Domestic Wiretapping (Current Controversies)

Call number: KF9670 .D66 2008

The Wage Gap (Current Controversies)

Call number: HD4975 .W29 2008

Totality: Eclipses of the Sun - Publisher's Marketing: "A total eclipse of the Sun is the most awesome sight in the heavens. Totality takes you to eclipses of the past, present, and future, and lets you see--and feel--why people travel to the ends of the Earth to observe them.
An absolutely indispensable resource for anyone who plans to observe an eclipse, and a must read for all astronomy buffs, this superb new edition brims with the anecdotes, experiences, and advice of many veteran eclipse observers. Indeed, it is the best guide and reference book on solar eclipses ever written, packed with information on how to observe them; how to photograph and videotape them; why they occur; their history and mythology; how eclipses revealed the workings of the Sun and made Einstein famous; and when and where to see future eclipses. Totality once again features the spectacular photography of Fred Espenak, who runs the NASA Eclipse Home Page and is the best-known and respected of all eclipse calculators and information sources. His many stunning color photographs illuminate this unparalleled exploration of eclipses. The volume has been updated to include current information on upcoming eclipses, with new chapters on the total eclipses due in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2017, plus all new chapters on how to photograph, video record, and process your eclipse images, with emphasis on the new generation of digital cameras.
Strikingly illustrated with stunning photographs and more than a hundred maps and diagrams, here is everything you need to know about eclipses of the sun, in an accurate, clearly written, and entertaining volume that can be read by lay people and astronomers with ease and enjoyment."

Call number: QB541 .L69 2008

Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching

Call number: LB1025.3 .N48 J33 2009

My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture

Call number: PN167 .B48 2009

Motivating Students Who Don't Care: Successful Techniques for Educators

Call number: LB1065 .M46 2000

Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding What Matters in Student Culture - Publisher's Marketing: "In the era of such online spaces as Facebook, Instant Messenger, Live Journal, Blogger, Web Shots, and campus blogs, college students are using these resources and other online sites as a social medium. Inevitably, this medium presents students with ethical decisions about social propriety, self disclosure and acceptable behaviour. Because online social networking sites have proven problematic for college students and for college administrators, this book aims to offer professional guidance to Higher Education administrators and policy makers. Online Social Networking on Campus: Understanding what matters in student culture is a professional guide for Higher Education faculty and Student Affairs administrators, which rigorously examines college students' use of online social networking sites and how they use these to develop relationships both on and off campus. Most importantly, Online Social Networking on Campus investigates how college students use online sites to explore and makes sense of their identities. Providing information taken from interviews, surveys and focus group data, the book presents an ethnographic view of social networking that will help Student Affairs administrators, Information Technology administrators, and faculty better understand and provide guidance to the neomillennials on their campuses."

Call number: LA229 .M345 2009

When he first arrived in the country, Garcia met Khalid, a young Afghan he affectionately called Bro, who became his driver, interpreter, and, eventually, his friend. Bro in turn called Garcia the "khaarijee"--the outsider. He told Garcia he wasn't responsible for his new friend's life, but at least two times saved it. He instructed Garcia to avoid dogs because they were rabid, then helped him steal a puppy from an organized dog fight. Bro told him to be wary of street children, only to assist him in feeding and educating six homeless, war-orphaned boys. Bro was Sancho Panza to Garcia's Don Quixote, and together they faced the consequences of war, life without the Taliban, and Afghanistan's uncertain future.

"The Khaarijee" tells this story of two strangers, one dog, and six orphans thrust together after 9/11--an intersection of paths that, by all rights, should never have crossed. At a time when Afghanistan is on the brink, Garcia offers a gritty, raw, and unsentimental memoir about friendship, loss, and wanting to make a difference in the midst of a war-torn country, extending "The Khaarijee" beyond much travel writing and war reportage."

Call number: DS375.K2 G37 2009

In "November 22, 1963," historian Steven Gillon tells the story of how Johnson consolidated power in the twenty-four hours following the assassination. Based on scrupulous research and new archival sources, this gripping narrative sheds new and surprising light on one of the most written-about events of the twentieth century."

Call number: E842.9 .G55 2009

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking - Publisher's Marketing: "Julia Child has given us answers to these and other questions in the ten masterful volumes she has publishedover the past 40 years. But which book do you go to for which solution? Now, in this little volume, you can find the answers immediately.
Information is arranged according to subject matter, with ample cross-referencing. How are you going to cook that small rib steak you brought home? You'll be guided to the quick saute as the best and fstest way. And once you've masteree this recipe, you can apply the technique to chop, chicken, or fish, following Julia's careful guidelines.
And here is equally essential information about soups, vegetables, and eggs, and for baking breads and tarts. It's all waiting for you in this delicious, priceless, comforting compendium of Julia's kitchen wisdom."

Call number: TX651 .C523 2000

This is a photo of me at sixteen, when I signed a big modeling contract, moved to New York City, and started traveling around the world. It is also when I developed a ferocious case of anorexia and exercise bulimia, and began to lose my hair, develop frequent bruises, and experience frequent heart palpitations. And still my body refused to remain a size zero. As my weight rebelled, my mania escalated. I experimented with diet drugs and fainted between casting calls, slumping to the sidewalk of Madison Avenue.

Until one day I realized that if I wanted to live, I could no longer starve. I had to get off the crazy-making treadmill. I had to nourish my body and feed my soul. So I ate. And ate. And I returned to my natural size 12 -- the size of the average American and the size I was when I "really" made it big.

This is a photo of me at eighteen, when I became one of the most successful models in the industry today.

"Hungry" charts the rise, fall, and rise of Crystal Renn, offering a behind-the-scenes peek into the modeling industry, as well as a trenchant look at our weight-obsessed culture. In this testament to the power of authenticity, Renn illustrates the ways in which the fashion industry is slowly changing and exposes the cold truths about size and sizeism.

An inspiring and cautionary tale, "Hungry" will resonate with anyone who has battled society's small-minded definitions of beauty."

Call number: HD8039.M772 U569 2009

The "New" Terrorism: Myths and Reality - Publisher's Marketing: "As shocking as the attacks of 9/11 were, we have been too quick to view the post-9/11 struggle against terrorism as entirely new and unprecedented. Without denying certain novel aspects of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the "newness" of its purpose and methods has been overemphasized. Many aspects of contemporary terrorism bear a striking resemblance to past movements. Others represent the culmination of trends evolving over decades. Even seemingly novel characteristics of terrorist methods may be more the outcome of earlier developments than a truly new phenomenon. The increased lethality of terrorist attacks is a case in point. Usually attributed to lack of restraint brought on by religious extremism, the emphasis on body count may owe as much to a kind of threshold phenomenon. Numbed by decades of violence, people do not shock as easily as they once did. It now takes thousands of deaths to produce the same effect once caused by a relative handful. This book examines the nature of the contemporary threat within a historical context to discern continuities and change in terrorist behavior. It challenges the idea of a global war on terrorism and suggests that the United States, or any threatened country, would be better served by a policy aimed at reducing the risk of terrorist attack to an acceptable level at a reasonable cost. The book concludes by proposing a workable strategy for achieving this reasonable level of security."

Call number: HV6431 .M628 2007

Generation Debt: How Our Future Was Sold Out for Student Loans, Bad Jobs, Nobenefits, and Tax Cuts for Rich Geezers--And How to Fight Back - Publisher's Marketing: "Taking a compelling day-to-day look at the life experiences behind a massive economic shift, this rousing manifesto will have readers thinking in new ways about American values and about America's future."

Call number: HQ799.7 .K36 2007

Gordon Cucullu, a retired army colonel, was so appalled by these reports that he decided to see for himself. In a series of visits he inspected every corner of the camp and interviewed dozens of personnel, from guards and interrogators to cooks and nurses. The result--coming just as the Obama administration wants to close the facility--is a riveting description of daily life for both prisoners and guards. Cucullu describes the six camps reserved for different levels of compliance, details the treatment of prisoners, and examines their experiences in detail, including the techniques used to interrogate them, the food they eat, their medical care, how they communicate with one another, and the many ingenious ways they contrive to assault and injure their guards.

While some prisoners were indeed treated harshly in the early days, when the hastily built camp was flooded with battlefield captures and fears ran high of another 9/11-style attack, Cucullu finds that these excesses were quickly corrected. Current treatment and oversight routines exceed the standards of any maximum-security prison in the world.

Despite what the public has heard, these are not innocent goatherds but dedicated jihadists whose overriding goal--as they themselves candidly say--is to kill Americans. Should they now be released to return to the fight, perhaps on American soil? Read this book and decide for yourself."

Call number: HV6432 .C83 2009

In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan - Publisher's Marketing: "After the swift defeat of the Taliban in 2001, American optimism has steadily evaporated in the face of mounting violence; a new "war of a thousand cuts" has now brought the country to its knees. In the Graveyard of Empires is a political history of Afghanistan in the "Age of Terror" from 2001 to 2009, exploring the fundamental tragedy of America's longest war since Vietnam. After a brief survey of the great empires in Afghanistan-the campaigns of Alexander the Great, the British in the era of Kipling, and the late Soviet Union-Seth G. Jones examines the central question of our own war: how did an insurgency develop? Following the September 11 attacks, the United States successfully overthrew the Taliban regime. It established security throughout the country-killing, capturing, or scattering most of al Qa'ida's senior operatives-and Afghanistan finally began to emerge from more than two decades of struggle and conflict. But Jones argues that as early as 2001 planning for the Iraq War siphoned off resources and talented personnel, undermining the gains that had been made. After eight years, he says, the United States has managed to push al Qa'ida's headquarters about one hundred miles across the border into Pakistan, the distance from New York to Philadelphia. While observing the tense and often adversarial relationship between NATO allies in the Coalition, Jones-who has distinguished himself at RAND and was recently named by Esquire as one of the "Best and Brightest" young policy experts-introduces us to key figures on both sides of the war. Harnessing important new research and integrating thousands of declassified government documents, Jones then analyzes the insurgency from a historical and structural point of view, showing how a rising drug trade, poor security forces, and pervasive corruption undermined the Karzai government, while Americans abandoned a successful strategy, failed to provide the necessary support, and allowed a growing sanctuary for insurgents in Pakistan to catalyze the Taliban resurgence. Examining what has worked thus far-and what has not-this serious and important book underscores the challenges we face in stabilizing the country and explains where we went wrong and what we must do if the United States is to avoid the disastrous fate that has befallen many of the great world powers to enter the region."

Call number: DS371.412 .J665 2009

In the Other Room: Entering the Culture of Motherhood - Publisher's Marketing: "Analyzing the impact of motherhood on a woman's life, this intriguing study investigates the relationships between new and experienced mothers. Acknowledging how beginning mothers are able to articulate, debate, and negotiate dimensions of their mothering experiences with other mothers, this discussion reviews the physical and social aspects of pregnancy, the daily work of new mothering, and the competing cultural constructions of motherhood. Examining a diverse group of first-time mothers and how they discussed their own experiences with what many have called "the mommies' club," this reference documents the results of their interactions--the sharing of information and resources, the establishment of hierarchies of authority within the community of mothers, and how women are able to discursively explore and construct their maternal identities. This study reveals how essential, valuable, and complex mothers' connections with other mothers are, and yet how wrought and ambivalent these relationships can be as well."

Call number: HQ759 .N45 2009

The Heretic's Daughter - Publisher's Marketing: "Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.
Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution."

Call number: PS3611.E674 H47 2008

The Lovely Bones - Publisher's Marketing: "When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant novelist, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful and touching story about family, memory, love, heaven, and living."

Call number: PS3619.E26 L68 2002

Femme Fatale: The Female Criminal - Publisher's Marketing: "Contrasts the glamour of the noir seductress and pulp novel siren with the reality experienced by actual female criminals in Australia."

Call number: HV6046 .C266 2008

The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories - Publisher's Marketing: "In the emotional debate surrounding evolution, it is often difficult to cut through the competing agendas to gain an unbiased understanding of the scientific issues involved. The Evolution Controversy provides a resource for doing so. The authors leave aside the profound philosophical and religious issues involved in the controversy in favor of a balanced and critical examination of the four major schools of thought involved: Neo-Darwinism, Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Meta-Darwinism. The focus is on an objective evaluation of the scientific merits of each school, as well as an examination of areas of agreement and disagreement among the schools. The goal is to equip readers, whether students, church leaders, or the general public, to come to their own informed conclusions."

Call number: QH367 .F75 2007

The 2012 Story: The Myths, Fallacies, and Truth Behind the Most Intriguing Date in History - Publisher's Marketing: "From one of the pioneering authors who introduced the 2012 countdown to the world's spiritual community comes an epic exploration of the origins of this portentous date. Jenkins examines the date's roots in Mayan cosmology, modern astronomy, and ancient prophecy."

Call number: F1435.3.C14 J398 2009

This book will directly help unemployed and mid-career workers who need to find a better job quickly to keep their heads above water. But it will also be of great service to those who can take some time to completely reassess where they are and where they are going. In her practice as director of a career center, Ghilani often hears common laments like, I wish I had a job that... or I always wanted to be a... These statements are usually followed up with, But now it's too late, or, I don't have the skills, or, It will take too long or cost too much. Her response: Do work that you enjoy for the remaining working years of your life, even if it means going back to school or starting at the bottom of the ladder. That, she explains, is a much better alternative to toiling unhappily while awaiting retirement. Besides great advice, the book also contains hands-on tools for figuring out what constitutes a great job, sample resumes and cover letters, and a list of Web sites catering to those eager to reenter the workforce or find a better job."

Call number: HF5382.5.U5 G46 2009

After 9/11: America's War on Terror (2001- ) - Publisher's Marketing: "Having made "The 9/11 Commission Report "understandable for everyone, the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel team of Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon use all their considerable talents to explain the post-9/11 world. Working from news reports drawn from multiple international media, Jacobson and Colon depict the critical events, decision makers, and consequences of America's "war on terror," and, most important, the context in which the war began, unfolded, and unraveled. The most demanding story they have ever tackled, "After 9/11 "is also the most tailor-made for their medium, capturing simultaneous events, geographic complexity, numerous participants, and a vast array of economic, statistical, and quantitative information--compellingly told through the sequential panel art narrative form unique to graphic books. Proving yet again that graphic novels best meet the challenge of giving the most information with the least amount of ink, Jacobson and Colon answer with clarity and unforgettable imagery the question: How the hell did we end up where we are?"

Call number: PN6727.B378 J336 2008

And Another Thing... - Publisher's Marketing: "Released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the bestselling works "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Artemis Fowl," "And Another Thing . . ." continues the popular series started by the late Douglas Adams."

Call number: PR6103.O4427 A84 2009

An Echo in the Bone - Publisher's Marketing: "Diana Gabaldon's brilliant storytelling has captivated millions of readers in her bestselling and award-winning Outlander saga. Now, in An Echo in the Bone, the enormously anticipated seventh volume, Gabaldon continues the extraordinary story of the eighteenth-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his twentieth-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall.
Jamie Fraser, former Jacobite and reluctant rebel, is already certain of three things about the American rebellion: The Americans will win, fighting on the side of victory is no guarantee of survival, and he'd rather die than have to face his illegitimate son-a young lieutenant in the British army-across the barrel of a gun.
Claire Randall knows that the Americans will win, too, but not what the ultimate price may be. That price won't include Jamie's life or his happiness, though-not if she has anything to say about it.
Meanwhile, in the relative safety of the twentieth century, Jamie and Claire's daughter, Brianna, and her husband, Roger MacKenzie, have resettled in a historic Scottish home where, across a chasm of two centuries, the unfolding drama of Brianna's parents' story comes to life through Claire's letters. The fragile pages reveal Claire's love for battle-scarred Jamie Fraser and their flight from North Carolina to the high seas, where they encounter privateers and ocean battles-as Brianna and Roger search for clues not only to Claire's fate but to their own. Because the future of the MacKenzie family in the Highlands is mysteriously, irrevocably, and intimately entwined with life and death in war-torn colonial America.
With stunning cameos of historical characters from Benedict Arnold to Benjamin Franklin, An Echo in the Bone is a soaring masterpiece of imagination, insight, character, and adventure-a novel that echoes in the mind long after the last page is turned."

Call number: PS3557.A22 E34 2009

Dragonfly in Amber - Publisher's Marketing: "From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...
For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ....
Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves...."

Call number: PS3557.A22 D7 1992

A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Publisher's Marketing: "Eagerly anticipated by her legions of fans, this sixth novel in Diana Gabaldon's bestselling Outlander saga is a masterpiece of historical fiction from one of the most popular authors of our time. Now, "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire."

Call number: PS3557.A22 B74 2005

The Fiery Cross - Publisher's Marketing: "Diana Gabaldon mesmerized readers with her award-winning Outlander novels, four dazzling "New York Times bestsellers featuring 18th-century Scotsman James Fraser and his 20th-century time-traveling wife, Claire Randall.
Now, in this eagerly awaited fifth volume, Diana Gabaldon continues their extraordinary saga, a masterpiece of pure storytelling and her most astonishing Outlander novel yet....
The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser's wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy -- a time-traveler's certain knowledge.
Born in the year of Our Lord 1918, Claire Randall served England as a nurse on the battlefields of World War II, and in the aftermath of peace found fresh conflicts when she walked through a cleftstone on the Scottish Highlands and found herself an outlander, an English lady in a place where no lady should be, in a time -- 1743 -- when the only English in Scotland were the officers and men of King George's army.
Now wife, mother, and surgeon, Claire is still an outlander, out of place, and out of time, but now, by choice, linked by love to her only anchor -- Jamie Fraser. Her unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead -- or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes....
Grand, sweeping, utterly unforgettable, Diana Gabaldon's new novel is riveting entertainment, a vibrant tapestry of history and human drama. Crossing the boundaries of genre with its unrivaledstorytelling, The Fiery Cross is a gift both to her millions of loyal fans and to the lucky readers who have yet to discover her."

Call number: PS3557.A22 F54 2001

Americans are a "positive" people--cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity.

In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes--like mortgage defaults--contributed directly to the current economic crisis.

With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best--poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage."

Call number: BF698.35.O57 E37 2009

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men - Publisher's Marketing: "Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. While Emily is working hard at school and getting A's, her brother Justin is goofing off. He's more concerned about getting to the next level in his videogame than about finishing his homework. Now, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than twenty years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home. He shows how social, cultural, and biological factors have created an environment that is literally toxic to boys. He also presents practical solutions, sharing strategies which educators have found effective in re-engaging these boys at school, as well as handy tips for parents about everything from homework, to videogames, to medication."

Call number: LC1390 .S29 2009

Examining rap history's most memorable lyricists and their inimitable techniques, literary scholar Adam Bradley argues that we must understand rap as poetry or miss the vanguard of poetry today. "Book of Rhymes" explores America's least understood poets, unpacking their surprisingly complex craft, and according rap poetry the respect it deserves."

Call number: ML3531 .B73 2009

But college is expensive, unfamiliar, and intimidating. Inexperienced students expect tough classes and demanding, remote faculty. They may not know what an assignment means, what a score indicates, or that a single grade is not a definitive measure of ability. And they certainly don't feel entitled to be there. They do not presume success, and if they have a problem, they don't expect to receive help or even a second chance.

Rebecca D. Cox draws on five years of interviews and observations at community colleges. She shows how students and their instructors misunderstand and ultimately fail one another, despite good intentions. Most memorably, she describes how easily students can feel defeated--by their real-world responsibilities and by the demands of college--and come to conclude that they just don't belong there after all.

Eye-opening even for experienced faculty and administrators, "The College Fear Factor" reveals how the traditional college culture can actually pose obstacles to students' success, and suggests strategies for effectively explaining academic expectations."

Call number: LB2328 .C77 2009

"I don't want anybody to think that it's easy. . . . We have a strong marriage, but it's not perfect." --Michelle

They exploded onto the world scene and within a matter of a few short years captured the ultimate political prize. In so doing, they became a First Couple like no other: He--the biracial son of a free-spirited Kansas-born woman and a mercurial Kenyan father who abandoned him at an early age--was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, educated at Columbia and Harvard, and launched his political career in America's heartland. She, by contrast, was the product of a solidly middle-American family with roots planted firmly in Chicago's working-class South Side--paving the way for her to achieve her dreams of an Ivy League education and a position at one of the nation's top law firms.

By the time they claimed the White House in one of the most hotly contested presidential races in modern history, Barack and Michelle Obama were seen by millions around the world as the new Jack and Jackie Kennedy--brilliant, attractive, elegant, youthful, "exciting." Accompanied by their two young daughters, Malia and Sasha, the Obamas would arrive at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the promise of a new Camelot all but assured.

Given the obvious historic significance of what they have accomplished together, the marriage of Barack and Michelle stands as one of the great personal and political partnerships in American history. Yet, incredibly, the true nature of that relationship has remained a mystery. Until now.

In the style of his No. 1 "New York Times" bestsellers "The Day Diana Died" and "The Day John Died," as well as his bestselling books about the Kennedys, the Clintons, and the Bushes, author Christopher Andersen draws on important sources--some speaking here for the first time--to paint the first complete, compelling portrait of America's first black First Family.

Among the many intriguing insights and stunning revelations:

New behind-the-scenes details of the Obamas' courtship and marriage--and the lovers who went before.

The early tragedies that shaped both Barack's and Michelle's personalities, and how those events haunt them to this day. Also, new information about Barack's rootless childhood, at times tortured adolescence, and the true extent of his early drug use.

How Barack's ambition put a strain on their relationship from the very beginning, how close the Obamas really came to breaking up, and how Michelle made the difficult decision that saved their marriage.

The little-known near-tragedy that brought Barack and Michelle closer than they had ever been.

How Michelle may have saved her husband's presidential campaign, and her surprising behind-the-scenes role as the president's chief advisor.

The pressures and delights of raising two young girls in the relentless glare of the media, and how, like Jack and Jackie Kennedy before them, Barack and Michelle strive to make the lives of America's two most famous children as "normal" as possible.

"Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage" is an intimate and ultimately riveting look at their unique partnership, and the humor, faith, fortitude, and grace that defines it. It is, above all, an extraordinary American love story."

Call number: E908.3 .A53 2009

Curing Our Sick Health Care System: A Solution to America's Health Care Crisis - Publisher's Marketing: "The basic health care system in the United States is not working and must be fixed. The cost of a new, effective system of health care delivery would be instead of rather than in addition to what the US population is now paying for an inadequate, incomplete system. We must put the fiscal responsibility for health care delivery on the medical care sector that makes the decisions on what medications, what procedures and who gets treatment and when, that is, the providers of care, mostly the doctors. By doing this we can correct the more than fifty percent overpayment and misuse of funds currently in vogue. The book deals with the concept of the possibility of eventual coverage of everyone through the Medicare system as the current population ages. It explains the leverage that that single payer universal system such as Medicare, can generate to change the incentives for the providers of care resulting in a reduction of the overall cost. It also sets forth the concept of choice for the patient, the allocation of resources, and the restructuring of the medical education system as well as the recruitment and training of providers. Other problems such as organizational development, provider groups, malpractice, reinsurance through a universal system and other solutions are also dealt with. Today 45 million Americans have no health care coverage, while approximately 50 million are under insured due to high deductibles and co-payments. Many who are eligible for Medicare, federal health care insurance for the aged and Medicaid, federal health care for the poor, may be without coverage due to lack of access to services in the areas that they live. Practical solutions to these problems areaddressed. Robert Gumbiner, MD, with more than 40 years experience in the health care field as a practicing physician, a manager and a force in medical management education, derives much of his experience from successfully developing and managing one of the largest managed care companies in the United States for over 30 years. Drawing on this extensive management experience as well as years of studying health care systems around the world, Robert Gumbiner debunks the myths held by opponents to national universal health care and capitated prepayment. His development of the first capitated prepayment plan for Medical in the 60's in California and first contract for prepayment Medicare on the West Coast in the 80's gave credibility to his ideas that succeeded in reducing health care costs. He shows step-by-step how we arrived at our current dysfunctional system and argues persuasively how we have been misled by special interests in the medical/industrial complex into thinking a health care system funded through the government and managed for effective utilization will eliminate choice. In the final analysis the book's major theme is that the cost of a complete comprehensive system is "instead of and not in addition" to what we are currently paying and how to go about instituting such a system. It offers solutions that have been developed by the author throughout his long career in managing health care delivery systems. It is not a theoretical concept but based upon ideas, errors, successes and a logical, practical model."

