New Books

Two books of note have arrived in the Government Documents collection this month that will be of particular interest to students of environmental science and anthropology.

Smithsonian at the Poles: Contributions to International Polar Year Science (GIL Call No. SI 1.2:P 75) compiles the proceedings of the eponymous Smithsonian Institution symposium of 2007. Included are more than thirty articles on such topics as Polar Astronomy, Environmental Change, Under-Ice Research, and Polar Biology. Well-illustrated and thoroughly cited, Smithsonian at the Poles is a fascinating research about a complex and not well understood region.

Preview a PDF version of this book at the Smithsonian Institution Web site.

Chasing the Dark: Perspectives on Place, History and Alaska Native Land Claims (GIL Call No. I 20.2:H 62/3/PT.1) is a beautiful anthology compiled in part as an effort to make the research conducted under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, "accessible to everyday readers (as opposed to just research professionals or academicians)," writes editor Kenneth L. Pratt. The result is an exceptionally readable anthology filled with photographs, maps, illustrations, and native language glossaries. Chasing the Dark is a remarkable work.

Can't get enough of the Food Network? Mesmorized by Top Chef? Eagerly looking forward to the release of Julie and Julia in August?

Then you might be interested in a new media studies book called Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows by Kathleen Collins (King Library PN1992.8 C67 C65 2009). This book provides a history of cooking shows and their impact on our culture. As the introduction explains, "The following pages contain three essential ingredients: food/cooking, television, and consumer culture. The book is about how these ingredients interact, how they affect us, and how we affect them" (9). There is a chapter devoted to Julia Child (chapter 3) and to the Food Network (chapter 6), as well as a chapter on Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart (chapter 8). There are very helpful references and a selected bibliography at the end of the book if you want to learn even more.

A definitive history of Miami University has been published and is available for viewing in King Library. Edited by Curtis W.

Then check out 500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide, which is edited by Gene  Kannenberg. You can find it in the King Reference Collection at PN6710 .K35 2008. This book is divided into 10 parts (categories include adventure, non-fiction, fantasy, humor, etc.). Each comic listed includes a representative graphic, a plot summary, a review, and further readings. The end of the book has a publisher's information section that will help you track down a particular graphic novel. There's also four indexes organized by appropriate age leve, artist, writer, and title.

It's fun to just flip through for suggested readings, but it could also be used for more serious research. What are you waiting for? Go find a new graphic novel to read....(I recommend Strangers in Paradise)