For Chopra fans only—as such, likely to become a best-seller.
A mixture of recent research in the neurosciences and spiritual wisdom passed down through generations.
With his dozens of best-selling books, Chopra (co-author: War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, 2011, etc.) has arguably done more than anyone to bring Eastern spirituality and healing practices to the West. His oeuvre brings to mind an inebriated dart player in a tavern—many attempts go wild, but when he connects, you're convinced he's a natural. This book, co-authored with Alzheimer’s Genome Project head Tanzi (Neurology/Harvard Medical School; co-author: Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease, 2001, etc.), continues the trend of laying Eastern thought over Western science. This "tag team" author approach lends credibility to the less scientifically rigorous ideas Chopra has to offer, but with varying degrees of success. The plasticity of the young brain and the rate at which new synapse connections are made in children; the importance of regular physical activity and exercise; the idea that instincts and emotions are integral and necessary to social relations—these scientific propositions, as they're laid out, won’t strike readers as either controversial or revolutionary. The authors theorize about connections between neuroscience and long-held beliefs about the mind, and many of these connections don’t require a leap of faith to accept as valid hypotheses. The lion's share of the text, however, consists of platitudes and value judgments about happiness and success that can't really be held forth as a prescription for the "next leap in the human brain's evolution." Examples include such statements as, "Mind, not the brain, is the origin of consciousness," and the suggestions that an abused wife should “stop exposing herself to stresses that occur over and over.”
For Chopra fans only—as such, likely to become a best-seller.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-307-95682-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harmony
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
In the prehistoric days before Jurassic Park and Barney, the focus of dinosaur-mania for anyone growing up in New York City was the American Museum of Natural History, where the looming skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex inspired awe in generations of children. Now, with the renovation and extension of its dinosaur exhibit, that venerable and much-loved institution offers a history of its paleontology department, from its creation in 1891 to the present day. Among the adventures Wallace (The Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Dinosaurs, not reviewed) recounts are those of Barnum Brown (known as ``Mr. Bones''), who discovered the museum's T. rex in Hell Creek, Mont., in 1907; Roy Chapman Andrews, whose dinosaur- hunting fields in 1922 were in the Gobi Desert, where he unearthed the giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium; to Malcolm McKenna, who returned to the Gobi in the 1990s and found the remains of the Velociraptor. No amount of cinematic magic can surpass the wonder induced by a personal encounter with the remains of these giants who once stalked the earth.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-86590-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
A fertile physics funhouse for the highly curious and motivated lay reader.
Bender examines string theory and stirs up some interesting notions.
The author, a well-versed amateur theoretical physicist, is an enthusiastic guide to the complex world of string theory, a world full of caveats–conflicting and alternative theories abound, and defining equations have yet to be written because experimentation is beyond human capacity. But that doesn’t mean the journey isn’t intriguing, and Bender embarks with all the eagerness–if not the ringing clarity–of Brian Greene. Initially drawn to string theory because of seeming incompatibilities between quantum mechanics and relativity, the author examines the realm of gravitationally isolated regions of spacetime, and how to overcome violations in our laws of inertia and mass so as to move through spacetime at unimaginable speeds without the time penalties of increased velocity (as time stays constant). He also explores the theoretical possibilities of a gravity-wave generator to power a vehicle within the isolated region. Such a ship would prove useful if the second of Bender’s proposals should bear out: the membrane theory of gravity. This theory suggests that gravity is created by vibrating strings stretching the membrane–the sheets formed by the interaction of the strings–to which they are attached. A collision of these membranes may have given rise to our universe, and it’s possible that there is another side to the membrane into which we could travel–a concept similar to that of traveling through a wormhole. The author also offers a hypothesis for the end of the universe. Despite his love for string theory–and the infinite possibilities inherent in the subject–some of Bender’s theories could be fleshed out a bit more, and augmented with a meatier bibliography (two entries are culled from Wikipedia).
A fertile physics funhouse for the highly curious and motivated lay reader.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-40822-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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