Browsing Through the World Factbook

December 14, 2010

The big, comprehensive, and recurring reference work is a classic Government publication type. One of my favorites of this kind is the CIA’s annual World Factbook. Since 1980, this massive volume has been a mainstay for anyone interested in the various countries of the world.

Although the Factbook has all kinds of information about a country’s geography, people, government, economy, population, communications, transportation, and military, plus both inset and foldout maps, the section that always draws my attention is “Transnational Issues.” If, as Thomas Carlyle said, “Happy the people whose annals are blank in history,” then happy is the nation whose World Factbook profile has nothing under that heading. The subheads include “Disputes – International,” “Refugees and internally displaced persons,” “Illicit drugs,” and “Trafficking in persons.” It’s amazing how few countries meet this definition of happiness. Of course, many underdeveloped or newly formed nations, like Chad and Moldova, suffer from these ills, but so do Denmark (disputes with Iceland and the UK over the Faeroe Islands continental shelf; Faeroese interest in full independence), New Zealand (territorial claim in Antarctica; amphetamine use), and Portugal (“Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1820 treaty of Badajoz”; gateway for the international drug traffic).

Of course, a peaceful disagreement between Spain and Portugal is a long way from the simmering armed conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, but boundary disputes and international crime are, unhappily, common currency in the world – and what better place to find out about them, and a host of other developments, than the World Factbook? The CIA maintains the Factbook here, or you can get your own copy here.

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Government Stocking Stuffers for Kids

December 10, 2010

 Guest blogger Kelly Seifert talks about Government publications for children.

Having recently had a child, I was happy to discover that there are many great Government publications for kids. I had no idea there were so many educational and fun resources available – and with the holidays quickly approaching, there are so many economical and entertaining gift options to choose from! What’s more, with cold winter days ahead, these booklets are perfect for keeping little minds occupied when it’s too frigid to venture outside!  

For instance, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put out a children’s activity book, Understanding Marine Debris: Games & Activities for Kids of All Ages, Marine Debris 101. Included in this publication are silly stories, coloring activities, word finds, crosswords, memory games, connect the dots, and more. What a great, educational way to teach kids about protecting marine life!

Along the same lines, another great publication is the Chesapeake Bay Activity Book, also put out by NOAA. This book for young children provides information on the Chesapeake Bay watershed and gives them the opportunity to color, connect the dots, try word searches, and even make recipes.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also puts out a great coloring and activity book called Marty and Jett’s Activity Book: Let’s Have Fun with Fire and Safety.

Also from FEMA, your kids’ favorite Sesame Street characters team up to teach about fire safety, hot and cold, and what to do when you hear a smoke alarm. Sesame Street Fire Safety Station: Color and Learn includes ideas for mapping emergency escape routes from your home and a few safety rhymes that can be sung.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has teamed up with the American Cancer Society to create the Mission Sunwise Activity Book, which provides puzzles and pages to color about how to be safe in the sun and to use sunscreen.

From the Department of Energy, try Energy Activities With Energy Ant.

And these are just a small sampling of the amazing publications out there!

As always, parents can also visit their local Federal depository library to find these great resources. With more than 1,200 locations around the country, what could be easier?

Locate a depository library near you.

4 Comments | Children, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency, NOAA | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
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Out in the Ozone

December 8, 2010

As usual, I’ve been rummaging through stacks of new Government publications to find inspiration for this blog. Today, Discoveries from EOS Aura caught my eye. It’s a colorful booklet about the Aura satellite, which is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS) program. I confess that I was a bit hesitant when I turned to the first page and saw a list of such things as the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). I’m not a technophobe, but all of that sounded out of my league!

I shouldn’t have worried, though. Discoveries from EOS Aura is accessible to the layperson and touches upon a lot of the significant scientific and environmental issues of the past few decades. The Aura satellite uses HIRDLS, OMI, and two other instruments to measure levels of ozone, aerosols, and key gases throughout the atmosphere, and this publication features highlights from the past five years of research.

