Science: general issues Books

Book SynopsisThis book offers a complete primer, covering the end-to-end process of forecast production, and bringing together a description of all the relevant aspects together in a single volume; with plenty of explanation of some of the more complex issues and examples of current, state-of-the-art practices.Trade Review“Overall, this well written, well researched book is a great introduction to operational weather forecasting and the role of the operational meteorologist. It is also offers a good foundation for anyone considering the Royal Meteorological Society’s professional accreditations of Registered Meteorologist or Chartered Meteorologist.” (Weather, 1 February 2015) “Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates.” (Choice, 1 November 2013)Table of ContentsSeries Foreword vii Preface ix Acknowledgements xiii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 A brief history of operational weather forecasting 2 2 The Nature of theWeather Forecasting Problem 9 2.1 Atmospheric predictability 9 2.2 The importance of observations in weather forecasting 13 2.3 An overview of the operational forecast process 17 Summary 25 3 Meteorological Observations 27 3.1 What do we need from a meteorological observing system? 27 3.2 Data transmission and processing 29 3.3 Observing platforms 31 Summary 51 4 NWP Models – the Basic Principles 53 4.1 The basic ingredients of an NWP model 55 4.2 Building the physical principles into a model 79 4.3 Setting the initial conditions for the forecast 89 Summary 107 5 Designing Operational NWP Systems 109 5.1 Practical considerations for an NWP suite 109 5.2 Ensemble prediction systems 124 5.3 Model output – what can NWP models produce? 130 5.4 Using NWP output to drive other forecast models 144 Summary 148 6 The Role of the Human Forecaster 149 6.1 The role of the senior forecasting team 150 6.2 Production of forecasts for customers 163 Summary 175 7 Forecasting at Longer Time Ranges 177 7.1 Where does the predictability come from in longer range forecasts? 178 7.2 Observations of ocean and land surface variables 185 7.3 Monthly to seasonal forecasting systems 187 7.4 Presentation of longer range forecasts 200 Summary 204 8 Forecast Verification 205 8.1 Deterministic forecast verification 208 8.2 Verification of probability forecasts 216 8.3 Subjective verification 219 Summary 222 References 223 Index 227

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Book SynopsisTo understand climate change today, we first need to know how Earth's climate changed over the past 450 million years. Finding answers depends upon contributions from a wide range of sciences, not just the rock record uncovered by geologists. In Earth's Climate Evolution, Colin Summerhayes analyzes reports and records of past climate change dating back to the late 18th century to uncover key patterns in the climate system. The book will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about future climate change. The book takes a unique approach to the subject providing a description of the greenhouse and icehouse worlds of the past 450 million years since land plants emerged, ignoring major earlier glaciations like that of Snowball Earth, which occurred around 600 million years ago in a world free of land plants. It describes the evolution of thinking in palaeoclimatology and introduces the main players in the field and how their ideas were receiTrade Review"What makes this book particularly distinctive is how well it builds in the narrative of change in ideas over time." (Holocene book reviews, May 2016) "This is a fascinating book and the author's biographical approach gives it great human appeal." (E Adlard 2016) "I would recommend this book to all those with an interest in the climate (which should be all of us)" - Edward R. Adlard, Chromatographia 2016 "This is a marvelous book: the best serious, all-round, indepth book on palaeoclimate I have encountered. If you have space on your bookshelf for just one properly substantial volume on this huge and manyfaceted topic - well, look no further. This is it." Jan Zalasiewicz, Geoscientist Online, 2018 Table of ContentsAuthor Biography xi Foreword xiii Acknowledgements xv 1 Introduction 1 References 7 2 The Great Cooling 8 2.1 The Founding Fathers 8 2.2 Charles Lyell, ‘Father of Palaeoclimatology’ 12 2.3 Agassiz Discovers the Ice Age 17 2.4 Lyell Defends Icebergs 20 References 25 3 Ice Age Cycles 28 3.1 The Astronomical Theory of Climate Change 28 3.2 James Croll Develops the Theory 29 3.3 Lyell Responds 32 3.4 Croll Defends his Position 33 3.5 Even More Ancient Ice Ages 34 3.6 Not Everyone Agrees 34 References 35 4 Trace Gases Warm the Planet 37 4.1 De Saussure’s Hot Box 37 4.2 William Herschel’s Accidental Discovery 37 4.3 Discovering Carbon Dioxide 38 4.4 Fourier, the ‘Newton of Heat’, Discovers the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ 39 4.5 Tyndall Shows How the ‘Greenhouse Effect’ Works 40 4.6 Arrhenius Calculates How CO2 Affects Air Temperature 43 4.7 Chamberlin’s Theory of Gases and Ice Ages 45 References 49 5 Moving Continents and Dating Rocks 51 5.1 The Continents Drift 51 5.2 The Seafloor Spreads 56 5.3 The Dating Game 61 5.4 Base Maps for Palaeoclimatology 62 5.5 The Evolution of the Modern World 65 References 68 6 Mapping Past Climates 71 6.1 Climate Indicators 71 6.2 Palaeoclimatologists Get to Work 72 6.3 Palaeomagneticians Enter the Field 75 6.4 Oxygen Isotopes to the Rescue 77 6.5 Cycles and Astronomy 78 6.6 Pangaean Palaeoclimates (Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic) 81 6.7 Post-Break-Up Palaeoclimates (Jurassic, Cretaceous) 87 6.8 Numerical Models Make their Appearance 94 6.9 From Wegener to Barron 98 References 99 7 Into the Icehouse 105 7.1 Climate Clues from the Deep Ocean 105 7.2 Palaeoceanography 106 7.3 The World’s Freezer 111 7.4 The Drill Bit Turns 114 7.5 Global Cooling 119 7.6 Arctic Glaciation 125 References 127 8 The Greenhouse Gas Theory Matures 132 8.1 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1930–1955) 132 8.2 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1955–1979) 133 8.3 CO2 in the Atmosphere and Ocean (1979–1983) 141 8.4 Biogeochemistry: The Merging of Physics and Biology 144 8.5 The Carbon Cycle 145 8.6 Oceanic Carbon 147 8.7 Measuring CO2 in the Oceans 148 8.8 A Growing International Emphasis 149 8.9 Reflection on Developments 150 References 152 9 Measuring and Modelling CO2 Back through Time 156 9.1 CO2: The Palaeoclimate Perspective 156 9.2 Fossil CO2 157 9.3 Measuring CO2 Back through Time 159 9.4 Modelling CO2 and Climate 165 9.5 The Critics Gather 168 References 176 10 The Pulse of the Earth 181 10.1 Climate Cycles and Tectonic Forces 181 10.2 Ocean Chemistry 188 10.3 Black Shales 190 10.4 Sea Level 193 10.5 Biogeochemical Cycles, Gaia and Cybertectonic Earth 194 10.6 Meteorite Impacts 196 10.7 Massive Volcanic Eruptions 199 References 203 11 Numerical Climate Models and Case Histories 207 11.1 CO2 and General Circulation Models 207 11.2 CO2 and Climate in the Early Cenozoic 211 11.3 The First Great Ice Sheet 215 11.4 Hyperthermal Events 218 11.5 Case History: The Palaeocene–Eocene Boundary 219 11.6 CO2 and Climate in the Late Cenozoic 222 11.7 Case History: The Pliocene 226 References 234 12 Solving the Ice Age Mystery: The Deep-Ocean Solution 240 12.1 Astronomical Drivers 240 12.2 An Ice Age Climate Signal Emerges from the Deep Ocean 242 12.3 The Ice Age CO2 Signal Hidden on the Deep-Sea Floor 248 12.4 Flip-Flops in the Conveyor 249 12.5 A Surprise Millennial Signal Emerges 251 12.6 Ice Age Productivity 253 12.7 Observations on Deglaciation and Past Interglacials 254 12.8 Sea Level 256 References 259 13 Solving the Ice Age Mystery: The Ice Core Tale 264 13.1 The Great Ice Sheets 264 13.2 The Greenland Story 264 13.3 Antarctic Ice 266 13.4 Seesaws 270 13.5 CO2 in the Ice Age Atmosphere 273 13.6 The Ultimate Climate Flicker: The Younger Dryas Event 279 13.7 Problems in the Milankovitch Garden 280 13.8 The Mechanics of Change 282 References 296 14 The Holocene Interglacial 302 14.1 Holocene Climate Change 302 14.2 The Role of Greenhouse Gases: Carbon Dioxide and Methane 311 14.3 Climate Variability 315 References 320 15 Medieval Warming, the Little Ice Age and the Sun 324 15.1 Solar Activity and Cosmic Rays 324 15.2 Solar Cycles in the Geological Record 327 15.3 The Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age 330 15.4 The End of the Little Ice Age 340 15.5 The Hockey Stick Controversy 347 15.6 Sea Level 353 References 358 16 Putting It All Together 365 16.1 A Fast-Evolving Subject 365 16.2 Natural Envelopes of Climate Change 366 16.3 Evolving Knowledge 367 16.4 Where is Climate Headed? 373 16.5 Some Final Remarks 375 16.6 What Can Be Done? 377 References 379 Appendix A: Further Reading 381 Appendix B: List of Figure Sources and Attributions 383 Index 389

