National Mall - Books

The World War II Memorial: A Grateful Nation Remembers Douglas Brinkley From the Publisher: The stunning companion volume to America’s long-awaited WWII Memorial. Assuming its rightful place of honor on the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial is an eloquent and moving tribute to "The Greatest Generation." Sixteen million Americans served in the armed forces—more than 400,000 gave their lives—and millions supported the war effort from home, all in the name of protecting that which we, as Americans, hold most dear: freedom. The World War II Memorial, published in conjunction with the dedication of this long-overdue memorial, commemorates the everyday Americans who in countless ways rose up to defeat one of history’s gravest threats to freedom. Veterans—including George H.W. Bush, Sen. Daniel Inouye, former senators Bob Dole and George McGovern, Yogi Berra, and many, many others—contribute their own personal stories while leading historians look at the military campaigns of the war. The memorial’s architect and its sculptor provide insights into how it symbolizes the fortitude and perseverance of a generation, and the exclusive photographs present the memorial through all stages of construction. Fittingly, this historic tribute falls in the 60th anniversary year of D-Day, a time when our nation once again reflects on its greatest sacrifice and greatest victory in the name of freedom. 100 color and 125 b-w photographs. Douglas Brinkley is the Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans and author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. From The Critics: Publishers WeeklyA fine companion to the PBS documentary on the memorial, this coffee-table volume begins and ends with useful histories and discussions of the memorial itself. In between are summaries from Brinkley (Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War, etc.) of land, sea and air campaigns, in Europe and the Pacific; of the home front, including war production and daily life; of women’s roles. Interspersed with the narratives are the personal tales of WWII veterans, including All-Star Pitcher Bob Feller, a battleship sailor; Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier; and a young Annapolis graduate who commanded a submarine at the end of the war, with a parallel tale by his wife. Well-chosen and well-reproduced period photographs are here in generous quantity, even if emphasizing the classics, as are photos of the memorial (by Richard Latoff). The war production of the Ford Motor Company (a sponsor of the volume and the TV special) gets significant space. The foreword by John S.D. Eisenhower states that for the U.S., the "impact of WWII lies chiefly on the effect it had on the Americans who lived through the period, especially those who participated, and the impact it had on American society." It does not mention the impact of the 405,399 U.S. deaths during the war, also commemorated by the memorial. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Library JournalA companion volume to the PBS documentary The World War II Memorial: A Testament to Freedom, this is an excellent addition to the literature, as its central theme is the memorial itself, recently dedicated in Washington, DC. The book begins with an account of the memorial, explaining its main elements and how it was conceived and built, and also offers comments from the designer and sculptor. The book then tells the story of the war as reflected in the memorial, with such chapters as "Victory at Sea" and "Victory in Europe," including women at war and the home front. Each chapter is written by a noted historian or author, e.g., Thomas Childers, Carlo D’Este, and Emily Yellin. The profusely illustrated text is nicely side-barred with interviews with veterans or civilians both well known and unknown, including Robert Dole, Daniel Inouye, Yogi Berra, and Margie Munn, a drill press operator. Highly recommended. David Lee Poremba, Detroit P.L. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. List Price: $$39.95 Our Price: $27.96

