About Netsurfer Books

Netsurfer Books is a bi-monthly e-zine offering short reviews of books and related items. We include listings based on recommendations from our staff and reviews from other individuals. Are we bribed to include any of these items? No. Do we receive a commission if you purchase an item through one of the links included here? Yes. Are we waiting to hear from you about what you'd like to see reviewed? Definitely.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict

Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict
Tim Birkhead
Harvard Univ Pr; ISBN: 0674004450

In the Darwinian world, it's 'survival of the fittest' that gets all the press - even if the real principle is only dimly understood by most people. (It's the survival of the trait that fits the environment best, not the survival of the best little biological triathalete that wins the prize.) So, if that's the case, why does nature so often to select traits that seem to run contrary to any need for the animal's survival - traits that even run detrimental to their survival. Why, for instance, Darwin wondered, had some birds evolved gaudy plumage that call them to predators' attentions and hinder their flight from predators? Darwin actually addressed the question in a treatise on sexual selection in 1872; research in sexual selection has continued since then, but it seems to be enjoying a new energy now. One of the fallacies of uninformed biology is that while males are promiscuous, spreading their seed as widely as possible to ensure the survival of their genes, females are more monogamous, selecting only mates with genes appropriate for passing on to their offspring. But, researchers know that female behavior often forcefully shatters the myth of female monogamy. Furthermore, sexual selection must operate even after copulation; otherwise, why would a female bother mating with more than one male? So, before conception, sperm are locked in a battle for survival. Birkhead deals in accessible science, but it's also real science. With that in mind, your conscience will be clear when you amaze friends and family with stories of the comb jelly, in which the ovum moves from sperm to sperm before selecting the lucky candidate. The red-sided garter snake has two penises, each capable of removing the copulatory plug from females who were inseminated earlier by other males. Research suggests that only about 3% of mammal species have monogamous social systems. One of those species, the prairie vole, seems to cement the relationship with copulatory events that last up to 40 - yes, 40 - hours - yes, hours. Now, if that doesn't amaze family and friends, we don't know what will.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY

Gone for Good

Gone for Good
Mark Childress
Ballantine; ISBN: 0375400214

When '70s rock star Ben 'Superman' Willis, toked up higher even than the private plane that he's piloting, crash lands on a tropical island, he's not prepared to be alive. Nor, for that matter, is he prepared for who else is alive. Found on the beach by an aging Marilyn Monroe, nursed back by Amelia Earhart, treated to dinner by Jimmy Hoffa, accepted into audience by Princess Anastasia, Superman heals. Back home his bitter wife holds a bizarre memorial service, then marries and, in short order, divorces a roadie who steals Superman's money. Pre-teen Ben Jr vows to find his father. Childress hasn't gone out quite this far on a limb before. (His previous books include V for Victor and Cra zy in Alabama.) Sometimes the story works as a story. Mostly, though, it's just a good and very funny ride.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist
William Friedkin, Director
ASIN: 079073804X

From reports, we understand that scenes added to the re-release of The Exorcist don't do the 1973 film any favors. Certainly, it could hardly be scarier than its original incarnation was, but Roger Ebert, among others, suggests that one of the three major changes - the closing conversation - is a fatal mistake. The most famous of the deleted scenes, Regan's spider walk down the stairs, is indeed chilling to watch in isolation. Placed in the film, though, more than one critic has said that it interrupts the story with no real narrative purpose. You might be better to enjoy the 25th Anniversary Special Edition, which includes footage of the spider walk, among other extras including commentary by Friedkin and Blatty, production notes, a 74-minute documentary on the film's making, and storyboards (on only the DVD). Letterboxing and remastered sound complete the package.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Jacobson's Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell

Jacobson's Organ and the Remarkable Nature of Smell
Lyall Watson
W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 0393049086

Can anything call up distant memories more quickly or forcefully than the sense of smell? Despite being separated from the event by decades, the scent of nutmeg still transports us to Grandma's house at 402 McLeod Street. Iodine reminds us immediately of an instant in hospital that we were otherwise too young to remember. Watson knows the power of scent, but he goes beyond this familiar phenomenon to look at the sense's less well known nature. Did you know, for instance, that scientists have identified seven types of odors into which all scents fit? Mammals' ability to smell is the best in the animal kingdom. Of course, most four-legged predators command a better sense of smell than we humans have. (Just try escaping the third degree from Rover the next time you flirt with some adorable puppy.) But, research suggests that humans might have a more acute and subtle sense of smell than we realize. Of course, we might also have come to rely so much on our other senses that many of our olfactory reactions are quite unconscious or involuntary. Such olfactory judgements might explain our reactions to people we meet for the first time and to whom we take an instantaneous like or dislike. Watson is among the insatiably curious writers that fascinate us for the sheer scope of his own delight in nature. His earlier works include A Natural History of Evil and a series of essays on the intrigue in nature.