Call number: RA395.A3 G86 2006

In "Total Cure," Hal Luft presents a comprehensive new proposal, SecureChoice, which does all that while providing affordable health insurance for every American. SecureChoice is a plan that restructures payment for medical care, harnessing the flexibility and responsiveness of the market by aligning the incentives of clinicians, hospitals, and insurers with those of the patient. It uses the accountability of government to ensure transparency, competition, and equity.

SecureChoice has two major components. A universal pool covers the major risks of hospitalization and chronic illness, which account for almost two-thirds of all costs. Everyone would be in the pool, irrespective of employment, income, or health status. The second component emphasizes choice, flexibility, and responsibility. People will be able to choose any physician to serve as their "medical home," to keep track of their health records, provide much of their care, and suggest referrals. Clinicians will have the information and incentives to continually enhance quality. SecureChoice also facilitates improvements in areas ranging from malpractice to pharmaceuticals and establishes new roles for key stakeholders such as health insurers."

Call number: RA395.A3 L82 2008

Teen Girls and Technology: What's the Problem, What's the Solution? - Publisher's Marketing: "How do we engage girls with technology and why is this important? Lesley Farmer examines how girls currently view and use technology, noting how uninformed they are as to technologys impact upon their futures. This dynamic book provides a framework that teachers, parents, and youth workers can use in motivating girls to both use and think about technology. Farmer shows us how to inspire teen girls with confidence and, in so doing, increase their interest in technology-based careers. Drawing upon the work of psychologists, sociologists, technologists, educators, and governmental agencies, the book highlights school- and community-based interventions that have successfully encouraged technology use among teenage girls."

Call number: HQ798 .F37 2008

Teaching What Really Happened: How to Avoid the Tyranny of Textbooks and Get Students Excited about Doing History - Publisher's Marketing: "In this follow-up to his landmark bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, Loewen once again takes history textbooks to task for their perpetuations of myth and their lack of awareness of todays multicultural student audience (not to mention the astonishing number of facts they just got plain wrong). How did people get here? Why did Europe win? In Teaching What Really Happened, Loewen goes beyond the usual textbook-dominated social studies course to illuminate a wealth of intriguing, often hidden facts about Americas past. Calling for a new way to teach history, this book will help teachers move beyond traditional textbooks to tackle difficult but important topics like conflicts with Native Americans, slavery, and racial oppression. Throughout, Loewen shows time and again how teaching what really happened not only connects better with all kinds of students, it better prepares those students to be tomorrows citizens."

Call number: E175.85 .L65 2009

Statistics Unplugged - Publisher's Marketing: "In a pleasing and conversational tone, Sally Caldwell uses this brief introductory book to invite the reader to join her on a rewarding journey into the often-feared territory of statistics. Rather than emphasizing equations at the expense of understanding, STATISTICS UNPLUGGED gives readers a clear presentation of the material they need to gain a solid grasp of what is involved in the process of statistical reasoning. While avoiding unnecessary jargon, this book uses the process of repetition and cross-referencing chapters to underscore the important concepts. As a result, the user is led, step-by-step, along the path of statistical reasoning."

Call number: QA276 .C25 2010

Nina Simone: The Biography - Publisher's Marketing: "Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina at the tail-end of the Great Depression, Nina Simone was a precocious child with dreams of becoming the world's first black classical soloist. After a rejection from an elite New York conservatoire--a rejection she always believed stemmed from the color of her skin--she began performing jazz, blues, and classical songs in a bar to fund her music studies. In 1958 her rendition of the Gershwin standard "I Loves You Porgy" became a Top 40 hit, and her subsequent debut album "Little Girl Blue" launched what would become an extensive singing and songwriting career. Drawing on a wealth of original interviews with Simone's closest associates, this extraordinary biography follows her sparkling career as well as her passionate belief in racial equality that eventually led her to undergo self-imposed exile from America in 1970. Featuring rare photographs and a review of Simone's more than 40 albums and numerous hits, this is an extensive look at the complex and extremely talented diva."

Call number: ML420.S5635 B713 2009

To millions of listeners, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run "is much more than a rock-and-roll album--it's a poetic explosion of freedom and frustration. It confirmed Springsteen's status as a quintessential American performer: the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. "Runaway Dream "chronicles the making of the album that launched Springsteen and his E Street Band into the firmament of American art, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that combined to create the enduring "Born to Run."

Springsteen wanted "Born to Run "to be the greatest rock record ever made. For a musician with just two modest-selling LPs to his credit, it was an extraordinary ambition, and session by session, track by track, Masur shows just how much grit, as well as genius, went into realizing it. "Runaway Dream "offers an expert tour of the trials and triumphs of Springsteen's work. In addition to the story of the album itself, Masur masterfully places "Born to Run "within American cultural history, showing why the girls, hot rods, and Jersey nights of the album still resonate, even for listeners born years after its release."

Call number: ML420.S77 M37 2009

Rumsfeld's Wars: The Arrogance of Power - Publisher's Marketing: "Not since Robert McNamara has a secretary of defense been so hated by the military and derided by the public, yet played such a critical role in national security policy--with such disastrous results. Donald Rumsfeld was a natural for secretary of defense, a position he'd already occupied once before. He was smart. He worked hard. He was skeptical of the status quo in military affairs and dedicated to high-tech innovations. He seemed the right man at the right time--but history was to prove otherwise. Now Dale Herspring, a political conservative and lifelong Republican, offers a nonpartisan assessment of Rumsfeld's impact on the U.S. military establishment from 2001 to 2006, focusing especially on the Iraq War--from the decision to invade through the development and execution of operational strategy and the enormous failures associated with the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. Extending the critique of civil-military relations he began in The Pentagon and the Presidency, Herspring highlights the relationship between the secretary and senior military leadership, showing how Rumsfeld and a handful of advisers--notably Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith--manipulated intelligence and often ignored the military in order to implement their policies. And he demonstrates that the secretary's domineering leadership style and trademark arrogance undermined his vision for both military transformation and Iraq. Herspring shows that, contrary to his public deference to the generals, Rumsfeld dictated strategy and operations--sometimes even tactics--to prove his transformation theories. He signed off on abolishing the Iraqi army, famously refused to see the need for a counterinsurgency plan, and seemedmore than willing to tolerate the torture of prisoners. Meanwhile, the military became demoralized and junior officers left in droves. Rumsfeld's Wars revisits and reignites the concept of "arrogance of power," once associated with our dogged failure to understand the true nature of a tragic war in Southeast Asia. It provides further evidence that success in military affairs is hard to achieve without mutual respect between civilian authorities and military leaders--and offers a definitive case study in how not to run the office of secretary of defense."

Call number: UA23.6 .H47 2008

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul: How to Create a New You - Publisher's Marketing: "Fifteen years after his #1 "New York Times" bestseller, "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind," Deepak Chopra revisits "the forgotten miracle"-the body's infinite capacity for change and renewal. You cannot take advantage of this miracle, Chopra says, unless you are willing to completely reinvent your body, transforming it from a material object to a dynamic, flowing process. "Your physical body is a fiction," Chopra contends. Every cell is made up of two invisible ingredients: awareness and energy.
Using Chopra's ten steps to wholeness, you can harness those basic elements to change the distorted energy patterns that are the root cause of aging, infirmity, and disease.
Transformation can't stop with the body, however; it must involve the soul. The soul-seemingly invisible, aloof, and apart from the material world-actually creates the body. Only by going to the level of the soul will you access your full potential, bringing more intelligence, creativity, and awareness into every aspect of your life.
"Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul" delivers ten breakthroughs-five for the body, five for the soul-that lead to self-transformation. In clear, accessible terms, Chopra shows us how to commit ourselves to deeper awareness, focus on relationships instead of consumption, embrace every day as a new world, and transcend the obstacles that afflict body and mind.
Deepak Chopra has inspired millions with his profound teachings over the years. His bestselling books have explored the mind/body connection and the power of spirit. With his latest book, he invites you to experience with him the miracles that unfold when we connect the body directly to the awesome mysteries that give life meaning-directly to the soul. When you have completed this journey, after reinventing your body and resurrecting your soul, the ecstasy of true wholeness becomes possible for the very first time."

Call number: BF575.S37 C53 2009

Outlander - Publisher's Marketing: "Her husband is two centuries away, she is related to her lover's mortal enemy, and her neighbors think she's a witch. In this unforgettable novel of time travel, Diana Gabaldon fuses wry, modern sensibility with the drama, passion, and violence of eighteenth century as she tells the story of one daring woman and the man who loves her."

Call number: PS3557.A22 O98 1991

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman - Publisher's Marketing: "Krakauer ("Into the Wild") chronicles the riveting, tragic story of former NFL player Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death."

Call number: GV939.T49 K73 2009

Pop Goes to Court: Rock 'n' Pop's Greatest Court Battles - Publisher's Marketing: "Pop Goes To Court recalls some of the most entertaining and bizarre court cases ever to take rock'n'rollers into a courtroom. Author Brian Southall digs deep into some of the most memorable music disputes ever to merit the sober deliberations of the law, and in doing so, reveals much about our changing views on fame and the value of publicity."

Call number: ML3534 .S68 2008

Deftly combining personal testimony, history, and expert analysis, Ribowsky not only tells the full, heartbreaking story of the Supremes, but shows why Gordy's revolutionary concept of "blacks singing white" was essential to the modern evolution of music."

Call number: ML421.S86 R53 2009

What to Listen for in Music - Publisher's Marketing: "In this fascinating analysis of how to listen to both contemporary and classical music analytically, eminent American composer Aaron Copland offers provocative suggestions that will bring readers a deeper appreciation of the most viscerally rewarding of all art forms."

Call number: MT6 .C78 2009

W.C. Handy: The Life and Times of the Man Who Made the Blues - Publisher's Marketing: "Before there was Elvis, there was W.C. Handy, "the man who made the blues." Here is the first major biography in decades of the man who produced iconic songs and who was responsible, more than any other musician, for bringing the blues into the American mainstream."

Call number: ML410.H18 R63 2009

Wiki Writing: Collaborative Learning in the College Classroom - Publisher's Marketing: "When most people think of wikis, the first---and usually the only---thing that comes to mind is Wikipedia. The editors of "Wiki Writing: Collaborative Learning in the College Classroom," Robert E. Cummings and Matt Barton, have assembled a collection of essays that challenges this common misconception, providing an engaging and helpful array of perspectives on the many pressing theoretical and practical issues that wikis raise. Written in an engaging and accessible manner that will appeal to specialists and novices alike, "Wiki Writing" draws on a wealth of practical classroom experiences with wikis to offer a series of richly detailed and concrete suggestions to help educators realize the potential of these new writing environments."

Call number: PE1404 .W533 2008

Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers. This book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learnrevealing the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences."

Call number: LB1060 .W5435 2009

"Who's In Charge?" begins by looking at the overarching issues of leadership, public health administration, and the threats of bioterrorism. It then examines five recent emergencies-the 2001 anthrax attacks and 1993 cryptosporidium outbreak in the United States, the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto, the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease crisis, and the decade-long battle against Mad Cow Disease in the U.K. A perfect text for schools in public health, or as a reference for elected officials at every level of government, the book shows how each event developed step-by-step to pinpoint specific leadership issues. Engaging and absorbing, the work presents official reports, medical literature, first-person accounts from officials and journalists, and discussions of the role of law enforcement and the military during health care emergencies."

Call number: RA445 .K24 2009

The Wild Things - Publisher's Marketing: ""The Wild Things" -- based very loosely on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay cowritten with Spike Jonze -- is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can't control. His father is gone, his mother is spending time with a younger boyfriend, his sister is becoming a teenager and no longer has interest in him. At the same time, Max finds himself capable of startling acts of wildness: he wears a wolf suit, bites his mom, and can't always control his outbursts. During a fight at home, Max flees and runs away into the woods. He finds a boat there, jumps in, and ends up on the open sea, destination unknown. He lands on the island of the Wild Things, and soon he becomes their king. But things get complicated when Max realizes that the Wild Things want as much from him as he wants from them. Funny, dark, and alive, "The Wild Things" is a timeless and time-tested tale for all ages."

Call number: PS3605.G48 W56 2009

True Compass: A Memoir - Publisher's Marketing: "In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story--of his legendary family, politics, and fifty years at the center of national events.
TRUE COMPASS
The youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a fascinating political education and became a legislator.
In this historic memoir, Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact on him. For the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his work in the Senate on the major issues of our time--civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland--and the cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight influenced by his own experiences in hospitals.
His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for president.
Hundreds of books have been written about the Kennedys. TRUE COMPASS will endure as the definitive account from a member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no other."

Call number: E840.8.K35 A3 2009

Carbon Shift: How the Twin Crises of Oil Depletion and Climate Change Will Define the Future - Publisher's Marketing: "The twin crises of climate change and peaking oil production are converging on us. If they are not to cook the planet and topple our civilization, we will need informed and decisive policies, clear-sighted innovation, and a lucid understanding of what is at stake. We will need to know where we stand, and which direction we should start out in. These are the questions Carbon Shift addresses.
Thomas Homer-Dixon, author of The Ingenuity Gap and The Upside of Down, argues that the two problems are really one: a carbon problem. We depend on carbon energy to fuel our complex economies and societies, and at the same time this very carbon is fatally contaminating our atmosphere. To solve one of these problems will require solving the other at the same time. In other words, we still have a chance to tackle two monumental challenges with one innovative solution: clean, low-carbon energy.
Carbon Shift brings together six of Canada's world-class experts to explore the question of where we stand now, and where we might be headed. It explores the economics, the geology, the politics, and the science of the predicament we find ourselves in. And it gives each expert the chance to address what they think are the most important facets of the complex problem before us.
There are no experts in Canada better positioned to explain the world that awaits us just beyond the horizon, and no better guide to that future than this collection of their thoughts. Densely packed with information, but accessibly written and powerfully timely, Carbon Shift will be an indispensable handbook to the difficult choices that lie ahead."

Call number: QC981.8.G56 C36 2009

Madagascar - Summary: "When an escape attempt from the Central Park Zoo fails, a lion, hippo, giraffe and zebra find that they are being shipped back to Africa. Scheming penguins highjack the ship with the intent of taking it to Antartica and cause the crates of the four zoo animals to go overboard. Eventually, the animals are marooned on the beach of Madagascar where they find out quickly that after spending their whole lives relying on humans to survive, they are not quite ready to take care of themselves."

Call number: PN1997 .M331 2005

The Lost Symbol - Publisher's Marketing: "In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code," " Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling--a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object --artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.
When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist --is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.
As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet."

Call number: PS3552.R685434 L67 2009ab Audbks.

Sunshine Cleaning - Summary: "Once the high school cheerleading captain who dated the quarterback, Rose Lorkowski now finds herself a thirty something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah is still living at home with their dad Joe, a salesman with a lifelong history of ill-fated get rich quick schemes. Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business with her to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides and other...specialized situations. As they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, the sisters find a true respect for one another and the closeness they have always craved finally blossoms. By building their own improbable business, Rose and Norah open the door to the joys and challenges of being there for one another -- no matter what -- while creating a brighter future for the entire Lorkowski family."

Call number: PN1997 .S86 2009 DVD

Paul Blart: Mall Cop - Summary: "A single, suburban dad tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It's a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa's helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul's daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey's most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day."

Call number: PN1997 .P38 2009 DVD

Knowing - Summary: "In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule but one mysterious girl fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead. Fifty years later, Professor John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts every major disaster of the past 50 years. As John further unravels the documents chilling secrets, he realizes the document foretells three additional eventsthe last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve John and his son."

Call number: PN1997 .K56 2009 DVD

I Love You, Man - Summary: "In I Love You, Man, a comedy from John Hamburg, Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, (Rashida Jones), discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward man-dates, before meeting Sydney Fife (Jason Segel), a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But the closer the two men get, the more Peters relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiance and his new found bro, in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a friend."

Call number: PN1997 .I23 2009 DVD

State of Play - Summary: "When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nations power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no ones integrity, love or life is safe."

Call number: PN1997 .S73 2009 DVD

Hannah Montana: The Movie - Summary: "As Hannah Montana's popularity begins to take over her life, Miley Stewart, on the urging form her father, takes a trip to her hometown of Crowley Corners, Tennessee to get some perspective on what matters in life the most."

Call number: PN1997 .H36 2009 DVD

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Summary: "A renowned scientist (Jennifer Connelly) finds herself face to face with an alien called Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), who has traveled across the universe to warn of an impending global crisis. She quickly discovers the deadly ramifications of Klaatus claim that he is a friend to the Earth. Now she must find a way to convince the entity who was sent to destroy us that mankind is worth saving but it may be too late."

Call number: PN1997 .D39 2009 DVD

The Soloist - Summary: "In The Soloist, an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music, journalist Steve Lopez (Downey Jr.) discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Foxx), a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives."

Call number: PN1997 .S65 2009 DVD

The Reader - Summary: "The Reader, set in post-WWII Germany, follows teenager Michael Berg as he engages in a passionate but secretive affair with an older woman named Hanna (Winslet). Eight years after Hannas disappearance, Michael is stunned to discover her again as she stands on trial for Nazi war crimes. The Reader is a haunting story about truth and reconciliation and how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another."

Call number: PN1997.2 .R43 2009 DVD

Obsessed - Summary: "Derek Charles (Idris Elba), a successful asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage to the beautiful Sharon (Beyonce Knowles). But when Lisa (Ali Larter), a temp worker, starts stalking Derek, all the things hes worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy."

Call number: PN1997 .O27 2009 DVD

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - Summary: "Celebrity photographer Connor Mead loves freedom, fun and women... in that order. A committed bachelor who thinks nothing of breaking up with multiple women on a conference call, Connor's mockery of romance proves a real buzz-kill for his kid brother, Paul, and a houseful of well wishers on the eve of Paul's wedding. Just when it looks like Connor may single-handedly ruin the wedding, he is visited by the ghosts of his former jilted girlfriends, who take him on a revealing and hilarious odyssey through his failed relationships--past, present and future. Together they attempt to find out what turned Connor into such an insensitive jerk and whether there is still hope for him to find true love...or if he really is the lost cause everyone thinks he is."

Call number: PN1997 .G46 2009 DVD

Duplicity - Summary: "Academy Award winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as two sexy spies-turned-corporate operatives who attempt to pull off one of the biggest heists ever. As the stakes rise in the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse, theyll put everything on the line to remain one double-cross ahead of the rest."

Call number: PN1997 .D8755 2009 DVD

Wag the Dog - Summary: "When the President's caught in a scandal less that two weeks before the election, White House spindoctor Conrad Brean creates a phony war with the help of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss."

Call number: PN1997 .W349 1998 DVD

Push - Summary: "Hang on tight as a gang of super-powered paranormal operatives takes you on a white-knuckle thrill ride. The excitement starts when a future-seeing Watcher (Dakota Fanning) convinces a telekinetic Mover (Chris Evans) to help steal a briefcase that holds a billion-dollar secret. But to outrun government agents, they must enlist a mind controlling Pusher (Camilla Belle) who could be their salvation or their doom."

Call number: PN1997 .P87 2009 DVD

Nights in Rodanthe - Summary: "Adrienne (Diane Lane), a woman still reeling from her husband's betrayal and struggling to rebuild a life without him, has just learned that he wants to come home. Torn by conflicting feelings, she welcomes the chance for escape when an old friend asks her to manage her inn in Rodanthe for a weekend. There, on a remote spot along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Adrienne hopes to find the tranquility she needs to rethink her life. It's the off-season and the inn would be shuttered but for the unlikely arrival of its solitary guest, Paul (Richard Gere), a doctor from the city. A man who long ago sacrificed his family to his career, Paul has come to Rodanthe to fulfill a difficult obligation and to face his own crisis of conscience. They are two strangers sharing the same roof. But as a major storm closes in, they turn to each other for comfort, and set in motion a life-changing romance that will resonate through the rest of their lives."

Call number: PN1997 .N54 2009 DVD

Doubt - Summary: "Set in 1964 at St. Nicholas Church in the Bronx, Fr. Brendan Flynns (Philip Seymour Hoffman) progressive views and charismatic presence have won him the respect and admiration of the congregation. At the parish school, principal Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep) keeps her students in line with old-fashioned fear and intimidation. When young Sister James (Amy Adams) shares with Sister Aloysius her concern that that Father Flynn has taken an interest in twelve-year-old Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), the school's first Negro student, the older nun launches her own investigation. Determined to protect every one of her charges, Sister Aloysius attempts to use the evidence she discovers to have Flynn removed from the school. John Patrick Shanleys finely shaded script takes audiences through a spectrum of truth, emotion and belief, and asks if any decision is ever free from doubt."

Call number: PN1997 .D68398 2008 DVD

Disaster Movie - Summary: "Prepare for earthshaking hilarity as the raunchy and outrageous team behind Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans puts the world's very survival in the hands of three buxom non-brainiacs. This twisted send-up pulverizes everyone's favorite disaster flicks, pop culture icons and public figures with no-holds-barred humor that will have you quaking with laughter."

Call number: PN1997 .D5773 2009 DVD

Confessions of a Shopaholic - Summary: "Rebecca Bloomwood is a sweet and charming New York City girl who has a tiny, little problem that is rapidly turning into a big problem: shes hopelessly addicted to shopping and drowning in a sea of debt. While Rebecca has dreams of working for a top fashion magazine, she cant quite get her foot in the doorthat is, until she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company. Overnight, her column becomes hugely popular, turning her into an overnight celebrity. But when her compulsive shopping and growing debt issues threaten to destroy her love life and derail her career, she struggles to keep it all from spiraling out of control...and is ultimately forced to reevaluate whats really important in life."

Call number: PN1997 .C66 2009 DVD

The Proposal - Summary: "When high-powered book editor Margaret faces deportation to her native Canada, the quick-thinking exec declares that she's actually engaged to her unsuspecting put-upon assistant Andrew, who she's tormented for years. He agrees to participate in the charade, but with a few conditions of his own. The unlikely couple heads to Alaska to meet his quirky family and the always-in-control city girl finds herself in one comedic fish-out-of-water situation after another. With an impromptu wedding in the works and an immigration official on their tails, Margaret and Andrew reluctantly vow to stick to the plan despite the precarious consequences."

Call number: PN1997 .P76 2009 DVD

Monsters vs. Aliens - Summary: "When Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a Monster named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured and held in a secret government compound filled with other monsters like herself. This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, P.H.D.; the macho half-Ape-half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to save the world from imminent destruction."

Call number: PN1997.2 .M66 2009 DVD

Thirty members of that fateful cargo established AfricaTown in Alabama, where many of their descendants still live. In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston interviewed Cudjo Kazoola, the last survivor of the Clotilda. In "The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Making of AfricaTown, USA" Natalie S. Robertson uses ethnography, cartography, linguistics, and oral history to connect the story of the Clotilda captives to their origins in Africa, through their ordeals on the middle passage, all the way to the issue of reparations in the present day. She incorporates indigenous African perspectives, Hurston's interviews, and sources such as the Clotilda's log, meshing diverse voices into a narrative that reveals the centrality of slavery, Africanisms, and resistance in American culture even today."

Call number: E445 .A3 R63 2008

Through a Lens Darkly: How the News Media Perceive and Portray Evangelicals - Publisher's Marketing: "Do journalists report more favourably on people that they like than on those they don't? Canada's evangelicals think so. For years, they've accused the country's news personnel of being prejudiced against them both personally and in their coverage. However, up to now, the evangelicals' charge of media bias has never been empirically examined. This book puts that charge to the test. An in depth survey of national news personnel accompanied by an extensive, multi-year examination of news coverage reveals how Canada's journalists feel about evangelicals, how they report on evangelicals, and how and when their feelings influence their reporting. In the end, this book concludes when the beliefs and actions of Canadian evangelicals directly clash with the heart-felt convictions of Canadian national journalists, the journalists are willing to abandon their professional objectivity and slant their stories against their ideological opponents.
In addition, this book uses the media's treatment of evangelicals as a backdrop for the discussion of larger issues. How the media construct the news, how and why the media cover religion as they do, whether journalistic objectivity exists at all, and the affect media messages have on audiences is explored. Also, advice on how religious groups can overcome media bias is offered.
As the first book to apply the tools of quantitative research to the topic of religion and the news in Canada, this book is groundbreaking. However, written with the lay reader in mind, the theoretical underpinnings of the work and methodologies used are presented in accessible, easy-to-understand terms. This book will be of interest to all member of the evangelical community, clergy and faith leaders, and scholars of religion or mass communication."

