UDM Libraries Book of the Week

Prefab green

By Michelle Kaufman and Catherine Remick

Prefabricated housing, an all-purpose term that is used to describe any home that is built partly off-site, is enjoying a revival, thanks to a handful of innovative architects and hip shelter magazines. In its new incarnation, prefab is catching the eye of design-conscious consumers who appreciate its style and efficiency. Now, “built in a factory” means lower cost and higher-quality building components than many site-built homes. Most importantly, prefab and sustainability are a great match. Green prefab offers a more efficient way of building a home. People want homes that are affordable, enduring, healthy, and-now more than ever-environmentally sound.
In Prefab Green, architect Michelle Kaufmann shares her vision of creating thoughtful sustainable design for everyone. Her firm, Michelle Kaufmann Designs, blends sustainable home layouts, eco-friendly materials, and low-energy options to create a “prepackaged” green solution to home design. Kaufmann tells about five eco-principles that are present in every design her firm creates-smart design, eco-materials, energy efficiency, water conservation, and healthy environment-and how they work together to create homes that make a difference.

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King’s dream

By Eric J. Sundquist

“‘In highlighting the roots and ongoing struggle over the content and use of the speech, Eric J. Sundquist has produced one of the best short books we have on the ideas of racial equality from the early days of the American republic up to current Supreme Court decisions.’ George Bornstein, Times Literary Supplement ‘The speech and all that surrounds it – background and consequences – are brought magnificently to life in Eric Sundquist’s new book, King’s Dream… Sundquist has written about race and ethnicity in American culture. In this book he gives us drama and emotion, a powerful sense of history combined with illuminating scholarship.’ Anthony Lewis, New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)”

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Using wikis for online collaboration: the power of the read-write web

By James A. West and Margaret L. West

How can online instructors and course designers’ instruction harness the popular Web 2.0 tool, the wiki, for successful collaboration and learning outcomes? This book focuses on using wikis in the active learning processes that are the hallmark of collaborative learning and constructivism. It provides both the pedagogical background and practical guidelines, tools, and processes for accomplishing these goals with special emphasis on wikis and other collaborative design tools. This book supports the effective design and delivery of online courses through the integration of collaborative writing and design activities.

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Invitation to holistic health: a guide to living a balanced life

By Charlotte Eliopoulos

Invitation to Holistic Health: A Guide to Living a Balanced Life provides solid principles and proven measures to promote optimal health and well-being using a holistic approach. Divided into three parts: Strengthening Your Inner Resources, Developing Health Lifestyle Practices, and Taking Charge of Challenges to the Mind, Body, and Spirit, this easy-to-read guide it provides how-to information when dealing with a variety of health-related issues that includes, but is not limited to, nutrition, exercise, herbal remedies, and homeopathic remedies. The Second Edition as been completely revised and includes current research on the effectiveness and safety of herbs and other complementary and alternative medicine therapies. The chapter on Menopause has been updated to reflect current thinking about the safe use of estrogen replacement, soy products, and other approaches to manage symptoms and new suggested readings and resources have been provided for further exploration into topics.

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