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Editor's Choice

Opening Mexico:The Making of a Democracy

Opening Mexico:The Making of a Democracy Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon Farrar, Straus & Giroux; ISBN: 0374226687 As novelist Carlos Fuentes tells us in A New Time for Mexico, Mexico's history can be read like a novel, full of drama, suspense, heroism, violence, high ideals and base corruption. Preston and Dillon take the reader on the bumpy road to democracy in Mexico, highlighting the significant events and detours of the past 50 years. They show how the iron grip of the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) was finally broken, after almost 70 years of rule. In its early days the PRI brought real benefits to peasants and the working class but it has mostly served the wealthy in recent decades. Mexico correspondents for the New York Times from 1995 to 2000, the authors write about the events that catalyzed Mexicans from all walks of life to form grassroots organizations and network with each other to wrest power from the PRI and begin to make Mexico's government responsible to its citizens. The trigger was probably the1968 Tlatelolco massacre of several hundred students who dared to organize a mass rally and march to the Zocalo to protest police and government repression just weeks before the scheduled summer Olympics. The violence of the response by a government determined to show the world that order reigned in Mexico energized many previously apolitical people to begin to resist its authoritarian rule. Preston and Dillon write vividly, search out and interview the players great and small in this drama, and document events little known by most folks north of the border. A compelling and heartening book. [CW]

History, Biography, Society

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era James M. McPherson PublicAffairs; ISBN: 019516895X Imagine if you will that Mississippi Senator Trent Lott strode over to the desk of Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and savagely beat him unconscious with a gold-handled cane, leaving Senator Kennedy badly injured and unable to return to the Senate for years. Then imagine that not only was Lott not punished for his actions, but was lauded in the press, and feted by his constituents. You will have only begun to imagine the state of the country prior to the Civil War, where this very incident occurred between Senators Sumner and Brooks in 1856. James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is the definitive single-volume history of the US Civil War, which I recently read for the third time. This time I was struck by how this is principally a political history of the war, that addresses the "why" of the war in far more depth than the "what." But please do not let this deter you from reading it; this is as exciting as any battle history, and still relevant to the politics of today. [MA]

Use History Like a Tool: An Unconventional Guide to Reading the Past and Managing the Future

Use History Like a Tool: An Unconventional Guide to Reading the Past and Managing the Future Steven Levi Silver Lake; ISBN: 1563437740 OK, so you're in a bar and the guy on the stool next to you has clearly had one too many. Not enough for him to topple to the sticky floor, but just enough to get him going. Turns out the guy is a historian and he has this big theory, see, of how everyone thinks of history the wrong way around. History isn't about facts, it's about movement and motion and reinterpretation. Got me? If you know how to read history you know how to put it to real use in today's world. Now if you really were in a bar, depending on your imbibation levels, you'd either be hollering out your agreement or backing away from the guy. Yet as a book this is well worth reading. If you were going to buy into everything Levi has to sling in your direction, I'd worry about you. Think of this rather as an intellectual stretching exercise. Even when you're not agreeing with him, you will be considering the study of history from a different angle as you mentally argue your point. Perhaps this is exactly the result he wishes to achieve. And remember, if you can't use history like a tool, history will use you like a tool. [MA]

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg James M. McPherson Crown; ISBN: 0609610236 The world is a tumultuous place. Regional conflicts, border skirmishes and terror campaigns pepper newspapers and other media. Many of them involve internal struggle to overthrow central governments with an unpopular philosophical or religious view. We in North America are somewhat buffered from these conflicts (today), but historically the United States has been a place of hostility and violence as well. One such conflict, the Civil War, claimed the lives of over half a million people, more than any other war in which the country has been involved. Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson brings the events of nearly 150 years ago into sharp perspective in this study of the battle at Gettysburg. Engagingly written in the prose of a consummate historical dramatist, McPherson takes the reader into battle, overlaid with modern landmarks, roads and battlefield viewing locations. The level of historical detail is superb, and includes a map for each of the three days of battle showing the positions of Union and Confederate soldiers and attack routes. One thing to note: the only illustrations are the three battle maps, but McPherson's words easily paint the necessary mental pictures. A must-read prior to a visit to Gettysburg. [GB]

