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ADMINISTRIVIA

Netsurfer Books Holiday Issue Part I

HISTORY AND LIVES

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience
Kwame Anthony Appiah (Editor), Henry Louis Gates (Editor), Anthony Appiah (Editor)
Basic Civitas Books; ISBN: 0465000711

W.E.B. Du Bois labored mightily to complete his dream, an encyclopedia of Africa and the African diasporas, but he fell short when he died in 1963, at age 95. Taking up the torch, Harvard professors Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., have produced a gargantuan volume addressing the entire history as envisioned by Du Bois. Its 2144 pages are home to more than 3500 entries and two million words compiled by 220 contributors, more than 1000 maps and photographs, and extended essays on major themes. This isn't just a chronicle of the Black experience since slavery; most of the book looks at the variety of African culture and history from earliest times, and the authors are clear that the diasporas weren't limited to abduction and slavery in the American colony. Blacks, usually marginalized in history, pawns even in the War Between the States, take the spotlight here. It's a cliché to label something a gift that will be treasured; there's no hyperbole here when we tell you it is a gift that will be treasured. Very highly recommended.

New York: An Illustrated History

New York: An Illustrated History
Ric Burns, James Sanders, and Lisa Ades
Knopf; ISBN: 0679454829

Can anyone make normally static history come alive the ways the brothers Burns can? In another example of the their superior style and story telling, Ric Burns regales us with the tale of New York City. It just finished airing on PBS, unfathomably going up against network sweeps programming over five consecutive nights. We hope you caught it on your VCR, because it was another of those trademarked Burns efforts; they've held you in such thrall for two hours that you've forgotten you're being swept along by drawings and still photographs rather than hollow filmed re-creations. The city's dominance in the world of today masks its past, but Burns makes a strong case for NYC's place as the most historic of American locales. The companion book lives up to the high standards of both Burns and PBS, and here's the "fi ve-tape boxed set" of the ten-hour series. Top 'o' the heap.

Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World That He Made

Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World That He Made
David Halberstam
Random House; ISBN: 0679415629

Michael Jordan was perhaps the best player ever to take the basketball court, even pitted against the likes of backboard giants like Patrick Ewing or Magic Johnson. Even in a world of icons, Michael Jordan stands head and shoulders above the rest of the planet's familiar faces, a confrere of everyone from Tweety Bird to Dennis Rodman, dispensing advice to the likes of Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky. (Now, wouldn't you just love to get hold of that Rolodex, hm?) But, he's more than a sports figure, and Halberstam explores what took Jordan to the heights he's won. Halberstam observes that Jordan hit his stride at the same time that cable television, corporate identity, big money, resurgent basketball, and coaches-as-stars came into their own. You don't have to be a sports fan to appreciate the way in which Halberstam has placed Jordan in his era, recognizing the significance of his career for far more than the stats and NBA championships that it generated. Halberstam's in the paint on this one.

The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood

The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood
By Jesse Green
Villard Books; ISBN: 0375501649

As Jesse Green's relationship with Andy deepened, neither man realized just what it would mean for Jesse. Jesse, consciously committed to never being a father - but more committed to Andy - unexpectedly found himself the second parent in a growing nuclear family; Andy already had an adopted son, Erez, and Erez soon had a new brother, Lucas. Green isn't writing a movie of the week, though, where a happy ending is the whole point - though a happy one is certainly preferred. He's an engaging writer, but his themes aren't slight, considering the meaning of family, growth, and commitment, the shape of peoples' biases, and the questions that come of a gay couple trying to raise children with all the love and wisdom that the children have taught them. Charming and moving, without being cloying.

We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives...from the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana

We Interrupt This Broadcast: Relive the Events That Stopped Our Lives...from the Hindenburg to the Death of Princess Diana
Joe Garner, Walter Cronkite, Bill Kurtis
Sourcebooks Trade; ISBN: 1570713286

Here's a news flash. And here's another. And another. 39 news flashes in all make up this intriguing book/CD combination, beginning with radio reporter Herb Morrison's unforgettable anguish when the Hindenburg's fateful arrival at Lakehurst reduced him to babbling eloquence, through Walter Cronkite's choked confirmation of JFK's death, and ending with the shock of Diana's death, writer Garner and narrator Kurtis burrow through events that seemed to stop time so they could re-shape history: Pearl Harbor, Marilyn Monroe's death, the trio of assassinations that shattered American history, Kent State, the first moon landing, Nixon's resignation, the short and fatal Challenger flight. This decidedly American, decidedly male, decidedly urgent collection is an admirable use of multimedia and will draw a smile from anyone on your list with a sense of history.

Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon

Opium: A Portrait of the Heavenly Demon
Barbara Hodgson
Chronicle Books; ISBN: 081182411X

Barbara Hodgson takes readers on a languid stroll through the images and literature celebrating or condemning the demon of opium, once respectable, a cornerstone of empire, then demonized by racism and high-minded moralists. The slim and beautifully produced volume is notable for including numerous illustrations and text excerpts showing the perceptions of the drug in various cultures and times. This is a sensuous little coffee table book sure to engage the interest of anybody who casually picks it up. When you're finished reading it you're sure to want some more ...

Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All

Andy Kaufman Revealed!: Best Friend Tells All
Bob Zmuda
Little Brown & Company; ISBN: 0316681237

Reviews for this chronicle of Kaufman's professional and personal relationship with friend and collaborator Zmuda are as mixed as people's reactions to Kaufman and his comedy. Diehard fans seem to get it; the less adulatory seem content to be left out of the loopiness. In the current biopic, Man on the Moon, Jim Carrey - eerily recognizable as both himself and Kaufman - channels Latka Gravas. creepy lounge acts, and the Might Mouse bit; it's bound to re-ignite interest in this strangest of comics. Here's a chance to find out what it looked like from the inside - however disturbing that might be. For real Kaufman fans.

I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action

I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action
Lung Cheng, Jeff Yang, Jackie Chan
Ballantine Books (Mm); ISBN: 0345429133

Recent revelations about Chan's infidelity have created a stir in Asia, where Chan has been massively famous for two decades. His crossover films have brought him to the West's attention in only the past few years, but this tale of his life is still a revelation. His dramatic training began when he was only seven years old, at one of the infamous opera schools where life marked by its austerity, training defined rigor, and discipline was unsparing. You'd expect a much different man to come out that environment, and had Asian studios had their way we'd also have seen a screen persona that hewed closer Bruce Lee's revered image. Chan chose something altogether and unpredictable, and even fans who only occasionally patronize the action genre are happy that he did. True Chan fans will appreciate his lists of favorite scenes and stunts through the years, and the rest of us can cringe at the catalogue of astonishing injuries that he's suffered in service to his personal art.

DIVERSIONS

And the Crowd Goes Wild: Relive the Most Celebrated Sporting Events Ever Broadcast

And the Crowd Goes Wild: Relive the Most Celebrated Sporting Events Ever Broadcast
Joe Garner, Bob Costas (Narrator)
Sourcebooks Trade; ISBN: 1570714606

Two audio CDs offer up the original sound recordings of nearly 60 of sport's most memorable moments, including Lou Gehrig's farewell, football's immaculate reception, and the goal that brought gold to the US women's soccer team. Bob Costas, an engaging raconteur even when unscripted, narrates; the book supports him and the original recordings with pictures and additional background. Here's a wonderful example of the way emerging media can enhance and preserve history and the experiences of reading and listening. Highly recommended for fans of any sport, and especially those who can rattle off stats and jersey numbers without reference to sports tomes. If the object of your gift giving isn't into history, you might want to consider "Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball", "Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League", "Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League", "The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Basketball: The Definitive Illustrated Guide to the NBA", or "The Everything You Want to Know About Sport Encyclopedia (Sports Illustrated for Kids)".

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam (1999)

Cirque du Soleil: Quidam (1999)
Cirque du soleil
ASIN: 0767840135

Nothing can match the elation of sitting through a live performance of Cirque du soleil, in an intimately dimmed tent, with a surprisingly small crowd, everyone close enough to the proscenium to be enraptured by costumes that somehow disturb you and makeup that invites emotional response. Still, most of us have to rely on the periodic television special to get our fix. Here's a taped performance of the circus' 1996 creation, Quidam. According to its director, Quidam ""highlights our frailties and our anguish in the face of the new millennium that lies before us. It also underlines differences, conveying positive feelings and resentment and confronting our dreams with our nightmares." Take that, Messrs Wringling, Mr. Barnum, Mr. Bailey. Kids and grown-ups on your list might also be interested in Nouvelle Experience, one of the earlier performances, or 1995's classic Saltimbanco.

