Science & Technology

Thanks to advances in modern veterinary care, horses are living much longer. A 30-year-old horse is no longer rare, but knowing how to care best for these senior creatures is not so common. Jung, an animal physiotherapist, provides copious advice on, e.g., feeding, homeopathic treatment, exercise, magnetic therapy, and herd management. She describes all the problems one might encounter with an old horse, including failing eyesight, loss of hearing, loss of teeth, arthritis, and changes in coat texture. She also addresses end-of-life issues like when it is time to euthanize an old horse. Some of the terms used are British and may confuse an American reader. VERDICT As Jung does not cover standard veterinary care for older horses, such as injections for arthritis, Karen E.N. Hayes and Sue M. Copeland's Hands-On Senior Horse Care: The Complete Book of Senior Equine Management and First Aid is a better choice for horse owners interested in traditional veterinary care. Recommended only for owners interested in alternative equine medicine.—Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL

Traver (global medical director, Google, Worldwide) created "The Program," a 12-week course (used by Google and Stanford University) dedicated to changing the way people think in order to change the way people live. Now, Traver and journalist Sargent have expanded The Program into a self-guided book for public use. For readers who have tried Judith S. Beck's The Beck Diet Solution, The Program may feel similar. As in the Beck Diet Solution, readers are encouraged to be conscious of their behaviors. Once the detrimental behaviors are eliminated and healthy behaviors are learned, they should begin to feel healthy and happy. Unlike the Beck system, The Program is not solely a weight-loss plan; it is a healthy-lifestyle guide. Also, readers should note that Traver is not necessarily promoting cognitive behavioral therapy as Beck does. The Program comes more from a medical view than from a psychological one. VERDICT The Program is an excellent choice for readers interested in lifelong healthy living. Highly recommended.—Rachel M. Minkin, Lansing Community Coll., MI

Cooking and baking require two different sets of culinary skills. Professional chef and culinary teacher Peterson (Essentials of Cooking) understands the differences between the two, and here he distills four decades of his own experiences as a cook learning to bake into a master class on the subject. The recipes included are for tried-and-true classics found in any good French bakery, but where Peterson really excels is in the clear step-by-step instructions for creating each delicious treat, showing cooks how to build on the principles learned in one recipe for further culinary projects. Anyone who wishes to acquire a solid foundation in baking (and is willing to put in some serious time in the kitchen) will find this practical guide invaluable. VERDICT There is no shortage of excellent baking titles, including Flo Braker's classic The Simple Art of Perfect Baking and newer treasures such as Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours, but libraries will still want to make room for Peterson's practical, useful introduction. [This is a sequel to Peterson's 2008 James Beard Award-winning Cooking.—Ed.]—John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ

In this unique chronicle of the 1910 forest fire that burned more than three million acres in two days, killed at least 80 people, and destroyed five towns, Egan, author of the National Book Award-winning The Worst Hard Time, tells a complex and intriguing story: the confrontation between wealthy industrialists who built railroads and stripped the land of its natural resources and those men, including President Theodore Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, who diligently worked to preserve the West's vast forest resources. The "big burn" complicated this showdown by swaying public opinion in favor of the idea that natural resources belonged to the public and that fires could be controlled by human efforts. VERDICT Historians will enjoy Egan's well-written book, featuring sparkling and dynamic descriptions of the land and people, as a review of Roosevelt's conservation ideas, while general readers will find his suspenseful account of the fires mesmerizing. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/09; for more on Roosevelt's conservation efforts, see Douglas Brinkley's The Wilderness Warrior.—Ed.]—Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley Coll., Mt. Carmel, IL

To be nominated "the strangest man" amid the quirky pantheon of early to mid-20th-century physicists is perhaps an honor, because in this group, strangeness often went hand in hand with brilliance. British scientist Dirac (1902–84) may not have been the most eccentric, but he certainly ranked among the most private, demure, and mysterious. In his own mathematical perception of reality, he conceived the "Dirac equation," which meshed relativity theory with the motion of electrons and led to the theoretical conception of antimatter. Farmelo (It Must Be Beautiful: Great Equations of Modern Science) did not pick the easiest biography to write—its subject lived a largely solitary life in deep thought. But Dirac was also beset with tragedy (including being the victim of child abuse), and in that respect, the author proposes some novel insights into what shaped the man. VERDICT This would be a strong addition to a bibliography of magnificent 20th-century physicist biographies, including Walter Issacson's Einstein, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and James Gleick's Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman. What a reading list or discussion group topic these would provide!—Gregg Sapp, Evergreen State Coll., Olympia, WA

