ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


76 / C&RL N ew s ■ January 2001

N e w  P u b l i c a t i o n s George M. Eberhart

The American Presidents, edited by Melvin 
I. Urofsky (530 pages, April 2000), contains 
qualitative evaluations of 42 presidents by 
historians who focus on the policy successes 
and failures of each administration. As we 
assess Bill Clinton’s legacy and voice con­
cern about the abilities of his successor, it 
helps to see how history rates other holders 
of the office. The contributors strive for bal­
ance and manage to avoid partisan view­
points, though they do comment on the ways 
in which presidential personality affects per­
formance. $110.00. Garland. ISBN 0-8153­
2184-8.

Developing and Managing Electronic 
Journal Collections, by Donnelyn Curtis, 
Virginia M. Scheschy, and Adolfo 
R. Tarango (267 pages, October 
2000), demystifies the process of 
selecting, acquiring, licensing, or­
dering, cataloging, and promot­
ing journals in electronic format.
The authors, who gained much 
experience setting up an e-jour­
nal acquisitions program at the 
University of Nevada, Reno, pass 
along much practical and techni­
cal advice for both beginners and 
those more advanced. $55.00. 
Neal-Schuman. ISBN 1-55570­
383-6.

Dinosaurs of Darkness, by Thomas H. Rich 
and Patricia Vickers-Rich (222 pages, Octo­
ber 2000), examines the extensive fossil dis­
coveries at Dinosaur Cove in southeastern 
Australia that date from 100-120 million years 
ago when Australia was joined to Antarctica 
and the area was located within the polar 
latitudes. The dinosaurs that lived there in 
the Early Cretaceous had to contend with a 
harsh climate, several months o f 24-hour 
darkness each year, and possibly permafrost. 
But the real protagonists of this story are the 
authors, who played a crucial role in the dis­

George M. Eberhart is senior ed ito r of Am erican 
Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org

covery. Their account of the challenges, mis­
steps, and excitements involved in a quest 
for fossil birds and mammals that unexpect­
edly turned up polar dinosaurs lends an in­
sight into the ways that scientific investiga­
tions actually work— and how they must con­
tinue to work, despite ever-increasing layers 
of bureaucratic funding hurdles and admin­
istrative red tape. $35.00. Indiana University. 
ISBN 0-253-33773-9.

The Drunken Journalist: The Biography of 
a Film Stereotype, by Howard Good (200 
pages, May 2000), demonstrates the principle 
that just when you think there is a book on 
every conceivab le film genre, som eone 
com es up with a new, underappreciated 

them e. Jo u rn a lism  p ro fe sso r 
Good looks at how the hard- 
drinking journalist has been por­
trayed in films from the silent era 
to F e a r  a n d  L oathin g in  Las Ve­
gas, examining why the stereo­
type exists and whether there is 
a historical basis for it. Good con­
cludes that depicting newspaper­
men as alcoholics was one way 
to marginalize and harness the 
seemingly unrestrained power of 
the press. $40.00. Scarecrow . 
ISBN 0-8108-3717-X.

Encyclopedia of Eastern Europe: From the 
Congress of Vienna to the Fall of Com ­
munism, edited by Richard Frucht (958 pages, 
March 2000), offers an excellent introduction 
to the politics, geography, economics, cul­
ture, trends, and peoples in the former So­
viet bloc from 1814 to the 1990s. A handful 
of maps are the only illustrations, but this is 
somewhat compensated for by the clear and 
thorough treatment by 215 contributors, the 
references (not limited to English) that ac­
company the entries, and a comprehensive 
index. The historical overviews given for each 
of the seven primary countries are sweeping 
in scope, while the more specific entries add 
depth. $145.00. Garland. ISBN 0-8153-0092­
1.

mailto:geberhart@ala.org


C&RL News ■  January 2001 /  77

M ilestones in H ealth  and M edicine, by
A nne S. H ard in g  (267 p ag es, S e p te m b e r 
2000), provides 500 entries describing a d ­
vances in the treatm ent o f disease an d  the 
understanding o f hu m an  health. D escriptions 
of specific diseases include the first tim e the 
disease w as n o ted  historically an d  significant 
advances in treating it; drugs, therapies, an d  
technologies are also given a chronological 
treatment; an a 13-page tim eline offers an 
overview  o f developm ents since th e first evi­
d en ce o f tre p a n a tio n  a ro u n d  10,000 B.C. 
$71.00. Oryx. ISBN 1-57356-140-1.

