Buyers' Choice

December 2009

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Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

Man who lives with wolves by Shaun Ellis.
"What would compel a man to place himself in constant danger in order to become a member of a wolf pack? To eat with them, putting his head into a carcass alongside the wolves' gnashing teeth? To play, hunt, and spar with them, suffering bruises and bites? To learn their language so his howl is indistinguishable from theirs? To give up a normal life of relationships and family so that he can devote himself completely to the protection of these wild animals?
In The Man Who Lives with Wolves, Shaun Ellis reveals how his life irrevocably changed the first time he set eyes on a wolf. In exhilarating prose, he takes us from his upbringing in the wilds of Norfolk, England, to his survival training with British Army Special Forces to the Nez Percé Indian lands in Idaho, where he first ran with a wolf pack for nearly two years.

Offering an extraordinary look into the lives of these threatened, misunderstood creatures, Ellis shares how he ate raw kill–and little else; washed rarely, and only in plain water; learned to bury his face into the carcasses of prey–and, when necessary, to defend his share of the kill; communicated with the pack by his howls and body language, which over time became seemingly identical to theirs; and observed from this unique vantage point how wolves give birth to and raise their young, and enforce order among the pack.

After years of living in the wild, Shaun Ellis was barely able to recognize the feral face that stared back at him from the mirror. And in The Man Who Lives with Wolves, we discover the life of a rare and fascinating man who abandoned civilization but never lost touch with his humanity." (Amazon US)

I love Macaroons by Hisako Ogita.
"Cute-as-can-be, buttery macaroons capture the whimsy and elegance of Paris, where they're traditionally served with tea or wrapped up in ribbon to give as a gift. But the secrets of making perfect macaroons have long eluded home bakers until now! In I Love Macaroons, renowned Japanese pastry-maker Hisako Ogita brings her extensive experience to the art of baking macaroons with fully illustrated foolproof step-by-step instructions." ( Amazon US)

Mr and Mrs Smith Hotel Collection: Australia and New Zealand by Juliet Kinsman.
"Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith go exploring for the sexiest, smartest boutique and luxury stays down under: romantic lodges on New Zealand's North and South Islands; sleek city boltholes in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane; stunning outback stations in the Top End a and Queensland and beautiful beachside retreats." (Amazon.com)

Design-it-yourself clothes: patternmaking simplified by Cal Patch.
"If you’ve ever watched Project Runway and wished you were a contestant, or you’re simply ready to take your sewing to a new level, Design-It-Yourself Clothes teaches you the fundamentals of modern patternmaking so that you, too, can create your own inspired clothing. Until now, the aspiring DIY fashionista has been hard-pressed to find self-teaching tools other than dry textbooks or books with outdated looks. If you want to wear something you can’t find on store racks and make clothes that express your individual style, or if you’ve reached a sewing plateau and want to add pattern drafting to your repertoire, Design-It-Yourself Clothes is the book you have been waiting for."(Amazon.com)

Great rivals in history by Joseph Cummins.
"When two supremely powerful political rivals lock horns in a clash of personality and ideology, they can change the course of human history. Great Rivals in History brings to life the drama of history’s most vicious political and military feuds, ranging through centuries and across the globe. Rivalries have sparked some of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the world, and twenty-five of these are recreated here, among them the lethal feud between ruthless power-seeker Julius Caesar and populist politician Gnaeus Pompey; the dynastic and religious clash of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary, Queen of Scots; the differing visions of nationhood that polarized Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedong; and the bitter antagonism of John F. Kennedy and Richard, estranged friends wrenched apart by ambition and party loyalties. Impeccably researched and utterly compelling, this book profiles a remarkable cast of implacable foes, and reveals how their tug-of-war over ultimate power and glory shaped the wider history of the world." (Amazon UK)

Dear me edited by Joseph Galliano.
"If you were to write a letter to your 16-year-old self, what would it say? In Dear Me, some of the world's best loved personalities have written just such a letter. Dear Me includes letters from three knights, a handful of Oscar winners, a bevy of Baftas, an intrepid explorer, a few teenage pop stars, an avid horticulturalist, pages and pages of bestselling authors, a dishy doctor, a full credit of film directors, a lovey of top actors, a giggle of comedians and an Archbishop! The letters range from the compassionate to the shocking via hilarity and heartbreak, but they all have one thing in common: they offer a unique insight into the teenager who would grow up to be...Stephen Fry, Annie Lennox, Paul O'Grady, Jackie Collins, Fay Weldon, Alan Carr, Peter Kay, Debbie Harry, Brenda Blethyn , Jonathan Ross, Liz Smith, Will Young, Alison Moyet, Rosanne Cash, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Yoko Ono, Emma Thompson...to name but a few." (Amazon US)

