Category Archives: Book Review

The biologist who left me out in the cold

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Stephen

Two weeks, two books. In Unweaving the Rainbow Richard Dawkins takes issue with the poets. He argues that the poetry revealed deep within Nature by scientific investigation is more wondrous than the musings of those who make do with superficial … Continue reading →

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All That Is, by James Salter

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Stephen

In 2013 I was captured, captivated by the spare prose of James Salter’s The Hunters, a story of the tense competition between US fighter pilots in the Korean War. All That Is is similarly spare, and like The Hunters quite a masculine … Continue reading →

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Open access and the humanities

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Stephen

At the end of 2013 and 2014 I wrote blog posts on Occam’s Corner (over at the Guardian) to list and briefly review the books I read in each of those years. I want to develop this practice into a good habit … Continue reading →

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Popular neuroscience book suggestions

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Stephen

Neuroscience isn’t really my thing, so when my teenage daughter came asking for suggestions of a good popular book on the subject I took to Twitter. Several people kindly made suggestions, while others asked to be notified of the outcome … Continue reading →

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Losing my virginity and the Café Scientifique Reading List

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Stephen

Last night I lost my virginity. To be precise, I lost my Café Scientifique virginity because I gave a talk about science in a café in Portsmouth at the kind invitation of local organiser Maricar Jagger. It was a really … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Communication, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Hunters

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Stephen

I had never heard of James Salter till I read a profile of him in the Observer a couple of weeks ago, on the occasion of the publication of his latest book, his first in a long time. Salter is … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Booked

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Stephen

Everyone of a certain pretension likes to think they have a book inside them. I know I do. But I’ve looked and I can’t find it. Maybe it’s in there somewhere but at too early a stage of germination to … Continue reading →

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“You can’t read this book” but you should

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Stephen

Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games spread a warm glow through liberal hearts. His imaginative sweep over British history and culture, which managed to be both reverent and irreverent, was filled with a human chaos that constituted a nicely … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Libel Reform, Science & Politics | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

The Young Atheist’s Handbook by Alom Shaha

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Stephen

Don’t be misled by the title: this is a book about love. Love for life, love for family and love for curiosity, which leads — circularly — to a love affair with books. Don’t be misled by the title: this … Continue reading →

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Open Access by Peter Suber

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Stephen

There has been a fairly torrid debate over open access over the last six months (even longer for aficionados). For people who look in only occasionally it must seem like a storm that swirls around the same arguments time and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Open Access | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Ask

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Stephen

Despite having a physics degree and some notion of the stretchiness of space and time in Einstein’s theory of special relativity, I’ve never felt comfortable with these ideas. In particular, I have never really had a good feel for why … Continue reading →

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The Lady in the Room

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Stephen

She’s here. She’s in the room. I’ve not noticed her before — not in previous years — but every now and then her presence is unmistakable. I am sitting in a lecture theatre in St Andrews University in Scotland, attending … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Scientific Life | 18 Comments