Tag Archives: book review
Babel: An Arcane History
Once or twice a year I take a break from nonfiction and read a novel. This time it was R. F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. Quite a mouthful. I’ll … Continue reading
Crow Planet
On a recent holiday in Ireland, we encountered several species of birds from the crow family that are quite different from the American Crow we see almost every day at home. The Hooded Crow has a black head but a … Continue reading
Some Assembly Required
Last month, I reviewed The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen. It’s all about the destruction of life through mass extinctions. Fascinating but grim. The book left me with a nagging question, though: after each mass extinction how could … Continue reading
The Ends of the World
You might think a 290-page deep dive into mass extinction would be the most depressing book ever. But The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions by Peter Brannen is … Continue reading
Under a White Sky
Whether you believe that God gave man dominion “over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” or that humans have spent the last two hundred thousand years or so winning the Darwinian race, there’s … Continue reading
The Climate Book
Climate change is happening now. Record-setting heatwaves, devastating forest fires, intense tropical storms and extreme flooding are no longer distant predictions, they’re daily events. In The Climate Book, Swedish environmental activist Geta Thunberg has gathered the expertise of over 100 … Continue reading
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again
Do you have trouble focusing these days? Are you getting interrupted by so many notifications, beeps and pings that you can’t concentrate on anything? Are you reaching for your phone every two minutes to check for the latest updates, likes … Continue reading
Introduction to Modern Climate Change
Introduction to Modern Climate Change is a college level textbook aimed at both science and non-science majors. Don’t let that put you off. Anyone with basic high school algebra and chemistry can read this book and learn an incredible amount. … Continue reading
Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction
The centuries-long rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge Universities isn’t limited to just boat races and rugby matches. Both esteemed universities have recently published updated versions of their introductory books on climate change. I’ve read and reviewed a number of … Continue reading
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