Reviews, Views, and News from an Award-Winning Author
The Vaccine Race: Science, Politics, and the Human Cost of Defeating Diseaseby Meredith Wadman(Viking, 448 pages plus 16 page photo insert, $30, February 7, 2017) Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz For more reviews, see the Science Shelf Book Review Archive Note: This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single … Read more
Quantum Fuzz: The Strange True Makeup of Everything Around Usby Michael S. Walker(Prometheus, 420 pages, $28, February 14, 2017) Recommended by Dr. Fred Bortz For my science book reviews, see the Science Shelf Book Review Archive Note: This recommendation is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own … Read more
The Pope of Physics: Enrico Fermi and the Birth of the Atomic Ageby Gino Segre and Bettina Hoerlin(Henry Holt, 368 pages, $30, October 18, 2016) Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz For more reviews, see the Science Shelf Book Review Archive Note: This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single … Read more
The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner, 608 pages plus 8 page photo insert, $30, May 17, 2016) Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz For more reviews, see the Science Shelf Book Review Archive Note: This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own use. … Read more
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape Our Man-Made World by Mark Miodownik (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 272 pages, $26.00, July 2014) Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz Discover more book reviews at The Science Shelf This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own use. For … Read more
At a Nobel Forum in December 2013, several past laureates discussed the future of nuclear power. Their conclusions were far from unanimous. All agreed that nuclear power is the only current technology capable of replacing fossil-fuel plants on a large enough scale to mitigate the risk of global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions. But … Read more
Farewell to Reality: How Modern Physics Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth by Jim Baggott Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz To see more reviews of science books, visit The Science Shelf This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own use. For permission to publish … Read more
A little more than a year ago, I blogged about the possibility of a Nobel Prize for Peter Higgs and others. I was premature, probably because the deliberation about the 2012 prizes was well underway when the researchers announced the likely discovery on July 4, 2012. Also, the committee probably wanted to wait for subsequent … Read more
Many readers of Science Blog will recognize the name Hugh D. Young from the textbooks he wrote. I was lucky enough to know him as a professor and friend. He left us as the age of 82 on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. His official obituary is here. I won’t repeat its details. Instead, I will … Read more
Review of Visions of Infinity by Ian Stewart (Basic Books, 352 pages, $26.99, March 2013) This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own use. For permission to publish or print multiple copies of any of the materials on this site, please contact the author by … Read more