To highlight the wide range of publications reviewed in Choice, each month Choice editors feature some noteworthy reviews from the current issue. 

Angel, Ronald J. Poor families in America’s health care crisis, by Ronald J. Angel, Laura Lein, and Jane Henrici. Cambridge, 2006. 254p bibl index ISBN 052183774X, $70.00; ISBN 052183774X pbk, $27.99. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5334       RA418       2005-28144CIP

The health care safety net for families and children is riddled with holes in the aftermath of welfare reform. Public and private insurance coverage is episodic and fragmentary. Class and race-based disparities abound. The view from Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio–the three cities at the center of this superbly designed multidisciplinary investigation of families in poverty–reveals that getting and keeping coverage also depends on where one lives. In six insightful chapters built from rich ethnographic and survey data collected from 1999 to 2001, Angel (sociology, Univ. of Texas, Austin), Lein (social work and anthropology, UT, Austin), and Henrici (anthropology, Univ. of Memphis) detail the consequences of inadequate health care for families on the economic margins. The authors argue that the unpredictability that undermines the lives of the poor is tied to the structure of work and the piecemeal system of health care financing. They call for continuous, dependable health care coverage for all Americans. The final chapter assesses different approaches to health care reform. The attention to context and the supple analysis of the complexities of poverty, public policy, and race and ethnicity make this book indispensable reading for students, professionals, and the general public. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. — B. Bianco, independent scholar

The Archaeology of Chaco Canyon: an eleventh-century Pueblo regional center, ed. by Stephen H. Lekson. School of American Research Press, 2006. 540p bibl index afp ISBN 1930618484 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5126       E99       2005-28433CIP

Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico contains some of the most interesting archaeological sites in the US. It is the subject of popular books and television programs and is visited by thousands. Chaco may have been the administrative and religious center for related sites in a wide region. Principal features include “Great Houses” such as Pueblo Bonito, with over 500 rooms in five stories. There were ceremonial structures, carefully engineered roads, and astronomical alignments. Chaco Canyon became a National Monument in 1907 and Chaco Culture National Historic Park in 1980; it was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. In 1969, the National Park Service organized “The Chaco Project,” field and laboratory research with its archaeologists and scholars from many universities and museums. Numerous reports and publications described new data and tested interpretations. In 1999, Lekson (Univ. of Colorado Museum) organized “Synthesis” conferences to review, debate, and summarize past research and then produce this, the capstone volume. In 12 chapters, 20 authors treat major themes to explain the extraordinary Chaco phenomenon. It is an impressive accomplishment, clearly written and carefully edited, with good maps and illustrations. Highly recommended for general archaeology collections. Summing Up: Essential. Everyone interested in the Southwest US. — K. A. Dixon, emeritus, California State University, Long Beach

Bailey, Anthony. John Constable: a kingdom of his own. Chatto & Windus, 2006. 366p bibl index ISBN 0701178841, $29.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-4844       ND497       MARC

Bailey recounts the life of one of England’s most beloved painters, John Constable (1776-1837). Striving to present a fuller view of the artist, he treats studio practice and daily life with equal measure by providing a highly readable account of Constable’s path as an artist, husband, father, and generous friend. Bailey sifts through the details of C. R. Leslie’s 1843 biography, volumes of documents and correspondence that were transcribed and compiled by R. B. Beckett in the 20th century, and significant exhibition catalogs such as the Tate Gallery publications (Leslie Parris and Ian Fleming-Williams, Constable, 1991; Fleming-Williams, Constable: Landscape Watercolours and Drawings, 1976; Parris, Fleming-Williams, and Conal Shields, Constable: Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings, 1976). He further incorporates recent scholarship such as Judy Ivy’s consideration of the artist’s critical reception (Constable and the Critics, 1802-1837, CH, Feb’92, 29-3105). Bailey’s pithy text, then, yields a carefully detailed narrative of an anxious yet, on occasion, ebullient artist. The bibliography points readers to well more than 100 books, 12 exhibition catalogs, and seven articles providing an excellent selection of related publications. Well-researched and accessible, though at times necessarily brief, this book is a valuable companion to the artist’s first biography and a cornerstone for future research. Summing Up: Essential. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. — J. Decker, Georgetown College

