Disturbing cry of alarm about a threat to human survival the world appears ill-prepared to counter.
As if bioterrorism weren’t scary enough, now comes word that nature itself is gunning for us in the form of rapidly evolving pathogens.
Immunologist Levy (Microbiology/Boston Univ.) and Scientific American contributing editor Fischetti join forces to tell a gripping tale of flesh-eating bacteria, drug-resistant and highly infectious bacilli, mutant flu viruses, and brain-destroying prions. Their informative work gets its human touch from the personal stories of victims and of the medical men and women struggling to understand and combat a host of horrific diseases. In gruesome detail, the authors recount the illnesses of people killed by new and deadly strains of strep and E. coli, describe how Mad Cow disease destroys the brain, and report on the extraordinary difficulty of treating someone with both multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis and HIV. After reminding us of the millions around the world killed by the flu in the past century, they warn that another global flu pandemic is now overdue and a vaccine for it unlikely. Anyone believing that infectious diseases are a thing of the past will have their sense of security shattered by this alarming report. The authors’ scare tactics, however, have a purpose: raising public awareness of just how serious and complex the fight against evolving microbes is, and thereby creating pressure for needed changes in how antibiotics are used in medicine and agriculture and for increases in scientific research funds and public health budgets. The final chapter, “What We Must Do,” sums up some of the actions that individuals and governments can take in the ongoing war between humankind and super pathogens. Given the emergence and headline-making spread from Asia of the mysterious new killer SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), the warnings sounded here seem especially timely.
Disturbing cry of alarm about a threat to human survival the world appears ill-prepared to counter.Pub Date: July 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-609-60994-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2003
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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