Difference between revisions of "Newest Popular Science Reviews"

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[[Category:Popular Science|*]]
 
[[Category:Popular Science|*]]
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1787333175
|title=What a Wonderful World
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|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here
|author=Marcus Chown
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|author=Benji Waterhouse
|rating=4.5
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|rating=5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=We all wonder about the Big Stuff at one time or another. How does the brain work? How does electricity actually get into our homes and power stuff? Who thought it was sensible to have a soft cheese, a Ferengi and an elementary particle all share the same name? Because that’s not at all confusing. Rather than just think about these things, Marcus Chown has decided to examine and explore them, and share his research. Or, as the subtitle puts it, this is 'One man’s attempt to explain the big stuff'.  
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|summary=I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography.  ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist.  I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.  
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571278396</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1788360702
|title=The Machines of Sex Research: Technology and the Politics of Identity, 1945-1985
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|title=Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography
|author=Donna J Drucker
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|author=Edzard Ernst
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Biography
|summary=I'll start bluntly – this is a very academic, specialised tome, and is not really for the curious reader to flick throughGiven that, you probably can work out exactly what this book is like, and therefore move on from this review, but should you stay with me you'll find that if you didn't know much about sex research equipment then the subject might actually manage to fire a curious synapse and leave you with some interest.  It is, after all, not a topic to be ignored easily – as I read and write about this book in September 2013 I'm weeks away from Channel 4 making one of the featured scientists a historical figure in a drama, which is only part of a season that controversially includes something like the science of fifty years ago – namely filming copulating couplesConversely, if you did know something on the topic, this book will be on your shelves quite imminently.
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|summary=For over forty years, Prince Charles has been an ardent supporter of alternative medicine and complementary therapies''Charles, The Alternative Prince'' critically assesses the Prince's opinions, beliefs and aims against the background of the scientific evidenceThere are few instances of his beliefs being vindicated and his relentless promotion of treatments which have no scientific support has done considerable damage to the reputation of a man who is proud of his refusal to apply evidence-based, logical reasoning to his ambitions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>9400770634</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Inventing the Enemy: Essays on Everything
 
|author=Umberto Eco
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=Imagine a sumptuous Italian feast in the sunlit-bathed ancient countryside near Milan. Next to you a gentleman talks and eats with furious energy. He tells of Dante, Cicero, and St Augustine and quotes a multitude of obscure troubadours from the Middle Ages. He repeats himself, gestures flamboyantly, nudges you sharply in the ribs, belches and even breaks wind. His conversation contains nuggets of information but in the flow of his discourse there is a fondness for iteration and reiteration. He throws bones over his shoulder and when he reaches the cheese course - definitely too much information on the mouldy bacteria! When you finally get up things the elderly gentleman has said prompt your imagination. You are better informed, intrigued and prodded to examine his discourse again and again, even if only to challenge what you have heard. Such are the effects of reading Eco’s essays in ''Inventing the Enemy''.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099553945</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|title=Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
 
