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The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010
Freeman Dyson, renowned physicist and public intellectual, edits this year’s volume of the finest science and nature writing.
373 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
66 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
About the author
Freeman Dyson
70 books390 followersFreeman Dyson was a physicist and educator best known for his speculative work on extraterrestrial civilizations and for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. He theorized several concepts that bear his name, such as Dyson's transform, Dyson tree, Dyson series, and Dyson sphere.
The son of a musician and composer, Dyson was educated at the University of Cambridge. As a teenager he developed a passion for mathematics, but his studies at Cambridge were interrupted in 1943, when he served in the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. He received a B.A. from Cambridge in 1945 and became a research fellow of Trinity College. In 1947 he went to the United States to study physics and spent the next two years at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and Princeton, where he studied under J. Robert Oppenheimer, then director of the Institute for Advanced Study. Dyson returned to England in 1949 to become a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, but he was appointed professor of physics at Cornell in 1951 and two years later at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he became professor emeritus in 2000. He became a U.S. citizen in 1957.
The son of a musician and composer, Dyson was educated at the University of Cambridge. As a teenager he developed a passion for mathematics, but his studies at Cambridge were interrupted in 1943, when he served in the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. He received a B.A. from Cambridge in 1945 and became a research fellow of Trinity College. In 1947 he went to the United States to study physics and spent the next two years at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and Princeton, where he studied under J. Robert Oppenheimer, then director of the Institute for Advanced Study. Dyson returned to England in 1949 to become a research fellow at the University of Birmingham, but he was appointed professor of physics at Cornell in 1951 and two years later at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he became professor emeritus in 2000. He became a U.S. citizen in 1957.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 12, 2016
I love the Best American series. Wonderful way to sample some of the periodicals I don't normally read and makes super "before bed" reading when you don't want an exciting book to keep you up half the night. I never fail to learn something new, and usually something important.
January 1, 2016
An excellent book in an excellent series. Reading and reviewing it now, some of the information is dated: for example, Dr. Dyson cheerily states that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to increased growth in plants, and the latest data in 2015 indicate that any benefit from more CO2 is offset and then some by additional heat, drying, and the spread of pests.
Still, it's a wide-ranging book with selections from some great writers on subjects from space to neuroscience to the environment. Highly recommended.
Still, it's a wide-ranging book with selections from some great writers on subjects from space to neuroscience to the environment. Highly recommended.
July 28, 2025
Reading this book in 2025 — after rescuing it from its long tenure in the backlog, where it has languished since the days when I would buy several Best American books every year and had time to finish them — is a curious experience. For starters, the first essay is an embarrassingly fawning portrait of Elon Musk, presenting him as some kind of genius wunderkind who has slung humanity on his back and is carrying us boldly, selflessly into the future. Outside of certain dank corners of the Internet, this illusion has been thoroughly punctured by now, and it was hard to not let my disgust at this portrayal color my reaction to the collection as a whole. After another early essay pushes the kind of "let's make humans multiplanetary" futurism that has become Musk's stock in trade, it becomes hard to not see the book as less a celebration of science and more of an artifact of how misguided we all were 15 years ago.
The collection does, of course, boast a number of fascinating and informative pieces of writing, as is par for the course in the Best American series. Back-to-back pieces from Elizabeth Kolbert are a particularly bright spot. Several articles offer compelling reasons to be optimistic about technology's capacity to rescue us from climate change and other environmental catastrophes, though the optimism is blunted by the decade and a half that have passed without this promise being realized.
A number of essays, however, fall into the trap of focusing much more on the people involved than on the science. This is, to be clear, a collection of popular writing on scientific subjects, not of peer-reviewed articles from the Annals of the International Society of Such and Such. But still, the emphasis on central characters made some of these pieces feel like celebrity profiles as much as science writing. With the shadow of the Elon Musk puff piece looming over the whole thing, this tendency becomes off-putting. Granted, many of these profiles are still interesting, and, with the one exception, none of their subjects have (to my knowledge) bought a social media network to transform it into a white supremacist propaganda machine and used their immense wealth to begin unraveling American democracy. But still, perhaps science writing should focus more on the work and less on the personalities of the people doing it.
All in all, another solid entry in this reliable book series, albeit one that hasn't aged consistently well. Also, a good reminder that, if I'm going to buy books like this, I should really make sure I read them within a year or so of purchase.
The collection does, of course, boast a number of fascinating and informative pieces of writing, as is par for the course in the Best American series. Back-to-back pieces from Elizabeth Kolbert are a particularly bright spot. Several articles offer compelling reasons to be optimistic about technology's capacity to rescue us from climate change and other environmental catastrophes, though the optimism is blunted by the decade and a half that have passed without this promise being realized.
