AT THE LIBRARY

February 12, 2009

New Reference Books

The Library’s Information and Reference Center has chosen to highlight the following new reference books to help patrons find answers to a variety of questions.

This 300+ page depiction of wars in ancient times combines descriptions of both the military events of the wars and the social, economical and cultural factors involved in warfare. Bulleted lists, maps, and full-color images combine to create an encyclopedia of sorts for the ancient world at war. Each chapter focuses on a different war; from ancient Egypt to early Korea and Japan. Further reading material is listed at the end of the book, as well as source listings for illustrations and quotations, and an index.

This 600+ page almanac is a must-read for anyone looking to move to a new location. Useful information begins in the introduction with a list and maps of metropolitan areas in the U.S. and extends throughout the book, right to the full index. Each chapter describes how the decisions are made regarding rating places in the U.S. The first is ambience. The ambience in a location is a comparison of cultural assets such as art museums, opera and ballet companies, and symphony orchestras. Housing also affects the decision. A measure is taken of price appreciation, local prices for starter home and move-up homes, property taxes, utilities and mortgage payment. The other categories that affect the rating of a location are jobs, crime, transportation, education, recreation and climate.

This oversized, full-color atlas showcases the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The first section focuses on landing in North America, while the second deals with exploring and mapping North America. The third section is titled Conquering North America and the fourth is Crossing North America. This book includes not only maps, but pictures and graphs as well. Indexes to this atlas include a list of maps and illustrations, texts and the maps, Indian nations and tribes in the maps and place names in the maps.