Free Thought

The Best Science Writing Online 2012 edited by Jennifer Ouellette and Bora Zivkovic is decended from the old Open Laboratory series of anthologies which featured the fifty best science blog posts (and a poem and a cartoon) from the year in question. The series as a whole was organized by Bora Zivkovic and each year he would chose someone to actually edit that particular year's edition. As well, each year they would select a bunch of science-bloggy types to help out with the pre-reading of the literally hundreds of blog posts that would be submitted, including my turn as a pre-reader for the…
Another bunch of lists for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following:   Quill & Quire: Books of the Year Non-Fiction, Gift Guide Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness by Jan Wong My Leaky Body: Tales from the Gurney by Julie Devaney Fatal…
Another bunch of lists for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following:   Mitch Joel The best business books of 2012 Makers: The New Industrial Revolution by Chris Anderson Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain   January Magazine Best Books of 2012: Non-…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: The Hill Times' List of Top 100 Best Political, Government, Public policy and Canadian History Books in 2012 The Energy of Slavery: Oil and the New Servitude by Andrew Nikiforuk The End of Growth: But Is That Bad? by Jeff Rubin Save The…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Planetizen Top 10 Books - 2013 (urban planning, design and development). Green Washed: Why We Can't Buy Our Way to a Green Planet by Kendra Pierre-Louis Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into…
If there's one thing about "alternative" medicine, "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM), or "integrative medicine" that's always puzzled me, it's just how gullible some practitioners must think their clients are. In some cases, they might know their customers every bit as well as a car salesman knows his clients or an author knows his readers, but in actuality most people who fall for alt-med are no more gullible than average. However, some words seem to impress more than ever, as promoters of alt-med scramble to appropriate impressive-sounding science terms into their woo. I've…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Jack Uldrich/Jump the Curve: A Futurist’s Top Ten Books for 2012. Note: This list includes some slightly older books and some books that are more strictly business books rather than tech or science books. I decided to include them…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: The Thought Stash: The Little Atoms 2012 Top 10 Book List. The Geek Manifesto: Why science matters by Mark Henderson Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins by Ian Tattersall Pieces of Light: The new science of memory by…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: The Millions: Jami Attenberg, Geoff Dyer Brain on Fire: My Month of Madnessby Susannah Cahalan Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoirby Ellen Forney The Social Conquest of Earthby Edward O. Wilson The Making…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Greg Laden: Top (mostly climate change related) Science Denialist Books. Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us by Maggie Koerth-Baker Deep Water: As Polar Ice Melts, Scientists Debate How High Our…
Another bunch of lists for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Largehearted Boy Favorite Nonfiction of 2012 Things That Are by Amy Leach   OUPBlog: Abby Gross’s top books of 2012 Homo Mysterious: Evolutionary Puzzles of Human Nature by David Barash   Michael Brand The 5 Best Nonfiction…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: The Birdbooker Report Best Bird Books of 2012. Cuckoos of the World by Erritzoe, Johannes, Clive F. Mann, Frederik P. Brammer and Richard A. Fuller Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide by Howell…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: The Natural Capital Best Nature Books of 2012. The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature by David George Haskell For the Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson by Peggy Thomas and illustrated by Laura Jacques Spring Wildflowers of the…
Another bunch of lists for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Heather Mallick The Energy of Slaves: Oil and the New Servitudeby Andrew Nikiforuk Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile by Taras Grescoe   iFanboy Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Brain Pickings The Best Music Books of 2012, Psychology & Philosophy, Design, History. Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learningby Gary Marcus This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: San Francisco Chronicle Best books of 2012: 100 recommended books. Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History by Florence Williams God's Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by Victoria Sweet The Great…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Skeptically Speaking #193 Science Books for Your Gift List. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova Gravity’s Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos by Caleb A.…
(Yeah, yeah, I know. This list isn't strictly part of my regular list of science books lists, but hey, it's Boxing Day and we should all be a little extra self-indulgent and buy ourselves something nice. Being a fan of the full range of science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, I have been paying attention to those "best of 2012" lists as I see them online -- as well as crime fiction and cookbooks, natch -- so I thought I'd share one of the nicest ones I've seen with all my readers. Enjoy!) Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Teaching Biology: Top Books of 2012: Historical Geology. The Goldilocks Planet: The 4 Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate by Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams What is Life?: How Chemistry becomes Biology by Addy Pross Secret Chambers:…
Another list for your reading, gift-giving and collection development pleasure. Every year for the last bunch of years I’ve been linking to and posting about all the “year’s best sciencey books” lists that appear in various media outlets and shining a bit of light on the best of the year. All the previous 2012 lists are here. This post includes the following: Discovery News A Little Cosmic Reading: Favorite Space Books. The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean M. Carroll Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos by Caleb Scharf Edge…