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The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (which includes suspense, thriller, and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and women’s fiction. This year’s list includes novels that will please die-hard fans as well as introduce new readers to the pleasure of genre fiction. The winning titles were selected by the Reading List Council.

Adrenaline

Olen Steinhauer. The Nearest Exit. Minotaur, 2010. $25.99 (ISBN 978-031-262287-9).

Burned-out spy Milo Weaver confronts layers of deceit as his career collides with his desire to reclaim his family and his humanity. The labyrinthine intrigues enhance a building atmosphere of paranoia in this dark and emotionally-charged classic espionage thriller.

Readers may also enjoy Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and Alan Furst’s Night Soldiers.

Fantasy

Guy Gavriel Kay. Under Heaven. ROC, 2010. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0451463302).

Haunted by the ghosts of fallen warriors, Shen Tai is forced into the political machinations of the Emperor’s court when he receives a rare and valuable gift. Lyrical language and complex characterization draw readers into this elaborately unfolding epic set in a fantasy world that richly reimages eighth century Tang Dynasty China.

Readers may also enjoy Jo Graham’s Black Ships, Conn Iggulden’s Genghis: Birth of an Empire, and Vonda N. McIntyre’s The Moon and the Sun.

Historical Fiction

Julie Orringer. The Invisible Bridge. Knopf, 2010. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-4000-4116-9).

In this sweeping yet intimate portrait of a Hungarian Jewish family in Europe, two lovers become enmeshed in the turmoil of the Holocaust. With gorgeous prose and an exquisite evocation of Paris and Budapest, Orringer writes movingly of their strength and the bittersweet power of hope and love.

Readers may also enjoy Louis De Bernieres’s Corelli’s Mandolin, Janice Y. K. Lee’s The Piano Teacher, and Mary Doria Russell’s A Thread of Grace.

Horror

Stephen M. Irwin. The Dead Path. Doubleday, 2010. $25.95 (ISBN 978-0-385-53343-0).

Guilt ridden Nicholas Close retreats to his family home in Australia after the tragic death of his wife, only to encounter an ancient malevolence lurking in the nearby woods. Childhood nightmares and fairytale motifs combine in this emotionally powerful tale of implacable evil. Arachnophobes beware!

Readers may also enjoy Stephen King’s It, Raymond Feist’s Faerie Tale: A Novel of Terror and Fantasy, and Brian Keene’s Dark Hollow.

Mystery

Louise Penny. Bury Your Dead. Minotaur, 2010. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-312-37704-5).

Troubled by past mistakes, Chief Inspector Gamache, in his sixth outing, retreats to snowy and insular Quebec City, where he becomes embroiled in intertwining investigations of both old and new. Penny expertly delivers a layered story that is haunting, moody, and exquisitely drawn.

Readers may also enjoy Charles Todd’s A Test of Wills, Erin Hart’s Haunted Ground, and Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Bleak Midwinter.

Romance

Mary Balogh. A Matter of Class. Vanguard Press, 2009. $15.95 (ISBN 978-1-59315-554-4).

A lady is ruined. A merchant’s son is trapped. Class differences loom large in this charming and playful take on the arranged marriage. Balogh’s regency gem, where nothing is quite as it seems, is filled with affection and wit.

Readers may also enjoy Georgette Heyer’s Faro’s Daughter, Rose Lerner’s In for a Penny, and Julia Quinn’s The Viscount Who Loved Me.

Science Fiction

Ian McDonald. The Dervish House. Pyr, 2010. $26 (ISBN 9781616142049).

A terrorist bomb sets off a chain of events that, over the next five days, entangles the lives of six characters. McDonald brilliantly imagines a world in which the ultramodern exists side-by-side with the ancient, and he blends science and mysticism to embody the contradiction that is Istanbul in 2027.

Readers may also enjoy William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, George Alec Effinger’s When Gravity Fails, and Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl.

Women’s Fiction

Jo Ann Mapson. Solomon’s Oak. Bloomsbury, 2010. $25 (ISBN 978-1-60819-330-1).

Recently widowed Glory Solomon collects stray animals and damaged souls. Facing bankruptcy, she creates a new life catering themed weddings. This deeply felt yet unsentimental novel explores grief, healing, and second chances.

Readers may also enjoy Juliette Fay’s Shelter Me, Marsha Moyer’s The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch, and Katrina Kittle’s The Blessings of the Animals.

Reading List Council 2010–11 members: Jacqueline Sasaki, Ann Arbor District Library, chair; Alicia Ahlvers, Kansas City Public Library; Jennifer Baker, Seattle Public Library; Cheryl Bryan, Massachusetts Library System, Waltham; Craig Clark, formerly with Cuyahoga County Public Library; Kathleen Collins, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle; Megan McArdle, Berkeley Public Library; Joyce Saricks, Downers Grove, Illinois; Sharron Smith, Kitchener Public Library, vice-chair; Kimberly Wells, Denton Public Library; Neal Wyatt, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; and Alan Ziebarth, Chicago, Illinois.

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The Outstanding Reference Source list of titles identifies the most important reference publications for small- and medium-sized public and academic libraries published in a given year. The publication of this list began in 1958 and now also includes outstanding electronic resources. The titles were selected by the RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee.

The Selections for Year 2011

The Oxford Companion to the Book. Ed. Michael F. Suarez, S.J. and H.R. Woudhuysen. 2 vols. Oxford, 2010. $325 (ISBN 978-0-19-860653-6).

Encyclopedia of Identity. Ed. Ronald L. Jackson II. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $350 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5153-1).

Encyclopedia of Geography. Ed. Barney Warf. 6 vols. Sage, 2010. $895 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5697-0).

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Ed. Michael Gagarin. 7 vols. Oxford, 2010. $995 (ISBN 978-0-19517072-6).

The Encyclopedia of Religion in America. Ed. Charles H. Lippy and Peter W. Williams. 4 vols. CQ Press, 2010. $600 (ISBN 978-0-87289-580-5).

Off Broadway Musicals, 1910 –2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows.

Ed. Dan Dietz. 1 vol. McFarland, 2010. $295 (ISBN 978-07864-3399-5).

Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. Ed. Joanne B. Eicher. 10 vols. Oxford, 2010. $1,995 (ISBN 978-0-19-537733-0).

Berg Fashion Library. Oxford, 2010.

Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy. Ed. Randy Moore et al. 1 vol. Greenwood, 2009. $85 (ISBN 978-031336-287-3).

The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. Ed. Nigel Young. 4 vols. Oxford, 2010. $495 (ISBN 978-0-19-533468-5).

