Safe Trip to Eden: Ten Steps to Save Planet Earth from the Global Warming Meltdown, by David Steinman, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007, $16.95, 510 pp. Only YOU can stop global warming, but this book could help.

The Savory Way, by Deborah Madison, Cader Books, 1996, 126 pp. Deborah Madison is known for her vegetarian recipes and now you can be too. Designed with a handy built-in easel.
Seattle Poems by Seattle Poets, edited by Robin Schultz, Poetry Around Press, 1992, $5.00 51 pp. This is the end-product when a bunch of poets get together and decide to publish themselves. It offers a good mix of serious, funny and contemplative reflections about the Seattle neighborhoods the writers live and work in. Although it contains nearly fifty contributions, it barely scratches the surface of Seattle's poet community.

Seeing The Light: Regaining Control of Our Electricity System, by D. Morris, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2001, $15.00, 160 pp. This populist theory on the energy crisis lays the blame squarely at the feet of the powerful who own our electrical supply. In order to wrest ourselves from their elitist clutches, the author maintains, we need affordable, locally controlled electricity. Duh.

Seeming, Being and Becoming, by Robert L. Benedetti, Drama Book Specialists, 1976, $6.95, 127 pp. A textbook for actors, Seeming, Being and Becoming reaches beyond the actor's craft to examine live theatre's role in society.

The Shadow Box, by Michael Cristofer, Drama Book Specialists, 1977, $7.95, 102 pp. 1977 was a big season for this play. It garnered a Tony for Best Play and a Pulitzer for Best Drama. Set on the grounds of a hospital which conjures up images of death camps (the patients live in rows of bungalows and have terminal illnesses), the humanness of Cristofer's characters saves the play from skidding on a slick of self pity.

Shadow of the Silk Road, by Colin Thubron, HarperCollins, 2007, $15.99, 363 pp. Colin Thubron was born with the chops to be a travel writer. John Dryden, England's first poet laureate, occupies space on his mother's family tree, while his father descends from Samuel Morse, inventor of the Morse code. With that kind of lineage, it was only a matter of time before he'd be mixing adventure with writing, tramping across the globe decoding the places and people he meets along the way. The Silk Road, that ancient of ancient trading routes linking the Mediterranean with China, offered the perfect avenue for Thubron to carry out his destiny. It contains a spirit that for a millenium has meshed East with West, remarkably captured by the author in Shadow of the Silk Road.

Shadow Trade, by Alan Furst, Delacorte Press, 1983, $14.95, 280 pp. Fact: In 1977 the Central Intelligence Agency dismissed 820 Clandestine Services officers in a single day. Fiction: The rest of the story - at least we hope it is. Shadow Trade follows one of these officers into the underworld of intelligence. Their business is covert operations, and so are the companies fronting them. It's The West Wing meets The Sopranos.

Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good, by Paul Newman and A. E. Hotchner, Doubleday, 2004, $23.95, 253 pp. Race car driver, actor, chef; the talents of Paul Newman could fill a book. Here, he and Hotchner re-trace the steps of building their natural food business from shared items among friends to annual profits of $12 million.

Sheldon & Mrs. Levine, by Sam Bobrick and Julie Stein, Price Stern Sloan, 1994, $14.95. Bobrick is a playwright. Stein's roots are in comedy. Together they give the world an intimate look at the dysfunctional relationship between Sheldon and his mother. Their story could have ended up as mono-dimensional drivel on these pages, but in the hands of Bobrick and Stein it's engaging, mysterious and fully multi-dimensional (literally). Goes to show what thinking outside the box can net.

Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories, The Lottery, The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Other Stories and Sketches, compiled by Carol Joyce Oates, Random House, 2010, $35.00, 827 pp. Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories contains the psychological thriller pioneer's most complete works to date. Included among its gems is the novel scholars and critics alike have called her most important contribution: The Haunting of Hill House, a paranormal mystery that still influences writers and filmmakers today.
The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication, by John Steinbeck, Random House, 1957, $18.00, 188 pp. What if, 150 years after the French Revolution, France wanted to undo what was done and reinstate the monarchy? Could a republic even do that? What follows is a comedy steeped in buffoonery, from the coalition of political parties behind the proposal, to the reluctant Crown whose closest advisors are his tourist-hustling uncle, and a nun who spent her youth dancing in strip clubs. Pippin is one of the greatest overlooked achievements in satire of a master storyteller.

The Silent Duchess, by Dacia Maraini, The Feminist Press, 1998, $14.95, 261 pp. Translated from the original Italian by Dick Kitto and Elspeth Spottiswood - say that real fast ten times - The Silent Duchess is a disturbing novel about Marianna Ucria, a Sicilian aristocrat in the early 1700s. What sets this story apart is the disability Marianna is saddled with; she's a deaf mute in a time - aristocrat or not - physical abnormalities are considered black marks against a woman's value. This is a story about rising above one's inadequacies to come to terms with the past in order to excel in the present. It's a grand achievement for both author and heroine alike.

Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of Our Common Wealth, by David Bollier, Routledge, 2002, $26.00, 272 pp. With Silent Theft, Bollier challenges the un-American practice of American business staking claim to public resources. From airwaves to the human genome, private enterprise is stripping the American public of their stake in the assets, while the government, much of the time, helps them to the spoils. It's compelling reading that leaves the reader feeling cheated out of America's promise.

