I am nearly done reading Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body by Armand Marie Leroi, and I am truly enjoying it. I recognize that there’s a fair amount of pop culture in there (a mention of Putin’s comb-over in the chapter on baldness), but I’ve enjoyed the historical aspects of the book as well – the passages from Ovid, Plato, etc. (Although I do think I’m being had on the sonic hedgehog issue – how can they get away with naming a gene sonic hedgehog? Where were the grown-ups?)
It’s occurred to me that this can’t be the only interesting, approachable book about science out there, so I’m looking for recommendations. I’m indifferent at this point about the branch of science (although I have never taken a class in physics, so that may be an uphill battle). I have a dictionary, so big words don’t scare me, but my background is solidly humanities, so be gentle.
My one disappointment in all this is that I didn’t take advantage of more science classes when I was in school, because I would learn so much more if I had the ability to discuss these types of things with people who were reading the same book (but there’s no way I can make the time for a class now). But, then, hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that.
So, tell me, what should I read to further my scientific education?
Have you read Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything”? It’s extremely well written, but it may be too general for your tastes (it covers everything from geology to quantum physics).
Other than that, Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time” may interest you, if you haven’t read it already. It’s quite physics intensive, but Hawking’s explains the subject well enough that virtually anyone can understand the majority of it.
I highly recommend any Carl Sagan, particularly Cosmos and The Demon Haunted World. Cosmos focuses mostly on the history of science and current astronomy, while the latter generally discusses critical thinking and why today’s society seems to lack it (and repeatedly falls for pseudoscience). A more lighthearted approach to astronomy would be Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait, which explains all the astronomy misconceptions you never knew you had.
Anything by Paul Davies or John Gribin. In fact, they co-authored a book titled “The Matter Myth”. Excellent reading for non-technical types. (Like me)
Stephen Jay Gould’s always approachable and enjoyable, but beware of Wonderful Life, which has become both controversial, and probably outdated. (A shame, because it’s a terrific read).
This isn’t the first time I’ve plugged Blueprints by Maitland Edey and Donald Johanson but it’s worth another mention. And, yes, the people in charge of naming genes are indeed the same sort of people who would name them “sonic hedgehog” and the like. Science is cool.
So, tell me, what should I read to further my scientific education?
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“The Elegant Universe” is a fascinating book about the Superstring Theory, but it also has the most lucid explanations (albeit brief) of Einsteins’ Special and General Theories of Relativity I’ve ever read.
When it gets into Quantum Mechanics it will make your brain hurt, but it really is a wonderfully well-written tome on difficult subjects.
Matt Ridley has written some excellent books on genetics: Genome, The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (my personal favorite), Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human (republished as The Agile Gene, and The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation.
Dropped a parenthesis in my last post which may have confused the meaning. The Agile Gene was a republication of Nature via Nature only. The Origins of Virtue is a seperate book.
I’m more thanhalfway through Tudge’s The Impact of the Gene. It’s a decent read. I haven’t read them, but my brother and father really liked books by Feynman. It’s a very narrow topic, but I loved Mauve, the History of a Color. It’s about the birth of artifical colors, from the point of view of chemists. Not enough structural formula for me, but then again, I’m a chemist.
I’d highly recommend The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. It’s a superb treatment of the science behind evolution. His other book The Selfish Gene is also good reading. I can also second the suggestions by others about books by Carl Sagan and Stephen Jay Gould.
I’m fond of biology myself. Are you? What about Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex , which gives the most amazing details about the cycles and types of parasites in nature and is not a bit dull, very interesting and ghoulish in the best kind of way?
Or you could try Rats by Robert Sullivan. It’s an interesting examination of rat habits, preferences, etc. as manifested in New York City over a year. Sullivan observed them himself, tagged along with exterminators, the lot. I found it fascinating.
Yet another suggestion is A Primate’s Memoir by Robert Sapolsky. I can’t recommend this book enough, literally. He details his research in Africa observing and darting baboons. It has a wealth of detail on baboons – wonderful creatures, very social – as well as hilarious passages about his trials and tribulations. Amazingly enough there are some quite poignant moments too. This book inspired me to write my first fan letter; Sapolsky was very kind and wrote back. Wonderful man.
On the ecology side, there’s Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams. It’s written as much as a travelogue (perhaps more) than a straight-up examination of ecology or extinction, but Douglas gives quite a few facts about various species. It’s hilarious as well. I took this with me for jury duty, and all the other jurors were dead jealous I had a lovely book to make me laugh while we were shut away waiting on the lawyers.
Other suggestions:
David Quammen. Personally I prefer his essays to his longer work, although The Song of the Dodo really got me thinking about island biogeography. I think I started with The Boilerplate Rhino and raced through it.
Stephen Jay Gould. I enjoy his essays.
My husband is very fond of Richard Dawkins (evolution, genetics) and Brian Greene (cosmology, I think) as well. He would also recommend Jonathan Weiner (evolution, genetics).