Call number: BV652.97.C3H38 2009

Focusing on Christian fundamentalists, the author puts Christian fundamentalism in its historical and theological contexts. At the same time, Mercer calls upon cognitive theory to explain that the fundamentalist's life story is not particular to Christianity or any other religious belief system but that fundamentalist Catholics, Muslims, Jews, and those of all other faiths share a common psychological profile. Indeed, Mercer insists that if the Christian terminology were eliminated from contemporary fundamentalist Christian rhetoric, what would remain would be a framework that fundamentalists from other religions would find quite familiar and even comforting. In other words, the structure of the fundamentalist worldview, and the psychology beneath it, is pretty much the same across religions. It is a controversial thing to say about Christian fundamentalism, a thesis that has already proved contentious in the author's public appearances, and one that is sure to generate considerable attention and passionate debate as the U.S. populace continues to divide into opposing camps."

Call number: BT82.2 .M56 2009

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman - Publisher's Marketing: "On April 22, 2004, Lieutenant David Uthlaut received orders from Khost, Afghanistan, that his platoon was to leave the town of Magarah and "have boots on the ground before dark" in Manah, a small village on the border of Pakistan. It was an order the young lieutenant protested vehemently, but the commanders at the Tactical Command Center disregarded his objections. Uthlaut split his platoon into two serials, with serial one traveling northwest to Manah and serial two towing a broken Humvee north toward the Khost highway. By nightfall, Uthlaut and his radio operator were seriously wounded, and an Afghan militia soldier and a U.S. soldier were dead. The American soldier was my son, Pat Tillman. The Tillman family was originally informed that Pat, who had given up a professional football career to serve his country, had been shot in the head while getting out of a vehicle. At his memorial service twelve days later, they were told that he was killed while running up a hill in pursuit of the enemy. He was awarded a Silver Star for his courageous actions. A month and two days after his death, the family learned that Pat had been shot three times in the head by his own troops in a "friendly fire" incident. Seven months after Pat's death, the Tillmans requested an investigation. "Boots on the Ground by Dusk" is a chronicle of their efforts to ascertain the true circumstances of Pat's death and the reasons why the Army gave the family and the public a false story. Woven into the account are valuable and respectful memories of Pat Tillman as a son, brother, husband, friend, and teammate, in the hope that the reader will better comprehend what is really lost when our sons and daughters are killed or maimed in war. In the course of three and a half years, there have been six investigations, several inquiries, and two Congressional hearings. The Tillmans are still awaiting an outcome."

Call number: GV939.T49 T55 2008

South of Broad - Publisher's Marketing: "The publishing event of the season: The one and only Pat Conroy returns, with a big, sprawling novel that is at once a love letter to Charleston and to lifelong friendship.
Against the sumptuous backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, "South of Broad" gathers a unique cast of sinners and saints. Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo's older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death, and Leo, lonely and isolated, searches for something to sustain him. Eventually, he finds his answer when he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
The ties among them endure for years, surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, and Charleston's dark legacy of racism and class divisions. But the final test of friendship that brings them to San Francisco is something no one is prepared for." South of Broad" is Pat Conroy at his finest; a long-awaited work from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds."

Call number: PS3553.O5198 S68 2009

Lively, narrative chapters explore the Shawnee culture, Tecumseh's childhood, the transformation of his brother, Tenskwatawa into The Prophet, his creation of a pan-tribal movement, the War of 1812, and his legacy in history and popular culture."

Call number: E99.S35 T348 2008

Green Gone Wild: Elevating Nature Above Human Rights - Publisher's Marketing: "Green Gone Wild takes an in depth look at government confiscatory regulation of private property in the name of protecting so-called endangered plant and wildlife species that trample on Fifth Amendment guarantees. This book shines a spotlight on the extreme green movement that has cost many Americans their lives, jobs, and homes while saving only a handful of species."

Call number: GE195 .S75 2008

Andy Warhol - Publisher's Marketing: "In a work of great wisdom and insight, art critic and philosopher Arthur Danto delivers a compact, masterful tour of Andy Warhol's personal, artistic, and philosophical transformations. Danto traces the evolution of the pop artist, including his early reception, relationships with artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, and the Factory phenomenon. He offers close readings of individual Warhol works, including their social context and philosophical dimensions, key differences with predecessors such as Marcel Duchamp, and parallels with successors like Jeff Koons. Danto brings to bear encyclopedic knowledge of Warhol's time and shows us Warhol as an endlessly multidimensional figure--artist, political activist, filmmaker, writer, philosopher--who retains permanent residence in our national imagination. Danto suggests that "what makes him an American icon is that his subject matter is always something that the ordinary American understands: everything, or nearly everything he made art out of came straight out of the daily lives of very ordinary Americans. . . . The tastes and values of ordinary persons all at once were inseparable from advanced art.""

Call number: N6537.W28 D36 2009

As the Lewis and Clark expedition is heavily represented in the U.S. history curriculum, this much-needed volume fills a gap on the reference shelves and supplements Native American studies curricula. The subject matter directly supports the National Standards for U.S. history Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861). Lively narrative chapters are supplemented with a timeline, photos, print and nonprint bibliography, and an index."

Call number: F592.7.S123 S85 2008

The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community - Publisher's Marketing: "A revolution is taking place, one profile at a time. Online social networks are connecting people like never before. And with millions of users, they're creating a virtual world that erases all boundaries. It's a movement that's changing how we form relationships, perceive others, and shape our identity. Yet at their core, these sites reflect our need for community. Our need for intimacy, connection, and a place to simply belong. Are we seeing the future of the church? Do these networks help or hurt relationships? And what can these sites teach us about God and each other? The Church of Facebook explores these ideas and much more. Author Jesse Rice offers a revealing look at the wildly popular world of online social groups. From profiles, to The Wall, to status updates, to "poking," Jesse shares what Facebook reveals about us, and what it may mean for the church."

Call number: BV600.3 .R53 2009

Given the religious name Sister Tobit, Livermore serves in some of the poorest places in the world -- the garbage dump slums of Manila, Papua New Guinea, and Calcutta -- bringing hope and care to people who are desperately ill, hungry, abandoned, and even dying, and comforting whomever she can. Although she draws inspiration and strength from her humanitarian work, Livermore and other nuns risk their own physical health, as they are sent to dangerous areas while being unschooled in the languages and cultures, untrained in medical care, and sometimes unprotected by vaccines. Livermore herself succumbs to bouts of drug-resistant cerebral malaria that almost kill her and to a new strain of hepatitis. Over time she also begins to notice that the order's rigid insistence on unquestioning obedience harms the young sisters mentally, emotionally, and spiritually -- and she experiences a terrible inner struggle to find the right path for herself. As she tries to respond to the suffering around her, she often falls into an incomprehensible conflict between her vow to obey and her vow to serve, between religious strictures and the practice of compassion, between authority and personal conscience.

Pressured to stay with the order by Mother Teresa and other superiors, as well as by the younger nuns, Livermore nonetheless decides to leave at age thirty and attain her medical degree, continuing to take health care and relief to impoverished people in remote areas -- the isolated aboriginal communities of the Outback and war-torn East Timor. Even as she serves others as a medical doctor, she continues in a crisis of faith that eventually leads her to become an agnostic.

"Hope Endures" is the eye-opening, deeply affecting story of a brave woman's search for meaning in a world that is rent with tragedies and contradictions. It is also an unflinching critique of any faith that insists on blind obedience. For true hope to endure, Dr. Livermore demonstrates, we must always strive to question, to face the hard truths, and to discover the courage to follow our convictions."

Call number: BL73.L58 A3 2008

Diaries 1969-1979: The Python Years - Publisher's Marketing: "Michael Palin has kept a diary since newly married in the late 1960s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a TV scriptwriter (for "The Two Ronnies," David Frost, etc). Monty Python was just around the corner.
This volume of his diaries reveals how Python emerged and triumphed, how he, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, the two Terrys---Jones and Gilliam---and Eric Idle came together and changed the face of British comedy. But this is but only part of Palin's story. Here is his growing family, his home in a north London Victorian terrace, which grows as he buys the house next door and then a second at the bottom of the garden; here, too, is his solo effort---as an actor, in "Three Men in a Boat," his writing endeavours (often in partnership with Terry Jones) that produces "Ripping Yarns" and even a pantomime.
Meanwhile Monty Python refuses to go away: the hugely successful movies that follow the TV (his account of the making of both "The Holy Grail" and the "Life of Brian" movies are page-turners), the at times extraordinary goings-on of the many powerful personalities who coalesced to form the Python team, the fight to prevent an American TV network from bleeping out the best jokes on U.S. transmission, and much more---all this makes for funny and riveting reading. The birth and childhood of his three children, his father's growing disability, learning to cope as a young man with celebrity, his friendship with George Harrison, and all the trials of a peripatetic life are also essential ingredients of these diaries. A perceptive and funny chronicle, the diaries are a rich portrait of a fascinating period."

Call number: PN2598.P27 A3 2007

Future Energy: Improved, Sustainable and Clean Options for Our Planet - Publisher's Marketing: "Increasing global energy demand requires fact-based evaluations of alternative energy sources. This includes solving questions like how energy is produced, provided, and transported in sustainable ways. Solving future energy demands requires new technologies and knowledge. Decision makers, professionals, and people interested in energy issues in general need to know the relative importance and magnitude of various energy production methods. This book contains contributions by expert scientists and engineers on all of the sources of energy available to us now and in the near future that will enable us to take the energy decisions needed for sustaining development and dealing with climate change.
- Each type of available energy is put into perspective and all realistic, future options are examined in detail
- Presents theory and background, detailing the magnitude of energy involved
- Written by top scientists AND engineers in the various fields"

Call number: TJ163.2 .L474 2008

Far Flung and Well Fed: The Food Writing of R.W. Apple, Jr. - Publisher's Marketing: "Celebrated journalist R. W. ("Johnny") Apple was a veteran political reporter, a "New York Times "bureau chief and an incisive and prolific writer. But the role he was most passionate about was food anthro pologist. Known both for his restless wideopen mind and an appetite to match, Apple was also a culinary scholar: witty, wide-ranging and intensely knowledgeable about his subjects. "Far Flung and Well Fed "is the best of legendary "Times "reporter Apple's food writing from America, England, Europe, Asia and Australia. Each of the more than fifty essays recount extraordinary meals and little-known facts, of some of the world's most excellent foods --from the origin of an ingredient in a dish, to its history, to the vivid personalities--including Apple's wife, Betsey--who cook, serve and eat those dishes."

Call number: TX637 .A65 2009

Steroids: High-Risk Performance Drugs - Publisher's Marketing: "Experts everywhere are arguing over the effects of steroid use on individuals, sports, and society. Anabolic steroids build up muscle tissue. Most steroids used for medical purposes are synthesized in labs. These are used by doctors to treat a wide variety of diseases, such as muscle wasting, growth deficiency, asthma, skin conditions, and others. Two groups of people commonly abuse steroids: athletes who believe that building up more muscle will give them a competitive edge, and people who are concerned about their personal attractiveness, who wish to enhance their physique. Buying and using steroids without a prescription is illegal--and dangerous. Steroids have many serious effects on the body and mind. Too much of them can cause harm and permanent damage."

Call number: HV5822.S68 F74 2009

Netroots Rising: How a Citizen Army of Bloggers and Online Activists Is Changing American Politics - Publisher's Marketing: "Veteran online campaigners tell the inside story of the revolutionary challenge to traditional "top-down" broadcast politics being made by "bottom-up" political bloggers and netroots citizen activists."

Call number: JK2281 .F39 2008

Animal Experimentation: A Guide to the Issues - Publisher's Marketing: "Animal Experimentation is an important book for all those involved in the conduct, teaching, learning, regulation, support or critique of animal-based research. Whilst maintaining the clarity of style that made the first edition so popular, this second edition has been updated to include discussion of genetically modified organisms and associated welfare and ethical issues that surround the breeding programs in such research. It also discusses the origins of vivisection, advances in human and non-human welfare made possible by animal experimentation, principle moral objections to the use of research animals, alternatives to the use of animals in research, and the regulatory umbrella under which experiments are conducted in Europe, USA and Australasia. In addition, the book highlights the future responsibilities of students who will be working with animals, and offers practical advice on experimental design, literature search, consultation with colleagues, and the importance of the on-going search for alternatives."

Call number: HV4915 .M65 2009

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein - Publisher's Marketing: "When two nineteenth-century Oxford students--Victor Frankenstein, a serious researcher, and the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley--form an unlikely friendship, the result is a tour de force that could only come from one of the world's most accomplished and prolific authors.
This haunting and atmospheric novel opens with a heated discussion, as Shelley challenges the conventionally religious Frankenstein to consider his atheistic notions of creation and life. Afterward, these concepts become an obsession for the young scientist. As Victor begins conducting anatomical experiments to reanimate the dead, he at first uses corpses supplied by the coroner. But these specimens prove imperfect for Victor's purposes. Moving his makeshift laboratory to a deserted pottery factory in Limehouse, he makes contact with the Doomsday men--the resurrectionists--whose grisly methods put Frankenstein in great danger as he works feverishly to bring life to the terrifying creature that will bear his name for eternity.
Filled with literary lights of the day such as Bysshe Shelley, Godwin, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley herself, and penned in period-perfect prose, "The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein" is sure to become a classic of the twenty-first century."

Call number: PR6051.C64 C37 2009

David Lynch: Beautiful Dark

Call number: PN1998.3.L96 O47 2008

AI and Artificial Life in Video Games - Publisher's Marketing: "Learn how to create more challenging and dynamic games with AI and Artificial Life in Video Games. AI, or artificial intelligence, builds better games by directing behaviors inside the games that make them more difficult, while artificial life, or A-Life, adds unpredictability of play and a more lifelike environment to games. This book examines easy and inexpensive methods for implementing AI and A-Life in any video game to not only model behavior in the game but also create tools, generate code, and test the game during development. After introducing the basics of AI and A-Life to use as building blocks, the book delves into more advanced methods and examines possible future uses and techniques. Youall learn how AI can be built up in a game by layering behavioral models on static data to produce behavior that is both intelligent and unpredictable. Examples of several A-Life enhancements in games are presented, and youall investigate the potential pitfalls of using AI and how to troubleshoot, apply A-Life to your own games, test A-Life itself and test virtually using A-Life, implement AI and A-Life in a multiplayer environment, and more. Written for the current and next-generation game developer, AI and Artificial Life in Video Games is a great reference for both game programmers and game designers."

Call number: GV1469.15 L43 2008

Greenspan takes us into the vast realm of gullibility from the fictional Pied Piper to the historical Trojan Horse, then through modern-day military maneuvers, political untruths, police and criminal justice scams, and financial and love lies. While there have been earlier books focused on liars and manipulators of all sorts, this is the first to focus on the gullible who are their victims, and how the gullible can become less likely to be taken again."

Call number: BF637.D42 G74 2009

Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud - Publisher's Marketing: ""New York Times-" best-selling author Cornel West is one of America's most provocative and admired public intellectuals. Whether in the classroom, the streets, the prisons, or the church, Dr. West's penetrating brilliance has been a bright beacon shining through the darkness for decades. Yet, as he points out in this new memoir, "I've never taken the time to focus on the inner dynamics of the dark precincts of my soul." That is, until now. "Brother West" is like its author: brilliant, unapologetic, full of passion yet cool. This poignant memoir traces West's transformation from a schoolyard Robin Hood into a progressive cultural icon. From his youthful investigation of the "death shudder" to why he embraced his calling of teaching over preaching, from his three marriages and his two precious children to his near-fatal bout with prostate cancer, West illuminates what it means to live as "an aspiring bluesman in a world of ideas and a jazzman in the life of the mind." Woven together with the fibers of his lifelong commitment to the prophetic Christian tradition that began in Sacramento's Shiloh Baptist Church, "Brother West" is a tale of a man courageous enough to be fully human, living and loving out loud."

Call number: E185.97.W56 A3 2009

A Spy's Resume: Confessions of a Maverick Intelligence Professional and Misadventure Capitalist

Call number: UB251.U6 V56 2008

Each chapter focuses on a specific category of scandal, including race-related, gender-related, drug-related, violence-related, recruiting and academic-related, and coaching scandals. Insightful, in-depth entries offer and overview of the historical and cultural context, what occurred and who was involved, as well as the response to the scandal. Entries within chapters clearly outline the diversity of viewpoints surrounding the scandal as well as the associated ethical, moral, and legal issues. Highlighting why sport scandals matter to athletes, to coaches, to teams, to organizations, to the media, and to the public, this volume is an ideal resource for both ready reference and for reading cover-to-cover."

Call number: GV718.2.U6 F56 2008

The goal of the book is to make the format of budgets and the information they contain accessible and understandable, helping users make better sense of government and its performance. Perfect for undergraduate or graduate level courses in budgeting and public administration, Understanding Government Budgets also makes a useful guide to budgets for the average citizen with an interest in how government operates."

Call number: HJ2051 .M87 2009

Losing the News: The Future of the News That Feeds Democracy - Publisher's Marketing: "What is wrong with the news?
To answer this dismaying question, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Alex S. Jones explores how the epochal changes sweeping the media have eroded the core news that has been the essential food supply of our democracy.
At a time of dazzling technological innovation, Jones says that what stands to be lost is the fact-based reporting that serves as a watchdog over government, holds the powerful accountable, and gives citizens what they need. In a tumultuous new media era, with cutthroat competition and panic over profits, the commitment of the traditional news media to serious news is fading. Should we lose a critical mass of this news, our democracy will weaken--and possibly even begin to fail.
The breathtaking possibilities that the web offers are undeniable, but at what cost? The shattering of the old economic model is taking a toll on journalistic values and standards. Journalistic objectivity and ethics are under assault, as is the bastion of the First Amendment. Pundits and talk show hosts have persuaded Americans that the crisis in news is bias and partisanship. Not so, says Jones. The real crisis is the erosion of the iron core of "accountability" news, a loss that hurts Republicans and Democrats alike.
Losing the News is a vivid depiction of the dangers facing fact-based, reported news, but it is also a call to arms. Despite the current crisis, there are many hopeful signs, and Jones closes by looking over the horizon and exploring ways the iron core can be preserved."

Call number: PN4888.P6 .J66 2009

The Lewis and Clark Expedition - Publisher's Marketing: "William Clark and Meriwether Lewis are widely credited with exploring the American West and paving the way for settlement. Yet if Thomas Jefferson's bid for president in 1800 had failed, the expedition probably would not have ventured west. Furthermore, if Napoleon had not been dealt a severe blow by a Haitian slave rebellion, France might never have sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. The expedition also relied heavily on the goodwill of Native Americans peopling the explored territory. Fritz demonstrates how a series of unrelated events converged to make the Lewis and Clark expedition--and America's dream of westward expansion--a reality. Maps guide the reader along the routes taken by Lewis and Clark, and a detailed timeline gives readers an easy-to-use resource for looking up important dates and events. Biographical sketches of major figures conclude the work. An extensive bibliography and index make this an ideal first stop for anybody interested in learning more about this truly remarkable expedition."

Call number: F592.7 .F75 2004

Juliet, Naked - Publisher's Marketing: "From the beloved "New York Times"- bestselling author, a quintessential Nick Hornby tale of music, superfandom, and the truths and lies we tell ourselves about life and love.
Annie loves Duncan-or thinks she does. Duncan loves Annie, but then, all of a sudden, he doesn't. Duncan really loves Tucker Crowe, a reclusive Dylanish singer-songwriter who stopped making music ten years ago. Annie stops loving Duncan, and starts getting her own life.
In doing so, she initiates an e-mail correspondence with Tucker, and a connection is forged between two lonely people who are looking for more out of what they've got. Tucker's been languishing (and he's unnervingly aware of it), living in rural Pennsylvania with what he sees as his one hope for redemption amid a life of emotional and artistic ruin-his young son, Jackson. But then there's also the new material he's about to release to the world: an acoustic, stripped-down version of his greatest album, "Juliet"-entitled, "Juliet, Naked."
What happens when a washed-up musician looks for another chance? And miles away, a restless, childless woman looks for a change? "Juliet, Naked" is a powerfully engrossing, humblingly humorous novel about music, love, loneliness, and the struggle to live up to one's promise."

Call number: PR6058.O689 J85 2009

Money for Minors: A Student's Guide to Economics - Publisher's Marketing: "The terms, sidebar features, and mini-lessons in this fun reference book provide a basic foundation of business and economic knowledge for middle-school and high-school students, as well as community college students."

Call number: HB171.5 .B974 2008

The Lost Symbol - Publisher's Marketing: "In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code," " Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling--a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object --artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.
When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon--a prominent Mason and philanthropist --is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations--all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.
As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet."

Call number: PS3552.R685434 L67 2009

Not Much Left: The Fate of Liberalism in America - Publisher's Marketing: "Tom Waldman's lively and sweeping assessment of the state of American liberalism begins with the political turbulence of 1968 and culminates with the 2006 takeover of Congress by the Democratic Party. "Not Much Left: The Fate of Liberalism in America "vividly demonstrates how the progressive and liberal wing of the Democratic Party helped end a war, won the civil rights battle, and paved the way for blacks, women, gays, and other minorities to achieve full citizenship. Through reportage, anecdotes, and analysis--particularly of the disastrous defeat of Democrat George McGovern in 1972--Waldman chronicles how the grand coalition that achieved so much in the 1960s began to self-destruct in the early 1970s. Citing the Republican recovery from Barry Goldwater's 1964 defeat, Waldman demonstrates how the two parties' very different reactions to electoral debacle account for recent Republican dominance and Democratic impotence. Assessing liberalism's fate through the Carter and Reagan presidencies, the defeat of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election, and the on-again, off-again liberalism of the Clinton years, Waldman then brings the discussion up to date with analysis of the 2008 presidential campaign."

Call number: E839.5 .W33 2008

A shy manifesto, an impractical handbook, the true story of a fabulist, an entire life in parts and pieces, "Manhood for Amateurs" is the first sustained work of personal writing from Michael Chabon. In these insightful, provocative, slyly interlinked essays, one of our most brilliant and humane writers presents his autobiography and his vision of life in the way so many of us experience our own lives: as a series of reflections, regrets, and reexaminations, each sparked by an encounter, in the present, that holds some legacy of the past.

What does it mean to be a man today? Chabon invokes and interprets and struggles to reinvent for us, with characteristic warmth and lyric wit, the personal and family history that haunts him even as--simply because--it goes on being written every day. As a devoted son, as a passionate husband, and above all as the father of four young Americans, Chabon presents his memories of childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce, of moments of painful adolescent comedy and giddy encounters with the popular art and literature of his own youth, as a theme played--on different instruments, with a fresh tempo and in a new key--by the mad quartet of which he now finds himself co-conductor.

At once dazzling, hilarious, and moving, "Manhood for Amateurs" is destined to become a classic."

Call number: PS3553.H15 Z463 2009

Affirmative Action for the Future

Call number: KF4755.5 .S74 2009

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood - Publisher's Marketing: "As an actor, he seduces us with his tough-guy charm. As a director and producer, he amazes us with his artistry and technical savvy. As a Hollywood icon, Clint Eastwood, one of film's greatest living legends, represents some of the finest cinematic achievements in the history of American cinema.
In "American Rebel," bestselling author and acclaimed film historian Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often-tumultuous arc of Clint Eastwood's life and career. Unlike past biographers, Eliot writes with unflinching candor about Eastwood's highs and lows, his artistic successes and failures, and the fascinating, complex relationship between his life and his craft. Eliot's prodigious research reveals how a college dropout and unambitious playboy rose to fame as Hollywood' s "sexy rebel," eventually and against all odds becoming a star in the Academy pantheon as a multiple Oscar winner. Spanning decades, " American Rebel "covers the best of Eastwood' s oeuvre, films that have fast become American classics-"Fistful of Dollars, Dirty Harry, Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby," and "Gran Torino. "
Filled with remarkable insights into Eastwood's personal life and public work, "American Rebel" is highly entertaining and the most complete biography of one of Hollywood's truly respected and beloved stars-an actor who, despite being the "Man with No Name," has left his indelible mark on the world of motion pictures."

Call number: PN2287.E37 E45 2009

Race to Witch Mountain - Summary: "A taxi driver gets more than get bargained for when he picks up two teen runaways. Not only does the pair possess supernatural powers, but they're also trying desperately to escape people who have made them their targets."

