Blackwell Publishing

Accelerating new food product design and development.

Beckley, a business consultant, brings together work by food industry business professionals and academics to explain current trends in the industry. Part I looks at the current state of the food industry and how marketers, business designers, new professionals, and more seasoned workers and managers are coping with change. Part II presents specific processes and techniques for creating product ideas, consumer evaluation of concepts, and identifying greater opportunities for success. Part III offers a practical overview of tools and approaches that food designers and developers use, such as experimental designs, discriminant and logistic regression analysis, the use of response surface methods in the product development process, and simulations of operations. The book offers food industry executives a summary of perspectives of the business, and provides academics and students with a real world perspective on today's food industry. For practicing food scientists and allied professionals, the book provides strategic frameworks for problem solving and research and development. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

African literature; an anthology of criticism and theory.

Even a volume of this size and complexity can explain only a portion of African literature, but these 97 critical and theoretical essays cover leading issues and disciples, giving background in literary history, regional writing, African writing in non-African languages, the colonial factor, and questions about criticism. Contributors critique orality, literacy and the interface; writers, writing and function; the function of creativity in adversarial contexts; negritude and traditionalism, as expressed in nativism and the quest for indigenous aesthetics; language in African literature; genres; theorizing the criticism of African literature; and the influence of Marxism, feminism, structuralism, post-structuralism, post-colonialism,, postmodernism eroticism and postcolonial queer theory. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Art's agency and art history.

As the title suggests, this group of essays engages with the theoretical approach set forth by Alfred Gell in his 1998 work Art and agency; an anthropological theory. Articles are offered by classicists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and art historians who teach in the UK and the US. The nine articles consider objects created in ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, Elizabethan England, ancient Greece and Rome, and Peru. Osborne (ancient history, U. of Cambridge, UK) and Tanner (classical archaeology, University College, London, UK) contribute a lengthy introductory essay applying Gell's theory to the practice of art history. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Blackwell handbook of mentoring; a multiple perspectives approach.

This collection of 24 articles takes a broad view, cutting across the lines of psychology, management, education, counseling, social work and sociology to provide mentors of all varieties tools and techniques along with theoretical models. Along with articles that give specialists a better idea of grander theories and longer-term methodologies contributors comment on the benefits of mentoring, the role diversity can play in mentoring relationships, best practices for formal mentoring programs, and ways to integrate multiple mentoring perspectives to meet the individual mentoring relationship. The editors also provide a comprehensive bibliography. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A brief history of happiness.

In this concise history of the concept of "happiness" in Western philosophy, White (philosophy, U. of California, Irvine) seeks to reconcile conflicting notions. After analyzing views from the classical Greek philosophers to modern thinkers including Nietzsche, Freud, and Sartre, he concludes that the quest for a "completely and consistently articulated" concept of happiness is a search for the unobtainable, yet is apparently still worthwhile. The book includes a glossary of terms and historical figures. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Chomsky's universal grammar; an introduction, 3d ed.

Cook (applied linguistics, U. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK) and Newson (English linguistics, Eötvös Loránd U., Budapest, Hungary) present the latest edition of their introductory text on the Universal Grammar (UG) Theory developed by Noam Chomsky. Designed for those needing an broad overview of UG, as opposed to specialist students of syntax, the text introduces the reader to Chomsky's theory of language by setting the specifics of syntactic analysis in the framework of his general ideas. Revised and updated throughout to incorporate developments since the 1996 second edition, the third edition includes new data on first and second language acquisition and the syntax of the developing Minimalist Program, such as Phase Theory. Additional discussion topics and exercises have been incorporated into each chapter. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A companion to Catullus.

Cicero and others considered the poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC-ca. 54 BC) vulgar, and not only because it sprinkles the Latin meter with idioms from the common language of the people. Besides replacing classical epics with personal themes, his poetry includes explicit sexual references. Still, the Roman poet influenced Horace and Virgil. Skinner (classics, U. of Arizona, Tucson) notes that appreciation of Catullus' entire corpus did not occur until the New Historicism of the 1980s. In 27 new and reprinted essays, international scholars present original readings of his major poems in socio-historical context. They also treat his influences (notably Sappho), teaching Catullus at the high school and college levels, and translation issues. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A companion to Greek religion.

Historians, religious scholars, and archaeologists discuss various aspects of Greek religion during the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods, about 776-30 BC. They do not consider myth extensively, another volume in the series being devoted to that, but do encounter it often while examining other topics. Among those topics are the gods and the dead; local religious systems; mysteries and magic; and intersections of Greek religion with literature, philosophy, and art. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A companion to the Roman army.

In this companion, Erdkamp (ancient history, Leiden U., The Netherlands) presents 29 chapters that recount the history of the Roman army from Early Rome to the Late Roman Empire. European and North American contributors in the fields of classics, history, and archaeology describe the army as an instrument of combat as well as a component of Roman society, economy, and politics. They consider how it was a fighting force, the mobilization of human and material resources, the relationship between army, politics, and empire, and the relationship between the armies and the civilian population. Topics include warfare, recruitment, colonization, reform and restructure, strategy, finances, logistics, propaganda, demography, and religions. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Contemporary strategy analysis, 6th ed.

