Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser
Library News and Notable New Books
A study of Indiana feathered friends is now available at the Crawfordsville Library. John Castrale's "Atlas of Breeding Birds in Indiana" is the result of many participants' observations over a six-year period. Statistics show the presence of many species in each county, and a state map is used to show populations. You can check up on your favorite bird. For instance, the Pileated Woodpecker prefers wooded areas and its "centers of occurrence" are reported around Turkey Run and Shades State Parks.
New books featured this week are historical in coverage and contemporary in subject. It's always fun to start with books about books. Margaret Willes' "Reading Matters" covers five centuries of the discovery of books. It recalls how until recently, books were luxury items, and the author examines how people acquired and read books from the 16th century forward, (early examples of "shopping and reading"), and her ideas are entertaining. Next comes Charles Hill's "Grand Strategies" about literature,
statecraft, and world order and it demonstrates how certain key issues have driven planning and statecraft. Believing that a grand strategist needs to be immersed in classic texts, he discusses books from Homer to Rushdie, "Gulliver's Travels" to "A Tale of Two Cities".
The imperial expansion of Europe across the globe was one of the most significant events to shape the modern world, as the dramatic clash of peoples and beliefs led to
the "Protestant Empire" by Carla Pestana. Heroes, martyrs, and the rise of modern mathematics are combined in Amir Alexander's "Duel at Dawn" which argues that not even the purest math can be separated from its cultural background.
Another book that considers the past and explains the confusion of debate is "Coming Climate Crisis?" by Claire Parkinson. Eight centuries of financial folly are surveyed by Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff in "This Time is Different"; they give a roadmap
of how things are likely to pan out in the years to come. Eric Dolin records the history of American fur trade in "Fur, Fortune, and Empire". Arnaldo Testi's "Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History" uses diverse sources like Walt Whitman and Jimi Hendrix and events like the American Revolution, the moon landing, and September 11th to show the importance of the flag while illustrating the often conflicting meanings different Americans give it. "Colossus" by Michael Hiltzik tells about the Hoover Dam and the making of the American century by putt
ing thousands of men to work in a remote desert canyon. Corralling the raging Colorado River was a symbol of national pride needed during the Great Depression. Last is "Afghanistan" a cultural and political history by Thomas Barfield from its Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today.
One of three new novels is much-honored David Mitchell's "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet". In 1799 to Nagasaki, Japan's single port and only window onto the world, comes J
acob who has five years to earn a fortune in the East in order to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland. "So Cold the River" by Michael Koryta (part-time Bloomington resident) finds a documentary artist investigating a domed hotel just restored to its former grandeur where hallucinations draw him into an evil history.
"Mr. Lincoln's Forts" by Benjamin Cooling III and Walton Owen II is a guide to the
Civil War defenses of Washington. The symbol of Union determination, as well as a target for the Confederates, the capital had a shield of fortifications, 68 enclosed forts, 93 batteries, miles of military roads, and endless support structures guarded by thousands of troops, all described in detail.
A study of Indiana feathered friends is now available at the Crawfordsville Library. John Castrale's "Atlas of Breeding Birds in Indiana" is the result of many participants' observations over a six-year period. Statistics show the presence of many species in each county, and a state map is used to show populations. You can check up on your favorite bird. For instance, the Pileated Woodpecker prefers wooded areas and its "centers of occurrence" are reported around Turkey Run and Shades State Parks.
New books featured this week are historical in coverage and contemporary in subject. It's always fun to start with books about books. Margaret Willes' "Reading Matters" covers five centuries of the discovery of books. It recalls how until recently, books were luxury items, and the author examines how people acquired and read books from the 16th century forward, (early examples of "shopping and reading"), and her ideas are entertaining. Next comes Charles Hill's "Grand Strategies" about literature,
statecraft, and world order and it demonstrates how certain key issues have driven planning and statecraft. Believing that a grand strategist needs to be immersed in classic texts, he discusses books from Homer to Rushdie, "Gulliver's Travels" to "A Tale of Two Cities". The imperial expansion of Europe across the globe was one of the most significant events to shape the modern world, as the dramatic clash of peoples and beliefs led to
the "Protestant Empire" by Carla Pestana. Heroes, martyrs, and the rise of modern mathematics are combined in Amir Alexander's "Duel at Dawn" which argues that not even the purest math can be separated from its cultural background.Another book that considers the past and explains the confusion of debate is "Coming Climate Crisis?" by Claire Parkinson. Eight centuries of financial folly are surveyed by Carmen Reinhart & Kenneth Rogoff in "This Time is Different"; they give a roadmap
of how things are likely to pan out in the years to come. Eric Dolin records the history of American fur trade in "Fur, Fortune, and Empire". Arnaldo Testi's "Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History" uses diverse sources like Walt Whitman and Jimi Hendrix and events like the American Revolution, the moon landing, and September 11th to show the importance of the flag while illustrating the often conflicting meanings different Americans give it. "Colossus" by Michael Hiltzik tells about the Hoover Dam and the making of the American century by putt
ing thousands of men to work in a remote desert canyon. Corralling the raging Colorado River was a symbol of national pride needed during the Great Depression. Last is "Afghanistan" a cultural and political history by Thomas Barfield from its Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today.One of three new novels is much-honored David Mitchell's "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet". In 1799 to Nagasaki, Japan's single port and only window onto the world, comes J
acob who has five years to earn a fortune in the East in order to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland. "So Cold the River" by Michael Koryta (part-time Bloomington resident) finds a documentary artist investigating a domed hotel just restored to its former grandeur where hallucinations draw him into an evil history."Mr. Lincoln's Forts" by Benjamin Cooling III and Walton Owen II is a guide to the
Civil War defenses of Washington. The symbol of Union determination, as well as a target for the Confederates, the capital had a shield of fortifications, 68 enclosed forts, 93 batteries, miles of military roads, and endless support structures guarded by thousands of troops, all described in detail.
posted by Crawfordsville District Public Library Reader's Advisory | 3:30 PM
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