Atlas of the United States
Harm J. DeBlij, ed.
New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.
Call# Ref G1105 .A82 2006

From Oxford University Press:

“An indispensable item in any modern professional or personal library, the Atlas of the United States offers a closer look at the oldest, richest, and most populous country on the continent. Opening with two pages of the latest statistics, this atlas provides a broad overview of a multicultural and diverse nation taking its first steps into a new century. The heart of this comprehensive volume is a unique thematic section covering physical, historic, urban, economic, social, and cultural topics ranging from environmental change to religious practice, and indigenous peoples to migration patterns. Accompanied by a balanced combination of informative text and instructive charts and graphs, these newly drawn maps seek to explain the dynamic forces shaping the United States of America.

The thematic section is followed by a spectacular two-page satellite image of the lower 48 states and several regional maps including a full page for the US Pacific islands plus dozens of larger-scale maps of urban areas. A useful, illustrated gazetteer offers still more precision with charts of census data and descriptions of the history, geography, and industry of each state and its capital. In combination, these components transform the new Atlas of the United States into a home reference unsurpassed in quality that is equal parts study source and travel guide. All of this is facilitated by a comprehensive index with latitude and longitude coordinates and alphanumeric grid references that make finding places effortless. What’s more, page number indicators and refined locator windows throughout the atlas allow for easy identification of adjacent map pages.

With hundreds of maps rendering every region from Barrow, Alaska to Venice, Florida in layer-colored contours, this atlas is the United States as it hasn’t been seen before.”

New Reference Book:

Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences
5 Vol
Malcolm G Anderson and Jeffrey J McDonnell, eds
Hoboken, NJ : J. Wiley, 2005.
Call# Ref GB655 .E527 2005

From Wiley.com:

” Understanding and management of the water natural system is essential for life. There are increasing pressures on the availability and exploitation of fresh water resources through population increase, pollution and degradation of resources, and variations in distribution from regional and global change in the climate. Compilation of knowledge in this area will be a prerequisite for education and training of practising and research hydrologists.

Hydrological Sciences has perhaps three important characteristics that, whilst not perhaps unique in terms of scientific context, are of particular relevance to the proposed initiative to develop a definitive research level multi-volume encyclopedia of the subject. Firstly, the field of Hydrological Sciences is of particular importance in that the process underpinnings that relate to the movement of water from the atmosphere, through and on hillslopes, rivers and floodplain environments are themselves central to related sciences such as ecology, climatology etc. Secondly, hydrological science is a rapidly evolving and developing area but there is a lack of an inclusive reference source that offers an innovative approach melding together information on hydrological processes from sub-catchment to the global scale. Finally, many users and scientists increasingly require software that encapsulates the science of the hydrological problem in a convenient and scientifically credible manner. This new project acknowledges these three major elements of the science, and for the first time seeks to develop a definitive, research level encyclopedia with software access.

The majority of the entries will be substantial articles (up to 10,000 words). Such articles will occupy approximately 10-15 pages in the final printed Encyclopedia, including illustrations, black and white photographs, figures, tabular material and accompanying reference list. Accordingly such articles of this type will be of the status of short scientific papers.”

New Reference Book:

Our Earth’s Changing Land: An Encyclopedia of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change
2 Vol
Helmut Geist, ed
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2006.
Call# Ref GF90 .O87 2006

From Greenwood Publishing Group:

“Scientists predict that the environment over the next 100 years will be threatened by severe challenges–the loss of biodiversity, expected changes in world-wide climate, and decreasing amounts of arable land and potable water for an exploding human population. All of these will greatly impact how the earth will be able to support life in the future. And at the center of these global environmental changes are developments in land use. Over the last 300 years, and in particular the last 50 years, the earth’s land has been altered drastically as a result of increasing industrialization and urbanization worldwide, as well as by changes in agricultural techniques in lands under cultivation. These developments raise troubling questions about out future: How will these changes affect the sustainability of certain types of land use? How will they impinge upon critical regions, like rainforests and deserts? Will the earth be able to provide for the basic human needs of food, shelter, and water?

