Staff Picks- January 2006

FICTION

Atwood, Margaret.The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus. 2005. (Fiction Atwoo.M)

As part of the on-going Canongate series featuring contemporary authors recasting the ancient fables, Margaret Atwood has taken on The Odyssey, more specifically a sardonic account of the whole bloody business told by the archetypal faithful wife, Penelope. From her lonely childhood, near drowning (why did her father toss her to Poseidon—a sacrifice?), a hopeless rivalry with her stunning cousin Helen, and her marriage to and fairly quick abandonment by Odysseus, we hear Penelope's side of the story. Helen is the one who started it all by running off, and then all the stalwart young men fall all over themselves in a mad rush to rescue her. Even if you haven't read the whole Odyssey, just about everyone knows the basic outline. Penelope's tale, told after her death as she wanders the Underworld, focuses on the gruesome denouement of book 22: Odysseus's sneaky return to Ithaca, the gory slaughter of the boorish Suitors, and the totally uncalled for (according to Penelope) hanging of the Twelve Maids who were Penelope's particular favorites...and her spies. Clever Atwood offers wonderful riffs on such things as the contradictory reports Penelope receives about the exploits of her wandering spouse. Half-bird, half-women sirens? Maybe. More likely a high-class brothel where the girls had nice voices and were heavily accessorized with feathers. A visit to the Land of the Dead? Nah...just a bad night spent in a creepy, bat-infested cave. Penelope doesn't say for sure which version she buys, but she seems a woman well-grounded in reality. Penelope's telling is certainly much briefer than the original, but that may not please every reader. There is song and poetry of a sort, and, of course, a Greek chorus—yes, those pretty Maids hanging all in a row have a thing or two to say about the story, too. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Cadwalladr, Carole.The Family Tree. 2005. (Fiction Cadwa.C)

Is there a specific marker on the human genome for familial dysfunction? In addition to relaying a decidedly interesting family history that begins with the marriage of first cousins, wends its way through a childhood dominated by an on-the-edge mum who strives for perfection in a lower-middle class household where no on really cares how charming the tea towels are, and brings us to witness a failed marriage held together simply because the husband thinks his wife's genetic background is potentially useful in his research, the heroine of this sad-funny story attempts to answer that very question. Flashbacks of her life as a child in the suburbia of late-70s England are relayed with a mildly sardonic tone—I chuckled as I might at the diary entries of one Bridget Jones and her zany predicaments, but the pathos of a mother deteriorating into severe depression gives this novel a seriousness and balance that I also enjoyed. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Connelly, Michael.The Closers. 2005. (Mystery Conne.M)

Detective Harry Bosch is back with his partner Kizmin Rider trying to solve a cold case. (Muriel, North Branch)

James, P.D.The Lighthouse. 2005. (Mystery James.P)

James's latest mystery takes place on a small private island off the coast of Cornwall. When best selling writer Nathan Oliver is found hanging from the railing of the island's lighthouse, it's up to Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team to sort out who in the small community had the biggest grudge against Oliver, a person whose ruthlessness provoked hatred even from his own daughter. The description of the rocky island and its sordid history and the sketches of the suspects are vintage James and a pleasure to read. She also gives Dalgliesh time to reflect on his life and his fidgety relationship with Emma Lavenham by having him laid up with a potentially fatal illness during the investigation, a circumstance that allows his subordinates to shine. In the end, order is restored to the island and Dalgliesh makes a momentous decision regarding Emma. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

Korczak, Janusz.King Matt the First. 2004. (J Korcz.J)

Young Matt becomes King upon his father's death. Since he's 10 years old, it is his ministers who attempt to rule under his name. However, children are smart enough to recognize wrongdoing and Matt slowly begins to realize his presumptive powers and begins to reform his country. The reform ideas he presents include chocolate for every child each day, books for every child, a zoo, summer camps for fun for children, seesaws and carousels at every school. He accentuates his role as reformer: reform to cater to children who, being himself a child, he understands. There are three other kings. There exists racism and war begins. There are spies and deceits. Why and what will be the downfall of Matt? I recommend this for adult book clubs and as a read aloud and discussion vehicle for grades 6 through 10. (Muriel, North Branch)

Koumantareas, Menes.Koula. 2005. (Fiction Kouma.M)

