Pohl (The Far Shore of Time, The Way the Future Was), recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction, offers a personal glimpse of his ongoing "love affair" with science in this affectionate exploration of the natural world. The tour begins "where science happens"Din visitor-friendly national laboratories like Fermilab, which contains an atom-smashing particle accelerator, and in colleges and universities like MIT, where the first computer game prototypes were developed. As Pohl notes, however, some of the most fantastic sights can be observed from one's own backyard. Whether one is scanning the skies with the naked eye or using a child's spyglass to examine the craters of the moon, the wonders of the cosmos, Pohl shows, are readily accessible to amateur stargazers. Volcanoes and earthquakes are equally impressive phenomena that serve as reminders that the earth's surface is forever in motion, floating on a semiliquid core of magma like "patches of fat on the surface of a pot of cooling chicken soup." This tectonic motion also affects the flow of water, causing aquifers to form in the midst of a desert and producing tsunamis that ravage many of Japan's seaside cities. From the tranquil to the deadly, the forces Pohl expertly examines shape both the planet and humankind's appreciation of it. Written in a delightful colloquial style, this witty reference/memoir (replete with an extensive index of science and technology centers worldwide) will receive a considerable boost from Pohl's loyal fans while attracting amateur scientists of all stripes. (Dec.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Pohl, one of the grand masters of science fiction, can't imagine how anyone can help but be fascinated by science. Although he has no science background, Pohl has conducted a lifelong love affair with scientific pursuits and now shares his enthusiasm in a friendly narrative that is part travelogue, part popular science, and part memoir. He begins by encouraging readers to visit the research facilities their tax dollars support, such as Brookhaven, Fermilab, and other national laboratories. He then leaves the invisible world of neutrinos and particle accelerators for the more accessible realm of astronomy, offering lively reports on his visits to various observatories. The space program, a topic close to his sf heart, is also energetically chronicled, as are accounts of earthquakes and tsunamis, which are followed by in-depth discussions of the state of various rivers throughout the world. Quietly evangelical in his zeal to inspire readers to view science as both enjoyable and important, he concludes with an international listing of science and technology centers worth a visit. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
