The Best American Science Writing 2009

by Natalie Angier (Editor), Jesse Cohen

Edited by Natalie Angier, the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Woman: An Intimate Geography, Best American Science Writing 2009 is the ninth edition of the popular annual series hailed as “superb brain candy” (Kirkus) and dedicated to collecting the most crucial, thought-provoking and engaging science writing of the year. Provocative and engaging, the Best American Science Writing 2009 as edited by Angier covers the full spectrum of scientific inquiry—from biochemistry, physics, and astronomy to genetics, evolutionary theory, and cognition.

Introduction / by Natalie Angier --
The itch / Atul Gawande --
Twitchy / Sallie Tisdale --
The first ache / Annie Murphy Paul --
A journey inside the brain / Oliver Sacks --
The truth about autism / David Wolman --
Blocking the transmission of violence / Alex Kotlowitz --
Reading the wounds / Jina Moore --
A cloud of smoke / Jennifer Kahn --
War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing / John Horgan --
Face-offs of the female kind / Marina Cords --
Tough lessons from golden rice / Martin Enserink --
Back to the future / J. Madeleine Nash --
A tall, cool drink of ... sewage? / Elizabeth Royte --
Contagious cancer / David Quammen --
Looking up / Jennifer Margulis --
Birdbrain / Margaret Talbot --
Want to remember everything you'll ever learn? Surrender to this algorithm / Gary Wolf --
Hello, HAL / John Seabrook --
The anonymity experiment / Catherine Price --
The sky is falling / Gregg Easterbrook --
Big brain theory: have cosmologists lost theirs? / Dennis Overbye --
The final frontier / Karen Olsson --
Perhaps death is proud; more reason to savor life / Theresa Brown --
Evolutionists flock to Darwin-shaped wall stain / The Onion

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Essays, Popular Science, Anthologies, Journalism

366 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Natalie Angier is a nonfiction writer and a science journalist for The New York Times.

Reviews

[Mark Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this series, and every year, about this time, I scour the shelves where I work to find a copy as soon as it comes off the presses. Last year's edition included a lot of articles about medicine and very few about engineering, robotics, physics, and all that other good stuff, and was a bit of a disappointment. This year's edition is probably my favorite since I started reading the series in '06. It has a really broad range of essays, and is COMPLETELY fascinating from start to finish. I read this series for the "Oh wow" moments, and I think I got one of those maybe once every 10 pages or so, which is all I can really ask for. Highly recommended.

Learn about:
-People with itching disorders who scratch through their skulls and into their fucking brains
-Spreadable cancer viruses
-How to become a genius (and why it's really hard)
-Amazing social programs that treat urban violence as a transmissible disease and fight it as such
-Badass female monkeys who do all the fighting for their troupe, and why anyone does anything for the good of their group
-How hard it is to hide from digital surveillance and tracking
-Disembodied brains floating through space

[Mysteryfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why read a nine-year-old collection of science articles?
1. It's good writing. Excellent lessons in how to present complex topics in clean, concise language.
2. It's good writing. Excellent essays across a wide variety of topics that are sure to inform and at least one will prompt further reading. (Mine was Madeleine Nash's Back to the Future. Her comments on "carbon traps" and their impact on future climate change surprised me)
3. It's good writing. The essays challenge the mind.

[Andres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading the other "Best American" science anthology for a while now (different publisher) and am more than happy to have found a parallel series to dive into. An added feature is commentary from the authors about the article they wrote, included in the "About the Contributors" section. As with other collections I'll just list those articles that I especially liked.

The First Ache by Annie Murphy Paul
Explores the debate surrounding the question of when a fetus is first able to feel pain.

The Truth About Autism by David Wolman
Explains how narrow definitions of autism can't encompass the wide variety of "autisms" that actually exist.

Reading the Wounds by Jina Moore
Presents the difficult task of a doctor who must document and verify the physical results of torture for people seeking asylum in the U.S.

A Cloud of Smoke by Jennifer Kahn
The cause of death for a 9/11 hero is called into question.

A Tall, Cool Drink of... Sewage? by Elizabeth Royte
Takes a look at how one city is turning sewage into drinking water.

Birdbrain by Margaret Talbot
Explains the debate surrounding the famous talking parrot Alex.

The Anonymity Experience by Catherine Price
How successful can be in avoiding today's electronic "paper" trail?

The Sky is Falling by George Easterbrook
An end of world scenario involving space debris may be unlikely, but is it an investment worth making?

Evolutionists Flock to Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain by The Onion
Very funny satire.