Barron, James. Piano: the making of a Steinway concert grand. Times Books, 2006. 280p bibl index ISBN 0805078789, $24.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-4961       ML661       2005-57172CIP

Many have written about the Steinway & Sons piano company–its history, family legacy, construction process, and even the building of one specific piano (Edith Schaeffer’s Forever Music, 1986). Barron mixes all of these elements in this readable story of a piano’s journey from a pile of raw lumber to the finished product, Steinway concert grand K0862/CD-60. Based on a series of articles first published in The New York Times, the book appears at first glance to be a pleasing bedside read; in fact, it is a rather detailed treatise on the Steinway company and the piano it produces. With each step of the process, the author reveals technical details, historical facts, and company secrets, and he gives the reader a sense of personal acquaintance with the craftspeople who do the work. As one progresses through the book, one is introduced to industry-specific terminology, particulars of the piano business, Steinway family facts, market information, and a big dose of that special Steinway cachet. Though not as numerous or detailed as those in other books on the Steinway, the photos add interest and focus to each chapter. The endnotes and selected bibliography will be useful for additional research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers; all levels. — D. L. Patterson, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Baseball without borders: the international pastime, ed. by George Gmelch. Nebraska, 2006. 326p bibl index afp ISBN 0803271255 pbk, $19.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5109       GV867       2006-7738CIP

Gmelch (anthropology, Union College) has assembled 16 fascinating essays on the historical background and contemporary global reach of the US’s national pastime. The contributors (mostly Euro-American) come from a variety of disciplines–anthropology, economics, history, journalism, writing/literature, computer science–and they examine both unique and common cultural attributes and attractions of baseball in 14 countries. Although baseball’s international popularity and athletic qualities are disappointing when compared to soccer or basketball, baseball is a popular and growing sport in some parts of Asia, a few countries in Europe, and in the Americas–where it first spread from the US and Cuba in the late 19th century. However, Gmelch points out that interest in baseball has actually decreased in recent years in some countries–e.g., Nicaragua, Great Britain, and Australia (despite producing a number of major league players). Meanwhile, the internationalization of professional baseball in the US–in which more than 30 percent of all present-day major leaguers and more than 45 percent of minor leaguers are Latin Americans, Koreans, or Japanese–is progressing rapidly in terms of participation, style of play, and even the sources of equipment–demonstrating both the unevenness and the multiple directions of flow within the globalization processes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers; all levels. — B. Tavakolian, Denison University

Belasco, Warren J. Appetite for change: how the counterculture took on the food industry. 2nd ed. Cornell, 2007. 327p bibl index afp ISBN 0801473292 pbk, $21.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5143       HD9005       2006-29851CIP

In this timely, updated edition of his important 1989 work, Belasco (American studies, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County) considers 1960s-70s US counterculture in relation to the food system. Exploring such topics as vegetarian and vegan diets, cooperative markets, organics, ethnic dining, and functional foods, this extensively researched volume considers the small victories, uncomfortable ironies, and ultimate challenge of the counterculture movement in reforming and circumventing the mainstream food industry. Accessibly and carefully written, the book holds up well in the 17 years since it was first published. A short updated preface and a new concluding chapter, “Looking Backward, Looking Forward,” bring the arguments to a consideration of the present, touching on such topics as Atkins, the diet of Iraq War protestors, and Whole Foods stores in relation to the “countercuisine” of decades ago, asking what might have been and what might be. The book’s only flaw is the brevity of this last compelling discussion. The updated edition is a good complement to more recent works on counterculture, dominant culture, and the food system, such as Samuel Fromartz’s Organic Inc. (CH, Oct’06, 44-1025) and Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections. — J. M. Deutsch, CUNY Kingsborough Community College

Bonner, John Tyler. Why size matters: from bacteria to blue whales. Princeton, 2006. 161p bibl index afp ISBN 0691128502, $16.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5052       QL799       2006-4945CIP

