Science and Technology Almanac - Softcover

Allstetter, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573562378 ISBN 13: 9781573562379

Publisher: Greenwood, 1999

Synopsis

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About this title

About the Author:

William Allstetter created and launched Todays Science on File, a monthly science-news digest for high school students. Most recently, he served as director of science services at Facts on File News Services. Allstetter is currently a freelance writer and has published in numerous journals including Technology Review, Discover, and American Health. Allstetter, who lives in New York City, studied biology at Stanford University and has his journalism degree from Columbia University.

From Booklist:

This publication is the first in a series of science and technology yearbooks edited by Allstetter, a science journalist and former director of science services at Facts On File. The target market consists of librarians, journalists, and high-school and college students who need a concise reference tool covering recent science and technology news, statistics, and background information.

The heart of the book, and the main attraction of this new series, is its review of recent developments in science and technology-related research, legislation, and societal issues. For 11 different disciplines--including health and medicine, meteorology and weather, and computers and the Internet--10 to 15 brief articles of 300 to 400 words describe news and developments that occurred in the one-year time span preceding October 1, 1998. In this edition, string theory developments, the discovery of a "deafness gene," and the antitrust suit against Microsoft are examples of stories covered. Although many of the news stories that are included are related (reports on the Gulf of Mexico dead zone and EPA regulation of animal waste runoff from factory farms, for example), there are few cross-references between articles. The main index, though, is quite comprehensive.

Other almanaclike contents include obituaries of scientists and inventors, descriptions of the research for which Nobel prizes and other awards were given, and a country-by-country breakdown of important science and technology indicators (given for 1995 and 1996, the latest years for which such data are available). A highlight is the Media Watch section, containing an annotated list of 1998's best-selling science books and popular movies. This section also gives details on science-related media publications that received a 1998 Pulitzer and other awards.

The reference sections, ranging from 26 pages for health and medicine to 7 pages for physics, make up the bulk of the work. Statistical charts, tables, and graphs are included as well as outlines of important theories, extremes (the 10 deadliest hurricanes, for example), and mathematical formulae relating to each discipline. Every section contains very useful, commonly requested information; and sources are cited for all statistical information. The reading level of these sections is slightly higher than the news sections and may be more suitable for college level or above.

A directory of museums and other science-related institutions and organizations and a calendar of upcoming scientific meetings are included as appendixes. The time line of discoveries and developments in science and technology mentions very few events that could be construed as adverse or negative but that had great impact on science and society. For example, nowhere are mentioned the Scopes monkey trial, thalidomide babies, or the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Library users often have questions about these types of events, and inclusion of them would have made the almanac more interesting, as well as increased its usefulness at the reference desk.

Most libraries probably already own at least two or three reference books containing the information found here. For example, much of the data in the associations and institutes directory and discipline-by-discipline reference sections can be found in The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference [RBB D 1 95]. A good encyclopedia yearbook could be used to find synopses of science and technology news, and the 12 pages of patent-related statistics can also be found in the statistics section of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Web site [uspto.gov]. Because of this duplication, few libraries would find Science & Technology Almanac a necessary addition to their collections, unless the ease of use offered by the combination of news summaries and general reference in a single volume appeals. For background reference material, which comprises the bulk of the work, a source such as The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference does a better job, especially for public and high-school libraries.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwood
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1573562378
• ISBN 13: 9781573562379
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496