Futurist Reading for 2011

What follows is a selection of new and forthcoming books that have been selected for inclusion in the Global Foresight Books project (www.globalforesightbooks.org) by Michael Marien. and includes titles on medicine, economics, the environment, education, business, and technology. Marien has also included subcategories for later reference.

MEDICINE

Medical Professionalism in the New Information Age. Edited by David J. Rothman (Prof of Social Medicine, Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons) and David Blumenthal (national coordinator for health information technology, Dept. of Health and Human Services). Piscataway NJ: Rutgers U Press, Sept 2010, 224p, $24.95pb. While computerized health information is receiving unprecedented government support, the intricate legal, social, and professional implications of the new technology need further scrutiny. Explores how health information technology (HIT) may alter relationship between physicians and patients, undermine physicians’ traditional information monopoly, increase physician legal liability, and heighten expectations about transparency. An independent HIT profession may emerge, bringing another organized interest into the medical arena. (INFORMATION AGE)

Health and Well-Being in the Home: A Global Analysis of Needs, Expectations, and Priorities for Home Health Care Technology. Soeren Mattke and five others. Santa Monica CA: RAND Corporation Occasional Paper OP323, 2010, 57p (free PDC at wwe.rand.org/pubs). Population aging and better survivability have led to a rapid increase in chronic disease and disability, leading to growing concern about health care system finances. Advanced home health care solutions promise to mitigate these pressures by shifting care from costly institutional settings to patient homes and self-management. A study of home health care in six countries (China, France, Germany, Singapore, UK, and US) shows that, despite the potential, such technologies face many barriers to adoption, such as restrictive coverage, existing incentives, and insufficient health literacy. Home health care devices have theoretical appeal, but challenge and disrupt current paradigms and structures. A new paradigm is needed that focuses on patient-centric care.

The Changing Face of Medicine: Women Doctors and the Evolution of Health Care in America. Ann K. Boulis (Research Associate in Sociology, U of Pennsylvania) and Jerry A. Jacobs (Prof of Sociology, U of Pennsylvania). Ithaca NY: ILR Press (Cornell U Press), Aug 2010, 280p, $21. The number of women practicing medicine in the US has grown constantly since the late 1960s, with women now at parity with men among entering medical students. Looks at how physician women are faring and at how they are transforming the practice of medicine by considering the twin contexts of a rapidly evolving medical system and shifts in gender roles in the American society.

The Socioeconomic Dimensions of HIV/AIDS in Africa: Challenges, Opportunities, and Misconceptions. Edited by David E. Sahn (Prof of Economics & Director of Food and Nutrition Policy Program, Cornell U). Published in cooperation with United Nations University. Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Sept 2010, 360p, $29.95pb. In 2009 alone, 2.7 million new HIV infections occurred globally. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the suffering, with around two-thirds of infected individuals worldwide found there. Examines the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa (which persists despite major strides in averting deaths due to antiretroviral therapy), evaluates socioeconomic implications of the disease, and assesses effectiveness of efforts to control its spread and impact. (HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA * AFRICA AND AIDS)

The Treatment Trap: How the Overuse of Medical Care Is Wrecking Your Health and What You Can Do to Prevent It. Rosemary Gibson (senior program officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) and Janardan P. Singh (economist, World Bank). Lanham MD: Ivan R. Dee (Rowman & Littlefield Group), March 2010, 240p, $24.95 (also as e-book). “The most neglected issue in American medicine today is the overuse of medical care, including needless surgery, out-of-control x-ray imaging, profligate testing, and other wasteful practices that have become routine among too many American doctors.” Money spent for questionable or even useless care is diverting major funds that could be better used to treat patients who are genuinely sick and unable to pay the extravagant changes of the American healthcare system. (HEALTH * MEDICAL CARE: U.S. OVERUSE)

Establishing a Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition. Jay Lee (Administrator of Health Services and Outreach,
Palm Beach County), Thomas W. Cleare (Director of Disaster Preparedness and Response, West Palm Beach), and Mary Russell (Florida Dept of Health, Office of Public Health Preparedness). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, April 2010, 224p, $45pb (also as e-book). The tried and tested Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition stands as a national model and can serve any community in forming its own HERC. Outlines steps and activities needed to begin, and provides a list of policies and procedures that can be implemented. Information in this guide can be applied and customized to any community’s specific needs.
(HEALTH * HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE * EMERGENCY HEALTHCARE MODEL)

Energy and Life: The Promise of Evolutionary Medicine and the Vital Role of Mitochondria. Douglas C. Wallace (director, Center for Molecular and Mitochondrial Medicine/Genetics, U of California, Irvine) and Robert Cooke (Stow MA; former science editor, Boston Globe). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Jan 2011, 330p, $26. Evolutionary medicine “could prove as revolutionary to human health as DNA research.” It concentrates on tiny organelles in every cell called mitochondria, the biochemical power packs that supply 90% of the energy we live on. Declining energy availability due to breakdown of mitochondria underlies the very process of aging. It is largely responsible for the age-related disorders that include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinsonism, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Medical scientists are learning how to slow down and even to reverse mitochondrial damage. New drugs, now being developed, will hopefully lead to better treatments for diseases associated with aging and extend the average life span.
(HEALTH * SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY * AGING AND MITOCHONDRIA * MITOCHONDRIA AND AGING EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE * LIFESPAN EXTENSION)

ECONOMICS

Manias, Panics and Crashes (Sixth Edition). Charles P. Kindleberger (Prof of Economics, MIT) and Robert Z. Aliber (Prof of Intl Economics, U of Chicago). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: June 2011, 256p, price NA. The bestselling classic on the history of financial crises over the last two centuries explores the events leading up to the recent global economic crisis, including the four waves of credit bubbles over the last 30 years. Manias, panics and crashes are the consequences of an economic environment that cultivates cupidity, chicanery, and rapaciousness. (ECONOMIC CRISIS)

An Assessment of the Global Impact of the Financial Crisis. Edited by Philip Arestis (U of Cambridge), Rogério Sobreira (Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration), and José Luis Oreiro (Prof of Economics, U of Brasilia). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Dec 2010, 256p, ₤65 ($103). Considers the origins and explanations of the current crisis, examines the regulatory implications, and focuses on developing countries, especially Latin America. (ECONOMIC CRISIS & LATIN AMERICA AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS)

The Innovation for Development Report 2010-2011: Innovation as a Driver of Productivity and Economic Growth. Augusto López –Claros (World Economic Forum, Switzerland). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Nov 2010, 304p, ₤50pb ($80). Looks at the role of innovation in promoting economic and social development and the future role of technological innovation in international efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Chapters discuss the innovation capacity index, different dimensions of innovation, and innovation profiles for 70 of the most important countries. (ECONOMICS (DEVELOPMENT * DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION)

When the Luck of the Irish Ran Out: The World’s Most Resilient Country and Its Struggle to Rise Again. David J. Lynch (global business writer, USA Today). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Oct 2010, 256p, ₤17.99 ($29). Once an economically stagnant, culturally repressed land shadowed by terrorism, Ireland emerged in the late 1990s as the fastest-growing country in Europe, with a vibrant culture and a historic peace. Today, Ireland is saddled with a shrinking economy, soaring unemployment, and ruined public finances. Offers a narrative that explains Ireland’s downfall featuring both the people responsible for the crisis and the ones enduring it. (IRELAND * ECONOMIC CRISIS: IRELAND)

Stress in Turbulent Times. Ashley Weinberg (Senior Lecturer in Psychology, U of Salford, UK) and Cary Cooper (Distinguished Prof of Org Psychology and Health and Pro Vice Chancellor, Lancaster U, UK). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Oct 2010, 192p, ₤20 ($31.75). Stress is one of the major work-related illnesses and is even more likely in times of economic uncertainty and downturn. Assesses how the economic recession has affected the workplace and how to deal with stress in the workplace; also provides a survival toolkit. ECONOMICS (STRESS AND WORK * WORK AND STRESS)

Brazil on the Rise. Larry Rohter (New York Times culture reporter; former NYT Bureau Chief, Rio de Janeiro). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Oct 2010, 288p, ₤18.99 ($30). Presents Brazil’s climb to superpower status over the last two decades and highlights its current contradictions, e.g.: drug-controlled favelas vs. a high standard of living. (BRAZIL)

Crisis and Recovery: Ethics, Economics and Justice. Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury) and Larry Elliott (economics editor, The Guardian). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Sept 2010, 256p, ₤ 20 ($31.75). The ongoing global financial crisis exposed a lack of moral and ethical leadership in society. Discusses ethics and morality in business, with contributions from the world’s leading commentators on this issue. Topics include the nature of accountability, values in an ethical UK economy, investment and public policy in a globalized economy, ethics in a service economy, marrying the market with the environment, etc. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * ETHICS AND BUSINESS * BUSINESS ETHICS)

The Puzzle of Modern Economics: Science or Ideology. Roger E. Backhouse (Prof of the History and Philosophy of Economics, U of Birmingham). NY: Cambridge U Press, Aug 2010, 216p, $24.99pb. Economics has been very successful where problems have been well defined and where the world can be changed to fit the theory, but it has been less successful in tackling bigger problems. Offers a historical perspective on how economists have, since World War II, tried to make their subject scientific; explores the evolving relationship between the science and ideology; and investigates the pace of dissent within the discipline. (ECONOMY * ECONOMICS: SCIENCE AND IDEOLOGY)

The Squam Lake Report: Fixing the Financial System. Kenneth R. French (Prof of Finance, Dartmouth College), Robert J. Shiller (Prof of Economics, Yale U) and 13 others. Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, July 2010, 168p, $19.95. In the fall of 2008, fifteen of the world’s leading economists representing the broadest spectrum of economic opinion, gathered at New Hampshire’s Squam Lake to map out a long-term plan for financial regulatory reform. Their report provides a unified and coherent voice for fixing the financial markets and addresses the divide between financial institutions and society by “sound and transparent prescriptions.” Looks at the regulatory framework for handling complex financial institutions, retirement savings, and credit default swaps; offers ideas for new financial instruments designed to recapitalize banks without burdening taxpayers; and calls for higher capital requirements as well as a systemic regulator who is part of the central bank. (FINANCIAL SYSTEM REFORM * ECONOMIC CRISIS)

Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk among Us. John Quiggin (Prof of Economics, U of Queensland, Australia). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Oct 2010, 216p, $24.95pb. The recent financial crisis laid bare many of the assumptions behind market liberalism – the theory that market-based solutions are always best, regardless of the problem. Despite the crisis, members of the public, commentators, politicians, economists and even those in charge with cleaning up the mess still hold on to them. Explains how dead ideas such as “trickle-down economics” still walk among us, and why we must find a way to kill them once and for all. Looks ahead at what could replace market capitalism, arguing that a simple return to traditional Keynesian economics and the politics of the welfare state will not be enough to prevent future crisis. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * ZOMBIE ECONOMICS)

The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort. Perry Mehrling (Prof of Economics, Barnard College). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Jan 2011, 256p, $29.95. Walter Bagehot’s Lombard Street, published in 1873 in the wake of a devastating London bank collapse, explained why central banks must serve as the lender of last resort to ensure liquidity in a faltering credit system. Mehrling lays out the innovative principles needed to address the instability of today’s markets and to rebuild our financial system. Also explains how the Fed took central banking wisdom from Britain and Europe and adapted it to America’s more volatile financial conditions; consequently, the Fed found itself serving as the dealer of last resort to ensure the liquidity of securities markets. In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, the Fed needs new guiding principles. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * FINANCIAL SYSTEM REFORM)

Beyond the Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics. Kaushik Basu (Prof of Economics and International Studies, Cornell U). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 312p, $29.95. Mainstream economics and its conservative popularizers have misrepresented Adam Smith’s insight on the “invisible hand” and hampered our understanding of how economies function, why some economies fail, and the role of state intervention. Argues for collective action and the need to shift our focus from the efficient society to one that is also fair. Traditional economics legitimates the current system as the only viable one, thereby serving the interests of those who do well by this system. (ECONOMICS (ECONOMICS * “INVISIBLE HAND” MISUNDERSTOOD)

Dead Ringers: How Outsourcing Is Changing the Way Indians Understand Themselves. Shehzad Nadeem (Asst Prof of Sociology, City U of New York, Lehman College). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, March 2011, 304p, $35. In the Indian outsourcing industry, employees are expected to be “dead ringers” for more expensive American workers they have replaced. Chronicles the rise of a workforce for whom mimicry is a job requirement and a passion. Explores the complications of hybrid lives and presents a vivid portrait of a workplace where globalization carries as many downsides as advantages. (WORK * INDIA’S OUTSOURCING INDUSTRY * OUTSOURCING INDUSTRY: INDIA)

Running the World’s Markets: the Governance of Financial Infrastructure. Ruben Lee (CEO, Oxford Finance Group; former fellow of Nuffield College, U of Oxford). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Jan 2011, 416p, $55. The efficiency, safety, and soundness of financial markets depend on the operation of core infrastructure – exchanges, central counter-parties, and central securities depositories. Yet, despite their importance, there is little certainty or global consensus about their governance. Analyzes efficient forms of governance, how regulatory powers should be allocated, and whether regulatory intervention in governance is desirable. Presents guidelines for indentifying the optimal governance model for market infrastructure institutions. (WORLD ECONOMY * FINANCIAL MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE)

