ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


J u n e  1 9 9 7  /  4 2 5

New  
Publications

G e o rg e  M . E b e rh a rt

A frica n a  S tudies: A  D is
cip lin ary Q u est fo r  B oth 
T heory a n d  M eth o d , e d ­
ited by Jam es L. Conyers Jr. 
(237 pages, February 1997), 
explores the developm ent of 
theory and m ethodology in 
establishing African and Af
rican-diaspora studies as an 
academic discipline. T hese 
essays, w hich w ere pro m p t­
ed by a 1991 National C oun­
cil of Black Studies Summer 
Institute, address such to p ­
ics as the adm inistration and 
organizational structure o f Africana studies in 
HBCUs as well as predom inantly w hite cam ­
puses, afrocentricity, black feminism, and black 
linguistics and poetry. Essential for Africana col­
lections. $45.00. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jef­
ferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-7864-0278-4.

B ak er’ s B io g ra p h ic a l D ic tio n a ry  o f 2 0 th  
C en tu ry C la s s ic a l M u sicia n s, b y N icolas 
Slonimsky an d  ed ited  by Laura K uhn (1595 
pages, April 1997), is a com prehensive su p p le­
ment to Slonimsky’s 8th edition of Baker’s Bio­
graphical Dictionary o f Musicians (1992). Art­
ists selected for inclusion have primarily devoted 
their careers to contem porary W estern classical 
music (although this includes m any avant-garde 
and electronic com posers as well as Slonimsky’s 
friend Frank Zappa). The irreverant and idio­
syncratic Slonimsky, w ho died on Christmas Day 
1995 at the age o f 102, w as a stickler for his­
torical detail, an authority on  early 20th-cen­
tury music, and a linguistic trickster w h o  in­
vented m any w ords to describe new  musical 
genres; his “Glossary o f Term s,” borrow ed from 
the 5th edition of his Music Since 1900 (1994), 
is reprinted in this dictionary, including his fa­
mous definition of “sesquipedalian m acropoly­
syllabification,” w hich in itself entitles him to a 
niche in the lexicographical hall o f fame. No 
illustrations intrude on the text, w hich strives 
for a com plete sum m ation o f each m usician’s 
achievements and background. Nearly 60% of 
the information in this b ook is new; editor Kuhn 
has retained the flavor o f Slonimsky’s peculiar 
style. An indispensible reference for music col­
lections. $75.00. Schirmer Books, 1633 Broad­
way, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10019. ISBN 0-
02-871271-4.

B io lo g ic a l A n o m a lie s : 
M am m als II, com piled by 
W illia m  R. C o rlis s  (318 
pages, March 1997), is the 
second volum e in a series 
devoted to zoological mys­
teries. This b ook focuses on 
internal anatom y, genetics, 
the fossil record, and u n rec­
o g n i z e d  s p e c i e s . E a c h  
anom aly is rated in terms of 
the quality o f the reported 
data and the deg ree from 
w hich it deviates from ac­
cepted scientific norms. The 

vast majority o f exam ples are taken from sci­
entific journals an d  books. Corliss exam ines 
such ph en o m en a as late survival of m am m oths 
and m astodons, the scarcity o f transitional fos­
sils, rem ark ab le a d a p ta tio n s o f m am m alian 
eyes, electrosensitivity, the king cheetah, the 
onza, and unrecognized large marine mammals 
(sea monsters). $21.95. The Sourcebook Project, 
P.O. Box 107, Glen Arm, MD 21057. ISBN 0-
915554-31-3.

The E n c yc lo p ed ia  o f N a t iv e  A m e ric a n
B io g rap h y , by Bruce E. Jo h an sen  and D onald 
A. G rinde Jr. (463 pages, February 1997), of
fers b io g rap h ical inform ation o n  som e 600 
North American Indians and som e w hites w ho 
w ere im portant in their history. More than 130 
rarely seen p h o tographs and draw ings accom ­
pany the listings, w hich range from familiar 
nam es like G eronim o and T ecum seh to lesser-
know n individuals. Both historical and contem ­
porary figures are profiled, w ith tribal affilia­
tio n s  c le a r ly  i d e n tif ie d . B ib lio g r a p h ic a l 
information accom panies som e b ut not all of 
the entries, m aking the lack o f a co m p reh en ­
sive list o f w orks consulted a draw back in an 
o th e r w is e  c o m m e n d a b le  r e f e r e n c e  b o o k . 
$50.00. H enry Holt and Company, 115 W. 18th 
St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-8050-3270-3.

The E n c yc lo p ed ia  o f  N a t iv e  A m e ric a n  
H ealing, by William S. Lyon (373 pages, D e
cem ber 1996), is an excellent survey o f North 
American sham anism  and ethnobotany. Biog­
raphies of noted sham ans are included, as well

George M. Eberhart is associate editor of A m erican 
Libraries



4 2 6  /  C&RL News

as descriptions of sacred objects used in heal­
ing rituals, types of healing ceremonies, and 
herbal remedies. A w ell-docum ented com pila­
tion o f Native American ethnography. $55.00. 
ABC-CLIO, 130 Cremona Dr., P.O. Box 1911, 
Santa Barbara, CA 93116. ISBN 0-87436-852-9.

