Hoffer Grand Prize

The Eric Hoffer grand prize is the highest distinction awarded each year.

Lucky Fish, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Tupelo Press - Aimee Nezhukumatathil writes with ever-present inventiveness in this 2011 collection. By enfolding folk beliefs, tales, or superstitions into contemporary experience, place, or situations, these poems delineate a fascinating, unexpected adventure. Her combinatory poetic and moral grace ranges through varied forms and across subjects and worldwide geography with exuberance, humor, and a lustrous talent for complex transformation. She presents scenes from childhood or her youth with vulnerability and a quirky originality. Occasionally, as in "Inside a Diorama," a poem will rouse the reader by yoking an impossibly heart-wrenching event like a child's murder with a cheery, yellow memory of innocence. Throughout her writing, such fusions are possible because this virtuosic poet possesses the enviable capacity for interlacing compassionate universality with a bright-hearted understanding of happenstance. Both poet and readers can be grateful to Tupelo Press for the superb design and high quality production of this accomplished book.

back to top

Montaigne Medal

The Montaigne Medal is awarded to the most thought-provoking titles.

Coppola: A Pediatric Sureon in Iraq, Dr. Chris Coppola, NTI Upstream - "Those of you not in the military may not know, but our corporation, the US military, tries to quantify the personal risks and demands of war in financial terms," Dr Coppola states early on in this wartime surgeon's memoir, as he begins to list the bloodless wages and benefits of deployment during a 21st century conflict. However Coppola's story is neither a dry recitation nor a self-aggrandized recollection. It's a clear-eyed view of a pediatric surgeon’s time spent serving the military in Iraq, while set against saner times at home. Naturally his patients are, by and large, not enlisted men, but the child casualties of war. A real American hero, Dr. Coppola takes us through two tours of duty and delivers an unforgettable experience. There's no need to inflate the truth here; the facts are bad enough.

Proving God: Swedenborg's Remarkable Quest for the Quantum Fingerprint of Love, Edward F. Sylvia, Staircase Press - Emanuel Swedenborg, born in 1688, was an inventor, scientist, and spiritualist, who thrived as a thinker during the age of The Enlightenment and became involved in numerous scientific disciplines. During the second half of his life, he turned his focus toward God and a reformed understanding of Christianity. Author Edward Sylvia illuminates, not only the life of Swedenborg, but the great thinker's overlapping doctrines of science and love. Not unlike the way Unified Field Theorists seek a global understanding of physics, Swedenborg discovered encompassing realizations of God and science in the unseen world that have direct correlations to the known sciences and religious beliefs. Unfortunately many of Swedenborg's accomplishments have been accredited to others, perhaps because of his far-reaching and then seemingly outrageous notions of the universe, God, and man. Sylvia is setting the record straight. (This book is also the Spirtual category winner.)

Wednesday is Indigo Blue, Richard E. Cytowic, M.D. & David M. Eagleman, Ph.D., The MIT Press - Synesthia is a little known neurological condition where the stimulation of one cognitive pathway leads to the stimulation of another. A common form is color synesthia where people associate numbers, for example, with colors. Others might associate sounds with visual motions or tastes with words. There are many examples of synesthia where cognitive pathways seem to share space, so to speak, in the brain. In Wednesday is Indigo Blue, Drs. Cytowic and Eagleman break down this unusual condition, which effects as many as 1 in 25,000 people. Embedded within our language, there appear to be metaphoric clues, when we say things like "anger is red," "jazz is cool," or even "a cheese tastes sharp." This book elevates understanding of this fascinating trait of perception and perhaps unlocks one of the secrets of the brain.

back to top

da Vinci Eye

The da Vinci Eye is awarded to titles with superior cover artwork.

	Crossing with the Virgin, Ferguson, Price, & Parks, The University of Arizona Press (cover by Leigh McDonald)
	Life in a Jar, Jack Mayer, Long Trail Press (cover by Winslow Colwell)  See extended coverage of this title in the US Review.
	Lucky Fish, Aimee Nezhukumatahil, Tupelo Press (cover by Howard Klein) This book is also the Hoffer Grand Prize winner.
	Moonlight Memoirs, Maggie Mei Lewis, Good Times Press (cover by Melody Lea Lamb)
	The Hesitant Hour, R.P.Weissner, AuthorHouse (cover by Lida Chaulet & R. P. Weissner)
	The University of Gravel Roads, Rene Cormier, Renedian Adventures (cover by Chris 'Swani' Swanson)

back to top

Academic Press Award

This award is given to a title from a press with an educational institution affiliation, such as a college, library, or museum.

Writers and Their Notebooks, Diana M. Raab, University of South Carolina Press - Twenty-four writers reveal why they keep journals and what the ancient art of journaling invokes on a personal and professional level. Some journal to discover and repair fundamental divides in their fictional characters; others, to uncover and heal divides in their own. A few find journals the place for personal honesty, which permits their published prose to speak the truth. Still others find journals unhealthy mental wallows and killers of creativity. From these diverse minds, Raab extracts the nub of journal keeping and inspires the reader toward a possible journey of his own.

back to top

Small Press Award

This award is given to a title from a press producing twenty-five books or more per year.

The Futures, Emily Lambert, Basic Books - Many of us have some familiarity with the futures and options markets, the concept of betting on the future production of commodities such as eggs, grain, or pork bellies. The Chicago commodities exchanges have a long and prosperous history of facilitating trades on these goods. It began with a simple idea: farmers desired a marketplace to sell their produce, while speculators were eager to buy contracts for these items at a pre-determined price. Many books have been written on the subject, but few give us such a detailed historical account of the origins and the fascinating players in the commodities markets. One of these players, Benjamin “Old Hutch” Hutchinson, became known as “the king of the wheat pit,” amassing a great fortune in the 1800's. It is said that Hutchinson sat on a “wicker throne” on the trading floor. The book shows us in a clear and easy to understand manner, the impact that these markets have had on the world and the lessons that can be learned from the past.

back to top

Micro Press Award

This award is given to a title from a press producing twenty-four books or less per year.

An Illustrated Introduction to Taoism, Jean C. Cooper, World Wisdom - The author, raised in China by Christian parents, spent much of her early years being cared for by Taoist-Buddhist amahs (nurses). This exposure influenced her enormously, as she later delved into both Confucianism and Taoism and their relationship to mysticism, philosophy and symbolism. Though both are Shamanic, a split occurred; one being "exoteric" and the other "esoteric." It was noted that Confucius said to Lao Tzu, "The highest rung on my ladder corresponds to the lowest rung on your ladder." The Tao, also called the "Way," can be described as a unity of knowing and being, with the yin-yang symbol representing the manifested perfection of the duality of all spiritual and earthly life. Through text and diagrams, the author discusses in depth, Yi Ching, the "Book of Changes," Wu-Wei, the doctrine of inaction but not indifference,The Great Triad (Heaven-Man-Earth),and the wisdom sayings of Chuang Tzu and the Sages. Though scholarly in its scope, Cooper's meticulous research and passionate dedication to her subject makes it highly readable. Combining prose and art, it is filled with full-color reproductions of remarkable art forms from various dynasties, famous temples, and Zen gardens that inspire peaceful contemplation. Master poets and renowned Sages are quoted throughout, adding another dimension. Cooper has left behind a legacy that not only exemplifies her considerable knowledge, but also shows her extraordinary empathy for the Tao and those who follow the Way. This engrossing book is a soul-enriching experience on many levels.

back to top

Self-Published Award

This award is given to a title that was financed by the author and/or not by the publisher, regardless of press size.

Hands at Work: Portraits & Profiles of People Who Work With Their Hands, Summer Moon Scriver (photography) & Iris Graville, Heron Moon Press - The most primal form of labor—working with your hands—is the focus of Schriver's and Graville's photo and story essay, Hands at Work. The jobs depicted in this collection run the gamut, including midwives, craftsmen, machinists, farmers, and fishermen—artists and artisans alike. The sculptor and the jeweler are expected, but also the baker and the auto technician are not overlooked. This is not a generalized overview of manual and skilled labor. While the photos exhibit the earthen glow of an Edward S. Curtis plate, each story delves into a specific member of the trade, illuminating the human connection to the task and the results produced by hand. As we pass from the machine age into an increasingly detached digital age, the authors show us that when we stay in touch with our work we remain grounded within ourselves as a culture and a people.

back to top

Art

Titles in this category capture the experience, execution, or demonstration of the arts, including art, fine art, graphic art, architecture, design, photography, and coffee table books.

Winner

Schooner: Building a Wooden Boat on Martha's Vineyard, Alison Shaw & Tom Dunlop, Vineyard Stories - The idea of building a boat is so ingrained in the human psyche that it’s hard to separate it from the entirety of man’s lore regarding travel and the will to transcend space and time. Schooner is Shaw and Dunlop’s ode to the largest vessel built on Martha’s Vineyard in over one hundred years. At sixty feet, over 76,000 pounds, and more than three years of expert construction, Rebecca of Vineyard Haven is finally seaworthy, but this is not a story of her cruising the open water. It is a story about the adventure of constructing a wooden sailing ship from the ground up. Beginning with the people, the photos and narration of this oversized photo and narrative essay step through every phase of Rebecca’s construction. By calling up their inspirations and love of craft, Shaw and Dunlop do justice to everyone and every part of this splendid accomplishment.

First Runner-Up

Care of Ward 81, Bill Diodato, Golden Section Publishers - The interior of an abandoned ward for the treatment of woman with mental illness is not an obvious choice for a photo essay. That is of course if you are not Bill Diodato who understands that insightful photojournalism sometimes peaks into the dark corners of the world. In 1976, Diodato visited the women's ward of the Oregon State Mental hospital for a six-week photo essay of the working facility, and now that it is disused primarily for lack of funding, he has returned to assess the damage. The women of Ward 81 are gone to somewhere else, and only their pastel colored rooms remain. In this space, Diodato's use of light is particularly poignant, leaving us with provocative portraits that tell stories without names.

