Reviews

Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science by Michael Nielsen

Review by Rachel Ehrenberg.

Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners by Michael Erard

Review by Nathan Seppa.

Lights of Mankind: The Earth at Night as Seen from Space by L. Douglas Keeney

Panoramic images of Earth at night illustrate the story of humankind’s global spread. Lyons Press, 2012, 282 p., $32.50

Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry by Jeffrey Kovac and Michael Weisberg, eds.

A selection of the Nobel laureate’s essays reveals his thoughts on everything from the beauty of molecules to teaching strategies. Oxford Univ., 2012, 416 p., $35

The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA by Jeff Wheelwright

A breast-cancer gene is the thread weaving together the history of Sephardic Jews, the Spanish Inquisition and the 1999 death of a Colorado woman. Norton, 2012, 260 p., $26.95

Deep-Sky Wonders: A Tour of the Universe with Sky and Telescope’s Sue French by Sue French

Visit the outer reaches of space with 100 celestial tours, arranged according to the best months for viewing each one. Firefly, 2011, 320 p., $39.95

Neither Physics nor Chemistry: A History of Quantum Chemistry (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology) by Kostas Gavroglu and Ana Simões

This history of quantum chemistry shows how advances in math and physics have opened new realms of understanding chemistry on the smallest scales. MIT, 2012, 368 p., $40

Eradication: Ridding the World of Diseases Forever? by Nancy Leys Stepan

Attempts to wipe out diseases such as malaria come with a cost, this history of eradication campaigns shows. Cornell Univ., 2011, 309 p., $39.95

Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: Hidden Birds of China by Alan Feduccia

An evolutionary biologist reviews fossil evidence for bird and dinosaur evolution and contests the view that birds are the last living dinosaurs. Yale Univ., 2012, 358 p., $55

African American Women Chemists by Jeannette Brown

A chemist sketches the lives of women who broke racial boundaries, including Marie Maynard Daly, the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1947. Oxford Univ., 2012, 272 p., $35

DDT and the American Century: Global Health, Environmental Politics, and the Pesticide That Changed the World by David Kinkela

Science and politics collide in this history of one of the world’s most controversial pesticides. Univ. of North Carolina, 2011, 272 p., $39.95

The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 by Mircea Pitici, ed.

This anthology offers an overview of stories written for a popular audience about the mysteries and everyday uses of math. Princeton Univ., 2012, 414 p., $19.95