W.W. Norton
The Alzheimer's family; helping caregivers cope.
Santulli (psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School; Dartmouth Memory Clinic) discusses the care giving role, normal cognitive impairment with aging, Alzheimer's symptoms, and the diagnostic evaluation. He offers tips for coping with communication, functional, and behavioral challenges and caregiver stress. The book includes information on pharmacologic treatment of symptoms, readings for clinicians and patients' families, and Internet resources. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The American political system.
In this unusual text, Kollman (University of Michigan) explains core theory of modern political science and applies it to the American political system. The book's first chapter describes types of collective dilemmas and principal-agent problems, then looks at the types of government institutions that are intended to solve these problems; these analytical tools are then applied throughout the text, in chapters on the origins of the American political system, civil rights and liberties, the presidency, social movements, political parties, the press, and economic, social, and foreign policy. Each chapter begins with a 'puzzle' or dilemma, then uses the information in the chapter to help 'solve' the puzzle. Each chapter also describes features of the American system in comparison to other countries. A companion website supplies videos of political scientists who offer insight into the 'puzzles' found in each chapter. Other learning features include concept maps of abstract concepts, history boxes, margin definitions, a glossary, and b&w and color historical and contemporary photos. Appendices offer primary founding documents. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Analyzing Congress, 2d ed.
This is an undergraduate-level textbook that is intended to provide students with a broad perspective on US congressional politics, an understanding of the professional development of the study of Congress at the graduate level and beyond, and a working knowledge of how Congress operates. Because of the aforementioned second goal of incorporating the cutting edge of congressional research, Stewart (political science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) emphasizes theoretical and empirical abstractions far more than is typical in an introductory congressional politics text and also includes problem sets for students to apply spatial models of the dynamics of congressional politics in the institutional and electoral spheres. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The answer; why only inherently safe, mini nuclear power plants can save our world.
Palley, who spent 18 years sailing around the world, explains the limits of relying on hydroelectric, solar, and wind technologies as alternative energy sources, and suggests states install small nuclear reactors that can come online quickly without the risk posed by large nuclear installations. Appendices describe the different models of small nuclear reactors, summarize statements on global warming from international science agencies, and reprint a nuclear timeline from the U.S. Department of Energy. Distributed in the U.S. by W.W. Norton & Co. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The black banners; the inside story of 9/11 and the war against Al-Qaeda.
Soufan worked as a former special agent for the FBI, and this book is a first-person chronicle of his work in the war against al-Qaeda, especially after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. He starts before those attacks though, with the formation of the organization itself in the 1990s and the attack on the USS Cole. He spends the chapters after this preliminary account on the 9/11 attacks themselves, high valued detainees, the final missions leading up to Osama bin Laden's capture, and what he calls successes and failures. In particular, he notes the inefficacy of torture and aggressive approaches. Throughout the book he maintains allegiance to the FBI and USA, and opens with a note disclosing that this is an FBI and CIA approved story, which he "would have submitted .... for review even if [he] had no legal obligation to do so." To that end, names and sections of text are occasionally blacked out. There is a co-author, Daniel Freedman, but he is only briefly mentioned in the acknowledgements. There is no index, but there is a glossary of "principal characters" and a basic bibliography. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Botany for designers; a practical guide for landscape architects and other professionals.
Intended for students and professional alike, this volume on landscape architecture provides detailed information on horticulture and botany designed to expand the knowledge base of practitioners with scientific information on plants, their properties, and their uses in the greater world of landscape design. Topics discussed include basic plant science, plant morphology, color, plants as design inspiration, plant form manipulation, and woods for hardscaping. Color photographs and technical drawings are provided throughout. Turner is a Boston-based landscape architect. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Can intervention work?.
This book, part of the Amnesty International Global Ethics Series, contains two essays about international interventions in isolated conflicts. Rory Stewart, a member of the British parliament, reflects on why intervention in Iraq failed when it seemed likely to succeed. Gerald Knaus, a Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School, examines the UN intervention in Kosovo in the 1990s and why it seems to have been a success when the international community decided it was a failure. They are not academic essays, though they grew out of conversations in a course and study group at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2010-11. They are more concerned with what makes interventions fail and succeed than any moral or ethical questions about war or politics, though both authors agree that some situations call for intervention. Each essay starts with a detailed time-line of relevant events and ends with copious notes, but the book is not indexed. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Caravaggio; a life sacred and profane.
Painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a brilliant artist whose violent impulses left him a fugitive and whose flaunting of artistic conventions made him a controversial figure in the art world of the late Italian Renaissance. This illustrated biography portrays Caravaggio's world of churches, royal palaces, bars, and whorehouses of the great cities of Italy. Based on recently discovered archival documents, this biography is of special interest because it gives details on the least documented period of Caravaggio's life, the first 21 years, which yield important clues to his turbulent personality. The book closes with observations on modern artists and filmmakers influenced by Caravaggio. The book includes a total of 88 illustrations, divided into five sections of color paintings and b&w drawings. There are also maps of Italian cities during the period. Graham-Dixon has written other books on art history (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
A contest for supremacy; China, America, and the struggle for mastery in Asia.
Friedberg (Princeton U.) wrote an essay in a 2000 issue of Commentary arguing that there was "a good chance that the United States will find itself engaged in an open and intense geopolitical rivalry with the People's Republic of China." Events of the past ten years confirm that view, he argues here, with China more forcefully resisting pressure for change in its economic and human rights policies, more openly displaying its military capabilities, more willing to use its economic clout to exert diplomatic leverage, and more open in questioning American power in Asia and the world. Chinese hegemony over Asia will pose grave dangers to US interests and values throughout the world, he warns, while describing the sources and manifestations of Chinese power and offering advice on how the US should shift policy to meet the challenge of Chinese power. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The contexts reader, 2d ed.
Consider this collection of more than 60 articles a sampler for Contexts, a respected sociological publication. Editors Hartmann and Uggen (sociology, U. of Minnesota) wanted to bring sociology to a broader, more public audience with pieces on a wide range of related topics. The articles in this second edition include the best of the first edition, as well as new material. General topics include self and community, families, education, poverty and inequality, work and the economy, gender and sexualities, race, religion, medicine and health, and more. A total of 34 authors contributed to the collection. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The creative business guide to marketing; selling and branding design, advertising, interactive, and editorial services.
Marketing is the main but often belittled factor affecting business success, according to Foote (founder/editor, Creative Business newsletter). He explains strategies and tactics, the requirements of the new promotional media environment, successful presentation pitches, and post-marketing follow-up that distinguish creative businesses. Appendices include examples of marketing mistakes; definitions, examples, and ways to improve branding; samples and forms (e.g., basic marketing plan, creative review checklist); and a basic marketing glossary. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Energy, environment, and climate, 2d ed.
Wolfson (physics, Middlebury College) updates his 2008 undergraduate textbook that is founded on the notion that climate change is the dominant energy-related environmental issue of the 21st century. Pollution, energy resources, and other concerns are also discussed, but about a third of the book is devoted to climate change. Among his topics are high-energy society, environmental impacts of fossil fuels, energy from earth and moon, energy carriers electricity and hydrogen, and future climates. He concentrates on the scientific aspects, but also notes policy factors that influence energy. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The Gawain poet; complete works: Patience, Cleanness, Pearl, Saint Erkenwald, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Borroff (Yale U.) began translating the Middle English poems into modern verse during the 1960s, and published them in growing volumes as she added them one by one. At some point she became convinced that "Saint Erkenwald" was written by the same later-14th-century poet as the others — far from a consensus among scholars — and presents her reasons here in non-technical language. Another appendix explains the metrical forms. For each of the five poems, she includes an introduction, the text, notes, and biblical sources for all but "Saint Erkenwald" and "Sir Gawain." Biblical references are also footnoted, and marginal notes gloss archaic words she has used in the translation. The first edition was published in 1967, and the fourth in 2010. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Gunfight; the battle over the right to bear arms in America.
Winkler, a professor of law at UCLA, presents this comprehensive history of America's relationship with firearms and the historical and contemporary controversies surrounding the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. Written in an accessible and engaging style appropriate for general readers, the volume examines the landmark District of Columbia vs. Heller Supreme Court decision and from that basis begins a deeper exploration of the history of gun control including discussion of nuanced topics such as the influence of race and racism on gun policy, the shifting of the positions of advocacy groups and the effect of popular perception on the status of firearms. The work includes several black and white plates. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The justice cascade; how human rights prosecutions are changing world politics.
The "justice cascade," in the parlance of this volume, is the relatively new trend in world politics whereby state officials, including heads of state, are increasingly being held criminally accountable for human rights violations. Author Sikkink (political science, U. of Minnesota) explores the reasons for the emergence and development of the "justice cascade," tracing the movement of new ideas and practices concerning criminal accountability for human rights from early domestic cases in Greece, Portugal, and Argentina across regions and across the globe and also assesses the political impact of this diffusion, addressing both the fear that such trials could lead to political instability and the complaint that powerful countries such as the United States and China remain largely immune from the effect of this diffusion of new norms. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Kids on meds; up-to-date information about the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications.
