SCIENCE 110 BOOK REVIEW CHOICES

FALL 2004

1 Adair, R. (2002). The physics of baseball. Perennial. Written by a physics professor at Yale and a baseball fan, this book allows for a playful view into physics. Adair goes into the science of the sport while still maintaining an athletic point.

2 Altman, Linda. (1997). Women inventors. New York: Facts On File. Altman gives credit and recognition to 10 women inventors in this book. The reader is given a glimpse into the interesting lives of women who invented such things as liquid paper, the Barbie doll, and technique for measuring microscopic thickness.

3 Andrade, E. (1954). Sir Isaac Newton. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. This book gives a brief look into the life of Sir Isaac Newton. The life of Newton, one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of all time makes for a very interesting and intriguing book

4 Ball, P. (2000). Life’s matrix: A biography of water. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. In this book, Ball manages to cover the topic of water and all its properties in a most interesting way. He even makes the claim that water is the weirdest liquid because it is crooked. This is a definite read as it takes you though the start of time and shows where and how water relates for the beginning of time.

5 de Boer, J., & Sanders, D. (2002). Volcanoes in human history. The far-reaching effect of major eruptions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The geologist authors tell the stories of nine major volcanic eruptions and their long lasting effects on humankind. Read about the eruptions that lead to the myth of the lost city of Atlantis, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815 caused the “year without a summer” here in North America and caused more deaths in Europe than the battle at Waterloo and more.

6 Bruce, V. (2001). No apparent danger: The true story of volcanic disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz. Perennial. Read about the circumstances surrounding the unnecessary death of 23,000 people in Nevado del Ruiz, Columbia in 1985. Failure to heed scientific warnings of an upcoming volcanic eruption resulted in this tragedy. Based on this disaster along with the tragedy of Galeras, Bruce explains the danger behind ignoring scientific warning.

7 Carlson, S. (2000). Scientific American’s “the Amateur Scientist”. Tinkers Guild.

8 Casati, R. (2003). The shadow club: The greatest mystery in the universe, shadows, and the thinkers who unlocked their secrets. (A. Asher, Trans.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

9 Cashford, J. (2003). The Moon: Myth and Image. Four Walls Eight Windows.

10 Chown, M. (2001). The magic furnace: The search for the origin of atoms. New York: Oxford University Press.

11 Conant, J. (2002). Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II. Simon & Schuster.

12 Deffeyes, Kenneth S. (2001). Hubberts peak: The impending world oil shortage. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The author of this book is a geologist who is a professor Princeton University, a former employee of Shell Oil. He explains the basics of oil exploration and drilling as well as predicting the impending oil crisis which will be caused by a decrease in oil production and the ever increasing demand for oil products. He uses a scientific method to predict that world oil production will soon peak and start falling, never to return to today’s highs.

13 Davies, P. (2003). How to Build a Time Machine. Penguin USA.

14 Dickson, P. (2001). Sputnik: The shock of the century. New York: Walker Pub. This is the history of the first satellite launched into space, and the many effects it had on the world and especially the United States. This achievement by our arch enemy struck a deep fear the country. This fear led to many changes in education, policy making and struck so much fear into then 10 year old Stephen King, that he claims it was a major influence in his career as an author of horror fiction.

15 Dorminey, B. (2002). Distant wanderers: The search for planets beyond the solar system. New York: Copernicus. Since 1995 more than 60 planet-like objects outside our solar system have been detected. Dorminey describes the specialized methods used for studying these planets, and how the search for them takes place. According to Jack Weigel’s review for the Library Journal the science in this book may make for difficult reading for non-scientists.

16 Dubos, R. (1986). Louis Pasteur: FreeLance of science. New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. A book telling of the scientific career of Louis Pasteur, the scientist who made discoveries that led to the development of the pasteurization process, rabies vaccines, and the then controversial theory that many diseases are caused by germs.

17 Emsley, J. (1999). Molecules at an exhibition: Portraits of intriguing materials in everyday life. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. Do you want to know about the ingredient in Coke that can remove rust? Or the molecule in chocolate that is so similar in shape and size to the illegal drug Ecstasy? Do you want to know about “Molecules from Hell?” (one section of the book is devoted to molecules such as nerve gas and thallium sulfate.) Fascinating facts and stories about molecules are to be found in this collection of essays.

