Customer Reviews

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2002 (The Best American Series)

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The Best American Science and Nature Writing series is always a great joy to pick up. This is the way to keep up with general science without spending hundreds of dollars on magazines and journals (well, not really, but it is a good series of books to read). This year Natalie Angier, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of _Woman: An Intimate Geography_ is the guest editor. None of the essays stand out as newborn classics, but they are good essays. And they cover the range of fields.

Anthropology - Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's "Mothers and Others"

Biology - Frederick C. Crews' "Saving Us from Darwin" originally published in The New York Review of Books (Crews attacks every form of creationism and the blending of science and religion, including Gould, but offers us no alternative idea or solution-that's what kept this essay from being an instant classic); H. Bruce Franklin's "The Most Important Fish in the Sea" (ecology/conservation science); Gordon Grice's "Is That a Mountain Lion in Your Backyard?"; "The Dirt in the New Machine" by Blaine Harden (which is both an ecology and technology essays); "Life's Rocky Start", an essay on the origin of life on earth and the importance of minerals, by Robert M. Hazen; Anne Matthews' "Wall Street Losses, Wall Street Gains" which is about birdwatching and the World Trade Towers; Chet Raymo "A Little Reminder of Reality's Scale" (a brief piece from the Boston Globe); Peter Stark's embarrassing piece (at least he should be embarrassed by this half poorly written `fiction' with facts on jellyfish-the most poisonous one there is) titled "The Sting of the Assassin"; Joy Williams' "One Acre" about her little plot in Florida that she tried to keep ecologically safe and sound

Medicine - Barbara Ehrenreich's essay about her fight with breast cancer "Welcome to Cancerland" (a great essay that is also included in the Best American Essays"; Gary Greenberg's touching essay "As Good as Dead" (about a young boy who has a brain tumor in his head and his incredible courage to continue living and dreaming and planning for his future); Judith Newman's"I Have Seen Cancer's Disappear"

Psychology - Roy F. Baumeister's "Violent Pride" (written in a pseudo-highschool-science fair report style. This could have been a great study, but...): Malcolm Gladwell's "Examined Life" (about the SATs and test taking); "Dumb, Dumb, Duh Dumb" by Steve Mirsky (again, about our test scores); Daniel Smith "Shock and Disbelief" which is about ECT of things-yes, the pros of electroconvulsive therapy

Physics - K.C. Cole's "Mind Over Matter" (originally in the L.A. Times); the heavy material of Dark Matter by Karen Wright ("Very Dark Energy" which first appeared in Discover

Computers - Clive Thompson's "The Know-It-All Machine" which goes into artificial intelligence

And the others: Burkhard Bilger's essay on eating odd animals, "Braised Shank of Free-Range Possum"; "In the Realm of Virtual Reality" by Richard Conniff and Harry Marshall, which discusses pseudozoology (creatures like the Yeti and such); Garret Keizer's essay on sound and noise, "Sound and Fury" (from Harper's); Verlyn Klinkenborg's odd newspaper column, "The Pursuit of Innocence in the Golden State", which is about California, but more on a two sentence sociological statement; Robert Kunzig's "Ripe for Controversy" which discusses cheese and health regulations' Dennis Overbye's "How Islam Won, and Lost, the Lead in Science" ; Eric Schlosser's "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good"

and above all, these essays are easy enough for the layperson, but good for the expert as well.

As a longtime science and health writer, when I saw this title, it leaped out at me. What a good way to see the articles that are considered the best-- to see what kinds of articles mainstream magazines are buying, in terms of topic, style, approach, etc.

It's been a delightful surprise to discover that this book is just loaded with brilliantly written, fascinating articles covering an incredible range of topics. If you enjoy the world of science-- if you read Discover, Scientific American, New Scientist, Science News, Nature-- then you'll love this book.
Actually, I could just as easily mention magazines like The New Yorker, Atlantic, Smithsonian.... because the writing is certainly good enough to make into their pages.. and has.

Some of the articles are just fun to read. Some have been wonderfully helpful in filling in some ideas I've been working on. For example, the article on child rearing, which reports an anthropological approach which studied humans and other primates gave me ideas that plug in beautifully with the ideas on the prefrontal lobes, affect regulation and parent child interaction that Allan Schore writes about. It actually ties that together with Thom Hartmann's hunter farmer model of ADHD. But that's just one article. I've been amazed how, as I'd start out each article with the intent to browse, I'd shift gears to reading each and every one in depth.

Turning someone on to this book will be a real gift. it's a gem.

This is a truly wonderful anthology. Thought-provoking, humorous, almost every chapter taught me something new and fascinating.

