March 2006

New Fiction

• Death of a Dreamer - M. C. Beaton
• More Than Friends - Barbara Delinsky
• In the Company of the Courtesan - Sarah Dunant
• Irish Crystal: A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel - Andrew M. Greeley
• The Old Wine Shades: a Richard Jury Mystery - Martha Grimes
• Terror Town: An Abe Lieberman Mystery - Stuart M. Kaminsky
• Cell - Stephen King
• The Woman Who Waited - Andrei Makine
  
• The Tavern on Maple Street - Sharon Owens
• Sea Change: A Jesse Stone Novel - Robert B. Parker
• The 5th Horseman - James Paterson
• The Summer Snow: a Carlos Tejada Alonso y Leon Investigation - Rebecca Pawel
• NNNNN: a Novel - Carl Reiner
• Wild Animus - Rich Sapero

New Non-Fiction

• Armitage's Garden Perennials: A Color Encyclopedia - Allan M. Armitage
• The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions - May S. Bsisu
• Carnegie - Peter Krass
• After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England - Leanda de Lisle
• Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia - Michael A. Dirr
• The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth - Tim Flannery
• Sunday Suppers at Lucques - Suzanne Goin
• How to Break an Egg: 1,453 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, Emergency Substitutions, and Handy Techniques - Fine Cooking Magazine
• Sky Walking: an Astronaut's Memoir - Tom Jones
• Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists - edited by Eleanor Mills
• Vegetable Love: Vegetables delicious, alone or with pasta, seafood, poultry, meat and more - Barbara Kafka
• Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals - Sara Moulton
• The New American Cooking: 200 Recipes full of Deolectable New Flavors from around the world as well as Fresh Ways with Old Favorites - Joan Nathan
• Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes, and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters - Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson
• Maimonides - Sherwin B. Nuland
• Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People - Jane Bryant Quinn
• Girls of Tender Age: a Memoir - Mary-Ann Tirone Smith
• Dutch Vernacular Architecture in North America 1640-1830 - John R. Stevens
• Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook - Martha Stewart
• Beyond Band of Brothers: the War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters - Dick D. Winters
• Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook: Over 500 Delicious Resipes for the Healthy Cook's Kitchen - Weight Watchers International

New Audios

All CDs unless noted

• The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
• Dry - Augusten Burroughs
• The Closers - Michael Connelly
• Point Blank - Catherine Coulter
• The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
• American Religious History, Parts I and II - the Great Courses
• Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
• Skeleton Man - Tony Hillerman
• The Ultimate Weight Solution: the 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom - Dr. Phil McGraw
• Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People - Jane Bryant Quinn
• David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall - David Sedaris
• Wild Animus - Rich Sapero

New Music CDs

• Boys for Pele - Tori Amos
• Brand New Dance - Emmylou Harris
• Rites of Passage - Indigo Girls
• Family Groove - The Neville Brothers

New DVD's

• All About Eve
• Close My Eyes
• Corpse Bride
• Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room
• Long Way Round
• Nine Lives
• Proof
• Raise the Red Lantern
• Topper
• Topper Returns
• Virgin Spring
• Wild Hearts Can't be Broken
• Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

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BOOKLISTS

Every month in this spot we feature reading suggestions. These include historic fiction, science fiction, mysteries, and more. Many of these titles can be found in the Mid Hudson Library System.

PRIZE-WINNING BIOGRAPHIES

PULITZER PRIZE
for Biography/ Autobiography

The Pulitzer Prizes are named for Joseph Pulitzer the nineteenth century publisher of the New York World and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. His 1904 will made provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes as an incentive to excellence.

