Our latest reviews of popular science books, features and event listings http://www.popularscience.co.uk 2000-2008 Creativity Unleashed Limited Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:40:00 GMT Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:40:00 GMT Sat, 13 Mar 2010 12:40:00 GMT Review - The book presents important messages about animals' ability to feel and how we should treat them, but does so in a repetitious and poorly argued way. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev511.htm Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:50:00 GMT Review - An enjoyable collection of writings by a pioneer of artificial intelligence and IVF. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev510.htm Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:10:00 GMT Review - A collection of quite interesting observations about human behaviour with respect to goodness, but with rather flaky new-age feel and lacking structure. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev509.htm Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:30:00 GMT Interview - Peter Forbes, science writer and poet, tells us what inspires him. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat46.htm Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:55:00 GMT Review - Stunning introduction to probability and statistics, particularly in cosmology, plus Bayesian statistics, sadly only readable by a degree-level science student or above. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev508.htm Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:30:00 GMT Review - Goes through every number from 1 to 200 trying to find interesting things to say about it. A bit like counting sheep. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev507.htm Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:10:00 GMT Review - Great demonstration of how flawed the conventional economics assumption that humans make rations decisions is, with a string of experiments. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev506.htm Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:00:00 GMT Review - New edition of this very readable book on the cosmic background radiation. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev42.htm Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:40:00 GMT Review - Powerful arguments for a better assessment of the risk of nuclear power, but could do to be more approachable. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev505.htm Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:00:00 GMT Review - Excellent book on the fascinating topic of mimicry and camouflage, covering both the natural world and military attempts. Great insights into evolutionary mechanisms. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev504.htm Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT Review - Very personal and moving accounts of animals being saved from the brink of extinction - just a bit overlong. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev503.htm Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:05:00 GMT Review - Excellent book on how scientists can communicate better and learn from the movies, but not really for a general audience. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev502.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2009 14:35:00 GMT Review - Surprisingly good adult picture book on the brain and how it works. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev501.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:00 GMT Review - Entertaining and readable pocket guide to the essentials of physics. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev500.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2009 09:45:00 GMT Review - Puts forward arguments against evolutionary theory and the idea that the electrochemical workings of the brain explain consciousness. A good idea, but a muddled book. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev498.htm Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:55:00 GMT Review - Detailed biography of Robert Boyle, superbly researched, which disappointingly has very little explanation of the science. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev497.htm Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:10:00 GMT Review - Would make a good introductory textbook on probability for science students, but is much too complex and equation driven for popular science. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev496.htm Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT Review - An enlightening and very accessible survey of Islamic science during the so-called Dark Ages and beyond. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev495.htm Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:55:00 GMT Review - As a call to action on climate change, it is a missed opportunity. But as a story of scientific ingenuity and the wonders of nature, it takes every chance - and succeeds. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev494.htm Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:15:00 GMT Review - A summary history of the rise of Nazi Germany and of the von Braun family combine to explain how Wernher von Braun went from aristocrat to US hero. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev493.htm Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT Review - Part of Ball's wide-ranging study of form, this book looks at branching in nature, with a sideline in the concept of scientific models. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev492.htm Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:50:00 GMT Review - The world's most famous encyclopaedia in its newest incarnation. So much more useful than the paper version, with excellent content including Children's library. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/gifts/rev18.htm Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:50:00 GMT Review - Strikingly different view of why Neanderthals died out and we survived, well worth reading despite some boring bits. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev491.htm Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:15:00 GMT Review - Turns out to be more 'basic ideas in modern physics', often well presented, though very compact - but not quite what the title promises. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev490.htm Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:30:00 GMT Review - Attempting the impossible with a biography of Archimedes, about whom little is known. Partially successful. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev489.htm Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:05:00 GMT Review - An analysis of the ineffectiveness of anti-depressant drugs and the importance of the placebo effect that is a good guide to scientific method. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev488.htm Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:05:00 GMT Review - Striking video images in this 13 episode tour of some of the more amazing aspects of our planet, from volcanoes and tsunamis to some of our most significant landforms. Very watchable. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/software/rev25.htm Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:12:00 GMT Review - Nine hours of video in a good value boxed set, covering the solar system, galaxies, stars and more. (US also has seasons 2 and 3.) Watchable if occasionally very wow, gee whiz. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/software/rev24.htm Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:25:00 GMT Review - Transcripts of entertaining radio conversations covering a wide range of scientific issues from human gender to thermodynamics. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev487.htm Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:31:00 GMT Review - Gripping spy story of a history of a personal involvement in the Soviet biological weapons programme - but somewhat lightweight on the science. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev486.htm Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:30:00 GMT Review - Over-technical and detailed, but still fascinating exploration of how natural shapes emerge. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev485.htm Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:40:00 GMT Review - Uses everyday observations to plunge into quantum theory, thermodynamics and cosmology. Great fun and very readable. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev484.htm Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:00:00 GMT Review - Interesting exploration of thermodynamics that unfortunately loses the reader as it tries to tie into quantum theory. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev483.htm Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:20:00 GMT Review - Mix of science, science fiction and lab lit from New Zealand. Mixed content, but explores well how science and literature sit alongside each other. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev482.htm Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:55:00 GMT Review - Highly informative and surprisingly readable book filling in just what developments were made in the history of science during the medieval period. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev481.htm Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:30:00 GMT Review - History of the hydrogen bomb concentrating on mass destruction, Leo Szilard and reflections in fiction. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev480.htm Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:45:00 GMT Review - A printer that fits in your pocket that will give hard copies of your phone pictures. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/gifts/rev23.htm Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:50:00 GMT Review - Interesting collection of extracts from many great science writers and scientists. Excellent sampler. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev479.htm Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:10:00 GMT Review - The latest ideas on how the universe began, the limitations of the Big Bang theory and more in excellent popular history of how humans understand the universe. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev478.htm Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:25:00 GMT Review - Wonderful idea of getting a better idea of how the brain handles vision through optical illusions, but very poor execution. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev477.htm Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:50:00 GMT Review - The science of beer - starts well with a good history, but then becomes much too technical on yeast populations, beer thermodynamics and more. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev476.htm Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:12:00 GMT Review - Excellent analysis of what's right and wrong with Richard Dawkins' approach to evolution and public understanding of science, with real insights into science in society. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev475.htm Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:00:00 GMT Review - Collection of 92 portraits of mathematicians with a page each to explain why they love maths. Very coffee table. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev474.htm Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:20:00 GMT Review - The story of the 1918 flu pandemic and how it impacted the UK, intertwined with events in the First World War. Scary at a time of another pandemic. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev473.htm Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:40:00 GMT Review - A game in which the player has to use their knowledge of how things move under gravity to set up a sequence of events around a screen to collect keys and rescue creatures. Good fun, though would be better with a hint option. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/software/rev23.htm Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:40:00 GMT Review - Biographical novel, providing excellent insights into the life and works of the man who thought up continental drift, Alfred Wegener. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev472.htm Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:55:00 GMT Review - Though mostly on physicist Wolfgang Pauli, intertwines the life and work of Carl Jung. Interesting science, but too much mystical claptrap and dream analysis. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev471.htm Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:30:00 GMT Review - The ten most beautiful experiments in science (well, physics), with good insights into the people behind them. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev470.htm Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:30:00 GMT Review - Interesting study of how people react to advertising by monitoring the brain, though some of the interpretation of the science is poorly presented. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev469.htm Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:15:00 GMT Arturo Sangalli has a PhD in mathematics and is the author of The Importance of Being Fuzzy and Pythagoras' Revenge. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat43.htm Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:40:00 GMT Review - In depth look at Galileo's enhancement of the telescope and his trial, with some interesting unfamiliar material. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev468.htm Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:40:00 GMT Review - Popular maths, mostly from ancient Greece, presented in a novel. Brilliant idea, execution not so good. ***(*) http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev467.htm Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:20:00 GMT Review - Enjoyable and engaging exploration of complexity, genetic algorithms, networks and more. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev466.htm Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:35:00 GMT Review - A totally subjective, Impressionist look at where the universe came from. Some might like it, but for us it doesn't work. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev465.htm Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:10 GMT Review - Remarkable attempt to frame a religious view based on science, only let down by the religious book style of writing. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev464.htm Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:00 GMT Review - Stephen Hawking edits and comments on Einstein's best work - but you probably need a physics degree. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev463.htm Thu, 21 May 2009 15:10 GMT Review - Great subject, gripping tale of scientific fraud, but the storytelling could be better. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev462.htm Tue, 19 May 2009 07:25 GMT Science popularizer Douglas Richards argues that Science Fiction is a great way to get kids interested in science itself. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat42.htm Thu, 14 May 2009 13:30 GMT Review - Good, readable introductory textbook on materials and their development, particularly concentrating on the molecular level. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev461.htm Tue, 12 May 2009 16:15 GMT Review - Good compendium of information about the moon (if some slightly flaky topics), but not really a popular science book. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev460.htm Mon, 11 May 2009 15:05:00 GMT Review - Interesting observations on how the brain programs for skills that work well for physical skills but the author fails to spot they're anathema to creativity. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev459.htm Sat, 02 May 2009 13:30:00 GMT Review - Collection of beautifully crafted short pieces on science and nature, especially good on unexpected animal topics. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev458.htm Fri, 01 May 2009 10:05:00 GMT Part of the Royal Society of Chemistry series of podcasts featuring short talks on each of the chemical elements. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat41.htm Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:40:00 GMT Review - Okay exploration of the hunt for dark matter and dark energy. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev457.htm Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:05:00 GMT Cambridge academic and popular science writer http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat40.htm Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:45:00 GMT Review - Magnificent and very readable account of all of science, putting it into its social and political context. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev456.htm Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:00:00 GMT Review - Rather strained and low key book on the use of animals and plants as scientific instruments and experimental equipment. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev455.htm Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:25:00 GMT Review - Riveting and detailed history of the development of nuclear weapons in Germany, the UK, the US and Russia. Fascinating in its depth and the lost possibilities for alternatives to nuclear proliferation. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev454.htm Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:40:00 GMT Review - A fascinating look at the life and particularly the work of this pre-eminent Victorian physicist. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev453.htm Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:40:00 GMT Oxford academic and popular science writer http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat39.htm Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:40:00 GMT Review - Intriguing guide to antimatter: what it is, how it's made and how it's unlikely to be a serious component of a weapon. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev452.htm Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:30:00 GMT Review - Glossy book on Pluto that falls down by not being sure what it is, and having a bit of a dull subject. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev451.htm Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:50:00 GMT Review - Very dull story of NEST, the organization that deals with nuclear incidents. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev450.htm Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:44:00 GMT Review - An alternative to quantum theory. Probably not right, but worth taking a look as a semi-plausible theory. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev449.htm Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:20:00 GMT Review - Good insights into how human responses divide into head and gut, and how our gut leads us to be frightened more than we should. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev448.htm Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:40:00 GMT Review - Workmanlike but ultimately not hugely exciting biography of William Herschel. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev447.htm Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:34:00 GMT Review - The life and work of pioneer forensic pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury. Great read, but more true crime than science. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev446.htm Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:55:00 GMT How an exploration of the archival material on Alexander Graham Bell uncovered the true story of the telephone. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev445.htm Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:15:00 GMT A fun and informative read on 13 anomalies of science that surprises and delights in equal measures. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev444.htm Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:55:00 GMT Very detailed and well researched biography of the most secretive of the quantum physicists, Paul Dirac. A welcome addition. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev443.htm Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:00:00 GMT A rich narrative of a billionare of bizarre facts and his struggle between a revolutionary idea and a conservative social context. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev442.htm Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:30:00 GMT The book of the classic TV series on the universe from one of the best US science popularizers. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev441.htm Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:55:00 GMT Moves green issues away from knee-jerk emotional responses and bogeymen to uncover greenwash and establish what really is effective for the environment. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev440.htm Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:55:00 GMT Interesting take on how developmental pressures can produce freaks as much as genetic faults. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev439.htm Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:25:00 GMT Exploration of the science of pleasure, a little let down by snobbish view on chocolate. Explicit. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev438.htm Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:45:00 GMT The sad story of the attempt to preserve the Yangtze river dolphin and the lessons it gives on practical conservation. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev437.htm Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:15:00 GMT Look at the realities of science fiction technology - good on near future, but more speculative depends too much on SF. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev436.htm Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:20:00 GMT Big glossy and in-depth study of the super-organism behaviour of bees and ants. Fascinating, though can get a bit heavy in both senses. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev435.htm Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:15:00 GMT Very readable pocket introduction to probability and statistics: first half is particularly good. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev434.htm Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:05:00 GMT Multiple choice science quiz book that isn't easy enough to read through, but makes a good gift book. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev433.htm Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:30:00 GMT Enjoyable and very personal views on a series of scientific topics from a French low temperature physicist. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev432.htm Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:35:00 GMT Interesting idea of turning the full weight of experimental science on everyday happenings, but doesn't entirely deliver. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev431.htm Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:55:00 GMT A masterful job of bringing to life the struggles to develop a vaccine against polio. Not as US-centric as the title suggests. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev430.htm Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:45:00 GMT Delightful exploration of why we find trivia fascinating, packing in lots of wonderful factoids along the way. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev429.htm Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:45:00 GMT Should be a great book about strange scientific ideas and related science fiction, but in fact is dull and rambling. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev428.htm Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:45:00 GMT Superb analysis of alternative medicine, showing how early trials were unscientific and new data proves most to be no different from a placebo. Very readable. Excellent. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev427.htm Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:14:00 GMT Brilliant first half of the book on the way our programmed behaviour puts us at risk, ruined by poor second half. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev426.htm Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:30:00 GMT Clever gift book combining Venn diagrams (and other mathematical diagrams) with song titles. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev425.htm Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:20:00 GMT Insights from Guardian columnist and author of Bad Science. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat36.htm Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:10:00 GMT Hard to read, but insightful exploration of the nature of theories in science and how they are constructed, particularly around physics and theories of everything. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev424.htm Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:45:00 GMT Insights from New Scientist editor and author of Decoding the Heavens. http://www.popularscience.co.uk/features/feat35.htm Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:45:00 GMT Book about death, aging and immortality, but mostly death. Frankly it's a bit depressing and gave me a pain in all the diodes down my left side. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev423.htm Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:15:00 GMT The twists and turns of the story of a remarkable 2,000 year old mechanical computer and how it was decoded. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev422.htm Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:40:00 GMT Wonderful concept - looking at how the brain copes with reading - not very well executed as a popular science book. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev372.htm Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:55:00 GMT Effective neither as a picture book or a really engaging book on volcanoes, the 'alien' part just makes what could be fascinating a touch wishy-washy. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev421.htm Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:30:00 GMT A concise and effective summary of both special and general relativity, but more suited to a physics student than the general reader. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev420.htm Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:45:00 GMT Funny and devastatingly accurate exposure of the way bad science is used to sell products and fool the press. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev419.htm Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:50:00 GMT The one to beat - simply the best MP3 player on the market. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/gifts/rev4.htm Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:45:00 GMT The world's most famous encyclopaedia in its newest DVD-ROM incarnation. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/gifts/rev18.htm Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:45:00 GMT Long, rather dull and too technical history of the development of quantum theory. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev418.htm Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:00:00 GMT Brilliantly different exposition of Einstein's work, only slightly let down by smugness and at least one error. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev417.htm Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:15:00 GMT The parts of this far-ranging book about coral are good, but the asides take up far too much of it. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev416.htm Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:25:00 GMT Building on their Q and A books, now an experiments book from the New Scientist's reliable Last Word column. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev415.htm Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:15:00 GMT Remarkable historical idea of geometry problems displayed in Japanese temples - but all seems a bit pointless. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev414.htm Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:30:00 GMT Good, if unoriginal concept of showing how the future technology of earlier days hasn't come into being. Glossy, but not very inspiring. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev413.htm Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:40:00 GMT One of the cleverest concepts we've ever come across - the physics you ought to know if you are going to be US president - and wonderfully delivered too. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev412.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:50:00 GMT Perhaps the best of the Einstein biographies - really seeks to get the man behind the legend, and does well at explaining the physics. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev411.htm Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:00:00 GMT The rarely visited world of human waste - great fun down the sewers, investigating Japanese high function toilets, and with the sociological and health issues involved. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev410.htm Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:30:00 GMT Excellent analysis of the threats we face from climate change, and how they will change our world, but poor, over-simplistic solutions. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev409.htm Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:30:00 GMT Dull looking book, which is a shame because it's a brilliant, very readable tour of the nanoscale from Brownian motion to biological machines. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev408.htm Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:30:00 GMT A delightful surprise when what appears to be a textbook proves to be a fascinating, beautifully illustrated exploration of these remarkable superorganisms. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev407.htm Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:30:00 GMT Molecular biology, explaining biological functions at the molecular level, has transformed the science. An interesting book, but not enough on the people. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev406.htm Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:30:00 GMT A magazine article on the way subjective time varies blown up with much padding into a book that confuses science and anecdote. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev405.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:40:00 GMT A fascinating exploration of the journey to human 2.0, from the key ability to contemplate the future, to life extension, cosmetic enhancement, extra strength, electronic implants and more. ***** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev404.htm Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:46:00 GMT An important book - graphically tells of the impact of one to six degrees of temperature rise on the planet. Gets a little repetitious, but still important. **** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev403.htm Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:30:00 GMT An argument for a different kind of physics, that is more dependent on emergent properties, rather than bottom up. Interesting but not entirely convincing. *** http://www.popularscience.co.uk/reviews/rev402.htm