Booklist articles from July 2008

Booklist archives from July 2008

John Lennon: The Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... John Lennon: The Life. By Philip Norman. Oct. 2008. 864p. illus. Ecco, $34.95 (9780688047740). 782.42166. A quarter-century after his death and nearly four decades after the Beatles dissolved, John Lennon remains a towering...

The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs. By Charles D. Ellis. Oct. 2008.464p. Penguin, $35 (9781594201899). 332.6. Ellis, the author of 14 books and managing partner of Greenwich Associates, a strategy-consulting firm, here...

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule. By Thomas Frank. Aug. 2008. 368p. Holt/Metropolitan, $25 (9780805079883). 973.92. Frank brings invaluable insider perceptions, ardor, and precision to his lancing inquiry into the...

American Wife.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * American Wife. By Curtis Sittenfeld. Sept. 2008. 576p. Random, $26 (9781400064755). General Fiction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In her bold third novel, the author of the best-selling Prep (2005) presents a fictional portrait of...

At First Sight.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... At First Sight. By Stephen J. Cannell. Aug. 2008. 336p.Vanguard, $25.95 (9781593154820). Crime Fiction. Cannell steps away from his Shane Scully series and produces what might be his best novel yet. Chick Best is a dot-corn...

The Book of Lies.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Book of Lies. By Brad Meltzer. Sept. 2008. 336p. illus. Grand Central, $25.99 (9780446577885). Crime Fiction. Cal Harper often had envisioned what it would be like to encounter his long-lost father, Lloyd. As a child, he...

The Eleventh Man.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Eleventh Man. By Ivan Doig. Oct. 2008. 416p. Harcourt, $26 (9780151012435). General Fiction. Doig constructs an elaborate premise for his latest venture into Montana history: the entire starting lineup of Treasure State...

Anathem.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Anathem. By Neal Stephenson. Sept. 2008. 928p. Morrow, $29.95 (9780061474095). SF/Fantasy. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stephenson has quickly established himself as an A-list writer of epic-length fantasy. His mammoth novel...

Cold in Hand.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Cold in Hand. By John Harvey. Sept. 2008. 384p. Harcourt/Otto Penzler, $26 (9780151014620). Crime Fiction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Harvey ended his l O-volume Charlie Resnick series nearly 10 years ago with the sublime...

Crime.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Crime. By Irvine Welsh. Sept. 2008. 320p. Norton, $24.95 (9780393068191). Crime Fiction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With so many of his countrymen cashing in, maybe it's inevitable that Welsh would, in his unique fashion, turn...

Sweetheart.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Sweetheart. By Chelsea Cain. Sept. 2008. 304p. St. Martin's/Minotaur, $24.95 (9780312368470). Crime Fiction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was apparent at the end of Cain's masterful Heartsick (2007) that we hadn't heard the...

The Ghost in Love.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Ghost in Love. By Jonathan Carroll. Oct. 2008. 320p. Farrar/Sarah Crichton, $25 (9780374161866). SF/Fantasy. In his thirteenth novel, the whimsical Carroll continues to spin an alternate universe, one populated by ghosts,...

Supreme Courtship.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Supreme Courtship. By Christopher Buckley. Sept. 2008. 285p. Twelve, $24.99 (9780446579827). General Fiction. Washington politics is the fountain of satire, and prolific, multitalented Buckley has been imbibing its elixir for...

Upcoming in upfront nonfiction.(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The nonfiction titles listed below are scheduled for late summer, fall, or early winter 2008 publication. See Part Two of our Upcoming in Upfront for fiction titles. Alphabet Juice. By Roy Blount Jr. Farrar/ Sarah Crichton, $25...

Core collection: readers'-advisory guides.(Spotlight On Readers' Advisory)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... As readers' advisory has grown, so has the number of resources providing advice to the advisors. While many of them, such as the landmark Genreflecting (first published in 1982), serve as practical tools for librarians who are helping patrons...

Core collection: electronic readers'-advisory tools.(Spotlight On Readers' Advisory)(Website list)
July 1, 2008... In the last few years, electronic tools for readers' advisory have expanded and flourished. In 2006, The Reader's Advisor Online from Libraries Unlimited debuted, along with FictionConnection from Bowker. Last year saw the addition of Bowker's...