• 2005 Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan - de Kooning: An American Master
• 2004 William Taubman - Khrushchev: The Man and His Era
• 2003 Robert Caro - Master of the Senate
• 2002 David McCullough - John Adams
• 2001 David Levering Lewis - W.E.B. DuBois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963
• 2000 Stacy Schiff - Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov)
• 1999 A. Scott Berg - Lindberg
• 1998 Katherine Graham - Personal History
• 1997 Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes
• 1996 Jack Miles - God: A Biography
• 1995 Joan D. Hedrick - Harriet Beacher Stowe
• 1994 David Levering Lewis - W.E.B. DuBois
• 1993 David McCullough - Truman
• 1992 Lewis B. Puller Jr. - Fortunate Son
• 1991 Steven Naifeh and
• Gregory White Smith - Jackson Pollock
• 1990 Sebastien de Grazia - Machiavelli in Hell
• 1989 Richard Ellman - Oscar Wilde
• 1988 David Herbert Donald - Look Homeward: A Life of Thomas Wolfe
• 1987 David J. Garrow - Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther king Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• 1986 Elizabeth Frank - Louise Bogan: A Portrait
• 1985 Kenneth Silverman - The Life and Times of Cotton Mather
• 1984 Louis R. Harlan - Booker T. Washington
• 1983 Russell Baker - Growing Up
• 1982 William S. McFeely - Grant: A Biography
• 1981 Robert K. Massie - Peter the Great
• 1980 Edmund Morris - The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

JAMES TATE BLACK MEMORIAL PRIZE for Biography

The James Tate Black Memorial Prizes for Fiction and Biography were founded in memory of a partner in the publishing house of A. & C. Black Ltd. These annual awards, first made in 1919, are two of the oldest and most prestigious book awards in Eligible works are those written in English and originating with a British publisher.

• 2002 Jenny Uglow - The Lunar Men: The Friends Who Made the Future
• 2001 Robert Skidelsky - John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Britain, 1927-1946
• 2000 Martin Amis - Experience: A Memoir
• 1999 Kathryn Hughes - George Eliot: The Last Victorian
• 1998 Peter Ackroyd - The Life of Thomas More
• 1997 R. F. Foster - W. B. Yeats: A Life, Volume 1 - The Apprentice Mage 1865-1914
• 1996 Diarmaid MacCulloch - Thomas Cranmer: A Life
• 1995 Gitta Sereny - Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth
• 1994 Doris Lessing - Under My Skin
• 1993 Richard Holmes - Dr. Johnson and Mr. Savage
• 1992 Charles Nicoll - The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe
• 1991 Adrian Desmond & James Moore - Darwin
• 1990 Claire Tomalin - The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens
• 1989 Ian Gibson - Federico Garcia Lorca: A Life
• 1988 Brian McGuinness - Wittgenstein, A Life: Young Ludwig (1889-1921)
• 1987 Ruth Dudley Edwards - Victor Gollancz: A Biography
• 1986 D. Felicitas Corrigan - Helen Waddell
• 1985 David Nokes - Jonathan Swift: A Hypocrite Reversed
• 1984 Lyndall Gordon - Virginia Woolf: A Writer's Life
• 1983 Alan Walker - Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years
• 1982 Richard Ellman - James Joyce
• 1981 Victoria Glendinning - Edith Sitwell: Unicorn Among Lions
• 1980 Robert B. Martin - Tennyson: The Unquiet Heart

KORET JEWISH BOOK AWARD
for Biography, Autobiography

The Koret Jewish Book Awards are sponsored by the San Francisco based Koret Foundation in cooperation with the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

• 2005 Amos Oz - A Tale of Love and Darkness
• 2004 Benjamin Harshav - Marc Chagall and His Times
• 2003 Tikva Frymer-Kensky - Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories
• 2002 Dorothy Gallagher - How I Came Into My Inheritance and Other True Stories
• 2001 Cynthia Ozick - Quarrel & Quandry: Essays
• 2000 Steven Nadler - Spinoza: A Life

LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
for Biography

The Los Angeles Times awards several prizes to honor achievement on literature by recognizing writers who have demonstrated outstanding craftsmanship and vision.