21st Century Economics A Reference Handbook. Ed. Rhona C. Free. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $325 (ISBN 978-1-4129-6142-4).

Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. Ed. John M. Levine and Michael A. Hogg. 2 vols. Sage, 2010. $375. (ISBN 978-1-4129-4208-9).

Encyclopedia of Political Theory. Ed. Mark Bevir. 3 vols. Sage, 2010. $425 (ISBN 978-1-4129-5865-3).

RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee 2010–11 members: Deborah Katz, Washington University Libraries, chair; Elinor Appel, North Seattle Community College; Anne-Marie Davis, University of Washington; Cynthia Dudenhöffer, Smiley Memorial Library, Fayette, Missouri; Chaunacey Dunklee, Fullerton Public Library, California; Curtis Ferree, Fairfield University; Patricia L. Gregory, Pius XII Memorial Library, St. Louis University; Danise G. Hoover, Hunter College Library; Stephen Marvin, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; Claire Murata, Shoreline Community College, Washington; and Patrick J. Wall, University City Public Library, Missouri.

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Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has annually selected a list of twenty-five very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader. Books may be selected because they possess exceptional literary merit, expand the horizons of human knowledge, make a specialized body of knowledge accessible to the nonspecialist, have the potential to contribute significantly to the solution of a contemporary problem, or present a unique concept.

Fiction

Rick Bass. Nashville Chrome. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $24 (ISBN 978-0-547-31726-7).
This lovely account of pop trio The Browns reels you in as though the concept of rags to riches were brand new.

Emma Donoghue. Room: A Novel. Little, Brown. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-316-09833-5).
Five-year-old Jack vividly narrates the story of his life confined in a room with his mother in this unsettling exploration of resilience and hope.

Jennifer Egan. A Visit from the Goon Squad. Knopf. $25.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-59283-5).
A 70s punk band becomes the touchstone for a motley crew who spin their interconnected stories over time and distance.

Tom Franklin. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. William Morrow. $24.99 (ISBN 978-0-06-059466-4).
Two men—one black, one white—must confront the secrets surrounding their childhood friendship following the disappearance of two girls in rural Mississippi.

Jonathan Franzen. Freedom. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $28 (ISBN 978-0-374-15846-0).
This incisive portrait of the fractured Berglund brood captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

James Hynes. Next. Reagan Arthur. $23.99 (ISBN 978-0316-05192-7).
Welcome to the worst day of Kevin Quinn’s life as he battles the anxieties of the modern world in steamy Austin, Texas.

Chang-Rae Lee. The Surrendered. Riverhead. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-59448-976-1).
The complex entangled lives of three people forever scarred by the Korean War are sympathetically portrayed in gorgeous prose.

Karl Marlantes. Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War. Atlantic Monthly Press. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-8021-1928-5).
An ambitious and idealistic American marine faces the horror, heroism, futility, and pragmatism of war in this visceral portrayal of life in country.

David Mitchell. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel. Random House. $26 (ISBN 978-1-4000-6545-5).
A young clerk attempts to establish himself in the artificial and intense world of Dejima, the Dutch trading colony in 1800s Japan.

Paul Murray. Skippy Dies. Faber and Faber. $28 (ISBN 9780-86547-943-2).
Filled with warmth and humor, this coming-of-age novel set in a Dublin boys schools is a sprawling homage to adolescence, string theory, donuts, and unrequited love.

Tatjana Soli. The Lotus Eaters. St. Martin’s. $24.99 (ISBN 9780-312-61157-6).
The adrenaline high that danger offers infects photojournalist Helen Adams as she documents the war in Vietnam.

Brady Udall. The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel. Norton. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-393-06262-5).
In this big-hearted novel, Golden Richards and his clan navigate their chaotic lives as each clamors to be noticed.

Nonfiction

Ron Chernow. Washington: A Life. Penguin. $40 (ISBN 9781594202667).
A landmark biography provides insights into the complexities of this founding father’s character, and brings him fully to life within the context of his times.

Edmund de Waal. The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $26 (ISBN 978-0374105976).
Blending history, biography, and art, this personal account elegantly traces the fate of a European Jewish family and their collection of 246 netsuke.

Barbara Demick. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. Spiegel & Grau. $26 (ISBN 978-0-385-52390-5).
Chronicling the experiences of six people, this powerful account draws back the curtain on the brutality of life under a totalitarian regime.

Notable Books

Ian Frazier. Travels in Siberia. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $30 (ISBN 978-0374278724).
Stricken by Russia love, a writer sets out to experience all things Siberian and takes us along for the rollicking journey.

Oren Harman. The Price of Altruism: George Price and the Search for the Origins of Kindness. Norton. $27.95 (ISBN 9780-393-06778-1).
This moving work provides insight into the mind of a tormented genius attempting to understand an elusive aspect of human nature.

Daniel Okrent. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. Scribner. $30 (ISBN 978-0-7432-7702-0).
This intoxicating history of the Eighteenth Amendment reveals the surprising relationship between Prohibition and other social movements and explores its lasting impact on American life.

Lynne Olson. Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour. Random House. $28 (ISBN 978-1-4000-6758-9).
In this compelling portrait three influential individuals persuade a reluctant president to come to the aid of a beleaguered nation in the early days of World War II.

Nathaniel Philbrick. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Viking. $30 (ISBN 9780670021727).
An epic encounter between two iconic individuals is vividly portrayed in fluid, evocative, and decidedly objective prose.

Rebecca Skloot. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown. $26 (ISBN 978-1-4000-5217-2).
A science writer uncovers the fascinating story of an African-American woman’s cancer cells harvested for medical research, thereby raising important questions of bioethics.

Patti Smith. Just Kids. Ecco. $27 (ISBN 978-0-06-621131-2).
The poet and musician’s endearing memoir about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe captures life and art in New York City during the 1960s and ‘70s.

John Vaillant. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. Knopf. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-26893-8).
Russia’s ecological and cultural history serves as the backdrop for this riveting adventure tale of man versus beast.

Isabel Wilkerson. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Random House. $30 (ISBN 9780-679-44432-9).
The twentieth century exodus of over 6 million black Americans from the South is sensitively retold through the lives of three who left.

Poetry

C.K. Williams. Wait: Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $25 (ISBN 978-0374285913).
A lifetime of experience is distilled into a slim but significant volume of verse by this Pulitzer and National Book Award winning poet.

Tony Hoagland. Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty: Poems. Graywolf Press. $15 (ISBN 978-1-155597-549-4).
These poems capture the absurdities and loneliness of American life using matter of fact language and humor.

