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Video Science : Science Times

Publishers Weekly, aka PW, book reviews.

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Video Science : Science Times

City Critic | Salt in the City
In the wake of Mayor Bloomberg's new sodium restrictions, Ariel Kaminer mines out the salt behind the scenes in popular New York restuaruants.

Medical Physicists: Protecting Patients
As medical radiation technology advances, a patchwork of regulations does not always protect patients from radiation injury.

Haiti's Legacy of Environmental Disaster
Even before the recent earthquake Haiti's environment teetered on the brink of disaster. Brent and Craig Renaud report on the country's deforestation problems.

Hospital Infections Increase
The Times's Pam Belluck on the increasing number of patients who are getting infections in hospitals.

A Face of Hope
Recent medical advances have allowed Emily Haager to live longer with Cystic Fibrosis.

MSNBC: New York Times Edition
John Harwood of CNBC and The New York Times discusses climate talks in Copenhagen, the latest in the health care debate, and the re-appearance of Monica Lewinsky.

Negotiators Remain Hung Up Over Disputes
Negotiators in Copenhagen continue to discuss emissions targets, financial aid for developing countries and how to measure and monitor emissions.

Copenhagen Climate Change Q&A
New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin answers reader questions about the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen this week.

Poorer Countries Upend Climate Talks
The Times' Libby Rosenthal talks about Bolivia, one of the countries that feels economically powerless to manage climate change.

Bolivia's Glaciers Melt Away
Bolivia's Chacaltaya glacier - once the "world's highest" ski resort and a crucial source of water for millions of people - melted away in 2009.

Protests and a Financial Pledge
Tom Zeller of The New York Times reports on protesters and the European Union's $3 billion pledge in climate aid to poorer nations.

Climate Talks in Copenhagen
A new report says the decade of the 2000s will likely be the warmest in modern times.

Climate Talks Open in Copenhagen
The New York Times reporter Andrew C. Revkin reports from the global meeting.

Copenhagen 101
The Times's Tom Zeller Jr. and Andrew C. Revkin, along with some people in Times Square, discuss the science and diplomacy behind the climate conference.

A Conversation With Ken Salazar
John Broder of The New York Times interviewed Ken Salazar, the interior secretary, about the challenges facing the federal agency.

Dominican Town Explores Ecotourism
In the Dominican Republic, a small town long troubled by poverty is fighting to hold onto its beaches and transform them into a low-key, environmentally sustainable tourist destination.

Saving Sea Turtles, One Nest at a Time
Global warming and coastal development are decimating Pacific sea turtle populations. In Costa Rica, a group of one-time poachers is giving baby sea turtles a chance at survival.

The Frustrated Left
For Earl Blumenauer and other members of the left wing of the Democratic Party, it's been a tougher year than they expected.

Tainted Meat
Investigative reporter Michael Moss follows the trail of E. coli-infected hamburger that left Stephanie Smith, a 20-year-old dance instructor, paralyzed and brain damaged.

Hamburger Confidential
Can consumers prevent cross-contamination by simply following directions on a package of ground beef?

Ways of Seeing
After losing her eyesight during adolescence to retinitis pigmentosa, Barbara Campbell recently received an artificial retina -- an experimental technology that might restore her vision.

U.N. Summit on Climate Change
Neil MacFarquhar of The New York Times summarizes Tuesday's United Nations session on climate change.

The Debate on Climate Change
Andrew C. Revkin reports Tuesday from the United Nations, where world leaders have gathered to discuss climate change.

Toxic Waters: Coal in the Water
Jennifer Hall-Massey explains how water pollution, which she believes is caused by nearby coal companies, has impacted her family and community.

Open Season on Idaho Wolves
Wolf hunting is now legal in Idaho, after Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar removed the animal from the endangered species list. This video is the first in a series about the challenges facing Mr. Salazar.

Balancing Brazil's Forests
In Brazil's breadbasket, Matto Grosso, a push to fight climate change by paying landowners to preserve forests. Twenty percent of global emissions are traced to deforestation by some accounts.

The Buses of Bogotá
Over the last decade, cities in developing countries around the world have been adopting bus systems like Bogotá's Transmilenio because they are cheaper and ease traffic and pollution.

Paper, Plastic and Persistence
An energetic group of volunteers spreads the word about recycling to residents of one of New York City's public housing projects.

Performance and Safety in Ice Skating
The Ice Skating and Development Center at the University of Delaware is focused on improving the jumps and spins of elite skaters as well as minimizing their risk of injury.