Move over, Demi and Ashton. Koula, a mature wife and mother, meets 21-year-old Dimitri on her daily subway commute. Their short and intense relationship is skillfully and perceptively told in this novella—the first work by the Greek National Book Award-winner to be published in the U.S. (Laura D., Reader's Services)

Maguire, Gregory.Son of a Witch. 2005. (Ficiton Magui.G)

His name is Liir. He isn't green and his only talent magic-wise is an inexplicable ability to fly that burnt out broom Elphaba left behind. Told partially in flashbacks, starting at the point Dorothy and her motley band set out to return to the Emerald City after that (some say) unfortunate water incident, Liir's story is one of a young man's harrowing quest for parental certainty, self identity, and purpose in life. Though not as compelling a tale as the one about his maybe mother, this continuation of the saga of Oz and its political upheavals is told in Maguire's characteristic style combining dry humor, irony and skepticism, plus those wonderful, throw- away quotes buried in dialogue lifted right from the original, more sugar-coated stories of the Land of Oz that I grew up with. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

McEwan, Ian.Saturday. 2005. (Fiction Mcewa.I)

Spend Saturday, February 15, 2003 predawn to the next dawn with Henry Perowne, neurosurgeon, as his life evolves from routine to fearsome absurdity. (Muriel, North Branch)

O'Keeffe, Patrick.The Hill Road. 2005. (Fiction Okeef.P)

Here is a debut collection of four novellas set in the author's native Ireland. In each, the past visits the present as characters face long-buried secrets that haunt their lives: A boy's visit to his maiden aunt prompts her tale about the man she loved but could not marry; a young girl sent to work on a farm awakens memories in a local man of the woman he loved and abandoned years before; a chance meeting between an elderly widow and a young man on a train brings to her consciousness the awful secret she kept throughout her marriage; and an American woman's move to her ancestral home provokes passion and jealousy in her neighbors. Evocative, lyrical, unsentimental, this collection won the 2005 Story Prize for short fiction. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

See, Lisa.Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel. 2005. (Fiction See.L)

Two girls from very different family circumstances are paired in childhood in a formal friendship relationship called, "old sames." Though they live in different villages in rural 19th century China, they keep in touch by using their remote county's secret women's writing called Nu Shu. Their friendship is the closest relationship of their lives, and sustains them throughout their ordeals of foot binding, arranged marriage, and abuse, but is shattered because of a terrible misunderstanding. (Laura D., Reader's Services)

Wilson, A. N.My Name Is Legion. 2005. (Fiction Wilso.A)

This funny, angry book satirizes modern England by taking on its tabloids, the people who run them, and the people who read them. Lennox "Lennie" Mark, the odious proprietor of the Daily Legion, needs to sell lots of newspapers to maintain his and his malicious wife's lavish lifestyle, and any notion of truthful reporting takes a backseat to that. Unfortunately, Lennie's little empire depends on his lucrative mining interests in an African country whose brutal dictator uses slave labor. When Vivyan Chell, an Anglican priest who knows the secret of this low-cost mining, threatens to reveal the information, Lennie engages Peter, a mentally ill boy, to accuse the priest of sexual abuse. What neither Lennie nor Father Chell know is that either of them could be Peter's father. Peter's illness makes him murderous and he goes after the men, with dire results. Wilson juggles his numerous plot lines skillfully and gives readers plenty of laughs and plenty to ponder. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

Xinran.Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet. 2004. (Fiction Xinran)

Just 100 days after their marriage, Shu Wen's husband, a doctor in the People's Liberation Army, leaves Beijing to serve in Tibet. Two months later, he is reported killed under mysterious circumstances. Wen, also a doctor, immediately joins the army and manages to get herself posted to Tibet so she can search for him. In a remote area of the country, she becomes separated from her group and spends the following 30 years living with a family of nomads, wandering in search of answers. When she finally learns of her husband's fate, she returns to China. Xinran wrote this novel after meeting Shu Wen and hearing her remarkable and touching story. (Laura D., Reader's Services)

NONFICTION

Asma, Stephan T.The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha. 2005. (294.34 Asma.S)

Asma is a Chicago area philosophy professor who was hired to teach Buddhist philosophy in Cambodia. His fascinating book is a travelogue, an examination of how Theravada Buddhism is actually practiced in Southeast Asia, and a careful examination of the scriptures upon which Theravada Buddhism is based. There are many gaps between scripture and practice, but Asma treats Cambodian society with great respect. Any book about modern Cambodia must deal with the killing fields. Asma was in Cambodia after all because most of the local teachers had been murdered. The immense suffering of that time haunts this otherwise very funny book. (Neal Ney, Library Director)

