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balletbookworm's review
5.0
Oh hello, it’s Best American time again and I’ve started with my perennial favorite, Science and Nature. I like Kean’s books, do I wasn’t worried about his ability to find good articles for this anthology. But this anthology is such a great spread of science writing, with call-backs to other included pieces (whether intentional or not), and all so very relevant to the current world today. AND the pieces are organized by theme using slogans from the March for Science. A great way to kick off October reading.
librariantaylor's review
5.0
I learned so much from these essays. So much is happening in our world. It is terrifying and magical. I would recommend this anthology to anyone who loves to learn to new things ( new to me that is). These essays were so well written. I can't wait to read the anthology for 2019.
kat_mayerovitch's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
An excellent anthology with great variety. I wasn't altogether impressed with the Obama article (I found the writing stodgy) but I understood why it was included. From the serious to the whimsical (Can psychopathy ever be successfully treated? What if we could save the planet by bringing back mammoths?), this was a rewarding collection that repeatedly drew me in with new ideas and solid wordsmithing.
cpa85's review
4.0
As per usual, this is an excellent collection of articles and features written about scientific subjects and figures from the previous year. My only complaint would be the inclusion of an article by Barack Obama on the economic potential of renewable energy industries, which pretty much entirely ignored the moral and existential need for said industries to curtail ecological collapse. It felt gross and pathetic to have that article - which essentially just viewed the topic in cold, status-quo-friendly economic terms - wedged into the center of an otherwise captivating and enlightening collection.
rbkegley's review
5.0
The couple of dozen essays covering a wide variety of science and nature topics in this book never failed to inform or entertain. For example, one chapter examining the possible downsides of civilization contained this sentence: "In the other column, we would have the less good stuff, such as plague, war, slavery, social stratification, rule by mercilessly appropriating elites, and Simon Cowell." In this volume you'll see the dysfunctional EPA run by Scott Pruitt, find the anguish of a family discovering their cute 6 year old daughter is a clinically-diagnosed psychopath, sit with a group of women who are pioneering a new way of designing a breast pump, and be cheered up by President Barack Obama's essay arguing that the shift to renewable energy is both inevitable and unstoppable (which brings us back to the essay about Scott Pruitt.) Most of the essays are 15-18 pages or so at the maximum, making this a great bedtime reading volume. Highly recommended - I'm planning to seek out earlier volumes in the series.
whimsicalworlds's review
Some good and some bad, as to be expected from a collection of shorter pieces.
jshepard's review
4.0
I have read this book every year for quite a few years. It is updated annually and consists of a curated list of magazine articles focused on nature and science. Altho in cab obviously read the articles in the magazines, I find the curating to really add value. I always find articles that deliver delightfully unexpected information e.g. this year ... a guy is trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth in Siberia (along with a recreated habitat), the neolithic revolitionwas a disaster for humans, 8/17/17 was the most prolific day of dats in a century for astrophysics, etc.
edsantiago's review
4.0
Excellent as always. Informative, thoughtful. Promising advances in cancer treatment and understanding fire behavior; valuable perspectives on animal research, consciousness, and climate change; disconcerting exposés of sexual assault in the scientific community and early detection of psychopathy in children.
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