New Releases For February 2024

This past month saw the release of two exciting titles that you don’t want to miss.

Stage Rigging Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Jay O. Glerum and Shane Kelly. First published in 1987 and revised in 1997 and 2007, Stage Rigging Handbook remains the only book in any language that covers the design, operation, and maintenance of stage rigging equipment. This landmark text imparts the foundations for understanding and implementing rigging systems, such that upon completion of the book, the reader is ready to begin hands-on training and practice.

This seminal work from Jay O. Glerum is now updated with extensive input from Shane Kelly.

“The most important book for any theatrical rigger’s library. . .a must-have that will raise your technical knowledge, awareness, and ability to be a productive, safe theatrical rigger.”—Dan Culhane, senior project engineer, Wenger Corporation, and past president of USITT

New in paperback is Engineering Victory: The Union Siege of Vicksburg by Justin S. Solonick. This study of the Vicksburg siege focuses on how the American Civil War was a transitional one with its own distinct nature, not the last Napoleonic war or the herald of modern warfare. At Vicksburg, Solonick reveals, a melding of traditional siege craft with the soldiers’ own inventiveness resulted in Union victory during the largest, most successful siege in American history.

Engineering Victory is a truly original study that offers unprecedented insight into the mechanics of the Vicksburg siege from the Union perspective. It also serves as a powerful reminder that ultimate victory was not just a question of starvation but also one of skillful execution of the siege tactics of the period. Justin Solonick’s impressive work is richly deserving of a place of high honor in the Vicksburg Campaign literature canon.”—Civil War Books and Authors