Difference between revisions of "Newest Popular Science Reviews"

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[[Category:Popular Science|*]]
 
[[Category:Popular Science|*]]
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Caroline Alliston
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|isbn=1787333175
|title= Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers
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|title=You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here
|rating= 4
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|author=Benji Waterhouse
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=5
|summary=''Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers'' takes a strictly hands-on approach to science to show how scientific ideas can be applied to real-world situations. The book contains 25 projects with varying degrees of complexity to demonstrate topics such as air travel, programmable machines, light, motion and electricity. The book is designed with the younger scientist in mind, so there is a focus on the fun aspect, with many of the projects involving toys.
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|genre=Popular Science
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784938483</amazonuk>
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|summary=I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography.  ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist.  I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.  
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Marty Jopson
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|isbn=1788360702
|title=The Science of Food: An exploration of what we eat and how we cook
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|title=Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography
 +
|author=Edzard Ernst
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
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|genre=Biography
|summary=I've always believed that if you understood ''why'' something worked in a particular way it was very easy to remember ''how'' it worked and what you needed to doThe food we eat is no exception to this rule and ''The One Show'' resident scientist Marty Jopson has undertaken to explain how things work in the kitchen - and he covers everything from the type of knives we use through to the food of the future.  Best of all, he does it in language that even a science illiterate like me can understand.
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|summary=For over forty years, Prince Charles has been an ardent supporter of alternative medicine and complementary therapies.  ''Charles, The Alternative Prince'' critically assesses the Prince's opinions, beliefs and aims against the background of the scientific evidence.  There are few instances of his beliefs being vindicated and his relentless promotion of treatments which have no scientific support has done considerable damage to the reputation of a man who is proud of his refusal to apply evidence-based, logical reasoning to his ambitions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782438386</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Laurence Browne
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|isbn=0192779230
|title= The Many Faces of Coincidence
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|title=Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs
|rating= 3.5
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|author=Isabel Thomas
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=5
|summary= Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence.
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|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1845409159</amazonuk>
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|summary='Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill.  In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs.  We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time.  The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Luke Dittrich
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|isbn=gareth_steel
|title= Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets
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|title=Never Work With Animals
|rating= 4.5
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|author=Gareth Steel
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=4
|summary= Luke Dittrich seeks to shed light on the man behind the initials, and in doing so, uncovered quite a bit more than he expected.
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099571862</amazonuk>
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|summary=I don't often begin my reviews with a warning but with ''Never Work With Animals'' it seems to be appropriate. Stories of a vet's life have proved popular since ''All Creatures Great and Small'' but ''Never Work With Animals'' is definitely not the companion volume you've been looking for. As a TV show the author would argue that ''All Creatures'' lacked realism, as do other similar programmes. Gareth Steel says that the book is not suitable for younger readers and - after reading - I agree with him. He says that he's written it to inform and provoke thought, particularly amongst aspiring vets. It deals with some uncomfortable and distressing issues but it doesn't lack sensitivity, although there are occasions when you would be best choosing between reading and eating.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Tom Wolfe
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|isbn=0241480442
|title= The Kingdom of Speech
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|title=Healthy Vegan The Cookbook: Vegan Cooking Meets Nutrition Science
|rating= 2
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|author=Niko Rittenau and Sebastian Copien
|genre=Popular Science
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|rating=4.5
|summary= ''If you are not having a fight with somebody, then you are not sure whether you are alive when you wake up in the morning.''
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|genre=Cookery
 