|author=David Quammen
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=''We provide an irresistible opportunity for enterprising microbes by the ubiquity and abundance of our human bodies.'' This is a salient fact taken away from David Quammen's ''Spillover''. The entire book is a most trenchant eye-opener to just how much of an impact animal infections have on people; approximately 60% of human infectious diseases are ''zoonoses'', 'animal [infections] transmissible to humans'.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099522853</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0192779230
|title=Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|author=Allen M Hornblum, Judith L Newman and Gregory J Dober
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|author=Isabel Thomas
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Politics and Society
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=If I told you that doctors had been using human beings in the most horrible of medical experiments, that they had done things like tie toddlers to beds to insert live pathogens into their eyes, injected children with radiation, sterilised those thought to be subhuman and even castrated a child just to  get a supply of tissue for a lab experiment, you might very reasonably assume I am talking abut Nazi Germany. I am not.
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|summary='Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill.  In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs. We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time.  The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230341713</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=gareth_steel
|title=God Versus Particle Physics: A No-Score Draw
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|title=Never Work With Animals
|author=John Davies
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|author=Gareth Steel
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=''God Versus Particle Physics: A No Score Draw'' is a bold, witty and undoubtedly controversial book that questions our blind faith in science. Davies, a psychologist, analyses the subject in detail, creating some interesting and convincing arguments concluding that some of the latest theories in the realm of physics seem to border on the metaphysical, lacking any kind of demonstrable proof. He reasons that many of the arguments used by prominent atheists, demanding evidence that God exists, can also be applied to ideas such as the Big Bang, parallel universes, dark matter and the Higgs Boson, ironically known as the ''God particle''.
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|summary=I don't often begin my reviews with a warning but with ''Never Work With Animals'' it seems to be appropriate. Stories of a vet's life have proved popular since ''All Creatures Great and Small'' but ''Never Work With Animals'' is definitely not the companion volume you've been looking for. As a TV show the author would argue that ''All Creatures'' lacked realism, as do other similar programmes. Gareth Steel says that the book is not suitable for younger readers and - after reading - I agree with him. He says that he's written it to inform and provoke thought, particularly amongst aspiring vets. It deals with some uncomfortable and distressing issues but it doesn't lack sensitivity, although there are occasions when you would be best choosing between reading and eating.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845405587</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0241480442
|title=Sea Monsters: The Lore and Legacy of Olaus Magnus's Marine Map
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|title=Healthy Vegan The Cookbook: Vegan Cooking Meets Nutrition Science
|author=Joseph Nigg
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|author=Niko Rittenau and Sebastian Copien
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Cookery
|summary=A confessionWhen reading hardbacks I take the paper cover, if there is one, off, to keep it pristineSometimes there's a second benefit, with [[Longbourn by Jo Baker]] as an example of having an embossed illustration underneath, or suchlikeBut with this book I won't be alone, for the cover folds out into an amazing artwork, such as has only two extant original copies. It's a coloured replica of a large map of the northern seas and Scandinavia, dating from 1539, and is in a category of three major artful scientific papers from where the whole 'here be dragons' cliché about maps comes from. Its creator, Olaus Magnus, followed it up years later with a commentary of all the sea creatures he drew on it, but Magnus has waited centuries for this delicious volume to commentate on both together, in such a lovely fashion.
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|summary=Emotionally, I am a veganMentally, I am a veganI read [[How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance]] and was appalled by the way in which we treat animals in our search for (preferably cheap) food.  Practically, I am not a veganIt worked for a while apart from the odd blip with regard to cheese but then a perfect storm of those events which you hope don't occur too often in your lifetime tempted me back to animal-based protein.  It wasn't the taste - I know that I can get plant-based food that tastes just as good as anything plundered from the animal kingdom - it was the ease of being able to get sufficient protein when meals were often snatched in a few spare moments.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782400435</amazonuk>
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Daniel Gibbs with Teresa H Barker
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|title=A Tattoo on my Brain
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Autobiography
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|summary=Alzheimer's is a disease that slowly wears away your identity and sense of self. I have been directly affected by this cruel disease, as have many. Your memories and personality worn away like a statue over time affected the elements. It seems as if nature wants that final victory over you and your dignity. This is what makes Daniel Gibbs' memoir so admirable. Daniel Gibbs is a neurologist who was diagnosed with Alzheimers and has documented his journey in ''A Tattoo on my Brain''.
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|isbn=1108838936
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=0099551063
|author=Peter Roberts and Shelley Evans
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|title=The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Lessons in life from Saints, Spies and Serial Killers
|title=The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around The World
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|author=Dr Kevin Dutton
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Fungi are the fifth order of the natural kingdom and it’s estimated that there are approximately one and a half million species, found throughout the world‘’The Book of Fungi’’ looks at six hundred of the known fungi and each is pictured at its actual size in full colour and there’s a scientific explanation of its distribution, habitat, form, spore colour and edibility.  The tone of the book is academic but don’t let this put you off - before I began reading my knowledge was broadly restricted to knowing that it was better to discover fungus growing outside your house than attached to the structure inside - and I found it interesting, entertaining (which I didn’t expect) and accessible.
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|summary='' 'Donald Trump outscores Hitler on psychopathic traits' claims Oxford University researcher.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908005858</amazonuk>
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Until the events of 6 January 2021 that might have surprised, even shocked many readers: now they're probably convinced that they knew it all alongThe statement has lost a little of its shock value but it does help us to understand more about the nature of psychopathy.  It's too easy to associate psychopathy with the Yorkshire Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Saddam Hussein or Robert Maudsley, the real-life Hannibal Lecter, but the truth is that having psychopathic traits can sometimes be a good thing.
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1849767343
|title=Paralysed with Fear
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|title=Count on Me
|author=Gareth Williams
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|author=Miguel Tanco
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=Gareth Williams, author of ''Angel of Death'', turns his focus from the history of the plague to that of polio in ''Paralysed with Fear''. From the first report of a case in 1700-Strasbourg, right through to polio in the present day, he traces polio’s progression past age limits, socioeconomic boundaries and geographical borders. Almost more intriguing, though, is the insight we receive to the cut-throat competition between scientists who sought to use polio as a means for making history.
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|summary=The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journey.  It isn't: it's a hymn of praise to maths. It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1137299754</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B08B39QNRH
|author=John D Barrow
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|title=The Curious History of Writer's Cramp: Solving an age-old problem
|title=Mathletics
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|author=Michael Pritchard
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
|genre=Sport
 
