There are certain books and ideas with which an individual should be acquainted if he or she is to consider themselves educated in any sense of the word. Last year I had high praise for a series called "Penguin Books Great Ideas." There were twelve, short, beautifully designed titles last year, easy enough to slip into a purse or the inner pocket of one’s suit jacket. This year the series returns with twelve more that include The Art of War by Sun-Tzu, a 2,000-year-old ultimate guide to winning, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Eichmann and the Holocaust by Hannah Arendt, A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft, and Where I lived and What I lived For by Thoreau. These slim, classic masterpieces that influenced their times and those that followed, are just $8.95 each. Penguin is producing what amounts to a small library of some of the most seminal thinking of Western civilization—for good or ill—that includes Plato, Francis Bacon, Thorstein Veblen, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Karl Marx. This is just a wonderful series!

What if I told you there was a book that even a person with no scientific knowledge could read and understand that would dispel all your fears about "global warming", nuclear energy, "ozone holes", and much of what the daily media tells you poses a terrible threat to the Earth and you? What if I told you the book was written by a retired submarine officer with a B.S. in oceanography and meteorology from the University of Washington and a M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering from California Coast University? What if I told you that, after reading The Chicken Little Agenda ($23.00, Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, LA) you would be the best informed, smartest person in the room when someone began to tell everyone that the Earth was doomed, there’s no way to provide electricity without producing greenhouse gases, blah, blah, blah! This is hands-down the best book I have read in a very long time when it comes to explaining and debunking the kind of nonsense in Al Gore’s new film or the cover stories of Time and other so-called news magazines. Do yourself a very big favor and read it.

Ann Coulter, the conservative columnist, surely delights her audience with her wit and her take-no-prisoners style of writing. She already has a number of bestsellers to her credit and she has returned with Godless: The Church of Liberalism ($27.95, Crown Forum) in which she examines what she believes is liberal hostility to traditional religion and, in particular, the Judeo-Christian values that have guided the nation since its inception. Coulter is now long accustomed to evoking controversy and this book immediately stirred up a great deal when she criticized four widows of 9-11 who benefited from receiving significant compensation for the loss of their husbands and then became media darlings when they blamed 9-11 on President Bush. As Coulter points out, the roots of 9-11 all took place during the Clinton administration and resulted in part from "the wall" between intelligence agencies and the FBI created by a Clinton deputy attorney general who, amazingly, was one of the 9-11 commissioners! As we now know, the President was never informed of anything other than threats of an attack and that warning was based on data from 1999 and earlier. This book is also quite good in the way it attacks the misuse of science to achieve liberal goals. It will create even more controversy as she takes on the stars of the Democrat Party, Supreme Court decisions, the media and just about every element of society that reflects the liberal agenda.

I told the publicist for The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save it from Itself that this book had the worst title ever for its actual topic. Written by Lawrence E. Harrison ($28.00, Oxford University Press), with a title like that I was sure I was in for a polemic supporting politically liberal points of view, but this is a very serious and scholarly book that examines the cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes that account for why some nations and societies have thrived by embracing democracy, civil justice, and capitalism, while others have remained insular and resistant to change. Drawing on a three-year research project that explored the cultural values of dozens of nations, the author offers a provocative look at the way those values have propelled or retarded political and economic progress. The title is drawn from a quote from the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself." My money is on culture every time!

It’s just a hoot! The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters by Aneva Stout ($12.95, Workman Publishing) is 94 pages of laughs that will take any girl or woman searching for Mr. Right on a journey she will instantly recognize and enjoy. The "chapters" are just one-liners that progress from the hunt to find Mr. Right, making one’s way through some Mr. Wrong’s, shopping, getting feedback from your girlfriend, agonizing over the relationship, and then, miracle of miracles, actually finding and marrying the man who wanders into your life unexpectedly. Totally different, but very interesting in its own right is Chinese Fables as selected and retold by Mary W. Ng ($12.95, Aim Publishing, PO Box 29545, Maple Ridge BC, Canada V2X 0V2, softcover). It is a 128-page collection of 90 Chinese fables that either teach a useful lesson or offer food for thought. China is an ancient civilization with a culture to match. Thus it has had time to create and pass along the kind of brief tales that will interest anyone who wants glean some insight into Chinese culture, as well as for parents to use when discussing and teaching values to their children. You can visit www.aimpublishing.com to secure a copy.

