SELECTIONS FROM THE MEDIA CENTER

To better serve you, the Journal of NaturalResources and Life Sciences Education nowincludes a "New Media Received" list foreach issue of the journal. Following the listare several key reviews of books and othermedia that were hand-picked from the largenumber we receive. The journal continues topublish full-length reviews of media as aservice to its readers and subscribers.

New Media Received

Backyard Scientist, Series Three--JaneHoffman. Backyard Scientist, Inc. $9.50.ISBN 0-9618663-3-0.

Backyard Scientist. Exploring EarthwormsWith Me--Jane Hoffman. Backyard Sci-entist, Inc. $10.00. ISBN 0-9618663-5-7.

Biology and Management of Rice Insects--Edited by E.A. Heinrichs. John Wiley &Sons. $89.95. ISBN 0-470-21814-2.

Breeding Field Crops, Fourth Edition--John Milton Poehlman and David AllenSleper. Iowa State University Press.$62.95. ISBN 0-8138-2427-3.

A Colour Atlas of Cucurbit Diseases. Ob-servation, Identification and Control--D. Blancard, H. Lecoq, and M. Pitrat.John Wiley & Sons. $95.00. ISBN 0-470-23416-4.

A Colour Atlas of Tomato Diseases. Obser-vation, Identification and ControI--D.Blancard. John Wiley & Sons. $9.95. ISBN1-874545-31-6.

1995 Conservation Directory--Edited byRue E. Gordon. National Wildlife Federa-tion. $20.00. ISBN 0-945051-56-5.

Crop Production and Crop Protection.Estimated Losses in Major Food andCash Crops--E-C. Oerke, H-W. Dehne,F. SchOnbeck, and A. Weber. ElsevierScience Inc. $165.75. ISBN 0-444-82095-7.

Forages, Volume I. An Introduction toGrassland Agrieulture---Edited by Rob-ert F Barnes, Darrell A. Miller, and C.Jerry Nelson. Iowa State University Press.$54.95. ISBN 0-8138-0681-X.

Forest Resources in Europe 1950-1990~Kullervo Kuusela. Cambridge UniversityPress. $44.95. ISBN 0-521-48076-0.

Genetic Control ofSelf-Incom patibility andReproductive Development in Flower-ing Plants--Edited by Elizabeth G. Will-iams, Adrienne E. Clarke, and R. BruceKnox. KluwerAcademic Publishers Group.$214.00. ISBN 0-7923-2574-5.

Geography and Empire~Edited by AnneGodlewska and Neil Smith. BlackwellPublishers, Inc. ISBN 0-631-19384-7.

Geography and National Identity--Editedby David Hooson. Blackwell Publishers,Inc. ISBN 0-631-18935-1.

Howthe Body Works--dohn Lenihan. Medi-cal Physics Publishing. $15.00. ISBN 0-944838-48-0.

Landscape Forestry--Stephen G. Boyce.John Wiley & Sons. $69.96. ISBN 0-471-00784-6.

Reversing the Spiral. The Population, Ag-riculture, and Environment Nexus inSub-Saharan Africa--Kevin M. Cleaverand G6tz A. Schreiber. World Bank Pub-lications. $18.95. ISBN 0-82 ! 3-2769-0.

Reversing the Spiral. The Population, Ag-riculture, and Environment Nexus inSub-Saharan Africa (Supplement)~Kevin M. Cleaver and G6tz A. Schreiber.World Bank Publications. $7.95. ISBN 0-8213-3010-1.

Smoke or Steam? A Critique of Environ-mental Issues--Samuel R. Aldrich. Flo-Min Publications.

Soil Microbiology--Robert L. Tate III. JohnWiley & Sons, Inc. $59.95. ISBN 0-471-57868-1.

Ukraine. The Agriculture Sector in Tran-sitio n--World Bank Publications. $10.95.ISBN 0-8213-3076-4.

Wastewater Treatment System CETCOES-250ff~(Videotape). Colloid Environ-mental Technologies Company.

,~ Book

Chemical Thermodynamics for Earth Sci-entists-Philip Fletcher. Longman Sci-entific and Technical Publishers, LongmanHouse, Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, UK.1993. 464 p. paperbound.

Philip Fletcher has written this book as asupplement to undergraduate courses ingeochemistry, soil science, and environmen-tal chemistry. The predictive capability ofthermodynamics plays a pervasive role intopics ranging from weathering to groundwa-ter composition, and this book is a welcome

addition to those works that attempt suchexplanations. The author has written the bookin such a way that a student can begin "at anyselected point and follow the text with mini-mum reference to preceding chapters." Justhow easy students will find this to be willdepend in large part on their mathematics andchemistry background.

With a detailed index, four appendices,and with many references for further study bythose wishing more depth or background in-formation, this book is easy to use. There arenumerous diagrams and tables of data through-out the book and the attractive format invitesthe reader to look it over carefully. Althoughwritten as a supplement to a course text, Ithink many undergraduates might experiencesome degree of frustration with the brevity ofcoverage as well as the liberal use of calculus.For example, much of a general chemistrycourse plus the introductory portions of atypical physical chemistry course are con-tained in the first two chapters (19 pages).This will not be a problem for many students,but the conciseness of some definitions, willsurely send some scrambling for more detailand explanation.

The book is divided into three sections, thefirst being six chapters of foundation mate-rial, the second section (Chapters 7-12) cov-ering"a typical course in chemical thermody-namics," and the final seven chapters dealing"with more specific properties of geochemi-cal substances." The first two sections consistof relatively short, concise chapters that getright to the point. Chapter 3, for example, iscalled Properties of Solid Minerals and doesan excellent job of pointing out the essentialsof crystals, what holds them together, andwhat can be expected of them as solids in real,i.e., geological, conditions. All of this is donein less than eight pages. Succeeding chaptersare much the same: quick looks at the heart ofa topic with geochemical implications clearlyin view and the understanding is that studentsare on their own for more background mate-rial.

The section on thermodynamics also getsright to the heart of the topic with definitionsand data but with notably less attention togeochemical examples. Table 9.2, for ex-ample, is a listing of 52 thermodynamic rela-tionships, only a few of which are derived inthe text. The usefulness of such a series is hardto visualize in this context, although theirpresence does provide a degree of complete-ness to the topic of thermodynamic potentials.The use of boxes to set aside mathematicalaspects, e.g., deriving the Debye-Huckeltheory for interionic attraction in aqueoussolutions, helps separate generally difficult

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 201

explanations or derivations from the maintext. Reader beware generally holds for theboxed material throughout the book.

Chapter 13 is the first of what Fletchercalls "more specific properties of geochemi-cal substances" and is entitled The Propertiesof Liquid and Gaseous Water. It containssignificant amounts of tabulated data (Table13.10, Apparent Enthalpy of Formation ofWater, lists AH values from 25° to 900°C, inincrements of 25° and pressures of 0.5 to 8kbar) and graphs along with fugacity andpermittivity information. On one hand, it isadmirable to strive for such completeness ofcoverage, but one wonders how a typicalundergraduate might be able to make use ofsuch information. Fletcher’s treatment of ther-modynamic properties of aqueous electro-lyres (Chapter 14) is a brief, thorough look the details of predicting what happens whenelectrolytes dissolve in water. Nowhere in thechapter is there may reference as to how thisinformation will find relevance in forthcom-ing geochemical situations, and the number ofterms defined and the complexity of the math-ematics (as distinguished from difficulty) re-quires an attention span from a student whocannot see any larger application. This workwould be enhanced by a brief concludingparagraph, indicating to the reader just whathas been accomplished and how it will beutilized.

A chapter dealing with thermodynamicsof ion exchange gives a detailed developmentof both ideal and nonideal ion-exchange iso-therms. Thermodynamic properties of solids(Chapter 16) deals with minerals at a varietyof temperatures and pressures and providesample evidence of the complexity of solidsand solid solutions. The final two chaptersare, in this reviewers opinion, the best of thebook. Graphical applications of chemical ther-modynamics bring together much of thegroundwork laid earlier in the book. Predomi-nance diagrams, partial pressure diagrams,and phase diagrams are all considered withexcellent geochemical examples. The finalchapter dealing with computer simulations ofchemical equilibria is a brief but interestingintroduction to how these systems can bemodeled. In all of these chapters there is atendency to become too detailed based on asmall amount of background but numerousreferences, particularly in the application chap-ters, allow further investigation by those withan interest.

This book is well-written and will be auseful addition to any earth scientist’s library.Considering the number of challenging con-cepts not usually found in typical earth sci-ence texts, graduate students may find it to bethe one reference that finally brings togetherthermodynamic explanations and the manygeochemical changes observed in a system.Finally, even though the typical undergradu-ate will find this book to be a significantchallenge, having it available will enable her

or him to tackle some topics that are all tooeasily put off for lack of data, references, orboth.--JIM OLSON, 130 Science Bldg.. Uni-versity of Minnesota, Morris, MN 56267.,

~ BOOK

CROSSOVER Concepts and Applicationsin Genetics, Evolution, and Breeding:An Interactive Computer-based Labo-ratory Manual--Jack E. Staub. Princi-pal programmers: Karl Braunschweig andClaire Rinehart. University of WisconsinPress, 114 N Murray St., Madison, WI53715. ! 994.359 p. Spiral-bound sol, coverand computer disk, $30.00. ISBN 0-29913-564-0.

CROSSOVER is a book and softwareintroducing Mendelian analyses to students atseveral levels. Part I covers meiotic segrega-tion, genetic ratios, linkage analysis, andmapping. Chapter 1 introduces meiosis; theintroduction to common Mendelian ratios inChapter 2 is straightforward, though the defi-nitions of dominance and epistasis need cor-rection. One of the strengths of Chapter 3 isthat it discusses several methods of estimatinglinkage, including maximum likelihood,square root, and product ratio methods.

Part 2 discusses population genetics andevolution, beginning with a chapter on muta-tions. Ploidy changes are described in some-what more detail than commonly occurs intexts, reflecting the author’s background inplant genetics. Including this chapter in thispart seems peculiar, as does the introductionto Wright’s F statistic, in the context of theinfinite alleles model of mutations. Chapter 5includes a good introduction to heritability,but this material should be relocated to Part 3,where quantitative genetics is discussed. InChapter 6, the logic of the Hardy-Weinbergmodel is obscured by being introduced as amethod for analyzing the progeny of singlecrosses, and the extension to multiple loci andalleles uses an unusually awkward notation.Extensions to the basic model are added notsingly but in combination (e.g., extension tofrequency dependence and overlapping gen-erations in the same step). Basic properties ofthe model are neglected (such as equilibriumfrequencies or stability p~operties), while com-plexities such as the reproductive value inte-gral and frequency dependent selection aretossed in without development. Wright’s Freappears, still without mention of its rel-evance to the average level of inbreeding in apopulation. Some of the equations in thissection have errors, while others are confus-ing. Wright’s statistics for population geneticstructure are presented, though neither their

originator nor the subscripts that characterizethem are included.

Part 3, on artificial selection and quantita-tive genetics, begins in Chapter 7 With discus-sions ofphenotypic and genotypic value, ge-netic variance components, and epistatic ef-fects. The strength of this section reflects theauthor’s expertise in this area, though stu-dents and instructors will need to rely on agood quantitative genetics text. Chapter 8(Quantitative Genetics) is a stronger chapter,though plagued by a rash of typographicalerrors. While the chapter could make a stron-ger explanation of the process of partitioningvariance and coy ariance components.~ it makesgood points regarding covariance and hered-ity and parent/offspring regression analysis.The omission of Falconer’s text from its list ofreferences is inexplicable.

Part 4 discusses plant varietal develop-ment and mating designs, then concludes witha chapter on the use of molecular markers forplant patent protection. Chapter 9 begins withbrief introductions to principal componentsanalysis and "compact linkage analysis," butneeds references to the large body of relevantliterature and the various computer programsavailable for using these methods. Severalimportant methods of selection are outlined,including a good discussion of backcrossing.The explanation of path anatysis, however,needs better explanations of autozygosity anddiagrams of pedigree paths. Chapter ! 0, whichdiscusses mating designs, depends stronglyon the student being familiar (from othersources) with variance component analysis.One of the strongest parts of this chapter is anactual example drawn from the author’s workon cucumbers; similar examples would im-prove other parts of the book. The final chap-ter introduces some of the legal and labora-tory technicalities in using molecular markersfor varietal patent protection. Several specificpatent cases are discussed, and one wonderswhy the groundbreaking patent granted toMonsanto for genetically engineered cottonis not discussed. Selection based on quantita-tive trait loci is introduced briefly; unfortu-nately, the bibliography contains few refer-ences to literature in this area, or to the majorsummaries on the use of molecular markersfor crop improvement.

