ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

The Astronomy Encyclopedia,edited by Patrick Moore (456 pages, September 2002), contains more than 3,000 entries covering the entire field of astronomy, ranging from stars and star systems, planets and satellites, comets, life in the universe, optical and radio telescopes, observatories, astrophysics, astronomical photography, space exploration, and famous astronomers. Fully revised and updated from the 1987 edition published by Mitchell Beazley, this volume includes hundreds of photos, diagrams, charts, and tables, as well as eight star maps showing all 88 constellations and other deep-sky objects. $50.00. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-521833-7.

Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood,by Betsy J. Green (286 pages, June 2002), is a practical guide to researching the history of American homes. Green includes helpful hints for locating building plans and permits, deciphering deeds, understanding land surveys, determining previous owners, finding old photos and maps, and searching for physical clues. Sidebars scattered throughout the book recount some of the author’s adventures as a house historian, ad appendixes provide contact information for state historic preservation offices, regional depository libraries, and vital records offices. $14.95. Santa Monica Press. ISBN 1-891661- 24-8.

Flight: 100 Years of Aviation,by R. G. Grant (440 pages, October 2002), is a wonderfully illustrated survey of heavier-than-air flight from the Wright Brothers to modern jetliners and spacecraft. Drawing on the resources of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the volume vividly portrays aircraft, inventors, and aviators of the past 100 years. Military airplanes are covered in great detail, and there are sections on lightweight aircraft, air safety, and space travel. $50.00. DK. ISBN 0-7894-8910-4.

The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O'Leary’s Cow,by Richard F. Bales (338 pages, November 2002), should exonerate Catherine O’Leary from more than 130 years of unmerited slander. After examining land tract records, 1,100 handwritten pages from the investiga- tion conducted by the Board of Police and Fire Commis- sioners, the testi- mony of 50 eyewit- nesses, and other primary documents, Bales contends that “the story of her cow kicking over a lantern was merely the combined product of the overly imaginative minds of neighborhood children and the overly gullible mind of an unknown and long-forgotten Chicago Evening Journal reporter.” A much likelier scenario is that neighbor Daniel “Peg Leg” Sullivan inad- vertently started the fire in the O’Leary barn shortly before he allegedly tried to rescue the cows from the burning barn. Bales also con- cludes that the commissioners failed to con- duct a thorough investigation because they were more concerned with saving their own reputa- tions from post-fire reports of incompetence. $45.00. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1424-3.

A Langston Hughes Encyclopedia,by Hans Ostrom (495 pages, November 2002), introduces readers to the extensive writings of poet, novelist, dramatist, lyricist, and leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1902- 1967). The book includes a separate entry for each of his more than 850 poems, in addition to entries for different volumes of poetry, short stories, songs, and plays. General topics related to Hughes’s life and writings are also included, such as the Scottsboro boys, McCarthyism, and the blues. $95.00. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-30392-4.

The Lost World of the Moa,by Trevor H Worthy and Richard N. Holdaway (718 pages, September 2002), thoroughly examines the Pleis tocene fauna of New Zealand in the light of new radiocarbon data and DNA techniques that have caused a major revision in the paleohistory of the region. Although a primary focus is on the systematics and ecology of the flightless moa birds, the authors also provide up-to-date descriptions of the kiwis, waterfowl, giant Haast’s eagle, hawks, owls, rails, shorebirds, passerines, oceanic birds, bats, lizards, and frogs that live or used to live in New Zealand. In a final chapter, they conclude that humans and introduced mammals were solely responsible for exterminating at least 76 species in the past 10,000 years. An essential work for Australasian collections. $89.95. Indiana University. ISBN 0-253-34034-9.

George M. Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org

Another book in Indiana’s excellent paleontological series is King of the Crocodylians, by David R. Schwimmer (220 pages, June 2002), which describes the 36-foot-long, crocodile-like, predatory Deinosuch us that lived on the southern coasts of North America 80 million years ago and probably fed on dinosaurs. $45.00. ISBN 0-253-34087-X.

The Making of Revolutionary Paris,by David Garrioch (382 pages, September 2002), examines the milieu of social forces, urban culture, religion, and politics in 18th-century Paris that ultimately contributed to the events of the Revolution of the 1790s. Garrioch looks at both the customary culture of the Old Regime and its gradual abandonment, and in the process paints a vivid picture of the sights, sounds, and smells of a city that was, as Rousseau put it, “dominated simultaneously by the most sumptuous opulence and the most deplorable misery.” $34.95. University of California. ISBN 0-520-23253-4.

Maxwell's Guide to Authority Work,by Robert L. Maxwell (275 pages, June 2002), offers practical advice and instruction to catalogers who establish headings and create authority records of various kinds. Noncatalogers will also benefit from this readable guide to how AACR2 is used to ensure uniform access points in a catalog. Maxwell, author of the current edition of Maxwell’s Guide to AACR2(1997), covers basic authority control procedures, names, uniform titles, series authority records, thesaurus building, subjects, genres and forms, and LC’s Program for Cooperative Cataloging. ALA. $49.00. ISBN 0-8389-5-2233.

NetLingo: The Internet Dictionary,by Erin Jansen (523 pages, April 2002), is a lively, no- nonsense, extensively cross-referenced glossary of terms you are likely to find online and in publications devoted to Internet communications and protocols. Jansen has offered the dictionary at www.netlingo.com since 1995, but this is its first incarnation in print. Business terms (“forklift upgrade”) are included, as well as cyberslang (“lasagna syndrome”), tech talk (“root server”), standards (“KIF”), and organizations (“OLGA”). The appendices are useful and fun, encompassing every smiley and emoticon ever devised, complete lists of country codes and file extensions, and an astounding array of chat acronyms. 2Tλ, IMHO, very WD with much VFM. $19.95. NetLingo, P.O. Box 207, Ojai, CA 93024. ISBN 0-9706396-7-8.

"The Pen's Excellencie": Treasures from the Manuscript Collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library,edited by Heather Wolfe (243 pages, October 2002), was published in conjunction with the Folger’s 70th anniversary and a 2002 exhibition of 100 manuscripts showing the handwriting of famous authors, from Henry VIII to Bram Stoker. This catalog provides an illustration of each, along with commentary either by the editor or another scholar or Folger staff member. $39.95. University of Washington. ISBN 0-295-98266-7.

Another showcase of Folger treasures is Infinite Variety: Exploring tbe Folger Shakespeare library (222 pages, August 2002), edited by Esther Ferington, which explores the library’s history, collections, and performances. $35.00. University of Washington. ISBN 0-295-98232-2.

The Symphonic Repertoire: Volume II, The First Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony,by A. Peter Brown (715 pages, August 2002), is actually the first in a series of five volumes that compare and analyze a significant number of the symphonic works by major composers from the 18th to the 20th centuries. This volume contains an extensive discussion of more than 175 of the symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, with numerous musical and schematic examples, as well as tables showing symphonic derivations and structure. $75.00. Indiana University. ISBN 0-253-33487-X.

Volume IV, The Second Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony,was published in November and covers Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak, Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. $75.00. ISBN 0-253-33488-8. ■