[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Nature and Science April 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:32:13 -0400
Nature and Science April 2008
"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight--it's the size
of the fight in the dog." ~ attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1968),
34th president of the United States (also attributed to Mark Twain)
New and Recently Released!
Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers,
Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel - by Michio Kaku
Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/11/2008
ISBN: 9780385520690
ISBN-10: 0385520697
According to physicist and popular science writer Michio Kaku, there are three
distinct types of impossibilities: the not-impossible (things that seem
impossible
but don't violate a known law of physics), the possibly impossible, and the
probably impossible (things that do violate a known law of physics). By looking
at the theory behind and the limitations of the laws of physics, he divides
various seemingly impossible technologies into these three categories. As it
turns out, precognition and perpetual motion machines are probably impossible,
but invisibility is not as far away as you might think. Science and science
fiction readers alike will find this book fascinating.
The Life of the Skies - by Jonathan Rosen
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/19/2008
ISBN: 9780374186302
ISBN-10: 0374186308
Combining history lessons, memoir writing, and meditations on nature and
science, this ode to bird-watching examines the diverse roles of
birds--historical,
literary, scientific, and spiritual--in Western culture. Author Jonathan Rosen,
who began birding more than a decade ago, also writes of the disconnect
between our attempts to preserve nature and our simultaneous destruction of it
as well as of the importance of nature to the human spirit. As Publishers
Weekly puts it, "this beautifully written book is an elegy to the human
condition at a time when wilderness is becoming a thing of the past."
The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell's Secret - by Seth Shulman
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/30/2008
ISBN: 9780393062069
ISBN-10: 0393062066
Everybody knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. But did he
really? As it turns out, he may have simply copied someone else's invention
and secured a patent for it. Using Bell's laboratory notebooks as well as
patent litigation transcripts and other archival documents, author Seth Shulman
carefully pieces together an argument that certainly casts Bell--or perhaps a
benefactor--in a different light. You should, however, read this intriguing
book before deciding for yourself.
Table of Contents
Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive
and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life - by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 3/4/2008
ISBN: 9781596912830
ISBN-10: 1596912839
Starting with a multiple-choice quiz (sample question: Your brain uses about as
much energy as...A refrigerator light? A laptop computer? An idling car?
Or a car moving down a freeway?), this fascinating book challenges popular
myths while offering insight into how the human brain actually works. From the
role the brain plays in religious beliefs to how it behaves while its owner is
dreaming to the differences between male and female brains, Welcome to Your
Brain is full of useful information--and even some practical advice. Publishers
Weekly calls it "a terrific, surprisingly fun guide for the general reader."
First Chapter
Small but Powerful
Life in the Undergrowth - by David Attenborough
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/13/2006
ISBN: 9780691127033
ISBN-10: 0691127034
Insects, bugs, land-based arthropods, terrestrial invertebrates--whatever you
want to call them, these creatures are diverse, often quite complicated, and
found pretty much everywhere. With a combination of detailed and enthusiastic
writing and beautiful color photography, Life in the Undergrowth brings them
to life on a grand scale, showing a dizzying array of giant snails and teeny
insects and exploring the range of physical characteristics displayed in the
world of bugs. A companion to an Animal Planet television program, this book by
veteran naturalist David Attenborough is "superb" (New York Review of Books).
Table of Contents
The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria - by Michael
Shnayerson, Mark J. Plotkin
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/1/2003
ISBN: 9780316735667
ISBN-10: 0316735663
With chapter titles like "The Silent War," "Nightmare Come True," and
"Flesheaters," you could be forgiven if you thought that The Killers Within was
a
horror anthology. Instead, it introduces a concept almost as terrifying--a
world of drug-resistant bacteria that increasingly pose a threat to human
life...and
which already kill tens of thousands of Americans. There's certainly no
shortage of books on this topic (try Jessica Sachs' recent Good Germs, Bad
Germs),
but the authors of this one "make the facts brutally real" (Library Journal).
