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July 15, 2010

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—And How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World

A compelling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak Victorian London had ever seen. Dr. John Snow sets about tracking the disease back to its source and, in doing so, to changes the way we think about cleanliness and contagion.

reviewed by Ellen Bard, Staff Training Coordinator

The Lost City of Z : a Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

For centuries Europeans have sought the lost golden city of El Dorado. New Yorker writer David Grann sets out to discover what really happened to Percy Fawcett’s famous expedition that disappeared in the Amazon basin while searching for the City Of Gold in 1925. The author endures an odyssey through the impenetrable rain forest and discusses his theory that the Amazon basin could have supported a large-scale society.

reviewed by Ellen Bard, Staff Training Coordinator

The Fall of Troy

Peter Ackroyd uses an archaeological dig in Turkey as the setting for a tale of intellectual obsession and gold. An accomplished novelist and historian, Ackroyd transforms history into lively fiction. Based on the larger-than-life historical figure Heinrich Schliemann, the main character single-mindedly seeks the lost city of Homer's Troy with a genius that borders on mania. In his attempt to establish the heroes of the Iliad as fact he brooks no opposition to his one overriding goal. But pride goes before the fall as his plan careens out of his control.

reviewed by Ellen Bard, Staff Training Coordinator

The Egyptologist

Phillips’ epistolary novel is full of colorful, if wholly unreliable, characters. The protagonist goes to great lengths to establish the “facts” surrounding a forgotten pharaoh he is convinced existed based on some fragments of erotic rhymes. Meanwhile a detective investigates the mysterious death of an Australian archaeologist. The reader gets the feeling that neither party is revealing the full truth.

reviewed by Ellen Bard, Staff Training Coordinator

April 19, 2010

Going Bovine

Cameron is a 16 year old slacker with a distant and dysfunctional family, but all that changes when he is diagnosed with Creutzfelt-Jacob - "Mad Cow Disease" for humans. As he lies in his hospital bed-brain deteriorating by the minute-he is charged with a quest, by a pink-haired punk of an angel with spray painted wings, to rescue the universe from a Dark Wizard by finding the mysterious and elusive Dr. X. The good doctor not only holds the key to the survival of the universe but also to the survival of Cameron. But journey alone he will not; joining him is his hospital roommate, a Mexican-American hypochondriac dwarf who is obsessed with video games, and a yard gnome who is actually a cursed Viking God. Will Cameron and his friends be able to save the universe or is the entire quest one massively convoluted hallucination? Only the readers of this wonderfully humorous book will be the wiser!

reviewed by Jonathan Nichols, Children's Programmer, Dee Brown Library

April 6, 2010

House of Leaves

This book is like the bible of experimental fiction, filled with footnotes, pictures, hidden messages, upside down and backward text, and more. It's essentially a Russian doll composed of three stories. A story about a book about a film about a house that is larger on the inside than the outside.

reviewed by Darrel McLaughlin, Collection Development

January 11, 2010

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

A compelling history of math and logic in the early 20th century, interwoven with themes of the mad lives of the logicians pursuing certainty on paper and folly in the world, and set against the question of whether Bertrand Russell and America generally should get involved in the European war of September 1939. This is a history of ideas compressed and inflated as need be to set up a tension between a quest that failed before it succeeded and its applicability to the matters of the heart which torment philosophical giants and humble readers alike. There are wonderful meta moments when the authors and artists discuss the story you hold in your hands, and the art is simply exquisite even if you do not care one iota for the foundations of mathematics or logical certainty or principles of verification.

reviewed by John McGraw, Manager, McMath Library

Gilligan's Wake

An insane but brilliant fantasy distillation of the 20th century, expressed through scattered moments from the lives of the castaways on Gilligan's Island before they were marooned. Mixing up a veritable encyclopedia of pop culture, themes and images recur until you begin to get some sense of the lunatic projecting all of these fantasies.

reviewed by John McGraw, Manager, McMath Library

January 4, 2010

The Way We Live Now

Anthony Trollope's satire of life in Victorian England. Romance, passion, repressed romantic passion, greed, revenge, forgiveness, and, of course, love at last. It is a clear-eyed picture of the wealthy and those striving for wealth at that time. He devotes a good deal of consideration to the role of women in that society. It is a very satisfying read.

reviewed by Maribeth Murray, Adult Programs Coordinator, Main Library

October 13, 2009

A Field Guide to Sprawl

Architecture professor Hayden provides a new vocabulary for talking about the way that American geography is changing around urban and suburban areas, and suggests ways we can move to more sustainable landscapes. Jim Wark's aerial photographs find the beauty in the ugliness.

