book review
jstemwedel | October 17, 2008At long last, we review a book to which we have alluded in at least two previous posts.
The book: The Periodic Table: Elements with Style, written by Adrian Dingle, illustrated by Simon Basher. (Boston: Kingfisher, 2007)
The format:
The book introduces several representative elements from the periodic table. For each element, there's a listing of crucial information like the element's symbol, atomic number, atomic weight, color, standard state, density, melting point, boiling point, and data of discovery. But the real story is the first person introduction to each element's character,…
jstemwedel | October 1, 2008
Paul A. Offit, M.D., Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia University Press, 2008.
Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure examines the ways that uncertainties about autism's causes have played out in the spheres of medical treatment, liability lawsuits, political hearings, and media coverage. Offit's introduction describes the lay of the land in 1916, as polio epidemics raged. That lay of the land, with public fear and willingness to pursue strange, expensive, and dangerous treatments, evokes a…
grrlscientist | September 12, 2008tags: birding, bird watching, bird field guide, birds, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, book review
Several new field guides to the birds have been published in the last few months and The Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (NYC: Collins; 2008) by Ted Floyd is one of them. The most obvious distinction that sets this large book apart are the photographs of birds: most field guides rely on paintings instead of photographs. Despite the fact that I prefer paintings to photographs in my field guides, there is plenty in this new field guide to interest…
grrlscientist | August 17, 2008tags: book review, economic insecurity, politics, social programs, insurance, poverty, employment, education, housing
What ever happened to the American Dream? Well, if you are like me, you will admit that your pursuit of the American Dream is like chasing after a mythical horse that disappeared out the barn door literally decades ago. For example, even though I did everything right -- staying out of trouble, staying out of debt, avoiding all chemical and behavioral addictions, postponing pleasure by working hard and sacrificing so I could earn a top-notch education doing something I love and…
grrlscientist | July 18, 2008tags: Microcosm, microbiology, bacteria, E coli, evolution, Carl Zimmer, book review
I lived through Seattle's outbreak of the "killer E. coli strain O157:H7" that charged into the world's consciousness after it mercilessly destroyed the kidneys and other vital organs of hundreds of children and adults who consumed contaminated fast food. During this time, I worked as a lab microbiologist in several human and veterinary hospitals in the Seattle area while I earned my bachelor's degree in microbiology, so I have a strong background in both the practical realities and the scientific lore of…
jstemwedel | July 10, 2008
Ronald A. Howard and Clinton D. Korver (with Bill Birchard), Ethics for the Real World: Creating a Personal Code to Guide Decisions in Work and Life. Harvard Business Press, 2008.
I fully embrace the idea that ethics should not just be a subject of esoteric inquiry in philosophy departments but rather a central feature of our lives as we live them.
Yet how exactly that's supposed to happen in a world where lots of people have been able to avoid ethics classes altogether presents a bit of a puzzle. Sure, we are presented with lessons about ethics outside the classroom, by family, friends…
grrlscientist | June 29, 2008tags: Return To Warden's Grove, ornithology, birds, field research, biology dissertation, Christopher Norment, book review
Throughout my life, certain people have had the audacity to lecture me about how a scientific education and a scientific life forever destroys a person's ability to appreciate nature. I always tell them how science enhances my appreciation and .. dare I say it? .. my love of the natural world, but I sometimes think no one hears me. But thanks to the wonderful book, Return To Warden's Grove: Science, Desire, and the Lives of Sparrows by Chris Norment (Iowa City: University…
grrlscientist | June 26, 2008tags: The Last Flight of The Scarlet Macaw, conservation, endangered species, parrots, politics, Bruce Barcott, book review
Nonfiction books are often thought of as being "good for us", as if they were literary vitamin tablets, but many people take their summers off from their vitamins by reading trashy novels or mysteries while ensconced under an umbrella on a sandy beach. So what would you say if you could read a book that has the best qualities of both genres? If you think that such a book doesn't exist, well, think again: Bruce Barcott's recently published book, The Last Flight of The…
grrlscientist | June 24, 2008tags: Ethics for the Real World, Ronald A. Howard, Clinton D. Korver, book review
We are confronted with seemingly small ethical choices every day of our lives, ranging from whether we should plagiarize a homework assignment, cheat on an exam, "pad" our resumes, pilfer office supplies, tell a "white lie" to a loved one ... if the average person cannot trust himself to behave in a consistently ethical way in such small matters, is it any wonder that most people do not trust their colleagues, neighbors, friends, families and even their elected officials? Unfortunately, small lapses in ethical…
jstemwedel | June 19, 2008Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. St. Martin's Press, 1987.
There are a few books on my shelf that I can read any given number of times without being bored or impatient. One of these is And the Band Played On, a painstaking work of journalism that never feels laborious in the reading -- despite being in excess of 600 pages.
