ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ October 1998 / 711 N e w P u b l i c a t i o n s G e o rge M . Eberhart Ancestral Images: The Iconography of Human Origins, by Step h anie M oser (2 0 0 p ages, Ju ly 1998), e x p lo re s artw ork d ep ict­ ing hum an ancestors, from the m ythological paintings o f antiquity, through the religious and secular visions o f the Middle Ages and R enaissan ce, to the scien tific and pop u lar recon struction s o f Cro-M agnons and N ean­ derthals in the 19th and 20th centuries. Moser n o tes that these artistic rep resen tation s per­ petuate stereotyp es seem ingly im pervious to m o d em discoveries in anthrop ology. A w ell- illustrated loo k at the qu est for our ow n g e n ­ esis. $39-95. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0 -8 0 1 4 -3 5 4 9 -8 . The Children's Civil War, by Ja m es Marten (365 pages, Septem ber 1 9 9 8 ) , lo o k s at th e Civil W ar’s e ffe c t on ho w ch ild ren — black and w hite, North and S o u t h — v ie w e d th e w orld, their country, t h e i r c o m m u n it i e s , and them selves. T a k ­ ing s e v e ra l d ifferen t a p p r o a c h e s , M arten looks at contem porary c h il d r e n ’s lite r a tu r e and sch o o lb o o k s, let­ ters from ab sen t sol- dier-fathers, p h otograp hs, diaries, and oral histories to p iece together this m issing thread in Civil W ar literature. Especially interesting is ho w ch ild ren in corp orated th e w ar into their sp e e c h and play, in so m e case s by g et­ ting as c lo s e to b attlefield a ction as they could. Many o f these w artim e ch ild ren grew up to b e c o m e fa m o u s, as did T h e o d o re R o o s e v e lt, J a n e A ddam s, and B o o k e r T. W ashington, w ho se perceptions w ere formed by the crisis. $34.95. University o f North Caro­ lina Press. ISBN 0 -8 0 7 8 -2 4 2 5 -9 . G eorge M. E berhart is associate e d ito r o f Am erican Libraries; e-m ail: g eberhart@ ala.org A n Em ily D ickinson Encyclopedia, ed ­ ited by J a n e D o nah u e E berw ein (3 9 5 pages, May 19 9 8 ), featu res several hundred entries on p eo p le, p laces, po em s, and oth er them es related to the reclusive p o et o f Amherst. Stu­ dents ca n easily flip to su ch asp ects o f her life and writings as “H elen Hunt Ja c k s o n ,” “R o m a n tic is m ,” “L e tte r s ,” “F e m in is t A p­ p ro a ch e s,” and th e “M aster.” A D ickinson ch ro n olo g y , fa scicle listings o f her poem s, no tes o n m ajor archival co llection s, a bib li­ o g r a p h y , a n d a n in d e x o f p o e m s c ite d su p p lem e n t the text. $ 8 5 .0 0 . G reen w oo d . ISBN 0 -3 1 3 -2 9 7 8 1 -9 . If p r o s e is y o u r p re fere n ce, you might try Paul P o p la w s k i’s Jane Austen Ency­ clopedia (411 pages, Ju ly 1998), w h ich d e ­ tails the life and w orks o f B r ita in ’s g r e a te s t no v e list o f m an n ers. $ 7 5 .0 0 . G re e n w o o d . ISBN 0 -3 1 3 -3 0 0 1 7 -8 . Smithsonian's Great B a ttle s & B a ttle ­ fields of the Civil War, by Ja y Wertz and Edwin C. Bearss (821 p a g e s , D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 7 ), ca n e ith e r b e used as a travel guide or as a su p p lem en t to W ertz’s v id e o serie s “Sm ith so n ian ’s G reat B attles o f the Civil W ar.” It d escrib es Civil W ar poin ts o f interest in e a ch state, offers suggested routes to follow , and provides an ov erview o f battles and cam paigns for each location . N umerous m aps and p hotographs a cco m p an y the text. T his is an unusual way to ap p ro ach the Civil W ar, o n e that could cre ate an interest am ong th o se w ho d oze o ff w hile reading a ch ro n o lo g ica l narrative. $42.00. William Morrow. ISBN 0-688-13549-8. Finding Statistics Online: How to Locate the Elusive Numbers You Need, by Paula B erinstein (3 5 6 p ag es, Ju n e 1998), d oes a mailto:geberhart@ala.org 712 / C&RL News ■ O ctober 1998 remarkable job in pinpointing the right place to look— whether on the W eb, in DIALOG or STN databases, or in LEXIS/NEXUS libraries— for a wide array o f data. Berinstein, w h o has been both a programmer/analyst and a refer­ ence librarian, guides the novice through sev­ eral introductory chapters on basic statistics and search tips, then gets dow n to business with 14 chapters on h ow to find the g o o d stuff. D o you need international coal prices? worldwide incidence o f rabies? insurance com pany losses during the 1994 Northridge, California, earth­ quake? D on ’t waste time with a W eb search engine; refer to this b o o k for practical advice and excellent shortcuts. $29-95. CyberAge Books, 143 Old Marlton Pike, Medford, NJ 08055-8750. ISBN 0-910965-25-0. From Bonn to Berlin: German Politics in Transition, by Lewis J. Edinger and Brigitte L. N acos (301 pages, July 1998), analyzes postunification policy issues and assesses the country’s ability to co p e 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 capital­ ism— facing Germans as their seat o f govern­ ment shifts from Bonn to Berlin in 2002. A lucid exposition that does not require exten­ sive prior k n ow led ge o f 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 evi­ dence for the persistence o f grizzlies in the San Juan Mountains, where the bears have been thought absent since 1952. Peterson inter­ viewed 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 Fierr o (245 pages, March 1998), consists o f an eclec­ tic potpourri o f facts and figures about the city on the Seine. The author, chief librarian o f the Historical Society o f the City o f Paris since 1988, spices his entries with interesting trivia; for example, the oldest tree in Paris is a false aca­ cia in Viviani Square, brought from North America in 1601. Paris is also the only city in the w orld to have booksellers’ ( bouquinistes) stalls lining its quays. A chronology, maps, acronyms, a bibliography, and statistical ap­ pendices enhance the value o f 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 o f old-time radio’s influence o n American politics and culture. In our me- dia-saturated age, it’s easy to underestimate the early medium’s pow er to inform, politicize, and twist the boundaries o f truth and fiction. Brown discusses Franklin Roosevelt’s use o f broad­ cast radio as a political instrument, the news bureaus’ recognition o f radio’s immediacy, and Orson Welles’s exploitation o f public fears and lack o f critical thinking with his 1938 “War o f the Worlds” broadcast. Well-told and meticu­ lously documented. $45.00. McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0397-7. Pump 'Em Full of Lead: A Look at Gang­ sters on Film, by Marilyn Yaquinto (265 pages, May 1998), documents the fascination Ameri­ cans have with organized crime. From D. W. Griffith’s “The Musketeers o f Pig Alley” to Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” Yaquinto identifies the archetypes o f the genre and the characteristics o f the mobster: “He remains the American dream turned on its head and enter­ prising youth run amok.” This insightful sur­ vey 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 h ow to successfully reengineer your library, your job, and your staff to meet the challenges o f technology. The essays here are both fresh and practical: “Technostress in the Bionic Library” (John Kupersmith); “Designing Scenarios to De­ sign Effective Buildings” Øames Rettig); “Mak­ ing the Internet Manageable” (Abbie Jan Basile); and others. A thoughtful collection for any­ o n e c o n fro n te d with sud den or massive changes. $59.95. Neal-Schuman. ISBN 1- 55570-293-7. C&RL News ■ O ctober 1998 / 713 Selecting Research Collections for Digiti­ zation, by Dan Hazen, Jeffrey Horrell, and Jan Merrill-Oldham (18 pages, August 1998), consists largely o f practical questions that ad­ ministrators must ask before making decisions about converting materials to digital format. A fold-out flowchart simplifies the process. $15.00. Council o n 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 w om an that resulted in six or seven children. Short o f a DNA test, this b o o k provides the stron­ gest unbiased case for the affair. Much o f Gor- don-Reed’s analysis consists o f picking apart the argum ents m a d e b y historians w h o staunchly dismiss the liaison; but in the pro­ cess she uncovers many forgotten truths about race relations in the early 19th century. $14.95. University Press o f Virginia. ISBN 0-8139-1833-2. Tocqueville and the French, by Franęoise M élonio (300 pages, April 1998), provides a French perspective o n Alexis de Tocqueville’s observations o n American and French soci­ ety in the 1830s. Revitalized in America 150 years after the publication o f his Democracy in America (in 1995 both Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich drew u p o n his ideas in major speeches), Tocqu eville is undergoing a simi­ lar rediscovery in France. His foretelling o f the dangers o f nationalism, socialism, and individualism ring true in m odern Europe. $37.50. University Press o f Virginia. ISBN 0- 8139-1778-6. Victorian Yellowbacks and Paperbacks, 1849-1905: Hotten, Chatto & Windus, and Chapman & Hall, by Chester W. T op p (530 pages, 1998), is the third in a series o f bibli­ ographies o f the Victorian equivalent o f m od­ ern paperbacks that were originally published to b e sold inexpensively in railway bookstalls. This volum e covers the output o f three promi­ nent publishers. $150.00. Hermitage Antiquar­ ian B ook sh op , 290 Fillmore St., Denver, CO 80206-5020. ISBN 0-9633920-2-6. ■