Prometheus Books
The complete book of bone health.
Schneider, a former professor of clinical medicine at the U. of California, San Diego, who is associated with a non-profit organization on bone health awareness and education, explains aspects of bone health, from the basics to treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. She explains assessment, including bone density scans; general measures like exercise, fall prevention, nutrition, calcium, and vitamin D; various medicines for osteoporosis, drugs in development, and complementary and alternative medicine; what to do after a major fracture; and bone connections to common problems and medicines, including pregnancy and breastfeeding, birth control, menstrual problems and endometriosis, eating disorders, thyroid and intestinal problems, weight loss, steroid use, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, depression, and breast and prostate cancer. Included are stories of patients. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Denying science; conspiracy theories, media distortions, and the war against reality.
Many Americans follow religious or political ideology on scientific matters. Other factors cited as contributing to this anti- science brew are scientists' history of resisting new ideas, media sensationalism, special interest groups, and the postmodern view of "facts" as social constructs. Grant, a prolific popular science writer, presents a survey of bogus thinking in relation to debates over such major issues as climate change, evolution, the purported link between autism and vaccines, complementary and alternative medicine, and the AIDS epidemic. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Drive and curiosity; what fuels the passion for science.
Hargittai (research, Budapest U. of Technology and Economics, author) offers an interesting perspective on science in the 20th century with personality profiles of 15 scientists who made some of the most significant discoveries of the century. Some of those science personalities are well-known, such as James D. Watson, Linus Pauling, and Edward Teller — others not as well-known. Considering the approach, it probably helps greatly that the author was acquainted with all but two of those eminent scientists. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Einstein on the road.
From 1922 to 1933, during the height of his fame, Albert Einstein travelled the world with his cousin and second wife, Elsa, visiting with many notable people of the time, and keeping travel diaries. Eisinger uses Einstein's writings and the writings of others to create an engaging picture of the Einsteins' activities, opinions, and day to day adventures traveling the world and meeting interesting people. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The essential William James.
William James (1842-1910), like influential fellow American pragmatist John Dewey, was at the forefront of philosophical psychology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Shook (philosophy, U. of Buffalo; Center for Inquiry Transnational), the author of an annotated bibliography on Dewey, provides a substantial introduction to 18 of James's selected writings. Still timely philosophy of mind issues addressed include the nature of emotions, consciousness, experience, and the will to believe. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
From crime scene to courtroom; examining the mysteries behind famous cases.
Wecht, a forensic pathologist and lawyer, profiles seven well-known homicide cases that he has been involved in during the original autopsy or as a consultant, including the deaths of Rolling Stones drummer Brian Jones, singer Michael Jackson, 12-year-old Gabby Bechen, and housewife and mother Carol Ann Gotbaum, who died in police custody in Phoenix on her way to an alcohol treatment center. The cases illustrate both medical and psychological complexity and include b&w and color photos. Author Wecht has appeared on TV and has written other books on true-life crime. Co-author Dawna Kaufman is a true-crime journalist. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Kill the messenger; the media's role in the fate of the world.
Armoudian, veteran journalist and fellow of the Center for International Studies, critiques the roles media played during the 20th century in both large scale atrocities and social progress. She shows how Media was used to spread hate in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia while, on the other hand, contributing to improved social situations in Northern Ireland, Senegal, Chile, South Africa, Mexico, and Taiwan. The study examines the roles of media in the past and its new global dynamic in the 21st century. Also considered is the media's power to influence cultural and psychological mechanisms. This book is intended for both the general reader as well as those interested in media studies. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Power, politics, and universal health care; the inside story of a century-long battle.
Altman (Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis U.) has been involved in health care policy since the 1970s. In this book for general readers and for students and practitioners of health care policy, he traces the evolution of the country's health care system, from 1912 to Obama's controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The book is peppered with enough behind-the-scenes anecdotes on secret meetings and scandals to keep readers attentive through explanations of the political, policy, and economic issues that make health care reform so complex and so difficult to enact. Co-author Shactman worked with Altman for 11 years at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Puritan Islam; the geoexpansion of the Muslim world.
What does the future hold for the secular West as it receives immigrants who embrace the fundamentalist beliefs of Islam's puritan community? Vann (geography, the U. of the Cumberlands) seeks to understand the thought processes of Islamic puritans by looking at the Qur'an. He applies the geotheological concepts coined by John K. Wright to Islam and adds new concepts to describe supernatural aspects of the divine within the Islamic worldview. He examines Islamic puritans' views of self and community, unbelievers, the state of Israel, and the sanctity of Allah's world, and describes American Islam's two communities. In addition to b&w maps, the book includes b&w photos of Muslim communities in the US. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Science in a democratic society.
Philosopher of science Philp Kitcher presents this timely and interesting exploration of the role of science in democracy. Addressing the propensity of democratic societies to debate all issues as if factual truth could be arrived at by a vote or debate, the work examines the role of the expert and the ways in which modern political discourse hampers clear applications of scientific works for the public good. The work addresses such topics as the erosion of scientific authority, the evolution of public knowledge and accommodating diversity and dissent. Kitcher is the author of twelve books on the philosophy of science. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Toward a better life; America's new immigrants in their own words; from Ellis Island to the present.
This work spans 120 years and is organized in two parts: Ellis Island-era immigrants (1892-1954), and America's new immigrants (1954-2010). Within the two parts chapters are organized by decade, and each decade includes the stories of two or three individuals, told in their own words. Some of the people are famous, some are not. Coan is the author of a larger book published in 1998 titled Ellis Island Interviews. Here he includes plenty of contextual and supporting information including a general introduction and introductory information for each decade — key historic events, migration statistics, and a list of immigrants who would later become famous. Indexing is thorough. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Your brain on childhood; the unexpected side effects of classrooms, ballparks, family rooms, and the minivan.
Principe (psychology, Ursinus College) examines the consequences of raising children in today's unnatural environments and ways parents can realign childhood to a more natural state. She explains the science behind the way children's brains develop, how the biology of human evolution makes parts of contemporary life unfit for today's children, how evolutionary pressures have shaped the brain, how natural selection has designed children's brains to learn, and how childhood experiences wire the brain. She argues that childhood is what makes the human species unique and that speeding it up is a bad idea. Drawing evidence from psychology, neuroscience, biology, anthropology, public health, and landscape architecture, she outlines seven recent changes in children's lives that are having negative effects on their development, such as technology, too much organization in their lives, staying inside, and lack of play, and the underlying cultural assumptions and how they have been driven by aspects of human thinking and media myths. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
