Book Reviews

"What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" by Randall Munroe

Hal Harris | Wed, 11/05/2014 - 15:52

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xkcd is a nerdy Internet daily cartoon that is written and drawn by a former NASA "roboticist". The subject matter is all over the map [yesterday's (11/4/14) is about TypographicChemistry], but tends to favor physics and computing. He encourages readers of the cartoon strip to send him outrageous questions, and he supplies outrageous but scientifically accurate responses. Some of the best of these have be come a surprising NYT Best Seller.

The Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll

Melanie Anastasio | Thu, 08/07/2014 - 10:49

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The Higgs boson is one of our era’s most fascinating scientific frontiers and the key to understanding why mass exists. The most recent book on the subject, The God Particle, was a bestseller.

"The Big Sleep" by Ian Parker

Hal Harris | Wed, 12/11/2013 - 09:49

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Insomnia drugs like Ambien are notorious for their side effects. Has Merck created a blockbuster replacement?

The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets by Simon Singh

Hal Harris | Tue, 12/03/2013 - 12:09

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Simon Singh uses mathematical tidbits planted by the nerds and geeks who write The Simpsons to lead the reader on an excursion through some amazing mathematics. The book will appeal to the kind of person who might read JCE, and others with some mathematical background and interest.

Dr. Joe's Brain Sparks: 179 Inspiring and Enlightening Inquiries Into the Science of Everyday Life

Hal Harris | Mon, 10/08/2012 - 15:19

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Professor Joe Schwarcz of McGill University is Canada's foremost public spokesperson for science. His columns in the Montreal Gazette and in Canadian Chemical News and his radio program on CJAD in Montreal reach thousands of readers and listeners, and have provided grist for his many popular books about science and especially chemistry.

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

Hal Harris | Wed, 02/01/2012 - 00:00

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Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins attempts in this book to address some of the questions that might arise in the minds of children about topics with which science deals. It was written for kids of unspecified age; I would guess that middle school would be a reasonable estimate.

Letters to a Young Chemist

Hal Harris | Sun, 01/01/2012 - 00:00

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Imagine yourself to be an undergraduate science major, with some interest in the possibility of a career in chemistry. Wouldn't it be interesting to have lunch with more than a dozen (actually seventeen) accomplished academic researchers, who could tell you about some of the cool things that their work has discovered, and what they are currently excited about.

A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos

Hal Harris | Thu, 12/01/2011 - 00:00

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I enjoyed so much Dava Sobel's previous books, "Longitude" and "Galileo's Daughter" (both of which were Hal's Picks), that I was eager to read her latest, which was judged "best science book" for Fall, 2011 by Publisher's Weekly.

Worm: The First Digital World War

Hal Harris | Sat, 10/01/2011 - 01:00

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Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down , knows how to write a nonfiction thriller. The Worm sounds like it ought to be science fiction, but the title refers to the Conficker worm, the most diabolical and potentially damaging computer malware ever devised.

The Symmetries of Things

Hal Harris | Sun, 03/01/2009 - 00:00

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This beautiful book could certainly enhance your coffee table, but don't buy it just for its looks. Be prepared to spend some time with it, and join the wonder that mathematicians are expressing at the brilliance of this new way of describing and inventing symmetries.