Reviews

"This collection of essays by various authors, wide ranging in their backgrounds and qualifications and covering a wide expanse of topics, goes beyond the scope of most encyclopedia-type volumes....This resource will prove useful to teachers and students. It summarizes in one compact place many of the aspects of issues around which some controversy swirls. These essays, especially the lengthier ones, can serve as starting points for more elaborate and in-depth investigation of topics. This text offers instant access (through the table of contents) to information that can lead in many directions for more investigations. It's a worthwhile addition to a classroom resource bank for information on the implications of scientific and technological applications to society."—NSTA Recommends, June 30, 2005

"This is the seventh in the publisher’s Battleground series exploring today’s controversial topics. The editors of this entry approach science and technology as they relate to culture and society. However, 'science and technology' is a much broader subject than those treated in other Battleground titles, and that makes the coverage here seem less focused. Topics range from the really broad, such as Social sciences, to the very specific, such as Green building design. In between are subjects as varied as Censorship, Coal, and Healing touch. The contributors have a range of backgrounds and experience, some not directly related to their topics. Some of their contributions are philosophic discussions of the assigned topics, while others give more prosaic accounts of the history of their topics and the pros and cons. There is a good index, and crossreferences are provided for each entry. Each entry also includes a selection of further readings, the currency of which varies. The reading level varies from article to article as well, but overall this would probably be best suited for a college-level audience looking for brief introductions. It’s hard to know how libraries will use this title, since the treatment is so broad that it is likely to be overlooked by a patron doing research on a specific topic."—Booklist, May 1, 2009

"Examples of subjects tackled by the volumes include alien abductions, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, chaos theory, drugs and direct-to-consumer advertising, the Gaia hypothesis, genetically modified organisms, green building design, information technology, intellectual property, medical marijuana, parapsychology, quarks, reproductive technology, research ethics, the scientific method, urban warfare, virtual reality, waste management, and wind energy. The entries are written in a style accessible to beginning undergraduates and up."—SciTech Book News, March 1, 2009

"Battleground: Science & Technology offers a basic introduction and overview to the topics addressed...This set is most appropriate for high school libraries, public libraries, and community college library that have a need for introductory material on the topics presented."—ARBA, March 1, 2009

"Battleground Science and Technology, which also includes a substantial bibliography and an index, would be an appropriate acquisition for public and academic libraries."—Catholic Library World, December 1, 2009