| PRINCIPAL AUTHOR |
TITLE (Linked to review) |
DATE OF REVIEW |
RATING (0-5) |
TOPIC(s) |
ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reviews roster currently holds 146 titles. | ||||||
| Achenbach, Joel | Captured by Aliens | 2/18/2004 | 5.0 | Space | All those who have been so captured — that is, had their imaginations captured by aliens, scientists as well as UFO believers — are covered in this entertaining and thoughtful book. | |
| Agin, Dan | Junk Science | 2/24/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics Science |
Dan Agin examines the damage that results when scientific findings are distorted for political ends, or to evade corporate responsibility. |
| Aldrin, Buzz | Encounter with Tiber | 9/16/1996 | 5.0 | Science Fiction |
In this novel by Buzz Aldrin & John Barnes, a decoded ET signal reveals that visitors from Alpha Centauri once set up camp on Mars. | |
| Alterman, Eric | The Book on Bush | 5/05/2004 | 5.0 | Current events |
Read this wide-ranging, convincingly documented criticism of the administration of George W. Bush before the November elections. | |
| Asimov, Stanley (ed.) | Yours, Isaac Asimov | 12/16/2000 | 5.0 | Memoirs | An edited collection of The Good Doctor's surviving letters, organized by topic | |
| Barley, Stephen R. | Gurus, Hired Guns, and Warm Bodies | 1/26/2006 | 5.0 | Anthropology | The authors examine the care and feeding of professional contractors in the high-tech culture of California's Silicon Valley, and speculate on contracting's future place in society. | |
| Benecke, Mark | The Dream of Eternal Life | 4/05/2004 | 3.5 | History Medicine |
In a somewhat shallow and fragmentary account, forensic entomologist Benecke traces the much-desired but ever-elusive boon of immortality through recorded history. | |
| Benjamin, Marina | Rocket Dreams | 2/23/2004 | 5.0 | Space History |
Once we all dreamed of a glorious Space Age. What happened to those dreams? This engaging book holds the history of the thirty years since up for thoughtful examination. | |
| Bergaust, Erik | Murder on Pad 34 | 7/05/2004 | 3.0 | Space History |
Bergaust was a true "space booster". But his analysis of the Apollo 204 fire, while useful, paints a distorted picture. | |
| Berry, Adrian | The Giant Leap | 1/04/2003 | 1.5 | Space | A well-intentioned but sorely misguided attempt to describe how interstellar travel will be accomplished | |
| Bhutto, Benazir | Reconciliation | 3/17/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics | The former prime minister of Pakistan argues persuasively that Western powers should use more "soft power" in their quest to defeat Islamic militants. |
| Bloodworth, Dennis | An Eye for the Dragon | 12/28/2002 | 5.0 | History | Sketches of southeast Asia 1954-1970 by a reporter (not mild-mannered) for a great metropolitan British newspaper | |
| Bodmer, Walter | The Book of Man | 6/26/2003 | 5.0 | Medicine | Pioneering geneticist Dr. Bodmer has penned a thorough and very readable introduction to the history of genetic science and its application to modern problems. | |
| Bova, Ben | Immortality | 12/22/2001 | 5.0 | Medicine | Dr. Bova surveys recent biomedical progress that may bring us nearer to this ancient goal. | |
| Bova, Ben | Faint Echoes, Distant Stars | 12/07/2004 | 4.5 | Space | A competent overview of the search for life beyond Earth, now expanded to include the new science of astrobiology. | |
| Bowen, Mark | Censoring Science | 7/05/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics Science |
In his second book, Mark Bowen takes us inside NASA and NOAA to observe in detail the censorship by political appointees at those organizations of scientific work on climate change. |
| Bowen, Mark | Thin Ice | 8/17/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics Science |
Physicist and mountaineer, Mark Bowen ably takes part in and reports on Dr. Lonnie Thompson's high-peak investigations of climate change. |
