ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries May 1 9 9 6 /3 0 9 N ew Publications G e o rg e M . Eberha rt A b la ze ! The M ysterious Fires o f S p o n ta n e o u s H u­ m a n C o m b u stio n , by Larry E. Arnold (478 pages, Feb­ ruary 1996), exam ines the long history and bizarre cir­ cumstances of spontaneous human combustion (SHC), in which an individual burns in the absence of a known, con­ ventional source of fire. In some cases the person is al­ most completely reduced to as h e s w h ile s u rro u n d in g c o m b u stib le s e s c a p e u n ­ harmed. Although hotly denied by skeptics, SHC does have an impressive evidential caseload that Arnold examines in detail, all along testing the validity of.the facts as reported and the opin­ ions of those w ho may be premature in reject­ ing them. The author admits he does not have all the answers, but outlines a few theo­ ries th a t m ay a c ­ count for som e of the p h en o m en a in q u e s tio n . A few very graphic photo­ graphs of SHC cases accompany the text. The major flaw in this volum e is the lack o f an index, w hich is p robably the publisher’s do­ ing rather than the author’s negligence. A healthy antidote to the quasiscientific pronouncem ents by pundits at Prometheus Books. $24.95. M. Evans and Co., 216 E. 49th St., New York, NY 10017-1502. ISBN 0-87131-789-3. G uide to the A queducts o f A n c ie n t R om e, by Peter J. Aicher (183 pages, 1995), describes the complex netw ork of tunnels and arcades that distributed the city’s water supply. Twelve maps pinpoint the positions of the eleven aq­ ueducts in the m odern city, supplem ented by photographs an d reprints of draw ings from George Eberhαrt is editor/compiler o f The Whole Library H andbooks (ALA Editions, 1991, 1995). He served as editor o f C&RL News fr o m 1980 to 1990. Thomas Ashby’s 1935 sur­ v e y . $ 4 0 .00. B o lc h a z y - Carducci, 1000 Brown St., Wauconda, IL 60084. ISBN 0-86516-271-9. The O ffice Eq u ip m ent A d v ise r, by John Derrick (634 pages, 3d ed., O ctober 1995), strives to be a self- contained buyer’s guide to everything from computers to p h o n e systems for the small- or medium-sized of­ fice. It excels in examining the pros and cons of various systems, but treads lightly w hen describing specific brands; conse­ quently, it w ould b e wise to consult qualitative magazine reviews as well. In any case, the com­ parative information it provides is often diffi­ cult to find in other sources and usually scat­ te r e d , so if y o u n e e d a o n e - s to p , end-of-fiscal-year, use-it-or-lose-it g uide to faxes, copiers, scanners, and postage meters, this is a very good choice. A new edition is scheduled for September (let’s hope the index is expanded). $24.95. What to Buy for Busi­ ness, Inc., 924 Anacapa St., Suite 4G, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. ISBN 1-88256-858-3. O p eratio n D esert S h ield /D esert Storm : C h r o n o lo g y a n d Fact B o o k , by Kevin Don Hutchison (269 pages, December 1995), pro­ vides detailed information about the daily and hourly events, missions, and movements from the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 to the end of Desert Storm in April 1991. Although there is little analysis of negotiation and strat­ egy, Hutchison’s timeline is an impressive as­ semblage of official U.S. records and coalition sources. Appendices include a glossary, a list of coalition POWs and service people killed in action, and the order of battle for both coali­ tion and Iraqi forces. $69.50. G reenw ood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881. ISBN 0-313-29606-5. Another essential reference on this topic is the E n c y c lo p e d ia o f th e P e r sia n G u lf War, by Mark G ross-m an (522 pages, D ecem ber 1995), w hich covers the events, armaments, p olitics, an d p erso n a lities o f th e conflict. G rossman explores much w ider issues than Hutchison, and includes in his own timeline 3 1 0 / C&RL News the Iran-Iraq War an d events going back to t 19th century. Of particular interest is an a pendix with l6 0 pages o f primary docum ent am ong them various U.S. Executive Orders, t co m p lete UN Resolutions, P resident B ush news conferences, various interviews o f Sadda Hussein, and docum ents relating to Iraq’s c pability for chemical and biological warfar Also included is a short appendix o f Angl American slang used by the coalition force (My favorite is “Johnny Weissmuller show er a show er that is so cold that it makes you screa