May 2015

This month's bookshelf is all about exploration. From the human body to Scottish crime fiction via the 3D world of the stereoscope, Edinburgh graduates delve and illuminate.

1.

In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, books of travel and exploration were much more than simply the printed experiences of intrepid authors. They were works of both artistry and industry—products of the complex, and often contested, relationships between authors and editors, publishers and printers. These books captivated the reading public and played a vital role in creating new geographical truths. In an age of global wonder and of expanding empires, there was no publisher more renowned for its travel books than the House of John Murray.

Drawing on detailed examination of the John Murray Archive of manuscripts, images, and the firm’s correspondence with its many authors—a list that included such illustrious explorers and scientists as Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, and literary giants like Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott—Travels into Print considers how journeys of exploration became published accounts and how travelers sought to demonstrate the faithfulness of their written testimony and to secure their personal credibility.

This fascinating study in historical geography and book history takes modern readers on a journey into the nature of exploration, the production of authority in published travel narratives, and the creation of geographical authorship—a journey bound together by the unifying force of a world-leading publisher.

Travels into print: exploration, writing, and publishing with John Murray, 1773–1859

2.

A comprehensive and fascinating guide to the worldwide crime fiction phenomenon known as Tartan Noir covering all its major authors.

What is Tartan Noir? Which authors belong to this global crime fiction phenomenon? Which books should you read first, next, again, or not at all? And what are the many historical, political, and cultural influences that have woven themselves into the Tartan Noir success story?

Here, Len Wanner investigates the literature’s four main sub-genres – the detective, the police, the serial killer, and the noir novel. Covering four decades’ worth of literary history, Wanner offers not only four in-depth cross-examinations but also close readings of another 40 novels – everything from commercial hits and critical triumphs to curiosity pieces and cult classics.

Tartan Noir: the definitive guide to Scottish crime fiction

3.

We have a lifetime’s association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader through a cultural map of the body, taking in  health and illness, and offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb, from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot. 

Drawing on his own experiences as a physician and writer, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then the practice of medicine explores new territory: Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human.

Adventures in Human Being

4.

This comprehensive textbook discusses the legal, organizational and ethical aspects of information governance, assurance and security and their relevance to all aspects of information work.

Information governance describes the activities and practices which have developed to control the use of information, including, but not limited to, practices mandated by law. In a world in which information is increasingly seen as a top-level asset, the safeguarding and management of information is of concern to everyone. From the researcher who is responsible for ethical practices in the gathering, analysis, and storage of data, to the reference librarian who must deliver unbiased information; from the records manager who must respond to information requests, to the administrator handling personnel files, this book with equip practitioners and students alike to implement good information governance practice in real-world situations. 

Information Governance and Assurance: Reducing risk, promoting policy

5.

With the recent success of films like Avatar, 3D imaging seems modern and state-of-the-art. You would therefore probably be surprised to learn that 150 years ago 3D was the best-selling format of photograph and virtually every middle-class home had a stereoscope with which to view these photos in 3D. It was an essential parlour entertainment - the Victorian equivalent of television.

This high quality book includes over 200 side-by-side Victorian stereoviews of the Alps and comes with a fold-out stereoviewer with which to immerse yourself in a bygone world. Fun and informative, perfect reading for any lover of the mountains, annotated with quotes from historic visitors. Explores topics such as tourism in the Alps, wintersports, the little ice age and global warming (highlighted by some modern stereoviews by the author), the golden age of alpinism, the tour of Mont Blanc and the history of stereoscopy with concise biographies of its alpine exponents (Bisson, Braun, England, Tairraz, Savioz and Couttet). French or English versions available.

Chamonix Mont Blanc in 3D – a journey through the stereoscope from the 1850s to today

Please note

All of the further information links listed are the external websites of the book publisher, the author, or the bookseller. The University of Edinburgh is not responsible for the content and functionality of these sites.