What can we do to help fight climate change? It’s a very daunting question for anybody! We may not be able to solve it overnight, but by making small changes in our day-to-day life and being aware of what’s going on in the world, we can feel less overwhelmed. These new books cover a variety of climate actions from cooking sustainably or making your own clothes to learning from the Dalai Lama and Greta Thornberg.
A good appetite : eating for planet, body and soul / Chandler, Jenny
“A Good Appetite is packed with practical information and recipes for making the way you shop and cook more planet-friendly. There are brilliant bite-sized guides to everything from eating with the seasons, batch cooking and the best ways to use your freezer to foraging and growing some of your own food. By avoiding food waste and stretching expensive ingredients, there’s a payoff for your pocket too.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Great stories of New Zealand conservation / Froggatt, Alan
“New Zealand has an extraordinary range of plants and animals, yet a great many species are trending towards extinction. Great Stories of New Zealand Conservation tells 50 inspiring and thought provoking stories, covering all matter of conservation and ecological projects from right across the motu. Some of the projects have been driven by national organisations, such as saving the kakapo and the yellow eyed penguin.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
This month’s recent picks of the new science books feature a ‘biography’ of the Higgs boson particle — tracing the pathway to its discovery across the course of twentieth century physics. Plus, discover the world as it’s perceived by other animals, read Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest, and follow dauntless explorers through the centuries as they discover and illustrate botanic specimens. Plus, what happens when science and the media collide. Have a browse!
Elusive : how Peter Higgs solved the mystery of mass / Close, F. E
“In the summer of 1964, a reclusive young professor at the University of Edinburgh wrote two scientific papers which have come to change our understanding of the most fundamental building blocks of matter and the nature of the universe. Peter Higgs posited the existence an almost infinitely tiny particle – today known as the Higgs boson. […] This revelatory book is ‘not so much a biography of the man but of the boson named after him’. It brilliantly traces the course of much of twentieth-century physics from the inception of quantum field theory to the completion of the ‘standard model’ of particles and forces, and the pivotal role of Higgs’s idea in this evolution.” (Catalogue)
Starry messenger : cosmic perspectives on civilisation / Tyson, Neil deGrasse
“Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time: war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, race, and tribalism in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity for us all. This book reveals just how human the enterprise of science is. Far from a cold, unfeeling undertaking, scientific methods, tools, and discoveries have shaped modern civilisation and created the landscape we’ve built for ourselves on which to live, work, and play. […] From lessons on resolving global conflict to reminders of how precious it is to be alive, Tyson reveals, with warmth and eloquence, ten surprising, brilliant, and beautiful truths of human society, informed and enlightened by knowledge of our place in the universe.” (Catalogue)
An immense world : how animal senses reveal the hidden realms around us / Yong, Ed
“The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving only a tiny sliver of an immense world. This book welcomes us into previously unfathomable dimensions – the world as it is truly perceived by other animals.” (Catalogue)
The plant hunter’s atlas : a world tour of botanical adventures, chance discoveries and strange specimens / Edwards, Ambra
“Circling the globe from Australia’s Botany Bay to the Tibetan Plateau, from the deserts of Southern Africa to the jungles of Brazil, this books presents an incredible cast of characters — dedicated researchers and reckless adventurers, physicians, lovers and thieves. Meet dauntless Scots explorer David Douglas and visionary Prussian thinker Alexander von Humboldt, the ‘Green Samurai’ Mikinori Ogisu and the interpid 17th century entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian — the first woman known to have made a living from science. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 botanical artworks from the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this absorbing book tells the stories of how plants have travelled across the world — from the missions of the Pharaohs right up to 21st century seed-banks and the many new and endangered species being named every year.” (Catalogue)
Breathless : the scientific race to defeat a deadly virus / Quammen, David
“Here is the story of SARS-CoV-2 and its fierce journey through the human population, as seen by the scientists who study its origin, its ever-changing nature, and its capacity to kill us. David Quammen expertly shows how strange new viruses emerge from animals into humans as we disrupt wild ecosystems, and how those viruses adapt to their human hosts, sometimes causing global catastrophe. […] Breathless takes us inside the frantic international effort to understand and control SARS-CoV-2 as if peering over the shoulders of the brilliant scientists who led the chase.” (Catalogue)
There are three meteor showers you can watch in New Zealand this year; head to Royal Astronomy website for more details. And have a browse below at the books starring astronomy.
