I Page 10 RAIN January 1981 RESOURCES Future Survey Annual 1979, edited by Michael Marien, 1980, 256 pp., $25.00 (paperback) from: • World Future Society 4916 S. Elmo Avenue WashingJon, DC 20014 The World Future Society has compiled a 'guide to some of the recent literature of trends, forecasts and policy proposals, containing 1,603 abstracts of books and articles, mostly from the U.S., published between late 1978 and early 1980. "The writers come from traditional academic disciplines (largely economics, political science, and sociology, with a scattering of contributions from the natural and physical sciences, but virtually no representation from among scholars in the humanities), anp from professions·such as medicine, public ~ealth, engineering, journalism, education and law." The publications of the World Future Society,'with their fawning reverence for self- . ordained high-tech centrist "futurists" of the Herman Kahn Hk, do not generally rank high on my list. Especially at the price, this is a book you can do without. However, if,you have any sway with your local librarian, it would be a useful research tool to have in the neighborhood. -MR World Military and Social Expenditures 1980, edited by Ruth L. ~irard, 1980, 40 pp., $3.50 from: World Priorities P.O. Box1003 Leesburg, VA 22075 There's more relevant information in the forty pages of this booklet than there is in many of the massive texts I've seen discuss-: ing the implicationsof world-militarization. Much of what Sirard has to say deals with the huge increase in world weapons produc- . tion and acquisition. Most of the information is presented in charts and graphs for maximum impact. Some of the facts are startling. For example, did you know that the·costs of U.S. military equipment have risen 5 to 30 times faster than the general rate of inflation since World Wadi? Or that there have been over 150 interventions and wars in 83 countries since 1960? Perhaps most immediately relevant, there is an excellent summary of the considerable evidence that the U.S. military ,is consistently overestimating the siz·e and scope of Soviet military expenditures. Sivard also includes an extensive analysis of the dismal trend in economic and social indicators, along with a statistical appenqix of economic and military indicators for most countries. As we head into another cold war, it's important to keep the facts in p'erspective. This is a good place to start. -KB first half is a complete keyword subject inEnergy Statistics: A Guide to Information dex, giving the best available source of inforSources, by Sarojiri.i Balachandran, 1980, m,ation for each su~ject. The rest of the book 284 pp., $28.00 from: 1 lists and briefly dis~usses nearly 650 differGale Research Company ent statistical publications, categorized by Book Tower energy sou,rce. Bal~chandran includes a comDetroit, MI 48226 plete mailing list of publishers, as well as If you have any use at all for statistical information on energy, this is a good book to know about. The listing of data sources for solar is slim and somewhat dated, ~ut for any conventional energy source the information is thorough, current, and easy to find. The \. EDUCATION Feed, Need, _Greed: A High School Curricu-. lum by the Food and Nutrition Group, Boston Science for the People, 1980, 86 pp., $5.00 plus $.50 postage from: Science for the People 897 Main Stree~ Cambridge, MA 02139 Here's an excellent re~ource for the educawr •who wishes to bring a more comprehensive and critical perspective on food, population and resources into the classroom. Countering the pro-industry bias of most texts and consumer education materials, this curriculum guide is an exceptional tool for increasing the awareness of both students and teachers about the politics of.our food system. Feed, Need, Greed is divided into four sections-The Numbers Game (population and resources) ; The Lean and the Lumpy (hunger and food politics); Nutritional-Industrial Complex (advertising a'nd agribusicomprehensive author and subject cross indexes. This is not the kind of book you should run out and buy for yourself unless you are serious about energy research, but it is definitely a book your local library should have on its reference shelf. -KB ness); and Building a New World (community action). Each section can be used independently or "mixed and matched." Using a combination of methods-discussion questions, diagrams, fact sheets.and cartoons-to convey.information and ideas, the exercises provoke critical thinking and active participation. Students are encouraged to do research in their community, develop their Vocabulary, and to view the world around them more critically. Additional background notes, discussion questions and resources are listed for the teacher's aid while a glossary of term$ is included in the back for the student'. • ' Feed, Need, Greed is unique not only in the quality of information it presents, but in the style of education it advocates. The concluding chapter, "Building a Better World," takes a notable step in bridging the gap between study and activism by discussing ways in which students can utilize what they have gained on a personal, community', or national level. While the Guide will not be applicable to all environments (you may have to sneak it past the principal) and educational levels, it is an unusually valuable resource at a very affordable price, Education like this could help change the world as we know it. -LS
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