18 Ehrlich, R. (2001). Nine Crazy Ideas in Science: A Few Might Even Be True. Princeton Univ. Dept of Art.

19 Feynman, R. (1999). The pleasure of finding things out: The best short works of Richard P. Feynman. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Helix Books, Perseus Books. This is a collection of talks, interviews, and essays by Feynman. Feynman is one of the most celebrated physicist of our time. For this reason, the book is a marvelous read as he gives us a view of the world we live in.

20 Fisher, L. (2003). How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science in Everyday Life. Little Brown & Co.

21 Hartmann, W. K. (2003). A Traveler’s Guide to Mars: The Mysterious Landscapes of the Red Planet. Workman Pub Co.

22 Hawking, S. (1993). Black holes and baby universes and other essays. New York: Bantam Books. This collection of essays includes topics including contemporary physics, autobiographical information, and even some philosophy of science. One essay tells readers what music the author would like to have with him if was stranded on a desert island, while another delves into the science of black holes. He also writes about his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) which has forced him into a wheel chair and made talking without the help of a computer speech synthesizer impossible.

23 Hawking, S. (1993). Stephen Hawking’s brief history of time. New York: Bantam Books. This book was written to help the non-scientist understand the questions and topics being studied by theoretical physicists. Topics include gravity, the Big-bang theory, black holes, and how time works.

24 Hawking, S. (2001). The universe in a nutshell. New York: Bantam Books. Written by one of the most acclaimed and influential physicist of all time, this book explains and touches base on many aspects of physics and the universe. In an effort to provide an all-encompassing explanation of how our universe works, Hawking does a superb job.

25 Hayden, R. (1992). 7 African-American scientists. Frederick, Md.: Twenty-First Century Books. This book looks at the lives and work of seven black American scientists.

26 Herken, G. (2003). Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller. Owl Books.

27 Highfield, R. (2002). The Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works. Viking Pr.

28 Hoffman, P. (2001). Tomorrow’s energy: Hydrogen, fuel cells, and the prospect for a cleaner planet. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Using hydrogen as a fuel source could be the answer to the Green House effect, depleted oil supplies, and other pollution problems caused by using fossil fuels. The author tells us the history of hydrogen as an energy source, the risks of continuing our dependence on fossil fuels, and about the current research into hydrogen as a major source of energy.

29 Jago, Lucy. (2001). The northern lights: The true story of the man who unlocked the secrets of the aurora borealis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. This is a biography of the interesting and sad life of the Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland who struggled to understand the northern lights and the electromagnetic fields that cause them. The scientific details are presented in an understandable way.

30 Kaler, J. (2001) Extreme stars: At the edge of creation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This is a ten chapter book with great photos and diagrams to accompany the text. The author takes the reader through the life cycle of stars and presents sections on topics such as the hottest, oldest, youngest, and strangest stars our universe has seen.

31 Kass-Simon, G. (1990). Women of science: Righting the record. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. The essays of this book describe the work of women scientists in many different fields.

32 Katz, J. (2002). The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe. Oxford Univ. Press.

33 Kerrod, R. (2003). Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe. Firefly Books Ltd.

34 Levin, Janna. (2002). How the universe got its spots: Diary of a finite time in a finite space. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. This book is made up of a collection of letters written by Levin intended for her mother. These letters describe her seek to understand the world and what her place is in it. Because of the format of the book, the reader is given almost like a secret passage into the intimate life of Levin and so the book is very engaging.

35 Lewis, Grace. (1999). 1001 chemicals in everyday products. New York: Wiley. This is a guide book to chemicals found in products everywhere from your refrigerator, to the garage, bathroom, and shed. It explains the uses of the chemicals and has safety and environmental information. The end of the book contains an index to make finding the chemical you are looking for an easier task.

36 Litwin, Laura B. (1999). Benjamin Banneker: Astronomer and mathematician. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers. This is a biography of African American who farmed for most of his adult life but then became a self-taught astronomer and mathematician. He helped survey the land on which Washington D.C. and became an important leader in the abolitionist movement. This book has been praised as good reading for both research and pleasure.