Call of the Mall Paco Underhill From the Publisher: Paco Underhill, the Margaret Mead of shopping, has run hundreds of research assignments in malls across the country (and in Tokyo and European capitals). He has visited them, observed his fellow mall-ers, looked long and hard for his car in mammoth parking lots, chatted up the staffers, gone hunting for jeans with adolescent girls and anniversary shopping with guys.The result is a bright, ironic, funny, and shrewd portrait of the mall -- America’s gift to personal consumption, its most powerful icon of global commercial muscle, the once new and now aging national town square, the place where we convene in our leisure time.Call of the Mall is about desire and buying lingerie, about why the same camel hair coat costs twice as much in the women’s department as it does in the boys’. It’s about why shoes, handbags, and cosmetics are clustered, why Cartier is next to cut-rate, and why the movie theater is hard to find.It’s about the shopping mall as an exemplar of our commercial and social culture, the place where our young people have their first taste of social freedom, and where the rest of us compare notes. Call of the Mall examines how we use the mall, what it means, why it works when it does, and why it sometimes doesn’t.Visiting the mall with Paco Underhill is a surprising and insightful tour through the American crossroads. Why We Buy changed the way we watch ourselves shop. Call of the Mall will deepen our understanding of how we live, work, play, and spend. From The Critics: The Washington PostUnderhill does a thorough and sometimes amusing survey of just about every aspect of a mall one could imagine: the ghastly parking lots or garages, built without (again) a moment’s thought for the convenience of patrons; the bathrooms of equal size for both sexes though women use them far more than men do (hence those long lines they have to endure), planned by male marketers, many of whom have never entered a ladies’ room; the mostly mediocre food at the food courts, which are designed not to provide a pleasant eating environment but "to prolong the shopper’s stay"; the "conversion rate" that measures how well individual stores are able to turn browsers into profitable spenders; the custom of "mall walking," in which people move snaillike, "three, four, or more abreast" -- a maddening habit that can now be observed everywhere, from the sidewalks of New York to the boardwalk of Miami Beach. — Jonathan YardleyPublishers WeeklyBestselling "retail anthropologist" Underhill (Why We Buy) talks readers through every aspect of malls, from the first glance at their ugly exteriors along the side of the road to the struggle to remember where the car’s parked. Although he offers glimpses of shopping centers around the world, the bulk of this excursion takes place in a mall a few miles outside Manhattan, as Underhill and a rotating cast of companions wander through stores looking for various items, commenting about what does (and doesn’t) work about the shopping (and social) experience. The colloquial narration works well, even under potentially strained circumstances ("I need to use the bathroom, and you’re coming with me"), although the casual recognition of gender differences in shopping patterns sometimes leads to observations that that readers may find off-putting, like comments on the physical assets of "fat and curvy" women. Underhill clearly revels in mall culture, though he looks upon it with a sharply critical eye; among the biggest complaints: lousy maps and the lack of shopping carts. No detail is too small to escape his attention; if one ever wondered why clothing racks always seem stuffed to capacity, for example, he explains it’s because rising real estate prices have largely eliminated storerooms. Some might ask how much detail shoppers really want about how stores entice them to buy, but any nagging doubts will be swept away by the engaging manner in which Underhill passes along the keen insights he’s gained through years of retail consulting. (Feb. 1) Forecast: Why We Buy was an international bestseller, translated into 18 languages, and Underhill gives great media, so expect robust sales for this new book; it should also draw renewed attention to Why We Buy, so booksellers will want to check their stock of that title. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. School Library JournalAdult-High School-Underhill takes readers on an insightful tour of a typical Saturday at a large, regional mall. He examines the routes there, the shopping center itself, the stores, food, entertainment, ambience, and the customers. He shows why the mall is the way it is and how it could be improved. He provides insight into how the stores are arranged, how they display merchandise, and the different ways that men and women respond to this environment. Written in the first person, the book is light and breezy in style and includes conversations with salespeople, shoppers, and experts in retail sales. According to Underhill, "Teenagers are the ones whose love for the mall is pure and constant and unshadowed by doubt or ambivalence"; by reading this book, they will be able to look more critically at the forces that are at work as they shop.-Jane S. Drabkin, Chinn Park Regional Library, Woodbridge, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Soundview Executive Book SummariesWhy We Shop Until We Drop - All in One SpotRetail anthropologist and consumer behavior specialist Paco Underhill has spent much time in the malls of America, Asia and Europe. He has returned from the enclosed shopping environments of the world with many discoveries about the ways consumers spend their money in these retail behemoths. As someone who studies the details of retailing, Underhill wrote Call of the Mall to shed new light on how malls, stores and parking lots are experienced by consumers. Underhill writes that, at last count, there are 1,175 malls in the United States. A typical mall covers about 46 acres, including its parking lots. According to a poll from the 1970s in U.S. News and World Report, adult Americans spend more time at malls than anywhere except for home and work. Today, malls account for nearly 14 percent of all U.S. retailing (not counting cars or gasoline), and about $308 billion in annual sales. ’Big Wall With a Little Mouse Hole’ Recounting the history of retail architecture, Underhill bemoans the boxy look of most malls, and reminisces about a time when department stores bore impressive edifices. Now, he writes, most malls that look like a "big wall with a little mouse hole" do a dismal job of signaling us as to what goes on inside. Although Faneuil Hall in Boston and other urban malls can become beautiful landmarks, he explains, most are huge and unsightly. Underhill also spends a chapter of Call of the Mall on the lowly mall parking lot, and while describing the difficulties he has had finding his car in them when they are crowded, he imparts many suggestions about better ways retailers and marketers can use a mall’s parking lot to make more money. One tip: Have staffers park in front of the mall as a signal to morning shoppers that the mall is open, rather than park around back, leaving the lot vacant. Today’s malls, Underhill points out, have become suburban functional Main Streets, filled with the activities once consigned to small-town main streets, schoolhouses, community centers or village greens. Today, Boy Scouts, ballet schools, drama clubs, and roller hockey leagues are all using the space on the mall’s ground floor to perform their activities. Underhill also addresses the question "Are malls racist?" After briefly discussing the legal issues involved in mall access, he writes that "it seems clear that malls hope by limiting public transportation they can control who may enter and who may not." Underhill writes that "keeping the mall unattainable by public transportation goes a long way toward segregating it from anything even potentially scary." In malls, Underhill explains, there is no weather to worry about and the pace is slower, but there is also no tradition of talking to or even helping strangers in a mall. He points out that even the maps within malls are not much help to those who are trying to find a particular store. He suggests that department stores might benefit by placing maps instead of directories inside their doorways. He even describes what a good store map would look like. The Decompression Zone Another observation Underhill makes about malls is that there is a decompression zone between the door of a mall and the mall’s high-profile retailers. He points out that the stores between the mall’s doors and the deeper interior of the mall are usually low-profile tenants, such as post offices, video game arcades, beauty parlors, and exercise equipment stores. He writes that this transition stage is one of the most critical things he and his researchers have learned about how shoppers move through retail environments. "Nothing too close to the door really registers," he writes. So, because of this transition zone, the best stores in the mall are never near the entrance. Throughout Call of the Mall, Underhill recaps dialogue between himself and several other mall experts, including an executive with a major corporation that specializes in selling things to women shoppers, a 20-year-old shopper who walks Underhill through the process of buying jeans, and two adolescent girls who provide him with details of their mall shopping habits. While recounting their insights, contemplating their ideas, and tossing out a few researched statistics, Underhill presents numerous bits of advice for retailers and marketers that can put them more deeply in touch with the vast world of the mall. Why We Like This Book Although Call of the Mall reveals more anecdotal and personal insight than empirical data and statistical evidence, the ideas it covers add many new dimensions to familiar terrain. Underhill’s conversational tone, clever wit and extensive experience make the knowledge of malls he imparts as informative as it is fun to read. Copyright andcopy; 2004 Soundview Executive Book Summaries List Price: $$24.95 Our Price: $19.96

