W.W. Norton
The animal connection; a new perspective on what makes us human.
Living with animals is a uniquely human trait; in the wild, no other mammal lives intimately with another species or initiates long-term relationships with individuals of another species. Shipman (anthropology, Pennsylvania State U.) reflects on the significance of this fact within the context of human evolution, offering a paleoanthropological perspective. She charts the stages of human evolution through 2.6 million years and looks at the impact of the animal-human connection and the domestication of other species at each stage. The book is written in plain language accessible to non-specialists, and is illustrated with b&w photos of artifacts. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Assessing adult attachment; a dynamic-maturational approach to discourse analysis.
This work describes a method for identifying the psychological and interpersonal self-protective attachment strategies of adults by applying discourse analysis to semi-structured interviews. The method, called the Dynamic-Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM), was developed in a multi-cultural context with special attention to the needs of troubled adults impacted by poverty, limited education, family conflict, and physical and psychological trauma. DMM is attuned to The Adult Attachment Interview but it can also be used with other interviews that probe memory systems. Useful for clinicians and researchers, the book can be used as a guide for treatment formulation and as a basis for gathering empirical data. Crittendon is a developmental psychologist. Landini is a child neuropsychiatrist and psychotherapist. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The book of universes; exploring the limits of the cosmos.
Barrow (mathematical sciences and geometry, Cambridge U.) heads the university's public outreach program in mathematics, and is known for his popular science writing as well as his research in cosmology. His story here begins in the early 20th century, when Albert Einstein explained how to find all the possible universes that were consistent with the laws of physics and the character of gravity, and how to reconstruct their pasts and predict their futures. He describes how astronomers, mathematicians, and physicists have struggled to do so since then. His topics include the earnestness of being important, the steady statesmen come and go with a bang, brave new worlds, and the runaway universe. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Churchills; in love and war.
This collective biography of the Churchills spans several generations of this prominent British name and explores the triumphs and tragedies, lives and loves, and fortunes won and lost over more than 300 years of family history. The work discusses each character in turn, examining marriages, careers and especially their relationship to the ancestral home Blenheim, sometimes an anchor of family stability and often a costly albatross around the neck of the Churchill in charge of it. The work includes numerous illustrations and black and white plates. Lovell is a writer of popular biographies. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Constitutional law and politics, v.2: Civil rights and civil liberties, 8th ed.
Beautifully organized and thorough, this casebook for constitutional law courses offers students the political and historical context for each case, as well as introductory chapters on the politics of constitutional interpretation and Supreme Court decision-making which describe the underlying theories that lead justices to formulate such widely different conclusions. Each case is presented with a brief introduction giving its significance, and introductions are provided at the beginning of each thematic chapter that indicate the historical and political import of the cases that follow, as well as other themes. New to the 8th edition are updated introductions, cases, highlights of the Court's terms through 2009-2010, new inset boxes, and a new section on how to research legal materials. This is the 2nd of 2 volumes: Vol.1 is titled Struggles for power and governmental accountability. O'Brien is at the U. of Virginia. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
David Crockett; the lion of the west.
This readable biography seeks to separate fact from fiction about David Crockett, the outdoorsman-turned-politician who became a legendary figure even in his own lifetime. From his early life in the eastern Tennessee frontier in the late 18th century to his political aspirations, the book frames Crockett's life against the volatile history of the frontier. It challenges wrongful assertions on Crockett's death, using recently discovered sources to demonstrate that Crockett did not surrender to the Mexicans and was not taken hostage in the battle of the Alamo. The book includes b&w historical illustrations and contemporary photos of locations. Wallis has published 15 books on historical and other topics. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The enchanter; Nabokov and happiness.
This is where the writer falls asleep reading Nabokov's Ada, and awakens to discover a wonder land of enchantment. Her pursuit of happiness is found in the blissful writings of Nabokov, where she captures his experience of nature, love, sexual passion and loss. She invites us to know a deeper pleasure in our own lives through our senses and our imagination. Her frequent allusions to Alice's adventures parallel our logical and fantastical selves. Her mock interview with Nabokov gives the reader a glimpse of the childlike nature of the man, and inspires one to read more of his work, as well as investigate deeper the beauty that surround us. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
A history of design from the Victorian era to the present; a survey of the modern style in architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, and photography, 2d ed.
