Columbia University Press.Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is an academic press based in New York City and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan (2004-present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, 61 West 62nd Street, NY, NY 10023-7015 800-944-8648 www.columbia.edu/cu/cup Two excellent science guides are fine picks for modern college-level collections. Ross Slotten's The Heretic In Darwin's Court: The Life Of Alfred Russel Wallace (0231130104, $39.50) provides a survey of the life of one Alfred Russell Wallace, who shared fame with Darwin for the independent and near-simultaneous discovery of natural selection. While most know of Darwin, fewer will have heard of the controversial scientist Wallace, a traveler and spiritualist spir·i·tu·al·ism n. 1. a. The belief that the dead communicate with the living, as through a medium. b. The practices or doctrines of those holding such a belief. 2. who shared the discovery but received nowhere near the fame. Wallace spent years of harrowing travels in the tropic: Slotten provides coverage of these years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time process leading to his discoveries, then the remaining fifty years in which he diverged from Darwin on several fundamental concepts and pursed topics other scientists avoided, including spiritualism spiritualism: see spiritism. spiritualism Belief that the souls of the dead can make contact with the living, usually through a medium or during abnormal mental states such as trances. , environmentalism environmentalism, movement to protect the quality and continuity of life through conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and control of land use. and concepts of life on Mars Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. It remains an open question whether life exists on Mars now, or existed there in the past. . Slotten is an MD and his study is astute and well researched. Michael Janeway's The Fall Of The House Of Roosevelt: Brokers Of Ideas And Power From FDR To LBJ (0231131089, $27.50) tells of a band of smart young men in the 1930s who helped Franklin D. Roosevelt transform an America in crisis. They fostered the New Deal which rescued the country--but received little mention or fame. Michael Janeway provides coverage of this group and their links to not only Roosevelt, but Lyndon Johnon's 'Great Society'. Janeway is in the perfect position to report on the group: his own father was part of the circle, practicing politics as well as reporting on these men. |
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