The Book of Swords

This is a riveting account of the history of swords and the art of sword making. Hank Reinhardt, a widely known authority on medieval arms and armor gives us the details on how swords were made in the renaissance as well as modern times. He discusses the different types of swords used in different types [...]

Getting the Most From Your Wood-Buying Bucks

Find, Cut, and Dry Your Own Lumber                                     As any woodworker knows, wood is expensive. This guide from American Woodworker suggests alternative sources of  inexpensive wood. The book is filled with practical advice, original ideas, detailed diagrams, and clear, full-color photographs. Included are complete instructions for reclaiming timber, milling your own wood from logs, resawing old boards, drying wood yourself, [...]

Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle

Want to be inspired to do some sky watching during the coming summer nights?  Then, check out the book “Far Out: A Space-Time Chronicle” by Michael Benson, journalist and photographer.  Reviewers have described this coffee-table as “spectacular,” “dazzling,” and “exquisite.”  Benson has assembled some of the best astronomical photographs from both land-based and space-based telescopes.  [...]

Eat, Sleep, Poop

A Common Sense Guide to Baby’s First Year This title seems to say it all. These three functions dominate your baby’s first few months. The reality is of course, much more complex. Scott W Cohen brings dual perspectives as a pediatrician and a new father to issues from pre-birth decisions, such as whether to bank [...]

Physics According to Fido

Forget about teaching your dog to sit, fetch, or roll over.  How about teaching your canine to understand physics instead?  Emmy, the mutt who belongs to Chad Orzel, a professor of physics, says, “Forget Schrodinger’s Cat.  Quantum physics is all about dogs.”  Orzel’s book, “How to Teach Physics to Your Dog,” is told from the [...]

98 Days on a Bike!

In The Summer of 2009 Hudson residents Pete Gladden and Ryan Delamater rode 6270 miles on their mountain bikes west to east across Canada. They cycled along the Pacific Ocean on the coast of Vancouver Island, across the snow covered peaks of the Canadian Rockies, through the Great Plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, up along [...]

The Greening of Information Technology

Has your company or organization been considering ways to incorporate more environmentally conscious practices?  Three new books will help your IT department to become more green:  Foundations of Green IT, Green IT for Dummies, and The Greening of IT.  These books provide information on reducing electronic waste, lowering energy costs, improving efficiency, eliminating redundancy, reducing [...]

Wicked Plants

The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities We generally think of plants as lovely and benign, but according to author Amy Stewart the plant world harbors a frightening array of invasive, insidious, toxic and even lethal members. In this small breezy read Stewart combines history and anecdote along with factual scientific warnings [...]

Death From the Skies!

Hollywood and the American viewing public seem to be fascinated by doomsday movies complete with gigantic images of destruction and chaos.  It seems that every few months a new one is released with bigger and better special effects.                          But should we really be concerned that these cataclysmic events will happen?  Should we start building our [...]

Fun activities for small hands

During these short days of winter when everyone is getting cabin fever, do your children become restless and bored?  Are you looking for some new ideas to entertain as well as educate them?  “Oobleck, Slime, & Dancing Spaghetti: Twenty Terrific At-Home Science Experiments Inspired by Favorite Children’s Books” may help you to find some new [...]