Foods of the Americas: Native Recipes and Traditions Fernando Divina From the Publisher: FERNANDO DIVINA has been the executive chef at several acclaimed restaurants. Together with his wife, MARLENE, he owns Divina Restaurant Concepts, which since 1989 has provided restaurant planning services and menu guidelines for a wide array of clients-most notably the National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Café. The Divinas’ articles and photography have appeared in such publications as The Oregonian, Northwest Indian Magazine, and Arizona Food and Lifestyles Magazine. The Divinas and their son, Zoey, are based in Arizona.* A comprehensive, illustrated cookbook with 140 recipes dedicated to the native ingredients and traditions of the Americas. * Includes 24 full-color food photographs and 30 images from the Smithsonian collections. From The Critics: Library JournalThe National Museum of the American Indian will open in Washington, DC, in September, and the Divinas developed the menu for the on-site caf . Here they present some 150 modern interpretations of traditional native dishes--or variations thereon--from North and South America: Aleutian-Style Dungeness Crab and Scallop Chowder, Avocado and Shrimp Salad by way of Chile, and Colombian-Style Rabbit with Coconut Milk. Many of the recipes are rather sophisticated, yet some of the most contemporary-seeming dishes come with a truly ancient pedigree. Experts in the field have contributed essays on such topics as reservation food and community gardens and the cycle of life, and there are illustrations and period photographs from the museum’s archives throughout. For most collections. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Our Price: $39.95

Capital Lynn Curlee Annotation: Provides a history of Washington, D.C., focusing on the National Mall, its monuments and surrounding buildings. From the Publisher: The White House. The Washington Monument. The Lincoln Memorial. The Jefferson Memorial. The Capitol building. These structures define and glorify our nation’s history and stand today as towering symbols of architectural achievement. However the tale behind their construction is often left untold. Brought to life by Lynn Curlee, the story of the emergence of our capital city is one that is both moving and awe-inspiring. In Capital, Mr. Curlee explores the forces behind, and the people working for, the creation of these monuments, detailing the brilliance, agony, and creative spirit that went into them. With extraordinary paintings and a moving narrative, he revitalizes the history of Washington, D. C. , and the growth of a nation, for young readers. From The Critics: Publishers WeeklyThis illuminating history of Washington, D.C., spotlights five of the city’s most imposing structures: the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. After explaining how George Washington selected the site of the new government seat, the author describes the original plan for the city, developed by engineer and architect Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, who "vowed to create a capital `magnificent enough to grace a great nation.’ " Unlike his Brooklyn Bridge and Liberty, which focused on the development of one structure, Curlee here chronicles the planning and construction of all five landmarks, emphasizing the historical and architectural significance of each. He covers a lot of territory; some readers may wish he had dedicated the entire book to the most complex and captivating story (and the one to which he devotes the most pages): the Capitol. Curlee’s paintings of the designs and buildings, especially the Capitol’s dome, seemingly thrusting through the clouds, are as breathtaking as ever; the portraits of people, however, tend to be somewhat static or wooden. Budding historians will be most captivated by the tale of the Capitol’s construction, its burning by the British during the War of 1812, its rebuilding and subsequent enlargements, as well as an ample sprinkling of trivia (e.g., Thomas Jefferson’s anonymously submitted plans for the original "President’s House" did not win its design competition; the Capitol served as a hospital during the Civil War; etc.). Curlee makes dramatic use of light in his spare, realistic acrylic paintings of this monumental architecture, readily conveying the buildings’ splendor and grace. All ages. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. School Library JournalGr 3-5-This in-depth look at the planning and construction of some of our country’s most treasured architecture, which lines the National Mall in Washington, DC, is also U.S. history encapsulated. Mandated by the Constitution in 1787, the capital has existed as a potent symbol, both architectural and political, of a city and a government that belong to the entire country. At every architectural turn in the next two centuries, the building that has taken place around the Mall has echoed and amplified national events and concerns, and Curlee makes these connections clear. His training in art history is evident in his analyses of not only the buildings themselves, but also their role as expressions of our democratic beliefs. His oil paintings, which support the text admirably, are beautiful and architectural, almost severe, but often have human figures included both for scale and emotional accessibility, and in this they echo the text. This title is a worthy companion to Curlee’s Liberty (2000), Rushmore (1999), and Brooklyn Bridge (2001, all Atheneum). It is a stirring, timely, and thoughtful reminder of the principles underpinning the creation of our nation, and a necessary addition to American history collections.-Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information. Kirkus ReviewsMeticulous illustrations accompany brief descriptions and histories of the buildings and monuments that form the heart of the nation’s capital. After discussing the founding, initial design, and 1814 burning of Washington, D.C., Curlee delivers thumbnail sketches of the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Moving chronologically in order of the beginning of building and geographically around the Mall, he deliberately situates each subject; maps of L’Enfant’s original plan and the Mall as it is now flank these presentations. Tidbits of history (e.g., that the Capitol served as a hospital during the Civil War and that Thomas Jefferson anonymously entered the contest to design the White House) join the occasional architectural cross-section to give a sense of both form and function of these buildings. In their clarity and simplicity, and with their deep-blue backgrounds, the illustrations clearly hearken back to Curlee’s earlier work, but this offering’s necessarily inclusive nature means that the work as a whole lacks the glorious specificity and unity of narrative of efforts such as Brooklyn Bridge (2001). Although this volume nominally covers five buildings, the Capitol receives the lengthiest and most enthusiastic treatment; one might wish that it had been the sole focus. In tone, the text takes on a reverence that never lets its reader forget that these buildings are monuments: "Painted a dazzling white, and with its noble profile, large windows, and lofty height . . . the Capitol dome is instantly recognizable. Triumphantly completed during the nation’s most terrible crisis, the great dome came to symbolize the Union itself."Quotations from primary sources, some regrettably unidentified, embellish the text. In all, a worthy effort that cannot escape a certain hodgepodge effect. (Picture book-nonfiction. 8-12) Our Price: $17.95

