Though a tad defensive and self-congratulatory, the author emerges as a doughty steward of the land, and his family's legacy.
The grandson of poet Vita Sackville-West records the sometimes murky history of Sissinghurst, a Kent estate where the author grew up—and now lives again—and which he has endeavored to restore to its former status as a self-sustaining farm.
Nicolson (Quarrel with the King: The Story of an English Family on the High Road to Civil War, 2008, etc.) relates several stories. The focus is always Sissinghurst itself, but the author chronicles its varied, sometimes bloody, history in many of its aspects: geological, agricultural, political (the ruins of a Roman road are nearby; Queen Elizabeth I stayed there in 1573), architectural and personal. Although the author's family had owned the property, hard times forced his father to turn it over to the National Trust, which allowed the Nicolsons to remain residents while the Trust maintains and improves the property and seeks to attract tourists. Tens of thousands visit Sissinghurst every year. When the author decided to return to live there after the death of his father, writer Nigel Nicolson, he walked the grounds and was saddened to see that it had become principally a house-and-garden tour stop—no more grain, pigs, cows or vegetables. He decided he wanted to return an agrarian focus to Sissinghurst, to provide organic food for the kitchen (which serves lunch to myriad visitors) and to see it again become what it could and should be. The fireworks began immediately. People already working there liked, even loved, what existed, and the Trust was reluctant to support a plan initially so tenuous and idealistic. But the author's persistence and affection eventually changed key minds and hearts. Includes helpful photographs and drawings.
Though a tad defensive and self-congratulatory, the author emerges as a doughty steward of the land, and his family's legacy.Pub Date: May 10, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-670-02173-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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