Notable Books, 2011, committee members: A. Issac Pulver, Saratoga Springs Public Library, chair; Terry Beck, Sno-Isle Libraries; Susie Brown, Shaker Heights Public Library; Julie Elliott, Indiana University—South Bend; Bill Kelly, Cuyahoga County Public Library; Elizabeth Olesh, Nassau Library System; Jessica Pigza, New York Public Library; Nancy Pearl; Heather Robideaux, Fayetteville Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, The Pennsylvania State University; Andrea Slonosky; and Valerie Morgan Taylor, Great Falls Library.

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No matter how you define it, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a hot topic. From community investing to business ethics to environmental sustainability and beyond, proponents of CSR view the business landscape through a lens that focuses less on profitability and more on the greater good. This article will provide an overview of the 2010 Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) Program at the 2010 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. titled “Clean, Green, and Not So Mean: Can Business Help Save the World?” and present a brief orientation to several of the subtopics that fall under the CSR umbrella. A video recording of the program will soon be available on the BRASS website (www.ala.org/rusa/brass). If you are interested in BRASS or want more information about joining BRASS, please contact the committee chair, Andy Spackman.

Conference Program Summary

“Doing well by doing good” is the business world’s new mantra. Concepts of CSR, green business, social entrepreneurship, and peace through commerce have become a focus of research and are inspiring the next generation of businesspeople. The 2010 BRASS Program gave attendees an expert’s view of certain niches within the broader realm of ethical or socially responsible business practices. Michael Matos, business and economics librarian at American University Library, spoke first. He described sourc-es for corporate social responsibility indexes and rankings and illustrated the complexities of evaluating sources in this developing field, using BP as an example. BP, until recently, was ranked as one of Fortune’s 10 Most “Accountable” Big Companies, but since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has been delisted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.¹ The next speaker was Lisa Hall, the executive vice presi-dent and chief lending officer of the Calvert Foundation (www.calvertfoundation.org). Hall previously worked for Fannie Mae and as a senior policy advisor at the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration. She holds a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University. Hall explained Calvert Foundation’s pioneering role in the field of community (or “impact”) investing, which delivers both social and financial returns. Calvert’s model allows investors to align their money with their values, while using the tools of financial markets to make capital available to social mission organizations. Investors purchase Calvert’s notes, selecting a term and rate of return, and Calvert, with more than $500 million under management, makes capital available to organizations that provide affordable housing, microfinance, job creation, and community development around the world.

David Deal, the third speaker, is chief executive officer and founder of Community IT Innovators (CITI), a DC-based, employee-owned company committed to helping social mission organizations effectively use green technology (www.citidc.com). CITI combines expert IT, web, and data services, and consulting with a genuine commitment to make the world a better place.

Deal shared the story of CITI and his own story as a social entrepreneur. He defines social entrepreneurship as business resourcefulness plus serving a purpose greater than profit. CITI’s employees are dedicated to its mission of sustainability, including financial, social, and environmental sustainability. It’s in the meeting of sustainability, entrepreneurship, and a culture of service that Deal sees potential for a positive answer to the question, can business help save the world?

The final speaker, Timothy L. Fort, is executive director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility and Lindner-Gambal Professor of Business Ethics at George Washington University Business School. He holds BA and MA from the University of Notre Dame and both a JD and PhD from Northwestern University. He is a pioneer in “peace through commerce” and has published four books and dozens of articles on the topic.

The concept of peace through commerce begins with the premise that violent conflict has a negative impact on most industries, and societies that engage in trade with one another have incentives to resolve conflicts through nonviolent means. Peace through commerce extends to the idea that peace can be fostered through ethical business activity. In The Role of Business in Fostering Peaceful Societies (Cambridge, 2004) Timothy Fort and Cindy Schipani show that the level of corruption in countries correlates with the propensity to resolve conflicts with violence. While business benefits from the stability peace brings, Fort goes farther in Business, Integrity, and Peace (Cambridge, 2007), arguing that businesses also have an ethical imperative to foster peace. Much of Fort’s work, as did his presentation at Annual Conference, focuses on how business can foster peace through legal, economic, and moral approaches.

While a single program at a single conference cannot possibly cover every aspect of ethical or socially responsible business, these speakers shared their passion with attendees, giving a positive outlook on the question, can business help save the world?

Corporate Governance

When defining corporate social responsibility, an essential building block is “corporate governance.” The concept of governance has been in existence since there have been corporations, but the phrase itself did not show up in financial literature until the latter part of the twentieth century.

Corporate governance is a series of checks and balances that ensure the “long-term, sustainable value of the firm.”² It also is “the determination of the broad uses to which organizational resources will be deployed and the resolution of conflicts among the myriad participants in organizations.”³ It takes account of all the interests that affect the viability, competence, and moral character of an enterprise.⁴

Corporate governance is a set of policies that limit and direct individual actions in pursuit of the corporation’s welfare and survival. The key players in creating and implementing corporate governance policies are the board of directors, the shareholders, and the corporate executives. These key players form a checks-and-balances system to oversee the operation of the company. The board of directors does not manage the company: it is responsible for monitoring corporate performance and senior management. The shareholders own the company and expect economic gains in return for their financial risks. Executives are responsible for implementing specific strategies that dictate the overall performance of the firm.⁵ Corporate governance examines the connection between these key players to the corporation and to one another.⁶

Many aspects of corporate governance only gained prominence in the last decade. In response to high-level mismanagement from companies such as Tyco, Enron, Adelphia, and WorldCom, the U.S. government realized the need to pass legislation that would prevent other companies from engaging in similar financial practices that could threaten the global economy. Five of the largest corporate bankruptcies of the early 2000s erased more than $460 billion in shareholder value.⁷ On July 30, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This mandated, among other things, increased accuracy and transparency of the financial reporting and auditing of publicly traded companies. Highlights included having a majority of independent directors, the creation of an audit committee entirely composed of outside directors, and the creation of a compensation committee entirely composed of outside directors.⁸

Current legislation includes the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The majority of the bill aims to tighten regulation of the financial industry, but it also includes measures that expose the actions of upper-level executives. Items on the bill that have corporate-governance implications include requiring a company to disclose the relationship between company performance and executive compensation and gaining shareholder approval for executive compensation.

