Numerical Ratings and One-line Descriptions of Books Reviewed, Organized by Topic

Lists of available reviews, organized by topic(s) of books

Anthropology

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
Jackson, Maggie	Distracted	6/10/2010	5.0	N E W	Anthropology	We're deluged by information from a society that demands we be good at multitasking. What are these requirements doing to our minds? Maggie Jackson takes a good long look at the question.
Levitt, Steven D.	Freakonomics	6/03/2007	5.0		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.
Phillips, Ken	Bad Money	9/23/2009	5.0	N E W	Anthropology	Every American knows about the Great Recession of 2008, but few understand what caused it. Veteran economic reporter Ken Phillips provides a comprehensive education on the topic.
Pinker, Susan	The Sexual Paradox	1/12/2010	4.5	N E W	Anthropology	Developmental psychologist Susan Pinker gives us an empathetic and useful examination of how the career choices of men and women relate to their biological differences
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.
Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan	Warning: Nonsense is Destroying America	4/24/2006	4.0		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
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.
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
Williams, Joy	Ill Nature	12/31/2009	4.0	N E W	Anthropology	Novelist Joy Williams here holds forth on the environment (and a few other things) in a collection of her essays.

Astronomy

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)	TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Bova, Ben	Faint Echoes, Distant Stars	12/07/2004	4.5	Astronomy	A competent overview of the search for life beyond Earth, now expanded to include the new science of astrobiology.
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
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.
Heintze, Carl	Search Among the Stars	3/09/1997	5.0	Astronomy	This book on astronomy and SETI is part of the van Nostrand series for children.
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
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?
Peterson, Ivars	Newton's Clock	3/22/1995	5.0	Astronomy	Chaos reigns in the solar system!
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.
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.

Biology

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)	TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
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.
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
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.
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.

Computers

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)	TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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
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".
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
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.

Current Events

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
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.
Chandrasekaran, Rajiv	Imperial Life in the Emerald City	2/10/2007	5.0		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.
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.
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
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.
Franken, Al	The Truth (with Jokes)	3/06/2010	5.0	N E W	Current events	Al Franken (now Senator Franken) has a real tour de force in this one. Many books expose and debunk the deceptive and greedy practices of some of today's politicians. Franken eviscerates those practices.
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
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.
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".
Margulies, Joseph	Guantanamo	8/24/2008	5.0		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.
McClellan, Scott	What Happened	2/27/2010	3.5	N E W	Current	Scott McClellan tells us what was wrong with the Bush administration, as he saw it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Electronics

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
**** DUMMY ENTRY ****

Environment

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
Cousteau, Jacques-Yves	The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus	3/20/2008	5.0		Environment Memoirs	This is both memoir and manifesto of the famed ocean explorer.
Faris, Stephan	Forecast	6/08/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment	No one I've seen does a better job than globe-girfdling journalist Stephan Faris at convincing us why we should worry about the climate changes that are happening *right now*.
Flannery, Tim	Now or Never	1/28/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment	Dr. Flannery demonstrates in these essays why there is hope not only of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, but of avoiding ruinous costs of mitigation as well.
Gibson, James William	A Reenchanted World	12/13/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment	James Gibson chronicles the reawakening of a vitally needed spiritual view of nature.
Gore, Al	Our Choice	5/14/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment	The former vice president's third book on the environment sets forth clearly the tradeoffs involved in every aspect of the puzzles of climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
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.
Kolbert, Elizabeth	Field Notes from a Catastrophe	1/20/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	Compelling accounts of its effects on ordinary people are the virtue of Elizabeth Kolbert's book on climate change.
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.
Nadeau, Robert L.	The Environmental Endgame	1/07/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	Professor Nadeau thoroughly demolishes the illusion that mainstream economics possesses rigor and reliable predictive power.
Outside Magazine	Out of the Noösphere	12/24/2001	5.0	N E W	Environment	A collection of cracking good essays, chosen by the magazine's editors.
Reece, Erik	Lost Mountain	12/28/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	This is Erik Reece's obituary for that eastern Kentucky mountain, which he watched being cut down during 2003 and 2004.
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.
Shnayerson, Michael	Coal River	11/18/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	A long look at the valley of the Coal River in West Virginia, where the streams are getting filled up and the people are just about fed up.
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
Waterman, Jonathan	Where Mountains Are Nameless	6/18/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment	Wilderness guru Jonathan Waterman tells of his time in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and of the contending interests that strive to exploit or protect it.