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Book SynopsisDrawing on interviews with parents and teens, this title offers an intimate account of the different ways that girls and boys in the United States and the Netherlands negotiate love, lust, and growing up. It provides a probing analysis of the way family culture shapes not just sex but also alcohol consumption and parent-teen relationships.Trade Review"With grace and style, Amy Schalet presents a forceful and convincing argument about the divergent cultural approaches to sexuality, socialization of adolescents, and conceptions of citizenship in the United States and the Netherlands, probing deep-seated value differences that play out in the management of sex. Nuanced, well documented, and remarkably persuasive, Not Under My Roof is an exemplary study." (Frank Furstenberg, University of Pennsylvania)"

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Book SynopsisEverything that lives will die. That's the fundamental fact of life. But not everyone dies at the same age. A giant fungus found in Michigan has been alive since the Ice Age, while a dragonfly lives but four months. What accounts for these variations? This book takes you on a tour through the scientific study of longevity and aging.Trade Review"Seeds may look small and boring, yet tricks, bribes and devious deceptions lie at the heart of their evolution, as ecologist Jonathan Silvertown entertainingly recounts in this fascinating celebration of the green world upon which all human life depends." -New Scientist, Best Books of the Year"

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Book SynopsisWhen the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed 'fetishes'. This book intends to understand why this program was so important to the state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity.Trade Review"Unmasking the State is an engaging and insightful work that constitutes an important contribution to African studies, political and religious anthropology, and the study of iconoclasm. Mike McGovern artfully weaves an edifying tapestry of the demystification programs launched by Sekou Toure in the 1960s among Loma-speaking people of Guinea, West Africa. This is a well-argued and timely book." (David Berliner, University of Brussels)"

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhat Herve This aims for is to use fairly high-powered yet accessible science not only to analyze what transpires in traditional cooking but also to adapt his unique brand of analysis to flavors, textures, colors, and more, therefore entering new realms of culinary epistemology. -- Albert Sonnenfeld, translator of Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Everyday Food and Haute Cuisine in Europe For people with a (very) serious interest in food, this is satisfying stuff. The Australian Another tour de force by a favorite polymath that will be valuable to all who love to cook and dine on good cooking... Highly recommended. Choice This is one of those books that could be great for holiday reading by the curious as well as being an essential part of academic study. Yum.fiTable of ContentsInto the Mouth 1. Let Us Play with Our Senses 2. Health and Diet 3. What Are the Notes? 4. The Question of Hors d'oeuvres 5. Understanding, Perfecting 6. Without Forgetting All That Makes Life Beautiful 7. From Molecular Cuisine to Culinary Constructivism A Last Bite for the Road Glossary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn the interdisciplinary tradition of Buckminster Fuller's work, Gregory Bateson's Mind and Nature, and Fritjof Capra's Tao of Physics, Metapatterns embraces both nature and culture, seeking out the grand-scale patterns that help explain the functioning of our universe.Table of ContentsPrologue: What Are Metapatterns?1. Spheres2. Sheets and Tubes3. Borders4. Binaries5. Centers6. Layers7. Calendars8. Arrows9. Breaks10. CyclesEpilogue: What Are Metapatterns?— RevisitedAcknowledgmentsNotesReferencesIllustration CreditsIndex

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Book SynopsisEver since Darwin, animal behaviour has intrigued and perplexed human observers. The elaborate mating rituals, lavish decorative displays, complex songs, calls, dances and many other forms of animal signalling raise fascinating questions. To what degree can animals communicate within their own species and even between species? What evolutionary purpose do such communications serve? Perhaps most importantly, what can animal signalling tell us about our own non-verbal forms of communication? In The Handicap Principle, Amotz and Ashivag Zahavi offer a unifying theory that brilliantly explains many previously baffling aspects of animal signalling and holds up a mirror in which ordinary human behaviours take on surprising new significance. The wide-ranging implications of the Zahavis'' new theory make it arguably the most important advance in animal behaviour in decades. Based on 20 years of painstaking observation, the Handicap Principle illuminates an astonishing variety of signalling behTrade Review"Among the most revolutionary and controversial concepts in modern behavioral biology is the handicap principle developed by Zahavi. After initially encountering resistance, it has been receiving increased acceptance for its success in explaining an enormous variety of animal behaviors and anatomical structures, from gazelles' seemingly suicidal displays to men's beards. Read this fine book, and discover what the excitement is all about!"--Jared M. Diamond, Professor of Physiology, University of California at Los Angeles"This fascinating, provocative, insightful and controversial book will charm, inform and sometimes infuriate all of those interested in understanding animal and human communication."--Paul Ekman, Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco"By now the Handicap Principle is acknowledged by a growing body of biologists, and by joining their forces Amotz and Avishang Zahavi explain the principle and how it applies to communicative behaviour between organisms...from amebas to humans."--Arne Lundberg, Uppsala University, Sweden"[An] extremely well-written popularization of the authors' scientific work. Covering species as different as tigers and barn swallows, and topics as diverse as parasitism and parental care, the authors apply their theory to many aspects of animal behavior that were difficult to explain previously.... Highly recommended."--Booklist"This book is highly readable yet rigorous enough for specialists. Essential for any academic collection and worthwhile for genearal collections."--Library Journal"The Zahavis write well, with admirable clarity...Very readable book"--Science Books and Films

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Book SynopsisFish and fungi, plants and protists, mammals and monera all seem to get along swimmingly in and around the peaceful-looking pond environment. But a closer look at a small square reveals an ever-changing world. . .home to a larger variety of creatures and goings-on than you'd ever imagine, even in just a drop of its water! This beautifully illustrated "you are there" science book--part of the critically acclaimed One Small Square series--is brimming over with fun-to-do experiments and activities for children ages 7 and up. Includes a pond field guide, a glossary-index, and a resource list.Table of ContentsIntroduction.One Small Square of a Pond.School's Out: Summer's In.Between Two Worlds.The Hangout.Out of Sight.Quite a Handful.Risky Business.Bottoming Out.Just Keep Raining.Twilight Time.Heading the Warning.Thin Ice.Back to Life.Something New.