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|summary=Emotionally, I am a vegan.  Mentally, I am a vegan.  I read [[How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance]] and was appalled by the way in which we treat animals in our search for (preferably cheap) food.  Practically, I am not a vegan.  It worked for a while apart from the odd blip with regard to cheese but then a perfect storm of those events which you hope don't occur too often in your lifetime tempted me back to animal-based protein. It wasn't the taste - I know that I can get plant-based food that tastes just as good as anything plundered from the animal kingdom - it was the ease of being able to get sufficient protein when meals were often snatched in a few spare moments.
With Tom Wolfe making such bold statements as this even up to the near present (The Guardian in 2004), you can be sure that Wolfe, nearing 87, has lost none of his familiar argumentative style; or that his journalistic days are nearing a close, with his love of melodrama.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178470489X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Barney Shaw
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|author=Daniel Gibbs with Teresa H Barker
|title= The Smell of Fresh Rain
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|title=A Tattoo on my Brain
|rating= 5
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|rating=3.5
|genre= Popular Science
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|genre=Autobiography
|summary= The Smell of Fresh Rain attempts to open our minds to the power and potential of our sense of smell. Barney Shaw, a man armed with only a powerful curiosity and boundless enthusiasm sets out to understand this ever elusive sense and to explore ways to interpret smells in an accessible and simple way. His journey takes him from boatyards to markets via Harrods and his childhood home to uncover the meaning behind everyday scents and to distil the apparently complex nature of smell into language which is accessible and satisfying.
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|summary=Alzheimer's is a disease that slowly wears away your identity and sense of self. I have been directly affected by this cruel disease, as have many. Your memories and personality worn away like a statue over time affected the elements. It seems as if nature wants that final victory over you and your dignity. This is what makes Daniel Gibbs' memoir so admirable. Daniel Gibbs is a neurologist who was diagnosed with Alzheimers and has documented his journey in ''A Tattoo on my Brain''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785781138</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1108838936
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Robert Newman
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|isbn=0099551063
|title= Neuropolis: A Brain Science Survival Guide
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|title=The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Lessons in life from Saints, Spies and Serial Killers
 +
|author=Dr Kevin Dutton
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=In Neuropolis, the book and the Radio 4 series, Newman targets a sub-species of pop-neuroscience that he dubs bro-science – a pessimistic, denigrating take on the brain that is based more on macho posing than on research. He sets out to destroy it using proper science.
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|summary='' 'Donald Trump outscores Hitler on psychopathic traits' claims Oxford University researcher.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0008228655</amazonuk>
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Until the events of 6 January 2021 that might have surprised, even shocked many readers: now they're probably convinced that they knew it all along.  The statement has lost a little of its shock value but it does help us to understand more about the nature of psychopathy.  It's too easy to associate psychopathy with the Yorkshire Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Saddam Hussein or Robert Maudsley, the real-life Hannibal Lecter, but the truth is that having psychopathic traits can sometimes be a good thing.
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{{Frontpage
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|isbn=1849767343
 +
|title=Count on Me
 +
|author=Miguel Tanco
 +
|rating=4.5
 +
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|summary=The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journey. It isn't: it's a hymn of praise to maths.  It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Sarah Hutton
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|isbn=B08B39QNRH
|title=Cool Physics
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|title=The Curious History of Writer's Cramp: Solving an age-old problem
 +
|author=Michael Pritchard
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=If you aren't entirely sure about a phrase such as ''Christiaan Huygens states his principle of wavefront sources'', don't worry – it was only in 1678 that it happened, so you're not too far behind in physicsBrownian motion, and the gravitational constant being measured both date from before the Victorian era, and all of these three things are on the introductory timeline in this book, which I think might well be proof enough that a primer in the world of physics is very much needed.
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|summary=''Society is based on speech but civilisation requires the written word''.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1843653249</amazonuk>
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 +
I came to Michael Pritchard's ''The Curious History of Writer's Cramp'' by a rather strange route.  I have problems with my hands which orthopaedic surgeons refer to as 'interesting': I prefer the word 'painful' but I have an interest in the way that hands workAn exploration of the history of a problem which has defeated some of the best medical minds for some three-hundred-years seemed liked excellent background reading and so it proved, with the book being as much about the doctors treating the sufferers and the changing medical attitudes as the problem itself.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Anthony Marson
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|isbn=1776572858
