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A . . . My Name is Alice, conceived by Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd, Concord Theatricals, 1985, $9.95, 65 pp.
Ever read a musical review? It's similar to reading a play, but with lyrics sans the musical accompaniment. It's an interesting exercise; plot kind of falls to the wayside. This review, almostly entirely
written for women, is light and comical. The Plot . . . what plot?
Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times, by Zoe Weil, New Society Publishers, 2003, $17.95, 259 pp.
As the president of the International Institute for Humane Education, Weil is a promoter of humanitarian values in education. Above All, is based on four principles: providing information; teaching critical thinking; instilling reverence, respect and responsibility; and offering positive choices.
The goal is to raise compassionate children with respect for the environment and others. Includes case studies that drive home her points.
ACEEE's Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars & Trucks, Model Year 2000, by John DeCicco and James Kliesch, ACEEE, 2000, $8.95, 151 pp.
Consumer Reports for greens, the nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) produced this guide to assist environmentally conscientious
consumers in making vehicle purchases. It rates - according to earth-friendliness - all year 2000 makes and models.
ACEEE's Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars & Trucks, Model Year 2003, by John DeCicco and James Kliesch, ACEEE, 2003, $8.95, 151 pp.
Consumer Reports for greens, the nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) produces this guide annually to assist environmentally conscientious
consumers in making vehicle purchases. It rates - according to earth-friendliness - all 2003 makes and models.
Adobe InDesign: Classroom in a Book, by The Staff of Adobe, Adobe Press, 1999, $45.00, 439 pp.
The title says it all. Published by Adobe Systems to support their hybrid program of word processing and graphics, it's a good instruction manual. The lessons are clear, methodical, and the supporting CD-ROM leaves little to accident. InDesign combines elements of Pagemaker and Photoshop into one program, integrating Adobe's two most popular (and powerful)
products. Adobe has a good track record when it comes to technical support, however, Classroom in a Book has got about as much soul as a corporate financial sheet, and we prefer the color illustrations of Adobe's InDesign user manual.
After the Banquet, by Yukio Mishima, Berkley Publishing, 1971, $1.25, 192 pp.
Ross Perot made a bid for the oval office in 1992. He failed. He was quoted then as saying, "War has rules, mud wrestling has rules - politics has no rules." He didn't need to run for office to figure that one out. It's the crux of Yukio Mishima's After the Banquet, a novel of political intrigue and lack of self-awareness. Mishima has a knack for capturing the human condition with such clarity as to make one blush.
His protagonists are train wrecks, and like train wrecks, are hard not to stare at, slack-jawed in disbelief, for his brutally honest portrayals. Mishima's at the top of his game with Banquet. Translated by Donald Keene.
After the Ecstacy, the Laundry, by Jack Kornfield, Bantam Books, 2000, $15.95, 313 pp.
Drawing from Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu and Sufi traditions, Kornfield explains how enlightenment can be
achieved and maintained in a modern lifestyle. The inner spirit can be transformed through enlightenment, but it won't
make the laundry go away.
After the Fall, by Arthur Miller, Viking, 1964, $2.50, 114 pp.
Miller was, for a time, married to Marilyn Monroe. In this two act masterpiece, he attempts to purge the lingering demons of that union - and other ghosts as well - through the thoughts and actions of the
play's protagonist, Quentin. Demons, however, are difficult to exorcise.
Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, by Richard A. Clarke, Free Press, 2004, $27.00, 304 pp.
In what may only be described as impeccable timing, Against All Enemies by former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke was released in an election year, during a war
growing increasingly difficult and unpopular, while the panel reviewing the events of 9/11 was convening. In it he paints a scathing picture of G. Dubya's White House, fraught with the peddling of personal agenda
ahead of the welfare of America.
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, HarperSanFrancisco, 1993, $18.00, 177 pp.
Set in Saharan Africa sometime between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, The Alchemist is about that certain click one gets when pursuing his/her true path.
It's also about the interconnectedness of all things. Through the story's protagonist, a Spanish boy named Santiago, Coelho guides the reader through
the process of recognizing opportunities that will ultimately lead
one to know and trust their heart. Coelho writes in Portuguese, so it's hard to judge his writing from a work that's been translated to English, but rest assured The Alchemist is original and thoroughly enjoyable.
Translated by Alan R. Clarke.