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Book SynopsisScience has never been more crucial to deciding the political issues facing the country. Yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since Richard Nixon fired his science advisors. In the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicized manner spun or distorted to fit the speaker''s agenda or, when they''re too inconvenient, ignored entirely. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, evolution, sex education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others-the Bush administration''s positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus. Federal science agencies-once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic presidents-are increasingly staffed by political appointees who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science. This is not unique to the Bush administration, but it is largely a Republican phenomenon, born of a conserTrade Review"Mooney performs a useful service by researching all the details and interviewing as many of the protagonists as possible. He also enriches the narrative with much historical context, tracing over decades a gradual politicization of science that has culminated in the present farce." The Guardian "Chris Mooney, a liberal investigative journalist, has bravely decided to thwack his way into this jungle of propaganda and lies on our behalf...definitive...disturbing..." Independent on Sunday "Mooney takes several un-related charged debates - on climate change, stem-cell research, whether abortion harms women - and stitches them together to form... a pretty convincing tapestry". The Times "...Chris Mooney argues persuasively that the Bush Administration's hostility to science is not limited to denial of global warming and evolution, but spans the field, from family planning to missile defence. He is particularly illuminating about tactics: the method is not simply to rubbish the experts, but to sow doubt by nurturing a handful of maverick dissenters, so the non-expert public is left wondering who to believe." The Times (Best Science Books of 2005) "Rather than representing an isolated incident, Chris Mooney argues that the "hoax" argument about climate change forms part of a systematic undermining of science on the part of the Bush administration, which connects the teaching of creationism in schools to embryonic stem-cells and child obesity to the depletion of the ozone layers." The Irish Times "a valuable chronicle of Bush's persistent efforts to undermine the authority of science in the interests of his anti-regulatory and anti-abortion agendas." London Review of Books "The book is a well researched guide to the recent history and has to be praised in its original analysis of the tactics used by the new Right to starve the scientific advisory apparatus and in its bringing out the confrontational nature of the attitudes of the Bush Administration and its allies. It should be read by Americans and will be interesting to scientists everywhere. We should be grateful to Chris Mooney for his diligence." Time Higher Education Supplement "The American conservative movement, as Chris Mooney points out in this fiercely anti-Republican book, has brought together two powerful constituencies - big industry and the religious right - both of which have an interest in skewing scientific advice so that it says what they want to hear... (his) case is so appealing, his examples so glaring..." New Statesman"

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Book Synopsis"Eloquent Science" evolved from a workshop aimed at offering atmospheric science students formal guidance in communications, tailored for their eventual scientific careers. Drawing on advice from over twenty books and hundreds of other sources, this volume presents informative and often humorous tips for writing scientific journal articles, while also providing a peek behind the curtain into the operations of editorial boards and publishers of major journals. The volume focuses on writing, reviewing, and speaking and is aimed at the domain of the student or scientist at the start of her career. The volume offers tips on poster presentations, media communication, and advice for non-native speakers of English, as well as appendices on proper punctuation usage and commonly misunderstood meteorological concepts. A further reading section at the end of each chapter suggests additional sources for the interested reader, and sidebars written by experts in the field offer diverse viewpoints on reference topics.

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Book Synopsis"A gripping guide to the modern taming of the infinite." —New York TimesTrade Review"Everything and More is, in nearly every way, a gift. It’s a thoughtful and witty 300-page testimonial to the qualities I never fully understood that mathematics possessed: Math is astonishing and full of ‘shadowlands,’ and—ultimately—stunning beauty." -- Anthony Doerr - Boston Globe"[Wallace] brings to his task a refreshingly conversational style as well as a surprisingly authoritative command of mathematics…A success." -- John Allen Paulos - American Scholar"Wallace is the perfect parachute buddy for a free fall into the mathematical and metaphysical abyss that is infinity." -- Dennis Lim - Village Voice"All the grace of pure mathematics without the parts that make me want to bang my head against the wall." -- Daniel Handler - Newsday"Shockingly readable…a brilliant antidote both to boring math textbooks and to pop-culture math books that emphasize the discoverer over the discovery." -- Booklist (starred review)

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Boyd is at his best when he explains how norm construction occurs and how cultural transmission of complicated information can spread throughout a group. The work is thought-provoking." * Publishers Weekly *"In this lucid, well-argued treatise, anthropologist Robert Boyd avers that we are 'culture-saturated creatures', and that it is culturally transmitted knowledge that sets us apart and explains our dramatic range of behaviours, from rampant violence to great feats of cooperation."---Barbara Kiser, Nature"A Different Kind of Animal is a fascinating introduction to a fertile field of cultural research that should be better-known. Approachable and clearly argued, it is a brave revival of the autonomy of culture and a breath of fresh air for those tired of the narrow claims of evolutionary psychology." * Cosmos *"Boyd’s latest book is a clear exposition of his cultural evolutionary view of human evolution."---Thomas J.H. Morgan, Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture

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Book SynopsisIan Stewart's up-to-the-minute guide to the cosmos moves from the formation of the Earth and its Moon to the planets and asteroids of the solar system and from there out into the galaxy and the universe. He describes the architecture of space and time, dark matter and dark energy, how galaxies form, why stars implode, how everything began, and how it will end. He considers parallel universes, what forms extra-terrestrial life might take, and the likelihood of Earth being hit by an asteroid. Mathematics, Professor Stewart shows, has been the driving force in astronomy and cosmology since the ancient Babylonians. He describes how Kepler's work on planetary orbits led Newton to formulate his theory of gravity, and how two centuries later irregularities in the motion of Mars inspired Einstein's theory of general relativity. In crystal-clear terms he explains the fundamentals of gravity, spacetime, relativity and quantum theory, and shows how they all relate to each other. Eighty years ago the discovery that the universe is expanding led to the Big Bang theory of its origins. This in turn led cosmologists to posit features such as dark matter and dark energy. But does dark matter exist? Could another scientific revolution be on the way to challenge current scientific orthodoxy? These are among the questions Ian Stewart raises in his quest through the realms of astronomy and cosmology.Trade ReviewA fascinating tour, seamlessly spliced and historically contexualised * Nature *Ian Stewart elegantly reviews the uncanny effectiveness of mathematics in explaining the universe... Mr. Stewart beautifully describes how Newton's laws can still produce surprising results. * Wall Street Journal *The book does an excellent job of both explaining and entertaining. The author makes you think about familiar subjects in a new way and is very good at filling in any gaps in your knowledge, while also pointing out those areas that need further research * Sky at Night Magazine *With captivating stories and his signature clarity, Ian Stewart shows us how math makes the world - and the rest of the universe - go round -- Steven Strogatz, Professor of Mathematics, Cornell University, and author of The Joy of XStewart is Britain's most brilliant and prolific populariser of maths. -- Alex BellosStewart is sure to please math lovers, history buffs, and science enthusiasts alike by covering an array of eras, innovators, and disciplines. * Publishers Weekly *Praise for previous books: 'This is not pure maths. It is maths contaminated with wit, wisdom, and wonder. Ian really is unsurpassed as raconteur of the world of numbers. He guides us on a mind-boggling journey from the ultra trivial to the profound. Thoroughly entertaining * New Scientist *Stewart has served up the instructive equivalent of a Michelin-starred tasting menu, or perhaps a smorgasbord of appetisers. And of course, appetisers are designed to give you an appetite for more * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisEvery rock is a tangible trace of the earth’s past. This book tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In twenty-five chapters—each about a particular rock, outcrop, or geologic phenomenon—Donald R. Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that shaped our understanding of geology.Trade ReviewA natural follow-up to the author’s The Story of Life in 25 Fossils . . . [A] useful introduction to geology. * Kirkus Reviews *In 25 short and enjoyable chapters, [Prothero] explores issues that have been at the center of geology since long before geology was a science... Prothero provides thought-provoking historical context for each subject and presents information about the individuals responsible for advancing geological knowledge—including James Hutton, Charles Lyell, and Alfred Wegener—while explaining the underlying science in an accessible manner. * Publishers Weekly *Geologist Donald Prothero has crafted a rock-solid premise for this delightful book. -- Barbara Kiser * Nature *I learned something and gained a deeper appreciation for the history of Earth science from reading The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks. I recommend it to anyone interested in tales of scientific discovery and natural marvels. * Physics Today *Skillfully presents a vast array of facts that should appeal to readers newly acquainted with Earth science who are interested in learning a bit more. * Choice *The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks provides twenty-five well-lit doorways into the sometimes dark and imposing edifice of the geologic past. Colorful characters welcome the reader in, revealing the very human nature of scientific inquiry and our long and complicated relationship with rocks. -- Marcia Bjornerud, author of Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of EarthTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments 1. Volcanic Tuff: Vulcan’s Wrath: The Eruption of Vesuvius2. Native Copper: The Iceman and the Island of Copper3. Cassiterite: The “Isles of Tin” and the Bronze Age4. Angular Unconformity: “No Vestige of a Beginning”: The Immensity of Geologic Time5. Igneous Dikes: The “Earth’s Great Heat Engine”: The Origin of Magmas6. Coal: The Rock That Burns Fires the Industrial Revolution7. Jurassic World: The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Rocks of Britain8. Radioactive Uranium: Clocks in Rocks: Arthur Holmes and the Age of the Earth9. Chondritic Meteorites: Messengers From Space: The Origin of the Solar System10. Iron-Nickel Meteorites: The Cores of Other Planets 11. Moon Rocks: Green Cheese or Anorthosite: The Origin of the Moon12. Zircons: Early Oceans and Life? Evidence in a Grain of Sand13. Stromatolites: Microbial Condos: Cyanobacteria and the Oldest Life14. Banded Iron Formation: Mountains of Iron: The Earth’s Early Atmosphere15. Turbidites: Archean Sediments and Submarine Landslides16. Diamictites: Tropical Glaciers and the Snowball Earth17. Exotic Terranes: Paradox in Rocks: Wandering Fossils and Traveling Landmasses18. Jigsaw-Puzzle Bedrock: Alfred Wegener and Continental Drift19. Chalk: The Cretaceous Seaway and Greenhouse Planet20. The Iridium Layer: The Death of the Dinosaurs21. Lodestones: How Paleomagic Launched Plate Tectonics22. Blueschists: The Puzzle of Subduction Zones23. Transform Faults: Earthquake! The San Andreas Fault24. Messinian Evaporites: The Mediterranean Was a Desert25. Glacial Erraticts: A Poet, a Professor, a Politician, a Janitor, and the Discovery of the Ice AgesIndex