CROSSOVER also includes a set ofHypercard stacks. The first of these ("Cross-over") consists of a fairly standard set ofproblems for each chapter, similar towhat onefinds in print elsewhere, asking students to fillin the blanks of tables. Running the programon a Mac SE produced system errors withdisappointing frequency, and users will wanta faster machine with a larger screen. Surpris-ingly little use is made of visual presentations,even of graphical results. "Sam Piing, P.I." isa simple program illustrating the relationshipbetween the numbers of lines, loci, and rarealleles in crop line collections."XGain,"whichis the best of the programs, compares breed-

202 ¯ J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

ing methods. An especially valuable featureof this program is its Help screens, whichdissect the equations used.

A valuable feature is that each chapter listsboth relevant publications and computer pro-grams, though with some surprising omis-sions. Chapter 3 (genetic linkage) referencesseveral programs, but inexplicably neglectsRichard Whitkus’ program for linkage analy-sis. Part 2, "Evolution and Populations," makesno mention of Lewis’ GENESTAT-PC orSwofford’s B IOSYS, the most widely used inpopulation genetics. Similarly, no mention ismade ofAlstadt et al.’s POPULUS, the larg-est and most powerful package of populationgenetic simulation models available. Finally,no mention is made of any commerciallyavailable software.

What emerges is abook that needs a strong-armed editor. The book and program arelikely to frustrate their users because it is: (i)too incomplete to stand alone as a text; (ii) fartoo long as a lab manual; and (iii) it needscopy editing, reorganization of its quantita-tive genetics, and thorough revision of itspopulation genetics. Instructors of courses inplant breeding who already have a favoredtext may find some of the material here (espe-cially in the programs) to be a useful review ofbasic genetics. Instructors will certainly findthe programs on plant breeding valuable exer-cises for the students.--CHRISTOPHER T.COLE, Division of Science and Mathematics,University of Minnesota, Morris, MN56267. ¯

~ Boo~

Crop Production and Crop Protection--Estimated Losses in Major Food andCash Crops--E.-C. Oerke, H.-W Dehne,F. Schonbeck, and A. Weber. Elsevier

Science B.V., P.O. Box 211, 1000 AEAmsterdam, the Netherlands. Available inthe USA and Canada from Elsevier Sci-ence, P.O. Box 945, Madison Square Gar-den, New York, NY 10160-0757. 1994.808 p. Hardcover. $165.75.

The current world population is about sixbillion and increasing annually at about a1.6% rate. The World Bank estimates (1990)that the world population will stabilize ataround 10.5 to 12 billion people. Althoughworldwide agriculture production is increas-ing, it is the industrialized countries that havemade the most significant gains. Agriculturalimprovements in developing countries arelagging behind due to economic, political,social, and natural constraints. However, it isin the developing countries that 80% of theworld population will reside, and improve-ments in crop production and crop protectionwill be greatly needed. Industrialized and

developing nations will need to work coop-eratively in sharing research, technology, anddevelopment of new products to meet worldfood supply demands.

The book is divided into four chapterswith many subsections within each chapter.The book includes a list of abbreviations, abiography of the authors, and general andscientific indexes. The subject text of eachchapter is supported by tables, graphs, andglobal maps showing crop production andcrop losses associated with various crops fromsix global areas of the world. The book ad-dresses eight principal food crops producedthroughout the world and the crop productionand losses associated with them.

The introductory chapter discusses worldpopulation growth and the agricultural foodsupply that will be needed to meet peoples’nutritional needs. Food production discrep-ancies existing between industrialized anddeveloping countries are pointed out. Eco-nomic limitations of developing countriesand risksof putting more land into arableproduction are presented and weighed againstthe increased costs vs. benefits from suchaction. Implications of rapid populationgrowth and the impact it will have on agricul-tural policy is compared between industrial-ized and developing countries. The chapterconcludes that social priorities of wealthynations should not be imposed on people ofdeveloping nations that struggle daily to sur-vive.

Maj or changes that have taken place in thelast 30 years in the area of crop protection arepresented in Chapter 2. Developments andinnovations by wealthy nations in crop pro-.tection chemicals such as herbicides, fungi-cides, and insecticides are emphasized. Bio-logical and integrated crop management con-trol options are briefly discussed. The lastchapter presents conclusions and perspec-tives of the past and future trends in cropprotection.

The main body of the book is comprised ofsections that describe crop losses due to in-sects, weeds, and diseases from six globalregions of the world. Eight principal foodcrops are covered: rice, wheat, barley, maize,potato, soybean, cotton, and coffee. Eachsection is introduced by a short description ofthe cultivation, production, and crop protec-tion methods for the specific crop. Majorpests are listed for each of the eight principalfoods. A discussion of the problems of col-lecting data and analyzing it is presented at thevery beginning of the chapter. Crop loss no-menclature and crop loss data analysis proce-dures are reviewed for the crop loss dataappearing in the chapter.

I found the book well written and the texteasy to read. Considering this was a majordata collecting enterprise, I found the bookextremely well organized. The listing of ref-erences at the end each chapter or specializedsection was very helpful. Comprehension of

crop loss data comparisons from regionalareas around the world was enhanced with aidof global maps, tables, and charts. The inclu-sion of showing plant protection effects onyields supported the book’s objective of quan-tifying crop loss and crop protection responses.

This book would serve as an excellentreference source for plant scientists, interna-tional aid agencies, and foreign service peopleworking in international agriculture. It wouldalso be useful to those developing agriculturepolicies in industrialized and developing coun-tries. Additionally, it would also be useful toresearch scientists in the public and privatesector working in the area of crop protec-tion.--KEVIN CAVANAUGH, Departmentof Entomology-Extension IPM, University ofMinnesota, St. Paul MN 55108.¯

~ Boor~

Integrating Economics, Ecology and Ther-modynamics--Matthias Ruth. KluwerAcademic Publishers, P.O. Box 17, 3300AA Dordrecht, theNetherlands. 1993.251p. Hardcover. $119.00 (US).

This book proposes a methodologicalframework for economic analysis that linkseconomic theory, ecological relationships, andthe laws of thermodynamics. The book isuseful for researchers in the field of environ-mental and resource economics, as well asthose economists who are looking for a syn-thesis of current research in the field of eco-logical economics. It is also accessible toecologists and resource managers who havesome graduate-level exposure to economictheory. The book will also be useful to gradu-ate students who are looking for integrateddynamic models of natural resource extrac-tion. Although there is now a substantial andgrowing literature in this area, this book sum-marizes the core concepts in neoclassical eco-nomics, thermodynamics, and ecology, andtherefore makes an important contribution.

The book is divided into five parts. Part 1covers the introduction. Part 2 discusses thecore concepts in neoclassical economics, ecol-ogy, and thermodynamics. Part 3 developsthe main theoretical arguments of the bookthat involves integrating the concepts in thesethree areas. Part 4 presents simulation modelsthat illustrate the integrative methodologyproposed. Part 5 presents summary and con-clusions. The three Appendices in the bookinclude a glossary, flowcharts, and algorithmfor the nonlinear resource model, and a listingof parameter values used in the simulation.

After the brief introductory chapter, theauthor defines the notion of opportunity cost,substitution, and time preference as the coreconcepts of economic theory. He formulates

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 203

the standard exhaustible and renewable re-source models and points out their [imita-tions, in particular, their failure to incorporatematerial and energy flows between the envi-ronment and the economic system. The nextsection examines various concepts in ecol-ogy, such as the principle of competitiveexclusion, logistic growth, and the role ofmaterial cycles, energy flow, and feedbackprocesses. This discussion, however, does notmake clear which concepts will actually beused in the integrated models proposed laterin the book. Section 2 is concluded with an in-depth review of the principles of thermody-namics, especially those relating tothe trans-formation of energy across systems based onthe first and second laws of thermodynamics.

Upon carefully reviewing the literaturethat attempts to incorporate principles of ther-modynamics in economic models, the authorconcludes that this has been done only to alimited degree, and other important consider-ations such as the dynamics of environment-economy linkages and their rates of changehave not been adequately analyzed. He thengoes on to argue that traditional economicconcepts of the steady-state are problematicbecause they do not ensure the sustainabilityof ecological processes. The following chap-ter discusses existing models that link eco-nomics and ecology.

The author argues for a thermodynamicperspective for the evaluation of changes insystems that go through economic and bio-logical processes. This perspective calls foran evaluation of material, energy, and infor-mation flows across system boundaries. InPart4 of the book, examples of the integrativeapproach are provided. First, a partial equilib-rium model for a one-sector resource extract-ing economy is formulated in which energyand crude ore are inputs in the mining processwhile iron oxide, waste heat, and waste crudeore are outputs. The model also incorporatestechnical change through learning by doing.A Hotelling-type dynamic optimization modelis developed and solved by assuming plau-sible parameter values for the U.S. iron oremining sector. Sensitivity analysis is done fordifferent discount rates and slopes of thelearning curve. The results are fairly intuitive,and as the author acknowledges, well-knownto economists. A more interesting simulationcould have been the comparison between themodel based on thermodynamic criteria de-veloped in the book and a standard neoclassi-cal exhaustible resource model. It would havebeen useful to examine the order of magni-tude differences in welfare, the endogenousplanning horizon, resource use, and learningeffects.

In the final major chapter of the book, theabove model is extended to three sectors inwhich the output from mining is used in themanufacturing sector, which in turn producesan intermediate input for the agriculture sec-tor, The environment is divided into three

subsystems--atmosphere, land and mine, withmaterial and energy flowing between them.The quantification of the economy--environ-ment relationship proposed earlier in the bookis done by material and energy balances foreach sector and each subsystem. Computersimulation with realistic U,S. data is againused to illustrate the time paths for optimalenergy and material use.

I found the book to be fairly repetitive, andhence longer than necessary. The simulationmodels used to illustrate the integrative ap-proach proposed in the book could have beenpresented more rigorously. For instance, theassumptions underlying the models proposedby the author could have been stated in a moreprecise manner. Also, the mathematical equa-tions could do with some intuitive explana-tion, which is now left to the reader. The bookalso suffers from loose editing and a fewtypographical errors.

The main contribution of the book is avery comprehensive analysis of literature inthree different fields--economics, ecology,and thermodynamics. This would enable read-ers new to the subject (e.g., graduate students,researchers) to access the extensive bibliogra-phy cited in this book and get a summary ofthe main arguments made. The author makesa persuasive argument for integrating the lawsof thermodynamics and ecology in neoclassi-cal economic models, He discusses the workbeing done in this rapidly growing field, andshows how these diverse concepts can beintegrated into a simplified optimizationframework. For this reason, the book will beespecially valuable to researchers who arelooking for ideas for modeling ecology-envi-ronment relationships.--UJJAYANTCHAKRAVORTY, Department of Agricul-tural ond Resource Economics, University ofHawaii at Manna, Honolulu. H196822.,

~ BOoK

Remote Sensing. Course Books i and 2--J. J. M. Leinders (Course team Chairman),S.A. Drury (author), D.A. Rothery (au-thor), O.E. Smit (editor). Open Univer-sity, Heerlen, theNetherlands. 1989 (Book1), 1992 (Book 2). 509 p. Illus. Colorimage books 60 p. Illus. Softcover. $50.00for university use, $140 other uses. (Note:Supplemental CD-ROM practical compo-nent also available, including lessons, ex-ercises, and an image atlas, $50.00.)

Greater concern for the environment at aregional and global scale, together with in-creased cost of data collection and analysis inscientific research and applications, has

brought the technology of remote sensing tothe forefront of a number of disciplines re-lated to the Earth system and environment.Remote Sensing offersa cost effective methodfor data collection in many applications, andalso is capable of large area, and even globalcoverage on a periodic basis. Furthermore,advances in computers and machine process-ing of digital data from remote sensing de-vices allows researchers to analyze these largedatasets quickly and objectively to solve theirproblems. With such advanlages, remote sens-ing is becoming an increasingly importanttool in science, government, and industry.