Sprawl and Public Space: Redressing the Mall David Smiley (Editor) From the Publisher: Considers strategies for the reuse of abandoned malls in America’s first-ring suburbs. Since the late 1990s, the National Endowment for the Arts, under the direction of Mark Robbins, has been promoting design excellence through an ambitious series of symposia, best-case design studies, and prototype projects. The results of these programs are now documented in a new series of publications, each focusing on design in the public realm and the potential for innovative architecture, landscape architecture, and planning. Our Price: $11.95

Their Last Battle: The Fight for the National World War II Mermorial Nicolaus Mills From the Publisher: "In 1987, Roger Durbin, a retired mail carrier and World War II veteran, asked his congresswoman a pointed question: "How come there’s no memorial to World War II in Washington?" From that simple question sprang the long quest to create the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington. The struggle grew into a seventeen-year odyssey, beginning with a seemingly uncontroversial Congressional bill and culminating in the official opening on Memorial Day weekend in 2004." In Their Last Battle, Nicolaus Mills tells the definitive story of the monumental fight to make the memorial a reality. From arguments over its location to political stonewalling and criticism of its design, the memorial became a lightning rod for politicians, critics, veterans’ groups, and others who lined up either for or against it, even as the number of surviving World War II veterans dwindled with each year of delay. The memorial’s rocky progress to completion is a compelling story of Washington politics, but ultimately it reveals what public monuments can tell us about America and the values it honors. From The Critics: Thomas Childers - The Washington Post Mills is good at isolating the central issues and key players in the drama, and he gives all sides to the various disputes a fair hearing, but his sympathies are clearly with the project’s supporters. Indeed, following the twists and turns of the controversy, readers come to share the author’s obvious frustration as the project staggered from one board meeting to the next agency review to the subsequent public hearing and back again, while time was running out for a generation of Americans who, in the darkest days of the 20th century, fought and won a war to protect the very values on which the United States was founded. Library JournalFirst conceived by French-born architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant as a "public walk" designed to rival the grand vistas of Versailles and Paris, the National Mall has undergone many changes over the centuries. While it now enshrines much of America’s most cherished patriotic and civic heritage, fierce debate over how the mall should look and what it should signify has attended the construction of nearly all its memorials. Against this historical backdrop, Mills (history, Sarah Lawrence Coll.; editor, The New Killing Fields) chronicles the political, cultural, and architectural struggles surrounding the 16-year battle to establish the latest addition to the mall, the National World War II Memorial, which opens to the public May 29. Mills traces the memorial’s tangled legislative history and examines the heated clashes over the memorial’s ultimate placement and design. Readers who have the patience to follow the tortuous path of the memorial through a labyrinthine bureaucratic process will be rewarded with a deeper appreciation for the architectural and artistic achievements underpinning this long-overdue memorial. Recommended for all collections.-Edward Metz, Combined Arms Research Lib., Ft. Leavenworth, KS Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. Kirkus ReviewsA richly detailed account of the ideas, politics, architecture, engineering, and construction of the controversial war memorial now rising on the Washington Mall. Mills (American Studies-Sarah Lawrence; The New Killing Fields, 2002, etc.) sheds his leftist skin in this balanced, definitive account of the journey from idea to building in the era of multiple constituencies, multiple governmental agencies, and multiple egos in need of perpetual massage. Like Brokaw, Ambrose, and others who have written about those who won WWII, the author is eager to confer upon them the title of our "greatest generation"; he believes, as well, that the WWII Memorial is a fitting tribute. Mills begins with a glance backward at the laying of the cornerstone for the Bunker Hill Monument in 1825 and then dives right into today’s troubled waters. He credits the late Roger Durbin, a WWII veteran, for animating Ohio Congresswoman Mary Kaptur to begin in 1987 the process of bringing another memorial to the Mall. He tells, as well, about the controversies surrounding the construction of the other principal structures in the area. In 1922, he reminds us, organizers of the dedication ceremony for the Lincoln Memorial saw fit to rope off one area for "colored" members of the audience. Mills’s prose occasionally plods. For some Gertrude Stein-ish reason he almost always refers to the structure by its full name, and sometimes his sentences sink with the weight of the detail ("Insisting that in favoring placement of the World War II Memorial at the Rainbow Pool, it had indeed paid attention to its own Cultural Landscape Report, the National Park Service answered Catherine Slater’s September 5 letter by quoting back theLandscape Report’s published guidelines"). Nonetheless, his work teaches us that all of the monuments, which now seem so permanent and appropriate, were once nothing more than ideas that annoyed myriads of people. Solid if dutifully written. (2 8-page photo inserts, not seen)Agent: Mildred Marmur-Mildred Marmur Associates Our Price: $26.00