The first edition of this compact (8.25x9 inches) book for design students was published in 1970; it covered design up to 1958. This second edition extends coverage to 2008, with special emphasis on the influence of digital technology and sustainable design. This edition expands coverage from the traditional design epicenters such as London and New York to explore developments in many cities around the world, including the Middle East and Africa. Illustrated with color photos and illustrations on every page, the book surveys design traditions and movements of the last 160 years, looking at how technological achievements spurred design innovations in architecture, photography, and interior, industrial, and graphic design during four periods: the Victorian period, art nouveau, and early modern and late modern design. The book also looks at the dynamism between design and societal movements and political and historical factors. Ferebee is founder and director emerita of the Institute for Urban Design. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Labor economics; introduction to classic and the new labor economics. (online access included)
This volume is intended to serve as the basic text for either a one-semester or one-quarter course in labor economics at the intermediate undergraduate level. Author Laing (economics, Syracuse U.) combines the classic topic of labor markets with the new labor economics subjects of worker's careers, contracts, the effects of informational imperfections, and labor-market flows. He has adopted an expository style that only requires knowledge of basic economic concepts, basic algebra, and the economic concept of marginal change. All microeconomic tools that are utilized are developed within the body of the text. Twenty five chapters are presented in sections focused on the basic microeconomic framework; application of basic microeconomics to key policy issues; the behavior of firms and trade unions; wage structure, worker flows, and determinants of the unemployment rate; and analytical tools common to labor economics. An additional 10 supplementary chapters, focused on extensions and refinements of the basic neoclassical model, are available online. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Listening to pain; finding words, compassion, and relief. (reprint, 2010)
A reprint from 2010, this volume explores the reasons pain is so difficult to express and ways to overcome them. Biro, who teaches at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, draws on accounts from patients, research, and literary authors, as well as the ideas of philosophers, to discuss pain and its effects on the individual, how it rises to the level of crisis and creates a solitude of experience, how it prevents sufferers from communicating the experience to others, and how metaphor can express it, through three ideas: the weapon or agent that moves against and injures the body; the mirror or projection of pain onto other objects; and the X-ray, in which people create images of the inside of the body with words. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Medical muses; hysteria in nineteenth-century Paris.
In the 1870s, hysteria was defined as a nervous condition characterized by seizures, hallucinations, and re-enactments of past trauma. The dramatic symptoms of three women who were in the hysteria ward of the Saltpêtrière Hospital in Paris, under the direction of prominent neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, shaped early notions of psychology. Every week, crowds arrived at the hospital to observe their symptoms and to photograph, sculpt, and paint them; some writers even wrote about them as characters in novels. The author, an editor and translator, questions the role the women played in their own form of fame and looks for answers as to what they were actually suffering from. The book looks into notions of femininity that lie behind the diagnosis of hysteria and offers insight on present-day diagnoses such as anorexia and depression. B&w historical photos and illustrations are included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
A most dangerous book; Tacitus's Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich.
This unique examination of the influence of a specific piece of literature on far distant generations examines the corruption of Tacitus's Germania from the early modern period to the Third Reich. Krebs (history, Harvard U.) presents a discussion of the manipulation of the Tacitus's description of German purity, simplicity and strength, most of which was not strictly accurate even in his time, into the basis for Teutonic dominance and genocidal racial policies. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The New York Public Library; the architecture and decoration of the Stephen A. Schwarzman building, new ed.
The Library opened in May 1911, and in honor of its centennial the much-loved building's façade was cleaned and restored, and sculptures and decorative features repaired. This volume is a revised edition of a 1986 publication. The earlier edition had a slightly different title (The New York Public Library; Its Architecture and Decoration); the new title reflects the naming of the building in 2009 to recognized financial support from Stephen A. Schwarzman. Text by architecture preservationists Henry Hope Reed and Francis Morrone offers history and description. Abundant photos (by Anne Day) visually document the extraordinary building. The volume is oversize: 9.5x12 inches. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Nica's dream; the life and legend of the jazz baroness.
