First published 1999. Bantam paperback, 2000, pp 272, c.72,000 words. The Scotsman John Law was an extraordinary character who, three hundred years ago, after being exiled from Britain for murder, made a huge impact on the financing of government, most notably in France. Over a decade he created a financial bubble, which eventually, inevitably, imploded. […]
Moneymaker, The — Janet Gleeson Read More »
First published 2015. Springer paperback, 2015, pp 434, c.140,000 words (main text). The subtitle of this book is ‘Seventy-Five Solutions to the Fermi Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life’; which just about encapsulates what it is all about. ‘Seventy-Five Solutions’ rather suggests a rather dull and dry academic exercise with a laundry list of
If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens… Where is Everybody? — Stephen Webb Read More »
First published 2009. National Geographic hardback, 2009, pp 309, c.88,000 words. The subtitle to this book is ‘A scientist’s search for extraterrestrial intelligence’, and with that Shostak is keen to reassure us that this isn’t some wacko’s alien encounter story. The cover also tells us that Shostak is the Senior Astronomer at the SETI institute,
Confessions of an Alien Hunter — Seth Shostak Read More »
First published 1989. Penguin paperback, 1991, pp 347, c. 115,000 words (main text) + . Gould was a paleontologist at Harvard University and a science communicator. This work summarises his interpretation of the results of other’s research on the organisms whose remains were found in the Burgess Shale, which lies in the Rocky Mountains of
Wonderful Life — Stephen Jay Gould Read More »
First published 2015. Oneworld paperback, 2022, pp 253 (190 main text), c. 44,000 words (main text). This book attempts to describe how engineers think, and what makes that different from, say, how scientists or artists think. To a degree this is a fool’s errand: there are as many ways of thinking as there are people
Think Like and Engineer — Guru Madhaven Read More »
First published 2020. Profile Books paperback, 2020, pp 215, c. 53,000 words. In thirteen chapters, this book goes through each of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions and explains what we (people, businesses and the government) need to do to reach net-zero by 2050. The book focuses on the UK, but the actions needed
What We Need to Do Now — Chris Goodall Read More »
First published 2014. Penguin paperback, 2015, pp 421, c.160,000 words. Tegmark is a very articulate physics communicator. On television he is excellent in explaining complex phenomena in an accessible fashion, and he always seems to have a twinkle in his eye. The same personality shines through this book. The opening five chapters are a master-class
Our Mathematical Universe — Max Tegmark Read More »
First published 2017. Picador paperback, 2018, pp 280, c.65,000 words. Kay was a ‘junior’ doctor who quit after six years of training and six years working in a public hospital in England. He is now a comedian and writes scripts for television and film. In this book, he brings his skills from the latter to
This is Going to Hurt — Adam Kay Read More »
First published 1988. John Murray paperback, 2018, pp 351. I studied mathematics up to the age of eighteen, covering the fundamentals of calculus. That was a long time ago, and I have rarely used it since. Working through this book reacquainted me with the subject, and it covers the same ground as my school lessons.
Calculus, A Complete Introduction — Paul Abbot and Hugh Neill Read More »
First published 2016. Penguin, paperback, 2017, pp 424, c.120,000 words. This is a comprehensive review of the rock music scene in 1971. It includes an incredible mass of trivia, bizarre facts and amusing anecdotes. Who but an obsessive would have read the sleeve notes to Neil Young’s Harvest and observed that Linda Ronstadt and James
1971 Never a Dull Moment — David Hepworth Read More »