Despite much debate in recent years about the economic and professional impact of foreign engineers and computer professionals in the United States, comparatively little has been said about the growing number of foreign biomedical scientists employed by American firms and health institutions. The implications are widespread and merit serious analysis. In Biomedical Globalization, Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Charles C. Cheney shed light on this development through examination of the experience...

It is a curious situation that technologies we now take for granted have, when first introduced, so often stoked public controversy and concern for public welfare. At the root of this tension is the perception that the benefits of new technologies will accrue only to small sections of society, while the risks will be more widely distributed. Drawing from nearly 600 years of technology history, Calestous Juma identifies the tension between the need for innovation and the pressure to maintai...

"Whenever the people are well informed," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "they can be trusted with their own government."But what happens in a world dominated by complex science? Are the people still well-enough informed to be trusted with their own government? And with less than 2 percent of Congress with any professional background in science, how can our government be trusted to lead us in the right direction?Will the media save us? Don't count on it. In early 2008, of the 2,975...

**An "insightful" and in-depth look at anti-science politics and its deadly results (Maria Konnikova, New York Times–bestselling author of The Biggest Bluff).Thomas Jefferson said, "Wherever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government." But what happens when they aren't?From climate change to vaccinations, transportation to technology, health care to defense, we are in the midst of an unprecedented expansion of scie...

InThe Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Global Warming and Environmentalism, Christopher C. Horner tears the cover off the Left's manipulation of environmental issues for political purposes--and lays out incontrovertible evidence for the fact that catastrophic man-made global warming is just more Chicken-Little hysteria, not actual science. He explains why, although Al Gore and his cronies among the media elites and UN globalists endlessly bleat that "global warming" is an unprec...

An eye-opening tour of the political tricks that subvert scientific progress.The Butter-Up and Undercut. The Certain Uncertainty. The Straight-Up Fabrication. Dave Levitan dismantles all of these deceptive arguments, and many more, in this probing and hilarious examination of the ways our elected officials attack scientific findings that conflict with their political agendas. The next time you hear a politician say, "Well, I’m not a scientist, but…," you’ll be read...

Rocket pioneer, occultist, and counterculture icon—Jack Parsons and the explosive intersection of science, sex, and magic. Sex and Rockets by John Carter is the definitive biography of John Whiteside “Jack” Parsons—rocket-fuel innovator, co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and one of the most controversial figures in twentieth-century American science. By day, Parsons helped develop the solid rocket technology that powered early U.S. missile programs and made space travel possible...

From 1945 to 1950, during the formative years of his career, Stanley Kubrick worked as a photojournalist for Look magazine. Offering a comprehensive examination of the work he produced during this period – before going on to become one of America’s most celebrated filmmakers – Stanley Kubrick at Look Magazine sheds new light on the aesthetic and ideological factors that shaped his artistic voice. Tracing the links between his photojournalism and films, Philippe Mather sho...

Our world is about to change.In Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Change the Way We Live, Work, and Communicate, Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and senior director of research at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), argues that the groundswell of digital ownership unfolding in our lives signals the beginning of a new era for humanity. Beyond just hardware acquisition, the next decade will be defined by an all-digital lifestyle and the “Internet of Every...

Known for his work as a performer and songwriter with the Birthday Party, the Bad Seeds and Grinderman, Australian artist Nick Cave has also pursued a variety of other projects, including writing and acting. Covering the full range of Cave's creative endeavours, this collection of critical essays provides a comprehensive overview of his multifaceted career. The contributors, who hail from an array of disciplines, consider Cave's work from many different angles, drawing on historical, psych...

The nuclear meltdown at Fukushima ... the Fonterra botulism scare ... the Christchurch earthquakes in all these recent crises the role played by scientists has been under the spotlight.What is the first duty of scientists in a crisis to the government, to their employer, or to the wider public desperate for information? And what if these different objectives clash?In this penetrating BWB Text, leading scientist Shaun Hendy finds that in New Zealand, the public obligation of the scientist i...

Who should decide what children are taught in school? This question lies at the heart of the evolution-creation wars that have become a regular feature of the US political landscape. Ever since the 1925 Scopes 'monkey trial' many have argued that the people should decide by majority rule and through political institutions; others variously point to the federal courts, educational experts, or scientists as the ideal arbiter. Berkman and Plutzer illuminate who really controls the nation's cl...