Marta's Reading Insight
| Marta's Reading InSight | number 4 |  |
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ECLECTIC
For those of us with restless minds and varied interests, the library provides a never-ending supply of new ideas. In that spirit, here are some of our newer purchases from a wide variety of sources, systems and styles.
biography/adventure
In FARTHER THAN ANY MAN: THE RISE AND FALL OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOKE, Martin Dugard, himself an adventurer, has written a riveting narration of Cook's life, from farm boy to sailor, (in his teens), to commander of Britain's naval majesty to Pacific Island showdown and death. Cook inspired pop-culture heroes, such as Captain Hook and Captain James T. Kirk.
animals/science
Dr. Joanna Burger is a Biology professor at Rutgers and the human companion to Tiko, a Red-lored Amazon parrot. In THE PARROT WHO OWNS ME: THE STORY OF A RELATIONSHIP, you will be surprised by the complications of communication and the depth of attachment between human and parrot. Full of fascinating facts of biology and still a compelling story.
sports/golf
Bobby Jones called it the most important part of golf. In PUTTING OUT OF YOUR MIND, Dr. Bob Rotella, sports psychologist uses anecdotes and instruction to improve the most important part of your game. Sports psych. food for thought.
history/mexico
CONQUISTADORS by Michael Wood, a book arising from PBS & BBC series has arresting illustrations of the stories of Cortes and Montezuma, the Incas, El Dorado, and Cabrera deVaca. History comes alive as the adventures of the sixteenth century are recreated.
biography/entrepreneur
Orphaned at seven, married at fourteen and widowed at twenty, this philanthropist and social activist had by her death in 1919 amassed wealth unprecedented among black women. Written by her great-great granddaughter, ON HER OWN GROUND: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MADAM C.J.WALKER reveals an astonishing life and legacy.
communication/business
Do you know how you are "seen through your speech"? In POWER TALK: USING LANGUAGE TO BUILD AUTHORITY AND INFLUENCE, Sarah Myers McGinty (Harvard Graduate School of Education) guides you into self-awareness of your linguistic habits. Short exercises to examine your habits of speaking, writing, voice-mail, email, and other workplace profiles lead to ways to eliminate confusion and increase productivity.
multiculturalism/adoption
Author Myra Alpers writes to promote understanding of what it means to be multicultural in DIM SUM, BAGELS AND GRITS: A SOURCEBOOK FOR MULTICULTURAL FAMILIES. How such families come together, where they find community and create homes, and how they confront and overcome prejudice are examined through suggested strategies and anecdotes. Included is a list of publications, goods and services.
science/botany
In ANATOMY OF A ROSE: EXPLORING THE SECRET LIFE OF FLOWERS, Sharman Apt Russell writes, "Almost every other plant, everything we and other animals eat, requires a flower for reproduction." Descriptions of pollination, involving much of the animal world, are accompanied by line drawings Nature writing that will change the way you look at that bouquet!
poetry/gay and lesbian
In LOVE SPEAKS ITS NAME: GAY AND LESBIAN LOVE POEMS, Everyman's Library has collected words of the well-known - Walt Whitman, Hart Crane, Gertrude Stein, James Merrill, to name a few - to immortalize desire and love.
english language/anonymity & forgeries
Professor of English Literature at Vassar College, Don Foster often assists in criminal investigations and civil suits. In AUTHOR UNKNOWN: ON THE TRAIL OF ANONYMOUS, he applies his skills to comments on Shakespeare, the Unabomber, and Kenneth Starr, as well as Primary Colors (Joe Klein) and T'was the Night Before Christmas (Clement Moore?). Gives a new dimension to the written word.
biography/father & son
In FIRST AND LAST SEASONS: A FATHER , A SON, AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL, Dan McGraw uses the common language of sports to connect emotionally with his dying father. Funny and intimate, this is a poignant memoir.
ancestry/heritage
THROUGH YUP'IK EYES: AN ADOPTED SON EXPLORES THE LANDSCAPE OF FAMILY fascinates with storytelling of both the California life of the author, who was adopted by a Yup'ik (Eskimo) mother and a Canadian (Irish-British) father, and the fictional lives of the ancestors he thinks he discovers. Colin Chisholm believes his birth mother was Bosnian and he travels through space (Alaska and Bosnia) and time (previous generations) to tell his story. Unanswered questions linger as the book ends.
dreams/psychology
UNIVERSAL DREAM KEY: THE TWELVE MOST COMMON DREAM THEMES AROUND THE WORLD devotes a chapter to each common theme, such as being chased, falling or flying, ear trouble, being lost. Examples from experience, questions to aid analysis and short summaries of meanings are included by Patricia Garfield, PhD
history/alamo
For history buffs, Randy Roberts and James S Olson have carefully retold the actual battle of the Alamo and examined its impact on modern culture, including media accounts of the historical event and the myths that endure. A LINE IN THE SAND: THE ALAMO IN BLOOD AND MEMORY is the title.
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Marta Campbell, Head of Collection Management |  |
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| Tel: 203-291-4842 | E-mail: mcampbell@westportlibrary.org | |||
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