The Tomb o f Christ, by Martin Biddle (172 
pages, paperback ed., O ctober 2000), reviews 
the archeological an d  architectural history of 

the structures at 
th e  site o f th e  
C h u rc h  o f th e  
Holy Sepulchre 
in  J e r u s a le m , 
h e l d  a t le a s t 
sin c e  th e  y e a r 
325 to  h a v e  
b e e n  th e  lo ca­
tion of the rock- 
c u t to m b  at 
Golgotha w here 
J e s u s  w a s  in ­
terred  after the 
Crucifixion. The 

present version of the Edicule, the “little house” 
in the church that encloses the tom b, dates 
from 1810, but Biddle argues— based o n  an 
11-year investigation— that there are vestiges 
of earlier Edicules stretching all the w ay back 
to the time of Constantine, and that m uch of 
the original rock-cut tom b m ay still exist. As 
he puts it, “th e layers o f previous Edicules can 
survive o n e inside the other like the skins of 
an onion. They suggest that there is m uch to 
be discovered w h en  the time com es for resto­
ration.” A fascinating analysis, w ith m any p h o ­
tographs, detailed draw ings, an d  diagrams. 
$21.95. Sutton Publishing, 260 Fifth Ave., New 
York, NY 10001. ISBN 0-7509-2525-6.

U nheralded Victory: The D e fe a t o f th e  
V ie t Cong and th e  N o rth  V ietn am ese 
Army, 1961-1973, by Mark W. Woodruff (338 
pages, Septem ber 1999), is a reassessm ent of 
the success o f th e  A m erican V ietnam  War 
effort, often portrayed as a military defeat. I

m issed this sm all-press title w h en  it first came 
out, b u t luckily discovered it at a recent co n ­
ference. Woodruff, an American Marine Corps 
veteran w h o  n o w  w orks as a psychologist 
for th e Royal Australian Navy, challenges the 
p o p u la r co n cep t that the conduct and p e r­
form ance o f the allied ground troops w as sub­
standard, and claims that b y  the time o f the 
1973 Paris Peace Accords, the Viet Cong had 
b e e n  soundly defeated an d  the North Viet­
nam ese Army w as a sp en t force. H ow  and 
w hy the myths and m isperceptions o f the w ar 
b ecam e generally accep ted  is the them e o f 
the second part o f this book, w hich offers a 
so u n d  counterargum ent to o ther historians. 
$24.95. V andam ere Press, P.O. Box 5243, 
Arlington, VA 22205. ISBN 0-918339-51-0. ■

“Letting y o u r  h a ir … ” continued fro m  p. 21) 
T hough th e bus cost is $15, it’s easy to re­
co u p  th e cost o f th e ride through ongoing 
offers at different casinos in th e tw o tow ns. 
(It’s n o t as easy to  reco u p  w h at you lose in 
the casinos so the best advice is: d o n ’t bring 
a credit card w ith you!) Call Ace Express at 
(303) 421-2780 for their schedule an d  m ore 
inform ation ab o u t casino rebates.

Upcom ing events and even m ore 
o p tio n s
T here are b o u n d  to b e events going o n  the 
w e e k e n d  o f the conference that w e  just d o n ’t 
k n o w  ab o u t yet. N ational musical, theater, 
dance, com edy, an d  lecture events often take 
a leisurely stop in Denver, an d  small clubs 
w ith great acoustics abound. C heck for the 
latest D enver h ap p en in g s in W estw ord , a 
w e e k ly  p a p e r  th a t’s D e n v e r’s a n s w e r to 
M anhattan’s V illage V oice. Check ou t their 
’’B e st o f  D e n v e r ” r e c o m m e n d a t io n s  at 
h ttp ://w w w .w estw o rd .co m .

E v e n ts  o f  a ll t y p e s  a r e  li s t e d  in  
W estw ord — an d  w e d o  m ean all types. Also 
see the tw o daily papers, th e  Denver Post, 
o n lin e  at h ttp ://d e n v e r p o s t.c o m , a n d  the 
R ocky M o u n ta in  News, o n  th e  W eb at 
h ttp ://ro c k y  m ountainnew s.com . T he Friday 
print editions o f th e dailies list events for the 
w eek en d . O ther sites that describe nighttime 
d e s tin a tio n s  in th e  D e n v e r a re a  in clu d e 
S w itc h b o a r d  at h ttp ://w w w .sw itc h b o a rd , 
com; D igital City D en v er at h ttp ://h o m e . 
digitalcity.com /denver/; an d  LodoG uide at 
http://w w w .lodoguide.com . ■

http://www.westword.com
http://denverpost.com
http://rocky
http://www.switchboard
http://home
http://www.lodoguide.com