Greenwood Press

Daily life of Native Americans in the twentieth century.

Fixico (history, Arizona State U.) presents an introduction to the big picture of Native American life in the 21st century while also providing the historical context for the primary issues faced by the members of some 500 Indian tribal groups living on 200-plus reservations and in every major city in the western U.S. Coverage includes family and women's roles; economics and urbanization; language and education; aspects of material life; aspects of political and public life; recreational life, outdoors, and sports; religious practices and morality; art, artifacts, music, and entertainment; Native Americans in literature and the media; nature, environment, home spaces, and resources; humor; the gaming industry; and health care. The text reveals the complexities of sustaining the communities and practices of a minority group while also working, living, and playing in a mainstream world. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Daily life of Native Americans from post-Columbian through nineteenth-century American.

Aimed at high school students and general readers, this text offers a glimpse of daily life in Native North America from Columbus' first voyage in 1492, to the end of the 19th century. Rather than attempt a comprehensive overview of some 500 nations, the authors (both U. of Massachusetts) focus on just a few groups in each of the main culture areas of the continental U.S. (e.g. the Iroquois Confederacy, the Great Plains). B&w drawings and historical photographs illustrate the volume. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Daughters of mother earth; the wisdom of Native American women.

Believing that it is important to privilege the voices of Native American women over those of Eurocentric male writers of Native American history, Mann (English, U. of Toledo) presents four essays that explore issues of Native American history and culture. The major topics include the role of dress and dance in the lifeways of Indians, the need to reconstitute traditional social structures, how the imposition of European culture disempowered Native American women, and the need to repair cultural communication between Native Americans of the east and the west of the Mississippi. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Disaster response and homeland security; what works, what doesn't.

The US government's failed response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005 fits into a pattern of failure to meet the needs of victims of catastrophic disasters, according to Miskel (former professor of national security affairs at the Naval War College). This pattern points to systemic problems, rather than simply incompetence on the part of individual leaders — systemic problems he seeks to uncover through comparative examination of how the government's disaster relief system operated during Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the Three Mile Island near-disaster in 1979, Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Hurricane Katrina. After identifying the enduring structural issues revealed in these examples, he compares the US system to its Australian and Canadian counterparts and proposes some fundamental changes. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Distant victory; the Battle of Jutland and the Allied triumph in the First World War.

Germany's new foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman's equally new maritime policies ensured allied victory in the Great War, and the Battle of Jutland is one the best cases in point. Controversial from the moments the guns silenced, with Germany claiming victory in terms of tonnage sunk and the Royal Navy claiming strategic victory in chasing the German fleet back into their harbors, the battle resulted in the failure of the German fleet to break the British blockade. Realizing that despite the boasts of the German admiralty, Germany had in essence failed, Zimmerman and other civilian authorities turned to submarine warfare, a tactic that was successful only in bringing the US into the war out of fear. Maritime writer Butler concentrates on the little-known reasons why Jutland proved to be decisive in ways even its combatants did not fully realize. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The emergence of Buddhism.

For secondary school and undergraduate students researching the topic, Kinnard (comparative religious thought, Iliff School of Theology) presents a historical overview of Buddhism, biographical sketches of significant figures, primary documents, and a timeline. The overview begins with the life of Buddha, the establishment of Buddhism and its philosophical and social context, its expansion, the emergence of the Mahayana, and the decline of Buddhism in India and rise elsewhere. Primary documents include an account of the Buddha's life in the palace from the Digha Hikaya, an excerpt from the Buddhacarita, Buddha's first sermon, and other Pali texts. The bibliography is annotated. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Encyclopedia of fictional and fantastic languages.

Conley (English and comparative literature, Brock U.) and Cain (English, York U.) present a collection of some 200 critical summaries of fictional languages as they appear in novels, short stories, films, television shows, and children's books. The text includes several tools to help readers navigate the material, including a complete alphabetical list of the book's entries; a "Guide to Related Topics" loosely grouping the entries into categories, such as animal languages, dinosaur languages, extraterrestrial languages; an index of the named languages; and a general subject index which includes authors' names, subjects, and other general information. The text also features a foreword by Ursula Le Guin and a selected bibliography for further reading. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball clubs; 2v.

Arranged according to teams in volumes on the National and American Leagues, this encyclopedia prepared by Riess (American history, Northeastern Illinois U.) brings together 30 essays on teams from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals. Essays give historical accounts and list achievements, records, managers, and postseason appearances. Contributors are mostly historians or work in American studies in the US; some are authors of books on baseball. Appendices provide information on season standings, attendance, profit and loss, salaries, and ballparks. The index is only supplied in the second volume. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War.

Written primarily for students and non-specialists, this reference provides more than 250 concise descriptions and definitions of people, events, and terms relating to the Hundred Years War. Although the focus is on political and military events in France and England during the period 1337-1453, the effects of the conflict on other states in Western Europe are also addressed. Each entry contains cross-references to related entries as well as suggestions for further reading. Supplemental materials include maps, a detailed chronology, and listings of European rulers and monarchs. The volume concludes with an extensive general bibliography, organized by topic. Wagner has taught history at Phoenix College and Arizona State U. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Energy, economics, and politics in the Caspian region; dreams and realities.

Crandall (economics, National Defense University) takes a close look at the countries surrounding the Caspian Sea for their potential as oil and gas producers, arguing that oil reserves and future production levels in the Caspian region have been overestimated. She examines the stakes involved, including forecast revenues and their potential uses, and discusses issues of governance affecting the disposition of these revenue streams. She also examines environmental considerations, local leadership, and the political situation in the region. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The entertainment industry.

