The Library DVD Shelf 4:44: Last Day on Earth IFC Films c/o MPI Media Group 16101 South 108th Avenue Orland Park, IL 60462 0788615726, .98, [URL="http://www.mpimedia.com"]www.mpimedia.com[/URL] Tomorrow at 4:44 a.m., the world is going to come to an end due to the destruction of the ozone layer - and two lovers seclude themselves in their Manhattan apartment to spend their last hours together. What they choose to do with their remaining time lends to a powerful drama offering many insights on romance, the end of times and of life, and what happens when Earth finally succumbs to ecological disaster. Any viewer with an interest in apocalyptic films will find this a powerful survey! Cost Control While You Cruise Created by Lin and Larry Pardey Produced by TheSailingChannel c/o Paradise Cay Publications PO Box 29 Arcata, CA 95518-0029 9781929214242 .95 [URL="http://www.paracay.com"]www.paracay.com[/URL] Part four of the "Offshore Sailing" DVD series based on successful instructional seminars, Cost Control While You Cruise is a user- friendly, DVD guide to enjoying the pleasures of boating on a reasonable budget. Hosts Lin and Larry Pardey have spent 45 years engaging in sailing voyages, in addition to interviewing sailors from dozens of different countries. They distill their accumulated wisdom in plain terms, with particular emphasis on controlling maintenance costs (one's ground tackle and dinghy are potentially critically important, and there are tips, tricks, and techniques to extending the life of one's sails), provisioning appropriately, and planning one's overall trip. Even if the viewer isn't interested in personally embarking on an ocean voyage, Cost Control While You Cruise has a wealth of striking footage to appeal to armchair travelers, including the shores of Africa, Brazil, and Ireland, even the coral atolls of the Indian Ocean. Cost Control While You Cruise is a treat for worldwide boating aficionados everywhere! 65 min. plus extras. Letters to an Unknown Daughter Anita Keagy JoyShop Ministries c/o Vision Video (distribution) PO Box 540 Worcester, PA 19490-0540 [URL="http://www.JoyShop.org"]www.JoyShop.org[/URL] .99 [URL="http://www.visionvideo.com"]www.visionvideo.com[/URL] Based on Anita Keagy's book "The File", Letters to an Unknown Daughter: A Mother's Story of Hope, Redemption, and Healing is a compelling true-life tale on DVD. In 1974, Anita Keagy became accidentally pregnant. Resisting the temptation to terminate the pregnancy, she held true to her family's strict Christian beliefs, and gave her infant daughter up for adoption. Years later, as a married mother to four children, she felt compelled to reach out to the daughter she had never known. Through the adoption agency, she began a file of letters to her daughter; years would pass before the two them would ever have the chance to meet. Letters to an Unknown Daughter is a compelling Christian story about reaching beyond the painful immediate, seeking God's purpose, and struggling to connect with loved ones. Profound and powerful, Letters to an Unknown Daughter is especially recommended for church DVD libraries; bonus content includes information on crisis pregnancy and adoption services. 40 min. Swish 3: The Swish Free Throw Tom Nordland Youth Sports Club 9 Florence Court Valley Cottage, NY 10989 .95 [URL="http://www.swish22.com"]www.swish22.com[/URL] Veteran coach Tom Nordland presents Swish 3: The Swish Free Throw, an instructional DVD packed with tips, tricks, techniques, and drills for making successful free throws in the sport of basketball. Nordland debunks common "myths of shooting", including the wrongheaded ideas about "squaring up" or "flipping the wrist". Step-by-step instructions for teaching oneself and others the basics, user-friendly exercises to cultivate awareness, simplifying one's "pre-shot routine", and more fill this excellent and practical DVD guide. Highly recommended, especially for coaches and high school library DVD collections. 1 hour 28 min. Kung Fu Body Conditioning 2 Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming YMAA Publications PO Box 480 Wolfeboro, NH 03894-0480 9781594392290 .95 [URL="http://www.ymaa.com"]www.ymaa.com[/URL] Author, scholar, and master of the Taijiquan and Qigong martial arts Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming presents Kung Fu Body Conditioning 2: Traditional Training for Endurance and Power, a step-by-step DVD guide to strengthen and condition one's body through the use of traditional Chinese martial arts techniques. Kung Fu Body Conditioning 2 demonstrates arm conditioning methods such as candle punching, pull- ups, and cinderblock flipping; leg conditioning methods such as stance training, log running, jumping and kicking; a total body workout; one- on-one martial arts instruction; partner bills to improve personal reaction speed and sense of distance; and much more. An excellent supplement to both fitness and martial arts DVD libraries, Kung Fu Body Conditioning 2 is a "must-have" especially for practitioners of all martial arts, and highly recommended. 240 min. Ageless Pilates with Ethel LaBranche Ethel LaBranche c/o 411 Video Information (publicity) PO Box 1223 Pebble Beach, CA 93953 .95 [URL="http://www.411videoinfo.com"]www.411videoinfo.com[/URL] Ageless Pilates with Ethel LaBranche is a multimedia package of one thirty-minute DVD and three sixty-minute CDs designed to introduce viewers to basic Pilates to promote longevity, balance, flexibility, and improved health. Ideal for all ages but especially valuable for senior citizens seeking to stay young at heart, Ageless Pilates features an easy-to-follow Pilates warmup and practice routine on the DVD, and live recordings of classes taught by LaBranche on the CDs. LaBranche herself is a veteran Pilates instructor of over twenty years' experience, eighty years young and going strong, and her guidance makes learning practicing basic Pilates a simple task. Also highly recommended is Ethel LaBranche's book, "Ageless Pilates" (.95). The Crimson Petal and the White Based on the novel by Michel Faber Acorn Media Group 8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 620 Silver Spring, MD 20910-3403 9781598287721 .99 [URL="http://www.acornonline.com"]www.acornonline.com[/URL] Based on the shocking novel by Michel Faber, The Crimson Petal and the White is a dark, four-part British miniseries. A psychological thriller marked by sex, violence, madness, intrigue, and suspense, The Crimson Petal and the White is set in the most ruthless corners of Victorian England. The canny prostitute Sugar (played by Romola Garai) is determined to seize a better life for herself before her youth and beauty runs out; to that end, she seduces William Rackham (Chris O'Dowd), the gadabout heir to a perfume business. Meanwhile, Rackham's wife gradually descends further into madness, and the interaction between the three is steeped in greed, lust, and deadly threat. Captivating to the brink of horror, The Crimson Petal and the White is luridly compelling to the very end. Bonus features include deleted scenes (11 min.); interviews with Garai, O'Dowd, director Marc Munden, and key crew members (20 min.); and character biographies. 4 episodes on 2 DVDs, 244 min. plus bonus, widescreen, SDH subtitles, not rated (contains nudity, sexual situations, violence, coarse language, and disturbing images). EDITOR'S NOTE: The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so. The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to: James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review 278 Orchard Drive Oregon, WI 53575-1129 To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price). James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief Midwest Book Review
