New Books at PEOSTA

Reviewed: LJ Mar. 2019 p. 70 (Best Reference 20018)
Description: This title is a comprehensive resource for understanding all aspects of the American flag and its relationship to the American people. The encyclopedia provides a thorough historical examination of key developments in the flag’s design as well as laws and court decisions related to the flag and the First Amendment. In relation to the flag’s history, it also discusses evolving public attitudes about its importance as a national symbol. The work contains illuminating scholarly essays on presentations of the flag in American politics, the military, and popular culture including art, music, and journalism. Additionally, these essays address important rules of flag etiquette and modern controversies related to them, from flag-burning to re-fusing to stand during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ Aug. 2018 p. 119.
Description: This encyclopedia offers a variety of resources for readers interested in learning more about eating disorders, including hundreds of reference en-tries, interviews, scholarly debates, and case studies. Reflects recent changes in approaches to eating disorders brought about by the publication of the latest edition of the DSM. Explores key issues related to eating dis-orders and models critical thinking and argument construction in the Controversies and Debates section. Offers insights from a variety of perspectives expounded upon in interviews with scholars, eating disorder professionals, patients, and family members. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ March 2019 p. 69 (Best Reference 2018).
Description: Slingshotting through conspiracy theories, internet and popular culture, and perplexing psychological phenomena, this compendium illuminates deliriously diverse subjects … Encyclopedic in scope, but with an incisive voice tuned to these bedeviling times, this is the modern reference book to engage a world rife with artifice and deception. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ March 2019 p. 72 (Best Reference 2018); Choice (Dec. 2018 vol. 56 no. 4) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: People involved or simply interested in politics often ask whether today's political environment is more toxic than ever before. Political science professor Lori Cox Han presents an impartial and authoritative history of invective toward the White House so readers can determine the answer for themselves. The book focuses on the most representative and common-place attacks of a vitriolic and personal nature, detailing who instigated and trafficked in the attacks and how presidents, administrations, and political parties defended themselves. It also illustrates how honest disagreements about policy–such as FDR’s New Deal, Ronald Reagan’s Central America policies, George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, and Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act–fueled expressions of hatred and condemnation. Finally, the book includes perspectives from both the right and left on the legitimacy of these attacks and the victims’ defenses as well as their impact on American politics and policy. (publ.)

Reviewed: Choice (Dec. 2018 vol. 56 no. 4) Top 75 books recommended for community college libraries.
Description: Some Americans have come to the conclusion that U.S. politics is dominated by money, that politicians are frequently if not routinely “bought and paid for,” and that the only entities who wield political power are America’s monied “elite” or powerful special interests like “big labor” or “Wall Street.” But other American citizens believe that proposals to limit the influence of money in politics run counter to the free speech principles enshrined in the Constitution. This book will explores this compelling and controversial issue, examining where money in American politics comes from, where it goes, and the impact of all of those millions of dollars on American society. Most entries include reference for further reading. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ March 2019 p. 70 (Best Reference 2018)
Description: Offers in-depth analysis of seventy-five speeches, memos, letters, reports, transcripts, minutes, and testimony related to some of the nation's most notorious scandals. The set begins with the letters of the nation's most in-famous traitor, and continues through the 2018 executive order that resulted in the separation of families at the U.S./Mexico border. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ 1 Oct. 2018 p. 78.
Description: Many of the foods we eat every day are unique to the regions of the United States in which we live. New Englanders enjoy coffee milk and whoopie pies, while Mid-Westerners indulge in deep dish pizza and Cincinnati chili. Some dishes popular in one region may even be unheard of in another region. This encyclopedia examines over 100 foods that are unique to the United States as well as dishes found only in specific American regions and individual states. Written by an established food scholar, the book covers unusual regional foods and dishes such as hoppin’ Johns, hush puppies, shoofly pie, and turducken. Readers will get the inside scoop on each food’s origins and history, details on how each food is prepared and eaten, and insights into why and how each food is celebrated in American culture. In addition, readers can follow the recipes in the book’s recipe appendix to test out some of the dishes for themselves. (publ.)

Reviewed: LJ 15 Oct. 2018 p. 74.
Description: This single-volume resource explores the five major oceans of the world, addressing current issues such as sea rise and climate change and explaining the significance of the oceans from historical, geographic, and cultural perspectives. (publ.)