Call number: PN1997 .R111 2009 DVD

The Pink Panther 2 - Summary: "When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus is forced to assign Inspector Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts."

Call number: PN1997 .P6581 2009 DVD

Gran Torino - Summary: "Retired auto worker Walt Kowalski fills his days with home repair, beer, and monthly trips to the barber. Though his late wife's final wish was for him to take confession, for Walt--an embittered veteran of the Korean War who keeps his M-1 rifle cleaned and ready--there's nothing to confess. And no one he trusts enough to confess to other than his dog, Daisy. The people he once called his neighbors have all moved or passed away, replaced by the Hmong immigrants he despises. Resentful of virtually everything he sees--the drooping eaves, overgrown lawns and the foreign faces surrounding him; the aimless gangs of Hmong, Latino and African American teenagers who all think the neighborhood belongs to them; the callow strangers his children have grown up to be--Walt is just waiting out the rest of his life. Until the night someone tries to steal his Gran Torino. Still gleaming as it did the day Walt himself helped roll it off the assembly line decades ago, the Gran Torino brings his shy teenaged neighbor Thao (Bee Vang) into his life when Hmong gang-bangers pressure the boy into trying to steal it. But Walt stands in the way of both the heist and the gang, making him the reluctant hero of the neighborhood--especially to Thao's mother and older sister, Sue (Ahney Her), who insist that Thao work for Walt as a way to make amends. Though he initially wants nothing to do with these people, Walt eventually gives in and puts the boy to work fixing up the neighborhood, setting into motion an unlikely friendship that will change both their lives. Through Thao and his family's unrelenting kindness, Walt eventually comes to understand certain truths about the people next door. And about himself. These people--provincial refugees from a cruel past--have more in common with Walt than he has with his own family, and reveal to him parts of his soul that have been walled off since the war...like the Gran Torino preserved in the shadows of his garage."

Call number: PN1997 .G791 2009 DVD

Watchmen - Summary: "A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the Doomsday Clock - which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union - is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion--a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers--Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity...but who is watching the Watchmen?"

Call number: PN1997 .W372 2009 DVD

Valkyrie - Summary: "Based on the incredible true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) and his ingenious assassination plot targeting Adolph Hitler, this engrossing thriller reenacts the daring operation to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known."

Call number: PN1997 .V344 2009 DVD

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail - Summary: "At long last, Madea returns to the big screen in TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL. This time America's favorite irreverent, pistol-packin' grandmomma is raising hell behind bars and lobbying for her freedom...Hallelujer! After a high-speed freeway chase puts Madea (TYLER PERRY) in front of the judge, her reprieve is short-lived as anger management issues get the best of her and land her in jail. A gleeful Joe (TYLER PERRY) couldn't be happier at Madea's misfortune. But Madea's eccentric family members the Browns (DAVID and TAMALA MANN) rally behind her, lending their special country brand of support. Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Hardaway (DEREK LUKE) is on the fast track to career success. But Hardaway lands a case too personal to handle - defending young prostitute and former drug addict Candace Washington (KEISHA KNIGHT PULLIAM) - and asks his fiance and fellow ADA Linda Holmes (ION OVERMAN) to fill in on his behalf. When Candace ends up in jail, Madea befriends the young woman, protecting her in a motherly way as only Madea can."

Call number: PN1997 .T881 2009 DVD

Transporter 3 - Summary: "Frank Martin has been pressured into transporting Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of Leonid Vasilev, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Ukraine, from Marseilles through Stuttgart and Budapest until he ends up in Odessa on the Black Sea. Along the way, with the help of Inspector Tarconi, Frank has to contend with the people who strong armed him to take the job, agents sent by Vasilev to intercept him, and the general non-cooperation of his passenger. Despite Valentina's cynical disposition and his resistance to get involved, Frank and Valentina fall for each other, while escaping from one life-threatening situation after another."

Call number: PN1997 .T751 2009 DVD

Taken - Summary: "I dont know you who you are. I dont know what you want. If you're looking for a ransom, I can tell you, I dont have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills acquired over a very long career in the shadows, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you dont, I will look for you, I will find you. And I will kill you. With these chilling words to a member of a band of kidnappers, former government operative Bryan Mills begins the longest 96-hours of his life and the hunt for the fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim. Mills had only recently given up his government career as what he calls, a preventer I prevented bad things from happenings, he says to be near Kim, who lives with Bryans ex-wife Lenore and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details (like guarding a pop diva), but most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim. Bryans familial goal is nearly derailed when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with a friend. All too aware of the dangers that could lie ahead for Kim in a foreign land, Bryan says no, but Kims disappointment leads him to very reluctantly relent. Bryans worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted in broad daylight from the Paris apartment at which theyve just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone Bryan, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris' underworld, and to the City of Lights plushest mansions. He will face nightmares worse than anything he experienced in black ops and let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter."

Call number: PN1997 .T371 2009 DVD

Frost/Nixon - Summary: "For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harbored doubts about their boss' ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted. Would Nixon evade questions of his role in one of the nation's greatest disgraces? Or would Frost confound critics and bravely demand accountability from the man who'd built a career out of stonewalling? Over the course of their encounter, each man would reveal his own insecurities, ego and reserves of dignity -- ultimately setting aside posturing in a stunning display of unvarnished truth. Frost/Nixon not only re-creates the on-air interview, but the weeks of around-the-world, behind-the-scenes maneuvering between the two men and their camps as negotiations were struck, deals were made and secrets revealed... all leading to the moment when they would sit facing one another in the court of public opinion."

Call number: PN1997 .F911 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Summary: "I was born under unusual circumstances. And so begins The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any mans life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Julia Ormond, Benjamin Button, is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time."

Call number: PN1997 .C85 2009 DVD

Confessions of a Shopaholic - Summary: "Rebecca Bloomwood is a sweet and charming New York City girl who has a tiny, little problem that is rapidly turning into a big problem: shes hopelessly addicted to shopping and drowning in a sea of debt. While Rebecca has dreams of working for a top fashion magazine, she cant quite get her foot in the doorthat is, until she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company. Overnight, her column becomes hugely popular, turning her into an overnight celebrity. But when her compulsive shopping and growing debt issues threaten to destroy her love life and derail her career, she struggles to keep it all from spiraling out of control...and is ultimately forced to reevaluate whats really important in life."

Call number: PN1997.2 .C66 2009 DVD

Batman Begins - Summary: "Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city."

Call number: PN1997 .B3731 2005 DVD

Bride Wars - Summary: "Liv (Kate Hudson) and Emma (Anne Hathaway) are best friends who since childhood have planned every detail of their respective weddings. At the top of their bridal must have list: a ceremony at New York's ultimate bridal destination, the Plaza Hotel. Now, at age 26, they're both about to get married; they're about to realize their dreams; and they're about to live happily ever after. Or maybe not... When a clerical error causes a clash in wedding dates - they're now to be married on the same date! - Liv, Emma and their lifelong friendship are put to the ultimate test. Liv, a successful lawyer who is used to getting what she wants, including the perfect job and the perfect man, won't settle for anything less than the perfect wedding she has dreamed of for years. Emma, a schoolteacher who has always been good at taking care of others, but not so much in looking after herself, discovers her inner Bridezilla and comes out swinging when her own dream wedding is imperiled. Now, the two best friends who'd do anything for each other, find themselves in a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners struggle that threatens to erupt into all-out war."

Call number: PN1997 .B752 2009 DVD

Bedtime Stories - Summary: "A family comedy about a guy (ADAM SANDLER) whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his nephews start to magically come true."

Call number: PN1997 .B4461 2009 DVD

17 Again - Summary: "What would you do if you got a second shot at life? Class of 1989, Mike O'Donnell (Zac Efron) is a star on the high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. But instead, he decides to throw it all away to share his life with his girlfriend Scarlet and the baby he just learned they are expecting. Almost 20 years later, Mike's (Matthew Perry) glory days are decidedly behind him. His marriage to Scarlet (Leslie Mann) has fallen apart, he has been passed over for a promotion at work, his teenage kids think he is a loser, and he has been reduced to crashing with his high school nerd-turned-techno-billionaire best friend Ned (Thomas Lennon). But Mike is given another chance when he is miraculously transformed back to the age of 17. Unfortunately, Mike may look 17 again, but his thirtysomething outlook is totally uncool among the class of 2009. And in trying to recapture his best years, Mike could lose the best things that ever happened to him."

Call number: PN1997 .A140 2009 DVD

An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town - Publisher's Marketing: "A tour through the centuries and through a bizarre Italian town in search of an unbelievable relic: the foreskin of Jesus Christ
In December 1983, a priest in the Italian hill town of Calcata shared shocking news with his congregation: The pride of their town, the foreskin of Jesus, had been stolen. Some postulated that it had been stolen by Satanists. Some said the priest himself was to blame. Some even pointed their fingers at the Vatican. In 2006, travel writer David Farley moved to Calcata, determined to find the missing foreskin, or at least find out the truth behind its disappearance. Farley recounts how the relic passed from Charlemagne to the papacy to a marauding sixteenth-century German solider before finally ending up in Calcata, where miracles occurred that made the sleepy town a major pilgrimage destination. Over the centuries, as Catholic theology evolved, the relic came to be viewed as something of an embarrassment, culminating in a 1900 Church decree that allowed the parish to display it only on New Year's Day.
"An Irreverent Curiosity" interweaves this history with the curious landscape of Calcata, a beautiful and untouched medieval village set atop four-hundred-fifty-foot cliffs, which now, due to the inscrutable machinations of Italian bureaucracy, is a veritable counterculture coven. Blending history, travel, and perhaps the oddest story in Christian lore, "An Irreverent Curiosity" is a weird and wonderful tale of conspiracy and misadventure."

Call number: BT318.5 .F37 2009

Dispatches from Juvenile Hall: Fixing a Failing System - Publisher's Marketing: "A revolutionary book that offers a fresh, bold approach to confronting the juvenile crime epidemic With the rise of violent crimes committed by teenagers in recent years, heated discussion has arisen over the societal factors that lead to juvenile criminality and the ways that public institutions are failing to curtail them. Now a team of experts with decades of collective hands-on experience present a book that cuts through the hype and paranoia to offer real solutions. Drawing on actual case studies, Dispatches from Juvenile Hall shows how conventional "tough on crime" tactics have only worsened the problem, and presents a new blueprint for change that incorporates punitive action, rehabilitation, and family intervention-a progressive program that will encourage and enlighten all those concerned about the future of our youth."

Call number: HV9104 .A612 2009

Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose--Doing Business by Respecting the Earth - Publisher's Marketing: "In 1994, Interface founder and chairman Ray Anderson set an audacious goal for his commercial carpet company: to take nothing "from" the earth that can't be replaced "by" the earth. Now, in the most inspiring business book of our time, Anderson leads the way forward and challenges all of industry to share that goal. The Interface story is a compelling one: In 1994, making carpets was a toxic, petroleum-based process, releasing immense amounts of air and water pollution and creating tons of waste. Fifteen years after Anderson's "spear in the chest" revelation, Interface has: -Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 82%-Cut fossil fuel consumption by 60%-Cut waste by 66%-Cut water use by 75%-Invented and patented new machines, materials, and manufacturing processes-Increased sales by 66%, doubled earnings, and raised profit margins With practical ideas and measurable outcomes that every business can use, Anderson shows that profit and sustainability are not mutually exclusive; businesses can improve their bottom lines and do right by the earth."

Call number: HD30.255 .A53 2009

A Concise History of the Middle East - Publisher's Marketing: "The ninth edition of this widely acclaimed text by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. and Lawrence Davidson has been extensively revised to reflect the latest scholarship and the most recent events in the Middle East. As an introduction to the history of this turbulent region from the beginnings of Islam to the present day, the book is distinguished by its clear style, broad scope, and balanced treatment. It focuses on the evolution of Islamic institutions and culture, the influence of the West, the modernization efforts of Middle Eastern governments, the struggle of various peoples for political independence, the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the reassertion of Islamic values and power, the issues surrounding the Palestinian Question, and the roles of Iraq and Iran in the post-9/11 Middle East. Nine maps newly commissioned for the ninth edition highlight key aspects of Middle East history. Two popular study aids, the chronology and the glossary, have been extensively revised, and the superlative bibliographic essay, an essential guide to further reading, has been thoroughly rewritten to reflect current scholarship."

Call number: DS62 .G64 2009

""Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival Midwestern American airport greater _____ area. Flight _____. Date _____. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name: Operation Havoc."
"
Thus speaks Pygmy, one of a handful of young adults from a totalitarian state sent to the United States, disguised as exchange students, to live with typical American families and blend in, all the while planning an unspecified act of massive terrorism. Palahniuk depicts Midwestern life through the eyes of this thoroughly indoctrinated little killer, who hates us with a passion, in this cunning double-edged satire of an American xenophobia that might, in fact, be completely justified. For Pygmy and his fellow operatives are cooking up something big, something truly awful, that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to their knees.
It's a comedy. And a romance."

Call number: PS3566 .A4554P94 2009

Caffeine and Nicotine: A Dependent Society - Publisher's Marketing: "Caffeine and nicotine are among the most-consumed drugs in America. This book investigates how these socially acceptable drugs are harmful to consumers and dispels myths about their being safe relative to harder illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine."

Call number: HV5809.5 .H37 2009

The Challenge: How a Maverick Navy Officer and a Young Law Professor Risked Their Careers to Defend the Constitution--And Won - Publisher's Marketing: ""The Challenge" tells the inside story of an improbable act of patriotism. At its center are Navy lawyer Charles Swift and Georgetown law professor Neal Katyal, two men who, in the aftermath of 9/11, found themselves defending an accused Yemeni terrorist named Salim Hamdan in America's first military tribunals since World War II. The entire system was stackd against them, and Swift's superiors were pressing him to enter a guilty plea. Instead, he and Katyal sued the Bush administration on their client's behalf, arguing that his trial and treatment were illegal and unconstitutional. In the spring of 2006, the case, "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld," reached the Supreme Court. The resulting ruling changed the legal landscape of the War on Terror, and it has been called the Court's most important decision ever on presidential power and the rule of law. Jonathan Mahler's gripping, detailed chronicle follows the case from Yemen to Guantanamo to the courtrooms and the chambers of power in Washington, delivering "the definitive work on an epic Supreme Court case--and on the human beings behind the headlines" (Jeffrey Toobin, author of "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court")."

Call number: KF225 .H36M34 2008

It's no wonder that most young people do not feel they will be better off than their parents. Besides a looming economic crisis, we face a number of other crises: budget deficit, environmental, real estate, infrastructure, education, immigration, and healthcare. Now throw in some unforeseen wild cards such as terrorism, war, disease, poverty, homelessness, and natural disasters, and you have a recipe for a cataclysmic, multi-generational failure that will take decades and trillions of dollars to fix. Boomers are about to move into the role as the elders of an America desperate for leadership. It will be Boomers who take responsibility for directing us through the minefield of crises that will profoundly shape the U.S. for decades to come. It will be the Boomers' responsibility-and their destiny and legacy-to lead the U.S. through a thicket of issues that have been back-burnered by at least the last five presidential administrations. Full of solutions to seemingly intractable problems, "Boomer Destiny" shows how they can do it."

Call number: HB3722 .O84 2009

Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil - Publisher's Marketing: "A stunning and revealing examination of oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it.
Every unhappy oil-producing nation is unhappy in its own way, but all are touched by the "resource curse"--the power of oil to exacerbate existing problems and create new ones. In "Crude World, " Peter Maass presents a vivid portrait of the troubled world oil has created. He takes us to Saudi Arabia, where officials deflect inquiries about the amount of petroleum remaining in the country's largest reservoir; to Equatorial Guinea, where two tennis courts grace an oil-rich dictator's estate but bandages and aspirin are a hospital's only supplies; and to Venezuela, where Hugo Chavez's campaign to redistribute oil wealth creates new economic and political crises.
Maass, a "New York Times Magazine" writer, also introduces us to Iraqi oilmen trying to rebuild their industry after the invasion of 2003, an American lawyer leading Ecuadorians in an unprecedented lawsuit against Chevron, a Russian oil billionaire imprisoned for his defiance of Vladimir Putin's leadership, and Nigerian villagers whose livelihoods are destroyed by the discovery of oil. Rebels, royalty, middlemen, environmentalists, indigenous activists, CEOs--their stories, deftly and sensitively presented, tell the larger story of oil in our time."
Crude World" is a startling and essential account of the consequences of our addiction to oil."

Call number: HD9560.5 .M23 2009

Bicycle Diaries - Publisher's Marketing: "A renowned musician and visual artist presents an idiosyncratic behind-thehandlebars view of the world's cities
Since the early 1980s, David Byrne has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them on tour. Byrne's choice was made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one's eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city's geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights.
An account of what he sees and whom he meets as he pedals through metropoles from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Istanbul to San Francisco, Manila to New York, "Bicycle Diaries" also records Byrne's thoughts on world music, urban planning, fashion, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more, all conveyed with a highly personal mixture of humor, curiosity, and humility. Part travelogue, part journal, part photo album, "Bicycle Diaries" is an eye-opening celebration of seeing the world from the seat of a bike."

Call number: GV1044 .B97 2009

Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer's Life - Publisher's Marketing: "In "Beg, Borrow, Steal" Michael Greenberg regales us with his wry and vivid take on the life of a writer of little means trying to practice his craft or simply stay alive. He finds himself doctoring doomed movie scripts; selling cosmetics from an ironing board in front of a women's department store; writing about golf, a game he has never played; and botching his debut as a waiter in a posh restaurant.
Central characters include Michael's father, whose prediction that Michael's "scribbling" wouldn't get him on the subway almost came true; his artistic first wife, whom he met in a Greenwich Village high school; and their son who grew up on the Lower East Side, fluent in the language of the street and in the language of the parlor. Then there are Greenberg's unexpected encounters: a Holocaust survivor who on his deathbed tries to leave Michael his fortune; a repentant communist who confesses his sins; a man who becomes a woman; a Chilean filmmaker in search of his past; and rats who behave like humans and cease to live underground.
Hilarious and bittersweet, Greenberg's stories invite us into a world where the familial, the literary, the tragic and the mundane not only speak to one another, but deeply enjoy the exchange."

Call number: PN4874 .G6775A3 2009

The A to Z of the United Nations - Publisher's Marketing: "Author Jacques Fomerand provides a comprehensive dictionary of nearly 900 cross-referenced entries on the UN's various committees and organizations, its leaders, terms, policies, and major events in which the UN took part. Supplementing the dictionary entries are a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and appendixes."

Call number: JZ4984.5 .F66 2009

Where Did Pluto Go?: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding the "New Solar System" - Publisher's Marketing: "A twenty-first century look at our Sun, its planets, and their moonsaincluding the latest research and technology on studying and defining the mysteries of space.
Over the last few decades our knowledge of the universe and what resides within it has expanded enormously. This exciting new book adds a modern sense of perspective to the stars above by comparing the very latest research and the most up-to-date technology with traditional beliefsahow ancient astronomers made sense of the heavensa presented in clear, easy-to-understand, exciting dialogue. With a twist of the wheel, the bookas easy-to-use planisphere shows the positions of the stars at any time, on any day, and any latitudeacomplete with a description and examples on how to use it. The planisphere is a great way to chart the stars as you read through the book and discover the new solar system.
In these pages youall find the evolving understanding of the solar system. A detailed overview examines how we read the night sky; constellations and the zodiac; motion of the planets; comparative sizes and locations; where the asteroid belt is; comets; satellites; theories of planet formation; and much more.
With over 200 full-color photographs and a 4-page gatefold of the galaxies, this beautifully illustrated guide will fill you with awe at the mysteries of space."

Call number: QB501 .S88 2009

Essential Yoga: The Practical Step-By-Step Course - Publisher's Marketing: "Iyengar yoga is a practical philosophy and system of asanas, or postures, promoting physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. It is an effective antidote to the stresses of modern lifestyles and encourages a fit and supple body."

Call number: RA781.7 .S64 2009

How to Tie a Tie: Choosing, Coordinating, and Knotting Your Neckwear - Publisher's Marketing: "In an era when casual Friday starts on Monday, men tend to panic on occasions that demand a tie. Help has arrived! Here are all the answers for a generation that doesn't even know the questions about this once-standard article of clothing, such as: How easy is it to spot the difference between a cheap tie and a good one? How long should a tie be when properly knotted? What's a rep tie, and what's dangerous about wearing the wrong one? There's history (the Duke of Windsor never wore a Windsor knot), shopping tips (how to test a tie's quality), and reliable fashion advice (which patterns make the best impression), plus a chapter on knot tying. Unlike a loud tie, this makes the perfect holiday gift!"

Call number: TT616 .G355 2009

"Psychology Applied to Everyday Life" divides its 59 questions into seven fun sections:

- Sex, Booze, and Other Fun Things

- Raising the Little Ones

- Cops, Robbers, and Forensics

- Memory and Intelligence

- Anxiety, Stress, and Staying Cool

- Odds and Ends

- Notes from the Shrink

For those interested in further investigation into a topic, the authors provide additional analysis and references. In addition to reviewing recent research, the authors consider questions from the practice of clinical and counseling psychology. Issues in this section are illustrated with actual case studies from the authors' files, and include questions concerning how best to work with couples, whether psychotropic medications (such as anti-depressant and anti-anxiety agents) are effective, and recent developments in counseling techniques."

Call number: BF145 .B76 2009

Diverse Learners in the Mainstream Classroom - Publisher's Marketing: "Today's classrooms are filled with diverse students with a variety of needs and abilities, including English language learners, students with disabilities, and gifted/talented students. While diversity is enriching, it also brings challenges, especially in a time when all students are expected to meet standards and perform on mandated tests. "Diverse Learners in Mainstream Classrooms" is the first comprehensive book to bring together information about a wide range of diverse learners from PreK through high school, offering strategies and practices teachers can use to ensure that "all" learners succeed. "Diverse Learners in Mainstream Classrooms "presents research-based and classroom-based approaches for working effectively with diverse students across the content areas. Written in a reader-friendly, accessible style, it provides everything from the big picture to the everyday details teachers want: an overview of the basic principles of high-quality instruction for special learning groups discussion of the specific characteristics of the diverse populations teachers are most likely to encounter and the kind of teaching that helps them achieve demonstration scenarios with explicit connections to standards detailed, ready-to-use applications for effective, inclusive teaching in math, literacy, and social studies ideas for using digital technology and a multiple-intelligence framework to help differentiate and scaffold instruction for all learners key terms and acronyms related to each of the types of learners. Several books in one, "Diverse Learners in Mainstream Classrooms "finally unites information on teaching a wide variety of special student populations into one helpful, practical guide. Now any teacher can find the solutions they need for working with diverse students."

Call number: LC1201 .D58 2008

Will Your Vote Count?: Fixing America's Broken Electoral System - Publisher's Marketing: "Voters in a democratic society should have confidence in the electoral process. Yet, as Americans have witnessed in every election since 2000, voting-the basic act of citizenship-is under assault: technologically complex, subject to manipulation, and fiercely contested on many levels. Documenting the areas of collapse in the American electoral process, this book analyzes ongoing problems in the casting and counting of ballots, as well as new threats: future elections could be compromised by new voting machines that are unreliable, poorly programmed, and prone to tampering. At this critical moment for American democracy, the author issues a call for urgently needed reforms."

Call number: JK1976 .P47 2009

Diego Gambetta shows that as villains balance the lure of criminal reward against the fear of dire punishment, they are inspired to unexpected feats of subtlety and ingenuity in communication. He uncovers the logic of the often bizarre ways in which inveterate and occasional criminals solve their dilemmas, such as why the tattoos and scars etched on a criminal's body function as lines on a professional resume, why inmates resort to violence to establish their position in the prison pecking order, and why mobsters are partial to nicknames and imitate the behavior they see in mafia movies. Even deliberate self-harm and the disclosure of their crimes are strategically employed by criminals to convey important messages.

By deciphering how criminals signal to each other in a lawless universe, this gruesomely entertaining and incisive book provides a quantum leap in our ability to make sense of their actions."