Biel, Steven.Ameri can Gothic: A Life of America's Most Famous Painting. 2005. (759.13 Wood.G Biel.S)

The stern, sour-faced man with the direct gaze is the father; the pinched woman who looks off to the left (what is she hiding?) is his daughter, not wife. If you look carefully, you see that she is indeed much younger than the man. Grant Wood, the artist of this iconic painting, made this point in numerous interviews, though every now and then he skirted the issue and answered vaguely. He did not challenge the oft used, but incorrect title of "An Iowa Farmer and His Wife." His sister Nan, about 30 years old at the time she posed, was the model for the woman, and spoke confidently that she was intended to be the daughter. The man is Wood's dentist, Byron McKeeby who was in his 60s. You can find out this and much more in Steven Biel's book, a "biography" of sorts about a painting that nearly all Americans think they are familiar with. The simple facts of its creation, a bit of Wood's own history, a discourse on the changing critical views of the work since its completion in 1930 (satire? an homage to the Midwest? serious art or kitsch?) are packed into this slim volume. I, for one, love this stuff—learning the factoids about things makes for something to talk about at a dinner party, especially one with my fellow Chicagoans (the painting is in the Art Institute's permanent collection—that story is a good one, too). What's especially fun is seeing all the parodies of the work—from Bill and Hillary to Paris Hilton with Nicole Ritchie. My favorite is the Baby Boomer couple in front of their McMansion with pitchfork replaced by a Starbucks mug. Speaking of pitchforks—a local farmer lambasted Wood for painting a three-pronged pitchfork. They are supposed to have four prongs, he said. But another man jumped to his defense by noting that it's actually a hayfork, which does indeed have three. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Booth, Martin.Golde n Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Boyhood. 2005. (B Booth.M Booth.M)

In 1952 when Martin Booth was seven years old, his father was posted to Hong Kong for three years, quite a change from the drab suburbs of London. Martin and his mother took to Hong Kong immediately, excited at the prospect of exploring a different culture. (His father, who seems to have been the proverbial wet blanket, stuck close to home and complained that his wife and son were "going native.") Martin, sometimes with his mother but mostly alone, explored the streets and shops of the neighborhoods the family lived in and made friends with the locals. Because he had blonde hair, a symbol of good luck to the Chinese, he was welcomed almost everywhere, people rubbing his head to share in the luck. Booth deftly conveys the sense of wonder and excitement he had as a child probing the nooks and crannies of long ago Hong Kong. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

Clissold, Tim.Mr. China: A Memoir. 2005. (B Cliss.T Cliss.T)

In the 1980s, Clissold left his life as a British businessman and moved to Beijing. He fell in love with China, became fluent in the language, and was convinced that he could coordinate western investment in the vast Chinese market that was just opening up. He partnered with a top Wall Street banker and together they invested millions of dollars in several Chinese factories. His story is not a dry business tale, but a wild and very stressful adventure, as he frantically tries to protect his investments against less-than-orthodox business practices. He did, in fact, lose $350 million dollars by the end of four years and became seriously ill, but never lost his affection for the country and people. A fascinating look at the "next superpower." (Laura D., Reader's Services)

Downing, Michael.Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at the San Francisco Zen Center. 2001. (294.3927 Downi.M)

The San Francisco Zen Center has played and continues to play a major roll in introducing Zen to the West. Its founder Shunryu Suzuki is the author of Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, one of the most influential books about Zen in the west. This book about the Center’s turbulent times in the 70s and 80s, however, will lead one to suspect that there is something funny in the water or air in San Francisco. Among other things, the times featured flagrant adultery by Suzuki’s successor Richard Baker, students required to bow to Baker’s BMW, the development of a number of profitable businesses using Zen students performing what was essentially forced labor, a gun-toting monk, and visits from Governor Brown. A fascinating look at some bad times for a generally well thought of institution. (Neal Ney, Library Director)

Edge, John T.Hamb urger and Fries: An American Story. 2005. (641.662 Edge. J)