Mars: The NASA Mission Reports

Mars: The NASA Mission Reports
Robert Godwin (Editor)
Apogee Books; ISBN: 1896522629

The first Mars probes began in 1964 and since then Mars missions have had a checkered history. We all recall how much we cheered Pathfinder, the Little Robot That Could, to shed its limitations and roll around the surface of the planet. In many ways, Pathfinder was as alive to its audience as were the dogs and chimpanzees that preceded humans into space. NASA's latest dual embarrassments quite irrationally provoked in us a little bit of grief for their poor little lives, extinguished alone so far from home. Press kits and mission reports from every Mars mission are collected here for the first time to produce a comprehensive look at our arm's-length but surprisingly knowledgeable relationship with the Red Planet. Gemini 6, Friendship 7, Apollo 13, and Apollo 12 get the same treatment in beautifully produced bound books. The accompanying CD-ROMs offer amazing sound and video files. Isn't it wonderful to be alive now?

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation

The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation
Howard Kurtz
Free Press; ISBN: 0684868792

Netsurfer gets spam. We build the best filters we can that won't block the mail we need to see, and still spam gets through. The most common unsolicited messages tout get-rich schemes and those schemes are often frantic advisories to buy, buy, buy a stock that's rising or on the cusp of rising. The latest stories of teenagers using the Internet to manipulate stock prices should tell us something about the hair-trigger nature of the business. Howard Kurtz, media critic for the Washington Post, last detailed how the Clinton administration's propaganda machine used the media in Spi n Cycle. In his latest investigation, Kurtz looks at the incestuous and co-dependent relationship between Wall Street and the financial media. While day traders and small-time investors get their news from CNN and online services, Wall Street caters to its financial press. Says Kurtz, "No single reporter can affect White House policies or a candidate's campaign through mere analysis or commentary." In political journalism, "journalists are score-keepers and second-guessers and naysayers, and their influence is ephemeral and diffuse". On Wall Street, "financial journalists are players. They make things happen instantaneously, and their impact is gauged not by subjective polls but by the starker standard of stock prices." A favorable word here, a doubt expressed there, reported on TV or online, and a company's value can climb or slide by great millions or billions of dollars in only a few minutes. At the same time, conflicts of interest go unchallenged and mistakes go unacknowledged. Our favorite naughty tidbit: Martha Stewart's IPO earned a favorable rating from a notoriously curmudgeonly analyst in large part because he judged that she had a nice ass. (Stewart, who formerly toiled in the financial industry, should appreciate that all the more.)

Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism

Michael Jordan and the New Global Capitalism
Walter Lafeber
W.W. Norton & Company; ISBN: 0393047474

Michael Jordan is a cultural icon, no question. His athletic accomplishments, his reported natural leadership, the obviously joyous smile that crinkles his eyes and lights a handsome face, carried on a lithe body. He's the very opposite of that other cultural icon that has carried American culture around the globe, Mickey Mouse. Lafeber makes interesting observations that will no doubt rankle American readers - observations about American interests and international resentments. Even readers from outside the United States - and Netsurfer has an international roster might - temper their assessment more, about being smothered by America's version of capitalism, but would probably agree with the basic argument. Recent evidence at the Sydney Olympics suggests that Lafeber is on the right track. Jordan might have been the best ambassador that American capitalism could have hoped for, carrying it to prominence on the strength of his essential likability. But, with the rise of Tiger Woods, who'd have thought that Michael Jordan might be eclipsed so soon?

Online Travel

Online Travel
Ed Perkins
Microsoft Press; ISBN: 0735611106

Author Perkins is a long-time travel writer who has turned his attention to the new market of online travel planning and personal booking. He doesn't have a real problem with the practice, but he does offer excellent advice, advice that's applicable both on- and offline. Basically, he says travellers should research their destinations, accommodations, and carriers thoroughly. He suggests that we use whatever flexibility has been afforded us to consider alternative routes, dates, times, carriers, and deals. Bargains are out there. To get the most for our money, though, we need to be flexible enough to use them. You'll notice that the publisher is Microsoft Press. Don't be surprised, then, that Expedia makes repeated appearances. At the same time, Perkins doesn't compromise his message to tout Expedia. Savings on your next trip will no doubt start with this title.

