Inyo County Free Library - New Acquisitions
March 2015 - April 2015
These are books and media new to the library and cataloged by the Inyo County Free Library.
Additional information about each title can be found in the catalog (click on the title). For older acquisition lists choose from Select another list. To request any of these titles please contact your local library branch.
The Everything learning French book: speak, write, and understand basic French in no time By Sallee, Bruce Publishing Date: c2002 Classification: 400 Call Number: 448.2 SAL |
The complete idiot's guide to learning French By Stein, Gail Publishing Date: 2003 Classification: 400 Call Number: 448.2 STE This book, revised and updated, consists of thematically constructed chapters that tie together vocabulary, useful phrases, grammar, and activities to give you an understanding of French-speaking people and their culture. |
Galileo's finger: the ten great ideas of science By Atkins, P. W. Publishing Date: 2004 Classification: 500 Call Number: 500 ATK Why Galileo's finger? Galileo, one of whose fingers is preserved in a vessel displayed in Florence, provided much of the impetus for modern science, pointing the way out of medieval ignorance. In this brilliant account of the central ideas of contemporary science, Peter Atkins celebrates the effectiveness of Galileo's symbolic finger for revealing the nature of our universe, our world, and ourselves. Galileo's Finger takes the reader on an extraordinary journey that embraces the ten central ideas of current science. "By a great idea," writes Peter Atkins, "I mean a simple concept of great reach, an acorn of an idea that ramifies into a great oak tree of application, a spider of an idea that can spin a great web and draw in a feast of explanation and elucidation." With wit, charm, and patience, Atkins leads the reader to an understanding of the essence of the whole of science, from evolution and the emergence of complexity, to entropy, the spring of all change in the universe; from energy, the universalization of accountancy, to symmetry, the quantification of beauty; and from cosmology, the globalization of reality, to spacetime, the arena of all action. "My intention is for us to travel to the high ridges of science," Atkins tells us. "As the journey progresses and I lead you carefully to the summit of understanding, you will experience the deep joy of illumination that science alone provides." Galileo's Finger breaks new ground in communicating science to the general reader. Here are the essential ideas of today's science, explained in magical prose. - (Oxford University Press) |
The beginning of infinity: explanations that transform the world By Deutsch, David Publishing Date: 2011 Classification: 500 Call Number: 501 DEU "A bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers. Throughout history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe. They have unlimited scope and power to cause change, and the quest to improve them is the basic regulating principle not only of science but of all successful human endeavor. This stream of ever improving explanations has infinite reach, according to Deutsch: we are subject only to the laws of physics, and they impose no upper boundary to what we can eventually understand, control, and achieve. In his previous book, The Fabric of Reality, Deutsch describe the four deepest strands of existing knowledge-the theories of evolution, quantum physics, knowledge, and computation-arguing jointly they reveal a unified fabric of reality. In this new book, he applies that worldview to a wide range of issues and unsolved problems, from creativity and free will to the origin and future of the human species. Filled with startling new conclusions about human choice, optimism, scientific explanation, and the evolution of culture, The Beginning of Infinity is a groundbreaking book that will become a classic of its kind"-- |
The lion's eye: seeing in the wild By Greenfield, Joanna Publishing Date: 2009 Classification: 500 Call Number: 508.6761 GRE Joanna Greenfield dreamed of traveling to East Africa to study one of the last known populations of wild chimpanzees. When she was offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance, the young student set off from peaceful Kenya into politically hazardous Uganda . From there, a small team of guides led her into the mountains. In stunningly evocative language, Greenfield depicts the beauty of the rainforest and the determination required to wait for one transcendent encounter in the wild. But even one of the most remote places in the world is not immune to terrifying man-made conflict. Greenfield and her team are robbed by poachers and harassed by soldiers. |
Publishing Date: c1995 Classification: 500 Call Number: 508.7 A handbook for amateur naturalists that explains what to look and listen for, what to touch and what to smell on your walks, while describing the various flora and fauna you may discover. |
Women in wilderness: writings and photographs Publishing Date: 1995 Classification: 500 Call Number: 508.73 Full-page color nature and wilderness photos by six women photographers are interspersed with selections (1,500 or so words) from the writings of seven women writers, each introduced by the editors. Among the contributors: Jan DeBlieu ( Meant to be Wild ), Terry Tempest Williams ( Coyote's Canyon ), Margaret E. Murie ( Journeys to the Far North ), and Gretel Ehrlich ( Yellowstone: Land of Fire and Ice . No scholarly trappings. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. - (Book News) |
Atlas of the skies: journeying between the stars and planets in the discovery of the universe Publishing Date: 2003 Classification: 500 Call Number: 523 Journeying between the stars and planets in the discovery of the universe. |
