Tag Archives: science

Uncle Tungsten

Posted on May 26, 2020 by smellincoffee

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood © 2001 Oliver Sacks 352 pages No future scientist was ever better primed for the life than Oliver Sacks.   You may know him as a neurologist and the author of numerous books … Continue reading →

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What the Robin Knows

Posted on May 24, 2020 by smellincoffee

What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World © 2012  Jon Young 277 pages I don’t envy people for their boats,  wardrobes, or  wine collections, but if I meet someone who can ‘read’ the natural … Continue reading →

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The Science of Breaking Bad

Posted on May 23, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Science of Breaking Bad © 2019 David Trumbore,  Donna J. Nelson 264 pages Yeah, Mister White! Yeah, SCIENCE!  Breaking Bad remains the best-scripted, -filmed, and –acted show I’ve ever watched, and no matter how many times I watch a … Continue reading →

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The Body

Posted on May 22, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Body: A Guide for Occupants © 2019 Bill Bryson 464 pages Bill Bryson would like to introduce you to someone: yourself.  You really are a piece of work!   Other authors have explored various aspects of the human body in … Continue reading →

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The Goodness Paradox

Posted on May 21, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution © 2019 Richard Wrangham 400 pages The Goodness Paradox cannot help but be fascinating, for it seeks to address one of the most pressing questions of human … Continue reading →

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18 Miles

Posted on May 6, 2020 by smellincoffee

18 Miles: The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and its Weather © 2018 Christopher Dewdney 272 pages Maybe it’s a life spent watching the skies for signs of tornadoes talking, but few everyday things strike me as more dramatic than … Continue reading →

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Hooked on this writing

Posted on May 5, 2020 by smellincoffee

I’m presently reading 18 Miles: The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather, and loving the writing.    In advance of a review, I’m sharing some of my Kindle highlights: “Insubstantial factories of infinite forms, clouds are both ephemeral and … Continue reading →

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The Weather Machine

Posted on April 25, 2020 by smellincoffee

The Weather Machine: How We See Into the Future ©  2019 Andrew Blum 224 pages How do we know what the forecast will be?  Well, we don’t — yesterday my chances of afternoon rain were supposedly minimal, and yet by … Continue reading →

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Tornadoes, the stars, and eternity

Posted on March 19, 2020 by smellincoffee

I aim to minimize the amount of un-commented-on books in 2020, so here follows some housekeeping! Back in February,  I read Braving the Elements: The Stormy History of American Weather.  It opened with the importance of climate to the various … Continue reading →

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Of murder and meaningful ground

Posted on March 4, 2020 by smellincoffee

A friend recently introduced me to the terms lentic and lotic, referring to stagnant and fast-moving bodies of water, respectively.  My Lenten series has so far been very lentic,   as I’ve been distracted by life’s goings-on.    I have done a … Continue reading →

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