Category Archives: science

Earrthquakes in Human History

Posted on June 4, 2016 by smellincoffee

Earthquakes in Human History© 2005 Jelle de Boer, Donald Sanders304 pages de Boer and Sanders’ “Earthquakes” is exactly what it says on the tin: a quick survey of how earthquakes have affected human history.   An initial section explains the … Continue reading →

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Science: the Index

Posted on May 20, 2016 by smellincoffee

This list includes most of the science books I’ve read since 2007, omitting  titles that received only scant mention. Brane and Brane! What is Brane?!- Cosmology and Astrophysics* The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow Black Holes and Baby … Continue reading →

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The Planets

Posted on May 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Planets© 2003 Dava Sobel288 pages Like Lives of the Planets, Sobel’s The Planets is a flyby through the solar system. The inclusion of the Sun and Moon give this a classical feel, since those bodies were considered by the … Continue reading →

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The Deep: Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss

Posted on May 16, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Deep: the Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss 253 pages © 2007 Claire Nouvian I’ve been enjoying a gallery book devoted to the extraordinary creatures of the deep sea these past two weeks.  Edited by Claire Nouvian, The Deep collects … Continue reading →

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Diving Companions

Posted on May 6, 2016 by smellincoffee

Diving Companions: Sea Lion – Elephant Seal – Walrus ©  1974 Jacques-Yves Cousteau 304 pages Before David Attenborough, there was Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who helped invent SCUBA gear and used it in expeditions across the globe to explore the unknown right … Continue reading →

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The Voyage of the Beagle

Posted on April 29, 2016 by smellincoffee

The Voyage of the Beagle© 1839 Charles Darwin448 pages* As a young man, Charles Darwin lacked sharp direction. His father wanted him to become a doctor, but he hated the sight of blood.  His passion was natural philosophy, the observation … Continue reading →

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Spring Cleaning

Posted on March 16, 2016 by smellincoffee

The wind is blowing, the trees are in leaf, and I sense spring is on the way. Well, good! Not that this winter has been particularly bad, but spring has far better scenery.  I spent this past weekend cleaning while … Continue reading →

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The Wild Weird World of Biology

Posted on February 22, 2016 by smellincoffee

So, it turns out The Lives of a Cell has little to do with cells.  I checked it out figuring to learn something about how cells work, since I’m a ways removed from fifth-grade life science, or even freshman bio.  I … Continue reading →

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SCIENCE! ..and other stuff

Posted on February 17, 2016 by smellincoffee

Dear readers:  I am still scratching an itch for science and science fiction, both in books and on the screen.  Over the weekend I read A Survival Guide to the Misinformation Age,  on inculcating scientific habits of mind.  It’s rather … Continue reading →

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Genome

Posted on February 12, 2016 by smellincoffee

 Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters© 1999 Matt Ridley317 pages   The human genome is a recipe book, divided into 23 chapters, but considerably larger than Matt Ridley’s Genome. Were it to scale, he writes, a genuine … Continue reading →

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