The nineteenth century legal concept of the corporation is inadequate today.⁹ In response to the changing concept of the organization, corporate governance has to constantly evolve. Previously it was viewed as a way to monitor the fiduciary responsibilities of management and the protection of shareholder rights. Today, it also encompasses how corporate decisions affect both employees and the larger community. This current view is further evolving into a transparent moral- and value-based system that promotes disclosure of nonfinancial initiatives.¹⁰ This updated era of corporate governance aligns itself with the corporate social responsibility movement by emphasizing “corporate ethics, accountability, disclosure and reporting.”¹¹

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Each year at the ALA Annual Conference, the Business Reference Sources Committee of RUSA’s Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) meets to select the outstanding business reference sources published since May of the previous year. With all due respect to the familiar and longstanding column title, committee members have come to think of our charge more broadly as finding the most outstanding business information sources, the better to reflect the evolving nature of the formats and means of accessing business information to meet reference needs. For 2010, the committee weeded titles proposed during 2009–10 down to fifteen that made the final review. Among those, the committee selected three as outstanding business information titles and an additional six as noteworthy titles. The works reviewed below cover such areas as economics, the music industry, corporate sustainability, retailing, brand valuation, the current and historical U.S. role in international trade, and an innovative new vehicle for affordable (or free) online access to premier instructional resources in business and economics.

Committee members determine that the final selections for this column meet the conventional definition of reference: a resource compiled specifically to supply information on a certain subject or group of subjects in a form that will facilitate its ease of use. The works are examined for authority and reputation of the publisher, author, or editor; accuracy; appropriate bibliography; organization, comprehensiveness, and value of the content; currency and unique addition to the field; ease of use for intended purpose; quality and accuracy of indexing; and quality and usefulness of graphics and illustrations. Each year more electronic reference titles are published, and additional criteria by which these resources are evaluated include search features, stability of content, graphic design quality, and accuracy of links. Works selected are intended to be suitable for medium to large academic and public libraries.

Outstanding Titles

21st Century Economics: A Reference Handbook. Edited by Rhona C. Free. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 2010. 2 vols. 1000p. $325 hardcover (ISBN: 978-1-412-96142-4).

The unprecedented global economic downturn since 2008 has come with many questions that require some knowledge of economics to be properly understood. This reference handbook is significant and timely in providing answers to many of those questions. In two volumes, divided into seven parts, virtually all areas of economics are covered. Volume 1 contains the first five parts: “Scope and Outstanding Business Reference Sources Methodology of Economics,” “Microeconomics,” “Public Economics,” “Macroeconomics,” and “International Economics.” Parts 6 and 7 appear in volume 2: “Economic Analyses of Issues and Markets” and “Emerging Areas in Economics.”

21st Century Economics: A Reference Handbook broadens the discussion of economics beyond such traditional economic theories as production, distribution, and consumption, extending its range to the consideration of such emerging economic frontiers as neuroeconomics, the economics of happiness, feminist economics, and evolutionary economics. Editor Rhona C. Free, a professor of economics at Eastern Connecticut State University, was the 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year—a prestigious national award from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

The one hundred contributors to this reference, representing a wide array of academic fields and backgrounds, were selected from universities and policy institutes around the globe. The topics covered represent a broad spectrum of economic thought, from the traditional to cutting-edge. There is no lack of divergent opinions. The arrangement of the topics makes reading very easy. Each section is devoted to an area of economic theory, a methodology, or an individual economic issue. One of the greatest strengths of the work is bringing these diverse thoughts together in one resource for the benefit of its readers.

Most chapters follow a similar pattern, starting with a review of the theory, its application and empirical evidence, policy implications, and future directions. The language is readily understandable and avoids unnecessary jargon. Theoretical treatments are followed by concrete examples to illustrate each point. Chapters conclude with references and lists of recommended additional readings.

Those chapters are concise but informative, and presented with deliberate straightforwardness. According to the editor, authors were required to write their analyses using few technical and quantitative tools, and without the use of calculus. This makes the discussion of economic topics easily understandable to those without an economics background.

The turmoil and the challenges in the global economy in recent years have made economics a far less abstract subject to most people than it has been. Seemingly ever-present economic uncertainties spark peoples’ interest in the economy and lead to questions about how the economy works. This handbook provides readers with accessible answers to many of the complex economic questions that affect their lives. 21st Century Economics: A Reference Handbook, indeed an outstanding contribution to the field, will benefit a broad range of readers, from undergraduates to advanced researchers, who wish to attain basic knowledge about economic theories and policies and their impact on the economy and peoples’ lives.—Pauly Iheanacho, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

Flat World Knowledge’s Open Source Business and Economics Textbooks. Nyack, N.Y.: Flat World Knowledge. www.flatworldknowledge.com (accessed July 31, 2010).

Flat World’s open source textbooks are a unique experiment that makes high-quality textbooks freely available: anyone can access textbooks in business and economics and other disciplines at no cost. Access is provided under a Creative Commons license. The license protects the copyright holders while simultaneously allowing anyone to view the content. In addition to business and economics, Flat World’s catalog includes textbooks in the humanities and social sciences, the sciences, professional and applied sciences, and mathematics. More than twenty available textbooks cover accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and organizations.

Textbooks can serve as business reference tools to explain basic concepts and theories, explore fields of study, and elucidate how markets and institutions work. For example, Money and Banking, authored by Robert E. Wright (New York University) and Vincenzo Quadrini (University of Southern California), contains a chapter on the financial system. The chapter provides a basic explanation of what a financial system is, the role that it plays in channeling funds from savers and investors to borrowers, and how consumers, entrepreneurs, businesses, and governments put the money to work for personal expenditures, start-up financing, working capital, capital investments, and funding government services. Just as in a good dictionary, the several types of financial markets are defined and explained: equity vs. debt; primary vs. secondary; exchange vs. over-the-counter; and money vs. capital. The textbook advantage is that it locates these institutions in the context of the larger financial system and shows how they interact with it.