| Brown, Julian | Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse | 8/20/2000 | 5.0 | Science | A report on current scientific progress toward building the quantum computer, which — if it can be built — could consign all other computers to the dumpster of history. | |
| Bruni, Frank | Ambling into History | 10/27/2004 | 4.5 | Politics | Based on months on the campaign trail with Bush during the 2000 election season, Bruni's "reporter's notebook" account shows us both the candidate's character flaws and occasional flashes of greater ability. | |
| Bryce, Robert | Pipe Dreams | 12/30/2005 | 5.0 | Current events |
Aftershocks from Enron's 2001 collapse are still being felt throughout the nation. Texas journalist Bryce tells us what brought the high-flying energy trading company down. | |
| Cabbage, Michael | Comm Check... | 3/25/2004 | 5.0 | Space | Space journalists Michael Cabbage and William Harwood have done a solid and very detailed job of reporting on the Columbia disaster, its investigation, and the implications for the future of NASA. | |
| Carson, Rachel | Silent Spring | 4/27/2003 | 5.0 | Biology Environment |
This path-breaking book by a government wildlife biologist indicted the Department of Agriculture's pesticide programs and founded the environmental movement. | |
| Chandrasekaran, Rajiv | Imperial Life in the Emerald City | 2/10/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Current events |
Veteran Washington Post reporter Chandrasekaran lives in Iraq, but penetrates the American bubble that is the Green Zone. He shows us what's inside it — and how it came to be. |
| Chapman, Clark R. | Cosmic Catastrophes | 7/21/2002 | 5.0 | Astronomy | No-nonsense but non-alarmist evaluation of the many ways the universe might do us hurt — with some science history thrown in for good measure | |
| Chown, Marcus | The Magic Furnace | 5/24/2004 | 5.0 | Astronomy | A fascinating account of the multiple scientific discoveries that taught us how the star-stuff of which we are made came to be | |
| Clarke, Arthur C. | Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! | 12/13/2001 | 5.0 | Memoirs | A compendium of Sir Arthur's essays written from 1934-1998 | |
| Clarke, Richard A. | Against All Enemies | 12/02/2005 | 5.0 | Current events |
Former National Security Coordinator Richard Clarke tells what was broken when the planes hit the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. | |
| Cook, Nick | The Hunt for Zero Point | 9/26/2005 | 3.5 | Science History |
Intrepid editor for British bastion of defense data uncovers secret (pseudo)science of anti-gravity, time travel & zero-point energy — or does he? | |
| Cousteau, Jacques-Yves | The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus | 3/20/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Environment Memoirs |
This is both memoir and manifesto of the famed ocean explorer. |
| Cox, John D. | Climate Crash | 12/28/2005 | 5.0 | Science | A good layman's introduction to the history of climate science, and a glimpse of what we are learning portends | |
| Crier, Catherine | Contempt | 12/27/2005 | 4.0 | Current events |
Ms Crier, a former Republican judge in Texas, warns us that the Religious Right, now in control of Congress and the White House, is trying for the federal judicial system. | |
| Davidson, Osha Gray | Under Fire | 10/07/1997 | 5.0 | Current events |
Inside the NRA in its battle against all forms of gun control | |
| de Camp, L. Sprague | Lands Beyond | 6/02/1998 | 5.0 | History | One of the essential references for the historical truths behind Atlantis and other tales and legends. | |
| Dean, John | Worse than Watergate | 12/15/2005 | 4.0 | Politics | John Dean, convicted in the Watergate scandal, here compares George W. Bush's administration to the Nixon White House in which he served — and finds Bush comes off second best. | |
| Dean, John | Conservatives without Conscience | 2/04/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics | Increasingly troubled by the damage to our democracy done by the neocons, John Dean investigates the roots of their movement and profiles its current principal players, |