Our Earth’s Changing Land: An Encyclopedia of Land Use and Land-Cover Change is an A-to-Z encyclopedia that addresses all aspects of the science of land-use change:

• Evidence of land-use and land-cover change over the last 300 years, and how these changes impact the lives of people today
• Discussions of the models and techniques that scientists use to determine how, and how fast, the earth is changing
• Entries on the scientists and organizations who study these developments and who attempt to predict what will happen to the earth in the future
• Discussions of policies and measures that can be implemented on a local level that will allow a sensible balance between sustainability and development

Written by leading scientists who have spent years studying the phenomena, the encyclopedia hopes to provide a strong foundation for understanding current controversies, and is written on a level that is understandable to scientists and other interested readers alike.”

New Reference Book:

Atlas of the Middle East
National Geographic Society
Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society, 2003.
Call# Ref G2205 .N34 2003

From National Geographic:

“The definitive Middle East Atlas provides an in-depth look into this critical region – its populations, religion and politics, cultural conflicts, holy sites, resources, and much more. Filled with maps, photographs, charts, and graphs that provide up-to-date insights.”

New Reference Book:

Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Hari Singh Nalwa, ed
Stevenson Ranch, Calif. : American Scientific Publishers, 2004.
10 Volumes
Call# Ref QC176.8 .N35 E53 2004

From American Scientific Publishers:

“Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology® is the World’s first encyclopedia ever published in the field of nanotechnology. The 10-volume Encyclopedia is an unprecedented single reference source that provides ideal introduction and overview of most recent advances and emerging new aspects of nanotechnology spanning from science to engineering to medicine. Although there are many books/handbook and journals focused on nanotechnology, no encyclopedic reference work has been published covering all aspects of nanoscale science and technology dealing with materials synthesis, processing, fabrication, probes, spectroscopy, physical properties, electronics, optics, mechanics, biotechnology, devices, etc. The Encyclopedia fills this gap to provide basic information on all fundamental and applied aspects of nanotechnology by drawing on two decades of pioneering research. It is the only scientific work of its kind since the beginning of the field of nanotechnology bringing together core knowledge and the very latest advances. It is written for all levels audience that allows non-scientists to understand the nanotechnology while providing up-to-date latest information to active scientists to experts in the field. This outstanding encyclopedia is an indispensable source for research professionals, technology investors and developers seeking the most up-to-date information on the nanotechnology among a wide range of disciplines from science to engineering to medicine.”

New Reference Book:

Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering, 5th ed.
James R. Pfafflin and Edward N. Ziegler, eds.
Boca Raton : CRC, 20062 Volumes
Call# Ref TD9 .E5 2006

From Taylor & Francis:

“Completely revised and updated, Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fifth Edition spans the entire spectrum of environmental science and engineering. Still the most comprehensive, authoritative reference available in this field, the monumental two-volume encyclopedia has expanded to include 87 articles on topics ranging from acid rain, air pollution, and community health, to environmental law, instrumentation, modeling, alternative energy, toxicology, radioactive waste, and water treatment. The articles have been extensively revised and updated, new ones have been added to cover the latest developments related to today’s environmental problems. The result is a reference work that provides the information necessary to understand, manage, and respond to threats to the human environment.”

New Reference Book:

McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Bioscience
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002
Call# Ref QH302.5 M378

From Ovid:

“Based on content from the McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Fifth Edition, the most widely used and respected science reference of its kind in print, each of these subject-specific quick-reference guides features:

• Detailed, well-illustrated explanations, not just definitions
• Hundreds of concise yet authoritative articles in each volume
• An easy-to-understand presentation, accessible and interesting to non-specialists
• A portable, convenient format
• Bibliographies, appendices, and other information supplement the articles

“

New Reference Book:

Theilheimer’s Synthetic Methods of Organic Chemistry Volume 68
William Theilheimer
Basel; New York : Karger, 2005
Call#: Ref QD262 .S94

From Karger Publishers:

“Published biannually, these books provide a key research tool for accessing synthetic methods back to 1945 with updated information on new developments in synthetic organic chemistry. They are based on an original presentation of data according to reaction type.

