Alchemy in pictures
In his book emerging from the Alchemy Research Project, which also produced two exhibitions, David Brafman outlines a brief history of alchemy mainly through its connections to art.
Climate conundrum
The author of this book, Ross Clark, is a professional journalist whose writings have appeared in The Times, The Daily Mail and The Spectator among other publications. In this, his fourth book, he argues that the consequences of climate change are not as dire as they are often made out to be and that adopting a more pragmatic approach could make our future situation quite manageable.
Cell-centred life
Our genetic make-up is widely assumed to be the sole operating manual for everything that happens to us from the moment of conception to our eventual demise. This book questions the wisdom of this notion.
Flawed civilisation
This third book by Lewis Dartnell, a professor engaged in astrobiology research at the University of Westminster, London, highlights the role of our human constitution in determining the distinctive features of the contemporary world, with a special focus on the decisive part played by the characteristic weaknesses and strengths of the human protagonists.
Misplaced trust?
There are real wars going on in the world as I write this review, so it seems wrong to refer to a 1990s kerfuffle among academics of different faculties as ‘the science wars’, but it appears that’s what the events around the Sokal affair are now called. A physicist called Alan Sokal had managed to publish a fake paper in a social sciences journal, with the intention of ridiculing postmodernists who described science as a social construct, as opposed to the gradual revelation of the ultimate truth.
Simulating the macrocosm
Andrew Pontzen, a professor of cosmology at University College London, UK, has long been fascinated by the role of computers in giving us new knowledge of our world. In this, his first book, he presents the story of some of the advances in computer technology that have afforded us penetrating insights into the nature and essence of physical reality.
World of microbes
The author, Jonathan Kennedy, is a lecturer in global public health at Queen Mary University in London, UK, and this is his first book. He presents here several cogent arguments to support his contention that a radical revision is now overdue in our understanding of the human story to date.
Examining human allergies
Although precise statistics are not available, it has been estimated that between 30 and 40% of the world’s population is afflicted with some form of allergy. Moreover, the number of allergy sufferers is continuing to rise. And Millions of people are unfortunately affected to a degree severe enough to have a major impact on their health. This book sets out to assemble what is known about allergies: their history, diagnosis, treatment and what they may reveal about emerging human susceptibilities in an ever-changing world.
Great Earth Escape
The author of this book, Chris Impey, is a University Distinguished Professor of astronomy based at the University of Arizona, US, and has written several books on a variety of astronomical themes. Here he takes his cue from the reasoning that, as our planet is suffering from relentless despoliation, it is timely to explore options for an eventual escape from our escalating predicament.
Imaginary aliens
There are three species of orangutan, two of gorilla, two of chimpanzee, and many more in most mammalian genera. We humans, however, unless we agree to join the chimpanzees, are the only species of our kind, alone in the genus Homo, and the only surviving species with our characteristic features since the Denisovans and Neanderthals disappeared and were soaked up by our burgeoning population.