For this column, NASW book editor Sarah Scoles 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.
"This book is for everyone who’s ever felt that physics is just too hard, too disconnected, too esoteric," Trisha Muro writes in It's (Just) Rocket Science. And she makes good on that, guiding readers through the knotty physics underlying space exploration. Through the stories of real space missions, Muro helps readers connect to concepts that might otherwise feel disconnected from daily life.
Jori Lewis's A Natural History of the Spirits is a powerful exploration of how the non-human parts of the planet connect to our human past and present. Told in lyrical essays, the book meditates on ecology, climate, racism, colonialism, resource extraction, and more, helping readers think themselves about how societies, spiritualities, and the world in which they find themselves are not separate.
Young readers have probably already experienced the wonders of GPS. But they may not yet know about a woman named Gladys West, who helped the satellite system become what it is today. West, a Black woman, did calculations that showed scientists Earth's true shape and so shows us our way around the planet today. Thanks to North, South, East, and Gladys West, she is no longer a hidden figure.
Dana Mackenzie’s new book Master Sun’s Problem is “the story of reuniting with a lost love.” But it’s not a traditional romance novel: It’s a mathematical journey. Readers follow Mackenzie through his first-person account of learning about a bedeviling math puzzle, discovering that its origins go back more than 2,000 years, and then solving it, rediscovering his passion along the way.
The Cascades’ active volcanoes and glaciers are unique in the Lower 48. David Williams’ In the Range of Fire and Ice: A Human and Natural History of Washington’s Cascades offers a paean to the area, from its fist-sized Pika with white-margined ears, to Mt. St. Helens’ glorious recovery from a cataclysmic 1980 eruption that transformed understanding of biological legacies’ role in land management.
When newspapers scale back, health reporters’ jobs often are the 1st to go. “Slime fills the void,” Joanne Kenen and her co-authors assert in Information Sick: How Journalism's Decline and Misinformation's Rise Are Harming Our Health―and What We Can Do About It. A hopeful note: Philanthropies and nonprofits are fostering a variety of strategies to provide reliable health info to the public.
Becoming a champion sleeper takes practice. It doesn’t involve medications or costly equipment, Brad Wolgast writes in Gold Medal Sleep: The Everyperson's Guide for Restful Nights, Energetic Days, and a Healthy Life. Give your brain a break near bedtime, he suggests, a useful tactic for journalists. Set your phone to grayscale, curb phone use, and leave your phone outside your bedroom overnight.
“Researchers spend most of their time in the ‘messy middle’ of science—the opposite of a Eureka moment,” Roberta Kwok writes in Lost in Curiosity: Field Notes from Scientists' Adventures into the Unknown. A curious reporter herself, Kwok provides a close-up view of that shambolic space, drawn from interviews with teams of scientists in nine disciplines who describe their research as it unfolds.
Seeing a story deconstructed as you read it can help you both appreciate compelling science reporting and acquire new skills, Siri Carpenter notes in The Best Science Stories and How They Work: A Collection with Commentary. With 11 stories by top science writers, commentary on each by an astute reader, and chats between each pair, this book provides a master class for students, pros, and teachers.