Call number: HV6085 .G36 2009

Featuring real stories about the initial spark that motivated individuals to pursue independence and entrepreneurship, "Breaking Free " follows a variety of entrepreneurs as they move from their jobs as employees to the ranks of the self-employed. It also covers the nuts and bolts of self-employment-pricing and marketing services, keeping an eye on the bottom line, and growing the business, among other topics. In addition, Lauer focuses on the advances in technology that make self-employment easier today than ever before. Unlike most books on self-employment, Lauer uses vivid, real-life stories and tips to help would-be entrepreneurs decide the route that is best for them. Experienced entrepreneurs describe how they came up with ideas for their businesses, how they kept their ventures in motion during the early days and over the long term, how they grew, and when they recognized it was time to call it quits and sell or shutter the business. This is not a book for the next Bill Gates, but for the majority of new business owners and those dreaming of creating their own jobs: people ready to take a few risks to make a decent living on their own terms and gain some independence. Both descriptive and prescriptive, "Breaking Free" presents the latest ways to capitalize on today's many opportunities for self-sufficiency and financial autonomy."

Call number: HD62.5 .L377 2009

Why Machiavelli Matters: A Guide to Citizenship in a Democracy - Publisher's Marketing: "Machiavelli (1469-1527) is the seminal figure in early modern intellectual history for those living, or wishing to live, in a functional democracy. What Machiavelli is primarily about, and what makes him indispensable to those of us living in and struggling to preserve democracy in America, is the sum of individual and collective qualities required of a citizen, or what he termed virtu: a host of traits ranging from manliness to boldness, ingenuity, excellence, self-esteem, and even stoic resignation. In a narrative spanning Machiavelli's life and work as one of the world's most fascinating philosophers, Bernard illuminates for the modern reader just how relevant his insights are to our own evolving debate on the appropriate relations between religion and politics, church and state.

Besides offering a detailed sketch of Machiavelli as a chancellor in the Italian Soderini Republic (1498-1512), this book examines the man's political philosophy, particularly his complex view of republics and principalities, in "The Prince," the "Discourses," and the "Florentine Histories." It also establishes the importance of Machiavelli's writing as it evolved during his exile, especially in the reflexive passages of his plays "Mandragola" and "Clizia." The book concludes with the potential uses of Machiavellism in 21st-century mass democracies, as well as presenting ways in which his legacy lives on in our own activities as citizens in a democracy."

Call number: JC143 .M4B55 2009

Where We Live Now: Immigration and Race in the United States - Publisher's Marketing: ""Where We Live Now "explores the ways in which immigration is reshaping American neighborhoods. In his examination of residential segregation patterns, John Iceland addresses these questions: What evidence suggests that immigrants are assimilating residentially? Does the assimilation process change for immigrants of different racial and ethnic backgrounds? How has immigration affected the residential patterns of native-born blacks and whites? Drawing on census data and information from other ethnographic and quantitative studies, Iceland affirms that immigrants are becoming residentially assimilated in American metropolitan areas. While the future remains uncertain, the evidence provided in the book suggests that America's metropolitan areas are not splintering irrevocably into hostile, homogeneous, and ethnically based neighborhoods. Instead, Iceland's findings suggest a blurring of the American color line in the coming years and indicate that as we become more diverse, we may in some important respects become less segregated."

Call number: HD7288.72 .U5I34 2009

Corporate media parrot industry PR that renewable technologies just aren't ready for prime time. But Sovacool marshals extensive field research to show that the only barrier blocking the conversion of a significant proportion of the U.S. energy portfolio to renewables is not technological-the technology is there-but institutional. Public utility commissioners, utility managers, system operators, business owners, and ordinary consumers are hobbled by organizational conservatism, technical incompatibility, legal inertia, weak and inconsistent political incentives, ill-founded prejudices, and apathy. The author argues that significant conversion to technologically proven clean energy systems can happen only if we adopt and implement a whole new set of policies that will target and dismantle the insidious social barriers that are presently blocking decisions that would so obviously benefit society."

Call number: HD9685 .U5S697 2008

Partisan rancor and the public exchange of incivilities between members of Congress have become rampant on Capitol Hill and in the media studios since the 1980s. Polarization between mutually repugnant congressional factions has reached the point that the legislative process is paralyzed and democracy is hobbled. Ahuja documents the rise of incivility and the partisan shrillness in Congress, traces its complex causes, identifies its adverse consequences for the functioning of democratic government, and prescribes remedies to curb destructive partisanship and restore dignity and efficiency to the workings of Congress.

Ahuja catalogs the most shocking examples of the abrasive new confrontational style as practiced by the likes of Gingrich, Burton, and Pelosi in the House, and by Boxer, Santorum, and Lott in the Senate. He contrasts this new style of congressional comportment with the decorum and pragmatism of the old style exemplified by such leaders as Foley, Hamilton, and Michel in the House, and by Dirksen, Mansfield, and Moynihan in the Senate. Ahuja identifies six causes of the rise of partisanship and incivility among congressional members: *Political redistricting and imposition of party discipline. *rising influence of adversarial special-interest groups. *adversarial format fostered by the 24-hour news cycle. *rising use of short-term consultants. *increasing insertion of wedge issues. *avoidance of social interaction among opposing members. The author prescribes measures for restoring civility and moderating partisanship in Congress: reapportioning legislative districts; restricting the influence of consultants, media, and interest groups; and regularizing social interaction among congressional opponents."

Call number: JK1041 .A48 2008

Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks -

Ancient Greece comes alive in this exploration of the daily lives of ordinary people-men and women, children and the elderly, slaves and foreigners, rich and poor. With new information drawn from the most current research, this volume presents a wealth of information on every aspect of ancient Greek life. Discover why it was more desirable to be a slave than a day laborer. Examine cooking methods and rules of ancient warfare. Uncover Greek mythology. Learn how Greeks foretold the future. Understand what life was like for women, and what prevailing attitudes were toward sexuality, marriage, and divorce. This volume brings ancient Greek life home to readers through a variety of anecdotes and primary source passages from contemporary authors, allowing comparison between the ancient world and modern life.

A multitude of resources will engage students and interested readers, including a Making Connections feature which offers interactive and fun ideas for research assignments. The concluding chapter places the ancient world in the present, covering new interpretations like the movie "300," the founding of modern Greece, and the ways in which classical culture still affects our own. With over 60 illustrations, a timeline of events, a glossary of terms, and an extensive print and nonprint bibliography, this volume offers a unique and descriptive look at one of the most influential eras in human history."

Call number: DF78 .G276 2009

Parkers' Astrology: The Essential Guide to Using Astrology in Your Daily Life - Publisher's Marketing: "A new edition of this universally acknowledged practical introduction to astrology for interested amateurs and budding professionals
If you are interested in the zodiac and astrology, let Derek and Julia Parker guide you through the stars and planetary activity.
You'll learn the basics of astrology, discover astrological techniques and join them as they take a look at the planets at work. Includes the latest developments in astrology and explores advanced birth chart techniques using midpoints, harmonics, and the Moon's nodes.
Leave nothing to chance - find out more about your relationships, marriage, career, leisure and health with this definitive guide to astrology."

Call number: BF1001 .P375 2009

Drive through the newest subdivisions of Atlanta, Dallas, or Denver, and you'll notice an unusual similarity in the layout of the houses, the models of the cars, the pastimes of the stay-at-home moms. But this is not your grandparents' suburbia, "the little houses made of ticky-tacky"--these houses go for half a million dollars and up, and no one stays longer than three or four years. You have entered the land of Relos, the mid-level executives for a growing number of American companies, whose livelihoods depend on their willingness to uproot their families in pursuit of professional success. Together they constitute a new social class, well-off but insecure, well traveled but insular.

Peter T. Kilborn, a longtime reporter for "The New York Times," takes us inside the lives of American Relos, showing how their distinctive pressures and values affect not only their own families and communities but also the country as a whole. As Relo culture becomes the norm for these workers, more and more Americans--no matter their jobs or the economy's booms and busts--will call Relovilles "home.""

Call number: HD8038 .A1K55 2009

The Beckham Experiment: How the World's Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America - Publisher's Marketing: "In 2007, David Beckham, the golden boy of soccer, shocked the international sports world when he signed a five-year contract with an American team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. Under the direction of his manager, Simon Fuller, the mastermind behind "American Idol" and the Spice Girls, Beckham was ready for a monumental challenge and a risky adventure-ready, as Fuller put it, to earn his stripes Stateside. Could he pull off what no player had ever accomplished (including Pele in the 1970s) and transform soccer into one of the most popular spectator sports in America? It was a bold experiment: failure meant a team, a league, a sport, and Beckham himself might miss their chance to hit primetime in the U.S.
With unprecedented access to the Galaxy and one-on-one interviews with Beckham, veteran "Sports Illustrated" writer Grant Wahl focuses on the inner circle of the experiment: Beckham, Galaxy leading scorer Landon Donovan, Simon Fuller, controversial former coach Ruud Gullit, outspoken former Galaxy president Alexi Lalas, and Mrs. Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. Wahl takes readers behind the scenes, on the road with the team and inside the locker room, to reveal just what happened on and off the field when the most renowned player in the world left the glamour of European soccer to play in a country that has yet to fully embrace the sport. We find out what his teammates really think of their superstar captain, who was calling the shots behind the scenes, how Beckham's management conducted a shadow takeover of the Galaxy organization, and if the team plans to embrace him-or not-when he returns from AC Milan for the 2009 season.
The Beckham Experiment is a no-holds-barred account of ego clashes and epic winless streaks, rivalries and resentments, big gambles and great expectations, cultural and class collisions, and ultimately the volatile mix of celebrity and professional sports. As Beckham embarks on his third season with the Galaxy, the question remains: even for a player the caliber of David Beckham, are some goals out of reach?"

Call number: GV942.7 .B432W34 2009

Each chapter is organized around three main themes: 'rituals and routines', 'social order', and 'challenging the taken-for-granted', with intriguing examples and illustrations. Theoretical approaches from ethnomethodology, Symbolic Interactionism and social psychology are introduced and applied to real-life situations, and there is clear emphasis on empirical research findings throughout. Social order depends on individuals following norms and rules which are so familiar as to appear natural; yet, as Scott encourages the reader to discover, these are always open to question and investigation.

This user-friendly book will appeal to undergraduate students across the social sciences, including the sociology of everyday life, the sociology of emotions, social psychology and cultural studies, and will reveal the fascinating significance our everyday habits hold."

Call number: HM585 .S39 2009

Love Canal Revisited: Race, Class, and Gender in Environmental Activism - Publisher's Marketing: "Thirty years after the headlines, Love Canal remains synonymous with toxic waste. When this neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York, burst upon the nation's consciousness, the media focused on a working-class white woman named Lois Gibbs, who gained prominence as an activist fighting to save families from the poison buried beneath their homes. Her organization, the Love Canal Homeowners Association, challenged big government and big business--and ultimately won relocation. But as Elizabeth Blum now shows, the activists at Love Canal were a very diverse lot. Blum reveals that more lurks beneath the surface of this story than most people realize--and more than mere toxins. She takes readers behind the headlines to show that others besides Gibbs played important roles and to examine how race, class, and gender influenced the way people--from African American women to middle class white Christian groups--experienced the crisis and became active at Love Canal. Blum explores the often-rocky interracial relationships of the community, revealing how marginalized black women fought to be heard as they defined their environmental activism as an ongoing part of the civil rights struggle. And she examines how the middle-class Ecumenical Task Force--consisting of progressive, educated whites--helped to negotiate legal obstacles and to secure the means to relocate and compensate black residents. Blum also demonstrates how the crisis challenged gender lines far beyond casting mothers in activist roles. Women of the LCHA may have rejected feminism because of its anti-family stance, but they staunchly believed in their rights. And the incident changed the lives of working-class men, who found theirwives in the front lines rather than in the kitchen. In addition, male bureaucrats and politicians ran into significant opposition from groups of both men and women who pressed for greater emphasis on health rather than economics for solutions to the crisis. No previous account of Love Canal has considered the plight of these other segments of the population. By doing so, Blum shows that environmental activism opens a window on broader social movements and ideas, such as civil rights and feminism. Her book moves the story of Love Canal well beyond its iconic legacy--the Superfund Act that makes polluters accountable--to highlight another vital legacy, one firmly rooted in race, class, and gender."

Call number: GE235 .N7B58 2008

The Genealogist's Internet - Publisher's Marketing: "This bestselling guide explores the major sources of data available to family historians online and highlights the most useful directories and gateways. Suitable for those starting out and for experienced researchers, The Genealogist's Internet features fully updated URLs and all the recent developments online in areas such as births, marriages and deaths indexes; the expansion in census records and wills online; DNA testing and surname studies; genealogy blogs; changes in search engines; historical maps and photographs. Use it contact others with the same surname or to access the numerous genealogical forums, discussion groups, mailing lists and newsgroups to help in your own research.This up to the minute 4th edition includes the following: * The launch of the 1911 census* The expansion of genealogical services, now in the complete range of census indexes and the first official data service for Ireland prospects for the digitization of civil registration* The many new projects and datasets on the FamilySearch site* New passenger lists and other migration records* Digitized out-of-copyright books* New ways of putting your family tree online* The rise of online sharing: DNA matching, photo sharing, social bookmarking* Expanded coverage of occupations and professions"

Call number: CS415 .C497 2009

The volume begins by defining and classifying elements of these spiritual traditions. It then provides a wide range of examples and texts, which illustrate the richness of these beliefs and practices. It also examines the scholarly response to hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure, and it explores the presence of hoodoo, voodoo, and conjure in popular culture. The volume closes with a glossary and bibliography. Students in social studies classes will use this book to learn more about African American magical beliefs, while literature students will enjoy its exploration of primary sources and literary works."

Call number: BL2490 .A65 2008

In his job protecting data and combating financial fraud, Philip Alexander knows well which power tools are required to keep hackers and thieves at bay. With his gift for putting technical solutions in everyday language, Alexander helps readers with home and/or small business networks protect their data, their identities, and their privacy using the latest techniques. In addition, readers will learn how to protect PDAs and smartphones, how to make hardware thefts more unlikely, how to sniff out scammers and the motives of offshore tech support personnel who ask too many questions, and how to keep personal information safer when shopping over the Internet or telephone."

Call number: HF5548.37 .A438 2009

The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships - Publisher's Marketing: "In his first book for adults, New York Times bestselling author Hill Harper invites you to join the Conversation: an honest dialogue about the breakdown of African-American relationships. For generations African Americans have turned to their families in times of need - but now, this proud and strong legacy is in peril. Black men and women have stopped communicating effectively and it threatens the very relationships and marriages necessary to sustain the Black family. Today, less than a third of Black children are being raised in two-parent households, a sharp decline from past generations. So, why is it so difficult for Black men and women to build long-term, loving and mutually beneficial relationships? What is happening in the community that makes it so hard for women and men to find their way to each other? And why are there so few people who manage to hold a marriage together, even after finding a person to love?
In his moving yet practical book, Hill Harper undertakes a journey both universal and deeply personal in search of answers to these questions. He has conversations with friends and strangers -married, single and divorced - and learns about their private struggles, emotional vulnerabilities, and real concerns, and begins to see common themes emerge. As his journey picks up momentum, Hill begins to recognize his own struggles in other people's stories, and is encouraged to more deeply examine his own relationship issues.
Why does so much misinformation and mistrust exist between the sexes? Hill addresses the stereotypes that have developed in the Black community, in the hope that by addressing the challenges, Black men and women can find their way to common ground. "The Conversation" aims to open up the lines of communication, and offers inspiration to those who want to take control of this crisis and start building successful, sustainable relationships."

Call number: HQ801 .H3277 2009

Piorkowski, in an extensive review of literature, also looks at cultural factors and how they impact romantic love and marriage. In contrast to American popular culture's shallow rendition of romantic love, many cultures elsewhere in the world emphasize compatibility, religion, and family allegiance. As a result, says the author, such marriages appear more stable than American unions built upon the shifting sands of emotion."

Call number: HQ777.5 .p56 2008

Beloved - Publisher's Marketing: "Toni Morrison--author of Song of Solomon and Tar Baby--is a writer of remarkable powers: her novels, brilliantly acclaimed for their passion, their dazzling language and their lyric and emotional force, combine the unassailable truths of experience and emotion with the vision of legend and imagination.
It is the story--set in post-Civil War Ohio--of Sethe, an escaped slave who has risked death in order to wrench herself from a living death; who has lost a husband and buried a child; who has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad: a woman of "iron eyes and backbone to match." Sethe lives in a small house on the edge of town with her daughter, Denver, her mother-in-law, Baby Suggs, and a disturbing, mesmerizing intruder who calls herself Beloved.
Sethe works at "beating back the past," but it is alive in all of them. It keeps Denver fearful of straying from the house. It fuels the sadness that has settled into Baby Suggs' "desolated center where the self that was no self made its home." And to Sethe, the past makes itself heard and felt incessantly: in memories that both haunt and soothe her...in the arrival of Paul D ("There was something blessed in his manner. Women saw him and wanted to weep"), one of her fellow slaves on the farm where she had once been kept...in the vivid and painfully cathartic stories she and Paul D tell each other of their years in captivity, of their glimpses of freedom...and, most powerfully, in the apparition of Beloved, whose eyes are expressionless at their deepest point, whose doomed childhood belongs to the hideous logic of slavery and who, as daughter, sister and seductress, has now come from the "place over there" to claim retribution for what shelost and for what was taken from her.
Sethe's struggle to keep Beloved from gaining full possession of her present--and to throw off the long, dark legacy of her past--is at the center of this profoundly affecting and startling novel. But its intensity and resonance of feeling, and the boldness of its narrative, lift it beyond its particulars so that it speaks to our experience as an entire nation with a past of both abominable and ennobling circumstance.
In Beloved, Toni Morrison has given us a great American novel.
Toni Morrison was awarded the 1988 Pulitzer Prize in Literature for Beloved."

Call number: PS3563 .O8749 B4 1987

This book examines all facets of the welfare state in the U.S. and its egalitarian underpinnings. Egalitarians claim, for instance, that markets are unfair and that we must have redistributive policies to produce social justice. This reasoning supposedly justifies the two-thirds of federal spending that simply robs Peter to pay Paul. We are stealing from each other. Browning's research and trenchant analysis show that: -Almost all U.S. citizens are harmed by the welfare state-even many of its apparent beneficiaries. -Welfare-state policies have large hidden costs which all told have reduced the average income of Americans by about 25 percent. -There is much less inequality and poverty than is commonly believed. -Most taxpayers will receive less back from Social Security than they put in. Provocative? Indeed. But such conclusions result from the most thoroughgoing economic analysis of the modern welfare state yet written. Written for a general audience, "Stealing from Each Other" covers everything informed citizens need to know about inequality, poverty, welfare, Social Security, taxation, and the true costs of government redistributive policies."

Call number: HV91 .B713 2008

Life Is Friends: A Complete Guide to the Lost Art of Connecting in Person - Publisher's Marketing: "With an attitude that's savvy, sympathetic, and just a little bit brash, Martinet gives readers the game plan for relearning the lost art of socializing. Forget texting, Facebook, and Internet relationships. When it comes to building real friendships, there's simply no substitute for live, in-person hospitality."

Call number: BJ1533 .F8 M32 2009

Leisureville: Adventures in a World Without Children - Publisher's Marketing: "When his next-door neighbors in a quaint New England town suddenly pick up and move to a gated retired community in Florida called The Villages, Andrew Blechman is astonished by their stories, so he goes to investigate. Larger than Manhattan, with a golf course for every day of the month, two downtowns, its own newspaper, radio, and TV station, The Villages is a city of nearly one hundred thousand (and growing) missing only one thing: children.
In the critically acclaimed "Leisureville," Blechman delves into life in the senior utopia, offering a hilarious firsthand report on everything from ersatz nostalgia to the residents' surprisingly active sex life. But this is more than just a romp through a retirement paradise; Blechman traces the history of the age-segregated retirement phenomenon, and travels to Arizona to show what has happened to the pioneering developments after decades of segregation. A fascinating blend of serious history, social commentary, and hilarious, engaging reportage, "Leisureville" is an important book on a major, underreported trend."

Call number: HQ1063.2 .U6 B54 2008

Like other Americans, African Americans partake of the general food offerings available in mainstream supermarket chains across the country. Food culture, however, may depend on where they live and their degree of connection to traditions passed down through generations since the time of slavery. Many African Americans celebrate a hybrid identity that incorporates African and New World foodways. The state of African American food culture today is illuminated in depth here for the first time, in the all-important context of understanding the West African origins of most African Americans of today.

A historical overview discusses the beginnings of this hybrid food culture when Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands and brought to the United States. Chapter 2 on Major Foods and Ingredients details the particular favorites of what is considered classic African American food. In Chapter 3, Cooking, the African American family of today is shown to be like most other families with busy lives, preparing and eating quick meals during the week and more leisurely meals on the weekend. Special insight is also given on African American chefs. The Typical Meals chapter reflects a largely mainstream diet, with regional and traditional options. Chapter 6, Eating Out, highlights the increasing opportunities for African Americans to dine out, and the attractions of fast meals. The Special Occasions chapter discusses all the pertinent occasions for African Americans to prepare and eat symbolic dishes that reaffirm their identity and culture. Finally, the latest information in traditional African American diet and its health effects brings readers up to date in the Diet and Health chapter. Recipes, photos, chronology, resource guide, and selected bibliography round out the narrative."

Call number: GT2853 .U5 M57 2009

Michael J. Sandel's "Justice" course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard. Up to a thousand students pack the campus theater to hear Sandel relate the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of the day, and this fall, public television will air a series based on the course. "Justice "offers readers the same exhilarating journey that captivates Harvard students. This book is a searching, lyrical exploration of the meaning of justice, one that invites readers of all political persuasions to consider familiar controversies in fresh and illuminating ways. Affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, abortion, national service, patriotism and dissent, the moral limits of markets--Sandel dramatizes the challenge of thinking through these conflicts, and shows how a surer grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions as well. "Justice "is lively, thought-provoking, and wise--an essential new addition to the small shelf of books that speak convincingly to the hard questions of our civic life."

Call number: JC578 .S25 2009

The editor of this revealing work asks us to reach beyond rage, stretch the limits of compassion, and enter the minds of mothers who kill their babies-with the hope that advancing the knowledge base and stimulating inquiry in this neglected area of maternal-infant research will save young lives.

Written to help remedy today's dearth of up-to-date, research-based literature, this unique volume brings together a multidisciplinary group of 17 experts who focus on the psychiatric perspective of this tragic cause of infant death.

The first of four parts introduces historical and epidemiological data. Part II discusses the psychiatric, psychological, cultural, and biological underpinnings of infanticide, detailing how to identify, evaluate, and treat postpartum psychiatric disorders. Contemporary legislation, criminal defenses, and disparate treatment in the U.S. law are described in Part III and compared with the United Kingdom's model of probation and treatment. Part IV focuses on clinical experience with mothers as perpetrators and countertransference in therapy, mother-infant interactions (from healthy to pathological), and methods of early intervention and prevention.

This balanced perspective on a highly emotional issue will find a wide audience among psychiatric and medical professionals (child, clinical, and forensic psychiatrists and psychologists; social workers; obstetricians/gynecologists and midwives; nurses; and pediatricians), legal professionals (judges, attorneys, law students), public health professionals, and interested laypersons."

Call number: RG852.I53 2003

But they are only surface advances, cautions Kantor. Because the consequences of hate crimes are a lot more severe than they used to be, gays and lesbians are being hunted down and beaten up less frequently than they once were. But people are still full of hate, just more wary of punishment so more circumspect about how they express it. In this new edition, Kantor tells in harsh detail how and why people still fire off slurs like faggot and dyke, and threaten harm, from blowing up their homes to bashing in their heads. Kantor takes us across sites in America - from city streets to hospitals, schools, broadcast stations, and churches to police departments-showing how homophobia is still very much alive. While the problem may be less acute it is still chronic, and while it may not take as many lives, it ruins perhaps even more, he explains. Homophobia is a phenomenon that in significant respects parallels mental illness, adds the psychiatrist. Education alone will not stem the homophobic tide. We also need to uncover and treat the psychoneurotic dimension of homohatred. Yes, we can admire the changes in homophobia over the last decade, but we must not forget or ignore the fact that the human beings who create homophobia haven't changed that much even over the centuries."

Call number: HQ76.25.K35 2009

Therapists Lippman and Lewis share with us the beneficial experience and positive lessons discovered in their decades working with men, women, and children to navigate divorce and still keep the security, stability, and emotional health of the children intact. Vignettes from and interviews with parents, children, and other therapists are included, and the tragic story of broken marriage is told through letters from mothers, fathers, children, and grandparents, and through the authors' answers to those letters. The responses highlight strong needs and sound approaches, to empower good times and help families face, deal with, then minimize the bad. Topics addressed include when and how to tell the children, moving out, setting schedules and visits, the need for flexibility, handling anger and frustration and assuring it does not get directed at the children, communicating, avoiding secrets, and maintaining relationships with grandparents and other relatives. At the core of this book lies one simple truth: though adult relationships may change, the love for children remains constant. Here, Lippman and Lewis educate us-in mind and heart-about how to best love and nurture our children during what can be one of the deepest losses they will face in their lifetimes."