How Big Banks Fail, and What To Do About It. Darrell Duffie (Distinguished Prof of Finance, Stanford U). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 160p, $29.95. Today’s regulatory and institutional frameworks for mitigating large bank failures do not address the special risks to our financial system posed by dealer banks (large banks that deal in securities and derivatives, such as J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs). Such banks pose significant risks to the financial system when they fail. Explains how to prevent the need to bail them out and how to improve the current infrastructure. (ECONOMICS (ECONOMIC CRISIS * BANK FAILURE: HOW TO PREVENT)

As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers Are Transforming Everything. Karl Gerth (fellow at Merton College and Prof of Modern Chinese History, Oxford U). NY: Hill & Wang (Farrar Straus & Giroux), Nov 2010/258p/$26. China’s leaders have shifted from the export-led growth model of the late 1980s to pushing their population to consume more as key to long-term economic growth. China is learning how to spend, with total consumer spending now close to that of the EU and a core consumer middle class of some 430 million. Chapters discuss the growth of personal loans, soaring demand for autos (China now has >35m cars and will have >150m in 10 years), extensive road-building, the massive tourist industry, the new luxury market, fakery and counterfeiting due to lack of regulation, extreme markets, and environmental consequences. [For a longer review, see GFB Book of the Month for Dec 2010. Also see Cover Feature on China’s transition to a consumer economy as a needed boon to the world economy, The New York Times Magazine, 28 Nov 2010, 56-71.] (CHINA * CONSUMERS IN CHINA)

Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital. John Restakis (Executive Director, BC Co-operative Association). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Sept 2010, 288p, $19.95pb. Co-operative models for economic and social development can create a more equitable, just, and humane future. With over 800 million members in 85 countries, “the co-operative movement is the most powerful grassroots movement in the world” and serves as an alternative to corporate capitalism. Discusses examples such as Emilia Romagna’s co-operative economy in Northern Italy, Argentina’s recovered factory movement, and Japan’s consumer and health co-operatives. (ECONOMY * CO-OPERATIVES)

Local Economic Development in the 21st Century: Quality of Life and Sustainability. Daphne T. Greenwood (U of Colorado, Colorado Springs), Richard P.F. Holt (Southern Oregon U). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2010, 288p, $39.95pb. Looks at local economic development and public policy with special emphasis on QOL and sustainability. Draws on case studies at state and local levels, and includes both mainstream and alternative perspectives in dealing with economic growth and development issues. (LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT * SUSTAINABILITY * QUALITY OF LIFE)

Old Assumptions, New Realities: Ensuring Economic Security for Working Families in the 21st Century. Edited by Robert D. Plotnick (Prof of Public Affairs, U of Washington) and three others. NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Dec 2010, 240p, $39.95. The way Americans live and work has changed significantly since the creation of the Social Security Administration in 1935, but US social welfare policy has failed to keep up with these changes. Looks at how workers’ safety net can work better and policy solutions for today’s workers – particularly low-skilled workers and low-income families. Advocates universal health insurance and universal 401 (k) retirement accounts, job retraining and workforce development to mitigate the effects of declining wages, creating wealth-building accounts for children, universal and progressive savings accounts for workers, extensive work-family policies, and restructuring the existing safety net via state-level reforms, but only with a host of coordinated efforts. (WORK * ECONOMIC SECURITY)

Adjusting to Global Economic Change: The Dangerous Road Ahead. Robert A. Levine. Santa Monica CA: RAND Corporation, 2009, 30p, $20pb. Takes into account macroeconomic theory and the experience of the great depression to explain the present economic crisis, warns that the economy may be headed for stagflation, and suggests avenues for escaping the worst effects of the crisis. (ECONOMIC CRISIS)

The Great American Stick-Up: Greedy Bankers and the Politicians Who Loved Them. Robert Scheer (editor-in-chief, Truthdig; senior lecturer, USC Annenberg School; former foreign correspondent, Los Angeles Times). NY: Nation Books (dist by Basic Books), Sept 2010, 224p, $14.95pb. The financial meltdown is at its heart an old-fashioned swindle. Scheer reveals how Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Robert Rubin, Phil Gramm, and others colluded in the fundamental corruption of the financial system. The cause of the meltdown, however, was not an exceptional misuse of power, but clandestine business as usual. (ECONOMIC CRISIS)

Power and the Governance of Global Trade: From the GATT to the WTO. Soo Yeon Kim (Asst Prof of Government and Politics, U of Maryland). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Aug 2010, 192p, $39.95. Analyzes the design, evolution, and economic impact of the global trade regime, focusing on the power that prevailed in the regime and shaped its distributive impact on global trade. The rules of trade forged by the great powers resulted in a developmental divide, in which industrialized countries benefitted from trade expansion while developing countries reaped fewer gains. A successful conclusion of the Doha Round of the WTO is urgently needed to mitigate the developmental divide. (WORLD ECONOMY * GLOBAL TRADE: GOVERNANCE * WTO)

Globaloney 2.0: The Crash of 2008 and the Future of Globalization. Michael Veseth (Prof of Intl Political Economy, U of Puget Sound). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, 256p, $24.95pb (also as e-book). Pre-crash visions of globalization were based on three powerful myths: 1) that global finance was a stable foundation for a global economy, 2) that global markets homogenized and Americanized the world, and 3) that globalization itself was irreversible. The economic crisis revealed the fundamental instability of global financial markets and the unsettled foundation of economic globalization generally. Calls for rethinking the rest of globalization’s myths, to move beyond boom and bust to a sustainable global future. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * GLOBALIZATION MYTHS * GLOBAL FINANCE)

Unchecked and Unbalanced: How the Discrepancy between Knowledge and Power Caused the Financial Crisis and Threatens Democracy. Arnold Kling (former senior economist, Freddie Mac). Hoover Studies in Politics, Economics, and Society. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, 136p, $29.95 (also as e-book). As knowledge is becoming more diffuse, political power is becoming more concentrated and the knowledge/power discrepancy is at the heart of the financial crisis of 2008. Financial industry executives and regulatory officials lacked the ability to fathom the complexity of the system that had emerged. Purchasing $700 billion of ‘toxic assets’ from banks only increased the concentration of power that is a problem for the modern world. Calls for reforms to curb the growth of government and allow more citizen control over allocation of public goods. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * GOVERNMENT)

Capitalism Unbound: The Incontestable Moral Case for Individual Rights. Andrew Bernstein. Lanham MD: University Press of America (Rowman & Littlefield Group), 2010, 146p, $19.95pb (also as e-book). Concisely explains capitalism’s moral and economic superiority to socialism, including America’s current mixed-economy welfare state. Bernstein is author of the Cliff Notes for three Ayn Rand novels.
(ECONOMY * CAPITALISM DEFENDED * INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS)

What Caused the Financial Crisis. Edited by Jeffrey Friedman (visiting scholar, Dept of Government, U of Texas; senior fellow, Institute for Advancement of Social Sciences, Boston U). Afterword by Richard A. Posner. Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2010, 376p, $29.95pb. Leading economists consider the major causes of the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. Essays cover the role of government regulation in expanding home ownership through mortgage subsidies for impoverished borrowers (encouraging the subprime housing bubble), how banks were able to securitize mortgages by manipulating criteria used for bond ratings (leading to inaccurate risk assessments), monetary policy in the U.S. and Europe, corporate pay structures, credit default swaps, banks’ leverage, and financial deregulation as possible causes. Contributors include Richard A. Posner, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and 19 others. (ECONOMIC CRISIS)

Global Urbanization. Edited by Eugenie L. Birch (Prof of Urban Research and Education, PennDesign) and Susan M. Wachter (Prof of Real Estate and Finance, Wharton School, U of Pa). The City in the Twenty-First Century Series. Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2010, 384p, $75. The majority of world population lives in urban areas. In the coming years, as both the number and scale of cities continue to increase, urban issues will be the most important elements of social policy and economic development. Urbanization in Asia and Africa is especially critical. Essays consider a global urban agenda for the next half century, how cities can keep up with fast-growing housing needs, possibilities for public-private partnerships, the role of cutting-edge technologies (GIS software, remote sensing, predictive growth models), and case studies from China, India, Uganda, Kenya, and Brazil. Advocates that cities promote socially inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and resilient infrastructure.
(CITIES * URBANIZATION WORLDWIDE * ASIAN URBANIZATION)

Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth (Second Edition, Updated and Expanded). David C. Korten (president and founder, People-Centered Development Forum; co-chair, New Economy Working Group). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Aug 2011, 336p, $17.95pb (also as e-book). On how to mount a grassroots campaign to bring about an economy based on shared prosperity, ecological stewardship, and citizen democracy. After the economic meltdown in 2008, Wall Street institutions continue creating “phantom wealth” – mere numbers on paper – without producing anything of real value and without any thought of the social consequences, which illustrates Korten’s point that “the predatory Wall Street leopard cannot change its spots”. The alternative to the corporate Wall Street economy is a Main Street economy based on locally-owned, community-oriented “living enterprises” whose success is measured as much by their positive impact on people and the environment as by their positive balance sheets. (ECONOMY * “MAIN STREET ECONOMY” IDEAL)

ENVIRONMENT

Protecting New Jersey’s Environment: From Cancer Alley to the New Garden State. Thomas Belton (scientist, NJ Dept of Environmental Protection). Piscataway NJ: Rutgers U Press, Dec 2010, 262p, $23.95pb. Discusses contaminants in fish, ocean dumping, biological diversity/integrity, endangered species, pinelands and forest preservation, and wetlands protection. After 25 years investigating the impact of toxic chemicals on humans and wildlife, Belton considers key environmental issues in New Jersey and champions the ways common citizens have sought justice when faced with unseen health threats. Often, as people search for remedies, they face “bare knuckles” situations of back-room political deals, infighting, criminals, and hapless victims. Shows how scientists, regulators, lobbyists, and politicians interact, while offering the public “a go-to guide on how to seek environmental protection in practical ways.” (ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION IN NEW JERSEY * NEW JERSEY: ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION)

Water Wisdom: Preparing the Groundwork for Cooperative and Sustainable Water Management in the Middle East. Edited by Alon Tal (Ben Gurion U of the Negev; former director, Israel Union for Environmental Defense) and Alfred Abed Rabbo (director, Water and Soil Environmental Research Unit, Bethlehem U). Piscataway NJ: Rutgers U Press, Aug 2010, 336p, $29.95pb. Israel and Palestine are water scarce and need a vision for the sustainable shared management of water resources. Essays authored by leading Palestinian and Israeli activists, water scientists, and politicians discuss access rights to the Mountain Aquifer, utilization of waters from the Jordan river, areas of agreement and disagreement, and options for resolution. Seeks to be a model for those who see water conflict as an opportunity for cooperation rather than violence. (WATER * ISRAEL AND PALESTINE * MIDDLE EAST WATER)

Running Out of Water: The 21st Century Fight to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource. Peter Rogers (Prof of Environmental Engineering, Harvard U; Senior Advisor, Global Water Partnership) and Susan Leal (Fellow, Advanced Leadership Initiative, Harvard U). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Aug 2010, 256p, ₤16.99 ($26.98). One third of the world’s population currently lives in areas where water is physically or economically scarce. Water availability is declining while population increases worldwide. Explains the scientific, economic, and political aspects of the conservation and protection of water, and the policy action and technology tools needed to sustain supplies. (WATER)

Innovative Approaches to Global Sustainability. Edited by Charles Wankel (Assoc Prof, St. Johns U) and James A.F.Stoner (Prof, Fordham U). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Nov 2010, 228p, ₤18.99 ($30) pb. Looks at the ways businesses can become sustainable as moving towards a sustainable world becomes more and more important. Chapters discuss innovation is financial thinking and action, beyond the primacy of today’s stock price, new models for moving towards a sustainable world, and sowing seeds for a viable future. ENVIRONMENT (SUSTAINABILITY AND BUSINESS *

The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Corruption, and the Control of Our Food Supply. Marie-Monique Robin (French journalist and filmmaker). Translated by George Holoch. NY: The New Press, Fall 2009, 384p, $26.95. On the world’s leading producer of GMOs (genetically produces organisms) and one of the major agribusiness giants. Monsanto controls the majority of the yield of the world’s genetically modified corn and soy and strives to maintain its monopoly. After having manufactured hazardous chemicals and lethal herbicides, Monsanto is marketing itself as a “life sciences” company with a “green” face. Casts a new light on our food safety and corporate control of food supply. (Also see the documentary film with the same title.) (FOOD/AGRICULTURE * MONSANTO QUESTIONED)

Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Aid-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer). Stan Cox (senior scientist, Land Institute, Salina KS). NY: The New Press, Spring 2010, 272p, $24.95. Indoor climate control is colliding with an out-of-control outdoor climate. In America, energy consumed by home air-conditioning and the resulting greenhouse emissions have doubled in just over a decade; energy used to cool retail stores has risen by two-thirds. Air-conditioning gives a boost to global warming, makes possible an impossible commuter economy, alters migration patterns, alters our bodies’ sensitivity to heat, and increases infection, allergy, asthma, and obesity. (CLIMATE CHANGE * AIR-CONDITIONING AND CLIMATE CHANGE)