History

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
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
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?
Cooke, Stephanie	In Mortal Hands	11/18/2009	5.0	N E W	History	A long-time reporter on military and commercial nuclear developments, Ms. Cooke surveys that history and cautions us that its dangers did not vanish with the Soviet Union.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Press, Bill	Train Wreck	1/20/2010	5.0	N E W	History Politics	Press documents the failure of the modern conservative movement with abundant facts and figures, and traces its origin in history.
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
Rotter, Andrew J.	Hiroshima: The World's Bomb	1/03/2010	5.0	N E W	History	The vexing question of whether atomic bombs should have been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is reexamined by Andrew Rotter.
Schoen, Douglas	Pat	6/21/2004	5.0		History Memoir	A biography of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Stern, Gerald M.	The Scotia Widows	5/04/2010	5.0	N E W	History	Gerald Stern shows us that Appalachian coal mines and Appalachian justice looked much the same in 1976 as they do today. That's not a thing to celebrate.
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.

The Language Formerly Known as English

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Orlova, Marina	Hot for Words	3/17/2010	3.5	N E W	Language	You've got to admit that this Russian philologist has a way with words.
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.

Learning

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Bauerlein, Mark	The Dumbest Generation	9/24/2008	5.0	N E W	Learning	With passion and scholarly precision, Mark Bauerlein reminds us of the ongoing decline in basic skills and general knowledge among our graduating students.
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.
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
Ravitch, Diane	Left Back	12/13/2009	5.0	N E W	Learning	One hundred years of failed reforms of American education are chronicled in this book.

Linguistics

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
**** DUMMY ENTRY ****

Medicine

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)	TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
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.

Memoirs

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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
Clarke, Arthur C.	Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!	12/13/2001	5.0		Memoirs	A compendium of Sir Arthur's essays written from 1934-1998
Cousteau, Jacques-Yves	The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus	3/20/2008	5.0		Environment Memoirs	This is both memoir and manifesto of the famed ocean explorer.
Lehman, Milton	This High Man	3/23/1998	5.0		Memoirs	A biography of rocketry pioneer Robert Hutchings Goddard
Schneider, Stephen H.	Science as a Contact Sport	8/03/2010	5.0	N E W	Memoirs	A memoir of the late Dr. Schneider's remarkable life in climate science and politics
Schoen, Douglas	Pat	6/21/2004	5.0		History Memoirs	A biography of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
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
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
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.
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.
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		Memoirs Politics	Unfairly exposed CIA covert agent Valerie Plame finally gets to tell her side of the story.

Physics

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)	TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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!
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.
Wilczek, Frank	Longing for the Harmonies	11/25/2000	4.5	Physics	The structure of modern physics considered as a musical composition