The Lincoln Memorial and American Life Christopher A. Thomas From the Publisher: "Honoring perhaps the most celebrated and important president in history, the Lincoln Memorial is one of our most recognized national shrines. It seems impossible to envision the Mall in Washington, D.C. or national pageantry without it - yet the Lincoln Memorial was almost not built. From the project’s inception, the memorial - a modified Greek temple designed by architect Henry Bacon - gave rise to charged cultural and aesthetic debate, including arguments about Modernism and Americanism. Christopher Thomas offers the first detailed analysis of Bacon’s design and the memorial as a system, including the statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. Using extensive archival data, Thomas discusses just why the memorial looks as it does." "Because the idea of a memorial to Lincoln raised questions of race, the legacy of the Civil War, and lingering sectional animosities, the project sparked political debate between the legislative and executive branches of government and between political parties. Thomas traces the long and controversial path of the project, ranging from the immediate aftermath of the Civil War through the Progressive era, with its mix of novelty, racism, and imperialism. As he concentrates on the memorial’s background, design, construction, reception, and uses - including the many public demonstrations for civil rights and justice that have taken place there - Thomas shows that the Lincoln Memorial is not a neutral symbol of America at all but a partisan and racially coded object, susceptible to appropriation and re-appropriation." A valuable contribution to American studies, this book combines architecture and art history with American history and politics. It will appeal to scholars in these fields and to any general reader with an interest in Lincoln, the early twentieth century, and the monuments of our nation’s capital. From The Critics: Library JournalThomas’s lucid, revealing, and amply illustrated book gives a full-bodied life history of the Lincoln Memorial, with an eye to the ways various political, social, architectural, and artistic interests claimed and used the memorial to push their own ideas about nation, race, aesthetics, and social justice. Thomas (history of art, Univ. of Victoria, British Columbia) looks at the whole of the memorial, including the inscribed tablets, murals, building, and even landscape and location on the Mall, to show how and why the memorial came to dominate the public imagination. In the process of conceiving and then building the project, as Thomas argues, the memorialized Lincoln moved from being the symbol of sectional reconciliation, to aggressive statesman in the Theodore Roosevelt mold, to emancipator and more. By the 1960s, the memorial had become the symbol for civil rights and human justice that went beyond party or any one person. Thomas devotes considerable attention to issues of design and appearance, all to good effect, in showing how "beauty" informed belief. The result is a book that gives life and meaning to the great marbled temple on the Mall and reminds us how contested "memory" was and can be. Highly recommended for all libraries. Randall M. Miller, Saint Joseph’s Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Our Price: $37.95