A number of essays, however, fall into the trap of focusing much more on the people involved than on the science. This is, to be clear, a collection of popular writing on scientific subjects, not of peer-reviewed articles from the Annals of the International Society of Such and Such. But still, the emphasis on central characters made some of these pieces feel like celebrity profiles as much as science writing. With the shadow of the Elon Musk puff piece looming over the whole thing, this tendency becomes off-putting. Granted, many of these profiles are still interesting, and, with the one exception, none of their subjects have (to my knowledge) bought a social media network to transform it into a white supremacist propaganda machine and used their immense wealth to begin unraveling American democracy. But still, perhaps science writing should focus more on the work and less on the personalities of the people doing it.
All in all, another solid entry in this reliable book series, albeit one that hasn't aged consistently well. Also, a good reminder that, if I'm going to buy books like this, I should really make sure I read them within a year or so of purchase.
September 17, 2014
A condensation of gems.
Let someone else sift wheat from chaff and you garnish the benefits. What’s fun about this book is that from many articles, the best are compiled for easy access. In this case, 28 are selected from 122 options. Years of research can be boiled down to a single stunning realization. What is well known in narrow fields of study are revealed here for the rest of us. And it’s those little morsels we carry around. Timothy Ferris (who can’t seem – even once - to write a bad essay) reports about “Seeking New Earths” and the “red edge produced when chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic plants reflect red light” on distant worlds. Such a long range fingerprint would be one of the greatest discoveries in the record of our species. Kathleen McGowan tells how flimsy our memories are, because each time we access them, we also destabilize them, tweaking the memory each time. (Though memories of, say scientific theories or data, seem immutable, perhaps because nature is always there for correction.) With this in mind it answers the question how some people truly can believe the lies they tell. Over time and repetition they’ve reordered the synapses, such that the film they play in their head really is the lie they built. We learn about the record setting, 8-day, 200-hour, non-stop airborne flight of the bar-tailed godwit, whose population (as with other migratory birds) is collapsing because humans are draining their estuaries round the globe as coastal “improvements.” We learn about how modern genetics continues to verify Darwin’s theory (fact) of evolution, as well as its frightening offspring of “synthetic biology” where humans build new life forms a molecule at a time; the superior civilization of ants and their amazing behavior completely ignored when squishing one of them on the countertop; the heroic efforts of NASA climatologist James Hansen and his efforts to communicate to politicians incapable of seeing past today’s dollar. Perhaps the most amazing and insightful ideas comes from Brian Boyd in his “Purpose Driven Life” originally from The American Scholar.
Let someone else sift wheat from chaff and you garnish the benefits. What’s fun about this book is that from many articles, the best are compiled for easy access. In this case, 28 are selected from 122 options. Years of research can be boiled down to a single stunning realization. What is well known in narrow fields of study are revealed here for the rest of us. And it’s those little morsels we carry around. Timothy Ferris (who can’t seem – even once - to write a bad essay) reports about “Seeking New Earths” and the “red edge produced when chlorophyll-containing photosynthetic plants reflect red light” on distant worlds. Such a long range fingerprint would be one of the greatest discoveries in the record of our species. Kathleen McGowan tells how flimsy our memories are, because each time we access them, we also destabilize them, tweaking the memory each time. (Though memories of, say scientific theories or data, seem immutable, perhaps because nature is always there for correction.) With this in mind it answers the question how some people truly can believe the lies they tell. Over time and repetition they’ve reordered the synapses, such that the film they play in their head really is the lie they built. We learn about the record setting, 8-day, 200-hour, non-stop airborne flight of the bar-tailed godwit, whose population (as with other migratory birds) is collapsing because humans are draining their estuaries round the globe as coastal “improvements.” We learn about how modern genetics continues to verify Darwin’s theory (fact) of evolution, as well as its frightening offspring of “synthetic biology” where humans build new life forms a molecule at a time; the superior civilization of ants and their amazing behavior completely ignored when squishing one of them on the countertop; the heroic efforts of NASA climatologist James Hansen and his efforts to communicate to politicians incapable of seeing past today’s dollar. Perhaps the most amazing and insightful ideas comes from Brian Boyd in his “Purpose Driven Life” originally from The American Scholar.
Want to read
February 11, 2013I read this one on the Kindle, something I think I will now refer to as the tablet. It would have been nice to be able to flip through the different articles. I find this series to be awesome, especially since there is a different editor every year that chooses what nominated magazine articles make it into the book. Good job with this one, not so much with Mary Roach (2011 edition). I'd better mention that Freeman Dyson authored another book titled The Scientist As Rebel, a compillation of his own reviews that were featured in "The New York Review of Books", and other sources.