• 2005 Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan - de Kooning: An American Master
• 2004 Neil Smith - American Empire: Roosevelt's Geographer and the Prelude to Globalization
• 2003 Robert A. Caro - Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson. Vol. 3
• 2002 Edmund Morris - Theodore Rex
• 2001 William Cooper, Jr. - Jefferson Davis, American
• 2000 Judith Thurman - Secrets of the Flesh
• 1999 A. Scott Berg - Lindbergh
• 1998 Sam Tanenhaus - Whittaker Chambers
• 1997 Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes
• 1996 Doris Lessing - Under My Skin
• 1995 Mikal Gilmore - Shot in the Heart
• 1994 John Mack Faragher - Daniel Boone
• 1993 Blanche Wiesen Cook - Eleanor Roosevelt: Volume One, 1884-1933
• 1992 T. H. Watkins - Righteous Pilgrim
• 1991 Geoffrey C. Ward - A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt
• 1990 Tobias Wolff - This Boy's Life
• 1989 Brenda Maddox - Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom
• 1988 Kenneth S. Lynn - Hemingway
• 1987 Maynard Mack - Alexander Pope: A Life
• 1986 Michael Scammell - Solzhenitsyn
• 1985 Ernst Pawel The Nightmare of Reason
• 1984 Seymour Hersh - The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House
• 1983 Gay Wilson Allen - Waldo Emerson: A Biography
• 1982 David McCullough - Mornings on Horseback
• 1981 Ronald Steel - Walter Lippmann and the American Century

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD
for Biography/ Autobiography

Winners are selected by a 24 member board of critics from around the country.

• 2004 Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan - de Kooning: An American Master
• 2003 William Taubman - Khrushchev: The Man and His Era
• 2002 Janet Browne - Charles Darwin: The Power of Place
• 2001 Adam Sisman - Boswell's Presumptuous Task: The Making of the Life of Samuel Johnson
• 2000 Herbert Bix - Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
• 1999 Henry Wieneck - The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White
• 1998 Sylvia Nasar - A Beautiful Mind
• 1997 James Tobin - Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II
• 1996 Frank McCourt - Angela's Ashes
• 1995 Robert Polito - Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson
• 1994 Mikal Gilmore - Shot in the Heart
• 1993 Edmund White - Genet
• 1992 Carol Brightman - Writing Dangerously: Mary McCarthy and Her World
• 1991 Philip Roth - Patrimony
• 1990 Robert A. Caro - Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol.2
• 1989 Geoffrey C. Ward - A First Class Temperament: The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt
• 1988 Richard Ellman - Oscar Wilde
• 1987 Donald R. Howard - Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World
• 1986 Theodore Rosengarten - Tombee: Portrait of a Cotton Planter
• 1985 Leon Edel - Henry James: A Life
• 1984 Joseph Frank - Dostoevsky: The Years of Ordeal: 1850-1859
• 1983 Joyce Johnson - Minor Characters

RODDMAN'S GREATAND SIGNIFICANT BOOKS in Biography and Autobiography

Good Reading began puplication in 1947 and in 1990 issued the 23rd edition of the work. The purpose of Good Reading: is "to lead an increasing number of people to savor the great or significant books, both those that strive to light the dark places in our understanding of our complex world and our equally complex selves, and those that aim simply to delight." The following list of books in biography and autobiography is from Good Reading: A Guide for Serious Readers (22nd ed., 1985) and was compiled by Philip Roddman of Pratt Institute.

• Gay Wilson Allen - Waldo Emerson. 1981
• Imamu Amiri Baraka - The Autobiography of LeRoi Jones. 1984
• Charles Hession - John Maynard Keynes. 1984
• Andrew Hodges - Alan Turing: The Enigma. 1983
• Jane Howard - Margaret Mead. 1984
• John Dixon Hunt - The Wider Sea: A Life of John Ruskin. 1982
• Ernst Pawel - The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. 1984
• Roland Penrose - Picasso: His Life and Work. 1981

WHITBREAD BOOK AWARD
for Biography/ Autobiography

The Whitbread Book Awards, aim to celebrate and promote the best of British writing.