Honorable Mentions

The Changing Range of Light: Portraits of the Sierra Nevada, Elizabeth Carmel, Hawks Peak Publishing - Elizabeth Carmel tours the Sierra Nevada mountain range and returns with gorgeous photographs that touch on the surreal beauty of this majestic part of the country. Taking its tittle in part from John Muir, the photos shown in The Changing "Range of Light" are blocked alongside poetry and narratives that not only compliment the plates but also supports them with environmental and ecological facts. From Yosemite through Tahoe and Aspen, we see the breadth of views offered through the seasons and at various elevations. Some of the memorable plates include "Aspen Shadows" which reveals a stand of quaking aspens at dusk, and "River Sculpture" which captures a collection of water-worn stones inside a river notch.

Horse Photography: The Dynamic Guide for Horse Lovers, Carol J. Walker, Painted Hills Publishing - Carol Walker believes that photographing horses is sometimes easier than photographing humans. That is not to say that it is easy or simplistic. Horses have been described as many things, from character-driven animals to mythical beasts. Capturing horses in the lens is an art form of its own, and Walker has the prescription in Horse Photography. With plenty of examples, the book covers every aspect of the craft from preparing for the subject, equipment, and a variety of context-specific scenarios. The author is not only an accomplished horse photographer, but also an advocate for the dwindling wild herds of the west.

Building One Fire: Art and World View in Cherokee Life, Chadwick Corntassel Smith & Rennard Strickland, Cherokee Nation - From the Cherokee Nation comes an art retrospective that is expertly lit and photographed and cohesively organized. Philosophically drawn from the four corners of the Cherokee—the guardian of the east (Eloha), intellect of the north (Akanahda), wisdom of the west (Adaweha), and the warmth of the south (Utanada)—this collection offers an array of exquisite pieces from nearly every media, both practical and innovative, earthy and spiritual. This could easily be a preferred selection among your coffee table books.

back to top

Poetry

Titles in this category contain poetry or highly stylized prose.

Winner

Resonance, Richard Jackson, Ashland Poetry Press - Flip through this latest contribution by the accomplished Richard Jackson and you will find most of the poems appear on the page as densely woven carpets of words. Begin to read and you may feel as if you are on a wondrous magic carpet ride, mentally dipping and soaring as you follow the poet's fluid, surprising, and engaging shifts of focus. At first it may seem that Jackson yields to what feels like whim, but it is his creative willingness to trust in his poetic imagination that lets us know we are with an adept and confident guide. Although he sometimes suddenly veers off, the reader eventually arrives at an unanticipated, but immensely more satisfying destination. This is a conversational poet in full control of what appears to be distraction. His subjects may run from the commonplace to the odd fact, but the poetry overflows with the universe and is alive with the movement of creative discovery in progress. Read this book for a thrilling, extraordinary journey.

First Runner-Up

A Concise Biography of Original Sin, John Samuel Tieman, BkMk Press, University of Missouri - John Samuel Tieman experienced or witnessed, heard or read about, and, in these poems, recalls some terrible events with uncompromising description and intensity.  The poet's slim volume invades the reader's psyche with a mega-sized wallop as it bears sorrowful witness to his previous forty-plus years of personal war experiences, violence, and tragedy. Tieman's eloquent, angry words help readers to recall there are no wars to end all war. His early poems reveal overwhelming horrors, underscoring the constantly recurring ugliness of human nature. Readers will be grateful that his final gentler poems recognize the redemptive power of love. He seems to have produced this collection to set his heart straight. Perhaps, in these difficult days, it will do the same for your heart.

Honorable Mentions

Days Like This Are Necessary: New & Selected Poems, Walter Bargen, BkMk Press, University of Missouri - Black and white art by Mike Sleadd illustrates new and selected poems by the distinguished Walter Bargen, first poet laureate of Missouri. This is a book to return to again and again for Bargen's distinctive historical inventiveness, and his engaging, storyteller's voice. Precisely drawn accounts envision and harmonize the wholly imagined with carefully observed realities. This dexterous ability to join and balance the described world with the unseen, for both truth sharing and fanciful purpose, enchants much of Bargen's poetry. In his detailed, leisured manner he sees and speaks of worlds we want and need to see and can read about here with gratitude.

I Hope It's Not Over, and Good-By, Everette Maddox, UNO Press - Alabama born New Orleans’ poet Everette Maddox died more than twenty years ago. For those who have never heard of or read Maddox, this representative showcase collection, ably edited and prefaced by Ralph Adamo, is an admirable introduction. Although the poems often reflect Maddox's relationship with poverty, drunkenness, unemployment, and, in the end, his impending death from cancer, they are humor-laced and deeply understanding of the fragility of his and our existence. His casual, vernacular style is approachable and coherent with the lifestyle he experienced. He presented his life as raggedy, but his poems explore and explain much more.

Rough Honey, Melissa Stein, American Poetry Review - The paradoxical title of this buoyant debut collection reveals much about the voluptuous beauty and passionate temperament to be found in Melissa Stein's poems. A multiplicity of industrious verbs invigorates her descriptions of impressionable, sensual experience. In "Allergy," a list poem composed of innocent sounding, but frequently allergy inducing plants, we are alerted to Stein's ability to infuse meaningfulness with the delightful, spellbinding power of naming things. The photo of the upside-down falling girl on the book's cover might be the speaker in the poem "(How to Fall from) Grace." All of this seductive and exhilarating poet's charms for creating revelatory word tonics are present in this last poem of a fine first book.

The Weathering, Rennie McQuilkin, Antrim House - Throughout McQuilkin's latest collection, including both new and selected work from the years 1969 to 2009, readers will find a lifetime of practiced performance by a master confident of his clear eye and in his finely tuned perceptions. His poems are models of hymn-like musicality in calm accord with his simply stated but sharply drawn recollections, histories, observations and personal tales. We recognize a profound attention to the often-undervalued richness of our everyday world. We can feel comfortably at home in Rennie McQuilkin's beautifully wrought compositions; they define a provenance and declare a value for a vanishing birthright we are loath to lose.

Water the Moon, Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Marick Press - In "Biography of Hunger," part I of her first book of poetry, Fiona Sze-Lorrain dislodges difficult memories and records recollections of oppression. These sad reminders of disconcerting passages and historical deprivations are a contrast to the sensory pleasures, of the arts, travel and food, often described in her later poems. The world spanning work by this young, multi-talented artist connects the dots, locates the affinities, and educates the reader in the rich cultural blend of her experience. In a strange, lovely way, by recalling so specifically and writing with such an intimate sensibility, Sze-Lorrain forecasts the ever-changing global vista we can anticipate for our newborn 21st century.

back to top

General Fiction

Titles in this category are non-genre specific fiction, including literary, short story, and mainstream.

Winner

The Name of the Nearest River, Alex Taylor, Sarabande Books - From the first page to the last, the stories in The Name of the Nearest Rive are full of incredible imagery and gritty characters. Set in Kentucky, these stories detail revenge, death, and the danger found in the wilderness. "Things Both Right and Needful" is a suspenseful story about coyotes and revenge that leaves the reader hungering for more and, at the same time, plagued with unanswered questions. These amazingly stories of loneliness and survival describe the ruthlessness of the elements with a touch of humor, as in "Equator Joe's Famous Nuclear Meltdown Chili" and "This Device Must Start on Zero." In still other stories, characters like the groom who punched his new bride on their wedding day or the man who exacted revenge on a corpse are incongruously abrasive and yet full of heart.

First Runner-Up

The House of Six Doors, Patricia Selbert, Publishing by the Seas - This is the story of a young girl's struggle to please her demanding mother and remain true to her own yearning for love and fulfillment. Thirteen-year-old Serena and her older sister Hendrika are brought to America from the Dutch Island of Curacao by their strong-willed mother, searching for a better life. Serena is torn between leaving family and the beautiful homeland she adores and the desire to be a dutiful daughter. Serena learns to forge her own path in ife, finding both love and heartbreak along the way. Patricia Selbert, herself an immigrant from Curacao creates rich characters in a compelling story with a satisfying ending.

Honorable Mentions

By Fire, By Water, Mitchell James Kaplan, Other Press - Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World was inextricably caught up in a tangled web of causes in Spain. Kaplan helps illuminate those social, political, and religious causes. He uses a well-drawn figure based on one Luis de Santangel, an amalgam of actual historical "conversos"—former Jews who had converted to Catholicism in the present or former generations—and who had attained titles of nobility as a result. The establishment of Torquemada's New Inquisition in Castile and Aragon, the re-conquest of Moorish Granada, and the subsequent expulsion of the Jews from Spain are vividly portrayed through Santangel's eyes. The historical question of how true the suspicions of the New Inquisition that "conversos" were secretly practicing their old faith is also explored. The result is a moving narrative that shows the seeds of our modern republic where monarchies and inquisitions are illegal. Santangel and Columbus helped envision it. The story is timeless and well told here.

The Secret of Lies, Barbara Forte Abate, Dog Ear Publishing - The auhtor is the married mother of four who found time to pen this entertaining, emotionally involving debut novel. Triggered by a song on the radio, main character, Stevie Burke, is on a journey toward happiness while cutting through the falsehoods of her life. After fleeing her husband, she holds out in a motel room and ponders her situation. There's a dark secret that must be unfolded. So many lives can be altered by one instance in time. The cast of charactes is worth the time spent reading this story.