The writing in this collection is uniformly good, but there's precious little science. Most of the articles are dominated by a kind of gossipy tone about the people involved without ever actually touching on the science. For example, one of the longest pieces in the book is a review of the Intelligent Design debate from the New York Review of Books. It talks a lot about the politics and supposed motivations of the players, with a long discourse on Stephen J. Gould's atheistic approach to theology- but not once does the author touch on the scientific aspects of the debate. I assume the reader is expected to accept the anti-ID position simply as a consequence of being a Review reader.

No doubt the selection of articles was highly influenced by the editor's particular tastes and skills. Natalie Angier is a skilled writer, and her New Yorker pieces are always well crafted, but when it comes to science she's a lightweight. You won't see an equation, or even a number in any of her pieces, and the same is true, for the most part, of the pieces selected for this anthology.

As a collection of casual readings for the person with no scientific background at all, I'd give this volume a B; for the reader looking for some depth, some explanation of current issues in science- D.

2002 saw another solid edition of BASNW, edited by Natalie Angier, who brought a more distinctly female oriented perspective in her selections. There are a total of 27 essays, 12 of which I found outstanding, with the remainder well worth reading as well.

In "Violent Pride" (Scientific American), Roy Baumeister skillfully re-examines the prevailing myth that violent offenders are that way because of low self-esteem - instead they are the exact opposite with hyper-inflated egos. Burkhard Bilger in "Braised Shank of Free-Range Possum" (Outside) takes on a familiar topic - eating odd wild meats like possum and raccoon - but does so with a wit and style that sets it above the norm. Funny, educational. In "Welcome to Cancerland" (Harper's Magazine), Barbara Ehrenreich writes about her experiences as a breast cancer survivor, and the politics behind it. This powerful essay touches on many interesting topics: the gender politics of the breast cancer movement, the social pressures to conform to devastating chemo therapy treatments (applicable to all health care).

In H. Bruce Franklin's "The Most Important Fish in the Sea" (Discover) we learn that the menhaden - a small oily fish not eaten by humans - stands close to collapse due to overfishing for animal feed protein, bringing down with it entire ecosystems like a key domino. In Malcolm Gladwell's "Examined Life" (The New Yorker) he tells the story of Stanley Kaplan, the man who beat the SAT tests by training students how to master it - and along the way reveals that IQ is partly genetic, but largely hard work, a product of study and practice. Blaine Harden's "The Dirt in the New Machine" (New York Times Magazine) is an interesting look at the Congo and its natural resource a metal called "coltan" used in electronics. Just as oil-rich countries become hotbeds of war, the electronics industry through its use of coltran is a driving engine for the wars in eastern Congo.

In another article about cancer, Judith Newman profiles Steven Rosenberg in "I Have Seen Caners Disappear" (Discover). It is an excellent look at a leading cancer researcher both his professional and private life and provides insights on how the system works. Eric Schlosser's classic essay "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good" (The Atlantic Monthly) caused full-out riots in India when Hindus learned McDonalds fries use beef tallow and were not vegetarian. It's also just a great essay on the evils of fast food. Daniel Smith in "Shock and Disbelief" (The Atlantic Monthly) looks at Electro Shock Therapy (ECT) for the mentally ill. Long reviled by public opinion, there is actually considerable data to show it's effective - however with risks that are not fully disclosed to patients. This essay should be required reading for anyone considering ECT for themselves or others. Clive Thompson in "The Know-It-All Machine" (Lingua Franca) gives a good if now somewhat dated history of the Cyc project, an attempt to build an AI machine by the brute force method of entering every single possible fact that exists. Reviled by academics, it is either the biggest folly, or the beginnings Ai that works. Finally in "One Acre" (Harper's Magazine), Joy Williams delightfully recounts her experience fostering nature in a 1-acre plot of land in Florida and then eventually selling it with a conservation easement. The best for last, it is my favorite essay in the book.

This series is awesome! An anthology such as this allows the reader to get a taste of some wonderful articles without the possibly harrowing search for the diamond in the rough. All articles are well written and the subject matter is diverse. A true treat!

I have actively sought out and enjoyed Angier's writing for about 5 years now, after reading her work casually in the New York Times for more than a decade. Part of the reason I enjoy her so much is that our political tendencies are similar -- lefty, feminist, liberal, humanist, scientific.
Her selections of the year reflect this left-leaning temperament, and thus I couldn't help but love them all. Can't wait to read what she does next.

As a newcomer into the scientific writing world I decided to read as many articles as I could in order to understand how a scientist writes. As with most entities in the world there are two sides. Among the heavy science journals I found the collection of The Best American Science (and Nature) Writing of. . . whenever. These books gave a profound identity to the literary science writer. Such talent is important in these days so as not to cause separation; as if those who can stay awake through an entire article are a better being than the rest. I reached this book after two publications and having been ushered to the doorstep of science writing which shows one the importance of heavy data and equations. Though this book has some fantastic writing it only stands above the surface of an ocean of knowledge. It's good to read but lacks so much.