Reproductive Technology

School Library Journal

Greenhaven. 1996. PLB $19.95; pap. $11.55. Gr 8 Up-The editors have gathered newspaper and magazine articles and book and speech excerpts that express different viewpoints on a number of questions. Because none of the pieces were written specifically for these books, they do not dovetail together or answer one another's points consistently. Information Highway includes readily readable pieces, but few clear-cut controversies to discuss. One of its four topics simply attempts to define the "information highway." The others explain how to develop it, whether it's good or bad for society, and whether and how to regulate it. Reproductive Technologies has no difficulty finding controversies to address, including surrogate motherhood, creating pregnancy in post-menopausal women, genetic testing, and regulation of the reproductive technology industry. But readers will not have an easy time wading through these arguments, which range from warm, fuzzy personal accounts to shrill, feminist horror stories to dry, clinical arguments full of abbreviations and double negatives. An additional problem is that in the excerpting process, sources of some of the authors' references have been lost. This title may be useful as a starting place for debate research, particularly where periodical resources are limited, but readers will find the relevant chapters of Carl Heintze's Medical Ethics (Watts, 1987; o.p.) or Ruth Macklin's Surrogates & Other Mothers (Temple Univ., 1994) better organized. In both volumes, type size and margins are comfortable, but there are no illustrations. Quotes from the articles are printed against gray boxes scattered throughout, often a page or two away from where they occur in the text. The extensive bibliographies make it clear that many other sources exist.Margaret Chatham, Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library of Fairfax County Library System, VA

Booknews

Revised from the 1980 Industrial Organic Chemicals in Perspective to update the political and economic contexts in which organic chemists and chemical engineers work with industrial organic chemicals and polymers, with particular emphasis on issues of waste reduction and pollution prevention. Provides an overview of the raw materials, intermediates, and processes in manufacturing such chemicals; details the seven major building blocks derived from petroleum and natural gas; describes polymerization and catalysis, including the new metallocene catalysis; presents lesser-volume chemicals in separate chapters that can be skipped; and notes more profitable specialty chemicals from other sources such as coal, fats and oils, and carbohydrates. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)