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Episode 13 of the Yale Press Podcast is now available.
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Ali A. Allawi, author of The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace, spoke at Brown University last Wednesday as part of the Peter Green Lectures on the Modern Middle East. His talk at Brown was moved to a 675 seat lecture hall to accommodate demand. Read an article covering Allawi's lecture from the Providence Journal. The Occupation of Iraq is now available in paperback.

This is a comprehensive account of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, told for the first time by an Iraqi insider. Ali Allawi, former Iraqi Minister of Defense and Finance, writes from the perspective of both principal and observer, shedding new light on the story behind the invasion, the shambolic aftermath and attempts at stabilization, and why events have failed to unfold as planned.

Click here to listen to an interview with Ali A. Allawi on the Yale Press Podcast.

On February 29, 2008, Yale Press author Tom McCarthy appeared on the Leonard Lopate Show (WNYC) to discuss his new book Auto Mania: Cars, Consumers, and the Environment. You can download the segment or listen with the embedded player below. For more information on the segment, or to hear the entire program, click here.

Spanning the automobile’s entire history, this book is the first to relate consumer behavior to the wider environmental impact of cars—from raw materials and manufacturing to use and disposal. It shows that America’s disappointing response to automobile-related environmental issues stems from the interplay of politics, economics, and desire.

Amazon Expeditions: My Quest for the Ice-Age Equator by Paul Colinvaux was recently reviewed in the Publishers Weekly Review Annex. They found the book to be "an exciting account of field work under challenging and sometimes dangerous circumstances. They went on to say that Amazon Expeditions is "a rewarding read for anyone with an interest in environmental and biological history."

In this vivid memoir of a life in science, ecologist Paul Colinvaux takes his readers from the Alaskan tundra to steamy Amazon jungles, from the Galapagos Islands (before tourists had arrived) to the high Andes and the Darien Gap in Panama. He recounts an adventurous tale of exploration in the days before GPS and satellite mapping, and a tale no less exhilarating of his battle to disprove a hypothesis endorsed by most of the scientific community.

Colinvaux’s grand endeavor, begun in the 1960s, was to find fossil evidence of the ice-age climate and vegetation of the entire American equator, from Pacific to Atlantic. The accomplishment of the task by the author and his colleagues involved finding unknown ancient lakes, lugging drilling equipment through uncharted Amazon jungle, operating hand drills from rubber boats in water 40 meters deep, and inventing a pollen analysis for a land with 80,000 species of plants. Colinvaux’s years of arduous travel and research ultimately disproved a hotly defended hypothesis explaining bird distribution peculiarities in the Amazon forest. The story of how he arrived at a new understanding of the Amazon is at once an adventurous saga, an account of science as it is conducted in the field, and a cautionary tale about the temptation to treat a favored hypothesis with a reverence that subverts unbiased research.

In light of continued media coverage about the U.S.'s relationship with Iran, Trita Parsi's attention-grabbing Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States was reviewed by both Salon and Bloomberg News. Gary Kamiya of Salon calls it "an important new book," addressing a "fundamental misunderstanding of the country" of Iran. Celestine Bohlen of Bloomberg News admires the book for "tackling the complex question of Israel's role in what has become a triangular relationship" between Iran, the U.S., and Israel.

Read an excerpt, view the table of contents, or listen to an interview with the author on the Yale Press Podcast.

Slate and Seattle Times have recently praised In the Company of Crows and Ravens by John M. Marzluff and Tony Angell, released earlier this year in paperback.

This intriguing book examines the often surprising ways that crows and ravens and humans interact. Featuring more than 100 striking illustrations, the book recounts lively stories about crows and ravens throughout history and around the world, and the authors challenge us to reconsider our thinking not only about these compelling birds but also about ourselves.

Slate contributor Tyler Cowen named it as one of "the best books of 2007," calling it "the unheralded science book of the year." He additionally wrote about this "fascinating book" on his blog, Marginal Revolution.

For their holiday gift list, Seattle Times suggests the "terrific" In the Company of Crows and Ravens, citing the numerous honors given to the book, including "rave reviews for this blend of science, art and anthropology" and "a first prize in book illustration and an overall prize for best work in the Victoria and Albert Museum's illustration contest."

Read an excerpt of the book, or view the table of contents.

