Nonfiction NOTES
Masters Past and Present
Meyer Schapiro (1904-1996) was one of the great art historians of the 20th century, and Braziller has been concertedly bringing his work into print for the 21st. The Unity of Picasso's Art is the latest installment in a series that includes Impressionism and World View in Painting. It collects three later Schapiro essays on the modernist master: "The Unity of Picasso's Art," which finds ideational consistency in Picasso's many styles and media; "Einstein and Cubism: Science and Art," which makes up the bulk of the book and includes a consideration of Einstein's own thoughts on modern painting; and "Guernica: Sources, Changes," which finds personal sources for Picasso's political intentions. 15 color and 95 b & w illustrations. (Braziller, $35 208p ISBN 0-8076-1479-3; Dec.)
Authoritative and opinionated, Le Corbusier and the Continual Revolution in Architecture slices through its subject's life and labor with a wry smile, an eye for the work and an ear for the telling anecdote. Charles Jencks, a designer and the author of The Architecture of the Jumping Universe and many other titles (including a previous book on Corbu) steers clear of the theoretical verbiage that often surrounds this most radical and deservedly revered of 20th-century architects, taking him from his late 19th-century Swiss beginnings to his death "swimming for the sun" in 1965, and deftly summarizing his pathbreaking journey in between. Famous projects like the Ronchamp Cathedral are among the 250 illustrations (50 in color), but more important here are the sketches, paintings and jottings that formed the bases of the refined ("healthy") completed works. (Monacelli, $50 384p ISBN 1-58093-077-8; Dec.)
It is difficult to capture the exquisite beauty and unsettling themes of Kerry James Marshall's paintings and other work, but this eponymous collection of the Chicago-based artist's work from the last 20 years goes a long way toward doing so. With text by Marshall himself, an essay by Corcoran Gallery curator Terrie Sultan, and interviews with the artist conducted by artist and filmmaker Arthur Jafa, the book is informative without being overwhelming or overly abstract, and the 110 illustrations (68 in full color) seem perfectly balanced with the exegesis. The book's layout and scale make it approachable yet elegant, in keeping with Marshall's ideas about inspiring potential artists, making this one of the most satisfying artist monographs of the season. (Abrams, $29.95 128p ISBN 0-8109-3527-9; Dec.)
The myriad figures, Arabic script and intricate details of 14th- to 16th-century Persian illustrated manuscripts, murals and small ceramics often prove daunting to Western art lovers, a situation confronted directly by Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Painting. Institute for Advanced Study historian emeritus Oleg Grabar (The Meditation of Ornament), referring often to the book's 79 color plates and 10 b & w illustrations, reveals the cultural forces that led to the signature elements of the Persian style, and relates the results to the literature and Islamic thought. While the heavily documented text can be tough going if the names are not familiar, it is a rigorous way in to interpreting a major art. (Princeton Univ., $49.50 176p ISBN 0-691-04941-6; Dec.)
A monumental artist has a monumental book in Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings . Taking advantage of advances in photographic technique and of the restoration of many of the works (including the 10-years-shrouded The Last Supper), this mammoth 11x13-inch tome takes us closer to the work than we're allowed in person. Reproductions of Mona Lisa, The Madonna of the Rocks and The Annunciation are all, obviously, here, and newly interpreted and contextualized by Pietro C. Marani, the author of more than 30 books, codirector of The Last Supper restoration, and professor of modern art at the Politecnico di Milano. The huge, superb detail shots here-of the 295 total illustrations, two-thirds are in color-will surprise even the most jaded connoisseur, and perhaps inflame restoration naysayers. (Abrams, $85 384p ISBN 0-8109-3581-3; Dec.)
Behind the Velvet Rope
Few directors have been as zealously protective of their privacy as Stanley Kubrick, which makes the first comprehensive collection of his interviews a rare glimpse of his own views of his life and work. For Stanley Kubrick: Interviews, editor Gene D. Phillips has tracked down pieces from 1959 to 1987, yielding an overview of the arc of Kubrick's approach to filmmaking. Surprisingly affable, Kubrick discusses everything from religion to nuclear energy and money. "It's a lot of trouble making a picture," says Kubrick at one point. "It can be very boring." (Univ. Press of Mississippi, $18 paper 208p ISBN 1-57806-297-7; Feb.)
