When Professor Isidore Cantor reveals his latest breakthrough in cancer research, his promising research fellow, Dr. Jeremiah Stafford, has only to... conduct the experiment and win Cantor the Nobel prize. But how far will Stafford go to guarantee the results? Carl Djerassi draws from his career as a world-famous scientist to describe the fierce competition driving scientific superstars in this gripping novel.

Rich, white Cornelia and poor, black Tweet share a Mississippi kitchen for 15 years, rolling out pie crusts, peeling figs, making conversation. As the... years go by, each reveals her own crises, and in her moment of deepest need, each is rescued by the other.

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop has been a generation-defining global movement. In a post-civil rights era rapidly... transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes, and became a job-making engine and the Esperanto of youth rebellion. Hip-hop crystallized a multiracial generation's worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture. But the epic story of how that happened has never been fully told . . . until now.

According to many scientists, climate change is a growing threat to life as we know it, requiring a large-scale, immediate response. According to many... economists, climate change is a moderately important problem; the best policy is a slow, gradual start, to avoid spending too much. They can't both be right.In this book, Frank Ackerman offers a refreshing look at the economics of climate change, explaining how the arbitrary assumptions of conventional theories get in the way of understanding this urgent problem. The benefits of climate protection are vital but priceless, and hence often devalued in cost-benefit calculations. Preparation for the most predictable outcomes of global warming is less important than protection against the growing risk of catastrophic change; massive investment in new, low carbon technologies and industries should be thought of as life insurance for the planet. Ackerman makes an impassioned plea to construct a better economics, arguing that the solutions are affordable and the alternative is unthinkable. If we can't afford the future, what are we saving our money for? Can we Afford the Future? is part of The New Economics series, which uses the ideas behind a new, more human economics to provide a fresh way of looking at major contemporary issues.

In a nation built by immigrants and bedeviled by the history and legacy of slavery and discrimination, issues of liberty, equality, and community... continue to challenge Americans. In the fifth edition of this widely acclaimed text, Paula McClain and Joseph Stewart combine traditional elements of political science analysis—history, Constitutional theory, institutions, political behavior, and policy actors—with a fully updated survey of the political status of four major groups: blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians. McClain and Stewart show similarities and differences in these groups’ political action and experience, and point the way toward coalition, competition, and consensus building in the face of ongoing conflict. Two dilemmas shape the book: How do we as a nation reconcile a commitment to equality with persistent inequality and discrimination? And what can we do about it—from the perspective of ethnic and racial minorities as well as within the dominant culture? Thoroughly updated following the historic 2008 presidential election, this new edition provides a concise overview of minority politics in America.

In a nation built by immigrants and bedeviled by the history and legacy of slavery and discrimination, issues of liberty, equality, and community... continue to challenge Americans. In the fourth edition of this widely acclaimed text, Paula McClain and Joseph Stewart combine traditional elements of political science analysis-history, Constitutional theory, institutions, political behavior, and policy actors-with a fully updated survey of the political status of four major groups: African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and American Indians. They show similarities and differences in these groups’ political action and experience, and point the way toward coalition, competition, and consensus building in the face of ongoing conflict. Two dilemmas shape the book: How do we as a nation reconcile a commitment to equality with persistent inequality and discrimination? And what can we do about it-from the perspective of ethnic and racial minorities as well as within the dominant culture? Thoroughly updated following the 2004 national elections and complete 2000 Census data, this new edition provides a concise overview of minority politics in America.

The team behind the award-winning APE returns with an inspiring look at a range of endangered species sure to engage every child who loves... animals.Tigers are pretty special — and so are ground iguanas and partula snails and even white-rumped vultures. But these and many other animals are in danger of disappearing altogether, joining the dodo, the marsupial wolf, the great auk, and countless other animals we will never see again. Using the experiences of a few endangered species as examples, Martin Jenkins highlights the ways human behavior can either threaten or conserve the amazing animals that share our planet. Vicky White’s stunning portraits of rare creatures offer a glimpse of nature’s grace and beauty — and give us a powerful reason to preserve it.

Over the past four decades, the share of income devoted to health care in the United States has nearly tripled. If current policy remains unchanged,... this worrisome trend is likely to continue. Should Americans decide to rein in the growth of health care spending, on the other hand, they will be forced to consider whether to ration care for the well insured--a prospect that is odious and unthinkable to many. In Can We Say No?, Henry Aaron and William B. Schwartz argue that sensible health care rationing not only can save money, but that it can improve general welfare and public health, as well. The book reviews Great Britain’s experience with health care rationing. The choices the British have made point up the nature of the options Americans will face if they wish to prevent public health care budgets from driving taxes even higher and private health care spending from crowding out increases in other forms of worker compensation and consumption. Aaron and Schwartz, along with Melissa Cox, explain why serious consideration of health care rationing is advisable, even inescapable. Can We Say No? provides the information policymakers and concerned citizens need to think clearly about these difficult issues, engage in an informed debate, and formulate responsible, sustainable health care policies.