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, W. W. Norton & Co., 1971, $4.95, 434 pp.
A world of wonder opens up when Alice falls down a rabbit hole. Are all rabbit worlds so wonderful?
This edition, edited by Donald J. Gray, includes Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Hunting of the Snark
and a bunch of critical essays.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll, New American Library, 1960, 238 pp.
Carroll's classic tales with a foreword by Horace Gregory and illustrations from John Tenniel.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, Knopf, 1993, $13.00, 302 pp.
Set in Texas and Mexico, McCarthy writes about a paradise of the mind. It follows a couple of misplaced cowboys on their quest for nirvana; great spreads of unfenced ranch land
over which they can play their cowboy games. His writing style might take a few pages to get your mind around (he writes with an aversion to punctuation), but once accomplished
McCarthy delivers in adroit fashion. He is uniquely gifted in folding acute detail into his writing in such a way it flows with the unencumbered grace of the bareback ponies he's
so fond of writing about, and for which he won the National Book Award. Destined for the American Classics list.
Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Guide to Global Volunteer Opportunities, by Paul Backhurst, Food First Books, 2005, $11.95, 144 pp.
Alternatives to the Peace Corps is a great source for short-term volunteerism. Includes opportunities at home as well as abroad, and study overseas.
America (the Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, by Jon Stewart and the writers of the Daily Show, Warner Books, 2004, $24.95, 227 pp.
In America, Jon Stewart does for published political satire what he did for the airwaves from his post at the Daily Show.
American Birds, by Roland C. Clement, Ridge Press, 1970, $3.50, 160 pp.
At the time of publication, Clement was vice president of the American Audubon Society. He does for bird watchers what Joel Arem did for rock hounds in Rocks and Minerals
(Ridge Press, $2.25). It's packed with full color photos throughout, and includes helpful tips for sighting and identifying your winged friends.
American Buffalo, by David Mamet, Grove Press, 1977, 106 pp.
David Mamet has a rare command of the English language. In this, his Broadway debut, he writes about three guys whose world evolves
around a junk shop. They're small time crooks, looking for the ever-elusive big heist. A play in two acts, it explores the vagaries of loyalty and
suspicion among petty thieves. A stunning achievement.
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, by Chris Hedges, Free Press, 2006, $25.00, 254 pp.
God and country: In American Fascists, Hedges confirms that nagging suspicion there's more to the War on Terrorism than meets the eye. In it, he alleges
the Christian Right is poised to put an end to American free society; they're just waiting for the opportunity in the form of the next national security crisis. Scary stuff.
The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, edited by Christopher Brickell and H. Marc Cathey, DK Publishing, 2004, $80.00, 1103 pp.
The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants is a mammoth book. Brickell and Cathey have done an outstanding job gathering all the information a gardener is likely to want on plants - some 15,000 of them - into one place.
The descriptions are thorough. They've included a glossary of terms alongside a visual glossary of leaves and flowers most gardeners will find helpful, and the most detailed plant heat-zone map of the United States you may ever lay your eyes on.
For all this encyclopedia has going for it though, it lacks the primary ingredient that would make it a great reference book: soul.
American Power and the New Mandarins, by Noam Chomsky, The New Press, 2002, $18.95, 404 pp.
In a timely re-printing, Chomsky's first political book spanks the bejeezus out of Vietnam-era war proponents. Today, with America verging on perpetual war in the Middle East, and China blossoming into an economic
powerhouse, the analysis offered in American Power is unexpectedly relevant. Forward by Howard Zinn.
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, by Kevin Phillips, Viking, 2006, $26.95, 462 pp.
Further proof that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
An Album of Jacques Drapeau's Paintings of Dinosaurs, by Jacques Drapeau, 2019, $13.00, 22 pp.
Northwest artist Jacques Drapeau has an eye for whimsy. A chemical engineer by trade, he is self-described as the boy who never grew up. As a child he was fascinated by trains and dinosaurs, a fascination he fortunately never lost. As a painter, Drapeau's style is uniquely refreshing. Think: the characters of Gary Larson's Farside comics crossed with Paul Gauguin's color palette, and you've got it. An Album of Jacques Drapeau's Paintings of Dinosaurs is just one of many volumes featuring the artist's work.