| Eberhart, Russell C. | Neural Network PC Tools | 5/13/1992 | 5.0 | Computers | A thorough and essential reference on the theory and implementation of neural networks | |
| Elias, George Henry | Breakout into Space | 3/16/1997 | 3.0 | Space | Elias' thesis: that it is the duty of "the Gifted Generation" (baby boomers) — and in their own best interest — to expand into space. | |
| Fallaci, Oriana | A Man (Un Uomo) | 11/04/2002 | 5.0 | Mainstream fiction |
A novel based on the life of Alexandros Panagoulis, leader of a revolt against the Greek dictator George Papadopoulos | |
| Fallaci, Oriana | If the Sun Dies | 1/27/2002 | 5.0 | Space History |
The woman called "the greatest political interviewer of modern times" in the 1970s here tells us of the year she spent probing NASA's space program. | |
| Fallaci, Oriana | Interview with History | 2/28/2002 | 5.0 | History | Fallaci's interviews provide deep insight into 14 important personages of the 1970s, and into the troubled times which they influenced and were influenced by. | |
| Fallaci, Oriana | Letter to a Child Never Born | 1/27/2002 | 5.0 | Mainstream fiction |
In this short novel, Fallaci explores the dilemma of a career woman pregnant out of wedlock. | |
| Falk, Dan | Universe on a T-Shirt | 6/17/2004 | 5.0 | Physics | A very readable introduction to the latest theories in physics, with an excellent review of the history of science thrown in — and, no equations! | |
| Ferguson, Eugene S. | Engineering and the Mind's Eye | 6/30/1998 | 5.0 | Technology | Ferguson documents how — to its detriment — engineering education in America has changed since the 1960s, de-emphasizing practical, hands-on learning in favor of the purely analytical approach. | |
| Findley, Paul | Silent No More | 1/12/2002 | 3.5 | Politics | Mostly succeeds in correcting America's false images of Islam, but poor on terrorism. | |
| Fitzgerald, A. Ernest | The Pentagonists | 7/28/1998 | 5.0 | Politics | Testimony by a Pentagon cost analyst about the military-procurement culture of "waste, fraud and abuse". | |
| Fogg, Martyn | Terraforming | 5/24/1996 | 5.0 | Space Technology |
This book bids fair to become the bible of its very abstruse field, which concerns making living conditions on other planets more like those of Earth. | |
| Franken, Al | Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell them | 6/12/2004 | 4.0 | Current events |
Al Franken's comedic style doesn't translate well to print. And the book has some flaws. Despite that, it conveys some vital messages about the political right — and will make you chortle as well. | |
| Freddoso, David | The Case Against Barack Obama | 11/03/2008 | 4.0 | N E W |
Politics | David Freddoso's critique of Obama's character and career is mostly accurate, but contains some distortions that betray the author's right-wing bias. |
| Garwin, Richard L. | Megawatts and Megatons | 6/10/2005 | 5.0 | Current events |
Two vexing problems facing us today are nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Here, physicists Garwin and Chartak do an admirable job of describing the situation and presenting policy options. | |
| Gelernter, David | Drawing Life | 10/30/2000 | 5.0 | Current events |
A meditation on surviving both the Unabomber and the educational system that produced him | |
| Gray, Mike | Angle of Attack | 8/12/1998 | 5.0 | Space History |
Skilled Rockwell engineer and manager Harrison Storms drove himself and his team for six years to build the Apollo Command Module and the second stage of the Saturn rocket that would launch it — only to become the sacrificial lamb when the Apollo fire happened. | |
| Grinspoon, David | Lonely Planets | 5/13/2004 | 5.0 | Space Biology |
A wide-ranging account of humankind's quest to discover and understand life on other worlds — written in a breezy, irreverent style by one of the leading current practitioners of that quest. | |
| Gutsch, William A. | The Search for Extraterrestrial Life | 5/07/1996 | 5.0 | Space | This book by Hayden Planetarium director Gutsch is a good introduction to the subject for children. | |