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture Gary R. McDonald (Editor) From the Publisher: This unique new title in the accalaimed Encyclopedias of Contemporary Culture series offers a wide definition of culture - including age groups, cities, civil rights, consumption, ethnicity, production, sports, technology and transportation alongside film, literature, music and visual arts. Entries give contextual information as well as factual details and coverage spans from the End of World War II to the present day.The 1200+ entries include: affirmative action * Baby Boom * James Baldwin * Beat generation * censorship * coffee houses * disaster movies * Brett Easton Ellis * environmentalism * freedom-liberty * Gap (The) * homelessness * homophobia * individualism * internet * Ivy League * Quincy Jones * jukeboxes * Levittown * Liberace * life cycles * malls * marijuana * Eugene McCarthy * Microsoft * migration * minorities and television * National Rifle Association [NRA] * old age * Sylvia Plath * quinceanos * racial profiling * refugees * Roe vs. Wade * Scientology * sitcoms * soap operas * strikes * suicide * teenagers * Times Square * Time Warner * tipping * unions * Vietnam War * volleyball * White flight * yuppies * and many more... Consultant editors: Sandra Gilchrist, University of South Florida; Rick Halpern, University College, London; Gail Henson, Bellarmine College, Louisville; James Kraus, Stony Point; Dewar Macleod, University of Montclair; Ed Miller, City University of New York Randall Miller, Saint Joseph’s University; Enrique Sacerio-Gari, Bryn Mawr College Includes extensive cross-referencing and a thematic contents list with suggestions for further reading and index. From The Critics: Library JournalAnother of Routledge’s encyclopedias of contemporary culture (e.g., Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture, LJ 7-00), which vary substantially in quality, this successfully presents a well-balanced synthesis of the United States after World War II. The text covers all aspects of culture, from business and politics to education, arts and sciences, society, and religion. The alphabetically arranged entries range from short definitions to longer overviews that span a couple pages and treat topics as varied as Haitian Americans, Camille Paglia, Disneyland, Prozac, and censorship. A thematic list groups the entries into broad categories, such as "Civil Rights," "Film," "Gender and Sexuality," and "Urbanism and Suburbs." Given the diversity, complexity, and sheer overabundance of material, the editors acknowledge that such a work can’t be exhaustive and that shortcomings and discrepancies are inevitable. Yet with its suggestions for further reading, cross references, and even Internet addresses, this work provides a good starting point for information about the issues, events, people, and places that shape, define, or represent America today. Recommended for larger public and research libraries.--Anna Youssefi, Rice Univ., Houston, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. BooknewsThe idea is to provide an intermediate guide, somewhere between general encyclopedia and works or references on particular regions or aspects of the US. From the end of World War II to the end of the century, over 1,200 articles consider characteristics of the period as a whole while recognizing changes during it. The entries are signed, referenced, and highly cross-referenced. They range from a paragraph or twotypically about individual people and placesto longer ones on fundamental issues, movements, trends, and other topics. America is here limited to the US; Canada and Mexico get less than a page each. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Our Price: $225.00

The Mall in Washington, 1791-1991 Richard Longstreth (Editor) From the Publisher: As the most important public space in the United States, the Mall in Washington, D.C., has been a vital emblem of national spirit and ideals ever since Major Pierre Charles L’Enfant first envisioned it over two hundred years ago. Although the Mall has undergone numerous changes since its conception, it has retained centrality within the life of the capital and has emerged as an essential symbol of American national identity and an influential model of city planning worldwide.Featuring fourteen essays by prominent historians, architects, and leaders of some of Washington, D.C.’s most important institutions, this book explores the Mall’s origins and growth as well as the shifting political forces and cultural values that have shaped it. Over 140 illustrations help to tell the story of the site, including beautiful vintage maps, prints, and drawings, in addition to numerous contemporary documentary and historical photographs. Originally published in 1991, The Mall in Washington features a new introduction discussing recent developments on the Mall. Author Biography: Richard Longstreth is professor of American civilization at George Washington University. Therese O’Malley is associate dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington. Studies in the History of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts Our Price: $45.00

marching on Washington: The Forging of an American Political Tradition Lucy G. Barber From the Publisher: When Jacob Coxey’s army marched into Washington, D.C., in 1894, observers didn’t know what to make of this concerted effort by citizens to use the capital for national public protest. By 1971, however, when thousands marched to protest the war in Vietnam, what had once been outside the political order had become an American political norm. Lucy G. Barber’s lively, erudite history explains just how this tactic achieved its transformation from unacceptable to legitimate. Barber shows how such highly visible events contributed to the development of a broader and more inclusive view of citizenship and transformed the capital from the exclusive domain of politicians and officials into a national stage for Americans to participate directly in national politics. Our Price: $19.95

On the Mall in Washington, D. C.: A Visit to America’s Front Yard Brent K. Ashabranner Annotation: A guide to the monuments, memorials, museums, and gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. From The Critics: Children’s LiteratureSubtitled "A Visit to America’s Front Yard," this book surveys perhaps the most evocative 2 miles in America, from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial. It describes the memorials, the museums, the ponds and gardens, and special events on the Mall, from 4th of July celebrations to famous demonstrations such as the 1963 March on Washington. There is also a chapter on future memorials and museums, visitor information, a list of important places near the Mall, resources for more information, and an index. Sidebars provide more detailed information on individual sights and profile individuals such as Pierre Charles L’Enfant, original designer of the Mall and Washington, D.C., and James Smithson, whose generous bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution. The text is thorough and well written. Each sight mentioned in the text has a number corresponding to a large map at the center of the book. Full-color, captioned photographs illustrate the text. The book is a handy resource for children writing reports on the capitol or visiting Washington, and can be used by parents as a family travel guide. 2002, The Millbrook Press, Turner School Library JournalGr 3-6-With his daughter as photographer, the author takes readers on an introductory tour, briefly describing the monuments along the way: the Grant Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and so on. He also covers the Smithsonian Institution and the buildings on the Mall that help to make up this museum complex. In addition, he describes the flower and sculpture gardens, and special events that take place, particularly in the summer. There is some material on planned structures, including the memorial to World War II Veterans. "More About" sections offer additional information, such as the history, size, and construction of a monument. A number at the end of the text about each monument helps readers to locate the site on a map of the Mall that is in the center of the book; however, this coding system is not explained when the numbers first appear. There is also a map that shows Washington, D.C., in relation to its bordering states and the Mall’s general location in the District. The mainly full-color photos, most by Jennifer Ashabranner, are small and sharp. The book is useful for first-time visitors or for those who simply want some basic information.-Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Our Price: $23.93

