On the shelves — Jan. 26

These books are available at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

The Legacy of the Purple Heart was given by Lillian Higgs in memory of Wayne Higgs.

More than a history of the nation’s oldest military decoration, this volume commemorates the extraordinary sacrifices of hundreds of American servicemen who were recognized for their service, and tells the human stories of those who were killed or wounded in combat.

Cross My Heart by James Patterson pits Detective Alex Cross against an obsessive genius who puts Alex’s family in danger, knowing that he will do anything to protect them.

Riding Tide: Bear Bryant, Joe Namath & Dixie’s Last Quarter by Randy Roberts captures a singular time in America when the nation struggled in the new era of Civil Rights and two gifted, charismatic, and flawed heroes — a legendary coach from the south and his star quarterback from Pittsburgh — led the Crimson Tide to a national championship.

The Violet Hour by Katherine Hill follows a modern family through past and present as Abe and Cassandra Green first meet, navigate the passage of time, experience the concessions of middle age, and come to terms with the bitterness of loss.

Camp William Penn 1863-1865: America’s First Federal African American Soldiers’ Fight for Freedom by Donald Scott offers over 130 rare photographs that document the first and largest Civil War facility that trained exclusively black soldiers for the Union, many of whom earned the Medal of Honor for their bravery, and many of whom gave their lives.

The Phoenix by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles begins in 1931 as Polly Morland saves her childhood home from financial ruin but must prove her mettle in a man’s world when the threat of another war looms on the horizon.

The Cancer Chronicles: Unlocking Medicine’s Deepest Mystery by George Johnson provides a gripping account of a year in the life of a cancer patient who embarks upon a shrewd investigation into this still-mysterious condition with no predictable cause.

Portales News-Tribune

The Pecan: A History of America’s Native Nut by James E. McWilliams

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without pecan pie and most Southern cooks would have to hang up their aprons without America’s native nut, the pecan.

The pecan’s popularity has spread far beyond the tree’s familiar home, but as popular as it is, most people don’t know the fascinating story of how native pecan trees fed Americans for thousands of years until the nut was “improved” a little more than a century ago and how that rapid domestication actually threatens the pecan’s long-term future.

Author and historian James McWilliams explores the history of America’s most important commercial nut, describing how essential the pecan was to Native Americans and that because of its natural edibility, ease of harvesting, and abundance, the pecan was left in its natural state longer than any other commercial fruit or nut crop in America.

Once the process of “improvement” began, it took less than a century for the pecan to be almost totally domesticated. Today, more than 300 million pounds of pecans are produced every year in the United States; however, McWilliams warns that even though pecans are widespread, it has become vulnerable to economic threats and ecological disasters that could wipe it out within a generation. The pecan deserves to be recognized as a true American heirloom as this lively history suggests.

Doc, I Want My Brain Back: My HBOT Miracle by Dan L. Greathouse is the compelling true story of Dan L. Greathouse who following a brain injury from a scuba diving accident was misdiagnosed by numerous physicians, psychiatrists, and mental health specialists.

After being drugged, jailed, and institutionalized, his family rescued him from the brink of suicide by allowing historically significant brain injury repair through the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment therapy that Dr. Paul G. Harch had successfully applied to another diver.

Unlike any other brain injury rehabilitation book, this title chronicles the events of Dan Greathouse’s life that led Dr. Harch to discover the tip of the iceberg for neuro-rehabilitation. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy takes its place in medical history with this successful case in brain injury repair.

Written from the patient’s perspective, Doc, I Want My Brain Back is the story of a medical breakthrough. Twenty-two years later, Mr. Greathouse has successfully retired from public school service in New Mexico and works in Texas as an educational diagnostician.

Please join the Friends of the Portales Public Library in welcoming the author, Dan L. Greathouse, to the Portales Public Library 4:30 p.m. Thursday for discussion and an author’s reception and book signing.

Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco: Bee is an orphan who sleeps in the back of a truck and lives with a carnival. She is taunted daily for the birthmark on her face, though she prefers to think of it as a precious diamond.

One day, a scruffy dog shows up just as unwanted as she is and Bee realizes she must find a home for them both.

She soon discovers a cozy house where two mysterious women, Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Potter, take her in. Though their clothes are oddly out of date, they clothe her and they feed her though there is nothing in the house to eat.

Strangest of all, only Bee seems to be able to see them. Whoever these women are, they matter to Bee and they are helping Bee realize that she, too, matters to the world if only she will let herself be a part of it.