Flat World was founded by two executives with much experience working for traditional textbook publishers, including McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Thomson (now Cengage). They saw a business opportunity in using open source publishing to solve three interrelated problems: textbook affordability for students; instructors’ desire to customize textbooks for their courses; and authors’ needs to protect their intellectual property. Flat World’s business model envisions instructors at colleges and universities adopting these texts for courses to provide students with an affordable alternative to the overpriced print and e-book offerings from traditional publishers. The books are authored by experts, peer-reviewed, and they meet professional standards in organization, content, and illustrations. The free format can be viewed in custom-designed text or full-color PDFs. Students desiring print editions can opt either for purchasing and printing PDF chapters that can be downloaded and printed, or buying an inexpensive black and white edition, or paying a reasonable premium price for a full-color print edition. Each print purchase comes with digital study aids including practice quizzes, digital flash cards of key terms and concepts, and audio study guides, as well as a social learning space in which students can share notes and learn from one another. For example, the “Print-it-Yourself” edition of the financial accounting text is $34.95. The black-and-white print edition is $44.95. The full-color textbook is only $74.95. This pricing compares very favorably with traditional textbooks, which can cost $150 or more. Bookstores can stock the texts or print them on-demand. Open-source licensing provides instructors with tools to modify the books and create customized editions for their courses. Flat World’s publications are outstanding business information sources that take full advantage of the power of the web to publish essential open source textbooks.—Peter Z. McKay, University of Florida, Gainesville

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Welcome to the second annual presentation of the “Best of the Best Business Websites (Free Resources).” These three websites were selected by the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) Education Committee, which is a part of RUSA. The committee is responsible for compiling and selecting the best free online resources to meet business librarians’ needs in serving their user populations. This year’s selection deals with one site from financial markets and investments and two from international business. We hope you find the following sources helpful and encourage you to explore all of our other picks at the RUSA BRASS website (www.ala.org/rusa/brass). Additionally useful are the “Selected Core Resources,” also found on the section website.

Financial Markets and Investments

BigCharts.com, http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com

The name says it all: BigCharts.com is big on charts! This site provides basic, advanced, and interactive charting tools; current and historical quotes; industry and market data; news and analysis; and screening tools for stocks listed on major American, Canadian, and other exchanges around the world. BigCharts.com is operated by MarketWatch, a leading multimedia source of financial news and information.

The website organizes information under tabs such as quotes, news, industries, markets, historical quotes, and big reports. A help link at the bottom of the screen leads to detailed information on how to use various sections of the site and to a glossary.

Creating a one-year price chart is easy: enter a ticker symbol and click on “Basic Chart,” a blue button at the top of the page. To change the timeframe, use the dropdown menu that offers intraday and historical time series. You can build charts for periods ranging from one day to a decade, or even longer if the data are available for that security. The historical quotes are available from 1994 to present. Charts for up to ten days use intraday data and the longer time series use end-of-day pricing provided by Thomson Reuters. The charts for stocks traded on American exchanges are accompanied by links to related company and market adviser news, industry data, company profile, annual report, SEC filings, insider news and data, and analyst ratings.

Advanced charts offer a long list of charting options and allow customization to one’s exact specifications. You can select start and end dates; compare up to ten stocks, mutual funds or indexes on a single chart; overlay moving averages and fundamental information on the chart price display; and view up to three of the twenty-seven available technical indicators at one time. The interactive charts offer all the advanced chart features and more, including the ability to draw trend lines by selecting a timeframe and then zooming in on a specific timeframe on the chart.

Use the “Quotes” section to track up to fifty intraday quotes at a single time. There are two areas within this section: “My Favorite Quotes” and “Quick Quotes.” Both offer basic intraday price information for each stock with links to news and charts for further research. The “My Favorite Quotes” page allows you to save your tickers for future visits to the page.

The “Markets” section provides a summary on current day’s domestic stock market activity. It also provides links to current prices of major market Indexes, a stock screener that can perform simple intraday stock screens, and a “Search for Index” page that makes it easy to find a particular index.

The “BigReports” section gives you lists of reports that outline major stock market activity from the previous trading day, such as the largest money movers and the day’s most active stocks on various exchanges. A dropdown menu offers similar reports for Canadian exchanges.

To a technical analyst, a chart is worth a thousand words. BigCharts.com offers charting tools with multiple timeframes, frequencies, indicators, and styles. You can print and e-mail your favorite charts and save your favorite chart settings. While certain services on the website require registration, an impressive amount of data can be accessed without any sign-up. This, along with an easy-to-use interface, makes BigCharts an attractive choice for both novice and expert investors.—Shikha Sharma, Business, Economics, and Legal Studies Librarian, University of Connecticut Libraries, Storrs, Connecticut

International Business

Business Planet, http://rru.worldbank.org/businessplanet

Selecting the best country in which to do business has never been an easy task. One is always on the lookout for a reliable indicator, tool, or survey results to guide the process of measuring and ranking a country’s attractiveness toward business establishment and in-country operations. Of late, the World Bank Group has produced not only periodic survey results of country business environments but a handy country-mapping tool that aids the potential investor in positively identifying and focusing further within high-, medium-, and low-performing economies.

Business Planet employs data mapped from five World Bank Group databases to cover more than 190 economies across issues: Doing Business (2004–present), Enterprise Surveys (2005, 2006), Privatization (2000–2008), Private Investment (2000–2007), and Entrepreneurship (2005, 2006, or 2007). Within each database, economies are ranked and assigned one of three color codes; the higher the country code ranking, the more closely the country meets the survey objective so that, in Doing Business, highly ranked countries typically demonstrate clearer, simpler business regulations and stronger property rights protections. The composite databases provide a relatively complete picture of business environment regulations. Business Planet addresses questions such as, “How easy it is to . . . get credit? . . . register property? . . . start a business?” and can be filtered by topics, regions, and countries.

The map, powered by Google Maps, is the key feature of Business Planet. Its tri-color scheme to rank economies allows visual scanning, sorting, and country comparison in a global or regional context for possible investment and future analysis. It can be effectively used to facilitate group dialogue, motivate interest with its comparative country rankings, or allow one to delve into a single country’s profile. A welcome element in Business Planet is the source link to the full surveys powering the Business Planet tool for current and historical data.

Want to find newly improved countries for investment? Mapped economies identified by a star are the top ten reformers in the last year. Plan to share results with a work team? A site toolbar link allows information sharing with colleagues: paste a map link into your website, e-mail, or instant message and e-mail or print any of the twenty-seven Business Planet maps. Want to keep up with changes? Bookmark Business Planet in Delicious and reconnect when you have additional countries to investigate.

Some weaknesses suggest uneven results in Business Planet. For instance, results in Doing Business, the largest survey representing thousands of business firms in 183 countries, may not represent regulation of all businesses countrywide: surveyed firms represent one specific type of business, usually a limited liability company, located within the country’s largest business city. Second, surveyed firms are allowed to participate in multiple surveys, where they could omit information or disregard procedures in one (Doing Business) but include complete information in another (Enterprise Surveys), skewing the results. Finally, it is advisable to check both terminology definitions and the data-collection method when comparing multiyear data within one indicator or cross-country data, as definitions and collection methods can vary by indicator, by country, or over time.

