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September 22, 2006|Volume 35, Number 3


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This new book co-authored by James Gustave Speth examines global environmental threats.



Yale Books in Brief

The following is a list of books recently or soon-to-be published by members of the Yale community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers.


The Infinite Gift: How Children Learn and Unlearn the Languages of the World
Charles Yang, assistant professor of linguistics
(Simon & Schuster Inc.)

Drawing on cutting-edge developments in biology, neurology, psychology and linguistics, Charles Yang's "The Infinite Gift" takes the reader inside the complex but largely subconscious process by which children learn to talk and to understand the spoken world. He illustrates the mysteries of language, exploring such topics as why French newborns already prefer the sound of French to English; why baby-talk, though often unintelligible, makes perfect linguistic sense; why babies born deaf still babble, but with their hands; why the grammars of some languages may be evolutionally stronger than others; and why one of the brain's earliest achievements may in fact be its most complex. Building on Noam Chomsky's notion of a universal grammar, Yang also puts forth a new theory: that we learn our native languages in part by unlearning the grammars of all the rest.


The Interpretation of Murder
Jed Rubenfeld, the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law
(Henry Holt & Co.)

Inspired by Sigmund Freud's only visit to America to New York in 1909, Jed Rubenfeld's "The Interpretation of Murder" is a tale of murder and the mind's most dangerous memories. Not long after Freud, accompanied by Carl Jung, arrives in New York, a young debutante is found dead and dangling from a chandelier. Days later, an heiress who is a second intended victim daringly escapes her attacker. However, she remembers nothing about the attack. Freud is brought in to examine the young woman and help unlock the secrets of the crime.


Play=Learning: How Play Motivates and Enhances Children's Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth
Edited by Dorothy G. Singer, senior research scientist in psychology, and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsch-Pasek
(Oxford University Press)

The contributions of experts in this collection were first presented as papers at a conference called "Play=Learning" held at Yale in June 2005. The book explores the importance of play in children's lives, providing an extensive research review of all the ways play enhances learning and development for all children. The authors stress that children need hands-on, educationally enriching play experiences, and they show how play affects children's development at various stages of growth.


The Nature of Creative Development
Jonathan S. Feinstein, professor of economics, School of Management and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
(Stanford University Press)

In "The Nature of Creative Development," Jonathan Feinstein argues that creativity happens not in a serendipitous flash, but unfolds as a structured, definable process over years or even decades. He presents a new understanding of creativity, describing how individuals develop creative interests and how their interests may act as stepping stones through which they are led to important breakthroughs: original ideas, insights and discoveries. To illustrate how creativity grows, Feinstein maps the development of such famous figures as Virginia Woolf, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, John Maynard Keynes, Henri Matisse, Albert Einstein, David Hume, Walt Disney and Ray Kroc, among others. He also explores how individuals manage their creative development, the struggles they encounter and approaches for overcoming difficulties at each step of the process.


On Political Equality
Robert A. Dahl, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science
(Yale University Press)

In this new work, Robert Dahl explores the fundamental issue of equality and how governments have fallen short of their democratic ideals. Dahl acknowledges that complete equality is unattainable but argues that strides toward that ideal are both desirable and feasible. He shows the shift in recent centuries toward democracy and political equality all over the world and explores the growth of democratic institutions, the expansion of citizenship and the various obstacles that stand in the way of gains in political equality. Dahl also looks at the motives, particularly those of emotion and reason, that play a crucial role in the struggle for equality. He imagines the scenario of a cultural shift in which citizens reject what he calls "competitive consumerism" and begin investing time and energy in civic action, claiming that such active and engaged citizenship would move the country closer to "that distant and elusive goal" of political equality for all.


Voting About God in Early Church Councils
Ramsay MacMullen, professor emeritus of history
(Yale University Press)

In this study, Ramsay MacMullen explores how early Christian doctrines became official. Drawing on extensive verbatim stenographic records, he analyzes the ecumenical councils from A.D. 325 to 553, in which participants gave authority to doctrinal choices by majority vote. MacMullen also investigates the bloodshed and violence that marked the background to church council proceedings, and goes on to describe the planning and staging of councils, the emperors' role, the routines of debate, the participants' understanding of the issues and their views on God's intervention in their activities. He concludes with a look at the significance of the councils and their doctrinal decisions within the history of Christendom.


Handbook of Children, Culture and Violence
Edited by Dorothy G. Singer, senior research scientist in psychology, and Nancy Dowd and Robin Fretwell Wilson
(Sage Publications)

This handbook addresses such questions as: Should V-chips be placed in every television set? How can we prevent another Columbine school shooting from occurring? How should pornography on the internet be regulated? A reference work on children and violence for researchers, teachers, students, educators, policymakers and others, the book features contributions from prominent scholars whose work is united by a common concern about the impact of violence on the lives of children. The book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of childhood violence that considers children as both consumers and perpetrators of violence, as well as victims of it. It is the first single volume to consider situations when children are responsible for violence, rather than focusing exclusively on occasions when they are victimized.


Global Environmental Governance
James Gustave Speth, dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and Peter Haas
(Island Press)

"Global Environmental Governance" examines 10 global environmental threats and how they can be addressed through treaties, new forms of government and international cooperation. The authors outline the shortcomings of current efforts to address climate disruption, loss of biodiversity, acid rain, ozone depletion, deforestation, desertification, degradation and shortages of freshwater, decline of marine fisheries, toxic pollutants and excess nitrogen -- all of which contribute to creating dead zones in the world's oceans. The book also tells how in recent decades nations, non-governmental institutions and multinational corporations have created an unprecedented set of laws and institutions intended to help solve large-scale environmental problems. "Global Environmental Governance" is the first in the Foundations of Contemporary Environmental Studies series produced by Island Press in collaboration with the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.


Medication Treatments for Nicotine Dependence
Edited by Dr. Tony P. George, associate professor of psychiatry
(Taylor and Frances)

"Medication Treatments for Nicotine Dependence" assembles contributions from leading researchers and clinicians to provide the most comprehensive volume on current and future possibilities for addressing nicotine and tobacco dependence with medication. The handbook details the basic neuroscience relevant to medications development for nicotine; discusses current medications as well as new medications and medications currently in development; identifies the basic physiology, pharmacology and psychology of tobacco addiction; and explores new biological approaches that could help define subtypes of smokers who may respond selectively to certain agents.


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Project will make select Yale College courses available to all on Internet

F&ES professor wins MacArthur Fellowship

Newly endowed R.W.B. Lewis Directorship . . .

Center to focus on the study of antisemitism

Yale Library donates computers to hurricane-damaged university

David LaVan chosen to take part in 'Frontiers of Engineering'

New Republic editor visits as Poynter Fellow

Conference to explore frontier violence in American history, culture

Sports columnist Christine Brennan is this year's first Chubb Fellow

Yale Philharmonia to present three concerts at the Shubert

JE exhibit features photographer's portraits of gay and lesbian authors

'This Old Stuff' and a treasure hunt are highlights of open house

Circumcision advocacy programs reduce incidence of HIV, report shows

Geologist honored for a second time with GSA Award for his research

Conference examines the work of German political theorist . . .

Two assistant professors win awards for environmental health research

Five alumni are honored with the Yale Medal . . .

Forum explored the topic of 'Biodiversity and Human Health'

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes


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