One highlight: according to Aura, thanks to the international agreement to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from use in air conditioners and refrigerators, the notorious ozone hole in the stratosphere is closing due to a decline in the chlorine from CFCs. That means the ozone layer can perform its crucial role of protecting us from solar infrared radiation. Another less positive highlight: Aura data-generated maps show how sulfur and nitrogen dioxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC) like formaldehyde, and other human-generated intruders continue to pollute the air we breathe. Aura’s data are so good that they indicate a lessening of industrial pollution on Sundays over North America and Europe, and Saturdays over Israel. Aura also detected a lessening of pollution over China as a result of that country’s atmospheric cleanup prior to the last Olympics (it’s back up again, unfortunately).

I’m always looking for interesting facts in my reading material, and this publication has plenty. Some years ago, there was some discussion of the idea that trees cause air pollution. (I remember seeing a photo of a tree upon which someone had hung a sign that said “Stop me before I kill again”!) The basis of this theory was the emission of isoprene, a VOC that can increase surface (AKA “bad”) ozone, by some species of trees, especially in the Northeastern U.S. Scientists know that trees really do this, although they don’t know exactly why. The key point of the “trees cause air pollution” flap, however, is that without nitrogen oxides from cars, industry, and power plants, surface ozone would be low even when isoprene levels are high. The verdict: not guilty!

Discoveries from EOS Aura is just an introduction to the vast amounts of information that this little-known program is generating. On the Aura Web site, you’ll find lots more, including observations of the havoc wrought in the atmosphere by that Icelandic volcano earlier this year. I wasn’t able to find an online version of this booklet (I know some blog readers may regard this as a challenge!), but you can get a printed copy here.

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A Portrait of America in Maps

December 2, 2010

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by geography.  I liked to pore over the maps of the various continents, with their bright colors and exotic place names. Later, as a history major, I was even more taken with historical maps – those that showed countries that arose, changed their boundaries, or sometimes vanished altogether. I guess it’s a sort of progression from the simple to the complex, but now I’m often drawn to maps that reveal the social and economic makeup of a state, a region, or a nation. I’m more verbal than visual, but an image does make these intangible influences on our world more concrete for me.

That brings me to the Census Bureau’s Census Atlas of the United States. Through my work at GPO, I had an inside view of the various stages of development that converted raw data from the 2000 census of population into the really incredible profusion of maps that fill this huge (about 12.25 x 15.25 inches), colorful, (I know from personal experience the diligence and talent that went into producing these huge full-color maps) and (dare I say it?) unique publication.

It’s unique because this atlas, more than any publication I can think of, visually portrays the key trends in American life at the turn of the century – age and sex, ethnicity, work life, education, income and poverty, housing – that comprise everyday reality for all of us in this country. For example, I’m Scottish on my father’s side and Polish on my mother’s side. I can look at the Ancestry section, see maps depicting the distribution of those Americans who self-identify as either, and learn that there are a lot of both in the Northeast. It also tells me where in the country I’m more likely to find kielbasa or mince and tatties if I get a craving (experts say that when self-conscious ethnicity fades, food is the last thing to go!)

Seriously, though, the Atlas covers virtually every longer-term social and economic trend you can call to mind, all illustrated by maps that make it easier to grasp those trends. You can look at this outstanding book here, get a personal copy here, or find it in a library. Meanwhile, I’ll be planning my ethnic food trip…

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A Pearl Harbor Conspiracy?

November 29, 2010

If you’re a history buff like me, a good historical mystery or controversy can make for excellent reading, even if you have doubts as to how mysterious or controversial the subject is. For example, did the American Government and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt have advance information about Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and was this fact later suppressed, either to conceal incompetence or because the President wanted an act of aggression to force American into war with the Axis Powers?