An Album of Jacques Drapeau's Paintings of Dragons and Other Fantasy Critters, by Jacques Drapeau, 2019, $13.00, 22 pp.
An Album of Jacques Drapeau's Paintings of Dragons and Other Fantasy Critters does for dragons what An Album of Jacques Drapeau's Paintings of Dinosaurs did for Mesozoic lizards. Combining the artist's flair for color with his sense of whimsy, Dragons captures the quintessence of Drapeau. Contains twenty-one full-color plates with captions.
An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Jeff Guidry, HarperCollins, 2010, $21.99, 212 pp.
Author Jeff Guidry was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000. He credits an eagle with saving his life. An Eagle Named Freedom: My True Story of a Remarkable Friendship is his personal account of that chapter in his life. On a day in mid-August 1998, a young, injured eagle was brought into the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center where Guidry volunteered. Guidry describes a remarkable bond occurring that day between he and the young eagle that would come to be called Freedom. "The eagle looked up at me and my old life was over," writes Guidry, and "a new second life begun."
An Eagle Named Freedom is his moving account of how, with the help of a bird, he dumped cancer on its head.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About it, by Al Gore, Rodale, 2006, $21.95, 328 pp.
When Gore lost his bid for the presidency in the political fiasco of 2000, he could have hung up his hat on championing unpopular causes like the survival of planet Earth and become a saleable
politician. Instead, he stuck to his convictions and Inconvenient Truth is the product. While light on text, the crisis of global warming is driven home through graphs and photos.
An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming, by Al Gore, Random House, 2007, $17.00, 191 pp.
This slimmed down revised edition of Gore's bestseller is geared toward young readers. Same convictions; same clear and present danger. Graphs and photos.
An Instant Guide to Birds, by Mike Lambert and Alan Pearson, Crescent Books, 1985, $3.99, 128 pp.
An Instant Guide to Birds - like other titles in the Instant Guide series - delivers, to a point. It's simple, concise, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. The birds, however, are divided up along four broad categories: Birds of Town, Birds of Country,
Birds of Water, and Less Common Species. Helpful categories, but the bird watcher would be better served by regional divisions. In other words, if you're in Boston you don't want to spend your time looking for a Bird of Town you're only likely to lay eyes on in California.
An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life, by the Dalai Lama, Little, Brown and Co., 2002, $22.95, 191 pp.
Using the Buddhist tradition, An Open Heart seeks to set persons of all faiths on the path to a more compassionate existence.
Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects, edited by Janet Cave, Laura Foreman, Jim Hicks and Sara Schneidman, Time-Life Books, 1989, 176 pp.
Volume 11 of the Mysteries of the Unknown series, Ancient Wisdom is a fairly balanced look at such mystic groups as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians.
What the editors give us is information gleaned from historical documents - rumors and questionable testimony included - leaving it to the reader to form an opinion. Illustrated essays abound.
Andy Warhol, 1928-1987: Commerce into Art, by Klaus Honnef, Benedikt Taschen, 1990, $16.00, 96 pp.
Though light on text, this slim volume makes good use of the more than 100 reproductions it contains. While the reader may come away
knowing very little new about Warhol, the artist's life will no doubt have a
sense of chronology it may have lacked before. Love him or hate him, Warhol made art "pop", and this book is a good source for examples of how he did it.
Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, Scribner, 1996, 363 pp.
Angela's Ashes is 363 pages of pure Irish yarn. McCourt won a Pulitzer for this
muck-strewn tale about his experience growing up poor, Catholic and Irish. Poverty has
never been written about with such aplomb.
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead Books, 2002, $23.95, 227 pp. In this, another volume by everybody's favorite
Buddhist peace activist, Hanh illustrates the connection between inner emotions and emotions in the world around us. One does not exist without profoundly affecting the other. Just
the sort of lesson needed by an increasingly fractious world.
Animal Designs for Coloring 12: Owls, by Ruth Heller, Grosset & Dunlap, 1979, $2.50, 48 pp. In this, the twelfth book of
the series, the focus is on owls. A coloring book for adults, no one will fault you for letting the crayons be and enjoying the designs just
the way they are.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver, HarperCollins, 2007, $26.95, 384 pp.
Kingsolver does with homegrown meals in Animal, Vegetable what Morgan Spurlock did with fast food in Super Size Me: She eats nothing but local and homegrown food for a year
and analyzes the results. Recipes.