On Poetry and Style

On Poetry and Style Aristotle Yearling Books; ISBN: 067260244X Dramatic writing has changed very little in the past 2300 years. Little enough, anyway, that Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, can illuminate the essential elements of contemporary dramatic performance. With extraordinarily clear and concise prose, the sections of the Poetics included in this volume assess and categorize the structure of stories. While categories such as 'tragedy' and 'comedy' may seem dated and oversimplified and the details of dramatic structure quite dated, we have our own analogous patterns and constraints in modern drama. Continuity and characterization in television or cinema storytelling obey different but no less strict rules than classic Greek drama. For example, movie viewers have come to expect a clarifying 'plot point' somewhere around 20 minutes into the film. If this event does not occur within 25 minutes or so, the audience becomes uncomfortable. If television cuts do not align on 1, 2 or 3 second boundaries viewers become disoriented. Where the Poetics concern the content and structure of drama, the excerpts from the Rhetoric focus more on form and delivery. The sweeping scope of these short selections includes the esthetics of delivery, effective use of language, ruminations on humor and more. The Poetics and Rhetoric have had an immense effect. They have made countless readers more discriminating and appreciative of good drama. Writers and performers have improved their craft through a greater grasp of what makes stories compelling and sophisticated. Most of all, this work has defined the terms of criticism and dramatic theory. [EG]

Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion

Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion B. K. Beckwith, Howard Brodie (Illustrator), Grantland Rice (Foreword) Westholme Publishing; ISBN: 1594160007 One of the best movies of 2003, Academy Award-nominated Seabiscuit inspired the underachiever to greatness with the story of a little horse that could. The book is as unassuming as the horse, appearing to be inadequate to the task. It is a 10" by 16" paperback, packing a meager 60 pages, but like 'Biscuit, appearances can be deceiving. This reprint of the 1940 original contains a tale that is larger than life; in a colloquial prose that is one part narrative and one part novel, but wholly satisfying. Sketches and photographs grace the pages that tell the history of this amazing animal that began as a runt on the Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky in 1933. You'll follow his unconventional training by Tom Smith, his acquisition by Charles Howard, and the appointment of his unlikely jockey, Red Pollard. The account of the match race with War Admiral in 1938 is breathtaking. This book is truly a work of art, and it best speaks for itself. [GB]

Dave Barry Turns 40

Dave Barry Turns 40 Dave Barry Ballantine Books; ISBN: 044990587X Warning: reading this book in public places will get you branded as a loony. Most folks don't consider hysterical laughter a sign of sanity, and you won't be able to restrain yourself with this delightful example of Barry's humor in your hands. These observations are as timely today as they were when Barry wrote them over ten years ago. (Watch this space for an upcoming review of Dave Barry Turns 50. I can't relate quite yet.) Dave Barry has been writing for the Miami Herald for 20 years, and his biting humor and illuminating commentary have garnered him a Pulitzer Prize. (If you've never heard of him, he's a very funny guy.) Barry opens this book with a quiz to determine if you're a grownup. One example question goes something like this: "Your taste in the performing arts runs toward A.) Ballet B.) TV or C.) Booger jokes." (I pick "C"). Later chapters explore the disintegrating body, beauty tips, aging parents, sex (?), time management, politics, sports, memory loss and aging gracefully. All are explored with wit and finesse that make for hilarity to the nth degree. This is a fine example of Barry's craft. [GB]

They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases

They Have a Word for It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases Howard Rheingold Sarabande Books; ISBN: 1889330469 Obviously, one of the main things that separates the various human cultures is language. But language is ultimately a tool, and a tool reflects its use. Thus, language reflects the sometimes profoundly deep cultural differences between groups of human beings. This is philosophical, deep stuff, but fortunately this book is a lighthearted treatment. It is a list of and commentary about non-English phrases that have no English equivalent. Consider "tingo," an Easter Island word meaning "subtly flattering borrowing behavior," The German "rachenfutter" means "peace offerings for wives from guilty husbands." The Japanese have a word for an awareness of the universe that triggers feelings too deep and mysterious for words: "yugen." And who in the computer industry hasn't dealt with a "fachidiot," German for "excessively narrow-minded technical expert." As you can see, the examples range from the sublime to the socially amusing, and Howard Rheingold ( Smart Mobs, Virtual Community) does a fine job translating and explaining the cultural context of the phrases for English speakers. Tons of fun. [AB]

