Gary Dretzka

''The Civil War'' Original Soundtrack (Elektra) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) 1/2 Devotees of PBS` ''The Civil War''-including those who have taped the documentary series-almost certainly will want this soundtrack recording, as well, if...

Mexican Standoff By Bruce Cook Watts, 235 pages, $16.95 A Mexican standoff, as defined by private detective Antonio ''Chico'' Cervantes, occurs when a potentially explosive confrontation is defused without either...

Black Hearts and Slow Dancing By Earl W. Emerson Morrow, 274 pages, $17.95 There are as many gimmicks in crime fiction as there are writers. Priests and rabbis battle evildoers;...

- National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern said Saturday that union decertification will not end the need for settling the labor dispute between the players and owners, and he said,...

A French film about the mother of Jesus that was banned in Brazil, canceled in Kansas City and panned by the Pope will open next month in Chicago, possibly under...