From a balanced perspective, Kalikow (psychiatry and behavioral sciences, New York Medical College; New York-Presbyterian/Columbia U. Medical Center) surveys the psychiatric medicines increasingly being prescribed for children and adolescents. With practical clinical guidelines, he covers the basics of diagnosis; how such medicines affect the developing brain; weighing benefits vs. risks; medications and alternative treatments for disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, sleep disorders, and Asperger's disorder; and how to talk with parents, the child, teachers, and health practitioners. The book includes case examples, resources, and extensive references. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Lost decades; the making of America's debt crisis and the long recovery.
According to political economists Chinn and Frieden, "events of the past several years demonstrate that international finance is too important to be left to international financiers." The authors explain the political and economic roots of the current financial crisis, looking especially at the Bush administration's policies of funding deficits with foreign borrowing. Their analysis starts with the macroeconomic drivers of the crisis and encompasses political pressures and regulatory enablers. The authors put the crisis into a comparative and historical context, drawing parallels and lessons from dozens of similar meltdowns in the past and in other countries. They conclude by making recommendations for reform and international collaboration. Chinn teaches at the University of Wisconsin. Frieden teaches at Harvard University. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Media politics; a citizen's guide, 2d ed.
Iyengar (political science, Stanford U.) offers a comprehensive introduction to the relatively recent co-evolution of media and politics in the United States. He describes media strategies for winning elections and policy debates, documents the success and failure of different strategies, and, perhaps most importantly, underscores the liabilities of media-based politics and how to make news coverage of elections and governance itself more focused on substantial issues. He critiques the privatization of the media and the consequent abandonment of civic responsibility, comparing the American system with the more public ones of other developed countries. This second edition includes whole new chapters on political media campaigns, employing recent research, as well as the internet and the role of blogs and social media. It also includes substantial discussion of the 2008 and 2010 elections, including the use of race-based appeals, and the growing importance of alternative formats (like satire-news). The book makes extensive use of video-footage, available online, as well as tables, charts and other graphics. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The medication question; weighing your mental health treatment options; for patients and their families.
Deciding to take, not to take, or when to take medication for mental health disorders, and how those who are thinking of taking them and/or their families may come to that decision is the focus of this book. Dr. Diamond (psychiatry, U. of Wisconsin) discusses the various disorders and what medications can and cannot do to help, and provides a list of drugs and their uses. He also gives advice on what patients can do to help make the medications more effective. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Mindfulness and hypnosis; the power of suggestion to transform experience.
Yapko, a clinical psychologist, explains how guided mindfulness meditation works in reducing stress, pain, anxiety and other health concerns. Hypnosis can effectively induce a person, through the power of suggestion, to change a behavior. Methods used to bring about hypnosis, such as authoritarian or permissive, how to dissociate, and what it is to be mindful while hypnotized are just a few of the areas touched on. This book is a useful guide for clinicians, as well as for anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of how hypnosis and meditation work together. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Readings in American politics; analysis and perspectives, 2d ed.
Intended for undergraduate students in entry level political science courses, this reader in American politics provides easy access to foundational documents in a variety of key thematic areas. The volume is divided into sections covering the constitution, federalism, civil rights and civil liberties, congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, public opinion, participation, interest groups, parties, elections, and economic and social policy. Selections include important Supreme Court decisions, original works by thinkers such as Locke and Madison, and secondary writings from historians and political scientists. This second edition includes several new entries. Kollman is a professor of political science at the University of Michigan. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Reprobates; the cavaliers of the English Civil War.
This interesting collective biography examines the lives and political fortunes of the Cavaliers, a group of the royalist faction that supported Charles I in the English Civil War. The volume explores the personalities and positions of supporters, both highbrow and scurrilous, against the backdrop of the political machinations that would eventually lead to war. While written for a general audience, the volume will be of particular interest to students of court culture and the interaction of personality and decorum. Stubbs is the award winning author of John Donne: The Reformed Soul. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The swerve; how the world became modern.
This engaging history of the birth of modernity and the Renaissance explores the rediscovery and popularization of Lucretious' poem On The Nature of Things, by the book collector Poggio Bracciolini in the fifteenth century, and the impact of the ideas of humanism and science it contained on future generations form Galileo to Einstein. The work is engaging and appropriate for general readers with an interest in the history of science and the Renaissance. Greenblatt is a professor of the humanities at Harvard University. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