• 2005 Hilary Spurling - Matisse the Master
• 2004 John Guy - My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots
• 2003 DJ Taylor - Orwell: The Life
• 2002 Claire Tomalin - Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
• 2001 Diana Souhami - Selkirk's Island
• 2000 Lorna Sage - Bad Blood: A Memoir
• 1999 David Cairns - Berlioz: Vol. Two
• 1998 Amanda Foreman - Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
• 1997 Graham Robb - Victor Hugo
• 1996 Diarmaid MacCulloch - Thomas Cranmer: A Life
• 1995 Roy Jenkins - Gladstone
• 1994 Brenda Maddox - D.H. Lawrence: The Married Man
• 1993 Andrew Motion - Philip Larkin: A Writer's Life
• 1992 Victoria Glendinning - Trollope
• 1991 John Richardson - A Life of Picasso
• 1990 Ann Thwaite - A.A. Milne: His Life
• 1989 Richard Holmes - Coleridge: Early Visions
• 1988 A.N. Wilson - Tolstoy
• 1987 Christopher Nolan - Under the Eye of the Clock
• 1986 Richard Mabey - Gilbert White
• 1985 Ben Pimiott - Hugh Dalton
• 1984 Peter Ackroyd - T.S. Eliot
• 1983 Victoria Glendinning - Vita
• 1983 Kenneth Rose - King George V
• 1982 Edward Crankshaw - Bismark
• 1981 Nigel Hamilton - Monty: The Making of a General
• 1980 David Newsome - On the Edge of Paradise

CALDECOTT HONOR AWARD

Jon J Muth a resident of Marbletown, has won the prestigious Caldecott Honor Award for his children's book "Zen Shorts."

Jon J Muth
Saturday, March 4th
11:00am at the Library

The Stone Ridge Library is pleased to invite Jon J Muth, Celebrated Children's Book Author and Illustrator to the Library on Saturday, March 4th at 11:00am. Jon will be sharing his books and his talents with us while he reads from his books, demonstrates some of his illustration techniques, and answers questions.

Jon J Muth's children's books have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. Stone Soup, a familiar tale that he set in China won a National Parenting Book Award. The New York Times Book Review called Muth's The Three Questions, "quietly life-changing." Books he has illustrated include Come On, Rain!, written by Karen Hesse, which won the Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 1999. Gershon's Monster by Eric Kimmel, was an ALA Notable Children's book, winner of the Sydney Taylor Award, as well as a National Parenting Book Award, and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. Most recently published is the critically acclaimed book A Family of Poems, Caroline Kennedy's hand chosen collection of poems accompanied by Jon's beautiful illustrations.

Jon's recent book "Zen Shorts" is one of the recipients of this year's Caldecott Honor Award! Jon writes "Zen Shorts came from wondering, 'What it would be like to live down the street from a Zen master... who happened to be a Giant Panda?' My stories often come from questions, 'Why is this so?.'.. 'If this, then why not that?.'.. and of course, 'What if...?'

During his program at the Stone Ridge Library Jon will also be available to autograph his books. The Library will have some of Jon's books to purchase. All proceeds will benefit the children's room.

For more information call the library 687-7023

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Medieval Reading Club

Wednesday, March 15
6:15pm at the Library

New members are welcome. The topic is The Fourteenth Century. Select a book written during that time or a book written about an aspect of that era - the arts, government, social mores, the Black Plague, 100 Years War, papal schism, making a living, etc.

Knitting Group

Saturdays, March 4, 11, 18, 25
10am-Noon at the Library

Our knitting group meets every Saturday in the Library's Reference room. All levels are welcome.

David Alpher
Lecture Series

We are continuing our popular David Alpher Lecture Series, associated with the Chamber Arts Festival of Marbletown. For additional dates go to our website. more

Tuesday, April 4 at 7 PM Marbletown Community Center

Beethoven's "Ghost" Trio (Trio for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 70 #1)

Why does this trio still astound us after 218 years? Why is it always fresh and emotionally compelling? FInd out how Beethoven used compositional extremes to create a radical new sound.

Companion concert: Amadeus Trio, June 4.

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How Accord got
it's Name

with thanks to Charles Cullen
from Sylvester's History of Ulster County, 1880

A meeting called to consider the question of name ended in confusion, "many men of many minds" not being able to agree. Somewhat irritated, a prominent citizen wrote to Washington, and in connection with the petition for a [post] office suggested 'Discord.' The department authorized the opening of the [post] office promptly, but sent on the name 'Accord' and Accord it has been ever since.

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What You Should Know About Web Searches;
A Guide to Hidden Features Of Google and Yahoo Engines; Avoiding the 'CHiPs' Links

The Wall Street Journal - Walter S. Mossberg & Katherine Boehret

DOING A SEARCH in Google or Yahoo seems as easy as falling off a log. You just type in a word, and almost instantly you get a page of links to Web sites that bear some relevance to that search term.