The Life O'Reilly, Brian Cohen, iUniverse - In Brian Cohen's first novel, Nicolas O'Reilly, the recently inducted Chairman of the Trial Lawyers section of the New York State Bar Association is changed forever when he is assigned to twenty-six year old Dawn Nelson's case against her violent husband. William Gardner and Schmitt have reluctantly adopted a new pro bono program. After an initial conference with Nick, Dawn continues to reach out to him with more problems. Soon he is unable to get her out of his mind. When in court Dawn's husband reveals the serious relationship between her and O'Reilly, Nick is temporarily suspended from law practice after twelve years with the firm. With drama and words well chosen, Cohen takes the reader into the souls of his characters as they deal with their anxieties and move on with their lives.

The Prospect of Magic, M.O. Walsh, Livingston Press - When Abidail Ploofop, owner of Ploofop's Traveling Carnival, dies suddenly in the small town of Fluker, Louisiana, the stranded carnies dismantle the caravan and attempt to settle amid a population eager to welcome them. Told from the perspective of locals and former carnies, these collected short stories offer an honest glimpse at ordinary longing and human failing set against a fantastic backdrop. From the bearded lady yearning for normalcy and companionship, to the restless housewife with the soul of an Arabian princess, each character is richly drawn, creating a series of loosely connected tales that are as emotionally complex as they are entertaining.

Sparring with Rembrandt, Monroe Katz, Silverado Books - Sparring With Rembrandt is an unusual book. It is a fictionalized memoir written by Monroe Katz, a painter and dentist in Napa, California. Katz's description of a New York Jewish neighborhood is authentic, detailed and colorful, the place where Norman, the young protagonist instinctively uses his wits to overcome cruelty, excel in his studies and sports, and maintain friends. His humor is quick witted, and as Norman matures, Rembrandt becomes his teacher—an artistic mentor who Norman visits in books and museums. In this way, Katz brings Rembrandt alive: “Give your portrait a little more punch. Keep painting until the addition of one more stroke will diminish the effect you wish to achieve.".

Moon is Cotton and She Laugh All Night, Tracy DeBrincat, Subito Press - A collection of short stories inhabiting the languages of women and girls, DeBrincat casts her net wide and far to scoop up and display the ways words shape our world. "Glossolalia" embodies the sounds a girl with a terminal illness makes to herself in mapping out the bounded and painful confusion of her short life. "Superbaby Saves Slugville" dares to mirror a young girls actual thoughts about new babies in the family. "Troglodyte" bares the innocence and dreams of a homeless teen on the streets. "Call It A Hat" tries to give voice to a grown woman's sexual fantasies and name what Freud asked when he asked what women wanted. "Gardenland" goes even further in to dark regions of women's desires, where men and bodies and love and sex become painful, joyous, crystal clear and confused. In all of these, the author uses language to show the other side of externalities. Her poetic narrative fleshes out the hidden and silent truths of her characters compactly and with skill.

The Heavens Weep for Us and Other Stories, Thelmas T. Reyna, Outskirts Press - This is a collection of short stories, one each more engaging than the last. Though many of the topics Reyna covers appear mundane—a day in the life of a beautician, the passing of a woman's dog, an elderly grocery store owner who routinely proposes to a young man from her neighborhood—the stories are stirring and sometimes heartbreaking. Other stories that deal with more terrible topics, such as a girl being burned in a house fire, a family who withholds the news of the death of a woman's daughter, and a woman who falsely claims she is raped, are equally enthralling. The title story, though a mere three pages, is a haunting and thought-provoking account of child abuse. Though each story is short, Reyna manages to develop characters who are flawed, yet engaging and even, in most cases, likable.

back to top

Commercial Fiction

Titles in this category are genre specific titles, including mystery, thriller, suspense, science fiction, romance, and horror.

Winner

Healey's Cave, Aaron Paul Lazar, Twilight Times Books - Aaron Paul Lazar, author of LeGarde Mysteries and Moore Mysteries, blends his obvious love of gardening with well-planted tantalizing clues about a serial killer in Healy's Cave. An overriding concern for Dr. Sam Moore is his missing younger brother, Billy. Did the serial killer get Billy? After years of hoping he'd hear from his little brother, Dr. Sam's slowly accepts the notion Billy may have been a victim. Because Billy's toys begin to show up, Dr. Sam now fears for the life of his own grandson. Lazar's use of a marble to transport Sam back into time is masterfully executed. Woven into this tapestry is a poignant love story that uniquely balances the lives of Dr. Sam Moore and multiple sclerosis inflicted, Rachael.

First Runner-Up

Power's Garden, Dianne Ebertt Beeaff, Five Star Publications - In 1917, drought, WWI, and religion collide with the Mormon Buchams and the Texas Brennicks in Gila Valley, Arizona. Startling events unfold: Mellie Bucham is assaulted by the man she refuses to marry, Texas Billy Ben courts younger Sarah with deadly consequences, and Noah Bucham loses his status as family ruler. Duett Brennick, cook/companion, keeps long-hidden secrets. Attempting to balance relationships in the disintegrating family, she eventually fails. The novel's conclusion will surprise and captivate readers. The author's use of rich historical detail and religious tradition sets the stage for a challenging tale of individuals seeking true life and love.

Honorable Mentions

The Emancipation of Giles Correy, Michael Sortomme, Singing Lake Press - A provocative blend of history, spirituality and genetics, The Emancipation of Giles Corey follows the journey of Sophie St. Cloud to bring peace to the spirit of Giles Corey, murdered during the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century. Sortomme combines intrigue and science in a near-flawless book which drops the reader in the story with convincing appeal.

The Chimera Seed, Matthew Tully, Comfort Publishing - As the sole heir to his late father's pharmaceutical company, Michael Tiernan inherits more than just the struggling family business. Following a reluctant trip to Sardinia to settle his father's assets, Michael discovers he is not only part owner of an extraordinary vineyard but of the key to immortality itself. The experimental drug Dionysinol is the culmination of his father's life's work and has the potential to transform human existence, but at what cost? The phenomenal aging remedy is at the center of a dangerous tug-of-war motivated by greed, corruption and revenge in this tense tale of pharmaceutical espionage.

Quintspinner, Dianne Greenlay, iUniverse - Young Tess, a quintspinner, capable of wielding five rings with different powers, learns of her talent and gets her first spinning ring from a dying hag. Two more rings appear during her transatlantic voyage where she meets the teenage British Navy conscript William. Aided by Tess' ring power, they face death, injury, the cruelty of ship life, a pirate attack, a hurricane, and budding love. The intriguing adventure tale is well-paced and the writing is skilled with sensual and authentic description and warm and believable characters.

The Judas Conspiracy, Leslie Winfield Williams, JoSara Media - When a rare Gnostic manuscript is discovered in a New England basement, it becomes central to a controversy that challenges fundamental Biblical perceptions. The Gospel of Judas poses a threat not only to Christian doctrine but to the concealment of a powerful religious sect known as the Sethian Brotherhood. The theft of the manuscript is only the beginning of a dangerous chain of events that leaves a trail of murdered scholars in its wake. It is up to Detective Isabella O'Leary to unravel the group's multifaceted secrets in order to expose their ultimate target before it culminates in the Brotherhood's final deadly act.

Terminal Policy, Liam McCurry, Ashleigh Publishing - Corporate insurance deals in fear and terror until the tables are turned. Computerss assessed. Policies cancelled. Employees are assassinated. CEO's are threatened by a mysterious woman. Mitchell of Pan Global wants answers; VP James Colt hires Raker, one of the most dubious individuals known, a man who can end the madness. Who's behind the dangerous ruse? What game are two unstable agents playing? Or is the operation a complicated inside job? Using extensive back story, McCurry creates a unique character the reader believes in. Raker's preoccupation with educated violence to eradicate mayhem offers the perfect catalyst to the thrilling finale.

Reticence of Ravens, M.M.Gornell, Aberdeen Bay Publishing - M.M. Gornell, award-winning mystery novelist has used her fascination with Route 66 to bring another fast-paced murder/mystery to print in her new book. Gornell inks an inner understanding of character as she brings to life, Hugh James Champion III, a dysfunctional psychologist, an autism challenged young girl, and the love-sick ex-husband of his female cousin. Throw in a cacti of other desert characters and you have a mix for not only murder, the portent of romance, and the resolution of past errors but also for new beginnings.

back to top

Children's

Titles in this category are for young children, including stories and picture books.

Winner

Why Am I Here?, Matthew Kelly, Beacon Publishing - "Becoming the best version of yourself" is the theme of this story. A little boy struggles to find out why he is here. His grandfather gives him heartfelt advice that leads him to question every action, every choice and every thought within his daily life. He realizes that the choices that allow him to be the best version of himself are the ones that make him feel good inside. He enjoys this feeling and although he admits he sometimes still makes bad choices, he is going to try to make each day better so the good choices outweigh the bad ones. Through self-discovery, he realizes that he can, in fact, become the best version of himself. The lovable, cartoon-like illustrations add to the warmth of this story.

First Runner-Up

Lucy's Hero, Karen Shragg, Raven Productions - This is a realistic fiction book based on the life of Senator Paul Wellstone. The story is told through the eyes of a little girl named Lucy who focuses on Wellstone's dedication to aid farmers after a major flood. Because of the help he gave her family, Lucy wants to support his campaign as he runs for a 3rd term as senator. Lucy along with other enthusiastic community members, held a farm stand fund-raiser, sent in donations and put up lawn signs to help him win. Unfortunately, just weeks before the election, the senator was in a fatal plane crash. Although disheartened by Paul Wellstone's death, Lucy remained inspired to do good things for others and follow in his footsteps.

Honorable Mentions

Meet Einstein, Mariela Kleiner, Meet Books - Adorably illustrated and factually written this book teaches rudimentary physics through real life examples of Einstein's theories including light and gravity. It is presented in a kid-friendly manner so that the concepts are easy to understand. Included is factual reference guide for parents along with questions they can ask their children to help them understand the key concepts presented in the story. Another bonus is found on the inside cover where they have pictures of tools and instruments scientists use along with the kid-friendly explanation of how scientists use them.

