ROLEFF, Tamara L. 1959-

PERSONAL: Born November 27, 1959, in Council Bluffs, IA; daughter of Richard A. Fahey (an engineer) and Linda E. Schoenrock (an attorney); married Keith W. Roleff (a U.S. Marine Corps officer), March 17, 1984. Education: Iowa State University, B.S., 1981. Hobbies and other interests: Golden retrievers, travel.

ADDRESSES: Office—Greenhaven Press, 10911 Technology Place, San Diego, CA 92127. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Author and editor. Worked as a newspaper "Lifestyles" editor in New Bern, NC, 1991-93; Greenhaven Press, San Diego, CA, book editor, 1995—; nonfiction author.

AWARDS, HONORS: Invited to enter Inner City Poverty for 2002 Harry Chapin Media Award, sponsored by World Hunger Year.

WRITINGS:

Hate Groups ("Opposing Viewpoints Digest" series), Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

EDITOR

The Atom Bomb ("Turning Points in World History" series), Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Sex ("Teen Decisions" series), Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

America under Attack: Primary Sources, Lucent (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Inner-City Poverty ("Contemporary Issues Companion" series), Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

EDITOR; "OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS" SERIES

The Homeless, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1995.

The Legal System, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1996.

Abortion, revised edition, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

(With others) Gun Control, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

(With others) Global Warming, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

Sexual Violence, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

AIDS, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997, third edition, 2003.

Biomedical Ethics, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Suicide, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Tobacco and Smoking, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Immigration, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998, second edition, 2003.

War, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

(With others) Hate Groups, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Civil Liberties, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Pollution, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Mental Illness, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Crime and Criminals, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Domestic Violence, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Teen Sexuality, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Censorship, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

(With others) Extremist Groups, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Criminal Justice, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

EDITOR; "HISTORY FIRSTHAND" SERIES

The Vietnam War, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

The Holocaust: Death Camps, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

The World Trade Center, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

The American Frontier, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

Oklahoma City Bombing, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), forthcoming.

EDITOR; "AT ISSUE" SERIES

Business Ethics, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1996.

Gay Marriage, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Sex Education, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Guns and Crime, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Teen Suicide, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Teen Sex, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Satanism, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

What Encourages Gang Behavior? Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Police Corruption, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

EDITOR; "CURRENT CONTROVERSIES" SERIES

Genetics and Intelligence, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1996.

Gay Rights, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

(With others) Marriage and Divorce, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1997.

Native American Rights, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1998.

The Rights of Animals, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Police Brutality, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Hate Crimes, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

EDITOR; "FACT OR FICTION" SERIES

Alien Abductions, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

Black Magic and Witches, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

Psychics, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

EDITOR; "CONTEMPORARY ISSUES COMPANION" SERIES

Extraterrestrial Life, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2001.

Inner-City Poverty, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003.

WORK IN PROGRESS: War on Drugs ("Opposing Viewpoints" series).

SIDELIGHTS: Tamara L. Roleff is a book editor and author who specializes in nonfiction titles. In her job for Greenhaven Press, she has contributed edited titles to several book series, among them Greenhaven's "Opposing Viewpoints," "History Firsthand," and "Current Controversies," which has allowed Roleff to research a number of hotly debated social issues. In her books for the "Current Controversies" series, for instance, she has edited the titles Gay Rights, Native-American Rights, and Genetics and Intelligence. Praising Gay Rights in her School Library Journal review, Sue A. Norkeliunas cited both the "well-selected articles" and "extensive list" of sources cited for students to contact, and praised the book as "an ideal research tool for short assignments" due to its "balanced coverage of emotional topics."

Most of Roleff's books are contained in the "Opposing Viewpoints" books, which Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser praised as an "excellent" series that provides a "wonderful" opportunity for high school students to "improve . . . critical thinking skills." For titles such as Suicide, Global Warming, Sex Education, and Civil Liberties, Roleff assembles a number of essays representing a diverse selection of views on the topic, as well as illustrations, a list of relevant organizations, and bibliographies for use in more in-depth study. In Suicide, an extensively revised version of a 1992 work, Roleff includes Pope John Paul II, physician Thomas Quill, and others, who debate issues such as whether suicide is a personal right, the reason for escalating suicide among adolescents, and the legalities of assisted suicide. Hate Groups includes essays authored by U.S. Senator Orin Hatch, David Kopel, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas Scalia, and former president Bill Clinton that present several sides of the freedom-of-speech issues surrounding the treatment of hate crimes and the social effects of hate-group activity, providing both high school and college students with "excellent source material for debates or class discussion." Background material is presented by Roleff in what Booklist contributor Randy Meyer characterized as a "crisp, journalistic" style that "combines anecdotes and facts," as well as documents such as the Bill of Rights, relevant legislation, and actual hate-group propaganda pieces. In Global Warming maps and charts are included, along with contradictory views regarding whether the Earth's ecosystem is being threatened by industrialization and the destruction of the Amazonian rainforests. Information regarding the issue of global warming is presented in what R. M. Ferguson described in Choice as an "antagonistic format" in which the viewpoints of "well-known and articulate commentators, leading professionals, and . . . ordinary observers" are presented. As Rosser noted in a review of Global Warming and several other series installments for Kliatt: The "Opposing Viewpoints" series allows students to see that "issues have to be argued in a democracy, that compromise is probably the outcome of any legislation, and that it is important to be informed because policy affects us all."

