ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries November 1 9 9 7 /7 2 1 N ew Publications G eo rg e M. Eberhart The A ca d e m ic L ib ra ry Director: Reflections on a Position in Transition, edited by Frank D ’Andraia (108 pages, August 1997), is a useful collection o f essays to h a v e w h e th e r you are seek in g a position as direc­ tor or conducting a search for one. As academ ic institutions chang e to reflect new priori­ ties, the library director is in a pivotal position to react to those changes. Contributions by Paul Kobulnicky, Karen Hatcher, R ebecca Martin, B arbara Brittingham, and Jo e l Clemm er add to D A nd raia’s ow n insights. Published si­ m ultaneously as the Jo u rn a l o f Library Admin­ istration, vol. 24, no. 3. $39.95. Haworth Press. ISBN 0-7890-0320-1. The Am erican Heritage Dictionary of Idi­ om s, by Christine Ammer (729 pages, O cto ­ b er 1997), explains nearly 10,000 phrases and expression s w hose definitions are missed by standard and slang dictionaries alike. Naturally, som e o f these idioms are so self-explanatory ( “get up ,” “never hear the end o f,” “shrug o f f ’) that o n e might briefly w onder why they require explication. However, two primary uses quickly spring to mind: (1 ) non-English speakers will find this dictionary useful in defining colloqui­ alisms that defy the linguistic lo g ic o f other cultures ( “in the d oghou se” or “low er the boom o n ” might not b e obvious to Thai or Inuit speak­ ers); and (2 ) sin ce the dictionary provides in­ form ation on w hen idioms cam e into use, it will b e helpful to writers o f historical dialogue in k e e p in g th e ir ja r g o n g e n u in e . $ 3 0 .0 0 . Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-72774-X . The A m erican Horticultural Society A -Z Encyclopedia of G ard e n Plants, edited by Christopher Brickell and Jud ith D. Zuk (1,092 pages, Septem ber 1997), identifies m ore than 15.000 ornam ental plants found in American gardens, greenhouses, and hom es. Descriptions are lean and succinct in order to allow for the 6.000 color photographs— som etim es as many as e ig h t o r n in e o n a p a g e — th at b lo ss o m throughout the text. As the title suggests, all plant genera are lum ped into o n e alphabetical directory by scientific nam e, s o you will have to use the index if you d on ’t know that colu m bines form the genus Aquilegia. O th er DK P u b­ lishing titles do a better jo b o f telling you how to gar­ d en (like the O ctober release o f Roy Lancaster’s What Pe­ rennial Where), but this en ­ cycloped ia is on e o f the best single-volum e guides to gar­ d en sp ecies around. Som e days you just want to know what a Chilean glory flow er looks like, instead o f how to plant on e. $79.95. DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7894-1943-2. For those w ho prefer their flora in the for­ ests, two Ju n e releases by Mountain Press Pub­ lishing C om pany w ill b e o f interest. N e w E n g la n d 's M o u n ta in F lo w e rs : A H ig h C o u n try H e rita g e , by J e f f W allner and Mario J . DiG regorio (221 pages, $17.00), d escribes and illustrates 85 prom inent sp ecies o f New England wildflowers. E dible a n d M e d ic in a l P lan ts o f th e W est, by Gregory L. Tilford (239 pages, $21.00), does the sam e for som e 250 w estern sp ecies; notes on m edicinal uses and edibility are tem pered by w arnings o f p os­ sible toxicity. C a n n a b is in M edical Practice, edited by Mary Lynn Mathre (239 pages, Septem ber 1997), offers straightforward information on the thera­ peutic u se o f marijuana, especially for patients afflicted w ith glaucom a, AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, and chronic pain. Contributions on legal and p h arm acolog ical issues are provided, along with appendixes featuring docum ents and re­ sources. $25.00. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-0361-6. Film C ho reo grap hers an d Dance Direc­ tors, by Larry Billm an (652 pages, O ctober 1997), profiles 970 choreographers who w orked in nearly 3 ,500 films and brings into focu s the o ften-overlooked history o f cinem atic dance. B illm an begins with a d ecade-by-decad e over- G eorge M. E berhart is a sso ciate ed ito r o f A m e ric a n L ib ra rie s 722/C&RL News view o f dance on film that puts its highlights and setbacks into perspective. A biographical section follows, w hich includes credits for cho­ reographers’ stage, TV, music video, nightclub/ concert, and ballet achievem ents as well as film work. W ell illustrated and entertaining, with an excellent index. $110.00. McFarland & Com­ pany. ISBN 0-89950-868-5. A Historical Dictionary of G e rm a n y's W eim ar Republic, 1 9 1 8 -1 9 3 3 , by C. Paul V incent (635 pages, Septem ber 1997), is an essential guide to the politics, culture, and in­ dividuals associated with Germany betw een the wars. Not strictly focusing on the rise o f Na­ tional Socialism, this dictionary strikes a bal­ ance with other reference works that view the era as an inevitable prelude to World War II. $115.00. G reenw ood Press. ISBN 0-313-27376- 6 . Historical Dictionary of UNESCO, by Seth Spaulding and Lin Lin (500 pages, Septem ber 1997), defines the educational, scientific, and cultural activities o f the United Nations’ most c o m p le x a n d m is u n d e r s to o d s p e c ia liz e d a g e n c y . A c h r o n o l o g y h ig h li g h t s th e organization’s history from its origins in the League o f Nations to its 50th anniversary in 1996, while an extensive bibliography and de­ tailed appendixes aid in understanding. $69-00. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3288-7. T h e O t h e r M is s ile s o f O c t o b e r : Eisenhower, Kennedy, and the Jupiters, 1 9 5 7 -1 9 6 3 , by Philip Nash (231 pages, Sep­ tem ber 1997), tells the little-known story o f the U.S. Jupiter nuclear missiles deployed in Italy and Turkey by the Eisenhow er administration shortly after the launch o f Sputnik. Although they w ere o bsolete even in 1957, recently d e­ classified docum ents show that their removal was a significant bargaining chip in K ennedy’s handling o f the Cuban missile crisis. Nash ana­ lyzes the policy and politics prevailing in this cold w ar controversy. $45.00. U niversity o f North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4647-3. Religious H olidays an d C a le n d ars: An Encyclopedic H andbook, edited by Karen B ellenir (2d ed., 316 pages, August 1997), has b een reorganized and expanded to tw ice its previous size. Entries for the more than 450 religious holidays are now arranged by faith. E ach chapter begins with an introductory es­ say, follow ed by detailed information on the calendar and holidays o f each religion. Four refe re n c e -q u e stio n -b u stin g chap ters are in­ cluded on the historical developm ent o f lunar, lunisolar, and solar calendars; their sacred and secular uses; and calendar reform movements. Well worth an upgrade from the first edition. $70.00. Omnigraphics. ISBN 0-7808-0258-6. Spiritualism in Antebellum A m erica, by Bret E. Carroll (227 pages, O ctober 1997), e x ­ amines the origins o f the American Spiritualist movem ent in the 1840s and 1850s both as a dem ocratizing response to conventional reli­ gious institutions and as a serious search for cosm ic order. Carroll sees the m id-19th-cen- tury Spiritualist circle as an attempt to reach a cosm ic con nected ness that w ould bring Ameri­ cans together in a new configuration o f har­ m ony and order. H owever, its two primary impulses— on e antiauthoritarian, the other c en ­ tralizing— led to its transformation after the Civil War into extrem es o f sensationalism and bu­ reaucracy. $ 35.00. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33315-6. W hat Else You Can Do w ith a Library D egree, edited by Betty-Carol Sellen (335 pages, July 1997), should b e consulted by any­ on e considering library school or contem plat­ ing a career change. MLS graduates have many more ch oices available to them now than 17 years ago, w hen the first edition o f this book was published. It contains 62 chapters written by p eop le in publishing, sales o f library prod­ ucts and services, freelance information m an­ agem ent, association w ork, and m any other situations w here a library degree carŕie in handy. As much a guide for graduates as a roadmap to where the profession is heading, What Else You Can Do may at least cause your eyebrow s to raise in the “what i f ’ position. $29-95. Neal- Schuman Publishers. ISBN 1-55570-264-3. A W illiam Butler Yeats Encyclopedia, by Sam McCready (484 pages, Septem ber 1997), consolidates basic information on this eminent Irish poet, playwright, politician, and occultist. Entries summarize Y eats’s verse, stories, plays, and the characters therein; places associated with Yeats; organizations to w hich he belonged; and biographies o f his family and contem po­ raries. A Yeats chronology, reading lists, and a select bibliograp hy en h a n ce a ccess. $95.00. Greenw ood Press. ISBN 0-313-28371-0. ■