Following up on the weekend's reading suggestions, I should point to John Horgan's list of the Ten Worst Science Books. These aren't obscure self-published tracts on the Theory of Everything, either-- Stephen Jay Gould, Malcolm Gladwell and E. O. Wilson make the list, and there are more best-selling suggestions in the comments.
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Horgan lists the Ten worst science books. Here's his criteria for a bad science book:
These books aren't merely awful, of course, but harmful. Most have been bestsellers, or had some sort of significant impact, which often means--paradoxically--that they are rhetorical masterpieces.
I find myself…
Others have noticed that John Horgan has presented his own personal list of the ten "worst science books." Many of his choices aren't science books per se and he obviously ignores his own excerable The End of Science which was, frankly, drivel that brought much joy to postmodernist critics during…
I've updated the sidebar links to reflect the fact that John Horgan has moved his blog, and to add Tales from the Learning Curve. I'm sure I'm missing something, though, so tell me what it is.
What are the best blogs out there that I'm not linking to? (Bearing in mind that I'm not enthusiastic…
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing edited by Richard Dawkins is now in pre-release state ... so you can order it with a discount from Amazon. Publisher's description:
Boasting almost one hundred pieces, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is a breathtaking celebration of the finest…
Yipes. He lists Brian Greene's Elegant Universe in there. Clearly he has an ax to grind.
Whathever you think about String Theory, Greene's book contains one of the best popular-level introductions to General Relativity that I've seen, and it contains a pretty good popular level to Quantum Mechanics (although I'm less satisfied with that part). Even if you only read the first third/half of the book, it's a good one.
Re: worst books : anything by Fred Alan Wolfe. Talk about connecting Quantum Mechanics to New Age BS.... He comes across as if he has credentials, too, which makes everything all the worse.
I suspect if you asked any first or second year Physics graduate student, they would list "Classical Electrodynamics" by J.D. Jackson....
-Rob