Today, the once-flourishing art of taxidermy is adrift. Museums have eliminated taxidermy departments, few if any taxidermists can make a living on taxidermy alone, and many leave the profession in frustration. Yet, through taxidermy we are able to see creatures large and small that are now extinct or that exist in another part of the world. To understand this unusual profession, Milgrom, a freelance journalist who has written for the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, talks to some of the best taxidermists currently working in the United States and Britain; attends the World Taxidermy Championships and visits museums; looks at taxidermy history, especially its high period from the Victorian age to World War II; spends time with British artist Damien Hirst, who incorporates preserved animals in his art; and eventually tackles a taxidermy project of her own. VERDICT While this reviewer would have liked a little more detail on how taxidermists work, Milgrom's lively account will appeal to readers who enjoyed Mary Roach's quirky science books (Stiff; Spook; Bonk).—Michael D. Cramer, Schwarz BioSciences, RTP, NC

In this outstanding book, Pollack, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with his colleagues on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and former vice president Al Gore, explains the role that ice, especially polar ice, plays in the world's climate systems and describes the effects of a warming climate on the polar and high-altitude ice storehouses. Then he discusses how the environment is dramatically impacted as the rate of melting accelerates. Pollack also highlights how three centuries of human activity and industrialization have upset this delicate balance between ice and climate. He includes possible methods by which we can slow global warming or mitigate its effects on humanity and other animals. VERDICT Seldom has a scientist written so well and so clearly for the lay reader. Pollack's explanations of how researchers can tell that the climate is warming faster than normal are free of the usual scientific jargon and understandable. All readers concerned about global warming and students writing papers on the topic will want this excellent and important volume.—Betty Galbraith, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman

Compelling and thought-provoking, with the power to change a reader's daily habits, this book, first published in the United Kingdom, offers a simple thesis: wasting food wreaks environmental havoc and contributes to global hunger. To argue his point, historian/activist Stuart (The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times) focuses primarily on the "food profligacy" of developed nations, exploring a range of topics from food manufacturing policies to the ethics of biofuel development. The case study of the waste produced by British supermarkets is particularly fascinating. Occasionally, the text feels imbalanced, with a lengthy chapter devoted to reintroducing the practice of swill feeding, while little attention is paid to proper food handling and storage. VERDICT Stuart is an impassioned writer who pairs quirky personal anecdotes with alarming statistics to craft an irrefutable argument. Although some of Stuart's suggestions for addressing food waste are directed toward the general public, this work is most suitable for academic readers, who will appreciate his detailed research and extensive bibliography. Stuart's highly readable study may also appeal to well-informed general readers interested in food policy.—Kelsy Peterson, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Drawing on neurology articles from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind, science journalist Horstman creates a seamless and fascinating look at our brain's functioning throughout the day, adeptly noting cycles and processes that may occur by mentioning them in a time context that makes sense. Beginning her exploration at 5 a.m., when the brain begins to return to consciousness, she bases the chapters on each hour in a 24-hour period and groups hours into sections related to typical activities, such as "Winding Down" from 9 p.m. to midnight. She examines how and when other bodily processes and functions, such as hunger, impact the brain. Drops in blood sugar, for example, also indicate lowered levels of serotonin. The explanations are easy to read, and they incorporate anecdotes and callouts that deftly explain neuroscientific content. VERDICT Appealing to lay scientists, Scientific American readers, and all those interested in how to care for their brain as it matures and ages, this book will be a popular science title.—Candice Kail, Columbia Univ. Libs., New York

Awesome. Bewildering. Complex. Enigmatic. This is the human brain. So how might a scientist reach beyond this organ to discover its evolutionary path? Most paleontological and anthropological investigations are complex, but imagine the following obstacles to discovery: brains don't fossilize, there is significant variation in the size of brains, and the brain's plasticity allows it to adapt to significant behavioral changes. Undaunted by the obstacles, neuroscientist Allen (Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Ctr. and the Brain and Creativity Inst., Univ. of Southern California) pieces together the puzzle of brain evolution. No stone is left unturned as Allen mines such fields as paleontology, anthropology, comparative anatomy and physiology, and the cognitive sciences. Allen's contribution is his interdisciplinary melding of theories, disclosing their strengths and weaknesses while squeezing them for evidence on brain evolution. VERDICT Allen provides some context to his discussions on such complicated topics as neuroanatomy and genetics, but there is an expectation that readers have the specialized vocabularies he draws upon. Still, his material on brain evolution is fascinating; thus this may also appeal to educated general readers interested in neuroscience, human evolution, anthropology, and human anatomy.—Scott Vieira, Johnson Cty. Lib., KS