After World War II, the U.S. government brought Nazi scientists accused of war crimes--even one convicted of mass murder--into the country in order to make use of their scientific knowledge. Jacobsen has done her research, and here unearths many shocking and disturbing new details, though the story is so scandalous that much remains classified.
While the title makes the book sound sensationalist, this well-researched book is just the opposite. In this controversial book, Dr. Richard Saul draws from five decades as a practicing physician and researcher in the field to contend that the definition of ADHD as we know it is completely wrong. Instead, he argues that the "disorder" is a cluster of symptoms stemming from more than twenty other conditions, each requiring separate treatment. The detailed list ranges from mild problems like poor eyesight, sleep deprivation, and even boredom in the classroom, to more severe conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. (PM)
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert (Henry Holt) In The Sixth Extinction, her follow up to Field Notes from a Catastrophe, New Yorker staff writer Kolbert takes us across the globe, from an isolated atoll in the Pacific to a Peruvian rainforest, in a quest to understand the massive loss of species currently taking place. Situating our current environmental catastrophe within a larger context, Kolbert extrapolates from scientific research and history an alarming picture of a world in crisis. This is a harrowing must-read. (SS) A Place in the Country by W.G. Sebald (Random House) A Place in the Country is classic Sebald: mysterious, melancholy, and meditative. In a series of six interlinking essays about five writers and an artist whose work influenced his, Sebald roves across time and space, digressing as is his wont. A welcome addition to the too-short shelf of his work. (SS)
Bark: Stories by Lorrie Moore (Knopf) SIGNED FIRST EDITIONS ON HAND! I picked up a copy Ms. Moore's book of stories as I was working through a novel by a different "major American author," and not really enjoying the exercise. Within a few pages of Bark, I knew exactly what I had been missing: the subtle wit; the fully-fleshed characters drawn to life with a few gestures or an off-kilter comment; the sadness wrapped in humor wrapped in fine storytelling. A new book by Lorrie Moore is an all-too-infrequent occasion to rejoice. Huzzah! (KPR)
Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty (Belknap Press) It seems appropriate that Jeff, our reader of lurid true crime, would pick up Piketty's monumental study of capital. Jeff has this to say about the book: "Economic inequality has returned to pre-Depression levels here in the U.S. How this compares to historical and present-day global conditions is the focus of this tome. Though huge, it's not particularly dense, with an enormous wealth of data presented clearly and concisely. Every page has an interesting and relevant take-away. Recommended for those with an interest in economic history, regardless of their political persuasion." The Martian by Andy Weir (Crown)
This wildly imaginative debut novel gives us a classic "man vs. nature" scenario, on a landscape devoid of nature. Fresh, funny and gripping to the last line, The Martian is reading gold! (Kevin H) Also, one of our fellow indie booksellers was so nuts about this book, they issued a challenge to their customers to just buy it, sight unseen, with a 100% guarantee. While a preacher's wife returned one, they sold a bundle. The whole story is here. Travel Notes by Stanley Crawford (Calamari Press) What a delight it is to see the great Stanley Crawford's wonderful novel back in print nearly 50 years after its original publication. Travel Notes is a wild jaunt through surreal landscapes familiar to anyone who's ever been a bewildered tourist. The Sound Book: the Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World by Trevor Cox (Norton) With forays into archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design, Cox explains how sound is made and altered by the environment, how our body reacts to peculiar noises, and how these mysterious wonders illuminate sound's surprising dynamics in everyday settings-from your bedroom to the opera house. The Sound Book encourages us to become better listeners in a world dominated by the visual and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony all around us. A biography of our most fearsome neighbor. It's been over a hundred years since the last really big one, but you know it's coming. This is the story of the scientists who honed our current knowledge of the fault: what it is, where it is, and how it works. Know thy enemy. |