Politics

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Agin, Dan	Junk Science	2/24/2008	5.0		Politics Science	Dan Agin examines the damage that results when scientific findings are distorted for political ends, or to evade corporate responsibility.
Bhutto, Benazir	Reconciliation	3/17/2008	5.0		Politics	The former prime minister of Pakistan argues persuasively that Western powers should use more "soft power" in their quest to defeat Islamic militants.
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.
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.
Conason, Joe	Big Lies	3/08/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Joe Conason delivers a very thorough dissection of the lies, hypocrisy and sheer short-sightedness which most Republican politicians of late cannot seem to rise above.
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		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,
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".
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.
Gingrich, Newt	Winning the Future	1/16/2006	4.0	N E W	Politics	Georgia Republican politician Gingrich has written a campaign book.
Hacker, Jacob S.	Off Center	11/13/2006	5.0		Politics	Two professors of political science dissect the Republican revolution.
Hoggan, James	Climate Cover-Up	4/17/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Public relations, or PR, has been debased in the battle over climate change. PR professional James Hoggan explains how and by whom.
Horner, Christopher	The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming	11/20/2007	3.0		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.
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.
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.
Kolbert, Elizabeth	Field Notes from a Catastrophe	1/20/2010	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	Compelling accounts of its effects on ordinary people are the virtue of Elizabeth Kolbert's book on climate change.
Kuttner, Robert	A Presidency in Peril	8/05/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Robert Kuttner gives us a tour de force explaining why President Obama has disappointed his base on the economic recovery — and how he can recover.
Lapham, Lewis	Pretensions to Empire	12/21/2007	5.0		Politics	In a lively collection of essays, longtime journalist Lapham opines on current politics, popular culture, and the shortcomings of the Bush administration.
Maguire, Joe	Brainless	4/12/2007	4.5		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.
Mooney, Chris	The Republican War on Science	3/26/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Here's a documentation of Republican depredations against science that's more thorough and wide-ranging than Seth Shulman's excellent work.
Nadeau, Robert L.	The Environmental Endgame	1/07/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	Professor Nadeau thoroughly demolishes the illusion that mainstream economics possesses rigor and reliable predictive power.
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.
Oreskes, Naomi	Merchants of Doubt	8/25/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Decade after decade, from smoking & lung cancer to carbon dioxide & global warming, a few misguided ideologues have done their utmost to confuse the public about the seriousness of problems. Now, science historian Oreskes and NASA physicist Conway team up to set the record straight.
Pooley, Eric	The Climate War	7/14/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	A lively and engrossing account of the last three years in the ongoing political struggle to get a handle on climate change
Press, Bill	Train Wreck	1/20/2010	5.0	N E W	History Politics	Press documents the failure of the modern conservative movement with abundant facts and figures, and traces its origin in history.
Reece, Erik	Lost Mountain	12/28/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	This is Erik Reece's obituary for that eastern Kentucky mountain, which he watched being cut down during 2003 and 2004.
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.
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.
Rushkoff, Douglas	Life Inc.	6/14/2010	5.0	N E W	Politics	Rushkoff, a prominent media critic, provides a penetrating analysis of corporate executives' continuing quest to acquire legal personhood for their firms — while natural persons, beset on all sides by rampant commercialism, act less and less like real people.
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
Shenkman, Rick	Just How Stupid Are We?	6/11/2009	4.0	N E W	Politics	Shenkman's examination of the American body politic finds it wanting of wit and will.
Shnayerson, Michael	Coal River	11/18/2009	5.0	N E W	Environment Politics	A long look at the valley of the Coal River in West Virginia, where the streams are getting filled up and the people are just about fed up.
Shulman, Seth	Undermining Science	8/01/2007	5.0		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.
Street, Paul	Barack Obama	4/29/2009	4.5	N E W	Politics	A counterpoise to David Freddoso's book about Obama is provided by progressive historian Paul Street, who also thinks our new president is no messiah.
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		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.
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		Memoirs Politics	Unfairly exposed CIA covert agent Valerie Plame finally gets to tell her side of the story.
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.

Science

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Agin, Dan	Junk Science	2/24/2008	5.0		Politics Science	Dan Agin examines the damage that results when scientific findings are distorted for political ends, or to evade corporate responsibility.
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.
Broecker, Wallace	Fixing Climate	5/15/2009	5.0	N E W	Science	With the help of science writer Robert Kunzig, climatologist Wallace Broecker ably describes the current state of our climate and the prospects for averting unwanted changes.
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.
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?
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
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
Pearce, Fred	With Speed and Violence	9/20/2007	5.0		Science	Fred Pearce looks at cutting-edge research that suggests the IPCC prediction of troublesome climate change may be far too mild.
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.
Ruddiman, William F.	Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum	5/24/2010	5.0	N E W	Science	We humans, says Dr. Ruddiman, took control of Earth's climate 8,000 years ago. Evidence? It's right here in the book.
Shapiro, Robert	Planetary Dreams	5/21/2001	5.0		Science	An examination of the quest to understand the origins of life
Shostak, Seth	Confessions of an Alien Hunter	2/06/2010	4.5	N E W	Science	We still listen for alien signals, and we're getting better at it. Astronomer Seth Shostak tells us why and how in this interesting update on SETI — the search for extraterrestial intelligence.
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.
Ward, Peter D.	The Flooded Earth	9/01/2010	4.5	N E W	Science	In another must-read book, Dr. Ward continues his cautionary forecasts and explanations of climate change.
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.	Out of Thin Air	6/15/2007	5.0	N E W	Science	In a book that is fascinating but somewhat technical, Dr. Ward investigates the relationship between body forms and changes in oxygen levels on prehistoric Earth.
Ward, Peter D.	Under a Green Sky	5/17/2010	5.0	N E W	Science	After pretending in his introduction to be Hunter S. Thompson, Dr. Ward turns serious as he tells of some early fossil-hunting expeditions and the once-radical theories they support — theories that relate to global warming.

