A Nation Under Siege Due to Mass Shootings

University of Alabama criminology professor Adam Lankford's international research on gun ownership comes to the conclusion that "the only variable that can explain the high rate of mass shootings in America is its astronomical number of guns" ("What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings? International Comparisons Suggest an Answer," The New York Times, November 7, 2017).

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to mass shootings at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• firearms crime
• firearms law
• firearms ownership
• gun control
• mass murder
• violent crimes

Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook by Gregg Lee Carter

ABC-CLIO, 2017
call number: 363.33 Car

This title "provides a balanced view of the contemporary gun debate in the United States, explaining the positions of both gun rights proponents and advocates of stricter gun control without demonizing either and . . . presents current and historical data on U.S. gun violence--including homicides, suicides, and accidental shoots--and places these numbers against international statistics on gun violence, thereby providing the context to enable readers to reach their own opinion on the gun debate." - publisher's summary excerpt

Mass Shootings: Media, Myths, and Realities by H. Jaymi Elsass and Jaclyn Schildkraut
Praeger, 2016
call number: 364.152 Sch

"This book provides readers and researchers with a critical examination of mass shootings. . .
* Tackles common misconceptions about mass shootings perpetrated by and through the media and provides information that grounds the realities of such events in empirical evidence
* Explores the history of mass shootings, both before and after the infamous 1999 Columbine High School event and shootings that occurred in and out of schools
* Addresses common myths associated with mass shooting events by the media, such as how often and where they occur and the absence of any warning signs
* Helps readers understand the realities of these events, including their international reach, the potential warning signs, and how evidence associated with the events can provide clues into why they occurred" - publisher's summary excerpt

Rampage Nation: Securing America from Mass Shootings by Louis Klarevas 

Prometheus, 2016
call number: 363.33 Kla

"In the past decade, no individual act of violence has killed more people in the United States than the mass shooting. . . Why do people go on killing sprees? Are gun-free zones magnets for deadly rampages? What can we do to curb the carnage of this disturbing form of firearm violence? Contrary to conventional wisdom, the author shows that gun possession often prods aggrieved, mentally unstable individuals to go on shooting sprees; these attacks largely occur in places where guns are not prohibited by law; and sensible gun control measures like the federal assault weapons ban-which helped drastically reduce rampage violence when it was in effect-are instrumental to keeping Americans safe from mass shootings in the future. To stem gun massacres, the author proposes several original policy prescriptions, including a high-capacity magazine ban and buy-back program, the establishment of multi-jurisdictional task forces to assess active shooter threats, and an overhaul of the way the justice system investigates and prosecutes violent crimes." - publisher's summary excerpt

Mother Ignores Court Order to Vaccinate Child and Lands in Jail

After a divorced mother took a stand against vaccinating her child on religious reasons, a judge sided with the father who wanted to protect his child from serious illness by getting the shots ("The Mother Jailed for Refusing to Vaccinate Her Son Says She Would 'Do It All Over Again,'" Washington Post, October 13, 2017). Now the child has been vaccinated while in the temporary custody of the father. While most states give parents the option to not vaccinate a child for religious reasons, this case (and coincidentally, another current case in the same judge's court) focuses on the father's right to decide on his child's care.

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to vaccinations at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• immunization
• vaccination
• vaccines

The Vaccine Race: Science, Politics, and the Human Costs of Defeating Disease by Meredith Wadman
Viking, 2017
call number: 614.523 Wad

"The epic and controversial story of a major breakthrough in cell biology that led to the conquest of rubella and other devastating diseases. Until the late 1960s, tens of thousands of American children suffered crippling birth defects if their mothers had been exposed to rubella, popularly known as German measles, while pregnant; there was no vaccine and little understanding of how the disease devastated fetuses. In June 1962, a young biologist in Philadelphia, using tissue extracted from an aborted fetus from Sweden, produced safe, clean cells that allowed the creation of vaccines against rubella and other common childhood diseases. Two years later, in the midst of a devastating German measles epidemic, his colleague developed the vaccine that would one day wipe out homegrown rubella. The rubella vaccine and others made with those fetal cells have protected more than 150 million people in the United States, the vast majority of them preschoolers. The new cells and the method of making them also led to vaccines that have protected billions of people around the world from polio, rabies, chicken pox, measles, hepatitis A, shingles and adenovirus." - publisher's summary excerpt

Deadliest Enemy: Our War against Killer Germs by Michael T. Osterholm and Mark Olshaker

Little, Brown, 2017
call number: 614.4 Ost

"Drawing on the latest medical science, case studies, policy research, and hard-earned epidemiological lessons, Deadliest Enemy explores the resources and programs we need to develop if we are to keep ourselves safe from infectious disease. " - publisher's summary excerpt

Vaccination and Its Critics: A Documentary and Reference Guide by Lisa Rosner
ABC-CLIO, 2017
call number: on order

"This authoritative and unbiased narrative--supported by 50 primary source documents--follows the history of vaccination, highlighting essential medical achievements and ongoing controversies." - publisher's summary excerpt

Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines by Jennifer A. Reich

NYU Press, 2016
call number: 614.47 Rei

"A rich, multi-faceted examination into the attitudes and beliefs of parents who choose not to immunize their children . . . Calling the Shots offers a unique opportunity to understand the points of disagreement on what is best for children, communities, and public health, and the ways in which we can bridge these differences." - publisher's summary excerpt

Alcohol Abuse Study Exposes Problem Drinking

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that close to 13% of adults in the United States are alcoholics, a figure that soared almost 50% over the most recent study some ten years earlier ("One in Eight Americans Is an Alcoholic," New York Daily News, August 15, 2017). Those seeing the biggest increases in alcoholism include women, African- Americans, and individuals 45+ years old.

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to alcoholism and substance abuse at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• alcohol use
• alcoholics rehabilitation
• alcoholism treatment
• controlled drinking
• substance abuse treatment
• youth substance abuse

The 30-Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of Your Own Home by Jack Canfield and Dave Andrews
Atria Books, 2016
call number: 616.891 Can

"Integrating neuroscience, cognitive therapy, proven tools, and teachings, The 30-Day Sobriety Solution is a clear, practical daily program that will help you achieve your goals--whether that's getting sober or just cutting back--and create positive, permanent change in your life." - publisher's summary excerpt

Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction by Maia Szalavitz

St. Martin's Press, 2016
call number: 362.29 Sza

"Unbroken Brain offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addictions are learning disorders and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention and policy. Like autistic traits, addictive behaviors fall on a spectrum - and they can be a normal response to an extreme situation. By illustrating what addiction is, and is not, the book illustrates how timing, history, family, peers, culture and chemicals come together to create both illness and recovery - and why there is no "addictive personality" or single treatment that works for all." - publisher's summary excerpt

Youth Substance Abuse: A Reference Handbook by David E. Newton
ABC-CLIO, 2016
call number: 362.29 New

"Includes sections on risks of drinking alcohol, restrictions on drinking alcohol, 'hard' liquor, and demographics of alcohol consumption." - publisher's table of contents excerpt

"Alcohol Use Among Special Populations"
Volume 38, Number 1, 2016
Alcohol Research: Current Reviews (the peer-reviewed Journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

Special Section: Drinking Over the Lifespan

• Drinking Over the Lifespan: Focus on Early Adolescents and Youth
  Michael Windle, Ph.D.
• Drinking Over the Lifespan: Focus on College Ages
  Jennifer E. Merrill, Ph.D., and Kate B. Carey, Ph.D.
• Drinking Over the Lifespan: Focus on Older Adults
  Kristen L. Barry, Ph.D. and Frederic C. Blow, Ph.D.

