Good Book, but more to do with other Various Scientists
599112
Stephen Hawking's Universe is a book that attempts to explain Stephen Hawking's theories of how the universe was created. Under Stephen's theories he supports the Big Bang. In the Big Bang theory it states that the universe was created by a big explosion. Aside from explaining the Big Bang theory, the book also talks a little about Hawking's personal life before he developed Lou Gehrig's syndrome which has paralyzed him for life.

Although the book talks about Stephen Hawking's Work, it mentions

very little. The book focuses mostly on the history of cosmology and various other cosmologists who have attempted to find the beginnings to the universe. If you are looking for a book that describes in depth Hawking's work and his theories, then this is not the right book.
2814440
The book is good, lots of foundational information in the physical sciences that lay a great base for the next level up. Although, I have to say at least a couple of chapters are dated, and while I am not a scientist, there were a few things I did not agree with. We plan to review it again this summer.
2841047
It would be very interesting reading material for a philosophy of science course. The scientific world view has become a bit of a religion, and contrary to the precepts of logical positivism, normal scientists have difficulty accepting experimental evidence regarding psychic phenomena because it does not fit in with their world view. If I understood correctly, Radin argues that the majority of the scientific community embraces Newtonian materialism and prefers to relegate quantum mechanics to the sub-atomic realm. The evidence presented in the book suggests that such a division is arbitrary and does not conform to reality. The author quotes Einstein as referring to "spooky action at a distance", because even he had difficulty accepting the implications. The observer effect and other parts of quantum mechanics theory really seem to operate in the big macro world. It was fascinating to read about some of the experiments where computerized random number generaters stopped producing random numbers under influence of human consciousness. Those parts of the book are fun to read.

I didn't give the book 5 stars because there was quite a bit of philosophy of science in it. Radin is a scientist, and the book might be best for scientists. I'm not a scientist, but I studied philosopy of science so I thought that it was very good. Even revolutionary. But parts of it might be unattractive to some readers.

A lot of the material in the book is also covered in Lynne McTaggart's books (The Intention Experiment etc.) and she's a journalist rather than a scientist, so her approach to writing is easier to digest.
1892357
"The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century", by Istavan Hargittai, Oxford Univ. Press, NY  2006.  ISBN 13 978-0-19-517845-6.  HC 314/240 pages includes Preface, Contents, Intro., Appendix 12 pgs., Notes 36 pgs., Biblio. 6 pgs., Chronologies 7 pgs., & Index 12 pgs.  9.5" x 6.5"

A cleverly devised treatise details five of the Worlds' most notable theoretical physicists - all began as Jewish Hungarian citizens of Budapest who, in time, migrated to the U.S., toiled collectively and separately to develop strategic defense systems including the atomic & hydrogen bombs, computers, modernized Airforce, and establishing or working at the AEC, NASA, JPL, Manhattan Project, Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, etc.

Convenient attribute of this writing is its apportionment into six chapters to reveal their progressive transition from early childhood into figures of greatness and thence onto their waning years.  It reflects their family influences, societal environs, politico-economic conditions, scholastic opportunities, and acceptance into American cultural institutions as Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, Caltech and the U.S. military.

