Joseph Henry Press.

Joseph Henry Press

c/o National Academies Press

500--5th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001

www.jhpress.org

Four new arrivals provide important, diverse scientific discussions and will appeal both to school and general-interest collections. Most unusual is Mary Mycio's Wormwood Forest: A Natural History Of Chernobyl (0309094305, $27.95), from the reporter who first visited Kiev in 1989 to interview a local environmentalist about Chernobyl. One would anticipate Wormwood Forest would be telling of a barren wasteland left behind after contamination: 20 years after one of the worst nuclear plant disasters in history, Mycio finds a real surprise: one of Europe's largest wildlife sanctuaries, teeming with rare animals and birds--and all radioactive. An intriguing, startling discussion. Robert M. Hazen's Genesis: The Scientific Quest For Life's Origin (0309094321, $27.95) comes from a scientist who conducts astrobiological research: his search for the space origins of life on Earth has led to many years of research, experimentally tracing the sequence of events which lead to interactions of carbon-based molecules. Other books have been written with theories in mind: Genesis comes from a practicing experimenter in the sciences and traces the achievements of scientists the world over as they consider the origins of life. Mike Hally's Electronic Brains: Stories From The Dawn Of The Computer Age (0309096308, $27.95) covers the period just after World war II when modern computers were developed, examining some of the world's first 'techies' and projects which fostered computer discoveries. Author Mike Hally traveled around the world interviewing surviving members of early computer teams and researchers, and provides a series of rich descriptions from their experiences, paired with a lively history. Julie Wakefield's Halley's Quest: A Selfless Genius And His Troubled Paramore (0309095948, $27.95) tells of a man better known for his accuracy in predicting the periodic appearance of a comet, but who should be renowned for his solving the riddle of accurate navigation for seagoing vessels. Halley was branded a church heretic and he changed science, producing accurate sea charts and documenting geophysical phenomena. His sea voyages were controversial and difficult and make for lively insights into the life of a multi-faceted scientist and early thinker.