BIOGRAPHY, SOCIETY, AND HISTORY

Until Justice Rolls Down: The Birmingham Church Bombing Case

Until Justice Rolls Down: The Birmingham Church Bombing Case
Frank Sikora
Univ. of Alabama Press; ISBN: 0817305203

The May surrender of two suspects in the 1963 Sunday morning church bombing that killed four teenaged girls in Birmingham took us back to yet one more landmark tragedy in the litany of events that finally confirmed civil rights definitively for America's Black population in the 1960s. (We'll reserve comment on their practical application.) Still, it manages to stand apart from the stories of Emmett Till, Medgar Evers, and the Chaney-Goodman-Schwerner murders - as, truth be told, they all manage to stand apart. When the four girls, dressed in the Sunday best, died in the blast, they galvanized a large part of the American population, not to mention the fact that their deaths shook the city and state to their foundations. Suspects, long on investigators' short lists, have died or come to trial, and the final two trials may be in the offing now. Sikora doesn't spend a lot of time on analysis. The events, played out with so few subtleties in their day, speak loud and clear across the decades. Spike Lee's 1997 chronicle of the murders and their aftermath, 4 Little Girls is notable for its unaffected use of contemporary footage. For Lee, too, the events and people speak eloquently enough.

Homophobia: A History

Homophobia: A History
Byrne R. S. Fone
Metropolitan Books; ISBN: 0805045597

Yet another author tackles a current social issue by giving it history and context. This time the subject is homophobia. Fone traces largely male-male sexuality from ancient times, most specifically in Greek society. Sex between older and younger men was treated as just one element of a mentoring system that didn't really encompass the notion of homosexuality. In fact, the mentors' sexual relationship with younger men defined part of his manliness. Christianity, though, embraced by Rome, preferred its sex to serve a procreative purpose, and the Empire passed the first laws against same-sex intimacy, sometimes prescribing capital punishment. How much did Christianity revile male-male sex? Well, Thomas Aquinas believed that incest and rape were less heinous because they at least had the potential to create life. Fone traces the history of intolerance through the evolving (or devolving) attitudes of the Middle Ages and beyond. In recent times, of course, homosexuality has inspired modern witch hunts in the political arena, associating it with treason and cowardice, not to mention disease of the body and soul. And now, it's the stuff of hate crimes and sitcoms.

NYPD: A City and Its Police

NYPD: A City and Its Police
Thomas Reppetto and James Lardner
Henry Holt & Company, Inc.; ISBN: 0805055789

Among the boasts that New York City's police department can make is the fact that it was the first municipal police service in the United States. As a result, it also served as the template for police departments in the country's burgeoning urban centers. At the same time, larger factors shaped the law enforcement in NYC and beyond. Constitutional law painted only the broadest strokes in defining the relationship between the government and its citizens. Arrest most often came before, not after, the case was made. The outcome more often depended on finances or connections that the accused could offer. Additionally, "From the beginnings, their democratically elected masters have been reluctant to tell the police just which laws to enforce, against whom, or by what means." A career in policing could hardly be seen as a calling in the circumstances, and graft looks like an entirely appropriate response. It could only be a matter of time until Frank Serpico and Abner Louima would make headlines. Reppetto and Lardner recount history in a dramatic timeline; they couch their milestones in context that helps us make the connections, although they themselves don't devote a lot of ink to analysis. Still, if you want insight into what could possible produce the mythically heroic New York cop alongside the tragically corrupted one, this is a fine place to start.

Haunter of Ruins

Haunter of Ruins
Clarence John Laughlin (Photographer), John H. Lawrence and Patricia
Bulfinch Pr; ISBN: 0821223615

The only way to describe photographer Laughlin to people who don't know his work is to compare him to other artists. Most often called Poe With A Camera, he captures the characteristic decay that can only be found in New Orleans. Think of a down-scale Anne Rice or a romantic Diane Arbus. His work is mysterious and enigmatic, confined almost exclusively to the Louisiana in which he worked and lived for nearly his entire life. Haunter of Ruins collects 69 of his photographs and presents them in duotones that deepen the contrasts and lines of classic black and white photography. The text includes some of Laughlin's writings, a pair of introductions, and six essays. The book is compiled by the Historic New Orleans Collection, the museum that is home to most of Laughlin's works.

