This is the first English edition of an oral history of Roise Rua (Red-haired Rose) MacGrianna, who was also known as "Rose of the Songs" for her vast knowledge of folk music. She recounts stories about her life on Arranmore Island, off the northwest coast of Ireland, from the 1880s to the 1950s. Mere survival depended on hard labor, and MacGrianna describes being hired out as a child to farmhouses on the Irish mainland, and later working in the potato fields of Scotland. Also included are her recollections about major events, such as shipwrecks, changes in government, and advancement of technology that affected life on the island. Readers unfamiliar with Irish geography may have benefited from better maps, and some well-placed editorial assistance would have been welcome. For example, some unfamiliar regionalisms and references to persons by several names can be confusing. VERDICT Minor quibbles aside, this work evokes the feeling of spending an evening by the fire, listening to an elderly relative tell stories about the old days, feeling grateful that they are passed on this way, to be kept alive.—Megan Hahn Fraser, Univ. of California, Los Angeles Lib.

To perform well in office, U.S. Presidents require right-hand assistants—great Presidents seem to attract the best. Franklin D. Roosevelt found his first political help—years before running for the presidency—in Louis Howe (1871–1936), or rather Louis Howe found him—it evolved into a mutually beneficial relationship. FDR needed Howe, and Howe needed FDR to fulfill himself. Fenster (The Case of Abraham Lincoln) tackles this man who became a crucial aid to both FDR and Eleanor. Until now Howe has had a reputation as a crusty newspaperman who preserved FDR's political viability after FDR contracted polio in 1921. That story is generally known, but Fenster expands it into the first full portrait of Howe as a newspaperman, family man, and presidential assistant. It's a sympathetic and gripping account of a man who possessed a playful nature and was devoted to his wife and children, but who was also willing to relegate family life to the part-time category and actually move to the White House during FDR's first term. Fenster presents first-rate insights into Howe's motivations and the ways in which he overcame Eleanor's initial dislike to become an important political mentor to her. VERDICT This enjoyable read will appeal to presidential history buffs and those interested in the evolving role of the presidential assistant. Essential for all collections on U.S. Presidents.—William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

Joya burst into American awareness as a young woman six years ago when she boldly spoke out against Afghan political leaders whose past crimes (and, she says, also ongoing ones) are being ignored by American forces in their efforts to build a post-Taliban government. Joya, a member of Afghanistan's national assembly, was suspended from parliament in 2007 after speaking out against other MPs. This memoir narrates her start as a teenage teacher, her courageous work for women's freedom, and her continuing struggle against corruption and warlordism. Despite Joya's ardent public oratory, the simple, expository writing style of this book flattens what must be an extraordinary personality. Her accusations and claims about unpunished crimes are repeated broadly throughout the book until they lose their punch. VERDICT This book will interest those who seek stories of real-life heroines risking death every day for their nation. For more perspective, it should be read alongside the works of Sarah Chayes and Ahmed Rashid on Afghan geopolitics.—Lisa Klopfer, Eastern Michigan Univ., Ypsilanti

British correspondent Boyes, a veteran when it comes to covering Iceland and its 300,000 citizens, recounts how the country's financial saga began in the 1990s with the privatization of banks and a series of accommodative government policies. The result, he says, was a cascading spiral of borrowing on easy terms by Iceland's businesses and individuals. When the 2007 credit contraction began, Iceland's highly leveraged borrowers could not meet their obligations. The ensuing threat of a national default was averted only by the International Monetary Fund's intervention. Boyes goes beyond the financial crisis to explain the country's social structure, cultural outlook, and political and business hierarchy. While he brings a measure of clarity to what happened globally by focusing on the economic microcosm that is Iceland, the book does bog down at times in his descriptions of local politics and feuds. Although he writes clearly and avoids economic jargon, inevitably there are tongue-twisting Icelandic names like Bjoergolfur Gudmunson and Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir. VERDICT For anyone interested in Iceland, Boyes's work is absolutely essential. For those needing material on the global nature of the credit crisis, this is a great supplementary source.—Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA

The authors, who are experts in the social media and cross-cultural PR fields, here describe how globalization and the Internet have transformed PR, outlining best practices and providing strategic advice for communicating successfully internationally. Using a variety of techniques, they explain, businesses can reach new online audiences and create new marketplaces. The 11 comprehensive chapters include topics such as leadership communication styles, corporate social responsibility, the building of authenticity and trust, and the rethinking of PR functions. Many case studies that describe the efforts of worldwide firms, especially of companies in emerging economies, are integrated into the text, which also covers popular social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook. The last chapter deals with the "next frontier" of technologies beyond multimedia and discusses streaming video, podcasting, virtual worlds, and mobile communications. VERDICT This book is highly recommended to public relations professionals looking to optimize their communications in today's competitive business environment.—Caroline Geck, Newark Public Schs., NJ

