Tag Archives: book review

The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future

Posted on October 8, 2016 by Harry Katz

A PhD in cultural anthropology might seem like an odd background for someone writing a book about our national electricity grid. But Gretchen Bakke sees the grid as more than just generating plants, transmission wires, substations, poles, meters, outlets and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Energy, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Big World Small Planet

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Harry Katz

Are we doomed?  Have we messed up the Earth beyond all hope?  News reports about the environment would sure make you think so.  From CO2 emissions to deforestation to species extinction; you name it, it seems like humans are totally … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Energy, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Court and The World

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Harry Katz

The Court and the World is about the increasing interplay between the Supreme Court of the United States and the people, laws and courts of foreign countries.  And it’s written by an extremely well-qualified expert, Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of … Continue reading →

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Mindset

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Harry Katz

Everyone knows there are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who do not. Well Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford, is clearly one of the … Continue reading →

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The End of Night

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Harry Katz

If Vincent Van Gough were alive today he couldn’t possibly paint The Starry Night. That’s because our modern obsession with more and brighter lighting has obliterated the stars and threatens to banish night itself. This is one of many poignant … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Environment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ada’s Algorithm

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Harry Katz

Lady Ada Lovelace has a good claim to being the first Woman in Tech. Born in 1815, she was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron. She’s best known for her collaboration with Charles Babbage, inventor of the Analytical Engine, … Continue reading →

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How We Got to Now

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Harry Katz

Steven Johnson starts off How We Got to Now with a very cool story: One little-known consequence of the invention of the printing press in 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg was that thousands of people suddenly discovered they were farsighted. Before … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Ideas That Conquered the World

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Harry Katz

The Ideas That Conquered the World By Michael Mandelbaum PublicAffairs, New York, NY, 2002 The Ideas That Conquered the World was published with some fanfare in 2002, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I can’t remember how … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Economics, History, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: David and Goliath

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Harry Katz

Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, David and Goliath, is really a collection of stories, variations on the theme of lopsided conflicts, of the weak prevailing against the strong. Apparent strength can mask great weakness, and there are often diminishing returns, even … Continue reading →

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Book Review: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Harry Katz

Remember Chris Hadfield? Sure you do. He’s the Canadian astronaut who sang Space Oddity from the International Space Station, from a tin can far above the world. Back on Earth and now retired, he’s written a book; An Astronaut’s Guide … Continue reading →

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