Readers' advisory--flash in the pan or here to stay?(At Leisure)
July 1, 2008... When Bill Ott mentioned that this issue of Booklist would focus on readers' advisory, I jumped at his suggestion for this column's topic. Sure, I'd be crazy to say readers' advisory is on its way out--especially at a time when it seems hotter...

Stories writ large.(BOOKS BY Booklist AUTHORS: Brad Hooper's The Fiction of Alice Munro)
July 1, 2008... The short story is the most polymorphous of literary forms. A story can be as concise as a single paragraph or run for tens of pages. Short stories encompass every narrative mode and accommodate the most esoteric of concepts as well as intense...

What guys read.(HE TALKS BOOKS WITH ... Guys)
July 1, 2008... This is the readers'-advisory issue, and I'm a readers' advisor, so rather than pushing books, I'd like to tell you about some of the guys I've had the pleasure to discuss books with. After all, no matter how much we ourselves enjoy reading, it...

What gals read.(SHE TALKS BOOKS WITH ... Gals)
July 1, 2008... I am easily infatuated. Nowhere does this happen more often than at my library's service desk, where I develop a crush on almost every reader who asks for help finding the next good book. My reader-patrons make me think about books and reading...

LA: essentials of listening advisory.
July 1, 2008... Most readers' advisors know that audiobooks are hot, replacing nonfiction as the new advisory challenge. It should be comforting to know that basic readers'-advisory techniques translate to listeners and audio as well. Anyone familiar with...

Chat room: RA the BOL way.(Booklist Online)
July 1, 2008... Regular Booklist readers know that Booklist is more than a collection-development aid. Its reviews and features make it invaluable for readers' advisory as well. We designed Booklist Online to be even more RA-ready, and if your library is a...

Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire. By Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker. July 2008. 592p. illus. Beacon, $34.95 (9780807067505). 230,09. Brock and Parker begin...

Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion. By Danya Ruttenberg. Aug. 2008. 256p. Beacon, $24.95 (9780807010686). 296.709. Ruttenberg, who was recently ordained as a rabbi, decided at the age of 13 that she...

Torah and Commentary: The Five Books of Moses.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Torah and Commentary: The Five Books of Moses. By Sol Scharfstein. Sept. 2008. 532p. KTAV, $49.50 (9780881259735). 222. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy--are known as...

Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Dangerous Business: The Risks of Globalization for America. By Pat Choate. 2008. 272p. Knopf, $25 (9780307266842). 337.73. Economist and Reform Party activist Choate (best known to many as Ross Perot's running mate in 1996) may...

Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey. By Mary Dudziak. 2008. 272p. Oxford, $24.95 (9780195329018). 342.676208. In 1960, at the height of his fame following the Brown decision, Thurgood Marshall visited...

Gaspipe.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Gaspipe By Philip Carlo. July 2008. 320p. Morrow, $25.95 (9780061429842). 364.1092. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso was the boss of New York's Lucchese Mafia family. He worked himself to the top as a...

Hell on Earth: The Wildfire Pandemic.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Hell on Earth: The Wildfire Pandemic. By David L. Porter. Aug. 2008. 288p. Forge, $24.95 (9780765313805). 363.37. Porter, who has been writing about wildfires for two decades (and who lost his own home to a fire), examines what...

Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid. By Frank B. Wilderson. Aug. 2008. 500p. South End, paper, $18 (9780896087835). 305.896. Nelson Mandela calls Wilderson "a threat to national security." Wilderson asks, Why does Mandela...

The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw. By Craig Glazer. July 2008. 304p. illus. Skyhorse, $24.95 (9781602392496). 364.16. In the early 1970s, Glazer, then a college freshman, was looking to score a...

Law and the Long War: The Future of Justice in the Age of Terror.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Law and the Long War: The Future of Justice in the Age of Terror. By Benjamin Wittes. 2008. 320p. Penguin, $25.95 (9781594201790). 345.73. Legal affairs columnist Wittes here examines various legal aspects of the Bush...

Letter to a New President: Essential Lessons for Our Next Leader.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Letter to a New President: Essential Lessons for Our Next Leader. By Robert C. Byrd. July 2008. 224p. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, $23.95 (9780312383022). 352.230973. Looking back on a long line of presidents, men of divergent...