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Book SynopsisCells to Civilizations is the first unified account of how life transforms itself--from the production of bacteria to the emergence of complex civilizations. What are the connections between evolving microbes, an egg that develops into an infant, and a child who learns to walk and talk? Award-winning scientist Enrico Coen synthesizes the growth ofTrade ReviewShortlisted for the 2013 Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books "This attempt at a grand theoretical synthesis within biology explores the transformative powers and creative forces that have brought about the living world from the first cells to the latest developments in cultural and technological evolution... [Coen's] eloquently written book offers a programmatic synthesis and an empirically grounded proposal for a theory of biology... Cells to Civilizations will stimulate many productive discussions about the origins and development of life in all its complexities."--Manfred D. Laubichler, Science "In Cells to Civilization, [Coen] couples his knowledge of genetics with metaphor and art, likening the unfurling of mutant snapdragon flowers to an artist's brushstrokes on an expanding canvas... The book is packed with fascinating facts... [H]uman cultures and minds are among the most complex information systems in nature, and Coen does a good job of reminding us of their roots in evolution."--John Hawks, New Scientist "The ideas [in Cells to Civilizations] are subtle, possibly significant, and slightly unsettling. What more could a reader wish for?"--Robert Schaefer, New York Journal of Books "[Coen's] prose is every bit as good as Richard Dawkins' or Steve Jones', and his rich illustrations, particularly the way he uses classical and modern art to make his points, refreshes the text and keeps one's focus on the arguments. His clever ideas and engaging and creative writing style suggest that he would make a fascinating dinner companion. I loved this book and will put it on the general reading list for our biology undergraduates. I suspect it will also find resonance with the interested layman."--Charalambos P. Kyriacou, Times Higher Education "Cells to Civilizations is a very approachable and thought-provoking reading for everyone involved in education and science."--Monika Biro, American Biology Teacher "Cells to Civilizations is an intelligent and entertaining book by a distinguished biologist."--Robert C. Richardson, BioScience "[Cells to Civilizations] was thought provoking, informative, and fun to read."--Choice "Clearly written ... intriguing, thought-provoking."--Library Journal "What are the connections between evolving microbes, an egg that develops into an infant, a child who learns to walk, and the rise of Ancient Rome? For many years, scientists have generally thought these great transformations--evolution, development, learning, and cultural change--occurred through different mechanisms. But geneticist Enrico Coen, in his pioneering new book Cells to Civilization, reveals that these transformations revolve around shared core principles and manifest the same fundamental recipe. Coen blends provocative discussion, the latest scientific research, and colourful examples to demonstrate the links between these critical stages in the history of life."--Chemicals & Chemistry "Coen's book is ambitious and stimulating... Cells to Civilizations is good material for conversation and a worthwhile read."--Deniz Erezyilmaz, truthdig.com "Do not be daunted by the scope of the book, which is written for a wide audience, although it contains enough science for biologists and anthropologists to ponder and argue with Coen. For the rest, it is an easy read, particularly as the biology it contains is peppered with vignettes drawn from painting and art history, which act as a guide for the more dry science that forms the meat of the argument."--Alfonso Martinez Arias, Development JournalTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION: A RECIPE FOR CHANGE 1 History and Form 3 Life's Creative Recipe 8 CHAPTER ONE: LOOPS AND LOTTERIES 13 Principle of Population Variation 16 Principle of Persistence 20 Principle of Reinforcement 23 Principle of Competition 24 Combining Principles 29 CHAPTER TWO: FROM GENES TO ECOSYSTEMS 34 Principle of Cooperation 36 Principle of Combinatorial Richness 40 Wandering Clouds 44 Principle of Recurrence 48 The Origin of Species 52 Species and Ecosystems 57 A Recipe for Evolution 58 CHAPTER THREE: CONVERSATIONS OF AN EMBRYO 61 Turing's Principles 63 Patterning a Cell 68 Switching Genes On and Off 70 A Molecular Fight 73 Looking into Gradients 76 A Common Form 80 CHAPTER FOUR: COMPLETING THE PICTURE 84 An Embryonic Cocktail Party 85 A Cooperative Eff ort 87 Regulatory Riches 88 Building on the Past 90 The Expanding Canvas 93 Deformation 97 The Three-Dimensional Canvas 105 A Common Recipe 108 CHAPTER FIVE: HISTORY IN THE MAKING 111 Unicellular Beginnings 114 Moving up a Scale 115 Zooming and Growing 118 A Recipe within a Recipe 120 CHAPTER SIX: HUMBLE RESPONSES 122 Making Adjustments 124 Flora's Story 127 The Bite of Venus 132 The Sensible Sea Slug 135 Patterns in Time 140 Human Responses 143 Carving up the World 147 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE NEURAL SIBYL 150 The Prophetic Dog 152 Predictive Neurons 155 Learning from Discrepancies 157 Pavlov and Punishments 163 Core Principles 164 A Neural Journey 168 Staying on the Move 169 A Recipe for Learning 173 CHAPTER EIGHT: LEARNING THROUGH ACTION 175 Calibration 176 Jumping Eyes 178 Visual Shifts 181 Learning to Calibrate 184 Action-Learning Loops 187 Smooth Movements 188 An Active Journey 193 Learning with Others 197 CHAPTER NINE: SEEING AS 200 The Neural Eye 204 Multiple Eyes 208 Seeing through Models 211 Learning at Many Levels 213 Top-down and Bottom-up 216 Competing Interpretations 217 A Question of Style 220 Creative Acts 228 CHAPTER TEN: FRAMING RECIPES 232 Development of Learning 233 Basic Instincts 237 Flexibility versus Directness 242 CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE CRUCIBLE OF CULTURE 244 The Apprentice 245 Fruitful Populations 248 Lasting Change 250 Cultural Reinforcement 252 The Force of Competition 254 Cooperative Eff orts 255 A Cultural Mix 257 Propelled by the Past 260 A Cultural Recipe 263 CHAPTER TWELVE: THE GRAND CYCLE 266 Cultural Origins 267 Possible Worlds 270 Nature's Self-Portrait 275 Acknowledgments 281 Notes 283 References 299 Illustration Credits 307 Index 313

