Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

Longitude is one of the books I purchased for my Kindle, but actually started reading the hard copy.

Kristie and I were on our Christmas holiday, and I had finished my book before she had finished hers; I was going to read The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary after her. So while we were up at the cabin, I noticed that one of the books that they had on the shelf was Longitude; so I started reading. Wow! What a great book!

Dava Sobel takes a really could have been a dry story, and makes it incredibly interesting.

As the first word in the title suggests, the book is about how mariners managed to calculate longitude while they were on the high seas. The hero of the story, because there are heros and villains in the story, is John Harrison (My new hero). John wanted to create a special time piece that would help sailors keep proper time while out at sea. Up until this point (the late 1700's), clocks and watches were very unreliable as they often gained or lost time due to various issues such as temperature, friction, etc. But John had a vision of creating the perfect time piece.

Like I mentioned before, the hero was John, but there are many other characters that help weave this story into no only a good non-fiction book, but what could have been a story out of Hollywood: Villians (Maskelyne), Side kicks (William Harrison, Issac Newton, Edmond Halley), and Conspirators (The Board of Longitude).

I think that this book could actually easily be retooled to be a screenplay, and even a wonderful movie. Even if you're not interested in Longitude or any type of science, I think you will find this book a delight to read.

5/5

Breaking the Time Barrier: The Race to Build the First Time Machine

I got this book with an Amazon gift certificate that I got as a Christmas present. It wasn't a book that I was looking for initially, but was a recommendation from Amazon based on previous book purchases.

As the title suggests, (I don't think this will be much of a spoiler) the book is about the idea of building a real life time machine. The author discusses the idea of breaking the time barrier as it had first appeared in literature, and brings forward various chapters as time goes on, that shows the scientific progress that would supposedly enable mankind to build a time machine.

Each chapter actually does have very good science written into it. The book discusses various aspects of physics that are both proven and theoretical.  But it is what the author does with this information that I find a bit hard to believe. She basically takes good science and then dives down a rabbit hole to show that building a time machine is possible.  Essentially, I think she takes good science, and turns it into science fiction. I think that it is fair to say that Ms. Randles is a true believer in the idea of time travel, as the last chapter will attest to.

If the idea of this book was to expose the reader to good science through wild speculation and hyperbole, then I think that it does the job well, but if the idea is to make the reader believe that time travel is just around the corner, then I think it may be quite a long time...

Elephants on the Edge

Title: Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity
Author: G. A. Bradshaw Page
Publisher: Yale University Press (October 26, 2010)

ISBN-10: 9780300167832
ISBN-13: 978-0300167832
ASIN: 0300167830

I bought this book with great expectations for enjoyment. I was stepping out of my comfort zone in that it wasn't another book on skepticism, or a book about quantum/theoretical physics, but I still was looking forward to reading it as it was one of Scientific American's top picks.

Unfortunately, I found that I just couldn't get into it.  So much so, that I just couldn't finish the book.  It isn't that the subject matter was uninteresting, it is more the writing that the author delivered.  I just didn't find it compelling.  Wait, that isn't entirely true. There were bits and pieces that I found quite interesting, but on the whole, I found the writing boring.

I personally, would only give this book 1 out of 5 stars.

To anyone who disagrees with me, I do like elephants, but I found it boring...sorry.

Cooking for Geeks

Cooking for Geeks

Title: Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food
Author: Jeff Potter
Publisher: O'Reilly Media

ISBN-10: 9780596805883
ISBN-13: 978-0596805883

Like many of the non-fiction books that I read, this book was brought to my attention through the Skeptically Speaking podcast.  Basically, it is a book about food science.  While it does contain several recipes, it is not simply a recipe book.  It is more geared towards people who are interested in how the food we eat, becomes the food we eat.  So instead of simply saying something to the effect of "bake on the middle rack at 180 C for 30 minutes", it will tell you what is happening while it is baking for 30 minutes.  It discusses the chemical compounds and their interactions while baking, it will discuss what is happening in the leavening process, it will discuss why a steak tastes so good, when cooked medium rare.

While I did come away with quite a few tips for cooking, and I really liked learning about the chemistry behind the cooking, I don't think that there is much I would use this book for now that I have completed reading it.  The only thing that I might do, is refer back to it if I decide to wing it while baking.  (e.g. referring to the acidity/alkaline nature of fruits/veggies, and what will happen when I combine them).

