Category Archives: Book Reviews

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Book Review: The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far by Lawrence M. Krauss

The Greatest Story Ever Told--So Far by L KraussFollowing up on his previous book, A Universe from Nothing, Dr. Krauss walks us through why (meaning “how”) we attained our current level of understanding of the natural world and the cosmos.

Beginning with the properties and laws governing light and motion, Krauss then takes several chapters to delve into an overview of theoretical physics, covering electromagnetism, particle physics, quantum mechanics, and the purpose, development, and construction of such devices as the Large Hadron Collider and LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory).

Through it all, Krauss shows diligence in crediting many of his Nobel-prize winning predecessors and mentors who advanced our collective knowledge of the universe, sometimes offering entertaining anecdotes into their personalities and, in a few cases, his own personal encounters with them as a student or colleague. Despite the book’s bold title, Krauss is not as openly scornful of theology this time around and in fact, opens each chapter with a quote from the Bible apropos of the topic.

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Book Review: Billions and Billions by Carl Sagan

Billions and Billions by Carl Sagan“Our technology has becoms so powerful that—not only consciously, but inadvertently—we are becoming a danger to ourselves. Science and technology have saved billions of lives, improved the well-being of many more, built up the planet in a slowly anastomosing unity—and at the same time, changed the world so much that many people no longer feel at home in it. We’ve created a range of new evils; hard to see, hard to understand, problems that cannot be readily cured—certainly not without challenging those already in power.”

Carl Sagan never said “billions and billions,” despite Johnny Carson’s parody of Dr. Sagan on The Tonight Show (on which Sagan was a guest nearly 30 times).

Sagan begins his final book on this humorous note before delving into a diverse range of topics from human evolution and cultural development to ethnocentrism and xenophobia. He discusses the advancement of communications technology from the telegraph to satellites, and while he touches on astronomy and cosmology, a large portion of the book is spent reviewing the current state (as of the mid-1990s), and pondering the future of, our environment and the dangers we face if we do not cease our reliance on fossil fuels.

Sagan also tackles the controversial and often incendiary topic of abortion and the question of when human life truly begins. He discusses the religious and political points of view on abortion, Roe vs. Wade, and women’s reproductive rights.

Although I have this book in paperback at home, I listened to the audiobook over three days at work. The narrator for most of the book is the fabulous Adenrele Ojo. The final chapter was co-written with Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan, and describes his diagnosis of, and struggle with, myelodysplasia.

It was a grueling experience for Sagan and his family, involving four trips from his home in Ithaca, NY to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (aka “The Hutch”) in Seattle and the bone marrow transplant from his sister, Cari.

Ann narrated the epilogue, which she wrote after Sagan’s death. In it, she details the events of the last month of his life and of their final trip to “The Hutch” where he died in December 1996. No, I wasn’t choked up at all. Nope, I’m fine…

Where’s that damn box of tissues?

Five stars all the way, Carl. I’d give you a billion, if I could.

Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan

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Book Review: A.E. Van Vogt’s Science Fiction Monsters edited by Forrest J. Ackerman

Science Fiction Monsters by AE Van VogtIn his exuberant introduction, the inimitable Forrest J. Ackerman expresses not only his own admiration for A.E. Van Vogt, but also quotes a praising review of one of Van Vogt’s stories by none other than a young Ray Bradbury. The theme of this collection is—as the uninspired title specifies—Science Fiction Monsters (giving the impression of a reference book rather than a phenomenal fiction collection) and there are eight of them covering different themes and classified by ol’ Uncle Forry himself.

“Not Only Dead Men” (Genus: Space Monster) – During WWII, a whaling ship equipped with machine guns encounters what at first appears to be a Japanese submarine off the coast of Alaska. Upon closer inspection, the captain and crew are shocked to learn that the vessel is actually an alien spacecraft…

“Final Command” (Genus: Robot Monster) – On a future Earth, a war is brimming between robots seeking equality and their human masters who wish to destroy them, but an alien prisoner of war might hold the key to peace between the two races.

In “War of Nerves” (Genus: Arianoid Monster), the interstellar Earth vessel, Space Beagle, is threatened by a telepathic alien race known as the Riim. After setting the ship on a direct course for a nearby star, the Riim use their powers to spark a mutiny, pitting scientists against the military. Elliott Grosvenor, a scientist with special mental training known as Nexialism, is the only one unaffected by the mental manipulation, but can he devise a way to defeat the Riim before the Space Beagle plunges to its destruction?

“Enchanted Village” (Genus: Martian Monster) describes the travails of Bill Jenner, the last survivor of a doomed expedition to Mars. When Jenner encounters an abandoned village, he soon realizes that it is alive and can adapt to the physiology of its residents… or is it the other way around?

“The Sea Thing” (Genus: Oceanic Monster) drops us on a remote South Pacific island where a shapeshifting creature emerges from the depths, adopts the form of a man, and seeks revenge on a band of shark hunters.

In “Resurrection,” an alien race known as the Ganae arrive on a post-apocalyptic Earth with technology that can revive long dead lifeforms for the purpose of information retrieval. After resurrecting three humans from various time periods—and subsequently killing them—they finally come upon a man with advance capabilities of his own, posing a threat to the Ganae. Uncle Forry provided no genus for this story, but I would suggest Interstellar Monsters.

