Reviews
-
A Professor, a President, and a Meteor: The Birth of American Science by Cathryn J. Prince
How a meteorite that struck Weston, Conn., in 1807 spurred a Yale chemist to help build the foundations of American scientific research. Prometheus, 2010, 254 p., $26.
-
Quantum Physics for Poets by Leon M. Lederman and Christopher T. Hill
Two physicists convey the enigmas of the quantum world in clear and compelling prose. Prometheus, 2011, 338 p., $28.
-
Soap, Science, and Flat-Screen TVs: A History of Liquid Crystals by David Dunmur and Tim Sluckin
Learn how liquid crystals were discovered and how they eventually became the standard in display technology. Oxford Univ. Press, 2010, 345 p., $53.95.
-
-
The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear by Kieran Mulvaney
Starting with the fact that polar bears have black skin, this book offers surprises and up-to-date information about the Arctic’s iconic top predator. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, 251 p., $26.
-
Geographies of Mars: Seeing and Knowing the Red Planet by K. Maria D. Lane
Explore Mars as scientists and the public saw it around the beginning of the 20th century, when canals on the Red Planet seemed a very real possibility. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2010, 265 p., $45.
-
Book Review: Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science by Ian Sample
Review by Marissa Cevallos.
- Neuroscience
The Tell-Tale Brain
A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human by V.S. Ramachandran.
-
Hidden Harmonies: The Lives and Times of the Pythagorean Theorem by Robert and Ellen Kaplan
Inspired by their Harvard-based math program, two educators delve into the history and uses of the Pythagorean theorem. HIDDEN HARMONIES: THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM BY ROBERT AND ELLEN KAPLAN Bloomsbury Press, 2011, 304 p., $25.
-
Mysteries of the Komodo Dragon: The Biggest, Deadliest Lizard Gives Up Its Secrets by Marty Crump
For kids 9 to 11 who like all the gory details, this children’s book doesn’t shy away from showing dragons at their fiercest. MYSTERIES OF THE KOMODO DRAGON: THE BIGGEST, DEADLIEST LIZARD GIVES UP ITS SECRETS BY MARTY CRUMP Boyds Mills Press, 2010, 40 p., $18.95.
-
Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle
A psychologist explores the ramifications of constant online connectivity for real-world human connections. MYSTERIES OF THE KOMODO DRAGON: THE BIGGEST, DEADLIEST LIZARD GIVES UP ITS SECRETS BY MARTY CRUMP Basic Books, 2011, 360 p., $28.95.
-
Discoveries of the Census of Marine Life: Making Ocean Life Count by Paul V.R. Snelgrove
Stunning photographs illustrate this compendium of new scientific knowledge gleaned from the largest-ever cataloging of ocean life. DISCOVERIES OF THE CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE: MAKING OCEAN LIFE COUNT BY PAUL V.R. SNELGROVE Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, 270 p., $45.