Guiliano (former CEO, Clicquot, Inc.), best-selling author of French Women Don't Get Fat, provides sound advice for women in business on how to leverage talents and interests into their careers, how to improve communication skills, how to recognize the difference between leadership and management, and how to use "enlightened self-interest" to make smart choices. The pace of the writing is quick, the chapters short but not slight, and ample examples are provided from the author's own professional career. Although some readers may find her emphasis on dressing for success, personal branding and business etiquette, differences in male and female business styles, and travel and eating tips alternately too stereotypical or twee (the inclusion of recipes for home entertaining is the biggest stretch), there can be no denying that all of those things matter in life and careers, and the author discusses them with admirable frankness. VERDICT Numerous business books purport to help women better balance life and work, but Guiliano's refreshing guide actually describes how it can be done—and with style.—Sarah Statz Cords, The Reader's Advisor Online

Freelance journalist Maney (The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM) distills the world's most successful business ventures into two categories: those that succeed by giving customers top-notch sensory experiences and those that succeed using super convenience. He terms this the Fidelity Swap. Maney cites examples of companies that have succeeded or failed based on this principle. For example, the success of Walmart can be attributed to their philosophy of customer convenience, no high-end atmosphere required. Conversely, Starbucks uses ambience and a unique customer experience to gain success. Maney further states that a successful product will not offer both convenience and "fidelity of experience." Coach and Tiffany are successful owing to the latter; if they offered more convenience (in this case, an array of cheaper products), they would become devalued brands. This book fits well with Chip Heath and Dan Heath's Made To Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die as another book demonstrating how social theory can explain successful business ventures. VERDICT An enlightening and entertaining book that will have a wide readership among followers of current business studies or of popular culture and current trends.—Poppy Johnson-Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll. Lib., Tucumcari, NM

For nearly 15 years, a group of elderly women have gathered at a resort in the Czech Republic. This annual reunion represents a solidarity few can comprehend; although these women now hail from across the globe, they share the unbreakable bond of occupying the same room in Theresienstadt internment camp near Prague as adolescents during the Holocaust. As a waypoint to the death camps, Theresienstadt's prisoners included an array of intellectuals, artists, writers, and musicians (most of whom did not survive the war) who were dedicated to educating the resident children. Many of the girls performed in the renowned children's play Brundibar, presented during their internment. Through interviews, firsthand accounts, and illustrations, Berlin-based journalist Brenner effectively captures their stories, beginning with prior carefree lives and recounting the joys and despair of daily life in the camp and the eventual deportation of many of the girls and their loved ones to death camps. VERDICT These moving memoirs should appeal to anyone with an interest in Theresienstadt or Nazi Germany. Strongly recommended for Holocaust-related studies.—Judy Brink-Drescher, Dowling Coll., Oakdale, NY

"Lost" and "forgotten" are surely strange words for an empire that is well noted for its preservation of ancient cultures. This is that kind of thumping, old-fashioned popular history that could have been written a hundred years ago. Brownworth, a former high school history teacher, traces the Byzantine Empire from its founding by Constantine in 328 C.E. to its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. He is fond of semilegendary stories of treacherous dynasts and valiant generals (from Belisarius to last emperor Constantine XI) and doesn't like more modern perspectives, such as exploring sources and economics and everyday culture—although there is some discussion of religious conflicts. Most significantly, he largely ignores the magnificent Byzantine artistic tradition. VERDICT Adrian Goldsworthy's recent How Rome Fell is a much more successful work in this genre that treats the early years of Byzantium. This book will provide an undemanding general reader new to the subject with a first glimpse of the Byzantine Empire.—Stewart Desmond, New York

Fisher captures with great clarity and encyclopedic detail the multilayered and fascinating history of the New York-New Jersey waterfront depicted in Elia Kazan's Oscar-winning 1954 film, On the Waterfront. Fischer's impeccable research delves into the real-life stories behind the characters, particularly Pete Corridan, the crusading Catholic priest who tried to reform the longshoremen's union and the recently deceased Bud Schulberg, who adapted Malcolm Johnson's 1949 Pulitzer Prize-winning "Crime on the Waterfront" newspaper series for the screen. Fisher (theology & American studies; Communion of Immigrants: A History of Catholics in America) considers every angle of the story astutely and meticulously, setting it well in its mid-20th-century American context. VERDICT This engaging narrative is essential reading for both labor historians and cinema buffs, plus anyone studying the waterfront, working-class and immigrant history, anticommunism, blacklisting, and the House Un-American Activities Committee.—Donna L. Davey, NYU Lib.

The hours following JFK's assassination were a time of confusion, sadness, and fear, which Gillon (resident historian, History Channel) vividly describes in this companion book to a History Channel documentary airing this month. The author relies on both standard secondary sources and newly declassified documents to show that the Johnson era, with its Great Society triumphs and Vietnam failure, mirrored LBJ's combination of actions on that first harrowing day. Gillon credits LBJ for his calming leadership demonstrated through skilled use of television and for his sympathetic kindness toward the now-widowed Jacqueline Kennedy, but he also shows how Johnson's self-destructive insecurity, inflamed by Robert Kennedy's contempt for him, also manifested itself. Included is an intriguing discussion of the vulnerability of the United States during the 40 minutes between JFK's death and Johnson's learning of it. VERDICT This fast-paced book will appeal to general readers and historians who will likely have different opinions about how the first day following JFK's death set the course for the Johnson years. See Max Holland's The Kennedy Assassination Tapes for first-person transcripts of much of what's covered here.—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

In 1845, Sir John Franklin set off on a now-infamous Arctic expedition that ended in the demise of all his crew amid scurvy, starvation, and cannibalism. Historian Lambert (War at Sea in the Age of Sail) presents a rigorously researched examination of Franklin's life and work as a scientist, naval officer, explorer, and British colonial governor of Tasmania. This is a sprawling biography written with the clear agenda of proving that Franklin was a competent, noble leader and not the bungler portrayed in such books as Roland Huntford's Scott and Amundsen: The Race to the Pole. Lambert successfully uses extensive historical evidence to reveal Franklin's admirable leadership abilities and makes a compelling case for his view that the main purpose for the Franklin expedition was to further long-running British scientific research on the earth's magnetic field, and not just to attempt to locate the Northwest Passage. VERDICT This dense volume is best suited to academic researchers and historians, who may also be interested in Martyn Beardsley's Deadly Winter: The Life of Sir John Franklin.—Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI

Merry (publisher, Congressional Quarterly; Sands of Empire) presents his view of James Knox Polk's presidency, describing how Polk turned his vice presidential ambitions into presidential ambitions as the first "dark horse" candidate, and then was able to accomplish his four major objectives: tariffs for revenue only, an independent federal treasury, no national debt, and expansion of the nation's boundaries to the Pacific. Drawing on Polk's correspondence, secondary sources, and records of Congressional debates, Merry focuses on the politics behind the events, showing how Polk was a master of political strategy and tactics. Merry also considers Polk's negative traits—drabness, lack of leadership qualities, tendency to micromanage—and how these led to dissension within his own party and at times jeopardized his program. VERDICT This well-written book complements Walter Borneman's Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by providing a detailed look into the Washington politics of the 1840s, making it a good starting point for general readers and undergraduates desiring to understand that era.—Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., Marquette

Overy (Why the Allies Won) describes the irrational pessimism that hung like a curtain over British intellectual life between the world wars and formed the basis for the overwhelming paradox that paralyzed England until the outbreak of war in 1939. This pessimism was paradoxical because things were not as dire in Great Britain as the English thought. On the one hand, the English believed civilization was doomed, yet they also believed it was their responsibility to save it. They thought absolute pacifism was necessary, but war was inevitable. Overy clearly describes how this paradox affected areas as diverse as the eugenics movement, psychoanalysis, political cooperation, and economics. VERDICT Well researched and lucidly written, this book will appeal to those interested in understanding how the intellectual elite of Europe failed to resolve and in fact contributed to the very "crisis" they were trying to prevent.—Michael Farrell, Reformed Theological Seminary Lib., Oviedo, FL

Preston (contemporary Spanish studies, London Sch. of Economics; A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War) presents a scholarly analysis of the influence of various journalists on the public perception of the Spanish civil war. Although many may see the war as fascism vs. communism (a no-win combination for most in the Western democracies), Preston shows that the struggle was much more complicated. He reconstructs the passion that led these journalists to pursue the truth, discussing well-known (e.g., Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Viriginia Cowles) and lesser-known (e.g., Louis Fischer, George Steer, Jay Allen) correspondents. These courageous journalists (akin to the embedded journalists of today) endured unrelenting censorship and privation. Preston resurrects their contributions and reputations and allows us to see a more uncensored view of the war than what existed at the time. VERDICT This work requires a good background or strong interest in Spanish civil war history and will appeal mainly to an academic audience. Students can read it in conjunction with David Deacon's British News Media and the Spanish Civil War.—Maria C. Bagshaw, Knowledge & Info. Resources, Ecolab, St. Paul, MN

Sitiki, captured in West Africa as a young boy in 1807, was brought to America as a slave; he died a free man in St. Augustine, FL, 75 years later. He wrote his memoir between 1869 and 1871 with the assistance of Buckingham Smith, a scholar of Spanish St. Augustine and Sitiki's former master (Sitiki was also known as Jack Smith). A free man after the Civil War, Sitiki became a Methodist pastor in St. Augustine. In his memoir, he shows how his journeys as a slave brought him in and out of several different systems and locations of servitude. The results offer unique information not only on his own life—this is the only known slave memoir from Florida—but on life more generally in 18th-century America and in St. Augustine from Spanish colonization to Florida statehood. Editor Griffin (Archaeology of the Everglades), a historical anthropologist, offers essays here with enlightened perspectives on Sitiki's experiences. VERDICT This is a fine addition to slave narrative reading lists that include The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself. Highly recommended to all students of American and African studies.—Edward G. McCormack, Univ. of South Mississippi, Gulf Coast Libs.

Thompson (Wired magazine) has crafted an impressive dual biography of two of the most prominent participants in the 50-year-long Cold War. The author is the grandson of Paul Nitze; he became aware of a great deal of primary material that Nitze had filed away in storage cabinets unknown to other historians. George Kennan, the Dove of the title, a longtime State Department official famous as the author of containment as an approach to dealing with the Soviets, was often opposed intellectually by Nitze, who favored a more aggressive approach. Thompson weaves an impressive narrative that alternatively discusses what each man was doing and thinking over the decades between 1945 and about 1990; the two maintained a personal friendship in spite of their different personalities and politics. The book provides a more nuanced interpretation of the sometimes volatile Nitze, which serves as an important counterpoint to the better-known Kennan. VERDICT Thompson writes exceedingly well, and his book not only provides new information on Nitze and his friendship with Kennan, but will introduce a new generation of readers to these two significant architects of American Cold War policy. Recommended for all. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/09.]—Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames

TV Divorce Court judge Toler and production company executive Hutchinson advocate keeping the peace by creating written agreements for common situations involving people near and dear to each other. They offer simple contracts for loans of money or property, ensuring confidentiality, structuring shared parenting situations, and taking on a roommate. There is even a form of agreement between parents and teen drivers that outlines safety expectations, driving guidelines, and car maintenance responsibilities. The authors cover the elements of a rudimentary agreement, and discuss the enforceability of the document using communication, formal dispute resolution processes, and taking the matter to small claims court. In addition to forms for specific circumstances, there is a blank agreement that can be modified to suit any situation. The book takes a commonsense approach and uses examples to which readers will relate. VERDICT This is ideal for those looking for a primer in plain language to help them draft a simple contract. It will also fill a gap on the legal self-help shelves in public library collections.—Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach PLLC, Rochester, NY

Cocaine, celebrities, nightlife, real estate developers, corrupt politicians, visionaries, and crooks—Miami Beach has it all. This is a detailed history of the development and life of Miami Beach, adopted hometown of noted investigative reporter and author Posner. Beginning with the first signs of life in Miami in the late 19th century, followed by the 1912 arrival of automotive entrepreneur Carl Fisher with his vision for an exclusive resort, Posner ends with the current bust of the housing bubble. In between, he covers the various boom-and-bust real estate cycles, the arrival of almost 20,000 Cuban refugees during the Mariel Boatlift, and the explosion of the nightclub scene in the 1980s. The book's verisimilitude is clear from the firsthand accounts. Posner and his wife, author Trisha Posner, conducted extensive interviews—most on the record—with Miami Beach luminaries, politicos, and criminals. The heart of this story is the development, redevelopment, reinvention, and remaking of Miami Beach. VERDICT Posner fans might find less gritty crime than they seek, but Posner does a good job of chronicling Miami Beach celebrities. Recommended for readers interested in Miami and/or urban history. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09.]—Karen Sandlin Silverman, CFAR, Philadelphia