In this contribution to the history of jazz and the avant garde arts scene in New York, NY, music historian Kastin (I Hear America Singing) traces the life and patron role of heiress Pannonica ("Nica") Rothschild de Koenigswarter (1913-1988) in the careers of such jazz greats as Thelonius Monk and Charlie Parker (who died in her hotel suite). The book includes photographs and a discography of works dedicated to the Baroness by Monk and others. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Paris to the past; traveling through French history by train.
An American Francophile and authority on medieval French history time-travels chronologically through French history by train from Paris with her biographer husband. Taking day trips to destinations including Tours, Versailles, and Chantilly, Caro (The Road from the Past) describes notable sites and events through eight centuries of French history: from the Renaissance through the French Revolution to the Empire and Restoration period. The book includes maps but no photographs. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The post-American world; release 2.0, 2d ed.
Zakaria (Time magazine editor-at-large and host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS") updates his discussion of the relative decline of American global power in order to take into account the impact of the economic crisis of the late 2000s and other recent developments, which have only accelerated the transition to the "post-American" world and the rise of new powers in Zakaria's estimation. It must be stressed that Zakaria is only predicting a relative decline in power for the United States and that he believes that the United States can maintain a healthy position in the world by more carefully balancing foreign policy priorities, pushing for broad international rules conducive to long-term US interests instead of pushing for narrow and short-term interests, seeking better relations with rising powers instead of seeking to balance against them, encouraging ad hoc multilateral approaches to global problems in lieu of the lost hegemonic order, recognizing the dangers of opponents' asymmetric power in order to avoid getting sucked into traps, and recognizing international legitimacy as a key element of national power. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Railroaded; the transcontinentals and the making of modern America.
In this history of the transcontinental railroad corporations of North America (for the railroads of Mexico and Canada were part of the same network and controlled by the same people) from their genesis in the US Civil War to their complete financial collapse in the depression of the 1890s, White (American history, Stanford U.) has produced a critical counter-narrative that, instead of dwelling on the golden spike and the discourse of triumphant progress, judges the transcontinentals to be unnecessary failures that, with the exception of a handful of individual entrepreneurs enriched by their innovations in finance, pricing, and political lobbying, resulted in harm to just about everyone else, including the corporations themselves. They were, nevertheless, transformative failures, shaping modern North America through their blurring of the line between corporate competition and federal regulation, rendering the sense of space as radically unstable and subject to the whims of distant powers, and helping rehabilitate anti-corporate movements through their general dysfunction (itself a mark of their corporate modernity, in White's view). White is at pains to stress that he is not resurrecting the Robber Baron literature, suggesting that, in general, those who ran the transcontinentals were generally more ignorant and inept than brilliant and scheming. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Straight on 'till morning; the biography of Beryl Markham. (reprint, 1987)
Lovell, author of The Sisters and The Churchills, presents this biography of Beryl Markham. Beryl Markham was a record breaking aviatrix, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from east to west, and the first person in history to fly non-stop from London to New York. Markham's personal life was just as interesting as her professional life, both of which are covered in this well-researched and expertly written biography. This book, a reprint from 1987, appeals to the general reader as well as those with an interest in aviation history. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Sun Tzu at Gettysburg; ancient military wisdom in the modern world.
The author of several books on warfare views American Revolutionary War battles from the perspective of the principles set forth by Sun Tzu in The Art of War over two millennia ago. Alexander discusses how the British failed to apply such principles as: avoid campaigns not based on detailed analysis of the options available, know the enemy, and combine orthodox and unorthodox maneuvers. He also discusses examples of other conflicts up to modern times in these terms. Includes period maps. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The vintage house; a guide to successful renovations and additions.
This colorful volume provides practical guidance and best practices for renovating historical houses while preserving their historical and architectural integrity. Chapters discuss topics such as consistent floor planning, understanding the assets in an older home, working within the existing building envelope, additions and outbuildings. The volume includes numerous full color photographs of finished projects and architectural details as well as notated floor plans and technical drawings. Hewitt is an architectural historian and practicing preservation architect and Bock is the former editor of Old-House Journal. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
