UDM Libraries Book of the Week

By Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson If the name Randal Pinkett sounds familiar, it may be because Pinkett was the first African-American winner on The Apprentice. When he won, this black man also became the only contestant to be asked to share his victory with a white woman. The request (and Pinkett’s subsequent refusal) set off a firestorm of controversy that inevitably focused on the issue of race in the American workplace and in society. For generations, African-Americans have been...

By Christopher Sieving The sixties were a tremendously important time of transition for both civil rights activism and the U.S. film industry. Soul Searching examines a subject that, despite its significance to African American film history, has gone largely unexplored until now. By revisiting films produced between the march on Washington in 1963 and the dawn of the “blaxploitation” movie cycle in 1970, Christopher Sieving reveals how race relations influenced black-themed cinema before it was recognized as commercially viable by...

By A.R. Jha Energy experts predict that wholesale electricity prices could easily rise 35 to 65 percent by 2015. Add to this the growing need for energy independence and the need to reduce carbon emissions and it is very clear that the development of low-cost renewable energy, such as solar energy, is essential for our economy and our national security. With the potential for low-cost, renewable energy that can create jobs while reducing our dependency on foreign oil, solar cell...

By John C. Kricher This full-color illustrated textbook offers the first comprehensive introduction to all major aspects of tropical ecology. It explains why the world’s tropical rain forests are so universally rich in species, what factors may contribute to high species richness, how nutrient cycles affect rain forest ecology, and how ecologists investigate the complex interrelationships among flora and fauna. It covers tropical montane ecology, riverine ecosystems, savanna, dry forest–and more.Tropical Ecology begins with a historical overview followed by a...