|summary=As a sports fan and a maths teacher, I was thrilled to get the chance to read a book which claims to give us 'surprising and enlightening insights into the world of sports'. This is rather a frustrating read because it seems to have got the balance wrong in many cases. There are some chapters which are so short as to be barely worth reading – one merely points out that while humans can’t run as fast as cheetahs or perform gymnastics as amazing as that of a monkey, we’re better all-rounders than any other animal. This is true, but hardly seems worth wasting a page on, it’s so obvious. Then there are other chapters, like the interesting one detailing the points scoring system in the decathlon, which are good but could have been much better given more space. The decathlon one is a prime example of this – it’s five pages, so one of the book’s longer sections, but could surely have been excellent if it had gone into more detail. I can’t help thinking that dropping half of the sections and doubling the other half in length might have been the way to go here.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099584239</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Dr David Lewis
 
|title=Impulse: Why We Do What We Do Without Knowing Why We Do It
 
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=How many times have we asked ourselves the question:
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|summary=''Society is based on speech but civilisation requires the written word''.
  
''Why did I do that?''
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I came to Michael Pritchard's ''The Curious History of Writer's Cramp'' by a rather strange route.  I have problems with my hands which orthopaedic surgeons refer to as 'interesting': I prefer the word 'painful' but I have an interest in the way that hands work.  An exploration of the history of a problem which has defeated some of the best medical minds for some three-hundred-years seemed liked excellent background reading and so it proved, with the book being as much about the doctors treating the sufferers and the changing medical attitudes as the problem itself.
 
