Reviews
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Pluto by Barrie W. Jones
An astronomer explores the demoted planet and shows how it has contributed to scientists’ knowledge of the solar system. PLUTO BY BARRIE W. JONES Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010, 231 p., $35.99.
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Book Review: Shark: In Peril in the Sea by David Owen
Review by Sid Perkins.
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Death in a Small Package by Susan D. Jones
Part of the Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease series, this history of anthrax describes the bacteria’s transformation from agricultural disease to biological weapon. DEATH IN A SMALL PACKAGE BY SUSAN D. JONES Johns Hopkins Univ., 2010, 329 p., $24.95.
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Lenin’s Laureate by Paul R. Josephson
A historian explores Soviet science in this biography of Zhores Alferov, who won a Nobel Prize for discovering the heterojunction used in LEDs. LENIN’S LAUREATE BY PAUL R. JOSEPHSON MIT, 2010, 307 p., $29.95.
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The Species Seekers by Richard Conniff
Tales relate the adventures of early naturalists who risked life and limb in the quest to discover new species. THE SPECIES SEEKERS BY RICHARD CONNIFF W.W. Norton, 2010, 464 p., $26.95.
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Leonardo da Vinci’s Giant Crossbow by Matthew Landrus
A da Vinci expert takes a technical look at the design and engineering underlying one of the artist’s most popular but least understood drawings. LEONARDO DA VINCI’S GIANT CROSSBOW BY MATTHEW LANDRUS Springer, 2010, 180 p., $59.95.
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The Best American Science Writing 2010 by Jerome Groopman, ed.
Highlights some of the most intriguing science articles of 2009, including a tale of sexual evolution by Science News’ Susan Milius. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE WRITING 2010 BY JEROME GROOPMAN, ED. Ecco, 2010, 346 p., $14.99.
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Physics of the Human Body by Richard P. McCall
Looking at the body as a physics laboratory lends a fresh perspective, from how the properties of light affect eyesight to the fluid dynamics of the circulatory system. A good resource for doctors or the general reader. PHYSICS OF THE HUMAN BODY BY RICHARD P. MCCALL Johns Hopkins Univ., 2010, 301 p., $45.
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The Shape of Inner Space: String Theory and the Geometry of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions by Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis
Taking another angle on the string theory genre, a Harvard mathematician and a science writer join up to explore the geometry of curled-up universes too small to see. THE SHAPE OF INNER SPACE: STRING THEORY AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE UNIVERSE’S HIDDEN DIMENSIONS BY SHING-TUNG YAU AND STEVE NADIS Basic Books, 2010, 377 p., $30.
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The Instant Physicist: An Illustrated Guide by Richard A. Muller
In this collection of physics-related curiosities, every page flip reveals a basic principle of physics and a humorous cartoon by Joey Manfre. Examples include why wine is radioactive and how much plutonium it takes to build a bomb (enough to fill a coffee mug). THE INSTANT PHYSICIST: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE BY RICHARD A. MULLER W.W. […]
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ThermoPoetics: Energy in Victorian Literature and Science by Barri J. Gold
For the literary-minded physics aficionado, this book examines literature’s role in shaping and wrestling with emerging ideas of energy and thermodynamics in the Victorian age. THERMOPOETICS: ENERGY IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND SCIENCE BY BARRI J. GOLD MIT, 2010, 343 p., $30.
