An excellent summary of the state of the art, though some of the material is better covered elsewhere; Jeanne Guillemin’s...
Four Wired magazine writers and editors offer a geek’s-eye view of homeland security.
The 9/11 hijackers weren’t necessarily smarter than those whose putative charge it was to keep them from their mischief, the authors assert. But they had this advantage: They had closely studied a complex system—namely, airport security—just as a gambling cheat would study a casino, and they had figured out ways to thwart it. The terrorist event to worry about, the authors suggest, is not necessarily the lone suicide bomber on the bus, but the concerted attack on some other complex system; remarks one source, a Department of Energy engineer, “Give me the nineteen 9/11 terrorists and put them all to work on the power grid, and they could bring down the whole country for months.” No small worry that, for there are 10,400 power-generating stations in the US, and 250,000 manholes and service boxes in the Con Edison portion of the grid alone—plenty of weak links, in other words, in a weak chain. Working against such odds stand a motley assemblage of scientists, engineers, and even hobbyists who are doing such things as developing foolproof ways to monitor cargo containers (which, some security experts believe, will one day deliver a nuclear explosion to some unfortunate American port) and social-network models that can help forecast terrorist events; as the authors point out, using airline data alone, authorities might have been able to identify 13 of the 19 hijackers before they boarded their planes, if only they had known how to read the data. Putting those innovators’ projects to work will require cultural change within police and intelligence agencies, but, the authors conclude, hopeful signs abound.
An excellent summary of the state of the art, though some of the material is better covered elsewhere; Jeanne Guillemin’s Biological Weapons (2004), for instance, trumps the long section on biowarfare. Even so, of much interest to techno-cognoscenti types—as well as advocates of security reform.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-057715-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
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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