Rutgers University Press Blog

More Q&A with Duane Nickell

(RUP)
But, I have to ask you, are there really aliens among us?

(DSN)
Hah … you must be referring to the picture here of me at Roswell. Well, let me just say I do detail some terrific “Out-of-This-World Experiences.” The last chapter is devoted to the top ten space-related experiences – you can help search for E.T., book a stay at a telescope hotel, actually live in an astronomy village, attend a star party with amateur astronomers at a remote location, train like an astronaut, and more.

       Author Duane Nickell in Roswell.

(RUP)
Well, now that you’ve taken your own leap into outer space, and invited readers to accompany you, what next?

(DSN)
Well, as you know, this is the first book in RUP’s new Scientific Traveler series.  Each book coming will continue to highlight places to visit that will interest teachers, like me, vacationers, and science enthusiasts, with stories and details behind the sites, museums, attractions. Right now I’m working on the second book in the series focusing on the disciplines of physics and chemistry. Chapters will include the people who do physics and chemistry, the places they do their work, and some of the results of their efforts -- nuclear weapons and energy, for example, very timely topics.

(RUP)
Thanks Duane – you’ve just given readers of Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler lots to look forward to – best of success in your scientific travels!

Q&A with Duane S. Nickell

“Do you love visiting the planetarium? Are you fascinated by the history of NASA? Is seeing the Northern Lights on your life list?  If so, Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler: Visiting Astronomy and Space Exploration Sites Across America by Duane S. Nickell (Rutgers University Press, $21.95) can help you plan your next trips.”
—Associated Press

An Interview with Duane S. Nickell (DSN), author of Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler

(RUP)
Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler is a terrific concept. Not only does it identify more than 50 of the most important and intriguing astronomical and space-related sites across the United States, but to top it off you provide readers with an informative histories, back-stories, and visiting information … how did you think of it?

(DSN)
My inspiration for Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler came about as a result of a “scientific” tour of Europe I took back about five years ago, funded by a Teacher Creativity Fellowship from the Lilly Endowment.

Whenever I go on a trip, I always carry with me several travel guides to help me find a good (and cheap) place to stay, decent (and cheap) food to eat, and, most importantly, to ensure that I don’t miss anything at my destination or along the way. What a disappointment it is to visit someplace, return home, only to find out there was some site or event of extreme interest to you that you missed out on.

A few years ago on a trip to Europe I had with me an unusual book geared to science enthusists.  After returning home, at some point it occurred to me that, as far as I was aware, no such scientific guidebook existed for the United States.

Q&A with Ellen Leopold

Ellen Leopold, author of Under the Radar, answers some questions about her new book, which explores the connection between cancer and the cold war. -Elizabeth Christman

In the preface to your book, you state that “Devotees of the history of cancer, though steadily gaining in numbers, still remain more of a coterie than a crowd among contemporary social scientists.” (x) Why do you think that is the case?

Cancer is a much more complex disease than, say, polio or cholera.  It is, in fact, an unwieldly collection of diseases rather than a single illness (and even individual cancers can involve several  kinds of mutations).  Its story, in other words, is not simple.  So it cannot be addressed globally the way something like cholera can be.  But more importantly, cancer is still with us; it will kill half a million Americans this year.  This deprives studies of cancer of the feelgood factor that historians of polio can draw upon to round out their narratives, bringing a sense of closure and accomplishment to a tale of misery and death. Writing—and reading—about cancer requires a tolerance for indeterminacy and an acceptance of the limits of medical science that many people cannot easily muster.  And because it is still such a live issue, cancer also courts controversy, among scientists, practitioners and patients.  This complicates the angle of retrospection with which historians approach the past; there is still no clear consensus to use as a guide in reconstructing a path to ultimate enlightenment. So our approach must, perforce, remain oblique.    

After learning of stories like that of Irma Natanson’s experience with cancer and doctors, have your views of the medical community and its practices changed? If so, in what ways?

Q&A with Scott Martelle

Scott Martelle, author of Blood Passion - just out in paperback - worked at the Los Angeles Times from 1997-2008, recently covering the Presidential election. He's currently teaching a journalism course at Chapman University. He answered some questions for us about the campaign, and his new book, The Fear Within, which we're publishing next year.

When did you begin covering the Presidential election?

I started in February 2007, very early, moving among the candidates and doing off-the-trail stories, such as exploring why the "lower tier" Democrats Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson were having so much trouble getting attention. I also covered the 2004 Democratic primaries, primarily John Edwards' remarkable rise, and then switched over to cover Barbara Boxer's re-election race in the fall, which initially seemed like it might become hotly contested. It wasn't. I also covered part of the 2000 election, shifting mostly between Dick Cheney and Ralph Nader, whom I covered on election night.

"Actors are mysterious in real life"

One of our most prolific authors and editors, Murray Pomerance, whose new book The Horse Who Drank the Sky was published this summer, answers a few questions. A professor at Ryerson University, he lives in Toronto, and this picture was taken last night by his son Ariel Pomerance at the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Can you explain the title of the book, The Horse Who Drank the Sky? Why did you choose to highlight this scene?

It wasn't really that I made the decision to look at the film, The Band Wagon, and then decided that of all scenes in the film this was the one I should choose; it was much more a case of me looking at The Band Wagon one day, for the hundredth time, and suddenly seeing that horse and what he was doing, and realizing how that animal and his little fountain sprang out from the screen not because of what he was, or what the fountain was, but because of the blueness of that water and what it suggested.


 

Dr. Moms

Mama PhD is an anthology by women about finding space in their lives for children and postgraduate degrees. Elrena Evans and Caroline Grant, the book's editors, answer a few questions:

Do you have any advice to young women who are trying to balance families with an academic life?

Elrena & Caroline: If you are a graduate student, develop a relationship with the graduate career counselor at your university, who can help you assess whether an academic career continues to be the right fit for you as your family develops, and suggest ways to market your academic qualifications outside the academy. Above all, don't get too discouraged by the inevitable complexities of combining work and family. As one of our Mama, PhD essays concludes: "You are doing incredibly important work that should be celebrated more explicitly in and out of academe."