Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable Newer Books

There is a new blog developed by the Crawfordsville Library's reference department. Find local history gems on the library's website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us and then click on the line below "Local History@ CDPL". You'll find an original letter by Susan Elston Wallace, and if you click twice on that image, the writing will look large enough to read. This is just the first step in the unique adventure. Have fun.

Here are new commentaries available for borrowing. "Hack the Planet" by Eli Kintisch talks about science's best hope, or worst nightmare, for averting climate catastrophe. He explains some risky ideas of "geoenginering" research that could be quick and cataclysmic: collapsing ice sheets, megadroughts, a methane release, and a slowing of the global ocean conveyor belt. On a different bent, "Ark of the Liberties" examines our country's history to influence the way we think about our place in this century's world; Ted Widmer explains the direction we must take to be true to our ideals and regain the respect we've lost. "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley argues against the automatic pessimism that prevails in intellectual life. How wealth, mental as well as material, evolves and spreads is a fundamental question for our times. Robert Nagel's "Unrestrained" argues that the problem with modern America's legal entities is cultural and political, that justices have degraded our political discourse, intensified social conflict, and drained moral confidence. "The Beauty Bias" is Deborah Rhode's essay on the injustice of appearance in life and law; she explores our cultural preoccupation with attractiveness, the costs it imposes, and the responses it demands, and says we can do far more to promote realistic and healthy images of attractiveness.

William Irvine's "A Guide to the Good Life" is the ancient art of stoic joy; he says that despite all our effort many of us discover at the end that we have wasted our life. He shows how to attain tranquility. "Absence of Mind" by Marilynne Robinson talks about the tension between science and religion and how our concept of mind determines how we understand and value human nature. She champions individual reflection. "Making your Education Work for You" by Gordon Green offers his proven system for success in school and for getting the job of our dreams. In "The Necessity of Art" Ernst Fischer writes that he likes art for the magic inherent in it.

This week's first fiction, "The Island" by Elin Hilderbrand, tells about a summer of upheavals and revelations when the mother-of-a-bride, after all her intricate preparations, finds the girl has canceled her engagement. After several disturbing events, the family comes together on a remote island where lots of truths are uncovered amid heartache, laughter, and surprises. "The Choice" by Suzanne Fisher is Book 1 of Lancaster County Secrets and uncovers the sweet simplicity of the Amish world and how it's never too late to find God. "Father of the Rain" by Lily King spans three decades of a family dealing with divorce, especially an independent daughter's change of attitude towards her charismatic but alcoholic father.

A murderous game of cat and mouse, a complex plot, and a commentary on social justice combine in Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played with Fire". "Lucy" by Laurence Gonzales takes us to the Congo where a primatologist studying pygmy chimpanzees is running for her life when a civil war explodes. "The Long Ships" by Frans Bengtsson is epic historical fiction adventure on land and sea resurrecting the Tenth Century AD when the Vikings roamed and rampaged from northern Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. "Savages" by Don Winslow pits young kingpins against a Mexican drug cartel.