70s style & design by Dominic Lutyens & Kirsty Hislop.
"A survey of all aspects of design that establishes the 1970s as a vitally important period in the creative arts. Once dismissed as the decade of foil wallpaper and shag rugs, the 1970s are now being enthusiastically mined for trends from the fashion, music, and literature of the time. The period, which united elements of earlier movements such as Art Deco and Pop, continues to influence today’s tastemakers.
From artist Duggie Fields’s apartment to album covers of New Wavers like the B-52s and glam rock’s David Bowie, from the slick advertising of Italian fashion house Fiorucci to such seminal book covers as Germaine Greer’s The Female Eunuch, the authors have gone beyond the usual discussion of flares and platform shoes to address the design aesthetic of the decade as a whole. Architecture and design collectives of the time, including UK-based Archigram and the avant-garde Italian group Superstudio, are also recognized as important contributors to the look and style of the decade.
70s Style is sure to inspire everyone from dedicated followers of fashion to even the harshest critics of the decade. Hislop and Lutyens have rescued the 1970s from parody and have produced a study that is meticulously researched and sensationally illustrated. 400+ color illustrations." (Amazon US)

Monuments Men: Allied heroes, Nazi thieves and the greatest treasure hunt in history by Robert M. Edsel.
"From 1943 to 1951, 350 or so men and women from thirteen Allied nations served as the men and women of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives section (MFAA) of the Allied armed forces, the eyes, ears and hands of the first and most ambitious effort in history to preserve the world's cultural heritage in times of war. They were known simply as Monuments Men. But during the thick of the fighting in Europe, from D-Day to V-E Day, when Germany surrendered, there were only 65 Monuments Men in the forward operating area. Sixty-five men to cover thousands of square miles, save hundreds of damaged buildings and find millions of cultural items before the Nazis could destroy them forever. "Monuments Men" is the story of eight of these men in the forward operating theatre: America's top art conservator; an up-and-coming young museum curator; a sculptor; a straight-arrow architect; a gay New York cultural impresario; and, an infantry private with no prior knowledge of or appreciation for art, but first-hand experience as a victim of the Nazi regime. They built their own treasure maps from scraps and hints: the diary of a Louvre curator who secretly tracked Nazi plunder through the Paris rail yards; records recovered from bombed out cathedrals and museums; overheard conversations; and, a tip from a dentist while getting a root canal. They started off moving in different directions, but ended up heading for the same place at the same time: the Alps near the German-Austrian border in the last two weeks of the war, where the great treasure caches of the Nazis were stored: the artwork of Paris, stolen mostly from Jewish collectors and dealers; masterworks from the museums of Naples and Florence; and, the greatest prize of all, Hitler's personal hoard of masterpieces, looted from the most important art collections and museums in Europe and hidden deep within a working salt mine - a mine the Nazis had every intention of destroying before it fell into Allied hands. How does the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History end? As is often the case, history is often more extraordinary than fiction." (Product Description, Amazon UK)

The Fight to Survive: A Young Girl, Diabetes, and the Discovery of Insulin by Caroline Cox.
"Cox (history, Univ. of the Pacific) interweaves the stories of Elizabeth Hughes, the diabetic daughter of secretary of state and later Supreme Court justice Charles Evans Hughes, and the early treatments of diabetes with the events and personalities that led to insulin's discovery. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of aristocratic life in the early 20th century, which did not spare the ill from the starvation diets used to treat diabetes prior to insulin. In this engaging account of the discovery of insulin, Cox honestly describes the mixture of service and ego that led to the breakthrough. Elizabeth's recovery story reminds readers that medical discoveries can powerfully transform lives and of the resiliency of young adults in the face of disease. VERDICT Despite its uneven quality, the book has moments of analytic clarity and moving portrayal reminiscent of other books that combine biography and medicine, such as Jay Neugeboren's Imagining Robert and Jane Taylor McDonnell's News from the Border.-Aaron Klink, Duke Univ., Durham, NC Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information." Library Journal ( September 15, 2009 )

Soccernomics: Why England Lose, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U. S. , Japan, Australia, Turkey--And Even India--Are Destined to Become the New Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport by Simon Kuper & Stefan Szymanski.
"Small book, big wallop! This econometric look at the world's most popular sport is worth the price and the effort it can take to plough through the numbers here to understand why some soccer clubs succeed where others fail as Parisian Kuper and Londoner Szymanski take an in-depth look at soccer and its impact on the nations where the sport is next to religion, as well as its smaller following in the United States. From an initial chapter on England's soccer misfortunes to a comparison between club soccer and the NFL, the authors use statistics to reveal truly fascinating insights into soccer, the men (mostly) who play it, and the behind-the-scenes business of soccer-although the authors conclude soccer is not big business. In fact, they call soccer "the worst business in the world." Although necessarily tied down by the numbers game, the text is fast paced and often humorous, with a strong air of sarcasm that will delight readers. Verdict Enthusiastically recommended to all soccer fans, general and specialized, as well as those thinking of becoming one.-Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information." Library Journal ( October 01, 2009 )

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