Category Close-Ups

Spring 2001 Book List
Edited by Laurele Riippa. Compiled by Lynn Andriani, Dena Croog, Robert Dahlin, Charles Hix, Julia Moberg, Karole Riippa and Bella Stander. -- 1/22/01

Science | Psychology | Nature &Environment
Social Sciences | Philosophy | Literary Criticism &Essays


Science

BALLANTINE
Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science &the Biology of Belief
(Apr., $24.95) by Andrew Newberg, Eugene d'Aquili, M.D., and Vince Rause argues that religious conviction is rooted in the biology of the brain. Ad/promo. 6-city author tour.

BLOOMSBURY USA
Clever As a Fox
(Mar., $24.95) by Sonja Y rg. Our complex relationships to animals show how to better understand our own way of thinking.

BRAZOS PRESS
Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil
(May, $17.99) by Cornelius Hunter proposes that Darwin and his theory of evolution were motivated by theological concerns. Advertising. Author publicity.

CAMBRIDGE UNIV. PRESS
Celestial Treasury
(July, $59.95) by Marc Lachièze-Rey and Jean-Pierre Luminet offers a full-color look at the most spectacular phenomena in the night sky.

COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS
Heavenly Errors: Misconceptions About the Real Nature of the Universe
(Aug., $27.95) by Neil F. Comins presents readers with methods for identifying and replacing incorrect ideas about the cosmos.

Intoxicating Minds (Aug., $24.95) by Ciaran Regan shows how drugs, from coffee to cocaine, affect human biology and altered the course of human history.

CORNELL UNIV. PRESS
The Science of Illusions
(Mar., $TBA) by Jacques Ninio, trans. by Franklin Philip. An authority on visual perception explores the world of illusions.

DK PUBLISHING
Superhuman: The Awesome Power Within
(Mar., $30) by Robert Winston delves intothe mysteries of the human body, how it works and its ability to repair itself. Tie-in to The Learning Channel series airing March 2001.

THE FREE PRESS
The Hidden Face of God: How Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth
(May, $26) by Gerald L. Schr der explains how cutting-edge scientific theories point to a universal wisdom that lies behind matter and energy. Advertising.

HARCOURT
The Riddle of the Compass: The Invention That Changed the World
(May, $22) by Amir Aczel is an account that takes readers from ancient China to renaissance Italy.35,000 first printing.

HARVARD UNIV. PRESS
Nearest Star: The Surprising Science of Our Sun
(May, $29.95) by Leon Golub and Jay M. Pasachoff. Two solar scientists discuss what we know about the sun.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
Surviving Galeras
(Apr., $25) by Stanley Williams and Fen Montaigne reveals the high-risk realm of volcanology and the impact volcan s have had on the earth's landscapes and civilizations. 150,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo. 15-city author tour.

Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity (June, $25) by Jennifer G. Ackerman explores how human heredity links us to the rest of the natural world. 25,000 first printing. Advertising. Author tour.

INDIANA UNIV. PRESS
Australia's Lost World: Prehistoric Animals of Riversleigh
(Mar., $39.95) by Michael Archer, Suzanne J. Hand and Hank Godthelp, foreword by Sir David Attenborough, introduces readers to Riversleigh, one of the most significant fossil deposits in the world.

Life Through the Ages: Commemorative Edition (Apr., $27.95) by Charles R. Knight. First published in 1946, this book of drawings reveals images of the prehistoric past.

THE MIT PRESS
The Shattered Self: The End of Natural Evolution
(May, $24.95) by Pierre Baldi investigates the far-reaching scientific and social changes due to advances in molecular biotechnology.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BOOKS
Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms
(Mar., $35) by Michael Ray Taylor takes readers into the uncharted wonders and dangers of caves. 50,000 first printing. Published in conjunction with a new IMAX film.

Adventures in Ocean Exploration (Apr., $40) by Robert D. Ballard with Malcolm McConnell. Oceanographer Ballard offers an account of modern undersea exploration from Homeric galleys to Nazi battleships. 50,000 first printing.