Hurry Down Sunshine.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Hurry Down Sunshine. By Michael Greenberg. Sept. 2008. 248p. Other, $24.95 (9781590511916). 362.196. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Summertime, and the living is easy, but not for Greenberg, whose 15-year-old daughter, Sally, has a...

The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Lizard King: The True Crimes and Passions of the World's Greatest Reptile Smugglers. By Bryan Christy. Aug. 2008. 245p. Twelve, $24.99 (9780446580953). 364.1. Who knew the world of reptile smuggling was so poisonous? In his...

The Lost Spy: An American in Stalin's Secret Service.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Lost Spy: An American in Stalin's Secret Service. By Andrew Meier. Aug. 2008. 304p. illus. Norton, $24.95 (9780393060973). 327.12470092. An impressive history detective, Meier unearths the story of Isaiah Oggins (1898-1947),...

The Man on Mao's Right: From Harvard Yard to Tiananmen Square, My Life inside China's Foreign Ministry.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Man on Mao's Right: From Harvard Yard to Tiananmen Square, My Life inside China's Foreign Ministry. By Ji Chaozhu. July 2008. 384p. Random, $28 (9781400065844). 327.510092. To Westerners, the actions of the Chinese government...

Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, a Daughter's Return.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, a Daughter's Return. By Mary Ellen Geist. Aug. 2008. 224p. Springboard, $23.99 (9780446580922). 362.19. In 2005, when Geist's mother, Rosemary, could no longer single-handedly care for...

Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis. By Mike Chinoy. July 2008. 288p. illus. St. Martin's, $24.95 (9780312371531). 327.7305193. North Korea exploded an atomic bomb in October 2006, representing the...

A Path out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... A Path out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East. By Kenneth M. Pollack. July 2008. 592p. Random, $30 (9781400065486). 327.73056. One certainty in an election year is that D.C. policy wonks publish their...

Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America's Schools Back to Reality. By Charles Murray. Aug. 2008. 224p. Crown, $24.95 (9780307405388). 370.973. Given to thinking big about social issues (The Bell Curve, 1994; In Our...

Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care. By Kathleen Parker. July 2008. 240p. Random, $26 (9781400065790). 306.874. Although its title makes it sound like a comedy in the vein of Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys...

Smart Kids, Bad Schools: 38 Ways to Save America's Future.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Smart Kids, Bad Schools: 38 Ways to Save America's Future. By Brian Crosby. Aug. 2008. 320p. illus. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, $24.95 (9780312372583). 379.7. One in every five Americans either attends or works in a public or...

Uncle Sam's Shame: Inside Our Broken Veterans Administration.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Uncle Sam's Shame: Inside Our Broken Veterans Administration. By Martin Kantor. Aug. 2008. 238p. Praeger, $44.95 (9780313346507). 362.1068. With breathtaking range, from the concerns of veteran health care sparked by coverage of...

In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics. By Victoria F. Nourse. July 2008. 256p. illus. Norton, $24.95 (9780393065299). 363.9. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nourse blows the dust off one of...

Wolves, Jackals, and Foxes: The Assassins That Changed History.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Wolves, Jackals, and Foxes: The Assassins That Changed History. By Kris Hollington. July 2008. 448p. St. Martin's/Thomas Donne, $25.95 (9780312378998). 364.152. Too often writers about political assassination turn an inherently...

Love the Work, Hate the Job: Why America's Best Workers Are Unhappier Than Ever.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Love the Work, Hate the Job: Why America's Best Workers Are Unhappier Than Ever. By David Kusnet. July 2008. 228p. Wiley, $25.95 (9780471742050). 331.01. The title aptly describes the latest trend in labor discontent. Labor writer...

The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too. By James K. Galbraith. Aug. 2008. 240p. Free Press, $25 (9781416566830). 330.97. Galbraith, noted economist and son of the late economist...

The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream. By John Zogby. Aug. 2008. 256p. Random, $26 (9781400064502). 306.09. Prominent pollster Zogby paints a current picture of the American dream that is...

The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong. By John Lloyd and John Mitchinsun. Illus. by Ted Dewan. Sept. 2008. 288p. Harmony, $19.95 (9780307394934). 590. Mimicking the tone of their previous...