I think that this book would be quite interesting for people who like figuring out how things work, rather than simply following instructions.  Actually, within the book itself, it pretty much says that it is geared towards hackers.

Long story short (too late), I liked the book, but it wouldn't be for everyone.

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

Title: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Author: Mary Roach
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

ISBN-10: 9780393329124
ISBN-13: 978-0393329124

After reading my first book by Mary Roach: Stiff, I was expecting a lot from this book.  Being the skeptic that I am, I had heard about this book through a couple different skeptical blogs and podcasts.  After hearing various reviews, I was anxious to dive into it.

In some ways the book followed the format of Stiff.  In this book Mary Roach relays various different encounters throughout the book in which she looks for evidence into life after death.  She delves into reincarnation, hauntings, mediums, ghost hunters, and near death experiences, along with a few other diversions.  Each encounter she writes about would delve into the subject's back story providing an interesting portait of the people she is writing about.

I have to say however, that I found Stiff much more interesting than Spook.  I think it might be due to the fact that I didn't really learn very much from Spook, whereas I learned a great deal from Stiff.  Don't get me wrong, I liked the book, and find Mary Roach to be a wonderfully talented and amusing author.  I just didn't gain a whole lot from this particular book.  If I had to give it a rating between one to five (and that is what I have to do on this blog), I'd give it a 3 out of 5.  As Kristie likes to say about many movies she watches: It was entertaining but forgettable.

Nonsense on Stilts:How to Tell Science from Bunk

Nonsense on Stilts:How to Tell Science from Bunk

Title: Nonsense on Stilts:How to Tell Science from Bunk
Author: Massimo Pigliucci Page
Publisher: University of Chicago Press

ISBN-10: 0226667863
ISBN-13: 978-0226667867

Review: I had first heard about this book quite a while ago while listening to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe podcast, but as I am a very slow reader, it took me quite a while to get to it as I had many other books in the queue.  By the time I started reading it, I had already finished quite a few books in the skeptical genre and as such found that I was experiencing a bit of an echo chamber effect.  Much of the early subject matter in the book were issues covered in other books I had read for instance, the Dover Intelligent Design Trial.

Luckily the recycling of topics (at least for me) had ended about 1/3 of the way into the book.  After that, there was a wealth of new information that I had not yet learned about from other skeptical books.  Information such as the decline of the public intellectual and the rise of think tanks, and one of my favorite topics: the evolution of science itself.  Pigliucci managed to educate me on something that has never even entered into my imagination previously, that is how our current view of science has changed and evolved since ancient times.  The last 1/4 of the book was kind of a philosophy vs science smack down that was interesting, but not earth shattering.

All in all a pretty good book, but not a great book.  I give it 4 out of 5.

Idiot America

Idiot America

Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free

Title: Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free
Author: Charles P Pierce
Publisher: Doubleday

ISBN-10: 0767926145
ISBN-13: 978-0767926140

Review: Quite a few years back, my brother and I changed out a carburetor in my wife's old Toyota Tercel.  Having completed this single bit of mechanictry (not a real word), I don't believe that I could get a job as a Master Mechanic with Toyota.  I also don't believe that I should advise others on their own car maintenance, I think that should be left to the experts; the people who have studied for years and have lots of experience behind them.  That is what the author is saying in this book; people should trust the experts.

His complaint however, is that people aren't trusting the experts.  They are trusting talk radio hosts, they are trusting "yes" men, they are trusting their own gut, in short, they are trusting the wrong people.

It is fair to say that through out most of this book, Charles P Pierce is pissed off.  He touches on quite a few topics throughout the book such as The Creation Museum in Kentucky, Intelligent Design sneaking into the the curriculum in Colorado, the death of Terri Schiavo in Florida, Talk Radio throughout America, and virtually all of the last decade of what goes on in Washington, DC.  Charles P Pierce is pissed off because the people who actually do know what they are talking about in such matters are at best, being ignored, and at worst are being ridiculed for the fact that they actually DO know what they are talking about.  I believe he calls it an anti-intellectual backlash.

Charles P Pierce is a wonderful writer and he weaves an elaborate narrative on some of the sore spots of American culture.  As I alluded to, his writing can come off as caustic at times, but he can also be quite shrewd and very funny.  Think of him as Jon Stewart, but without so many jokes.

