Advance Copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

For this column, NASW book editor Lynne Lamberg asks NASW authors to tell how they came up with the idea for their book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. She also asks what they wish they had known before they began working on their book, what they might do differently the next time, and what tips they can offer aspiring authors. She then edits the A part of that Q&A to produce the author reports you see here.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines to submit your report.

Publication of NASW members' reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of their books. NASW welcomes your comments and hopes this column stimulates productive discussions.

Rectangular photo of Beth Malow’s office bookshelf showing works on politics and society by authors including David Brooks, Robert Putnam, and Amanda Ripley, along with a book about Braver Angels, a national nonprofit organization in which Malow is active. Photo credit: Beth Malow.

Doug Teschner, Beth Malow (NASW member), and Becky Robinson—Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times

“Even people with high levels of science literacy are prone to cognitive bias,” NASW member Beth Malow and others note in Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times. The authors discuss barriers to critical thinking and ways to surmount them, topics reporters may find useful when addressing polarized issues, e.g. vaccine safety and autism.

ectangular photo of Dennis Meredith’s office bookshelf showing works on genetics and other aspects of science by well-known science writers, including Jon Franklin, Carl Sagan, and Charles Seife, along with works of fiction by Ray Bradbury and others. Photo credit: Dennis Meredith.

Dennis Meredith—The Czar Bomb

Dennis Meredith's latest scifi novel starts with a real event, the 1961 Soviet detonation in the Arctic of a bomb far bigger than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Soviets allegedly hid an even larger bomb in East Germany. In The Czar Bomb, rogue state terrorists locate it and plan to detonate it over Washington, DC. The race is on to neutralize it. Hi-tech warfare ensues.

Rectangular photo of David Baron’s office bookshelf showing works on Mars, Percival Lowell, and Camille Flammarion (the first person to describe “canals” on Mars), along with a historical photo of people watching an eclipse and a map showing an eclipse path of totality. Photo credit: David Baron.

David Baron—The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America

Our infatuation with Mars, David Baron writes, “began in a strange era, not that long ago, when it was the astronauts who were fiction and the Martians that were real.” In The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze That Captured Turn-of-the-Century America, Baron explores the consequences of astronomer Percival Lowell’s 1894 assertion that “canals” he saw on Mars suggested life existed there.

Rectangular photo of Claire Wilcox’s office bookshelf showing works on topics including emotional eating, overeating, eating disorders, diet and drugs, substance abuse, self-therapy, and mindfulness. Photo credit: Claire Wilcox.

Claire Wilcox MD—Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain: Fight Cravings and Break Free from a High-Sugar, Ultra-Processed Diet Using Neuroscience

It's no surprise that food manufacturers design products to taste good. Ultra-processed foods promote overeating, often leading to obesity, Claire Wilcox writes in Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain: Fight Cravings and Break Free from a High-Sugar, Ultra-Processed Diet Using Neuroscience. Healthier food choices, she asserts, can normalize brain chemistry, foster weight loss, & benefit overall health.

Rectangular photo of Starre Vartan’s office bookshelf showing works on gender, gender medicine, women’s rights, women’s health, and athletic performance. Photo credit: Starre Vartan.

Starre Vartan—The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body

Women’s bodies have many often overlooked strengths, Starre Vartan reports in The Stronger Sex: What Science Tells Us About the Power of the Female Body. Women have greater endurance for long-distance events, tolerance for pain, and resistance to infections than men. “When we know more about female bodies,” Vartan says, “we find solutions to problems and illnesses that can apply to all humans.”

Rectangular photo of Sarah Boon’s office bookshelf showing works on ice, the climate, the Canadian Rockies, and women in science including Rachel Carson. Photo credit: Sarah Boon.

Sarah Boon—Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist

Many women in science face a glass obstacle course, if not a glass ceiling, Sarah Boon writes in Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist. “Students are taught to work harder, not smarter,” she notes. She details her struggles with depression as a PhD student and describes her work as a professor of glacier hydrology who also writes and gives talks on her field for the general public.

Rectangular photo of Lisa S. Gardiner’s office bookshelf showing books on corals, reef evolution, seashores, evolutionary patterns, Florida, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas, along with two waterproof yellow notebooks the author used on field trips. Photo credit: Lisa S. Gardiner.

Lisa S. Gardiner—Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival

Rising global temperatures, pollution, overfishing, and other human-caused problems pose increasing threats to coral reef existence today, Lisa S. Gardiner asserts in Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival. Learning how coral reefs flourished or struggled in the past, she contends, can help us understand how they function now and find ways to help them continue to survive.

Rectangular photo of Chris Berdik’s office bookshelf showing works on noise, sound, silence, acoustics, and the built environment. Photo credit: Chris Berdik.

Chris Berdik—Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back

Restaurants where patrons have to shout to converse. Car alarms and traffic that disrupt sleep. In Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back, Chris Berdik tells not only how noise harms hearing and health, but also how better soundscapes in schools, offices, hospitals, streets, airports, and even parks can lower stress, improve well-being, and boost quality of life.

Rectangular photo of Rebecca Hirsch’s office bookshelf showing works on bees, birds, butterflies, pollinators, plants, wildlife, and nature. Photo credit: Rebecca Hirsch.

Rebecca Hirsch—Wonder Wings: Guess Who's Flying

Dragonflies are acrobats of the air, with four wings that can move in different directions simultaneously. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Rebecca E. Hirsch explores the functions of wings in insects, birds, seeds, and even airplanes in Wonder Wings: Guess Who's Flying, her illustrated book of rhyming science riddles for 4-to-8-year-olds. Additional text helps adults expand the content.