The Bioethics Research Library regularly receives new additions to its extensive catalogue. Here are a few of our favorite new selections:
1. Breakthrough: Elizabeth Hughes, the discovery of insulin, and the making of a medical miracle, by Thea Cooper – “Relive the heartwarming true story of the discovery of insulin as it’s never been told before. Written with authentic detail and suspense, and featuring walk-ons by William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eli Lilly himself, among many others.”
2. Spillover: Animal infections and the next human pandemic, by David Quammen – “The bugs that transmit infectious diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world. He recounts adventures of field―netting bats in China, trapping monkeys in Bangladesh, stalking gorillas in the Congo―with the world’s leading disease scientists. In Spillover, Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge, and he asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be?”
3. The Ice is Melting: Ethics in the Arctic, edited by Leif Magne Helgesen, Kim Holmén and Ole Arve Misund – “The ice in the Arctic is melting. Nowhere on Earth can changes in the climate be seen as clearly as here. What is happening? Is the world headed toward catastrophe, or is this only a problem for polar bears and walruses? How will a warmer Arctic affect the living conditions of people further away, in places such as Polynesia and Micronesia? What are the responsibilities of individuals in this situation? The discussion of climate ethics is an important concern. This inspiring and provocative book extends knowledge about the climate and simultaneously invites reflection on the ethical issues involved.”
4. Values and Vaccine Refusal: Hard questions in ethics, epistemology, and health care, by Mark Navin – “Parents in the US and other societies are increasingly refusing to vaccinate their children, even though popular anti-vaccine myths – e.g. ‘vaccines cause autism’ – have been debunked. This book explains the epistemic and moral failures that lead some parents to refuse to vaccinate their children.”