Table of Contents
First Chapter
Millions of Monarchs, Bunches of Beetles: How Bugs Find Strength in Numbers -
by Gilbert Waldbauer
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 4/1/2000
ISBN: 9780674000902
ISBN-10: 0674000900
Whether they are alone or en masse, most insects tend to inspire the use of a
rolled-up newspaper or fly swatter (or perhaps a vacuum). But have you ever
thought about why so many bugs (ladybugs, locusts, or the monarch butterflies
of the title) are found in groups? It's not just for efficient food
gathering--they
come together for protection, for courtship, and to subdue prey. Full of
fascinating details about a range of bugs and their characteristics, Millions
of Monarchs "revels in the natural world" (The New York Times).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures -
by Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/1/2001
ISBN: 9780743200110
ISBN-10: 074320011X
Parasites will do anything--anything--to stay alive. If that means killing
their hosts on their way to new ones, then so be it. And reading this book will
tell you far more than you ever thought possible about the many diverse
varieties of parasites and their strategies. But you'll also learn how the
evolution
of parasites has affected biological diversity, how host species have changed
their behaviors to evade fatal parasites, and what governments and health
workers will have to do in the future to manage parasitism. Prepare to be
disgusted--but also captivated and, ultimately, educated.
Table of Contents
Books with Buzz
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body - by Jennifer Ackerman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 10/2/2007
ISBN: 9780618187584
ISBN-10: 0618187588
Using a period of 24 hours--and the activities of a typical day--as a lens
through which to examine the human body, science writer Jennifer Ackerman
explores
everything from when your liver best processes alcohol (between 5 and 6 pm) to
what makes a woman attractive (a direct gaze and dilated pupils help). The
structure of the book follows the times of day--morning, midday, afternoon,
evening, and night--and each section contains information on actions appropriate
to the time (for example, an explanation of why we're so bad at
multitasking--especially while driving--is associated with the morning drive to
work).
You'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about your body--and more--in
this insightful book!
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Proust Was a Neuroscientist - by Jonah Lehrer
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 11/1/2007
ISBN: 9780618620104
ISBN-10: 0618620109
Based on the collected work of eight famous artists (including painter Paul
Cézanne, writer Gertrude Stein, novelist Marcel Proust, and chef Auguste
Escoffier),
science journalist Jonah Lehrer puts forth the argument that art has captured
human nature in ways that are only now being proved by science. He uses,
for example, Proust's writing to examine memory, and Escoffier to get at what
is known about taste. The result is "a nice bridging of the two cultures,
introducing art to scientists and science to artists" (Kirkus Reviews). Read
accordingly.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War - by Michael J. Neufeld
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, in association with the National Air and Space
Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/25/2007
ISBN: 9780307262929
ISBN-10: 0307262928
Werner von Braun was a talented German scientist who became the chief rocket
engineer of the Third Reich and went on to become one of the fathers of the
U.S. space program. This biography (which The New York Times calls "thoroughly
satisfying") offers a deeply researched and fully documented look at the
influential engineer and spaceflight advocate; it also does not shy away from
von Braun's work in Nazi Germany. It will appeal to readers interested in
rocket engineering, the early years of America's space program, World War II,
and the space race.
First Chapter
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature - by Steven Pinker
Publisher: Viking
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/11/2007
ISBN: 9780670063277
ISBN-10: 0670063274
If you've read experimental psychologist and cognitive scientist Steven
Pinker's The Language Instinct, you'll want to follow up with The Stuff of
Thought,
which presents a study of the relationship between language and human nature.
Pinker's explorations--which range from the significance of swearing to our
sense of time--explain how the words we use reveal key facts about human
concepts, emotions, and relationships. It's not necessarily easy going--he packs
in a lot of information--but for those interested in learning more about how
thought works, it's a winner.
Table of Contents
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