Nature and Science October 2007

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Nature and Science October 2007

"The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running."
~ Unknown

New and Recently Released!

Lives of the Planets: A Natural History of the Solar System - by Richard Corfield

Publisher: Basic Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 7/28/2007
ISBN: 9780465014033
ISBN-10: 0465014038

This overview of the solar system discusses the observations of early star-gazers (such as Copernicus and Galileo), but emphasizes the information gathered in the last 30 years as unmanned space probes have taken to the skies. Planetologist Richard Corfield also addresses the space programs of various countries, Pluto's status, and how technology has increased our understanding of the formation and workings of the planets. Up-to-date and enthusiastic, Lives of the Planets is sure to please armchair astronomers.

The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever - by David M. Friedman

Publisher: Ecco
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/1/2007
ISBN: 9780060528157
ISBN-10: 006052815X

In 1930, world-famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and Nobel Prize-winning surgeon Alexis Carrel met to discuss heart valve repair, but ended up building a partnership that would lay the foundations for the organ transplants and tissue grafts of today. Utilizing Carrel's medical expertise and Lindbergh's engineering know-how, the two men were able to sustain organs for weeks at a time, but although they sought the secret to eternal life, both men felt that only the white race should benefit from their research--a belief that cost them their reputations. "An absorbing cautionary tale," says Publishers Weekly.

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Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters: From Dating, Shopping, and Praying to Going to War and Becoming a Billionaire--Two Evolutionary Psychologists Explain Why We Do What We Do - by Alan S. Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa

Publisher: Perigee Book
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/4/2007
ISBN: 9780399533655
ISBN-10: 0399533656

Still a fairly new field, evolutionary psychology is based on the theory that human traits are products of natural selection. Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters draws on this field to analyze the ways in which evolution shapes human behavior, and sheds new light on the reasons why humans do the things that they do. The authors give examples that range from why women dye their hair blonde to why some men are abusive; their analyses are "often as disturbing as they are fascinating" (Publishers Weekly), and while not everyone will agree with them, they certainly will provoke discussion.

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Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming - by Chris Mooney

Publisher: Harcourt
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 7/2/2007
ISBN: 9780151012879
ISBN-10: 0151012873

Is global warming creating hurricanes? Using scientific evidence from the 2006 hurricane season, author Chris Mooney examines the link between global warming and hurricane strength to say that no, global warming isn't causing storms--but climate change may be intensifying them. In addition to studying the science behind climate change as well as the two main schools of thought on the topic of hurricane fluctuation, Mooney also addresses the influence of the media and politicians on commonly held ideas about climate change. This is "one of the most thought-provoking and accessible accounts of climate change to appear since Katrina," says Booklist.

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The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster and the Water We Drink - by Robert D. Morris

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/1/2007
ISBN: 9780060730895
ISBN-10: 0060730897

This absorbing--if disquieting--history of drinking water and the waterborne diseases it can spread traces mankind's understanding of the perils of unclean water from the 19th century to the present. From the cholera epidemics in Victorian England (and the pioneering doctor, John Snow, who helped stem them) to the reliance on bottled water that helped prevent a post-Katrina waterborne plague in New Orleans, author Robert Morris reveals vulnerabilities in water systems both past and present. He also poses the argument that water safety is an issue that will continue to require attention, and concludes with suggestions for a safer water supply.

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An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere - by Gabrielle Walker

Publisher: Harcourt
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 8/6/2007
ISBN: 9780151011247
ISBN-10: 0151011249

From the Renaissance scientist who realized that we live at the bottom of a dense ocean of air to the Air Force test pilot who made several daring high altitude parachute jumps in 1960...who knew that studying air could be so interesting? In An Ocean of Air, science journalist Gabrielle Walker showcases the years of exploration that have gone into the study of air in "a colorful blend of anecdote, personality and pure science explained in the simplest terms" (The New York Times). As the LA Times puts it, "Walker's book should absorb and delight anyone who breathes."

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The Race for...