|title=Something or Nothing: A Search for My Personal Theory of Everything
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|title=How Do You Make a Baby?
|rating=4.5
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|author=Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)
|genre=Popular Science
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|rating=5
|summary=Most thinking people have their own theory of the meaning of the universe,and of why they - we - exist within it.  It's a natural extension to wonder whether life was created, or, if not created, how was life formed?  In ''Something or Nothing'' Anthony Marson develops his own theoriesThe journey began when the author was on a touring holiday in Tasmania, gazed up at a clear night sky and asked himself how and why all the stars came to exist.  Although this subject has been explored countless times by scientists, theologians and philosophers, Marson wanted an answer which satisfied him and he begins his search by quite openly admitting that he has only a limited scientific educationIt was good to know - for once - that I was on the same footing as the author and we could explore together.
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|genre=Home and Family
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>191128097X</amazonuk>
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|summary=It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made.  My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about itA couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before) and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it ''wasn't something which nice people talked about''.  I ''knew'' more, but was little ''wiser''.  Thankfully, times have changed.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Henry Marsh
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|author=Danny Dorling
|title=Admissions: A Life in Brain Surgery
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|title=Slowdown
|rating=4.5
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|rating=4
|genre=Autobiography
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|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=It's more than two years since I read [[Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh|Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery]] but the memories have stayed with me. I had thought then that a book about brain surgery might sound as though I was taking my pleasures too sadly, but the book was superb - and very easy reading and when I heard about ''Admissions'' I decided to treat myself to an audio download, particularly as Henry Marsh was narratingI knew that my expectations were unreasonably high, but how did the book do?
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|summary= We are living in a time of rapid change, and we're worried about it.  Dorling tells us that the latter is normal, natural and probably good for us.  We are designed to worry and with the current state of what we're doing in the world we have much to be worried about. However, over the next three-hundred-and-some pages, if you can follow the arguments, it sets out in scientific detail why either we shouldn't be as worried as we are, or in some cases that we're worrying about the wrong things.  Mostly.  Because mostly, things are not changing as rapidly as we think they areIn fact, the rate of change in many things is slowing down and the direction of change will in some cases go into reverse.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1474603866</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0300243405
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Dorling Kindersley
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|isbn=Langford_Emily
|title=First Science Encyclopedia
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|title=Emily's Numbers
|rating=5
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|author=Joss Langford
 +
|rating=4
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary=I wasn't introduced to 'science' until I was eleven and went on to senior school: I wasn't alone in this, but it really was too lateThankfully, times have changed and children at primary school are getting to grips with plants and animals, atoms and molecules and even outer space from a very young ageWhat's needed is a good, basic reference book which will introduce all the subjects and give a good grounding.  It needs to be something which would sit proudly in the classroom library and comfortably on a child's bookshelf.  The ''First Science Encyclopedia'' would do both well.
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|summary=Emily found words ''useful'', but counting was what she loved bestObviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos.  She knew all about odd and even numbersThen she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called ''threeven''.  (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.)
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>024118875X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
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|isbn=1910593508
|title= Peak: How all of us can achieve extraordinary things
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|title=Apollo
|rating= 4
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|author=Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=5
|summary= Most of us have had the experience of watching a game at Wimbledon, or hearing a concert pianist, or reading about a new world record for the youngest chess Grandmaster, and daydreamed about ourselves in that position. Except, we invariably tell ourselves, that isn't possible because we were always beaten in school tennis matches, we didn't start piano lessons until we were twelve, and we were never pushed by our parents to play chess. Peak is a supremely optimistic – which is not to say unscientific – ode to practise, and the idea that with the right amount and right sort of practise, almost anyone can achieve almost anything.  
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|genre=History
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099598477</amazonuk>
