ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


938 / C&RL News ■ October 2001

N e w  P u b l i c a t i o n s George M. Eberhart

American Western Song: Poems from 1976 
to  2001, by Victor W. Pearn (387 pages, No­
vember 2000), is a poetic exploration of Pearn’s 
experiences living in Colorado a n d  going 
through Marine basic training during the Viet­
nam  War. The poem s are short, expressive, 
nostalgic, and visual. A good choice for 20th- 
century American poetry collections. $25.00. 
Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 0-7388-3867-5.

The Biology o f Science Fiction Cinema, by
Mark C. Glassy (296 pages, April 2001), ex­
am ines the scientific principles underlying 
such horror and science fiction 
films as Bride o f  Frankenstein 
and Jurassic Park. Glassy takes 
79 different films and assesses the 
biology presented in each, re­
views what technology would be 
needed to achieve the results, and 
concludes w hether any of the 
plots could actually have hap­
pen ed . Fifteen chapters cover 
different biological disciplines, 
from cell biology (The Blob) and 
molecular biology (The Fly) to he­
matology (blouse o f  Dracula), en­
to m o lo g y  (T h e m f), a n d  
“shrinkology” (Fantastic Voyage). 
For film buffs, it will be a revelation to see 
w hat the real odds are on transplanting heads, 
creating artificial skin, or transforming people 
into snakes, zombies, or giant insects. With 
m uch speculative fiction turning into scientific 
fact on a daily basis, this guidebook is required 
reading. $39-95. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0998-3.

D ragon Hunter: Roy Chapm an A ndrew s 
and the  C e n tral A s ia tic  Exp e d itio n s, by 
Charles Gallenkam p (344 pages, May 2001), 
is the first full-length biography of the ex­
plorer w ho betw een 1922 and 1930 organized 
five expeditions into the Gobi Desert for the 
American Museum of Natural History, still one 
o f the least-know n regions on  the planet.

G eorge M. E b e rh a rt is sen io r e d ito r  o f  A m e ric a n  
Libraries; e-m ail: geberhart@ ala.org

Using automobiles supported by camel cara­
vans, Andrews led a team of scientists w ho 
discovered a wealth of dinosaur fossils, includ­
ing m any fossilized eggs and the first bones of 
a Velociraptor. Although they failed to find any 
trace of fossil hum an remains, their adventures 
made headlines worldwide. Gallenkamp recap­
tures the excitement of their encounters with 
sandstorms, brigands, and Mongolian Commu­
nist bureaucrats, and highlights the importance 
of the palaeontological record they uncovered. 
$29-95. Viking. ISBN 0-670-89093-6.

The E s s e n tia l G u id e  to  th e  
Best (and Worst) Legal Sites 
o n  th e  W eb, by R obert J. 
Ambrogi (370 pages, July 2001), 
does pretty m uch w hat the title 
advertises, pro v id in g  starred, 
o n e -p a ra g ra p h  sum m aries of 
Web sites dealing with legal top­
ics from copyright and Net law 
to criminal justice and torts. Re­
views are qualitative and based 
on overall usefulness, content, 
design, accessibility, and creativ­
ity. Should you use FindLaw or 
Law.com to look for court opin­
ions, or go somewhere else? This 

book will help you make a reasonable choice. 
$34.95. ALM Publishing, 105 Madison Ave., 
New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-9705970-3-7.

E x tin c t Birds, by Errol Fuller (398 pages, re­
vised ed., April 2001), is a historical account 
of bird species that have becom e extinct in 
the past 400 years. Besides presenting infor­
mation that has been expanded from the 1987 
edition, this volum e rehabilitates three spe­
cies that have b e e n  rediscovered in the in­
terim  (Je rd o n ’s courser, th e  fo u r-co lo red  
flowerpecker, and the forest owlet) and adds 
several (including three from North America—- 
the ivory-billed w oodpecker, the Eskimo cur­
lew, and Bachm an’s w arbler) that are now  
likely gone. Beautifully illustrated with p h o ­
tos a n d  paintings (som e by the author) of 
both familiar birds (the d odo and the moa)

mailto:geberhart@ala.org
Law.com


C&RL News ■ October 2001 /  939

and the unfamiliar, Fuller’s b ook chronicles 
the discovery and loss of each. $49-95. Cornell 
University. ISBN 0-9014-3954-X.

