Pre-Post Paranoid Age - Post-Post-Post-Post Modern satire; spoof on current events mid-decade 00's.

“An intimate and deeply human memoir that shows why we should all be concerned about nuclear safety, and the dangers of ignoring science in the name of national security.”—Rebecca Skloot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks A shocking account of the government’s attempt to conceal the effects of the toxic waste released by a secret nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and a community’s vain search for justice—soon to be a feature documentary Kristen Iversen grew up in a small Colorado town close to Rocky Flats, a secret nuclear weapons plant once designated "the most contaminated site in America." Full Body Burden is the story of a childhood and adolescence in the shadow of the Cold War, in a landscape at once startlingly beautiful and--unknown to those who lived there--tainted with invisible yet deadly particles of plutonium. It's also a book about the destructive power of secrets--both family and government. Her father's hidden liquor bottles, the strange cancers in children in the neighborhood, the truth about what was made at Rocky Flats--best not to inquire too deeply into any of it. But as Iversen grew older, she began to ask questions and discovered some disturbing realities. Based on extensive interviews, FBI and EPA documents, and class-action testimony, this taut, beautifully written book is both captivating and unnerving.

Humanity's ongoing quest to unlock the secrets of dark matter and dark energy Heart of Darkness describes the incredible saga of humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past forty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components—dark matter and dark energy—comprise most of the known cosmos, explain the growth of all cosmic structure, and hold the key to the universe's fate. The story of how evidence for the so-called "Lambda-Cold Dark Matter" model of cosmology has been gathered by generations of scientists throughout the world is told here by one of the pioneers of the field, Jeremiah Ostriker, and his coauthor Simon Mitton. From humankind's early attempts to comprehend Earth's place in the solar system, to astronomers' exploration of the Milky Way galaxy and the realm of the nebulae beyond, to the detection of the primordial fluctuations of energy from which all subsequent structure developed, this book explains the physics and the history of how the current model of our universe arose and has passed every test hurled at it by the skeptics. Throughout this rich story, an essential theme is emphasized: how three aspects of rational inquiry—the application of direct measurement and observation, the introduction of mathematical modeling, and the requirement that hypotheses should be testable and verifiable—guide scientific progress and underpin our modern cosmological paradigm. This monumental puzzle is far from complete, however, as scientists confront the mysteries of the ultimate causes of cosmic structure formation and the real nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy.

Provides a concise and engaging summary of modern evolutionary theory, for students and general readers with little or no formal training in science. Explains variations within species, heredity, genetics and variation, and mutation, and discusses natural selection theory, the origin of species, and speciation in the Galapagos Islands. Examines the origin and early evolution of life and of humanity, and discusses the intersection of science and politics. Includes a "who's who" of key figures with bandw photos and portraits, plus a glossary. The first edition was published in 1978. This second edition contains new chapters on neural and gene evolution, and emphasis on molecular evolution. The author was retired from the paleontology department of The Natural History Museum in London. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This is an expose of the whole modern agricultural industry. From Alzheimer's and cancer to obesity and impotence, many of the late-20th century's major illnesses can be traced to the chemical toxins in our food from industrial farming and environmental pollution. This book contains stories from history, such as the Romans who were poisoned by the lead in their water and wine, together with the latest facts and evidence. It exposes the high rate of cancer among farmers, how human obesity may be caused by the growth hormones given to livestock, and why vets in Belgium are accompanied on farm visits by armed police. Subjects covered in the book include the effects of nuclear, industrial, and car pollution on the food chain; chemical additives; pesticides and fungicides; growth-promoting hormones in livestock; depletion of fish stocks; factory farming; new food products using "chemical special effects;" animal transportation; industrial cover-ups of health risks; and the fallibility of consumer protection.