James Prosek, author and illustrator for Yale University Press' recently released Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers' Journal, wrote a short essay for the Outdoors section of the New York Times. The piece, published on November 28th, describes in painterly prose his trip to Alaska with an old mentor:

When I was 14, I was caught fishing illegally in a drinking-water reservoir by a game warden named Joe Haines. Instead of giving me a ticket, he took me under his wing.

I learned a lot of things from Haines: how to find edible mushrooms in the woods or four-leaf clovers in the yard; how to catch blue crabs and find razor clams; and how to spear, skin and cook eels.

To continue reading the piece, click here.

In addition, Prosek and Alexis Surovov came on WNPR's Where We Live to talk about fly fishing, the Yale Anglers' Journal, and Tight Lines. To listen to that show, click here.

Prosek also came into the studio for the Yale Press Podcast, which you can hear by clicking here.

From the Yale Peabody Museum's website:

Fly Fishing at the 41st Parallel

Realizing that he had happily fished his entire life only around his home of Easton, Connecticut, James Prosek decided to take a fishing trip around the world along the 41st parallel — that’s where trout thrive.

He headed east, traveling through southern Europe, the Balkans, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Japan, and returning through the western United States, stopping frequently along the way to indulge his passion for fishing.

Come hear about this grand adventure and pick up a copy of the newly released Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers’ Journal, illustrated by Prosek.

Thursday, November 15 at 5pm. Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave & Sachem St., New Haven, CT

Listen to a Yale Press Podcast with James Prosek

Tight Lines, illustrated by James Prosek; Edited by Joseph Furia, Wyatt Golding, David Haltom, Steven Hayhurst, Joseph Kingsbery, and Alexis Surovov; With a Foreword by Nick Lyons; With a Preface by James Prosek and Joseph Furia

Since the first copy of the Yale Anglers’ Journal appeared in 1996, readers with an interest in fish and fishing have opened the pages of each issue with anticipation and delight. YAJ’s founders suspected that others would share their passion for literature and art...

...related to angling; what they had not fully anticipated was the intensity of enthusiasm from readers and writers everywhere. Perhaps they shouldn’t have been surprised. Statistics tell us that 35 million Americans regularly fish, and among their numbers are presidents and students, old and young, the famous and the unknown, the busy and the idle.

This anthology presents a selection of 50 stories, recollections, essays, and poems featured in the Yale Anglers’ Journal during its first remarkable decade. Accompanied by original artwork from James Prosek, these writings all celebrate fish and the experience of fishing, yet they could hardly be more diverse. Some evoke a nostalgic earlier time, others vibrate with excitement, and still others offer a humorous view of life’s surprises. The contributions come from well-known current writers, little-known newcomers, and even authors of antiquity, such as Homer, who had a thing to say about fishing. Anyone who has felt a line pull tight, or is curious to know why the experience has inspired anglers throughout human history, will want to open the pages of this inviting book.

John Firor, author of The Changing Atmosphere: A Global Challenge and The Crowded Greenhouse: Population, Climate Change, and Creating a Sustainable World, passed away last Monday. The environmental scholar and public-policy expert was, according to The New York Times, "an early voice linking climate change and human activity."

Richard Anthes, president of the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research, told The New York Times that, while Firor was director of the National Center of Atmospheric Research, "he called attention to the importance of human impact on the environment, when such a connection was still considered a fairly radical idea." An important thinker and a leader in the field, Firor had also been chairman of the board of Envrionmental Defense, and was a trustee and founding board member of the World Resources Institute.

Firor's first book, The Changing Atmosphere, was winner of the 1992 Louis J. Batten Author’s Award given by the American Meteorological Society. Firor, a widely known authority in atmospheric research, describes the causes of acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming and the evidence for each one's recent acceleration, and he provides practical and long-range suggestions for controlling these and other forms of atmospheric deterioration.

The Crowded Greenhouse, Firor's second book, focuses on two critical global issues—rapid population growth and a human-induced climate change. Firor and Judith Jacobsen summarize the current status of these two issues, show how they are related to one another, and prescribe steps that governments, economies, societies, and individuals can adopt to stabilize both population and climate.

Read the entire New York Times article.

Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier today for their efforts to increase awareness of climate change. (See a video of the announcement.)

