ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

"Aid and Comfort": Jane Fonda in North Vietnam,by Henry Mark Holzer and Eriks Holzer (206 pages, March 2002), takes up the case against Jane Fonda for treason against the United States because of her trip to North Vietnam in July 1972 to make many anti- American statements and propaganda broadcasts. Although admitting that the Vietnam War was at least ill-advised, if not immoral, the authors come down hard on Fonda for demoralizing American troops and exploiting POWs, concluding that she could have been convicted if the case had ever gone to trial. An appendix contains transcripts of Fonda’s radio broadcasts to American servicemen. $39-95. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864- 1247-X.

Atlas of the Celts,edited by Barry Raftery (224 pages, November 2001), is a well-illustrated overview of Celtic history and culture from the Middle Bronze Age through the end of the 20th century. A timeline and who’s who in the Celtic world supplement the text. A good antidote to traditional European histories, which often marginalize Celtic contributions. $40.00. Firefly. ISBN 1-55297-541-X.

Better in the Poconos: The Story of Pennsylvania's Vacationland,by Lawrence Squeri (276 pages, April 2002), chronicles the popularity of the resorts in the hilly region 100 miles north of Philadelphia from before the Civil War and through their frequent re- inventions up to the present. In the process, Squeri examines the changing nature of what it means to “take a vacation.” Illustrated with postcards from different decades. $34.95. Penn State University. ISBN 0-271-02157-8.

A bit further north, In the Catskills: A Century of the Jewish Experience in “The Mountains, "edited by Phil Brown (415 pages, June 2002), brings together memoirs and fiction about the Borscht Belt, one of the most popuGeorge M. Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org lar New York vacation destinations in the 1950s and 1960s. Featuring writings by historians, sociologists, scholars, musicians, and such authors as Isaac Bashevis Singer, Herman Wouk, and Allegra Goodman, this collection is a fine reminiscence of the bungalows, hotels, meals, comedy acts, and songs from a lost era. $27.95. Columbia University. ISBN 0-231-12360-4.

Blood in Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919,by Grif Stockley (264 pages, November 2001), details the events surrounding the slaughter of dozens of blacks in Elaine, Arkansas, by white mobs and U.S. troops, following a meeting of black sharecroppers on September 30, 1919- It was the bloodiest racial confrontation in Arkansas history, but this book is the first comprehensive analysis of the affair. Stockley also reviews the subsequent trial of 12 black men for first-degree murder and their valiant defense by trial lawyer Scipio A. Jones, a central figure in Arkansas legal history. $29.95. University of Arkansas. ISBN 1-55728-717-1.

Cahokia: Mirror of the Cosmos,by Sally A. Kitt Chappell (218 pages, February 2002), surveys the Cahokia Mounds near Collinsville, Illinois, the Amerindian village site surrounding a four-tiered pyramid that covered 14 acres and rose 600 feet above the ground, making it the tallest structure in the United States before 1867. Chappell covers not only the Mississippian culture that built the site nearly 1,000 years ago, but also summarizes its subsequent settlement by the French, early exploration by archaeologists, Ku Klux Kian rallies in the 1920s, and piecemeal destruction by development. $38.00. University of Chicago. ISBN 0-226-10136-3.

Conservation Directory 2002: The Guide to Worldwide Environmental Organizations,edited by Bill Street (811 pages, March 2002), has been published for the past 47 years by the National Wildlife Federation, but this year Island Press is distributing it for the first time. With more than 4,000 entries, the directory has listings for North American government, educational, non-profit, and for- profit organizations involved with conservation. $70.00. Island Press, POB 7, Covelo, CA 95428. ISBN 1-55963-952-0.

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

County and City Extra: Special Decennial Census Edition,edited by Deirdre A. Gaquin and Katherine A. DeBrandt (864 pages, March 2002), compiles 2000 census data for every state, county, metropolitan area, and congressional district in the United States. Tables include data on sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household composition, family relationship, occupancy status, household size, and home ownership. Comparisons with the 1980 and 1990 censuses are provided. $110.00. Bernan, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391. ISBN 0-89059- 361-2.

Encyclopedia of Fire,by David E. Newton (303 pages, February 2002), provides more than 200 entries that explore the chemistry, technology, folklore, history, art, philosophy, and politics of fire. The diverse topics include burns, combustion, famous fires, fire modeling, incendiary weapons, lightning, organizations, and Smokey Bear (not “Smokey the Bear”). $69-95. Oryx. ISBN 1-57376-302-1.

Eric Moon: The Life and Library Times,by Kenneth F. Kister (442 pages, April 2002), is a fascinating examination of the life, times, and colleagues of Eric Moon—Library Journal editor, Scarecrow Press president, ALA president (1977-78), and one of the century’s most important activists. As Kister writes in the introduction, “Moon was at the center of almost every important debate involving the shape and direction of the library profession in North America from the late 1950s to well into the 1990s and before that for some years in England. He knew and worked or jousted with practically all of the key people (and many not so key) who deliberated, quarreled, bickered, shouted, cried, connived, and figuratively spilled blood over the great issues that have preoccupied the profession in recent decades.” This is one biography that should be perused by library school students as a realistic portrayal of what lies in store for them. $30.00. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864- 1253-4.

Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality,by Jonathan Ned Katz (426 pages, December 2001), explores the nature of male-male eroticism in the 19th century and offers insight into the different nature of sexual identities and society’s responses to sexuality over time. Katz demonstrates through intimate stories about poet Walt Whitman, Harvard mathematician James Mills Peirce, writer Charles Warren Stoddard, Civil War soldiers, Abraham Lincoln, and others that our modern delineation of “gay” and “straight” have not always been clearly defined. $35-00. University of Chicago. ISBN 0-226-42615-7.

An Ounce of Prevention,by Johanna Wellheiser and Jude Scott (283 pages, 2d ed., February 2002), is a comprehensive guide to planning for disaster prevention, protection, preparedness, response, recovery, and rehabilitation for archives, libraries, and record centers. An update to the 1985 edition, this handbook was sponsored by the Canadian Archives Foundation and contains many checklists, guidelines, and references. $30.00. Scarecrow. ISBN 0-8108-4176-2.

The Russian Chronicles: A Thousand Years That Changed the World(400 pages, September 2001) offers a light history of the Russian people from their Slavonic/Viking origins up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Frequent sidebars and illustrations, as well as excerpts from contemporary documents, make this a useful resource. $19-98. Thunder Bay. ISBN 1-57145-577-9.

The Silent and the Damned,by Robert Seitz Frey and Nancy C. Thompson (248 pages, pbk. ed., March 2002), tells the story of the 1913 murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan in Atlanta and the wrongful conviction of Leo M. Frank, who two years later became the only Jew ever to be lynched in the United States. Frank’s was the first case taken up by the Anti-Defamation League, which collected information and conducted interviews for more than 65 years until he was pardoned by the state of Georgia in 1986. First published in 1988. $17.95. Cooper Square. ISBN 0-8154- 1188-X. ■