June 11, 2007 at 9:25 pm (Acquisitions, Biology, New Books)
New summer books are continuing to arrive! Here are a few more interesting selections that can now be found in our New Books display cases and cart!
Sick by Jonathan Cohn. HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.
RA395 .A3 C635
“Cohn points out that managed care initially had an altruistic goal of making health-care affordable for all. But by 1997, two-thirds of HMOs were controlled by for-profit companies concerned with making money rather than preventing and easing sickness. The author convincingly argues that Medicare and universal health care in such countries as France, though not perfect, are far superior to the system most Americans face. Much of this is well-trod territory, but Cohn is eloquent, and he’s good at using case studies to dramatize and explain complex issues.” – Publisher’s Weekly
The Elephant’s Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa by Caitlin O’Connell. Simon & Schuster, 2007.
QL737 .P98 O26
“Naturalist O’Connell’s memoir of her 14 years researching the complexities of elephant behavior is a successful combination of science and soulfulness, explaining her groundbreaking theory of how elephants use seismic communication; she also sympathetically illuminates current social and ecological conditions in Africa. O’Connell’s original goal in 1992 was to spend a year driving from South Africa to Kenya, but then she was hired for a three-year study of elephants in an area of northeastern Namibia, “where violent death is as much a part of the landscape as the capricious nature of rain.” Fascinated by the “particular way that elephants seemed to be listening with their feet,” she soon realized that the elephants were communicating with sound waves “that travel within the surface of the ground as opposed to the air.” Her efforts over the next decade to prove this “unexpected and controversial” hypothesis took her “to the bayous of Texas, the Nevada desert, southern India, northern Zimbabwe, the Oakland Zoo, and then back to the scrub desert” of Namibia.” – Publisher’s Weekly
Other new selections include:
Medieval Islamic Medicine by Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith. Georgetown University Press, 2007.
R128 .3 .P67
Camouflage by Tim Newark and Jonathan Miller. Thames & Hudson, 2007. UG449 .N46
For more recent arrivals, refer to our New Books List, organized by subject. Make sure to check Bobcat for their availability before you check the shelf. Happy Summer Reading!
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May 31, 2007 at 7:32 pm (Acquisitions, Biology, New Books)
The first new books of the summer have arrived, and can be found in our New Books display cases and cart! We welcome you to delve into our new and interesting selections!
Here are a few examples:
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz. Basic Books, 2006.
RJ499.34 .P47
“…beautifully written, fascinating accounts of experiences working with emotionally stunted and traumatized children, child psychiatrist Perry educates readers about how early-life stress and violence affects the developing brain. He emphasizes that the brain of a traumatized child can be remolded with patterned, repetitive experiences in a safe environment. Most importantly, as such trauma involves the shattering of human connections, ‘lasting, caring connections to others’ are irreplaceable in healing; medications and therapy alone cannot do the job. ‘Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love,’ Perry concludes.”- Publisher’s Weekly
The Sixth Extinction by Terry Glavin. St. Martin’s Press,2007.
QH75 .G58
“Prolific natural history author Glavin offers a startling new definition of extinction that includes not only loss of animal species but also disappearing aspects of the human condition. While traveling the world in search of scarlet macaws, Amur sturgeon, and the Malayan tiger, Glavin considers the diminishing whale culture of a Norwegian village and the loss of King apples. “We lose a distinct species, of one sort or another, every ten minutes,” he asserts, then reveals that languages, architecture, and entire vistas of human history are vanishing just as precipitously. Through carefully selected examples and thoughtful contemplation, Glavin suggests that we risk forgetting who we were, our stories, and our very notion of singularity and individuality as extinctions rise. In prose that tempts the reader to linger over each word, he turns a book of science and natural history into an elegy to the world in which we live and so casually disregard, creating nonfiction with a poet’s heart and a message of the utmost importance.”- Booklist
Other new selections include:
The Hudson: An Illustrated Guide to the Living River by Stanne, Panetta, and Forist
QH104.5.H83 S74
Bleeding to Ease the Pain: Cutting, Self-Injury, and the Adolescent Search for Self by Lori G. Plante
RJ506.S44 P43
Females are MOSAICS: X Inactivation and Sex Differences in Disease by Barbara R. Migeon
QH600.5 .M54
For more recent arrivals, refer to our New Books List which is organized by subject. Make sure to check Bobcat for their availability before you check the shelf!
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December 5, 2006 at 5:53 pm (Acquisitions, Biology, Chemistry, New Books)
Peruse our new science books in their brand new display! The new books are now located in the center of the reference area, next to the Test Prep books display. As always, to suggest new books for library purchase, fill out the online form here:
http://library.nyu.edu/forms/colform.html
Here are some brief reviews of recent additions:
The Last Normal Child, by Lawrence H. Diller. Prager, 2006.