The World Bank Group is on a forward track in building on its data surveys and repackaging country business data via Business Planet. This creditable mapping tool of country business conditions is conducive to academic use (high school through university) and by the general public, though caution is advised to verify the method and against using this tool as the sole source of business investment or regulation strategy.—Monica Hagan, Business Reference and Instruction Librarian, University of California, Los Angeles

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Welcome to the annual review of the “Best Historical Materials.” Each year members of the Historical Materials Committee, RUSA History Section identify and review valuable and unique English-language print bibliographies and websites of interest to the historical community. With the increase in free and fee-based electronic indexes and databases, both the production and value of lengthy print bibliographies have diminished. However, this year the group selected three print bibliographies and four websites for inclusion in our annual list. All websites are freely available, and as far as we can determine, recently created (2008–10). The print bibliographies were all published in 2009. Reviews of these recommended sources were all completed in April 2010.

Members of the library profession are invited to submit suggestions of print indexes and bibliographies as well as online resources to the committee for consideration. Nominations from any historical time period will be considered. Suggestions, with appropriate bibliographic information, should be sent to Jenny Presnell (presnejl@muohio.edu). The next submission deadline is October 31, 2010. Feel free to come and discuss sources at the committee’s meetings at the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference.

Blewett, Daniel K. American Military History: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources. 2nd ed. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2009 (ISBN: 1563089483).

Although this is a second edition of an existing work, Blewett has significantly revised, expanded, and brought his earlier title up to date after fourteen years. A bibliography of reference resources, Blewett’s work includes all types of reference sources from almanacs and atlases to quotation dictionaries and websites. Included is a chapter on general reference sources, followed by chapters organized chronologically from American colonial days to the current wars against terrorists. Major conflicts have subsections for each military branch of service. While a very good source for American military research, a significant omission is a section within each chapter for personal narratives, such as Garold Cole’s two bibliographies of Civil War–era personal narratives, which arguably might be more useful than some of the quotation dictionaries. Recommended for all libraries.—Joel D. Kitchens, Texas A&M University Libraries

Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History Online. University of Oklahoma Western History Collections. Reviewed Apr. 19, 2010.

This site consists of typescripts of interviews conducted 1967–72 with Indians in Oklahoma regarding their history and culture. It focuses on four areas: traditional way of life, changes in life and culture since the end of the reservation, contemporary life and culture, and beliefs about the past. Also included is a list of tape recordings of contemporary activities, such as council meetings and traditional ceremonies. All tribes currently residing in Oklahoma were included, with detailed coverage of selected tribes. Transcripts are arranged by tribe and can be browsed or searched by keyword (including through the full text of the transcripts). Although visually unexciting, the site contains a wealth of information not available elsewhere. Recommended for all libraries.—Jean S. Kiesel, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

European History Primary Sources (EHPS). A combined effort of the Library and the Department of History and Civilisation of the European University Institute. Reviewed Apr. 23, 2010.

Part of the WWW Virtual Library: History, this site provides links to free scholarly websites of digitized primary documents and online digital archives on European history. Researchers browse by country, language, period, subject, or type of source. Advanced searching features include a combined categories search and a free-text search that scours website titles and tags. All digital archives bibliographic entries and libraries listed can be jointly searched via a special Google search engine. Brief descriptions and categories accompany the link to each website. Follow EHPS on Twitter and Facebook or obtain an RSS feed to keep updated on regularly added content. Recommended for all libraries. —Isabelle Flemming, Ela Area Public Library

Making of History 1989: Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. George Mason University. Reviewed Apr. 23, 2010.

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, this collection, created by George Mason University, explores the events in the 1980s that culminated in the end of communist rule in Eastern Europe in 1989. Easy to navigate, this site provides sources offering a variety of perspectives relevant to the final collapse of communist control. Features include primary documents translated into English, video interviews with scholars of Eastern European Studies, and case studies of specific events. These secondary sources add a wealth of information and demonstrate the significance of the primary sources. Teaching modules with lesson plans, bibliographies, and other aids, make this an ideal resource for instruction, especially to high school or undergraduate students. Recommended for all libraries.—Isabelle Flemming, Ela Area Public Library

Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies. Reviewed Apr. 28, 2010.

The institute has gathered a broad collection of links to other collections and websites detailing cases of genocide and the issues that surround human rights crimes investigations. While access to the categorized list is difficult to find (use quick links on the right), the directories contents will lead all levels of researchers to unique sites. Sections include Genocide and Geographical Information Systems (links to the Documentation Center of Cambodia map); Radio Broadcasting (links to Clandestine Radio Intel Web); Forensic Science and Atrocity Crimes (links to Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team). The site also provides links to specialized web-sites by nation, region, or case (Africa, Tibet, etc.). While the subject is sensitive, the information is accessible to all levels of users.—Jenny L. Presnell, Miami University Libraries

O’Brien, Elmer J. The Wilderness, The Nation, and The Electronic Era American Christianity and Religious Communication 1620–2000: An Annotated Bibliography. ATLA Bibliography Series 57. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow and American Theological Library Association, 2009 (ISBN: 0810863138).

With access to so many electronic databases, good bibliographies are hard to find today. This expansion of a previously published bibliography in 1993 provides summative annotations of published scholarly works that discuss communication methods of clergy, churches, associations, and religious publishing houses. Organized by historical periods, the bibliography includes examinations of such topics as evangelist television, Native Americans, science, captivity narratives, and slavery. While the bibliography focuses on religion, much of American life is tied to religious beliefs and activities, and as such, this work is useful for a wide range of American cultural studies. Recommended for academic libraries.—Jenny L. Presnell, Miami University Libraries

Woods, Marianne Berger. The New Woman in Print and Pictures: An Annotated Bibliography. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland, 2009 (ISBN: 9780786436248).

The phrase “new woman” was used to describe “liberated” women beginning about 1894 and signified a change in women’s societal roles. Woods has compiled British and American primary (1894–1938) and secondary (1962–2008) resources that use this particular phrase. Types of sources included literary (novels, poems, essays), visual (advertising, illustrations), and periodical, both scholarly and popular. Arranged chronologically, the bibliography contains detailed summative annotations. The index contains not only authors’ names but also broad subjects (African American, bicycles, sex roles). This work is an excellent source for women’s culture at the turn of the last century. Recommended for academic libraries.—Jenny L. Presnell, Miami University Libraries

RUSA History Section Historical Materials Committee contributing members: Isabelle Flemming, Jean S. Kiesel, Joel D. Kitchens, and Jenny Presnell, editor and chair.

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Welcome to the twelfth annual “Best Free Reference Websites” list. In 1998, the Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of RUSA appointed an ad hoc task force to develop a method of recognizing outstanding reference websites. The task force became a formal committee at the 2001 ALA Annual Conference, and now it is appropriately named the MARS Best Free Reference Websites Committee.

