Science Library Blog
July 03, 2007
Synthesis Digital Library of Engineering & Computer Science
We now have access to the Synthesis Digital Library of Engineering & Computer Science published by Morgan & Claypool. This is a collection of electronic books that "synthesize important research or development topics" in the fields of computer science & engineering. These books could serve as good starting points for students or researchers wanting to get some background information about or to become familiar with a particular area of research.
Synthesis is available in metaLINK under the various engineering subject areas.
For further information, please contact Alesia McManus
Posted by amcmanus at 10:12 AM
April 13, 2007
IT books available via Safari Books Online
We now have access to 91 electronic books through Safari Books Online http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/
Safari Books Online has the full text of Information technology (IT) books from O’Reilly, Sams and other publishers. To browse a list of these books, select My Content as a search selection. The full text of the each book including code fragments is searchable. We purchased access for 2 simultaneous users.
The books are also cataloged and accessible in our online catalog, infoLINK.
Posted by amcmanus at 04:00 PM
June 06, 2005
New Science Library Books
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
Eiffel: The Genius who Reinvented Himself
David I Harvie
Sutton Publishing
Science Library Stacks TA140.E4 H37 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher: This is the story of Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) and of the conception, and controversial construction of the tower that bears his name, perhaps the most famous tall building in the world.
Why Birds Sing: A Journey Into the Mystery of Bird Song
David Rothenberg
Basic Books
Science Library Stacks QL698.5 .R68 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher:The astonishing variety and richness of bird song is both an aesthetic and a scientific mystery. Biologists have never been able to understand why bird song displays are often so inventive and why so many species devote so many hours to singing. The standard explanations, which generally have to do with territoriality and sexual display, don’t begin to account for the astonishing variety and energy that the commonest birds exhibit. Is it possible that birds sing because they like to? This seemingly naïve explanation is starting to look more and more like the truth. In the tradition of classic works by Bernd Heinrich, Edward Abbey, and Terry Tempest Williams, Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of bird song that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form.
Wisdom for a Livable Planet
Carl N. McDaniel
Trinity University Press
Science Library Stacks GE105 .M385 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher: The book is subtitled “The Visionary Work of Terri Swearingen, Dave Foreman, Wes Jackson, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Werner Fornos, Herman Daly, Stephen Schneider, and David Orr,” each of whom has dedicated his lives to various environmental issues. Each story provides a portrait of the individual’s campaign to improve the conditions for life on our planet.
Posted by erushton at 01:23 PM
May 05, 2005
New Science Library Books
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
Sweetness and Light : The Mysterious History of the Honeybee
Hattie Ellis
Harmony Books
Science Library Stacks QL568.A6 E68 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher: Sweetness and Light is the fascinating story of bees and honey from the Stone Age to the contemporary cutting edge; from Nepalese honey hunters to urban hives on the rooftops of New York City.
Controversies in Science and Technology: Volume 1: From Maize to Menopause
Edited by Daniel Lee Kleinman, Abby J. Kinchy,
and Jo Handelsman
The University of Wisconsin Press
Science Library Stacks QH442 .C66 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher: Written for general readers, teachers, journalists, and policymakers, this volume explores four controversial topics in science and technology, with commentaries from scientists and experts in such fields as sociology, religion, law, ethics, and politics.
One Nation, Uninsured: Why the U.S. Has No National Health Insurance
Jill Quadagno
Oxford University Press
Science Library Stacks RA412.2 .Q33 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From Publisher: One Nation, Uninsured offers a vividly written, path-breaking history of America's failed efforts to address the health care needs of its citizens. Ranging across the 20th century, Jill Quadagno shows how each attempt to enact national health insurance was met with fierce attacks by powerful stakeholders, who mobilized their considerable resources to keep the financing of health care out of the government's hands.
Posted by erushton at 05:52 PM
April 22, 2005
New Science Library Books
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
On the Shores of the Unknown: A Short History of the Universe
Joseph Silk
Cambridge University Press 2005
Science Library Stacks QB981 .S5535 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: In this fascinating book, astronomer Joseph Silk explores the Universe from its beginnings to its ultimate fate. He shows how cosmologists study cosmic fossils and relics from the distant past to construct theories of the birth, evolution and future of the Universe. Stars, galaxies, dark matter and dark energy are described, as successive chapters detail the evolution of the Universe from a fraction of a microsecond after the Big Bang.
The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA
Diane Vaughan
The University of Chicago Press
Science Library Stacks -- TL867 .C467 1996 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on January 28, 1986, millions of Americans became bound together in a single, historic moment. Many still vividly remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the tragedy. In The Challenger Launch Decision, Diane Vaughan recreates the steps leading up to that fateful decision, contradicting conventional interpretations to prove that what occurred at NASA was not skulduggery or misconduct but a disastrous mistake.
Fear: A Cultural History
Joanna Bourke
Virago Press
Science Library Stacks BF575.F2 B687 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: Fear is one of the most basic and most powerful of all the human emotions. Sometimes it is hauntingly specific: flames searing patterns on the ceiling, a hydrogen bomb, a terrorist. More often, anxiety overwhelms us from some source within: there is an irrational panic about venturing outside, a dread of failure, a premonition of doom. In this astonishing book we encounter the fears and anxieties of hundreds of British and American men, women and children. From fear of the crowd to agoraphobia, from battle experiences to fear of nuclear attack, from cancer to AIDS, this is an utterly original insight into the mindset of the twentieth century from one of most brilliant historians and thinkers of our time.