Publishing podcasts, writing digital stories with "choose your own adventure" endings, and collaborating with students around the country through... wikis, Skype, and VoiceThread, Julie D. Ramsay never imagined that she and her fifth grade students would be forging a new frontier using technology to support writing lessons.In a school district with minimal resources and a prescriptive curriculum that makes originality a constant challenge, Julie could have continued teaching grammar and writing skills in isolation. But when she realized how hungry her students were for "real" writing activities that enabled them to share and learn from their peers in other states, she overcame every obstacle that threatened to stunt their creativity and limit their opportunities to communicate in a digital world.Can We Skip Lunch and Keep Writing? shows teachers how to weave technology throughout the curriculum and get students so fired up about writing that they don't want to stop when the class period ends. Readers will learn how to select appropriate digital tools, guide and involve students in the learning process, and differentiate instruction to meet individual needs. Through Julie's inspiring stories and lessons, teachers in the intermediate and middle grades will discover how technology-assisted writing can foster innovation, global communication, and creative problem solving, developing responsible, productive digital citizens whose inherent love of learning will travel with them throughout their lifetimes.

In Can We Talk About Race? psychologist and educator Beverly Daniel Tatum, one of our leading commentators on race and schools, analyzes some of the... most resonant issues in American education and race relations.

Beverly Daniel Tatum emerged on the national scene in 1997 with “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?,” a book that spoke to... a wide audience about the psychological dynamics of race relations in America. Tatum’s unique ability to get people talking about race captured the attention of many, from Oprah Winfrey to President Clinton, who invited her to join him in his nationally televised dialogues on race.In her first book since that pathbreaking success, Tatum starts with a warning call about the increasing but underreported resegregation of America. A selfdescribed “integration baby”—she was born in 1954—Tatum sees our growing isolation from each other as deeply problematic, and she believes that schools can be key institutions for forging connections across the racial divide.In this ambitious, accessible book, Tatum examines some of the most resonant issues in American education and race relations:•The need of African American students to see themselves reflected in curricula and institutions •How unexamined racial attitudes can negatively affect minority-student achievement •The possibilities—and complications—of intimate crossracial friendshipsTatum approaches all these topics with the blend of analysis and storytelling that make her one of our most persuasive and engaging commentators on race.Can We Talk About Race? launches a collaborative lecture and book series between Beacon Press and Simmons College, which aims to reinvigorate a crucial national public conversation on race, education and democracy.“What Tatum seeks to do above all is trigger sometimes challenging discussions about race, and infuse those discussions with a reality-based focus on how race affects us all. Her latest book does that beautifully, asking touch questions, and patiently, inclusively seeking answers.” —Boston GlobeBeverly Daniel Tatum is author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Assimilation Blues. She is currently president of Spelman College in Atlanta, where she lives with her husband.

Attacks on the historical reliability of the Gospels—especially their portrayal of Jesus Christ—are nothing new. But are these attacks legitimate?... Is there reason to doubt the accuracy of the Gospels? By examining and refuting some of the most common criticisms of the Gospels, author Mark D. Roberts explains why we can indeed trust the Gospels, nearly two millennia after they were written. Lay readers and scholars alike will benefit from this accessible book, and will walk away confident in the reliability of the Gospels.

An important contribution to understanding the massive social transformation of the 1980's. Hathaway's critical but sympathetic chronicle of regional... organizing efforts is the best in print, and the questions raised about the vitality of American democracy deserve sustained reflection.-Labor History"Can Workers Have a Voice? is much more comprehensive than other studies of the reaction of workers to the process of deindustrialization, and it takes the workers' perspective more fully into account. It emphasizes the elite role in deploying power in various forms and identifies such power usage convincingly. It is distinctive in the field."-Kenneth M. Dolbeare, Evergreen State CollegeEarly in the 1970s, the U. S. began to lose its position as unquestioned leader of the world economy. The industrial sector felt the strain of international competition, and by the 1980s massive plant shutdowns were common. Pittsburgh experienced these years as a time of both triumph and cataclysmic collapse. While the city transformed itself from a blue-collar steel town into a postmodern, high-tech corporate center, it saw nearly 100,000 industrial jobs disappear. Despite the unprecedented loss of jobs, few Pittsburgh workers were willing to take on the awesome power of U.S. Steel, Westinghouse, or Mellon Bank. Those who did attempt to resist the tide of change failed. Why was this so? Dale Hathaway seeks an answer by looking at three groups of steelworkers and worker allies that mounted highly visible challenges to corporate management-the Network/DMS, the Tri-State Conference on Steel, and the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee. None succeeded in besting Goliath, but Hathaway contends their efforts can show us why industrial workers are reluctant to "fight City Hall." The decisions that led to Pittsburgh's economic transformation, he argues, were not inevitable and others could have been made given a different political climate. But the balance of power favored a few corpo