Books July 2011

Book Reviews July 2011

Massive: the hunt for the God particle Ian Sample	Virgin Books, 2010	ISBN: 9781905264957
A great deal of effort is being put nto the search for the Higgs boson, in particular it is a major reason for the building of the Large Hadron Collider. You might wonder why it is so important. In Massive: the hunt for the God particle Ian Sample tells the story. Continued..

The price of altruism Oren Harman	Bodley Head, 2010	ISBN: 9780099531661
Evolutionary theory seems to say that every creature is battling with every other for survival, but in nature there are plenty of examples of cooperation. This is a paradox which has been argued about for many years. In The price of altruism: George Price and the search for the origins of kindness Oren Harman tells the story of how one mans work has helped to clarify the arguments. Continued..

The Rational Optimist Matt Ridley	Fourth Estate, 2010	ISBN: 9780007267118
Doom and Gloom are ever in the news. The world in going downhill fast, and only drastic action now will prevent disaster - or maybe it's already too late. Matt Ridley has a different opinion. In the The rational optimist: how prosperity evolves he argues that our wellbeing has improved greatly over the centuries, and that there's no reason to think that it won't continue to do so. Continued..