The plethora of B & W photographs contributes enormously to the book's value as does appendix of "Sampler of Quotable Martians".  Perhaps most importantly are descriptors of personal interactions amongst the Martians themselves. This book embraces exciting history, racism, psychological ploys of embattled nations & bureaucracies, and the search for peace amidst glorious and sometimes inglorious purlieus.  That the author is an acclaimed writer, recognized scientist, Professor of chemistry, authored several dozen books and is personally acquainted with and interviewed several of the 'Martians' is a plus.  Its a good read and the price is right.
1520656
This is an informative, detailed work about little-known groups of people who resisted the Nazis before and during WW II.  It would also serve as useful background information for those who are interested in bacteriology and development of vaccines.  I think the title is somewhat misleading, though.  Dr. Weigl and his lab were fascinating, but not necessarily fantastic.  That particular scientist's contribution was only one aspect of this rather complicated piece of history.  I think the book's title should have been The Nazi's Battle with Typhus, followed by the second half of the existing title.  It's a small thing, I know.  Overall, I was glad to read this book, though my "read" was an Audible version, which was very well done.  The only problem with audio books is the process of reviewing information.  A printed page facilitates fact-checking better than "rewinding" an audio performance.  I may buy a printed copy of this book to use as a reference.  Many unfamiliar names and interpersonal connections are mentioned throughout this book, making it difficult to identify and remember individuals and their allegiances.  A printed copy would be helpful in sorting it all out.
62582
In this book, David Orrell provides a broad overview about the science of prediction as applied to weather (and climate science), health, and the economy (wealth). The book starts with an historical introduction which goes back to the Oracle of Delphi in Greece and then moves forward to the era of Francis Galton, the English polymath and father of eugenics who invented the so called bean machine, and the modern times. The book mentions that the famous normal (bell-like) distribution function was invented by the French mathematician de Moivre but does not explain why it is also known as Gaussian distribution function, after the German polymath Gauss. Also, some historical details about the fields of computer-based weather and genetic forecast are not treated in great detail (see the book Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George B. Dyson where more details can be found about the construction of MANIAC-o at IAS as masterminded by John von Neumann and the work on genetic evolution mechanisms by the Norwegian-Italian physicist Nils Aals Barricelli).
I appreciate the author's effort to unify the mathematical prediction of the above three fields although one should bear in mind that the physical and material aspects behind these three fields are completely different from each other. The weather is the result of the interaction of the atmosphere with the surface of our planet, which includes both land and oceans, and the vacuum of space along with the effect of Earth's rotation; health can be thought as the result of the combined effect of our genes and the interaction of each human bean with the surrounding environment (food, habits, pollution, etc); economy is the less physical of all because although the natural resources of each country should correspond to stronger economies, political and societal aspects are as well important and unpredictable. Hence, the mathematical models that are presently used in predicting the future of these fields have several commonalities but also very different characteristics.
The books end with a list of predictions for the year 2100 and with a summary about the worthiness of mathematical predictions in different fields of human endeavor. No matter how big computers we use, we cannot predict the future but we nevertheless can gain useful information about possible scenarios that may appear from the present. Overall, I give four stars to this book which represents a good overview of a complex and multidisciplinary field.

Hereafter a short list of errata:
a) page 113: "....a water molecule is typically represented as a stick-and-ball (?) model, with a hydrogen atom connected to two oxygen atoms" (meaning HO2?) -> "...a ball-and-stick model, with an oxygen atom connected to two hydrogen atoms" (meaning H2O);
b) page 183: "...shown in table 5.1 (on page 178)" -> should be page 184.
4812688
I really like this book, particularly since Dr. Leaf does a commendable job of providing scientific resources for much of her writing. The only reason I did not give it five stars was because I felt she fell short in two places. First, she seems to write off the use of nutritional supplements by citing recent lab tests of some brands showing they did not contain what the label said they should have. While this certainly calls into question the purchase of those brands, it does not by itself mean that taking supplements is without merit. It just means one should be sure to pick a brand that has a solid reputation. Second, I would have liked to have heard more about the gluten-free diet fad, which she sees as lacking a scientific basis for much of the population (other than celiacs). She suggests that much of the problem may be related to the over-processing of wheat into bleached flour, but there doesn't seem to be as much scientific backing for this idea. If she is correct, then many people (myself included) are eating gluten-free for no reason. I only wish she had provided more evidence for this supposition, as well as how to best incorporate wheat and other glutenous grains into the diet to prevent the problems some associate with gluten.
4914912
If your interest is astrophysics and cosmology, you might find this book more stimulating than I did.  Given that the authors interest is loop quantum gravity, it is understandable that he might focus on cosmology.
(See Quantum Bounce, Stuart Clark, New Scientist 2 January 2016, pp. 32-35, for a discussion of Rovellis work in loop quantum gravity).

However, I have three issues with the author:

On p. 14, he writes: In 1925 the equations of the theory [quantum theory] finally appeared, replacing the entire mechanics of Newton.

Newtons laws of motion have been replaced? News to me (and to NASA and the ESA).

On p. 37, he writes Two theories [general relativity and quantum theory], profligate in their gifts, which are fundamental to todays technology and have transformed the way we live. [sic]

He remarks that he is writing on a computer that quantum theory made possible, but where is the comparable contributionother than marginally, the GPSof general relativity?

In fact, some sources maintain that twenty-five per cent of the worlds GDP originates from quantum mechanics.

How can anyone maintain that general relativity has transformed the way we live?

