March is upon us, and on the first Friday of the month, I plan to take advantage of the date and March 4th toward springtime.
Yes, even the winter's gloom will not deter your humble keeper of the Science Shelf from that affliction common among writers and physicists called punster's syndrome, and I seem to have acquired a double dose.
During February I was busy writing a history of physics for young adults, except when I took time out to visit with my grandchildren. I also wrote one new review, began reading another book, and made plans for a major comparative book review.
The new review is connected directly with my current book writing project. I was immersed in the great discoveries of 1930s physics, so it was a perfect time to read an enticing history of the period The Fly in the Cathedral: How A Group of Cambridge Scientists Won the International Race to Split the Atom by Brian Cathcart. Cathcart has a great sense of story and drama. Readers will relive the quest as if they were there. I could almost hear Lord Rutherford's booming voice and feel his dominant presence as he marched into the laboratory and told researchers John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton that it was time to see what their apparatus could do. And I almost cheered when their scintillation screen showed a shower of unexpected alpha particles.
Now I'm enjoying a change of pace, revisiting the human origins question from a novel and entertaining point of view. The book is called Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators, and Human Evolution, and it reminds us of our tenuous position in the food chain. After reading the first few chapters, I've become more careful about accepting dinner invitations.
When I finish that one, I'll turn to three books about a historic event that I was part of as a child, the quest to conquer polio. Fifty years ago, Jonas Salk came to my elementary school in Pittsburgh along with a crew of other medical personnel. We all lined up for our polio shots, and even at age ten, I knew exactly what that disease was about. Barely a year earlier my best friend had died. Roger had polio as a small child, and it left him frail. This review will be for my own children and grandchildren, and for the children and grandchildren Roger never lived to have.
All right, I can almost hear you calling out, "What about the quirks you promised?" I haven't forgotten those. I was reminded of a fascinating and quirky book on Valentine's Day when a news report talked about pheromones. I reviewed that book before I started this archive, but it is high time to add it. Although we humans are nearly odor-blind compared to other mammals, we are each equipped with a Jacobson's Organ. As author Lyall Watson writes, "The air is full of messages, and we are all born to be subscribers to the Odornet." Learn what he means by that, and discover the translation of "vyagra," by reading my review.
Another review I decided to add from the same year (2000) is about A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth. That one begins with a tongue-in-cheek limerick in which I speculate that the ancient creature re-evolved in modern times.
Two more recent quirky books are also worth a look. My review of The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms was hotlinked from a page of the website of the daily radio feature Earth & Sky. That one has a limerick that will leave your mouth watering. Then there's my ever-popular dark-humor-and-pun-filled review of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. Click the link and discover how the headline writer of the Dallas Morning News got into the, er, spirit, of the book.
I'll close with this reminder: I'm always glad to hear about your finds to share with other visitors to The Science Shelf. Please e-mail me the author and title, and I'll create a page for that book. I will either keep the recommendation anonymous, use your cyber-alias or, if you permit, your real name and/or e-mail address. Add a sentence or two or a more detailed review (up to 1000 words) and I'll consider it for publication here. See the Science Shelf guidelines page for more information.
I also write children's science books, which you can learn more about at "Dr. Fred's Place".
Thanks for your interest. Please e-mail me comments and suggestions about my reviews or this website.
Note: All materials on this site are the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies of reviews or columns for their own use. For permission to publish or print multiple copies of any of the materials on this site, please contact the author by e-mail.
The Fly in the Cathedral: How A Group of Cambridge Scientists Won the International Race to Split the Atom by Brian Cathcart. Cathcart has a great sense of story and drama. Readers will relive the quest as if they were there. I could almost hear Lord Rutherford's booming voice and feel his dominant presence as he marched into the laboratory and told researchers John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton that it was time to see what their apparatus could do. And I almost cheered when their scintillation screen showed a shower of unexpected alpha particles.
Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators, and Human Evolution
Jacobson's Organ
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth
The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers