Amidst the endless flood of new books every month, there are always a few that stand out because of their topic and, since we are working our way out of recession and dealing with international terrorism, this months "picks" will largely address serious topics.

Bjorn Lomborg had no idea that his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, ($69.00 hardcover/$27.95 softcover, Cambridge University Press) would spark attacks, but it has proven such a challenge to the "facts" put forth by environmentalists that a recent issue of the respected journal, Science, devoted 12 pages to lambast it. The author was not given the opportunity to respond to his critics, something that is very unusual for a scientific journal. The reason for the outcry is that Lomborg has amassed statistics and other data that demonstrates, not just how wrong most environmental claims are, but that many are deliberately false, given the data available that refutes them. In page after page of this fascinating book, one learns the good news is the bad news is wrong. From page 353 to page 505, one can find the author’s careful notes and bibliography from which he drew the data to support his wonderfully iconoclastic text. No wonder his critics are howling. This may well be one of the most important books published this year.

Right after September 11, 2001, gun sales around the nation increased dramatically as people looked for a way to defend themselves against a new enemy. It was a very human decision because we know the police cannot be everywhere and because self-defense is everyone’s right. Armed: New Perspectives on Gun Control by Gary Kleck and Don B. Kates, Jr. ($27, Prometheus Books) reveals how the gun control debate is often obscured by strong emotions and unproven assumptions. To put it another way, much of what the mainstream press tells the public about guns and their ownership is just not true. The courts have affirmed that the Second Amendment does mean what it says, a citizen does have the right to own a gun. The effort to render Americans defenseless has been advanced by too many falsehoods. This book sorts them out.

The second edition of Charles Adams’ book, For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization, ($18.95, Madison Books) is now available in paperback and, as you contemplate paying yours, I guarantee you a witty and wonderfully informative book that looks at taxation from the days of ancient Egypt and how it contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Islam, the signing of the Magna Carta, the American Revolution and the Civil War. As always, the power to tax is the power to destroy.

Daniel M. Friedenberg has written Sold to the Highest Bidder: The Presidency from Dwight D. Eisenhower to George W. Bush ($29.00, Prometheus Books) that is a liberal lament about the role money plays in getting elected and the way people with a lot of money have greater access to those in power than the rest of us. He maintains that the US economy does little to help the poor rise to a higher level and has kept the middle class stagnating for the last 30 years. This is a liberal lament and, though I am of a conservative bent, the author makes a good case for his views. I believe people with money have always had greater access and, if the Enron bankruptcy is any proof, it didn’t do that company any good at all to have contributed millions to politicians on both sides of the aisle.

Anthony Blunt: His Lives by Miranda Carter ($30.00, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) tells the story of one of the most notorious British spies of the 20^th century. Despite his betrayal of his homeland, Blunt’s "lives" make for very interesting reading. He was a leading intellectual who moved in the highest circles of power and, famed for his expertise on art, he trained a whole generation of academics and curators. He was also a homosexual when it was a crime to be one and a traitor when the penalty for that was death. Carter strips away the layers of his life like an onion. Blunt was one of those Cambridge educated spies in the ranks with Kim Philby who fled to Soviet Russia. Blunt was finally unmasked by Margaret Thatcher when she was the UK’s Prime Minister. This is a high quality biography that is well worth reading.

At first glance, Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky ($28.00, Walker & Company) would seem a light subject to fill 484 pages, but it is really a fascinating story of an indispensable ingredient for every cook or just the person who adds it to his favorite dish. The author takes you on a journey around the world from China, the site of the first salt works, salt tax, and salt war, to Egypt where it was used in mummification to the Europe and the Americas. Over and over again, salt played a role in all the major civilizations. From the Roman writer, Cato, writing a recipe for salted cabbage, to Mahatma Gandhi who deliberately broke the British salt laws that forbid salt production in India, galvanizing a national movement that ultimately forced the British out, salt has played a fascinating role throughout history.