Envisioning Our Distant Past
Viktor Deak works from his home studio, crafting heads of distant human ancestors. His work can be found in the American Museum of Natural History.

An Eventual Switch to All LED
Ted Van Hyning, director of Event Technology at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, represents one of many businesses that are beginning to switch to LED lighting in their establishments.

The Super Memory Club
The Times' Benedict Carey sits in on the weekly bridge game at Laguna Woods and discusses the longest and largest ongoing study of people 90 and over and the potential benefits of mental exercise.

Mission Impossible
Drug-resistant tuberculosis is rampant in Karachi's dense slums. And health dedicated to solving the crisis are challenged by a series of cultural barriers.

Popular Science?
Forensic science has grown into a popular choice for many students at New Rochelle High School in New York.

Questions About Swine Flu
As swine flu appears across North America and various parts of the world, officials are attempting to explain and contain this disease.

Home Green Home: Rich Green, Poor Green
Tom Zeller Jr., editor of the Green Inc. blog, goes downtown to learn more about "Sierra Club Green Home," a Web resource for eco-living that was unveiled at a luxury green apartment building.

Green Inc.: Shedding Light on C.F.L.s
Green Inc. editor Tom Zeller Jr. looks at improvements in — and lingering concerns over — compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Coping With: Prostate Cancer
59 year old Mark Spindle is faced with difficult choices after a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Reporter's Notebook: A Fragile Optimism
The mountain gorillas in Eastern Congo stand to benefit from the recent departure of rebels under General Laurent Nkunda.

Battling Alien Algae
On the Island of Oahu, the Nature Conservancy has teamed up with the state of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii to create a novel means of algae removal. They call their creation the "Supersucker".

Darwin in Song
To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species," the Times profiles Richard Milner, a singing Darwinian scholar.

Obama Seeks to Curb Auto Pollution
Mr. Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the Bush administration's past rejection of a California application to regulate auto pollution.

The Truth About Moving
Moving with reusable plastic bins instead of disposable cardboard boxes.

Science Homework
A new generation of scientists are using is using their own children in their research.

America's Disappearing Forests
The mountain pine beetle, an insect pest, is destroying massive swaths of American lodgepole pine.

Saving Green While Going Green
Times reporter Kate Galbraith gets some tips on saving money and energy while getting the laundry done.

Scientist at Work
Carl Zimmer visits Dr. Roger Hanlon in his lab at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Manhattan's Secret WWII War Effort
Building the Atomic Bomb

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Publisher Weekly Best Sellers News

Good Books' Mayo Clinic Diet Debuts at #1
Intercourse, Pa., publisher Good Books, known for its bestselling Fix-It and Forget-It cookbooks, has another bestseller on its hands. The Mayo Clinic Diet is the first diet book the house has ever published, and, as publisher Merle Good said, “It’s always rewarding to step into a new field and go straight to the top.”

Random Pushes Up Paperback Release of NBA-Winning 'Great World'
Random House has pushed up the paperback publication of last week’s National Book Award winner for fiction, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. The trade paperback edition was originally slated for next spring but will now go on sale December 4 with a 100,000-copy first printing.

The 2009 National Book Awards
The 2009 National Book Awards ceremony returned to Cipriani Wall Street in downtown Manhattan November 18 for the second year, and the place is starting to feel like home. While there was talk of e-books, war and recession, having the inimitable Gore Vidal on hand—he won a National Book Award for nonfiction in 1993—to receive this year's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Ameri...

Hoose Wins NBA in Young People's Literature
The National Book Award for Young People's Literature was given Wednesday night to Phillip Hoose, for Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (FSG/Kroupa), a true-life account of the 15-year-old African-American girl who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in March 1955, nine months before Rosa Parks. Hoose walked to the podium with Colvin, and in accepting his medal, called the honor "unreal." He began by thanking his "brilliant" editor, Melanie Kroupa...

Five Authors (and a Surprise Guest) at the NBA Teen Press Conference
During his introductory speech at the 12th annual National Book Foundation's Teen Press Conference, held this past Tuesday, host Jon Scieszka noted that the "crazy collection of writers and illustrators" that make up this year's National Book Award finalists in the Young People's Literature category offered "absolutely something for everyone"; be it social activism, history, or "lots of kissing."

Colum McCann, Phillip Hoose Among National Book Award Winners
Novelist Colum McCann won the 2009 National Book Award for Fiction for his novel Let the Great World Spin (Random House); Gore Vidal (awarded the medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters) was rambling, witty and profound as he recounted his life; and master of ceremonies, humorist Andy Borowitz, sent everyone home at 10:45 p.m. with a crack about Sarah Palin’s new memoir, Going Rogue, being an early candidate for the 2010 NBA fiction prize.