But too often your search results aren't exactly what you'd like. Irrelevant links can clutter the page, especially when your search term is ambiguous. If you type in "chips," the search engine has no way of knowing whether you mean computer chips, potato chips or chocolate chips. In fact, when I tried searching Google for that term a few days ago, the top result was a reference to the old "CHiPs" TV show.

A few simple tips and tricks can help you get much more out of a Web search without becoming a professional researcher. Some are better techniques for general searches, others are simple ways to do more- targeted searches, which can often yield answers, rather than merely links. For instance, most people don't know that Google and Yahoo (the biggest, most-popular search engines) can perform math calculations and currency conversions, look up addresses based on phone numbers, and more.

The easiest way to get better search results is to use two or three words, every time, instead of just one. Search engines do much better when they have a little context to help narrow the results. If you're thinking of going golfing in Scotland in the summer, a search on "Scotland" is a waste of electrons. But using three words -- "Scotland," "golf" and "summer" -- is much more on target and takes only a few seconds more. Similarly, typing in "chocolate chips" or "computer chips" yields a results list on which that old "CHiPs" TV show is nowhere to be found. (You don't have to type the word "and" between your search terms, because Google always assumes it's there.)

Another great tip is to surround your search terms with quotation marks if you're looking for an exact name or phrase -- say a song title made up of common words. When Google or Yahoo (or most other search sites) see words in quotes, they interpret the words as an exact phrase and look only for instances where the words appear in their entirety, in the order you entered them.

Combining these techniques is even better. If you're looking for lyrics to the Bob Dylan song "I Want You," the best thing to do is enter the title in quotes, followed by the words "Dylan" and "lyrics" not in quotes.

You can also sharpen searches in Google by instructing the search engine to exclude certain topic areas that might clutter the results. This is done by following your search term with a space, then a minus sign followed by the topic you want to exclude. For instance, my search for "chips" would have excluded its very top listing, for the old TV show, if I had typed "chips -TV."

Or, you can focus your Google search on a certain topic area by using the "+" sign. A search for "Washington +mountain" is very different from a general search on "Washington." (You'll get narrow info on mountains in the state, rather than links ranging from the University of Washington to the Washington, D.C., transit authority.)

Other search-sharpening methods can be found on the Advanced Search pages of both Google and Yahoo. These are essentially forms you fill out that let you customize your search in numerous ways.

Both Google and Yahoo also are packed with hidden search tricks that make getting information faster. They aren't foolproof, but they will frequently turn up an answer right on the results page, without requiring you to click on a link.

Here are some examples:

• In both search engines, typing in a stock symbol gets you the company name, latest price and a price chart, right at the top of the results page.
• Typing in a U.S. street address in Google gets you a link to a map of the location. Yahoo goes one step better -- it actually shows the map on the results page.
• Entering a U.S. land-line phone number in Google or Yahoo gives you the name and address of the person to whom it belongs.
• Current weather conditions for U.S. cities can be displayed in Yahoo by typing the city name followed by the word "weather." In Google, you type the word "weather" first, followed by the city name.
• In Yahoo, if you type in the name of a sports team and the word "scores," you will get the current score of a game in which the team is involved.
• In Google, you can type in certain fact-based questions, like "population of Boston" or "birthplace of Tom Brady" and you get the answer, not just a link to the answer.
• If you type simple math problems, like 5x8.1999, into the search boxes of either search engine, the sites act like calculators, spitting back the result.
• Both sites will also perform conversions of weights and measures, and currency conversions, right in the search box. In Google, you just type in questions like "37 centimeters in inches" or "7,000 yen in us dollars." In Yahoo, you begin such questions with the word "convert," as in "convert 7,000 yen to dollars."
• Both sites will let you type in certain kinds of numbers, like package-tracking numbers, to get immediate information. A vehicle ID number will get you links to basic information about the car and an offer to buy more detailed reports on the vehicle.

If you want to dig further into these hidden features, Google has a guide at: google.com/features. Yahoo has a similar guide at: yahoo.com/shortcuts

GREAT WEBSITES!