Roleff told CA: "When I went to college, my intention was to become a veterinarian. It wasn't long, however, before I discovered that I was baffled by organic chemistry, a requirement I needed to fulfil if I was to become a vet. I drifted along in school until forced to declare a major in my junior year. I had taken a lot of English literature classes, as I loved to read, and so I decided to major in English.

"After graduating, I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with my degree. I found out employers were not at all anxious to hire me simply because I had a college degree in English. I finally got a job entering orders for a mail-order printing company; I did proofreading for them as well, then customer service. After four years, I decided I needed to do something new in my life, so I tried to get a job in advertising. I ended up writing copy for another mail-order company that sold stamps and coins and collectibles. This was a great job for two years until the company had to lay off employees—including me.

"Then I started working for newspapers writing stories, and from there I got a job editing the 'Lifestyles' section of a small-town paper in North Carolina—my husband is in the military, so we moved around a lot. Just as I was getting tired of the deadlines of working for a newspaper, we moved to Okinawa, Japan for a year. I took the year off and thought about what I wanted to do, and I decided I wanted to become an editor for a book publisher. I was lucky enough to move to San Diego, California, which had a couple of publishing companies, and I got a job at one of them, where I've worked since. Book editors are expected to complete their books in eight weeks—or less! We learn a lot about our topic, and it's always interesting. It's definitely the best job I've ever had. When my husband's job forced us to move away from San Diego, I was lucky enough to be able to continue working for the same company on a freelance basis."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1-15, 1997, Sally Estes, review of Abortion, p. 828; January 1, 1997, Sally Estes, review of Abortion, p. 828; April 1, 1997, Frances Estes, review of Gay Rights, p. 1321; July, 1997, F. Bradburn, review of Sexual Violence, p. 1810; November 1, 1997, Anne O'Malley, review of Suicide, p. 461; February 15, 1998, F. Bradburn, review of AIDS, p. 993; May 1, 1998, Roger Leslie, review of Gay Marriage, p. 1508; February 1, 1999, Karen Hutt, review of Police Brutality, p. 969; May 15, 1999, R. Leslie, review of Sex Education, October 15, 1999, Roger Leslie, review of The Rights of Animals, p. 428; February 1, 2000, Roger Leslie, review of Crime and Criminals, p. 1013; November 15, 2000, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Domestic Violence, p. 627; January 1, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of Mental Illness, p. 936; February 15, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of Hate Crimes, p. 1126; September 15, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of Extremist Groups, p. 214; January 1, 2002, Randy Meyer, review of Hate Groups, p. 838; April 1, 2002, Roger Leslie, review of Censorship, p. 1315; May 15, 2002, R. Leslie, review of Satanism, p. 1590; November 1, 2002, Roger Leslie, review of America under Attack: Primary Sources, p. 483.

Book Report, March, 1999, Anitra Gordon, review of Civil Liberties and Hate Groups, p. 85; March-April, 2002, Mary Hofmann, review of Teen Sex p. 62.

Catholic Library World, March, 1999, Michael Dialessi, review of Hate Groups and Civil Liberties, p. 56.

Choice, February, 1998, R. M. Ferguson, review of Global Warming, p. 1028.

History: Review of New Books, winter, 2001, Thomas W. Judd, review of The Atom Bomb, p. 54.

Kliatt, May, 1996, Shelley A. Glantz, review of Business Ethics, p. 28; July, 1996, p. 32; March, 1997, Claire Rosser, review of Abortion and Censorship, p. 30; September, Rita M. Fontinha, review of Marriage and Divorce, p. 33; January, 1998, review of AIDS, p. 28; January, 1999, Claire Rosser, review of Hate Groups, p. 28; May, 1999, Claire Rosser, review of Sex Education, p. 39; September, 1999, Rosser, review of The Rights of Animals, p. 38.

School Library Journal, February, 1997, Sue A. Norkeliunas, review of Gay Rights, p. 124; January, 1998, Sylvia V. Meisner, review of Suicide, p. 130; March, 1998, Darcy Schild, review of Native American Rights, p. 241; July, 1998, Edward Sullivan, review of Gay Marriage, p. 111; February, 2001, Katie O'Dell, review of Teenage Sexuality, p. 138; March, 2001, Marilyn Heath, review of Hate Crimes, p. 276; December, 2001, Pat Scales, review of Censorship, p. 156; March, 2002, Paula J. LaRue, review of The Holocaust: Death Camps, pp. 256-257; June, 2002, Edward Sullivan, "Teens and Sex," p. 160; July, 2002, Ann G. Brouse, review of Satanism, p. 141; September, 2002, Wendy Lukehart, review of America under Attack: Primary Sources, p. 251; February, 2003, Libby K. White, review of Inner-City Poverty, p. 168.

Teaching History, spring, 2002, Brian Boland, review of The Atom Bomb, p. 53.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 1996, Mary Jo Peltier, review of The Homeless, p. 117; December, 1996, Ann Welton, review of Genetics and Intelligence, pp. 286-287; June, 1999, Cindy Lombardo, review of Civil Liberties, p. 130.