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live Susan Susanka The Taunton Press; ISBN: 1561581305 If you're contemplating buying, building, or remodeling a house, or renting a new place, Susanka's book offers some very useful advice, with specific suggestions as to how to quantify your needs and find a place that will satisfy them. Her book is something of a reaction to the execrable McMansion phenomenon, the result of developers trying to get the highest possible return on profits by building houses much larger and more pretentious than most buyers probably need or want. Susanka opens her book with the story of a couple who needed a bit more space for their growing boys, found a lot they liked, and agreed that the builder who owned the lot would build for them. He showed them a portfolio of plans, none of which was quite what they wanted, but they picked the floor plan closest to their needs, and the builder assured them they'd love the end result. Halfway through the process they found he was wrong and it was now too costly to make changes. They ended up unhappy with the finished house—bigger than they wanted and uncomfortably ostentatious. So they came to Susanka and started the process over. Her book includes examples of a studio, a house for one, for childless couples, and for families with children. In each case, an effort has been made to research the real needs and eliminate unused and uninviting spaces, directing resources instead to making the most of less space, often incorporating built-ins and alcoves, and providing details that add character and quality to the house. Illustrated with attractive and informative photos and floor plans for each house, the book offers valuable insight into costs and solutions. [CW]

Egon Schiele Drawings & Watercolors

Egon Schiele Drawings & Watercolors Jane Kallir, edited by Ivan Vartanian Thames & Hudson; ISBN: 0500511160 If you're interested in painting and drawing, and the history of art, and enjoy reading 'art books' but have been disturbed by the recent trend to more and more expensive books featuring poorer and poorer production values and fluffier and fluffier texts, rejoice. Here is a book for you: $29.95 for 500+ pages, 300+ high-quality color illustrations, good paper and binding, and an authoritative, noncondescending text packed tight with well-organized and useful data and analysis. Is there a problem with this book? Well, maybe, depending on your point-of-view and expectations. Egon Schiele—born 1890, died 1918—didn't live long enough to produce much of a body of 'mature' work. Socially and intellectually he was no more than you would expect of any rather late-maturing adolescent. His work, along with the work of such other 20th-century Viennese pop icons as Gustav Klimt and Frederich Hundertwasser, is often dismissed by (non-Viennese) art world taste makers as 'mere illustration.' Some folks just write him off as pornographer. These criticisms have some merit, but maybe miss the point. Certainly Egon Schiele is not in the same league with Pablo Picasso or Jackson Pollock. But, the one indisputable fact is that he could draw the human form very, very well. If you like to look at great drawings this is a book for you. [WW]

Science/Technology

The Art of Software Testing

The Art of Software Testing Glenford J. Myers John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 0471043281 Programming and technology has changed significantly in the 26 years since this book was written, but software testing hasn't. Myers' classic withstands the test of time with its lucid and brisk treatment of one of the most critical but least understood areas in software development. If I were to teach a course in software engineering this entire text would be on the syllabus, albeit with updated sections on common errors and testing tools. Few junior engineers understand basic testing theory, test design, and designing for testability. Worse, even senior programmers often lack skills in group-oriented software quality activities such as inspections and walkthroughs. A common vocabulary and understanding for testing is essential for any organization to produce high-quality software effectively. This leads to an appropriate and worked-out process with distinct phases and types of testing, with definite roles and expectations throughout the organization. Myers' book provides both the vocabulary and the proper instincts from which to tackle testing, useful for anyone in the business of developing, sustaining, or testing software products. Better books exist for the practical details of software testing, such as Kaner et al's excellent Testing Computer Software. Myers' book is different. It stands a head taller than others in this field as a means to develop the intuitions and conceptual understanding needed to excel at testing software. [EG]

Evolution and Structure of the Internet: A Statistical Physics Approach

Evolution and Structure of the Internet: A Statistical Physics Approach Romualdo Pastor-Satorras, Alessandro Vespignani Cambridge University Press; ISBN: 0521826985 The physical sciences have developed a large assortment of tools to analyze the evolution of discrete connected systems. If you think about it, that's really all the Internet is: just a network of connected nodes that come and go and whose interconnection topology changes over time. In this book, the authors borrow mathematical tools from the realms of physics and complex system theory to analyze the evolution of the Net and gain some insight into topics as diverse as virus dispersion, searching strategies, social networks, and models of the Net and strategies for measuring it. This is really a graduate-level theoretical text and you'll need a pretty good grounding in statistical physics, computer science, and mathematics to get the most out of it. Mainly of interest to Net researchers and network engineers, some of this material will undoubtedly be useful to social researchers as well—after all, the Internet is ultimately the creation of a human culture. [AB]