From giant dinosaurs to cellular clockworks, people are astonished by the large and fascinated by the small. But as this diminutive book describes with elegant simplicity, size is far more important than mere curiosity–it “drives the form and function of everything that lives.” Based on insightful analysis of a century of literature, Bonner (emer., Princeton) proves that large and small organisms are not simply scaled-up or scaled-down versions of each other. Rather, very different forces operate on the large and the small, and physical organization and physiological function vary in predictable ways according to size. Tiny organisms such as single cells and small insects are affected far more by molecular cohesion than by gravity (so flies can walk up walls); for large organisms like people and elephants, the reverse is true. Thus an organism’s construction and behavior are products of its size. Bonner discusses why evolution produces larger forms of life through time, why greater size means greater complexity, and why larger organisms have slower rates of metabolism and longer life spans than smaller organisms. Drawing parallels from physics, engineering, and human (and animal) societies, Bonner vividly illustrates how something apparently so simple as size is actually so fundamentally important. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. — M. S. Grace, Florida Institute of Technology

Capparell, Stephanie. The real Pepsi challenge: the inspirational story of breaking the color barrier in American business. Wall Street Journal Books, 2007. 349p bibl index ISBN 0743265718, $25.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5134       HD9349       2006-41267CIP

Capparell, a Wall Street Journal editor, documents how Pepsi-Cola hired black workers for its professional jobs and targeted black consumers from the 1940s through the early 1950s. She interviewed six black Pepsi salespeople from the era and combed through numerous newspaper and periodical accounts. Capparell recounts how in an effort to compete against the dominant Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola head Walter Mack Jr. began hiring black salespeople in 1940. By the late 1940s, a Pepsi sales team led by Edward Boyd traveled throughout the US and spoke in black churches, schools, and civic clubs. They created ads that portrayed blacks as stylish middle-class citizens, in contrast to the stereotypical ads, and challenged Coca-Cola’s discriminatory hiring policies through boycotts and newspaper publicity. A photo section with Pepsi team photos and ads is included. An epilogue shows the Pepsi team’s career paths. This book provides support for workplace diversity programs. Marilyn Halter’s Shopping for Identity: The Marketing of Ethnicity (CH, Feb’01, 38-3414) shows how Pepsi-Cola and other companies have looked for ways to reach African American, Hispanic, and Asian American markets. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; business students at all levels; practitioners. — G. E. Kaupins, Boise State University

Critical issues facing the Middle East: security, politics, and economics, ed. by James A. Russell. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 224p index ISBN 140397246X, $69.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5272       UA832       2005-58615CIP

This comprehensive collection of essays challenges the conventional wisdom that security in the Middle East is primarily a “military” problem. Indeed, the authors in this volume examine the sources of Middle East security using an interdisciplinary focus, and address the sources of insecurity from the perspective of the fields of economics, politics, history, international relations, and religion. In their view, by integrating these diverse disciplines into a coherent strategy, policy planners and strategists can successfully deal with the sources of instability and the long-term challenges that face the Middle East. These include the regions deep systemic problems such as the challenges facing governments and their ability to govern with the rise of Islamism. A slew of other problems also need to be addressed, including exploding population growth, shortage of water, economic growth rates that generally lag behind much of the developing world, the Arab-Israeli dispute, and the potential for nuclear proliferation as in the case of Iran. The book concludes that breaking up these sources of potential conflict and instability into their constituent components will help policy planners and strategists provide an integrated solution to the security problem confronting this troubled region. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. — S. Ayubi, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden

Fountain of youth: strategies and tactics for mobilizing America’s young voters, [ed.] by Daniel M. Shea and John C. Green. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. 255p bibl index afp ISBN 0742539652, $19.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5310       HQ799       2006-15176MARC

Despite grumbling from many of their elders, today’s teens and twentysomethings are active community volunteers interested in making a difference. But there is one notable exception: political participation. This volume, part of the “Campaigning American Style” series, is edited by two distinguished figures in the field of political participation. Shea is the director of the Center for Public Politics at Allegheny College, and Green is the director of the Roy C. Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron. This well-integrated collection analyzes how key institutions–political parties, the schools, and nonpartisan movements–have attempted to stimulate greater political involvement. Although voting turnout among the young reversed its downward trend in the 2004 presidential election, the longer-term outlook remains problematic. The three chapters on political party organizations are an especially valuable contribution. They include a study of local party leaders’ perspectives, success stories of local and state parties that have achieved greater youth participation, and recommendations for making parties more attractive to young people. John Kenneth White’s closing essay thoughtfully reminds the reader why all of this matters for the country’s future. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through practitioners. — E. T. Jones, University of Missouri–St. Louis

