[bksvol-discuss] Fw: Nature and Science August 2008
- From: "Amber Wallenstein" <amber.wallens@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:30:54 -0400
"The whole of science is nothing but a refinement of everyday thinking."
~ Albert Einstein, (1879-1955), Nobel Prize-winning physicist
New and Recently Released!
Tuna: A Love Story - by Richard Ellis
Publisher: Knopf
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 7/15/2008
ISBN: 9780307267153
ISBN-10: 0307267156
While "tuna" and "love story" are not words you'd normally expect to find in
the same title, marine writer and artist Richard Ellis makes an impassioned
case for why we should all love one of the world's most endangered marine
animals--and not just in sandwich form. It turns out that the bluefin tuna is
a truly amazing creature: the "biggest, fastest, warmest-blooded,
warmest-bodied fish in the world." Ellis fills his history of this remarkable
fish (and
its numerous relatives) with facts and illustrations, along with some shocking
news: humans are literally eating it to extinction and commercial tuna farming
may be doing more harm than good. Sushi fans and fish aficionados won't want to
miss this book!
The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession - by
Adam Leith Gollner
Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/20/2008
ISBN: 9780743296946
ISBN-10: 074329694X
Did you know that some half million plant species worldwide produce fruit--and
that the waxed apples found at the supermarket are among the least appetizing
of these? In this fact-filled guide to all things fruit, food journalist Adam
Gollner takes us through the history of a food that has started wars and
inspired religious devotion. Equally fascinating are Gollner's present-day
encounters with people who have devoted their lives to (and sometimes risked
their lives for) fruit: botanists, inventors, and exotic fruit-smugglers, aka
"fruitleggers." Whether you're a fruit fanatic or just wondering what all
the fuss is about, you'll enjoy the fruits of Gollner's labors.
Table of Contents
Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory
Research - by Sue Halpern
Publisher: Harmony Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/6/2008
ISBN: 9780307406743
ISBN-10: 0307406741
At a time when Alzheimer's rivals cancer as America's most dreaded disease,
author and novelist Sue Halpern sheds light on the latest scientific findings
on how memory works--and doesn't work. From the research laboratory to the
pharmaceutical industry, Halpern explores both what we know and what we only
think we know about memory and the human brain. Among her conclusions: physical
exercise can improve our cognitive health, whereas chocolate consumption
has little or no effect on memory. Whatever you do, don't forget to check out
this thought-provoking book!
Panic in Level 4: Cannibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of
Science - by Richard Preston
Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/27/2008
ISBN: 9781400064908
ISBN-10: 1400064902
This collection of essays, all of which were previously published in the New
Yorker, tackles a range of seemingly unrelated topics--from the Ebola virus
to the restoration of medieval tapestries--and skillfully weaves them all
together. Linking "self-cannibals" (victims of a rare genetic disorder) to a
pair of eccentric mathematicians who designed and built a supercomputer from
scratch in order to calculate the digits of pi, fearless journalist Richard
Preston proves the world is at once bigger and more intricate than we might
realize. From the people who decipher the human genome to the insects that
plague Appalachian forests, no subject falls outside Preston's scope in this
absorbing read.
First Chapter
Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life - by Carl Zimmer
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 5/6/2008
ISBN: 9780375424304
ISBN-10: 037542430X
E. coli gets a lot of press these days, none of it flattering. However, as
science writer Carl Zimmer hastens to point out, this much-maligned
microorganism
deserves a second look: despite its bad reputation, it's (normally) a benign
intestinal bacterium that aids in digestion, manufactures beneficial proteins
and even fends off harmful pathogens. Meanwhile, in the laboratory, it has
played a pivotal role in the fields of genetics (it was the first organism to
have its genome mapped) and continues to influence biotechnology and
evolutionary science. Publishers Weekly declares that "Zimmer's well-crafted
exploration
should be required reading."
First Chapter
Infectious Diseases
China Syndrome: The True Story of the 21st Century's First Great Epidemic - by
Karl Taro Greenfeld
Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/1/2007
ISBN: 9780060587239
ISBN-10: 0060587237
Greenfeld, former editor of Time Asia, was on the front lines when the SARS
epidemic hit China in late 2002. From his office in Hong Kong, he bore witness
as a virulent and highly infectious strain of influenza swept across mainland
China and Hong Kong, infecting thousands and killing hundreds before being
contained. Throughout the pandemic, the Chinese government denied that there
was a problem, frustrating researchers attempting to isolate the cause of
the disease. Even more chilling than the epidemic itself is the possibility
that it could happen again. Don't miss this page-turning account of a real-life
medical disaster.
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most
Devastating Plague of All Time - by John Kelly
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 2/1/2006
ISBN: 9780060006938
ISBN-10: 0060006935
During the 14th century, the Black Death ravaged Europe, killing one third--and
in some areas, up to 60%--of the population. Such widespread devastation
is hard to comprehend in this day and age, but medical and science writer John
Kelly brings the plague to grisly life in this arresting, thoroughly researched
account of a disease that conquered a continent. Using letters, diaries, and
eyewitness accounts to reconstruct daily life during this time of upheaval,
Kelly presents a natural and social history of an epidemic once referred to as
the Great Mortality, and puts "a vivid, human face on an unimaginable nightmare"
(Kirkus Reviews).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the
Virus that Caused It - by Gina Kolata
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/9/2001
ISBN: 9780743203982
ISBN-10: 0743203984
Despite a death toll of 20 to 100 million people, one of the deadliest
epidemics of the 20th century remains virtually forgotten at the outset of the
21st.
According to science reporter Gina Kolata, so great was the impact of the 1918
influenza pandemic that if a similar outbreak occurred today, it would "kill
more people in a single year than heart disease, cancers, strokes, chronic
pulmonary disease, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease combined." Moreover, we learn,
it could. By examining the circumstances surrounding the 1918 pandemic, Kolata
shows that--despite its scale--little is known about what caused it. You'll
want to check out this "still-unsolved medical mystery, expertly told" (Kirkus
Reviews).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
The Colony - by John Tayman
Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 1/9/2007
ISBN: 9780743233019
ISBN-10: 0743233018
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, is a chronic disease that typically
results in progressive tissue damage and disfigurement, but which is not
considered
highly contagious. Nevertheless, starting in the 1860s and continuing for over
a century afterwards, Hawaii declared leprosy to be a criminal offense--which
caused nearly 9,000 individuals to be banished to the barren, rocky island of
Molokai. Without medical care or adequate food supplies, the victims were
simply expected to die (or be used as researcher's guinea pigs). However, they
survived and even worked to create a community of outcasts, as depicted
by journalist John Tayman in a work that Booklist calls an "utterly engrossing
look at a heartbreaking chapter in Hawaiian history."
First Chapter
Table of Contents
Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox - by Jonathan B. Tucker
Publisher: Grove Press
Check Library Catalog
Pub Date: 9/1/2002
ISBN: 9780802139399
ISBN-10: 0802139396
In 1978, the World Health Organization's campaign to eradicate smallpox through
inoculation finally succeeded, resulting in one of medical science's greatest
triumphs. However, was victory claimed too soon? While vaccines have ensured
that smallpox no longer exists in nature, small samples of the virus thrive
in laboratories across the globe--and could cause unprecedented devastation if
they ever got out. Biological weapons expert Jonathan Tucker provides an
in-depth examination of one of the deadliest diseases in world history and the
people who strove to conquer it in this "true-life tale of heroes and villains,
frighteningly real and marvelously told" (Publishers Weekly).
First Chapter
Table of Contents
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