On the Mall in Washington, D. C.: A Visit to America’s Front Yard Brent K. Ashabranner Annotation: A guide to the monuments, memorials, museums, and gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. From The Critics: Children’s LiteratureSubtitled "A Visit to America’s Front Yard," this book surveys perhaps the most evocative 2 miles in America, from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial. It describes the memorials, the museums, the ponds and gardens, and special events on the Mall, from 4th of July celebrations to famous demonstrations such as the 1963 March on Washington. There is also a chapter on future memorials and museums, visitor information, a list of important places near the Mall, resources for more information, and an index. Sidebars provide more detailed information on individual sights and profile individuals such as Pierre Charles L’Enfant, original designer of the Mall and Washington, D.C., and James Smithson, whose generous bequest founded the Smithsonian Institution. The text is thorough and well written. Each sight mentioned in the text has a number corresponding to a large map at the center of the book. Full-color, captioned photographs illustrate the text. The book is a handy resource for children writing reports on the capitol or visiting Washington, and can be used by parents as a family travel guide. 2002, The Millbrook Press, Turner School Library JournalGr 3-6-With his daughter as photographer, the author takes readers on an introductory tour, briefly describing the monuments along the way: the Grant Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and so on. He also covers the Smithsonian Institution and the buildings on the Mall that help to make up this museum complex. In addition, he describes the flower and sculpture gardens, and special events that take place, particularly in the summer. There is some material on planned structures, including the memorial to World War II Veterans. "More About" sections offer additional information, such as the history, size, and construction of a monument. A number at the end of the text about each monument helps readers to locate the site on a map of the Mall that is in the center of the book; however, this coding system is not explained when the numbers first appear. There is also a map that shows Washington, D.C., in relation to its bordering states and the Mall’s general location in the District. The mainly full-color photos, most by Jennifer Ashabranner, are small and sharp. The book is useful for first-time visitors or for those who simply want some basic information.-Margaret C. Howell, West Springfield Elementary School, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Our Price: $9.95

Marching on Washington: The Forging of an American Political Tradition Lucy G. Barber From the Publisher: By 1971, however, when thousands marched to protest the war in Vietnam, what was once considered outside the accepted view of political expression had become a routine gesture in American political culture. Lucy G. Barber’s lively, erudite history of marching on Washington explains how this tactic was transformed from an unacceptable act into a legitimate one. Barber shows how these highly visible events contributed to the development of a broader and more inclusive view of American citizenship and transformed the capital from the exclusive domain of politicians and officials into a national stage for American citizens to participate directly in national politics. Marching on Washington describes in detail six demonstrations and the protest movements behind them, beginning with Coxey’s Army in 1894 and including marches for women’s suffrage, veterans’ bonuses, and equal opportunity, as well as the enormous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and the antiwar protest of 1971. These depictions show how ambitious, skillful, and daring organizers challenged the government and claimed the capital as a political space where citizens could voice their concerns to their elected leaders. An epilogue explores marches in Washington since 1971. On a broader level, Barber describes the strategic uses of demonstration to exercise the power of American citizenship and to include a more diverse population. At the same time, the history of marching on Washington is a story of changing access to public space, of the conflict between the right to assembly and the need for security. It is a fascinating account of how citizens project their plans and demands on national government, how they build support for their causes, and how they act out their own visions of national politics. From The Critics: Mary L. DudziakMarching on Washington is beautifully written. Lucy G. Barber has taken different stories and woven them together so that each story builds into a larger narrative about the history of political protest. By looking across a series of marches, Barber explores issues that escape more focused studies, such as the development of marching on Washington as a political strategy, and the changing conception of Washington as a public space. The scope of the research and the author’s craft in telling these stories sheds new light on important moments in American history. Publishers WeeklyEver since Coxey’s Army brazenly (so it seemed at the time) marched on Washington in 1894, millions of Americans have pushed into the capital to build support for a cause, register protest or attempt to influence federal legislation. Demonstrators naturally adopted a wide variety of styles: thousands of women activists in 1913 staged a silent, "beautiful and dignified" pageant for women’s suffrage; Vietnam War veterans in 1971 performed mock search-and-destroy missions on Pennsylvania Avenue; and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. uplifted hundreds of thousands of marchers in 1963 with his "I Have a Dream" speech. Barber, archivist for the California State Archives, attends closely to the definition of success for these high-profile marches. The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, for example, may have been massive, peaceful and orderly, with extensive media coverage and an unforgettable speech, but Barber notes that the march yielded no immediate legislative gains. That kind of critical analysis elevates this book from a mere historical chronicle to a more analytical account of marching as a form of political action and enduring change. Barber examines six notable marches, with special attention to the activists and organizers, politicians and public officials, and, finally, journalists and the general public. In her conclusion, Barber asks: "What political purposes do these protests serve now that they have become so pervasive? To what degree are they effective?" Although she does not have answers to those questions, her historical perspective on the successes and failures of previous marches provides a useful starting point. 33 bandw photos, 4 maps. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Library JournalWith antiwar marchers once again filling the streets of Washington, DC, this selective history of past protest marches is both timely and illuminating. Barber (California State Archives) looks at the phenomenon of the protest march on two levels: generally, as a strategic use of citizenship, and specifically, taking six influential marches as case studies. The marches she analyzes and describes include Coxey’s Army (1894), the Woman Suffrage Procession (1913), the Veterans’ Bonus March (1932), the aborted Negro March on Washington (1941), the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963), and the antiwar Spring Offensive (1971). In each case, the organizational strategies, in-fighting, and decision making provide fascinating reading-as do the responses from the administrations in power at the time. In an epilog, Barber presents a brief overview of recent marches and causes. Her research is impressive (she is, after all, a librarian!): 65 pages of detailed notes followed by a ten-page bibliographical essay. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Thomas A. Karel, Franklin and Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. Our Price: $45.00

