ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

Ancestral Images: The Iconography of Human Origins, by Stephanie Moser (200 pages, July 1998), explores artwork depict- ing human ancestors, from the mythological paintings of antiquity, through the religious and secular visions of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, to the scientific and popular reconstructions of Cro-Magnons and Nean- derthals in the 19th and 20th centuries. Moser notes that these artistic representations per- petuate stereotypes seemingly impervious to modem discoveries in anthropology. A well- illustrated look at the quest for our own gen- esis. $39-95. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3549-8.

The Children's Civil War, by James Marten (365 pages, September 1998), looks at the Civil War’s effect on how children—black and white, North and South—viewed the world, their country, their communities, and themselves. Tak- ing several different approaches, Marten looks at contemporary children’s literature and schoolbooks, let- ters from absent sol- dier-fathers, photographs, diaries, and oral histories to piece together this missing thread in Civil War literature. Especially interesting is how children incorporated the war into their speech and play, in some cases by get- ting as close to battlefield action as they could. Many of these wartime children grew up to become famous, as did Theodore Roosevelt, Jane Addams, and Booker T. Washington, whose perceptions were formed by the crisis. $34.95. University of North Caro- lina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2425-9.

An Emily Dickinson Encyclopedia, ed- ited by Jane Donahue Eberwein (395 pages, May 1998), features several hundred entries on people, places, poems, and other themes related to the reclusive poet of Amherst. Stu- dents can easily flip to such aspects of her life and writings as “Helen Hunt Jackson,” “Romanticism,” “Letters,” “Feminist Ap- proaches,” and the “Master.” A Dickinson chronology, fascicle listings of her poems, notes on major archival collections, a bibli- ography, and an index of poems cited supplement the text. $85.00. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-29781-9.

If prose is your preference, you might try Paul Poplawski’s Jane Austen Ency- clopedia (411 pages, July 1998), which de- tails the life and works of Britain’s greatest novelist of manners. $75.00. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-30017-8.

Smithsonian's Great Battles & Battle- fields of the Civil War, by Jay Wertz and Edwin C. Bearss (821 pages, December 1997), can either be used as a travel guide or as a supplement to Wertz’s video series “Smithsonian’s Great Battles of the Civil War.” It describes Civil War points of interest in each state, offers suggested routes to follow, and provides an overview of battles and campaigns for each location. Numerous maps and photographs accompany the text. This is an unusual way to approach the Civil War, one that could create an interest among those who doze off while reading a chronological narrative. $42.00. William Morrow. ISBN 0-688-13549-8.

Finding Statistics Online: How to Locate the Elusive Numbers You Need, by Paula Berinstein (356 pages, June 1998), does a remarkable job in pinpointing the right place to look—whether on the Web, in DIALOG or STN databases, or in LEXIS/NEXUS libraries— for a wide array of data. Berinstein, who has been both a programmer/analyst and a reference librarian, guides the novice through several introductory chapters on basic statistics and search tips, then gets down to business with 14 chapters on how to find the good stuff. Do you need international coal prices? worldwide incidence of rabies? insurance company losses during the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake? Don’t waste time with a Web search engine; refer to this book for practical advice and excellent shortcuts. $29-95. CyberAge Books, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750. ISBN 0-910965-25-0.

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

From Bonn to Berlin: German Politics in Transition,by Lewis J. Edinger and Brigitte L. Nacos (301 pages, July 1998), analyzes postunification policy issues and assesses the country’s ability to cope with rapidly changing domestic and international conditions. Always offering comparisons to American society, the authors enumerate the troubles—in foreign and domestic affairs, social welfare, and capitalism—facing Germans as their seat of government shifts from Bonn to Berlin in 2002. A lucid exposition that does not require extensive prior knowledge of German history. $49.50. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0- 231-08412-9.

Ghost Grizzlies: Does the Great Bear Still Haunt Colorado?by David Petersen (280 pages, 2d ed., August 1998), examines the evidence for the persistence of grizzlies in the San Juan Mountains, where the bears have been thought absent since 1952. Peterson interviewed ranchers, hunters, wildlife managers, biologists, and locals about the bears and the region’s ecology. A postscript has been added to this edition to bring events beyond 1995. $16.00. Johnson Books. ISBN 1-55566-218-8.

