Who Gave You the Epsilon?: And Other Tales of Mathematical History

Title: Who Gave You the Epsilon?: And Other Tales of Mathematical History

Author: Marlow Anderson, Robin Wilson, Victor J. Katz

Pages: 442

Call Number: QA21 .W358 2009

Synopsis: This book picks up the history of mathematics from where Sherlock Holmes in Babylon left it. The 40 articles of Who Gave You the Epsilon? continue the story of the development of mathematics into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The articles have all been published in the Mathematical Association of America journals and are in many cases written by distinguished mathematicians such as G. H. Hardy and B. van der Waerden. The articles are arranged thematically to show the development of analysis, geometry, algebra and number theory through this period of time. Each chapter is preceded by a foreword, giving the historical background and setting and the scene, and is followed by an afterword, reporting on advances in our historical knowledge and understanding since the articles first appeared. This book is ideal for anyone wanting to explore the history of mathematics. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

A Theory of Musical Narrative

Title: A Theory of Musical Narrative

Author: Byron Almén

Pages: 264

Call Number: ML3800 .A46 2008

Synopsis: Byron Almén proposes an original synthesis of approaches to musical narrative from literary criticism, semiotics, historiography, musicology, and music theory, resulting in a significant critical reorientation of the field. This volume includes an extensive survey of traditional approaches to musical narrative, a careful delineation of the essential elements and preconditions of musical narrative organization, an eclectic analytical model applicable to a wide range of musical styles and repertoires, a diverse range of musical examples illustrating the range and applicability of the theoretical apparatus, a classification scheme of narrative types and subtypes reflecting conceptually distinct narrative strategies, a wide array of interpretive categories, and a sensitivity to the dependence of narrative interpretation on the cultural milieu of the work, its various audiences, and the analyst.A Theory of Musical Narrativeprovides both an excellent introduction to an increasingly important conceptual domain and a complex reassessment of its possibilities and characteristics. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

Welcome to the Aquarium: A Year in the Lives of Children

Title: Welcome to the Aquarium: A Year in the Lives of Children

Author: Julie Diamond

Pages: 272

Call Number:LB1733 .D53 2008

Synopsis: Told through the observant and wise eyes of a veteran kindergarten teacher, a lyrical look at the hidden structures of life in an urban elementary school classroom. The loss of veteran teachers with their deep knowledge of children, the successes and failures of different teaching models, and the constraints and possibilities of educational institutions affect schools everywhere. In Welcome to the Aquarium veteran educator Julie Diamond spells out what an experienced teacher knows and shows the magic a veteran teacher works in a classroom. Tracking the progress of one prototypical collection of kindergarteners as they become a class with a distinct personality of its own, Diamond guides us through the myriad details of classroom life: the organization, curriculum, and relationships that create a unique class culturea culture that, she eloquently argues, can represent the reality of our social ideals and values. For parents as well as new and even experienced teachers, Diamond lays out the logic behind the routines and rituals children need to thrive. Like Tracy Kidder'sAmong Schoolchildren,Welcome to the Aquariumoffers a lyrical look at the hidden structures of life in an elementary school classroom, but from the perspective of an expert insider and educator. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Title: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Author: Christopher McDougall

Pages: 336

Call Number: GV1061.23.M6 M33 2009

Synopsis: Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world's greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder. With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

God Reflected: Metaphors for Life

Title: God Reflected: Metaphors for Life

Author: Flora Keshgegian

Pages: 184

Call Number: BT103 .K463 2008

Synopsis: When a loved one dies, somebody inevitably says the death was God's will. The same claim is made when a person is cured of cancer. In a war, both sides often argue that they are carrying out God's will. Faithful people search for God's will for their lives, especially when they are faced with a decision, such as which job to take or whether to have another child. What is meant by God's will? How does God act? What is the character of the God whose will is expressed in and through our lives? This book answers these questions in relation to a broadly Christian perspective. Based on the traditional premise that everything we assert about God is metaphorical, this wonderfully written book presents a range of ways to imagine the nature of God and of God's power and will: from a personal but distant God who is fully in charge and in control, through more gentle and engaged images of God, and ultimately to a non-personal view of God as the energy for life in the universe. Each perspective offers distinct images for God and for the way in which God's will operates; each is assessed for its strengths and weaknesses. With deep insight and clear, inspiring writing, Keshgegian ultimately offers a way to imagine. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

Still at the Margins: Biblical Scholarship Fifteen Years after Voices from the Margin

Title: Still at the Margins: Biblical Scholarship Fifteen Years after Voices from the Margin

Author: R. S. Sugirtharajah

Pages: 176

Call Number: BS476 .S782 2008

Synopsis: Still at the Margins is a review of developments within biblical studies over the last fifteen years, since R. S. Sugirtharajah published his groundbreaking book, Voices from the Margins. This anthology is a unique publication in that it will bring together for the first time different marginal voices in one volume. There are volumes which look at specific marginal voices like black, and feminist biblical hermeneutics but there is no volume which addresses all the marginal voices. More importantly, the volume is written by the very experts who shaped the field, and now they get an opportunity to reflect on and try to move the agenda to the next stage. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

Black: The History of a Color

Title: Black: The History of a Color

Author: Michel Pastoureau

Pages: 216

Call Number: BF789.C7 P3813 2009

Synopsis: Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author ofBluenow tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe. In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color. For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies. With its striking design and compelling text,Blackwill delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.

Striving for the Whole: Creating Theoretical Syntheses

Title: Striving for the Whole: Creating Theoretical Syntheses

Author: Rainer Diriwachter, Jaan Valsiner

Pages: 263

Call Number: BF202 .S77 2008

Synopsis: This unusual collection explores the development of ideas in psychology? past, and shapes them into a valuable resource for ideas in the discipline? future, with particular emphasis on holistic traditions in psychology. Diriwächter and Valsiner focus on developmental holistic psychology as advocated by the second school of Leipzig in Germany. Although largely neglected, this school of thought has provided some of the fundamental ideas necessary for a truly holistic approach in psychology.This volume includes Leibniz? dynamic holism and Ehrenfels?discussion about Gestalt qualities, which has generally been acknowledged as a major milestone in the formation of Gestalt psychology. Each chapter looks at the possible future of holistic psychology. Striving for the Whole contains several well-though out discussions on possible elaborations of holistic psychology by contrasting it with Ernst Boesch? cultural psychology, Pierre Janet? theory on emotions, and Jan Smuts holistic approach to personality theory. Discussions of holistic approaches in biology and evolutionary psychology, as well as a renewed look at Lloyd Morgan? comparative methodology, complete the volume.Striving for the Whole has been written by an international group of authors and will be of interest to students of the social sciences and intellectual history, and anyone who wants to dive deeper into holistic approaches that maintain their ties with empirical methodology. It is ideal for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in psychology. Retrieved from Books in Print, 12/9/09.