For a glimpse into the future, read Lords of the Harvest: Biotech, Big Money, and the Future of Food by Daniel Charles ($27.00, Perseus Publishing) for his views on genetically engineered food which he acknowledges are going to feed a lot of people in the future who might not been able to expect three meals a day. In essence, GM technology allows the growing of food crops that are resistance to Mother Nature’s insect predators, to drought conditions, and other factors that have always destroyed much of the world’s food supplies. GM crops mean that forests will not have to be cut down to make room for more farmland. There is no doubt GM food is going to make a lot of money for the companies that have developed the new technology, but it fills hungry bellies, few are going to be left to complain. New strains of rice, for example, enhanced with Vitamin A, will end the scourge of blindness that afflicts children and others so common in Third World nations where this vitamin is missing in their diets. This is an important and interesting book.

There’s an interesting book by Charlotte Ford, 21^st Century Etiquette (24.95, Lyons Press) that addresses questions arising from alternative family structures to our use of new technology. Should one answer a cell phone call at a social event? How to set rules for a houseguest. It addresses teen etiquette for issues involving swearing, curfews and much more. Good manners define a person and, if you or anyone in your family could benefit from some excellent advice on the topic, this book will repay its price many times over.

Laura C. Dyer is mother of two and a speech-language pathologist who has written Little Language for Little Ones ($12.95, Little Language, PO Box 161, LaVergne, TN 37086) a companion to Little Language Songs that also comes on cassette for $9.95 and is available at www.littlelanguage.com. Some parents worry if a child is slow to show language recognition or skills. These books and the cassette teach how to encourage your baby to make early sounds, even before words are expected. The concept she describes is easy to learn and will give any baby a fast track to language skills. A longtime friend of mine, Edith Lynn Hornik-Beer, has written many interesting books in her long career. Happily, For Teenagers Living With a Parent Who Abuses Alcohol/Drugs ($10.95, iUniverse.Com) is back in print. It has been cited as an excellent resource by The Betty Ford Center and groups such as the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, and many others. This book addresses this persistent problem in the lives of many teens and, most importantly, it provides lots of information and encouragement for teens who have to cope with a parent with a big problem. It answers all the questions and, if you know someone who needs a copy, tell them to go to backinprint.com to get one.

Dr. Margaret A. Mahony, MD, has written the compelling book, Saving the Soul of Medicine ($21.95, Robert D. Reed Publishers, San Francisco, CA) that is cry to get control over a health system now fully in the control of the insurance industry. The book indicts management health care (HMOs) with the stories of real people who have suffered at its hands. The impact on physicians and other health care professionals and employees crushes the reason they got into this career, to offer care for the sick. Instead, the patient-doctor relationship is being corrupted by managed care mandates. This is a very important book on a subject that touches everyone’s life. I received a call from Dr. Ludmil A. Chotkowski, MD, who has written Chiropractic: The Greatest Hoax of the Century? ($14.95, New England Books, 1143 Chamberlain Highway, Kensington, CT 06037) a book that looks at chiropractic and finds it wanting on many levels. He makes a very compelling case to avoid this form of health care, documenting why it is no more risk free than conventional methods. If you want to learn more about this, I would certainly recommend his book.

I confess I was instantly interested in How to Quit Church Without Quitting God – 7 Good Reasons to Escape the Box by Martin Zender ($19.95, Starke & Hartman, Inc., PO Box 6473, Canton, OH 44706) because the author, a Bible Scholar, lays out such a bold program, asking the reader to make a spiritual trip to rediscover what they feel about God without relying on all the rules that formal religious organizations and institutions require. In effect, he says, "Believe in God no matter what the clergy say." And he says a lot more in such an informed, entertaining, and challenging way that one experiences a whole series of epiphanies as they make their way through this delightful look at how religion works in our lives. If questions of the spirit matter to you, don’t miss the opportunity to "get out of the box" by reading this book.

