Reviews, Views, and News from an Award-Winning Author
THE GREAT GROUNDHOG’S DAY CONSPIRACY By Fred Bortz ([email protected]) Many years ago in the Allegheny Mountain town of Punxsutawney PA, a secret committee met, led by Ima Merchant, the head of the local chamber of commerce. Town statistician C. P. Adderly and P. R. Mann, head of a local advertising firm, were also in attendance. … Read more
These regular blog posts are for educated but non-expert readers who love science. For many years, I regularly sold freelance book reviews to major metropolitan newspapers. Over the past few years, the market for such reviews dried up, but I did not want to leave the field entirely. Fortunately, publishers still send me their catalogs … Read more
My standard opening disclaimer: Due to the shrinking freelance book review market, my opportunities to publish full-length reviews of science titles in major metropolitan newspapers are now few and far between. Because I do not want to leave that territory completely, I have decided to develop a blog that publishes short reviews of science books … Read more
As noted in my previous blog, due to the shrinking freelance book review market, my opportunities to publish full-length reviews of science titles in major metropolitan newspapers are now few and far between. Because I do not want to leave that territory completely, I have decided to develop a blog that publishes short reviews of … Read more
Due to the shrinking freelance book review market, my opportunities to publish full-length reviews of science titles in major metropolitan newspapers are now few and far between. Because I do not want to leave that territory completely, I have decided to develop a blog that publishes short reviews of science books that I receive as … Read more
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolutionby Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 304 pages, $28, 2017) Return to Science Shelf Home Page Note: This review is the copyrighted property of Alfred B. Bortz. Individuals may print single copies for their own use. For permission to publish or … Read more
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