One of the reasons for the "My Picks of the Month" section of this report on new books is the opportunity to take note of the truly unique, a book of unusual merit that might not get much notice in the mainstream media. Such is the case with David C. Homsher’s American Battlefields of World War I: Chateau-Thierry – Then and Now. Its list price is $39.95, but Amazon.com will ship you a copy for $25.17. There are history buffs who like to learn about and visit the sites of major battles and Chateau-Thierry, France, was a place that became part of the lore of the 3^rd Infantry Division during World War I. This book comes with 285 photos, 22 maps, and 58 illustrations, and is volume one of a projected series. You can learn more at www.battlegroundpro.com. Suffice it to say that in late May of 1918, this was the place where Americans fought the advancing German Army and decisively stopped their march towards Paris. Some 200,000 members of the American Expeditionary Forces would pass through this French city on their way to other battles such as the one at Belleau Wood. Its format is the only one I have ever seen that demonstrates the "then and now" of a significant battle. If you know someone who has an interest in WWI, this book will bring it to life.

Still trying to figure out where to go for a fun, affordable vacation? Why not the Ozarks? They’re right here in the heart of the U.S. of A. and, happily, my pal, Ron Marr has written a great book, The Ozarks: An Explorer’s Guide (Countryman Press, an imprint of W.W. Norton, available at a special pre-publication price at www.Amazon.com). Due out officially in September, this guide includes Branson, Springfield, and NW Arkansas as it takes you on a fun and funny romp through the fabled heart of America. Long regarded as a haven for rebels, hillbillies, moonshiners, and other assorted mavericks, today the Ozarks are chock full of old-time Bluegrass jams, the bright lights of Branson that rival the sin city of Las Vegas without the slot machines, and everything from hog calling contests to classical music concerts. If you’re looking for some of the best eating in the country, the Ozarks offer everything from tin-roofed rib shacks to some five-star restaurants. In short, it’s just a great place to take the whole family and the guide will prove invaluable, informative, and an instant classic in its own right.

I don’t generally include cookbooks in Bookviews unless they are quite unusual in some respect and that certainly describes Superfoods for Babies and Children by Annabel Karmel ($24.95, Atria Books, andimprint of Simon & Schuster). Parents want to insure that their children, from infancy on, eat the healthiest foods possible, but they quickly discover there is a difference between what children should eat and will eat! This book contains a wealth of information about what to feed a child at various stages of its life from infancy through three years and up. It is filled with mouthwatering full color photos and tons of data and more than 130 recipes that will turn early childhood into a culinary delight while mother gets to learn all the good things she needs to know about how to avoid food allergies and how to deal with common childhood complaints such as colic, constipation, and eczema. Feeding a growing child correctly is perhaps the best thing one can do to promote growth and energy, and to boost immunity and brainpower.

Since it is the rare person who actually makes a living as a book reviewer, in my other life I have long been a public relations counselor. A younger colleague of mine, Robert Smith, has written and edited a slim, but excellent book, Million Dollar Press Release, that can give anyone a quick, effective lesson on how to apply public relations to improve your business, professional career, or non-profit enterprise. Subtitled a "guide to boosting profits using free publicity & advertising", it lives up to its promise. I am, of course, a bit biased because I contributed one of its short chapters. Other contributors are well known names in the PR profession. To get your copy, it’s $17.00 and you can learn more about it at www.myprbook.com.

Somewhat along the same lines is Author 101: Bestselling Book Publicity: The Insider’s Guide to Promoting Your Book and Yourself by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman ($12.95, Adams Media, Avon, MA). Publishers Weekly estimates that as many as 150,000 books are published annually. I have even heard the figure of 200,000 and assume that takes in the many self-published books as well. Of the total, whatever it may be, only about 475 make it to the national bestseller lists. Two publicists have gotten together to take authors behind the scenes to show them how publishers market their books while providing a crash course in how to do so for oneself. Frishman is president of Planned Television Arts and Ms. Spizman is an author of dozens of inspirational and educational nonfiction books who is also cofounder of a successful public relations firm that specializes in book publicity. Suffice it to say, this book is filled with good advice for any author in need of the essential ingredient for selling a book these days, publicity, publicity, publicity!