A Little Joy, A Little Oy: Jewish Wit and Wisdom by Marnie Winston-Macauley ($9.95, Andrews McMeal Publishing) is a fat, funny, and, ultimately, very informative book about Jews and Judaism. A vivid reminders of how the descendents of those first Jews, 3,500 years ago, include Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin, Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Arthur Miller, and countless others who have made huge contributions to the human race. And then there were those like Jack Benny, George Burns, the Marx Brothers, Rodney Dangerfield and others who made us laugh. Open it to any page and you will find something interesting and amusing to read.

Finally, for those with a book of your own to share with the world, I recommend you pick up a copy of How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal by Stephen Blake Mettee ($12.95, Quill Driver Books, 1831 Industrial Way, #101, Sanger, CA 93657). This book will tell you how to "sell" that book idea so that it will attract the attention of an editor or an agent. The proposal holds the key to getting published and it better be good. This book tells you how to make it happen. Another excellent new book is Writer’s Market FAQs by Peter Rubie ($18.95, Writer’s Digest Books) that, as the title says, answers Frequently Asked Questions about every aspect of the business of writing a book and getting it done from the idea to the bookstore. For anyone with any writing ambitions, I would recommend getting this book and avoiding a lot of wasted time and effort, finding the answers the hard way. And everything you ever wanted to know about the history of the footnote can be found in The Devil’s Details by Chuck Zerby ($24.00, Invisible Cities Press, Montpelier, VT). It’s an interesting, but weird little academic journey.

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If you enjoyed the PBS documentary about Mark Twain that aired last month, you may want to pick up Mark Twain Tonight! And Letters from the Earth (Audio Editions) one-man performances by Hal Holbrook and by McAvoy Layne, respectively. The former will make you laugh from beginning to end while the latter reflects Twain’s later years which, though entertaining, took on a dark edge to his humor. Other Audio Edition’s Twain titles include Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with which he cemented his fame as one of America’s greatest writers.

Other Audio Editions titles worth noting include Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun, a six CD edition read by David Suchet, the actor who portrays Hercule Poirot in the television series. There’s also a four cassette edition of The Essential King James Bible featuring the best-known, complete stories from the Old and New Testaments. One of the best-loved novels of the 20^th century, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith is also available on cassettes, telling a story of first love and an eccentric family living in an old British castle. If you’re a romantic, it will capture your heart. Coming full circle back to Twain, there’s an interesting book by Ron Powers, Tom and Huck Don’t Live Here Anymore, about the true-life murders in 1997 that occurred in Hannibal, Missouri, Twain’s hometown. Powers explores his own childhood there in the 1940’s while telling the story of the killings.

Children will enjoy Foolish Folks, a CD by Cathy Kaemmerlen who adopted tales from Norway and Persia, among others, to delight the young. They are available at $15.00, plus $2 postage/handing from Dancing Tales/Tattling Tales Productions, 1857 Jackson’s Creek Drive, Marietta, GA 30068 or you can visit her website at www.tattlingtales.com. Taking the kids for a long drive? Pop this CD in your car’s player and you won’t hear "Are we there yet?"

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If Enron can go belly-up from bad management (and alleged misdeeds) and K-Mart can be staggering, it should come as no surprise that the shelves of bookstores are filled with books that are filled with advice on how to avoid disaster and insure success, both personally and for one’s career or business. Let’s look at a few.

The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization by Tomas Larsson ($18.95, Cato Institute), in the words of P.J. O’Rourke, tells "the story of the expansion of individual liberty and personal responsibility." Globalization sounds like something that multi-national corporations do, but it is really the story of what happens when ordinary people around the world have a chance to turn their ideas and skills into the production of goods that, if they could be freely sold, would jump-start their lives and the economies of their nations. Instead, what we find are so-called ‘anti-dumping’ laws and stories about globalization that ignore how free enterprise holds the key to a prosperous world. The author traveled all over to gather the stories in this book that demonstrate how everyone benefits from international competition. By contrast, many international organizations and treaties work against the freeing up of free enterprise.

