The Best American Science Writing 2006 (Best American Science Writing)
by Atul Gawande
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 141)
It's "popular" science writing to be sure; if you peruse the New York Times or Scientific American regularly then you may have already seen some of these articles.
The range is nice, one subject that was completely new to me was the value of autopsies in medical diagnosis. Despite all the new scanning technologies, the best way to really know the cause of death is still to cut people up; it's not done nearly as often as it was 40 years but it's still very useful for finding diagnos...more
The range is nice, one subject that was completely new to me was the value of autopsies in medical diagnosis. Despite all the new scanning technologies, the best way to really know the cause of death is still to cut people up; it's not done nearly as often as it was 40 years but it's still very useful for finding diagnos...more
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Read in December, 2007
Since I received this book, I thought that it would be interesting to learn of what writers wrote on a particular topic they were either assigned or wrote as a statement for views to understand of the world. As I was reading this book, I found that the way the different author's stucture of their writing have somewhat similarities and differences based on their topic. I thought that the way they included the people they have interviewed during their time researching on their topic was very infor...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
science
A analogy with many strong ideas, yet quite boring for "the best American science writing". But science isn't that interesting anyways. Some of the ideas are quite appealing to me such as what life would be like if humans did not exist, or what makes people gay, etc. Many of the ideas are very controversial. I may not be very religious, but the heading, "Is God an Accident" just struck me hard. Interesting, yet maybe offensive. The writers talk about their beliefs and ideas f...more
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Just fascinating. A consistently great series full of wonderful articles. Read it on public transport with the cover prominently displayed for the full Booksmarts effect.
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Read in February, 2008
A collection of twenty one articles on the topics of science. But, one particular article stood out for me. “Earth Without People” by Alan Weisman. Although, the title is self explanatory but, he only writes and explains what happens to New York City’s surroundings instead of the planet Earth. Such as, without people New York City will turn Lexington Avenue into a river. Domestic animals such as dogs wouldn’t exist because there are no human around. In addition, rats and pigeons wou...more
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Read in February, 2008
Ended up being kind of a mixed bag. The essays towards the beginning are a bit less compelling than the rest of the book.
Two essays stood out from the others. Paul Bloom's examination of the cognitive roots of religion, and Jack Hitt's essay on the controversy over who can claim to be real native americans. Close behind was "The Coming Death Shortage" by Charles C. Mann. But only a couple essays got skipped over because it wasn't really interesting in the subject matter (appr...more
Two essays stood out from the others. Paul Bloom's examination of the cognitive roots of religion, and Jack Hitt's essay on the controversy over who can claim to be real native americans. Close behind was "The Coming Death Shortage" by Charles C. Mann. But only a couple essays got skipped over because it wasn't really interesting in the subject matter (appr...more
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Consists of 25 articles drawn from various publications. The selection ranges from cutting edge research, medical issues, the effects of science and technology on people, human development, and more. Briane Green, the editor of the version I read, explains the need for science to be readable, and has thus chosen pieces that discuss scientific topics in an accessible manner. Not all of the essays/articles were accessible for me (as I'm scientifically challenged) but I applaud the concept. I'm...more
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Read in December, 2007
I don't even pretend that I read science magazines, but I'm interested in science kind of at the Nova and Nature on PBS level. Well this annual collection of published articles is the Nova of science writings. They are readable, captivating and usually astonishing. These are not ground breaking papers and there are no equations and drab jargon. This collection is about "writing," and if you're quasi into science and like to read, make this collection part of your annual routine.
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I'm really enjoying this book, and since it's essays, I can continue to read other books and pick this one up when I feel like reading a good science essay. My favorite so far has been "My Bionic Quest for Bolero" from Wired magazine. Google it. It's a really great article dealing with cochlear implants with a wonderful story of one man's quest to hear Ravel's Bolero again as he remembered it before he lost his hearing.
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Read in October, 2007
I am really enjoying it so far, probably because I want to like whatever Atul Gawande likes (he is the editor of this year's "Best American Science Writing" and is the author of "Complications").
A couple of the articles I could do without - the one on cloning I thought was poorly written. The one called "Might White of You" is only passable. On the other hand, the one one homosexuality is written very well.
A couple of the articles I could do without - the one on cloning I thought was poorly written. The one called "Might White of You" is only passable. On the other hand, the one one homosexuality is written very well.
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Read in December, 2007
Well 2007 is nearly over so I thought I should get started on the best of 2006. So far the articles and essays are terrific. I started with one about why belief in God is so prevalent; there was a very convincing evolutionary rationale so it made my day. The essay, "Nature's Bioterrorist" about flu epidemics was fascinating. Indeed nearly all the articles were really engaging.
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Read in April, 2007
a great read. a collection of well-written science articles from various newspapers, such as the new yorker, washington post, etc. touches on subjects such as: the effect of measles vaccinations on autism, what makes a person homosexual, the so-called obesity ¨epidemic¨, global warming, among others.
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Read in August, 2007
I so rarely delve into non-fiction, let alone science writing, but this was a real treat. From a scathing critique of racist archaeology to a serious take on yawning to rancorous academic squabbling over the mass extinction of trilobytes, every article in here is totally compelling and funny.
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Read in June, 2007
I got this book to see if I wanted to use it in my Technical Writing course in the Fall and I'm impressed by the variation and the political topics covered from homosexuality to time travel to obesity.
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Really fascinating and easy to read snippets at different times. The intro by Atul Gawande defines the best science writing as just really cool things to read about... definitely the case with this book!
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It works, lively enough to keep the non-fiction pages turning though I would recommend www.scienceblogs.com for anyway wanting to expand their general scientific radar.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
sciency nerds
Love science writing and loved this book. I want to read all of the years. Lots of interesting and provocative articles, all at your fingertips!
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
Still reading, but already captivated. As the editor bluntly puts it, the coolest stories out of this great nations' popular science magazines.
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