Classic Mathemagic

Classic Mathemagic Raymond Blum, Adam Hart-Davies, Bob Longe, Derrick Niederman Metro Books; ISBN: 1586636839 Could you use a few hours of mental amusement to distract you from the daily grind? Do you derive satisfaction from solving problems? Does the prospect of facing a good mental challenge perk up your interest? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is a book for you. The authors have brought together literally hundreds of brain-teasers and puzzles that use simple principles of basic mathematics. Even though the math required may be simple, there are some real challenges between these covers. Difficulty ranges from easy to painful, but all are presented in an understandable, friendly prose. For those of you who are less than comfortable with numbers, the authors have provided a glossary of math terms as well as a chapter on "tricks of the trade" describing shortcuts used by many math whizzes. Regardless of difficulty, the vast majority of puzzles are logic-based and require at most a basic schooling in algebra. Several of the most challenging have hints printed upside-down on their pages. All puzzles are solved in the solutions section in the back of this diminutive 6" x 5" x 1" book. Fun stuff. [GB]

Fiction

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress: A Novel Dai Sijie Anchor; ISBN: 0385722206 Two best friends undergoing reeducation obtain forbidden western literature. Clever, theatrical, and adaptable, they have already managed to make the best of a very bad situation. Their imaginations and sensibilities get fired up by Balzac. The primary plot concerns the narrator's friend's romance with a young woman, the little Chinese seamstress. If not for its rural setting, China's hinterlands during the cultural revolution, I feel this charming and nuanced novel could have been written over a century ago. All signs of writing about writing are thankfully absent, as is any sense of nihilism or apathy. Instead, three young people have fun when they can and are seduced by the wit and sensibilities of nineteenth-century French literature (and each other). Only as the story develops do consequences emerge from the lighthearted action earlier on. The narrator observes and keenly empathizes with the romantic bonds developing between his friend and the seamstress. In this way the novel and the lives of the two friends begin to resemble the French literature Sijie refers to. As in Balzac, horrible reality and likable eccentric characters provide the backdrop for moving, at times hilarious, developments. Avoiding triteness and sentimentality, this novel delicately restores inspiration and sentiment to a drearily senseless world. [EG]

My Year of Meats

My Year of Meats Ruth L. Ozeki Penguin; ISBN: 0140280464 Here's a novel on an unlikely subject that's both funny and thought-provoking: a year in the life of an out-of-work documentary film maker who lucks into a gig to produce a series for Japanese TV on the pleasures of preparing and consuming American beef. Chapters open with quotations from Shonagon, the whimsical keeper of a "pillow-book" in medieval Japan, whose contrary quips resonate with the narrator. The inevitable cultural misconceptions of both Americans and Japanese insure humor from the start, but Ozeki's satire is playful, more instructive than sharp-edged. The TV series is sponsored by a consortium of Japanese distributors of US beef, who have their notion of what Japanese viewers will want to see. In the event, that notion proves to be at odds with what Japanese-American film maker Jane Takagi-Little decides they should see, once she begins to research the meat packing industry, visits a feedlot, and finds out more about commercial meat production in the U.S. Tall and strong-willed, she's an enigma to her, whose own wife, also a Shonagon fan, provides a foil (until her enlightenment). Jane is grounded by her prickly but satisfying relationship with jazz musician Sloan Rankin who, criss-crossing the country with his band, manages to meet up with her on shooting locations, presenting himself as the local commissioner of industry. Her savvy Japanese cinematographer and sound man are not deceived, since Sloan 's reputation is bigger in Japan than the U.S. An entertaining, complex, and enlightening novel whose characters evolve in satisfying ways. [CW]

The Confusion: The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 2

The Confusion: The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 2 Neal Stephenson William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins; ISBN: 0060523867 Good news for all of you Neal Stephenson fans! The Confusion, Volume Two of The Baroque Cycle, was published a few weeks ago and can be ordered by clicking on the above link or you can skedaddle off on down to your local independent bookstore and pick up a copy there. This follows on Volume One, Quicksilver, which was published last fall and will be followed by Volume Three, The System of the World, which will be published this coming fall. For those of you who are not already Neal Stephenson fans and haven't a clue as to what this is about, try clicking on this link to the review of Quicksilver which I wrote for Netsurfer Books last fall and all will be revealed. Don't even think of reading The Confusion until you have read Quicksilver first, or you will indeed be confused. As anticipated, this is another 815-page pageturner, so schedule your life accordingly. Yes, recommended. [WW]

