Smithsonian Libraries

New and Notable—National Museum of American History Library

 Here are some of the newest additions to the National Museum of American History Library.

Alone together: why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Sherry Turkle. Basic Books, c2011.

Information technology -- Social aspects.

Interpersonal relations.

Human-computer interaction.

HM851 .T86 2011

American property: a history of how, why, and what we own. Stuart Banner. Harvard University Press, 2011.

Contents: 

Lost property -- The rise of intellectual property -- A bundle of rights -- Owning the news -- People, not things -- Owning sound -- Owning fame -- From the tenement to the condominium -- The law of the land -- Owning wavelengths -- The new property -- Owning life -- Property resurgent -- The end of property?

Subject: 

Property -- United States -- History.

Right of property -- United States -- History.

KF562 .B36 2011

88: the giants of jazz piano, by Robert L. Doerschuk. Hal Leonard Pub., c2001.

Contents: 

On sound disc: Elite syncopations (Mary Lou Williams) (2:45) -- Cha Cha for Charlie (Dick Wellstood (4:21) -- My funny valentine (Dorothy Donegan) (4:27) -- Soflee (Roger Kellaway) (8:46) -- Donna Lee (Bill Charlap (3:27) -- What a little moonlight can do (Teddy Wilson) (4:04) -- Somebody stole my gal (Dave McKenna) (5:14) -- Boogie woogie on the St. Louis blues (Earl Hines) (6:31) -- What is this thing calles love (Adam Makowicz) -- Ain't misbehavin' (Willie "the Lion" Smith) (5:58) -- On, what a beautiful morning (Hank Jones) (4:56).

Subject: 

Pianists -- Biography.

Jazz musicians -- Biography.

Piano music (Jazz) -- History and criticism.

ML397 .D64 2001

Sticks 'n' skins: a photography book about the world of drumming featuring the photography of Fotos by Folletts and Lissa Wales, author Jules Follett. Fotos by Folletts, c2009.

Subject: 

Drum -- Pictoral works.

Drum -- History.

Drummers (Musicians) -- History.

Drummers (Musicians) -- Pictoral works.

ML1035 .F65 2009  NMAH CULTURAL HISTORY

Biographies in American ceramic art: 1870-1970. Ken Forster. Schiffer Pub., c2010.

Subject: 

Potters -- United States -- Biography -- Dictionaries.

Pottery, American -- 19th century.

Pottery, American -- 20th century.

NK4200 .F67 2010NMAH CERAMICS & GLASS

Alternative American ceramics, 1870-1955: the other American art pottery. Ken Forster. Schiffer Publishing, 2010.

Summary: 

A study of pottery not made for profit. Details recreational, therapeutic, governmental, philanthropic, academic, and other non-commercial programs in pottery.

Subject: 

Pottery, American -- 19th century.

Pottery, American -- 20th century.

Porcelain, American -- 19th century.

Porcelain, American -- 20th century.

NK4007 .F677 2010 NMAH CERAMICS & GLASS

 

—Chris Cottrill

New and Notable—National Museum of Natural History Library

Late June new book arrivals in the Natural History Libraries — quite a cross section!

Where to watch birds in Ethiopia, by Claire Spottiswoode, QL692.E8 S66 2010 Birds Library

The great sperm whale: a natural history of the ocean's most magnificent and mysterious creature, by Richard Ellis, QL737.C435 E437 2011 Kellogg Library

First life: discovering the connections between stars, cells, and how life began, by David Deamer, QH326 .D43 2011 Natural History Library

Dinosaurs and other extinct saurians: a historical perspective, edited by R.T.J. Moody, et al., QE861.4 .D57 2010 Vertebrate Paleontology Library

Richard Woods (1715-1793): master of the pleasure garden, by Fiona Cowell, SB470.W66 C69 2009 Botany Library

Chrysanthemum stones: the story of stone flowers, by Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakaoji, QE471.15.C3 E45 2010 Botany Library