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This text is another great example of the 'In a Nutshell' series of science books from Princeton University Press. . . . The book offers an abundance of worked out examples and many interesting end-of-chapter problems. This is a text that is obviously designed for the advanced undergraduate or graduate physics student--these groups of individuals will find the work an excellent introduction to the standard model." * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface for Instructors ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Table of Symbols xv 1 Special Relativity 1 1.1 Galileo 2 1.2 Vectors and Tensors 3 1.3 Foundations of Relativity 13 1.4 Spacetime 15 1.5 Relativistic Dynamics 19 2 Scalar Fields 24 2.1 The Principle of Least Action 25 2.2 Continuous Fields 29 2.3 The Klein-Gordon Equation 32 2.4 Which Lagrangians Are Allowed? 33 2.5 Complex Scalar Fields 35 3 Noether's Theorem 43 3.1 Conserved Quantities for Particles 44 3.2 Noether's First Theorem 46 3.3 The Stress-Energy Tensor 49 3.4 Angular Momentum 52 3.5 Electric Charge 53 3.6 Digression: Inflation 54 4 Symmetry 61 4.1 What Groups Are 62 4.2 Finite Groups 63 4.3 Lie Groups 66 4.4 SU(2) 70 4.5 SU(3) 74 5 The Dirac Equation 79 5.1 Relativity and Quantum Mechanics 80 5.2 Solutions to the Dirac Equation 86 5.3 The Adjoint Spinor 88 5.4 Coordinate Transformations 90 5.5 Conserved Currents 93 5.6 Discrete Transforms 97 5.7 Quantum Free-Field Theory 100 6 Electromagnetism 109 6.1 A Toy Model of Electromagnetism 109 6.2 Gauge Transformations 112 6.3 Interpreting the Electromagnetic Lagrangian 116 6.4 Solutions to the Classical Free Field 122 6.5 The Low-Energy Limit 123 6.6 Looking Forward 126 7 Quantum Electrodynamics 129 7.1 Particle Decay 130 7.2 Scattering 140 7.3 Feynman Rules for the Toy Scalar Theory 148 7.4 QED 153 8 The Weak Interaction 164 8.1 Leptons 165 8.2 Massive Mediators 168 8.3 SU(2) 171 8.4 Helicity 177 8.5 Feynman Rules for the Weak Interaction 180 9 Electroweak Unification 184 9.1 Leptons and Quarks 184 9.2 Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking 192 9.3 The Higgs Mechanism 195 9.4 Higgs-Fermion Interactions 199 9.5 A Reflection on Free Parameters 202 10 Particle Mixing 205 10.1 Quarks 207 10.2 Neutrinos 216 10.3 Neutrino Masses 222 11 The Strong Interaction 229 11.1 SU(3) 229 11.2 Renormalization 238 11.3 Asymptotic Freedom 245 12 Beyond the Standard Model 253 12.1 Free Parameters 253 12.2 Grand Unified Theories 255 12.3 Supersymmetry 259 12.4 The Strong CP Problem 264 12.5 Some Open Questions 266 Appendix A Spinors and c-Matrices 271 Appendix B Decays and Cross Sections 274 Appendix C Feynman Rules 277 Appendix D Groups 281 Bibliography 283 Index 291

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Book SynopsisNarrates how two charismatic, exceptionally talented physicists - J Robert Oppenheimer and Hans A Bethe - came to terms with the nuclear weapons they helped to create. This work tells the story of modern physics, the development of atomic weapons, and the Cold War.Trade Review"An absorbing investigation of how the two physicists, each formidable in his own way, attempted to shoulder responsibility for their creation."--The New Yorker "There is merit to Schweber's contrasting portraits of Oppenheimer and Bethe... Trained as a physicist, Schweber is the first biographer to explain the significance of the scientific work that Oppenheimer and Bethe did--a fascinating topic in itself."--Gregg Herken, American Scientist "The author of this book studied physics with J. Robert Oppenheimer and Hans Bethe. His remarkably clear account of their rise to intellectual leadership in the 1930's pulses with an insider's love. Mostly, however, S. S. Schweber writes as a historian and philosopher of science, elegantly exploring the morally fractured stories of American physicists transformed by the Cold War."--John M. Staudenmaier, The Historian "In the Shadow of the Bomb is a rare example of a successful hybrid work... Schweber entwines issues of science, technology, ethics, and politics in a relatively seamless manner, bringing in each lens of analysis at the appropriate time... [He] presents a model of how to write respectfully of individuals while portraying them as fallible human beings in a complex cultural, political, intellectual, and scientific context."--Russell Olwell, Technology & Culture "For a world in which scientific power must be checked by visionary words linked to prudent politics, Schweber has written a book of compelling insight."--Booklist "Schweber is to be commended for pulling together, with comprehensive referencing, many of the relevant events in the interlocking sagas of Oppenheimer and Bethe... Bethe is the dominant figure in this volume, and Schweber knows and describes him well."--Sidney D. Drell, Physics Today "Silvan Schweber [worries] about the gap between moral ideals and moral realities among scientists who brought the Atomic Age into being and who lived with its postwar consequences... In the Shadow of the Bomb ...contrasts Bethe's exemplary conduct with Oppenheimer's moral ambiguity."--Steven Shapin, London Review of Books "[A] fascinating account... [It offers] gripping accounts that capture the essence of an era through panoramic detail."--Nicole Johnston, The Globe and Mail "[A] book, well footnoted and scholarly, that poses fundamental moral and ethical questions and seeks their answers through examination of the lives of Oppenheimer and Bethe. This is very much a book for current times..."--Choice "Schweber's book ... offers intriguing insights into the creativity of [Robert Oppenheimer and Hans Bethe] and the shaping of their moral outlooks in the atomic age. How they balanced the ethical equation between uncovering truths about nature and inventing the most terrible weapons of mass destruction makes for fascinating reading."--PD Smith, The Guardian UnlimitedTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xvii INTRODUCTION 3 1. WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT? 28 2. J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER 42 Oppenheimer and the Ethical Culture Movement 42 The Agenda of the Ethical Culture Society 46 The Teaching of Ethics at the School 50 The Maturation of Oppenheimer 53 Becoming a Physicist: Oppenheimer and His School 61 3. HANS BETHE 76 Becoming a Bildungstrager 76 Becoming a Physicist: Arnold Sommerfeld 87 Wholeness and Stability 91 Los Alamos 104 Bethe and Oppenheimer: Their Entanglement 107 4.THE CHALLENGE OF McCARTHYISM 115 The Bernard Peters Case 115 The Philip Morrison Case 130 Some Concluding Comments 146 5.NUCLEAR WEAPONS 149 Atomic Bombs 149 Hydrogen Bombs 156 PSAC and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 168 6.ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY 178 EPILOGUE 183 Notes to the Chapters 187 Bibliography 239 Index 257