The following articles were also collected in this anthology.
The Itch by Atul Gawande
Contagious Cancer by David Quammen

The following articles were also collected in this anthology.
Contagious Cancer by David Quammen
Perhaps Death is Proud; More Reason to Savor Life by Theresa Brown

[Tomislav · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book is mostly tiresome reprints of "human-interest" articles on medicine, psychology, and sociology. This was not what I was expecting from the title at all.

By the second half, however, it began to interest me a little more. I felt inspired to do some quick research on a few follow-up questions of my own: Golden rice is fertile; impoverished farmers would not become dependent on annual purchase of new seed; at least not overtly. Microloans of Association to Safeguard the Giraffes of Niger (ASGN) are not available through kiva.org; at this moment there are no kiva.org loans in Niger at all.

In summation, I was still disappointed with the book, preferring something more along the lines of Scientific American, which I subscribe to. Readers who are like me should feel free to skip everything before "Tough Lessons from Golden Rice", and everything you do read should be tempered with a reserve of critical judgement. This is not objective science, but journalism.

[Kate M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm behind in my reading of the "Best American" series of science writing (and of the other version, "Science and Nature Writing") but I put this one on the top of the stack because it is edited by Natalie Angier, who is one of my favorite science writers. It's a good thing, because it turns out her essay was the best in book.

One widely published author, whose work I genuinely and often admire, made a grave mistake in describing research; he actually used the phrase "just a theory"--and not in an ironic sense either. For someone who writes for a general audience he should know that a theory to scientists is very different than the connotation for a general readership; I was extremely disappointed by his word choice, or lack of explanation.

I'm hoping the 2010 edition has better writing in it.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of articles on many different science topics. I buy about one of this type of book towards the end of every year with the hope of keeping up with what's going on in science. However, obviously, I'm quite a ways behind on my yearly reading. My only complaint is that some of the articles were dated and information has now changed. This is my fault however, not a criticism of the book itself.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite (and available) essays:

The Itch by Atul Gawande

Blocking the Transmission of Violence by Alex Kotlowitz

Want to Remember Everything You'll Ever Learn? Surrender to This Algorithm by Gary Wolf

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! The mix of articles in this years book was way better that previous years. All the articles were entertaining, enlightening and fun to read. The articles on Dark Matter were very good and I hope I live long enough for science to "discover" or disprove it's existence. Ending the book with a fake article from The Onion was pure genius.

[Lindee · Rating 3 out of 5]

what can i say....same old same old...i can only read about dark matter and sub-atomic particles so many times and while i find them fascinating, there are only so many ways to slice them to make them interesting...however, there was one very short piece that I liked a lot, about a nurse and her first code...kind of made me cry. Just a little.

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent collection exploring science topics through accessible personal essays. Subjects are as diverse as tooth decay, light pollution, the torment of itching (someone actually scratched so uncontrollably and continuously in their sleep, that they scratched through their skull to their brain!), and contagious cancer, which has been identified in animals.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend getting this compilation for Atul Gawande's article "The Itch" alone, though there are several other excellent pieces in the book. Read the Intro last, as it spoils some of the stories. This series seems to be less consistently good than its Best American Science & Nature counterpart, but still worth checking out.

[Veach Glines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of these articles seemed "retreads", in that I've read articles, similar ones, in other locations (which is not improbable) yet I had not already read each of these articles themselves. Dark Matter, Asteroid Impacts, Autism, etc, etc.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent brain candy. atul gawande's 'the itch', david quammen's 'contagious cancer', and gregg easterbrook's 'the sky is falling' are highlights. natalie angier is this year's editor and selected some incredible stories.

[Kevin McAllister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Credit has to be given to the editor of this book as well as the writers themselves. A bountiful array of different topics all excellently documented, and every single essay was just as fascinating as the one that preceded it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series of books and think this is the best one yet. All the essays are thought provoking and who doesn't love a science book that ends with an article by The Onion?? Highly recommended.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some very good writing and lots of stories about current science. Or at least recently current science.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first go at these "Best American...", I was pleasantly surprised.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the best science articles from last year's from of the best magazines. How could this be bad?

I like it!

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Natalie Angier selection

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great - like a big long Discover magazine.

Word of advice: don't read the first article while eating a sandwich with guacamole spread.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

this guest editor managed to find the least interesting articles written by the worst writers...

[Steve Noell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's science writing. It's easy to read, but a few of the stories are very interesting.

[John collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far a bit dark and medical. But grat.

[Samra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice collection of science writing.

[Elise]

Great stuff on various subjects, including a hilarious essay on evolution from The Onion.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, but I'd read many in theit original publications.