February 6, 2012

Book Giveaway!: The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time by William Tabb

This week our featured book is The Restructuring of Capitalism in Our Time, by William Tabb. Throughout the week we will highlight aspects of the book but we are also offering a free copy of the book to one lucky...

February 3, 2012

Better Food Through Science — The Kitchen as Laboratory

“We strongly believe that the proper use of the scientific method in the areas of food design, production, and distribution can be of great benefit to society.”—Cesar Vega and David J. McClements We conclude our week-long feature on The Kitchen...

February 2, 2012

Bacon: The Slice of Life — The Kitchen as Laboratory

“Whether used as a breakfast meat, a cooking ingredient, or strictly for flavoring, bacon is one of the most universally enjoyed foods in the world. It is hard to deny that bacon is an important part of our most fundamental...

February 1, 2012

Michael Neuman Discusses Doctors Without Borders and Humanitarian Negotiaons

In a recent episode of The Leonard Lopate Show, Michael Neuman discusses Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience, which he co-edited with Claire Magone and Fabrice Weissman. The book has been published on the 40th anniversary of the international medical...

February 1, 2012

The Science of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich from The Kitchen as Laboratory

It is not everyday that we have the opportunity to have a post on grilled cheese sandwich, so we were glad to see that The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking opens with Jennifer Kimmel’s...

February 1, 2012

Patrick Bolton on Sovereign Wealth Funds

In an interview with Columbia Business School’s Ideas at Work, Patrick Bolton discussed sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and the new book he co-edited with Joseph Stiglitz and Frederic Samama, Sovereign Wealth Funds and Long-Term Investing. (A sovereign wealth fund is...

January 31, 2012

The Lives of Transgender People reviewed in Inside Higher Ed

While reading Genny Beemyn and Susan Rankin’s The Lives of Transgender People for his review of the book in Inside Higher Ed, Scott McLemee was struck by some of the rather dispiriting findings in the book. Beemyn and Rankin’s book...

January 31, 2012

The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars

We are happy to announce that The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines by Michael E. Mann is now available as a book and an e-book. Please note that two corrections will be made to...

January 31, 2012

The Kitchen as Laboratory Quiz

Sure you love a great grilled cheese sandwich but do you know the science behind what distinguishes a good from a bad sandwich? Test your knowledge of the science and psychology with this quiz based on The Kitchen as Laboratory:...

January 31, 2012

New Book Tuesday: The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars and More!

The following books are now available: The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines Michael E. Mann Who Killed Hammarskjöld?: The UN, the Cold War and White Supremacy in Africa Susan Williams Riot Politics: Hindu-Muslim Violence...

January 30, 2012

Mark C. Taylor: Is Modern Finance Ruining Modern Art?

“As art becomes a progressively abstract play of non-referential signs, so increasingly abstract financial instruments become an autonomous sphere of circulation whose end is nothing other than itself.”—Mark C. Taylor In a piece for Bloomberg View, Mark C. Taylor, author...

January 27, 2012

Michael R. Powers on Terrorism Forecasting

The following excerpt on terrorism forecasting is from Acts of God and Man: Ruminations on Risk and Insurance, by Michael R. Powers: In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. insurance industry confronted billions of dollars...