Suppose you had a chance to travel around the globe and meet the most powerful business leaders? Jeffrey E. Garten took that trip and the result is The Mind of the C.E.O ($17.00, Perseus Publishing/Basic Books) to reveal the truth of their hopes and fears, and their vision for the future. They live with incredible pressures and, in this book, they speak openly of those challenges. It is a remarkable book that provides invaluable insight to the problems of providing the goods and services that contribute to prosperous societies providing employment, investment opportunities, and a better life for everyone. Stakeholder Power ($28.00, Perseus) by Steven F. Walker and Jeffrey W. Marr examines a company’s stakeholder relationships to achieve a company’s full potential. This is a serious book about a serious subject that CEOs think about all the time. A paperback from the same publisher, Spooked: Espionage in Corporate America by Adam L. Penenberg and Marc Barry ($16.00, Perseus) is filled with extraordinary stories of the lengths some corporations will go to find out what their competition is doing. Real life corporate spying is just as fascinating as the more glorified spying between nations.

Books about personal success are always popular. Get Ahead: Scovil’s 7 Rules for Success in Management ($20.95, Longstreet Press) is a compilation of mini-case studies that tap into the author’s experience as an international executive. These are the basic principles for hiring, delegating authority, mastering inter-office politics, and just doing the best job possible so you get noticed and advance. A good book for the busy executive or the student about to enter the world of business. Simplify Your Work Life by Elaine St. James ($9.95, Hyperion) is filled with excellent advice on how to balance your work life and your personal life to get the most out of both. It’s Not Business, It’s Personal by Ronna Lichtenberg ($14.95, Hyperion) looks at one’s priorities and explores how one’s relationships with colleagues, clients, and competitors play an essential role in our success. It is filled with wisdom. These three books are short, easy to read, and work their price ten times over.

Project Management for Dummies ($21.99, Hungry Minds, Inc) will tell you how to get the job done and within budget. The author, Stanley E. Portny, is a certified project manager and this book can keep that pink slip from your door with its clear explanation of the various steps required to avoid wasted time and money. The first rule, says Portny, is "Don’t assume anything!" Fearless Cold Calling by Dr. Mark Sanford, Ph.D. ($9.95, Sanford Associates, 99 El Toyonal, Orinda, CA 94563) can help anyone who has to pick up the phone to make a sale. It is filled with terrific advice to overcome one’s own fears and the initial resistance of the potential customer by not being overwhelmed by the rejection factor. I am always amazed how little books like these reveal so much useful insight and information.

Anytime, Anywhere by Robert Spector ($27.00, Perseus) examines how a devotion to delivering seamless service to one’s customers is the key to success in this world of web sites, mail-order catalogs, and telephone orders is what business is all about these days. The author profiles the pioneering efforts of an eclectic group of companies such as FedEx, Land’s End, and Nordstrom, have found success in the new era of bricks-and-clicks. The strategies discussed can be applied to any company, large or small. Two other books take a look at how to go from idea to a full-blown business and do so successfully. Ban the Humorous Bazooka by Mark Henry Sebell with Jeanne Yocum ($25.00, Dearborn Trade) is a resource for conducting oneself in business these days in ways that avoid the many pitfalls and roadblocks that exist. This is a book about innovation that leads to profits. The Mouse Driver Chronicles by John Lusk and Kyle Harrison ($24.00, Perseus) is the true-life story of two first-time entrepreneurs who graduated from Wharton in 1999 and decided to take the idea for a single product and market it. While many of their fellow graduates became millionaires in the dot-com craze, these two kept a daily diary of their efforts and the book about their roller-coaster ride is the result. It is humorous and filled with invaluable insights.

