If all you know about the Middle Ages consists of warfare, popes, and kings, and you want to know what daily life was really like, this is the book for you.
Thomas B. Allen and Norman Polmar's CODE-NAME DOWNFALL: THE SECRET PLAN TO INVADE JAPAN AND WHY TRUMAN DROPPED THE BOMB
Allen and Polmar convincingly demonstrate Truman’s justification for dropping the atom bomb on Japan to end World War II.
C.J. Box's “IN PLAIN SIGHT”
One of a series of novels by this author about a fictional Wyoming game warden named Joe Pickett, IN PLAIN SIGHT tells a gripping story that intertwines murder, family feud, politics, and a love of nature and the outdoors
Sue Halpern's “FOUR WINGS AND A PRAYER”
The subtitle of this book is “Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly.” I was caught by this book’s beguiling tone, its lovely writing, and its respect for science and the mystery of the unknown that drives people to “do science.”
Oliver Sacks' SEEING VOICES: A JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF THE DEAF
This 3-part book by Oliver Sacks from 1989 reviews the history of deaf education and language, the neurological underpinnings of language acquisition and deafness, and the student uprising at Gallaudet College in 1988.
Peter Watts' BLINDSIGHT
Peter Watts’ Blindsight is hard SF. Normally I like hard SF but I had some trouble with this one:
Anthony Lewis' FREEDOM FOR THE THOUGHT THAT WE HATE: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT
This little volume is packed with an amazing amount of readable information about the history of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, libel, privacy, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
Helen Nicholson's THE CRUSADES
I assigned three tags to this book review:
Evelyn Fox Keller's THE CENTURY OF THE GENE
Cloning, evolution, and the Human Genome Project are often in the news. One of my 2008 New Years’ Resolutions was to learn more about genetics and molecular biology. I had resolved to “get smarter” about DNA and its role in evolution and in generation-to-generation stability and inheritance.
“Captain” Alatriste is an ex-soldier in 17th Century Madrid who scratches out a living via odd jobs and spends part of his time gabbing and drinking at a local bar. An old “friend” tosses him a job which is initially to scare a pair of English travelers but turns out to be a contract for murder.
Lisa Jardine's INGENIOUS PURSUITS: BUILDING THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
Late 17th Century London and the Royal Society provide the setting for this book. It concentrates on the “great men” who created modern Western science.
Shelby Foote's “SHILOH”
This novel follows several Confederate and Union solders during the two days of the 1862 battle of Shiloh in Tennessee.
Stephen Jay Gould's ROCKS OF AGES
Scientist Gould in this short book attempts to demonstrate both (a) how Science and Religion can learn to co-exist and (b) how efforts to control Science through Religion-imposed limits are prime examples of the two “magisteria,” as he refers to Science and Religion, transgressing on each other’s territory.
Stephen Alter's FANTASIES OF A BOLLYWOOD LOVE THIEF: INSIDE THE WORLD OF INDIAN MOVIEMAKI
This book is a great read if you are at all interested in the nuts and bolts of film production.
Will Eisner's THE PLOT: THE SECRET STORY OF THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION
It is common knowledge that the book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which tells about a sinister Jewish plot to take over the world, is a 19th-century fabrication that emerged in Europe during the time of the infamous Dreyfuss affair.
Chiara Frugoni's BOOKS, BANKS, BUTTONS, AND OTHER INVENTIONS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES
Beautifully translated by William McCuaig from the original Italian, this lavishly illustrated book tells the surprising story of the many important inventions that emerged from Europe during the Middle Ages.
Elie Wiesel's “NIGHT”
This short book, newly re-translated into English, is the memory of a teenage Jewish boy who is sent to a series of German concentration camps during World War II.
Michael Carlowicz and Ramon Lopez' STORMS FROM THE SUN
Many years ago my dad and my brothers and I would take our telescope out to the back yard during the day and point it at the sun. Holding a white card about a foot away from the eyepiece we would watch sunspots projected on the card, the easily visible evidence of massive solar magnetic storms.
Evan Thomas' "SEA OF THUNDER"
This extremely well researched and written tale of World War II tells the story behind the climactic Battle of Leyte Gulf. This was the last great sea battle fought by huge opposing forces — the Americans and the Japanese — involving both battleships and aircraft carriers.
Gene Luen Yang's AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
I’ve already written about how I came upon this book through a combination of new and old media usage. Now I’ve read it and I am very impressed with the book’s quality, humor, nostalgia, and sensitivity.