Great Gifts #2

For the fan of popular science books:

One of the greatest discoveries of recent times is that the complex patterns we find in life are often produced when all of the individuals in a group follow the same simple rule. This process of "self-organization" reveals itself in the inanimate worlds of crystals and seashells, but as Len Fisher shows, it is also evident in living organisms, from fish to ants to human beings. The coordinated movements of fish in shoals, for example, arise from the simple rule: "Follow the fish in front." Traffic flow arises from simple rules: "Keep your distance" and "Keep to the right."

Now, in his new book, Fisher shows how we can manage our complex social lives in an ever more chaotic world. His investigation encompasses topics ranging from "swarm intelligence" to the science of parties and the best ways to start a fad. Finally, Fisher sheds light on the beauty and utility of complexity theory. An entertaining journey into the science of everyday life, "The Perfect Swarm" will delight anyone who wants to understand the complex situations in which we so often find ourselves.

For fans of true inspirational tales:

Michael Rosen's seven-year-old son Ripton one day decided to join a pick-up game of baseball with some older kids in the park. At the end of the game Ripton asked his new friends if they wanted to come back to his house for snacks and Nintendo. Over time, five of the boys--all black and Hispanic, from the impoverished neighborhood across the park--became a fixture in the Rosens' home and eventually started referring to Michael and his wife Leslie as their parents. The boys began to see the Rosens as more than just an arcade of middle-class creature comforts; the Rosens began to learn the full stories of the boys' fractured lives.

Soon Michael and Leslie decided that their responsibility, like that of parents everywhere, was to help all their boys get a start in life. So began a turbulent learning experience all round, beautifully and movingly depicted in "What Else But Home." It's a quest to escape the previously inevitable, a test of the resilience of a newly assembled family, a love story unlike any other, and a celebration of the fact that, whatever our differences, baseball and commitment can help us bridge them.

For the junior explorer on your list! Great adventure series.
With his parents lost at sea, Nathaniel Fludd lands on the doorstep of a distant cousin--the world's last remaining beastologist. Soon Nate is whisked off on his first expedition, in this first in a new illustrated chapter book series filled with mysterious beasts, magic, and far-flung exploration. Illustrations.

For young & old who love to build models & to venture into space.

From the creator of Paper Pilot and Paper Captain, Paper Astronaut is a beautifully illustrated voyage into deep space, combining stunning archival photographs and colorful technical drawings with expertly designed die-cut models that readers can actually cut out and assemble.

For the history buff.

This authoritative and beautifully illustrated book traces the evolution of the American land ethic from the 1600s to the creation of the national park service in 1916, with an Epilogue featuring the work of Ansel Adams. 175 illustrations.

Jose says: Life in the Americas before Columbus. There is lots of evidence that before there were large cities in north America and that the Indians actually molded the land around them including feats of genetic engineering to grow corn.
Review Quotes:
"Engagingly written and utterly absorbing... part detective story, part epic and part tragedy."-"The Miami Herald"
"Provocative... a Jared Diamond-like volley that challenges prevailing thinking about global development. Mann has chronicled an important shift in our vision of world development, one out young children could end up studying in their text books when they reach junior high."- San Francisco Chronicle

As gripping as any novel, this book by World War II historian Ambrose tells the horrifying, hallucinatory saga of Easy Company, whose 147 members he calls the nonpareil combat paratroopers on earth circa 1941-45.

Jose says: Great for the guy on your list who likes WWII non-fiction.

After a key DEA agent is kidnapped by drug runners, Presidential Agent Castillo thinks there's no way he can get permission to rescue the man. But Castillo's wrong--the President himself orders Castillo to do anything it takes to rescue the agent.

Jose says: Great for the guy on your list who likes adventure stories -- WEB Griffin writes adventure and novels about WWII.