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El Niño: A Guide for Policy Makers. Klenk Jeffrey. May be requested from: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The publication is pivoted around El Niño weather phenomenon and critical issues associated with the phenomenon. Starting from the definitions and fundamentals the publication goes on to address the impacts of El Niño and the possible mitigation measures to minimize the adverse impacts. Most complex phenomena are presented in a simple and understandable way making it an attractive volume for professional from different disciplines.

Human Choice and Climatic Change. Vol.1-4. Available in hard or soft cover. Order from: Battelle Press, 505 King Ave., Columbus OH 43201, USA. Tel: 800-451-3543; Fax: 614-424-3819; E-mail: press@battelle.org; http://www.battelle.org/bookstore.

The book provides an assessment of social science research relevant to global climate change from a wide-ranging interdisciplinary perspective. Researchers examine climate change issues in the context of social issues such as population and consumption; cultural, institutional, and economic arrangements for human well-being; and the social processes by which decisions are made from local to global levels. The four volume assessment is intended to complement the work of the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Pacific ENSO Bulletin.

A publication of the Pacific El Niño- Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Application Centre, a pilot project established to conduct research and produce information products on climate variability related to the ENSO climate cycle in the (USAPI). Contact: Alan C. Hilton, LT/NOAA, Editor, Pacific ENSO Update, Editor, Pacific ENSO Application Centre, c/o Dept. of Meteorology, HIG Room 331, University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, 2525 Correa Rd., Honolulu, HI 96822; Tel: 808-956-2324; Fax: 808-956-2877;
E-mail: hilton@soest.hawaii.edu;
http://www.naulu.soest.hawaii.edu.

Produced quarterly with additional special reports as needed on important changes in ENSO conditions. The bulletin is intended to supply information for the benefit of those involved in such climate-sensitive sectors as civil defence, resource management and developmental planning in the various jurisdiction of the USAPI.

The Distribution of Seeds and Tools in Emergencies. Douglas Johnson. 1997. ISBN 0855983833, 96pp. £6.95 plus postage and handling. May be requested from, 274 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7DZ, United Kingdom or IT Publications.

The first in the Skills and Practices series. This book provides detailed guidelines to those contemplating a seeds-and-tools programme; and includes sections on essential information, methods of distribution, technical information on types of seeds and tools, purchase, transport and storage. It also deals with community participation and the importance of involving the recipients, especially women, at every stage and the long-term approach needed o approach these interventions.

Developing Building for Safety Programmes: Guidelines for Organizing Safe Building Programmes in Disaster-prone Areas. Yasemin Aysan, Andrew Clayton, Alistair Cory, Ian Davis and David Sanderson. 1995. ISBN 1853391840, 120pp. £8.95 plus postage and handling. Order from IT Publications, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC 1B 4HH, UK; Tel: +44 171 436 2031; Fax: +44 171 436 2031; E-mail: orders@itpubs.org.uk. Summarizes the basic principles to be considered in the planning and implementation of community-based building improvement programmes for small dwellings in disaster prone areas. Includes case studies illustrating suggestions made.

Climates and Societies - A Climatological Perspective: A Contribution on Global and Related Problems Prepared by the Commission on Climatology of the International Geographical Union. Ed. Masatoshi Yoshino, Manfred Domrös, Annick Douguédroit, Janusz Paszynski and Lawrence C. Nkemdirim. 1997. ISBN 0-7923-4324-7. 416pp. NLG 290.00/ GBP 108.00 plus postage and handling. Order from: Kluwer Academic Publishers, Distribution Center, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-78-6392392; Fax: +31-78-654674; E-mail: services@wkap.nl.

The book addresses many of the issues raised in the debate on global change, providing a new point of view on climate which is being integrated into the space and time organization of societies. The volume contains three main parts: climatic changes and fluctuations; climates in a regional scale, including problems from tropical through temperate zones to polar regions; and man-climate relationships on a local scale. This book aims to describe these facts from the various space scales - global, regional and local-and also different time scales-post-glacial, historical and recent periods. Since climate affects all kinds of human activities such as agriculture forestry architecture, civil engineering, transportation, tourism, health, etc., this book may contribute to the work of researchers, planners and policy makers in a wide variety of fields

Climatic Change: An Interdisciplinary, Internal Journal Devoted to the Description, Causes and Implications of Climatic Change, Vol. 38-40. Ed. Stephen H. Schneider. 1998. ISSN 0165-0009, NLG 1950.00/USD 1000.50 include. postage/handling. Order from Kluwer Academic Publishers, Distribution Center, P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-78-6392392; Fax: +31-78-654674; E-mail: services@wkap.nl.

Climatic Change provides a means of exchange among those working on problems related to climatic variations but in different disciplines facilitating the opportunity to share different perspectives and to communicate their investigations. The journal is dedicated to the totality of the problem of climatic variability and change, its descriptions, causes, implications and interactions among these. The journal also includes a rigorous editorial and book review sections.

Refugee Health: An Approach to Emergency Situations. Medicines San Frontiers. 1997. ISBN 0333722108, 380pp. £5.85 plus postage and handling. May be requested from Macmillan............ or IT Publications

Refugees Health deals with a variety of specific refugees, health issues at decisional level, and discusses the priorities of intervention during the different stages of a refugee crisis, from emergency to repatriation. Intended for professionals involved in public health assistance to refugees and displaced persons.

What is a Disaster? Perspectives on the Question. Ed. Quarantelli, E.L. March 1998. ISBN 0-415-17898-3 (hbk), 0-415-17899-1 (pbk), 312pp. Order from Routledge, 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE or 29 West, 35th Street, New York, NY 10001, www.routledge.com.

Social science disaster researchers from six different disciplines advance their views on what a disaster is. Clashes in the conceptions enriches the book's unique composition while preserving author's separately advanced views. The reaction papers presented by the experts in the disaster research field to each set of views and counter reactions by the original authors enhance the originality of the ideas. As a result What is a Disaster? sets out the significant conceptual differences that exist concerning what a disaster is, and presents important implications for theory, study and practice. Some argue for a continuation of the traditional approach to disasters when others persist on a postmodernist framework. The answer to what seems a simple question is shown to be both complex and controversial.