Call number: HQ777.5.L54 2008

In this first-ever book to combine ancient mystical teachings with current career knowledge, Sue reveals how to read destiny clues (the way she reads them for clients) and create a practical plan for moving forward. She illuminates the negative patterns stopping you in your tracks and teaches you to remove them. You walk away with a fresh perspective on your life's direction, and a realization of how powerful you truly are. This is a book for:

-Anyone who feels stuck in a job

-Anyone who feels unfulfilled at work

-Anyone who questions if they're on the right track

-Anyone who yearns to do something more creative

-Anyone who dreams of a different path

-Anyone who has been fired

-Anyone who has been downsized

-Anyone who is underpaid and underappreciated

-Anyone who simply wants something different"

Call number: BF1729.O25 F74 2009

The Good Soldiers - Publisher's Marketing: "It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it the surge. "Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences," he told a skeptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.
Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning "Washington Post" reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad, and almost every grueling step of the way.
What was the true story of the surge? And was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down" with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," " The Good Soldiers" is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale--not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time."

Call number: DS79.764 .U6F56 2009

How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud - Publisher's Marketing: "In December 2008, a well-regarded member of the finance community, former NASDAQ chairman, huge charitable contributor, and pillar of New York society admitted to his sons the $65 billion he managed for hedge funds, charities, foundations, Hollywood stars, and myriad smaller investors was a fraud - a Ponzi scheme.
2008 and 2009 will be remembered for bear markets, a global credit crunch, and some of the largest investment scams ever. But these scams are nothing new - from Charles Ponzi to Robert Vesco to Bernard Madoff - they've been repeated throughout history, and there will certainly be more to come in the future. But the good news is fraudsters often follow the same basic playbook. Learn the playbook - and know how to ask the right questions - and financial fraud can be easy to detect and simple to avoid.
Some advisers start intending to embezzle. Others evolve to it as Madoff claims. Either way, it's structurally the same, and you can learn ways to identify both intended and possible future fraud. Throughout your investing life, you may be presented with opportunities that seem too good to be true. In How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud, trusted financial expert Ken Fisher provides you with an insider's view on how to spot potential financial disasters before you commit your money to a scam.
Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this reliable resource takes an engaging look at recent and historic examples of fraudsters, how they operated, and how they could have been easily avoided. Fisher then shows you quick, identifiable features of potential financial frauds and arms you with questions to ask when assessing money managers.
With this newfound knowledge, you can learn to spot red flags, such as: Advisers with direct access to investors' funds Firms with numbers that seem too good to be true? Managers with fees that are too low? Madoff didn't charge any fees, he just charged for trading! There should be a premium for integrity. Asking the right questions and performing the proper due diligence go a long way toward finding a firm that insulates you from financial fraud. With the help of trusted financial expert and bestselling author Ken Fisher, you'll be better prepared to identify and avoid financial scams that could instantly destroy the wealth you've worked so hard to build."

Call number: HV6691 .F57 2009

End the Fed - Publisher's Marketing: "In the post-meltdown world, it is irresponsible, ineffective, and ultimately useless to have a serious economic debate without considering and challenging the role of the Federal Reserve.
Most people think of the Fed as an indispensable institution without which the country's economy could not properly function. But in END THE FED, Ron Paul draws on American history, economics, and fascinating stories from his own long political life to argue that the Fed is both corrupt and unconstitutional. It is inflating currency today at nearly a Weimar or Zimbabwe level, a practice that threatens to put us into an inflationary depression where $100 bills are worthless. What most people don't realize is that the Fed -- created by the Morgans and Rockefellers at a private club off the coast of Georgia -- is actually working against their own personal interests. Congressman Paul's urgent appeal to all citizens and officials tells us where we went wrong and what we need to do fix America's economic policy for future generations."

Call number: HG2563 .P384 2009

Edible Action: Food Activism and Alternative Economics - Publisher's Marketing: "Arguing that food is peculiarly situated to address the ills of an unjust economic structure, this analysis illustrates how the food system fails growing numbers of people across the world every day. While hunger, obesity, and food-borne illness have all increased in recent years, this study reveals that ubiquitous commitments to change still exist, including food movements and enterprises dedicated to making the world a better place to eat and live. From farmers' markets to fair-trade coffee, food initiatives offer a pattern of powerful alternatives to conventional food economics; for, the guide asserts, conventional food economics only benefit a handful of people and corporations. Controversial and eloquent, this examination suggests how the general population can mobilize against an unfair economic system in order to improve their daily diets."

Call number: HD9000.5 M515 2008

The Roman period is the first in Britain in which individuals are known by name. Inscriptions, writing tablets and curse tablets give us intriguing glimpses into their private lives. Archaeological evidence shows us what sort of buildings these people lived in, and how they organised their domestic and work-related lives. Using such evidence, Lindsay Allason-Jones presents a lively and eye-opening picture of the lives of people from different strata of society and with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, who came together to create what we know today as Roman Britain. Her research into the topics of gender studies, military studies and the material culture of Roman Britain, and her career as the Director of the main museum for the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall, make Dr Allason-Jones uniquely placed to produce a balanced and authoritative book. In it, she looks at the Roman soldiers stationed in Britain (who came from all over the Empire, bringing with them their own religions, armour, methods of fighting and even their own diet) and the trade, manufacture and administration (as well as leisure activites) which took place in the towns. She describes life on farms and villas in the countryside, and the lives of people in their homes: what clothes they wore, what meals they ate, how they raised children and spent their spare time. And she discusses the varied range of religious practices involving indigenous and imported deities."

Call number: DA145.A448 2008

The Spanish Bow - Publisher's Marketing: "Debut fiction by a journalist and amateur cellist. In a dusty, turn-of-the-century Catalan village, the bequest of a cello bow sets young Feliu Delargo on the unlikely path of becoming a musician."

Call number: PS3618 .O59S68 2007

In an attempt to recapture the Islamic spirit promoted in the Qur'an, this book offers an approach that speaks to areas of life many people are concerned about. It pastes together a narrative that is more consistent and more representative of the overall Qur'anic message, which, the author contends, is ultimately one of peace and hope. Safi places the Qur'an in context, too, by examining its meaning to early recipients of the scriptures and its place in that particular social and historical context. He continues by updating that meaning for modern readers and adherents, relating the intended meaning to an evolving human audience and to contemporary experiences. The author contends that extremist readings are misinterpretations and that those who may view the Qur'an as a holy text that encourages, even demands, violence are incorrect. Ultimately, readers will come away from this work with a broader appreciation of the Qur'an and its intended meaning and message."

Call number: BP134 .L54S24 2008

Goldman draws on his experience as a corporate litigator, Oxford-trained philosopher, and businessperson to show readers how to lead organizations committed to behaving both ethically and legally in all situations. And he does it in a new way. Most books on business ethics take one of two approaches. On the one hand are books heavily laden with excerpts from the giants of moral philosophy. They are too abstract to be useful in solving day-to-day problems. On the other hand are anecdotal books that tell interesting stories. But they do little more than present conundrums, without describing any logical method business people can use to resolve the unique problems that they are sure to face in their careers. Goldman offers a different approach, one that combines illustration and principle. Covering such timely topics as sexual harassment, questionable accounting, discrimination, and ethically corrupt corporate cultures, Goldman shows readers how to recognize the distinctions between can and should, communicate and promote the organization's commitment to honesty and trust, and measure the rewards. Even better, the book offers methods for solving key problems businesses face day in and day out. The result? Readers will stay on the straight and narrow path-to a great company culture, satisfying work, and financial success."

Call number: HF5387.G645 2008

Fascination with snakes has been around since the dawn of time. Even today, images of snakes attract attention, fear, disgust, or admiration. Morgan examines that obsession with this mysterious creature, covering in vivid details such topics as mythical snakes like the Plumed Serpent, serpent iconography, tall tales, as well as the psychological symbolism that has attached itself to snakes. Cultures as diverse as pre-Columbian America, India, Egypt, China, sub-Saharan Africa, Celtic Europe, and the United States have all accorded the serpent a special place in their culture-apparently regardless of whether or not real snakes play an important part in the life of the people. Here, the mysterious nature of the snake unfolds, enchanting readers with a colorful and lively discussion of its place in our history, stories, religions, and cultures."

Call number: GR740 .M67 2008

Furthermore, today's trend of associating all religion with suspicion has spiraled into a dangerous situation-that in discarding all religion because some of it causes harm, one risks throwing away the baby with the bathwater. Books such as "When Religion Becomes Evil" by Charles Kimball, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel Dennett, and "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" by Christopher Hitchens have created quite a sensation, leaving the impression that religion, at its root, brings more heartache than handshakes. This development has dismayed many scholars, students, and practitioners of religion, of all faiths, who believe that only half the story-the negative half-is being told. Although demonstrating that certain religious beliefs have surely contributed to the violence that has occurred in this century, this book also explores how other religious teachings can help solve the epidemic of violence."

Call number: BL60.P34 2008

As Rejali traces the development and application of one torture technique after another in these settings, he reaches startling conclusions. As the twentieth century progressed, he argues, democracies not only tortured, but set the international pace for torture. Dictatorships may have tortured more, and more indiscriminately, but the United States, Britain, and France pioneered and exported techniques that have become the lingua franca of modern torture: methods that leave no marks. Under the watchful eyes of reporters and human rights activists, low-level authorities in the world's oldest democracies were the first to learn that to scar a victim was to advertise iniquity and invite scandal. Long before the CIA even existed, police and soldiers turned instead to "clean" techniques, such as torture by electricity, ice, water, noise, drugs, and stress positions. As democracy and human rights spread after World War II, so too did these methods.

Rejali makes this troubling case in fluid, arresting prose and on the basis of unprecedented research--conducted in multiple languages and on several continents--begun years before most of us had ever heard of Osama bin Laden or Abu Ghraib. The author of a major study of Iranian torture, Rejali also tackles the controversial question of whether torture really works, answering the new apologists for torture point by point. A brave and disturbing book, this is the benchmark against which all future studies of modern torture will be measured."

Call number: HV8593.R44 2007

Controversy fills these pages, from discussion of ADHD and the debate over its justifiability as a disability to public reactions regarding the ruling in Love's case and others. Comparisons and contrasts are also raised between the Love trial and earlier cases involving people claiming psychological disabilities who fought actions by The National Board of Medical Examiners, United Airlines, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, the Georgia State Board of Veterinary Medicine, and other organizations. Do the decisions help or harm disability rights and people with disabilities? Gordon offers the insights not only of a psychologist, but a seasoned legal insider who has testified as an expert witness at many of the trials."

Call number: KF228 .L684 G67 2009

Creating Young Martyrs: Conditions That Make Dying in a Terrorist Attack Seem Like a Good Idea - Publisher's Marketing: "The authors explain how and why we must understand the conditions that spur youths to become martyrs by making them think suicide bombings and other acts of self-destructive terrorism are a good way to die. LoCicero and Sinclair present cutting-edge research and theory about the political, social, and living conditions that raise the risk of children deciding to join organizations that use terrorist tactics, and, having joined, to volunteer for missions in which they intentionally die while causing death and destruction, in order to make an impact. Equally important, LoCicero and Sinclair offer concrete suggestions about how ordinary Americans can help reduce and prevent terrorism around the globe."

Call number: HV6431.L63 2008

While focusing on the experience of men in ancient Greece, the discussion also offers an analysis of the society in which they lived, addressing questions still vital in our own time, such as how the members of a society should govern themselves, distribute resources, form relationships with others, weigh the needs of the individual against the larger good of the community, and establish right relations with divine forces beyond their knowledge or control. Suggestions for further reading offer the reader the chance to explore the ideas in the book."

Call number: DF93.V36 2008

Chapter 1 covers his birth into a strong Xhosa family and clan, with cultural, historical, and geographical context, and the next chapter follows his elite education path, taking into consideration the forces and people who helped shape the future leader. Chapter 3 discusses his law practice, African National Congress work, and his first wife. Chapters 4-6 continue with his growing political involvement and family. Chapter 7 and 8 deal with the long imprisonment and then freedom. The final chapters discuss his presidency and Nobel Peace Prize and life today. A timeline, photo essay, and selected bibliography complement the narrative."

Call number: DT1974.L56 2008

Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence - Publisher's Marketing: "Say the words domestic violence, and images of battered women come to mind. Yet the more accurate picture is different, and it crosses genders. According to surveys and crime statistics, a "man" is battered every 37.8 seconds in domestic violence incidents across America. Surveys show women strike the first blow in about half of the domestic disputes nationwide, and a National Violence Against Women survey even unexpectedly found that nearly 40 percent of domestic violence victims annually are men. Police in states nationwide are receiving training in how to identify the primary aggressor in domestic violence, and police crackdowns on spouse/partner abuse are netting more and more arrests of women as the abusers. It is not a form of violence particular to America, as similar increases in female batterers and arrests are being reported in England, too, and across Europe. Add to that the newly recognized and increasing incidence of male abuse during domestic violence in gay couples, and it's clear why Philip W. Cook's book, "Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence"(Praeger, 1997) drew attention and praise nationwide from people and media varying from CNN and Fox network's "The O'Reilly Factor" to scholarly publications like "The Journal of Marriage and Family " and popular household advice sources including "Dear Abby" and "Ask Amy" columns. On the 10th anniversary of that groundbreaking book, Cook began revising and expanding his work, resulting in this 2nd edition of a disturbing look at a trend that has in the last 10 years only increased. Millions of men are victims of abuse, and those spotlighted in this new edition include gay men increasingly the target of violence by their partners."

Call number: HV6626.2 .C65 2009

"Bioterror: Anthrax, Influenza, and the Future of Public Health Security" utilizes a large number of sources from within both the public health and public policy communities to document how each sector responded to the anthrax attacks and re-emergent infectious diseases, and how those responses have evolved to the present day, As with other areas of homeland security, sustained progress in public health security is not likely until basic questions about funding priorities and leadership are successfully addressed. In the response to the only mass casualty event in the United States since 2001, Hurricane Katrina, and in various emergency simulation exercises such as TOPOFF series, major performance deficiencies have been observed. This book brings together a variety of sources, the best available evidence on the status of the public health security system at three distinct points: before 2001; during and immediately after the anthrax attacks; and in the period from 2004 to the present."

Call number: HV6433.35 .J64 2008

The Defector - Publisher's Marketing: "In this extraordinary follow-up to the bestselling "Moscow Rules," Gabriel Allon returns to find himself once more on the front lines of the secret war between East and West. Allon uncovers a deadly conspiracy and, in order to stop it, he must risk everything--even his life."

Call number: PS3619 .I5443 D44 2009

Sufficient: A Modern Guide to Sustainable Living - Publisher's Marketing: "Many of us want to make a shift in our lives by slowing down and consuming less, embracing artisan foods, and championing human-scale organic growing methods as safe, compassionate, and pleasurable. "Sufficient" is a book to inspire, educate and encourage a process of change towards a simple, gentle, and sustainable way of living. This guide to starting that process, however and wherever the reader currently lives in the world, features passionate approach to understanding why changes need to be made and how they can be achieved in a fun and life-enhancing way. It is a new concept, the central aim of which is to encourage the practice of sustainability, taking it from its niche following and bringing it into the mainstream consciousness via a practical everyday manual."

Call number: GF78 .P48 2007

Virtual Shadows - Publisher's Marketing: "Vast amounts of personal data on private individuals are being generated from a wide range of sources including social networking sites, government databases, and even the humble supermarket loyalty card. Oqvist discusses the wider implications of these developments and how to safeguard privacy."

Call number: HM851 .O68 2009

Written by an experienced MD who is also a father of four, this pocketsize reference guide includes essential basic information about vaccines and the public health rationale behind them, a complete explanation of the recommended vaccine schedule for children, and detailed information on each specific vaccine. It also includes full disclosure of all the possible vaccine side effects, situations when you shouldn't vaccinate, and an unbiased explanation of recent controversies involving vaccines, including the purported link between vaccines and autism.

The Vaccine Answer Book is a parent's must-have guide to fully understanding this hot-button issue and making confident, informed decisions. Readers will find trusted answers to questions such as: How effective are vaccines? What is thimerosal and why was it removed from childhood vaccines? Is there a link between MMR and autism? What should I do if I decide that I don't want to vaccinate my child or want to choose an alternative vaccine schedule? Is it better to get vaccinations in a group or to spread them out?"

Call number: RJ240.L64 2009

Ships Without a Shore: America's Undernurtured Children

Call number: HQ769.P575 2008

In order to find out the impact of same-sex marriage, M. V. Lee Badgett traveled to a land where it has been legal for same-sex couples to marry since 2001: the Netherlands. Badgett interviews gay couples to find out how this step has affected their lives. We learn about the often surprising changes to their relationships, the reactions of their families, and work colleagues. Moreover, Badgett is interested in the ways that the institution itself has been altered for the larger society. How has the concept of marriage changed? When Gay People Get Married gives readers a primer on the current state of the same-sex marriage debate, and a new way of framing the issue that provides valuable new insights into the political, social, and personal stakes involved.

The experiences of other countries and these pioneering American states serve as a crystal ball as we grapple with this polarizing issue in the American context. The evidence shows both that marriage changes gay people more than gay people change marriage, and that it is the most liberal countries and states making the first move to recognize gay couples. In the end, Badgett compellingly shows that allowing gay couples to marry does not destroy the institution of marriage and that many gay couples do benefit, in expected as well as surprising ways, from the legal, social, and political rights that the institution offers."

Call number: K699 .B33 2009

What Causes ADHD?: Understanding What Goes Wrong and Why - Publisher's Marketing: "Synthesizing a wealth of recent neuropsychological research, this groundbreaking book focuses on the multiple pathways by which attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) develops. Joel T. Nigg marshals the best available knowledge on what is actually going on in the symptomatic child's brain and why, tracing the intersecting causal influences of genetic, neural, and environmental factors. In the process, the book confronts such enduring controversies as the validity of ADHD as a clinical construct. Specific suggestions are provided for studies that might further refine the conceptualization of the disorder, with significant potential benefits for treatment and prevention."

Call number: RJ506 .H9N52 2006

The Parents We Mean to Be: How Well-Intentioned Adults Undermine Children's Moral and Emotional Development - Publisher's Marketing: "Harvard psychologist RichardWeissbourd argues incisively that parents--not peers, not television--are the primary shapers of their children's moral lives. And yet, it is parents' lack of self-awareness and confused priorities that are dangerously undermining children's development.
Through the author's own original field research, including hundreds of rich, revealing conversations with children, parents, teachers, and coaches, a surprising picture emerges.
Parents' intense focus on their children's happiness is turning many children into self-involved, fragile conformists.The suddenly widespread desire of parents to be closer to their children--a heartening trend in many ways--often undercuts kids'morality.Our fixation with being great parents--and our need for our children to reflect that greatness--can actually make them feel ashamed for failing to measure up. Finally, parents' interactions with coaches and teachers--and coaches' and teachers' interactions with children--are critical arenas for nurturing, or eroding, children's moral lives.
Weissbourd's ultimately compassionate message--based on compelling new research--is that the intense, crisis-filled, and profoundly joyous process of raising a child can be a powerful force for our own moral development."

Call number: HQ772 .W365 2009

Overcoming Information Overload - Publisher's Marketing: "Information is unlimited, but our ability to manage it is not. But while overload can come from any number of sources and affects every individual differently, the root cause of information overload is the same for everyone--the shift in perception from being in control to chaos. This book is for anyone who feels helpless and frustrated as a result of information overload. It is also essential reading for anyone who has more work than time, is reluctant to speed-read in case vital information is missed, or regularly deals with difficult, dull, or technical information. Each chapter will include top tips for immediate results, answers to key questions on how to get out of overload (and avoid it happening again), and strategies that work."

Call number: HD30.2 .K664 2008

NYPD Confidential: Power and Corruption in the Country's Greatest Police Force - Publisher's Marketing: "With amazing details of backroom deals and larger-than-life powerbrokers, Levitt lays bare the backstabbing, power-grabs, and chaotic internal investigations that have run the NYPD's reputation into the ground in the past--and the forces conspiring to do so once again."

Call number: HV8148 .N5L395 2009

"Taking Back the Tower" focuses squarely on bringing common sense to higher education by urging creative thinking, especially out-of-the-box approaches, in promoting change. It offers numerous solutions, many of which will be seen as quite controversial by the establishment. Smith outlines how to overcome resistance to change, lead more effectively, demand accountability for performance, manage resources for the highest return, remain firm with tuition payers and donors when warranted, manage costs to help keep the price of an education contained, and much more. The secret is in managing the few key variables that will have the biggest impact on overall results. The ideas are wholly practical and much less philosophical than those in most books on the subject. Following them will help schools improve results across the board. Smith's decades of experience as both a teacher and administrator in academia, as well as a consultant for many public and private-sector organizations, make him the perfect author for this book. Moreover, his insights, coupled with the many enlightening and entertaining examples (all true) will capture the attention of readers and help them understand why change must come-and why it must be radical."

Call number: LA227.4 .S582 2009

Today's dangerous world calls for daily personal power that overcomes paranoia and puts people back in control of their lives and their sense of safety. Drawing on 34 years of law enforcement work and training, co-authors Doug Graves and Jana Kemp present useful information and practical guidelines for keeping yourself, family members, and co-workers as safe as possible every day. "Prepared-Not Paranoid" presents methods for recognizing challenges or threats, innovative ways of thinking about safety, checklists with actions to take in various settings, and items to have handy when traveling to the local convenience store or around the world. This book serves as a guide for safe daily living, not as a self-defense manual. The authors raise awareness and offer important information so people feel more confident moving through daily life as safely as possible."

Call number: HV7431 .K444 2008

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States terrorism became a topic for the masses to explore, rather than the hidden purview of analysts and scholars tucked away at the CIA or in the ivory tower. Now, more than five years later, there remains much to be discovered about terrorism and its causes. This volume takes a look at some of terrorism's unanswered questions. How do we define terrorism? What threat does the United States face from weapons of mass destruction? Why has international law failed to stop terrorism? These are but three of the questions addressed in this volume. While the editors do not claim to have all of the answers, they do promise a view of terrorism not seen before."

Call number: HV6431.T45695 2009

The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country - Publisher's Marketing: "The Center for American Progress, an influential liberal think tank, offers fresh ideas and a bold new vision for Americans who are hungry for change and demanding answers to questions concerning terrorism, the conflict in Iraq, rising health-care costs, and other pertinent issues."

Call number: JK2316 .P63 2008

Planetary Apothecary: An Astrological Approach to Health and Wellness - Publisher's Marketing: "The Keys to Wellness Are Written in the Stars
From impulsive Aries to balance-seeking Libra, methodical Virgo to sensitive Pisces, each astrological personality is distinct, with specific needs of body, mind, and spirit. In Planetary Apothecary, astrologer and nutritionist Stephanie Gailing offers a modern approach to the ancient healing art of medical astrology. You'll find wellness and lifestyle recommendations customized for your zodiac sign, including:
- Health-Supporting Foods and Eating Tips
- Spa and Wellness Therapies
- Relaxation Practices
- Yoga Poses
- Aromatherapy
- Natural Remedies
- Flower Essences
Filled with strategies and inspiration for nurturing body and soul, Planetary Apothecary brings the healing wisdom of the planets within reach to help you optimize your physical health and emotional well-being."

Call number: BF1718 .G26 2009

Although Peoples Temple has some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shares many characteristics of Black Religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand the organization within the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times, and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple. Here, Moore, who lost three family members in the events in Guyana, offers a framework of U.S. social, cultural, and political history that helps readers better understand Peoples Temple and its members."

Call number: BP605 .P46M66 2009

Isenberg organizes his work thematically, addressing all facets of PMCs in the current conflict from identifying who the most influential companies are and how they got to that point, to the issues that the government, military, and contractors themselves face when they take the field. He also analyzes the problem of command, control, and accountability. It is no secret that PMCs have been the source of consternation and grief to American military commanders in the field. As they work to establish more routine protocols in the field, however, questions are also being raised about the role of the contractors here at home. The domestic political arena is perhaps the most crucial battleground on which the contractors must have success. After all, they make their corporate living off of taxpayer dollars, and as such, calls for regulation have resonated throughout Washington, D.C., growing louder as the profile of PMCs increases during the current conflict."

