Preview Shelf -- Here Is The Upcoming Library Holiday Schedule

This year's schedule of closings at the Crawfordsville District Public Library encompasses Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, namely December 23, 24, and 25, and December 30, 31, and January 1st. The staff wishes everyone happy holidays. There is a new translation of "War and Peace" by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky to be more faithful to Tolstoy's style and accessible prose. Sean Covey's "The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make" looks like an important guide for teens about academic stress, parent commmunication, media bombardment, dating drama, abuse, bullying, addictions, depression and peer pressure. Current event treatises begin with Mike Evans' "The Final Move Beyond Iraq" which he says is the battle for the soul of America. "Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide" by Bijan Omrani and Matthew Leeming, which in a world full of books about abuses and terror, gives greater confidence that the country might be firmly put on the road to recovery; it is published to appeal to the armchair traveller by including history and culture, 19 maps and many color photos. "The Devil Came on Horseback" is Brian Steidle's document as a witness to the genocide in Darfur. Anne McKinney offers three volumes of "Real Resumes", one about manufacturing jobs, one about administrative support, office & secretarial jobs, and one about customer service jobs. Four new books discuss houses. "Frank Lloyd Wright Design" by Maria Constantino shows many of his buildings illustrating his constant goal to move forward with new concepts. "House Thinking" is Winifred Gallagher's room-by-room look at how we can make arrangements more logical. "Smaller, Smarter Home Plans" from the Garlinghouse Company features 300 space-saving designs. "Let's Get Comfortable" is Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams' illustrated manual of welcoming interiors. A beautiful colored craft book is "Basketry: A World Guide to Traditional Techniques" by Bryan Sentence. An equally appealing volume is Frank and Stephen Philbrick's "The Backyard Lumberjack" showing felling, bucking, splitting, and stacking. "Start Your Own Business on eBay" is explained by Jacquelyn Lynn . MP Dunleavey's "Money Can Buy Happiness" shows how to get out of debt, and how to spend to get the life you want. Moira and Nicholas Hankinson's "Recycle!" contains 60 projects for home and garden using materials at hand, like an ax-handle stool, hoop chandelier, slate-tiled wall, and a cast-iron boiler planter. An instructional manual about "Photography" by Barbara London et al teaches skills, emphasizing both technique and visual awareness. "Math for the Trades" offers skills needed for work from Learning Express. Two animal books are Jon Katz' "Dog Days" telling about the animals of Bedlam Farm in the unpredictable adventure of farm life. "Penquin Life" by Andy Rouse photographs scenes of the Antarctic species including Macaroni, Rockhopper, Gentoo, and Chinstrap penguins."The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman is about our effects on the planet, how if humans disappeared our massive infrastructure would collapse and vanish, while some of our highest art and culture might endure for a while.Jack Devitt's "Indiana Toolmakers and Their Tools" explains American "whatsits", tools whose value and use are not readily apparent, dedicated to Milan Ramsey who studied them. His lifelong mission of giving hope to the world describes the series of photographs that show "Billy Graham: God's Ambassador" by Russ Busby. "Faith & Doubt" is an anthology of poems edited by Patrice Vecchione