NONFICTION

The Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature

The Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature
C. J. Scheiner (Editor)
Barricade Books; ISBN: 1569800847

Yes, there is a real graduate course in erotology. This annotated anthology is an approximation of the course curriculum for that course. Volume I and Volume II together present unexpurgated excerpts from 46 different works of classic erotica, published between 1527 and 1969. Each selection has an introduction that points out important literary and sociological elements, making the work informative and entertaining. If you're looking for pure titillation, though, you'd best search elsewhere.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Gardener's Desk Reference
by Janet Marinelli (Editor)
Henry Holt & Company, Inc.; ISBN: 0805050957

It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive text on gardening than the one offered by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Its astounding content is divided into 20 sections, each supported by tables, maps, and illustrations. One of the most challenging problems for gardens is choosing plants that will thrive in the climatic conditions specific to their region. The desk reference presents its plant lists organized by region, and recommended by experts who've tested the species and cultivars in the area in question. Gardeners who do more than dabble in petunias will find this text invaluable. Now's the time to start your holiday shopping.

Absinthe: History in a Bottle

Absinthe: History in a Bottle
Barnaby Conrad
Chronicle Books; ISBN: 0811816508

When some of us went to university, there was barely a campus anywhere that didn't have a pub called Absinthe. It's more recent history is a bit misleading, though. Ancient Greeks drank it. More recently, genius was attracted to it. Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, and Picasso were all devotees. To drink it properly, you pour a quantity of Absinthe into a tall glass, balance a spoon on the glass and a cube of sugar on the spoon; drizzle water slowly over the sugar. As the water and Absinthe mix, the liquid takes on the color of a green opal. Like Sambuca, Absinthe is lit and the flame is extinguished before the licorice liqueur is ready to be consumed. Small wonder it has such romantic associations. Modern Absinthe has its origins in Switzerland, where it was distilled from wormword and anise for its medicinal properties. So popular was the drink in France that taxes on it accounted for 1% of the country's operating budget. The active ingredient in Absinthe is thujone, related to THC, marijuana's active ingredient. Tests around the turn of the last century showed that rats exposed to Absinthe suffered certain toxic effects, including convulsions and brain lesions. The drink was subsequently banned in most countries, including France and the United States. It can still be had legally, though, in the UK, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. The price, not surprisingly, reflects its scarcity.

FICTION

The Tale of Genji

The Tale of Genji
Murasaki Shikubu, Edward G. Seidensticker (Translator)
Random House (Paper); ISBN: 0394735307

Lady Murasaki's story of the progress of Genji, penned in Japan around the 10th century, is believed to the first novel written in any language. We can't recommend this fascinating chronicle, though, for its heroic action, like the epic poems of Troy; and, it certainly lacks the structure that we've come to expect of a 'novel'. In fact, much of the 'action' revolves around successive descriptions of the choices that characters make in their subtle fashion statements, in the hues and patterns that they don in layer after layer of silken sheathes, sashes, and kimono, or in the paper that they choose for their love poems. Calling Genji a romantic hero is no ironic overstatement, though. In Japanese court life of the Heian Period, sensitivity to the rhythms of the world around, charm, stylized beauty, and decorum were the hallmarks of the ideal man and lover. Our romantic Heian hero, Genji, lives in a time when seeing a woman's face was more intimate than having sex with her; promiscuity - managed with propriety - is a way of court life, but a courtier might never recover from a fashion choice that defies esthetics. Understanding the significance of Murasaki's story is no easy task, separated from her as we are by time and culture. You might also want to consider Tal e of Genji: A Reader's Guide.

MUSIC TO READ BY

Jammu Africa

Jammu Africa
Ismael Lo
Triloka -- R.E.D. --; ASIN: B0000488UF

Ismael Lo is the son of a Senegalese civil servant who had an affection for American soul music. Lo's earliest influences, then, were James Brown, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding - not to mention the percussion of Senegal's own Wolof music. Ismael learned to play music on the guitar he made for himself from a cooking oil can, and he perfected his skills with a harmonica by nailing it to the wall so he could strum at the same time. He is now a premier practitioner of mbalax (pronounced m'balah), Senegalese percussion music characterized by a funky combination of Afro-Cuban sounds, Wolof drumming, and American pop. He also fuses mbalax with rhythm and blues, soul, and Mandigo for a uniquely satisfying sound - familiar and yet international at the same time. Lo's lyrics speak of racism, poverty, and hunger, and he's sometimes compared to American folk singers. But, Lo's sound is so sophisticated that American pop sounds ragged by comparison; his powerfully rich voice is his most perfect instrument. Jammu Africa combines several older recordings with new tracks to give us a flavor of Lo's music over the past decade. You should especially prize La Femme Sans Haine, his duet with Marianne Faithfull. It's not the sound you want pounding at your local dance club all night; Lo deserves more appreciative attention. But, it's a fine accompaniment to a quiet afternoon at home or a relaxed evening with a good book.