My Grandpa's Coaching Third, Janet Mary Sinke, My Grandma and Me Publishers - Vivid and realistic illustrations enhance this story to make you feel like you are experiencing the baseball game with the little boy and his family. The story flows with the tempo of each rhyming verse and builds with excitement as this feeble little league player steps up to bat. He feels unsure and scared knowing that the game rests on his shoulders. However, with the help of his dad and grandfather, he gains the confidence he needs to win the game.

Tommy Starts Something Big, Chuck Gaidica with Kris Yankee, Ferne Press - When a boy gets hurt on his birthday and must go to the hospital, there is nothing he wants more than to be at home playing with all of his new presents. However, he is comforted by a hand-made gift he received that day from his aunt, a soft teddy bear. Realizing how lucky he was to have such comfort with him he decides that maybe others would benefit from a teddy bear to cuddle when they are injured or sad. Tommy decides that his mission is to make more teddy bears with his aunt. He is determined to get them to as many people as possible so that they can be comforted during scary times too. Tommy feels extremely fortunate that he was able to help so many people and realizes that it's "just the beginning."

back to top

Young Adult

Titles in this category are aimed at the juvenile and teen markets.

Winner

Tamara's Child, B K Mayo, Fir Valley Press - Pregnant, scared, alone, desperate. Those four words describe sixteen-year-old Tamara Ames's situation. Her boyfriend nd the father of her child has turned against her, her mother is mentally incompetent to deal with her situation and she has no one else to lean on. Desperate to protect her baby, Tamara turns o her ex-convict step-brother, Gary, for help. As her pregnancy progresses, Gary becomes more attentive to her, taking her to the doctor and providing proper food. She wonders why. When the baby is stillborn, Tamara is devastated and has nightmares of hearing her baby cry. What could have happened to the baby she promised to love and protect? How could things have gone so wrong for her? Tamara's story is one of unconditional love and the decisions and sacrifices each of us have to make in life.

First Runner-Up

Anna's World, Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin, ChironBooks - Fourteen-year-old Anna Coburn almost dies from typhoid fever after the 1845 flood, but with his business destroyed, her father leaves her in a Shaker commune. She recovers in this strange new community, although chafed at their austere ways. With the connivance of Brother Seth, she violates their trust to help a friend. Repentant, she helps Brother Seth with his accounts, but as she discovers the money he storle, he threatens her life and flees. Eventually Anna’s father establishes a munitions business and sends for her, and she finds him making a profit from war. Influenced by Henry David Thoreau's pacifism, she confronts her father and learned that Seth is his partner, but when Seth attempts murder, she runs away. Anna faces a choice: accept her Father's support of the Mexican War or follow her beliefs.

Honorable Mentions

Thunder Over Kandahar, Sharon E. McKay, Annick Press - Set in contemporary Afghanistan, Sharon McKay's novel paints a vivid picture of the struggles among the disparate groups of Afghan people to survive the atrocities of the Taliban. The unlikely friendship between two teenage girls, the well-educated Yasmine and the illiterate Tamanna, enables them both to survive attacks by the Taliban and a dangerous journey together through the Afghan deserts and mountains. The girls are injured and separated, but thanks to help from friendly local citizens as well as UN forces, they are eventually reunited.

The Side Door, Jan Donley, Spinsters Ink - Melrose Bird is having an identity crisis. Starting high school is hard enough without struggling with the question "Who am I?" Melrose, Mel to her friends, has never felt comfortable with the "girly" things in life and since she is starting a new school she thinks other things about her should change too. She buzz-cuts her hair and buys her school wardrobe at the military surplus store. Now, she feels more like herself, but not everyone is accepting of her new look and her attitude about life. While trying to find herself, Mel uncovers a mystery surrounding the death of a former student, Alex Weber, who committed suicide. No one in the small town of New Moon Falls talks about Alex's death or why he felt he had no alternative except to take his own life. The Side Door is all about finding yourself and forcing people to confront their prejudices against one another.

Escape from Marianna, Bobbi Boland White, WingSpan Press - Two fifteen-year-old boys, Patrick and George, enter Florida Industrial School for Boys in 1959. Taken from the mean streets of Miami, they encounter the corruption and brutal beatings of a 1960's detention facility and fear of being killed forces them to escape. While attempting to walk to New York, Patrick steals whiskey, and they are arrested and sentenced to a South Carolina prison. Bonds of friendship allow them to survive, and thoughts of family and the girl back home enable Patrick to complete his six-year sentence. He seeks hope for a better future.

Spring Bear, Betsy Connor Bowen, Lone Feather Productions - In spare prose reminiscent of Hemingway, Betsy Bowen tells a harrowing tale of life in a poverty-stricken logging community in rural Maine. Maine winters are harsh and brutal, and so is life for Evvie, her mother Bessie, and her father Henry, who was severely brain-damaged when a big oak fell on the cab of his pulp truck. Two men move into Bessie and Livvie's life, the cruelly abusive Lester Darrow, known for his illegal trapping and hunting, and Brother Fuller, who spends his time in religious ranting and raving. When Evvie gets pregnant, Lester becomes even more abusive and she takes desperate measures to save her child and seeks an adoptive mother to give the child a better life.

back to top

Culture

Nonfiction titles demonstrating the human or world experience, including multicultural, essay, women's issues, sexuality, gay, lesbian, aging, travel, recreation, true crime, social commentary, and current events.

Winner

27 Views of Hillsborough, Michael Malone, Eno Publishers - This book might single-handedly add a southern town to your list of must-see places. An anthology that brings together the works of poets, essayists, novelists, journalists, memoirists, and historians, the book contains writing that is as uniformly excellent as it is diverse.   All of the writers represented are—or at one time were—Hillsborough residents, and the pieces included here represent varied reflections on life in the place they call home. The writing delivers an excellent portrait of a unique town; so much so that its authors may be Hillsborough's main attraction.

First Runner-Up

Face to Face: Children of the Aides Crises In Africa, Karen Ande, Hope Publishing House - This book combines the compassionate personal narrative of award-winning medical writer Ruthann Richter with emotionally compelling photographs taken by documentary photographer Karen Ande. Their joint focus on the devastation of the hopes and dreams of specific children—living in places such as the Mama Darlene Children's Centre and the Saida Children's Home—that have lost one or both parents to Aids/HIV and or have themselves contracted the disease renders an emotional and deeply personal perspective of a crises effecting 12 million children living in sub-Saharan Africa. A brief chronology of the Aides/HIV epidemic, contact information for each organization profiled throughout the book, and additional resources providing help are included at the end of the book.

Honorable Mentions

Miracle on High Street, Thomas A McCabe, Fordham University Press - This book tells the story of how the monks of Saint Benedict's founded an all-boy Catholic school in the late 1800's and expanded it as Newark grew and evolved. Later, they would watch it decline and close in the 1970s, and then work to reestablish it as the highly successful secondary school for underprivileged students that it is today. Author Thomas McCabe brings this well-written history to life with details of how large-scale events impacted this small school; for example, anti-Catholic sentiment and a riot instigated by the Know-Nothing party in the 1850s was the impetus to create the school, while the riots in 1960's Newark led to the school's disastrously diminished enrollment. The book also provides a highly readable portrait of the Benedictine monks and their dedication to education and the community they serve.

All Man! Hemmingway, 1950's Men's Magazines, and the Masculine Persona, David M. Earie, The Kent State University Press - Inspired by the conflict between the public and private, David Earle effectively portrays the dynamics of Ernest Hemingway's giant-sized masculine public persona—as portrayed in vintage magazines, article blurbs and advertisements of the midcentury. Via his well-researched focus on the depiction of the hyper-masculinity of a postwar decade in which the sensational men's adventure and bachelor magazines frequently portrayed Hemmingway as a rum drinking "rogue male" and "he-man" role model, Earle provides a beautifully illustrated perspective and well-written narrative, spotlighting an often overlooked theme in Hemmingway scholarship, the study of the modernist era in American literature, gender studies, and the history of 20th century American culture and publishing.

Purely Alaska, Susan B. Andrews & John Creed (editors), Epicenter Press - The rural Alaskan lifestyle may disappear in as little as fifty years and with it the rich, raw legacy of its people and places. Knowing this, Andrew and Creed, former journalists who teach at the University of Alaska, write to preserve the essence of Alaskan life today. Thirty-two stories from twenty-three students, most "computer commuters" from distant villages, demonstrate how weather, language, topography and personalities shape a unique culture and community. Superb organization directs these narratives of life in the face of Mother Nature's awesome power, where people hunt for physical and spiritual subsistence and a simple walk turns deadly in a sudden whiteout. Black-and-white photos enliven the tales, whose frontier flavor is strongly seasoned with humanity, humor and a sense of community.

back to top

Memoir

Titles in this category capture specific personal experience.

Winner

Jacob's Cane, Elisa New, Basic Books - Resplendent in detailed stories, not just of the memoirist's life, but the stories that created her life generations before she came into being, this work reaches for something broad in scope. It gets there. Most memoirs fail in the amount of detail they include, showing a lack of self-discipline as writers and a mawkish sentimentality in an unwillingness to cut details that matter only to a family album. New's rich stories drawn from communities around the globe and narrative descriptions of her family's story, augment the reach of her book. New's central object, an ornately-carved cane, serves in the end as a fitting symbol of this work.

