Book Reviews February 2008

Rebuilt Michael Chorost Souvenir press, 2005 ISBN: 0285637509 Michael Chorost had been hard of hearing since birth. Up to the age of 36 he had managed with a hearing aid, but then his hearing failed completely. This meant that he needed a cochlear implant, which meant a big change in his life. In Rebuilt:My Journey Back to the Hearing World (alternatively subtitled How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human), he tells his story Continued..

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Mind, Language and Society John Searle Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999 ISBN: 0297643002 Philosophy, and in particular the philosophy of mind, can be a difficult area for those not used to the ways of philosophers. In Mind, Language and Society:Philosophy in the real word John Searle gives a readable discussion of realism, consciousness, society and language, explaining why others seem to tie themselves in knots about such issues. Continued..

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Darwin's Children Greg Bear HarperCollins, 2003 ISBN: 0002257327 Stella Nova is one of a new kind of human. The SHEVA virus has altered the progress of pregnancy, resulting in children who are significantly different from what has been seen before. But many of the old-style humans aren't happy with this. Darwin's Children by Greg Bear tells of the ensuing struggles of the new children and their families in a hostile environment. Continued..

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The business of books Andre Schiffrin Verso, 2000 ISBN: 1859847633 André Schiffrin has been in the publishing business for over half a century. The Business of Books: How the International Conglomerates Took Over Publishing and Changed the Way We Read tells his story, and why he thinks that publishing in the USA has taken the wrong direction. Continued..

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One to Nine Andrew Hodges Short Books, 2007 ISBN: 9781904977759 If you're the sort of person who likes a bit of light mathematical reading then you should take a look at Andrew Hodges new book One to Nine: The Inner Life of Numbers, which explores a wide range of mathematical topics. There are nine chapters and the topics in each chapter are very loosely based on the number of that chapter. Continued..

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A Brief History of Infinity Brian Clegg Robinson, 2003 ISBN: 1841196509 The concept of infinity has challenged thinkers throughout the ages. If you are interested in the infinite, but have found it to be too challenging then you would do well to read Brian Clegg's A Brief History of Infinity: The Quest to Think the Unthinkable Continued..

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Hot Spots Lynda Gratton Prentice Hall, 2007 ISBN: 9780273711469 We all know that sometimes we approach a task with enthusiasm, finding ways to overcome problems, while at other times we lack energy and the problems we face seem too much trouble to deal with. The question, if you run a business, is how to encourange the first mindset in your employees, rather than the second. In Hot Spots: Why Some Companies Buzz with Energy and Innovation - and Others Don't, Lynda Gratton explains how such a mindset can be brought about. Continued..

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The Fly in the Cathedral Brian Cathcart Penguin, 2004 ISBN: 0374157162 'Splitting the Atom' was a turning point in the progress of physics, and indeed of the world in general. The Fly in the Cathedral tells the story of the work leading up to the success of John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton in 1932. Continued..

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The 21st century brain Steven Rose Jonathan Cape, 2005 ISBN: 0224062549 Mentioned in Consciousness Neuroscience is making significant advances in understanding the workings of the brain, and these are likely to bring new treatments for mental illnesses. There is also the possibility of mental enhancement, and even of some form of mental control. In The 21st century brain:Explaining, Mending and Manipulating the Mind, Steven Rose explains the background to such possibilities, and looks at where they may lead. Continued..

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Supercontinent Ted Nield Granta, 2007 ISBN: 9781862079434 The continents are spread around the globe at present, but in a couple of hundred million years it is likely that they will join together to form one giant continent, Novopangaea. In Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet Ted Nield tells of how the continents come together in this way. Novopangaea of course gets its name from Pangaea, the last such supercontinent, which was here about three hundred million years ago. Continued..

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Dr Strangelove's Game Paul Strathern Hamish Hamilton, 2001 ISBN: 0241141346 We all have our ideas on how to put the world to rights, in particular on how money should be distributed. Various economic ideas have taken hold over the centuries, with differing degrees of success. In Dr Strangelove's Game Paul Strathern tells the stories of some of the originators of these economic theories. Continued..

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Pandora's Breeches Patricia Fara Pimlico, 2004 ISBN: 1844130827 Women have always found it hard to be admitted into the scientific establishment, and plenty of books have been written about this. Pandora's Breeches by Patricia Fara is a bit different, as it isn't just about the problems women have had, it is more about showing how they have dealt with these problems at different times. But it also highlights the ambivalent attitude of the establishment to women, excluding them from scientific organisations, while personifying the sciences by female figures - in particular Minerva. Continued..

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How to Live Forever or Die Trying Bryan Appleyard Simon & Schuster, 2007 ISBN: 0743268687 Death is something which has been thought of as a prime example of inevitability. But now it begins to look as if death may not be as certain as it seems. How to Live Forever or Die Trying: On the New Immortality takes a look at the people and research which is leading to this change. Bryan Appleyard has visited several of the organisations dedicated to the quest to conquer death. There are quite a few such organisations, including some which will freeze your body on the basis that you can be revived when we have found out how to banish death. Appleyard has also interviewed many people, both those who are involved in this quest, and those who oppose it. Continued..

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18 unconventional essays on the nature of mathematics Reuben Hersh Springer, 2006 ISBN: 0387257179 Of all subjects, mathematics is the one which is supposed to be based on firm ground. But what is it really based on - is it just manipulation of meaningless symbols, or is there a Platonic world of mathematical forms? In 18 unconventional essays on the nature of mathematics different authors present their views on the status of mathematics. For instance acceptance of a mathematical proof is seen to be very much a social phenomenon. I recommend the essay by William P Thurston on how his early mathematical career was too successful - no one else wanted to enter his field. So in later work he made sure that there was plenty of opportunity for others to participate. Continued..

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Architects of Eternity Richard Corfield Headline, 2001 ISBN: 0747264740 Palaeontology has made huge progress in the last century or so, moving from mostly fossil collecting to having detailed information about life in the long history of the earth. In Architects of Eternity:The New Science of Fossils Richard Corfield tells the stories of many of the people who made this possible and how they achieved it. There are tales of the dinosaur hunters in the late 19th century, as well as a look at whether Jurassic Park might ever become a reality. There is also the story of the discovery of the meteor impact which killed off the dinosaurs. Continued..

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The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Penguin, 1951 ISBN: 0140424385 It has been said that the critical point in our becoming human is when we started to tell stories. Certainly, reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales shows that the nature of our storytelling has not changed much in the last 600 years. A group of pilgrims on the way to Canterbury amuse themselves by telling each other stories, and even in a work of this age we see the usual themes coming up. Some tales are of far away places, there's one about alchemy - even then Chaucer realised it was essentially trickery - but mostly they are tales of love, or more particularly lust. Continued..

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The Essential Mary Midgley Mary Midgley and David Midgley Routledge, 2005 ISBN: 0415346428 Our view of the world has changed a lot in the last half century, and Mary Midgley has played a significant part in commenting on, and indeed sometimes playing a part in, this change. The Essential Mary Midgley is a collection of chapters from her books. The book starts with a look at our attitude to animals - how we tend to project on to them the negative side of humanity, which has no relation to their actual behaviour. In the second part of the book Midgley argues that moral philosophy took the wrong direction in the first half of the 20th century, seemingly wanting to avoid morality altogether. I felt that the book shows Midgley's skill in dealing with many philosophical viewpoints which have passed their sell-by date. Continued..

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