Road Rage

Road Rage Ruth Rendell Arrow; ISBN: 0091801060 This is a British whodunit, classic form, a Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford Mystery. It's not quite a "cozy" but will certainly do to curl up with on a dreary day. We find the inspector on his home turf, albeit turf that is about to be torn up for a six-lane bypass. Soon all sorts of environmentalists and activists turn up to sit in trees, drive anti-chainsaw spikes and generally disrupt the process. Things turn ugly and then uglier, as the inspector chases clues. The requisite plot turns and twists are stylishly provided and the thing comes galloping to the surprise ending in fine form. [MA]

The Paperboy

The Paperboy Pete Dexter Delta; ISBN: 0385315724 Rather a different thing altogether from the Rendell. Pete Dexter has crafted a mystery novel with higher aspirations than to be a solid whodunit. Indeed the question of who done what is scarcely even asked, although a murder lies at the heart of this journalism-themed tale. Two brothers—one a journalist for the big paper in Miami, one a college drop-out—are working on a story about a man who may have been wrongly convicted of murdering the local sheriff, who had kicked one of his relatives to death. Their father is also the local county newspaper publisher. Dexter isn't focused on the crime story though; he's more interested in what's going on in the lives of the characters. This is a tale of place, of heat, of bugs, and things that scuttle out from under rocks when you turn them over. [MA]

The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Broadway Press; ISBN: 0767902890 As a result of Germany's difficult past, German has a new term: Vergangenheitsbewältigung. Though there's no direct translation, the phrase means roughly working through and overcoming the past. The Vietnam war experience remains a difficult chapter in US history, that Americans continue to face in this way. Tim O'Brien, a Vietnam veteran, goes a long way toward confronting this time and its impact in a series of poignant and intense stories derived from his own experiences. Though the chapters refer to each other and concern many of the same characters, each stands on its own. The delivery and language vary considerably, depending on the story's content and tone. O'Brien explores potent themes including his own induction, the moral and psychological cost of killing and combat stress, the allure (to some) of barbarism and the difficulty of readjustment to civilian life. He dedicates a few chapters to the time in which he wrote this book, twenty years after the war ended. He reflects on the preceding story and his personal involvement, both past and present. This collection tells moving, genuine tales of war pursued under ambiguous moral and political circumstances. At the same time, crisp insightful autobiographical essays reassess those experiences and attempt to place in perspective events which defy comprehension. [EG]

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases

The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases Jeff Vandermeer (Editor), Tim Lebbon (Editor), Alan Moore (Editor), et. al. Nightshade Book; ISBN: 1892389541 A passel of literary stars contribute to the delightful conceit of this book, which provides hugely entertaining descriptions of not-quite-real but oh-so-tantalizingly plausible diseases. You can just imagine the descriptions (and the accompanying horrific illustrations) for terrible afflictions like "wife blindness," "third-eye infection," and "motile snarcoma." And if you can't imagine them—well, here they are. The talented contributors to this weird and funny book include Michael Moorcock, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Kage Baker, Gahan Wilson, Neil Williamson, and others of like ilk. If you know their work, you know what you're in for. Definitely not recommended for hypochondriacs, unless you really, truly want to torment them. It's worth noting that the Pocket Guide has just been nominated for science fiction's Hugo Award. [AB]

Norstrilia

Norstrilia Cordwainer Smith NESFA Press; ISBN: 0915368617 Norstrilia (that's Old North Australia to you 21st-century earth-bound blokes) captures the interest even of one, such as your reviewer, who doesn't read a lot of science fiction. Of course I've read Gibson and Stephenson (who now is veering into massive erudite novels that transcend the genre). But I tend to like character development and to glaze over when offered futuristic techno-gadgetry instead. To my mind, the best science fiction puts human behavior and history into an instructive long perspective, and since the men I know love the stuff, I keep an open mind. Cordwainer Smith does not disappoint. This is sci-fi with a heart, a concern with ethics, some credible tech solutions as well as splashy special effects, and a provocative evocation of human life down the road. It offers some unforgettable characters, some of them the result of animal-human gene splicing. But at its core it examines human behavior and values in a world such as our successors may inherit, especially if we don't get a grip on some pretty destructive behavior that's going to make life on this planet increasingly difficult to support. Smith, writing his novel in the late 50s-early 60s, was prescient as he contemplated, for example, the dangers of excessive wealth, the necessity of birth control, tariffs vs. free trade, drug use, the consequences of extended life, the future of gene-splicing long before it was a fact of life. Because Norstrilia grew beyond the then-acceptable length of a sci-fi novel, it was broken into two novellas (The Planet Buyer and The Underpeople). This handsome NESFA hardcover edition brings it together again. [CW]

