Columbia University Press

The effects of global warming are now a reality. Global warming played a major role in Hurricane Katrina, and its impact on agriculture and climate can jeopardize entire regional economic systems. Drawing on interviews with scientists and exploring the most up-to-date research, William Sweet examines what the United States can do to prevent further...

Urban America is in the midst of an obesity crisis caused by more than just biology and diet. A number of economic, cultural, and contextual factors are causing this epidemic, which can create chronic health conditions for those least able to manage them. Despite scholars' best efforts to tackle the issue, the problem persists, largely because its...

'Sayo Masuda has written the first full-length autobiography of a former hot-springs-resort geisha. Masuda was sent to work as a nursemaid at the age of six and then was sold to a geisha house at the age of twelve. In keeping with tradition, she first worked as a servant while training in the arts of dance, song, shamisen, and drum. In 1940, at the...

Today antitrust law shapes the policy of almost every large company, no matter where headquartered. But this wasn't always the case. Before World War II, the laws of most industrial countries tolerated and even encouraged cartels, whereas American statutes banned them. In the wake of World War II, the United States devoted considerable resources to...

This book provides a well-rounded introduction to the fundamental concepts and practical applications of genetics. Written specifically for nonbiologists, the book covers all the basic concepts from classical and molecular genetics to quantitative and population genetics, including cloning and genetic diseases, and discusses the many applications...

Linguist, psychoanalyst and cultural theorist Julia Kristeva explores one aspect of 20th-century culture - rebellion - in this text. She illustrates the advances and impasses of rebel culture through the experiences of three 20th-century writers: Jean-Paul Sartre, Louis Aragon and Roland Barthes....