Doing It For Money: The Agony and Ecstasy of Writing and Surviving in Hollywood (24.95, Tallfellow Press, Los Angeles, CA) brings together 48 top film and television writers to tell the real story about making it in the entertainment business. Published in conjunction with the Writers Guild Foundation and edited by Daryl G. Nickens, this is a lot of straight talk from writers whose names you might not know, but who were behind some of the top films and television series. They don’t hold back in their personal essays or their behind-the-scenes tips that will either scare you into doing something else or tempt you to try your hand. Along the same lines is Roadmap to Stardom: How to Break Into Acting in Hollywood by Rif K. Haffar ($17.95, Ameera Publishing, Hermosa Beach, CA, softcover), which probably should be mandatory reading for every young, aspiring actor or actress with hopes of becoming a star or at least a supporting player. Books like this are invaluable for their advice, insights, and the resources they recommend. Everything from how to get an agent, join the Screen Actors Guild, and successfully audition are included, along with the answers to tons of other questions.

Finally, if you are curious about an Islam that can inspire men to commit suicide in order to kill innocent people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, then you could read Sayyid Qutb’s Basic Principles of Islamic Worldview ($34.95/$24.95, Mizan Press, Islamic Publications International, 5 Sicomac Rd., North Haledon, NJ 07508, hard and softcover). Qutb was executed in 1966 by the Egyptian government as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but before he died, he had authored a number of books whose views on Islam shaped the views of many who now lead al Qaeda or reflect the Wahabi branch of Islam. A man of considerable intellect, Qutb, who received a master’s degree after spending nearly two years in the U.S., was an acetic who was deeply offended by the American culture and that of the Western nations. He also regarded both Judaism and Christianity as virtually pagan faiths. Read this book and look into the minds of those guiding the Islamic revolution.

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The Lives of Real People

One could probably fill up the corner of a library with biographies of John F. Kennedy, the nation’s 35^th President, but Barbara Leaming has done something significant. She has revealed the profound influence on Kennedy’s philosophy that is represented by British history, literature, and values. In Jack Kennedy: The Education of a Statesman ($26.95, W.W. Norton & Company) the former biographer of Katherine Hepburn examines how Kennedy embraced the speeches and writings of Winston Churchill. In his famed 1961 inaugural, Kennedy moved to take up Churchill’s mantle in the postwar world. This biography goes well beyond those that have dwelled on some of the less flattering aspects of JFK’s life and his brief time in office. It reveals his intellectual growth and why he sought the highest office in the land. Meticulously researched and extremely well written, this is a welcome addition to JFK biographies.

The politics of the nation have been roiled by the issue of illegal immigration. If you would like to learn about it from ground level, then I recommend The Reaper’s Line: Life and Death on the Mexican Border by Lee Morgan II, a retired Special Agent of the U.S. Customs Service. After service in Vietnam, Morgan spent 31 years on the Arizona border ($25.00, Rio Nuevo Publishers/W.W. Norton & Company). Due off the press officially in September, you can visit www.rionuevo.com to order your copy and I recommend that you do in order to learn what it has really been like to protect the border and what it will take to secure the future from what is an unprecedented flow of illegal aliens and the drug smugglers. Told as a memoir of his life, this is the story of a few out-gunned and out-numbered U.S. lawmen who had the nerve to make a stand in the face of unprecedented official corruption by both U.S. and Mexican officials who sold their souls to the drug lords. It is a story told with unvarnished language, the kind anyone who has served in the military or maybe grew up in Texas would quickly recognize and, frankly, enjoy. It is also the story of the effort to save the lives of ordinary Mexicans desperate to cross the border for a better life. "To know the Mexican people is to love them," writes Morgan, but he hated the corruption and crime he’s witnessed and fought on both sides of the border.

Underwater to Get Out of the Rain by Trevor Norton ($25.00, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA) is the story of the author’s fascination with the sea. This is part memoir, part natural history, and part anecdote, bya professor of marine biology at the University of Liverpool and director of Port Erin Marine Laboratory on the Isle of Man. I grant you that this might not sound like "bestseller" material, but for anyone who has a love of nature, this is a delightful insight into the life of a man who grew up beside the sea, marveling that both he and the world were seven-tenths salt water, that his blood had almost the identical chemical composition as the seas and that, in the womb, he’d even had gills. Norton tells of his transformation from an unruly child to a respected scholar and marine biologist with a book that will both enchant and educate. Romancing Spain by Lamar Herrin ($23.95, Unbridled Books, Denver, CO) is an unusual memoir by an author with several highly regarded books to his credit. It is the story of how Lamar met his Spanish wife more than thirty years ago and then had to fight to marry her as he ran up against custom, church objections, and bureaucracy. Despite this, he also fell in love with Spain and this memoir also tells how their return to find the perfect pueblo in which to retire after having been a professor of creative writing and contemporary literature at Cornell University. In all respects, it will provide a wonderful summer reading experience.

