Journalism & Media

 A SPIRITUAL FIELD GUIDE: MEDITATIONS FOR THE OUTDOORS 
By Bernard Brady and Mark Neuzil 
Brazos Press, $12.99
 

 THE GRAIL BIRD: HOT ON THE TRAIL OF THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 
By Tim Gallagher 
Houghton Mifflin Company, $25

Reviewed by CHRISTINE HEINRICHS
The announcement of a confirmed sighting of the ivorybilled woodpecker in April 2005 was greeted like a confirmed extraterrestrial alien sighting. It was astonishing, contrary to accepted general wisdom, breathtaking.

 THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON SCIENCE 
By Chris Mooney 
Basic Books, $24.95

Reviewed by STUART LEAVENWORTH 
Here's a news flash: President George Bush and some of his minions have targeted scientists who don't share their agenda. They have intimidated certain government researchers, reassigned those who cause trouble for key constituencies and discouraged an entire generation of biologists, climatologists and other professionals from ever working on the federal payroll.

 By WENDEE HOLTCAMP
And so it was, I found myself in May 2005 a Ph.D. candidate at a prestigious university with a new full-time research job, a super-cute surfer-mountain-climber boyfriend and a 10-year freelance writing career under my belt.

 AMERICA'S WETLAND: LOUISIANA'S VANISHING COAST
 Photographs by Bevil Knapp, text by Mike Dunne Louisiana State 
University Press, $39.95

By ROBERT McCLURE 
"Yer blogging?"

 The subject line on an SEJ friend's email at first caught me a little defensive. But it turned out that my friend is a big fan of weblogs, or blogs, believing they have the power to transform journalism and the social conversation. Notice, though, that she's not yet blogging herself. It's easier said than done – but also more fun than it sounds.