Dark skies : a practical guide to astrotourism / Stimac, Valerie
“Discover the best stargazing destinations around the world with Lonely Planet. This comprehensive companion includes guides to 35 dark-sky sites and national parks, where to see the aurora, the next decade of total solar eclipses and how to view rocket launches, plus the lowdown on commercial space flight”–Page 4 of cover.” (Catalogue)
The path of minor planets / Greer, Andrew Sean
“In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. Denise struggles for respect in her professional life, married Eli becomes increasingly attracted to Denise and her quixotic mind, and young Lydia attempts to escape the scientists’ long-casting shadows. Andrew Sean Greer’s remarkable and sweeping first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, is an exploration of chances taken and lost, of love found and broken, and of time’s subtle gravitational pull on the lives of everyday and extraordinary people.” (Catalogue)
Astronomy.
“The world’s best-selling astronomy magazine offers you the most exciting, visually stunning, and timely coverage of the heavens above. Each monthly issue includes expert science reporting, vivid color photography, complete sky coverage, spot-on observing tips, informative telescope reviews, and much more! All this in a user-friendly style that’s perfect for astronomers at any level.” (Catalogue)
The practical astronomer / Gater, Will
“An accessible and inspirational astronomy guide that gives you all the knowledge you need to expand your understanding of the night sky.This guide explains and demystifies stargazing, teaching you to recognise different objects such as moons, comets, and asteroids, and explains how they move through the sky over the course of the night and the year. The Practical Astronomer begins with observation with the naked eye, and illustrated introductions show you how to set up and use binoculars and telescopes, and how to take your own pictures.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)
Meteorites : a journey through space and time / Bevan, Alex
“Meteorites is a lavishly illustrated full-colour reference work by two acknowledged world authorities on the subject. Written in an accessible style, the book explains what meteorites tell us about the early history of our solar system” (Catalogue)
Unidentified woman having a polio vaccination at Hotel Cecil, Thorndon, Wellington. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1958/4125-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23259158
The Epidemic Arrives:
The first reports of the virus were in Auckland, with forty patients admitted to hospital at the start of November. By the end of the year cases had been discovered in Gisborne, Waikato and Taranaki, then Wellington six months later. Inter-island travel was restricted, but it didn’t help–the virus soon reached the South Island and overran the entire country.
Communities did what they could, closing beaches and pools. School was cancelled, replaced by nationwide correspondence classes via the radio. At the few public events that did go ahead, councils implemented social distancing rules–with a strict six feet between children at the Hamilton Christmas Parade.
While the above description may sound fairly recent, it in fact describes events in New Zealand between 1947 and 1949, when the country suffered one of its most significant outbreaks of infantile paralysis, what we now call polio.
The Eradication of Polio:
New Zealand had been experiencing polio epidemics–and the resulting lockdowns–for much of the twentieth century. For most of those who caught it, polio usually meant nothing more than a brief fever, but some suffered much more severe symptoms, including paraesthesia, paralysis–as well as life in an iron lung–and death.
By the early 1950s, demand for a vaccine was high. The virus that caused polio had first been isolated in 1908, but it wasn’t until 1931 that scientists discovered poliovirus had not one but three serotypes–vital knowledge for eventual vaccine production.
Three unidentified men holding a carton of Polio Vaccine, standing outside the Tasman Empire Airways Ltd office. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002): Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1958/1019-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23192343
The first batch of vaccines arrived in New Zealand in 1956. Transport was difficult–the vaccines needed to be kept cold, so they made the trip from Britain in specially refrigerated containers. The first Salk polio vaccine was given on 21 September 1956, followed by the oral Sabin vaccine in 1961. By 1963, over two million New Zealanders had been vaccinated.
