From Publishers WeeklyExperimental brain surgery goes horribly awry; a dam fails catastrophically; a geologist leads an ill-equipped party to its doom in the mouth of an active volcano: these are the amazing and sometimes horrific stories of technical errors and scientific mistakes that LeVay (The Sexual Brain) relates. Some, like the case of the British meteorologist who failed to predict a hurricane that killed 18 people, seem due to arrogance. Others—the loss of a costly spacecraft, a criminal conviction based on inaccurate DNA analysis, multiple deaths after an accidental release of anthrax—are the result of ordinary human error. Some incidents may well have been deliberate, such as a nuclear reactor error that was possibly the result of a love triangle gone bad, or the data falsified by a physicist seeking fame as the discoverer of a new element. LeVay surveys a range of fields, offering several reasons why things go wrong and noting that for every brilliant scientific success, there are a dozen failures. Readers curious about particularly notorious cases will find LeVay's book both entertaining and thought provoking. (Mar. 25) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistLeVay, a neuroscientist and author of popular-science books, relates a dozen stories involving science going, in his words, “spectacularly, even horribly, wrong.” A man who receives a cutting-edge treatment for Parkinson’s later dies, possibly as a result of the treatment; a group of researchers enters an active volcano, under the mistaken belief that it’s dormant; a NASA exploratory mission fails; forensic evidence fingers the wrong man; and so on. The stories (cautionary tales, really) are intriguing and well told, but most readers will find themselves resisting the exposé angle; surely, in every scientific discipline, no matter how rigorously practiced, it’s possible to find cases where the system breaks down. It’s a bit ironic, too, that LeVay, who has seen his share of controversy over charges that some of his research cannot be repeated or verified, has written a book about the consequences of human error. Still, there is much of interest here, though readers may want to do some homework in order to form an informed opinion on some of the author's claims. --David Pitt Views: 16
In this hilarious romantic comedy, USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday proves that what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas...All's fair in love and warWendy Liu should be delighted to be her best friend's maid of honor. But after years spent avoiding the bride's brother - aka the boy who once broke her heart - she's now trapped with him during an endless amount of wedding festivities. Luckily she's had time to perfect her poker face, and engaging Noah Denning in a little friendly competition might just prove that she's over him for good...Noah Denning is determined to make his little sister's wedding memorable. But it seems Wendy is trying to outdo him at every turn. Challenging each other was always something he and Wendy did right, so when she proposes they compete to see who can throw the best bachelor or bachelorette party in Sin City, Noah takes the bait - and ups the stakes. Because... Views: 16
This book selects from twenty years of Glyn Maxwell's poetry, and provides a concise introduction to one of the most imaginatively gifted poets of the age. Maxwell's is perhaps the most immediately recognizable voice in British poetry: wry, wise, compellingly rhythmic, and everywhere carrying a sense of the dramatic line no other British poet has won for their verse since W. H. Auden. While wholly contemporary in their social and political concerns, these poems are haunted by forgotten histories, traditional fairytale and myth, parallel worlds which mirror or merge with our own. As Joseph Brodsky noted early in his career, the beating heart of this imaginative risk is the syntax itself: in Maxwell's hands the poetic sentence becomes a fluid, new and protean thing, a means by which the very structure of time, voice and location may be questioned and made strange. Maxwell is a poet essential to understanding our own unstable times, and few other contemporary writers give us such... Views: 16
The Cure emerged in the post-punk 70s and defied all expectations to launch a marathon career marked by hit records and a string of sell-out arena shows. In 2004, after numerous personnel changes, the band delivered their Greatest Hits album in 2004.This biography traces the roots in middle-class Crawley, Sussex and tracks their gradual rise, revealing how their first major album Pornography, almost ended the band well before their multi-platinum career began. It also documents Smith's escape into the Siouxsie & The Banshees camp during the Eighties, his experimentation with every drug ('bar smack'). His reluctance to return to The Cure which would eventually lead to them becoming superstars, not only on both sides of the Atlantic but all around the globe.Jeff Apter is an Australian-based music writer, who had been reporting on popular culture for the past 15 years. He spent five years as the Music Editor at Australian Rolling Stone. This is his third book, the first two being... Views: 16
From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Annie Powers leads the perfect life in Florida with her husband, Gray, and their four-year-old daughter in this stellar character-driven stand-alone from bestseller Unger (_A Sliver of Truth_). Less than a decade earlier, however, Annie was Ophelia March, the teenage captive—or accomplice—of spree killer Marlowe Geary. Gray, a partner in his father's private security consultant firm, tracked Marlowe and rescued Ophelia after sending the killer's car over a cliff. Reinventing herself with Gray's help, Annie can't remember all that happened during her years with Marlowe, and she's prone to panic attacks and blackouts. When a strange man appears on her property, Annie's sure Marlowe is back. As a shady police detective digs into her past, Annie must try to recover the memories she buried if she's ever going to be free from Marlowe. Unger expertly turns what could have been a routine serial-killer story into a haunting odyssey for Annie, dropping red herrings and clues along the way until the reader feels as unsettled as Annie. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromAnnie Powers seems to lead an idyllic suburban life. She has a devoted husband, a cherubic young daughter, and a beautiful home with sweeping views of the Gulf of Florida. But not so many years ago, Annie was entangled in a scenario that was anything but serene. Her emotionally twisted relationship with serial killer Marlowe Geary had turned her from a moody teen into a criminal accomplice with a hardened heart. Only by faking her death and taking on a new identity was Annie able to jettison her past—or so she thought. Her husband, Gray, had long insisted that Marlowe was dead. But after an eerie encounter on the beach, Annie is not so sure. As the cracks in her carefully constructed facade deepen, she flees her family, determined to learn the truth. Annie’s mental state becomes more precarious with each passing day, until she can no longer distinguish what’s imaginary from what’s real. There’s a bit too much shifting between present and past in this stand-alone psychological thriller by Unger, author of the best-selling and critically acclaimed Ridley Jones series. But the author makes up for an occasionally awkward narrative with the compelling character of Annie: dark, troubled, and teetering on the brink. --Allison Block Views: 16