| Hacker, Jacob S. | Off Center | 11/13/2006 | 5.0 | Politics | Two professors of political science dissect the Republican revolution. | |
| Hapgood, Fred | Up The Infinite Corridor | 1/24/1997 | 4.5 | Technology | A penetrating but fragmentary look at MIT and the soul of engineering | |
| Harrison, Albert A. | After Contact | 3/24/2002 | 5.0 | Current events |
How will the human race react when it hears from ET? Psychologist Albert Harrison looks at the current state of human affairs, and is encouraged. | |
| Hawking, Stephen W. | A Brief History of Time | 1/12/2003 | 5.0 | Astronomy | Professor Hawking's classic layman's introduction to black holes, the Big Bang, and cosmology in general | |
| Hawking, Stephen W. | A Briefer History of Time | 1/12/2006 | 5.0 | Astronomy | An admirable update of the 1988 classic. | |
| Heinlein, Robert A. | For Us, the Living | 2/06/2004 | 4.5 | Science Fiction |
Heinlein's just-published first novel is a thinly disguised series of lectures, but enjoyable nonetheless. | |
| Heintze, Carl | Search Among the Stars | 3/09/1997 | 5.0 | Space | This book on astronomy and SETI is part of the van Nostrand series for children. | |
| Hersh, Seymour | Chain of Command | 11/10/2005 | 5.0 | Current events |
Reporter Seymour Hersh shows he's still in top form as he documents the origins and possible aftermaths of the Pentagon's flawed "War on Terror". | |
| Hirsch, E. D. | The Schools We Need | 5/27/2006 | 5.0 | Learning | As Mark Twain might have said, "Everyone talks about the schools, but no one does anything about them." E.D. Hirsch explains the problem in this book, sets forth solutions, and reveals that he is doing something. | |
| Hogan, James P. | Inherit the Stars | 12/10/2002 | 5.0 | Science Fiction |
Gifted scientist Victor Hunt embarks on an other-worldly quest that leads to a shattering conclusion. | |
| Horner, Christopher | The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming | 11/20/2007 | 3.0 | N E W |
Politics | Here's another entry in the continuing campaign of Global Warming Denial. Its reasoning is as defective as others of its kind I have seen, but it is fairly well written. |
| Hujsak, Edward | The Future of U.S. Rocketry | 3/12/1997 | 5.0 | Space | Good data on U.S. launch vehicle families. Good opinions about where the launch industry can go in the future. Trenchant opinions about why it's not getting there fast. | |
| Ivins, Molly | Shrub | 10/16/2000 | 5.0 | Politics | Famously forthright columnist Molly Ivins' possibly biased analysis of George W. Bush's record as governor of Texas | |
| Johnston, David Cay | Perfectly Legal | 6/27/2004 | 5.0 | Politics | This analysis of the tax code and its exploiters grew out of a Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigation that Johnston did for the New York Times. ** WARNING! ** It may cause your fists to clench. | |
| Kennedy, Jr., Robert F. | Crimes Against Nature | 5/12/2005 | 5.0 | Environment Politics |
This report by the son of Robert F. Kennedy, now a lawyer defending the environment, weaves a familiar tale of Bush administration misdeeds. Familiar, yes, but not invalid — and not unimportant. | |
| Kitchin, C. R. | Journeys to the Ends of the Universe | 6/29/2003 | 5.0 | Astronomy | A well-written popular treatment of astrophysical cosmology, but somewhat more technical than most | |
| Klerkx, Greg | Lost in Space | 11/05/2004 | 5.0 | Space Politics |
Space-age politics, the efforts of a bureaucratic NASA to preserve its empire, and the recent burgeoning of entrepreneurial spaceflight companies, form the heart of this engrossing narrative. | |
| Krauss, Lawrence M. | The Physics of Star Trek | 11/09/1995 | 5.0 | Physics | What are the real scientific prospects for the fictional technologies used aboard the starship Enterprise? Dr. Krauss prognosticates. | |
| Lambright, W. Henry | Powering Apollo | 6/08/2004 | 5.0 | Space History |
A fascinating introduction to the political machinations surrounding America's moon missions of the 1960s — and to the man who steered NASA through those reefs and shoals. | |
