Surviving almost unmolested for 300 million years, the horseshoe crab is now the object of an intense legal and ethical struggle involving marine biologists, environmentalists, US government officials, biotechnologists, and international corporations. The source of this friction is the discovery 25 years ago that the blood of these ancient creatures serves as the basis for the most reliable test for the deadly and ubiquitous gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for life-threatening diseases like menengitis, typhoid, E. coli, Legionnaire's Disease and toxic shock syndrome. Because every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using the horseshoe crab derivative known as Limulus lysate, a multimillion dollar industry has emerged involving the license to "bleed" horseshoe crabs and the rights to their breeding grounds. Since his youthful fascination with these ancient creatures, William Sargent has spent much of his life observing, studying, and collecting horseshoe crabs. As a result, he presents a thoroughly accessible insider's guide to the discovery of the lysate test, the exploitation of the crabs at the hands of multinational pharmaceutical conglomerates, local fishing interests, and the legal and governmental wrangling over the creatures' ultimate fate. In the end, the story of the horseshoe crab is a sobering reflection on the unintended consequences of scientific progress and the danger of self-regulated industries controlling a limited natural resource.
In the same format and style of his prize-winning Shallow Waters, William Sargent's latest book chronicles a year spent exploring the North Woods of New Hampshire. Through words and photographs, the man about whom Publishers Weekly wrote, "With his fine descriptions and lucid explanations, Sargent joins the company of Lewis Thomas and Stephen Jay Gould as a first rate interpreter of modern science" investigates a new area's geology, ecology, and natural history. Centered primarily in the Franconia Notch, the book ranges to include Mount Washington Observatory, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Palermo Mine, and New Hampshire Audubon's Peregrine Tagging Program. In a series of lyrical chapters, Sargent takes readers into vernal ponds and moose yards, up mountain summits and into the dens of hibernating bears. He shows that the present pattern of evergreen and deciduous trees we think of as natural is actually the result of centuries of human alteration. Describing how humans have become the newest geophysical force shaping our planet, he ruminates on how well the earth's immune system can withstand the onslaught. Offering up-to-date science on the geology and biology of New England, A Year in the Notch explains the interaction between life, rocks, and water -- the intricate dance that keeps our planet alive and makes our own existence possible.
Two Arab men are found murdered near downtown Houston, Texas, and detectives Ross Clayton and Leona Stillwell are sent to investigate. These aren’t ordinary murders, however—the bodies are arranged to mirror a famous Impressionist painting, and the exactitude of the killing gives Clayton cause to be concerned. He suspects this killer isn’t finished. His suspicions turn out to be correct as more men end up dead and similarly arranged. Every victim is of Arab descent, and it’s hard to deny the killer must have both some kind of racial vendetta and a love for Impressionist art. Clayton and his partner have no choice but to seek out an expert—Lund Corbel from the Houston Fine Arts Museum. He sets them on the right path, but their path gets crowded as the serial killer continues the spree. Clayton has solved plenty of strange crimes before, but he’s beginning to feel out of his depth, especially following the death of a fellow cop in pursuit of another investigation involving drugs, prostitution, and murder. Soon, two investigations collide, and the end won’t be as pretty as a painting.
Science writer William Sargent had intended to take a break from writing about the world's environmental crises to "tend to his own garden." Yet, as the hottest year on record unfolded with a series of massive fires, floods and the most devastating storm ever to hit the East Coast, it became increasingly difficult to keep the focus inward. What results is a raucous jaunt from his home in Ipswich Massachusetts to the far corners of the Globe to chronicle these events. In the end he draws hope from science, nature and his own deep and abiding sense of the earth and universal spirituality.
Superstar in a Masquerade tells the story about Leon Russell, an award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, who was born with cerebral palsy, and learned to master the piano. He became an in-demand session man in Hollywood, contributing to thousands of songs by hundreds of artists, during his seven-decade career. He was called the "Rainbow Minister & Ringleader" for the Hippie Generation, and although most people can say they never heard of him, few can say they've never heard him. After reading this book, you can play "Three Degrees of Leon," just like the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," linking him to anyone, from B.B. King to ZZ Top. As an emigre from Oklahoma to California, he invited David Gates and J. J. Cale to join him in the music mecca known as Tinseltown, where the Tulsa Trio made untold contributions to America's popular music. Read about over five hundred artists, and their songs that Leon, David, and J. J. helped create, as well as... When seventeen-year-old Leon replaced Jerry Lee Lewis on stage in 1959. How Frank Sinatra caused Leon to let his hair grow. How J. J. Cale played a role in the formation of the band Bread. How Leon saved Joe Cocker's career and created Willie Nelson's famous image. When Elton John was Leon's opening act on tour. Why DC Comics sued Leon's record label for $2 million. When David Gates's band backed Chuck Berry on stage in 1961. When Leon brazenly threw the "F-bomb" at Phil Spector. When Leon called organized Christianity the single most harmful force in history. What Broadway song Leon borrowed from for "This Masquerade.
A timely look at the exploitation of a species that has helped with the development of countless drugs and is fast becoming endangered. Because every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using the horseshoe crab derivative known as Limulus lysate, a multimillion-dollar industry has emerged involving the license to bleed horseshoe crabs and the rights to their breeding grounds. William Sargent presents a thoroughly accessible insider's guide to the discovery of the lysate test, the exploitation of the horseshoe crab at the hands of multinational pharmaceutical conglomerates, local fishing interests, and the legal and governmental wrangling over the creatures' ultimate fate. In the end, the story of the horseshoe crab is a sobering reflection on the unintended consequences of scientific progress and the danger of self-regulated industries controlling a limited natural resource. This new edition brings the story up to date as companies race to manufacture alternatives to the horseshoe crab blood, which is now essential for testing vaccines such as those being developed to counter COVID-19. However, horseshoe crab populations are still dwindling, with profound implications not only for the future of the crabs themselves but also for the ecosystems that depend on them.
On March 19, 2012 the Cape Cod National Seashore demolished five barrier beach homes threatened by sea level rise. It was only the latest skirmish in the ongoing battle over the use of this fragile caprice of nature. Beach Wars chronicles the pirates, Indians, rumrunners and farmers who have used this beach to hunt, fish, mooncuss and cut salt marsh hay. Their stories reflect the history of the United States and how we have come to redefine how we want to protect and live with our land and oceans. They also hold valuable lessons for the three million other United States citizens who live less than a meter above sea level and in our two hundred other barrier beach communities.
Noted science writer William Sargent delves into the murky, often intertwined worlds of medical research and biological warfare to determine if Covid-19 was caused by accidents similar to those that have occurred from 1617 to the present. Sargent reveals that mistakes made in dual use medical research and biological weapons facilities led to tick borne diseases in the United States, smallpox, anthrax and other germ outbreaks in Russia. He helps unearth the factors that caused Covid-19, closing with the hope that these conditions will be altered or permanently banned in the future.
In this book redolent with wit and wisdom, science writer William Sargent, travels from Plum Island in Northern Massachusetts to the winter White House on Palm Beach Florida, to explore our sinking shore. What he finds is a country that has not learned the lessons of Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria. The United States has no coherent coastal policy so our seaboard is a checkerboard of states that have compounded the problem by encouraging homeowners to rebuild on the exactly same footprint as before beside other states that have relocated entire communities to higher ground. The book tells this story of sea level rise through the eyes of the lawyers, scientists, homeowners, and even the President and other officials who are grappling with a problem that gets worse with every major storm.
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