W.W. NORTON
Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World
(Apr., $23.95) by Simon Garfield. Born of a lab accident, this odd shade of purple revolutionized fashion, industry and the practice of science.

The Evolution Explosion: How Humans Cause Rapid Evolutionary Change (May, $24.95) by Stephen R. Palumbi looks at the intersection of evolution and high-tech modern life such as insects overcoming powerful pesticides.

The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry (June, $25.95) by Bryan Sykes argues that we are descended from seven prehistoric women.

OREGON STATE UNIV. PRESS
Linus Pauling: Scientist and Peacemaker: A Centenary
Volume (Mar., $35), edited by Clifford Mead and Thomas Hager, gathers Pauling's thoughts and those of his contemporaries to create a portrait of the controversial scientist.

O'REILLY
Beyond Contact: A Guide to SETI and Communicating with Alien Worlds
(Mar., $24.95) by Brian McConnell discusses SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) and explains the likelihood of discovering alien life. Author tour.

OXFORD UNIV. PRESS
Brave New Brain: Conquering Mental Illness in the Era of the Genome
(June, $27.50) by Nancy C. Andreasen is a psychiatrist's account of the ongoing struggle with mental illness.

PANTHEON
The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe
(Apr., $27.50) by John D. Barrow studies the substantial and varied nature of "nothing." Ad/promo. Author publicity.

PERSEUS books
Human Trials: Risking Reputation and Riches in the Quest for a Cure
(Apr., $25) by Susan Quinn investigates the world of experimental drug trials and the scientists, venture capitalists and patients who are involved.

PRINCETON UNIV. PRESS
Nine Crazy Ideas in Science: A Few Might Even Be True
(May, $24.95) by Robert Ehrlich evaluates nine seemingly far-out propositions culled from physics, biology and social sciences.

PROMETHEUS BOOKS
Mars: The Lure of the Red Planet
(Apr., $27) by William Sheehan and Stephen James O'Meara covers the history of Mars investigations.

ST. MARTIN'S/PALGRAVE
The Encyclopedia of Astronomy
(Aug., $40) by Paul Murdin is a guide to understanding the universe.

TEXERE LLC
The Sum of Our Discontent
(May, $24.95) by David Boyle describes the impact that numbers have had on the tenets of civilization: philosophy, science, art and business.

TV BOOKS (dist. by HarperCollins)
Beyond Human: The New World of Cyborgs and Androids
(May, $27.50) by Gregory Benford explores how humans are becoming more machinelike and machines more humanlike. Tie-in to a winter 2001 PBS-TV documentary. Author tour.

VIKING
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal
(Aug., $27.95) by M. Mitchell Waldrop looks at the MIT psychologist whose dream of "human-computer symbiosis" changed the course of science and culture. 6-city author tour.

WALKER &COMPANY
Useful Mathematical and Physical Formulae
(Apr., $9.95) by Matthew Watkins. This practical guide explains how to calculate logarithms, the area of circles, imperial-metric conversions and more.

An Intimate Look at the Night Sky (May, $25) by Chet Raymo presents the facts behind the origins of the night sky's familiar sights.

WELCOME BOOKS (dist. by Andrews McMeel)
The Big Book of Dinosaurs
(May, $29.95, includes 3-D glasses), edited by David Norman, covers dinosaurs' appearance, behavior and environment. $20,000 ad/promo.

WILEY
The Secret Life of Dust: From the Cosmos to the Kitchen Counter, the Consequences of Little Things
(Aug., $22.95) by Hannah Holmes is an expedition through our dusty world. 30,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

WORKMAN
In Code: A Mathematical Journey
(May, $24.95) by Sarah Flannery and David Flannery tells the story of Sarah, a 16-year-old Irish girl and an international award-winning mathematician.