First Runner-Up

Sipping from the Nile: My Exodus from Egypt, Jean Naggar, Stony Creek Press - An intriguing look at a way of life that no longer exists. Glamorous, exciting, filled with the sophisticated life of a Jewish family living in Europe and the Middle East, Naggar documents times of elegant lifestyles, to the tumultuous struggles of war. The book is beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of homes, meals, glamorous clothing and social events while living in Egypt, later on in England, and finally in New York city. The history of this extended family is a most interesting look at a loving, religious, educated culture. And like every family, there is passionate love and loss, but always there is the undercurrent of delight and an indomitable will to do more than just survive.

Honorable Mentions

God, Put Out One of My Eyes, Arlene Swift Jones, Antrim House - Poet, wife and mother Arlene Swift Jones lived with her family in Cyprus between 1962 and 1965. Her husband worked for the CIA undercover, so he was mostly preoccupied and not present for home responsibilities. With her three children, Jones located a habitable houses, found a pony, and figured how to barter and struggled with the language and the landscape. This is a charming memoir of a place, a certain type of marriage, of a hostile time between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. She notes, "This experience became a rite-of-passage for us, embroiled as we were in the vast and murky politics governing the Eastern Mediterranean on a small, seemingly paradisiacal island." This memoir is rewarding on many fronts, but perhaps, especially, for a glimpse into a time and place that many know relatively little about. The somewhat alarming title comes from a Greek proverb about God and a farmer.

Crossing a Different Bridge, Judith Tate O'Brien, Mongrel Empire Press - If twenty men cross a bridge, there are twenty bridges. When Judith's friend says this to her, it opens up for Judith and the reader the idead of options and control. Sister Judith, formerly Eddie Mae Tate, details in her memoir harrowing and sometimes horrific incidents that frequently turn the sufferer towards bitterness, meanness, and self-destructive habits such as drowning memories in substance abuse or looking for excitement in criminal activity, and often the person becomes locked into themselves, creating a protective shell. Set in Oklahoma, readers of this memoir discover a turning point in American History as well as a way of wrestling with their personal demons. This is an intensely emotional book without being a bitter payback memoir. It is told as though an old friend is talking to you; and what a story. From the Oklahoma oil boom days of the 1920s through the evils of WWII and into the racial struggles of the 1960s, Judith details a unique window into the changing of America that is often mytholized beyond reality.

What Papa Told Me, Felice Cohen, CreateSpace - This heart wrenching book offers an intensely personal look at the life of a young Jewish boy surviving eight labor camps and concentration camps in World War II Poland, and coping with the life-long trauma ever after as a result of those experiences. It is the story of indescribable suffering and an astounding will to live. The author, has courageously documented the life story of her beloved grandfather, Murray Schwartzbaum, word for word, in personal interviews. He tells the story of his life as a happy child, as a young man, reliving the horror of the camps, and his happiness and struggles here in America afterward. This book will rock your soul.

Before My Eyes, Diane Currie, iUniverse - Although diminutive in size, this book packs an emotional wallop in a gentle way. Alzheimers is a cruel condition, for its patients and for their loved ones. Currie shows us the progress of the disease through small and large changes in her mothers appearance, hygiene, and actions, and, as her caregiver, struggles to adapt to each new level. Although it is important to adapt to the present circumstances and to the person as she is now, it is equally important to never forget who this person was in your life and in the lives of others. "[we] must honor the lives they lived and who they were as people, before they had Alzheimers disease." A stirring and even somewhat uplifting book, it should be soothing and helpful to those entering this voyage with a parent or another loved one. It is somewhat sentimental, strong, heart-felt. The author notes, as her mother's disease inevitably progresses, "I would not trade one minute of the time that I spend with my mother maintaining her comfort and dignity has been a learning experience for me."

Triangular Road, Paule Marshall, Basic Books - The title of this memoir refers to the triangular aspect of Marshall's history: her actual home in New York City, the West Indies where her parents live, and Africa and the slave trade—the final piece in the puzzle, which is sprinkled throughout the book. Her mentor, Langston Hughes, figures prominently in this work, and the details regarding his association with her enliven the story. The extent to which Hughes encouraged young writers is considerable and inspirational, and probably deserves a book of its own. The author doesn't linger in maudlin hero worship: she hits the right notes about Hughes and his influence and then moves on to the aforementioned triangle. The bulk of the book is spent in the rich and tangled aspects of her personal history.

back to top

Business

Titles in this category provided application to today's business environment and emerging trends, including general business, career, finance, computer, and the Internet.

Winner

Lofty Pursuits, Mark Richard Schuster, Brown Books Publishing Group - Doing the right thing in business today, can be a challenging undertaking. In fact, it is almost a contradiction in our monetarily oriented society. We all hear of shortcuts taken to increase a company's bottom line. The construction industry is no different. That is why when a building project comes along, like Seattle's Mosler Lofts, it is worth noting. The book chronicles how the Mosler Lofts project began as a dream to pay tribute to a beloved grandfather and build a state of the art, environmentally friendly, high-rise residential condominium. Mosler Lofts went on to become an award winning, nationally recognized leader in the construction industry. In 2008, Builder Magazine honored Mosler Lofts as one of the "Top Ten Coolest Projects in the Nation." This is truly an inspiring book, teaching us of lessons learned and reminding us that hard work, perseverance, and selecting the most honorable course of action matters.

First Runner-Up

301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions, Vicky Oliver, Skyhorse - Many of us can be quite prepared for things like job interviews, business meetings, and conferences, but how we interact with others in random situations in the work environment is a completely different matter. Oliver prepares us for the unexpected—situations that are equally as vital to our success in the workplace. This book leaves barely a stone unturned, including practical tips for the elevator pitch, what to say when you are late for a meeting, and how to react to a joke that is just not funny. One classic example is the early morning chance encounter on the elevator with the "perky colleague." A great read, Oliver reminds us that lasting impressions are made in a split second.

 See extended coverage of this title in the US Review.

Honorable Mentions

Minitrends, John H. Vanston with Carrie Vanston, Technology Futures - The ability to capitalize on newly emerging business trends is the premise of this book. There are "minitrends" all around us, defined as those that "promise to become significantly important within the next two to five years." The challenge for many is having the ability to identify legitimate minitrends and take advantage of them. The Vanstons contrast the differences between mini and megatrends (i.e. global warming, telephones, computers, etc.) and point out that minitrends can help set a business or individual apart from its competition. There are numerous examples cited, including Dell Computers and YouTube. We only need to let our creativity and imagination guide us. By reading this book, you will learn how to take hold of these opportunities, overcome common obstacles, and ultimately profit from minitrends.

Due Diligence, L. Burke Files, Aegis Journal - Risk is something that we encounter in many aspects of our lives, both personally and professionally. How do we assess risk, and what role does due diligence play in managing risk? Files, who has dedicated his career to financial and international due diligence, points out that to evaluate risk one must not only look at what can go wrong, but also how it might happen and if the potential damage can be repaired. Topics discussed include art fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, asset recovery, and background investigations. The book is arranged in a thoughtful and clear manner with countless case studies, such as a doctor with a revoked license in his home state, who continued practicing in other states; and a prospective employee who fiddled with his background check and eventually embezzled $30,000 from his new employer. In each case, the risk was real, and the result of not managing risk properly was tangible if not devastating. Regardless of one's circumstances, this book provides valuable insight into ways that we can protect ourselves, our loves ones, and our professional environment from the many schemes that exist today.

Money Smart, Ted Hunter, Georgea Books - In 2008 when the markets were disintegrating, financial experts were preaching to invest for the long haul and to stay the course. Many people listened to this expert advice and were devastated by the outcome. Hunter points out that the old rules do not apply anymore. He speaks candidly about his own experiences, the lessons he learned from losing everything during the real estate market crash and how he picked himself up. He went on to become a successful financial advisor, predicting the major highs and lows of the stock and real estate markets for the next twenty years, reminding us that "A falling market takes almost everything with it." The auhtor teaches people how to take control of their financial lives by living within their means and how to get out of debt, which is where the trouble began for so many in 2008 and in large part still exists today. He covers what you should know about spending, saving and investing... even the purchase or sale of major assets, such as a home or car is discussed. Money Smart helps distill complex financial matters into simple and practical issues. We can all benefit from this insight.

back to top

Reference

Titles in this category arrived from traditional and emerging reference areas, including history, psychology, biography, education, sports, recreation, training, travel, and how-to.

Winner

Aerieal Aces of the Universal Newsreel, Phillip W. Stewart, PMS Press - In the introduction to this book the author confesses his love of early aviation and says that his goal in writing the book is to introduce others to a little-known resource, the MCA/Universal Newsreel Library Collection. Held by the National Archives branch in College Park, Maryland, the collection is open to researchers. In his introduction, Stewart elucidates both the positives and shortcomings of the collection. The main text of the book is a guide to the surviving aviation footage in the collection from 1929-1931. Each encyclopedic-style entry contains Story Line, Action, Script (noting if it is unavailable), Notes, and Data, the last section providing citations so that other researchers can follow in Stewarts footsteps to the original footage. According to Stewart, about one-fourth of the reels also had associated still photographs, and he has included many of those in the book; a few are included in the main body of the book, and most are at the end in a separate chapter entitled Photographs. The book ends with an appendix of the titles of the Universal Newsreel aviation stories that didnt survive, and it is indexed both by title and by subject. This book provides a fascinating window both into a little-known resource, the Universal Newsreel, and into the early world of aviation. The entries are interesting, and the photographs bring that long-ago world to life in a way that text alone cannot.

First Runner-Up

MFA in a Box, John Rember, Dream of Things - The essential truths about excellent writing are brought under consideration partly through the use of familiar fables and fairy tales. Another part is illustrated by the author's own life experiences. Rember cleverly makes the reader dig into her own unconscious wisdom to recognize the true jewel at the center of a story. This book is not filled with rules and dogma to guide the writing process. Instead, an understanding of our relationship to our place on earth, acknowledging that our civilization is built on violence, and "how the big moments in life require a witness," impel us to infuse our stories with truth.