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|summary=This incredible graphic novel is a love letter to the Moon landings and the passion for the subject drips off every Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins. This is a story we know well and because of this, the authors take a few narrative shortcuts knowing that we can fill in the blanks. These shortcuts are the only downside to the book. If you've ever read a comic book adaptation of a film you will be familiar with the slight feeling that there are scenes missing and that dialogue has been trimmed. This is a graphic novel that could easily have been three times as long and still felt too short.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= David Crystal
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|isbn=1999308719
|title= The Story of Be
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|title=Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments
|rating= 4
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|author=Adrian Cull
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=4.5
|summary= David Crystal is something of a torchbearer when it comes to popularizing linguistics in the UK. He churns out material about language for a general audience at steady pace: he has covered everything from the history of English to how Shakespearean drama was actually pronounced to how language is used in an internet context. Given his previous grand themes, it is perhaps surprising that Crystal has now picked something rather more inconspicuous to present: the verb ''be''.
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|genre=Lifestyle
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0198791097</amazonuk>
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|summary=For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended to live forever and that so far, it was working out OK.  Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people of my age there were a few nagging health problems which were tipping my life out of balance.  It was time to look for a new approach and as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I needed.  ''Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-ageing treatments'' seemed like the answer to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Marcus Chown
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|isbn=1847941834
|title= The Ascent of Gravity
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|title=Atomic Habits
|rating= 4.5
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|author=James Clear
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=4.5
|summary=Evidence for gravitational waves was picked up by the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) in 2015, a hundred years after Einstein predicted their existence. As the book says 'a good case can be made that the discovery of gravitational waves is the most important development in astronomy since the invention of the telescope in 1608'. Why? And why does it matter for the understanding of physics and the universe? Well, Marcus Chown's new book will lead you gently through the background to this discovery and with a small amount of effort on your part you should grasp its relevance.
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|genre=Lifestyle
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1474601863</amazonuk>
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|summary=I've said this before but there are some books that you seek out, some books that you stumble across and some books that drop into your life because you really MUST read them, like, right now!  ''Atomic Habits''  is in the last category.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Cordelia Fine
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|isbn=Honeyborne BlueII
|title= Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds
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|title=Blue Planet II
|rating= 4
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|author=James Honeyborne and Mark Brownlow
|genre= Popular Science
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|rating=4.5
|summary= I really want to believe that starting ''Testosterone Rex'' with an anecdote involving a key-ring made of canine testicles was less of a puerile opening gambit and more of a consciously chosen attempt to make me believe that Cordelia Fine's new book is going to deliver the goods.
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|genre=Animals and Wildlife
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1785781618</amazonuk>
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|summary=You may well remember when the sticking of a number '2' after a film title was suggesting something of prestige - that the first film had been so good it was fully justified to have something more. That has hardly been proven correct, but it has until recently almost been confined to the cinema - you barely got a TV series worthy of a numbered sequel, and never in the world of non-fiction. If someone has made a nature series about, say, Alaska (and boy aren't there are a lot of those these days) and wants to make another, why she just makes another - nothing would justify the numeral. But some nature programmes do have the prestige, the energy and the heft to demand follow-ups. And after five years in the making, the BBC's Blue Planet series has delivered a second helping.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Katie Scott and Kathy Willis
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|isbn=1783099593
|title=Botanicum Activity Book
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|title=Speaking Up
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|author=Allyson Jule
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Popular Science
|summary=Children and adults who enjoyed [[Botanicum (Welcome To The Museum) by Katie Scott and Kathy Willis]] are going to love the ''Botanicum Activity Book''. Don't be misled by the suggestion that the book is aimed at the seven-plus age group: there's plenty in here for anyone who is still capable of holding a pen or pencil.
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|summary='Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783706791</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Eugenia Cheng
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|isbn=Campbell_Astra
|title=Beyond Infinity: An expedition to the outer limits of the mathematical universe
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|title=Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet
|rating= 4
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|author=Dallas Campbell
|genre= Popular Science
 