Psychology


CAMBRIDGE UNIV. PRESS
Half a Brain Is Enough: The Story of Nico (Mar., $17.95) by Antonio M. Battro recounts the story of a bright schoolboy who succeeds despite having had half his brain surgically removed.

CYPRESS HOUSE
A Handful of Ashes: One Mother's Tragedy
(Mar., $29.95) by Victoria C.G. Greenleaf. A psychiatrist relates the effects that raising a child with antisocial personality disorder has had on her family.

FROMM INTERNATIONAL
Going Inside: A Tour Round a Single Moment of Consciousness
(Apr., $30) by John McCrone investigates the mysteries of human consciousness through such methods as brain scanning, which snaps pictures of thoughts or images in a person's head. Advertising.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers
(May, $24) by Daniel L. Schacter offers a framework that explains common memory vices and their surprising virtues. 35,000 first printing. Advertising. Author tour.

PERSEUS BOOKS
The Childless Revolution: What It Means to Be Childless Today
(Apr., $22) by Madelyn Cain looks at the current phenomenon of childless women.

Not Your Mother's Life: Changing the Rules About Work, Love, and Family (May, $25) by Joan K. Peters is for every young woman who wants a personal life as well as a career.

PROMETHEUS BOOKS
Overcoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and Behaviors: New Directions for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
(Apr., $26) by Albert Ellis emphasizes the importance of cognition in treating psychological disturbances.

RANDOM HOUSE
I Only Say This Because I Love You: How the Way We Talk Can Make or Break Family Relationships
(May, $24.95) by Deborah Tannen analyzes how adult family members talk to one another and discusses how to communicate more effectively. Advertising. 13-city author tour.

UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
Misogyny: The Male Malady
(June, $26.50) by David D. Gilmore studies women hating, revealing misogyny's pervasiveness in all human societies.


Nature &Environment

ATLANTIC MONTHLY PRESS
The Eternal Frontier: An Ecological History of North America and Its Peoples
(May, $27.50) by Tim Flannery describes the formation of North America that began 65 million years ago when an asteroid struck the Earth. 60,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo.

BHB INTERNATIONAL
Africa's Big Five
(Apr., $49.95) by William Taylor, Gerald Hinde and Richard du Toit features the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo--the big five.

Meerkats (Apr., $29.95) by Nigel Dennis is a collection of photos of Africa's meerkats.

BROADWAY BOOKS
Close to Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence
(May, $25) by Michael Capuzzo recalls the summer of 1916, when shark attacks terrorized the New Jersey seashore.

COUNTRYMAN PRESS
The Granite Landscape: A Natural History of America's Mountain Domes, from Acadia to Yosemite
(June, $27.95) by Tom Wessels, illus. by Brian D. Cohen, commemorates North America's granite summit balds. Author tour.

DK PUBLISHING
Birds of North America
(Aug., $50) covers the behavior, nesting, population status and conservation of every species on the continent.

DOWN EAST BOOKS
Sea Glass Chronicles
(Mar., $29.95) by Carole S. Lambert, illus. by Patricia Hanbery, includes sea glass and ceramic shards from beaches around the world.

FARRAR, STRAUS &GIROUX
The Invention of Clouds: How an Unknown Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies
(July, $24) by Richard Hamblyn salutes a shy, young Quaker who defined what had previously been random and unknowable structures.

FSG/NORTH POINT PRESS
Wild Nights: Nature Returns to the City
(May, $22) by Anne Matthews depicts New York City as a place where natural and urban worlds confront and compete with each other.

HARPERCOLLINS
No Apparent Danger: The True Story of a Volcano's Power
(May, $26) by Victoria Bruce links events surrounding two Colombian volcanic eruptions in a single decade. Advertising. 5-city author tour.

OXFORD UNIV. PRESS
Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums
(Apr., $30) by Stephen T. Asma visits international museums, tracing their origins and developments.

PANTHEON
Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly
(May, $23) by Sue Halpern reveals the creature's amazing annual migration and the research surrounding it.