The world of today’s top chefs may initially not sound like a book one would eagerly want to read, but The Reach of A Chef: Beyond the Kitchen by Michael Ruhlman ($27.95, Viking) is about more than being a chef. The author is a gifted writer whose previous books, The Soul of a Chef and The Making of a Chef, have earned him many fans. Anthony Bourdain, who has a show on The Travel Channel, calls him "the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs—and on the business of preparing food." In this new book Ruhlman examines the influence and power of this dynamic profession in the post-Julia Child, Food Network, era. Beginning in the kitchen of Per Se, the most expensive and newest four-star Manhattan restaurant owned by Thomas Keller and ending in the kitchen of Keller’s finest protégé, at the Chicago restaurant Alinea, the book explores the fast paced evolution of today’s top chefs, many of whom have become celebrities.

Fats Domino, the now legendary musician, early icon of rock’n roll, has at last been the subject of a biography. Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock’n Roll by Rick Coleman ($26.95, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA) tells his story and gives him credit for getting rock’n roll on its way to capture the heart of an entire generation. In reply to a question about rock’n roll back in 1956 when it was beginning to have a marked cultural impact, a reporter asked Fats how it began and he replied, "Well, what they call rock’n roll is rhythm and blues, and I’ve been playing it for fifteen years in New Orleans." In many ways, the fame of Elvis Presley obscured the work of black pioneers like Domino and this biography helps put things in perspective. This is a rare glimpse into the personal life of a reclusive musician, celebrating not just his music, but his sixty-year marriage and his work ethic. If you love rock’n roll, you will definitely want to read this wonderful book.

For history buffs, Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady ($15.00, Penguin softcover) tells the story of a woman who has been, for the most part, invisible until this excellent biography was written. Now available in a low-cost version, it brings to life a person who played a very important role in the life of the most preeminent Founding Father. During the course of their marriage, she would become an able landowner, a strong patriot, and by all reports a good counselor and support to her husband.

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Getting Down to Business (Books)

Summer may not seem the right time to be reading about financial affairs, sales and marketing, and the lives of successful business people, but the truth is that any time is a good time. In a time when you cannot turn on the television without being deluged by commercials offering to loan you money or to get you out of debt, when entire channels deal with business news 24/7, too many people are still struggling to just cover the cost of living.

Are You Financially Checkmate? That’s the question Tom Graneau, Sr. asks in his new book ($21.99, Publish Writers, Temecula, CA, softcover), in which he asserts that you "live in an economic culture designed to keep you broke." There’s a lot of truth to that and Graneau teaches you how to succeed financially by avoiding the seven major economic traps while empowering you to use financial strategies to put you in control. Another author who wants to help you is Jenifer Madson who has written A Financial Minute: From Money Madness to Financial Freedom One Minute At A Time ($14.95, Clear Vision Press, Erie, CO, softcover). She offers twenty-four practical steps for developing a personal relationship with money that will help break bad habits in order to insure financial stability. She has built multi-million dollar franchise enterprises, led branch offices for a financial services firm, and developed a following for her approach to transforming oneself financially. If you have money problems or know someone who has, this book will prove useful. The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do has one of those great titles that is hard to resist. Loral Langemeier ($24.95, McGraw-Hill) says that, even if you have financial problems and a limited income, you too can create real, sustainable wealth and the freedom that comes with it. She offers her wealth-building system that has reportedly worked for thousands of ordinary people, teaching them how to eliminate debt while creating a diversified stream of cash, how to invest to produce more cash, and how to cover the costs of owning a home, sending your children to college, and still have enough left over for an enjoyable retirement. If her system works, then the price of the book is a good investment.

According to AARP, seven out of ten workers age 45 or older plan to work during their retirement years. By 2010, the number of American workers ages 55 to 64 will grow by an estimated 52%, Just in time to help them is Richard Fein’s new book, The Baby Boomer’s Guide to the New Workplace ($14.94, Taylor trade Publishing, Lanham, MD, softcover). Fein, the founding Director of the Isenberg School of Management Career Services Center at the University of Massachusetts, addresses concerns from exploring new career options to being financial secure. Working past retirement age, says Fein, can bring many issues, such as suddenly being at the bottom of the ladder after having worked at a higher level. This is a good motivational handbook and is filled with good advice. For jobseekers, the publisher to check out is Brookhaven Press of McKees Rocks, PA. Brookhaven’s latest releases include two softcover books, Health Care Job Explosion! ($19.95) and The Book of U.S. Government Jobs ($21.95) that is now in its 9^th edition.