The Future of Power. Joseph S. Nye, Jr. (Univ Disting Prof; former Dean, JFK School of Govt, Harvard U). NY: Public Affairs, Feb 2011, 272p, $25.95. In the cold war era, power was expressed in terms of nuclear missiles, industrial capacity, numbers of men under arms, and number of tanks in Europe. By 2010, industrial capacity has become an almost Victorian virtue and cyber threats are wielded by non-state actors. Politics changed and the nature of power —the ability to affect others to obtain desired outcomes— had changed accordingly, in favor of more “soft power” and “smart power.” Aimed at general readers as well as foreign policy specialists. (Brief version in Foreign Affairs Special Issue on “The World Ahead,” Nov-Dec 2010.) (POWER * WORLD FUTURES)

Smart Solutions to Climate Change: Comparing Costs and Benefits. Edited by Bjørn Lomborg (Director; Copenhagen Consensus Center; Adjunct Prof of Management, Copenhagen Business School). NY: Cambridge U Press, Nov 2010, 450p , $34.99pb. The failure of the December 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen revealed major flaws in the way the world’s policy maker have attempted to prevent dangerous levels of increases in global temperatures. The collection focuses on the likely costs and benefits of a very wide range of policy options and technological ideas. A panel of economists further evaluate and rank the attractiveness of proposed policies. [A somewhat narrower focus on climate, in contrast to Lomborg’s Global Crises, Global Solutions (Cambridge, 2nd ed, 2009), which also features cost-benefit analysis by economists.] (CLIMATE CHANGE)

Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy. Peter Newell (Prof of Intl Development, U of East Anglia) and Matthew Paterson (Prof of Pol Sci, U of Ottawa). NY: Cambridge U Press, July 2010, 224p, $29.99pb. Confronting climate change is now understood as a problem of “decarbonizing” the global economy. Explores whether such a transformation is underway, how it might be accelerated, and the complex politics of this process. Assesses the huge political dilemmas this change poses, and the need to challenge the entrenched power of many corporations, the culture of energy use, and global inequalities in energy consumption. (CLIMATE CHANGE * CORPORATIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE *DECARBONIZATION * GLOBAL ECONOMY AND CLIMATE)

A Global Green New Deal: Rethinking the Economic Recovery. Edward B. Barbier (Prof of Economics, U of Wyoming). NY: Cambridge U Press, July 2010, 336p, $28.99pb. Addressing the challenges of reviving the worldwide economy doesn’t necessarily point to sacrificing long run economic and environmental sustainability. Presents an economic policy strategy for ensuring a more economically and environmentally sustainable recovery through policy both at the national and international levels. Creating jobs needs to be pursued while reducing carbon dependency, protecting ecosystems and water resources, and alleviating poverty.
(SUSTAINABILITY * “GREEN” DEVELOPMENT * ECONOMIC CRISIS * GLOBAL GREEN NEW DEAL)

The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth’s Climate. David Archer (Prof of Geophysical Science, U of Chicago). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Sept 2010, 192p, $16.95pb (hc, 2008). A few centuries of fossil-fuel use will drastically change the climate of Earth for hundreds of thousands of years. A planet-wide thaw driven by humans has already begun, but it is not too late to avert dangerous climate change. [Winner of the 2009 Walter P. Kistler Award, Foundation For the Future] (CLIMATE CHANGE)

The Global Carbon Cycle. David Archer (Prof of Geophysical Sciences, U of Chicago). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 136p, $24.95pb. Introduces the essential geochemical driver responsible for the Earth’s climate system. Explains how on 100,000-year glacial/interglacial time scales, the carbon cycle in the ocean amplifies climate change, and how, on the human time scale of decades, the carbon cycle has been dampening climate change by absorbing fossil fuel carbon dioxide into the oceans and land biosphere. Explores whether the carbon cycles could once again act to amplify climate change in the centuries to come, through melting permafrost peatlands and methane hydrates.
(CLIMATE CHANGE * CARBON CYCLE AND CLIMATE)

Eco-Innovation in Industry: Enabling Green Growth. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Paris: OECD, Jan 2010/278p. Expansion of economic activity in recent decades has been accompanied by growing environmental concerns at the global scale (climate change, energy security, resource scarcity). In response, manufacturing industries have recently shown greater interest in sustainable production and in corporate social responsibility initiatives. Nevertheless, “the incremental progress falls far short of meeting these pressing challenges,” and improvements in efficiency in some regions have in many cases been offset by increasing consumption and growth in other regions. Eco-innovation will be a key driver of industry efforts to tackle climate change and realize “green growth”. It calls for faster introduction of breakthrough technologies and more systemic application of available solutions. This book presents analysis of the first phase of the OECD Project on Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-Innovation, with chapters on the need for new business models and eco-industrial parks, eco-innovative solutions in three sectors (autos, iron/steel, electronics), tracking performance, macro-level analysis, and diverse national strategies and overarching initiatives in 10 OECD countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US. Strategies include both supply-side and demand-side measures.
(GREEN GROWTH * SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING * ECO-INNOVATION IN INDUSTRY)

Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth. Mark Hertsgaard (northern California). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Dec 2010/328p/$24. Author of Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future (1998) and environmental writer for The New Yorker and The Nation discusses rising sea levels (a three-foot rise in the next 50 years is not impossible), the next 50 years (harsher heat waves and more power blackouts, stronger storms, more disease and pestilence due to hotter weather, less freshwater and food, more forest fires), the 200-year adaptation plan of the Dutch, the need for ecological agriculture, the $50 billion wine industry as an early warning for all food crops and businesses, the insurance industry, and the need for a Green Apollo program to jump-start transition to a climate-resilient economy. (Also see “Adapting to Climate Change: Facing the Consequences,” The Economist Cover Feature, 27 Nov 2010, 85-88.) (CLIMATE CHANGE * WINE INDUSTRY AND CLIMATE CHANGE)

Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth about Cow’s Milk and Your Health. Dr. Joseph Keon (nutrition and fitness expert). Gabriola Island BC (Canada): New Society Publishers, Nov 2010, 336p, $19.95pb. Challenges the obsession that drinking milk daily helps our bodies retain calcium. On the contrary, milk’s inclusion in the diet may increase the risk of serious diseases such as cancer (prostate, breast, ovarian), osteoporosis, diabetes, vascular disease, and Crohn’s disease. Moreover, the milk that regularly makes to the market comes from sick and immunocompromised animals and contains traces of pesticides, dioxins, PCBs, rocket fuel, and even radioactive isotopes.
(FOOD AND AGRICULTURE * HEALTH * COW’S MILK QUESTIONED * MILK FROM COWS)

The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change. Albert Bates (Global Village Institute for Appropriate Technology, Summertown TN). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Oct 2010, 208p, $17.95pb. A new agricultural revolution promises to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to below zero while increasing world food reserves and creating energy from biomass wastes. Since conventional agriculture destroys our soils, pollutes our water and contributes to climate change, Bates looks at biochar as a carbon-negative energy source and a potent soil-builder. Created by burning biomass in the absence of oxygen, biochar can hold carbon back from the atmosphere while simultaneously enhancing soil fertility. It can also bring new life to desert landscapes and purify drinking water. [Also see Al Gore, Our Choice (GFB Book of the Month, April 2010), Chap 10, for extensive comments on the potential of low-tech biochar.] (CLIMATE CHANGE * AGRICULTURE * BIOCHAR * CARBON FARMING)

Green Transportation Basics: A Green Energy Guide. Dan Chiras (director, Evergreen Institute). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Sept 2010, 192p, $12.95pb. Examines sustainable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, straight vegetable oil, hydrogen, and biomethane. Evaluates each according to established criteria: a green fuel source must be socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable; have a high net energy yield; and be clean, abundant, renewable, and affordable. Also explores the most promising new green cars and trucks. (ENERGY * TRANSPORTATION * GREEN ENERGY)

Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing (Third Edition). Doug McKenzie-Mohr (Prof of Psychology, St. Thomas U, Fredericton NB, Canada; editor, J. of Fostering Sustainable Behavior). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Nov 2010, 288p, $24.95pb. Workshop leader to >50,000 program managers and former advisor to Canada’s public education on climate change warns that we are consuming resources and polluting our environment at a rate that is outstripping our planet’s ability to support us. To create a sustainable future, we must change our own actions and educate those around us to change theirs. Community-based social marketing helps target unsustainable behavior, identify barriers to change, understand various commitment strategies, communicate effective messages, and enhance motivation and invite participation.
(SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOR * COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIAL MARKETING)

The Better World Shopping Guide: Every Dollar Makes a Difference #3. Ellis Jones (Dept of Sociology, Holy Cross College). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Oct 2010, 177p (4x6”), $9.95pb (www.betterworldshopper.org). A guide for socially and environmentally responsible consumers that grades many products and services from A to F (e.g., airlines, beer, cars, cereal, coffee, gasoline (Sunoco best, Exxon/Mobil worst), hotels, juice, wine, etc. The updated third edition includes over 45 sources of data, 20 best and 20 worst companies, new product categories, a more accurate ranking system, additional business profiles, and links to the latest online resources. Looks at companies’ commitment when it comes to environmental sustainability, human rights, community involvement, animal protection, and social justice. (SUSTAINABILITY * BUSINESS * CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY * CONSUMER GREEN GUIDE)

Choosing a Sustainable Future: Ideas and Inspiration from Ithaca, NY. Liz Walker (co-founder and executive director, EcoVillage at Ithaca). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Nov 2010, 288p, $19.95pb. Extols Ithaca’s vibrant farmers markets, a community credit union that tripled the savings of low-income people, college sustainability programs, alternative transportation programs (e.g. Ithaca Carshare), and innovative efforts by coalitions of local business, university, government and activists to transform buildings, city planning, health and wellness, etc. (CITIES * SUSTAINABILITY * ITHACA, NY AND SUSTAINABILITY)

Sustainable Development for Public Administration. Deniz Zeynep Leuenberger (Bridgewater State College) and John R. Bartle (U of Nebraska, Omaha). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2009, 160p, $39.95pb. Guides planning, resource management, and outcomes measurement for future and current non-profit and public managers. Chapters discuss: focus on sustainability as a new direction for public administration, economics and the environment, inter- and intra-generational equity and planning for the long run, fresh water, food security and safety, solid waste removal and management, sustainable transportation, wildlife, oceans, measurement and assessment, and cost-benefit analysis. (SUSTAINABILITY * PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SUSTAINABILITY)

Energy for the 21st Century: A Comprehensive Guide to Conventional and Alternative Sources (Second Edition). Roy L. Nersesian (Center for Energy and Maritime Transportation, Columbia U). Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2010, 448p, $59.95pb. The updated edition includes new material on bio-fuels, an expanded section on sustainability and sustainable energy, and updated figures and tables. Chapters on oil, synthetic crude, natural gas, coal, nuclear, fusion, hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, oceans, and biomass. [Note: A clearly-written and fair-minded introduction.] (ENERGY * SUSTAINABLE ENERGY * OIL AND GAS)

Climatopolis: The Future of Our Cities in a Hotter World. Matthew E. Kahn (Prof of Economics and Environment, UCLA). NY: Basic Books, Sept 2010, 288p, $26.95. Author of Green Cities states that ther is no stopping of climate change: the question is not how we’re going to avoid a hotter future, but how to adapt. Cities and regions will adapt to rising temperatures over time, slowly transforming our everyday lives as we change our behaviors and our surroundings. (CITIES * CLIMATE CHANGE)

The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won’t Tell You About Global Warming. Roger Pielke, Jr. (Prof of Environmental Studies, U of Colorado). NY: Basic Books, Oct 2010, 272p, $26 (see www.rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com). World inability to address global warming is the fault of Kyoto protocol supporters, and the meaningless targets and magical thinking of the agreement. A revolution in the way the world’s economy is powered will repair climate policy, while defanging the venomous politics surrounding the crisis. (CLIMATE CHANGE * KYOTO PROTOCOL)

From the People Who Brought You Cancer. Sheila Kaplan (investigative journalist; Washington DC). NY: Nation Books (dist by Basic Books), Nov 2010, 288p, $26.95. Congress has broken its promise to protect the public from neurotoxicants – chemicals that interfere with our brain. Kaplan describes this unfolding public health disaster informed by scientific research that links these chemicals to neurological illness such as ADHD, depressed IQ in children, Parkinson’s Disease, and Alzheimer’s in adults. Also investigates the political players and vested interests that have obstructed protection of the public. (HEALTH * TOXINS * NEUROTOXICANTS * CHEMICAL THREATS)