 
Most of the time, the question is a response to a sudden inexplicable impulse or urge on our part. That extra helping of chocolate cake, that flirtation with the guy in the office, or that must-have item in the supermarket trolley may all be causes for regret once our rational brain kicks in. But why is it that we humans are often slaves to our base instinct?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847946852</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1776572858
|author=Michael Blastland and David Spiegelhalter
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|title=The Norm Chronicles: Stories and numbers about danger
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 +
|genre=Home and Family
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|summary=It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made.  My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it.  A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before)  and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it ''wasn't something which nice people talked about''.  I ''knew'' more, but was little ''wiser''.  Thankfully, times have changed.
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Danny Dorling
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|title=Slowdown
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|rating=4
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=I'd like you to meet NormHe's an absolutely average kind of guy, thirty one years old, 5'9”, a touch over thirteen stone and he works a thirty-nine hour week with the occasional treat of a bar of milk chocolateOh, and he's ambivalent about Marmite - couldn't care one way or the other - can take it or leave it.  In ''The Norm Chronicles'' we hear the story of his life and the lives of his friends Prudence (the name tells you what you need to know) and Kelvin, who's a dare-devil, hard-living kind of guyIt's the story of the hazards they face - some real and some imagined - in every aspect of their livesAnd along with these stories are the ''real'' facts about the reality of the risks they take.
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|summary= We are living in a time of rapid change, and we're worried about itDorling tells us that the latter is normal, natural and probably good for us.  We are designed to worry and with the current state of what we're doing in the world we have much to be worried aboutHowever, over the next three-hundred-and-some pages, if you can follow the arguments, it sets out in scientific detail why either we shouldn't be as worried as we are, or in some cases that we're worrying about the wrong things.  Mostly.  Because mostly, things are not changing as rapidly as we think they are.  In fact, the rate of change in many things is slowing down and the direction of change will in some cases go into reverse.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846686202</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0300243405
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
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|title=Emily's Numbers
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|author=Joss Langford
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|rating=4
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|summary=Emily found words ''useful'', but counting was what she loved bestObviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos.  She knew all about odd and even numbersThen she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called ''threeven''.  (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.)
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1910593508
|author=Kristine Barnett
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|title=Apollo
|title=The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius
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|author=Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Autobiography
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|genre=History
|summary=The tutor stands at the front of the university class, frantically scribbling equations on the large whiteboard in front of him. He is well respected by his students; an expert in several fields, including general relativity, string theory, quantum field theory and biophysics. In fact, he recently unveiled a brand new theory that may put him in line for a Nobel Prize.
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|summary=This incredible graphic novel is a love letter to the Moon landings and the passion for the subject drips off every Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins. This is a story we know well and because of this, the authors take a few narrative shortcuts knowing that we can fill in the blanks. These shortcuts are the only downside to the book. If you've ever read a comic book adaptation of a film you will be familiar with the slight feeling that there are scenes missing and that dialogue has been trimmed. This is a graphic novel that could easily have been three times as long and still felt too short.
 
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Oh, and did I forget to mention that he is just 14 years old?
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{{Frontpage
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0241145627</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1999308719
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|title=Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments
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|author=Adrian Cull
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Lifestyle
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|summary=For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended to live forever and that so far, it was working out OK.  Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people of my age there were a few nagging health problems which were tipping my life out of balance.  It was time to look for a new approach and as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I needed.  ''Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-ageing treatments'' seemed like the answer to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips.
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1847941834
|author=Ian Stewart
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|title=Atomic Habits
|title=The Great Mathematical Problems
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|author=James Clear
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4.5
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=I joked with a friend when I first got the book that ''The Great Problems'' may be a step too far for me, and perhaps I should wait for Stewart to release a book called ''The Fairly Good Mathematical Problems'' as it would be closer to my level. While I originally said it in jest, by chapter four or so I was starting to think I'd been closer to the truth than I'd realised - Stewart seems, somewhat surprisingly given his past success with books like the brilliant [[Professor Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures by Ian Stewart|Professor Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures]], to have pitched this book about the 'really big questions in mathematics' at an extremely high level. With just a degree in mathematics and nearly ten years worth of experience teaching the subject, I found it something of a slog to get through, with many concepts being difficult to grasp, in particular the Mordell conjecture.
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|summary=I've said this before but there are some books that you seek out, some books that you stumble across and some books that drop into your life because you really MUST read them, like, right now!  ''Atomic Habits'' is in the last category.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846681995</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Honeyborne BlueII
|author=Steven Strogatz
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|title=Blue Planet II
|title=The Joy of X
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|author=James Honeyborne and Mark Brownlow
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
|genre=Popular Science
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|summary=Steven Strogatz, award-winning professor, takes us on a tour of mathematics, and how it relates to our everyday life, in this fascinating book. Split into six sections, 'Numbers', 'Relationships', 'Shapes', 'Change', 'Data' and 'Frontiers', it's an engaging and well-presented read, with short chapters which make it easy to dip into.
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|summary=You may well remember when the sticking of a number '2' after a film title was suggesting something of prestige - that the first film had been so good it was fully justified to have something more. That has hardly been proven correct, but it has until recently almost been confined to the cinema - you barely got a TV series worthy of a numbered sequel, and never in the world of non-fiction. If someone has made a nature series about, say, Alaska (and boy aren't there are a lot of those these days) and wants to make another, why she just makes another - nothing would justify the numeral. But some nature programmes do have the prestige, the energy and the heft to demand follow-ups. And after five years in the making, the BBC's Blue Planet series has delivered a second helping.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848878435</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=1783099593
|author=Richard Restak and Scott Kim
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|title=Speaking Up
|title=How Puzzles Improve Your Brain: The Surprising Science of the Playful Brain
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|author=Allyson Jule
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Many people in the first flush of youth will read this book to find ways of increasing their brain power. Others - like me - at the other end of the age continuum will read because they're looking for ways to restrict or even reverse what they see as deterioration.  Both groups might initially be disappointed as the title suggests that the book is about puzzles, but don't give up as the reality is far more useful. This is a book about how our brains ''work'', how the different parts interact or come into play in certain circumstances - and then there are some puzzles directed at improving performance in those areas.
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|summary='Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0285641751</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Campbell_Astra
|author=Thomas Wright
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|title=Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet
|title=Circulation: William Harvey's Revolutionary Idea
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|author=Dallas Campbell
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Biography
 