In the world of business, everything comes down to sales! Let’s look at some new books on the topic. Kim T. Gordon has written Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business ($18.95, Kaplan Publishing, Chicago, IL, softcover) that is a treasure trove of advice about a topic that is among the top concerns of small business owners and managers. Often limited by tight budgets and limited time, this is an area that can prove the Achilles heal for business. Gordon reveals the smartest strategies, along with creative twists on tried-and-true marketing methods that are focused on increasing sales. The book is partially based on 30 small businesses’ success stories so you’re not getting pie-in-the-sky advice, but the real thing. In a similar fashion, Richard S. Gallagher has written Great Customer Connections ($21.95, Amacom, softcover) to provide lessons in basic behavioral psychology that can translate into good service and increased business. The application of the advice this book offers may just turn your flat-lining business around to make customers feel good about themselves and your business. Ultimately, identifying your company’s competitive advantage in order to give customers a reason to choose your product or service can hold the key to success. Creating Competitive Advantage by Jaynie L. Smith ($19.95, Currency, an imprint of Doubleday) with William G. Flanagan provides the blueprint to achieve this goal. This book has been hailed by other leading business writers and by CEOs who know that differentiation also means being able to communicate what is different or better. Ms. Smith has established herself as a leading consultant in this critical area and her book demonstrates why.

There is an equal need for internal connections or relationships in any business and there is no end to books that examine the topic. One of the latest is The DNA of Leadership by Judith E. Glaser ($24.95, Platinum Press, an imprint of Adams Media, Avon, MA), the author of Creating We that the Business Book Review called one of the best business books of 2005. In her new book, this leadership coach has set out to identify the leadership behaviors that can destroy or grow business on the most fundamental level. Glaser examines how a leader’s behaviors, beliefs, and style as well as his or her ability to communicate and build teams, directly determines a company’s genetic code. This book has an authenticity that is often missing in other "leadership" tomes.

The Giants of Sales: What Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success is one of those titles that says it all ($19.95, Amacom). Written by Tom Sant, this book is an introduction to the techniques developed by four legendary sales giants while offering concrete examples of how they still work today. Nothing beats success and learning the lessons from the success of others is one of the best ways to make it happen for you. One more such story is Shelf Life, an autobiography by A.J. Scribante, a man who turned $500 into millions in the grocery industry ($27.95, Regnery). Scribante developed MAJERS Corporation into one of the largest privately held marketing and consulting firms in the nation. From humble beginnings in his father’s bakery, through his early days as a salesman, and later as an entrepreneur, the author says he learned to look at every event in his life as a potential opportunity. He created a company that gathered information about grocery trade promotions from cities across the country and shared it with their clients. When he sold his company in 1986, it was valued at $65 million. Now he runs a company providing sales training products and tools. Here’s a man who, as they say, has been there and done that.

With the end of the trial of Enron’s top executives who will be spending years behind bars, we are reminded that the dark side of business can make for interesting reading as well. Ken Walton has written Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay ($21.95, Simon & Schuster), the true story of how art trading, speculation, and forgery collided with cyberspace to set in motion an international scandal that rocked the art world, made headlines, and led to a federal felony conviction. As always, truth outdoes fiction. Walton was a lawyer until he became an eBay art trader in December 1998. Over time, his online sales tactics became increasingly fraudulent, culminating in the $135,858 sale of a forged painting in May 2000. He went from online art-trading hobbyists to a partnership with Ken Fetterman, described as a surprisingly effective con man. Together, they took in thousands of dollars by selling forged paintings while bidding on their own auctions to drive up the prices. Both were brought to justice. All of which makes for some very interesting reading!

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Kid Stuff: From Rugrats to Teens

Summer is a great time to encourage young people to just kick back and read for the sheer pleasure of it. It’s a great way to chase away boredom.

There’s been a growth in a genre called graphic novels. Tim Eldred, a comic book creator and television show animator, can add author to his credits with Grease Monkey ($27.95, Tor), a terrific coming-of-age tale set on a space station. This is a good way for a younger reader to segue from comic books to full-scale stories told with graphics, but longer and more involved. This is fun for all ages and even I found myself flipping through the pages in a story set in the future where a mysterious alien attack has wiped out most of humanity. The survivors, with the aid of an interstellar race of benefactors, had taken to living in space, along with "accelerated" gorillas that now live side by side with humans. The best mechanic on board is Mac, a gorilla, and he becomes friends with Robin Plotnik, a newbie cadet. There’s a lot more and it’s all fun. To check out his work, you can visit www.starblazers.com.

