New Acquisitions in the Library
The following represents a small sampling of the books and DVDs that have recently been added to the Lyman Library's collections. Visit us in the library to check out all of our new acquisitions.
If there's a book you would like to see on our new acquisitions listing, feel free to contact us: 617-589-0170, lymanlibrary@mos.org.
Last updated: Summer 2008
Choose a category:
Adult
Teen
Juvenile
DVDs
Adult Books
Transit Maps of the World
By Mark Ovenden (144 pages; Pengin Books, 2007)
Transit Maps of the World is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on Earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit -- including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. Transit Maps is the graphic designer's new bible, the transport enthusiast's dream collection, and a coffee table essential for everyone who's ever traveled in a city.
A Well-Ordered Thing: Dmitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table
By Michael D. Gordin (364 pages; Basic Books, 2004)
Dmitrii Mendeleev: It's a name we recognize, but only as the disheveled scientist pictured in our high school chemistry textbook, the creator of the periodic table of elements. Until now little has been known about the man, but A Well-Ordered Thing draws a portrait of this chemist in three full dimensions. Historian Michael Gordin also details Mendeleev's complex relationship with the Russian Empire that was his home. From his attack on Spiritualism to his humiliation at the hands of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences; from his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip to his failed voyage to the Arctic, this is the story of an extraordinary man deeply invested in the good of his country. And the ideals that shaped his work in politics and culture were the same ones that led a young chemistry professor to start putting elements in order. Mendeleev was a loyal subject of the Tsar, but he was also a maverick who thought that only an outsider could perfect a modern Russia. A Well-Ordered Thingis a fascinating glimpse into the world of Imperial Russia -- and into the life of one of its most notorious minds.
A Winter in Arabia: A Journey Through Yemen
By Freya Stark (320 pages; Overlook Press, 1940)
One of the most unconventional and courageous explorers of her time, Freya Stark chronicled her extraordinary Travels in the Near East, establishing herself as a twentieth century heroine. A Winter in Arabia recounts her 1937 - 1938 expedition in what is now Yemen, a journey which helped secure her reputation not only as a great travel writer, but also as a first-rate geographer, historian, and archaeologist. There, in the land whose "nakedness is clothed in shreds of departed splendor," she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city. Offering rare glimpses of life behind the veil -- the subtleties of business and social conduct, the elaborate beauty rituals of the women, and the bitter animosities between rival tribes -- Freya Stark conveys the "perpetual charm of Arabia ... that the traveler finds his own level there simply as a human being."
Teen Books
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888
By Ernest Lawrence Thayer. Illustrated by Christopher Bing (32 pages; Handprint Books, 2000)
Ernest Thayer's poem has taken a well-deserved place as an enduring icon of Americana. Christopher Bing's magnificent version of this immortal ballad of the flailing nineteenth century baseball star is rendered as though it had been newly discovered in a hundred-year-old scrapbook. Bing seamlessly weaves real and trompe l'oeil reproductions of artifacts -- period baseball cards, tickets, advertisements, and a host of other memorabilia -- into the narrative to present a rich and multifaceted panorama of a bygone era. A book to be pored over by children, treasured by aficionados of the sport, and given as a gift to all ages, it is a tragi-comic celebration of heroism and of a golden era of sport.
Marie Curie
By Kathleen Krull (144 pages; Viking Children's Book, 2008)
Talk about a "glowing reputation"! Marie Curie, the woman who coined the term radioactivity, won not just one Nobel prize but two -- in physics and in chemistry, both supposedly girl-phobic sciences. As with her previous star-studded biographies of Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Sigmund Freud, Kathleen Krull offers readers a fascinating portrait of this mythic "giant of science" who abhorred publicity. And she also places Curie's ground-breaking discovery of two elements within the framework of science at that time.
Garbage and Recycling
By Rosie Harlow (32 pages; Kingfisher, 1995)
Explaining the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage, this book shows how glass, metal, and wool can be easily recycled. "How Can I Help?" boxes give suggestions for the young environmentalist who wants to recycle at home.
Juvenile Books
Diary of a Wombat
By Jackie French (30 pages; Clarion Books, 2003)
In his diary, a wombat describes his life of eating, sleeping, and getting to know some new human neighbors.
The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School
By Judy Sierra (32 pages; Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006)
The title and the cover, showing a blackboard coated in drippy, Technicolor goo, give away the ending of this boisterous story, but that won't deter kids from reveling in the silly, gory details, which begin when a third grader can't think of a science fair project. While her classmates put the finishing touches on wildly ambitious experiments (a Moon-worthy rocket ship, a cure for a disease), the girl frets. Finally she comes across an Internet solution: "Professor Swami's Super Slime." She places her order, but when the stuff arrives, she accidentally releases it. Taking on a menacing life of its own, it devours everything in its path.
DVDs
2057: The Body. The City. The World
(2 discs, 129 min. Discovery Channel) )
Experience the world 50 years in the future in this unique three-part series that examines the world of tomorrow. Supported by the world's leading scientists and research institutes, embark on a quest to answer some of society's most fundamental questions while revealing the dramas of tomorrow's world along the way. Bonus episode focuses on the cars of the future.
Eyewitness: Dinosaur
(35 min. Dorling Kindersley)
Dinosaur takes you inside the world of paleontologists and the real-life monsters they study. Experience the process of discovery: the excitement of digging, reconstruction, and the realization of how dinosaurs lived and died.
The Life of Birds
(3 discs, 580 min. BBC Video)
Colorful, mysterious, noble, and intriguing, birds have fascinated us since the dawn of history. David Attenborough, one of the world's foremost naturalists, hosts an extraordinary exploration into the secret lives of these magnificent creatures.