37 Lowrence, W. (1992). Modern science and human values. New York: Oxford University Press. This book explores the ways that science influences philosophy and the choices we make in our lives. The author presents his views and backs them up with references to specific studies.

38 Manning, K. (2000). Black Apollo of sciences: The life of Ernest Everett Just. New York: Oxford University Press. This biography of E.E. Just tells the story of his early struggles to obtain an education, his later research career, and his struggles to make education available to more African Americans.

39 McGrayne, Sharon B. (1998). Nobel prize women in science:, Their lives, struggles, and momentous discoveries. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. Group. The author who used to be a newspaper reporter tells the stories of 15 women. Only 9 of them received Nobel prizes, while the rest of them did critical work which led to Nobel prizes being awarded to men. She tells of their accomplishments, their love of science, their commitment, their sacrifice, and discrimination they endured.

40 McGuire, B. (2002). A guide to the end of the world: Everything you never wanted to know. New York: Oxford University Press.

41 Morrow, Charlene. (1998). Notable women in mathematics: a biographical dictionary. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. The readable essays in this book describe the lives and achievements of 59 women mathematicians in non-technical terms. They have a motivational feel, and contain information not only about the careers of these mathematicians, but their childhoods and educations.

42 Newton, D. (2001). Talking sense in science: helping children understand through talk. New York: Falmer. This book would be a great choice for those who want to teach elementary school children. Each section presents different ways of understanding and talking about science, and is followed by a short assignment to help improve teaching skills.

43 Nies, K. (1987). From Sorceress to scientist: biographies of women physical scientists. Tarzana, Calif.: California Video Institute. This book was written especially as a teaching resource for high school science teachers. It includes 19 biographies of women scientists. Each biography is followed by a lab, activity, or demonstration.

44 Ottaviani, J. (2001). Fallout: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and the political science of the atomic bomb. GT-Labs. Believe it or not this is a non-fiction graphic novel (i.e. comic book) which tells the story of two of creators of the atomic bomb who became known for their moral opposition to the very bomb they helped create.

45 Owen, D. (2002). Hidden secrets: A complete history of espionage and the technology used to support it. Toronto: Firefly Books. Filled with color photographs and illustrations, this book tells about the methods and the gadgets used during the past century in the area of intelligence, and information gathering. A great book for those fascinated with the world of spying.

46 Parker, B. (2003). The Isaac Newton School of driving: Physics & your car. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.

47 Parsons, R. (2001). How to read a french fry: And other stories of intriguing kitchen science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. This book delves into the science of cooking. It explores such things as the why behind ability to put one’s hand in a 500 degree oven, but not in boiling water. Details are given in this book that would never even cross a person’s mind. Interspersed between the lessons, are a variety of recipes.

48 Redfern, R. (2001). Origins: The Evolution of continents, oceans and life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. This book tells the 700 million year journey of the earth’s land masses and oceans. It is full of color illustrations, beautiful photography, and readable essays which give the reader insight into the workings of the movement of the continents.

49 Reice, S. (2001). The silver lining: The benefits of natural disasters. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. With non-technical writing the author describes how floods, fires, winds, can promote biodiversity. He also tells the reader what benefits diverse ecosystems have for us, and why we may want to protect and encourage them.

50 Ropeik, D. (2002). Risk: A Practical Guide for Deciding What’s Really Safe and What’s Really Dangerous in the World Around You. Mariner Books.

51 Rosi, M. (Edt.). (2003). Volcanoes. Firefly Books Ltd.

52 Rothman, M. (1992). The science gap: Dspelling the myths and understanding the reality of science. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. This book has 16 chapters each of which tackles one myth about science. Some examples of myths debunked are: “Nothing is known for sure,” “All scientists are objective,” and “More technology will solve all problems.”

53 Sacks, O., & Cohen, J. (Eds.). (2003). The best American science writing. New York: Ecco.

54 Sacks, O. (2001). Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a chemical boyhood. New York: Alfred A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House. This memoir tells the story of young Oliver Sacks, his early love of chemistry, and how his family encouraged him in his scientific pursuits.