Saving the best until last, we have “Vault of the Beast” (Genus: Multimorph Monster) in which a shapeshifting android is sent to Earth by an alien race to find a human mathematician capable of liberating a beast, known as Kalorn, from an ancient Martian prison.

The least among these stories, in my opinion, was “Concealment” (Genus: Mystery Monster). A battleship from Earth invades the Dellian star system and encounters a Watcher—a meteorologist who monitors storms in the space lanes and warns approaching vessels. The captain of the ship attempts to interrogate the seemingly feeble Watcher for the location of his homeworld and gets more than she bargained for.

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Book Review: The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan

The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan“Some portion of the decision making that influences the fate of our civilization is plainly in the hands of charlatans.” –Carl Sagan

Our world is rife with superstition, pseudo-science, theological fraud, sound bites and a decay of substantive content in the media, a celebration of ignorance and anti-intellectualism, and a disdain of true science (the latter three are especially true in the United States). In The Demon-Haunted World, Doctor Carl Sagan addresses these topics and much more, showing us the value of skepticism and scrutiny over mindless gullibility and immediate acceptance of statements from authority.

In each chapter, Sagan cites numerous incidents throughout history of when large swaths of society and entire nations were deceived by unquestioned superstition and false beliefs, dangerous political and social propaganda, the suppression of ideas and opposing views, and yes, even unethical scientists who apply their knowledge toward the detriment of humanity rather than its benefit.

Sagan also delves into cases of alien abductions, faith healing, telepathy, channeling spirits of the dead, and other “spurious” claims, even going so far as to include in the book correspondence from people throughout the country insisting on the existence of aliens, their visitations to Earth, their experimentations on, and in some cases impregnation of, unwitting victims, and their overall plans for humanity.

He does all of this without hubris or vanity, merely stating that science—when applied properly—allows us to maintain a skeptical mind toward outlandish assertions, to question the validity of dogmatic teachings, to interrogate the natural world for answers, and to perform experiments in search of facts rather believing whatever the authority du jour dictates as “fact.”

Sagan firmly believed that science and spirituality are not mutually exclusive and in fact, describes how and why each requires the other.]

Ultimately, as Sagan declared in his Cosmos television series and elsewhere, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” The Demon-Haunted World drives this point home eloquently and with great detail.

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Book Review: Mind to Mind edited by Robert Silverberg

Mind to Mind edited by Robert SilverbergEdited by the legendary Robert Silverberg, Mind to Mind is an anthology of nine eclectic tales of telepathy—some dark, some hopeful, some humorous. Contributing authors include Isaac Asimov, C.M. Kornbluth, Brian W. Aldiss, James H. Schmitz, James White, Algis Budrys, R.A. Lafferty, Poul Anderson, and Robert Silverberg.

My personal favorites include…

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“Novice” by James H. Schmitz in which a young law student with nascent telepathic abilities finds herself as an emissary between human colonists and the highly intelligent feline natives of the planet Jontarou.

We’re all familiar with Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, the first of which dictates that a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Does that also include emotional harm? Senior management of a robot factory learns the harsh answer to this question when they unwittingly produce a telepathic robot that turns out to be a… “Liar!” by Isaac Asimov.

A telepathic alien inadvertently becomes a stowaway on a cargo ship bound for Earth. Stranded there, it’s innocent and desperate attempts to communicate directly with human minds only serves to cause them frightening nightmares and, in some cases, death.  It isn’t long before hospital officials near the spaceport realize that… “Something Wild is Loose” by Robert Silverberg.

In “The Conspirators” by James White, a spacecraft from Earth passes through a radiation belt on its way to explore a distant planet. As a result, all laboratory animals aboard develop telepathic abilities at varying rates. Upon reading the minds of the human crew, the animals realize their ultimate and terrifying fate once the ship reaches its destination, so they devise an escape plan with the help of the ship’s cat, Felix.

In “The Mindworm” by C.M. Kornbluth, a parasitic telepath feasts on the negative emotions of his victims, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

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Book Review – Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith

Arguably the most popular science communicator since Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, in collaboration with fellow astrophysicist Donald Goldsmith, delivers an engaging and sometimes humorous account of the origins of the universe, our solar system, our planet, and life on Earth. I read Origins shortly after watching Tyson’s Inexplicable Universe series and reading A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss. As such, some of the material covered in the book (as well as a few of Tyson’s jokes) was review, such as the types and nature of quarks, the expansion of the universe as demonstrated by the Doppler effect (something I learned while watching the original Cosmos as the age of nine), the formation (and naming) of the planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system (learned in middle school and high school), and a tour of periodic table (it’s been a while!).

I enjoyed the refresher on topics such as the anthropic principle, ekpyrotic theory of the universe, homogeneous versus isotropic models of the universe, classifications of galaxies and of nebulae, methods for discovering exoplanets (some of which were also demonstrated in episode seven of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series. At least some things haven’t changed!), measuring a star’s age by its depletion of lithium, the three branches of the tree of life (bacteria, archaea, and eukaryota), and much more.

Highly recommended!