September 2009
Book Review: The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus by Owen Gingerich
(out of 5 stars)
Part detective story, part historical investigation, and part bibliophilic adventure, Owen Gingerich's The Book Nobody Read narrates the author's decades-long quest to track down and document all the existing first and second edition copies of Nicolaus Copernicus's groundbreaking work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri six ("Six Books on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"). De revolutionibus set in motion the drive to replace a geocentric universe with a heliocentric one. Gingerich take his title from myth put forward by Arthur Koestler that Copernicus's book was not widely read. Gingerich's investigation shows Koestler to be dead wrong.
Spending three decades building his census of De revolutionibus, Gingerich became personally invested in researching the history of the revolutionary work. Finding hundreds of copies of the first two editions to be very heavily annotated, the author discovered that not only was the book widely owned, it was clearly widely read. Later famous owners of the book included Kepler and Brahe, and in copy after copy, Gingerich discovered extensive notes by edition owners.
The Book Nobody Read is one of those odd niche adventures that likely appeals to a small audience. However, as a bibliophile and lover of both astronomy and history, this was a fantastic story of the worldwide search for copies of one of most important books ever written. Gingerich documents his travels and troubles across the world as he tracked down each copy. A passionate historian, the author also draws for the reader a unique view of the influence of De revolutionibus and the assorted characters who owned and were affected by it.
Again, I think this book likely appeals to a small niche audience, namely those interested in the history of science and/or the history of books. For those readers, however, this book is a fantastic treat and well worth a weekend read. Gingerich is a strong writer and clearly passionate about his lifelong pursuit of Copernicus's masterpiece. Peppered with many photographs of noteworthy annotations and editions, the author presents a wonderful exploration of the history of De revolutionibus. Four and one-half stars.
Book Review: Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard Dawkins
(out of 5 stars)
Richard Dawkins has a knack for writing popular science books which offer poetic descriptions of the grand expanses and microscopic details. In Unweaving the Rainbow, Dawkins takes on the notion that science can be quite literally poetic. The book's title comes from the notion put forward by poet John Keats that Isaac Newton destroyed the beauty of rainbows by explaining its form. Dawkins turns that notion around and shows that the beauty and poetry of nature are greatly enhanced by explaining the details.
This wide-ranging book includes a strong mix of popular science (including biology, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, and zoology) as well as Dawkins' characteristic philosophical thoughts. Unweaving demonstrates to the reader that the wonder of science is not that it destroys the beauty of nature, but that it allows us to gain an even greater appreciation for that beauty. From the nature of starlight and genetics to the ways in which humans are deceived by those claiming supernatural 'facts', Dawkins constantly expresses his awe of the natural world.
The latter parts of the book are centered on genetics and philosophy of mind. Here, of course, Dawkins is in his comfort zone, and the reader who has not read the authors' biology-centered books such as The Selfish Gene will explore some of the amazing characteristics of evolution and DNA. Experienced readers of Dawkins' works won't find much new information in this section, but should read it anyway since Dawkins incorporates a philosophy of science that is often skipped in the more clinical studies.
Unweaving the Rainbow is simply one of the very best widely-accessible popular science books out there. The discussion of coincidence is fantastic and should open the eyes of a reader who had never considered probabilities in this way. While it would help to have some exposure to science writing prior to picking up this book, Dawkins is very careful to introduce the nature of science softely and with much poetic contemplation. One of the best introductions to a wide-range of scientific thought and philosophy and very highly recommended to science readers at all levels. Four and one-half stars.
Book Review: The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought by Thomas Kuhn
(out of 5 stars)
Historian of science Thomas Kuhn served up this foundational and mathematical history of the Copernican Revolution, that amazing period of time which saw man's idea of a geocentric universe replaced with a more accurate heliocentric one. Copernicus himself delivered the foundational work, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri six ("Six Books on the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), which forever influenced the course of science's understanding of planetary motion.
Kuhn's history covers the pre-Renaissance groundwork laid down from ancient times, especially in works by Aristole and Ptolemy, and moves the story through the problems associated with these accepted models. Copernicus himself is largely ignored until much later in the book as Kuhn makes sure the reader understands just why Copernicus felt the need to break from tradition and put forth an alternative model.
Once De revolutionibus is published and spreads, Kuhn follows the story on through the later work of Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo, as well as explaining just why this Revolution was such a pronounced one in hindsight.
Kuhn's writing is very exact, and he can be a bit meticulous with some of the geometry. I loved this, but I recognize that some popular history of science readers might find this a bit too technical. Anyway, Kuhn is an excellent historian and presents a well-written and concise account of one of the most important periods in the history of science. Four stars.
Book Review: The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution by David Quammen
(out of 5 stars)
I picked up this book hoping to learn a quick history of the life and thoughts of Charles Darwin, and I got a lot more than that. Author David Quammen picks up the story of Darwin's life after returning from his long voyage on the Beagle, referring the reader to more substantial works for more on those experiences. Following Darwin's return, Quammen offers a brilliant and engaging biography worthy of a read by any popular science reader.
