I'm honored/flattered/thrilled/etc. to have Proust Was A Neuroscientist listed as one of the 25 best non-fiction books of the year by the LA Times. Other science-themed* books included on the list are The Atomic Bazaar, by William Langewiesche and Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America by Eric Jay Dolin.
*I know these aren't straight science books, but Langewiesche's frightening text taught me an awful lot about the practical physics of nuclear weapons and I really want to read Leviathan, if only to better understand Moby Dick.
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Note: I originally wrote this post in a bit of frustration, and so I've drawn a line through much of the latter half that has more to do with science education and not the list. I still find it a bit strange than not one science book made it to the list when there were, in my opinion, some "notable…
Jonah, I heard about your book on the radio a couple of weeks ago and today I drove two and a half hours to purchase a copy.
Well, I bought some other things, too.
I live in the Eastern Sierra and the closest shopping is in Gardnerville, Nevada. The 'Borders' bookstore had one copy and it was buried and not in alpahabetical order in the "general science" section. I guess that's as good a place as any, but the adjoining books didn't much match your subject matter.
Anyway...got it, am looking forward to reading it and am hoping they will replace it on the "general science" shelf of the 'Borders' bookstore in Gardnerville, Nevada.
Kudos on making the list.
Congratulations on making the list. I am currently reading "Proust was a Neuroscientist." It's a fascinating book showing how science connects with art. I always knew all fields connected and wonder why many of our schools and universities don't have more interdisciplinary programs.
All the artists you describe were neuroscientists and I love the way you describe the connections they made.
Annie
If you really want to read about the physics of nuclear weapons, perhaps one of the best, and most well written, books on the subject is McPhee's classic The Curve of Binding Energy.
My impression of Langewiesche's book was it was just a bunch of warmed over magazine articles.
i love your book so far.
do you have any recommendations for my next read, either literary or science (or like yours, somewhere in between)? it seems like your taste is similar to mine (my cousin gave me Then We Came to the End, but my mom stole it so i can't read it right now, even though i loved how it began).