ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ A p ril 19 9 8 / 2 9 1 N e w P u b l i c a t i o n s George M. Eberhart Argonne National Laboratory, 1946-96, by Jack M. Holl (644 pages, D ecem ber 1997), tells the history o f Argonne from its roots in the Manhattan Project to the uncertainties o f the postnuclear era. Holl traces the lab’s focus on nuclear reactors, its basic research, and its rela­ tionship with the Midwestern science commu­ nity. A detailed look at science and technology policy for history of science collections. $29-95. University o f Illinois. ISBN 0-252-02341-2. Blues and Gospel Records, 1890-1943, by R ob ert M. W. D ix o n , J o h n G o d r ic h , an d Howard W. Rye (1,370 pages, 4th ed., November 1997), has b e e n th or­ oughly revised and en ­ larged sin ce the third e d itio n in 1 9 8 2 . T h e scope has been widened by the addition o f 150 new artists and newly discovered recordings by other musicians already included. The compila­ tion now includes re­ cordings by such groups as the Fisk Ju bilee Sing­ ers and the Tuskegee In­ stitute Singers, who appealed to a predomi­ nantly w hite audience, and early cylinder recordings o f gospel music from the 1890s. No recordings made after 1943 have been in­ cluded, but a note indicates if an artist did make records later. Indexes o f song titles, vo­ calists, and accom panists en h an ce access. $95.00. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19- 816239-1. Children of the Night: The Six Archetypal Characters of Classic Horror Films, by Randy Loren Rasmussen (269 pages, March 1998), exam ines the dominant traits and dramatic functions in Gothic horror films o f the 1930s and 1940s. Rasmussen has identified six char­ acter types who populated the genre in its classic period: the helpless heroine (Elsa von Frankenstein in “Son o f Frankenstein”), the hapless hero (Jonathan Harker in “Dracula”), the wise elder (Maleva in “The W olf Man”), the mad scientist (Henry Jekyll in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”), the slow-witted servant (Ren- field in “Dracula”), and the alienated monster (Q uasi-m odo in “The H unchback o f Notre D am e”). The book explains why this com bi­ nation was so successful in its time and how it was transform ed in the 1950s and 1960s. $36.50. McFarland & Com­ pany. ISBN 0-7864-0337-3. Chronicle of the Olym­ pics (330 pages, 2nd ed., March 1998) should satisfy much o f the interest in ear­ lier games sparked by the Nagano Winter Olympics. Ph otograp hic im ages o f the games are the hallmark o f this book, unlike other Olympic histories that are more com prehensive but lack artwork. On the other hand, it does list the gold, silver, and bronze winners in all categories for each game since 1896. Preparations for the Nagano and Sydney games are also detailed. $29.95. DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7894-2312-X. The Civil War on the Outer Banks, by Fred M. Mallison (243 pages, March 1998), d e­ scribes the battles, the politics, and the fed­ eral o c c u p a tio n o f n o r th e a s te r n N orth Carolina’s barrier islands from Cape Look­ out to Virginia during the war betw een the states. Written from official records, co n tem ­ porary new spaper accounts, sold iers’ jour­ nals, and unpublished m anuscript sources, this b o ok is a fine exam ple o f the new Civil War scholarship that focuses on the w ar’s effect on regions and regim ents. Mallison puts the conflict into perspective by sum ­ marizing the region’s history from first settle­ ment to the end o f the 19th century. $37.50. 292 / C&RL News ■ April 1998 McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-0417- 5. Encyclopedia of Southern Literature, by Mary Ellen Snodgrass (550 pages, December 1997), presents commentary on the literature, the genres, the motifs, and the writers of the American South from colonial times to Alice Walker and Maya Angelou. Like her other lit­ erary encyclopedias on satirical, frontier, and utopian literature, the summaries are well- written and incisive. Appendices offer a chro­ nology of Southern authors, a list of major works by title, a list of Southern authors and their works, a chronology of films based on Southern literature, and a bibliography. $65.00. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0-87436-952-5. Encyclopedia of the War of 1812, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler (636 pages, December 1997), describes the people and battles of this war that most people only remember vaguely from high school. Al­ though the War of 1812 lasted only half as long and killed only a fraction of Americans as the Vietnam War, it marked the end of the first American party system with the demise of the Federalists; the end of American inter­ national insecurity; the beginning of an age of American expansionism and confidence; and the end of a Native American coalition under Tecumseh's leadership that threatened the balance of power on the frontier. You will want to have this book on hand for the 200th anniversary 15 years from now. $95.00. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 0-87436-968-1. Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley, by Robert P. Sharp and Allen F. Glazner (321 pages, November 1997), is a welcome addition to the Mountain Press “road­ side geology” series. Eastern California has the greatest difference in altitude in the 48 contiguous states— from Mt. Whitney at 14,494 feet above sea level to Death Valley at 282 feet below— as well as many unique geologi­ cal features that make this region topographi­ cally fascinating. Among the oddities described are the moving stones of Racetrack Playa, co ­ lumnar jointing at the Devil's Postpile, salt weathering, desert varnish, the desiccated Owens Dry Lake, and the rhyolitic glass domes near Mono Lake. The authors provide direc­ tions for 30 driving and walking tours to view these features. $16.00. Mountain Press, P.O. Box 2399, 1301 S. Third Street West, Missoula, MT 59806. ISBN 0-87842-362-1. Guide to Finding Legal and Regulatory In­ formation on the Internet, by Yvonne J. Chandler (515 pages, Decem ber 1997), de­ scribes and critiques 900 Web sites containing information on federal and state supreme court rulings, government information metaindexes, state constitutions, federal and state legislative inform ation, presidential d ocu m ents, IRS regulations, citation manuals, legal dictionaries, and international law sources. A handy resource for law and general collections alike. $125.00. Neal- Schuman Publishers. ISBN 1-55570-306-2. Nixon on Stage and Screen, by Thom as Monsell (239 pages, March 1998), is a compre­ hensive examination of how Richard Nixon has been portrayed in films, television, plays, and opera from the Checkers speech in 1952 to the 1996 release of the Nixon audiotapes. The scrutiny Bill Clinton is undergoing has only begun to approach the psychologizing and mi- nutiae-picking that Nixon analyzers have con­ ducted since the late 1940s. Monsell agrees that Nixon was a tragic figure, perhaps not in the Shakespearean sense that Oliver Stone tried to portray, but more like a conflicted figure in one o f Henrik Ib sen ’s social dramas. A nice mix o f history, analysis, and critical re­ views. $42.50. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0 -7 8 6 4 -0 163-X. Research and the Manuscript Tradition, by Frank G. Burke (310 pages, D ecem ber 1997), is a beginner’s guide to the process and practice o f conducting research in ar­ chives and collections o f personal papers. Burke, who has taught a course in manu­ scripts administration at the University o f Maryland/College Park for the past 20 years, offers advice on where to look for particular collections, how archives are arranged and described, why preservation and reproduc­ tion issues are critical, when law and ethics com e into play, and what effect the new age o f electronic com m unication is having on docum entation. A valuable handbook for anyone who needs to exam ine and analyze manuscript sources. $47.50. Scarecrow Press and the Society o f American Archivists. ISBN 0-8108-3348-4. C&RL News ■ A pril 1998 / 293