Readers looking for down-and-dirty Hollywood dish or those with dreams of becoming a filmmaker will find everything they need to know-and laugh hard at all the tantalizing gossip-in It's All Your Fault: How to Make It as a Hollywood Assistant by successful Hollywood producer Bill Robinson and his former assistant, screenwriter Ceridwen Morris. The authors claim that there is no better vantage point on a successful Hollywood career than the view from below-but don't mess up, or it's all over! From how to master the art of "rolling calls" to blowing your boss's (or some other bigwig's) nose, Robinson and Morris deliver the real deal. Agent, Neeti Madan. (Simon & Schuster/Fireside, $11 paper 240p ISBN 0-684-86958-6; Jan.) Every movie buff knows that it's not just the blockbusters that take home the awards; often the films that get the least hype garner the prizes. But what's the inside track to winning an award, and what do they all mean? In Movie Awards: The Ultimate, Unofficial Guide to the Oscars, Golden Globes, Critics, Guild & Indie Honors, Hollywood expert Tom O'Neil (author of Variety's The Emmys and The Grammys) leads film aficionados through every annual awards race since the silver screen's earliest days, in which directors, producers, technicians and, of course, stars try to win as many trophies as they can before reaching the finish line at the Oscars. (Perigee/Variety, $19.95 paper 960p ISBN 0-399-52651-X; Jan.)
Bursting with lavish photographs and little-known facts, Hollywood Archive: The Hidden Story of Hollywood in the Golden Age makes a wonderful present for those smitten by the screen's past glamour. Editors Paddy Calistro and Fred E. Basten have culled stills from Hollywood's best archives and combined them with essays from insiders like Richard de Mille (son of director Cecil B. DeMille), Clayton Moore (aka The Lone Ranger) and Robert Osborne (host of Turner Movie Classics). What kinds of cars did stars drive? Where did they get their makeup? Who was the first screen sex goddess? These eclectic topics are presented "in the most subjective way-with love." 400 b & w and 100 color photos. (Rizzoli/Universe, $50 352p ISBN 0-7893-0499-6; Dec.)
Charming Chimps and Puppy Love
For more than 15 years, primatologist Michael A. Huffman devoted himself to studying the chimpanzee community in Mahale, a 100-mile-long national park in Tanzania. Collaborating with biologist Angelika Hofer and wildlife photographer Günter Ziesler in Mahale: A Photographic Encounter with Chimpanzees, Huffman presents a personal and moving tribute to the many animal friends he has made-such as Bembe, the clan's third-ranked male, and the elderly Gwekulo, who was not able to bear any children but loves to play with them. Foreword by Jane Goodall. Full-color photos throughout. (Sterling, $24.95 160p ISBN 0-8069-5889-8; Jan.)
For those who love dogs, licensed massage therapist Maryjean Ballner (Cat Massage) offers "upgraded petting that generates amazing results" in her new step-by-step, dog-approved, do-it-yourself Dog Massage: A Whiskers-to-Tail Guide to Your Dog's Ultimate Massage Experience . Intended specifically as a means of enhancing the relationship between dogs and their human friends (never try to give a massage to a strange dog, Ballner warns), this fully illustrated guide advises readers on various techniques (petting the pecs, thigh thumbing and the paw-claw caress) with cheerful encouragement, important cautions and tips on how to tell if a dog does not like a particular form of massage. (St. Martin's, $11.95 paper 160p ISBN 0-312-26727-4; Jan.)
Smart Money
Lorraine Spurge (Money Clips) rose through the ranks of Wall Street from secretary to legend (she's credited with raising more money for American businesses than any other woman), so she knows that even the most modest investor can learn to speak and read finance-ese with a little help. In Money Talk: From Alphabet Stock to the Naked Sale-The Words and Phrases That Control Your Money, she clearly and engagingly defines familiar terms (blue chips, debit card and intestate) as well as more arcane ones, including such antitakeover tactics as "the Pac Man defense" and the "poison pill," and a "tangerine" ("a company with the potential to be separated into juicy segments"). (Hyperion, $12.95 paper 368p ISBN 0-7868-8498-3; Jan.)
