In Papua New Guinea, a primitive tribe is nearly obliterated by a sickness whose chief symptom is uncontrollable laughter. Across Europe, millions of sheep rub their fleeces raw before collapsing. In England, cows attack their owners in the milking parlors, while in the American West, thousands of deer starve to death in fields full of grass.What these strange conditions–including fatal familial insomnia, kuru, scrapie, and mad cow disease–share is their cause: prions. Prions are ordinary proteins that sometimes go wrong, resulting in neurological illnesses that are always fatal. Even more mysterious and frightening, prions are almost impossible to destroy because they are not alive and have no DNA–and the diseases they bring are now spreading around the world.In The Family That Couldn’t Sleep, essayist and journalist D. T. Max tells the spellbinding story of the prion’s hidden past and deadly future

    This essential resource includes the most current information on theory, research, and practice at individual, interpersonal, and community and group levels. This edition includes substantial new content on current and emerging theories of health communication, e-health, culturally diverse communities, health promotion, the impact of stress, the importance of networks and community, social marketing, and evaluation.

    As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power.The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village.Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable.Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito's reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

    At the age of eighteen, after one too many run-ins with the cops for drug possession, he left his upper-middle-class home in Princeton, New Jersey, for a stint at a rehab facility in Riverside, California. Instead of getting clean, he spent his year there shooting crystal meth and living as a petty criminal among not-so-petty ones until a near psychotic episode (among other things) convinced him to clean up.In stark prose infused with heartbreaking insight, wicked humor, and complete veracity, Salant provides graphic descriptions of life on crystal meth -- the incredible sex drive, the paranoia, the cravings. He details the slang, the scams, and the psychoses, and weaves them into a narrative that is breathtakingly honest and authentic. Salant grapples with his attraction to the thuggish life, eschewing easy answers -- his parents, both therapists, were loving and supportive, and his family's subtle dysfunctions typical of almost any American family.Exploring the allure and effects of the least understood drug of our time, "Leaving Dirty Jersey" is that rarity among memoirs -- a compulsively readable, superbly told story that is shocking precisely because it could happen to almost anyone.

    Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. When the option is a long life with a disease or a short one without it, evolution opts for disease almost every time.Everything from the climate our ancestors lived in to the crops they planted and ate to their beverage of choice can be seen in our genetic inheritance. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives..

    Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress.As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear--and the ones that plague us now--are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way--through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us sick.

    There followed a sequence of extraordinary events that led to David being prosecuted and convicted for the patient’s death and sent to prison. His licence to practise medicine was suspended, his career cut short. Events that took place later showed that this was an unfair trial with tinges of racism, and he won an appeal against his conviction and is now a free man. But the damage had already been done. This book tells his extraordinary story for the first time, in his own words.

    Critics everywhere have hailed this book as a classic in the making.

    An account of the many aspects of village life in China.

    It wiped out one-third of Europe's population, taking some 20 million lives. And yet, most of what we know about it is wrong. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren—the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the awful end by respiratory failure—are more or less accurate. But what the Plague really was and how it made history remain shrouded in a haze of myths.Now, Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together the most recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death as a gripping, intimate narrative.

    Their extraordinary meeting and the two years they spent in one another’s company serves as the basis for an investigation into the nature of human identity, belief, and delusion that is poignant, amusing, and at times disturbing. Displaying the sympathy and subtlety of a gifted novelist, Rokeach draws us into the lives of three troubled and profoundly different men who find themselves “confronted with the ultimate contradiction conceivable for human beings: more than one person claiming the same identity.”

    In this gripping account, David Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge and asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be?

    Then, one day he falls out of an oak tree and everything changes. He suddenly perceives the world in a different way, where spoken words appear as vibrant colors and minute details emerge from everything. Most surprising, he can foresee outcomes, for instance, knowing which horse will win a race. He considers what to do with this extraordinary ability, and that takes him on an expedition across America and eventually to Europe. Along the way, he encounters intimidating foes, and ultimately, he makes a startling discovery leading him to a confrontation with his greatest adversary. Follow the journey of this fascinating young person who lacks social skills and doesn’t experience emotions in a normal way. At the same time, he has profound insights about the world, as he attempts to find out who he is, and the basis of his identity. The book is also a captivating spiritual journey, as the boy struggles to fathom the meaning of love, and the reasons why things are good or bad. He even uses his prophetic abilities to understand where history is going and its ultimate end. Cass Tell is the author of numerous novels on various themes. The SAVANT deviates from the others. For instance, his last novel, The COOKBOOK is a delightful and fun action thriller about a young woman whose life is shockingly changed because of mysteries she finds in her grandmother's old cookbook. Equally enjoyable, The SAVANT goes in another direction, as it deals with the riches we find in those who are different from the normal. This fiction book is an exploration of the uniqueness of the individual, containing a profound questioning of how and why we perceive and react as we do. Packed with humor and emotion, this story provides insights at a rare level. The Savant is fun and enjoyable, full of adventure, relationships, mystery, and prophecy.

    Targeted, Focused Review – Study Only What You Need to KnowWritten by an EMS Program Director and NREMT paramedic with first-hand experience and classroom instruction, our targeted review chapters in outline style cover all the official test categories found on the EMT exam: airway and breathing, cardiology, medical, obstetrics and pediatrics, and trauma. The author explains the structure of the exam and shows you how to answer questions quickly and correctly.Expert Test-taking StrategiesOur author explains the structure of the NREMT Certification Exam, so you know what to expect on test day. He also shares question-level strategies and shows you the best way to answer questions. By following our expert tips and advice, you can score higher on the exam. Must-know Key TermsKnowing the right medical terminology can make a real difference in your test score. That’s why we give you a glossary of more than 400 EMT terms you need to know before you take your exam.Take REA’s Online Practice ExamAfter studying, go online and test what you’ve learned. Our practice exam features timed testing, diagnostic feedback, detailed answers, and automatic scoring. The exam is balanced to include every topic and type of question found on the actual EMT exam, so you know you’re studying the smart way.No matter how or when you prepare for the EMT exam, REA’s EMT Crash Course will show you how to study efficiently and strategically, so you can get a great score.

    If you’re intrigued by any of these topics, or just want to know about women’s health from an OBGYN who tells it like it is, this book is for you.“Confessions of a Male Gynecologist” reveals not only what your gynecologist is thinking when your feet are in the stirrups, but provides women with some frank advice. Dr. Bellanger provides readers with an education, gets on his high horse, and shares some unbelievable (and in many cases), “laugh-out-loud” stories.