Business Buyer’s Guide 1999 National Toll Free Directory Patricia G. Selden From the Publisher: The Shopper’s Guide brings a national shopping mall right into your home. With over 60,000 listings of businesses and organizations from coast-to-coast-it’s a toll-free mall without walls!With the Shopper’s Guide you can compare prices and shop for anything front unique girl items for that hard-to-please friend to gourmet food or household items for yourself. It’s also the one directory you won’t want to do without when planning your next vacation.There’s never been an easier way to shop. No more driving store to store. No more lighting crowds. No more hassles. The Shopper’s Guide is the quickest, most economical way to shop and it’s all Toll-Free. Our Price: $14.99

Consumption and Market Society in Israel Yoram S. Carmeli (Editor) From the Publisher: Israel has been remodelling itself on Western consumer societies for the last twenty years. Most Israelis now aspire to the "accessories" of Western lifestyles--private automobiles, cell phones, shopping malls, and travel abroad. International franchises such as McDonald’s, Office Depot, Benetton, IKEA, and Toys ’R’ Us increasingly feature in the Israeli landscape, and advertising has emerged as a potent force. Consumption and Market Society in Israel shows how different groups--kibbutzniks, Israeli Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, new immigrants, and middle-class Israelis--alternately exhibit a suspicion towards and enthusiasm for the consumer market society. Lifestyle consumerism is seen alternately as destructive to community and nation, or providing a sense of unity and familiarity in a time of political turmoil. This book is a timely contribution to a hotly debated topic. It is not only innovative in its research, but is the first work to explore fully the significance of this transformation in Israel. Our Price: $79.95

Consumption and Market Society in Israel Yoram S. Carmeli (Editor) From the Publisher: Israel has been remodelling itself on Western consumer societies for the last twenty years. Most Israelis now aspire to the "accessories" of Western lifestyles--private automobiles, cell phones, shopping malls, and travel abroad. International franchises such as McDonald’s, Office Depot, Benetton, IKEA, and Toys ’R’ Us increasingly feature in the Israeli landscape, and advertising has emerged as a potent force. Consumption and Market Society in Israel shows how different groups--kibbutzniks, Israeli Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox Jews, new immigrants, and middle-class Israelis--alternately exhibit a suspicion towards and enthusiasm for the consumer market society. Lifestyle consumerism is seen alternately as destructive to community and nation, or providing a sense of unity and familiarity in a time of political turmoil. This book is a timely contribution to a hotly debated topic. It is not only innovative in its research, but is the first work to explore fully the significance of this transformation in Israel. Our Price: $26.95

National Mall Brendan January Our Price: $21.00

Washington Monument Susan Ashley From the Publisher: The tallest structure in Washington, D.C., the Washington Monument occupies an important place in U.S. history. The Washington Monument helps readers learn about the reasons for building the monument, its ancient design, and its location on the National Mall. From The Critics: Children’s Literature - Karen Leggett The Washington National Monument Society was organized in 1833 to build a memorial to the first American president. The original plans included a circle of columns and statues around the base of the obelisk. Money ran out after six years of work and when construction resumed after the Civil War, the design became just a simple obelisk. There are photos and prints of the monument but no take-your-breath- away modern photos and no pictures or information about the most recent restoration. There are also no anecdotes about the construction or the selection of the design so the text is very dry. There is a print of the Civil War battle of Fort Sumter which seems unrelated to the text, even though it was the Civil War that delayed completion of the monument. The series includes titles featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, the Liberty Bell, Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, and the White House. Each title includes a glossary, simple index, and other resources including books and websites. 2004, Weekly Reader, Ages 4 to 7. Our Price: $19.33