Readers can

• gain access to specific methodologies
• keep abreast of developments in established reactions
• browse for information in a generic sense

500 informative abstracts per volume describe new reactions and synthetic methods reported in the world-wide scientific literature. Each abstract is introduced with a concise title, followed by a clear depiction of a typical reaction, the corresponding experimental section, and comments on scope, limitation and any specific advantages.

Numerous supplementary references provide updates on established procedures. Each Theilheimer volume is supported by an in-depth, heavily cross-referenced Subject Index, uniquely devised for functional group retrieval, and enabling the user to locate reactions from both the product and starting material aspects.

The current volume in this renowned series is based on the journal literature published up to March 2005. A Reviews section (inclusive of data published up to September 2005) is also included, and the volume is introduced with a Trends section focusing on the very recent developments which will form the basis of volume 69.”

New Reference Book:

Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook
Patrick J. Fitzpatrick
2nd ed
Santa Barbara, CA:ABC-CLIO, 2006
Call# Ref QC944 .F58 2006

From ABC-CLIO:

“From killer storms to their implications for the insurance premiums of U.S. residents, this much-awaited update explores the ecological, social, and economic consequences of hurricanes and their effects on both coastal and inland areas.

Twenty-six people dead, $26.5 billion worth of damage, and eight insurance companies left bankrupt—such was the impact of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the most costly storm in U.S. history. How can coastal residents best prepare for the threat posed by such awesome phenomena? What is the likely impact of global climate change on the frequency and fury of hurricane activity?

In September 1776 the so-called “Hurricane of Independence” hit Canada and the northeastern United States, leading to 4,170 deaths. In 1900 around 8,000 perished in the Galveston Hurricane and the resulting tidal surge. Coastal defenses, early warning systems, and evacuation procedures have improved enormously. However, hurricanes still pose a potentially devastating threat to life and property, especially in coastal regions of the United States and the Caribbean. What causes these extreme storms? How can we best defend ourselves?

Hurricanes: A Reference Handbook explores the historical, ecological, economic, and social dimensions of hurricanes in North America. Synthesizing literature from a wide range of authoritative sources, this book is an invaluable guide to hurricanes and their impact and is essential reading for students, scientists, mariners, and coastal residents alike.”

New Reference Book:

Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia
Thomas Glick, Steven J. Livesey, Faith Wallis, eds.
New York, NY: Routledge, 2005
Call# Ref Q124.97 M43 2005

From Routledge:

“The popular image of medieval science remains one of a “dark age,” when scholasticism and the Catholic Church stifled the achievements of classical thought until the great cultural flowering of the Renaissance. Research in the last few decades has revealed a far different picture. As Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine demonstrates, the millennium from the fall of the Roman Empire to the flowering of the Renaissance was a period of great intellectual and practical achievement and innovation. In Europe, the Islamic world, South and East Asia, and the Americas, individuals built on earlier achievements and introduced sometimes radical refinements. Some of the individuals are still known today; many more are lost to history. Their achievements remain, however, and far from marking a reversal in human knowledge, laid the foundations for its modern development. They applied not only in well-known fields such as construction and transportation, but also in anesthetics, mechanics, optics, and math.

Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine details the whole scope of scientific knowledge in the medieval period in more than 300 A to Z entries. This resource discusses the research, application of knowledge, cultural and technology exchanges, experimentation, and achievements in the many disciplines related to science and technology. Coverage includes inventions, discoveries, concepts, places and fields of study, regions, and significant contributors to various fields of science. There are also entries on South-Central and East Asian science. This reference work provides an examination of medieval scientific tradition as well as an appreciation for the relationship between medieval science and the traditions it supplanted and those that replaced it.

Written by a select group of international scholars, Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine explores the fascinating scientific achievements of the Middle Ages. This reference work will be of great use to scholars, students, and general readers researching topics in many fields of study, including medieval studies, world history, history of science, history of technology, history of medicine, and cultural studies.”