| Lapham, Lewis | Pretensions to Empire | 12/21/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics | In a lively collection of essays, longtime journalist Lapham opines on current politics, popular culture, and the shortcomings of the Bush administration. |
| Lehman, Milton | This High Man | 3/23/1998 | 5.0 | Memoirs | A biography of rocketry pioneer Robert Hutchings Goddard | |
| Levitt, Steven D. | Freakonomics | 6/03/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Anthropology | Why do drug dealers live with their mothers? What was behind the drop in crime during the 1990s? Find out in this book by "rogue economist" Levitt and New York Times reporter Dubner. It's like no economics book you've read. |
| Lewis, John S. | Worlds Without End | 6/02/2000 | 5.0 | Astronomy | New science shows us many planets around nearby stars. What does this mean for extraterrestrial life? | |
| Linden, Eugene | The Winds of Change | 11/23/2006 | 5.0 | Environment | A unique aspect of this book by long-time climate science writer Eugene Linden is his detailed discussion of the possible financial impacts of global warming. | |
| Lord, M. G. | Astro Turf | 10/10/2005 | 5.0 | Space | A daugher of American aerospace engineering culture of the mid-twentieth-century examines how she — and we — got to the vastly different here and now. | |
| Loewenstein, Werner R. | The Touchstone of Life | 8/11/2000 | 5.0 | Biology | Engrossing look at the molecular basis of life, slightly marred by errors in physics and information theory | |
| Maguire, Joe | Brainless | 4/12/2007 | 4.5 | N E W |
Politics | See the threadbare thinking of hard-right icon Ann Coulter dissolve under journalist Joe Maquire's trenchant analysis. |
| Mallaby, Sebastian | The World's Banker | 2/15/2006 | 5.0 | Politics | A lively profile of the World Bank and the complicated man who ran it for a decade starting in 1995. | |
| Mandel, Thomas | Rules of the Net | 11/14/1997 | 4.5 | Computers | In this guide to proper on-line behavior, the key words are "personal responsibility". | |
| Margulies, Joseph | Guantanamo | 8/24/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Current Events |
The Bush administration's treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo defies both law and logic, as attorney Joseph Margulies reveals in this gripping account. |
| McConnell, Brian | Beyond Contact | 9/03/2001 | 3.5 | Science | How to construct an encoding scheme for interstellar messages that ET will want to read | |
| McPhee, John | The Curve of Binding Energy | 12/28/1997 | 5.0 | Current events |
Atom-bomb physicist Theodore B. Taylor presents his life — and a warning about the lack of security in America's nuclear materials stockpiles. | |
| Meyer, Eric | Eric Meyer on CSS | 12/21/2003 | 5.0 | Computers | An excellent practical tutorial on CSS for those who have a beginner's knowledge of the subject | |
| Mishkin, Andrew | Sojourner | 4/30/2004 | 5.0 | Space | Mishkin was a systems engineer on JPL's Sojourner Mars rover. His account conveys in readable wise all the tension, frustration, and lost sleep attendant to such projects — and the exultation when they succeed. | |
| Morton, Oliver | Mapping Mars | 2/01/2004 | 5.0 | Space | The exploration of Mars, and the scientists performing it, are portrayed in this informative book. | |
| Nader, Ralph | The Good Fight | 10/15/2004 | 4.5 | Politics | Consumer advocate Ralph Nader continues his long battle for the public good. An Appendix, The Conscious Voter, reminds us how easily an inattentive electorate can be hoodwinked. | |
| O'Hanlon, Michael | Neither Star Wars nor Sanctuary | 11/12/2004 | 5.0 | Space Politics |
An excellent layman's introduction to the timely subject of military space policy. | |
| O'Neill, Dan | The Firecracker Boys | 12/26/1997 | 5.0 | History | The history of a Project Plowshare test that — but for local protests — might have produced a super-Chernobyl in Alaska in 1961. | |
| Orwell, George | The Road to Wigan Pier | 7/04/2004 | 4.0 | History | Orwell's gripping account of working-class poverty in the industrial North of England, based on his own in-depth research, is diminished by a mistaken conception of technological progress. | |
