This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.
Meandering Mississippi. By Mary Delach Leonard and Robert Koenig. Published by The St. Louis Beacon.
Reviewed by Seth Mnookin
May 11, 2012
Continue reading “Meandering Mississippi: An early journalism iBook is all wet”
At some of my recent talks, I’ve been running into people who’ve been annoyed that they forgot to bring a book of mine to get signed. You really couldn’t think of a better way to cheer up a writer, and so I feel the need to reciprocate.
So if you’ve gotten a book of mine and want to get it signed, I’ve printed up some bookplates that I can autograph and send to you.
Continue reading “You ask for signed bookplates, you get signed bookplates”
Gothamites: please join Florence Williams and myself at the bookstore McNally Jackson in New York on Thursday May 17. Williams is the author of the new book, Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, a smart, wry synthesis of evolution, physiology, microbiology, environmental science, and even biomechanics.
Where: McNally Jackson, 52 Prince St., New York, NY (Phone: 212.274.1160)
When: May 17, 7 pm.
More details are here.
Originally published May 9, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.
This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.
Farthest North: America’s First Arctic Hero and His Horrible, Wonderful Voyage to the Frozen Top of the World. By Todd Balf. Published by Byliner Originals.
Reviewed by David Dobbs
May 9, 2012
Continue reading “A Lost Explorer Returns: Todd Balf’s “Farthest North””
Today the Guardian reviews A Planet of Viruses:
Viruses are everywhere: scientists have found them under Antarctic ice; they lurk inside your lungs which until recently were believed to be sterile; and seawater, which was once thought to contain very few, has now been found to be teeming with viruses. In fact, they outnumber all other residents of the ocean by 15 to 1. Even the human genome contains genes that came from viruses which infected our ancestors some 30m years ago, an idea that Zimmer describes as “almost philosophical in its weirdness.” In this succinct yet elegantly written survey, he explores the vital role viruses play in the evolution of life on Earth and how scientists have begun to reveal their often deadly secrets. Smallpox — the only human virus to have been eradicated — killed an astonishing 500m people every century in Europe between 1400 and 1800. From the common cold, first described 3,500 years ago by the Egyptians, to a new type of giant virus discovered in a Bradford water-cooler that mimics bacteria, this book is a fascinating and enlightening introduction.
Originally published May 8, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.