Honorable Mentions

Strategies at Hand, Tracy Mueller & Robin Brewer, AAPC Publishing - This book is intended as a reference that educators can literally have on-hand as they work to practice schoolwide positive behavior support. Rather than a traditional book, this work is a collection of cards that are held together by a piece of metal and are grouped into different sections by color. There are sections for behavior support for all students, for students who are at risk to develop behavior issues, and for students with chronic behavior issues. Following are a section explaining the suggestions and terms used in the first three sections, and a small section with suggested additional resources. The strategies and resources suggested in this collection of cards show that authors Mueller and Brewer are very knowledgeable on behavioral issues and on how to use concrete ideas regarding positive intervention to help prevent and alleviate behavioral problems. These cards would be an excellent resource for day-to-day use by schoolteachers and administrators.

Beyond Fingersticks, William "Lee" Dubois, Red Blood Cell Books - Technology has brought transformation to the practice of diabetes control. Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) was FDA approved in 2005. Since then, refinement of the technology has led to normalizing the lives of millions of sufferers of this devastating disease. Dubois is more than an advocate, author and educator on diabetes, he is, himself, a diabetic. He has translated this complex technology into friendly and humorous layman's language. He encourages looking behind the medical curtain in order to understand the positive as well as, the dangers of living with diabetes and using CGM. He is placing power into the hands of the person affected.

Eat Smart in France, Ronnie Hess, Ginko Press - This is a practical yet in-depth guide for those wishing to truly experience the cuisines of France while traveling there. The book is meant both to be read in advance and to be carried along on a trip for suggestions. It is broken up into several sections: a survey of the cuisines of France over its history; a brief guide to regional variations in French cuisine; a section of recipes to try in advance of travel; and a variety of resources to use while traveling, including tips on shopping in French markets, phrases that will be helpful on a trip, and a guide to French menus. There are also several pages of beautiful color photographs, supplemented by black-and-white illustrations scattered throughout the text. Hess's book is excellent for those visitors that want to try to really understand what life is like in France rather than simply passing through the country. The historical survey and glossaries by themselves would be tremendously helpful to anyone traveling there.

The Everyday Guide to Special Education Law, Randy Chapman, Esq., The Legal Center for People with Disabilities and Older People - The latest revisions to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are presented to students, parents and advocates in clear and concise language. For specific cases, legal representation is required, but this guide is to assist an individual's understanding and reveal the nuances of how the system works. The book is presented in two languages on each page. The Spanish version, in column one of the text, is accompanied with an English version in the next column. The layout makes locating specific sections easy. The references to the actual terminology of IDEA are placed in a generous appendix system for further study.

back to top

Home

Titles in this category have practical applications to home or home-related issues, including general home, gardening, cooking, parenting, family, interior design, animals, pets, and home-related crafts.

Winner

Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions, Amy Barickman, Amy Barickman - This is not another book about sewing but a journey back to the days of our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers through the eyes of Mary Brooks Picken, a ground breaker on the women's fashion scene in the early 1900s. Mary founded the Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences, which enrolled roughly 300,000 women, a school which taught women everything from fashion design to cooking and millinery. The accomplishments of this woman were not a small undertaking, occurring at a time when women could not vote, let alone attend higher education. This delightful book includes inspiring stories written by Picken and many of her contemporaries, lovely illustrations from the time period, recipes, sewing tips, domestic advice, and so much more. It is organized by the calendar, with each month bringing advice of the season. Other topics include summer skin care, scarf wearing, packing a picnic lunch, re-styling an old dress, and quilt making. You can't help but have images of sharing a pot of tea and advice with one's own grandmother, when reading this book.

First Runner-Up

Flavors of Friuli, Elisabeth Antoine Crawford, Equilibrio - Friuli, the northeast section of Italy, a land diverse in history, food and ethnicity, is influenced by multiple countries and distinct regions. Friuli is home to a southern coastline, rich in seafood, mountains to the north and hills and plains in its central region. Little known to many, this region of Italy has much to boast about including, its prosciutto and frico. By chance, the author stumbled upon this region while on a business trip and fell in love with the people and their cuisine, which is influenced by Austrian, Slavic and Venetian cultures. She has found a way capture the essence of Friuli through photos, recipes and a delightful account of its history. While I anticipated reading an Italian cookbook, I was happily surprised to be given so much more, from the author. Please do not get me wrong, some of the book's recipes, which are separated by region, are outstanding, such as Pasta Filled with Dried Fruit and Ricotta, Duck Breasts with Berry Sauce, and Crepes with Apricot Jam. Whether you are interested in exploring a part of Italy off the beaten path or simply wish to find some out of the ordinary Italian recipes, this book is well worth discovering.

Honorable Mentions

The Hybrid House, Catherine Wanek, Gibbs Smith - Who says that you can't have a home that is energy efficient and beautiful? The Hybrid House shows us examples of people who are not just talking about doing their share for our planet but confirms that beauty can exist in homes that are both unique and friendly to the Earth. Homeowners from all over the world are building homes that preserve natural resources, while reducing carbon emissions. We have all heard of hybrid cars. A hybrid house is constructed with non-toxic materials, designed to the unique requirements of the climate and region, while incorporating the beauty of the local environment. The author gives us a wonderful peek at some of these homes, which are created with materials such as straw and rice hulls, utilizing alternative energy sources derived from the sun and wind. The book opens our eyes to thinking about ways that we can all make a difference by making use of agricultural products that would otherwise be thrown away. Even if you are not planning on building a new home in the near future, we can all integrate some of the ideas presented in this book to make our residences healthier for us and our environment.

Morning Glory, Tom Dunlop, Vineyard Stories - This is much more than just another local farm stand. It is a well known family run institution across Martha's Vineyard. People line up at the wee hours of the morning to purchase the farm's famous corn, produce, and delicious home-baked desserts and meals. The farm also supplies many of the island's restaurants with produce and food. This is the story of a young couple, who over thirty years ago had a dream to farm on the island. Their beginning was filled with hardships, including wormy corn, but through hard work and perseverance, the farm grew into the largest operation on Martha's Vineyard. The book is filled with seventy of the farm's great recipes, as well as inviting photos of the food and landscape.

Southern My Way, Gena Knox, Gena Knox Media - Growing up in the small southern farming town of Reynolds, Georgia, helped shape the author's culinary tastes and talents. While during her childhood, eating fresh and sharing one's harvest with family and neighbors was customary, it was also a way of life. The influences of local traditions and southern specialties are seen throughout this book, with recipes craftily developed with a modern flair. While staying true to cooking with the freshest ingredients, the author introduces us to local growers and artisans. There is a quiet satisfaction in knowing that you are eating foods grown by yourself and those that you know, while doing your absolute best for your family. There are numerous recipes in this book worth mentioning, like the Marinated Turkey and Georgia Caprese Salad. You won’t be able to wait for the summer corn crop, so you can make the Sweet Corn Chowder with Basil and Crumbled Bacon.

Gardens of Sante Fe, Anne Hillerman, Gibbs Smith - Gardening for many people can be challenging. Add gardening in the desert to the mix and many of us will raise the white flag. This book showcases the work of many talented gardeners in Santa Fe, with stunning photographs, interviews, and tips for those brave enough to persevere in what can be a harsh environment for growth. Hillerman offers a glimpse of some of the most beautiful private and public gardens Santa Fe, including the Flicker Garden, with its artist-owner's sculptures, to the Harvey Cornell Rose Garden, which invites anyone to help prune over 400 rose bushes that inhabit the grounds. While Santa Fe has much to offer visitors, a garden tour should be placed near the top of the list.

back to top

Health

Titles promoting physical, mental, and emotional well-being, including psychology, fitness, and sex.

Winner

Brain Drain, Charles F. Glassman, MD, RTS Publishing - This book posits that our fight or flight instincts can cause harm in lives no longer in daily danger. Physician Charles Glassman, MD uses case studies and biology to argue that ignoring the "automatic brain" seeking only survival can bring a more pleasurable, richer life. Engaging but common language makes Glassman’s advice and exercises accessible to any reader. Brain Drain suggests that much of the stress, unhappiness, and tension so many suffer today reflects the primitive brain avoiding risk or danger more than a medical malady needing medication, making it valuable to readers interested in changing the way they think before continuing or starting pharmaceutical treatment.

First Runner-Up

Western Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes, Susan Lynn Peterson, Ph.D., YMAA Publication Center - This book acts as a detailed reference for using natural herbs to heal or prevent injuries related to martial arts or other sports. Author and martial artist Susan Lynn Peterson, PhD uses a simple rating scale, intuitive questions, and a laundry list of medical sources to put readers on the right path to understanding how to employ herbs in their self-treatment. Peterson begins by framing the current role herbs play in medicine, as well as some caveats that oppose conventional wisdom and treatment trends. An extensive glossary and index further simplify reference, and a hefty list of sources encourages further reading and research. Western Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes is an approachable but complex guide for taking control of self-treatment and injury prevention.

Honorable Mentions

The Mystery of Risk: Drugs, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and the Vulnerable Child, Ira J. Chasnoff, MD, NTI Updtream - Dr. Chasnoff is a clinical pediatrician who has produced a fine work about the genesis, prevention, and treatment of the child at risk for drugs, alcohol, and other dangerous or dysfunctional behaviors. The subtitle might have been usefully employed as the main title; it is possible that The Mystery of Risk could be easily mistaken for a volume about, say, mountain climbing or gaming. That would be unfortunate, because the book carefully analyzes the origin of at risk behaviors beginning in utero, the role of neurodevelopment, and the environmental contributions. Dr. Chasnoff's chapter "The GoodEnough Syndrome" is by itself worth the price of the book for its insightful arguments about the social policies that make prevention and correction so difficult.

