Dear Science Readers,
Publishing is an unusual business, with books for every taste. So it wasn't hard for me to pull an April Fool's Day stunt on my fellow children's authors by asking them if they had ever heard of G&G publishing. Here's what I posted on a website:
I got a request to develop a proposal for G&G Publishing, a small company that I never heard of before. The owners, George Gutz and Grisslee Gore, describe their list as "off-beat nonfiction for young readers with unusual tastes." I was intrigued by that until I discovered this title in their catalog: "An Arm and a Leg: The History of Human Cannibalism."
I couldn't resist learning more, so I followed the link to the book summary, which listed these chapter titles among others: "How Many in Your Party, Mr. Donner?" and "Dinner at the Dahmers."
Should I send them something?
I then suggested that they visit this link for more details. Some of them, shall we say, bit on that suggestion.
Well, if you're looking for some Gutz and Gore from The Science Shelf this month, you're in luck. My promised review of 
Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators, and Human Evolution appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, so I added it to the web site as well. At least two other newspapers (the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Dallas Morning News) published or will publish a shorter version.
I added a very different review after it appeared in print in the Dallas Morning News. As noted last month, 
The Fly in the Cathedral: How A Group of Cambridge Scientists Won the International Race to Split the Atom by Brian Cathcart fits with my current major writing project, a decade-by-decade history of physics in the 20th century for high school age and up. I have no shortage of new books for my research, because this year has been designated the World Year of Physics. It is the centennial of the "Miracle Year" of Albert Einstein, who died 50 years ago on April 18, 1955. Over the next two weeks, I'll be working on a "roundup" of new popular physics books, with emphasis on Einsteiniana. I'll post that roundup here as soon as it shows up in print, and I will probably excerpt from it sooner than that.
Because of that assignment, I've added an old review to my online archive. It's not a science book, and it's not exactly about Einstein; but you are guaranteed a fascinating read if you take a look at 
Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain by Michael Paterniti.
I just finished writing about a historic event that I was part of as a child, the quest to conquer polio. Sixty years ago on April 12, 1945, the world's most famous polio sufferer, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, died. Ten years later to the day, the new polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was declared to be "safe, effective, and potent." My comparative review of three books about polio and its conquest will appear in the Dallas Morning News. My complete column won't appear here until it appears in print, but you can read excerpts from it now.
If The Science Shelf alone doesn't satisfy your appetite for good book reviews, I've run across two places you might like to add to your web-surfing destinations. You'll find some nice comments about my books at Clark Lindsay's HobbySpace website, along with thoughtful recommendations of others. Clark summarizes his motivation this way: "With so many space related books continually appearing on the market, I like to read substantive reviews to find out which ones are the gems worth reading. And considering today's book prices, I certainly want to avoid buying a disappointing book that costs as much as a real gem."
And I'll be putting up some of my older reviews for a broader audience at 
BlogCritics, where everyone has a distinctive point of view.
As always, 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.
Please feel free to send this URL (www.scienceshelf.com/news.htm) to your friends. And don't forget, you and they can join the Science Shelf's e-mail list to be alerted to the latest news at the site. Please be assured that I will not share your name or e-mail or use them for other purposes.
As you can see, you'll find science books for every taste at The Science Shelf!
Fred Bortz
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.