Pre-Teen girls, those age 10 through 12, will thoroughly enjoy My Brother the Dog by Kim Williams-Justesen ($6.95, Tanglewood Press, Terre Haute, IN) in which Mattie is required to babysit her four-year-old brother, Donny, over the summer who, for some reason, has decided to act like a dog! He answers most things with "arf." And, at the same time, her best friend Livvy’s dreamy brother, Nate, has finally begun to take notice of her even if Livvy is not thrilled about it. It’s a summer of choices regarding taking on responsibility, about new relationships, about friendship. That these issues are addressed in a constantly funny way is a tribute to the author’s fine hand. Older teen girls will enjoy Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson ($8.99, HarperCollins) in which we follow the experiences of three Georgia girls, Birdie, Leeda, and Murphy, who discover the secret to finding the right boy, making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach. It’s great reading for the summer months. This age group will also enjoy Sarah Weeks’ Jumping the Scratch ($15.99, HarperCollins) in which Jamie Reardon discovers that bad things do come in three’s, concluding with his aunt Sapphy having an accident that causes her memory to skip. This is an intriguing story about the mysteries of memory by an author for young adults who is earning a heap of awards for her work.

Girls aged 12 and older will enjoy Rachel Vail has written You, Maybe: A Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School ($15.99, HarperCollins) about the first time love for a girl who has always been independent and indifferent to what anyone thinks about her, especially where boys are concerned. That changes when the hottest senior takes an interest in her. Can she resist? Nope! Another novel for this age group is Michele Dominguez Greene’s Chasing the Jaguar ($15.99, HarperCollins) and it’s a hoot as Martike Galvez, a Latino version of Nancy Drew, who not only must cope with the separation of her parents, an apartment in a gang-ridden neighborhood, nightmares about a creepy jaguar, but also the discovery that she is a "curandera", a witch whose psychic powers land her in the midst of a kidnapping case!

And there’s more for girls that will make this summer a special time for self-improvement. For example, Real Fitness: 101 Games and Activities to Get Girls Going! It’s just one of several new books from American Girl. Another book on the same topic is Sports Secrets and Spirit Stuff, part of the publisher’s Advice & Activity line that offers fun activities, games, and sports to get girls out of bed and excelling on the field and in the classroom. It is a unique package of several items that include advice and idea books, a "Sports A to Z" guide, a mini notepad, 2 mini posters, and a whole bunch of other fun stuff. It will work wonders for those 8 to 10 years of age. Then, as a back to school helper, there’s American Girl’s new School Smarts Planner filled with punctuation rules, commonly misspelled words, a multiplication table, and more. There’s a three-week daily planner that serves as a countdown to the first day back in school that lets girls prepare for the year ahead. This publisher has countless excellent books and other items designed specifically to meet the interests and needs of girls. To learn more, visit www.americangirl.com.

Where’s a good novel for boys, aged 14 and up? Well, how about Judson Roberts’ Viking Warrior: The Strongbow Saga ($16.99, HarperCollins) This is a coming of age story about Halfdan, a slave youth who is good with a bow and arrow, but whose warrior training comes at the price of the loss of his father and the tragic bargain his mother makes for his freedom. Set in times when the destinies of men and boys are forged in battle, this is part one of a series that I suspect any young man introduced to it will want to follow. There is also a Christian spiritual theme to this novel that is contrasted with the savage faith of the Vikings. To learn more, visit www.strongbowsaga.com.

Younger, first readers are in for a treat with a number of books from HarperCollins, a mega-publisher with a special division, www.harperchildrens.com, just for them. For the pre-school set, the toddlers who love lots of pictures to go with the story, they’re abundant in Lisa Brown’s How To Be ($15.99) in which a parent can read the brief text about how to be a bear, a monkey, a turtle and other creatures and, together, how their characteristics can add up to being a very good person. Out this summer is Rob Scotton’s Russell and the Lost Treasure ($15.99). I frankly loved his first book Russell the Sheep and he is back with a delightful new story. Scotton is one of Great Britain’s leading illustrators and the artwork that accompanies the story is wonderful. I am already looking forward to Russell’s next adventure, but for now this one is a winner. Sleepyhead Bear by Lia Westberg Peters and illustrated by Ian Schoenherr ($16.99) takes place on a hot summer day when Bear just wants to sleep, but pesky bugs are buzzing here and there. He tries everything to get away from them that will delight those aged 4 and older. If there’s a dog in your family, then you will instantly "get" Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia MacLachlan and Amily MacLachlan Charest, and illustrated by Katy Schneider ($15.99) as 13 dogs "tell all" concerning what life as a dog is all about. Mostly it’s about love! And, finally, I heartily recommend Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, illustrated by Jane Dyer ($12.99) for youngsters of any age as it provides lessons on what it means to cooperate, to be patient, proud, modest, trustworthy, et cetera. Great illustrations and a simple, direct text make this a book any parent would want to have around the house.