Aimed at business students — particularly MBA candidates — this textbook covers the core concepts, frameworks, and techniques of strategic management. The focus throughout is on the pursuit of long- run profitability. Topics include (for example) organization structure and management systems; the nature and sources of competitive advantage; and the management of innovation. Corporate strategies such as vertical integration and diversification are addressed in the final section. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Culture-on-demand; communication in a crisis world.

Lull (communication studies, San Jose State U.) examines the positive potential of mass media, information technology, and global culture to increase tolerance and decrease violence in the world. He discusses how and why today's communications technologies can be positive, the power of individuals who access cultural experiences and how this can cultivate human development, how religious and media globalizations influence contemporary world affairs, and cultural programming. He also considers the impact of intensified media visibility and transparency and the conditions that challenge progress, especially in the context of religious, nationalist, and market fundamentalism. One chapter is devoted to what he terms "globalized Islam" as an illustration. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Democracy's empire; sovereignty, law, and violence.

Law scholars from around the anglophone world explain the current relation between democracy, sovereignty, law, and violence. Their topics include the normality of the exception in democracy's empire, post-apartheid social movements and the quest for the elusive New South Africa, and law and war in Iraq. There is no index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Dictionary of artifacts.

Concise b&w drawings and some photos are included throughout this superb reference, which contains over 2000 definitions of the terms used to name artifacts in the field of archaeology. Terms were selected that concern the analysis, examination, and identification of artifacts, their care, handling, preservation, decoration, description, production, technology, and specific types. Architectural terminology and specific sites and objects are not included. Definitions are also provided for major time periods. Kipfer is an archaeologist and lexicographer with two other archaeology compendia to her name (Encyclopedic dictionary of archaeology and The archaeologist's fieldwork companion). (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Economic geography; a contemporary introduction.

This growing field has grown even more in the wake of trends in development and globalization. For new entrants this means the topics are highly relevant, the research is fresh and the opportunities are very nearly endless. Coe (economic geography, U. of Manchester and his co-writers, who hail from Canada and Singapore, are fully aware this is a dynamic study and offer plenty of topics and examples in this accessible undergraduate text. They explain the geographical approach to economy and go over the arguments about whether the "economy" really exists, define the dynamics of economic space in terms of uneven development, commodity chains, technology and agglomeration and the relation between the environment and the economy. They describe the actors in economic space, including the state, the transnational corporation, labor and consumption, and provide the qualities that make economic geography unique, in such matters and cultures and forms, gender and ethnicity. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The economics of gender, 3d ed.

This textbook introduces students to contemporary research investigating the intersections between gender and economic opportunities, activities, and rewards. The focus is on the situation in the US, with comparisons made with other countries and cultures around the world. No previous coursework on the economics of labor is required. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Embodying sociology; retrospect, progress, and prospects.

Shilling (sociology, U. of Portsmouth, UK) brings together 10 essays on the sociological study of the body. He provides background on the body and its rise as a contested area in sociology, followed by essays from scholars of sociology, anthropology, and history and culture who are from Europe and the US, who examine the body from sociological, feminist, and anthropological perspectives and apply these approaches to issues such as conflict, health, cultural differences and technology, and women's self-help and health movements. Case studies on body pedagogics are provided, considering army training, ballet culture, and sleep, and how body concepts are transmitted and taught in these areas. Both name and subject indexes are provided. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Ethical theory; an anthology.

In presenting this reader on ethical theory, Shafer-Landau (philosophy, U. of Wisconsin) has made sure to cover the standard topics of the day, consequentialism, deontology, contractarianism, and virtue ethics, but has also sought to include areas that are less common in sections on moral standing, moral responsibility, moral knowledge, and works that question the very possibility of systematic ethics. He also includes a section that discusses ethics and religion and another that examines prima facie duties and particularism. Rather than include critics' views following the various theoretical presentations, he has instead decided to include more works of allied thinkers in order to provide readers with a more nuanced view of the particular view in question. Selections from classic writers such as Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, Immanuel Kant, and Plato are accompanied by more contemporary writings. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Exhibition experiments.

Macdonald (social anthropology, U. of Manchester, UK) and Basu (anthropology, U. of Sussex, UK) compile 10 essays by art historians, anthropologists, curators, and artists from Europe and the US, who put forth the idea that contemporary exhibitions do more than disseminate knowledge, but are also experimental practices in "meaning-making" and means of generating knowledge and experience. Some of the essays were based on those presented at a panel entitled "Exhibition Experiments: Technologies and Cultures of Display" at the Anthropology and Science conference of the Association of Social Anthropologists held in Manchester in 2003. Subjects discussed in the essays relate to museums and contemporary museum design, exhibition as film, specific projects in places such as Chicago and Portugal, social documentary, and reflexivity. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A guide to Hellenistic literature.

Gutzwiller (classics, U. of Cincinnati, Ohio) introduces the literature of the Hellenistic age to students of classics and to general readers with an interest in the ancient world. Similar books tend to focus on poetry and a few major authors, but she considers a broader range of literature, even prose of a technical nature. She emphasizes similarities and connections between literary texts within and across genres, and to some extent sets them in the historical and cultural context of the three centuries after Alexander the Great. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A guide to Old English, 7th ed.

Both emeritus now, Mitchell (Oxford U.) and Robinson (Yale U.) have been periodically updating their textbook for course work or self-study since 1964, adding features such as glossary and index and readings, and occasionally dropping them. The treatment and the format is tailored more for students of literature than for linguists. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)