Do not, I repeat, do not pick up this slender tome if you have a hankering for a burger with fries. As he did with other quintessentially American dishes (apple pie and fried chicken), Edge takes us on a culinary jaunt across America in order to educate the reader of the hamburger's noble and fascinating past. With nary a mention of that place with the arches or the one named for a false monarch, and merely a polite nod to the edifice with the alabaster turrets, the still- disputed origins of the dish are explored along with the surprising variations in cooking methods, the gamut of ingredients (onions figure hugely here, of course), and the colorful characters involved in the daily grill-top preparation of the beef patties in question. Not surprisingly, the anecdotes about the places visited and people met are as interesting as the burger critiques themselves. Naturally, recipes abound. From the $41 (what?!) burger served at the Homestead in Manhattan featuring beer-fed, sake-bathed beef from Japan to the homey, reasonably-priced version found at multitudes of local diners, greasy spoons, burger joints, and sandwich shops all across the U.S.A., it is clear that the author enjoyed his research efforts just as much as you will enjoy this quick read...assuming, that is, you can get through it without dashing off to your favorite eatery and breathlessly ordering, "Cheeseburger, medium rare, with cheddar, grilled onions (not raw), please, and, oh, yes, an order of fries." (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Egan, Timothy.The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. 2006. (978.032 Egan.T)

My mother was a young working woman living in Gary, Indiana during the Depression. She would often say that many of her penny-pinching habits came from living through that lean decade. Her perspective and few anecdotes were urban and Midwestern. Egan's highly readable book tells another side of the story. He takes us to the Dust Bowl itself and follows the lives of a few families and the small towns they live in. What with the droughts, plunging crop prices, wild land speculation, over-plowing and planting, and horrendous winds that never let up, the folks he profiles had the worst hard luck during the worst hard time. Most did not leave Oklahoma or Texas or Kansas. By the time their farms gave out, their businesses failed, their beloved children succumbed to the dust pneumonia, they were too poor, too sick, too despairing to go, had they a place to go. Egan's talent for dramatic description of the awful conditions of living through the unrelenting black blizzards as the dust storms were called, along with first-hand accounts he recorded, make history come alive. The fascinating stories form a cautionary tale of greed and human folly. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Emsley, John.Elements of Murder: History of Poison. 2005. (364.1523 Emsle.J)

If you are a murder mystery buff or a chemistry buff, this book may be right up your alley. Chemistry is certainly not my thing, but I'm enough of a murder mystery fan to have given it a try. I was sufficiently intrigued, and soon realized that for the chemistry-challenged like me, Emsley, a researcher, lecturer and writer in chemistry in London, is a kindly man who arranged his book in such a way as to make it easy to just skim the heavy science stuff while digging into the nitty-gritty—a marvelous (and admittedly gruesome) catalog of effects various poisons have on the human body, and the famous people from both fiction and real life who were unfortunate enough to either have been the givers or takers of such things as arsenic, antimony, mercury, lead, and more. You will learn such interesting and possibly useful ("Jeopardy," anyone?) things like why Victorian floral wallpaper was deadly dangerous, why were hatters Mad Hatters, was Charles II poisoned, and who did it, was Isaac Newton an inadvertent self-poisoner, and so on. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Freed, Lynn.Readi ng, Writing, and Leaving Home: Life on the Page. 2005. (B Freed.L Freed.L)

Freed's book is, in part, a memoir of her childhood in South Africa and in part a description of the impact of her experiences on her fiction and short story writing. It is very entertaining and gives us an interesting insight into the writing process. (Joan, Reader's Services)

Gafni, Marc.The Mystery of Love. 2003. (152.41 Gafni.M)

Gafni writes: "We need to fully embrace the truth of the line, then roundly challenge it with circle consciousness, only to reembrace the line from a more supple and rounded place. Similarly we need to rejoice in the circle, only to bisect it with the challenge of the line, all in order to come back to the circle in a more balanced, honest way." For me this doesn't explain any of the mystery, but, to use some of the language of circle consciousness, if you like this kind of thing, this is the kind of thing you'll like. (Jeff, Reader's Services)

Gilbert, Martin.Churc hill and America. 2005. (941.084 Gilbe.M)

A fascinating and stirring account of the Anglo- American relationship through the letters and documents of Sir Winston Churchill. A rich portrait of Churchill's understanding of America. (Tess, Reader's Services)

Hecht, Anthony.Melodies Unheard: Essays on the Mysteries of Poetry. 2003. (811.009 Hecht.A)