Picking up the story after the Beagle, Quammen follow's Darwin's thoughts and work, largely through Darwin's own notebooks and his correspondences with friends and collegues. The book thoroughly humanizes the often-demonized scientist, and offers a highly refreshing 'intimate portrait' of a complex man. Darwin's biology work, which often focused on pigeons and barnacles, was brought to life through Quammen's excellent and concise narrative. The reader gets to enjoy the science while still engaging in an exceptional biography.
The final days prior to Darwin's publication of Origin are especially interesting, as the reader gets to see the inner struggles of a man about to unknowingly blow the lid off of man's understanding of himself.
Quammen is an excellent writer, and makes it clear that he understands his subjects (both Darwin and evolution) while presenting a story as engaging for its humanity as it is for its science. Highly recommended to a wide audience, four and one-half stars.
Book Review: River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life by Richard Dawkins
(out of 5 stars)
Richard Dawkins is always on the top of his game when his is explaining science to a popular audience, and River Out of Eden is no exception. This slim book is a concise look at several interesting aspects of evolution, including mitochondrial DNA, the dances of bees, and the chemistry of genetics.
The chapters 'Do Good By Stealth' and 'The Replication Bomb' were my favorites, and in Dawkins's characteristic manner, took a unique look at bee dances and chemical genetics. These subjects are fascinating to me personally, and I was really glad to hear about these subjects in Dawkins's narrative.
While much of this book's contents have been covered in many other books, including by Dawkins himself, the concise nature of River makes this a perfect read for anyone wanting to learn more about evolution and genetics, or for any experienced reader who just wants to brush up on some of the amazing science behind the scenes. Dawkins is a fantastic writer and conveys a wonderment of science unmatched by many. Four stars.
Book Review: The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason by Victor Stenger
(out of 5 stars)
Many critics of Victor Stenger's writing have accused him of taking one basic set of arguments and writing a dozen different books using them. While there is undoubtedly some overlap between his books (and some with more commonalities than with others), I can understand where this critique comes from. I felt that way, somewhat, after reading Quantum Gods after having read God: The Failed Hypothesis. This book, just released this month, falls somewhere in between those two in my view. Not as good as Failed Hypothesis, not as mediocre as Quantum Gods.
Stenger kicks off this book with a look a the current state of New Atheism, and specifically, he discusses the recent success of new atheist books by Harris, Dawkins and others. He reviews a few points, counterpoints, and rebuttals to some of these arguments, leaving this first section as a nice overview of the state of popular bibliographic atheist/theist discourse.
The middle parts of the book are more a scattershot look at some of the key arguments made by New Atheists, with chapters on evolution, suffering, and evil. Many of these arguments have been made countless times elsewhere, and while I've personally read better treatments, Stenger brings a reasonable summation of his views and those of others, such as Bart Ehrman.
The rest of the book falls off track for me. Stenger launches into a large section which loses the narrative of the earlier chapters. While I love science and religion being brought together, Stenger seems to drift off to one of his lectures and forgets to keep the reader engaged.
From there, the shift into a study of Eastern philosophy (as suggested in Sam Harris's book The End of Faith) drags the book into territory best left out. Stenger examines various philosophical ideas and ideals and finds that many of the non-dogmatic, less-theologically based philosophies, such as Buddhism, can offer a great deal of 'spiritual guidance' without the dangerous burdens of dogmatic religion.
As in Harris's book, I feel this mushy, metaphysical subject matter is best left out. Stenger should have returned to a more in depth look at the current dialogue between atheists and theists. This for me is an excellent area of study which as been largely underrepresented. Stenger does leave a 'what is to come' chapter for last, but by that time, he's lost the plot.
Stenger is always an engaging writer, although his direction can sometimes leave the reader feeling a bit confused. What starts off as a strong look at niche of current public discourse devolves into a rehashed science-religion argument which then re-devolves into a feel-good look at Eastern philosophy. To repeat, for me, it was better than the plodding Quantum Gods but not as focused and successful as Failed Hypothesis. Three and one-half stars.
Book Review: What Is Life?: Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology by Ed Regis
(out of 5 stars)
Philospher and popular science writer Ed Regis takes a modern look at the biological and philosophical nature of defining life in What is Life. While the subject matter is utterly fascinating, and at times this book is quite engaging, there were lots of problems with Regis's presentation.
Right off the bat, Regis sets up his story by detailing the work of researchers seeking to create artificial cells. The work itself is amazing and full of intriguing aspects. However, Regis somehow manages to drag the reader through this section with far-too clinical a look at the business and economic side of the work. While this sort of detail is appropriate in a larger, more comprehensive work, this was a large section of a book with less than 170 pages of actual text.