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Novels, Novels, Novels!

Like a lot of people, I discovered Brad Thor through his novel Blowback. Having written four previous novels, I had to wonder why I had not taken notice of him earlier. I am a great fan of adventure-action novels that draw on today’s headlines to add that sense of reality to their characters. His latest novel, Takedown ($25.00, Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) should catapult Thor into the highest ranks of novelists on a par with Robert Ludlum and Nelson DeMille. It is the Fourth of July and Scot Harvath, a former Navy SEAL turned counterterrorism operative is burnt out from a combination of bureaucratic red tape and dodging bullets. Seeking some R & R, he is looking to meet up in New York with an old Special Forces pal. It is five years since 9-11, but on this holiday terrorists set off a series of bombings that destroy every bridge and tunnel leading in or out of the city. Moreover, there’s a bunch of foreign mercenaries looking for a captured Islamic terrorist and there appears to be a breach in security because the terrorists have already hit a number of top-secret intelligence gathering locations in the city. This is summer reading at its best! And, yes, you will not be able to put it down.

You will find suspense of a different kind in The Baby Merchant by Kate Reed ($24.95, Tor). We are all familiar with the high-profile adoption stories featuring Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan, and Nicole Kidman, but imagine a world in which babies become rare? Particularly white babies. Imagine a world where the baby becomes merchandise and new ones are microchipped at birth to prevent theft? Now you have the basis for a novel where a baby merchant will for a price steal a baby for you and one in which a famed newscaster blackmails such a merchant into one last acquisition. Then add in a pregnant artist on the run, stalked by the baby’s father and now the baby merchant. Paul Theroux has acquired a great following as well, thanks to his more than two dozen novels that include The Mosquito Coast and, most recently, Hotel Honolulu. He is also known as a travel writer. He combined his talents and skills in Blinding Light that is now in softcover from Mariner Books ($14.95, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin). This is a slyly satirical novel of "manners and mind expansion" in which a writer with a bad case of mental block sets out for the Ecuadorian jungle with his ex-girlfriend in search of inspiration and a rare hallucinogen. He finds it, but discovers that, while it heightens his powers of perception and his libido, it also renders him blind for periods of time. As he grapples with the delights of this drug and the terrors of blindness, we get to come along for the ride.

Two novels share a common theme of luck. Lucky at Love by Cynthia Hamilton ($22.95, Woodstock Press) has been published this month and presents us with a character, Jake Sorenson, who has been married and divorced seven times! And he is not ruling out another marriage. This is an entertaining story as a journalist, Allison Tyler-Wilcox, encounters Jake who, despite his seven failures, considers himself uncommonly lucky at love. Secure in her own marriage, Allison wants to learn more about this optimist and, in the process the reader learns something about the resiliency of the heart. Just published in April, there’s Lucky Strike by Nancy Zafris ($14.95, Unbridled Books, Denver, CO, softcover), the story of a young widow who is prospecting uranium with her children in Utah in 1954. With two previous novels to her credit, Zafris deftly writes of characters who are not just searching for the precious ore, but for their own identities, for redemption, connection, and even hope. Jean has sped west with her young children to give her serious ill son one last adventure and to escape from the weight of too many failed relationships. Told by multiple narrators, the novel finds its heart in Jean’s daughter who is on the cusp of discovering some hard truths of her own.

Peter Brown’s first novel is Ruthie Black ($14.95, Argonne House Press, Washington, D.C.) and is an expansion on an O. Henry Festival award-winning short story in 2003-4. This novel comes right out of the best traditions of Southern literature and its main character, Ruthie Black, is a feisty survivor, former orphan, temptress, married and widowed by Buddy a shirt salesman, mother of ten-year-old Freddie, and just so much more that you too will fall under her spell. Ruthie’s ambition is to leave Acworth, Georgia, but in order to do that, she had to find a new husband and her efforts in that arena involve her with a budding evangelist on the revival trail. Seen through Freddie’s eyes, all this is a great combination of hypocrisy and hilarity. Visit www.pbrown.us to get your copy, also available from Amazon.com.