Faddis, an angry retired covert operations officer, has written a slim attack on what he sees as a dysfunctional, chaotic, and dangerously ineffective intelligence agency, especially when compared with its earlier history. He thinks that it has calcified into a paper-processing, risk-avoidance business that does not value the importance of capable individuals and human intelligence. Instead of strengthening the agency, the U.S. government has let more organizations try to play the Great Game of intelligence, which has led to a dispersal of resources, turf wars, less success, and global antagonism. Faddis recommends a smaller, more independent agency with fewer domestic competitors, but readers may doubt that this will ever happen, given our political structure. John Diamond's The CIA and the Culture of Failure: U.S. Intelligence from the End of the Cold War to the Invasion of Iraq covers much of the same ground. VERDICT This book is similarly critical of the White House's handling of strategy and resources as Faddis's previous Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq, which he coauthored with Mike Tucker. This new effort is suitable for all interested in current events.—Daniel K. Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL

In his career, Greenstein (politics, emeritus, Princeton; The Presidential Difference) has examined the presidency as closely, critically, and convincingly as any recent presidential scholar. He is especially known for scrutinizing strengths and weaknesses in public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. While he has previously analyzed modern U.S. Presidents, here in this concise yet insightful volume he analyzes our first seven leaders, demonstrating effectively their similarities and differences that support his central thesis that, at any given time, it matters who happens to be President. None has had the same personal and political skills. Greenstein's approach, emphasizing particular (and at times rather idiosyncratic) personal strengths and weaknesses, is distinct from Stephen Skowronek's The Politics That Presidents Make, which focuses more on the political environment and the times in which various Presidents served. Greenstein here helps students of the presidency realize that not all Presidents are created equal, and that leadership style clearly matters. VERDICT This latest addition to the Greenstein corpus will find a receptive audience in scholars of the Presidency and those interested in leadership and American political history. Highly recommended.—Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Univ., Nampa, ID

Myers-Lipton (sociology, San Jose State Univ.; Social Solutions to Poverty) starts strongly with a blunt description of the economic crisis brought on by globalization, conservatism, and crumbling infrastructure. He goes on to examine New Deal civic works programs and their lessons for President Obama. Progressives will applaud the call for federally run employment programs to put millions to work and rebuild America. Unfortunately, the book bogs down in the details of the author's pet idea: The Gulf Coast Civic Works Project, a plan to rebuild states devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Myers-Lipton's optimism that Obama's election signals an end to conservative power and the beginning of floods of federal money comes across already as dated. VERDICT Policy wonks, political scientists, and New Deal fans will love this book. Readers who want to relive liberal successes will find solace in Michael Lux's The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came To Be.—Duncan Stewart, Univ. of Iowa Libs., Iowa City

Gore (The Hip Mama Survival Guide; The Mother Trip) turns her attention to positive psychology—the work of Martin Seligman (Authentic Happiness), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Flow), and their many followers who have written books with the word happiness in the titles. She decided to try some of the common suggestions of these psychologists, such as being grateful, meditating, and doing more absorbing activities, and enlisted 100 other women to keep journals about their happiness efforts. Gore found that many women have reservations about this happiness phenomenon, feeling it is selfish to be happy if loved ones aren't or being concerned that gratitude for the good things in their lives is incompatible with feminist inclinations to reform and achieve. Gore interweaves musings on psychology and happiness with her story of sending one child off to college while pregnant with a second. VERDICT Female readers of positive psychology books will like this one, and the many fans of Noelle Oxenhandler's The Wishing Year and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love will enjoy Gore's personal narrative.—Mary Ann Hughes, formerly with Neill P.L., Pullman, WA

Wylie (clinical psychiatry, Georgetown Univ.) shares his 35-plus years of experience as a clinical psychiatrist in this new guidebook that helps diagnose common mental health conditions and offers guidelines for health-care workers for treatment or referral to mental health experts. Wylie's focus is to distinguish normal emotional problems experienced by healthy people from psychiatric conditions that should be regarded as medical sicknesses and to provide a concise compilation of modern treatments for mental illnesses, including antipsychotic medications; his goal is to aid the family practice physician in deciding on appropriate referrals for psychiatric or psychotherapeutic therapy. The mental illnesses covered include anxiety, depression, pathological anger, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, compulsion, and impulse control, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and dementia. VERDICT Offering an excellent foundation of basic knowledge on the most common mental illnesses, this will be of some value to erudite lay readers, but the succinct, highly clinical chapters are more relevant for primary health-care providers.—Dale Farris, Groves, TX

