Book Reviews April 2007

Bang! The complete history of the Universe Brian May ,Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott Carlton Books, 2006 ISBN: 1844425525 In Bang! The complete history of the Universe the authors have put together an impressive overview of the history of the universe and our place in it. It goes in chronological order, so that it starts with the big bang, then goes on to the evolution of galaxies, the formation of the solar system, and the evolution of life on earth. The book then looks further, beyond the present to the collision of our galaxy with M31, to the destruction of the Earth and on to consider the ultimate fate of the universe. It finishes with useful chapters on astronomy for the amateur, and on the lives of some well known astronomers. Continued..

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Francis Crick : discoverer of the genetic code Matt Ridley HarperCollins, 2006 ISBN: 0007213301 It's now over 50 years since the discovery of the structure of DNA and, perhaps surprisingly, there is more interest in the discovery now than there was at the time. In Francis Crick : discoverer of the genetic code, Matt Ridley tells of the life of one of the discoverers.Thus we find out how Crick's combination of a supremely logical mind with a tendency to go against the flow resulted in an uncanny ability to pick the right hypothesis. Crick's contribution to science certainly didn't stop with the structure of DNA - he went on tho play an equally important part in working out the code DNA uses to make proteins. Continued..

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Lonesome George Henry Nicholls Macmillan, 2006 ISBN: 1403945764 Mentioned in Full Review In 1971 a lone tortoise was found on the Galapagos island of Pinta. He is thought to be the last such Pinta tortoise, and in Lonesome George: The life and loves of a conservation icon Henry Nicholls tells his story. A significant theme of the book concerns attempts to get George to reproduce, with the selection of genetically similar females from other islands, but little response from George himself. Nicholls looks at what is being done and at what might be done in future to get round this problem, including more speculative options such as cloning. Continued..

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Homo Britannicus Chris Stringer Penguin, 2006 ISBN: 0713997958 The Ancient Human Occupation of Britain project was started in 2001 with the aim of using modern methods of palaentology to find out more about the various waves of people which have occupied our islands. In Homo Britannicus Chris Stringer (the director of the project) tells the reader some of the results of this project - how it is now thought that Britain was occupied as much as 700000 years ago, but how sensitive this occupation was to the changes of climate. Chris Stringer is an experienced writer, and the book contains plenty to interest the reader - it certainly whetted my appetite to find out more about the subject. Continued..

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The Big Splat or how our moon came to be Dana Mackenzie Wiley, 2003 ISBN: 0471150576 Since the earliest times the moon has been considered an object of mystery. The Big Splat (or how our moon came to be) describes how one mystery about the moon was resolved - that of its formation. It is now largely agreed that early in the history of the solar system a Mars size planetoid collided with the proto-Earth to result in the Moon and a somewhat modified Earth. Although this was decided over 20 years ago, I have to say that it hadn't really entered my knowledge base - I found it a bit of a surprise. If you too feel that your knowledge of our closest astronomical neighbour needs updating then I would certainly recommend this highly readable book. Continued..

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In search of memory Eric R Kandel Norton, 2006 ISBN: 0393058638 Mentioned in Full Review In Search of Memory is Eric R Kandel's account of his life as a scientist studying the workings of the brain, but as well as giving details of his own investigations he includes the relevant scientific background, thus making the book a useful resource for learning about this subject. The autobiographical approach helps to make the science more accessible, and it also shows how success as a scientist often depends what you choose to study - choices that may be difficult and against the advice of your colleagues (such as using the marine snail Aplysia for the study of memory), but which in Kandel's case lead to him being awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine. Continued..

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The Science of Doctor Who Paul Parsons Icon books, 2006 ISBN: 1840467371 There are quite a number of books explaining the scientific basis of science fiction books and TV programmes. The Science of Doctor Who by Paul Parsons is one of the best of this type of books which I have come across. Parsons not only is aware of plenty of current science, he is also clearly a fan of the series he is writing about. Hence he is able to find plenty of links between what happens in the program and research that is going on in world of scientific research, without it seeming artificial. The book is ideal as a little light reading, and you may learn some new science along the way as a bonus. Continued..

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The Rough Guide to Climate Change Robert Henson Rough Guides, 2006 ISBN: 1843537117 Mentioned in Full Review Global Warming is a hot topic at the moment, and The Rough Guide to Climate Change is a useful addition to the growing literature aimed at helping readers to understand this phenomenon. It's a complicated subject, but the book explains it in an non-technical way. It gives plenty of information on the changes in weather that has already been observed and what we might expect for the future, on the science of climate change, and on the question of what can be done about it. I felt it was especially helpful in allowing the reader to see beyond some of the simplistic ideas which are often provided by the media. Continued..

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Thermal physics Ralph Baierlein Cambridge University Press, 1999 ISBN: 0521590825 Mentioned in Absolute zero Thermodynamics is a huge subject, which means that thermodynamics textbooks are often correspondingly huge. In Thermal Physics Ralph Baierlein manages to pack a significant part of the subject into just 400 pages, and what is more does so in a reasonably reader-friendly way, with plenty of illustrations and examples of how thermodynamics links in with everyday life. On the other hand the book does have the usual amount of mathematics for this subject, and it does throw a lot of new ideas at the reader in a short space. Hence I would say that if you are going to use this book as part of your studies then you will need to be prepared to do some work. Continued..

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The Five Ages of the Universe Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin Free Press, 1999 ISBN: 0684854228 The universe might seem to have been around for a very long time, but in The Five Ages of the Universe Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin show that it might be considered to still be in its early stages. They divide the life of the universe into five eras, starting with the primordial era - the 100000 years following the big bang. Then comes the stelliferous era , which is the one we live in. This is followed by the degenerate era, the black hole era, and finally, when all of the black holes have evaporated, by the dark era. Continued..

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The Goldilocks Enigma P C W Davies Allen Lane, 2006 ISBN: 0713998830 The laws of physics sometimes look as if they have been set up to allow for the emergence of life. In 'The Goldilocks Enigma' Paul Davies looks at the various explanations of why this should be so. For some people it is clear evidence of the existence of a deity. Others point to the idea of a multiverse - lots of universes exist, so some are bound to be 'just right' for life. Davies' preferred explanation takes a different tack - mind is central to the universe and participates in its existence. In summary, this book is easy to read but contains plenty of thought provoking material. Continued..

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Language and thought Nick Lund Routledge, 2003 ISBN: 0415282918 The occurrence of language raises some interesting questions about the brain. Is it like a general purpose computer, with language production being just one of its abilities? Or does language form the basis of our thought - an idea called the linguistic relativity hypothesis (LRH). In Language and Thought Nick Lund gives a detailed look at such questions. There's a lot packed into this short book, and it's highly suitable for its target audience, that is students in higher education who are studying psychology and related subjects. However, I felt it was less suited to the general reader who has an interest in these questions. Continued..

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The crest of the peacock George G Joseph Penguin, 1991 ISBN: 0140277781 After the renaissance, the centre of mathematical study moved to Europe, and sometimes the contributions to mathematics from other cultures are overlooked. In The Crest of the Peacock George Gheverghese Joseph gives a history of such mathematics, starting from prehistoric markings on bones, and going on to the mathematics of Egypt and Babylonia, followed by a look at that of China, India and the Arab world. It's a lot of material to cover and sometimes it's hard going, but there are plenty of examples and diagrams which make it easier to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out more about the substantial contribution to mathematics from non-European cultures. Continued..

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