Preview Shelf: Library News and Notable New Books by CDPL Volunteer, Janice Clauser

“Atlantic Fever” is Joe Jackson’s story of the five-week race from April 14 to May 21, 1927, when fourteen aviators took to the air to capture the $25,000 prize offered the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean without stopping. Those involved included polar explorer, Richard Byrd, eventual winner, Charles Lindbergh, and other celebrities using technology, innovation, character and competitive spirit. “Desert Rose” by Edythe Bagley describes the life and legacy of Coretta Scott King. “And Then Life Happens” is the memoir of President Barack Obama’s sister Auma who grew up in Kenya.

“Ballet Beautiful” by Mary Helen Bowers tells how to transform our bodies, gain strength and grace, and learn the focus of a dancer. Gil Gilpatrick’s “Building Outdoor Gear” provides easy instructions for camping, fishing, hunting, and canoeing. An attractive history of photography is Todd Gustavson’s “500 Cameras” covering 170 years of picture innovation. “The Creativity Cure” is a do-it-yourself prescription for happiness by physicians Carrie and Alton Barron. “Facing Violence” by Rory Miller is about preparing for the unexpected ethically, emotionally, physically, and without going to prison.

Of eight, new travel books, “Buenos Aires” from Fodor’s includes side trips to gaucho country, Iguazu, and Uruguay. “Lonely Planet Italy” features a pull-out map of Rome. Rick Steves’ “Rome 2012” focuses on that one city. Frommer’s “Japan Day-by-Day” offers 104 maps. “A History of Japan from Stone Age to Superpower” by Kenneth Henshall occupies 224 pages. Bill McMillon’s “Volunteer Vacations”, promotes short-term adventures to benefit you and others.” Martin Hintz’ “Off the Beaten Path: Wisconsin” is called A Guide to Unique Places. “Hidden Cuba” holds Jack Watson’s pictures of its daily life 50 years after Castro’s revolution.

Three especially appealing summer reads are “Mrs. Kennedy and Me” by her bodyguard, Special Agent in the United States Secret Service, Clint Hill. James Johnston’s “From Slave Ship to Harvard” is about Yarrow Mamout and his African- American family tracing six generations from the Colonial period and the American Revolution through the Civil War to today. Joyce Carol Oates’ “A Widow’s Story”, is a tale of her own struggle to comprehend a life suddenly without her partner-husband of half a century.

Edited by Ring Carde and Vincent Resh, “a World of Insects” is a Harvard University Press Reader, a study that registers the greatest number of known species of organisms on Earth. “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks” is a new edition by Dave Holderread covering 23 domestic North American breeds.

Rosemary Gladstar’s “Medicinal Herbs” shows how simple it is to grow them, and how they can be used to naturally fortify our bodies against common upsets and ailments.