Randy Shilts, who was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle reporting on AIDS in the early 1980s, assembled an intricate chronological telling of the early unfolding of the AIDS epidemic, from the first glimmerings of…
grrlscientist | June 11, 2008tags: Mean and Lowly Things, herpetology, reptiles, venomous snakes, amphibians, field research, Congo Brazzaville, Kate Jackson, book review
Are you familiar with the aphorism, "Do what you love and the money will follow"? Well, the money part of that equation is probably questionable, but I think you will be convinced that a person who pursues her passions will never live a boring life, especially after you've finished reading Kate Jackson's book, Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; 2008). This book tells the…
grrlscientist | May 31, 2008tags: Alex And Me: A 30-Year Adventure, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big Heart, ethology, cognition, learning, parrots, Irene Pepperberg, book review
As a scientist, parrot researcher, aviculturist and parrot companion, I have met Irene Pepperberg several times, at both scientific meetings and also at avicultural meetings, and I have followed her research closely (but quietly) for most of my life. So, when Seed Media, which houses all of ScienceBlogs, asked me if I wanted to read and review Pepperberg's upcoming book, Alex & Me: Lessons from a Little Bird with a Big…
grrlscientist | May 29, 2008tags: My Guy Barbaro, horse racing, horses, Kentucky Derby, Edgar Prado, John Eisenberg, book review
Like most of America, I fell under the spell of the talented athlete, Barbaro. I was riveted by his brilliance and ability. Despite Barbaro's tragic end, I wanted to read a book that told his story, that gave him a voice without being maudlin or poorly-written. So thanks to one of my readers who kindly purchased this book for me, I was pleased to have the opportunity to read My Guy Barbaro: A Jockey's Journey Through Love, Triumph, and Heartbreak with America's Favorite Horse (NYC:…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2008tags: Oology And Ralph's Talking Eggs, conservation, ornithology, oology, Carrol L. Henderson, book review
People's methods for learning about the lives of birds have varied throughout the decades. Today, birders learn about their feathery subjects by using binoculars, telescopes, sound recording devices and cameras, while ornithologists and molecular biologists add further insight by analyzing avian DNA, transponder data and satellite information. But such powerful technologies have not always been available, so people have relied on other methods to learn about birds. For example, between…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2008tags: birding, bird books, Bird Field Guide, The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Bill Thompson III, book review
One of the most common questions that I am asked is "how can we get our internet- and video game-addicted kids interested in the out-of-doors?" Since I am an internet-addicted semi-adult, I can say that one way to get kids interested in nature is to make it accessible to them, and perhaps the best way to do this is through books. A new field guide was just published whose target audience is kids between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. This remarkable book,…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2008tags: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You With the Bill), economy, politics, corporate welfare, David Cay Johnston, book review
America was built on the premise that hard work would be financially rewarded, but unfortunately, more than 37 million people are part of the growing ranks of the "working poor": people who work two or three jobs yet are unable to pay their living expenses. What's wrong with all these people that makes them unable to achieve even a modest level of comfort in this Land of Opportunity where the streets are…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: How and Why Species Multiply, evolution, ecology, Darwin's finches, Rosemary Grant, Peter Grant, book review
Peter and Rosemary Grant have been studying the phenomenon of speciation in Darwin's finches for 35 years, using every technique available to them from molecular biology to population ecology. They have written several books about various aspects of their work and even were the focus of a Pulitzer-prize winning book. But there has not been a comprehensive yet scholarly book that has captured the essential highlights of their lifetime work, until now. How and Why Species Multiply…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2008tags: Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, nature, field guide, NYC, Leslie Day, Mark Klingler, book review
What do you think of when you heard the words, "New York City"? Money? Skyscrapers? Broadway plays? Restaurants? Millions of people living in tiny apartments? Fire hydrants spurting water on hot muggy days? Rotting garbage on the sidewalks? How about birds: do any of you think of birds and other wildlife? Most people don't. Many people, especially visitors, are unaware of the wealth of green spaces and parks in NYC, along with their resident and migratory wildlife. However…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2008tags: Flights Against the Sunset, short stories, memoir, birding, bird watching, Kenn Kaufman, book review
When Kenn Kaufman was sixteen, he left home in pursuit of a dream; to see more species of birds in the United States in one calendar year than had ever been seen before. Instead of preventing him from trying to achieve this dream as most people would have done, his parents allowed him to go with their blessing. Now, as an adult, a famous birder and field guide who travels the world, we find Kaufman in a nursing facility in Wichita, Kansas, visiting his seriously ill mother after having…
jstemwedel | April 18, 2008The foreshadowing last week was accurate. This week, we offer a review of Tentacles! Tales of the Giant Squid by Shirley Raye Redmond with illustrations by Bryn Barnard.
Younger offspring: We should talk about my new squid book for the Friday Sprog Blog.
Dr. Free-Ride: OK. What do you like about this book?
Younger offspring: (Gazing at the cover) I like the cute face of the giant squid.
Dr. Free-Ride: You think that's a cute face, huh?
Younger offspring: Yeah. I like it when it only has one eye on each side* and it's giant and round.
Dr. Free-Ride: It's kind of roundish. So tell me what…