We at Yale University Press want to congratulate them on their work and their achievement. For those who want to follow in Mr. Gore's footsteps, YUP offers an assortment of books in science and environmental topics.

In Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment, renowned environmental leader James Gustave Speth warns that despite all the international negotiations of the past two decades, efforts to protect Earth’s environment are not succeeding. He explains why this is so and presents eight specific steps that governments and citizens can take to achieve a sustainable future.

Read an excerpt. View the table of contents.

Edited by Thomas E. Lovejoy and Lee Hannah, Climate Change and Biodiversity was selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2006. Leading researchers discuss what is now known about past climate changes in different areas of the world. They examine recent trends in and projections about climate change; ways that particular organisms are responding to climate change; conservation challenges, including social and policy issues; and more.

Read an excerpt. View the table of contents.

And keep an eye out for the upcoming book Environment: An Interdisciplinary Anthology, selected, edited, and with introductions by Glenn Adelson, James Engell, Brent Ranalli, and K. P. Van Anglen. This major, definitive anthology of writings is a complete and up-to-date guide to environmental literacy. The first to be organized around the idea that environmental studies must be interdisciplinary, the collection demonstrates how the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities all contribute to a balanced understanding of the natural world and our relationships to it. Watch for this title's release on December 31, 2007.

View the table of contents.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. See the rest of our science-related titles here.

Episode 9 of the Yale Press Podcast is now available.

In Episode 9, Chris Gondek speaks with (1) Trita Parsi about his behind-the scenes revelations about events in the Middle East, and (2) James Prosek about his passion and devotion to capturing the beauty of fly fishing.

Download it for free here, on iTunes, and everywhere else that podcasts can be found.

Comments are welcome.

William Burt's Marshes: The Disappearing Edens is receiving several nods in the media recently, with the most recent appearing in August's Science magazine. "Burt has been stalking shy inhabitants (especially rails, bitterns, grebes, and gallinules) of North America's grassy wetlands with his camera...He also reflects on the marshes he has explored, their riches, their pasts, and the threats they now face."

The Washington Post mentioned the book in an article about summer's flickering creatures: fireflies. "Nature photographer William Burt has communed with fireflies for years, but he knows that they can be hard to capture on film. Species that are dimmer, or don't blink for as long as others, he said, make for shy subjects. In his new book of wetland images, Burt takes readers to a great sedge marshland in Douglas, Manitoba, and an evening 14 summers ago when he captured hundreds of fireflies signaling to one another. Another force of nature, lightning, is dancing in the distant horizon."

In the July/August issue of Orion, Tim Traver calles Marshes, "entertaining and sobering at the same time...Books like this help put places like marshes back in the center of things."

The author recently appeared at a book signing during the opening of his exhibt at the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. Marshes: The Disappearing Edens, is published in conjuction with the exhibition and features over ninety of his most striking photographs and a narrative that invokes the marshes of the past and compares them to today’s, with prose as picture-sharp as the photography.

Click here for additional reviews of Marshes.

In honor of the 37th annual celebration of Earth Day, Yale is proud to present a new book by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston: Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage. A Miami Herald review begins, "Offering a clear-cut management plan and lots of real-life examples of success and failure, Green to Gold shows companies how to make money while saving Planet Earth." The Financial Times calls it "a manual on how to turn your company into an eco-success," and Chad Holliday, CEO of DuPont, writes, "No executive can afford to ignore the green wave sweeping the business world. Esty and Winston show how to make sustainability a core element of strategy???and profit from it."

On a related note, James Gustave Speth???s award-winning Red Sky at Morning is now available in paperback. A renowned environmental leader and winner of the prestigious Blue Planet Prize, Speth has written what New Scientist calls "the perfect antidote to apathy." Former United States President Jimmy Carter says, "Gus Speth brought global environmental concerns to the world???s attention nearly a quarter of a century ago. His extraordinary new book is an impassioned plea to take these issues seriously before it is too late. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to read Red Sky at Morning and take action while we can."

Also new in paperback are David Schoenbrod???s Saving Our Environment from Washington : How Congress Grabs Power, Shirks Responsibility, and Shortchanges the People and Thomas Lovejoy and Lee Hannah???s Climate Change and Biodiversity, both published by Yale University Press.