Season's readings ... for grown-ups

r.w. walker — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:42:53 GMT

the whole shebang--timothy ferris

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Phil Plait — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 19:59:07 GMT

Thanks for the linky love, Alan!

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Sue Wright, Jacksonville, FL — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:18:23 GMT

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. Love it.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Mike Forbes — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 10:53:11 GMT

For the science-oriented book that earns an honored spot on my bookshelf (and which I'm constantly urging on others around me), I submit "Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny", by Robert Wright. Weaving physics, archeology, history, anthropology, and mathematics together, Wright demonstrates the curve of human progress and the way in which, as long as cultures interact with each other, knowledge continues to grow.

This book altered my view of the world, and sparked my interest in studying history.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Ellen Prager, Key Largo, FL — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:50:09 GMT

My vote also goes to:
Galapagos: The Islands That Changed The World by Paul Stewart. Wonderfully written and accompanied by spectacular photos, the single best volume on the Galapagos I've found.

E. Prager

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Kathy Passer/ Raleigh, North Carolina — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:54:57 GMT

Just read: Gapfiller Chronicles by an author I haven't read before and agree with the editor, "...the writing style is humorous and whimsical and readers will get to like him right off the bat. There are chapters and scenes I will remember for a very long time." K.P. N.C

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Eric Chamberlain — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:41:55 GMT

One of my favorites has been "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell and Jeff Kluger. Not only recounting the Apollo 13 explosion, the book gave my my first nice perspective on the Apollo 1 fire from an astronaut's perspective.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Richard McKelvey, Latrobe, PA — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:40:26 GMT

One of my favorites that I lost somehow is a autobiography of Wherner Von Braun published in the 1960's. I would very much like to acquire a new or used copy. (The book in particular was a essay of his early life and his drive to become a scientist.) He being from a autocractic family was thought to be above mere technical work that would dirty his hands.He tells in the book of being given a assignment to create a cube of metal of set dimensions. He created the cube with a ruler and a hand file to the satisfaction of his instructor after much time and error! I was among only two people to have read the book in my jr high school library when I was in jr high school myself. I have never been able to find the book when I search for it. mick413rich@peoplepc.com

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

steve smyth — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 14:17:54 GMT

yeah us!
here's my year end comment...
http://www.smythspace.tv/globalawareness.html
ATTABOY!

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Wade Whitlock, Aberdeen, MD — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:50:39 GMT

Alan,
Not a science oriented book, but an SF story by A. C. Clarke. I suggest "The Nova" (a short story and I hope I got the title correct) for anyone's Christmas reading.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

TheFallibleFiend, LORTON, VA — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:17:25 GMT

For kids at MS level:
 Experiment and Measurement , by W. J. Youden.

 How to Solve it , by George Polya.

For kids at about a HS level:

 Longitude , by Dava Sobel.

It's about Time, by N. David Mermin is the book you wish your modern physics prof referred you to.

 Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science , by Martin Gardner.

 Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science , by Carl Sagan

 The Human Genome Project , by Elizabeth Marshall.

Understanding Thermodynamics, by H. C. Van Ness.

 The Discoverers , by Daniel J. Boorstin.

 Flim-Flam , by James Randi.

College/Adult:
 Objective Knowledge , Karl Popper.

 The Origin of Species , Charles Darwin.

 The Blind Watchmaker , Richard Dawkins.

 How the Mind Works /u>, by Stephen Pinker.

 Feynman Lectures on Physics , by Feynman, Leighton, and Sands. (I've only read vol I, but it was excellent. Need math relatively strong math skills for this.)

 What Evolution Is , by Ernst Mayr.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Dana Phillips, Granite Bay, CA — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:59:06 GMT

Although a bestseller, it should still be mentioned: 1491 by Charles Mann. It chronicles the last 50 years of pre-Columbian archaeological research. It documents the controversies and the continuing myths with a fair hand, and fill in the major gaps in current education on the pre-history of America.

Season's readings ... for grown-ups

Frank, Dallas, TX — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:06:29 GMT

"Death by Black Hole" by Neil deGrasse Tyson. On multiple occasions it has covered a topic that cosmic log covers. If you like Cosmic Log, you'd like his book. Tyson is sort of a new "Carl Sagan", that is to say he is a great populizer of science.