From Publishers Weekly
While a competing collection (Reviews, July 31) found the majority of its articles in mainstream publications like the
New Yorker, guest editor Greene (
The Elegant Universe) sticks to the fundamentals in the seventh volume of Houghton's science anthology. In line with his belief that scientific literacy is increasingly vital to full participation in contemporary culture, Greene draws heavily from the scientific press—six selections come from
Scientific American alone. These articles lay out the facts about topics like lupus and the nature of mass with admirable clarity, but can fall short of the excitement level in other pieces that have a more personal touch. John Hockenberry, for example, shows how blogging technology has radically changed the way U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq communicate with friends, family and even total strangers, while Mark Dowie thoughtfully considers how environmentalist zeal threatens to disrupt indigenous communities. Other writers focus on the compelling stories of individual scientists, from Drake Bennett's profile of "the godfather of Ecstasy" to Oliver Sacks's memories of his lively correspondence with Francis Crick, the co-discoverer of DNA.
(Oct. 11) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
In his introduction to The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006, Brian Greene writes that "science needs to be recognized for what it is: the ultimate in adventure stories."
The twenty-five pieces in this year's collection take you on just such an adventure. Natalie Angier probes the origins of language, Paul Raffaele describes a remote Amazonian tribe untouched by the modern world, and Frans B. M. de Waal explains what a new breed of economists is learning from monkeys. Drake Bennett profiles the creator of Ecstasy and more than two hundred other psychedelic compounds -- a man hailed by some as one of the twentieth century's most important scientists.
Some of the selections reflect the news of the past year. Daniel C. Dennett questions the debate over intelligent design -- is evolution just a theory? --while Chris Mooney reports on how this debate almost tore one small town apart. John Hockenberry examines how blogs are transforming the twenty-first-century battlefield, Larry Cahill probes the new science uncovering male and female brain differences, Daniel Roth explains why the programmer who made it easy to pirate movies over the Internet is now being courted by Hollywood, and Charles C. Mann looks at the dark side of increased human life expectancy.
Reaching out beyond our own planet, Juan Maldacena questions whether we actually live in a three-dimensional world and whether gravity truly exists. Dennis Overbye surveys the continuing scientific mystery of time travel, and Robert Kunzig describes new x-ray images of the heavens, including black holes, exploding stars, colliding galaxies, and other wonders the eye can't see.
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