PINEAPPLE PRESS
Seasons of the Sea
(Apr., $TBA) by Jay Humphreys takes a close look at Floridian marine life.

RANDOM HOUSE
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World
(May, $24.95) by Michael Pollan matches up four human desires--sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control--with four plants that embody them. Ad/promo.

SIERRA CLUB
Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights, and Oil in the Niger Delta
(Apr., $24) by Ike Okanta and Oronto Douglas. Two Nigerian environmental activists fight Shell Oil Company over their homeland.

My Story As Told by Water (May, $24.95) by David James Duncan. A wildlife and nature activist pays tribute to the flora, fauna and seasonal landscape of the Northwest.

TARCHER
Beauty in the Beasts: True Stories of Animals Who Choose to Do Good
(Apr., $23.95) by Kristin von Kreisler asserts that animals are capable of strong feelings and humanlike emotions.

TEXERE LLC
Where on Earth Are We Going?
(Apr., $27.95) by Maurice Strong. The senior adviser to the World Bank's president makes a call to action to those who care about the future of the planet's environment.

UNIV. OF CHICAGO PRESS
The Energy of Nature
(May, $25) by E.C. Pielou ponders the origin and fate of energy's role in nature.

UNIV. OF GEORGIA PRESS
As Eve Said to the Serpent: On Landscape, Gender, and Art
(May, $34.95) by Rebecca Solnit tackles the challenges and boundaries that exist among the three.

Fate of the Wild: The Endangered Species Act and the Future of Biodiversity (July, $29.95) by Bonnie B. Burgess surveys the factors and the debate surrounding the act.

UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
The Natural West: Environmental History in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains
(June, $29.95) by Dan Flores assembles essays on the region's natural history.

UNIV. OF UTAH PRESS
Grave Goods: Essays of a Peculiar Nature
(May, $21.95) by John P. O'Grady compiles writings on nature-inspired psychics, murderers, strange disappearances and occult phenomena.

UNIV. PRESS OF FLORIDA
Journeys Through Paradise: Pioneering Naturalists in the Southeast
(Apr., $24.95) by Gail Fishman tracks the expeditions of preservationists John James Audubon, John Muir and more.

UNIV. PRESS OF NEW ENGLAND
A Year in the Notch: Exploring the Natural History of the White Mountains
(June, $30) by William Sargent recalls a year in northern New England.

VILLARD
The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship
(May, $23.95) by Joanna Burger. A renowned ornithologist tells the story about the parrot who took over her life. Ad/promo.


Social Sciences

BESS PRESS
An Introduction to Ancient Polynesia
(Apr., $39.95) by Douglas Oliver describes Polynesian culture from its common ancestral background to unique island adaptations.

BRASSEY'S
The Fate of America: An Inquiry into National Character
(July, $27.50) by Michael Gellert discusses America's crisis of heroism, showing how our national character is linked to an increasingly archaic heroic ideal.

CHECKMARK BOOKS
The History of Archaeology: Great Excavations of the World
(Mar., $35) by John Romer traces archaeology since its inception in 18th-century Pompeii to the present. Advertising.

COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS
Taking the Train: How Graffiti Became an Urban Crisis in New York City
(Aug.; $49.50, paper $22.50) by J Austin is an illustrated history of how graffiti became a form of hip-hop culture and a major urban problem.

CROWN
The Last Cowboys at the End of the World: The Story of the Gauchos of Patagonia
(Aug., $24) by Rick Reding chronicles the sudden influx of modernity into the centuries-old ways of cattle herders when a road opened up remote Patagonia.

DK PUBLISHING
Human Face
(July, $29.95) by Brian Bates with John Cleese shows how our faces evolved, the physiology behind expressions and how they facilitate communication. A tie-in to the BBC/Learning Channel series hosted by John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley.

