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Featured author/ editor of the Popular Science site: Brian Clegg
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reading or techno-hype? The Aventis Prize is now the Royal Society Prize. Click here for 2008 information.
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Whisper it: science can be dull. But it doesn't have to be like that. Celebrate the best that science writing has to offer on a site totally dedicated to popular science books and authors. This is primarily a book review site, but we also cover software, DVDs and gifts with a science flavour.
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But all you have to do to be entered in future draws is subscribe to our free newsletter (see below). Winners are drawn from the list, and if you already subscribe, there's no need to re-join: you will automatically be entered into any future draws. Unfortunately, we can only enter UK residents in some draws. ... and play the game. Dorland Kindersley, the publisher of Dr Frankenstein's Human Body Book, has set up a free online game to accompany the launch of the book. Racing against time, you drag body parts onto a board to try to build your human. It's rather arbitrarily fussy about where some of the parts go - the heart is surprisingly central, for instance - but a bit of fun. See the terms and conditions for full details of the competition rules. Want to keep up to date? It's easy to sign up for our free newsletter. It's free, informative and (like the best popular science) always readable.
Privacy Information Featured Book The Buzz about Bees
by Jürgen Tautz (tr. David C. Sandeman)
On appearances, I expected this book to be either a picture book or a rather dull textbook - but it's neither. It is absolutely fascinating. I confess I knew very little about bees before reading it, but a combination of beautiful, detail photographs and an insightful text means that the remarkable lives of these creatures are revealed in great detail. Particularly fascinating were both the complexity of the bees' system, and the nature of the colony as a superorganism - in fact, the book is subtitled Biology of a superorganism. I know it's not exactly news, the idea has been around for over 100 years, but I found the details of the concept that the whole colony is best considered as a single entity very exciting as it was something I'd never read about. The illustrations aren't just pretty - they show, for example, the way a bee's eyesight differs from our own when it is hunting for flowers. And the details of the function of the colony - like most people, for instance, I had heard of the waggle dance (if only in the name of a honey beer), but hadn't understood the complexities involved. Although translated from German, the book still reads well. If I had any complaint it would be that the book hasn't really got the structure and enticement of a popular science book - it is very much a collection of facts - but the subject is so fascinating this doesn't matter. I was also surprised in such a modern book that there was no mention of the devastating death of so many bees that is causing concern at the moment - but that apart, it was one of the best popular science experiences I've had all year, doubly so because it was unexpected. Unfortunately the book is priced rather high in the UK, but I would still encourage you to get this one - it is excellent. Only in hardback. Reviewed by Brian Clegg Please note, this title is written by the editor of the Popular Science website. Our review is still an honest opinion - and we could hardly omit the book - but do want to make the connection clear. Featured Children's Book Murderous Maths:
Desperate Measures
by Kjartan Poskitt
Measuring things is a huge part of primary school science, so the magnificent Mr Poskitt was very sensible in coming up with a book covering measurement, units, shapes, time measurement and angles. It's the usual clever mix of light historical context -mostly ancient from Israelites and Archimedes to the Romans - and real insights into fascinating aspects of something that sits nicely between maths and practical science. There's plenty to keep the reader and interested, and even adults perusing it will have one or two surprises along the way. Because it is very much applied maths, there is also a lot more opportunity to have fun with practical things to try out than has been the case with some of the Murderous Maths series. All in all this is a great addition to the fold. Only two small moans. This book has been around a while, and it looks like it's just had a new cover, rather than taking the opportunity to update it a little. For instance, fairly early on someone is worrying he might have to worry how long Concorde is while it's flying. I suspect most of the audience of this book won't have a clue what Concorde was. The other shame is that almost straight away the book plunges into one of Poskitt's long rambling Chicago gangster stories, which are by far the weakest part of his books, and may put some readers off. But these are minor concerns about an excellent title. I even love the joke on the cover. Alien to girl: 'NO! I said take us to your ruler!' Geddit? Only in paperback Reviewed by Brian Clegg * Our age range recommendation is an estimated guide, but individual readers outside the range could still enjoy the book! Featured Gifts Looking for a different present, or a gift for someone who's difficult to buy for? Take a look at this:
Gift review - Creative Zen X-Fi
There simply is no better way to listen to music on the move than an MP3 player - and if you want to carry your whole library around, you can't beat the New Zen X-Fi. Its massive capacity enables it to hold up to 16,000 tracks in the WMA format or 8,000 as MP3s in its 32Gb memory. For me, this is a real iPod buster as it crams in all the capacity of the iPod Classic, but in a thick credit-card sized form, with no fragile hard disc to break and the ability to play WMA files. It looks better than the Zen it replaces - more sophisticated and solid feeling, with some of the best supplied earphones I've tried. The screen is excellent and although I'm not totally convinced that Creative's "X-Fi" system produces much better sound, it is certainly up with the competitors. A new and useful feature is Wi-fi. If you have a wireless network, this will either stream music, pictures and video direct from your PC, or can be used to wirelessly download items to your player. You can also download information (wired) from organizer software like Microsoft Outlook. There's also a built-in speaker that is significantly better than the speaker on most mobile phones. The only things that aren't ideal are the memory expansion and the nine buttons. Although it's great that the X-Fi will take an SD card to expand its memory (if you really want more than 32 Gb), it doesn't treat it as an extension of the main memory, but handles it separately, which is irritating. The set of nine control buttons look very pretty, but I'd be happier with either an iPod style dial or just a four way control and select, but it's easy enough to pick up the controls, following on in the style of its predecessors in being easy to use without touching the manual. Altogether, though, probably the best MP3 player available today. Find more Zen X-Fi reviews at Testfreaks.co.uk Also available in smaller memory sizes with prices from £99: see below. Gift category - special - costs around £250/$280 8 Gb - 16 Gb - Reviewed by Jo Read Reviewed by Jo Reed
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Much of the content of this site is written by popular science writers or friends of popular science writers. Inevitably many of the reviews in such a small community are written by or about someone we know. We always aim to be impartial in our reviews, but there is a connection which we need make clear, as there is no intention to deceive. The content of any review or article is solely the opinion of the author and should not be read or understood on any other basis. The site exists to promote popular science writing and popular science authors and for this reason should be considered promotional material, just as the editorial reviews in an online bookshop or the blurb on the back of a book should be considered promotional.
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