New Releases by Ron Barrett

Disguised as a trash bag, greedy cat-hater Lekvar Smirk kidnaps a trio of singing cats, Hal, Dora, and Geneva, and takes them to try out for the television show, Animal Idol.

Three crooning kitties launch their singing careers in this adorably entertaining back-alley romp from bestselling illustrator of Superhero Joe and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Three abandoned cats—Dora, Geneva, and Hal—find themselves in the big city. Dora thinks mostly about her wardrobe. Geneva was a pampered pet but now she is on her own, looking for love. Hal is nothing but trouble. He never saw anything he didn’t wan to get his claws into. These three meet and decide to achieve their dreams by finding fortune as a rock band. Can they possibly succeed? The answer depends on whom you ask.

This book traces the social and environmental determinants of human infectious diseases from the Neolithic to the present day. Despite recent high profile discoveries of new pathogens, the major determinants of these emerging infections are ancient and recurring. These include changing modes of subsistence, shifting populations, environmental disruptions, and social inequalities. The recent labeling of the term "re-emerging infections" reflects a re-emergence, not so much of the diseases themselves, but rather a re-emerging awareness in affluent societies of long-standing problems that were previously ignored. An Unnatural History of Emerging Infections illustrates these recurring problems and determinants through an examination of three major epidemiological transitions. The First Transition occurred with the Agricultural Revolution beginning 10,000 years ago, bringing a rise in acute infections as the main cause of human mortality. The Second Transition first began with the Industrial Revolution; it saw a decline in infectious disease mortality and an increase in chronic diseases among wealthier nations, but less so in poorer societies. These culminated in today''s "worst of both worlds syndrome" in which globalization has combined with the challenges of the First and Second Transitions to produce a Third Transition, characterized by a confluence of acute and chronic disease patterns within a single global disease ecology. This accessible text is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate level students and researchers in the fields of epidemiology, disease ecology, anthropology, health sciences, and the history of medicine. It will also be of relevance and use to undergraduate students interested in the history and social dynamics of infectious diseases.

This collection of 49 readings with extensive background description exposes students to the breadth of theoretical perspectives and issues in the field of medical anthropology. The text provides specific examples and case studies of research as it is applied to a range of health settings: from cross-cultural clinical encounters to cultural analysis of new biomedical technologies to the implementation of programs in global health settings.

Pictures of animals wearing clothes show why this would be a ridiculous custom for them to adopt.

A parody of the way things really work.

Depicts the inconveniences animals would be burdened with if they behaved like people.

Pictures of animals wearing clothes show why this would be a ridiculous custom for them to adopt.