The Exclusion o f B lack Soldiers fro m  the  
Medal o f  H o n o r in W orld  W ar II, by Elliott 
V. Converse III, et al. (200 pages, May 1997), 
investigates the reasons why no African Ameri­
can soldiers w ere aw arded the Congressional 
Medal o f H onor in World War II. The authors 
show  in this report, com m issioned by the U.S. 
Army, that segregation, exclusion from com ­
bat, and racism w ere indeed the causes for in­
equity in awarding the medal. Based on this 
study, the Army forw arded in May 1996 the 
nam es of seven African Americans to Congress 
and the White House as potential recipients. In 
January 1997, President Clinton presented the 
medal to First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker for 
valor beyond the call of duty in the Italian cam­

(Leadership cont. from  page 412)
services, frequently are also assigned media 
services and com puter resources. A team  m em ­
ber w orks very hard but learns a great deal 
about a specific library operation and gains an 
understanding of the m any facets o f an educa­
tional institution. Also, there is frequently an 
opportunity to share ideas and “best practices.”

This is a valuable leadership opportunity for 
an academic librarian to be included as a peer 
with other academic specialists in specific and 
detailed deliberations on the effective o p era­
tion of an academic institution. Should you have 
the opportunity to serve as a m em ber o f a re­
gional or specialized accrediting team, I rec­
om m end that you accept. It is a challenging 
but very rewarding leadership experience.

N o te s
1. Stephanie Bangert and Bonnie Gratch, 

“Accreditation: Opportunities for Library Lead­
e r s h ip ,” C&RL News 56 (N o v e m b e r 1993): 
697-99.

2. Edward Garten, The Challenge a n d  Prac­
tice o f Academic Accreditation: Sourcebook fo r  
Library A dm inistrators (W e stp o rt, C onn.: 
G reenw ood, 1994).

3. Patricia Ann Sacks and Sara Lou Whildin, 
Preparing fo r  Accreditation: A Handbook fo r  
Academic Libraries (Chicago: ALA, 1993). ■

paign, and to the relatives o f the other six, all 
now  deceased. $23.50. McFarland & Co., Box 
611, Jefferson, NC 18640. ISBN 0-7864-0277-6.

E y ew itn e ss  to  H is to ry , edited by Brian M. 
Fagan (493 pages, February 1997), brings to­
gether 55 first-hand accounts of archeological 
discoveries that recreate the excitem ent and 
mystery of uncovering bones, buildings, and 
artifacts that have lain buried for centuries. In­
cluded here are: Donald Jo h an so n ’s discovery 
of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) in Ethio­
pia in 1974; Cham pollion’s recounting of how 
he first deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs; Le­
onard Woolley’s reconstruction o f a royal fu­
neral at Ur; David Soren’s description o f find­
ing an early Christian com m unity in Cyprus 
buried by an earthquake in 365 a. d . ; Konrad 
Spindler’s account of the 1991 discovery in the 
Alps of Otzi the 5,000-year-old man preserved 
in a glacier; and Ivor H um e’s excavation of the 
colonial settlem ent at Martin’s H undred, Vir­
ginia, that was destroyed by Indian attack in 
1622. These fascinating stories will undoubt­
edly inspire future generations of archeologists. 
$39.95. Oxford Univ. Press, 198 Madison Ave., 
New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-19-508141-2.

Slee’ s H e a lth  C are  Term s, by Vergil N. Slee, 
D ebora A. Slee, and H. Joachim  Schmidt (655 
pages, 3rd ed., January 1997), pulls together 
all the relevant terminology from earlier edi­
tions and defines many new  w ords and phrases 
that came into com m on usage during the health 
care reform m ovem ent of the 1990s. Medical, 
legal, and policy terms are included. Have this 
one on hand next time you attem pt to read an 
HMO prospectus. $49.95. Tringa Press, P.O. Box 
8181, St. Paul, MN 55108. ISBN 0-9615255-8-4.

W e  W e r e  N e x t  to  N o th in g , by Carl S. 
Nordin (257 pages, April 1997), is a first-hand 
account o f an American POW’s experience in 
prison camps in the Philippines and Japan dur­
ing World War II. Throughout his 27 months 
in captivity, Nordin detailed his thoughts on 
the camps in a secret diary that becam e the 
basis of this work. Memoirs like this are in­
valuable records of the horror and costs of war. 
$28.95. McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, 
NC 18640. ISBN 0-7864-0274-1. An interesting 
co m p ariso n  can b e m ade w ith B ernard T. 
Fitzpatrick’s The Hike into the Sun (McFarland, 
1993), a record of the Bataan Death March and 
similar Japanese internm ent camps. ■



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