Books

The Ripple Effect

The fate of fresh water in the 21st century. Every time we use water – even for something as mundane as washing our hands, spraying the lawn, or generating power for light – it sets off deep and wide hydrologic ripple effects, with consequences that most of us are unaware of.  Now we no longer have the luxury of ignorance. Reviews • Buy the book

My Life in France

by Julia Child, Alex Prud’Homme

On November 3, 1948, Julia and Paul Child arrived in Le Havre, France, aboard the SS America.  Julia — who thought of herself as “a six-foot-two-inch, thirty-six year-old, rather loud and unserious Californian” — had never been to Europe, didn’t speak much French, and was not a very good cook. As she peered through the fog at the twinkling lights of the harbor, she had no idea what she was looking at. “France was a misty abstraction for me, a land I had long imagined but had no real sense of.” Buy the book

The Cell Game

Sam Waksal’s Fast Money and False Promises – and the Fate of ImClone’s Cancer Drug

“Erbitux is going to be huge, one of the biggest drugs in the history of oncology — a drug that is going to alter the way cancer therapy is done from now on.”  So promised Sam Waksal, the famously charming CEO of ImClone, a small New York biotech firm with a checkered past.

Forewarned

Why the Government is Failing to Protect Us – and What We Must Do to Protect Ourselves

Consider these two scenarios: (1) Warned of an impending terrorist attack, Americans endure disruptive security measures or simply stay home and hide. By day’s end, it doesn’t matter: A plane carrying a dirty bomb has crashed in Los Angeles, killing tens of thousands of people; (2) After an alert, Americans face strict yet sensible and efficient security, before a suspect is arrested and an attack averted.