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| Volume 51, Number 3, Summer 2002 |
BOOKS BY AND FOR MEMBERSby Ruth Winter The Rough Guide to Weather by Robert Henson (NASW), published by Rough Guides/Penguin. Robert Henson says his goal was to combine a primer on how weather works with a travelers' reference to the climates of about 200 cities and dozens of countries across the globe. The book is written in the distinctively irreverent, yet informed, style of the Rough Guides. Henson has been a writer/editor at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, Colo., since 1989, and also specialized in weather, and climate as a freelance writer. As a meteorologist and journalist, he notes that he loves explaining in colorful terms how the weather works, and the Rough Guide format gave him plenty of leeway to do just that. He writes, for example, "What's changed over the centuries is how people interpret the dance of meteorological elements. Most of us no longer worry, as our ancestors did, about currying favor with those spirits who shuffle the atmospheric cards to punish or reward us. Today, when the weather doesn't go our way, we tend to look for a more scientific explanation. It's the fault of the jet stream, a low-pressure center, or trendy scapegoats like El Ni-o and the North Atlantic Oscillation." He also had the rare treat (for an author) of having his own weather photographs on the front and back covers. Henson can be reached at 303-497-8605 or bhenson@nasw.org. The publicist is David Wechsler, 212-414 3712 or dwechsler@roughguides.com.
Infinities: Poems by Lucille Lang Day (NASW), published by Cedar Hill Publications. In her poems, Lucille Lang Day, a California freelancer, celebrates the natural world and explores the connection among science, nature, and human experience. She is the author of a number of books including the prize-winning Self-Portrait With Hand Microscope, published by Berkeley Poets' Workshop and Press. She is also the co-author of How To Encourage Girls in Math and Science: Strategies for Parents and Educators. One of the delightful poems from Infinities is "The Martians." (See box at left.) Day can be reached at 510-549-9381 or LucyDay@earthlink.net. The publicist is Sandy Pollock, 310-271-6757, prcries@hotmail.com. Great Waters by Deborah Cramer (NASW), published by WW Norton. In this natural history of the Atlantic, Deborah Cramer weaves together the most recent research about the Atlantic into a biography. Structured around a sailing voyage Cramer made from Woods Hole, Mass., to Barbados, Great Waters charts the migration of whales, bluefin tuna, sea turtles, and eels around the Atlantic. The book follows the rhythms of life in tiny marine food webs. It describes the evolution of the Atlantic from an incipient sea to a full-fledged ocean, and from clean waters untouched by humans to a sea whose nature is now defined by humans. The book alters our perception of the Atlantic from a vast, limitless ocean to a smaller, more intimate place with boundaries, edges, and finite resources. Cramer can be reached at dcramer@shore.net. The publicist is Amanda Erickson, 212-790-4325 or aerickson@wwnorton.com. The Restless Northwest: A Geological Story by Hill Williams (NASW), published by Washington State University Press. Hill Williams, who retired from the Seattle Times, has not been resting on his laurels. In his new book, he presents an overview of the geologic processes that shaped the Northwest region. He describes its varied terrain, from the volcanic Cascade Range in the west to the flood-scoured scablands of eastern Washington and eroded peaks of the northern Rockies. He points out that the western edge of Idaho was once the edge of ancient North America; as eons passed, a jumble of islands, minicontinents, and sediment piled up against the old continental edge, gradually extending it west to the present coastline. Figuring out how and when these various landforms came together to create the Northwest took much geological detective work. Williams emphasizes the human drama of geology, sprinkling the narrative with firsthand accounts of the people involved in recent geological discoveries. Hill can be reached at 206-546-1753 or hillwilliams@seanet.com. The Big Bang Theory: What It Is, Where It Came From, and Why It Works by Karen C. Fox (NASW), published by Wiley. Washington, D.C., freelance writer Fox provides an overview of the big bang theory. Hers is the first book in a Wiley series on the major theories of science. She describes how the theory arose, how it evolved, and why it is the best one to explain the state of the universe. Fox presents a big-bang timeline of the earliest universe that provides a millisecond-by-millisecond breakdown of the creation of the universe. She explores the big-bang theory's holes, as well as the challenges that lie ahead for it as scientists extend their sights into ever more distant reaches of space. You can reach Fox at 202-462-8570 or kfox@nasw.org. Her Web site is kfox@nasw.org/users/kfox. The publicist is Maureen Watts, 415-826-9488 or wattsmo@earthlink.net. Doctors And Discoveries: Private Lives That Created Today's Medicine by John Galbraith Simmons (NASW), published by Houghton Mifflin Books. Centuries of research have gone into developing the fundamental principles that dictate current medical and medical research practices. The individuals whose discoveries laid the groundwork were noteworthy in their day but are even more remarkable now that their work has become the basis for current breakthroughs in medicine. John Galbraith Simmons, a Brooklyn freelance writer and novelist, profiles key figures in the history of