Ironically, public health has been one of the most successful academic fields since 1900, yet still struggles to implement its agenda on the public (at least, in America). It is responsible for most of the doubling of life expectancy in America and for vast improvements in the quality of life. Schneider excellently chronicles those contributions with an eye towards the present and the future. She covers her topics in an accessible, easy-to-read manner that does…
First, let me define the lay of the land for the curious reader. Biostatistics is the study of statistics relevant for biomedical applications. It combines mathematics and the bio world, which includes Public Health and Epidemiology. R is free software for a programming environment that allows researchers to perform advanced analyses of statistical questions on datasets. This volume by Chan was the first textbook that addressed R and biostatistics in depth in the same volume.…
Ziyad is a black, queer male writer from Cleveland, who now lives in New York City and uses the pronouns they/them (which shall be used in this review). They write about his struggles forming an identity in a world that seems violent and hostile to his health. While such an environment exists in some part for most children, Ziyad seems to have a particularly difficult time given a multi-religious home, public schooling that seemed to…
When he died in a tragic and unforeseen car crash in 1960, novelist and existentialist Albert Camus had a draft of this work in his briefcase. It was not published until the 1990s, but is the most autobiographical of Camus’ works. The main character, like the author, grew up impoverished in Algeria and escaped a life of the same through education. This tale, properly characterized as a coming-of-age novel, shares how the great writer and…
The author of this book is someone who has spent most of his life in the hotel industry. He is passionate about the value of employee satisfaction and seemingly has made it to be the cornerstone of his professional philosophy. He shares that passion with readers in the context of this book. By supplying copious personal examples, he attempts to get the reader interested in his perspective on business and specifically management. However, his writing…
Research methods are important to almost all graduate students in the sciences. Design in particular can make or break the funding of a project – not to mention the implementation of the project itself! The stakes are rarely higher than in clinical, biomedical research where large dollars, impactful results, and ethical aspects of live patients are constantly at play. This book, written by a collaboration of highly successful biomedical researchers, teaches how to design research…
This work is spawn out of two entities: Unger’s life experiences while leading a diverse church in a diverse, urban neighborhood and her thirst for advanced education and stimulating reading. Using these two springboards, she shares lessons from her journey from a fundamentalist/evangelical background to where she is today. She describes how she believes that her life is now richer than it was before. She touches on issues of tribalism that plague pluralistic societies today…
In this brilliantly deliberate memoir, Obama reflects on the journey that is her life. She shares how an educationally-driven, middle-class, African-American girl from the south-side of Chicago could become First Lady of the United States. With the highest decency, she shares how she raised two girls while in the public eye and how she joined with her husband in carrying a difficult nation. Through her words, she courageously fights for the soul of a country,…
This illustrated children’s book illuminates the basics of the human nervous system. It teaches kids about their bodies – specifically, about their brains and senses – in a way that intends to make such learning fun. The pictures are colorful and engaging for young learners. Even though the brain can seem like an abstract topic, this book centers on the very basics – in other words, high-yield material. This book can be helpful to just…
This novel, translated from the Czech language, describes the life of Germans in the Czech region of Europe before, during, and after World War II. It does not paint a pretty picture. Some Germans supported the rise of Adolf Hitler and paid a moral price for the rest of their lives. Others – especially women and children – were not directly involved in the political and war efforts, but were still forced on a death…