Prometheus Books
Adventures of an accidental sociologist; how to explain the world without becoming a bore.
This interesting memoir of the life and work of Peter Berger, documents the wide ranging career of this important and influential sociologist. Beginning with his introduction to the field and his work at the New School for Social Research in the 1950s, the work discusses his many important research projects around the globe including his work with marginalized populations in Mexico and post-apartheid South Africa. The volume also discusses Berger's role as founder and chief researcher at Boston University's Institute of Culture, Religion and World affairs. Berger is professor emeritus at Boston University. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Breaking their will; shedding light on religious child maltreatment.
Heimlich, formerly a reporter for National Public Radio and now an independent journalist, describes four commonly accepted forms of religious child maltreatment in the US: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and medical neglect. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all examined, but most material is on Christianity, with examples from the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Followers of Christ, and the Remnant Fellowship Church. The author draws extensively on interviews with victims, perpetrators, and psychologists, as well as analysis of court cases and research. The book begins with four introductory chapters defining religious child maltreatment and surveying the church's denial of the problem, then discusses religious authoritarianism and explores Biblical passages related to child maltreatment. Subsequent chapters are grouped in sections on the four types of abuse. There is also a chapter devoted to child exorcism, and a chapter on male and female circumcision and the secret history of female genital cutting in America. Final chapters recommend repealing religious exemptions related to faith healing and eliminating abuse statutes of limitations. While the book contains detailed chapter notes and a list of books and websites, there is no subject index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The consuming instinct; what juicy burgers, Ferraris, pornography, and gift giving reveal about human nature.
Saad (marketing, Concordia U.) describes how evolutionary forces influence the foods people eat, the gifts they give, the clothing styles they choose, and the products they buy. After an overview of evolutionary psychology, its differences from the socialization perspective, fallacies about it, and the nature vs. nurture debate, he maps acts of consumption onto four Darwinian drives: survival, related to foods eaten that are high in calories; reproduction, through the use of products as sexual signals; kin selection, in gift exchange with family members; and reciprocity, by offering gifts to close friends. In subsequent chapters, he discusses local vs. global advertising; institutions that market hope, including religion and self-help books; the biological basis of consumer irrationality that leads to actions like compulsive buying and eating disorders; and the application of evolution to other business areas. Within chapters, he addresses other frameworks that are antithetical to his theory, such as antiscience movements like postmodernism and deconstructionism, and religion. The book is aimed at marketing professionals, advertisers, policy makers, psychologists, and consumers. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Delayed justice; inside stories from America's best cold case investigators.
Focusing on the work of detectives, investigators, judges, attorneys, prosecutors, and FBI agents, private investigator Branson explains why cases go cold, describes methods of cold-case investigators, and shows how readers can conduct their own cold case investigation, with suggestions for how families and communities can work with police. The book includes many examples of actual cold cases that were eventually solved, integrating the voices of the victims of violent crimes telling their own stories. B&w photos of crime scenes, victims, criminals, and police professionals are included. The book's audience includes general readers and students. Jack Branson is retired from the US Department of the Treasury. Mary Branson is a freelance writer. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Elusive peace; how modern diplomatic strategies could better resolve world conflicts.
Noll, a lawyer and professional mediator, goes beyond the news stories to explain why critical negotiations fail, whether they're peace talks or climate change negotiations. The author contends that today's negotiators and mediators are often ill-equipped for their responsibilities — and that they are operating under an 18th century model of European diplomacy. He notes that the primary reason so many negotiations fail is that there is the persistent assumption in diplomatic circles that negotiators will act rationally, but that concrete evidence shows the reality is frequently the opposite. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The fallacy of fine-tuning; why the universe is not designed for us.
Having already written several books analyzing scientific evidence for the existence of God, Stenger (philosophy, U. of Colorado) now fixes his mental microscope on the theory of intelligent design and the anthropic principles that have been proposed to support creationism. Previous courses in physics and calculus will make the cosmology, gravity, chemistry, physical parameter, and probability discussions easier to digest. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Let us water the flowers; the memoir of a political prisoner in Iran.
Having returned to Iran with great hopes following the 1979 overthrow of the Shah, the author joined a secular left opposition group resisting the theocratic orientation of the revolution. He was subsequently arrested and held as a prisoner between 1984 and 1989, an era characterized by major political repression. In this memoir, he describes those years, providing a picture of (and tribute to) the experiences of Iranian political prisoners in the 1980s through his own memories and the testimonies of other prisoners. He also includes an introduction that places these events within the context of 20th century Iranian history. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
No one had a tongue to speak; the untold story of one of history's deadliest floods.
This volume uses interviews and archival research to document the Machhu dam disaster of 1979, when monsoon rains in the Indian state of Gujarat caused the two mile-long dam to disintegrate, flooding the city of Morbi and its surrounding agricultural villages and killing thousands of people. The authors also describe the history of the dam, the aftermath, and the judicial investigation into the collapse. Sandesara, a researcher and son of a Machhu flood survivor, is pursuing degrees in medicine and social anthropology at the U. of Pennsylvania. Wooten is a writing teacher who pursued a degree at Harvard, where the two authors met and began their research. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