Western Union Telegraph Company Records, 1820-1995

This listing of Western Union Telegraph Company records begins with a concise history of the telegraph, including Samuel F.B. Morse's invention of the early telegraph, the Morse Code system, further developments that allowed Roman letters to be sent in addition to dots and dashes, early commercial telegraph services, the 1860 Pacific Telegraph Act, and the history of Western Union Telegraph Company. From the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Smithsonian Institution. more

C-SPAN: State of the Union

Transcripts of U.S. presidential State of the Union addresses as given to a joint session of Congress early each year. Includes transcripts back to Harry S. Truman's address in 1945, and video back to George H.W. Bush's address in 1989, plus a video of Nixon's January, 1974 address. From the National Cable Satellite Corporation. more

How Hypnosis Works

This site describes the history and uses of hypnosis (such as habit-control related to smoking) and debunks misconceptions. Includes links to related sites. From How Stuff Works. more

U.S. Women Without Borders

This site features educational materials on issues affecting women, such as trafficking in women and girls, honor killings, and the war in Sudan. Find articles about current events, discussion groups, and details about legislation and opportunities to help improve the situation of women. A project of the Women's Funding Network, "an international organization ... committed to improving the status of women and girls locally, nationally and globally." more

Little by Little

Multimedia account of a summer 2005 trip by American school children to a Tanzanian village in which the U.S. children brought supplies and aid to a schoolhouse and its students. The site features a video, audio clips, music, photos, and essays about the children's experiences. Includes links to related sites. A production of 49th Parallel Productions and The Oakland Tribune. more

Cézanne in Provence

Companion to "the principal international exhibition marking 2006 as the centenary of the death of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). ... This exhibition, by focusing on the works Cézanne painted in and around his native Aix-en-Provence, will celebrate the landscape and the rich associations it had for him." The site features a chronology, discussions of themes in his art, maps with associated paintings, and images of dozens of his paintings. From the National Gallery of Art. more

A Failure of Initiative

The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina

This February 2006 report is based on a House investigation that included statements from individuals such as the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi, the mayor of New Orleans, Michael Chertoff (secretary of the Department of Homeland Security), members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and New Orleans citizens and evacuees. From a committee of the House of Representatives, established in September 2005 and chaired by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA). more

Zillow.com

This site provides estimated market values for homes in the U.S. (called "Zestimates"), which are computed by using data "mainly from public records, and entering them in a formula." According to the site, "the majority of our Zestimates are within 10% of the selling price of the home." Searchable by address or through interactive maps. Created by Expedia founders Rich Barton and Lloyd Frink. more

A Guide to the NSA Eavesdropping Debate

Collection of articles that provide background about "Senate held hearings Feb. 6 [2006] on the National Security Agency's domestic wiretapping program." Topics include an overview of NSA warrantless domestic wiretapping, a timeline of "Wiretaps' Use and Abuse," and summaries of legal arguments (pro and con) from the White House and the Congressional Research Service. From National Public Radio (NPR). more

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center Library for Black Culture and History: Guide to the Web

Compilation of annotated links to hundreds of websites about "African, African American, and African Diaspora history and culture. ... The topics covered range from the underground railroad to hip hop music." Other subjects include civil rights, education, health, literature, military, religion, slavery, sports, and women. From the Sonja Haynes Stone Center at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. more

United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA)

This organization (founded in 1904) "is the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding." Its site features news and athlete rankings for snowboarding, ski jumping and aerials, and alpine, cross-country, and disabled skiing. Also includes material about international and domestic competitions, rules for each sport, team eligibility requirements, television schedules, links to the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboard Team sites, and more. more

Jewish Mysteries

This site features an annotated bibliography of American Jewish mystery and detective fiction. The mysteries are divided into three categories "based on Jewish identity and the role of Judaism in each mystery": assimilation, acculturation, and affirmation. Also includes an introductory essay. From a rabbi who is the editor of anthologies of Jewish mystery stories. more

