CHALLENGE: Non Fiction Five 2008 Update

I finished this one with a week to spare, but it felt rushed. Some nonfiction can take so long to read, especially when I'm trying to learn something at the same time. Thanks to Joy for hosting this one, I looked forward to picking some NF, which I don't do often enough. I liked all these books, and would easily recommend any of them.

The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory... - Lee Smolin
The Planets - Dava Sobel
28 Stories: Stories of AIDS in Africa - Stephanie Nolen
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale

BOOK: The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin

The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin

The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

nonfiction five 2008, science book challenge, cardathon

I don't know enough about physics to critique the thesis of this book, but I was impressed with the arguments put forth by Smolin. I learned a lot and won't begin to admit I understood everything, but I found it fascinating. String theory, quantum theory, the standard model, and then loops and superstrings, and gauge bosons, my head was spinning. But Smolin writes clearly and easily, and I was getting bits and pieces straight in my head.

The book starts with the Unfinished Revolution and the five great problems in theoretical physics left to be solved. A bit of history and background. The second section was a Brief History of String Theory. This got a lot more confusing and I did some skimming, I confess. Again, the ideas are difficult and I couldn't expect to understand just from reading a few chapters what string theory is all about. (I have The Elegant Universe here to read later, which is the story of String Theory; I also have the DVD, which will probably get watched first.) A third section looks Beyond String Theory at other areas of research, besides string theory, in physics. Ideas got pretty big and abstact here.

The last section is really the most interesting for a person from the outside of the physics establishment. Smolin examines how the physics community has arrived at its standstill, with an elegant theory of strings that has little to no experimental evidence to support it. A combination of sociology, groupthink, and the politics of academia have lead to what he calls the trouble with physics. He offers some solutions, and doesn't claim to not have been a part of everything, but he certainly wasn't part of the in crowd of string theory, and so he is on the outside, somewhat, looking in. It leads a credibility to his argument.

At times, he reminded me of Richard Feynman, mentioned often in the book. Feynman was a bit of a rebel, and didn't lack any confidence in his abilities. Feynman was awarded the Nobel Prize, so he has the cred to back up his bravado. Smolin includes personal situations he's been involved in, and they are the framework to tell this story, but he seemed to always have recognized the good idea that others didn't, or known the outsiders he admires so much. Not a criticism, but just a feeling I got as I read. But to be able to outline the problems he sees, it takes a big thinker and someone who is a little outside the system. He also acknowledges his role in the systematic problems he identifies.

I wasn't sure whether to read this first, or to learn about String Theory (The Elegant Universe.) I decided on this one, with the hopes it will help me to critically read the other. This was a very interesting book, and should be read my most scientists or people with an interest in science, and physics especially. The writing is very accessible and his arguments are persuasive.

BOOK: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale

nonfiction five 2008

Summerscale has written a very interesting book about the history of detectives, real and fictional, as well as investigating a true murder that scandalized Victorian England in 1860. The subtitle is "A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victoria Detective."

The murder was of three year old Saville Kent, killed during the night while he slept. The shocking part was that it had to be a member of the household who killed him. The great Victorian detective was Jack Whicher, one of the first members of London's detective squad. The research in this book was amazing, although I read it straight through and did not refer to the copious notes at the back for the reference source. Because it was a scandalous murder in a time of increasing media, there was certainly a lot of material written about the murder and the characters for Summerscale to use. At the time, England was entranced with the details of the murder and trials in the newspapers. The telgraph made information more immediately available and the public could not get enough of the sordid details. The critics bemoaned the downfall of society and the general decline of morals. Sound familiar to today?

Throughout the book, the author parallels the development of detectives and the detective novel. I am anxious to read something by Wilkie Collins now, as his mystery novels were referenced the whole way through, as well as Charles Dickens, a friend of Whicher's. It's hard to imagine a time when Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot were new literary characters, but until Poe's detective Auguste Dupin in 1841, the detective was not invented. The first real detectives weren't hired in London until 1842, so they were still quite a new commodity at the time of the murder and conflicted with the idea of privacy in Victorian days as well as highlighting the class situations between middle, upper and working classes.

The time of the murder, 1860 is such a fascinating time. It is far enough away that it seems long ago, but recent enough that so much information is still available. One of the sisters of the murdered child lived to be 100, so it wasn't until 1944 that she died. There are some great pictures and relics included in the book.

This would be a great book for people who like reading true crime mysteries, readers of detective novels, Victorian era fans, and well researched nonfiction books. I had originally planned to slowly pick away at the book, a little bit every day, but by page 100 I had to keep reading and find out the ending. Great suspense and pacing in the book to describe each of the characters and what happened to them after the murder.

Thanks to Walker Books for the review copy.

