Book Reviews February 2009

Flat Earth Christine Garwood Macmillan, 2007 ISBN: 0330432893 Many people think that Columbus discovered the world was round. You need to get one thing straight - this is a myth. People knew that the earth was round thousands of years before Columbus. Christine Garwood explains this in the first couple of chapters of Flat Earth: the history of an infamous idea Continued..

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Kluge Gary Marcus Faber & Faber, 2008 ISBN: 9780571236510 The mind is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution - well you could say that. However, in Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind Gary Marcus points out that it is still fae from perfect. Continued..

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Ice, Mud and Blood Chris Turney Macmillan, 2008 ISBN: 9780230553828 We hear a kit about climate change, but none of us has experienced such changes, and so it can be hard to get a feel for what it may mean, or even to take it seriously. In Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past Chris Turney shows what has been found out about similar climate swings in the past, and how they affect our current understanding of climate. Continued..

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The Wraparound Universe Jean-Pierre Luminet AK Peters, 2008 ISBN: 9781568813097 Einstein thought that the universe curved round on itself, and so was finite, but recent measurements suggest that the curvature is very small, so the universe is either infinite, or consideerably bigger than what we see. Some people, though, don't agree with this interpretation - the universe might be much smaller than the curvature suggests. The Wraparound Universe Jean-Pierre Luminet explains this idea. Continued..

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How mathematicians think William Byers Princeton University Press, 2007 ISBN: 0691127387 Mathematics seems to be the epitome of rational thinking. You follow straightforward procedures and end up with an unassailable result. William Byers thinks otherwise. In How Mathematicians Think: Using Ambiguity, Contradiction, and Paradox to Create Mathematics he argues that in fact the development of mathematics is full of doubt and controversy. Continued..

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Wilderness Man Lovat Dickson Pocket, 1973 ISBN: 0671022741 In 1930's Britain, Grey Owl and his stories of life in the Canadian wilderness drew huge audiences. But all was not as it seemed. Rather than being of Indian descent, as he claimed, Grey Owl was actually brought up by two aunts in Southern England. In Wilderness Man: The amazing true story of Grey Owl, Lovat Dickson tells what really happened. Continued..

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Take me to the source Rupert Wright Harvill Secker, 2008 ISBN: 9781846550713 Water is a significant part of our lives, but it is something that we tend to take for granted. In Take me to the source: in search of water Rupert Wright suggests that we should treat water with more respect. Continued..

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Print is Dead Jeff Gomez Macmillan, 2008 ISBN: 9780230527164 As more and more material is available on the internet, one wonder's whether previous methods of distribution still have a future. In Print is Dead:Books in Our Digital Age Jeff Gomez argues that printed books are on the way out. Continued..

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