Privatizing Water: Governance Failure and the World’s Urban Water Crisis. Karen Bakker (Assoc Prof and Director, Program on Water Governance, U of British Columbia). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Oct 2010, 296p, $24.95pb. Proponents of water supply privatization (emblematic in the neoliberal 1990s) argued it could provide better services at lower costs, while opponents questioned risks involved in delegating control over a life-sustaining resource to private companies. Private sector activity was most concentrated – and contested – in large cities in developing countries. Considering the apparent shortcomings of both privatization and conventional approaches to government provision, Bakker explores the alternatives. Chapters discuss the role of the private sector in development, the role of urban communities in providing public services, governance failure of both private companies and government, the commons as a water-supply management strategy, and environmental dimensions of water privatization.
(WATER * URBAN WATER CRISIS * PRIVATIZING WATER)

Coming Climate Crisis? Consider the Past, Beware the Big Fix. Claire L. Parkinson (senior fellow, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, May 2010, 424p, $24.95 (also as e-book). Our current understandings and models are inadequate for confident predictions of the intended and unintended consequences of various projects now under consideration to modify climate change. Highlights the 4.6-billion-year history of climate change on Earth—both before and after humans became a significant factor--and explores current concerns regarding continued global warming and its possible consequences. (CLIMATE CHANGE)

Clean Energy Common Sense: An American Call to Action on Global Climate Change. Frances Beinecke (president, Natural Resources Defense Council) with Bob Deans (Federal Communication Director, NRDC). Foreword by Robert Redford. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009, 120p, $9.95pb (also as e-book). The impact of global climate change extends beyond environmental destruction. Challenges Americans to demand a clean and sustainable energy future before it’s too late. (ENERGY * CLIMATE CHANGE)

Heaven and Earth: Global Warming – The Missing Science. Ian Plimer (Prof of Earth and Environmental Sciences, U of Adelaide). Taylor Trade Publishing (dist by Rowman & Littlefield), 2009, 504p, $21.95pb (also as e-book). Climate changes are cyclical and are driven by the Earth’s position in the galaxy, the sun, ocean currents, and plate tectonics. In previous times, atmospheric carbon dioxide was far higher than at present, but did not drive climate change. Synthesizes what we know about the Earth by referencing peer-reviewed scientific literature and other authoritative sources to dispute the evidence for man-made global warming. (CLIMATE CHANGE * GLOBAL WARMING DISPUTED)

Sustainable Lifeways: Cultural Persistence in an Ever-Changing Environment. Edited by Naomi F. Miller, Katherine M. Moore, and Kathleen Ryan (all at U of Penn Museum of Archaeology/Anthropology). Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Nov 2010, 296p, $65. On how societies perceive environmental risk, how they alter their behavior in the face of changing conditions, and under what challenges the most rapid and far-reaching changes in adaptation have taken place. Exposes the forces of conservatism and innovation which may have been in play in major transitions in the past, featuring case studies of cattle herders in East Africa, hunter-gatherers and pastoralists in the Levant, South American fisher/farmers, and farmer/hunters of the US Southwest. (SUSTAINABLITY)

Switching to Solar: What We Can Learn from Germany’s Success in Harnessing Clean Energy. Bob Johnstone (Melbourne, Aust). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Nov 2010/310p/$19pb. A science journalist shows how the efforts of a small group of grassroots activists found ways to make solar energy a practical solution in Germany (the crucial driver was use of the “feed-in tariff”). Also considers efforts in California to create new schemes to make solar affordable at the municipal level, and the creativity of many start-ups fueled by venture capital. Innovation is being applied to every part of the process, from silicon production to financing and installation. (ENERGY * SOLAR ENERGY INNOVATION)

Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin (Policy Advisor on long –term planning and sustainability, New York City Mayor’s office). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Oct 2010, 192p, $16.95pb (also as e-book). Muslims, like those of many faiths, are compelled by their religion to praise the Creator, take care of each other, and take care of the planet. Abdul-Matin traces Islam’s historical and contemporary preoccupation with humankind’s collective role as stewards of the Earth and focuses on how Muslims and Muslim communities can follow or are already following a green “deen” (“path” or ‘way” in Arabic) in four areas: waste, watts, water, and food. (ISLAM AND GREEN VALUES * ENVIRONMENTALISM AND ISLAM)

Street-Smart Sustainability: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Profitably Greening Your Organization’s DNA. David Mager (advisor to the Obama Transition Team) and Joe Sibilia (chief visionary officer, CSRwire.com). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers and Social Venture Network, Nov 2010, 144p, $16.95pb (also as e-book). Presents ten reasons why sustainability makes economic and ecological sense, and offers step-by-step advice on greening a business profitably. Advice on 1) how to get employee buy-in to motivate your company into becoming sustainable, 2) how to get started by auditing the current sustainability position, 3) developing a plan to move forward, 4) measuring progress, 5) designing products to be sustainable, 6) greening facilities, 7) using renewable energy, 8) minimizing the carbon footprint, 9) finding green vendors to work with, 10) reduce harmful emissions, 11) recycling waste products. (BUSINESS * GREENING BUSINESS * SUSTAINABILITY)

SOCIETY

Contesting Community: The Limits and Potential of Local Organizing. James DeFilippis (Assoc Prof of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers U), Robert Fisher (Prof of Social Work, U of Connecticut), and Eric Shragge (School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia U, Montreal). Piscataway NJ: Rutgers U Press, June 2010, 208p, $25.95pb. For the past 30 years politicians, academics, advocates, and activists have heralded community as a site and strategy for social change. In contrast, the authors find that community has amounted to less than the sum of its parts, in both theory and practice. Their comparative study of efforts in the US, UK, and Canada describes and analyzes the limits and potential of community organizing work. Covers dozens of groups, including ACORN, Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue Committee, and the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal. (SOCIAL CHANGE * COMMUNITY ORGANIZING)

Human Development Report 2010 (20th Anniversary Edition). Edited by U.N. Development Programme. Foreword by Amartya Sen. NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Oct 2010, 256p, ₤24.99 ($40). Reviews the past two decades of human development trends and challenges, drivers and barriers, and measurement challenges. Provides newly available data and supplementary indices weighing the effect of income inequalities, gender disparities, and household-level poverty. (HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT * DEVELOPMENT * SOCIETY)

Developing Multicultural Leaders: The Journey to Leadership Success. Farid Muna and Ziad Zennie (both Meirc Training and Consulting). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Oct 2010, 160p, ₤65 ($103). Indentifies three stages of leadership development and what leaders should do exceptionally well to become and remain outstanding in organizations operating in multicultural environments. (MULTICULTURAL LEADERSHIP * LEADERSHIP)

Will the Last Reporter Please Turn Out the Lights: The Collapse of Journalism and What Can Be Done to Fix It. Edited by Robert W. McChesney (Prof of Communications, U of Illinois, Urbana) and Victor Pickard (Asst Prof of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU). NY: The New Press, Fall 2010, 224p, $17.95pb. Assembles 12 revised and updated seminal pieces on the crisis of journalism. Provides a comprehensive portrait of the newspaper industry’s predicament, analyzes financial and structural causes of newspapers’ sudden collapse, and includes proposals to rescue journalism from impending disaster. (NEWS MEDIA COLLAPSE * JOURNALISM IN CRISIS)

The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future. Robert Darnton (University Prof and Director, Harvard U Library). NY: Public Affairs, Aug 2010, 256p, 13.95pb (hc: Oct 2009/240p/$23.95). The era of the printed book is at a crossroad. E-readers are flooding the market, books are available to read on cell phones, and companies such as Google, Amazon, and Apple are competing to command near monopolistic positions as sellers and dispensers of digital information. Questions whether the printed book is resilient enough to survive the digital revolution, or it will become obsolete? (COMMUNICATION * BOOKS: PAST AND FUTURE)

How Dictators Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Web. Evgeny Morozov (contributing editor, Foreign Policy; former Open Society Institute fellow). NY: Public Affairs, Jan 2011, $24.95. Greater access to information pacifies a population as much as it incites it to revolution. Argues we must stop thinking of the internet and social media as instant cures for repression because, in some cases, they can even threaten democracy. Despite the reportedly liberalizing force of the Internet, regimes in Iran and China are as stable and repressive as ever. Actually, authoritarian regimes are effectively using the Internet to suppress free speech and democracy. (COMMUNICATION * INTERNET * FREE SPEECH AND INTERNET)

Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future. Ian Goldin (Director, James Martin 21st Century School, U of Oxford; former VP, World Bank) and Geoffrey Cameron (Senior Policy Advisor, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 352p, $35. Charts the past and present of international migration, as having “fueled the engine of human progress.” Migrants in today’s world connect markets, fill labor gaps, and enrich social diversity, yet current migration policies are based on misconceptions and fears about migration’s long-term contributions and social dynamics. Challenges the view that dramatic growth in migration is undesirable, and propose new approaches for governance that will embrace this international mobility and “allow everyone to benefit from its unstoppable future growth.” (MIGRATION)

Noir Urbanisms: Dystopic Images of the Modern City. Edited by Gyan Prakash (Prof of History, Princeton U). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Oct 2010, 288p, $29.95pb. Contributors explore dystopic images in Germany, Mexico, Japan, India, South Africa, China, and the US. Topics include representations of urban dystopia in Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis; 1960s modernist architecture in Mexico City; Hollywood film noir of the 1940s and 1950s; the recurring fictional destruction of Tokyo in postwar Japan’s sci-fi doom culture; Delhi’s out-of-control and media-saturated urbanism in the 1980s and 1990s, etc. (CITIES * DYSTOPIC IMAGES OF CITIES)

Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession. Francesco Duina (Assoc Prof of Sociology, Bates College). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 256p, $32.50. Competition is not a human universal, but a historical and cultural phenomenon. Competition’s prominence in America arises from our unsatisfied desire for a clear, positive, and socially approved identity. Most of us are taught from a young age to be winners and to avoid to be losers, but it does not always lead to happiness. Winning and losing are artificial and flawed concepts that put us at odd with ourselves. Proposes a new mind set for how we can pursue our dreams and our proper place in the world. (SOCIETY * HAPPINESS * WINNING: AMERICAN OBSESSION)

The Imperative of Integration. Elisabeth Anderson (Prof of Philosophy and Women’s Studies, U of Michigan). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Oct 2010, 232p, $29.95. Despite progress towards racial equality, African Americans remain disadvantaged on virtually all measures of well-being. Segregation is a key cause of all these problems. Exposes the deficiencies of racial views on both the right and the left. Conservatives explain black disadvantage in terms of cultural pathology, while color blindness is “morally misguided” and multicultural celebrations are not enough to solve racial problems. Supports affirmative action as a tool to promote integration, and explores integration beyond affirmative action. (SOCIETY * INTEGRATION * RACE AND SEGREGATION IN U.S. * AFFIRMATIVE ACTION)

Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking is Undermining America. Barbara Ehrenreich. NY: Picador, Aug 2010/256p/$15pb. (hc: Metropolitan Books, Oct 2009/$23). Author of Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch (on the futile pursuit of the American Dream) critiques the American era of irrational optimism, being positive as the key to success and prosperity, the science of happiness, evangelical mega-churches, the business of motivation, and especially the business community in general. Explains how positive thinking has destroyed the US economy by entering “a symbiotic relationship with American capitalism” and thus being blind to negative developments. (SOCIETY * POSITIVE THINKING QUESTIONED)

Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities. Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett (architects). Gabriola Island BC: New Society Publishers, Feb 2011, 336p, $32.95pb. Cohousing communities create unique opportunities for designing more sustainable lifestyles. Whether urban, suburban, or rural: senior or intergenerational; retrofit or new, the authors of Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves show how the physical structure of cohousing communities lend themselves to a more efficient use of resources, and make everything from gardening to childcare to socializing easier. Includes extensive case studies of diverse communities in Europe and North America. (HOUSING * COHOUSING * SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES)

The Colors of Poverty: Why Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist. Edited by Ann Chih Lin (Assoc Prof of Public Policy, U of Michigan) and David R. Harris (Prof of Sociology, Cornell U). NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Sept 2010, 344p, $24.95pb. Reframes the debate over the causes of minority poverty by emphasizing the cumulative effects of disadvantage in perpetuating poverty across generations. Contributors consider a kaleidoscope of factors that contribute to widening racial gaps, including education, racial discrimination, social capital, immigration, incarceration, and growing public tolerance for disparity and inequality. (SOCIETY * POVERTY * INEQUALITY)

The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Inequality around the Globe. Branko Milanovic (lead economist, World Bank Research Division). NY: Basic Books, Dec 2010, 256p, $25.95. A collection of stories discusses inequality throughout ages – modern Britain, Roman Empire, present times – comparing individuals and price and consumption differences around the world. The author of Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality discusses how to think about inequality, why it matters, and what we can do about it. (INEQUALITY: WORLD HISTORY)

Manning Up: How the Feminist Revolution Has Turned Men into Boys. Kay S. Hymowitz (fellow, Manhattan Institute; NYC). NY: Basic Books, March 2011, 256p, $25.95. The gains of the feminist revolution have had a dramatic, unanticipated effect on the current generation of young men, who find themselves lost in a world where women make more money, are more educated, and are less likely to settle down and build a family. Describes the infantilization of young men and the “lad culture,” arguing that it is time for these young men to “man up”. (SOCIETY * FEMINIST REVOLUTION AND MEN * YOUTH)

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (with a new preface by the author). Chris Hedges (senior fellow, Nation Institute; distinguished fellow, Princeton U). NY: Nation Books (dist by Basic Books), Nov 2010, 256p, $14.95pb. Explores the American obsession with celebrity and the epidemic of illiteracy that threatens our cultural integrity; also exposes the mechanisms used to divert us from confronting the economic, political, and moral collapse around us. (SOCIETY * ILLITERACY EPIDEMIC IN U.S.)

