Arcade Publishing, Inc.

Africa doesn't matter; how the west has failed the poorest continent and what we can do about it.

Bolton (who "has worked in Africa and development for more than ten years as an aid worker and diplomat") offers his thoughts on the failures of African development. Over the course of the book's five sections — poverty, aid, trade, globalization, and change — he discusses how countries' needs are not achievable with their meager budgets, how the way Western aid is delivered leaves it largely ineffective, and how trade rules and economic globalization have damaged development efforts, among other criticisms. In the end, he argues that "the quantity and quality of aid needs to be substantially increased; the most distorting elements of trade need to be significantly reduced; and poor countries need to be allowed more control of the polices that affect them through international institutions." (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Piaf; a biography. (reprint, 1979)

The recent Academy Award-winning film La Vie en Rose has renewed interest in the iconic singer Edith Piaf and how she influenced an entire generation of French performers such as Yves Montand and Charles Aznavour. Lange, who has written both fiction and non-fiction in the past, published this biography back in 1979, and it has been re-released since it has been considered the definitive book on Piaf's life and artistry. Plenty of photographs and drawings are included, which should give those unfamiliar with Piaf a more vivid account of why her legend has endured. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

You want fries with that?; a white-collar burnout experiences life at minimum wage.

At age 41, Alexander quit his high-paying position as an advertising executive and decided to take a series of low-paying jobs in order to avoid helping his wife around the house. Over the next year, he worked as a pizza deliveryman, ice cream scooper, fast food jockey, construction worker, ER tech, and even cowboy on a Montana dude ranch. And now, with the publication of this book, add humorist to the list. The moral of the story? "Dropping out is not wise, nor is it freeing. It is, however, pretty funny at times." (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)