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danchibnall's review
4.0
I love this series of books. This one was particularly good. If you pick it up and have only time to read one piece, read the last one about epigenetics. I guarantee you will learn something you never knew before, and it's kind of hopeful and scary at the same time.
jmooremyers's review
4.0
I enjoyed the majority of these "stories" (and it's worth noting that most of these pieces read like stories). More so than with the 2006 edition, some of the editor's choices didn't move me to learn more about the subject. I'm still game for the 2008 edition, though.
Favorites:
- Plastic Ocean by Susan Casey (a must read for anyone interested in how human consumption affects the environment, which in turn affects human health)
- How to Get a Nuclear Bomb by William Langewiesche
- The Nature of Violence by Jeffery Lockwood
- Ruffled Feathers by John Seabrook (sex, scandal, and birdwatching!)
- The Rape of Appalachia by Michael Shnayerson
And one minor peeve: lots of copy editing problems with a few of the stories. (example: text says 'on' when it should have said 'one') Surely those weren't present in the journal/magazine copy, so why do they appear in this format? Curious.
Favorites:
- Plastic Ocean by Susan Casey (a must read for anyone interested in how human consumption affects the environment, which in turn affects human health)
- How to Get a Nuclear Bomb by William Langewiesche
- The Nature of Violence by Jeffery Lockwood
- Ruffled Feathers by John Seabrook (sex, scandal, and birdwatching!)
- The Rape of Appalachia by Michael Shnayerson
And one minor peeve: lots of copy editing problems with a few of the stories. (example: text says 'on' when it should have said 'one') Surely those weren't present in the journal/magazine copy, so why do they appear in this format? Curious.
vdarcangelo's review
4.0
Faves:
Susan Casey, "Plastic Ocean"
Patricia Gadsby, "Cooking for Eggheads"
James Gleick, "Cyber-Neologoliferation"
William Langewiesche, "How to Get a Nuclear Bomb"
Jeffrey A. Lockwood, "The Nature of Violence"
Michael Perry, "Health Secrets from the Morgue"
Jonathan Rauch, "Sex, Lies and Video Games"
Robert M. Sapolsky, "The Olfactory Lives of Primates"
Meredith F. Small, "First Soldier of the Gene Wars"
Susan Casey, "Plastic Ocean"
Patricia Gadsby, "Cooking for Eggheads"
James Gleick, "Cyber-Neologoliferation"
William Langewiesche, "How to Get a Nuclear Bomb"
Jeffrey A. Lockwood, "The Nature of Violence"
Michael Perry, "Health Secrets from the Morgue"
Jonathan Rauch, "Sex, Lies and Video Games"
Robert M. Sapolsky, "The Olfactory Lives of Primates"
Meredith F. Small, "First Soldier of the Gene Wars"
stevereally's review
4.0
A couple of articles in this are really excellent--compelling reading and important information. (Those are Susan Casey's "Plastic Ocean" and Michael Shnayerson's "Rape of Appalachia," both also online.) Many other articles are fascinating and enlightening. Most are at least interesting.
Totally worthwhile.
Totally worthwhile.
iluxan's review
5.0
So many great stories. Some highlights:
"The Rape of Appalachia" - mind-opening article about the atrocities being done by the strip-mining corporations in our own East-coast back yard.
"In the Company of Bears" - a heart-felt and deeply personal account on one man's journey to get closer to nature - the wild nature outside and his own wild nature within.
"Plastic Ocean" - another moving article about the effect of our boundless production of plastic goods on our environment (both the oceans as well as our own biology). I've read many such pieces, but this was one of the most moving and far-reaching accounts of the various detrimental ways that plastics affect our environment in ways that nothing else ever has before. "Except for the small amount that's been incinerated - and it's a very small amount - every bit of plastic ever made still exists."
"How to Get a Nuclear Bomb" - a fascinating if somewhat meandering and over-romanticized account of the realities of nuclear material security around the world, concentrating on the former USSR.
"Delusions of Space Enthusiasts" - a well-argued tale of space exploration so far and what it took to get us here. An informative and "realistic" view the author takes of the current overly-optimistic private space industry mini-boom.
"Cooking for Eggheads" - fascinating foray into the chemical underpinnings of various aspects of cooking.
Need I go on?
"The Rape of Appalachia" - mind-opening article about the atrocities being done by the strip-mining corporations in our own East-coast back yard.
"In the Company of Bears" - a heart-felt and deeply personal account on one man's journey to get closer to nature - the wild nature outside and his own wild nature within.
"Plastic Ocean" - another moving article about the effect of our boundless production of plastic goods on our environment (both the oceans as well as our own biology). I've read many such pieces, but this was one of the most moving and far-reaching accounts of the various detrimental ways that plastics affect our environment in ways that nothing else ever has before. "Except for the small amount that's been incinerated - and it's a very small amount - every bit of plastic ever made still exists."
"How to Get a Nuclear Bomb" - a fascinating if somewhat meandering and over-romanticized account of the realities of nuclear material security around the world, concentrating on the former USSR.
"Delusions of Space Enthusiasts" - a well-argued tale of space exploration so far and what it took to get us here. An informative and "realistic" view the author takes of the current overly-optimistic private space industry mini-boom.
"Cooking for Eggheads" - fascinating foray into the chemical underpinnings of various aspects of cooking.
Need I go on?
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