Like previous lists, the 2010 list of winning sites is being published in this year’s fall issue of RUSQ and added to the Library of Congress’s online catalog. A link to this year’s list is on the MARS webpage along with a link to the Best Free Reference Websites Combined Index, which provides in alphabetical order all entries in the current and previous eleven lists. Succinct and insightful annotations for the Best Free Reference Websites List entries were written by committee members in the years the particular websites were selected for the lists. These annotations provide guidance for using the websites as reference tools.

Once again, the committee considered free websites in all subject areas that can be used for ready reference and that can be of value in most types of libraries.

The committee has established the following criteria for nominations:

1. Quality, depth, and usefulness of content
2. Ready reference
3. Uniqueness of content
4. Currency of content
5. Authority of producer
6. Ease of use
7. Customer service
8. Efficiency
9. Appropriate use of the Web as a medium

A more detailed explanation of the criteria can be found on the MARS webpage.

As in previous years, the committee worked virtually, using e-mail and an online bookmarking site called Diigo (www.diigo.com). The process went smoothly, in part because several of the committee members have served on the committee for several years. Each member nominated seven to nine websites using the criteria specified above and then wrote brief annotations that would assist fellow committee members with reviewing and voting for their favorite nominated websites. The goal of this year’s committee was to produce a final list with approximately twenty-five to thirty high-quality reference websites. After careful review, the committee members decided to recognize thirty new Best Free Reference Websites for 2010.

Winning sites were notified electronically with a letter of recognition from the MARS Best Free Reference Websites Committee, and they were invited to link to the online version of this list. The annotations for winning websites were also edited by the co-chairs to ensure that they are of optimal use to librarians and fit the criteria listed above.

Abbreviations.com

An extensive collection of hundreds of thousands of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms, Abbriviations.com is neatly arranged by broad areas (e.g., Medical, Internet, International, Community). Each area is further broken down into more specific, browsable categories such as Veterinary, Emoticons, or Non-Profit. The International area is multilingual, featuring hundreds of entries in Spanish, German, French, and other languages. Users can contribute abbreviations as well as look them up. In addition to browsing, search options are also available: word to abbreviation, abbreviation to word, and word in definition. There is also a metasearch option that seems to deliver term use in Amazon and Google, but what it actually does is unexplained. Otherwise, this is a great resource.

Author/Publisher: STANDS4
Free/Fee-based: Free
Date Reviewed: Feb. 24, 2010

Ad*Access

This free digital collection from Duke University contains more than seven thousand advertisements from print magazines and newspapers, published from the 1910s to the 1950s, primarily in the United States and Canada. Content focuses on five areas: radio, television, transportation, beauty/ hygiene, and World War II. Users can search by keyword or browse the broad focus areas and then narrow results by company, product, subject, or year. Three different browse displays are available—grid, list, or scrolling wall. Individual images can be viewed in three different sizes, can be downloaded, and may be used for research and teaching with attribution. Both black and white and color images are included. Ad*Access is of interest to anyone researching American history, culture, or advertising.

Author/Publisher: Duke University Libraries
Free/Fee-based: Free
Date Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2010

American Time Use Survey

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) provides statistics and graphical data on the amount of time people in the United States spend on various activities: watching TV, eating, and working in the yard. Use the ATUS tables or charts to find statistics by either demographic characteristic (older Americans or students, for example) or area of activity (such as work, leisure, or sleep). If existing tables and charts are not sufficient, microdata files from 2003–8 can be freely downloaded for additional analysis. Supporting documentation explains how the data is used by the government. Useful for business or cultural research, the American Time Use Survey provides a snapshot of how Americans spend their days.

Author/Publisher: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Free/Fee-based: Free
Date Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2010

The Association of Religion Data Archives

The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) provides statistics on religious bodies—both in the United States and internationally. Data varies by location. Figures for denominations in the United States can be had at the state, county, and zip code level for 1980, 1990, and 2000, while profiles for the entire denomination can include more historic data. Statistics on religious adherents are available for entire countries along with various socioeconomic measures. GIS Maps are available, and it is possible to cross-reference geographies with practices. Downloadable datasets allow users to work with data independently of the site. A research-oriented site, the ARDA includes much information of use to educators, journalists, religious workers, and the general public.

Author/Publisher: Association of Religion Data Archives, Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
Free/Fee-based: Free
Date Reviewed: Feb. 12, 2010

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Since 1944, the Notable Books Council has annually selected a list of 25 very good, very readable and at times very important fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for the adult reader. Books may be selected because they possess exceptional literary merit; expand the horizons of human knowledge; make a specialized body of knowledge accessible to the non-specialist; have the potential to contribute significantly to the solution of a contemporary problem; and/or present a unique concept.

Fiction

Jessica Anthony. The Convalescent. McSweeney’s. $22 (ISBN 978-1-934-78110-4).
Rovar Pfiegman, bus-dwelling meat salesman, fulfills his destiny as the last of his clan in this oddly imaginative tale.

Margaret Atwood. The Year of the Flood: A Novel. Doubleday/ Nan A. Talese. $26.95 (ISBN 978-0-385-52877-1).
In the near future, two women survive an apocalyptic event in a queasily enthralling work.

Nicholson Baker. The Anthologist: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. $25 (ISBN 978-1-416-57244-2).
Poet Paul Chowder, a charming failure, struggles to regain his muse and his girlfriend while watching deadlines slip by.

Dan Chaon. Await Your Reply: A Novel. Ballantine. $25 (ISBN 978-0-345-47602-9).
This chilling exploration of the modern meaning of identity follows three people on the fringes of society.

Chris Cleave. Little Bee: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. $24 (ISBN 978-1-416-58963-1).
The compelling voice of a refugee illuminates the life-changing friendship between two women that began with a horrifying encounter on a secluded Nigerian beach.

Pete Dexter. Spooner. Grand Central. $26.99 (ISBN 978-0446-54072-8).
A boy struggles to navigate the vagaries of the world with the lifelong guidance of his stepfather in this funny and heartbreaking tale.

Paul Harding. Tinkers. Bellevue Literary. $14.95 (ISBN 9781-934-13712-3).
In this lyrical novel, the life of a dying man is examined through the smallest moments of time and memory.

Yiyun Li. The Vagrants: A Novel. Random House. $25 (ISBN 978-1-400-06313-0).
The execution of a dissident woman reverberates through her small town in the aftermath of China’s Cultural Revolution.

