New Book Shelf

Check out the ever changing titles on the New Book Shelf, located on the 3rd floor of the David A. Cofrin library. Recent additions include:

Poison Paradox
John Timbrell
RA1220 .Y45 2005
Every day we are surrounded by chemicals that are potentially harmful. Some of these we take intentionally in the form of drugs; some we take unknowingly through the food we eat, and the environment around us. John Timbrell explores what makes particular chemicals harmful, what their effects are, and how we can test for them. He examines drugs such as Paracetamol and what it does to the body; Ricin, the most toxic substance known to man; Paraquat, a widely available weedkiller; and how the puffer fish, eaten as a delicacy in Japan, can kill. (from publisher)

August Wilson and Black Aesthetic
Dana Williams and Sandra Shannon eds.
PS3573 .I45677 Z57 2004
August Wilson and Black Aesthetics offers new essays that address issues raised in Wilson's "The Ground on Which I Stand" speech. Essays and interviews range from examinations of the presence of Wilson's politics in his plays to the limitations of these politics on contemporary interpretations of Black aesthetics. Also included is Sybil Roberts' A Liberating Prayer: A Lovesong for Mumia, that, for two seasons, has played to sold out houses, but that until now has not been published. (from publisher)

American Sweethearts
Ilana Nash
PS374 .G55 N37 2006
Looking at such figures as Nancy Drew, Judy Graves, Corliss Archer, Gidget, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Britney Spears, American Sweethearts shows how popular culture has shaped our views of the adolescent girl an individual who is simultaneously sexualized and infantilized. While young women have received some positive lessons from these cultural icons, the overwhelming message conveyed by the characters and stories the inhabit stresses the dominance of the father and the teenage girl’s otherness, subordination, and ineptitude. (from back cover)

The Wal-Mart Effect
Charles Fishman
HF5429.215 .U6 F56 2006
Whether you love or hate Wal-Mart, you can't avoid reading about it. Considering that at least seven titles on the retailing behemoth were published just in 2005, what else could there be to say? Quite a lot, actually. Fishman (senior editor, Fast Company) has compiled a compelling and balanced report on Wal-Mart. Via a combination of startling statistics, personal stories from Wal-Mart founders, suppliers, and employees, and revelations about the social costs required for those low, low prices, he gives us a view into the world of discount retailing much as Eric Schlosser did for the food service industry in his expos , Fast Food Nation. (from Library Journal)