Space Race: The Epic Battle Between America and the Soviet Union for Dominion of Space - by Deborah Cadbury

Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 5/1/2006
ISBN: 9780060845537
ISBN-10: 0060845538

They may never have met, but during the 1960s, rocket scientist Werner von Braun of NASA fame and his counterpart in the Soviet Union, Sergei Korolev, were in a heated competition to reach the moon. Using their rivalry to illustrate the Cold War space race, documentary producer Deborah Cadbury has created a heart-pounding account of the race to the moon. Though Cadbury goes into the successes and failures of both space programs, she also delves into the personal history of each man, including von Braun's role in the Nazi party. "Outstanding," says Booklist.

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The Fly in the Cathedral - by Brian Cathcart

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/27/2005
ISBN: 9780374530266
ISBN-10: 0374530262

After the 1909 revelation that atoms consisted of a nucleus amid rather a lot of empty space (much like a fly in a cathedral), the race was on to split the atom. In 1932, British scientists John Cockroft and Ernest Walton took first place when their particle accelerator succeeding in adding an extra proton to a lithium nucleus, resulting in two separate groups of protons. Meanwhile, their contemporaries in Germany and America had to content themselves with reaching other goals. Anyone interested in the dawn of the nuclear age will enjoy this account of the struggles and successes of physicists in the 1920s and 30s.

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Cracking the Genome: Inside the Race to Unlock Human DNA - by Kevin Davies

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/1/2002
ISBN: 9780801871405
ISBN-10: 0801871409

First published in 2001, Cracking the Genome was written as the race to sequence the entire human genome was still very much in swing (author Kevin Davies refers to this period as "halftime," as a rough draft had already been completed). With access to scientists on all sides of the human genome sequencing project, including federal Human Genome Project director Francis Collins and the head of the competing Celera Genomics, J. Craig Venter, Davies was able to get to the heart of the strategies, technologies, and processes employed in search of completion. If you're looking for the story behind the sequencing, look no further than this lively account.

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The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors - by Ann Gibbons

Publisher: Anchor Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 4/10/2007
ISBN: 9781400076963
ISBN-10: 140007696X

In the African countries of Egypt, Kenya, and Chad, the search for hominid fossils is complicated by high temperatures, blowing sand, and professional rivalry. In this in-depth and dramatic account, science writer Ann Gibbons dives right into the competitive world of fossil hunting, detailing the search for the missing link between humans and apes. In addition, Gibbons brings the ambitious scientists to life through stories of their foibles, failures, and successes. Well-written and fast-paced, The First Human is also "wonderful, balanced, and accurate," says Science.

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Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World - by Jill Jonnes

Publisher: Random House
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 10/12/2004
ISBN: 9780375758843
ISBN-10: 0375758844

This riveting piece of scientific history recounts the race among three great titans of the Gilded Age to bring electricity to the world. Inventor Thomas Alva Edison, creator of the incandescent light bulb, promoted direct current (DC), while eccentric genius Nikola Tesla championed alternating current (AC). The third man, entrepreneur and industrialist George Westinghouse, wanted to be the one who brought electricity to the masses. Empires of Light documents their rivalries and PR wars and the slow process to electrify the U.S. in the final decades of the 19th century; the San Francisco Chronicle calls their story "crackerjack."

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The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession - by Mark Obmascik

Publisher: Free Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 2/1/2004
ISBN: 9780743245456
ISBN-10: 0743245458

Each year, hundreds of birders abandon their normal lives to travel across North America in hopes of identifying as many species as possible in a contest called the Big Year. During the 1998 Big Year competition, three rivals each identified more than 700 species, but the winner ultimately identified 745, an unprecedented record that experts think may never be beaten. From Florida's Everglades to Alaska's Attu island, the three men race to seek birds in rain, snow, and garbage dumps; reading their story "will light a tinderbox of bird lust" (Kirkus Reviews) regardless of whether or not you know the difference between a white-throated robin and a rufous-backed robin.

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