Christopher Buckley, an author who I'm rather fond of, turns his trademark wit on himself as he relates his experience of losing both of his parents. Christopher Buckley, an author who I'm rather fond of, turns his trademark wit on himself as he relates his experience of losing both of his parents. Regardless of what one thinks of his father, Christopher's stories about their complicated relationship and their final times together are both heartwarming and sad and worth reading for any fan of the author of Thank You For Smoking....more
Having previously read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, I was really looking forward to MHaving previously read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, I was really looking forward to Mary Roach's newest book, which is about the human side of space exploration. Perhaps it's because the topic was just less absurd than cadavers and sex (although there are chapters dedicated to the logistics of pooping in space), but I found myself laughing out loud less and finding fewer tidbits to share with people. It was still a quick, enjoyable read, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone who's looking for something fun....more
My rating is not a review of the science; I'll leave that to the scientists. From a lay-person's perspective, the book is well-written and easily acceMy rating is not a review of the science; I'll leave that to the scientists. From a lay-person's perspective, the book is well-written and easily accessible, although from even my limited exposure to books about physics, I was scratching my head trying to figure out just what new information is being presented here. At times, it seemed like the authors were saying that the answer is "all of them," which seems like a cop-out, but if that's what the science says, who am I to argue? (Whether or not that's what the science says seems to be up in the air, according to reviews written by people who are in a better position to know)...more
Certainly not a PLEASANT read, but an important one, nonetheless. The author does an excellent job debunking everything that we "know" about ColumbineCertainly not a PLEASANT read, but an important one, nonetheless. The author does an excellent job debunking everything that we "know" about Columbine - although it appears that most people connected with the event knew from nearly the beginning that the killers weren't bullied Goths who snapped and targeted jocks, the media at large grabbed onto that idea and ran with it. ...more
I picked this book up because I thought it would be interesting to read about the religious views of the head of the Human Genome Project. What does sI picked this book up because I thought it would be interesting to read about the religious views of the head of the Human Genome Project. What does someone who has his scientific credentials think about God and spirituality? Some of the reviews on GR attempt to attack perceived fallacies in his arguments and prove him “wrong,” but I was less interested in that than I was getting inside his head and listening to his personal story, whether I agreed with him or not.
The Language of God is a well-written, easily-read rumination on the conflict between science and religion and why the author (along with many in the scientific community) feels this conflict doesn’t need to exist. Despite arguing from a believer’s point of view, Collins spends quite a bit of time shooting down creationism, Biblical literalism, and Intelligent Design. He advises against using God to “fill in the gaps” in current scientific knowledge and instead encourages believers to base their faith on something more stable. He points to history to illustrate that current arguments that require a literal reading of the Genesis are relatively new and that pre-Darwin religious thinkers didn’t hold the same views that current conservative religious folks do.
The only downside from my point of view is that Collins is Christian; I feel like I've spent enough time reading about how people arrived at their faith in Jesus. I'd love to read something written from the perspective of someone who became just about anything else, just for the sake of hearing some different experiences. To Collins' credit, though, in the few times he discusses the Bible, he refers to the original Hebrew. He also acknowledges several times that although his exploration of his personal beliefs brought him to Christianity, that every person will find what is right for them. A strike against him, though, is his use of the phrase "Judeo-Christian" several times, especially in reference to religious texts. That phrase needs to be disposed of and never used by anyone ever again.
The book ends with an appendix detailing some current bioethics concerns, and while it's interesting (especially since a bioethics class I took with Lori Andrews was one of my more interesting law school classes), I'm a little puzzled about its placement in this book....more
Delightful catalog book that accompanied the traveling exhibition of Gorey's work. It gives a lot of insight into what inspired him and how he viewed Delightful catalog book that accompanied the traveling exhibition of Gorey's work. It gives a lot of insight into what inspired him and how he viewed his drawings and stories. The art included pages from many stories I'm already familiar with, and others I've had yet to read....more
This book is a collection of the lectures Sagan gave during his Gifford Lectures appointment in Glasglow. Although he gave the lectures in 1985, they This book is a collection of the lectures Sagan gave during his Gifford Lectures appointment in Glasglow. Although he gave the lectures in 1985, they needed very little updating (done with minimal footnotes) upon their publication in 2006. I think the only thing I noticed that is irrelevant now is Sagan's musings about whether or not the universe is forever expanding, and the implications of a universe that expands and contracts (a footnote helpfully reveals that evidence now shows a rapidly expanding universe).
I've noticed many reviews on Goodreads refer to Sagan as an atheist, which isn't correct (he's been quoted elsewhere that an atheist would have to know a lot more than Sagan does), but I can see how it's easy to come away from the book with that idea - his agnostic stance isn't really demonstrated until the Q&A transcript at the end of the lectures, where he points out that you can't prove something without evidence, but that a lack of evidence is not proof that something doesn't exist.
There's a little bit of an overlap between this and Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark, but I think this is the better book; as I noted in my review of The Demon-Haunted World, the latter part of that book seems like a tangent that doesn't quite fit with the first part. The lectures in this collection, on the other hand, all go together very well and transition into each other nicely. On the other hand, The Demon-Haunted World demonstrates more of the balance between Sagan's wonder and skepticism. The lectures come off as being more on the skeptic side....more
Very readable, and I was actually surprised to realize I'd learned most of this information in an astronomy class I took in college. Who knew I was thVery readable, and I was actually surprised to realize I'd learned most of this information in an astronomy class I took in college. Who knew I was this educated?
The end of the book, where Hawking discusses the theories that scientists are currently trying to prove, started getting to be a bit above my head - in my lay opinion, I think it was a combination of Hawking getting a bit more vague and having fewer concrete facts and observations to state....more
Mary Roach writes on an interesting topic in an engaging voice, and her interest in the subject matter comes though quite clearly as she details her rMary Roach writes on an interesting topic in an engaging voice, and her interest in the subject matter comes though quite clearly as she details her research on the use of cadavers. I will definitely be checking out her other books (one of which is about ghosts, and the other about sex - an interesting trifecta of subjects, when you get right down to it)....more
For a while now, I've been saying that I need to start reading some non-fiction. For all the time I spend reading, some of that time should be spent lFor a while now, I've been saying that I need to start reading some non-fiction. For all the time I spend reading, some of that time should be spent learning about things that are new to me. But then I'd groan and say that I'm not yet far enough removed from being a student to be able to do that for fun.
A GoodReads friend recommended this one during a discussion of sleep paralysis and aliens, and I decided that I should approach this like ripping off a band-aid - I grabbed it off the library shelf and started reading it before my brain could realize what I was doing to it.
Luckily, Carl Sagan is wonderfully readable, and his excitement about science shines through every page. I love his balance of skepticism and wonder and his high regard for his field of study. He had me getting a bit sad when he discussed how American schools (mis)handle teaching math and science, and he made a comment that especially struck me: in history, in English, students are constantly exposed to the voices of the masters of the fields. But we're never given anything written by the people who love math and science. We learn numbers and formulas, but we don't learn to love them from the people who discovered those numbers and formulas. This rang especially true for me.
My only complaint is that the first 3/4 of the book is structured so that each chapter transitions into the next one quite smoothly, but the last quarter of the book jumps around a lot and doesn't seem to have as much focus as the first three quarters. ...more