See ScienceHeroes.com and Scientists Greater Than Einstein by Amy Pearce to learn about scientists who
have really changed the world. The 105 scientists on the website have saved 5,304,828,486 lives, and  counting.

Astrophysics and cosmology are not the queens of science.  Far from it.

Finally, isn't it about time we give up hagiographic references to Einstein?
He was a great physicist, but he relied on the work of a great many other physicists in developing his theories.

For example, on p. 2 the author refers to his [Einsteins] first theory of relativity [the theory of special relativity]. A great many people developed the theory of special relativity.  In fact, as Jeremy Gray writes in HENRI POINCARE, A Scientific Biography (Princeton, 2013), Poincare undoubtedly discovered many of the ideas that now form our mental picture of the theory of special relativity and associate with the name of Einstein (p. 368).

Its time to put Einsteins achievements in the context in which they were completed: the culmination of the work of a lot of other scientists.
3416055
I read this book a year or two after one of my New Age friends recommended it.  To her credit, the author disclaims any real training or background in science, but ventured into the arena anyhow.  The ability to communicate scientific ideas and discoveries to non-scientists is an admirable talent, but only if those ideas and discoveries are accurately represented.  It is here that I think McTaggart departed from reality, perhaps telling New Agers that their something-for-nothing and easy-enlightenment ambitions had scientific merit.

She does a fair job of relating new physics concepts such as quantum foam and wave-particle duality.  However, she is in over her head in thinking that unlimited amounts of energy is all around us, free for the taking, without consequence or constraints of technical feasibility.

Still, the book is not a total loss.  She does mention some alternatives to quantum theory research that is worth looking into.  One paper in particular hoped to explain Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle as a consequence of Newtonian particles traveling through the quantum foam.  She cites numerous studies and experiments which tantalize the scientifically literate layperson.  And if we are really lucky, all who read this book will thirst for a better understanding of the subjects presented.

Addendum (Feb. 28, 2013): A less distorted view of some of the science discussed in The Field, is Amit Goswami's The Self Aware Universe (also available at Amazon). Although this too presents a philosophy sure to appeal to lazy new agers, it is at least written by a well credential physicist who knows what he is writing about. - LG
4779121
Many books have been written about the development of new pharmaceuticals. It seems that a majority of these books focus on the scientist and business people involved in the industry and on the deadly diseases that these people are trying to cure. Not so with this book. This book focuses more on the discoveries and technology that make drug development possible.

Dr. Stockwell took the time in his book to explain the technology involved in discovering (or generating?) new drugs. You are going to finish this book knowing a lot more about biotechnology than when you started. That said, I can imagine that this book would be challenging to read to people outside the scientific community (I myself am a student).

I was a bit disappointed with the ending of the book. The author took great care to painstakingly explain several new important technologies. Then, at the end of the book, the author listed several other remaining technologies, all important, without describing them. I wished he would have spent more time explaining the future uses of siRNA and gene therapy. This is probably because these areas of research are outside the authors field of work, which I infer is Chemistry and not biology.

I recommend this text to anyone interested in the drug discovery field.
3141029
The right readership of this book is not for the general layman interested in science but rather for undergraduate physicists.
I am myself having undergraduate physics degree with many years of reading at that level of QM material.
Therefore for me this is a wonderful book.
As an example, the book clarified many questions I had connecting my bare knowledge about the entanglement  of pairs of particles to the entanglement of many particles system. I suspect that people lacking undergraduate quantum physics knowledge cannot correctly appreciate the value of this book.
Moreover, I guess that graduate students of Solid State physics will find the book not adding much to what they know already.
I regret recommending the book to a young Computer Scientist who is interested in social phenomena. I thought mistakenly that he would be enlightened by the explanation of emergent phenomena applicable to social systems. No he didn't and I know now that he is lacking the pre-knowledge required.