Personal finance is a favorite topic of business books, so let’s look at three new titles on the topic. The CNBC Guide to Money & Markets by Jeff Wuorio ($16.95, Wiley) is a slick paperback with advice on how to set personal goals and develop an investment program, dealing with risk tolerance, picking stocks or mutual funds, how futures and options work, et cetera. In short, a book for the person who needs to jump-start himself or herself if all this is new and confusing. After reading this book, it will begin to make sense. The Busy Woman’s Guide to Financial Freedom by Vickie L. Bajtelsmit ($17.95, Amacom) provides all the basics to achieve financial independence while running an office, taking care of the kids, and getting dinner on the table. It is filled with good advice. J.K. Lasser’s Winning With Your 401 (K) by my friend, Grace W. Weinstein ($16.95, Wiley) is the ideal book for the more than 34 million Americans who have invested their money and faith in the retirement plans known as 401 (k)s and have an average account balance exceeding $50,000. It is often difficult to get such advice and her in-depth guide explains how these plans work and the countless tax rules that affect them. Grace has written a dozen top-ranked business books over her career and I would trust her with my last dollar!

A lot of folks are getting laid off as the result of the recession and Lawrence A. Stuenkel has written a book, From Here to There: A Self-Paced Program for Transition in Employment ($32.00, Facts on Demand Press, Tempe, AZ). It is now in its fifth edition and comes with a CD-ROM that contains the "Perfect Resume Builder." In brief, this book is filled with the nitty-gritty of finding a new job, whether you’re currently employed or unemployed. There are lots of examples offered, along with proven strategies, from using the Internet to all the interview questions you will ever be asked. It’s wonderful that you can have a book like this that will guide you through the process of securing a new job.

Thinking about starting a web site business? Well, the single most complete and authoritative reference available is The Ultimate Web Developer’s Sourcebook by Jessica Keyes ($49.99, Amacom) and it runs over 780 pages, is two and a half inches thick, and worth every penny! The author is a noted authority on the science and business of technology and the book has contributions from more than thirty web development experts. It is a one-stop guide and reference that will enhance any existing site and help insure the success of a new one.

Once you have read this book, you had better also read The Internet Legal Guide by Dennis M. Powers ($24.95, Wiley), an attorney who has done a first class job of providing "everything you need to know when doing business online." He’s not bragging either. This book will teach you how to protect yourself from unwanted e-business or legal problems, avoid cyberlaw pitfalls, and get the most from your Net operations. Doing business on the Internet is a brave new world in many respects and this book will guide you through the legal aspects.

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Kids Can Press has also published If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith and illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong ($15.95). It provides information about the various nationalities, languages and religions of the world with a subtle message that some people have more than others. What is not explained is why. The people with more live in industrialized nations with democratic forms of government while the others live in nations afflicted by despotism and ignorance. I liked The Wright Brothers: A Flying Start by Elizabeth MacLeod ($14.95) that tells a straightforward story about these early pioneers of flight. The spring catalog of this publisher (www.kidscanpress.com) is filled with some terrific stories and non-fiction that any parent would want his child to have.

I rather liked Morgan the Dog by Heather Irbinkas and illustrated by Andra King ($14.95, Five Star Publications, PO Box 6698, Chandler, AZ 85246-6698) that tells the story of a mixed-breed Welsh Corgi that is rescued from an animal shelter by Brittany. Thereafter, in a sudden rainstorm, Brittany is saved from drowning in a stream by Morgan. This is the first, we’re told, of a series based on Morgan and, if they are as good as this story, kids will definitely enjoy them. Five Star has an impressive line of books for young readers, including a series called Shakespeare for Children that tells the stories of plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night, among others. They Andi O’Malley series by Celeste M. Messer will please young girls. They have a wide range of books, including those for adults. Check them out a www.BookProducer.com.

American Indian culture is the backdrop to two new paperbacks by Marilyn Meredith, Deadly Omen and Yoked ($7.95, Golden Eagle Press, PO Box 80187, Bakersfield, CA 93380-0187). These two stories are part of the Tempe Crabtree mystery series about a woman, part Yanduchi, learning about her Indian heritage while adjusting to a new marriage and raising her teenage son. Her husband is the minister of the local church and this creates some tension, along with her penchant for solving crimes. To learn more about this prolific author and her nine other books, visit www.fictionforyou.com.