New Books - May 2008

F1234 .R32 2006

Insurgent Mexico

Reed, John, 1887-1920.

The Mississippi Valley Historical Review:

"Mr. Reed's book describes insurgent Mexico from the newspaper correspondent's or magazine writer's point of view. Therein Mr. Reed presents to us a remarkable true and vivid picture of Mexico as it is today. Almost without comment on his part he describes the Mexican people, their country, their life, their customs, and so forth, choosing his details with unerring skill, and presenting the picture with charming directness and simplicity. In so doing Mr. Reed has succeeded in bringing before an Anglo-American public a sympathetic picture of a Spanish-American people, making clear therewith some of the striking differences that render understanding and intercourse between the two so difficult."

"Reed's Insurgent Mexico shows the writer as he is and at his best, as a realist in the artistic sense, who describes life as he sees it, on the human side. Always sympathetic, thoroughly steeped in his subject, Mr. Reed still succeeds in keeping his personality from the pages. Vividly dramatic, full of realism, in itself romance, accurate and sane, are these sketches that Mr. Reed affords us in his Insurgent Mexico - a contribution, be is said, to the human and artistic aspects of this trouble-torn country." Review: [untitled], by Lindley M. Keasbey The Mississippi Valley Historical Review (copyright 1915), Organization of American Historians.

New Books - May 2008

E175.85 .L64 2007

Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American history Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.

Library Journal Review:

Starred Review. Loewen (sociology, Univ. of Vermont; Mississippi: Conflict and Change), whose interest lies in looking for "weapons of mass instruction" in American history textbooks, first shared his findings over ten years ago in the best-selling first edition of this book. Here he presents his updated assessments, starting with an introduction that "re-caps" and "pre-caps" what the book covers, and explains his concept of the failings of 12 American history textbooks. He finds, for example, that Woodrow Wilson is still given hero status although he was almost single-handedly responsible for forcing the removal of any one who was not a WASP from all levels of government. He also notes that we are spending more time on the War of 1812 than on our longest war: Vietnam. In an age of "truthiness" and "spin," a work that asks us to challenge students with actual and chronological history, and with images and comments from diverse viewpoints, leaving each student to come to his or her own conclusions, would seem to be of particular importance. Even if your library has the first edition, you must get this update. A fascinating work; highly recommended. Suzanne Lay, Perry H.S. Lib., GA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Books - May 2008

HQ772 .I69 2007

Is It a Big problem or a Little Problem? : When to Worry, When Not to Worry, and What to Do
Egan, Amy.

Library Journal Review:

Starred Review. Many exasperated parents have wondered whether their three year old needs to have his or her hearing checked. Developmental concerns are common, but it can be difficult to tell what behavior is a "stage" and what is cause for genuine concern. The authors, Anderson, Amy Egan, Amy Freedman, and Judi Greenberg all speech, language, behavior, and occupational therapists at the Ivymount School's Center for Outreach and Education in Rockville, MD divide the book into three sections, "The Basics," "Understanding Development," and "Where Children Struggle." Within these, they illustrate specific concerns (e.g., "She can hear, why doesn't she understand?"), explore the range of normal, and examine signals that indicate a need for professional intervention. For "little problems," the authors teach how to rework an environment, routine, or communication strategy to alleviate triggers and encourage mastery. Their strategies for reteaching crucial developmental milestones range from the simple (e.g., no more sippy cups; straws not only improve speech skills but have a calming effect) to the progressive. Disclaimers aside, this book is the equivalent of a valuable appointment with a specialist. Never using an alarmist tone, the authors strike a perfect balance between advocating for early intervention and appreciating the ups and downs of typical childhood behavior. Highly recommended for all libraries. Julianne J. Smith, Ypsilanti Dist. Lib., MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Books - April 2008

DS79.76 .Z357 2007
City of Widows : An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance
Zangana, Haifa, 1950-

Publishers Weekly Review:

Starred Review. In her opening line, Iraqi novelist (and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein) Zangana lays out this Iraq primer's unapologetic intent: "that readers in the West will gain insight into a country they have impacted so fully and terribly." With 300,000 widows in Baghdad alone, another million across the country, and thousands of women imprisoned without acknowledgement-much less hope for legal recourse-Zangana's dispatches are different from those of U.S. and Iraqi officials who, she says, claim to support "women's empowerment" while sponsoring militant sectarian forces with "barbaric ideas" about women in society. The U.S. media, according to Zangana, is happy to fall in line: by repeating the story that Iraqis are killing Iraqis by the hundreds each day, the American reflex has become to blame the victims, rather than an occupation that has deliberately dismantled the country's only ways of coping. Putting the current moment in perspective with an engaging history of women's rights in Iraq, Zangana convincingly indentifies the current Iraqi moment "a terrible state of regression." This angry, unforgiving and powerful book is as vital as it is hard to swallow. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Books - April 2008