Mose Washington and his 'grandson,' Bill, are still on the lam in 1968 after fleeing Cat Lake where Bill's mom was brutally slayed years earlier. Hiding out under assumed names, Bill is enrolled at North Texas State University and learning to ride bulls, while Mose continues to protect Bill from the evil he knows hunts them incessantly. When a dangerous and determined assassin hired by an enemy closes in, Bill's faith is challenged to a point where even Mose's devoted guidance can't seem to save him. What was once just part of a bedtime prayer becomes an all too- real consideration for both men: AND IF I DIE? Views: 16
On the eve of the first Scottish parliament in three hundred years, Edinburgh is a city rife with political passions and expectations. Queensbury House, the home of Scotland's new rulers, falls in the middle of John Rebus' turf, keeping him busy with ceremonial tasks. That quickly changes, however, when a long-dead body is discovered in a Queensbury House fireplace, a homeless man throws himself off a bridge - leaving behind a suitcase full of cash - and an up-and-coming politician is found murdered. The links between the three deaths lead Rebus to a confrontation with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals, a man he thought he'd put in jail for life. Someone's going to make a lot of money out of Scotland's independence - and, as Rebus knows all too well, where there's big money at stake, darkness gathers. Views: 16
Massacre Pond is Edgar finalist Paul Doiron's superb new novel featuring Game Warden Mike Bowditch and a beautiful, enigmatic woman whose mission to save the Maine wilderness may have incited a murderOn an unseasonably hot October morning, Bowditch is called to the scene of a bizarre crime: the corpses of seven moose have been found senselessly butchered on the estate of Elizabeth Morse, a wealthy animal rights activist who is buying up huge parcels of timberland to create a new national park.What at first seems like mindless slaughter—retribution by locals for the job losses Morse's plan is already causing in the region—becomes far more sinister when a shocking murder is discovered and Mike's investigation becomes a hunt to find a ruthless killer. In order to solve the controversial case, Bowditch risks losing everything he holds dear: his best friends, his career as a law enforcement officer, and the love of his life.The... Views: 16
"DePoy, a folklorist, excels at providing local color and creating complex characters. The story unfolds slowly and lyrically, giving readers a sense of small-town Appalachian atmosphere." --Booklist on A Minister's Ghost"By far DePoy's best, with top-notch plotting, full-blown characters, and a bit of Shakespeare thrown in." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred) on A Minister's GhostFever Devilin, born and raised amongst the hill country folk of the Georgia Appalachians, left home a long time ago and pursued an education, then a career, in the wider outside world. A folklorist by inclination and profession, he left the strange world of academia behind to return to his family-home in the if-anything-stranger mountain town he grew up in. But oddness follows Fever wherever he goes and Blue Mountain, Georgia is no different.When a man shows up at his house, claiming to be over a hundred years old even though he looks like he's in his 30's, Fever is pretty... Views: 16
Amazon.com ReviewWhen World War II began, Irene Gutowna was a 17-year-old Polish nursing student. Six years later, she writes in this inspiring memoir, "I felt a million years old." In the intervening time she was separated from her family, raped by Russian soldiers, and forced to work in a hotel serving German officers. Sickened by the suffering inflicted on the local Jews, Irene began leaving food under the walls of the ghetto. Soon she was scheming to protect the Jewish workers she supervised at the hotel, and then hiding them in the lavish villa where she served as housekeeper to a German major. When he discovered them in the house, Gutowna became his mistress to protect her friends--later escaping him to join the Polish partisans during the Germans' retreat. The author presents her extraordinary heroism as the inevitable result of small steps taken over time, but her readers will not agree as they consume this thrilling adventure story, which also happens to be a drama of moral choice and courage. Although adults will find Irene's tale moving, it is appropriately published as a young adult book. Her experiences while still in her teens remind adolescents everywhere that their actions count, that the power to make a difference is in their hands. --Wendy SmithFrom Publishers WeeklyEven among WWII memoirsAa genre studded with extraordinary storiesAthis autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style. Opdyke, born in 1922 to a Polish Catholic family, was a 17-year-old nursing student when Germany invaded her country in 1939. She spent a year tending to the ragtag remnants of a Polish military unit, hiding out in the forest with them; was captured and raped by Russians; was forced to work in a Russian military hospital; escaped and lived under a false identity in a village near Kiev; and was recaptured by the Russians. But her most remarkable adventures were still to come. Back in her homeland, she, like so many Poles, was made to serve the German army, and she eventually became a waitress in an officers' dining hall. She made good use of her positionArisking her life, she helped Jews in the ghetto by passing along vital information, smuggling in food and helping them escape to the forest. When she was made the housekeeper of a German major, she used his villa to hide 12 JewsAand, at enormous personal cost, kept them safe throughout the war. In translating Opdyke's experiences to memoir (see Children's Books, June 14), Armstrong and Opdyke demonstrate an almost uncanny power to place readers in the young Irene's shoes. Even as the authors handily distill the complexities of the military and political conditions of wartime Poland, they present Irene as simultaneously strong and vulnerableAa likable flesh-and-blood woman rather than a saint. Telling details, eloquent in their understatement, render Irene's shock at German atrocities and the gradually built foundation of her heroic resistance. Metaphors weave in and out, simultaneously providing a narrative structure and offering insight into Irene's experiences. Readers will be rivetedAand no one can fail to be inspired by Opdyke's courage. Ages 10-up. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 16