The Just City. Susan S. Fainstein (Prof of Urban Planning, Harvard U). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Aug 2010, 232p, $29.95. For the last three decades, neoliberalism has caused the allocation of spatial, political, economic, and financial resources to favor economic growth at the expense of wider social benefits. Fainstein’s concept of ‘the just city’ advocates a different approach to urban development. It combines progressive city planners’ earlier focus on equity and well-being with considerations of diversity and participation so as to foster a better quality of urban life within the context of a global capitalist political economy. Draws on the work of John Rawls and Martha Nussbaum to develop an approach to justice relevant to 21st century cities that incorporates diversity, democracy, and equity, with case studies of New York, London, and Amsterdam. (CITIES * INEQUALITY * URBAN PLANNING * “JUST CITY” PLANNING)

A New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Shape the American Labor Movement. Amy B. Dean (founder, Working Partnerships USA and Building Partnerships USA) and David B. Reynolds (Coordinator, Labor Studies Center, Wayne State U). Foreword by Harold Meyerson (editor at large, American Prospect). A Century Foundation Book. Ithaca NY: ILR Press (Cornell U Press), Aug 2010, 304p, $19.95pb. Offers a bold plan to revitalize American labor activism and build a sense of common purpose between labor and community organizations. Regional power-building tactics of labor organizations rely on coalition-building, leadership development, policy research, and aggressive political action. (WORK * LABOR MOVEMENT: NEW VISION)

Creative State: Forty Years of Migration and Development Policy in Morocco and Mexico. Natasha Iskander (Asst Prof of Public Policy, NYU). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Sept 2010, 392p, $29.95pb. Argues that state can be a site of creativity by exploring Morocco and Mexico’s successful and creative policies over the last 40 years. Both countries have capitalized emigration for economic growth by bringing migrants into the banking system, capturing remittances for national development projects, fostering partnerships with emigrants for infrastructure design and provision, etc. The process of policy design was so iterative and improvisational that neither governments nor their migrant constituencies predicted or intended that new initiatives would fundamentally define nationhood, development, and citizenship.
(MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY * MOROCCO * MEXICO)

Rich, Free, and Miserable: The Failure of Success in America. John Brueggemann (Prof of Sociology, Skidmore College). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, April 2010, 220p, $36.95 (also as e-book). The American Dream is in trouble. The country’s troubles stem from something deeper than patterns of spending and saving. Rather, our troubles come from a breakdown in morality, seen as responsibility to families, communities, and country. Advocates new ways to help people connect to their families and communities.
(SOCIETY * RESPONSIBILITY BREAKDOWN * MORALITY CRISIS IN U.S.)

The Mouse That Roared: Disney and The End of Innocence (Updated and Expanded Edition). Henry A. Giroux (Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies, McMaster U) and Grace Pollock (U of Western Ontario). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, March 2010, 192p, $17.95pb (also as e-book). While hiding behind a cloak of innocence and entertainment, Disney strives to dominate global media and shape the desires, needs, and futures of today’s children. Disney’s marketing targeted to tweens and teens provides the tools through which young people construct and support their identities, values, and knowledge of the world, idealizing the goal of building a global culture.
(DISNEY AND YOUTH/CHILDREN * YOUTH AND DISNEY * CHILDREN AND DISNEY)

Race, Wrongs, and Remedies: Group Justice in the 21st Century. Amy L. Wax (Prof of Law, U of Pennsylvania). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009, 200p, $29.95 (also as e-book). Effectively addressing today’s persistent racial disparities requires dispelling the confusion surrounding the role of blacks in achieving equality. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that discrimination against blacks has dramatically abated. The most important factors now impeding black progress are behavioral (low educational attainment, poor socialization and work habits, drug use, criminality, paternal abandonment, and non-marital child-bearing). These maladaptive patterns are largely the outgrowth of past discrimination and oppression. The black community, however, must solve these problems from within.
(SOCIETY * BLACK PROGRESS: BARRIERS * INEQUALITY)

From Immigrants to Americans: The Rise and Fall of Fitting In. Jacob L. Vigdor (Prof of Public Policy, Duke U). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, 240p, $34.95 (also as e-book). In response to the widespread perception that immigrants are not assimilating into society the way they should, or perhaps the way they once did, Vigdor offers a direct comparison of the experiences of immigrants in the US from the mid-19th century to the present day.
(IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. * MIGRATION)

Bioethics, Law, and Human Life Issues: A Catholic Perspective on Marriage, Family, Contraception, Abortion, Reproductive Technology, and Death and Dying. D. Brian Scarnecchia (founding president, International Solidarity & Human Rights Institute; Assoc Prof of Human Life and Legal Studies, Franciscan U of Steubenville). Lanham MD: The Scarecrow Press (Rowman & Littlefield Group), April 2010, 288p, $50 (also as e-book). Applies Christian moral principles to today’s most contentious ethical issues: reproductive technology, embryo adoption, contraception, abortion, family and same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. Considers central human life issues with reference to Catholic Church social teaching and to contrasting positions of today’s leading ethicists.
(BIOETHICS: CATHOLIC VIEW * HUMAN LIFE ISSUES AND CATHOLIC TEACHING)

Problem Solving Courts: New Approaches to Criminal Justice. JoAnn Miller (Prof of Sociology, Purdue U) and Donald C. Johnson (former superior court judge, Indiana). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2009, 288p, $49.95 (also as e-book). Examines a relatively new approach to criminal justice in which judges, advised by mental health workers, meet with offenders on a weekly basis to talk about their issues in a socio-legal setting where therapeutic intervention is combined with a measure of punishment for program violations. The authors, who have created three successful problem-solving courts, address the compelling need for alternatives to prisons and the impact that problem solving courts can have on offenders and their communities. (CRIME/JUSTICE * COURTS * PROBLEM SOLVING COURTS)

The Nightly News Nightmare: Media Coverage of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1988-2008 (Third Edition). Stephen J. Farnsworth (Asst Prof of Communication, George Mason U) and S. Robert Lichter (Prof of Communication, George Mason U; director, Center for Media and Public Affairs). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Aug 2010, 246p, $24.95pb (also as e-book). Describes changes in the amount, tone, and focus of news coverage in these different electoral contexts; finds that the news media, despite the wide variety of outlets, have consistent problems in terms of fairness and focus on substantive matters rather than the horse-race reporting of the latest polls. Also finds that online news had many of the same problems found in mainstream news coverage, and that the 2008 election cycle had the biggest problems with media bias in the six election cycles examined here. (COMMUNICATION * MEDIA COVERAGE: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS)

Global Perspectives on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking (Two Volumes). Edited by Rochelle L. Dalla (U of Nebraska), Lynda M. Baker (Wayne State U), and Celia Williamson (U of Toledo) Lanham MD: Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield Group), Dec 2010, 384p, $85 (also as e-book). The two-volume set on the sex industry in developed and developing countries devotes each chapter to a particular country in one of seven geo-cultural areas of the world. Contributors –international scholars, service providers, and policy advocates – represent a variety of fields and disciplines, with varied frames of reference and theoretical underpinnings. Volume 1 examines the sex industry in countries within Africa, Asia, Middle East, and Oceana. Volume 2 focuses on Europe, Latin America, and North America. (PROSTITUTION WORLDWIDE * SEX INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE * CRIME)

Humanity on a Tightrope: Thoughts on Empathy, Family, and Big Changes for a Viable Future. Paul R. Ehrlich (Prof of Population Studies, Stanford U) and Robert E. Ornstein (former Prof, Stanford U; chairman, Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge). Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Sept 2010, 210p, $22.95 (also as e-book). Family and family values often create an “us versus them” mentality that is at the root of many of today’s most crucial problems such as terrorism, racism, war, and failure of humanity to come to grips with potentially lethal global environment problems. A basic element for solving the human predicament is to quickly spread the domain of empathy. Builds on the findings of social and natural science to describe how we can do that. Civilization is unlikely to persist unless many more people learn to put themselves in the shoes of others, to keep society balancing on the tightrope to sustainability suspended over the collapse of civilization. (WORLD FUTURES * HUMANITY ON A TIGHTROPE * EMPATHY TO SOLVE HUMAN PREDICAMENT)

Miami: Mistress of the Americas. Jan Nijman (Director, Urban Studies Program, U of Miami). Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2010, 264p, $22.5pb. Miami’s urban transformation coincides with the surging forces of globalization. Its status of “mistress” is due to its cultural and economic dominance at the nexus of north and south. As a social laboratory in urban change and human relationships in a high-speed, high-mobility era, Miami (one of the most transient of all major metropolitan areas in America) raises important questions about identity, citizenship, place-attachment, transnationalism, and cosmopolitanism. (CITIES * MIAMI’S TRANSFORMATION)

Reconciliation in Divided Societies: Finding Common Ground. Erin Daly (Prof of Law, Widener U) and Jeremy Sarkin (Prof of Law, U of the Western Cape; Cape Town, South Africa). Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Nov 2010, 344p, $26.50pb. Scores of truth and reconciliation commissions are helping to bring people together and heal the wounds of deeply divided societies. Since the South African transition, countries as diverse as Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, Fiji, Morocco, and Peru, among others, have placed reconciliation at the center of their reconstruction and development program. Explores what true reconciliation entails, how to achieve it, and how to assess its achievement. Reconciliation requires fundamental political and economic reform, along with personal healing, if it is to be effective in establishing lasting peace and stability. (DIVIDED SOCIETIES RECONCILED * RECONCILIATION IN DIVIDED SOCIETIES)

Citizenship, Borders, and Human Needs. Edited by Rogers M. Smith (Distinguished Prof of Pol Sci, U of Pennsylvania). Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Dec 2010, 472p, $65. From anxiety about Muslim immigrants in Western Europe to concerns about undocumented workers in the US, disputes over immigration have proliferation and intensified in recent years, and show little sign of fading away. These essays by leading international scholars from a wide range of disciplines explore the economic, cultural, political, and normative aspects of comparative immigration policies, with a focus on whose needs are truly helped and harmed by current migration patterns and different models of managing cultural identity. Also explores policies and outcomes in immigrant-sending countries.
(MIGRATION * IMMIGRATION POLICIES COMPARED)

The Unbelievers: The Evolution of Modern Atheism. S.T. Joshi (Seattle WA). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Feb 2011, 300p, $19pb. Atheism, once a minority view, is now openly embraced by an increasing number of scientists, philosophers, politicians, and celebrities. The intellectual history helps illuminate our understanding of contemporary atheist, agnostic, and secularist thought. Several leading 19C thinkers - Thomas Henry Huxley, Leslie Stephen, John Stewart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Mark Twain - openly voiced skepticism about long-standing Christian beliefs. Prominent atheist thought in the early 20C featured Clarence Darrow, H.L. Mencken, Bertrand Russell, and H.P. Lovecraft. Turning to recent decades, Joshi evaluates the work of Gore Vidal, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. (SOCIETY * RELIGION * ATHIESM EVOLVING)

The Lost Art of Happiness. Arthur Dobrin (Prof, School for University Studies, Hofstra U). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Jan 2011, 240p, $17pb. The pursuit of happiness is a tantalizing and frustrating endeavor in a culture that emphasizes individual needs and wants as the primary focus of life. The pervasive and gnawing sense of dissatisfaction is mainly self-inflicted. Dobrin contrasts our culture’s obsession with the individual with the emphasis on community found in more traditional cultures, where levels of satisfaction appear to be much greater. Good life results not from the private pursuit of happiness but from relationships that foster mutual enhancement and are built on a foundation of compassion for others and justice for all. (SOCIETY * HAPPINESS)

Meaning and Value in a Secular Age: Why Eupraxsophy Matters. The Writings of Paul Kurtz. Edited by Nathan Bupp (vice president, Center for Inquiry; assoc editor, Free Inquiry). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Jan 2011, 265p, $19pb. The term eupraxsophy was first coined and introduced by Paul Kurtz in 1988 to characterize a secular orientation to life that stands in contrast to religion. Eupraxsophy offers a thoroughly secular moral vision, which respects the place of human values in the context of the natural world and presents an empirically responsible yet hopeful picture of the human situation in the cosmos. Kurtz’ brand of humanism moves above and beyond the current “new atheism”: it successfully bridges the cultural divide between science and value, while providing a genuine and constructive ethical alternative to religion. (SOCIETY * RELIGION * EUPRAXOLOGY * VALUES * SECULAR MORAL VISION)

Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country. Thom Hartmann (author of 20 books). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Oct 2010, 216p, $24.95 (also as e-book). A progressive talk radio host heard on >100 stations asserts that, to restore an America beset by problems (joblessness, declining wages, huge disparities in wealth, corruption, environmental degradation, and corporate domination), one needs to go back to the system designed by the Founding Fathers. Recommended initiatives are rooted in America’s past – ideas that worked well for decades, e.g.: tariff-based trade policy (it serves America better than free trade, keeping industry healthy and wages strong), a return to curbing the corporate power (by enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act), making Medicare available to everyone, and higher tax rates for the rich.