A universe from nothing: why there is something rather than nothing By Krauss, Lawrence Maxwell Publishing Date: 2012 Classification: 500 Call Number: 523.18 KRA "Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss offers provocative, revelatory answers to the most basic philosophical questions: Where did our universe come from? Why is there something rather than nothing? And how is it all going to end? Why is there something rather than nothing?" is asked of anyone who says there is no God. Yet this is not so much a philosophical or religious question as it is a question about the natural world--and until now there has not been a satisfying scientific answer. Today, exciting scientific advances provide new insight into this cosmological mystery: Not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With his wonderfully clear arguments and wry humor, pioneering physicist Lawrence Krauss explains how in this fascinating antidote to outmoded philosophical and religious thinking. As he puts it in his entertaining video of the same title, which has received over 675,000 hits, "Forget Jesus. The stars died so you could be born." A mind-bending trip back to the beginning of the beginning, A Universe from Nothing authoritatively presents the most recent evidence that explains how our universe evolved--and the implications for how it's going to end. It will provoke, challenge, and delight readers to look at the most basic underpinnings of existence in a whole new way. And this knowledge that our universe will be quite different in the future from today has profound implications and directly affects how we live in the present. As Richard Dawkins has described it: This could potentially be the most important scientific book with implications for atheism since Darwin"-- |
By Weinberg, Steven Publishing Date: c1992 Classification: 500 Call Number: 530 WEI Weinberg, the 1979 Nobel Prize-winner in physics, imagines the shape of a final theory and the effect its discovery would have on the human spirit. He gives a defense of reductionism--the impulse to trace explanations of natural phenomena to deeper and deeper levels--and examines the curious relevance of beauty and symmetry in scientific theories. Weinberg gives a personal account of the search for the laws of nature, and shares glimpses scientists have had from time to time that there is a deeper truth foreshadowing a final theory. For another side of the discussion, see David Lindley's The End of Physics. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR |
Secrets of the oak woodlands: plants and animals among California's oaks By Marianchild, Kate Publishing Date: [2014] Classification: 500 Call Number: 577.3097 MAR |
The plant lover's guide to sedums By Horvath, Brent Publishing Date: 2014 Classification: 500 Call Number: 583.72 HOR Sedums are fabulously versatile. With their flamboyant flower heads, graphic shapes, and stunning succulent foliage, these hardy plants thrive in almost any climate and with almost no attention. Their colorful leaves cover the spectrum - from icy whites and blues to rich fuchsia and deep purple. Sedum breeder and nurseryman Brent Horvath dispenses growing tips and design advice for using these rewarding plants in every part of your garden. |
Bug music: how insects gave us rhythm and noise By Rothenberg, David Publishing Date: [2013] Classification: 500 Call Number: 595.7159 ROT Analyzes the role of insects in teaching humans about music, tracing research into exotic insect markets and research labs while explaining how insect sound and movement patterns inspired traditions in rhythm, synchronization, and dance. |
By Skutch, Alexander F. Publishing Date: [1973] Classification: 500 Call Number: 598.899 SKU |
Wilderness & travel medicine: a comprehensive guide By Weiss, Eric A. Publishing Date: c2012 Classification: 600 Call Number: 613.68 WEI |
The trigger point therapy workbook: your self-treatment guide for pain relief By Davies, Clair Publishing Date: [2004] Classification: 600 Call Number: 616.74 DAV Doctors who specialize in pain treatment suggest that trigger points, small contraction knots in the muscles of the body, are the primary cause for about 75 percent of chronic pain cases. They further report finding trigger points in virtually every patient they treat. Because trigger points nearly always refer pain to parts of the body other than where they're located, diagnosing and treating them is difficult -- if you don't know what you're looking for. This workbook teaches you exactly what to look for when assessing trigger points. Its clear illustrations show you where on the body trigger points form and the corresponding areas to which they refer pain. Then, in step-by-step detail, it explains how you can treat these sources of chronic pain with unusually effective massage techniques you can do by yourself at any time. This fully revised and expanded edition of the first and best self-care guide to trigger point therapy includes progressive muscle relaxation techniques that reinforce and support your trigger point therapy. It also offers specific information for bodywork professionals who want to include trigger point therapy in their practices. If you've struggled with chronic pain without finding relief, you owe it to yourself to learn and practice the techniques in this workbook -- easy, reliable skills that offer real, lasting relief without drugs, doctor visits, and costly medical bills. |
American gun: a history of the U.S. in ten firearms By Kyle, Chris Publishing Date: c2013 Classification: 600 Call Number: 623.442 KYL In "American Gun", the deadliest sniper in U.S. history tracks down and shoots the most important American firearms, from a flintlock rifle to a Colt revolver to the latest high-tech weapon he used as a SEAL. Chris Kyle uses these guns as a window on United States history, making the sweeping argument that the American story has been tied to and shaped by the gun. |
By Eck, Joe Publishing Date: 2013 Classification: 600 Call Number: 635 ECK A celebration of the authors' shared horticultural and culinary lives in their southern Vermont garden explores their views about living in harmony with nature while tracing a year of enjoying home-grown seasonal edibles. |
The Random House book of perfect plants By Phillips, Roger Publishing Date: c1996 Classification: 600 Call Number: 635.9 PHI A beautifully illustrated gardening reference profiles more than 1,500 of the easiest-to-grow trees and shrubs, roses, perennials, annuals, and bulbs, providing detailed information on cultivation, soil and light requirements, and plant care. Original. - (Baker & Taylor) |
Cleo: the cat who mended a family By Brown, Helen Publishing Date: 2010, c2009 Classification: 600 Call Number: 636.8089 BRO In the tradition of Marley & Me, "Cleo" is the story of an impish black kitten who teaches a grieving family to love and laugh again after the tragic loss of a child-- |