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  Playing Possum - How Animals...

  Susana Monsó, Mark Rowlands

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  When the opossum feels threatened, she becomes paralyzed. Her body temperature plummets, her breathing and heart rates drop to a minimum, and her glands simulate the smell of a putrefying corpse. Playing Possum explores what the opossum and other creatures can teach us about how we and other species understand mortality, and demonstrates that the concept of death, far from being a uniquely human attribute, is widespread in the animal kingdom. 
   
   
   
  With humor and empathy, Susana Monsó tells the stories of ants who attend their own funerals, chimpanzees who clean the teeth of their dead, dogs who snack on their caregivers, crows who avoid the places where they saw a carcass, elephants obsessed with collecting ivory, and whales who carry their dead for weeks. Monsó, one of today's leading experts on animal cognition and ethics, shows how there are more ways to conceive of mortality than the human way, and challenges the notion that the only emotional reactions to death worthy of our attention are ones that resemble our own. 
   
   
   
  Blending philosophical insight with new evidence from behavioral science and comparative psychology, Playing Possum dispels the anthropocentric biases that cloud our understanding of the natural world, and reveals that, when it comes to death and dying, we are just another animal.

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  Urban Infrastructure - Planning...

  Lyric Vale

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  Urban infrastructure forms the backbone of modern cities, shaping their development and function. It encompasses the essential systems and structures that ensure the smooth operation of urban life, from transportation networks and energy systems to water supply and waste management. The presence of effective infrastructure directly influences a city's ability to grow, innovate, and provide a high quality of life for its residents. In an increasingly urbanized world, the need for robust and efficient urban infrastructure has never been more critical. 
  Defining urban infrastructure is the first step in understanding its importance. At its core, urban infrastructure refers to the fundamental physical and organizational structures needed for a city to function. These include transportation systems like roads, bridges, and railways; utilities such as electricity, water, and sewage; and the telecommunications networks that connect people to one another. In more advanced urban environments, smart technologies, energy-efficient solutions, and waste recycling systems are becoming integral to how cities operate. This broad and diverse range of components forms the lifeblood of cities, supporting both day-to-day operations and long-term growth. 
  The role of urban infrastructure in city development cannot be overstated. Well-planned infrastructure enables cities to support larger populations, fuel economic growth, and adapt to changing environmental conditions. For instance, efficient public transportation systems reduce congestion and pollution while improving access to essential services. Likewise, a reliable energy grid ensures that businesses can operate without disruption, fostering innovation and productivity. As urban populations continue to grow, the demand for sustainable and resilient infrastructure becomes even more pressing.

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  The Family Guide to Psychiatric...

  Mark J. Russ

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  Each year, millions of Americans face psychiatric hospitalizations, yet this process often remains shrouded in stigma and mystery. In this indispensable guide, Mark J. Russ, MD, offers patients and families essential support and vital information to navigate this challenging process, from admission to discharge. 
   
   
   
  The Family Guide to Psychiatric Hospitalization provides a comprehensive look into the procedures, treatments, and dynamics of the psychiatric care system. Dr. Russ provides invaluable information on the history and evolution of psychiatric hospitals; the logistics of the admission process, including how to choose the right hospital based on patient needs; what families and patients can expect during every treatment phase, from initial assessment to active treatment to planning for discharge; the legal aspects of hospitalization, including patient rights and advocacy; and more. 
   
   
   
  Dr. Russ shares not only professional insights but also his own personal journey with psychiatric hospitalization. His dual perspective as both physician and patient brings an unprecedented depth of compassion and understanding to this guide. Designed to educate and empower families, this book serves as a beacon of hope and a testament to the healing power of informed and compassionate care.

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  Obsolescence - An Architectural...

  Daniel M. Abramson

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  In our architectural pursuits, we often seem to be in search of something newer, grander, or more efficient—and this phenomenon is not novel. In the spring of 1910 hundreds of workers labored day and night to demolish the Gillender Building in New York, once the loftiest office tower in the world, in order to make way for a taller skyscraper. The New York Times puzzled over those who would sacrifice the thirteen-year-old structure, “as ruthlessly as though it were some ancient shack.” In New York alone, the Gillender joined the original Grand Central Terminal, the Plaza Hotel, the Western Union Building, and the Tower Building on the list of just one generation’s razed metropolitan monuments. In the innovative and wide-ranging Obsolescence, Daniel M. Abramson investigates this notion of architectural expendability and the logic by which buildings lose their value and utility. The idea that the new necessarily outperforms and makes superfluous the old, Abramson argues, helps people come to terms with modernity and capitalism’s fast-paced change. Obsolescence, then, gives an unsettling experience purpose and meaning. Belief in obsolescence, as Abramson shows, also profoundly affects architectural design. In the 1960s, many architects worldwide accepted the inevitability of obsolescence, experimenting with flexible, modular designs, from open-plan schools, offices, labs, and museums to vast megastructural frames and indeterminate building complexes. Some architects went so far as to embrace obsolescence’s liberating promise to cast aside convention and habit, envisioning expendable short-life buildings that embodied human choice and freedom. Others, we learn, were horrified by the implications of this ephemerality and waste, and their resistance eventually set the stage for our turn to sustainability—the conservation rather than disposal of resources. Abramson’s fascinating tour of our idea of obsolescence culminates in an assessment of recent manifestations of sustainability, from adaptive reuse and historic preservation to postmodernism and green design, which all struggle to comprehend and manage the changes that challenge us on all sides.

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  Genetics in the Madhouse - The...

  Theodore M. Porter

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  “Porter has unearthed a radically new history of human genetics, one that evokes not the double helix but the humble filing cabinet.” —Emily M. Kern, ScienceIn the early 1800s, a century before there was any concept of the gene, physicians in insane asylums began to record causes of madness in their admission books. Almost from the beginning, they pointed to heredity as the most important of these causes. As doctors and state officials steadily lost faith in the capacity of asylum care to stem the terrible increase of insanity, they began emphasizing the need to curb the reproduction of the insane. They became obsessed with identifying weak or tainted families and anticipating the outcomes of their marriages. Genetics in the Madhouse is the untold story of how the collection and sorting of hereditary data in mental hospitals, schools for “feebleminded” children, and prisons gave rise to a new science of human heredity.In this compelling book, Theodore Porter draws on untapped archival evidence from across Europe and North America to bring to light the hidden history behind modern genetics. He looks at the institutional use of pedigree charts, censuses of mental illness, medical-social surveys, and other data techniques—innovative quantitative practices that were worked out in the madhouse long before the manipulation of DNA became possible in the lab. Porter argues that asylum doctors developed many of the ideologies and methods of what would come to be known as eugenics, and deepens our appreciation of the moral issues at stake in data work conducted on the border of subjectivity and science.

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  The Battle of Priorities -...

  Paula B. Johnson

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  Embark on a critical journey with "The Battle of Priorities: Politics versus The Planet," a gripping exploration of the urgent global climate crisis. Delve into the complexities of environmental politics, exposing how political dynamics often overshadow scientific truths. Uncover the economic intricacies of climate policy, examining affordability, the cost of inaction, and the influence of lobbyists. Through case studies like the Paris Agreement, grasp the high-stakes decisions shaping our planet's fate. This book doesn't just present a crisis; it unveils the transformative power of public opinion, media, and grassroots movements. Culminating in a powerful call to action, it inspires readers to be catalysts for change, aligning political strategies with environmental imperatives. For those ready to take a stand, "The Battle of Priorities" is an essential guide to understanding and engaging in the fight for our planet's future.

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