medicine, past to present, chosen for their relevance to medicine as it is practiced today. He sifts through myths and facts to illuminate various areas of medicine and medical history. The book includes famous figures from Hippocrates to Louis Pasteur as well as those who contributed in quieter ways. The book is filled with personalities who dared to advance medical knowledge, including Solomon Snyder, who took LSD and went on to make key discoveries about the chemistry of the brain. Reach Simmons at 718-788-2056 or fax 718-788-2056. The publicist for the book is Jan George, 617-351-3832, fax 617-351-1109, or jan_george@hmco.com. When Friendship Hurts: How To Deal With Friends Who Betray, Abandon, or Wound You by Jan Yager (NASW), published by Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books. For everyone who has ever wondered why friends hurt or reject them, Jan Yager's book provides insights and advice to help them understand and cope with problematic friendships. Based on her extensive original research, Yager, a sociologist and friendship expert, tells why, when, and how to let go of bad friends as well as how to develop enriching and rewarding friendships. She addresses such concerns as, "Should your spouse be your best friend?" and "How to recognize a 'pseudo-friend.'" You can reach Yager at 203-968-8098, fax 203-978-0193, or jyager@aol.com. The publicist is Laurie Cotumaccio: 212-698-7076, fax 212-698-7695, or laurie.cotumaccio@simonandschuster.com. Phlebotomy: A Worktext And Procedures Manual by Sandy Sommer, Robin Warekois, and Richard Robinson (NASW), published by WB Saunders. This 414-page textbook provides complete coverage of the art and science of drawing blood. Designed for health professionals in training, it illustrates all the major procedures of phlebotomy, from washing hands to preparing a blood culture specimen, in a full-color, storyboard format. In addition to the central clinical aspects of phlebotomy, there are chapters on the healthcare field, medical terminology, human physiology, quality assurance, legal issues, and point-of-care testing. Each chapter has review questions and certification-exam preparation, and the book contains a mock exam. Richard Robinson is a freelance writer from Tucson, Ariz. He can be reached at www.nasw.org/users/rrobinson or rrobinson@nasw.org. Biology edited by Richard Robinson (NASW), published by MacMillan Reference USA. A second book by Richard Robinson is this four-volume encyclopedia for high school students. Its 432 entries, ranging from Active Transport to Zoology Researcher, were written by professional biologists and by science writers. It has hundreds of color line drawings and photographs, an extensive glossary, a full index, and other features to increase its accessibility to beginning students. You can contact Robinson at www.nasw.org/users/rrobinson or rrobinson@nasw.org. Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World by Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish (NASW), published by Anchor Books. "Everyone knows the difficulty of things that are exquisite and well done," the Renaissance philosopher Baldassare Castiglione once remarked. "So to have facility in such things gives rise to the greatest wonder." Italians call that artful facility sprezzatura, a term Mary Desmond Pinkowish, a senior editor at Patient Care, and her co-author maintain well describes the nation's genius. The authors take readers through a whirlwind tour of 25 centuries of culture and history on the Italian peninsula. From the calendar and Roman law to the Montessori method and Enrico Fermi, readers can delight in the defeats and accomplishments of a widely varied group of men and women. Most books extolling the Italians conveniently delete the dark side of Italian history; this one honestly leaves in many of the more brutal details. Pinkowish can be reached at 201-358-7425, fax 201-573-4625 or marypink@mindspring.com. The publicist is Jen Marshall, jmarshall@randomhouse.com. Her Works Praise Her: A History of Jewish Women in America from Colonial Times to the Present by Hasia R. Diner and Beryl Lieff Benderly (NASW), published by Basic Books. Beryl Benderly, a Washington, D.C., freelance writer, usually writes about health and behavior, but she says she found the material for this book so rich and the story so compelling that when the project suggested itself, she could not resist. Benderly says a comment by Hasia Diner, an authority on immigration and women's history, and an old friend, made Benderly realize that there was no comprehensive social history of ordinary Jewish women in America-only portrait galleries of the famous few. The story of Jewish women in America begins in September 1654, and continues, unbroken, to today. In those three-and-a-half centuries, millions of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters have helped build and nourish families, businesses, charitable institutions, synagogues, schools, labor unions, and many other things that enrich and define life in America. The book gives a sense of real women, often using their own words, as they made their lives in Colonial cities and gold-rush mining camps, in southern villages and New York picket lines, in sod houses on the prairie and split levels in the suburbs. Benderly can be reached at 202-686-1626 or blbink@aol.com. Publicist Joanna Pinsker can be reached at 212-340-8163 or Joanna.Pinsker@perseusbooks.com. # Send material about new books to Ruth Winter, 44 Holly Drive, Short Hills, NJ 07078, or e-mail ruthwrite@aol.com. Include the name of the publicist and appropriate contact information, as well as how you prefer members to get in touch with you. |
