Book reviews and more!

Posts tagged with ‘Science’

THE FLY TRAP by Fredrik Sjöberg

June 24, 2016

EXTRAVAGANTLY ECCENTRIC MEMOIR from a Swedish entomologist charms with its love of nature, science, history.

Grade: B PLUS

THE FLY TRAP
Knopf Doubleday
2015

Tags: , , , , ,

THE STORM OF CREATIVITY by Kyna Leski

April 20, 2016

THE ELEMENTS OF CREATIVITY explored. Lovely, spare prose! Examples from nature, science, architecture, arts. A MINUS

THE STORM OF CREATIVITY
MIT Press
2015

Grade: A MINUS

Tags: , , , , , ,

INTO THE HEART OF OUR WORLD by David Whitehouse

April 13, 2016

BENEATH EARTH’S SURFACE with the researchers seeking to understand its depths. Fantastic science writing! A MINUS

INTO THE HEART OF OUR WORLD: A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH: A REMARKABLE VOYAGE OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
Pegasus
2016

Grade: A MINUS

Tags: , , , ,

SEX IN THE SEA by Marah J. Hardt

February 24, 2016

THE SEX LIVES OF MARINE animals, entertainingly discussed by a marine conservation ecologist. Racy stuff! B PLUS

SEX IN THE SEA : OUR INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH SEX-CHANGING FISH, ROMANTIC LOBSTERS, KINKY SQUID, AND OTHER SALTY EROTICA OF THE DEEP
St. Martin’s Press
2016

Grade: B PLUS

Tags: , , , ,

NATURE’S NETHER REGIONS by Menno Schilthuizen

July 3, 2014

THE BIZARRE AND FASCINATING COMPLEXITY of genital evolution, from snails to spiders to humans. Astonishing! A MINUS

Grade: A MINUS

NATURE'S NETHER REGIONS: WHAT THE SEX LIVES OF BUGS, BIRDS, AND BEASTS TELL US ABOUT EVOLUTION, BIODIVERSITY, AND OURSELVES
Viking
2014

Tags: , , ,

YOU ARE HERE by Hiawatha Bray

May 30, 2014

AN ENTERTAINING, INFORMATIVE HISTORY of navigational technology, from lodestones to satellites to GPS. SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

YOU ARE HERE: FROM THE COMPASS TO THE GPS, THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF HOW WE FIND OURSELVES
Basic Books
2014

Tags: , , , , , ,

INHERITANCE by Sharon Moalem

May 21, 2014

A DOCTOR AND GENETICS RESEARCHER’S informal overview of how our environment can affect our gene expression. SOLID B

Grade: SOLID B

INHERITANCE: HOW OUR GENES CHANGE OUR LIVES---AND HOW OUR LIVES CHANGE OUR GENES
Grand Central Publishing
2014

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

THE MUSHROOM HUNTERS, by Langdon Cook

January 20, 2014

THE WILD WEST WORLD of professional mushroom hunting, brought to life in all its seedy, picaresque glory.

Grade: B PLUS

THE MUSHROOM HUNTERS: ON THE TRAIL OF AN UNDERGROUND AMERICA
Ballantine
2013

Tags: , , , , ,

FRANKENSTEIN’S CAT, by Emily Anthes

July 7, 2013

BIOENGINEERED ANIMALS?  ENGAGING overview of the past, present, and near future of high-tech beasties.

Grade: SOLID B

FRANKENSTEIN'S CAT: CUDDLING UP TO BIOTECH'S BRAVE NEW BEASTS
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2013

Tags: , , , , ,

WEIRD LIFE, by David Toomey

May 17, 2013

EARTH’S STRANGEST LIFEFORMS and the hunt for other “extremophiles” on land, in ocean, in space.  Fun science!

Grade: B PLUS

WEIRD LIFE: THE SEARCH FOR LIFE THAT IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN
W. W. Norton & Company
2013

Tags: , , , ,