One of the most written-about pieces of this historical puzzle is the so-called “West Wind Execute” message, Japan’s code phrase to advise its diplomats abroad that an attack on America was imminent. In West Wind Clear: Cryptology and the Winds Message Controversy – a Documentary History, the National Security Agency’s Center for Cryptologic History has tackled the complex history of this message, when it was sent, and why its existence or non-existence has exercised the imaginations of academics, amateur historians, and conspiracy buffs since the 1940s. Crucially, it includes many key documents, some never before published, dealing with the voluminous Japanese signals traffic leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack and the timing of signals interception and decoding.

The thrust of West Wind Clear, which is backed up by meticulous and extensive research and documentation, is that the Winds messages did exist, but they were only one string among many Japanese communications instructing diplomats to burn their code books and take other 11th hour measures to prepare for war. In fact, the actual West Wind Execute message was broadcast after the attack began. The authors state that the main source of continuing debate over the “who knew and when” question resulted from a number of contradictory statements by a well-respected American cryptographer, Captain Laurence Safford, USN, whose reliability as a witness was undermined during the hearings of the 1946  Joint Congressional Committee investigation of the Pearl Harbor debacle. He was unable to produce any documentary evidence and was shown to have changed his story of a pre-December 7 West Wind Execute message numerous times.

Despite these findings from a committee whose members included some who gladly would have found neglect or malfeasance at the root of the Roosevelt Administration’s handling of the run-up to war, the West Wind controversy has persisted in popular accounts that lent credibility to the stories of Safford and Ralph Briggs, a radio operator who many years after the fact claimed to recollect a West Wind Execute message before the attack.

West Wind Clear makes a strong and well-documented case against a suppressed warning of war. For conspiracy theorists, who tend to operate within a closed intellectual system, no evidence is convincing enough, but to me, this story of bureaucratic confusion, stress, and misunderstanding seems much more authentic (and common) as an explanation for “the fog of war” surrounding the Winds messages. You can read this book here, order your own copy here, or find it in a library.

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Striking Photos from the DC Area’s National Parks

November 24, 2010

For some reason, picture books keep on popping up here at Government Book Talk. Just the other day I blogged about a Marine Corps book of photos taken in Afghanistan. Today, it’s the National Park Service (NPS), with a splendid collection of photographs taken throughout the NPS National Capital Region. A Photographer’s Path: Images of National Parks Near the Nation’s Capital is a winning collection of images highlighting nature and history in the Greater Washington DC area.

The photos, all taken by Tom Paradis of NPS, highlight the beautiful (a royal red cardinal flower with ascending blooms of scarlet, shot in DC’s own Rock Creek Park), the bizarre (a leopard/tiger-patterned stalk of the grimly named American cancer-root, taken along the George Washington Memorial Parkway), and even the glitzy (neon lights illuminating the restored amusement park arcade façade at Maryland’s Glen Echo Park). As a longtime parks visitor and Old Dominion resident, I particularly enjoyed the photos of Dyke Marsh, a wetlands paradise within shouting distance of Alexandria, Virginia. There’s a really cool shot of a verdigrised cannon at Manassas National Battlefield Park, and this park also is represented among the nature photos.

Because the photographs are really the raison d’etre of this book, text is minimal, but Megan Nortrup of NPS has done a nice job of using a minimum of words to evoke the maximum mystique of each image. A Photographer’s Path is really an extraordinarily attractive publication and a testimony both to the talents of Government employees and the marvels of America’s National Parks, even in so urbanized an area as this one. You can get a copy of this brand new book here.

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Afghanistan Up Close

November 22, 2010

Awhile back I blogged about the war in Afghanistan and international law. It’s a very big but useful leap to move from a thorough and scholarly study of the ins and outs of the rules of war or the legality of border crossings to Afghanistan: Alone & Unafraid. This beautiful coffee table book of photographs from the U.S. Marine Corps transports you from the scholar’s study directly to the landscape and people of that starkly beautiful and troubled country. The photographer, Lieutenant Colonel David A Benhoff, is a Marine Corps field historian who used his personal Camera to capture these striking images.