The Mountains of Saint Francis: The Geological Events That Shaped Our Earth.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Mountains of Saint Francis: The Geological Events That Shaped Our Earth. By Walter Alvarez. Aug. 2008. 288p. illus. Norton, $25.95 (9780393061857). 551.7. As a venue for introducing geology, the Apennine Mountains of Italy...

Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Of Parrots and People: The Sometimes Funny, Always Fascinating, and Often Catastrophic Collision of Two Intelligent Species. By Mira Tweti. Sept. 2008. 368p. Penguin, $25.95 (9780670019694). 598.71. Parrots, along with parakeets,...

The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Snake Charmer: A Life and Death in Pursuit of Knowledge. By Jamie James. 2008. 272p. illus. Hyperion, $24.95 (9781401302139). 597.9092. Like the more famous wildlife adventurer Steve Irwin, biologist Joe Slowinski, an expert in...

Superdove: How the Pigeon Took Manhattan ... and the World.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Superdove: How the Pigeon Took Manhattan... and the World. By Courtney Humphries. Aug. 2008. 208p. illus. HarperCollins, $24.95 (9780061259166). 598.6. Pigeons are "the background scenery or extras in movies: so common they [are]...

What's Math Got to Do with It?(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... What's Math Got to Do with It? By Jo Boaler. 2008. 288p. illus. Viking, $24.95 (9780670019526). 510.71. Fear and loathing of math are fairly commonplace in American schools, so commonplace that the nation lags internationally in...

Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius. By Hans Ohanian. Sept. 2008. 400p. illus. Norton, $24.95 (9780393062939). 530.09. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this "forensic biography" Ohanian shows astonished readers that...

The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog. By Nancy Ellis-Bell. July 2008. 256p. Harmony, $23 (9780307405944). 636.6. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Peg-Leg entered Ellis-Bell's life after the author was captivated by her eyes at a...

Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything. By Michael Osit. July 2008. 288p. AMACOM, $22 (9780814409329). 649. The pervasiveness of technology in the lives of American youth and the speed with...

The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-Being.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Body Toxic: How the Hazardous Chemistry of Everyday Things Threatens Our Health and Well-Being. By Nena Baker. Aug. 2008. 288p. illus. North Point, $24 (9780865477070). 615.9. Subsequent to reading a New York Times article...

Human: The Science behind What Makes Us Unique.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Human: The Science behind What Makes Us Unique. By Michael S. Gazzaniga. July 2008. 464p. Ecco, $27.50 (9780060892883). 612.8. Thinking through human characteristics, and deciding whether they are in fact distinctly human, is the...

Life Disrupted: Getting Real about Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Life Disrupted: Getting Real about Chronic Illness in Your Twenties and Thirties. By Laurie Edwards. July 2008. 288p. Walker, paper, $14.99 (9780802716491 ). 618.92. One's twenties and thirties are a time for training, launching...

What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life. By Avery Gilbert. July 2008. 288p. Crown, $23.95 (9781400082346). 612.8. That smell is the funniest sense is not lost on Gilbert, which is fortunate for readers...

Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children. By Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff. Aug. 2008. 384p. Random, $26 (9781400064304). 618.92. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There is a country in which nearly one in three...

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter. By The Waiter. Aug. 2008. 320p. Ecco, $24.95 (9780061256684). 642. This anonymous work renders in book format a popular blog produced by a veteran waiter toiling in...

A Brief History of the Masses: Three Revolutions.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... A Brief History of the Masses: Three Revolutions. By Stefan Jonsson. Aug. 2008. 272p. illus. Columbia Univ., $29.50 (9780231145268). 704.9. Three works of art, each visually representing a moment of societal transformation, anchor...

Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times. By Susan Quinn. July 2008. 336p. illus. Walker, $25.99 (9780802716989). 792.0973. It's often said that politics is theater, and...

My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life: An Anti-Memoir.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... My Incredibly Wonderful, Miserable Life: The Anti-Memoir. By Adam Nimoy. July 2008. 304p. Pocket, $23 (9781416572572). 791.4502. Despite those legendary auricles, when it came to being a father, Leonard Nimoy wasn't all ears. In...