Call number: DS79.76 .I82 2009

Protecting Endangered Species in the United States: Biological Needs, Political Realities, Economic Choices - Publisher's Marketing: "Protecting Endangered Species in the United States is a collection of original papers by economists, biologists and political scientists with a common theme--protecting species at risk while safeguarding social order is a policy challenge that entangles biology, politics, and economics. The volume begins by assessing the biological needs that define the endangered species problem. The authors then explore the political realities that delimit the debate--who pays the costs and receives the benefits, and how interest groups affect species protection. The book addresses the economic choices that must be confronted for effective protection strategies including incentive schemes to promote preservation on public and private land."

Call number: QH76 .P755 2001

Battle in Seattle

Call number: A/V PN1997 .B377 2009 DVD

Being There - Summary: "The president and a power broker heed the utterings of a simple gardener who likes to watch TV. Best supporting Oscar for Melvyn Douglas."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .B4464 2001 DVD

Amos & Andrew - Summary: "A car thief helps inept police when they overreact to reports of a burglar in an exclusive neighborhood."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .A8336 2001 DVD

The Client - Summary: "Eleven-year-old Mark Sway learns too much about the Mob when a Mafia lawyer reveals information before he kills himself. A hotshot prosecutor wants Mark's testimony. Caught between the Mob and the Feds, he seeks refuge with a lady lawyer."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .C5645 1997 DVD

Honeymoon in Vegas - Summary: "A Las Vegas gambler wins a Hawaii fling with a private eye's bride during a convention of Elvis impersonators. Directed by Andrew Bergman."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .H756 2000 DVD

A Woman Under the Influence - Summary: "The loving wife of a blue-collar boss somehow crosses the line from quirkiness to madness. Directed by John Cassavetes."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .W8525 2004 DVD

Stop-Loss - Summary: "Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. Brandon tries to resume the life he left behind with the help and support of his loving family, and his best friend, Steve Shriver, who served with Brandon in Iraq. Alongside their war-time buddies, Brandon and Steve try to make peace with civilian life. Then, against Brandon's will, a Stop-Loss order is issued by the Army which indefinitely extends his enlistment and forces him back to Iraq. This devastating change upends Brandon's entire world. The conflict into which he is thrown tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .S756 2008 DVD

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Movie - Summary: "Through contact with a mysterious substance called Ooze, four little turtles in the canalization of New York mutate to giant pizza-loving turtles. The wise rat and mentor, Splinter, educates them into Ninja fighters. Their arch-enemy Shredder, struggles to gain power over the world while the Ninja Turtles try everything to stop him."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .T4411 1997 DVD

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth - Summary: "In this acclaimed PBS series, Bill Moyers conducts an exhilarating journey into the mind and spirit of a remarkable man, legendary teacher and masterful storyteller as Joseph Campbell explains the rudimentary basics of mythology and symbolism."

Call number: A/V BL311 .J674 2005 DVD

Julius Caesar Call number:A/V PR2821 .A2 J85587 2006 DVD

Reflections in a Golden Eye Call number: A/V PN1997 .R442 2006 DVD

The Teahouse of the August Moon Call number: A/V PN1997 .T4346874 2006 DVD

Made for Each Other - Summary: "A young lawyer starts a family with the woman he loves instead of with his boss's daughter."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .M236 1998 DVD

The Razor's Edge - Summary: "Somerset Maugham's Larry Darrell goes to Paris and Tibet to find the meaning of life. Best supporting Oscar for Anne Baxter."

Call number: A/V PR6025 .A86 R32 2005 DVD

Open Season 2 - Summary: "Boog (Mike Epps) and Elliot (Joel McHale) are back for more crazy adventures! After falling head over hooves in love with Giselle (Jane Krakowski), Elliot's road to the altar takes a slight detour when Mr. Weenie (Cody Cameron) is kidnapped by a group of pampered pets determined to return him to his owners. Boog, Elliot, McSquizzy (Billy Connelly), Buddy and the rest of the woodland creatures launch a full-scale rescue mission for their sausage-shaped friend and soon find themselves in enemy camp: the world of the pets. Led by a toy poodle named Fifi (Crispin Glover), the pets do not plan to let Mr. Weenie go without a fight."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .O645.2 2009 DVD

2 Days in Paris - Summary: "2 DAYS IN PARIS follows a New York couple, French photographer Marion (Julie Delpy), and American interior designer Jack (Adam Goldberg), as they attempt to re-infuse their relationship with romance on a European vacation. Their week in Venice didn't work out as planned - The food didn't agree with Jack and, when he was well enough to go out, he was so focused on capturing the trip with his digital camera that he forgot to experience it. They have higher hopes for their last 2 days in Paris. But the combination of Marion's offbeat and overbearing non-English speaking parents and flirtatious ex-boyfriends, with Jack's continuing photography obsession and conviction that French condoms are too small, don't make for an auspicious beginning... Will they be able to salvage their relationship? Will they ever have sex again? Or will they merely manage to perfect the art of arguing?"

Call number: A/V PN1997 .A124 2008 DVD

Priceless - Summary: "Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a shy young bartender, is mistaken for a millionaire by a beautiful, scheming opportunist named Irene (Audrey Tautou). When Irene discovers his true identity, she abandons him, only to find that a love-struck Jean has no intention of letting her get away. Jeans comical attempts to gain her affections gradually evolve into setting himself up as a gigolo at a luxury hotel, until Irene finally starts to warm to her persistent, persuasive suitor. Against the wildly atmospheric backdrop of the south of France, Pierre Salvadori (APRES VOUS) directs this sexy and thoroughly charming romantic comedy, which is a fresh re-imagining of the cinema classic, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .P7465 2008 DVD

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Summary: "As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army. Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side."

Call number: A/V PN1997 .S7338.7 2008 DVD

The Book of Codes: Understanding the World of Hidden Messages - Publisher's Marketing: "The art of the code-code making and code breaking--remains shrouded in mystery and seems locked away in the murky realms of military intelligence, spies, and secret services. Yet codes affect virtually every area of our lives, providing security, protecting identity, and enabling us to connect via the Internet across global boundaries. This lavishly illustrated encyclopedia surveys the history and development of code making and code breaking in all areas of culture and society-from hieroglyphs and runes to DNA, the Zodiac Killer, "The Da Vinci Code, " graffiti, and beyond. Beginning with the first codes, including those found in the natural world and among ancient peoples, the book casts a wide net, exploring secret societies, codes of war, codes of the underworld, commerce, human behavior, and civilization itself. Editor Paul Lunde and an extraordinary group of specialists have compiled the most comprehensive and complete collection of codes available. Visually stunning and packed with fascinating details, "The Book of Codes" tells the complete story of codes at a time when they have become fundamentally important to our lives."

Call number: Z103 .B66 2009

"The Doomsday Key"

At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peter's Basilica. In Africa, a U.S. senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. The three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their flesh.

The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a race against time to solve a riddle going back centuries, to a ghastly crime against humanity hidden within a cryptic medieval codex. The first clue is discovered inside a mummified corpse buried in an English peat bog--a gruesome secret that threatens America and the world.

Aided by two women from his past--one his exlover, the other his new partner--Gray must piece together the horrifying truth. But the revelations come at a high cost, and to save the future, Gray will have to sacrifice one of the women at his side. That alone might not be enough, as the true path to salvation is revealed in a dark prophecy of doom.

Sigma Force confronts humankind's greatest threat in an adventure that races from the Roman Coliseum to the icy peaks of Norway, from the ruins of medieval abbeys to the lost tombs of Celtic kings. The ultimate nightmare is locked within a talisman buried by a dead saint--an ancient artifact known as the Doomsday Key."

Call number: PS3568 .O5398 D66 2009

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America - Publisher's Marketing: "Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America' s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair' s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country' s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his " World' s Fair Hotel" just west of the fairgrounds-- a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium. Burnham overcame tremendous obstacles and tragedies as he organized the talents of Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles McKim, Louis Sullivan, and others to transform swampy Jackson Park into the White City, while Holmes used the attraction of the great fair and his own satanic charms to lure scores of young women to their deaths. What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.
The Devil in the White City draws the reader into a time of magic and majesty, made all the more appealing by a supporting cast of real-life characters, including Buffalo Bill, Theodore Dreiser, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and others. In this book the smoke, romance, and mystery of the Gilded Age come alive as never before.
Erik Larson' s gifts as a storyteller are magnificently displayed in this rich narrative of the master builder, the killer, and the great fair that obsessed them both.
To find out more about thi sbook, go to http://www.DevilInTheWhiteCity.com."

Call number: HV6248 .M8 L37 2003

Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History - Publisher's Marketing: "Margaret MacMillan, an acclaimed historian and "great storyteller" ("The New York Review of Books"), explores here the many ways in which history-its values and dangers-affects us all, including how it is used and abused. "The New York Times "bestselling author of Paris 1919 and Nixon and Mao" "reveals how a deeper engagement with history in our private lives and, more important, in the sphere of public debate can guide us to a richer, more enlightened existence, as individuals and nations. Alive with incident and figures both great and infamous, including Robespierre, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and George W. Bush, Dangerous Games explores why it is important to treat history with care.
History is used to justify religious movements and political campaigns alike. The manipulation of history is increasingly pervasive in today's world. Dictators may suppress history because it undermines their ideas, agendas, or claims to absolute authority. Nationalists may tell false, one-sided, or misleading stories about the past. Political leaders might mobilize their people by telling lies. Adolf Hitler, for instance, blamed the Jews for Germany's humiliation at Versailles and its defeat in World War I. It is imperative that we have an understanding of the past and avoid the all-too-common traps in thinking to which many fall prey-as MacMillan skillfully illuminates. This brilliantly reasoned work will compel us to examine history anew, including our own understanding of it, and our own closely held beliefs."

Call number: D16.8 .M251 2009

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers - Publisher's Marketing: "One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now. What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers--right from the belly of the beast.
In "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense," Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done. The book is couched in the very human story of Larry McDonald's Horatio Alger-like rise from a Massachusetts "gateway to nowhere" housing project to the New York headquarters of Lehman Brothers, home of one of the world's toughest trading floors.
We get a close-up view of the participants in the Lehman collapse, especially those who saw it coming with a helpless, angry certainty. We meet the Brahmins at the top, whose reckless, pedal-to-the-floor addiction to growth finally demolished the nation's oldest investment bank. The Wall Street we encounter here is a ruthless place, where brilliance, arrogance, ambition, greed, capacity for relentless toil, and other human traits combine in a potent mix that sometimes fuels prosperity but occasionally destroys it.
The full significance of the dissolution of Lehman Brothers remains to be measured. But this much is certain: it was a devastating blow to America's--and the world's--financial system. And it need not have happened. This is the story of why it did."

Call number: HB3722 .M34 2009

The Alternative Hero - Publisher's Marketing: "What do you do if you're a failed music fanzine writer in your early thirties with a dead-end job, and the best moment of your life occurred when you went to your first Thieving Magpies gig as a teenager and suddenly you "belonged" in a way you never had before, and the worst moment of your life occurred about six years later when Lance Webster, the Magpies' lead singer, self-destructed on stage before your eyes--basically taking you with him--and just today you've discovered that Lance lives down the street from you?
If you're Clive Beresford--the haplessly obsessed guy at the center of Tim Thornton's wildly comic and energetic debut novel--you get remarkably drunk and write and deliver a note to your idol (the contents of which you can't remember the next morning), which causes two very large bouncer types to appear at your door warning you to back off, which, in turn, causes you to hide your true identity when you do finally meet Lance, totally by accident (he's come a long way since the Magpies, but he is still LANCE F**CKING WEBSTER!) . . . none of which deters you from believing--really believing--that he could still save your life if only you could get that "earth-shattering exclusive" interview with him.
With the story shifting between Clive's life-changing Magpies past and his frantic present, we get a headlong, boisterous coming-of-age (if-not-quite-growing-up) romp and a warmhearted, hilarious view of friendship, hero worship, and the full-blast power of music to help us become, at the very least, who we would like to think we are."

Call number: PS3620 .H785 A48 2009

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science - Publisher's Marketing: "A riveting history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science.
When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, he hoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific ferment sweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cook on his first "Endeavour "voyage in search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery--astronomical, chemical, poetical, philosophical--swiftly follow in Richard Holmes's original evocation of what truly emerges as an Age of Wonder.
Brilliantly conceived as a relay of scientific stories, "The Age of Wonder" investigates the earliest ideas of deep time and space, and the explorers of "dynamic science," of an infinite, mysterious Nature waiting to be discovered. Three lives dominate the book: William Herschel and his sister Caroline, whose dedication to the study of the stars forever changed the public conception of the solar system, the Milky Way, and the meaning of the universe; and Humphry Davy, who, with only a grammar school education stunned the scientific community with his near-suicidal gas experiments that led to the invention of the miners' lamp and established British chemistry as the leading professional science in Europe. This age of exploration extended to great writers and poets as well as scientists, all creators relishing in moments of high exhilaration, boundary-pushing and discovery.
Holmes's extraordinary evocation of this age of wonder shows how great ideas and experiments--both successes and failures--were born of singular and often lonely dedication, and how religious faith and scientific truth collide. He has written a book breathtaking in its originality, its storytelling energy, and its intellectual significance."

Call number: Q127 .G4 H65 2008

Marx's General: The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels - Publisher's Marketing: "A remarkable new biography from one of Britain's leading young historians that recovers the co-founder of communism from the shadows of historyFriedrich Engels is one of the most intriguing and contradictory figures of the nineteenth century. Born to a prosperous Prussian mercantile family, he spent his life working in the Manchester cotton industry, riding to the Cheshire hounds, and enjoying the comfortable upper-middle-class existence of a Victorian gentleman.
Yet Engels was also, with Karl Marx, the founder of international communism, which in the twentieth century came to govern one-third of the human race. He was the coauthor of "The Communist Manifesto," a ruthless party tactician, and the man who sacrificed his best years so that Marx could write "Das Kapital." His searing account of the Industrial Revolution, "The Condition of the Working Class in England," remains one of the most haunting and brutal indictments of the human costs of capitalism. Far more than Marx's indispensable aide, Engels was a profound thinker in his own right--on warfare, feminism, urbanism, Darwinism, technology, and colonialism. With fierce clarity, he predicted the social effects of today's free-market fundamentalism and unstoppable globalization.
Drawing on a wealth of letters and archives, acclaimed historian Tristram Hunt plumbs Engels's intellectual legacy and shows us how one of the great "bon viveurs" of Victorian Britain reconciled his exuberant personal life with his radical political philosophy. Set against the backdrop of revolutionary Europe and industrializing England--of Manchester mills, Paris barricades, and East End strikes--"Marx's General" tells a story of devoted friendship, class compromise, ideological struggle, and family betrayal. And it tackles head-on the question of Engels's influence: was Engels, after Marx's death, responsible for some of the most devastating turns of twentieth-century history, or was the idealism of his thought distorted by those who claimed to be his followers?
An epic history and riveting biography, "Marx's General "at last brings Engels out from the shadow of his famous friend and collaborator."

Call number: HX274.7 .E53 H896 2009

Rising Plague: The Global Threat from Deadly Bacteria and Our Dwindling Arsenal to Fight Them - Publisher's Marketing: "Astoundingly, at the same time that antibiotic resistant infections are skyrocketing in incidencecreating a critical need for new antibioticsresearch and development of new antibiotics has ground to a screeching halt!"

Call number: QR177 .S64 2009

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Publisher's Marketing: "Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine "Millennium, " has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.
But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander--the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, " and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of "The Girl Who Played with Fire."
As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander's innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all."

Call number: PT9876.22 .A6933 F5713 2009

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Publisher's Marketing: "A sensation across Europe--millions of copies sold
A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.
It's about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.
It's about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it--who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism--and an unexpected connection between themselves.
It's a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives."

Call number: PT9876.22 .A6933 M3613 2008

Childhood Obesity - Publisher's Marketing: "Studies show that obesity rates of school-aged children have tripled in the last 30 years. Through objective discussion, numerous direct quotes, and full-color illustrations this title examines What Are the Origins of Childhood Obesity? How Serious Is Childhood Obesity? What Are the Causes of Childhood Obesity? Can Childhood Obesity Be Reversed? Can Childhood Obesity Be Prevented?"

Call number: RJ399 .C6 J84 2009

The Greeks: History, Culture, and Society - Publisher's Marketing: "Organized chronologically, this book presents a complete picture of Greek civilization as a history. It features sections on the art, architecture, literature, and thought of each period. Names and dates are provided, and cultural achievements and social transformations that accompanied the cascade of historical events are carefully examined. This comprehensive, balanced treatment of ancient Greece covers its history from the prehistoric through the Mycenaean Period, the Dark Ages, the Classical Period, the Hellenistic, and the absorption of Greek culture by Rome."

Call number: DF214 .M69 2010

Through Black Spruce - Publisher's Marketing: "This work from the author of "Three Day Road" finds Will Bird, a legendary Cree bush pilot, lying in a coma. His niece has returned from her own perilous journey to sit beside his bed. Broken in different ways, the two take silent communion in their unspoken kinship."

Call number: PR9199.4 .B69 T49 2009

Three Day Road - Publisher's Marketing: "In this powerful and mesmerizing debut, Joseph Boyden reinvents the tradition of Great War epics like "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Birdsong." It is 1919 and Niska, an Oji- Cree medicine woman, has left her home in the bush of northern Ontario to retrieve Xavier Bird, her only relation, who has returned from the trenches of Europe. Gravely wounded and addicted to morphine, Xavier recounts how he and his best friend, Elijah Whiskeyjack, prowled the battlefields as snipers of enormous skillaand how the circumstances of their deadly craft led them to very different fates. Told with unblinking focus, this is a stunning tale of brutality, survival, and rebirth that marks the arrival of a prodigious new talent."

Call number: PR9199.4 .B69 T48 2005

Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown - Publisher's Marketing: "Chronicling the fiasco that sank millions of Americans, including one journalist, who thought he knew better, "Busted" is a darkly humorous exploration of the cynicism and self-destructive judgment that led to America's biggest economic calamity in generations."

Call number: HG2040.5 .U5 A753 2009

While most women who suffer postpartum psychosis eventually recover without harming anyone, they most often do so in silence. Paranoia is a common symptom, explains Twomey, and that moves women to hide their symptoms from everyone around them. The woman can hence appear normal, but be putting both herself and her baby at risk. We can prevent and treat this, but we need to recognize it by better screening of women postpartum, says Twomey."

Call number: HQ749 .T69 2009

Best Friends Forever -

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."

"Best Friends Forever" is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It's about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together."

Call number: PS 3573 .E3935 B47 2009

On Friday, August 15, 1969, a crowd of 400,000 -- an unprecedented and unexpected number at the time -- gathered on Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York for a weekend of rock 'n' roll, the new form of American music that had emerged only a decade earlier. For America's counterculture youth, Woodstock became a symbol of more than just sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll -- it was about peace, love, and a new way of living. It was a seminal event that epitomized the ways that the culture, the country, and the core values of an entire generation were shifting. On one glorious weekend, this generation found its voice through one outlet: music.

"Back to the Garden" celebrates the music and the spirit of Woodstock through the words of some of the era's biggest musical stars, as well as those who participated in the festival. From Richie Havens's legendary opening act to the Who's violent performance, from the Grateful Dead's jam to Jefferson Airplane's wake-up call, culminating in Jimi Hendrix's career-defining moment, Fornatale brings new stories to light and sets the record straight on some common misperceptions. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, authoritative, and highly entertaining, "Back to the Garden" is the soon-to-be classic telling of three days of peace and music."

Call number: ML38 .B43 W64 2009

Babysitter: An American History

Informed by her research on the history of teenage girls' culture, Forman-Brunell analyzes the babysitter, who has embodied adults' fundamental apprehensions about girls' pursuit of autonomy and empowerment. In fact, the grievances go both ways, as girls have been distressed by unsatisfactory working conditions. In her quest to gain a fuller picture of this largely unexamined cultural phenomenon, Forman-Brunell analyzes a wealth of diverse sources, such as "The Baby-sitter's Club" book series, horror movies like "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," urban legends, magazines, newspapers, television shows, pornography, and more.

Forman-Brunell shows that beyond the mundane, understandable apprehensions stirred by hiring a caretaker to "mind the children" in one's own home, babysitters became lightning rods for society's larger fears about gender and generational change. In the end, experts' efforts to tame teenage girls with training courses, handbooks, and other texts failed to prevent generations from turning their backs on babysitting."

Call number: HQ769.5 .F67 2009

After the senseless murder of his wife, Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley retreated to Cornwall, where he has spent six solitary weeks hiking the bleak and rugged coastline. But no matter how far he walks, no matter how exhausting his days, the painful memories of Helen's death do not diminish.

On the forty-third day of his walk, at the base of a cliff, Lynley discovers the body of a young man who appears to have fallen to his death. The closest town, better known for its tourists and its surfing than its intrigue, seems an unlikely place for murder. However, it soon becomes apparent that a clever killer is indeed at work, and this time Lynley is not a detective but a witness and possibly a suspect.

The head of the vastly understaffed local police department needs Lynley's help, though, especially when it comes to the mysterious, secretive woman whose cottage lies not far from where the body was discovered. But can Lynley let go of the past long enough to solve a most devious and carefully planned crime?"

Call number: PS3557 .E478 C37 2008

There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy -- and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third.

Seamlessly weaving between Tempe's present-tense terror as she's held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs conveys the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds. Reichs is writing at the top of her game."

Call number: PS3568 .E476345 A616 2009

$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better - Publisher's Marketing: "Imagine an everyday world in which the price of gasoline (and oil) continues to go up, and up, and up. Think about the immediate impact that would have on our lives.
Of course, everybody already knows how about gasoline has affected our driving habits. People can't wait to junk their gas-guzzling SUVs for a new Prius. But there are more, not-so-obvious changes on the horizon that Chris Steiner tracks brilliantly in this provocative work.
Consider the following societal changes: people who own homes in far-off suburbs will soon realize that there's no longer any market for their houses (reason: nobody wants to live too far away because it's too expensive to commute to work). Telecommuting will begin to expand rapidly. Trains will become the mode of national transportation (as it used to be) as the price of flying becomes prohibitive. Families will begin to migrate southward as the price of heating northern homes in the winter is too pricey. Cheap everyday items that are comprised of plastic will go away because of the rising price to produce them (plastic is derived from oil). And this is just the beginning of a huge and overwhelming domino effect that our way of life will undergo in the years to come.
Steiner, an engineer by training before turning to journalism, sees how this simple but constant rise in oil and gas prices will totally re-structure our lifestyle. But what may be surprising to readers is that all of these changes may not be negative - but actually will usher in some new and very promising aspects of our society.
Steiner will probe how the liberation of technology and innovation, triggered by climbing gas prices, will change our lives. The book may start as an alarmist's exercise.... but don't be misled. The future will be exhilarating."

Call number: HD9564 .S74 2009

"And Then the Roof Caved In" painstakingly details what really happened to cause the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Written by David Faber--the award-winning correspondent who has covered Wall Street for more than two decades--this compelling story is filled with the firsthand accounts of the bankers and regulators who unleashed this crisis on the world. They tell Faber what they did and why they did it.

Faber traces the lineage of the subprime industry and takes you back to the attacks of 9/11, after which Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan embarked on an unprecedented effort to help the economy recover by sending interest rates to all-time lows. Faber details the precipitous drop in lending standards, which allowed people with marginal incomes to take on mortgages they could not afford, and explains how those mortgages came back to wreck the financial system.

"And Then the Roof Caved In" also reveals where this crisis was incubated--Wall Street--and introduces you to insiders from investment banks and mortgage lenders who fostered the boom and, in doing so, planted the seeds for such an astonishing economic collapse. Throughout the book, Faber weaves a narrative that takes you from subprime lenders like Quick Loan Funding and big investment banks like Merrill Lynch to regulators who tried to stop the crisis before it spiraled out of control and hedge fund managers who correctly foresaw the coming housing crash and profited from it."

