Updates to Archive of Book Reviews by Fred Bortz

THE SCIENCE SHELF NEWSLETTER

News about the Science Shelf archive of book reviews, columns, and comments by Fred Bortz

Issue #28, Going on Hiatus edition, August 2008

Dear Science Readers,

Since I wrote the previous Science Shelf newsletter, my workload has changed. I am now working on two children's books, and I also have an interesting consulting contract with some former colleagues who are developing a book about the philosophy and methods of Engineering Design in this age of information overload. Tongue in cheek, I suggested we call it Intelligent Design, but that terminology has been misappropriated by anti-evolutionists, as I describe in the new Science Shelf Review of

Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul by Kenneth R. Miller.

That new workload means that some other projects have to be scaled down. I will still be reviewing books, but at a slower pace. I will still add reviews to The Science Shelf as they are published. But I will not be writing Science Shelf newsletters for at least six months. If you want to keep up with the latest additions to the site, you can go to the list of reviews added to the Science Shelf by date, with the latest first. Also on that page is a link for you to subscribe for e-mails announcing new reviews. Those will come once a month, more or less.

NOTE: Links that follow take you to the review of the book in question. Each review has a link to buy at Amazon.com if you are interested.

Besides Only a Theory, the other new additions to the Science Shelf are:

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What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life by Avery Gilbert

As I write in my review, this book satisfies my scientific side with classification schemes for organic compounds, both fragrant and flagrant, and descriptions of techniques for measuring human olfactory response. But it is even more pleasing to the side of me that savors "a good read." Mr. Gilbert is clearly a student of history, culture, and literature. He links past events, human interactions, and literary works with aromas, fragrances, scents, smells, odors, stinks, and stenches. With connections to literary giants like Emily Dickinson, Marcel Proust, Henry Adams, William Faulkner, and Salman Rushdie; cinematic pioneers like Mike Todd and John Waters; and cultural icons like Helen Keller and Andy Warhol, the book has touchstones that suit almost any reader's taste.

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Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial by Alison Bass

Guest reviewer Barbara Krueger writes, "This is a compelling story worthy of a Michael Moore docudrama. It relates how pharmacological research has mis-evolved in the face of unconscionable greed."

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The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature by Daniel J. Levitin, a worthy follow-up to his best-selling

This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.

A 2007 SCIENCE SHELF REVIEW ON BOOK-TV

Follow this link to see Barbara Oakley discussing her book cover

Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend on BookTV. I had the pleasure of introducing her.

If you decide to buy Evil Genes from Amazon.com, please use the link in my Science Shelf review of the book.

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING THE SCIENCE SHELF

Thank you to the growing number of people who are kind enough to buy some of the books that they discovered here through the Science Shelf links. They've even used the link on the Science Shelf homepage to enter and buy books and other products including, most recently, a large battery-charging unit.

I'll never know who those buyers are unless they tell me, thanks to Amazon's very sensible privacy policies. I just find out what they have bought, how much they paid, and how much my commission amounts to.

At the current pace, monthly commisions cover the cost of the web address, webhosting, and enough to buy me a two-topping large pizza (no anchovies, please). I'll never expect commissions to cover the time I spend maintaining the archive of book reviews and sending out messages like this. That's a labor of book- and science-love, and your feedback (in terms of increasing numbers of clicks) tells me you appreciate it.

As always, happy science reading, and thanks in advance for your support!

Fred Bortz