Unfortunately, few universities have theresources to offer introductory coursework inremote sensing at the undergraduate level.Likewise, very few undergraduate students inscience or engineering have room in their corecurriculum or electives for a remote sensingcourse.

The Open University’s courses are self-contained study packs, and are designed forhome study that include exercises and selfassessment questions. Although the intent isto offer a flexible student-centered method forcontinuing education, such an approach alsomeets the needs of full-time students.

This first edition course pack, consistingof two course books and corresponding colorimage booklets, is an introductory course forstudents with no prior knowledge of remotesensing. It is suitable as an introduction toremote sensing for undergraduate students, oras preparation material for graduate level re-mote sensing courses. It covers a wide rangeof disciplines related to environmental sci-ences and natural resources. Examples in thetext and images cover various geographicalregions around the world, and would there-fore be useful in a course related to globalenvironmental assessment.

Applications in geology and oceanogra-phy are covered in more detail, althoughexamples are given in many other disciplines,Chapter objectives are outlined at the begin-ning of each chapter, and self-assessmentquestions and answers at the end of eachchapter address these objectives.

Key words are italicized, and also offset inthe margin, making iteasy during browsing orreview to quickly identify which concepts arestill unfamiliar. The course material is in-tended for approximately 90 hours of study(optional CD-ROM practicum requires 10--i 5 hours).

Course book I (383 p.) consists of eightchapters; the first seven introduce and guidethe student through the basic concepts ofremote sensing, and the last illustrates the useof concepts and techniques developed in theprevious chapters, discussing numerous ap-plications in the areas of natural vegetation(vegetation patterns, forests, wetlands), hu-man activities (agriculture, deforestation, ru-ral and urban development, military uses),and geology (geological structure, igneous

204 ¯ J. NaL Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

rocks, reflectance properties, geobotany, re-source exploration, geophysical data).

Book 2 (126 p.) begins with a usefulupdate to the first book’s table of remotesensing satellites and their characteristics withcurrent (as of 1992) developments and addi-tions. Course book 2 is devoted to the furtherdevelopment and study of remote sensing intwo particular application areas, which wereintroduced in the first course book: Chapter10, "Remote Sensing of Volcanoes," andChapter 11, "Oceanographic Remote Sens-ing."

The case studies utilize excerpts from sci-entific journals for the students to review andanswer questions based on this literature. Thesecondary school or first year university stu-dent may find these articles and the spoon-fedsuggestions on how to analyze them useful,but students already exposed to scientificjournals and literature review will probablyfind this method tedious. In our opinion, thissecond book of case studies will be of mostinterest to the student outside of the abovedisciplines. For example, an oceanographystudent most likely will be familiar with sci-entific publications and current research in hisor her discipline; on the other hand, a studentof agriculture may not be familiar with ocean-ography, and may find the literature excerptsand suggestions very useful and informative.

A major criticism of this course pack is thefour separate booklets that require referenc-ing from one to another, particularly betweenthe color image book and course book. Itwould be more helpful to have legends in-cluded in the color image book, rather thanreferring back to the text for explanation ofwhat a specific color within a figure indicates.Additionally, the chapter titles do not readilyappear to fit together in a logical sequence,although in practice the material should flowsmoothly from lesson to lesson. It would alsobe useful to include in the objectives at thebeginning of each chapter what is the in-tended amount of study time for that chapter.

The fundamentals of remote sensing, pri-marily contained in Chapters 2, 4, and 7, makeup a large portion of the text (160 p.), and thedepth is adequate for such a broad introduc-tion to theory and applications. However, as areference text it is not suitable particularly inthe areas of data collection, digital imageprocessing, electromagnetic radiation prop-erties, and spectral reflectance characteristicsof surface features. Its strength is in the vari-ety and number of applications discussed.Also, for the cost ($50.00) it seems to presentan excellent value with good color imageexamples and illustrations similar to thosefound in much more expensive textbooks.

Another strength is the optional multime-dia component that will run on a standardmultimedia capable PC under Windows. Al-though not evaluated, the CD-ROM RESEAT(Remote Sensing: Educational Applicationsand Techniques) offers interactive lessons

and practical exercises on image processing,and a searchable atlas with images from aroundthe world.

This course should do an excellent job intraining students to develop an appreciationof the methodologies, value, and potential ofremote sensing in various applications.-TODD F. HELTand CHRIS J. JOHANNSEN,Department of Agronomy & Laboratory forApplications of Remote Sensing, 1158 ENTM,Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907-1158.,I~

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Soil Technology--Applied Soil Science--Edited by P.A. Hazelton and M. Koppi.Australian Society of Soil Science Incor-porated and Department of Conservationand Land Management, P.O. Box 573,Wollongong East, NSW 2520, Australia.1993. 449 p. ISBN 0-9587460-7-9.

This book is a collection of papers. (chapters)about the nature and behavior of the chemical,physical, and biological properties of soil.According to the editors, it was developed foruse in a short course offered in Australia andto also provide a reference book for futureuse. In perusal of the contents of the book,there are three fundamental sections covered.The first 13 chapters discuss the fundamentalsof soil science (soil formation, classification,soil structure, organic matter, soil morphol-ogy, etc.); Chapters 14 through 18 deal withsoil management concerns of irrigation, cot-ton production, dryland farming and grazing,and forest soils; and Chapters 19 through 28deal with hazardous wastes and their interac-tion with soils. In general, the chapters deal-ing with fundamental soil properties workwell for the intended purpose of a workshopand reference text. The first chapter deals withsoil formation, and the following chaptersprogress through the basic physical and chemi-cal properties of soils. This portion of thebook then ends with chapters about mapping,sampling, and evaluating soil properties--inmy opinion, a good closure to the basics ofsoils. The linking of these chapters is ratherweak, making it rather difficult to.use this asa stand-alone text.

The middle portion of the text (Chapters14-18) deal with soil management concerns.These are done well, but are very specific toAustralian conditions. Much in these chapterscan be utilized as far as basic soil managementconsiderations around the world.

The unique portion of the text lies in thethird portion (Chapters 19-28), where manyaspects of soils and waste management arecovered. Some of the important subjects cov-ered are: classification of hazardous wastes;

criteria for landfill disposal of industrial waste;contaminated site management; sampling con-taminated sites; and health risk assessment.Many of us are looking for reference materi-als to use in our instruction that include theutilization of soils in waste management. Al-though the material presented is again spe-cific to Australia, the concepts and principlescan be used.

Although this book might not be used as atext for any particular course in the USA, itwould be a valuable addition to the libraries ofthose who instruct in the area of soil science.I will value this text as a reference whenthinking how I might improve my presenta-tions dealing with soils and their interactionwith wastes.--JAMES CRUM, Crop andSoilScience Department, Michigan State Univer-sity, East Lansing, MI 48824.,~

~ SOFTWARE

The Soil Stack--A.B. McBratney, S.R. Cattle,J.B. Stewart, P.E. Tolmie, J.G. Walsh,

D.B. Yates, S.R. Young, and K. L Elton.Soil Science, School of Crop Sciences,The University of Sydney, NSW 2006,Australia. ISBN 0-86758-573-0.

As it is depicted on the title page, this is aninteractive, introductory guide to the science,technology, degradation, management, andcare of soil. To be more specific, it is aneducational software algorithm written to helpexplain the nature and processes that havedeveloped or degraded our soil resource. Theauthors explain the program was written withhigh school and younger students in mind, butbeing comprehensive, the program is alsosuitable for stafftraining of those that need abackground knowledge of soil science.

The program uses more than 600HyperCard screens to lead the user throughbasic soil science principles (physical proper-ties, biology, chemical properties, classifica-tion, formation, and civilization) and thenaddresses five main types of soil degradationin Australia (acidification, contamination, ero-sion, salinization, and structural decline). Theconcluding sections of the program containcards that deal with soil research, economicconstraints, and soil sustainability. Using theHyperCard program limits its use to AppleComputer Corporation Macintosh comput-ers. Within the USA, IBM-compatible per-sonal computers probably far exceed the num-ber of Macintosh computers in soil sciencelaboratories.

Loading the program was simple andstraightforward and within 5 minutes I wasrunning The Soil Stack. I had very few prob-lems once becoming familiar with the but-

J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 205

tons, or symbols, and their function. Theportions of the program that interested memost were the six interactive models thatallow the user to experiment with differentvariables and conditions and see their affecton selected soil properties. The models in-cluded deal with soil weathering, soil salinity,soil acidification, soil erosion, organic matterturnover, and soil contamination. For ex-ample, the weathering model allows the userto select rock type, rainfall, temperature, time,and the amount of existing soil to calculate(estimate) a rate of soil formation and theamount of soil after the selected time. Theauthors give the caveat these models are foreducational purposes only, and should not beused for environmental planning. They can bepowerful educational tools when used in theright way.

If you own or have access to an AppleMacintosh computer and have a learning cen-ter or other laboratory where students canindulge and experiment, I would suggest youconsider looking at The Soil Stack.--JAMESCRUM, Crop and Soil Science Department,Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI48824..

,~ BOOK

Earth in the Balance: Ecology and theHuman Spirit--AIGore. 1992. HoughtonMiffl in Co., One Beacon St., Boston, MA02108.407 p. Cloth. $22.95.

How can we justify cutting down enough"trees to produce yet another book oft globalwarming, deforestation, and the environment?Such abook would have to be special. Writtenfrom the unique perspective ofa U.S. Senatorand former Representative to Congress, Earthin the Balance justifies the investment. This isa thoughtful and comprehensive treatment ofour most pressing global problems. A formerjournalist himself, AI Gore brings a direct andarticulate writing style that covers large topicswith ease and efficiency.

Gore begins with the predictable but stillshocking examples of an Aral Sea shorelinethat is 40 km from where the fishing boats aregrounded; a mysterious and still unexplaineddeath of 12,000 seals whose lifeless bodieswashed ashore in the North Sea; and a 600%increase in the chlorine content of the atmo-sphere over the last four decades. Althoughcause and effect are not always apparent,increase in human population and demand forresources are at the core of the challenge.

In Chapter 2, "The Shadow Our FutureThrows," Gore exhorts us that "the choice todo nothing in response to mounting evidenceis actually a choice to continue and evenaccelerate the reckless environmental destruc-

tion that is creating the catastrophe at hand."He continues with a description of a scientificmethod that offers a single dimensional ap-proach, a quest for certainty that will not serveus well in the current race against time towardunderstanding and reversing the environmen-tal impact of a growing human population. Hedescribes ecological systems that are highlyinterdependent, functioning with a series offeedback loops, in which simple rules oflinear cause and effect don’t easily explain theconsequences of our actions in the total eco-system.

"Climate and Civilization: A Short His-tory" relates many of the major changes inhuman societies to natural events and climaticcatastrophes. Gore describes how many of theprincipal migrations of peoples, the rise andfall of numerous civilizations, were in fact theconsequences of ice ages, major volcanos,and other dynamic natural events. This is anew look at history, one that most of us missedin the usual treatment of the movement ofpeoples and changes in places over the centu-ries. The purpose of presenting such a per-spective on history, along with the followingchapters on air and water quality, on thefragile crust of the earth or the biosphere, onthe loss of genetic diversity, and on the accu-mulation of solid waste, is to focus attentionon current human population challenges andtheir impact on the environment. Further, theauthor uses this approach to emphasize theimportance and immediate need for a massiveglobal mobilization of resources and a resolveto make the changes necessary for survival.

Mr. Gore proposes a type of GlobalMarshall Plan that would bring resourcesfrom developed countries to bear on the needsfor food and economic development. Theelements include:1. Stabilizing world population

2. Creating and developing environmentallyappropriate technologies

3. Creating a new economics that measuresthe impacts of our decisions on the envi-ronment

4. Developing new treaties and agreementsfor regulating, planning, and enforcingneeded changes

5. Establishing goals and setting directionstoward sustainable development, espe-cially in the third worldAt this point the author is focused prima-

rily on problems in the developing world, andappears to ignore the disproportionate con-sumption of energy and other resources bypeople in the industrialized world. Neverthe-less, the concept of a massive Marshall Planfor the coming century is a creative and im-portant advance that could bring togetherpeoples from most countries to solve globalchallenges.

The perspective presented in Earth in theBalance is one that would be useful as acomponent of our introductory courses inagronomy and natural resources. The chapter

titled "Climate and Civilization" would bevaluable reading as an introduction to thisglobal focus. And the conclusions that Mr.Gore reaches should be seen as guidelines forhow nations should work together toward acommon goal. This is a well conceived andthoughtfully written call to action. In hiscurrent political position as U.S. Vice Presi-dent, the author has an opportunity to makesome of these changes happen.~HARLESA. FRANCIS, Center for Sustainable Agri-cultural Systems, 221 Keim Hall, P.O. Box830949, Lincoln, NE 68583-0949. ̄

~ Boon

Nothing But Conservation--Roy H. Dingle.Published by Roy H, Dingle, 1400 W.Seminary Street, Richland Center, WI53581. 1993. $12.00. 344 p.

This is an excellent autobiographical un-folding of Roy H. Dingle’s perspective on hislife’s work, soil conservation. This book canbe enjoyed by anyone and those who arefamiliar with the times and places describedor public conservation efforts will find it evenmore interesting. In the seven pages of pref-ace and final chapter, the author assesses veryacurately the recent changes and decline in theagency in which he worked for 32.5 years--the Soil Conservation Service (SCS)--untilhis retirement in 1968. The first 100 pageschronicles young Roy’s start in the SCS andthe next 240 pages covers his committment toand many experiences with the Mill CreekWatershed Project in southwestern Wiscon-sin from beginning to project completion.Unfortunately, there are no illustrations in thebook. Photos could have enhanced this booksignificantly by showing the incredibly beau-tiful terrain he worked in and to illustrate themethods used to prevent erosion. His clearvision and wisdom on this subject of life isinterspersed throughout the book, but comesto fruition in the final chapter embodied bystatements such as the following excerpts:"Our strength, our wealth, must have a base.That base must be a safeguarded, protected,conserved soil nation-wide, nothing, less.""Conservation must be on the basis of soillosses limited to the rate of soil formation.Anything less is not good enough.""Why do we idiotically spend our good soilfor oil which will be gone almost as soon as itis mined?"

In other words, why is the USA erodingour topsoil to export cheap raw grains so wecan import oil that will be gone as soon as wecan burn it all up? The soil can and should lastus forever if, as the author tells us, we candiscipline ourselves to act responsibly.-DAVE JUNGST, Stevens Soil and WaterConservation District, Ag. Service Center,RR 3, Box 10, Morris, MN 56267."

206 ¯ J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

/~ BOOK

Smoke or Steam? A Critique ot" Environ-mental Issues--Samuel R. Aldrick. Flo-Min Publications, V-3 Country Club Vil-lage, Lake Wales, FL 33853.1994.2-/6 p.$22.00. Library of Congress Catalog CardNo. 94-’/6435.

The title of this book is derived from aphoto (printed as the book’s cover) of industrial plant from which clouds are risingfrom the stacks. Some clouds appear to besmoke and others steam. Aldrich takes this asbeing symbolic of the current environmentalissues such as global warming, acid rain,pesticide residues in food, destruction of therain forest, the ozone hole, etc. Are theseissues really signatures of a doomsday that isclose at hand, or are they just steam, heated upto enhance the purposes of a self-serving classof professional environmental leaders whohave lost touch with their membership andwith scientific and practical reality?

In the beginning of the book, in a sectiontitled "Some Explanations," Aldrich writeswhat could be considered the summary state-ment of this book: "It is with a feeling of somesadness that I write so critically of manyaspects of a movement which began with, andstill has great promise. It has been akin tobeginning a journey to an area which seemedso romantic in the travel brochure, only to finddisappointments upon arrival. Expectationswere unfulfilled. It is as though the tour guideconstantly called attention to the sordid, ratherthan the beautiful; was more interested inpolitical indoctrination than in enlightenmentand explanation."

Dr. Aldrich is highly critical of the way theenvironmental movement has evolved. In hisview, there now exists a professional class ofenvironmentalists whose agenda has becomeselfpromotion and survival instead of repre-sentingthe general interest of the membershipthey lead. While I was able to easily under-stand what Aldrich was writing against, I wasless certain of what he stood for. The book isa disjointed collection of numerous testimo-nials, short news clips, and quotations. Envi-ronmental leaders are strongly accused of notbeing scientific in their assessment of envi-ronmental issues. However, instead ofawell-reasoned rebuttal to some of their commentsbased on scientific data, the author’s view-points are presented with opposing quota-tions and testimonials. I counted only fourfigures or graphs and two tables in the entirebook. After reading for awhile, I would putdown the book with the feeling that two littleboys were arguing about whose dad was big-ger and stronger and I had no way of deter-mining which one really was closer to thetruth of the matter.

Aldrich would have been much more con-vincing in his arguments if he had attemptedto cover less material and, instead, focused

more on presenting a highly organized andarticulated treatise of one or a few environ-mental issues. Instead, the book provides sum-maries describing Aldrich’s view of the restof the story dealing with asbestos removal,Alar, Love Canal, Agent Orange-dioxin, acidrain, radon, global warming, etc. in sectionsonly 1 to 11 pages in length. Obviously, thisamount of text is much too short to adequatelyintroduce the complexity of each of thesetopics, much less to provide a well thought outor balanced analyses of the environmentalissues involved.

The book is organized into 10 chapters andan Appendix. The first chapter is a shortattempt to introduce the major principles ofecoystems and ecology. In this chapter, Aldrichalso provides several interesting first-handaccounts of the woeful lack of knowledge thatthe general public has about environmentaland scientific issues. However, in 15 pages,this chapter cannot adequately set the stagefor what follows. The weakness of the book,the disjointed short vignettes, is also probablyone of its only strengths. ! was able to gainsome interesting tidbits of information be-cause Aldrich has done a wonderful job ofcollecting, over a 30-year period, quotes thathighlight the hot-button environmental is-sues. The detailed outlining of the book andthe index also made it relatively easy to findsections in the book dealing with specificenvironmental issues.

This book will do little to nudge the gen-eral public or the scientific community tomake a change in their perspective of theenvironmental movement. Also, its lack ofdepth will almost certainly preclude it frombeing used in an academic setting.--W.A.DICK, School of Natural Resources, 7’he OhioState University, Wooster. OH 44691.’~

~k BOOKSoil Microbiology--Robert L. Tare111. John

Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Avenue, NewYork, NY 10158-0012. 1995, 398 p.Softcover $59.95.

As the human population continues togrow, demands on the earth’s finite resourcesgrow exponentially. Humans must increas-ingly produce more goods and services froman ever shrinking land base. This predicamentbrings about three major problems: (i) pro-duction of an increased supply of food from adecreased land base, (ii) generation of energyfrom decreasing natural resources, and (iii)increased pollution generated by human ac-tivities. Microorganisms are responsible forthe mineralization of organic materials and,therefore, are a vital link and controllingcomponent of the global ecosystem. Microor-ganisms are also crucial in many environmen-tal problems such as remediation of contami-

nated soil and water, treatment of solid andliquid wastes, and biological control of plantparasites. As our environmental problems in-crease, soil microbiology is becoming an in-creasingly important field of study.

Robert L. Tare has written a timely intro-ductory textbook on soil microbiology. SoilMicrobiology is written in a more ecologicalsetting than other textbooks in this field. Thefirst chapter of the book, as is the case for mostsoil microbiology textbooks, reviews thephysical and chemical properties of the soilecosystem. The division of the soil ecosysteminto macroecosystem and microecosystems isa significant improvement over other books.The second chapter briefly discusses the liv-ing components of the soil, including meta-bolic and replication activities of soil micro-organisms. Methods of microbial biomassmeasurement are clearly presented with dia-grams, which improves the reader’s under-standing of the procedures of each technique.The book takes a more ecological approach inthat it differentiates between autecologicaland synecological studies in soil ecosystems.Energy transformations, microbial responsesto abiotic variables, and enzyme activity ofsoil microorganisms are presented in Chap-ters 3, 4, and 5. Types of biological interac-tions are discussed in Chapter 6. This chapteris an excellent introduction to the manipula-tion of soil microorganisms for biologicalcontrol of plant pathogens. The rhizosphereand mycorrhizal fungi are not well covered inthis book; admittedly, they are not well cov-ered in any other soil microbiology textbookeither. The carbon and nitrogen cycles arewell presented in Chapters 8 through 13 withan excellent discussion of nitrogen mineral-ization and denitrification.

The major limitation of this book is thelack of information concerning new areas ofsoil microbiology. Soil Microbiology pro-vides little information on composting andwaste management in agricultural and forestecosystems, biological control of plant patho-gens, microbiology of wetland ecosystems,and bioremediation of soils contam inated withpesticides and hydrocarbons. A text that dis-cusses these topics would be useful, as soilmicrobiologists will be increasingly asked tosolve problems in these areas. Unfortunately,including information on emerging areas ofsoil microbiology could easily double the sizeand cost of a textbook, making it prohibitivelycostly to university students.

1 found this book to be well written withclear, concise presentations of the basic con-cepts of soil microbiology. The chapters arewelI-referenced, and there is a comprehensiveindex. This book is reasonably priced and canserve as a valuable reference. Soil Microbiol-ogy is an excellent choice as an introductorytextbook to soil microbiology for agriculturaland forest ecology programs.--JAMES A.ENTRY, Department of Agronomy andSoils,Auburn University, AL 36849-5412. ~

d. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 207

~ Boo~Environmental Leadership: Developing

Effective Skills and Styles--Edited byJoyce K. Berry and John C. Gordon. Is-land Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue,N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009.1993. 286 p. Softcovcr. $19.95.

Editors Barry and Gordon make an excel-lent case statement for the need for environ-mental leadership. In particular, their.openingchapter highlights the differences betweentraditional leadership models that dwell onrapid accomplishment and change vs. thechallenge of environmental leadership thatrequires sustainability.

The book is organized into three sections.The first section, mercifully short, is titled"Leadership Characteristics" and is domi-nated by a scatter gun article by Charles H. W.Foster, who begins with the Bible andEmerson, jumps to James MacGregor Burnsand other academics, tells a few war stories,and concludes by summarizing Donald Snow’sconservation leadership study. He provides31 references for his 13 pages.

The middle section, titled "LeadershipSkills" is more promising, but uneven. JackWard Thomas’ chapter on ethics relates thisvital skill specifically to his experience in thePacific Northwest, and then broadens the dis-cussion of ethics to the role of practitioners,the role of professionals, and the role ofprofessional societies. No one can disputethat managing conflict is a critical skill forenvironmental leaders today, and Ty Ticeprovides personal examples to tie the theoryof conflict management to real experiences inthe field that may confront scientists. Heoffers readily applicable ideas and tips.

Given James R. Lyon’s new position asUnder Secretary of Agriculture for NaturalResources and Environment, his chapter onpolitics and legislation was especially appro-priate. He provides extensive detail on hiscareer path and critical decision points alongthe way that furnishes insights into his ap-proach to environmental issues and environ-mental leadership. I forgive him for being thesecond author to quote James MacGregorBums because he then offers his own defini-tion of leadership as "seizing the opportunityto do good."

Henry Webster’s chapter on lessons fromstate and regional resource management prob-ably belongs in the third section on leadershipexperiences rather than in the second sectionin leadership skills. He provides examples ofsuccessful state programs, but talks little aboutleadership. He delves into such weighty orga-nizational management issues as what colorshould the fire trucks be painted in a mergedorganization. However, he ends with a goodsummary of observations on leadership.

Kent Olson’s chapter on the politics offund raising probably belongs in a different

book entirely. When I was in Washington, Iwatched his remarkable building of AmericanRivers, but his long story about someoneelse’s negative experience in fund raising andhis realistic observations on the role of volun-teers in leadership roles in the nonprofit sectordo not seem to fit in the overall thrust of whatthe editors were trying to accomplish.

The other three authors in this section aredisappointing. Communications is an essen-tial leadership skill, yet author CarolRosenblum Perry fails to relate communica-tions to leadership, and wavers between theo-retical discussions and practical tips on usinggraphics without really addressing communi-cations skills for leaders. Worse yet, sheteaches poorly by example when she includescliches such as "doesn’t compute," "water offa duck’s back," and "went like hot cakes."

If the book were to address its subtitle ofdeveloping effective leadership skills, itneeded to be accomplished in this middlesection. Unfortunately, the editors failed toaccomplish that job, and those in search of"how to" information will not find it here.

The third part of the book is a series ofdescriptions of leadership experiences in dif-ferent settings. This section comprises almosthalf the book and has several rewarding chap-ters for the reader. Jeff Sirmon strikes anexcellent balance in tying together agencyexperience in the Forest Service, leadershiptheory, and practical applications. RalphSchmidt, on the other hand, has little to sayabout leadership, and instead dwells on vari-ous organizational turf wars involved with theTropic Forest Action Plan and the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Na-tions. James Espy, in one of the shorter chap-ters, provides a personal and easy to graspportrait of his leadership experience with theMaine Coast Heritage Trust, and shares goodinsight to the question several other authorsask of"what is a leader?" James Crowfoot, inthe longest chapter of the book, relates hisleadership experience in an academic situa-tion. Despite its length, Crowfoot’s piece isone of the most valuable chapters in the bookand communicates, in a very straightforwardand understandable way, the concept of"lead-ership as a way of being."

This book provides some unique insightsinto the personal histories of 14 environmen-tal leaders who, upon careful reading, have aninterconnectedness that was perhaps unan-ticipated by the editors. Some of these leadersnow work for each other, some spent theReagan years in exile in the nonprofit sector,and others have been making important con-tributions at the state and local level, thoughusually going unrecognized.

The interconnectedness that is not presentin this book, however, is the interconnected-ness that should come from careful editorialplanning, organizing the manuscript, and dis-ciplining of the contributors. In many waysthis book reads as a disjointed series of lec-

tures and oral histories, with a fair amount ofrepetition, and not a lot of cohesiveness andeditorial supervision. The greatest relevanceof the book to readers of this journal is itsdocumentation of the teaching approach ofthe authors for their course in Leadership inNatural Resource Science and Managementat Yale.--DOUGLAS M. KLEINE, Soil andWater Conservation Society, 7515 N.E.Ankeny Road, Ankeny, IA 50021-9764.,~

~ BookBackyard Scientist, Series Three--Jane

Hoffman. Backyard Scientist, P.O. Box16966, Irvine, CA 92713. 1990. 52 p.Softcover. $9.55.

Backyard Scientist, Exploring EarthwormsWith Me--Jane Hoffman. Backyard Sci-entist, P.O. Box 16966, h’vine, CA 92713.1994.45 p. Soficover. $10.00.

BackyardScientist, Series Three and Back-yard Scientist, Exploring Earthworms WithMe are children’s books for ages 4 to 12 whohave an interest in the world around them.Both books are written in the same, easy-to-use format.

Exploring Earthworms gives step-by-stepdirections to complete 19 different experi-ments investigating earthworms. Each ex-periment begins with a question and a simple,often humorous, black-and-white illustration.This is followed by a supply list of inexpen-sive or easy-to-find items and specific direc-tions on how to conduct an experiment. Anyspecial warnings or activities involving par-ent permission are found in bold type.

A list of questions follows that are to beanswered while the experiment is being con-ducted. These questions are both literal ("Whathappened when you shined the light on the tailend of the worm?") and inferential ("Do youthink earthworms have nerve cells andsenses?"). The questions are clearly writtenand thorough enough to ensure a vigorousinvestigation of the subject matter.

Finally, a solution is given, which ad-dresses each question completely, yet simply.One other delight found in one particularsolution section was a request from the authorto report on the findings gathered, This stepallows the reader one more opportunity to actas a real scientist.

One possible limitation from a teacher’spoint of view was seeing the solution printedright next to the questions. It was very tempt-ing to glance at the solution as I read eachquestion.

Backyard Scientist, Series Three followsvirtually the same format with few excep-tions. The book contains 25 experiments cov-ering a range of topics including leaves, clas-

208 ¯ J. NaL Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

sifying birds, your pulse, blinking, ants, andsound, among others. As in the ExploringEarthworms hook, a page is devoted to basicrules for conducting an experiment. One dif-ference found in the Exploring Earthwormsbook and not in series three, is a guide tofurtherexperiments. This guide offers a simpleworking overview of the scientific methodand some additional ideas to try.

Although listed for ages 4 to 12, 1 thinkboth books are more appropriate for ages 8and up. Younger ages would probably need towork with an older partner.

The books are perfect for elementary sci-ence fair projects (that’s what I use them for)or for use in the elementary classroom as aresource of interesting projects to do withyour students. Any young person interested inscience investigation will find these booksuseful tools.

In closing, these books are educationallysound. They promote hands-on, inquiry-basedlearning. They allow children to become im-mersed in the scientific method and are easyto use.--KEN GAGNER, Morris AreaSchools, 600 Columbia Ave., Morris, MN56267.,I~

~ BOOK

Advances in Cellular and Molecular Biol-ogy of Plants, Vol. 2: Genetic Control ofSelfIncompatibility and ReproductiveDevelopment in Flowering Plants--Elizabeth G. ~Villiams, Adrienne E. Clarke,and R. Bruce Knox. Kluwer AcademicPublishers, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AADordrecht, the Netherlands. 1994. 540 p.Hardcover. $214.00.

Research in the area of self-incompatibil-ity and reproductive development has beenactive, and many research papers are avail-able that present traditional genetic informa-tion. This book compiles an enlightening up-date of progress in self-incompatibility re-search, including biotechnology. The title ofthe book may be somewhat misleading. Mostof the chapters deal with molecular biology ofself-incompatibility systems, and only a fewchapters deal specifically with genetic controlof incompatibility systems. Because of theformat in which the book was written, i.e.,review and discussion oriented, and becauseit entails such wide diversity, I believe itwould serve as an excellent reference sourcerather than a text volume. Researchers andgraduate students in the plant sciences whodeal with genetic manipulation of species thatexperience self-incompatibility would ben-efit from this book.

The book consists of 24 chapters dealingwith four areas: self-incompatibility, controlof sex expression and floral development,

pollen genes active in male gametogenesis,and female gametogenesis and fertilization.The self-incompatibility section covered twogeneral areas: molecular biology, and cellularand whole plant studies. The male gametoge-nesis section covered cellular and molecularbiology, as well as male sterility.

The self-incompatibility section includedthree chapters, giving a comprehensive de-scription of involvement of the S-genes fromstigma and style in gametophytically con-trolled systems, and eight chapters describingdifferent cellular and whole-plant studies ofboth sporophytic and gametophytic systems.In addition to general information, which mayalso be found elsewhere, Newbegin et al.focused on S-RNase activity in Nicotianaalata. Thomas Sims of Northern Illinois Uni-versity used Petunia hybrida to describe mo-lecular genetics ofgametophytic self-incom-patibility. He gave an excellent description ofcloning ofgene sequences, including figuresof alignment of mature S-allele proteins, simi-larity plots, and developmental expression.Other areas he addressed included gene trans-fer studies of S-alleles, and future directionfor studies in molecular genetics of self-in-compatibility.

Veronica Franklin-Tong et al. discussedmolecular and cellular biology of gameto-phytic selfincompatibility in Papaverrhoeas,describing among other subjects, the biology,genetics, cellular processes, and identifica-tion and cloning of pollen response genes.They gave an in vitro system and a workingmodel for self-incompatibility in Papaverrhoeas.

The chapters on cellular and whole-plantstudies in the self-incompatibility section pre-sented various reviews that addressed newdevelopments, and offered modifications forformer theories, which are now obsolete be-cause of new research. C,J. Elleman and H.G.Dickenson presented a chapter fdcusing onpollen-stigma interaction during sporophyticself-incompatibility in Brassica oleracea,while M.A. Mutschler and B.E. Liedl dis-cussed interspecific crossing barriers inLycopersicon. This chapter presented infor-mation that could be extremely useful to plantbreeders working with Brassica. The othersix chapters in this section were more general.One of the few chapters in the book thatdirectly addressed the application of self-incompatibility information to plant breedingappeared in this section. This chapter, "Ma-nipulation of Sporophytic Self-Incompatibil-ity in Plant Breeding," was written by KokichiHinata et al. It addressed such topics as ma-nipulation of the S-genes, and self-incompat-ibility vs. compatibility. The final chapter inthis section gave an excellent review of theo-retical concepts and evolution of self-incom-patibility. This chapter was a good founda-tional chapter for some of the other chapters,and probably should have appeared earlier inthe book.

The second section covering control ofsex expression and floral development con-sisted of only two chapters. Claudio Longogave a review of genes controlling sex expres-sion in which he focused on dioecious plants,eluding to the fact that monoecious plants hadbeen adequately reviewed by others. Thisomission leads one to assume that there havenot been any significant achievements withmonoecious plants since 1989, which was thetime of publication of the most recent reviewcited. Melanie Trull and Russell Malmberg ofUniversity of Georgia at Athens discussedadvances in genetic control of floral develop-ment by highlighting research in differentspecies, but emphasizing Arabidopsisthaliana. They gave a comprehensive andinteresting review of work with floral mer-istem, using examples from several species,including tobacco and maize.

The third section of the book was dividedinto two areas: Cellular and Molecular Biol-ogy, and Male Sterility. The area of cellularand molecular biology contained five chap-ters. The first two chapters dealt with cellbiology of pollen development. Ettore Pacinitreated the subject in a more general context,discussing morphological and physiologicalaspects ofmicrosporocytes and their develop-ment. Christine Dumas et al. discussed thesubject in Brassica without much overlapwith the previous chapter. In addition to mi-crosporogenesis in Brassica, they addressedsuch topics as characteristics of mature pollenand risk assessment by pollen transfer intransgenic Brassica. I found their summary ofresearch accomplishments from Europeanprograms very enlightening.

I found the next chapter on pollen aller-gens interesting and informative, because ithighlighted an aspect that most books onreproductive development ignore, namely thesocial stigma caused by transfer of pollen.This chapter by Asil Avjioglu et al. was verywell done. It began with a definition anddescription of different types of pollen aller-gens and ended with thoughts on future pros-pects. I especially enjoyed the excellent dis-cussion of molecular biology of pollen aller-gens. In the next chapter, Shiela McCormickdiscussed molecular and functional analysisof pollen-active genes. This was a concisechapter that focused on gametophytically ex-pressed proteins and cDNA clones duringpollen development. Included in this discus-sion were such topics as determining genefunction and promoter analysis. The last chap-ter in this section addressed gametophyticcompetition and selection. This was anotherchapter well presented by J. lgnacio Hormazaand Maria Herrero. Two general areas werecovered: mechanisms and genetic implica-tions of gametophytic competition, and re-quirements and evidences of gametophyticselection. This chapter included more than250 references, demonstrating the scope ofthe review.

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 209

The area on male sterility included threechapters, which expertly used figures as ex-planatory tools. Chaudhury et al. discussedgenetic and molecular dissection of male ste-rility, emphasizing developmental events thatpromote male fertility, and control of malefertilily in monoecious and hermaphroditicplants. The discussion included a section onisolation of male sterile genes inArabidopsis,including chromosome walking and gene tag-ging. This section was refreshingly easy tofollow because of diagrammatic representa-tions. The next two chapters in this sectionboth addressed plant breeding concerns. A.J.Van Tunen et al. discussed f/avenoids inrelation to genetic modification of male fertil-ity. The focus was on an approach to intro-duce nuclear male sterility into plants forbreeding purposes. V.K. Sawhney discussedgenetic male sterility in tomato and its ma-nipulation in plant breeding. Regulation ofmale sterility took up most of the chapter.

The final section of this book consisted ofthree chapters, which reviewed gene regula-tion of female gametogenesis and fertiliza-tion. Mary Webb and Brian Gunning thor-oughly discussed cell biology of embryo sacdevelopment in Arabidopsis. They discussed10 different subtopics, including patterns andultrastructure. In the next chapter, AnnaKoltunow presented a good review of apo-mixis. In this section, I especially welcomedthe discussions providing genetic informa-tion on apomixis. These were: genetic basis,function ofapomictic genes, isolating apom ic-tic genes, and applications for apomictic genes.The final chapter in this book, presented byMarie B. Connett and Maureen Hanson, dealtwith molecular studies of cytoplasmic malesterility in Petunia. Among other topics, theydiscussed possible functions of CMS-associ-ated mitochondrial sequences in male steril-ity. This chapter was very interesting andinformative to me, as a person with knowl-edge of the functioning of CMS systems incultivated species. A large portion of thechapter was spent on the S-pcflocus and theCMS lesion.

The book was well written, and presentedan up-to-date culmination of work in thesubject areas addressed. The chapters werepresented in an organized manner, which madereading easy. I believe the list of contributorswith addresses will be useful to readers inter-ested in further communication in specificareas. A subject index was a/so provided.Although some chapters were weak in ad-dressing molecular issues, the book generallygave a good update on advances in the mo-lecular area. One aspect of the book that Iliked was that the chapters were not exhaus-tive, which made them easy to follow. Most ofthe authors had on-going programs in theareas they were presenting, and this added tothe effectiveness of the presentation. Onedisappointment that I had with the book wasthe limited extent to which the practical as-

peers of the information presented was em-phasized. As an applied scientist, I found thechapters where this was done to be veryrefreshing. My final comment is that l thinkthe book is over-priced at $214 (US).--ROYA. SCOTT, Plant Science Department, SouthDakota State University, Brookings, SD57007.4

~ Boo~

World Food Production: World Food Situ-ation (Textbook I)~W.P.M.F, Ivens etal. Open Universiteit, Heerlen, the Neth-erlands. 1992. Illus. 161 p. Paperback.ISBN 90-358-1110-0. (Course workbooks,plant growth and nutrient uptake simula-tion software, and databases with refer-ences are also available.)

Biophysical Factors of Agricultural Pro-duction (Textbook 2)-~W.P.M.F. lvensetal. Open Universiteit, Heerlen, theNeth-erlands. 1992. Illus. 247 p. Paperback.ISBN 90358-1111-1. (Course workbooks,plant growth and nutrient uptake simula-tion software, and databases with refer-ences are also available.)

An understanding of the factors affectingworld food production and world food sup-plies is critical for undergraduate students.Many universities and colleges have coursesthat deal with this topic. These books are partof the course materials developed for andused in the World Food Production coursetaught at the Open Universiteit, Heerlen, theNetherlands. An outline of the structure of thecourse is found with the table of contents ineach book. The textbooks (written in English)represent the work of 12 educators from theNetherlands, Australia, Bolivia, and Germany.The objectives of the textbooks are to: (i)identify the world food situation; (ii)evaluatethe production and distribution of food; (iii)examine the environmental factors influenc-ing plant and crop production; (iv) evaluateanimal food production, manipulation of ag-ricultural production systems, andagroecology; and (v) examine and evaluateenergy needs, nutrient cycling, andsustainability in agricultural production sys-tems.

The first textbook, World Food Situation,contains six chapters. The first section (Chap-ters 1-3) highlights the food needs for anincreasing world population. Food produc-tion and distribution from the past, present,and future are presented in the last threechapters of the book (Chapters 4-6). Thetopic areas examined in each chapter of Text-book I are listed below using the following

arrangement (chapter number, "chapter title,"and main topic areas covered).

1. "World Demography"--Populationtrends and levels (size, growth and composi-tion), fertility and mortality changes and trends(Bangladesh, Kenya, Columbia, France, GreatBritain, and USA), population projections,and population problems and policies.

2. "Human Dietary Needs"--Food pathsand nutritional systems, food composition(water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vita-mins, minerals), food consumption (economic,social, and cultural factors), food processing,nutritional requirements, and recommendedlevels of food uptake for humans (age, gen-der, activity, body size, and physiologicalconditions).

3."Malnutrition"--Malnutrition terminol-ogy (malnutrition and undernutrition defi-ciencies), assessment of nutritional status (di-rect and indirect methods), body characteris-tics and measurements, major nutritional dis-orders (marasmus, kwashiorkor, anemia, obe-sity, and others), population groups suscep-tible to nutritional disorders, and undernour-ished people estimates (FAO method, WorldBank method).

4. "Food Supply and Agricultural Devel-opment"--Population size vs. food supply(past, present, and future), food and agricul-tural production trends, international agricul-tural trade, international differences in agri-cultural productivity, long-term changes inagricultural output and productivity (yields,land use, and arable land potential), the "greenrevolution" (Africa and Asia), and agricultureand economic development relationships.

5. "Food Distribution and Food Secu-rity"--Situations around the world, nationalfood policies and government intervention,markets, famines (Ethiopia), food aid (types,consequences, and usage), and food strategiesand security.

6. "Long-Term Food Supply Perspec-tives"--Potential agricultural production (landuse, inputs, technology advancements, andyield increases), long-term food policies andtrends, and major conclusions on the worldfood situation (population trends, malnutri-tion, food shortages, and agricultural poli-cies).

The second textbook, Biophysical Fac-tors in Agricultural Production, contains 11chapters. The first section of the book exam-ines the factors affecting plant and crop pro-duction (Chapters 1-5). The middle part the book discusses animal production, agri-cultural production manipulation, andagroecology (Chapters 6-8). Energy, nutrientcycling, and sustainable agriculture are cov-ered in the last section of the book (Chapters9-11). The topic areas examined in each chap-ter of Textbook 2 are listed below using thefollowing arrangement (chapter number,"chapter title," and main topic areas covered).

1. "Assimilation and Respiration"---Car-bon dioxide assimilation in the individual leaf

210 ¯ J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

(basic processes and environmental effects)and respiration processes in C3 and C4 cropplants.

2. "Potential Crop Production"--Incom-ing solar radiation (properties and factorsaffecting); crop production as described bygrowth rate, growth period, and dry matterproduction; crop yield calculations and simu-lations; crop production situations (potential,attainable, and actual); and modeling cropproduction.

3. "Water-Limited Crop Production"--The water cycle, factors affecting evapotrans-piration, soil water balance, water use effi-ciency, and water deficient production.

4. "Nutrient-Limited Crop Production"--Importance and occurrence of nutrients (N, P,and K) in plants, crop response to nutrientsand fertilization (uptake and efficiency), nu-trient supplies, crop development and nutri-ent needs, and soil fertility levels and cropyields.

5. "Yield Reducing Factors: Weeds, Pests,and Diseases"--Crop pests (weeds, diseases,and insects) and their impact on crop growthand production, interaction of pests on cropproduction (descriptive and mechanistic), andeconomic threshold or injury levels.

6. "Secondary Production"--Animal pro-duction (magnitude and distribution), require-ments for production, feed conversion effi-ciency (species, stage of growth, and feedavailability), and production systems.

7. "Manipulation of Agricultural Produc-tion"~vercoming limitations to plant pro-duction (genetic, physical, chemical, and bio-logic interventions); overcoming limitationsto animal production (genetic, physical, andchemical interventions); social, political, eco-nomic, and ecological constraints.

8. "Agroecological Characterization forAgronomic Evaluation"~rop and environ-mental assessment systems for agriculturalland evaluation, linking crop needs with landevaluation units, and application ofagroecological approach for increasing foodproduction (potentials and limitations).

9. "Energy Flows"--lmportant energysystems in agriculture (solar and external),energy efficiencies of agricultural productionsystems, and energy farming (alternative en-ergy sources).

10. "Nutrient Cycling"--Nutrient cycling(N, P, and K) in ecological and agriculturalsystems, and nutrient balances on a country orcontinent basis (i.e., depletion--Africa, accu-mulation-the Netherlands).

11. "Sustainable Agriculture"--Histori-cal perspective of sustainable agriculture,concepts of sustainable land use (biotechnical,socioeconomic, and ecological), interactivecomputer simulation model for evaluatingsustainability, and sustainability levels (crop,farm, region, and nation).

Both books are well written, organized,straightforward, and easy to read. The authorsused a numerical (legal) outline system

order the material presented. Chapters aver-age about 23 pages long and range from 14 to28 pages long. Each chapter has an introduc-tion that clearly defines the objectives for thechapter, and there is also a concise and effec-tive summary. The tables and diagrams arewell done and complement the text. On aver-age, there are five tables and seven figures perchapter. The tables and figures have clear,understandable captions or titles. All tablesand figures are adequately labeled so eachfigure or table can stand alone from the textand be easily understood.

The bibliography at the end of each chap-ter is generally adequate (average of 13 perchapter with a range of 2 to 48) and current(more than 85% of the citations are frompublications less than 10 years old). A few ofthe chapters could have provided a morecomplete bibliography. ! noted a few editingerrors in each textbook, but they did notdetract from the quality or usefulness of thebooks. These texts are refreshing in that theyview the world food situation from a globalperspective utilizing examples from Africa,South America, Europe, Asia, and NorthAmerica.

I appreciated the inclusion of a list (Ap-pendix of Textbook 2) of the variables, acro-nyms, abbreviations, and prefixes used. Theindexes (registers) at the end of each textbookare extensive, complete, and easy to read.More than 1,200 different terms are listed inthe indexes. There is an index in each text-book and it is specific for that book.

These books would be excellent textbooksfor a junior-senior level course in world foodproduction, which integrates agronomic, so-ciological, economic, and ecological aspectsof food production. Examples and modelsfrom around the world with a diversity ofeconomic conditions are used in these texts.The texts are not parochial but do use asignificant number of examples from Europe,especially theNetherlands. Based on the struc-ture of each text, I feel they could be used asindividual texts with Textbook 1 providinginformation on the world food situation andfood production and Textbook 2 providinginformation on the environmental and socio-economic factors affecting crop and animalproduction and agricultural systemssustainability. These books are also usefulsources of world food production informationfor educators, libraries, government officials,agricultural producers, and agricultural scien-tists.--DOUGLAS D. MALO, Plant ScienceDepartment, South Dakota State University,Brookings, SD 57007-2141.~

~ SOFTWARE

Biometry on a Spreadsheet--James L.Brewbaker. ! 33 p. Spiral-hound. Soffcover(with disk).

The author has prepared a workbook withan accompanying disk to be used as a supple-ment to other class materials in statisticsclasses.

The first two chapters ("Graphics" and"Advanced Spreadsheet Methods") introducethe user to spreadsheets and to the files sup-plied on the disk. These two chapters arefollowed by a survey of topics including mostof the topics in such books as StatisticalMethods by Snedecor and Cochran or Princi-pals and Procedures in Statistics by Steel andTorrie. Chapter 3 is concerned with descrip-tive statistics. Chapter 4 covers t tests, confi-dence intervals, the analysis of variance, andmultiple comparison methods.

Chapter 5 is concerned with the normaldistribution. Following this are two chapterson the analysis of variance for the one-wayand two-way classifications. Chapter 8 pre-sents uses of chi-square statistics. Chapters 9and 10 introduce regression and correlation.Factorials and some other topics are presentedin Chapter 11. Curvilinear and multiple re-gression are given in Chapter 12. The finalchapter, "Moving Onward," contains somemiscellaneous topics.

Tables are given for F, t, correlation,studentized ranges, chi-square, and orthogo-nal polynomials. A table of ASCII charactersfor QPRO and a template for the analysis ofvariance of a randomized block design aregiven. Finally, a short list of references andsome personal opinions of the author aregiven concerning these references.

This is not a textbook or workbook in thetraditional sense. It is a guide to using aspreadsheet. The hard-copy and the disk arecoordinated. The files on the disk are identi-fied, for the most part, by the section numbersin the hard-copy. As the author describes thematter, "... the hard-copy tells most of thestory, but the disk has most of the fun."

Will a student find the fun? Perhaps itdepends on whether or not the student isalready familiar with spreadsheets. If so, thisdisk and text should prove to be a worthwhileaid to students trying to learn statistical calcu-lations.

The book is in an unfinished state in manyplaces. The writing is troubling to a readeraccustomed to traditional textbooks. In manycases, punctuation is incorrect or omitted.The articles a and the are often omitted.

What about the statistical concepts them-selves? Because this book concentrates oncomputations, the ideas and concepts are givenlittle space. Unfortunately, brief sections onconcepts contain several incorrect or mislead-ing statements. The old confusion about n and

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 211

n- 1 will only be increased by the use ofn forvariance and n - 1 for mean square in section3c. It is not clear what the author means byusing odds to explain confidence intervals inSection 4c. The chronology of events is in-verted in the brief account in Section 4d.Fisher obtained the z distribution. From that,Snedecor tabulated the F.