like Tarzan.) $75.00. ABC-CLIO, 130 Cremo Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117. ISBN 0-8743 684-4. D isp atch es from the Front: N e w s A c o u n t s o f A m e r ic a n W ars, 1 7 7 6 – 1 9 9 1 , Nathaniel Lande (416 pages, D ecem ber 1995 g a th e rs to g e th e r nearly 70 accounts o f b attles, treaty signings, and p a­ rades by American w a r c o r r e s p o n ­ d en ts from C on­ c o rd to K uw ait. Among the writers and journalists de­ s c rib in g h o rrific m ilitary conflicts nathaniel lande are Thomas Paine, G eorge W. K endall, W hitelaw Reid, H enr Villard, Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway, W liam Shirer, D orothy T hom pson, Edw ard Murrow, Keyes Beech, Walter Lippman, Pet Arnett, and David Hackworth. Besides provi ing literary glimpses o f heroism and histor these reporters offer some insight into the m tivations and excuses for w ar as they try to ma sense out o f events both for their readers an themselves. For some reason, eyewitness a counts of America’s m any Indian wars are n included. $35.00. Henry Holt and Co., 115 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-805 3664-4. Correction In “ACRL honors the 1996 award winners (April 1996), Larry Hardesty’s career should have included a stint at DePauw, not DePaul, University. The editors regret the error. he P irates a n d S e a fa rin g S w a s h b u c k le rs o n t h e H o lly w o o d S c r e e n , by James Robert Parish (228 pages, May 1995), profiles 137 films featuring buccaneers and freebooters from 1914 to 1992. Perennially popular, pirate films have m ade a minor com eback since Hook in 1991. Parish provides cast lists, plot synopses, extracts of reviews, and anecdotes about each film. (Few o f these features are historically accurate, so you may wish to hit the VCR p ause button and peruse David Marley’s Pirates a n d Privateers o f the Am ericas (ABC-Clio, 1994) for quick fact checks.) $42.95 postpaid. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-935-5. Presidential Libraries a n d M useum s: An Illu stra ted G u id e, by Pat Hyland (175 pages, 1995), describes the holdings an d exhibits of the nine presidential libraries adm inistered by the National Archives and Records Administra­ tion, as well as the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace and the Rutherford B. Hayes Memo­ rial Museum an d Library (both adm inistered privately), and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum (still u n d er construction). The book provides a walking tour o f each li­ brary, with comments on each president’s land­ mark legislation, treasured possessions, and childhood reminiscences. $39.95. Congressional Quarterly Books, 1414 22nd St., N.W., Wash­ ington, DC 20037. ISBN 0-87187-960-3. The Regions of Sp ain: A Reference G uid e to H is to r y a n d C ulture, by Robert W. Kern (411 pages, O ctober 1995), examines the his­ torical, literary, and artistic aspects o f Spain’s 18 regions and 50 provinces. Each chapter looks at th e characteristics o f a reg io n (su ch as Catalonia or Andalusia), then focuses on the provinces that comprise it (such as Granada or Tarragona). The vital statistics and descriptions of the economy, history, literature, art, customs, music, historic sites, and cuisine o f each prov­ ince offer a unique perspective on a country that has always b een strongly localized. A valu­ able addition to Western European collections. $55.00. G reenw ood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881. ISBN 0-313-29224-8. Scien ce Fictio n : The Illu s tra te d E n cy ­ c lo p e d ia , by Jo h n Clute (312 pages, October 1995), p ain ts w ith b ro ad b ru sh stro k es th e them es, trends, an d titles in science fiction books, magazines, film, and television since the genre’s beginnings in the late 19th century. This p ­ s, he ’s m a­ e. o- s. ,” m na 6- c­ by ), y il­ R. er d­ y, o­ ke d c­ ot W. 0- ” May 19 9 6 /3 1 1 is an entertaining and informative overview that LaGuardia, Stella Bentley, and Janet Martorana (249 pages, Septem ber 1995), offers some strat­ egies for maintaining bibliographic instruction programs w hen budgets and personnel have b e e n sla sh ed . C o n trib u to rs in c lu d e J a n ice Sim m ons-W elburn, Ann C oder an d Margie Smith, Donald G. Frank, Michele G. Hanson, J o h n K upersm ith, Jo a n H. W orley, J o s e p h Boissé, and Carla Stoffle. $39.95. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 100 Varick St., New York, NY 10013. ISBN 1-55570-217-1. V ital Statistics on the P residen cy: W a s h ­ ington to C linton, by Lyn Ragsdale (455 pages, November 1995), presents a comparative analy­ sis o f all 42 American presidents from a variety of standpoints: personal backgrounds and p o ­ litical ex perience, th e p residential selection process, public opinion, speeches and public appearances, policy decisions, bureaucracy, and relations with Congress an d the courts. More than 150 tables and figures illustrate these com­ parisons, while the author’s insightful analysis details how the office has evolved since the 18th century. $46.95. Congressional Quarterly Books, 1414 22nd St., N.W., Washington, DC 20037. ISBN 1-56802-050-3. is, as the author writes, “a guided tour o f sto­ ries about a million tom orrows.” The historical context in w hich science fiction was born and has flourished is given close scrutiny. For those wishing m ore detail, see the aw ard-w inning Encyclopedia o f Science Fiction by Jo h n Clute and Peter Nicholls (Orbit, 1992). $39.95. Dorling Kindersley, 95 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-7894-0185-1. A Ta lie sin Le g a cy : The A rchitecture of Frank Lloyd W right’s A pprentices, by Tobias S. G uggenheim er (256 pages, August 1995), il­ lustrates and assesses the work of 39 of Wright’s protégés— among them acclaimed architects like E. Fay Jones, Jo h n Lautner, and Paolo Soleri— w ho studied at the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright’s revolutionary center for revolutionary design. These apprentices share their views on Wright and the philosophy of his organic architecture as it is expressed in their ow n works. Many of the photographs w ere taken from the personal archives o f the students and are published here for the first time. Some o f the projects featured are Biosphere 2, the Scottsdale Cardiovascular Center, the Okinaw a Hilton Hotel, and many p riv ate re sid e n c e s. $5 9 .95. V an N o stran d Reinhold, 115 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10003- ISBN 0-442-01879-7. T e a c h in g E le ctro n ic In fo rm a tio n Lit­ eracy: A H ow-to-Do-It Manual fo r Librar­ ians, edited by Donald Barclay (179 pages, No­ v e m b e r 1995), h ig h lig h ts w ay s in w h ic h librarians can teach electronic search strategies and the Internet to b oth novice and partially experienced users. The em phasis is o n practi­ cal exam ples and guidelines. An optional dis­ kette, formatted for Windows, features more than 65 color graphics that illustrate key points and data from the manual. Manual, $39.95. ISBN 1-55570-186-8. Diskette, $15.00. ISBN 1-55570- 109-4. N eal-Schum an P u b lish ers, Inc., 100 Varick St., New York, NY 10013. In the same series o f manuals is Finding G o v e rn m e n t Inform ation on the Inter­ net, edited by Jo h n Maxymuk (264 pages, No­ vem ber 1995), w hich coders the topics, tools, and Internet resources for retrieving federal, state, local, an d in te rn atio n a l inform ation. $39.95. ISBN 1-55570-228-7. The U pside of D ow nsizing : Using Lib rary I n s t r u c t io n to C o p e , e d ite d b y C h e ry l 3 1 2 /C&RL News W a r f a r e in th e C la s s ic a l W o rld , by Jo h n Warry (224 pages, O ctober 1985), traces the art o f warfare from Homeric times to the fall of the Roman Empire in considerable detail and w ith plentiful illustrations o f soldiers in uni­ form, eq u ip m en t, w eap o n s, w arships, siege machines, and archaeological sites. The b o o k ’s 14 chapters cover specific historical periods w hich are tied together by a continuous tim e­ line from l600 B. C. to 800 A.D . o n every page. An excellent analytical and visual supplem ent to primary classical texts. $19.95. University of O klahom a Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019- ISBN 0-8061-2794-5. W h a t Is Life? The N e x t Fifty Y e a r s : Spec­ u la t io n s o n t h e F u tu re o f B io lo g y , edited by Michael P. Murphy an d Luke A. J. O ’Neill (191 pages, O ctober 1995), com m em orates the p u b ­ lication in 1944 o f Erwin Schrödinger’s b ook W hat Is Life? in w hich he addressed genetics from a physicist’s perspective. The contribu­ tors, am ong them Stephen Jay Gould, Manfred Eigen, Jo h n Maynard Smith, and Lewis Wolpert, tackle questions about o u r current u nderstand­ ing o f the origin o f life, evolution, the origin of hum an inventiveness, developm ental biology, an d the basis for consciousness. Much o f the b o o k assum es a fundam ental k n ow ledge o f m olecular biology, but for anyone in that p ro ­ fession o r career p ath it will stimulate thinking about existence, behavior, and the mind. $24.95. Cambridge University Press, 40 W. 