The Solar Queen

The Solar Queen Andre Norton Tor Books; ISBN: 0765300540 Fortunately publishers have found a market for re-issued sci fi gems from the middle of the last century. This particular book is actually a combined volume containing the complete text from Norton's Sargasso of Space and Plague Ship novels, originally published in 1955 and 1956 and written under the pseudonym Andrew North. Her ability to bring the reader into her worlds in these books and others has earned Norton just about every science fiction and fantasy accolade imaginable, including Hugo and Nebula Grand Master awards. In these stories the Solar Queen is a starship plying the galaxy in search of trade goods. The first book introduces us to our intrepid hero, Dane Thorsen. Dane and fellow crew members journey to the planet Limbo, where they have full trade rights to whatever they find. They find a great deal of charred ground and many mysteries to solve before they venture forth to planet Sargol in the second novel, where they encounter sentient catlike creatures, the Salariki. The crew somehow manages to allow a mysterious illness aboard the Solar Queen, which creates no end of problems with galactic authorities. These novels represent the best of what Norton has to offer the genre, and should be on every science fiction library shelf. [GB]

Puppet Masters

Puppet Masters Robert A. Heinlein Del Rey; ISBN: 0345330145 There have been dozens of books and movies written about aliens taking over the Earth. They range from Invaders From Mars (1953) to End of the World (1977), Remote Control (1987) and many, many others. Heinlein's Puppet Masters easily bests them by virtue of the fact it was first (written in 1951) and is simply a better, more compelling story that stands up to the passage of time. This is one of the few stories that I read as an adolescent that had me hairs-on-end-with-goose-bumps scared. Puppet Masters grabbed me, drew me in and rattled my psyche unlike any other novel I had read. The story is written around Sam, Mary, and the Old Man and describes their vain attempts to get the attention of the "authorities" regarding the impending enslavement of the human race by alien creatures that take over their human hosts. Our heroes (of course) find themselves in the precarious position of taking it upon themselves to save everyone from imminent doom. It's an interesting view of the 21st century (as predicted by Heinlein at mid-20th-century), and the plot undertones have a decidedly cold war influence. Fortunately this doesn't detract from a fast-paced story that is accessible to science fiction fans of any age. A true classic of the genre not to be missed. [GB]

Three Graphic Novels

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Frank Miller DC Comics; ISBN: 1563893428 After retiring for ten years millionaire Bruce Wayne puts back on the cape, and is he ever cranky. This is of course not the Batman of the TV Show, or even the movies, but the twisted, obsessed sociopathic vigilante who wears a black tights and beats the snot out of nasties. The years haven't been good to Batman, and time has eroded his friends and villains. His old pal Clark Kent's alter ego has sold out to the government and Commissioner Gordon is retiring. The Joker reappears and Batman knows what he has to do, and this time he does it. He may be a little bit slower, but Batman hasn't mellowed one little bit. [MA]

Flaming Carrot: Fortune Favors the Bold

Flaming Carrot: Fortune Favors the Bold by Bob Burden (Illustrator), Rachel Penn Dark Horse Comics; ISBN: 1569713332 Flaming Carrot is my favorite superhero by far. He has no special powers, wears a superhero carrot suit with a flaming top, and wears swimming flippers for reasons that are never made clear. Clearly he is not Gotham City material, and so he cleans up criminals, aliens, and the occasional mad scientist in his distinctly working-class hometown. Carrot's superhero pals are also of a distinctly low-rent nature. Bondoman, Mr. Furious, Goofball, and the rest of the Mystery Men occasionally pitch in when the going gets rough. Inarticulate and working class though he be, Flaming Carrot still creams the bad guys and always gets the girls. [MA]

Icaro (Book 1)