WM. B. EERDMANS
The Book of Marriage: The Wisest Answers to the Toughest Questions
(Mar., $30), edited by Dana Mack and David Blankenhorn, collects readings that address the challenges of today's marital relationship.

FSG/NORTH POINT PRESS
The Other Side of Eden: Hunters, Farmers, and the Shaping of the World
(Apr., $25) by Hugh Brody. An anthropologist studies hunter-gatherers who survive on the edge of vast, fertile lands occupied by farming peoples and their descendants.

GALLAUDET UNIV. PRESS
Language in Hand: Why Sign Came Before Speech
(Apr., $34.95) by William C. Stok hypothesizes that sign was the first language used by early human ancestors.

ISI BOOKS
Bonfire of the Humanities
(May, $24.95) by Victor Davis Hanson, John Heath and Bruce S. Thornton posits that the field of classical studies is dying due to academics who have alienated students and the public. Advertising. Author tour.

NORTHEASTERN UNIV. PRESS
The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult
(May, $24.95) by Karlene Faith presents an in-depth look at one of Charles Manson's followers and recounts her journey out of his grasp.

W.W. NORTON
Moral Freedom: The Impossible Idea That Defines the Way We Live Now
(Apr., $24.95) by Alan Wolfe. Americans describe their guiding principles in an era of moral freedom. Author tour.

POLITY PRESS
Greed: Gut Feelings
(Aug., $27.95) by A.F. Robertson is concerned with the morality of economic behavior.

RANDOM HOUSE
Tricks of the Trade: A Brothel and Its Women
(May, $24.95) by Alexa Albert. A Harvard medical student conducts a public-health study at the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada, a haven for legalized prostitution.

LYNNE RIENNER
Beyond Political Correctness: Social Transformation in the United States
(Aug., $52) by Michael S. Cummings argues for a transformation of U.S. culture and institutions, requiring a move beyond the traditional dichotomy of left and right.

SIMON &SCHUSTER
Ancient Encounters: Kennewick Man and the First Americans
(June, $26) by James C. Chatters explains how a nearly complete 9,500-year-old skeleton found near Kennewick, Wash., sheds new light on who populated the Americas before the Native Americans. Advertising. Author publicity.

UNIV. OF MICHIGAN PRESS
Banished Immortal: Searching for Shuangqing, China's Peasant Woman P t
(Mar., $39.50) by Paul S. Ropp follows the quest to unravel the cultural myths about China's most famous woman p t.

WOLFHOUND PRESS (dist. by Interlink)
Celtic Kisses
(Mar., $6.95) by De-Ann Black uncovers the history and mystery of kissing.


Philosophy

BLACKWELL
A Companion to Analytical Philosophy
(May, $124.95) by Al Martinich and David Sosa reflects on the work of the most important figures in the history of analytic philosophy.

CONARI PRESS
Once and Future Myths: The Power of Ancient Stories in Modern Times
(Aug., $24.95) by Phil Cousineau explores how myths have affected history, cultures and individuals throughout time. 30,000 first printing. 8-city author tour.

CROWN
The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet
(Aug., $25) by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan is written by a Buddhist monk who trained as a molecular biologist. 6-city author tour.

EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
The Analects
(May, $18) by Confucius, edited and translated by Arthur Waley, offers sensible advice based on principles of justice and moderation.

OXFORD UNIV. PRESS
Being Good: An Introduction to Ethics
(May, $15) by Simon Blackburn provides a short, lively and humorous introduction to the many philosophic approaches to ethics.

PERIGEE
Dilemmas: What Would You Do?
(July, $12.95) by James Saywell and Anne-Marie Roffi poses a variety of ethical situations to spark conversation and thought.

ROUTLEDGE
The Selected Letters of Bertrand Russell: Volume 2: The Public Years, 1914- 1970
(June, $40) by Nicholas Griffin commemorates a philosophical genius and impassioned campaigner for peace and social reform.


