Pendergrast, a Vermont freelance, has written the history of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), a two-year program for idealistic young doctors, nurses, statisticians, sociologists, Ph.D.s in public health, anthropologists, and lawyers. During postings they can face Ebola in Africa, bird flu in Asia, clusters of salmonella food poisoning in America, or a seemingly endless array of other threats to health.

Jones presents a plain-language guide to one of science's most controversial and challenging modern topics: string theory. Written in a style accessible to all readers regardless of scientific (or math) background, String Theory for Dummies explores the established physics concepts and mysteries that call out for new explanations, the development of string theory, the possibilities presented by the theory, and the criticisms of the theory, as well as some theoretical physics conjectures that may prove useful to solve some of the universe's mysteries should string theory fail to.

The southwestern United States, with its clear skies and low humidity, is an astronomer's paradise, unique in its loose federation of like-minded research outposts and in the quantity and diversity of its observatories. Douglas Isbell and Stephen Strom, both intimately involved in southwestern astronomy, have written a practical guide to the major observatories of the region for those eager to understand the role these often quirky places has played in advancing our understanding of the cosmos.

Portland, Ore., freelance author and journalist Elizabeth Grossman, who brought national attention to the contaminants hidden in computers and other high tech electronics, now tackles the hazards of ordinary consumer products. She shows that for the sake of convenience, efficiency, and short-term safety, we have created synthetic chemicals that fundamentally change, at a molecular level, the way our bodies work. The consequences range from diabetes to cancer, and reproductive and neurological disorders.