|summary='Circulation' by Thomas Wright is a biography of English physician William Harvey’s life, and the story of the 'birth of a theory'. It takes the reader through time before, during and after the creation and completion of ''De Motu Cordis'', in which Harvey famously outlines the most comprehensive antecedent of the mechanism of blood circulation as we know it today. The combination of the writer's aptitude for storytelling and the intriguing life of the individual about whom he writes makes for a fascinating read, allowing one to course through chronologically arranged chapters on Harvey’s life and works, mixed with briefer essays on subject matters ranging from the history of vivisection to the philosophical underpinnings of Harvey’s work.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099552698</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Richard Mabey
 
|title=Turned Out Nice Again: On Living With the Weather
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=After many years of discussion of climate change it's easy to assume that this is a book about ''climate'' but it's not - or only indirectly.  It's about how we live with ''weather'' and our reactions to it and climate comes into the discussion only as an examination of our reaction to the changes. You might have heard the essays which were broadcast in a five part BBC Radio 3 series ''Changing Climates'' which ran in February 2013, but as always with Richard Mabey, his words warrant thought and examination which can't be accommodated by the spoken word.
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|summary=So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781250529</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
 
|author=Jean M Twenge and W Keith Campbell
 
|title=The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Politics and Society
 
|summary=Twenge and Campbell have been studying the rise in narcissism as a social trend.  They are well-qualified to comment, having worked since 1998 with social psychologist Roy Baumeister, who pioneered research in this field.  At more than three hundred pages it's rather weighty for the popular market at which it's aimed, but even if you only dip into this book, I think you'll take home their message.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1416575987</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=Adrian_Sock
|author=Damian O'Brien
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|title=Sock (Object Lessons)
|title=If Houses Why Not Mouses?
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|author=Kim Adrian
 
|rating=3.5
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=I once dedicated an entire linguistics essay to the plural of sheep, in particular my older sister’s youthful fascination with it all. ''One sheep, two sheep. No two sheeps. That silly'' etc etc. So when this book arrived I thought it perfectly plausible that the author had written an extended investigation into house/houses, mouse/mice. (No two mouses? That silly.) What I discovered on making my way through the pages, however, is that there is a lot more to this book that irregular plurals of the 3-year-old-befuddling kind.
+
|summary=The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-known mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909395595</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Daniel J Barrett
 