This book deserves 5 stars for physics undergraduates, 4 stars for physics graduates and 3 stars for all others.
2513436
This is another book in the tradition of Dava Sobel's Longitude--taking a relatively unknown but important event in scientific history and describing the drama of discovery.  In this case, Ken Alder has decided to tell the story of Mechain and Delambre, two "savants" who were charged with determining the length of the meter.  Originally, the meter was defined to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the north pole to the equator.  So Mechain and Delambre set out to measure the length of the meridian more accurately than had ever been done before.
Like the best books about science, The Measure of All Things shows the nature of real science.  First, that science is performed by real people like Mechain and Delambre with their own strengths and foibles; it does not just appear miraculously in textbooks.  Second, the development of science is influenced by the history of the time such as the revolutionary period in France through which most of this story takes place.
But because this book is describing the determination of the meter--the basis of the scientific measurement system--it shows other important aspects of science that are often forgotten.  For example, the important idea that how we measure things is ultimately completely arbitrary.  Despite our natural desire to find the "absolute" meter, there is no such thing as Mechain and Delambre discover.  We can choose the length of the meter to be whatever we want as long as--and here's the difficult part--we get everyone to agree.  The problems of getting the meter accepted, even in France where it was developed, is a fascinating part of this book.
The cover of my edition of this book touts the "hidden error that transformed the world."  This is a bit of marketing strategy to entice those, I think, who like to read about other's mistakes.  But, as a scientist, I see this notation of error as being a part of what science is.  Modern science understands that measurement is never error-free but this was not always understood and bothered scientists like Mechain.  It is very worthwhile for non-scientists to see how scientists learned to deal with the fact that there are always limitations to their measurements.
Anyone interested in the importance of measurement in science would be amiss is passing this book by.  Alder has provided a readable account of the development of the basis of our modern, nearly-universal method of measurement.  It is definitely worth a read.
4629416
The authors intended this book for students and professionals.  I don't fall into either group but I enjoyed it and learned from it, so I'm reviewing it for other similarly inclined non-scientists.

Cell-to-cell communication is of supreme importance to multicellular organisms and so it is of interest from many points of view.  For example, I am very interested in its role in evolutionary developmental biology.  Other people will be more interested in hormones, nerve signaling, et al.  Signal Transduction is that part of communication that happens inside the cell, between the signal and the DNA.  Thus it doesn't include neurotransmitters which activate ion channels in the membrane, nor does it include steroids, which pass through the membrane and into the nucleus.  Nevertheless, it covers most cell communication.  In particular, there is a lot of material on G-protein-coupled receptors, which make up a majority of the receptors, and tyrosine kinase receptors, which are also plentiful.

As the authors describe it, chapters 1-9 are on the "nuts and bolts" of transduction.  This includes a very brief introduction to intercellular signaling molecules (such as hormones and neurotransmitters) and receptors, followed by some details about the internals, including calcium ions and phosphate exchange.  In the second part, "attention is concentrated on transduction processes set in action by growth factors and adhesion molecules".  There is also a short section on insulin.  This part fills in the chains from the receptors to the DNA and describes the processes which regulate the chains and switch them off after they've done their jobs.

The choice of emphasis in the second part allows the authors to spend some time on cancer.  Failure in the growth factor pathways can cause cells to proliferate out of control; failure in cell adhesion can result in metastasis.  Accordingly, there are sections on the cell cycle, the transformations of cancer cells, and apoptosis.

(For more details, click above on "See all Editorial Reviews".)

I said that I am not a scientist, but that doesn't mean that Signal Transduction is a book for beginners.  The reader must have some experience with molecular biology diagrams in which symbols stand for molecules that are interacting with each other.  Some biochemistry is required, though not a lot.  The reader will need to know what amino acids, lipids, and nucleotides are.  If you're unsure if this is the level for you, it might help you to click on my name above and read the "In My Own Words" part of my profile and to click on "Read all my reviews" to get some idea of what I've been reading.  Signal Transduction isn't the most advanced book that I've read, but it's more advanced than most.

The book jacket calls this book a "text reference" and a "valuable resource".  That is the right way to see it; I have already used it to help me understand some articles on the Internet.  But I also recommend that you read the book at least once all the way through, both to get the lay of the land and to enjoy this fine book.

I mentioned that cell signaling is very important in evolutionary developmental biology ("Evo-Devo").  For any reader interested in that subject, I highly recommend Sean Carroll's From DNA to Diversity.  If you are interested in evolution, note in Signal Transduction how enormous complexity comes about through duplication and modification of genes; indeed, whole transduction chains can be regarded as modules that are duplicated with modification.