From there, a long stretch of science history is described, including Schrodinger, Watson, Crick, and others. Far too often for my taste, Regis quotes the brilliant but often highly-criticized Stephen Jay Gould. Gould's views on biology are frequently the subject of harsh criticism from his peers, and while that certainly does not make him incorrect, Regis fails to offer opposing views in situations where Gould's impressions are not necessarily so widely accepted. Regis does this in several other cases as well, in one instance offering a single sentence mentioning Richard Dawkins work, immediately following this by proclaiming that Dawkins's selfish gene theory "hardly settled the issue." Well of course it didn't settle the issue, but that's hardly the point.
Throughout the book, Regis asks us to think about what life is and how we might describe it. He hints early on that his conclusion centers on metabolism. Certainly a reasonable hypothesis, but only rarely does Regis offer actual support for this thesis. At one point, after describing the creation of a synthetic virus, he states: "That itself would have been an example of creating life ... except for the fact that a virus was not a living thing, but rather only a string of dead chemicals inside a protein coating." While that may be one way to describe a virus, this is a skewed interpretation based on Regis's theory that metabolism is absolutely required in a definition of life, a thesis that is not completely agreed upon by biologists or philosophers. Viruses in the wild do appear to have no life-like characteristics, but in vitro they are clearly performing many aspects of replication, mutation, and natural selection. It is hard to say a set of 'dead chemicals' can suddenly transform into something life-like without really explaining to the reader why this is so. Regis drops the ball and offers no explanation.
To be fair, parts of the book are enlightening and enjoyable, including later parts describing the modern work being done in the field of artificial life. But the narrative of history is mediocre, and the author's own philosophy often gets in the way of the story. Three stars.
Book Review: Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began by Jack Repcheck
(out of 5 stars)
The story of Nicolaus Copernicus is one of the most interesting tales in all of science history. In Copernicus' Secret, Jack Repcheck takes a look at the man who wrote the book which set the stage for a fundamental revolution in science.
Repcheck's writing is at times tedious. There were moments when his narrative bogged down heavily in details of relationships, dry descriptions of locales, and subjective reporting of possible events (such as things that may have been said or experienced which are largely supposition by the author). There were stretches where I wasn't really enjoying the book.
But then, there were large sections of the book that were outstanding. The details of Copernicus's life, and those who influenced and were influenced by him, are vivid and presented along with a unique account of the religious and social upheaval going on in Reformation-era Poland. The relationship between Copernicus and Rheticus is told very well, despite the inclusion of occasional suppositions.
Overall, despite the weaknesses, this is a fine account of the life of a significant figure in history. The book is fairly brief, with text of less than 200 pages, and while it sometimes bogs in off-topic details, the overall presentation is informative and largely enjoyable. Three and one-half stars.
Book Review: Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade
(out of 5 stars)
Science journalist Nicholas Wade has delivered an exploration of human genetics in the spirit of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. Wade works backwards in time, using genetic clues to discover knowledge about prehistoric human societies. Before the Dawn offers a breadth of knowledge about current genetic research into human populations and migrations, and draws some fascinating conclusions about the rise and dispersal of early human societies.
Wade's narrative largely follows research into genetic variations found in the Y chromosome and in mitochondrial DNA. These variations, the distribution of which allows researchers to track common ancestry and branching, are used to narrow the likely periods of human movement out of Africa to points beyond. A bit of time is spent on the earliest culturally modern humans in Africa before moving on latter periods of migration and settlement. Potential interactions with hominid relatives is discussed, as is the impact of various cold spells and ice ages.
Wade explores social behavior as well, showing how researchers have applied darwinian natural selection and genetic drift to account for both universal and isolated behaviors. Later, language is considered, with significant caveats as to its effectiveness in signalling fundamental shifts in human population. The discussion on race is well crafted. Wade does not bow to social pressure in describing genetic variations found among the races, including a fascinating discussion of the intellectual prowess of Ashkenazi Jews. Just to be clear, Wade is not advocating superiority of any race, he wants only to point out that there are significant data indicating genetic differences of isolated human populations can produce measurably different abilities.
I found Before the Dawn to be fascinating, and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. Wade may not be a scientist, but he has conducted a thorough investigation into the ongoing research of population genetics and offers the reader a tremendous treat of science and history. Five stars.
Atheist Camel on Infidel Guy Show Tonight
As you might have noticed from the lack of non-book review posts here, I've been quite busy lately. Family was in town for a couple of weeks, plus I've had considerable work and school responsibilities lately, so I've had little time to keep up here.
A highlight tonight will be listening to Bart, better known by his Atheist Camel nom de plume Dromedary Hump, on The Infidel Guy Show this evening. Hump is a fantastic blogger I've mentioned before when I reviewed his unexpected gem of a book The Atheist Camel Chronicles. To listen to Hump on IG this evening at 8pm ET, go here.
Last night was another treat as I tuned into the first presentation from the Darwin Lecture Series. The presenter was the extraordinary history of science professor Everett Mendelsohn, who described The World Before Darwin with wit and excellent insights. I'd just read The Reluctant Mr. Darwin so I had some knowledge of the material, but Mendelsohn's presentation is engaging and enjoyable to absorb. An MP3 recording of the webcast is already available here, and a video copy will be up soon (check the Darwin150 site for more details).
