Reviews

  1. Quantify!: A Crash Course in Smart Thinking by Göran Grimvall

    A fun survey of the use of numbers to make sound judgments, from gravity’s effects on sports records to statistical analysis of the weather. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2011, 218 p., $25.

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  2. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean’s Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature by Richard Ellis

    A rich exploration of the evolution and biology of this giant sea creature. Univ. Press of Kansas, 2011, 368 p., $34.95.

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  3. Driven to Extinction: The Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity by Richard Pearson

    A scientist examines how species have reacted to past climate shifts and how organisms may respond in the future. Sterling, 2011, 263 p., $22.95.

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  4. Book Review: Science Fair Season: Twelve Kids, a Robot Named Scorch . . . and What It Takes to Win by Judy Dutton

    Review by Erika Engelhaupt.

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  5. Book Review: The New Cool: A Visionary Teacher, His FIRST Robotics Team, and the Ultimate Battle of Smarts by Neal Bascomb

    Review by Devin Powell.

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  6. Success with Science: The Winners’ Guide to High School Research by Shiv Gaglani, ed.

    In this guide to high school research, five Harvard students and past competition winners give tips on project ideas, finding mentors and more. Research Corp. for Science Advancement, 2011, 180 p., $19.95.       

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  7. The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun: Cool Hacks, Cutting-Edge Games, and More Awesome Projects for the Whole Family by Ken Denmead

    All the entertainment a geek family could want is packed into this how-to book, from backyard zip lines to homemade robots. Gotham Books, 2011, 227 p., $18.

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  8. Strange New Worlds: The Search for Alien Planets and Life beyond Our Solar System by Ray Jayawardhana

    Engaging stories of astronomers and their quest to find Earthlike planets orbiting distant suns, and even signs of life. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 255 p., $24.95.           

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  9. Bad Science by Linda Zimmermann

    A brief history of science blunders through the ages, including radium cures and phrenology, the reading of head bumps. Eagle Press, 2011, 224 p., $14.95.

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  10. Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100 by Michio Kaku

    A physicist interviews over 300 scientists and lays out a mostly rosy vision of research advances that he predicts will shape the world by 2100. Doubleday, 2011, 389 p., $28.95.

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  11. Book Review: The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene

    Review by Tom Siegfried.

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  12. Book Review: The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

    Review by Bruce Bower.

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