Colum McCann. Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. Random House. $25 (ISBN 978-1-400-06373-4).
Phillipe Petit’s highwire walk between the Twin Towers provides the backdrop for this rich portrait of the unlikely connections between a group of New Yorkers in the 1970s.

Toni Morrison. A Mercy: A Novel. Knopf. $23.95 (ISBN 9780-307-26423-7).
Four women—white, mixed race, black, and Native American—become a makeshift family under the care of a “good” man in colonial America.

Richard Powers. Generosity: An Enhancement. Farrar. $25 (ISBN 978-0-374-16114-9).
In this postmodern indictment of the biotech industry, a student’s unnerving happiness seems to hold the key to banishing despair from the human genetic code.

Colm Tóibín. Brooklyn: A Novel. Scribner. $25 (ISBN 978-1439-13831-1).
A young Irish woman faces heart-wrenching decisions in this unabashedly romantic and deceptively simple story of immigration and belonging.

Nonfiction

Dave Cullen. Columbine. Twelve. $26.99 (ISBN 978-0-44654693-5).
This fine work of investigative journalism challenges the myths and misconceptions of the Columbine tragedy.

Dave Eggers. Zeitoun. McSweeney’s. $24 (ISBN 978-1-93478163-0).
This powerful account explores the devastation of post–Katrina New Orleans through the eyes of a Syrian American who remained during the storm and endured the resulting chaos and confusion.

David Finkel. The Good Soldiers. Farrar. $26 (ISBN 978-0374-16573-4).
An embedded reporter describes the human cost paid by a U.S. Army battalion on the streets of Iraq in language that is searing, visceral, and immediate.

David Grann. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0385-51353-1).
An intrepid reporter sets out to uncover the mysterious fate the last of the great Victorian explorers in this thrilling adventure.

Emmanuel Guibert. The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors without Borders. First Second. $29.95 (ISBN 978-1-596-43375-5).
Using mixed visual media, this stunning memoir vividly depicts the struggles and accomplishments of a humanitarian mission in an unforgiving terrain.

Richard Holmes. The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science. Pantheon . $40 (ISBN 978-0-375-42222-5).
This lively, stellar group biography animates the engrossing accounts of the research that inspired a sense of awe in poets and scientists alike.

Patrick Radden Keefe. Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream. Doubleday. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0-385-52130-7).
Human trafficking and its subsequent effects on the American economy and social structures are documented in this fast-paced panoramic expose.

Christopher McDougall. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. Knopf. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-307-26630-9).
One journalist’s quest to discover the secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians leads to an exciting and dangerous endurance race.

Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman. Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath. Farrar. $30 (ISBN 978-0-374-27260-9).
In-depth, brutal, and moving, this narrative provides multiple perspectives into a tragic World War II episode in the Philippines.

Lainey Salisbury and Aly Sujo. Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art. Penguin. $26.95 (ISBN 978-1-594-20220-9).
This enthralling page-turner describes how archivists uncovered one of the most extensive frauds in recent art history.

David Small. Stitches: A Memoir. Norton. $24.95 (ISBN 9780-393-06857-3).
Stark drawings give voice to the horrors of a child who finds redemption in art while growing up in a repressed and disturbed family.

Nicholas Thompson. The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War. Holt. $27.50 (ISBN 978-0-805-08142-8).
The remarkable half-century friendship and rivalry between two influential strategists who helped shape American policy is brought to life in this insightful dual biography.

Poetry

Sherman Alexie. Face. Hanging Loose. $18 (ISBN 978-1931-23670-6).
Autobiographical poems experimenting with various styles and forms explore childhood, fatherhood, and the trials, perks, and humor of minor celebrity.

Stephen Dunn. What Goes On: Selected and New Poems 1995–2009. Norton. $24.95 (ISBN 978-0-393-06775-0).
Completely accessible poems written in ordinary language deal with cats, love, barfights, desire, melancholia, and relationships.

Notable Books, 2010, committee members are Alicia Ahlvers, chair, Kansas City Public Library; Susie Brown, Shaker Heights Public Library; Julie Elliott, Indiana University�South Bend; Lucy Lockley, St. Charles City-County Library District; Valerie Taylor, Lewisville Community Library; Elizabeth Olesh, Nassau Library System; Jessica Pigza, New York Public Library; Nancy Pearl; A. Issac Pulver, Saratoga Springs Public Library; Heather Robideaux, Fayetteville Public Library; Nonny Schlotzhauer, The Pennsylvania State University; and Andrea Slonosky.

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The 2010 list of Outstanding Reference Sources for small and medium-sized libraries has been announced by RUSA. The titles, selected by the RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) Reference Sources Committee, represent high-quality reference works that are suitable for small and medium-sized public and academic libraries.

The Selections for 2010

Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Francis P. Mc-Manamon. 4 vols. Greenwood, 2009. $499.95 (ISBN 9780-313-33184-8).

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-First Century. Ed. Paul Finkelman. 5 vols. Oxford Univ. Pr., 2009. $495 (ISBN 978-0-195-16779-5).

Encyclopedia of Modern China. Ed. David Pong. 4 vols. Scribner’s, 2009. $495 (ISBN 978-0-684-31566-9).

The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social and Military History. Ed. Spencer C. Tucker. 3 vols. ABC-Clio, 2009. $295 (ISBN 978-1-85109951-1).

Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman. 2 vols. Gale Cengage, 2008. $280 (ISBN 978-0-028-66137-7).

Encyclopedia of Human Rights. Ed. David P. Forsythe. 5 vols. Oxford Univ. Pr., 2009. $595 (ISBN 978-0-195-33402-9).

Social Explorer, an online reference resource.

Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. Thomas S. Hischak. McFarland, 2009. $295 (ISBN 978-0-786-43448-0).

American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in U.S. History. Ed. Gina Misiroglu. 3 vols. Sharpe Reference, 2009. $299 (ISBN 978-0-765-68060-0).

Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Ed. Jodi O’Brien. 2 vols. Sage, 2009. $350 (ISBN 978-1-412-90916-7).

Encyclopedia of Marine Science. Ed. C. Reid Nichols and Robert G. Williams. Facts on File, 2008. $85 (978-0-81605022-2).

The RUSA CODES Reference Sources Committee 2009–10 members are Jacalyn Kremer, chair, Fairfield University; Cynthia Crosser, University of Maine; Anne-Marie Davis, University of Washington; Denise Goetting, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Patricia L. Gregory, St. Louis University; Danise Hoover, Hunter College; Deborah Fay Katz, Washington University; Peggy A. Keeran, University of Denver; and Patricia J. Wall, University City Public Library.