Five
Past Midnight in Bhopal by Dominique Lapierre, Javier Moro
On the night of December 3, 1984, a cyanide cloud drifted over the
streets of Bhopal, India, set loose by a leak in a nearby chemical plant.
When the deadly fog lifted untold numbers of the city's residents--perhaps
as many as 30,000, by some accounts--lay dead, while half a million others
were injured. Dominique Lapierre, a French journalist and longtime champion
of India's poor, joins with Spanish writer Javier Moro to recount the terrors
of that night, about which the whole truth may never be known. The deaths
are but one part of the authors' long, sometimes elaborate tale, which
relates how the industrial conglomerate Union Carbide had come to build
its vast chemical complex at Bhopal, one meant to be a glory of technology
and, ironically, to save thousands of lives brought low by insect-wrought
starvation. There are few villains but many heroes in the authors' account,
which explores the margins at which good intentions conflict with the profit
motive, at which cost-cutting omissions yield horrifically unintended consequences.
It all makes for a thoughtful and disturbing book. --Gregory McNamee
Amazon.com Hardcover: 448 pages
Warner Books; ISBN: 0446530883; (June 2002)
Four Paws Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and
Dogs by Cheryl Schwartz
Listed under Chinese Medicine
The
Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Waking Up to Personal and Global Transformation by Thom Hartmann, et al
Ecology and spirituality are deftly intertwined in this well-written
discussion of how we can save and preserve life on earth. Vermont author
Thom Hartman offers a highly persuasive argument for adopting the spiritual
values of our ancient ancestors, which means living with a strong connection
to the earth as well as the sun that nourishes us all. Nowadays, humans
often perceive themselves as separate from nature and born to dominate
it, says Hartman who lays out some frightening, albeit thorough, research
on the destruction of the planet. But as the book progresses, he guides
readers into a convincing and intelligent vision for reversing our destructive
ways. Mostly, we could all use an attitude adjustment. For example, he
explains how native and tribal cultures often considered all forms of life
to be as sacred as human life--an attitude that may be one of our best
shots at planetary longevity. Hartman devotes his final section to "What
the Average Person Can Do," including chapters titled, "Turn Off the TV,"
"The Modern-Day Tribe: Intentional Community," and "Reinventing Our Daily
Lives and Rituals." --Gail Hudson - Amazon.com Paperback: 336 pages
Three Rivers Press; ISBN: 0609805290; (October 10, 2000)
Laboratory
Manual in Physical Geology (6th Edition) by American Geological Institute, National Association of Geoscience
Teachers, Richard M. Busch, Dennis Tasa, NAGT AGI
Spiral-bound from Prentice Hall
Book Published: 30 July, 2002