Historical Dictionary of Paris,by Alfred Fierro (245 pages, March 1998), consists of an eclectic potpourri of facts and figures about the city on the Seine. The author, chief librarian of the Historical Society of the City of Paris since 1988, spices his entries with interesting trivia; for example, the oldest tree in Paris is a false acacia in Viviani Square, brought from North America in 1601. Paris is also the only city in the world to have booksellers’ (bouquinistes) stalls lining its quays. A chronology, maps, acronyms, a bibliography, and statistical appendices enhance the value of this compact reference. $68.00. Scarecrow. ISBN 0-8108-3318- 2.

Manipulating the Ether: The Power of Broadcast Radio in Thirties America,by Robert J. Brown (310 pages, June 1998), is a timely reminder of old-time radio’s influence on American politics and culture. In our me- dia-saturated age, it’s easy to underestimate the early medium’s power to inform, politicize, and twist the boundaries of truth and fiction. Brown discusses Franklin Roosevelt’s use of broadcast radio as a political instrument, the news bureaus’ recognition of radio’s immediacy, and Orson Welles’s exploitation of public fears and lack of critical thinking with his 1938 “War of the Worlds” broadcast. Well-told and meticulously documented. $45.00. McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0397-7.

Pump 'Em Full of Lead: A Look at Gangsters on Film,by Marilyn Yaquinto (265 pages, May 1998), documents the fascination Americans have with organized crime. From D. W. Griffith’s “The Musketeers of Pig Alley” to Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” Yaquinto identifies the archetypes of the genre and the characteristics of the mobster: “He remains the American dream turned on its head and enterprising youth run amok.” This insightful survey pays special attention to Bonnie and Clyde, the “Godfather” saga, black gangsters, and Tarantino. $24.95. Twayne. ISBN 0-8057- 3892-4.

Recreating the Academic Library: Breaking Virtual Ground,edited by Cheryl LaGuardia (291 pages, July 1998), offers advice on how to successfully reengineer your library, your job, and your staff to meet the challenges of technology. The essays here are both fresh and practical: “Technostress in the Bionic Library” (John Kupersmith); “Designing Scenarios to Design Effective Buildings” Øames Rettig); “Making the Internet Manageable” (Abbie Jan Basile); and others. A thoughtful collection for anyone confronted with sudden or massive changes. $59.95. Neal-Schuman. ISBN 1- 55570-293-7.

Selecting Research Collections for Digitization,by Dan Hazen, Jeffrey Horrell, and Jan Merrill-Oldham (18 pages, August 1998), consists largely of practical questions that administrators must ask before making decisions about converting materials to digital format. A fold-out flowchart simplifies the process. $15.00. Council on Library and Information Resources, 1755 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036-2188. ISBN 1-887334-60-2.

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy,by Annette Gordon- Reed (288 pages, April 1998), summarizes the evidence that our third president had a 38- year-long relationship with a slave woman that resulted in six or seven children. Short of a DNA test, this book provides the strongest unbiased case for the affair. Much of Gor- don-Reed’s analysis consists of picking apart the arguments made by historians who staunchly dismiss the liaison; but in the process she uncovers many forgotten truths about race relations in the early 19th century. $14.95. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-1833-2.

Tocqueville and the French,by Franęoise Mélonio (300 pages, April 1998), provides a French perspective on Alexis de Tocqueville’s observations on American and French society in the 1830s. Revitalized in America 150 years after the publication of his Democracy in America (in 1995 both Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich drew upon his ideas in major speeches), Tocqueville is undergoing a similar rediscovery in France. His foretelling of the dangers of nationalism, socialism, and individualism ring true in modern Europe. $37.50. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0- 8139-1778-6.

Victorian Yellowbacks and Paperbacks, 1849-1905: Hotten, Chatto & Windus, and Chapman & Hall,by Chester W. Topp (530 pages, 1998), is the third in a series of bibliographies of the Victorian equivalent of modern paperbacks that were originally published to be sold inexpensively in railway bookstalls. This volume covers the output of three prominent publishers. $150.00. Hermitage Antiquarian Bookshop, 290 Fillmore St., Denver, CO 80206-5020. ISBN 0-9633920-2-6. ■