PBS American Experience

HENRY FORD paints a fascinating portrait of a farm boy who rose from obscurity to become the most influential American innovator of the 20th century. Ford’s Model T automobile and his five-dollar-a-day wage ushered in the modern world, earning Ford reverence from millions of Americans. Yet many of the changes he wrought deeply troubled the carmaker. In frustration, he lashed out at enemies, real and imagined, blamed Jews for the country’s problems, bullied those who worked for him and exhibited great cruelty to his only son, often, it seemed, wishing to retreat to an idyllic fantasy of the past.

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By Harvey Molotch

Remember when an unattended package was just that, an unattended package? Remember when the airport was a place that evoked magical possibilities, not the anxiety of a full-body scan? In the post-9/11 world, we have become focused on heightened security measures, but do you feel safer? Are you safer?

Against Security explains how our anxieties about public safety have translated into command-and-control procedures that annoy, intimidate, and are often counterproductive. Taking readers through varied ambiguously dangerous sites, the prominent urbanist and leading sociologist of the everyday, Harvey Molotch, argues that we can use our existing social relationships to make life safer and more humane. He begins by addressing the misguided strategy of eliminating public restrooms, which deprives us all of a basic resource and denies human dignity to those with no place else to go. Subway security instills fear through programs like “See Something, Say Something” and intrusive searches that have yielded nothing of value. At the airport, the security gate causes crowding and confusion, exhausting the valuable focus of TSA staff. Finally, Molotch shows how defensive sentiments have translated into the vacuous Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site and massive error in New Orleans, both before and after Hurricane Katrina. Throughout, Molotch offers thoughtful ways of maintaining security that are not only strategic but improve the quality of life for everyone.

Against Security argues that with changed policies and attitudes, redesigned equipment, and an increased reliance on our human capacity to help one another, we can be safer and maintain the pleasure and dignity of our daily lives.

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Edited by Abhik Ghosh

What’s it really like to be a chemist?

Leading chemists share what they do, how they do it, and why they love it.

“Letters to a young …” has been a much-loved way for professionals in a field to convey their enthusiasm and the realities of what they do to the next generation. Now, Letters to a Young Chemist does the same for the chemical sciences. Written with a humorous touch by some of today’s leading chemists, this book presents missives to “Angela,” a fictional undergraduate considering a career in chemistry. The different chapters offer a mix of fundamental principles, contemporary issues, and challenges for the future. Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of the University of California San Diego, talks about learning to do research and modern physical organic chemistry. Brothers Jonathan and Daniel Sessler explain the chemistry of anesthetics that make modern surgery possible while Elizabeth Nolan talks about biological imaging. Terry Collins talks about green chemistry, a more sustainable way of doing chemistry, while several authors including Carl Wamser, Harry Gray, John Magyar, and Penny Brothers discuss the crucial contributions that chemists can make in meeting global energy needs.

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by Stephen Cavalier

Lavishly illustrated and encyclopedic in scope, The World History of Animation tells the genre’s 100-year-old story around the globe, featuring key players in Europe, North America, and Asia. From its earliest days, animation has developed multiple iterations and created myriad dynamic styles, innovative techniques, iconic characters, and memorable stories. Stephen Cavalier’s comprehensive account is organized chronologically and covers pioneers, feature films, television programs, digital films, games, independent films, and the web. An exhaustive time line of films and innovations acts as the narrative backbone, and must-see films are listed along with synopses and in-depth biographies of individuals and studios. The book explains the evolution of animation techniques, from rotoscoping to refinements of cel techniques, direct film, claymation, and more. A true global survey, The World History of Animation is an exciting and inspirational journey through the large and still-expanding animation universe–a place as limitless as the human imagination.

• A comprehensive international history of animation, featuring all genres,
styles, media, and techniques
• Features film, television, and web-based animation
• Illustrated in full color throughout
• Includes comprehensive biographies of leading practitioners

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