Blogossary: The Blogosphere's Dictionary

This informal site includes dozens of definitions for terms used in the blogosphere ("the entirety of the blogging community"), such as troll, pingback, permalink, and link love. Updated at least weekly. From Telian Adlam, a blogger who maintains a variety of blogs. more

Rocketboom: Daily Vlog With Amanda Congdon

"Rocketboom is a three minute daily videoblog [vlog, a blog that primarily uses video for its content]. ... We cover and create a wide range of information and commentary from top news stories to quirky internet culture." View on the website, or download to MP3 players, iPods, and other portable devices. more

Tax Software Review

A side-by-side comparison of 10 tax preparation software programs and electronic filing (e-filing) services. Factors include price, basic features, e-filing options, tax assistance support, and technical requirements. Also includes details about ratings for each program. From a publisher of product reviews for software and web services. more

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On the Shelves

Poughkeepsie Journal 2.5.06 Nancy Nelson

Ice, planets and Darwin all interesting subjects

On the Shelves is a monthly column by a rotating list of mid-Hudson Valley library directors who comment on notable books coming to your local public library.

Ice: The Nature, the History and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance, by Mariana Gosnell; Alfred A. Knopf.

It's fair enough to define ice as "hard" water. But that's only the beginning. Ice covers 17 percent of the Earth's surface - both land and sea - and can be as new as an icicle hanging from a winter's roof or as old as the glaciers formed centuries ago.

The book is a page-turner - even at a daunting 560 pages. Gosnell, a science and medicine reporter, has been studying ice on a first-hand basis for more than a decade and has traveled as far north as the Canadian High Arctic to the southerly climes of Antarctica. Her skill in sharing her enthusiasm for the topic is astonishing. The text combines scientific concept with the thrill of a relevant event. It may be read from front to back, as text on specific topics - glaciers, icebergs, animals, etc. - or consulted as a reference tool via its well-prepared index.

We need ice; we actually can't live without it. Indeed, we are currently living in a warm period within an ice age. And, if predictions about global warming come true, we'll be in deep trouble without our ice. The sea ice is thinning in the Arctic, permafrost in the ground is thawing and glaciers are retreating. If just the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melts - about seven million cubic miles of ice - the world's sea level will rise 20 feet. That would cover Florida, most of Manhattan and much of the eastern seaboard where almost half of America's population lives. For top reading pleasure, enjoy this book in front of a roaring fire this winter - or save it for a hot summer's day.

The Planets, Dava Sobel; Viking.

As a follow up to "Ice," this book is a delightful and respectful guide to our solar system where there is and isn't ice. That condition - the existence or absence of ice - is one criterion scientists use to look for life within our universal neighborhood.

A collection of poetic essays beginning with the sun and extending to the outreaches of Pluto and beyond, the book addresses many larger issues set in the context of planet naming, scientific description, historical importance and discovery.

Sobel has written two other marvelous books, Longitude and Galileo's Daughter. This book, unlike the others, describes her personal view of life on Earth.

Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life, Niles Eldredge; W.W. Norton.

Written in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species and in association with a major traveling exhibition beginning at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the book takes as its aim a clear look at Darwin's evidence and subsequent "mode of thinking" about how life has evolved.

Eldredge, curator of the American Museum and co-discoverer, with Stephen Jay Gould, of the theory of "punctuated equilibrium," has written an important text that helps the layman to understand core ideas of evolutionary biology. In researching his book, he relied on careful reading of Darwin's notebooks.

While the book is not for the casual reader, it stands as a fascinating rebuttal to competing theories about the diversity of life on our planet.

Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream, Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler; John Wiley & Sons.

On April 21, 2007, Jamestown, Va., will celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding. You might be thinking of taking a road trip there before the crowds gather.

This book, although somewhat poorly edited and written occasionally on the level of a text book for ninth-graders, reminds you that Plymouth Colony didn't come first; offers a fascinating biographical portrait of Capt. John Smith; and fully informs us of the significance of our country's earliest English historical connections with Elizabethan and Jacobean times.

Nancy Nelson is director of the Clinton Community Library. Provisionally chartered by the State of New York, the library serves the six hamlets that comprise the Town of Clinton. Can't decide on what to read? Visit midhudson for links to lists of titles that might attract your interest.

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