Silk Screen Techniques, by J. I. Biegeleisen and Max Arthur Cohn, Dover Publications, 1958, $3.95, 185 pp. This text concisely covers everything a student of silk screening might want to know. It touches on history, equipment requirements, various stencil methods and color theory. A great source for both the professional and hobbyist.
The Sirens of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut, Random House, 1998, $17.00, 336 pp. In Sirens, Kurt Vonnegut, perhaps the greatest satirist of the late twentieth century, turns his focus on the self-importance of man.

Six Great Modern Plays, Dell Publishing, 1956, .95, 512 pp. This collection - still modern after all these years - contains such esteemed playwrights as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Included here for the timelessness of its pieces.
The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now, by the People Who Lived it Then, edited by Lynda Rosen Obst, Random House, 1977, 317 pp. Designed by Robert Kingsbury (Rolling Stone) and packed with photos, each chapter is dedicated to a single year, opening with a month-to-month calendar listing the events deemed - at the time - significant for that year. When it was written, the sixties were still fresh in the minds of Americans. Events seemingly of great importance, had yet to be tested with time. The result is a hodge podge collection of essays; some standing up to the test of time, others feeling incredibly dated. Contributors include: Muhammad Ali, Allen Ginsberg, Greil Marcus, Lee Strasberg, Gloria Steinem, Tom Wolfe, Eldridge Cleaver, Abbie Hoffman and more.

Slaves of New York, by Tama Janowitz, Crown Publishing, 1986, $15.95, 278 pp. The stories in this collection belong together. Whether or not they go together is debatable. That Janowitz is a fine humorist there is no doubt. Her talent as a writer, however, hasn't found the zone.

Slow Food: The Case For Taste, by Carlo Petrini, Columbia University Press, 2003, $24.95, 155 pp. Recently on a trip to my local food co-op, I overheard a cashier and helper clerk discussing Slow Food. Slow Food, I thought, was anything not microwaved. Written by the founder of the International Slow Food Movement, Slow Food explains the tenets of the movement which include among other things: defending localized agricultural economies, preserving gastronomic traditions, and making consumer choices that promote sustainability. Think of Slow Food as the finger in the dike holding back a global flood of fast food franchising.

A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life, by Steven Kotler, Bloomsbury, 2010, $24.00, 307 pp. A journalist by trade, Steven Kotler is about as far from the image of "that guy who rescues dogs" as you're likely to get. A reluctant rescuer, per typical guy form he became a dog rescuer because of a girl. "Love me, love my dogs," his partner, Lila, reportedly told him. The rest, as they say, is history, and the basis for his book, A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life. This is not a book about rescue. Rather, dog rescue is the background to the story, the main event being Kotler's interpersonal journey within rescue, all the while pondering the bigger stuff.

A Smell of Burning and Then . . . , by David Campton, Dramatists Play Service, 1969, 38 pp. In 1957 there was a growing concern over nuclear armament. 1957 was the same year British playwright David Campton wrote A Smell of Burning and Then . . . This pair of one acts are a satirical examination of attitudes which individuals and society trap themselves by. In A Smell of Burning we catch up with the Joneses, a couple so caught up in the routine of their lives they fail to see what's happening right under their noses; even when it's murder. In the second play, Then . . . , Campton confronts us with a post-nuclear holocaust world. It's a perplexing story about two survivors, one a ditzy beauty queen, the other a man of science. Their faith - hers in what people tell her and his in science - has saved them from annihilation, yet it was that same blind faith which led to worldwide destruction in the first place. Both plays offer a bleak perspective from 1957, but in light of America's present pursuit of new and mightier defenses, they deserve a second look.

Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, Vintage Books, 1995, $12.00, 460 pp. When a fisherman is killed off a small island in the Pacific Northwest, the authorities look for clues that will point to his murderer. They find the clues all right, but miss the ones that will exonerate their suspect. This is a beautiful story - part court room drama, part family saga - that leaves the reader spellbound by its prose.

So Great Salvation, by Charles C. Ryrie, Victor Books, 1989, 166 pp. Some adjectives used to describe the author on the book jacket: unbiased, objective, liberating, and kind. Generous words for a man who espouses a faith with no room for dissenting opinion. Still, his target audience - fundamentalist Christians - will nod knowingly as he sets them straight.

Social Studies, by Fran Lebowitz, Random House, 1981, $9.95, 147 pp. The jacket reads: "Fran Lebowitz lives in New York City, where she frequently makes jokes at the expense of others." This is quintessential Lebowitz.

Sold to the Highest Bidder: The Presidency From Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush, by Daniel M. Friedenberg, Prometheus Books, 2001, $29.00, 352 pp. In Sold to the Highest Bidder, Friedenberg makes a not-so-surprising allegation: Without belonging to a political dynasty or special interest, you haven't got a chance at winning the White House. Each chapter concentrates on a separate president, lending praise for statesmanship and rebuke for favor-mongering. Foreword by Howard Zinn.

The Source of Magic, by Piers Anthony, Del Rey, 1983, $2.95, 326 pp. Sent on a quest to discover the source of Xanth's magic, Bink embarks with a griffin and a centaur on a harrowing adventure which culminates in Bink destroying it. Bad Bink! Volume two of The Magic of Xanth.

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