Ousmane Sembene: Interviews.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Ousmane Sembene: Interviews. Ed. by Annett Busch and Max Annas. July 2008. 204p. Univ. Press of Mississippi, $50 (9781934110850); paper, $22 (9781934110867). 791.43. Although the Senegalese filmmaker Sembene (1923-2007) was...

50 Nifty Beaded Cards.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... 50 Nifty Beaded Cards. By Chris Rankin. 2008. 128p. illus. Sterling/Lark, paper, $17.95 (9781600591464). 745.59. Whether crafting cards for correspondence, gifts, or events such as birthday parties or baby showers, the projects in...

Knitwear.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Knitwear. By Sasha Kagan. July 2008. 160p. illus. Guild of Master Craftsman, $29.95 (9781861085191). 746.43. Sasha Kagan's patterns are not for the faint of heart. Take the 1940s-inspired zip jacket, Cable Flower. It incorporates...

Wire Wrapping.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Wire Wrapping. By Linda Chandler and Christine Ritchey. 2008. 128p. illus. Interweave, paper, $22.95 (9781596680593). 745.594. Wire is a popular material for jewelry crafters, given its versatility and its availability in any...

Football and Philosophy: Going Deep.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Football and Philosophy: Going Deep. Ed. by Michael W. Austin. July 2008.224p. Univ. Press of Kentucky, $35 (9780813124957). 796.332. Vince Lombardi--who relished his undergraduate studies in philosophy--would have loved this...

Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Football.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Rose Bowl Dreams: A Memoir of Faith, Family, and Football. By Adam Jones. Aug. 2008. 304p. illus. St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne, $24.95 (9780312373696). 796.332. First, the author isn't the notorious Adam "Pacman" Jones, the poster...

Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits. By Celia Rivenbark. Sept. 2008. 288p. St. Martin's, $21.95 (9780312362997). 814.6. Rivenbark's observations of modern life can be downright hilarious. Readers will...

How Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... How Beautiful It Is and How Easily It Can Be Broken. By Daniel Mendelsohn. Aug. 2008. 464p. HarperCollins, $26.95 (9780061456435). 801. The Lost (2006), Mendelsohn's chronicle of his search for the stories of relatives who perished...

Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury. By Alison Light. Sept. 2008.400p. Bloomsbury, $30 (9781596915602). 823.912. Light's unlikely choice of subject for book-length treatment--Virginia...

Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits. By Samara O'Shea. July 2008. 192p. HarperCollins, paper, $19.95 (9780061494154). 808. O'Shea approaches journal writing as a therapeutic tool and an aid to helping...

Poetry as Spiritual Practice.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Poetry as Spiritual Practice. By Robert McDowell. July 2008. 288p. Free Press, $20 (9781416566502). 808. 1. Far too many people today are still intimidated by poetry. They consider poetry elitist, difficult, a secret language...

Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir. By Lisa Dale Norton. Aug. 2008. 112p. illus. St. Martin's, $13.95 (9780312382926). 808. Memoirist and writing teacher Norton's slim but substantive how-to guide begins...

Still Alive!(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Still Alive! By Herbert Gold. July 2008. 264p.Arcade, $25 (9781559708708). 813. Known best for his novel Fathers (1991) and chronicler of the Beats in his adopted city of San Francisco, veteran writer Gold now confronts aging with...

Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life. By Kathleen Norris. Sept. 2008. 352p. Riverhead, $25.95 (9781594489969). 818. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The lacuna in Norris' published life, following the phenomenal...

The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in Love and War.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... * The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in Love and War. By David Lebedoff. Aug. 2008. 272p. Random, $26 (9781400066346). 828. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Born in the same year (1903), of the same social class, and both...

The Yellow Leaves.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... The Yellow Leaves. By Frederick Buechner. July 2008. 136p. Westminster/John Knox, $17.95 (9780664232764). 813. Celebrated novelist and Presbyterian minister Buechner says that, at 80, he is unable to write whole books. "Maybe...

Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians around the World.(Brief article)(Book review)
July 1, 2008... Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians around the World. Ed. by Niloufar Talebi. Tr. by Niloufar Talebi and others. July 2008. 224p. North Atlantic/Scala, paper, $18.95 (9781556437120). 891. Say what one will about the Islamic Republic...