Hill, Linda L. Georeferencing: the geographic associations of information. MIT, 2006. 260p bibl indexes afp ISBN 026208354X, $35.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-4810       G70       2006-43326CIP

With this book, Hill (emer., Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) supplies the missing link that users of geographic data have been waiting for. It is both a well-written introduction to the use of data with location references and a well-written reference book. Those who are interested in the relationship of location to attributes or characteristics of location, but not ready for GIS, will find it useful. Whereas introductory GIS books emphasize computing and software, this volume emphasizes the information content and uses of geographic data. It is also superb for advanced students and GIS practitioners. Hill catalogs and describes many common sources of geographic information for an audience including librarians, museum users, and article readers who need more information about places. After a brief introduction, chapters 2, 3, and 4 clearly explain spatial cognition and the concepts of georeferencing, coordinate systems, and map scale. Old hands at GIS will appreciate chapters 5, 6, and 7 covering gazetteers, or place-name references, geographic metadata, and geographic information retrieval. The final chapter speculates on the future of georeferencing. This book is especially significant because it provides an in-depth look at elements of location-based data that are overlooked in contemporary GIS texts. Summing Up: Essential. All levels. — E. J. Delaney, National Park Service

Leder, Jane Mersky. Thanks for the memories: love, sex, and World War II. Praeger, 2006. 185p bibl index afp ISBN 0275988791, $39.95. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5237       D744       2006-15707CIP

Books such as John Morton Blum’s V Was for Victory: Politics and American Culture during World War II (CH, Sep’76) and Allan M. Winkler’s Home Front, U.S.A.: America during World War II (1986, 2nd ed., 2000) have provided an important foundation on which to enhance understanding of the dynamics of the US home front experience. Leder’s examination of “the greatest generation’s” sexual and romantic escapades offers a more nuanced look at the complexities of wartime life in the 1940s US. In this briskly paced narrative, freelance journalist Leder effectively uses oral history interviews and anecdotes to chronicle the lives of men and women from the end of the Depression to the postwar rush to the suburbs. Sex is the common thread that links stories of wartime brides who followed their husbands through military training, gays and lesbians who encountered sexual discrimination in the armed forces, and randy GIs with supercharged testosterone levels stationed at or near the front. A real page turner, this book is a must read for anyone interested in the US home front experience during WW II. Summing Up: Essential. All public and academic libraries. — B. Miller, University of Cincinnati

Nasaw, David. Andrew Carnegie. Penguin, 2006. 878p bibl index ISBN 1594201048, $35.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5140       CT275       2006-44840CIP

The emergence of an industrial capitalistic society in the US is an interesting and multifaceted story, and like most notable stories, has nuances of both laudable and contemptible actions and personalities. As this comprehensive and scholarly biography demonstrates, one of the most compelling personalities of America’s Gilded Age was Andrew Carnegie. For better or worse, whether reality or myth, Carnegie was then and remains now an icon of both the achievements and excesses of American business. Rather than oversimplify Carnegie, Nasaw (history, City University of New York) has written a careful and evenhanded examination not only of Carnegie as a person but also of the circumstances and consequences of his actions and choices. This accomplished biography provides substance and insight from an array of letters, papers, and archival materials. Nasaw details Carnegie’s rise from immigrant factory hand to telegraph messenger, railroader, iron maker, and bridge builder to become one of the world’s wealthiest capitalists and most prominent philanthropists; he also describes his private life and driving resolve to be acknowledged as a man of letters who influenced public policy and world events. This discerning biography will educate and entertain both general and specialized readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; students, lower-division undergraduate and up; faculty and researchers — T. E. Sullivan, Towson University

Shengold, Leonard. Haunted by parents. Yale, 2006. 257p bibl index afp ISBN 0300116101, $35.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5331       RC465       2006-17551CIP

