Addiction Inbox (D)Evolves Into Paperback

A curated collection of blog posts in print.

Online is where journalism is happening now, but it is a truism that most of the world’s repository of knowledge is still found in books. It is also true that Addiction Inbox now comes in paperback, from Amazon. For cheap. Also available in Kindle, for unbelievably cheap.

 I have selected and arranged a “best of the blog” collection,  meant to serve as a handy off-the-shelf compendium of science-based information on drugs and addiction. Is shoplifting the opiate of the masses? Does menthol really matter? Can ketamine and other party drugs cause permanent bladder damage? The posts are arranged in four sections: Research, The New Synthetics, Treatment, and Interviews/Book Reviews. This 330-page anthology of articles is designed to bring multiple perspectives to bear on questions of drugs, addiction, and treatment. For just ridiculously cheap.

Cassie Rodenberg at Scientific American’s White Noise blog was kind enough to review Addiction Inbox, the book: “The author relates the real life to the scientific, noting his own struggles with addiction, yet doesn’t get bogged down in personal tales. Rather, the writings use life tidbits as jumping off points for scientific explanation and an overarching discussion of addiction’s media landscape.”

Which was pretty much what I was hoping to do when I started this blog….

Science Books for Christmas

Women and children first.

It’s not my fault that some of the best science books of 2010 were written by women. In fact, I’m just going to say it: All of the best science books of the year were written by women. Here are a few candidates.

--Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 

Publishers Weekly: “A tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women—Skloot and Deborah Lacks—sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells.”

--Mary Roach, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Publishers Weekly: “Roach (Stiff) once again proves herself the ideal guide to a parallel universe. Despite all the high-tech science that has resulted in space shuttles and moonwalks, the most crippling hurdles of cosmic travel are our most primordial human qualities: eating, going to the bathroom, having sex and bathing, and not dying in reentry.”

--Mia Szalavitz, Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered 

Product Description: “An inside look at the power of empathy: Born for Love is an unprecedented exploration of how and why the brain learns to bond with others—and a stirring call to protect our children from new threats to their capacity to love.”

--Deborah Blum, The Poisoners Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Publishers Weekly: “Pulitzer Prize–winning science journalist Blum (Ghost Hunters) makes chemistry come alive in her enthralling account of two forensic pioneers in early 20th-century New York. Blum follows the often unglamorous but monumentally important careers of Dr. Charles Norris, Manhattan's first trained chief medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, its first toxicologist.”

--Jennifer Ouellette, The Calculus Diaries: How math can help you lose weight, win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

Nature: "In The Calculus Diaries, science writer Jennifer Ouellette makes maths palatable using a mix of humour, anecdote and enticing facts...Using everyday examples, such as petrol mileage and fairground rides, Ouellette makes even complex ideas such as calculus and probability appealing."

--Susan Casey, The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

Bookmarks Magazine: “Part science lesson and part adrenaline rush, The Wave is an intense thrill ride that manages to take a broad look at oversized, potentially devastating waves. The critics praised Casey's eloquent writing and jaw-droppingly vivid descriptions of chasing--or trying desperately to steer clear of--these aquatic behemoths.”

And:

Smithsonian science books for kids.

Graphics Credit: http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/

Friday File

Book and Blog Recommendations

Books

Garrison Keillor, my state’s answer to Mark Twain, often used a signature phrase on his radio show: “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.” Michael S. Gazzaniga, brain scientist extraordinaire, says that this simple statement explains the essential difference between the cognitive complexity of humans and that of other primates. Put simply, “Other apes don’t have that sentiment.”

A cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California–Santa Barbara, Gazzaniga’s recent book, Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique, looks at how we diverged from our ancestors to become sentient human beings. Hint: It has less to do with tool use and opposable thumbs than you might expect.

Gazzaniga wears his learning lightly and puts forth his ideas in an easy-going style. Though he does not mention them by name, he could have been thinking about PETA when he poses the ultimate question: “Would a chimp make a good date?”

Blogs

Neuroanthropology, a site dedicated to the “greater understanding of the encultured brain and body,” is another interdisciplinary gem of a blog.

In their own words, Neuroanthropology is a “collaborative weblog created to encourage exchanges among anthropology, philosophy, social theory, and the brain sciences. We especially hope to explore the implications of new findings in the neurosciences for our understanding of culture, human development, and behaviour.”

As part of that eclectic mix, Daniel Lende keeps a keen eye on the biology of drugs and alcohol, with a particular emphasis on “biopsychosocial” approaches to addiction.

Some of Neuroanthropology’s more popular posts include “Cultural Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” “Sarah Palin and Language,” “Studying Sin,” and “How Your Brain is Not Like a Computer.” The site also features a great page of Web Resources.

Friday File

Book and Blog Recommendations

Books

A decade ago, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher at Harvard Medical School and a national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Bank, suffered a massive stroke at the age of 37. Unable to walk, talk, read, or write, Dr. Taylor underwent an 8-year recovery and narrates the story of her recovery in her book , My Stroke of Insight.

The book’s jacket copy explains: “As the damaged left side of her brain—the rational, grounded, detail-and-time oriented side—swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realities: the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized Jill was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. “

As reporter Robert Koehler writes: “This book is about the wonder of being human and as such is a plea and a prayer that we strive to be equal to how big we really are. What a piece of work is man — 50 trillion cells functioning in purposeful harmony.”

Stroke patients, victims of brain injuries, medical practitioners, and the general reading public will find invaluable insights and recommendations in this book.

Blogs

The mission of Corpus Callosum, a science blog maintained by an anonymous psychiatrist who works at a community hospital, is “to develop connections between hard science and social science, using linear thinking and intuition; and to explore the relative merits of spontaneity vs. strategy.” The blog intelligently covers a broad range of general-interest topics, including social commentary, neuroscience, politics, and science news.

Corpus Callosum also regularly features excellent graphics and photographs, and is written in a reasoned, straightforward and easy-to-digest style. As a bonus, the site features a deep and high-quality blogroll.