55 Sagan, C. (1979). Broca’s Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. New York: Random House. The author is a wonderful teacher and storyteller who writes about science in such a way to make it accessible to all. In this book he teaches the reader not to believe what she sees but to rely on the scientific method to tell her what is really true. One of the many topics explored in this book is the future of intelligent robots.

56 Sagan, C. (1985). Contact: a novel. New York: Simon & Schuster. Contact is a science fiction novel set in the era of the cold war between the former USSR and the United States. It is an adventure story full of fear of nuclear war, and infused with lots of scientific realities.

57 Sagan, C. (1980). Cosmos. New York: Random House. This is the companion book to the hit science television series of the same name. It is an overview of the history, present, and future of the universe covering the astronomy of 15 billion years in such a way to make it fun and understandable.

58 Santiago, R. (1966). Recollections of my life (Genes, cells, and organisms). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. This is the autobiography of the man who is known as the founder of neuroscience who was born in 1852. The book was first published in 1901. It not only provides the tales of his great accomplishments but lets the reader discover what it was like to be a scientist in the late 1800’s in Spain.

59 Schilling, G. (2002). Flash! The Hunt for the Biggest Explosion in the Universe. Cambridge Univ. Pr.

60 Seaborg, G. (2001). Adventures in the atomic age: From Watts to Washington. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book is an autobiography about an astonishing man with many distinctions. The book details his life from his noble prize to his work on the Manhattan Project and through his creation of eight elements besides the one that was named after him. Seaborg actually carries the honor of being the only human ever to have an element named after them.

61 Sobel, Dava. (1995). Longitude: The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. New York: Walker.

62 Spellman, F. (1998). The Science of Water: concepts & applications. Lancaster, PA: Technomic Pub. Water is necessary to all life. This book emphasizes the important role water plays on our planet and how we need to protect it from pollution, waste, and misuse.

63 Strathern, P. (2001). Mendeleyev’s dream: The Quest for the elements. New York: St. Martins Press. This book tells the history of chemistry, which includes the story of the Russian scientist who devised the first periodic table of elements.

64 Teller, E. (2002). A twentieth-century journey in science and politics. Perseus Books.

65 Tucker, T. (2003). Bolt of fate: Benjamin Frankline and His Electric Kite Hoax. Public Affairs.

66 Uglow, J. (2003). The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World. Farrar Straus & Giroux.

67 Upgren, A. P., & Stock J. (2001). Weather: How it works and why it matters. Perseus. In this book the reader is given a tour of the Earth’s weather. The two authors describe places far away and close to home. They also go into the details behind what causes weather and the seasons to change.

68 Vare, Ethlie. (2002). Patently female: From AZT to TV dinner: Stories of women inventors and their breakthrough ideas. New York: Wiley. The fascinating stories of inventions by women from Kevlar to Jello and beyond.

69 Weightman, G. (2003). Signor Marconi’s magic box: the most remarkable invention of the 19^th century & the amateur inventor whose genius sparked a revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo.

70 Winchester, S. (2003). Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883. Harpercollins.

71 Wolke, R. (2002) What Einstein told his cook: Kitchen science explained. W.W. Norton & Co. This book is a series of questions about chemistry in the kitchen and their answers. The author is a chemist who writes with a generous seasoning of humor, and has compiled some of his best “Food 101” newspaper articles into this collection.

72 Wynn, C. (2001) Quantum leaps in the wrong direction: where real science ends---and pseudoscience begins. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press. Written by a chemistry professor and a physics professor, this small books sets out to tell us all why we shouldn’t believe in UFO’s, tarot cards, horoscopes, out of body experiences, life after death, creationism, and other topics deemed pseudoscience.

73 Yount, Lisa. (1999). A to Z of women in science and math. New York: Facts on File. This book provides biographical information and inspiring stories of 150 women who have made contributions in the fields of science or math. Women from all over the world, from the history and the present are included in the book.

74 Yount, Lisa. (1991). Black scientists. New York: Facts on File. The lives and work of eight Afro-American scientists, both men and women, are profiled in this fact filled book. The introduction provides excellent insight into the obstacles that black Americans have to overcome in the fields of the sciences.

75 Yount, Lisa. (1996). Twentieth-century women scientist. New York: Facts on File. A very readable book with biographical information on 11 women scientists from all over the world.