Another Roadside Attraction, by Tom Robbins, Ballantine Books, 1987, $3.95, 337 pp.
Robbins has a habit of breaking the rules of style, but somehow it works for him. His writing - whether teetering on the edge of psychosis in structure
or summarily dismissing mainstream thinking in its story line - is always fast, witty and unencumbered by the rules of other novelists. As the
reader you've no other option but to simply relax and trust you'll be delivered unharmed. Another Roadside Attraction requires a double dose of that trust. It's a psychedelic rocket ride that ultimately
challenges everything from Catholic theology to intellectualism. Hold on to your hat!
Ansel Adams, by Barry Pritzker, Crescent Books, 1991, $16.99, 112 pp.
Pritzker's book on Ansel Adams' work is a classic. With 69 photographs, it covers Adams' major assignments with the Department of the Interior.
The surprise for the reader of Ansel Adams are the photographer's subjects beyond the DOI: His portrait work and still lifes. Though Adams stands out as an untouchable in his field, he was influenced by the early American photographer Timothy O'Sullivan, Alfred Stieglitz and Paul Strand. The genius of Adams was in applying their theories of light and composition to the natural subjects he predominantly sought out for photographing.
Anton Chekhov: Four Plays, translated by David Magarshack, Hill and Wang, 1969, 244 pp.
Chekhov writes with a sense of realism unique to him. His plays are generally a blend of tragedy and
comedy. This volume includes: The Sea Gull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.
Anything For Billy, by Larry McMurtry, Simon & Schuster, 1989, $5.50, 408 pp.
Fortunately, I have two friends who are avid McMurtry fans; eventually they pass his books my
way. Having made his mark as one of the best modern American storytellers with The Last Picture Show,
McMurtry continues to prove his place. In Anything For Billy he captures the spirit of Billy the Kid by
surrounding him with unforgettable characters who - like Billy - more closely resemble the boys next door than the rapscallions they're so eager to be remembered as.
The Art of Drama, edited by R. F. Dietrich, William E. Carpenter and Kevin Kerrane, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976, 781 pp.
This anthology contains sixteen plays representing the major trends in Western theatre. It begins with the Greek classic, Oedipus Rex, and
concludes with Paul Zindel's The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. In between are such classics as Twelfth Night, A Doll's House,
The Cherry Orchard, Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun, The Misanthrope, The Harry Ape and more. An excellent collection for the theatre student or
literature buff.
The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace, by Jack Kornfield, Bantam Books, 2002, $18.95, 224 pp.
In the Buddhist tradition, Kornfield offers meditations for lives void of peace, love and compassion.
The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry, by Wendell Berry, Counterpoint Press, 2002, $26.00, 330 pp.
Berry is well known for his criticism of our consumer-based, profit-driven society. He - sometimes poetically, sometmes self-righteously - links it to the degradation of our environment and
social structure. The Art of the Commonplace is both a great introduction for those not familiar with Berry, and a superb collection for those who already are.
Arthur Miller: Collected Plays, 1964-1982, edited by Tony Kushner, Library of America, 2012, $40.00, 823 pp.
Edited by Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Theatre Communications Group, $16.95; Lincoln: The Screenplay, Theatre Communications Group, $15.95), this hefty volume contains the works of Arthur Miller from 1964 to 1982. Bookended by After the Fall and Some Kind of Love Story, this collection arguably contains some of the best work - Price; Fame; Creation of the World and Other Business - of the iconic American playwright.
Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists, edited by Ted Rall, NBM Publishing, 2002, $13.95, 128 pp.
Ted Rall, a prominent newcomer to the arena of political cartooning, edits this volume of cartoons that deftly turn their mainstream counterparts on their ears. Includes interviews with twenty of the cartoonists.
Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists, edited by Ted Rall, NBM Publishing, 2004, $13.95, 127 pp.
The second in the Attitude series, Attitude 2 features 21 cartoonists whose work appears regularly in trashy little weekly alternatives. Included
are eye-opening interviews with the cartoonists themselves. Prepare to laugh.
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, by Barack Obama, Crown Publishing, 2006, $25.00, 375 pp.
The Dem's latest star reflects on DC politics with wit and humor, resurrecting the vision of our forefathers from the ashes of Washington's latest folly.
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