Call number: HD255 .F23 2009

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture - Publisher's Marketing: "An "Atlantic" correspondent uncovers the true cost-in economic, political, and psychic terms-of our penchant for making and buying things as cheaply as possible
From the shuttered factories of the rust belt to the look-alike strip malls of the sun belt-and almost everywhere in between-America has been transformed by its relentless fixation on low price. This pervasive yet little examined obsession is arguably the most powerful and devastating market force of our time-the engine of globalization, outsourcing, planned obsolescence, and economic instability in an increasingly unsettled world.
Low price is so alluring that we may have forgotten how thoroughly we once distrusted it. Ellen Ruppel Shell traces the birth of the bargain as we know it from the Industrial Revolution to the assembly line and beyond, homing in on a number of colorful characters, such as Gene Verkauf (his name is Yiddish for "to sell"), founder of E. J. Korvette, the discount chain that helped wean customers off traditional notions of value. The rise of the chain store in post-Depression America led to the extolling of convenience over quality, and big-box retailers completed the reeducation of the American consumer by making them prize low price in the way they once prized durability and craftsmanship.
The effects of this insidious perceptual shift are vast: a blighted landscape, escalating debt (both personal and national), stagnating incomes, fraying communities, and a host of other socioeconomic ills. That's a long list of charges, and it runs counter to orthodox economics which argues that low price powers productivity by stimulating a brisk free market. But Shell marshals evidence from a wide range of fields-history, sociology, marketing, psychology, even economics itself-to upend the conventional wisdom. "Cheap" also unveils the fascinating and unsettling illogic that underpins our bargain-hunting reflex and explains how our deep-rooted need for bargains colors every aspect of our psyches and social lives. In this myth-shattering, closely reasoned, and exhaustively reported investigation, Shell exposes the astronomically high cost of cheap."

Call number: HF5429.215 .U6 S54 2009

Now. It's that simple. It's that urgent.

So begins Dick Morris and Eileen McGann's latest and most important book. They say that we must act before President Barack Obama fully implements his radical political agenda. Because after Obama has won his war on prosperity and canceled the war on terror, it will be too late to regain our liberty or our security.

At a time when we needed a pragmatic centrist to lead us out of recession, we got a doctrinaire socialist who wants to use the crisis to put the government in charge of the economy and enact European socialism here in the United States.

Cars, banks--what's next? He will keep at it until Washington governs every major business in America and sets all our salaries.

It's a catastrophe.

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann saw the meltdown coming. In their book "Outrage," they called out the house of cards that was Fannie Mae. In "Fleeced," they went after the credit card companies, the subprime mortgage lenders, and the hedge fund billionaires who conspired to wreck the economy--and Barack Obama, whose policies, they predicted last summer, would "trigger a stock market crash."

Now, in "Catastrophe," Morris and McGann take a hard look at America in free fall--and at how Obama is transforming a vulnerable America into a socialist state.

They tell the truth about Obama and his radical policies: He will destroy our health care system so that no one gets adequate care. He designed his bank rescue plan to pave the way for nation-alization of the banks and socialization of the economy. He firmly believes in government control of our major industries--he's already commandeered the banks and the automobile industry. He plans to reshape the political landscape to keep the left in power for decades by cooking the census, enfranchising illegal immigrants, muzzling talk radio, and coercing workers into unions. He is attacking those who fight terrorism while letting the terrorists go free. He gives aid to Hamas while Shariah Law threatens to take over America. He has repealed the Declaration of Independence and put us under a worldwide, European-dominated financial regulatory system.

But Obama is not working alone. Morris and McGann spell out how Congress is complicit: How Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Charlie Rangel use special interests and special friends for their own enrichment and glorification. How Ted Kennedy Jr. is exploiting his father's health care power.

"This is no time for apathy or alienation or hopelessness," Morris and McGann remind us. "It's a time for action." And that action must begin now--before it's too late."

Call number: E907 .M66 2009

The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal - Publisher's Marketing: "The high-energy tale of how two socially awkward Ivy Leaguers, trying to increase their chances with the opposite sex, ended up creating Facebook.
Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg were Harvard undergraduates and best friends-outsiders at a school filled with polished prep-school grads and long-time legacies. They shared both academic brilliance in math and a geeky awkwardness with women.
Eduardo figured their ticket to social acceptance-and sexual success-was getting invited to join one of the university's Final Clubs, a constellation of elite societies that had groomed generations of the most powerful men in the world and ranked on top of the inflexible hierarchy at Harvard. Mark, with less of an interest in what the campus alpha males thought of him, happened to be a computer genius of the first order.
Which he used to find a more direct route to social stardom: one lonely night, Mark hacked into the university's computer system, creating a ratable database of all the female students on campus-and subsequently crashing the university's servers and nearly getting himself kicked out of school. In that moment, in his Harvard dorm room, the framework for Facebook was born.
What followed-a real-life adventure filled with slick venture capitalists, stunning women, and six-foot-five-inch identical-twin Olympic rowers-makes for one of the most entertaining and compelling books of the year. Before long, Eduardo's and Mark's different ideas about Facebook created in their relationship faint cracks, which soon spiraled into out-and-out warfare. The collegiate exuberance that marked their collaboration fell prey to the adult world of lawyers and money. The great irony is that while Facebook succeeded by bringing people together, its very success tore two best friends apart.
"The Accidental Billionaires" is a compulsively readable story of innocence lost-and of the unusual creation of a company that has revolutionized the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another."

Call number: HM742 .M49 2009

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - Publisher's Marketing: "In her first full-length nonfiction narrative, bestselling author Kingsolver opens readers' eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: you are what you eat. The bestselling author returns with a wise and compelling celebration of family, food, nature, and community."

Call number: S521.5 .A67 K56 2007

Prison (Issues on Trial)

Call number: HV9471 .P73 2009

Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities - Publisher's Marketing: "The bestselling author of "Saving Graces" shares her inspirational message on the challenges and blessings of coping with adversity.
She's one of the most beloved political figures in the country, and on the surface, seems to have led a charmed life. In many ways, she has. Beautiful family. Thriving career. Supportive friendship. Loving marriage. But she's no stranger to adversity. Many know of the strength she had shown after her son, Wade, was killed in a freak car accident when he was only sixteen years old. She would exhibit this remarkable grace and courage again when the very private matter of her husband's infidelity became public fodder. And her own life has been on the line. Days before the 2004 presidential election--when her husband John was running for vice president--she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After rounds of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation the cancer went away--only to reoccur in 2007.
While on the campaign trail, Elizabeth met many others who have had to contend with serious adversity in their lives, and in "Resilience," she draws on their experiences as well as her own, crafting an unsentimental and ultimately inspirational meditation on the gifts we can find among life's biggest challenges. This short, powerful, pocket-sized inspirational book makes an ideal gift for anyone dealing with difficulties in their life, who can find peace in knowing they are not alone, and promise that things can get better."

Call number: E840.8 .E29 E23 2009

Presented here are 404 dishes -- 101 for each season -- that will get you in and out of the kitchen in 20 minutes or less. Mark Bittman's recipe sketches provide exactly the directions a home cook needs to prepare a repertoire of eggs, seafood, poultry, meats, vegetables, sandwiches, and even desserts. Add a salad here, a loaf of bread there, and these dishes become full meals that are better than takeout and far less expensive.

These 404 recipes are as delicious and sophisticated as they are simple: Make the most of summer produce with Scallop and Peach Ceviche or Apricot Cream Upside-Down Pie. When the air starts to cool, try Salmon and Sweet Potato with Coconut Curry Sauce or Broiled Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts. On a cold winter night, warm up with White Bean Stew served over crusty slices of olive oil-brushed baguette. Or welcome spring with Shrimp with Asparagus, Dill, and Spice or Poached Eggs and Truffled Arugula Prosciutto Salad.

Because good ingredients are the backbone of delicious home cooking, Bittman includes a guide to the foods you'll want on hand to cook the Kitchen Express way, as well as suggestions for seasonal menus and lists of recipes for specific uses, like brown-bag lunches or the best dishes for reheating. With "Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express," you can have dinner on the table in not much more time than it takes to read a traditional recipe."

Call number: TX833.5 .B548 2009

Skilled Immigration Today: Prospects, Problems, and Policies - Publisher's Marketing: "Skilled immigration into rich countries and competition for talent and professional skills are of major concern among nations today. Comprehensive immigration reform addressed to illegal immigration predictably foundered in Congress last year. This revived the question of skilled immigration and was hastily added to the proposed reform agenda in the hope that it would bring more pro-immigration troops into battle. Immigration reform still failed but it will not die. The specific issue of skilled immigration, and how to redesign it, will remain one of the central issues before the world community as well.
How important is this phenomenon? How do the legal-immigration systems of rich countries address this need? How do professional associations that may find such inflows a threat to their members' earnings seek to curtail these flows? What are the implications on the sending countries, which are generally less developed, when rich countries admit skilled professionals from them? Is it correct to object that the rich countries are depriving the poor ones of badly needed professionals (especially in Africa)? What should our immigration policies be in this regard? How should tax policy, for example, be changed in light of the growing phenomenon of skilled migrant flows? These and a host of related policy questions are addressed uniquely in Skilled Immigration Today. Bhagwati and Hanson present an informed awareness of the rich historical analysis of the phenomenon and several policy initiatives already attempted with sophisticated theoretical analysis. The essays, with an overview that ties them together, are written by today's foremost immigration experts."

Call number: HD6300 .S55 2009

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work - Publisher's Marketing: "A philosopher / mechanic destroys the pretensions of the high- prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one's hands
"Shop Class as Soulcraft" brings alive an experience that was once quite common, but now seems to be receding from society-the experience of making and fixing things with our hands. Those of us who sit in an office often feel a lack of connection to the material world, a sense of loss, and find it difficult to say exactly what we do all day. For anyone who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents, "Shop Class as Soulcraft" seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing.
On both economic and psychological grounds, Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a "knowledge worker," based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing, the work of the hand from that of the mind. Crawford shows us how such a partition, which began a century ago with the assembly line, degrades work for those on both sides of the divide.
But Crawford offers good news as well: the manual trades are very different from the assembly line, and from dumbed-down white collar work as well. They require careful thinking and are punctuated by moments of genuine pleasure. Based on his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford makes a case for the intrinsic satisfactions and cognitive challenges of manual work. The work of builders and mechanics is secure; it cannot be outsourced, and it cannot be made obsolete. Such work ties us to the local communities in which we live, and instills the pride that comes from doing work that is genuinely useful. A wholly original debut, "Shop Class as Soulcraft" offers a passionate call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world."

Call number: HD4824 .C72 2009

Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It's Becoming, and Why It Matters - Publisher's Marketing: "Blogs are everywhere. They have exposed truths and spread rumors. Made and lost fortunes. Brought couples together and torn them apart. Toppled cabinet members and sparked grassroots movements. Immediate, intimate, and influential, they have put the power of personal publishing into everyone's hands. Regularly dismissed as trivial and ephemeral, they have proved that they are here to stay.
In "Say Everything, " Scott Rosenberg chronicles blogging's unplanned rise and improbable triumph, tracing its impact on politics, business, the media, and our personal lives. He offers close-ups of innovators such as Blogger founder Evan Williams, investigative journalist Josh Marshall, exhibitionist diarist Justin Hall, software visionary Dave Winer, "mommyblogger" Heather Armstrong, and many others.
These blogging pioneers were the first to face new dilemmas that have become common in the era of Google and Facebook, and their stories offer vital insights and warnings as we navigate the future. How much of our lives should we reveal on the Web? Is anonymity a boon or a curse? Which voices can we trust? What does authenticity look like on a stage where millions are fighting for attention, yet most only write for a handful? And what happens to our culture now that everyone can say everything?
Before blogs, it was easy to believe that the Web would grow up to be a clickable TV-slick, passive, mass-market. Instead, blogging brought the Web's native character into focus-convivial, expressive, democratic. Far from being pajama-clad loners, bloggers have become the curators of our collective experience, testing out their ideas in front of a crowd and linking people in ways that broadcasts can't match. Blogs have created a new kind of public sphere-one in which we can think out loud together. And now that we have begun, Rosenberg writes, it is impossible to imagine us stopping.
In his first book, "Dreaming in Code, " Scott Rosenberg brilliantly explored the art of creating software ("the first true successor to "The Soul of a New Machine, "" wrote James Fallows in "The Atlantic"). In "Say Everything, " Rosenberg brings the same perceptive eye to the blogosphere, capturing as no one else has the birth of a new medium."

Call number: HM851 .R675 2009

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath - Publisher's Marketing: "For the first four months of 1942, U.S., Filipino, and Japanese soldiers fought what was America's first major land battle of World War II, the battle for the tiny Philippine peninsula of Bataan. It ended with the surrender of 76,000 Filipinos and Americans, the single largest defeat in American military history.
The defeat, though, was only the beginning, as Michael and Elizabeth M. Norman make dramatically clear in this powerfully original book. From then until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the prisoners of war suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: forty-one months of captivity, starvation rations, dehydration, hard labor, deadly disease, and torture--far from the machinations of General Douglas MacArthur.
The Normans bring to the story remarkable feats of reportage and literary empathy. Their protagonist, Ben Steele, is a figure out of Hemingway: a young cowboy turned sketch artist from Montana who joined the army to see the world. Juxtaposed against Steele's story and the sobering tale of the Death March and its aftermath is the story of a number of Japanese soldiers.
The result is an altogether new and original World War II book: it exposes the myths of military heroism as shallow and inadequate; it makes clear, with great literary and human power, that war causes suffering for people on all sides."

Call number: D805 .P6 N67 2009

That Old Cape Magic - Publisher's Marketing: "Following" Bridge of Sighs"--a national best seller hailed by" The Boston Globe" as "an astounding achievement" and "a masterpiece"--Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.
Griffin has been tooling around for nearly a year with his father's ashes in the trunk, but his mother is very much alive and not shy about calling on his cell phone. She does so as he drives down to Cape Cod, where he and his wife, Joy, will celebrate the marriage of their daughter Laura's best friend. For Griffin this is akin to driving into the past, since he took his childhood summer vacations here, his parents' respite from the hated Midwest. And the Cape is where he and Joy honeymooned, in the course of which they drafted the Great Truro Accord, a plan for their lives together that's now thirty years old and has largely come true. He'd left screenwriting and Los Angeles behind for the sort of New England college his snobby academic parents had always aspired to in vain; they'd moved into an old house full of character; and they'd started a family. Check, check and check.
But be careful what you pray for, especially if you manage to achieve it. By the end of this perfectly lovely weekend, the past has so thoroughly swamped the present that the future suddenly hangs in the balance. And when, a year later, a far more important wedding takes place, their beloved Laura's, on the coast of Maine, Griffin's chauffeuring two urns of ashes as he contends once more with Joy and her large, unruly family, and both he and she have brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened?
"That Old Cape Magic" is a novel of deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter's new life and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has. The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written."

Call number: PS3568 .U812 T47 2009

Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools-especially for girls-that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, "Three Cups of Tea" combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit."

Call number: LC2330 .M67 2007

The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America's Promise - Publisher's Marketing: "In this groundbreaking book, Joe Scarborough tells Republican Party bosses what they don't want to hear, explains why Democrats are making matters so much worse, and then shows leaders of both parties the way forward.
"The Last Best Hope" draws on the forgotten genius of conservatism to offer a road map for the movement and the country. Delivering a searing indictment of the political leaders who have led us astray, Scarborough inspires conservatives to reclaim their heritage by drawing upon the strength of the movement's rich history.
With independent thinking and straight talk, Scarborough explains:
- How Washington and Wall Street conspired to create the housing bubble that caused America's financial meltdown
- How the "candidate of change" has not only maintained but accelerated the reckless spending policies that led us to this historic economic collapse
- How Washington's bailout culture will cripple America's future if left unchecked
- How Barack Obama's stimulus plan devolved into a socialist spending spree that would make FDR and LBJ shudder
- And how conservatives need to take a closer look at Ronald Reagan's political career before claiming his great legacy
A fearlessly argued conservative manifesto that brings American conservatism into the twenty-first century, "The Last Best Hope" is a must-read for all who care about the direction America is heading."

Call number: JC573.2 .U6 S32 2009

South of Broad - Publisher's Marketing: "The publishing event of the season: The one and only Pat Conroy returns, with a big, sprawling novel that is at once a love letter to Charleston and to lifelong friendship.
Against the sumptuous backdrop of Charleston, South Carolina, "South of Broad" gathers a unique cast of sinners and saints. Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at the local high school. His mother, an ex-nun, is the high school principal and a well-known Joyce scholar. After Leo's older brother commits suicide at the age of thirteen, the family struggles with the shattering effects of his death, and Leo, lonely and isolated, searches for something to sustain him. Eventually, he finds his answer when he becomes part of a tightly knit group of high school seniors that includes friends Sheba and Trevor Poe, glamorous twins with an alcoholic mother and a prison-escapee father; hardscrabble mountain runaways Niles and Starla Whitehead; socialite Molly Huger and her boyfriend, Chadworth Rutledge X; and an ever-widening circle whose liaisons will ripple across two decades-from 1960s counterculture through the dawn of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
The ties among them endure for years, surviving marriages happy and troubled, unrequited loves and unspoken longings, hard-won successes and devastating breakdowns, and Charleston's dark legacy of racism and class divisions. But the final test of friendship that brings them to San Francisco is something no one is prepared for." South of Broad" is Pat Conroy at his finest; a long-awaited work from a great American writer whose passion for life and language knows no bounds."

Call number: PS3553 .O5198 S68 2009

The book not only attempts to explain how and why such violence originates, it examines its impact on society outside sport and suggests potential remedies for the problem. Its up-to-date and in-depth coverage of a controversial issue therefore makes it a valuable asset to both sports students and professionals working in sports management."

Call number: GV706.7 .J36 2009

Swimsuit - Publisher's Marketing: "A heart-pounding story of fear and desire, "Swimsuit" transports readers to a chilling new territory where the collision of beauty and murder transforms paradise into a hell of unspeakable horrors."

Call number: PS3566 .A822 S87 2009

Loud and Clear: The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot - Publisher's Marketing: "Iftach Spector--retired Israeli Air Force general and its second-highest-scoring fighter ace--is one of Israel's living legends. During the Six Day War in June 1967, he led the flight that attacked the U.S. surveillance ship USS "Liberty" off the Sinai Peninsula, an apparent case of mistaken identity that remains controversial to this day. He was one of the eight Israeli pilots who attacked and destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor at Osirik in 1981. In 2003 he was the senior signatory of the famous "Pilots' Letter," in which General Spector and twenty-seven other Israeli pilots stated their refusal to bomb targets in Palestine where collateral damage would likely be severe. It was the end of his military career. In this vivid memoir, at turns moving and exciting, Spector illuminates what it was like coming of age in the fledging Jewish state of Israel and how he defended both its territory and its conscience as he rose through the ranks as a fighter pilot."

Call number: JG626.2 .S67 A313 2009

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Publisher's Marketing: "Connie Goodwin should be spending her summer doing research for her Ph.D. dissertation in American History. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she's compelled to help. It's not long before the time she's set aside for research is instead spent sorting through her grandmother's ancient possessions, discovering a woman she barely knew. One day, while exploring the dusty bookshelves in the study, Connie discovers a key hidden within an old bible. And within the key is a brittle slip of paper with two words written on it: Deliverance Dane. Along with a handsome steeplejack named Sam, Connie begins to dig into the town's records, looking for references to Deliverance Dane. But even as the pieces begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the witch trials so long ago, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past than she could have ever imagined. Written by an author completing a Ph.D. in New England Studies, and whose ancestors were accused witches in Salem, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the trials in the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery and discovery."

Call number: PS3608 .O947 P47 2009

Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Deception - Publisher's Marketing: "After Bourne is ambushed and nearly killed while in Indonesia, he fakes his death to take on a new identity and mission--to find out who is trying to assassinate him. In the process, Bourne begins to question who he really is, and what he would become if he no longer carried the Bourne identity."

Call number: PS3562 .U752 R64 2009

One Second After - Publisher's Marketing: ""New York Times"-bestselling author Forstchen presents a terrifyingly real story of terrorism, in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war."

Call number: PS3556 .O7418 O54 2009

Raised in a wealthy, influential, Islamic African family, Midnight enjoys a life of comfort, confidence, and protection. Midnight's father provides him with a veil of privilege and deep, devoted love, but he never hides the truth about the fierce challenges of the world outside of his estate. So when Midnight's father's empire is attacked, he sends Midnight with his mother to the United States.

In the streets of Brooklyn, a young Midnight uses his Islamic mind-set and African intelligence to protect the ones he loves, build a business, reclaim his wealth and status, and remain true to his beliefs.

Midnight, a handsome and passionate young man, attracts many women. How he interacts and deals with them is a unique adventure. This is a highly sensual and tremendous love story about what a man is willing to risk and give to the women he loves most. Midnight will remain in your mind and beat in your heart for a lifetime.

Her "raw and true voice" ("Publishers Weekly") will both soothe and arouse you. In a beautifully written and masterfully woven story, Sister Souljah has given us "Midnight," and solidified her presence as the mother of all contemporary urban literature."

Call number: PS3569 .O7374 M53 2008

The Great Progression: How Hispanics Will Lead America to a New Era of Prosperity - Publisher's Marketing: "The award-winning journalist and bestselling author of "His Panic" details the evolving role of Hispanics in shaping America's future.
With the psyche of our country mired in war, changing politics, and a recession, (or even another great depression) Peabody and Emmy(r) Award-winning journalist Geraldo Rivera delivers keen insight and hope in "The Great Progression," a prophetic book on how Hispanics are revitalizing our declining economy, energizing our distressed troops, and invigorating our transitioning national government.
Featuring candid and revealing interviews with prominent Hispanics such as the new Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Jennifer Lopez, and George Lopez, "The Great Progression" presents a fascinating look at the impact Hispanics are making on the social, economic, and political climate of the United States. Hispanics' involvement in society is at an all-time high-and growing exponentially. Geraldo's fearless and judicious reporting addresses the nation's most critical issues under the Obama administration and enlightens those who seek real change and a new, more progressive American era.
A far-sighted and perceptive look ahead at our country's potential for growth and the evolving role of the Hispanic community under the Obama administration, "The Great Progression" is Geraldo Rivera's vision of how the nation's largest minority is shaping the future of our country."

Call number: E184 .S75 R58 2009

Home Safe - Publisher's Marketing: "In this new novel, beloved bestselling author Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emotional transit. Helen Ames-recently widowed, coping with loss and grief, unable to do the work that has always sustained her-is beginning to depend far too much on her twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Tessa, and is meddling in her life, offering unsolicited and unwelcome advice. Helen's problems are compounded by her shocking discovery that her mild-mannered and loyal husband was apparently leading a double life. The Ameses had painstakingly saved for a happy retirement, but that money disappeared in several large withdrawals made by Helen's husband before he died. In order to support herself and garner a measure of much needed independence, Helen takes an unusual job that ends up offering far more than she had anticipated. And then a phone call from a stranger sets Helen on a surprising path of discovery that causes both mother and daughter to reassess what they thought they knew about each other, themselves, and what really makes a home and a family."

Call number: PS3552 .E6996 H66 2009

Historians have the "wrong" Jefferson. Hyland, an experienced trial lawyer, presents the most reliable historical evidence while dissecting the unreliable, and in doing so he cuts through centuries of unsubstantiated charges. The author reminds us that the DNA tests identified Eston Hemings, Sally's youngest child, as being merely the descendant of a "Jefferson male." Randolph Jefferson, the president's wayward, younger brother with a reputation for socializing among the Monticello slaves, emerges as the most likely of several possible candidates. Meanwhile, the author traces the evolution of this rumor about Thomas Jefferson back to the allegation made by one James Callendar, a "drunken ruffian" who carried a grudge after unsuccessfully lobbying the president for a postmaster appointment---and who then openly bragged of ruining Jefferson's reputation. Hyland also delves into Hemings family oral histories that go against the popular rumor, as well as the ways in which the Jefferson rumors were advanced by less-than-historical dramas and by flawed scholarly research often shaped by political agendas.

Reflecting both a layperson's curiosity and a lawyer's precision, Hyland definitively puts to rest the allegation of the thirty-eight-year liaison between Jefferson and Hemings. In doing so, he reclaims the nation's third president from the arena of Hollywood-style myth and melodrama and gives his readers a unique opportunity to serve as jurors on this enduringly fascinating episode in American history."

Call number: E332.2 .H95 2009

"Horse Soldiers" is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy across mountainous terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential if they were to defeat the Taliban.

The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators, and overjoyed Afghans thronged the streets. Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed. Dangerously outnumbered, they fought for their lives in the city's immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi,