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Nonfiction, January 2005

—: News Incorporated: Corporate Media Ownership and Its Threat to Democracy (February 2005)

302.23 N558 2005

Media critics and journalists examine what becomes of diversity and democracy when most of the nation's media outlets are controlled by a handful of corporate conglomerates.
Bangs, Richard: Mystery of the Nile: The Epic Story of the First Descent of the World's Deadliest River (February 2005)

916.2 B216m 2005

An account of a great historical expedition of our time, this work highlights the first-ever complete descent of the Nile River in 2004.
Berkin, Carol: Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence (February 2005)

973.308 B512r 2005

America's women played a vital role throughout the Revolutionary War, and Carol Berkin's study takes readers into the ordinary moments of their extraordinary lives.
Bernstein, Peter L.: Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation (January 2005)

386.48 B531w 2005

The building of the Erie Canal is a riveting story of American ingenuity. Now Bernstein presents the story of the canal's construction against the larger tableau of America in the first quarter-century of the 1800s.
Bodanis, David: Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity (February 2005)

537 B666e 2005

Bodanis follows up his bestselling E=mc2 with this journey of discovery about the awe-inspiring force known as electricity — taking readers from Hamburg cellars during a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body.
Bull, Malcolm: The Mirror of the Gods (January 2005)

704.948 B935m 2005

This volume is an illustrated account of how the great Renaissance artists revived the myths of Greece and Rome and changed the course of Western art.
Burstein, Andrew: Jefferson's Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello (February 2005)

B-J45buj 2005

Delving into Jefferson's soul, Burstein lays bare the president's thoughts about his own legacy, his predictions for American democracy and his feelings regarding women and religion.
Carey, Peter: Wrong About Japan: A Father's Journey with His Son (January 2005)

915.204 C275w 2004

The recipient of two Booker Prizes, Peter Carey expands his achievement with this remarkable portrait of a culture — whether Japan or adolescence — that looks eerily familiar but remains tantalizingly closed to outsiders.
Cohen, Stephanie: The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer (January 2005)

635.932 C678p 2005

Cohen and Nancy Ondra walk the gardener step-by-step through the process of creating new gardens using perennials, as well as of bringing new life to gardens that have lost their luster. Throughout the book a lively dialogue between Cohen and Ondra encourages readers to experiment and to create their own satisfying designs.
Collins, Michael J., M.D.: Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years (February 2005)

617.092 C712h 2005

This story of Collins' four-year surgical residency traces his rise from an eager but clueless first-year resident to accomplished chief resident in his final year. With humor, he recounts the disparity between people's perceptions of a doctor's glamorous life and the real thing.
Creighton, Margaret S.: The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History: Immigrants, Women, and African Americans in the Civil War's Defining Battle (January 2005)

973.7349 C914c 2005

An academic with a flair for storytelling, Creighton draws on memoirs, letters, diaries and newspapers to present a new look at the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of women, immigrant soldiers and African Americans.
Davidson, Ian: Voltaire in Exile: The Last Years, 1753-78 (February 2005)

B-V935d 2004

Forced into exile to Geneva in 1753 by Louis XV, Voltaire carved out a new world in isolation, becoming a successful entrepreneur and writing his masterpiece Candide. Davidson recreates this period in the life of one of the giants of the Enlightenment.
Depue, Roger L.: Between Good and Evil: A Master Profiler's Hunt for Society's Most Violent Predators (February 2005)

363.2092 D425b 2005

The FBI's former top hunter of serial killers shares his unique perspective as both a lawman and a member of the clergy counseling convicts. In this memoir, he reveals the dangerously thin line between good and evil.
Dimbleby, Josceline: May and Amy: A True Story of Family, Forbidden Love, and the Secret Lives of May Gaskell, Her Daughter Amy, and Sir Edward Burne-Jones (January 2005)

941.08 D582m 2004

This story of an intimate friendship between the painter Edward Burne-Jones and the much younger May Gaskell is richly illustrated by a collection of letters presenting a charming portrait of a circle of family and friends.
Epstein, Edward Jay: The Big Picture: The New Logic of Money and Power in Hollywood (February 2005)

384.83 E64b 2005

Epstein gives a sweeping account of the real magic behind moviemaking: how the studios make their money. He shows how, in Hollywood, the only art that matters is the art of the deal: major films turn huge profits, not from the movies themselves but through myriad other enterprises, such as video-game spin-offs, fast-food tie-ins, soundtracks and even theme-park rides.
Evans, Polly: It's Not About the Tapas (January 2005)

914.6 E92i 2003

This is Evans' account of her voyage of discovery around Spain on a bicycle. From the thigh-burning ascents of the Pyrenees to the olive groves of Andalusia, she found more adventure than she bargained for, all while indulging her love of regional cooking. An irreverent account from an engaging new travel writer.
Faragher, John Mack: A Great and Noble Scheme: The Tragic Story of the Expulsion of the French Acadians From Their American Homeland (February 2005)

971.6 F219g 2005

Drawing on original primary research, Faragher follows specific Acadian families through the anguish of their removal and brings to light a tragic chapter in the settlement of America.
Fisher-Smith, Jordan: Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra (February 2005)

363.28 F537n 2005

Nature Noir is the story — part Barry Lopez, part James Ellroy — of Jordan Fisher Smith's 14 years as a park ranger on a huge tract of government land in the Sierras.
Frieda, Leonie: Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France (February 2005)