Imagine living a life with the conviction that what starts with promise will end with catastrophe and death. If this is the lesson learned from one’s parents, and if this apprehension continues into adulthood, then one may truly be haunted by parents. Continuing explorations begun in Soul Murder (CH, Jul’90, 27-6630) and Soul Murder Revisited (CH, Nov’99, 37-1847), Shengold (New York Univ. Medical School) here draws on clinical experience and examples from world literature to show how early childhood relationships with parents can lead to the conviction that change means loss, even when that change seems to include a promise of a change for the better. Detailed analyses of the childhood experiences and later lives and works of literary figures such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, William Wordsworth, and Henrik Ibsen are especially interesting. Those familiar with Benjamin Spock’s Baby and Child Care (first published in 1946) will especially appreciate Shengold’s analysis of Spock’s childhood and haunting by his parents. Even those with no ties to psychoanalysis will find Shengold’s work interesting as they consider the presence of “the parent within the mind.” Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; professionals; general readers. — R. B. Stewart Jr., Oakland University

Smith, Joel. Saul Steinberg: illuminations. Yale, 2006. 287p bibl index afp ISBN 0300115865, $65.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-4860       N6537       2006-11854CIP

This exhibition catalog chronicles the multifaceted career of Steinberg, best known for his work in The New Yorker. In an introduction titled “Steinberg’s Bazaar,” poet Charles Simic offers his personal recollections of the artist’s ability to find humor in everyday experience. Smith, curator of photography at the Princeton University Art Museum, contributes an essay that traces Steinberg’s career from his birth in Romania, training as an architect, and subsequent success as a cartoonist in Italy, to his flight from Fascism to the US, where his status as somewhat of an outsider allowed his penchant for satire to develop fully. Most of his work combined social observation with a profound concern for the arts; politics played a less obvious role in his oeuvre. Steinberg’s desire to evade classification and his uneasy relationship with both celebrity and the commercial nature of much of his art contributed to a distinct lack of scholarly attention until now. Filled with many rarely seen examples of Steinberg’s paintings, sculptures, collages, and designs–as well as the expected illustrations from The New Yorker–this volume is a must for collections dedicated to popular culture and the history of illustration. Summing Up: Essential. General readers; lower- and upper-division undergraduates; professionals. — E. K. Menon, Butler University

Tawil, Ezra. The making of racial sentiment: slavery and the birth of the frontier romance. Cambridge, 2006. 244p index ISBN 0521865395, $85.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-4926       PS374       2005-36008CIP
Tawil (Columbia Univ.) traces scientific theories regarding racial differences in the US and Europe from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century. He argues that a language of sentimentalism that essentializes racial difference was common to the literary depiction of both Native Americans and African Americans. In making this argument, the author demonstrates common ground among what one might see as a diverse set of texts: James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers and The Wept of Wish-Ton-Wish, Lydia Marie Child’s Hobomok, Catharine Maria Sedgwick’s Hope Leslie, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Herman Melville’s Benito Cereno. He develops his broad-ranging, provocative argument patiently and elegantly–and with a careful precision of expression that makes the book accessible to a broad audience. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. — G. D. MacDonald, Virginia State University

Wessells, Michael. Child soldiers: from violence to protection. Harvard, 2007 (c2006). 284p bibl index ISBN 0674023595, $45.00. Reviewed in 2007may CHOICE.
44-5122       UB416       2006-49507CIP

This scholarly publication provides a thorough introduction to the myriad problems and possibilities associated with an estimated 300,000 children who participate in military units on almost every continent. Wessells (public health, Columbia Univ.) broadly, and with good reason, defines the term “child soldier” to include young people under the age of 18 associated with fighting forces as combatants and support personnel. Many fit a stereotype of conscripted, drug-addled, hardened killers; many do not. Some serve as porters or laborers, or for sexual purposes. Virtually all are clearly victims of criminal behavior on the part of adults. The author uses interviews with over 400 former child soldiers in six countries to flesh out much of the research and theoretical literature on the subject. After considering how and why children become soldiers, and the consequences of that phenomenon, Wessells outlines the complex, costly avenues that can lead to their rehabilitation. Local healing rituals in some traditional cultures, as well as psychosocial and economic support in all cases, are necessary but difficult to administer in practice. The thrust of the overall analysis is hopeful yet realistic. Summing Up: Essential. Interested students and scholars, all levels. — P. G. Conway, SUNY College at Oneonta

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