100 Best Album Covers

100 Best Album Covers
Aubrey Powell (Editor), Storm Thorgerson (Editor)
DK Publishing; ISBN: 078944951X

In our fathers' and grandfathers' collections, there are 78rpm records, still in their original kraft paper sleeves. And, some of you must remember those album covers with the painfully bland staged photos; even The Beatles can count examples of those dismal portraits in their discography. Thank goodness musicians finally began to appreciate the canvas on their album covers. Oh, how we miss the artistry of the most expressive album covers, shrunk now to the utility of a CD jewel case. That's why we appreciate this book, a compilation of music's 100 best album covers, with smart discussions about their visual appeal and significance, the art and ideas that inspired them, the discarded concepts, the mechanics and atmosphere of their creation, and the influence they had on other album art. This is a very respectable addition to any audiophile's music shelf. Our judgement: it's only rock'n'roll, but we like it.

Oxford History of Board Games

Oxford History of Board Games
David Parlett
Oxford Univ Pr (Trade); ISBN: 0192129988

Even with all the available technology, there's still a good chunk of the world's techies that appreciate classic board games, even on computer. And we do mean classic, going back hundreds and even thousands of years. This is not a book in the tradition of Hoyle. Rules aren't really the point, although they're covered. Parlett is really far more interested in how people have whiled away their hours over the centuries. Although we don't share one reviewer's passion for the subject, we can understand what drove him to write, ". This book is in short a long-overdue milestone, and an absolute must for anyone with the slightest interest in games. Despite the thoroughness with which Parlett treats the subject, the writing is lucid, sprinkled with interesting cultural references and topped with occasional flashes of dry British humour. I cannot recommend it highly enough - and as a collector of books on games, with 1100 titles on my shelves, I should know." That's good enough for us, and should probably make someone on your gift list happy, too.

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL

The Day Traders

The Day Traders
Gregory J. Millman
Times Books; ISBN: 0812931866

Remember Richard Gere's epiphany in "Pretty Woman" when he realizes the full implications of the fact that he doesn't actually make or build anything? Gregory Millman writes in this book about the newest quirk of capitalism, day trading. The internet has given everyone direct access to the investment markets if they have the will and technology to take advantage of it. Playing the market isn't for everyone, though, and especially volatile is the short-term investment market. Author Millman is no friend of day trader firms. Citing both day trading's incendiary effects on investors' assets and the addictiveness of the high stakes video game, he sees a lot of people losing while a very small number strike it rich. The firms themselves - charging as much a $15 per trade in an activity driven and defined by volume - can reap thousands of dollars from just one small-time trader in a single day, compromising both earnings and capital. Millman will help you understand day trading if you're up to its demands, but don't expect him to paint a rosy portrait for you.

The Savage Truth on Money

The Savage Truth on Money
Terry Savage
John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 0471352292

Savage offers no get-rich-quick schemes. Quite the opposite, she counsels patience, calm, and faith in your far-sighted strategy. If you suspect that the only people getting rich in day trading, incessant e-trading, and late-night infomercials are the ones selling the day trading, incessant e-trading, and counter-hogging kitchen appliances, then Savage's is the voice you should listen to. Savage doesn't dismiss the Internet, but she admires it most for its research capabilities. She also speaks to things that matter to most of us: savings, college funds, insurance, and the security of mutual funds. Here's common sense advice on comprehensive money management.

The Art of the Market: Two Centuries of American Business As Seen Through Its Stock Certificates

The Art of the Market: Two Centuries of American Business As Seen Through Its Stock Certificates
Bob Tamarkin, Les Krantz
Stewart Tabori & Chang; ISBN: 1556709382

Investors have taken stock certificates for granted for centuries, caring more for what they represent than what they offer in and of themselves. But, times, they are a-changin'. Companies set a great store in the image that their certificates project. Think, for instance, of the holographic high tech certificates that identify today's corporate version of trading cards. Tamarkin and Krantz step all the way back to the American Revolution to find the first of their 160 collectible certificates, and move through the industrial age, right on into the burgeoning technological era. Prized now for how much they were a sign of their times, stock certificates have, surprisingly, become collectibles in their own right. Here's a hobby your financial wizard can appreciate.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge

Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge
Steven Epstein
University of California Press; ISBN: 0520214455

AIDS has changed more than just the way the world looks at sex and sexuality. It's also changed the way many of us look at science and medicine. Here's a disease like no other, one that polarizes people and opinion, revealed the weaknesses of medicine, and exposed the selfishness that permeates science even when lives hang in the balance. Epstein looks at those factors and how the activisim that kicked down the closet door also helped spring open the medicine cabinet. As new theories about AIDS' origins swirl, one of the earliest books to examine the world's first responses is still one of the best. Randy Shilts' "And the Band Played On" is a resounding indictment of an American Government that couldn't bring itself to acknowledge a segment of its own population and the plague ravaging it, and the research establishment that couldn't bring itself to look beyond the laboratory bench. The excellent "1993 film of Shilts' book" runs smoothly but is clearly powered by cold fury.