Aimed at students and general readers, this text traces the historical evolution of entertainment as an economic entity in 20th-century America. The volume is organized roughly chronologically, and six representative types of entertainment are examined: vaudeville, recorded sound, movies, radio, television, and spectator sports. In the final chapter, Haupert (economics, U. of Wisconsin-LaCrosse) profiles 15 individuals who had a profound effect on the entertainment industry. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Faculty career paths; multiple routes to academic success and satisfaction.

Aimed at administrators in higher education, this volume examines the multiple career paths traversed by faculty and assesses the levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction they experience along the way. The 29 contributions from North American faculty and administrators consider the impact of changing demographics (such as more dual-career couples) and describe the needs and expectations of faculty at particular stages of their careers. The material is based on national research as well as studies conducted within the 16-campus U. of North Carolina system. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Fairy lore; a handbook.

One in a series of folklore handbooks, this guide concentrates on the fairy lore of northwestern Europe. Ashliman devotes a large portion of the book to examples and texts and maintains that the majority of the stories were originally presented as "authentic experiences" to a believing audience. The premise for most of these stories being that unseen beings exist which influence our human lives. Also included is a chapter devoted to definitions and classifications of fairy mythology, a glossary of fairy terminology as well as a comprehensive list of web resources. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Federal agents; the growth of federal law enforcement in America.

Writing for general readers and students in criminal justice, Bumgarner (criminal justice, Texas Christian University) examines the history of American federal law enforcement and the complex system of agencies, agents, and laws that make up the current federal law enforcement program. He introduces the jurisdiction and responsibilities of each agency of the federal law enforcement community, and looks at the role that federal public policy plays in the criminal justice system. Discussion of emerging trends focuses on the expanding domestic effort against terrorism. About 70 pages of appendices offer a chronology, an outline of majority and dissenting opinions from the landmark case U.S. v. Lopez, and lists of chapters of the federal criminal code, agencies, and the table of contents of the USA Patriot Act. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The fight for legitimacy; democracy vs. terrorism.

Four political scientists, three with the US Military Academy at West Point, analyze five terrorist threats against transitional democracies: the Basques in Spain, Kurds in Turkey, Albanians in Macedonia, Chechnya, and Palestine. Some of the material has appeared in various political science journals. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Finding the best business school for you; looking past the rankings.

For prospective MBA students, Dennis (communication and media management, Fordham U.) and Smith (academic affairs, National U.) detail how to choose a business school that is most suitable for them, based on their "portfolio approach" to MBA education, in which students design their own programs. They outline reasons to get an MBA, deconstruct school rankings, describe how to use them as just one source of information, and discuss how the concept of return on investment can be used to choose a school, as well as by gauging career success and personal satisfaction. They then examine important personal factors and the influence of globalization. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

From the terrorists' point of view; what they experience and why they come to destroy.

Focusing on terrorism originating in the Islamic world, Moghaddam (psychology, Georgetown U.) proposes a staircase model for why individuals become involved with terrorist organizations and the process by which they come to carry out terrorist acts. His model is rooted in the concept that the Islamic world is undergoing a crisis of identity in a globalizing world in which all avenues of opposition have been confined to the arena of Islamic fundamentalism. From these initial conditions, he lays out a "staircase" model of identity formation for how individuals proceed towards terrorism. He recommends combating this process through the promotion of "contextualized democracy" which will allow for Muslims to address their political concerns while still retaining an authentic identity. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Gender, race, and ethnicity in the workplace; issues and challenges for today's organizations; 3v.

Edited by Karsten (business and accounting, U. of Wisconsin), this three-volume set explores the current status of women and racial/ethnic minorities in the US workplace; explores psychological, sociological, and legal aspects of their positions in business; and explores organizational and individual strategies for coping with and changing discriminatory practices, in that order. The 12 papers in the first volume range from theoretical reflection on leadership to analyses of employment statistics and includes papers on corporate culture and leadership; Black women entrepreneurs' management strategies and styles; blue-collar women in traditionally male jobs; issues of race, gender, and social inequality in organizations; and gender inequality in the US labor market. The next dozen legal, psychological, and sociological papers discuss such topics as racial, ethnic, and sexual harassment in the workplace; pregnancy discrimination; gender and managerial stereotypes; training as a catalyst for dysfunction behavior and the US Air Force Academy; and gendered ethics and law in cases of corporate executive crimes and punishment. The final group of 12 papers explores diversity management in organizations, career planning, the impact of informal development relationships on management careers, and the influence of personal life experiences on the development of male and female leaders. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

German folklore; a handbook.

Dow (German folklore and linguistics, Iowa State U.) instructs readers on the study of German folklore, beginning with definitions and classifications and including an extensive chapter on examples as well as excerpts of texts. He describes scholarship, historical and new approaches, and the social and cultural context. The book includes a list of annotated web resources. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The ghosts of Duffy's Cut; the Irish who died building America's most dangerous stretch of railroad.

In the summer of 1832, Irish immigrant Philip Duffy contracted 57 of his newly arrived countrymen to lay a stretch of railroad some 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Within two months, all were dead, struck down in the global cholera pandemic that hit Philadelphia the same time they did. Four historians, three at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, tell the story, putting into the context of immigration, industrialization, and epidemiology. They draw on surviving archival and archaeological evidence. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)