Volume 50, Number 1, Winter 2000-2001

BOOKS BY AND FOR MEMBERS

by Ruth Winter

Recent Advances and Issues in Biology by Leslie Mertz, Ph.D. (NASW), published by Oryx Press.

Mertz, a Michigan freelance, provides an easy-to-read, yet comprehensive survey of recent research findings, current trends, and controversies in the biological sciences. One of the Frontiers in Science series, the book encompasses the field from evolution to molecular biology and genetics, and from biodiversity to sustainable development, and includes sections on biology-related organizations, associations, and other resources, as well as introductions to well-known and up-and-coming biologists. You can reach Mertz at 517-422-6536 or LMERTZ@nasw.org. The PR is Julie Simonson, 800-279-6799, JSIMONSON@oryxpress.com.

Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies by Dana Wechsler Linden, Emma Trenti Paroli (NASW) and Mia Wechsler Doron, M.D., published by Pocket Books.

This book is intended to be a baby and childcare bible for parents of premature babies. The authors point out that the likelihood of giving birth prematurely is on the rise, due in part to the growing number of older mothers and the increasing frequency of multiple births. In the United States one out of ten births is now premature, which means more than 400,000 babies each year are born early. Paroli, the US correspondent of the Italian science and medical agency Zadig, and Linden are both mothers of preemies. Doron is an attending neonatologist at University of North Carolina Hospitals and a faculty member of the UNC Medical School at Chapel Hill. The book provides information needed to face the practical, medical, emotional, and psychological issues involved in having a premature baby. It covers subjects from high-risk pregnancy through delivery and from the preemie's first days and weeks of hospitalization through coming home and childhood. Paroli can be reached by phone at 212-527-2425 or etrenti@aol.com. The PR for the book is Louise Braverman at 212-698-7092 or Louise.Braverman@simonandschuster.com.

Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives by Jeff Schmidt, Ph.D. (NASW), published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Schmidt, a physicist, was an editor at Physics Today magazine for 19 years--until his supervisors saw this book and fired him (see www.disciplined-minds.com). The book is about the politics of work and uses physicists as its main example. It argues that work--whether in physics, journalism, or any other field--is inherently political and that employers want employees to be politically subordinate. Thus, the workplace becomes a battleground for the very identity of the individual, as does graduate school, where professionals are trained. Disciplined Minds shows the student how to make graduate school more than an abusive intellectual boot camp that snuffs out creative spirit and breaks the individual in to playing a subordinate role. And it shows the salaried professional how to make employment more than an exercise in subordination that leads to cynicism and dissatisfaction. The PR for the book is Nancy Rothschild. Reach her at 301-459-3366 ext. 5615 or nrothschild@rowman.com. Reach Schmidt at 202-537-3645 or jeff-schmidt@juno.com.

Introduction to Public Health by Mary-Jane Schneider (NASW), published by Aspen Publishers.

Schneider, assistant dean for academic affairs and interim director of professional education at the School of Public Health of the University at Albany, SUNY, wrote this textbook for an undergraduate course she teaches. She is on a mission to educate the uninformed about the importance of public health as a societal effort, based on science, to prevent disease and promote the health of its members. Public health issues are often front-page news, provoking controversy because of their economic impact, moral or religious implications, or because they are perceived as governmental attempts to restrict individual freedom. Topics covered in the book include:

  • What is public health?
  • The role of epidemiology and statistics in public health
  • Biomedical issues in public health
  • Social and behavioral issues in public health
  • Public health and the environment
  • Medical care and public health

Schneider can be reached at 518-402-0282 or mjs05@health.state.ny. The publicist at Aspen is Tania Cuesta at tania.cuesta@aspenpubl.com or 301-417-7568.

Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles With Your Future by Sheldon Rampton (NASW) and John Stauber, published by Tarcher/Putnam.

Rampton, associate editor, PR Watch Center for Media and Democracy, and his co-author, founder and director of the organization, have written a book with which most science writers will identify. They point out that public relations firms and corporations know well how to exploit our trust to get us to buy what they have to sell: Let us hear it from a neutral third party, like a professor or a pediatrician or a soccer mom or a watchdog group. The problem is, they say, these third parties are usually anything but neutral. They have been handpicked, cultivated, and meticulously packaged in order to make us believe what they have to say-preferably in an "objective" format like a news show or a letter to the editor. And in some cases, they have been paid handsomely for their opinions.

Among the examples they give:

  • Bristol-Meyer's Squibb paying $600,000 to the American Heart Association for the right to display AHA's name and logo in ads for its cholesterol-lowering drug Pravachol.
  • SmithKline Beecham paying the American Cancer Society $1 million for the right to use its logo in ads for Nicoderm CQ and Nicorette anti-smoking ads.
  • In the early 1990s, tobacco companies secretly paid 13 scientists $156,000 to write a few letters to influential media journalists. One biostatistician received $10,000 for writing a single, eight-paragraph letter that was published in the Journal of The American Medical Association.
  • A cancer researcher received $20,137 for writing four letters and an opinion piece to Lancet, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and the Wall Street Journal.

This book should be required reading for students in science writing programs! Rampton can be reached at sheldon@execpc.com or 608-244-8837. The PR for the book is Ken Siman at 212-366-2519 and ksiman@penguinputnam.com.

Pharmaceuticals and More by The Doctors and Experts at MedicineNet.com, published by Webster's New World Books.

Aimed at "proactive patients" who want to understand their medical needs and decipher what their doctors say, this book-emanating from a dot-com-also contains a CD-ROM. The dictionary fields more than 7,500 entries and has 100 illustrations. The editor is William C. Shiel, Jr., M.D., associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of California Medical Center, Irvine. He is a co-founder of MedicineNet.com. The PR contact is Kate Fischer. For review copies call 212-884-5164 or e-mail crgmedia@idgbooks.com.

Speaking of Science: Notable Quotes on Science, Engineering, and the Environment by John Fripp, Michael Fripp, and Deborah Fripp published by LLH Technology Publishing.

When you need a lead or an ending, you may find this book useful. It has such quotes as:

  • "The cloning of humans is on most of the lists of things to worry about from science, along with behaviour control, genetic engineering, transplanted heads, computer poetry, and the unrestrained growth of plastic flowers."--Lewis Thomas in The Medusa and the Snail, 1979
  • "May your canal be filled with sand."--Ancient Babylonian Curse

PR is Carol Lewis by phone at 540-567-2000 or carol@LLH-Publishing.com.

Science Says: A Collection of Quotations on the History, Meaning, and Practice of Science edited by Rob Kaplan, published by W.H. Freeman & Co.

This is another book of use to science writers who need a quote or an anecdote to liven up an article. A literary agent, Kaplan has organized text thematically with topics including: Science, Spirit and Religion; Chaos and Order; Where Did We Come From and Where Are We Headed; Ambition; and Success and Failure. Among the quotes:

  • "All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike--and yet it is the most precious thing we have"--Albert Einstein
  • "Enough research will tend to support your theory."--Murphy's Law of Research
  • "The Universe is merely a fleeting idea in God's mind--a pretty uncomfortable thought, particularly if you've just made a down payment on a house."--Woody Allen

The PR for the book is jtheis@whfreeman.com.

Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century by Simson Garfinkel (NASW), published in paperback by O'Reilly and Associates.

The newly revised update of the hardcover edition is the account of how invasive technologies will affect our lives in the coming years. For more information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and sample chapter, see www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/ Chapter 6, To Know Your Future, is available free online at www.oreilly.com/catalog/dbnationtp/chapter/ch06.html.

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 publisher's PR and appropriate contact information as well as how you prefer members to get in touch with you.

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