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211. ISBN 0-521-45509-X. W o rld W a r I S o n g s, by Frederick G. Vogel (530 pages, D ecem ber 1995), exam ines how the music o f W orld War I reflected American m oods from isolation an d pacifism to vicious jingoism and unabashed sentiment. In Part One, Vogel analyzes the types o f songs that w ere published an d how they kept the hom e fires burning. The seco n d part is a list o f all World W ar I songs verified as published in the United States. Part T hree presents the lyrics to more than 300 songs o f the era, and a 117-page in­ dex lets you find titles, com posers, lyricists, publishers, topics, and keyw ords-in-context of th e so n g lyrics. O n e s o n g w ritte n b y Will Rossiter in 1917 captures the mix o f excitement an d dread that typifies the soldier’s lot in any war: “We D on’t Know W here W e’re Going (but W e’re on O ur Way.” $85.00. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950- 952-5. ■ (W ashington cont. fr o m p a g e 3 0 4 ) such piece o f legislation w ould, in effect, re­ quire the appointm ent o f a n ew U nder Secre­ tary o f Commerce for Intellectual Property with implicit authority over copyright); • a Senate bill w hich w ould im pose stiff criminal penalties o n an yone w ho unlawfully distributes copyrighted information, or assists another to d o so, even if such distribution is not m ade for financial gain (ALA is w orking to ensure that librarians will not be criminally li­ able simply for doing their jobs); and • a H ouse bill w hich may be read to im­ plicitly codify that tem porary reproductions of material in the random access m em ory (RAM) o f a com puter are “co p ies” for all p urposes u n d er the Copyright Act (taken to its logical conclusion, such a definition could m ake sim­ ply reviewing a docum ent on screen a copy­ right violation if the o w n er’s perm ission has not first b een obtained). The C o n fe re n ce on F a ir U se O n the nonlegislative front, the W ashington Office continues to rem ain active in the Con­ ference o n Fair Use (CONFU) b egun in late 1994. After m uch d ebate at the last meeting concerning w hether the process should be con­ tinued, the participants concurred that a d ead ­ line o f Novem ber 1996 should b e set for the preparation, if possible, o f guidelines as to w hat m ay constitute th e “fair u s e ” o f copyrighted information in six key issue areas, including such controversial matters as: interlibrary loans, electronic reserves, and multimedia works m ade by teachers and students for educational use. Small w orking groups will continue to m eet on these and other issues throughout the spring. The next plenary CONFU session is scheduled for May 30. S ta y in fo rm ed e le c tro n ic a lly For frequent electronic updates on intellectual property an d oth er current legislative issues, subscribe to ALAWON by sending the message “s u b s c rib e a la -w o [y o ur_firstnam e] [your_ lastnam e]” to . (ALAWON is available free o f charge, only in electronic form.) Try th e ALAWON arch iv es at g o p h e r :// g o p h e r .a l a . o r g : 7 0 / 1 1 / a l a g o p h w a s h o f f / alagophw ashoffnew sline. T he ALA W eb page is available at: h ttp :// w w w .ala.org/alaw ashington.htm l. Or call the ALA W ashington Office at (800) 941-8478. ■ mailto:listproc@ala.org http://www.ala.org/alawashington.html May 1 9 9 6 /3 1 3 3 1 4 /C&RL News Too much to do and too little time?... ...You need Baker & Taylor. B aker & Taylor offers you a For years, B aker & Taylor has wide array o f value-added been selecting, cataloging a n d services including: free processing books for libraries electronic ordering software a t a cost th a t helps stretch a n d in sta n t title confirmation; budgets w ithout compromising flexible cataloging & process­ quality. Our customers have in g /technical support services; realized savings a n d you can collection development too! assistance; custom ized To fin d out more about the technical library services; Value-Added Services offered autom atic ship m en t programs; by B aker & Taylor, please call continuations; book leasing; Inform ation Services a t (800) approval program; opening 775-1800 or contact us via day collections a n d collection e-mail a t btinfo@baker- expansion programs. taylor.e-mail.com. BAKER & TAYLOR Information a nd Entertainment Services