From Sky to Sea

Science and nature writer Erich Hoyt (Orca: The Whale Called Killer; The Earth Dwellers) combines dramatic photographs with extraordinary tales of undersea life in Creatures of the Deep: In Search of the Sea's "Monsters" and the World They Live In. No sea bass here: Hoyt prefers the creepier populations of bloody belly ctenophores, vampire squid, sea cucumbers and dragonfish. From the surface-dwelling manta ray to the marine spider of the hadal zone (appropriately named for Hades), Hoyt describes life cycles and family trees of marine flora and fauna, as well as the scientific community's efforts to understand them. Startling facts abound, and Hoyt's enthusiasm for his subject shows on every page. (Firefly, $40 160p ISBN 1-55209-340-9; Oct.)

Binocular-toting amateur stargazers have a new weapon in constellation recognition with The Great Atlas of the Stars by Serge Brunier (Majestic Universe: Views from Here to Infinity). Brunier features 30 of the 88 constellations visible from earth (focusing on those visible in the northern hemisphere) and offers details about the major stars in each: the luminosity of Cancer's "beehive cluster," for example, or the diameter of Perseus's supergiant star Mirfak. Many of Akira Fujii's gorgeous photographs of the night sky are overlaid with a clear Mylar sheet marked with the names of the constellation's stars and the celestial dot-to-dot of their shapes. (Firefly, $49.95 112p ISBN 1-55209-610-6; Oct.)

Inspiring and Healing Words

Demonstrating once again that her interests go far beyond music, singer Patti LaBelle presents Patti's Pearls: Lessons in Living Genuinely, Joyfully, Generously. Along with Laura Randolph Lancaster, the r&b diva offers a slim volume of inspirational insights, or "pearls," accompanied by personal anecdotes from her life. Some of the sayings are familiar ("Know God, know peace; no God, no peace" and "don't try to change the wind, change the sails"), while others are unique ("Barbie is a doll, not a goal" and "you can't be a doormat if you don't lie down"). (Warner, $19.95 128p ISBN 0-446-52794-7; Oct. 23)

Internal medicine physician Larry Dossey has been a proponent of alternative medicine since the 1970s, and in Healing Beyond the Body: Medicine and the Infinite Reach of the Mind, he collects writings on health and unique ways of healing. Among the subjects these essays cover are prayer, love, laughter, creativity, dreams and hypnosis—all meant to be alternatives to standard medicine. These pieces originally appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine; now they will reach a much wider audience. (Shambhala, $24.95 320p ISBN 1-57062-860-2; Oct.)

"I began to tell my story twenty years ago. Except for changes in names and locations, it is true." So begins Lynn V. Andrews's 18th book, Tree of Dreams: A Spirit Woman's Vision of Transition and Change. Andrews, author of Medicine Woman (now in its 40th printing), recounts the continuation of her apprenticeship with the Native American teachers who have been training her in their sacred ways for nearly 20 years. Here, she explains her transition into the second part of life, discussing change, aging and death in an inspiring, spiritual way. (Putnam/Tarcher, $21.95 240p ISBN 1-58542-129-4; Oct. 1)

Those trying to recover after being the victim of a crime, divorce, layoff or other upset will find solace in Five Steps to Forgiveness: The Art and Science of Forgiving by Everett Worthington. The author suggests a gentle but realistic plan for achieving forgiveness, which he calls the REACH program: Recall the hurt, Empathize with the one who hurt you, Altruistically decide to forgive, Commit publicly to forgiveness and Hold on to the forgiveness. He brings a personal note to his coaching by sharing the story of how he dealt with his mother's murder. (Crown, $24 256p ISBN 0-609-60918-1; Oct. 23)

Getting Down to Business

Administrative assistants can learn how to do the "dance of a thousand sticky notes," while account managers can get advice on heating up "cold calls" in Julianne Balmain's Office Kama Sutra: Being a Guide to Delectation & Delight in the Workplace. This humorous take on the ancient erotic guide covers all bases, from "The Forty Ways" to what the phrase "Can I see you in my office?" really means. The author, who also wrote Abroad: A Travel Journal, even provides a reversible book jacket, in case workers need to pretend they're reading "Getting What You Want at Work: Ten Steps from Fantasy to Reality." (Chronicle, $12.95 112p ISBN 0-8118-3138-8; Sept.)

October Publications

The story of Sir Earnest Shackleton's harrowing 1914 Antarctic expedition has been told many times—in Shackleton's own account, in a PBS series and in a recent book focusing on the leadership lessons his journey taught, just to name a few. But in South with Endurance: Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition 1914—1917, The Photographs of Frank Hurley, an oversized collection featuring all of the official photographer's pictures (including several previously unpublished color plates), the voyage continues to enthrall. The stark black and white images of the ship and its men caught in an ocean of ice are both beautiful and chilling; photography buffs and adventure lovers alike will relish the images from one who was surely one of history's greatest documentary photographers. 500 photos in duotone and color. (Simon & Schuster, $50 320p ISBN 0-7432-2292-X)

The updated final volume in Richard Grossinger's trilogy of "inquiry into origins and boundaries" (Planet Medicine and The Night Sky were the first two), Embryogenesis: Species, Gender, and Identity, is another heavily—and creatively—researched effort, an "inquiry into being alive." Though it looks like a science book, it is as much (or more) concerned with language, memory and history as it is with procreation and embryology. Touching on everything from Darwin to Derrida, and with headings running the gamut from "Chaos and Zen" to "The Universal Cellular Mold," this tome is for the reader with a large appetite for bold, eccentric investigations—and with the leisure to digest such eclectic fare. (North Atlantic, $75 930p ISBN 1-55643-359-X)

Correction: The title of Peter Gay's new book (Forecasts, Sept. 10) is Schnitzler's Century.