Icaro (Book 1) by Jiro Taniguchi (Author), Moebius I Books; ISBN: 0743475380 Moebius is perhaps my favorite comic artist, and Jiro Taniguchi is one of the leading Manga authors working. Together they have created Icaro, a cyberpunky sort of graphic novel in the Manga style. The artwork is superb, and the story excellent. The main character Icaro has strange powers, notably the ability to fly. Imprisoned by the government in a controlled lab, he is to be used for untoward purposes. One young woman is willing to risk everything to help him out. This is the first of a series so be prepared to read on, dear reader! [MA]

Children's Books

The Hard-Times Jar

The Hard-Times Jar Ethel Footman Smothers; pictures by John Holyfield Farrar, Straus and Giroux; ISBN: 0374328528 Some of us remember a time in childhood when money was scarce and the kids had to forgo some greatly-desired thing, a toy or treat. In the case of Emma Jean Turner, whose folks are migrant farm workers, her unattainable desire is for a real book. She is gradually making her own book, writing stories on scraps of paper. And she works hard, picking apples to add to the coins kept in the hard-times jar, hoping for a little bit of money after necessities that she can have to buy a real book. Against her wishes (interrupting her plan), her mother sends her off to school during the family's apple-picking in Pennsylvania. At eight, she needs more schooling than the little bit she gets in Florida . Nervous at going alone to a new school where she knows no one, her anxieties are forgotten when she discovers the library and glories in having access to its many books. A reminder of just how important in many kids' lives is their first encounter with a library. And the story is enhanced by colorful and evocative full-page pictures. [CW]

Hildegarde and the Great Green Shirt Factory

Hildegarde and the Great Green Shirt Factory Ravay Snow Snowbound Press; ISBN: 193236210X Sheep needn't just be sheep is the message of this amiably wacky and subversive book about the independent-minded Hildegarde. Her factory job, monotonously sewing 500 identical arms into 250 identical green shirts each day, is threatened when she ornaments her own green work shirt with some found sequins and tinsel. Her co-workers admire her creativity but her boss is outraged. His castigation, and firm rejection of her suggestion that other sheep might like some variety too, leaves her awake for nights until she is inspired to spend her free time designing and making all sorts of garments. And she comes out of the inevitable run-in with her boss on top, to his incredulity. Fed up with her days of uninspired work, she quits, starts her own clothing business, hires her former co-workers, and they're off, working to make their world a more varied and inviting place. Illustrations full of color and verve suit the story very well. [CW]

Key to the Treasure

Key to the Treasure Peggy Parish Yearling Books; ISBN: 0440444381 Three children visit their grandparents for a lazy summer in the country. They learn of an unsolved puzzle set up by their great-great-grandfather and discover a clue previous generations had missed. A clever treasure hunt ensues. The children come alive in the brief chapters, as do their grandparents. Trying out the puzzles yourself adds to the fun. The book offers much more than clues and puzzles to engage the reader: humorous developments, ups and downs, a few twists and the tension resulting from trying to keep the treasure hunt a secret from the children's grandparents. I especially appreciate the realistic background of family drama. City kids staying with grandparents' with old-fashioned expectations lead to more than a little discomfort. For a book with four- to seven-page chapters and lots of dialog between children, a lot goes on. I found this short, fast-paced novel captivating when it was read to me as a child, and again when I read it aloud to my daughter. [EG]

The Book of Three

The Book of Three Lloyd Alexander Yearling Books; ISBN: 0440407028 Juvenile fantasy rarely attains such an appealing mix of humor, character development, and emotion. Taran, a teen-aged boy, works as an Assistant Pig Keeper for a wizard. When the fortune-telling pig escapes, Taran attempts to recover it. This launches him into a dangerous adventure. He meets agreeable and quirky allies along the way. Most of the main characters have significant flaws leading to humorous character development and engaging drama. Alexander's work stands out from other fantasy adventures in several respects. Refreshingly, a female protagonist is Taran's peer and equal while remaining convincingly a teen age girl. Best of all, the main character remains humble. The book neither raises him to epic proportions nor succumbs to easy wish fulfillment. There's plenty of time to develop in that direction, as this is the first book of five. Both the second book in the series, The Black Cauldron, and the fifth, The High King quite deservedly won significant awards. This book is accessible to children nine and up. Though set entirely in a fantasy world, the quick pace, frequent laughs and compelling story draw reader in. [EG]