Investment adviser Larry E. Swedroe (The Only Guide to a Winning Investment Strategy You'll Ever Need) wants individual investors to understand What Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Know: How You Can Build Real Wealth Investing in Index Funds. With clarity and conviction, he cuts through market mythology (principally that actively managed funds-even those managed by professionals-tend to beat market returns), and explains how to apply his fundamental Modern Portfolio Theory to "passively" manage investments and "deliver the greatest expected return for any given level of expected risk." (St. Martin's Minotaur/Truman Talley, $25.95 384p ISBN 0-312-27260-X; Jan.) In their 20s and way over their heads in debt (despite having good educations and comfortable jobs), Jason Anthony and Karl Cluck did something about it. Now they're Debt-Free by 30, and offer practical advice for the young, broke and upwardly mobile in a book that's as slick as it is solid. Most books about managing debt make for dry and guilt-ridden reads. Here readers (even those over 30) can cheer up and take charge of decisions about credit, health insurance, financing a car, where to bank and spending money. (Plume, $12 paper 240p ISBN 0-452-28213-6; Jan.)
One of the easiest ways to invest in the future is to utilize one's employer's 401(k) plan, declares investment adviser and CNBC and Business Week regular J. Michael Scarborough, author of The Scarborough Plan: Maximizing the Power of Your 401(k). More conversational than theoretical, his clear and accessible book helps readers define what retirement means, calculate what they think they'll need to "enjoy a high standard of living, no matter how long [they] live," start saving now and, in later years, understand how to draw on their resources appropriately. (Corinthian, $24.95 176p ISBN 1-929175-18-3; Jan.)
Based on a survey of ordinary people who've built a retirement nest egg by contributing to employer-sponsored investment plans, 401(k) Success Stories promises that no matter what one's current situation might be, anyone can take control of their financial future. Illustrated with cartoons as well as financial charts, this uplifting and sensible book by financial writer Gina DeLapa confidently explains the ins and outs of 401(k)s and how workers can start making the most of them-whether they're 49, divorced and supporting three kids single-handedly or 25 and in denial that they still have 42 years of work ahead of them. (Financial Literary Center [Bookworld, dist.] , $9.95 paper 112p ISBN 0-9659638-7-X; Jan.)
Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way
Sun Tzu's The Art of War is undisputedly one of the bestselling leadership books of all time. This new translation by the Denma Translation Group-led by Kidder Smith (Sung Dynasty Uses of the I Ching), an Asian studies expert at Bowdoin College, and James Gimian, publisher of the Shambhala Sun magazine-helps bridge the gap between the ancient Chinese oral tradition and today's modern reader. It's supplemented with essays and commentary that demonstrate just how much this message of victory without aggression still resonates with how we conduct all aspects of our lives today. (Shambhala, $24.95 272p ISBN 1-57062-552-2; Jan.)
Last year alone, more than 750,000 Americans lost their jobs due to corporate downsizing, reorganization, mergers and acquisitions, maintaining a trend that's lasted about as long as our recent economic boom. For those who can answer "yes" to the question Are You a Corporate Refugee?, Ruth Laban, a counselor specializing in midlife transition and professional burnout issues, has written a practical and compassionate guide to recovery and renewal that knowingly addresses the larger issues of change and loss that accompany the experience of losing a job. Agent, Gail Ross. 8-city author tour; national radio interviews. (Penguin, $15 paper 288p ISBN 0-14-029632-8; Jan.)
Starting with the question, What did you want to be when you grew up?, The Career Fix-It Book: How to Make Your Job Work Better for You helps readers retrace the path that has led them to where they are today and shows them how they can enhance their current situation or find work that is more fulfilling-no matter where they are in their careers. Psychologist Diana Pace, director of the Career Planning and Counseling Center at Grand Valley State University, not only inspires, she also addresses the fact that being unhappy in a job is about more than just the job itself. (Sourcebooks, $14.95 paper 160p ISBN 1-57071-562-9; Jan.) What if, while one is ensconced in a six-year art history doctoral program, the idea of a career in academia loses its luster? Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius have been there, and they've used their Ph.D.s in English from Princeton-along with the additional confidence and skills their degrees have provided-to open doors into different (and higher-paying) careers. In "So What Are You Going to Do with That?": A Guide to Career-Changing for M.A.'s and Ph.D.'s, they use wit, directness and great anecdotal evidence to guide readers through the soul-searching decision to leave academia, turning a stuffy C.V. into a high-powered résumé and landing the interview-and the job. Agent, Daniel Greenberg. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $15 paper 176p ISBN 0-374-52621-4; Jan.)