Vital Yoga, Meta Chaya Hirschl, Prajna Publishing - In impressively encyclopedic volume, Vital Yoga provides a contemporary outline of yogic history, philosophy, practices, and applications. The book will be useful to the neophyte as well as those more experienced and to teachers of the discipline as well as students. Among the most outstanding features of Vital Yoga are the clear and detailed photographs and the beautiful artwork, which make this book a pleasure to read and to refer to. Ms. Hirschl also provides a useful glossary, set of class curricula, notes, and bibliography. An index would have been a helpful addition.

Tai Chi Ball Qigong for Health, Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and David Grantham, YMAA Publication Center - Dr. Yang explains the ancient methods of using weighted spheres to amend tai chi exercises. Beginning with an insightful and researched survey of qigong, authors Dr. Yang and David Grantham stage the many benefits of ball qigong, such as promoting general health, longevity, movement, and circulation. Clear and easy-to-follow pictures take readers through the steps of myriad exercises. Helpful illustrations and images as well as sources of empirical evidence foster a thorough understanding of qigong's principles and practices. Tai Chi Ball Qigong uses clear language, digestible formatting, and visual aids to allow readers to benefit best from its practice.

back to top

Self-Help

Titles involving traditional and emerging self-help topics.

Winner

Finally Growing Up, Ed Morler, Sanai Publishing - Dr. Morler provides an accurate roadmap for meeting both personal and professional goals through achieving a greater awareness of who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. The need for balancing all aspects of the personality includes integrating feeling and thinking processes, understanding levels of emotional maturity, and recognizing the essential role of integrity. Many whose observations influenced the author are quoted throughout the book including Brother David Steindl-Rast: "The fact that you are not yet dead is not sufficient proof that you are alive. Aliveness is measured by the degrees of awareness." Dr. Morler incorporates an ancient system for understanding personality, the Enneagram, possibly originating in Persia and India, and introduced to the West in the early 1900s by George Gurdjieff. The author uses a variety of charts and diagrams that target a range of six specific personality types. These charts indicate levels of emotional stability, learning capacity, trust, chronic patterns, persistence, decision-making, relationships, and forms of communication, among many others. The three triads of the Enneagram cover the drives of the heart, the head and the belly in relationship to feeling, thinking, and doing. Both positive and negative examples of each type are presented. This highly readable book synthesizes the powerful connection between traditional personality studies and their fascinating Enneagram counterparts..

First Runner-Up

Creating a Healthy Life and Marriage, Judith Anne Desjardins, Spirit House Publishing - The author, a psychotherapist, presents her admirably comprehensive philosophy on how to make a successful marriage. She concedes the deficiencies in her own behavior—two previous marriages ended in divorce—and demonstrates how she has learned and grown from past experiences. Breezy but substantive chapters analyze one person's approach to tough, specific areas of possible marital discord such as children, sex, money, and fair fighting. The book avoids jargon, nor is it overly prescriptive or simplistic in its guidelines. It will be useful both to couples who are having trouble in their relationship and those who will have it in the future. In other words, virtually everyone. The author shares her developmental journey through examples of childhood artwork representing her at various self-revelatory stages, as well as therapy artwork by some of her clients. Desjardins believes that deep inner exploration resulting in greater understanding, a spiritual perspective, and practicing forgiveness lead to fulfilling relationships that are genuine, loving, and lasting.

Honorable Mentions

The Whole-Brain Path to Peace, James Olsen, Origin Press - Olson's background includes a degree in business administration, and insights gained from the study of psychology, engineering, philosophy, and various cultures and spiritual paths. Every body comes equipped with one brain, divided into two distinctly different hemispheres known as the right brain and the left brain. Olson's book examines the relationship between them, how they are polarized, and how to create a sense of teamwork between them. Although people are primarily dominated by one or the other in how they think, feel, act and react, the author believes that finding a way for the holistic brain to emerge is a worthwhile goal. The right brain functions in a manner that is constructive, expansive, and inclusive, favoring the collective. The left brain functions in an opposite way, focusing on deconstruction, measurable details, individualism, and a tendency to exclude the viewpoint of others. Observing fundamental differences explains how they influence selective perception. Olson charts the characteristics and perspectives that result from using each hemisphere, and how information is processed according to holistic and dualistic positions, and notes that a preference for one doesn't exclude the other. The second half of the book broaches concerns, both timely and critical, especially within a global context. Political issues involving military conflicts and wars, as well as corporate and drug policies are addressed. Olson advocates peace as a choice, with whole brain living the means to a balanced, peaceful evolution.

The Problem with Money, Jane Honeck, Reversing Falls Press - Honeck, an experienced CPA delivers no "get rich quick" plan. Instead, the focus of her book is examining, layer-by-layer, our original belief system about money that began in childhood. Ideas absorbed from our parents and other adults were carried over into our adult life—some provided positive, useful information, some caused confusion and conflict, some were a combination of both. Honeck believes that our unconscious mind holds a major key to understanding how we intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually view money. The author shares intimate details of her financial crises and turning points based on her own perceptions and misperceptions about money. By failing to understand the true value, purpose and power that money represents, the freedom is lost to use it in ways that enhance rather than destroy or disrupt life. On almost every page, Honeck's clients share brief descriptions of their personal financial issues and how they were resolved. This book will not only assist you in achieving financial stability, but also help you get back on track, especially if you are burdened with out-of-control debt and habitual overspending.

 See extended coverage of this title in the US Review.

The Freedom Code, Michael J. Rhodes, Ancient Elders Press - Rhodes emphasizes the importance of freedom and the many ways it is defined individually and collectively, asking the reader to question, examine, and reevaluate what the word means to them personally. Creative fairy tales with a message, self-empowerment practices versus ego-oriented strategies, lists of pertinent questions, and methods for inducing self-hypnosis, help uncover what blocks your progress or moves you forward. Outlined steps lead to discovering what motivates you, how you make choices, and why core beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, often combined with fear, hinder success. A process of evaluating the criteria by which you define yourself allows you to decide whether it's useful to release or lessen certain attachments. The second portion of the book focuses extensively on freedom as it's experienced globally through governments, laws, planetary resources, technology, war, patriotism, and world unity through peaceful methods that are respectful and cooperative.

back to top

Spiritual

Titles involving the mind and spirit, including religion, metaphysical, and mystical.

Winner

Proving God, Edward F. Sylvia, MTS, Staircase Press - Seven years of intense research into the life of Emanuel Swedenborg, scientist, philosopher, mystic and theologian born in 1688, culminates in a detailed history of Swedenborg's scientific and spiritual contributions. After graduating from university, Swedenborg embarked on a five-year tour through Europe, where he met many influential men. Studying science, mathematics and anatomy, he concluded that a natural balance existed between Divine Providence and the Laws of Nature. Remarkably gifted, he read classical literature, wrote poetry in Latin, spoke eight languages, and designed fourteen mechanical inventions, including a "flying carriage." While Swedenborg posed numerous theories, he never lost sight of what he considered his higher calling, to present a spiritual, scientific and philosophical way to reconcile God's Divine transcendence with Divine immanence. His conviction that Love is the unifying principle behind universal creation never faltered. Heaven, good and evil, and the multi-leveled spiritual world are extensively reviewed. Sylvia states that though Swedenborg's concepts were largely overlooked or dismissed, many are now being considered. This book may or may not prove God, but it may well inspire a personal, spiritual quest. 

First Runner-Up

Passages Beyond the Gate, George-Harold Jennings, University Press of America - Dr. Jennings addresses three orientations favored by American psychologists that are traced to Jung: radical behaviorism, classical psychoanalysis, and humanistic psychology. Added to that over the years and contained within the sensation psychologies are cognitive-behavioral, biological psychologies, statistically based theories, and the new positive psychology. The author presents the concept of intuitive/transpersonal psychology, and uses diagrams that show both the similarities and the differences between Jung's methodology and the one he advocates. Dr. Jennings poses that the personality possesses a natural need of intuitive and spiritual expression and connection. He believes that need will be met only when a new openness and willingness to explore different disciplines, including transpersonal psychology, takes place. Akin to a Zen master's method, psychologists would become flexible enough to discover what the most advantageous therapy would be at each encounter. According to Dr. Jennings, the transpersonal approach allows us to address "meaning," regain balance, and point to the possibilities of where we came from and where we are going, from an intuitive and spiritual level.

 See extended coverage of this title in the US Review.

Honorable Mentions

The Jamais Vu Papers, Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin, Plays on Ideas - If you'd like to join Alice on another trip down the rabbit hole, follow this book and enjoy the ride. Coleman and Perrin revisit their work of fantastical fiction originally published in 1991, adding new sections. Keeping pace with quantum physics, string theories, and the holographic universe, they challenge their readers to look beyond, within, and anywhere else as well. This book encourages imaginative exploration into the realms of psychology, science, metaphysics, mythology, spirituality, reality, non-reality, time, space, lucid dreaming, and eternity, for starters. Wildly inventive stories result. Equally outlandish and riveting, suggests an entertaining, elaborate hoax. Read it and come to your own conclusions.

The Meditative Gardener, Cheryl Wilfong, Heart Path Press - If you are in need of a reflective, peaceful moment in a hectic day, open any page of Wilfong's soothing and perceptive book, based on Buddha's teaching on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and her personal insights as a meditation instructor. The author has taken a Master Gardener course, attended workshops, and serves as consultant to local gardeners. Her book contains an array of beautiful photographs, inspirational passages, and memorable quotes and poems that make attaining a contemplative frame of mind effortless. She emphasizes how achieving mindfulness of the body, feelings, and mind changes how you perceive and experience your everyday life. Wilfong shares ways of creating and maintaining flower and vegetable gardens. While acknowledging Zen gardens are astonishing, she believes the significance of a garden isn't in its size, shape or ornamentation. Its spiritual value lies in a moment of serene contemplation, whether you are in a lush English garden or experiencing the wonder of a single bloom.

Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition, Joseph Lumbard, editor, World Wisdom - The first edition of this book was published in 2004. This edition contains updated and expanded essays written by Western Muslim scholars. Classical Muslim authorities provide better explanations of the spiritual meanings of sacred texts as well as cultural complexities. Building a bridge between the East and the West is imperative. Reading about Muslim religious, historical, and political viewpoints creates the opportunity for fulfilling one half of that equation.

back to top

Legacy Fiction

Titles in this category are fiction books over two years of age and held particular relevance to any subject matter or art form. Unlike many in the industry, we think good books last longer than one season.

Winner

Flying Boats & Spies, Jamie Dodson, OnStage Publishing - Dodson pulls the reader in during the first sentence and never lets go. This is the first book in a three-part series, and while Flying Boats & Spies is written as an adventure novel for young boys, it is suitable and enjoyable for older children and adults. Nick Grant, a tall, bright sixteen-year-old, wants to become a pilot during the Great Depression. He works at his local airport trading hours for flying lessons. His life is forever changed when Charles and Ann Morrow Lindbergh land at the airport where he works and Ann Lindbergh gives him a package to deliver. He finds himself catapulted into a world of adventure. This enterprising young man masquerades as a high school graduate and joins the crew of a tramp steamer, only to find himself sailing from the West Coast across the Pacific, preparing the way building landing areas for the Pan Am Clipper to open the Pacific to shipping and air travel. All through the book, the foreshadowing events prior to World War II happen all around him. Dodson meticulously researched this masterpiece and delivers a novel most writers would give their eye teeth to write. This book is highly recommended, especially for readers interested in learning more about the time period.

First Runner-Up

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun, Maria Dismondy, Nelson Publishing - Treating others the way you want to be treated is not always easy for a child who is teased. The little girl in this book, Lucy, does her best to ignore a boy in her class, Ralph, who teases her about her different intricacies until she just can't take it anymore. When she confronts him, she is angry and wants to yell at Ralph but quickly changes her tune when she realizes that he is in trouble. Embarrassed with his situation, Ralph becomes vulnerable and Lucy sees that he does have a kinder side. She decides to help him and in turn teaches Ralph that through kindness and accepting the differences in others you can gain friendship.

Honorable Mentions

Are You a Survivor, Karen Condon, Brown Street Press - Drawing the reader in from page one Condon has an amazing way of creating a story so vivid and so alive the reader doesn't care to try to separate truth from fiction. The story is a fictional account based upon the author's personal experiences with being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Exceptionally written, the reader is drawn into a world that few care to talk about. Using wit, sarcasm and raw emotion the author allows the reader to see, feel and understand the inside world of the cancer survivor. A provocative read.

Touch of Fate, Christine Amsden, Twilight Times Books - This is a strong first novel from an author who understands dialogue and the art of making human exchanges believable. Here is a mystery story wrapped around paranomal events. Marianne can see the future, although what value is this gift if she has no control over fate? With a rich story line, Amsden does not miss a chance to please.

Rosie's Ceilidh, Audrey McCellan, Beaver's Pond Press - This is a delightful coming-of-age story for readers of all ages. Nine-year-old Rosamond Mòrag Mac an Righ "Rosie" is a young girl who thinks she knows more than her parents and she's often right. Rosie's one desire in life, more than anything else, is to have a dog. This is the story of how a Dandie Dinmont Terrier comes into her life and changes it and her, but without a little adventure. The importance of family and also music makes itself known throughout the book on Eilean Dubh, an island of Scotland. McClellan is a superb writer with a knack for choosing and arranging the pesky words of the English language, with Scottish Gaelic thrown in where appropriate. Whether you're eight or eighty, reading this book will be time well spent and enjoyed.

The Crystalline Gift, Vicki Rosborough, Vickim Publishing - Mystery, suspense, intrigue and murder sum up this remarkable tale. Throw in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and you have the perfect setting. Rosborough does not fail her readers as the story takes artist Briana through the passing of her mother to the death of her boyfriend and the murder of her best friend into the arms of Jonathan and marriage. The unanswered questions and the mystery only become more intriguing from there with the secrets that surround his home. "Outstanding page-turner" does not even describe this novel. The author does an excellent job of using word pictures that bring the scenes vividly to mind.

A Most Uncommon Journey, Jackie Richards, iUniverse - An engaging semi-autobiographical account of the author's life. It follows her as she tries to understand her mother's erratic behavior and how it affects their family. Too young to be out on her own the girl must ride the emotional waves that drive her mother's whims and folly. It follows the author and her brother as they move through their lives, sometimes passed from parent to parent, sometimes moving all the way across the country on a whim. Every place they land only reminds them of the home that they love in Washington DC. Written as a gift to her grandchildren there is certainly a story there that can be enjoyed by all.

back to top

Legacy Nonfiction

Titles in this category are nonfiction books over two years of age and held particular relevance to any subject matter or art form. Unlike many in the industry, we think good books last longer than one season.

Winner

Senior Birdman, Eldon N. Price, iUniverse - A Navy pilot with forty years of experience in aeronautical engineering and a PhD, Price is well-qualified to discuss the history of aviation in the United States from the period during the Depression through the 1980s. Rather than relying upon dry facts, the author tells his autobiography through memorable events, both related to and unrelated to flying. He discusses what Hollywood was like in the late 1940s and early 1950s while he was enrolled at California Polytechnic and the celebrities, such as Howard Keel, he crossed paths with. He goes into great detail on specific programs such as the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket, The DC-8, the ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile), and the KC-10. Price has been a major contributor to the field of commercial aviation as well, having invented the speed and altitude calibration systems used by airlines worldwide.

First Runner-Up

Blood & Volume, Dave Copeland, Barricade Book -  Ever wonder what it would be like to be a criminal? To support your family by smuggling and dealing drugs, laundering money, setting up shop with stolen goods, pulling off real and faked art and jewelry heists, committing insurance fraud, and using your own child to deflect suspicion as you conduct illegal business? How about having millions of dollars one day and desperately scraping around for funds the next? And always watching your back? Can you trust your friend of twenty years? Your wife? Dave Copeland's compelling true life account of a criminal turned informant provides a refreshingly unglamorized and detailed look at one man's life of crime as it spiraled out of control creating devastating consequences for his family, friends, and people he never even knew.

Honorable Mentions

Antarctic Eye, Lynne Andrews, Studio One - Andrews provides a visual and textual understanding of Antarctica. From James Cook's Resolution to the more recent ANARE's (Australian National Research Expedition) Aurora Australis, this generous coffee table book focuses not on those fated and sometimes ill-fated trips, but instead on the glimpses of Anatarctica that they provided and those who captured this harsh and stunning landscape and ultimately shaped our perception of it. The latter point is important. Much like launching into space, Antarctica is not a place that most of us would ever visit, and therefore we rely on experienced scribes and artists to fill our mind's eye. This book is actually an examination of how Antarctica is studied and how that has changed over time. Antarctic Eye has a beautiful and documentary feel that would appeal to both the artist and researcher.

Fun on Foot in America's Cities, Warwick Ford, Nola Ford, Wyltan Books - This book is the ultimate guide for travelers interested in jogging, skating, walking, and/or bike riding in any of fourteen major metropolitan areas across the United States. Routes are selected based on attraction, destination, comfort, and convenience. Fun on Foot routes offer beautiful scenery, historic or cultural attractions and lead to an area's key points of interest. They must be easily accessible from the most popular business travelers' accommodations and/or tourist destinations, and provide easy access to drinking and dining establishments welcoming of casually dressed and sometimes pungent patrons. A route's weather and safety concerns are also taken into consideration and updates are available on the guide's accompanying website. The guide includes detailed descriptions, maps and photos of the suggested routes including distances covered on each, as well as optional routes for those with different interests or levels of fitness. It also provides restaurant, bar, and sight-seeing recommendations, and a wide variety of other tips and helpful hints.

Coming Clean, Mitzi Rudderow, Mitzi Rudderow - This is a book that no mother should ever have to write, but many families will be grateful that Rudderow did. She first describes the joys she experienced with her adopted son, Miller, and then the heartbreak of having to deal with his drug addiction from a Christian perspective. Wanting a child so badly, she discusses how she placed him above all else in her life. However, because of events she experienced in her life, she became dependent upon her young son instead of the other way around. She describes how she initially let him down as a parent. She continues by going through daily life with her addicted son, her own worries and fears, and how the two of them together overcame his addiction for him to become a happy member of society. Rudderow includes Lessons Learned From The Journey at the end of each chapter, which are guides to how Christianity ties in to each step in the journey through addiction. She gives the reader specific step-by-step instructions on what parents or single parents should do if they suspect their child is an addict. The book concludes with chapters on Practical Reflections consisting of Do's and Don'ts for a Parenting Toolbox, Major Red Flags, Spiritual Tips for a Parenting Toolbox, A Diagram of the Stages of Drug Addiction and Recovery, Putting Scripture with a Need, and Helpful Websites. This is a must-read for anyone with a child caught in the trap of addiction and by those hoping to avoid it.

Memory in Our Bones, H. Elizabeth Burke, EarthSong Foundation Press - According to Burke, a medical intuitive, teacher, healer, and author, cells throughout our entire body contain deeper than subconscious memories of our present and former lives. This thought-provoking work includes discussion of the differences between reincarnation (Hindu) and rebirth (Buddhist), spiritual contracts (which don't necessarily expire when their signers do), personality changes in heart transplant recipients, birthmarks as scars of former life trauma, and Transforming Embodiment, a healing process Burke developed, in which traumatic memories from this life and sometimes former lives are brought forth through guided meditations.

back to top