BUSINESS

The Future of Leadership Development: Corporate Needs and the Role of Business Schools. Edited by Jordi Canals (Dean and Prof of Economics, IESE Business School, Spain). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Aug 2010, Nov 2010, 304p, ₤25 ($40). The current financial crisis highlights the need to rethink business leadership and the role of business schools in developing the leaders of tomorrow. Brings together the perspectives of deans of top international business schools, and the views of CEOs and senior business leaders. (LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT * BUSINESS SCHOOLS)

Trans-Cultural Leadership for Transformation. Isabelle Derungs-Ruhier (Prof of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne U, Switzerland). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Dec 2010, 304p, ₤65 ($103). Explores leadership development on many different levels in an era of internationalization, when societies and organizations are becoming increasingly multicultural and undergoing many changes. The focus is on the correlation of culture, leadership, and organization in transition. (LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT)

Innovative Approaches to Global Sustainability. Edited by Charles Wankel (Assoc Prof, St. Johns U) and James A.F.Stoner (Prof, Fordham U). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Nov 2010, 228p, ₤18.99 ($30) pb. Looks at the ways businesses can become sustainable as moving towards a sustainable world becomes more and more important. Chapters discuss innovation is financial thinking and action, beyond the primacy of today’s stock price, new models for moving towards a sustainable world, and sowing seeds for a viable future. ENVIRONMENT (SUSTAINABILITY AND BUSINESS *

Ethical Leadership: Global Challenges and Perspectives. Edited by Carla Millar (Prof of Intl Marketing and Management, U of Twente, the Netherlands) and Eve Poole (Deputy Director, Public Leadership Centre, Ashridge Business School, UK). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Nov 2010, 208, ₤65 ($103). Presents the ethical leadership dilemmas of day-to-day international business life in all their complexity and proves a range of angles, options, and ideas to feed a questioning mind. Chapters discuss ethical leadership in a global world, leadership in various countries, moral compass for global leadership, spirituality-anchored leadership, global ethical leadership and the future. (LEADERSHIP * ETHICAL LEADERSHIP * BUSINESS AND ETHICAL LEADERSHIP)

Customer Experience: Future Trends & Insights. Colin Shaw (Founding Partner, Beyond Philosophy), Qaalfa Dibeehi (Beyond Philosophy), and Steven Walden (Head of Research, Beyond Philosophy). NY & UK: Palgrave Macmillan: Sept 2010, 256p, ₤25 ($40). The quality of customer experience has become more important in recent times as businesses struggle to differentiate themselves. Explores the growing trends such as the impact of neuroscience, experience psychology and social networking, that progressive businesses need to understand to give themselves a competitive advantage. (BUSINESS * CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE)

Bad News: How America’s Business Press Missed the Story of the Century. Edited by Anya Schiffrin (Director, Media and Communication Program, Columbia U School of Intl and Public Affairs). NY: The New Press, Fall 2010, 240p, $24.95. During the recession, the business of journalism was severely hurt while being blamed for uncritical “cheerleading coverage that helped create the bubble”. Compares the role of the business press in the current crisis against its mission to act as a guardian of the democratic society. Includes contributions from leading journalists and academics. (ECONOMIC CRISIS * BUSINESS PRESS AND ECONOMIC CRISIS)

Thinking About Leadership. Nannerl O. Keohane (Distinguished Visiting Prof of Public Affairs, Princeton U; former president, Wellesley College and Duke U). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Dec 2010, 192p $24.95. Leadership is essential to collective human endeavor, regardless of the number of people concerned and involved, whether a neighborhood, company, or nation. Draws on her experience to deepen our understanding of what leaders do, how and why they do it, and the pitfalls and challenges they face. Consider traits that make a good leader, including sound judgment, decisiveness, integrity, social skill, and intelligence; ethics and morality; the complex relationship between leaders and their followers; and the unique challenges of democratic leadership. (METHODS * LEADERSHIP)

Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market. Noah Horowitz (art historian). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Feb 2011, 304p, $39.5. Exposes the inner workings of the contemporary art market, explaining how this unique economy came to be, how it works, and where it’s headed. Looks at the globalization of the art world, the changing face of the business, how investors speculate in the market, how emerging art forms such as video and installation have been drawn into the commercial sphere, and collapse of conventional boundaries in the art world. “Artists no longer simply make art, but package, sell, and brand it.” BUSINESS (BUSINESS * ART MARKET GLOBALIZED

The Futures of International Business (Special Issue). Edited by Joanne Roberts (Newcastle Business School, Northumbria U) and Ted Fuller (U of Lincoln Business School). Futures: The Journal of Policy, Planning and Futures Studies, 42:9, Nov 2010, pp901-979. Papers on the current economic crisis and international business (on the need for large investment projects in public services and alternative energy), the transnational company after globalization (comparing the new kind of “financially enhanced” transnational with the more traditional production-oriented multinational), roles for community in the prospective futures of international business, exploitation vs. exploration in multinational firms, ICT deployment in MNC enterprises, the futures of offshoring FDI in high-tech sectors, changing how MNC managers determine organizational objectives through critical scenario analysis.
(BUSINESS * MULTINATIONAL BUSINESS)

Where Are All the Good Jobs Going? What National and Local Job Quality and Dynamics Mean for U.S. Workers. Harry J. Holzer (Prof of Public Policy, Georgetown U), Julia I. Lane (program director, National Science Foundation), David B. Rosenblum (economist, U.S. Census Bureau), and Frederik Andersson (economist, US Dept of Treasury). NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Jan 2011, 208p, $24.95pb. Examines whether the US labor market can still produce jobs with good pay and benefits for the majority of workers and whether these jobs can remain stable over time. Counter to conventional wisdom, good jobs are not disappearing, but their character and location has changed: there are fewer good jobs in manufacturing and more in services. The most educated workers get the highest-paying jobs. The most vulnerable workers - older, low-income, and low-skilled – work in the most insecure environments. Recommends a higher federal minimum wage, increased unionization to help create well-paying jobs, and policies that prepare workers for available positions. “Future policies will need to address not only how to produce good jobs, but how to produce good workers.” [Also See “Where the Jobs Are” (Time Cover Feature, 17 Jan 2011, 26-35).]
(WORK * JOB TRENDS IN U.S.)

Freelancing Expertise: Contract Professionals in the New Economy. Debra Osnowitz (Asst Prof of Sociology, Clark U). Ithaca NY: ILR Press (Cornell U Press), Nov 2010, 280p, $24.95pb. Studies decision-making, work practices, and occupational processes among writers and editors who work in print and Web communications, and programmers and engineers who work in software and systems development. Shows that contract work and freelancing is more important than ever, while the security once implied by a full-time job with a stable employer has been becoming rarer. Many consider freelancing to be preferable. Calls for a reconfiguration of the employer/employee relationship that accepts more variation and flexibility. BUSINESS (WORK * FREELANCING)

Public Law and Private Power: Corporate Governance in the Age of Finance Capitalism. John W. Cioffi (Asst Prof of Pol Sci, U of California, Riverside). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Nov 2010, 312p, $39.95. The highly politicized reform of corporate governance law has reshaped power relations within the public corporation in favor of financial interests, contributed to the profound crises of contemporary capitalism, and eroded its political foundations. Center-left parties in the US and Germany embraced reforms that strengthened shareholder rights; now they appeal to popular rage over recurrent corporate financial scandals. Such reforms pose a threat to center-left parties and the legitimacy of contemporary finance capitalism. (BUSINESS * CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REFORM * FINANCE CAPITALISM)

The New Social Learning: A Guide to Transforming Organizations through Social Media. Tony Bingham (president, American Society for Training & Development) and Marcia Conner (VP, Pistachio Consulting). Foreword by Daniel Pink. San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Aug 2010, 240p, $18.95pb (also as e-book). Social media has the potential to revolutionize workplace learning. Features case studies from such organizations as Deloitte, IBM, Mayo Clinic, TELUS, Chevron, and CIA to demonstrate how social media can harness the brainpower and experiences of colleagues working across the globe. (WORK * COMMUNICATION * SOCIAL MEDIA IN ORGANIZATIONS)

The ASTD Leadership Handbook. Edited by Elaine Biech (president, ebb associates inc). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers and the American Society for Training & Development, Aug 2010, 500p, $129.95 (also as e-book). The compilation of insights, ideas, and tools enables individuals, teams, and organizations to fully develop their leadership capabilities. It features Ken Blanchard on ethics, Bill George on authenticity, Frances Hesselbein on leading the workforce of the future, etc. Sections cover all major leadership areas: competencies, development, characteristics of successful leaders, contemporary leadership, and the global role of leadership. Also includes three dozen tools to help apply discussed concepts, including John Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model, Bill Gentry’s Checklist for Avoiding Leader Derailment, and Leonard Goodstein’s Applied Strategic Planning Model. (METHODS * LEADERSHIP)

Feeding Your Leadership Pipeline: How to Develop the Next Generation of Leaders in Small to Mid-Sized Companies. Daniel R. Tobin (VP, American Management Assn). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers and the American Society for Training & Development, Sept 2010, 224p, $28.95 (also as e-book). With babyboomers hitting retirement age, every company faces an urgent need to develop the next generation of leaders. Tobin provides a blueprint for leadership development tailored to the needs and challenges of companies with fewer than 5,000 employees. This program shows how to identify high-potential talent, define key leadership competencies, establish the four basic components of effective leadership development, harness the power of mentoring and coaching, evaluate program effectiveness, and calculate its costs. (METHODS * LEADERSHIP * BUSINESS)

Terms of Engagement: New Ways of Leading and Changing Organizations (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded). Richard H. Axelrod (founder and principal, Axelrod Group, Inc). Foreword by Peter Block. San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Oct 2010, 288p, $29.95pb (also as e-book). The old change management paradigm discourages engagement. It views change as a strictly top-down affair, and fear as a tool to motivate employees, which results in rank-and file cynicism, resistance, and resentment. Axelrod destroys six common change management myths and shows how to involve everyone in an organization – not just select committees or working groups- in designing change efforts. Such an effort requires commitment to fairness in planning, implementation, and outcome. (BUSINESS * CHANGE MANAGEMENT * METHODS * ORGANIZATION CHANGE)

Future Search: Getting the Whole System in the Room for Vision, Commitment, and Action (Third Edition). Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff (co-directors, Future Search Network). San Francisco CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Oct 2010, 336p, $29.95pb (also as e-book). Future Search is among the best-established, most widely used, and most effective methods for enabling people to make and implement ambitious plans. The 3rd edition, with nine new chapters, is written by the originators. It contains new cases and examples, advice on combining Future Search with other methods, a summary of formal research studies, and evidence of its efficacy over time and economic benefits. Designed for strategic planning, product innovation, quality improvement, organization restructuring, mergers, and any other major change requiring stakeholder engagement with “the whole system in the room.”
(BUSINESS * METHODS * “FUTURE SEARCH” CHANGE PROCESS * CHANGE MANAGEMENT)

EDUCATION

The Lost Soul of Higher Education: Corporatization, the Assault on Academic Freedom, and the End of the American University. Ellen Schrecker (Prof of History, Yeshiva U). NY: The New Press, Spring 2010, 336p, $27.95. The American university is under attack from two directions: 1)outside pressure groups have staged massive challenges to academic freedom; 2) private sector influence and business-friendly priorities have encroached academic life, resulting in dwindling numbers of full-time faculty and decreasing library budgets. Depicts a system starved of the resources it needs to educate a new generation of citizens. (EDUCATION * HIGHER EDUCATION * ACADEMIC FREEDOM)

A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn’t In Providing an Excellent Education for All. Wendy Kopp (NYC; founder and president, Teach for America). NY: Public Affairs, Jan 2011, 304p, $25.95. Since 1990, Teach for America has been building up a movement to end educational inequity. Its founder shares the lessons learned from the experiences of 25,000 teachers and alumni who have taught in low-income communities. Introduces leaders who set out and accomplished challenging performances at the classroom, school, and system levels. Shows that strong leadership makes possible an excellent education for children in poverty. Such leadership requires vision, people skills, a drive for continuous improvement, and willingness to achieve. (EDUCATION * TEACH FOR AMERICA)

Waiting for “Superman”: How We Can Save America’s Failing Public Schools (A Participant Media Guide). Edited by Karl Weber (NYC). NY: Public Affairs, Sept 2010, 288p, $15.95pb. Millions of US students attend “failure factories” that produce more drop-outs than graduates; millions more attend “nice” schools that mask mediocre achievement. Reading and math scores in the US stagnate and even fall behind, while other countries continue to advance. Inspired by Davis Guggenheim’s Sundance award-winning documentary film, leading educational reformers explore how to fix our broken public school system. Shows how failing schools destroy neighborhoods – not the reverse – and reveals that dedicated, attentive teachers are what help at-risk kids succeed. (EDUCATION * SCHOOL REFORM)

Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids—and What We Can Do About It. Andrew Hacker (Prof of Pol Sci, CUNY-Queens College) and Claudia Dreifus (New York Times; adjunct, Columbia U). NY: Holt/Times Books, Aug 2010/288p/$26. Higher education is a $420 billion industry immune from scrutiny, taking on too many roles and doing none of them well. Colleges have lost sight of their basic mission to challenge the minds of the young. Proposals: 1) demand good teaching; colleges must become conscientious and caring; 2) decrease vocationalism (64% of undergraduates are in vocational majors); rather, “supposedly impractical studies are ultimately a better investment”; 3) replace faculty tenure with multiyear contracts; 4) allow fewer sabbaticals; 5) end exploitation of adjuncts; 6) end quasicorporate salaries of college presidents, who should be seen as public servants and paid at similar levels. (HIGHER EDUCATION)

Administrative Bloat at American Universities: The Real Reason for High Costs in Higher Education. Jay P. Greene (Senior Fellow, Goldwater Institute; head, Dept of Educ Reform, U of Arkansas) et al. Phoenix AZ: Goldwater Institute, Aug 2010/20p/free pdf. Enrollment at America’s 198 leading universities rose nearly 15% between 1993 and 2007, while the number of employees engaged in teaching or research grew by 18%. But full-time administrators per 100 students grew by 39%. Inflation-adjusted spending on administration per student increased by 61% in the same period, while instructional spending rose 39%. The large and increasing rate of government subsidy for higher education facilitates administrative bloat by insulating students from the costs. (HIGHER EDUCATION)

Exploring Critical Issues in American Higher Education (Special Issue). Edited by Robert A. Scott (Adelphi U). On the Horizon, 18:4, 2010, pp291-374 (www.emeraldinsight.com). Essays on the modern American university (surveys areas of admiration, anguish, and anticipation), higher education in a global and knowledge-networked world (how higher education will be transformed in the next 20 years), a new model for financing public colleges and universities through public service corporations, results of the National Survey of Student Engagement, and how postsecondary institutions are undergoing change in Europe and the US (by Tom P. Abeles, editor of OTH). (HIGHER EDUCATION)

Just Schools: Pursuing Equality in Societies of Difference. Edited by Martha Minow (Prof of Law, Harvard U), Richard A. Shweder (Distinguished Service Prof, U of Chicago), and Hazel Rose Markus (Prof of Behavioral Sciences, Stanford U). NY: Russell Sage Foundation, Nov 2010, 312p, $23.95pb. Legal scholars, educators, and social scientists examine schools with widely divergent methods of fostering equality, in order to explore possibilities and limits of equal education today. Also considers the impact of school choice reforms on equal educational opportunities. (EDUCATION * INEQUALITY * JUST SCHOOLS)

My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture. Susan D. Blum (Prof of Anthropology, U of Notre Dame). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Dec 2010, 240p, $19.95. Today’s college students operate under different assumptions about plagiarism than their professors. “Internet savvy, intertextual ingenués don’t steal words; they engage in ‘patchwriting’ and ‘pastiche,’ constructing essays the way they create eclectic music playlists for their iPods.” More than 75 % of students admit to having cheated, while 68 % admit to using material from the Internet without citation. For Blum, this development is not a reflection of lowered ethical standards, but an indication of dramatic shifts in education and the larger culture. (PDM-BRK) (HIGHER EDUCATION * COMMUNICATION * PLAGIARISM AND INFOTECH)

Global Matters: The Transnational Turn in Literary Studies. Paul Jay (Prof of English, Loyola U, Chicago). Ithaca NY: Cornell U Press, Sept 2010, 248p, $19.95pb. As the pace of cultural globalization accelerates, the discipline of literary studies is undergoing dramatic transformations. On the one hand, scholars and critics focus on theorizing difference and complicating the geographical framework defining their approaches. On the other, Anglophone literature is being created by a remarkably transnational, multicultural group of writers exploring many of the same concerns (the intersecting effects of colonialism, decolonization, migration, and globalization). LITERARY STUDIES AND GLOBALIZATION * CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION)

Education is Translation: A Metaphor for Change in Learning and Teaching. Alison Cook-Sather (Prof of Education, Bryn Mawr College). Philadelphia PA: U of Pennsylvania Press, Aug 2010, 224p, $24.95pb. Radically redefines the promises and possibilities of teaching and learning - education can be understood as a process of translation, in which every learner is both the translator and the subject of their own translation – and presents life-long strategies for becoming better teachers and learners. Reveals how teaching and learning are linked, how technology can transform learning, and how teachers and learners must reposition themselves in order to achieve the most transformative education. (EDUCATION * LEARNING/TEACHING REDEFINED)

The Evolution of Revolutions: How We Create, Shape, and React to Change. Patrick J. Howie (senior VP of product development, TargetRX; founder, ABetterGuess). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Feb 2011, 250p, $25. Change and revolution occur constantly and affect the smallest things. Draws on two dozen revolutions in sports, business, science, and politics, Howie shows how to identify and foster innovations that will lead to revolutions. For an innovation to successfully create a revolution, it must pass through three stages: resistance, clarification, and elaboration. Describes methods to create innovations, and to recognize and capitalize on emerging revolutions. (BUSINESS * METHODS * REVOLUTIONS: HOW TO CREATE)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People (with a new preface by the author). John Harris (Prof of Bioethics, U of Manchester). Princeton NJ: Princeton U Press, Nov 2010, 264p, $18.95pb (hc, 2007). Dismantles objections to genetic engineering, stem-cell research, designer babies, and cloning, and makes an ethical case for biotechnology. The new preface offers a glimpse at the new science and technology to come, equipping readers with the knowledge to assess ethics and policy dimensions of future forms of human enhancement. (ETHICS AND HUMAN ENHANCEMENT * EVOLUTION: BIOTECH ENHANCEMENT)

Alone Together: Sociable Robots, Digitized Friends, and the Reinvention of Intimacy and Solitude. Sherry Turkle (Prof of Social Studies of Science/Technology, MIT). NY: Basic Books, Jan 2011, 240p, $26.95. Developing technology promises closeness. Sometimes it delivers, but much of our modern life leaves us less connected with people and more connected to simulations of them. Turkle, author of The Second Self, explores the power of our new tools to dramatically alter our social lives: what we are looking for—and sacrificing—in a world of electronic companions and networking tools. “Our use of technology is fueling disturbing levels of isolation, leaving us incapable of distinguishing between true human connection and digital communication.” (COMMUNICATION * SOCIETY AND INFOTECH)

The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets. Alan Boss (research scientist, Carnegie Institution of Washington). NY: Basic Books, Jan 2011, 256p, $15.95. NASA has launched the first space telescope specifically designed to find earth-like extrasolar planets. Based on what we already know about planetary systems, we should find abundant Earths: “life is not only possible elsewhere in the universe, but common.” Boss maintains that America must lead the “new space race” to discover extraterrestrial life.
(SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY * OUTER SPACE * EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE)

The Crime of Reason and the Closing of the Scientific Mind. Robert B. Laughlin (1998 Nobel Laureate; Prof of Physics, Stanford U). NY: Basic Books, Jan 2011, 224p, $15.95pb. Contrary to the conventional belief that information is more available in the Internet-enabled world, Laughlin claims that we are surrounded by mounting volumes of advertising and spam, while valuable information is increasingly classified or designated as private property. Free intellectual inquiry has become antisocial and often illegal, and the act of reasoning for oneself is becoming a crime. (SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY * SCIENTIFIC REASONING ENDANGERED?)

Surviving Cyber War. Richard Stiennon (IT-Harvest). Lanham MD: Government Institute (Rowman & Littlefield Group), April 2010, 176p, $39.95pb (also as e-book). Founder of an independent IT security firm examines major cyber threats, where they come from, and how defensive technologies can be used to counter cyber attacks and to secure the American infrastructure. Major recent cyber attacks worldwide are described, as well as implications of these attacks. (COMMUNICATION * CYBERWAR)

Computing Our Way to Paradise? The Role of Internet and Communication Technologies in Sustainable Consumption and Globalization. Robert Rattle (consultant to NGOs). Globalization and the Environment Series. Lanham MD: AltaMira Press (Rowman & Littlefield Group), Jan 2010, 246p, $85 (also as e-book). Challenges key assumptions concerning the role of Internet and communication technologies in globalization processes. Globalization is predicated on a strong, extensive, and interconnected network of products, processes, and services, but the real environmental and health benefits remain far from certain. Chapters on how ICTs are gobbling resources and eradicating cultures, the poverty of affluence, ICTs and consumption of energy and materials, global ideological pervasion, and opportunities for global transformations. (INFOTECH QUESTIONED * SUSTAINABILITY AND INFOTECH)

Acceleration: The Forces Driving Human Progress. Ronald G. Havelock (Shady Side MD; director, Knowledge Transfer Institute). Amherst NY: Prometheus Books, Jan 2011, 350p, $28. The key to humanity’s past and future success is our ability to pass on what has been learned from one generation to the next, resulting in an ever larger and more widely shared knowledge platform. Today, the transfer of knowledge is increasingly not just from generation to generation but within generations and across cultures. It extends from the rich to the middle class and even to the poor. Despite periodic setbacks, progress is actually accelerating on many dimensions of human existence; fears for the human future overlook both the knowledge resources and the ingenuity in using them for individual and collective well-being.
(PROGRESS AND HUMAN KNOWLEDGE * HUMAN PROGRESS * KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER)

About the author
Michael Marien is the editor of Global Foresight Books.

Paradigm-Breaking Books

What follows is a sneak preview of Global Foresight Books (GFB). The GFB project was initiated in late 2009 by Michael Marien, founder and editor of Future Survey .

The books listed below fall into the category of Paradigm-Breaking Books. These are those that appear to approach a topic in a very different way. They may explicitly claim to be paradigm-breaking, or the break may be implicit. Many other books may also be paradigm-breaking in some way, but the publisher’s information does not suggest it. These books are not necessarily recommended, and recommended books are not necessarily paradigm-breaking.

We hope to bring you more exclusive recommendations from Global Foresight Books in the the months ahead.

 

 

Cosmopolitanism and the Geographies of Freedom. David Harvey (director, Center for Place, Culture, and Politics, CUNY Graduate Center). NY: Columbia UP, July 2009/368p/$27.50. Liberty and freedom are frequently invoked to justify political action, but in practice these idealist agendas often turn sour because they ignore the complexities of geography; Harvey charts a cosmopolitan order more appropriate for an emancipatory form of global governance, rooted in human experience rather than illusory ideals, yet bringing us closer to the liberation we seek. (WORLD POLITICS * COSMOPOLITANISM)

 

 

Commonwealth. Michael Hardt (Prof of Literature and Italian, Duke U) and Antonio Negri. Cambridge: Harvard UP/Belknap Press, Oct 2009/330p/$35. Concludes a trilogy started with Empire and continued in Multitude, considers models of governance adequate to a global commonwealth, and proposes an ethics of freedom for living in our common world and a possible constitution for our common wealth; “common” should replace the opposition of private and public, and the politics predicated on that opposition. (GOVERNANCE)

  

 

Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray and How to Return to Reality. Jack F. Matlock Jr (Adjunct Prof of Intl Rels, Columbia U). Yale U Press, Jan 2010/320p/$30. Former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1987-1991) refutes the enduring idea that the US forced the collapse of the USSR, arguing that the end of the Cold War diminished US power because, with the removal of the Soviet threat, allies were less willing to accept American protection and leadership. During recent years, the belief that the US had defeated the Soviet Union led to a conviction that it did not need allies, diplomacy, or international organizations, resulting in America’s weakened ability to lead. (WORLD POLITICS * U.S.: WORLD LEADERSHIP)

 

 

States Without Nations: Citizenship for Mortals. Jacqueline Stevens (Assoc Prof of Law and Society, UC-Santa Barbara). NY: Columbia UP, Nov 2009/384p/$35. Imagines a world in which national laws establishing birthright citizenship, family inheritance, state-sanctioned marriage, and private land are eliminated. Current legal mandates promoting these rights result in much violence and inequality; would a world without these laws be more just? (LAW * CITIZENSHIP)

 

 

The Birthright Lottery: Citizenship and Global Inequality. Ayelet Shachar (Prof of Law and Pol Sci, U of Toronto). Cambridge: Harvard UP, April 2009/254p/$39.95. Securing membership in a given state provides opportunity for some and a life of little hope for others, and birthright entitlements still dominate our laws for allotting membership; argues that nations should expand their membership boundaries beyond outdated notions of blood-and-soil [ALSO SEE States Without Nations: Citizenship for Mortals by Jacqueline Stevens (Columbia UP, Nov 2009).] (LAW * CITIZENSHIP * INEQUALITY)

 

 

 

Fixing Failed States: A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World. Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart. NY: Oxford UP, Oct 2009/272p/$16.95pb. Two former World Bank officials and UN advisors argue for a reorientation in the international response to create capable states. First published in May 2008 (254p/$24.95), this paperback edition adds a new preface. (WORLD POLITICS * FAILED STATES)

 

 