RM315 .D5522
“This book is obligatory reading for anyone who wants to make sense out of the present confusion about medicating children to improve their behavior. Dr. Diller is a rare voice of moderation in this disputed area. He agrees that a few children are greatly improved in the short term by such medications, but he decries the excessive labeling, the unreasonable pressures from schools and parents, the aggressive advertising by the drug companies to parents and physicians, and the neglect of the essential psychosocial management of these children with such traditional techniques as effective discipline.”
- William B. Carey, M.D. Division of General Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. Author of Understanding Your Child’s Temperament and Coping with Children’s Temperament.
Noise, by Bart Kosko. Viking, 2006.
TD892 .K67
”Noise, USC professor Kosko (Fuzzy Thinking) says, may be properly defined as ‘a signal we don’t like,’ but as his book shows, there’s much more to noise than idling buses and loud neighbors. The author makes the claims that the universe itself may be no more than noise, and that life might not have evolved without it. And though white may be the most widely recognized color of noise, Kosko describes others, including pink and black. Particularly informative are his passages on the development and use of noise-canceling technology (used as commonly by racecar drivers to block out engine noise as by physicians to listen to a fetus’s heartbeat). Kosko’s book will appeal mainly to science buffs; despite the author’s accessible prose, swaths of the book assume an acquaintance with physics and electrical engineering. However, passages on topics such as actress Hedy Lamar’s patent for a WWII-era ‘secret communication system,’ hold some attraction for a wider audience.”
-from Publisher’s Weekly.
Reviews retrieved 12.5.2006 from Amazon.com
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August 14, 2006 at 10:05 pm (Biology, Electronic Resources, Reference Books)
The Oxford Companion to the Body
details the structure and function of all the major systems of the body and the causes of their disorders. It also includes social and religious attitudes to the body, and its significance for artists, philosophers and writers. It is available in print in the Coles Science Center: REF9 QM7. O96 2001, and online here:
The Oxford Companion to the Body
Here’s what some people have to say about it:
“Entries range from major religions and how each views the body (e.g. ‘Hinduism and the Body,’ a two-page article) to many parts of the body (‘Fallopian Tubes’ merits a brief paragraph as well as See also references, and while neither fingers nor toes warrants an entry, ‘Fingerprints’ does). There are entries for professions that specialize in the use of the body (‘Model, Artist’s,’ with the requisite nude photograph) and even for concepts, like ‘Leisure,’ with See also references to ‘Relaxation’ and ‘Sport.’ ‘Mandrake Root’ is listed because it resembles a person and is beautifully illustrated by a reproduction from Dioscorides’s Materia medica. Remarkably affordable and compulsively readable, this volume will find a home in any academic or public library’s history of medicine or reference collection.”
-Library Journal
“Although anatomical systems and physiological functions make up the bulk of the entries, examples of the broad scope of coverage include Furniture and the body, Hinduism and the body, Lifespan, Mermaid, and Tattooing….This is neither a medical guide nor a medical dictionary; rather, it is a summary of the art and science of our bodies.”-Booklist
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July 31, 2006 at 4:54 pm (Biology, Electronic Resources, Reference Books)
Besides being fun to say(!) Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia is an outstanding, unparalleled resource for information on animals found everywhere on the globe, their life cycles, predators, food systems, overall ecology and much more. It’s available in print at Bobst REF9 QL7 .G7813, and now electronically by clicking here.
Here’s what some people have to say about it:
“Originally published in German in 1967 and translated into English in the 1970s, Grzimek’s earned a reputation as the most comprehensive and authoritative information source on animals. Now this acclaimed encyclopedia is being completely revised to incorporate more than 30 years of scientific knowledge and discovery… Retaining the character of the first edition, the editors focused on updating the information and revising the text, but the most significant change is a vastly improved structure. Well-organized sections replace the long, endless narratives characteristic of the first edition, thus making the revised edition much easier to use, especially for the nonbiologist… Over 5,000 color illustrations and 3,500 maps were created specifically for this edition. Approximately 3,500 new color photographs are included as well… Even after 30 years, the original Grzimek’s is still considered a core title for reference collections. Biologists and nonbiologists alike will appreciate the excellent organization, well-written text, and beautiful illustrations. Gale will also publish e-books of the volumes, available through netLibrary, as the printed editions come out. Judging from the volumes released thus far, users will not be disappointed with this new edition. Highly recommended for all types of libraries.”– Library Journal (February 2003)
“In the hands of Thomson Gale, with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia becomes the standard in zoological encyclopedias. The content and scope of Mammals along with the format will provide depth and breadth to life science collections. Mammals is not only readable, but suitable for all school libraries supporting advanced science curricula, and for all public, college, and university libraries.” — ARBA (Annual 2004)
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