Tag Archives: science

Chasing New Horizons

Posted on January 6, 2023 by smellincoffee

Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto© 2019 Alan Stearns & David Grinspoon320 pages For most of my life, and I’ll warrant for most of yours, Pluto was the Great Unknown in the solar system.  Take any … Continue reading →

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Nixon’s pyramid, the future, and intelligent octopus arms

Posted on October 12, 2022 by smellincoffee

At some point in the last year a book tipped me off to Tom Vanderbilt’s Survival City, in which the author tours ruins and remains of DC’s vast Cold War infrastructure while providing a history of the way popular fears … Continue reading →

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Alabama’s Amazon

Posted on September 8, 2022 by smellincoffee

Saving America’s Amazon: Our Most Biodiverse River System is Under Siege© 2020 Ben Raines200 pages The Mobile river delta is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, but few know and still fewer appreciate this: for thousands of … Continue reading →

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Is This Wi-Fi Organic?

Posted on August 29, 2022 by smellincoffee

Is This Wi-Fi Organic? A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online © 2021 Dave Farina254 pages In The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan warned readers: “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology in which hardly anyone knows … Continue reading →

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The Hacking of the American Mind

Posted on August 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains © 2017 Robert Lustig352 pages Robert Lustig is an endocrinologist who gained public recognition when he delivered a lecture entitled “Sugar: the Bitter … Continue reading →

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Handprints on Hubble

Posted on July 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Handprints on Hubble(c) 2019 Kathryn D. Sullivan304 pages Handprints on Hubble is a unique astronaut memoir, in part because Dr. Sullivan is a scientist first and an astronaut second. Longing to explore, she began her academic life in oceanography before realizing … Continue reading →

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Of Darwin, dinosaurs, and Denisovians

Posted on July 6, 2022 by smellincoffee

I expect to leave the recovery-suite of the hotel at the end of this week and eturn home, though I’ll be returning to Birmingham every two weeks for checkups for the next few months. During this multiweek siesta, I’ve mostly … Continue reading →

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Two for forensics

Posted on June 30, 2022 by smellincoffee

Readers of Sherlock Holmes may remember that fictional character had such a command of diverse sciences and skills that his assistant Watson was impelled to innumerate them. American Sherlock introduces readers to the life of Edward Oscar Heinrich, a real-life … Continue reading →

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Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins

Posted on April 4, 2022 by smellincoffee

Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins: A Trip through the World of Animal Intoxication© 2021 One R. Pagan320 pages Drunk Flies and Stoned Dolphins promises readers amusing stories of animal intoxication, but delivers instead a serious but enjoyable look at animal … Continue reading →

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Caesar’s Last Breath

Posted on March 11, 2022 by smellincoffee

Caesar’s Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us© 2017 Sam Kean384 pages In The Disappearing Spoon, Sam Kean offered a history of early chemistry, as we began to understand the elements that create our world, and the … Continue reading →

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