Best Books About Science
The University of California, Berkeley, has published yet another annual list of best books, the 2009 list being designated as the best books about science. We've selected a few here from the University's list and reviews:
Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time by Michael Shermer; New York: H. Holt, 2002
This well-written and entertaining book is sure to stir up discussion and debate. Shermer gives an excellent description of what science actually is, a topic that is sorely lacking in most science classes and textbooks. He also delves into how and why science comes up short at times. The bulk of the book is about human tendencies to explain phenomena they don’t understand with belief in things such as extraterrestrials, ghosts, superstitions, and prejudices. Shermer is respectful of those who subscribe to these beliefs, but presents the reader with alternatives grounded in scientific thinking.
The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine; New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006
Written by a UCSF neuropsychiatrist, this book is a fascinating and well-written description of the effect of hormones on the development of women from the time they are babies to post-menopause. If you’re a woman, plan to have a relationship with a woman, or plan to have a daughter someday, this book is both eye-opening and validating. (The author admits to favoring science over political correctness.) Eminently readable, but carefully referenced like a research report, it explains so much about the difference between men and women!
The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage by Cliff Stoll; New York: Doubleday, 1989
This true story is a blend of science, documentary, spy thriller, personal narrative, and introduction to Berkeley. Even though you know the outcome before you begin the book, it remains a page-turner. A Berkeley astronomy graduate student becomes fascinated with a tiny discrepancy in a computer account and educates himself about how to catch computer trespassers. His search leads him all over Berkeley and eventually around the world. I lent a copy to a British astronomer and he did not put it down for his entire flight from SFO to London. The author, who also wrote Silicon Snake Oil, is a Berkeley resident.