The completely randomized design is notthe same thing as a one-way analysis of vari-ance (Section 6a), nor is the randomized blockdesign the same thing as a twct-way analysisof variance (Section 7a). What does it mean say that "blocks are repeated as replications?"In Section 10a on correlation, the author saysthat no dependence of variables can be as-sumed and, in Section 10c, that correlationinvolves independent data sets. This reviewerdoes not understand how correlation can be ofany use in studying independent variables orindependent data sets. In Section 10c theauthor says that regression often implies acause-effect relationship. Seldom?

The captions on the tables are confusing.Neither the tables nor the distributions are thesame as tests using these tables and distribu-tions. The author has confounded theseterms.--J. LEROY FOLKS, Department ofStatistics, Oklahoma State University,Stillwater, OK 74078. ̄

~ BOOKThe Fractured Marketplace for Standard-

ized Testing--Walter M. Haney, GeorgeF. Madaus, and Robert Lyons. KluwerAcademic Publishers, 101 Philip Drive,Assinippi Park, Norwell, MA 02061. 1993.360 p. Hardcover. $59.95.

The title of this book suggests an intent toview testing as an economic enterprise and, tosome degree, the book does just that. Prima-rily, as might be expected from a book pub-lished under the aegis of the National Com-mission on Testing and Public Policy, it is abook on the public policy implications oftesting.

People in the field of education generallythink of the widely used college entranceexams and achievement test batteries whenthe topic of testing is brought up. Indeed, thefirms that produce these tests account for thelargest shares of the revenue in the testingindustry. However, test publishers includethe federal government, states, firms that makemuch of their money on related services suchas providing scoring systems, firms that areprimarily book publishers, as well as indi-viduals and organizations. In addition, thereare organizations that provide test-related ser-vices, although they are not publishers. Addedto the extreme variety of users of tests, includ-

ing government agencies, private businesses,certification and licensing boards, mentalhealth professionals, and, of course, schools,it is no overstatement to describe the testingmarket as so diverse that it is fractured. Afterdescribing the extent and variety of this mar-ket in Chapters 2 and 3--with caveats due tothe difficulties encountered in getting infor-mation-in Chapter 4 the authors describewhat they believe an economic analysis oftesting should entail. They argue the need toconsider not only direct costs and assumedbenefits, but also the costs and benefits oftesting at the margin (relative to other thingsthat might be done). For example, if schoolsspend instructional time standardized testing(test preparation, administration, reporting),what is the cost of not being able to use thatresource (time) for other activities. Consider-able detail is provided on some of the indirectcosts associated with testing, while the analy-ses employed in the book will probably en-gender some arguments, the overall point onindirect costs, social and otherwise, was welltaken.

Chapter 5 describes some of the socialforces that have led to the relatively recentgrowth in the industry. This leads to thediscussion in Chapter 6 of three areas in whichgrowth has been particularly evident. Com-puters have become an important part of theindustry, not only as a means of deliveringtests, but more importantly as a means ofscoring and interpreting. As tests assume moreimportance in determining access to educa-tion and employment, there has been a prolif-eration in firms that prepare people for takingthe tests. Lastly, with legal limitations onpolygraph testing in screening job applicants,honesty testing has become a growth industry,although there is little reason to believe thatsuch tests are any more valid than the poly-graph tests they replace. In fact, each of theseareas provides illustrations of some of themore general problems encountered in reli-ance on testing. Although programs that scoreand interpret tests are becoming more com-mon, there is no mechanism other than buyerwariness to ensure quality. Unfortunately,even a wary buyer will not be able to get at thealgorithms that provide the interpretation andthere is little evidence that the efficacy of suchalgorithms should be taken on faith. Evenmore unfortunate, the ultimate consumer of apersonality instrument, the client, generallyhas neither the knowledge or the opportunityto provide input. Standards on test use pro-vide guidelines for the mental health profes-sional, but these standards operate on the levelof suggestions. There are no consequences tobe faced, as a rule, if they are ignored.

An analogous situation is found in bur-geoning test preparation activities carried outby schools and businesses. Although suchactivities do indeed lead to higher scores, theydo so at the expense of the meaning of thescores. Learning how to do well on a specific

achievement test that consists of a sample ofconcepts found in a content domain does notmean that an individual has learned a greatdeal about the overall content in that domain.As tests, however, are used to compare schoolsby everyone from state and federal officials toreal estate agents, schools find they have agreat deal to gain by devoting an increasingshare of the curriculum for score improve-ment. Not only are there no sanctions for suchactivities despite the damage to the quality ofinferences drawn from the test results, thehigher averages are generally rewarded.

Chapter 7 provides a discussion of theimplications of several market characteristicssuch as questionable marketing practices andthe effects of coaching for test quality. Thelatter is offered as a possible explanation ofthe Lake Wobegon Phenomenon (just as allthe children in Lake Wobegon are aboveaverage, so John Cannell found the: means formost school districts and all states on nation-ally normed standardized tests in 1987). discussion that purports to affix the blame forproblems with state-mandated tests on theprocess for RFP’s seems to be better de-scribed as an argument against such tests forreasons that go well beyond the characteris-tics of proposals. In any case, I found that theauthors argued quite convincingly that coach-ing, state-mandated tests, and computerizedinterpretation of tests all offer disturbing ex-amples of where ethics guidelines fail to beeffective in preventing practices that ulti-mately undermine the initial intent for usingtests.

The last chapter of the book includes adiscussion on developing a national testingsystem and looks at various ways in which themarketplace might be made more coherent.Market forces, litigation, government regula-tion, education of users, and the developmentof new forms of tests are all discussed andfound to be unlikely solutions for problemsassociated with testing. The authors favor anindependent auditing agency analogous to theConsumers Union or Underwriters Laborato-ries, although they recognize that the audi-ence for such an agency would be much moredifficult to define in the field of testing.

The book ends with a call for differentforms of assessment for different tasks, in-stead of attempting to evaluate students, teach-ers, and schools with the same stlmdardizedtest. Based on the argument that many of the"distortions now associated with standard-ized tests" are due to the importance nowgiven the results of standardized tests, theyconclude, "the more we can de-emphasize theparticular medium of standardized testing,the more we will be able to perceive the validmessages that this medium can convey to us."

Ultimately, the arguments concerning theuse and abuse of testing will be familiar tomost educators who have done reading on theuse of standardized tests. The book does offerinteresting analyses and details to support

212 ¯ J. NaL Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

these positions and attempts to deal with thetesting industry as a whole (although theemphasis is definitely on standardized testsused in educational settings). I found the bookto be both informative and enjoyable, andsuspect others with an interest in testing willas well. It would be a very appropriate bookfor a class employing a social foundationsapproach to testing for students who alreadyhave somewhat of a testing background. Un-fortunately, while the most likely readershipof this book is academics in the fields oftesting and public policy, the audience mostin need of this book consists of the numerouspolicy makers who are presently trying to usetests to affect change. This book should berequired reading for every legislator and gov-ernor who envisions a testing program as thesolution to perceived problems in education.--R.L. ERION, College of Education and Coun-seling, South Dakota State University,Brookings, SD 57007."

~, Book

Designing Educational Project and Pro-gram Evaluations, A Practical Over-view Based on Research and Experi-ence--DavidA. Payne. Kluwer AcademicPublishers, 101 Philip Drive, AssinippiPark, Norwell, MA 01061. 1994. 258 p.Hardcover. $85.00.

This book is a publication that wouldcertainly be of value now and perhaps evenmore so in the future. In the past, federalprojects and grants from foundations, busi-nesses, and industry have insisted on someform of evaluation at the end of the projects orprograms. Our nation’s educational system isentering an era, perhaps permanently, in whichour educational institutions will be requiredto seek outside sources of funding to conducta variety of educational activities. As thisphenomena becomes the norm, educators atall levels will become increasingly involvedin the preparation of grants and proposing avariety of programs that will require methodsof evaluation. As this trend increases, thecompetition will increase and dollars willbecome more difficult to secure--thus, a rea-son to be knowledgeable in the grant-writingarena including the evaluation phase. Mostrequests for proposals require a descriptionfor an evaluation of the proposed project. Thisbook, as a reference, would certainly aid agrant writer in determining some evaluationtechniques for inclusion into an evaluationcomponent of a proposal. The author estab-lishes the philosophy of the book by stating,"... to engage the assessment of merit con-cept in a systematic decision-making frame-

work." The author proposes a systematic ap-proach to evaluation in education.

The book is divided into eight compo-nents, with one or two chapters devoted toeach component. The reviewer clustered thechapters as follows: purposes and criteria,goals and objectives, frameworks for evalua-tion, quantitative and qualitative evaluation,generating instrumentation, management ofevaluation projects/programs, communicationof evaluation results, and evaluating educa-tional materials. Each chapter ends with cogi-tations for reflecting on the content of thechapter and a list of suggested readings.

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to thedifferences between summative and forma-tive evaluation, activities of the evaluationprocess, and evaluation truisms.

Chapter 2 addresses the criteria for effec-tive and ethical evaluation practices includingprofessional standards, meta-evaluation, andethical concerns. Major emphasis is placed onwhat currently exits in the field of educationalevaluation. The evaluator is cautioned withrespect to invasion of privacy and remindedthat educational evaluations are generallypeople based.

Chapter 3 is devoted to the stakeholders inthe evaluation process and the types of evalu-ation questions addressed that need to be incongruence with what is already known in thefield of education.

Chapter 4 contains a discussion of majorphilosophical frameworks for evaluation.Several metaphors and models are utilized indescribing evaluation systems.

Quantitative and qualitative evaluationsare addressed in Chapters 5 and 6. Elementsof data collection, collection design, and analy-sis are featured components. Guest authorMary Jo McGee-Brown was responsible forcreating Chapter 6, entitled "Qualitative andEthnographic Evaluation."

Chapter 7 presents the concept of creatingand selecting evaluation instruments. Topicsinclude types of measures, assessing affectivevariables, authentic assessments, and seekinginformation on measuring devices.

Management of the evaluation process isdiscussed in Chapter 8. Attention is given tothe role of the evaluation, planning, legalaspects, cost factors, and decision making.

Chapter 9 addresses communication andutilizingthe evaluationresults, once the evalu-ator has completed the task. Preparation of thereport and factors related to utilization ofevaluation results are discussed.

Chapter 10 presents atopic basically unre-lated to the previous content of the book. Thechapter focuses on the evaluation of commer-cially prepared instructional materials. Theauthor is insightful in undertaking this impor-tant topic and not directly related to the book’stheme. The chapter features criteria for evalu-ating educational material, approaches toevaluating texts, and techniques in evaluatingeducational computer software.

The strength of the book rests in the nu-merous illustrations, examples, and recog-nized standards that are frequently reflectedupon. The author has utilized case studies andillustrations to bring forth many of the pointspresented. Other valuable tools provided bythe author include: lists of suggestions, pro-fessional standards, criteria, frameworks,metaphors, samples, advantages/disadvan-tages, exhibits, factors, guidelines, and evalu-ation forms.

The Appendices were found to be particu-larly useful. Appendix A presents a list of"Multiple Criterion Measures for Evaluationof School Programs." The list provides astarting point for evaluators seeking sugges-tions in establishing a parameter for an evalu-ation. Appendix B presents sample agree-ments an evaluator would find useful in initi-ating formal evaluation programs. Sampleagreements include a "Contract for Profes-sional Services" and a "Contract for Educa-tional Program Audit."

This publication could be considered as atextbook for an educational evaluation classand certainly has merit for consideration as areference book for individuals, graduate stu-dents, and faculty members engaged in anevaluation process.---CLARK W. HANSON,Agricultural Education, Department of Edu-cational Leadership, South Dakota StateUniversity, Brookings, SD 57007-0095..

~, BookHumus Chemistry: Genesis, Composition,

Reactions, Second Edition--F.J.Stevenson. John Wiley & Sons, 605 ThirdAvenue, New York, NY 10158.1994.496p. Hardcover. $79.95.

Soil organic matter is the most complex,dynamic, and reactive component in soils.This term is defined as the organic fraction ofsoil exclusive of undecayed plant and animalresidues, and is often used synonymouslywith humus. But the term is used in this bookto refer to the whole of the organic material insoils, including light fraction, microbial bio-mass, water-soluble organics, and stabilizedorganic matter, humus.