| Pearce, Fred | With Speed and Violence | 9/20/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Science | Fred Pearce looks at cutting-edge research that suggests the IPCC prediction of troublesome climate change may be far too mild. |
| Pendle, George | Strange Angel | 3/15/2006 | 5.0 | Space | Finally, a worthy biography of rocketry pioneer John Whiteside Parsons. In his rather bizarre life, the largely self-taught Parsons made major contributions to solid-fuel technology. | |
| Perkins, John | Confessions of an Economic Hit Man | 12/27/2005 | 3.5 | Current events |
I judge Mr. Perkins' confession heartfelt and reasonably well-crafted, but in the final analysis unreliable. Still, it's a good read. | |
| Peterson, Ivars | Newton's Clock | 3/22/1995 | 5.0 | Astronomy | Chaos reigns in the solar system! | |
| Pope, Carl | Strategic Ignorance | 9/30/2004 | 5.0 | Current events Environment |
The Sierra Club's Executive Director has produced a devastating critique of the Bush administration record of protecting the environment. | |
| Postrel, Virginia | The Future and its Enemies | 6/17/2002 | 5.0 | Current events |
Those who try to prevent change, and those who try to control it, block the paths to genuine progress. | |
| Rasor, Dina | The Pentagon Underground | 12/30/1997 | 5.0 | Current events |
Dina Rasor takes us inside the flawed procurement of the Army's M-1 Abrams tank. | |
| Ravitch, Diane | The Language Police | 3/02/2006 | 5.0 | Learning | All about how fringe-group pressure for politically correct language makes textbook publishers knuckle under | |
| Ray, Paul H. | The Cultural Creatives | 2/28/2003 | 5.0 | Current events |
Thirteen years of research went into this book, which portrays through anecdotes and statistics the cultural evolution being wrought by the 50 million people making up its namesake group. | |
| Rees, Martin | Our Cosmic Habitat | 2/16/2002 | 4.5 | Astronomy | Describes the concept of multiple universes, and speculates that we may soon be able to devise experimental ways of testing this mind-blowing idea. | |
| Regis, Ed | Great Mambo Chicken | 8/25/1996 | 5.0 | Science | Regis explores cutting-edge scientific ideas that are literally far out — and the scientists behind them. | |
| Rhodes, Richard | Nuclear Renewal | 12/20/2005 | 4.5 | Technology | Nuclear power, says Rhodes in this 1993 book, is poised to pull out of the power dive into which it was sent by Three Mile Island — and high time, too. | |
| Rhodes, Richard | Visions of Technology | 3/30/2003 | 5.0 | Technology History |
A veritable gold mine of short pieces on technology from throughout the 20th century | |
| Ricks, Thomas E. | Fiasco | 6/09/2008 | 5.0 | N E W |
Current events |
Veteran Pentagon correspondent Ricks documents the U.S. military's blunders in its current occupation of Iraq. |
| Ride, Sally | To Space and Back | 12/04/1994 | 5.0 | Space (Juv. Lit.) |
America's first woman in space tells how it is to fly on the Space Shuttle. | |
| Rifkin, Jeremy | The European Dream | 1/09/2006 | 5.0 | Anthropology Politics |
Is the American Dream obsolete? Jeremy Rifkin argues in this information-dense book that it is, and should be supplanted by the more communitarian model he labels the European Dream. | |
| Robinson, George S. | Envoys of Mankind | 7/20/2003 | 4.0 | Space | An examination of the changes humanity may undergo when large numbers of people live off-planet, and the legal frameworks that will be needed to ensure civil order and a fair measure of freedom. | |
| Romm, Joseph J. | Hell and High Water | 5/04/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Environment Politics |
Dr. Romm examines the arguments of the "Denyers and Delayers" — politically well-connected skeptics who have been blocking any U.S. action on global warming. |
| Romm, Joseph J. | The Hype About Hydrogen | 1/03/2006 | 5.0 | Technology | Dr. Romm's work with the Department of Energy convinced him that creating a hydrogen economy is vital — but only if we avoid half measures and do the job right. | |
| Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan | Warning: Nonsense is Destroying America | 4/24/2006 | 4.0 | N E W |
Anthropology | Mr. Ruggiero seeks to analyze the harmful effects of popular culture on America, but lets his hatred of that popular culture lead him to overstate his case. |
| Sagan, Carl | The Demon-Haunted World | 1/07/1997 | 5.0 | Anthropology | Why ignorance and superstition persist — and why they must not | |
| Sagan, Carl | The Dragons of Eden | 1/14/1997 | 5.0 | Anthropology | Speculations on the origin of human intelligence | |
| Sagan, Carl | Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors | 1/22/1997 | 5.0 | Anthropology | An exploration of human nature in its ecological and historical contexts | |
| Sands, Philippe | Lawless World | 1/31/2006 | 5.0 | Politics | The complexity and difficulty of making and adhering to international treaties are well described in this account of recent developments in the field — as is America's short-sighted refusal to adhere to such norms of behavior. | |
| Scammell, Henry | Giantkillers | 11/11/2004 | 5.0 | Politics | A gripping account of several hard-fought victories by whistle-blowers against greedy companies in the defense and health-care industries | |
| Schell, Orville | Mandate of Heaven | 9/15/2000 | 5.0 | Current events |
China expert Schell takes us inside the People's Republic of China when Tiananmen Square erupted. | |
| Schoen, Douglas | Pat | 6/21/2004 | 5.0 | History Politics |
A biography of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan | |
| Shapiro, Robert | Planetary Dreams | 5/21/2001 | 5.0 | Science | An examination of the quest to understand the origins of life | |
| Shulman, Seth | Undermining Science | 8/01/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics | The administration of any president contains at least some crooks and liars. But none made a systematic effort to toss aside facts (and people) that don't support the party line — until George W. Bush became president. Shulman documents the debacle. |
| Simon, Charlie May | Faith Has Need of All the Truth | 12/25/1997 | 5.0 | Memoirs | A biography of the Jesuit paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin for young readers | |
| Spudis, Paul D. | The Once and Future Moon | 5/21/2001 | 5.0 | Space | All about the value of Luna, and why we should get off our duffs and go back to Earth's natural satellite | |
| Steel, Duncan | Rogue Asteroids and Doomsday Comets | 2/13/1997 | 4.5 | Astronomy | An Aussie astronomer describes the potential problem of these bodies colliding with Earth — and the underfunded efforts to detect them. | |
| Stoll, Clifford | High Tech Heretic | 11/24/2001 | 4.5 | Computers | Computers, says Stoll, don't belong in the classroom — and should come in designer colors. | |
| Strong, Douglas H. | Dreamers & Defenders | 8/27/2001 | 5.0 | Environment Memoirs |
Short but comprehensive biographies of America's foremost conservationists, from Thoreau to Commoner | |
| Suskind, Ron | The Price of Loyalty | 12/20/2005 | 5.0 | Politics | Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill was lured back into government service. He became Treasury Secretary because he knew he could make a difference. However, his reality-based approach did not mesh well with the administration of George W. Bush. | |
| Suskind, Ron | The One Percent Doctrine | 2/25/2007 | 5.0 | N E W |
Politics | Veteran journalist Ron Suskind takes an unblinking look at the "War on Terror", based on extensive interviews with its leaders as well as those who are actually waging that war — and finds the leaders wanting. |
| Sykes, Bryan | Adam's Curse | 5/31/2004 | 4.5 | Biology | The genetics researcher who introduced the world to mitochondrial DNA here turns his attention to the male of the species — with disconcerting results. | |
| Takei, George | To The Stars | 3/28/1998 | 5.0 | Memoirs | George Takei (Mr. Sulu of the original Star Trek) describes his life, from an Arkansas internment camp to college at UCLA and Berkeley and success in Hollywood. | |