Posted by erushton at 12:34 PM
April 11, 2005
New Science Library Books
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
Faraday: The Life
James Hamilton
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2005
Science Library Stacks QC16.F2 H36 2003 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: Faraday’s life was truly inspirational. Son of a Yorkshire blacksmith who moved to London in 1789, he was a self-made, self-educated man whose public life was underpinned by his devotion to a minor Christian sect (the Sandemanians) and to his wife. He was also a fine writer and brilliant lecturer.
This book is a passionate exploration of his life, work and times (he was a pioneering scientific all-rounder who also experimented with electromagnetism, techniques for preserving meat and fish, optical glass, the safety lamp, and the identification of iodine as a new element).
The Architecture and Design of Man and Woman
Alexander Tsiaras and Barry Werth
Doubleday
Science Library Stacks QM25 .T748 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: The Architecture and Design of Man and Woman is a milestone in science, art, and technology. As Werth writes in the Introduction, “For the first time we see the body not like something, or represented by human hands, or as a grainy negative or video, but very nearly as it is.”
The Red Ape: Orangutans and Human Origins, Revised and Updated
Jeffrey Schwartz
Published by Basic Books
Science Library Stacks GN281 .S33 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: We've all heard that chimpanzees are our closest relatives - that, in fact, they share 98% of their genes with us. But what evidence supports these often-repeated commonplaces? Very little, concludes physical anthropologist Jeffrey Schwartz. In his keenly insightful demolition of conventional wisdom on the family relationships between apes and humans, Schwartz provides a fresh examination of fossil evidence, modern anatomy and physiology, and DNA. He argues that it is not chimpanzees or other African apes that are humankind's closest cousins, but Asian orangutans. The result is a compelling challenge to what we think we know about the origins of humans, and about the pursuit of science. In this thoroughly revised edition of The Red Ape, Schwartz analyzes the myriad fossil discoveries made since the publication of the first edition. He reveals the embarrassing fact that orangutan and human teeth are so similar that they have commonly been misidentified for each other in the fossil record, even by experts. New material provocatively addresses whether molecules (DNA) are more reliable than fossils and anatomy in assessing evolutionary relationships. Numerous new plates and drawings illustrate the text.
Posted by erushton at 12:45 PM
March 30, 2005
New Science Library Books
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
Rachel Carson : A Biography
Arlene R. Quaratiello
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc
Science Library Stacks -- QH31.C33 Q37 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: Few people have had as great an impact on the modern environmental movement as has the great writer and scientist Rachel Carson. This readable and up-to-date biography traces the famous environmentalist's development as a writer from earliest childhood through the publication of her best-known work Silent Spring (1962).
Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School: Skills for Success in the Real World
Carl Selinger
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Science Library Stacks -- TA190 .S45 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: Congratulations! You're an engineer, and now you're ready to take the corporate world by storm. But in order to succeed in your career, you'll need more than just great technical skills. You'll need to be able to promote your ideas, share them with others, and work with a wide variety of people. Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School: Skills for Success in the Real World is designed to give engineers entering the corporate world the "soft" skills they'll need to succeed—in business, and in life.
Clara's Grand Tour: Travels with a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-Century Europe
Glynis Ridley
Atlantic Monthly Press
Science Library Stacks -- QL737.U63 R53 2005 -- REGULAR LOAN
From publisher: Awarded the prestigious Institute of Historical Research Prize, Ridley's sparkling history brings vividly to life the tragicomic story of a rhinoceros named Clara who became a star in 18th century Europe.
Posted by erushton at 12:51 PM
February 04, 2005
New Books for January 30 - February 5
Looking for something interesting to read at the Science Library? Here are just a few examples of some books recently purchased.
The Newtonian Moment: Isaac Newton and the Making of Modern Culture
Mordechai Feingold
Oxford University Press
Science Library Stacks -- QC16.N54 F45 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
The Newtonian Moment, a companion volume to a forthcoming exhibition by the New York Public Library, investigates the effect that Newton's theories and discoveries had, not only on the growth of science, but also on the very shape of modern culture and thought.
Dog
Susan McHugh
Reaktion Books
Science Library Stacks -- SF422.5 .M34 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
This book unravels the debate about whether dogs are descended from wolves, and moves on to deal with canines in mythology, religion and health, dog cults in ancient and medieval civilizations as disparate as Alaska, Greece, Peru and Persia, and traces correspondences between the histories of dogs in the Far East, Europe, Africa and the Americas.
Subways: The tracks that built New York City
Lorraine B Diehl
Clarkson Potter/Publishers
Science Library Stacks -- TF847.N5 D54 2004 -- REGULAR LOAN
In Subways, her highly anticipated follow-up to The Automat, Lorraine Diehl sets off on another sentimental journey, recounting the true story of a city transformed by underground passageways. Through archival photographs, interviews with New Yorkers who “remember when,” and an assortment of rare memorabilia, Diehl introduces us to the entertaining characters who conceived, built, and rode the city’s subways, then travels to the familiar destinations shaped by their tracks.
Posted by erushton at 12:10 PM