George M. Eberhart New Publications

The American Revolution: A Grand Mistake, Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns, by Paul by Leland G. Stauber (292 pages, December Green (265 pages, October 2009), is one of 2009), dares to question the fundamental as- those McFarland titles that you just know sumption that independence from Great Brit- your collection can’t live without. Green pro- ain was both an inevitable consequence of vides an annotated list of genre-bending fic- the American Revolution and an unmixed tion, films, TV series, radio shows, comics, blessing. Stauber suggests that Americans’ and games that combine a setting hatred of British tyranny was transferred into with elements of , , ste- the national saga as a generalized dislike of all ampunk, or horror. The Weird Western genre governmental authority, a legacy that reached originated with the proto- dime extremes in the South where states-rights pro- novels starring Frank Reade and Tom Edison ponents and strict constructionists insisted that Jr. in the late 19th century, followed by Weird the U.S. government had no business restrict- Tales–influenced pulp-fiction Westerns of the ing slavery. He points out that if the colonists 1950s. The quintessential TV series was The had accepted the British peace offer of 1778 Wild, Wild West in the 1960s, starring Robert and settled for partial independence, the U.S. Conrad as James T. West, while the proto- government would most likely have evolved typical role-playing game is Deadlands, an into a unicameral parliamentary democracy alternative-history scenario in which mali- like Canada, instead of the bicameral presi- cious entities known as the Reckoners un- dential system with built-in protections for the leash zombies, madmen, and monsters on status quo that was established by the Philadel- the 1870s frontier. Green supplies a short his- phia Convention of 1787. The questions raised torical overview of the elements that led to here should make for some lively discussions the Weird Western genre. $39.95. McFarland. in political science classes. $27.00. Prometheus. 978-0-7864-4390-1. 978-1-59102-763-8. The Explorer’s Guide to Death Valley Na- David Ruggles: A Radical Black Abolition- tional Park, by T. Scott Bryan and Betty ist and the Underground Railroad in New Tucker-Bryan (454 pages, 2d ed., December York City, by Graham Russell Gao Hodges 2009), can serve the armchair tourist as well (266 pages, February 2010), tells the story of as the cyclist or backpacker who wants to African-American abolitionist and writer Da- know more about vid Ruggles (1810–1849) who is credited with America’s largest helping some 600 escaped slaves—among national park out- them Frederick Douglass—attain their free- side Alaska. The dom. His philosophy of activism embraced authors cover the civil disobedience and self-defense in an era geology, human when abolitionists tended to be passive ad- history, mining vocates. Among other things, Ruggles created history, flora and the first reading room and circulating library fauna, and desert in run by an African American. climate of the park, Hodges has written the first full biography of which ranges from this overlooked activist. $30.00. University of desiccated salt flats North Carolina. 978-0-8078-3326-1. 282 feet below sea level to the pine-clad peaks of the Panamints George M. Eberhart is senior editor of American Libraries, 11,000 feet above. Eleven chapters of mile- e-mail: [email protected] by-mile road logs describe more than 1,200

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may10b.indd 267 4/22/2010 12:21:47 PM miles of paved and dirt roads throughout the Gruber provides area. Appendixes enumerate the many ghost a succinct and towns, mining camps, and railroads in Death informative over- Valley. $23.95. University Press of Colorado. view of tradition- 978-0-87081-962-9. al Islamic book art and its mod- Hieroglyph Detective: How to Decode the ern revival. Of Sacred Language of the Ancient Egyptians, particular interest by Nigel Strudwick (160 pages, March 2010), are chapters on contains a summary of Egyptian hieroglyphic Islamic works in signs and grammar, 23 sample texts from an- the Ruth E. Ado- cient tombs and temples with a step-by-step meit collection analysis of each message, and a reference list of miniature books; the books printed by of common signs. The book is an excellent İbrahim Müteferrika, who founded the first choice for beginners, though it is less detailed officially sanctioned Ottoman Turkish print- than How to Read Egyptian by Mark Collier ing press in Istanbul in 1727; and an illustrat- and Bill Manley. $16.95. Chronicle. 978-0- ed abridgement of the Persian poet Firdawsi’s 8118-6985-0. Shahnama produced in Lahore during the non-Muslim Sikh Empire in the first half of How to Pay for Your Degree in Library and the 19th century. $39.95. Indiana University. Information Studies, 2010–2012, by Gail 978-0-253-35377-1. Ann Schlachter and R. David Weber (266 Christiane Gruber is also the editor, along pages, 1st ed., May 2010), offers a compre- with Frederick Colby, of The Prophet’s As- hensive summary of all the scholarships, fel- cension: Cross-Cultural Encounters with the lowships, grants, loans, and awards available Islamic Mi‘rāj Tales (389 pages, March 2010), that support study, research, and conference which examines the myriad adaptations of the attendance for LIS undergraduate and gradu- story of Muhammad’s journey to heaven on his ate students in the and Canada. winged steed Burāq. The authors show how All of the 833 funding sources listed here are the narrative was used to construct group iden- portable, in that the grant or stipend is not re- tity, regulate social norms, convert non-Muslim stricted to one institution or location. Detailed communities, illustrate key esoteric concepts, eligibility requirements are provided for each teach children the tenets of Islam in a format entry. Indexes by program title, sponsoring similar to a modern graphic novel, absorb ele- organization, residency, tenability (funding ments from other cultures, and create vivid and restricted to a specific area), specialty, diver- dramatic public performances. $59.95. Indiana sity, and deadline enhance access. $30.00. University. 978-0-253-35361-0. Reference Service Press. 978-1-58841-215-7. Library Data: Empowering Practice and Per- The Islamic Manuscript Tradition: Ten Centu- suasion, edited by Darby Orcutt (302 pages, ries of Book Arts in Indiana University Col- November 2009), focuses on the types of data lections, edited by Christiane Gruber (281 that libraries generate and how it can be used pages, January 2010), explores the Islamic in decision-making and advocacy efforts. The book and manuscript holdings of the Indiana authors, primarily academic librarians, exam- University Art Museum, the Lilly Library, the ine methods of collection evaluation, analyses Mathers Museum, and the Kinsey Institute in of electronic resource usage data, measures of seven essays written by Gruber and her grad- reference transactions, assessment of informa- uate students for a 2006 seminar on Islamic tion literacy sessions, and data analysis to make calligraphy, illumination, printing, and book- the case for institutional repositories. $50.00. Li- binding from the 9th to the 20th centuries. braries Unlimited. 978-1-59158-826-9.

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