|
Nature and ScienceJune 2014
|
"Give me juicy autumnal fruit, ripe and red from the orchard." ~ Walt Whitman (1819-1892), American poet, "Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun"
|
|
How to Reserve Your Copy To find these books in the Manhattan Public Library catalog, click the title. From the catalog, you may reserve your copy by choosing Place Request, then entering your library account information.
|
|
New and Recently Released!
|
|
|
National Geographic dawn to dark photographs : the magic of light
by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
A sumptuous collection of images charts the changing light over the course of a day as reflected in top-selected works of landscape photography and photojournalism that focus on subjects ranging from imposing cityscapes to pristine natural vistas.
|
|
|
Computer forensics : infoSec Pro guide
by David Cowen
Presents a guide to computer forensics covering such topics as how to set up a forensics lab, legal aspects of forensics work, and using open source software to conduct searches
|
|
|
Fukushima : the story of a nuclear disaster
by David A. Lochbaum
Recounts the failure of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing a triple meltown that became the worst nuclear crisis in over two decades, and discusses the future of nuclear power
|
|
|
The secret world of oil
by Ken Silverstein
A full-length account by the award-winning co-writer of the Los Angeles Times "The Politics of Petroleum" article explores corruption within the oil industry, describing rivalries between governments, organized crime, multinational corporations and forefront individuals.
|
|
|
Infinitesimal : how a dangerous mathematical theory shaped the modern world
by Amir R Alexander
This fascinating volume, taking readers from the blood religious strife of the 16th century to the battlefields of the English civil war, recounts the epic battle over a simple, yet "forbidden," mathematical concept that would eventually become the foundation of calculus. 30,000 first printing.
|
|
|
The sound book : the science of the sonic wonders of the world
by Trevor J. Cox
A professor of acoustic engineering provides a tour of the world's most amazing sound phenomena, including creaking glaciers, whispering galleries, stalactite organs, musical roads, humming dunes, seals that sound like alien angels, and a Mayan pyramid that chirps like a bird.
|
|
| Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling Our Modern Plagues by Martin J. BlaserCiting an assortment of "modern plagues," including diabetes, asthma, celiac disease, and eczema, Dr. Martin Blaser, the director of New York University's Human Microbiome Program, argues that our over-reliance on antibiotics may cure our ailments in the short-term while compromising the overall health of our immune systems. The average American child receives at least one course of antibiotics every year, which Blaser claims severely damages the "invisible zoo within," devastating the diverse populations of bacteria that live in our bodies and keep us healthy. For more accessible books about beneficial microorganisms, check out Rob Dunn's The Wild Life of Our Bodies, Jessica Sachs' Good Germs, Bad Germs, or Carl Zimmer's Microcosm. |
|
|
The Galápagos : a natural history
by Henry Nicholls
Describes the history of the exotic islands made famous by Charles Darwin, long known to sailors and pirates as a home to fascinating wildlife and volcanic landscapes that has most recently become a hot-spot for ecotourism. 30,000 first printing.
|
|
| The Secret Life of Sleep by Kat Duff"Sleep is hard to study because it exists, by definition, outside our conscious awareness," admits mental health counselor Kat Duff, who nevertheless embarks on a quest to better understand how and why we sleep. Until the middle of the 20th century, many people believed that the brain simply switched off at night; it wasn't until researcher Eugene Aserinsky attached electrodes to his eight-year-old's head and recorded heightened brain activity that the scientific community began to revise its assumptions about the nature of sleep. Even now, there's much we still don't know. What causes dreams and what purpose do they serve? And why do we need sleep at all? (Don't try this at home: sleep-deprivation leads to psychosis and death.) Whether you enjoy an afternoon nap or assert that you'll sleep when you're dead, you won't want to miss this engaging, accessible survey of the science of slumber. |
|
|
John Muir and the ice that started a fire : how a visionary and the glaciers of Alaska changed America
by Kim Heacox
"John Muir and the Ice That Started a Fire takes two of the most compelling elements in the narrative of wild America, John Muir and Alaska, and combines them into a brisk and engaging biography. John Muir was a fascinating man who was many things: inventor, scientist, revolutionary, druid (a modern day Celtic priest), husband, son, father and friend, and a shining son of the Scottish Enlightenment -- both in temperament and intellect. Kim Heacox, author of The Only Kayak, bring us a story that evolves as Muir's life did, from one of outdoor adventure into one of ecological guardianship. Muir went from impassioned author to leading activist. He would popularize glaciers unlike anybody else, and be to glaciers what Jacques Cousteau would be to the oceansand Carl Sagan to the stars. The book also offers an environmental caveat on global climate change and the glaciers' retreat alongside a beacon of hope: Muir shows us how one person changed America, helped it embrace its wilderness, and in turn, gave us a better world. In 2005, Californians had to choose a design for its commemorative quarter. Hundreds of submissions - the iconic Hollywood sign above Hollywood Hills, the 1849 Gold Rush, the Golden Gate Bridge, etc. - fell away until one remained: an image of John Muir. 2014 will mark the 100th anniversary of Muir's death. Muir's legacy is that he reordered our priorities and contributed to a new scientific revolution that was picked up a generation later by Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, and is championed today by influential writers like E.O. Wilson and Jared Diamond. Heacox takes us into how Muir changed our world, advanced the science of glaciology and popularized geology. How he got people out there. How he gave America a new vision of Alaska, and of itself."