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Book SynopsisAlva Noë is one of a new breedpart philosopher, part cognitive scientist, part neuroscientistwho are radically altering the study of consciousness by asking difficult questions and pointing out obvious flaws in the current science. In Out of Our Heads, he restates and reexamines the problem of consciousness, and then proposes a startling solution: do away with the two-hundred-year-old paradigm that places consciousness within the confines of the brain.Our culture is obsessed with the brainhow it perceives; how it remembers; how it determines our intelligence, our morality, our likes and our dislikes. It''s widely believed that consciousness itself, that Holy Grail of science and philosophy, will soon be given a neural explanation. And yet, after decades of research, only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscioushow it gives rise to sensation, feeling, and subjectivityhas emerged unchallenged: we don''t have a clue.In this inventive work, Noë sugge

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Lovely. . . . For anyone interested in truly understanding many of the concepts and methods within quantum mechanics which we so often take for granted, this is an invaluable book."---Jonathan Shock, Mathemafrica"The new edition is easier [to] read and to comprehend, and the editor thinks it will inspire the work of future generations of physicists."---K. E. Hellwig, Zentralblatt MATH

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Book SynopsisOn September 21, 1938, one of the most powerful storms of the twentieth century came unannounced into the lives of New Yorkers and New Englanders, leaving utter devastation in its wake. The Great Hurricane, as it came to be known, changed everything from the landscape and its inhabitants’ lives, to Weather Bureau practices and the measure of relief New Englanders would receive in the final years of the Great Depression. The storm formed near the Cape Verde Islands on September 10, but was not spotted until several days later, and was predicted by the understaffed Weather Bureau to head toward Florida. Junior forecaster Charlie Pierce correctly projected the northerly storm track, but senior meteorologists ignored his forecast, a mistake that cost many lives—including those of immigrants who had arrived to the Northeast in waves in the preceding decades. Updated for the 80th anniversary of the hurricane, this compelling history successfully weaves science, historical accounts, and social analyses to create a comprehensive picture of the most powerful and devastating hurricane to hit New England to date.

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Book SynopsisThere is hardly any technical library in the world in which the volumes of the Chemical Formulary (Volumes 1-34) do not occupy a prominent place. Chemists both experienced and beginner, continually refer to them. It does not duplicate any of the formulas included in previous volumes, but lists a wide array of modern and salable products from all branches of the chemical industries. An excellent reference for formulation problems. PREFACE - Chemistry, as taught in our schools and colleges, concerns chiefly synthesis, analysis, and engineering-and properly so. It is part of the right foundation for the education of the chemist. Many a chemist entering an Industry soon finds that most of the products manufactured by his concern are not synthetic or definite complex compounds, but are mixtures, blends, or highly complex compounds of which he knows little or nothing. The literature in this field, if any, may be meager, scattered, or obsolete. Even chemists with years of experience In one or

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Book SynopsisMind Thief is a comprehensive and engaging history of Alzheimer’s that demystifies efforts to understand the disease. Beginning with the discovery of “presenile dementia” in the early twentieth century, Han Yu examines over a century of research and controversy.Trade ReviewAccomplished popular science. Yu delivers an expert account of the groundbreaking research that revealed the genetics and biochemistry of [Alzheimer’s] disease. * Kirkus *Engagingly written and thoroughly researched, Mind Thief pulls together the history, biology, and sociology of Alzheimer's disease. The best history of the illness I have read. -- Peter V. Rabins, Richman Family Professor of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Emeritus, Johns Hopkins School of MedicineYu examines, assimilates, and presents a prodigious amount of information on the complex history of Alzheimer’s disease and the scientific work it has inspired. Everything is laid out in a clever, easily accessible manner that makes this information-rich book enjoyable for scientists and nonscientists alike. -- Mary Michaelis, professor emeritus, University of Kansas School of PharmacyYu addresses an important, difficult topic in an accurate, approachable way. Mind Thief offers deeply researched insights and critique alongside human interest stories that dig deep into the study of Alzheimer’s. This book will be of interest to scientists interested in the long, difficult struggle to find a cure as well as to families affected by this devastating disease. -- Philip E. Hockberger, associate vice president for research and associate professor of physiology, Feinberg School of MedicineYu captivates with gripping tales of individual trials and triumphs. Her clear, concise explanations … are a master class in science writing. * Discover Magazine *Of immense value for both the medical community and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject, 'Mind Thief: The Story of Alzheimer's' is exceptionally well written and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation. Enhanced for academia with the inclusion of fifty-six pages of Notes, a fifty-four page Bibliography, and a fourteen page Index, 'Mind Thief: The Story of Alzheimer's' is an essential and core addition to community, college and university library Health/Medicine/Psychology collections in general, and Alzheimer's supplemental studies curriculums in particular. * Midwest Book Review *Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments1. Lost Wives2. Cursed Inheritance3. Learning to Walk4. Searching for the Alzheimer’s Gene5. Late-Onset Alzheimer’s6. The Paradigm7. Eli Lilly and Mice8. Inhibitors That Can’t Inhibit9. Poison or Cure: An Alzheimer’s Vaccine10. Eli Lilly’s Three Expeditions11. Taoism and Tau Mice12. Apples, Oysters, and Underdogs13. Type 3 Diabetes14. Ketones: The Brain Fuel15. Insulin Fixes16. Bacteria in the Brain17. Eat Your Vegetables (and Berries)18. Blood, Heart, and Brain19. A Missed Opportunity20. Paradigm Shift (?)21. An Enriched LifeEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisFire in California's Ecosystems describes fire in detailboth as an integral natural process in the California landscape and as a growing threat to urban and suburban developments in the state. Written by many of the foremost authorities on the subject, this comprehensive volume is an ideal authoritative reference tool and the foremost synthesis of knowledge on the science, ecology, and management of fire in California. Part One introduces the basics of fire ecology, including overviews of historical fires, vegetation, climate, weather, fire as a physical and ecological process, and fire regimes, and reviews the interactions between fire and the physical, plant, and animal components of the environment. Part Two explores the history and ecology of fire in each of California's nine bioregions. Part Three examines fire management in California during Native American and post-Euro-American settlement and also current issues related to fire policy such as fuel management, watershed management, air quality, invasive plant species, at-risk species, climate change, social dynamics, and the future of fire management. This edition includes critical scientific and management updates and four new chapters on fire weather, fire regimes, climate change, and social dynamics.Trade Review"The authors synthesize the theoretical and practical aspects of fire issues in a well-organized structure that makes it easy for the readers to find information on specific aspects of fire. This comprehensive volume will definitely improve understanding of fire regimes and their ecological impacts in order to 'manage wildlands and fire in harmony with nature.' " * Conservation Biology *Table of ContentsLIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ix FOREWORD xi JAMES K. AGEE PREFACE xv 1 Introduction: Fire and California Vegetation / 1 NEIL G. SUGIHARA, TODD KEELER-WOLF, AND MICHAEL G. BARBOUR PART ONE Introduction to Fire Ecology 2 California Fire Climate / 11 RICHARD A. MINNICH 3 Fire Weather Principles / 27 BRENDA L. BELONGIA AND RICHARD A. MINNICH 4 Fire as a Physical Process / 39 JAN W. VAN WAGTENDONK 5 Fire as an Ecological Process / 57 NEIL G. SUGIHARA, JAN W. VAN WAGTENDONK, AND JO ANN FITES-KAUFMAN 6 Characterizing Fire Regimes / 71 BRANDON M. COLLINS, JAY D. MILLER, JEFFREY M. KANE, DANNY L. FRY, AND ANDREA E. THODE 7 Fire and Physical Environment Interactions: Soil, Water, and Air / 87 PETER M. WOHLGEMUTH, KEN R. HUBBERT, TRENT PROCTER, AND SURAJ AHUJA 8 Fire and Plant Interactions / 103 AMY G. MERRILL, ANDREA E. THODE, ALEXANDRA M. WEILL, JO ANN FITES-KAUFMAN, ANNE F. BRADLEY, AND TADASHI J. MOODY 9 Fire and Animal Interactions / 123 KEVIN E. SHAFFER, SHAULA J. HEDWALL, AND WILLIAM F. LAUDENSLAYER, JR. PART TWO The History and Ecology of Fire in California’s Ecosystems 10 North Coast Bioregion / 149 SCOTT L. STEPHENS, JEFFREY M. KANE, AND JOHN D. STUART 11 Klamath Mountains Bioregion / 173 CARL N. SKINNER, ALAN H. TAYLOR, JAMES K. AGEE, CHRISTY E. BRILES, AND CATHY L. WHITLOCK 12 Southern Cascades Bioregion / 197 CARL N. SKINNER AND ALAN H. TAYLOR 13 Northeastern Plateaus Bioregion / 221 GREGG M. RIEGEL, RICHARD F. MILLER, CARL N. SKINNER, SYDNEY E. SMITH, CALVIN A. FARRIS, AND KYLE E. MERRIAM 14 Sierra Nevada Bioregion / 251 JAN W. VAN WAGTENDONK, JO ANN FITES-KAUFMAN, HUGH D. SAFFORD, MALCOLM P. NORTH, AND BRANDON M. COLLINS 15 Central Valley Bioregion / 281 ROBIN WILLS 16 Central Coast Bioregion / 299 MARK I. BORCHERT AND FRANK W. DAVIS 17 South Coast Bioregion / 319 JON E. KEELEY AND ALEXANDRA D. SYPHARD 18 Southeastern Deserts Bioregion / 353 MATTHEW L. BROOKS, RICHARD A. MINNICH, AND JOHN R. MATCHETT PART THREE Fire Management Issues in California’s Ecosystems 19 The use of Fire by Native Americans in California / 381 M. KAT ANDERSON 20 Fire Management and Policy since European Settlement / 399 SCOTT L. STEPHENS AND NEIL G. SUGIHARA 21 Fire and Fuel Management / 411 SCOTT L. STEPHENS, SUE J. HUSARI, H. TOM NICHOLS, NEIL G. SUGIHARA, AND BRANDON M. COLLINS 22 Fire, Watershed Resources, and Aquatic Ecosystems / 427 JAN L. BEYERS, ANDREA E. THODE, JEFFREY L. KERSHNER, KEN B. ROBY, AND LYNN M. DECKER 23 Fire, Air Quality, and Greenhouse Gases / 439 SURAJ AHUJA AND TRENT PROCTER 24 Fire and Invasive Plants / 459 ROBERT. C. KLINGER, MATTHEW L. BROOKS, AND JOHN M. RANDALL 25 Fire and At-Risk Species / 477 KEVIN E. SHAFFER AND SHAULA J. HEDWALL 26 Fire and Climate Change / 493 CHRISTINA M. RESTAINO AND HUGH D. SAFFORD 27 Social Dynamics of Wildland Fire in California / 507 SARAH M. MCCAFFREY, GUY L. DUFFNER, AND LYNN M. DECKER 28 The Future of Fire in California’s Ecosystems / 517 NEIL G. SUGIHARA, JAN W. VAN WAGTENDONK, SCOTT L. STEPHENS, KEVIN E. SHAFFER, ANDREA E. THODE, AND JO ANN FITES-KAUFMAN APPENDIX 1 523