For Love o f Le arn in g (204 pages, May 2001) 
is a catalog of the special collections and pri­
mary sources available at the University of 
Louisville Libraries and Archives, which is par­
ticularly rich in the history of the Irish Liter­
ary Renaissance, th e history of books and 
printing, and pop u lar culture. Though m uch 
of the catalog is available on the library’s Web 
site at special.library.louisville.edu, the print 
version is m ore brow sable and serendipitous. 
To request a copy, contact Special Collections 
and Archives, Ekstrom Library, University of 
Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292.

G ettysburg: The First Day, by 
Harry W. Pfanz (472 pages, July 
2001), lives up to the quality of 
th e  a u th o r’s earlier w orks on 
Gettysburg’s second day and the 
b a ttle s a ro u n d  C em etery a n d  
C ulp’s hills. Pfanz, retired Na­
tional Park Service chief histo­
rian a n d  G ettysburg N ational 
Military Park historian, has writ­
ten the definitive w ork on  the 
battle of July 1, 1863, with m uch 
more detail than Warren Hassler’s 
1970 Crisis a t the Crossroads. The 
first day, often neglected by his­
torians in favor of the later engagem ents of 
Round Top and Pickett’s Charge, w as just as 
crucial, with General Buford’s cavalry delay­
ing Confederate forces sufficiently to allow 
arriving infantry to secure the high ground 
that becam e decisive later on; and Confeder­
ate General Ewell’s failure to press an attack 
by the e n d  of the day, w hich resulted in one 
of the m any controversial “w hat if  s” of the 
battle. A definitive analysis that is essential 
for Civil War collections. $34.95. University 
of North Carolina. ISBN 0-8078-2624-3.

H an d b o o k o f N orse M yth o lo g y, by John 
Lindow (365 pages, June 2001), summarizes 
the deities, them es, and concepts in the Scan­
dinavian eddic and skaldic poetry and the 
writings of Snorri Sturluson that constitute the 
bulk of w ritten Norse myth. Descriptions of 
bo th  m ajor and m inor gods and heroes are 
concise a n d  straightforw ard, w ith original

sources credited throughout. Books and ar­
ticles suggested for further reading are often 
in German, Norwegian, or Icelandic as well 
as in English. A reliable and handy reference. 
$55.00. ABC-Clio. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.

Ig n itin g  K in g  P h ilip 's War, by Yasuhide 
Kawashima (201 pages, June 2001), examines 
the background and criminal proceedings of 
one of the first landmark cases in North Ameri­
can law, the trial for the murder of Wampanoag 
Indian Jo h n  Sassamon in the Plymouth colony 
of New England in 1675. Sassamon may have 
been killed by three of his ow n people for 
threatening to reveal to the colonists that the 
W ampanoag w ere getting ready to attack; that 
certainly was the decision of the court, which 

-sen ten ced  th e three to death. 
H o w e v e r, th e  tria l w a s  th e  
flashpoint for conflict with the 
W am panoags that cam e to be 
know n as King Philip’s War. Not 
only had the Plymouth colonists 
usurped their jurisdiction in the 
case, but it was a rush to judg­
m ent beset with procedural vio­
lations and neglected forensic evi­
dence. Ultimately, it also set a pre­
cedent for treating local Native 
A m erican s n o t as c o e x is tin g  
equals, but as m arginalized vas­
sals w h o  after th e  w a r w e re  
forced to live in designated vil­

lages under the strict rule of colonial law with 
n o  o p p o rtu n ity  to particip ate as citizens. 
$29.95. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0- 
7006-1092-8.

( “University Libraries Section . . co n tin u e d  
fr o m  p a g e  914)
communities together. “While the book supports 

one particular inteipretive community, the library 

can serve to bring different disciplines together.” 
This can be done through simple peripheral clues 

such as the display of new book jackets and a 

new book shelf.
Discussion following the panelists presenta­

tions revolved around ways in which libraries 

and librarians can open these types of discussions 

in their institutions and help create a learning 
environment that takes advantage of changing 

technologies without losing a sense of place.—  

M a r y  L a sk ow sk i, U n i v e r s it y  o f  I llin o is , m k s c h n e i®  
u i u c . e d u  ■

special.library.louisville.edu
uiuc.edu