If you want to know more about what happens at the other end of the chain, at the DNA, I recommend Molecular Biology of the Gene by Watson, et al.  If you want to know more about cancer, there is an excellent elementary book, Molecular Biology of Cancer, by Lauren Pecorino; this book helped prepare me for Signal Transduction.
1944659
REVIEW OF 'IMAGINED WORLDS: STORIES OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY'

Authors: Paul Andersen and Deborah Cadbury

Reviewer: William P. Palmer

In their book Imagined Worlds, Paul Andersen and Deborah Cadbury give a brief account the lives and contributions to science of a number of well known scientists, who are currently active in a variety of different areas of scientific research. The scientists were all interviewed for a BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) radio program. Those interviewed were Dr Tom Bower (child psychology), Dr Tom Gold (astronomy), Dr Patrick Wall (medicine), Dr Sydney Brenner (molecular biology), Professor Abdus Salam (astrophysics), Dr Walter Gilbert (biochemistry), Dr John Crook (animal behaviour), Dr Dan McKenzie (geophysics) and Professor Roger Penrose (twistor theory).

The important feature about the book is that it gives insight into the lives of some of the well known scientists of our time, explaining what interested them at school, how they started as research scientists, what theories they advanced and how they came to develop these theories. It is this explanation the creative thinking of these scientists, working in very diverse fields, that gives us a glimpse into the nature of science, as we are enabled to understand the processes of discovery better. As a former science teacher, I like to believe that science teachers are influential in many cases in inspiring their students to take up science as a career, and perhaps in being indirectly responsible for starting some scientific prodigy on their road to scientific achievement. Alas! There is very little evidence for such a theory here. About half mention that they attended school, presumably, because they were questioned about it. None of the scientists mention their science teacher by name, though two mention their teachers. In one case this is for some incorrect statements (Salam) and in the other a mention to his physics teacher for getting him to college through the `old boy network' (McKenzie), so teachers do not emerge from these recollections as being particularly influential in the lives of contemporary scientists.

It is a pity that the interviews did not include any female scientists. This omission means that the collection, the aim of which is to demonstrate science as an essentially human activity, is shown as rather less human than it should be. The reviewer has also come across a similar selection of interviews in another book (Wolpert & Richards, 1988) which includes interviews with some of the same scientists (see Palmer, 1992).

(Originally reviewed as Review of 'Imagined Worlds' & Is Science Necessary?', The Journal of the Science Teacher Association of the Northern Territory, Volume 12, pp. 102-104.)

References

Palmer, W.P. (1992)  A Review of A Passion for Science by L. Wolpert and A Richards, The Australian Science Teachers' Journal, September, 38 (3) 72-74.

Wolpert, L. & Richards, A. (1988)  A Passion for Science, Oxford University Press.
41097
James Clerk Maxwell is one of the greatest scientists not only because of his many great contributions but also because he inspired so many others who went on to become outstanding

scientists. The impact of his work is so far-reaching that it

is difficult to find the right words to describe it. Thus, it

is rather curious that no major biographies of Maxwell have been published.

This biography by Basil Mahon attempts to address this void.

This is a good book that is enjoyable to read. James' strengths, both scientific and personal, are presented in

an engaging style. But, one cannot but feel that, given the greatness of the subject, the biography is not as vast in scope as one might expect. This is a simple biography of a great man.
1276290
This book is a series of questions and their answers covering God, belief, the universe, evil, religion and more from the viewpoint of respected scientists. The individual answers aren't particularly long (most one to two pages) but a few are explored in more depth in the appendices. Richard Dawkins is mentioned frequently and the book contains much helpful information about a scientific response to Dawkins' assertions.

The book was strongest in its discussion of how science and Christianity can interact but weaker where the authors strayed more towards philosophy and Christian apologetics. However overall it was a good read; although technical in places there was enough for the layperson to understand and appreciate.
3104235
This is a great book for middle school or young adult readers featuring 52 women of science.  Although each chapter is necessarily short, they serve as an invitation to the curious reader to learn more about each of these very remarkable women. The book is organized thematically by area of scientific disciplinemedicine, biology, genetics, physics, etc.  Spanning the lives of women from the 17th century and on, Rachel Swaby has chosen not to include any women who are currently living.  Perhaps in 10 years there can be an anniversary edition that will include more women. In the meantime, there is much to learn from the women she has included.  However, I confess I was disappointed she did not choose to include such women as Hypatia or Hildegard de Bingen. Again, maybe there will be a revised or updated anniversary edition that can go back into earlier examples of women who overcame the gender biases of their societies to help further scientific discoveries.  In the meantime, I think this book is an excellent addition to any girls library, one that will hopefully inspire further reading and maybe even some experimentation as well.