ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 2 8 / C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 N e w P u b l i c a t i o n s George M. Eberhart Queen of the South: New Orleans, 1853- 1862, e d ite d b y Sam uel W ils o n Jr., Patricia Brady, an d Lynn D. A d a m s (292 p a ges, N o ­ v e m b e r 1999), consists o f the d ia ry o f the B ritish -b orn arch itect T h o m a s K. W h a r to n (1 8 1 4 -6 2 ), w h o w a s re s p o n s ib le fo r b u ild ­ in g the h u g e N e w O rlea n s C u stom H o u s e o n Canal Street. T h o u g h h e had spen t his y o u th in the North, W h arton w a s a com m itted South­ ern loyalist, d e fe n d in g states’ rights an d rail­ ing against the “d e m o n ic ” actions o f the North. H is n arrative is a c c o m p a n ie d b y s p le n d id im a ges o f an teb ellu m N e w O rlea n s— p h otos, d ra w in g s, e n g ra v in g s — u p to the U n io n o c ­ c u p a tio n o f 1862. A n y N e w O rlea n s enth u si­ ast w ill fin d abu ndant detail an d lo ca l c o lo r in W h a r t o n ’s entries, w h ic h are p r e c e d e d b y t h e “ m e t e o r o l o g y o f e a c h d a y , a n d th erm o m etrica l o b s e rva tio n s taken at 9 a.m., 12 m., an d 4 p.m . F a h ren h eit’s g ra d e — and the instrum ent p la c e d in a selected , sh a d y p la c e at the o ffic e o f the N e w C u stom H o u s e N. O rle a n s .” $39-95. H istoric N e w O rlean s C o lle c tio n , 533 R oy a l Street, N e w O rlean s, L A 70130-2179. IS B N 0-917860-43-8. T h e in crea sed p o p u la rity o f diaries and re m in iscen ces that le n d a p erso n a l to u ch to w o r l d e v e n ts are s im ila rly r e p r e s e n t e d in M argaretta Barton C o lt’s D e fe n d the Valley: A S h en a n d oa h F a m ily in the C iv il W ar (442 p ages, June 1999), w h ic h record s the letters, m em oirs, an d p erso n a l struggles o f a V irgin ia fam ily fro m the U n io n o c c u p a tio n o f H a r p e r’s Ferry (1 8 6 1 ) to A p p o m a t t o x (1865). A trade p a p e rb a c k reprint o f a 1994 C r o w n p u b lic a ­ tion, but w e ll w o r th acqu irin g. $17.95. O x ­ fo r d U n iversity. IS B N 0-19-513237-8. A n o th e r a m a z in g m e m o ir is B oy Soldier: A G e rm a n Teenager a t the N a z i Twilight, b y G erh a rd t B. T h a m m (1 79 p a g e s , F eb ru a ry 2000), w h o re crea te d a narrative fr o m the w a rtim e diary h e kept. C o n sc rip te d as a te e n ­ a g e r b y the G e rm a n A r m y to figh t the a d ­ v a n c in g Russians in the last m on th s o f the war, T h a m m “s a w the horrors that n o fifteen - y e a r -o ld b o y sh o u ld e v e r s e e ” an d o ffe rs a George M. Eb erhart is senior editor of A m erican Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org yo u th fu l p e rs p e c tiv e o n the p olitics and p r o ­ p agan da o f N a zi G erm any. $29-95. McFarland. IS B N 0-7864-0660-7. Staging Tourism: Bodies on Display from Waikiki to Sea World, b y Jane C. D e sm o n d (336 p ages, D e c e m b e r 1999), argues that cu l­ tural an d natural v o y e u ris m is a m a jo r im ­ p u lse fo r certain ty p e s o f tourism . E xa m in in g the histories o f H a w a iia n hula d a n c in g and anim al tourism in z o o s , aquarium s, an d an i­ m al th e m e parks, D e s m o n d w rites that v i e w ­ in g hula dan cers an d k iller w h a le s re in fo rces p e rc e p tio n s o f cultural d iffe re n c e s b e t w e e n the o b s e rv e rs an d the o b s e r v e d — an unusual take o n w h y p e o p l e travel. $30.00. U n iv e r ­ sity o f C h ica go . IS B N 0-226-14375-9. Traditional African Names, b y Jonathan M u sere (401 p a ges, D e c e m b e r 1999), p r o ­ v id e s d e fin itio n s fo r s o m e 6,000 p e rs o n a l n am es u sed in n in e cou n tries in East and Central Africa. T h e exp la n a tio n s o ffe r insight into A frica n culture: S o m e nam es are d e r iv e d fro m p ro v e rb s (G a rik a y i = “ B e settled and p r o s p e r o u s ”), w h ile others relate to physical characteristics (K iro m b a = “b ig n a v e l”) o r c o n ­ d ition s at o r shortly after birth (S ia b a s w i = “fish ,” g iv e n to a ch ild b o rn w h ile the m o th e r w a s o n a fish in g trip). N a m e s can also asso­ ciate a p e rs o n w ith a particular locality, p r o ­ fession , o r religio n . M u sere g iv e s a p ro n u n ­ cia tio n fo r ea ch n a m e an d id en tifies the e th ­ nic gro u p s that use it. $65.00. Scarecrow . ISBN 0-8108-3643-2. A ls o o f interest fo r A frica n a c o lle c tio n s is the Encyclopedia o f A frica n Peoples, p ro d u ce d b y D ia g ra m Visual In fo rm a tio n (400 pages, F ebru a ry 2000), w h ic h is an in fo rm a tiv e and w e ll-illu stra ted e th n o lo g ic a l s u rv e y in fo u r parts. T h e first sec tio n g iv e s an o v e r v i e w o f the history, la n gu a g e, lifestyle, social struc­ ture, relig io n , an d culture fo r all the m a jor eth n ic gro u p s, w ith sh orter su m m aries fo r le ss er-k n o w n ones. T h e s e c o n d section lo o k s at cultural an d historical top ics that cut across eth n ic an d n ation al b ou n da ries; m a n y maps, tim elin es, an d artifacts a c c o m p a n y the text. Part th ree is an alm an ac-style d es crip tio n o f mailto:geberhart@ala.org C & R L N e w s ■ M a y 2 0 0 0 / 4 2 9 ea c h A fric a n cou ntry, w h ile part fo u r features short b io g r a p h ie s o f a b o u t 300 fa m o u s A fr i­ cans. T h is is an e x c e lle n t r e fe r e n c e so u rc e fo r q u ic k ly fin d in g a short h istory o f East A f ­ rica, lo ca tin g the Luba p e o p le , o r s e e in g w h a t T o n g a stilt h ou ses l o o k like. $55.00. Facts o n File. IS B N 0-8160-4099-0. When the Sleeper Wakes, b y H. G. W ells an d e d it e d b y L e o n S to v e r (465 p a g e s, M arch 2000), is the fifth in a series o f texts o f W e lls ’s first ed itio n s, e x t e n s iv e ly a n n o ta te d an d an a­ ly z e d b y Stover, w h o argu es p e r s u a s iv e ly that th e fu tu re p o r tra y e d in th e 1899 n o v e l is in k e e p in g w ith the au th or’s v i s i o n o f s t a t e s o c i a l i s m . Rather than a d ysto p ia n n igh t­ m a r e , t h e w o r l d th a t t h e s le e p e r w a k e s to in 2100 is a social in evita bility, in w h ic h t h e l e i s u r e a n d w o r k i n g classes h a v e u n ite d in o n e p ro g re ss ive w o r ld state w h e r e nationalism , re lig io n , an d p ri­ vate p r o p e r ty h a v e b e e n su b ­ s u m e d b y a c o rp o ra te , g lo b a l m o n o l i t h . A l t h o u g h a w o r k e r ’s u p r is in g b e c o m e s the fo c a l p o in t o f the plot, the o u t c o m e is a m b i g u o u s e n o u g h to q u e s tio n w h ic h s id e o f th e c o n ­ flict W e lls h im s e lf w o u l d h a v e fa v o r e d . Sto­ v e r argu es that W e lls w o u l d h a v e b e e n o n the sid e o f a n e o p la t o n ic gu a rd ia n state that is t o o e v o l v e d a n d d y n a m ic to put u p w ith in d ivid u a ls w h o c a n ’t s e e th e b ig p ictu re fo r all th eir p etty p e rs o n a l urges. T h e a n n o ta ­ tions are fille d w ith insights in to W e lls ’s w r it­ ings a n d p h ilo s o p h y as w e l l as p arallels w ith m o d e r n c o r p o r a te m u ltin a tion a lism an d a d ­ v a n c e s in te c h n o lo g y . $55.00. M cF a rla n d & C o m p a n y . IS B N 0-7864-0666-6. Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Su­ percontinent, b y Patricia V ick ers-R ich an d T h o m a s H e w i t t R ic h (3 0 4 p a g e s , 2d e d ., J a n u a ry 2 0 0 0 ), is a b e a u t ifu l c e l e b r a t i o n o f fo s s il d iv e r s it y in th e s o u t h e r n s u p e r ­ c o n t in e n t — m a d e u p f r o m A u s tra lia , s o u t h ­ e r n A f r ic a , A n t a r c t ic a , In d ia , a n d S o u th A m e r i c a — s in c e th e P a l e o z o i c Era. T h e a u ­ th o rs s u r v e y th e n a tu ra l h is t o r y o f v e r t e ­ b ra te s (fis h , a m p h ib ia n s , d in o s a u r s , m a r ­ s u p ia ls ) that l i v e d in G o n d w a n a , w i t h a p a r t ic u la r e m p h a s is o n A u s tr a lia n fo s s ils . First p u b lis h e d in A u s tr a lia in 1993, this e d i t i o n has b e e n u p d a t e d to in c lu d e r e ­ c e n t d i s c o v e r i e s . T h e p h o t o g r a p h s a re o f e x c e p t i o n a l q u a lit y , a n d th e te x t o f f e r s a fa s c in a t in g o v e r v i e w o f th e u n iq u e g e o l ­ o g y a n d fa u n a o f A u s tra lia . $59-95. I n d i ­ a n a U n iv e r s it y . IS B N 0 -25 3 -3 3 64 3 -0. S c ie n c e lib r a r ie s w i l l a ls o w a n t to a c ­ q u ir e th e E n c y c lo p e d ia o f P a le o n to lo g y , e d ­ it e d b y R o n a ld S in g e r (1 ,4 3 5 p a g e s , 2 v o ls ., J a n u a ry 2000), w h i c h d e s c r i b e s a ll m a j o r g r o u p s o f fo s s il o r g a n is m s , f r o m a a r d v a r k s t o x e n a r th r a n s (a r m a d illo s , ant- j e a t e r s , a n d g r o u n d s l o t h s ) a n d f r o m a lg a e to d in o s a u rs . B e s id e s e n tr ie s f o r th e v a ri- j o u s fo s s il ta xa, th e set a ls o c o n t a in s e s s a y s o n b i o l o g y a n d b e h a v i o r , e v o l u t i o n a r y c o n c e p t s , e n v ir o n m e n t , m o r p h o l o g y , f ie l d a n d la b o r a t o r y t e c h n i q u e s , r e g i o n a l o v e r v i e w s , a n d b i o g r a p h i e s o f n o t e d p a l e o n t o l o g i s t s . H e l p ­ fu l ch arts, d r a w in g s , p h o t o ­ g r a p h s , a n d d i a g r a m s a r e p l e n t i f u l , a n d s u b s ta n tia l b i b l i o g r a p h i e s f o l l o w e a c h e n t r y . $ 2 8 5 . 0 0 . F i t z r o y D e a r b o r n . IS B N 1-884964-96-6. A s r e c e n t l y as th e 1970s, f e w p a l e o n ­ t o lo g is t s w e r e w i l l i n g to a c c e p t that th e m a ss e x t in c t io n s (7 0 % o f all s p e c i e s ) o f th e C r e t a c e o u s - T e r t i a r y ( K - T ) b o u n d a r y c o u l d h a v e b e e n c a u s e d b y e x tr a te r r e s tr ia l im p a c t. B u t w h e n e v i d e n c e o f an a n o m a ­ lo u s a m o u n t o f ir id iu m w a s d i s c o v e r e d in K - T c la y s , a l o n g w i t h s h o c k e d q u a r t z a n d m i c r o s c o p i c d ia m o n d s , o p i n i o n s h ift e d to th e l i k e l i h o o d th at th e e x t in c t io n s w e r e c a u s e d b y a c o m e t o r a s te r o id . The E n d o f the D in o s a u rs : C h ic x u lu h C ra te r a n d M ass E x tin c tio n s , b y C h a rle s F r a n k e l (2 2 3 p a g e s , O c t o b e r 1999), te lls th e s to r y o f th e s e a r c h f o r a n d d i s c o v e r y o f th e im p a c t c r a te r in Y u c a ta n , a n d o f f e r s a p l a u s ib le s c e n a r io o f w h a t m u st h a v e h a p p e n e d to th e e a rth a n d its in h a b ita n ts 65 m i l l i o n y e a r s a g o . $24.95. C a m b r id g e U n iv e r s it y . IS B N 0 -5 2 1 -4 7 4 4 7 -7 . ■