—Polly Lasker

Related articles

• New and NotableNational Museum of Natural History Librarie (smithsonianlibraries.si.edu)
• BHL awarded John Thackray Medal by Society for the History of Natural History (smithsonianlibraries.si.edu)

Paul Bunyan Day

On June 28, 2011, the nation honors one of the truly larger-than-life figures in American folklore by observing Paul Bunyan Day. Paul Bunyan is a legendary lumberjack of gigantic proportions who, accompanied by a blue ox named Babe, traveled throughout the country performing incredible, though often incidental, feats. Some of Bunyan's mythical exploits include digging the Grand Canyon by dragging his axe and creating Mount Hood by piling stones to extinguish a campfire. Part of the Bunyan legend also claims that deep footprints left by Paul and Babe as the pair walked through Minnesota created the 10,000 lakes for which the state is famously known. 

Paul Bunyan and Babe statues, Bemidji Minnesota. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

While there is some debate among historians about the precise origin of the Bunyan myth, it is generally believed that the legend dates from the 1800s, when lumberjacks in the U.S. and Canada entertained themselves in logging camps by telling stories. In the early part of the 20^th Century these tales would evolve from oral anecdotes to printed stories with a unifying character and become a part of the larger American cultural mythology. In 1910, portions of the Paul Bunyan folklore were collected by reporter James MacGillivray and published in the Detroit News Tribune. In 1914, an advertising writer named William Laughead reworked the logger's yarns into an ad campaign for the Red River Lumber Company.  This campaign, featuring pamphlets depicting Bunyan as a giant lumberjack, was the beginning of the popular and enduring image that has been such an integral part of the folklore. The emergence of Paul Bunyan as an American icon is a potent example of commercial advertising informing popular culture, as it was Laughead who first depicted Bunyan and gave his mythical Big Blue Ox the name Babe.

So how does one celebrate Paul Bunyan Day? A good start is to familiarize yourself with the original stories, as first published by MacGillivray. Another favorite observance of those honoring the American folk hero is to eat pancakes — lots of them. Bunyan was supposed to have eaten 50 pancakes in one minute. 

—Conrad Ziyad

Further Reading:

Paul Bunyan classics : authentic original stories told in the old time logging camps of the Wisconsin pineries.  by Charles E. Brown.

Brimstone Bill, famous boss bullwhacker of Paul Bunyan's camps; tall tales of his exploits ... by Charles E. Brown.

Sources:

http://www.mgilleland.com/roundriver1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bunyan

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/babe_the_blue_ox.html

 

New Acquisitions in the National Air and Space Museum Library

July, the month of hot, humid days and patriotic holidays.  July is also the seventh month of the year.  Coincidentally, the National Air and Space Museum Library has seven new titles to share with you.

The Age of Airpower by Martin van Creveld.  PublicAffairs, New York, New York, 2011.  UG630. V285 2011

   
 
 
Ballooning: A History, 1782-1900 by S.L. Kotar and J.E. Gessler.  McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2011.  TL616. K68 2011

 
Globalizing Polar Science: Reconsidering the International Polar Year and Geophysical Years edited by Roger D. Launius, James Roger Fleming and David H. DeVorkin.  Palgrave Macmillan, New York, New York, 2010.  Q180. A3 G56 2010

 
 
Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission by Andrew Kessler.  Pegasus Books, New York, New York, 2011.  QB641. K34 2011

 

Revolutionary Atmosphere: The Story of the Altitude Wind Tunnel and the Space Power Chambers by Robert S. Arrighi.    NASA History Division, Office of External Relations, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, 2010. TL567. W5 A77 2010

 

The Saturn V F-1 Engine: Powering Apollo into History  (Springer/Praxis Books/Space Exploration)by Anthony H. Young.  Springer, New York, New York/Chichester, England, 2009.  TL781.5 S3 Y686 2009

 

 

Women in the Early British and Irish Astronomy: Stars and Satellites by Mary Bruck.  Springer, New York, New York, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 2009.  QB34.5 B783 2009

 

—Leah Smith