After studying Hecht's amazing sestina "The Book of Yolek," I picked up this collection to try to understand more fully what he was up to. I find the last essay, "The Music of Forms," particularly engaging. (Jeff, Reader's Services)

Hutchisson, James M.Poe. 2005. (B Poe.E Hutch.J)

The importance of American literature rests with Poe. This is a critical overview of his major works, themes, and techniques, as well as the worlds of literary New York and Philadelphia in the 1880s. (Tess, Reader's Services)

Kerr, Blake.Sky Burial: An Eyewitness Account of China's Brutal Crackdown in Tibet. 1993. (951.5 Kerr.B)

Travelers to Tibet could easily romanticize the life there, avoiding the issue of Chinese occupation. After finishing medical school in 1987, Kerr and a lawyer friend went to Tibet to backpack and mountain climb. In Lhasa, they became involved in the protests that were started by monks but quickly spread, resulting in riots and violence. This experience thoroughly politicized them; after being arrested and forced to leave, they had an audience with the Dalai Lama in India and reported their experiences to the press and U.S. government. Kerr returned to document the family planning methods imposed on Tibetans. (Laura D., Reader's Services)

Markel, Howard.When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America and the Fears They Have Unleashed. 2004. (614.4973 Marke.H)

Bubonic plague? Cholera? Here? In America? For answers to these scary questions here's an eye-opening look at six deadly diseases (add to the list TB, cholera, trachoma, and AIDS) that threatened the American public during the 20th century. Markel covers the courses of infection in easy to follow detail, which in itself was fascinating to read. What made this book even more interesting was what Markel had to say about the official and private reactions to these threats and how xenophobic they were. Again, I was surprised that in some unfortunate cases these attitudes both on the political and scientific fronts have not changed much. I realized I was reading an incidental history of immigration and social attitudes in the United States as well as a book on medicine. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Parisi, Joseph (Ed).100 Essential Modern Poems. 2005. (821.9108 One)

Parisi, the former editor of Poetry, selected 100 notable works by 80 British and American poets. You may quibble with the choices, or with how he emphasizes or de- emphasizes various biographical details in his brief profiles, but I think he's done a solid job presenting good poets at their best. A useful collection. (Jeff, Reader's Services)

Robbins, Christopher.The Empress of Ireland: A Chronicle of an Unusual Friendship. 2005. (B Hurst.B Robbi.C)

Irish filmmaker Brian Desmond Hurst is best remembered—if he is remembered at all—for directing A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim. That was in 1951. By the time Christopher Robbins met him in the 1970s, Hurst was almost 80 and hadn't made a film in more than 10 years. Robbins, who was in his twenties and eager to make his name as a writer, agreed to write the screenplay for a film that was to be Hurst's swan song and to star his friends Lawrence Olivier and Michael Redgrave. So began a friendship that lasted until Hurst's death in 1986. Over the years, Hurst, a gleefully uncloseted homosexual, told Robbins stories, mostly hilarious, about himself and friends such as playwright Noel Coward, poet William Butler Yeats, director John Ford, and many others. Written with great affection and drollery, this book won the 2005 Saga Award for Wit. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

Sapolsky, Robert. Monkeyluv and Other Essays on Our Lives As Animals. 2005. (304.5 Sapol.R)

Robert Sapolsky is a neurobiologist and primatologist...and a very funny guy. I know it's hard to believe that a book on animal behavior, genetics, and the like could be laugh-out-loud reading material, but, well, Sapolsky's slim book is. Even the cover photograph made me smile. (It's these monkey finger puppets, see, and they're a family, and very much in love, and—oh, just go take a look for yourself.) Seriously, though, the humor is just a trick, a gimmick, to get the reader to ponder the deeper questions of why we behave the way we do, is it nature or nurture that drives us, how are we different from (or the same as) the other life forms on the planet. Fascinating stuff, really, since we all love reading about ourselves. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Standiford, Les.Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership that Transformed America. 2005. (338.7309 Stand.L)

A classic tale and history of two men who personified the best and worst of American capitalism. A young nation's economic rise is told in tales of philanthropy, bankruptcy, and backroom deals created by Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick and the bitter partnership that transformed America. (Tess, Reader's Services)

Truss, Lynne.Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. 2005. (395 Truss.L)

