ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

The Armored Dinosaurs,edited by Kenneth Carpenter (526 pages, October 2001), brings together the latest discoveries and research on stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, as well as the unjustly neglected Scelidosaunis, which in 1858 was the first complete dinosaur skeleton ever discovered. The articles are dedicated to pale- ontologist Walter P. Coombs Jr., who did some pioneering work on Ankylosaurus in the 1970s and 1980s. The level is definitely graduate stu- dent and above, but the focus is on dinosaurs that are often ignored in favor of the more familiar theropods and sauropods. $75-00. Indiana Univer- sity. ISBN 0-253-33964-2.

Another neglected group is the post-dinosaur megafauna, which is treated in a popular manner in Tim Haines’s Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (264 pages, October 2001), a companion volume to the BBC/Discovery Channel television spe- cial that aired in December. The cast of characters includes archaic whales, giant ground sloths, sabretooth cats, chalicotheres, mammoths, and hyaenodons, as well as our ancestors, the ape- like, bipedal australopiths. The colorful, life- like illustrations were designed by Daren Horley. A stimulating overview of the Ceno- zoic for undergraduates. $29-95. DK Publish- ing. ISBN 0-7894-7829-3

Beethoven's Anvil: Music in Mind and Culture,by William Benzon (336 pages, October 2001), sheds some light on how music interacts with the human mind, both individually and collectively. Benzon, a cognitive scientist and jazz musician, gives many examples of how making music is a group activity in which performers lose themselves in the process of communally participating in neurobiological activity that generates pleasure and dissipates anxiety. Beginning with the effect of music on the brain, Benzon crafts a theory that may exGeorge M. Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org plain how making music aids in the creation and reinforcement of cultural identity. An in- teresting blend of neuropsychology, music, and sociology. $27.50. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465- 01543-3.

The Devil's Cloth,by Michel Pastoureau (128 pages, August 2001), explores the history of striped clothing from its diabolic connotations in the Middle Ages through its associations with domestic service, French revolutionaries, pris- oners, referees, bathing suits, pinstripe suits, and avant-garde art in the modem era. An offbeat look at cultural stereotypes and fashion. $22.95. Columbia University. ISBN 0-231-12366-3.

The Empire State: A History of New York,edited by Milton M. Klein (837 pages, November 2001), is a single-volume history commis- sioned by the New York State His- torical Association to update its 1957 volume. Written by six authors, each focusing on a specific time frame from the Dutch era to the postwar period, this work concisely chronicles the sweep of events and the many achievements of the diverse peoples who make up both city and state. A 70-page section on suggestions for further read- ing tops off the narrative. An excellent intro- duction to the politics and panorama of one of the nation’s most influential states. $45.00. Cornell University. ISBN 0-8014-3866-7.

Encyclopedia of the World's Zoos,edited by Catharine E. Bell (3 vols., 1,577 pages, May 2001), contains detailed essays on 146 zoos worldwide, describing their history, exhibits, management, famous residents, educational programs, and conservation activities. Other useful entries describe the history of specific types of animals in zoos. Some examples: the first “zoo bear” in North America was a polar bear exhibited in 1859 when the first U.S. zoo was established in Philadelphia; an entire Egyptian city, Crocodilopolis, was founded about 1000 B.C. for the worship and care of Nile crocodiles; the first captive-born elephant in Europe was Midi, born July 14, 1906, at Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna; in 1979, the Seattle Aquarium became the first aquarium to have sea otters reproduce successfully in captivity; and in 2000, there were more than 4,500 penguins representing 12 species in more than 300 zoos and aquariums throughout the world. This set is packed with information on zoos and zoology that is hard to find yet valuable to anyone considering a career in animal conservation and care. $325-00. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-57958-174-9.

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

Encyclopedia of Urban Legends,by Jan Harold Brunvand (524 pages, June 2001), is a fun yet scholarly introduction to hundreds of contemporary modern legends such as “the mouse in the Coke,” “superglue revenge,” and “the hook,” each of which has its own entry. Brunvand, whose books have analyzed and interpreted many of them, offers summaries and provides sources for further study. He also includes entries on subject categories and typical legend topics like contamination, jumping to conclusions, nudity, social class, and violence; general folkloristic terms, such as folklore and motif; classifying and collecting urban legends; interpretive approaches; and legends in popular media. And, yes, the one about the sinking academic library is only a legend. $75.00. ABC-Clio. ISBN 1-57607-076-X.

The Kerlan Awards in Children's Literature, 1975-2001,edited by Ruth Berman (350 pages, September 2001), is an anthology of acceptance speeches made by recipients of the Kerlan Award, given by the Friends of the Kerlan Collection since 1976 “in recognition of singular attainments in the creation of children’s literature and in appreciation for the generous donation of unique resources to the Kerlan Collection” at the University of Minnesota. Past award winners have included Madeline L’Engle, Theodore Taylor, and Patricia Lauber. Short essays by Ruth Berman, Kerlan Collection Curator Karen Nelson Hoyle, and Kerlan Friends Past President Bette J. Peltola are also included. $17.95 (plus $3.50 p/h). Pogo Press, Four Cardinal Lane, St. Paul, MN 55127.

What Evolution Is,by Ernst Mayr (318 pages, November 2001), is a concise, reader-friendly primer on the basic concepts of Darwinism by one of the founders of evolutionary biology. Mayr, whose seminal works Systemαtics and the Origin of Species (1942) and Animal Species and Evolution (1963) laid the groundwork for the modern concepts of speciation and punctuated equilibrium, is professor emeritus at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology and, at 97, still able to present such a complicated topic in a way that will interest anyone, scientist or not, who wants to better understand how Darwinism works. Unlike other introductions to evolution, Mayr focuses less on genetic principles and answers the big questions that are likely to arise in any thoughtful discussion: Why does evolution take place? Can natural selection be proven? What constitutes a species? Are there laws of evolution? How did human consciousness evolve? Mayr avoids defending evolution against the claims of creationists, since other books have done so successfully. In the first chapter he effectively shows why evolution is a fact and not a theory, and in the final chapter he gives the latest thinking on how the change from apes to humans occurred. An essential choice for undergraduate collections. $24.00. Basic Books. ISBN 0- 465-04425-5. ■