Literary Criticism &Essays

CAREER PRESS
The Essential Stephen King
(May, $24.99) by Stephen J. Spignesi provides a review of King's work by an acknowledged King authority.

COLUMBIA UNIV. PRESS
Listening to the Page: Adventures in Reading and Writing
(May, $24.95) by Alan Cheuse. The novelist and critic advocates reading and rereading as keys to successful writing.

CORNELL UNIV. PRESS
"My Heart Is a Large Kingdom": Selected Letters of Margaret Fuller
(Mar., $52.50), edited by Robert N. Hudspeth, gathers letters by the transcendentalist thinker in one volume.

DOUBLEDAY
Fraud
(May, $22.95) by David Rakoff is a debut collection of the satirist's essays and observations.

FARRAR, STRAUS &GIROUX
The Strength of P try: Oxford Lectures
(Apr., $25) by James Fenton makes sense of the last century in p try via lectures on Robert Frost, W.H. Auden and others.

HARVARD UNIV. PRESS
On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays
(Mar., $22.95) by A.S. Byatt assesses British writing via the interplay of fiction and history.

HOLT/METROPOLITAN
The Copenhagen Papers: An Intrigue
(May, $20) by Michael Frayn and David Burke. The author of the Tony award-winning play Copenhagen relates the story of the mysterious incidents that followed the play's run.

HOLT/TIMES
Writers on Writing: Collected Essays from TheNew York Times
(May, $23) by the New York Times culls pieces by Saul Bellow, E.L. Doctorow, Jamaica Kincaid, Annie Proulx and others.

ISI BOOKS
Why Literature Matters
(June, $24.95) by Glenn C. Arbery responds to the title's statement by examining the work of established writers from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison. Advertising.

KNOPF
Shiksa Goddess: Or, How I Spent My Forties
(May, $23) by Wendy Wasserstein. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright tackles dieting, the theater and parenting. Advertising. 6-city author tour.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA
Henry David Thoreau: Collected Essays and P ms
(Apr., $35), edited by Elizabeth Hall Witherell, selects p ms unavailable in other editions, many based on Thoreau's journal.

LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. PRESS
Selected Letters of Robert Penn Warren: Volume 2: The Southern Review Years, 1935-1942
(June, $39.95), edited by William Bedford Clark. This addition to the Southern Literary Studies series offers previously unpublished letters.

MERCER UNIV. PRESS
How They Shine: Melungeon Characters in the Fiction of Appalachia
(May, $39.95) by Katherine Vande Brake examines how certain cultures become metaphors in literature.

W.W. NORTON
Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations
(Apr., $23.95) by Adrienne Rich gathers writings spanning the p t's lifetime.

PARABOLA
The Laughter at the Heart of Things
(June, $18.95) by Helen M. Luke collects essays that explore human destiny. Ad/promo.

STACKPOLE BOOKS
A Good Horse Has No Color: Searching Iceland for the Perfect Horse
(Aug., $21.95) by Nancy Marie Brown. A woman immerses herself in a horse-breeding community and gains perspective on her own psyche.

STONE BRIDGE PRESS
The Donald Richie Reader: Fifty Years of Writing on Japan
(June; $29.95, paper $19.95) by Donald Richie, edited by Arturo Silva, compiles expatriate musings on Japanese culture, film and people. Advertising. Author publicity.

UNIV. PRESS OF VIRGINA
A Journey on the James: Three Weeks Through the Heart of Virginia
(Mar., $27.95) by Earl Swift follows a paddling adventure.

VIKING
The Reading Art: 1986-1999
(Mar., $24.95) by J.M. C tzee features 29 essays on writers and the writing life.

YALE UNIV. PRESS
Marginalia: Readers Writing in Books
(Mar., $27.95) by H.J. Jackson examines the conversations that people have in the margins of their books and the reactions they provoke.


Science | Psychology | Nature &Environment
Social Sciences | Philosophy | Literary Criticism &Essays

Launch the 2001 Spring Book List Index