|summary=''I'm right.''<br>
 
''I'm more right.''<br>
 
''I'm right times infinity!''<br>
 
''I'm right two times infinity!''<br>
 
''I'm right times infinity squared!''<br>
 
 
 
Most people will have heard, or participated in, this type of childhood argument. It doesn't really make much sense, as we know that infinity goes on forever, and therefore ''two times infinity'' and ''infinity squared'' cannot be any bigger than infinity itself. But what exactly ''is'' infinity? This term has puzzled and intrigued people for generations, and ''Beyond Infinity'' sees mathematician Eugenia Cheng take on the challenge of defining infinity and helping us unlock its secrets.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781252858</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Charlotte Guillain and Yuval Zommer
 
|title=The Street Beneath My Feet
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
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|genre=Popular Science
|summary=It's one thing for a non-fiction book for the young to show them something they themselves can explore – the pattern of the stars, perhaps, or the life in their back yard.  But when it gets to things that are equally important to know about but are impossible to see in real life, why, then the game is changed. The artistic imagination has to be key, in portraying the invisible, and presenting what can only come from the pages of a book.  And this example does it at its best, as it delves into the layers of the soil below said back yard, down and down, through all the different kinds of rock, until we reach the unattainable centre of the planet. And there's only one way to go from there – back out the other side, with yet more for us to be shown.  It's a fantastic journey, then – and a quite fantastic volume.
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|summary=So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1784937312</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Lucy Jones
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|isbn=Adrian_Sock
|title= Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Modern Britain
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|title=Sock (Object Lessons)
|rating= 4
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|author=Kim Adrian
|genre= Animals and Wildlife
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|rating=3.5
|summary=As one of the largest predators left in Britain, the fox is captivating: a comfortably familiar figure in our country landscapes; an intriguing flash of bright-eyed wildness in our towns. Yet no other animal attracts such controversy, has provoked more column inches or been so ambiguously woven into our culture over centuries, perceived variously as a beautiful animal, a cunning rogue, a vicious pest and a worthy foe. As well as being the most ubiquitous of wild animals, it is also the least understood. Here Lucy Jones investigates the truth about foxes – delving into fact, fiction, folklore and her own history with the creatures. Discussing the debate on foxes, Jones asks what our attitudes towards foxes says about us, and our relationship with the natural world.
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|genre=Popular Science
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1783963042</amazonuk>
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|summary=The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-known mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock.
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author= Sarah Bakewell
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|isbn=Germano_Eye
|title= At The Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails
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|title=Eye Chart (Object Lessons)
|rating=4
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|author=William Germano
|genre= Politics and Society
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|rating=4.5
|summary= You know that old saying about judging books by their cover?  Ignore it! I have found that by judging a book by its cover and getting it completely wrong is a great way to find yourself committed to reading a book that you'd never have picked in a million years and yet, somehow, being amazingly glad you did.
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|genre=Popular Science
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099554887</amazonuk>
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|summary=It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course, it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages.
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Nigel Linge and Andy Sutton
 
|title= The British Phonebox
 
|rating= 4.5
 
|genre= History
 
|summary= The mobile phone must be one of the most used, must-have accessories of the modern age, the one device you cannot escape from in public. Some of us with (relatively) long memories must look back on the age when the bright red phonebox reigned supreme as a long time ago.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445663082</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|author=Martin Jenkins and Stephen Biesty
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|isbn=Ball_Wonders
|title=Exploring Space: From Galileo to the Mars Rover and Beyond
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|title=Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical
 +
|author=Johnny Ball
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
+
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=I take it as read that you know some of the history of space exploration, even if the young person you buy books for doesn't know it all.  So I won't go into the extremes reached by the ''Voyager'' space craft, and the processes we needed to be expert in before we could launch anything.  You probably have some inkling of how we learnt that we're not the centre of everything – the gradual discovery of how curved the planet was, and how other things orbited other things in turn proving we are not that around which everything revolves.  What you might not be so genned up on is the history of books conveying all this to a young audience.  When I was a nipper they were stately texts, with a few accurate diagrams – if you were lucky.  For a long time now, however, they've been anything but stately, and often aren't worried about accuracy as such in their visual design.  They certainly long ago shod the boring, plain white page. Until now…
+
|summary=Like many people of a ''certain age,'' I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects ''fun.'' Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1406360082</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
{{newreview
+
{{Frontpage
|author=Isabel Sanchez Vegara and Frau Isa
+
|isbn=Yong_Contain
|title=Little People, Big Dreams: Marie Curie
+
|title=I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life
|rating=4
+
|author=Ed Yong
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
 
|summary=Some little girls want to be princesses, but the girl who would become Marie Curie wanted to be a scientist.  She was from a poor family in Warsaw but she was determined to do well and won a gold medal for her studies.  In Poland, in the middle of the nineteenth century, only men were allowed to go to University, so Marie moved to Paris where she had to study in an unfamiliar language, but was soon the best maths and science student.  It was here that she met and married Pierre Curie, another scientist and they jointly discovered radium and polonium: they would eventually win the Nobel Prize for Physics for this work.  Marie was the first woman to receive the honour.  Pierre was killed in a road accident, but Marie went on to win a second Nobel Prize, this time for Chemistry.  Her work is still benefiting people today.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847809618</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Dr Elizabeth Blackburn and Dr Elissa Epel
 
|title=The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Popular Science
 
|genre=Popular Science
|summary=I have lived my life determined not to ''age'': I see nothing aspirational in the dependence of old age, whether it be on other people, government in all its forms or the NHS.  I'm prepared to put effort into this: it's not the cosmetic image of youth I seek, but rather the ability to do as I do now - running a business, regularly walking for miles in our glorious countryside and enjoying life - for as long as possible.  So far it's working out, but what else could I do and ''why'' does this work for some people and not for others?
+
|summary=The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of microbes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0297609238</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Siri Hustvedt
 
|title= A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women: Essays on Art, Sex and the Mind
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Politics and Society
 
|summary= I must confess that ''A Woman Looking'' spoke to me on a profound, intimate level. This is in part due to the apparent similarities between me and Siri Hustvedt - we are both feminists who love art and also love science in a world which emphasises that these two passions are mutually exclusive. What Hustvedt suggests in ''A Woman Looking'' is that it is the similarities between these two areas we should emphasise and that a cohesive, inclusive approach towards art and science could help fill the gaps in both disciplines.  
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473638895</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author= Andrew Morris
 
|title= Why Icebergs Float: Exploring Science in Everyday Life
 
|rating= 4
 
|genre= Popular Science
 
|summary=This unusual science textbook is based on the meetings of a science discussion group who raise questions from their everyday life. The group's resident science expert, Andrew Morris, does a sterling job in trying to answer some of their most obscure and challenging issues, which range from the physics of light and electricity to brain chemistry and social anthropology. Each chapter is based around a theme which grows from an observation made by a group member, such as ''what colour is the blood in the body'' and ''why is the tide so far out at Blackpool''. This tie-in to the reality of our lives, makes the science more interesting and somehow more useful.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1911307037</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Colin Brown
 
|title=Operation Big: The Race to Stop Hitler's A-Bomb
 
|rating=3.5
 
|genre=History
 
|summary=What, do you think, was more feared in 1941 and 1942 than the Nazi Party?  Well, a Nazi Party with nuclear arms would be pretty high on the list.  It seems the stuff of pure fantasy, but I'm not so sure. A lot of the people to be at the forefront of the nuclear physics of the age were German, and the first nuclear fission was on their soil.  Two things seemed to be needed for nuclear arms – uranium, which they procured by capturing Czechoslovakia, the location of one its greatest source mines; and heavy water. That so nearly fell into Nazi hands when they invaded Norway, but what seems to have been the great majority of the world's supply had only just been smuggled out.  [[Fatherland by Robert Harris|Some fiction]] takes great strides to suggest in a fantasy way that if Hitler hadn't concentrated on exterminating Jews, he would have had the energy to win the war – and it must only be a short step to see his imperial expansionism as having an ulterior motive in nuclear materiel.  But make no mistake, this is not fiction – these are the pure facts behind the issue.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1445664674</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
Move on to [[Newest Reference Reviews]]

Latest revision as of 09:12, 27 May 2024

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Review of

You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse

5star.jpg Popular Science

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. Full Review

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Review of

Charles, The Alternative Prince: An Unauthorised Biography by Edzard Ernst

4star.jpg Biography

For over forty years, Prince Charles has been an ardent supporter of alternative medicine and complementary therapies. Charles, The Alternative Prince critically assesses the Prince's opinions, beliefs and aims against the background of the scientific evidence. There are few instances of his beliefs being vindicated and his relentless promotion of treatments which have no scientific support has done considerable damage to the reputation of a man who is proud of his refusal to apply evidence-based, logical reasoning to his ambitions. Full Review

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Review of

Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds: The Invisible World of Germs by Isabel Thomas

5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

'Germs' seems to have become a catch-all word to cover anything unpleasant which has the potential to make you ill. In the first book in what looks to be a very promising new series, OUP and Isabel Thomas have provided a clear and accessible introduction to the world of germs. We get an informed look at how people originally thought about diseases and what they thought caused them and how the thinking has developed over time. The vocabulary can be confusing but Thomas gives a regular box headed 'speak like a scientist' which explains some of the trickiest concepts and you'll soon be familiar with bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses – and how we should protect ourselves. Full Review

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Review of

Never Work With Animals by Gareth Steel

4star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

I don't often begin my reviews with a warning but with Never Work With Animals it seems to be appropriate. Stories of a vet's life have proved popular since All Creatures Great and Small but Never Work With Animals is definitely not the companion volume you've been looking for. As a TV show the author would argue that All Creatures lacked realism, as do other similar programmes. Gareth Steel says that the book is not suitable for younger readers and - after reading - I agree with him. He says that he's written it to inform and provoke thought, particularly amongst aspiring vets. It deals with some uncomfortable and distressing issues but it doesn't lack sensitivity, although there are occasions when you would be best choosing between reading and eating. Full Review

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Review of

Healthy Vegan The Cookbook: Vegan Cooking Meets Nutrition Science by Niko Rittenau and Sebastian Copien

4.5star.jpg Cookery

Emotionally, I am a vegan. Mentally, I am a vegan. I read How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World by Henry Mance and was appalled by the way in which we treat animals in our search for (preferably cheap) food. Practically, I am not a vegan. It worked for a while apart from the odd blip with regard to cheese but then a perfect storm of those events which you hope don't occur too often in your lifetime tempted me back to animal-based protein. It wasn't the taste - I know that I can get plant-based food that tastes just as good as anything plundered from the animal kingdom - it was the ease of being able to get sufficient protein when meals were often snatched in a few spare moments. Full Review

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Review of

A Tattoo on my Brain by Daniel Gibbs with Teresa H Barker

3.5star.jpg Autobiography

Alzheimer's is a disease that slowly wears away your identity and sense of self. I have been directly affected by this cruel disease, as have many. Your memories and personality worn away like a statue over time affected the elements. It seems as if nature wants that final victory over you and your dignity. This is what makes Daniel Gibbs' memoir so admirable. Daniel Gibbs is a neurologist who was diagnosed with Alzheimers and has documented his journey in A Tattoo on my Brain. Full Review

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Review of

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Lessons in life from Saints, Spies and Serial Killers by Dr Kevin Dutton

4star.jpg Popular Science

'Donald Trump outscores Hitler on psychopathic traits' claims Oxford University researcher.

Until the events of 6 January 2021 that might have surprised, even shocked many readers: now they're probably convinced that they knew it all along. The statement has lost a little of its shock value but it does help us to understand more about the nature of psychopathy. It's too easy to associate psychopathy with the Yorkshire Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Saddam Hussein or Robert Maudsley, the real-life Hannibal Lecter, but the truth is that having psychopathic traits can sometimes be a good thing. Full Review

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Review of

Count on Me by Miguel Tanco

4.5star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

The title and format of this book might lead you to think that it's either about responsibility - or it's a basic 1-2-3 book for those just starting out on the numbers journey. It isn't: it's a hymn of praise to maths. It's about why maths is so wonderful and how you meet it in everyday life. Full Review

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Review of

The Curious History of Writer's Cramp: Solving an age-old problem by Michael Pritchard

4star.jpg Popular Science

Society is based on speech but civilisation requires the written word.

I came to Michael Pritchard's The Curious History of Writer's Cramp by a rather strange route. I have problems with my hands which orthopaedic surgeons refer to as 'interesting': I prefer the word 'painful' but I have an interest in the way that hands work. An exploration of the history of a problem which has defeated some of the best medical minds for some three-hundred-years seemed liked excellent background reading and so it proved, with the book being as much about the doctors treating the sufferers and the changing medical attitudes as the problem itself. Full Review

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Review of

How Do You Make a Baby? by Anna Fiske and Don Bartlett (translator)

5star.jpg Home and Family

It's more than sixty years since I asked how babies were made. My mother was deeply embarrassed and told me that she'd get me a book about it. A couple of days later I was handed a pamphlet (which delivered nothing more than the basics, in clinical language which had never been used in our house before) and I was told that it wouldn't be discussed any further as it wasn't something which nice people talked about. I knew more, but was little wiser. Thankfully, times have changed. Full Review

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Review of

Slowdown by Danny Dorling

4star.jpg Politics and Society

We are living in a time of rapid change, and we're worried about it. Dorling tells us that the latter is normal, natural and probably good for us. We are designed to worry and with the current state of what we're doing in the world we have much to be worried about. However, over the next three-hundred-and-some pages, if you can follow the arguments, it sets out in scientific detail why either we shouldn't be as worried as we are, or in some cases that we're worrying about the wrong things. Mostly. Because mostly, things are not changing as rapidly as we think they are. In fact, the rate of change in many things is slowing down and the direction of change will in some cases go into reverse. Full Review

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Review of

Emily's Numbers by Joss Langford

4star.jpg Children's Non-Fiction

Emily found words useful, but counting was what she loved best. Obviously, you can count anything and there's no limit to how far you can go, but then Emily moved a step further and began counting in twos. She knew all about odd and even numbers. Then she began counting in threes: half of the list were even numbers, but the other half was odd and it was this list of odd numbers which occurred when you counted in threes which she called threeven. (Actually, this confused me a little bit at first as they're a subset of the odd numbers but sound as though they ought to be a subset of the even numbers, but it all worked out well when I really thought about it.) Full Review

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Review of

Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins

5star.jpg History

This incredible graphic novel is a love letter to the Moon landings and the passion for the subject drips off every Apollo by Matt Fitch, Chris Baker and Mike Collins. This is a story we know well and because of this, the authors take a few narrative shortcuts knowing that we can fill in the blanks. These shortcuts are the only downside to the book. If you've ever read a comic book adaptation of a film you will be familiar with the slight feeling that there are scenes missing and that dialogue has been trimmed. This is a graphic novel that could easily have been three times as long and still felt too short. Full Review

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Review of

Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments by Adrian Cull

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

For many years now I've (half) joked that I intended to live forever and that so far, it was working out OK. Time has passed though and although I'm a great deal fitter and healthier than most people of my age there were a few nagging health problems which were tipping my life out of balance. It was time to look for a new approach and as so often happens, the reviewing gods brought me the book I needed. Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-ageing treatments seemed like the answer to my problems - only you get so much more than just 101 tips. Full Review

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Review of

Atomic Habits by James Clear

4.5star.jpg Lifestyle

I've said this before but there are some books that you seek out, some books that you stumble across and some books that drop into your life because you really MUST read them, like, right now! Atomic Habits is in the last category. Full Review

link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Honeyborne BlueII/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21

Review of

Blue Planet II by James Honeyborne and Mark Brownlow

4.5star.jpg Animals and Wildlife

You may well remember when the sticking of a number '2' after a film title was suggesting something of prestige - that the first film had been so good it was fully justified to have something more. That has hardly been proven correct, but it has until recently almost been confined to the cinema - you barely got a TV series worthy of a numbered sequel, and never in the world of non-fiction. If someone has made a nature series about, say, Alaska (and boy aren't there are a lot of those these days) and wants to make another, why she just makes another - nothing would justify the numeral. But some nature programmes do have the prestige, the energy and the heft to demand follow-ups. And after five years in the making, the BBC's Blue Planet series has delivered a second helping. Full Review

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Review of

Speaking Up by Allyson Jule

4star.jpg Popular Science

'Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour. Full Review

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Review of

Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet by Dallas Campbell

5star.jpg Popular Science

So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet. Full Review

Adrian Sock.jpg

Review of

Sock (Object Lessons) by Kim Adrian

3.5star.jpg Popular Science

The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-known mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock. Full Review

Germano Eye.jpg

Review of

Eye Chart (Object Lessons) by William Germano

4.5star.jpg Popular Science

It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course, it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages. Full Review

Ball Wonders.jpg

Review of

Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical by Johnny Ball

5star.jpg Popular Science

Like many people of a certain age, I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects fun. Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject. Full Review

Yong Contain.jpg

Review of

I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life by Ed Yong

5star.jpg Popular Science

The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of microbes. Full Review

Move on to Newest Reference Reviews