"Explores how biological and demographic characteristics, life experiences, and their interactions influence the likelihood that a person will develop alcohol-related problems. Some factors put an individual at greater risk, whereas others are protective. Contributors also look at population-based differences in access to alcohol treatment and highlight the value of tailoring interventions to the needs of specific groups." - publisher's summary excerpt

Police Treatment of Suspects in the Spotlight

In a recent speech on how to handle gang violence, President Trump suggested that the need to protect suspects from injury during arrest should not be of primary concern to law enforcement. ("Trump to Police: 'Please Don't Be Too Nice' to Suspects," ABC News, July 28, 2017). "When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just seen them thrown in, rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice,’" he said. Trump expressed similar sentiments in the past when confronted with individuals speaking against him in a public forum, "Get him out," he said of a protester. "Try not to hurt him. If you do, I'll defend you in court. Don't worry about it."

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to police conduct at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• Law enforcement ethical
• Police brutality
• Police-community relations
• Police misconduct
• Police shootings
• Police United States
• Racial profiling

Blue on Blue: An Insider's Story of Good Cops Catching Bad Cops by Charles Campisi
Scribner, 2017
call number: 363.209 Cam

"One of the most authentic and consistently illuminating portraits of police work ever, Blue on Blue describes the fascinating inner workings of the world's largest police force and Chief Charles Campisi's unprecedented two decades putting bad cops behind bars. From 1996 through 2014 Charles Campisi headed NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) working under four police commissioners and gaining a reputation as hard-nosed and incorruptible. When he retired, only one man on the 36,000-member force had served longer. During Campisi's IAB tenure, the number of New Yorkers shot, wounded, or killed by cops every year declined by ninety percent, and the number of cops failing integrity tests shrank to an equally startling low." - publisher's summary excerpt

To Protect and Serve: How to Fix America's Police by Norm Stamper
Nation Books, 2016
call number: 363.209 Sta

"Stamper delivers a revolutionary new model for American law enforcement: the community-based police department. It calls for fundamental changes in the federal government's role in local policing as well as citizen participation in all aspects of police operations: policymaking, program development, crime fighting and service delivery, entry-level and ongoing education and training, oversight of police conduct, and--especially relevant to today's challenges--joint community-police crisis management. Nothing will ever change until the system itself is radically restructured, and here Stamper shows us how." - publisher's summary excerpt

Black and Blue: Inside the Divide Between the Police and Black America by Jeff Pegues
Prometheus, 2017
call number: 363.208 Peg

"CBS News Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues provides unbiased facts, statistics, and perspectives from both sides of the community-police divide. Pegues has rare access to top law enforcement officials throughout the country, including FBI Director James Comey and police chiefs in major cities. He has also interviewed police union leaders, community activists, and others at the heart of this crisis--people on both sides who are trying to push American law enforcement in a new direction. How do police officers perceive the people of color who live in high-crime areas? How are they viewed by the communities that they police? Pegues explores these questions and more through interviews not only with police chiefs, but also officers on the ground, both black and white. In addition, he goes to the front lines of the debate as crime spikes in some of the nation's major cities. What he found will surprise you as police give a candid look at how their jobs have changed and become more dangerous. Turning to possible solutions, the author summarizes the best recommendations from police chiefs, politicians, and activists. Readers will not only be informed but learn what they can do about tensions with police in their communities." - publisher's summary excerpt

Are We Really Ready for Self-Driving Cars?

Numerous safety, legal, ethical, and logistical issues still exist as governments, industry, and consumers weigh the benefits of self-driving automobiles ("The Long, Winding Road for Driverless Cars," The Economist, May 25, 2017). This article discusses the different levels of autonomous vehicles from 1 (think cruise control) to 5 (fully automatic without a human in all types of driving conditions).