Organic matter is an important soil con-stituent because it contributes to plant growthand development through its effect on thechemical, biological, and physical propertiesof soils. It has a nutrient function in that itserves as a source of N, P, and S for plantgrowth, a biological function in that it pro-foundly affects the activities of microfloraand microfaunal organisms, and a physicalfunction in that it promotes good soil struc-ture, thereby improving tilth, aeration, andwater retention. Therefore, organic matter in

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 213

soils is involved in cementing soil particlesinto structural units or aggregates, chelatingof metals, providing buffer action, contribut-ing to cation-exchange capacity, and mineral-ization of important plant nutrients, and af-fecting the bioactivity, persistence, and bio-degradability of xenobiotics.

This hardcover book is written by an au-thority in the field. It is designed as a referencetext for graduate and advanced undergraduatestudents taking a one-semester course in soilorganic matter chemistry. Because the em-phasis is on basic organic chemistry and reac-tions of naturally occurring organic substances,the book should be of considerable value toscientists in several scientific disciplines, in-cluding all aspects of soil science, organicgeochemistry, forestry, and environmentalsciences. The book should also be of value tothose doing advanced research. As with mostadvanced texts, the book contains more mate-rial than can be covered in any one course onsoil organic matter. But arrangement of thesubject matter is such that certain sections canbe omitted.

The book contains 20 chapters. The firsttwo chapters cover the pools of organic matterin soils, transformations, and methods of ex-traction and fractionation. Chapters 3 to 8deal primarily with the biochemistry of theformation ofhumic substances and the chem-istry of known classes of organic compoundsin soils, such as saccharides, lipids, and or-ganic constituents containing N, P, and S. Thebasic chemistry of the humic substances (e.g.,humic and fulvic acids) is presented in Chap-ters 9 to 16. This section also contains infor-mation on the reactive functional groups,structural basis, and colloidal properties ofhumic substances; and three important chap-ters on b/MR spectroscopy, analytical pyroly-sis, and on chemical structures. Portions ofthis section should be of great value to gradu-ate students interested in pursuing a career inorganic chemistry of soils, sediments, or natu-ral waters. Chapters 17 to 20 deal with theimportance of organic matter associations andinteractions, such as combinations with poly-valent cations, clay minerals, and pesticides,the formation of stable aggregates, and therole of organic substances in pedogenesis.The tables and figures are well prepared andeasy to understand. Each chapter ends with avaluable list of references. The book endswith a general subject index.

The book should be a useful reference tostudents and those involved, in research onany of the many facets of soil organic mat-ter.--M.A. TABATABAI, Department ofAgronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, 1,450011-1010A~

~ Book

Food for the Future: Conditions and Con-tradictions of Sustainability--Edited byPatricia ,4llen. John Wiley & Sons, 605Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012. 328 p. Paperback. $39.95.

The demand for high quality informationon sustainable agriculture has increased dra-matically during the last few years as bothpublic and private educational institutionshave expanded their course offerings to in-clude sustainable agriculture. Today’s stu-dents will be facing a new era of change inagriculture. This change has been stimulatedby a mixture of environmental, social, andeconomic pressures caused by increased worldcompetition, increased cost of production,soil erosion, degradation of water quality, andconcern over the quality of rural life. Theseissues are also forcing policy makers,agribusiness, university administrators, farm-ers, and agricultural scientists to question thesustainability of the current agricultural sys-tem.

This book is one of only a few that consid-ers the important social, political, economic,and ethical aspects of sustainability in foodand agriculture. The authors address theoreti-cal and practical aspects ofatransformation tosustainability in aspects that have been ob-scured by the current emphasis on produc-tion. They discuss new approaches to under-standing and developing sustainability, thelimitations and future potential of sustainablefood and agriculture systems, and ways toachieve sustainability.

This book expands the parameter of theoryand practice in sustainable agriculture in waysthat do not exclude social issues from itsagenda in the future. This book describes asustainable agriculture in which society as-signs equal importance to production andconsumption; where research equally empha-sizes social and natural sciences; society con-siders the needs of both farm owners and farmworkers, society is compelled as much bysocial problems such as hunger, land tenure,poverty, gender, and culture as by environ-mental problems, and we are as concernedwith global sustainability as we are with thatin our own communities.

The book is divided into three parts. Thefirst part is entitled, "Condition ofSustainability: New Conceptual Approaches,"and is made up of four chapters. The firstchapter by Frederick H. Buttel, "The Produc-tion of Agricultural Sustainability: Observa-tions from the Sociology of Science and Tech-nology," professes that the development andrecognition of the sustainability communityin universities and other institutions is one ofthe most important changes in U.S. publicagriculture research systems over the past halfdecade. The second chapter by Lori AnnThrupp, "Political Ecology of Sustainable

Rural Development: Dynamics of Social andNatural Resource Degradation," suggests thatit is not enough to address the technical andecological dimensions of agriculture, and thesechanges alone rarely confront the deeper rootsof the problems. The more important lesson isthat addressing the social and political eco-nomic causes is usually essential to resolvethese conflicts, and is often a prerequisite totechnical changes as well. The third chapter,"Regenerative Food Systems: Broadening theScope and Agenda of Sustainability," by Ken-neth A. Dahlberg, suggests that new ap-proaches---conceptual and organization--areneeded if industrial societies and their agri-culture are to develop the flexibility and resil-ience needed to respond to the range of globaluncertainty facing them. He suggests that aregenerative food system approach offers thepossibility of building political bridges andalliances between farmers and consumers.The fourth chapter by Tom Regan, "Vegetari-anism and Sustainable Agriculture: The Con-tributions of Moral Philosophy," suggeststhat despite their great differences, utilitar-ians, advocates of animal rights, holists, andecofeminists can speak with one voice sug-gesting that factory farming is wrong becauseit violates the rights of individual animals,destroying the ecology of the planet, and is asymptom of patriarchal oppression.

The second part, "Contradictions:Sustainability Barriers to Overcome," is madeup of four chapters. The fifth chapter, "IsSustainable Capitalism Possible?" by JamesO’Connor suggests that a condition for anecologically sustainable capitalism is a na-tional budget that puts high taxes on rawmaterial inputs and certain outputs, mean-while slapping a value-added tax on environ-mentally friendly products. Chapter 6, "Sus-tainable Agriculture in the United States: En-gagements, Silences, and Possibilities forTransformation," by Patricia Allen andCarolyn Sachs, suggests that sustainable agri-culture remains a contested concept--it canlead to a food and agriculture system thatprivileges the few, or one that transformsexisting social relations and ecological condi-tions in the global food and agriculture sys-tem. The seventh chapter, "Sustainable De-velopment: Concepts, Contradictions, andConflicts," by Michael Redclift, suggests thatthe concept of sustainable development needsto be recognized as an alternative to the pre-vailing view of development, rather than amodification of it. Chapter 8, "Sustainabilityand the Rural Poor: A Latin American Per-spective," by Miguel A. Altieri, suggests thatan essential task for the world is the designand promotion of sustainable agriculture de-velopment strategies to achieve an environ-mentally sound agricultural production thatsatisfies human needs, promote equitable eco-nomic growth, and improves the quality oflife of rural and urban populations.

Part three of the book, "Food for the Fu-

214 ¯ J. NaL Resouro Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995

ture: Developing Strategies for Sustainability,"is made up of four chapters. The ninth chapter,"After Midas’s Feast: Alternative Food Re-gimes for the Future," by Harriet Friedmann,suggests that as the second food regime is ina prolonged state of disintegration, we holdthe opportunity to create a new food regimebased on sustainable, local alternatives to theglobal regime presently under construction.The ! 0th chapter, "Scaling Sustainable Agri-culture: Agendas, Discourse, Livelihood," byDavid Goodman, explores howdifferent scalesor levels of analysis can be integrated concep-tually and operationally, go to the heart of theproblem of identifying paths of sustainable

development. The 11 th chapter is titled "Sus-tainable Agriculture and Domestic Hunger:Rethinking a Link between Production andConsumption," by Katherine L. Clancy. Thischapter describes many facets of both thefarm and poverty problems. The key questionbeing addressed is from where support forsustainable agriculture is going to come. Bystrengthening the connections between pro-duction and consumption, it may be possibleto sustain agriculture, the environment, andthe health and well being of the population.The 12th chapter is"The Sustainable Agricul-ture Policy Agenda in the United States: Poli-tics and Prospects," by Garth Youngberg,

Neill Schaller, and Kathleen Merrigan. Thischapter presents a cursory presentation of thepresent character of and future prospects forsustainable agriculture policy in the UnitedStates.

This book is a nice addition to the list ofbooks concerning sustainable agricultural is-sues. Most of the chapters are well written andprovide sufficient background and literaturecited to serve as a good resource for individu-als interested in learning more about the sus-tainable agriculture movement.--DONALDL. WYSE, Department of Agronomy andPlant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St.Paul MN 55108..

AUTHOR INDEXJournal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education, Vol. 24, 1995

Alderfer, R., 95Anderson, D.H., 125

Barker, A.V., 145Basta, N.T., 23Beyrouty, C.A., 64Bullock, D.K., 161

Cahoon, J.E., 17Casey, W.H., 27Cassel, D.K., 166Cattle, S.R., 33Cavanaugh, K., 203Chakravorty, U., 203Chan-Muehlbauer, C., 53Chandler, J.M., 173Christiansen, S., 155Claassen, M.M., 163Cole, C.T., 202Countryman, D.W., 58Cox, T.S., 90Crum, J., 205Cubbage, F.W., 116, 132Cummings, C., 74

Davis, M., 64de Steiguer, J.E., 132Devlin, D.L., 163Dick, W.A., 207

Entry, J.A., 207Erich, M.S., 89Erion, R.L., 212

Evans, T.A., 48 Ketchersid, M.L., 173 Schumann, G.L., 48Kiernan, N.E., 36 Scott, H.D., 13

FarrelI-Poe, K.L., 161 Kleine, D.M., 208 Scott, R.A., 209Ferguson, R.B., 17 Klenda, D.K., 77 Sharma, H.C., 197Fermanian, T.W., 45 Sheaffer, C.C., 53Folks, J.L., 211 Legg, P.D., 84 Simmons, S.R., 178Francis, C.A., 206 Levy, D.B., 27 Sloan, R.F., 163Franetovich, M., 80 Lime, D.W., 125 Smith, P.A., 13

Long, J.H., 163 Stanford, M.J., 53Gagner, K., 208 Lundquist, M.C., 163Galatowitsch, S.M., 94Gallagher, M., 98Gengenbach, B.G., 89Gooch, V.D., 92Goos, R.J., 68Grabau, L.J., 185, 190Graveel, J.G., 103, 190Gross, A.G., 85Gunnick, D., 53

Hanson, C.W., 93,213Harlan, P.W., 91Hell, T.F., 204Hoffman, L.D., 36Holland, C., 88Holmgren, E.T., 98

Jachetta, J., 105Johannsen, C.J., 204Johnson, K.H., 86Johnson, R.C., 93Jordan, D., 71Jungst, D., 206

Malo, D.D., 210Manring, N.J., 136Marsh, B.H., 163Materon, L.A., 155McBratney, A.B., 33McPeak, G., 178Meyer, W.S., 150Mikkelsen, R.L, 169Miller, B.E., 58, 161Miller, F.P., 9Morrissey, W., 125

Olson, J., 201

Poe, S.E., 161Prathapar, S.A., 150

Robbins, C.W., 150Ryan, J., 155

Salvador, R.J., 58Schafer, J.W., 87

Tabatabai, M.A., 213Tainter, F.H., 48Thompson, P.B., 173Turgeon, A.J., 36

Ueland, E.O., 85

Vietor, D.M., 173

Wehlan, P.M., 96Wehner, D.J., 45Weiss, D.J., 86Wellman, J.D., 115, 132White, R.J.G., 150Wilde, G., 84Wilson, P.S., 185Wilson, R.F., 96Wyse, D.L., 214

Yates, D.B., 33

Zeihet, C., 97

J. Nat. Resour. Life ScL Educ., VoL 24, no. 2, 1995 ̄ 215