I highly recommend picking up this book.  Heck you may even want to read it. 4 out of 5.

59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot

Title: 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
Author: Richard Wiseman
Publisher: Macmillan

ISBN-10: 023074429X
ISBN-13: 978-0230744295

Review:
I first heard about this book while listening to the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe podcast well over a year ago, but being such a horribly slow reader, I finally just got to it on my reading list recently.

59 Seconds is a self-help book for the Skeptical Mindset.  While it doesn't actually state that if you do A-B-C, it will bring you long life, happiness and prosperity, it does provide a lot of advice that is actually built on science, rather than Oprah-ism.

Much of the information may already be known to those who would identify themselves as skeptics, but the book helps solidify many of the things you may have only a periphery knowledge of.  That is where I find myself.  I have heard bits of pieces of these studies over the years, but other than knowing the headline, I haven't learned anything of the who's, what's, where's, why's and hows...it just didn't feel right to put an apostrophy after how.

I found this a fairly quick read, even for me.  Despite the fact that I got through the book quickly, I found it very enjoyable.

Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Title: Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
Author: Tony Horwitz
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

ISBN-10: 0805065415
ISBN-13: 978-0805065411

Review:
We were having dinner at a friend's a while back when the topic of conversation got around to books (Kristie and Barb are in a book club together).  When I was asked about books, I mentioned that I tend to read non-fiction more than fiction and as a result was handed Blue Latitudes.

As the subtitle suggests, this book is about following in the tracks of Captain Cook's three voyages around the world.  The author and his clearly alcoholic friend spend about 18 months of their life visiting the sites that Captain Cook "discovered" and claimed in the name of England.  When I think about his "Discoveries", I can't help but think that in virtually all cases, the places he discovered were already populated with people...for hundreds if not thousands of years.  To me it is like "Discovering" an apartment building with tenants already inside, then claiming they owe you rent.

Despite my issue with colonialism, the book itself is quite good.  Throughout the book, the author gives a historic telling of how Cook came to the lands he "discovered"; discussing many of the hardships along the way as well as delving into the character of Cook himself.  Interspersed with this history is the author's own stories of visiting the places that cook visited, interviewing the indigenous peoples, and discussing the ramifications of Cook's visit in terms of history.  While I felt that the author himself held Cook in extremely high esteem, he didn't pull any punches when including the interviews from those who's lives were inevitably affected by Cook.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to those who are interested in a bit of history, and the fallout from that history.  Give it a go, you may like it.

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

I unabashedly loved this book!  It was such a great read.  The main characters were sympathetic and compelling, while the supporting characters created great drama (admittedly, the bulk of these characters were far from sympathetic).  While the topic is challenging, the book was written in such a way that you just fly through it.  It was really hard to put down at night.

This book tells the story of three women from Mississippi who pull together to tell the stories of domestic help in the southern context.  The challenges associated with this task are brilliantly described here.  I don't want to give much more away, but I do encourage you to pick this book up.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

5/5 Stars

A Guest Post - Nobel Prize Women in Science

Title: Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries
Author: Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
Publisher: Citadel Press; Rev Sub edition (September 1998)

ISBN-10: 0806520256
ISBN-13: 978-0806520254

Review:
I'm kind of a physics geek.  I love reading about Astronomy and Quantum Physics, and Nuclear Physics and the like, but even though I have this interest in science, I was woefully ignorant that so many of the most revolutionary things in science were discovered by women!  I also had no idea what many of these women were up against, in terms of adversity.  It would be hard enough to make these discoveries in and of themselves, but add onto that elitism, sexism, antisemitism, plagiarism, etc. and you've got some pretty fabulous work.

Before beginning this book there were a few things that I knew prior to reading, such as who Marie Curie was and her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie.  But there was so much that I learned about who these women, the obstacles they had to over come and their contributions to science. I was absolutely amazed!

The author breaks down a dozen or so stories of these women, telling really enjoyable stories of the scientist's upbringing, their personalities, and also the work they contributed to science.  She is able to bring the women to life by writing about their character, and able to make the science interesting and approachable for a layman as well.

I really loved this book, and now I want to learn a lot more about things in which I am ignorant...which is a lot!