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to autonomous vehicles at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• automobiles automatic control
• autonomous vehicles
• traffic safety technological innovations

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming edited by Paul Hawken
Penguin Books, 2017
call number: 363.738 Dra (on order)

"Renowned environmentalist Paul Hawken has assembled a team of over 200 scholars, scientists, policymakers, business leaders and activists to illustrate the hundred most substantive solutions to combat climate change that together will not only slow down the growth of carbon emissions, but reverse them altogether (including a chapter on autonomous vehicles)." - publisher's summary excerpt

Robots by John M. Jordan
MIT Press, 2016
call number: 629.892 Jor (on order)

"He offers a guided tour of robotics today, describing the components of robots, the complicating factors that make robotics so challenging, and such applications as driverless cars, unmanned warfare, and robots on the assembly line." - publisher's summary excerpt

Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead by Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman 
MIT Press, 2016
call number: 388.342 Lip

"In this book, Hod Lipson (Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University) and Melba Kurman offer readers insight into the risks and benefits of driverless cars and a lucid and engaging explanation of the enabling technology. Recent advances in software and robotics are toppling long-standing technological barriers that for decades have confined self-driving cars to the realm of fantasy. A new kind of artificial intelligence software called deep learning gives cars rapid and accurate visual perception. Human drivers can relax and take their eyes off the road. When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel, driverless cars will offer billions of people all over the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. " - publisher's summary excerpt

No Reason to Tolerate Sexual Harassment

Two U.S. Naval Academy professors speak about rampant disrespect of women via recent cases of sexual harassment (although men can be victims of such harsh treatment, too) in military and civilian life ("Too Many Men Are Silent Bystanders to Sexual Harassment," Harvard Business Review, March 13, 2017). They suggest that all men must display the "moral courage to stand up to such behavior."

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to sexual harassment at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• sex discrimination against women
• sexual harassment
• women's rights

Because of Sex: One Law, Ten Cases, and Fifty Years That Changed American Women's Lives at Work by Gillian Thomas
St. Martin's Press, 2016
call number: 344.73 Tho

"The 1964 Civil Rights Act is best known as a monumental achievement of the civil rights movement, but it also revolutionized the lives of American women. Title VII of the law made it illegal to discriminate "because of sex." But Congress gave little guidance about how much it wanted to change in a "Mad Men" world where women played mainly supporting roles. . .This book includes a chapter about Mechelle Vinson, whose years of sexual abuse by her boss showed that sexual harassment is just as much a denial of equal opportunity as a lower paycheck." - publisher's summary excerpt

Women's Rights in the USA: Policy Debates and Gender Roles (5th edition) by Dorothy E. McBride and Janine A. Parry
Routledge, 2016
call number: on order

"This title is a resource for the inquiry into women’s rights politics and policies. It is a record of the changes in the major areas affecting gender roles and the status of women: constitutional law, political participation, reproduction, family law, education, work and pay, work and family, sexuality and economic status." - publisher's summary excerpt

Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies (MSAs) for Academic Program Year (APY) 2015-2016 
Department of Defense, 2017
call number: U.S. government document online

"The report on the three MSAs provides data on sexual harassment complaints and sexual assault reports involving cadets and/or midshipmen, as well as updates to policies, procedures, and processes implemented in response to sexual harassment and violence during the APY." - publisher's summary

Interrogation vs. Torture in the War on Terror

After a proposed executive order, “Detention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatants”was "leaked" and President Trump affirmed his pro-waterboarding stance (though giving Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the ultimate choice to use it) a decision was made to remove sections on torture and black site prisons ("White House Backing Down on Renewed Use of Torture, Black Sites," New York Magazine, February 4, 2017). This document also planned to overturn a 2009 executive order (13491) that interrogators must adhere to tactics outlined in the current Human Intelligence Collector Operations (“Army Field Manual”).