Paralysed with fear : the story of polio / Williams, Gareth
“The story of mankind’s struggle against polio is compelling, exciting and full of twists and pardoxes. One of the grand challenges of modern medicine, it was a battleground between good and bad science. Gareth Williams takes an original view of the journey to understanding and defeating polio. ” (Catalogue)
Polio : an American story / Oshinsky, David M.
“Here David Oshinsky tells the gripping story of the polio terror and of the intense effort to find a cure, from the March of Dimes to the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines–and beyond. Drawing on newly available papers of Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin and other key players, Oshinsky paints a suspenseful portrait of the race for the cure, weaving a dramatic tale centred on the furious rivalry between Salk and Sabin.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
The health of nations: the campaign to end polio and eradicate epidemic diseases / Bartlett, Karen
“A world free of epidemic diseases might seem a utopian pipe-dream, but that brand new world is a lot closer than you might think. Bartlett give us a rare inside look at how both global organizations and local campaigns operate on the front lines in the war against contagious disease. She reveals how victory will have profound consequences for the balance of world power and will embolden scientists to make even more momentous breakthroughs.” (Catalogue)
Otiwhiti Station : the story of a hill country station and pioneering polio hospital
“The Duncan family have been farming Otiwhiti in the Turakina River valley since the 1880s. The backstory of the station is rich and fascinating, telling both the story of farming this unforgiving hill country and the remarkable family who have put their generosity and farm profits towards charitable projects, most notably the Duncan Hospital, which pioneered treatment for polio patients in the 1940s and 1950s.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Physicians, plagues, and progress : the history of western medicine from antiquity to antibiotics / Chapman, Allan
“Since the dawn of time, man has sought to improve his health and that of his neighbour. The human race, around the world, has been on a long and complex journey, seeking to find out how our bodies work, and what heals them. Embarking on a four-thousand-year odyssey, science historian Allan Chapman brings to life the origin and development of medicine and surgery.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Vaccines : what everyone needs to know / Feemster, Kristen A
“Vaccines: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers a scientifically grounded overview of the science, manufacture, and culture of vaccines in the United States and internationally. Aiming to offer an unbiased resource on this hotly debated subject, it provides accessible, authoritative overviews. Written by a leading authority in both infectious disease and vaccine education, this book offers a clear-eyed resource for parents or anyone with an interest in the use, efficacy, and controversy surrounding vaccines.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
On immunity : an inoculation / Biss, Eula
“Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear: fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in children’s food, mattresses, medicines, and vaccines. Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding the conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world.” (Catalogue)
The best Australian science writing 2011
“From the elemental forces that drive our expanding universe to the delicate hairs on the back of your neck, science offers talented writers the kind of scope that other subjects simply cant match. This dynamic genre of Australian writing has never, until now, been showcased in an anthology.” (Catalogue)
Medicine : the definitive illustrated history / Parker, Steve
“Follow the greatest stories of medicine and its breakthroughs, with incredible coverage of disease, drugs, treatment, and cures. Medicine covers the gory pitfalls and miraculous breakthroughs of medical history from trepanning, bloodletting, and body snatching to brand new developments in IVF and gene therapy with compelling stories and illustrations. Clear diagrams explain major diseases and trace the progression of medical treatment through the centuries.” (Adapted from Catalogue)
Learn More:
Health and Wellness Resource Centre: “Consumer health resource providing authoritative information on a full range of health-related issues, from current disease and disorder information to in-depth coverage of alternative medical practices.”
ProQuest Research Library: “Access to a wide range of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, and newspapers on popular academic subjects. The database includes more than 6,600 titles–over 5,000 in full text–from 1971 forward.”
Science in Context: “Contextual information on many significant science topics and showcases scientific disciplines that relate to real-world issues.”
This month’s recent picks of the new science books feature a ‘biography’ of the Higgs boson particle — tracing the pathway to its discovery across the course of twentieth century physics. Plus, discover the world as it’s perceived by other animals, read Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest, and follow dauntless explorers through the centuries as they discover and illustrate botanic specimens. Plus, what happens when science and the media collide. Have a browse!
