Sue Recommends The Edge by Jeffery Deaver

If you are fan of Jeffery Deaver and love his series featuring Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance, you will love his new character, Corte, a Strategic Protection Department officer. Corte is termed a "shepherd" as he protects targets from the "lifter" who is hired by a "primary" to gain information from the innocent target by any means. All of this is for the purpose of giving the primary "the edge."

In The Edge, Corte employs strategies and theories from his love of board games as well as his multiple degrees of higher education to outwit the lifter and identify the primary. The thrills and non-stop action he affords the reader make for a quick read.

Deaver has found another avenue to explore fighting crime with this new character. There is word that this is only the beginning of another wonderful series. Hats off to Mr. Deaver for proving he has yet another story to tell. Highly Recommended. SH

Are We Alone in the Universe

Rare Earth : Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe
by Peter D. Ward, & Donald Brownlee

Ground-breaking and controversial, Rare Earth marshals data from geology, astronomy, and biology to put forth a radical hypothesis: While primitive organisms such as microbes are very likely abundant across the galaxies, advanced life, depending as it does on a myriad of special circumstances, is altogether another story. In a thought- provoking departure from the widely held view that there must be countless civilizations of intelligent beings out there, Ward and Brownlee suggest that multicellular life- forms, let alone life-forms with whom we'd be able to communicate, must be exceedingly rare.

When you look up into the night's sky and see it full of galaxies, it is inconceivable that we are alone. And yet, as the author's guide us through the scientific evidence it is hard not to agree with their conclusions. Clearly explained science for the general reader. Brief video interview with Peter Ward

TB

Debra's picks : 10 Great Dance Films

Dirty Dancing Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Jack Weston
Strictly Ballroom Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson, Gia Carides, Peter Whitford, Barry Otto.
Take the Lead Antonio Banderas
Swing Time Ginger Rogers, Fred Astair

Mad Hot Ballroom Eleven-year-old New York City public school children journey into the world of ballroom dancing

An American in Paris Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron
Singin' in the Rain Gene Kelly, Donald O'connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen
Chicago
Taye Diggs, Renee Zellweger, Queen Latifah, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lucy Liu, John C. Reilly, Richard Gere
Burn the Floor Filmed at the Canberra Theatre, Australia.

42nd Street George Brent, Dick Powell, Warner Baxter, Ruby Keeler, Ginger Rogers

Mike Suggests the Leviathan Trilogy

Leviathan and Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

A fantastic mashup of revisionist history, steampunk, and Young Adult literature, Westerfeld's Leviathan Trilogy is two installments into the story and is a ripping good yarn. Readers are along for a wild ride with Dylan (real name Deryn), a young woman who has disguised herself as a young middie (midshipman) and infiltrated the men-only ranks of the British Royal Air Force, and Alek, son of the assassinated Austrian Archduke who is on the run from the war-hungry German forces. Westerfeld is masterful at placing these youths into a fast-paced narrative where they're helping determine the course of events of the Great War; so masterful that I can't imagine the third book falling flat because there's still so much left unresolved at the end of the second.

Wynton Marsalis and Richard Galliano are Fabulous

This tribute to two outstanding female jazz voices is a treat for your senses. The album, including such classics like 'What a Little Moonlight Can Do', 'La Vie en Rose', and 'Them There Eyes', was recorded live at Jazz in Marciac in 2008. From Billie Holiday to Edith Piaf Live in Marciac is available for circulation along with a large collection of other excellent contemporary and classic jazz recordings in our Media Room. Come browse and enjoy.

Jonathan Recommends: Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat : how a dead man and a bizarre plan fooled the Nazis and assured an allied victory by Ben Macintyre is one of the most enjoyable nonfiction books I've ready in a long time.

It details the story of how the British used a corpse to save innumerable lives during the Invasion of Sicily. Macintyre does a great job of getting into the heads of the key players and presenting their interesting personalities.

James Bond fans will appreciate the references to Ian Fleming, the real "Q", and mentions of intelligence officers as novelists. Macintyre reveals some truths that were disallowed in The Man Who Never Was by Ewen Montagu, key player in Mincemeat, which was published in 1954.

As Macintyre's book progresses the reader is drawn into the story experiencing the tension and excitement felt by all involved. The ploy used by the British is arguably the most successful spy operation ever conducted in war.

This is a must read, which is strongly researched and accessible to the masses. This book is owned by numerous Minuteman libraries, Wellesley included, and is also available in Large Print and Audiobook formats.

If you enjoy Operation Mincemeat then you should give the book The Man Who Never Was by Ewen Montagu and its film adaptation starring Clifton Webb (also on VHS) a try.

Rob Recommends Ed Sullivan???

Or perhaps he recommends Sullivan's guests, THE BEATLES!
There's something about watching the early Beatles on a simple stage with simple video and basic audio that brings back the sense of excitement we all felt back then. Well, maybe not we all--I'm exhibiting a bit of babyboomism here. But really, the fresh young faces, the sharing of microphones, the self-conscious grins--I love it! The recent release of a 2-video set of the Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring the Beatles is a wonderful walk down memory lane. It's not just the Beatles' 15 songs (they've been released before), but it's all the other period pieces that made up the Ed Sullivan Show: the comedians, singers, novelty acts and even the original commercials. The screaming, tearful, ecstatic fans (and Ed Sullivan's gentle but firm admonitions for them to behave properly) only add to the fun. What's wrong with nostalgia anyway?