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to military interrogation vs. torture at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• detention of persons United States
• military interrogation United States
• torture
• waterboarding

Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State by Karen J. Greenberg
Crown, 2016.
call number: 364.973 Gre

"Rogue Justice connects the dots for the first time--from the Patriot Act to today's military commissions, from terrorism prosecutions to intelligence priorities, from the ACLU's activism to Edward Snowden's revelations. And it poses a stark question: will the American justice system ever recover from the compromises it made for the war on terror? Riveting and deeply reported, Rogue Justice could only have been written by Karen Greenberg, one of this country's top experts on Guantanamo, torture, and terrorism, with a deep knowledge of both the Bush and Obama administrations. Now she brings to life the full story of law and policy after 9/11, introducing us to the key players and events, showing that time and again, when liberty and security have clashed, justice has been the victim." - publisher's summary excerpt

Consequence: A Memoir by Eric Fair
Henry Holt and Company, 2016
call number: 956.704 Fai

"Consequence is Fair's story, the story of a man who begins with a desire to serve and, through a winding series of choices, becomes an interrogator for a private contractor at Abu Ghraib during one of our nation's darkest moments. In 2004, after several months as an interrogator, Fair's now constant nightmares take new forms: first, there had been the shrinking dreams; now the liquid dreams begin. By the time he leaves Iraq after that first deployment (he will return), Fair will have participated in or witnessed a variety of aggressive interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, diet manipulation, exposure, and isolation." - publisher's summary excerpt


Why Torture Doesn't Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation by Shane M. O'Mara
Harvard University Press, 2015
call number: 616.852 Oma

"Does torture accomplish what its defenders say it does? For ethical reasons, there are no scientific studies of torture. But neuroscientists know a lot about how the brain reacts to fear, extreme temperatures, starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, and immersion in freezing water, all tools of the torturer's trade. These stressors create problems for memory, mood, and thinking, and sufferers predictably produce information that is deeply unreliable-and, for intelligence purposes, even counterproductive. As O'Mara guides us through the neuroscience of suffering, he reveals the brain to be much more complex than the brute calculations of torturers have allowed, and he points the way to a humane approach to interrogation, founded in the science of brain and behavior." - publisher's summary excerpt

The Refugee Crisis and the Executive Order on Immigration

A federal judge suspended President Trump's temporary travel ban created by executive order 13769, setting up litigation that could land eventually in the Supreme Court ("Seattle Federal Judge Orders Nationwide Halt to Immigration Ban," Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2017).

Review selected hard copy/online library books and streaming video related to refugees at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• human trafficking
• humanitarianism
• immigrants
• immigration 21st century
• refugee camps
• refugees
• United States immigration government policy

Integration Nation: Immigrants, Refugees, and America at Its Best by Susan E. Eaton
The New Press, 2016.
call number: 305.906 Eat

"In this well-written collection of case studies, Eaton (The Children in Room E4) and her collaborators explore civic efforts focused on the integration-rather than assimilation-of immigrants, a concept that celebrates the talents of established residents and newcomers alike." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

International Migration: A Very Short Introduction by Khalid Koser
Oxford University Press, 2016
call number: 304.8 Kos

"The rising rates of international migration have been matched by growing public and media interest around the world…Using interviews with migrants from around the world, Koser presents the human side of issues such as asylum, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and the international labor force, inviting readers to come to their own conclusions on the international migration situation today." - publisher's summary excerpt

Flashpoint: Refugees in America

ABC News, 2016 (from the Films on Demand database)
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"Nightline follows the journey of Syrian refugees who now call America home. Meet students attending American schools for the first time and see protests against refugee arrivals. - publisher's summary excerpt

The Consequences of Chaos: Syria's Humanitarian Crisis and the Failure to Protect by Elizabeth G. Ferris and Kemal Kirişci
Brookings Institution Press, 2016
call number: 956.91 Fer

"The Consequences of Chaos looks beyond the ever-increasing numbers of Syria's uprooted to consider the long-term economic, political, and social implications of this massive movement of people. Neighboring countries hosting thousands or even millions of refugees, Western governments called upon to provide financial assistance and even new homes for the refugees, regional and international organizations struggling to cope with the demands for food and shelter--all have found the Syria crisis to be overwhelming in its challenges. And the challenges of finding solutions for those displaced by the conflict are likely to continue for years, perhaps even for decades." - publisher's summary excerpt