Ted Anton, an Illinois freelance and associate professor at DePaul University, is the author of Eros, Magic and The Murder of Professor Culianu, published by Northwestern University Press. Although it has more to do with metaphysics than physics, it is a true story . On May 21, 1991, the charismatic University of Chicago Divinity School Professor, Ioan Culianu, was killed execution style. The crime stunned the school, terrified students and mystified the FBI, Anton says. He pieces together the evidence that shows the murder is in fact what the professor's friends suspected all along; the first political assassination of a professor on American soil. Anton, who served as an expert on the case for radio and television stations here and abroad, has been investigating the murder since its occurrence. Besides shedding new light on the murder, which is yet to be solved, the book offers an introduction to Romanian politics in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution.
Stephen Braun, a Boston-based writer and television producer, has written Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine, published by Oxford University Press. With the exception of water, all the world's major drinks-tea, coffee, colas, beer, wine, and distilled liquors contain either alcohol or caffeine, Braun writes. He points out that billions consume these substances daily but until recently nobody has known how they work. Among the questions he asks and answers are: How does alcohol intoxicate? How does caffeine speed up thought and increase alertness? Are women intoxicated more easily than men? Why do some become alcoholics? Does caffeine really "burn fat"? Drawing on the latest research, Braun vividly explains what happens in the brain and body when alcohol or caffeine are consumed. Braun can be reached at 617-923-7747 ext. 256. Oxford's number is 212-726-6000.
Simson Garfinkel, Cambridge, MA freelance and editor of As We Were Magazine is the author of Practical UNIX and Internet Security, published by O'Reilly & Associates. The book is a rewrite of his 1991 classic, Practical UNIX Security. Gene Spafford of Purdue University is the co-author. The 1991 book was widely regarded as one of the most useful in the field and his new book has already surpassed sales of the first. That sort of makes up, Garfinkel said, for the book being nearly 8 months late. His next project is a book on Web Security and then following that, he is circulating a proposal for a book on privacy issues. For a press copy of the book, contact Sara Winge in publicity by calling 800-998-9938 or sending her e-mail at sara@ora.com. Garfinkel can be reached at 508-696-7222 and if you are not afraid of lack of privacy, e-mail him at simsong@vineyard.net.
Anne Hart, MA, author of 42 books and nine screenplays, she has just had two more published at the same time, Cyberscribes: Interactive Writing for the Newest Media Markets and Anne Hart's Newest Business Strategies from A:\ to Z:\. Both are published by Ellipsys International Publications of San Diego, CA. The first book, Cyberscribes, is aimed at helping journalists find jobs on-line, gives tips on how to put together digital clips and demonstrates how to write for public relations. It also gives advice on how to get a job as a writer in less typical fields, such as animation and technical writing. The second book's title speaks for itself and for this most productive member. Hart can be contacted at wfs@cts.com. Ellipsys International can be contacted at newwave@ellipsys.com and by telephone 619-280-8711 and by FAX: 619-280-8713.
Patricia Barnes-Svarney, an Endwell, New York, freelance, has two books to be published in October, one science and one science fiction. Her Asteroid: Earth Destroyer or New Frontier? will be published by Plenum Publishing. It describes the asteroids and delves into the objects' contributions to impacting on planetary bodies-one of the major morphologic processes in the solar system. Barnes-Svarney says that it is different from other recent books on asteroids that foresee disaster. Her book focuses on the positive-the seemingly endless resources asteroids present to a space-faring world. The book has been chosen as one of the main selections for the Astronomy Book Club. Her second book, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy: Loyalties, will be published by Minstrel-Pocketbooks. Number 10 in a series, it highlights characters Dr. Beverly Crusher and Data when they attend Starfleet Academy. And if that weren't enough "star" books, Barnes-Svarney edited and helped write The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference published by Macmillan last October and chosen as a main selection in April as a Book of the Month Club selection. Barnes-Svarney can be reached by phone at 607-748-0892 and by e-mail at CompuServe: 74010,2057.
