Books
market force. Organic foods, Fromartz explains,
appeal to consumers in several ways. Health-con-
scious food buyers worry about the potential dele-
terious effects of pesticides and
chemical fertilizers. The market-
ing of tofu and soy milk as alter-
natives to traditional protein
sources also marked a surge in
the popularity of these organic
items. In the book, Fromartz
addresses the backlash against
“Big Organic,” the large-scale
organic companies that many
organic-food purists accuse of selling out to the tra-ditional-food corporations, threatening the small-farm ideals of the organic movement. To prevent
abuse of the organic designation, standards have
been developed, defining what can legally be considered organic. Harcourt, 2006, 294 p., hardcover, $25.00.
LETTERS
A selection of new and notable
books of scientific interest
RIVERS OF AMERICA
TIM PALMER
Awarding-winning photographer and conservation-
ist Palmer illustrates in 200 full-color photographs
his lifelong passion for the rivers that create and
weave through the landscape
of North America. His intro-
duction recounts his child-
hood playing along the Ohio
River and his later decision to
canoe and map the
Youghiogheny River. These
experiences awakened him to
the practical, economic, and
ecological importance of rivers. Here he recounts
how that last function is threatened across the
United States. Palmer toured the nation and photographed its rivers from the shore, a canoe, mountaintops, and airplanes. His book reveals the majesty
and beauty of rivers throughout the country.
Palmer’s photographs convey the changing nature
of rivers, from the violence of rapids to the calm of
shoreline eddies. Abrams, 2006, 223 p., color photos, hardcover, $40.00.
THE SINGLE HELIX:
A Turn around the World of Science
STEVE JONES
In 100 succinct essays, Jones takes a whimsical survey of what is known and unknown within the world
of science. He reviews each topic not from the perspective of an expert but from
that of anyone who has pondered
the science behind everyday phe-
nomena. For example, Jones
investigates whether drinking
alcohol releases creativity, the
evidence of glaciers at Earth’s
equator, the public perception of
science, and the role of statistics
in e-mail spam. Jones, professor
of genetics at the University College London,
includes the connection between sleep and memory and Alzheimer’s disease, the battle against creationism, and questions about blood replacement.
With the mathematics of elections and the threats
posed by pigs on the Galápagos Islands, Jones offers
a bit of science for everyone. Little Brown, 2006,
288 p., paperback, $15.95.
Not a pretty picture
“Deadly Disorder: Imagined-ugliness illness
yields high suicide rate” (SN: 7/22/06, p. 52)
raises some questions. What about people
who are physically unattractive—those
whom a majority of the society considers
ugly? I suspect that many people treated for
body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are unat-
tractive by that definition. The psychiatric
profession tends to deny that many of the
“illnesses” it treats are the result of reali-
ties that can’t be “cured” by denial.
FRED KOHLER, ASHLAND, ORE.
Excuse me? Two out of nine study partici-
pants who attempted suicide succeeded,
and this is “double” the suicide rate of some
other group? What if one of those two suc-
cessful attempts had failed because the
attempt was discovered sooner? Is the sui-
cide rate suddenly “normal”?
JOSEPH C. NEMETH, FORT COLLINS, COLO.
THE FAMILY THAT COULDN’T SLEEP:
A Medical Mystery
DANIEL T. MAX
In 2001, Max attended a reunion for an Italian fam-
ily that for 200 years had been afflicted with a mys-
terious and devastating disease. The symptoms are
horrific: The afflicted, upon reaching middle age,
suddenly find themselves unable to sleep. Within
months, the person dies of
exhaustion. Scientists have
discovered that the condition,
called fatal familial insomnia,
arises from a genetic mutation
that creates prions, the same
kind of misshapen proteins that
cause scrapie, mad cow disease,
kuru, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The author explains that
scientists have been baffled by many aspects of
these diseases because they’re like infections and
yet aren’t caused by microbes. Max examines how
prion diseases arise and considers the evidence
that many of them are human-made. For example,
mad cow disease emerged from the practice of
feeding cow-flesh scraps to other cows. He also
outlines how the similarity between symptoms of
prion diseases and those of Alzheimer’s disease
and Parkinson’s have led to increasing research
into prions. Random House, 2006, 299 p., hardcover, $25.95.
Actual ugliness is irrelevant to BDD.
Only people who are seriously distressed
by their belief that they’re ugly have the
disorder. Many people whom others find
unattractive are fine with their appearances. The researchers were cautious
about the findings because some groups
were small. —E. JAFFE
ORGANIC, INC.:
Natural Foods and How They Grew
SAMUEL FROMARTZ
While traditional foods are losing profitability in an
era of rock-bottom pricing, the popularity of organic
foods is on the rise. Fromartz analyzes the catalysts
that propelled the organic-food industry from an
anti-industrial, natural-food movement to a major
DINOSAUR ATLAS: An Amazing
Journey through a Lost World
JOHN MALAM AND JOHN WOODWARD
Few things capture a child’s imagination as
dinosaurs do. This atlas covers the prehistoric era,
reviewing how life emerged on Earth and how the
creatures lived before dinosaurs evolved. Divided
into sections for each conti-
nent, the atlas gives a
detailed overview of the pre-
historic climate and descrip-
tions of the dinosaurs that
lived in it. At the beginning of
each section, a map identifies
the habitat, fossil locations,
and statistics for each
dinosaur. Vivid computer generated images recreate how prehistoric Earth looked in each area, and
fact boxes show how these areas look today. The
book also provides information on famous paleon-tologists. See-through overlay sheets provide an
up-close look at various dinosaur skeletal features. The atlas ends with answers to commonly
asked questions and a glossary. An interactive CD-ROM gives a 360-degree look at these famous
beasts. For ages 8–12. DK, 2006, 96 p., color
images, hardcover, $19.99.
Out of Africa too
What about circumcision in the United
States and Europe, not just sub-Saharan
Africa, as a means of reducing AIDS?
(“Male circumcision could avert millions
of HIV infections,” SN: 7/29/06, p. 77) As
I recall, the most recent trend among U.S.
doctors is to discourage this practice as
painful and unnecessary.
JAMES SEESER, ST. LOUIS, MO.
HOW TO ORDER Visit http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/books.asp to order these books or others.
A click on the link under a book will transfer you to Barnes & Noble’s Internet bookstore.
Sales generated through these links contribute to Science Service's programs to build interest in
and understanding of science.
Slime mold forever
I applaud your coverage of the BioBlitz in
the National Capital Area (“30 Hours with
Team Slime Mold,” SN: 7/29/06, p. 74). You
only touched the surface, however.
BioBlitzes are just a part of All Taxa Biodi-
versity Inventories that are being conducted
from Great Smoky Mountains National Park
to some protected areas in Europe. Specifi-
cally related to slime molds, the National
Science Foundation has funded a planetary
inventory of all species of slime molds, and
a team at the University of Arkansas is using
national parks and monuments as represen-
tative habitats for the study of slime mold
diversity in North America.
PAUL E. SUPER, APPALACHIAN HIGHLANDS
SCIENCE LEARNING CENTER AT PURCHASE
KNOB, LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C.