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Book SynopsisWhat the f*ck is the Cloud, and how does it even work?Ah, The Cloud. It's such a useful bit of tech jargon isn't it? The kind that's casually thrown around in work meetings by bosses who (kind of) understand and maybe even at the nerdier type of dinner or drinks parties. People joke about the cloud while others take it for granted and some worry about this mysterious entity where all of our data is stored, accessible at the touch of a screen from anywhere on Earth. But what even is the cloud, and for that matter, where is the cloud?Join us on a journey from the very first iterations of the internet that we know and (sometimes) love, all the way through thorny issues of data collection and storage (weren't we all fooled by the 'ten years on' social media trend, even as we rely on cloud-stored photos of cats to cheer us up?) and discover the mysterious place where The Cloud ominously hovers.

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Book SynopsisPaul A. Offit shares hard-earned wisdom on the dos and don’ts of battling misinformation. From conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism to Holocaust and climate-change denial. Bad Advice is a humorous guide to taking on quack experts and self-appointed activists and a must-read for any American disturbed by politicized attacks on science.Trade ReviewIn breezy and deceptively conversational prose that often winks with humor, Bad Advice breaks down complex scientific subjects that have been distorted through several cultural lenses. Offit takes to task actors, network news anchors, quack scientists, and even politicians who, unlike Jolie in her thoughtful article, have opined on scientific subjects in ways that misinform the public, on occasion to a potentially dangerous degree. * Washington Post *Bad advice about your health, firmly grounded in fact-free marketing, greed, and science denialism, is omnipresent in the new and old media these days. One of the few reliable sources of good advice is Dr. Paul A. Offit who, unlike all too many scientists and doctors, is ready to take on the hype and lies of celebrities, charlatans, ideologues, and money-grubbers with logic, evidence, and humor. Take my advice: Bad Advice is just what you need to navigate the murky waters of an unending stream of really bad information about your health. -- Arthur L. Caplan, Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics, New York University School of MedicineBad Advice gives us a front row seat to Offit’s role on the leading edge of the vaccine fight as he shows just how important communicating good science can be. The author's rare storytelling blend of equal parts humorous anecdotes and serious facts leads to an entertaining and captivating read that is hard to put down. -- Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH, Columbia University Medical CenterPaul Offit is a pediatrician, a vaccine scientist, and one of our foremost explainers of science. In Bad Advice, he distills what he has learned—often the hard way—from standing up for science in the face of bogus theories, quack remedies, and the flat-out denial of empirical fact. Skillfully, Offit uses stories of his many missteps in the treacherous public arena to teach us how to confront pseudoscience effectively. In the process, without noticing, we learn fascinating lessons in the relevant science. A forcefully-written, indispensable book, particularly at the present moment. -- Geoffrey Kabat, cancer epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and author of Getting Risk Right: Understanding the Science of Elusive Health RisksWith humor and a unique perspective, Offit takes us step by step through our culture’s missteps (and some of his own), relating stories of real science and the difficulties of communicating complicated concepts clearly to a skeptical and sometimes hostile public. Bad Advice shows us how we can succeed in the battle against pseudoscience, seductive gurus with simple messages, and snake oil-hawking celebrities. -- Adam Ratner, M.D., New York UniversityThe beauty of mass communication in our free society is also our curse. Information flows so quickly, from so many different sources, that one can’t help but be overwhelmed—and too frequently misled. No one has fought harder over the years to educate the public, and to puncture the dangerously false dogmas of pseudoscience, than Paul Offit. Bad Advice is a brilliant extension of his dictate, so aptly stated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, that one is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. Celebrities and politicians bear the brunt of Offit’s elegantly written, often hilarious, pinpoint assaults. But what makes this book truly special is its vision of how science can, and must, be defended against its despoilers. Bad Advice is, in every sense, an essential read. -- David Oshinsky, director of the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU School of MedicineBad Advice is a fun and educational book that will leave readers optimistic—as Offit himself is—that fact will ultimately prevail over fiction in the world of science and medicine. “Although science is under siege,” Offit writes toward the end of the book, “science advocates are fighting back.” -- Arlene Weintraub, author of Heal: The Vital Role of Dogs in the Search for Cancer Cures * New York Journal of Books *[Bad Advice] provides a sterling example of this stand in the name of empirical truth. * Publishers Weekly *A well-presented, knowledgeable, and surprisingly engaging look at the pitfalls of the information age. * Foreword Reviews *The author's droll account of attempts to inform the public about vaccines and even before a congressional hearing make for compelling reading....Recommended * Choice *Table of ContentsPrologue: On Being Naïve1. What Science Is—and What It Isn’t2. White Mice and Windowless Rooms3. An Alibi for Ignorance4. Feeding the Beast5. To Debate or Not to Debate6. Make ’Em Laugh7. Science Goes to the Movies8. The Emperor’s New Clothes9. Judgment Day10. The Nuclear Option11. Pharma Shill12. A Ray of HopeEpilogue: The End of the TourAcknowledgmentsAppendix: Blogs and PodcastsNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe scientific point of view has gained dominance in our growing world culture by basing its authenticity on an empirical foundation. Yet mystics can point to a different test of authenticity: the broad agreement in subtle perceptions of reality across many cultures and stretches of history. We benefit from the knowledge of the universe and the fascinating intricacies of nature, and we benefit from knowledge of meaning and purpose in the greater life of the cosmos and its implications for meaning in our own lives. An understanding and appreciation of the inner life of the universe can offer an integration of the scientific story of the outer life with the insight of mystics into the inner story, distinguishing the realms appropriate for science and spirituality to explore, and offering hope that they can coexist in mutual respect and harmony, and that each could enrich the other.