January Publications
In The First Measured Century: An Illustrated Guide to Trends in America, 1900-2000, sociologists Theodore Caplow and Louis Hicks and journalist Ben J. Wattenberg present cogent information on measurable aspects of modern life (population, health, work, religion, money, etc.) in an easy-to-read and engaging format featuring text accompanied by graphic illustrations. Readers will not be surprised to find out that Americans are healthier today than they were at the beginning of the century, but they may be surprised-and reassured-to learn that parents spend more time with their children now than they did 100 years ago. A three-hour PBS documentary program to air on December 20 will be sure to boost interest in and sales of this fun, fact-filled book. (AEI Press [Publishers Resources, 800-937-5557, dist.], $20 paper 320p ISBN 0-8447-4138-8)
Readers interested in environmental issues and urban development should hungrily consume Peter Calthorpe and William Fulton's innovative contribution, The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl. Authors of The Next American Metropolis and The Reluctant Metropolis, respectively, Calthorpe and Fulton argue that the design of our current metropolitan regions-inner cities surrounded by rings of isolated suburbs filled with malls and office parks-has placed our remaining land at considerable risk and exacerbates the divide between the rich and the poor. According to the authors, these "edge cities" have sprawled beyond human scale, and they suggest a regional model that they claim will offer a cleaner, more socially equitable U.S. for the 21st century. (Island Press, $35 paper 320p ISBN 1-55963-784-6) Long before John Bobbitt's wife made him notorious, emasculation was regarded as an act of torture; however, many cultures have regarded self-castration, in particular, to be virtuous. When opera became popular in the 17th century, castration ensured that young men (thereafter referred to as castrati) would retain the high voices necessary for certain roles. And when Bertolucci directed his epic film The Last Emperor, he was sure to include actors representing the more than 2,000 eunuchs in attendance at the Chinese court. But are Eunuchs and Castrati interchangeable terms? No, claims author Piotr O. Scholz of the Universities of Iodz and Bonn, although he admits that even among scholars there is confusion about how their meanings differ. Using scholarship as his foundation, Scholz explores art, literature and the social and religious history of sexuality to provide readers looking for enlightenment about the male member a rollicking yet informative romp through time and across cultures. Translated by John A. Broadwin and Shelley L. Frisch. (Markus Wiener, $18.95 paper 256p ISBN 1-55876-201-9)
Poetry
Poetry NOTES
"I'm afraid there's no denyin'/ I'm just a dandy lion,/ A fate I don't deserve./ But I could show my prowess,/ Be a lion, not a mowess,/ If I only had the nerve." Very few people think of E.Y. Harburg when they think of "The Cowardly Lion's Refrain." But if the editors of Reading Lyrics: More Than a Thousand of the Finest Lyrics from 1900 to 1975 have their way, they will. Robert Gottlieb, former New Yorker editor turned Random House editor and anthologist Reading Jazz, etc.), and Robert Kimball (The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter, etc.) reclaim an era of song that has been buried under wave after wave of schlock and rock, and show it to be of a verbal richness unimaginable today. Cole Porter, George M. Cohan, Kalmar & Ruby, Irving Berlin, Ted Koehler, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Ira Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, Johnny Mercer, Frank Loesser, Sammy Cahn, Stephen Sondheim and many, many others are here, and one can only hope a read-along compilation CD will soon follow. (Pantheon, $39.50 736p ISBN 0-375-40081-8; Dec.)
In Simon Says, the second full-length book from Paris Press director Jan Freeman (Hyena), rhymes such as "Miss Mary Mack" and "Doe See Doe!" are literally rewritten; Tenderness, Happiness, Will, Comfort, Praise, Stupidity, Greed and Grandiosity "Kill the Cat" successfully in successive poems; and the title poem begins, forebodingly, with the line "I was hated as a child." The peculiar menace of these games and rhymes is drawn fully to the fore here, preparing readers for the long lines and profuse beauty of the "October Poems": "Wood to burn or rot, build homes or burn homes or a fire for warmth or the shelf/ carved, the floorboards, carved, all the old names stacked never a permanency to keep/ anyone...." Paris Press published Ruth Stone's NBCC Award-winning Ordinary Words; Freeman's delvings into the everyday are just as acute. (Paris Press, $13.95 paper 104p ISBN 0-9638183-41; Dec.)