|
|
| Faraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics by Nancy Forbes and Basil MahonIn 1813, blacksmith's son Michael Faraday abandoned a career as a bookbinder to study the little-understood phenomenon of electricity. Although his tireless efforts led to the development of the first electric motor and generator, as well as the idea of the electromagnetic field (in which electricity and magnetism travel as waves), few took him seriously until James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish mathematician and physicist, formulated a set of equations to describe Faraday's theories. In this thought-provoking dual biography, science writers Nancy Forbes and Basil Mahon explore the lives of two influential men of science as well as their enduring legacy. |
|
| The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era by Craig NelsonThe atomic age, at least in the popular imagination, began in August 1945 with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, author Craig Nelson takes a broader view of the "age of radiance," beginning in 1895 with German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen’s discovery of x-rays and ending with the 2011 disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. Along the way, he explains concepts such as fission and fusion while describing the individuals -- both scientists and civilians -- whose contributions shaped politics and society in the wake of a stunning new technology that promised both limitless energy and total annihilation. |
|
| A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park by Edward O. Wilson and Piotr NaskreckiJoining forces with nature photographer Piotr Naskrecki, biologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Edward O. Wilson takes readers on a lavishly illustrated tour of Mozambique's 1,500 square mile Gorongosa National Park, documenting the region's natural history as well as the devastation wrought by a 16-year civil war that destroyed much of the park's biodiversity -- including 90 percent of its megafauna. Wilson also describes Gorongosa's gradual rebirth, a collaborative effort between scientists and philanthropists whose goal to restore the area to its former glory proceeds at a slow but steady pace. For a moving, yet ultimately hopeful story of conservation against the backdrop of one of the world's most beautiful and valuable ecological treasures, don't miss A Window on Eternity. |
|
|
Water 4.0 : the past, present, and future of the world's most vital resource
by David L. Sedlak
"Turn on the faucet, and water pours out. Pull out the drain plug, and the dirty water disappears. Most of us give little thought to the hidden systems that bring us water and take it away when we're done with it. But these underappreciated marvels of engineering face an array of challenges that cannot be solved without a fundamental change to our relationship with water, David Sedlak explains in this enlightening book. To make informed decisions about the future, we need to understand the three revolutions in urban water systems that have occurred over the past 2,500 years and the technologies that will remake the system. The author starts by describing Water 1.0, the early Roman aqueducts, fountains, and sewers that made dense urban living feasible. Hethen details the development of drinking water and sewage treatment systems--the second and third revolutions in urban water. He offers an insider's look at current systems that rely on reservoirs, underground pipe networks, treatment plants, and storm sewers to provide water that is safe to drink, before addressing how these water systems will have to be reinvented. For everyone who cares about reliable, clean, abundant water, this book is essential reading"
|
|
|
Drinking water : a history
by James Salzman
Chronicles the history of how today's drinking water became available while revealing how political dynamics will influence the availability of drinking water in the future, exploring such topics as tap water safety, whether or not bottled water is considered shameful and the susceptibility of water to terrorist attacks. 15,000 first printing.
|
|
| Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry EstabrookTomatoes are both a multi-billion dollar industry and a carefully crafted agricultural commodity. Expanding on his 2010 James Beard Award-winning article in Gourmet Magazine, investigative journalist Barry Estabrook traces the life cycle of the mass-produced tomato, from its birth in Florida (which produces one third of the nation's annual crop) through its distribution to supermarkets across the United States. In between, commercially grown tomatoes (bred not for flavor but to facilitate shipping) are given a potent cocktail of pesticides and herbicides (to combat the 60 combined insect species and diseases that attack the plants); harvested (by low-paid migrant workers) while still green; and then artificially ripened by exposure to ethylene gas to create the illusion of a perfect piece of fruit. Still hungry? Feed your need for knowledge with Michael Carolan's The Real Cost of Cheap Food or Wenonah Hauter's Foodopoly, both of which provide a behind-the-scenes look at where our food comes from. |
|
| The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce, and Obsession by Adam Leith GollnerDid you know that some half-million plant species worldwide produce fruit -- and that the waxed apples found in supermarkets are among the least appetizing of these? In this fact-filled guide to all things fruit, food journalist Adam Leith 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. |
|
| Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Dan KoeppelThe story of bananas is...well, bananas. Originating in Southeast Asia, this seedless, sexless fruit somehow evolved from an inedible wild plant to one of the world's most popular -- and most genetically vulnerable -- foods. In this riveting biological and cultural history of the banana, journalist Dan Koeppel traces the banana's journey from its birthplace to Africa, where it became a staple crop, to the Caribbean and Central America, where it became the foundation of an industry powerful enough to make (and break) entire nations. If you'd like to read more about the rise of the banana industry, check out Peter Chapman's Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Changed the World, or Rich Cohen's The Fish that Ate the Whale, a biography of United Fruits' founder Samuel Zemurray. |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|