The first part of the book consists of photos shot in the countryside, using both color and black and white images to bring to life the mountains and plains, but above all the faces – faces of bearded men, women in head scarves, and smiling children – lots of children. Whether they smile or not, their direct and open gazes highlight the way in which these people view Colonel Benhoff, the American presence, and the world.

The second part of the book switches to the Afghan National Army, or ANA. Here, the images are more of men in the process of learning the arts of modern Western warfare than of green troops in basic training. As one marine sergeant comments, “These guys have been fighting forever….I’m not gonna teach him how to fight.”

I won’t go on an on about Afghanistan: Alone & Unafraid. The real impact of this finely produced book comes from the images, for which the front cover will have to suffice (see above). You don’t have to be an expert on Afghanistan or its troubles to be impressed by the photos, but their very vividness does bring home the continuing travails of an ancient land and its peoples, caught in the web of current international politics and crises. You can get a copy here  or find it in a library.

6 Comments | U.S. Marines | Tagged: , | Permalink
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The World’s Most Enigmatic Manuscript

November 18, 2010

Have you ever read a Government publication that discussed such topics as the Hermetic tradition, astrology, demonic and angelic magic, alchemy, the Cabala, and the history of Hindu-Arabic numerals?

I thought not.

All of those esoteric subjects and more can be found in The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma, published by the National Security Agency (NSA). The Voynich manuscript, often dubbed “the world’s most mysterious manuscript,” is a remarkable conglomeration, written in an unknown script and language and profusely illustrated with carefully rendered images of unidentified plants, enigmatic astronomical drawings, and puzzling human figures. Known to have existed since the late 16th century, when it was owned by the physician of that most enigmatic of rulers, the Emperor Rudolf II of Austria, it has been labeled variously as a magical manual, a herbarium, and a hoax. NSA’s interest stems from the widely held belief that the manuscript is enciphered. The noted American cryptologist William Friedman, as well as many other professionals and amateurs, have tried without success to crack the code – if code there is.

The Voynich Manuscript gives a brief history of this mystery, along with its possible connections to the topics I’ve listed above, and a discussion of the many unsuccessful attempts to crack the code or cipher, or at least discover whether it is written in a natural or artificial language. Although none has been successful, efforts are still underway, as even a brief perusal of the Internet reveals.

Is it a hoax? If so, the hoaxer must have labored for years to create it – surely too much effort for very little known return. Given the penchant of early modern scientists and philosophers to disguise their researches through the use of symbols and allegory, its obscurity is not unprecedented, although obviously extreme. One clue may reside in this book’s reference to the Art of Memory, a system of using physical or mental landmarks to enable the memorization of incredible amounts of information. Is the Voynich manuscript a colossal “memory palace”?

The Voynich Manuscript is more evidence that the world of Government publications is almost infinitely vast and surprising. It tells a great story and provides enough decipherment tables to delight the amateur and aficionado alike. You can read this very unusual publication here, order your own copy, find it in a library, or, to get a real feel for thee original (and maybe solve the mystery!), you can study the real thing, page by page. Note: Some readers have run into a problem in downloading the PDF of the Voynich Manuscript. Try clicking the link that says “PDF with text,” which downloads much quicker.

25 Comments | National Security Agency | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
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Tips for Travelers to Mexico

November 17, 2010

Guest blogger Ingrid Reyes-Arias sounds ready to pack her bags!

I’ve recently discovered how much I love to travel! It can be either extremely difficult or easy to plan for a trip.  My first few travel journeys were a disaster and I didn’t enjoy myself as much as I could have.  I do plan everything, but if you’re anything like me, you don’t always leave room for unexpected problems.  Now, wouldn’t it be great for someone else to plan your trip and give you useful tips? Well, if you’re a recent college graduate like me, that’s probably not the most money-saving option. So why not buy a booklet that has it all?

The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs has provided the American public with a guide, Tips for Travelers to Mexico, which is a great asset in any trip to Mexico. 

This guide begins with important information on “How to Have a Safe and Healthy Trip.”  There’s information on important things to know before you go, the U.S. Consular Information Program, health-related topics, safety tips, information on traveling using your car or a rental car, crime, and how to avoid legal problems. 

