Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Books In For Review

Busy, busy, busy!  The books just keep on coming.  Here's a look at what has just arrived for review.





TIME-LIFE World War II in 500 Photographs by TIME/LIFE BOOKS Time-Life Books' World War II in 500 Photographs brings the war to life today, in its most compelling moments and images. In this enthralling, illustrated, original volume, Time-Life Books explores the greatest conflict in the history of the planet. Here are the great battles and the great generals, the essential weapons and the tactics that made the years between 1939 and 1945 the most memorable in history. The visuals encompass Morocco to Malaysia, Berlin to Iwo Jima. With 500 dazzling photos--including rare color photos--this book succinctly and powerfully tells the full story of the war. History comes alive, thanks to scores of historic photos, first-hand accounts from a host of fronts, images of artifacts, and compelling maps and charts that clarify the politics of this vast war that shaped our modern world. Here is World War II as you've never seen it--and as you'll never forget it.  

TIME-LIFE Everything You Need To Know About the Bible by TIME-LIFE BOOKS Everyone can benefit from understanding the Bible, and Time-Life Books' Everything You Need to Know about the Bible is the ultimate visual guide. This helpful book is filled with photos, illustrations, art, and maps, plus sidebars throughout featuring fun facts, Top Ten lists, verses to know, and more. Learn the fascinating story of the Bible itself-how it was written and how its contents have survived over the centuries. Meet the great characters, from Abraham and Isaac to Mary Magdalene and St. Paul. Discover the life, works, and teachings of Jesus Christ and his disciples, with observations offered by today's most noted interpreters of the Bible. It's all gathered in an easy to read, compelling visual format that brings a fresh understanding to readers of all spiritual backgrounds, whether you're new to the Bible or a daily reader of its inspiring words.  

The Immortal Crown: An Age of X Novel by Richelle Mead Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion. Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity. Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

Duel for the Crown: Affirmed, Alydar, and Racing's Greatest Rivalry by Linda Carroll In the Sport of Kings, the Triple Crown is the most valued prize, requiring a horse to win not just one race, but three: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. And 1978 would not be just for the record books, but also one of the greatest dramas ever played out in the racing world. There were names to conjure with, worthy of the Sport of Kings. The bloodline of Native Dancer. The teen wonderboy jockey Steve Cauthen. The once unbeatable Calumet Farm—the Damn Yankees of the racing world—now in eclipse and hoping for a comeback. The newcomer Harbor View Farm—owned by brash financier Louis Wolfson, who wouldn’t let even a conviction and a prison sentence for securities violations stand in the way of his dreams of glory. And the racetracks themselves: Belmont, Saratoga, Pimlico. And, of course, Churchill Downs. It has been thirty-five years since Affirmed and Alydar fought for the Triple Crown, thirty-five years when no other horse has won it. Duel for the Crown brings this epic battle to life. Not just two magnificent Thoroughbreds but the colorful human personalities surrounding them, caught up in an ever-intensifying battle of will and wits that lasted until the photo finish of the final Triple Crown race . . . and Alydar and Affirmed leaped into the history books.  

Early Birdy Gets the Worm by Bruce Lansky This Story is Told in Pictures so children 3 to 6 can “read” the pictures and enjoy the story. Waking up early one morning, Early Birdy watches Mother Birdy catch a worm. Inspired, Early Birdy wants to catch one too. But catching a worm isn’t as easy as it looks. Join Early Birdy on an exciting and funny adventure set in a beautiful springtime forest environment created by illustrator Bill Bolton. Don’t be surprised to find yourself “smiling from ear to ear”. Don’t for one minute think you’re going to “read” (aka narrate) this story to your child because you’re the adult and your child is, well, the child. Your child can “read” the pictures as well as you can. A fact that changes how this story will be read: this is a story you and your child can read together. You might start the collaboration by asking a question: You: What do you see in this picture? Child: A little baby birdy is waking up You: And in the next picture? Child: A big bird is catching a worm. You: Meanwhile back in the nest? Child: The little birdy is watching. Child: He wants to catch a worm, too. He flies down. Child: He sees a worm. Child: He bites it. Child: And then uh oh! That’s not a worm! See what just happened? you and your child were reading the book together, until your child got much too excited to wait for you to ask a question. Suddenly your preschooler is telling the story as fast as she can turn the pages. And you’re thinking, “Wait a minute! My 3-year-old doesn’t know how to read. But she’s so excited—I can’t stop her from telling the story. She’s running away with the story. What happened to our quiet little game of question and answer?”  

Don't Let Us Win Tonight: An Oral History of the 2004 Boston Red Sox's Impossible Playoff Run by Allan Wood Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Boston Red Sox’ unprecedented championship run in the fall of 2004, this guide takes fans behind the scenes and inside the dugout, bullpen, and clubhouse to reveal to baseball fans how it happened, as it happened. The book highlights how, during a span of just 76 hours, the Red Sox won four do-or-die games against their archrivals, the New York Yankees, to qualify for the World Series and complete the greatest comeback in baseball history. Then the Red Sox steamrolled through the World Series, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games, capturing their first championship since 1918. Don’t Let Us Win Tonight is brimming with revealing quotes from Boston’s front office personnel, coaches, medical staff, and players, including Kevin Millar talking about his infectious optimism and the team’s pregame ritual of drinking whiskey, Dave Roberts revealing how he prepared to steal the most famous base of his career, and Dr. William Morgan describing the radical surgery he performed on Curt Schilling’s right ankle. The ultimate keepsake for any Red Sox fan, this is the 2004 team in their own words.  

How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love by Ken Baker “Thick. Heavy. Big-boned. Plump. Full-figured. Chunky. Womanly.” To Emery Jackson, these phrases are just nice euphemisms for the big “F” word of “fat.” But to her workout fiend dad, underwear model sister, and former Laker Girls mother, they are unacceptable states of being. Emery’s cash-strapped family’s solution? Signing up for a reality TV show in which Emery will have to lose fifty pounds in fifty days in order to win a million dollars. As the pounds start to drop and the ratings skyrocket, Emery feels the weight of success. And she must figure out how to turn the truths she uncovers—about beauty, love, fame, and family—into the keys to more than just fortune.

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