|title=MediaWiki (Wikipedia and Beyond)
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Reference
 
|summary=I don't usually open reviews by explaining how I came to read a particular book, but on this occasion it will help you to judge whether or not this book is suitable for you if you know where I'm coming from.  Back in 2006 three people got together and between them they built a site - let's call it [http://www.thebookbag.co.uk The Bookbag].  In the early days Bookbag was for fun: it was rather like Everest.  We did it because it ''could'' be there and we wanted to see if what we (loosely) had in mind could be done.  It was a simple HTML site and I had no problems in mastering the technicalities. I'd built the site under instruction and I knew it inside out.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0596519796</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Joel Levy
 
|title=Why?
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Trivia
 
|summary=Why does the Titanic float but a brick sink? And that water they’re sinking or floating in, why is it wet? And what colour is it, ‘cos it ain’t clear? These questions and many more are answered in this book which may not be a new concept but which is executed extremely well.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843179512</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Germano_Eye
|author=Mick O'Hare
+
|title=Eye Chart (Object Lessons)
|title=Will We Ever Speak Dolphin?
+
|author=William Germano
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=The annual New Scientist book is becoming a bit of a ritual for me, and I hope it is for you too. Each year, they collate the best questions and answers from their Last Word column, and each year I heartily recommend that you pick it up, or give it to someone as a Christmas present. This year is no exception, as we find out whether we'll ever speak dolphin, all the ins and outs of James Bond's vodka martini, and - most importantly - detailed information from a dishwasher expert about how to deal with tinned spinach.
+
|summary=It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course, it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178125026X</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Ball_Wonders
|author=Chris Waring
+
|title=Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical
|title=From 0 to Infinity in 26 Centuries
+
|author=Johnny Ball
|rating=4
+
|rating=5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=I quite like Maths and I'm not bad at it at a basic level, which is useful as I have a financial based job.  But I recall the point at which Maths went from being easy to incomprehensible for me; sometime over the Summer that feel between GSCE and A-Level standard.  Then, as now, I never really wondered where Maths had come from; I just worried why I suddenly couldn't understand it any more.
+
|summary=Like many people of a ''certain age,'' I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects ''fun.'' Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843178737</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|isbn=Yong_Contain
|author=David Kaiser
+
|title=I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life
|title=How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival
+
|author=Ed Yong
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=In his introduction Professor Kaiser states that there are three ways in which the west coast hippies have benefited the development of Physics; they opened up deeper speculation into the fundamental philosophy behind quantum theory, they latched on to a crucial theorem of Bell, about what Einstein termed ''spooky'' interactions between particles at a distance. This might otherwise have been totally neglected. Thirdly they propounded a key idea which has become known as the 'no-cloning theorem'. Kaiser tells a lucid account as might be expected from the Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and department chief in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's program. Incidentally he also provides an engaging insight into the American industrial-military complex and associated institutions like the Californian University at Berkley.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>039334231X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=David Crystal
 
|title=Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Are you a speller? I must confess I'm not much of one myself, so the main thing I was after from this book was an insight into the peculiarities of English spelling, and some hints and tips for remembering the rules. Oh, and a fun, entertaining read at the same time (this is Crystal, after all).
+
|summary=The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of microbes.
 
 
I was not disappointed.
 
 
 
(Even if I can still only spell disappointed with the help of my spellchecker)
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846685672</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Jim Holt
 
|title=Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=In ''The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'' Douglas Adam’s famously suggested that the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything was forty-two, although it quickly turns out nobody knows what the ultimate question is, rendering the answer meaningless. In ''Why Does the World Exist?'', Jim Holt explores potential answers to what could be considered the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything – why is there something, rather than nothing? And the answer’s certainly not forty-two.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846682444</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest Reference Reviews]]
|author=Charles Fernyhough
 
|title=Pieces of Light: the New Science of Memory
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|summary=Over the years, I've seen the human memory at its best and worst.  I watched my Nan suffer with Alzheimer's to the point she couldn't remember who anyone was, but also had a colleague who won a silver medal at the Memory Olympics for his ability to remember long strings of items.  I also studied memory as part of a psychology degree but, perhaps ironically, I can no longer remember much of what I learned.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668448X</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:12, 27 May 2024

