This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.

May 9, 2012

Farthest North: America’s First Arctic Hero and His Horrible, Wonderful Voyage to the Frozen Top of the World. Byliner Orignals. $1.99  Publisher site.

Reviewed by David Dobbs

Continue reading “A Lost Explorer Returns: Todd Balf’s “Farthest North””

This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.

April 25, 2012

On April 4, the Pew Research Center’s released an extensive report on the country’s e-reading habits as part of its Internet and American Life project. It is, as is oftentimes the case with Pew reports, quite interesting and exceedingly bland. (You can find an introduction to the Pew report here; the full report is also available online or as a free download.) 

Which gave me an idea: Why not tap into our collective brainpower and organize a roundtable? Which is exactly what I did. This is the final entry in a three-part series; the first entry, “Crap futurism, pleasure reading, and DRM,” ran on Monday, and “Walled gardens, cruftiness, and a race to the bottom” ran yesterday.

Continue reading “Pirates, parties, pulps, and PowerPoint: Part 3 of a Download the Universe roundtable on e-reading”

This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.

April 24, 2012

On April 4, the Pew Research Center’s released an extensive report on the country’s e-reading habits as part of its Internet and American Life project. It is, as is oftentimes the case with Pew reports, quite interesting and exceedingly bland. (You can find an introduction to the Pew report here; the full report is also available online or as a free download.) 

Which gave me an idea: Why not tap into our collective brainpower and organize a roundtable? Which is exactly what I did. Today’s entry is the second in a three-part series; the first entry, “Crap futurism, pleasure reading, and DRM,” ran yesterday.

Continue reading “Walled gardens, cruftiness, and a race to the bottom: Part 2 of a Download the Universe Roundtable on E-Reading”