BOOKS FOR TRAVEL AND FILM BUFFS

Ever wanted to visit the Ghostbusters' headquarters (a functioning firehouse at 14 North Moore Street in New York), or the square where Jason Bourne met Nicky in Berlin (Alexanderplatz), or the site of the Ark of the Covenant ceremony from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Sidi Bouhel in Tunisia)? The folks at Museyon Guides understand this longing of film buffs, and they developed the forthcoming Film + Travel series to help moviegoers retrace the footsteps of their favorite characters.

Film + Travel Asia, Oceania, Africa (978-0-9822320-1-9) takes readers to locations including South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Tunisia, and Eastern and Southern Africa. Visitors to Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor will recognize the skyline from movies like Rush Hour and Lara Croft Tomb Raider. In Tokyo, movie lovers can have a drink at the hotel that served as the primary setting of Lost in Translation. Fans of The English Patient will feel right at home in Tunisia.

The book's table of contents lists each city covered, while the index lists the films discussed. So it is just as easy to find locations from The Matrix (the city skyline was actually Sydney's) as it is to browse interesting locations like Phuket, Thailand, and Kanangra Falls in Australia.

For movie lovers whose travels take them to Europe, there are many familiar locations to visit. Film + Travel Europe (978-0-9822320-0-2) takes readers to the deserts of Andalusia in Spain, which look so much like the American West that it served as the setting for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Countless other films have depicted the history and romance of France. Amelie was set in Butte Montmartre, a neighborhood of Paris and the location of the Sacre Coeur Basilica. Hotel du Nord depicted the working class area of Canal Saint Martin.

While most of the book moves quickly from location to location (turn to another guidebook for hotel and restaurant recommendations), the contributors do include some interesting tidbits in sidebars. The makers of In Bruges received "unprecedented cooperation and support from Bruges--including from burgomaster (mayoral equivalent) Patrick Moenaert, and hundreds of locals working as extras," Julien Sévéon writes. This allowed the city to be captured better than in any previous film.

Other locations profiled include Germany, the United Kingdom, Istanbul and Turkey, Italy, Scandinavia, and Russia. Even if readers have never heard of the movies filmed in a particular location, the book's many color photographs may persuade them to visit. For example, it is hard to turn the page on Brittany's Medieval Street without wanting to walk down the sett-paved (square bricks) road and peak into the ancient, turreted buildings.

There is plenty to see close to home as well. Although Hollywood is the film capital of the world and there are plenty of famous studios and theaters to see there, that is not the mission of this book. Instead, Film + Travel North America, South America (978-0-9822320-2-6) takes readers to Canada, San Francisco, New York, North Carolina, Louisiana, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, among other places.

In San Francisco, Hitchcock fans can visit many locations from Vertigo, including Madeleine's apartment building, the cemetery behind Mission Dolores, and Hotel Empire, where Judy lived. Other famous film-related locations include Boone Hall Plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, which inspired Gone With the Wind's Twelve Oaks plantation, and El Morro, a Spanish fort in Puerto Rico which was turned into an African slave fortress for Steven Spielberg's Amistad.

With their beautiful photos and images from classic and modern films, the books in this series are fun for both actual and armchair travel.

by Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor

BOOK REVIEW

You Can Write a Story! A Story-Writing Recipe for Kids
by Lisa Bullard; Deborah Haley Melmon, illustrator
(Two-Can Publishing, 978-1-58728-587-5)

At a kitchen table, a red-haired and dark-haired girl pull characters from a recipe file, settings from a cookie jar, and actions from an egg carton. Thrown into a mixing bowl, these ingredients will soon become a story. A smiling chef in a white jacket and chef's hat guides the reader through this cookbook, which makes writing fiction seem as easy as whipping up a favorite dessert-and as tasty.

Bullard, winner of a CBC Children's Choice Award for Trick-or-Treat on Milton Street, has written several series of children's books, including "All About Me." In You Can Write a Story! she divides the elements of fiction into easily digestible parts: characters, settings, and action (beginning, middle, and end). She does the same for the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, rewriting, and publishing. After thirteen short how-to chapters, Bullard shares a unifying story-in-progress of Pete the purple polar bear who dreams of moving to Hawaii. This book, with its tale-within-a-tale, will certainly inspire writers to get cooking.

Melmon has illustrated greeting cards and educational materials; this is her first picture book. Yet the reader would never guess, looking at her exuberant colored pencil and watercolor designs in tropical hues in Hawaii, and cool blues and grays in the North. Melmon captures the excitement of telling a story through her bold yet contained designs of Pete surfing and biplane piloting. Each page sports a different colorful border, and details such as cooking utensils, ingredients, and cookies unify the design.

This title is ideal for elementary teachers, homeschoolers, and caregivers who want to introduce a child to the elements of fiction writing. The prose is simple and direct with special terms in bold print, like "rough draft," and colorful sidebars provide useful hints, for example, "Use all five senses." A glossary of terms also makes it easy to find that missing ingredient. Like many a favorite recipe, this one is delicious; yet it's also calorie-free.

