In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Open-Air Painting

The nuclear bombing of Japan in WWII was a watershed in human history. Those eager to learn how Truman arrived at his fateful decision will find Harry S. Truman and the Bomb: A Documentary History to be an invaluable resource. Editor Robert H. Ferrell has compiled memos, diary extracts, drawings, press releases, etc., reproduced as text and in facsimile, to provide a firsthand look, accompanied by extensive commentary, at the ushering in of the Nuclear Age. Photos. (High Plains [P.O. Box 1860, Worland, Wyo. 82401], $24.50 ISBN 1-881019-12-8) Sterling is distributing three books of interest to military history fans. Looking Into Hell: Experiences of the Bomber Command War by Mel Rolfe, offers 21 first-person accounts by pilots who flew with the RAF Bomber Command during WWII. Photos. (Arms & Armour, $24.95 224p ISBN 1-85409-253-7) Admirers of battlefield valor should enjoy Against All Odds: More Dramatic `Last Stand' Actions by Bryan Perrett, which surveys 13 examples of ""`last ditch' warfare,"" from Wellington's defense of the Hougoumont estate against Napoleon to the horrors of Korea's Battle of Pork Chop Hill. Illustrations. (Arms & Armour, $24.95 224p ISBN 1-85409-249-9) And the Knights Templar, the Assassins, ninjas, the Triads and other militaristic cults are surveyed in Paul Elliott's Warrior Cults: A History of Magical, Mystical and Murderous Organizations. Illustrations. (Blandford, $24.95 208p ISBN 0-7137-2531-1) Jack Canfield (coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Soul) is among those contributing enthusiastic blurbs to Walter Staples's In Search of Your True Self: 21 Incredible Insights That Will Revitalize Your Body, Mind, and Spirit. Among the insights discussed in this inspirational guide to spiritual awakening are the ""Law of Creation,"" the ""I.C.A.N. Principle"" and the ""ULTIMATE INSIGHT"" (that God is ""our True Self""). (Pelican, $19.95 384p ISBN 1-56554-226-6) The show Jan Steen: Painter and Storyteller, organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, will display 49 of the 17th-century Dutch painter's genre scenes (The Feast of Saint Nicholas), religious paintings (The Return of the Prodigal Son) and portraits (Self-Portrait as a Lutenist) at the National Gallery through August 18th. Co-published with Yale Univ. Press, the catalogue by Perry Chapman, Wouter Th. Kloek and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. offers 100 b&w illustrations and eight essays. ($50 ISBN 0-300-06793-3) Also at the National Gallery of Art (May 26-Sept. 2), before moving on to Brooklyn and Saint Louis, is In the Light of Italy: Corot and Early Open-Air Painting. The show collects 130 landscapes by plein air painters like Carl Blechen, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, Thomas Jones and, of course, Corot, all of whom worked in southern Italy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. (Yale Univ., $50 ISBN 0-300-06794-1)