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January 2012  53 C&RL News

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

N e w  P u b l i c a t i o n sGeorge M. Eberhart

as six other style guides for the sciences. Ex-
amples for Web sites, blogs, video clips, and other 
digital media are included. $14.00. University of 
Chicago. 978-0-226-48464-8.

Clark Gable, in Pictures: Candid Images of the 
Actor’s Life, by Chrystopher J. Spicer (194 pages, 
October 2011), showcases 187 photos of the Hol-
lywood actor, each with extensive commentary 
that offers a glimpse into the personality of the 
real man behind the movie-star mask. Most of the 
images are candid, casual shots (some of which 
have never been 
published before) 
rather than profes-
sional studio photo-
graphs, and Spicer 
arranges them into 
chapters that focus 
on Gable’s early life, 
acting career, World 
War II service, hunt-
ing and fishing ac-
tivities, cars and 
motorcycles, social 
life, and married life. One intriguing photo shows 
Gable skiing with actress Loretta Young during 
the filming of The Call of the Wild in 1935, when 
they had a brief affair. Young became pregnant 
and decided to keep the child by pretending to 
adopt her; Judy Lewis, who died November 25, 
2011, was kept in the dark about who her real 
parents were for more than 30 years. $45.00. 
McFarland. 978-0-7864-4964-4.

Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the 
Civil War in Appalachia, by Brian D. McKnight 
(252 pages, April 2011), examines the activities 
of Champ Ferguson, a Confederate guerrilla 
who operated in southern Kentucky and eastern 
Tennessee and who was partially an inspiration 
for the fictional outlaw Josey Wales. Ferguson 
committed his first murder in 1858, but his trial 
was repeatedly delayed; and to avoid prosecu-
tion he joined as a partisan fighter when the 
war broke out, embarking on a career of cold-

Abraham Lincoln and Treason in the Civil War: 
The Trials of John Merryman, by Jonathan A. 
White (191 pages, October 2011), reexamines the 
famous 1861 case of a pro-secession Maryland 
militia lieutenant held responsible for burning 
railroad bridges and cutting telegraph wires north 
of Baltimore to prevent Union troops from pass-
ing through the city. First Lieut. John Merryman 
was arrested for these treasonous activities and 
imprisoned at Fort McHenry. Military officials re-
fused to honor Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger 
Taney’s writ of habeas corpus, citing President 
Lincoln’s recent suspension of that constitutional 
right in order to prevent secessionists from taking 
Maryland out of the Union. White uses the Mer-
ryman case to explore the broader legal battles 
that the Lincoln administration faced in dealing 
with treason, habeas corpus, and civil liberties 
throughout the war. $49.95. Louisiana State Uni-
versity. 978-0-8071-4214-1.

Books: A Living History, by Martyn Lyons (224 
pages, October 2011), provides a concise global 
history of textual communication from ancient 
cuneiform tablets and medieval codices to ency-
clopedias, chapbooks, dime novels, paperbacks, 
and e-books, all of it accompanied by a profusion 
of bibliophilic eye-candy. Though his focus is 
primarily on Europe and North America, Lyons 
includes a generous helping of non-Western ma-
terials, including ancient Buddhist texts, Japanese 
concertina books, Mesoamerican codices, Mum-
bai bookstalls, and manga. A useful overview 
for undergraduates and others unfamiliar with 
book art, science, and technology. $34.95. Getty 
Publications. 978-1-60606-083-4.

Cite Right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles, by 
Charles Lipson (213 pages, 2d ed., May 2011), 
offers an overview and examples of citations from 
the current versions of the Chicago (or Turabian), 
Modern Language Association, and American 
Psychological Association style manuals, as well 



C&RL News January 2012  54

Croall to reconstruct for the first time Gieldgud’s 
1953 arrest for solicitation in a public restroom 
and its aftermath, an event that nearly cost him his 
career. The back of the book features an epilogue 
of tributes from friends and actors, and a chronol-
ogy of Gielgud’s theater, film, and TV productions. 
$45.00. Bloomsbury Academic. 978-1-408-13106-0.

Pox: An American History, by Michael Willrich 
(422 pages, April 2011), reexamines the mul-
tiple outbreaks of smallpox—both the severe 
and less virulent types—in various parts of the 
United States from 1898 to 1902 that led some 
states to call for mandatory vaccinations for 
schoolchildren and even adults in some infected 
communities. The era saw the first concerted 
efforts to reduce disease incidence through 
enlightened health policies, but these often en-
ergized an organized and vigorous opposition 
to vaccinations, which were seen by some as 
both risky and an abuse of constitutional rights 
and religious freedom. Although the states’ right 
to enforce public health policy for the common 
good was upheld in the Supreme Court case of 
Jacobson v. Massachusetts in 1905, Willrich con-
siders the antivaccination movement as a pre-
cursor to the free-speech battles that followed 
World War I. An important historical contribution 
to medical history and public policy. $27.95. 
Penguin. 978-1-59420-286-5.

Public Spaces, Private Gardens: A History of 
Designed Landscapes in New Orleans, by Lake 
Douglas (282 pages, May 2011), investigates the 
development of public squares (Congo Square, 
Jackson Square), urban parks, levees, the “neutral 
ground” (median) within wide streets, commercial 
pleasure gardens, and private gardens in New 
Orleans throughout the 19th century. Douglas 
makes extensive use of the watercolor drawings 
of residences attached to property descriptions 
in the New Orleans Notarial Archives, as well as 
photographs, drawings, and maps to piece together 
the history of landscape architecture and horti-
culture in the Crescent City. An appendix offers 
a comprehensive inventory of agricultural and 
ornamental plant species that were cultivated in 
city gardens. $55.00. Louisiana State University. 
978-0-8071-3837-3. 

blooded homicide that included the massacre of 
unarmed white and African-American soldiers 
captured at the Battle of Saltville. In 1865, he 
was tried and executed in October 1865 for the 
murder of 53 men. Although McKnight does not 
exonerate Ferguson, he does shed some light 
on his complex motivations and beliefs. $34.95. 
Louisiana State University. 978-0-8071-3769-7.

The Golden Empire: Spain, Charles V, and the 
Creation of America, by Hugh Thomas (646 
pages, October 2011), chronicles the conquest 
of the New World by the Spanish King and 
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Beginning 
just after the conquest of Mexico by Hernán 
Cortés in 1521 and ending with Charles’s abdica-
tion in 1556, Thomas packs his narrative with 
little-known details about Francisco Pizarro’s 
conquest of Peru, Nuño de Guzmán’s invasion 
of western Mexico, and the exploits of other 
conquistadores and governors. A sequel to his 
Rivers of Gold (2003), which focused on the 
years from Columbus to Magellan (1492–1521), 
The Golden Empire is accompanied by ample 
maps, genealogies, and a much-needed index 
to keep track of a multitude of names. $35.00. 
Random House. 978-1-4000-6125-9.

John Gielgud: Matinee Idol to Movie Star, by 
Jonathan Croall (720 pages, July 2011), is a com-
prehensive biography of British Shakespearean 
actor and theater director John Gielgud, one of 

the few actors to win 
Oscar, Emmy, Tony, 
and Grammy awards. 
Croall had finished the 
first draft of this book 
in May 2000 when 
Gielgud died before 
he could review it; 
subsequently he was 
invited to interview 
a few hundred more 
friends and family and 

was granted access to Gielgud’s personal pa-
pers and voluminous correspondence, which 
revealed many observations about the actors he 
worked with, his sense of humor, and his intimate 
feelings about several partners. The letters allowed