Reviewed by Jeanne M. Lesinski

Read more reviews at www.forewordmagazine.com.

AUTHOR PAGES: ADAM PITLUK

The Author Pages feature nearly 100 interviews with authors whose work has been reviewed in ForeWord magazine. Adam Pitluk, author of Damned to Eternity (Da Capo, 978-0-306-81527-0) writes:

"I wake up super early, make a pot of coffee, close all the curtains and blinds, keep the room dark, drink the coffee, see my wife off to work, put in some Neil Young, turn it way the hell up, pack a dip, and I won't stand up or spit it out until I have 2,500 words written. "

Visit ForeWord’s Author Pages to read more about the authors reviewed in the pages of ForeWord.

This week at Publishing Insider, Joanna Campbell Slan talks about the rising tide of craft cozies.

At Shelf Space, Carlie Webber pens a column titled "They're evil! They're brilliant! They're reviewers!"

At Publishing Matters, Eugene Schwartz Eugene Schwartz discusses lessons learned from librarians at an AAP panel.

At Editor’s Notes, Editor-in-Chief Heather Shaw talks about what you read when there's nothing to read.

Visit www.forewordmagazine.com for publishing news, book reviews, and the ForeWord Book Club.

FOREWORD BOOK CLUB: LITERATURE AND WAR

In case you missed it in all the BEA rush, ForeWord's Book Club offers another chance at this outstanding excerpt from Literature and War: Conversations With Israeli and Palestinian Writers by Runo Isaksen, translated by Kari Dickson (Interlink, 978-1-56656-730-5).

Author David Grossman, in his absorbing interview titled "In Morality's Catastrophe Zone," says:

"I felt that I would never understand my own life-as a Jew, an Israeli, a father, a man, a lover, an author-unless I understood how I would have behaved there, in Shoah. And I wanted to write from two perspectives, from the Jew's, but also from the murderer's. It was crucial for me as a Jew to understand how I would have dealt with the total denial of my individuality and humanity in those conditions. But at the same time to try to understand how a normal person can become a murderer, what processes you have to go through to start killing."

The entire interview with Grossman will be available for one more week at the ForeWord's Book Club.

FOREWORD FOOTNOTES

Biography & Autobiography. MERIWETHER LEWIS by Thomas C. Danisi and John C. Jackson (Prometheus Books, b/w illustrations, 424 pages, hardcover, $28.98, 978-1-59102-702-7): independent scholars and recipients of a Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation grant re-examine the original Lewis and Clark documents and tell of the explorer's life (1774-1809); among the references are Lewis's appointment as governor of the Louisiana Territory, his ingestion of Dr. Rush's poisonous mercury pills, and assassination theory at Grinder's Stand inn.

Biography & Autobiography. THE TIMELINE HISTORY OF U. S. PRESIDENTS AND FIRST LADIES by Barbara Greenman (Thunder Bay Press, 9 x 13, full color illustrations, gate-fold timeline, 72 pages, hardcover, $22.95, 978-1-59223-992-4): former director of book development for the Literary Guild as well as Doubleday book clubs and compiler of A Treasury of American Quotations provides mini bios and life highlights; among the presidents mentioned are Thomas Jefferson, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Andrew Johnson, who was impeached in 1868 on charges of violating the Tenure Of Office Act, but was acquitted.

Body, Mind & Spirit. BRIDGE TO THE AFTERLIFE: A MEDIUM'S MESSAGE OF HOPE & HEALING by Troy Parkinson (Llewellyn Publications, 240 pages, softcover, $15.95, 978-0-7387-1435-6): former medium student at the First Spiritual Temple in Boston and a film director at the Discovery Health Channel as well as the History Channel provides an account of his "adventure into the exciting and fascinating world of mediumship and spirit communication"; some subjects referenced are "mediumship development," "the sixth sense," and "connecting with your loved ones in spirit" by first relaxing and then inviting them to draw close.

Body, Mind & Spirit. TAROT FOR LIFE: READING THE CARDS FOR EVERYDAY GUIDANCE AND GROWTH by Paul Quinn (Quest Books, b/w illustrations, 344 pages, softcover, $17.95, 978-0-8356-0879-4): professional intuitive consultant and Tarot interactive presenter offers seventy-eight "casebook stories" (one for each card) drawing upon Jungian psychology, the Hindu chakra system, and other esoteric traditions; sections include the "essentials for the journey," the inward path, and the "heat is on" mentioning the Devil card in conjunction with Rumi's quote, "If thou hast not seen the devil, look at thine own self."