The Animation Book : A Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking-From Flip-Books to Sound Cartoons to 3-D Animation

The Animation Book : A Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking-From Flip-Books to Sound Cartoons to 3-D Animation
Kit Laybourne
Three Rivers Pr; ISBN: 0517886022

Says Amazon, "Kit Laybourne's digital revision to The Animation Book brings you to the cutting edge of animation technology. Richly illustrated with frame-grabs, production stills, and diagrams, this volume shares Kit's infectious enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities of today's hybrid techniques, and it provides beginning animators with all the information they need to jump in and start their own animation projects. More advanced animators will find The Animation Book to be an invaluable resource with detailed descriptions of filmmaking gear, computer hardware and software, art supplies, plus Internet and other resources."

NetSlaves

NetSlaves
Bill Lessard, Steve Baldwin
McGraw-Hill; ISBN: 0071352430

For a while now, netslaves.com has been attracting to its site tales of malcontents disillusioned by their professional dependence on corporate America's latest incarnation of the robber baron, capricious executive and towering business failure, regularly tweaking the noses of the e-rich and e-powerful. Wait, we take that back. They don't tweak noses; they get up those noses, and they slap, scratch, and punch them. Now, netslaves owners Lessard and Baldwin venture from the virtual world into the real one to bring us their selection of the best, most horrific, and funniest tales. According to them, ""People are nuts, no matter what profession they're in, but people forced to work like dogs with the carrot stick of stock options and 'untold' wealth dangling under their noses are especially nuts". Here at Netsurfer World Headquarters, we wouldn't know anything about that.

HEALTH, HOME AND FAMILY

101 Nights of Grrreat Sex: Secret Sealed Seductions for Fun Loving Couples

101 Nights of Grrreat Sex: Secret Sealed Seductions for Fun Loving Couples
Laura Corn
Park Avenue Pub; ISBN: 0962962813

It's a little like a magic act. Pick a page, any page. Each one holds an envelope with a "recipe" for adding spice to your love life. Sealed envelopes marked for her or him contain suggestions for a time, a setting, a different treat. You never know when "on the stairs" will show up, or when you'll share a bath by candlelight. Corn's suggestion is that you each pick one envelope every week. What great scheduling - just in time for something different for the gift-giving season next year, too.

Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America

Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America
Ellen Blonder, Annabel Low
Clarkson Potter; ISBN: 0609601024

Stung by their failure to recreate faithfully the Chinese dishes they remembered from their childhood together, Ellen Blonder and Annabel Low embarked on a mission to re-learn the techniques and authentic recipes that had been lost in just one generation's assimilation. The result is this delight. More than just a recipe book, it's a remembrance of the secrets that bring families together - dishes as only a parent learned how to make them in a far-off land. Blonder and Low share memories of their family and the techniques they recovered - most notably the one for cutting a chicken into 32 pieces before reassembling it for presentation at the table. Blonder also serves up gracefully instructive watercolor illustrations. It's easy to see why this book earned a Julia Child Cookbook Award.

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht
Chronicle Books; ISBN: 0811825558

This ultimate how-to-survive-it book is full of pithy but accurate advice on making it through life-threatening situations. There's advice on landing a plane, getting out of quicksand, winning a sword fight, surviving a parachute problem, living through an avalanche, and foiling a variety of animal attacks. There's also information on delivering a baby, kicking in a door, detecting bombs, hot-wiring a car, and doing a 180 degree turn at 50mph. All the advice was solicited from genuine experts in their respective fields. We can't possibly think of a better Y2K apocalyptic gift. Highly entertaining.

Great American Wreaths: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Great American Wreaths: The Best of Martha Stewart Living
Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living Staff
Clarkson Potter; ISBN: 0517887762

Here are ideas for 51 wreaths that commemorate every state in the Union and every holiday of the year. Come fall you can make the cranberry wreath inspired by Massachusetts, or enjoy summer's wheat sheaf from Oklahoma. We confess that our housekeeping can't measure up to the demands of the Stewart machine, and we don't believe she really makes a wreath a week; still, there are some graceful creations here for those of us who haven't yet earned our first billion from brandishing a glue gun. There's no doubt someone on your holiday list who would pronounce this book "a good thing".