1787333175.jpg

Review of

You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse

5star.jpg Popular Science

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. Full Review

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Review of

Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography by Edzard Ernst

4star.jpg Biography

For over forty years, Prince Charles has been an ardent supporter of alternative medicine and complementary therapies. Charles, The Alternative Prince critically assesses the Prince's opinions, beliefs and aims against the background of the scientific evidence. There are few instances of his beliefs being vindicated and his relentless promotion of treatments which have no scientific support has done considerable damage to the reputation of a man who is proud of his refusal to apply evidence-based, logical reasoning to his ambitions. Full Review

0192779230.jpg

Review of

Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs by Isabel Thomas

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

'Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill. In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs. We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time. The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves. Full Review

Gareth steel.jpg

Review of

Never Work With Animals by Gareth Steel

4star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

I don't often begin my reviews with a warning but with Never Work With Animals it seems to be appropriate. Stories of a vet's life have proved popular since All Creatures Great and Small but Never Work With Animals is definitely not the companion volume you've been looking for. As a TV show the author would argue that All Creatures lacked realism, as do other similar programmes. Gareth Steel says that the book is not suitable for younger readers and - after reading - I agree with him. He says that he's written it to inform and provoke thought, particularly amongst aspiring vets. It deals with some uncomfortable and distressing issues but it doesn't lack sensitivity, although there are occasions when you would be best choosing between reading and eating. Full Review

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Review of

Healthy Vegan The Cookbook: Vegan Cooking Meets Nutrition Science by Niko Rittenau and Sebastian Copien

4.5star.jpg Cookery

Emotionally, I am a vegan. Mentally, I am a vegan. I read How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance and was appalled by the way in which we treat animals in our search for (preferably cheap) food. Practically, I am not a vegan. It worked for a while apart from the odd blip with regard to cheese but then a perfect storm of those events which you hope don't occur too often in your lifetime tempted me back to animal-based protein. It wasn't the taste - I know that I can get plant-based food that tastes just as good as anything plundered from the animal kingdom - it was the ease of being able to get sufficient protein when meals were often snatched in a few spare moments. Full Review

1108838936.jpg

Review of

A Tattoo on my Brain by Daniel Gibbs with Teresa H Barker

3.5star.jpg Autobiography

Alzheimer's is a disease that slowly wears away your identity and sense of self. I have been directly affected by this cruel disease, as have many. Your memories and personality worn away like a statue over time affected the elements. It seems as if nature wants that final victory over you and your dignity. This is what makes Daniel Gibbs' memoir so admirable. Daniel Gibbs is a neurologist who was diagnosed with Alzheimers and has documented his journey in A Tattoo on my Brain. Full Review

0099551063.jpg

Review of

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Lessons in life from Saints, Spies and Serial Killers by Dr Kevin Dutton

4star.jpg Popular Science

'Donald Trump outscores Hitler on psychopathic traits' claims Oxford University researcher.

Until the events of 6 January 2021 that might have surprised, even shocked many readers: now they're probably convinced that they knew it all along. The statement has lost a little of its shock value but it does help us to understand more about the nature of psychopathy. It's too easy to associate psychopathy with the Yorkshire Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Saddam Hussein or Robert Maudsley, the real-life Hannibal Lecter, but the truth is that having psychopathic traits can sometimes be a good thing. Full Review

1849767343.jpg

Review of

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journey. It isn't: it's a hymn of praise to maths. It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life. Full Review

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Review of

The Curious History of Writer's Cramp: Solving an age-old problem by Michael Pritchard

4star.jpg Popular Science

Society is based on speech but civilisation requires the written word.