Business & Economics. THE GENIUS MACHINE: THE 11 STEPS THAT TURN RAW IDEAS INTO BRILLIANCE by Gerald Sindell (New World Library, 152 pages, hardcover, $19.95, 978-1-57731-650-3): motion picture entrepreneur and intellectual property consultant offers a system of thinking that "is directed toward improving an existing idea, thinking through a complete issue, or creating something new"; steps include Distinctions, Implications, and Completion where the "Alexandria Test" is applied, a reference to the disappearance of the ancient library's "great collection of books and other written records of knowledge" and a subsequent renaissance of learning.

Cooking. SUGAR-FREE GLUTEN-FREE BAKING AND DESSERTS: RECIPES FOR HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS COOKIES, CAKES, MUFFINS, SCONES, PIES, PUDDINGS, BREADS AND PIZZAS by Kelly E. Keough (Ulysses Press, 7 x 9, 200 pages, softcover, $14.95, 978-1-56975-704-8): expert healthy chef and host of The Sweet Truth cooking show on Veria TV offers food choices that avoid sugar and gluten; among the topics mentioned are "setting up the pantry" and tips such as, "Sugar liquefies in the baking and heating process, so agave is one of the best replacements for sugar in baking and cooking,"

Games. GARY'S ADVENTURES IN CHESS COUNTRY by Igor Sukhin with introduction by chess Grandmaster Susan Polgar (Mongoose Press, 8 x 11, color illustrations, 152 pages, hardcover, $23.95, 978-0979148-22-4): author of Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know presents chess basics for children in the form of "stories, puzzles, riddles, and quizzes" and extols the benefits of pattern recognition and critical thinking; discussions include the promotion power of pawns, jumping dynamics of the knight, and maxims such as: "In chess, like in life, force doesn't always win. It is about skill."

Health & Fitness. MAYO CLINIC GUIDE TO LIVING WITH A SPINAL INJURY: MOVING AHEAD WITH YOUR LIFE by multiple contributors (Demos Medical Publishing, 7 x 10, b/w illustrations, 239 pages, softcover, $17.95, 978-1-932603-77-4): leading medical specialists offer their expert advice regarding the day-to-day challenges faced by anyone with a spinal cord injury; topics include skin care, exercise, intimacy, bladder management, emotional adjustments, and travel, e.g. by train: "For seating it is sometimes recommended that you transfer from your wheelchair to a regular seat."

History. THE AGE OF CONFUCIAN RULE: THE SONG TRANSFORMATION OF CHINA by Dieter Kuhn (Harvard University Press, b/w illustrations, 356 pages, hardcover, $35.00, 978-0-674-03146-3): chair of Chinese Studies at the University of Würzburg discusses the technology, intellectual life, and material culture during the Song dynasty (960-1279); references include the "dragon throne," Confucian classics, and women's hairstyles, which often indicated the stratum of society, e.g., lower classes wore a modest bun.

History. THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: A SHORT HISTORY by Suraiya Faroqhi, translated by Shelley Frisch (Markus Wiener Publishers, b/w illustrations, 196 pages, softcover, $26.95, 978-1-55876-449-1): University of Munich graduate and author of The Ottoman Empire and the Outside World, 1540s to 1774 chronicles the past of one of the most powerful empires of the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern era; subjects include war with Persia, court life in Istanbul, and two Ottoman warships near completion in British shipyards that were confiscated by Winston Churchill in World War I.

History. SNIPER: A HISTORY OF THE U. S. MARKSMAN by Martin Pegler (Osprey Publishing, color and b/w photographs, softcover, $14.95, 978-1-84603-495-4): former senior curator of firearms at the Royal Armouries Museum of Leeds, England, and author of Out of Nowhere: A History of the Military Sniper presents the rifleman, sharpshooter, and the rifle's American evolution; among the details mentioned are Davy Crockett's octagonal-barreled long gun, the M24 rifle of Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, a 2nd US Infantry Division sniper in Iraq, and the use of scoped Whitworths by marksmen of General Longstreet's brigade at the siege of Chattanooga.

Political Science. WHAT'S WRONG WITH OBAMAMANIA: BLACK AMERICA, BLACK LEADERSHIP, AND THE DEATH OF POLITICAL IMAGINATION by Ricky L. Jones (State University of New York Press, 144 pages, hardcover, $44.00, 978-0-7914-7579-9, softcover, $14.95, 978-0-7914-7580-5): associate professor of Pan-American studies at the University of Louisville discusses the American racial past, present, and "perhaps, future"; includes references to Jesse Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Barack Obama, who became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

Reference. PUBLISH YOUR FIRST MAGAZINE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR WANNABE PUBLISHERS by Lorraine Phillips (360 Books, 216 pages, softcover, $19.95, 978-0-9822765-01): computer quality assurance engineer and editorial director for SisterPower magazine demonstrates how to facilitate a magazine launch; topics include magazine business fundamentals, branding, setting ad rates, managing the editorial process, and magazine covers: "Create catchy, intriguing, and benefit-oriented cover lines."

by Alex Moore, Book Review Editor

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