Publish or Perish

By Anonymous

Voyages to the South Seas: In Search of Terres Australes Danielle Clode, Melbourne University Press. $32.95 Voyages to the South Seas recounts the epic journeys of French explorers to Australia, and encompasses a remarkable period of French and Australian history – when Australia was France’s Mars and marsupials were her aliens. Australia may have been colonised by England but for many years, by sheer weight of specimens and scientific documentation, Australia’s biodiversity belonged to France.

Tracing the often-tragic voyages of Bougainville, Laperouse, D’Entrecasteaux, Baudin, Freycinet, d’Urville and others to Australia from 1768 to 1828, Voyages to the South Seas brings to life the changing society that launched these ambitious endeavours and the scientific discoveries they made. It is the story of the young men who risked their lives for adventure and excitement but, above all, in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Voyages to the South Seas builds on Clode’s book Continent of Curiosities (AS, October 2006, p.47). Both were researched while Clode was Creative Fellow at the Museum of Victoria

The Creative Brain: The Science of Genius Nancy C. Andreasen, Penguin, $24.95

Shakespeare’s tragic plays, Mozart’s sublime symphonies, Einstein’s revolutionary theories – how did these geniuses create such magnificent and highly original works? Were their brains different from those of ordinary people?

Using modem neuroscience togeuter with first-person accounts of creative breakthroughs from artists and scientists such as Mozart, Henri Poincari and Neil Simon, The Creative Brain illuminates where extraordinary creativity comes from.

Brain scientist Nancy Andreasen proposes that, due to enriched connections between certain areas of the brain, geniuses are able to tap into the unconscious mind in ways that most of us can’t. She also explores the link between creativity and mental illness, and shows how all of us can enhance our creative potential through mental exercises.

All About the Weather Richard Whitaker, Young Reed, $19.95

The Weather Channel’s meteorologist Richard Whitaker has written an introduction to weather designed for Australian classrooms. What are clouds? Where do rain and wind come from? What causes thunder and lightning? What’s the difference between weather and climate, and what’s causing the world’s climate to change? How can we get energy from the weather? As well as covering day-to-day phenomena, Whitaker explains the influence of El Nino and La Nina, and shows the effect of global warming on Australia’s climate since 1970.

Australia’s Water Resources John Pigram, CSIRO Publishing, $59.95

Australia’s Water Resources explores the profound reorientation of attitudes and relationships to water that has taken place in Australia in recent decades. The changing emphasis from development to management of water resources continues to evolve, and is reflected in a series of public policy initiatives directed towards rational, efficient and sustainable use of the nation’s water.

Australia is now recognised as a pacesetter in water reform. Administrative restructuring, water pricing, water markets and trade, integrated water resources management and the emergence of the private sector are features of a more economically sound and environmentally compatible water industry. This book documents and explains these changes.

Copyright Control Publications Pty Ltd Jul 2007

(c) 2007 Australasian Science. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.