The Best American Science Writing 2005 (Paperback)

~ Alan Lightman (Author), Jesse Cohen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The editor's claim that we are now living in the "golden age" of science writing is borne out in this superb anthology of pop-science essays and news reports. Progressing from the hardest to the softest fields, the eclectic selections include think pieces on the conceptual foundations of physics, updates on cutting-edge controversies in genetic engineering and stem-cell research, profiles of leading researchers, ecological meditations and debunkings of the latest scientific fads and frauds. Among the brightest in a stellar lineup are Frank Wilczek's exploration of the worldview embodied in Newtonian mechanics; Jim Holt's humorous look at cosmologists' varying scenarios for the end of the world; Philip Alcabes's critique of the current panic over bio-terrorism; and Mark Solms's account of the return of repressed Freudian theories of the mind in contemporary neuropsychology. The essays are well attuned to a general audience, but scientists will also find them full of intriguing information and interpretations. The result is a wonderful collection that expands the mind without overwhelming it.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

One of the many pleasures found in this excellent annual is the introductory essay by each volume's guest editor. This year the acclaimed novelist, physicist, and essayist Alan Lightman offers a brisk and defining overview of what he prefers to call "public" science writing as opposed to "popular" science writing. He avers that we are experiencing a golden age in this invaluable genre, and, indeed, the range of subjects and the elegance of the writing found here substantiate his claim. Diane Ackerman writes of bumblebees, and K. C. Cole of life on Mars. The study of the human genome inspires riveting and unsettling essays by Natalie Angier, Robin Marantz Henig, Mark Dowie, and Gina Kolata. Catastrophic diseases and bioterrorism are the subjects of jolting essays by Philip Alcabes, Laurie Garrett, and Atul Gawande. Our jeopardized relationship with nature occupies Edward Hoagland, and Andrea Barrett writes insightfully about the different ways novelists and scientists navigate the "sea of information." What with "maggot therapy" and the "biology of hope," there is much here to stoke the imagination. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060726423
• ISBN-13: 978-0060726423
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,131 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Captivating Collection of Great Science Writing, January 25, 2006

By	The Spinozanator (Waco, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Each year I am thrilled when this book comes out, along with its equally good competitor of the same format (Best of Science and Nature Writing, 2005). This year, my kids gave me one of each for Christmas. This book has 27 articles from 16 magazines. Without further ado, I will briefly summarize or provide a provocative quote from each essay for you. If at any time you feel inspired to quit reading this review in favor of the real thing, you will not be disappointed.

Introduction, by this year's editor, Alan Lightman, who made the final selections: "So far, not a shred of experimental evidence supports string theory. However, some of the best theoretical physicists in the world are infatuated with it."

Oliver Sacks: The story of how scientists have created new elements based on what could be predicted from the Periodic Chart of the Elements.

James Gleick: The grand new exhibition on Isaac Newton at the New York Public Library correctly portrays him as the genius of rationality and order that he was. His fingerprints mark every part of science, but they left out a major part of the story. Newton was heavily into alchemy and other pseudoscience, was a social disaster who had no friends, and was chronically poisoned by the mercury he experimented with. His works ended up being a pivotal event in the emergence of the age of science from centuries of dependence on superstition. His complex and tormented soul might represent the conflict between science and superstition.

Frank Wilczek: A discussion of Newton's second law of motion, F = ma. Force is "insubstantial" and has no independent meaning. For these reasons and that it has no algorith, Wilczek had problems with it as a student. He elaborates...a little over my head, but that's OK.

Peter Galison: As any pilot knows, the standard compass is problematic in aircraft because it leads and lags in turns, acceleration, and deceleration. Einstein addressed this problem as an expert witness because of technical skills he learned in the patent office.

William Broad: Reversal of the Earth's magnetic fields appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago. The author discusses earth's long history of magnetic reversals and present implications for power grids, satellites, ozone holes, migratory animals, and extinction of species.

K.C. Cole: The only life we know is built on a scaffolding of carbon that floats in bags of water. As we search (SETI) for other life in the universe, why are carbon and water necessary - or are they?

Dennis Overby: Looking for planets: "What seems indisputably clear is that our knowledge of the universe is dwarfed by our ignorance."

Jim Holt: Some of the more fanciful speculations of top cosmologists about the eventual fate of the universe.

Natalie Algier: Women in top-level science are scarce - A close look at multiple award-winning chemist, Jacqueline Barton.

Jennifer Couzin: The competition and conflict between two prominent researchers studying the genetic causes of aging - in graduate school, one was the mentor of the other.

Robin Henig: Should we look for biological determinants of race. Sociologists say no, calling race a social convention, even its study causing a variety of pernicious consequences. Genomics and Medicine says yes, and a new drug, BiDil, has been niche-marketed specifically for African-Americans.

Mark Dowie: Dr. Stuart Newman applied for a patent for a "chimera" - half human, half something else. Not that he wanted to create one - the idea of a chimera so revolted him that he wanted to keep anyone else from doing it for 27 years. Six years later, it's still in court.

Gina Kolata: Some groups focus on cells taken from human embryos. Some focus on adult stem cells that have mysteriously survived long after their original mission is over. As the two lines of research proceed along parallel lines, researchers say it is too soon to bet on which, if either, will yield cures first. Meanwhile, the political problems over the use of human embryonic stem cells goes on.

Philip Alcabes: "The stranger spreading germs is a metaphor, and largely an empty one. Bioterrorism is not a public health problem, and will not become one."

Laurie Garrett: AIDS is poised to explode in Vietnam. US money is being held up because the Bush administration will not support condom use or a needle exchange program.

Atul Gawande: The WHO is in the closing stages of a campaign to wipe out polio. The author accompanies a WHO team to a poor region in India, where they try to limit the damage from a new outbreak.

Jerome Groopman: Can a positive attitude lead to a better outcome in fighting disease? Can the natural anxiety that accompanies cancer do the opposite? New information collected in scientifically valid ways suggests that the answer is in contradiction of the popular belief. "As to the mind-body connection, I told Julie that I knew of no data whatsoever that supported the notion that her natural feelings of anxiety or her moments of despair would accelerate the growth of her disease."

Ben Harder: Maggots still work in removing dead and infected tissue. While most US medical institutions don't use maggot debridement therapy, it is still a viable option for ulcers from bedsores, diabetes, trauma, burns, or flesh-eating bacteria.

Jennifer Ackerman: The author follows a group of "craniacs" who are trying to bring these remarkable species back from the edge of extinction.

Edward Hoagland: This author spent his childhood in a love affair with nature that has continued throughout his adult life. He now wonders whether humanity will survive current assaults on our environment.

David Quammen: Since about half of Americans doubt evolution, National Geographic magazine commissioned the author to compose a primer for the general public. The evidence is there, and it is not "just a theory."

David Berlinski: Although evolutionary psychology is convincing and is one of my favorite subjects, the author correctly points out how difficult it is to gather hard data on a soft science.

Mark Solms: By the 1980's, Freud's notions of the id and ego were considered hopelessly antiquated. New developments in brain research, however, are producing results that fit surprisingly well with his theories. Certainly it's becoming increasingly clear that a good deal of our mental activity is unconsciously motivated.

Ellen Ullman: The author caricaturizes the difficulties researchers have in creating artificial intelligence (AI) by pointing out the problems a robot would have in enjoying fine cuisine. In a moment of introspection - while in the supermarket check-out lines with its conveyor belts, credit card machines, and bar-codes - it occurred to her that we should perhaps worry more about humanity becoming robotic. This is the only article that was chosen for both books.

Andrea Barrett: This novelist was thrust into a situation of working independently, but alongside, various other scholars from varied disciplines. She was forced to think about how very differently scholars, on the one hand, and poets and novelists on the other, approach their material.

Diane Ackerman: "I remember one chilly morning in California, when a colleague and I held just-tagged monarch butterflies in our open mouths and warmed them with our breathe, so that they could fly to safety."

A delicious treat to read and a definite 5 stars.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Personal opinion of "The Best American Science Writing 2005", March 14, 2006

By	Larry Kelley (Shelby, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a scientist. U of Michigan. I am 61
I make synthetic gem and laser crystals for a living. I read many scientific journals weekly. I think this series of "The Best American Science Writing" is extremely good with always very up to date topics. An absolutely great selection of articles written by or about top people and topics each year. I use this series to help keep me up to date on everything scientific. I highly recommend the entire series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stimulating addition to an outstanding series, March 21, 2006

By	Angela Boyter (Ellicott City, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I look forward every year to the annual edition of this series and its competitor, Best American Science and Nature Writing. Since there are way too many good magazines published I gave up long ago trying to keep up with them, and this book/series serves two useful functions. First, it provides a delightful sampler of science-related writing of the past year, and, second, it often introduces me to some new writers as well as familiar names. It is the kind of book that has repercussions: I have never failed to follow up by buying additional books, either books by the authors represented or books referred to in the selections (WARNING: This book could be dangerous to your budget!)
The series editor provides a certain stability and may ensure some breadth to the selections, but each volume bears the stam of the interests of the guest editor. Given Alan Lightman's literary bent, it was therefore not surprising to see someone like Diane Ackerman included.
This was probably not the best of the series, but it nonetheless was not one I would want to miss.