An elite grouping of very readable and informative articles on some of today’s most challenging and colorful scientific...
Splendid anthology of the year’s finest science and nature articles, curated and introduced by the New York Times Pulitzer Prize–winning science writer.
Although varied in theme and subject, the pieces work well as a set, offering many innovative ideas, theories, critiques, and observations to pay overall tribute to human curiosity. These 27 articles display creativity and even playfulness as the authors break down complex scientific subjects for the average reader. Roy F. Baumeister takes a fresh look at some old myths about human aggression; Frederick J. Crews explores the strange world of the anti-Darwinists and the battle over Creationism; Joy Williams submits a memoir of her life as the land-owning neighbor of a lagoon; and Gordon Grice shares a close encounter with the re-emergent mountain lion, an inspiring but deadly creature whose numbers are now increasing where agriculture and residential sprawl meet former wilderness. Barbara Ehrenreich contributes a thoughtful essay about her breast cancer diagnosis and arrival at the gates of the sometimes tacky subculture she calls “Cancerland” (also included in Gould’s The Best American Essays 2002, see below); Malcolm Gladwell grades the life and work of SAT-buster Stanley H. Kaplan; and Gary Greenberg, following the saga of a terminally ill little boy whose role as an organ donor gives his short life meaning, examines prevalent legal, social, and medical notions about “brain death.” Two timely favorites here will be “Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good,” by Eric Schlosser (from his bestselling book, Fast Food Nation), and Dennis Overbye’s “How Islam Won, and Lost, the Lead in Science,” a historical overview that will fascinate readers newly curious about the Arab world. Controversial topics include the rights of the dying, the singular gift (or burden) of motherhood, and the grim reality of shock therapy, explored with often provocative results. But the collection’s real noteworthiness comes from its authors’ consistently bright insights and buoyant prose.
An elite grouping of very readable and informative articles on some of today’s most challenging and colorful scientific issues.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-08297-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Passion and intelligence meet in a gorgeous book about what it means to be a woman today, yesterday, and forever. Pulitzer Prize—winning science writer Angier’s (The Beauty of the Beast: New Views of the Nature of Life, 1995, etc.) “geography” ranges from the south pole of the mons veneris and associated vulval landmarks to the high peaks of the brain in her exploration of female anatomy, physiology, psychology and countless other -ologies across the life span. By turns she is serious, angry, joyous and loving; at times hortatory and didactic, other times confessional. And always she displays the high style and metaphor that New York Times readers have come to expect. The result is a book rich in information, from the microanatomy of the egg cell and the X chromosome to the cultural heritage that perpetuates the Madonna-whore dichotomy for women. She is extremely good at detailing the hormonal changes in the menstrual cycle and in pregnancy, on the wonders of the uterus, the placenta, breast milk, and breasts in general. (She puts Desmond Morris and others in their place—no, the breasts are not misplaced buttocks). Of special interest is a chapter on love, with the observation that at least one hormone, oxytocin, may in part subserve the emotion. Angier speaks frankly of her own sexuality, pregnancy, and childbirth, of the war between mothers and daughters and of aggression as the other side of love. Her voice is a bit too strident in condemning the medical profession for treating menopause as disease: Not all docs urge hormone replacement therapy on their female patients. The voice also reaches crescendo peak in preaching the virtues of exercise. Okay, already! But herein lies a fund of knowledge beautifully conveyed, as well as questions that have yet to be answered. Women should rejoice—and so should men. (First serial to the New York Times Magazine; second serial to Self; Book-of-the-Month Club/Quality Paperback Book Club selection)
Pub Date: April 6, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-69130-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eloquent and startling reminder of the long-term, even permanent, destruction wrought by this century's wars. Webster, a freelance journalist, begins by reflecting on the complex, contradictory figure of Alfred Nobel, the engineering genius who, along with his eponymous prizes, gave birth to dynamite, blasting caps, and smokeless powder. Webster follows members of the French government unit devoted to the clearing of WW I and WW II bombs as they find and destroy some of the millions of shells still embedded in the soil of northern France. Although the shells are as much as 80 years old, many are unstable, still capable of exploding or leaking poisonous gases, and the work is hazardous: Several men are killed each year by exploding or toxic bombs. Webster then offers a grim tour of a field filled with the skeletons of thousands of Germans and Austrians who died in the WW II battle of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) and have yet to be buried; the ongoing process of identifying and burying the dead may take generations. And the Cold War spawned horrors on US soil: Webster notes rising cancer rates and groundwater contamination in towns near atomic testing sites in Nevada and describes a chemical- weapons demolition site located dangerously near Salt Lake City, Utah, where a single accident could cause a disaster of biblical proportions. Webster relates how horrifically American high-tech war has transformed the landscapes of Vietnam and Kuwait. In Vietnam, the spreading of defoliants and toxic agents continues to cause birth defects, while in many former war zones hundreds of thousands of land mines pose ongoing hazards to local populations. A horrifying reminder that the full costs of this century's wars have yet to be calculated. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1996
ISBN: 0-679-43195-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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