The threat of biological weapons has never attracted as much public attention as in the past five years. Current concerns largely relate to the threat of weapons acquisition and use by rogue states or by terrorists. But the threat has deeper roots—it has been evident for fifty years that biological agents could be used to cause mass casualties and large-scale economic damage. Yet there has been little historical analysis of such weapons over the past half-century.

Deadly Cultures sets out to fill this gap by analyzing the historical developments since 1945 and addressing three central issues: Why have states continued or begun programs for acquiring biological weapons? Why have states terminated biological weapons programs? How have states demonstrated that they have truly terminated their biological weapons programs?

We now live in a world in which the basic knowledge needed to develop biological weapons is more widely available than ever before. Deadly Cultures provides the lessons from history that we urgently need in order to strengthen the long-standing prohibition of biological weapons.

Pub. Date: January 2006 Publisher: Harvard University Press Format: Hardcover, 496pp
Item: 067401699

Simonton (psychology, U. of California-Davis) looks at the individuals who have contributed most to psychological science being where it is today. He draws on empirical findings and theoretical models to explore who influences the discipline, how their lives and careers unfold and terminate, the impact of politics and other external factors, and other questions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Pub. Date: February 2002 Publisher: American Psychological Association Format: Textbook Hardcover, 550pp
Item: 155798896

Chronic pain, which affects 70 million people in the United States alone-more than diabetes, cancer, and heart disease combined-is a major public health issue that remains poorly understood both within the health care system and by those closest to the people it afflicts. This book examines the experience of pain in ways that could significantly improve how patients and practitioners deal with pain. It is the first volume of a new collection of titles within the acclaimed Culture and Politics of Health Care Work series called How Patients Think, intended to give voice to the concerns of patients about their own medical care and the formulation of health policy. Since surviving a near-fatal car accident, Lous Heshusius has suffered from chronic pain for more than a decade, forcing her to give up her career as a professor of education. Inside Chronic Pain, based in part on the pain journal Heshusius keeps, is a stunning memoir of a life lived in constant pain as well as an insightful and often critical account of the inadequacies of the health care system-from physicians to hospitals and health insurance companies-to understand chronic pain and treat those who suffer from it.

Pub. Date: October 2009 Publisher: Cornell University Press Format: Hardcover, 200pp
Item: 080144796