The Southern Methodist University Press has a vigorous fiction program and one of the latest is Fiddler’s Dream by Gregory Spatz ($22.50) devoted to the love of Kentucky’s famed bluegrass music. It tells the story of a young, talented musician who wants to become a part of the legendary Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys. He is also on a quest to find out where his missing musician father is living. It is about fulfilling a dream, told in a lovely and evocative style. The author has won many literary awards for his work and this novel is sure to gain him more. From the same publisher, there’s Elegy for Sam Emerson by Hilary Masters ($23.95), whose protagonist is a successful restaurant owner. Middle-aged and nostalgic, Emerson contemplates his life and, in the process, provides anyone who loves food, gardening, the theatre, et cetera, a real treat as he goes about disposing of his mother’s ashes and traveling to France to look for his father’s unmarked grave. It’s nice to know novels like this are still being written.

Martha’s Vineyard is the setting for Indian Pipes by Cynthia Riggs ($22.95, Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s Minotaur). The author is a 13^th generation Islander, but the heroine of the story is a 92-year-old police deputy, Victoria Trumbull. As the novel begins, the folks of West Tisbury, Massachusetts look on as the idea of a gambling casino fiercely divides the Wampanoag tribe, whose reservation adjoins the town. When two people turn up dead, the controversy has become lethal and Victoria must solve the case without getting herself killed in the process. This novel is great fun to read. For more fun, there’s Julie Kenner’s latest novel, California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom ($14.00, Berkley softcover). It is a sequel to her bestselling Carpe Demon and provides lots of laughs as we follow the adventures of a loving wife and mother who must not only keep an eye on her daughter’s infatuation with a surfer, but the mysterious new high school teacher who seems strangely familiar. Fighting demons, raising a teenager, shopping at Wal-Mart. It’s all in a day’s work for Kate Conner, a demon-hunting mom.

California—Hollywood to be exact—is the setting for The First Assistant by the authors of The Second Assistant, Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare ($23.95, Viking). The previous novel was wickedly funny as its heroine, Lizzie Miller, took on Hollywood and the filmmaking industry. The new novel looks at the wheeling and dealing, the schmoozing and snubbing that makes Hollywood the cutthroat capital of the world. Promoted to First Assistant at the agency and dating a hot young producer, Lizzie has improved as she engages daily with some of the hottest stars in town. This is rarified territory and even Lizzie worries she is losing her grip on the girl she used to be. If you love the movies, you will thoroughly enjoy this new venture behind the scenes with the people who make them.

I said some nice things about Gean B. Atkinson’s first novel, Internal Invasion, and wouldn’t you know it? He’s gone and written another one! The previous novel reflected the destruction of the federal courthouse inOklahoma City, but Bloodmoon at Cabin Creek ($24.95, Wyndham House) is completely different in that it draws on the author’s knowledge of the Cherokee Nation. He is the secretary of the board of trustees of the Cherokee National Historical Society and a member of the Descendants of Nancy Ward Association whose members trace their lineage to a legendary Cherokee figure. Indeed, his resume is so full one wonders where he finds the time to write novels, but his latest mixes fantasy with reality when a Cherokee Civil War soldier finds himself mysteriously pulled from a 1894 battle and finds himself suddenly in present-day Stillwell, Oklahoma. To get back to his place in time, a ceremony must occur when a "Bloodmoon" is present and in a sacred place. He gets the help of some local people. And that’s not even half of what this story is about because it includes a crooked sheriff trying to track them down and much more. I’d love to see this novel turned into a movie.

Do the classics scare you? Take for example, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Intimidating, right? Well, no longer! Now you can listen to "contemporary versions" of them as translated and narrated by Dr. Stanley Lombardo, with an introduction and synopses read by Academy Award winning actress, Susan Sarandon. They are available from Parmenides Publishing of Las Vegas, Nevada, at $42.00 each. In September, the company will release The Essential Homer ($48.00) and The Essential Iliad ($20.00). These are works of love by Dr. Lombardo who has a distinguished scholarly career at the University of Kansas where he presently teaches general courses in Greek literature and culture. The purpose of Parmenides Publishing is to make philosophy and the classics accessible to a wider audience. Imagine, 3,000 years after the fall of Troy, you can listen to the story that has captured the minds of people ever since. To learn more, visit its website at www.ParmenidesAudio.com.

That’s it for July! Don’t forget to tell your friends to visit Bookviews.com and to visit our Featured Books section before you leave. It offers information on a number of truly unique and interesting books you might not otherwise find in a bookstore. And come back in August for yet another eclectic selection of the best new fiction and non-fiction being published these days.

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