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Development and Cities

   

 

Energy, Environment and Development (Second Edition). Jose Goldemberg (former rector, U of Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Oswaldo Lucon (Sao Paulo). London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Dec 2009/352p/$39.95pb. Relationships between energy and environment, and between energy and development, have both been widely studied, yet both of these approaches may produce distortions; this book studies all three elements in relation to each other, while discussing security, climate change, impact assessment, new international agreements, and tech developments. (DEVELOPMENT * ENERGY)

 

 

Just Give Money to the Poor: The Development Revolution from the Global South. Joseph Hanlon (Open U), Armando Barrientos (World Poverty Institute, U of Manchester), and David Hulme (WPI/UofM). Kumarian Press, April 2010/288p/$24.95pb. Amid all the complex theories about causes and solutions to poverty, one idea is basic: researchers have found again and again that cash transfers given to significant portions of the population transform the lives of recipients, who use the money wisely to start a business, feed families, or send a child to school. This quiet revolution bypasses governments and NGOs, letting the poor decide how to use their money.  (DEVELOPMENT)

 

 

Can Business Save the World? Hard Truths About Ending Poverty. R. Glenn Hubbard (dean, Columbia Business School) and William Duggan (Senior Lecturer, CBS). NY: Columbia Business School (Columbia UP), Aug 2009/208p/$22.95. By diverting a major share of charitable aid into the local business sector of poor countries, citizens can take the lead in growing their own economies, following the success of China and India; switching the “feudal system of aid” to the local business sector to cultivate an ordinary middle class is the surest and only way to eliminate poverty. (DEVELOPMENT * FOREIGN AID) 

 

State of the World’s Cities 2008-2009: Harmonious Cities. UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). NY: United Nations Publications, 2008/280p/$40 (Sales #E.08.III.Q.1). Assesses various intangible assets within cities that represent the soul of the city and are as important for harmonious urban development as tangible assets; focuses on three key areas: spatial or regional harmony, social harmony, and environmental harmony. (CITIES)

 

 

Megaregions: Planning for Global Competiveness. Edited by Catherine L. Ross (Prof of Regional Development, Georgia Tech). Foreword by Richard Florida. Washington: Island Press, June 2009/350p$35. Concepts of “the city,” “the state,” and the “nation state” are passé; the new scale for considering economic strength and growth opportunities is “the megaregion,” a network of metro centers and their surrounding areas; by 2050, megaregions will contain two-thirds of US population. (CITIES * PLANNING * MEGAREGIONS)

  

 

 

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Security

   

 

Global Environmental Change and Human Security. Edited by Richard A. Matthew (Assoc Prof of Politics, UC-Irvine) and three others. Cambridge: MIT Press, Dec 2009/328p/$25pb. In recent years, scholars have begun to conceive of security more broadly, moving away from a state-centered concept of national security toward the concept of human security; global environmental change and new questions of human insecurity are viewed through this lens. (SECURITY * ENVIRONMENT)

 

 

A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq. Mark Moyar (Woodbridge VA; Chair of Insurgency and Terrorism, US Marine Corps Univ). Yale U Press, Oct 2009/384p/$30. The conventional wisdom of counterinsurgency is that the key is winning people’s hearts and minds, and allocating much labor and treasure to economic/social/political reforms; rather, Moyar asserts that the key is selecting commanders with superior leadership abilities and concentrating resources on security, civil administration, and leadership development. (SECURITY * COUNTERINSURGENCY RECONSIDERED)

 

 

Shooting Up: Counterinsurgency and the War on Drugs. Vanda Felbab-Brown (Brookings Fellow in Foreign Policy). Brookings Institution Press, Nov 2009/260p/$28.95. Conventional wisdom on the drug wars is “dangerously wrongheaded”: counternarcotics campaigns focused on eradication fail to bankrupt groups that rely on the drug trade and increase legitimacy of insurgents; in contrast, a laissez-faire policy toward illicit crops combined with interdiction targeted at major traffickers improves the chance of winning the war on drugs and the war against insurgents such as the Taliban.  (DRUG WARS * SECURITY)

 

 

Rethinking Violence: States and Non-State Actors in Conflict. Edited by Erica Chenowith (Asst Prof of Govt, Wesleyan U) and Adria Lawrence (Asst Prof of Pol Sci, Yale U). Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, April 2010/400p/$25pb. Major wars between sovereign states have become rare, but current world politics is rife with internal conflict, ethnic cleansing, and violence against civilians. The authors ask how, when, and why states and non-state actors use violence against one another, and consider the effectiveness of various forms of political violence. Arguments focus on how changes in the balance of power between and among states and non-state actors generate uncertainty and threat, thus creating an environment conducive to violence. This new way to understand violence deemphasizes the role of ethnic cleavages and nationalism in modern conflict. (SECURITY * VIOLENCE RECONSIDERED)

 

 

Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda. John Mueller (Chair of Natl Security Studies & Prof of Pol Sci, Ohio State U). NY: Oxford UP, Nov 2009/320p/$27.95. Obsession with nuclear weapons is unsupported by history, fact, or logic: nukes have had little impact on history, they have inspired overwrought policies and distorted spending priorities, and have proven militarily useless. Anxieties about use by terrorists are essentially baseless.  (SECURITY * NUCLEAR WEAPONS)

  

 

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Sustainability

   

 

Sustainability by Design: A Subversive Strategy for Transforming Our Consumer Culture. John R. Ehrenfeld (www.johnehrenfeld.com; director, Int’l Society for Industrial Ecology; Senior Research Scholar, Yale School of Forestry). Yale U Press, Aug 2009/272p/$17pb (hc Feb 2008/$28). Former director of the MIT Program on Technology, Business, and Environment argues that eco-efficiency and corporate social responsibility are band-aids, discusses consumption as addiction and adaptive government, and proposes a new definition of sustainability as the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever. (SUSTAINABILITY * CONSUMPTION)

 

 

Linkages of Sustainability. Edited by Thomas Graedel (Director, Center for Industrial Ecology, Yale U) and Ester van der Voet (Inst. for Env. Sciences, U of Leiden). Cambridge: MIT Press, Nov 2009/430p/$40. The multiple components of sustainability, all demanding attention, make understanding the concept itself a challenge; these essays on the linkages and the constraints among the components argue for a comprehensive view of sustainability, a transformation in the way we view it. (ENVIRONMENT * SUSTAINABILITY)

 

 

Treasures of the Earth: Need, Greed, and a Sustainable Future. Saleem H. Ali (Assoc Prof of Env. Studies, U of Vermont). Yale U Press, Oct 2009/320p/$30. A natural history of consumption and materialism, arguing that simply disavowing consumption of materials is not likely to help in planning for a resource-scarce future. Rather, a new environmental paradigm is proposed that accepts our need to consume “treasure” responsibly but warns of our concomitant need to conserve, to distinguish between needs and wants, and to alleviate global poverty. (SUSTAINABILITY * CONSUMPTION * RESOURCES)

 

 

The New Economics: A Bigger Picture. David Boyle and Andrew Simms (both New Economics Foundation, London). London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Oct 2009/160p/$24.95. A new economics derived from Ruskin and Schumacher, turning assumptions about wealth and poverty upside down: real wealth can be measured by increased well-being and environmental sustainability, rather than consuming more things. (ENVIRONMENT * SUSTAINABILITY * ECONOMICS)

 

 

Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet. Tim Jackson (Prof of Sustainable Development, U of Surrey). London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Nov 2009/160p/$22.50. Challenges unquestioned assumptions of the global policy of growth, arguing that continuing growth is not possible. (ENVIRONMENT * SUSTAINABILITY * ECONOMICS)

  

 

 

Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications (Second Edition). Herman F. Daly (Prof of Economics, U of Maryland) and Joshua Farley (Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, U of Vermont). Washington: Island Press, Oct 2009/488p/$50. An introductory-level textbook designed to address the significant flaw in conventional economics that excludes biophysical and social systems, thus ignoring many costs. The interdisciplinary framework embraces linkages between economic growth, environmental degradation, and social inequity. (First published in Jan 2004/454p.) (ENVIRONMENT * ECONOMICS)

 

100 Per Cent Renewable: Energy Autonomy in Action. Edited by Peter Droege. London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Nov 2009/368p/$56. The great challenge of our time is building a world based on sustainable use of renewable power; many see a 100% renewable world as an impossible dream, but a growing number of plans and initiatives are making the change and many have already achieved it. (ENERGY * SUSTAINABILITY)

 

 

Factor Five: Transferring the Global Economy Through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity. Report to the Club of Rome. Ernst von Weizsäcker (Emmendingen, Germany) and four others. London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, Dec 2009/400p/$39.95. Sequel to Factor Four (von Weizsacker/Lovins/Lovins, 1997) on the unique historic opportunity to scale up resource efficiency and radically transform the global economy with 80%+ improvements in energy productivity, water use, transport, buildings, and materials, based on concepts such as bio-mimicry and whole system design. (CLUB OF ROME * RESOURCES * ENERGY * WATER)

 

The Myth of Resource Efficiency: The Jevons Paradox. John M. Polimeni (Albany College of Pharmacy), Kozo Mayumi (U of Tokushima), Mario Giampietro (U Autonoma de Barcelona), and Blake Alcott (Zurich). Foreword by Joseph A. Taintor. London & Sterling VA: Earthscan, July 2009/184p/$$24.95pb. First published in 2008 as The Jevons Paradox and the Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements, the authors explain a paradox first expressed in 1865 that an increase in efficiency in using a resource leads to increased use of that resource; thus it may be a false hope that future technological innovations in energy, etc. will reduce consumption of resources. (RESOURCES * ENERGY)

 

 

 

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Government and Communication

   

 

Communication Power. Manuel Castells (Prof of Communication, USC; Distinguished Visiting Prof, MIT & Oxford U). NY: Oxford UP, Sept 2009/608p/$34.95. A leading communication theorist and author of The Information Age trilogy argues that power now lies in the hands of those who understand or control communication; also discusses the new network society of instant messaging, global media deregulation, the role of the Internet in the Obama campaign for president, media control in China and Russia, and the worldwide crisis of political legitimacy. (COMMUNICATION * WORLD POLITICS)

 

 

Wiki Government: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. Beth Simone Noveck (Prof of Law, NYU). Washington: Brookings Institution Press, June 2009/224p/$28.95. Shows how collaborative democracy can be designed, and how it opens policymaking to greater participation; includes a case study of inviting the public to join in examining patent applications, radically transforming the process, and proposes policy wikis and civic juries. (GOVERNANCE * DEMOCRACY)

  

 

The Democracy Index: Why Our Election System Is Failing and How to Fix It. Heather K. Gerken (Prof of Election Law, Yale Law School). Princeton UP, May 2009/216p/$24.95. Diagnoses what is wrong with US elections and proposes a radically new and simple solution with incentives for reform: a Democracy Index that rates the performance of state and local elections systems, similar to the USN&WR annual ranking of colleges and universities; indicators would include how long it takes to vote, how many ballots are discarded, how often voting machines break down, etc. (GOVERNMENT * ELECTIONS)

 

 

The Constitution in 2020. Edited by Jack Balkin and Reva Siegel (both Profs of Law, Yale U). NY: Oxford UP, June 2009/336p/$19.95pb. Offers a blueprint for implementing a more progressive vision of constitutional law in the years ahead, considering the challenge of new technologies, presidential power, international human rights, religious liberty, freedom of speech, voting, reproductive rights, and economic rights. [ALSO SEE A More Perfect Constitution: 23 Proposals by Larry J. Sabato (Walker & Co, 2007) and A Bill of Rights for 21st Century America by Joseph F. Coates (Kanawha Institute, 2007.] (GOVERNANCE * U.S. CONSTITUTION)

  

 

 

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Biology and Health

   

 

Bioethics in the Age of New Media. Joanna Zylinska (Reader in Communications, Goldsmith’s, U of London). Cambridge: MIT Press, April 2009/240p/$30. The paramount bioethical issue in an age of digital technology is the transformation of the very notion of life; a new “ethics of life” is proposed, rooted in the kinship between the humans, animals, and machines. (BIOETHICS * ETHICS OF LIFE)

 

 

Addiction: A Disorder of Choice. Gene M. Heyman (Lecturer in Psychology, Harvard Medical School). Cambridge: Harvard UP, May 2009/176p/$26.95. Argues that the conventional wisdom about addiction as a disease and a compulsion beyond conscious control is wrong; just as there are successful dieters, there are successful ex-drug addicts; indeed, addiction is the psychiatric disorder with the highest rate of recovery. (HEALTH * DRUG ADDICTION)

 

 

More Than Genes: What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals, Development and the Risk to Our Children. Dan Agin (Emeritus Associate Prof of Molecular Genetics, U of Chicago and columnist for Huffington Post). NY: Oxford UP, Dec 2009/256p/$27.95. Adding to the nature-nurture debate, it is argued that the fetal environment can be just as crucial as genetic hardwiring or later environment in determining intelligence and behavior. Stress during pregnancy and environmental toxins leads to IQ differences in racial/ethnic groups. (TOXIC CHEMICALS * CHILDREN)

About Michael Marien