B-C365f 2003

Leonie Frieda has returned to original sources and reread the thousands of letters left by Catherine, and she has reinvested this figure with humanity. The first biography of Catherine in decades reveals her to be one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown.
Fuentes, Carlos: This I Believe: An A to Z of a Life (February 2005)

864 F954t 2005

Modern master Fuentes offers profound insights and personal reflections on wide-ranging topics from "amor" and children to revolution, Shakespeare and more.
Goldstein, Rebecca: Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel (February 2005)

B-Go542g 2005

Considered the 20th century's greatest mathematician, Kurt Gödel is the subject of this lucid and accessible study, which explains the significance of his theorems and the remarkable vision behind them, while bringing this eccentric, tortured genius and his world to life.
Goldstone, Lawrence: The Friar and the Cipher: Roger Bacon and the Unsolved Mystery of the Most Unusual Manuscript in the World (February 2005)

091 G624f 2005

Two acclaimed bibliophiles and historians describe in fascinating detail the theory that noted 13th-century astronomer Roger Bacon was the author of The Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious tome discovered in 1912 which has puzzled scholars for almost a century.
Guest, Tim: My Life in Orange: Growing Up With the Guru (February 2005)

B-Gu9385m 2005

At the age of six, Tim Guest was taken by his mother to a commune modeled on the teachings of the notorious Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. In this memoir, Guest chronicles the heartbreaking experience of being left alone on earth while his mother hunted heaven.
Hanson, Neil: The Confident Hope of a Miracle: The True History of the Spanish Armada (January 2005)

942.055 H251c 2005

This overview of one of the most fascinating campaigns in European history begins with the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the event that precipitated the launching of the Spanish Armada.
Hayes, Bill: Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood (January 2005)

612.1 H417f 2005

Five Quarts is part scientific history of blood from ancient Rome to the modern day and part memoir of how this vital fluid affects Hayes' own life as he watches friends lose their fight with AIDS.
Jackson, Buzzy: A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them (February 2005)

782.421643 J12b 2005

This work combines biography, an appreciation of music and a sweeping view of American history to illuminate the pivotal role of blues women in a powerful musical tradition.
Jordan, Jennifer: Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain (January 2005)

796.522 J82s 2005

In an exhilarating story of victory and disaster, success and heartbreak, Jordan offers a moving tribute to the five women who achieved the near-impossible by climbing the world's most feared mountain.
Kabat-Zinn, Jon: Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness (January 2005)

155.9042 K11c 2005

This follow-up to Wherever You Go, There You Are shows readers how the power of mindfulness can bring radical change to their lives.
Kennedy, Michelle: Without a Net: Middle Class and Homeless (with Kids) in America: My Story (February 2005)

306.8743 K36w 2005

At age 24, the author found herself and her three small children living out of the back seat of a car. With humor and honesty, Kennedy describes how a few bad choices and missed chances can push a smart, educated woman across the poverty line — and how she lived by her wits and found the strength she needed to pick up the pieces.
McLeod, Kembrew: Freedom of Expression: Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity (February 2005)

346.0482 M165f 2005

In 1998 the author, a professional prankster, trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression" to show how the expression of ideas was being restricted. Now he uses intellectual property law to show how economic concerns are seriously eroding creativity and free speech.
Northrup, Christiane: Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Creating a Legacy of Physical and Emotional Health (February 2005)

613.0424 N877m 2005

The author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom explores the extraordinary bond between a mother and daughter, and explains how these bonds lead to the rebuilding of health for mothers and insure a healthy future for their daughters.
Penrose, Roger: The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe (February 2005)

530.1 P417r 2005

Aimed at the general reader, this guide to the universe provides a comprehensive account of the present understanding of the physical universe, and the essentials of its underlying mathematical theory.
Pond, Steve: The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards (January 2005)

791.43079 P796b 2005

Written by the only journalist ever given carte blanche access to the Oscars, this unprecedented look backstage at the annual Academy Awards offers an unguarded glimpse of this singular event.
Reiss, Tom: The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life (February 2005)

B-Sa212r 2005

Part history, part cultural biography and part literary mystery, The Orientalist traces the life of Lev Nussimbaum, a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince and became a bestselling author in Nazi Germany.
Rosenblum, Mort: Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light (February 2005)

641.3374 R813c 2005

Rosenblum guides readers on a delectable journey into the world of chocolate — from manufacturing to marketing, French boutiques to American multinationals.
Short, Philip: Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare (February 2005)

B-Po757s 2005

A gripping portrait of the man who headed one of the most enigmatic and terrifying regimes of modern times, this biography contends that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia were not a one-off aberration but instead grew out of a darkness of the soul common to all peoples.
Stout, Martha: The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us (February 2005)

616.8582 S889s 2005

Stout takes a revelatory look at the one in 25 ordinary Americans who secretly possesses no conscience, no sense of guilt, shame or remorse — the sociopath next door.
Tippins, Sherill: February House (February 2005)

810.9974 T595f 2005

Tippins tells the story of an extraordinary experiment in communal living — involving the young but already iconic writer Carson McCullers and burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee — in a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn during 1940 and 1941.
Whitman, Christine Todd: It's My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America (February 2005)

324.2734 W614i 2005

Whitman resigned from the Bush cabinet rather than continue to promote a hard-line conservative agenda. Here is her bold critique of the Republican Party's turn to the right and the polarization of American politics today.
Wisner, Frank: Honeymoon With My Brother: A Memoir (February 2005)

910.4 W815h 2005

After being jilted by his fiancee, Wisner undertakes a remarkable journey to 60 countries, during which he turns his heartbreak into an opportunity to learn about himself, the world and the brother he hardly knew.