Books
for the 2007 Holiday Season
(This 871st Buffalo Sunday News column was first published on December 2, 2007.)
The
number of important books related to natural history and science seems to
increase every year. Here are my suggestions for holiday giving:
The
Amphibians and Reptiles of New York State by James P. Gibbs, et al. (Oxford).
Anyone who is interested in the natural history of this region should own this
book. There is much information about habitat, conservation, locating
"herps", and even folklore. Still better are the species accounts
including those of the 16 salamanders, 11 frogs and toads, 11 turtles and 14
lizards and snakes found here in western New York.
Silence
of the Songbirds by
Bridget Stutchbury (Walker). Professor Stutchbury is a faculty member at nearby
York University in Toronto. In this excellent survey she analyses the many
serious threats to our North American songbirds, including pesticides, the destruction of vital habitat, coffee
plantations, city lights and structures, cowbird parasitism, and global
warming.
Snake
Oil Science: The Truth about Complementary and Alternative Medicine by R. Barker Bausell (Oxford). I was
concerned when the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
was established and even more concerned when the first director was a strong
supporter of questionable nostrums. The Center has, however, more recently
supported careful research and research analyses. The results are damning. If
you are tempted to try any treatment not prescribed by your doctor, you should
read this book. One of Bausell's warnings is worth repeating: "Going
online to find out what does and does not work is the equivalent of consulting
a Ouija board."
Roger
Tory Peterson: A Biography
by Douglas Carlson (Texas). All birders owe RTP, as Peterson is widely known, a
debt of gratitude. But so too does everyone else. Peterson field guides changed
the face of natural history study, supporting a huge increase in participants
until now so-called wildlife-associated recreation far outnumbers both hunting
and fishing. Carlson provides a thorough and highly readable biography of this
complex man.
Life
in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners by James B. Nardi (Chicago). Life
indeed. Although most are microscopic, the trillions of species that inhabit
the ground we walk on is astonishing. No book could describe them all; this one
identifies larger groups: in the case of microbes we get only kingdoms, but for
more complex animals, phyla, classes and even families. A very useful survey.
Birder's
Conservation Handbook: 100 North American Birds at Risk by Jeffrey V. Wells (Princeton). Jeff
Wells spent much of the time preparing this book at the Cornell Laboratory of
Ornithology. Here he has compiled information about 100 of our most threatened
species. Each is illustrated and has a range map followed by sections about
status and distribution, ecology, threats, and conservation action and needs.
Some we expect: California condor, whooping crane and Bicknell's thrush; but
others we don't: American black duck, short-billed dowitcher, American
woodcock, bay-breasted and Canada warblers, and rusty blackbird. A fine and
needed reference.
Oology,
Ralph's Talking Eggs: Bird Conservation Comes Out of Its Shell by Carrol L. Henderson (Texas). In the
1940s, I knew many oologists -- collectors of birds' eggs. (One was Dudley
DeGroot, later head coach of the Washington Redskins.) International treaties
have virtually eliminated the practice. By extrapolating from the story of an
Iowa farmer's collection, Henderson provides much of the history of this
activity. Among the 1904 egg prices Henderson cites: $3 for a wood duck, but
only 35˘ for a gannett.
A
Dictionary of Astronomy,
2nd edition, Ian Ridpath, editor (Oxford) Astronomy from "A" for
angstrom to "ZZ Ceti star" briefly but clearly explained. Over 4200
entries include past and planned space missions, biographies of important
astronomers and international observatories.
The
Telescope: Its History, Technology, and Future by Geoff Andersen (Princeton). A
thorough, up-to-date and
largely non-technical account spanning four centuries and including information
for amateurs who want to establish their own observatory or even make their own
telescope.
Inside
Your Calculator: From Simple Programs to Significant Insights by Gerald Rising (Wiley). My own book
about the mathematics that supports those remarkable ten digit calculator
computations, like cosine 27° = .8910065242. I wrote this book for those who
retain an interest in math from school or college. Believe it or not, there are
such people.-- Gerry
Rising