SciDev.Net

A Blueprint for a Safer Planet

BOOK REVIEW | 20 May 2009 | EN

'The AIDS Pandemic: The Collusion of Epidemiology with Political Correctness' and 'The Invisible Cure: AIDS in Africa'

BOOK REVIEW | 5 June 2007 | EN | 中文

Information and Communication Technologies for Development and Poverty Reduction: The Potential of Communications

BOOK REVIEW | 27 October 2006 | EN

The Knowledge Society: Trompe-l’oeil or accurate perspective?

Alexander Borda-Rodriguez says this collection will interest those working on development and knowledge initiatives — more so if they read both English and French.

BOOK REVIEW | 26 September 2006 | EN

Race to the Finish: Identity and governance in an age of genomics

Jenny Reardon explores how a well-intentioned project to record the DNA of indigenous peoples around the planet collapsed under the weight of accusations of racism.

BOOK REVIEW | 29 September 2005 | EN

Climate Change and Biodiversity

Paul Colinvaux says that in the face of apathetic governments, the "intelligent system of science" may be the only resource we have against the threat that global warming is to biodiversity.

BOOK REVIEW | 22 September 2005 | EN

Improving Impacts of Research Partnerships

Ritu Sadana says these case studies on research collaborations help identify the key components of research for development.

BOOK REVIEW | 20 July 2005 | EN

Poison Arrows: The amazing story of how Prozac and anaesthetics were developed from deadly jungle poison darts

The nerve poison curare revolutionised anaesthetics, but this error-filled book does not do this important scientific story justice, says John Carmody.

BOOK REVIEW | 3 June 2005 | EN

Dryland conservation and development: striking a balance

Ehsan Masood reviews a series of case studies of the fine balance between conserving biodiversity and promoting development in the world's arid regions.

BOOK REVIEW | 5 May 2005 | EN

Maize and Grace: Africa's Encounter with a New World Crop 1500–2000

Robert Tripp reviews a history of how a New World crop contributed to the emergence of modern-day Africa.

BOOK REVIEW | 14 April 2005 | EN

Inventing Global Ecology: Tracking the biodiversity ideal in India, 1947–1997

Deepak Apte reviews a 50-year history of conservation of biodiversity in India, and finds that the text is academic but also eloquently written and forthright in opinion.

BOOK REVIEW | 31 March 2005 | EN

Venomous Earth: The World's Worst Mass Poisoning

Roger P. Smith reviews a book that catalogues the history of arsenic, in particular its role in contaminating drinking water in Bangladesh.

BOOK REVIEW | 11 February 2005 | EN

Plants and Empire: Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic world

Stuart McCook reviews a book describing the incorporation of traditional medicines from the Caribbean into European medicines in the 18th century.

BOOK REVIEW | 14 January 2005 | EN

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond's latest book looks at the factors that lead to the collapse of societies, underlining the central role of environmental decay.

BOOK REVIEW | 7 January 2005 | EN

Double Standards in Medical Research in Developing Countries

Udo Schuklenk reviews a book that analyses, from different perspectives, standards of care that those in the developed world need to adopt when undertaking research in the developing world.

BOOK REVIEW | 15 November 2004 | EN

Strong Medicine: Creating Incentives for Pharmaceutical Research on Neglected Diseases

Pierre Chirac reviews a book that looks for ways of boosting research and development for diseases that primarily affect developing countries.

BOOK REVIEW | 7 October 2004 | EN

Farmer’s Bounty: Locating Crop Diversity in the Contemporary World

Stuart Pimm reviews a book that discusses biodiversity in relation to human activities including agricultural distribution, patenting and preservation.

BOOK REVIEW | 27 August 2004 | EN

The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China

Crispin Tickell reviews a book that illustrates the transformation of China's environment, from 4,000 years ago to the end of pre-industrial times.

BOOK REVIEW | 29 July 2004 | EN

The New Global Threat: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and its Impacts

Richard Kirk reviews a collection of essays by doctors, academics and clinicians, which looks at the factors that allowed SARS to spread between species and countries.

BOOK REVIEW | 9 July 2004 | EN

Our Affair with El Niño: How We Transformed an Enchanting Peruvian Current into a Global Climate Hazard

Michael J. McPhaden reviews a book that elegantly describes the science behind El Niño, and the ways its profound impacts on climate have captured public attention.

BOOK REVIEW | 10 June 2004 | EN