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Category Archives: science
The Fall of Roman Britain
When we speak of the fall of the Roman empire, we’re usually engaging in hyperbole: Rome’s decline in Europe was more of a slow decay and transformation. In Britain, though, first Rome was there and then it wasn’t — and … Continue reading
Posted in history, Reviews, science
Tagged archaeology, Britain, climate change, history, Rome, science
3 Comments
Eat, Poop, Die
Now there’s a sign you won’t see decorating someone’s living room. Their bathroom, maybe. Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World takes a look at the way animals shape ecosystems. It begins with the absolutely fascinating study of Surtsey, … Continue reading
The Royal Society
Over ten years ago I devoured a history of science series by Ray Spangenburg and Diane Kit Moser that played a large part establishing my basic adult understanding of science. While reading it, I was particularly fascinated by the role … Continue reading
In the Company of Trees
In the Company of Trees is a little volume of photos and reflections on trees, a pleasant mixture of science and cultural writing peppered with arboreal quotes — though not, curiously, the classic “I think that I shall never see … Continue reading
The Hidden Life of Deer
There’s a buck mounted in my living room, but it’s not a head: it’s a large photograph of one standing at a stream in the woods, dawn light softly illuminating the morning mist. I find deer, second to horses, utterly … Continue reading
Distracted by Alabama
Jim Brown moved to Alabama in the 1970s to teach history at Samford University, and became fascinated by Alabama, both by its wild biodiversity and its people and their folk traditions, from shape-note singing to basket-weaving and herbalism. Distracted by Alabama … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science, Society and Culture
Tagged Alabama, culture, ecology, environmentalism, folklore, science
1 Comment
Of blood and brilliant butlers
Rose George has previously shared with readers her voyages across the world following cargo ships and movements to make sanitation both more eco-friendly and readily available to poorer communities. In Nine Pints, she dips into the circulatory system. The result … Continue reading
Posted in history, Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science
Tagged biology, goods/services, PG Wodehouse, Rose George, science
3 Comments
Adventures with the Enemies of Science
The Heretics / The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science© 2014 Will Storr368 pages Outside ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing, there is a field. Will Storr will meet you there, because at this point he’s not sure that there’s … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science
Tagged cults and conspiracies, mental health-illness, psychology, science, skepticism, Will Storr
10 Comments
In the air and across the Cosmos
This month’s science reading served up two surprises, both pleasant. When I arrived at university and joined the Astronomy Club, which met once a month to aim a giant telescope at the skies and gasp as we saw Saturn’s rings … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews, science
Tagged Astronomy, biology, climate change, Physics, science, weather
4 Comments
Best of the Science Survey, 2017 – 2022
I recently realized that I’m in my sixth year of doing the Science Survey, and am marking the ocassion by thinking about the ten best reads of that period. For the uninitiated, the Science Survey is an attempt to structure … Continue reading
