December 2009

  • Full House, by Stephen Jay Gould

    By ecoscott on 12/28/09 10:54pm
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    Stephen Jay GouldStephen Jay GouldThis book is for science nuts who like to have things explained in layman’s terms by an expert who is completely in love with the stories he is telling. I love these kinds of books- the ones where the author is basically writing part mental memoir, part educational text, and part new contribution to scientific knowledge.

    Gould’s book is obviously a labor of love for him. It is a series of short chapters, each of which looks at parts of evolution in a new way and explains to you some kind of truth that you either thought you knew or had no idea existed.

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  • Stephen Jay Gould, "The Mismeasure of Man"

    By erika on 12/26/09 12:57pm
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    Harvard paleontologist, author, and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould was one of the modern world's truly great minds.  Gould stands in the same league as scientists like Carl Sagan, who also brought science to the rest of us.

    One of Gould's greatest books has to be The Mismeasure of Man, which should also be required reading for every American.  Heck, for every human being on this planet.  Originally published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man continues to be relevant today, and sadly enough will probably never pass into irrelevancy.


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  • Diane Ackerman, "A Natural History of the Senses"

    By erika on 12/3/09 6:29pm
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    This is one of my favorite works of science writing, and I have real difficulty believing that it was first published in 1991.  Can it really have been 18 years?  When did I get old like that?

    At any rate, Diane Ackerman has written many books since, but I still feel that A Natural History of the Senses remains her best.  Ackerman breaks her book down by sense (I'm sure you will not be surprised to learn) and then riffs on each sense in a manner which is engrossing, entertaining, and sometimes just gross.

    A Natural History of the Senses is structured as a series of short essays, on topics as diverse as the etymological connection between most languages' words for "prostitute" and their words for "rotting smell," and a "sound poem" she once wrote to describe the song of humpback whales.


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