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Book SynopsisRichard S. Laub tells the story of the Byron Dig, an astonishingly rich trove of fossils and artifacts. Recounting twenty-nine years of intensive excavation involving more than a thousand participants, he provides a comprehensive account of a working paleontological and archaeological field project.Trade ReviewIt’s not shovels and screens that make the dig, it’s the people. Two Acres of Time provides critical knowledge of an important site in New York State and offers an honest perspective of what a dig is like, highlighting the people involved. -- Robert Feranec, director of research and collections, New York State MuseumThe world in general, and Western New York State in particular, are better places because of Richard Laub. For twenty-nine summers, he tirelessly led the excavations at the Hiscock Site, one of North America’s most important archaeological and paleontological localities. Laub was doing productive and highly educational ‘citizen science’ at the Byron Dig well before citizen science became a mainstream activity. He also worked open-mindedly alongside scientists of all sorts. As he describes in this alluring book, we now know an awful lot more about the plants, animals, and people that once lived in Western New York. And a fine time was had along the way. -- David W. Steadman, emeritus curator, Florida Museum of Natural HistoryLaub very effectively conveys to a general audience how scientists investigate paleontological sites, including the development of research questions, field methodologies (such as in-field stabilization of fossil specimens), and laboratory methods for specimen conservation and analysis. In an age where scientists and scientific findings are often questioned, Two Acres of Time is especially timely because it demonstrates to the public how scholars conduct natural history research, particularly how they develop and sometimes revise conclusions through long-term investigations. -- Jonathan Lothrop, curator of archaeology, New York State MuseumTwo Acres of Time is an outstanding account of the excavation and analysis of Ice Age fossils from the extraordinary Hiscock Site. Laub clearly documents how the scientific process works and offers insights into the human dimensions of research. Reading the book is like being at the site and experiencing the thrill of discovery! -- Russell Graham, adjunct research associate, Colorado School of Mines, and adjunct curator, University of Colorado, BoulderThe mix of scientific discoveries and personal stories [are] fascinating. [A] comprehensive and thoughtful book. * Trilobite Tales *Table of ContentsIn AppreciationIntroductionProloguePart I: Getting There1. DiscoveryInterlude 1: The American Mastodon2. First Steps3. BrigadoonPart II: The Heroic Age (1983–1990)4. First Try, 19835. Emerging Patterns6. Friday’s FootprintInterlude 2: The Clovis People7. Steady Going, and First Symposium8. The Dig Matures (I)9. The Dig Matures (II)10. Calling Cards of StonePart III: New Terrain (1991–2001)11. A Lucky Drought12. Tools!13. More Discoveries (I)14. More Discoveries (II)15. Of Death and Life16. Second SymposiumPart IV: Exploding Pits (2002–2005)17. Bonanza (I)18. Bonanza (II)19. Money WorriesPart V: Winding Down (2006–2011)20. Into the Shallows I—Disappointment21. Into the Shallows II—A Stirring of Hope22. A Bolt from the Blue23. To Where All Things Must Come24. Some Parting ThoughtsAppendix A. Human Teeth and a Rib from the Hiscock Site, by Douglas W. OwsleyAppendix B. Hiscock Radiocarbon Dates, Corrected for Isotopic FractionationAppendix C. Uncorrected Radiocarbon Dates for Hiscock SamplesCited in Appendix BAppendix D. Bibliography of Scientific Publications About the Hiscock SiteNotesSpecimen Number IndexIndex

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe computational neuroscientist Daniel Graham offers an innovative paradigm for understanding the brain. He argues that the brain is not like a single computer—it is a communication system, like the internet.Trade ReviewGraham offers a fresh, insightful, and informative perspective on brain function, proposing that communication between neurons resembles signal passing in the internet as a novel metaphor to investigate the brain. He provides erudite discussions and presents compelling arguments in a lively and clear manner. -- Gabriel Kreiman, Harvard Medical SchoolEver since we began to explore the brain, we have used various metaphors, typically relating brains to machines. Von Neumann introduced the computer metaphor but the list of similarities faded away with time. Daniel Graham’s book updates the "brain-is-like" metaphor to encompass the internet. Unlike the computer, the internet is not a blueprint design but a constantly evolving system, much like the brain. Or perhaps it is not the entire brain but only the neocortex is like the internet, which contains all knowledge of the individual, the way the internet contains all factual knowledge of humankind. Yet, only through efficient searching can knowledge become accessible; luckily, there is the hippocampus, the brain’s search engine. Of course, metaphors can be reciprocated. Does the internet have plans, feelings, and intentions? Get your copy to find out. -- György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain and The Brain from Inside OutIn this timely book, the neuroscientist Daniel Graham argues eloquently for shedding the worn idea of brain as computer for that of brain as communication device—brain as internet. A must-read for anyone interested in the brain from the novice to the hardened professional, Graham's book bravely challenges the standard dogma to reshape and reframe our thinking about the workings of the brain. -- Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, University of California Santa Barbara, and author of The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the MindBrain function cannot be fully understood without considering how neurons and brain regions connect and communicate. What are the principles that govern how rich and dynamic patterns of network communication organize and support mind and cognition? This book offers a truly enjoyable and accessible account of this important topic, as well as a fresh and thought-provoking perspective that bridges brain science and modern communication technology. -- Olaf Sporns, distinguished professor of psychological and brain sciences, Indiana UniversityThe brain and the internet both require flexibility for reliably routing information across growing and adapting networks. Graham’s accessible and scholarly book, which also considers mail and telephone networks, develops plausible similarities for how brains and internets solve routing problems. -- Chris McManus, professor of psychology, University College London, and author of Right Hand, Left Hand: The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms, and CulturesTable of ContentsPreface1. The Internet-Brain and the Computer-Brain2. Metaphors for the Brain3. What We Don’t Know About Brains4. From Connectomics to Dynomics5. How the Internet Works6. The Internet Metaphor: First Steps to a New Theory of the Brain7. Critique of the Internet Metaphor8. The Internet Metaphor in Action: Emerging Models and New Technologies9. The Internet Metaphor, AI, and UsAfterwordAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book Synopsis

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