John Horgan, editor, Science & the Citizen, Scientific American, is the author of The End of Science: Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight of the Scientific Age, published by Addison-Wesley. He maintains that the great advances in science are behind us. He argues that many scientists today are "gripped by a profound unease" because of dwindling financial resources, stingy politicians, destructive competition, the strident antipathy of animal-rights activists, religious fundamentalists, technophobes, etc. Horgan says the theories of contemporary science run the risk of being "ironic," a term Horgan uses to describe interesting but unverifiable ideas. Charles Mann, co-author of Noah's Choice, called the book, "An irreverent, sometimes hilarious book that asks a serious and provocative questions: Is science running out of gas?" Member Natalie Angier in a full-page review in The New York Times called the book "intellectually bracing, sweepingly reported, often brilliant and sometimes bullying book." Horgan can be reached by phone at: 212-754-0819; by fax at 212-755-1976. The PR for the book is Alison Pratt at 212-463-8443 and by e-mail alpratt@aol.com.
Carol Howard, a Santa Cruz, California freelance, is the author of Dolphin Chronicles, published by Bantam and now going into its fourth printing. The book recounts the soulful eyes, human-like smiles and playful natures of these fascinating creatures. Howard and a team of scientists captured two bottlenose dolphins in Tampa Bay, Florida and took them to Santa Cruz, California, where Howard spent two years observing and recording the dolphins' sounds, movement patterns and social interactions. The dolphins were returned to their native waters of Tampa Bay, initiating an ongoing, follow-up study of the dolphins readjustment to life in the wild, allowing for a more unified look at dolphins than ever before. Howard can be reached at 408-438-3877 and by e-mail at howard@darwin.ucsc.edu. The PR for the book is Susan Corcoran at 212-782-9425.
Ivars Peterson, math/physics editor at Science News, is the author of Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs, published by Vintage Press. He exposes the often dangerous errors that computers make. In one chapter, he writes about how a poorly designed computer system that overloaded pilots with information may have contributed to separate plane crashes that killed nearly 200 people. In another chapter, Peterson describes how a flaw in the software of a radiotherapy machine gave a fatal overdose of radiation to cancer patients. He also relates the tale of the automatic teller machine that debited customers twice the amount of money they had actually withdrawn. Peterson can be reached by telephone at: 202-785-2255; by FAX at 202-659-0365 and by e-mail at ip@scisvc.org. PR for the book is William Loverd 1-800-638-6460.
Ted Klein, president of Ted Klein & Co., a New York pharmaceutical PR firm, has written a book about his personal experience entitled A User's Guide To By-Pass Surgery, published by Ohio University Press. He dedicates the book to his brother-in-law, James Stewart Kaufman, MD, who insisted that he continue to look for the reason for the "slight discomfort" that ended with a four-vessel by-pass. Klein writes "As a patient who was told 'You need a coronary bypass right away!', you need to know a lot that I did not know when this happened to me....To begin with, if I had had an opportunity to read a book of this kind, I would have possessed certain knowledge, asked for additional information, and insisted on different care. My family would also have found me a lot easier to live with during my recovery from surgery." Klein can be reached by telephone at 212-477-9007; by FAX at 212-460-9028 and by e-mail, tklein.6398@AOL.COM.
Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D., a freelance from Wilmette, IL, is one of the compilers of The Harvard Guide To Women's Health. Drawing on the knowledge of doctors from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, the book contains more than 300 entries organized alphabetically, extensive cross referencing, and more than 250 illustrations and charts. Ziporyn's co-compilers are Karen J. Carlson, MD and Stephanie Eisenstat, MD. The guide offers information on everything from adolescent acne to Alzheimer's disease. The PR for the Guide is Lisa Gill 212-867-4610. Ziporyn can be reached at 708-256-0884 and by e-mail at jhs235@nwu.edu.
Please send information about your books directly to Ruth Winter, 44 Holly Drive, Short Hills, NJ 07078, not to the NASW office.
#