SOCIETY AND RELIGION

Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas

Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas
Michael J. Rosen and Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson (Illustrator)
Harcourt Brace; ISBN: 0152015582

This charmingly told and richly illustrated tale is as much about being able to accept sharing as it is about being able to share by giving. Columbus, Ohio barber Elijah Pierce is the tale's inspiration. He was an amateur woodcarver whose prize-winning works are now housed in the Columbus Museum of Art. The book tells the story of Elijah's relationship with Michael, a Jewish youngster to whom the lay minister has given a carved guardian angel at Christmas. Michael, though, is unable to accept the gift fully, fearing that its nature and significance will give affront to his own beliefs. The illustrations, deeply colored and heavily laid on, are stunning. Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas lives up to its name.

Ramadan

Ramadan
Ramadan
Holiday House (P); ISBN: 082341275X

The lush illustration on the cover is only a preview to the beautiful contents of this book, rich with Islamic symbols and architecture. The text explains Ramadan, the month-long commemoration of the time when the Koran was revealed to Muhammed. Told from the point of view of Hakeem, the book explains the practice of fasting, Muslim prayer and liturgy during the period, and other details surrounding the celebration, including how a lunar calendar is calculated. The intended audience is children, but adults will appreciate the glorious artwork and, perhaps, a chance to understand a celebration unfamiliar to most North Americans. Charming and instructive.

Navidad Latinoamericana: Latin American Christmas

Navidad Latinoamericana: Latin American Christmas
Charito Calvachi Wakefield
Latin American Creations Publishing; ISBN: 0966069013

Navidad Latinoamericana offers yet another multimedia celebration of the Christmas season, this time with a distinctly Latino flavor. Never let it be said, though, that author Wakefield has written anything less than an inclusive work; in it, she talks about Christmas traditions in 25 Latin American countries, and translates the text into English as well. The book is packed with vibrant illustrations and text, and the CD holds traditional and contemporary versions of several carols and prayers. This book/CD collection is something to add to the family library and legacy. Feliz Navidad!

How to Plan a Kwanzaa Celebration: Ideas For Family, Community and Public Events

How to Plan a Kwanzaa Celebration: Ideas For Family, Community and Public Events
Ida Gamble-Gumbs, Ida R. Gumbs, Bob Gumbs
Cultural Expressions Inc; ISBN: 0962982717

The Gumbs, celebrating Kwanzaa long before it had made popular inroads, offer a guide for planning the event. Before you plan, though, they see to it that readers learn the origins and significance of the celebration. This is a wonderful book for anyone thinking of opening the new year and the dawning century with a celebration and remembrance of origins and history. Children, though, might appreciate "Ce lebrating Kwanzaa" more.

TRAVEL AND HOBBIES

Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War

Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War
Earl B. McElfresh, Stephen W. Sears
Harry N Abrams; ISBN: 0810934302

Earl McElfresh has an interesting job. He's president of McElfresh Map Co., publisher of very accurate hand-drawn maps of Civil War battlefields. And, you can appreciate the retrospective importance of such maps when you consider that so many accounts of the war's skirmishes speak of battle lines forming and shifting along fences, ridges, fields, woods, and streams. But, in the event, maps were a critical weapon in any commander's arsenal - so much so that the Civil War hastened the mapping of formerly uncharted territories. According to the introduction, McElfresh's collection of 180 maps is the most comprehensive one published in more than a hundred years. McElfresh details the maps specifically and also uses them as examplars to talk about cartographic techniques. This book is bound to become a required part of any Civil War library or collection.

Stoked: A History of Surf Culture

Stoked: A History of Surf Culture
Drew Kampion, Bruce Brown
TASCHEN America Llc; ISBN: 382287647X

No, no. Really. Surfing. The other kind. Get on board with the perfect gift for the surfer maniac in your life, written by one of surfing's most respected journalists, Drew Kampion. It's a big glossy photo book (300 of them!) that explores the history and lore of surfing. Curl up with great photos of old time surfers, how the surfboard evolved, the social aspects of beach culture, and of course plenty of gnarly waves. A must have for any serious surfer.

Classic American Streamliners

Classic American Streamliners
Mike Schafer, Joe Welsh
Motorbooks International; ISBN: 0760303770

The romance of early train travel melded with the world of tomorrow in the '30s, and streamliners were born. Designed to knife through wind resistance, they gave the look and sense of being on the cutting edge of travel as distance travel became generally available. Small wonder the classic designs and trains, designated with their own names like Super Chief, Daylight, 20th Century Limited, Hiawatha, and Congressional - all honored on a US commemorative stamp set this year - and the sleek Burlington Zephyrs. For the classic train enthusiast on your list, this is the one.