From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us

Sam Kean

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Oct 30, 2022 Rusty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, history, prose, non-fiction, audiobook

Much like my last ‘review,’ I have no inkling what this was.* Another non-fiction book, mostly about the history of science, and according to the subtitle, it is all about the secrets of air.

Honestly, it sounds dumb, but I recall reading other books by the author and being duley impressed. I think at the time of reading I liked it slightly more than the previous book about materials science that I read and also sort of liked.

So, vague memories tell me I liked it more than another book I don’t Much like my last ‘review,’ I have no inkling what this was.* Another non-fiction book, mostly about the history of science, and according to the subtitle, it is all about the secrets of air.

Honestly, it sounds dumb, but I recall reading other books by the author and being duley impressed. I think at the time of reading I liked it slightly more than the previous book about materials science that I read and also sort of liked.

So, vague memories tell me I liked it more than another book I don’t really remember anything about. All this has me thinking that I should try experimenting with my reading habits by focusing on how well I remember one method versus the other. Because my gut is telling me that I tend to forget audiobooks faster than I do more traditional methods of reading (that means actual reading).

I can think of some reasons why that might be the case, including the fact that if I’m listening to a book I’m usually also doing something else, whether it be cleaning, working, or even lying down to sleep. I can see that my attention is being diverted by the very nature of what I’m doing.

My wife prefers listening to books over reading them anyway, but I have tried to doing nothing while I listen and it feels creepy as hell. I mean, I’ll sit outside and stare into the great nothing around me, or I’ll sit in a chair and stare at my phone (not using it in any way, simply staring at it) and I start feeling nervous, like I need to be doing something else.

That doesn’t happen when I use my eyeballs to read. I can’t focus on anything else, that isn’t how reading works. At least not to me. So, I’ll keep thinking about that as time goes on, already examples and counter-examples are coming to mind. Which makes me think the whole hypothesis is wrong right from the get-go.

So, good book, probably.

*I have to point out that Patrick made mention last time that I should jot down some quick notes with my thoughts about the book I read as soon as I finish so they are there for me when I’m finally ready to write down my review. And at first I thought it was genius, until I remembered my ‘reviews’ were simply me writing down my thoughts after I read, It’s still breaking my brain thinking about what that would mean ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 10, 2017 David Schwan rated it really liked it

Another great book from San Kean. Many fun facts are revealed. The best was late in the book where he writes about the "Roswell" issue, and gives us a wonderful explanation for what happened. I was not sure what could be told about air but the author found plenty to keep the reader involved. ...more

1 like · Like · see review