Peter Pesic
A review of Discord: The Story of Noise, by Mike Goldsmith. This social history of noise tells the story of the phenomenon from the Big Bang to the present
William A. Searcy
A review of Calls Beyond Our Hearing: Unlocking the Secrets of Animal Voices, by Holly Menino. Menino’s recounting of various research on animal vocalizations is a pleasure to read, but the scientific explanations don’t all pass muster, says Searcy
Jacqueline Olds
A review of Networked: The New Social Operating System, by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman. Drawing on research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project, the authors provide suggestions for how to thrive as “networked individuals”
Katie L. Burke
A brief review of Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, by David K. Randall
Anna Lena Phillips
A brief review of Beautiful Corn: America’s Original Grain from Seed to Plate, by Anthony Boutard
Anna Lena Phillips
Our review of reviews published during the first 100 years of the Scientists’ Bookshelf continues, with content ranging from landscape architecture to clouds to alternative energy
Mary S. Calderone
A 1969 review of Sex Is for Real (Human Sexuality & Sexual Responsibility), by W. Dalrymple
Gerald H. Kramer
A 1969 review of Mathematical Models of Arms Control & Disarmament: Application of Mathematical Structures to Politics, by T. L. Saaty
Paul J. Mitarachi
A 1972 review of Civilizing American Cities, by Frederick Law Olmstead, edited by S. B. Sutton; Autokind vs. Mankind, by Kenneth R. Schneider; and Anatomy of a Park, by Albert J. Rutledge
Barry Saltzman
A 1973 review of Clouds of the World: A Complete Color Encyclopedia, by Richard Scorer
John B. Heywood
A 1973 review of Alternatives to the Internal Combustion Engine: Impacts on Environmental Quality, by Robert U. Ayres and Richard P. McKenna
Jay Martin Anderson
A 1974 review of Ecology and Environment: Civilized Man’s Eight Deadly Sins, by Konrad Lorenz, translated by Marjorie Kerr Wilson
Peter M. Will
A 1978 review of Machine Takeover: The Growing Threat to Human Freedom in a Computer-Controlled Society, by Frank George
Yaakou Schechter
A 1978 review of The Ultimate Experiment: Man-Made Evolution, by Nicholas Wade
Margaret Dittemore
A 1978 review of Food Production and Its Consequences, by Philip E. L. Smith
Elizabeth C. Patterson
A 1978 review of Doctors Wanted: No Women Need Apply: Sexual Barriers in the Medical Profession, 1835–1975, by Mary Roth Walsh, and The Hidden Malpractice:How American Medicine Treats Women as Patients and Professionals, by Gena Corea
Veit Elser
A review of The Nature of Computation, by Cristopher Moore and Stephan Mertens. The authors "have produced one of the most successful attempts to capture the broad scope and intellectual depth of theoretical computer science as it is practiced today," says Elser
Andrea Wills
A review of What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses, by Daniel Chamovitz. Plants’ ability to sense and respond to their surrounding environment is stranger and more surprising than one might think, and Chamovitz recounts the stories of scientists’ discoveries in plant biology with wit and charm, says Wills
Christine Casson
A review of American Georgics: Writings on Farming, Culture, and the Land, edited by Edwin C. Hagenstein, Sara M. Gregg, and Brian Donahue. The United States has always embodied the tension between the ideals of agrarianism and industrialism, says Casson, and this book provides a compelling history of that tension
Emily Monosson
A review of Legally Poisoned: How the Law Puts Us at Risk from Toxicants, by Carl F. Cranor. Cranor notes that it’s not enough for individual citizens to try to avoid chemicals that are known to be toxic; to offer substantive protection, legislation must be improved
Brian Hayes
A review of Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius, by Sylvia Nasar. This work is essentially a biography of economics, says Hayes. Nasar reveals the history and the nature of the field through captivating portraits of economists
David Schoonmaker
A brief review of The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah’s Flood, by David R. Montgomery
Anna Lena Phillips
We take a look back at reviews published during the first 20 years of the Scientists' Bookshelf