Freeman, literary book critic, former president of the National Book Critics Circle, and now the new American editor of Granta magazine, examines email communication technologies and behaviors from the vantage point of the history of correspondence. Treating email as a highly disruptive technology in our personal, social, and work lives, he reviews the effects handwritten mail, typewriters, postcards, and telegrams have had on our civilization. With that foundation laid, email is angrily attacked from every conceivable perspective. There are many insights, such as how email changes how we communicate, what we communicate, our sense of space and time, and who communicates to whom; however, many topics—e.g., the ramifications of unlimited email storage, email monitoring by employers, and correspondence that will be lost to history—are covered too thinly. Freeman's go-slow argument wanders considerably to throw punches at all kinds of online behaviors and technologies including sexting and egosurfing. VERDICT Luddites will gleefully race through this book in a few hours while others will have trouble following the argument and will skim—ironically, this is the very reading behavior Freeman abhors. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/09.]—James A. Buczynski, Seneca Coll. of Applied Arts & Tech., Toronto

Rich (health management & policy, Drexel Univ. Sch. of Public Health) was selected for a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2006, and his incisive book demonstrates why. As a young physician in a Boston hospital, Rich noted that a disproportionate number of young African American males passed through the emergency room. Moreover, he observed that hospital personnel made dire, uncensored predictions about the futures of these men, asserting that they would inevitably return to lives of street crime and end up in the hospital again, prison, or even the morgue. As an African American man who has also experienced racial profiling, Rich decided to interview and befriend some of these youths to learn more about their psyches and the enormous obstacles they face. Replete with poignant vignettes, this book unveils his findings. Not surprisingly, he exposes the deep human sensitivity of his subjects. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers of urban sociology texts such as Nicholas Lemann's The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America.—Lynne F. Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law, PA

Barker received a Fulbright scholarship for a yearlong teaching stint at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka, 2001–02. She returned shortly after the tsunami in 2004, in which 30,000 people died in Sri Lanka alone. In this illuminating account, Barker provides glimpses of day-to-day living and teaching in Sri Lanka and describes the devastation caused by the tsunami and the subsequent relief efforts. She chronicles the toll that the civil war in Sri Lanka has taken on the lives of ordinary citizens over the last 26 years, interweaving her narrative with human stories of ordinary Sinhalese and Tamils. Barker relates an engrossing discussion that she led with Jaffna students on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. In the midst of trauma, Barker provides captivating accounts about elephants, monkeys, and exotic birds. VERDICT This book will satisfy many nonfiction readers, and there are several contemporary Sri Lankan novels available in English for those whose interest is piqued by this narrative portrait of the country. Highly recommended.—Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL

Dobson, a freelance writer, former journalist, and doctoral student, decided to walk from Kansas City, MO, to Helena, MT, in May 1995, partly to re-create childhood vacations taken in the family car with a troubled father and partly to reflect upon his own life. Here, he relates his close-range examination of the Great Plains and his journey of self-reflection. He is remarkably ill prepared and suffers from severe blisters after walking 15 miles the first day. Not a purist, he accepts rides from the folks he meets along the way. It is the characters who inhabit the small towns of the plains—from the Bible quoters who hustle him out of St. Mary's to the disturbed man who fishes from a canoe with his cat—that give the reader a real feel for the rural existence. VERDICT There may be local interest from readers in Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming, but Dobson does not offer enough insight or substance to capture the imagination of others. William Least Heat-Moon-lite.—Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI

Guru of accessible travel Harrington (101 Accessible Vacations: Vacation Ideas for Wheelers and Slow Walkers) provides an extensive overview of issues related to travelers with mobility disabilities in this third edition, with over 50 percent new material, 100 new photographs, and updates to laws and regulations. Harrington's folksy tone, anecdotes, and first-person narrative are interspersed with specific information covering topics ranging from air travel to cruises and budget travel to travel agents. Photos help illustrate the author's information, and the resource guide and index are welcome and useful. VERDICT This fills a need for guidebooks within the niche area of accessible travel. Readers may also be interested in Harrington's other books as well as Rick Steves' Easy Access Europe: A Guide for Travelers with Limited Mobility.—Louise Feldmann, Colorado State Univ. Lib., Fort Collins

In the review of Alex Lemon's Happy: A Memoir (LJ 9/15/09), our reviewer said Macalester College is located in Northfield, MN. It is actually located in St. Paul.