I came to Michael Pritchard's The Curious History of Writer's Cramp by a rather strange route. I have problems with my hands which orthopaedic surgeons refer to as 'interesting': I prefer the word 'painful' but I have an interest in the way that hands work. An exploration of the history of a problem which has defeated some of the best medical minds for some three-hundred-years seemed liked excellent background reading and so it proved, with the book being as much about the doctors treating the sufferers and the changing medical attitudes as the problem itself. Full Review

1776572858.jpg

Review of

How Do You Make a Baby? by Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)

5star.jpg Home and Family

It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made. My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it. A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before) and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it wasn't something which nice people talked about. I knew more, but was little wiser. Thankfully, times have changed. Full Review

0300243405.jpg

Review of

Slowdown by Danny Dorling

4star.jpg Politics and Society

We are living in a time of rapid change, and we're worried about it. Dorling tells us that the latter is normal, natural and probably good for us. We are designed to worry and with the current state of what we're doing in the world we have much to be worried about. However, over the next three-hundred-and-some pages, if you can follow the arguments, it sets out in scientific detail why either we shouldn't be as worried as we are, or in some cases that we're worrying about the wrong things. Mostly. Because mostly, things are not changing as rapidly as we think they are. In fact, the rate of change in many things is slowing down and the direction of change will in some cases go into reverse. Full Review

Langford Emily.jpg

Review of

Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Emily found words useful, but counting was what she loved best. Obviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos. She knew all about odd and even numbers. Then she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called threeven. (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.) Full Review

1910593508.jpg

Review of

Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins

5star.jpg History

This incredible graphic novel is a love letter to the Moon landings and the passion for the subject drips off every Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins. This is a story we know well and because of this, the authors take a few narrative shortcuts knowing that we can fill in the blanks. These shortcuts are the only downside to the book. If you've ever read a comic book adaptation of a film you will be familiar with the slight feeling that there are scenes missing and that dialogue has been trimmed. This is a graphic novel that could easily have been three times as long and still felt too short. Full Review

1999308719.jpg

Review of

Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments by Adrian Cull

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended to live forever and that so far, it was working out OK. Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people of my age there were a few nagging health problems which were tipping my life out of balance. It was time to look for a new approach and as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I needed. Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-ageing treatments seemed like the answer to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips. Full Review

1847941834.jpg

Review of

Atomic Habits by James Clear

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

I've said this before but there are some books that you seek out, some books that you stumble across and some books that drop into your life because you really MUST read them, like, right now! Atomic Habits is in the last category. Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Honeyborne BlueII/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

Blue Planet II by James Honeyborne and Mark Brownlow

4.5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

You may well remember when the sticking of a number '2' after a film title was suggesting something of prestige - that the first film had been so good it was fully justified to have something more. That has hardly been proven correct, but it has until recently almost been confined to the cinema - you barely got a TV series worthy of a numbered sequel, and never in the world of non-fiction. If someone has made a nature series about, say, Alaska (and boy aren't there are a lot of those these days) and wants to make another, why she just makes another - nothing would justify the numeral. But some nature programmes do have the prestige, the energy and the heft to demand follow-ups. And after five years in the making, the BBC's Blue Planet series has delivered a second helping. Full Review

1783099593.jpg

Review of

Speaking Up by Allyson Jule

4star.jpg Popular Science

'Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour. Full Review

Campbell Astra.jpg

Review of

Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet by Dallas Campbell

5star.jpg Popular Science

So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet. Full Review

Adrian Sock.jpg

Review of

Sock (Object Lessons) by Kim Adrian

3.5star.jpg Popular Science

The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-known mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock. Full Review

Germano Eye.jpg

Review of

Eye Chart (Object Lessons) by William Germano

4.5star.jpg Popular Science

It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course, it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages. Full Review

Ball Wonders.jpg

Review of

Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical by Johnny Ball

5star.jpg Popular Science

Like many people of a certain age, I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects fun. Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject. Full Review

Yong Contain.jpg

Review of

I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life by Ed Yong

5star.jpg Popular Science

The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of microbes. Full Review

Move on to Newest Reference Reviews