Solid and engrossing history of collecting the Big Ones (and their little brethren), by a science writer and museum advisor. The tale hatches in the 17th century, when Robert Plot, antiquarian and naturalist, published the first description of dinosaur bones and the first crackpot theory of their origins (that God implanted fossils as ornaments, subterranean flowers of sorts). As natural history flourished in England and on the Continent, more remains came to light, most intriguingly those of Archaeopteryx, the winged reptile (leading T.H. Huxley, 130 years ago, to propose the still-hot theory that dinosaurs and birds are closely related). Some hilarious misrepresentations ensued at first: Dinosaurs were depicted as fat, logy, lumbering beasts; on museum reconstructions, Iguanodon's claw migrated from nose to foot before winding up where it belongs, on the hand. In admirable detail, Spalding covers the great unearthing on every continent, as exact taxonomic and anatomic knowledge replaced wide-eyed fancy. Properly, he concentrates on North America, burial chamber of T. rex, Triceratops, and other popular favorites. Memorable characters turn up: Barnum Brown, the Einstein of fossil hunters; Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope, who battled one another for bones throughout several decades across the American West. Readers familiar with these legendary figures will welcome Spalding's rich presentation of paleontology on less frequented shores, including Mongolia and China. The quest goes on: new dinos still crop up, most recently the biggest of them all, Seismosaurus, 140 feet and 100 tons of thunder. Another fine entry in the jammed dino-book field (which now surely qualifies as a full-blown craze: what hath Spielberg wrought?). (Thirty photos and maps—not seen)
Pub Date: Sept. 17, 1993
ISBN: 1-55958-338-X
Page Count: 336
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1993
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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