Wayne State in Fourth Printing for NBA Finalist 'American Salvage'
When the National Book Award finalists were announced last Wednesday, Wayne State University Press was the only small publisher represented in the fiction category, with Bonnie Jo Campbell's American Salvage. It also marked the first time one of the press’ authors was nominated for the award.

YA or Not YA?: 'Stitches' Gets NBA Nomination
On Wednesday, Caldecott Medalist David Small’s graphic novel-style memoir, Stitches, became a 2009 National Book Award finalist in the Young People’s Literature category—which has led to some discussion and debate, along with the usual congratulations.

National Book Award Finalists Announced
The National Book Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2009 National Book Awards. One debut fiction writer made the list, as well as three previous NBA finalists and the second graphic novel in the Awards’ history. Farrar, Straus & Giroux landed three nominations and Holt two giving Macmillan five nominees. Random House has three finalists, one from Little Random and two from Knopf; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Norton each nabbed two.

The Wimp Factor
In schoolyards, jocks may still rule. But in bookstores, the big boy on campus is a wimp. More specifically, he’s a middle-schooler named Greg Heffley, the star of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Next Monday, Amulet Books imprint is releasing four million copies of Dog Days, the fourth installment of the cartoon-illustrated novels—the largest first printing for any children’s book this year.

'Lost Symbol' Sales Over 1.1 Million at BookScan Outlets
The Lost Symbol, the novel sold 1,163,000 copies at the U.S. outlets tracked by Nielsen BookScan from its release last Tuesday through September 20.

'Symbol,' 'Compass’ Reinvigorate Debate on Embargoes, Discounts
The release last week of two of the biggest books of the year—The Lost Symbol and True Compass—once again brought debate about two industry issues: embargoes and deep discount on top titles. Almost exactly two years after the breaking of embargoes on State of Denial and Tough Choices by the New York Times prompted then PW editor-in-chief Sara Nelson to ask what the point of embargoe...

'The Hypnotist,' Hot LBF Title, Tops in Sweden
Not too much new fiction made it to the top of the lists in the major European markets in August, but there was a new bestseller in Sweden, with The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler landing at #1. The novel was one of the hot books at the London Book Fair and was bought for the U.S. after the fair closed by Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Counting Down to 'Catching Fire'
The yearlong Catching Fire countdown will finally end on September 1, the laydown date for the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy. With a first printing of 350,000 copies, Suzanne Collins’s dystopian tale is the first big children’s book of the fall. Jeff Kinney’s new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book may be bigger in terms of print run, as is Kate DiCamillo’s The Magician’s Elephant. But the buzz about the Hunger Games sequel is louder.

Levy, Zafon in Fiction; Mosterd In Nonfiction
Marc Levy, who scored a #1 bestseller last summer in France with All Those Things We Never Said, is back on the top of the charts this July with The First Day, a thriller about how the origins of the universe are different than believed. Though his books have been translated into 41 languages, Levy has had little success in the U.

AAP April Sales Report

Smith in Italy, Zafón in Sweden
Two international novelists topped the Italian bestsellers list in April with Wilbur Smith's Assegai , the latest in his Courtney family saga, landing at #1. Assegai, which has hit several other bestsellers lists including in the U.K. and South Africa, is just out in the U.S. from St. Martin's. French thriller writer Fred Vargas secured the second spot with her newest, A Dubious Place, which wa...

Little, Brown Announces Twilight Publishing Schedule
More titles set for the mega-selling Twilight books.

PW's Review of "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series comes to a close with the release of The Last Olympian, which goes on sale today and has a 1.2-million copy first printing. The PW review follows.

‘The Sorceress’ Heats Up with Marketing Muscle
The “Summer of the Sorceress” campaign, which heralds the arrival of The Sorceress, third book in Michael Scott’s bestselling Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel fantasy series, kicked off last weekend with RHCB’s first-ever PDF/e-book giveaway.

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NY Times Sunday Book Review

Cruel Love
Louise Erdrich’s new novel is a portrait of an “iconic” marriage on its way to dissolution, and it appears to be seeded with deliberate allusions to her own marriage with the writer Michael Dorris.

Drinking and Grieving
The characters in Amy Bloom’s erotically charged, linked stories struggle with love and its loss.

He’s So Vain
The life of Warren Beatty, a man as hungry for artistic control as he was for women.

A Touch of Evil
This slender mystery novel from Roberto Bolaño presents a surreal vision of prewar Paris.