reviewed by Joseph Hudak, McMath Library

October 6, 2009

I've Loved You So Long

A sad but beautiful film about love, family, and forgiveness and what happens when the bond of family is torn apart by a terrible event. Juliette has just been released from prison for an unthinkable crime. Her story — and the mystery behind her crime — slowly unfolds as she readjusts to life, finds a job, and reunites with her younger sister, from whom she's been estranged. In French with English subtitles, this is a graceful and contemplative film.

reviewed by Sarah McClure, Branch Manager, Dee Brown Library

September 29, 2009

Black Lamb and Grey Falcon : A Journey Through Yugoslavia

Rebecca West's account of her pre-World War II journey through Yugoslavia constitutes more than just another travelogue 7mdash; rather, it is a searing investigation into human nature and Western history.

reviewed by Guy Lancaster, Editor, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas

September 22, 2009

Wristcutters: A Love Story

This dark, romantic comedy may sound like typical indie fare: Boy meets girl. Boy gets separated from girl. Boy goes on a road trip with friends to find girl and gains a new perspective on life. Except everybody's dead. Low key, wistful and absurd

reviewed by Michael Chambers, Collection Development

History of the World in Photographs

It's easy to spend hours paging through this incredible book. It's organized by decade in a timeline starting in 1850 and continuing through 2007. More than 6,000 events in the timeline by Encyclopaedia Britannica are illustrated with photographs, drawings, and paintings from the Getty Images collection. From Harriet Tubman to Benazir Bhutto, this book covers major world figures and events in a visually intriguing format.

Please note: this is a reference book available for use only within the library.

reviewed by Ashley Pillow, Head of Reference

September 15, 2009

The Atlas of Food: Who Eats What, Where and Why, by Erik Millstone and Tim Lang

Did you know that Americans spend almost $2,500 per person eating out? Or, that in 2007, Burger King had 11,283 restaurants in 69 countries? How about the fact that the food industry spends over $24 billion a year on chemical food additives to improve the color, flavour, texture and shelf-life of its products? You will find this and much more in this award-winning atlas.

Please note: this is a reference book available for use only within the library.

reviewed by Mary Moore, Reference Department, Main Library

August 25, 2009

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

Set in a magicless 19th century England, two men, each from unique viewpoints on magic, seek to restore this long forgotten art. Filled with richly portrayed characters and numerous storylines that delicately weave together forming a work you will not want to put down. DO NOT let its length deter you!

reviewed by Jonathan Nichols, Children's Programmer, Dee Brown Library

The Aspiring Poet's Journal, by Bernard Friot

A great book for kids and teens interested in writing and poetry. The book has examples and exercises of various forms of poetry, all creative and artfully done. If you follow the book each day, you will have a year's worth of journal entries by the end of it, and enough inspiration to keep writing.

reviewed by Sarah McClure, Branch Manager, Dee Brown Library

August 18, 2009

Sundown Towns: a Hidden Dimension of American Racism, by James W. Loewen

James Loewen provides the first authoritative exploration of the phenomenon of "sundown towns"—communities in which African Americans were forbidden, usually by means of violence and intimidation, from residing. In doing so, he breaks down the typical North-South dichotomy and reveals an entire nation implicated in institutional racism.

reviewed by Guy Lancaster, Editor, The Encyclopedia of Arkansas

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

This is the first in Fforde's Thursday Next series, and you'll be captivated by the witty wordplay and literary references. In The Eyre Affair, Thursday Next is an operative in the Literary Division of Britain's Special Operations Network, and she is after the 3rd most wanted criminal, Acheron Hades, who has been stealing characters from great works of British literature. Thursday must stop Hades before he alters Jane Eyre beyond recognition. Fforde's books are clever and zany with a little bit of mystery mingled with science fiction, fantasy, parody, and social satire.

reviewed by Ashley Pillow, Head of Reference

August 11, 2009

Miracle Myx, by Dave Diotalevi

Death has its advantages for 14-year-old Myx Amens; he is now gifted with special powers of perception, memory and (literally) tireless curiousity. Good thing too, because when one of his classmates gets murdered, he'll need all the help he can get to track the killer, or he may wind up dead - for good!

reviewed by Don Jackson, Fletcher Library Youth Programmer

Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder

Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Kidder follows Dr. Paul Farmer as Farmer tries to change the lives of the poorest of the poor in Haiti. Readable memoir of one of the most noted social entrepreneurs of our time.

reviewed by Maribeth Murray, Adult Programs Coordinator, Main Library