A Few Good Books

Offers information for librarians and library students on how to become an effective readers' advisor in a technological and multicultural society.

Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression. The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West, as millions flocked to the grand hotels and the new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. The boom spawned a new subdivision civilization—and the most egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of “progress.” Nowhere was the glitz and froth of the Roaring Twenties more excessive than in Florida. Here was Vegas before there was a Vegas: gambling was condoned and so was drinking, since prohibition was not enforced. Tycoons, crooks, and celebrities arrived en masse to promote or exploit this new and dazzling American frontier in the sunshine. Yet, the import and deep impact of these historical events have never been explored thoroughly until now. In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. For while giant fortunes were being made and lost and the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else, the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination and the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom, endured grievous abuses. Knowlton breathes dynamic life into the forces that made and wrecked Florida during the decade: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century hurricane whose aftermath triggered the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory—and riveting—history of an era that still affects our country today.

Vanderbilt: the very name signifies wealth. The family patriarch, "the Commodore," built up a fortune that made him the world's richest man by 1877. Yet, less than fifty years after the Commodore's death, one of his direct descendants died penniless, and no Vanderbilt was counted among the world's richest people. Fortune's Children tells the dramatic story of all the amazingly colorful spenders who dissipated such a vast inheritance.

The service record of the Fighting Fifth covers almost all significant Marine Corps activities, combats and otherwise, of the twentieth century.

To the mess hall on the double! It's chow time, little soldiers! And time to learn the rules of engagement at the dinner table, like wearing the proper fatigues (Keep your pants on!), landing food in the Drop Zone (Your mouth!), not going AWOL (Stay in your seat, soldier!), and most importantly respecting your company (How about a "please" and "thank you"?). In no time, you'll be meals-up and ready to go just don't forget to clear your plate. You copy? From Lemke & Lentz (creators of BASIC TRAINING: CALL OF DOODIE and WEARABLE BOOKS), this clever, quirky board book transforms table manners into active duty.

From the author of "Little House on the Freeway" comes "Basic Training For A Few Good Men," a well organized plan that will help you to lead, love, and serve courageously. God's men have been at war for thousands of years. Kimmel provides timely humor and meaningful encouragement to those who find themselves battle fatigued.

In this riveting narrative history, women veterans from the world wars, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq tell their extraordinary stories. Evelyn M. Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee spent fifteen years combing through archives, journals, histories, and news reports, and gathering thousands of eyewitness accounts, letters, and interviews for this unprecedented chronicle of America’s “few good women.” Women today make up more than fifteen percent of the U.S. armed forces and serve alongside men in almost every capacity. Here are the stories of the battles these women fought to march beside their brothers, their tales of courage and fortitude, of indignities endured, of injustices overcome, of the blood they’ve shed and the comrades they’ve lost, and the challenges they still face in the twenty-first century.

When Michael A. Montigny's mother, Viola, was young, she was diagnosed with polio. Anxious about what awaited her, Viola listened when an elderly woman-a neighbor-came to tell her of her future. The old woman informed Viola that if she gave up something she loved and prayed to God for assistance, she would eventually walk again. Viola did make progress. The woman told Viola many other things: she would marry a man in law enforcement; her first two children would be wealthy and happy; and her youngest boy would never return home from a foreign war. This secret about Viola's youngest, Michael, was kept hidden from him for many years, but he eventually found out. When he's drafted at the age of nineteen, his parents are frantic. Every other prophecy had come true. Luckily, Michael has angels on his side. This incredible true story about the power of faith and love follows Michael through his time in Vietnam as a US Marine and beyond. His angels come in all shapes and sizes, and Michael recounts how they blessed and protected him throughout his life. Read this book, and be on the lookout for your own guardian angel.