I did have the privilege to look through the Best American 2009 edition, and thought that the article "Did Life Begin in Ice?" was transcendental.
February 26, 2011
As with any collection of items, some of these were more up my alley than others. Specifically the ones focusing on astronomy and neuroscience, which were more "science" than "nature," but I also found most of the evolutionary biology items interesting.
As far as the articles on climate change, I favored the ones that offered nontraditional or surprising solutions to the emissions problem.
A few of the articles I found... well not necessarily boring but just not written in a way that I thought merited their inclusion in this collection. But I guess who am I to question Freeman Dyson, right?
As far as the articles on climate change, I favored the ones that offered nontraditional or surprising solutions to the emissions problem.
A few of the articles I found... well not necessarily boring but just not written in a way that I thought merited their inclusion in this collection. But I guess who am I to question Freeman Dyson, right?
February 28, 2015
I have read 2006, 2007, and 2008 in this series. I think Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street is the first time I ran across an article in one of them I had previously read. It is about the people behind the formulas which disguised the risk in mortgages from decision makers.
Most articles were "meh". Some were oddly contradictory?
It feels like there were not as many good stories in this edition.
Most articles were "meh". Some were oddly contradictory?
It feels like there were not as many good stories in this edition.
April 3, 2020
My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.
July 10, 2011
I am not so sure about Freeman Dyson anymore!
I used to think "Dyson Sphere"!! But reading the intro made me kind of sad.
And then the last section of the book, "The Environment: Big Blessings"... totally made me cringe.
*sighs* well, I always love to read about science, and I will definitely continue with this series. But this is not a good one.
I used to think "Dyson Sphere"!! But reading the intro made me kind of sad.
And then the last section of the book, "The Environment: Big Blessings"... totally made me cringe.
*sighs* well, I always love to read about science, and I will definitely continue with this series. But this is not a good one.
July 8, 2014
Gobbled up the essays on biodiversity: the purpose driven life and the monkey and the fish - nom, nom, nom. My environmental science students will be reading "All you can eat", even if it makes them never eat another shrimp. And I'll most likely cite from Quammen next time through evolution.
June 5, 2012
A great compilation of magazine writing, covering a wide range of science, technology and natural science topics. Very enjoyable, very insightful, very easy to read. I highly recommend it. You'll finish it a smarter person than you were when you started it.
January 13, 2013
Excellent articles on a number of scientific interest. I thought the articles on climate change and clean energy provided a current snap shot of efforts in place like China and India to address these issues.
January 21, 2014
This one had some not-so-great essays and was more biology & environmental science focused than I would prefer. I really loved the last three essays though (about building better stoves for the developing world, China's investments in clean energy, and various energy issues in India).
October 29, 2011
Finally got around to reading this and wish I would have read it sooner. If you like science, nature and excellent writing this is a must read.
January 12, 2011
The first 1/2 of the book is great, then becomes o.k., and the last few articles are meh-so-so.
January 1, 2011
Freeman Dyson wouldn't steer you wrong
April 14, 2011
If you think you know anything about anything, this series of books is a wonderful reminder that you don't.
January 29, 2011
Not my favorite of the Best American Science and Nature books, but it was alright. I was never bored, and that's something. Guess I learned a bit, too.
July 28, 2011
I enjoyed many of the ideas and perspectives in this book - though it was a bit of a downer.
July 21, 2011
I love to read a book that makes me go look up words.
Read
August 12, 2011This book made my life better. Period.
June 10, 2012
Faves:
Tom Wolfe: "One Giant Leap to Nowhere"
Jim Carrier: "All You Can Eat"
Otherwise, solid writing, as always, but I wanted more science, less nature.
Tom Wolfe: "One Giant Leap to Nowhere"
Jim Carrier: "All You Can Eat"
Otherwise, solid writing, as always, but I wanted more science, less nature.
August 6, 2012
3.5/4
Too much nature, not enough science.
Too much nature, not enough science.
February 20, 2013
Great as I've come to expect from this series. A great way way to find new authors and a large mix of ideas distilled through 2 gate keepers to get to "the best.".
August 30, 2013
This book includes many great articles that demonstrate how scientist view and address problems in our world.
July 30, 2014
Usual mix of stunners and sleepers.
November 22, 2014
some really great articles. I loved the one about the sixth extinction.
September 22, 2015
Interesting, but what was said about psychology and Tversky and Kahneman's contribution to psychology made me doubt the trustworthiness of the other contributions.
December 18, 2016
Love this series, a treat at the end of every year.
February 10, 2011
fantastic. excellent grouping of vast array of topics...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews