Reviews
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Hunger, Thirst, Sex, and Sleep: How the Brain Controls Our Passions by John K. Young
A biologist delves into the varied roles of the hypothalamus, the command center in the brain that controls the most basic human drives. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012, 161 p., $39.95
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Seduced by Logic: Émilie Du Châtelet, Mary Somerville and the Newtonian Revolution by Robyn Arianrhod
The tales of two women — a French aristocrat and a Scottish commoner —intersect in an exploration of how the pair advanced Newton’s ideas about the universe. Oxford Univ., 2012, 338 p., $34.95
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Train Wreck: The Forensics of Rail Disasters by George Bibel
Investigations of 17 accidents help show why trains crash and what those incidents can teach. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 355 p., $29.95
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Book Review: How Ancient Europeans Saw the World by Peter S. Wells
Review by Tom Siegfried.
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I, Lobster by Nancy Frazier
More than just a tasty meal — though this book does include recipes — the lobster is a star in history, art and science. Univ. of New Hampshire, 2012, 254 p., $24.95
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Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color by Nina G. Jablonski
An anthropologist examines the evolution of human skin pigmentation, its relation to health and the role of skin color in social history. Univ. of California, 2012, 260 p., $29.95
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On a Farther Shore by William Souder
Fifty years after the publication of Silent Spring, a biographer creates a sensitive portrait of Rachel Carson’s life and research. Crown Publishers, 2012, 496 p., $30
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Measurement by Paul Lockhart
A mathematician untangles the basic concepts of symmetry, shapes and measurements in a reader-friendly way. Harvard Univ., 2012, 407 p., $29.95
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Stardust Revolution: The New Story of Our Origin in the Stars by Jacob Berkowitz
The author describes efforts by astrobiologists to put the origins of life into a cosmic context in this comprehensive history of “stardust science.” Prometheus, 2012, 376 p., $27
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