Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

Join Deweys Do Discussing Native American History on May 2nd - The Deweys Do Book Club at the Crawfordsville District Public Library is reading Indiana native Jessamyn West's "The Massacre at Fall Creek", her compelling historical novel realistically expanding sparse facts about the 1824 trial of white men who murdered peaceful Native American Indians on the Indiana frontier. The landmark case was the first where whites were sentenced to death for killing Native Americans. Patrons are invited to borrow the book and join the discussion Monday, May 2nd at 6:30 p.m.

"Contending with Christianity's Critics" is a set of essays in which Christian scholars answer difficult contemporary questions often faced by believers; the editor is Paul Copan. Candace Cameron-Bure, actress in the TV series Full House, is a practicing Christian and "Reshaping It All" is her motivational tool for better physical and spiritual fitness, with a biblical perspective on appetite and self-control. "The Soul Hypothesis" edited by Mark Baker offers eight investigations into the existence of the soul, contending that there is an aspect of the nature of human beings that is not reducible to the matter that makes up our bodies. Robert Nelson's "The New Holy Wars" tells about economic religion versus environmental religion in contemporary America. Darren Dochuk offers "From Bible Belt to Sun Belt" discussing plain-folk religion, grassroots politics, and the rise of evangelical conservatism.

John Armstrong's "In Search of Civilization" tells how culture lies within us and how its nourishment is essential to a flourishing society, achieved by balancing material prosperity with spiritual prosperity. "A Temporary Sort of Peace" by Jim McGarrah is a memoir of his peacetime life in Indiana, and his introduction to the life of a combat soldier in Vietnam, trying to win the hearts and minds of the natives as part of a small Marine Combat Action Group. After dealing with his war memories back home he returned to the war zone and held a peace ceremony with a Vietnamese poet. "Hoosier Justice at Nuremberg" by Suzanne Bellamy profiles the lives and experiences of Frank Richman and Curtis Shake, judges at the famous Trials.

"Wheels of Change: From Zero to 600 m.p.h.: the Amazing Story of California and the Automobile" by Kevin Nelson shows California's car culture, fueled by the Hollywood dream machine and youth. The book centers on personalities who have shaped that story, including engineering wizards and designers, gearheads, race car drivers, and even rebels without a cause.

The novel "In a Heartbeat" by Rosalind Noonan depicts a parent awakened by a call that her son was attacked in his sleep, and the parent analyzes all the son's connections to find his attacker. "Willow" by Linda Miller tells of 1883’s railroads in the Montana Territory and the outlaws lurking in the hills. Kristan Higgins' "All I Ever Wanted" is a domestic tale in Georgebury, Vermont, about one thirty-year-old hoping for a proposal. In Debbie Macomber's "Thursdays at Eight" four women meet every week for breakfast and share their lives, written so we wish we were there too.

"Modern Top-Down Knitting" by Kristina McGowan uses the needlework techniques of Barbara Walker for fitted short dresses, skirts, and hats. "The A to Z of Old-Time Radio" lists titles and personnel involved; a treasure trove for those of us who remember listening to serials, variety shows, and reports of events while we worked, or for family pleasure.