S494.5 .B563 C86 2008
Uncertain Peril : Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds
Cummings, Claire Hope, 1943-

Publishers Weekly Review:

Former environmental lawyer and one-time farmer Cummings offers a persuasive account of a lesser-known but potentially apocalyptic threat to the world's ecology and food supply the privatization of the Earth's seed stock. For almost a century, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided seeds at no cost to farmers who then saved seeds from one harvest to another, eventually developing strains best suited to local or regional climates. But Cummings also tells how seeds became lucrative, patentable private properties for some of the nation's most powerful agribusinesses. Cummings bemoans the plague of sameness intensified by the advent of such fitfully regulated companies as Monsanto, which now not only own genetically modified seed varieties, but also sue farmers when wind inevitably blows seeds onto their neighboring fields. According to Cummings, this tyranny of the technological[ly]elite threatens agricultural diversity and taints food sources. Among the author's many startling statistics is that 97% of 75 vegetables whose seeds were once available from the USDA are now extinct. Cummings heralds plans for a Doomsday Vault to shelter existing natural seed stock, and finds comfort in organic farming's growth, but her authoritative portrait of another way in which our planet is at peril provides stark food for thought. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

New Books - April 2008

KF224 .H468 C65 2006

"Colored Men" and "Hombres Aquí" : Hernández v. Texas and the Emergence of Mexican-American Lawyering

Olivas, Michael A.

From the Publisher:

This collection of ten essays commemorates the 50th anniversary of an important but almost forgotten U.S. Supreme court case, Hernández v. Texas, 347 US 475 (1954), the major case involving Mexican Americans and jury selection, published just before Brown v. Board of Education in the 1954 Supreme Court reporter.
This landmark case, the first to be tried by Mexican American lawyers before the U.S. Supreme Court, held that Mexican Americans were a discrete group for purposes of applying Equal Protection. Although the case was about discriminatory state jury selection and trial practices, it has been cited for many other civil rights precedents in the intervening 50 years. Even so, it has not been given the prominence it deserves, in part because it lives in the shadow of the more compelling Brown v. Board case.
There had been earlier efforts to diversify juries, reaching back at least to the trial of Gregorio Cortez in 1901 and continuing with efforts by the legendary Oscar Zeta Acosta in Los Angeles in the 1960s. Even as recently as 2005 there has been clear evidence that Latino participation in the Texas jury system is still substantially unrepresentative of the growing population. But in a brief and shining moment in 1954, Mexican-American lawyers prevailed in a system that accorded their community no legal status and no respect. Through sheer tenacity, brilliance, and some luck, they showed that it is possible to tilt against windmills and slay the dragon.
Edited and with an introduction by University of Houston law scholar Michael A. Olivas, Colored Men and Hombres Aquí is the first full-length book on this case. This volume contains the papers presented at the Hernández at 50 conference which took place in 2004 at the University of Houston Law Center and also contains source materials, trial briefs, and a chronology of the case.

New Books - April 2008

QE721.2 .E85 P76 2007
Evolution : What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters

Prothero, Donald R.

Publishers Weekly Review:

Prothero, a geologist at Occidental College (After the Dinosaurs), explains how rich the fossil record has become. His goal is two-fold. First, he wants to demonstrate the wide variety of transitional forms that have been found, many within the past 20 years. Second, he aims to discredit the creationist movement. I have tried to document how they routinely distort or deny the evidence, quote out of context, and do many other dishonest and unethical things all in the name of pushing their crusade. He accomplishes both of his goals (though he can be repetitious regarding the creationists), and his descriptions of recent research, much of it his own, are compelling. Prothero explains that the Cambrian explosion of life forms was anything but an explosion, and presents the impressive transitional fossils between reptiles and birds, along with striking evidence for mammalian evolution, including the relationship among hominid groups. With good science and some specific rebuttals to creationist arguments, this book demonstrates the importance of paleontology to the study of evolution. 208 illus. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.