Space

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
Belfiore, Michael	Rocketeers	11/18/2009	5.0	N E W	Space	Follow Michael Belfiore on a tour of NewSpace — the commercial space-launch companies competing to be the first private venture into the final frontier.
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
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.
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	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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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

Technology

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
Cravens, Gwyneth	Power to Save the World	3/10/2010	5.0	N E W	Technology	Follow Gwyneth Cravens and her guide on a quest to discover the truth about nuclear power plants.
Cuttle, Christopher	Lighting by Design	1/12/2010	4.0	N E W	Technology	For architects and others professionally concerned with building lighting systems, this highly theoretical book will be valuable; for homeowners, not so much.
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.
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.
Gipe, Paul	Wind Energy Comes of Age	2/04/2010	5.0	N E W	Technology	Wind energy came of age fifteen years ago, according to this 1995 book. In it, Paul Gipe explains why by describing much about how the fastest-growing source of alternative energy works.
Goodell, Jeff	Big Coal	2/01/2010	5.0	N E W	Technology	Three years of world-ranging research went into this hard-hitting examination of the coal industry.
Goodell, Jeff	How to Cool the Planet	4/17/2010	4.5	N E W	Technology	Turning from the problem of climate change to possible solutions, Goodell once again produces a worthy read.
Hapgood, Fred	Up The Infinite Corridor	1/24/1997	4.5		Technology	A penetrating but fragmentary look at MIT and the soul of engineering
Krupp, Fred	Earth: The Sequel	2/10/2010	5.0	N E W	Technology	Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn of the Environmental Defense Fund offer us an entertaining and inspiring tour of today's clean-energy developments.
Monbiot, George	Heat	1/20/2010	4.5	N E W	Technology	Thinking "outside the box", British journalist George Monbiot looks for some unconventional options to slow the production of greenhouse gases. And he finds some.
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
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.
Sweet, William	Kicking the Carbon Habit	2/13/2010	5.0	N E W	Technology	Another good treatment of options for dealing with the effects of global warming; especially strong on climate science.
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.

Science Fiction

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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.
Anthony, Patricia	Cradle of Splendor	7/05/2001	0.0		Science fiction	Here, the acclaimed author of Brother Termite presents an inconclusive mishmash of events which may or may not have happened to conflicted characters who, if they're male, are almost all weak or perverted.
Biggle, Lloyd	The Chronocide Mission	5/14/2010	5.0	N E W	Science fiction	In this novel by the late, great Lloyd Biggle, a contemporary man mistakenly swept 300 years into a barbaric future finds a way to return and set time to rights.
Burton, Levar	Aftermath	4/26/2010	4.5	N E W	Science fiction	Levar "Geordie LaForge" Burton's 1997 debut novel sends the inventor of a revolutionary medical device on a run for her life through an impoverished near-future America.
Foster, Alan Dean	The Howling Stones	4/30/2010	5.0	N E W	Science fiction	Set in the universe of the Humanx Commonwealth created by Foster, this novel weaves an engrossing tale of a trade mission to the Parramati, who care nothing for trade, and the awesome secrets that make them that way.
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.
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.

Mainstream Fiction

PRINCIPAL AUTHOR	TITLE (Linked to review)	DATE OF REVIEW	RATING (0-5)		TOPIC(s)	ONE-LINE DESCRIPTION
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	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.
Pohl, Frederik	Chernobyl	4/26/2010	5.0	N E W	Mainstream fiction	Veteran science-fiction author Pohl brings the 1986 Chernobyl disaster home in this gripping dramatization.

Quality Ranges for Book Reviews
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!