For this column, NASW book editor Lynne Lamberg asks NASW authors to tell how they came up with the idea for their book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. She also asks what they wish they had known before they began working on their book, what they might do differently the next time, and what tips they can offer aspiring authors. She then edits the A part of that Q&A to produce the author reports you see here.
NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines to submit your report.
Publication of NASW members' reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of their books. NASW welcomes your comments and hopes this column stimulates productive discussions.
As climate change ramps up, so do flooding and droughts. Humans have altered 75% of the world’s land area, exacerbating these problems. In Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge, Erica Gies tracks global efforts that use satellite data, systems thinking, and other tactics to absorb floods, save and recapture water, stanch plant and animal loss, and help restore our environment.
Disabled researchers remain highly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, Skylar Bayer and Gabi Serrato Marks note. Despite ADA requirements, many schools and worksites offer few accommodations. In Uncharted: How Scientists Navigate Their Own Health, Research, and Experiences of Bias, Bayer, Marks and 30 other scientists recount struggles, setbacks, and successes.
“We can’t understand the measurable, material universe beyond our minds without first understanding our minds,” George Musser asserts. He describes physicists’ efforts to achieve that goal by building and testing concrete models that illuminate the mind in Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation: Why Physicists are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe.
Science is like a jigsaw puzzle, environmental chemist Christopher Reddy asserts. In talking with the media and public in times of crisis, scientists may focus on small pieces while audiences seek a big picture, often while events still are evolving. In Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide, Reddy offers lessons derived from how he and other scientists conveyed info on eco-crises.
Ann Parson drew on news reports and other records to illuminate the awakening of the sciences in this country in the 1800s. In The Birds of Dog: An Historical Novel Based on Mostly True Events, she highlights growing efforts to protect birds and other wildlife from hunters’ “kill-and-collect” methods, explorers’ travels, and the repercussions of inventions such as photography and the telegraph.
Every writer facing a blank screen struggles with uncertainty. Embrace it, Maggie Jackson suggests in Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure. Our uncertainty, she maintains, “equips us to envision the unimaginable, adjust to the unexpected, and value a question as deeply as an answer.” Jackson explores uncertainty in diverse realms: basic science, medicine, politics, space, AI, & more.
Dog adoptions have doubled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Dogs are comfort animals for all of us,” Jen Golbeck & NASW member Stacey Colino say in The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human-Canine Connection. They tell how dogs help us connect with our families and communities, encourage us to go outside, help children learn and grow, and stabilize our lives. Recipe for pupcakes included!
Since facts can be slippery, fact-checking is a vital part of the journalistic process. In The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking, 2nd ed, Brooke Borel describes the types of information that require fact-checking and explains what fact-checking involves. She tells how to judge a source and think like a fact-checker. She also offers exercises to help readers assess their newly acquired skills.
“Light is one of the most powerful manifestations of the forces of physics because it tells us about our reality,” David Nolte asserts in The History of Optical Interferometry and the Scientists Who Tamed Light. Nolte illuminates work leading to the detection of exoplanets orbiting distant stars, discovery of the first gravitational waves, capture of images of black holes, & much more.
