Now in Review: Ah-Choo!

Ah-Choo!
The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold
by Jennifer Ackerman
Twelve, 2010

In Ah-Choo!, Jennifer Ackerman explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off." Scientists
call this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits. They've also learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are, what they do to the human
body, and how symptoms can be addressed.

Ah-Choo!
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Science Writing

Now available in Tractor Books: Legendary Farm Tractors

This book contains more color photographs of more types of farm tractors than any other on the market. More than 640 photographs of tractors from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan-models from the 1880s to today are presented along with detailed captions.

The extensive variety of material and the distinguished photographs by photographer Andrew Morland make this an exceptionally value-rich package that will appeal to tractor buffs.

Legendary Farm Tractors
Tractor Books

Now in Review: Christmas Wishes

Christmas Wishes
A Catalog of Vintage Holiday Treats
by Tim Hollis
Stackpole Books, 2010

From plastic nativity scenes to aluminium trees, Christmas became a major marketing extravaganza in America in the mid-twentieth century.

This book recalls the holiday between 1940 and 1970, courtesy of department stores, five and tens, toy manufacturers, publishing houses, and record companies. Boomers and Gen-Xers will relive memories of special holiday toys and treats, Christmas children's books by Little Golden and Wonder, holiday music released by Peter Pan and Disneyland records, and merchandising characters such as Frosty the Snowman and Montgomery Ward's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Christmas Wishes
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Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders
101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!
by Judith Durant
Storey Publishing, 2010

What can you do with a single skein of yarn besides make a pair of socks? Quite a lot, according to knitting specialist Judith Durant, who proves her case with 101 patterns for hats, gloves, fingerless mitts, scarves,small shawls, kids, doll clothes, bags, and numerous small accessories.

The patterns in this book come from 75 separate designers who have found creative uses for sock yarn. Each pattern is accompanied by at least one color photograph, yarn and needle suggestions, and supply lists.

Charts are included for the more detailed patterns, but most require little more than basic knitting skills.

Each pattern contains a legend for the symbols used. A back-of-the-book glossary explains how to do some of the increases, decreases, and crossed stitches.

• Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders
• Review: Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders
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Cultivating an Ecological Conscience

Rethinking Food

The current era of industrial food systems based on cheap energy is rapidly drawing to a close, according to Kirschenmann's observations, and will need to be replaced with ones based on more human labor and less on excessive consumption of water and fuel.

"Farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture operations, school gardens, urban agriculture, biointensive agriculture, perennial polyculture, and other initiatives already are growing at a rapid rate and enabling many people to engage in the pleasure of consuming and producing food with superior attributes. While all of these nonindustrial approaches still amount to only a tiny part of our food system, they are creating a new food culture that may become more significant as energy and ecological costs continue to rise."

Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher by Frederick L. Kirschenmann
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Cultivating an Ecological Conscience

"While greening may bring about desirable short-term results, it will never lead to sustainability. Our world is a complex adaptive system that is interconnected, interdependent and constantly changing... We can never hold a system in an optimal sustainable state. We can only design systems to enhance their capacity for self-renewal."

Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher
by Frederick L. Kirschenmann
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Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist

Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist
Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes
by Cat Cora and Ann Kruegar Spivack
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Each recipe in this cookbook follows Cat Cora's motto: just because a dish is a classic doesn't mean it can't be improved upon. These dishes are relatively low fat, quick to prepare, and require ingredients common to most kitchens.

Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist
Review: Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist
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