LifestyleFOOD
Parenting
Health
Gardening
Lifestyle NOTES
Stick to Your Ribs
If practice makes perfect, it would seem reasonable that a guy from Long Island, like Christopher B. O'Hara, could, after much trial and error, establish a reputation, an expertise even, for everything having to do with barbecuing ribs. There are many books on the good, old-fashioned barbecue, but in Ribs: A Connoisseur's Guide to Barbecuing and Grilling O'Hara tackles the lone topic of ribs with pluck and confidence. From its introduction to the various types of ribs to its secrets of the sauce, O'Hara's book can help even the most citified people feel as though they're in North Carolina, Kansas City or Texas. (Lyons, $18.95 112p ISBN 1-58574-171-X; Feb.)
Warning: Bruce Aidell's Complete Sausage Book: Recipes from America's Premier Sausage Maker may cause amateur chefs to swoon. Aidell enumerates over 70 varieties of sausage from all over the world and provides dozens of tempting recipes for main and side dishes for every meal, from down-home twists like Deep-Dish Chicken and Sausage Pie with Biscuit Crust to surprising offerings like Thai Sausage Soup. And for true enthusiasts, he describes how to make sausage at home. (Ten Speed, $21.95 paper 336p ISBN 1-5808-159-2; Jan.)
Staying Healthy and Looking Good
The latest from a popular fitness guru will attract women of every ilk: Kathy Smith's Lift Weights to Lose Weight tailors an extensive weight-lifting guide to all body types. Practical and comprehensible workout programs for the gym and for home, detailed stretching techniques, advocacy and know-how of truly healthy practices (and not simply weight loss), and a smattering of postfeminist positivity ("What is it about women and weights?") substantiate this peppy guide. And she's smiling in every photo! Illustrations throughout. (Warner, $15.95 304p ISBN 0-446-67631-4; Jan.)
Dermatologists and physicians would do well to have A Clinical Atlas of 101 Common Skin Diseases in their offices. This eminently useful reference book employs photographs as its primary instruments and buoys the images with just-the-facts-ma'am text. A. Bernard Ackerman, in conjunction with Helmut Kerl and Jorge Sanchez, aims at "an authentic atlas in which the pictures do the teaching," and the photographs are sharp, detailed and informative. At least in the case of skin disease, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. (Ardor Scribendi [145 E. 32 St., New York, NY 10016], $125 662p ISBN 1-893357-10-4; Jan.)
Sex, Love and Tying the Knot
Can there be great sex after 40? Alan M. Altman and Laurie Ashner (The Estrogen Alternative; etc.) use their knowledge as a physician and a psychotherapist, respectively, to offer new medical treatments and communication techniques for overcoming lost libido and boredom in the bedroom in Making Love the Way We Used to... Or Better: Secrets to Satisfying Midlife Sexuality. With aired-out honesty, Altman and Ashner compassionately state the hushed secrets middle-aged couples keep (e.g., "The little blue pill is causing more problems in our relationship than it solves") and prescribe a plan (e.g., for facing the emotional side of Viagra, it's important to realize that self-esteem is an issue for both men and women) to get things back on track. Agent, Jean Naggar. (NTC/Contemporary, $24.95 336p ISBN 0-8092-2496-8; Feb.)
What do anxious brides-to-be with pre-wedding planning jitters need most of all? Good advice from people who've been there-and a good laugh. Combining a spirit of fun and the wisdom of planning, successful bride (i.e., married) Lara Webb Carrigan presents the best of her insights, and those of hundreds of newlyweds, brides-to-be, caterers, wedding coordinators and anyone else with a good idea, in the highly opinionated and helpful ("Repeat after me: Compromise is possible") The Best Friend's Guide to Planning a Wedding: How to Find a Dress, Return the Shoes, Hire a Caterer, Fire the Photographer, Choose a Florist, Book a Band, and Still Wind Up Married at the End of It All. (HarperCollins/Regan $20 224p ISBN 0-06-039301-7; Jan.)