Lynne Truss has had it. What's it this time, you ask. We already know this British author of the acclaimed 1592400876">Eats, Shoots and Leaves as the originator of the rallying cry, "Sticklers, unite!" to rouse the dwindling number who are dismayed at the sad decline of proper punctuation in English. Now this acerbic, bitingly clever woman is all in a snit about the sorry state of civility. Simple rules of politeness, not the complexities that tormented our grandmothers (does the fish fork go on the left or above the dinner plate?), but rather basic concepts like saying please and thank you, not littering, holding a door for the next chap, are becoming as passé as, well, the fish fork. Truss admits this is no simple matter of having one's marking pen ready at the ready to add that missing apostrophe or obliterate one that's not needed (although that really didn't change the world, it was hugely satisfying to us sticklers to know that she's out there keeping vigil on the signage of the English-speaking world). The problem, as she describes it, is that when you chance to return a piece of litter to its owner with a polite, "Excuse me, I think you dropped this," you are at best going to get a nasty few words thrown back at you; at worst, a punch in the kisser. Too risky for sure. Nonetheless Truss believes (and I agree) we have to do something. She chose to write a book (okay, okay, it's a rant) to fire up us sticklers to push for politeness however we can, albeit with an eye to personal safety. I've chosen to recommend that you read this book. You'll be inspired and maybe heartened to hear that someone is trying to promote good manners, and you'll be entertained—Truss's riff on those maddeningly polite phone menus is laugh-out-loud funny. Her passion should inspire us all. (Barbara; Reader's Services)

Weller, Sam.The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury. 2005. (B Bradb.R Welle.S)

Bradbury's life is a love story and a tale of struggle and accomplishment. Illinois native Bradbury is a literary force in the history of America. (Tess, Reader's Services)

Winchester, Simon.A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906. 2005. (979.461 Winch.S)

In addition to Winchester's clear explanations of the science behind plate tectonics, and the latest thinking on earthquakes past, present, and future, readers are treated to a fascinating and horrifying recounting of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. I'm sure Winchester must have penned his book well before Katrina devastated New Orleans in August of 2005, but his descriptions of the utter destruction, chaos, and rescue efforts read uncannily like the news reports of recent months. The government's response 99 years ago was admirable...unlike 2005. I recommend this fine book for all with an interest in understanding the mystifying creaks and groans our lovely Blue Planet makes on occasion. Well, with one caveat: if you have just been offered that plum of a job and are packing up your stuff for the move to that beautiful city on the bay (and a city that sits atop the San Andreas fault, by the way), maybe you should skip this one. (Barbara, Reader's Services)

Wright, Robert.Non zero: The Logic of Human Destiny. Pantheon Books, c2000. (303.4 Wrigh.R)

Wright believes that evolution leads inevitably to the development of intelligent species, that intelligence plus thumbs leads inevitably to complex societies, and that complex societies require higher and higher levels of peaceful cooperative behavior. The title comes from the nonzero sum games in game theory, which Wright draws on heavily. I am too much of a cynic to accept this happy view of things, but I found the book thought provoking and challenging at every turn. (Neal Ney, Library Director)

FILMS

Sarin ui chuok; Memories of Murder. 2003. (DVD 791.4372 Memorie)

Based on the true story of a serial killer run amok in rural South Korea in the 1980s, this movie manages by turns to be chilling and funny. Two provincial detectives, whose investigative methods owe more to Barney Fife and the Spanish Inquisition than to real police work, try to find the murderer of several local women before he strikes again. A detective from Seoul joins them bringing with him big-city sophistication and investigative tactics. The provincial duo resent the newcomer, and he clearly scorns their approach to the case. As more murders occur, however, all three detectives become more invested in solving the crimes and more frustrated each time they fail. The story is set against the backdrop of Korea's emergence from authoritarian rule and fears of attacks from North Korea, which heighten the alarm created by the murders. (Mary B., Reader's Services)

Tengo ku to jigoku. 1998, c1963. (Video 791.4372 High)

This gripping police procedural was adapted from an Ed McBain story and directed by Akira Kurosawa. A wealthy businessman (Toshiro Mifune) receives a note saying that his son has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. The man uses his business as leverage to raise money for the ransom, but when it turns out that the kidnappers mistakenly took his chauffeur's son instead of his own, he faces a dilemma. Should he pay the ransom for a child not his own and lose everything, or let the boy die? This one is a nail-biter. (Mary B., Reader's Services)