Not only does the guide provide this information, it also lists useful resources, such as the American Embassy, in case you lose your passport, contact information for U.S. Consulates General in different parts of Mexico, and U.S. Trade Centers. If, for some reason, you decide to purchase wildlife or wildlife products, this book provides a list of items that could be confiscated and possibly subject you to a fine because they are prohibited from international traffic.  

I would suggest getting this travel guide for your next trip to Mexico and taking it everywhere you go.  If you’re on a budget but need information, take the time to read over Tips for Travelers to Mexico and then pass it on to help others on their journeys.  You can browse through it here  or get your own copy via the GPO Bookstore. Note: Since this is an older publication, for the latest State Department information on travel to Mexico, go to this page.

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From Segregation to Integration in the Armed Forces

November 10, 2010

This year’s Veterans Day program at the Government Printing Office features a speaker who served in the U.S. Army from 1947 to 1951, including 9 months on the front line in Korea. He’s a member of the Buffalo Soldiers organization, which preserves the memory of the six all African-American Army units formed after the Civil War for service in the American West. Their service, also commemorated at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, is a proud chapter in American history but also a reminder of the days when the armed forces were segregated by race.

Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 tells the story of how this not so creditable period in our history was brought to an end. This definitive administrative history provides a capsule history of African-Americans in the armed forces and how both the professed war aims of the U.S. and civil rights activists combined to bring this issue to the fore. Interestingly, the book also points out that the post-war attempt to maintain segregated military units through the use of quotas while expanding the pool of African-American servicemen by conscription caused even very traditional military men to reassess the need for integration for the sake of military efficiency, if nothing else. After President Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981, calling on the armed forces to provide equal treatment and opportunity for black servicemen, the barriers began to fall, although other issues, particularly housing, made the process of integration extend well into the 1960’s.

Even civilian employees in the defense establishment endured the pains of segregation and the slow evolutionary path of its demise. The Invisible Cryptologists: African-Americans, WW II to 1956 is a sort of microhistory of one small Government agency’s journey from racial injustice.  World War II saw what was then the Signals Intelligence Service (SIS) hire African-Americans, up until then employed mainly as messengers, to decipher commercial telegraph codes that might contain valuable information emanating from companies Tokyo, Berlin, and other international locations. After the war, the machine section (or “the plantation,” one of its numerous unflattering nicknames) used African Americans to transfer Russian intercepts from radio tapes to punch cards – a tedious job in hot and dirty conditions without any realistic possibility of promotion up and out.

Slowly, things began to change, as Executive Order 9981 and other developments ushered in an era when jobs as polygraph operators and, by the 1950’s, linguists and analysts, began to open up. The Invisible Cryptologists is at its best when it not only tells the story of segregation and integration, but lets some of the characters in that story speak for themselves. As one former employee said, “I was so involved in what the Agency stood for, and I wanted it to be better. I had a feeling things were going to get better. Everybody in there was not evil. I felt that one day African Americans would be able to break out of this box.”

Yes, it was a discreditable period, but these books show that our Government and our country, when confronted with injustice, were able to change. They’re both worth reading. You can find Integration of the Armed Forces here or buy a copy here. You can read The Invisible Cryptologists here or order a free copy here.

5 Comments | National Security Agency, U.S. Army | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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Tributes to Ted Kennedy

November 8, 2010

One of the most venerable traditions in the Federal Government is the publication of memorial addresses commemorating the careers of recently deceased Members of Congress. Even a cursory review via the Internet reveals that this practice extends back to the mid-19th century. That same review shows that, for the most part, despite the undoubtedly distinguished services of the individuals so honored, history has a way of eroding their fame, as it does for most of us.

I suspect that this won’t be the case for Senator Edward M. Kennedy – at least not for a long time. His unique family background, with its achievements and tragedies, as well as his own long, eventful, and productive career in the Senate, should keep his fame alive for a generation or two, at least.

