Robert Darnton. The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. 218p. alk. paper, $23.95 (ISBN 9781586488260). LC2009-034693

large, intermediate, and small presses in the years 1980 through 1990, and posits various hypothesis to be borne out, or not, by the data. Once a section's conclusions are stated, Dr. Black commences another logical step in her argument in the following chapter. After overcoming the odds, breaking the " first seal " and being published, these works by African American women have to be reviewed to find readers. Dr. Black abstracts the literature on the subject and analyzes the percentages of her sample that get reviewed. She also examines which journals are more likely to review such titles, and she demonstrates that some journals exert a stronger influence on acquisition librarians than others. She relates such variables as the size of the publisher to the number of reviews and compares the review ratios of books by African American women writers to other women writers. Particular journals, such as Choice, Library Journal, Booklist, and other more general ones, are examined in the process, and disturbing conclusions seem to suggest a bias in some. One must say " seem " for, despite her strong arguments, there is an uncharacteristic flaw in this particular chapter. No data are present on review copies: in other words, a vital question is neither posed nor answered: Do small publishers send review copies to these journals as uniformly as the larger publishers do? This is one of the few slips in the book's marshalling of conclusions that otherwise are cogent and compelling. After discussing the types of literature produced by the various publishers and presenting her findings on the chances of being reviewed, Dr. Black introduces the subject of the canon and examines the holdings of " large, influential, academic libraries " on these titles, hypothesizing what variables may or may not impact the presence of these books on the shelves of ARL libraries. Among those factors she evaluates are the impact of reviews on purchasing, and to what degree do programs such as Women's Studies or African-American Studies at universities have on library acquisitions of the titles in question, all topics of interest to those whose aim is to have one's library reflect as broad a spectrum of world culture and experience as possible. While many of the conclusions the author draws are not necessarily surprising , they are nevertheless sobering. A bibliography, appendices, and an index flesh out particulars of the study. The text …