A Wrinkle in Time
Don DeLillo explores the radical manipulation of time in this novel, which brings an Iraq war planner, his daughter and a filmmaker together at a house in the desert.

Truth or Dare
Poems that shun trickery and flirt with both beauty and boredom.

The Scoundrel and the Bride
Clare Clark’s tale of a woman sent to Louisiana to marry a colonist she’s never met is told in the spirit of a 19th-century novel.

French Contentions
This history examines the moral, religious, artistic and political struggles gripping France before and after the Dreyfus Affair.

Some Fun Tonight
An appreciation of Little Richard, one of rock ’n’ roll’s originators.

Moving the Deck Chairs
Joseph Stiglitz has harsh words for President Obama’s approach to the economic crisis.

Faith-Based Defiance
How the church has figured in the lives of black women battling racism and sexism, from the days of slavery to the present.

Slice of Lives
A clever murder and a dose of Big Pharma intrigue sever this novel’s protagonist’s ties to his former life.

Eternal Life
Rebecca Skloot untangles the ethical issues in the case of a woman whose cancer cells have been the basis for a vast amount of research.

From Russia, No Love
English became a secret path to personal freedom for the author of this memoir, who escaped the confines of the Soviet Union at age 24.

Tales Out of School
A survey of the state of American research universities.

Hardcover Fiction
Top 5 at a Glance1. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett2. THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown3. KISSER, by Stuart Woods4. BLOOD TIES, by Kay Hooper5. THE FIRST RULE, by Robert Crais

Hardcover Nonfiction
Top 5 at a Glance1. GAME CHANGE, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin2. I AM OZZY, by Ozzy Osbourne with Chris Ayres3. THE POLITICIAN, by Andrew Young4. COMMITTED, by Elizabeth Gilbert5. HAVE A LITTLE FAITH, by Mitch Albom

Paperback Trade Fiction
Top 5 at a Glance1. A RELIABLE WIFE, by Robert Goolrick2. THE LOVELY BONES, by Alice Sebold3. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks4. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Stieg Larsson5. THE LAST SONG, by Nicholas Sparks

Paperback Mass-Market Fiction
Top 5 at a Glance1. DEAR JOHN, by Nicholas Sparks2. HOT ROCKS, by Nora Roberts3. THE LOVELY BONES, by Alice Sebold4. THE ELUSIVE BRIDE, by Stephanie Laurens5. TATE, by Linda Lael Miller

Paperback Nonfiction
Top 5 at a Glance1. THE BLIND SIDE, by Michael Lewis2. THE LOST CITY OF Z, by David Grann3. THREE CUPS OF TEA, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin4. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, by Howard Zinn5. ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA, by Chelsea Handler

Hardcover Advice
Top 5 at a Glance1. THE KIND DIET, by Alicia Silverstone2. THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, by Gretchen Rubin3. MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING, VOL. 1, by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle4. THE MAYO CLINIC DIET, by the Mayo Clinic staff5. ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A MAN, by Steve Harvey with Denene Millner

Paperback Advice
Top 5 at a Glance1. FOOD RULES, by Michael Pollan2. THE BELLY FAT CURE, by Jorge Cruise3. COOK THIS, NOT THAT!, by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding4. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel5. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, by Gary Chapman

Children's Books
Top 5 at a Glance1. THE LION AND THE MOUSE, by Jerry Pinkney2. I AM GOING!, written and illustrated by Mo Willems3. ALL THE WORLD, by Liz Garton Scanlon. Illustrated by Marla Frazee4. AMELIA BEDELIA’S FIRST VALENTINE, by Herman Parish5. WADDLE!, written and illustrated by Rufus Butler Seder

Graphic Books
Top 5 at a Glance1. THE BOOK OF GENESIS: ILLUSTRATED, by R. Crumb2. THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins3. BATMAN: BATTLE FOR THE COWL, by Tony Daniel4. THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Mike Perkins5. WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

Essay: The Book of Self-Love
Christopher Lasch’s “Culture of Narcissism” offered an indictment of American life that displeased both the right and the left.

TBR: Inside the List
“Gator A-Go-Go” is the first of Tim Dorsey’s 12 acid-splashed Florida crime capers to make the list.

Up Front: Vanessa Grigoriadis
Vanessa Grigoriadis, who has written magazine articles about movie stars as well as pop stars, seems to have a clear preference for the latter.

Editors’ Choice
Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row
Paperback books of particular interest.

Letters: Bored Into Submission
To the Editor:.

Letters: The Case Against Yoo
To the Editor:.