Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

This week, new nonfiction books have all kinds of things to tell us. “The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those Who Lived It” and “The Civil War: The Second Year Told by Those Who Lived It” are edited by Stephen Sears. Each book gathers essays by more than 60 participants in a great firsthand narrative. They are part of The Library of America, designed to preserve significant writing in print. “House of Stone” is war correspondent Anthony Shadid’s story as he rebuilds his battle-scarred home in southern Lebanon, showing insight into the tragedy of today’s Middle East. “Eminence” by Jean-Vincent Blanchard tells about Cardinal Richelieu and the rise of France in the 17th century. “China’s Wings” by Gregory Crouch takes us on an adventure during Nationalist China’s Golden Age of Flight in the 1930s.

“How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive” by Christopher Boucher has the subtitle: “It’s hard being a single dad-especially when your son is a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle.” “Goofiness and grief are in perfect harmony in this impressive, moving debut” as the author tackles some of life’s biggest questions.

Here are new books of photography. “Your Baby in Pictures” is Me Ra Koh’s guide for new parents, showing how to catch baby’s beauty. “Mamarazzi” is Stacy Wasmuth’s guide for moms to photograph their kids. Susan Ley’s “Pet Photography for Fun” illustrates ways to catch all kinds of animals in film. Tom Clark’s ”Digital Macro & Close-Up Photography for Dummies” shows its ideas in full color.“ The Day in its Color” is Charles Cushman’s photographic journey through a vanishing America.

Two thoughtful Bible commentaries are Peter Enns’ “The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say about Human Origins”, and Elaine Pagels’ “Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, & Politics in the Book of Revelation”.

Education is analyzed in “What Teachers Make: In Praise of the Greatest Job in the World” by Taylor Mali and “Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools” by Terry Moe.

“Righteous Porkchop” relates Nicolette Niman’s experiences finding a life and good food beyond factory farms. “White Bread” is a social history of the store-bought loaf, researched by Aaron Bobrow-Strain. As the author traces the story from the first factory loaf to the latest gourmet pain au levain, he shows how efforts to champion “good food” reflect dreams of a better society. “Damn Yankees” edited by Rob Fleder quotes 24 Major League writers on the world’s most loved (and hated) team.

“What is the shortest possible route for a traveling salesman seeking to visit each city on a list exactly once and return to his city of origin?” is one of the most intensely studied puzzles in applied mathematics, and it has defied solution to this day. It is discussed in William Cook’s “In Pursuit of the Traveling Salesman”. A meditation on our passage through life comes from decorated Marine Corps combat veteran of two tours in Iraq, Benjamin Busch, with some poignant ideas in “Dust to Dust”. An analysis of the climate change debates of today is given by Michael Mann based on a specific graph in “the Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars”. Past and present reservation life is full of story telling in “Rez Life” by David Treuer. “The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America” by Daniel Hannan shows what makes our country exceptional and what threatens our values, freedom and religiosity.