What strikes me about Edward M. Kennedy, Late a Senator from Massachusetts: Memorial Addresses and Other Tributes, though, is what it shows about the more human interactions among the late Senator and his colleagues. Regardless of party or ideological persuasion, it’s heartening to read about political opponents who still are able to find common ground on certain issues and act positively to address them. You’ll also find a fair amount of humor, as well as personal anecdotes that portray Senator Kennedy as a genuinely genial and thoughtful person and a man of his word both politically and personally. It’s not a bad way to be remembered, and makes me think that there may be more good will and understanding among our legislators than we’re usually led to think. It cheered me up to read this book.

 A typical quote, this one from Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina: “The only thing I can tell you about Senator Kennedy, without any hesitation, is if he told you he would do something, that is all you needed to hear. A handshake from him was better than a video deposition from most people.”

Edward M. Kennedy, Late a Senator from Massachusetts: Memorial Addresses and Other Tributes is available online at GPO. You can obtain either a paperback or handsome hardback edition here.

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Secret Codes and the Founding Fathers

November 5, 2010

Never say “never.” I recently blogged about Thomas Jefferson’s Library, a reprint of our third President’s library catalogue as recreated by his secretary, Nicholas P. Trist. I’ve always been intrigued by Trist’s subsequent checkered diplomatic career, so I added, “Trist later had a controversial career as a diplomat – if I ever find a Government publication concerning him, you’ll hear all about it,” assuming that the chances of finding a book like that were practically nil. Meanwhile, I had requested copies of a number of publications from the Center for Cryptologic History at the National Security Agency to blog about. After they arrived, I began thumbing through Masked Dispatches: Cryptograms and Cryptology in American History, 1775-1900. Of course, the title of Chapter 15 is “Nicholas Trist Code.”  That’s why I decided to discuss this book first.

Masked Dispatches presents some of the Founding fathers as active participants in spycraft. America’s first espionage code was devised by Benjamin Tallmadge, General George Washington’s director of secret service, for use by a spy ring set up in New York in 1778. Another chapter discusses Washington’s supplying of invisible ink to Tallmadge. What would Parson Weems have thought?

Not surprisingly, Thomas Jefferson’s contribution to the world of codes and ciphers was a mechanical device – a wheel cylinder. Although not much came of this invention, which was developed some time before 1802, in 1922 the Army adopted a similar device, bearing out President John F. Kennedy’s White House remarks to a roomful of Nobel Prize winners: “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

Even less surprisingly, Aaron Burr, that brilliant and ever-controversial character, appears in Masked Dispatches, as does John Quincy Adams in his role as America’s representative at the Prussian court. While in Berlin, he developed a sliding strip cipher – apparently not the easiest device to use, but another tribute to early American ingenuity and aptitude for secrecy.

The book includes much more – a chapter on Civil War ciphers, the use of codes during the 1876 Tilden-Hayes Presidential election scandal, and several descriptions of State Department codes. Particularly intriguing are the many reproductions of the various codes and ciphers, so  puzzle lovers and would-be spies can spend hours encoding and decoding.

Masked Dispatches and other publications on the history of cryptology can be ordered from the Center for Cryptologic History area of the National Security Agency’s web site, or you can find it in a library. I’ll be blogging about some more of these excellent books in the near future.

Oh, wait, Nicholas Trist! According to Masked Dispatches, when he was Chief Clerk of the State Department, President James K. Polk sent him to Mexico as a secret agent in an effort to end the Mexican War. From Mexico, Trist wrote to Secretary of State James Buchanan and explained his design for a code. It was a book code, but the title of the particular book he used was a mystery until the 1980’s, when shrewd scholarly detective work revealed that it was an obscure book on the Spanish language (Verdaderos principios de la lengua castellana by Joseph Borras). Trist successfully negotiated the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo, which ended the war, but only after ignoring his recall by Polk. The President accepted the treaty but fired his emissary – and Trist didn’t even get paid for his time in Mexico!

59 Comments | National Security Agency | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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