Preview Shelf -- Library Display Celebrates Barbie's 50th Birthday

The new upstairs display at the Crawfordsville Library celebrates the doll Barbie's 50th Anniversary. Library staff members Janet Palin, Debbie Barry, and Dellie Craig gathered up family favorites. Janet's daughter Paula McLain is sharing her six holiday Barbies, Christmas gifts from Mom, the favorite one showing Barbie in a ball gown of gold lame. Debbie shows her 1958 Ken, his amazingly preserved sailor suit and original bathing suit, and her vintage blond Barbie in a shiny black formal. Dellie's contribution is a "Crystal Barbie" with brilliants on her bodice, purchased in Japan in the early '80s while her husband Roger was stationed at Yokota Air Base. But besides these, you'll spy many more gems like her famous Jeep, and a suitcase box allowing you to peek at her inside a roadster on one side and on an airplane on the other. Here's some new nonfiction to borrow. Notes of a Christian exile called "American Babylon" by Richard Neuhaus (1936-2009) discusses the well known phrase "in but not of the world" and the ways in which the sentiment holds particularly true in America today. ."Christ & Culture Revisited" by D. A. Carson considers the same subject, showing how Christians must maintain a balancing act as our culture departs from its Judeo-Christian roots. Kevin Vanhoozer's "Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament" is a book-by-book survey, discussing each one in turn explaining its history, interpretations, and major ideas. "Basilica" by R. A. Scotti tells the story of the building of St. Peter's in Rome, and describes that turbulent century including the "splendor and the scandal". "Troublesome Young Men" is Lynne Olson's report of the rebels who brought Winston Churchill to power and helped save England. "Forever Green" is Chuck Leavell's history of the American Forest, pointing out that wood is one of our most critical resources that must be wisely used and conscientiously renewed. "Billions of Missing Links" by Geoffrey Simmons, looks at the mysteries evolution can't explain, "from the blue whale to the virus, from the macro to the micro, current scientific evidence "revealing Darwin's most fatal flaw - "the missing links in the story of chance development of life." "Space Missions" edited by Jim Winchester, covers the history of space flight and the individuals involved from Sputnik to SpaceShip One. "Seeing in the Dark" by Timothy Ferris explains how amateur astronomers are discovering the wonders of the universe.Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homemade Money Saving Meals" offers dishes that taste like they're made from scratch. Kathleen Daelemans' "Getting Thin and Loving Food" comes from the Food Network with her recipes; "Your body is your temple. You wanna live there or in a warehouse?" "A Year Along the Garden Path" is given in month-by-month ideas by Ann Lovejoy with pictures by Mark Lovejoy. "A Jury of Her Peers" by Elaine Showalter is a history of American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx (from 1650 to 2000).Oprah Winfrey's text about the movie "Journey to Beloved" is accompanied by photographs by Ken Regan. "The Gamble" by Thomas Ricks reviews General David Petraeus' direction of the American military adventure in Iraq from 2006-2008, using hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with top officers and special on-the-ground reportage.