Reviews

  1. Much Ado About (Practically) Nothing: A History of the Noble Gases by David E. Fisher

    Delve deep into the far right of the periodic table with a chemist who appreciates noble gases’ many uses. MUCH ADO ABOUT (PRACTICALLY) NOTHING: A HISTORY OF THE NOBLE GASES DAVID E. FISHER Oxford Univ. Press, 2010, 264 p., $24.95.

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  2. Book Review: Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History by Ahmad Dallal

    Review by Tom Siegfried.

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  3. Bulletproof Feathers by Robert Allen, ed.

    Photos and illustrations highlight how nature inspires technology, from airplane wings that change shape to stainproof fabrics. BULLETPROOF FEATHERS BY ROBERT ALLEN, ED. University of Chicago Press, 2010, 192 p., $35.

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  4. What’s Eating You? People and Parasites by Eugene H. Kaplan

    An ecologist takes readers on an engaging, if sometimes squirm-worthy, tour of the world’s hangers-on. WHAT’S EATING YOU? BY EUGENE H. KAPLAN Princeton University Press, 2010, 302 p., $26.95.

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  5. Off the Grid by Nick Rosen

    A journalist travels the country to visit Americans who, for a variety of reasons, have opted out of the electrical grid and into alternative lifestyles. OFF THE GRID BY NICK ROSEN Penguin, 2010, 292 p., $15.

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  6. Book Review: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

    Review by Camille M. Carlisle.

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  7. Book Review: Here’s Looking at Euclid: A Surprising Excursion through the Astonishing World of Math by Alex Bellos

    Review by Elizabeth Quill.

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  8. The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

    The author interweaves tales of scientists and surfers who, whether for study or an adrenaline rush, seek out monster waves. THE WAVE: IN PURSUIT OF THE ROGUES, FREAKS, AND GIANTS OF THE OCEAN BY SUSAN CASEY Doubleday, 2010, 352 p., $27.95.

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  9. The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

    In his first major work in nearly a decade, Hawking ponders the origins of the universe and the pursuit of a unified theory. THE GRAND DESIGN BY STEPHEN HAWKING AND LEONARD MLODINOW Bantam Books, 2010, 208 p., $28.

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  10. Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine’s Greatest Mysteries by Molly Caldwell Crosby

    A historical account of the sleeping sickness pandemic of the 1920s and the science behind it. ASLEEP BY MOLLY CALDWELL CROSBY Berkley, 2010, 291 p., $24.95.

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  11. Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean by Julia Whitty

    Underwater rivers pulse with life in this lyrical exploration of ocean currents. DEEP BLUE HOME: AN INTIMATE ECOLOGY OF OUR WILD OCEAN BY JULIA WHITTY Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, 246 p., $24.

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  12. Physics and Technology for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller

    A Berkeley physics professor puts his popular course for nonscientists into book form. PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTS BY RICHARD A. MULLER Princeton Univ. Press, 2010, 517 p., $49.50.

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