ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

George M. Eberhart is associate editor ofAmerican Libraries

African Writers,edited by C. Brian Cox (936 pages, 2 vols., January 1997), analyzes the writings of 65 African authors who wrote in English, French, Portuguese, and Arabic, as well as such African languages as Akan, Yoruba, and Kikiyu. Much of the literature described in this book is concerned with African reactions to colonialism. Four of the writers have been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature: Albert

Camus (Algeria), Nadine Gordimer (South Africa), Najib Mahfuz (Egypt), and Wole Soyinka (Nigeria). The others are well known to an international audience. A chronology of African history from 1830 to 1996 precedes the essays; a bibliography of selected works, articles, interviews, and critical studies follows each entry. $220. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019-6785. ISBN 0-684-19651-4.

American Elves,by John E. Roth (329 pages, February 1997), provides detailed information on the beliefs in little people from cultures in the Western Hemisphere, including those of Native Americans, African Americans, Euro-Americans, and Polynesians. For example, the Inuit of northern Canada have a tradition about the uissuit, deep-sea dwarves who live in Smith Sound; and in Honduras the Mosquito Indians speak of the wulasha, which are monkey-like, tailless little people with backward teeth and feet. Entries are arranged alphabetically by linguistic group. Maps accompany most of the groups surveyed. Much of the folklore compiled here has appeared in ethnographic books and journals, but it is widely scattered; the comprehensive bibliography attests to the author’s energy in tracking it all down. $68.50. McFarland & Company, Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-944-4.

If you need a book on Eurasian dwarves to balance the collection, try Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia of the Little People, by Carol Rose (369 pages, December 1996). Though worldwide in scope, the emphasis is on European, Russian, and Central Asian folklore. Arrangement is by entity, with a series of appendices that group by type of spirit and by region. $49.50. ABC-CLIO, 130 Cremona Dr., P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911. ISBN 0-87436-811-1.

Business Phone Book USA(1843 pages, 19th ed., January 1997), formerly titled The National Directory of Addresses and Telephone Numbers, has been enhanced with World Wide Web and e-mail addresses, a list of the top 100 Canadian companies, and a detailed area-code guide for 11,500 cities. New categories of addresses include children’s museums, mental health managed care, microbreweries, planetariums, and public aquariums. A very useful reference work that just got better. $135. Omnigraphics, Penobscot Building, Detroit, MI 48226. ISBN 0-7808-0090-7.

Censorship and the American Library,by Louise S. Robbins (251 pages, December 1996), examines the history of ALA’s response to threats to intellectual freedom from the adoption of the Library Bill of Rights in 1939 to the 1969 development of the Freedom to Read Foundation. In doing so, it sheds light on how the defense of these threats (loyalty programs, McCarthyism, civil rights, the Tropic of Cancer case) shaped the entire library profession. Robbins also reminds us of the contributions of such leaders as Leon Carnovsky, Lester Asheim, William S. Dix, Martha Boaz, Robert Downs, and Ervin Gaines. $59.95. Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, P.O. Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007. ISBN 0-313-29644-8.

Counterpoise(vol.1, no.1, January 1997–), edited by Charles Willett and published by the Alternatives in Print Task Force of the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table, is a quarterly review journal that covers alternative politics, humanities, and science. The books, pamphlets, zines, and nonprint materials included here are often overlooked by schools, universities, and libraries. Counterpoise attempts to correct this imbalance by providing essays and original reviews of small and alternative press publications, as well as reviews reprinted from out-of-the-main-stream newsletters. Subscriptions are $35 for libraries, $25 for individuals, and $15 for anyone with a low income. Counterpoise, 1716 SW Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32608-4049. ISSN 1092-0714.

The Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage,by Richard Allsopp (697 pages, October 1996), surveys a range of more than 20,000 words and phrases taken from a region extending from Guyana through the entire Caribbean islands to Belize. It draws its data from teacher workshops in 22 territories in 18 countries, from speech recordings and more than 1,000 written sources of Caribbean literature, reference works, pamphlets, and newspapers. There are many usage examples provided from internationally known Caribbean authors. Ever wonder what the words kumina, carrion-crow man, Ole-Mas, zouk, or porkknocker mean? Find out here. (By the way, pork-knocker means an independent prospector for gold or diamonds.) The introductory material contains an extensive explication of the structure of Caribbean English. $75.00. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-19-866152-5.

The Encyclopedia of Satirical Literature,by Mary Ellen Snodgrass (559 pages, December 1996), offers commentary on a broad range of literary and dramatic satire. In addition to analysis of specific authors and their works, Snodgrass defines and describes the numerous styles and tools used by satirists, such as diatribe, epigram, invective, bathos, and irony. A chronology of satirical literature, an extensive bibliography and source list, and a subject index aid access and understanding. $65.00. ABC-CLIO, 130 Cremona Dr., P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911. ISBN 0-87436-856-1.

In the same series of ABC-CLIO Literary Companions are the Encyclopedia of

Apocalyptic Literature,by Valerie P. Zimbaro (400 pages, December 1996, $65.00), and the Encyclopedia of Literary Epics, by Guida M. Jackson (660 pages, January 1997, $65.00), the latter a thorough examination of epic poetry worldwide from Virgil’s Aeneid to such modern works as Benét’s Western Star.

Men in Black,by John Harvey (280 pages, December 1996), is not about secret government collaboration with UFOnauts. Rather it deals with the 19th-century male’s obsession with black attire and the many layers of symbolism associated with the color before and during the Victorian Era. Balzac observed that “we are all dressed in black like so many people in mourning.” But black was also the color of middle-class success, of dandyism, of sexual attractiveness, of restrained and restrictive morality, of Calvinism and self-denial. Harvey traces the transition to black from the court of Burgundy in the 15th century, through 16th-century Venice, 17th-century Spain and the Netherlands. In a final chapter he looks at black fashion in the 20th century and its links with fascism, motorcycles, and masculinity. An unusual perspective on clothes and culture. $18.95. University of Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637. ISBN 0-226-31883-4. ■