BOOK: The Planets by Sava Sobel

The Planets by Dava Sobel

nonfiction five 2008

If you think a book about the planets would be dull, boring reading, with lists of facts, then you haven't read anything written by Dava Sobel, or you aren't a science geek like me. Her books Longitude and Galileo's Daughter (my review) were both easy to read, with facts mixed in, but it's more about the story and the writing. I thoroughly enjoyed both her books and her writing style. In addition, the beautiful cover is your first hint that this is not just a book about the facts.

This book was written before Pluto's demotion from planet to minor planet status, but that development was in the works for quite a while and is hinted at here. (The demotion is one of the more interesting developments in science in recent years, in my opinion. I love how it demonstrates the scientific process and that science isn't just a bunch of facts, but a fluid changing discipline.) Each planet, as well as the sun and our moon, get their own chapter, and each chapter has a different focus. The geological and discovery history is here for each planet, but it is hidden in the story of their chapter. Mythology (Mercury), Beauty (Venus), Lunacy (The Moon), Astrology (Jupiter) and Geography(Earth) are some of the titles and give you a hint as to the theme.

All the astronomers are here: Galileo, Kepler, Herschel, Huygens. The different space expeditions that explored the various planets, the mythology behind some of the planets. This book will have a prominent place in my high school physics class and it is short enough to keep the attention of anyone interested in learning a bit more about the planets and our place in the solar system without feeling like a textbook.

BOOK: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

What's in a Name Challenge: weather event; in their shoes challenge, Cardathon challenge; nonfiction five 2008

I haven't laughed out loud while reading a book in quite a while, but Bryson certainly tickled my funny bone with this book. It says memoir, but it is just as much a look at the good old days, the 1950s in America. Bryson makes the argument that the 1950s in Des Moines, Iowa were the best time ever! I loved how Bryson used the exaggerated memory of youth to describe events - there were 800 kids outside, everyday. Part of it is how we always exaggerate when remembering our youth - the scab he nurtured that was one and three quarters inches thick-, so maybe that's why the old days were the best times.

Bryson alternates between his childhood and family, amusingly exaggerated, with the detailed research I associate with Bryson to explain America during times - the economy, the world, Communism and the threat of atomic bombs, and the role of farming in Iowa. He sneaked facts and information into his narrative and left me with an understanding of how we came from the good old days, with the slower pace and easier life, to the fast paced hectic life now.

I grew up in the 1970s and life certainly had changed, but I can see the same relative amount of change today from my childhood. I felt many parallels to Bryson's life: I too led a very happy childhood, nothing traumatic ever happened, I spent the summer outdoors with 800 other neighbourhood children, and the Saturday afternoon matinee was still going on in the 1970s. This was a great read and lots of fun, but also an informative look at how America has changed since 1951.

BOOK: 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen

28 Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen

Nonfiction 5 challenge, African Reading Challenge

Twenty eight stories, one for every million people living with HIV/AIDS. Nolen's book has certainly raised my awareness of the disaster in Africa and how it could have been prevented or, at the very least, lessened with quicker action, and more concern and money.

Each chapter looks at a different person, a different country, a different aspect of the crisis. From the orphans to the grandparents to the activists to the prostitutes. From the civil war, to the lack of help, to the pharmaceutical companies and the generic drugs, to the lack of research into the aspects of AIDS that affects Africans more, your heart will be broken twenty eight times. Time and again, the shame and denial that we see here in North America prevented people in Africa from getting the timely help they needed, for the few where health care and ARVs are available. Awareness and help are needed now.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: In the face of the grave threat posed by HIV/AIDS, we have to rise above our differences and combine our efforts to save our people. History will judge us harshly if we fail to do so now, and right now.

Nolen's passion for the continent and the people comes through, and her method of putting a human face on each issues she tackles makes this book a great read. Disturbing, and upsetting, and frustrating, but a great read.

CHALLENGE: Nonfiction Five 2008

Hey! We've been at these reading challenges for a while now, since challenges are coming back again. I did this one last year, hosted by the fabulous Joy, and read some great books:

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Zlato's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Now, the big decision, what to read for the Nonfiction Challenge 2008. The easy way would be to use a lot of the biographies I'm reading for the In Their Shoes Challenge, but Joy is already warning us to read a variety of books. I don't think this will be a problem, here's a little list of potential books:

• The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory...* definite
• The Curse of the Narrows
• The Planets - Dava Sobel
• The Seven Daughters of Eve
• 28 Stories: Stories of AIDS in Africa - Stephanie Nolen
• The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson
• The Omnivore's Dilemma
• that book about food by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
• Wild Swans (I had this on my list last year too, so I'll add it this year too, but I bet I won't read it this year either!)

and I might include a biography or two. The biggest thing that will determine my books is what I haven't read by May 1st. Once I make my list, the books begin to look really interesting and it becomes harder to resist.