse Univ., $27.95 (9780815608745). 818. Biographer Scharnhorst rediscovers one of America's first celebrity...

A House Not Meant to Stand.(The Traveling Companion and Other Plays)(Theater review)
April 1, 2008... A House Not Meant to Stand. By Tennessee Williams. Ed. by Thomas Keith. Apr. 2008. 128p. New Directions, paper, $14.95 (9780811217095). 812. The Traveling Companion and Other Plays. By Tennessee Williams. Ed. by Annette J....

Writes of Passage: Coming-of-Age Stories and Memoirs from the Hudson Review.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Coming-of-age is the theme that informs this collection of 31 pieces--21 short stories and 10 memoirs--from the Hudson Review. The impetus for the anthology was the magazine's initiation of a well-received Writers in the School Program at two...

Azores.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Azores. By David Yezzi. Apr. 2008.56p. Swallow, $24.95 (9780804011129); paper, $12.95 (9780804011136). 811. Yezzi's vocabulary and diction are entirely contemporary; his meters and forms are traditional. His civilized third...

Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry. Ed. by Hayan Charara. Apr. 2008. 364p. Univ. of Arkansas, $59.95 (9781557288660); paper, $24.95 (9781557288677). 811. Make no assumptions. As with all...

Wayfare.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... * Wayfare. By Pattiann Rogers. Apr. 2008. 130p. Penguin, $18 (9780143113348). 811. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Rogers is a poet of exaltation, sweeping readers up in a heady mix of rapturous science and natural theology. In her...

Other Rooms: New and Selected Poems.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Other Rooms: New and Selected Poems. By Neil Curry. Apr. 2008. 168p. Enitharmon, paper, $31.95 (9781904634447). 821. Besides generous samplings from Ships in Bottles (1988), Walking to Santiago (1992), and The Road to the...

The Temple Gate Called Beautiful.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Temple Gate Called Beautiful. By David Kirby. Apr. 2008. 80p.Alice James, paper, $14.95 (9781882295678). 811. Other poets his age would write about death, but Kirby chooses the afterlife, That's hardly surprising, for he...

Unmentionables.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Unmentionables. By Beth Ann Fennelly. Apr. 2008. 96p. Norton, $23.95 (9780393066050). 811. A pretty babysitter's boyfriend gives a young, nightgown-clad girl in her charge a ride on his motorcycle, thus igniting the wild...

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? By Thomas Kohnstamm. Apr. 2008. 288p.Three Rivers, paper, $13.95 (9780307394651). 910. Invoking Hunter S. Thompson is a risky proposition for young writers, who can be gulled into thinking that...

Adios Amigos: Tales of Sustenance and Purification in the American West.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Adios Amigos: Tales of Sustenance and Purification in the American West. By Page Stegner. Apr. 2008. 224p. Counterpoint, $24 (9781593761691). 978. Adios Amigos is what Stegner calls a boil of particularly vicious rapids in...

The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008. By Sean Wilentz. May 2008. 576p. illus. HarperCollins, $27.95 (9780060744809). 973.927. Wilentz interprets Reagan's presidency as being as consequential as any tenure. His classifying...

All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo. By Bryan Mealer. May 2008. 256p. Bloomsbury, $24.99 (9781596913455). 967.4103. With vivid prose and compelling emotion, Mealer chronicles the four years...