| Teilhard du Chardin, Pierre | The Phenomenon of Man | 6/18/2003 | 4.0 | Anthropology | In his best-known work, the renowned paleontologist and Jesuit Father attempts to reconcile evolution and Catholicism. | |
| Truss, Lynn | Eats, Shoots and Leaves | 11/03/2005 | 4.5 | Language | An entertaining book about the subtleties of punctuation: not a rule book, though it does have rules. | |
| Vacca, John | The World's 20 Greatest Unsolved Problems | 11/15/2005 | 2.0 | Science | Not content with describing the 20 unsolved problems mentioned in the title, John Vacca presents a credulous compendium of scientific and pseudoscientific ideas. | |
| Wallace, Mike | Between You and Me | 1/03/2006 | 5.0 | Memoirs | Long-time 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace presents a selection of interview excerpts, along with some news analysis and anecdotes from his eventful journalistic career. | |
| Ward, Peter D. | The Life and Death of Planet Earth | 5/30/2005 | 4.0 | Science | An informative but needlessly pessimistic projection about the bleak future that awaits us and our home planet | |
| Ward, Peter D. | Rare Earth | 3/14/2004 | 4.5 | Biology | A very useful survey of what is known today about the origin and development of life on Earth, and the implications of that understanding for the abundance of complex life elsewhere | |
| Ward, Peter D. | Life As We Do Not Know It | 5/12/2006 | 4.5 | Biology | Peter Ward is an active participant in the fast-changing field of astrobiology. I've found his books inconsistent in spots, but always information-packed and enjoyable. | |
| Webb, Stephen | Where is Everybody? | 2/26/2004 | 5.0 | Space | Physicist Webb has done mighty research and created a thorough analysis of the Fermi Paradox and many of its possible solutions. Recommended, even if his conclusion is a downer. | |
| Weeks, David | Eccentrics | 11/08/2000 | 5.0 | Anthropology | A layman's version of Dr. Weeks' report on the study he did of the eccentric personality | |
| Weil, Elizabeth | They All Laughed at Christopher Columbus | 12/07/2002 | 0.5 | Space | A book about one of the most advanced aerospace engineering efforts of the 20th century, written by someone who doesn't understand engineering or aerospace | |
| Wilczek, Frank | Longing for the Harmonies | 11/25/2000 | 4.5 | Physics | The structure of modern physics considered as a musical composition | |
| Wilson, Joseph | The Politics of Truth | 11/05/2004 | 5.0 | Memoirs Politics |
Former Ambassador Joe Wilson recounts his life, with special reference to the current controversy over the disclosure that his wife, Valerie Plame, was an undercover CIA operative. | |
| Wilson, Valerie Plame | Fair Game | 11/14/2007 | 4.5 | N E W |
Memoirs Politics |
Unfairly exposed CIA covert agent Valerie Plame finally gets to tell her side of the story. |
| Winkler, Allan M. | Life Under a Cloud | 12/21/1997 | 5.0 | History | Historian Winkler describes the social and cultural effects on America of the first fifty years of the atomic age. | |
| Wolfson, Richard | Nuclear Choices | 1/17/2006 | 5.0 | Technology | An excellent and insightful technical description of the principles, practical operation, and problems attendant to, nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. | |
| Wylie, Philip | Generation of Vipers | 1/10/2006 | 5.0 | Politics | Written in 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, this famously forthright work of social criticism has much about it that still rings true and valuable. | |
| The books are rated from 0 to 5 in increments of 0.5. Colors represent the following quality ranges: | ||||
| 4.0 to 5.0 | Quality: | HIGH | (Color = Aqua) | Competent to exceptional; well worth the money |
| 2.0 to 3.5 | Quality: | FAIR | (Color = Lime) | Useful despite some flaws; may or may not be worth buying. |
| 0.5 to 1.5 | Quality: | POOR | (Color = Yellow) | Seriously flawed; read it if you wish, but don't buy it. |
| 0.0 to 0.0 | Quality: | YUCK | (Color = Fuchsia) | Avoid this book at all costs! |