A book offers a history of science and the figures who helped develop its major pillars, presented in a biographical style to raise interest in the discipline.
In this “science story,” the development of four of the most important topics in the study of mathematics, chemistry, and physics—energy, entropy, atoms, and quantum mechanics—is presented with an in-depth look at the experts whose inquiries and experimentations established them. This includes the influences, upbringings, and reputations of these trailblazers as well as the not always receptive times they worked in. Energy’s origins are traced back to Galileo’s interests in Euclid and Aristotle, then up to Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and beyond. Entropy looks at the growth of Sadi Carnot and the competing work by both Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson, only to be set aside by later scientists such as James Clerk Maxwell. The atom’s discovery is told from the earliest notions in Greek culture, with its understanding through history tied to a battle between rational study and spiritual pressures. Scientists ranging from John Dalton to J.J. Thomson and Niels Bohr labored not only under the scientific burden of proof, but societal measures of acceptance as well. The quantum mechanics section examines Albert Einstein and his work up until his death as well as those who preceded him in the development of what would become quantum theory. Throughout, their research or their inspirations and interactions with one another (when historically possible) are chronicled, while simple, approachable examples of what they’re attempting to prove or disprove are demonstrated by the author. Bembenek (Calculation of the Surface Tension of Oxygen Using Molecular-Dynamics Simulations, 2006, etc.) employs a largely casual narrative tone, never talking down to his readers even when broaching big ideas. Overall, the book acknowledges that scientific theories and experimentation can be seen as boring or tedious and encourages readers to engage with the material in a manner comfortable for them. The volume suggests starting with the concepts readers feel ready to tackle while skipping certain mathematical equations or illustrations they are not yet ready for. Extensive citations and a full bibliography with thorough footnotes should give interested readers numerous reasons to revisit the personable text and seek out other works. A superb resource for science fans or those struggling to understand the subject; an impressive fit in an age of Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson Web videos.
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 315
Publisher: Zoari Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...
Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children.
He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions.
Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006
ISBN: 0374500010
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Hill & Wang
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Well-told and admonitory.
Young-rags-to-mature-riches memoir by broker and motivational speaker Gardner.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee ghetto, the author pulled himself up from considerable disadvantage. He was fatherless, and his adored mother wasn’t always around; once, as a child, he spied her at a family funeral accompanied by a prison guard. When beautiful, evanescent Moms was there, Chris also had to deal with Freddie “I ain’t your goddamn daddy!” Triplett, one of the meanest stepfathers in recent literature. Chris did “the dozens” with the homies, boosted a bit and in the course of youthful adventure was raped. His heroes were Miles Davis, James Brown and Muhammad Ali. Meanwhile, at the behest of Moms, he developed a fondness for reading. He joined the Navy and became a medic (preparing badass Marines for proctology), and a proficient lab technician. Moving up in San Francisco, married and then divorced, he sold medical supplies. He was recruited as a trainee at Dean Witter just around the time he became a homeless single father. All his belongings in a shopping cart, Gardner sometimes slept with his young son at the office (apparently undiscovered by the night cleaning crew). The two also frequently bedded down in a public restroom. After Gardner’s talents were finally appreciated by the firm of Bear Stearns, his American Dream became real. He got the cool duds, hot car and fine ladies so coveted from afar back in the day. He even had a meeting with Nelson Mandela. Through it all, he remained a prideful parent. His own no-daddy blues are gone now.
Well-told and admonitory.Pub Date: June 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-074486-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
