ABC-CLIO

Climate change; a reference handbook.

Environmental activists provide a reference summarizing the climate science and policy, historical developments, current controversies and debates, and proposed solutions. They also profile important people and organizations, identify publications and Web sites with more information, and provide a chronology and texts of relevant documents. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Energy.

Dukert (Center for Strategic and International Studies) identifies the sources of energy consumed in the United States as electricity or transportation fuel, and sorts out the interplay among cost factors, supply reliability, the effects on human environment, and time. He explains the different measuring units and why experts are able to generate divergent arguments through the manipulation of statistics. The closing chapters label most calls for energy independence as scams and propose an adaptive approach to a sustainable energy future. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Evolution vs. creationism; an introduction, 2d ed.

Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, provides a reference for high school students and up, examining the creationism and evolution controversy from historical, legal, educational, political, scientific, and religious perspectives. The first few chapters of the book, on science, evolution, creationism, and religion, are intended to provide the background information necessary to understand the controversy. The second section, on the history of the controversy, includes a new chapter on testing intelligent design and evidence against evolution, targeting recent court cases. The third section presents selections from the literature, on both sides of the controversy, with excerpts from the creationist literature as well as rebuttals. However, because many creationist authors refused permission for excerpts to be reprinted in this book, some of the creationist writings are summarized, and references to the original literature are provided, with many readily available on the Internet. In this second edition, new excerpts from creationist literature are included from court briefs and other legal documents that, being part of a court's record, are in the public domain. The final chapter, new to this edition, looks at media treatments of the controversy and at public opinion polls. While the author seeks to write for the high school level and up, the book's dense layout, with few b&w illustrations, will not have immediate appeal to young adult readers. The price of this second edition is the same as the first edition. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Extinct animals; an encyclopedia of species that have disappeared during human history.

A British scholar of natural history, Piper profiles extinct animals within in chronological sections, first during the past century, then two, then five. He pushes the boundary of what can strictly be called history with the next section, to 10,000 years ago, then progresses ever further back to more than 50,000 years ago. The pivotal section focuses on the relatively short period 10,000 to 12,500 years ago, when many believe a mass extinction period began that will eventually be larger than any in the archaeological record. He downplays the Great Human Hunter model of extinction, mentioning climate change, habitat destruction, and other factors as well as predation from humans and others. Photographs are provided of live or preserved individuals for some recent species, but most are illustrated with drawings by Renata Cunha and Phil Miller, along with a few photographs of displayed skeletons. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

A history of infectious diseases and the microbial world.

Writing for historians, health professionals, students, and general readers, Magner (Purdue U.) offers an overview of the history of major infectious diseases, their impact on different populations, the recognition of their causes, factors influencing understanding of disease, and the development of methods used to prevent, control, and treat them. Diseases discussed include malaria, leprosy, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, syphilis, diphtheria, cholera, yellow fever, poliomyelitis, HIV/AIDS, smallpox, and influenza. Also covered are biological weapons and bioterrorism, theories of disease, the emergence of microbiology, and individuals who contributed to the field, such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)